The Atlantic languages: state of the art Guillaume Segerer - CNRS - LLACAN, France The Atlantic languages: state of the art Berlin, Feb. 2010

Contents 1. Location, Classification data : quantity & quality Phonology - consonant mutation - vowel harmony - Tone morphology - noun classes - verbal derivation 2. Subgrouping 3. Problems and (hard-to-find) solutions 4. Expected progress 5. Examples 6. Proposals 7. Conclusion Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 1. Location Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 1. Location Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 1. Location Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Sapir, J. David (1971). West Atlantic: an inventory of the languages, their noun class systems and consonant alternation. In Sebeok, T. A. (Ed), Current trends in linguistics, 7: linguistics in sub-Saharan Africa, The Hague & Paris : Mouton & Co., pp. 45-112. The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Fula-Sereer-Wolof Cangin BAK Tenda-Nyun MEL isolates: Nalu Bijogo Sua Limba The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Wilson, W. A. A. (1989). Atlantic. In Bendor-Samuel, J. T. (Ed), The Niger-Congo languages. Lanham, New York & London : University Press of America, SIL., pp. 81-104. The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Comparative work Dalby (1965) MEL languages Doneux (1975) Northern Branch noun classes Pozdniakov (1993) All Atlantic Reconstruction The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Doneux (1975) Manjaku lexicon Pozdniakov (1988) Fula-Sereer noun classes Drolc (2006) CANGIN phonology & lexicon Pozdniakov/Segerer (1988) CANGIN pronouns Barry (1987) Joola phonology Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Fula Sereer Nyun-Buy Tenda Biafada Jaad Wolof Cangin Bayot Joola Manjaku Balanta Nalu Bijogo Temne Baga Landuma Kisi Bullom Gola Limba Sua Baga Fore Tenda-Nyun Bak Fula-Sereer Mel South ATLANTIC ??? North The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Dec-18 G. Segerer

Status of ‘Atlantic isolates’ Bijogo: - Always considered an isolate within Atlantic - A typical Niger-Congo language - Recent findings could put it close to BAK Nalu & Sua: - Endangered languages - No grammatical description - Unpublished wordlists (< 500 words) - Dialectal variation probably important The Atlantic languages 2. Subgrouping Limba: - No grammatical description - Big dictionary (4500 wds), but old (Clarke 1922) Bayot: - Today a Joola language - But *Bayot possibly an isolate Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Data: 1. lexicon Not enough Nyun, Buy, Sua, Nalu, Tanda, Bapen, Baga, Bom, Krim, Lehar, Safen, Ndut, Noon, Biafada... only short wordlists Correct data Wolof, Fula, Sereer, Temne, Kisi, Limba, Gola, Jaad, Bijogo, Bedik, Basari, Konyagi... The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Too much ! Joola - Bayot 7 languages +80 sources +40,000 words Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Data: 2. grammatical descriptions None Sua, Nalu, Basari, Bedik, Tanda, Bapen, Baga, Bom, Krim, Safen, Lehar, Limba, Landuma, Kasanga... Poor Nyun, Kobiana, Manjaku, Biafada, Balanta, Sherbro, Jaad The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Minimal Bijogo, Joola, Temne, Konyagi, Noon, Palor, Ndut, Gola, Bayot, Sereer Good Wolof, Fula, Kisi Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Phonology : consonant mutation Full Fula Stem-initial consonant Class-initial consonant ~ Stem-final consonant Initial Tenda, Sereer, Nyun, Buy, Biafada, Jaad Stem-initial consonant The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Traces Manjaku, Bijogo, Wolof Bijogo : -pir ‘to make a trap’ / ka-mpir-ak-o ‘a trap’ Wolof : bon ‘to be bad’ / mbon ‘naughtiness’ Augments (Doneux 1975) : -a-, -N- Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Phonology : vowel harmony Complete, ATR based Joola, Bayot, Cangin 10 vowel systems +ATR is marked Direction : generally root > affixes The Atlantic languages 3. Problems BUT some +ATR affixes trigger +ATR roots Hard to establish root vowels Partial, height-based Bijogo 7 vowel system Direction : root > affixes Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Phonology : tone No tone Fula, Wolof, Sereer, Joola, Manjaku, Bijogo, Cangin, Sua, Nalu Most Northern branch The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Tone Tenda, Biafada, Temne, Kisi, Gola, Baga Unclear Nyun, Buy, Balanta, Jaad, Limba Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Morphology: Noun classes Prefixes Suffixes Wolof, Cangin, Bak, Bijogo, Sua, Nalu, Tenda, Temne... Fula, Kisi Both Sereer, Nyun, Gola, Bullom The Atlantic languages 3. Problems Wolof: b-, m-, k-, g-, l-, s-, w-, j- Basari: a-, ɛ-, i-, ɔ-, Ø- Prefixes (sg.) V- C- Multiple prefixation Konyagi : xæ̀-tə́x / wæ̀-xæ̀tə́x ‘hole’ Frozen prefixes Bijogo : ɛ-pa-duma ‘fly’ < *dum ‘bite’ Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 4. Progress Expected progress Work out sound correspondances The Atlantic languages 4. Progress Considerable data available in digital format Computer-assisted cognate search now possible Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 5. Examples Sound correspondances Bijogo Joola Kasa The Atlantic languages 5. Examples head bu fu-kow eye nɛ ji-cil Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 5. Examples PROTO-BAK *bu-gof head *di-gɛs eye Bijogo Joola *g > ŋ, *d > n *bu-ŋof *bu-kof *g > k The Atlantic languages 5. Examples *nɛ-ŋɛs *di-kis *C[fric, vls] > Ø / -# *bu-ŋo *bu-kow *C[fric, vls] > glide / -# *nɛ-ŋɛ *di-kil *V1ŋV2 > V1V2 > V1 bu nɛ ji-cil *C > C[pal] / -V[frt] (u-)bu fu-kow class change (optional) nɛ ji-cil Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 6. Proposals North-Atlantic Mel Isolates The Atlantic languages 6. Proposals Tenda-Nyun Temne Limba Fula-Serer Baga Nalu Cangin ? Gola Sua Bak Kisi Wolof Bijogo Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 6. Proposals Fula Sereer Nyun-Buy Tenda Biafada Jaad Wolof Cangin Bayot Joola Manjaku Balanta Bijogo Temne Baga Landuma Kisi Bullom Gola Nalu Limba Sua Baga Fore Fula-Sereer Tenda-Nyun ATLANTIC Bak The Atlantic languages 6. Proposals MEL ???? Dec-18 G. Segerer

The Atlantic languages 7. Conclusion 1. The burden of the proof is on lumpers 2. Splitting may stimulate comparative work 3. More surprises may arise (cf. Cangin) The Atlantic languages 7. Conclusion 4. My intuition is that Atlantic is still valid But let’s prove it ! Dec-18 G. Segerer

References Dec-18 G. Segerer Barry, Abdoulaye (1987). The Joola languages: subgrouping and reconstruction. London: SOAS, University of London (PhD thesis). Carlton, Elizabeth M. & Sharon R. Rand (1993). Enquête sociolinguistique sur les langues Diolas de basse Casamance. Dakar : Société Internationale de Linguistique (SIL). Clarke, Mary Lane (1922). A Limba-English dictionary, or: Tampen ta ka talun ta ka hulimba in huinkilisi ha. New York : Houghton. Dalby, David (1965). The Mel languages: a reclassification of southern ‘West Atlantic’. African language studies 6., pp. 1-17. Doneux, Jean Léonce (1969). La langue manjaku et lʼalternance consonantique initiale. African Language Review 8., pp. 193-211. Doneux, Jean Léonce (1975). Hypothèses pour la comparative des langues atlantiques. In , Africana linguistica VI, Tervuren ., pp. 41-129. Doneux, Jean Léonce (1975). Lexique manjaku. Dakar : CLAD. Drolc, Ursula (2006). L'évolution du système consonantique des langues cangin. Afrikanistik online. www.afrikanistik-online.de/archiv/2006/593 Pozdniakov, Konstantin (1988). Proto-Fula-Serer noun class system. In Brauner, S. & E. Wolff (Ed), Progressive traditions in African and Oriental studies, Berlin : Akademie-Verlag, pp. 121-130. Pozdniakov, Konstantin Igorevich (1993). Sravnitel’naja grammatika atlanticeskix jazykov: imennye klassy i fono-morfologija [A comparative grammar of the Atlantic languages: noun classes and morphophonology]. Moskva : Nauka. Pozdniakov, Konstantin & Guillaume Segerer (2004). Reconstruction des pronoms personnels du proto-Cangin. In Ibriszimow, D. and G. Segerer, Systèmes de marques personnelles en Afrique, Louvain, Paris : Peeters (Afrique et Langage 8)., pp. 163-183. Sapir, J. David (1971). West Atlantic: an inventory of the languages, their noun class systems and consonant alternation. In Sebeok, T. A. (Ed), Current trends in linguistics, 7: linguistics in sub-Saharan Africa, The Hague & Paris : Mouton & Co., pp. 45-112. Tastevin, R. P. Constant F. (1936). Vocabulaires inédits de 7 dialectes sénégalais dont 6 de Casamance. Journal de la Société des Africanistes 6-1., pp. 1-33. Wilson, William André Auquier (1989). Atlantic. In Bendor-Samuel, J. T. (Ed), The Niger-Congo languages: a classification and description of Africa’s largest language family, Lanham MD, New York & London : University Press of America, by arrangement with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL)., pp. 81-104. Wilson, William André Auquier (2007). Guinea Languages of the Atlantic Group. Frankfurt : Peter Lang. Dec-18 G. Segerer

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