{{Short description|Bantu language spoken in Zambia}} {{For|the ISO 639 language code "ila"|Ile Ape language}} {{Infobox language |name=Ila |nativename=chiIla |states=[[Zambia]] |ethnicity=[[Ila people|Ila]] |speakers={{sigfig|106,400|3}} |date=2010 census |ref=e18 |familycolor=Niger-Congo |fam2=[[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]] |fam3=[[Benue–Congo languages|Benue–Congo]] |fam4=[[Bantoid languages|Bantoid]] |fam5=[[Bantu languages|Bantu]] |fam6=[[Botatwe languages|Botatwe]] |dia1=Ila |dia2=Lundwe |dia3=Sala |dia4=[[Kafue Twa]]? |lc1=ilb |ld1=Ila |lc2=shq |ld2=Sala |guthrie=M.63,631–633 |glotto=ilaa1246 |glottoname=Ila |glotto2=sala1266 |glottoname2=Sala }}
'''Ila''' (''Chiila'') is a language of [[Zambia]]. Maho (2009) lists '''Lundwe''' (''Shukulumbwe'') and '''Sala''' as distinct languages most closely related to Ila. Ila is one of the languages of the [[Earth]] included on the [[Voyager Golden Record]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://re-lab.net/welcome/lang.html |title=Languages |website=re-lab.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991122071044/http://re-lab.net/welcome/lang.html |archive-date=1999-11-22}} </ref>
==Orthography== <ref name = Smith&Dale>Edwin Smith & Andrew Murray Dale, ''The Ila-Speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia'', 1919, reprinted by University Books Inc., New York, 1968.</ref>
* '''ch''' in fact varies from "k" to a "weak" version of English "ch", to a "strong" "ch" to "ty".{{Clarify|date=October 2021}} * '''j''' as the voiced sound corresponding to this therefore varies "g"/English "j"/ "dy" / and "y".{{Clarify|date=October 2021}} * '''v''' is reportedly a voiced labiodental fricative /v/ as in English {{angbr|v}}, and '''vh''' the same labialised and aspirated /vʷʰ/ ("lips more rounded with a more distinct emission of breath"). * '''zh''' is the voiced post-alveolar fricative /ʒ/; French {{angbr|j}} as in ''bonjour''. * '''ng''' is the voiced velar nasal followed by a voiced velar plosive, /ŋg/ as in RP English "finger", while '''ng' ''' is a plain voiced velar nasal /ŋ/ as in "singer" - a similar distinction is observed in [[Swahili language|Swahili]].<ref>e.g. D.V.Perrott, ''Teach Yourself Swahili'', English Universities Press, London, 1969.</ref>
==Labio-glottal and palato-glottal fricatives== Doke (1928) described several unusual [[doubly articulated consonant]]s in Ila proper, Kafue Twa and Lundwe.<ref>Didier Demolin & Cédric Patin, "Phonetics". In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Bantu Languages''.</ref>
In Ila proper, {{IPA|/hˠ*, h̰ˠ*, ɦˠ*/}} are "modified [[Voiced glottal fricative|glottal fricative]]s in which the air passes through the throat with considerable friction, and is modified by being thrown against the toothless<ref>The Ila had the custom of knocking out the six upper central teeth of adults. The pronunciation of these sounds by children with teeth, however, is very close to that of the adults.</ref> ridge and inside of the upper lip, causing concomitant [[frication]] there. ... The tongue is meanwhile kept in velar vowel position as for [u] and these fricatives therefore inherently possess a ''u-''glide, which is noticeable when they are used with any other vowel than ''u''." The 'concomitant lip frication' is evidently something like that of [f] and [v]. Doke transcribed these sounds simply {{angle bracket|h, h̰, ɦ}}.
Lundwe and Kafwe Twa have a palato-glottal fricative {{IPA|/ɦ͡ʒ/}}. "This sound is produced with a tongue position similar to Ila {{IPA|[ʒ]}} but with considerable voiced frication in the throat at the same time."
==Tonality and stress==
Tone is demonstrated by contrasting '''aze''' with high pitch on the first syllable ( = "with him") with '''aze''' with high pitch on the second syllable (= "he also").<ref name = Smith&Dale />
==Some words and phrases==
* Monthly - house * '''imboni''' - pupil of the eye * '''ipeezhyo''' - brush;broom * '''indimi''' - tongues * '''lemeka''' - honour (verb) * '''bamba''' - arrange * '''Bamambila''' - they arrange for me * '''Balanumba''' - they praise me * '''bobu buzani''' - this meat * '''Bobu mbuzani''' - this is meat * '''chita''' - to do, same is used to mean 'I have no idea' * '''chisha''' - to cause to do * '''katala''' - to be tired * '''katazhya''' - to make tired * '''ukatazhya'''-refuse to be sent;scarce * '''dakuzanda'''-I love you * '''twalumba'''-Thank you * '''impongo''' - a goat <ref name = Smith&Dale />
==Some comparisons==
* Ila: '''ishizhyi''' - dimness; Sotho: ''lefifi'' - darkness; Xhosa: "ubufifi" - dimness; Nyanja: chimfifi - secret; Bemba: IMFIFI - darkness; Kisanga: ''mfinshi'' - darkness; and Bulu (Ewondo): "dibi" - darkness.
==Ideophones or imitation words==
Words in English such as "Splash!", "Gurgle", "Ker-putt" express ideas without the use of sentences. Smith and Dale<ref name = Smith&Dale /> point out that this kind of expression is very common in the Ila language:
''You may say'' '''Ndamuchina anshi''' ''("I throw him down"), but it is much easier and more trenchant to say simply'' '''Ti!''', '' and it means the same''.<ref>Smith & Dale, volume 2, page 293.</ref>
Some examples:
* '''Muntu wawa''' - A person falls * '''Wawa mba''' - falls headlong * '''Mba!''' - He falls headlong * '''Mbo! mbo! mbo! mbò!''' - (with lowered intonation on the last syllable) He falls gradually * '''Mbwa!''' - flopping down, as in a chair * '''Wa! wa! wa! wa!'''- The rain is pattering * '''Pididi! pididi! pididi!''' - of a tortoise, falling over and over from a great height * '''Ndamuchina anshi''' - I throw him down * '''Ti!''' - ditto * '''Te!''' - torn, ripped * '''Amana te!''' - The matter's finished * '''To-o!''' - So peaceful! * '''Wi!''' - All is calm * '''Ne-e!''' - All is calm * '''Tuh!''' - a gun going off * '''Pi!''' - Phew, it's hot! * '''Lu!''' - Yuck, it's bitter! * '''Lu-u!''' - Erh, it's sour! * '''Lwe!''' - Yum, sweet! * '''Mbi!''' - It's dark * '''Mbi! mbi! mbi! mbi!''' - It's utterly dark * '''Sekwè sekwè!''' - the flying of a goose * '''nachisekwe''' - a goose
==Class prefixes==
As in many other languages, Ila uses a system of ''noun classes''. Either the system as presented by Smith and Dale<ref name = Smith&Dale /> is simpler than that for Nyanja,<ref>Thomas Price, ''The Elements of Nyanja for English-Speaking Students'', Church of Scotland Mission, Blantyre (Malawi), 1959.</ref> ChiChewa,<ref>''ChiChewa Intensive Language Course'', Language Centre, Lilongwe, 1969</ref> Tonga,<ref>C.R.Hopwood, ''A Practical Introduction to ChiTonga'', Zambia Educational Publishing House, Lusaka, 1940, 1992.</ref> or Bemba,<ref>Grammar notes in Rev. E. Hoch, ''Hippocrene Concise Dictionary: Bemba: Bemba - English, English - Bemba'', Hippocrene Books, Inc., New York, 1998.</ref> or the authors have skated over the complexities by the use of the category "significant letter":
* Class 1. singular: prefix: '''mu-'''; s/l. (= "significant letter" verb, adjective, etc. prefix appropriate to the class:) '''u-, w-''' * Class 1. plural. prefix: '''ba-'''; s/l. '''b-''' * Class 2. sing. prefix: '''mu-'''; s/l. '''u-, w-''' * Class 2. pl. prefix: '''mi-'''; s/l. '''i-, y-''' * Class 3. sing. prefix: '''i-, di-'''; s/l. '''l-, d-''' * Class 3. pl. prefix: '''ma-'''; s/l. '''a-''' * Class 4. sing. prefix: '''bu-''' abstract nouns; s/l. '''b-''' * Class 4. pl. prefix: '''ma-'''; s/l. '''a-''' * Class 5. sing. prefix: '''ku-''' often nouns of place; s/l. '''k-''' * Class 5. pl. prefix: '''ma-'''; s/l. '''a-''' * Class 6. sing. prefix: '''ka-''' a diminutive sense; s/l. '''k-''' * Class 6. pl. prefix: '''tu-''' diminutive plural; s/l. '''t-''' * Class 7. sing. prefix: '''chi-''' "thing" class; s/l. '''ch-''' * Class 7. pl. prefix: '''shi-'''; s/l. '''sh-''' * Class 8. sing. prefix: '''in-'''; s/l. '''i-, y-''' * Class 8. pl. prefix: '''in-'''; s/l. '''y-, sh-''' * Class 9. sing. prefix: '''lu-'''; s/l. '''l-''' * Class 9. pl. prefix: '''in-'''; s/l. '''y-, sh-''' * Class 10. sing. prefix: '''lu-'''; s/l. '''l-''' * Class 10. pl. prefix: '''ma-'''; s/l. '''a-'''
The ''locatives'' form a special category: * '''mu-''' - at rest in, motion into, motion out from; * '''ku-''' - position at, to, from * '''a-''' - rest upon, to or from off (Compare ''pa-'' prefix in Sanga, etc.<ref>''Mukanda wa Leza'' (The Bible in KiSanga/Sanga, southern Congo D.R.), Trintarian Bible Society, London SW19, 1991.</ref><ref>Lyndon Harries, ''A Grammar of Mwera'' Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg, 1950.</ref>)
Thus: * '''Mung'anda mulashia''' - The inside of the house is dark. * '''Kung'anda kulashia''' - Around the house it is dark. * '''Ang'anda alashia''' - Darkness is upon the house.
==The Ila verb system==
The ''root'' is the part of the verb giving the primary meaning. To this can be added prefixes and suffixes: many elements can be united in this way, sometimes producing long and complex polysyllabic verb words. For example, from the root '''anga''', "to tie", we can derive such a form as '''Tamuna kubaangulwila anzhyi?''' meaning, "Why have you still not untied them?"
Prefixes can show: * tense * subject * object * voice (exceptional)
Suffixes can show: * voice * tense (exceptional) * mood
Here are some of the forms of the verb '''kubona''', "to see". (Note that there are also ''negative'' forms, e.g. '''ta-tu-boni''', "we do not see", that there is also a ''subjunctive'' mood, a ''conditional'' mood, a ''jussive'' mood and the ''imperative''. Many ''subjunctive'' forms end in '''-e'''.
The ''root'' of the verb is in two forms:
* (i) simple stem: '''bona''' : code - SS * (ii) modified stem: '''bwene''' : code ₴ * -SS '''tubona''' we (who) see * -₵ '''tubwene''' we (who) have seen * -A-SS '''twabona''' we saw, see, have seen * -A-CHI-SS '''twachibona''' we continue seeing * -A-YA-BU-SS '''twayabubona''' we are engaged in seeing * -DI-MU-KU-SS '''tudmukubona''' we are seeing * -CHI-SS '''tuchibona''' we continue to see * -LA-SS '''tulabona''' we are constantly (usually, certainly) seeing * -LA-YA-BU-SS '''tulayabubona''' we are being engaged in seeing * -LA-YA-KU-SS '''tulayakubona''' we are habitually in the act of seeing * -DI-₵ '''tulibwene''' we have seen * -CHI-₵ '''tuchibwene''' we have been seeing * -A-KA-SS '''twakabona''' we saw * -A-KA-CHI-SS '''twakachibona''' we continued seeing * -A-KA-YA-BU-SS '''twakayabubona''' we were engaged in seeing * KA-SS '''katubona''' (Notice the position of '''tu''' here) we saw * KA-₵ '''katubwene''' we did see * -A-KU-SS '''twakubona''' we were seeing * -A-KU-CHI-SS '''twakuchibona''' we were continuing to see * -A-KU-YA-BU-SS '''twakuyabubona''' we were engaged in seeing * -A-KU-₵ '''twakubwene''' we had seen * -KA-LA-SS '''tukalabona''' we shall soon see * -KA-LA-CHI-SS '''tukalachibona''' we shall continue seeing * -KA-LA-YA-BU-SS '''tukalayabubona''' we shall be engaged in seeing
The above English renderings are approximate.
Certain ''suffixes'' add new dimensions of meaning to the ''root''. Although these follow some logic, we again have to feel a way towards an adequate translation into English or any other language:
* simple verb: '''bona''' - to see * relative or dative form: '''-ila, -ela, -ina, -ena: bonena''' - to see to, for somebody, and so on * extended relative: '''ilila, -elela, -inina, enena: bonenena''' - to see to, for somebody, etc. '''ililila''' - to go right away * causative: '''-ya''' + many sound changes''': chisha''' - to cause to do, from '''chita''' - to do * capable, "-able": '''-ika, -eka: chitika''' - to be do-able * passive: '''-wa: chitwa''' - to be done * middle (a kind of reflexive that acts upon oneself - compare Greek): '''-uka: anduka''' - to be in a split position, from '''andulwa'''- to be split by somebody * stative; in fixed constructions only: '''-ama: lulama''' - to be straight; '''kotama''' - to be bowed * extensive: '''-ula: sandula''' - turn over; '''andula''' - split up * extensive, with the sense of "keep on doing": '''-aula: andaula''' - chop up firewood * equivalent of English prefix "re-": '''-ulula: ululula''' - to trade something over and over again, from '''ula''' - to trade * or the equivalent of the English prefix "un-", also: '''-ulula: ambulula''' - to unsay, to retract * reflexive - a ''prefix'' this time - '''di- : dianga''' - to tie oneself, from '''anga''' - to tie; '''dipa''' - to give to each other, from '''pa''' - to give * reciprocal: '''-ana: bonana''' - to see each other * intensive: '''-isha: angisha''' - to tie tightly * reduplicative: {{lang|ilb|'''ambukambuka'''}} - keep on turning aside, from '''ambuka''' - to turn aside
These can be used in composites: e.g. '''langilizhya''' - to cause to look on behalf of.<ref name = Smith&Dale />
==Oral literature== In 1920, [[Edwin W. Smith]] and {{ill|Andrew Murray Dale|de}} published ''The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia'' in two volumes; the second volume features a large number of Ila texts with English translations.<ref>Smith, Edwin; Dale, Andrew, M. (1920). ''[https://archive.org/details/ilaspeakingpeopl02smituoft The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia, volume II.]''</ref> The texts come from Ila people living along the [[Kafue River]] in what was then [[Northern Rhodesia]]. There are 60 folktales,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ilaspeakingpeopl02smituoft/page/334/mode/2up?view=theater Smith and Dale (1920)], vol. 2, pp. 334-333.</ref> including a long cycle of stories about the trickster hare, along with proverbs,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ilaspeakingpeopl02smituoft/page/311/mode/2up?view=theater Smith and Dale (1920)], vol. 2, pp. 311-417.</ref> riddles,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ilaspeakingpeopl02smituoft/page/324/mode/2up?view=theater Smith and Dale (1920)], vol. 2, pp. 324-331.</ref> and [[Dilemma_story | dilemma tales]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ilaspeakingpeopl02smituoft/page/330/mode/2up?view=theater Smith and Dale (1920)], vol. 2, pp. 331-333.</ref> Here are some of the proverbs: *"''Kwina mwami owakadizhala.''" "No chief ever gave birth to a chief (the hereditary principle by which a son follows his father is unknown to the Ba-ila)." *"''Chizhilo chibe chishinka museuna.''" "Any old pole will stop up a hole in the fence (i.e. everybody is useful to the community in some way or other)." *"''Mano takala mutwi omwi.''" "Wisdom does not dwell in one head." *"''Mukando mushie lubilo, mano tomushii.''" "You may outrun an old man, but you can't outdo him in wisdom." *"''Kabwenga moa ng'uongola.''" "It is the prudent hyena that lives long." Here are some of the riddles: *"''Ukwa Lesa ndachileta chitasakululwa. Matwi.''" "I brought a thing from God that cannot be taken off like clothes. Ears." *"''Muzovu umina ch'amba mwifu. Ing'anda.''" "An elephant that swallows something which speaks in its stomach. A house." *"''Kakalo katazuminini. Ndinango dia umbwa.''" "A little spring that never dries up. A dog's nose." *"''Ku kuya ndachiyana, ku kuzhoka shichiyene. Mume.''" "Going I found it; returning I found it not. The dew." *"''Ndawala mwitala. Menso.''" "Something I threw over to the other side of the river. Eyes."
The Ila stories of the trickster hare have many affinities with the [[Br'er Rabbit]] stories collected by [[Joel Chandler Harris]] from African American storytellers in Georgia in the 19th century.<ref>For a detailed account of the African origins of the majority of Joel Chandler Harris's stories, see Baer, Florence E. (1980). ''Sources and Analogues of the Uncle Remus Tales''.</ref> Some of the enslaved people of the southern United States were captured and purchased in this area of Zambia.<ref>Smith and Dale (1920), volume 1, page 39.</ref><ref>Hugh Thomas, ''The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave trade 1440-1870'', Picador, London, 1997. page 706: "From...Ambriz and Benguela...500,000 slaves were probably shipped during the...era 1800-1830;...and...over 600,000 may have been shipped after 1830..."</ref> In addition, African American storytellers, including those consulted by Harris, made use of ideophones in English that resemble the ideophones of African languages such as Ila.<ref>Noss, Philip A. (1972). "Description in Gbaya Literary Art" in [https://archive.org/details/africanfolklore0000unse/page/73/mode/1up ''African Folklore''], ed. Richard M. Dorson, pp. 73-101.</ref>
==Bibliography== Smith, Edwin William & Dale, Andrew Murray, ''The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia''. Macmillan and Company, London, 1920.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *Dorothea Lehmann, ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150622153527/http://lubutocollections.org/items/show/55 Folktales from Zambia: Texts in six African languages and in English]}},'' Lubuto Library Special Collections, accessed May 4, 2014. *[http://www.language-archives.org/language/ilb OLAC resources in and about the Ila language] *[http://www.language-archives.org/language/shq OLAC resources in and about the Sala language]
{{Languages of Zambia}} {{Narrow Bantu languages (Zones J–M)}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Languages of Zambia]] [[Category:Botatwe languages]] [[Category:Library of Congress Africa Collection related]]