Muher (Muxar) is an Ethiopian Semitic language belonging to the Gurage group. It is spoken in the mountains north of Cheha and Ezhana Wolene in Ethiopia. The language has two dialects, which are named after the first-person singular pronoun "I" they use: Ana uses əni/anä, Adi uses adi/ädi (similar to the related language Soddo). The language is sometimes written in a modified Arabic (Ajam) or Amharic script. It has approximately 90,000 speakers.

Phonology

Consonant Phonemes in Muher
LabialAlveolarPalatalVelar/Glottal
PlainRoundedSibilantNon-sibilantPlainRounded
StopVoicelesstt͡ʃckkʷ
Voicedbbʷdd͡ʒɟggʷ
Ejectivetʼcʼkʼkʼʷ
FricativeVoicelessffʷsʃçhhʷ
Voicedzʒ
Nasalmmʷnɲ
Trillr
Approximantljw

The phonemic status of the glottal stop is uncertain. In some cases, /kʼ/ or /kʷ/ may be reduced to [ʔ] or [ʔʷ], respectively, postvocalically.

Vowel Phonemes in Muher
FrontCentralBack
Closeiu
Mideɨ (ə) ɑ̈ (ɜ)o
Openɑ

The basic syllable structure of Muher is C(C)V(C)(C)

Grammar

Like many Semitic languages, Muher has triconsonantal roots for verbs and nominals.

Personal pronouns both substitute for subjects and function as possessive suffixes on nominals.

GenderSingularPlural
PronounPossessivePronounPossessive
1Commonɑ̈di-ddiɨɲɲɑ-nnɑ
2Male(-)dɑ̈-hɑ̈(-)dɑ̈-hɨmʷ
Female(-)dä-ç (<*dähʲ)(-)dɑ̈-hmɑ
3Malehʷɑ-hʷt(ɑ)(-)hinnɑ̈mʷ
Female(-)çɑ/(-)hijɑ(-)hinnɑ̈mɑ

Definiteness is marked by the definite suffix -we.

Muher has a decimal number system. The teens are formed by ɑsrɑ̈- plus the digits, usually preceded by -m.

Numerals
DigitGloss
ɑtt/kʼunɑ'one'
hʷett'two'
sɔɑst/sost'three'
ɑrbɑ̈tt'four'
ɑmmɨst'five'
sɨddɨst'six'
sɑ̈bɑ̈tt/sɑ̈bɑtt'seven'
simmutt'eight'
ʒɑ̈tʼɑ̈'nine'
ɑssir/ɑsrɑ̈'ten'

Verbs

The basic word order of Muher is SOV. However, a known argument always has to precede a new argument, regardless of their function. Primary conjugations differentiate between the perfective and imperfective aspects. The subject and object are marked on the verb. Object markers are divided into the categories Light and Heavy. Heavy object markers are those who occur with impersonal and plural subjects. Light markers are any others. Light markers may differ based on if the aspect is perfective or non-perfective.

Object Markers
Object MarkerLightHeavy
PerfectiveNon-perfective
1SG-e-e-rɨ
2SG MASC-nnɑhɑ̈-hɑ̈-kkɑ̈
2SG FEM-nnɑç-ç-kc
3SG MASC-nn-ʷ/-nn-ʲ/-ʷ (-c)
3SG FEM-nnɑ-ːɑ/-nnɑ-jɑ/-wɑ (-cɑ)
1PL-(ɑ̈)nɑ̈-ɑ̈nɑ̈-nnɑ̈
2PL MASC-nnɑhmʷ-hɨmʷ-kkɨmʷ
2PL FEM-nnɑhmɑ-hmɑ-kkimɑ
3PL MASC-nnɑ̈mʷ-ːɑ̈mʷ/-nnɑ̈mʷ-jɑ̈mʷ/-wɑ̈mʷ (-cɑ̈mʷ)
3PL FEM-nnɑ̈mɑ-ːɑ̈mɑ/-nnɑ̈mɑ-jɑ̈mɑ/-wɑ̈mɑ (-cɑ̈mɑ)

Citations

Further reading

  • Cohen, Marcel (1936). Etudes d’éthiopien méridional. Paris: Geuthner.
  • Hetzron, Robert (1977). The Gunnan-Gurage languages. Napoli : Istituto Orientale di Napoli.
  • Leslau, Wolf (1979). Etymological Dictionary of Gurage (Ethiopic). 3 vols. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. (ISBN 3-447-02041-5)
  • Leslau, Wolf (1981). Ethiopians Speak: Studies in Cultural Background, Part IV : Muher. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner. (ISBN 3-515-03657-1)
  • Meyer, Ronny (2005). "The morpheme yä- in Muher", in: Lissan - Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 19/1, pp. 40–63.
  • Polotsky, Hans Jakob (1939). "L labialisé en gouragué mouher", in: GLECS 3, pp. 66–68 [=Collected Papers by H. J. Polotsky (Jerusalem: Magnes press 1971), pp. 516–518].
  • Rose, Sharon (1996). "Allomorphy and Morphological Categories in Muher", in: G. Hudson (ed.), Essays in Gurage Language and Culture (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag), pp. 205–227.
  • Rose, Sharon (2000). "Velar Lenition in Muher Gurage", in: Lingua Posnaniensis 42, pp. 107–116.