ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE IPAKumzari

Erik John AnonbyCarleton University & Uppsala Universitet

erik_anonby@carleton.ca

Kumzari is an endangered language spoken by about 4000 people in Oman, the UnitedArab Emirates and Iran. Speakers of the main dialect are found on the Musandam Peninsulaof Oman and in small groups in cities along the Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates.Laraki, a closely related dialect of the language, is spoken across the Strait of Hormuzby a single community on Larak Island in Iran (Lewis 2011, Anonby & Yousefian inpress).

The Kumzari language was identified by Jayakar (1902), and a brief sketch of itsgrammar and lexicon appeared in Thomas (1930). Although it is often referred to asa mixed language, its core vocabulary and verbal morphology support Skjærvø’s (1989)classification of Kumzari within the Southwestern group of Iranian languages. Still, manyof its basic structures, including elements of the phonological system, may be traced toinfluence from Arabic, including the neighbouring Shihhi dialect of Arabic (see Bayshak2002).

The description in this Illustration is based on an analysis of 4500 lexical items and anumber of longer texts collected from various Kumzari speakers (al-Kumzari 2009, Anonby& van der Wal Anonby 2011). Sound recordings have been provided by Noufal MohammadAhmed al-Kumzari and Malallah Sulaiman Muhammad al-Kumzari, both residents of Khasab,Oman.

ConsonantsCharacteristic phonetic realizations of all contrastive consonants are shown in the consonanttable.

Bil

abia

l

Lab

iode

ntal

Alv

eola

r

Vel

ariz

ed

alve

olar

Ret

rofl

ex

Post

alve

olar

Pala

tal

Vel

ar

Lab

ial-

vela

r

Uvu

lar

Pha

ryng

eal

Glo

ttal

Plosive p b t d tƒ dƒ k g q /

Affricate t S dZ

Nasal m n

Fricative f s sƒ zƒ S χ “ ˙

Approximant ” j w

Lateralapproximant

l

Journal of the International Phonetic Association (2011) 41/3 C© International Phonetic Associationdoi:10.1017/S0025100311000314

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 16 Apr 2021 at 05:16:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use.

376 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

One salient element of the Kumzari consonant inventory is a series of velarized (or possiblyvelaro-pharyngealized) alveolar obstruents. The secondary articulation in these consonants issimultaneous, not limited to the consonants’ release. This series corresponds to the ‘emphatic’consonants of neighbouring Arabic dialects, but is not limited to the vocabulary that Kumzarihas adopted from these varieties.

ContrastAll consonants are found in initial position.1

/p/ pa˘k ‘clean thing’/b/ ba˘” ‘strength’

/t/ tå+k ‘date syrup basket’/d/ da˘” ‘stick’

/tƒ/ tƒa˘f ‘gale’/dƒ/ dƒå+jf ‘guest’/k/ ka˘” ‘work’

/g/ gå+ ‘bull’

/q/ qa˘t ‘beetle species’/// /a˘S ‘stone mill’/tS/ t Sa˘zƒ ‘lunch’

/d Z/ d Za˘m ‘hooked (fish)’/m/ ma˘” ‘awake, alert’/n/ na˘m ‘name’/f/ fa˘” ‘flying fish’

/s/ sa˘ ‘now’/sƒ/ sƒa˘m ‘handle’/zƒ/ zƒa˘m ‘time, occasion, turn’

/S/ Sa˘m ‘supper’/χ/ χa˘” ‘bone’

/“/ “a˘zƒ ‘money’// a˘l ‘situation’/˙/ ˙e˘ ‘yes’/”/ ”e˘S ‘vomiting’/j/ jå+ ‘this’/w/ wa˘l ‘slitting (a shark)’/l/ le˘ ‘fishing net’

The glottal stop appears predictably before otherwise word-initial vowels (as in //a˘S/ ‘stonemill’ above) and, in careful speech, between vowels at morpheme boundaries.

1 The orthographic representation shown in the third column employs the Kumzari writing system, whichis based on Arabic script (al-Kumzari 2009, Anonby 2010).

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 16 Apr 2021 at 05:16:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use.

Erik John Anonby: Kumzari 377

"må+d Zmå+ ‘word’

må+d Z"ma˘o˘ ‘the word’ (normal or fast speech)

må+d Z"ma˘/o˘ ‘the word’ (careful speech)

The glottal stop’s contrastive nature is, however, evident from its distribution in a wide varietyof other positions, as the following words show:

"/å+l/U~l ‘heron’

/me˘d ‘fish species’

b/a˘m ‘thumb’

då+/ ‘ten’

"kå+/nå+“ ‘old (thing)’

på+/n ‘wide’

qa˘"Sa˘/å+ ‘tipping over’

qI ~S/ ‘deep-water fish habitat’

Realizations of /”/Although the phonetic realization of most consonants is stable, /”/ exhibits several realizations,depending on its environment. In most positions, it is realized as a retroflex approximant [”].However, when it is found in an onset cluster after an alveolar consonant or before a semivowel,it is realized as an alveolar flap [R]; when it is found in an onset cluster after a non-coronalconsonant, it is realized as a retroflex flap [}]; and when it is geminated, it is realized as analveolar trill [r]. Table 1 illustrates these possibilities.

Table 1 Realizations of /”/.Position Realization Example Orthography GlossWord-initial before avowel/word-final after a vowel

”o˘” ‘child’

Intervocalic "te˘”å+ ‘way’

Word-internal, syllable-final”

"bå+”nU~sƒ ‘blanket’

In an onset cluster after apostalveolar consonant

t S”a˘ ‘traditional lamp’

In an onset cluster after an alveolarconsonant

dRa˘zƒ ‘length’

In an onset cluster before asemivowel

R

"Rja˘dƒI ~t ‘physical exercise’

In an onset cluster after anon-coronal consonant

} b}I ~nzƒ ‘rice’

Geminate r "qå+rå+sƒ ‘mosquito’

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 16 Apr 2021 at 05:16:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use.

378 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

VowelsKumzari has an inventory of eight contrastive vowels. Five of these are long, and three areshort.

u

o

a

e

i

Long vowels are shown in the following words:

/i˘/ bi˘s ‘twenty’

/e˘/ be˘” ‘grind!’

/a˘/ ba˘m ‘giant sea turtle’

/o˘/ bo˘g ‘wallet’

/u˘/ bu˘t ‘small fish species’

Contrast between the three short vowels, and between short and long vowels, may be observedin the following words:

/I ~/ gI ~l ‘dirt, mud’

/å+/ gå+p ‘large’

/U~/ gU~” ‘take!’

StressOn morphologically simple words of more than one syllable, stress falls predictably on thepenultimate syllable.

"qe˘tƒU~b ‘walking stick’

"”I ~Stå+“ ‘thread’

However, stress placement is contrastive for morphologically complex words. Some suffixes,such as the indefinite marker /-e˘/, have no effect on the location of their host stem’s stress:

"qe˘tƒU~be˘ ‘a walking stick’

"”I ~Stå+“e˘ ‘a thread’

Other segmentally analogous suffixes, such as the definite marker /-o˘/, cause stress to shift tothe penultimate syllable of the complex word. Frequently, depending on the structure of thestem, this shift is accompanied by vowel lengthening and, in some cases, also by harmonization(Anonby 2008):

qe˘"tƒU~bo˘ ‘the walking stick’

”I ~S"to˘“o˘ ‘the thread’

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 16 Apr 2021 at 05:16:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use.

Erik John Anonby: Kumzari 379

TranscriptionThis section presents a transcription of the fable of ‘The North Wind and the Sun’, as recountedin Kumzari by Malallah Sulaiman Muhammad al-Kumzari.

Æta˘ "”o˘zƒ | "e˘mqU~ Æå+Ngå+ "gI ~dI ~n || na˘S"jo˘� || w I ~n"ta˘fo | Ækiyå+ å+” "qå+wiÆtå+}I ~ÆjE ||dgi˘n "må+ nå+ te Æ/a˘dI ~mI ~ ÆdZi˘”I ~n Æa˘mI ~"se˘˘ me˘S t@ "kå+˘� | t Sot sa˘få+” | m�å+ Ænå+tâ

"/å+nå+� Æamå+s@ "yå+kâ | Æko˘tU~ bE j ÆdZa˘kI ~tå+ "gå+p˘m• || /å+” "”a˘jå+ kU~ "dZa˘k Æte˘lå+"dZa˘k�t� χo˘ ke˘Ænå+˘� | jI ~ "qå+wiÆtå+”e || Æ/a˘må+d u˘˘ "dgin ÆdZwA˘ne | "”a˘tƒI ~ Æbu˘”I ~nbå+ "I ~nt Så+ || Æ/a˘må+d na˘S"jo˘� uº ˘ Ækå+wlI ~ Ægå+p kI ~n "βa˘ χo || Ækå+wlI ~ Ægå+p kI ~n "βaχo˘ bjå+ Æa˘dI ~mij å+” | t Sot Æsa˘få+”å+ U~� | "/n`t S@ u ÆdZa˘k�t� χo lå+βjå+ tkå+ ba˘ χo˘"χEjtå+” || /å+bni>dI ~S j "ba˘ χU~ Æχå+jtå+ "lå+wjå+ χo• kn` n`då+ ÆdZa˘k@t χo "χejtå+” || Æba˘”χo "da˘”I ~S | Æba˘” χo "da˘”I ~S | Æ/a˘n "t Så+ "lå+wjå+ χU~ tkå+ "dZa˘k@t� χo || dgin "χå+lasƒ

| "ma nå+ tiiº | /I•stå+sl•å+må+ "gI ~dI ~S || "qå+rå+ ƒI ~dI ~S go m Æ”a˘jU~m nå+ || bjU~ I ~nta˘"fo˘�uº ˘˘˘ | /ı )o) χ k@) "χejtå+” | "Så+b˘å+ χo kn` || "gå+”m χo kn` Ægå+”m kn` Ægå+”m kn` Ægå+”mkn` /a>n Ægå+”må+ wA"bU~” uº "bjo˘ uº Ækçt χo "gçpU~ kå+n pe χo• || Ækçt χo "go>po kå+nÆpe> χo• "be>w˘ | bjU~ naSjo dgo "χå+lasƒ || ”a˘j@m nå | "qå+rå+� ÆgI ~dI ~>S | "na χalå+sƒ

”a˘j@) | "/U~nå+åº | /n`"ta˘fççº | "qawiÆtå+”I ~ Æpej

Orthographic version

AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank the many people who have made this research possible. I would firstof all like to thank Christina van der Wal Anonby and Tamara Jahani for encouragementand support during the writing of this article. In Oman, I have appreciated the supervisionand input of Dr. Nafla al-Kharousi and Dr. Amel Salman at Sultan Qaboos University. Tworeferees have also strengthened this article significantly with their suggestions. Finally, I amgrateful to all those among the Kumzari who have shown us kindness, in particular thelocal authorities and several people who shared many insights about their own language. Forthis article, the contributions of Noufal Mohammad Ahmed al-Kumzari, Malallah SulaimanMuhammad al-Kumzari and Ali Hassan Ali al-Kumzari have been particularly valuable:

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 16 Apr 2021 at 05:16:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use.

380 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

ReferencesAnonby, Erik J. 2008. Stress-induced vowel lengthening and harmonization in Kumzari. Presented at The

1st International Conference on Languages and Dialects in Iran, University of Sistan and Baluchestan,28–31 October 2008.

Anonby, Erik J. 2010. Kumzarıtı [Kumzari alphabet chart]. Ms., Leiden University.Anonby, Erik J. & Christina A. van der Wal Anonby. 2011. Kteb majma Kumzarı [Kumzari Dictionary].

Ms., Leiden University.Anonby, Erik J. & Pakzad Yousefian. In press. Adaptive multilinguals: A survey of language on Larak

Island. Uppsala: Uppsala University Press.Bayshak, Maryam S. 2002. Are there traces of Sassanian in the language of the Shihuh, and is Kumzari

among the affected varieties? The Shihhi dialect in the light of linguistic science. Al-Khaleej (Arabicedition) 8541, 12, 17 October 2002.

Jayakar, Atmaram S. G. 1902. The Shahee dialect of Arabic. Journal of the Bombay Branch of the RoyalAsiatic Society 21, 246–277.

al-Kumzari, Ali H. A. 2009. Kumzarı lexicon and grammar notes. Ms., H. aratu Kumzaryan.Lewis, Paul (ed.). 2011. Ethnologue: Languages of the world, 16th edn. Dallas, TX: SIL International.

[http://www.ethnologue.com]Skjærvø, Prods Oktor. 1989. Languages of southeast Iran: Larestanı, Kumzarı, Baskardı. In Rudiger

Schmitt (ed.), Compendium linguarum iranicarum, 363–369. Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichart.Thomas, Bertram. 1930. The Kumzari dialect of the Shihuh tribe (Musandam), Arabia, and a vocabulary.

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 62, 785–854.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 16 Apr 2021 at 05:16:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use.