A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic
Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 495
Release: 2022-06-02
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1009021443

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
Author: Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021
Genre: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
ISBN: 9781009010672

"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
Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2023-10-31
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1009346393

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

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic

A Historical Phonology of Central Chadic
Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 495
Release: 2022-06-02
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1316519546

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

The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic

The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic
Author: Richard Gravina
Publisher:
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2014
Genre:
ISBN: 9789460931574

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 Two Central Chadic Languages

The Phonology of Two Central Chadic Languages
Author: Tony Smith
Publisher: Publications in Linguistics (S
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2010
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9781556712319

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.

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic
Author: H. Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher:
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2023-11-08
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1009346350

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.

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic

Lexical Reconstruction in Central Chadic
Author: Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre: Chadic languages
ISBN: 9781009346405

"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"--

Phonological Typology

Phonological Typology
Author: Larry M. Hyman
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2018-04-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 311045193X

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.