The Berta Alphabet — Consonants, Vowels & Phonological Inventory of Berta (Wetawit), a Nilo-Saharan Language of Ethiopia and Sudan

Q: What are the open-mid vowels ɛ and ɔ in Berta?

Berta has two open-mid vowels: ɛ (as in English "bed") and ɔ (as in English "caught"). These are distinct phonemes separate from /e/ and /o/ — substituting ɛ for e, or ɔ for o, changes word meaning in Berta [1] . These open-mid vowels are common in sub-Saharan African languages but absent from most European languages except Portuguese (ɛ appears in some vowel sounds). Berta's seven-vowel system reflects a richer vowel inventory than English or French [2] .

Q: Where is Berta spoken?

Berta is spoken in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of western Ethiopia and the Blue Nile State of Sudan. The main Berta-speaking areas in Ethiopia include Assosa Zone and surrounding rural areas along the Blue Nile corridor [3] . The Berta-speaking zone straddles one of the longest river systems in Africa — the Blue Nile (Abbay in Amharic) — which originates in the Ethiopian Highlands and flows northwest into Sudan before joining the White Nile at Khartoum [1] .

Q: What language family is Berta?

Berta belongs to the Nilo-Saharan language phylum , specifically the Berta branch. Nilo-Saharan is a proposed large phylum spanning the Sahel from Mali to Tanzania, but its internal classification is contested. The Berta branch is one of the smaller and less studied subgroups [1] . Some linguists have raised the possibility that Berta may not be solidly Nilo-Saharan and could represent an independent family or a very early divergence within the phylum. The classification of Nilo-Saharan as a whole continues to be refined [2] .

Q: Is Berta a written language?

Berta has a limited written tradition . A Latin-based orthography has been developed for the language, primarily through documentation efforts and the production of educational materials. SIL International and Ethiopian government literacy programs have produced some materials in Berta [3] . The language is primarily transmitted orally. Formal schooling in Benishangul-Gumuz Region is mainly in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, meaning most Berta speakers are literate (if at all) in Amharic rather than their native language [1] .

Q: What is the Benishangul-Gumuz Region?

The Benishangul-Gumuz Region is one of the ten federal regions of Ethiopia, located in the western part of the country along the Blue Nile (Abbay) river corridor. It borders Sudan to the west and is one of Ethiopia's least densely populated and most ethnically diverse regions. Berta speakers are the largest linguistic community in the region [3] . The region is named after its two principal peoples: the Berta (Wetawit) and the Gumuz. The Blue Nile, which originates in the Ethiopian Highlands, flows through the region before entering Sudan. The region's relative isolation has supported the maintenance of distinct local languages including Berta [1] .

Q: Is Berta related to Amharic or Arabic?

No — Berta is not related to Amharic or Arabic. Berta (Wetawit, ISO 639-3: wti) belongs to the Nilo-Saharan phylum, while Amharic is an Afro-Asiatic (Semitic) language and Arabic is also Afro-Asiatic (Semitic) . These are completely distinct language families with no common ancestry [2] . Despite centuries of proximity to Amharic-speaking communities and contact with Arabic through Islam, Berta has maintained its Nilo-Saharan grammatical core. The language's seven-vowel system and consonant inventory reflect its distinct Nilo-Saharan origin rather than Afro-Asiatic influence [1] .

Q: How many people speak Berta?

Berta has approximately 300,000–400,000 speakers , mainly in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of western Ethiopia and the Blue Nile State of Sudan. This makes it one of the larger Nilo-Saharan languages of Ethiopia, though it remains far smaller than Amharic, Oromo, or Tigrinya [3] . The Berta-speaking community straddles the Ethiopia–Sudan border, with concentrations in the Assosa Zone of Ethiopia and the Blue Nile State of Sudan. Cross-border movement between the two communities has historically been common, as the political border cuts through traditional Berta territory [1] .

Berta Language at a Glance

Berta (ISO 639-3: wti), also called Wetawit, is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by approximately 300,000–400,000 people in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia and the Blue Nile State of Sudan. It straddles the Ethiopia–Sudan border and is one of the few languages of the Berta branch within Nilo-Saharan ^[3]
Berta has seven vowel phonemes including the open-mid vowels ɛ (as in "bed") and ɔ (as in "caught") which are absent from many European languages and serve as distinct phonemes separate from /e/ and /o/. This seven-vowel system is more complex than most European five-vowel systems ^[1]
The Berta branch of Nilo-Saharan is considered a relatively isolated branch within the phylum. Some linguists have debated whether Berta should be classified within Nilo-Saharan or treated as an independent family. The internal classification of Nilo-Saharan remains contested ^[1]
Berta has a modest consonant inventory compared to some Nilo-Saharan neighbours, including affricates dʒ and tʃ and the velar nasal ŋ. The relative simplicity of the consonant system contrasts with the seven-vowel richness of the Berta vowel inventory ^[2]
The language is primarily oral, with very limited literacy. Educational materials in Berta have been produced by SIL International and Ethiopian government literacy programs in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, but Berta lacks significant written literature ^[3]
The name Wetawit is used by speakers themselves; Berta is an external name. Berta communities live across a predominantly rural, agricultural area along the Blue Nile corridor where Ethiopia and Sudan share a border ^[1]

Berta Consonants:

[b]

[d]

dʒ

[dʒ]

[f]

[ɡ]

[h]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[ŋ]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[t]

tʃ

[tʃ]

[v]

[w]

[j]

[b]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/

dʒ

[dʒ]

Voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ — J as in "jam"

[f]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/

[ɡ]

Voiced velar stop /ɡ/

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/

[k]

Voiceless velar stop /k/

[l]

Alveolar lateral approximant /l/

[m]

Bilabial nasal /m/

[n]

Alveolar nasal /n/

[ŋ]

Velar nasal /ŋ/ — NG as in "sing"

[p]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/

[r]

Alveolar trill or flap /r/

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/

tʃ

[tʃ]

Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate /tʃ/ — CH as in "church"

[v]

Voiced labiodental fricative /v/

[w]

Labio-velar approximant /w/

[j]

Palatal approximant /j/

Berta Vowels:

[a]

[e]

[ɛ]

[i]

[o]

[ɔ]

[u]

[a]

Open central unrounded vowel /a/

[e]

Close-mid front unrounded vowel /e/

[ɛ]

Open-mid front unrounded vowel /ɛ/ — like E in "bed"; a distinct vowel phoneme in Berta separate from /e/

[i]

Close front unrounded vowel /i/

[o]

Close-mid back rounded vowel /o/

[ɔ]

Open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔ/ — like O in "caught"; a distinct phoneme separate from /o/

[u]

Close back rounded vowel /u/

[nɛba]

[wuri]

[mɔda]

[digu]

[umbi]

[tɔmbu]

[tɔmbi]

[ɛsɛl]

[bɛrgu]

[kuri]

[nɛba]

One in Berta — nɛba (contains the open-mid vowel ɛ)

[wuri]

Two in Berta — wuri

[mɔda]

Three in Berta — mɔda (contains the open-mid back vowel ɔ)

[digu]

Four in Berta — digu

[umbi]

Five in Berta — umbi

[tɔmbu]

Six in Berta — tɔmbu (open-mid ɔ; compare seven tɔmbi — only the final vowel differs)

[tɔmbi]

Seven in Berta — tɔmbi (shares the tɔm- root with six tɔmbu; a Berta numeral pair)

[ɛsɛl]

Eight in Berta — ɛsɛl (both vowels are the open-mid ɛ, a characteristic Berta vowel)

[bɛrgu]

Nine in Berta — bɛrgu (contains the open-mid ɛ and the language's own name root "Berta/Bɛrta")

[kuri]

Ten in Berta — kuri

[a]

[b]

[d]

Dʒ

[dʒ]

[e]

[ɛ]

[f]

[ɡ]

[h]

[i]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[ŋ]

[o]

[ɔ]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[t]

Tʃ

[tʃ]

[u]

[v]

[w]

[j]

[a]

Open central vowel /a/ — Berta: nɛba (one)

[b]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/ — Berta: bɛrgu (nine)

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/ — Berta: digu (four)

Dʒ

[dʒ]

Palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ — J as in "jam"

[e]

Close-mid front vowel /e/ — distinct from the open-mid ɛ; Berta has both as separate phonemes

[ɛ]

Open-mid front vowel /ɛ/ — like E in "bed"; Berta: nɛba (one), ɛsɛl (eight), bɛrgu (nine) — a characteristic Berta vowel

[f]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ — as in "fan"

[ɡ]

Voiced velar stop /ɡ/ — Berta: digu (four), bɛrgu (nine)

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/ — as in "hat"

[i]

Close front vowel /i/ — Berta: wuri (two), digu (four), umbi (five), tɔmbi (seven)

[k]

Voiceless velar stop /k/ — Berta: kuri (ten)

[l]

Lateral approximant /l/ — Berta: ɛsɛl (eight)

[m]

Bilabial nasal /m/ — Berta: mɔda (three), tɔmbu (six), tɔmbi (seven)

[n]

Alveolar nasal /n/ — Berta: nɛba (one)

[ŋ]

Velar nasal /ŋ/ — NG as in "sing"; occurs word-medially and word-finally in Berta

[o]

Close-mid back vowel /o/ — distinct from open-mid ɔ; Berta: wuri (two) ends in this sound

[ɔ]

Open-mid back vowel /ɔ/ — like O in "caught"; Berta: mɔda (three), tɔmbu (six), tɔmbi (seven) — a characteristic Berta vowel

[p]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/ — as in "put"

[r]

Alveolar trill or flap /r/ — Berta: wuri (two), bɛrgu (nine), kuri (ten)

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ — Berta: ɛsɛl (eight)

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/ — Berta: tɔmbu (six), tɔmbi (seven)

Tʃ

[tʃ]

Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate /tʃ/ — CH as in "church"; together with dʒ, Berta has both affricates

[u]

Close back vowel /u/ — Berta: wuri (two), umbi (five), tɔmbu (six), kuri (ten)

[v]

Voiced labiodental fricative /v/ — as in "vine"; one of the distinctive sounds in Berta not found in many neighbouring languages

[w]

Labio-velar approximant /w/ — Berta: wuri (two)

[j]

Palatal approximant /j/ — Y as in "yes"

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Berta language?

What are the open-mid vowels ɛ and ɔ in Berta?

Where is Berta spoken?

What language family is Berta?

Is Berta a written language?

What is the Benishangul-Gumuz Region?

Is Berta related to Amharic or Arabic?

How many people speak Berta?

References:

[1] PHOIBLE (PHOnetics Information Base and LExicon). "Berta (wti): Phoneme Inventory" — PHOIBLE, maintained at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, documents the phoneme inventory of Berta (Wetawit, ISO 639-3: wti), the Nilo-Saharan language of Benishangul-Gumuz (Ethiopia) and Blue Nile State (Sudan), including its distinctive seven-vowel system with open-mid ɛ and ɔ. Retrieved from PHOIBLE — Berta Phoneme Inventory
[2] Dimmendaal, G. J. (2011). "Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages" — John Benjamins, Amsterdam. Documentation of the Berta branch of Nilo-Saharan by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology researcher, describing the language's seven-vowel system, consonant inventory, and its debated position within the Nilo-Saharan phylum. Reference via MPI Leipzig resources at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology — African Language Research
[3] Cambridge University Press. "African Language Studies — Berta (Wetawit) and the Nilo-Saharan Phylum" — Cambridge Core academic search for peer-reviewed research on Berta (Wetawit, ISO 639-3: wti), the Nilo-Saharan language of Ethiopia and Sudan. Berta is spoken in Benishangul-Gumuz Region (Ethiopia) and Blue Nile State (Sudan), with approximately 300,000–400,000 speakers. Retrieved from Cambridge Core — Berta Language Research