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Fur language

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Languages

   Fur
   bèle fòòr
   Spoken in: Sudan, Chad
   Region: Darfur
   Total speakers: 0.5 million
   Language family: Nilo-Saharan
     Fur
     Fur
   Language codes
   ISO 639-1: none
   ISO 639-2: ssa
   ISO/FDIS 639-3: fvr
   Geographic distribution of Fur
   Enlarge
   Geographic distribution of Fur

   Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA
   chart for English for an English-​based pronunciation key.

   The Fur language (Fur bèle fòòr or fòòraŋ bèle, Arabic فوراوي Fûrâwî;
   sometimes called Konjara by linguists, after a former ruling clan) is
   the language of the Fur of Darfur in western Sudan. It belongs to the
   Fur branch of the Nilo-Saharan phylum. It has about 900,000 speakers
   (500,000 in 1983.)

Phonology

   The consonantal phonemes are:
     * Bilabial: f b m w
     * Dental/Alveolar: t d s n l r
     * Palatal: j ñ y
     * Velar: k g (h) ŋ

   z occurs only as an allophone of y. Arabic consonants are sometimes
   used in loanwords. /h/ is very rare.

   The vowels are as in Latin: a e i o u. There is dispute as to whether
   the +ATR vowels ɛ, ɔ, ɪ, ʊ are phonetic variants or separate phonemes.
   /f/ varies along a range between [p] and [f]; thus some sources give
   the name of the language as pɔɔr.

   There are two underlying tonemes, L (low) and H (high); phonetically,
   L, H, mid, HL and LH are all found.

   Interestingly, metathesis is an extremely common, and regular,
   grammatical phenomenon in Fur; when a consonant pronoun prefix is
   prefixed to a verb that begins with a consonant, either the verb's
   first consonant is deleted or it changes places with the following
   vowel. Eg: lem- "lick" > -elm-; ba- "drink" > -ab-; tuum- "build" >
   -utum-. There are also a variety of assimilation rules.

Morphology

Plurals

   Noun, and optionally adjective, plurals can be formed with -a (-ŋa
   after vowels): àldi "story" > àldiŋa "stories", tòŋ "(a certain species
   of) antelope"> tòŋà "antelopes"; bàin "old" > bàinà "old (pl.)". This
   suffix also gives the inanimate 3rd person plural of the verb: lìiŋ "he
   bathes" > lìiŋa "they (inanimate) bathe", kaliŋa "they (animate)
   bathe".

   Vowel-final adjectives can take a plural in -là, as well as -ŋa: lulla
   "cold" > lullalà or lullaŋà "cold (pl.)". A similar suffix
   (metathesized and assimilated to become -òl/-ùl/-àl) is used for the
   plural of the verb in some tenses.

   A few CVV nouns take the plural suffix H-ta; ròò "river" > ròota
   "rivers"; rèi "field" > rèito "fields".

   At least two nouns take the suffix -i: koor "spear" > koori "spears",
   nuum "mouse" > kuumi "mice".

   Nouns with the singular prefix d- (> n- before a nasal) take the plural
   k-; these are about 20% of all nouns. In some cases (mostly body parts)
   it is accompanied by L. Eg: dilo "ear" > kilo "ears"; nuŋi "eye" > kuŋi
   "eyes"; dagi "tooth" > kàgi "teeth"; dòrmi "nose" > kòrmì "noses".
     * In some cases the singular also has a suffix -ŋ, not found in the
       plural: daulaŋ "shoe" > kaula "shoes", dìroŋ "egg" > kìrò "eggs".
     * Sometimes a further plural suffix from those listed above is added:
       nunùm "granary" > kunùmà "granaries", nuum "snake" > kuumi
       "snakes", dìwwo "new" > kìwwolà "new (pl.)"
     * Sometimes the suffix -(n)ta, is added: dèwèr "porcupine" > kèwèrtà
       "porcupines"; dàwì "tail" > kàwìntò "tails".
     * One noun, as well as the demonstratives and the interrogative
       "which", take a plural by simply prefixing k-L: uu "cow" > kùù; ei
       "which (one)?" > kèì "which (ones)?".
     * Several syntactic plurals with no singulars, mostly denoting
       liquids, have k-L-a; kèwà "blood", kòrò "water", kònà "name, song".

Nouns

   The locative can be expressed by the suffix -le or by reversing the
   noun's final tone, eg: tòŋ "house" > toŋ "at the house"; loo "place",
   kàrrà "far" > loo kàrrà-le "at a far place".

   The genitive (English 's) is expressed by the suffix -iŋ (the i is
   deleted after a vowel.) If the relationship is possessive, the
   possessor comes first; otherwise, it comes last. Eg: nuum "snake" >
   nuumiŋ tàbù "snake's head"; jùtà "forest" > kàrabà jùtăŋ "animals of
   the forest".

Pronouns

   Independent subject:
   I           ka we        ki
   you (sg.)   ji you (pl.) bi
   he, she, it ie they      ìè-èŋ

   The object pronouns are identical apart from being low tone and having
   -ŋò added to the plural forms.

   Prefixed subject pronouns:
  I           - (triggers metathesis)       we               k-
  you (sg.)   j-                            you (pl.)        b-
  he, she, it - (causes vowel raising; *i-) they (animate)
                                            they (inanimate) k- (+pl. suffix)
                                                             (*i-) (+pl. suffix)

   Thus, for example, on the verb bu- "tire":
   I tired         ùmô  we tired        kùmô
   you (sg.) tired jùmô you (pl.) tired bùmô
   he/she tired    buô  they tired      kùmul

   gi, described as the "participant object pronoun", represents first or
   second person objects in a dialogue, depending on context.

   Possessives (singular; take k- with plural nouns):
   my            duiŋ our       daìŋ
   your (sg.)    diiŋ you (pl.) dièŋ
   his, her, its deeŋ their     dièŋ

Verbs

   The Fur verbal system is quite complicated; verbs fall into a variety
   of conjugations. There are three tenses: present, perfect, and future.
   Subjunctive is also marked. Aspect is distinguished in the past tense.

   Derivational suffixes include -iŋ (intransitive/reflexive; eg lii "he
   washes" > liiŋ "he washes himself) and gemination of the middle
   consonant plus -à/ò (intensive; eg jabi "drop" > jappiò/jabbiò "throw
   down".)

   Negation is done with the marker a-...-bà surrounding the verb;
   a-bai-bà "he does not drink".

Adjectives

   Most adjectives have two syllables, and a geminate middle consonant: eg
   àppa "big", fùkka "red", làmme "sweet". Some have three syllables:
   dàkkure "solid".

   Adverbs can be derived from adjectives by addition of the suffix -ndì
   or L-n, eg: kùlle "fast" > kùllendì or kùllèn "quickly".

   Abstract nouns can be derived from adjectives by adding -iŋ and
   lowering all tones, deleting any final vowel of the adjective, eg:
   dìrro "heavy" > dìrrìŋ "heaviness".
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_language"
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