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WHY USE THE LATIN OR EUROPEAN ALPHABETS FOR THE KUNAMA LANGUAGE? By Pietros A. Hummad 2000-2001
This question has become a daunting one, strangely enough, not to the Kunama people who, logically, should have been the ones to raise their doubts on the appropriateness or inappropriateness of such use for their language, but to many members of the other Eritrean ethnic groups.
We have, in fact, received, more than often, quite a number of written and oral queries and comments on this topic.
We have even been confronted with remarks like, "linguistically colonised by the Italians" or accused of "trying to deny our Eritrean and African origins" and "purposely retaining the Latin alphabets to counterattack attempts and reject the use of the Ethio-Eritrean Ge'ez alphabets" and many other similar statements.
Leaving aside, for the time being, our speculations that, such absurd remarks are, perhaps, motivated more by jealousy than logic, we shall be trying to bring up and analyse the real advantages the Kunama language has in adopting and maintaining the Latin or European alphabets.
We shall also try to compare and point out the inappropriateness and the disadvantages of using the Ge'ez alphabets for the Kunama language.
Whether deliberately or accidentally, the first European missionaries who had attempted to decode the Kunama words, using their own alphabets, must have immediately realised how easy and simple the Kunama language was, both phonetically and graphically.
This language, in fact, not having guttural as well as other extremely difficult sounds, such as those existing in Amharic, Arabic and Tigrigna, and South-African languages, those missionaries found it easy enough to use it to write their prayer books and hymns.
There was, therefore, no reason, for the Kunama people too, not to accept and retain those Latin or European alphabets since they were not only appropriate for transcribing the Kunama words but also, as we have already pointed out in the first part of our Kunama language analysis on its graphics and phonetics, the Kunama people themselves were given an opportunity to learn to write and read the languages of those European missionaries.
The use of the Latin or European alphabets, seen from the Kunama perspective, was not only accidental or deliberate but very lucky and appropriate one as there is no Kunama word which could not be, phonetically and graphically, transcribed with those alphabets.
There are more detailed examples and comparisons with the European languages like, English, German and Italian, in the first part of the language section in our Kunama Home Page.
Considering the simplicity and consistency of the Kunama language, in terms of its graphics and phonetics, whereby one reads like one writes, this language offers, any non-native learner and writer, an easier access and , the native speakers, ample opportunities to develop and enrich it by introducing new terms to meet new language requirements.
The Kunama language is rather limited in terminology. This is not to say that it does not have enough vocabulary to cover the language requirements of its users, but that it has only a restricted number of words, most of which relate to concrete objects rather than abstract realities and terminology regarding technological items.
This shortage of vocabulary extending beyond the Kunama cultural and conceptual spheres, demands that, very often, the Kunama people borrow words from the languages like Arabic, Italian and Tigrigna, to describe and refer to notions and names of foreign items but adapting and pronouncing them the Kunama way.
Almost all nouns and the infinitive form of the verbs, in the Kunama language, end with the vowel "a", which means that, any borrowed foreign word is given such ending, regardless of its original one.
The following examples can clarify the point.
Arabic: Italian: Tigrigna: Kunama English:
Jauab --- --- jauaba letter
--- Italiano --- Tillana Italian
--- --- bun buna coffee
kitab --- --- kitaba book/writing
--- pane --- banata bread
--- --- keshi kashsha priest
fanus --- --- fanusa torch
--- radio --- radia radio
--- --- hasab hesaba/esaba thought
According to a well-known Eritrean scholar and linguist, Abba Agostinos Tedla, the Kunama language too seems to have lent, some of its own vocabulary, to the Amharic and Tigrigna languages.
He gave, as example, (please notice the similarity of the suffixes) the words like:
Kunama: Amharic/Tigrigna: English:
barasa-ainia ferese-gna ahorse-owner/rider
laga-ania hagere-gna country-person/national
fala-ainia tarike-gna story-teller.
The Kunama language, very often, uses words which describe the activities done and this seems to be the reason why, Abba A. Tedla, sustained that, such technique was introduced also into the Amharic and the Tigrean languages.
As already pointed out, a Kunama word, like that of an Italian word, is pronounced like it is spelt and written and therefore, a non-native learner has only the task of memorising the meaning of the given word, without worryring much about its spelling and pronunciation, as it the case in languages like, English and German where one has to know the meaning of the word or, at least, the ability to discern and compare it with other similarly spelt words.
The German language uses a lot of combined words to describe, for instance, the functions of modern electrical, mechanical and technological devices.
It translates the technical words originating from the Greek language into its own.
The English word, "television-set" is, in German, directly translated into or described with the combined word, "Fern-Seher", meaning "distant watcher".
In other words: a device capable of seeing/watching at a distance.
Another German word, with similar functional meaning, is "Tele-funken" ( = telephone).
A device sending/receiving a distant sound.
The Kunama language, as observed by Abba Agostinos Tedla, already has this basic technique of using combined words for describing people as possessing objects or objects having particular functions.
It could, therefore, easily enlarge its vocabulary on those lines.
This affinity of the Kunama language with the phonetics and graphics, as well as with the words formation of other European languages, has made it possible to use the same internationally recognised and accepted Phonetic Alphabets (IPA) or symbols, to transcribe it.
This is an added and a very valuable advantage for the Kunama language as it can be easily learnt as well as brought on international level and be of interest to foreign scholars and linguists.
Taking into account all these valid reasons, we believe that, the use and retention of the Latin or European alphabets for the Kunama language, is not only phonetically and graphically very advantageous but it also facilitates the learning process for non-native Kunama.
The Amharic and Tigrigna languages use the "Ge-ez" alphabets because of the phonetic requirement of their words.
We are, nowadays, experiencing continuous attempts, by quite a number of Tigrean writers, to transcribe some key-words, sentences and idioms using the Latin or European alphabets.
We guess, their aim is to reach other nationals trying to read and get their messages.
Though we admire and appreciate their scholarly attempts, we, as modest linguists, notice some phonetic and graphic shortages or difficulties.
Like the Kunama, using the European alphabets, the Tigrigna language too is very consistent in its graphics and phonetics when it is written in Ge-ez alphabets.
The graphic and phonetic difficulties arise when a Tigrean writer attempts to use the Latin or European alphabets to transcribe Tigrean words, sentences or simple slogans without giving precise guidelines on which one of the various European orthographic systems he or she is relying on or adopts.
As we all know, each European language uses the Latin alphabets according to its own particular phonetic and graphic requirements.
To our experience, there are very few European languages which are consistent in their orthography in the sense that, they would write, for instance, Latin vowels and diphthongs to
pronounce them the same way at all times.
The English language is a classical example of varied ways of reading the same vowels and diphthongs in different semantic contexts.
More detailed examples would better clarify this point, but it not being our aim here, we limit ourselves to suggesting that, whenever trying to adopt the Latin alphabets for the Tigrigna language, our fellow-Eritrean Tigrean writers should work out together, which type of European orthography or language they are associating their graphics with before accusing us Kunama, of being "linguistically colonised by the Italians" or "unwilling to adopt the Ge-ez alphabets for our language.
We have found our own system, let them find their own.
We have, therefore, officially accepted and adopt an orthography and phonology based on the English, German and the Italian languages as we believe them to be very congenial to the graphic and phonetic requirements of our Kunama language.
Though we have to admit that, both phonetically and graphically, some Ge-ez alphabets could suit the Kunama words too, a great number of them would be totally redundant, particularly those having guttural sounds.
On the other hand, the Ge-ez alphabets are geographically limited only to Eritrea and Ethiopia and one does not see the possibility of the use of the International Phonetic Alphabets to transcribe the Ge-ez alphabets.
We believe, these seem to be the reasons why some writers, both in Amharic and Tigrigna languages, are today making frequent recourse to the Latin alphabets but, unfortunately, some of their transcripts appear phonetically clumsy because the Latin or European lacks of appropriate alphabets to transcribe those guttural letters the Amharic and the Tigrigna languages possess.
Addressing our fellow-Kunama now, we have to point out that, although the orthography of our language has reached a certain level of consistency, there are still many members of our ethnic group who are very reluctant to drop the old graphic systems they had gotten used to.
This is despite being convinced of the logicality of the new changes introduced in the graphics of many Kunama words so as to be totally in accordance with the use of the International Phonetic Alphabets.
We think, we all have the duty to co-operate in giving our mother tongue a very consistent and a final graphic and phonetic form.
In order to consolidate our statement and theory on the inconsistency of the Eritrean and the Ethio-Tigrean writers in using the Latin alphabets for their language, we have randomly picked up the following sentences and phrases by various Tigrean writers and shall be trying to analyse them.
Please notice that, our analyses are only graphic and phonetic and not semantic ones.
1. Melebbemin Aygberka = do not be an evil doer (but)
melebemin aycklaeka = let other people's evil deeds be of a lesson to you;
2.dekki addey = my fellow-countrymen;
3.BhaQi Awet nHafash = truly, victory to the masses;
4. Tesheymulna alo = (a president/minister) has been elected/nominated for us;
5. Iwanu t'mali'you neiru = yesterday was its time.
Beginning with the saying: "melebbemin Aygberka, melebemin aycklaeka",
the two different spellings of the same word "melebbemin", once with a double and then with a single "b" proves our theory of graphic inconsistency.
Phonetically, the word "aycklaeka" too is not very adequately transcribed as, the actual sound of this Tigrean word, tends more to "ch" than "ck".
The same point can be made on the expression "dekki addey" where the two "kk" do not absolutely give the same sound as the equivalent Ge-ez alphabet which has a much stronger guttural sound.
The use of the "i", in "dekki" and "y" in "addey", to give both the same sound as in the English word "pretty", denotes another graphic and phonetic inconsistency.
BhaQi Awet nHafash! (= victory truly to the masses)!
Why the use of the capital and small letters in one and the same word?
"HaQi and nHafash" in Tigrigna have a rather prolonged sound thus making it difficult for a non-native speaker to pronounce them correctly unless after a long practice.
By the way, in the Ge-ez alphabets too double consonants are not used to indicate a prolonged sound of a word which would be another disadvantage for the Kunama language.
Unless the Tigrean academics and linguists had already agreed to adopt a graphic and a phonetic system like that of the English language where one has to know a word in order to spell and read it correctly, there is a need for clear guidelines in this respect.
"Iwanu t'mali'you neiru".
Is the use of the apostrophe a conventional or an arbitrary use of this particular Tigrean
writer?
According to our limited knowledge of the Tigrigna language, in the word "Iwanu" ( = its time), the writer should not have adopted the initial Latin "I" as the Tigrigna "I" is a mute one, with a sound between a vowel and a consonant.
The Latin alphabets lack of such sound. s
Having thus clarified the many shortcomings in the use of the Ge-ez alphabets for the Kunama language and having pointed out how languages like German and English are not always coherent and constant in their pronunciation of the Latin vowels and diphthongs, we Kunama have opted for the adoption and retention of the graphics and phonetics of the Italian language because of its consistency, logicality and adaptability to our own language.
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