2016/01/01 by Joshua A.G. Smolders · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis #Phonetics and Phonology Research #Phonology #Linguistics #Philosophy
paper · pdf · doi:10.1349/ps1.1537-0852.a.470
published in Linguistic Discovery 14(1) (Dartmouth College Library)
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/06
Ganza is a previously undescribed Omotic language of the Mao subgroup, and is the only Omotic language found primarily outside of Ethiopia. This paper presents the results of nearly a year of phonological fieldwork on Ganza in the form of a descriptive phonology. Included are presentations of the consonant and vowel phonemes, syllable structure and phonotactics, notable morphophonemic processes, and an overview of the tone system. Some interesting features of the phonology highlighted in this paper include the existence of a nasalizing glottal stop phoneme, lack of phonemic vowel length, a lexically determined vocalic alternation between ja~e, and the existence of "construct melodies" in the tone system. Given that both Omotic languages in general and especially the Mao subfamily are understudied, this paper provides much-needed data and analysis for the furtherance of Omotic linguistics.