Kafa
NativenameKafi noono
StatesEthiopia
RegionKeffa Zone
EthnicityKafficho
Ref[1]
Date2007 census
FamilycolorAfro-Asiatic
Fam 2Omotic
Fam 3North
Fam 4Gonga
Fam 5Kafa–Shekkacho
Dia 1Bosha
Iso 3kbr
Glottokafa1242
GlottorefnameKafa

Kafa or Kefa (Kafi noono) is a North Omotic language spoken in Ethiopia at the Keffa Zone. It is part of the Ethiopian Language Area, with SOV word order, ejective consonants, etc.

A collection of proverbs in the language has been published by Mesfin Wodajo.[2]

Phonology

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
plaingem.plaingem.plaingem.plaingem.
Plosive/
Affricate		voicelessppːttːtʃtʃːkkːʔ
voicedbbːddːdʒdʒːgɡː
ejectivepʼpːʼtʼtːʼtʃʼtʃːʼkʼkːʼ
Fricativevoicelessfssːʃh
voicedz
Nasalmmːnnː
Rhoticɾ
Approximantwllːj
  • /f/ may also be heard as [ɸ] in free variation.
  • /b/ can be heard as a bilabial approximant [β̞] in intervocalic positions.
  • /t/ can be realized as [ts] in word-final position.[3]

Vowels

FrontBack
Closei iːu uː
Midɛ ɛːɔ ɔː
Opena aː
  • /a/ may also have an allophone of [ə].[3]

Manjo

Manjo
AltnameMangiò
Acceptancespeculative
EthnicityManjo
Extinct?
Familycolorunclassified
Familyunattested
Iso 3none
Glotto 2mang1364
Glottorefname 2Mangio
StatesEthiopia

Within the Kafa culture there is a caste of traditional hunters called the Manja/Manjo 'hunters'. They may once have spoken a different language. However, Leikola has shown that currently they speak Kafa with a number of distinctive words and constructions that they use, reinforcing the distinctions between themselves and the larger Kafa society.[4]

References

  1. ^ Ethiopia 2007 Census Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ 2012. Functions and Formal and Stylistic Features of Kafa Proverbs: Functional and Structural Approach. Lambert Academic Publishing.
  3. ^ Theil, Rolf (2007). Kafa phonology. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, Vol. 28, No. 2: DeGruyter Mouton. pp. 193–216.
  4. ^ Leikola, Kirsi. 2014. Talking Manjo: Linguistic repertoires as means of negotiating marginalization. University of Helsinki: PhD dissertation.

Further reading

  • Brockelmann, Carl (1950): Zur Grammatik der Kafa-Sprache. in: Brockelmann, Carl (ed.): Abbessinische Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Leipzig. pp 40–60.
  • Cerulli, Enrico (1951), Studi etiopici. Vol. IV: La lingua Caffina. Roma: Istituto Per L'oriente.
  • Fleming, Harold C. (1976), "Kefa (Gonga) Languages", in The Non-Semitic Languages of Ethiopia. Bender, M. L. (ed.)