Kadaru (also Kadaro, Kadero, Kaderu, Kodhin, Kodhinniai, Kodoro, Tamya) is a Hill Nubian language spoken in the northern Nuba Mountains in the south of Sudan. It is spoken by around 25,000 people in the Jibaal as-Sitta (Mountains of the Six) hills, between Dilling and Delami. Kordofan Nubian is a cluster of dialects also called Ajang Language with names of dialects varying according to specific clans. According to Ajang people, they all belong to one language group and although some sounds and words might have changed with time, they can understand each other quite well. It is closely related to Ghulfan, with which it forms the Kadaru-Ghulfan subgroup of Hill Nubian.
In the Middle Ages, the Nubian language was used as lingua franca of the Sudan and was used in writing, commerce and by the government.Birema, Ali Obeid (2006) "The Deviation of The Nubian Language of Kadero into Sudanese Colloquial Arabic". In Abu-Manga, Gilley and Storch (eds.) Insights into Nilo-Saharan Language, History and Culture. Cologne. Pp. 85 - 100. According to Ali Obeid Birema, Kadero should be considered as a diminishing language caused by the influence of Arabic and the ever-decreasing number of speakers.
Dialects Ethnologue reports that there are six dialects spoken by six clan groups living on six separate hills: Kadaru (Kodur), Kururu (Tagle), Kafir (Ka’e), Kurtala (Ngokra), Dabatna (Kaaral) and Kuldaji (Kendal). The Western form used by the Berko people at Habila (southwest of Jebel Sitta, neighbouring the Ghulfan) may be another dialect or a separate language. Since Kadaru per se is understudied, many articles on Ajang Language use examples from various dialects, based on the fact that these are closely related dialects.
Phonology
Consonants There are 22 consonants in Kadaru, with voiced and voiceless plosives in five places of articulation. "There is only one fricative /ʃ/ which we assign to the palatal column. There are three alveolar liquids – a lateral, a trill, and a flap – and there are two central approximants.". +Consonants chartLabialDentalCoronalPalatalVelarplainlabializedplainlabializedPlosivevoicelesspt̪t(tʷ)ck(kʷ)voicedbd̪dɟgFricativeʃNasalmnɲŋLaterallTrillrFlapɽApproximantwj
Distribution When it comes to the distribution, only 10 consonants were found in all the positions (initial, intervocalic and final). As seen in the table labial dental and velar consonants appear on the initial position only voiceless. The situation changes, however, in the final position where only labial and velar consonants appear, both voiceless. Contrary to Sudanese Arabic, Kadaru-Kurtala labial plosives are voiceless in the final position of the word.
ɪ́p "tail"
ʃap "giraffe"
kɔ́p "lion"
nɔ́p "gold"
tɔ́p "earth" +Distribution chartPhonemeInitialMeaningIntervocalicMeaningFinalMeaning(p) - -kɔplionbbʊ́ldogàbʊ́lmouth -t̪t̪uríɲlocustjat̪ʊgoatít̪person(d̪) -bid̪id̪batbid̪id̪batttidəmostrichtitimdoveʃʊ́tthreadddoːskindɛdʊcloudʃúdsand(tʷ)tʷanʊbellies - -(c)caŋpython - -
Consonant contrast Since the language lacks minimal pairs, the following table shows pairs in which the two consonants are in minimal contrast in the syllable in which they occur. +Contrast chartp-b - -b-mabʊlmouthɔmʊlelephantb-wbarayellowwataashm-wmɛɲbackwɛŋɡathatt̪-d̪(ítpersonbid̪id̪bat)t̪-t(t̪uɾíɲlocusttitimdove)d̪-dʊd̪ʊbreastdɛdʊcloudt-twtaɽʊmtortoisetʷanʊbelliest-dtɛɲʊthighdɛdʊcloudkatʊfielddɛdʊcloudʃʊ́tthreadʃúdsandd-ndʊllarynxnʊmthroned-l(dɛdʊcloudbɛlɛsesame)n-l(ɛnɛnmotherbɛlɛsesame)l-rkɛlɪfoodɛrɪropel-ɽʃalɛsalttaɽɛplater-ɽ(ɪrɪɲnosekɪ̀ɽáŋdrum)c-ɟ(caŋpythonɟadʊtongue)
Consonant sequences Consonant sequences in Kadaru are considered relatively free, even including a sequence of two plosive consonants. The table below shows that the range of consonant sequences in Kadaru is bigger than in, for example, Uncu, a different Ghulfan language closely related to Kadaru. +ChartKadaru-Kurtala WordMeaningUncuWordMeaningnt̪nɔnt̪ʊmoonnt̪t̪ɛ̀nt̪ʊintestinesnd̪ɟʊ́nd̪ʊsmallnd̪kánd̪ɛ̀t̪ʊbirdntkúntúkneentɔ̀ntʊ́armndkʊndasmokendarɛndʊ́waskyɲɟkʊɲɟaŋlyreɲɟtɔɲɟɔthighŋɡɔŋɡɔlroadmtkʊmtɛ(woman's name)ɲdakiɲdʊadzeld̪eld̪oheartld̪ábʊld̪ɛadzeltkáltʊ́eyeltkáltʊ̀eyelɖkʊlɖaɟɪ(clan name)lɕʊlɕaearlɕʊlcaearlmʃalmɛchinrbt̪arbʊtwentyrbt̪àrbɔtwentyrt̪kɔrt̪ʊshoert̪ɔrt̪ɪsheeprtwərtílsheeprtàmʊrtɛ̂palmrd̪kɔrd̪ʊforestrd̪ʃɛ̀rd̪ʊːshortrdkʷardɪlɛcockrʃkɔrʃʊsixrʃɪ́rʃʊwindrkbɛrkʊ(placename)rŋɔrŋaɽʊleafkltaklɛ(clan name)krkákrɪ́stoneskɽŋɔkɽal(clan name)dkkudkiredust
Vowels In Kadaru one can identify 10 vowels distinguished by the advanced tongue root dividing them into two 5 element groups. +Vowel phonemes[-ATR][+ATR]frontcentralbackfrontcentralbackcloseɪʊiumidɛɔ(e)oopena(ə)
Vowel contrasts two identical vowels meaningsingle vowel meaningiirid̪canoeit̪personíríɲscorpionʃiŋtermite housetitimdoveʃíːlkingbid̪id̪batt̪icowɪkɪ́nɪ́doorsɪ́ptailɪ́rɪŋnoset̪ɪ̀lhairɲɪŋɪlleft sideɪːsunenenɟêwhat is it? kelstickɛbɛlɛsesamekɛ́lboundaryɛnɛnmothermɛ̀ɲbackt̪ɛrrɛbullbɛ̀ːonebɛɟɛgreenəkəɽəl(placename)ʃəʃək.o. treeakàkàcrowkalporridgekákáːstoneáɾaraintataŋalltɔ́ːbellyɔɔ́kɔ̀chestkɔplionɔŋɡɔlroadɔŋyearɔrrɔtwokòlhouseodoːskinoːhillside springʊkʊddʊlegbʊ́ldogʊ́ɡʊ́bloodnʊmthroneʊ́d̪ʊ́breastdʊ́llarynxkʊmʊ̀lsnakeʃʊ́tthreaduunufliesʃúdsandkúntúkneekuːchicken stomachkúndusmokekùd̪úmount
Vowel distribution Vowel distribution. Vowels appear unrestricted when it comes to the position of the phoneme in a word. However, vowels from different [ATR] sets do not appear together in a word. +phon. initialmedialfinaliɪrt̪id̪arootkedilboneèʃíhandɪɪ́ɟɪŋnoset̪ɪ́lhairkɪ́nɪ́doorseèʃíhandbèríyellowbiɟebeerɛɛnɛnmothert̪ɛrrɛbullbɛlɛsesameuunut̪flyʃút̪ífish spear úɡúbigʊʊ́nɪrelativebʊ́ldogɪ̀d̪ʊwomanoóndodonkeykólhousedoːskinɔɔ́mʊlelephantbɔ́lt̪ʊɔrrɔtwoəəboki(place name)koɟəŋalligatorʃekkə(pers. name)aàttʊ́wingkalporridgedɔtatool
Syllables and prosody In Kadaru-Kurtala one can find all four basic syllable types: CV, V, VC, CVC. +Basic syllablesCVt̪ícowVɛ̀ːweVCɔŋyearCVCkòlhouse The four types also combine in longer words, however the language lacks the combination V.V. +Syllables in wordsCV.CVbɛ.lɛsesameCV.CVCka.ɽɔlfishCVC.CVkɔr.t̪ʊshoeCVC.CVCwər.tilsheepVC.CVon.dodonkeyVC.CVCɔŋ.ɡɔlroadV.CVʊ.nɪgrassV.CVCi.ridcanoeV.V
Evidence shows a strong presence of long vowels both in word of one open syllable and in longer words. The evidence also suggests tonality in the language. Tagle (Kururu) language also from Jibaal as-Sitta shows more tendency of tonality with three tones: falling, high and low.Ibrahim, Gumma and Piet Huttega (2007) "The Phoneme System of Tagle, a Kordofanian Nubian Language". Advances in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics. Proceedings of the 8th Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloqium. Hamburg, August 22–25, 2001. Ed. by Doris Payne & Mechthild Reh (Nilo-Saharan, Vol. 22). Köln: Rüdiger Köpper 2007, pp. 99-113. Due to the lack of sufficient research, one cannot say for sure, but one could assume that Kadaru is also a tonal language, since all Ajang languages are considered tonal languages.
Orthography
Arabic script
Consonants One of the possible systems of writing Ajang languages is the Arabic script. ALESCO (Arab League Educational Scientific Cultural Organization) offered some solutions to how to write non-Arabic languages in Arabic script. The issue with the Arabic script is the fact that Arabic has thirteen consonants that do not exist in Ajang. Moreover, for six consonants that could be found in Ajang but not in Arabic, ALESCO suggests solutions only to three of them. +for g گfor ɲݧfor ŋݝfor t̪no symbol for d̪no symbol for ɽno symbol
Vowels Vowels become even more problematic, since Arabic has only three short and three long vowels. Ajang in contrast has seven vowels. Here ALESCO also suggests a possible solution. The proposed symbols, however, are confusing and are not available on computers.
Old Nubian Script The advantage of Old Nubian is the availability of symbols for all consonants. The script becomes problematic when it comes to spelling of + and – ATR vowels. The Ajang community has decided that the Old Nubian script would have to be adjusted for a better distinction between ATR vowels. +SoundSpellingaⲀʷaɯⲀɛⲈɘⲀyɪlʊɔⲞ eɛyilyuoⲞYbBwⲰ mMfⲪd̪ⲆdⲆ't̪TtT'nNlⲖrⲢɽⲢ'ʃϢdʒⳜɲⳠgⲄkKŋⳞhϨ
Adapted Latin script Adapted Latin script is considered the best option for spelling of Ajang languages because of its flexibility, availability of many symbols, and the possibility to indicate tone.
Consonants b [b], c [S], d [d], f [f], g [g], h [h], j [dz], k [k], 1 , Ir[c], m [m], n [n], ng [n], ny[n], r [r], t [t], th [t], w [w], y [j]
Vowels a [a], e [e], i [i], o [o], ø [o], u [u]
Diagraphs and monographs Diagraphs are considered a solution to the challenge of writing of all eleven vowels present in Ajang languages. For example, Warki and Kaak use diagraphs for some consonants:
Warki: /lr/, /th/, /ng/ and /ny/
Kaak: /dh, /th/, /rh/, /ng/ and /ny/
In order to include both the [ATR] and tonality of vowels a different solution was created. By using some symbols available on computers and by putting diacritics one could both indicate the vowel and its tone. +iuɨæʊeoɛaø Alaki and Norton suggest a slightly different orthography to the one proposed by Jabr el Dar. They added 's' for the palatal fricative in order to distinguish it from the palatal plosive 'c'. They also propose umlauts for +ATR vowels in Kadaru, with the exception of the letter . The also recommend an orthography without tone marks, since it could have negative effects on the process of writing and reading.
Grammar
Verbal number Uncu, a closely related language to Kadaru, shows evidence of verbal number in its grammatical structure. In Uncu the number of the object or subject determines participant number, whereas the event number is determined by the frequency or repetition of an event.
Participant number When the object of a transitive verb is plural, the extension -er is added to the root of the verb before the infliction markers. In the case of intransitive verbs, the extension -er is added to the root of the verb when the subject is plural.
Intransitive verb:
Transitive verbs with a plural object or intransitive verbs with plural subject sometimes need a suppletive form including -k or -ʃ extension or involving change in vowel quality.
+TR verbs with suppletive forms for PL OsoselleatSGSGʃàn-íkōl-íPLSGʃàn-ékōl-éSGPLʃàn-îkàm-îPLPLʃàn-êkàm-ê
Event number Event number is used when a speaker wants to express performing of an action habitually or iteratively. It is marked by -ʈ, -ug, -k, -ʃ, -c extensions and partial reduplication of the root.
Noun phrase In Kordofan Nubian, like in many Nubian languages one can find noun phrase constructions. There are two types of noun phrases in Nubian, namely ones consisting of a noun with or without modifiers, and ones with a single person pronoun, determine or a single quantifier without any nominal modifiers.
Possessive adjective + noun In Kordofan Nubian possessive adjectives are derived from personal pronouns by adding the genitive linker -n. Examples from Tabaq language.
singular plural 1st person an ʊn 2nd person ʊn wun 3rd person ʈɛn/ʈan ʈin
Determiners in Kordofan Nubian (Examples from Tabaq) Source: This iŋ These ɛnɛ That waŋ Those wanɛ
Noun + numeral/quantifier In Nubian numerals follow the head noun. The same happens with quantifiers.
Influence of Arabic on Kadaru