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Niellim language

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Niellim
lwaà
Native tosouthwesternChad
Native speakers
(5,200 cited 1993 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nie
Glottologniel1243
ELPNiellim
Closeup of the area where Niellim is spoken.
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TheNiellim language(autonymlwaà) is aBua languagespoken by some 5,000 people (as of 1993) along theChari Riverin southernChad.It is mainly spoken in two areas: one around the city ofSarh(to which many - perhaps most - speakers have migrated) and one, its traditional home, further north, between about 9°30′ and 9°50′ N, corresponding to the former chiefdoms of Pra andNiou,as well as the Niellim Sultanate.

Niellim borders on several languages of diverse families – in particularSara,Ndam,andLaal– and is influenced by the locallingua franca,Baguirmi;it has itself strongly influencedLaal,but also apparently has been influenced by Laal, or a relative of Laal, since much of the common Laal–Niellim vocabulary is not Bua. It is notably homogeneous. As a small minority in Chad, its speakers usually have to learn other languages, mostly (as of 1974)Baguirmi,Sara,Arabic,andBua.

Niellim Sultanate

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In the middle of the 19th century, the Niellim-speaking clan along the Chari organized into a small sultanate. Throughout the latter half of the century, they suffered various raids by theBaguirmi Kingdom,until they were eventually vassalized by them. Under their rule, they assimilated with theBarma people.[2]

Phonology

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The consonants are:

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop voiceless p t c k ʔ
plain voiced b d ɟ g
prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ ᵑɡ
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative s h
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Nasalapproximant w̃
Approximant l j w
Trill r

The vowels are/i/,/ɨ/,/u/,/e/,/ə/,/a/,and/o/as well as the diphthongs,/ja/and/wa/;all except/ɨ/can also be given contrastive length and nasalization. Complexvowel harmony,rather similar to that found inLaal,is observable.

There are three tone levels: low, mid, high. Any syllable must bear at least one tone; it may bear any combination of two tones, or one of three three-tone combinations: LML, MLH, or HLH.

Grammar

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Syntax

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The typical word order issubject–verb–object(though this can be affected by topicfronting);preposition- prepositional object (-postposition);noun-adjective;possessed - possessor. However, possessive pronouns precede the noun.

Pronouns

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The basic personal pronouns include:n'I',m'you',r'he, she, it'(with low tone as subjects, high tone as objects),í'you (pl.)',andá'they'.( "We" does not appear in sources so far examined by the editors.[who?])

Nouns

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Noun plural formation is quite complex, and includes some apparent relics of a now-absentnoun classsystem; the commonest ways include combinations of internal vowelablaut,the suffix-gɨ,a changel/n>r,and/or replacing final-awith-i.

Verbs

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Each verb has two forms:indicativeandoptative( "injunctive"in Boyeldieu's terminology.) They are distinguished by tonal pattern.

Verbs may be preceded by various particles to indicatetense,aspect,andmood:for instancewòcontinuous,ɓəfuture,káobligation. Indirect quoted speech is preceded with the particleɓə'that'.

Verbal nouns may be formed by changing the tone pattern and/or suffi xing-lior-la(in which thelbecomesnfollowing a nasal) together with internal vowel ablaut.

Verb derivational suffixes include-nintensive (realized as-nìor-ɨ̀n,e.g.,nun'bite'>nùnɨ̀n'gnaw',and sometimes causing internal ablaut), and-gɨ̀mediopassive(sometimes-gior-gu,rarely causes internal ablaut).

Prepositions

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Common prepositions includegɨ̀'to (dative)',naà'with',andti'to'.

Examples

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  • ɓá̰ tɨba ti ʔùu:l, sì sì, tén w̃àɲ, kà ŕ lápyaà.
child fall road, go go, find chief, do him hello.
The child set off, walked and walked, found the chief and greeted him.
  • á na ŕ ndúu: ní ŕ ɲì.
they give him water he drink
They gave him water to drink.
  • jée:l lá ŕ ʔwa̰ ŕ ɓi:r tén w̃àɲ:
evening too he get-up he ask chief:
In the evening he got up and asked the chief:
  • w̃àɲ, ɲìin hina ḿ ɓá̰ tàa:m. ɛɛ̀, pàáy kəə̀y? ǹ tà:m ḿ ɓá̰ càaw.
chief I(emph.) come you child seek, eh, is-it what?, I want you child marry (verbal noun)
"Chief, I have come to seek your daughter; I want to marry your daughter."

(From a story recounted by Dakour Yalka Ali, in Boyeldieu 1985, p. 10)

References

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  1. ^NiellimatEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
  2. ^Azevedo, Mario Joaquim; Decalo, Samuel (2018).Historical dictionary of Chad.Historical dictionaries of Africa (4th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-5381-1436-0.
  • P. Boyeldieu,La langue lua ( "niellim" ) (Groupe Boua - Moyen-Chari, Tchad) Phonologie - Morphologie - Dérivation verbale.Descriptions des langues et monographes ethnologuistiques, 1. Cambridge University Press & Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme for SELAF. Paris 1985.ISBN0-521-27069-3(CUP). (A source for this article.)
  • P. Boyeldieu, "Esquisse phonologique du lua (" niellim ") de Niou (Moyen-Chari)", in Jean-Paul Caprile (ed.),Etudes phonologiques tchadiennes,Paris:SELAF 1977.
  • Pascal Boyeldieuand C. Seignobos, "Contribution à l'étude du pays niellim (Moyen-Chari - Tchad)",L'homme et le milieu, Aspects du développement au Tchad,Série: Lettres, Langues vivantes et Sciences humaines, no. 3, 1975, pp. 67–98. Includes an 80-word comparative list for Niellim and three Tunia varieties, with some remarks on regular correspondences
  • P. Boyeldieu & C. Seignobos,Contribution à l'étude du pays niellim,Université du Tchad / INTSH, N'djamena, 1974. Includes word lists forKwa Tchini(Niellim dialect) andKwa Perim(Tunia dialect).
  • M. Gaudefroy-Demombynes,Documents sur les langues de l'Oubangui-Chari,Paris, 1907. Includes (pp. 107–122) a 200-word comparative list of Bua, Niellim, Fanian, and Tunia, with a brief grammar and some phrases collected by Decorse.
  • J. Lukas,Zentralsudanisches Studien,Hamburg, Friedrichsen, de Gruyter & Cie, 1937. Gives the wordlists of Nachtigal, zu Mecklenburg, Barth, and Gaudefroy-Demombynes for Bua (~400 words), Niellim (~200 words), and Koke (~100 words).
  • P. Palayer, "Notes sur les Noy du Moyen-Chari (Tchad)",Les langues du groupe Boua,N'djamena, I.N.S.H., "Etudes et documents tchadiens", Série C (Linguistique), no. 2, pp. 196–219. Elements of Noy, plus a 50-word comparative list of Noy, Niellim (2 dialects), Tunia, Iro Gula.
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