| Tera | |
|---|---|
| Nyimalti | |
| Region | Nigeria |
Native speakers | (101,000 cited 2000)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ttr |
| Glottolog | tera1251 |
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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]
| 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.[9]
Diphthongs, which have the same length as long vowels, consist of a non-high vowel and a high vowel:[9]
| 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.[10]
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]
