Ghadamès
Ghadāmis
Native toLibya
RegionGhadames
Native speakers
17,000 (2020)[1]
DialectsAyt Waziten, Ayt Ulid
Language codes
ISO 639-3gha
Glottologghad1239
ELPGhadamès

Ghadamès (Berber: ⵄⴰⴷⴻⵎⴻⵙ / Ɛadēməs [ʕadeːməs], Standard Arabic غدامس /ɣadaːmis/, Libyan Arabic /ɣdaːməs/) is a Berber language that is spoken in, and named after, the oasis town of Ghadames in Nalut District, western Libya.

Research

Ghadamès language materials have been gathered by two linguists. The first materials were published in 1903 and 1904 by Adolphe de Calassanti Motylinski (1854–1907). A more copious and reliable source is provided by the works of White Father Jacques Lanfry (1910-2000), who stayed in Ghadames from 1944 to 1945 and who published his main works in 1968 and 1973. No new research has been undertaken on location since then. Recently, Kossmann (2013) has published a modern grammar of Ghadamès based on Lanfry’s materials.

Number of speakers

Lanfry mentions the number of c. 4,000 speakers as an optimistic estimate.[2] The actual number of speakers is not known with certainty. Ethnologue cites a number of 13,100 speakers in 2016, including 2,000 living outside the area. However, this number reflects the total number of inhabitants of Ghadames, who are not all native speakers of Ghadamès, while the number of 2,000 emigrant speakers is based on a very old source.[3] Ethnologue classifies the language as 6b (Threatened).

The language

Ghadamès is a Berber language on its own, preserving several unique phonological and morphological features, and the Ghadamès lexicon, as recorded by Lanfry, shows relatively little influence from Arabic. There is as yet no consensus on the classification of Ghadamès within the Berber language group. Aikhenvald and Militarev (1984) group it as Eastern Berber, and Kossmann (1999) specifically groups it together with Awjila. Ethnologue classifies it as East Zenati.

Phonology

Consonants

Like other Berber languages and Arabic, Ghadamès has both pharyngealized ("emphatic") and plain dental consonants. Gemination is contrastive. Consonants listed between brackets occur only very sporadically.

Ghadamès consonant phonemes (IPA)
Labial Inter-
dental
Dental Dental
phar.
Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Nasal m
Plosive voiceless (p) t̪ˤ () k q
voiced b ɟ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f (θ) s̪ˤ ʃ x ħ h
voiced β (ð) z̪ˤ ʒ ɣ ʕ
Approximant w l̪ˤ j
Trill r̪ˤ

Vowels

Most Berber languages have just three phonemic vowels. Ghadamès, like Tamasheq, has seven vowels.

Ghadamès vowel phonemes (IPA)
FrontCentralBack
Close iu
Close-mid eo
Mid ə
Near-open ɐ
Open a

Basic vocabulary

Below is the Leipzig-Jakarta list for Ghadames, extracted from Lanfry (1973). Lanfry's unconventional transcription has been adapted to modern usage. Symbols ă, ḥ, j, š, ž, y are equivalent to IPA ɐ, ħ, ɟ, ʃ, ʒ, j. Lanfry's length notation on vowels probably represents lexical stress (Kossmann 2013: 5, 15).

1fireōfa
2nosetənzart
3to goas with verbal deictic n "thither" (cf. 11 to come)
4wateraman (plurale tantum)
5mouthame
6tongueēləs
7blooddămmăn (plurale tantum)
8boneɣăṣṣ
92sg pronounšăgg(ən) (m.), šămm(ən) (f.)
10rootaẓur "root of plant"
11to comeas with verbal deictic d "hither" (cf. 3 to go)
12breastbab, admār
13rainanaẓar
141sg pronounnăšš(ən)
15nameism
16lousetalləkt
17wingafraw
18flesh/meataksəm
19hand/armōfəss "hand", āɣil "arm"
20flyizi
21nightēβăḍ
22earēsəm
23necktakorəmt (cf. 47 back)
24far(not attested)
25to do/makeəqḍu "to do, achieve" < Arabic, ăj "to put, to make"
26housedaž, taddart
27stone/rockērəj
28bitteriẓēk "to be bitter"
29to sayăn
30toothasēn "incisor", taɣməst "molar", tawjlet "canine"
31hairazaw
32big(not attested)
33oneyōn (m.), yōt (f.)
34who?anno
353sg pronoun(n)itto (m.), (n)ittāt (f.)
36to beat/hitŏwət
37leg/footaḍar
38hornaškaw
39this-o
40fish(not attested)
41yesterdayənḍəβăd
42to drinkăsw
43blacksăṭṭăf "to be black" (perfective stem; aorist stem not attested)
44naveltamet
45to standăβdəd "to be standing", ăkkər "to stand up"
46to biteămbər
47backakorm, təkurmēn (cf. 23 neck)
48windaḍo "wind, odour"
49smokeōβo
50what?ke, me
51child (kin term)ara, tarwa
52eggtasadəlt
53to giveăkf
54new(not attested)
55to burn (intr.)ărɣ
56notwăl, ak
57goodsamēḥ < Arabic
58to knowăssən
59kneeōfəd
60sandtamallilt
61to laughăḍs
62to hearăsl
63soiltammurt "earth, soil"
64leaftəfra "leaf of tree"
65redazŭggaɣ "red one" (prob. /azəggʷaɣ/)
66livertōsa
67to hideəkənn
68skin/hideēlăm "animal skin"
69to suckăzməm
70to carryăbb "to carry, bring", ăškəl "to carry, lift"
71anttakəṭfet
72heavyăẓẓāk "to be heavy" (perfective stem; aorist stem not attested)
73to takeāβăʕ "to take", ōməẓ "to seize, hold"
74oldimqōr, iwsər "to be old, elderly (human)"
75to eatăšš
76thightaɣma
77thickizwər "to be thick"
78longəzzəjrət "to be long"
79to blowsβəḍ
80woodasɣēr "(piece of) wood"
81to runăzzəl
82to fallōḍu
83eyeawăll
84ashēšəd
85tailtabaḥṣuṣṣ < Arabic?
86dogēde
87to cry/weepăẓẓəf
88to tieăqqēn
89to seeălləm
90sweet(not attested)
91ropetazara
92shade/shadowtēle
93birdajaḍiḍ
94salttēsənt
95smallimtēt "to be small"
96wide(not attested)
97stariri
98indəj, -i
99hard(not attested)
100to grind/crushăẓəd "to grind", ăddəβ "to crush (in a mortar)"

References

  1. Ghadamès at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. Lanfry (1973:iv).
  3. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition, article Ghadāmis (1952): 2,000 persons with a background in Ghadames living in Tunis; quoted by Lanfry (1973:iv).

Cited works

  • Calassanti Motylinski, A. de (1903). "Note sur la mission dans le Souf pour y étudier le dialecte berbère de R'adamès". Journal Asiatique. 1903, II: 157–162.
  • Calassanti Motylinski, A. de (1904). Le dialecte berbere de R’edamès. Paris: Leroux.
  • Kossmann, M. (2013). A Grammatical Sketch of Ghadames Berber (Libya). Köln: Köppe. ISBN 978-3-89645-940-4.
  • Lanfry, J. (1968). Ghadamès: Etude linguistique et ethnographique. I, Textes, notes philologiques et ethnographiques. Fort-National: Fichier de documentation berbère.
  • Lanfry, J. (1973). Ghadamès: Etude linguistique et ethnographique. II, Glossaire (parler des Ayt Waziten). [Fort-National]: Le fichier périodique.
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