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Phonological Processes Journal of Language and Culture Vol. 3(6), pp. 117-125, December 2012 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/JLC DOI: 10.5897/JLC12.037 ISSN 2141-6540 ©2012 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Phonology of Yem: Phonological processes Eba Teresa Garoma Department of English Language and Literature, CSSL, Jimma University, Ethiopia. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +251 911 74 23 70. Accepted 12 November, 2012 This study attempted to analyze phonological processes in Yem, the language under Western Proto- Omotic. It was a descriptive analysis which focused on the specific points of the phonological processes including some descriptions of the segmental phonemes. Hence, the central theme of the study was to provide a descriptive explanation of properties of the phonemes in the target language. The data used in the study were gathered both in library work and informant selection for elicitation. Using elicitation, phonemic inventory was done both for consonant and vowel sounds of the language. The linguistic items used to identify the phonological processes were obtained through elicitation. Here, there have been some phonological processes undergone either in a word or across words: assimilation, labialization, spirantization, voicing or devoicing, palatalization, epenthesis, deletion and dissimilation. Generally, the study identified some very peculiar phonological features in the language, which could be unique to it. Key words: Phonological processes, phonology of Yem, assimilation, labialization, spirantization, palatalization, epenthesis, deletion and dissimilation. INTRODUCTION Ethiopia is a country with more than 80 languages. The Omotic includes Ari, Dime, Banna-Hamer, Benchnon, languages are categorized under Semitic, Cushitic, Maji, Sheko, Mao and Yem, as well as the Ometo Omotic and Nilo-Saharan language families. Semitic, clusters. The Omotic languages are found only in Cushitic and Omotic are subgroups of the super Ethiopia (Bender and Fleming, 1976). language family known as Afro-Asiatic. Nilo-Saharan is Yem is one of the Omotic languages which are found another super-family found in most parts of Western under Western subgroup. It is spoken in the SNNPRS Ethiopia (Bender and Fleming, 1976). Since the focus of (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region), the study is the language that belongs to Omotic particularly around Fofa area and Saja (small villages subgroup, it is important to proceed to the linguistic found in SNNPRS). The area is located between Addis information of the target language. Ababa and Jimma town. This language is bounded by Omotic as a whole represents about twenty eight Oromia in North and Northwest, by the Gurage Zone in “minority” languages, most of which have not been Northeast, and by Hadiya Zone in South. On the other documented hand, the language has speakers who live outside (http://www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk/pages/language.htm SNNPRS, like Jimma town, Sokoru, Dedo and Sak’a ). This language family has a very vast variety within itself (Hirut, 1993; Derib, 2004; Teshome, 2007). The language in Ethiopia. Most languages in this family are spoken in has three varieties or dialects categorized by social the surroundings of the Omo River system from which the structures. The first variety is that of Royal families, the name is derived. Two regional sub-families of the Omotic second is of ordinary, and the third is of informal type. family are the Eastern and the Western Proto-Omotic. From these three variants, the present study focuses on The Eastern Proto-Omotic includes Welayta, Gamo, the ordinary language used by many people in the Fofa Gofa, Malo, Zala, Dawuro, Konta, Zayse, Dorze, Koyra, area. The language has different names which are Gidicho, Kachamo, Basketo, etc. The Western Proto- derogatory; hence, they are avoided in this study. 118 J. Lang. Cult. So far, a considerable amount of studies have been hand in that they are all conducted on Yem, particularly conducted in different structures and aspects of the Yem syntax and morphology. Yet, there are considerable gaps language. These works focus dominantly on morphology to be filled on the area of phonology. The present study in and syntax. Almost none of them seem to have part is, thus, an attempt to fill the gaps by focusing on addressed the issue of phonology as their main concern. phonological processes. I have tried to review many of the works hereunder in An important aspect of the general characteristics of accordance with time sequence. From the various studies language is the notion which is concerned with the fact conducted on Yem by Bender and Fleming (1976), that all languages continually get their own rules and Fissaha (1984), Girma (1986), Hirut (1993), Derib (2004) principles to govern the patterns and distributions of and Teshome (2007) are the main ones. sounds. All human languages handle richly and readily Bender and Fleming (1976) tried to compare languages with the speech sounds by having several ways of of Cushitic and Omotic families under the title “Cushitic comprising the systematic and functional properties to and Omotic”. They categorized the [Yem] (this replaces express them. derogatory word) language under the western Proto- The scientific study of language which deals with such Omotic subgroups, and included it in their comparison, rules and principles in the production of speech sound is but they did not treat the language independently by Phonology. Phonology seeks to discover those systematic identifying the linguistic structures. properties in the domain of sound structure, and finds the Another work in similar area is that of Fissaha (1984) regularities and principles behind it, both for individual “Noun morphology of Yamsa” which was presented to the languages and for language in general (Wiese, 2006). Linguistics Department as a partial fulfillment for the BA Here, it is the science that recognizes the patterns and degree. Under this title, Fissaha discussed some functions of segments or individual speech sounds to inflections in nouns in terms of gender, determiners, make communication in particular language meaningful numbers, case, and so forth. He has touched up on some (Catford, 1988). derivations of nouns, and a few notions on Sound patterns are “the set of sounds which occur in a morphophonemic changes which involve noun inflection language, permissible arrangement of the sounds in and derivation. words or the processes for adding, deleting or changing Girma’s (1986) BA thesis, “Yemsa Verb Morphology” is sounds” (Sloat, 1978). Even if all languages share another study on the Yem language. This study is universal properties like, having vowels and consonants, concerned with presenting some of the neglected aspects some syllables that begin with consonants and end with as verb inflections and deriving verb systems of the vowels, and unrounded front vowels and rounded back language. Girma dealt with some predominantly vowels, it is highly unlikely that any two languages have prevailing morphophonemic changes and conditions. He exactly the same sound pattern. Sound patterns can be also tried to identify three forms of vocabulary items described in three behaviors, one of which is which have the same or similar meanings and concepts dissimilarities of sound inventories, the second way is the in the society. These are ‘royal’, ‘respect’ and ‘informal’. different sound orders, and the last is related with the At MA level, we find Hirut’s (1993) thesis, conducted on rules or processes affecting the sounds (Wardhaugh, the word formation processes in Yem. Hirut has made a 1977; Sloat, 1978; Hammond, 2006). All these concepts conceptual analysis by using affixation, compounding, are treated under the discipline of phonology. and reduplication. She treated morphological, syntactic Phonemes (both consonants and vowels) are the as well as phonological properties of the word formation invariant categories identified in phonology. Consonants processes. Her thesis was named as “Word formation in minimal pairs are different phonemes if they occur in processes in Yem”. the same environment, and make meaning change Derib (2004) has also conducted a study on the Yem among the pairs (Mulugeta, 2008). Hence, they are the language. His work is a syntactic analysis of noun phrase smallest units of speech sound which exist in contrast, in the language by considering principles and parameters and cause meaning difference among words. “A unit of theory. He, even, showed the analysis of noun phrase sound is a phoneme if it functions to distinguish lexical structure in line with the DP hypothesis. The title of items from each other in terms of meaning, and if it Derib’s MA thesis is “The structure of Noun phrase in cannot be broken up any further in a way that other Yem”. lexical units emerge” (Wardhaugh, 1977). Phonemes are In addition to the above works, there is also an MA abstract forms: they occur in the forms of phones which thesis on the language by Teshome (2007). Teshome, are the physical representations. And these phones, under “The Syntax of Simple Verbal and Nominal based on the environments of the phonemes, may exist Clauses of Yem”, identified simple verbal and nominal in different realizations which are known as allophones clauses of Yem through Minimalist Approach of (Lass, 1984; Wiese, 2006). Chomsky. He focused on the derivation of simple verbal Speech sounds in language are patterned in a and nominal affirmative clause structures. successive sequence and form a higher unit to convey The studies reviewed above are related to the study at meaning. Individual sounds within words or across words Garoma 119 interact and affect one another. In fact, not all sounds segments easier to articulate and distinguish. Thus, undergo such process with the neighborhood sounds, dissimilation is sometimes used as an alternative to except those which are dominant over the others in point deletion. or manner of articulations. Thus, phonemes and their Common in many languages is the process of realizations can be described by means of different rules metathesis.
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