Ila (Chiila) is a language ofZambia. Maho (2009) listsLundwe (Shukulumbwe) andSala as distinct languages most closely related to Ila. Ila is one of the languages of theEarth included on theVoyager Golden Record.[3]
ch in fact varies from "k" to a "weak" version of English "ch", to a "strong" "ch" to "ty".[clarification needed]
j as the voiced sound corresponding to this therefore varies "g"/English "j"/ "dy" / and "y".[clarification needed]
v is reportedly a voiced labiodental fricative /v/ as in English⟨v⟩, andvh the same labialised and aspirated /vʷʰ/ ("lips more rounded with a more distinct emission of breath").
zh is the voiced post-alveolar fricative /ʒ/; French⟨j⟩ as inbonjour.
ng is the voiced velar nasal followed by a voiced velar plosive, /ŋg/ as in RP English "finger", whileng' is a plain voiced velar nasal /ŋ/ as in "singer" - a similar distinction is observed inSwahili.[5]
In Ila proper,/hˠ*,h̰ˠ*,ɦˠ*/ are "modifiedglottal fricatives in which the air passes through the throat with considerable friction, and is modified by being thrown against the toothless[7] ridge and inside of the upper lip, causing concomitantfrication there. ... The tongue is meanwhile kept in velar vowel position as for [u] and these fricatives therefore inherently possess au-glide, which is noticeable when they are used with any other vowel thanu." The 'concomitant lip frication' is evidently something like that of [f] and [v]. Doke transcribed these sounds simply⟨h, h̰, ɦ⟩.
Lundwe and Kafwe Twa have a palato-glottal fricative/ɦ͡ʒ/. "This sound is produced with a tongue position similar to Ila[ʒ] but with considerable voiced frication in the throat at the same time."
Tone is demonstrated by contrastingaze with high pitch on the first syllable ( = "with him") withaze with high pitch on the second syllable (= "he also").[4]
Words in English such as "Splash!", "Gurgle", "Ker-putt" express ideas without the use of sentences. Smith and Dale[4] point out that this kind of expression is very common in the Ila language:
You may sayNdamuchina anshi("I throw him down"), but it is much easier and more trenchant to say simplyTi!, and it means the same.[8]
Some examples:
Muntu wawa - A person falls
Wawa mba - falls headlong
Mba! - He falls headlong
Mbo! mbo! mbo! mbò! - (with lowered intonation on the last syllable) He falls gradually
Mbwa! - flopping down, as in a chair
Wa! wa! wa! wa!- The rain is pattering
Pididi! pididi! pididi! - of a tortoise, falling over and over from a great height
As in many other languages, Ila uses a system ofnoun classes. Either the system as presented by Smith and Dale[4] is simpler than that for Nyanja,[9] ChiChewa,[10] Tonga,[11] or Bemba,[12] or the authors have skated over the complexities by the use of the category "significant letter":
Class 1. singular: prefix:mu-; s/l. (= "significant letter" verb, adjective, etc. prefix appropriate to the class:)u-, w-
Class 1. plural. prefix:ba-; s/l.b-
Class 2. sing. prefix:mu-; s/l.u-, w-
Class 2. pl. prefix:mi-; s/l.i-, y-
Class 3. sing. prefix:i-, di-; s/l.l-, d-
Class 3. pl. prefix:ma-; s/l.a-
Class 4. sing. prefix:bu- abstract nouns; s/l.b-
Class 4. pl. prefix:ma-; s/l.a-
Class 5. sing. prefix:ku- often nouns of place; s/l.k-
Class 5. pl. prefix:ma-; s/l.a-
Class 6. sing. prefix:ka- a diminutive sense; s/l.k-
Class 6. pl. prefix:tu- diminutive plural; s/l.t-
Class 7. sing. prefix:chi- "thing" class; s/l.ch-
Class 7. pl. prefix:shi-; s/l.sh-
Class 8. sing. prefix:in-; s/l.i-, y-
Class 8. pl. prefix:in-; s/l.y-, sh-
Class 9. sing. prefix:lu-; s/l.l-
Class 9. pl. prefix:in-; s/l.y-, sh-
Class 10. sing. prefix:lu-; s/l.l-
Class 10. pl. prefix:ma-; s/l.a-
Thelocatives form a special category:
mu- - at rest in, motion into, motion out from;
ku- - position at, to, from
a- - rest upon, to or from off (Comparepa- prefix in Sanga, etc.[13][14])
Thus:
Mung'anda mulashia - The inside of the house is dark.
Theroot is the part of the verb giving the primary meaning. To this can be added prefixes and suffixes: many elements can be united in this way, sometimes producing long and complex polysyllabic verb words. For example, from the rootanga, "to tie",we can derive such a form asTamuna kubaangulwila anzhyi? meaning, "Why have you still not untied them?"
Prefixes can show:
tense
subject
object
voice (exceptional)
Suffixes can show:
voice
tense (exceptional)
mood
Here are some of the forms of the verbkubona, "to see". (Note that there are alsonegative forms, e.g.ta-tu-boni, "we do not see", that there is also asubjunctive mood, aconditional mood, ajussive mood and theimperative. Manysubjunctive forms end in-e.
Theroot of the verb is in two forms:
(i) simple stem:bona : code - SS
(ii) modified stem:bwene : code ₴
-SStubona we (who) see
-₵tubwene we (who) have seen
-A-SStwabona we saw, see, have seen
-A-CHI-SStwachibona we continue seeing
-A-YA-BU-SStwayabubona we are engaged in seeing
-DI-MU-KU-SStudmukubona we are seeing
-CHI-SStuchibona we continue to see
-LA-SStulabona we are constantly (usually, certainly) seeing
-LA-YA-BU-SStulayabubona we are being engaged in seeing
-LA-YA-KU-SStulayakubona we are habitually in the act of seeing
-DI-₵tulibwene we have seen
-CHI-₵tuchibwene we have been seeing
-A-KA-SStwakabona we saw
-A-KA-CHI-SStwakachibona we continued seeing
-A-KA-YA-BU-SStwakayabubona we were engaged in seeing
KA-SSkatubona (Notice the position oftu here) we saw
KA-₵katubwene we did see
-A-KU-SStwakubona we were seeing
-A-KU-CHI-SStwakuchibona we were continuing to see
-A-KU-YA-BU-SStwakuyabubona we were engaged in seeing
-A-KU-₵twakubwene we had seen
-KA-LA-SStukalabona we shall soon see
-KA-LA-CHI-SStukalachibona we shall continue seeing
-KA-LA-YA-BU-SStukalayabubona we shall be engaged in seeing
The above English renderings are approximate.
Certainsuffixes add new dimensions of meaning to theroot. Although these follow some logic, we again have to feel a way towards an adequate translation into English or any other language:
simple verb:bona - to see
relative or dative form:-ila, -ela, -ina, -ena: bonena - to see to, for somebody, and so on
extended relative:ilila, -elela, -inina, enena: bonenena - to see to, for somebody, etc.ililila - to go right away
causative:-ya + many sound changes: chisha - to cause to do, fromchita - to do
capable, "-able":-ika, -eka: chitika - to be do-able
passive:-wa: chitwa - to be done
middle (a kind of reflexive that acts upon oneself - compare Greek):-uka: anduka - to be in a split position, fromandulwa- to be split by somebody
stative; in fixed constructions only:-ama: lulama - to be straight;kotama - to be bowed
extensive:-ula: sandula - turn over;andula - split up
extensive, with the sense of "keep on doing":-aula: andaula - chop up firewood
equivalent of English prefix "re-":-ulula: ululula - to trade something over and over again, fromula - to trade
or the equivalent of the English prefix "un-", also:-ulula: ambulula - to unsay, to retract
reflexive - aprefix this time -di- : dianga - to tie oneself, fromanga - to tie;dipa - to give to each other, frompa - to give
reciprocal:-ana: bonana - to see each other
intensive:-isha: angisha - to tie tightly
reduplicative:ambukambuka - keep on turning aside, fromambuka - to turn aside
These can be used in composites: e.g.langilizhya - to cause to look on behalf of.[4]
In 1920,Edwin W. Smith and Andrew Murray Dale publishedThe Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia in two volumes; the second volume features a large number of Ila texts with English translations.[15] The texts come from Ila people living along theKafue River in what was thenNorthern Rhodesia. There are 60 folktales,[16] including a long cycle of stories about the trickster hare, along with proverbs,[17] riddles,[18] and dilemma tales.[19]Here are some of the proverbs:
"Kwina mwami owakadizhala." "No chief ever gave birth to a chief (the hereditary principle by which a son follows his father is unknown to the Ba-ila)."
"Chizhilo chibe chishinka museuna." "Any old pole will stop up a hole in the fence (i.e. everybody is useful to the community in some way or other)."
"Mano takala mutwi omwi." "Wisdom does not dwell in one head."
"Mukando mushie lubilo, mano tomushii." "You may outrun an old man, but you can't outdo him in wisdom."
"Kabwenga moa ng'uongola." "It is the prudent hyena that lives long."
Here are some of the riddles:
"Ukwa Lesa ndachileta chitasakululwa. Matwi." "I brought a thing from God that cannot be taken off like clothes. Ears."
"Muzovu umina ch'amba mwifu. Ing'anda." "An elephant that swallows something which speaks in its stomach. A house."
"Kakalo katazuminini. Ndinango dia umbwa." "A little spring that never dries up. A dog's nose."
"Ku kuya ndachiyana, ku kuzhoka shichiyene. Mume." "Going I found it; returning I found it not. The dew."
"Ndawala mwitala. Menso." "Something I threw over to the other side of the river. Eyes."
The Ila stories of the trickster hare have many affinities with theBr'er Rabbit stories collected byJoel Chandler Harris from African American storytellers in Georgia in the 19th century.[20] Some of the enslaved people of the southern United States were captured and purchased in this area of Zambia.[21][22] In addition, African American storytellers, including those consulted by Harris, made use of ideophones in English that resemble the ideophones of African languages such as Ila.[23]
^The Ila had the custom of knocking out the six upper central teeth of adults. The pronunciation of these sounds by children with teeth, however, is very close to that of the adults.
^For a detailed account of the African origins of the majority of Joel Chandler Harris's stories, see Baer, Florence E. (1980).Sources and Analogues of the Uncle Remus Tales.
^Hugh Thomas,The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave trade 1440-1870, Picador, London, 1997. page 706: "From...Ambriz and Benguela...500,000 slaves were probably shipped during the...era 1800-1830;...and...over 600,000 may have been shipped after 1830..."
^Noss, Philip A. (1972). "Description in Gbaya Literary Art" inAfrican Folklore, ed. Richard M. Dorson, pp. 73-101.
