The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic

The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic PDF Author: Richard Gravina
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789460931574
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
The Central Chadic languages are a diverse and fascinating collection of languages, spoken in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The phonologies of these languages have intrigued linguists since they were first studied, due to their minimal sets of phonemic vowels (sometimes only one), complex systems of vowel harmony, and extensive use of palatalized and labialized consonants. Analysis of these languages led to the proposal of phonemic units referred to as ‘prosodies’, which act on both vowels and consonants, allowing Central Chadic phonologies to be described in a neat and succinct way. 0This study looks at the diverse phonological systems found within Central Chadic, and reconstructs the phonological system of their ancestor language. This system is itself simple and succinct, and includes one phonemic prosody and just three phonemic vowels. The study describes the phonological processes that led from this system to the many phonological systems that are in use today, shedding light both on the history of the languages, and on issues in the analysis of these languages.

The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic

The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic PDF Author: Richard Gravina
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789460931574
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
The Central Chadic languages are a diverse and fascinating collection of languages, spoken in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The phonologies of these languages have intrigued linguists since they were first studied, due to their minimal sets of phonemic vowels (sometimes only one), complex systems of vowel harmony, and extensive use of palatalized and labialized consonants. Analysis of these languages led to the proposal of phonemic units referred to as ‘prosodies’, which act on both vowels and consonants, allowing Central Chadic phonologies to be described in a neat and succinct way. 0This study looks at the diverse phonological systems found within Central Chadic, and reconstructs the phonological system of their ancestor language. This system is itself simple and succinct, and includes one phonemic prosody and just three phonemic vowels. The study describes the phonological processes that led from this system to the many phonological systems that are in use today, shedding light both on the history of the languages, and on issues in the analysis of these languages.

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic PDF Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009021443
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 495

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Book Description
Of all of the African language families, the Chadic languages belonging to the Afroasiatic macro-family are highly internally diverse due to a long history and various scenarios of language contact. This pioneering study explores the development of the sound systems of the 'Central Chadic' languages, a major branch of the Chadic family. Drawing on and comparing field data from about 60 different Central Chadic languages, H. Ekkehard Wolff unpacks the specific phonological principles that underpin the Chadic languages' diverse phonological evolution, arguing that their diversity results to no little extent from historical processes of 'prosodification' of reconstructable segments of the proto-language. The book offers meticulous historical analyses of some 60 words from Proto-Central Chadic, in up to 60 individual modern languages, including both consonants and vowels. Particular emphasis is on tracing the deep-rooted origin and impact of palatalisation and labialisation prosodies within a phonological system that, on its deepest level, recognises only one vowel phoneme */a/.

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic PDF Author: Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781009010672
Category : LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"Of all of the African language families, the Chadic languages belonging to the Afroasiatic macrofamily are highly internally diverse due to a long history and various scenarios of language contact. This pioneering study explores the development of the sound systems of the 'Central Chadic' languages, a major branch of the Chadic family. Drawing on and comparing field data from 60 different Central Chadic languages, H. Ekkehard Wolff unpacks the specific phonological principles that underpin the Chadic languages' diverse phonological evolution, arguing that their diversity resultsw from historical processes of 'prosodification' of reconstructable segments of the proto-language. It offers meticulous historical analyses of 64 words from Proto-Central Chadic, into up to 60 individual modern languages, including both consonants and vowels. Particular emphasis is on tracing the deep-rooted origin and impact of palatalization and labialization prosodies within a phonological system that, on its deepest level, recognizes only one vowel phoneme"--

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic PDF Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher:
ISBN: 1009346350
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Due to a long history of contact, the Chadic languages are the internally most diverse of the Afroasiatic language families, especially in terms of their sound systems. In this ground-breaking study, the author draws on his extensive research experience to unpack the morpho-phonological principles that underpin the languages' diverse prosody effects, arguing that massive variation results from diachronic processes called 'prosodification' of segmental units. The study compares data from 66 of the 79 known languages from the Central branch of the Chadic language family, most of them unwritten and under-researched. It traces language changes for 228 lexical items that can be reconstructed from the proto-language's basic vocabulary, unearthing typological features that link Central Chadic to its deep Afroasiatic heritage. It is accompanied by a set of online appendixes, providing the full analytical apparatus of all lexical reconstructions, with explicit identification of each of the diachronic sound changes and processes involved.

The Phonology of Two Central Chadic Languages

The Phonology of Two Central Chadic Languages PDF Author: Tony Smith
Publisher: Publications in Linguistics (S
ISBN: 9781556712319
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
The Phonology of Two Central Chadic Languages: These two phonologies of the Chadic languages Muyang and Mbuko present typologically unusual data, the bulk of which is found in the vowel systems. Prosodies of labialization and palatalization can span entire words, affecting both vowels and consonants. Morphemes are of three types: neutral, labialized, and palatalized. At a deep level, these languages have only one or two basic vowels; all other vowel qualities result from the interplay of other factors. The labialization and palatalization prosodies do not operate identically, but may co-occur in Muyang, and possibly in Mbuko. The consonantal and tonal systems also have points of interest. Both Muyang and Mbuko have lateral fricatives, implosive stops and prenasalized voiced stops. Both have three tone levels but no contour tones or downstep. Voiced obstruents and voiced fricatives in Muyang and Mbuko are tonal depressors. These phonologies are written in a broadly generative rule-based framework, but theorists from various persuasions will find much of interest, including Muyang labialization patterns related to adjacency and consonant/prosody/vowel interactions, Mbuko tones and adjacency, and a Muyang [+cor] autosegment causative morpheme. The works in this volume are the result of years of intensive contact with the speakers of Muyang and Mbuko by the authors.

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic PDF Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316519546
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 495

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Book Description
Drawing on extensive field data, this groundbreaking work explores the development of the sound systems of Central Chadic languages.

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic PDF Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009346393
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
Based on the author's life-long research experience, this book unearths the linguistic history of under-researched Central Chadic languages.

Phonological Typology

Phonological Typology PDF Author: Larry M. Hyman
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311045193X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
Despite earlier work by Trubetzkoy, Jakobson and Greenberg, phonological typology is often underrepresented in typology textbooks. At the same time, most phonologists do not see a difference between phonological typology and cross-linguistic (formal) phonology. The purpose of this book is to bring together leading scholars to address the issue of phonological typology, both in terms of the unity and the diversity of phonological systems.

The Oxford Handbook of Vowel Harmony

The Oxford Handbook of Vowel Harmony PDF Author: Nancy A. Ritter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192561472
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1153

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Book Description
This handbook provides a detailed account of the phenomenon of vowel harmony, a pattern according to which all vowels within a word must agree for some phonological property or properties. Vowel harmony has been central in the development of phonological theories thanks to its cluster of remarkable properties, notably its typically 'unbounded' character and its non-locality, and because it forms part of the phonology of most world languages. The five parts of this volume cover all aspects of vowel harmony from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Part I outlines the types of vowel harmony and some unusual cases, before Part II explores structural issues such as vowel inventories, the interaction of vowel harmony and morphological structure, and locality. The chapters in Part III provide an overview of the various theoretical accounts of the phenomenon, as well as bringing in insights from language acquisition and psycholinguistics, while Part IV focuses on the historical life cycle of vowel harmony, looking at topics such as phonetic factors and the effect of language contact. The final part contains 31 chapters that present data and analysis of vowel harmony across all major language families as well as several isolates, constituting the broadest coverage of the phenomenon to date.

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic PDF Author: Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781009346405
Category : Chadic languages
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Based on the author's life-long research experience, this book unearths the linguistic history of 66 unwritten and under-researched Central Chadic languages in West- and Central Africa. It describes the complex historical development of the modern languages from the common proto-language and reconstructs 228 lexical items of their basic vocabulary"--