Berta language
Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Berta in Sudan and Ethiopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berta a.k.a. Gebeto, is a Berta language spoken by the Berta people (also Bertha, Barta, Burta) in Sudan and Ethiopia. As of 2006 Berta had approximately 180,000 speakers in Sudan.[2] The three Berta languages, Gebeto, Fadashi and Undu, are often considered dialects of a single language. Berta proper includes the dialects Bake, Dabuso, Gebeto, Mayu, and Shuru; the dialect name Gebeto may be extended to all of Berta proper.[3]
RegionBenishangul-Gumuz
EthnicityBerta people, Wetawit
| Berta | |
|---|---|
| Gebeto | |
| Native to | Sudan and Ethiopia |
| Region | Benishangul-Gumuz |
| Ethnicity | Berta people, Wetawit |
Native speakers | 380,000 all Berta languages (2006–2007)[1] 100,000 monolinguals in Ethiopia[1] |
Nilo-Saharan?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wti (all Berta languages) |
| Glottolog | bert1248 |
Phonology
Consonants
- Voiced plosives /b, d, ɡ/ may be heard as voiceless [p, t, k] in free variation, word-initially or word-finally.
- A glottal stop [ʔ] mainly occurs between vowels, and may also be heard before word-initial vowel sounds.
- Nasal-stop sequences may occur morpheme-initially as [mb, nd, ŋɡ, ŋkʼ].
- /ŋ/ is heard as [ɲ] when preceding a front vowel /i/ or /e/.
- /kʼ/ is heard as a palatal [cʼ] when before front vowels.
- /ɡ/ can be heard as voiced palatal [ɟ] or as a voiceless palatal [c] when before front vowels.
- /h/ in word-final position can be heard as a fricative [x].
- /s, θ/ may sometimes occur as slightly voiced [z, ð] in vocalic or nasal environments.
Vowels
Pronouns
The pronouns of Berta are as follows:
| Topic | Postverbal subject | Postverbal object | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | àl(ì) | -lɪ́ɪ̀ | -ɟì |
| you (sg.) | (à)ŋɡó | -ŋó | -ŋɡó |
| he, she, it | ɲìnè | -né | ɲìnè, -né |
| we | χàtâŋ | -ŋàa | χàtâŋ |
| you (pl.) | χàtú | χátú | χàtú |
| they | mèrée | mérée | mèrée |
See also
- Berta word lists (Wiktionary)
