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Sukuma language

January 31, 2023

Not to be confused with Fipa-Sukuma dialect.

Sukuma is a Bantu language of Tanzania, spoken in an area southeast of Lake Victoria between Mwanza, Shinyanga, and Lake Eyasi.[3]

Sukuma
Kɪsukuma
RegionTanzania
EthnicitySukuma
Native speakers
8.1 million (2016)[1]
Dialects
  • Gwe
  • Kiya
Language codes
ISO 639-2suk
ISO 639-3suk
Glottologsuku1261
F.21[2]

Its orthography uses Roman script without special letters, which resembles that used for Swahili, and has been used for Bible translations[4] and in religious literature.[5]

Dialects (KɪmunaSukuma in the west, GɪmunaNtuzu/GɪnaNtuzu in the northeast, and Jìnàkɪ̀ɪ̀yâ/JimunaKɪɪyâ in the southeast) are easily mutually intelligible.[6]

Phonology

There are seven vowel qualities, which occur long and short:[7]

/ɪ ʊ/, which are written ⟨ĩ ũ⟩, may be closer to [e o], and /e o/ may be closer to [ɛ ɔ].

Sukuma has gone through Dahl's Law (ɪdàtʊ́ 'three', from proto-Bantu -tatʊ) and has voiceless nasal consonants.

It is not clear whether /c ɟ/ should better be considered as stops or affricates as /tʃ dʒ/ or whether they are even palatal.

Syllables are V or CV. There are four tones on short vowels: high, low, rising, and falling.

Grammar

The following description is based on the JinaKɪɪya dialect. One of the characteristics of that dialect is that the noun-class prefixes subject to Dahl's Law have been levelled to voiced consonants and so they no longer alternate.

Noun concord

Sukuma noun-class prefixes are augmented by pre-prefixes a-, ɪ-, ʊ-, which are dropped in certain constructions. The noun classes and the agreement that they trigger[8] are as follows, [7] with attested forms in other dialects being added in parentheses:

(For compatibility, /j/ is transcribed ⟨y⟩.)

Class Prefix Example noun Adj. conc. Possessive Subject Object 'one/two X' 'this X' Semantic field
1 ʊ-mu mùùn̥ʊ̀ 'person' m- o- a- m- ʊ̀mô ʊ̀yʊ̀ human
2 a-βaa- βààn̥ʊ̀ 'persons' βa- βa- βa- βa- βaβɪlɪ àβà
3 ʊ-m- ntɪ̌ 'tree' m- go- gʊ- lɪ- gʊ̀mô ʊ̀yʊ̀ trees, etc.
4 ɪ-mi- mɪ̀tɪ̌ 'trees' mi- ya- i- i- ɪ̀βɪ̀lɪ́ ɪ̀yɪ̀
5 ɪ-lɪ- (ɪ) liisǒ 'eye' ɪ- lɪ- lɪ- lɪ- lɪ̀mô ɪ̀lɪ̀ body parts, food, common objs,
(pl.) liquids
6 a-ma- mɪ̀sǒ 'eyes' ma- a- a- ga- àβɪ̀lɪ́ àyà
7 ɪ-ɟi- (kɪ) Jìsùgǔmà 'Kɪsukuma' ɟi- ɟa- ɟi- ɟi- ɟı̀mô ɪ̀ɟì things, language, body parts, etc.
8 ɪ-ɟi- (sɪ) ɟítáβò 'books' ɟi- ɟa- ɟi- i- ɟìβɪ̀lɪ́ ɪ̀ɟı̀
9 ɪ-n- nùúmbà 'house' n- ya- i- i- yɪ̀mô ɪ̀yɪ̀ common objects, animals, fruits, etc.
10 ɪ-n- mbʊ̀lǐ 'goats' n- ɟa- ɟi- ɟi- ɪ̀βɪ̀lɪ́ ɪ̀ɟì
11 ʊ-lʊ- lʊ̀gòyè 'rope' lu- lo- lu- lu- lʊ̀mô ʊ̀lʊ̀ common objects, body parts, etc.
12 a-ga- (ka) gàɪǎ 'a little dog' ga- ga- ga- ga- gàmô àkà diminutives[9]
13 ʊ-dʊ- (tʊ) dʊ̀ɪǎ 'little dogs' dʊ- do- dʊ- dʊ- dʊ̀mô ʊ̀tʊ̀
14 ʊ-βʊ- βʊ̀sààdǔ 'sickness' βʊ- βo- βʊ- βʊ- βʊ̀mô ʊ̀βʊ̀ abstractions, insects, etc.
15 ʊ-gʊ- (kʊ) gʊ̀tʊ̌ 'ear' gʊ- go- gʊ- gu- gʊ̀mô ʊ̀yʊ̀ body parts and infinitives
16 a-ha- hààn̥ʊ̀ 'place' ha- ha- ha- ho- hàmô àhà location
17 a-gʊ- (kʊ) gʊ̀gàbáádi 'on the cupboard' gʊ- ya- gʊ- ko- ? ʊ̀kʊ̀
18 ʊ-mu- mʊ̀gàbáádi 'inside the cupboard' m- ya- mu- mo- ? ʊ̀mù

Many kin terms have a reduced form of the nominal prefixes, zero and βa-, called class 1a/2a, as in mààyʊ̂ 'mother', βàmààyʊ̂ 'mothers'. Concord is identical with other class-1/2 nouns.

Singular/plural pairs are 1/2, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, and 12/13, and locative classes 16, 17, and 18 do not have plurals. Most others use class 6 for their plurals: 11/6, 14/6, 15/6, and also sometimes 7/6 and 12/6. There are also nouns that inflect as 11/4, 11/14, 14/10, and 15/8.

Verbal complex

Infinitive verbs have the form gʊ-object-ext-ROOT-ext-V-locative, where ext stands for any of various grammatical 'extensions', and -V is the final vowel. For example, with roots in bold and tone omitted,[7]

gũ-n-tĩn-ĩl-a
'To cut for him/her'
gwĩ-tĩn-ĩl-a
'To cut for each other'

-ĩl is the applicative suffix, translated as 'for'. The reciprocal prefix ĩ has fused into the infinitive gũ.

gũ-fum-a-mo
'To get out there'

-mo is a locative 'inside', as in class 18 nominal concord.

Finite verbs have the form subject-TAM-ext-object-ROOT-ext-TAM-V. For example,

βa-lĩ-n-iiš-a
'They are feeding him/her'

The root iiš includes a fused causative suffix. Tense is marked by a prefix. The subject marker βa- shows that the subject is human plural, per the noun-concord table above.

o-dũ-saang-ile
'He found us'

Here tense is marked by a suffix.

βa-gĩ-gunaan-a
'They helped each other/themselves'

Here the prefix is fused tense and reciprocal ĩ.

Language identity

It is reported that although Sukuma is very similar to Nyamwezi, speakers themselves do not accept that they make up a single language.[10]

References

  1. ^ Sukuma at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)  
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009.
  3. ^ Margaret Arminel Bryan, compiler, The Bantu Languages of Africa, Oxford University Press, 1959.
  4. ^ The Gospel in Many Tongues, The British and Foreign Bible Society, London, 1965.
  5. ^ Kitabo sha Sala na sha Mimbo, Diochesi ya Mwanza, edited / approved by Bishop Renatus Butibubage, 1963.
  6. ^ The prefixes kɪ-, gɪ-, ji- are dialectical variants.
  7. ^ a b c Rahma Muhdhar, 2006, Verb Extensions in Kisukuma, Jinakiiya dialect, MS dissertation, UDSM
  8. ^ Adjectival concord, possessive suffixes on nouns, subject and object suffixes on verbs, and the agreeing form of -mô 'one', -βɪ̀lɪ́ 'two', and 'this'
  9. ^ Including insignificance, derogation, (sg.) manner of doing
  10. ^ The Bantu Languages of Africa, as above.

January 31, 2023
sukuma, language, confused, with, fipa, sukuma, dialect, sukuma, bantu, language, tanzania, spoken, area, southeast, lake, victoria, between, mwanza, shinyanga, lake, eyasi, sukumakɪsukumaregiontanzaniaethnicitysukumanative, speakers8, million, 2016, language,. Not to be confused with Fipa Sukuma dialect Sukuma is a Bantu language of Tanzania spoken in an area southeast of Lake Victoria between Mwanza Shinyanga and Lake Eyasi 3 SukumaKɪsukumaRegionTanzaniaEthnicitySukumaNative speakers8 1 million 2016 1 Language familyNiger Congo Atlantic CongoVolta CongoBenue CongoBantoidSouthern BantoidBantuNortheast BantuSukuma NyamweziNyamwezicSukumaDialectsGwe KiyaLanguage codesISO 639 2 span class plainlinks suk span ISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code suk class extiw title iso639 3 suk suk a Glottologsuku1261Guthrie codeF 21 2 Its orthography uses Roman script without special letters which resembles that used for Swahili and has been used for Bible translations 4 and in religious literature 5 Dialects KɪmunaSukuma in the west GɪmunaNtuzu GɪnaNtuzu in the northeast and Jinakɪ ɪ ya JimunaKɪɪya in the southeast are easily mutually intelligible 6 Contents 1 Phonology 2 Grammar 2 1 Noun concord 2 2 Verbal complex 3 Language identity 4 ReferencesPhonology EditThere are seven vowel qualities which occur long and short 7 Front Central BackHigh i iː u uːNear high ɪ ɪː ʊ ʊːMid e eː o oːLow a aː ɪ ʊ which are written ĩ ũ may be closer to e o and e o may be closer to ɛ ɔ Sukuma has gone through Dahl s Law ɪdatʊ three from proto Bantu tatʊ and has voiceless nasal consonants Bilabial Labio dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottalplain pren plain pren plain pren labial plain pren plain pren labial plain labialNasal voiced m n ɲ ŋ ŋʷvoiceless m n ɲ ŋ ŋ ʷPlosive voiceless p ᵐp t ⁿt tʷ c ᶮc k ᵑk kʷvoiced b ᵐb d ⁿd dʷ ɟ ᶮɟ ɡ ᵑɡ ɡʷFricative voiceless ɸ f ᶬf s ⁿs sʷ ʃ ᶮʃ h hʷvoiced b v ᶬv z ⁿz zʷApproximant l j wIt is not clear whether c ɟ should better be considered as stops or affricates as tʃ dʒ or whether they are even palatal Syllables are V or CV There are four tones on short vowels high low rising and falling Grammar EditThe following description is based on the JinaKɪɪya dialect One of the characteristics of that dialect is that the noun class prefixes subject to Dahl s Law have been levelled to voiced consonants and so they no longer alternate Noun concord Edit Sukuma noun class prefixes are augmented by pre prefixes a ɪ ʊ which are dropped in certain constructions The noun classes and the agreement that they trigger 8 are as follows 7 with attested forms in other dialects being added in parentheses For compatibility j is transcribed y Class Prefix Example noun Adj conc Possessive Subject Object one two X this X Semantic field1 ʊ mu muun ʊ person m o a m ʊ mo ʊ yʊ human2 a baa baan ʊ persons ba ba ba ba babɪlɪ aba3 ʊ m ntɪ tree m go gʊ lɪ gʊ mo ʊ yʊ trees etc 4 ɪ mi mɪ tɪ trees mi ya i i ɪ bɪ lɪ ɪ yɪ 5 ɪ lɪ ɪ liisǒ eye ɪ lɪ lɪ lɪ lɪ mo ɪ lɪ body parts food common objs pl liquids6 a ma mɪ sǒ eyes ma a a ga abɪ lɪ aya7 ɪ ɟi kɪ Jisugǔma Kɪsukuma ɟi ɟa ɟi ɟi ɟi mo ɪ ɟi things language body parts etc 8 ɪ ɟi sɪ ɟitabo books ɟi ɟa ɟi i ɟibɪ lɪ ɪ ɟi 9 ɪ n nuumba house n ya i i yɪ mo ɪ yɪ common objects animals fruits etc 10 ɪ n mbʊ lǐ goats n ɟa ɟi ɟi ɪ bɪ lɪ ɪ ɟi11 ʊ lʊ lʊ goye rope lu lo lu lu lʊ mo ʊ lʊ common objects body parts etc 12 a ga ka gaɪǎ a little dog ga ga ga ga gamo aka diminutives 9 13 ʊ dʊ tʊ dʊ ɪǎ little dogs dʊ do dʊ dʊ dʊ mo ʊ tʊ 14 ʊ bʊ bʊ saadǔ sickness bʊ bo bʊ bʊ bʊ mo ʊ bʊ abstractions insects etc 15 ʊ gʊ kʊ gʊ tʊ ear gʊ go gʊ gu gʊ mo ʊ yʊ body parts and infinitives16 a ha haan ʊ place ha ha ha ho hamo aha location17 a gʊ kʊ gʊ gabaadi on the cupboard gʊ ya gʊ ko ʊ kʊ 18 ʊ mu mʊ gabaadi inside the cupboard m ya mu mo ʊ muMany kin terms have a reduced form of the nominal prefixes zero and ba called class 1a 2a as in maayʊ mother bamaayʊ mothers Concord is identical with other class 1 2 nouns Singular plural pairs are 1 2 5 6 7 8 9 10 and 12 13 and locative classes 16 17 and 18 do not have plurals Most others use class 6 for their plurals 11 6 14 6 15 6 and also sometimes 7 6 and 12 6 There are also nouns that inflect as 11 4 11 14 14 10 and 15 8 Verbal complex Edit Infinitive verbs have the form gʊ object ext ROOT ext V locative where ext stands for any of various grammatical extensions and V is the final vowel For example with roots in bold and tone omitted 7 gũ n tĩn ĩl a To cut for him her gwĩ tĩn ĩl a To cut for each other ĩl is the applicative suffix translated as for The reciprocal prefix ĩ has fused into the infinitive gũ gũ fum a mo To get out there mo is a locative inside as in class 18 nominal concord Finite verbs have the form subject TAM ext object ROOT ext TAM V For example ba lĩ n iis a They are feeding him her The root iis includes a fused causative suffix Tense is marked by a prefix The subject marker ba shows that the subject is human plural per the noun concord table above o dũ saang ile He found us Here tense is marked by a suffix ba gĩ gunaan a They helped each other themselves Here the prefix is fused tense and reciprocal ĩ Language identity EditIt is reported that although Sukuma is very similar to Nyamwezi speakers themselves do not accept that they make up a single language 10 References Edit Sukuma at Ethnologue 22nd ed 2019 Jouni Filip Maho 2009 New Updated Guthrie List Online Margaret Arminel Bryan compiler The Bantu Languages of Africa Oxford University Press 1959 The Gospel in Many Tongues The British and Foreign Bible Society London 1965 Kitabo sha Sala na sha Mimbo Diochesi ya Mwanza edited approved by Bishop Renatus Butibubage 1963 The prefixes kɪ gɪ ji are dialectical variants a b c Rahma Muhdhar 2006 Verb Extensions in Kisukuma Jinakiiya dialect MS dissertation UDSM Adjectival concord possessive suffixes on nouns subject and object suffixes on verbs and the agreeing form of mo one bɪ lɪ two and this Including insignificance derogation sg manner of doing The Bantu Languages of Africa as above Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sukuma language amp oldid 1134163701, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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