Kumam dialect
In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of Kumam dialect and everything that this theme has to offer. From its origins to its relevance today, we will immerse ourselves in an exhaustive analysis that will allow us to thoroughly understand its importance and impact in various areas. Kumam dialect has been the subject of interest and study for decades, and over time it has demonstrated its ability to influence our lives in surprising ways. With a multidisciplinary approach, we will address different perspectives and reflect on the significance of Kumam dialect in contemporary society. Prepare for an exciting journey through the history, culture and current affairs of Kumam dialect.
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| Kumam | |
|---|---|
| Ikokolemu | |
| Native to | Uganda |
| Region | Teso District |
| Ethnicity | Kumam people |
Native speakers | 270,000 (2014 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kdi |
| Glottolog | kuma1275 |
Kumam is a language of the Southern Lwoo group[3] spoken by the Kumam people of Uganda. It is estimated that the Kumam dialect has 82 percent lexical similarity with the Acholi dialect, 81 percent with the Lango dialect.[4]
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | p | t | c | k |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | g | |
| Fricative | (f)[1] | (s)[1] | |||
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
Gemination can occur due to morphological processes, for example del 'skin' + -ná → dellá 'my skin'.[3]
Vowels
Kumam has ten vowels, with a vowel harmony system based on presence or absence of advanced tongue root (ATR).[3]
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ɪ | ʊ | i | u |
| Mid | ɛ | ɔ | e | o |
| Open | a | ɑ | ||
Vowels have no distinction in length, except due to some morphological processes, for instance compensatory lengthening that occurs when applying the transitive infinitive suffix -nɔ: ted- 'cook' + -ne → *ted-do → teedo 'to cook'.[3]
Tone
There exist six tones: low, high, falling, rising, downstep high and double downstep high.[3]
| Tone | Transcription |
|---|---|
| low | |
| high | |
| falling | |
| rising | |
| downstep high | |
| double downstep high |
Tone sandhi
Kumam exhibits tone sandhi in two ways. The first is the spreading of high tonemes rightwards to the following words beginning with a low tonemes, as in ɑbúké 'eyelash' + waŋ 'eye' → abúké wâŋ 'eyelash'. The second is when a floating high toneme is followed by a word beginning in a low toneme, where the floating tone is assigned to the following word and not the word bearing the floating tone: cogó 'bone' + rac 'bad' → cogo râc 'The bone is bad.'[3]
Grammar
Verbs
Valency
Transitive stems are constructed by applying the suffix -ɔ (yɛŋ 'be satisfied' → yɛŋ-ɔ 'satisfy'). A subset of transitive verbs can have the suffix -ɛ́rɛ́ applied to form what Hieda calls a 'middle form' (nɛ́n-ɔ → nɛ́!nɛ́rɛ́ 'be seen').[3]
Basic lexicon
 |
Hello – yoga
How are you? –Itiye benyo (singular), Itiyenu benyo (plural)
Fine, and you? – Atiye ber, arai bon yin?
Fine – Atiye ber or just ber
What is your name? – Nying in en Ngai?
My name is ... – Nying ango en ...
Name --- Nying
Nice to see you. --- Apwoyo Neno in (also: Apwoyo Neno wun)
See you again --- Oneno bobo
Book – Itabo
Because – Pi Ento
The first sentence in the bible can be translated as I ya gege, Rubanga ocweo wi polo kede piny ("In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth" ).
References
- ^ Kumam at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (10 July 2023). "Glottolog 4.8 - Southern Lwoo". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7398962. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hieda, Osamu (2020). "Kumam". In Vossen, Rainer; Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of African Languages. pp. 611–629. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199609895.013.24. ISBN 978-0-19-960989-5.
- ^ "Kumam". Ethnologue. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
