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- The Temein cluster consists of three languages spoken in the Nuba Hills,
Sudan, NE of Kadugli.
- Little has been published on these languages, but Roland Stevenson
elicited substantial lexical data during the 1970s and 1980s, mostly
from Khartoum-based informants.
- In addition, SIL files Khartoum contain significant data on the
phonology of T(h)ese (cf. Yip 2004)
- This presentation will give an abbreviated overview of the comparative
phonology and morphology
- The submitted paper should include some proposals for the reconstruction
of proto-Temein
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- The Temein cluster is usually classified with Nyimang and Daju as part
of the Nuba hills group of Eastern Sudanic
- Although this seems likely, it has yet to be demonstrated in any
rigorous way
- Nonetheless, Temein displays numerous features characteristic of NS
languages of the area, including morphophonemic alternation of stops,
singulatives and k- plurals
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- It is likely that the Temein languages all show typical + ATR vowel
harmony with either nine or ten vowels
- However, this is somewhat obscured in Stevenson’s transcriptions where
all varieties of vowels occur together. Yip transcribes ten vowels for
These and her examples generally show ATR harmony
- High back vowels probably are responsible for non-phonemic labialisation
especially of velars
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- Temein languages contrast
retroflex d/t/r with their normal
counterparts
- There may be a contrast between ɓ/ɗ
and b/d but this is not well established; this could be free variation
as is common in Niger-Congo
- ɖ/ð are usually allophones as s/ʃ
- final –k is often unreleased or realised as a glottal stop
- Geminate consonants occur in These as follows;
- Nouns /ʈʈ/, /nn/, /mm/,
/ll/, /ss/
- Verbs /pp/, /kk/, /ʈʈ/,
/ɽɽ/, /ll/
- Adjectives /ll/, /rr/
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- Temein languages show
morphophonemic alternations typical of the region.
- E.g. Keiga Jirru;
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- All three languages seem to have a three-tone system. RCS notes the
following for Keiga Jirru;
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- Nominal plurals are highly diverse and not easy to predict, although all
three languages exhibit ‘moveable k-’, prefixed, suffixed or both
- Prefixed kV- is a typical strategy for Arabic loanwords
- Suppletion is present although not always easy to identify due to vowel
changes and shortening
- Some cases of addition of final –NV
- Some cases of addition of final –a[ʔ]
- Vowel lengthening and unpredictable changes in vowel quality (often due
to consonant deletion
- and any combinations of these
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- Vowel lengthening in Tese
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- Moveable k- in Keiga Jirru
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- Singulative –VT, -VS in Temein
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- Traces of characteristic Nilo-Saharan systems
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- Suppletives in Keiga Jirru
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- Suppletives for ‘house’ in the Temein cluster
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- + final (or infixed) - TV in Temein
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- This is a very preliminary look
at the Stevenson material, particularly comparing these three languages
- (and there are three languages
and not two)
- All of the Temein languages have
clearly undergone the same sequences in terms of phonology and nominal
and verbal morphology
- However, all have subsequently
undergone independent processes of elision and borrowing which have
resulted in highly diverse outcomes
- More work is clearly required!
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- To Roland Stevenson (†) for the
original material
- To SIL Khartoum for access to
their mss.
- To Robin Thelwall for conserving
the mss. and making copies for me
- To Tyler Schnoebelen for typing
some of the data
- Scans of the originals are on my website, and retyped versions with
commentary will be available shortly as this powerpoint
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Notes
