Noon language
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Noon | |
---|---|
Serer-Noon | |
Native to | Senegal |
Region | Thiès |
Ethnicity | Serer-Noon |
Native speakers | 33,000 (2007)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Official status | |
Official language in | Senegal |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | snf |
Glottolog | noon1242 |
ELP | Noon |
Noon (Non, None, Serer-Noon, Serer-Non) is a
The Noon people identify themselves ethnically as Serer. However, their language, often called Serer-Noon on the assumption that it is a Serer dialect, is not closely related to the principal language of the Serer population, Serer-Sine.
Status
Like many of the local languages in Senegal, the Noon language is officially recognized as one of the national languages of the country.[1]
Orthography
A Latin alphabet was proposed for Noon in 2001 and adopted by the Senegalese government in 2005.[5] The alphabet consists of 47 letters, as listed below.[6]
Letters of the alphabet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | Aa | B | Ɓ | C | D | Ɗ | E | Ee | É | Ée | Ë | Ëe | F | G | H | I | Ii | Í | Íi | J | K | L | M |
a | aa | b | ɓ | c | d | ɗ | e | ee | é | ée | ë | ëe | f | g | h | i | ii | í | íi | j | k | l | m |
Mb | N | Ñ | Ŋ | Nd | Ñj | Ŋg | O | Oo | Ó | Óo | P | R | S | T | U | Uu | Ú | Úu | W | Y | Ƴ | ʼ | |
mb | n | ñ | ŋ | nd | ñj | ŋg | o | oo | ó | óo | p | r | s | t | u | uu | ú | úu | w | y | ƴ | ʼ |
Consonants
The Noon alphabet contains 27 consonant letters. Glottal stop is not written at the beginning of the word, and it has no separate form for upper-case letters. The pre-nasalized consonants are written mb, nd, ñj, ŋg. Geminate consonants are written with double letters, such as ɓɓ, cc, ff, hh, kk, ll, mm, nn, pp, ss, tt, ww, yy. These are not considered separate letters of the alphabet. The letters b, d, g, j, ɗ, ƴ, ñ do not occur doubled.
Vowels
The Noon alphabet contains 20 vowel letters.
A | Aa | E | Ee | É | Ée | Ë | Ëe | I | Ii | Í | Íi | O | Oo | Ó | Óo | U | Uu | Ú | Úu |
a | aa | e | ee | é | ée | ë | ëe | i | ii | í | íi | o | oo | ó | óo | u | uu | ú | úu |
Capitalization rules
In general, there are three rules regarding capitalization in Noon. Much like other languages, they capitalize letters at the beginning of sentences and names.[8]
- Rule 1. An uppercase is used at the beginning of each exclamation point, or the beginning of a quotation after a colon.
- Example: Ɓa haydoh këyitcaa hen, ɓa ee'tarica, kúmaandagaa an: «Yugat! Ɗú ɗekoh!» which translates to, 'As soon as they had searched the papers, they gave them to him, and the commander said: "Sit down! Be quiet!"
- Rule 2. The first letter of any personal name, family, country, city, etc. are indicated by an uppercase letter.
- Example: Senegaal is indicative of 'Senegal' or Caañaak is indicative of 'Thiès'
- Rule 3. For franchise or business names beginning with ki-, the letter that precedes the enunciationpoint.
- Example: 'kiToŋgol' translates to, 'this year'; Whereas, if the phrase was in the beginning of an enunciation point, it would be rendered 'KiToŋgol' to mean 'This year...'
Phonology
Vowels
In Noon, the vocalic system contains twenty phonemes: 10 short and 10 long vowels.[9]
Front | Central | Back | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
−ATR | +ATR | −ATR | +ATR | −ATR | +ATR | |||||||
short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | |
Close | ɪ ⟨i⟩ | ɪː ⟨ii⟩ | i ⟨í⟩ | iː ⟨íi⟩ | ʊ ⟨u⟩ | ʊː ⟨uu⟩ | u ⟨ú⟩ | uː ⟨úu⟩ | ||||
Close-mid | e ⟨é⟩ | eː ⟨ée⟩ | o ⟨ó⟩ | oː ⟨óo⟩ | ||||||||
Open-mid | ɛ ⟨e⟩ | ɛː ⟨ee⟩ | ə ⟨ë⟩ | əː ⟨ëe⟩ | ɔ ⟨o⟩ | ɔː ⟨oo⟩ | ||||||
Open | ä ⟨a⟩ | äː ⟨aa⟩ |
Consonants
In Noon, the consonantal system contains 22 phonemes.[10]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n
|
ɲ ⟨ñ⟩ | ŋ | ||
Plosive | voiceless | p | t
|
c | k | ʔ ⟨'⟩ |
voiced | b | d
|
ɟ ⟨j⟩ | g | ||
prenasal | ᵐb ⟨mb⟩ | ⁿd ⟨nd⟩ | ᶮɟ ⟨ñj⟩ | ᵑɡ ⟨ng⟩ | ||
implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ ⟨ƴ⟩ | |||
Fricative | f | s | h | |||
Approximant | l
|
j | w | |||
Trill | ( r )
|
Grammar
In Noon, the division of words is based on grammatical rules that are inherent in the language. The language undergoes many morphological changes, thus the language treats certain morphemes as being part of a single or key word, making them dependent. These morphemes are treated as prefixes that do not carry any independent meaning in itself, but are used for grammatical context.
Ki-
The infinitive ki- is prefixed to the subject of the verb.
Examples:
kiñam 'to eat'
ki'on 'to give'
kilímu 'to be born'
kiɗúukool 'to be sick'
Di-
The adverb di- is prefixed. However, when bi- is used as a conjunction, it is written separately.
Example:
Adverb: tani'in dijëfí' translates to, 'he is much better'
Conjunction: tani'in bi jof also translates to, 'he is much better'
Class Markers
Class Markers such as wi-,fi-,mi-, etc. are prefixed to the subject of the adjective.
Examples:
kaan fi'as 'a new house'
ha'mun yi'as 'a new owner;
túuƴ wimórí' 'a beautiful room'
Object Pronouns
Examples:
hottoo 'he sees me'
hottaa 'he sees you' (informal)
hotti 'he sees him (a man)'
hottíi 'he sees us (but not you)'
hottuu 'he sees us (you included)'
hottúu 'he sees you' (formal or plural)
hotɓa 'he sees them (the men)'
hotfa 'he sees it (the house)'
hotca 'he sees them (the houses)'
Ga- preposition exception:
Ñamaa ga! 'Eat it!'
yaa tík gaɗa 'the following'
Furthermore, the same object pronouns are suffixed to prepositions.
Example:
'Mi hay naraa kitaam.' translates to, 'I will go with you'
Possessive Pronouns
The
Examples:
kowkiigoo 'my child'
kowkiigaraa 'your child' (informal)
kowkiigari 'his/her child'
kowkiigaríi 'our child'
kowkiigaruu 'our child'
kowkiigarúu 'your child' (formal or plural)
kowkiigaɓa 'their child'
towtiigaca 'their fruits'
Note that the
Example:
Feetaa newin gaɓa. 'They liked the party.'
Feetaa newin garoo. 'I liked the party.'
Possessive pronouns that are relational are suffixed to the noted topic because of
Examples:
yaakkoo 'my big brother'
yaakfu 'your big brother' (informal)
yaakci 'his big brother'
yaakkíi 'our big brother'
yaakkuu 'our big brother'
yaakkúu 'your big brother' (formal or plural)
yaakɓa 'their big brother'
Definite Articles
The
Examples:
hal halii 'the door (here)'
oomaa oomaanaa 'the child (there)'
kow kowkaa 'the child (there)'
pe' pe'faa 'the goat (there)'
misoo' misoorum 'the headscarf (near to you)'
tuhaan tuhaantii 'the bongos (here)'
Additionally, definite articles are suffixed to adjectives in the same manner that names are suffixed in Noon.
Examples:
túuyaa wi'aswaa 'the new room (there)'
kaanfii fimo'tafii 'the beautiful home (here)'
kubaaykii jisúusúusjii 'the black puppy (here)'
tediktaa tihoo'tataa 'the large trees (there)'
Subordinate Clauses
In Noon, the suffix -(n)aa is indicative of a
Examples:
Fu hayaa, ɗuu ñam. 'We will eat, when you come' (worded in the form: 'When you come, we will eat.')
Fu hot kowkaanaa, wo'aari ya hay. 'If you see his son, tell him to come.'
However, unlike -ɗa, which is a morpheme indicative of a proposal, there is an adverb ɗa which can translate to 'alone' or 'like this/that'. You can note the difference between the two forms, as the adverb is always separated, since it carries an independent lexical meaning.
Example:
Maŋgoocaa ñamsi ɗa. 'The mangoes are eaten alone'
Interrogative Clauses
In Noon, the
Examples:
Fu hay kihay kuwise? 'Are you coming tomorrow?'
Fu hotin kowkiigoone? 'Have you seen my child?'
For an alternative interrogative clause, the suffix -(n)oo is used.
Examples:
Fu waa' ki'an músúnoo miis? 'Would you like water or milk to drink?' (written in the form: 'Would you like to drink water or milk?'
Fu en ga foohoo ga ɗuuƴ? 'Are you outside or inside?'
In vocative cases, the suffix -(n)óo is suffixed to a name.
Example:
Bañóo! translates to, 'Hell!'
Numeral System
Noon has a
1. ˈwiːnɔ: / ˈwitnɔː * | 21. daːŋkah kanak na ˈwiːnɔ: |
2. ˈkanak | 22. daːŋkah kanak na ˈkanak |
3. ˈkaːhaj | 23. daːŋkah kanak na ˈkaːhaj |
4. ˈnɪkɪːs | 24. daːŋkah kanak na ˈnɪkɪːs |
5. ˈjətu̘ːs | 25. daːŋkah kanak na ˈjətu̘ːs |
6. jɪtˈnɪːnɔː ( 5 + 1 ) | 26. daːŋkah kanak na jɪtˈnɪːnɔ |
7. jɪtnaˈkanak ( 5 + 2 ) | 27. daːŋkah kanak na jɪtnaˈkanak |
8. jɪtnaˈkaːhaj ( 5 + 3 ) | 28. daːŋkah kanak na jɪtnaˈkaːhaj |
9. jɪtnaˈnɪkɪːs ( 5 + 4 ) | 29. daːŋkah kanak na jɪtnaˈnɪkɪːs |
10. ˈdaːŋkah | 30. daːŋkah ˈkaːhaj |
11. daːŋkah na ˈwiːnɔ: | 40. daːŋkah ˈnɪkɪːs |
12. daːŋkah na ˈkanak | 50. daːŋkah ˈjətu̘s |
13. daːŋkah na ˈkaːhaj | 60. daːŋkah jɪtˈnɪːnɔ |
14. daːŋkah na ˈnɪkɪːs | 70. daːŋkah jɪtnaˈkanak |
15. daːŋkah na ˈjətu̘ːs | 80. daːŋkah jɪtnaˈkaːhaj |
16. daːŋkah na jɪtˈnɪːnɔ | 90. daːŋkah jɪtnaˈnɪkɪːs |
17. daːŋkah na jɪtnaˈkanak | 100. ˈteːmeːʔ < Wolof |
18. daːŋkah na jɪtnaˈkaːhaj | 200. tɛːmɛːʔ ˈkanak |
19. daːŋkah na jɪtnaˈnɪkɪːs | 1000. ˈɟu̘nːi < Wolof |
20. daːŋkah ˈkanak | 2000. ˈɟu̘nːi ˈkanak |
Notes
- ^ a b c Noon at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "A survey of language death in Africa". www.msu.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Did you know Noon is vulnerable?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ (in French) Gouvernement du Sénégal, Décret n° 2005-986 du 21 octobre 2005 relatif à l'orthographe et à la séparation des mots en noon.
- ^ "Guide d'orthographe de la langue Noon". SIL International. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Guide d'orthographe de la langue Noon". SIL International. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
- ^ "Guide d'orthographe de la langue Noon". SIL International. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
- ^ "Une esquisse de la phonologie de la langue noon". SIL International. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
- ^ "Une esquisse de la phonologie de la langue noon". SIL International. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
- ^ "Noon". mpi-lingweb.shh.mpg.de. Retrieved 2016-05-04.