Jump to content

Oluʼbo language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Olu’bo language)

Oluʼbo
Lolubo
Native toSouth Sudan
EthnicityOluʼbo
Native speakers
33,000 (2017)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3lul
Glottologolub1238

Oluʼbo or Lolubo is a Central Sudanic language spoken by 33,000 Oluʼbo people in Southern Sudan.

Phonology

[edit]

Consonants

[edit]
Consonants[2]
Labial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Retroflex Palatal Velar Labial-
velar
Glottal
Implosive ɓ ɗ ʄ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p ʈ k kp ʔ
voiced b ɖ g gb
prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd̪ ⁿdʒ ᶯɖ ᵑg ᵑᵐgb
Fricative voiceless f s
voiced v z
Approximant l j w

Vowels

[edit]
Front Back
Vowels[3]
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

Vowels form two vowel harmony sets, based on advanced and retracted tongue root. The [-ATR] group is /ɪ, ɛ, ɔ, ʊ/, and the [+ATR] group is /i, e, o, u/.[3] /a/ is phonetically [-ATR] but is found in roots of both sets.[4]

There is a tenth vowel quality [ɤ], which only occurs after /u/. When /u/ and [ɤ] are in separate morphemes, [ɤ] is in free variation with [o].[5]

Tones

[edit]

Oluʼbo has high /˦/, mid /˧/, and low /˨/ tones.There are also six compound tones, low-mid /˨˧/, low-high /˨˦/, mid-low /˧˨/, mid-high /˧˦/, high-low /˦˨/, and high-mid /˦˧/.[6]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Oluʼbo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Andersen 1987, p. 45.
  3. ^ a b Andersen 1987, p. 40.
  4. ^ Andersen 1987, p. 41.
  5. ^ Andersen 1987, p. 44.
  6. ^ Andersen 1987, p. 48.

References

[edit]
  • Andersen, Torben (1987). "An outline of Lulubo phonology". Studies in African Linguistics. 18: 39–65. doi:10.32473/sal.v18i1.107478.