Abstract

A PHONOLOGY OF GWAMA

Andargachew Getu Gebeyehu

Volume: 9 Issue: 2 2019

Abstract:

Gwama is one of the least described Nilo-Saharam language of the Koman subgroup found in Ethiopia. This paper presents the results of nearly two years of phonological fieldwork on Gwama in the form of a descriptive phonology. Included are presentations of the consonant and vowel phonemes, vowel quality, vowel harmony, syllable structure and phonotactics, notable morphophonemic processes, and an overview of the tone system. The data exhibits 23 consonant phonemes and 5 short vowel phonemes with long counterparts. The study indicates that Gwama is a three level tone language. The language allows the occurrence of only two consecutive consonants in a word. However, two vowels do not occur one after the other. Since Nilo-Saharan particularly the Koman subgroup are understudied languages, this paper provides much-needed data and analysis for the furtherance of Nilo-Saharan linguistics

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