Abstract
This article studies the category of conative animal calls (CACs) in a Cushitic variety – Macha Oromo (Ethiopia). The authors analyze the function (pragma-semantics) and form (phonetics and morphology) of 52 CACs collected during fieldwork activities and conclude the following: the category of CACs in Macha Orono largely complies with the prototype of a CAC posited recently in literature. Moreover, Macha Oromo data suggest a few novel generalizations (a close relationship between summonses and onomatopoeias, and between dispersals and motion-inciting/sustaining directionals, as well as a general preference for close I/U vowels) and raise a question regarding the validity of the hierarchy of semantic types of CACs proposed in some studies.
Funding source: Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages
Appendix: CACs in Macha Oromo
| Lexeme | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ati | [ʔatɪ] | Make cattle go faster |
| bidoo-bidoo-bidoo | [bɪdoːbɪdoːbɪdoː] | Summon sheep |
| bis | [bɪs] | Chase away cats |
| bo | [bɔ] | Start motion of oxen |
| bongol | [bɔŋgɔl] | Make cattle turn |
| buche-buche-buche | [bʊt͡ʃɛbʊt͡ʃɛbʊt͡ʃɛ] | Summon dogs |
| buchi-buchi | [bʊt͡ʃɪbʊt͡ʃɪ] | Summon dogs |
| che | [t͡ʃɛ] | Start and sustain motion of horses and donkeys |
| chir | [t͡ʃɪr] | Chase away birds |
| chu | [t͡ʃʊ] | Chase away goats, sheep, and chicken; start and sustain motion of goats and sheep; summon chickens |
| ǁ-ǁ-ǁ-ǁ / ǂ-ǂ-ǂ-ǂ | [ǁ-ǁ-ǁ-ǁ] / [ǂ-ǂ-ǂ-ǂ] | Summon dogs |
| dididididi | [dɪdɪdɪdɪ] | Make cattle follow the speaker |
| emmee | [ʔɛmːeː] | Summon calves |
| emmoo | [ʔɛmːoː] | Summon calves |
| fuudhi | [fuːɗ(ɪ)] | Incite dogs to attack |
| gad | [gɐd] | Make oxen lie down or, while plowing, move down to keep the furrow straight |
| haayi | [haːj(ɪ)] | Calm down cattle |
| hobee-yoo-hobee | [hɔbeːjoːhɔbeː] | Urge cattle to drink water (at noon) |
| ishi | [ʔɪʃ(ɪ)] | Chase away chickens |
| jedhi | [d͡ʒeɗ(ɪ)] | Start motion of oxen |
| jujuju | [d͡ʒʊd͡ʒʊd͡ʒʊ] | Encourage oxen to mate or fight |
| kalee-kalee-kalee | [kaleːkaleːkaleː] | Chase away goats; start and sustain their motion |
| kis | [kɪs] | Chase away goats, sheep, chickens, and cats; start and sustain motion of goats and sheep |
| kulkulkulkul | [kʊlkʊlkʊlkʊl] | Summon chickens |
| kurkurkur | [kʊrkʊrkʊr] | Summon donkeys |
| kut | [kʊt] | Chase away chickens |
| kutkutkutkut | [kʊtkʊtkʊtkʊt] | Summon chickens |
| loyee-loyee | [lɔjeːlɔjeː] | Urge cattle to go home after grazing (in the evening) |
| lukluklukluk | [lʊklʊklʊklʊk] | Summon chickens |
| maci | [mɐt͡ʃʼɪ] | Start and sustain motion of mules |
| mew | [Mew] | Summon cats; draw their attention |
| ol | [ʔɔl] | Make oxen stand up; make them move up while plowing to keep the furrow straight |
| oohaa | [ʔoːhɑː] | Stop motion of oxen while plowing |
| oosh | [ʔoːʃ] | Stop motion of donkeys |
| ooshee | [ʔoːʃeː] | Stop motion of donkeys |
| qabi-qabi | [kʼɐbɪkʼɐbɪ] | Incite dogs to attack |
| rrr | [rːː] | Summon cats |
| saksaksak | [sɐksɐksɐk] | Encourage goats and sheep to mate |
| shit | [ʃɪt] | Chase away goats and sheep; start and sustain their motion |
| shu | [ʃʊ] | Chase away goats, sheep, and chickens; start and sustain motion of goats and sheep |
| shut | [ʃʊt] | Incite dogs to attack |
| teesh | [teːʃ] | Stop motion of horses |
| toosh | [toːʃ] | Stop motion of horses |
| top | [tɔp] | Start or sustain motion of horses |
| toptoptop | [tɔptɔptɔp] | Make horses gallop; chase away wolves |
| unununununu | [ʊnʊnʊnʊnʊnʊnʊ] | Make cattle follow the speaker |
| urrr | [ʔʊrːː] | Summon cats |
| ushi | [ʔʊʃ(ɪ)] | Chase away chickens |
| {kiss} | [↓B’]a | Summon dogs |
| {flute tune} | N.A. | Summon lions and tigers |
| {whistle 1} | LHH | Stop motion of oxen |
| {whistle 2} | HLH | Summon porcupines and snakes |
-
aWe follow the symbol [>B’] proposed by Poyatos (1993: 87), with “>” representing ingressive realization. ([B] should not be confused with the bilabial trill [ʙ].)
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