Acholi dialect

Acholi (also Leb Acoli, or Leb Lwo) is a Southern Luo dialect spoken by the Acholi people in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum , Amuru , Lamwo , Agago , Nwoya , Omoro and Pader (a region known as Acholiland) in northern Uganda. It is also spoken in South Sudan in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria.

Not to be confused with Chopi language (Bantu).
Acholi
Lwo
Native toUganda, South Sudan
EthnicityAcholi
Native speakers
1.5 million in Uganda (2014 census)
27,000 in South Sudan (2000)[1]
Dialects
  • Labwor (leb Thur)
  • Nyakwai
  • Dhopaluo (Chope)
Language codes
ISO 639-2ach
ISO 639-3Either:
ach – Acholi/ Acoli
lth – Thur
Glottologacol1236

Song of Lawino, well known in African literature, was written in Acholi by Okot p'Bitek, although its sequel, Song of Ocol, was written in English.

Acholi, Alur, and Jo Padola have between 84 and 90 per cent of their vocabulary in common and are mutually intelligible. However, they are often counted as separate languages because their speakers are ethnically distinct. Labwor (Thur), once considered a dialect of Acholi, may not be intelligible with it.[2]

Phonology

Acholi has vowel harmony: all vowels in a word have to belong to a single class (e.g. [kojo] the cold vs. [kɔjɔ] to separate). There are two sets of five vowels, distinguished by the feature [+/-ATR].

[-ATR] vowels in Acholi
FrontCentralBack
Near-close ɪʊ
Open-mid ɛɔ
Open a
[+ATR] vowels in Acholi
FrontBack
Close iu
Close-mid eo
Open ɑ
Acholi consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
plain lab.
Plosive/
Affricate		 voiceless p pʷ t tʃ k
voiced b bʷ d dʒ ɡ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r
Approximant l j w

/pʷ/ and /bʷ/ sounds may also sound as labial affricates [pf] and [bv].[3]

Acholi is a tonal language. Thus, some words may be distinguished by tone alone, e.g. bèl (low) 'wrinkled' vs. bél (high) 'corn' and kàl (low) 'place enclosed by a palisade' vs. kál (high) 'millet'. Tone furthermore plays a role in verb conjugation.

Recent work

The above were the old work of the missionaries Alfred Malandra and Crazzolara published in 1955. However, a more up-to-date Acholi orthography by Janet Lakareber shows that a vowel in Acholi language has more than two pronunciations.[4] A monosyllabic word in Acholi has 14 different pronunciations. This is explained in the nine books of Acoli Accented Orthography.[5]

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ Heron, G.A., 1972, Introduction p. 8 in p'Bitek, Okot, 1984.
  2. ^ Ladefoged et al., 1972:80.

Endnotes
  1. Acholi/ Acoli at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
    Thur at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  2. "Registration authority request for change of language code" (PDF).
  3. Malandra, Alfred (1955). A New Acholi Grammar. Kampala: Eagle Press.
  4. "Acoli Accented Orthography with diacritical marks". Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. "Acoli Accented Orthography with diacritical marks". Retrieved 3 May 2019.

Bibliography
  • Crazzolara, J.P. (1938) A study of the Acooli language. Grammar and Vocabulary. International Institute of African Languages and Cultures. London/New York/Toronto: Oxford University Press.
  • Kitching, Arthur Leonard (1932) An outline grammar of the Acholi language (first published 1907). London: Sheldon Press / Kampala: The Uganda Bookshop.
  • Ladefoged, Peter; Ruth Glick; Clive Criper; Clifford H. Prator; Livingstone Walusimbi (1972) Language in Uganda (Ford Foundation language surveys vol. 1). London/New York etc. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-436101-2
  • Malandra, Alfred (1955) A new Acholi grammar. Kampala: Eagle Press. Hathitrust record
  • Okidi, Festo (2000) Acholi for beginners: grammar, Acholi–English, English–Acholi. London: Pilato Books. ISBN 0-9539913-0-X
  • p'Bitek, Okot (1985) Acholi proverbs. Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya.
  • p'Bitek, Okot (1984) Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol. (African Writers Series, 266). London: Heinemann Educational.
  • Janet Lakareber (2011) Coono Leb Acoli (intro) Acoli Accented Orthography. London: GBILA. ISBN 978-0954932305
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