| Part 2: Language |
2.1. Khezha Speech Sounds
Khezha has nine vowel sounds, fourty
two consonant sounds and three level tones.
Vowel
Sounds :
Out of the nine vowel sounds, three are high vowels, two
mid vowels, three lower-mid vowels and one central low vowel. There are no front rounded vowels. All the rounded vowels are either central or
back vowels. They are illustrated as
under :
Front
High i I u
Mid e o
Lower-mid E ü[1]/θ
Low a
Consonant
Sounds :
Of the forty two consonant sounds, thirteen are stops, six
affricates, nine fricatives, seven nasals, two laterals, two trills and three
glides. There is no voiced aspirated
sound in this language. But all the
unaspirated obstruents have distinctive opposition between voiced and voiceless
sound except velar stops and fronto-alviolar fricative. Similarly, all the sonorants, voiceless
plosives and affricates have the opposition of aspiration and unaspiration
except velar nasal. They are illustrated
as under :
Bilabial
Labio Apico Fronto
Palatal Velar Labio Glottal
dental alveolar
alveolar
velar
vl. Unasp P
t c k
kw
Stop: Asp.
ph th ch kh khw
vd. b d j
vl. Unasp. pf ts
Affricate
Asp. pfh tsh
vd. bv
dz
Frica- vl. f s R š h
tive:
vd. v z ž ĥ
Nasal:
Unasp. m n ñ ŋ
Asp. mh nh ñh
Late- Unasp. l
ral: Asp. lh
Trill: Unasp. r
Asp.
rh
Glide: Unasp. w y
Asp. Wh
2.2. Phonological Description : Khezha has
7 vowel phonemes and 41 consonant phonemes .
Vowels
: Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Lower-mid ü/θ
Low a
Consonants : Bila- Labio Apico Fronto Pala- Velar Labio Glo-
bial dental alveo- alveo- tal Velar ttal
lar lar
vl. Unasp. p t c k kw
Stop: Asp. ph th ch kh khw
vd. b d j
vl. Unasp. pf ts
Affri- Asp. pfh tsh
vd. bv dz
Frica- vl. f s š h
tive: vd. v z ž ĥ
Nasal:
Unasp. m n ŋ
Asp. mh nh
Late- Unasp. l
ral: Asp. lh
Trill: Unasp. r
Asp. rh
Glide: Unasp. w y
Asp. Wh
2.3.
Contrastive Pairs:
Vowels
:
/i o
e θ u
a/
/di/ [di] ‘tired; fed up’
/de/ [de] `beat’
/do/ [do] ‘weave’
/dθ/ [dθ] ‘entangle’
/du/ [du] `cut’
/da] [da] `add (liquid)
/dìle/ [dìle] `to
let fall by placing vertically’
/dele/ [dele] ‘to
drop by beating’
/dθle/ [dθle] `cause
to fall by
entangling’
/dule/ [dule] ‘to fall by cutting down’
/dàle/ [dàle] ‘slide
of terraced ridge’
/melí/ [melí] ‘heart’
/mele/ [mele] ‘plank’
/meló/ [meló] ‘moan’
/melθ/ [melθ] ‘to
foam’
/mèlu/ [mèlu] ‘to
let in’
/mèla/ [mèla] ‘cheap’
/e u
ü θ/
/re/ [re] ‘cut (by rubbing)’
/rü/ [rü] ‘to cover with lid’
/ru/ [ru] ‘pierce’
/rθ/ [rθ] ‘to
cut the branches of tree’
/lèbù/ [lèbù] ‘oval
pot’
/lübú/ [lübú] ‘musical
instrument’
/lubè/ [lubè] ‘to
enter and remain’
/lθle/ [lθle] ‘open
(not cunning)’
Consonants
:
/p ph b/
/pù/ [pù] ‘tell’
/phù/ [phù] ‘to
insert into the fire’
/bù/ [bù] ‘to snip’
/èpa/ [Epa] ‘flower’,
‘mushroom’
/èpha/ [Epha] ‘fat
other than fat on the skin’
/èba/ [Eba] ‘arm’,
‘branch’
/t th d/
/to/ [to] ‘eat’
/tho/ [tho] ‘to
give name’
/do/ [do] ‘weave’
/mèto/ [mèto] ‘stretch’,
‘to feed’
/mètho/ [mètho] ‘raw’
/mèdo/ [mèdo] ‘to
measure’, ‘worry’
/c ch j/
/ce/ [ce] ‘tease’, ‘to add water’
/che/ [che] ‘know’,
‘hear’
/jè/ [jè] ‘ill-feeling due old memory’
/tacò/ [taco] ‘ant
which live under the ground’
/tachó/ [tachó] ‘ant
which make nest on the treeleaves’
/tajo/ [tajo] ‘mouthful
of meal’
/k kh
kw khw w/
/ke/ [ke] ‘to take out food from dish’
/khe/ [khe] ‘to
discard’
/khwe/ [khwe] `wait’
/kwerǜ [kwerǜ] `horse’
/we/ [we] ‘good’
/ekìe/ [Ekìe] `house’
/èkwé/ [Ekwé] ‘shell’
/mèkhwe/ [mèkhwe] `patch’
/mekì/ [mekì] ‘cold’
/mekhi/ [mekhi] ‘seat’
/èkwé/ [Ekwé] ‘shell’
/èkhwe/ [Ekhwe] ‘sound’
/mèwe/ [mèwe] `interest’
/p t
c k kw/
/pe/ [pe] ‘to add’
/te/ [te] ‘to go by walking’
/ce/ [ce] ‘tease’, ‘to water’
/ke/ [ke] ‘to take out (food)’
/kwé/ [kwé] `together’
/mèkwe/ [mèkwe] ‘to
rear bee/hornet’
/tèpi/ [tèpi] ‘sister’
/keti/ [keti] ‘mouth’
/keci/ [keci] ‘a
kind of bird’
/ph th
ch kh khw/
/phé/ [phé] ‘go
(horizontal)’
/the/ [the] ‘chop’
/che/ [che] ‘know’,
‘hear’
/khe/ [khe] ‘discard’
/khwe/ [khwe] ‘wait’
/èphì/ [phì] ‘husk’
/ethi/ [ethi] ‘rice
powder’
/èkhi/ [èkhi] ‘a
kind of thorny creeper’
/kèkhwe/ [kèkhwe] ‘wait
for one another’
/kekhe/ [kèkhe] `control’
/pf pfh
bv ts tsh
dz/
/pfü/ [pfü] ‘to
carry on back’
/pfhǜ/ [pfhǜ] ‘to
search’
/tsü/ [tsü] ‘black’
/tshü/ [tshü] ‘do’
/bvǜ/ [bvǜ] ‘compress’
/dzü/ [dzü] ‘come
down’, ‘sting’
/èpfo/ [Epfo] ‘straying
of female pig for mating’
/èpfhò/ [Epfhò] ‘lung’
/ètso/ [Etso] ‘stone’
/mètsho/ [mètsho] ‘itch’
/èbvo/ [Ebvo] ‘one
measure of basket’
/ts c
tsh ch j dz/
/tse/ [tse] ‘to
jump high-jump’
/ce/ [ce] ‘tease’, ‘to water’
/tshe/ [tshe] ‘dart(spear)’
/che/ [che] ‘know’,
‘hear’
/dze/ [dze] ‘soothe’
/jè/ [jè] ‘ill-feeling’
/ketsè/ [ketsè] ‘few’
/kecè/ [kecè] ‘chase
(away by shouting)’
/ketshé/ [ketshé] ‘new’
/kechè/ [kechè] ‘waist’
/kedze/ [kedze] ‘to
play’
/kejè/ [kejè] ‘short-while’
/dz j bv/
/jǜ/ [jǜ] ‘short’
/dzǜ/ [dzǜ] ‘to
steam’
/bvǜ/ [bvǜ] ‘compress’
/mejü/ [mejü] ‘egg’
/medzǜ/ [medzǜ] ‘lie’
/ebvü/ [ebvü] ‘confuse’
/pf f
pfh bv b v/
/pfǜ/ [pfǜ] ‘thin’
/fǜ/ [fǜ] ‘chase’
/pfhǜ/ [pfhǜ] ‘search’
/vǜ/ [vǜ] ‘to
mill (rice)’
/bvǜ/ [bvǜ] ‘compress’
/kèpfo/ [kèpfo] ‘fight
(ox)’
/kèfü/ [kèfü] ‘to
dry grains in the sun’
/èpfhò/ [Epfhò] ‘lung’
/èbvo/ [Ebvo] ‘one
measure of paddy’, ‘young leaf’
/èvo/ [Evo] ‘pig’
/èbo/ [Ebo] ‘cage’
/s z
š ž/
/sè/ [sè] ‘to hit (with stone)’
/ šè/ [šè] ‘to
transplant’
/zè/ [zè] ‘distribute’
/ žè/ [žè] ‘sell’,
‘to be early’
/mesü/ [mesü] `think’,
`remember’
/mešü/ [mešü] ‘weight’
/mezü/ [mezü] ‘urine’
/mežü/ [mežü] ‘to
be careful in spending’
/ts tsh s/
/sa/ [sa] ‘to announce (as by Village Chief)’
/tsha/ [tsha] ‘to block (way)’
/tsa/ [tsa] ‘to entangle with stick’
/ketshé/ [ketshé] ‘new’
/kese/ [kese] ‘lid’
/ketse/ [ketse] ‘above’
/s z r/
/so/ [so] ‘to drink’
/zo/ [zo] ‘look’
/ro/ [ro] ‘to roast’
/se/ [se] ‘to cover (with lid)’
/meze/ [meze] ‘look at’
/mère/ [mère] ‘busy’
/kese/ [kese] `lid’
/d dz z/
/dè/ [dè] ‘cut’
/dzè/ [dzè] ‘wrap’
/zè/ [zè] ‘distribute’
/medo/ [medo] ‘like’
/mezo/ [mezo] ‘too much’
/medzü/ [medzü] ‘equal’
/mezü/ [mezü] ‘urine’
/j z ž/
/jǜ/ [jǜ] ‘short’
/žǜ/ [žǜ] ‘to spin (cotton)’
/zǜ/ [zǜ] ‘sleep’, ‘dark’
/kejó/ [kejó] ‘sin’, ‘to hit for breaking’
/kežó/ [kežó] ‘to clear irrigation, drainage, etc.’
/mezó/ [mezó] ‘defend’
/h ĥ
s/
/ha/ [ha] ‘yawn’
/
ĥa/ [ĥa] ‘cut by rubbing (eg. saw)’
/sà/ [sà] ‘dried as leaf’
/keso/ [keso] ‘truth’
/kehá/ [kehá] ‘red (one)’
/mèsa/ [mèsa] ‘to fry’
/mèĥa/ [mèĥa] ‘pain (burning sensation)’
/m n
ŋ/
/mo/ [mo] ‘no’
/nü/ [nü] ‘you’
/
ŋü/ [ŋü] ‘elated at the end portion’
/kemθ/ [kemθ] ‘paddy plants infected by pest’
/kenθ/ [kenθ] ‘latter’
/keŋθ/ [keŋθ] ‘amaze’
/n nh
m mh/
/nθcǘ/ [nθcǘ] ‘baby’
/nhθjǘ/ [nhθjǘ] ‘liquid or pus’
/mθ/ [mθ] ‘paddy plant affected by
insect’
/mhθjü/ [mhθjü] ‘in front’
/kèna/ [kèna] ‘to knit’
/lènha/ [lènha] ‘to make untidy’
/kèma/ [kèma] ‘exchange by mistake’
/kemhá/ [kemhá] ‘going to the field (N)’
/l lh
r rh/
/lì/ [lì] ‘warm’
/lhì/ [lhì] ‘to live’, ‘overburn when roasting’
/ri/ [ri] ‘to go ahead’
/rhì/ [rhì] ‘alive’
/kèle/ [kèle] ‘to revert’
/kèlhe/ [kèlhe] ‘throw away’
/kère/ [kère] ‘mix’
/kèrhe/ [kèrhe] ‘scrab’
/w wh y/
/we/ [we] ‘good’
/whe/ [whe] ‘to cover on the surface’
/ye/ [ye] ‘to kill animal/enemy’
/èwe/ [Ewe] ‘bear (animal)’
/èwhe/ [Ewhe] ‘dependent (animal)’
/èyie/ [Eyie] ‘star’
/w v b/
/èva/ [Eva] ‘multiplication’, counting of the event’
/wa/ [wa] ‘to shine’
/ba/ [ba] ‘to put on cloth’
/kèvu/ [kèvu] ‘nump’
/kèwu/ [kèwu] ‘thieve’
/kèbu/ [kèbu] ‘too big to enter’
/èvo/ [Evo] `pig’
/èbo/ [èbo] `cage’
2.4. Allophonic Distribution
Vowels
:
(i)
High-front unrounded vowel /i/ has two allophones : [i] and [I].
[i] is high-front unrounded vowel which occurs
elsewhere, eg.,
/ìwe/ [ìwe] ‘yours’
/i kewe/ [i kewe] ‘your
goodness’
/merikà/ [merikà] ‘handle
of axe’
/meciru/ [meciru] ‘lump
of salt’
/di/ [di] ‘to make cup with leaf’
/keti/ [keti] ‘mouth’
[I] is central-high unrounded vowel which occurs
before another vowel, eg.,
/loni/ [loñI] `want’
/niu/ [ñIu] ‘to suck breast’
/nìe/ [ñIe] ‘I’,
‘rich’
/nhie/ [ñhIe] ‘to
stamp (foot)’
/mènia/ [mèñIa] ‘noise’
/hìo/ [hIo] ‘sarcastic’
/dìe/ [dIe] ‘big’
/lèdie/ [lèdIe] ‘road’
(ii)
Velar nasals /n/ and /nh/ have two allophones each:
[n]
is apico-alveolar that occurs elsewhere:
/nò/ [nò] `you’
/nečü/ [necü] `eye’
/menà/ [menà] `elastic’
/nawè/ [nawè] `left-nanded’
/menò/ [menò] `wrestle’
/menè/ [menè] `soft’
/èna/ [èna]
`vein’
[ñ]
is platal nasal unaspirated which occurs before high-front and mean-mid vowels,
eg.,
/ni/ [ñI] ‘want’
/nǘ/ [ñǘ] ‘ask’
/nθ/ [ñθ] ‘late’
/nìmi/ [ñImi] ‘lover’
/kenθbá/ [keñθbá] ‘later
part’
/lenü/ [leñü] `religion’
[nh] is apico-alveolar nasal aspirated which
occurs elsewhere, eg.,
/nhe/ [nhe] ‘to
cover’
/nhabθ/ [nhabθ] ‘mucus’
/kenhe/ [kenhe] ‘cover
(N)’
/ lèna/ [lèna] ‘to
disturb when working’
[ñh] is palatal nasal aspirated which precedes
high-front and mean-mid vowels, eg.,
/nhie/ [ñhIe] ‘trample’
/nhθ/ [ñhθ] ‘to
entangle (thread)’
/ñhǜ/ [ñhǜ] ‘marry
(woman)’
/menhi/ [meñhI] ‘powder’
/meñhü/ [meñhü] ‘suspect’
/meñhθ/ [meñhθ] ‘sufficient’
(iii)
/r/ has two allophones: [r] and
[R]
[r]
is fronto-alveolar trill which occurs elsewhere, eg.,
/rì/ [rì] ‘to intervene and stop fighting of
someone’
/re/ [re] ‘cut (vegetables)’
/ro/ [ro] ‘roast’
/ru/ [ru] ‘pierce/inject’
/ra/ [ra] ‘to spread (thread)’
/mere/ [mere] ‘dry
area of land’
/mèra/ [mèra] ‘proud’
/mèro/ [mèro] ‘smart’
[R] is fronto-alveolar voiceless fricative which
occurs after bilabial and apico-alveolar voiceless stops, eg.,
/pre/ [pRe] ‘emerge’
/tre/ [tRe] ‘cry’
/phre/ [phRe] ‘to release’
/thré/ [thRé] ‘alike’
/èpri/ [EpRi] ‘needle’
/ètri/ [EtRi] ‘hundred’
/phro/ [phRo] ‘break’
/thro/ [thRo] ‘love
(to be affectionate)’
2.5. Distribution of Phonemes
Vowels:
All
the vowels occur in the medial and final position of the word, but only the
vowels /i/, /e/ and /a/ occur in the initial position.
/i/ /ìwe/ ‘yours’
/lido/ ‘idea’
/meri/ ‘to give way to proceed’
/e/ /ekhù/ ‘curve’
/keli/ ‘salute’
/tòthe/ ‘annus’
/o/ /loje/ ‘a kind of weaving tool’
/kepó/ ‘forehead’
/u/ /duni/ ‘day before’
/mekú/ ‘cool’, ‘untrue’
/θ/ /thθba/ ‘buttock’
/mèpθ/ ‘meeting’
/ü/ /vüdó/ ‘ginger’
/kàpfhü/ ‘spade’
/a/ /àwe/ ‘mine’
/màdθ/ ‘grumble’
/mèra/ ‘proud’
Consonants:
Khezha is open syllable language. No consonant occurs in the final position of
the word. They occur in the word medial
and initial positions only.
/p/ /pilá/ ‘a kind of head dress’
/topù/ ‘round’
/ph/ /pheco/ ‘ankle’
/tθpha/ ‘cotton’
/b/ /bethu/ ‘rice’
/lebθ/ ‘mole’
/t/ /to/ ‘eat’
/ketí/ ‘mouth’
/th/ /thu/ ‘write’
/methθ/ ‘free of cost’
/d/ /de/ ‘beat’
/medo/ ‘like’
/k/ /ko/ ‘call’
/meke/ ‘bite’
/kh/ /khà/ ‘ask’, ‘cook’
/kekhá/ ‘prayer’
/kw/ /kwècǘ/ ‘baby sheep’
/mèkwe/ ‘to rear (bee)’
/khw/ /khwe/ ‘wait’
/tekhwé/ ‘scratch’
/pf/ /pfò/ ‘carry (with hand)’
/nèpfo/ ‘year’
/pfh/ /pfhǜ/ ‘search’
/èpfhò/ ‘lung’
/bv/ /bvò/ ‘germinate’
/èbvo/ ‘one measure of two full basket
of
paddy’
/ts/ /tsè/ ‘less’
/ètso/ ‘stone’
/tsh/ /tshè/ ‘praise’
/ketshòlò/ ‘dry field’
/dz/ /dze/ ‘to soothe’
/kedzü/ ‘hit (by throwing)’
/c/ /ce/ ‘tease’, ‘to water’
/ècu/ ‘children of brothers and
sisters’
/ch/ /che/ ‘know’
/mècho/ ‘restless’
/j/ /jè/ ‘ill-feeling’
/èjà/ ‘yesterday’
/f/ /fǜ/ ‘chase’
/èfü/ ‘tooth’
/v/ /vocǘ/ ‘piglet’
/èvü/ ‘horn-bill’
/s/ /sò/ ‘count’
/kesò/ ‘arrange’
/z/ /sò/ ‘look’
/mesa/ ‘glister’
/š/ /šè/ ‘transplant’
/kešé/ ‘elder’
/ž/ /žo/ ‘sweep’
/meže/ ‘uncomfortable’, ‘unwell’
/h/ /ha/ ‘yawn’
/kehè/ ‘increase’
/ĥ/ /ĥa/ ‘to
saw’
/keĥò/ ‘rake’, ‘to stir’
/m/ /menè/ ‘soft’
/kèma/ ‘exchange by mistake’
/n/ /nò/ ‘you’
/menà/ ‘sticky’
/nh/ /nhe/ ‘to cover with lid’
/menhi/ ‘powder’
/ŋ/ / ŋo/ ‘see’
/keŋú/ ‘gather’
/l/ /lìdo/ ‘idea’
/melè/ ‘sudden’
/lh/ /lhè/ ‘to open and search’
/kelhi/ ‘life’
/r/ /rà/ ‘to plan’
/merí/ ‘axe’, `pinch’
/rh/ /rhè/ ‘to draw (picture)’
/kèrho/ ‘to debate’
/w/ /wà/ ‘bright’
/mewé/ ‘to grow’
/wh/ /whe/ ‘to cover’
/kewhe/ ‘patch’, `dependent’
/y/ /ye/ ‘to kill enemy/animal’
/èyi/ ‘plantain’
2.6. Diphthong:
Diphthongs in Khezha never occur in the
initial position except when it is uttered as single word sentence, eg., ei ‘okay’, ai ‘it can’t be possible’ and so on.
(i) word medial diphthongs :
-ie- kenìemí ‘rich people’
-io- nìopfo ‘a kind of bamboo basket’
-iu- niujǘ ‘milk’
-ia- keniató ‘to fine’
(ii) word final diphthongs :
-ie dìe ‘big’
-io ènhio ‘thicker part of gravy’
-iu èniu ‘breast’
-ia mènia ‘noise’
-ei lèi ‘a mood marker’
-ai lài ‘an interrogative marker’
2.7. Consonant Clusters
Consonant clusters are very rare in
Khezha. The sound like /kw/ in èkwé
‘shell’ and /khw/ in khwe ‘wait’ appear to be consonant clusters at
first instance. Their segment, however,
have a highly restricted distribution.
The [w] which is a glide is always preceded by velar stops, and is the
only environment in which it occurs.
Moreover, they are always uttered as a single sound rather than
cluster. Therefore it is more plausible
to analyze them as a labialized velar stops rather than cluster.
Similarly, in the case of /pr/ in
pre ‘come out’, /phr/ in phro ‘split’, /tr/ in ètri ‘hundred’,
and /thr/ in thri ‘buy’ are always articulated in a single
articulation. The /r/ is fricativized
after /p/, /t/, /ph/ and /th/.
Therefore, they can be analysed as labial affricates and fronto-alveolar
affricates, respectively.
In normal conversation, the element
-mi that functions as connective is often shortened to consonant /m/
alone clustering with the following consonant as in,
/mts/ : nò ni khàm’tsü
you nom ask-mood
‘You asked,
didn’t you?’
/mn/ : nò ni
pùm’nìo
tell nom. Mood
‘You said,
didn’t you remember?’
However, when the hearer failed to
understand and repetition of utterance is sought, the speaker would repeat by
introducing vowel /i/ Thus, it is more
plausible to analyze as they are simply a short form of expression as in the
case of English `he’s’ from `he is’. They cannot therefore be analyzed as to be
the case of cluster as such since the following formation is possible and more
plausible.
nò ni khàmí tsü
or
nò ni khàmi nìo
2.8. Syllable :
Khezha is an open syllabic
language. No closed syllabic word is
found in this language. Again, Khezha
may be called a disyllabic language, because except name of objects and proper
names which are mostly compound word, no Khezha basic word of noun is found
consisting of more than two syllables.
Furthermore, when the base noun is consisted of single syllable length,
it requires a vowel prefix –e to build up two-syllable length of word.
Monosyllabic words can be found in other classes of words
including grammatical features belonging to the property of noun. Compound
words in Khezha are very common and a word consisting of more than two
syllables are mostly compound words in some way or other. In a rare case, a
word consisting of more than two syllables, kùžuthrùbù `armpit’, for instance,
the source of the final syllable -bù is apparently from èbu `box or enclave’,
but the source of the preceding syllables is not. Plausible evidence could be thro
`under’, the vowel of which is assimilated to its adjacent vowels. But this
will invite debate, because the base kùžu- visibly has no relevant with kàbu
`shoulder’ to form the prototype construction as kabuthròbu >
kùžuthrùbù.
The following are the list of syllabic patterns of Khezha.
(i) Monosyllabic word :
cv ko ‘call’
cvv
dìe ‘big’
(ii) Disyllabic word :
v-cv èna ‘vein’
cv-cv keme ‘some’
cvv-cv niowe ‘soil
cv-cvv menìe ‘shy’
(iii)
Trisyllabic word :
cv-cv-cv kowáche ‘cherry’
cv-cvv-cv meniethro ‘men
under wear’
cv-cv-cvv khuwénhio ‘thicker
portion of gravy from
curry’
cvv-cv-cv niowéjǜ ‘soil
water’
(iv) Tetrasyllabic word :
cv-cv-cv-cv lepθthsürhe
‘a name of small bird’
(v) Five syllable word :
cv-cv-cv-cv-cv kùžuthrùbùmhi ‘hair
of armpit’
(vi) Six Syllable word :
cv-cv-cv-cv-cv-v tenicikhθloè ‘snail
cv-cv-cv-cv-cv-cv metrìmílèchèbó ‘plant of tree tomato’
It could be possible in a rare
instance that some word, especially names that are derived from onomatopoeia,
but depending on the dialect of village to village. For example, my village
dialect Letromi has a word wetenicícíkophra ‘a name of bird’ that is
consisted of seven syllables, but other villagers may not be able to understand
it, even most of the youngsters of my village too may not understand it since
the bird is almost extinct.
