Hədi
Hdi
Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, Central, Mafa-Bata subgroup)
Hdi (formerly Hidé, Hide) is a Chadic language of the Mandara Mountains in northern Cameroon, near the Nigerian border. It is famous in linguistic literature for being one of the few documented African languages with an [+/-ATR] vowel harmony system fully comparable to West African Atlantic-Congo languages, despite its Afro-Asiatic affiliation. Hdi has a rich glottal-consonant inventory including voiced and voiceless implosives (ɓ, ɗ), and Frajzyngier's 2002 reference grammar is a major work in Chadic linguistics. The Hdi people are subsistence farmers in the rocky Mandara terrain.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Hdi
Water
yam
/jam/
Fire
hu
/hu/
Sun
vah
/vah/
Moon
ʔir
/ʔir/
Mother
nəh
/nəh/
Father
baba
/baba/
Eat
za
/za/
Drink
sa
/sa/
Love
ɓəz
/ɓəz/
Heart
ɓal
/ɓal/
Tree
ʔən
/ʔən/
House
gay
/ɡaj/
Dog
ɓəzaŋ
/ɓəzaŋ/
Cat
mərz
/mərz/
Hand
xen
/xen/
Eye
ɓah
/ɓah/
Hello
ʔaza
/ʔaza/
Thank you
ʔusi
/ʔusi/
One
kələ
/kələ/
Good
ɗəfa
/ɗəfa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, Central, Mafa-Bata subgroup) languages
| Meaning | Hdi | Daba | Kera | Albanian | Blin | Tigrinya | Dii |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yam /jam/ | yam /jam/ | mam /mam/ | ujë /ujə/ | አኳ /akwa/ | ማይ /maj/ | mam /mam/ |
| Fire | hu /hu/ | kʷu /kʷu/ | ákə̀rə /akərə/ | zjarr /zjar/ | ላእ /laʔ/ | ሓዊ /ħawi/ | mvə̀ /mvə/ |
| Sun | vah /vah/ | ɓa /ɓa/ | kêr /keːɾ/ | diell /diɛɫ/ | ኤርሕ /erəħ/ | ጸሓይ /tsʼəħaj/ | ngə̄ə̀ /ŋɡəə/ |
| Moon | ʔir /ʔir/ | paɗ /paɗ/ | mə̀sə̀rə /məsərə/ | hënë /hənə/ | ቸራ /tʃəra/ | ወርሒ /wərħi/ | mboɔn /mbɔɔn/ |
| Mother | nəh /nəh/ | mma /mːa/ | nâ /naː/ | nënë /nənə/ | እና /əna/ | ኣደ /ʔaddə/ | na /na/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | daa /daː/ | bâ /baː/ | baba /baba/ | አባ /aba/ | ኣቦ /ʔabbo/ | ba /ba/ |
| Eat | za /za/ | za /za/ | nà /na/ | ha /ha/ | ምሰራ /məsəra/ | ምብላዕ /mɨblaʕ/ | kpén /kpen˥/ |
| Drink | sa /sa/ | sa /sa/ | sā /saː/ | pi /pi/ | መዕያ /mətʕəja/ | ምስታይ /mɨstaj/ | kpɔ̀ /kpɔ/ |
| Love | ɓəz /ɓəz/ | saw /saw/ | kùm /kum/ | dashuri /daʃuɾi/ | ኩረቦ /kurəbo/ | ፍቕሪ /fɨqʼɾi/ | kūngí /ku˧ŋɡi˥/ |
| Heart | ɓal /ɓal/ | ɓəl /ɓəl/ | gùm /ɡum/ | zemër /zɛməɾ/ | ሊባ /liba/ | ልቢ /lɨbbi/ | ngēli /ŋɡeli/ |
| Tree | ʔən /ʔən/ | hin /hin/ | kòsō /kosoː/ | pemë /pɛmə/ | ሐጨር /ħətʃər/ | ኦም /ʔom/ | ngà /ŋɡa/ |
| House | gay /ɡaj/ | gəy /ɡəj/ | gòl /ɡol/ | shtëpi /ʃtəpi/ | ጊና /ɡina/ | ገዛ /ɡəza/ | gā /ɡa/ |
| Dog | ɓəzaŋ /ɓəzaŋ/ | ɓəzaŋ /ɓəzaŋ/ | kŋā /kŋaː/ | qen /cɛn/ | ጋቢራ /ɡabira/ | ከልቢ /kəlbi/ | mvù /mvu˩/ |
| Cat | mərz /mərz/ | mərz /mərz/ | mūsā /muːsaː/ | mace /mat͡sɛ/ | ሐራ /ħara/ | ድሙ /dɨmmu/ | ngwā /ŋɡwa/ |
| Hand | xen /xen/ | xən /xən/ | kéu /keu/ | dorë /dɔɾə/ | አንካዕ /ankaʕ/ | ኢድ /ʔid/ | paà /paa/ |
| Eye | ɓah /ɓah/ | ɓəh /ɓəh/ | gìr /ɡir/ | sy /sy/ | ኢላ /ila/ | ዓይኒ /ʕajni/ | ngə̀ə /ŋɡəə/ |
| Hello | ʔaza /ʔaza/ | salaŋ /salaŋ/ | ásālāmā /asaːlaːmaː/ | përshëndetje /pəɾʃəndɛtjɛ/ | ኢራዋ /irawa/ | ሰላም /səlam/ | mbóò /mboo/ |
| Thank you | ʔusi /ʔusi/ | ndzaŋ /ndzaŋ/ | shùkūr /ʃukuːɾ/ | faleminderit /falɛmindɛɾit/ | ቀንየለይ /qənjələj/ | የቐንየለይ /jɨqʼɨnjɨlɨj/ | vɛɛɛ /vɛːɛ/ |
| One | kələ /kələ/ | mma /mːa/ | ká /ka/ | një /ɲə/ | አሬ /are/ | ሓደ /ħadə/ | hīn /hin/ |
| Good | ɗəfa /ɗəfa/ | ɗəfa /ɗəfa/ | kúɗá /kuɗa/ | mirë /miɾə/ | ጨጋ /tʃəɡa/ | ጽቡቕ /tsʼɨbuqʼ/ | gáà /ɡa˥a˩/ |
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