Nyole language (Uganda)

Nyole (also LoNyole, Lunyole, Nyuli) is a Bantu language spoken by the Banyole in Butaleja District, Uganda. There is 61% lexical similarity with a related but different Nyole language in Kenya.

Phonology

Consonants Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Nasal Plosive voiceless voiced voiced prenasalized Fricative voiceless voiced Approximant~(w)

Nyole has series of voiceless, voiced, and prenasalized stops. is labio-velar.

Vowels

Front Back High i u Mid e o Low a

Historical changes

Nyole has an interesting development from Proto-Bantu *p → Nyole . Schadeberg (1989) connects this sound change to rhinoglottophilia, where the sound change developed first as → → . Then, given the acoustic similarity of and breathy voice to nasalization, the sound change progressed as → → . The velar place of articulation development is due to velar nasals being the least perceptible of the nasals and its marginal status in (pre-)Nyole and other Bantu languages. In closely related neighboring languages, *p developed variously into or or was deleted.

This historical development results in so-called "crazy" alternations, like resulting in as in the following:

n-ŋuliira ("hear" stem form) : puliira "I hear" n-ŋumula ("rest" stem form) : pumula "I rest"

In the above two words, when the first person singular subject prefix is added to the stem starting with , the initial consonant surfaces as . In other forms (like "to hear" and "to rest"), the original stem-initial can be seen.

Writing System + Alphabet nyoleLunyole Language Association (2006) Walifu w'Olunyole: Tiny Alphabet & Proverbs Book. Lunyole Language Association and SIL International, Busolwe and Entebbe. a aa b bb c d e ee f g h i ii j k l m n ny ŋ o oo p r s t u uu v w y z

Nyole language (Uganda)

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