Oluʼbo language explained

Olubo
Nativename:Lolubo
States:South Sudan
Ethnicity:Olubo
Date:2017
Ref:e25
Script:Latin
Familycolor:Nilo-Saharan
Fam2:Central Sudanic
Fam3:Eastern
Fam4:Moru–Madi
Fam5:Southern Madi
Iso3:lul
Glotto:olub1238
Glottorefname:Olu'bo

Olubo or Lolubo is a Central Sudanic language spoken by 33,000 Olubo people in Southern Sudan.

Phonology

Consonants

!! Labial !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Post-
alveolar
!! Retroflex !! Palatal !! Velar !! Labial-
velar
!! Glottal
Implosivepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
voicelesspronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
prenasalizedpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
voicelesspronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Approximantpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/

Vowels

Back+VowelsClosepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Near-closepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Close-midpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Open-midpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Openpronounced as /ink/

Vowels form two vowel harmony sets, based on advanced and retracted tongue root. The [-ATR] group is pronounced as //ɪ, ɛ, ɔ, ʊ//, and the [+ATR] group is pronounced as //i, e, o, u//. pronounced as /link/ is phonetically [-ATR] but is found in roots of both sets.

There is a tenth vowel quality pronounced as /link/, which only occurs after pronounced as /link/. When pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/ are in separate morphemes, pronounced as /link/ is in free variation with pronounced as /link/.

Tones

Olubo has high pronounced as /link/, mid pronounced as /link/, and low pronounced as /link/ tones.There are also six compound tones, low-mid pronounced as /link/, low-high pronounced as /link/, mid-low pronounced as /link/, mid-high pronounced as /link/, high-low pronounced as /link/, and high-mid pronounced as /link/.

References