Abstracts
Case markers in Bayso (Cushitic)
Abebe Keno Gonfa, Addis Ababa University
In this work, the case system of Bayso is treated employing Basic Linguistic Theory. Bayso is an Omo-Tana language group under lowland East Cushitic language family, spoken by not more than 6000 people at the frontier between Cushitic and Omotic language speakers.
It is found out that nouns do not inflect for nominative as well as for accusative case marking. To mark dative case, however, -Vn or –u:n [where, V is a terminal vowel in the base noun, u: is long u] is suffixed to a noun. The former is suffixed to a noun ending with a vowel while the latter to a noun ending with a consonant. Similar to nouns, personal pronouns except those in the 1Sg & 2Sg, where different forms of pronouns are exhibited, also do not inflect to mark nominative and accusative cases. In these cases dative case is inflected from the personal pronouns at the direct object position.
Of the three level demonstratives in the language, variation of form occurring at subject and object position is seen in proximal demonstratives. The object form is the base for dative case marking. Genitive case is marked by high tone on the non-head in the genitive structure, and instrumental case by the inflection –i suffixed to the noun used as instrument. Both genitive case and instrumental case are marked on the final noun in the noun phrase. Three local cases: ablative (marked by the suffix-ko), allative (marked by the suffix –de) and locative (marked by the suffix –i) are distinguished in the language. The local cases are suffixed not only to nouns but also to relator nouns.
Key terms: [Bayso, case, case marker, relator noun, local cases]
Phonetic documentation and analysis of implosives in Mpiemo (Bantu)
Yasuko Nagano-Madsen & Christina Thornell
This presentation demonstrates how implosive consonants and their allophonic plosive counterparts in the Bantu language Mpiemo (A86c) can be documented and analysed using acoustic phonetics. For field linguists, distinguishing implosives from plosives perceptually can be challenging, which complicates phonological analysis. Acoustic methods offer a more objective and reliable approach for identifying and differentiating these sounds, and such analyses are now more accessible thanks to user-friendly software like Praat.
Although aerodynamic studies are essential for understanding the production of implosives, they are less practical for analysing data from multiple speakers. Acoustic phonetics, by contrast, enables analysis across a larger speaker sample, which is particularly valuable given that implosive sounds tend to show inter-speaker variation—likely due to the complexity of their articulation. Another advantage of acoustic methods is that they can be applied to existing recordings, enhancing the value of archived materials.
Implosives occur in various languages worldwide, including several Bantu languages. However, their phonetic realisation, phonemic status, and phonological patterning vary cross-linguistically. In the Bantu context, Maddieson and Sands (2019) note that most Bantu languages exhibit two plosive series—voiced and voiceless—in line with Meeussen’s (1967) Proto-Bantu reconstruction. Notably, the reconstructed voiced plosives often correspond to voiced approximants or implosives in modern languages, with exceptions occurring post-nasally or before Meeussen’s reconstructed super-high vowels. Mpiemo, spoken across the borders of the southwestern Central African Republic and southeastern Cameroon, conforms to this pattern and contrasts markedly with some Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa.
Our findings indicate that changes in waveform and in fundamental frequency (F0, perceived as pitch) are two key acoustic correlates distinguishing implosives from their allophonic plosives. We also demonstrate how these phonetic characteristics vary depending on phonological context and intonational environment.
References
Maddieson, I. and Sands, B. (2019) The sounds of the Bantu languages. In The Bantu Languages, 79-127. Routledge.
Meeussen, A. E. (1967) Bantu Grammatical Reconstructions. Africana Linguistica 3, 79–121.