Tera language

Last updated
Tera
Nyimalti
Region Nigeria
Native speakers
101,000 (2000) [1]
Dialects
  • Pidlimdi (Kurba, Hinna and Deba)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 ttr
Glottolog tera1251
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Tera is a Chadic dialect cluster spoken in north-eastern Nigeria in the north and eastern parts of Gombe State and Borno State. [2] Blench (2006) believes Pidlimdi (Hinna) dialect is a separate language. [3]

Contents

Varieties

Blench lists these language varieties as part of the Tera language cluster. [4]

Phonology

Consonants [5]
Labial Alveolar Post-al.
/Palatal
Velar Glottal
plain palatal. central lateral plain labial.
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop 1 plain p b t 2 d 2 2 2 k ɡ ɡʷ
prenasal. ᵐbⁿdᶮdʒᵑɡᵑɡʷ
implosive ɓ ɓʲ ɗ ɠ
Fricative f v s z ɬ ɮ ʃ ʒ x ɣ ɣʷ h 3
Approximant plain l j w
glottal. 4
Trill r
^1 Voiceless plosives are lightly aspirated but unreleased before another consonant. [6]
^2 /t/ and /d/ formally had /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ respectively as allophones but the two pairs have split; however, the alveolar plosives never precede front vowels and the postalveolar affricates rarely precede anything but front vowels. [6]
^3 /h/ is a relatively new phoneme, appearing in loanwords from English and Hausa. [6]
^4 /jˀ/ derives from a /ɗʲ/ that has lost its alveolar contact while retaining the palatal and glottal action. [6]
Monophthongs of Tera, from Tench (2007:230) Tera monophthongs chart.svg
Monophthongs of Tera, from Tench (2007 :230)
Diphthongs of Tera, from Tench (2007:231) Tera diphthongs chart.svg
Diphthongs of Tera, from Tench (2007 :231)
Vowels [7]
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e o
Open a

Vowel length contrasts are neutralized in monosyllabic words with no coda consonants. [7]

All vowels but /a/ and /aː/ are more open in closed syllables such as in [ɮɛp] ('to plait') and [xʊ́r] ('to cook soup'). /a/ and /aː/ tend to be fronted to [æ, æː] when following palatalized consonants. [8]

Diphthongs, which have the same length as long vowels, consist of a non-high vowel and a high vowel: [8]

DiphthongExampleOrthographyGloss
/eu//ɓeu/ɓeu'sour'
/oi//woi/woi'child'
/ai//ɣài/ghai'town'
/au//ɮàu/dlau'sickle'

Tone

Tera is a tonal language, distinguishing high, mid and low tone. Tone is not indicated orthographically since no minimal trios exist; minimal pairs can be distinguished by context. [9]

Orthography

The first publication in Tera was Labar Mbarkandu nu Yohanna Bula Ki, a translation of the Gospel of John, which established an orthographic system. In 2004, this orthographic system was revised. [2]

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References

  1. Tera at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 Tench (2007 :227)
  3. Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)
  4. Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
  5. Tench (2007 :228)
  6. 1 2 3 4 Tench (2007 :229)
  7. 1 2 3 4 Tench (2007 :230)
  8. 1 2 3 Tench (2007 :231)
  9. Tench (2007 :232)

Bibliography