DOCSLIB.ORG

Lingue, Popoli E Culture

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Lingue, Popoli E Culture Lingue, popoli e culture Rivista annuale dell’associazione Ethnorêma ANNO XI - N. 11 (2015) www.ethnorema.it Ethnorêma, dal greco ethnos ‘popolo, etnia’ e Ethnorêma, from the Greek words ethnos rhêma ‘ciò che è detto, parola, espressione’, ‘people, ethnicity’ and rhêma ‘what is said, ma anche ‘cosa, oggetto, evento’. Nella word, expression’, but also ‘thing, object, linguistica pragmatica rema sta ad indicare la event’. In linguistics, rheme indicates the part parte di una frase che aggiunge ulteriore of a sentence that adds further information informazione a quello che è stato già about an entity or a situation that has already comunicato (il tema). been mentioned (the theme). Ethnorêma è la rivista dell’omonima Ethnorêma is the journal of the association of the associazione. L’associazione senza scopo di same name. The Italian non-profit association lucro Ethnorêma intende promuovere attività di Ethnorêma works to promote study and research studio e ricerca nel campo linguistico, letterario, activities in the fields of linguistics, literary etnografico, antropologico, storico e in tutti quei enquiry, ethnography, anthropology, history and in settori che hanno a che fare, in qualche modo, all those sectors which have to do, in some way, con le lingue e le culture del mondo. with the languages and cultures of the world. Direttore responsabile/Editorial Director: Moreno Vergari Comitato di redazione/Editorial Staff: Danilo Faudella, Paola Giorgi, Marco Librè, Barbara Rolleri, Moreno Vergari, Roberta Zago. Comitato scientifico/Editorial Board: Giorgio Banti (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”), Flavia Cuturi (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”), Silvia Dal Negro (Libera Università di Bolzano), Gianni Dore (Università di Venezia “Ca’ Foscari”), Aaron Hornkohl (University of Cambridge), Gianfrancesco Lusini (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”), Ilaria Micheli (Università degli Studi di Trieste), Brian Migliazza (SIL International), Anna Maria Paini (Università degli Studi di Verona), Antonia Soriente (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”), Rainer Voigt (Freie Universität Berlin), Massimo Zaccaria (Università degli Studi di Pavia). Valutazione ANVUR: Classe A (Area 14/B2) La rivista è disponibile gratuitamente in rete, The journal can be viewed and downloaded scaricabile dal sito www.ethnorema.it. free of charge at www.ethnorema.it. Le opinioni espresse negli articoli firmati sono All views expressed in the signed articles are quelle degli autori. those of the authors. OPEN ACCESS POLICY & COPYRIGHT Gli autori dei manoscritti accettati per la Authors of manuscripts accepted for pubblicazione concedono il diritto di pubblicare publication assign to the editors the right to il loro testo elettronicamente e archiviarlo publish their text electronically and to archive rendendolo consultabile in permanenza. Il and make it permanently retrievable. Copyright copyright rimane agli autori, che possono remains with the authors, who can post their ripubblicare i propri articoli online, citando la articles online, citing the source. No fees are fonte. Agli autori non sono richiesti contributi charged for submitting or processing of any per la pubblicazione degli articoli. article. Gli utenti hanno il diritto di leggere, scaricare, The users have the right to read, download, copiare, distribuire, stampare o effettuare dei copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full link ai testi completi degli articoli. texts of the articles. Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza This work is licensed under a Creative Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non Commons Attribution – Non Commercial commerciale 3.0 Italia. 4.0 International License. Registrazione n. 1/05 del 28/10/2005 presso il © Ethnorêma, 201 5 Tribunale di Tortona ISSN 1826-8803 Lingue, popoli e culture Rivista annuale dell’associazione Ethnorêma ANNO XI - N. 11 (2015) www.ethnorema.it ____________________________ INDICE Introduzione Dedica a Klaus Wedekind, Andrzej Zaborski ed Ezio Tonini ...................................... III Articoli GRAZIANO SAVÀ E MAURO TOSCO – The Ongota language – and two ways of looking at the history of the marginal and hunting-gathering peoples of East Africa .............................................................................................................................. 1 DIDIER MORIN – cAfar-Saaho dialectology: a methodology .......................................... 19 SALEH MAHMUD IDRIS – Code-switching and Code-mixing among the multilingual Eritrean communities: examples and motivations .................................. 55 ENDALEW ASSEFA – Linguistic violence against women as manifested in sexist Amharic proverbs ........................................................................................................ 67 Mondofoto Italian in the linguistic landscape of Asmara (Eritrea) (photos and notes by Moreno Vergari) .......................................................................................................... 95 Relazioni Il MUDEC: Arte Africana e Esposizioni Universali a Milano (Maria Pennacchio) ... 107 Recensioni Patrick Desplant, Terje Ostebo (eds.), Muslim Ethiopia. The Christian Legacy, Identity Politics, and Islamic Reformism (Massimo Zaccaria) ................................ 131 David Motadel (ed.), Islam and the European Empires (Massimo Zaccaria) ............. 133 Bernard Porter, The Lion’s Share. A History of British Imperialism 1850 to the Present (Massimo Zaccaria) ........................................................................................ 135 James McCann, The Historical Ecology of Malaria in Ethiopia: Deposing the Spirits (Gianni Dore) ................................................................................................. 138 Saleh Mahmud Idris, A Comparative Study of the Tigre Dialects (Gianfrancesco Lusini) ........................................................................................................................ 140 Segnalazioni/Libri ricevuti (a cura di Moreno Vergari) Barbara Airò e Massimo Zaccaria (a cura di), I confini della cittadinanza nel nuovo Medio Oriente ..................................................................................................................... 143 Didier Morin, Dictionnaire historique afar .................................................................. 143 www.archiviosomalia.it Archivio Somalia / Somalia Archive .................................... 144 Axmed Cartan Xaange, Annarita Puglielli (eds), Folk songs from Somalia .............. 144 http://silent-storm.com Silent Storm Productions ........................................................ 145 Gian Claudio Batic, Sergio Baldi (eds), Selected Proceedings of the Symposium on West African Languages ............................................................................................. 145 II “Since there is no real silence, Silence will contain all the sounds, All the words, all the languages, All knowledge, all memory.” Dejan Stojanovic Ahamidehookna Thanks for comments This issue of Ethnrorêma is dedicated to three friends who recently passed away: Dr. Klaus Wedekind, Prof. Andrzej Zaborski and fratel Ezio Tonini Klaus Wedekind Andrzej Zaboski Ezio Tonini Thank you, Klaus, Andrzej and Ezio. It has been a privilege to have known you. Moreno Vergari Editorial Director of Ethnrorêma The Ongota language – and two ways of looking at the history of the marginal and hunting-gathering peoples of East Africa Graziano Savà (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”; [email protected]) and Mauro Tosco (University of Turin; [email protected]) SOMMARIO L’articolo tenta una ricostruzione delle origini della più piccola entità etnica dell’Etiopia e una delle più piccole in Africa: gli Ongota. I circa cento membri di questo gruppo etnico vivono in un solo villaggio, Muts’e, sulle rive del fiume Weyt’o, nell’Etiopia sudoccidentale. Gli Ongota sono interessanti sia dal punto di vista etnografico che da quello linguistico. Sono uno dei pochissimi popoli a non aver sviluppato pastorizia e agricoltura tra le numerose popolazioni dell’Etiopia sudoccidentale; un numero limitato di anziani parla una lingua a tutt’oggi non classificata all’interno dei gruppi linguistici dell’area, cuscitico, omotico (entrambi afroasiatici) e nilo-sahariano. La lingua di comunicazione quotidiana degli Ongota è lo ts’amakko (cuscitico orientale, gruppo Dullay). Il passaggio allo ts’amakko è il risultato degli attuali stretti legami sociali, ma l’analisi comparata del lessico ongota mostra che nella loro storia si sono succeduti periodi di interscambio con altre popolazioni dell’area. Sulla base delle fonti storiche orali è possibile individuare un’affiliazione con i Maale, una popolazione di lingua omotica settentrionale che vive a nord degli Ongota. Due ipotesi storiche vengono analizzate per rendere conto delle peculiarità degli Ongota e della loro lingua. La prima ipotesi (“top-down”) vede negli Ongota un gruppo originario di cacciatori raccoglitori la cui lingua è l’ultima traccia di un gruppo linguistico scomparso e, quindi, geneticamente isolata. Sulla base del secondo scenario (“bottom-up”) il gruppo Ongota sarebbe invece un gruppo minoritario che per motivi ambientali, come la massiccia presenza dalla mosca tsetse, avrebbero abbandonato la pastorizia per dedicarsi maggiormente alla caccia e alla pesca. L’affascinante scenario “top-bottom” non pare in effetti sostenibile, e, sulla base di un’accurata analisi del lessico, si propende piuttosto per
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Oromo Indigenous Religion: Waaqeffannaa
    Volume III, Issue IV, April 2016 IJRSI ISSN 2321 – 2705 Oromo Indigenous Religion: Waaqeffannaa Bedassa Gebissa Aga* *Lecturer of Human Rights at Civics and Ethical Studies Program, Department of Governance, College of Social Science, of Wollega University, Ethiopia Abstract: This paper discusses the African Traditional religion on earth. The Mande people of Sierra-Leone call him as with a particular reference to the Oromo Indigenous religion, Ngewo which means the eternal one who rules from above.3 Waaqeffannaa in Ethiopia. It aimed to explore status of Waaqeffannaa religion in interreligious interaction. It also Similar to these African nations, the Oromo believe in and intends to introduce the reader with Waaqeffannaa’s mythology, worship a supreme being called Waaqaa - the Creator of the ritual activities, and how it interrelates and shares with other universe. From Waaqaa, the Oromo indigenous concept of the African Traditional religions. Additionally it explains some Supreme Being Waaqeffanna evolved as a religion of the unique character of Waaqeffannaa and examines the impacts of entire Oromo nation before the introduction of the Abrahamic the ethnic based colonization and its blatant action to Oromo religions among the Oromo and a good number of them touched values in general and Waaqeffannaa in a particular. For converted mainly to Christianity and Islam.4 further it assess the impacts of ethnic based discrimination under different regimes of Ethiopia and the impact of Abrahamic Waaqeffannaa is the religion of the Oromo people. Given the religion has been discussed. hypothesis that Oromo culture is a part of the ancient Cushitic Key Words: Indigenous religion, Waaqa, Waaqeffannaa, and cultures that extended from what is today called Ethiopia Oromo through ancient Egypt over the past three thousand years, it can be posited that Waaqeffannaa predates the Abrahamic I.
    [Show full text]
  • Local History of Ethiopia Ma - Mezzo © Bernhard Lindahl (2008)
    Local History of Ethiopia Ma - Mezzo © Bernhard Lindahl (2008) ma, maa (O) why? HES37 Ma 1258'/3813' 2093 m, near Deresge 12/38 [Gz] HES37 Ma Abo (church) 1259'/3812' 2549 m 12/38 [Gz] JEH61 Maabai (plain) 12/40 [WO] HEM61 Maaga (Maago), see Mahago HEU35 Maago 2354 m 12/39 [LM WO] HEU71 Maajeraro (Ma'ajeraro) 1320'/3931' 2345 m, 13/39 [Gz] south of Mekele -- Maale language, an Omotic language spoken in the Bako-Gazer district -- Maale people, living at some distance to the north-west of the Konso HCC.. Maale (area), east of Jinka 05/36 [x] ?? Maana, east of Ankar in the north-west 12/37? [n] JEJ40 Maandita (area) 12/41 [WO] HFF31 Maaquddi, see Meakudi maar (T) honey HFC45 Maar (Amba Maar) 1401'/3706' 1151 m 14/37 [Gz] HEU62 Maara 1314'/3935' 1940 m 13/39 [Gu Gz] JEJ42 Maaru (area) 12/41 [WO] maass..: masara (O) castle, temple JEJ52 Maassarra (area) 12/41 [WO] Ma.., see also Me.. -- Mabaan (Burun), name of a small ethnic group, numbering 3,026 at one census, but about 23 only according to the 1994 census maber (Gurage) monthly Christian gathering where there is an orthodox church HET52 Maber 1312'/3838' 1996 m 13/38 [WO Gz] mabera: mabara (O) religious organization of a group of men or women JEC50 Mabera (area), cf Mebera 11/41 [WO] mabil: mebil (mäbil) (A) food, eatables -- Mabil, Mavil, name of a Mecha Oromo tribe HDR42 Mabil, see Koli, cf Mebel JEP96 Mabra 1330'/4116' 126 m, 13/41 [WO Gz] near the border of Eritrea, cf Mebera HEU91 Macalle, see Mekele JDK54 Macanis, see Makanissa HDM12 Macaniso, see Makaniso HES69 Macanna, see Makanna, and also Mekane Birhan HFF64 Macargot, see Makargot JER02 Macarra, see Makarra HES50 Macatat, see Makatat HDH78 Maccanissa, see Makanisa HDE04 Macchi, se Meki HFF02 Macden, see May Mekden (with sub-post office) macha (O) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Aethiopica 10 (2007) International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies
    Aethiopica 10 (2007) International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies ________________________________________________________________ GRAZIANO SAV ߃ MAURO TOSCO, Universit¿ degli studi di Napoli ߋL߈Orientaleߌ Review article HAROLD C. FLEMING, Ongota: a Decisive Language in African Prehistory Aethiopica 10 (2007), 223߃232 ISSN: 1430߃1938 ________________________________________________________________ Published by UniversitÃt Hamburg Asien Afrika Institut, Abteilung Afrikanistik und £thiopistik Hiob Ludolf Zentrum fÛr £thiopistik Review article HAROLD C. FLEMING, Ongota: a Decisive Language in African Pre- history = Aethiopistische Forschungen 64. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 2006. ix, 214 pp., 5 ill. Price: ߫ 78. ISBN: 3߃447߃05124߃8. GRAZIANO SAV ߃ MAURO TOSCO, Universit¿ degli studi di Napoli ߋL߈Orientaleߌ 1. Introduction Ongota is an unclassified language spoken by hunter-gatherer and partially pastoralists. According to local traditions, they have always been living isolated and shifting settlement quite often (Sav¿ ߃ Thubauville 2006). The language is the expression of a highly conservative culture and represents a unique source of historical information. It is probably the most endangered language in Ethiopia. The community, about 100, has by now adopted the neighbouring Cushitic language Ts߈amakko (Tsamai) as first language. Only about 15 elders speak their traditional language (Sav¿ ߃ Thubauville 2006). Bender (1994) includes Ongota among the ߋmystery languagesߌ of Ethio- pia, which are the languages whose classification remains unclear. Indeed, no scholar has been able to isolate the genetic features of Ongota and prove a definite classification. The hypotheses put forward so far propose affilia- tions with neighbouring language groups: South Omotic (Ehret p.c.), Nilo- Saharan (Blaŝek 1991, 2001 and forth.), Cushitic (Bender p.c.) and East Cushitic (Sav¿ ߃ Tosco 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Hermeneutic Examination of the Dynamic of Identity Change in Christian Conversion Among Muslims in Ethiopia
    A Critical Hermeneutic Examination of the Dynamic of Identity Change in Christian Conversion among Muslims in Ethiopia By Gary Ray Munson Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY In the subject of MISSIOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DR. GERRIE LUBBE OCTOBER 2014 STATEMENT STUDENT NUMBER 4583-652-3 I declare that A Critical Hermeneutic Examination of the Dynamic of Identity Change in Christian Conversion among Muslims in Ethiopia Is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete reference. Signed: …………………….…………….. Date: ………………… Name: …………………………………… ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the many Ethiopian missionaries and church planters working among Muslims in Ethiopia who are sacrificing much to serve the Lord in this important work. They are an inspiration to all who know them. I also would like to thank my friend Musa who has explained much about Islam and the Muslim community of Ethiopia. Many thanks as well to Ato Gezahane Asmamaw, Director of Rift Valley Vision Project for his help and support in gathering many of the subjects of this research. Especially I thank my wife Felecia for her patience in my many months of study with tables full of books and articles filling the house. KEY TERMS C-5, Contextualization, Conversion, Identity, Narrative Identity, Muslim Outreach, church planting, Ethiopia, Ricoeur, Islam, Insider Movements Bible Quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, unless otherwise noted. ii DEDICATION This work is dedicate to my father, Ray Munson who went to be with Jesus during its writing.
    [Show full text]
  • Studies in African Linguistics Volume 29, Number 2, Fall 2000 a SKETCH
    Studies in African Linguistics Volume 29, Number 2, Fall 2000 A SKETCH OF ONGOTA A DYING LANGUAGE OF SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA * Graziano Sava Leiden University, The Netherlands Mauro Tosco Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples, Italy The article provides a grammatical sketch of Ongota, a language on the brink of extinction (actively used by eight out of an ethnic group of nearly one hundred) spoken in the South Omo Zone of Southwestern Ethiopia. The language has now been largely superseded by Ts'amakko, a neigh­ boring East Cushitic language, and code-switching in Ts'arnakko occurs extensively in the data. A peculiar characteristic of Ongota is that tense distinctions on the verb are marked only tonally. Ongota's genetic affiliation is uncertain, but most probably Afroasiatic, either Cushitic or Omotic; on the other hand, it must be noted that certain features of the language (such as the almost complete absence of nominal morphology and of inflectional verbal morphology) point to an origin from a creolized pidgin. * We are grateful to the Italian National Research Center (C.N.R.) for funding the research upon which this paper is based. and to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University for granting us the permission to carry on our fieldwork in the area. Previous data on various points of Ongota grammar has been presented jointly by the authors at the "XIVth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies" (Addis Ababa, November 6-11, 2000) and, by Graziano Sava, at the Symposium "Ethiopian Morphosyntax in an Areal Perspective" (Leiden, February 4-5, 2001). We thank all those who.
    [Show full text]
  • Omotic Livestock Terminology and Its Implications for the History of Afroasiatic
    Omotic livestock terminology and its implications for the history of Afroasiatic Roger Blench Mallam Dendo 8, Guest Road Cambridge CB1 2AL United Kingdom Voice/ Fax. 0044-(0)1223-560687 Mobile worldwide (00-44)-(0)7967-696804 E-mail [email protected] http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roger_blench/RBOP.htm Cambridge, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES..........................................................................................................................................................I 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 2 2. CAMEL........................................................................................................................................................ 3 3. HORSE......................................................................................................................................................... 3 4. DONKEY ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 5. CATTLE ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 6. GOAT........................................................................................................................................................... 8 7. SHEEP.......................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ETHNOGRAPHY of RESISTANCE POETICS Power and Authority in Salale Oromo Folklore and Resistance Culture, Ethiopia, Northeast Africa
    ETHNOGRAPHY OF RESISTANCE POETICS POWER AND AUTHORITY IN SALALE OROMO FOLKLORE AND RESISTANCE CULTURE Ethiopia, Northeast Africa Assefa Tefera Dibaba Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Indiana University June 2015 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee: _____________________________________ John McDowell, Ph.D, Chair _____________________________________ Gregory Schrempp, Ph.D _____________________________________ Beverly Stoeltje, Ph.D _____________________________________ Marvin Sterling, Ph.D Dissertation Defense: May 6, 2015 ii Copyright © 2015 Assefa Tefera Dibaba iii Yaa Badhoo kiyya maal katamaa maashoon boba’u? Yaa Badhoo kiyya! ajjeeftanii nurra hin deeminaa, damiin carqii miti hin moofa’uu! * * * Oh, Badhoo, what is up in the town, lamp is lit? your dream that I knit! Let them never step over our dead, not worn out; it clots—our blood that they shed! iv For My father, the late Tefera Dibaba Jini, and My mother, Aragash Sambata Tokkon who sparked my future in their narratives of perseverance and aptness: Gadaa dabre hin fiigan, biiftuu jirtu sussukan, meaning, Time was, time never is. v Acknowledgments I owe gratitude to many people and institutions who encouraged me to be where I am and who contributed a great deal into the completion of this study. First, I am most grateful to my father, the late Tefera Dibaba, and my mother, Aragash Sambata, who kindled my future in their words of perseverance and diligence and shouldered the unbearable burden of educating me from the time I was a herd-boy.
    [Show full text]
  • Ateetee, an Arsi Oromo Women's Sung Dispute Resolution
    Toward an Understanding of Justice, Belief, and Women’s Rights: Ateetee, an Arsi Oromo Women’s Sung Dispute Resolution Process in Ethiopia by © Leila Qashu A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Ethnomusicology Memorial University of Newfoundland June, 2016 St. John‘s, Newfoundland Abstract This dissertation examines ateetee, a sung Arsi Oromo women‘s indigenous dispute resolution in Ethiopia, to demonstrate how music, as an expressive form, enables women to protect, promote and claim their rights, and to resolve disputes peacefully in a rapidly changing social environment. Though Arsi society is socio-politically male dominated, women have their own power through the ateetee ritual, their women‘s institution and the vernacular belief system. Ateetee is a highly political and power laden process, in which women travel to the offender‘s house singing insults, then sing in front of the offender‘s house until a reconciliation ceremony is held. At the ceremony they receive a cow as compensation, then the women finish by blessing the offender. I have demonstrated how this ritual process is a judicial process, through which women actively resolve disputes and uphold rights and respect they hold in Oromo society and under Oromo law. By examining this process from a local perspective, through the perspectives of the different participants, I have been analyzing the factors and circumstances that allow these musical rituals to remain relevant and effective means of dispute resolution, and to draw wider conclusions concerning how to foster restorative justice through the expressive arts.
    [Show full text]
  • 2. Historical Linguistics and Genealogical Language Classification in Africa1 Tom Güldemann
    2. Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa1 Tom Güldemann 2.1. African language classification and Greenberg (1963a) 2.1.1. Introduction For quite some time, the genealogical classification of African languages has been in a peculiar situation, one which is linked intricably to Greenberg’s (1963a) study. His work is without doubt the single most important contribution in the classifi- cation history of African languages up to now, and it is unlikely to be equaled in impact by any future study. This justifies framing major parts of this survey with respect to his work. The peculiar situation referred to above concerns the somewhat strained rela- tionship between most historical linguistic research pursued by Africanists in the 1 This chapter would not have been possible without the help and collaboration of various people and institutions. First of all, I would like to thank Harald Hammarström, whose comprehensive collection of linguistic literature enormously helped my research, with whom I could fruitfully discuss numerous relevant topics, and who commented in detail on a first draft of this study. My special thanks also go to Christfried Naumann, who has drawn the maps with the initial assistence of Mike Berger. The Department of Linguistics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig under Bernhard Comrie supported the first stage of this research by financing two student assistents, Holger Kraft and Carsten Hesse; their work and the funding provided are gratefully acknowledged. The Humboldt University of Berlin provided the funds for organizing the relevant International Workshop “Genealogical language classification in Africa beyond Greenberg” held in Berlin in 2010 (see https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.
    [Show full text]
  • ANUARIO DEL SEMINARIO DE FILOLOGÍA VASCA «JULIO DE URQUIJO» International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology
    ANUARIO DEL SEMINARIO DE FILOLOGÍA VASCA «JULIO DE URQUIJO» International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology LII: 1-2 (2018) Studia Philologica et Diachronica in honorem Joakin Gorrotxategi Vasconica et Aquitanica Joseba A. Lakarra - Blanca Urgell (arg. / eds.) AASJUSJU 22018018 Gorrotxategi.indbGorrotxategi.indb i 331/10/181/10/18 111:06:151:06:15 How Many Language Families are there in the World? Lyle Campbell University of Hawai‘i Mānoa DOI: https://doi.org/10.1387/asju.20195 Abstract The question of how many language families there are in the world is addressed here. The reasons for why it has been so difficult to answer this question are explored. The ans- wer arrived at here is 406 independent language families (including language isolates); however, this number is relative, and factors that prevent us from arriving at a definitive number for the world’s language families are discussed. A full list of the generally accepted language families is presented, which eliminates from consideration unclassified (unclas- sifiable) languages, pidgin and creole languages, sign languages, languages of undeciphe- red writing systems, among other things. A number of theoretical and methodological is- sues fundamental to historical linguistics are discussed that have impacted interpretations both of how language families are established and of particular languages families, both of which have implications for the ultimate number of language families. Keywords: language family, family tree, unclassified language, uncontacted groups, lan- guage isolate, undeciphered script, language surrogate. 1. Introduction How many language families are there in the world? Surprisingly, most linguists do not know. Estimates range from one (according to supporters of Proto-World) to as many as about 500.
    [Show full text]
  • Hunters and Gatherers in East Africa and the Case of Ongota (Southwest Ethiopia)
    AperTO - Archivio Istituzionale Open Access dell'Università di Torino Hunters and Gatherers in East Africa and the Case of Ongota (Southwest Ethiopia) This is a pre print version of the following article: Original Citation: Availability: This version is available http://hdl.handle.net/2318/1743487 since 2020-07-09T12:46:43Z Publisher: Cambridge University Press Published version: DOI:10.1017/9781139026208 Terms of use: Open Access Anyone can freely access the full text of works made available as "Open Access". Works made available under a Creative Commons license can be used according to the terms and conditions of said license. Use of all other works requires consent of the right holder (author or publisher) if not exempted from copyright protection by the applicable law. (Article begins on next page) 26 September 2021 C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/17195660/WORKINGFOLDER/GMAN/9781107003682C05.3D 89 [89–113] 5.4.2019 10:41AM Part II Africa C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/17195660/WORKINGFOLDER/GMAN/9781107003682C05.3D 90 [89–113] 5.4.2019 10:41AM C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/17195660/WORKINGFOLDER/GMAN/9781107003682C05.3D 91 [89–113] 5.4.2019 10:41AM 5 Hunters and Gatherers in East Africa and the Case of Ongota (Southwest Ethiopia) Graziano Savà and Mauro Tosco 5.1 Introduction Quite a sizeable number of marginal communities are found in East Africa, most notably along and in the proximity of the Rift Valley. Almost everywhere, from Ethiopia to Tanzania, one finds specific occupational outcast groups (usually tanners, blacksmiths, experts in traditional medical and magical prac- tices, and so on), as well as hunting and gathering communities, to which fishermen and bee-keepers must be added.
    [Show full text]
  • Maale Material Objects in Their Social and Ritual Context Institut Für
    Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien Department of Anthropology and African Studies Arbeitspapiere / Working Papers Nr. 56 Sophia Thubauville Maale Material Objects in Their Social and Ritual Context 2005 The Working Papers are edited by Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Forum 6, D-55099 Mainz, Germany. Tel. +49-6131-392.3720, Email: [email protected]; http://www.uni-mainz.de/~ifeas Geschäftsführender Herausgeber/ Managing Editor: Nikolaus Schareika ([email protected]) Maale Material Objects in Their Social and Ritual Context by Sophia Thubauville Mainz, April 2004 Table of Contents List of Maps, Figures and Pictures IV Acknowledgements VI I. Introduction 1 1. Minimalism and Ethnography – Exploring the Aesthetics 1 of Order, Measure, Proportion and Harmony 2. On Materiality – the Fascination of Axes, Coats and Wheat 4 3. The Organization of the Text 6 4. Publications about Maale 9 II. Field Research in Maale 11 1. How I Came to Study Maale Culture 11 2. Places and Friends 12 3. Problems in the Field 15 4. Methods of Research 17 III. Basic Features of Maale Culture 19 1. The Habitat and the People 19 2. Language 24 3. History 25 4. Social Organization 27 5. Economy 29 6. Political Institutions 31 7. Religion 32 IV. Houses and Their Material Contents 35 1. Houses – Variations in Vernacular Architecture 35 1.1. Building a House 35 1.1.1. In the Highlands 35 1.1.2. In the Lowlands 38 1.2. Different Houses for Different Purposes 41 1.2.1. Ket’so – a Woman’s Domain 41 1.2.2.
    [Show full text]