Supyire, or Suppire, is a Senufo language spoken in the Sikasso Region of southeastern Mali and in adjoining regions of Ivory Coast. In their native language, the noun sùpyìré means both "the people" and "the language spoken by the people".
Background The early existence of Supyire is unclear. During the time period in which the language developed, it has been hypothesized that there was little conflict in the region which resulted in a significant amount of separation between the ancestors of the Supyire and other cultures of the area. If individuals speaking a single language migrated to the region of present-day Mali and then broke off into small groups that had little connection, it would be expected that the languages would develop different characteristics over time. Recently, close contact with other tribes has resulted in a dictionary full of loan words that have been assimilated into everyday language. Education has affected cultural language in this area. Although few are literate, many children attend primary school where a mixture of languages can be presented. There is ongoing controversy over the use of "mother tongues" in schools. Current law states that primary schools educate in the mother tongue whereas secondary schools emphasize the use of a common language. The language group of Senufo can be divided into northern, central, and southern branches, with Supyire being classified as the southernmost northern Senufo language. The Senufo language group, with approximately 2. 2 million speakers, extends from the southwest corner of Mali and covers a significant portion of the northern Ivory Coast. There are also isolated pockets of this language group in Burkina Faso and Ghana. As a group, the Senufo people are considered to be one of the oldest ethnic groups of the Ivory Coast, having settled there in the early 17th century. It is hypothesized that the Senufo descended from the Kenedugu people, who ruled over Mali and Burkina Faso during the 17th century. It was this culture that established the village of Sikasso, which now stands as the cultural center for the Supyire people. Sikasso was the last city to fall into French control during their invasion of Mali in 1888. Mali existed under French Colonial rule as the nation of French Sudan. In 1958, French Sudan claimed autonomy and was renamed the Sudanese Republic. In 1960 the Sudanese Republic became the independent country of Mali. As a group of people, the Supyire survive by cultivating the landscape. Individuals make a living off of the land, primarily by cultivating yams, millet, and sorghum, a tradition that has perpetuated through their ancestral history. With the integration of agricultural processes from neighboring cultures, bananas and manioc have also been successfully cultivated. Care of livestock, including chickens, sheep, goats, and guinea fowl, provides a significant source of nutrition. In this culture, wealth is correlated to the number and quality of livestock as opposed to money. Both hunting and fishing are also important, although to a much smaller degree. Although the Supyire have risen above the level of hunter-gatherer, their traditional mode of organization has not risen above the village level. In Supyire culture it is rare that any single person holds excessive power and there are only two traditional classes- the laborers and the farmers. As a culture, the Supyire, and most Senufo groups, are most known for their artwork. Artisans in these communities are regarded to the highest degree. Most artwork consists of sculptures used to bring deities to life. Animal figures such as zebras, crocodiles, and giraffes are very common. Storytelling also plays a significant role in this culture and one of the first written documents of the Supyire was a story entitled "Warthog’s Laughter Teeth". The Senufo practice of female circumcision has made this culture recognizable on a worldwide level. The practice of female circumcision, done for cultural or religious reasons, is meant to mark a rite of passage as girls become women. In these cultures, men are also expected to go through various rites of passage. The predominant religion of the region is Muslim, although most "bushmen" tend to instead place their faith in human-like gods. Worshipping of deceased ancestors is also common.
Phonology
Consonants
Supyire has a voicing distinction and contains a glottal stop, a common characteristic in African languages. However, it does not have labial–velar consonants. Voiceless stops have particular limitations and are only used in three environments: word initial, such as tàcwɔ̀ ("fiancée"); medially in a stressed syllable, as in nupéé; or following a nasal, such as in kàntugo ("behind"). Moreover, almost every word-initial /ɡ/ is found in loanwords from either French or Bambara. Although both voiceless and voiced fricatives are found, voiceless fricatives such as /f/ and /s/ are much more common than the voiced fricatives /v/, /z/, and /ʒ/. There is no labial approximant. In speech, /w/ does not come after a short stressed syllable. Although Supyire contains nasal consonants, there is considerable debate over their phonemic status. According to a well-formulated hypothesis, the predecessor of Supyire had no nasal consonants but nasalized vowels did exist. Some linguists thus categorize nasal consonants as simple variants of the approximants that occur before nasal vowels. Supyire is reported to have the rare uvular flap as an allophone of /ɡ/ in unstressed syllables. This parallels /d/ surfacing as [ɾ] in the same environment.
Vowels
Supyire has 12 vowels in total, with seven oral vowels and five nasal vowels (which are indicated by an n after the vowel). Two oral vowels, /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ are not as well-established as the other five because the difference between /ɛ/ and /a/ is neutralized and, when speaking quickly, it is very difficult to distinguish between /ɑ/, a variant of /ɔ/, and /a/. It does appear that some speakers preferentially choose one pronunciation over the other, although some do use both pronunciations and some use a variant somewhere in the middle. Vowel harmony is also important in the Supyire language. This is done by harmonizing unstressed vowels with the initial stressed vowel if they both belong to the same root or have the same suffix.
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