| Tera | |
|---|---|
| Nyimalti | |
| Region | Nigeria |
Native speakers | (101,000 cited 2000)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ttr |
| Glottolog | tera1251 |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Tera is aChadicdialect cluster spoken in north-easternNigeria in the north and eastern parts ofGombe State andBorno State.[2] Blench (2006) believes Pidlimdi (Hinna) dialect is a separate language.[3]
Blench lists these language varieties as part of the Tera language cluster.[4]
| Labial | Alveolar | Post-al. /Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | palatal. | central | lateral | plain | labial. | ||||||||||||
| Nasal | m | mʲ | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||||||||||
| Stop1 | plain | p | b | t2 | d2 | tʃ2 | dʒ2 | k | ɡ | kʷ | ɡʷ | ||||||
| prenasal. | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮdʒ | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | ||||||||||||
| implosive | ɓ | ɓʲ | ɗ | ɠ | |||||||||||||
| Fricative | f | v | fʲ | vʲ | s | z | ɬ | ɮ | ʃ | ʒ | x | ɣ | xʷ | ɣʷ | h3 | ||
| Approximant | plain | l | j | w | |||||||||||||
| glottal. | jˀ4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Trill | r | ||||||||||||||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | iiː | ɨ | uuː |
| Mid | eeː | ooː | |
| Open | aaː |
Vowel length contrasts are neutralized in monosyllabic words with no coda consonants.[7]
All vowels but/a/ and/aː/ are more open in closed syllables such as in[ɮɛp] ('to plait') and[xʊ́r] ('to cook soup')./a/ and/aː/ tend to be fronted to[æ,æː] when following palatalized consonants.[8]
Diphthongs, which have the same length as long vowels, consist of a non-high vowel and a high vowel:[8]
| Diphthong | Example | Orthography | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| /eu/ | /ɓeu/ | ɓeu | 'sour' |
| /oi/ | /woi/ | woi | 'child' |
| /ai/ | /ɣài/ | ghai | 'town' |
| /au/ | /ɮàu/ | dlau | 'sickle' |
Tera is atonal language, distinguishing high, mid and low tone. Tone is not indicated orthographically since no minimal trios exist; minimal pairs can be distinguished by context.[9]
The first publication in Tera wasLabar Mbarkandu nu Yohanna Bula Ki, a translation of theGospel of John, which established an orthographic system. In 2004, this orthographic system was revised.[2]
