Gur (languages)

About 67 languages ​​are known. As part of the Gur languages, the central branch is clearly distinguished, subdivided into 2 sub-branches: northern and southern.

Northern branch

• group bwamu (buamu) - 1 language
• Kurumfe group ( koromfe ) - 1 language
• Bully Connie group - 2 languages
• ot-voltaic group
  • eastern subgroup: biali, vaama , tamari ( ditammari ), mbelima
  • western subgroup:
    • notre language (bulba)
    • northwestern microgroup: dialect continuum , including the languages Moore , Vali, Frafra , Kantoshi , Safala, Dagari , Birifor
    • southwestern microgroup: dialect continuum, including kusaal , mampruli , dagbani (tongue) , hanga, kamara
  • gourmet subgroup: languages ​​of gourmet (gurma), gangam (ngangam), moba , basari (ncham-akasel), kongkomba (kpakpa), nateni , yobe (miyobe)
  • Yom Naudm subgroup: Yom and Naudm languages

Southern sub-branch

• dogoso-khe group - 2 languages
• group of gan dogos: dogos, khisa, kaan (kaansa)
• Lobby Kirma group
  • Lobby-Dian subgroup: Dyan, Lobby
  • subgroup of kirma-turama: languages ​​kirma ( cherma ), turama (turk)
• group of grusi (gurunsi): about 15 languages ​​(pan, lele, nuni , kasim , kalamsa; vinye, pue, sisala, tampulma, chakali, vagla, money ).
  • western subgroup
    • northwestern microgroup: vigne, pue, sisala (incl. paasaal )
    • southwestern microgroup: tampulma, jackals, wagla, deg
  • northern subgroup (central): it is divided into two areas: northern (languages ​​of Pan and Sam) and central (lele, nuni and kassem)
  • eastern subgroup: chala, kabiye-lama (including business, lukpa, bago kusuntu),

In addition, there are 6 peripheral branches whose relationships with each other and with the central branch are still unclear:

• vara natorior - 2 languages
• Tusian : languages ​​of northern and southern tusyan
• Tiefo - 1 language
• Wiemo - 1 language
• kulango-teen : languages ​​of kulango, scrap, teen
• baatonum (bar (s) ba) - 1 language

Their kinship was noted as early as 1854 , but the composition was gradually changing. At the beginning of the XX century. Gur languages ​​together with Atlantic languages and Benue-Congolese languages united under the general heading of bantoid languages , or half-bantu (XX Johnston, Great Britain ); this definition of gur languages ​​was reflected in the classification of D. A. Olderogge ( 1963 ), who called them central-bantoid. A change in the content of the term “bantoid languages” in Greenberg led to the separation of the gur languages ​​into an autonomous subfamily; as a separate group among the Negro-African languages, the Gur languages, called the Voltaic, appeared in the classification of M. Delafos ( 1924 ). In the classification of the Sudanese languages ​​of D. Westerman ( 1927 ), the Gur languages ​​include Gbanyang, Sam and Songai, but in the subsequent classification ( 1952 ) Westerman included the first 2 languages ​​in the Kwa languages ​​and Manda, respectively, and the Songai was singled out as an isolated group outside the Gurian languages. In 1971, the American linguist J. T. Bendor-Samuel singled out 10 groups, including the Dogon and Senufo languages ​​in the position of separate groups. Subsequently, Dogon and Senufo languages ​​were excluded from the languages ​​of the gurus and are now considered separate families in the Niger-Congolese languages.

Phonology

The phonological systems of gur languages ​​have a highly developed vowel subsystem. The most typical structure of vocalism is 7 simple vowels, contrasted in a number (front - back) and in degrees of rise ( i, е, ɛ, а, ɔ, o, u ); in general, the number of simple vowels varies from 10 to 5. For gur languages, long and nasal vowels are also characteristic, forming correlative pairs with almost all simple vowels (for example, in the Casar language, all 10 vowels have long correlates and 7 are nasal). Diphthongs are not characteristic.

In the consonant subsystem of many gur languages , there are labio-velar kp, gb, affricates tʃ, dʒ , a rich series of nasal - m, n, ɲ, ŋ, ŋm . The syllable structure typical for gur languages ​​is “consonant + vowel” and “consonant + vowel + consonant”; the predominance of an open syllable is usually combined with the inadmissibility of consonant combinations and restrictions on the appearance of a consonant in the finals of a syllable, which can be closed mainly by sonorous and only some noisy (b, g, f, s). In the structure of the word pl. gur languages ​​exhibit progressive vowel harmony - mainly on the basis of “advanced root of the tongue,” or [ATR]; for example, in the vagal language, vowels are divided into 2 syngarmonic series ( i, u, е, о, ʌ and ɩ, ʊ, ɛ, ɔ, а ), and only vowels of the same series can be in a word. In some languages ​​(for example, sisala), the harmony of ascension is accompanied in certain cases by harmony in a series.

The languages ​​of the gurus are tonal languages; the tone paradigm includes in different languages ​​from 2 to 4 high-level levels; Along with even tones, contouring is possible.

Morphology

In morphology, an important typological characteristic is the presence of personal classes . Their number in languages ​​reaches 11. The class is expressed in the form of the noun and in the forms of words compatible with it, however, more or less consistent agreement on the class is not found in all languages ​​of gurus. In nouns, a typical class indicator is a suffix, but a prefix or a combined indicator is possible using both; Wed in the topic language: ke-le 'tooth', ta-ka 'toad' - plural ke-la, ta-se (class suffixes), du-vo-re 'pigeon' - plural a-vo-a (combinations . indicator); in Kasel language: o-ta 'horse', bu-ci 'tree' - plural i-ta, i-ci (class prefixes). The category of the number is interwoven with the category of the class, which is reflected in the presence of correspondences of singular and plural classes; for example, in kasel: o-ta o-mama 'ginger horse' - many. h. i-ta i-mam.

Many gur languages ​​have complex numeral systems that reflect their grouping by digits, each of which is based on a different numbering principle and has a reference name that serves as the basis for the formation of the remaining names of this category. So, in the Minyanka (suppir) and Tjuram languages, the five-digit (for numerals from 6 to 9), the twenty-decimal (for numerals from 20 to 200) and the eight-decimal (for numerals, multiples of 80) are displayed; in the language of uin, reference numerals are 5, 20, 100; in the tener (caraborough) - 5, 20, 400, etc.

In the verbal systems of the Gur languages, the category of aspectuality is developed; distinction is made between perfection (expressed by a suffix or a pure root) and imperfection (expressed by a suffix and auxiliary verbs; sometimes a nasal prefix is ​​used instead of a suffix, as in win and tener, or a change in tone, as in the language of a mob). Forms of imperfection may have the meaning of progressive, deductive, freventative and habitualis ; Wed to win: mε n-wil 'I'm leaving' (fooling) - mε pε · [auxiliary verb 'be'] n-wil 'I'm leaving' (progressive) with mε wil 'I left' (performance-present). In the categories of time, the present, past and future are distinguished, and the past and future tenses can be graduated by the degree of remoteness from the moment of speech (time spheres “today”, “earlier / later”, “long ago”); tense values ​​are expressed by auxiliary verbs and particles (for example, in the Dagbani language: dә - past tense 'same day', sa - past tense / future tense 'one day earlier / later', daa - past tense / future tense 'by more than one day earlier / later '). The category of pledge in the languages ​​of gur is not developed. In many languages, different types of time-forms correspond to different types of negative forms [cf. in the guen language: mi wo 'I ate' (performance) - negative mi sa wo; mi ka wo 'I sing' - negative mi siε ka wo; wo 'eat' (imperative) - negative ba wo]. In gur languages, so-called serialization is frequent, that is, the use of a chain of verbs expressing a semantically uniform predicate (for example, in the sea language: tall n wa kõ ma 'bring me', literally - take it and come give me).

Syntax

Word order in the sentence "subject + predicate + addition"; indirect addition more often precedes direct; addition and circumstance may be at the beginning of the sentence. Definition (adjective, numeral, pronoun) - after the noun; Wed in the guen language: bilõn da-yo 'this child' (1st grade), humel da-de 'this road' (4th grade), kyamba [plural] hāy “two women”. In possessive constructions, the dependent member (noun or pronoun) faces the independent; Wed in turama: moren kyε 'leader's wife' (where more 'leader'), sunsu yugu 'horse's head' (sunsu 'horse'), mi to 'my father' (mi 'me'). In a complex sentence, its parts are joined by composing and subordinate unions.

Most gur languages ​​are not written, but for some even in colonial time alphabets were created and individual texts from the Bible were translated (gurma, sea, kassena, lobi, bobo-tara). Dagomba was used in elementary school, there was an attempt to standardize it, national literature was published. Since the 1970s a number of gur languages ​​begin to be introduced in the school, writing is being developed.

The beginning of the study of Gur languages ​​was laid by the work of him. linguist I.G. Crystaller ( 1889 ). At the beginning of the XX century. mean. M. Delafos and D. Westerman contributed to their description and classification. Interest in guru languages ​​increased particularly in the 1960s; a series of studies published by French linguists G. Manessi (buamu, themes, senufo and others), A. Prost (tobot, lamba, tamari and others), G. Kanyu (sea, gurenne), German linguist I. Zverneman (kasem), American linguists J. Callow (Casem), J.T. Bendor-Samuel (mob, grusi, dagbani) and others.

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• Greenberg JH Languages ​​of Africa. Bloomington
• Manessy G. Les langues Oti - Volta, P., 1975
• Naden AJ Gur // The Niger-Congo languages: A classification and description of Africa's largest language family / Ed. by J. Bendor-Samuel. Lahnan, NY; L., 1989
• Prost A. Contribution à 1'étude des langues voltaïques. Dakar, 1964
• Roncador M. von, Miehe G. Les langues gur (voltaïques). Bibliographie commentée et inventaire des appelations des langues. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 1998
• The Hague, 1963
• Westermann D. Die westlichen Sudansprachen. V., 1927
• Westermann D., Bryan MA Languages ​​of West Africa. Folkstone L., 1970
• Williamson K., Blench R. Niger-Congo // African languages. An introduction / Ed. by B. Heine and D. Nurse. Camb., 2000 .
• Vendor-Samuel J.T. Niger-Kongo, Gur, Current Trends in Linguistics. 1971 , v. 7