Otoro language

The Otoro language is a Heiban language which belongs to the Kordofanian Languages and therefore it is a part of the Niger-Congo language family. In a smaller view the Otoro is a segment of the "central branch" from the so-called Koalib-Moro Group of the languages which are spoken in the Nuba Mountains. The Otoro language is spoken within the geographical regions encompassing Kuartal, Zayd and Kauda in Sudan. The precise number of Otoro speakers is unknown, though current sources suggest it to be exceeding 17,000 people.

Otoro is transcribed here using the community orthography, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). However, some similar sounds are not further distinguished and represented as one. Therefore, the sounds ˈɪˈ, ˈiˈ and ˈɪ̈ˈ will be collectively denoted as ˈiˈ, ˈaˈ and ˈɑˈ as ˈaˈ, ˈɔːˈ and ˈɔˈ as ˈɔˈ, ˈoˈ and ˈo̜ˈ as ˈoˈ and ˈuˈ and ˈʊˈ as ˈuˈ.

Name To outsiders, the language is called "Otoro". The local name of the language is "Dhitoɽo". Otoro speakers are referred to as "Litoɽo" (plural) and the area is called "Otoɽo".

Language varieties Otoro shows linguistic diversity through the presence of three primary varieties, each named after the respective mountain ranges within which these linguistic variations are observed.

The Kwara variety is the most prominently represented in the Otoro language, on which Stevenson's book Tira and Otoro is based. Furthermore, in the Kwara mountain group, the town of Sabun, known as the home of the Mek, holds a high political status as Mek denotes the chief of the Otoro.

The native speakers on the hill chains Kijama and Kwijur use remarkably similar varieties. Consequently, in this article it is viewed as one and introduced as the Kwijur variety.

The third vernacular is the Orombe variety. It is used in the Orombe and Girindi hills. Linguistically the Orombe variety has similarities of both the Kwara and Kwijur variety.

Phonology This section is based on all the Otoro varieties and covers Vowels, Consonants, Stress and intonation.

Vowels The three Otoro varieties utilize a system of thirteen vowels rendered in a narrow phonectc transcription: i, ɪ, e, ɛ, a, ɑ, ɔ, o̜, o, u, ʊ, ö, ə. In a more comprehensive script, 'i' will also cover 'ɪ' and ˈɪ̈ˈ, 'a' will cover both 'a' and 'ɑ', 'u' will include 'ʊ' and 'o' will also involve 'o̜', resulting in a total of nine primary vowels. +VowelsFrontCentralBackshortShortshortLongCloseiuɪɪ̈ʊClose-mideöoo̜Open-midɛəɔɔːOpenaɑ

Vowel Change

It is known that vowel changes are not only present but also play a crucial role in verb conjugation. In general, vowel change needs further exploration within the Otoro context.

Consonants The following table shows all the noted consonants in the Otoro varieties. +BilabialLabiodentalDentalAlveolar(retroflex)PalatalVelarPlosivep, bth, dht,dc,jk, gImplosiveɗFricativeʋvðAffricatestr, drNasalnnyŋLiquids, etc.ɽl, ryw

Several of the consonants mentioned in the table exhibit peculiarities. For instance, the bilabial fricative 'ʋ' is absent in the Kwijur variety and appears merely as a variant of 'm' or 'v' in the Kwara variety. On the country, affricates occur solely in the Kwijur variety. Regarding closed syllables, the majority conclude in a nasal or liquid consonant. In the Kwara variety one will see the nasal 'ny'/'ŋ' far less than in the other two varieties. In general, affricates, plosives, the fricatives 'ʋ' and 'v' and implosives may not be syllable-final.

Consonant combinations

In Otoro, the language employs compounds involving the semi-vowel 'w' along with dentals, liquids and nasals. However, not all the dialects share the same set of combinations.

Compounds with liquids:

These are first incountered in Orombe and Kwijur.

'lr', 'lrk', 'lrkw', 'lɽ', 'ld', 'lð', 'ldr', 'lth', 'dr', 'ŋɽ', 'rn', 'rk', 'rkw'

English Kwara Kwijur Orombe

Hill ldori lrɔgɔm lrɔgwɔm

The compounds with nasals:

These are mostly present in Kwijur.

'ŋɽ', 'ŋw', 'mb', 'nd', 'ŋg',...

English Kwara Kwijur Orombe

Rifle, gun almudu almundu almudu

Compound with semi-vowel 'w':

These are found in every Otoro variety.

'kw', 'gw', 'ŋw'

English Kwara Kwijur Orombe

Fly kwal kwalum kwal

Stress and Intonation Stress and the emphasis of louder or stronger sounds are commonly used in the Otoro language. However, words which are only determined by tone are rare. A distinct pattern of the stress in this language has not yet been established, although Stevenson says that the stress often falls on the last syllable. In instance, where a word has a final consonant, the stress typically occurs on the last syllable. Conversely, many dissyllabic words tend to stress on the first syllable. +Example (stress syllable marked ' )EnglishKwaraKwijurOrombebuttock'gwutu'gwuthu'gwutumanygwu'tugwu'tugwu'tuto open'iðu'iðu'iðhuheadl'ɽal'ɽal'ɽa

Morphology Otoro is an agglutinative language which means it is a type of language characterized by adding affixes to the root or stem of a word. Also, Otoro does not have a grammatical gender, but does have noun classes. The etymological roots primarily manifest as monosyllabic or dissyllabic structures. The syllables primarily contain either a vowel-consonant pairing or a vowel combined with a sequence of consonants. Syllables in this language are mostly open but specific consonants may form a closed syllable, characterized by a short vowel ending. This structure is notably more frequent in the Kwijur and Orombe varieties as compared to the Kwara variety. The nouns in Otoro are grouped in twelve noun-classes, with specific prefixes employed to construct the noun and differentiate between singular and plural. The layout in these prefixes is unique to each class. To achieve agreement with the noun, verbs and qualificatives employ concord prefixes. Those concord prefixes depend on the specific noun-classes and mirror the prefixes used for the corresponding noun within the same noun class. This pattern is recognized as "alliterative concord ". Personal names, kinship terms, and pronouns employ collective suffixes for the purpose of pluralization.

Nouns As mentioned before, Otoro nouns fall into twelve different classes, each with its own clear distinctions. This classification system is quite transparent and forms a construction. The noun-classes are marked both numerically and through given titles, to make an approach to understanding the classifications better. The designations corresponding to each class are displayed in the chart below. In each noun-class of Otoro, every noun is assigned at least two prefixes, distinctly indicating whether the word is in its singular or plural form. In the chart below the concord prefixes which come with verbs and qualificatives agreeing to the noun are also shown due to their similar configuration. Exceptions, clarifications or outbreaks of the pattern will be demonstrated beneath the table. +Noun-classesClassClass Prefix sing. pl.Example KwaraEnglish TranslationConcord Prefix

sing. pl.Example KwaraEnglish Translation1."Person/ Living Things"

1.a (suffix)gw- l- gwu- li-

-ŋagwɛlɛ lɛlɛ

gwutoɽo

litoɽo

baba

babaŋaChief Chiefs

Otoro Person

Otoro Persons

Father

Fathersgw- l-gwiji gwiŋir baba gwiA good person My father2."Nature"gw- j-gwidi jidiArad tree Arad treegw- j-gwaɽe gwɔl(a) elɔA tall tree3."Unit-Collective"l- ŋw- li- ŋwu-lamɔn ŋwamɔn

livuða

ŋwuvuðaFinger Fingers

Wild fig

Wild figsl- ŋw- li- ŋwu-lɔiny lɛnɔ ŋwɔiny ŋwɛnɔThat egg Those eggs4."Thing"g- j- k- c-gödo jado

kivið

civiðKnife Knives

Sword

Swordsg- j- k- c-gilöð gɔla jilöð jɔlaA long hoe Long hoes5."Harmful Things"ð- j- th- c-ðimu jimu

thar

carScorpion Scorpions

Rope

Ropesð- j- th- c-ðuŋo ðɔla juŋo jɔlaA long snake Long snakes6."Long Things"ð- d- th- d-ðe de

thole

doleArm Arms

Hyena

Hyenasð- d- th- d-ðe ði ðɔla de di dɔlaMy arm is long My arms are long7."Diminutives"ŋ- ny-ŋimiɽɔ nyimiɽɔ

nirɛ

nyirɛ

ŋavirɛ

yavirɛCow Cows

Spear

Spears

Cat

Catsŋ- ny-ŋaɽɛ ŋirithɔ nyaɽɛ nyirithɔThe boy dances The boys dance8."Hollow Deep Things"g- n-giði niði

gömo

nomoPot Pots

Cave

Cavesg- n-giði gigirinu niði nigirinuThe pot is broken The pots are broken9."Collective" A "Liquids"

B "Abstract Nouns"ŋi- (ŋw-) ŋ-ŋan ŋila

ŋəro

ŋiɽainyMilk (A) Oil (A)

Work (B)

Illness (B)ŋ-ŋan ŋadhaWhere is the milk10."Infinitive/Verbal Noun"ði- ð-ðiyo ðɛliŋa

ðirithaDrinking Singing

Dancingði- ð-ðiritha ðiŋirDancing is pleasant11."initial Vowel" (miscellaneous group) ji- j-urið jurið

indro

jindroGazelle Gazelles

Drum

Drumsy- l-indro yɛði gwɛlɛThe chief's drum12."One Form only" - w-

ð-öɽu wuo

bur

marɔmɔthɔ

jaba

gɛrɛð

ðirɔnHair Help

Beam of light

gunshot

Bowels

Chest

Butter

Windy- gw-

gw-

ð-

Exceptions, outbreaks or further explanation Noun-class 1

This class encompasses human beings, tribal names and a few animals. The nouns ˈthingˈ, ˈhouse/homeˈ and ˈmoon/mothˈ also belong to this category. The prefixes that are mentioned in the chart are predominantly applied as illustrated, with a singular exception: when a noun initiates with ˈmˈ, ˈvˈ or ˈgwˈ only the plural prefixes are employed, omitting the singular prefixes.

Example: friend in Kwara mað(singular) limað(plural)

The subgroup ˈ1aˈ depicts a few personal names, kinship terms and loan-words for occupation or office.

Noun-class 2

This class pertains trees, plants and products of nature. The prefixes in this class do not consistently appear. Certain words allow for the omission of the singular prefix, while others omit the plural prefix, utilizing the singular form as collective.

Some nouns in class 2 use the singular prefix ˈg-ˈ or ˈk-ˈ alongside the plural prefix ˈj-ˈ, similar to class 4. Despite this resemblance, these nouns are categorised into this class due to the reliance on the concord prefixes ˈgw-ˈ and ˈj-ˈ.

For example, the doleib palm: gidɛ(Singular) jidɛ(plural)

concord prefix example: A tall doleib palm gidɛ gwɔl(a) elɔ

Noun-class 3

This class depicts things found in sets or large quantities, such as stars, salt, or fruit. Here, the singular form designates a single unit from the set, while the plural form signifies the set as a whole.

Noun-class 4

This class represents commonplace items, utensils, tools, weapons and a subset of "human defects". Notably, the pattern within this class exhibit inconsistency, with certain words lacking either the singular or plural form.

Example: hunter gina(singular) -

twins - jagul(plural)

Noun-class 5

This class predominantly consists of large or potentially harmful animals, reptiles etc. and it is comparatively smaller in size than other noun-classes. There has been an interchange of terms between Class 5 and Class 6, with words such as ˈroof poleˈ, ˈhairˈ, and ˈropeˈ moving from Class 6 to this classification. Additionally, ˈgiraffeˈ exhibits flexibility, allowing for the application of plural prefixes from both this class and Class 6.

Example: giraffe thul(singular) cul/dul(plural)

Noun-class 6

This class is characterised by items characterised by their great length, such as ˈarmˈ, ˈroadˈ or ˈstickˈ. Plural forms are predominantly formed as shown in the chart. There are only two exceptions within this classification. ˈWindˈ and ˈdry seasonˈ lack a plural form. Additionally, language names usually placed in this class, according to Stevenson, and commonly start with the prefix ˈð-ˈ.

Otoro language

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