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d


d v. to cook préparer (13 groups, 37 languages) A cf: tɨsaw, sɨwra₂.
This is the generic root for 'to cook'. The devoicing of *d to *t in the Margi and Higi groups is a regular change. The Malgwa root /gʲa/ is due to a regular general process where palatalised alveolar consonants become palatalised velar consonants.
1Proto-Daba *da cook préparer 1.1) Buwal (Viljoen) dɑ prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 1.1.1) Buwal (Viljoen) dɑ cook (faire) cuire, cuisiner 1.1.2) Buwal (Viljoen) dɑ̄ wɛ́ⁿdʒɛ̀k bake (in ashes) cuire (dans les cendres) 1.2) Gavar (Viljoen) dɑ prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 1.3) Mbudum (Ndokobaï) kəduda prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 1.3.1) Mbudum (Ndokobaï) kəda bake (in ashes) cuire (dans les cendres) 1.4) Daba (Lienhard) tà préparer la nourriture ; éclater 1.4.1) Daba (Lienhard) tà s'emploie, si on répète les paroles d'un autre, à la fin de la citation
2Proto-Sukur *dɨ cook préparer 2.1) Sukur (David) də cook, to 2.2) Sukur (Thomas) də cooking; is the general term for cooking.
3Proto-Hurza *da cook préparer 3.1) Mbuko (Gravina) da cook préparer
4Proto-Margi *ta cook préparer 4.1) Bura (Blench) ta To cook (certain foods for first time) 4.1.1) Bura (Blench) ti To cook 4.2) Margi (Hoffman) ta to cook 4.3) Kilba (Schuh) ta/a cook (tuwo, miya etc.) 4.3.1) Kilba (Schuh) ta/a get done (food)
5Proto-Mandara *da cook préparer 5.1) Matal (Branger) mataj cook préparer 5.2) Podoko (Swackhammer) tá cuire 5.3) Malgwa (Löhr) gja cook 5.4) Glavda (Nghagyiva) tá káfa prepare (food to cook)
6Proto-Mofu *da cook préparer 6.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) dì prepare food préparer le manger 6.2) Muyang (Smith) di make, do, cook in a pot; sing préparer; chanter 6.3) Mada (Nkoumou) médè cuire (faire-, préparer de la nourriture), coucher (se-pour le soleil) 6.4) Moloko (Friesen) de cook préparer la nouriture 6.5) Zulgo (Haller) da cuire 6.5.1) Zulgo (Haller) de cuire 6.6) Gemzek (Sabatai) mede cook (v); prepare (food to cook) (faire) cuire, cuisiner; préparer (la nourriture) 6.7) Merey (Gravina) da prepare (food to cook); cook (v) préparer; préparer (la nourriture); (faire) cuire, cuisiner 6.8) Dugwor (Jubumna) madaj cook (v); prepare (food to cook) (faire) cuire, cuisiner; préparer (la nourriture) 6.9) Proto-Mofu Subgroup *t cook préparer 6.10) Mofu North (Barreteau) métēj (faire) cuire, préparer 6.11) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) t ́ (faire) cuire, préparer (un repas, un sacrifice) ; chauffer
7Proto-Maroua *di cook préparer 7.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) di préparer, cuire, cuisiner 7.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) di daf prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 7.3) Mbazla (Tourneux) di préparer (nourriture)
8Proto-Lamang *da cook préparer 8.1) Lamang (Wolff) da cook
9Proto-Higi *ta cook préparer 9.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) ta cook 9.2) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) ta cook 9.3) Kirya (Blench) tà cook 9.4) Psikye (Angelo) také cook 9.5) Bana (Lienhard) tà cuire, préparer dans l'eau ou dans beaucoup d'huile
10Proto-Kotoko North *da cook préparer 10.1) Mpade (Allison) dá (lɨ) básù roast rôtir
11Proto-Kotoko South *udo cook préparer 11.1) Mazera (Allison) udo cook (v) (faire) cuire, cuisiner
12Proto-Musgum *di cook préparer 12.1) Mulwi (Tourneux) di cuire (une sauce) 12.2) Mbara (Tourneux) tii cook cuire
13Proto-Gidar *ɨda cook préparer 13.1) Gidar (Hungerford) ɨda, əda préparer, cuisiner, (faire) cuire
daɣɨlɨj nf. young woman jeune fille (9 groups, 21 languages) B cf: dɨm ʸ.
This word denotes a girl or young woman who is old enough to marry but is not yet married. The presence of *l in this root indicates that it may have originated within the North sub-branch of Central Chadic. Proto-Central Chadic had no *l, but this phoneme was introduced into the North sub-branch by a regular change *r to l. However, the Daba, Mafa, Sukur and Hurza groups do not belong to the North sub-branch. It is possible that the root has been borrowed into these languages, since the languages where the root is present are those with strong contact with languages of the North sub-branch. The *ɣ has become /g/ in some languages in the Higi and Sukur groups, an unestablished change. It has become /h/ in many groups. In Proto-Mandara this is a regular change, but in the Mofu group the change is irregular. Elsewhere the change is unestablished. In some cases this /h/ has been deleted. The final *j has been reanalysed as the palatalisation prosody in the Mandara and Maroua groups, as consonant palatalisation in the Higi group, and as a vowel in the Sukur, Higi and Lamang groups. These are all common sporadic changes.
1Proto-Daba *dahalaj girl fille 1.1) Gavar (Viljoen) dɑhɑlɑj young woman jeune fille 1.2) Mbudum (Ndokobaï) dalaj young woman jeune fille
2Proto-Mafa *dahla girl fille 2.1) Cuvok (Gravina) dahla young woman jeune fille
3Proto-Sukur *dɨgɨli young woman jeune fille 3.1) Sukur (David) dəgəli girl, unmarried 3.2) Sukur (Thomas) dəgəli unmarried mature girl; is the general term for unmarried mature girl.
4Proto-Hurza *dalaj girl fille 4.1) Mbuko dalaj girl fille 4.2) Vame (Kinnaird) dìlè daughter fille
5Proto-Mandara *dahɨlɨ ʸ girl fille 5.1) Podoko (Swackhammer) də́həla,-ə jeune fille 5.2) Mandara (Fluckiger) gjáále jeune fille (f) 5.3) Malgwa (Löhr) gjaale girl, daughter 5.3.1) Malgwa (Löhr) gjala girls
6Proto-Mofu *dahɨlaj girl fille 6.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) dàŋgʷàlàj girl fille 6.2) Muyang (Smith) dɑhɑlɑj a marriageable girl fille à l'âge de se marier 6.3) Moloko (Friesen) dalaj girl fille 6.4) Merey (Gravina) dahəlaj young woman jeune fille,épouse 6.5) Gemzek (Sabatai) dahəlaj bride mariée 6.5.1) Gemzek (Sabatai) dahəlaj jeune fille 6.5.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) dahəla jeune fille 6.6) Dugwor (Jubumna) dahəlaj bride mariée
7Proto-Maroua *dɨlɨ ʸ girl fille 7.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) dijli jeune fille 7.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) dili daughter fille
8Proto-Higi *diɣɨlʲi girl fille 8.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) digəlji unmarriedgirl 8.1.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) digiljí young-girl 8.2) Bana (Lienhard) dàɣàlà jeune fille
9Proto-Lamang *daɣali girl fille 9.1) Lamang (Wolff) daɣele girl, young woman 9.2) Hdi (Bramlett) daɣali young woman la jeune fille
daŋ nm. drum tambour (6 groups, 10 languages) (Technological Spread) cf: gaᵑga.
This word probably denotes an hour-glass shaped drum held under the armpit. It is most probably a root that has spread across languages with the introduction of this type of drum, with the source being somewhere in Nigeria.
1Proto-Bata *daŋɨ drum tambour 1.1) Gude (Hoskinson) dàŋá -ə small hourgrass shaped drum, H. Kalangu. 1.2) Jimi (Djibi) daŋən Petit tambour qui a la forme de X qui sert d'accompagnement pour les autres grands tambours.
2Proto-Tera *daᵑg drum tambour 2.1) Nyimatli (Harley) daᵑg talking drum
3Proto-Sukur *daŋ drum tambour 3.1) Sukur (David) daŋ drum 3.2) Sukur (Thomas) daŋ drum; a musical instrument made of a hollow round frame plastic or wood and skin strretched across one or both end. Your play it by hitting it with sticks or with your hands.
4Proto-Margi *daŋ drum tambour 4.1) Bura (Blench) daᵑg drum with two heads 4.2) Kilba (Schuh) daŋ drum (generic)
5Proto-Mandara *deŋʷɨ drum tambour 5.1) Podoko (Swackhammer) deŋú deŋʷé,-u tam-tam à l'aisselle
6Proto-Higi *daŋɨ ʸ drum tambour 6.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) dàᵑgjí Kind of drum. 6.2) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) djaᵑga talking drum 6.3) Bana (Lienhard) dáŋ tamtam sous le bras, peau de varan, esp. de petit
daw n. millet mil (4 groups, 7 languages) A syn: hɨjɨ, vɨjaw.
The presence of a number of different roots for this most basic of subsistence crops indicates that the Central Chadic peoples were not originally subsistence farmers. The prenasalisation of *d in Mbuko is a common but sporadic process. The root may have originated in Mafa and spread to neighbouring languages. However, the root is also found in Mbazla, which is currently not in contact with the other languages represented, and the path of contact with this language needs to be established.
1Proto-Mafa *daw millet mil 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) daw mil (nom gén.) 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) daw millet (rainy season) mil (saison de pluies)
2Proto-Hurza *ⁿdaw millet mil 2.1) Mbuko (Gravina) ⁿdaw millet mil
3Proto-Mofu *daw millet mil 3.1) Zulgo (Haller) daw mil m. 3.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) daw millet mil 3.3) Merey (Gravina) daw millet (rainy season) mil (saison de pluies)
4Proto-Maroua *daw millet mil 4.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) daw mil
dɨgɨɮam deaf sourd (5 groups, 13 languages) B
The presence of the alternate root *maⁿdɨk in several languages in the Mofu group may indicate that this root is a compound of a verb *ⁿdɨk and *ɮam 'ear' (from *ɬɨmɨɗ ʸ, but with *ɮ from the South sub-branch). The prefix *ma- is a nominaliser that was productive in earlier stages of the history of Central Chadic languages, but is no longer productive in most languages.
1Proto-Mafa *dagaɮam deaf sourd 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) ńⁿdakaɮam sourd-muet 1.1.1) Mafa (Ndokobai) ⁿdakaɮam, ⁿdaɓaɮam sourd 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) madagaɮam deaf person (un) sourd
2Proto-Hurza dɨᵑgɨɮ deaf sourd 2.1) Mbuko (Gravina) dɨᵑgɨɮ be deaf être sourd 2.1.1) Mbuko (Gravina) mədəᵑgaɮak deaf sourd
3Proto-Mandara *dagaɮam deaf sourd 3.1) Matal (Branger) madagaɮam deaf sourd
4Proto-Mofu *ma-ⁿdɨk ɮam deaf sourd 4.1) Mada (Nkoumou) madagaɮam sourd-muet 4.2) Moloko (Friesen) madəᵑgəɮa deafness surdité 4.3) Gemzek (Sabatai) maⁿdakaɮam deaf mute sourd-muet 4.3.1) Gemzek (Sabatai) maⁿdak deaf person (un) sourd 4.4) Merey (Gravina) madəᵑgəɮak sourd-muet 4.4.1) Merey (Gravina) maⁿdək deaf person (un) sourd, sourd-muet 4.5) Dugwor (Jubumna) mədeᵑgəɮa deaf person (un) sourd 4.5.1) Dugwor (Jubumna) maⁿdak deaf mute sourd-muet 4.6) Mofu North (Barreteau) máⁿdāk sourd-muet 4.7) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) madakaɮam sourd-muet 4.7.1) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) dəgəɮam dəgəɮam sourd
5Proto-Maroua *digiɮa deaf sourd 5.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) digiɬ rendre sourd 5.1.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) midigiɮa sourd, muet 5.1.2) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) midigiɮa ignorant 5.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) mədigɮa deaf person; deaf mute (un) sourd; sourd-muet
dɨɣʷɨvan nm. leopard panthère (5 groups, 13 languages) D
The general sense of the root is 'leopard', though in Dugwor, Mbazla and possibly Merey the root is part of a compound, implying that it may have a different or more generic meaning. The root itself is difficult to reconstruct. The *n to r change in the Mofu group is regular. The loss of *ɣʷ is normal, though often the labialisation component remains in some form. In the Bata group the labialisation has transferred to *v.
1Proto-Bata *dɨgɨvʷa leopard léopard 1.1) Jimi (Djibi) dəgəvʷan La panthère 1.2) Sharwa (Gravina) digvʷa panthère, léopard 1.3) Tsuvan (Johnston) dəgəva la panthère
2Proto-Sukur *dɨgʷavak leopard léopard 2.1) Sukur (David) dəgʷavak leopard léopard 2.2) Sukur (David) duguvu hyena hyène 2.3) Sukur (Thomas) dəgʷavak leopard
3Proto-Mofu *dɨvar leopard léopard 3.1) Zulgo (Haller) də̀var panthère f., léopard m. 3.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) dəvar panthère 3.3) Merey (Gravina) dəvar panthère 3.3.1) Merey (Gravina) dəvar dzidzege leopard léopard 3.4) Dugwor (Jubumna) dəvar j peɬ leopard léopard 3.5) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) dəvá Léopard ("panthère")
4Proto-Maroua *dɨvaŋ leopard léopard 4.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) dəvaŋ garak léopard 4.1.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) dəvaŋ lion
5Proto-Higi *dɨɣʷava leopard léopard 5.1) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) dəɣʷava leopard 5.2) Psikye (Angelo) ɗəgʷava hyena hyène 5.2.1) Psikye (Angelo) dəgʷava hyena hyène 5.3) Bana (Lienhard) d(ə̀)ɣʷàvà panthère
dɨm ʸ nf. girl fille (4 groups, 10 languages) A cf: daɣɨlɨj.
This word denotes a female child. The root is very stable, though the palatalisation prosody has been lost in the Sukur group. The vowel /a/ in Proto-Mafa is a regular change.
1Proto-Daba *dɨmɨ ʸ girl fille 1.1) Daba (Lienhard) mèdīmí la jeune fille, pas mariée
2Proto-Mafa *dam ʸ girl fille 2.1) Mafa (Barreteau) dám fille 2.2) Cuvok (Gravina) dem girl, daughter (petite) fille, fillette
3Proto-Mofu *dɨm ʸ girl fille 3.1) Zulgo (Haller) də̀m fille f. 3.1.1) Zulgo (Haller) də̀m enfant (m.) du sexe féminin 3.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) dəm girl fille 3.2.1) Gemzek (Sabatai) dəm ŋa daughter fille 3.3) Merey (Gravina) dem fille 3.4) Dugwor (Jubumna) dem girl (petite) fille, fillette 3.5) Mofu North (Barreteau) dém fille 3.5.1) Mofu North (Barreteau) də́mmè eh! toi, fille! 3.6) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) dam daughter fille
4Proto-Sukur *dɨm girl fille 4.1) Sukur (David) dəm daughter 4.2) Sukur (Thomas) dəm unmarried girl; is the general term for unmarried girl.
dɨr v. to burn bruler (5 groups, 10 languages) A
This word denotes the complete burning of an object until it becomes ash. All of the groups represented except the Mafa group are from the North sub-branch, and we would expect to find *l rather than *r in these languages. However there are exceptions in the Mandara and Lamang groups, which may be due to a later unestablihsed change from *l to /r/. The change *r to l in Cuvok is a regular feature of the language, as is the change *l to r in Moloko.
1Proto-Mafa *ⁿdar burn bruler 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) ⁿdár- brûler (faire du charbon de bois, cuire) 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) ⁿdala burn brûler
2Proto-Mandara *dɨrɨ burn brûler 2.1) Mandara (Fluckiger) déré brûler (brûler complètement), carboniser
3Proto-Mofu *dɨl burn bruler 3.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) dālāj burn brûler plusieurs fois 3.1.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) də̄l burn brûler 3.1.2) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) də̄l cuire la poterie 3.2) Moloko (Friesen) dar burn, grill until it becomes ash for making potash and pottery; jusqu'à ce que ça deveiens du cendre pour faire la potasse (wuhle) et la potérie. 3.2.1) Moloko (Friesen) dar to get on someone's nerves énerver quelqu'un 3.3) Zulgo (Haller) dúl brûler, être consommé, prendre feu 3.4) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) ́ⁿdəl brûler sur le feu, consumer entièrement jusqu'à réduire en cendre (sur le feu) ; cuir les poteries
4Proto-Maroua *dɨlɨ ʸ burn bruler 4.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) ⁿdili bruler 4.1.1) Mbazla (SILSurvey) dílí burn (transitive) brûler (transitif)
5Proto-Lamang *dɨra burn bruler 5.1) Lamang (Wolff) dra burn 5.2) Hdi (Bramlett) dəraj to burn brûler
dɨrɨm nf. animal horn corne d'un animal (8 groups, 26 languages) C syn: lagan, ᵐbɨkʷɨm, mahʷa.
This root poses some interesting problems in reconstruction. The change *d to t in the Margi and Higi groups is regular. We also expect to find *r becoming *l in all groups except for Mafa and Sukur. However there are exceptions in the Mandara, Mofu and Maroua groups. The Mafa and Mofu data indicate that there are two cognate roots interfering, with *dɨrɨm being the horn of an animal, and *tɨlɨm being an animal horn used as a musical instrument. Another difficulty is the presence of labialisation in many of the groups. The change *m to /w/ in the Mandara group is regular, and in the Lamang group is a common sporadic change. However we also have labialisation in the Mafa, Sukur, Maroua and Higi groups that has not come from *m. In the Maroua group this is a common sporadic change, but the present reconstruction does not account for the introduction of labialisation in the other groups.
1Proto-Mafa *dɨram ʷ horn corne 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) tolom corne (animal) utilisé pour faire la musique 1.1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) dúróm corne d'animal 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) dərem horn corne 1.3) Mefele (Crawford) dərum horn corne
2Proto-Sukur *twam horn corne 2.1) Sukur (Thomas) twam horn; a hard pointed part that grow usually in pairs, on the heads of some animals, eg cow, sheep and goats.
3Proto-Margi *tɨlɨm horn corne 3.1) Bura (Blench) tiᵐbul Horn of an animal 3.2) Kilba (Schuh) tələm horn
4Proto-Mandara *dɨrɨma horn corne 4.1) Matal (Branger) draw, dəraw horn corne 4.2) Podoko (Swackhammer) dərawa,-ə 1 corne 4.3) Mandara (Fluckiger) dermá corne (f) 4.4) Malgwa (Löhr) dərme horn 4.5) Glavda (Owens) dərá horn 4.5.1) Glavda (Nghagyiva) dràwa horn 4.6) Dghwede (Frick) dərawa horn
5Proto-Mofu *dɨram horn corne 5.1) Muyang (Smith) edrem tusk ; horn corne 5.2) Mada (Nkoumou) dràm corne d'animal 5.3) Merey (Gravina) dəram corne 5.4) Dugwor (Jubumna) dərom horn corne 5.5) Mofu North (Barreteau) təlam corne (de buffle ou en bois) 5.5.1) Mofu North (Barreteau) tālām corne (de buffle ou en bois) 5.6) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) təlam corne à souffler (de buffle ou en bois)
6Proto-Maroua *dɨrɨm ʷ horn corne 6.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) durum corne, = marta: corne tabatière (tapa ngi zi'iñ) 6.1.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) drum corne 6.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) durom horn corne 6.3) Mbazla (Tourneux) durum corne 6.3.1) Mbazla (SILSurvey) dùrūm horn corne
7Proto-Lamang *duli horn corne 7.1) Lamang (Wolff) duli horn 7.2) Hdi (Bramlett) duli horn la corne
8Proto-Higi *tɨlimʷɨ horn corne 8.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) tərmʷi horn 8.2) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) tərimo horn (of animal); ivory 8.3) Bana (Lienhard) tə̀lìmə̀ corne


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d


d v. to cook préparer (13 groups, 37 languages) A cf: tɨsaw, sɨwra₂.
This is the generic root for 'to cook'. The devoicing of *d to *t in the Margi and Higi groups is a regular change. The Malgwa root /gʲa/ is due to a regular general process where palatalised alveolar consonants become palatalised velar consonants.
1Proto-Daba *da cook préparer 1.1) Buwal (Viljoen) dɑ prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 1.1.1) Buwal (Viljoen) dɑ cook (faire) cuire, cuisiner 1.1.2) Buwal (Viljoen) dɑ̄ wɛ́ⁿdʒɛ̀k bake (in ashes) cuire (dans les cendres) 1.2) Gavar (Viljoen) dɑ prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 1.3) Mbudum (Ndokobaï) kəduda prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 1.3.1) Mbudum (Ndokobaï) kəda bake (in ashes) cuire (dans les cendres) 1.4) Daba (Lienhard) tà préparer la nourriture ; éclater 1.4.1) Daba (Lienhard) tà s'emploie, si on répète les paroles d'un autre, à la fin de la citation
2Proto-Sukur *dɨ cook préparer 2.1) Sukur (David) də cook, to 2.2) Sukur (Thomas) də cooking; is the general term for cooking.
3Proto-Hurza *da cook préparer 3.1) Mbuko (Gravina) da cook préparer
4Proto-Margi *ta cook préparer 4.1) Bura (Blench) ta To cook (certain foods for first time) 4.1.1) Bura (Blench) ti To cook 4.2) Margi (Hoffman) ta to cook 4.3) Kilba (Schuh) ta/a cook (tuwo, miya etc.) 4.3.1) Kilba (Schuh) ta/a get done (food)
5Proto-Mandara *da cook préparer 5.1) Matal (Branger) mataj cook préparer 5.2) Podoko (Swackhammer) tá cuire 5.3) Malgwa (Löhr) gja cook 5.4) Glavda (Nghagyiva) tá káfa prepare (food to cook)
6Proto-Mofu *da cook préparer 6.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) dì prepare food préparer le manger 6.2) Muyang (Smith) di make, do, cook in a pot; sing préparer; chanter 6.3) Mada (Nkoumou) médè cuire (faire-, préparer de la nourriture), coucher (se-pour le soleil) 6.4) Moloko (Friesen) de cook préparer la nouriture 6.5) Zulgo (Haller) da cuire 6.5.1) Zulgo (Haller) de cuire 6.6) Gemzek (Sabatai) mede cook (v); prepare (food to cook) (faire) cuire, cuisiner; préparer (la nourriture) 6.7) Merey (Gravina) da prepare (food to cook); cook (v) préparer; préparer (la nourriture); (faire) cuire, cuisiner 6.8) Dugwor (Jubumna) madaj cook (v); prepare (food to cook) (faire) cuire, cuisiner; préparer (la nourriture) 6.9) Proto-Mofu Subgroup *t cook préparer 6.10) Mofu North (Barreteau) métēj (faire) cuire, préparer 6.11) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) t ́ (faire) cuire, préparer (un repas, un sacrifice) ; chauffer
7Proto-Maroua *di cook préparer 7.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) di préparer, cuire, cuisiner 7.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) di daf prepare (food to cook) préparer (la nourriture) 7.3) Mbazla (Tourneux) di préparer (nourriture)
8Proto-Lamang *da cook préparer 8.1) Lamang (Wolff) da cook
9Proto-Higi *ta cook préparer 9.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) ta cook 9.2) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) ta cook 9.3) Kirya (Blench) tà cook 9.4) Psikye (Angelo) také cook 9.5) Bana (Lienhard) tà cuire, préparer dans l'eau ou dans beaucoup d'huile
10Proto-Kotoko North *da cook préparer 10.1) Mpade (Allison) dá (lɨ) básù roast rôtir
11Proto-Kotoko South *udo cook préparer 11.1) Mazera (Allison) udo cook (v) (faire) cuire, cuisiner
12Proto-Musgum *di cook préparer 12.1) Mulwi (Tourneux) di cuire (une sauce) 12.2) Mbara (Tourneux) tii cook cuire
13Proto-Gidar *ɨda cook préparer 13.1) Gidar (Hungerford) ɨda, əda préparer, cuisiner, (faire) cuire
daɣɨlɨj nf. young woman jeune fille (9 groups, 21 languages) B cf: dɨm ʸ.
This word denotes a girl or young woman who is old enough to marry but is not yet married. The presence of *l in this root indicates that it may have originated within the North sub-branch of Central Chadic. Proto-Central Chadic had no *l, but this phoneme was introduced into the North sub-branch by a regular change *r to l. However, the Daba, Mafa, Sukur and Hurza groups do not belong to the North sub-branch. It is possible that the root has been borrowed into these languages, since the languages where the root is present are those with strong contact with languages of the North sub-branch. The *ɣ has become /g/ in some languages in the Higi and Sukur groups, an unestablished change. It has become /h/ in many groups. In Proto-Mandara this is a regular change, but in the Mofu group the change is irregular. Elsewhere the change is unestablished. In some cases this /h/ has been deleted. The final *j has been reanalysed as the palatalisation prosody in the Mandara and Maroua groups, as consonant palatalisation in the Higi group, and as a vowel in the Sukur, Higi and Lamang groups. These are all common sporadic changes.
1Proto-Daba *dahalaj girl fille 1.1) Gavar (Viljoen) dɑhɑlɑj young woman jeune fille 1.2) Mbudum (Ndokobaï) dalaj young woman jeune fille
2Proto-Mafa *dahla girl fille 2.1) Cuvok (Gravina) dahla young woman jeune fille
3Proto-Sukur *dɨgɨli young woman jeune fille 3.1) Sukur (David) dəgəli girl, unmarried 3.2) Sukur (Thomas) dəgəli unmarried mature girl; is the general term for unmarried mature girl.
4Proto-Hurza *dalaj girl fille 4.1) Mbuko dalaj girl fille 4.2) Vame (Kinnaird) dìlè daughter fille
5Proto-Mandara *dahɨlɨ ʸ girl fille 5.1) Podoko (Swackhammer) də́həla,-ə jeune fille 5.2) Mandara (Fluckiger) gjáále jeune fille (f) 5.3) Malgwa (Löhr) gjaale girl, daughter 5.3.1) Malgwa (Löhr) gjala girls
6Proto-Mofu *dahɨlaj girl fille 6.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) dàŋgʷàlàj girl fille 6.2) Muyang (Smith) dɑhɑlɑj a marriageable girl fille à l'âge de se marier 6.3) Moloko (Friesen) dalaj girl fille 6.4) Merey (Gravina) dahəlaj young woman jeune fille,épouse 6.5) Gemzek (Sabatai) dahəlaj bride mariée 6.5.1) Gemzek (Sabatai) dahəlaj jeune fille 6.5.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) dahəla jeune fille 6.6) Dugwor (Jubumna) dahəlaj bride mariée
7Proto-Maroua *dɨlɨ ʸ girl fille 7.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) dijli jeune fille 7.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) dili daughter fille
8Proto-Higi *diɣɨlʲi girl fille 8.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) digəlji unmarriedgirl 8.1.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) digiljí young-girl 8.2) Bana (Lienhard) dàɣàlà jeune fille
9Proto-Lamang *daɣali girl fille 9.1) Lamang (Wolff) daɣele girl, young woman 9.2) Hdi (Bramlett) daɣali young woman la jeune fille
daŋ nm. drum tambour (6 groups, 10 languages) (Technological Spread) cf: gaᵑga.
This word probably denotes an hour-glass shaped drum held under the armpit. It is most probably a root that has spread across languages with the introduction of this type of drum, with the source being somewhere in Nigeria.
1Proto-Bata *daŋɨ drum tambour 1.1) Gude (Hoskinson) dàŋá -ə small hourgrass shaped drum, H. Kalangu. 1.2) Jimi (Djibi) daŋən Petit tambour qui a la forme de X qui sert d'accompagnement pour les autres grands tambours.
2Proto-Tera *daᵑg drum tambour 2.1) Nyimatli (Harley) daᵑg talking drum
3Proto-Sukur *daŋ drum tambour 3.1) Sukur (David) daŋ drum 3.2) Sukur (Thomas) daŋ drum; a musical instrument made of a hollow round frame plastic or wood and skin strretched across one or both end. Your play it by hitting it with sticks or with your hands.
4Proto-Margi *daŋ drum tambour 4.1) Bura (Blench) daᵑg drum with two heads 4.2) Kilba (Schuh) daŋ drum (generic)
5Proto-Mandara *deŋʷɨ drum tambour 5.1) Podoko (Swackhammer) deŋú deŋʷé,-u tam-tam à l'aisselle
6Proto-Higi *daŋɨ ʸ drum tambour 6.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) dàᵑgjí Kind of drum. 6.2) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) djaᵑga talking drum 6.3) Bana (Lienhard) dáŋ tamtam sous le bras, peau de varan, esp. de petit
daw n. millet mil (4 groups, 7 languages) A syn: hɨjɨ, vɨjaw.
The presence of a number of different roots for this most basic of subsistence crops indicates that the Central Chadic peoples were not originally subsistence farmers. The prenasalisation of *d in Mbuko is a common but sporadic process. The root may have originated in Mafa and spread to neighbouring languages. However, the root is also found in Mbazla, which is currently not in contact with the other languages represented, and the path of contact with this language needs to be established.
1Proto-Mafa *daw millet mil 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) daw mil (nom gén.) 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) daw millet (rainy season) mil (saison de pluies)
2Proto-Hurza *ⁿdaw millet mil 2.1) Mbuko (Gravina) ⁿdaw millet mil
3Proto-Mofu *daw millet mil 3.1) Zulgo (Haller) daw mil m. 3.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) daw millet mil 3.3) Merey (Gravina) daw millet (rainy season) mil (saison de pluies)
4Proto-Maroua *daw millet mil 4.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) daw mil
dɨgɨɮam deaf sourd (5 groups, 13 languages) B
The presence of the alternate root *maⁿdɨk in several languages in the Mofu group may indicate that this root is a compound of a verb *ⁿdɨk and *ɮam 'ear' (from *ɬɨmɨɗ ʸ, but with *ɮ from the South sub-branch). The prefix *ma- is a nominaliser that was productive in earlier stages of the history of Central Chadic languages, but is no longer productive in most languages.
1Proto-Mafa *dagaɮam deaf sourd 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) ńⁿdakaɮam sourd-muet 1.1.1) Mafa (Ndokobai) ⁿdakaɮam, ⁿdaɓaɮam sourd 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) madagaɮam deaf person (un) sourd
2Proto-Hurza dɨᵑgɨɮ deaf sourd 2.1) Mbuko (Gravina) dɨᵑgɨɮ be deaf être sourd 2.1.1) Mbuko (Gravina) mədəᵑgaɮak deaf sourd
3Proto-Mandara *dagaɮam deaf sourd 3.1) Matal (Branger) madagaɮam deaf sourd
4Proto-Mofu *ma-ⁿdɨk ɮam deaf sourd 4.1) Mada (Nkoumou) madagaɮam sourd-muet 4.2) Moloko (Friesen) madəᵑgəɮa deafness surdité 4.3) Gemzek (Sabatai) maⁿdakaɮam deaf mute sourd-muet 4.3.1) Gemzek (Sabatai) maⁿdak deaf person (un) sourd 4.4) Merey (Gravina) madəᵑgəɮak sourd-muet 4.4.1) Merey (Gravina) maⁿdək deaf person (un) sourd, sourd-muet 4.5) Dugwor (Jubumna) mədeᵑgəɮa deaf person (un) sourd 4.5.1) Dugwor (Jubumna) maⁿdak deaf mute sourd-muet 4.6) Mofu North (Barreteau) máⁿdāk sourd-muet 4.7) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) madakaɮam sourd-muet 4.7.1) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) dəgəɮam dəgəɮam sourd
5Proto-Maroua *digiɮa deaf sourd 5.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) digiɬ rendre sourd 5.1.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) midigiɮa sourd, muet 5.1.2) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) midigiɮa ignorant 5.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) mədigɮa deaf person; deaf mute (un) sourd; sourd-muet
dɨɣʷɨvan nm. leopard panthère (5 groups, 13 languages) D
The general sense of the root is 'leopard', though in Dugwor, Mbazla and possibly Merey the root is part of a compound, implying that it may have a different or more generic meaning. The root itself is difficult to reconstruct. The *n to r change in the Mofu group is regular. The loss of *ɣʷ is normal, though often the labialisation component remains in some form. In the Bata group the labialisation has transferred to *v.
1Proto-Bata *dɨgɨvʷa leopard léopard 1.1) Jimi (Djibi) dəgəvʷan La panthère 1.2) Sharwa (Gravina) digvʷa panthère, léopard 1.3) Tsuvan (Johnston) dəgəva la panthère
2Proto-Sukur *dɨgʷavak leopard léopard 2.1) Sukur (David) dəgʷavak leopard léopard 2.2) Sukur (David) duguvu hyena hyène 2.3) Sukur (Thomas) dəgʷavak leopard
3Proto-Mofu *dɨvar leopard léopard 3.1) Zulgo (Haller) də̀var panthère f., léopard m. 3.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) dəvar panthère 3.3) Merey (Gravina) dəvar panthère 3.3.1) Merey (Gravina) dəvar dzidzege leopard léopard 3.4) Dugwor (Jubumna) dəvar j peɬ leopard léopard 3.5) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) dəvá Léopard ("panthère")
4Proto-Maroua *dɨvaŋ leopard léopard 4.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) dəvaŋ garak léopard 4.1.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) dəvaŋ lion
5Proto-Higi *dɨɣʷava leopard léopard 5.1) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) dəɣʷava leopard 5.2) Psikye (Angelo) ɗəgʷava hyena hyène 5.2.1) Psikye (Angelo) dəgʷava hyena hyène 5.3) Bana (Lienhard) d(ə̀)ɣʷàvà panthère
dɨm ʸ nf. girl fille (4 groups, 10 languages) A cf: daɣɨlɨj.
This word denotes a female child. The root is very stable, though the palatalisation prosody has been lost in the Sukur group. The vowel /a/ in Proto-Mafa is a regular change.
1Proto-Daba *dɨmɨ ʸ girl fille 1.1) Daba (Lienhard) mèdīmí la jeune fille, pas mariée
2Proto-Mafa *dam ʸ girl fille 2.1) Mafa (Barreteau) dám fille 2.2) Cuvok (Gravina) dem girl, daughter (petite) fille, fillette
3Proto-Mofu *dɨm ʸ girl fille 3.1) Zulgo (Haller) də̀m fille f. 3.1.1) Zulgo (Haller) də̀m enfant (m.) du sexe féminin 3.2) Gemzek (Sabatai) dəm girl fille 3.2.1) Gemzek (Sabatai) dəm ŋa daughter fille 3.3) Merey (Gravina) dem fille 3.4) Dugwor (Jubumna) dem girl (petite) fille, fillette 3.5) Mofu North (Barreteau) dém fille 3.5.1) Mofu North (Barreteau) də́mmè eh! toi, fille! 3.6) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) dam daughter fille
4Proto-Sukur *dɨm girl fille 4.1) Sukur (David) dəm daughter 4.2) Sukur (Thomas) dəm unmarried girl; is the general term for unmarried girl.
dɨr v. to burn bruler (5 groups, 10 languages) A
This word denotes the complete burning of an object until it becomes ash. All of the groups represented except the Mafa group are from the North sub-branch, and we would expect to find *l rather than *r in these languages. However there are exceptions in the Mandara and Lamang groups, which may be due to a later unestablihsed change from *l to /r/. The change *r to l in Cuvok is a regular feature of the language, as is the change *l to r in Moloko.
1Proto-Mafa *ⁿdar burn bruler 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) ⁿdár- brûler (faire du charbon de bois, cuire) 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) ⁿdala burn brûler
2Proto-Mandara *dɨrɨ burn brûler 2.1) Mandara (Fluckiger) déré brûler (brûler complètement), carboniser
3Proto-Mofu *dɨl burn bruler 3.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) dālāj burn brûler plusieurs fois 3.1.1) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) də̄l burn brûler 3.1.2) Ouldeme (Kinnaird) də̄l cuire la poterie 3.2) Moloko (Friesen) dar burn, grill until it becomes ash for making potash and pottery; jusqu'à ce que ça deveiens du cendre pour faire la potasse (wuhle) et la potérie. 3.2.1) Moloko (Friesen) dar to get on someone's nerves énerver quelqu'un 3.3) Zulgo (Haller) dúl brûler, être consommé, prendre feu 3.4) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) ́ⁿdəl brûler sur le feu, consumer entièrement jusqu'à réduire en cendre (sur le feu) ; cuir les poteries
4Proto-Maroua *dɨlɨ ʸ burn bruler 4.1) Mbazla (Tourneux) ⁿdili bruler 4.1.1) Mbazla (SILSurvey) dílí burn (transitive) brûler (transitif)
5Proto-Lamang *dɨra burn bruler 5.1) Lamang (Wolff) dra burn 5.2) Hdi (Bramlett) dəraj to burn brûler
dɨrɨm nf. animal horn corne d'un animal (8 groups, 26 languages) C syn: lagan, ᵐbɨkʷɨm, mahʷa.
This root poses some interesting problems in reconstruction. The change *d to t in the Margi and Higi groups is regular. We also expect to find *r becoming *l in all groups except for Mafa and Sukur. However there are exceptions in the Mandara, Mofu and Maroua groups. The Mafa and Mofu data indicate that there are two cognate roots interfering, with *dɨrɨm being the horn of an animal, and *tɨlɨm being an animal horn used as a musical instrument. Another difficulty is the presence of labialisation in many of the groups. The change *m to /w/ in the Mandara group is regular, and in the Lamang group is a common sporadic change. However we also have labialisation in the Mafa, Sukur, Maroua and Higi groups that has not come from *m. In the Maroua group this is a common sporadic change, but the present reconstruction does not account for the introduction of labialisation in the other groups.
1Proto-Mafa *dɨram ʷ horn corne 1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) tolom corne (animal) utilisé pour faire la musique 1.1.1) Mafa (Barreteau) dúróm corne d'animal 1.2) Cuvok (Gravina) dərem horn corne 1.3) Mefele (Crawford) dərum horn corne
2Proto-Sukur *twam horn corne 2.1) Sukur (Thomas) twam horn; a hard pointed part that grow usually in pairs, on the heads of some animals, eg cow, sheep and goats.
3Proto-Margi *tɨlɨm horn corne 3.1) Bura (Blench) tiᵐbul Horn of an animal 3.2) Kilba (Schuh) tələm horn
4Proto-Mandara *dɨrɨma horn corne 4.1) Matal (Branger) draw, dəraw horn corne 4.2) Podoko (Swackhammer) dərawa,-ə 1 corne 4.3) Mandara (Fluckiger) dermá corne (f) 4.4) Malgwa (Löhr) dərme horn 4.5) Glavda (Owens) dərá horn 4.5.1) Glavda (Nghagyiva) dràwa horn 4.6) Dghwede (Frick) dərawa horn
5Proto-Mofu *dɨram horn corne 5.1) Muyang (Smith) edrem tusk ; horn corne 5.2) Mada (Nkoumou) dràm corne d'animal 5.3) Merey (Gravina) dəram corne 5.4) Dugwor (Jubumna) dərom horn corne 5.5) Mofu North (Barreteau) təlam corne (de buffle ou en bois) 5.5.1) Mofu North (Barreteau) tālām corne (de buffle ou en bois) 5.6) Mofu-Gudur (Hollingsworth) təlam corne à souffler (de buffle ou en bois)
6Proto-Maroua *dɨrɨm ʷ horn corne 6.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) durum corne, = marta: corne tabatière (tapa ngi zi'iñ) 6.1.1) Giziga Moutourwa (Michielan) drum corne 6.2) Giziga Marva (Hamidou) durom horn corne 6.3) Mbazla (Tourneux) durum corne 6.3.1) Mbazla (SILSurvey) dùrūm horn corne
7Proto-Lamang *duli horn corne 7.1) Lamang (Wolff) duli horn 7.2) Hdi (Bramlett) duli horn la corne
8Proto-Higi *tɨlimʷɨ horn corne 8.1) Kamwe-Nkafa (Harley) tərmʷi horn 8.2) Kamwe-Futu (Harley) tərimo horn (of animal); ivory 8.3) Bana (Lienhard) tə̀lìmə̀ corne