A grammatical description of tine Engenni language

8

CHAPTER 2

This chapter gives an outline of the analysis of Engenni pho-
nology and explains the transcription used in the examples. The
transcription is similar to the alphabet which has now been adopt-
ed by the Engenni people. The approach to the analysis is basic-
ally phonemic, though, as will be seen, there is some departure
from orthodox phonemic theory in that some phonetic features are
analysed as features of the syllable or of some larger phonolog-
ical unit rather than as features of individual phonemes. The
reasons for this analysis will be given later. The aim of this
chapter is not to present the phonological analysis in detail but
to describe all the features of the phonology which are relevant
to the grammar.

2.1. Consonants

The consonant phonemes are set out in tabular form below.

Labio-
velar

Labial

Labio-
dental

Alveolar

Palatal

Velar

Plosives
egress ive

vl.

P

t

k

vd.

b

d

g

ingress ive

vl.

kp

vd.

gb

bh

dh

Fricatives

vl.
vd.

f

V

s

z

Nasals

m

n

Lateral

1

Vibrant

r

Semivowels

w

y

(a) Labio-velars, kp and gb, have double articulation.

(b) The symbols bh and dh indicate implosives made with
ingressive glottal ic air-stream.

(c) The vibrant r is made with a single alveolar tap.

(d) A voiceless glottal fricative h occurs in a few exclama-
tions. It is regarded as extra-systemic, as its distri-
bution is so limited.

2.1.1. Labialisation and Palatalisation

The following consonants may occur with lip-rounding (i.e.
labialisation):

PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 9

Labials p b bh

Labio-dentals f v

Alveolars ids

Velars k g

The following consonants may occur with raising of the tongue
to the close front position (i.e., palatalisation):

Labials p b bh m

Labio-dentals f v

Alveolars t d dh s z

Velars k g

Labialisation and palatalisation are analysed phonological ly
as features of the syllable. Alternative analyses would be (a) to
establish twenty- three extra consonant phonemes, or (b) to analyse
labialisation and palatalisation as separate consonant phonemes.
Neither analysis is satisfactory. The former is uneconomical in
the number of phonemes, and the latter would lead to setting up
consonant clusters which do not otherwise occur in the CV struc-
ture of the language.^

For ease in reading, the feature of labialisation is tran-
scribed by a w following the consonant, and the feature of pala-
talisation by a y following the consonant. The phoneme w and
the feature of labialisation are thus transcribed in the same way,
as are the phoneme y and the feature of palatalisation. Following
a consonant, y/w is to be interpreted as a feature of the syllable
and elsewhere as a phoneme.

The lip-rounding wfth back vowels and the raising of the
tongue with front vowels are not analysed as a feature of the
syllable but as part of the articulation of the vowel.

2.1.2. Nasalisation

The semivowels w and y occur both with and without velic
closure. The position of the velum remains the same for the fol-
lowing vowel. Two analyses are possible: (a) Two extra consonant
phonemes, w and y, may be set up, or (b) the nasalisation may be
analysed as a feature of the syllable. The latter analysis is
adopted, as it is more economical in the number of phonemes re-
quired and parallels the features of palatalisation and labial-
isation of the syllable. It also reflects the phonetic data more
closely, since the nasalisation extends to the following vowel,
i.e., throughout the syllable.^ The nasalisation feature is
transcribed by n preceding the w or y, e.g., nwei , nyou, to avoid

^For a fuller discussion of this problem see P. M. Bendor-Samuel

J965.

^It is recognised that labialisation, palatalisation, nasalisa-

10

CHAPTER 2

the use of diacritics.

Two examples have been recorded of the feature of nasalisa-
tion co-occurring with the feature of labialisation:

2.2.

knwei be heavy
Vowel s

knwei be bent

The vowels are set out below in tabular form according to
their phonetic quality. (For the definition of 'raised' and
'lowered' see below.)

Front

Central

Back

Raised
Close

Lowered

i

u
o

Raised
Nonclose

Lowered

e

e

9

a

o
o

In the southern dialect, Ediro, the distinction between [a]
and [a] has been lost.

2.2.1 Vowel Harmony System

Vowels divide into two sets:

(a) Those with the tongue more raised, resulting in a closer
quality (shown in the chart as 'raised').

(b) Those with the tongue more lowered and slightly further
back, resulting in a more open quality (shown in the chart as
'lowered').

The (b) set predominate in the language. There is a system
of vowel harmony between the two sets which extends throughout the
phonological group (Section 2.5). The vowels are analysed as
five phonemes, with the raising or lowering of the tongue position
as a feature of the phonological group.

In the transcription, the five phonemes are represented as i,
e, a, o, u. The lowered tongue feature is shown by a dot under
the initial vowel of the word; the raised tongue feature by the
absence of a dot. The only exception to this procedure is in
words where the only vowel is [a]. This is not marked with a dot
since there is almost no possibility of confusion with [a], as
only one occurrence of the latter as the sole vowel in a word has
been found. As [a] is yery much more frequent than [a], the non-

tion, and the vowel system which is described on the following
page could also be analysed prosodical ly. See, for example,
J. Garnochan 1966.

PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 11

marking of [a] in this special circumstance reduces wery consider-
ably the number of times the diacritic dot is needed.

In compound words (Sections 10.1,1.2 and 10.2,2), the two
parts are hyphened and the vowel feature of each part is marked
separately, e.g., amini-bhwoni soup, ony-avuramu woman,

2.2.2. Vowel Sequences

Sequences of two similar or diverse vowels occur in morpheme-
final position. In diverse sequences, either the first or second
member is a close vowel. The sequences are analysed as a sequence
of two vowels, as they frequently bear distinctive tones. They
are transcribed as two vowels:

uvif paddle (noun)

gbei

kill

odhia sin (noun)

bhue

keep

gbou plant (verb)

pee

very full

duu go out

bhob

1 ukewarm

1. Nasalisation of Vowels

2.2.3.

Close back vowels following a nasal consonant are nasalised.
These vowels are analysed as allophones of the corresponding oral
vowels and are not marked in the transcription. Vowels are also
nasalised when the syllable has a feature of nasalisation (Sec-
tion 2.1.2). As has already been stated, the feature of nasali-
sation is marked by n preceding the consonant, so the vowel does
not require marking.

2.3. Tone and Intonation

In this study, the term 'tone' is used to classify the pitch
on individual syllables. The pitches are arranged in certain
patterns termed 'tone patterns'. The term 'intonation' is used
for modifications of an entire tone pattern, e.g., raising the
general pitch level while the relation of the individual tones
to each other remains constant.

2.3.1. Basic Tone System

There are three phonetic ranges of pitch, and there are re-
strictions on the distribution of the top and middle ranges. Two
top pitches do not occur in sequence, and a middle pitch does not
occur between two low pitches within a phonological clause (Sec-
tion 2.5).

The system is analysed as having two contrasting tonemes,
low tone and high tone, plus a feature of upstep which gives rise
to the top pitch. The upstep feature is of two types: automatic
upstep and the upstep toneme which are described below. The up-
stepped high tone arising from automatic upstep is phonological ly
predictable and is therefore analysed as an allotone of high tone.
The upstepped high tone arising from the occurrence of the upstep
toneme is not phonological ly predictable.

12

CHAPTER 2

In the examples, tone is marked as follows: low tone ^, high
tone is unmarked, and upstepped high tone resulting from the up-
step toneme ". In subsequent chapters, when referring to the tone
system, the term 'upstepped high tone' (abbreviated h) is used
only for the upstep toneme, since the upstepped high tone result-
ing from automatic upstep is an allotone. The other two tones
are abbreviated thus: low tone L and high tone H.

Automatic upstep . A H tone is upstepped before a L tone
within the phonological clause but not across phonological clause
boundaries (examples 1-3). A H tone is also upstepped before a
following L tone syllable which is elided (examples 4-5). (De-
tails of the elision of vowels at word junctures will be given
in Section 2.4. )

(1)

(2)

"ikpi lama nu

as for snail

omu dhemu ya samu Is the house big?

Compare with example 3.

(3) omu dhemu ya

The house is big.

In the following examples the absence of a pitch mark under a
syllable means that the vowel of that syllable is elided.

(4)

(5)

unworn ol i lo

ogbo opi lopo

mouth of a bottle

back of a pig

Upstep toneme . At certain points in the grammatical system,
a h tone occurs not preceding a L tone. Therefore it is necessary
to introduce into the system an upstep toneme which is phonologi-
cal ly not predictable.

The noun jgbo net has the tone pattern HH in isolation. In
a verbal clause string, the final syllable of the nominal phrase
object is upstepped before the next verb (Section 5.9).

PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 13
(6) m7 do igbo dhemese J wove the net bigger.

I weave net entavge
The genitive construct is marked initially by a h tone (Section

(7)

egwe igbo

nets (lit. plurality
of nets)

8.2.1.3),

Other places in the grammatical system where an upstep toneme
occurs are:

(a) future tense (Section 5.4.1.3)

(b) phrase junctures (Section 5.8.2)

(c) juncture of nouns and some adjectives (Section 8.2.1.1)

(d) juncture of nouns and some reinforcers (Section 8.2.1.1)

(e) the preverbals na and i (Section 11.1)

(f) the sequential particle i (Section 3.2.1)

An upstepped high tone of either type has the following
effect on successive tones within the phonological clause:

Another H tone cannot be upstepped until an actual L tone
(not an elided L tone) has interposed.

Compare the initial tone of ifufomu in the following:

(8)

i fufomu

sandfly

ogbb ifufomu

back of a
sandfly

Word-final L tone or tones perturb to H tone before a fol-
lowing H tone, except at the boundary of the nominal phrase sub-
ject and the verbal phrase where there is a special low juncture
(Section 5.8.2).

Compare the tone of omu and of enuma in the following pairs:

(9) b kunu omu samu Did he build a house?
he build house qu

(10) b kunu omu n' akfe
he build house in town

He built a house in the town.

(11) b fou enuma He took money,
he take money

(12) b t9u enuma fou du t numu He took money to buy something,
he take money take buy thing

Note that the assimilated L tone still has the effect of
raising the previous H tone to h, since there is an ordered se-

14 CHAPTER 2

quence in the pitch changes. Firstly, a L tone causes a previous
H tone to be upstepped; secondly, a L tone following an upstepped
H tone and preceding a H tone perturbs to H tone.

Tone glides . Rising and falling glides occur on single syl-
lables. A syllable with a tone glide is of the same duration as
a syllable with a level tone. The glides are analysed as a se-
quence of two tones, as they result either from a juncture feature
or from the compression of a tone pattern. The rising glide usu-
ally rises from L to H, unless it is followed by a L tone, in
which case it rises from L to h due to the operation of automatic
upstep. The rising glide is marked ''. The falling glide usually
falls from h to L, unless it is preceded by a h tone, in which
case it falls from H to L. The falling glide is marked \ A
ligature between two tones indicates that the tones form a glide,
e.g., HL, LH.

Word-final falling glides occur only at the end of a phono-
logical clause before a pause, or at the end of the nominal
phrase subject when there is a low juncture with the verbal phrase
(Section 5.8.2). Clause medially there is a single h tone.

Compare the tone of ukwo and of kpe in the following:

(13) mT ta ukwo J went to farm.
I go farm

(14) mT ta ukwo na I went to the farm.

(15) mT ta ukwo n' udhe I went to farm yesterday.

(16) mi sT kpe j will pay.
I will pay

(17) mi sT kpe wo J will pay you.

(18) mi sT kpe n' tnya J will pay you today.

2.3.2. Intonation

In certain grammatical categories, there is a rise in the
overall pitch level of part or the whole of the clause, but the
tone pattern (i.e., the relation between individual pitches) of
the words is not altered. This change of pitch is analysed as a
different intonation pattern. The start of the rise in pitch is
marked in the transcription by an arrow ^. For the intonation
pattern marking question sentences, see Section 4.6, and marking
interrogative clauses see 5.6.

The feature of negation has a special intonation pattern in
which the relation between the pitches is narrower than in the
positive. This is fully described in Section 5.4.1.1. It is not
marked in the transcription.

PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 15

2.4. Word Juncture

As all nouns begin and end with a vowel, and all other words
end with a vowel, two vowels frequently come together at word
boundaries, and this results in the elision of the first vowel.

2.4.1. Juncture of Major Words

(a) Close vowel in word-final position followed by VC- . In
final syllables of minimal nouns (VCV) and verbs (CV), the vowel
elides and the tone is lost, but the closeness and frontness of
a front vowel is maintained in the palatalisation of the syllable.
Similarly, the closeness and backness of a back vowel is main-
tained in the labialisation of the syllable.

(19) dhl anamu [dhyanamu] eat meat

(20) av*! amo [avyamb] a child's leg

(21) du aswa [dwaswa] Jbuy a hoe

(22) omti abhu [omwabhu] a doctor's house

With nonminimal nouns (VCV+) and verbs (CV+), the close
vowel of the final syllable elides together with the tone, and
there is no palatalisation or labialisation of the syllable ex-
cept in the cases noted below.

(23)

"ikenf a no

[ "i ke na no ]

this ivory

(24)

utumu anamu

[utumanamu]

an animal's tail

(25)

foil abhi 1

[folabhii ]

peel kola

(26)

funu edhi

[ funedhi ]

climb a palm tree

(27)

del eseni

[deeseni ]

sell fish

(28)

you amTni

[yoam*! ni ]

bail out water

The syllable does have a feature of palatalisation or labi-
alisation in the following cases:

When the root has reduplicated syllables.

(29) ml mi akani [mTmyakani ] squeeze the cloth

(30) ovuvu a no [ovuvwano] this light

When the syllable r\ or r\ is preceded by an identical vowel,

(31) "iktr*! a no ["iktryanb] this grasscutter

(32) abh*irt a no [abhTryano] this fish trap

When the syllable ru or ru is not preceded by an identical
vowel .

(33) esaru a no [esarwanb] this mosquito

(34) ogbaru anb [bgbarwanb] this fish (one particular

species)

16 CHAPTER 2

When there is a sequence of two similar vowels in word-
final position, the final vowel elides together with the tone.

(35) uviT ano [uvlano] this paddle

(36) utuu ano [utuanb] this hat

(37) 9 r j I akTe [oriakTe] He passed the town,

(38) b duu amTnT [oduamTnT] He bathed. Clit. he went out to

water)

(b) Nonclose vowel in word-final position followed by VC- .
With all nouns and verbs, the nonclose vowel elides together with
the tone.

(39) oko edeT [okedeT] a man's canoe

(40) dtre eseni [dTreseni] cook fish

(41) b kie amb [bkiamb] She refused the child,

(42) zuo amTnl [zuamTni] draw water

When there is a sequence of two similar vowels in word-final
position, both vowels elide, and there is compensatory lengthen-
ing of the first vowel of the second word. The tone of the first
of the two vowels is retained.

(43) Imbsy*! naa [vuramu [imbsyT nuvuramu] men and women

(44) okaa edeT [okeede'i] old man

(c) Additional elision in fast speech . Usually no elision
takes place before a single V morpheme, but in fast speech elision
may occur with compensatory lengthening of the first vowel of the
second word. The tone of the elided vowel is retained.

(45) mi na gbe b [minagbob] J am going home.

Similarly, in fast speech both vowels of a vowel sequence may
elide. There is compensatory lengthening of the first vowel of
the second word, and the tone of the first vowel of the sequence
is retained.

(46) 9 dei aka [9daaka] She sells corn,

(47) 9 tbu enuma [9teenuma] she takes money,

2.4.2. Juncture of Particles With Major Words

The vowel of the particles ga, ka, na, sa (all with H tone)
elides before a V syllable, but the tone is retained, giving rise
to a H^ glide if the following word normally begins with a L tone.

(48) b wei ga b somu ya [bweigosomuya] He said it was all right.

(49) adhe wna ka b gbe [adhewTTakbgbe] When day dawned, he

/rn\«-«<*>.v V rvK.vA -> Went home .

(ou) eseni iva na o ya Leseni van9ya J There are two

(51) sa bki [soki] it's not him.

PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 17

2.5. Relation Between the Phonological and Grammatical Hierar-
chies

The five units set up for the analysis of Engenni phonology
are the following: phoneme, syllable, phonological word, phono-
logical clause, and pause group.

The phoneme is the lowest unit in the hierarchy and there-
fore has no structure.

The syllable has the structure V or CV (except in loanwords)
and bears one or two tones.

The phonological word is the unit bearing the tone pattern.
It is further characterised by vowel harmony. It usually corre-
lates with the grammatical word, except in the case of compound
nouns (Section 10.2.2). Various groupings within the nominal
phrase (Section 8.2.1.1), a singular pronoun subject and the fol-
lowing verb (Section 5.8.1), and the verb and following post-
verbal (s) (Section 11.2) constitute extended phonological words.
Vowel harmony operates throughout the extended phonological word,
and certain regular tone perturbations occur between the elements.

The phonological clause is the unit within which there is
elision and automatic upstep. It is bounded by potential pause.
It usually correlates with the grammatical clause, but may be
smaller, e.g., when there is a pause before an adverbial phrase
in a long clause.

The pause group is the largest unit of phonological signif-
icance. It is characterised by a final intonation with lessen-
ing of voice intensity, lowering of the pitch of the final tone,
and a final pause. It correlates with the grammatical sentence
(Section 4.0).

2.6. Other Symbols used in the Transcription

Where it is relevant to the description, the following addi-
tional symbols are used in the examples:

/ phrase boundary

// or , clause boundary

/// or . sentence boundary

[ ] rankshifted unit

Thomas, Elaine. 1978. A grammatical description of tine Engenni language.
Summer Institute of Linguistics Publications in Linguistics, 60. Dallas:
Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington,
viii, 191 p.