Frafra language
Frafra or Farefari, also known as Gurenɛ, is the language of the Frafra people of northern Ghana, particularly the Upper East Region, and southern Burkina Faso. It is a national language of Ghana, and is closely related to Dagbani and other languages of Northern Ghana, and also related to Mossi, also known as Mooré, the national language of Burkina Faso.
| Frafra | |
|---|---|
| Gurenɛ | |
| Native to | Ghana, Burkina Faso |
| Ethnicity | Frafra people |
Native speakers | 720,000[1] (2003)[2] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gur |
| Glottolog | fare1241 |
Frafra consists of three principal dialects, Gurenɛ (also written Gurunɛ, Gudenne, Gurenne, Gudeni, Zuadeni), Nankani (Naane, Nankanse, Ninkare), and Boone. Nabit and Talni have been mistakenly reported to be Frafra dialects.[3]
Phonology
Consonants
Frafra has a system of 17 phonemes, 19 counting the allophones /ɣ/ and /ɾ/. [4]
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Plosive/ | fortis | p | t | k | ʔ |
| lenis | b | d | ɡ | ||
| Tap | ɾ | ||||
| Fricative | fortis | f | s | h | |
| lenis | v | z | ɣ[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| Approximant | w | j | |||
The sound /ŋ/ appears in front of some words starting with /w/, leading them to change into the /j/ sound. /h/ only appears in loanwords, exclamations, and as an allophone of /f/. An example of both of these sound changes are weefo and yeho (both meaning "horse"). The only consonants Frafra words may end in are the two nasals /m/ and /n/.
Glottal Stop
Glottal stops appear at the initial vowel of a word, but are not transcribed. Word-medially, vowel nasalization continues over the glottal stop. In rapid speech, the glottal stop is usually dropped, similar to how vowel hiatus gets dropped in Spanish.
Word medial glottal stops must be marked in writing.
Allophones of /r/
[d] and [ɾ]/ are two phonetic realizations of the same phoneme. /d/ occurs at the beginning of words, and /r/ is it's counterpart everywhere else.
Allophones of /g/
[ɣ] is an allophone of /g/ that occurs after certain vowels. It is mostly written "g." Usage of the letter "ɣ" is quite rare.
Allophones of /j/
[ɲ] is an allophone of /j/ that occurs before a nasal vowel. It is always written as "y."
Sandhi
This section will describe all the morpho-phonological sandhi processes that affect Frafra.
Nasals
Nasal consonants undergo assimilation, coalescence, and elision.
Assimilation at Point of Articulation
Nasals assimilate to the point of articulation of the occlusive the proceed.
- /m/ goes before /p/ and /b/
- /n/ goes before /t/ and /d/
- /ŋ/ goes before /k/
Coalescence
When a nasal is followed by /g/, the two consonants amalgamate.
- /n/ + /g/ = /ŋ/
This rule does not apply to compound words (e.g. tẽŋgãnnɛ "sacred land") or loanwards (e.g. maŋgo "mango")
Elision
Nasals disappear when they go before /f/
- /m/ + /f/ = /f/
- /n/ + /f/ = /f/
Stops
Two voiced stops become their unvoiced form. Remember that [ɾ] is the word-medial allophone of /d/
- /g/ + /g/ = /k/
- /r/ + /r/ = /t/
Vibrant Assimilation
Vibrant consonants, also called taps, assimilate to a preceding lateral or nasal.
- /l/ + /r/ = /ll/
- /n/ + /r/ = /nn/
- /m/ + /r/ = either /nn/ or /mn/
Lateral Assimilation
- /n/ + /l/ = /nn/
- /m/ + /l/ = /nn/
Combination of these Processes
C designates any consonant, and N designates any nasal.
- Cm + r = Cn
- Cl + r = Cl
Vowels
Frafra has 9 oral vowels and 5 nasal vowels.
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lax | tense | lax | tense | ||
| Close | ɪ | i, ĩ | ʊ | u, ũ | |
| Mid | ɛ, ɛ̃ | e | ɔ, ɔ̃ | o | |
| Open | a, ã | ||||
| Diphthongs | |||||
All Frafra vowels have a long form.
Vowel Harmony
Like many Mande languages, Frafra features vowel harmony.[4] When suffixes are added to word roots, the vowel in the root selects whether the suffix will use the tense or lax form. The exception is suffixes ending in "-a" because /a/ is neutral in Frafra, meaning that it's only one form. Prefixes do not exist in Frafra.
Where all Vowels must be in Harmony
In disyllabic words, both vowels are always in harmony. The same applies in vowel sequences.
Mid Vowels
The lax vowel -a in noun and verb endings will change the tense vowels /e/ and /o/ to lax vowels /ɛ/ and /ɔ/.
Close Vowels
When a suffix's vowel is close, and stem's vowel is close and tense, it causes the suffix's vowel to become tense.
For example, the locative postposition "-ʋm" becomes "-um" after the vowels /i/, /ĩ/, /u/, and /ũ/.
- pʋʋrɛ ("belly") > pʋʋrʋm ("inside the belly")
- nifo ("eye") > nifum ("inside the eye")
However, tense vowels that are not close do not affect "ʋm". Therefore poore ("back") becomes poorʋm ("behind").
The particle "nɩ," which goes after a verbs to mark the incomplete aspect, becomes "ni" after /i/, /ĩ/, /u/, and /ũ/.
Orthography
The Frafra language uses the letters of the Latin alphabet except for c, j, q, x, and with the addition of ɛ, ɩ, ŋ, ɔ, and ʋ. The tilde is used for showing nasalization in Burkina Faso, but in Ghana it's shown using the letter n.[5] The two nasal vowels /ɛ̃/ and /ɔ̃/ are spelt with ẽ and õ respectively.[4] All long nasal vowels only get their tilde written on the first letter.
Acute, grave, circumflex, caron, and macron are sometimes used in grammar books to indicate tone, but not in general-purpose texts.[6] The apostrophe is used to indicate the glottal stop.[7]
| Sound | Representation | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ | a | ya /ja/ | houses |
| /a:/ | aa | gaarɛ /ga:ɹɛ/ | a type of bean cake |
| /ɛ/ | ɛ | ɛkɛ /ɛkɛ/ | to fly |
| /e/ | e | zoore /zo:ɹe:/ | mountain/hill |
| /ɛ̃/ | ẽ | tẽŋa | city |
| /ɪ/ | ɩ | taablɩ /ta:blɪ/ | table (French borrowing) |
| /i/ | i | piika /pi:ka/ | little |
| /ɔ/ | ɔ | ɔɔrɔ /ɔ:ɹɔ/ | cold |
| /o/ | o | toma toma /to:.ma.to:.ma/ | a greeting similar to "hi" |
| /ʊ/ | ʋ | teebʋl /te:bʊl/ | table (English borrowing) |
| /u/ | uu | buulika /bu:lika/ | morning |
Grammar
Nouns in Gurunɛ have different "classes" with regard to plurals:
| Genre | Class #s (sg./pl.) | Singular | Plural | Examples | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1 / 2 | -a | -ba | nẽra > nẽrba | person > people |
| -dõma | dɛɛma > dɛɛndõma
naba > na'adõma yaaba > yaabdõma |
in-law(s)
chief(s) ancestor(s) | |||
| Loanwords | ãnkɔra > ãnkɔrdõma
biki > bikidõma nõtɩ > nõtɩdõma sɛɛtɛ > sɛɛtɛdõma |
water barrel(s) [Twi]
ballpoint pen(s) [French] nut(s) [English] shirt(s) [English] | |||
| 2nd | 3 / 4 | -a | -sɩ | tɩa > tɩɩsɩ | tree(s) |
| -ga | yɩbga > yɩbsɩ | younger sibling(s) | |||
| 3rd | 5 / 6 | -go | -ro | boko > bogro
võogɔ > võorɔ wɔbgɔ > wɔbrɔ |
hole(s)
leaf > leaves elephant(s) |
| -to | deego > deto
zuugo > zuto |
room(s) / hut(s) / house(s)
head(s) | |||
| -ko | -gro | bɔkɔ > bɔgrɔ | shoulder(s) | ||
| -lgo | -llo | bakolgo > bakollo | soothsayer's fetish(es) | ||
| -ŋo | -nno | Filippiŋɔ > Filippinno
sõŋɔ > sõnnɔ Tɩntɩŋɔ > Tɩntɩnnɔ |
island in the Philippines > The Philippines
mat(s) one of the Netherlands > The Netherlands | ||
| 4th | 7/8 | -le
(if the stem ends in /l/) |
-a | wille > wila
zelle > zɛla |
branch(es)
egg(s) |
| -ne
(if the stem ends in /m/ or /n/) |
bẽmnɛ > bẽma
dũnne > dũma gɩgnɛ > gɩgma kãnnɛ > kãna mã'anɛ > mã'ana yẽnnɛ > yẽna |
calabash drum(s)
knee(s) lion(s) spear(s) piece(s) of okra tooth > teeth | |||
| -re | busre > busa
dĩire > dĩa gere > gɛa kũure > kũa loore > lɔa nõorɛ > nõa pʋʋrɛ > pʋa sore > sɔa sũure > sũa tʋbrɛ > tʋba |
yam(s)
forehead(s) thigh(s) hoe(s) vehicle(s) mouth(s) belly > bellies road(s) / trail(s) heart(s) ear(s) | |||
| -te
(if the stem ends in /r/) |
tagtɛ > tagra
watɛ > wara watɛ > wara |
sandal(s)
brick(s) cloud(s) | |||
| 5th
(stem vowels change) |
9/10 | -fo | -i | lagfɔ > ligri
mu'ufo > mũi naafɔ - niigi nifo > nini weefo/yeho > wiiri/yiri yoofo > yũuni |
cowry shell > money
rice grain > rice bovine(s) eye(s) horse(s) shea nut(s) |
| - | sĩfo > sĩm
zũfo > zũma |
bee(s)
fish(es) | |||
| 6th
(mostly animals and diminutives) |
11/12 | -la | -nto | bʋdibla > bʋdimto
bʋtɩla > bʋtɩtɔ kɩɩla > kɩɩntɔ niila > niinto pɩɩla > pɩɩntɔ pugla > pugunto |
boy(s)
billy goat(s) guinea fowl(s) chick(s) lamb(s) girl(s) |
| (No distinction between plural and singular) | Class 13 | -bo | kɩ'ɩbɔ
bo'obo / bɔ'a |
soap
gift | |
| Uncountable nouns | Class 14 | -m | bɛglʋm
bĩ'isũm dãam dabeem dõndʋ'ʋrʋm gẽem ɩɩlʋm kaam ko'om kɔm kũm mẽelʋm nõŋlʋm nõtõorʋm tɩɩm valʋm yaarʋm yɛm zẽem zɩɩm zom |
mud
breastmilk beer, alcohol fear urine sleep milk oil water hunger death dew love saliva medicine, remedy shame salt intelligence potash blood flour | |
Greetings
| Gurunɛ | Phonetic | English |
|---|---|---|
| Bulika | /bulika/ | morning (Greeting in the morning) |
| Wuntɛɛŋa | /wʊn.tɛ:.ŋa/ | sun (Greeting around noon) |
| Zaanuurɛ | /za:jʋɻɛ/ | Evening (Greeting in the evening) |
| Zaare | /za:r̝e/ | Welcome |
| Tooma Tooma | /to:.ma.to:.ma/ | a greeting similar to "Hello" (every time of the day) |
| Nambaa | /ˈnaːm.ba:/ | Response to these greetings |
Geography
| English | Gurunɛ |
|---|---|
| Africa | Afrika |
| America | Amerika |
| Antarctica | Antartika |
| Asia | Asia |
| Australia | Australia |
| Europe | Europa |
| Oceania | Okeania |
Solemitẽŋa means "land of the white man" and is used to refer to all non-African countries.
Soleminɛ is theoretically referring to all non-African languages, however it is only used to refer to English.
External links
- "Ninkare | SIL Burkina Faso". sil-burkina.org. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
Bibliography
- Niggli, Idda; Niggli, Urs (2007). De la phonologie à l’orthographe : Le ninkãrɛ au Burkina Faso. SIL.
- M.E. Kropp Dakubu, S. Awinkene Antintono, and E. Avea Nsoh, A Gurenɛ–English Dictionary and accompanying English–Gurenɛ Glossary
- Ninkare Frafra Dictionary
Notes
- Allophone of /g/ between lax vowels and is rarely represented in writing.
References
- Excluding ?30,000 Nabit and ?100,000 Talni
- Frafra at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ISO change request
- Niggli (2007). "Equisse grammaticale du ninkãrɛ au Burkina Faso" (PDF). SIL International Burkina Faso. p. 14. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Niggli 2007, p. 85.
- Niggli 2007, p. 84.
- Niggli 2007, p. 94.
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Frafra language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |