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Majang language

January 07, 2023

The Majang language is spoken by the Majangir people of Ethiopia. Although it is a member of the Surmic language cluster, it is the most isolated one in the group (Fleming 1983). A language survey has shown that dialect variation from north to south is minor and does not seriously impede communication. The 2007 Ethiopian Census lists 6,433 speakers for Majang (Messengo), but also reports that the ethnic group consists of 32,822 individuals (Messengo and Mejengir).[2] According to the census, almost no speakers can be found in Mezhenger Zone of Gambela Region; a total of eleven speakers are listed for the zone, but almost 10,000 ethnic Mejenger or Messengo people.[3]

Majang
Ato Majanger-Onk
Native toEthiopia
RegionGodere, Gambela Region
EthnicityMajang people
Native speakers
33,000 (2007 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3mpe
Glottologmaja1242
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
Title page of the New Testament in the Majang language, 2018

Phonology

Vowels of Majang[4]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

Vowel length is distinctive in Majang, so all vowels come in pairs of long and short, such as goopan 'punishment' and gopan 'road'. The vowel inventory is taken out of Joswig (2012) and Getachew (2014, p. 65). Unseth (2007) posed a 9-vowel system with a row of -ATR closed vowels ɪ and ʊ. Moges [5] claims a tenth vowel ɐ, whereas Bender (1983) was only ready to confirm six vowels. All authors agree that there is no ATR vowel harmony in the language.

Consonants of Majang[6]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t tʃ k
voiced b d dʒ ɡ
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Tap r
Approximant l j w

Bender[7] also claims that the glottal stop [ʔ] needs to be treated as a phoneme of Majang though Unseth refutes this.[8] Majang has two implosives, bilabial and coronal, which Moges Yigezu has studied acoustically and distributionally.[9]

Prosodic Features

Tones distinguish meaning in Majang,[10] on both the word level and the grammatical level: táŋ (higher tone) 'cow', tàŋ (lower tone) 'abscess'. The tonal inventory consists of two tone levels, with falling and rising contour tones possible at the end of phonological words, plus automatic and non-automatic downstep. [11]

Morphology

The language has markers to indicate three different past tenses (close, mid, far past) and two future tenses (near and farther).[12]

The language has a wide variety of suffixes, but almost no prefixes. Though its use is limited to a handful of roots, there are a few words that preserve vestiges of the archaic causative prefix i-, a prefix found in other Surmic languages and also Nilotic.[13]

The counting system is a modified vigesimal system, based on 5, 10, and 20. "Twenty" is 'one complete person' (all fingers and toes), so 40 is 'two complete people', 100 is 'five complete people'. However, today, under the influence of schools and increased bilingualism, people generally use the Amharic or Oromo words for 100.

The person and number marking system does not mark the inclusive and exclusive we distinction,[14] a morphological category that is found in nearby and related languages.

Syntax

Majang has a basic VSO word order,[15] though allowing some flexibility for focus, etc. The language makes extensive use of relative clauses, including for circumstances where English would use adjectives.[16] A recent study[17] states that Majang is characterized by a strong morphological ergative-absolutive system, and a conjoint-disjoint distinction which is based on the presence or absence of an absolutive noun phrase directly following the verb. Many of these distinctions are coded by tonal differences.[18]

Majang, and some related Surmic languages, has been shown to be exceptional to some syntactic typological predictions for languages with Subject–verb–object word order.[19] Majang has postpositions and question words sentence-finally, two properties that had been predicted to not occur in languages with VSO word order.

See also

  • Shabo word list (Wiktionary) [contains a word list of Majang]

References

  1. ^ Majang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ 2007 Census countrywide
  3. ^ 2007 Census Gambella Region
  4. ^ Joswig (2012), p. 264
  5. ^ Moges (2007), p.114
  6. ^ Unseth (1991), p. 526
  7. ^ Bender (1983), p. 116
  8. ^ Unseth(1991), p. 533
  9. ^ Moges Yigezu. 2006. The Phonetic Characterization of implosives in Majang, a Northern Surmic language. Proceedings of the XVth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, edited by Siegbert Uhlig, pp. 822-830. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
  10. ^ Bender (1983), p. 117
  11. ^ Joswig 2015b
  12. ^ Bender (1983), p. 132
  13. ^ Unseth (1998)
  14. ^ Bender (1983), p. 128
  15. ^ Getachew 2014, p. 193
  16. ^ Unseth(1989)
  17. ^ Joswig (2015a)
  18. ^ Joswig (2015a)
  19. ^ Jon Arensen, Nicky de Jong, Scott Randal, Peter Unseth. 1997. Interrogatives in Surmic Languages and Greenberg's Universals. Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages 7:71-90.

Bibliography

  • Bender, M. Lionel. 1983. "Majang Phonology and Morphology," in M. Lionel Bender, (ed.), Nilo-Saharan Language Studies, pp. 114–47. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, African Studies Center.
  • Fleming, Harold. 1983. "Surmic etymologies" in Rainer Vossen and Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst (eds.),Nilotic Studies: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Languages and History of the Nilotic Peoples. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. pp. 524–555.
  • Getachew Anteneh Yigzaw. 2014. Grammatical Description and Documentation of Majang. Ph.D. Thesis. Addis Ababa University. hdl:123456789/16341
  • Joswig, Andreas. 2012. "The Vowels of Majang" in Brenzinger, Matthias and Anne-Maria Fehn (eds.), Proceedings of the 6th World Congress of African Linguistics, Cologne 2009. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. pp. 263–267.
  • Joswig, Andreas. 2015a: "Syntactic Sensitivity and Preferred Clause Structure in Majang" in Angelika Mietzner, Anne Storch (eds.): Nilo-Saharan: Models and Descriptions. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, pp. 169–176.
  • Joswig, Andreas. 2015b: The Basics of Majang Tone. SIL International.
  • Joswig, Andreas. 2019. The Majang Language. Ph.D. Thesis. Leiden University. published by Amsterdam: LOT Publications. hdl:1887/73814
  • Moges Yigezu. 2007. "The Phonetics and Phonology of Majang Vowels: A Historical-Comparative Perspective” in Doris Payne and Mechthild Reh (eds.), Advances in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. pp. 255–265.
  • Unseth, Peter. 1988. "Majang Nominal Plurals: With Comparative Notes," Studies in African Linguistics 19.1:75-91.
  • Unseth, Peter. 1989. "Sketch of Majang Syntax," in M. Lionel Bender (ed.), Topics in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics. (Nilo-Saharan: Linguistic Analyses and Documentation, vol. 3. Series editor Franz Rottland.) Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. pp. 97–127.
  • Unseth, Peter. 1991. "Consonant Sequences and Morphophonemics in Majang" in Richard Pankhurst, Ahmed Zekaria and Taddese Beyene (eds.), Proceedings of the First National Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies. pp. 525–534.
  • Unseth, Peter. 1998. "Two Old Causative Affixes in Surmic," in Gerrit Dimmendaal (ed.), Surmic Languages and Cultures. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. pp. 113–126.
  • Unseth, Peter. 2007. "Mağaŋgir language" in ed. by Siegbert Uhlig (ed.) Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, Vol 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 627–629.

External links

January 07, 2023
majang, language, spoken, majangir, people, ethiopia, although, member, surmic, language, cluster, most, isolated, group, fleming, 1983, language, survey, shown, that, dialect, variation, from, north, south, minor, does, seriously, impede, communication, 2007,. The Majang language is spoken by the Majangir people of Ethiopia Although it is a member of the Surmic language cluster it is the most isolated one in the group Fleming 1983 A language survey has shown that dialect variation from north to south is minor and does not seriously impede communication The 2007 Ethiopian Census lists 6 433 speakers for Majang Messengo but also reports that the ethnic group consists of 32 822 individuals Messengo and Mejengir 2 According to the census almost no speakers can be found in Mezhenger Zone of Gambela Region a total of eleven speakers are listed for the zone but almost 10 000 ethnic Mejenger or Messengo people 3 MajangAto Majanger OnkNative toEthiopiaRegionGodere Gambela RegionEthnicityMajang peopleNative speakers33 000 2007 census 1 Language familyNilo Saharan Eastern SudanicSurmicNorthern SurmicMajangLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code mpe class extiw title iso639 3 mpe mpe a Glottologmaja1242This article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA Title page of the New Testament in the Majang language 2018 Contents 1 Phonology 1 1 Prosodic Features 2 Morphology 3 Syntax 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksPhonology EditVowels of Majang 4 Front Central BackClose i uClose mid e oOpen mid ɛ ɔOpen aVowel length is distinctive in Majang so all vowels come in pairs of long and short such as goopan punishment and gopan road The vowel inventory is taken out of Joswig 2012 and Getachew 2014 p 65 Unseth 2007 posed a 9 vowel system with a row of ATR closed vowels ɪ and ʊ Moges 5 claims a tenth vowel ɐ whereas Bender 1983 was only ready to confirm six vowels All authors agree that there is no ATR vowel harmony in the language Consonants of Majang 6 Labial Alveolar Palatal VelarNasal m n ɲ ŋStop voiceless p t tʃ kvoiced b d dʒ ɡImplosive ɓ ɗTap rApproximant l j wBender 7 also claims that the glottal stop ʔ needs to be treated as a phoneme of Majang though Unseth refutes this 8 Majang has two implosives bilabial and coronal which Moges Yigezu has studied acoustically and distributionally 9 Prosodic Features Edit Tones distinguish meaning in Majang 10 on both the word level and the grammatical level taŋ higher tone cow taŋ lower tone abscess The tonal inventory consists of two tone levels with falling and rising contour tones possible at the end of phonological words plus automatic and non automatic downstep 11 Morphology EditThe language has markers to indicate three different past tenses close mid far past and two future tenses near and farther 12 The language has a wide variety of suffixes but almost no prefixes Though its use is limited to a handful of roots there are a few words that preserve vestiges of the archaic causative prefix i a prefix found in other Surmic languages and also Nilotic 13 The counting system is a modified vigesimal system based on 5 10 and 20 Twenty is one complete person all fingers and toes so 40 is two complete people 100 is five complete people However today under the influence of schools and increased bilingualism people generally use the Amharic or Oromo words for 100 The person and number marking system does not mark the inclusive and exclusive we distinction 14 a morphological category that is found in nearby and related languages Syntax EditMajang has a basic VSO word order 15 though allowing some flexibility for focus etc The language makes extensive use of relative clauses including for circumstances where English would use adjectives 16 A recent study 17 states that Majang is characterized by a strong morphological ergative absolutive system and a conjoint disjoint distinction which is based on the presence or absence of an absolutive noun phrase directly following the verb Many of these distinctions are coded by tonal differences 18 Majang and some related Surmic languages has been shown to be exceptional to some syntactic typological predictions for languages with Subject verb object word order 19 Majang has postpositions and question words sentence finally two properties that had been predicted to not occur in languages with VSO word order See also EditShabo word list Wiktionary contains a word list of Majang References Edit Majang at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required 2007 Census countrywide 2007 Census Gambella Region Joswig 2012 p 264 Moges 2007 p 114 Unseth 1991 p 526 Bender 1983 p 116 Unseth 1991 p 533 Moges Yigezu 2006 The Phonetic Characterization of implosives in Majang a Northern Surmic language Proceedings of the XVth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies edited by Siegbert Uhlig pp 822 830 Wiesbaden Otto Harrassowitz Verlag Bender 1983 p 117 Joswig 2015b Bender 1983 p 132 Unseth 1998 Bender 1983 p 128 Getachew 2014 p 193 Unseth 1989 Joswig 2015a Joswig 2015a Jon Arensen Nicky de Jong Scott Randal Peter Unseth 1997 Interrogatives in Surmic Languages and Greenberg s Universals Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages 7 71 90 Bibliography EditBender M Lionel 1983 Majang Phonology and Morphology in M Lionel Bender ed Nilo Saharan Language Studies pp 114 47 East Lansing MI Michigan State University African Studies Center Fleming Harold 1983 Surmic etymologies in Rainer Vossen and Marianne Bechhaus Gerst eds Nilotic Studies Proceedings of the International Symposium on Languages and History of the Nilotic Peoples Berlin Dietrich Reimer pp 524 555 Getachew Anteneh Yigzaw 2014 Grammatical Description and Documentation of Majang Ph D Thesis Addis Ababa University hdl 123456789 16341 Joswig Andreas 2012 The Vowels of Majang in Brenzinger Matthias and Anne Maria Fehn eds Proceedings of the 6th World Congress of African Linguistics Cologne 2009 Koln Rudiger Koppe Verlag pp 263 267 Joswig Andreas 2015a Syntactic Sensitivity and Preferred Clause Structure in Majang in Angelika Mietzner Anne Storch eds Nilo Saharan Models and Descriptions Koln Rudiger Koppe Verlag pp 169 176 Joswig Andreas 2015b The Basics of Majang Tone SIL International Joswig Andreas 2019 The Majang Language Ph D Thesis Leiden University published by Amsterdam LOT Publications hdl 1887 73814 Moges Yigezu 2007 The Phonetics and Phonology of Majang Vowels A Historical Comparative Perspective in Doris Payne and Mechthild Reh eds Advances in Nilo Saharan Linguistics Koln Rudiger Koppe Verlag pp 255 265 Unseth Peter 1988 Majang Nominal Plurals With Comparative Notes Studies in African Linguistics 19 1 75 91 Unseth Peter 1989 Sketch of Majang Syntax in M Lionel Bender ed Topics in Nilo Saharan Linguistics Nilo Saharan Linguistic Analyses and Documentation vol 3 Series editor Franz Rottland Hamburg Helmut Buske Verlag pp 97 127 Unseth Peter 1991 Consonant Sequences and Morphophonemics in Majang in Richard Pankhurst Ahmed Zekaria and Taddese Beyene eds Proceedings of the First National Conference of Ethiopian Studies Addis Ababa Institute of Ethiopian Studies pp 525 534 Unseth Peter 1998 Two Old Causative Affixes in Surmic in Gerrit Dimmendaal ed Surmic Languages and Cultures Koln Rudiger Koppe Verlag pp 113 126 Unseth Peter 2007 Magaŋgir language in ed by Siegbert Uhlig ed Encyclopaedia Aethiopica Vol 3 Wiesbaden Harrassowitz pp 627 629 External links EditWorld Atlas of Language Structures information on Majang Majang basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Majang language amp oldid 968339947, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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