Laro language

Not to be confused with Laru language or Laro language (Papua New Guinea).

Laro
Native to	Sudan
Region	Nuba Hills
Ethnicity	Laro
Native speakers	40,000 (2010)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Talodi–Heiban Heiban Central Heiban Laro–Ebang Laro
Language codes
ISO 639-3	lro
Glottolog	laro1243
ELP	Laro
Laro is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Laro, also Laru, Aaleira, Ngwullaro, Yillaro, is a Niger–Congo language in the Heiban family spoken in the Nuba Mountains in Kordofan, Sudan.

Villages are Oya, Rodong (Hajar Medani), Hajar Baco, Gunisaia, Serif, Tondly, Reli, Lagau (Serfinila), Getaw (Hajar Tiya), and Orme (Ando) (Ethnologue, 22nd edition).

"Laru [lro] is a Niger-Kordofanian language in the Heiban group (Schadeberg 1981) that includes the languages Heiban, Moro, Otoro, Kwalib, Tira, Hadra, and Shoai. The three main dialects of Laru are Yilaru, Yïdündïlï and Yogo'romany. The last two are close to the neighbouring language of Kwalib, and the intelligibility between them is high. This presentation is based on the first dialect—Yilaru."(Abdalla 2015:1)

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant Phonemes
	bilabial	dental	alveolar	palatal	velar	labialised velar
voiceless plositives	p	t²	t³	c	k	(kw)
voiced plosives	b	d⁴	ɖ	ɟ	ɡ	(gw)
nasals	m		n	ɲ	ŋ	(ŋw)
prenasalized plosives	mb	nd		ɲf	ŋɡ	(ŋgw)
approxiamants	w		l	j
flap			ɽ
trill			r

    (Consonant Phonemes in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015: 2)

There are five locations in the mouth where speech sounds are produced, specifically at the lips (bilabial), against the teeth (dental), on the ridge behind the upper front teeth (alveolar), on the hard palate (palatal), and at the back of the mouth against the soft palate (velar). The consonants in this language can be categorized into 10 obstruents (consonants with a constriction of airflow), 4 nasals (consonants produced with airflow through the nose), 3 approximants (consonants produced with minimal constriction), and 2 rhotics (consonants with a quality similar to the English "r"). These categories are outlined in Table 1 according to Abdalla and Stirtz (2005). It's noteworthy that labialized consonants, occurring exclusively in prefixes, are enclosed in parentheses.（Abdalla 2015: 1-2）

Vowel

Vowel Insertion
a	ɡ-ɲɛ̀n     →  ɡˈɪɲɛ̀n	'CM-dog'
b	ɡ-bəɽu    →  ɡˈbəɽu	'CM-cloud'
c	ɡ-ɛn      →  ɡɛn	'CM-mountain'

(Vowel Insertion in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015: 3)

Laru has an 8-vowel system. The vowels are presented in two sets in Table , where [ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ] are [-ATR] and [i ə u] are [+ATR].(Abdalla 2015:2)

Only vowels with the same [ATR] value can occur together in the same root word. The [+ATR] vowel quality is dominant in Laru, spreading to both prefixes and suffixes from both noun and verb roots, as well as spreading from verb suffixes to the root (Abdalla 2012).

Vowel Elision

A linguistic phenomenon called "vowel elision" in the language being studied. Vowel elision occurs when two vowels are joined together through affixation, which means adding a prefix or suffix to a word.The language does not allow vowel sequences, which means that two vowels cannot appear next to each other in a word. To prevent a sequence of two vowels from occurring, the first of the two vowels is elided, which means it is deleted or omitted from the word.

Examples: Vowel Elision:

a. daɽɪ  -  ala →  daɽala  ‘on the tree’

b. ɡʊlʊ  - ala →   ɡʊlala  ‘on the fence’

(Abdalla 2015: 3)

This process of vowel elision often occurs in connected speech as a way of simplifying pronunciation and facilitating smoother transitions between words. It is a common phonological phenomenon in many languages.

• in this case, the vowel "ʊ" from the first word "kʊtu" is elided when it combines with the second word "ala."
• the vowel "ʊ" from the first word "ɡʊlʊ" is elided when it combines with the second word "ala."

These examples demonstrate the phenomenon of vowel elision, where a vowel is dropped or omitted to facilitate smoother pronunciation in connected speech.

Grammar

Locatives

Locatives
Locative	Gloss	Meaning
-ala	'on.above'	above the ground level
-alu	'on.level'	on the ground level
-anʊ	'under, inside'	under the ground level, inside
nɔnɔ	'around'	around the ground level

(Locatives in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015: 3)

• The locatives -ala and -alʊ specify positions above and on the ground level, respectively.
• The locative -anʊ denotes being under the ground level or inside something.
• The locative nɔnɔ indicates a position around the ground level.
• These locatives offer a way to express and understand spatial relationships and locations within the language.

The discussion now shifts to locatives after briefly covering some phonological features. Locatives play a crucial role in describing the position or location of objects within the language. Table Locatives presents three locative enclitics and one unbound locative word, each serving to convey different spatial relationships. These locatives are attached to various word categories to provide specific information about the placement or orientation of objects in the linguistic context.(Abdalla 2015: 4)

Noun Classes

Noun Classes
Class	Class markers	Singualr	Plural	Gloss	Semantic area
1-2	d-/ŋʷ-	dìɟì	ŋʷùɟì	person	big things
3-4	l-/ŋʷ-	lə̀blə̀ⁿdí	ŋʷə̀blə̀ⁿdí	rifle	hollow,,round things
5-6	ɡ-/j-	ɡìɟì	jìɟì	child	small, thin, long, pointed things
7	j-	jáʷ		water	liquids, abstract things
8-9	-0/-ŋə	mə́	mə̀ŋə́	grandmother	relational terms

(Noun Classes in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015: 4)

The Laru language employs a sophisticated noun class system with nine classes, categorizing nouns into five distinct semantic areas, as outlined in Table 4. The first two classes are designated for substantial entities, encompassing individuals, trees, and animals. Moving to the third and fourth classes, the focus shifts to objects characterized as hollow or round. Classes five and six are designated for diminutive entities, referring to items that are small, thin, long, or pointed. The seventh class encompasses nouns related to liquids and abstract concepts or ideas. Lastly, the eighth and ninth classes are devoted to relational nominals, including pronouns and terms related to kinship.(Abdalla 2015: 4)

Noun Roots

The table shows minimal and contrastive pairs of noun roots in Laru language.

vowels	Laru	English	Laru	English
ɪ-ɛ	d-ìl	‘horn’	d-ɛ̀l	‘well'
	dˈ-ɽɪ́	k.o.stick	g'-ɽɛ́	‘k.o.tree'
	d-ìrà	‘lion’	g-ɛ̀rá	‘girl’
	g-ìlíɲ	‘k.o.mushroom'	d-ɛ̀lɛ́ɲ	‘chief
	d'-l:í	‘shoulder'	ǀˈ-ǀːɛ́	‘grinding  stone’
ɛ-a	j-ɛ̀n	‘mountains’	j-àn	‘milk’
	g'-ɽɛ̀	‘tree'	gˈ-ɽà	‘head’
	ɡ-ɛ̀rá	‘girl’	g-ɛ̀rɛ́	‘sky’
	d-ɔ̀rɛ́	‘basket'	d-ɔ̀rá	‘anus’
	g-ɔ̀ɽɛ̀	‘shelter'	g-ɔra	‘k.o.wood'
a-ɔ	j-àn	‘milk’	j-ɔn	‘grain
ɔ-ʊ	d-ɔ̀ɽá	‘thresher'	d-ʊ̀ɽà	‘winder'
	d-ɔ̀rá	‘anus’	d-ʊ̀rà	‘magic stick
	g-ɔ̀bɔ̀	‘temple'	g-ʊ̀bʊ̀	‘compound’
	g-ɔ̀ʈà	‘k.o.fruit’	g-ʊ̀dá	‘k.o.fruit'
	g-ɔ̀ɲ	‘thing	g-ʊ̀ɲ	‘veranda’
ɪ -i	d-ìrìɲ	'waist	d-ìrìɲ	‘boar'
a-ə	d-àmà	‘locust’	d-ə̀mə̀	‘wound'
	d-ádáɲ	‘knife’	d-ə́də́ɲ	‘cave lizard’
	g-áɲá	‘grass	d-ə̀ɲə̀	'vegetables
	d'-ráɲ	‘k.o.grass’	dˈ-rə́ŋ	‘seal of bee'
	g'-ɽà	‘head’	g'-ɽə́	‘bird’
ʊ -u	g'-lʊ̀	‘clay	d'-lù	‘smoke'
	g'ɟʊ̀r	‘stream’	d'-ɟúr	‘rock’
	g'-bʊ̀ŋ	'hole in tree'	g'-bùŋ	‘pool’
	d-ʊ̀wà	‘buffalo’	d-úwə́	‘moon’
	g-úwá	‘root’	g-úwə́	‘he-goat’

(Noun Roots in Laru Vowel Harmony from Abdalla 2012: 28)

Affixes of Nouns

The possible prefixes, suffixes and enclitics on nouns are shown in Table.

Affixes of Nouns
Direction Marker	Class Marker		Accuative Marker	Locative
ɡ-	d-	Root	-ɲ	-ala
ⁿd-	ɡ-		-u	-alʊ
	ŋʷ-
C length	l-			-anʊ
	j- ŋʷ-

(Affixes of Nouns in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015:7)

Verbs

Affixes of verbs

These tables provide insights into various aspects of verb morphology in the language, encompassing subject agreement, finite markers, derivational morphemes, and locative enclitics. They offer a comprehensive view of how verbs are structured and used in the language, serving as valuable information for linguists or learners interested in understanding the language's grammatical features.

• inite markers provide information about the type of action, whether it is continuous, perfective, or in the default form.
• Derivational morphemes add various nuances to the verbs, such as reflexiveness, passiveness, manipulative actions, reciprocity, directive actions, simultaneous actions, repetitive actions, and causation.
• Locative enclitics provide information about the location or direction of the action.

Affixes of verbs
Subject Agreement		Finite Markers	Derivational Morphemes	Locative Enclitics
ɡ-	ROOT	-di(transitive continuative)	-nɪ (REF)	-ala 'on.above'
ɡw-		-ti(transitive perfective)	- ni (PASS)	-alu 'on.level'
l-		-u(default)	-ɟɪ (MAN)	-anu 'inside, under'
ŋw-			-dɪ (REC)
d-			-cɪ (DIR)
			-tɪ (SIM)
			-ʈɪ (REP)
			-jɪ (CAU)

(Affixes of verbs in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015: 14)

The table has five columns: Subject Agreement, Finite Markers, Derivational Morphemes, Locative Enclitics, and Locative Enclitics.

Derivated Verb Forms

This table illustrates derived verb forms in the language, including various suffixes and their functions. Each row provides examples of infinitive verb glosses and their corresponding derived verb glosses after applying the specified suffixes.

Derivated Verb Forms
Suffix	Function	Infinitive Verb	Gloss	Derivated verb	Gloss
-nɪ	reflexive (REF)	èŋɡá	'to see'	èŋɡà-nɪ́	'to look at oneself'
-ni	passive (PASS)	lɛ̀ŋɛ́	'to know'	lɛ̀ŋɛ̀-ní	'to be known'
-ɟɪ	manipulative (MAN)	rʊ́	'to be'	rʊ̀-ɟɪ́	'to make to be'
-dɪ	reciprocal (REC)	pí	'to beat'	pɪ̀-dɪ́	'to fight each other'
-cɪ	directive (DIR)	màní	'to cook'	mànɪ̀-cɪ́	'to cook for someone'
-ti	simultaneous (SIM)	lʊ́	'to dig'	lʊ̀-tí	'to dig'
-ʈi	repetitive (REP)	ùɽí	'to cut'	ùɽì-ʈí	'to cut several times'
-jɪ	causative (CAU)	rɪ̀tɪ́	'to play'	rɪ̀tɪ̀-jɪ́	'to cause something to play'

(Derivated Verb Forms in Laru Locatives, adapted from Abdalla 2015:13)

• The table demonstrates the versatility of these derivational suffixes in altering the meaning of verbs.
• Each suffix introduces a specific semantic function, such as reflexiveness, passiveness, manipulative actions, reciprocity, directive actions, simultaneous actions, repetitive actions, and causation.
• These derivational forms contribute to the expressiveness and precision of the language, allowing speakers to convey a wide range of nuanced actions and relationships between actions.

References

Abdalla Kuku, Nabil (2012), Laru vowel harmony. Occasional Papers in the study of Sudanese Languages 10:17-35.

Abdalla Kuku, Nabil (2015), Laru Locatives. Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages 11:1-16.

Schadeberg, Thilo C. (1981), A Survey of Kordofanian Volume 1: The Heiban Group. Helmut Buske: Hamburg.

External links

• Laru (Laro) basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database