Fur language
The Fur language (or Foor; Fur: bèle fòòr or fòòraŋ bèle; Arabic: فوراوي, Fûrâwî; sometimes called Konjara by linguists, after a former ruling clan) is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Fur of Darfur in Western Sudan. It is part of a broader family of languages known as the Fur languages.
| Fur | |
|---|---|
| bèle fòòr | |
| Native to | Sudan, Chad |
| Region | Darfur |
| Ethnicity | 9,000,000 Fur people (2014)[1] |
Native speakers | (More than 11,000,000 cited 1916)[1] |
Nilo-Saharan?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | fvr |
| Glottolog | furr1244 |
| Linguasphere | 05-CAA-aa |
 Geographic distribution of Fur | |
Phonology
The consonantal phonemes are:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labiovelar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p[decimal 1] b | t d | ɟ[decimal 2] | k ɡ | ||
| Fricative | f[decimal 1] | s (z)[decimal 3] | h[decimal 4] | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||
| Trill | r |
- /f/ is in free variation among a series of sounds ranging between [p] and [f]; thus some sources give the name of the language as pɔɔr.
- /ɟ/ can also be pronounced as [dʒ].
- [z] occurs only as an allophone of /j/.
- /h/ is very rare.
All sounds are spelt with their IPA symbols except for the following: j = [ɟ~dʒ], ñ = [ɲ] and y = [j]. Arabic consonants are sometimes used in loanwords.
The vowels are as in Latin: a e i o u. There is dispute as to whether the –ATR vowels [ɛ], [ɔ], [ɪ], [ʊ] are phonetic variants or separate phonemes.[2]
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | [+ATR] | i | u | |
| Near-close | [-ATR] | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Mid | [+ATR] | [e] | ə | [o] |
| Open-mid | [-ATR] | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a | |||
There are two underlying tonemes, L (low) and H (high); phonetically, L, H, mid, HL and LH are all found.
Metathesis is an extremely common and regular grammatical phenomenon in Fur: when a consonant pronoun prefix is prefixed to a verb that begins with a consonant, either the verb's first consonant is deleted or it changes places with the following vowel. E.g.: lem- "lick" → -elm-; ba- "drink" → -ab-; tuum- "build" → -utum-. There are also various assimilation rules.
Morphology
Plurals
Noun, and optionally adjective, plurals can be formed with -a (-ŋa after vowels): aldí "story" → aldíŋá "stories", tóŋ "(a certain species of) antelope" → pira "antelopes"; piraŋa "old" → tooy'báiná "old (pl.)". This suffix also gives the inanimate 3rd person plural of the verb: liíŋ "he bathes" → liíŋá "they (inanimate) bathe", káliŋa "they (animate) bathe".
Vowel-final adjectives can take a plural in -lá, as well as -ŋa: lúllá "cold" → lúllála or lúlláŋa "cold (pl.)". A similar suffix (metathesized and assimilated to become -ól/-úl/-ál) is used for the plural of the verb in some tenses.
A few CVV nouns take the plural suffix H-ta; roo "river" → roota'wala gal rooŋa "rivers"; ra̱yi' wala gal ra̱y "field" → rǎ̱ytó'wala gal rǎ̱ytá "fields".
At least two nouns take the suffix -i: kóór "spear" → kóórí "spears", dʉ́tʉ "mouse" → kʉ́ʉ́tɨ́ "mice".
Nouns with the singular prefix d- (> n- before a nasal) take the plural k-; these are about 20% of all nouns. In some cases (mostly body parts) it is accompanied by L. E.g.: dɨ́ló "ear" → kɨ́ló "ears"; nʉ́ŋɨ́ "eye" → kʉ́ŋɨ́ "eyes"; dági "tooth" → kagi "teeth"; dormí "nose" → kormi "noses".
- In some cases the singular also has a suffix -ŋ, not found in the plural: daulaŋ "shoe" → kaula "shoes", dɨróŋ "egg" → kɨro "eggs".
- Sometimes a further plural suffix from those listed above is added: nʉ́nʉm "granary" → kʉ́nʉ́ma "granaries", nʉ́ʉ́m "snake" → kʉ́ʉ́mɨ́ "snakes", dɨwwô "new" → kɨwwóla'wala gal 'kɨwwóŋa "new (pl.)"
- Sometimes the suffix -(n)ta, is added: dewer "porcupine" → kewértá "porcupines"; da̱wi "tail" → ka̱wíntó'wala gal ka̱wíntá "tails".
- One noun, as well as the demonstratives and the interrogative "which", take a plural by simply prefixing k-L: úú "cow" → kuu "cows"; á̱yɨ "which (one)?" → ká̱yɨ "which (ones)?".
- Several syntactic plurals with no singulars, mostly denoting liquids, have k-L-a; kewa "blood", koro "water", kona "name, song" koonà.
Nouns
The locative can be expressed by the suffix -le or by reversing the noun's final tone, e.g.: tòŋ "house" → toŋ "at the house"; loo "place", kàrrà "far" → loo kàrrà-le "at a far place".
The genitive (English 's) is expressed by the suffix -iŋ (the i is deleted after a vowel.) If the relationship is possessive, the possessor comes first; otherwise, it comes last. E.g.: nuum "snake" → nuumiŋ tàbù "snake's head"; jùtà "forest" → kàrabà jùtăŋ "animals of the forest".
Pronouns
Independent subject:
| Singular | Fur | Plural | Fur |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ká | we | kɨ́ |
| you (sg.) | jɨ́ | you (pl.) | bɨ́ |
| he, she, it | yé | they | yɨeŋ + yeeŋ |
The object pronouns are identical apart from being low tone and having -ŋó added to the plural forms.
Prefixed subject pronouns:
| Singular | Fur | Plural | Fur |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | - (triggers metathesis) | we | k- |
| you (sg.) | j- | you (pl.) | b- |
| he, she, it | - (causes raising; *y-) | they (animate) | y- (+pl. suffix) |
| they (inanimate) | (*y-) (+pl. suffix) |
Thus, for example, on the verb bʉo- "tire":
| English | Fur | English | Fur |
|---|---|---|---|
| I'm tired | ká ʉmo | we tired | kɨ́ kʉmo |
| you (sg.) tired | jɨ́ jʉmo | you (pl.) tired | bɨ́ bʉmo |
| he/it/she tired | yé bʉo | they tired | yɨeŋ kʉme + yeeŋ bʉe |
gi, described as the "participant object pronoun", represents first or second person objects in a dialogue, depending on context.
Possessives (singular; take k- with plural nouns):
| Singular | Fur | Plural | Fur |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | dúíŋ | our | dáíŋ |
| your (sg.) | dɨ́ɨ́ŋ | your (pl.) | dɨ́eŋ |
| his, hers, its | dééŋ | their | dɨ́eŋ |
Verbs
The Fur verbal system is quite complicated; verbs fall into a variety of conjugations. There are three tenses: present, perfect, and future. Subjunctive is also marked. Aspect is distinguished in the past tense.
Derivational suffixes include -iŋ (intransitive/reflexive; e.g. lii "he washes" → liiŋ "he washes himself) and gemination of the middle consonant plus -à/ò (intensive; e.g. jabi "drop" → jappiò/jabbiò "throw down".)
Negation is done with the marker a-...-bà surrounding the verb; a-bai-bà "he does not drink".
Adjectives
Most adjectives have two syllables, and a geminate middle consonant: e.g. àppa "big", fùkka "red", lecka "sweet". Some have three syllables: dàkkure "solid".
Adverbs can be derived from adjectives by addition of the suffix -ndì or L-n, e.g.: kùlle "fast" → kùllendì or kùllèn "quickly".
Abstract nouns can be derived from adjectives by adding -iŋ and lowering all tones, deleting any final vowel of the adjective, e.g.: dìrro "heavy" → dìrrìŋ "heaviness".
Media in Fur language
Radio Dabanga - broadcasts daily news in the Fur language and in other languages local to Darfur.
References
- Fur at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- Kutsch-Lojenga, Constance; Christine, Waag (2004). The Sounds and Tones of Fur. Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages No. 9: Entebbe: SIL-Sudan.CS1 maint: location (link)
Sources
- A. C. Beaton. A Grammar of the Fur Language. Linguistic Monograph Series, No. 1. Khartoum: Sudan Research Unit, Faculty of Arts, University of Khartoum 1968 (1937).
- Angelika Jakobi, A Fur Grammar. Buske Verlag: Hamburg 1989.
- Constance Kutsch-Lojenga & Christine Waag, "The Sounds and Tones of Fur", in Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages No. 9. Entebbe: SIL-Sudan 2004.
- Georgianna Noel, An Examination of the Tone System of Fur and its Function in Grammar, University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.
