Guruntum language

Guruntum
Guruntum-Mbaaru
gùrdùŋ
Region Nigeria
Native speakers
 15,000 (1993)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 grd
Glottolog guru1271[2]

Guruntum is a Chadic language spoken in Bauchi and Alkaleri LGAs, Bauchi State, Nigeria. In 1993 it was spoken by about 15,000 people.

Classification

Guruntum is a West Chadic language of the Barawa (B.3) group.

Major dialects include Kuuku, Gayar, Mbaaru, Dooka, Gar and Karakara.

Phonology

Vowels

Guruntum contrasts long and short forms for all vowels except for /ɨ/. In addition, two nasalized vowel phonemes exist: /ũː/ /ãː/.

Front Central Back
short long short long short long
Close i iː ɨ u uː ũː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː ãː

There are two diphthongs, /ai/ and /au/.

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Postalveolar
or palatal		 Velar
Plain Palatalized Labialized Plain Palatalized Labialized
Nasal m mʲ mʷ n nʲ ŋ
Stop prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ᶮdʒ ᵑɡ ᵑɡʲ ᵑɡʷ
voiceless p pʲ t k kʲ kʷ
voiced b bʲ d dʒ ɡ ɡʲ ɡʷ
implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative voiceless f fʲ fʷ s ʃ
voiced v vʷ z ʒ
Trill r
Approximant l j w

/r/ is realized as a flap intervocalically before back vowels; elsewhere it is a trill.

Tone

Guruntum has four tones: high, low, rising (low-high) and falling (high-low).

References

  1. ↑ Guruntum at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Guruntum-Mbaaru". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.


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