Nzadi contains seven contrastive vowels, which can be either long or short. The table below shows all the vowel phonemes found in the language:
front
central
back
high
i ii
u uu
high-mid
e ee
o oo
low-mid
ɛ ɛɛ
ɔ ɔɔ
low
a aa
Consonants
labial
alveolar
palatal
velar
labiovelar
stops
p b
t d
k (g)
kp (gb)
affricates
(pf) bv
ts dz
fricatives
f v
s z
nasals
m
n
liquids
l (r)
glides
y
w
Syllable Structure
Unlike other Bantu languages, which favor polysyllabic word stems, Nzadi consists primarily of monosyllabic stems. Bisyllabic stems are also present, but they are primarily borrowings or reduplications.[3]
Examples
màáŋgǔl 'mango'
pɔtpɔ̂t 'mud'
kamyɔ̂ 'car' (from French camion 'truck')
All stems necessarily begin with a consonant, and monosyllabic stems take four possible structures: CV, CVC, CVV, or CVVC. In the case of bisyllabic stems, both syllables begin with a consonant, and long vowels never occur in the first syllable, and rarely in the second.
Phonological Rules
As a result of the systematic shortening of word stems, Nzadi words tend to have more vowel clusters than other Bantu languages, and in many cases adjusts one or more of the adjacent vowels by the following processes.[1]
Vowel Coalescence
When two different vowels occur in succession, one of three things can happen, depending on several factors:
Coalescence Process
Occurs When
(i)
V1 deletes without affecting the length of V2
V1 + V2 → V2
V1 is a non-stem vowel
(ii)
V1 deletes with compensatory lengthening of V2
V1 + V2 → V2V2
V1 is a stem vowel
(iii)
The two vowels can be realized without modification
V1 + V2 → V1V2
V1 and V2 meet when two lexical words occur in sequence
In cases in which coalescence does not occur, a long vowel followed immediately by another vowel will shorten.[1]
Examples:
ibaa + ikwɔ = iba ikwɔ
esúú na o dzé iba ikwɔ
'the day that the man ate the banana'
ibaa + esaa = iba esaa
esúú na o dzé iba esaa
'the day that the man ate the food'
Vowel Harmony
Due to the historical word shortening from Proto-Bantu, Nzadi does not have the stem-level vowel harmony that many other Bantu languages do. However, one kind of harmony does present itself: /e-/ or /o-/ noun prefixes will harmonize to ɛ- or ɔ- if the stem has an identical /ɛ/ or /ɔ/ vowel.[1]
Tone
Nzadi, like other Bantu languages, has two contrastive tone leves, high (H) and low (L), which can combine to form falling (HL), rising (LH), and rising-falling (LHL) contour tones.[1]
H:
nwí
'bee'
máán
'wine'
L:
bwɔ
'mushroom'
bvuur
'load'
HL:
kît
'chair'
wáàr
'dress!'
LH:
bvǐm
'theft'
tàá
'father'
LHL:
dzǐˋ
'eye'
mǎàn
'ground'
Tone in Nzadi conveys important lexical and grammatical information, and can be the only difference between different words and forms, as seen in the minimal quintuplet here:
When a contour tone is followed by another tone that begins with the same tone level as the end of the first, the first tone is simplified by dropping the final tone level. For example, a HL contour followed by a L tone will be simplified to H.[1]
Examples:
/mbéè/ 'friend'
mbéé mǐˋ 'my friend'
mbéé tàá 'the father's friend'
Contour Simplification
Contour simplification is similar to tone absorption, but occurs when adjacent tone levels are different, as seen in the following possessive constructions:
Despite the functional load of tone in Nzadi, intonation can interact or interfere with lexical tones, particularly when a pause in the utterance is taken. In this case, a H boundary tone is inserted.[1]
Example:
L-L
mbum 'fruit'
mbǔm, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a fruit I gave the child'
L-LH
mbǔm 'maggot'
mbǔm, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a maggot I gave the child'
L-HL
mpúù 'rat'
mpúù, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a rat I gave the child'
L-H
epúú 'cloth'
epúú, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a cloth I gave the child'
References
^ abcdefghijkCrane, Thera M.; Hyman, Larry M.; Tukumu, Simon Nsielanga (2011). A grammar of Nzadi [B865] : a Bantu language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN9780520098862.
^Hyman, Larry (June 2012). "Post-Verbal subject in the Nzadi relative clause". Journal of African Languages and Linguistics. 33 (1): 97–117. doi:10.1515/jall-2012-0004. S2CID 146842539.
February 27, 2023
nzadi, language, nzadi, bantu, language, spoken, democratic, republic, congo, from, kwamuntu, ilebo, along, north, side, kasai, river, bandundu, province, number, speakers, nzadi, known, estimated, thousands, three, dialects, ngiemba, lensibun, ndzé, ntaa, nza. Nzadi is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Kwamuntu to Ilebo along the north side of the Kasai River in Bandundu Province The number of speakers of Nzadi is not known but is estimated to be in the thousands The Nzadi language has three dialects Ngiemba Lensibun and Ndze Ntaa 1 NzadiIndzeeNative toDR CongoRegionKasai RiverNative speakersunknown but probably several thousands 2011 1 Language familyNiger Congo Atlantic CongoBenue CongoBantoidBantu Zone B Boma Dzing B 80 DingNzadiLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code nzd class extiw title iso639 3 nzd nzd a Glottolognzad1234Guthrie codeB 865 2 PersonOndzeePeopleAndzeeLanguageIndzee Contents 1 Phonology 1 1 Vowels 1 2 Consonants 1 3 Syllable Structure 1 4 Phonological Rules 1 4 1 Vowel Coalescence 1 4 2 Vowel Shortening 1 4 3 Vowel Harmony 2 Tone 2 1 General Tone Rules 2 1 1 Tone Absorption 2 1 2 Contour Simplification 2 2 Intonation 3 ReferencesPhonology EditVowels Edit Nzadi contains seven contrastive vowels which can be either long or short The table below shows all the vowel phonemes found in the language front central backhigh i ii u uuhigh mid e ee o oolow mid ɛ ɛɛ ɔ ɔɔlow a aaConsonants Edit labial alveolar palatal velar labiovelarstops p b t d k g kp gb affricates pf bv ts dzfricatives f v s znasals m nliquids l r glides y wSyllable Structure Edit Unlike other Bantu languages which favor polysyllabic word stems Nzadi consists primarily of monosyllabic stems Bisyllabic stems are also present but they are primarily borrowings or reduplications 3 Examples maaŋgǔl mango pɔtpɔ t mud kamyɔ car from French camion truck All stems necessarily begin with a consonant and monosyllabic stems take four possible structures CV CVC CVV or CVVC In the case of bisyllabic stems both syllables begin with a consonant and long vowels never occur in the first syllable and rarely in the second Phonological Rules Edit As a result of the systematic shortening of word stems Nzadi words tend to have more vowel clusters than other Bantu languages and in many cases adjusts one or more of the adjacent vowels by the following processes 1 Vowel Coalescence Edit When two different vowels occur in succession one of three things can happen depending on several factors Coalescence Process Occurs When i V1 deletes without affecting the length of V2 V1 V2 V2 V1 is a non stem vowel ii V1 deletes with compensatory lengthening of V2 V1 V2 V2V2 V1 is a stem vowel iii The two vowels can be realized without modification V1 V2 V1V2 V1 and V2 meet when two lexical words occur in sequence 1 Vowel Shortening Edit In cases in which coalescence does not occur a long vowel followed immediately by another vowel will shorten 1 Examples ibaa ikwɔ iba ikwɔesuu na o dze iba ikwɔ the day that the man ate the banana dd dd ibaa esaa iba esaaesuu na o dze iba esaa the day that the man ate the food dd dd dd Vowel Harmony Edit Due to the historical word shortening from Proto Bantu Nzadi does not have the stem level vowel harmony that many other Bantu languages do However one kind of harmony does present itself e or o noun prefixes will harmonize to ɛ or ɔ if the stem has an identical ɛ or ɔ vowel 1 Tone EditNzadi like other Bantu languages has two contrastive tone leves high H and low L which can combine to form falling HL rising LH and rising falling LHL contour tones 1 H nwi bee maan wine L bwɔ mushroom bvuur load HL kit chair waar dress LH bvǐm theft taa father LHL dzǐˋ eye mǎan ground Tone in Nzadi conveys important lexical and grammatical information and can be the only difference between different words and forms as seen in the minimal quintuplet here H ŋkun that very one L okun to bury plant HL ekun firewood LH ikǔn trunk LHL kǔˋn bury plant 1 General Tone Rules Edit Tone Absorption Edit When a contour tone is followed by another tone that begins with the same tone level as the end of the first the first tone is simplified by dropping the final tone level For example a HL contour followed by a L tone will be simplified to H 1 Examples mbee friend mbee mǐˋ my friend mbee taa the father s friend dd dd Contour Simplification Edit Contour simplification is similar to tone absorption but occurs when adjacent tone levels are different as seen in the following possessive constructions mbwɔ m okaar mbwɔm okaar the woman s nose mbǔn mbee mbun mbee the friend s forehead ikɔ ŋ e ibaa ikɔŋ ibaa the man s spear ikɔ ŋ e muur ikɔŋ e muur the person s spear 1 Intonation Edit Despite the functional load of tone in Nzadi intonation can interact or interfere with lexical tones particularly when a pause in the utterance is taken In this case a H boundary tone is inserted 1 Example L L mbum fruit mbǔm mi o pe mwǎan a fruit I gave the child L LH mbǔm maggot mbǔm mi o pe mwǎan a maggot I gave the child L HL mpuu rat mpuu mi o pe mwǎan a rat I gave the child L H epuu cloth epuu mi o pe mwǎan a cloth I gave the child References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k Crane Thera M Hyman Larry M Tukumu Simon Nsielanga 2011 A grammar of Nzadi B865 a Bantu language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Berkeley CA University of California Press ISBN 9780520098862 Jouni Filip Maho 2009 New Updated Guthrie List Online Hyman Larry June 2012 Post Verbal subject in the Nzadi relative clause Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 33 1 97 117 doi 10 1515 jall 2012 0004 S2CID 146842539 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nzadi language amp oldid 1128326117, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
