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Komo Language[edit]
Introduction[edit]
Komo is an endangered Nilo-Saharan language of the Koman subset spoken in Western Ethiopia; Eastern Sudan and South Sudan. An estimate from 1971 places the number of Komo speakers in Ethiopia at 1500[1], and current publications estimate approximately 3000. The majority of Komo speakers are located in Sudan, with about 9000 speakers[2].
There are not many researchers who focus on Komo, or on the other Koman languages, however two phonological summaries have been published, although with slight differences in opinion regarding certain phonemes, as well as a study of the Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) system within the language. There have also been some studies regarding the syntax and grammar of the language, with attention paid to gender as well as nominal and verb morphology. Sociolinguistic studies in regards to how Komo speakers interact with speakers of other languages in the same region is also a topic of interest to researchers.
Geography[edit]
In Ethiopia, most speakers are located in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, specifically in the Mao Komo Special Wereda[3] however there are also some in the Gambela region[4]. In Sudan it can be found in the state of An Nil al Azraq and in South Sudan, the Upper Nile State[5]. Other Koman Languages, which are all spoken along the borders of Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan, are Uduk, Opuo, and Gwama, as well as a possibl extinct Koman language, Gule. However, there is some debate whether Gwama and Komo are two separate languages or two dialects of the same language[6], this confusion comes from the fact that Gwama may also be known as "Kwama" or the word may be the Gwama language word referging to the Komo language; while researchers do not agree on this point, they definitively agree that more research is needed on this subject[7].
The majority of research on Komo takes place in Ethiopia.
Phonology[edit]
Two phonological surveys of Komo have been published, with some degree of disagreement between the two. The data below is from the more recent of the two, published in 2006.
Consonants[edit]
The following table provides a summary of the consonants found in Komo.[6]
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiced | Voiceless | Ejective | Voiced | Implosive | Voiceless | Ejective | Voiceless | Voiced | Voiceless | Ejective | Voiceless | |
| Stop | b | p | p' | d | ɗ | t | t' | g | k | k' | ʔ | |
| Fricative | f | s | z | s' | ç | h | ||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||||||
| Approximant | w | ɹ | j | |||||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | |||||||||||
The voiced alveolar implosive [ɗ] does not occur word finally in Komo, and the velar nasal [ŋ] does not occur word initially. There have been cases of a palatal nasal [ɲ] and an alveolar trill [r] occurring word medially, however these are not considered distinct phonemes but rather the result of phonological processes. [6]
Consonant gemination is common word medially in Komo, however is not phonologically significant and therefore optional. It is not allowed word initially or finally.[6]
Consonant clusters are only allowed word medially in Komo, and can include a maximum of two consonants.[6]
Vowels[edit]
The following table provides a summary of the vowels found in Komo. [6]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i, ɪ | u, ʊ | |
| Mid | e | ə | ɔ, o |
| Low | a |
The first phonological survey of Komo concluded that there are only 5 vowels in Komo, as in the other Koman languages, however a more recent study discovered the presence of the additional open-mid rounded back vowel [ɔ] and the mid central schwa [ə]. Vowel length is not phonologically significant in Komo.[6]
In addition to the plain vowels, Komo has Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) vowels, the near high front vowel [ɪ] and the near high back vowel [ʊ] are considered to be the [+ATR] versions of [i] and [u] [3]. Like most languages with ATR vowels, Komo has a system of vowel harmony which means that the presence of absence of an ATR vowel in a word can change the other vowels in the word. Unlike most languages with ATR vowels, however, Komo displays two systems of vowel harmony, a rightward spread and a leftward spread. The triggers for vowel harmony in both systems are the high vowels. The [+ATR] feature spreads to the left, while the [-ATR] feature spreads to the right. [8]
Tone[edit]
Tone also plays an important role in Komo[3].There are 3 tone levels in Komo, low (L), medium (M) and high (H). Tone plays a role in verbal morphology. The majority of verbal roots in Komo are monosyllabic at one of the three tones, and when inflected with a single argument they display a pattern of tonal melody. Depending on the class of verb, the tone of the root verb may change depending on the tone of the morphemes that attach to it in relation to its class[1]
Syllables[edit]
Both codas and onsets are optional in Komo, therefore Komo allows the following syllable types[6]:
- V
- CV
- VC
- CVC
Orthography[edit]
An orthography for the Komo language has been conclusively constructed.[7] It is based on the Latin alphabet.[3]
Vowels: a, e, i, ɨ, o, u, ʉ[3]
Consonants: p, b, pp, m, w, t, d, tt, dd, ss, z, n, r, l, sh, y, k, g, kk, h[3]
In the orthography, the double consonants denote the ejective or implosive sounds. The "sh" letter combination denotes the palatal fricative.[3]
Sociolinguistics[edit]
The region of Western Ethiopia and Eastern Sudan hosts many ethnic and linguistic groups, many of which are closely related, therefore many sociological and linguistic studies of the region contradict one another. A large part of the confusion arises from ethnic identity versus linguistic identity, which may use the same words. Moreover, there is a disparity between self identification and outsider identification. Speakers of Komo self identify as ethnically Komo and are generally identified by others as ethnically Komo as well; however speakers of Gwama may self identify as either ethnically Komo or ethnically Mao, and are generally identified as ethnically Komo by the government. Gwama and Komo are related languages, having about 30% cognates with one another, however they are not mutually intelligable[7].
The Komo language is mentioned in the constitution of the Benishangul-Gumuz state of Ethiopia, and therefore it is actually warranted higher prestige than other surrounding languages. Moreover, because of this it is included as part of a multilingual education initiative in the region. Most education is in the region is in Amharic, the official language of the state and country, however the Komo ethnic group has the right to receive an education in Komo. Some writing workshops have been run in the Komo language, and an orthography has been conclusively decided[7], although many Komo speakers remain illeterate[9]. Even though Komo seems to politically be more prestigious, it is generally a minority language in villages with a Gwama speaking majority and most Komo speakers are bilingual in Gwama[7]. It is important to note that this situation appears to be reversed in Sudan, where Komo speakers outnumber Gwama speakers.[9]
Most Komo speakers are bilingual, because they live in close proximity to many other linguistic groups and, at least where research has been conducted in Ethiopia, there are no geographic pockets in which Komo is spoken exclusively. In general, the langauges that Komo speakers may be bilingual in are: Gwama, Oromo, or Amharic, although the latter is only likely in the case of people who have achieved a decent education. Amharic and English are assigned very high prestige by Komo speakers, as well as speakers of other minority languages in the region. Women are more likely to be monolingual than men, and younger people are more likely to be bilingual[9]. The Komo linguistic group has no qualms regarding intermarriage with people from other linguistic groups[4].
Grammar[edit]
This is a collaborative article and this section will be written by another student.
References [edit]
- ^ a b Otero, Manuel A. "Dual Number in Ethiopian Komo." Nilo-Saharan: Models and Descriptions. By Angelika Mietzner and Anne Storch. Cologne: Rudiger Koppe Verlag, 2015. 123-34. Print.
- ^ Otero, Manuel A. "Directional verb morphology in Ethiopian Komo." 12th NISA Linguistics Colloquium, Nairobi 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g Otero, Manuel A. (2014). "Notes from the Komo language Discover your Grammar Workshop."
- ^ a b Otero, Manuel A. 2015. Nominal morphology and ‘topic’ in Ethiopian Komo. In Osamu Hieda (ed.), Information Structure and Nilotic Languages, 19-35. Tokyo, Japan: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa.
- ^ "Komo." Ethnologue. N.p., n.d. Web.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Yehualashet, Teshome. "Remarks on the Phonology of Kwama/Komo (Nilo-Saharan)."Lissan: Journal of African Languages & Linguistics XX (2006): 141-48. Web.
- ^ a b c d e Kuspert, Klaus-Christian. "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi-Tongo Area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, and Distribution." Linguistic Discovery13.1 (2015): n. pag. Web.
- ^ Olejaczuk, Paul, et al. “Production and perception of the [ATR] vowel system in Ethiopian Komo.” 171st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. 23-27 May 2016. Poster presentation.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
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Additional Sources[edit]
These will be added to the References section as they are cited in the text of the full article. References above are only ones that are cited in the planned introduction/lead[edit]
Bender, M. L. “The Languages of Ethiopia: A New Lexicostatistic Classification and Some Problems of Diffusion.” Anthropological Linguistics, vol. 13, no. 5, 1971, pp. 165–288.[1]
Jordan, Linda, Hussein Mohammed, and Angela Davis. A Sociolinguistic Survey Report of the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo Speech Varieties of Western Ethiopia. N.p.: SIL International, 2011. Web.[2]
"Komo (Sudan)." Glottolog 2.7. N.p., n.d. Web.[3]
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- ^ Bender, M. L. “The Languages of Ethiopia: A New Lexicostatistic Classification and Some Problems of Diffusion.” Anthropological Linguistics, vol. 13, no. 5, 1971, pp. 165–288.
- ^ Jordan, Linda, Hussein Mohammed, and Angela Davis. A Sociolinguistic Survey Report of the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo Speech Varieties of Western Ethiopia. N.p.: SIL International, 2011. Web.
- ^ "Komo (Sudan)." Glottolog 2.7. N.p., n.d. Web.