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Central Kilimanjaro language

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(Redirected from Vunjo language)
Central Kilimanjaro
Central Chaga
Native toTanzania
RegionKilimanjaro
EthnicityChaga
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
vun – Wunjo
old – Mochi
Glottologvunj1238  Vunjo
moch1256  Mochi
E.622 (ex-E.62a,62b)[1]

Central Kilimanjaro, or Central Chaga, is a Bantu language of Tanzania spoken by the Chaga people.

There are several dialects:[1]

  • Moshi (Old Moshi, Mochi, Kimochi)
  • Uru
  • Mbokomu
  • Wuunjo (Wunjo, Vunjo, Kivunjo), including Kiruwa, Kilema, Mamba, Moramu (Marangu), Mwika

Moshi is the language of the Chaga cultural capital, Moshi, and the prestige dialect of the Chaga languages.

Phonology

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Vowels

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Front Central Back
High i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Low a aː

Consonants

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Consonants in the Moshi dialect[2][3]
Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t k
voiced b d
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ
Affricate voiceless pf ts
prenasal ᵐbv ⁿdz ᶮdʒ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced (β)
Rhotic trill r
tap ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant w ɻ j
  • Sounds /k, ᵑɡ, l/ become palatalized as [kʲ, ᵑɡʲ, lʲ] when occurring before front vowels /i, e/.
  • /w/ is heard as a fricative [β] when before front vowels /i, e/.
Consonants in the Vunjo dialect[4]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ
Affricate voiceless pf ts
prenasal ᵐbv ⁿdz ᶮdʒ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced (β) ɣ
Rhotic trill r
tap ɾ
Lateral l (ʎ)
Approximant w ɹ j
  • Sounds /k, ᵑɡ, ɣ, l/ become palatalized as [kʲ, ᵑɡʲ, ɣʲ, lʲ] when occurring before front vowels /i, e/.
  • /l/ when palatalized as [lʲ] can also have a palatal lateral allophone [ʎ] in the Vunjo dialect.
  • /w/ is heard as a fricative [β] when before front vowels /i, e/.[4][3]

Bibliography

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  • Dalgish, Gerard M. (1978) 'The syntax and semantics of the morpheme ni in kiVunjo (Chaga)', Kiswahili, 48, 1, 42–56.
  • Philippson, Gérard (1984) '"Gens des bananeraies" (Tanzanie): contribution linguistique à l'histoire culturelle des Chaga du Kilimanjaro' (Cahier no. 16.) Paris: Editions Recherche sur les civilisations.

References

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  1. ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  2. ^ Nurse, Derek; Philippson, Gérard (1977). Tone in Old Moshi (Chaga). Studies in African linguistics 8: University of California, Los Angeles. pp. 49–80.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ a b Philippson, Gérard; Montlahuc, Marie-Laure (2003). Kilimanjaro Bantu (E60 and E74). In Nurse, Derek and Philippson, Gérard (eds.), The Bantu Languages: London & New York: Routledge. pp. 475–500.
  4. ^ a b McHugh, Brian David (1990). Cyclicity in the phrasal phonology of KiVunjo Chaga. University of California at Los Angeles.