@inproceedings{ghio-etal-2024-phonetics,
    title = "Doing Phonetics in the {R}ift {V}alley: Sound Systems of {M}aasai, {I}raqw and {H}adza",
    author = "Ghio, Alain  and
      Demolin, Didier  and
      Karani, Michael  and
      Meynadier, Yohann",
    editor = "Mabuya, Rooweither  and
      Matfunjwa, Muzi  and
      Setaka, Mmasibidi  and
      van Zaanen, Menno",
    booktitle = "Proceedings of the Fifth Workshop on Resources for African Indigenous Languages @ LREC-COLING 2024",
    month = may,
    year = "2024",
    address = "Torino, Italia",
    publisher = "ELRA and ICCL",
    url = "https://aclanthology.org/2024.rail-1.1",
    pages = "1--9",
    abstract = "This article discusses the contribution of experimental techniques to recording phonetic data in the field. Only a small part of the phonological systems of African languages is described with precision. This is why it is important to collect empirical data in the form of sound, video and physiological recordings. This allows research questions such as patterns of variation to be addressed. Analytical methods show how to interpret data from physical principles and integrate them into appropriate models. The question of linguistic contact between different language families is also addressed. To achieve these general objectives, we present the way we design corpora, and the different ways of recording data with crucial technical considerations during fieldwork. Finally, we focus on 3 languages spoken in the Great African Rift Zone, which includes several linguistic areas belonging to the four major linguistic families of the continent. (1) Hadza is a click language with a very complex consonant system. (2) Iraqw is a Cushitic language with ejective consonants. (3) Maasai is a Nilotic language with implosive consonants and a very elaborate set of interjections, ideophones and animal calls that include sounds not described in the International Phonetic Alphabet.",
}