Jump to content

Xamtanga language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by WOSlinker (talk | contribs) at 13:06, 12 April 2020 (tidy wikitable options). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Xamtanga
Xamir
Pronunciationˈχamtaŋa
Native toEthiopia
RegionNorth Amhara Region
Native speakers
210,000 (2007 census)[1]
Afro-Asiatic
Language codes
ISO 639-3xan
Glottologxamt1239
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Xamtanga (also Agawinya, Khamtanga, Simt'anga, Xamir, Xamta) is a Central Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia by the Xamir people.

Sound system

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i ɨ u
Mid vowel ə
Low vowel a

The central vowels ə a/ have fronted and backed allophones, depending on the adjacent consonant(s).

Consonants

Labial Coronal Postalveolar
or palatal
Velar Uvular Glottal
Plain Labialized Plain Labialized
Plosives and
affricates
Voiceless t t͡ʃ k q
Voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ ɡʷ
Ejective t͡ʃʼ kʷʼ
Fricatives Voiceless f s ʃ χ χʷ h*
Voiced z
Ejective
Nasals m n ŋ ŋʷ
Lateral l
Tap ɾ
Semivowels j w
  • /h/ is found only word-initial in loanwords, and may be glottal [h] or pharyngeal [ħ].
  • /t/ is alveolar before the vowel /i/, dental otherwise.
  • /q/ can be ejective [qʼ], and in some cases the ejectives appear to be in free variation with the voiceless plosives.

Phonological processes

Gemination

In positions other than word-initial, Xamtanga contrasts geminate and non-geminate consonants. With most consonants, the difference between a geminate and a non-geminate is simply one of length, but the cases of /b t q/ are more complex. When not word-initial, non-geminate /b/ is realized as a bilabial [β] or labiodental fricative [v], and /t/ and /q/ are realized as affricates: [tθ qχ]. Their geminate equivalents may be realized as prolonged [bː qː], or can simply be short [b t q].

In word-initial position, geminate consonants do not occur, and /b t q/ are realized as plosives.

Notes

Bibliography

  • D.L. Appleyard (1987). "A Grammatical Sketch of Khamtanga—I". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 50 (2): 241–266. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00049028.
  • D.L. Appleyard (1987). "A Grammatical Sketch of Khamtanga—II". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 50 (3): 470–507. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00039471.
  • Appleyard, David L. (1988) "A Definite Article in Xamtanga", African Languages and Cultures 1/1, pp. 15–24.
  • Appleyard, David L. (2006) A Comparative Dictionary of the Agaw Languages (Kuschitische Sprachstudien – Cushitic Language Studies Band 24). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  • Chloé Darmon, L'agäw xamtanga : une langue couchitique en contact avec l'amharique, In Pount. Cahiers d'études : Corne de l'Afrique - Arabie du Sud, 4, pp. 169–195, 2010