Central Kilimanjaro language

Central Kilimanjaro
Central Kilimanjaro
Central Chaga
Native to	Tanzania
Region	Kilimanjaro
Ethnicity	Chaga
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Chaga–Taita Chaga Central Kilimanjaro; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Mochi ; Uru; Mbokomu; Wuunjo;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either:; vun – Wunjo; old – Mochi
Glottolog	vunj1238 Vunjo; moch1256 Mochi
Guthrie code	E.622 (ex-E.62a,62b)

Last updated February 13, 2025

Central Kilimanjaro, or Central Chaga, is a Bantu language of Tanzania spoken by the Chaga people.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː		u uː
Mid	e eː		o oː
Low		a aː

Consonants

Consonants in the Moshi dialect^[2]^[3]
		Labial	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Stop	voiceless	p	t			k
	voiced	b	d
	prenasal	ᵐb	ⁿd			ᵑɡ
Affricate	voiceless	p̪f	ts	tʃ
Affricate	prenasal	ᶬb̪v	ⁿdz	ᶮdʒ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	ʃ			h
Fricative	voiced	( β )
Rhotic	trill		r
Rhotic	tap		ɾ
Lateral			l
Approximant		w		ɻ	j

Sounds /k, ᵑɡ, l/ become palatalized as [kʲ, ᵑɡʲ, lʲ] when occurring before front vowels /i, e/.
/w/ is heard as a fricative [β] when before front vowels /i, e/.

Consonants in the Vunjo dialect^[4]
		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Stop	voiceless	p	t		k
	voiced	b	d		ɡ
	prenasal	ᵐb	ⁿd		ᵑɡ
Affricate	voiceless	p̪f	ts	tʃ
Affricate	prenasal	ᶬb̪v	ⁿdz	ᶮdʒ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	ʃ		h
Fricative	voiced	( β )			ɣ
Rhotic	trill		r
Rhotic	tap		ɾ
Lateral			l	( ʎ )
Approximant		w	ɹ	j

Sounds /k, ᵑɡ, ɣ, l/ become palatalized as [kʲ, ᵑɡʲ, ɣʲ, lʲ] when occurring before front vowels /i, e/.
/l/ when palatalized as [lʲ] can also have a palatal lateral allophone [ʎ] in the Vunjo dialect.
/w/ is heard as a fricative [β] when before front vowels /i, e/.^[4]^[3]

Bibliography

Dalgish, Gerard M. (1978) 'The syntax and semantics of the morpheme ni in kiVunjo (Chaga)', Kiswahili, 48, 1, 42–56.
Philippson, Gérard (1984) '"Gens des bananeraies" (Tanzanie): contribution linguistique à l'histoire culturelle des Chaga du Kilimanjaro' (Cahier no. 16.) Paris: Editions Recherche sur les civilisations.

References

1 2 Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
↑ Nurse, Derek; Philippson, Gérard (1977). Tone in Old Moshi (Chaga). Studies in African linguistics 8: University of California, Los Angeles. pp. 49–80.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
1 2 Philippson, Gérard; Montlahuc, Marie-Laure (2003). Kilimanjaro Bantu (E60 and E74). In Nurse, Derek and Philippson, Gérard (eds.), The Bantu Languages: London & New York: Routledge. pp. 475–500.
1 2 McHugh, Brian David (1990). Cyclicity in the phrasal phonology of KiVunjo Chaga. University of California at Los Angeles.

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[Guthrie-1] 1 2 Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online

[2] Nurse, Derek; Philippson, Gérard (1977). Tone in Old Moshi (Chaga). Studies in African linguistics 8: University of California, Los Angeles. pp. 49–80.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[:1-3] 1 2 Philippson, Gérard; Montlahuc, Marie-Laure (2003). Kilimanjaro Bantu (E60 and E74). In Nurse, Derek and Philippson, Gérard (eds.), The Bantu Languages: London & New York: Routledge. pp. 475–500.

[:0-4] 1 2 McHugh, Brian David (1990). Cyclicity in the phrasal phonology of KiVunjo Chaga. University of California at Los Angeles.

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