zaar grammar

8/14/2019 Zaar Grammar

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GRAMMAR

THE SIMPLE SENTENCE


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Grammar

1. The sounds of Za:r1

1.1. Segment inventory

Consonantsglottalic voiceless obstruents continuants

p t k m n () ts () l

f s () r

voiced obstruents glides

b d g j w (h)()

v z () ()

prenasalised obstruentsmb nd g

ndz (n)

Phonemes within brackets are distinctive only in foreign words or in othervery limited morpheme classes.

Vowels

short long

i u i: u:e o e: : o:

a a:

1.2. Sound changes

Devoicing

Morpheme-final obstruents are voiceless at the phonemic level.

Neutralization of velar obstruents

Although k and g are distinctive in morpheme-initial position in lexicalcategories, this distinction is neutralized in other environments: velar

obstruents followed by a voiced segment are voiceless after a voicelesssegment or pause boundary and voiced after a voiced segment. Voiced velarsare also continuant unless preceded by a nasal.

1 This chapter concerning phonology is based on Schneeberg 74.


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Grammar

2. Predication

Za:r uses verbal and non-verbal clauses. In verbal clauses, the syntactic nexus

is a verb. The verb, as a lexical category, is defined by its inability to assumeany other function than that of nexus of a sentence. The verb is inflected for

Aspect, Tense and Mood (TAM). In Za:r, this inflection is combined with a

personal mark of agreement with the subject.

NP

(Subject)

TAM Verb NP

(Object)any:s t y: va:tNEG 3P.AOR can forge

The Nganyas can forge.

In a non-verbal clauses, the syntactic nexus is a Predicative Particle (PPrt).PPrt are not marked for Aspect, Tense and Mood.

NP PPrt NPGn n ni:?this COP what

What is this?

NP PPrtMa:nd gt knwar-of woman ID

It is a fight about women.

Nouns can appear both in the predicating position (i.e. in the Continuous), oras the argument of a verb, a predicative particle, a preposition, etc.

3. Non-verbal clauses

1.4. Equative clauses: n

The structure is = . This structure is used toidentify two terms of an equation.

Bitrs n pstowpm.Petrus is our pastor.

Yes/No-questions are marked by the -a: morpheme at the end of thesentence :

Bitrs n pstow:s: ?Is Petrus their pastor ?

WH-questions can be asked about the NP2, with n:(what) for [-human] andn:(who) for [+human] NP2 :


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Grammar

- Kafa a: ? - Kafa - Are there beans (on the menu)? - There are no beans.

1.6. Identifying clauses

kn, 'it is'Structure : , . This particle is used to name and assert theexistence of something.

- T t yin g dl:li n ghoi?- E: t: ma:nd gt kn, ma:nd gt.- Well, why did they use to fight?- Well, it was a fight about women, a fight about women.

It is used mainly in focus constructions:

any:s kn t y: va:t.It's the Nganyas who can forge.

It can be combined with the equative n:T y:n n swa:rs kn y: ms dz g: f:?Well, what if it is the religious chief who has died?

kn/knn/knd, 'here is'

For extra emphasis, kncan be suffixed with the morphemes , n(


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Grammar

- kndis the distal counterpart ofknn.

Y:n d:ws t knd tu lpm za:ro:.That's the reason why it is called Lepm Za:r.

Yes/No questions are formed with the -a: morpheme at the end of thesentence:

Pstow: ghndy:?Is that your pastor ?

4. The Verb - Verb classes

Za:r has two verb classes: Middle (M) and H (H), which can be observed inthe Perfective. The M class includes both 1 and 2syllable verbs. A variantappears with some TAM (sp. the plural Imperfective) and depends on the[+/V] nature of the initial consonant of the verb: [+V] = nonimplosivevoiced obstruent. For short, we call the Perfective form "lexical", and theother one "modified".

Lexical

(PRF)

Modified

(IPRF P.)H s: (H) s: (R) love

M1

[+V]

bwa: (M) bw: (L) choose

M2

[+V]

da:mbr (MH) d:mbr (LH) disturb

M1 [-V] ta:r (M) t:r (F) clear

M2 [-V] tu:r (MH) t:r (FH) push

5. The defective verbsyi, be andyir, have

Be in Za:r is expressed by the wordyi, which can be analysed as a defectiveverb. This verb is invariable and only conjugated in the Aorist with the

meaning be4. The 3s (t) and 3p (t) TAMS and the verb yi areassimilated : t+yi> ci; t+yi> c. They are dropped when the subject is[- animate], leaving the bareyiverb.

This type of equative sentences has various uses :

- Attributive construction of numerals :

Srs yi nmb.There is only one knife (lit: the knife is one)

4 For its use as an auxiliary, cf. the Continuous TAM, 7.1.


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Grammar

1s m yr sr I have a knife2s k yr sr You have a knife3s yr sr He has a knife1p m yr sr We have a knife2p k yr sr You have a knife3p t yr sr They have a knife

M yr wur.I dont have any money.

With a nominal subject, the Aorist TAM is dropped :

Snde yr m:shn.Sunday has a motorcycle.

- Continuous aspect. The Continuous is a locative construction using the

verbyi, be and the kpreposition (the /k/ changes to [gh] in intervocalicposition) with a Verbal Noun. The subject pronouns belong to the paradigm

of locative subject pronouns : Pro +yi+ k + Verbal Noun6.

- Qualification :

C n m:rs.They are robbers.

G:ls (ci) n j:.The cow is black.

V:n yi n mr.The room is hot.

6. The Verb - Derivation

1.7. Plural Verbs

Plural verbs, or pluractionals mark agreement with a plural subject in case

of intransitive verbs, and repeated or distributed action in case of transitiveverbs. Two forms of verb plurals exist in Za:r :

- an internal plural through lengthening of the radical vowel, or replacement

of this vowel by the vowel /a:/, resulting in a H verb :jom/jw:m: pile up,gather (with a plural object) ; kr/ k:r, run (with a plural subject) ; nyol>nyw:l, leave, go (with a plural subject) ; zlop / zlw:p, sting ; mal /m:l, get lost ; nat / n:t, tie up ; dat/ d:t, nail ; cim/ c:m, call ; kp/ k:p, weave, plant ; ms/ m:s, die ; vyer/ vy:r, insult

- an external plural through suffixation of n. We saw n:t(pl. < nat, tieup), which alternates with the form nan (pl. : tie up several times, or

6 Cf. 7.1 for the full paradigm of the Continuous aspect.


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Grammar

several things, or several people tying up sth.). We have t/ n: movealong; s:/ s:n :breathe ; sl/ sln, go ; wum/ wumn :feel.

1.8. The causative -r

The causative derivation is used in Za:r to increase the valency of a verb.

When translated into English by Za:r speakers, the newly added argument ofthe verb is introduced by the preposition with. The distinctive mark of

causative verbs is a final /r/, most of the times /-ar/. All monosyllabiccausatives are H verbs. The derivative suffixe takes different forms :

The -rsuffix is added to monosyllabic CV and CVV verbs :

shi: get down sh:r get down withnda let in ndr get in withta go up tr go up withsu turn sr returnsl go sl:r drive

The -arsuffix is added to CVC and CVVC monosyllabic verbs.

i:p buy i:r sellmal get lost malr spoil, scattergup kneel gur kneel withnyol go out nyolr go out withpa:s pour pa:sr pour away:l divide, share :lr distributet see sb off ; help

up

tr shift, move

up wait ur wait for sb.

The -arsuffix is also used with dissyllabic verbs :

la:ts pass by la:tsr pass with

The -larsuffix is added to CV monosyllabic verbs.

mbwa: shoot mbwa:lr shootnda let in ndalr get in withta go up talr go up withtu arrive tulr arrive withsu turn sulr returnshi: get down shilr get down with

The -lar suffix is also used with CVr and CVVr verbs, giving a CVlr

causative.


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Grammar

zl:r stop, stand

(intr.)

zllr, zlllr stop (tr.)

kr run kilr run withzlar split, cross zlalr split, help

across

Same thing with the suffix -drused with one verb only :

shin send shindr send

As can be see above, some CV monosyllabic verbs are associated with twodifferent derivative suffixes, producing two variants :

nda let in ndr, ndalr get in withta go up tr, talr go up withsu turn sr, sulr returnshi: get down sh:r, shilr get down with

1.9. The inchoative -ni

This rare extension is used to convey an inchoative meaning of start doingsomething, or do something instead of something else :

Zl:rn! Zl:rnn!

Keep on

standing!

Stand up!

7. The Verb - Inflexions

1.10. AspectAOR PRF IPRF PUNCT CONC CONT

1s m m: my: miyi/myi my:na: migh / mya 2s k k: ky: kiyi/kyi ky:na: kigh / kya

3s : c: yi c:na: cigh / ca

1p m m: mya: m:yi mya:na: mgh / mya:

2p k k: kya: k:yi kya:na: kgh / kya:

3p t t: ca: t:yi ca:na: cgh / ca:

Aorist. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + . It has a narrativefunctional value. The verbs appear with a high tone on their first syllable inthe 1st and 2nd persons of the singular. In the 3rd person singular and in the

plural, they appear in the modified form.


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Grammar

Perfective. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + :. The form of theverb is the lexical form.

Imperfetive. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + y:. The verbappears in the lexical form in the singular, and in the modified form in theplural.

Punctiliar. The meaning is both punctiliar and iterative. The closestequivalent is the periphrastic Hausa yi ta. The inflection follows the pattern Pro +yi:. The verb appears in the lexical form.

Concomitant. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + y: + na:. Theverb keeps the lexical form.

Continuous. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + yi + k+ VN .yi+k is realised [yigh]. In the monosyllabic variant, the oppositionsingular vs plural is marked by a tone contrast between a rising M-H tone inthe singular and a rising L-H in the plural. It is the only place in the language

where this contrast is observed. However, it seems to be unstable and tends tobe replaced among younger speakers by a contrast between M in the singularand Rising in the plural.

1.11. TenseIMM.PST REC.PST REM.PST FUT

1s m: mn: mt ma2s k: kn: kt ka3s y na t w1p m: mn: mt m2p k: kn: kt k3p c: tna tt t

Immediate past. The Immediate Past refers to events which occurred earlier

the same day. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + yi. The firstsyllable of the verb receives a low tone.

Recent Past. The Recent Past refers to events which occurred on the

previous day. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + n:. The verb keepsthe lexical form.

Remote Past. The Remote Past refers to events which occurred more than

two days ago. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + ta. The verb keepsthe lexical form.

Future. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + a. The verb appears inthe lexical form in the singular, and the modified form in the plural.


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Grammar

1.12. MoodSUBJ COND COUNT

1s m my: m/my2s : ky: k/ky3s t y: c/y/cy/ty1p m +L my: m/my2p : + L ky: k/ky3p t + L y:/c: c/cy/ty

Subjunctive. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + low tone . In theplural, a low tone is added to the 1

stsyllable of the verb.

Conditional. The inflection follows the pattern pronoun + y:. In the 1stand 2nd persons singular, the verb takes a high tone on the 1 st syllable. In the

other persons, the verb appears in the modified form. The only differencewith IPRF is in 3s.

Counterfactual. The inflection follows the pattern pronoun + y. Theverb appears in the modified form. The Counterfactual is introduced byy:n,if and used in contexts that would be translated in Hausa by a d: ... d:

construction.

1.13. Composition

Compound aspects

The three basic aspects (Perfective, Imperfective, Aorist) cannot becombined.

PRF.PUNCT IPRF.PUNCT IPRF.CONT PRF.CONT1s m:yi my:yi my:yigh miyi:yigh2s k:yi ky:yi ky:yigh kiyi:yigh3s :yi c:yi c:yigh yi:yigh

1p m:yi my:yi my:yigh myi:yigh2p k:yi ky:yi ky:yigh kyi:yigh3p t:yi c:yi c:yigh tyi:yigh

Perfective Punctiliar. The inflection has the structure: Pro + :+yi. Allverbs following theyipunctiliar morpheme have a lexical form. This is truefor all combinations.

Imperfective Punctiliar. The inflection has the structure: Pro +y:+yi.

Imperfective Continuous. The structure of the inflection is Pro +y:+yi+ k.yi+ kis realised [yigh]. The verb appears in the form of a VerbalNoun.

Punctiliar Continuous. The structure of the inflection is Pro + yi:+yi+

k.yi+ kis realised [yigh]. The verb appears in the form of a Verbal


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Grammar

Noun. This combination is not common and Za:r speakers usually perfer touse the Imperfect Continuous instead.

Tense and aspect

REM.PSTPUNCT

REM.PSTCONT

REC.PSTPRF

REC.PSTPRF

REC.PSTIPRF

1s mtyi mtyigh m:n: m:n: mn:y:2s ktyi ktyigh k:n: k:n: kn:y:3s tyi tyigh :n: :n: n:y:1p mtyi mtyigh m:n: m:n: mn:y:2p ktyi ktyigh k:n: k:n: kn:y:3p ttyi ttyigh t:n: t:n: tn:y:

REC.PSTPUNCT

REC.PSTCONT

IMM.PSTIPRF

IMM.PSTCONT

1s mn:yi mn:yigh m:y m:ygh2s kn:yi kn:yigh k:y k:ygh3s n:yi n:yigh :y yygh1p mn:yi mn:yigh m:y m:ygh2p kn:yi kn:yigh k:y k:ygh3p tn:yi tn:yigh t:y c:ygh

Future Punctiliar. The inflection has the structure: Pro + a+yi. Theverb keeps the lexical form.

Future Continuous. The inflection has the structure: Pro + a+yi+ k.The verb is in the form of a Verbal Noun.

Remote Past Perfect. The inflection has the structure: Pro + :+ t. Theverb is in the modified form.

Remote Past Imperfect. The inflection has the structure: Pro + ta+y:.The verb appears in the lexical form in the singular, and in the modifiedform in the plural. (cf. Imperfect).

Remote past Punctiliar. The inflection has the structure: Pro + ta+yi.The verb keeps the lexical form. Lusa speakers associate this combination to

the Ngydialect. They prefer to use the Recent Past Imperfect.

FUT.PUNCT FUT.CONT REM.PST.PRF REM.PST.IPRF1s mayi mayigh m:t mty:2s kayi kayigh k:t kty:3s wyi wyigh :t tay:1p myi myigh m:t mty:2p kyi kyigh k:t kty:3p tyi tyigh t:t tty:


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Grammar

Remote Past Continuous. The inflection has the structure: Pro + ta+yi+k. The verb is in the form of a Verbal Noun.

Recent Past Perfect. The inflection follows the pattern Pro +:+ n:.The verb appears in the modified form.

Recent Past Imperfect. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + n:+

y:. The verb appears in the lexical form in the singular, and in themodified form in the plural.

Recent past Punctiliar. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + n:+yi.The verbs keep the lexical form. This combination is associated to the

gor/ gydialect by the Lusa speakers. They prefer to use the RecentPast Imperfect.

Recent Past Continuous. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + n:+yi+ k. The verb is in the form of a Verbal Noun.

Immediate Past Perfect. The inflection follows the pattern Pro + :+yi.The first syllable of the verb receives a low tone.

Immediate Past Imperfect. The inflection follows the pattern Pro +yi:+

y:. The verb appears in the lexical form in the singular, and in the modi-fied form in the plural.

Immediate Past Continuous. The inflection follows the pattern Pro +yi+yi+ k. The verb appears in the form of a Verbal Noun.

Mood and aspectREC.PSTCOUNT

REM.PSTCOUNT

1s mna: mta2s kna: kta3s tna:

cna:ttacta

1p mn: mt2p kn: kt3p tn:

cn:ttct

8. The Noun Gender and number

Za:r does not possess grammatical gender or nominal classes and few nounsform a plural (less than 60 items in the lexicon). Regular plurals are formed

with the suffix (t)s/-shassociated to L, MH and MHM tone patterns.


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Grammar

head gm gm(t)s -s; -ts L7

hen gri gersh -shi MH

dog k kaash -shi MH

mouse mbp mbapts -ts MH

chief g gus -s MH

vulture kwk kwaaks -s MHviper jgu:r jigu:rns -s MHM

A good number of family nouns form their plural with a (k)tsuffix andMH tones:

in-law jt jight

cousin knd: kundaght

mother na: naght

sister wa:ts watsaght

brother ys yest

The irregularities are proportionally quite numerous:

woman gt gui

child : m:ri

arrow ps pisk

guest sm smd

sheep tm tims

Other irregularities concern words borrowed with their orignal plural fromHausa :

animal dabb dabbo:b

car m:ta mo:to:ci

soldiers so:jo:ji

book tgrda tgrdu

9. The Noun Determination

4 suffixes establish 4 levels of determination :

-i :definite -es: anaphoric -n: proximal deictic -:: distal deictic

7

The L tone is not associated to the presence of an initial voiced consonant ascan be seen from gus, plural ofg, 'chief'.


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Grammar

fig-tree gw:m gwa:mssheep t:m t:mstermite sl:tn sl:tsnight kvit kvis

The -osform replaces final vowels in polysyllabic nouns:

millet mrwa mrwsorange l:mu l:ms

A preceding L tone prevails over the F tone of the PRM:

chief g gnyswoman gt gsabandoned

house

dddn dddns

The -sform is suffixed to a monosyllabic vowel-final noun. If this noun bearsa M tone, it becomes Rising:

work la: l:sThere are cases of resyllabification :

porcupine gsm gsms1.17. Deitics

Za:r has two degrees of deictics : proximal n, this and distal -:that.

They are suffixed either to the noun, producing the light deictic, or to the

pronominal form of the Genitive Linkk/g8, producing the heavy deicticdeterminers (proximalgnand distalgw:) used with the definite form of thenoun:

spear gwa:r gwa:ri gn/g: gwa:rn gwa:r:fig-tree gw:m gwa:m gn/g: gwa:mn gwa:m:sheep t:m t:mi gn/g: t:mn t:m:termite sl:tn sl:ti gn/g: sl:tn sl:t:night kvit kvii gn/g: kvin kvi:work l: l:y gn/g: l:n la:y:chief g gny gn/g: gn gy

porcupin

e

gsm gsm gn/g: gsmn gsm:

8

Cf 9.6 on the pronominal form of the Genitive Link, and 11.1.3 on heavypossessive pronouns.


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Grammar

millet mrwa mrway gn/g: mrwn mrwyorange l:mu l:muy gn/g: l:mn l:my

1.18. Quantification : numerals

The number system1 nmb 20 tshi-mbsl

2 mbsl 21 tshi-mbsl t nmb

3 m:y 22 tshi-mbsl t mbsl

4 wups 30 tshi-m:y

5 nandam 40 tshi-wups

6 lim 50 tshi-nndm

7 wottsmay 60 tshi-lm

8 t:nta:n 70 tshi-wotts-may

9 tkndam 80 tshi-t:nta:n

10 dzp 90 tshi-tkndam

11 dzp-sl:ti-nmb 100 ku:ri

12 dzp-sl:ti-mbsl 1000 zng

Cardinal numbers follow the noun they modify. The noun can be in the

plural or in the singular. Cardinal numbers are predicated with the verbsyi

(and its variants ci/c), 'be' or fi, 'do'. The corresponding question word is

wuri, 'how many'.

M:rs c m:y, y.The children are three, yes.

- T f: zrs wuri k: yi nmb kwy? - T f: zrs ... zrswups.

- How many people were there, or was there only one? - Theywere four... four people.

They can be used as head of a nominal syntagm, with the quantified noun

understood :

nmb w:s ; mbsl w:sone of them ; two of them

Mbsl t l:p sh y.Two followed them, yes.

1.19. Qualification

The genitive link (GL) is an essential component of the expression of nounqualification in Za:r. It is used to modify a noun with an NP, an AP or ordinal


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Grammar

numerals. The structure is NP GL NP/AP/Num and the Genitive link (GL) is

k. It has high tone after nouns with final high tone or with all mid tones, lowtone elsewhere. The GL can be omitted when immediately preceded by thepossessed noun-phrase. The tone of the GL is then shifted to the precedingmorpheme. If the latter consists of a single level toned monosyllable, theshifted tone is preceded by the original tone. Elsewhere, the shifted tone

replaces the last tone of the morpheme. The effect of this floating tone isvisible only with nouns possessing uniform M tone : m:ri,'children' > m:rkaashs, 'the puppies' ; kot,'calabash' > kt n:no, 'milk calabash'.

Genitive phrases

The GL is used to modify a noun with an NP: ma:nd gh dn, 'civil war, lit.war of house' ; swa:r gh mumts, 'chief of masquerades'.

The GL is also a means of producing compound words: mur gh dns,'head of the family, lit. man of the house"; mur gh zkn, 'sorcerer, lit. manof medicine'.

The pronominal nature of the GL kappears in the following example where

it stands for the qualified noun, with the meaning 'that of', 'the... one'. In its pronominal form, the GL is accentuated and the initial /k/ remainsunchanged.

K: dz gy: y: sl w sln ca: k g l:ri, har....Every day he would go and pick the king's [groundnuts] and takethem home until [one day]...

Adjectival phrases

The GL is used to modify a noun with an Adjectival Phrase: lt k mu:ri,new leather. 9

Ordinal numeralsOrdinal numbers are made with a cardinal number in the definite form

following the pronominal Genitive Link : k nmbnyi, 'the first one' ; kmbslmi, 'the second one', etc.

"First" in a temporal meaning, uses the word kni, 'front', orf:ri, 'beginning'borrowed from Hausa.

K f:ri gh tghn w:s ...The first to appear...

Gud gh k kni...The first chieftaincy...

9 Cf. 10 on adjectives.


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Grammar

old ndts, ndw:ts ndwatss, ndwatsshibad ksk kuss, kusshi

Syntactically : adjectives appear as modifiers in a Noun Phrase and cannotbe head of such a Noun Phrase (except superficially when the head noun isunderstood). They draw their number feature by agreement with the noun

they modify, whereas nouns get theirs from their referential function.

When they operate as noun modifiers, adjectives can be simplyjuxtaposed on the left of the noun : or appear on the right with the

genitive link : . The GL structure is not used with pluraladjectives.

dll shir ndurs10shaknd lt k mu:ri

a big stick short(-legged) pots a new skin

The GL can be omitted, but it leaves behind a floating tone that raises the last

tone of an all-M toned noun to Rising: a:, 'child' ; a: k fy:li= : fy:li,'a lucky child' (lit. child of white ).

The modified noun can be omitted leaving the GL as head of the NP.

Dz g: k vr y: shsh:i, ll:ra ma: wum n sy...The day that a big [illness] arrives, the injection will not work,then...

When they operate as predicates, adjectives use the non-verbal copula n, andoptionally the verbyi, 'be' :

modifier predicate

singula

r

ksk za:r

an evil man D. n k:shiD. is evilplural kuss zrs

evil peoplezrs c n kusshi

people are evil

1.20. Non-derived adjectives

Non-derived, "pure" adjectives in Za:r don't exceed 25 in number.Semantically, "pure" adjectives can be subcatecorized into :

Colour (4) : These four adjectives have a reduplicated form with adiminutive meaning, which can be translated into English by a -ish suffix.

singular plural derived form

black j: jis j:-j:

white fy:li fyals fy:li- fy:li

10ndri(pl. ndurs), shortened, abnormally short.


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Grammar

red zhl zhls zhl-zhl

variegated mbci mbci mbci- mbci

Size, shape (9): dd:sh / dd:s, big ; dll/ dllk, tall ; vr, big,important ; ndri, abnormally short, broken, shortened ; ngtse/ ngjki,large (animal) ; vt, void ; dlc, shallow ; fpt, thin ; wghshi,

rough ;

Moral/human qualities (3) : ksk, evil ; mbok, catankerous ; mli,naked ;

Others (9): mbri, ill-cooked (flour) ; gw:m, ill-cooked (meat), premature ;la:mi, insipid ; m:ki, dirty ; na:-ts:day, expensive ;mbun, good ; mu:ri, new ; ndwts, old ; nj:li, pure.

1.21. Compound adjectives ofcolour

These adjectives are compounds formed with the word water followed by a

term characteristic of a certain colour.

singular literal meaning

blue zhk-gl:ra water-of- ?

dark

brown

zhk-nlle water-of-hennae

yellow zhk-ra:s water-of-locust-bean

tree

green zhk-p:ts water-of-leaf

1.22. Verbal Adjectives

Adjectives can be derived from quality verbs through a ni/ -shisuffix.11

They only function as noun mofifiers, in a genitive construction: nyalk, besmooth > nyalghni>p:s nyalghni, a smooth stone?

Some Verbal Adjectives have a plural form: ngomd, be crooked > ngmdi(pl. ngomdshi), crooked.

1.23. Verbal Nouns

A Verbal Noun can be used as a noun determiner, filling the same function as

an adjective. It uses the genitive construction: saght, be clever >saghtkn, cleverness : z:r saghtkn, a clever man (lit. a man ofcleverness).

11 Cf 15.2.


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Grammar

See the following example, with the modified noun understood and the GL ashead of the NP:

[Context: a woman is winnowing water, trying to separate cold from hotwater]

mb: zhy shin prnt c: al t wr k v:ghnsh t

wr k njir:sh t t k v:ghns, t cp tghyo:.She took water and poured it on her plate to separate the hot onefrom the cold one, to remove the hot one and take a shower with it.

1.24. Comparison

Comparison is not marked on the adjective, but is expressed through a syn-

tactic construction using the verb mop, exceed, with the term of comparison(the quality) appearing as a (Verbal) Noun : = .

Di:la mp Z:ki saghtkn :.Jackal is wiser than Lion (lit. Jackal exceeds Lion in wisdom).

[Context: a very old man is talking about his youth]M wul tu an mtyigh s:fs wlly mp gn ndarghn.I say that formerly, when we were pagans, it was better than now.

(lit. it exceeds this in goodness)

11. Pronouns

Independant pronouns

Singular Plural

1 my:ni my:n2 ky:ni ky:n3 y:ni y:sh

Object pronouns

11.1..1. Segmental form

Singular Plural

1 -m -mi2 -k -ki3 -t -shi

11.1..2. Tones

DO pronouns have mid tone in the singular and high tone in the plural.


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Grammar

yel, 'see'

: yel=m yelm: yel=k yelgh: yel=t yelt: yel=m yelm: yel=k yelk

: yel=sh yelsh

A final L tone spreads from the verb to the M tone of the DO.

vr, 'give'

vr=m vrm vr=k vrgh vr=t vrt vr=m vrm vr=k vrk vr=sh vrsh

If this L tone is part of a Falling tone, it shifts to the M tone of the DO. Seethe following example where the verb conjugated in the Aorist, bears a H orM depending on the person and number index of the TAM:

tu, 'meet'm t h m tt (


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Grammar

This light form is suffixed to the qualified noun. The suppression of theg-leaves behind a floating H tone12.

singular plural

1 -atn -wapm2 -wa: -wa:n3 -was -wa:sn

For the 1s pronoun, the tone the genitive is L after a L tone :

bnd, pot nbm, butterbndtn nbmtn

R elsewhere :

tr, husband gri, fowltrtn grtn

Some exceptions come from resyllabification :

gtn, thing sr, knife ra:, heartgttn srtn ra:tn

Only the first tone of contour tones is kept :

k:m, ear dw:m, metalk:mdn dwa:mdn

For the other persons, the tone of the suffix is L after a L tone:

bnd, pot dn, compound2s bndw: dnw:3p bndw:s dnw:s

and after falling melodies (H-L, H-M and Falling):

nbm, butter ki, dog lt= rope2s nbmw: kiw: ltw:3p nbmw:s kiw:s ltw:s

It is Falling after a H tone

tr, husband2s trw:3p trw:s

and after rising melodies (L-M, M-H and Rising)

12 Cf. 9.6 on GL.


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Grammar

bt, okra kar, monkey sp. dw:m, money2s btw: karw: dw:mw:3p btw:s karw:s dw:mw:s

As final M tones are raised by the floating H tone, the rule applies to theresulting rising melody:

ga:m, head ra:, heart2s g:mw: r:w:3p g:mw:s r:w:s

11.1..5. Exceptions

Some possessives (inherent possessions) have a special form :

da:, father na:, mother ys, brother wa:ts, sister

d:gtn n:gtn ystn wa:tsatnd:gw: n:gw: ysw: wa:tsawa:d:gws n:gws ysws wa:tsawos

wa:tsashi

d:gwpm n:gwpm yswpm wa:tsawopmd:w:n nawa:n ysw:n wa:tsawa:nd:w:s nawa:s ysw:s wa:tsawa:s

k:m, friend kn, uncle dn, housev:, mouth

kamsatn kantn a:m dn/v:kamsa: kan: a:gh dn/v:kamsashi knws

kanshia:t dn/v:

kamsawopm knwpm a:m dn/v:

kamsawa:n knw:n a:k dn/v:kamsawa:s knw:s a:sh dn/v:

Reflexive pronouns

Singular Plural

1 gamatn gamawopm2 gama: gamawa:n3 gamas

gamashigamawa:s

Reciprocal

The English each other is expressed by zlsw:s(lit. their bodies) inZa:r:


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Grammar

Mn j:ghn m:ta an t: sa:by t zlsw:s.Drivers who were used to each other.

The locative resumptive pronoun ky

Kyappears as a resumptive substitute for locative PP . Its allophones are

ky/ngy/ghy. It will appear in a clause where the place circumstancial hasbeen relativized :

Lp wn n t slghy my: s: m l:psh ho:.The place they went to, I didn't want to follow them (there).

or focussed :N ants wn an c: dzk sl:skyIt' s a tree which they sacrificed animals on it.

12. Prepositions

Prepositions can be divided into simple and compound prepositions. Some

simple Za:rprepositions are borrowed from Hausa (= Ha in the tables).

, k, as atdg from (Ha)a atan likegm: with (Ha)kmr like (Ha)mel nearn for, towardstsk:n between

(Ha)

zwa towards(Ha)

khas three allophones: k/gh/ng. asis the pre-pronominal form it takeswhen forming the continuous TAM marker.13

Ny:s m: ciast s:ghn.The girl too she loved him.

Compound prepositions are derived from nouns, with the structure

()+N+(k) and have an adverbial counterpart (cf. 14.3).

g:m head () gam on top of

13 Cf. 16.5.


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Grammar

d:l heritage () dl on top ofgs bottom () gs underdr occasio

n

() dr gh because of

() gp inside

kn face () kn in front ofk:r back () k:r behindcokn sky () ckn on top ofte: place () te: by, nearls side () l near (road, river)zl: body () zly in the middle of

() zlk deep in the middle

ofv: mouth () v: near (road, river)

13. Adverbs

1.25. Time

Deicitic

angn nowlsn, l:snn right

now

ty dzng:, ty vnd: the day before

yesterdayn:y:wn

yesterdayy:wn todayj:n tomorrowi:n the day after

tomorrow

jndi, ty jni last yearjnn this yeari:n, :n jni next

year

Others


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Grammar

aa, saa againa:nd formerlygls laternga:ly later ontntn long ago

(Ha)

1.26. Place

Deictic

:n, :ni hereni, n, an,ani

there

: over there, far

Others

zl outsided:l on top:ngy far awayg:m above, uphill, up

west

gsh under, downhillk:ri back, lastkni in front, firstlas nearlash asidemel nearnapti leftvy belowy:sl on the groundzlar across (the river)

1.27. Manner

mari differentmslk quicklyna: t:i jokinglyna: za:ri properly

nda:r well


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Grammar

shata trulytsananin extremetsn, tsn like thiswot suddenly,

unexpectedly

t:r together

1.28. Evidential/ epistemic

ssy completely, well

(Ha)jnjm, jnjm trulycp necessarilyanih reallyde:d: exactly (Ha)a too

ck, ciky thusn y:l thusg:ri properlykshe kshe of all sorts (Ha)

1.29. Quantitative/qualitativemodulation

ynun very much, truly

(Ha)

bt all, completelyurk alldmy plenty (Ha)et allka onlykam firstkp, kakp every, allkwy onlykrm merelymond much, manyn very

njw:tn, njwtn njwtn, a little


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Grammar

(a:) nj:, njw:tozalla only, alone

14. Ideophones

A large part of the adverbial function is fulfilled by ideophones, a large class

(355 items in the lexicon) that is set apart by its phonological and syntactic properties. Most of the ideophones are associated with one word (verb oradjective) :

A: copt: ps.He washed it clean.

A d:m: pll.He jumped up and down like a monkey.

They are frequently reduplicated :N zhl nju: nj:.It's a vivid red.

A: wusl ga:m: gwala gwal.He shaved his head clean.

15. External Derivation

1.30. Nominal derivation

A few abstract nouns are derived from other nouns or verbs through a dsuffix and LH tones :

Verb Abstract nounku get

dry

kud dryness

?14 ya:ghnd dampne

ssg chief gud chiefdo

m

Other derivations are less regular :

Verb Abstract

noun

14

The original verb is unknown, but cf. the derived Verbal Adjective y:ki,damp.


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Grammar

fol to slough fli snakes

sloughkpt to itch kpt chaffkr to run ktr runninglut to tear off bark of

tree

lt bark rope

wusl to shave wslka rasor

1.31. Adjectival derivation

Adjectives can be derived from quality verbs through a ni / -shi suffix.

Verb Adjras rot rshi rottenku dry kuni (pl. kshi) dryfupm be

tall

fpni (pl. fpms, fpmshi) long,

tall

1.32. Adverbial derivation

Some adverbs are derived from nouns through a i suffix, or throughapotony.

cogh sky cgh aboved:l heritag

e

d:l on top

g:m head g:m on top, uphillgs bottom gsh under, downhillk:r back k:ri at the back,

behindkn face kni, kn in front, forwardls side lash aside

Others are derived from verbs through reduplication :

fpm be tall, long,

far

fupm fpm very far

slya: be strong,

hard

slya:-sly: absolutely

still


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Grammar

16. Word order Summary

1.33. Non-verbal Simple Clauses

The order is either or

1.34. Simple verbal clause structure

The general order is , where Aux stands for the TAM complex.

1.35. NP

The general NP order is Head-Modifier, except for adjectives where there the

alternative order Modifier-Head can be used (cf. 9.6.2).

1.36. VP

The general VP order is VO.

1.37. Word order variation

In the Continuous, with a nominal DO, the usual can bechanged to in certain set phrases:

M tsh mbgh cghn.I met them quarrelling (lit. 'coco-yam eating ').

C: r:jiya lghn = C: lghn r:jiya.They are digging a well.

This alternative order is found in certain trade names : mur gh gy:snymgn, fisherman (lit. a man of fish catching). Cf. the alternative wordorder used for others : mur gh mbw:ghn zr, a spinner (lit. a man of

spinning thread).

With a pronominal DO, the order is compulsory. In this case,

the locative component k, at of the Aux takes the pre-pronominal formas:

Ny:s m: ciast s:ghn.The girl too she loved him.

1.38. The verb forget

The verb forget has the word la:, work as a subject and the experiencer asa direct object. Reference to the present state of affairs is made through theAorist: La: w mal Dna., Dena will forget.L: (


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Grammar

1s l: mlm I have forgotten2s l: mlgh you (s) have forgotten3s l: mlt etc.1p l: mlm2p l: mlk3p l: mlsh

Any extra argument (e.g. the thing that has been forgotten) is a comitative (tX, with X): la: : malm t g:, I have forgotten that.

zaar grammar

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