Majang is a Nilo-Saharan language of the Surmic subfamily spoken in Southwest Ethiopia. This language provides an interesting subject for phonological, morphosyntactic and pragmatic studies,... Show moreMajang is a Nilo-Saharan language of the Surmic subfamily spoken in Southwest Ethiopia. This language provides an interesting subject for phonological, morphosyntactic and pragmatic studies, particularly from a typological perspective. Majang is a tonal language with two tones and two different sources of non-automatic downstep; the tones distinguish meaning both in the lexicon and in the grammar. As would be expected from an Eastern-Sudanic language, Majang features an intricate number-marking system, where numerous inflectional strategies are chosen for the different nouns of the lexicon. This number marking interacts with the case marking of Majang, which is one of the few African languages with clearly manifested ergative-absolutive structures, balanced by an alternative system with nominative-absolutive markings; the deciding factor between the two systems is deeply grounded in the pragmatic context of the predications. The topicality of constituents not only influences the case-marking strategies, but has further manifestations in a topicality-based sentence-final marker and in a syntactic distinction mostly known from Bantu languages, the conjoint-disjoint distinction. This language description covers a wide range of topics: sociolinguistics, phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatics, supplemented by two interlinearized texts and two wordlists (Majang-English and English-Majang). Show less
This study is the first-ever attempt at a comprehensive grammatical description of Hamar, a language spoken in South West Ethiopia by approximately 46.500 people. The study is based on 9... Show moreThis study is the first-ever attempt at a comprehensive grammatical description of Hamar, a language spoken in South West Ethiopia by approximately 46.500 people. The study is based on 9 months of fieldwork carried out between 2012 and 2014 in Hamar territories. Language data was gathered from 14 native speakers in Hamar villages, and it amounts to 50 texts of varying lengths and genres. The grammar investigates the phonology, the morphology, the syntax and some pragmatic and discourse related features of Hamar and it is organized in 13 chapters followed by three appendices: appendix A and B consist of a selected lexicon of circa 1400 entries, appendix C includes three annotated Hamar texts. Hamar is a fascinating language and it has revealed unique typological features: the noun classification system of Hamar for instance is a rare example of ʻnon-fixedʼ gender system, i.e. a system in which gender is not an inherent property of nouns, but optional. The grammar is of interests to typologists but also to linguists interested in comparative Afro-Asiatic studies: the grammar offers an overview of the classificatory issue of Hamar and South Omotic languages, and it includes an updated comparative list of South Omotic lexicon. Show less
The Ik language (Icé-tód), spoken in northeast Uganda, forms the Kuliak(Rub) subgroup along with So/Tepeth and Nyang’í. These latter two lectshave already succombed to assimilative pressures from... Show moreThe Ik language (Icé-tód), spoken in northeast Uganda, forms the Kuliak(Rub) subgroup along with So/Tepeth and Nyang’í. These latter two lectshave already succombed to assimilative pressures from neighboring Niloticpastoralists like the Karimojong, Turkana, and Pokot. Despite similarsociolinguistic circumstances, Ik has so far held up and still remains vital asthe mother-tongue of hundreds of young children. Since Ik is the lastmember of a waning subgroup, its documentation and description mayprovide key pieces to the puzzle of East African linguistic and ethnic prehistory. The complexity of this prehistory is embodied in Ik grammar which shows many traits shared with languages in both Afroasistic and Nilo- Saharan language families. And so a full grammatical treatment of Ik can shed some needed light on the classification of other language groups.To that end, this study offers a comprehensive but balanced grammatical analysis of Ik. It covers the basics of the Ik sociolinguistic milieu, genetic classification, phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. Of particular typological interest are Ik’s unusual systems of vowel harmony, tone, and case, as well as the syntax of subordinate clauses, the grammaticalization of case in the verbal system, and sequential and simultaneous clause chains. Other fascinating topics include pre-pause devoicing, frozen prefixes, tensed modifiers, non-canonical passives, and an irrealis-realis modal distinction. Lastly, between the grammar and lexicon is provided a collection of five culturally relevant Ik texts as holistic examples of Ik in its natural context. Show less
