Tima language communities

Overview

Schneider-Blum's 2013 dictionary synopsis describes a Tima language committee seeking linguistic assistance for writing and vocabulary collection. Its six-year compilation includes word usage and local place names while explicitly acknowledging that a dictionary cannot exhaust a language. The account locates Tima in Sudan's Nuba Mountains; its old population estimate is not repeated.

Tabain and colleagues' acoustic study examines Tima's twelve-vowel advanced-tongue-root harmony system. The abstract reports that all vowels participate in harmony, with duration and voice-quality differences helping characterize its contrasts. These are published linguistic findings, not a depiction of how every community member speaks or a license to invent measurements.

History & identity

Community dictionary initiative and acoustic research

Sources & representation

Selected public institutional passages retained.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   A Tima-English Dictionary

   Gertrud Schneider-Blum

2. 02

   An acoustic study of ATR in Tima vowels: vowel quality, voice quality and duration

   Marija Tabain, Jaye Padgett, Gertrud Schneider-Blum, Adele Gregory and Richard Beare

Language & cultural connections

Source-supported language and cultural connections have not yet been compiled for this profile.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Publisher dictionary synopsisA Tima-English DictionaryResearch access: 2026-10-12
2. Publisher research abstractAn acoustic study of ATR in Tima vowels: vowel quality, voice quality and durationResearch access: 2026-10-12

Image credits

Imagined Tima documentation table with paired blank vowel cards and dictionary

AI contextual illustration. Setting, tools and layout imagined; not ethnographic evidence.