Jeff Heath Kevin Wonus
ISO code: mls Nilo-Saharan language family Maban subgroup 42% lexical similarity with Maba language
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Pre-nasalized consonants are one sound and have distinct collation order in the orthography. Yet, they are written with a pair of letters. Vowels with +ATR, when phonemic, are decorated with a circumflex in the orthography. EnglishMasalit aa â bb cc ch dd ee ê ff gg hh iI î jj kh ll mm mb nn nd nj n̰ ŋ ŋg oo ô p q rr ss tt uu û v ww x yy zz
Masalit has several consonants that we do not have in American English ◦ / ʎ / - Palatal lateral approximate ◦ Pre-nasalized voiced-labials: /mb/ /nd/ /ŋg/ ◦ Pre-nasalized postalveolar-affricate: /nj / ◦ Different r-sound: Masalit inventory contains a trill (English has an approximant) Additional differences with English /p/ is allophone of both /b/ and /f/ [not phonemic] ◦ Additional English sounds not in Masalit inventory: / v/ / ʔ/ / ʒ/ / θ / / ð / Plosives are devoiced in final position: gendeg [g ɛ nd ɛ k] ‘yesterday’ gendegu [g ɛ nd ɛ g ʋ ] ‘yesterday’
with respect to phonemes … Differences with English: Masalit has no central vowel – w/o ə Masalit has only one low vowel – w/o æ Masalit has +ATR allophones English contains a superset of vowels found in Masalit
Vowels harmonize in Masalit in two groups, based on the Advanced Tongue Root feature: unmarked vowels -ATR a[a] e [ɛ][ɛ] i [ɪ][ɪ] o [ɔ][ɔ] u [ʊ][ʊ] marked vowels +ATR â [ʌ][ʌ] ê[e] î[i] ô[o] ûû [u]
ATR usually propagates to the left: ATR is only marked on the first syllable: [kirim ʌ ] ‹kîrima› ‘cold’ ATR shift in the suffix not marked, but native speakers pronounce it correctly automatically: /and+a-nd- ʌ min-a/ [ ʌ nd ʌ nd ʌ mina] ‹ândandamina› ‘he made me jump’ PrefixRootSuffix +- + +/- +
Subject Object Verb (SOV)