Xamtanga language
Ethiopian language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xamtanga (also Agawinya, Khamtanga, Simt'anga, Xamir, Xamta) is a Central Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia by the Xamir people.
| Xamtanga | |
|---|---|
| ኽምጣጘ (X’imt’a-nga) | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈχamtaŋa] |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Region | North Amhara Region |
| Ethnicity | Xamirs |
| speakers | L1: 210,000 (2010)[1] L2: 11,000[1] |
| Ge'ez script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xan |
| Glottolog | xamt1239 |
Phonology
Vowels
The central vowels /ɨ ə a/ have fronted and backed allophones, depending on the adjacent consonant(s).
Consonants
- /h/ is found only word-initial in loanwords, and may be glottal [h] or pharyngeal [ħ].
- /t/ is alveolar before the vowel /i/, dental otherwise.
- /q/ can be ejective [qʼ], and in some cases the ejectives appear to be in free variation with the voiceless plosives.
Phonological processes
Gemination
In positions other than word-initial, Xamtanga contrasts geminate and non-geminate consonants. With most consonants, the difference between a geminate and a non-geminate is simply one of length, but the cases of /b t q/ are more complex. When not word-initial, non-geminate /b/ is realized as a bilabial [β] or labiodental fricative [v], and /t/ and /q/ are realized as affricates: [tθ qχ]. Their geminate equivalents may be realized as prolonged [bː tː qː], or can simply be short [b t q].
In word-initial position, geminate consonants do not occur, and /b t q/ are realized as plosives.
