Inor language

Inor (pronounced [inoːr]), sometimes called Ennemor, is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in central Ethiopia. A Gurage language, it is mainly spoken within the Gurage Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, as well as by speakers of the language who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa. In addition to the morphological complexity that is common to all Semitic languages, Inor exhibits the very complex morphophonology characteristic of West Gurage languages.

Endegegn, Enner, Gyeto, and the extinct dialect Mesmes are all sometimes considered dialects of Inor.

Inor possesses nasal vowels, which are unusual for a Gurage language. Many of these may be the result of historical rhinoglottophilia.

Phonology

Consonants

Inor consonants

		labial		alveolar	alveo- palatal	palatal	velar			glottal
		plain	labialized				plain	palatalized	lab.	plain	lab.
Stops and affricates	ejective			t’	tʃ’		k’	kʲ’	kʷ’
	voiceless	p	pʷ	t	tʃ		k	kʲ	kʷ	ʔ	ʔʷ
	voiced	b	bʷ	d	dʒ		ɡ	ɡʲ	ɡʷ
Fricatives	voiceless	f	fʷ	s	ʃ		x	xʲ	xʷ
	voiced			z	ʒ
Nasals		m	mʷ	n	ɳ	ɲ	ŋ
Approximants	plain	β̞		(l)		j			w
	nasalized	β̞̃
Rhotics	plain			r
	nasalized			r̃

Vowels

Inor vowels

	front	central	back
high	i	ɨ	u
mid	e	ə	o
low	æ		a

[ɨ] may be regarded as largely epenthetic and only marginally phonemic.

Bibliography

• Berhanu Chamora. "Consonant distribution in Inor", in: G. Hudson (ed.), Essays on Gurage Language and Culture (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag), pp. 53–67.
• Bustorf, Dirk. (2005). "Ennämor Ethnography”, in: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, vol. 2: D-Ha, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 307-08.
• Boivin, Robert (1996). "Spontaneous Nasalization in Inor", in: G. Hudson (ed.), Essays on Gurage Language and Culture (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag), pp. 21–33.
• Hetzron, R. (1977). The Gunnän-Gurage Languages. Napoli: Istituto Orientale di Napoli.
• Leslau, W. (1979). Etymological Dictionary of Gurage (Ethiopic). 3 vols. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-02041-5
• Leslau, W. (1983). Ethiopians Speak: Studies in Cultural Background. Part V : Chaha - Ennemor. Äthiopistische Forschungen, Band 16. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN 3-515-03965-1
• Leslau, W. (1996). "Inor Lullabies", in: Africa 66/2, pp. 280–287.
• Voigt, Rainer.(2005). "Ennämor Language”, in: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, vol. 2: D-Ha, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 307.