Daza language
Daza | |
---|---|
Dazaga | |
Native to | Chad, Niger, Sudan, Libya |
Region | Chad, BET Region, bahr el Gazel Region, eastern Niger |
Ethnicity | Daza people/Gouran people |
Native speakers | 380,000 (2006–2007)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | dzg |
Glottolog | daza1242 |
Linguasphere | 02-BAA-ab |
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Daza (also known as Dazaga) is the language of the Daza people of northern Chad. The Daza are also known as the Gouran(Gorane) in Chad.[1] Dazaga is spoken by about 380,000 people primarily in the Djurab desert region and the Tibesti Mountains of Chad (330,000 speakers) and in the eastern Niger, near N'guigmi and to the north (50,000 speakers). It is also spoken to a smaller extent in Libya and in Sudan where there is a community of 3000 speakers in Omdurman. There's also a small diaspora community working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two primary dialects of the Dazaga language are Daza and Kara, but there are several other mutually intelligible dialects including Kaga, Kanobo, Taruge and Azza as well. It is closely related to the Tedaga language, spoken by the Teda, the other[who?] Toubou people who reside primarily in the Tibesti Mountains of Northern Chad and in Southern Libya near the city of Sabha.
Dazaga is a Nilo-Saharan language and a member of the Western Saharan branch of the Saharan subgroup which also contains the Kanuri language, Kanembu language and Tebu languages.[2] Tebu is further divided into Tedaga and Dazaga. The Eastern Saharan branch includes the Zaghawa language and Berti language.[3]
Vocabulary
The dialects spoken in Chad and Niger have some French influence whereas the dialects spoken in Libya and Sudan have more of an Arabic influence. The Dazaga language is not a literary language and has a limited vocabulary. It adjusts to this by borrowing from other languages such as Arabic or French. For example, the word for "thank you" did not exist in Dazaga so the Arabic word "shokran" was incorporated into the language and is usually followed by the suffix "num" which acknowledges the second person. The majority of Dazaga speakers are bilingual in their native tongue along with either Arabic, French, Zaghawa, Hausa, Zarma, Kanuri or Tuareg.
The following tables contain words from the Daza dialect spoken in Omdurman, Sudan. This romanization is not standard.
Numbers
English | Dazaga | English | Dazaga |
---|---|---|---|
One | Tron | Eleven | Murdai sa Tron |
Two | Jow | Twelve | Murdai sa Jow |
Three | Aguzo | Thirteen | Murdai sa Aguzo |
Four | Twzo | Fourteen | Murdai sa Twzo |
Five | Foo | Fifteen | Murdai sa Foo |
Six | Disi | Sixteen | Murdai sa Disi |
Seven | Troso | Seventeen | Murdai sa Troso |
Eight | Woso | Eighteen | Murdai sa Woso |
Nine | Yisi | Nineteen | Murdai sa Yisi |
Ten | Murdum | Twenty | Digiram |
Thirty | Murtta Aguzo | Fifty | Murtta Foo |
Forty | Murtta Twzo | Hundred | Kidri |
Basic words and phrases
English | Dazaga | English | Dazaga |
---|---|---|---|
Man | Anji | Good Morning | Wasa Nisira |
Woman | Ari | Good Night | Kalar Dizoo |
Family | Ama Yaga | Thank you | Shukran Num |
Brother | Dinga | My name is... | Tan Sortango |
Sister | Duroo | What is your name? | Sornuma Jaa? |
Father | Abaa | How are you? | Inta wWsura? |
Mother | Ayi | I am well | Kala Layy or Tan Wasu |
Friend | Lwa | Please | jinda |
Life | Dina | Country | Ni |
Death | Nas | Religion | Din |
References
- ^ a b Daza at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Greenberg, Joseph H. 1963. The languages of Africa. International Journal of American Linguistics 29.1. Repr. The Hague: Mouton, 1966.
- ^ Cyffer, Norbert. 2000. Linguistic properties of the Saharan languages. Areal and Genetic Factors in Language Classification and Description: Africa South of the Sahara, ed. by Petr Zima, 30-59. Lincom Studies in African Linguistics 47. München: Lincom Europa
External links
- Relative Clauses in Dazaga [1]