Beyond Time - Linguistics - University of California, Berkeley

à Only occurs in NC sequences (see below) and following [i]. Written as j in the
orthography. Examples: òkwíÃàyà ‘to kill’; ìÃìlò‘ ‘yesterday, tomorrow’.
2.2.1.5 Approximants
l The lateral approximant [l] occurs commonly and corresponds to PB *d. Examples:
òkúlèètà ‘to bring’; òmùzìlílì ‘fresh milk’.
w Bilabial approximant [w] is also common and is caused by the gliding of a (C)VV
sequence. A glide is typically pronounced between two vowels (=two syllables), and
the orthography reflects this pronunciation. [w] is a result of uV sequences or [a]
followed by [o] or [u] across a syllable boundary. [w] is found after every consonant
in my data, e.g. òBwáàtò ‘boat, canoe’ (from òBú-àtò); including one example with
Ù (òkùÙwìtà ‘move while seated; scoot over’). It also occurs with most or all NC
sequences. In some varieties of Zambian Totela, the verb òkúnywà ‘to drink’ has an
[nyw] sequence, as does the 2pl pronoun ínywè. 13 Other examples: òkùwà ‘to fall’;
òkùwàmbà ‘to speak’.
y Palatal approximant [y] occurs in (N)(C)iV sequences and also (probably due to
the same process historically) in some cases where PB *j has been lost. [y] only
occurs after non-back consonants in my data (including one Lozi cognate with [my],
àmálìmùmyò ‘pretending not to want something one actually does want’). [ny] also
occurs when created from an niV sequence (in contrast with ñ) Other examples:
òkútyààbà ‘to collect wood’ (òkúÙàbà in other varieties); òkùyà ‘to go’; òkúyìmbà
‘to sing’; òkùnyàmùkà ‘to set off on a journey’. Prenasalized consonants also occur
before [y], e.g. òmùnkùmbyâ ‘type of root’; ímpyè ‘ostrich’; òkùsànzyà ‘to wash (tr.)’
(from -samba ‘bathe’ + causative extension, with consonant mutation).
2.2.2 Prenasalized consonants
All NC sequences are licit in Totela. Nasals assimilate for place but do not trigger voicing
or devoicing. Fricative [B] occurs as [b] post-nasally. [m] and [n] may be tone bearing units
at the beginning of words, especially with personified class 9/10 animals which have been
converted to class 1a nouns (e.g. `nzòhù ‘elephant’). Some degree of vowel lengthening occurs
before prenasalized consonants, in some cases resulting in a falling tone.
mp Examples: ìmpàsù ‘grasshopper’; ímpyè ‘ostrich’.
mb [mb] alternates with [B]. Examples: pòmbò ‘baboon’ ìmbíìzì ‘zebra, horse’.
nt Examples: ntìmbìlà ‘dung beetle’; nàlùntàmbwè ‘chameleon’.
nd Examples: `ndáhù ‘lion’; òtùbíndò ‘beads’.
13 These words are found in Kweemba Maalo and Samisisi. In the villages along the Kweemba where I
worked in 2009, ‘to drink’ is òkúnwà and 2pl is ínwè.
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