Anuak language explained
Anuak or Anywaa is a Luo language which belongs to the western Nilotic branch of the Nilotic language family. It is spoken primarily in the western part of Ethiopia and also in South Sudan by the Anuak people. Other names for this language include: Anyuak, Anywa, Yambo, Jambo, Yembo, Bar, Burjin, Miroy, Moojanga, Nuro. Anuak, Päri, and Jur-Luwo comprise a dialect cluster.[1] The most thorough description of the Anuak language is Reh (1996) Anywa Language: Description and Internal Reconstructions, which also includes glossed texts.
Phonology
Anuak is notable for lacking phonemic fricatives.
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar |
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Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
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Plosive/ affricate | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
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| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
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Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
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Trill | | | pronounced as /link/ | | | |
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Vowels
Diphthongs
| [Front vowel|Front
! [[Back vowel|Back]]|-! Close| pronounced as /ie/| pronounced as /uo/|-! Near-Close| pronounced as /ɪɛ/| pronounced as /ʊɔ/|-|}Tones
Description | IPA |
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Rising | ˩˥ |
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High | ˦ |
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Mid | ˧ |
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Low | ˨ | |
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External links
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Notes and References
- Reh, Mechthild (1996): Anywa Language: Description and Internal Reconstructions. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. p.5