A Sociolinguistic Survey of Six Berta Speech Varieties in Ethiopia
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DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2016-007 A Sociolinguistic Survey of Six Berta Speech Varieties in Ethiopia Nate D. Bremer A Sociolinguistic Survey of Six Berta Speech Varieties in Ethiopia Nate D. Bremer SIL International® 2016 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2016-007, December 2016 © 2016 SIL International® All rights reserved Abstract This report combines two different surveys within the Berta language area. The majority of the pages are devoted to the ‘primary’ survey, which pertains to the results of a dialect intelligibility survey carried out in April and May 2011 in the western part of Ethiopia, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. A less rigorous ‘secondary’ survey conducted in 2013 appends wordlist data of two additional communities, the Wabosh and the Metehara. For the primary survey, only four speech communities were surveyed: Maiyu, Fadashi, Undulu and Beleje Gonfoye. In each of these groups, a Recorded Text Test (RTT) was administered to check the level of intelligibility from one language area to another, a small sampling of 200 words was collected, and lastly a collection of forty sentences intended to check various grammatical features was recorded and transcribed. These four communities were selected based on the previous work of Bender (1989), who identified each region as unique. Bender concludes that Berta is a “single language” despite comprising multiple dialects; however, this theory was in need of reexamination due to some internal comments that arose in the context of mother-tongue education initiatives among the Berta people (Bender 1997:10). The appended wordlists from the two additional Berta speech varieties, Wabosh and Metehara, can be viewed in Appendix G. Notably, neither the RTT nor the 40 sentences were conducted among these communities. Results of this survey of four different speech communities indicated language shift among the ethnic group known as Berta. Recorded Text Testing reveals that there is gradient intelligibility which tends to correspond to the geographic proximity and regularity of contact between one lect and another. Wordlists show that while there are regular sound correspondences which pattern from one variety to another, there are likewise many instances of high-frequency words which are non-cognate. Exposure to varying languages of wider communication (LWC) is the most probable explanation for this and other grammatical variation. In most cases, intelligibility of different Berta varieties is acquired. Those speakers of Undulu, for example, are located in close proximity to a frequently used gold digging site. Speakers from divergent areas come from near and far to test their luck at finding gold, and it is through this and other forms of contact that intelligibility is most likely acquired. Speakers of the Maiyu dialect, often regarded as the most prestigious Berta variety, have limited contact with other speech varieties and language attitudes reveal that they seldom have desire to accommodate other varieties. Among many Maiyu, Undulu, and Fadashi, contact with the Arabic language has been a seminal force in socio-linguistic development. Maiyu borrows extensively from Sudanese Arabic and has often replaced indigenous forms with loaned varieties. Based on the data collected, Maiyu seems to be the most innovative of the dialects surveyed. Contents Abstract Acknowledgements 1 Berta: An introduction 1.1 Demographics and non-linguistic background 1.1.1 Geography 1.1.2 Ethnicity and material culture 1.1.3 Economy and commerce 1.1.4 Education 1.2 Linguistic background 1.2.1 Language development 1.2.2 On literature and linguistic variation 2 Purpose of current field study 2.1 Research questions 2.2 Concepts and indicators 3 Methodology 3.1 Selection of data points 3.2 Survey instruments 3.2.1 Wordlists 3.2.2 Recorded Text Tests 3.2.3 Grammatical and syntactic sentences 3.3 Research ethics 4 Results and interpretation 4.1 Wordlist results 4.2 RTT results 4.3 RTT results: Interpretation 4.4 Sentence test results 4.4.1 Negated imperatives 4.4.2 Negated interrogatives 4.4.3 Constituent order and negation 4.4.4 Interrogative affix –á 4.4.5 Habitual constructions 4.4.6 Forms of the verb ‘eat’ 4.4.7 Word-final vowel epenthesis 5 Summary and conclusions 6 Answers to our research questions 7 Recommended future research Appendix A: Roughly transcribed Fadashi RTT story with English gloss Appendix B: Roughly transcribed Maiyu RTT story with English gloss Appendix C: Roughly transcribed Undulu RTT story with English gloss Appendix D: Roughly transcribed Beleje Gonfoye RTT story with English gloss Appendix E: Informed consent documents Appendix F: 200-Item wordlist for Maiyu, Fadashi, Undulu and Beleje Gonfoye Appendix G: Additional wordlists for Metehara and Wabosh Appendix H: Sample RTT introduction Appendix I: RTT Scores Appendix J: Additional command forms in Beleje Gonfoye Appendix K: Grammatical sentences for Berta dialect survey References iii Acknowledgements As is the case with virtually all fieldwork, the results of this survey reflect the willingness, cooperation and hard work of many people and entities. First, I would like to specially thank A. T. A. for his tremendous help in this project. His flexibility and willingness to travel on short notice was of great service, and his ingenuity and genuine interest in the various speech varieties of his people made partnership enjoyable and viable. Additionally, this work would not have been feasible had it not been for the Bureau of Culture in Asosa. In the course of fieldwork, we were welcomed by many local residents and offered remarkable hospitality. These people are unnamed here in this paper, but we would like to give a general thanks to all the Berta people who have tarried with us during this and other fieldwork excursions. I and those with me are very much indebted to them for their assistance in this work and for their participation and intrigue in some of the lesser-explored components of their language. Finally, I would like to thank several people at the Canada Institute of Linguistics who have encouraged me in this process of fieldwork and reporting. My sincerest thanks go to J. P. who has kindled the fire to further explore the untapped depths of Berta’s historical development. Also, thanks go to R. L. who assisted me in practical matters pertaining to the process of reporting the findings from this survey. Lastly, I’d like to thank my wife, Gunnhild Bremer, for her involvement in this survey as well as her shared love for the Berta people and continued support in ongoing linguistic research. Nate D. Bremer October 30, 2013 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia iv 1 Berta: An introduction The Berta people, also known as Benishangul, are a relatively large minority group who span the borders of Ethiopia and Sudan. The 2007 census indicates that there are 183,259 speakers found in Ethiopia (Central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia). While there are no official figures available, many Berta who frequently cross the border into Sudan report that there is a comparable number of Berta living in Sudan as well; however, this assessment far exceeds the projected figures in the Ethnologue which estimate only 20,000 Sudanese Berta (Lewis 2009). The vast majority of Ethiopian Berta are subsistence farmers living within the borders of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. Islam is the religion of the masses, and Sudanese Arabic is spoken as a second language by many. Berta [wti] belongs to the Nilo-Saharan phylum, and ever since Greenberg’s monumental work The Languages of Africa, it has eluded genetic placement within a family. The two primary theories of Nilo- Saharan reconstruction differ considerably; however, Berta is classified as an isolate language by both Bender (1996) and Ehret (2001). It is not unlikely that the key to assessing Berta’s genetic identity lies not in the innovative Maiyu variety (often used synonymously with “Berta”), but rather in the more conservative peripheral lects. While this survey focuses specifically on intelligibility, the comparative method and dialectology can be applied to the data collected in this report to perhaps begin unraveling this reconstructive conundrum. Bremer (2015) suggests the possibility of a genetic relationship with the East Jebel family of East Sudanic; however, the conclusions in that paper are tentatively based before further comparative typological research can be conducted. There are varying reports regarding the degree of relatedness between the various Berta dialects. The Ethnologue includes a disclaimer that Berta “is likely more than one language” (Lewis 2009). The conclusion of this survey report accords with this statement; however, more research is needed to determine the vitality of each speech variety. In addition to the research conducted in this survey, a deeper data corpus (enabling the study of grammatical, syntactic, tonal, and phonological differences between lects) is essential to understanding the range of linguistic variation. In 2007, SIL Ethiopia began a partnership with the Ethiopian Bureau of Education to assist in the development of mother tongue educational materials for three of the language communities found in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. One of the languages chosen for this multi-lingual education (MLE) project was Berta. In each of the three languages, seven schools were selected as candidates for a pilot program. Within the Berta community, six of these schools were located within the region where the Maiyu dialect is spoken: Abramo (Asosa Woreda), Godere (Oda Woreda), Sherkole (Homosha Woreda), Dulhode (Kurmuk Woreda), Menge (Menge Woreda), and Halmo (Sherkole Woreda). This geographic distribution left just one school, Garabiche school (Bambassi Woreda), located outside of the Maiyu-speaking region, which is found approximately ten kilometers west of Bambassi, a region where the Fadashi dialect is spoken. As is the case with all language development programs, an assessment is needed to be made to determine which of the dialects should be standardized.