Reel, or Atwot, is a Nilotic language of South Sudan that is closely related to Nuer. They call themselves Reel; Atwot is their Dinka name.

Reel
Thuɔk ë Rëël
Native toSouth Sudan
EthnicityAtwot
Native speakers
116,000 (2017)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3atu
Glottologreel1238
ELPReel

Phonology

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Consonants

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Consonants[2]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive Voiceless p t c k ʔ
Voiced b d ɟ ɡ
Trill r
Approximant w j

// alternates with [s], /c/ with [ç], and /p/ with [ɸ].[3] /ʔ/ becomes [ɦ] near breathy vowels.[4]

Vowels

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Vowels[5]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Low a

Reid (2010) finds seven vowel phonemes, considering voice quality and vowel length as suprasegmental distinctions.[6] Vowels have two voice qualities (modal and breathy)[7] and three lengths (short, long, and overlong).[8]

Tones

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Reel has three tones—high, low, and falling.[9]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Reel at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)  
  2. ^ Reid 2010, p. 36.
  3. ^ Reid 2010, p. 37.
  4. ^ Reid 2010, p. 38.
  5. ^ Reid 2010, pp. 54, 64.
  6. ^ Reid 2010, p. 54.
  7. ^ Reid 2010, p. 55.
  8. ^ Reid 2010, p. 56.
  9. ^ Reid 2010, p. 117.

References

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  • Reid, Tatiana (2010). Aspects of phonetics, phonology and morphophonology of Thok Reel (MSc thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/5312.