Majangir (language)

Majangir is spoken in Ethiopia by the people of the same name and belongs to the group of Surmish languages , but it is largely isolated from other languages ​​of this group. A language survey has shown that there are only a few variations of dialects that hardly affect communication. The 2007 Ethiopian census records 6,433 Majangir speakers, but also states that the Majangir ethnic group consists of approximately 32,822 people. According to this census, there are almost no Majangir speakers in the Mezhenger zone of the Gambela administrative region. A total of eleven speakers are recorded in this zone, but nearly 10,000 people of the Majangir people.

pronunciation

Vowels

	Front tongue vowel	Central vowel	Back vowel
closed	i		u
half closed	ɪ		ʊ
medium closed	e		O
medium open	ɛ		ɔ
open		a

The length of the vowels is characteristic of the Majangir language, so all vowels appear in long and short pairs, such as: B. goopan (punishment) and gopan (path). Moges argued for a tenth vowel, ɐ , while Bender could only confirm six vowels. However, all authors agree that the Majang has no ATR harmony.

Consonants

		labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Plosive sound	unvoiced	p	t	tʃ	k
	voiced	b	d	dʒ	ɡ
Implosive		ɓ	ɗ
Flap			r
Approximant			l	j	w

In addition, two tones differentiate the meaning of words and the grammar: táŋ (higher tone) "cow", tàŋ (lower tone) "abscess".

The language contains implosive consonants ( bilabial and retroflex ), but no ejectives . There are nine vowels where length is also important. In addition, the intonation can change both the word and the grammar: táŋ (high tone) "cow", tàŋ (low tone) "abscess".

morphology

The Majangir language has different labels to indicate three different past and two future tenses. Furthermore, the language has a large number of suffixes, while there are almost no prefixes. Although its use is limited to a few origins, few words have retained remnants of the archaic causative prefix i- - a prefix found in other Surmic languages ​​and in the Nilotic language .

The number system is a modified vigesimal system based on the numbers 5, 10 and 20. Twenty is "one whole person" (with ten fingers and toes), so forty is "two whole people" and one hundred is "five whole people". However, under the influence of schools and increased bilingualism, the Amharic words or the words from the Oromo language are used for a hundred . There is no distinction between inclusive and exclusive we , as in neighboring and related languages.

syntax

The basic sentence order of Majangir is predicate-subject-object, whereby a certain flexibility is allowed for emphasis or emphasis. Furthermore, there is a frequent use of relative clauses, also for paraphrases, for which one would usually use adjectives in German .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Central Statistics Agency (CSA): Statistical Tables for the 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia. Country level. (PDF), p. 91
2. ↑ Central Statistics Agency (CSA): Statistical Tables for the 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia. Gambella. (PDF) p. 46
3. ↑ Peter Unseth: Maǧaŋgir language In: Siegbert Uhlig (Ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica Volume 3. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, p. 628
4. ↑ Yigezu Moges: The Phonetics and Phonology of Majang Vowels: A Historical-Comparative Perspective. In: Doris Payne, Mechthild Reh (Ed.): Advances in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Cologne 2007, p. 114
5. ↑ Peter Unseth: Maǧaŋgir language In: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica Volume 3. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, p. 526
6. ↑ M. Lionel Bender: Majang Phonology and Morphology. In: M. Lionel Bender (Ed.): Nilo-Saharan Language Studies. Michigan State University, African Studies Center. East Lansing, MI 1983, p. 117
7. ↑ M. Lionel Bender: Majang Phonology and Morphology. In: M. Lionel Bender (Ed.): Nilo-Saharan Language Studies. Michigan State University, African Studies Center. East Lansing MI 1983, p. 132
8. ^ Peter Unseth: Two Old Causative Affixes in Surmic. In: Gerrit Dimmendaal (Ed.): Surmic Languages ​​and Cultures. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Cologne 1998, pp. 113–126
9. ↑ M. Lionel Bender: Majang Phonology and Morphology. In: M. Lionel Bender (Ed.): Nilo-Saharan Language Studies. Michigan State University, African Studies Center. East Lansing MI 1983, p. 128
10. ↑ Peter Unseth: Sketch of Majang Syntax. In: M. Lionel Bender (ed.): Topics in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics (= Franz Rottland (series ed.): Nilo-Saharan: Linguistic Analyzes and Documentation. Volume 3.) Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg 1989, p. 97– 127