T’ambaaro phonology

  • Ongaye Oda Orkaydo Dilla University

Abstract

This article describes the phonology of T’ambaaro, a Highland East Cushitic language of the Afro-asiatic phylum spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The language has twenty-four consonant phonemes, and five oral vowels and one nasal vowel whose phonemic status is not safely established. The oral vowels are typical Cushitic vowels occurring short and long. In T’ambaaro, except the phonemes/h/ and /f/ which never occur geminate, the rest of the consonant phonemes appeargeminate, but that is only in word medial position. The palatal nasal and the voiceless, alveo-palatal affricate never occur as a single consonant, but only as a geminate consonant. Gemination and vowel length are phonemic in the language. Consonant cluster are allowed only in word medial position with a maximum of two consonants. Some consonants and vowels appear in free variation, but it is very difficult to formulate a systematic rule that captures the phenomenon. The phonology has phonological processes such as assimilation, epenthesis, deletion, and metathesis. T’ambaaro is not a tonal language, but seems a pitch accent language which is difficult to establish a rule for at this stage.

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Author Biography

Ongaye Oda Orkaydo, Dilla University

Ongaye Oda Orkaydo is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Dilla University, Ethiopia. He received his PhD in Linguistics from the University of Leiden in 2013. Currently, he is a researcher in the Institute of Indigenous Studies (IIS) at Dilla University. He has national and international teaching experiences in linguistics. He has written grammars of Konso (2013), K’abeena (2014), Silt’e (2018), Hoor (Arbore) (2021), and (co-)published several articles in reputable international journals, and in conference proceedings. His research interests include grammar writing, dictionary making, mother tongue education (planning, implementation and evaluation), language and nature, indigenous conflict resolution mechanism, cross-border trade, regional economic integration, and organizational performance. He was a visiting fellow at the University of Turin, 2016, and at the African Studies Centre, The Netherlands, 2018. He is a member of the scientific board of Kervan – International Journal of Afro-asiatic Studies. He can be reached at: ongayeoda@yahoo.com

Published
2021-10-24
Section
Articles