Ehuẹun (Ekpimi) is an Edoid language of Ondo State, Nigeria. It is sometimes considered the same language as Ukue.
| Ehuẹun | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Ondo State |
Native speakers | 14,000 (2000)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ehu |
| Glottolog | ehue1238 |
Phonology edit
Ehuẹun has a rather reduced system, compared to proto-Edoid, of seven vowels; these form two harmonic sets, /i e a o u/ and /i ɛ a ɔ u/.[2]
The language arguably has no phonemic nasal stops; [m, n] alternate with [β, l], depending on whether the following vowel is oral or nasal. The inventory is:[3]
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | b | t d | k ɡ | k͡p ɡ͡b | |||
| Fricative | ɸ β [m] | f v | s z | h | |||
| Rhotic | r̝ r | ||||||
| Approximant | ʋ | l [n] | j | w |
The two rhotics have been described as voiced and voiceless trills. However, Ladefoged[4][page needed] found both to be approximants, with the pair being raised (without being fricatives) but not trills.
References edit
- ^ Ehuẹun at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Archangeli & Pulleyblank, 1994. Grounded phonology, p 181ff
- ^ Jeff Mielke, 2008. The emergence of distinctive features, p 136ff;
also found in Variation and gradience in phonetics and phonology, p 26ff - ^ Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
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