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Conative animal calls in Macha Oromo: function and form

  • Alexander Andrason EMAIL logo , Onsho Mulugeta and Shimelis Mazengia
Published/Copyright: March 20, 2024

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.


Corresponding author: Alexander Andrason, Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, Salem, OR, USA; and Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, E-mail:

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
  1. 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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Received: 2023-04-07
Accepted: 2023-07-05
Published Online: 2024-03-20

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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