| Yao | |
|---|---|
| chiYao | |
| Native to | Malawi,Mozambique |
| Ethnicity | Yao |
Native speakers | 3.7 million (2017–2020)[1] |
| Latin script Mwangwego script | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | yao |
| ISO 639-3 | yao |
| Glottolog | yaoo1241 |
P.21[2] | |
| 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. | |
| Person | 'Myao |
|---|---|
| People | WaYao |
| Language | chiYao |
| Country | Uyao[3] |
Yao is aBantu language ofMalawi andMozambique. In Malawi, the main dialect is Mangochi, mostly spoken around in Mangochi District. In Mozambique, the main dialects are Makale and Massaninga.
In Malawi, most Yao speakers live in the Southern Region near the southeast tip ofLake Malawi and borderingMozambique to the east. In Mozambique, most speakers live inNiassa Province from the eastern shore of Lake Malawi (Lago Niassa) to theLugenda River up to where it meets theRovuma River. InTanzania, most speakers live in the south Ruvuma, east of Lake Malawi along the Mozambican border.
Thephonology of Yao is shown below.[4]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k |
| voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ɡ | |
| Fricative | s | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Approximant | ʋ | l | j | w | |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open | a aː |
Like mostBantu languages,tone plays a role in Yao phonology and morphology. SeeMtenje (1990) for discussion of Malawian Yao tone. See Ngunga (1997) for detailed presentation of the segmental phonology of Mozambican Yao.
As in English, unvoicedplosives are aspirated and voicedplosives are not. There are conventionally only five 'pure' vowels, viz. a, e, i, o, u, though there is some variation in vowel length. Yao is minimallytonal language, as is common in Bantu languages.
In each of the main three countries where Yao is spoken, theorthography differs widely, and there is a low literacy rate. In Tanzania, the orthography is based on that ofSwahili, whereas in Malawi it is based on that ofChewa. The Malawian form uses the following characters:
| Letter: | A | B | Ch | D | E | G | I | J/Dy | K | L | Ly | M | N | Ng' | Ny | O | P | S | T | U | W | Ŵ | Y |
| Value: | a | b | tʃ | d | e~ɛ | ɡ | i | dʒ | k | l | ʎ | m | n | ŋ | ɲ | ɔ~o | p | ʂ | tʰ | u | w | ʋ | j |
Macrons can be used to prevent ambiguity that would otherwise arise due to the lack of representation of vowel length.[5][6]
Yao is anSVO language. Like all Bantu languages, Yao isagglutinative, with a highly regular paradigm of verbal inflection, and its nouns placed in a variety of classes indicated by prefixes, these partially corresponding to actual categories of objects or people. To each class is associated acharacteristic, used in the formation of pronouns andconcord links, prefixes used before verbs governed by, and adjectives describing, a noun of the given class.
| Class | Prefix | Class characteristic | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | m-, mu-, mw- | ju | persons singular |
| 2 | ŵa-, a-, acha-, achi- | ŵa | persons plural |
| 3 | m-, mu-, mw- | u | living things singular |
| 4 | mi- | ji | living things plural |
| 5 | li-, ly- | li | miscellaneous singular |
| 6 | ma- | ga | plurals of class 5 |
| 7 | chi-, ch'- | chi | miscellaneous singular |
| 8 | i-, y- | i | plurals of class 7 |
| 9 | n-, ny-, mb-, (nw-) | ji | miscellaneous singular |
| 10 | n-, ny-, mb-, (nw-) | si | plurals of class 9 |
| 11 | lu- | lu | like 9, also singulars of class 10 |
| 12 | ka- | ka | diminutives singular |
| 13 | tu- | tu | plurals of class 13 |
| 14 | u- | u | collective and abstract, no plural; also some singulars of class 6 |
| 15 | ku, kw- | ku | infinitives |
| 16 | (pa-) | pa | locality (at) |
| 17 | (ku-, kwa-) | ku | locality (to) |
| 18 | (mu-, mwa-) | mu | locality (in) |
The corresponding concord links are identical to the nominal prefixes except in the cases of classes 1 and 2, which have concord links 'mb-' and 'a-' respectively. The convention of including classes 16, 17 and 18 deviates from the traditional Bantu system, their prefixes being more properly prepositional or case determiners.
The personal forms are given below, with informal forms given in brackets.
| Personal form prefix | English equivalent (pronoun) |
|---|---|
| n-, ni- | I |
| (u-) | (thou) |
| a- | he, she, it, you |
| tu- | we |
| m-, mu-, mw- | you |
| ŵa-, a- | they (he, you) |
There are affirmative and negative forms of the verb, each with approximately the following divisions:
As in many Bantu languages, this is characterised by an ending 'a'. Present, immediate future, present perfect, past and past perfect tenses are distinguished, the last being irregular in formation.
The subjunctive mood is similar in form to the indicative, but as in many Bantu languages, the final 'a' is changed to 'e'. It can be used as a polite imperative, and is usually associated with subordinate clauses.
To form the 'ordinary' (often less polite) imperative, the simple stem may be used, or 'n' may be prefixed to the indicative, or the continuative suffixes '-ga' or '-je' may be added.
Thepersonal pronouns relate only to classes 1 and 2. Other pronouns are formed from the class links. These pronouns, as a common Bantu feature, are absolute, in that they stand alone from the rest of the sentence: for nominative accusative and prepositional forms, affixes must be used. The third person pronouns depend on noun class, as explained above.
| Absolute pronoun | English equivalent (subject pronoun, object pronoun) |
|---|---|
| une | I, me |
| (ugwe) | thou, thee |
| uwe | we, us |
| umwe | you |
These forms may be combined according to certain normal Bantu laws of vowel elision with prefixes such as 'na' (with, and).
There are also several demonstratives, most of which form triples ('this one', 'that one nearby', and 'that one far away')- that is, triple deixis is used.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)| International | |
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