Ama / Nyimang

Language name and locationː Ama, South Kordofan state, Sudan [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 阿玛语 (尼芒语Nyimang), 苏丹南部南科尔多凡州尼芒山区

1. ɲálā	21. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ ɲálā
2. ārbā	22. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ ārbā
3. āsá	23. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ āsá
4. kùd̪ò	24. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ kùd̪ò
5. mūl	25. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ mūl
6. kūrʃ	26. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ kūrʃ
7. kūlād̪	27. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ kūlād̪
8. èd̪ò	28. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ èd̪ò
9. wìèd̪ò	29. t̪árfó t̪ōŋ wìèd̪ò
10. fòɽó	30. t̪ár t̪ōŋ fòɽó
11. fōɽō ɲálā	40. t̪ár ārbá (20 x 2)
12. fōɽō ārbá	50. t̪ár ārbá t̪ōŋ fòɽó
13. fōɽō āsá	60. t̪ár āsá (20 x 3)
14. fōɽō kùd̪ò	70. t̪ár āsá t̪ōŋ fòɽó
15. fōɽō mūl	80. t̪ár kùd̪ò (20 x 4)
16. fōɽō kūrʃ	90. t̪ár kùd̪o t̪ōŋ fòɽó
17. fōɽō kūlād̪	100. t̪ár mūl (20 x 5)
18. fōɽō èd̪ò	200. t̪ár fòɽó (20 x 10)
19. fōɽō wìèd̪ò	1000. t̪ár fòɽó mūl (20 x 10 x 5)
20. t̪árfó	2000. t̪ár fòɽó mūl ārbá (20 x 10 x 5 x 2)

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Russell Norton, University of Essex, UK / SIL International, January 22, 2008. Commented by Dr. Angelika Jakobi, October 13, 2011.
提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Russell Norton, 2008 年 1 月 22 日.

Other comments: Ama or Nyimang is spoken by approximately 160,000 speakers in

Nyimang hills, South Kordofan state, Sudan. Ama or Nyimang has a vigesimal system. Ama numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 look like cognates with Dilling 6, 7, 8, 9. This stands to reason as Dilling is the local hub town for the Ama. The Dilling language is now dying (Mugaddam 2007) and Arabic is used in the town instead, so the incorporation of Dilling numbers into Ama (if it was that way round) must date back to a time before the shift to Arabic. Ama has three tone marksː high (á) mid (ā) low (à).
Dr. Angelika Jakobi’s commentary on Ama numeralsː Russel Norton suggests that the Ama numerals 6, 7, 8, 9 are borrowed from the Dilling language (genetically belonging to Kordofan Nubian).

As the Ama area is not only geographically close to Dilling but also to other Kordofan Nubian languages like Karko, Wali and Ghulfan Morung I doubt that it is possible to identify the Kordofan Nubian language from which Ama borrowed those numerals.

Apart from 6, 7, 8, 9, there is evidence that tárfó 20 is also a borrowing from a Kordofan Nubian language.

The direction of borrowing from Kordofan Nubian to Nyimang (rather than vice versa) is suggested by the fact that cognates of the numerals 6, 7, 8, 9 (but not 20) are attested in other Nubian languages, too, which are spoken in the Nile valley and Darfur (i.e. outside of the Kordofan Nubian and Ama area).
Lit. Rottland, Franz and Angelika Jakobi. 1991. Loan Word Evidence From the Nuba Mountains: Kordofan Nubian and the Nyimang Group. In: D. Mendel and U. Claudi (eds), Ägypten im Afro-Orientalischen Kontext. Gedenkschrift Peter Behrens (Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere. Sondernummer 1991), pp. 249-269. Universität zu Köln. Institut für Afrikanistik.

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