Dime or Dima is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the northern part of the Selamago district in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNP) of Ethiopia, around Mount Smith. Dime divides into at least two dialects, which include Us'a and Gerfa. It has six case suffixes in addition to an unmarked nominative. It is overwhelmingly suffixing, but uses prefixes for demonstratives and has reduplication. Phonologically, it is noteworthy among the Omotic languages for having phonemic velar and uvular fricatives. The basic word order is subject–object–verb (SOV), as in other Omotic languages, and indeed in all members of the core of the Ethiopian Language Area.
The language, as well as the Dime people themselves, reportedly decreased in number over the 20th century due to predations from their neighbors the Bodi, and both are in danger of extinction. According to official Ethiopian figures, the 1994 census reported 6293 speakers of the Dime language in the SNNP region alone;1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Table 2.14 in the 2007 census, only 574 speakers were reported for all of Ethiopia. Further, because the Dime language still lacks a writing system and there are no local schools to promote the use of the language, it is even more threatened.
Phonology
Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Alveo-palatal Velar Uvular Glottal Nasals Plosives Voiceless Voiced Ejective Implosive Fricatives Voiceless Voiced Ejective Affricates Voiceless Voiced Ejective Liquids Glides
Vowels
FrontCentralBackCloseClose-midOpen-midOpen
Free variation Dime undergoes phonological processes when speaking and one of them is free variation. Free variation is a phenomenon of two or more sounds or forms appearing in the same environment without a change in meaning and without being considered as wrong by a native speaker of Dime.
and are in free variation word initially in some lexemes.
and Knife and wood, knife and to pick up and grass and to run or you (obj.)
Gemination Dime has a lot of consonant gemination, which mostly occurs in the middle and final position of words, which distinguishes the meaning of lexemes.
(deep) - (stomach) (quick) - (slowly) (hand) - (wild life)
Syllable structure Dime has both closed and open syllables as well as super-heavy syllables. Most consonants can occur in the middle and at the end of the word.
Syllable shape examples translation CV 'she' 'he' CVC 'wait' 'friend' CVV 'bottom' 'lemon' CVVC 'hunger' 'red' CVCC 'nails' mucu 'cat' CVVCC
Dime also has consonant clusters, which are mostly made up of only two members.
At the end of the word:
nails sneeze borrow floor pillar
In the middle of the word:
tobacco fearful boundary out
Morphology and Syntax
Definiteness A definite noun is one which refers to a specific entity. Morphologically, Dime distinguishes definite from indefinite nouns. Definiteness is marked by the suffix -is.
a house - the house a child - the child a person - the person
In the last example, there is a modifier in the noun phrase; the definite marker is suffixed to the modifier.
The definite marker -is may optionally be changed to -iz when followed by a voiced consonant.
the house the road the woman the red one
Number Nouns and noun phrases make a distinction between singular and plural. Singular is morphologically unmarked, whereas plural is marked by the suffix -af. That a head noun is plural can be inferred from the morpheme -id, which is suffixed to a modifier.
Pronouns
+ Pronouns Subject Object 1stperson I me we us 2ndperson you you you all/you guys you all/you guys 3rd person he him she her they them
References
Further reading Seyoum, Mulugeta. "Gender Marking in Tsaratsa." Studies in Ethiopian Languages 7 (2018): 1-13. Seyoum, Mulugeta. A Grammar of Dime. Leiden University, doctoral dissertation. 2008.
External links Yilma, Aklilu and Ralph Siebert (2002), "Sociolinguistic survey report of the Chara, Dime, Melo and Nayi languages of Ethiopia part 1." SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2002-029. Ralph Siebert (2002), "Sociolinguistic survey report on the Dime language of Ethiopia." SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2002-043 World Atlas of Language Structures information on Dime