Niellim language
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Niellim | |
---|---|
lwaà | |
Native to | southwesternChad |
Native speakers | (5,200 cited 1993 census)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | nie |
Glottolog | niel1243 |
ELP | Niellim |
Closeup of the area where Niellim is spoken. | |
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Syntax
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Common prepositions includegɨ̀'to (dative)',naà'with',andti'to'.
Examples
[edit]- 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
[edit]- ^NiellimatEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
- ^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.