Kujargé language
| Kujargé | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spoken in | Chad, Sudan | |||
| Region | Jebel Mirra | |||
| Native speakers | 1,000 (1983) | |||
| Language family |
Afro-Asiatic?
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| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-3 | vkj | |||
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The Kujargé language is spoken in seven villages in Chad near Jebel Mirra (11°45′N 22°15′E / 11.75°N 22.25°E) and in Sudan in villages scattered along the lower Wadi Salih and Wadi Azum. It is estimated to have about 1000 speakers (as of 1983[update]). The name is derived from Sudanese Arabic kujur "sorcerer", because of their reputation for witchcraft. The speakers mainly live by hunting and gathering.
Contents |
[edit] Classification
Kujarge is unclassified. It is known only from a 200-word list. These include Chadic words, but low numerals and pronouns look very un-Chadic.[1] Blench (2008) notes that much of the basic vocabulary looks Cushitic, and speculates that Kujarge could even be a conservative language transitional between Chadic and Cushitic.[2]
The language had been classified as a member of the Mubi subgroup of Chadic by Paul Newman; however, Lionel Bender argued that its classification remained uncertain. There may have been a mix-up with Birgit, a nearby Mubi language which is also called Kujarge; when Newman was shown the 200-word list in 2006, he would not commit to it being Chadic.[1]
In addition, there appears to be a large amount of vocabulary that hasn't been identified as Afro-Asiatic; there is a possibility that is a language isolate that has been largely relexified by Chadic and Cushitic.[3]
[edit] Sounds
Judging by the one available wordlist, the consonants appear to be:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosives | b | t d | ɟ | k ɡ |
| Implosives | ɓ | ɗ | ||
| Prenasalised plosives | mb | nd | ɲɟ | ŋɡ |
| Fricatives | f | s | ʃ | |
| Continuants | w | l | j | |
| Nasals | m | n | ɲ | ŋ |
| Trills | r |
Relatively few consonant clusters are attested; they appear to all involve r+consonant or gemination (unless the prenasalized stops are to be seen as clusters.)
The vowels used in transcribing the same wordlist are: a, e, i, o, u, ʌ, ɛ, ɔ. It is not clear whether all of these are phonemically distinct; [ʌ] and [ɔ], in particular, are rare.
[edit] Grammar
The pronouns include annu "I", nigi "you (sg.)". Interrogative pronouns include ŋgayna "what?", ye "who?". Demonstratives include agu "this".
The numbers include:
- kirre
- kurro
- ubo
[edit] References
- Paul Doornbos & M. Lionel Bender. 1983. "Languages of Wadai-Darfur", in ed. M. Lionel Bender, Nilo-Saharan Language Studies, African Studies Center, Michigan State University
- ^ a b Harald Hammarström, 2010, 'The status of the least documented language families in the world'. In Language Documentation & Conservation, v 4, p 183 [1]
- ^ Roger Blench, 2008. 'Links between Cushitic, Omotic, Chadic and the position of Kujarge'. (ms)[2]
- ^ Roger Blench and Mauro Tosco, 2010. 'Cushitic, Omotic, Chadic and the position of Kujarge', Workshop « Language Isolates in Africa », Lyons
