Gaam / Gaahmɡ

Language name and location: Gaam, Blue Nile state, Sudan [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 加姆语 (加赫姆格语 Gaahmɡ /塔比语Tabi), 苏丹蓝尼罗河州

1. t̪āmán	21. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná t̪āmán
2. d̪áāɡɡ	22. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná d̪áāɡɡ
3. ɔ́ðɔ̄	23. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná ɔ́ðɔ̄
4. yə̄ə̄sə́	24. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná yə̄ə̄sə́
5. áás-ááman (lit: 'hand')*	25. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná áásááman
6. t̪ə́ld̪ìɡɡ	26. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná t̪ə́ld̪ìɡɡ
7. íd̪iɡɡ-ɔ́ðɔ̄ (lit: 'eyes-two')	27. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná íd̪iɡɡ-ɔ́ðɔ̄
8. íd̪iɡ-dáāɡɡ (lit: 'eyes-three')	28. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná íd̪iɡ-dáāɡɡ
9. íd̪iɡ-yə̄ə̄sə́ (lit: 'eyes-four')	29. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná íd̪iɡ-yə̄ə̄sə́
10. ə́sēɡ-dí (lit: 'hands-also')	30. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ ì ná ə́sēɡdí
11. ə́sēɡdí ì ná t̪āmán	40. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ d̪áāɡɡ ( 20 x 2 )
12. ə́sēɡdí ì ná d̪áāɡɡ	50. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ d̪áāɡɡ ì ná ə́sēɡdí
13. ə́sēɡdí ì ná ɔ́ðɔ̄	60. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ ɔ́ðɔ̄ ( 20 x 3 )
14. ə́sēɡdí ì ná yə̄ə̄sə́	70. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ ɔ́ðɔ̄ ì ná ə́sēɡdí
15. ə́sēɡdí ì ná áásááman	80. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ yə̄ə̄sə́ ( 20 x 4 )
16. ə́sēɡdí ì ná t̪ə́ld̪ìɡɡ	90. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ yə̄ə̄sə́ ì ná ə́sēɡdí
17. ə́sēɡdí ì ná íd̪iɡɡ-ɔ́ðɔ̄	100. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ áásááman ( 20 x 5 )
18. ə́sēɡdí ì ná íd̪iɡ-dáāɡɡ	200. jɔ̄ɡ dùìɡɡ ììŋ-ə̄ ə́sēɡdí ( 20 x 10 )
19. ə́sēɡdí ì ná íd̪iɡ-yə̄ə̄sə́
20. ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ (lit: ‘person black body’)

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Tim Stirtz, Department of Linguistics, Leiden University, the Netherlands. March 9, 2012.
提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Tim Stirtz, 2012 年 3 月 9 日.

Other comments: The Gaahmɡ language, called Gaam or Tabi before, is spoken by approximately 100,000 speakers in Baw district, Jebel Tabi and outlying hills, Blue Nile state, Sudan. Gaahmg has a counting system based on twenty.

The numeral t̪āmán 'one' is used with singular nouns. All other cardinal numbers

are used with plural nouns.

Gaahmg numerals draw upon words for hands, feet, and eyes. Hands and feet are

representative of the number of fingers and toes that they contain. The numeral

áás-ááman 'five (hand-one)' is based on the five fingers of one hand. The numeral

íd̪iɡɡ-ɔ́ðɔ̄ 'seven (eyes-two)' is based on the two eyes - apparently in addition to the

five fingers of one hand which are not included in the numeral. The numeral

ə́sēɡ-dí 'ten (hands-also) is based on the ten fingers of two hands. The numeral ɟāā dùì ə̄ə̄ŋ 'twenty (person black body)' is based on all the fingers and toes of a black

person’s body. It is interesting that the word dùì 'black' is included in the

construction of the numeral, although having nothing to do with the numeral itself.

The numerals 'forty', 'sixty', and higher multiples of twenty are 'two bodies', ‘three

bodies' etc.

Gaahmg Phonemic Chartː

Consonantsː

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Stops	p, b	t̪, d̪	t, d	c, ɟ	k, ɡ
Fricatives	f, fː		s, sː
Nasals	m, mː		n, nː	ɲ, ɲː	ŋ, ŋː
Laterals			l, lː
Rotics			r, rː
Approximants	w	ð *		y **

Gaahmg has 21 consonant phonemes as shown in above table. There is contrastive

length for fricatives, nasals, lateral, and rotic phonemes, but not for other consonant

phonemes.

Gaahmg dental and alveolar plosives are contrastive. Dental plosives are made with

the tongue tip touching the back of the upper teeth. The articulation of the alveolar

plosive tends to vary from person to person between alveolar and retroflex. The

plosive is produced with the tongue tip or the underside of the tongue tip touching

the alveolar ridge or slightly behind the alveolar ridge. The phoneme [r] is a flap,

but when lengthened [r:] is realized as a trill.

Vowelsː

	[-round]	[-round]	[+round]
[+ ATR]	i	ə	u
[ - ATR]	ɛ	a	ɔ

Gaahmg has six vowel phonemes as shown in table 2. The vowel /ə/ [ɐ] is

phonetically low, made in the same place in the mouth as [a], but with advanced

tongue root. The phonemes /e/ and /o/ vary somewhat in phonetic value, becoming

closer to the values [e] and [o] respectively in long vowels. To a lesser extent, the

phonemes /i/ and /u/ also vary in phonetic value, realized closer to [ɪ] and [ʊ]

respectively in short vowels. Vowel length is common and can be analyzed as a

vowel sequence in the same syllable or as a lengthened version of a short vowel.

The two [ATR] sets of phonemes determine the vowel harmony in the language.

Only vowels with the same [ATR] value occur together in the same root. Across

morpheme boundaries in the same word, [+ATR] quality spreads to all vowels

unspecified for [ATR], either from root to bound morpheme or from bound

morpheme to root, whereas [-ATR] quality never spreads. In 3.2, [ATR] quality

across morpheme boundaries is further discussed.

Tonesː

There are three underlying level tones in Gaahmg illustrated by the words.

H v́; M= v̄, L = v̀

Rising and falling tone is analyzed as a sequence of two level tones. The level tones

combine and result in nine tone melodies which are all contrastive in the same

monosyllabic syllable - three level, three falling, and three rising. The same, as

well as additional tone melodies, are contrastive in disyllabic syllable patterns.

Unlike some African tone languages, tone is not affected by consonants, tone is

stable—t does not shift from one syllable to another, and tone does not down-step

or down-drift. The functional load of tone is very high, both in the distinction of

words and in the expression of grammatical functions.

Language name and location: Gaam, Blue Nile state, Sudan [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 加姆语 (加赫姆格语 Gaahmɡ /塔比语Tabi), 苏丹蓝尼罗河州

1. taman	21.
2. diɔk / diak	22.
3. oða / ʔoda	23.
4. yɛsu /yɛzan	24.
5. ʌsumʌn	25.
6. tɛltɛk /tɛldɛk	26.
7. tauðuk / idakʼdiak (5+2)	27.
8. kurbaiti /idukʼʔoda (5+3)	28.
9. akaitɛn / idukʼyɛsu (5+4)	29.
10. ʔasiɡdi	30. jaduwɪn yol siɡdi
11. ʔasiɡdi ɛtɛn taman	40. jaduwɪn yol diɔk
12. ʔasiɡdi ɛtiɡin diɔk	50.
13. ʔasiɡdi ɛl oða	60.
14. ʔasiɡdi yoli yɛsu	70.
15.	80.
16.	90.
17.	100. jaduwaŋ tal ʌsumʌn (20 x 5)
18.
19.
20. dʒadwiaʔ / jaduwɪn / jāduyán

Linguist providing data and dateː Prof. Marvin L. Bender, Department of Linguistics, Southern Illinois University, USA, June 2, 1989

提供资料的语言学家: Prof. Marvin L. Bender, 1989 年 6 月 2 日.

Other comments: Gaam has counting system based on twenty. The above data were incomplete and lesser reliable.

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