{{Short description|Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Berta in Sudan and Ethiopia}} {{Infobox language |name=Berta |nativename=Gebeto |states=[[Sudan]] and [[Ethiopia]] |region=[[Benishangul-Gumuz]] |ethnicity=[[Berta people]], [[Wetawit people|Wetawit]] |speakers={{sigfig|377,000|2}} all Berta languages |date=2006–2007 |ref=e25 |dia1=Shuru |dia2=Bake |dia3=Undu |dia4=Mayu |dia5=Fadashi |dia6=Dabuso |dia7=Beleje Gonfoye |script=[[Latin alphabet]] |speakers2={{sigfig|99,700|2}} monolinguals in Ethiopia<ref name=e25/> |familycolor=Nilo-Saharan |fam2=[[Berta languages]] |iso3=wti |iso3comment=(all Berta languages) |glotto=bert1248 |glottorefname=Berta }}

'''Berta''' a.k.a. ''Gebeto'', is a [[Berta languages|Berta language]] spoken by the [[Berta people]] (also ''Bertha, Barta, Burta'') in [[Sudan]] and [[Ethiopia]]. As of 2006 Berta had approximately 180,000 speakers in Sudan.<ref name="Wti">{{Cite web| title=Berta |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/wti/ |publisher=Ethnologue |access-date=23 September 2023}}</ref> The three Berta languages, Gebeto, [[Fadashi language|Fadashi]] and [[Undu language|Undu]], are often considered dialects of a single language. Berta proper includes the dialects Bake, Dabuso, Gebeto, Mayu, and Shuru; the dialect name ''Gebeto'' may be extended to all of Berta proper.<ref>Bremer, Nate D. 2016. ''[https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/69953 A Sociolinguistic Survey of Six Berta Speech Varieties in Ethiopia]''. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2016-007. Addis Ababa: SIL International.</ref>

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" | ![[Labial consonant|Labial]] ![[Dental consonant|Dental]] ![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] ![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]] ![[Velar consonant|Velar]] ![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- ! rowspan="3" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]] !{{Small|voiced}} |{{IPA link|b}} | |{{IPA link|d}} |{{IPA link|ɟ}} |{{IPA link|g}} | |- !{{Small|ejective}} |{{IPA link|pʼ}} | |{{IPA link|tʼ}} |({{IPA link|cʼ}}) |{{IPA link|kʼ}} |({{IPA link|ʔ}}) |- !{{Small|implosive}} | | |{{IPA link|ɗ}} | | | |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative]] !{{Small|voiceless}} |{{IPA link|f}} |{{IPA link|θ}} |{{IPA link|s}} |{{IPA link|ʃ}} | |{{IPA link|h}} |- !{{Small|ejective}} | | |{{IPA link|sʼ}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] |{{IPA link|m}} | |{{IPA link|n}} |({{IPA link|ɲ}}) |{{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]] | | |{{IPA link|r}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]] | | |{{IPA link|l}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]] | | | |{{IPA link|j}} |{{IPA link|w}} | |- |}

* Voiced plosives {{IPA|/b, d, ɡ/}} may be heard as voiceless {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|p}}, {{IPAplink|t}}, {{IPAplink|k}}]}} in free variation, word-initially or word-finally. * A glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}} mainly occurs between vowels, and may also be heard before word-initial vowel sounds. * Nasal-stop sequences may occur morpheme-initially as {{IPA|[mb, nd, ŋɡ, ŋkʼ]}}. * {{IPA|/ŋ/}} is heard as {{IPA|[ɲ]}} when preceding a front vowel {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}. * {{IPA|/kʼ/}} is heard as a palatal {{IPA|[cʼ]}} when before front vowels. * {{IPA|/ɡ/}} can be heard as voiced palatal {{IPA|[ɟ]}} or as a voiceless palatal {{IPAblink|c}} when before front vowels. * {{IPA|/h/}} in word-final position can be heard as a fricative {{IPAblink|x}}. * {{IPA|/s, θ/}} may sometimes occur as slightly voiced {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|z}}, {{IPAplink|ð}}]}} in vocalic or nasal environments.

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! ![[Front vowel|Front]] ![[Central vowel|Central]] ![[Back vowel|Back]] |- align="center" ![[Close vowel|Close]] |{{IPA link|i}} {{IPA|iː}} | |{{IPA link|u}} {{IPA|uː}} |- ![[Mid vowel|Mid]] |{{IPA link|ɛ}} {{IPA|ɛː}} | |{{IPA link|ɔ}} {{IPA|ɔː}} |- align="center" ![[Open vowel|Open]] | |{{IPA link|a}} {{IPA|aː}} | |}

* If a non-closed vowel sound, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} or {{IPA|/ɔ/}}, are adjacent to a closed vowel sound like {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/u/}} within vowel harmony, they are then heard as more closed {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|e}}, {{IPAplink|o}}]}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Neudorf|first=Susanne|title=Phonology of Berta|publisher=Dallas, Texas: SIL International|year=2016}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" !Phoneme !Allophone |- |{{IPA|/i/}} |{{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɨ}}~{{IPAplink|ɘ}}]}}, {{IPA|[ɨ]}}, {{IPAblink|ɪ}} |- |{{IPA|/a/}} |{{IPA|[a]}}, {{IPAblink|ə}}, {{IPAblink|æ}}, {{IPAblink|ɜ}}, {{IPAblink|ɐ}} |- |{{IPA|/u/}} |{{IPA|[u]}}, {{IPAblink|ʉ}}, {{IPAblink|ʊ}} |}

==Pronouns== The pronouns of Berta are as follows: {| class="wikitable" |- ! ! Topic ! Postverbal subject ! Postverbal object |-align=center ! I | {{lang|wti|àl(ì)}} | {{lang|wti|-lɪ́ɪ̀}} | {{lang|wti|-ɟì}} |-align=center ! you (sg.) | {{lang|wti|(à)ŋɡó}} | {{lang|wti|-ŋó}} | {{lang|wti|-ŋɡó}} |-align=center ! he, she, it | {{lang|wti|ɲìnè}} | {{lang|wti|-né}} | {{lang|wti|ɲìnè, -né}} |-align=center ! we | {{lang|wti|χàtâŋ}} | {{lang|wti|-ŋàa}} | {{lang|wti|χàtâŋ}} |-align=center ! you (pl.) | {{lang|wti|χàtú}} | {{lang|wti|χátú}} | {{lang|wti|χàtú}} |-align=center ! they | {{lang|wti|mèrée}} | {{lang|wti|mérée}} | {{lang|wti|mèrée}} |}

==See also== *[[Wiktionary:Appendix:Berta word lists|Berta word lists]] (Wiktionary)

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Torben Andersen. "Aspects of Berta phonology". ''Afrika und Übersee'' 76: pp.&nbsp;41–80. * Torben Andersen. "Absolutive and Nominative in Berta". ed. Nicolai & Rottland, ''Fifth Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium. Nice, 24–29 August 1992. Proceedings.'' (Nilo-Saharan 10). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. 1995. pp.&nbsp;36–49. * M. [[Lionel Bender (linguist)|Lionel Bender]]. "Berta Lexicon". In Bender (ed.), ''Topics in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics'' (Nilo-Saharan 3), pp.&nbsp;271–304. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag 1989. * E. Cerulli. "Three Berta dialects in western Ethiopia", ''Africa'', 1947. * Susanne Neudorf & Andreas Neudorf: ''Bertha - English - Amharic Dictionary''. Addis Ababa: Benishangul-Gumuz Language Development Project 2007. * A. N. Tucker & M. A. Bryan. ''Linguistic Analyses: The Non-Bantu Languages of North-Eastern Africa.'' London: Oxford University Press 1966. * A. Triulzi, A. A. Dafallah, and M. L. Bender. "Berta". In Bender (ed.), ''The Non-Semitic Languages of Ethiopia''. East Lansing, Michigan: African Studies Center, Michigan State University 1976, pp.&nbsp;513–532.

==External links== * [[World Atlas of Language Structures]] information on [http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_ber Berta] * [http://www.benishangul.com Website maintained by the language community, including published literature and an online dictionary]

{{Nilo-Saharan families}} {{Languages of Ethiopia}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berta Language}} [[Category:Berta languages]] [[Category:Languages of Sudan]] [[Category:Languages of Ethiopia]] [[Category:Subject–verb–object languages]]