chadic_newman1977_o

P A P E R S I N C H A D I C L I N G U I S T I C S

Papers from the Leiden Colloquium

on the Chadic Language Family

Edited by

Paul Newman & Roxana Ma Newman

Leiden

I 9 7 7

ISBN 90 70110 1 7 2

Orders should b e sen t t o : Afrika-Studiecentrum, S t a t i o n s p l e i n 1 0 , Postbus 9507, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.

Payment t o b e made through Amro-Bank, Leiden, account no. 45 17.29.404; Pos tg i ro account no. 531031; o r by bank d r a f t , i n t e r n a t i o n a l money o rde r , o r pe r sona l cheque.

P r i c e : Dutch f8 .00 + f5.00 postage o r U . S . $3.50 + $2.00 pos tage .

Preface

CONTENTS

DAUDA BAGAEI Reanalyzing t h e Hausa causa t ive morpheme

W . E . A . VAN BEEK Color terms i n Kapsiki

J A C K CARNOCHAN Bachama and Semito-Hamitic

KAREN H . EBERT Def in i t enes s i n Kera

ZYGMLJNT FRAJZYNGIER The p l u r a l i n Chadic

PHILIP JAGGAR The na tu re and func t ion of a u x i l i a r y verbs i n Hausa

WILLIAM R . LEBEN Par s ing Hausa p l u r a l s

PAUL NEWMAN L a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e s ( " h l a t e r a l s " ) i n Chadic

ROXAKA MA NEWMAM Y-prosody a s a morphological process i n Ga'anda

BELL0 AHMAD SALIM Phonemic vowel n e u t r a l i z a t i o n i n Hausa

RUSSELL G . SCHUH West Chadic verb c l a s s e s

MARGARET G. SKINNER Gender i n P a ' a

NEIL SKINNER Domestic animals i n Chadic

EKKEHARD WOLFF P a t t e r n s i n Chadic (and. ~ f r o a s i a t i c ? ) verb base formations

Preface

This volume c o n s i s t s o f a c o l l e c t i o n of papers o r i g i n a l l y p re sen ted

a t t h e Leiden Colloquium on t h e Chadic Language Family, h e l d i n Leiden,

The Netherlands, September 15-17, 1976. A l l o f t h e papers p re sen ted at

t h e Colloquium a r e inc luded h e r e . The volume i s neve r the l e s s not a

p r o c e e d i n g s i n t h e s t r i c t sense of t h e te rm, and t h i s des igna t ion has

purposely been avoided i n t h e t i t l e .

The purpose of t h e Colloquium--the f i r s t meeting eve r t o be devoted

exc lus ive ly t o Chadic l inguist ics--was t o s t i m u l a t e t h e exchange of

i deas and d a t a on Chadic languages by provid ing s c h o l a r s from a l l over

t h e world t h e oppor tuni ty t o e s t a b l i s h pe r sona l con tac t w i th one another

and t o l e a r n about work be ing c a r r i e d out e lsewhere. Cons is ten t wi th

these aims, a l l o f t h e Colloquium papers were viewed a s p re l imina ry ver-

s i o n s . Some were w r i t t e n up i n full and d i s t r i b u t e d a t t h e meet ing,

some were simply p re sen ted o r a l l y ; bu t i n e i t h e r c a s e , it was understood

t h a t t h e au thors welcomed comments, c r i t i c i s m , and sugges t ions by t h e

o t h e r p a r t i c i p a n t s . The f i n a l vers ions of t h e pape r s , r e v i s e d t o incor-

p o r a t e t h e var ious modi f ica t ions a r i s i n g from d i scuss ions a t t h e Collo-

quium and subsequent communication between t h e au tho r s and t h e e d i t o r s ,

were completed dur ing t h e s i x months fo l lowing t h e Colloquium.

The Leiden Colloquium was an informal meeting open t o a l l i n t e -

r e s t e d s c h o l a r s . Some t h i r t y - f i v e p a r t i c i p a n t s from s i x c o u n t r i e s

a t tended: England, France, West Germany, The Netherlands, N ige r i a , and

t h e United S t a t e s . I n terms of t h e research i n t e r e s t s of t h e p a r t i c i - -

p a n t s , a l l f o u r coun t r i e s border ing on Lake Chad where Chadic languages

a r e spoken were r ep re sen ted , namely, Cameroon, Chad, Niger , and Nige r i a .

The papers i n t h i s volume a r e a good r e f l e c t i o n of t h e n a t u r e and

range of work be ing done i n Chadic l i n g u i s t i c s a s a whole. About h a l f

t h e papers a r e compara t ive /h i s to r i ca l , t h e o t h e r h a l f d e s c r i p t i v e . The

focus i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l papers i s gene ra l ly on problems w i t h i n Cliadic,

although comparisons involv ing t h e broader A f r o a s i a t i c phylum a r e a l s o

touched on. I n t h e d e s c r i p t i v e papers , a h a l f dozen d i f f e r e n t languages

a r e t r e a t e d , t h e s e a l l having been t h e s u b j e c t of o r i g i n a l f i e l d

r e sea rch by t h e au thors . Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , Hausa i s t h e only language

t o which more than one d e s c r i p t i v e s tudy i s devoted.

The Colloquium was sponsored and organized by t h e D e p a r t ~ ~ n t of

Afr ican L i n g u i s t i c s , Leiden Un ive r s i t y . We would l i k e t o thank uur

col leagues Jan Voorhoeve, Th i lo Schadeberg, Thomas Cook, and Nora

Dontchev-Lambrechts f o r t h e i r h e l p i n h o s t i n g t h e meeting. We a l s o

g r a t e f u l l y acknowledge t h e support o f t h e Facul ty of L e t t e r s of t h e

Un ive r s i t y , and of t he Afrika-Studiecentrum.

P.N. R .I^.N.

P a r t i c i p a n t s a t t h e Leiden Colloquium on t h e Chadic Language Family

September 15-17, 1976

Cont r ibutors

Dauda Bagar i , Dept. of Nigerian Languages, Bayero Un ive r s i t y College, Kano, N ige r i a .

W . E . A . van Beek, I n s t i t u u t voor Cu l tu re l e Antropologie , U n i v e r s i t e i t U t r ech t , U t r ech t , Netherlands.

Jack Carnochan, Dept. of Phonet ics , School of O r i e n t a l and African S t u d i e s , Un ive r s i t y of London, London, England.

Karen H . Ebe r t , I n s t i t u t fiir Eriglische und Amerikanische P h i l o l o g i e , Ph i l i pps -Un ive r s i t g t , Marburg, W . Germany.

Zygmunt F ra j zyng ie r , Dept. o f L i n g u i s t i c s , Un ive r s i t y of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.

P h i l i p Jaggar , Seminar fiir Afr ikanische Sprachen und Kul turen , Univer- s i t a t Hamburg, Hamburg, W . Germany.

W i l l i a m R . Leben, Dept. of L i n g u i s t i c s , S tanford Un ive r s i t y , S t an fo rd , C a l i f o r n i a , U.S .A.

Paul Newman, Afr ikaanse Taalkunde, U n i v e r s i t e i t t e Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands.

Roxana Ma Newman, Afr ikaanse Taalkunde, U n i v e r s i t e i t t e Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands.

Bel lo Ahmad Sal im, Dept. of Nigerian Languages, Bayero Un ive r s i t y College, Kano , Niger ia .

Russe l l G . Schuh, Dept. of L i n g u i s t i c s , Un ive r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles, C a l i f o r n i a , U.S.A.

Margaret G . Skinner , Dept. o f Afr ican Languages and L i t e r a t u r e , Univer- s i t y of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Nei l Skinner , Dept. of Afr ican Languages and L i t e r a t u r e , Un ive r s i t y of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Ekkehard Wolff, Seminar f{lr Afr ikanische Sprachen und Kul turen , Univer- s i t a t Hamburg, Hamburg, W . Germany.

Other P a r t i c i p a n t s

J . C . Anceaux ( ~ e i d e n ) D . Bar re teau ( p a r i s ) P . Boyeldieu ( p a r i s ) T. L. Cook ( ~ e i d e n ) G. Dimmendaal (Leiden) A. J . Drewes ( ~ e i d e n ) L. Gerhardt ( ~ a m b u r g ) C . Hoffmann (ibadari) H . Jockers (~arnburg ) M. Konter-Katani ( ~ e i d e n )

Van Leynseele ( ~ e i d e n ) Meyer-Bahlburg ( ~ a m b u r ~ ) Rossing adi is on) Sachnine ( p a r i s ) Saxon (LOS Angeles) Sc'hadeberg ( ~ e i d e r i ) Schumann ( ~ a m b u r g ) S t a l l c u p ( Stan fo rd ) Voorhoeve ( Leiden)

Papers ir. Chadic Linguistics Ed. by P. Newman and R . M. Newnan Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

REANALYZING THE HAUSA CAUSATIVE MORPHEIE

Dauda M . Bagari

1. I n t r o d u c t i o n

I n 1960, F. W . Parsons presented a comprehensive c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of

Hausa verbs,which has s i n c e beeen gene ra l ly accented and i s knovn a s t h e

Hausa Verbal Grade System. The grade system i s e s s e n t i a l l y a c l a s s i f i -

ca t ion of Hausa verbs i n t o seven morphological ly d i s t i n c t forms on t h e

b a s i s of f i n a l vowel and tone p a t t e r n , and on s y n t a c t i c and semantic

c o r r e l a t i o n .

( 1 ) Grade

1

2

3

h

5

6

7

Examples

d u u b g ' t o look f o r ( someth ing) '

d u u b g ' t o look a t '

zubg ' t o s p i l l '

zubee ' t o pour / s p i l l out ' z u b d ' t o pour away'

zuboo ' t o pour ( i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n ) '

zubg ' t o "be a l l poured o u t '

1.1. Surface forms of verbs

The a c t u a l su r f ace forms of verbs a r e desc r ibed wi th r e f e rence t o

t h r e e s y n t a c t i c a l l y determined forms: an "A-Form", which i s used i f no

ob jec t immediately fo l lows t h e verb ; a "B-F'orm" , which i s used i f a

d i r e c t o b j e c t pe r sona l pronoun fol lows t h e ve rb ; and a "C-Form", used

before a d i r e c t o b j e c t o t h e r than a personal pronoun. The fo l lowing d ia -

gram exempl i f ies t h e su r f ace r e a l i z a t i o n s of a l l t h e occu r r ing forms o f

a l l seven grades .

~ o u b l e vowe1.s i n d i c a t e l e n g t h , H i n d i c a t e s a high t o n e , and- L a low t o n e .

( 2 ) Grade

l

A-f orm -.--

Termination : -aa Tone P a t t e r n : H L H )

Terminat,ion : -aa Tone P a t t e r n : L H ( L )

'Termination: -a Tone P a t t e r n : L H ( L )

Termination: -ee Tone P a t t e r n : HL(H

Termination : -a? Tone P a t t e r n : H H ( H

Terminati-on : -00

Tone P a t t e r n : H H ( H

Termination: -U

-a? ( d a ) H H ( H )

Tone P a t t e r n : (L)LH

l. 2 . The l lcausa t ive l ' gra*

Grade 5 verbs a r e u sua l ly c a l l e d " c a u s a t i v e grade verbs "because

t h e i r meaning almost always impl ies causa t ion . I n t n e a n a l y s i s o f

Parsons ( l960/61) and o f Neman ( 1 9 ~ 3 ) ~ t h e causa t ive morpheme/marker i s

t aken t o be t h e s u f f i x -a?, which i s a t t a c h e d t o v e r b a l r o o t s (i.e.

verb minus f i n a l vowel ) . Thus, according t o Parsons, t h e so -ca l l ed

' c a u s a t i v e " verb i s cha rac t e r i zed by " ( a ) t h e te rmina t ion -a~, ' -as' arci.

( b ) a high tone on each s y l l a b l e " . Parsons a l s o observed some id iosyn-

c r a s i e s of t h e causa t ive grade t h a t a r e no t found wi th o rhe r g rades ,

such a s ( i ) " the p o t e n t i a l i t y of dropping i t s te rmina t ion and appear ing

simply a s a ve rba l base under c e r t a i n s y n t a c t i c a l contex ts and mtier cer-

t a i n phonologica l ly and l e x i c a l l y determined cond i t i ons , ( i i) a com-

p l e t e l y synonymous by-form i n which an e x t r a high toned s y l l a b l e o r suf -

f i x -shee i s added, e i t h e r t o t h e f u l l form i n - a s , o r t o t h e

'apocopatedl ' form represented by t h e v e r b a l b a s e . . ." ( c f . Parsons 1971/72)

However, Newrnan seems t o have a b e t t e r i n s i g h t i n t o t h e so-ca l led by-form

when he i d e n t i f i e s it wi th the causa t ive marker - ( a ) s , say ing "it i s

2 ~ ~ i s t ~ r i c a l l y t h e -F is der ived from an -S, whir11 is s t i l l pronounced i n some nor thern d i a l e c t s of Hausa. H e n ~ e f o r t ~ h , I wi l1 LP wri- t i n g t h e causa t ive marker as - a s .

evident on c l o s e r a n a l y s i s t h a t t h e p u t a t i v e -shee s u f f i x i s no th ing

but t h e under ly ing causa t ive marker - ( a ) s p lus t h e pre-pronoun / e e / " , and I agree with Newman i n t h i s r e s p e c t .

1 . 3 . The aims of t h i s paper

I n t h i s pape r , I w i l l f i r s t o f a l l ques t ion -che v a l i d i t y of t h e

( t r a d i t i o n a l ) a n a l y s i s of Hausa causa t ive verbs according t o which C-riide

5 verbs a r e analyzed a s c o n s i s t i n g of a v e r b a l r o o t (i.e. verb minus

f i n a l vowel) and a causa t ive marker -as. I w i l l b r i n g forward evidence

from w i t h i n Hausa t o demonstrate t h a t t h e causa t ive marker i s a c t u a l l y

only -S and not -as o r - ( a ) s . I w i l l f u r t h e r show t h a t t h e r e a r e i n

f a c t two ways of a t t a c h i n g t h i s s u f f i x t o a verb i n o r d e r t o t u r n it i n t o

a causa t ive ve rb , one way us ing t h e ve rba l r o o t ( j u s t l i k e t h e o t h e r

grades) and a second way i n which t h e s u f f i x i s a t t ached t o v e r b a l stems.

Secondly, I w i l l demonstrate how a causa t ive verb can drop i t s termina-

t i o n by us ing a phonological r u l e which I have r e c e n t l y d iscovered i n

Hausa.

2 . Deriving t h e causa t ive verb

There a r e two d i f f e r e n t ways by which a causa t ive verb can be de-

r i v e d i n Hausa: (l) by su f f ix ing t h e causa t ive marker -s t o v e r b a l

r o o t s ( i . e . verb minus f i n a l vowel); (2) by s u f f i x i n g t h e marker t o ver-

b a l steins ( i . e . verb p lus f i n a l vowel) . I c a l l t h e two methods t h e

'root-method" and t h e "stem-method".

2 .1. The root-method

Using t h e root-method, one can de r ive causa t ive verbs by s u f f i x i n g

t h e causa t ive marker -S t o v e r b a l r o o t s , just i n t h e same way a s o t h e r

grades a r e der ived. For example:

( 3 ) C i t a t i o n ~ o r m ^ Root Causative form

kooi-naa 'go back ' *kooin- *koom-s- -+ kwan-S-' 'tab b a c k '

f i t a 'go o u t ' *Â£it * f i t - s - -* fis-s ' t ake ( s t h . ) o u t '

zuba (a ) ' s p i l l ' *zub- zub-s-/zuu-s- p o u r / ' ~ h r t w s.wayt

rawaa 'dance ' *raw- *raw-s- -+ rau-s- ' shake ' ' t e l l ' *gay- *gay-S- -+ ga i - s - ' greex ' gay aa

H i s t o r i c a l l y , a l l Chadic languages had (and some s t i l l have / two

c l a s s e s of verbs : a-ending and i -ending ( c f . Newman 3973) . %-asati?-e

verbs formed through t h e root-method "behave ( h i s t o r i c a l l y ) l i k e i -ending

verbs i n Hausa. Almost a l l Hausa d i a l e c t s have s topped us ing t h i s method

of de r iv ing c a u s a t i v e s . However, I happen t o know one d i a l e c t , t h e

Guddiri d i a l e c t (which i s i n f a c t my nativ.e d i a l e c t , bu t which I don't

speak anymore), t h a t s t i l l uses t h e root-method i n d e r i v i n g causa t ive

verbs (and i n o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n s t o o ) .

2 .1 .1 . The Guddiri d i a l e c t . The Guddiri d i a l e c t i s geograph ica l ly remote

from t h e "core-Hausa" d i a l e c t s of Kano, Kats ina , Sokoto, e t c . , and i s

u s u a l l y regarded ( t o g e t h e r vrith o t h e r e a s t e r n d i a l e c t s ) a s a very con-

s e r v a t i v e form of Hausa. I n t h i s d i a l e c t , c ausa t ive verbs a r e s t i l l con-

s i s t e n t l y der ived through t h e root-method, and a r e not restricted t o ~hs-

B-Form only. It i s t h e r e f o r e not uncommon t o h e a r v i l l a g e people i n

Azare market, e s p e c i a l l y women, saying:

%he c i t a t i o n form of a verb i s t h e form found i n d i c t i o n a r i e s ( e . g . Abraham 1962) , which i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y taken t o be t h e base form from which o t h e r forms a r e der ived .

' ^ ~ a u s a does no t allow long vowels i n c losed s y l l a b l e s . Thus t h e ].on& 00 i n koom- i s shortened t o *kom-, ' and another ( o p t i o n a l ) r u l e changes $velar-o-N$ t o $ l a b i a l i z e d velar-a-N$.

he word rawaa i s a noun der ived from t h e verb roo t *raw-. The v e r b a l base * r a m does no t occur . The r o o t *raw- from which the causa t ive form i s der ived i s a l s o used i n o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n s based or. ve rbs , such a s a g e n t i a l and l o c a t i v e nouns, e . g . marayi i ' d a n c e r v a n d marayaa ' p l ace f o r danc ing t .

'lizare i s t h e admin i s t r a t i ve and commercial c e n t r e o f Guddir i l a n d . There i s a . b i g market i n t h e c i t y t o which people from a l l p a r t s of Gud- d i r i l a n d come on Sundays. The poodle l i v i n g i n Azare (and o t h e r l a r g e r towns of Guddi r i ) do not speak t,he Guddiri d i a l e c t anymore.

( h ) yau 7 naa sa l -S - i kaayaanaa da wuri

today I-comp. buy-cause goods-my wi th e a r l i n e s s 'Today I have sold. my goods e a r l y '

5 ) naa sai-sh-ee su da wuri

1-comp. buy-cause them with e a r l i n e s s ' I sold- them e a r l y '

(6) wannan nee r i i g a - ? da Audu ya s a i - S - i i (maka

t h i s cop. s h i r t - t h e r e l . Audu he-comp. buy-cause (you) ' I s t h i s t h e s h i r t t h a t Audu s o l d you? '

Compare t h e s e t o s tandard Hausa:

(7) yau naa saya-s/F ( d a ) kaayaanaa da wuri

today I-comp. Duy-cause (marker) goods-my e a r l y 'Today I s o l d my goods e a r l y '

(8) naa sa.ya-S/? ( d a ) suulsai-sh-ee su da wuri

I-comp. buy-cause them/buy-cause them e a r l y I s o l d them e a r l y '

( 9 ) wannan cee r i i ga -F da Audu y a saya-S/? maka

t h i s cop. s h i r t - t h e r e l . Audu he-comp. buy-cause you ' I s t h i s t h e s h i r t t h a t Audu s o l d you? '

2 .2 . The stem-method

I n t h i s method, causa t ive verbs a r e formed by s u f f i x i n g t h e causa-

t i v e marker -S t o ve rba l stems ( i . e . verb p lus f i n a l vowel) , e . g .

1 0 ) Verba,l stem

koomaa ' go back ' zuba ( a ) ' s p i l l ' f i t a 'go o u t '

rawaa 'dance ' f n . )

Causat ive

kooma-S ' t a k e back '

zuba-S p o u r / t h r o w away'

f i t a - S ' t a k e o u t '

rawa-S ' shake ' gaYaa ' t e l l ' gaya-S ' g r e e t '

Causat ive verbs formed through t h e stem-method can o p t i o n a l l y b e aug-

mented wi th t h e p r e p o s i t i o n d a , whose numerous ( semant ic ) f u n c t i o n s

7 Note t h a t i n t h e Guddiri d i a l e c t t h e p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of S t o sh t a k e s ? l ace only be fo re e and not be fo re i .

inc lude t h e marking o f causa t ion , e . g .

( 1 1 ) yaaro-n yaa f i t a - ? ( d a ) 8 kare-n

"by-the he-cemp. take-out ( p r e p . ) dog-t,he 'The boy took t h e dog o u t '

g i r l - t h e she -camp . b u y cause (p rep . ) dress-her T h e g i r l - sold- h e r d r e s s '

Now, Parsons has observed t h a t t h e Grade 5 verb d i f f e r s from & L 1

o t h e r grades not only i n having a "phone t i c ( a1 ly ) -VC termina Lion, "but

a l s o i n having m e p o t e n t i a l i t y of dropping i t s t e rmina t ign znd appe3:;-

i n g s i n q l y a s a v e r b a l base i n c e r t a i n s y n t a c t i c a l coi i texts and wider

c e r t a i n phonologica l ly and l e x i c a l l y determined c o n d i t i o n s . What

Parsons r e f e r s t o he re i s t h e occurrence of causa t ive verbs such a s :

( 1 3 ) rau-da ' shake ' gai-da ' g r e e t '

sai-da ' s e l l '

kwan-da ' t a k e "back'

I agree wi th Parsons t h a t t h e forms i n (13 ) a r e der ived from longe r

(under ly ing) forms through t h e d e l e t i o n of t h e causa t ive marker -S and

t h e vowel t h a t precedes it,. That i s t o s ay , t h e forms i n ( 1 3 ) a r e de-

r i v e d from those i n ( 1 4 ) below.

( 1 4 ) ram-? da ( -+ rau-da)

gaya-7 da ( -^ gai -da)

saya-F da ( -+ sa i -da)

koma-F da ( -+ kwan-da)

However, Parsons does not account f o r t h i s k ind of d e l e t i o n . He simply

s t a t e s t h a t such d e l e t i o n i s p o s s i b l e only when " the ve rba l base c o n s i s t s

o f or--In t h e case of p o l y s y l l a b i c verbs--ends i n a s t r u c t u r e CiVC2

where C 2 i s one of t h e fo l lowing consonan t s . . . / y / , /W/, /t/, /I/; /r/,

/b/, /m/".

'~11 d e s c r i p t i o n s of Hausa, a s f a r a s I know, would make da obl-iga- Tory i n sent,ences l i k e ( 1 1 ) and ( 12) ; bu t t h i s is riot t r u e . in many d i a l e c t s , t h e s e sen tences a r e p e r f e c t l y acceptab le wi thout t he da .

Row, I would suggest t h a t Hausa has t h e fol lowing o p t i o n a l r u l e :

This r u l e d e l e t e s a sequence of vowel and consonant in word-final pos i -

t i o n i f t h e sequence i s preceded by a sonorant consonant. It i s t h i s

r u l e t h a t ope ra t e s on those Hausa causa t ive verbs t h a t a r e der ived

through t h e stem-method and d e l e t e s t h e causa t ive marker -S p l u s n he

f i n a l vowel of t h e ve rba l S-cem. When t h e causa t ive marker i s t n a s

d e l e t e d , t h e p r e p o s i t i o n da must be used t o g e t h e r wi th t h e "apocoputed' ' 9 causa t ive ve rb . This r u l e i s not r e s t r i c t e d t o causa t ive verbs alone--

it a l s o works elsewhere i n t h e language, e . g .

(16 ) wagi-n da -+ wands ' ( t h e one ) who/whi c h / t h a t ' one-the r e l .

doomi -n -> don 'because ' reason-of

shagab ' g r een ' + sha? green '

wulu k b l a c k ' -+ wu l ' b l a c k '

S iti k ' b l ack ' -/+ * s i t

sha tab ' g r een ' * sha t

It should be noted , however, t h a t a l though a l l roo t s t h a t have &

f i n a l sonorant w i l l obey t h i s d e l e t i o n r u l e not a l l c ausa t ive verbs t , ha t

obey t h e r u l e have a f i n a l sonorant . For example, f i t - a -? -> / f i t -da /

+ [ f id-da] ' t a k e o u t ' and zub-a-? da -+ zub-da/zuu-da 'pour/ throw

away'. Such causa t ive verbs should be considered a s excep t ions , espe-

c i a l l y when we cons ider t h a t t h e s e two examples a r e about t h e only

causa t ive verbs i n Hausa t h a t do no t have a f i n a l sonorant and y e t obey

t h i s r u l e .

% u s s e l l Schuh pointed out t o m e t h a t some Chaflic languages ( e . g . Kgizim, Kanakuru, ~ a d e ) use da zo mark causa t ion . Therefore , it is l i k e l y t h a t t h i s da i n Hausa, which i s used t o augment t h e - S , was h i s t o r i c a l l y t h e only means of marking causa t ion i n Hausa (~ewman 1971) ; -S was probably a l a t e r innovat ion .

3. Discussion

I have shown a5ove t h a t t h e r e a r e two d i f f e r e n t ways o f d e r i v i n g - t h e causa t ive verb i n Hansa, a root-method ai\a a, stem-i'r:ietho&. in t h i s

s e c t i o n , I w i l l compare t h e p r o c e s s ( e s ) of de r iv ing causa : i~e verb

with o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n a l processes i n Hausa hat a l s o use e i t h e r t , h e

r o o t s o r t h e stems of words i n d e r i v a t i o n s .

3.1. The phenomenon of us ing t v o d i f f e r e n t bases f o r d e r i v i n g words

Hausa i s not r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e formation o f causa t ive verbs alone. For / . example, nouns meaning "na t ive of" can b e der ived from p lace nouns i, :L .e

names of c i t i e s , towns, c o u n t r i e s , e t c . ) by us ing t h e compounci. morpheme

ba. , e e (mascul ine) o r ba. . . aa ( feminine) . When t h e compound mor-.

pheme i s added t o a p l ace noun t o de r ive a "na t ive of" noun, t h e f i n a l

vowel of t h e noun i s deleted., i . e . t h e morpheme i s added t o noun r o o t s .

For example, from t h e fol lowing p l ace n o m s , Katsina , Sakkwato,

Amirka, Faransa ( ~ r a n c e ) , t h e fol lowing "na t ive of" nouns can be

der ived , u s ing t h e root-method.

(17) ~ o o t Masculine -- Feminine

k a t s i n - ba-katsin-ee ba-kats in-aa

sakkwat - ba-sakkwac-ee ba-sakkwat-aa

an i rk - ba-amirk-ee ba -amirk -.aa

f S a n s - ba-faransh-ee 10 ba-farans -aa

'Sow, t h e r e i s an a l t e r n a t i v e way of forming feminine forms of t h e s e which

uses t h e masculine form of such nouns a s t h e "base f o r t h e d e r i v a t i o n ,

i . e . us ing noun stems r a t h e r than r o o t s . For example, t h e f o l l o v i n g a l -

ternat- ive forms f o r t h e feminine paradigm i n ( 1 7 ) a r e found, in many

d i a l e c t s of Hausa ( e s 9 e c i a l l y t h e nor thern and western d i a i e c f c s ) :

16) ba-katsin-i-y-aa

ba-sakkwac -i-y -aa

ba-amirk-i-y -aa

ba-fairansh-i-y-aa

' a Katsins. woman'

a Sokoto woman'

!an American woman'

'a. French 'doman'

' / t / and / S / -+ c and sh 'before i and e .

The noims i n (18) a r e der ived through t h e stem-method "by adding t h e

feminine marker -aa t o t h e masculine form i n t h e fo l lowing way:

(19 Ease ( = S t e d - Feminine form

ba-ka t s in -ee ba -ka t s in -ee -aa -Ã ba-kafcsin-i-y-aa

ba-sakkwac-ee ba-sa.kkwac-ee-aa -+ ba-sakkwac -i-y -aa

ba-amirk-ee ba-amirk-ee-aa -r ba-amirk-i -y-aa

ba-f a r a n s h - e e ba-faransh-ee-aa -+ ba-f apansh- i -y -aa

The -y- i n such feminine nouns i s e p e n t h e t i c a l l y i n s e r t e d i n o r d e r t o

ward o f f a sequence o f two vowels, and t h e masculine marker -ee shor-

t e n s and a s s i m i l a t e s t o t h e h e i g h t of Iy/. Another i n s t ance i n Hausa where a second opt ion e x i s t s i s i n t h e

d e r i v a t i o n of p a s t - p a r t i c i p i a l a d j e c t i v a l s from verbs . The base f o r

d e r i v i n g p a s t p a r t i c i p i a l s from verbs i s formed by r e d u p l i c a t i n g t h e

f i n a l consonant o f t h e verb . A f t e r t h e base has been formed i n t h i s

way, t hen t h e marker -ee i s added t o t h e base t o form mascul ine p a s t

p a r t i c i p i a l s . The feminine forms of p a s t p a r t i c i p i a l s a r e formed by

adding t h e feminine marker -aa e i t h e r t o t h e o r i g i n a l base o r t o t h e

masculine form. For example, from t h e fo l lowing verbs cfinkaa ' s ew ' ,

zaunaa ' s e t t l e down', r i n a a ' d y e ' , t h e fol lowing p a s t p a r t i c i p i a l s can

be der ived from t h e r edup l i ca t ed bases :

(20) Base Masculine Feminine

cfinkakk- cfinkakk-ee cfinkakk-aa 'sewn'

cfinkakk-ee-aa -+ cfinkakk-i-y-aa

zaunann- zaunann -ee zaunann-aa 'permanent'

zaunann -ee-aa -Ã zaunann -i-y-aa

r i n a n n - r i n a n n -ee r inann -aa ' dyed'

r i n a n n -ee -aa + r inann- i -y -aa

S i m i l a r l y , a d j e c t i v a l s can b e der ived from a b s t r a c t nouns. Fox-

example, from t h e fol lowing a b s t r a c t nouns kyaawuu 'beauty ' and cfumii

w a r m t h ' , a d j e c t i v a l s can be formed, e . g .

2 ) Base Adjecti.-,ral I feminine )

kyakkyaw- kyakkyaaw-aa ' beaut i . fu l l

kyakkyaaw-ee -aa -+ kyakkyaaw-i -y -aa.

cCumamm- cfu-itiairi-m - a a 'varied- up'

a'Â¥Uiiam~i-e -a.a -+ cfumamn-i-y-aa

It i s ev iden t t h a t i n Hausa morphology words c a n oe 6er-i-veo- f r ~ i i

two bases : ( l ) r o o t s c r (2) steins t h a t a r e themselves derived, in<cin ? ? ?

r o o t s . Most d i a l e c t s of Hausa do not use t h e root-me-chcd f o r uyr iba

r i o n s nowadays. It can be ded-nced t h a t t h i s me thoci i s t h e o l d p r cJ" Ins:>

two methods and, a s suc l , one should expect t o find t h i s rae~hod of

de r iv ing c a u s a t i v e verbs being used only i n t h e most conse rva t ive dia-

l e c t s . And t h i s i s t h e ca,se. I n f a c t , even i n Sokoto and no r the rn

d i a l e c t s , t h i s method i s apparent ly dead--as f a r a s t h e deriv-at ion o-T

causa t ive verbs i s concerned. This i s ev ident from ohe f a c t ^ha-L i n

almost a l l d i a l e c t s , c ausa t ive verbs der ived through t h e root-method a r e

found only i n " i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d ' o r f i x e a expres s ions , such a s :

'May you be g r e e t e d ' ( s a i d by King 's c o u r t i e r s i n response t o a person who s a l u t e s t h e ~ i n g )

( 2 3 ) Allah ya t s a r - s h s mu 'May God. p r o t e c t us! ' ( s a i i l 'by one who hea r s of a c a l a m i t , ~ )

(24 ) Allah ya f i s -sh-ee mu 'Good-night! ' (lit. 'May A P a h s e e us through t h e n i g h t s a f e l y ' )

dare l a f i y a

U. Conclusion

I have at tempted t o show t h a t t h e causa t ive marker i n Ha-usa i s n o t

-as b u t -S by comparing t h e p r o c e s s ( e s ) by which c a u s a t i v e verbs can

"be formed with o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n a l processes i n t h e language. I have :.l-

l u s t r a t e d t h a t causa t ive verbs can be formed i n two ways: ( I ) by

i n g t h e causa t ive marker -S t o ve rba l r o o t s , o r ( 2 ) by s u f f i x i n g it t o

ve rba l stems, just l i k e many o t h e r de r iva t ions i n Iiausa.

REFERENCES

Abraham, R . C . 1962. Dictionary of the Hausc Language, second e d i t i o n . London.

Newman, Paul . 1971. "Trans i t i ve and i n t r a n s i t i v e i n Chadic languages", i n Afrikanische Sprachen und Kutturen - Ein Querschmtt , ed . b y V . S i x e t a l . , pp. 188-200. Hamburg.

. 1973. "Grades, vowel-tone c l a s s e s and ex tens ions i n t h e Hausa ve rba l system", Stud. Afr. L i n g . 4: 297-346.

Parsons , F. W . 1960/61. "The ve rba l system i n Hausa1', Afri'ka U. ~ b e r s e e 44 : 1-36.

. 1962. "Fur ther observa t ions on t h e ' c a u s a t i v e ' g rade of t h e verb i n Hausa", J . Afr . Lang. 1:253-72.

. 1971/72. "Supplet ion and n e u t r a l i z a t i o n i n t h e v e r b a l system o f Hausa", Afrika U . Ubevsee 55 :49-97, 188-208.

REFERENCES

Abraham, R . C . 1962. Dictionmy of the Hausa Language, second e d i t i o n . London.

Newman, Paul . 1971. "Trans i t i ve and i n t r a n s i t i v e i n Chadic languages", i n Afrikanische Sprachen und Kulturen - Ein Querschnitt , ed. by V . S i x e t a l . , pp. 188-200. Hamburg.

. 1973. "Grades, vowel-tone c l a s s e s and ex tens ions i n t he Hausa ve rba l system", Stud. Afr. Ling. 4 : 297-346.

Parsons , F. W . 1960/61. "The ve rba l system i n Hausa", Afrzka U . fibersee 44:l-36.

. 1962. " ~ u r t h e r observa t ions on t h e ' c a u s a t i v e ' g rade of t h e verb i n Hausa" , J. Afr. Lang. 1:253-72.

. 1971/72. "Su@pletion and n e u t r a l i z a t i o n i n t h e v e r b a l system of ~ a u s a " , Afrika U . Ubersee 5 5 :49-97, 188-208.

Papers in Chad";~ Linguistics Ed. by P. Neman and R. M. Newman Leiden : Afrika-Studiecent ruin 1977

COLOR TERMS IN KAPSIKT

W. E. A. van Beek

Introduction

The human eye can perceive between 4 and 10 million shades of color (~enneberg 1967). No language can even approximate this range of varia-

tion, so each language has to label groups of color shades with one

lexeme. If the choice of these groups of shades 'would 'oe as arbitrary

as linguistic theory has long supposed, the immense amount of possibi-

lities vrould make any regularity in color terminology an illusion. One

justly famous study by Berlin and Kay attacks this problem:

'The prevailing doctrine of American linguists and anthropologists has, in this century, "been that of extreme linguistic relativity. Briefly, the doctrine of extreme linguistic relativity holds that each language performs the coding of experience into sound in a unique manner. Hence each language is semantically arbitrary relative to every other language. According to this view, the search for semantic universals is fruitless in principle. The doctrine is chiefly associated in America with the name of Edward Sapir and B. L. Whorf. Proponents of this view frequently offer as a paradigm example the alleged total semantic arbitrariness of the lexical coding of color. We suspect that this allegation of total arbitrariness in the way languages segment the color space is a gross overstatement" (1969:l-2).

So Berlin and Kay's theory of color terminology has wide signifi-

cance: one of the central issues of linguistic as well as anthropolo- .

gical theory is at stake, i .e. universals in language and culture. In

short - their theory states that though different languages use a different number of color terms (counting only 'basic color terms), there is

a very limited and quite universal set of eleven "basic color terms that

*Research on the Kapsiki of northern Cameroon and Rigi of north- eastern Nigeria was carried out from February 1972 through August 3-973, made possible by the State University of Utrecht and a research sub- vention from the National Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) .

cover a l l t h e terms used. These b a s i c terms and. bas i c co lo r c a t e g o r i e s

occur i n t h e fo l lowing sequence: wh i t e , 'black, r e d , g reen , yel low,

b l u e , brown, p ink , pu rp l e , orange, and grey. Most languages use fewer

t han e leven t e rms , and one unexpected r e s u l t of t h i s r e sea rch has been

a f i x e d sequence i n t h e appearance of co lo r terms. The au tho r s speak o f

an evo lu t ion of co lo r terminology. The r e g u l a , r i t y they p re sen t i s stri-

king indeed. O f t h e 2,048 l o g i c a l l y p o s s i b l e t ypes of co lo r terminology

(g iven e leven b a s i c t e r m s ) , on ly 22 a r e found t o occur and t h e s e can "be

ordered on a cumulative s c a l e .

I n t h i s paper , we s h a l l p re sen t some d a t a on t h e c o l o r terminology

of one p a r t i c u l a r language, Kapsiki , i n o rde r t o make t h e fo l lowing

p o i n t s :

( 1 ) Kapsiki b a s i c co lo r terminology p r e s e n t s a c l e a r except ion t o t h e

evo lu t iona ry sequence a s s e t f o r t h by B e r l i n and Kay;

( 2 ) secondary co lo r terms i n Kapsiki " f i l l i n " t h e i r r e g u l a r i t i e s of

b a s i c terminology, so t h e t o t a l semantic s t r u c t u r e i s l e s s devian t t h a n

would be judged from t h e b a s i c terminology a lone .

2. Method

The huge number of p o s s i b l e c o l o r s p re sen t s some s e r i o u s d i f f i c u l -

t i e s wi th t h e method. A l l c o l o r s vary i n f i n i t e l y i n b r i g h t n e s s and hue,

bu t s t i l l o t h e r t ypes of v a r i a t i o n s e x i s t : co lo r of l i v i n g vs. non-

l i v i n g t h i n g s (snow 1971) , f r e s h o r non-fresh looking p l a n t s ( ~ o n k l i n

1955) , b r i g h t o r faded looking co lo r s ( B e r l i n and Kay 1969) . B e r l i n

and Kay's r e s e a r c h has t r i e d t o l i m i t t h e t o t a l number of col-or shades

and a t t h e same t ime e l imina te some of t h e s e o t h e r v a r i a n t s by us ing one

s tandard ized t e s t , i . e . t h e Munsell c o l o r ch ip method. This c o n s i s t s

of e l i c i t i n g b a s i c co lo r terms wi th t h e s e co lo r ch ips , a r ranged i n a

s i n g l e c h a r t o f 329 ch ips s e t up i n 40 h o r i z o n t a l g rada t ions o f hue and

8 v e r t i c a l g rada t ions of b r i g h t n e s s , p l u s a s e r i e s of 9 degrees of

b r i g h t n e s s of n e u t r a l shades.

I n o rde r t o make my d a t a comparable wi th t h a t of B e r l i n and Kay,

I used t h e same c h a r t and asked my informants t c name t he c o l o r s , and t o

map t h e "boundaries of each c o l o r term. The shade t h a t r ep re sen ted t h e

b e s t example of t h e co lo r was a l s o e l i c i t e d .

I n e l i c i t i n g , one should look f o r b a s i c co lo r terms. I n o r d e r t o

q u a l i f y a s a b a s i c c o l o r term, a term mast have t h e fo l lowing charac te -

r i s t i c s : ( a ) it must be monolexemic ( t h e meaning of t h e tern; should not

be i n f e r r e d from i t s c o n s t i t u e n t p a r t s ) ; ( b ) t h e semantic range o'f one

term should not be inc luded i n t h a t of another te rm (two c o l o r serais

should des igna te d i f f e r e n t c o l o r shades ) ; ( c ) t h e term should b e app l i ed

t o a l l k inds of o b j e c t s , not j u s t one ( e . g . t h e t e rm "blond1' c m n o t

serve a s a b a s i c c o l o r term because it i s only used f o r h a i r color and

occas iona l ly a t y p e of f u r n i t u r e f i n i s h ) ; ( d ) it must Le r . sycho log ica l ly

s a l i e n t f o r informants (it must be a normal, f r e q u e n t l y used t e rm 'by a l l

informants , and occur a t - t h e beginning of e l i c i t i n g l i s t s ) .

3. Terms f o r c o l o r i n Kapsiki

Kapsiki informants were from t h e v i l l a g e of ~ o g o d 6 , j u s t on t h e

Cameroonian s i d e o f t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l border . I n t e r v i l l a g e v a r i a t i o n i s

cons iderable bu t checks wi th informants from o t h e r v i l l a g e s showed t h e

same s t r u c t u r a l p r o p e r t i e s i n c o l o r terminology. A l l Kapsiki lexemes

f o r co lo r a r e preceded by t h e p r e f i x k w a , a mult ipurpose p r e f i x t h a t

may be t r a n s l a t e d i n t h i s context wi th " l i ke" .

The b a s i c term f o r white i s k w a t y a w t y a w , a monolexemic t e rm, a?

t h e s i n g l e tyaw i s not used.

Black i s k w a ~ k i r i ^ y i , b u t t h e use of t h i s t e rm exceeds t h e s imple

meaning of b lack . a ark colored" i s a ' be t t e r t r a n s l a t i o n ; t h e Kapsiki

c a l l themselves k w a q k i r i ^ y i i n comparison wi th t h e Europeans (who a r e

not l a b e l l e d white b u t r e d ) . O f 'any two c o l o r s va ry ing i n b r i g h t n e s s .

only , t h e darker one can be c a l l e d k w a 0 k i r i 7 y i . For example, one

r i t u a l i n t h e wet season aims a t making t h e m i l l e t grow k w a q k i r i T y i ,

dark green. Confronted wi th t h e whole a r r a y on t h e c o l o r c h a r t , i n f o r -

Blanks c o n s i s t e n t l y choose t h e darker n e u t r a l shades f o r t h i s t e rm a s

w e l l a s t h e da rkes t shades of green , b l u e , and brown.

Red i s an i n t e r e s t i n g case i n Kapsiki . Two terms j o i n hands h e r e

t o d e l i m i t a t e t h e f i e l d of r e d and reddish c o l o r s , k w q c m e and

k w q a m a . The former has t h e l a r g e r d i s t r i b u t i o n , covers t h e l a r g e r

f i e l d of shades wi th t h e darker r e d s , and t h e l a t t e r des igna te s inore t h e

p ink r e d s . I n view of t h e t o t a l system of b a s i c co lo r t e rms , t h i s d i f f e -

r e n t i a t i o n i n r e d co lo r s i s remarkable. Though t h e e aria a have

d e f i n i t e phonemic s t a t u s , we f e e l t h a t it i s through "this d i f f e r e n c e i n

phonet ic i n t e n s i t y t h a t t h e v i s u a l i n t e n s i t y ( a d i f f e r e n c e i n b r i g h t n e s s ,

not hue) i s expressed. These two terms a r e e l i c i t e d a s two s e p a r a t e

lexemes and appear i n l ex i cons a s s e p a r a t e words. I n our view, t hey can

be considered as d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of one semantic s p o t . The f a d t h a t f o r

a l l informants t h e f i e l d of k w a ~ e m e and kwaxama a r e c lo se ly joined.,

without i n t e rven ing "neu t r a l " space , makes t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h e more

p l a u s i b l e .

Basic te rm s t a t u s p re sen t s some more problems f o r t h e fo l lowing two

t e rms , green and b lue . The b a s i c c o l o r term f o r green i s k w a t l a k a ,

and f o r b lue kwaxwema. The word t l a k a means ' l e a f and xwsma nas

two mearings, 'mountain' and ' s k y ' . One may ques t ion t h e i r i n c l u s i o n i n

t h e l i s t o f "basic co lo r te rms , bu t t h e s e terms a r e e l i c i t e d e a s i l y with-

ou t any d i sc repanc ie s between d i f f e r e n t in formants , so t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i -

z a t i o n as a b a s i c co lo r term i s amply warranted. Moreover, a te rm l i k e

kwaxwama i s used t o i n d i c a t e a l l shades o f b l u e , no t j u s t t h e l i g h t

b lue of t h e sky.

With t h e s e f i v e terms we run ou t of t h e b a s i c co lo r t e rms , and t h i s

f a c t i s q u i t e a s ton i sh ing . By a l l expec ta t ions , a b a s i c te rm f o r ye l low

should be p r e s e n t . B e r l i n and Kay found t h a t " i f a language con ta ins

f i v e te rms , t h e n it conta ins terms f o r bo th yel low and green" (1969: 2 ) .

O f course t h e Kapsiki do d i f f e r e n t i a t e and perce ive t h e ye l lowish c o l o r s ,

and one l ex i con g ives t h e term kwaxaqwayaxagwaya f o r it. This however

i s c l e a r l y not a monolexemic term ( x a q w a y a means ' c o r n ' , lit. ' m i l l e t

o f t h e J!4argit) and i s no t i n very common use . Informants g ive s e v e r a l

d i f f e r e n t terms f o r yel low, bu t t h e y a r e not in agreement about which

one i s t h e most common form. Other forms a r e k w a r a p u r a x w u ' l i k e t h e

f lower of t h e r a y w u ( a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e Leguminosa)', kwayemugwara-

yemugwara ' l i k e t h e water of Gawar', and kwadawadawa ' l i k e t h e vomit

of j aund ice ' . They a r e c o l o r terms bu t have t o be considered a s secon-

dary t e rms ,

So t h e b a s i c co lo r terminology of Kapsiki p r e s e n t s a c l e a r excep-

t i o n t o t h e t h e s i s of B e r l i n and Kay through t h e absence o f yel low and

t h e presence of p ink . We s h a l l s e e , however, t h a t seccr.i&a.ry t e r n s func-

t i o n a s w e l l a s b a s i c ones i n co lo r demarcation. For a f a i r e r conside-

r a t i o n o f c o l o r te rms , one should t h e r e f o r e not r e s t r i c t t h e analysis to

b a s i c terms hu t a l s o inc lude secondary co lo r te rms; t hese are d i z , * l , - ~ ~ ~ s e d .

below f o r Kapsiki .

The f i r s t ca se i s t h a t of t h e terms f o r yel low a s c i t e d a3ove; the

shades i n d i c a t e d wi th t h e s e lexemes a r e q u i t e cons i s t e n t and t h e 'boundary

a s w e l l a s t h e c o r e of t h e co lo r s can e a s i l y be equated xith yel low.

The terms kwagslagaia and kwapsadapsade i n d i c a t e the n e u t r a l

shades of "br ightness except b l ack , i . e . grey. The former means ' l i k e

r o c k 1 , t h e l a t t e r ' l i k e a s h ' .

Two shades of "brown a r e r ep re sen ted "by kwagkwstia~kwetis ' l i k e

t h e ca labashr o r kwandaramandarama ' l i k e t h e fruit of t h e ndsrsme

( ~ a r i s s a e d u l i s L.)' both inco rpora t ing "brown and l i g h t brown, and

kwaracfarscfa ' l i k e d i r t ' , which i s dark brown.

The term kwaksagukserJu ' l i k e t h e k s a ~ u ( ~ a c t y l o t e n ~ c u i a Aegypti-

cum L . ) ' c o v e r s t h e a r e a we c a l l pu rp l e . Darker shades of t h e same hue

a r e sometimes c a l l e d kwadzaregemadzaragema ' l i k e a m i l l e t p a r a s i t e

wi th pu rp le f l o w e r s ' .

One o t h e r c o l o r i n d i c a t e d wi th a secondary t e rm i s kwamadameds

t o mean be ige (why do B e r l i n and Kay exclude t h i s from t h e Engl i sh 'basic

co lo r t e r m s ? ) ; it l i t e r a l l y means ' l i k e t h e c o l o r o f t h e "baobab t r e e ' .

A few informants di s t i n g u i s h between d i f f e r e n t shades o f green ,

mainly vary ing i n b r i g h t n e s s : kwagwszu ' l i k e g r a s s ' , i n d i c a t i n g t h e

l i g h t e r zone, and kwaggaraxaggaraxa . ' l i k e a b i r d s p e c i e s ' , used f o r

t h e darker p a r t of t h e f i e l d f o r which kwatleks is t h e b a s i c cover

term.

One p e c u l i a r term f i l l s i n a l l remaining n i ches , kwawalewals, b y

which t h e c o l o r of water i s i n d i c a t e d . No s p e c i f i c shade o r hue i s

meant wi th kwawalswaia, b u t some informants simply use it f o r a l l r e -

maining shades and hues not named by o t h e r te rms . It i s a f i l l e r te rm:

a s water can be of any c o l o r , any c o l o r f a l l i n g ou t s ide t h e range of

e a s i l y named c o l o r s may be l a b e l l e d with i t . Such a te rm, i n t e r e s t i n g

a s a phenomenon i n i t s e l f , may be t o a considerable degree an a r t i f a c t

of method. S t i l l it would be i n t e r e s t i n g t o compare t h e presence of

such terms i n o the r languages.

4 . Discussion

For an overview of our f ind ings , we l i s t t h e Kapsiki terms a g a i n s t

t h e order i n which Ber l in and Kay have found t h e bas i c terminology t o

appear ( 1 = 'basic co lo r term; 2 = secondary co lo r term; t h e upper lexeme

i n d i c a t e s t h e l i g h t e r co lo r ; t h e bracket i n d i c a t e s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f

a l t e r n a t i v e sequences ) .

1 kwatyawtyaw

1 kwagkiri?yi

1 kwaxeme

< kwagwezu

1 kwatlaku

kwaqgaraxa~garaxa

2 kwaxaqwayaxaqwaya

1 kwaxwama

white

b lack

r ed

green

yellow

b lue

brown

--- 2 kwagalagala / kwapsadapsada

I f only bas i c terms a r e considered, Kapsiki terminology i s q u i t e i r r e g u -

l a r . The only way out would be t o a s s ign t h e s t a t u s of b a s i c term on ly

t o t h e Kapsiki equivalents of whi te , b l ack , and red , wi th t h e l e s s

i n t e n s i v e form of pink a s a complication. But a s we have argued b e f o r e ,

t h e o the r terms l a b e l l e d ( 1 ) amply f u l f i l 1 t h e c r i t e r i a of be ing "basic

terms.

Any exception to a theory is important enough, "but the way in

which secondary color terms fill in the "gaps" of the basic terminolo"-,'-

is very interesting. The Kapsiki evidence suggests that overall naming

of colors is even more regular than Berlin and Kay suppose, if seca?r1-.

dary as well as 'basic color terms are considered. The absence of &

term for orange presents no problem, as a terminology vithout it is

quite regular in the Berlin and Kay theory. Given the evolution of

basic color terminology, this is very important for theories of human

perception.

A last thought concerns the basic/secondary dichotomy. One is

tempted, in the case of Kapsiki terminology, to do away with this dis-

tinction. However, Berlin and Kay's arguments delimiting and using

basic terms are very clear: with this definition of "basic terms, they

can predict on a high level of probability the colors that are named

for any terminology with a given number of terms. The quite obvious

fact that the general level of techno-economic evolution may be an

important factor in lexical proliferation does not detract from that.

Nevertheless, we would argue that secondary terms should be included

in the study of color terms. In the case of Kapsiki, the terminology

is "straightened, out" by them. The total range of semantic structuring

is as interesting as the evolution Berlin and. Kay show and, as our

presentation of Kapsiki terminology suggests, may even be 'bigger tnari

previously supposed.

REFERENCES

Berlin, B. and P. Kay. 1969. Basic Color' Terms. Their Un'ivsrsa'lity and Evolution. Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Conklin, H. C. 1955. "Hanunoo color categories" Sout'hu)estern J . Anthro. 11:339-44.

Lenneberg, E. H. 1967. Biological Foundations of Lanquaqe. Ne'w York.

Mohrlang, R. 1972. Higi Phonology. Studies in Nigerian Languages 2. ZariaIKano.

Smith, D. M. 1969. The Kapsiki Language. Ph.D. dissertation, Michigcn State University.

Snow, D. L. 1971. "~amoan color terminology: a note on the universa- lity and evolutionary ordering of color terms", Anthro. L i n g . 13(8): 385-90

Papers in Chadie L v i p i s t i f i Ed . by P. Newman and R . M . Newman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrurn 19 77

BACHAMA AND SEMITO-HAMITIC

Jack Carnochan

I n "Bachama and ~ h a d i c " ( ~ a r n o c h a i i 1 9 7 5 ) ~ I showed wi th a lirniteci

number of examples how t h e consonants of Bachama could be r e l a t e d t o

those s e t up f o r Proto-Chadic by Newman and Ma (1966) . I n t h i s presen't

paper , I wish t o show how f a r Bachama evinces c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s suggested

by Diakonoff (1965) a s being t y p i c a l of t h e family of Semito-Hmit ic

languages i n gene ra l . SO f a r a s r e f e rence t o t h e Chadic branch was con-

cerned, he had, i n 1965, t o r e s t r i c t h i s examples almost e n t i r e l y t o

Hausa, and it may be of i n t e r e s t now t o s e e how h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s find.

r e f l e x e s i n ano the r language of t h e branch, Bachama. Leaving a s i d e t h e

vowels f o r t h e moment, Diakonoff drew a t t e n t i o n t o f i v e phonologica l

f e a t u r e s which he considered t o be t y p i c a l of Semito-Eamitic languages

i n gene ra l . I am r epea t ing t h e s e below, wi th comments on t h e i r app l i ca -

t i o n t o Bachama.

The f i r s t i s t h e ex i s t ence of t r i p l e groups o f consonants , a

'vo iced" , an "emphatic", and a "voice less" consonant wi th (approximate ly)

t h e same p l ace and manner of a r t i c u l a t i o n . I n Bachama, t h e r e a,re two

such s e t s , a l a b i a l p los ive s e t , and an a p i c a l p l o s i v e s e t , i l l u s t r a t e d .

i n i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n by:

bole ' t o t h r e s h 1 voiced b i l a b i a l p l o s i v e

biye ' t o break1 g l o t t a l i z e d b i l a b i a l p los ive

p u r e ' t o t h a t c h ' v o i c e l e s s b i l a b i a l p los ive

dame t o go o u t ' voiced a l v e o l a r p l o s i v e

dime t o s i n k ' g l o t t a l i z e d pos t -a lveolar p l o s i v e

t u l e ' t o reach ' voice1 e s s a l v e o l a r p1 os ive

( a i s an unrounded c lose back t o c e n t r a l vowel; e i s an

unrounded ha l f - c lose back kto cent , ra l vowel. )

The p o s i t i o n i s complicated by t h e add i t i on o f two more lab ia l . plo-

s i v e s , a voiced l a b i a l v e l a r p l o s i v e , an i n gbere ' t o c l o s e ' , and a

nda zume ' he a t e ( i t ) ' nda. zum cfapte 'he a t e the food '

nda cfawe 'he cu t ( i t ) down' nda cfaw kada ' h e c u t doyn the -r.-re,- C '

The f i f t h p o i n t i s t h a t t h e Semito-Hami t i c languages show an ab-

sence of a f f r i c a t e s , o r a t l e a s t o f primary a f f r i c a t e s . I n t h i s r e spec t ,

Eachai-ia shows t h e con t r a ry , as both t h e voi-ced and vo ice l e s s p a l a t c -

a l v e o l a r a f f r i c a t e s occur, though n e i t h e r very f r equen t ly . Examples are

jipa ' p i o t t i n g ' , and bacama 'Bachama'

One f u r t h e r phonological ma t t e r worth commenting on i s t h e f a c t

t h a t Bachama seems t o conform t o the rules of s y l l h h l e structure conmon

t o Semito-Hamitic. No Bachama ay-Llable 'begins w i t h a. vcwel, o r wit,h t w o

consonants , and no s y l l a b l e ends with two consonants. 'ilal~.i:n i n conjurlc-

Lion wil,h +,he other f a c t o r s , t.his i n l ikcjy t o b e more t h a n a Lypological

acc iden t .

Bach- sha re s t h e f e a t u r e of t one with many l a~p 'uages of t h e Chadic

branch, bu t tone i s not a phonological f e a t u r e of Semito-Hamitic i n gene-

r a l . It i s no t commonly recognized a s an a rcha ic f e a t u r e and may have de-

veloped a f t e r t h e s epa ra t ion of t h e branch, the Chadic langaages t c f n g

looked upon a s belonging t o t h e New s t a g e of a chronologica l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n .

As a f i n a l p o i n t , I would l i k e t o comment on t h e s t r u c t u r e of verb

r o o t s i n Bachama a s being d i f f e r e n t from Hausa, t h e Chadic language on

which Diakonoff had t o depend so much. He w r i t e s :

'The Tchad languages have p r a c t i c a l l y no t been i n v e s t i g a t e d from t h e p o i n t of view of h i s t o r i c a l l i n g u i s t i c s . S t i l l , it can 'be supposed t h a t t h e s t r u c t u r e of. t h e Tchad v e r b a l r o o t . . . i s presumably an anc ien t f e a t u r e . It i s probable t h a t while t h e system of predcmi-- n a n t l y t r i c o n s o n a n t a l v e r b a l r o o t s wi th a t o t a l replacement o f t h e root-vowel by t h e i n t e r n a l voca l i c i n f l e c t i o n has gained supremacy i n t h e Berbero-Libyan and i n t h e Semit ic branches, and a l s o i n Egyptian (where poss ib ly a t some very e a r l y s t a g e t h e root-vowel was s t i l l p r e s e r v e d ) , it never came t o p r e v a i l i n t h e Cush i t i c and t h e Tchad branches" (1965 : 3 8 ) .

It i s t r u e t h a t f o r Hausa one can e s t a b l i s h b iconsonanta l verb r o o t s

wi th a roo t vowel, b u t i n Bachama t h e s i t u a t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t , a t l e a s t

f o r t hose verbs which have a non-open vowel i n t h e i r Grade 1 forms. For

t h e s e ve rbs , one cannot e s t a b l i s h a gene ra l r o o t vowel, t h e r e be ing X-?-

g u l a r voca l i c i n f l e c t i o n from Grade 1 t o Grade 2 forms, and a l s o w i t h i n

each grade , a s exemplif ied b r i e f l y "blow.

nda p i i r e ' he t ha t ched '

nda p i r vaney 'he t ha t ched t h e h u t '

nda pyer venye 'he t ha t ched t h e h u t s '

Grade 1 I '

t a a p i i r a vuney ' t h e y went and tha t ched t h e h u t ' Grade 2

t a a pyaara venye ' t h e y went and tha t ched t h e h u t s ' l'

nda mbara cfiye 'he ex t inguished t h e f i r e t 1 1

nda mbara cfiye 'he bea t ou t t h e f i r e t I !

The two forms f o r ' h u t ' and ' h u t s ' show a l s o t h a t .t,here i s i n t e r n a l vo-

c a l i c i n f l e q t i o n f o r nouns i n Bachama a s wel l a n f o r verbs . These exam-

p l e s a r e genera l r a t h e r than unique f o r Bachama, and may sugges t t h a t

t h e Chadic branch i s c l o s e r t o t h e oi l ier branches of t h e Semito-Hamitic

U -i i Cl 1.1 S 'LY languages t h a n P r o f e s s o r Diakonof f , 'without such evidence, had p-----

t b o 7 , - dt ( c f . ~ e h l ~ 1976).

Diakonoff, I . M . 1965. Semito-Hamitic La7zqu1-zges. Moscow.

Newman, P a u l and Roxana Ma. 1966. "Conparat ive Chadic: phonology ana l e x i c o n " , J . Afr. Lmg. 5:218-51.

Schuh, R u s s e l l G . 1976. "The Chadic ve rba l system and i t s A f r o a s i a t i c na ture1 ' , Afroasiatic 'Ling. 3 (1) : 1 - 1 4 .

Papers in Chadio Linguistics Ed. by P. Kernan and R. M. Newman Leiden : Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

DEFINITENESS IN KERA

Karen H. Dert

1. Form

Definiteness is marked in Kera by a suffix -g, which is

HI after MID, L0

MID after HI

With consonant-final nouns, only the tone1 of the DEF-marker is

realized.

h h g S ' woman ' + DEF halgah - k u l i 'hut ' k u l i q -

biagi l elephant ' baan>n -

k s s i r 'root'

S on ' fat, ' son - h?, l'& ' man ' hhlbd -

Definiteness is always marked at the end of the Noun Phrase.

Noun + Adjective:

'the beautiful woman'

'the woman is beautiful'

' the dead man' 'the man is dead'

'Research on Kera was carried out as part of the research program on "Tschadohamitische Sprachen in der Republik Tschad" directed by H. Jungraithmayr (~arburg), and financed "by the Deutsche Forschungsgemein- schaft. The present study is based on a collection of 32 texts published in Ebert 1975).

l ! a ~ ~ ~ tone is unmarked except in compound tones, where it is marked with a accent.

Noun + Rela t ive Clause:

AS a r e s t r i c t i v e ( r e i d e n t i f y i n s ) r e l a t i v e c l ause i s p a r t of t h e NP, t h e

DEF-marker has t o fo l low i t .

(6) k u l b s m k t : hhlhm b s m e e m e r ) - ; jag bs h s a t i g? idhh , y e haw d r a

' t h e h u t which t h e dead man used t o s l e e p i n [i t-DEF], they des t roy i t '

/ / l (7) kayaa k e l g; mint i ' t e n :skiniq

' - this i s t h e s t o r y t h a t I heard [it-DEF]'

Noun + Noun:

Only t h e whole NP can -be marked d e f i n i t e .

' a woman ' S goat ' ' t h e woman's g o a t '

o u t no t *h>rg- i i - k a h s l g s i - ' t h e goat of t h e woman')

( 10 ) korma kdmna a c h i e f ' s son '

( 11 ) korma kdmnar) - ' t h e c h i e f ' s son '

( b u t no t *karma$ - kdmn;; - ' t h e son of t h e c h i e f ' )

No e x p r e s s i b i l i t y i s l o s t through t h i s r e s t r i c t i o n . The s i x p o s s i -

b i l i t i e s of u s ing d e f i n i t e and i n d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e s i n English p o s s e s s i v e

cons t ruc t ions can not express more than t h r e e meaning d i f f e r e n c e s :

a ) - a son of - a ch ie f = a c h i e f ' s son

(.b) m son of g ch ie f

c ) - a son of the c h i e f

( d ) son o f c h i e f = m chie f ' S son

\ \ I n Kera, ( c ) can be expressed by adding t h e numeral rnana ' one ' t o (11):

The DEF-marker can in f luence t h e tone of a foll.owing grammatical

morpheme. The subjunct ive marker l a and t h e l o c a t i v e marker -a a r e

H I a f t e r NP not marked, d e f i n i t e

M I D a f t e r NP marked d e f i n i t e

( 1 3 ) ayan kumay l;

( 1 4 ) ayan kumay - l a % \ "

( 1 5 ) a q&&g kgrka g e g e l a

' g ive me some b e e r q

' g ive me t h e b e e r '

'she was h i d i n g behind a b a s k e t '

A compound tone on t h e penul t imate s y l l a b l e i s cont rac ted LO H I b e f o r e

t h e l o c a t i v e -a: g&g~i + -a + g&gdla, kulir) + -a + kuliqa. FOY

consonant-f inal nouns ending i n a high tone , d e f i n i t e n e s s i s thus marked

only by t h e tone of t h e s u f f i x :

( I T ) ghd kssar: 'under a r o o t '

( 18 ) gud kzsa ra ( < kesgr - + -a) 'under t h e r o o t '

2 . Use

Very l i t t l e i s known about t h e use of d e f i n i t e markers i n Chadic

languages. It i s s a i d , f o r example, i n Jungraithmayr and M6hlig ( 1 9 ~ 6 ) ~

t h a t t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i s l e s s f requent i n Hausa than i n Eng l i sh , b u t

no th ing i s s a i d about t h e cond i t i ons o f i t s use i n Hausa. Some a u t h o r s

t a l k about a "previous r e f e rence marker" ( c f . Schuh 1972 :166f f . ) . The

term i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h i s marker i s used only i f t h e r e f e r e n t i n ques t ion

has been mentioned b e f o r e . But should t h e r e f e r e n t be mentioned e x p l i -

c i t l y o r would an i m p l i c i t mention do?

A d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s of d e f i n i t e markers remains, o f cou r se , a

desideratum no t on ly of Chadic s t u d i e s ; t o my knowledge, no ~ a t i s f a c t ~ o r y

d e s c r i p t i o n has been presented so f a r of t h e use o f English and German

d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e s e i t h e r .

I n t h e fo l lowing , I s h a l l make an a t tempt at a comparative desc r ip -

t i o n o f t h e main uses o f t h e DEF-marker i n Kera and t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e s

i n Engl i sh and German. The c a t e g o r i a l framework "based on r e f e r e n c e

types has been worked out mainly i n my d i s s e r t a t i o n on F r i s i a n d e f i n i t e

a r t i c l e s ( ~ b e r t 1 9 7 0 ) . A d e t a i l e d j u s . t i f i c a t i o n i s not p o s s i b l e h e r e ,

b u t I hope t h e Engl i sh and ~erm'an examples given w i l l both h e l p t o

c l a r i f y t h e not ions and t o show t h e i r genera l a p p l i c a b i l i t y .

A . Generic r e f e rence

When r e fe r r i -ng g e n e r i c a l l y , the choice between d e f i n i t e and i n d e f i -

n i t e forms i s o f t en o p t i o n a l i n English and German. The r e s t r i c t i o n s on

t h e use o f e i t h e r a r e not i d e n t i c a l f o r t h e two languages, bu t t h e y need

not be s p e c i f i e d he re .

( 1 9 ) the e l ephan t i s an i n t e l l i g e n t animal = an e lephant . . . e l ephan t s a r e i n t e l l i g e n t animals

d e r Elephant i s t e i n kluges T i e r = e i n Elephant ... d i e Elephanten s ind kluge Tiere -- = Elephanten . - *

2 0 ) when t h e f i r s t r a i n s f e l l . people went t o sow (the) r ed m i l l e t

a l s de r e r s t e Regen f i e l , gingen d i e Leute, (die) r o t e H i r se zu ssen

B . S p e c i f i c r e f e rence

Fur the r s u b c 1 a s s i f i c a t i o n i s necessary according t o whether t h e

r e f e r e n t i s :

( a ) unique i n a given soc io -cu l tu ra l contex t

(21 ) sun

d i e Sonne

(22 ) the ch ie f

d e r HSuptling - (b) prev ious ly mentioned

( 2 3 ) a man . . . t h e man

e i n Mann . . . de r Mann

( 2 4 ) some h u t s . . . - t h e hu t s

e i n i g e Hiitten ... @ Ki t t en

wln-ch i t ( c ) i d e n t i f i a b l e i n r e l a t i o n t o a known r e f e r e n t , t o T T - - ;

s t ands i n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of i n a l i e n a b l e possess ion . Here we can have

e i t h e r a d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e o r a possess ive pronoun t o i n d i c a t e t h e iden-

t i f i a b i l i t y of t h e r e f e r e n t , t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n depending on "he unique-

ness o r non-uniqueness of t h e r e f e r e n t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e posses so r , a s

we l l a s on t h e na tu re of t h e possessor (human, animal , o r i n a n i m a t e ) ,

(i) Refer r ing t o n e c e s s a r i l y unique i n a l i e n a b l e s

I f t h e possessor i s a human be ing , t h e possess ive pronoun i s o b l i g a t o r y

i n Eng l i sh , more o r l e s s o p t i o n a l i n erm man."

e he d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e and possess ive pronouns a r e not in t#erchangeable i n a l l con tex t s . Thei r use depends l a r g e l y on syntac t , ic p o s i t i o n , b u t a l s o on semantic f e a t u r e s such a s , f o r example, t he d i f f e r e n c e bet,ween k insh ip and body-part terms. The German forms given are t h e forms pos- s i b l e i n s u b j e c t p o s i t i o n .

(25) man . . . h i s mother, his head

Mann . . . s e i n e / d i e - -. - . Mutter , s e i n / d e r Kopf

If che possessor i s an animal, t h e possess ive pronoun i s aga in obl iga-

t o r y i n Engl i sh . I n German, bo th t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e and t h e posses-

s i v e pronoun a r e p o s s i b l e when r e f e r r i n g -CO unique body p a r t s , but t h e

posses s ive pronoun i s sonewhat unusual wi th k insh ip te rms .

(26) cow . - . -- i t s mother, & head

Kuh . . . ? i h r e / d i e -p Mutter , i h r / d e r Kopf

I f t h e possessor i s inanimate, t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i s most coninion i n

both English and German.

( 2 7 ) hut . . . the door , t h e / i t s roof -- HGtte . . . TGr9 d a s / i h r Dach

i i ) Refe r r ing t o i n a l i e n a b l e s wi th p o t e n t i a l mu l t ip l e r e f e r e n c e

I f t h e possessor i s a human be ing:

( 2 8 ) man . . . b r o t h e r , l e g

Mann ... s e i n Bruder, s e i n Bein

I f t h e possessor i s an animal:

( 2 9 ) cow ... - i t s l e g , g l e g

Kuh . . . -- i h r Bein Bein

If t h e possessor i s inanimate :

(30) t r e e . Â - a branch

Baum . . . e i n Zweig

The d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i s no t admit ted i n any of t h e s e c a s e s . Keg

Brader o r Bein can be used i n Gerrr~an only in t h e case o f previo1.1~

mention o r presuppos i t ion of uniqueness. Non-unique p a r t s o f an imals

o r inanimates can b e in t roduced i n t h e same way a s a l i e n a b l e s , i . e . with

an i n d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e . A common a l t e r n a t i v e i s t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n v i a t h e

whole s e t :

( 2 9 ' ) one of i t s l e g s

e i n e s i h r e r Beine

Here r e fe rence i s made t o one element out of a s e t which, a s a whole,

counts a s a unique p a r t o f t h e posses so r ; t h e forms thus be long i n

category ( i ) under ( c ) above.

I f we now t u r n t o t h e DEF-marker i n Kera we f i n d a s t r i k i n g s i r n i -

l a r i t y i n use .

A. Generic r e f e rence

I n gene r i c s en tences , Kera commonly uses t h e DEF-marker.

(31 ) b>an i$ - harnt; d i g l > b> ' t h e / a n e lephant d o e s n ' t e a t mice '

( 3 2 ) pep b> k e b s r i ; - hagan ana ka:, kar$ - raawar) b> jb 'g - 'when t h e f i r s t r a i n s f e l l , people went t o sow red m i l l e t '

I n Kera t e x t s , we a l s o f i n d i n d e f i n i t e NPs wi th gene r i c meaning:

h h u m b s p6ve occurs bes ides h h h m b; p6ven ' t h e Peve man'

kaa occurs bes ides k a i ' t h e people '

Generic W s wi thout t h e DEF-marker a r e used mainly "by o l d e r people . No

condi t ions have been found f o r omi t t i ng t h e marker; t hus f o r some Kera

speakers , it seems t o be op t iona l i n gene r i c sen tences .

B. S p e c i f i c r e f e rence

I n KPs wi th s p e c i f i c r e f e rence , t h e DEF-marker i s o b l i g a t o r y when:

( a ) t h e r e f e r e n t i s unique

( 3 3 ) c$w$n - ' t h e sun '

( 34 ) kdmnah - ' t h e ch i e f ' ( b ) t h e r e f e r e n t has "been p rev ious ly mentioned

( 35 ) hilhrn . . . h h l z - ' a man . . . t h e man'

( 3 6 ) k u l i . . . k u l i $ a h u t l h u t s . . . t h e h u t / h u t s t

Kera nouns denot ing i n a l i e n a b l e possess ion can never have t h e DEF-marker

a lone , i n c o n t r a s t t o German and, p a r t l y , Engl i sh , c f . (27-27) . The

possessor has t o be i n d i c a t e d e i t h e r by a possess ive pronominal s u f f i x

o r by a noun, e . g.

(37 ) C 3 ' head ' / / / / I

cuuru ' h i S head' c u u r u ~ - ' h i s head-DFF' c a s r a hhlhrn ' a man's head' c f . c a a r a h u l u i ' the man's head ' -

i ) I f a r e f e r e n t denoted by a term of i n a l i e n a b l e posses s ion i s

n e c e s s a r i l y unique r e l a t i v e t o an animate possessor , t h e t e r n i s con-

s t r u c t e d with a possess ive s u f f i x & t h e DEF-marksr.

' h e r / i t s mother i s ill'

' t hey i n j u r e d h i s l i t s head '

Some younger speakers make a d i s t i n c t i o n between human and non-huaan

posses so r s , a s r e f l ec t ed , i n t h e Sng l i sh possess ive pronouns ( h i s / h e r

v s . i t s ) and i n t h e p re fe rence of t h e German d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e w i t h an i -

mal k i n s h i p terms ( c f . ( 2 5 ) wi th ( 2 6 ) ) . The cons t ruc t ion 1V + POSS + DD'

i s then only used t o r e f e r t o i n a l i e n a b l e s of non-human be ings . I n

s ta tements about humans, t h e DEF-marker would he dropped, l e a v i n g only

t h e possess ive s u f f i x .

( 38' ) n a r e de d g m e - Ã ˆ / / (39') ye lasaq cuuru -

' h e r mother i s ill'

' t hey i n j u r e d h i s head '

I n a l i e n a b l e p a r t s of inanimates i n Kera a r e u s u a l l y denoted 'by a

H + H cons t ruc t ion , where t h e second N s t ands f o r t h e posses so r :

(40 ) ku k u l i 'mouth [ o f ] h u t ' = ' door '

(h i ) caa ra k u l i 'head [ o f ] h u t ' = ' r o o f '

( 4 2 ) kas ksp&j 'arm [ o f ] t r e e ' = 'branch '

I f t h e possessor has been mentioned i n a previous sen tence , t h e i n a l i e n -

ab l e i s r e f e r r e d t o by a N + N + DEF cons t ruc t ion :

m i n t i c a a r e k u l i n b$ c i m - c i m i &ra

'when he came t o a h u t , he opened t h e door; he saw t h a t t h e roo f was r o t t e n 1

The DEF-marker, however, i s no t due t o an e x p l i c i t o r i m p l i c i t p rev ious

mention, b u t s o l e l y t o t h e uniqueness of t h e r e f e r e n t i n r e l a t i o n t o i t s

posses so r .3 This w i l l become c l e a r by comparing ( 4 3 ) wi th ( 5 3 ) bplow.

~ n i ~ u e n e s s i s a l e x i c a l f e a t u r e does not n e c e s s a r i l y correspond t o r e a l i t y , although it i s 'based on some cuLturaJ s t anda rds . Thus door counts a:-; [-tuniquo] i n r e l a t i o n t o house even though nowadays houses usu- a l l y have more than one door . The door t h e n r e f e r s t o t h e f r o n t door , if not i n d i c a t e d o therwise by t h e context,.

( L i ) I f a r e f e r e n t i s not neces sa r i l y unique, any --. animate pos-

s e s s o r , whether human o r animal, has t o be i n d i c a t e d by a possess ive \ \

s u f f i x . The niunera.1 mans 'one ' may be added a t t h e end. of t h e sen-

t ence . The DEF-marker i s used exc lus ive ly i n case of prev ious mention

o r p re suppos i t i on of uniqueness .

f / \ ^ Â ¥ h s l i n u ban g e m 1 ' a 'brother of h i s came, t o o ' f /

s l i n u ben g&m rnana

c f . ( 4 5 ) s3'indh - ban gsm ' h i s "bother (unique o r mentioned b e f o r e ) came, t oo ' ' t h e y i n j u r e d h i s l e g '

one of h i s l e g s ' *a l e g o f h i s '

c f . (47) ye l&& k&np&rdn - ' t h e y i n j u r e d h i s l e g (mentioned 'before) '

However, t h e r e i s an except ion t o t h i s gene ra l r u l e r ega rd ing t h e

use of t h e DEF-marker. Some l e x i c a l l y ambiguous k i n s h i p terms a r e d i s -

t i ngu i shed through t h e presence o r absence of t h e DEF-marker independent

of contex t .

(48 ) nasna ' u n c l e , nephew'

naandan 'my unc le9 naenden - 'my nephew'

nuundh ' h i s unc le ' nuundhn ' h i s nephew' - 49) mooma ' g randfa the r , grandson, father- in- law ( o f woman)'

moomadsn 'my g randfa the r ' moomad% 'my grandson, my fa-cher- - in-law '

moomedh ' h i s g randfa the r ' moomadh$ ' h i s grandson' - ( 5 0 ) a d i i d a 'grandmother, mother-in-law ( o f woman)'

ad; id; 'my grandmother' ad l id ; - 'my mother-in-law'

a d l i d s ' h e r grandmother' i d i i d s $ ' h e r mother-in-law' - (51 ) wa ben d a nuundh 'he came wi th h i s unc le '

( 5 2 ) we ben d a nuund&< - ' he came wi th h i s nephew'

Thus (51) has t o be t r a n s l a t e d a s ' . . . h i s unc le ' even i n t h e case of

'IVote t h a t t h e cons t ruc t ion ( a ) a b r o t h e r o f h i s d i f f e r s from (b) one of h i s b r o t h e r s ( c f . (29')) i n t h a t t h e l a t t e r presupposes t h e ex i s - t ence of s e v e r a l b r o t h e r s whereas t h e former can only he used i f t h e r e i s no such p re suppos i t i on . This exp la ins why a l e g of h i s i s n o t pos- s i b l e . Kera has no sepa ra t e express ion for ( b ) .

p r e v i o ~ s mention o r unique r e f e rence whereas ( 5 2 ) has t o be t r a n s l a t e d

a s ' . . . h i s nephew' i n a l l p o s s i b l e con tex t s .

A non-unique i n a n i m a s p a r t , i f mentioned f o r t h e f i rs"c t i m e , i s

r e fe r r e - i t o by an i n d e f i n i t e MP. Nei ther t h e DEF-marker nor a posses-

s i v e s u f f i x a r e p o s s i b l e .

( 5 3 ) we lug k ~ p ~ g , we jarnag kas kzP>g (man:)

'he climbed a t r e e , he cu t a branch '

This example proves t h a t t h e marking of d e f i n i t e n e s s i n ( 4 3 b - i n c l u d i n g

t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i n t h e English t r a n s l a t i o n there--cannot be a t t r i - r \

buted t o a f e a t u r e " i m p l i c i t l y mentioned". I n (53), kas kapag ' b r anch '

i s i m p l i c i t l y mentioned j u s t a s much a s ku k u l i ' door ' i s i n ( b 3 ) , but

t h e DEF-marker i s only app l i ed i f t h e i m p l i c i t l y mentioned r e f e r e n t can

be unambiguously i d e n t i f i e d .

C . Other func t ions of DEF-marker i n Kera

So f a r t h e p r i n c i p l e s governing t h e use of t h e Kera DEF-marker and

t h e English/German d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e s seem t o be very s i m i l a r . We

f i n a l l y have t o mention two uses of t h e DEF-marker t h a t have no c o r r e s -

pondences i n Engl i sh o r German.

( i ) The DEF-marker s u f f i x e d t o an UP with an independent posses-

s i v e pronoun (used with a l i e n a b l e possess ion) r e f e r s a n a p h o r i c a l l y t o t h e

sub jec t of t h e sen tence , d i s t i n g u i s h i n g t h u s between a r e f l e x i v e and. a

non-ref lexive use of posses s ive pronouns. 5

5 4 ) a hag tart: naatab ' s h e l took h e r i k n i f e '

she took k n i f e her-DEF

c f . ( 5 5 ) a hag tgrte n a a t i ' she i took h e r 2 k n i f e '

she took k n i f e h e r

(56) we l&nd da k&&w> nuu'tdi - 'he1 h i t him2 wi th h i s s t i c k '

he hi t -him wi th s t i c k his-DEF

c f . ( 5 7 ) ws l s t n d da k&f'aw& nuut6 ' h e i h i t him2 with h i s 2 / 3 s t i c k r

he hi t -him wi th s t i c k hi.s

he d i s t i n c t i o n between r e f l e x i v e and non-ref'lexive posses s ive pronouns i s found i n Scandinavian languages, t o o , cf. Danish s i n kn iv ' h i s own k n i f e ' , hans kniv ' h i s ( ano the r p e r s o n ' s ) k n i f e ' .

i i ) Temporal and cond i t i ona l c l auses a r e o b l i g a t o r i l y marked.

d e f i n i t e . The DEF-marker i s a t t ached t o the l a s t c o n s t i t u e n t of t h e

c l ause , which always precedes t h e main sen tence .

\ 32) p& b> ksber in hagin ana ka;, - ka< r&w& b> j b 9 e gard>t$

'when t h e f i r s t r a i n s f e l l , people went t o sow r e d m i l l e t ' ( l i - ~ . f i rs t - rains-DEF ra ined so now-DEF . . . l )

58) jzQ m4 I& pep bag, - BCOCOQ a w - 1 2 ghiA ' i f it w a s no t a death from Pepe ( g o d / r a i n ) , t h e g r a s s s h a l l f a l l t o t h e l e f t ' ( l i t . 'was dying from Pepe not-DE F . . . ' )

/ / /

(59) talsqgSh nskan-ne warag, - k$rnnUh - is be m i n t 4 LviriY$ ti 'when t h e grave i s ready, h i s r e l a t i v e s s t a r t t o a sk f o r g i f t s ' ( l it . 'hole-DEF 'being-enough

gene r i c

s p e c i f i c

un i que

previous mention

i n a l i e n a b l e

un i que

human

animal

inanimate

non-'unique

human

animal

inanimate

possess ive r e f l e x i v e

sen tence adve rb ia l c l auses

English

DEF/INDEF

DEF

DEF

POSS

POSS

DEF/(POSS )

POSS

POSS/INDEF

INDEF

-- -

German

DEF/IMDEF

DEF

DEF

POSS

POSS/IKDEF

INDEF

DEF = d e f i n i t e a r t i c le /marker

Kera

DEF/(ITOEF)

DEF

DSF

POSS ( + DEF)

POSS i- DEF

DEF

PUS 3

FOSS

INDEF

DEF

DEF

11'wEF = i n d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e / m a r k e r (0) FOSS = posses s ive pronoun/suf f ix ( X ) = r e s t r i c t e d use of X

We have shown t h a t t h e r e i s a s u b s t a n t i a l correspondence i n t h e use

of t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i n English/German and t h e DEF-marker i n Kera.

The cons t ruc t ion of t h e DEF-marker t oge the r 'with a posses s ive pronoun o r

s u f f i x and t h e marking of adve rb ia l c l auses a s d e f i n i t e c o n s t i t u t e t h e

main d i f f e r ences between Kera and English/German.

The DEF-marker i n Kera i s n e i t h e r used l e s s t han t h e d e f i n i t e

a r t i c l e , nor i s it used only a s a previous r e f e rence marker. I do no t

c la im t h a t t h e s u b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s used i n t h i s paper are exhaus t ive ,

b u t I be l i eve t h a t t hey a r e b a s i c f o r t h e languages t r e a t e d and t h a t

t hey have some re levance f o r o t h e r Chadic languages . 6

REFERENCES

E b e r t , Karen H . 1970. Referenz, Spreehsituatioz und die bestimten ArtikeZ in einem nordfriesisehen Dialekt. D i s s e r t a t i o n , K i e l Uni- v e r s i t y . ( = Studien und Mate r i a l i en no. 4, Nordf r i i sk I n s t i t u u t , ~ r e d s t e d t . )

. 1975. Sprache und Tradition der Kera (Tsehad), %it 1: Texte. Marburger S tud ien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde, S e r i e A , Band 6 . Be r l in .

Jungraithmayr, H . and W . J . G . M5hlig. 1976. Ewfuhrung in die Hazisa Sprache. Marburger S tudien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde, S e r i e A , Band 7. B e r l i n .

Schuh, Russe l l G . 1972. Aspects of Ngizin Syntax. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , Un ive r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles.

1977. "The Bade/Ngizim determiner system", Afroasiatic Ling. 4 ( 3 ) : 101-174.

R u s s e l l Schuh po in t ed out t o me during t h e Colloquium t h a t he had developed a very s i m i l a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n f o r desc r ib ing Lhe use of Bade and Hgizim de terminers , s ee Schuh (19'77).

. . Paper>s in Cnadzc Linqmstzc's Ed. b y P . Herman and K . M . Kewman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

THE PLURAL IN CHADiC

Zygmnt Fra jzyngier

l. In t roduc t ion

The aim of t h i s paper i s t o desc r ibe t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p betveeii

nominal and ve rba l p l u r a l formations and t o cons ider c e r t a i n nypo'cheses

concerning t h e nominal p l u r a l i n Proto-Chadic.

One of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e s i n a number of Chadic languages

i s t h e i d e n t i t y of markers of nominal p l u r a l w i th t h e markers t h a t i n d i -

c a t e t h e f r e q u e n t a t i v e , i n t e n s i v e form of t h e verb and a t t h e same t ime ,

o f t e n , p l u r a l i t y of o b j e c t . I n t h i s paper , t h e s e forms of t h e v e r b will-

be c a l l e d p l u r a l verbs . The assumption i n t h i s paper i s t h a t t h i s iden-

t i t y i s not a c c i d e n t a l . The number of languages i n which it happens and

t h e number of morphemes involved make any argument a g a i n s t a c c i d e n t a l

i d e n t i t y super f luous .

There a r e e s s e n t i a l l y t h r e e p o s s i b l e explana t ions f o r t h i s t y p e of

i d e n t i t y . The f i r s t two involve i n t e r n a l borrowing, from paradigm A t o

paradigm B o r v i ce v e r s a , i n t h i s ca se , from v e r b a l p l u r a l t o nominal

p l u r a l o r from nominal p l u r a l t o ve rba l p l u r a l . Such borrowing i s plau- " - s i d e s ince t h e forms t h a t a r e borrowed have t h e same semantic f - ~ m c t i o n .

i . e . a s markers of p l u r a l i t y . The th i rd , p o s s i b i l i t y i s t h a t t h e r e i s a

'orrn. e .g . marker o f p l u r a l i t y , which i s no t a t t a c h e d t o any paradigm i n

*The work on t h e p r e s e n t paper has been p a r t i a l l y supported by a g ran t from t h e Council on Research and Crea t ive Work o f the Un ive r s i t y o f Colo- rado. The Unive r s i ty helped a s we l l by provid ing 2 t r a v e l g r a n t which enabled me t o a t t e n d t h e Colloquium. The work on Pero was conducted w i l e I was a member of t h e t a c a l t y of Abdullahi Bayero College, Ahmadu B^-110 Univers i ty ; t h e i r support i s hereby ackricwler?gefl. I would l i k e t o thank David Rood of t h e Univers i ty of Colorado f o r t h ~ c a r e f u l r e a d i n g o f Ibs' manuscript and very k i p l p f u l c o m r n t s . T '1 + o Lhanh I ' p a r t i - r-ipan-ts of t he Leiden Colloquium, e s p e c i a l l y Paul Newman, f o r t h e i r comments on t h e paper , which prompted some changes and a d d i t i o n s , i n p d r t i - reulx-, t h e a d d i t i o n of +,h(- c~.r~a.-ly n f' -Vn. A I L e r r o r s are my uo lc re^poi-si h i 1 i t ,y .

p a r t i c u l a r and which i s , a s it were, used by any paradigm whenever cer-

. ,- , . ..AA. ;eir:a:-!tic; condi t ions rea,uire i t . H i s t o r i c a l l y thi:; ( ~ 1 2 1 . 6 '':F i n t , e r -

t i n c t i o n emerged i n a language. Sir=- ,L^ it is ~-.u-JOssi~le l -to c + = c k tile

v a l i d i t y of t h i s hypothes is , I w i l l no t cons ider it a t a l l i n t1:i.s

-ohper, and t h e r e f o r e only t h e f i r s t two hypotheses w i l l be examined. , . One of them w i l l be r e j e c t e d and the ir : ipiication o f t h i s f o r c , n e recon-

s t r u c t i o n of t h e Frcito-Chadic nominal p l u r a l markers w i l l he di.scussed.

The most widespread device f o r t h e formation of nominal p l u r a l i s

gemination of a consonant a n d o r r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f p a r t o f a stem. It

w i l l be shown t h a t at a c e r t a i n s t a g e i n t h e ~ i b c o r y of Chadic t h i s was

a device used only f o r t h e formation of ve rba l p l u r a l , and t .hat it was

subsequent ly borrowed t o mark t h e nominal p l u r a l a s w e l l . The same hy-

p o t h e s i s w i l l be t e s t e d f o r another f requent marker of nominal p l u r a l ,

a , which, a long wi th gemination, was p o s t u l a t e d by Diakonoff (1965) t o

be a pro to-Afroas ia t ic device. These two hypotheses, i f accepted , would

r u l e out t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t e i t h e r of t h e devices was a nominal p l u r a l

marker i n Proto-Chadic.

The t h i r d p l u r a l marker, l e s s widespread than t h e p rev ious ly men-

t i oned two, involves a morpheme of t h e form -Vn. I t occurs almost ex-

c l u s i v e l y a s a nominal marker, A hypothes is concerning t h e o r i g i n o f

t h i s a F f i x w i l l be advanced and argued, and t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f -Vn "being

Prots-C'hadic nominal p l u r a l marker w i l l be r e j e c t e d .

I n o rde r t o present and defend t h e hypo thes i s , t h e d a t a on nominal

and v e r b a l p l u r a l s from t h e languages f o r which I have d a t a w i l l be pre-

sen ted . The d a t a p a r t begins wi th Pero , which does no t have a nominal

p l u r a l marker a t a l l , bu t i n s t e a d has a r i c h system of v e r b a l pl-ural

markers. This i s followed by an a n a l y s i s of t h e s i t n a t i o n i n Kanakuru,

t o nominal p l u r a l . Thi rd , a n a l y s i s of "che nominal and v e r b a l p l u r a l

formations i n o t h e r Chadic languages v i l l show t h a k t h e nominal p l u r a l s

i n those languages a r e a r e l a t i v e l y r c c e n t i n n o ~ a t i o n . F i n a l l y , w e w i l l

t u r n t o t h e d i scuss ion of t h e poss ib l e d i g i n of -Vn and some r e l a t e d

a f f i x e s a s markers o f nominal p l u r a l .

The fol lowing a n a l y s i s of p l u r a l formation i n Pero i s r a t n e r

lengthy f o r two reasons . F i r s t , it i s t h e f i r s t p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e

app ropr i a t e da t a . Second., s i n c e Pero has only t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l , it i s

worthwhile t o show how it i s formed. The d a t a from Pero w i l l L I ~ neces-

s a r y t o snow t h e connect ion between gemination and r e a u p i i c a t i o n of - s y l l a b l e , t o be d i scussed b r i e f l y l a t e r i n t h e paper .

There a r e s e v e r a l forms of p l u r a l f o r t h e verb i n Pero. Pero verbs

may be d i s y l l a b i c ( t h e l a r g e s t g roup) , t r i s y l l a b i c , and monosyll&.bic.

T h e o r e t i c a l l y , every verb should be ab le t o have a p l u r a l form. I n

p r a c t i c e , t h i s i s no t always t h e case , and t h e r e a r e so^@ verbs f o r

which speakers were no t a b l e t o provide a p l u r a l form.

T r i s y l l a b i c verbs form t h e p l u r a l by doubling t h e consonant of ;he

second s y l l a b l e , which may be formalized by t h e fo l lowing r u l e .

c l )vc2vcsv -+ (cl )vczc2vc3~ [ p l u r a l ]

s i n g u l a r P l u r a l Gloss

dgdjb dggd j 0 [dkkd jb] ' throw on ground'

1 lgdnb liggdnO [ likkUnh] f answer I

Monosyllabic verbs form t h e p l u r a l "m iliig i s u f f i x -LT- t o fclie

ve rba l stem:

/ \ ca-yy-o

/ \ ce-yy-o

'go down'

' d r i n k '

' e a t '

D i sy l l ab i c verbs wi th a sonorant a t t h e onse t of t h e secor-d sylla-

b l e form t h e p l u r a l by t h e fo l lowing r u l e :

V9 i n t h e p l u r a l form i s epenthet , ic . Af t e r a high f r o n t stem vowel t h e

The forms i n t h e s i n g u l a r a r e t h e under ly ing L'( rn. L Lh v+! ; t hey occur in t h i s phonological form before some o f t h e s u f f i x e s . The p l u r a l form i s found ir, LL, im,:, rnt.ivc a n d sqrnt," oil1, L - paradigmatic forms of t h e verb .

e p e n t h e t i c vowel i s -i-; elsewhere it i s -U-. 2

S ingu la r P l u r a l /Â \ / / \

meno memmuno

Gloss

' l i k e ' ' s l e e p '

'wash ' ' r u n '

The above group o f verbs i s p a r t i c u l a r l y important i n t h e p r e s e n t inves-

t i g a t i o n s i n c e it shows t h a t r e d u p l i c a t i o n of s y l l a b l e and gemination o f

consonant a r e e s s e n t i a l l y v a r i a n t s of t h e same device i n Pero. The use

of r e d u p l i c a t i o n r a t h e r than gemination of a consonant i s phonologica l ly

condi t ioned . It i s t h e presence o f a sonorant a t t h e onse t of t h e se-

cond s y l l a b l e t h a t apparent ly r e q u i r e s r e d u p l i c a t i o n .

D i s y l l a b i c verbs wi th a sonorant at t h e onse t of t h e second s y l l a b l e

where t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e has e i t h e r a long vowel o r a sonorant form t h e

p l u r a l by t h e fo l lowing r u l e :

bi'$i'rb f f ^ bi ' irb [p i71 ro ] 'make f i r e '

t d u l b t u $ u l b [ t67dl&] ' s c a t t e r '

g&e lb gao l ; i n c l i n e t h e head '

tLam0 / \

c u r r o

binno

' check, examine (medica l ly) '

&$urn; w a i t ' / (h /Â \

cuipuro [cd?dr:] V f r y '

bL$dnb [ &^no] ' l ook '

D i s y l l a b i c verbs which have t h e s t r u c t u r e CVCCV, i . e . t h o s e t h a t

have t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e c losed , add e i t h e r a s u f f i x -t- + r/V-V o r a

"There a r e s i m i l a r r e s t r i c t i o n s on t h e form of t h e e p e n t h e t i c vowel i n Kanakuru ( c f . F r a j zyngier 1976 ) .

3 ~ h e $ i s phone t i ca l ly r e a l i z e d as [ 7 ] due t o a gene ra l phonologica l r u l e i n Pero which i n s e r t s a g l o t t a l s t o p be fo re a l l vowel - in i t ia l s y l - l a b l e s . The V2 of t h e p l u r a l form i s a copy of Vi when V l i s [+high] . I f Vl i s [ -high] , t h e Vz of t h e p l u r a l cannot be p r e d i c t e d a t t h e p re sen t state of a n a l y s i s .

s u f f i x - j- . It i s s t i l l p o s s i b l e t o r econs t ruc t t h e r u l e which governs

t h e choice of -t- o r - j - . Verbs t h a t have an a l v e o l a r consonant :;S

t h e stem f i n a l add t h e s u f f i x -t-; a l l t h e o t h e r verbs i n t h i s group

add t h e s u f f i x -j- .

S ingu la r -- P l u r a l Gloss

-t- fund: fdndd-t-0 [ fdnddrb] ' cook ' cdt td- t -0 [ c d t t d r & ] 'wring water ou t o f

c l o t h '

baddo baddd-t-h [badddrh] ' f i n i s h '

d i l l ; di ' l ld-t-0 [d3'lldr&] ' f e t c h smal l quan t i - t i e s of wat ,er l

am& / / \

-3 - ambu- j -0 ' climb ' / \ f / \

y emmo yemmu- j -0 c a r v e i n wood'

~666: c4bibd- j -0 ' p l a n t I / \ / Â ¥ \

mummo mummu- j -0 ' c l o s e ' ben j0

/ / \ ben ju- j -0 'saw'

There a r e only a few examples which do not a l low t h e p o s t u l a t i o n of

t h e above r u l e a s s t i l l ope ra t ing i n Pero. A l l o f them have t h e s ingu-

l a r form CVCV r a t h e r t han CVCCV. Two of t h e s e examples involve a f i n a l

v e l a r consonant and t a k e t h e s u f f i x -t- r a t h e r t h a n t h e expected - j - a

~ e k b cekkd-t -0 ' l o s e ' /Â \

cuga cdkku-t -0 ' f a l l down'

The remaining except ions a l l involve t h e s u f f i x -j-.

/ \ / / \ c amu cammu- j -0 ' t w i s t a rope '

{Â£ [<A] / / \ iffu- j -0 ' c a t c h '

caku [c iyh] P / \

cakku- j -0 ' r ub ' bejh bej jd j0 [p&cdjO] t h a t c h '

. \ maju maj jd jb ' ask '

The p l u r a l c l a s s C i V C y C 2 V C 2 V has a s i t s source s i n g u l a r ve rbs of

t h e s t r u c t u r e C l WC2V:

diekb [diev:] dikkuko [ d^kkugb] ' ' fetch v a t e r ' Â£0 j 0 f 6 j jujo [f6c&jA] 'push '

The l a s t major c l a s s of p l u r a l s i nc ludes verbs of t h e s t r u c t u r e

( c ~ ) v c ~ c ~ v , i . e w i th t h e second consonant r edup l i ca t ed . The main source

f o r t h i s c l a s s o f p l u r a l s i s verbs of t h e ( C ) V C V s t r u c t u r e . The o t h e r

source i s verbs which have t h e f i r s t vowel long:

' e a t something h a r d q

' b e a t

deefb d&fo d i s c u s s ' &at0 [piarO] & t t O ' pour ' tdufch tdbbo t a k e from c o n t a i n e r '

160kO [ l 6 0 ~ 0 ] 16kkO h a n g '

This r u l e of p l u r a l formation i s of course t h e same as t h e r u l e f o r tri-

s y l l a b i c ve rbs , and could be formal ized i n t h e fol lowing way:

2.1. Summary of p l u r a l formation i n Pero

V2 = i i f V l = i

V2 = U elsewhere

o or va lue of V2 s e e footn

t / C 3 a l v e o l a r

j/C3 non-alveolar

2 . 2 . Conclusion regard ing Pero

Despi te t h e cons iderable v a r i a t i o n and complexity i n t h e format ior

of t h e ve rba l p l u r a l , t h e r e i s s t i l l a r a t h e r 1-arge degree of r e g u l a r i t y

and most of t h e forms a r e p r e d i c t a b l e from t h e s i n g u l a r form o f t h e verb.

It seems t h a t t h e r e d u p l i c a t i o n of t h e second consonant i s r e l a t , i v e l y

e a r l i e r t han s u f f i x a t i o n of -t- o r -j-. This conclus ion i s based on

t h e fol lowing obse rva t ions . A number of verbs have p l u r a l forms which

have a l r eady s p e c i a l i z e d meanings, u sua l ly a narrowed meaning when corn-

pared with t h e meaning of t h e normal p l u r a l form:

beto ' cu t i n t o two' b e t t o ' c u t i n t o p i e c e s '

a f b ' open a f f b ' s p l i t ' a& ' e a t ( e . g . peanu t s ) ' addo ' e a t something h a r d (meat ) ' 2

cdbh ' show cub& ' t e a c h '

Some of t h e s e verbs have a secondary p l u r a l i z a t i o n by means o f s u f f i x e s

i n o rde r t o convey t h e most gene ra l semantic no t ion implied- by t h e plu-

r a l verb:

&fd j b ' s p l i t , d i v i d e t

.&fcfutb ' e a t many t imes , many t h i n g s '

cubbd jb 'show, t e a c h many t h i n g s '

It i s important t o note t h a t t h e r e i s no i n f i x o r s u f f i x a i n t h e

p l u r a l forms of t h e verb . This a f f i x occurs r a t h e r f r e q u e n t l y i n o t h e r

Chadi c languages.

The e x i s t e n c e of morphological ly p l u r a l verbs wi th meaning d i f f e -

r e n t from t h e s i n g u l a r verbs , e .g . cub; 'show' vs . cub& ' t e a c h '

i n d i c a t e s t h a t gemination and r edup l i ca t ion a r e not due t o r e c e n t inno-

va t ion i n Pero. This conclusion i s f u r t h e r supported by t h e f a c t t h a t

t h e s u f f i x e s -t- and -j- are used only when the gemination cannot

apply because t h e stem a l r eady has t h e s t r u c t u r e CVCCV, with t h e word-

medial consonants i d e n t i c a l o r n o t .

3. Kanakuru

Kanakuru has a nominal p l u r a l r e a l i z e d i n e s s e n t i a l l y t h r e e d i f f e -

r e n t ways, which a r e not p r e d i c t a b l e on phonological o r semantic

grounds (~ewman 1974:82) . One i s t h e s u f f i x -ngin with what appear t o \ / \ /

be i t s v a r i a n t s -n j in / -n jen ; t h e second i s t h e s u f f i x -iyan/-uyan

wi th i t s v a r i a n t s i n , an , yen, and en. The t h i r d means of forming

t h e nominal p l u r a l i s through gemination ( ~ r a j z y n g i e r 1976; Newman 197b

analyzes it as hardening) of t h e second consonant and an a d d i t i o n o f one

o f t h e a -~ove s u f f i x e s .

Kanakuru has a ve rba l p l u r a l a s w e l l , formed by gemination o f t h e

second consonant of t h e verb (F ra j zyng ie r 1976) , t hus p a r t i a l l y resem-

b l i n g t h e t h i r d means of forming t h e nominal p l u r a l . The d i f f e r e n c e

c o n s i s t s i n t h e s u f f i x e s , which a r e p re sen t i n t h e nominal pl-ural "but

absent i n t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l .

It appears t h a t gemination i s an o l d e r device than s u f f i x a t i o n i n

t h e formation of nominal p l u r a l s i n Kanakuru. The argument f o r t h i s

conclusion i s t h e fol lowing. There i s a small number of verbs which

have a p l u r a l form a s we l l as a s i n g u l a r . There i s a l s o a much l a r g e r

group o f verbs i n Kanakuru which a r e p l u r a l i n form, i . e . t h e y have t h e

second consonant geminated, bu t f o r which t h e r e a r e n o recorded s i n g u l a r

forms. This may of course be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e incompleteness of ou r

d a t a , a l though t h e number of such verbs makes t h i s an u n l i k e l y explana-

t i o n . The o t h e r p o s s i b l e reason f o r t h e l a c k of t h e s i n g u l a r counrer-

p a r t s i s t h a t they were l o s t and a r e no t used any more. I f t h i s i s the

case , it would i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e gemination o f t h e second consonant i s

a r e l a t i v e l y o l d device i n t h e formation of v e r b a l p l u r a l , a l though it

i s not product ive anymore. The smal l s e t o f nouns which form t h e i r plu-

ral i n t h e same way i n which t h e verbs do may t h e r e f o r e r e p r e s e n t t h e

o l d e s t device of forming t h e nominal p l u r a l i n Kanakuru, s i n c e t h i s s e t

i s closed as we l l .

The fo l lowing i s an explana t ion f o r t h e development o f t h e p l u r a l

markers i n Kanakuru. Af te r gemination ceased, t o ope ra t e as a device f o r

marking t h e p l u r a l , t h e var ious s u f f i x e s on nouns emerged as a r e s u l t o f

compensatory change. The o l d ve rba l p l u r a l s were not perce ived anymore

a s p l u r a l forms and, t h e r e f o r e , t h e r e was a s i t u a t i o n i n which th t - re

e x i s t e d two forms con ta in ing e s s e n t i a l l y t h e same semantic c h a r a c t e r i s -

t i c s . One of t hose forms disappeared from usage.

It i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e whole process was t h e oppos i te from t h e one

descr ibed above. One could conceive, f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t t h e nomina.1~

s u f f i x e s marking p l u r a l developed f i r s t , and then gemination a s t h e mor-

phologica l device ceased t o ope ra t e because it was d u p l i c a t i n g t h e

func t ion of t h e nominal s u f f i x e s . But t h i s d i r e c t i o n of development i s

con t r ad ic t ed by examining a number of languages, e . g . Hausa, where t h e r e

i s a l a r g e number of nominal p l u r a l markers and, a t t h e same t ime; redu-

p l i c a t i o n of p a r t o f t h e verb i s a product ive device f o r t he d e r i v a t i o n

of f r equen ta t ive forms.

4 . Other Chadic languages

I n t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n of p l u r a l formation i n o t h e r Chadic languages ,

I w i l l use t h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i n P . Kewman (1977) i n which f o u r

branches a r e d i s t i ngu i shed : E a s t , Biu-Mandara, West, and Masa. The

a n a l y s i s below i s based on d a t a f o r some o f t h e languages from t h r e e

of t h e s e branches o f t h e Chadic family. Whenever I d i d not have d a t a ,

t h i s f a c t i s i n d i c a t e d by "?" i n t h e app ropr i a t e column. Most of t h e

d a t a a r e quoted a s p re sen ted i n t h e sources I have been us ing , i n most

cases without any a t tempt a t r e a n a l y s i s . The l i s t of languages i s "by

io means exhaus t ive . '

' ~ n e fol lowing a r e t h e sources used f o r t h e p a r t i c u l a r languages : Dangla ( ~ 6 d r ~ 1971) ; Jonkor and Jegu ( ~ u n g r a i t h m a y r 1961/62; J . Lukas 1974175); Kera ( ~ a r e n E b e r t , personal communication); Kapsiki ( smi th 1969) ; Kotoko, Logone, and Buduma ( ~ e s t e r m a n n and Biyan 1952) ; Tera ( P . Neman 1970) ; Margi ( ~ o f f m a n n 1963) ; Bachama ( ~ar r iochan 1 9 7 ~ ) ; Galanda ( ~ . ~ e w m a n 1971) ; Bade ( P . Lukas 1967/68); Ron languages ( ~ u n g - rai thmayr 1965, 1970) ; Gis iga (J. Lukas 1970) ; Angas ( ~ u n g r a i t h m a y r 1963) ; Sura ( ~ u n ~ r a i t h m a ~ r 1963164); Chip ( ~ u n ~ r a i t h m a y r 1964/65) ; Bole ( J . Lukas 1971) ; Kanakuru ( P . Newman 1974) ; Pero ( ~ r a j z y r i ~ i e r 1976 and field not^^}; Musgu ( J . Lukas 1941) ; Hausa usse sell Schuli's a n a l y s i s i n Welmers 1973; Fra j zyng ie r 1965) .

EAST

SUBBRANCR A

Dangla

Jonkor

Mub i

SUBBRANCH B

Kera

Nominal

S u f f i x I n f i x

I

l

-an, -e, -i, -0, l

- i k , -nau. I

Tonal changes. I l

There a r e s i n g u l a r l s u f f i x e s -0, -e. ,

l

Vocalic change and l

gemination of I

second consonant. l

l

1

l

-n . I ,

Verb a 1

9

vocal ic changes, e .g . D -r a.

The forms i n Jegu and i n Kera show s i m i l a r i t y , v i z . t h e s u f f i x e s -an

and -n. The forms i n Dangla and Jonkor a r e d i f f e r e n t from each o t h e r

and from Jegu and Kera. The markers i nvo lv ing -n and -k w i l l be

d e a l t wi th l a t e r i n t h i s paper . The i n f i x -a- i s o f course a r e t en -

t i o n of a very o l d morpheme ( s e e Greenberg 1955) which w i l l b e d i scussed

l a t e r a s w e l l . Unfortunately I d i d not have s u f f i c i e n t d a t a concerning

the verbal p l u r a l i n t h i s branch, b u t from Lukas (1975) it appears t h a t

t h e i n t e n s i v e form of t h e verb i n Jonkor involves t h e change from o -Ã

a i n t h e p r e f i x .

SUBBRANCH A

Gat anda

Tera

Margi

Kapsiki

Bachama

G i S i ga

SUBBRAJMCH B

Mus gu

Kotoko

Logone

Nominal

- ' ya r , -i ( t r a c e s ) .

P l u r a l marked wi th very few nouns denot ing humans and animals. Suf-

V/ f i x e s : -1i ( - e l i ) , -si, -lemu, - a t i . Reduplica- t i o n o f p a r t o f stem.

Vocal ic s u f f i x e s .

-ay, p o s t p o s i t i o n hay .

--

Gemination of f i n a l consonant . Su f f ixes : -e , -en, n i - i . I n t e r n a l vowel change.

Semination of f i n a l consonant . I n t e r n a l vowel :hange t o -a, s u f f i x -en , -e . Suf f ixes : - a i , - e i , -e. Xheer devices a s i n totoko .

Verbal

Redupl ica t ion of f i r s t consonant and i n s e r t i o n o f -a-. Rule (from R . Newnan 1971 : 35 ) :

None. -

P l u r a l through r e d u p l i c a t i o n .

Redupl ica t ion of p a r t o f stem.

I n t e r n a l vowel change. I n f i x -a-.

P l u r a l form of verb marked by suf - f i x e s -am o r -ak i n d i c a t e s p lura- l i t y of s u b j e c t .

Verb i s number-sensitive b u t , un- l i k e i n o t h e r Chadic languages , it is i n p l u r a l form when s u b j e c t i s p l u r a l .

( Information not a v a i l a b l e about v e r b a l p l u r a l f o r most languages o f t h i s subgroup. )

I n subbranch A of Biu-Mandara, t h e r e i s no obvious form which one

could p o s t u l a t e t o be common t o a l l languages of t h i s subbranch. The

verbs i n subbranch A form p l u r a l s through r edup l i ca t ion o r through t h e

voca l i c change t o a , e .g . Ga' anda, Bachama. This f a c t w i l l b e an

importanx argument l a t e r i n t h i s paper f o r t h e d i r e c t i o n of " i n t e r n a l

borrowing of forms" i n Chadic languages. Apparently, Tera has l o s t the

p l u r a l forms of t h e ve rb , s i n c e it i s t h e only language i n t h e subbranch

t h a t does not have a mechanism f o r t h e d e r i v a t i o n of ve rba l ' p lu ra l s .

I n subbranch B , i n Kotoko (Gu l fe i d i a l e c t ) and Logone t h e r e i s an

-en s u f f i x . Gemination occurs a s a device i n a t l e a s t t h r e e languages.

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e i s an -a s u f f i x i n - t h i s subbranch. A s f a r a s t h e

nominal p l u r a l formation i s concerned, t h e s e two subbranches do n o t have

much i n common except f o r t h e Gis iga s u f f i x -ay, which i s s i m i l a r t o

t h e p l u r a l markers i n subbranch B. I n Gis iga and i n Musgu t h e verb

agrees i n number wi th o r i n d i c a t e s t h e number of t h e s u b j e c t .

WEST

SUBBRANCH A

Daf f o

m

f" Sha &3

crt

3 W

G Kulere

Bokkos S2

0

l

-a, -aa, -ash, l

-e. Tonal I

changes. I

Nominal

S u f f i x I n f i x

l

S u f f i x -an. Redupl ica t ion .

Verbal

l

-egy. Redupli- ca t ion . I

l -ha, -ash. - a - w i t h redu-

I p l i c a t i o n . ?

l an , a sh , -ash, , -a-, -aa-. e , -ee, -i. I

Reduplicat ion. l

I n f i x e s -i-, -a-, -aa-. S u f f i x e s -aq, -an.

Angas

Sura

Chip

Bole

Kanakuru

SUBBRANCH B

Bade

-unaa, -ukaa, -uwaa, -c ' a a , - a i , -uu, -ii, -aa, -akuu, - a k i i , - ann i i , - a C t i i . I n f ix -a-. Reduplicat ion of a consonant i s involved i n a number o f s u f f i x e s .

Pos tpos i t i on -mo.

-

Pos tpos i t i on -mu.

-ngin, n j i n / n j e n , iyan/uyan, - i n , -an, -yen, -en. Redupl ica t ion of consonant of stem.

No p l u r a l .

S u f f i x In f i x l

F i n a l vowel change : I-aa- . a + a a , a , oo + a , I

a a , e , -an, - a t , - l e t , l

-a , - y i t , -aga, -oo t , 1

-agee t , -c in , - t i n . I

Redupl ica t ion . I

Reduplicat ion of first t h r e e phonemes o r of second sy l l a -b l e .

P l u r a l s e x i s t bu t are not numerous.

Reduplicat ion of stem. Change of t o n e . Shor ten ing of vowel. I n f i x -a-. Suf- f i x e s : -ap, e l , -k. I n f i x -1-.

S u f f i x -p. I n f i x -a-. Su f f ixes : -ak, -an. Tonal changes.

Reduplicat ion of i n i t i a l s y l l a b l e o r doubling o f l a s t consonant o f stem.

Redupl ica t ion .

Redupl ica t ion .

It seems impossible t o r econs t ruc t a common -plural marker f o r t h e

West branch. Within t h e Ron languages, one can determine a common plu-

r a l marker and t h e same goes f o r Angas, Sura , and Chip. But t h e p l u r a l

marker of Angas, Sura , and Chip i s a r ecen t innovat ion . It appa ren t ly

i s a t h i r d person p l u r a l pronoun and it has been analyzed a s such ( c f .

Greenberg 1955:202) . The most widespread markers o f p l u r a l i n t h e West

branch a r e t h e i n f i x (sometimes s u f f i x ) / a / and r e d u p l i c a t i o n , which has

been noted f o r almost a l l o f t h e languages except f o r Angas, 3iAra, and

Chip.

The ve rba l p l u r a l has been noted, i n a l l West languages, except f o r

Bade--but t h e r e my d a t a might be incomplete s ince t h e source f o r t h i s

language was an a r t i c l e dea l ing e x p l i c i t l y wi th t h e nominal system. I n

most o f t h e languages, t h e ve rba l p l u r a l i s marked e i t h e r by r edup l i ca -

t i o n o r by t h e a f f i x / a / . Sura and Chip have a few addi-cicnal a f f i x e s

not shared by o t h e r languages i n t h e t a b l e . Those a f f i x e s seem t o be

innovat ions . It i s worth no t ing t h a t n e i t h e r Pero nor Kanakuru have /a /

a s a p l u r a l marker.

5. Analysis of t h e t h r e e branches of Chadic

5 .1 . Nominal p l u r a l

The most f requent devices used t o mark p l u r a l i n t h e t h r e e branches

of Chadic a r e / a / and r e d u p l i c a t i o n o r gemination. Within each branch

t h e r e i s an abundance of p l u r a l markers which a r e not cognate w i t h i n t h e

branch, e .g . Margi - ' y a r , Tera -ku. Many o f t h e languages have a

v a r i e t y of p l u r a l morphemes whose occurrence i s o f t e n unpred ic t ab le on

any grounds. This l eads t o a conclusion t h a t except f o r / a / and redu-

p l i c a t i o n , t h e r e s t of t h e p l u r a l markers i n Chadic languages a r e t h e

r e s u l t of a process o r processes which must have occurred a f t e r Proto-

Chadic s p l i t i n t o t h e t h r e e o r more branches. Moreover, q u i t e o f t e n

t h e s e p l u r a l markers d i d not emerge u n t i l t h e p a r t i c u l a r branches s p l i t

i n t o t h e modern languages. Evidence f o r t h i s i s provided by t h e d iver -

s i t y of t h e p l u r a l markers w i t h i n each branch of Chadic.

5.1.1. The morpheme / a / . This marker occurs i n a l l of t h e branches o f

Chadic, most o f t e n a s an i n f i x , bu t it may be a s u f f i x a s w e l l . The

languages f o r which it was not recorded, such a s Pero and Kanakuru,

e i t h e r d id not have it o r l o s t i t .

5 . 1 . 2 . Reduplicat ion. This process occurs i n all of t h e branches o f

t h e Chadic fami ly , b u t no t i n a l l languages. I n subbranch A of Biu-

Mandara i t occurs only i n Kapsiki . I n t h e West branch it does n o t occur

i n t he Sura-Angas-Chip group. I n t h e Eas t "branch it occurs only i n Muhi.

'3.2. Verbal p l u r a l

This category occurs i n a l l o f t h e languages f o r which I have da t a .

The meaning of t h i s form always inc ludes an i n d i c a t i o n of i n t e n s i t y of

a c t i o n , r e p e t i t i o n o f an a c t i o n and, i n a l l b u t two languages, i t impl ies

p l u r a l i t y of t h e o b j e c t . Musgu and Gisiga a r e important excep t ions , i n

t h a t verbs i n t h e s e languages agree i n number wi th t h e s u b j e c t and. have

the p l u r a l form i f t h e sub jec t i s p l u r a l . It i s important t o remember

t h a t f o r t h e r e s t o f t h e Chadic languages t h e p l u r a l form of t h e verb i s

no t u s u a l l y a func t ion of verb-object agreement, a l though t h i s has been

noted a s w e l l , e . g . i n Kanakuru (~ewman 1974:72) . I n Margi ( ~ o f f m a n n

1963:57) , i f t h e verb has a p l u r a l form t h e noun does no t have t o have

t h e p l u r a l s u f f i x . Thus t h e ve rba l markers i n verb and noun i n Margi

a r e , a s it were, complementary.

The most common devices f o r formation o f t h e ve rba l p l u r a l a r e

r e d u p l i c a t i o n of a s y l l a b l e o r gemination of a consonant i n t h e verb .

Since t h i s device occurs i n a l l o f t h e branches of Chadic and i n almost

a l l t h e languages, one can assume t h a t it i s a r e t e n t i o n from t h e Proto-

Chadic v e r b a l system. The r u l e s f o r formation d i f f e r from language t o

language, and those d i f f e r ences have t o be a t t r i b u t e d t o innovat ions i n

p a r t i c u l a r languages.

The morpheme /a/ occurs a s t h e p l u r a l marker o f verbs i n t h e Biu-

Mandara branch (Ga'anda and ~ a c h a m a ) and i n t h e West branch on lan -

guages, Sura , c h i p ) . I n t h e Eas t branch it has been noted i n Jonkor.

On t n e evidence of t h e Biu-Mandara and West branches a lone , one could

conclude t h a t /a / was a morpheme marking p l u r a l i n t h e ve rba l system of

Proto-Chadic. The s u f f i x e s which occur i n Sura and Chip, v i z . -p and

-k must be innovat ions t h a t emerged i n t h e s e languages after t hey had

s p l i t from t h e o t h e r languages of t h e West branch.

The hypothes is t h a t gemina t ion / redupl ica t j ion and a f f i x / a / Tore

o r i g i n a l l y markers of t h e ve rba l p l u r a l i s most s t r o n g l y supported by

t h e f a c t t h a t i n t h e major i ty of languages t h e r e i s a ve rba l p l u r a l hav-

i n g one of t h e above forms even though t h e r e i s no nominal p l u r a l , or

e l s e t h e nominal p l u r a l has a d i f f e r e n t form from t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l . It

has been shown, t h e r e f o r e , t h a t Proto-Chadic had t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l ,

which s t i l l e x i s t s i n a l l t h e branches of t h e group, marked, by r e a u p l i -

c a t i o n o r an a f f i x e d / a / . Some Chadic languages have t aken t h i s device

and used it i n t h e formation of nominal p l u r a l s . That i s why we f i n d

nominal p l u r a l s by r e d u p l i c a t i o n o r by an a f f i x / a / i n some languages

on ly . The d a t a from Kanakuru sugges t t h a t t h e p l u r a l by r e d u p l i c a t i o n

i s o l d e r t han t h e o t h e r forms of t h e p l u r a l .

5 .3. S u f f i x -Vn

Another candida te f o r a Proto-Chadic p l u r a l marker i s a s u f f i x which

always conta ins a t l e a s t an a l v e o l a r n a s a l , and usua l ly has t h e form -Vn.

The hypothesis t h a t it was a Proto-Chadic nominal p l u r a l marker w i l l b e

reviewed and r e j e c t e d i n what fo l lows .

I n t h e Eas t branch of Chadic it occurs i n Kera. It a l s o occurs i n

Jegu a s one of t h e many s u f f i x e s t h a t mark nominal p l u r a l . Dangla and t

Jonkor do not have such a s u f f i x . If one were t o accept -Vn a s a Proto-

Chadic p l u r a l marker, one would have t o assume t h a t Dangla and Jonkor

l o s t it and, moreover, t h a t Jonkor developed a new s u f f i x -to.

I n subbranch A o f Biu-Mandara t h e r e a r e no s u f f i x e s o f t h e form -Vn

wi th t h e poss ib l e except ion of Margi. Hoffrnann ( i n a remark a t t h e

~ o l l o q u i u m ) po in t ed out t h a t r i n t h e Margi p l u r a l marker 'yar could

be considered a r e f l e x of Proto-Chadic *n, according t o Newman and Ma

(1966). While t h i s i s a very l i k e l y p o s s i b i l i t y , t h e r e i s n e v e r t h e l e s s

a reason not t o cons ider 'yar a s a r e f l e x of t h e Proto-Chadic p l u r a l

marker. A s no ted i n t h e Biu-Mandara c h a r t , Margi has some t r a c e s o f t h e

p l u r a l s u f f i x -i, t h e only o t h e r p l u r a l marker a p a r t from 'ya r . Some

of t h e words t h a t t a k e it a r e :

S ingular P l u r a l

rods 'person , man' m jl

s h i l i

nkw> nkwa'l

Gloss

people ' man, husband.'

g i r l , daughter '

A s Hoffrnann w r i t e s (1963:59) , a l l t h e s e p l u r a l forms may t a k e , i n

a u a i t i o n , t h e p l u r a l s u f f i x 'yar when used wi th demonstrat ives , e .g . :

mjilY;r k: ' t h e s e people ' ( bes ides mj i k;)

~ h i l : ' ~ ; r k$ ' t h e s e men', e t c .

The na tu re of t h e words which s t i l l t a k e t h e s u f f i x -i r u l e s out i t s

having been borrowed. Bes ides , -i occurs a s a p l u r a l marker i n a num-

b e r of o t h e r Biu-Mandara languages, e . g . Kotoko and Buduma. It appears

t h e r e f o r e t h a t t h e s u f f i x ' ya r i s n o t t h e o l d e s t p l u r a l marker i n

Margi, which i s f u r t h e r supported by i t s spread i n t h e language.

I n subbranch B of Biu-Mandara, a -Vn s u f f i x occurs i n Kotoko and

Logone, two c l o s e l y r e l a t e d languages.

Among t h e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d Ron languages, only Fyer has a -Vn

s u f f i x -an, which can ha rd ly be c a l l e d a product ive s u f f i x , s i n c e only

one word con ta in ing it i s provided by Jungraithmayr (1970) , v i z . yuur-U

' e y e ' , p i . y i r a n /y-i-r-an/. I n th-Ls word t h e r e i s a l r eady a p l u r a l

marker -i-. I n t h e desc r ip t ion of Fyer , t h e r e i s one more word, humu

' e a r ' , p i . humua~/humwa~, which con ta ins a s u f f i x with a n a s a l , b u t it

i s a v e l a r n a s a l .

These two s u f f i x e s cannot be considered r e f l e x e s of a h y p o t h e t i c a l

Proto-Chadic morpheme without prev ious explana t ion of what might have

caused two d i f f e r e n t n a s a l s i n those s u f f i x e s . Besides, t h e s u f f i x e s

-an and -an occur more f r equen t ly a s markers o f t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l i n

Fyer. Another Ron language, Sha, a l s o has -an a s t h e marker of t h e

v e r b a l p l u r a l , bu t does not have it a s t h e marker of t h e nominal p l u r a l .

The two i n s t a n c e s conta in ing t h e -VQ and -Vn morphemes i n Fyer could

be expla ined by p o s t u l a t i n g t h a t , a s i n s e v e r a l o t h e r i n s t a n c e s men-

t i o n e d e a r l i e r i n t h i s paper , t hose p l u r a l markers have been i n t e r n a l l y

borrowed from t h e ve rba l system. It seems t h a t t h e f a c t t h a t t h e two

cases a r e d i f f e r e n t , t o g e t h e r wi th t h e o t h e r arguments p re sen ted above,

r u l e s out t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e Fyer morphemes a r e r e f l e x e s o f t h e

Proto-Chadic nominal p l u r a l marker.

While Hausa has a t l e a s t two s u f f i x e s t h a t may be claimed t o have

developed from t h e Pro to -Vn s u f f i x , another subgroup of t h e West,

c o n s i s t i n g o f Sura , Angas, and Chip, does not have a -Vn s u f f i x .

I n t h e Bole c l u s t e r , Kanakuru has a -Vn s u f f i x among s e v e r a l

o t h e r s u f f i x e s which con ta in a -Vn a s p a r t o f t h e morpheme. There it:,

however, evidence t h a t t h e va r ious -Vn s u f f i x e s i n Kanakuru are r e l a -

t i v e l y l a t e r devices when compared wi th gemination o f t h e second conso-

nant of t h e stem. There i s a group of nouns which, i n a d d i t i o n TO

s u f f i x e s , have t h e second consonant geminated; t h e fo l lowing exam-c~les:

based on t h e d a t a i n Newman (1974:84) , a r e presented according t o i-he

a n a l y s i s i n F ra j zyng ie r (1976) .

ddu ( < dUh6) d<kkdy an ' boa r '

lip: [l{w:] l ipp&n ' ca l abash f

yiap: [yiaw:] y &pplyin ' chicken '

t a k i [ t a a ] t i k k i n shoe '

These d a t a i n d i c a t e t h a t a s u f f i x conta in ing -Vn has been added t o t h e

geminated noun, probably when gemination was not perce ived any more a s

a p l u r a l i z i n g device. Pero , a language from t h e same c l u s t e r , does not

have any p l u r a l marker.

Badea a language from Subbranch B of t h e West branch, a s an i n f i x

-an, among e i g h t o t h e r a f f i x e s , r e d u p l i c a t i o n , and vowel change t o mark

t h e nominal p l u r a l .

The p e c u l i a r d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e -Vn s u f f i x e s i n Chadic languages

may have two p o s s i b l e explana t ions .

a ) A c e r t a i n s u f f i x conta in ing a n a s a l consonant functioned, a s a p l u r a l

"-:rker i n Proto-Chadic. This marker was subsequent ly dropped by t h e majo-

r i t y of languages. The reasons f o r such a massive r educ t ion o f t h i s

s u f f i x i n languages from var ious groups a r e not known. This hypothes is

n + ~ i:;s major weakness i n our i n a b i l i t y t o exp la in why t h e s u f f i x was

1 'st.

(l) The o t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y i s t o p o s t u l a t e t h a t i n various languages, a

-V? s u f f i x developed independent ly t o mark t h e nominal p l u r a l . Such

a hypothesis can b e r e t a i n e d only i f one could, show why s e v e r a l indepen-

dent changes produced so s i m i l a r a r e s u l t . I n o rde r f o r independent

innovat ions t o produce a s i m i l a r form, one would have t o have a s i m i l a r

source f o r them. It appears that, t h e r e i s such a source i n t hose Chadic

languages t h a t have a -Vn s u f f i x .

l a t e d t o t h e c l a s s of masculine nouns, which often contains a nasal cun-

sonant , u s u a l l y an a l v e o l a r n a s a l , a.lthough some times i t imy "b e v e l a r

n a s a l . The p l u r a l s u f f i x - v n could be der ived from a form rela-Led t o

t h i s Chadic masculine marker. A l l t h e Chadic laiig'i~c.p;es which have t h e .?

-Vn marker do indeed, have a form o f t h e masculiii? marker C G P L Z 1 L i i : g an

n . -iii hausa it i s a g e n i t i v e l i n k e r and s t a b i l i z e r . I n bade -;liere a r e

demonstrat ive pronouns and many o t h e r forms ( c f . Schuli 1 9 7 5 ) .

It i s very l i k e l y t h a t i n a number of Chadic languages t h e feminine

marker was a l s o used i n t h e formation of t h e p l u r a l , and t h a t t h i s "was

another source of p l u r a l markers t h a t show s i m i l a r i t y t o one a n o t h e r ,

f o r example, markers involv ing -k o r -t.

A t p r e s e n t , I am unable t o exp la in how and why masculine ( and femi-

n i n e ) markers could be transformed i n t o p l u r a l markers , b u t t h i s i s

apparent ly what happened i n Chadic languages. Outside of t h e Chadic

branch of A f r o a s i a t i c , a s i m i l a r phenomenon occurred i n Semi t i c , i n par-

t i c u l a r i n Arabic , where t h e -una p l u r a l s were f i r s t an innovat ion a s

p l u r a l markers f o r masculine nouns and only l a t e r spread t o cover bo th

masculine and feminine nouns ( c f . Kury$owicz 1972: 139) . Since it i s impossible t o r e c o n s t r u c t a common p l u r a l morpheme

a p a r t from /a/ and r e d u p l i c a t i o n , one has t o assume t h a t t h e mul t i t ude

of o t h e r morphemes occurr ing i n va r ious Chadic languages must be inno-

v a t i o n s , occu r r ing a f t e r t hose languages s p l i t from Proto-Chadic and

even a f t e r t h e r e was a s p l i t w i t h i n t h e sma l l e r branches o f Chadic.

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--- . 1974. The Kanakum Language. West Afr ican Language Monograph S e r i e s 9 . Leeds.

1977. -. -- .- C h a d i c c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and. r econs t ruc t ions" , A f w a s i a t i c L-ing. 5 (1) : 1-42.

Ke-man, Paul and Roxana Ma. 1966. "C~mpara t~ ive 2L:iCiic : phonology and lex icon" , J. Afv. Lang. 5:218-51.

N?vman, Roxana Ma. 1971 A Case Grammar of Ga'mda. Ph.3. d i s s e r t a t i o n , Un ive r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles.

Schuh, Russe l l G . 1975. " ~ u n a t i o n and Gender i n Bade", Afi?. U. L62~see 58:106-19.

Smith, David M. 1969. The Kapstki Language. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , Michi- gan S t a t e Un ive r s i t y .

Welmers, Wm. 1973. African Language Structures. Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Vlester~arin, D. a n d M. A . Bryan. The Languages of W e s t Aj'v~ic-aa. London.

" ^ripvs -7'n rhL?dic Li71;:iirtle's Ed. by P. Newman and R . M . Newman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF AUXILIARY VERBS I N HAUSA

P h i l i p Jaggar

1. In t roduc t ion

This paper i s an at tempt t o p inpoin t and examine t h e grammatical

parameters of so-ca l led " a u x i l i a r y v e r b s ' i n Hausa. These verbs a r e a

common and important f e a t u r e o f bo th spoken and w r i t t e n Hausa,' and de-

no te e s s e n t i a l l y such u n i v e r s a l modi f ica t ions of t h e v e r b a l n o t i o n a s

c o n t i n u e , b e g i n , f i n i s h doing something. Before I p r e s e n t my

a n a l y t i c a l model and accompanying d e s c r i p t i v e d a t a , l e t me f i r s t o f a l l

c l a r i f y t h e terms of r e f e rence o f t h i s paper by dea l ing wi th t h e problem

of terminology.

Most s cho la r s of t h e language have, t o vary ing degrees , desc r ibed

t h i s c l a s s of verbs i n Hausa. With t h e except ion of Parsons (1971/72) ,

who p r e f e r s t h e La t in grammar te rm " inde termina te" , a l l t h e s e schol -a rs ,

inc luding Abraham (1934)--who was, I b e l i e v e , t h e f i r s t t o employ t h e

terrnÃ‘Pilszczikow ( 1 9 6 0 ) ~ ~ a x w e l l and Forshey (1963)~ Kra f t and Kirk-

Greene (1973), and Cowan and Schuh ( 1 9 ~ 6 ) ~ apply t h e term " a u x i l i a r y " 2 t o

*This a n a l y s i s i s based l a r g e l y upon r e sea rch done i n 197h w i t h some of my Hausa s t u d e n t s a t Bayero Un ive r s i t y College, Kano. I wish t o thank t h e s e s t u d e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y Mary Izam, who was r e sea rch ing t h i s p a r t i c u l a r t o p i c at t h e t ime, and P . Neman and R . M . Newman. I am g r a t e f u l t o o t o my col leagues a t Hamburg Un ive r s i t y , i n p a r t i c u l a r E . Wolff, f o r t h e i r cons t ruc t ive c r i t i c i s m s . L a s t l y I am indebted t o F. W . Parsons o f t h e School o f Or i en ta l and African S t u d i e s , London Un ive r s i t y , who k i n d l y read through t h e o r i g i n a l d r a f t and made va luable comments upon i t .

'0f t h e f i r s t f i f t y o r so verbs which occur i n t h e opening page of Shehu Umar ( ~ a l e w a 1955) , f o r i n s t a n c e , e i g h t a r e a u x i l i a r y ve rbs accord- i n t t o my c l a s s i f i c a t i o n .

his l a b e l un fo r tuna te ly g ives r i s e t o some t e rmino log ica l confus ion s i n c e t h e term "aux i l i a ry" i s a l s o used i n Hausa t o & s c r i b e such elements a s t h e -na of t h e "continuous pronoun" used i n t h e continuous a s p e c t , e . g . y a E t a f i y a 'he i s t r a v e l l - i n g ' , and the -ke morpnenie used i n t h e r e l a t i v e continuous aspc- r t , ~ . p . inda yake -- t a f i y a 'where he i s travel.] i n g ' .

t he se verbs i n t o t o . However, none exp la in e x a c t l y why t h e y cons ider

t h i s l a b e l an a p p r o p r i a t e one, beyond saying t h a t t l iese ver'us rf:-Fi- J - t o

processes in an a c t i o n r a t h e r than t h e a c t i o n i t s e l f .

I n view o f t h i s cons is tency i n usage, t h e r e f o r e , and i n t h e absence

as y e t of a more accu ra t e d e s c r i p t i v e l a b e l t o apply comprehensively t o

such d ive r se modi f ica t ions of t h e ve rba l no t ion a s i nchoa t ion , r e p e l i -

t i o n , cont inuance, e t c . , I s h a l l cont inue t o use t h e term "aux i l i a ry" '

Moreover, t h e very f a c t t h a t t h e s e verbs do ope ra t e t o q u a l i f y a fol-low-

i n g verb which i s then nominalised i n t he form of a v e r b a l noun, whose

semantic conten t i s a t t h e same time modif ied, would seem t o i n d i c a t e

t h a t t h e term a u x i l i a r y ' i s not wholly i n a p p r o p r i a t e .

The na tu re and s y n t a c t i c func t ion o f Aux i l i a ry Verbs ( A V ) i n IIausa

have been desc r ibed , w i th vary ing degrees of c l a r i t y and accuracy , i n

most of t h e s t anda rd grammars and d i c t i o n a r i e s of t h e language. P i l s s -

czikowa (1960) i s t h e only scho la r t o d a t e who has publ i shed an a n a l y s i s

of t h e s e verbs which i s anything more than s u p e r f i c i a l . She l i s t s a ^

t o t a l o f 12 A V ~ and s t a t e s how they may ope ra t e i n Hausa: ( a ) a s i n t r a n -

s i t i v e verbs wi thout a fol lowing complement ("d 'une manisre independante,

c .2 .d . sans comp16ment1'), e . g . misa l i a & farawa da binciken kayan

kasuwa ' f o r example one may s t a r t by examining market p r o d u c t s ' ; 4 ( b )

with a noun complement ("avec un complement exprim6 par un su 'o s t an t i f7 ' ) ,

e . g . ~ o k a c i n da aka gama maganar amfanin gona s o s a i 'when d i scuss ion

of t h e farm produce was completely o v e r ' ; ( c ) wi th a v e r b a l noun comple-

ment ("avec un compl6ment exprim6 par un nom d6verba11') e . g . ba ta

A S must be obvious from t h e d i f f e r i n g t o t a l numbers p re sen ted , t h e s e au thors do not a l l l i s t t h e same AV; moreover, some verbs a r e g iven , e . g . r i g a and s a , which must be excluded from my l i s t , on s y n t a c t i c grounds. Also, s i n c e none o f them makes any a n a l y t i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n between what I term AV-1 and AV-2, t h e i r use of t h e l a b e l " aux i l i a ry" r e f e r s t o verbs which a r e members of both subca tegor i e s .

4~ have provided my own English t r a n s l a t i o n s of t h e Hausa c i t a t i o n s given by Pi lszczikowa, most of which are from e a r l y Hausa t e x t s , and a l s o made a few minor co r r ec t ions i n t h e orthography in keeping wi th modern Hausa or thographic s t anda rds . I have a l s o under l ined t h e AV i n a l l t h e examples provided. Standard Hausa orthography i s used f o r a11 t h e c i t a t i o n s and e x a m p l ~ s i n t h i s study.

zuwa nan ' s h e cannot come h e r e ' ; o r ( d ) with a "verba l theme" roinpie-

ment ("avec un complement expriind pa r un thsme v e r u a l " ) , e . g . barawo ba

a t aba kama s h i ba a wurin s a t a ' t h e t h i e f was never caught red-handed.'.

Abraham (1934:95-98) l i s t s 15 AV i n a l l and says t h a t the) may

govern e i t h e r a fol lowing "ve rba l noun", e . g . kada ka d inga z a g i n t a

' d o n ' t keep on r e v i l i n g h e r ' , o r a "noun", e . g . sun dinga nurr.a 'they

were i n a pe rpe tua l s t a t e of happiness ' . And Bargery (1934) says i n h i s

g los ses of a few AV t h a t they may be followed by a "verba l noun", e . g .

ya % gan i 'he can s e e ' .

Maxwell and Forshey (1962:77-78) l i s t 11 AV and claim t h a t t h e y a r e

' f o l lowed by t h e ve rba l noun", e . g . s a i ka r i k a zuwa 'you must keep on

coming'. Parsons (1971/72:52) says t h a t t h e s e verbs a r e "no rma-~ .~y

followed by e i t h e r a dynamic o r an a b s t r a c t noun, o r by t h e pronoun of

r e f e rence f o r t h e s e two c l a s s e s of noun, which i s not s h i / t a b u t haka".

Kraf t and Kraf t (1973:354) l i s t 8 AV i n a l l , a t t a c h t o hem t h e

l a b e l "helping verbs", and add t h a t " the t r a n s l a t i o n of t h e u t t e r a n c e

usua l ly h i g h l i g h t s t h e verb modi f ie r (which i s o f t e n a v e r b a l noun)

r a t h e r t han t h e verb". Kra f t and Kirk-Greene (1973:157-60) g ive a t o t a l

o f 12 AV and s t a t e t h a t t hey a r e followed by "verba l nouns", e . g . ban

sake ganinsa ba 'I d i d n ' t s ee him a g a i n ' , o r , somewhat c r y p t i c a l l y , by

" c e r t a i n types of nouns", e . g . ya c i k a karambani 'he i s extremely

meddlesome, a b i g nu i sance ' .

Cowan and Schuh (1976:136, 181-82, 242-43) l i s t 8 of t h e more com-

monly used AV and w r i t e : "These verbs a r e followed by t h e same t y p e s o f

ve rba l expressions o r a c t i o n nouns t h a t a r e used a f t e r t h e c o n t i n u a t i v e

pronouns". By "verba l express ions" , t hey a r e i n f a c t r e f e r r i n g t o v e r b a l

nouns, i nc lud ing those which add t h e nominal is ing s u f f i x -wa i n t h e con-

t inuous aspec t when t h e r e i s no ob jec t fo l lowing , e . g . maReri ya sake

liftewa ' t h e blacksmith patched ( i t ) over aga in ' and. t hose which do n o t

- &e t h e nominal is ing s u f f i x -wa, e . g . ban & cfaukar buhun gyacfa ba

' I c a n ' t pick up t h e sack of p e a n u t s ' . As examples o f " ac t ion nouns"

they g ive magana ' speech, speaking ' and wasa 'play, p l a y i n g ' , e . g .

sun -- f a r a wasa ' t hey have s t a r t e d p lay ing ' .

The foregoing e x t r a c t s a r e an i n d i c a t i o n of t h e confusion which

has surrounded t h e ques t ion of p r e c i s e l y what i t e m ( s ) may f i l l the s l o t

of complement immediately fol lowing an AV i n Hausa. The a t tempts so f a r

t o desc r ibe t h i s c l a s s of verbs have been r a t h e r inadequate and un t idy ,

and it i s t h e purpose of t h e present paper t o h e l p c l a r i f y t h e s i t u a t i o n

by s e t t i n g up a more workable and w a t e r t i g h t model, and the reby tidy up

t h e grammatical boundaries of AV i n Hausa.

2 . The s y n t a c t i c behaviour of a u x i l i a r y verbs

The b a s i c a i m of t h i s synchronic a n a l y s i s i s t o determine t h e

na tu re and func t ion of a u x i l i a r y verbs by e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e s y n t a c t i c

c r i t e r i a by which verbs may be conf iden t ly ass igned t o t h i s c l a s s and

thus formally des igna ted a s Auxi l ia ry Verbs ( A V ) . According t o t h e ana-

l y t i c a l model p r e s e n t e d , t h o s e verbs i n Hausa which do not accord wi th

t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l c r i t e r i a s e t up a r e regarded a s be ing Non-Aiixiliary

Verbs (NAV) f o r t h e purposes of t h i s paper . My model i s t h e r e f o r e based 1

e s s e n t i a l l y on an a n a l y t i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n between AV and. NAV c l a s s e s .

2 .1 . Aux i l i a ry verbs

I def ine an AV i n Hausa a s any verb which, wi th a few except ions

d iscussed i n f u l l below, may only govern a s a complement a v e r b a l

(dynamic) noun ( 2 fol lowing d i r e c t o b j e c t ) , s u b j e c t t o t h e fo l lowing

r e s t r i c t i v e cond i t i ons :

( i ) t h e s u b j e c t s of t h e AV and t h e fo l lowing ve rba l dynamic noun

(WIN) must be r e f e r e n t i a l l y i d e n t i c a l , thereby r u l i n g o u t such

cons t ruc t ions a s na ji zuwansa ' I hea rd him coming' ;

i i ) excluding those cons t ruc t ions i n which a verb of motion may

immediately precede a T O N t o i n d i c a t e purpose, e . g . sun t a f i

c i n a b i n c i ' t h e y have gone ( i n o r d e r ) t o e a t ' .

2.1.1. Fea tures of ve rba l dynamic nouns. B a s i c a l l y , VDN i n Hausa

s i g n i f y an a c t i o n , even t , o r process , and share common bases w i th v e r b s .

They may be d iv ided i n t o those which t a k e t h e nominal is ing s u f f i x -wa

i f t h e r e i s no foll.owing o b j e c t , e . g . t ana dafawa ' she is cooking' and

those which do not add t h i s s u f f i x , e . g . t a n a saka ' s he i s weavingf .

These two types of ve rba l noun a r e sometimes r e f e r r e d t o a s w e a k and

"strong" ve rba l nouns, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Notice t h a t t h e vc rba l noun i n

Hausa i s u sua l ly rendered i n Engl i sh e i t h e r by an i n f i n i t i v e , e . g .

' t o come o u t ' , o r by a p re sen t p a r t i c i p l e , e .g . 'coming o u t ' .

Galadanci (1969:2b-25) l i s t s some o f t h e key c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of T O N

a s fo l lows: ( a ) t hey a r e preceded, f o r t h e most p a r t , by inde te rmina te

verbs6 such a s i y a , f a r a , r i k a , e .g . Audu ya i y a saka IAudu can

weave'; ( h ) they can occur i n t h e frame . . . nake (yi), e .g . saka nake

(yi) ' I am weaving' ; ( c ) t hey can occur immediately a f t e r a "continuous

pronoun", e .g . i n a da fa a b i n c i ' I am cooking food' ; ( d ) t h e y have plu-

r a l forms wi th d i s t i n c t i v e r edup l i ca t ed p a t t e r n s wi th -e s u f f i x e s ,

which a r e not found wi th non-verbal dynamic nouns ( s e e be low) , e , g . ya

i y a gyare-gyare 'he can do va r ious k inds of r e p a i r work' .

2 .1 .2. D i rec t o b j e c t s l , o t . The ques t ion of what i t e m ( s ) may o p t i o n a l l y

f i l l t h e d i r e c t o b j e c t s l o t t o t h e r i g h t of a VDN simply depends o f

course on t h e s y n t a c t i c c a p a b i l i t i e s of t h e p a r t i c u l a r VDN and t h e t y p e t

of cons t ruc t ion involved , and t h i s i s s u e i s of no re levance h e r e .

2 .2 . Non-auxiliary verbs

For t h e purposes of t h i s s tudy , I de f ine NAV as any verb i n Hausa

which does not f u l f i l t hose s y n t a c t i c condi t ions which s e r v e t o d e f i n e

AV. This category thus embraces a l l t hose verbs which a r e viewed., tra-

d i t i o n a l l y at l e a s t , a s be ing t r a n s i t i v e and/or i n t r a n s i t i v e depending

upon t h e p a r t i c u l a r cons t ruc t ion , e . g . ya bugi ya ro 'he h i t t h e b o y ' ,

na gan s h i ' I saw h im' , ya gudu 'he ran away'.

A few of t h e verbs exemplif ied i n t h e NAV column of Table I below

ope ra t e both t r a n s i t i v e and i n t r a n s i t i v e usages. However, s i n c e t h i s

a l t e r n a t i o n i s of no importance f o r t h i s a n a l y s i s , only t h e i r p o t e n t i a l

ope ra t ion a s AV, I l i s t only one usage.

2 .3. Auxi l ia ry verbs AV-1 and AV-2

As i s perhaps i n e v i t a b l e wi th any at tempt a t determining t h e c l a s s

membership of a ve rb , we f i n d t h a t t h e r e i s a cons iderable ove r l ap i n

' ~ a l a d a n c i uses Parsons ' l a b e l " i ~ ~ d c Li,-rmi :ILL(-". As Parsoris ( 1971 172: 52) r i g h t l y p o i n t s out,, however, t h i s d e f i n i t i o n i s somewhat o i rcu- la r .

membership between t h e s e two c l a s s e s . Thus w i t h i n t h e gene ra l s y n t a c t i c

category AV t h e r e a r e two subca tegor ies of ve rbs . The f i r s t subcategory

inc ludes those few verbs which may ope ra t e only a s AV and never a s RAV,

and which seem t o be AV " i n t r i n s i c a l l y " . For t h i s group I have ciioserl

the l a b e l M. The second l a r g e r subcategory embraces t hose v^rbs which

a r e s y n t a c t i c a l l y capable of func t ion ing e i t h e r a s AV o r as W dep~tyiding

upon t h e type of complement they c o n t r o l , and t h e s e I term AV-2.7 Through-

out t h e a n a l y s i s I d i s t i n g u i s h between AV-1 and AV-2 only when such a

d i s t i n c t i o n i s r e l e v a n t t o a p a r t i c u l a r problem under d i scuss ion . Otner-

wise I simply u s e t h e genera l shorthand n o t a t i o n AV.

The p o s i t i o n of AV r e l a t i v e t o NAV may b e r ep re sen ted a s fo l lows:

2 . 4 . Operat ion of AV-1 and AV-2

Table I i l l u s t r a t e s t h e ope ra t ion of AV-1 and AV-2. The p r o v i s i o n a l

l i s t i s i n no way accepted a s be ing exhaus t ive b u t it probably accounts

f o r t h e ma jo r i t y of those verbs which can be conf iden t ly ass igned t o t h i s

c l a s s on t h e b a s i s o f t h e i r common s y n t a c t i c p r o p e r t i e s . The 30 o r more

l i s t e d a r e c e r t a i n l y t h e more commonly used AV i n ~ a u s a . ~

7 ~ h e choice o f t h i s l a b e l i n no way impl ies t h a t I cons ider t h i s subcategory of verbs t o be more "aux i l i a ry" t han "non-auxi l iary". It i s simply t h a t t h e focus throughout t h i s paper i s on AV as d i s t i n c t from and i n c o n t r a s t t o NAY. The term t h e r e f o r e seems appropr i a t e t o apply t o t h i s important overlapping group of verbs . However, t h e ques t ion o f t h e r e l a t i v e frequency o f AV-2 occurr ing a s e i t h e r AV o r NAV, while impor t an t , i s beyond t h e p re sen t scope of t h i s s tudy .

1 n a l l t a b l e s , verbs a r e l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y by grade , s t a r t i n g with Grade 1; tone p a t t e r n s a r e indieat led i n parenthcbes. A b l ank space I n d i c a t e s nonoccurrfncr of t h e item. A l l examples i n t h p paper a r e a t t e s - t e d by Hausa speakers ; some a r c taken from t h e well-known Hausa books Magana J a r i Ce [ M W ( rrna'ri 1937-39) and Shehu Umap [W\ ( ~ a l e w a 1955 1 .

TABLE I

OPERATION OF AV-1 AND AV-2

Verb Grade Auxi l ia ry Operat ion Auxi l ia ry Non-Auxiliary Operat ion Non-Auxiliary ( A V - 1 and AV-2) ~ o t i o n ( s ) (AV-2 only) ' go t ion ( S )

AV + VDN ( + d i r . o b j . ) NAV (2 d i r . ob j . )

Grade 1 (~ i -LO)

cika ya c ika shan g iya

he d r inks t o o much bee r

dada ya dada zuwa

he came aga in

daina ya daina zuwa

he has s topped coming

dinga na dinga t a f i y a

I kept on t r a v e l l i n g

dosa1O ya dosa t a f i y a

he kept on t r a v e l l i n g

f a r a sun faxa karatu

they have s t a r t e d reading

f a s a ya f a s a zuwa

he f a i l e d t o come

gama ya gama g in in g ida

he has f i n i s h e d b u i l d i n g t h e house

do too /very t a c ika t u l u f i l l much, do t o excess she ' f i l l e d t h e waterpot

r e p e a t , do ya dada ruwa i n c r e a s e , add

s top/cease doing

keep on doing, con t inua l ly do

keep on doing, do r e g u l a r l y

b e g i n l s t a r t , be f i r s t t o do

he added more water

f a i l t o , miss , t a f i y a t a f a sa decide n o t t o do

t h e journey has been

be postponed

postponed finish, com- p l e t e doing

(0 S M M

.1-1 g asa h 0

- S U)

- 1 - 1 4 - 1 0 G '4 -d

% @ * - P (0 0) M m h $

G Q c 0 3 4 - P t o + Â ¥ c G) (LI

EaD -1-1 nj .$ I^" (0 (U

i n a 4 - 1 c a

(0 r-i C .1-1 (U En (U G Q H

h

g ^ 3 0)

kusa can an kusa gama masa a s k i nearly/almost ab inc i ya kusa nea r ly /almost M J C 2 1 2 ) done done

t h e food i s nea r ly ready l a t e r on when h i s h a i r c u t was almost f i n i s h e d

sha ya sha zuwa nan do often/much ya sha ruwa drink

he comes he re o f t e n he drank some water

y i t a15 suka y i t a rokonsa keep on doing

they kep t on begging him

Notes t o Table I

he c i t a t i o n forms used f o r t h e non-auxi l iary ope ra t ion of t h e s e verbs a r e t h e C form ( t h e form of t h e verb when followed by a d i r e c t o b j e c t o t h e r t han a personal pronoun) and t h e A form (used i f no o b j e c t fol lows t h e v e r b ) .

l0T'here i s an KAV Gra.de 1 verb dosa, which has a completely un re l a t ed meaning ' t o h a f t a handle ' . Although it i s homophonous wi th t h e AV Grade 1 dosa 'do r e g u l a r l y ' , it i s der ived from a d i f f e - r e n t l e x i c a l base .

T h e phrase ya iya doki i s h ighly id iomat ic . The combination of t h i s verb wi th a noun d i r e c t ob jec t i s r e s t r i c t , e d t o such f i x e d phrases as ya iya ruwa ' he can s w i m ' , ya iya Hausa 'he can speak Hausa ( o r any o t h e r l anguage ) ' . Bargery (1934:482) g ives ya iya hannunsa 'he has become an e x p e r t ' , and ka iya bakinka ' c o n t r o l your tongue! ' . There i s a l s o an i n t e r e s t i n g Kalalatu ba ta i y a miya ba 'Kala . la tu could not make/prepare/cook soup' (MJC 2 :16 ) .

^When followed "by a concre te noun d i r e c t o b j e c t , t h e a d d i t i o n of t h e a s s o c i a t i v e p a r t i c l e da i s o b l i g a t o r y , bu t o p t i o n a l before a fo l lowing VDN.

1 3 1 t i s p o s s i b l e of course t o genera te a sentence inco rpora t ing both a u x i l i a r y and non-auxi1iar.y usage of a verb such as t aba , e .g . ka taba taba maci j i? 'have you eve r touched a snake? '

14*sama i s a non-occurring form; sarnu i.s t h e r e g u l a r l y used A form. 1 5 - m e two elements of t h i s compound verb are sometimes i n c o r r e c t l y written t o g e t h e r , t hus y i t a .

The i d e n t i t y o f t a i s unc lea r , though it could be t h e v i a t i v e p a r t i c l e meaning 'by way of ' .

2.5. Observat ions on Table I

2.5.1. AV i n Hausa serve t o q u a l i f y a fo l lowingverb whicht,nenbecomes

nominalised i n t h e form of a ve rba l noun and whose semantic conten t i s

a t t h e same t ime modified, e .g . ya zo 'he came' , c f . ya dinga zuwa

'he kep t on coming'. With regard t o s y n t a c t i c behaviour , AV can "be

d iv ided i n t o t h e two subca tegor ies AV-1 and AV-2.

2.5 .2 . AV-l . There a r e a handfu l of verbs i n Hausa ( 8 out of 35 l i s t e d )

which ope ra t e exc lus ive ly a s AV-1 i n t h a t t hey may only govern a s comple-

ment a v e r b a l (dynamic) noun ( 2 d i r e c t o b j e c t ) . These v e r b s , which

e x h i b i t a c lose nexus wi th t h e i r comp1e.men-L and have s i n g l e c l a s s mem-

b e r s h i p , a r e : daina, dinga, dosa, f a r a , gama, soma, faye , y i t a .

It should be added immediately, however, t h a t t h r e e o f t h e above

AV-1 may, i n sur face s t r u c t u r e a t l e a s t , c o n t r o l a complement o t h e r t h a n

VDN ( + d i r e c t o b j e c t ) , e . g . an f a r a ruwa 'it has s t a r t e d t o r a i n ' ,

t a gama ab inc i ' she has f i n i s h e d (making) t h e food ' , and an soma ruwa

i t has s t a r t e d t o r a i n ' , examples which should , according t o my ana-

l y t i c a l procedure, appear i n t h e NAV column and thus make f a r a , gama,

and soma a l l examples of AV-2. These and o t h e r apparent except ions

w i l l be handled i n s e c t i o n 2.7.2.

2.5 .3 . AV-2. The remaining 27 verbs i n my l i s t have double c l a s s mem-

b e r s h i p i n t h a t t h e i r s y n t a c t i c p o t e n t i a l over laps i n t o bo th AV and KAV

c l a s s e s depending upon t h e type of complement.

An i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e of t h e s e AV-2 i s t h e semantic mod i f i ca t ion

of t h e ve rba l no t ion which they b r i n g about when s h i f t i n g i n o p e r a t i o n

between t h e two c l a s s e s AV and KAV. This change i n r e l a t i o n a l meaning

which normally accompanies a s h i f t i n ope ra t ion v a r i e s i n degree from

verb t o ve rb , though t h e semantic r e l a t i o n s h i p remains c l e a r i n a l l

c a ses .

2 .5 .4 . Ambuiguity a r i s i n g from AV v s . NAV usage. It i s worthwhile

no t ing here t h a t t h e r e a r e some o r thograph ica l ly i d e n t i c a l p a i r s o f

u t t e r a n c e s , involv ing both t h e AV and NAV usages o f t h e same ve rb , which

a r e p o t e n t i a l l y ambiguous i n Hausa. I n ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) below, t h e two d i s -

t i n c t meanings o f each u t t e r ance can only b e e luc ida t ed by t h e c o n t e x t .

( 1 ) na sha z a g i n t a

The two d i f f e r e n t meanings of ( 1 ) a r e ( a ) ' I abused h e r e x c e s s i v e l y ' , where sha i s AV-2 + VDN z a g i + d i r e c t o b j e c t -n t a , -where t h e

merged d i r e c t o b j e c t i s an o b j e c t i v e g e n i t i v a l s u f f i x , and where x-he

two s u b j e c t s a r e t h e same; and ( b ) ' I s u f f e r e d h e r abuse ' , where sha

i s NAV + d i r e c t o b j e c t z a g i n t a , where t h e -nta i s a s u b j e c t i v a l

g e n i t i v a l s u f f i x , and where t h e two s u b j e c t s a r e d i f f e r e n t .

( 2 ) ya nemi taimakona

The two d i f f e r e n t meanings of ( 2 ) a r e ( a ) 'he t r i e d t o h e l p me ' , where

nema i s AV-2 + VDN taimako + ob jec t ive g e n i t i v a l s u f f i x -na, and

where t h e two s u b j e c t s a r e i d e n t i c a l ; and ( b ) 'he sought my h e l p ' , where

nema i s NAV + d i r e c t o b j e c t taimakona, where t h z -na i s a subjec-

t i v e g e n i t i v a l s u f f i x , and where t h e two s u b j e c t s a r e not i d e n t i c a l .

An i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e of t h e verb nema i s t h a t when o p e r a t i n g a s

AV-2 it al lows a fo l lowing VDN t o be rep laced by a complement c l a u s e i n t

t h e subjunct ive a spec t ( s e e Table 111), and t h i s p o t e n t i a l means -chat t h e

ambiguity i nhe ren t i n t h e sentence ya nemi taimakona, may b e r e s o l v e d

not only by context b u t a l s o formally by s u b s t i t u t i n g such a c l a u s e .

Meaning ( a ) o f t h i s sen tence would be expressed by ya nemi y a taimake

n i , where t h e two s u b j e c t s a r e now i d e n t i c a l grammatically as w e l l a s

r e f e r e n t i a l l y , whereas meaning ( b ) would be expressed by y a nemi i n

taimake s h i , where t h e two s u b j e c t s a r e d i f f e r e n t , aga in bo th grammati-

c a l l y and r e f e r e n t i a l l y . 2 . 5 . 5 . D i s t r i b u t i o n of AV w i th in t h e Hausa verb grade system. Table I

r evea l s t h a t more t h a n h a l f t h e AV l i s t e d ( 2 0 out of 35) o p e r a t e as Grade

l verbs . General ly speaking, AV do not CO-occur i ~ m o r e t h a n one grade.

The few except ions t o t h i s r u l e a r e t h e Grade 1 verbs f a r a , soma,

r a s a , d inga , and koma, and t h e Grade h flare, a l l o f which may occur

a s AV i n o t h e r grades ( u s u a l l y Grade 2 ) , though t h e s e usages a r e h i g h l y

r e s t r i c t e d .

Both f a r a and soma, whi ch, a s f a r a s I am aware, a r e completely

synonymous i n a l l environments, may ope ra t e Grade 2 usages. This change

i n ope ra t ion , however, i s accompanied by a s u b t l e change i n meaning,

with t h e Grade 2 forms only i n d i c a t i n g "be t h e f i r s t t o do something'!,

e . g . y a f a r i / s o m i g i n i n g idan s i m i n t i a Kano 'he was t h e F i r s t t o

b u i l d a concre te house i n Kano'. Unlike t h e much more common Grade 1

forms of t h e s e two verbs , t h e i r Grade 2 coun te rpa r t s cannot denote

' s t a r t / b e g i n M . Both Abraham (1962 :251) and Bargery (1934 : 301) l i s t t h e

Grade 2 usages o f t hese verbs which, though r a r e , a r e a t t e s t e d by E a u s a

speakers . I have a l s o hea rd , i n conve r sa t ion5 r i g i m a r d a y a f a r o ' t h e

agrument he (came and) s t a r t e d ' , he re a Grade 6 usage of f a r a , Taut

aga in t h i s i s very r a r e .

Bargery ( l934:844) a l s o l i s t s a Grade 2 a u x i l i a r y usage f o r rasa,

n a r a s h i g a n i n s a ' I could not s e e him'., and a r a r e Grade 2 form. f o r

d i n g a , d i n g i k a r a t u ! 'keep on s tudying! ' The verb feara may a l s o

ope ra t e a Grade 2 form wi th t h e same meaning a s t h s Grade 4 form, e.g.

ban R a r i g a n i n s a ba ' I have not f i n i s h e d looking at i t t . This p a r t i c u -

lar usage i s l i s t e d by Bargery (1934:559) , though t h e Grade 4 usage i s

much more common. And f i n a l l y , I have heard-though never come ac ros s i n S

a tex t - -a Grade 6 a u x i l i a r y usage o f koma , yaya k a komo k a r a t u n

I n g i l i s h i ? 'how i s it t h a t you have r e tu rned t o s tudying Engl i sh? '

2 .6 . Operation of y i n a s VDN

Our a t t e n t i o n now t u r n s t o t h e important ques t ion o f the o t h e r con-

s t i t u e n t s which may occur i n t h e s l o t of d i r e c t o b j e c t t o t h e r i g h t o f

t h e VDN i n our formula.16 Two c a t e g o r i e s o f noun can occur i n t h i s nos i -

t i o n , a non-verbal dynamic noun (NVDN) o r an a b s t r a c t noun {AS. When

e i t h e r of t h e s e ca t egor i e s i s p r e s e n t , t h e VDN s l o t i s o b l i g a t o r i l y

f i l l e d - by y i n 'doing/makingl , t h e s t r o n g VDN of t h e m u l t i f u n c t i o n a l

f i n i t e verb y i 'do/makel.

2.6 .l. Non-verbal dynamic nouns. NVDN, l i k e VDPI, denote m a c t i o n

p roces s , o r even t , bu t d i f f e r i n t h a t t hey have no morphological con-

nec t ion wi th a ve rb , e .g. b a r c i ' s l e e p / s l e e p i n g V , a t i s h a w a ' sneeze /

I 6 1 t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e , o f course , for an i n d i r e c t o b j e c t t o i n t e r v e n e between t h e VDN and i t s po t ,en t ia l d i r e c t o b j e c t , though t h i s i s of no importance he re .

sneez ing ' , magana ' s peech / speak ing f , e t c . As a r u l e , NVDN occur i n

t h e same grammatical ~nv i ronmen t a s VDN. The only d i f f e r e n t i n beha-

v iour i s t h a t s i n c e NVDN have no a s soc i a t ed v e r b s , t hey must combine

with t h e verb y i i n a l l a spec t s except t h e continuous when t h e VDN y i n

i s o p t i o n a l l y suppressed , e .g . yana ( y i n ) magana 'he i s speaking'.

2.6.2. Abst rac t nouns. AN i n Hausa a r e b a s i c a l l y non-dynamic and r e f e r

t o t h e q u a l i t y of a person o r t h i n g , e .g . z a f i ' h o t n e s s ' , nauyi

'heaviness ' , s a n t s i s l i p p e r i n e s s ' , e t c .

Table I1 i l l u s t r a t e s some of t h e p o s s i b l e combinations o f AV + VDN

y i n + NVDN o r AM d i r e c t o b j e c t .

I 7 ~ o r a d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n of a b s t r a c t nouns i n Hausa, see Parsons 1955,

(L) 1-1 4-1 P - l-l 1-1

oj

a 0

+J ft D

1-1 m

D X;

ha c Â r-i M D 1) a CO

a 0

4-1

E' ^ D S

a) r-i -P V) a; h te 0 P

d 1) -P

2 -P CO

!; S

2 5

,--. a .^ h

U

(0 M (0 A;

Hi h 0 ill Hi >,

(0 (0 (0 re! m 0 m a

2 . 7 . (reservations on Table I1

2.7.1. All b u t one of t h e AV l i s t e d may combine wi th NVDN i n Ilausci, and

a l i t t l e more than h a l f may precede an AN. The absence o f a c i t a t i o n f o r

t h e s e p a r t i c u l a r combinations i n d i c a t e s t h a t such c o l l o c a t i o n s a r e seman-

t i c a l l y incompatible .

2 . 7 . 2 . D e l e t a b i l i t y of y i n a s VDN. I n s e c t i o n 2 . 5 . 2 fo l lowing Table

I , it was noted t h a t such s t r i n g s a s an fara/soma ruwa ' it has oegun

t o r a i n ' , and t a garna a b i n c i ' she has f i n i s h e d (making) t h e food ' were

q u i t e acceptab le and t h e r e f o r e appeared at f i r s t s i g h t t o be v i o l a t i o n s

of t h e formula d e f i n i n g AV s i n c e they apparent ly inc lude no VDN. The

problem now posed i s how does my model dea l wi th such cons t ruc t ions

which, though h igh ly r e s t r i c t e d , a r e nonethelesswell--formed?

This apparent ly s e r i o u s f law i s reso lved when we r e a l i s e t h a t t h e

above s t r i n g s a r e su r f ace r e a l i s a t i o n s only , be ing simply d e l e t i o n "orans-

forms of t h e under ly ing s t r u c t u r e s an f a r a y i n ruwa, l i t e r a l l y 'one

has s t a r t e d t o make/making r a i n r , t a gama y i n a b i n c i , l i t e r a l l y ' she 1

has f i n i s h e d making t h e f o o d ' , and an sorna y i n ruwa, l i t e r a l l y 'one

has s t a r t e d t o makelmaking r a i n ' , r e s p e c t i v e l y . I n o t h e r words, t h e

source sen tences of a l l t h e s e cons t ruc t ions inc lude t h e VDN y i n between

t h e AV-1 and t h e i r d i r e c t o b j e c t complements ( i n t h e s e i n s t a n c e s a con-

c r e t e noun.), a s t r u c t u r e which accords wi th t h e b a s i c formula. Moreove-c

t h e argument f o r i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e verbs i n t h e reduced cons t ruc t ions as

AV-1 and n o t , as would seem t o be t h e case , NAVY i s s trengthened, oy t h e

f a c t t h a t t h e d e l e t i o n o f y i n i s pu re ly o p t i o n a l and t h a t t h e s u r f a c e

r e a l i s a t i o n may indeed inc lude t h e o v e r t l y marked y i n wi thout i n any

way a l t e r i n g t h e meaning of t h e u t t e r a n c e .

^ A t t h e t ime o f w r i t i n g up t h i s s tudy , ve were unable t o f i l l t h e s e "blank spaces i n Table I1 wi th combinations acceptab le t o my Hausa as- s i s t a n t s . I should add t o o t h a t t h e r e was sometimes disagreement amongst t h e s tuden t s a s t o t h e semantic p l a u s i b i l i t y of a few of t h e combina- t i o n s AV ( + VDN y i n ) + AN c i t e d i n Table I T . I n many c a s e s , o f cou r se , a p a r t i c u l a r s e l e c t i o n i s simply a ma t t e r of personal p re fe rence ( ~ a u s a t a n a da yawa a i ! ). I am aware a l s o t h a t , because of t h e p o t e n t i a l i n t e r - changeab i l i t y o f some of t h e s e AV i n c e r t a i n environments, Hausa spea- k e r s may d i f f e r i n t h e i r choice of t h e appropri-ate AV.

So t o o , a s c l e a r l y revea led i n Table 11, such cons t ruc t ions a s

ya c i k a su ru tu ' he cha t ce r s a l o t ' (AV + NVDil i n su r f ace form) , and.

an kare z a f i ' t h e h o t weather i s o v e r v (AV + AS i n su r f ace form) a l s o

q u a l i f y i n f a c t a s AV + VDN + NVDN and AV + VDN + AN a u x i l i a r y construc-

t i o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , s ince t h e dummy VDN y i n i s again p re sen t i n deep

s t r u c t u r e , and o p t i o n a l l y marked i n s u r f a c e s t r u c t u r e without any change

i n meaning, g iv ing y a c i k a y i n s u r u t u , and an Rare y i n z a f i . TO

t ake y e t more examples from Table 11, such sentences a s suka y i t a

h i r a ' t h e y kep t on c h a t t i n g ' , and ruwa ya kusa c f i m i ' t h e water i s

nea r ly h o t ' i n no way i n v a l i d a t e t h e b a s i c formula AV + VDN (2 d i r e c t

o b j e c t ) s i n c e t h e NVDN h i r a and t h e AN c f i m i a r e simply f i l l i n g t h e

d i r e c t o b j e c t s l o t fol lowing t h e VDN y i n which i s p r e s e n t , y i e l d i n g

suka y i t a y i n h i r a and ruwa ya kusa y i n c f i m i aga in p e r f e c t l y accept-

ab l e Hausa sen tences and completely synonymous wi th t h e above. I am

arguing , i n o t h e r words, t h a t a sen tence such a s y a y i t a a t i shawa

'he kep t on sneez ing ' i s i n f a c t s t r u c t u r a l l y comparable t o t h e sen tence 1

ya y i t a bugun y a r o 'he kep t on b e a t i n g t h e boy ' , t h e former b e i n g

simply a d e l e t i o n o f ya y i t a y i n at ishawa.

It should be poin ted out a t t h i s s t a g e t h a t i n most i n s t a n c e s t h e

dummy VDN y i n does not i n f a c t m a t e r i a l i s e i n s u r f a c e s t r u c t u r e i n

Hausa, a f e a t u r e which tends t o obscure i t s ex i s t ence i n under ly ing

s t r u c t u r e . 2 0 That it i s indeed p r e s e n t , however, i s f u r t h e r i n d i c a t e d

by t h e fo l lowing suppor t ive evidence:

i ) The f i n i t e verb y i i s ob l iga to ry i n a l l a s p e c t s except t h e con t i -

nuous when combined with a NVDN o r AN, e . g . ya y i b a r c i 'he s l e p t '

( l i t e r a l l y ' he d i d s l e e p i n g ' ) , and y a y i s auk i ' he i s b e t t e r ' ( l i t e -

r a l l y 'he has made r e l i e f ' ) , a f e a t u r e a l r eady r e f e r r e d t o e a r l i e r .

h hough t h e VDN y i n i s d e l e t e d more t imes than not i n both spoken and w r i t t e n Hausa, it i s sometimes prefer red . Pi lszczikowa h e r s e l f (1960:109, 116) provides a few examples where it i s o v e r t l y marked be- f o r e a fol lowing NVDN, e .g . a kuma r i k a y i n gamacfe kullum 'people would cont inue t o a c t i n unison a l l t h e t i m e ' , and t a R i shan magani, h a r kuma t a k i y i n numfashi ' she re fused t o d r ink t h e medicine, and she even r e fused t o b rea the ' .

i i ) This o p t i o n a l d e l e t i o n o f t h e VDN y i n be fo re a NVDN o r AH i n an

a u x i l i a r y cons t ruc t ion i s p a r a l l e l e d i n Hausa when t h e s e -cvo iuems

fol low t h e continuous pronoun i n t h e continuous a spec t , e . g . ana ( y i n )

su ru tu ' t h e r e ' s a l o t o f no i se ' , and ana ( y i n ) z a f i yanzu 'it i s h o t

at t h e moment'. The two cons t ruc t ions thus sha re t h e same t r ans fo rm po-

t e n t i a l .

i i i ) When a s u r f a c e cons t ruc t ion of t h e type AV + UVDK, e .g . ya cika

su ru tu 'he c h a t t e r s a l o t ' i s s u b j e c t t o a r e l a t i v e t ransform;, t h e

underlying y i ( n ) o f t e n appears , y i e l d i n g suru tun da ya cika y i

' t h e c h a t t e r i n g he o f t e n does' o r , i n t e r e s t i n g l y , y i n su ru tun da ya

c i k a , a f a c t which might j u s t i f y regard ing a i l t h e s e combinations o f AV

+ NVDN o r AM a s be ing simply "ph rasa l veros" o f t h e t y p e d i s c u s s e d

b r i e f l y i n s e c t i o n 2 .11 o f t h i s paper .

2.7.3. Cont ra s t ive presence o r absence of y i n wi th c e r t a i n AV. With

regard t o t h e c o n t r a s t i v e a l t e r n a t i o n of some verbs o p e r a t i n g as e i t h e r

AV o r NAV, it i s p e r t i n e n t t o note t h a t i n c e r t a i n i n s t a n c e s , when a 5

NVDI'T i s included i n t h e p i e c e , t h e underlying VUN y i n must appear i n

an a u x i l i a r y cons t ruc t ion t o disambiguate it from what might o therwise

be an ambiguous, non-auxi l iary cons t ruc t ion without y i n . Compare t h e

fol lowing p a i r s of sen tences :

3a) ya sha y i n s u r u t u

This can only mean ' he chat tered/complained a l o t ' , where sha i s a c t i n g

a s AV-2 i n an a c t i v e cons t ruc t ion , where t h e s u b j e c t s of AV-2 s h a and

t h e VDN y i n a r e i d e n t i c a l , t h u s s a t i s f y i n g coreference c o n d i t i o n ( i )

s t a t e d i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n of AV ( s e c t i o n 2.11, and where a r e l a t i v e t r a n s -

f c r n could only produce surutun da ya sha yi, and. no t *surutun da ya

sha.

3 b ) ya sha su ru tu

This can only mean 'he suf fered /endured t h e c h a t t e r i n g / c o m p l a i n t s ' , i . e .

o f o t h e r s , wi th sha ope ra t ing he re a s KAV, where t h e two s u b j e c t s a r e

not i d e n t i c a l r e f e r e n t i a l l y ,2 and where a r e l a t i v e t r ans fo rm could only

he a u x i l i a r y no t ion of sha ' o f t e n , to e x c e s s ' , i s probably de- r i v e d from t h e secondary meaning of NAY sha ' s u f f e r / e n d u r e q .

y i e l d suru tun da ya sha.

( h a ) ya sake y i n a i k i

This means ' he d i d some more work' = AV-2 + T O N + NVDN d i r e c t ob jec t , ,

where a r e l a t i v e t ransform y i e l d s a i k i n da y a sake y i .

( 4b ) y a sake a i k i

This means ' he changed h i s job' = NAV + noun d i r e c t ob jec t (KVDN o r

semi-concre te?) , where a r e l a t i v e t ransforms y i e l d s a i k i n da ya sake.

2.7.4. Exceptions t o presence of y i n a s VDN. The foregoing m a t e r i a l

and a n a l y s i s would seem t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e r u l e which permi ts o p t i o n a l

d e l e t i o n o f t h e VDN y i n i n t h e combinations AV ( + VDN y i n ) + {*F} may be a p p l i e d t o a l l such cons t ruc t ions i n Hausa. This i s no t t h e case

however. A s i s perhaps i n e v i t a b l e i n any at tempt t o s e t up c a t e g o r i e s

of verbs on t h e b a s i s o f t h e i r s y n t a c t i c behaviour , t h e r e a r e a few

except ions t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l formula which forms t h e b a s i s of t h i s

s tudy . I s h a l l now cons ider t h e s e except ions .

Two AV-2 i n our l i s t , f a s a and r a s a (examples marked wi th * i n

Table 11) a r e problemat ica l i n t h a t t h e y may be followed immediately by

a NVDN b u t t h e VDN y i n i s not allowed i n e i t h e r su r f ace o r under ly ing

s t r u c t u r e . Consider t h e fol lowing c o n t r a s t i v e p a i r s : 2 2

( 5 a ) y a f a s a y i n magana 'he decided not t o cont inue speaking '

( 5 b ) y a f a s a magana 'he decided, not t o speak '

(6a) ya r a s a y i n maganar da z a i y i 'he cou ldn ' t say what he in t ended t o s ay '

(5b) ya r a s a maganar da z a i y i 'he was a t a l o s s what t o s ay '

Exc.iiiples ( 5 a ) and ( 6 a ) a r e d i s t i ngu i shed s y n t a c t i c a l l y from ( 5 b ) and (6b)

~y t h e f a c t t h a t t h e former must inc lude t h e VDU y i n "before the NVDR

magana, whereas t h e l a t t e r cannot i n s e r t y i n , L.--e uurpose of t h i s

c o n t r a s t be ing t o i n d i c a t e a r a t h e r s u b t l e d i f f e r e n c e i n meaning. Thus

t h e verbs f a s a and r a s a i n (5a) and ( 6 a ) q u a l i f y a s AV on s y n t a c t i c

2 2 ~ am g r a t e f u l t o Mu'azu Sani of Bayero Un ive r s i t y College and t h e School o f O r i e n t a l and. Afr ican S t u d i e s , Un ive r s i t y o f London, f o r b r ing - i n g my a t t e n t i o n t o t h e counterexamples d iscussed he re .

grounds, b u t a s NAV i n (5b) and ( 6 b ) , though from a semantic p o i n t o f

view, a t l e a s t , one i s tempted t o consider them AV i n a l l t h e above

examples, s i n c e t h e s h i f t i n r e l a t , i o n a l meaning i s very s l i g h t indeed ,

unl ike sen tences ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) d i scussed e a r l i e r , where t h e AV/NATJ

c o n t r a s t i n ope ra t ion and meaning i s c l ea r - cu t . Furthermore, m e r e may

be some j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r cons ider ing t h e nouns exempl i f ied i n Fentences

( 1 ) and ( 2 ) a s possess ing d i f f e r e n t va lues , i . e . (semi-) concre te noun

a s opposed t o v e r b a l dynamic noun, depending upon whether t h e preceding

verb i s AV o r NAVY a poss ib l e explana t ion which cannot , I t h i n k , b e ex.-

tended t o sen tences ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) - Another exp lana t ion which might perhaps account f o r t h i s cont ras -

t i v e behaviour i s t h a t we a r e i n f a c t dea l ing he re wi th two d i s t i n c t

lexemes , a NVDN magana ' t a l k / s p e e c h l i n (512) and (5b ) , and. a p h r a s a l

verb y i magana ' t o t a l k / s p e a k l i n ( 5 a ) and ( 6 a ) , a t e n t a t i v e explana-

t i o n a l ready proposed e a r l i e r .

There a r e a l s o semantic r e s t r i c t i o n s , aga in of a r a t h e r deep n a t u r e , ^ on t h e presence o r absence of y i n be fo re a b s t r a c t nouns wi th a handful

of AV (examples marked wi th + i n Table 11). Compare t h e fo l lowing:

( 7 a ) wannan mutum y a c i k a y i n nauyi ' t h i s man i s i n c r e a s i n g i n weight ' i . e . r e f e r r i n g t o a p roces s

(7b ) wannan mutum y a c i k a nauyi ' t h i s man i s t o o heavy ' , i . e . re - f e r r i n g t o t h e s t a t e r e s u l t i n g from t h e process

( 8 a ) wurin nan y a saba y i n warin nama ' t h i s p l ace has t h e bad smel l of m e a t ' i . e . a t c e r t a i n t imes only

(8b ) wurin nan ya saba warin nama ' t h i s p l ace has t h e bad smel l of meat ' , i . e . normally

( 9 a ) g a r i ya sh iga y i n z a f i ' t h e town has become d i f f i c u l t t.o l i v e i n ( f i n a n c i a l l y ) '

( 9b ) g a r i ya sh iga z a f i ' t h e weat! e r has s t a r t e d h o t t i n g UP '

I n examples ( ? a ) , ( 8 a ) , and ( 9 a ) , t h e ob l iga to ry VDN y i n i s i n s e r t e d

i n o rde r t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e meaning of t h e s e u t t e r a n c e s from (7b)> (8b),

and ( 9 b ) , r e s p e c t i v e l y ; t h e verbs c i k a , s aba , and sh iga a r e t hus

i n t e r p r e t e d a s AV-2 according t o my model, i n sen tences ( T O ) , (8111, and

( 9 b j i on t h e o t h e r hand, t h e i n c l u s i o n of y i n i s not allowed i n e i t h e r

underlying o r su r f ace form, a l i n g u i s t i c s igna l which then conveys a

sub t ly d i f f e r e n t message t o a Hausa speaker . However, t h e same verbs

c i k a , saba , and sh iga c l e a r l y cannot q u a l i f y grammatically a s AV

h e r e , even though, once aga in , they q u a l i f y on semantic grounds s i n c e

t h e modi f ica t ion i n meaning which they undergo i s very low.

The choice of whether o r not t o inc lude t h e VDN y i n depends %here-

f o r e on t h e s p e c i f i c meaning t h e speaker wishes t o convey, and w h i l s t we

a r e forced "to admit t h a t such cons t ruc t ions a s those presented above do

go counter t o our b a s i c r u l e s , such counterexamples a r e nonethe less r a r e

and a r e determined by semantic cons ide ra t ions of a r a t h e r deep k i n d . 2 3

2.8. AV + o b j e c t c lause i n t h e subjunct ive a s p e c t

The remaining except ions t o my b a s i c s y n t a c t i c d e f i n i t i o n , a l r e a d y

a l luded t o e a r l i e r , w i l l now be t r e a t e d . 6 of t h e 35 AV l i s t e d , a l l of

them AV-2, may govern a complement c l ause i n t h e subjunct ive a spec t ( s e e

a l s o d i scuss ion under s e c t i o n 2 . 5 . 4 ) . Such a c l ause may s u b s t i t u t e f o r

a fo l lowing VDN wi th no change i n meaning, provided t h a t t h e two s u b j e c t s 1

remain t h e same. These AV inc lude i y a , saba , nema, i s a , damu da ,

rabu da. Table I11 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e s e combinations.

here a l s o appears t o "be a r u l e i n Eausa, again determined by semantic f a c t o r s , which does no t a l low t h e combination AV + VDN yin + AH i f t h e s u b j e c t of t h e AV i s inanimate. Hence "wannan akwati ya c i k a y i n nauyi ' t h i s box i s very heavy ' , with y i n inc luded , i s n o t allowed, only wannan akwati ya c i k a nauyi , s i n c e an inanimate o b j e c t i s no t capable of e f f e c t i n g an a c t i o n o r p roces s - whereas wannan mutum y a c i k a y i n nauyi i.s of course pe rmis s ib l e , a l b e i t wi" th a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t meaning. I am not s u r e j u s t how product ive t h i s r u l e i s , how- e v e r , e s p e c i a l l y a s t h e f i n i t e verb y i i s o b l i g a t o r y i n t h e p a s t a spec t i n such cons t ruc t ions a s wannan akwati ya y i nauyi ' t h i s box i s heavy ' .

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and sG~)-forms of AV 2.10 . The "pro- form naka

A l l AV may i n a d d i t i o n 'be fol-i . , ,~ed c.y haka which is Lh? pr':..-.~ .,L!.

f o r a l l t h e grammatical i tems which may f i l l t h e s l o t of c~r'iplemen'i foJ-

lowing an AV. Thus f o r ya c i k a neman kucfi 'he i s always look ing f'or

.&?^h where t. i . i fc money' , one may s u b s t i t u t e ya c i k a haka, i n a col'.,-'~ - -

r e f e rence o f haka would be understood. S i m i l a r l y , ya faye hiy.i;c-,. f>r

ya faye ( y i n ) su ru tu 'he t a l k s t o o much; an da ina haka f o r an daiiia

( y i n ) z a f i ' t h e ho t weather i s over ' , c f . yanzu sai a da ina haka

(MJC 2 : 233) 'now one should s t o p (doing) t hus ' ; and ya i s a haka f o r

ya i s a ya hau keke ' h e i s up t o r i d i n g a b i c y c l e ' , e t c .

A s i n d i c a t e d above, t h e pro-form f o r t h e s e i tems i s haka, and

not s h i / t a / s u , which a r e t h e r e f e r e n t pronouns f o r concre te nouns, a

f e a t u r e a l r eady noted by Parsons (1971/72:52) . This f a c t i l l u s t r a t e s

an i n t e r e s t i n g morphosyntactic f e a t u r e of AV, namely, t h a t t hey do not

a s a r u l e ope ra t e a B form ( t h e form of t h e verb used be fo re a pe r sona l

pronoun d i r e c t o b j e c t ) . Most AV i n f a c t only ope ra t e a C form ( tha , t v

used be fo re a noun o r c l ause d i r e c t o b j e c t ) , and occas iona l ly , i n r e l a -

t i v e t ransforms, f o r example, an A form ( t h e form used when the re i s no

fo l lowing o b j e c t ) , a f a c t which Parsons f a i l e d t o observe at t h e t ime .

The o r thograph ica l ly unambiguous a u x i l i a r y usages of t h e Grade 2 verbs

nema and *sama a r e proof of t h i s , c f . na nemi ganin / in ga s a k i , arin.3.

ban sami ganinsa ba ' I " t ied t o s ee t h e Emir, bu t d i d not manage TO

( s e e h i m ) ' , where t h e C form i s used, w i t h ganin s a r k i da na rsema 'my

t r y i n g t o s e e t h e Emi.rl , a p e r f e c t l y acceptab le A form ~ o L I s ~ ~ u L ~ ~ c , ~ .

There a r e a few examples of AV ope ra t ing a B form, though t h i s i s

r a r e and occurs i n high1.y r e s t r i c t e d con tex t s . Parsons ( l 9 7 l / 7 2 : 52)

c i t e s t h e example yaa f a a r a a t a 2 7 'he has s t a r t e d (making) i " o (i , e . a

c h a i r ) ' (B form), which i s i n e f f e c t a d e l e t i o n t ransform of yaa f a a r a

y i n ku jee raa 'he has s t a r t e d making a c h a i r ' ( C form) . He a l so g i v e s

kaa t a b a kujeeraa? 'have you ever made a c h a i r ? ' , which i s aga in a

d e l e t i o n o f t h e more common kaa t aba y i n kujeeraa? The sentence kaa

2 7 ~ n t h i s s e c t i o n , I am fol lowing Parsons ' ' t r ansc r ip t ion u s i n g s i n g l e and double vowels t o i l l u s t r a t e i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e d i f f e r e n t morphologi- c a l sub-forms of t h e verb .

2.9 . Obcervations on Table III

One of t h e r e s t r i c t i v e requirements given i n our o r i g i n a l d e f i n i -

t i o n of AV was t h a t t h e s u b j e c t of t h e AV and i t s fo l lowing complement

i n t h e formula AV + VDN ( + d i r e c t o b j e c t ) must be i d e n t i c a l , and t h i s

b a s i c requirement ho lds f a s t even when a subjunct ive c l a u s e o p t i o n a l l y

r ep l aces t h e VDN (+ - d i r e c t o b j e c t ) immediately fo l lowing t h e A V . 2 6

Table I11 demonstrates t h e opera t ion of t h i s coreference c o n s t r a i n t .

It seems t h a t t h e r e i s one except ion t o t h i s r u l e , determined by

e x t r a - l i n g u i s t i c f a c t o r s , and t h i s involves t h e AV-2 i s a i n a sen-

t ence such a s t a i s a aure ' s h e should be mar r i ed ' , where t h e two sub-

j e c t s a r e not i n f a c t i d e n t i c a l . This becomes c l e a r when t h e complement

VDN i s r ep laced "by an o b j e c t c l ause i n t h e sub junc t ive , which would be

t a i s a a aure t a , l i t e r a l l y , ' she i s worthy t h a t one should marry h e r f ,

with t h e imp l i ca t ion t h a t t h e s u b j e c t i s a young g i r l who i s a t t r a c t i v e

enough o r whose p a r e n t s a r e r i c h and i n f l u e n t i a l enough f o r h e r t o be

marr ied, and not t a i s a t a y i aure ' s h e should mar ry ' , r e f e r r i n g t o

a woman who has a l r e a d y been marr ied and should marry aga in .

The verbs koma and sh iga may a l s o precede a c l a u s e i n t h e sub-

j unc t ive , e . g . y a koma ya s a c i kaya and y a s h i g a ya y i k a r a t u ,

meaning, r e s p e c t i v e l y , ' he went back ( i n o r d e r ) t o s t e a l t h e goods ' , and

'he went back ( i n o r d e r ) t o s t u d y ' , b u t i n t h e p h y s i c a l o r l i t e r a l s ense .

Thus t h e two verbs koma and sh iga a r e he re ope ra t ing n o t as AV b u t

as KAV (ve rbs o f motion) wi th a fo l lowing conjoined c l ause i n t h e sub-

junc t ive t o i n d i c a t e purpose o r i n t e n t i o n . For koma and s h i g a t o

a c t a s AV, t h e above sen tences would have t o r ead ya koma s a t a r kaya

'he r e tu rned t o s t e a l i n g goods ' , and y a sh iga ( y i n ) k a r a t u ' he has

s t a r t e d / t u r n e d t o s tudy ing ' , i . e . i n a f i g u r a t i v e sense .

261 say "immediately" because, w h i l s t only a handfu l of AV can govern a verb i n t h e subjunct ive a s a f i r s t verb, most AV may be fo l lowed by a -verb i n t h e subjunct ive a s t h e second ve rb , e . g . kana i y a d'aukan wannan akwati k a saka s h i waje 'you can t a k e t h i s box and p u t it out- s i d e ' .

REFERENCES

Abraham, R . C . 1 9 % . The PrineipZes of h7azdsa, volume one. Kaduria.

. 1962. Dictionavy of the dmsa Language, second e d i t i o n . London.

Balewa, Abubakar Tafawa. 1955. S h e h Dinar'. Zar i a .

Bargery , G . P. l 9 34. A Hausa-Eng Zish Dictionary and English-Hansa Vocabu~aq . London.

Cowan, J. R. and Russe l l G . Schuh. 1976. Spoken Haxsa. I t h a c a , K. Y.

Galadanci, M . K . M . 1969. The Simple Nomind Phrase in L ' m a . Ph.P. d i s s e r t a t i o n , School of O r i e n t a l and Afr ican S t u d i e s , Un ive r s i t y of London.

Imam, Abubakar. 1937-39. Magana Jari Ce, t h r e e volumes. Z a r i a .

K r a f t , Charles H . and A. H . M. Kirk-Greene. 1973. Hausa. Teach Yourself Books. London.

K r a f t , Charles H. and ~ a ' r ~ u e r i t e G . K r a f t . 1973. Introductory Hausa. Berkeley and. Los Angeles.

Maxwell, J . L,. and E . M. Forshey. 1963. Yau da Gobe: a Hausa Grammar T

for Beginners. Jos . MJC. See 1ma.m.

Parsons, F. W . 1955. "Abstract nouns of sensory q u a l i t y and t h e i r de- r i v a t i v e s i n ~ a u s a " , i n Afrikanis t i sche Studien, ed . 'by J. Lukas , pp. 373-404. Hamburg.

. 1971/72. "Suppletion and n e u t r a l i s a t i o n i n t h e v e r b a l system of ~ a u s a " , Afr. U . ~ b e r s e e 55~49-97 , 188-208.

Pi lszczikowa, Nina. 1960. "Les verbes a u x i i i a i r e s en haoussa", Roczmk Orientalistzjczny 23(2):101-18.

S U . See Balewa.

2 . Sample d e r i v a t i o n s f c r class 2h p l u r a l s

The b a s i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e pa r s ing model a r e t h e f o l l c v i n g .

Lexica l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a r e e s s e n t i a l l y phonet ic representa t i .ons ; f o r

c l a r i f i c a t i o n , s e e Leben ( i n p r e s s ) . Der iva t ions c o n s i s t i n comparing;

two forms Wi and Wi with r e spec t t o a morphological r u l e R w i t h a view

t o determining whether t hey a r e r e l a t e d by R . Proving t h a t Lwo Tornis

a r e r e l a t e d r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e r e be some s t a g e i n t h e der i -va t ion a t which

t h e two forms i n ques t ion match t h e environment of morphological r u l e R,

Deriva t ions proceed by undoing t h e e f f e c t s of phonological r u l e s step by

s t e p on t h e forms i n ques t ion , when t h i s w i l l i nc rease t,he reseir-biaice

between them. A r u l e A -+ [-F] / Y Z i s undone by r e p l a c i n g [--F]

with [+F] on A i n YAZ. Analogously, an i n s e r t i o n 0 -r A / Y U-.- Z i s

undone by d e l e t i n g A from YAZ, and a d e l e t i o n A --> 0 / Y Z i s done

by r e s t o r i n g A between Y and Z . As soon as t h e forms i n ques t ion match

t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s o f t h e morphological r u l e , t h e d e r i v a t i o n s t o p s .

For example, cons ider t h e p l u r a l c l a s s wi.th a f a l l i n g tone b e f o r e 7

-aa. his and o t h e r p l u r a l c l a s s e s of Hausa a r e descr ibed and i l l u s -

t r a t e d i n Parsons ( n . d . ) . ) ( 1 ) S ingu la r P l u r a l

a . damii d~mrnga 'b7undle ' b. ~ a a t & o k ~ . t t a a huge l

c . g&or&o g ~ r r & ' k o l anut '

The morphological r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e s i n g u l a r s and p l i i r a l s i s

given by t h e fol lowing r u l e :

2 ) Korphological r u l e ( ~ a l l i n g tone + -aa c l a s s )

[ CVCV] => [cVC-C-;a] 1 2 3 4 sg 1 2 3 3 pi

Rule ( 2 ) says simply t h a t some s i n g u l a r s of t h e form CVCV correspond T,O

a p l u r a l i n which t h e second consonant i s doubled, and fol lowed by 'uhe

ending -aa and i n which t h e tone p a t t e r n i s Falling-High. Given The

words of ( l a ) damli and d$inm&x, which a r c koth i n t h e l e x i c o n , r u l e

( 2 ) determines t h a t t hey a r e a p o s s i b l e s i n g u l a r / p l u r a l p a i r . The

remaining forms i n ( 1 ) a l s o come under r u l e (2), b u t t hey cannot be

Papers in Chadie L ingu i s t i c s Ed. by P . Newman and R. M. Newman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

PARSING HAUSA PLURALS

William R. Leben

Introduction

It is a common practice in generative phonology to acco-mt for cor-

respondences between sets of morphologically related forms "by assuming

that two such forms arise from the same root and that, by virtue of

undergoing different morphological and phonological processes, they ac-

quire any surface differences that distinguish them from each other. A

sign of the utility of this approach is Newman's (1972) quite successful

analysis of Hausa plurals, representing a significant departure from

past accounts, which occupied themselves primarily with categorizing the

various Hausa plural classes and subclasses.

In Leben (1977) I attempted to show that certain defects in

Newman's analysis could be overcome if we changed the theoretical frame-

work that he adopted. The general proposal, first presented in Leben

and Robinson (19~7)~ involves assuming that the lexicon contains surface

forms rather than abstract underlying forms and that it is the function

of phonological rules to take a given surface form back to a more basic

representation (similar to the hypothetical base form of Bloomfield

(1933:218-19)) that is nondistinct in all relevant respects from the

corresponding basic representation of a morphologically related form.

In applying this proposal to Hausa plurals, I argued that this framework

permitted one to maintain the essential principles of Newman's analysis

while avoiding numerous exception features, diacritic uses of phonolo-

gical features, and unjustifiably abstract lexical representations.

In the present paper I modify the new framework in ways that depart

even more significantly from the conventional framework of generative

phonology. As a result, new arguments arise to support the parsing

analysis over the conventional one.

(4) Singu la r P l u r a l

a . beerLa b&erAa&e ' r a t ' / \ /

z00m60 zoomaayee ' hare ' k i i f i i k i i f i a y g e ' f i s h '

b . d&60 dLmaarn4e 'monitor '

d k a a d f e i a d e ' k n i f e ' / / / \ / wur l i wuraaree ' p l a c e '

The r e l evan t d i f f e r e n c e i s t h a t i n ( h a ) t h e r o o t vowel i s l o n g whi le i n

( b b ) it i s s h o r t . Accordingly, Newman proposes t o apply a doubl ing r u l e ,

which we may formulate a s i n (5), i n - t h e formation o f t h e p l u r a l s .

( 5 ) Doubling

The p o s i t i o n o f t h e consonant produced by ( 5 ) wi th r e s p e c t t o t h e i n f i x f.

-La- i s expressed by r u l e ( 6 ) :

(6) I n f i x a t ion

Since t h e p l u r a l s i n (4a) do not s a t i s f y t h e environments of r u l e s ( 5 ) \ /

and (6), t hey appear w i th -aa-ee s u f f i x e d t o t h e s i n g u l a r r o o t , and a

genera l r u l e of y-Epenthesis changes t h i s s a f f i x t o -ha-y-&.

Regarding ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) a s s e p a r a t e processes permi ts Newan t o cap-

t u r e t h e correspondence between t h e s i n g u l a r s and p l u r a l s of ( 7 ) :

(7) Singu la r -- P l u r a l

kisk00 kgsaakee 'bowl 9

b i r n i i b i r i ange ' c i t y '

k u l k i i kdlhakee ' cudgel '

The r o o t s kask-, e t c . do not f i t t h e environment of r u l e ( 5 ) and so do

not undergo doubling. But t hey do f i t t h e environment o f (6), and s o

t h e i n f i x -;a- i s i n s e r t e d j u s t t o t h e l e f t of t h e f i n a l r o o t conso-

n a n t , y i e l d i n g t h e p l u r a l forms i n ( 7 ) .

parsed by t h i s r u l e u n t i l t h e e f f e c t s of some phonological r u l e s a r e

undone. I n accordance wi th t h e conventions summarized above, we undo

phonological r u l e s on t h e s e forms u n t i l t h e s i n g u l a r and. p l u r a l p a i r f i t

t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of r u l e ( 2 ) . The f a c t t h a t t h e s i n g u l a r d a t & o has a

long vowel i n t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e whi le t h e p l u r a l R a t t i a has a s h o r t

one i s d e a l t w i th by undoing t h e r u l e which sho r t ens vowels in c losed

s y l l a b l e s . We undo t h e sho r t en ing r u l e by changing vowels i n closed.

s y l l a b l e s t o [+long] where t h i s would i n c r e a s e t h e i r s i m i l a r i t y t o cor-

responding long vowels. The f i r s t s y l l a b l e of k 3 t t a a q u a l i f i e s and.

becomes ~ a a t t g a . A t t h i s p o i n t t h e r e i s no need t o undo any f u r t h e r

r u l e s , s i n c e &at& and R3t taa a r e a l r eady i n a form t o f i t t h e envi-

ronment of r u l e ( 2 ) , and so t h e d e r i v a t i o n i s complete.

Example ( 1 c ) shows t h a t a long wi th a discrepancy i n vowel l e n g t h i n

g&or&o/gw3rr;a, t h e r e i s a l s o a discrepancy i n t h e he igh t o f t h e vowel

of t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e . This l a t t e r discrepancy i s t h e r e s u l t o f t h e

n e u t r a l i z a t i o n o f nonhigh vowels t o a i n c losed s y l l a b l e s . The d e r i - T

v a t i o n f o r t h i s p a i r i s sketched i n ( 3 ) . Redundant l a b i a l i z a t i o n o f t h e

i n i t i a l consonant of i s inc luded i n Wi.

( 3 ) W1 W2 MORPHOLOGY

LEXICAL FORMS: 9 <3 +r(i-'&or&o L +rdlarraa ,. 1 2 3 4 s g 123 3 P! [cvcvj => [cQc-c-&q

v a - * a/- - - [ +,-..l [ h , l "-!a - - 9 v

Af t e r undoing r u l e (b) i n ( 3 ) , t h e s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l match t h e envi-

ronment of t h e morphological r u l e .

3. Neman's a n a l y s i s of aa-ee p l u r a l s

Newman (1972) observes a r e g u l a r i t y t h a t i n gene ra l determines whe- v / t h e r t h e aa-ee c l a s s ending i s r e a l i z e d a s -aayee ( a s i n ( )+a ) ) o r

-Lac& ( a s i n ( b b ) ) , where C i s a copy o f t h e f i n a l r o o t consonant.

4. Al te rna t ive a n a l y s i s f o r aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l s , framed, w i t h i n a p a r s i n g model

The behavior of t h e geminate consonants i n Hausa can be exp la ined

i f we adopt an assumption about t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a t I b e l i e v e can

be motivated on gene ra l grounds. I f t h i s assumption i s c o r r e c t , it pro-

v ides f u r t h e r support f o r t h e pa r s ing a n a l y s i s , over and above t h e argu-

ments i n Leben (1977) . I propose t o abandon t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of gemi-

n a t e s a s consonant sequences, and t o r ep re sen t them i n s t e a d , i n all-

languages, a s s i n g l e consonants with t h e p e c u l i a r i t y o f "being a s s o c i a t e d

wi th two ad jacen t s y l l a b l e s a t t h e same t ime. Following Kahn ( l 9 7 6 ) , I

w i l l r ep re sen t s y l l a b l e s t r u c t u r e on a l e v e l of a n a l y s i s d i s t i n c t from

bu t a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e segmental l e v e l . The c o n t r a s t between geminates

and non-geminates i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n (8), where a s s o c i a t i o n l i n e s connect

s y l l a b l e s (des igna ted by S ) wi th segments.

( 8 ) a. damoo = damoo

Kahn demonstrates t h a t it i s p l a u s i b l e t o keep t h e l e v e l of segmen-

t a l s t r u c t u r e s e p a r a t e from t h e l e v e l of s y l l a b l e s t r u c t u r e , and I be-

l i e v e t h a t it i s equa l ly p l a u s i b l e t o r ep re sen t t h e c o n t r a s t between

long and s h o r t consonants i n t h e way i l l u s t r a t e d i n ( 8 ) . The represen-

t a t i o n f o r t h e long m i n (8b ) i s t h e same a s t h e one Kahn proposes f o r

ambisyl labic consonants i n Engl i sh , l i k e t h e n i n honey, though t h e

phonet ic r e a l i z a t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t . To account f o r t h e d i f f e r e n c e , we

add a r u l e t o Hausa t h a t i n t e r p r e t s ambisy l lab ic consonants as longe r

vers ions of consonants a s s o c i a t e d with a s i n g l e s y l l a b l e . E n g l i s h , on

t h e o t h e r hand, w i l l not have t h i s a d d i t i o n a l r u l e . What i s i n t e r e s t i n g

about t h i s proposa l i s t h a t it makes t h e fo l lowing p r e d i c t i o n s : (i) i n

a language wi th morpheme-internal c o n t r a s t s between long and s h o r t ver -

s ions of t h e same consonant, t h e r e a r e no i n t e r l u d e s , i . e . no cases l i k e

t h e n i n Eng l i sh honey i n which a s h o r t consonant can c l a i m m e ~ b e r -

sh ip i n two adjacent s y l l a b l e s ; and ( i i) i n a language wi th i n t e r l u d e s ,

t h e only cases i n which long and s h o r t consonants can c o n t r a s t a r e

ac ros s morpheme boundaries , where i d e n t i c a l segments can b e jux taposed .

This a n a l y s i s n e a t l y cap tu re s t h e r e l e v a n t p a r a l l e l s and d i f f e r e n c e s

betveen t h e forms of ( h a ) , (bb ) , and ( 7 ) . There a r e , however, some prob-

l ema t i c forms, and it i s t h e s e t h a t c a l l f o r a reworking of t h e a n a l y s i s .

For example, t h e f a c t t h a t Â£>$wr& ' f i g t r e e ' has t h e p l u r a l bLwrkay&

while kyawrge 'door covering ' has t h e p l u r a l kyawkar& l e a d s Newrnan

t o p o s i t t h a t t h e w of b$wr6e is [ + v o c a l i c ] , and presumably [-con-

s o n a n t a l ] , making it impossible f o r t h i s W t o q u a l i f y a s t h e f i r s t

consonant i n r u l e ( 6 ) . This causes jb$wree t o behave l i k e t h e nouns

of ( 4 a ) . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e W o f ,ky$wr;e i s r ep re sen ted by

Newman a s [ -voca l i c ] , and presumably [+consonanta l ] , so t h a t t h i s w

q u a l i f i e s a s t h e f i r s t consonant i n t h i s r u l e , l e a d i n g t o t h e p l u r a l / \

kyaw-aa-r-Le. Since t h e r e i s no phonet ic d i s t i n c t i o n corresponding t o

t h e phonological d i s t i n c t i o n p o s i t e d by Newman to d i f f e r e n t i a t e t h e t w o

k inds of W, t h i s c o n s t i t u t e s t h e d i a c r i t i c use o f a phonologica l

f e a t u r e .

A more extreme example involves r o o t s ending i n long consonants ,

l i k e t hose of g&m6o 'head pan' and ta l lLe ' smal l soup p o t ' . The

a n a l y s i s summarized above would i n c o r r e c t l y l e a d one t o expect t h e s e t o

have t h e p l u r a l s *g&$aam6e and *tal&al6e, f o r t h e same reason t h a t

dam60 i n ( b b ) , a f t e r undergoing doubling of i t s f i n a l r o o t consonant ,

has -ha- i n s e r t e d t o t h e l e f t o f t h e second m i n t h e p l u r a l d&niam&e.

Newman t a k e s note of t h e problem wi th ta l lLe and proposes t h a t t h e / '

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h i s word f o r purposes o f p l u r a l formation i s * tan lee ,

where t h e n i s [+voca l i c ] . This prevents ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) from app ly ing ,

and so g ives *tanl-&a-Le > tallaayge. The same procedure would cor -

r e c t l y y i e l d g~mmhayLe as t h e p l u r a l o f g&nmdo. But t h e f a c t t h a t n

hypothesized i n *tanlee never su r f aces makes one wonder i f a more

s t r a igh t fo rward explana t ion i s n ' t p o s s i b l e ; and. the d i a c r i t i c u s e o f t h e

phonological f e a t u r e [+voca l i c ] t o mark n a s a l consonants (which, a f t e r

a l l , involve a s t o p c losu re i n t h e mouth, making them i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h

t h e phonological s p e c i f i c a t i o n [ + v o c a l i c ] ) i nc reases one ' s doubts about

the f e a s i b i l i t y of t h i s aspec t of t h e a n a l y s i s .

I n t h e pa r s ing a n a l y s i s , on t h e o t h e r hand, t h e problem does n o t a r i s e .

The s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l , both of which a r e i n t h e l e x i c o n , a r e r e l a t e d

i n t h e fo l lowing way:

(10) W 1 W2 MORPHOLOGY \ /

LEXICAL FORMS: gamoo

W wv [9yisg => [ Q - ~ ~ Y = I ^

S S S s s

( Q i s a v a r i a b l e encompassing t h e e n t i r e form up t o t h e end ing . )

Without undoing any phonological r u l e s , t h e two forms f i t t h e s p e c i f i -

c a t i o n s of t h e morphological r u l e , and so t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p 'between them

i s e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e grammar.

This a n a l y s i s a l s o provides a way of expla in ing why t h e c o r r e c t

p l u r a l of dam60 i s damaamee r a t h e r t han *d~mm>ay&e. Of course ,

Newman's a n a l y s i s does t h i s p e r f e c t l y w e l l , b u t t h e a l t e r n a t i v e deve-

loped i n Leben (1977) does no t . Incorpora t ing t h e new r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t

f o r geminates permi ts t h e pars ing a n a l y s i s t o match Newman's i n descr ip-

t i v e adequacy i n t h i s i n s t ance . Consider how t h e p a r s e r would cope w i t h

t h e improper p a i r dam60/*d&tun~ayee. Since Hausa geminates a r e t o b e

t r e a t e d as s i n g l e consonants belonging t o two s y l l a b l e s , t h e s u r f a c e

form *d$mmkay&e would have t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n given under Idr, i n (11) :

1 1 ) W 1 W2 MORPHOLOGY

LEXICAL FORMS: damdo [F:] => [ Q-iaye'e] - PJ-

Since Doubling c r e a t e s a copy of t h e segment m , t he only c a s e i n which

Doubling could "be undone i s where two segments m e x i s t e d . S ince t h e r e

a r e not two m's i n W2 i n ( l l ) , t h e environment f o r undoing Doubling i s

not met, and consequent ly t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s o f the morphological r u l e

w i l l never be met by t h e p a i r Wi and W ? . Addi t iona l d e r i v a t i o n s f o r

aa-ee p l u r a l s a r e sketched i n s e c t i o n 6 below.

As far as I know, these predictions are correct, though unfortunately

there is a lack of research on interludes. To the best of my knowledge,

however, languages with morpheme-internal contrasts between long and

short consonants, like Italian (e .g. coppia ' couple ' vs. copia

'copy'), Spanish (e.g. perro 'dog' vs. per0 'but'), and Hausa (e.g- / /

gammoo vs. dhdo) , do not have interludes. A sign of this is that.

speakers are quite consistent in syllabifying words when called, upon to

do this. On the other hand, English, which has interludes, possesses no

contrastively long consonants, except across morpheme boundaries, as in

immeasurable, irreparable, non-native. These latter types of geminates

pose no problem for the analysis of 'English. They cannot represent

ambisyllabic consonants (since these are not contrastively long); rather

they result from the juxtaposition of a morpheme-final consonant and a

morpheme-initial consonant that happen to be identical.

To see that this proposal has the intended effect in Hausa, recall

that the problem encountered by Newman's analysis was the need for a <;

device to exempt the geminate consonant of tallee, etc. , from fitting the description CC in rule (6). The present proposal solves this problem by representing geminates as single segments. Cases that still

undergo rule (6) are those which, like kgskdo, have two different con-

sonants at the end of the stem, and those which, like d&&o? have a

single consonant which is copied before -aa-ee by rule ( 5 1 : \ / [dam]^-m-aa-ee .

Along with giving a principled account of the apparent exception-

ality of geminates, the proposal advanced here also provides a new type

of support for the parsing analysis or, for that matter, for any analysis

that can motivate listing the plurals in question in the lexicon. The

conventional generative analysis, in which the root g&tun- is the input

to -La-&e affixation, is at a loss to explain how the m of the root

can retain its membership in two syllables, when only one syllable is

present. The intermediate representation in (9) is ill-formed.

They car a l s o precede y in + NVDM:

ya y i a ikawarin ( y i r ~ ) magana 'he promised t o say s~!ueLhi Â¥".g

ya y i RoRarin ( y i n ) b a r c i h e t r i e d t o ge t some s l e e p '

ya y i n iyyar ( y i n ) rnagana 'he decided lie would szy something'

f -- na y i shawarar ( y i n ) magana 1 cofisifiei-ed say ing ilÃ‘- i . - ~ l + 7

t a c i gaba da ( y i n ) b a r c i s h e car r ie ,? or- s l e e p i n g '

3. Concluding remarks

I have a t tempted i n t h i s paper t o provide a worka.ble frmcvork -F-c,z7

desc r ib ing and understanding t h e s y n t a c t i c behaviour of a u x i l i a r y verbs

i n Hausa, a framework based upon both d e s c r i p t i v e and. a n a l y t i c a l proce-

dures . I n o rde r t o de f ine t h e grammatical parameters o f t h i s group of

verbs , I used a s i m p l i s t i c bu t nonetheless p r a c t i c a l model based upon an

a n a l y t i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n between a u x i l i a r y verbs (AV) a,nd non-auxi l ia ry

verbs ( N A V ) i n terms o f t h e i r fol lowing complements. Ce r t a in s u r f a c e

s t r u c t u r e s which appeared t o be major except ions t o t h e r u l e s s e t up

were expla ined a s be ing t h e r e s u l t s of d e l e t i o n t r ans fo rma t ions a p p l i e d

t o b a s i c under ly ing s t r u c t u r e s which i n f a c t s a t i s f i e d t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l

formula -

A t t h e same t ime , we saw, perhaps unavoidably, t h a t t h e m d e l was

not w a t e r t i g h t , and t h a t t h e s y n t a c t i c environment i n which AV occur i s

not exc lus ive due t o c e r t a i n s u b t l e semantic r e s t r i c t i o n s on usage . 1

am aware t o o t h a t t h e r e may be some verbs which cou1.d he conf iden t ly as-

s igned t o t h i s c l a s s but which have been i n a d v e r t e n t l y overlooked. h;--

thermore, time and space have not permi t ted t h e t rea tment of such impor-

t a n t ques t ions as p o s s i b l e d i a l e c t a l v a r i a t i o n s i n t h e use o f AV, t h e

a spec t s i n which they ope ra t e , AV whose not ions a-rs sbni l -a r h u t no t

i d e n t i c a l , and s o on.

Despi te t h e s e l i m i t a t i o n s , it i s hcped t h a t t h e m a t e r i a l and i n t e r -

p r e t a t i o n s p re sen ted i n t h i s a n a l y s i s have helped i n some way t o t i d y up

t h e grammatical bounda.ries o f AV. I t i s also hoped t h a t they w i l l pro-

voke ques t ions of a comparative fiat,ure and perhaps open - the way t o fur-

t h e r r e sea rch into t h i s important c l a s s of verbs i n r e l a t e d Chadic lan-

guages.

taba kujeeraa? i s i n f a c t ambiguous i n Hausa. It could mean 'did. you

touch the cha i r? ' (NAV + concrete noun d i r e c t ob jec t ) o r , a s Parsons

gives , 'have you ever made a cha i r ? ' i . e . AV ( + T O M y in ) + concrete

noun d i r ec t ob jec t , though t h e two d i s t i n c t meanings would of course be

e lucidated by t h e context. Note, however, t h a t a top ica l i sed transform

of t h e aux i l i a ry construction would y i e l d kujeeraa,kaa taba yii? ( C

form) ' a cha i r , have you ever made one? ' , with t he addi t ion of t h e VDN

y i i obl igatory , and a s imi la r t op i ca l i s ed transform of t h e non-

aux i l i a ry construction kujeeraa,kaa tabaa? ( A form) o r kujeeraa kaa

tabaa t a ? ( B form) ' t h e cha i r , d id you touch it? ' Some AV a l s o have a D form ( t h a t used before an i nd i r ec t o b j e c t ) ,

e .g. naa faaraa masa a i k i i ' I s t a r t e d working f o r him' ( D form), a

de le t ion of t h e equally acceptable and synonymous naa faa ra y i i masa

a i k i i ( C form). The D form i s c l ea r l y dist inguished i n t he unambiguous

taasam may which i s t he D form of t h e Grade 2 AV t aasaa , e .g . yaa

taasam ma shiga bookaayee (MJC 3 : ~ 2 ) 'he s e t about consult ing witch- \

doctors ' ( s ee a l so Table 11).

2.11. Phrasal verbs

F ina l ly , t he r e a r e a number of "phrasal verbs" i n Hausa which

should be b r i e f l y mentioned s ince they share some of t he syn t ac t i c , i f

none of t he semantic, fea tures of AV. A s i l l u s t r a t e d below, a l l but one

of these verbs a r e compounded with t h e verb yi + dynamic noun, t h e one

exception being c i gaba da , which is a bound compound with t h e verb

c i ' e a t r . These phrasal verbs may opt ional ly occur i n t he same syn t ac t i c envi-

ronment as AV, f o r example, with a following VDN o r subjunctive c lause

complement.

ya y i alkawarin zuwa/ya zo h e promised, t o come'

ya y i Itofcarin ba da/ya ba da amsa 'he t r i e d t o give an answer'

ya y i niyyar taf iya/ya t a f i gobe h e has decided, t o go tomorrow'

na y i shawarar gudu/in gudu ' I considered, f l ee ing '

ya c i gaba da dukan/ya doki yaro 'he ca r r i ed on beat ing t he boy'

example, t h e morphological r u l e f o r aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l s was expressed -

as [?;lsg -> [ ~ - ~ a y & e ] , where Q i n p l u r a l s was r equ i r ed t o con ta in

CW o r CVC fol lowed by a t l e a s t a consonant. This c o ~ d i t i o r i on Q s e rved / \ ^

t h e func t ion o f b r ing ing out t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y o f ragaayee. I n adcl i t ion,

Doubling was r e s t r i c t e d t o apply only a f t e r monosyllabic r o o t s wi th a

s h o r t vowel fol lowed by a s i n g l e consonant, a s i n Newman's a n a l y s i s . / \ /

This brought ou t t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y of waagaagee. There a r e two problems

wi th t h i s approach, bes ides t h e gene ra l one of l a c k i n g a p r i n c i p l e t o

permit t h e s e complicat ions of t h e r u l e s without p e r m i t t i n g any a r b i t r a r y

complicat ion. The f i r s t i s t h a t , i n o rde r t o express t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

i r r e g u l a r p l u r a l s rag>ay&e and waag>ag&e a r e s t i l l i d e n t i f i e d by

speakers as r e l a t e d t o t h e i r corresponding s i n g u l a r s , it had. t o "DC

assumed t h a t t h e p a r s i n g procedure d id no t have t o be s a t i s f i e d i n i t s en-

t i r e t y be fo re a pa r s ing could go through. This r a i s e s t h e problem of

d i s t i n g u i s h i n g t h e s e i r r e g u l a r cases from impossible ones l i k e *f&mnkarn~e. 7

The second problem i s t h a t i n o rde r t o cap tu re t h e r e s t r i c t i o n embodied.

i n Newman's r u l e o f Doubling, t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s had t o express t h e

r e s t r i c t i o n twice : without t h e condi t ion cn Q i n t h e morphological r u l e ,

t h e account would not have addressed t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y of r&>ayee, and

without t h e r e s t r i c t i o n on Doubling, t h e account would not have addressed ^ \ /

t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y of waagaagee.

I b e l i e v e t h a t t h e s e problems provide mot iva t ion f o r r e l i n q u i s h i n g

t h e use of r u l e s a s a device f o r f i l t e r i n g out i r r e g u l a r forms. The

r u l e s o f t h e p a r s e r e x i s t f o r t h e s o l e purpose o f e s t a b l i s h i n g r e l a t i o n -

s h i p s among l e x i c a l i t ems . Any r e s t r i c t i o n s p laced on t h e r u l e s mus4

accord ingly "be motivated s o l e l y by t h e need t o avoid p a r s i n g s t h a t a r e

demonstrated i n c o r r e c t . This w i l l d i s a l low t h e r e s t r i c t i o n on Q i n t h e

morphological r u l e f o r t h e aa-ee c l a s s and t h e r e s t r i c t i o n of t h e

l e n g t h of t h e r o o t vowel i n t h e Doubling r u l e , thereby p e r m i t t i n g t h e

p a r s e r t o use t h e s e r u l e s i n t h e d e r i v a t i o n of r ~ g o o / r a g ( w ) ~ a y e e and

dagaa/waag>ag&e. But we a r e s t i l l faced wi th the problem o f account ing

f o r the i n t u i t i o n t h a t hypo the t i ca l p a i r s l i k e f & ~ o / f ~ m ~ a y ~ e and

f~am6o/f~am>am&e a r e l e s s well-formed members of t h e aa-ee c l a s s

paradigm than a r e t h e hypo the t i ca l p a i r s f&noo/f&n~arnee and f ~ a m 6 o /

5. Determining well-formedness of morphologically complex words

In conventional generative phonology, the class of permissible words

is distinguished from the class of impermissible ones by virtue of whe-

ther a derivation exists in which an underlying form conforming to the

morpheme structure constraints of the language can "be realized as the

needed surface form as a result of undergoing the appropriate phonolo-

gical rules. Since the parsing analysis treates unproductive rules as

purely interpretive, it cannot use the phonological rules as a filter to

rule out impermissible derivations, and since there is no single level

of underlying phonological structure as such, the possibility of stating

morpheme structure constraints is ruled out in principle. But it is

still necessary for the parsing model to express how a native speaker

can distinguish between permissible and impermissible words. In part,

this is accomplished by the statement of phonotactic regularities; for

suggestions on how this is done in a parsing model employing surface

forms, see Leben (in press). Aside from phonotactic regularities, the ' grammar must also capture the fact that f&&ay&e would be a less likely

plural for the hypothetical form f&;o than fsaamge would be, and

that faamAay6e is a more likely plural for the hypothetical Â£$am6

than faamaam& is. In a conventional generative account, this task

poses no problem. If the singular is famoo, the root satisfies the

environment of Doubling, and so f&ainee is predicted as the plural.

If the singular is faamoo, the root does not satisfy the environment

of Doubling and so f$amkay&e is predicted. Hausa does happen to have

exceptions to Doubling, e . g. rig&o/r$g ( w)kay&e 'lazy' , which unexpectedly does not undergo Doubling in the plural, and waagaa/waaqkag&e

'hide pannier' which unexpectedly does undergo Doubling in the plural.

But the conventional analysis can handle the irregular forms by means of

positive and negative exception features. How would the parsing model

handle such phenomena?

Because parsing rules do not generate~they only interpret what is

already there--restricting their environments often represents a needless

complication of the rules. Despite this, in Leben (1977) it was assumed.

that restrictions on parsing rules could, serve a filtering function. For

that the substitution should be performed on the individual subclasses

rather than on the paradigm as a whole. I will leave the matter open.

6. Sample parsing of aa-ee class plurals

Here is a summaryof the analysis of the aa-ee plural class. The

morphological rule relating singulars with plurals has the following

form :

(13) Morphological rule (aa-ee class)

The phonological rules that must be undone in relating singulars and

plurals are the following:

( 15) Infixation (revised version of (6) )

( 16 ) Doubling (revised version of ( 5 ) )

The revisions in ( 15) and ( 1 6 ) reflect the decision taken in section 5

to remove conditions that play no role in blocking invalid derivations.

The form d&dam&e is related to dam60 in the following way:

- - - \ / a. y-Epenthesis -- 'F ss -> [Q-aa-eel \ /

l - - - - p1 b. Infixation dam-m-aa-ee

- - / \ 9 c. Doubling dam-aa -ee --

After stage (c), the singular and plural match the specifications of the

morphological rule (which, in its turn, has lost the y of ->ay& by

undoing y-Epenthesis), and so the derivation succeeds in relating them.

f&maayee. These i n t u i t i o n s cannot stem d i r e c t l y from t h e r u l e s o f

Hausa, s i n c e t h e r u l e s ( a s now cons t rued) would sanc t ion t h e p a r s i n g o f

a l l f o u r of t h e s e h y p o t h e t i c a l examples a s poss ib l e s i n g u l a r / p l u r a l

p a i r s . I n s t e a d , what d i f f e r e n t i a t e s t h e l e s s acceptab le p l u r a l s from

t h e more acceptab le ones i s t h e degree t o which they resemble o t h e r mem-

b e r s of t h e aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l paradigm. Of course , it i s t h e morpho-

l o g i c a l and phonological r u l e s o f Hausa t h a t determine t h e composi t ion

of t h e aa-ee c l a s s paradigm--this i s , i n e f f e c t , what was demonstrated

i n s e c t i o n 4. To t h i s e x t e n t , t h e r u l e s a r e r e l e v a n t t o t h e d e c i s i o n as

t o whether some form i s a member of a given paradigm. But a novel form

i s judged not only by i t s p a r a s i b i l i t y b u t a l s o by i t s s i m i l a r i t y t o

a t t e s t e d forms of t h e same c l a s s . This i s why a novel Engl i sh form l i k e

e s p i c a l provokes a more puzzled r e a c t i o n than a novel form l i k e o p i c a l

does. The - i c a l ending sugges ts t o t h e l i s t e n e r t h a t t h e form i s mor-

pho log ica l ly complex, b u t t h e r e a r e no e x i s t i n g forms i n - i c a l t h a t

a r e s i m i l a r t o e s p i c a l , whi le corresponding t o o p i c a l t h e r e a r e r e a l l

words l i k e t o p i c a l , a p i c a l , o p t i c a l . S i m i l a r l y , Hausa words o f t h e / /

form cVcby;e o r cVcaac&e a r e l e s s l i k e l y candida tes f o r membership

i n t h e paradigm of t h e aa-ee c l a s s because t h e p r o b a b i l i t y o f f i n d i n g

a c lo se match among e x i s t i n g aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l s i s l e s s t han f o r / /

words f o r t h e form CVciacee o r CVcaay&e.

A d e s c r i p t i o n of how t h e needed me t r i c might work i s g iven i n ( 1 2 ) .

1 2 ) Metr ic f o r l ikel ihood- of membership i n a paradigm

Membership of a novel form i n a paradigm P i s a func t ion of t h e p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t t h e resemblance of t h e novel form t o an occurr ing form Fi a r b i t r a r i l y s e l e c t e d from P w i l l equa l t h e resemblance of F1 t o another form F; a r b i t r a r i l y s e l e c t e d from P. Resemblance i s measured by t h e number o f s u b s t i t u t i o n s t h a t must be made t o change one form i n t o another .

The s u b s t i t u t i o n procedure suggested he re i s adapted from t h e

met r ic proposed by Greenberg and Jenkins (1964) f o r a s s e s s i n g t h e phono-

t a c t i c well-formedness of monomorphemic words. Of course , t h e p h r a s i n g

of ( 12) i s t e n t a t i v e , and one can imagine major and minor ways o f modi-

fy ing i t . For example, it might make sense t o propose t h a t r u l e s ( 5 )

and ( 6 ) o f Hausa d iv ide t h e aa-ee c l a s s paradigm i n t o subc la s ses and

a r e be ing r ep laced "by t h e more t r a n s p a r e n t bawnaay6e and bdm>ay6e.

Schvh's explana t ion f o r t h i s i s t h a t , because Klingenheben's Law- is no t

synchronica l ly product ive i n t h e l a b i a l and v e l a r s e r i e s , i t "became

i n v e r t e d , wi th t h e e f f e c t t h a t W i n s i n g u l a r s had t o bz subca tegor ized

f o r which l a b i a l o r v e l a r consonant it corresponded t o i n a parnicular

aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l . Because t h i s subca tegor i za t ion i s dif;-lL7ilt

l e a r n , t h e p l u r a l s t h a t r equ i r ed it have subsequent ly been regala?: zed \ /

t o a t t a c h t h e more t r anspa ren t ending -aayee t o t h e r o o t . . .

I n Leben (1974) i at tempted t o show t h a t Schuh's a n a l y s i s is r t e n -

a b l e , p a r t i c u l a r l y because, ope ra t ing w i t h i n h i s own s e t o f assixap ti ons ,

it r e q u i r e s a hypo the t i ca l d iachronic s t a g e i n which c e r t a i n cond i t i ons

on t h e aa-ee c l a s s morphological r u l e were l o s t , fol lowed -ay a s t a g e

i n which t h e s e same condi t ions were r e s t o r e d . I proposed in s fpad t h a t

d i a l e c t s t h a t s t i l l permi t ted Â£>iwnaa/bakaanee b<wz<u/b<g~aj~fe, e t c .

r e t a i n e d Klingenheben's Law a s a synchronic r u l e i n o r d e r t o gene ra t e

bawnaa from /baknaa/, bdwzdu from /bdgz<u/, e t c . , and t h a t the r ea - ^

son behind changing t h e p l u r a l s t o . 6 a ~ i & ~ & e and bdwziayee was a

d e s i r e t o reduce aliomorphy. There a r e two r e s p e c t s i n which my ana-

l y s i s l e f t important ques t ions unanswered, and t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s

r e so lves t h e problem i n both cases . The f i r s t i s t h a t it i s d i f f i c u l t

t o r e c o n c i l e t h e proposed synchronic a p p l i c a t i o n of Klingenhe'ben'r- Law

wi th t h e evidence from redup l i ca t ions . Product ive ly generable fcrrns

l i k e karkashge ' k i l l ( i t e r a t i v e ) ' , from kas-kksh&e, shov t h a t the

a l v e o l a r s a r e s t i l l undergoing t h e changes s p e c i f i e d by Kiingenheben's

Law, whi le t h e same i s no t t r u e i n t h e l a b i a l and v e l a r s e r i e s , where

we g e t , f o r example, b<bbhqaa '"beat ( i t e r a t i v e ) ' r a t h e r t h a n

*b6wbbgaa from b&-bhgaa. I n t h e s e l a t t e r s e r i e s , t o t a l consonant

a s s i m i l a t i o n a p p l i e s t o obs t ruen t s (and sometirics t o n a s a l s ) r a t h e r t han

Klingenheben's Law.

I n t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s , t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e p roduc t ive and

nonproductive subpa r t s of Klingenheben's Law c o n s i s t s i n i t s apply ing

only i n t ~ r p r e t i v e l y t o l a b i a l s and velai-S. 1-1 '-1 d i a l e c t which has

bawnaa/bakaanee, t h e p l u r a l can be parsed by 'undoing K l j ngenheben' S Law

i n t h e s i n g u l a r . The d e r i v a t i o n would t a k e t h e fo l lowing form:

S i m i l a r l y , k$sk&o i s r e l a t e d t o kasaakde by f i r s t undoing y- \ /

Epenthesis on t h e s u f f i x -aayee i n t h e morphological r u l e , g iv ing

~ - a a - e e a s t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e p l u r a l p a t t e r n , and then undoing ( 15) / \ /

I n f i x a t i o n on k&>akee, g iv ing kask-aa-ee.

The p a r s e r has t h e a b i l i t y t o analyze an improper p l u r a l l i k e

*kask>ayee a s an aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l of kaskdo, b u t procedure ( 12)

o u t l i n e d above marks *k&kaay6e a s a somewhat devian t member o f t h i s \ /

c l a s s , s i n c e t h e only members of t h i s c l a s s t h a t have CC b e f o r e -aayee

a r e t hose i n which t h e f i r s t C i s a n a s a l , l i k e b$ngaay&, o r a g l i de . / \ ^

l i k e bawraayee. The p l u r a l bangaayee 'wa l l s ' i s r e l a t e d t o its si-n-

g u l a r b$ng60 by undoing t h e redundant l a b i a l i z a t i o n on g be fo re oo

i n t h e s i n g u l a r . The v a r i a n t bangw>ay& i s r e l a t e d t o bangdo wi thou t

undoing any phonological r u l e s , s i n c e t h e su r f ace forms themselves meet

t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s of morphological r u l e (13) i f we r e p r e s e n t orthogra-

ph ic g w a s g wi th t h e f e a t u r e [+round]. An improper p l u r a l form

*b$niag&e f o r bangdo could be analyzed by t h e p a r s e r , b u t procedure T.

( 1 2 ) markes it a s an u n l i k e l y candida te f o r t h e Wi s l o t i n a d e r i v a t i o n

f o r t h e aa-ee c l a s s , because t h e r e i s only one marginal i n s t a n c e i n

which an ending of t h e form - & a ~ e e i s preceded by a n a s a l : ky&&ar4e,

a d i a l e c t a l v a r i a n t of ~y;waar&e 'door coverings ' . F i n a l l y , bawraayee

undergoes a d e r i v a t i o n analogous t o t h a t of b$ng>ayee, and f t y ~ w ~ a r ~ e

undergoes one analogous t o kasaakee.

7. A d iachronic argument f o r t h e pa r s ing a n a l y s i s

Schuh (1972) has observed t h a t c e r t a i n aa-ee c l a s s p lu - r a l s which

used t o con ta in t h e ->a- i n f i x between two r o o t consonants a r e now \ /

changing so t h a t -aayee i s simply s u f f i x e d t o t h e r o o t . A s Schuh

no te s , where t h i s has happened i s i n many o f t h e i n s t a n c e s i n which a

consonant i n t h e s i n g u l a r i s no longe r i d e n t i c a l t o i t s c o u n t e r p a r t in

t h e p l u r a l , due t o a sound change known a s Klingenheben's Law. Klingen-

heben 's Law changed s y l l a b l e - f i n a l l a b i a l consonants and v e l a r o b s t r u e n t s

t o W and s y l l a b l e - f i n a l a l v e o l a r obs t ruen t s t o r . Examples o f a l t e r -

na t ions induced by Klingenheben's Law a r e w - k , i n b$wnaa/fcak>an&e

'bush cow', and W - g , i n bdwz&/bdg>aj&e 'Tuareg' . These p l u r a l s

not y e t l e d t o a corresponding r e g u l a r i z a t i o n of t h e p l u r a l form. The

example i s f a r k & e / f a t a a k e e ' i t i n e r a n t t r a d e r ' . Since t h i s i s , t o my

knowledge, t h e only case i n which Klingenheben's Law app l i ed t o an

a l v e o l a r consonant i n a s ingu la r wi th an aa -ee c l a s s p l u r a l , it Â¥wa

f a i r enough f o r Schuh t o suppose t h a t t h i s i s simply an except ion t o t h e

t r e n d . But it i s a l s o worthwhile t o i n v e s t i g a t e whether t h e r e i s a r ea -

son "behind t h i s except ion . One f a c t o r might be t h a t t h e r e s u l t of regu-

l a r i z a t i o n , i f it remained i n t h e aa-ee c l a s s , would be Â£fark>ay&e

which would be judged somewhat devian t by procedure ( 1 2 ) o f s e c t i o n 5.

But t h i s i s no t s u f f i c i e n t , because Schuh no te s ca ses l i k e zdwcly&/

z d k a a t a a 'hear t ' which have r e g u l a r i z e d t h e i r p l u r a l by s h i f t i n g i t i n t o / / - Â / a d i f f e r e n t , more product ive c l a s s : zuwciyooyii ,

I b e l i e v e t h a t t h e f a i l u r e of f&k&e t o change i t s p l u r a l

f i t a a k e e can be expla ined i f we maintain t h a t s u r f a c e forms change n o t

i n o r d e r t o minimize allomorphy b u t r a t h e r i n o rde r t o minimize t h e

a p p l i c a t i o n o f unproductive n e u t r a l i z a t i o n r u l e s . I n l i n e w i t h a r e c e n t 1

suggest ion by Mervin R . Barnes, t h e r e i s p re s su re t o change bakLan6e

t o .6awnaay&e "because t h e former r e q u i r e s a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e unproduc-

f i v e synchronic r e f l e x of Klingenheben's Law t h a t r e l a t e s la"bia1s and

v e l a r s wi th W; b u t f a t ~ a k e e does not change t o *f&k>.ay&e because

t h e synchronic r e f l e x of Klingenheben's Law s t i l l a p p l i e s p roduc t ive ly .

Conclusion

It i s worthwhile t o remark b r i e f l y on t h e gene ra l approach t aken

i n t h i s paper . Upon encounter ing d a t a t h a t a r e unexpected i n t h a t t h e y

go aga ins t o therwise genera l r u l e s , I have at tempted t o avoid, dev ices

t h a t d i smiss t h e unexpected d a t a a s excep t iona l and have chosen i n s t e a d

t o ske tch gene ra l p r i n c i p l e s of phonological theory t h a t , i f t r u e , would

account f o r forms t h a t f i r s t appeared problemat ic . N a t u r a l l y , t h i s t y p e

of approach w i l l no t always succeed, s i n c e r u l e s o f t e n have r e a l excep-

t i o n s , b u t it i s always use fu l t o examine t h e p o s s i b i l i t y thak what f i r s t

appears t o be an except ion i n s t e a d r e f l e c t s a more gene ra l p r i n c i p l e .

I n t h i s way, problematic ca ses , f a r from be ing troublesome d e t a i l s , a r e

sources of new hypotheses about t h e s t r u c t u r e of phonology.

c c . Klingenheben' S 6a[-cor]naa - Law

Since Klingenheben's Law n e u t r a l i z e s a l l l a b i a l s and v e l a r s t o W, ?-iri-

doing it w i l l simply r e s t o r e an archisegment encompassing t h e labial ar.5

v e l a r consonants. But t h i s r e s t o r e d archisegment i s enough t o perir5t

t h e pa r s ing t o go through, s i n c e a f t e r s t a g e ( c ) i n t h i s d e r i v a t i o n , the

s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l match t h e environment of t h e morphological r u l e .

The second ques t ion l e f t unanswered by t h e s o l u t i o n proposed, i n

Leben (1974) involves t h e p r i n c i p l e o f minimization of allomorphy, which

was l e f t i n e x p l i c i t . I n t u i t i v e l y one would expect such a measure t o

a s s e s s how d i f f e r e n t two r e a l i z a t i o n s o f a base form a r e and how d i f f e - f.

r e n t t h e r e a l i z a t i o n of an a f f i x i s compared wi th i t s s p e c i f i c a t i o n i n

a morphological r u l e . The pa r s ing a n a l y s i s can provide an index o f

t h e s e types o f d i f f e r e n c e s by cons ider ing t h e number (and. perhaps t h e

complexity) of r u l e s t h a t apply i n a pa r s ing . Thus, d e r i v a t i o n ( 18) i s

t o be compared with t h e d e r i v a t i o n i n ( 19) f o r r e l a t i n g t h e noun &awn&

wi th t h e innovat ive p l u r a l bawnaayge.

Here no r u l e s need apply, s i n c e t h e s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l al-ready match

t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s of t h e morphology on t h e s u r f a c e . Thus, t h e change

from bakaanie t o bawnaay&e permi ts t h e lang-nage t o s h o r t e n i t s d e r i -

va t ions i n t h e s e cases without any modi f ica t ion of t h e ir.orphological

r u l e f o r t h i s c l a s s and without any d i r e c t e f f e c t on t h e phonolcgica l

r u l e s .

This explana t ion s u f f i c e s f o r t h e cases j u s t cons idered b u t t h e r e

a r e s igns t h a t it needs some ref inement . Schuh observes one case i n

which an a p p l i c a t i o n of Klingenhe'ben's Law t o t h e a l v e o l a r s e r i e s has

The p r i n c i p l e s proposed a r e ( i ) t h a t geminates a r e s i n g l e s egnen t s

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h two s y l l a b l e s 7 ( i i ) t h a t procedure ( 1 2 ) determines t h e

l i k e l i h o o d o f membership of a given form i n a paradigm> and (iii) t h a t

su r f ace forms change through t ime i n o rde r t o minimize t h e a p p l i c a t i o n

of unproductive n e u t r a l i z a t i o n r u l e s . P r i n c i p l e ( i ) i s i n ~ e ~ e s t i a g i n

t h a t it p r e d i c t s t h a t laaguages cannot c o n t r a s t geminates w i th a1122i-

s y l l a b i c consonants , and p r i n c i p l e s ( i i) and (iii) a r e p l a u s i b l e b e m u s e

they seem t o be i n accord wi th known f a c t s . I have argued t h a t i: pr in -

c i p l e ( i ) i s c o r r e c t 7 it provides a new argument f o r any approach t&t

l i s t s words r a t h e r t han a b s t r a c t r o o t s i n t h e l e x i c o n 7 and t h a t (i;) aad

(iii) make t h e pa r s ing approach an adequate v e h i c l e f o r exp res s ing t h e

r e g u l a r i t i e s and s u b r e g u l a r i t i e s i n Hausa p l u r a l s t h a t p r e v i @ u s l y

r e s i s t e d s a t i s f y i n g formula t ion .

REFERENCES

Bloomfield7 Leonard. 1933. Language. New York*

Greenberg7 Joseph H a 7 and James J . Jenkins . 1964. " S t u ~ i e s i n t h e psychologica l c o r r e l a t e s o f t h e sound system o f American E n g l i s h 7 I & 11'' W O P ~ 20 : 157-77.

Kahn7 Daniel . 1976. SyZZabZe-based GeneraZizations in English PhonoZogg. Ph.D. d i s s e r - t a t i o n 7 b?assachusetts I n s t i t u t e of Technology*

Leben, William R . 1974. "Rule inve r s ion i n Chadic: a r e p i y r V 9 Stud. Afr. Ling. 5 : 265-78.

. 1977. " ~ o u b l i n g and r e d u p l i c a t i o n i n Hausa p l u r a l s " , i n Linguistic Studies Offered $0 Joseph Greenberg on the Uccasio~ of his Sixtieth Birthday, ed. by A. J u i l l a n d . Sa ra toga , Ca , l i forn ia .

. i n p r e s s . "On t h e i n t e r p r e t i v e func t ion o f phonologica l r u l e s f T 7 i n PhonoZogiea 1976. Innsbrucker Bei t rgge zu r Sprachwissen- s cha f t 1 9 . Innsbruck.

Leben William R . and Orr in W . Robinson. 1.977 "upside-down phonology", Language 5 3 : 1-20

Neman Paul . 1972. " ~ y l l a b l e weight a s a p h o n o l o g i c a ~ vari-akle" , Stud. Afr. Ling. 3: 301-23.

Parsons Fred W . n . d . "Mo~phonological ( s i n g u l a r - p l u r a l ) c l a s s e s o f d i s y l l a b i c nouns i n Hausal'. Mim~ographed -

Schuh7 Russe l l G . 1972. " ~ u l e i nve r s ion i n ~ h a d i c ' ' ~ Stud. A@. Lfng. 3 : 379-97.

S : : hl. having brought t o l i g h t t h e e ~ t i p i r i c a l complexity of he s i t u a -

t i o n 9 Kraf t proposed a nunber of a l t e r n a t i v e hypotheses t h a t might ?&C-

count f o r t h e f a c t s : t h a t PC *S a l s o s p l i t i n t o /S/ arid /nl/ i n tfie

WST branch; t h a t hrST a l r eady had *h1 a s a proto-phoneme (presumaLly

going back t o PC * h l ) ; and/or t h a t t h e Zaar group languages were not

r e a l l y West Chadic bu t r a t h e r belonged t o Bbl o r t o a s e p a r a t e ~ r a ~ > c h .

However7 s i n c e none of t h e hypotheses seemed t o f i t a l l o f t h e can f l i ck -

i n g ev idence7 he stopped s h o r t of a c t u a l l y adopting any of t h e n a s h i s

own.

I n t h i s paper I propose t o t ake up t h e ques t ion of h l a t e r a l s agdirl

and t o provide some answers regard ing t h e i r presence o r a-bsence through-

out t h e Chadic family. The h l a t e r a l s t h a t now e x i s t ( o r can be presumed

t o have e x i s t e d ) a r e expla ined i n terms of t h r e e major s o u r c e s * The

f i r s t i s a h l a t e r a l *h17 r e c o n s t r u c t a b l e f o r PC7 which provides h l a t e -

r a l s f o r t h e whole family. The second i s a PC s i b i l a n t which pho-

n e t i c a l l y changed i n t o /h11 i n Proto-BM. The t h i r d i s an h i s t o r i c a l l y l

r ecen t change o f *S and * z i n t o h1 and f i l w i t h i n t h e Zaar group.

The absence of h l a t e r a l s i s expla ined i n terms of va r ious i n s t a n c e s o f

sound laws changing h1 (and sometimes Fil) i n t o n o n - f r i c a t i v e l a t e r a l s

o r non- l a t e r a l i zed f r i c a t i v e s .

The c r e a t i o n s 7 r e t e n t i o n s * and l o s s e s t h a t have occ-urred have t a k e n

p l ace a t va r ious l e v e l s w i th in t h e f m i l y : branch subbraach, group7

subgroup7 and i n d i v i d u a l language. The d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e s e h i s t ~ r i c a l

developments t hus depends on t h e p r i o r ex i s t ence of a c o r r e c t s u b c ~ a s s i -

f i c a t i o n of t h e fami ly . Conversely7 t h e r ecogn i t i on of sha red sound l a w s

serves a s evidence i n support of t h e presumed fami ly t r e e s t r u c t u r e .

,The reasoning i s s p i r a l , not c i r c u l a r . ) The i n t e r n c l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n

t h a t I s h a l l be making use of i n t h i s paper is s ~ i m n i n t h e accompanying

t r e e diagram. This diagram i s based on a new Chadic c l a s s i f i c a t i o n

(Xe-man 1 9 7 7 ) ~ i n which t h e e a r l i e r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n 3f Hoffmann (1971)

has been modified and subjec ted t o t h e impos i t ion of g r e a t e r i n t e r n a l

s t r u c t u r e .

A conspicuous phonological f e a t u r e of' t h e ChaCiic i3ng-mge fais 2 y

noted from t h e very beginning of modern Chadic s t u d i e s (Lulms 1 9 3 6 ) , i s

t h e presence of l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e consonants (nence fo r th l 'h la :b?r&ls ' ' )~

represented he re by h1 f o r t h e v o i c e l e s s and f i l f o r t h e voiced (o f t , en

t r a n s c r i b e d a s tl and dl o r sl . and z19 r e s p e c t i v e l . ~ ) . H l a t e r a l s

a r e found i n languages of t h e Biu-P4and.ara {BM) branch such as T e r a y

Margi and Kotoko ( b u t no t Bachzma o r ~uduina) :n West Chadic (IJST)

languages such a s Ngizimy Warj i , and Zaar ( b u t no t Hausa o r Bole) ancl

i n languages of t h e Mass group ( t r e a t e d he re a s an indepeiident b r a n c h ) .

They a r e completely absent i n t h e Eas t Chadic (ET) branch, which i n -

c ludes Mubiy Danglay Tumaky Kera, e t c .

I n Newman and Ma (1966) we proposed t h a t t h e h l a t e r a l s one f i n d s

i n t h e BM branch ( h 1 s p e c i f i c a l l y ) could be accounted f o r ~ X - I t e rms o f

a condit ioned s p l i t of Proto-Chadic (PC) * S j-rito / S / and ,&l/. Hlatz-

r a l s round ou t s ide BM were no t d i scussed b u t it was t a c i t l y assumed t h a t

t h e i r occurrence was sporadic and u n s y s t e m a t i ~ ~ and t h & t t h e y could be

expla ined by r e l a t i v e l y r ecen t i n f iuence f r o n neighboring BT4 l anguages*

Given t h e impressions one had a t t h e t ime a-bout h l a t e r a l s outsj-de t h e

BM brznch? t h e hypothes is t h a t h l a t e r a l s i n Chadic were due t o a BM

innovzt ion seemed reasonzble . Subsequent lyy t,he adequacy af t h e s p l i t hypo.thesis t o a c c o u ~ t f o r

t h e o r i g i n o f Chadic h l a t e r a l s was chal lenged b:! Krai't (1971) Draving

on nevly c o l l e c t e d f i e l d rnz te r iz l s on WST l z n g ~ ~ a g e s e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e

be longi rq to t h e poor1.y known Wax-ji ( = N . ~ a u c h i ) and Zaar ( = S . ~ , a u c h < )

groupsy Kraf t showed t h a t h l a t e r a l s ou t s ide BM were f a r f r o n r a r e . I n

coaparing cognate forms betweer1 t h e BM and VS'i? branches he d i scove red

t h a t t h e r e was not j u s t a s i n g l e corresporidence h1 : : S (which unde r l ay

t h e pTewman/Ma exp lana t i an ) but. t h a t orie a l s o found h1 : : h1 m d even

A .

B.

BM

B r . D .

EST

G .

H .

K .

Kf.

Angas

Bole

Biu-Mandara

Bura

Dmgla

Eas t Branch

Gat anda

Hausa

Kanakuru

Kofyar

K i . L0 . M .

m . Mg . m. Mn.

M s .

N .

Nc .

K i r f i

Logone

Me,rgi

Mub i

Musgu

Mokulu

Mangas

Masa

Ngizin

Nancere

P .

PC

R .

s o .

T.

Tm . W .

WST

z . Zm.

Pe r o

Prota-Chadic

Roll (Bokkos )

Sokoro

Tera

Tmak

Warj i

West Branch

Zaar ( Sayanci)

Z ime

Source l : PC *h1

There a r e a number of good Chadic cognates where a h l a t e r a l i n BM

i s ma,tched by a h l a t e r a l i n WST languages such a s Ngizimy W a r j i y and

Zaar ( i . e . languages belonging t o subbranch WST-B). I f cognates a r e <

found i n MASA, t h e y a l s o con ta in a h l a t e r a l . Cognate forms i n WST-A

languages r e g u l a r l y appear wi th f r i c t i o n l e s s l ( o r r i n t h e case of'

Hausa which has undergone an *l > r change (~ewman 197'9)). Cognate

f o m s i n EST languages ( t o be d iscussed s e p a r a t e l y below) appear e i t h e r

with f r i c t i o n l e s s l o r w i th a v o i c e l e s s p a l a t a l o b s t r u e n t .

( l ) Words wi th PC *h1

Gloss WST-A

' b e a t ' P . l o f o

' be l ch ' A. j e l

' b r eak ' H . kary - ' cough ' cowv l K . l a

cu t v P . l a

' a e a t ' K f . luwa

WST-B BM EST brASA

Mg h1 ib - Tm. l a b

W . yahl- T. j a h l i D* g ~ t y z M s . g i f i l a?

N . kahla T. w f i l a

W. a i h l i M . ?wuhla M b . i c c a MS. ?oh1

N . h l a Mg. h l ay

Z . h l a T. fila

W . hlE- G . hliw- M s . h l iw-

'Ply guess is t h a t Hausa sZ/sZniyX ' bu l l /cowt , which i s u s ~ m l l y inc luded i n t h i s cognate s e t , does not r e a l l y belong.

BRANCH SUEBRANCH GROUP

Bade

War j i

CHAD1 C FAMILY

, Tera

.Â¥ .l , Mandara

Mat akm

Sukur

BIU-MANDARA Daba

Bata

\ \ Kotoko

EAST S Somrai

Nancere

-- Kera

Dangia

. Mokulu

- Sokoro

MASA Mas a 'Masa, Zime . . . )

f r i c t i o n l e s s l a t e r a l i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e h l a t e r a l . The answer, s u r p r i s -

i n g l y , seems t o be no , a l though t h e ques t ion i s far from settled. While

a l l present-day BM languages t h a t have h i a t e r a l s a l s o have /l/, t h e

f r i c t i o n l e s s 1 tends e i t h e r t o be l i m i t e d t o non-basic vocabulary o r

e l s e t o be de r ived from *I. I n e i t h e r case it i s impossiole t o e s t ab -

l i s h 1 a s a r e f l e x of an e a r l i e r consonant of t h e same t y c e . Sirni-

l a r l y i n Ngizim i n t h e WST-B sub7aranch, where PC *h1 i s still realised.

as a h l a t e r a l , it is r a r e t o f i n d f r i c t i o n l e s s 1 i n 'basic 'words with

recognizable cognates elsewhere i n t h e family. The most likely explana-

t i o n f o r t h e s e f a c t s i s t h a t PC had only one ( h ) l a t e r a l phoneme and that

it d i d not d i s t i n g u i s h *h1 from *l. I n o t h e r words, i t s h l a t e r a l

p ronuncia t ion notwi ths tanding , *h1 was - t h e PC l a t e r a l . From a m i v e r -

sal po in t of view, t h e presence of *h1 without. * l can be cons idered

unna tu ra l ; however, t h e ex i s t ence of t h i s phonological vacuum where t h e

*l should have been he lps t o exp la in t h e numerous cases i n Chadic where

o t h e r sounds have independent ly changed i n t o /l/, e .g . *h1 > l ( i nde - S.

pendent ly i n WST-A and i n EST) and *r > 1 (independent ly i n t h e Bura

group and i n Masa). Admittedly, t h e r e a r e a couple of seemingly s t r o n g

etymologies ( i nc luded i n Neman and Ma 1966) where a PC r e c o n s t r u c t i o n

wi th *l r a t h e r t han *h1 seems c a l l e d f o r , e .g . ' c h i l d ' : H . y Z r E ;

M&. a l i ( p i . ) ; Mk. u l o ; and ' l o o k / s e e l : K. a l i ; Z . y e l i ; M .

ulai Mk. woll-. Never the less , I would contend t h a t t h e weight of t h e

evidence s t i l l favors t h e i d e a of a s i n g l e ( ' h ) l a t e r a l i n PC and t h a t

t h e s e counterexamples must have some o t h e r explana t ion .

Source 2 : PC *s The PC h l a t e r a l j u s t r econs t ruc t ed accounts f o r t hose Chadic cog-

n a t e s where a h l a t e r a l i n BM corresponds t o a h- i . ' f e ra l o r a l a t e r a l in

t h e WST branch. It a l s o provides a source f o r t h e h l a t e r a l s one f i n d s

i n MASA and i n t h e languages of t h e WST-B subbranch. It does n o t , how-

e v e r , account f o r t h e numerous etymologies i n which a h l a t e r a l i n BM

-- ^*h1 may a l s o nave been phone t i ca l ly r e a l i z e d a s [ l] and [fill i n

spec i f i c phonological environment,^ .

Ill

' s t a n d ' K i . l~ N . h l a Lo. h l a D . u tye

' tongue ' R . a l i s Mg. a l e s i 2 D . 1Sse

On t h e b a s i s of t h e r e g u l a r 1 / h l : : h1 : : h1 correspondence between

t h e WST, BM, and MASA branches, one can r econs t ruc t a h l a t e r a l phoneme

*h1 f o r Proto-Chadic. This h l a t e r a l was c a r r i e d down a s i s i n t o t h e

proto-languages of t h e s e branches. Subsequently, i n one subbranch o f

WST (WST-A), *h1 changed i n t o 1, i n what was appa ren t ly an excep-

t i o n l e s s , uncondit ioned sound change. This innovat ion took p l a c e i n t h e

proto-language of t h i s subbranch, i . e . a f t e r t h e s e p a r a t i o n of WST-A

from WST-B b u t be fo re t h e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of WST-A i n t o i t s component

groups. h he *h1 > 1 change i s one of t h e shared innovat ions t h a t

j u s t i f i e s p u t t i n g t h e Hausa, Bole, Angas, and Ron groups t o g e t h e r i n t o

a s i n g l e subbranch w i t h i n West ~ h a d i c . ) The change r e s u l t e d i n t h e com-

p l e t e e l imina t ion of h l a t e r a l s i n t h e WST-A subbranch. Thei r presence

i n Bole group languages such as Karekare and Maha i s c l e a r l y a l a t e r 1

r e in t roduc t ion without s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r t h e gene ra l ques t ion of h l a t e r a l s

i n Chadic . Since h l a t e r a l s a r e not found i n EST languages, it i s obvious t h a t

PC *h1 must have changed i n t o something e l s e i n t h a t "branch, b u t i n t o

what and a t which p e r i o d i s ques t ionable . A good p o s s i b i l i t y i s t h a t

PC *h1 underwent a s p l i t i n Proto-EST, going t o 1 i n i n i t i a l pos i -

t i o n and t o s h i n n o n - i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n (wi th l a t e r "hardening" of sh

i n t o c o r ty). This hypothes is , however, i s based on s c a n t y evidence

and needs t o b e i n v e s t i g a t e d f u r t h e r be fo re it can be e s t a b l i s h e d a s

f a c t .

The ex i s t ence of a h l a t e r a l consonant i n t h e PC phonemic inven to ry

S almost c e r t a i n . An i n t e r e s t i n g ques t ion i s whether PC a l s o had a

he ex i s t ence o f 1 r a t h e r than t h e expected h1 i s due t o an i n t e r n a l d i s s i m i l a t i o n of * a h l s i t o * a l s i (and thence t o a l e s i ) .

' ~ a r e k a r e probably borrowed i t s h l - a t e r a l s f ' r c y f l a now-extinct Bade group language o r i g i n a l l y spoken i n t h e a r e a now occupied by t h e Karekare. The Maha h l a t e r a l s a r e probably due t o i n f luence from Tera o r Bura.

t h e s p l i t hypothesis were c o r r e c t . BM S and BM h1 ( i n ( 2 ) and ( 3 )

must t h e r e f o r e go back t o two d i f f e r e n t proto-phonemes, t,hese being *S

f o r t h e former and a s i b i l a n t t h a t I am r e p r e s e n t i n g by * S f o r t h e

l a t t e r . Exac t ly what d i s t i n g u i s h e d *S from *S i s y e t t o be d e t e r -

mined.; b u t it seems c e r t a i n t h a t *S was an sh- l ike s i b i l a n t ( if not

a c t u a l l y ~ h ? ) ~ and not a h l a t e r a l . The i d e a t h a t t h e e x i s t e n c e of

h l a t e r a l s i n t h e etymologies i n ( 2 ) was due t o a BM innovat ion t h u s

t u r n s out t o be c o r r e c t a f t e r a l l . The BM innovat ion , however, was n o t

t h e s p l i t o f *S i n t o S and hi, a s e a r l i e r thought , b u t r a t h e r t h e

phonet ic change of PC *S i n t o h1 and t h e subsequent merger of t h i s

h1 wi th t h e h1 d e r i v i n g from PC * h l . Th i s innovat ion can be as-

c r ibed t o t h e proto-language of t h e e n t i r e BM branch s i n c e h l a t e r a l r e -

f l e x e s o f * S a r e normal both i n t h e subbranch t h a t i nc ludes Te ra ,

Margi, Matakam, e t c . ( i . e . BM-A) , and i n t h e subbranch t h a t i n c l u d e s

Kotoko and Musgu ( i . e . BM-B).

The Masa group, by c o n t r a s t , d i d not sha re t h e * s j > h1 change-- ';

t h i s be ing an important reason f o r doubting i t s t r a d i t i o n a l l y assumed

membership i n t h e BM branch. Rather , *S went t o s i n Masa, merging

wi th t h e r e f l e x e s of PC *S, c f . a s i - ' egg ' < * a s i w i th ase- 8 ' l e g ' < *ase . S i m i l a r l y , i n t h e EST branch , * S > S and merged wit,h

t h e p re -ex i s t i ng S , c f . D . sZqo and Tn. h i n ' t o o t h ' < *sari w i t h

D . SF and Tm. he ' d r i n k ' < * s a . ( ~ o t e t h a t a f t e r t h e merger, sound

laws such a s t h e change of i n i t i a l S t o h i n Tumak whould have ope-

r a t e d i n d i s c r i m i n a t e l y on a l l S ' S whether o r i g i n a l l y de r ived from PC

*S o r from PC * S . )

I n t h e WST, *S a t f i r s t remained 9 , i . e . it was s t i l l a s i b i -

l a n t ( u n l i k e i n BM) bu t it was a l s o s t i l l d i s t i n c t from *S ( u n l i k e i n

EST and MASA) . The changes a f f e c t i n g *S took p l ace only a f t e r t h e two

subbranches had separa ted from one another . I n WST-A, *S s h i f t e d t o

S and merged wi th t h e S ' S der ived from *S, a s had happened e l sewhere ,

'T'he i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of PC *? a s simply *sh , i . e . a s t h e r e g u l a r p a l a t a l coun te rpa r t t o * S , was suggested independent ly by R u s s e l l Schuh and Suzanne P l a t i e l (pe r sona l communication).

'fi.11 PC r w o n d r u c t e d forms a r e taken from Newman (1977) .

correopond t o an s o r 311 i n t h e ozher branches . dorripare

p i e s i n ( 2 ) , ~ i - c n t hose i n ( I ) and i n ( 3 ) .

( 2 ) Words

Gloss

'bone ' ' b r eak '

'name'

' r o o t 1

' s c a t t e r '

' send'

' t o o t h '

'work'

with PC * S

WST-A

A. @ e s

H . f a s -

A . as

Kf . sum

P . c O r i

P. wacu

( 3 ) Words wi th PC *S

G ~ O S S WST-A

' dream' B. sunna

' d r i n k ' B. s5

' know ' H . s a n i

' l e g ' R . s a y

'mouse ' H . kiisii

WST-B

N . a m - k

W . sil-

Z . sum

I$. ways

W . can

Z. s h i n

W. c5na

WST-B

N . suwan

N . sa

W. s a n

Z . kusag

BM - T. ^ a h l

M . p a h l a

Lo. nh le

T. Ulam

G. h l a r - G . we1

Lo. h l a n

G. h l a n -

T . h i e n a

BM - B r . s u n i

M. sa

G . s e n

Lo. ass

Mg . kusum

Mb. s a m i

K C . sar-

D . s a g o

So. u s s a n

EST P

D. sOne

D . S'S

KC. s e n

D . a s e

the exa-m-

Zm. s h i n

Ja. s i n

MASA 1

Zm. m i s i n

M s . a s e -

Zm. kusom-

I n Nemnan and Ma (1966) , it was proposed t h a t t h e Bbl h l a t e r a l s i n exam-

p l e s such a s ( 2 ) were der ived from t h e normal PC *S by a cond i t i oned

s p l i t of *S i n t o S and h i . This proposa l cannot be main ta ined . I n

t h e f i r s t p l a c e , it has proved impossible t o determine t h e environment

t h a t could have condi t ioned t h e s p l i t . Secondly, t h e a,ssumption o f a

s i n g l e proto-phoneme under ly ing BM S and B14 h 1 i s c o n t r a d i c t e d by

t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e two consonants correspond s y s t e m a t i c a l l y t o two d i s -

t i n c t consonants i n t h e Bade group ( s e e (4) bplow)--an i m p o s s i b i l i t y i f

5 ~ h e appearance of / h i / i n t h e presumably ccgnaLe P a ' a (WST-B) form h i a r (brought t o my a t t e n t i o n by Margaret 3h-L r ~ n e r ) i s i n e x p l i c a b l e .

' ~ e r o c (+ [ j ] i n t e r v o c a l i c a l l y ) i s r e g u l a r l y 6e r ived from *S. I n Ga'anda, n o n - i n i t i a l hi- l i terals sometimes appear a s / h i / , sometimes as /l/.

e . g . H . f tashi 'bone' < *?Jasu , c f . H . kiisi3 'mouse' < *kusam. I n

t h e Bade group of WST-B, * S changed i n t o a semivowel ( y o r w ) i n con-

t r a s t t o * S which remained s , e .g .

(4 Words wi th PC *? Words wi th PC *S

Gloss Bade Group Gloss Bade Group g ( ~ g i z i m ) ( ~ g i z i m )

' send ' wana Lo . hlan 'dream' suwan Lo. suwane

' work ' wand T . h l sna ' buy ' mass T. masa

' t o o t h ' yZnau G . h lan - ' d r i n k ' s a G . s a

' bone ' awu-k B r . Cpyehlu ' l augh ' gamsa B r . kumshi

' s c a t t e r ' ways G . we1 ' two ' s h i r i n G . s a r r i

The h i s t o r i c a l development of *% i n Warji and Zaar , t h e o t h e r two

groups belonging t o t h e WST-B subbranch, i s l e s s c l e a r t h a n i n t h e case

of t h e Bade group. Nevertheless , t h e i n i t i a l p a l a t a l consonant one f i n d s

i n words such a s W . cSna 'work ' , W . can and Z . s h i n ' s e n d ' , and Z .

s h i n ' t o o t h ' argues f o r t h e d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s of *% and * S i n Proto- ^ WST-B and sugges ts f u r t h e r t h a t t h e d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e of *$ was

i t s p o s i t i o n of a r t i c u l a t i o n . I f t h i s i s c o r r e c t , t hen t h e few cases

such a s W. s Z 'egg ' and Z . sum 'name', where an S now appears i n

an *%-word i n s t e a d of t h e expected p a l a t a l , would have t o be regarded a s

except ions due t o l e x i c a l l y - s p e c i f i c secondary changes.

Source 3: * s / * z > hl/fi l

A s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e of languages i n t h e Zaar ( = S. ~ a u c h i ) group i s

t h e "superabundancen of h l a t e r a l s a s compared wi th o t h e r WST languages.

P'-s.it of t h e s t imulus f o r K r a f t ' s (1971) s tudy must undoubtedly have been

tlie discovery of such a l a r g e number of h l a t e r a l s i n t h e word l i s t s he

c o l l e c t e d f o r languages i n t h i s group. These h i a t e r a l s r e q u i r e an expla-

n a t i o n . Some o f them (normally h i ) a r e simply r e t e n t i o n s o f t h e inhe-

r i t e d h l a t e r a l t r a c e a b l e t o PC * h l . These correspond i n a s t r a i g h t f o r -

ward way t o 1 i n WST-A and t o h1 i n t h e o t h e r WST-B groups, e . g . Z .

hlG, Kf. luwa, W . hlii 'meat'; Z . h l i , Ki. l a , N . h l a ' s t a n d

u p ' ; Z . y a h l s , K . a l i ' e a r t h ' . Many of t h e h l a t e r a l s one f i n d s i n

the Zaar lanpuap-or;, however, have another o r i g i n , having come from an

h i s t o r i c a l l y r ecen t sound change *s/*z > hl/f i l , e . g .

(5) *S * z

Z a a r Other WST Zaar Other WST

' dr ink ' h lya B . s a 'body' f i l i B. ziwo

' laugh ' gyornhla N . gamsa ' guinea-fowl ' filepm K . zSbanu

The change from s i b i l a n t t o h l a t e r a l w a s a condi t ioned sound law r e s -

t r i c t e d t o S and z i n p revoca l i c p o s i t i o n where t h e next consonant

was not a n a s a l . A s compared wi th t h e examples i n ( 5 ) , t h e fo l lowing

words r e t a i n e d t h e s i b i l a n t : y i s ' excrement ' , g a s ' bo t tom ' , pis

' a r row ' , kusaq 'mouse', gusum 'porcupine ' . The s p e c i f i c a t i o n of t h e

n a s a l i s d e s c r i p t i v e l y c o r r e c t b u t dynamically unna tu ra l . However, if

one r e i n t e r p r e t s words of t h e form CVsVU a s C V s N ( i . e . kuseq = k u s q ) ,

on t h e model of words such a s filepm 'guinea-fowl' and zhokq 'TO

s m e l l ' , t h e change o r non-change of *s/*z i n t o hl / f i l becomes simply

a ma t t e r of pre-vocal ic v s . non-pre-vocalic p o s i t i o n . <

An i n t e r e s t i n g f a c t about t h e s i b i l a n t t o h l a t e r a l change i s t h a t

it d i d not even apply t o t h e e n t i r e Zaar group. Rather , it w a s an h i s -

t o r i c a l l y shal low innovat ion l i m i t e d t o t h e " ~ a r a w a " subgroup, one of

t h e t h r e e d i v i s i o n s of t h e Zaar group, and not apply ing t o t h e o t h e r

subgroups ("Boghom" and "~uruntum") . l 0 This cannot be seen immediately

looking a t t h e two languages Boghom and Guruntum, s i n c e they have "both

e n t i r e l y l o s t t h e i r h l a t e r a l s . However, i f one looks a t Mangas, a sma l l

language i n t h e Boghom subgroup, o r a t J u , a smal l language i n t h e

Guruntum subgroup, i n which h l a t e r a l s a r e s t i l l found, b u t only a s r e -

f l e x e s of *h1 and not of *s/*z, t h e r e s t r i c t e d na tu re of t h e Earawa

innovat ion 'becomes apparent , e .g .

b he l a c k o f change t o h1 i n t h e Zaar words sum 'name', s h i n 'send', and. s h i n ' t o o t h ' should now be seen a s a func t ion n o t of t h e f i - n a l n a s a l , a s suggested by t h e o r i g i n a l formula t ion , b u t of t h e d i s t i n c - t i v e n e s s o f t h e s ( h ) coming from * S a s opposed t o t h e S from *S.

major source of information on t h e i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e of t h e Zaar group, i nc lud ing t h e s p e c i f i c subdiv is ion adopted he re , i s an unpublished comparative word l i s t c o l l e c f ~ d . and compiled by Kiyoshi S h i m i z , ~ , t o whom T am most g r a t e f u l .

(6) *h1 *S

B/G Subgroups Barawa B/G Subgroups Barawa

'meat ' M. h l u hlii ' d r i n k ' Mn. she h i e

' e a r t h 1 J u a h l i yZ1-d~ ' b i r d ' J u yZs i y a h l i

Loss o f h l a t e r a l s

Up t o now I have been concerned with provid ing explana t ions f o r t h e

h l a t e r a l s t h a t a r e found i n Chadic languages. I s h a l l now t u r n t o t h e

languages t h a t do not have h i a t e r a l s and b r i e f l y o u t l i n e t h e changes t h a t

have r e s u l t e d i n t h e i r disappearance.

a ) The complete absence of h l a t e r a l s i n EST languages i s due t o a sound

law ( o r laws) e l imina t ing PC *h1 t h a t probably took p l ace i n Proto-EST

before t h e branch sepa ra t ed . A s descr ibed e a r l i e r , t h e change was pro-

bably t h e condi t ioned s p l i t of *h1 i n t o 1 and something e l s e , most

l i k e l y s h .

( b ) The absence of h l a t e r a l s i n t h e Hausa, Angas, Ron, and (wi th i n s i g -

n i f i c a n t excep t ions ) Bole groups r e s u l t e d from t h e change o f *h1 t o 1

i n t h e proto-language of t h e WST-A subbranch.

( c ) I n Boghom and Guruntum (two Zaar group languages) , h l a t e r a l s were

l o s t by h i s t o r i c a l l y shal low sound laws changing *h1 i n t o s and 1,

r e s p e c t i v e l y .

d ) I n t h e BM branch, where t h e presence of h l a t e r a l s i s normally t aken

f o r g ran ted , Bachma now has none because of an excep t ion le s s sound law

changing a l l h l a t e r a l s t o 1. Since some of t h e h l a t e r a l s were o r i g i -

nally der ived from PC *h1 and some from *s, t h e r e s u l t i n g f r i c t i o n -

l J c . - 1 i n Bachama sometimes corresponds t o 1 i n cognate forms i n

WST-A languages and sometimes t o S , e . g . l u m ' a c c e p t 1 , c f . K . l a w i ;

f a l a ' s h a t t e r ' , c f . H . Â£as- Gude, a language c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o

Bachma, a l s o underwent t h e same change al though it does have some (non-

b a s i c ) vocabulary items with h i . However, Gudu, another language i n

t h e same group, s t i l l preserves i t s BM h l a t e r a l i n h e r i t a n c e , t he reby i n d i -

c a t i n g how very recent t h e l o s s i n Bachana and Gude must have been.

c ) Buduma ( a language i n t h e BM-B subbranch) i s unusual i n t h a t it has

l o s t not only i t s h l a t e r a l s but i t s s i b i l a n t s as w e l l , bo th having changed

t o h ( a t l e a s t i n i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n ) . Whether h1 and s were l o s t

i n a s i n g l e * f r i c a t i v e > h r u l e o r whether t h e r e was a f eed ing se-

quence *h1 > S and then * S : h , t h e r e s u l t was t h e same.

( f ) F i n a l l y , t h e r e i s a case of a l o s s a f f e c t i n g not a branch nor a

group nor even a language, b u t r a t h e r a d i a l e c t o f a language. I n

Kotoko, a language belonging t o t h e same group a s Buduma, almost a l l

d i a l e c t s preserve t h e i r sha re of h l a t e r a l s der ived from PC *h1 and * S .

I n t he Makari d i a l e c t , however, a l l h l a t e r a l s have been l o s t a s a r e s u l t

of t h e changes *h1 > s h ( e . g . shu 'mea t ' , c f . Afade h l u ) and * t h l ?

[ a g l o t t a l i z e d h l a t e r a l of undetermined o r i g i n ] > c ? ( e . g . c^a ' l a u g h ' ,

c f . Afade n t h l ? a ) . While s t r i k i n g from a phonet ic p o i n t of view, the

change from h l a t e r a l s t o f r i c a t i v e s / a f f r i c a t e s has a s y e t had. no s t r u c -

t u r a l e f f e c t on t h e phonological system of t h e Makari d i a l e c t , s i n c e 'he

language p rev ious ly d i d not have /sh/ o r /c?/ and thus t h e change n e i t h e r

increased nor decreased t h e number of phonological c o n t r a s t s i n t h e system.

<

The problem o f t h e voiced h l a t e r a l

Most Chadic languages t h a t have h l a t e r a l s have both v o i c e l e s s h1

and f i l . A few have only h1 b u t not f i l ; none has only f i l bu t no t

h i . I n t h e case of t h e h l a t e r a l s i n t h e Barawa subbranch of t h e Zaar

group, t h e vo ic ing d i s t i n c t i o n between h1 and f i l was d i r e c t l y cor re-

la ted. wi th a vo ic ing d i s t i n c t i o n i n t h e source s i b i l a n t s . Elsewhere i n

t he paper , however, I have gene ra l ly ignored t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e

vo ice l e s s and voiced h l a t e r a l s , t r e a t i n g t h e two a s e s s e n t i a l l y equiva-

l e n t f o r h i s t o r i c a l purposes. This was a s imp l i fy ing assumption t h a t

seems t o have been j u s t i f i e d by t h e o v e r a l l r e s u l t s achieved. I n c l o s i n g ,

however, I would l i k e t o e x p l i c i t l y r a i s e t h e ques t ion o f the o r i g i n ( s )

of t h e widespread hl/fi1 c o n t r a s t even though I cannot now answer i t .

Since t h e two major sources of Chadic h la te ra l s - -*h1 f o r a l l of Chadic

p lus * s f o r BM--both l e a d t o t h e v o i c e l e s s h l a t e r a l h i , where, t h e n ,

-W----

^ ~ c t u a l l ~ , Kanakuru has on1 y f i l and not h i , b u t t h e sound i s l i m i t e d t o a couple of words and cannot r e a l l y he cons idered an i n t e g r a t e d p a r t o f t h e phonemic system.

does f i i come from? Could t h e r e have been a d i s t i n c t i v e l y voiced PC

h ia te ra1 *5l? Could f i i be & d i r e c t r e f l e x of t h e missing f r ic -z ion-

l e s s *l? O r i s it t h e r e s u l t o f secondary developments having t aken

p l ace a t a more r ecen t da t e? I n t h e absence of d i s t i n c t correspondence

s e t s involv ing h1 vs . f i l o r any o t h e r r e l e v a n t evidence o f an in -

d i r e c t na tu re , t h e r e seems l i t t l e b a s i s upon which t o p o s i t a *hl /*f t l

c o n t r a s t ( i n whatever form) f o r Proto-Chadic. Therefore , whi le none o f

t h e var ious p o s s i b i l i t i e s can be r u l e d out a t t h i s p o i n t , I p e r s o n a l l y

would adopt t h e l a s t mentioned a l t e r n a t i v e a s a working hypothes is and

look f o r i n d i c a t i o n s of a secondary s p l i t of *h1 i n t o hi and El5 t?.e

condi t ion ing f a c t o r s and t h e h i s t o r i c a l t ime depths involved vary ing from

group t o group and branch t o "banch.

REFERENCES

Hoffmann, Carl . 1971. "Provis iona l check l i s t of Chadic languages", ChadÂ¥L N e u s Z e t t e ~ [Marhurg], s p e c i a l i s s u e .

Kra f t , Charles H . 1971. "A note on l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e s i n ChadicM9 Stud. A f r . Ling. 2:27l-81.

Lukas, Johannes. 1936. "The i . inguist , ic s i t u a t i o n i n t h e Lake Cha.d a r e a i n c e n t r a l Afr ica" , Afri.ca 9 : 332-49 a

Kernan, Paul . 1970. " H i s t o r i c a l sound laws i n Hausa and. i n Dera ( ~ a n a k u r u ) " , J. West Afr. Long. 7: 39-51.

.--- . 1977. "Chadic c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and r econs t ruc t ions" , Afroa&atic Ling. ?(l) : l -b2.

- F - - - Q 7 7 , r ' a ' ~ l and Roxana Ma. 1966. "Comparative Chadic: phonology and

w i c o n " , J . Afr. Lang. 5 :218-51.

Papc*~s i n Chadie Lina1~Â¥7"~c*tÂ¥7"r' Ed. by P. Newman and R. M. Neman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

Y-PROSODY AS A MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESS I N GA'ANDA

Roxana Ma Newran

This paper d e s c r i b e s some morphophonemic a l t e r n a t i o n s i n Ga'anda, a

language belonging t o t h e Tera group of t h e Biu-Mandara branch of t h e

Chadic language family. The changes t o be desc r ibed occur i n noun and

verb stems. ' They involve p r i m a r i l y f r o n t i n g of c e r t a i n vowels and

p a l a t a l i z a t i o n o f c e r t a i n consonants'. The cond i t i ons under which t h e s e

changes t a k e p l ace a r e no t phonologica l "but r a t h e r morphological , having

t o do w i t h t h e i n f l e c t i o n a l forms of noun and verb stems i n t h e environ-

ment of s p e c i f i c s y n t a c t i c c a t e g o r i e s and grammatical morphemes.

Noun. stems

A l l Ga'anda nouns have two forms, a s imple stem and a modif ied stem.

The choice of stem i s governed by t h e va r ious s u f f i x e s which cooccur w i t h

it. For example, i n one c l a s s o f nouns, t h e simple stem i s used w i t h

t h e d e f i n i t e marker and a l l d e f i n i t e de te rminers , whi le t h e modif ied s tem

is used w i t h t h e i n d e f i n i t e marker and t h e g e n i t i v e marker.

Nouns a r e subca tegor ized i n t o two major c l a s s e s on t h e b a s i s o f t h e

form of t h e modif ied stem. I n one c l a s s , c a l l e d t h e T c l a s s , t h e modi-

f i e d stem i s formed "by t h e a d d i t i o n of a s u f f i x t o t h e s imple stem. I n

t h e o t h e r c l a s s , cal led. t h e Y c l a s s , t h e modif ied stem i s marked by a s e t

o f i n t e r n a l changes i n t h e simple s tem.2 The assignment 'of nouns t o t h e

two c l a s s e s i s on ly p a r t i a l l y p r e d i c t a b l e phonologica l ly . A l l nouns

*Fieldwork on Ga'anda was o r i g i n a l l y c a r r i e d out a s p a r t o f a compara- t i v e Chadic syntax p r o j e c t funded by a Nat iona l Science Foundation g r a n t GS-2279 ( ~ a u l Newman, p r i n c i p a l i n v e s t i g a t o r ) .

^or a f u l l e r d e s c r i p t i o n of Ga'anda morphology and syn tax , s e e R . Newman ( l 9 7 l a ) .

compare t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of noun l i n k e r s i n Tera ( P . Neman 1970:154).

ending i n t h e vowels a , e , and a belong t o t h e T c l a s s , whi le t h o s e

ending i n i belong t o t h e Y c l a s s . Nouns ending i n consonants may be-

long t o e i t h e r c l a s s . While h i s t o r i c a l l y t h e d i s t i n c t i o n between T and

Y c l a s s nouiis was r e l a t e d -CO gender , synchron ica l ly t h i s i s no longe r

t r u e s i n c e Ga'anda has l o s t grammatical gender .

The d i f f e r e n c e between simple and modified stems i s f i r s t i l l u s -

t r a t e d with T nouns. I n t h i s c l a s s , t h e modified stem i s formed by suf-

f i x a t i o n of -ta- ( - -t-) t o t h e s imple stem. The modif ied stem i s used

before t h e i n d e f i n i t e marker - a , t h e d e f i n i t e marker -an ( - - an'. f t h e previous r e f e r e n c e marker -&a, t h e demonstrat ive -di, and t h e

g e n i t i v e marker -1. The simple stem i s used only b e f o r e t h e p l u r a l

s u f f i x -ca- ( - -c - ) . 4

Simple stem '5 x i Â -c -a ' arrows

" Â ¥ far -ca -cfi ' t h o s e days '

shhk-c$-^& ' t h e s p e a r s '

mban-c-; roads ' y h w C c - i [y&wC c;] goa t s

\ \ 1 /

kwece-c-1-an ' h i s q u i v e r s '

( P r u l e s : t -> nd / N-; a

Modified stem

-a ' an arrow'

Â£art$-cfi t h a t dayt

shhkto-^an ' t h e s p e a r '

mbant -a [mbinndi] ' a road '

y1kwZ t-a ' a g o a t '

kw&$t-i-an [kw&&y~n] ' h i s q u i v e r '

-+ e /__c)

With Y c l a s s nouns, t h e d i f f e r e n c e between simple and modi f ied

stems i s marked by both vowel a l t e r n a t i o n s and consonant changes. I n

t h i s c l a s s , t h e simple stem i s used be fo re t h e d e f i n i t e , p rev ious r e f e -

rence , demonst ra t ive , and p l u r a l s u f f i x e s ; t h e modified s tem i s used

before t h e i n d e f i n i t e -a and t h e g e n i t i v e marker -1. For convenience,

~ a s a l - f i n a l T nouns do no t use t h e modified stem i n a l l t h e s e envi - ronments b u t t h e s e except ions need not concern us h e r e .

4 Tone i s a s s igned t o t h e i n d e f i n i t e and p l u r a l s u f f i x e s acco rd ing t o t h e t one c l a s s of t h e noun; t h e s e r u l e s a r e not d i scussed i n t h i s paper .

' ~ a ' a n d a has a three- tone system p l u s downstep ( s e e R . Newman 1971b). Downstep occurs when a H i tone i s preceded by a non-segmental Mid o r Lo

I \ tone ( i n d i c a t e d 'by o r w r i t t e n over a consonant, hyphen, o r s p a c e ) . Examples l i k e y h w c ta and bi rsha a r e phone t i ca l ly r e a l i z e d a s [ - 1 and [ - 1 , r e s p e c t i v e l y .

a l l examples of t h e s imple stem a r e i l l u s t r a t e d , wi th the p l u r a l i n d e f i -

n i t e -ca ( < -c- + a ) and a l l examples o f t h e modified stem v i t h t h e

s i n g u l a r i n d e f i n i t e -a.

The v o c a l i c a l t e r n a t i o n s between s imple and modified stems a r e d i s -

cussed f i r s t . The vowel system i n Ga'anda i s as fol low:

I n Y nouns, t h e i n t e r n a l vowels found i n most simple stems a r e a and

a . The modified stem i s formed from t h e simple stem by s h i f t i n g a l l

c e n t r a l vowels t o corresponding f r o n t vowels, i . e . [:l + L;]' Simple stem

cvc(c)- ?Al-c$

nAf-cc

hi&-c: / \ /

xwarm-ca [ xwirSm' cc] \ \ /

paxm-ca [p>xSmc3]

bAb-cc

hl;m-c2

CVCVCV- d g k w ~ n ~ c i

kalar -c2 \ \

paPaf-c2

k ~ l a n g > r - c ~

Modified stem

?Al-a nAf-a

hier-; / \ /

X we r m -a

p&xm-Z

bib-c

hlim-a / \ /

dgkwen -a

ki l&r-2

J?ipif -2 ki1iDg&r -;

bone ' p e r s o n '

' r o o t ' gu inea -co rn '

' sanda l ' ' b r e a s t ' ' name ' ' s tone '

' s i d e '

' lung ' 'wi ld boa r '

P r u l e : c i c2c3 -Ã c ~ ~ c ~ c ~ ) ~

By c o n t r a s t , t h e round vowels U and o i n simple stems remain un-

changed i n modif ied stems :

he t one of t h e epen the t i c a i s a copy of t h e preceding one.

k6t;r-A ' c h i e f ' / \ /

coxweb-a ' f r o g '

m b o ? l m - a ' f l e a '

There a r e a number o f nouns wi th [U] i n t h e simple stem which change

t o i i n t h e modif ied stem, t hus appearing t o be counterexamples. I n

a l l t h e s e c a s e s , however, t h i s [ U ] i s e i t h e r preceded o r fo l lowed by W

and i s t h e r e f o r e analyzed a s a , t h e r e being no c o n t r a s t between a

and U i n t h i s environment.

\ \ \ \ mm-ca [ A m c i ] wim-a \ \ \ \ /

cswan-CS [cUwAnci] ciwen-a

' ra . t ' ' e l e p h a n t '

Stems which a l r eady con ta in f r o n t vowels remain t h e same:

kwiY-; ' h o l e ' sh&m&-g ' s p i r i t '

Another k i n d o f change between s imple and modif ied stems o f Y nouns

concerns t h e consonant S . A l l occurrences of S i n t h e s imple stem

a r e changed t o sh i n t h e modified stem. The examples below show S

i n i t i a l l y , media l ly , and f i n a l l y .

S>?-C; she^-; ' l e a f ' \ \ /

saman -ca shim& -g ' f i g t r e e '

h s s n - c i ?&shin-$ ' t y p e o f g r a s s ' / / \ / / \ /

wassan-ca weshshen-a ' s q u i r r e l ' I I

kasax-c; k i sh&x -S yam' I / \ / I / \ l / \ /

waas-ca [waas S;] weesh-a ' h a i r '

Â£ss-c [ f s s s a ] f i sh-a ' s a l t ' \ / ^ / pars-CA [p>rSssL] p i r sh-a [pirsh;] ' h o r s e '

rule: s + c + ss)

A t f i r s t g l ance , it appears t h a t t h e S -+ s h change i s a s imple case o f

a s s i m i l a t i o n r e s u l t i n g from t h e s h i f t from c e n t r a l t o f r o n t vowels , i .e . t h a t t h e r e i s a r u l e of S - p a l a t a l i z a t i o n i n t h e environment o f f ron t

vowels. I n t h e case o f sh preceded by a f r o n t vowel, t h i s exp lana t ion

could hold s i n c e , i n Ga'anda, only ( i ) i s h and ( e ) e s h a r e found,

never * ( i ) i s and * ( e ) c s , e . g . x < s h f i ' o u t s i d e ' , m i sh ta 'CO-wife ' ,

teesh! ' t o bury (was t e ) ' . Thus a p rog res s ive S -pa l a t a l i z a t ion r u l e I I I / \ / could account f o r s h occu r r ing i n kishex-a, weesh-a, e t c . , b u t it

i s l e s s s a t i s f a c t o r y i n cases l i k e p i r s h a where s h is- not immediately

preceded by a f r o n t vowel. One may next ask whether a r e g r e s s i v e s-pala-

t a l i z a t i o n r u l e e x i s t s which could e x p l a i n t h e occurrence of s h i n \ \ \ examples l i k e she?!, shimena, and ?LshinA. It i s t r u e i i i a t a num-

b e r of words have a l e x i c a l s h ( i . e . t hose not de r ived from s as

above ) occurr ing be fo re a f r o n t vowel, e . g . shiyt: ' t o beg t , s h e r d

' t o be o l d ' . But t h e r e a l s o e x i s t words and cons t ruc t ions vhere

t h e sequences si and s e a r e never r e a l i z e d a s [ s h i ] o r [ s h e ] , e . g .

f&-hl$as i ' day a f t e r tomorrow' , ksrnsica 'youths ' , hausec i 'Hausa \ \ / people ' , kesi ' S$ ' h e l p me 1 ' , a s i - t a ?y&m8a ' he drank wa te r ' . From

t h e s e examples, it i s c l e a r t h a t p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of S be fo re f r o r t

vowels i s not automatic . I t s occurrence i n t h e modified stems of Y nouns

i s t hus not exp la inab le i n terms o f a simple phonological p roces s .

Rather , t h e p a l a t a l i z a t i o n he re must be t r e a t e d a s one o f t h e changes

a s s o c i a t e d s p e c i f i c a l l y wi th a morphological i n f l e c t i o n a l p a t t e r n of Y

nouns.

The o t h e r consonant change found i n modified stems o f Y nouns has

t o do wi th s tem-f ina l g . I n a d d i t i o n t o vowel f r o n t i n g , words wi th

f i n a l g i n t h e s imple stem change t h e g t o y i n t h e modif ied stem.

\ / sag-ca

I I / xarag-ca

Cfey -a ' f l y '

d y -a ' b i r d ' \ / s h i y -a ' s t i r r i n g s t i c k '

I ' t xi rey-a 'nose ' \ / \ /

c i r ey -a ' c rocod i l e ' khnbey-! ' t y p e o f melon'

This change could poss ib ly be descr ibed i n terms of a p a r t i c u l a r t y p e

of p a l a t a l i z a t i o n condi t ioned by a preceding f r o n t vowel. But se-

quences of i r ) and eg occur elsewhere i n Ga'anda, e .g . f i n a n 'dye

it red! ' , sheg6 ' count ! ' , ke ten r&nca ' s t o r k s ' . Such examples c l e a r l y

show t h a t t h e r) -+ y s h i f t i.s no t phonol.ogically condi t ioned .

There i s an i n t e r e s t i n g h i s t o r i c a l a spec t t o t h e i ~ / y a l t e r n a t i o n .

Most nouns with stem-final g i n Ga'anda have cognate forms wi th a n a s a l i n

c l o s e l y r e l a t e d languages, e . g . G . carag- ' c r o c o d i l e ' , c f . Tera j i r a q ;

G . xaraq- ' n o s e ' , c f . Fidl imndi hadan. Some Q words, however, have

cognate forms w i t h y i n o t h e r languages, e . g . G. & g - " b i r d 1 , c f .

Gis iga cfiyaw; G. raq- 'bow' , c f . Hona r i y e . The exp lana t ion i s t h a t

i n present-day Ga'anda t h e simple stems cfaq- and r a g - a r e r e i n t e r -

p r e t a t i o n ~ based on a process of back-formation. The e x i s t e n c e of

an a l t e r n a t i v e Ga'anda p l u r a l form f o r ' b i r d ' , c f i yca - ctegca, suppor t s

t h i s a n a l y s i s .

The s e t o f changes descr ibed above a l l p e r t a i n t o Y noluns ending i n

a consonant; t h e y do not apply t o vowel-f inal Y nouns (which only end i n

-i, a s s t a t e d e a r l i e r ) . For reasons no t y e t appa ren t , i - f i n a l Y nouns

do not undergo any i n t e r n a l vowel/consonant changes. Ra the r , t h e modi-

f i e d stem i s formed from t h e simple stem by dropping t h e f i n a l -i , w i t h

no f u r t h e r changes.

' s p i d e r '

' f e v e r '

'moon ' ' r i v e r '

There a r e two except ions however; t h e two -i nouns below show bo th

vowel f r o n t i n g and p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of S i n a d d i t i o n t o -i d e l e t i o n :

' you th"

'mosquito '

A t p r e s e n t , t h e r e seems t o be no explana t ion why t h e s e two i - f i n a l Y

nouns e x h i b i t changes normally a s s o c i a t e d wi th consonant - f ina l Y nouns.

I n summary, t h e va r ious changes r equ i r ed f o r d e r i v i n g modi f ied

stems from simple stems i n Y nouns a r e a s fo l lows: ( a ) c e n t r a l vowels

change t o f r o n t vowels ( h i g h e r , c l o s e r t o t h e p l a t e ) ; ( b ) s changes

t o t h e p a l a t a l s h ; ( c ) 13 changes t o t h e p a l a t a l semivowel y .

The ove r r id ing f e a t u r e shared by t h e s e changes i s p a l a t a l i t y o r

'Y-colorat ion" , func t ioning i n t h e morphology a s "Y-prosody". It i s

viewed a s a prosodic f e a t u r e because it a p p l i e s t o t h e e n t i r e noun s tem,

a f f e c t i n g a l l r e l e v a n t segments w i t h i n t h i s domain. The modi f ied s tem

of Y nouns thus c o n s i s t s of t h e simple stem marked wi th Y - ~ Y c ~ o ~ J ,

which mani fes t s i t s e l f by means o f a s e t o f i n t e r r e l a t e d p r i o n ~ ~ & i c a ^

s h i f t s , none of which i s i n d i v i d u a l l y expla inable i n ters.s of synchro-

n i c a l l y product ive phonological r u l e s . Rather , t hey a r e a l L r e l a t e d t o

a prosodic f e a t u r e s p e c i f i c a l l y a s s o c i a t e d with an i n f l e c t i o n a l forma-

t i o n of Y nouns.

Verb stems

The Y-prosody a s a morphological ly determined process i s a l s o found

i n t h e i n f l e c t i o n a l system of Ga'anda verb stems. Here, it i s a p r o p e r t y

of v e r b a l cons t ruc t ions i n a p a r t i c u l a r s e t o f t e n s e s where t h e s u b j e c t

i s e i t h e r a second o r t h i r d person s i n g u l a r pronoun. The verba l con-

s t r u c t i o n has t h e fo l lowing b a s i c o rde r o f morphemes i n t h e a o r i s t , per-

f e c t i v e , and subjunct ive t e n s e s :

t e n s e marker + verb stem (+ o b j e c t pronoun) + s u b j e c t pronoun

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e o b j e c t pronoun, o t h e r s u f f i x e s can be a t t ached t o t h e

verb stem ( t o be i l l u s t r a t e d be low) . The a o r i s t t e n s e i s marked by 0, t h e p e r f e c t i v e by a , and t h e subjunct ive by k$ i n t h e a f f i r m a t i v e

and m; i n t h e negat ive . The simple v e r b a l cons t ruc t ion i n t h e s e t h r e e

t e n s e s i s p r e s e n t e d f i r s t w i t h s u b j e c t pronouns o t h e r t h a n second and

t h i r d person s i n g u l a r . (Canonical shapes o f verb stems a r e C V , C V C ,

C V C C , and C V C ~ . )

\ / \ / t & s y a taxs- inca

\ \ \ /

san- a san-man

t h e y s h o t '

' t h e y r e fuse ' ' I go t s i c k '

' I got ready '

'we ( i n c l . ) knew'

'you ) should r u n '

In t h e s e t e n s e s , when t h e s u b j e c t pronoun i s the second person s i n -

g u l a r -an ( - -n) o r t h e t h i r d person s i n g u l a r -a , thenY-prosody must

be app l i ed . The verb stem undergoes vowel f r o n t i n g and S-pala t a l i z a t i o n

i n e x a c t l y t h e same way descr ibed f o r Y nouns. The examples below a r e

l i m i t e d t o t h e second person siriguLar pronoun -an, s i n c e t h e t h i r d

person s i n g u l a r e n t a i l s s p e c i a l problems of form u n r e l a t e d t o t h e p r e s e n t

d i scuss ion .

kar - ker -6n 'you r e f u s e d '

fad- Â£id- hlkmb<r; 'you bea t a drum' \

san- @ shin-& x i t i nds 'you a r e used t o him' \ \ f /\ / /

k s s - ma kish-ice-n s a wa ' d o n ' t h e l p me'

( c f . kLs-J"' ss ' h e l p me ! ' , which i s a simple impera t ive

wi th no s u b j e c t pronoun, hence no Y-prosody)

t a x & ks t &xs h!-sn y o u should p repa re ' \ \

para- m; pere-n nds d o n ' t fo l low him'

p&fi: k; p i ~ & ^ - n k s l e m o 'you should go t o marke t '

If t h e verb stem con ta ins a round vowel o o r U, such a vowel

remains unchanged ( a s was a l s o t r u e i n Y noun s t e m s ) :

\ \ \ / / cbk- ma cok-an xa wa ' d o n ' t s i t down'

/ /\ xuna- k> xdn&n x i 'you should l i e down'

There i s a r e s t r i c t i o n on t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e Y-prosody w i t h ve rb

stems ending i n f i n a l -a. I n t h e p e r f e c t i v e t e n s e on ly , f i n a l -a i s

rep laced by -i, e.g.

' t hey came ' 'we ( i n c l . ) r a n '

y o u (pi.) went '

When t h e s u b j e c t pronoun i s t h e second person s i n g u l a r , t h e expec ted

f r o n t i n g and p a l a t a l i z a t i o n do not t a k e p l a c e , somehow b e i n g 'blocked "by

t h e a -+ i change:

p&$!- L &cfi:n 'you went ' ( c f . kS pidg-n 'you should g o ' )

/ /\ \ ' f \ masa- a masi-n 'you laughed'

( c f . m: meshe-n W; ' don ' t l a u g h ' )

What seems e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g about t h i s i s t h a t t h e a -+ i change

produces a n a t u r a l phonological environment, f i n a l i , where vowel

f r o n t i n g and S - p a l a t a l i z a t i o n might w e l l be expected t o happen, as , f o r / /\

example, i n t h e verb masa- above. The f a c t t h a t t hey do n o t t a k e

p lace here i s f u r t h e r evidence t h a t f r o n t i n g and p a l a t a l i z a t i o n a r e not

simple phonological processes i n Ga'anda bu t r e s u l t from morphological

cond i t i ons .

I n connection wi th t h e above, t h e r e i s one t e l l i n g except ion t o

t h e r u l e about - a ve rbs . With t h e monosyllabic verb st,em S;- ' t o

d r i n k f , p a l a t a l i z a t i o n does occur ( i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e a -+ i s h i f t ) , bu t only i n t h o s e pronouns where Y-prosody normally f u n c t i o n s , c f . t h e

fol lowing paradigm:

S ingu la r P l u r a l \ \ P a si-mun ( i n c l . )

1 s t L S;-inc; [ s i n c i ] \ \ / a s i - ? a n ( e x c l . )

( P r u l e : a -r i/- # \

It is t h e except ion t h a t proves t h e r u l e .

The one consonantal change i n t h e Y-prosody descr ibed f o r nouns

which does not apply t o verbs i s t h e g -F y change. I n verb s tems,

f i n a l g remains g :

/

t a g - L t :g -Sn 'you got s t u c k '

The domain of a p p l i c a t i o n of Y-prosody i n verbs i s no t l i m i t e d t o

t h e simple verb stem. It can a l s o apply t o a verb stem expanded by ce r -

t a i n "bound s u f f i x e s immediately fo l lowing t h e stem. Two of t h e s e ,

-can- and -W$-, a r e b r i e f l y i l l u s t r a t e d 'below.

Derived verbs with an a d j e c t i v a l meaning a r e formed from b a s i c

verbs by a t t a c h i n g t h e stem formative -can- immediately t o t h e stem:

xad- ' t o g e t s i c k ' X ; ~ + C $ ~ - ' t o b e s i c k ' / /

mbsn - ' t o p l e a s e f mban+can- ' t o be p l e a s a n t '

When t h e s e de r ived verbs cooccur wi th t h e second ?erson s i n g u l a r pro-

noun, t h e expanded stem undergoes vowel f r o n t i n g (and presumably pa l a -

t a l i z a t i o n , a l though no examples a r e p r e s e n t l y ava i la 'b le ) . Derived

verbs wi th -can- only occur i n t h e a o r i s t t e n s e :

X&- g xedc&-sn 'you a r e s i c k ' / /\

mban - 0 mbincen-an kaan 'you a r e very n i c e '

Another s u f f i x bound t o verb stems i s t h e f i r s t nega t ive marker

-wa-. Negation i n Ga'anda i s marked by double, d i scont inuous markers.

The second negat ive marker i s a f r e e form w a which occurs a t t h e end

of t h e sen tence . The form of t h e f i r s t depends on t h e t e n s e . With t h e

sub junc t ive , it i s m;. With t h e a o r i s t and p e r f e c t i v e t e n s e s , it t a k e s

t h e form of a -W;- s u f f i x e d t o t h e verb stem preceding o b j e c t o r sub-

j e c t pronouns. Under Y-prosody, -W;- undergoes f r o n t i n g a long w i t h

t h e r e s t of t h e verb stem:

d's- m& 0 &we-n W; i f you d o n ' t go '

inbsn- 0 mbinwe-n W; 'you a r e n ' t n i c e '

r>k>- 5 rekbwe-n w a 'you d i d n ' t r u n ' / \

taxs- t&;shw&-n W; 'you d i d n ' t p r epa re '

I n conclus ion , it has been shown t h a t t h e ope ra t ion o f Y-prosody

i s a p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e of Ga'anda morphophonemics. A l -

though t h e va r ious components of t h i s prosody a r e phono log ica l ly i n t e r -

r e l a t e d , i t s a p p l i c a t i o n i s u l t i m a t e l y determined by morphological

f a c t o r s .

REFERENCES

Neman, P . 1970. A Grammar o f Tera. Transformational Syntax and Texts . Unive r s i ty of C a l i f o r n i a Pub l i ca t ions i n L i n g u i s t i c s 57. Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Neman,R.M. 197 la . A Case G r m a v of Ga'anda. Unpublished Ph.D. d i s - s e r t a t i o n , Un ive r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles.

. l 9 7 l b . "Downstep i n Ga' anda", i n Special Chadio I s sue , ed . by P . Newman, pp. 15-27. 3. A f r . Lang. 1 0 ( l ) .

Papers in Chadie Linguistics Ed. ty P. Newman and E . M . Neman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

PHONEMIC VOWEL NEUTRALIZATION I N HAUSA

Bel lo Ahmad Salim

In t roduc t ion

This paper i s an at tempt t o f i n d some p l a u s i b l e explana t ion f o r t h e

inde termina te [ + high] vowel t h a t i s found i n some Hausa words, t h e cor-

r e c t phonemic na tu re of which seems t o e lude even n a t i v e Hausa speakers .

Ce r t a in groups o f words, nouns and verbs a l i k e , pose s p e c i a l problems i n

phonemic and or thographic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . This s t a t e of a f f a i r s has been

r e a l i z e d by bo th n a t i v e speakers and l i n g u i s t s . The Working P a r t y on

Hausa Orthography (1972:8) r e p o r t s :

'The Working Pa r ty does not t h i n k t h a t an a d d i t i o n a l vowel such a s i o r u could so lve t h e problem of w r i t i n g such words a s

f u r t s i o r f a r t s i samu o r sami f u r e o r f i r e

So t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of a 6 t h vowel i n t o t h e language could only cause confusion".

Hoffmann and Schachter (1969:78) a l s o n o t i c e d t h e same problem and

noted t h a t even though /i/ and / U / c o n t r a s t i n c e r t a i n environments,

elsewhere they a l t e r n a t e w i th one another and o f t e n a sound between t h e

two , [i], i s hea rd , e .g .

[ t e e b i r ] o r [ t e e b u r ] o r [ t e e b i r ]

I agree wi th t h e Working P a r t y t h a t t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f another

graphemic vowel would only cause confusion. My aim, t h e r e f o r e , i s t o

t r y and f i n d a p l a u s i b l e explana t ion ( i f any) t o h e l p i n t h e phonologica l

*My thanks t o D r . James Coady of Ohio Un ive r s i t y and members o f h i s seminar i n n a t u r a l phonology ( s p r i n g 1976) . who p a t i e n t l y l e n t an e a r throughout t h e p repa ra t ion of t h i s paper and o f f e r e d very c o n s t r u c t i v e c r i t i c i s m s .

l ~ l e n c e f o r t h , a s i n g l e l e t t e r w i l l be used t o r ep re sen t a "shor t" phoneme o r phone and a double one t o r ep re sen t "long".

a n a l y s i s of t h e segments t h a t have t h i s inde termina te vowel.

Sec t ion 1 of t h i s paper w i l l look a t t h e phonemic " n e u t r a l i z a t i o n s "

between t h e Hausa vowels i n an a t tempt t o e s t a b l i s h t h e f a c t t h a t neu-

t r a l i z a t i o n between /i/ and /U/ does e x i s t i n c e r t a i n s i t u a t i o n s . I n

s e c t i o n 2 , a l t e r n a t i v e forms i n t h e "da t ive" pronouns w i l l b e looked a t

i n an at tempt t o show t h a t a gene ra t ive phonological approach can b e

used t o e x p l a i n some of t h e processes i n both s e c t i o n s 1 and 2 , and

t h a t c e r t a i n o t h e r processes cannot . Sec t ion 3 w i l l d e a l w i t h t h e words

t h a t con ta in t h e inde termina te h igh vowel and t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e genera-

t i v e approach t o exp la in t h e phenomena. Sec t ion h w i l l propose a hope-

f u l l y n e a t e r s o l u t i o n t o a l l t h e above, a long t h e l i n e s of n a t u r a l gene-

r a t i v e phonology.

Sec t ion 1

It i s widely accepted t h a t Hausa has twelve vowel phonemes: f i v e

s h o r t and f i v e long monophthongs, and two diphthongs. O f t h e s e , t h e mid

and h igh monophthongs show a tendency t o n e u t r a l i z e t o a c e n t r a l vowel

i n c e r t a i n p o s i t i o n s .

Taking t h e convent iona l system of vowel diagramming, we can group

/ e e l and / e / , loo/ and / o / , a s t h e [-high -low] vowels, and /ii/ and

/ i/ , /uu/ and / U / a s t h e [ + high] vowels. Long / aa / i s dec ided ly [+low]

and so i s / a / , which assumes a somewhat c e n t r a l p o s i t i o n , a lmost l i k e a

schwa. From t h i s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , we can make t h e fo l lowing o b s e r v a t i o n s .

1. / e e l and / e / c o n t r a s t i n f i n a l p o s i t i o n b u t a r e n e u t r a l i z e d e l s e -

where, e . g .

karee

kwalekwale

maage

dagee

b u t

karen

kwalekwalen

maagen

dagen

[karee]

[kwalakwale?]

[maag Y e ? ]

[dagyee]

' dog'

' canoe ' ' c a t '

' w i l d f e l i n e '

' t h e dog'

' t h e canoe'

' t h e c a t '

' t h e w i l d f e l i n e '

Only lee/ occurs i n t h e middle o f a word, e . g .

ma jeemii [majeemii] ' t anne r '

2. /oo/ and /o/ c o n t r a s t i n f i n a l p o s i t i o n but a r e n e u t r a l i z e d e l s e -

where, e . g .

baakoo

baako

b u t

baakon

baakon

Only /oo/ occurs i n medial p o s i t i o n , e . g .

oodaa [ ?oodaa ]

makoomaa [makwoomaa]

' a s t r a n g e r '

' p roper name '

' t h e s t r a n g e r '

' t h e Bako'

' an o r d e r '

' Heaven '

From t h e above, we r e a l i z e a s o r t o f four-way process i nvo lv ing t h e

s h o r t and long phonemes and t h e [ + f r o n t ] and [+ back] phonemes, i . e .

/ e , e e l and /o , oo/. A l l a r e n e u t r a l i z e d t o a c e n t r a l vowel [ a - a ] i n

t h e environment of -n. Note t h a t a l though t h e above examples a r e g iven

phonet ic r e a l i z a t i o n s , t h e n e u t r a l i z a t i o n s a r e phonemic p roces ses and n o t

t h e r e s u l t o f f a s t speech (phone t i c ) r u l e s . And because a s h o r t vowel

i n f i n a l p o s i t i o n i s u s u a l l y followed by a g l o t t a l s t o p , it would be

implaus ib le t o claim c losed s y l l a b l e condi t ion ing f o r t h e above neu t r a -

l i z a t i o n ~ . I n o t h e r words, i n s t e a d of

( 1 ) V -+ [+ c e n t r a l ] /-C!# ,

a more p l a u s i b l e r u l e would be

(2 V -+ [ a ] / n # .

3. Words t h a t have f i n a l / a / o r /aa/ always r e t a i n / a / , which may op-

t i o n a l l y be reduced t o a schwa i n t h i s p o s i t i o n , e , g .

karaa [ karaa] ' cane ' c f . [karaq], [karar)]

YaaYa [ y a a ~ a ? ] ' e l d e r b r o t h e r ' cf. [yaayaq], [yaayaq]

h . /ii/ and /i/ c o n t r a s t i n f i n a l and medial open s y l l a b l e p o s i t i o n s

b u t on ly /i/ occurs i n c losed s y l l a b l e s and t h i s i n v a r i a b l y g e t s reduced.

t o [i], e .g .

s a r a r i i

s a r a r i

shigaa

shiiRaa

bu t

[ s a r a r i i ]

[ s s r a r i ^ ]

[ shigaa]

[ shiifcaa]

s a r a r i n [ s e r a r i g ]

s a r a r i n [ s a r s r i q ]

'open space '

'name of a p l a c e '

' e n t e r i n g t

'winnowing'

' t h e open space '

'name of t h e p l a c e '

5. /uu/ and /U/ a l s o c o n t r a s t i n f i n a l and open s y l l a b l e medial pos i -

t i o n s b u t b e f o r e n , t hey a r e n e u t r a l i z e d and reduced t o [u], e . g .

duhuu [ duhuu ]

duhu [ duhu? ]

kuukaa [ kwuukaa]

kunuu [ kwunuu ]

b u t

duhun

duhun

'darkness '

' a t ype of s co rp ion '

' c ry ing '

' g r u e l '

' t h e da rkness '

' t h e s co rp ion '

Looking a t t h i s , we f i n d t h e f r o n t vowels going t o [i] and t h e back

vowels going t o [a] , i . e . we do not have t h e t y p e of n e u t r a l i z a t i o n as

ob ta ins w i th t h e [+mid] vowels. But n o t i c e :

ha& [ ha&?] 'been mixed' c f . [hadig]

kunuu [ kwunuu ] ' g r u e l ' [kwuniq]

j i n i i [ j i n i i ] 'b lood ' [ j i n i q ]

t a f i [ t a f i ? ] ' go ' [ t a fkg]

Here we n o t i c e t h a t bo th t h e [ + back] and [ - back] vowels become neu-

t r a l i z e d t o t h e same p o s i t i o n r e g a r d l e s s of whether t hey w e r e unde r ly ing

long o r s h o r t . Fu r the r examples might h e l p t o c l a r i f y m a t t e r s :

t a t t a b a r u u [ t a t t aba ruu] 'p igeons ' c f . [ t a t t a k e r i g ]

t saamii [ t saami i ] ' sou rness ' [tsaamiq]

baaki i [baakyi i ] 'mouth' [ baakyig ]

gafakuu [gafakwuu] ' s a t c h e l s ' [ g s f a k w e ~ ]

jama'uu [jama^uu] 'peoples ' [ jama?ag]

A p a t t e r n now begins t o emerge r ega rd ing high vowels fol lowed by t h e

g e n i t i v e l i n k e r -n. When t h e preceding consonant i s [+back] , t h e

reduced vowel r e t a i n s i t s e s s e n t i a l q u a l i t y of e i t h e r f r o n t n e s s o r

backness :

When t h e preceding consonant i s [-back], t h e reduced vowel i s always

r e a l i z e d a s [ i ] :

Since /ii/, /i/ and /uu/ , 11-11 a r e a l l n e u t r a l i z e d t o a c e n t r a l vowel

p h o n e t i c a l l y r e a l i z e d a s [i] be fo re t h e g e n i t i v e l i n k e r , a g e n e r a l pro-

cess of c e n t r a l i z a t i o n be fo re f i n a l -n can be claimed f o r Hausa monoph-

thongs.

Sec t ion 2

Next we look at some i n t e r e s t i n g processes t h a t seem t o "be l i m i t e d

only t o t h e Hausa d a t i v e pronouns. The d a t i v e marker wa o r ma2

i s never jo ined t o t h e fo l lowing NP when it happens t o be a noun, e .g .

na sayar wa/ma Audu h u l a t a ' I s o l d my cap t o Audu'

Abu t a k a i wa/ma Rawarta goro 'Abu t o ~ k ko lanu t s t o h e r f r ier ;&'

b u t

aa sayar masa da h u l a t a 'I s o l d my cap t o him'

Abu t a k a i mata goro 'Abu took ko lanu t s t o h e r '

As can be seen, t h e r eve r se i s t h e case when t h e fol lowing nominal i s

a pronoun. The j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r w r i t i n g t h e sequence of d a t i v e marker

+ pronoun a s a s i n g l e word can be found by looking a t t h e p r o c e s s e s t h a t

happen wi th them. Refusal t o accept t h e sequence a s a s i n g l e word would

mean acceptance of t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e processes t r anscend word bounda-

he choice of a p a r t i c u l a r marker used w i t h noun o b j e c t s depends on t h e d i a l e c t of t h e speaker . I n Kano (my d i a l e c t ) , wa i s u s u a l l y pre- f e r r e d ; i n o t h e r d i a l e c t s such a s S o k o t , ~ , ma i s p r e f e r r e d . A l l Hausa d i a l e c t s use ma wi th pronouns.

r i e s . No phonologica l ly o r p h o n e t i c a l l y p l a u s i b l e reason can be found

t o support t h a t c laim ( s e e Hyman 1975 on r u l e n a t u r a l n e s s ; a l s o Schachter

1969) . The sequences w i l l t h e r e f o r e be accepted a s one-word sequences

and be analyzed a s such.

mani/mini

maka

maki/miki

masa/mas/mar

mata

mana

maku/muku

masu/musu

[inani?], [mini?], [miq] ' b o / a t / f o r me'

[maka? ] ' t o / a t / f o r you (mas-c. ) ' [maikyi?] , [mikyi?] ' t o / a t / f o r you ( f e n . ) '

[inasa?], [mas], [mar] " c o / a t / f o r him'

[mata?] ' t o / a t / f o r he r '

[mana? ] ' t o / a t / f o r u s '

[maukwu?], [makWu?] ' t o / a t / f o r you ( p i . ) ' [musu?], [masu?] ' t o / a t / f o r them'

Items 1 , 3 , 7 , and 8 need s p e c i a l cons ide ra t ion because t h e y not on ly

n e u t r a l i z e f ron t /back , bu t a l s o high/ low. I n 3 and 7 , we observe t h a t

t h e v e l a r consonants p a r t i c i p a t e i n a dual process i n t h a t a f t e r "being

a f f ec t ed by t h e vowels a f t e r them, they i n t u r n a f f e c t t h e [ a ] coming

be fo re them. Thus :

5 [ + v e l a r l

The a f f e c t e d consonants t hen r e g r e s s i v e l y a f f e c t t h e vowe1.s be fo re them

s o t h a t we g e t a d iphthongiza t ion r u l e which f r o n t s o r backs t h e vowels

concerned depending on whether o r no t t hey come be fo re a p a l a t a l i z e d

o r l a b i a l i z e d v e l a r . The diphthongs and t h e non-affected [ a l ' s t h e n

undergo an o p t i o n a l vowel r educ t ion r u l e where t h e [ a l ' s a r e reduced t o

schwas and t h e n a s s i m i l a t e d t o t h e h igh vowels fo l lowing them, a s i n :

To summarize, we have an ob l iga to ry v e l a r a s s i m i l a t i o n r u l e ( t o g e t

l a b i a l i z e d o r p a l a t a l i z e d v e l a r s ) , p lus an o b l i g a t o r y d iph thong iza t ion

r u l e before t h e a s s i m i l a t e d v e l a r s , and. t h e two o p t i o n a l ( though perva-

s i v e ) r u l e s o f vowel reduct ion ancl subsequent a s s i m i l a t i o n t o t h e vowel

h e i g h t o f t h e f i n a l h igh vowel.

The next process of f i n a l vowel d e l e t i o n ( a s wi th i tems 1 and 4) might w e l l prove our ( t r a d i t i o n a l ) genera t ive approach inadequate .

Notice t h a t i n t h e t h i r d v a r i a n t s o f i t ems 1 and h , t h e f i n a l vowel may

o p t i o n a l l y be deleted, where bo th vowels a r e of t h e sar-e vowel h e i g h t .

1 n L, t h e r e i s f u r t h e r o p t i o n a l v a r i a t i o n between /S/ and / X / i n f i n a l

p o s i t i o n , poss ib ly condi t ioned by Hausa ideophones?) But t h i s d e l e t i o n

r u l e r e fuses t o work i n t h e case of i t em 8. Here, a f t e r t h e vowel

r educ t ion and a s s i m i l a t i o n r u l e s , t h e condi t ion f o r t h e ope ra t ion o f the

d e l e t i o n r u l e i s c r e a t e d and s o , l i k e i n 4, we should expect t o g e t

* [ m ~ s [ o r *[mar] , b u t we d o n ' t . Also, i f t h e r u l e would work i n I , w h y

not i n 6?

Sec t ion 3

As s t a t e d e a r l i e r , t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n words where we do g e t an inde -

t e rmina te vowel which seems t o a l t e r n a t e between [U], [i], and [i]. T h i s

p rocess could have happened due t o a case of vowel r educ t ion on s y l l a b l e s

wi th l e a s t s t r e s s , 3 i . e . where a vowel g e t s reduced and t h e n assimilates

t o t h e fo l lowing

might be ab l e t o

vowel reduct ion .

This can exp la in

vowel. If we expand r u l e ( 6 ) a l i t t l e , t h e r e f o r e , w e

exp la in t h e process--if it i s j u s t due t o a case o f

words l i k e ' ange r ' [ f u s h i i ] + [ f u s h i i ] -+ [ f i s h i i ] , e t c .

i f we p o s i t e i t h e r a d e f i n i t e / U / o r /i/ a s t h e under ly ing phoneme and

s o de r ive t h e o t h e r two a l t e r n a n t s from t h a t , a s i n [ t u r n i i i ] +

[tarmii] -+ [ t i r m i i ] ' m o r t a r ' .

Various o t h e r words can a l s o be expla ined t h a t way, wi th t h e e x p l a -

na t ion t h a t t h e above r u l e s of vowel r educ t ion and then a s s i m i l a t i o n

have now become s o pervas ive t h a t t hey a r e no longe r o p t i o n a l . If we

accept t h i s , t hen we a r e a b l e , i n t h e same way a s we expl.ained t h e pho-

nemic n e u t r a l i z a t i o n s be fo re t h e g e n i t i v e l i n k e r , t o e x t r a c t t h e under-

3 ~ i o t i c e t h a t t h i s seems t o be a case where a phonet ic p roces s t a k e s p l ace i n both heavy and l i g h t s y l l a b l e s . Does t h i s mean t h a t though s y l l a b l e weight s e rves a s a phonological v a r i a b l e (~ewman 1 9 ~ 2 ) ~ it h a s no phonet ic re levance? Also s e e Hyman (1975) on t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f t o n e languages having s t , r e s s .

l y i n g phoneme i n each of t hese inde termina te c a s e s , e.g.

f u s h i i / f i s h i i [ f u s h i i ] [ f u s h i i ] [ f i s h i i ] 1 anger 1

b u k i i / b i k i i [ b u k y i i ] [ b y k y i i ] [ b i k y i i ] ' c e l e b r a t i o n ' s u r u k i i / s i r i k i i [ s u r u k y i i ] [ s a r a k y i i ] [ s i - r i k y i i ] ' in-law (male) '

Eut , as we s h a l l s e e , t h e r e a r e s t i l l c a ses where t h e under ly ing and

phonet ic r e a l i z a t i o n s s t i l l remain j u s t tha t - - inde termina te , e . g .

u s u r i i / u s i r i i [ ? u s u r i i l [ ? u s u r i i ] [ ? u s i r i i ] ' w h i s t l e '

bukaataa/bikaataa [bukaataa] [bykaa taa] [ b i k a a t a a ] 'need1

f u r e e / f i r e e [ fu ree ] [ f u r e e ] [ f i r e e ] ' f lower ' samu/sami [saamu?] [saamu?] [saami?] ' g e t '

fuskaa/ f i s kaa [ fuskaa ] [ fuskaa] [ f i s k a a ] ' f a c e '

bunnee/binnee [ bunnee] [bynnee] [b innee] ' t o "bury'

musaaki i /misaaki i [musaakyii] [musaakyii] [mi saaky i i ] ' d i s a b l e d person ( m a l e ) '

With ' w h i s t l e ' , we have no explana t ion a s t o why the vowel o f t h e f i r s t

s y l l a b l e does not change, except i f we c la im t h a t t h e consonants surround-

i n g it a r e b locking t h e p roces s . But t h i s has no phonet ic mo t iva t ion .

With t h e o t h e r examples, t h e vowel (s ) supposed t o i n f luence t h e p roces s

a r e a l l [ -h igh ] , so even i f t h e vowel r educ t ion r u l e does apply (which

it d o e s ) , t h e r e i s s t i l l no explana t ion f o r t h e o t h e r process which

l e a d s t o t h e a l t e r n a t i o n . The gene ra t ive approach has t h e r e f o r e f a i l e d

i n t h i s i n s t ance t o o , s i n c e we a r e s t i l l l e f t wi th t h e problem o f decid-

i n g what t h e underlying vowel of t h e stem i s , i . e . we must make an ab-

s t r a c t choice .

Sec t ion 4

We have seen how it i s p o s s i b l e t o i s o l a t e the under ly ing vowels i n

cases where we have phonemic n e u t r a l i z a t i o n s between e i t h e r s h o r t o r

l ong , f r o n t o r back vowels. This has a l s o helped us e s t a b l i s h t h e f a c t

t h a t , i n c e r t a i n environments, / U / and /i/ a r e n e u t r a l i z e d t o a s ing l e

e n t i t y , [ Â ± l W e have e s t ab l i shed t h a t t h i s if rxnt i rely a phonologica l

process and not t he r e s u l t of' f a s t speech r u l e s even though fi], u n l i k e

[ a ] , i s riot accepted a s a phoneme i n Hausa.

Next we considered a process t h a t could b e e n t i r e l y t he r e s u l t of

f a s t speech r u l e s ( i . e . t h e a l t e r n a t i o n s of t h e d a t i v e pronouns) and

y e t we were s t i l l ab l e t o p o s i t an under ly ing vowel i n case's where t h e

phone:tic r e a l i z a t i o n was d i f f e r e n t from t h e underlying phoneme. I n

each case , we have i n s t a n c e s where c e r t a i n vowels a r e r e a l i z e d a s [k]

b u t we have been ab le t o exp la in the process through the t r a d i t i o n a l

genera t ive approach. With t h e words considered i n s e c t i o n 3 , it

appears a s i f t h e vowel a l t e r n a t i o n s a r e a r e s u l t o f a process which may

have been phone t i ca l ly o r phonemically motivated o r , a s wi th t h e c a s e of

[saami7] [saarna?] [saamu?], have no v a l i d mot iva t ion a t a l l . I n e i t h e r

ca se , whatever process may have motivated t h e a l t e r n a t i o n s , it has now

become so pervas ive a s t o completely d i s t o r t whatever vowel was t h e

underlying one i n each case . We a r e t h e r e f o r e l e f t wi th a l t e r n a n t s

which have no p l a u s i b l e explana t ions e i t h e r from h i s t o r i c a l 4 o r syn-

chronic evidence.

One way of g e t t i n g around t h i s impasse i s t o accept Vennemann's

(1972, 1974) proposa l of n a t u r a l gene ra t ive phonology. His approach

p o s i t s two main p r i n c i p l e s (1974 : 346-47) :

'1. The No-Ordering P r i n c i p l e : r u l e s of grammar cannot be e x t r i n s i c a l l y ordered .

2 . The St rong Naturalness Condit ion: P a r t 1. Lexica l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of non-a l te rna t ing p a r t s

o f morphemes a r e i d e n t i c a l t o t h e i r phonet ic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s .

P a r t 2. Lexical r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of r o o t s a r e i d e n t i c a l t o one of t h e r a d i c a l 'a l lomorphs ' of t h e paradigm, p lus an ( o f t e n empty) s e t o f supp le t ion r u l e s . l'

This t h e r e f o r e e n t a i l s a l ex i con of wi th r u l e s "which

func t ion e n t i r e l y a s redundancy r u l e s f o r forms a l r e a d y r e g i s t e r e d i n

t h e l e x i c o n , and a s gene ra t ive r u l e s only when unknown words a r e

adapted t o t h e l e x i c o n , o r new words a r e c r ea t ed by a speaker . . . l 1 (19'74:

W .

4~ doubt, i f t h e r e w i l l be h i s t o r i c a l evidence t h a t can e x p l a i n t hose p a r t i r-iilar a l t e r n a t i ons , a1 though t h i s does not n e c e s s a r i l y mean t h a t I ag ree , a s with Swad~sh (1957), t,hat h i s t or ic ' a l pvidi~nce has no relevance a t a l l i n dr-t ,orrnir i j rig the phonemic iiyst,~-'rn o f a language.

i f we accept t h i s hypothes is completely, t hen a l l t h e a l t e r n a t i n g

forms w i l l be included- i n t h e l ex i con and t h e r e w i l l b e no r a s e s of

vowel neut ra l iza t ion- -whether phonemic o r phonet ic . Note t h a t t h e

a l t e r n a t i o n s i n s e c t i o n 3 cannot be cons idered " f a s t speech" r u l e s

(~ennemann 1974:350) because they a r e s o p e r s i s t e n t a s t o cause confu-

s ion even i n or thography. On t h e o t h e r hand, we might cons ider incor -

po ra t ing Hudson's modi f ica t ion (1974:179) o f t h e a f o r e s a i d hypothes is

and t r y p o s i t i n g an "archiphoneme", which i s j u s t a s t e p avay from f u l l

s p e ~ i f i c a t i o n . ~ I n e i t h e r ca se , we do away wi th cases of abso lu t e

n e u t r a l i z a t i o n , a r e a b l e t o exp la in t h e non-generatable a l t e r n a t i o n s i n

t h e da t ive pronouns and t h e inde termina te cases i n s e c t i o n 3. We t h e r e -

fo re ge t t o keep our r u l e s a s t hey a r e i n t r i n s i c a l l y ordered . They w i l l

se rve a s redundancy r u l e s i n t h e case of a l l t h e forms accepted i n t o t h e

lex icon and a s gene ra t ive r u l e s when new words a r e accepted i n t o t h e

language. An argument can "be given t h a t t h i s s o l u t i o n i s no "be t te r t han

t h e t r a d i t i o n a l gene ra t ive approach but n o t i c e t h a t we have no way of

p r e d i c t i n g t h e o t h e r r a d i c a l a l t e r n a t i o n s a s i n t h e d a t i v e pronouns such

a s [mil]] bu t no t *[man], except by accep t ing a l l t h e d i f f e r e n t a l t e r n a -

t i o n s i n t h e l e x i c o n . Also, whereas it can be claimed t h a t n a t i v e Hausa

speakers a r e capable of saying [masu?] i n c a r e f u l speech a s opposed t o

[rnasu?] and s o could be expected t o be aware of t h e under ly ing phonolo-

g i c a l / a / i n t h e given environment, t h i s c la im cannot be made i n t h e

case of t h e forms i n s e c t i o n 3.

On t h e s t r e n g t h of t h e above evidence, t h e r e f o r e , our c la im t h a t

t h e only p l a u s i b l e approach towards exp la in ing t h e s e phenomena i s t h e

n a t u r a l gene ra t ive approach seems adequate ly j u s t i f i e d . *

5 T, J o t e t h a t this t rea tment i s n e i t h e r completely s i m i l a r t o t h e con- ecp t of "normal i sa t ion" as proposed by Swadush (1957) , nor t h e "arch i - phoneme-" o f t h e Prague school , nor t h e "morphophonerne" of t h e st,ruct,u- r a l i s t s (e.g. H a r r i s 1951) , as t h i s "archiphoneme' does not meet the f ' j l L spec'i f ' i r 'n f , i ons d c f i ncvl -tsar any of t h f above cases .

REFERENCES

H a r r i s , Z e l l i g S. 1951. S t r u c t d Linguis t ics . Chicago.

Hoffniann, C . and P . Schachter . 1969. "Hausa" , i n Tuetve Viqeriari Languages, e d . by E. Dunstan, pp. 73-84. London.

Hudson, Grover. 1974. "The r o l e of SPC's i n n a t u r a l gene ra t ive phonology", i n Papers from the Parasess-ion on natural Phonology, ed. by A. Bruck e t a l . , , pp. 171-83. Chicago.

Hyman, Larry M . 1975. Phonotogy: Theory and Analysis. New York.

Newman, Paul . 1972. "Syl lab le weight a s a phonological v a r i a b l e " , Stud. A f r . Ling. 3 ( 3 ) : 301-23.

Schachter, Paul . 1969. "Natural a s s i m i l a t i o n r u l e s i n ~ k a n " , I n t e r n e t . J . Amer. Ling. 35 : 343-55.

Swadesh, Morris . 1957. "The phonemic p r i n c i p l e " , i n Readings i n Linguis t ics l , ed. by M . Joos , pp. 32-38. Chicago.

Vennemann, Theo. 1972. "Phonological uniqueness i n n a t u r a l g e n e r a t i v e grammar", GZossa 6 : 105-16.

. 1974. "Words and s y l l a b l e s i n n a t u r a l gene ra t ive grammar", i n Papers from the Parasession on Natural PhotzoZogy, ed . by A. Bruck e t a l . , pp. 346-75. Chicago.

Working P a r t y on Hausa Orthography. 1972. "F ina l r e p o r t and r e c o m e n - da t ion" . Mimeographed. Kano.

WEST C I I A D I C VERB CLASSES

Russe l l G . Schuh

1. Chadic verb c l a s s e s

1.1. Newman's Proto-Chadic c l a s s e s . Parsons (1960161) proposed a c l a s -

s i f i c a t i o n of Hausa verbs c a l l e d t h e "Grade system". I n t h i s system, a

ve rba l "base" composed of a verb minus tone and f i n a l vowel p o t e n t i a l l y

"operates" seven " g r a d e s " each of which c a r r i e s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c tone

p a t t e r n and f i n a l vowel. Thus from t h e base say- ' B U Y ' , we have /Â \

Grade I sayaa 'buy f o r ' , Grade I1 s&$a "buy' , Grade I V sayLe 'buy

a l l o f , e t c . The grade system has become t h e s tandard framework f o r

d i scuss ing Hausa verb c l a s s e s , even f o r t h o s e not wholly i n agreement

wi th t h e system. Moreover, t h e concept of abs t r a , c t l e x i c a l bases which

a r e suppl ied wi th tone and f i n a l vowel only i n s p e c i f i c morpho-syntac-fcic

contex ts has been widely app l i ed i n o t h e r Chadic languages such as

Bolanci ( ~ u k a s 1970-72).

Newman (1975) a rgues t h a t t h i s system g ives an i n a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e

of verb c l a s s e s i n p a r t i c u l a r Chadic languages and i s no t a system which

should. be r econs t ruc t ed f o r Proto-Chadic. I n h i s r e c o n s t r u c t i o n , s a s e d

on d a t a from e i g h t Chadic languages, Newman argues t h a t t o n e p a t t e r n and

f i n a l vowel a r e p a r t of t h e l e x i c a l s p e c i f i c a t i o n of a v e r t . I n t he c a s e

of Hausa ( c f . Kewman 1973) an a b s t r a c t v e r b a l "base does no t ope ra t e s e v e n

grades. Rather , one o f t h e "grade forms" ( ~ r a d e I , 11, o r 111 depending

on t h e v e r b ) i s b a s i c and o t h e r grades a r e der ived through replacement. o f

*Data on both t h e Bade and Bole groups were c o l l e c t e d whi le working as a Research Fellow wi th t h e Centre f o r t h e Study of Nigerian Languages, Abdullahi Bayero Col loge/Ahrfladu Be1 l o UnL-versi ty (now Bayero U n i v e r s i t y Col1 ?cc , ~ a n o ) . Data on Ngizim were o r i g i n a l ly c o l l e c t e d a s p a r t o f a s m p a r a t i v e Chadic syntax pro.j?ct funded by a Nat ional S c i e n r ~ Foundat ion Grant G;-?P79 (Paul Newman, p r in r ' i pa l i n v e s t i p a t o r ) . I a m p ra t , e fu l t o Pau l Tieman for many helpful commt'nt.~ on thp o r i g i n a l draft o f t h i s p a p e r .

The system Sewman reconstructs for Proto-Chadic has verLs falling

into two final vowel classes, which he terms the "a" class and the "a"

class, and essentially two tone classes, a high tone class and a low

tone class. For disyllaoic verbs, the tone classes are Hi-Hi and Lo-Lo,

for monosyllabic verbs, Hi and Lo. The Tone and vowel clashes are re--

constructed as cross-cutting so that for any particular CVCV sequence

there could potentially be four different disyllabic verbs, and likewise

for any particular CV sequence therecould potentially "be four different

monosyl.labic verbs. This is summarized in the cables in ( 1 ) ~ 5 t h the

arbitrarily chosen sequences takV and by:

( 1 ) Disyllabic Monosyllabic

Hi-Hi

L@-L0

L-"'-..,, /G~ taka t aka

1.2. West Chadic classes. Kemian's classification "was meant to apply

to che proto-language for the entire Chadic family. In order to make

the reconstruction valid for this time depth, it was necessary to select

languages from diverse Chadic subgroups and to give a general picture of

the systems involved, in some cases ignoring details which appeared ir-

relevant to an overall reconstruction.

The Furpose of this paper is to take up the question of how this

reconstructed, system works for a particular Ch:idic subgroup when details

of the verbal system of that subgrou? are taken into account. As we

will see, the systen reco11-st,racted for West Chadic differs in some res-

pec-ts from Newman's Cnadic system. These d i f f e r e n c e s may, of c o u r s e ,

r r i p i L ; ~ n t innovat ions t l i i ~ took p l ace a f r e r t h e s e p a r a t i o n Â¥.)l V, c t

Chadic from t h e remainder of t h e fami ly , bu t c e r t a i n l y i l l L J-'.I;LS docu-

mented here must be r econc i l ed wi th any broader r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s .

The languages t o be d iscussed he re come from two subbranches of

West Chadic: t h e Bole group and t h e Bade group. Languages from t h e s e

groups examined i n t h i s s tudy a r e given i n (2a-b) .

( 2 ) a . Bole group2

These two groups of languages r ep re sen t t h e most widely d i v e r g e n t

subbranches of West Chadic ( s e e Kewman 1 9 7 ~ ) ~ and f o r t h e ~ o s t p a r t 4 t hey a r e not i n geographica l con tac t . One can t h e r e f o r e ; just i f ' iably

-

2 ~ l s o p a r t of t h e Bole group a r e Tangale and Pe ro , bo th f a i r l y c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o Kanakuru, and Maha, which i s c l o s e t o Bo lanc i and ITgamo ( c f . Kewman 1965 f o r ~ a h a ) . I d i d not have acces sV. to any graranati- c a t m a t e r i a l s on t h e s e languages, but d a t a from w o r d l i s t s do n o t appear t o v i t i a t e t h e system recons t ruc t ed h e r e . Kanakuru d a t a cons ide red were from Uewman (1974) . Data on o the r languages a r e from my own f i e l d n o t e s . Lukas (1970-72) was consul ted i n some cases for- J o l a n c i , mainly t o con- f i rm f a c t s i n my own Bolanci d a t a .

or d i scuss ion of Mgizirn v ~ r b s , s ee Schuh (1971) . However I now look a t Ngizim verb c l a s s e s i n a somewhat d i f f e r e n t way than w a s pre- r en t ed t h e r e . Duwai and. Bade d a t a a r e from my field n o t e s . F o r remarks on c Lascif'ica-Lion, e t c . , s r ~ Uchuh ( 1 ~ 7 h / ' f ; , ~ 0 . 3 ) .

'+The Ugi zim now r ~ n i g h l - ~ c ~ r t h t l Ka.rt'Kari.1- but t h i s is t>he r e s u l t o f a r e l a t i v e l y re-rent move- s o u t h Ly t h e Ngi x i m .

assume t h a t d e t a i l e d p o i n t s of resemblance i n t h e ve rba l systems of l a n -

Auages o f ~ u e L-J;) Groups a r e t: e r e s u l t o f s h a r ~ d re+,ei L i d i . j r d n i r ' r \ ~ L o -

West Chadic r a t h e r t han of chance o r cont inued c o n t a c t . A n apparent

major omission from a comparative s tudy of West Chadic i s Hausa. The

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n of Hausa verbs d i f f e r s s i g n i f i c a n t l y from t h e system re-

cons t ruc t ed he re f o r West Chadic, a s a corpar i son b i t h t h e system of

e i t h e r Parsons (1960/61) o r Neman (1973) would show. VJhi~e I -ijelieve

t h e synchronic Hausa system can be h i s t o r i c a l l y r econc i l ed wi th 'uhe r e -

cons t ruc ted West Cliadic system, a d i scuss ion of t h e developments i n v l -

ved would exceed t h e scope of t h i s a r t i c l e .

Returning t o Newman's (1975) r e c o n s t r u c t i o n f o r Proto-Chadic, t h e

fol lowing p o i n t s of comparison wi th t h e p re sen t r e c o n s t r u c t i o n can be

made :

a ) I am i n agreement wi th Newman i n r e j e c t i n g t h e no t ion t h a t t h e

l e x i c a l form of verbs c o n s i s t s of an a b s t r a c t base Yrom which a l l a c t u a l

r e a l i z a t i o n s of verbs a r e de r ived . I n p a r t i c u l a r , we agree i n s ay ing

t h a t t h e f i n a l vowel of a verb must be p a r t o f a v e r b ' s l e x i c a l r e p r e -

s e n t a t i o n , and moreover, t h a t a l l verbs f a l l i n t o two and o n l y two f i n a l

vowel c l a s s e s : -a and -a .

( b ) Newman's Proto-Chadic r e c o n s t r u c t i o n and my West Chadic r econs t ruc -

t i o n d i sag ree i n e s s e n t i a l l y two ways: f i r s t , i n lay r e c o n s t r u c t i o n ,

tones of verbs a r e e n t i r e l y p r e d i c t a b l e , and second, f o r a l a r g e c l a s s

of ve rbs , f i n a l l e x i c a l vowel i s a l s o predic ta 'b le . The system I have

r econs t ruc t ed f o r West Chadic i s given i n ( 3 ) :

( 3 ) F i n a l vowel c l a s s e s : *-a f o r CV and Â¤C ve rbs

,. . . Tone : t ones on c i l l v e rbs a r e ( L O . . . ) ni , 1. -e . low ton?- on

a l l sy l la .b les bu t t h e l a s t ; monosyllabic verbs ar? a l l h igh t o n e s i n c e they have only a l a s t " sy l - iab le

Although t h e r econs t ruc t ed f i n a l vowels have been r ep laced by soiae o t h e r

vowel o r even l o s t completely i n some of t h e modern languages , t h e r e i s

never more than a two-way f i n a l vowel d i s t i n c t i o n i n v e r b s , ?ad. t h a . t

d i s t i n c t i o n i s e s s e n t i a l l y between a h igh vowel and a low one.

1 . 3 . What a r e t h e verbs be ing c l a s s i f i e d ? Many Chadic languages have

f a i r l y e l a b o r a t e systems of t e n s e l a s p e c t marking. Most i n v e s t i g a t o r s

ag ree , however, t h a t Proto-Chadic can be r econs t ruc t ed a s having had

only two o r t h r e e b a s i c t e n s e l a s p e c t verb forms.7 ( s e e Jungrai-thmayr

( i n p r e s s ) and Newman ( i n p r e s s ) f o r two p o i n t s of view on t h i s . ) The

more e l a b o r a t e modern systems r e s u l t from product ive use of va r ious

processes i nvo lv ing p e r i p h r a s i s o r verb d e r i v a t i o n .

The r econs t ruc t ed Proto-Chadic a spec t marking system and t h e one

found i n almost a l l t h e languages on which t h i s s tudy focusses involve

d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e form of t h e verb stem--normally d i f f e r e n c e s i n f i n a l

vowel and sometimes i n t one . The fundamental ques t ion i s , then , can any

fu he vowel system proposed f o r Proto-West Chadic ( a s w e l l a s Proto- Chadic) i s t h e fo l lowing: Before pause Word- in i t ia l Medial

!i/ / U / /i/ /ii/ /a / /uu/ /a / i s a cover symbol f o r [i] , [U], [k 1, t h e cho ice -o f which i s con-

a a / d i t i o n e d by ad jacen t segments

6 2 = - l i g h t s y l l a b l e , S = heavy s y l l a b l e (~e-wman 1972) . L ight s y l l a -

b l e s have a s h o r t vowel nuc leus , heavy sy l l ab l e s have a long vowel nuc- l e u s o r a r e c l o s e d by a consonant. I n t h e language groups h e r e , word- i n i t i a l l i g h t s y l l a n l e s have t h e s t r u c t u r e ( c ) v , heavy s y l l a o l e s ( C ) W o r (?)VC. The i n i t i a l consonants a r e parenthes ized s i n c e both t h e Bole and Bade groups must be r econs t ruc t ed a s having had v o w e l - i n i t i a l r o o t s , though some of the modprn languages 1 ike Bolanci begin a l l words wi th a consonant ( t , h i n consonant, i:: ''? in words wi%h o r i g i n a l in i t , i aL vowel ) .

one of t h e b a s i c " a spec t forms be cons idered a s " l e x i c a l , i . e . r a o s t

~ a s i ~ ~ ' f ' 7

While many d e t a i l s remain t o be l ea rned about t h i s a A m 6 - i . a i d r i of

t h e Chadic v e r b a l system, we can r e c o n s t r u c t t h r e e ( a n d probably only

t h r e e ) b a s i c a s p e c t s f o r West Chadic: p e r f e c t i v e , sub junc t ive , and

imperfec t ive . The p e r f e c t i v e may "be looked upon a,s t h e " l e x i c a l " form

s i n c e i n West Chadic it c a r r i e s in format ion which i s anpred ic rad le and

f r e q u e n t l y n e u t r a l i z e d i n o t h e r a s p e c t s . This in format ion is a l e x i c a l

d i s t i n c t i o n i n f i n a l vowels. Thus i n Bade t h e r e i s no way t o p r e d i c t

whether a CVCV verb i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e a spec t w i l l end i n -LW o r -6, whereas a l l verbs end i n -i i n t h e sub junc t ive , e . g . p e r f e c t i v e n s

\ / \\/ masu ' I bought ' , ng ' I caught ' , bu t subjunct ive na masi ' t h a t

I b u y ' , n i ' t h a t I c a t c h ' .

Sec t ion 2 of t h i s paper i s devoted t o evidence f o r r e c o n s t r u c t i o n

of t h e p e r f e c t i v e aspec t form of ve rbs i n West Chadic, which w i l l l i k e -

wise be evidence f o r t h e r econs t ruc t ed c l a s s e s given i n ( 3 ) . Sec t ion 3

g ives evidence f o r a t e n t a t i v e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e su"bjuncti.ve a s p e c t

i n West Chadic as c o n t r a s t e d wi th t h e l e x i c a l l y b a s i c p e r f e c t i v e . Re-

cons t ruc t ion of t h e imperfec t ive i s more complicated and w i l l no t "be

at tempted h e r e .

2 . Reconstruct ion of p e r f e c t i v e verb c l a s s e s

2 .1 . The Bole group. The vowel c l a s s e s and t o n a l p a t t e r n s found i n t h e

Bole group a r e given i n (4) with examples from t h r e e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e l a n -

guages i n ( 5 ) . A l l t h e c i t a t i o n s i n (5) a r e t h e ve rb a s - u s e d when irnme-

diate1.y fol lowed by t h e p e r f e c t i v e s u f f i x , r econs t ruc t ed a s *ko.

2.2. The Bade group. The vowel: c l a s s e s and t o n a l p a t t e r n f o r per fec-

t i v e aspec t ve rbs i n t h e Bade group a r e given i n ( 7 ) w i th r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

verbs i n ( 8 ) . The c i t a t i o n s i n ( 8 ) a r e t h e verbs i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e

aspec t a s t hey appear be fo re pause. They can be aanalyzed as having a

p e r f e c t i v e s u f f i x recons 'oructable a s *-d ( > _ W i n Bade arid Egiz.im,

> -W; o r -6 i n ~ u w a i l ' ) , which i s probably cognate wi th t h e do le group

*ko. I n Bade and Ngizim, t h i s s u f f i x -W combines wi th a stem f i n a l

high vowel t o g ive / U / .

( 7 ) Vowel c l a s s e s : C-

} -a; -U ( U -F [ a , U , i] depending on $C- phonet ic c o n t e x t ) - sc- -U

Tone S : ve rbs i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e a l l f a l l i n t o t h e p a t t e r n ( L O . . . ) H i ( b u t s e e remark on Duwai monosyllabic verbs below)

(8)

cu

Ca

Scu

Sea

Bade ( ~ a s h u a ) Ngizim Duwai

j U j U jL& ( taw) (taw) tuwo

\ f --- m L w J mu WO

/ \ / saw saw0

bSnU band

kS 16 kar6 ksrd \ / 8 /Â

masu masu (1nLas6)

( d h ~ U 1 d e r i w dLGiVd

khdaW cfskaw kscfa- \ / \ /

nawaw ' ' '11 nawaw nuwawo

g o '

' e a t '

' t a k e '

' d r i n k '

r e t u r n '

' cook'

s t e a l '

'buy '

'wai t f o r '

'surpass ' ! r i p e n f

1 0 - ~n Duwai, a l l verbs ending i n -a add -W&. I n a d d i t i o n , v e r b s de- r i v i n g from o r i g i n a l *CV o r *SCU whose l a s t consonant i s a l a b i a l o r a

\ / \ \ / p a l a t a l add -& (er6hwd 'move', muwo ' t a k e ' , zsnyuwo ' t e l l , s h h k ' l i f t ' ) whi le ve rbs ending i n o t h e r consonants simply end i n -6 (becf6 ' c l o s e ' , ackd ' e x t r a c t ' , no ' coun t ' , r6 ' s t o p ' ) . There a r e , how- e v e r , a few unexplained except ions t,o t h i s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n , e .g . t u w d ' e a t ' , where we would expect *to, and. b6 'wrest ; le t ,where we would expect *&W;.

'?luvai has no d i s y l l a b i c verbs of t h e s t r u c t u r e CaCV s i n c e medial short a has s h i f t e d t,o aa o r a . The cont,exts f o r choosing aa. o r a a r e u n c l e a r .

- \ /

SCu naayu

ka lmd

\ / \ /

naayu naayo ' g r i n d '

k&rn6 ksrm6 cnop'

I n Bade and Ngizim, a l l C V ve rbs b u t t h e verb ' go ' have sni^ced t o

t h e -a c l a s s . Duwai r e t a i n s bo th vowel c l a s s e s For CV ve rbs bldt de-

v i a t e s s l i g h t l y from t h e reconstructedtonepattern. For verbs where t h e

p e r f e c t i v e s u f f i x t a k e s t h e -W; form ( c f . fn. l ~ ) , t h i s s y l l a b l e be-

longs t o t h e ( L O . . . ) H i t one p a t t e r n . CV ve rb stems wi th t h e -W& SCC-

f i x t h e r e f o r e have two s y l l a b l e s f o r purposes of tone assignment ario

t a k e t h e same tone p a t t e r n a s t h o s e CVCV stems where -W; has been

reduced t o -6. With t h e s l i g h t adjustments j u s t mentioned, t h e f i n a l vowel and

tone system of Bade group languages r e c o n s t r u c t s t o one v i r t u a l - l y iden-

t i c a l t o t h a t r econs t ruc t ed f o r West Chadic.

The sub junc t ive

A d e t a i l e d r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e sub junc t ive has not been worked

out f o r West Chadic . As an approximation, one can say t h a t formation of

t h e Proto-West Chadic sub junc t ive involved adding -i t o t h e l e x i c a l

stem wi th r e t e n t i o n of t h e ( L O . . . ) H i t o n e p a t t e r n . The coarparati-ve

data, s t r o n g l y suggest t h a t t h e sub junc t ive -i was added t o t h e l e x i c a l

( p e r f e c t i v e ) stem, i nc lud ing i t s f i n a l vowel. For -U s tems, t h e -U

was e l i d e d l e a v i n g only -i, b u t f o r -a s tems, -a was r e t a i n e d t o

g ive a diphthong -ai ( > -e i n some l anguages ) . However, a number of

modern languages simply r e p l a c e both l e x i c a l -U and ~a by -i SO

the exac t form of t h e pro to-subjunct ive must remain undetermined a t t h i s

t ime . A number of languages have d i f f e r e n t Locr i n t h e sub junc t ive from

those i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e , bu t i n both the B r l e and Bade groups t h e evi-

dence f o r r e c o n s t r u c t i n g a ( L O . . . ) H i p a t t e r n f o r t h e sub junc t ive i s

s t r o n g . Even where t h i s p a t t e r n i s not used today , t h e evidence s u g g e s t s

thc.i? t o n a l d i f f e r e n c e s from the ( L O . . . ) H i TIC,'.!(^^ a r e secondary and do

not r e p r e s e n t in or i gi n a l l ex i ca l di s t i n c t ion .

5 ) % l a n c i

C i i /uu f .

t1.1-

Caa /

saa-

;cu/g / /

wodu - so1 -

Scaa khrnaa- \ /

pa taa -

SCu don&-

mbiald-

Karekare /

tuu- /

saa-

yad -

d i k -

ka laa-

f i t g a -

din&-

mbblmd-

;hee - , / ) a r -

/ /

buru -

k w a l d - )

( f a t - )

' eat ' ' dri-nk ' ' b i t e '

' b u i l d '

' h e a r '

' go o u t '

' s e v '

' bury '

Comparing t h e Bole group vowel c l a s s e s wi th t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d

c l a s s e s i n (3), t h e Bole -aa c l a s s w i l l De seen t o correspond t o t h e

*-a c l a s s and t h e Bole group -ii/-U/@ c l a s s t o t h e *-U c l a s s . Of

t h e languages examined f o r t h i s paper Gera, Geruma, Galambu, and K i r f i

r e t a i n t h e f i n a l vowel c l a s s d i s t i n c t i o n only i n C V ve rbs . A l l o t h e r

verbs i n t h e s e languages have been s h i f t e d t o t h e -ii/-U/@ c l a s s .

F i n a l -ii i s found only wi th monosyllabic verbs i n some lan-

guages, bu t t h e important f a c t i s t h a t no language has a c o n t r a s t be-

tween verbs ending i n -ii and verbs ending i n - u ( u ) . For CVCu/@

v e r b s , some languages always have f i n a l 0, e . g . Ngamo, Galambu. Other

languages have 0 o r -U depending on phonological c o n t e x t , e . g . i n

Bolanci t h e verb ends i n -U except where t h e second consonant i s a / \ semivowel o r l i q u i d ( ~ 6 d d - w o o - ~ i i ' he b i t ' "but ~ o l - w o o - ~ i i ' h e

b u i l t ' ) . Verbs i n t h e Bole group have t h e r econs t ruc t ed tone p a t t e r n

(Lo. . . ) H i w i th one important except ion: ve rbs which a r e r e f l e x e s of

the r econs t ruc t ed *&c6 type have i n i t i a l h igh tone i n a l l t h e lan-

guages except ~ a r e k a r e . However, I poin ted out above t h a t no modern

' ~ u k a s (l970/71:270-7l) does not mention t h a t ve rbs of t h i s c l a s s can appear without s tem-f ina l -U. The speakers t h a t I worked with could pronounce a l l such verbs wi th -U but nf-vcr did f o r t h e f i r s t form vo- lun tppred when t h e second consonant was a Liquid o r semivowel. Verbs i n Karckare can a1 so be pronounced wi th F^ cm-f inal - U , but all vi'rbs of -the CVCu/$ class, rogardl PSS of what t h e se cond consonant is, a r e u s u a l l y pronounced wi t,h no tpm-firm L vowf>l .

Bole language r e t a i n s a f i n a l vowel f o r a l l r e f l e x e s o f *&CA steins, and

indeed some languages never have a stem f i n a l vowel f o r such ve rbs . It

t h e r e f o r e must have been a' f e a t u r e of t h e proto-language of t h e Bole

group t h a t s tem-final -U could be d e l e t e d where such d e l e t i o n w a s

phonologica l ly pe rmis s ib l e . De le t ion of f i n a l -6 gave ne'w CVC stems

which followed t h e canonica l ( L O . . . ) H i p a t t e r n and au toma t i ca l ly sh i f t ed .

t o h igh tone along wi th CV s tems. I n t h o s e stems where f i n a l - U ' S , f o r

phonological reasons , were no t d e l e t e d , t h e - U ' S were r e i n t e r p r e t e d by

speakers a s be ing epen the t i c a n d t h u s i r r e l e v a n t t o t h e canon ica l ver'c

stem tone p a t t e r n , w i th t h e r e s u l t t h a t even CVCu ve rbs were g iven h i g h

tone . CVCaa stems were not s u b j e c t t o f i n a l vowel d e l e t i o n nor were - SCu stems (because of t h e impossible s y l l a b l e t ypes which would r e s u l t ) ,

and t h e s e c l a s s e s of verbs t h u s have r e t a i n e d t h e Lo H i p a t t e r n . Evi-

dence i n Bolanci f o r t h i s explana t ion of t h e h igh tone i n C V C ( U ) s tems

comes from verbs used wi th feminine s i n g u l a r and wi th p lu ra l . s u b j e c t s .

When a verb has a second o r t h i r d person feminine s i n g u l a r s u b j e c t , a

s u f f i x -aC' ( C ' = fol lowing consonant) i s o b l i g a t o r i l y added t o make a

feminine s i n g u l a r sub jec t stem. When t h e sub jec t i s p l u r a l , a s u f f i x

-an i s added t o make a p l u r a l s u b j e c t stem. The r e s u l t a n t C ~ C ~ C ' and

C\C& stems always have t h e t o n e p a t t e r n Lo H i , e .g .

(6 ) d d w - ~ b o - ~ i i ' he b e a t ' d b ~ - a k - k b o - ~ i i she b e a t '

\ / \ d ~ w - a n - ~ o o - ~ i i t h e y b e a t '

f a l l i n g tone on t h e p e r f e c t i v e s u f f i x , e . g . ?Ld-k$u ' he b i t ' . By t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n h e r e , h igh tone on o r i g i n a l *CV& verbs must be an inno- v a t i o n , which means e i t h e r t h a t Karekare f i r s t s p l i t o f f , t h e n t h e an- c e s t o r t o t h e remaining languages of t h e Bole group gave h igh t o n e t o these v e r b s , o r t h a t Karekare has relowered t h e high tone on t h e s e v e r b s to b r i n g them t o n a l l y back i n l i n e wi th t h e dominant Lo H i p a t t e r n of t h e l a r g e ma jo r i t y of ve rbs . Some languages o t h e r t han Karekare have a s m a l l number of CVCu verbs with i n i t i a l low tone . I n most cases t h e r e i s e v i - dence t h a t t h e s e a r e of secondary o r i g i n , r e s u l t i n g from e i t h e r r e d u c t i o n of a l ong vowel o r geminate consonants wi th r e t e n t i o n of t h e o r i g i n a l t one , e . g . Gera hal-m{ 'he got wet ' ( c f . K i r f i hl6-W:), Galambu bay-&l; h e f o u g h t ' ( c f . K i r f i &a&-W:).

I n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n below, r u l e s f o r su-bjunct ive formation f o r each

language a r e given followed by cons ide ra t ions For a r e c . - r s i r ~ ^ . L i o i ' For

t h e subjunct ive i n t h a t group. Examples a r e t h e same i /e rds as znose -

used t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e p e r f e c t i v e .

(9) Bolanci : CV ve rbs r ep l ace t h e l e x i c a l vowel wi th - a and add -i; t h e tone i s low

&h/@ verbs end i n -i Lo H i

g ~ a a and S C a verbs end i n -e

Karekare: CV ve rbs r ep l ace t h e l e x i c a l vowel w i th -a arid add -i a s a s epa ra t e sy^ l lab le ; t ones a r e Lo Hi

C V C g ve rbs become c<c&~ / .

S ~ a a and ZCU verbs end i n -11; tones a r e Lo H i

Ki r f i : C V I V verbs become C V ~ V ~ V ~ ( y i = l e x i c a l vowel; t o n e s a r e H i ~ 0 ' ~

%!(V) ve rbs end i n -1; t o n e s a r e Lo Lo ( r e c a l l t h a t K i r f i does not preserve a C V C a c l -ass) - S C u verbs end i n -3'; t ones a r e Lo H i

(10) Bolanci

cu tli C a a s>i

5cu/O w0d i sol i

5 ~ a a kUm&

- S C u doncfe

r n b i a l e

Karekare

tar '> /

S2 1

d i k e

kali'

f a t d h r f i

K i r f i

t i i 7 1 ' e a t ' ' d r i n k '

'bite'

' b u i l d '

' h e a r ' 'go o u t ' ' sew'

b u r y '

For many monosyll~abic verbs t h e evidence sugges ts t h a t -i vas

added d i r e c t l y t o t h e p e r f e c t i v e stem, i nc lud ing vowel. I n K i r f i , t h e

^ ~ u k a s (1970/71:248) c a l l s t h i s aspec t t h e "Pr:iteritumU. D a t a on monosyllabic ve rbs come from Lul~cas. The remainder o f t h e d a t a a r e from my ova no te s but agree with those o f Lukas.

"one v e r b , *Le--& ' s e e ' , was recorded f o r K i r f i . I n the sub- \ /

j u r i c + i v ~ , t h i s verb i s nee^c .

added -i a s s i m i l a t e d t o t h e preceding vowel ( t h e Gera system i s s i m i -

l a r ) , while i n Bolanci and Karekare, t h e i i / u u o f t h e p e r f e c t i v e s t em

was rep laced by -a, e i t h e r a s d i s s i m i l a t i o n from t h e added -i, o r "by

analogy wi th verbs having l e x i c a l -a , which comprise t h e m a j o r i t y of

monosyllabic ve rbs .

For d i s y l l a b i c ve rbs , t h e evidence f o r f i n a l vowel i s c o n t r a d i c t o r y .

K i r f i ( a s w e l l a s Galambu and Gera) r e p l a c e s t h e l e x i c a l vowel w i t h -i

i n a l l c a s e s , b u t r e c a l l t h a t t h e s e languages have only a s i n g l e l e x i c a l

vowel c l a s s , t h e -a c l a s s having f a l l e n t o g e t h e r wi th t h e -U/@ c l a s s .

Bolanci and Karekare each have two vowel c l a s s e s i n t h e sub junc t ive (as

does Ngamo, whose system i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t of ~ o l a n c i ) , b u t wherever

Bolanci has f i n a l -i Karekare has f i n a l -e and v i c e v e r s a . A t pre-

s e n t I have no explana t ion f o r t h i s s t a t e of a f f a i r s . Note t h a t i n 'both

languages, S ~ a a and SCU ve rbs f a l l i n t o t h e same sub junc t ive vowel c l a s s .

Arr iv ing a t a h i s t o r i c a l exp lana t ion f o r t h e p re sen t s u b j u n c t i v e

t o n a l system i s a s problematic as t h a t f o r t h e vowels. As w i t h f i n a l

vowels, Ngamo p a t t e r n s wi th Bolanc i , whi le Galambu and Gera p a t t e r n w i t h

K i r f i . I n no case a r e subjunct ive tones not p r e d i c t a b l e e i t h e r from t h e

form of t h e verb i t s e l f o r from t h e t o n e i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e .

3 .2 . The Bade group.

( 1 1 ) Bade ( ~ a s h u a ) : a l l verbs r e p l a c e t h e l e x i c a l vowel w i t h -.1"; t ones a r e ( L O . . . ) H i

Ngizim: a l l ve rbs r e p l a c e t h e l e x i c a l vowel wi-Lh - L ; CV verbs have H i t one i f t h e consonant i s vo ice- l e s s , Lo tone i f t h e consonant i s vo iced ; o t h e r verbs have a l l Lo tones i f t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e i s Ca-, a l l H i t ones o therwise '.

Duwai : -i i s added t o t h e l e x i c a l form ( - L e l i d e s f i n a l l e x i c a l -6, b u t l e x i c a l -a i s re- t a i n e d t o g ive a diphthong d i ) ; t o n e s a r e ( L O ... ) H i

Bade ( ~ a s h u a )

k h m i \ / naayi

' ea'. "ike

' d r i n k '

' r e t u r n ' ' cook'

' s t e a l '

' buy ' 'wa i t f o r '

' exceed ' ' r i p e n ' ' sho? ' ' g r i n d '

Only Duwai adds t h e subjunct ive -i d i r e c t l y t o t h e l e x i c a l stem,

i nc lud ing i t s f i n a l vowel. If t h i s i s t h e system t o be r e c o n s t r u c t e d

f o r t h e proto-language, replacement of f i na , l l e x i c a l vowel by -i i n

a l l verbs i n Bade and Ngizim can be expla ined by a n a l o g i c a l ex t ens ion

from -U verbs

Numerically, t h e

verbs . The ( L O . . . )

where t h e -U i s e l i d e d by t h e -i) t o -a ve rbs .

-U verbs a r e many t imes more common than t h e -a

H i tone p a t t e r n seems t o be r e c o n s t r u c t a b l e i n t h e

sub junc t ive f o r t h i s group. Ngizim and some Bade d i a l e c t s hav? tone

p a t t e r n s o t h e r t han t h i s one, b u t i n Ngizim tones a r e determined "by

i n i t i a l s y l l a b l e shape whereas i n Bade they a r e determined by i n i t i a l

consonant type (ve rbs 'beginning i n voiced obs t ruen t s a r e low, o t h e r s

h i g h ) . Since tone d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n depends on e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t f ac -

t o r s i n t h e s e languages, t o n a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n i n t h e sub junc t ive i s

almost c e r t a i n l y a secondary phenomenon i n t hose Bade group languages

which have i t .

any ( b u t not a l l ) CV ana CeCV verbs i n Duwai add a p r e f i x aa- i n a s p e c t s o t h e r t han he p e r f e c t i v e . This i s not a s p e c i f i c propert,y of t h e sub junc t ive .

b . The Kanakuru system

Newrnan (1974) has g iven a complete d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e v e r b a l sys-

tem of Kanakuru, a language of t h e Bole group somewhat more d i s t a n t l y

r e l a t e d t o t h e languages documented above than any of them a r e t o each

o t h e r . The Kanakuru system shows l i t t l e resemblance t o t h a t r econs t ruc -

t e d h e r e . I n p a r t i c u l a r , it does not have t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s noted i n

( 3 ) between f i n a l vowel c l a s s and stem shape nor does it use an inva-

r i a n t ( L O ...) H i p a t t e r n i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e o r any o t h e r a s p e c t . How-

eve r , comparative evidence al lows us t o d iscover t h e i n n o v a ~ i o n s t h a t

have taken p l ace i n Kanakuru.

Kanakuru verbs have two f i n a l vowel c l a s s e s : -i and -e , e . g . \ / y i n ' s t o p ' , kap& 'sow' . Hewman (1975:78-79) equates t h e s e vowel

c l a s s e s wi th t h e Proto-Chadic -a and -a c l a s s e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , and

a t f i r s t glance t h i s seems c o r r e c t . However, when sub jec t ed t o c l o s e

s c r u t i n y it does not ho ld up i n important d e t a i l s . F ra j zyng ie r (1.976)

gives us t h e key f o r unders tanding how t h e Kanakuru system matches the

r e s t o f t h e Bole group. I n F r a j z y n g i e r ' s a n a l y s i s , verbs w i t h f i n a l

-i a l l have t h e r o o t s t r u c t u r e CVC- whi le verbs wi th f i n a l -e have

r o o t s t r u c t u r e CVCC-, CWC-, o r CVcc- (where cc = a geminate consonan t ) .

Thus verbs i n -i a r e t h o s e of t h e s t r u c t u r e h, and ve rbs i n -e a r e

t hose of t h e s t r u c t u r e %V. I n f a c t t h e verb r o o t s which F r a j z y n g i e r

analyzes a s CVcc- never appear wi th a geminate consonant, b u t t h e e v i -

dence t h a t t h e consonants i n ques t ion de r ive h i s t o r i c a l l y from gemi-

n a t e s i s very s t r o n g , even i f one r e j e c t s F r a j z y n g i e r ' s synchronic ana-

l y s i s . F i r s t , comparative evidence from Pero and o t h e r Bole group l a n -

guages shows t h a t gemination o f t h e medial consonant of ve rb r o o t s ,

o f t e n t o show p l u r a l i t y of s u b j e c t o r o b j e c t , has been a common p r o c e s s

i n t h i s group. Second, sound changes wi th in Kanakuru a l l o w u s t o under-

s t and what happened t o p rev ious ly geminate consonants. S i n g l e s t o p s

i n t e r v o c a l i c a l l y have weakened t o corresponding sonorants , e . g . *&J' > Lr3' 'chew' ( s e e Newman 1970) . This sound change d i d not a f f e c t gemi-

n a t e consonants , but s i n c e t h e r e w a s no longer a c o n s t r a s t between gemi-

na t e and simple consonants , t h e geminates were s i m p l i f i e d t o s imple con-

sonants -with no reductlion i n t h e number o f c o n t r a s t s , e .g . *kapp6 > kape

'sow' ( c f . Bolanci kappd) . F ra j syng ie r (1976:202-203) assumes t h a t

f o r a l l verbs of t h e shape CVCe, t h e second C was or igina:xr g:miiia'e.

However, I be l ieve a t l e a s t some CVCe verbs i n Kanakura i r e re.flp:.e.s

of Proto-West Chadic *CVCa, and t h a t Kanakuru C V C i a r e r e f l e x e s of

Proto-West Chadic *CVCu.

Let us now compare some Kanakuru ve rbs wi th t h e i r cognates i n

Bolanci i n both t h e p e r f e c t i v e and sub junc t ive forms:

1 3 ) Bolanci Kanakuru

P e r f e c t i v e Subjunct ive

' r e f u s e ' k d d - k h 3 ' k h d

' s p i t " tUf6- thi' tub:

' sweep' d&& - dame darn;

I cookf d inkd &nk& cr inge

' sow' kapp6- kipp& kaP&

It i s immediately apparent from t h e s e d a t a t h a t "ohe f i n a l vowels of t h e

Kanakuru l e x i c a l forms correspond t o t h e Bolanci l e x i c a l ( p e r f e c t i v e )

forms, bu t t o t h e Bolanci sub junc t ive .

So f a r t h e d i scuss ion of Kanakuru has cen te red on d i s y l l a b i c v e r b s .

Kanakuru has no " t rue" monosyllabic v e r b s , b u t t h e r e a r e verbs of t h e

form CW. Some of t h e s e a r e r e f l e x e s of d i s y l l a b i c verbs wi th l o s s of

an i n t e r v o c a l i c consonant, e .g . t a i ' go ' < *tawÂ < * t a r ; ( .P? .

Hausa t a f ; ) , bu t some a r e cognate w i t h t r u e monosyllabic verbs i1-i

o t h e r languages. I n CW verbs , t h e same two f i n a l vowel c l a s s e s , -i

and - e , a r e found a s wi th normal d i s y l l a b i c ve rbs . Again, a comparison

wi th Bolanci i s i n s t r u c t i v e :

( 1 4 ) Bolanci Kanakuru

P e r f e c t i v e Subjunct ive

' e a t ' ti'i- tii t u i

' r e t u r n ' /Â maa - mA i m a i

A s i n ( 1 3 ) ~ t h e Kanakuru forms correspond t o the Bolanci subjunc-

t i v e forms. Nemari equated t h e f i n a l -i of t h e s e CVV verbs w i t h t h e

vowel of t he Proto-Charh'c -a c l a s s . Tn t h e case of r e f l e x e s of t r u e

monosyll a b i c ve rbs , however, t h e proper i d e n t i f i c a t i o n wi-th t h e Froto-

Chadic vowels would have been t h e f i r s t vowel. The f i n a l vowel i s t h e

subjunct ive -i added t o t h e o r i g i n a l l e x i c a l stem, which inc ludes t h e

l e x i c a l vowel. The h i s t o r i c a l p a t h by which Kanakuru began u t i l i z i n g

t h e subjunct ive stem a s i t s l e x i c a l stem remains t o be d iscovered .

Tones of Kanakuru verbs have not y e t been mentioned. Kanakuru

verbs f a l l i n t o two tone c l a s s e s , H i Lo and Lo H i , l a r g e l y p r e d i c t a b l e

on t h e b a s i s of t h e i n i t i a l consonant: i f t h e verb begins i n a vo iced

s t o p it i s H i Lo; i f it begins i n a v o i c e l e s s o r g l o t t a l i z e d s t o p i t s

tones a r e Lo H i ; i f it begins i n a sonoran t , t o n e i s not p r e d i c t a b l e .

These tone p a t t e r n s a r e s u b j e c t t o cons iderable con tex tua l m o d i f i c a t i o n ,

however, so t h a t t hey must be looked upon a s under ly ing t o n e s upon which

morphophonemic r u l e s o p e r a t e , no t a s some s o r t o f canonica l phone t i c

shape f o r ve rbs , which t h e (Lo . . . ) H i p a t t e r n i n o t h e r languages appea r s

t o b e . Without going i n t o f u r t h e r d e t a i l h e r e , I w i l l s imply say t h a t

a l l t h e evidence sugges ts t h a t t h e p re sen t t o n a l system f o r verbs i n

Kanakuru involves cons iderable mod i f i ca t ion of t h e o r i g i n a l system since

t h e s p l i t o f t h a t language from i t s Bole group r e l a t i v e s .

5 . Summary

Canonical l e x i c a l s t r u c t u r e s f o r verb stems i n Proto-^est Chadic

were r econs t ruc t ed , u s ing d a t a from a number of f a i r l y d i s t a n t l y r e l a t e d

languages. As i n Newman ( 1 9 ~ 5 ) ~ two f i n a l vowel c l a s s e s f o r ve rbs were

r econs t ruc t ed , a -U c l a s s and an -a c l a s s , b u t i n c o n t r a s t t o

Newman's r e c o n s t r u c t i o n , t h e s e two vowel c l a s s e s were shown not t o ap-

pea r f r e e l y w i t h verb stems of any s t r u c t u r e . The r econs t ruc t ed -a

c l a s s included only verbs of t h e shape CV o x - 3 ~ ~ though ve rbs of t h e -U

c l a s s could have any of t h e shapes CV, SCV, o r $CV. I n f u r t h e r c o n t r a s t

t o Newman's Chadic r econs t ruc t ion , t one f o r verbs i n t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d

West Chadic system was found t o fo l low a p r e d i c t a b l e ( L O . . . ) H i p a t t e r n .

F i n a l l y , a h i s t o r i c a l analysi-s of t h e Kanakuru v e r b a l system was

given i n t h e l i g h t of t he r econs t ruc t ed Bole group system.

APPENDIX

The following table i,s a list of fifty verb stems which can be

reconstructed with a high level of confidence for West Chadic. They

have been grouped according to stem class, and within each class, in

approximate order of descending confidence in details of how they should.

be reconstructed. Cognates from every language where they have been

identified are included so that other investigators may have as broad a

range of data as possible to compare within this group and with languages

outside this group. Most sound changes affecting consonants are either

documented or are immediately obvious from the data here. Fairly syste-

matic vowel changes in three languages can be seen in these data: in

Gera, medial short *a has usually reduced to i or U, and in Kana-

kuru *a has usually reduced to a. In Bolanci *a has usually become

o in -U stems. Note that in Bolanci a in verb stems assimilates to

final -e in the subjunctive and in verbal nouns. Furthermore, in

Lukas' (1970-72) list of about 400 verbs, less than ten have short e

as their vowel. The implication is that short e and o, which are

fairly common in Bole group languages, may all come from *a. Within

the data here, vowel correspondences other than those noted have so far

not allowed the establishment of any systematic sound laws.

An interesting observation in identifying cognates is that while

CVCCu verb stems are numerically among the most common type in all the

languages, very few such stems can be easily reconstructed. On the

other hand, a large number of CV stems,of which most languages have less

than twenty, can be reconstructed with considerable confidence. For CV

stems, even the stem vowel (a or U) can be reconstructed, but among CVCV

stems, where the final -U/-a distinction should also be found, very

fe-w verbs can be reconstructed with certainty as having final -a.

The vowel system used in the reconstructions is given in footnote 5.

The 1-etter V stands for a reconstructed vowel whose quality is uncertain.

3 '10 m

3 '(0 3 /a c

3 '(0

4-1

ri 9 m 03 U U

ID TJ crt m

c ' I T S (0 -2 I -2 (0 .r-l (U 'ri '(0Q '(09 ' a * g,(D ' r i c % G ' r i G

Q /<S -3 i" 2 04 3 - * ,Q- Q -

l ~1-13 ' 0 3 - P ^ I C H

3 C k e

C1-l ~ 1 - 1 /g 0) .3 (U

Q Q 5 : 'E!, C - C - U- 03

ri '3 1-1 I-] ? /(D ft .1-1 - *

. - '3 '3 8 I-] !-l

Â¥" /(d / o '4 h0 CD CD CO CO-

/(D ,m M M A S-1 .d

Â¥" /"I /(D '"I 2 A A M

d W 0 0) T-i c6 a ) Ej F ni N :3 a:' ^ a m v4 ;4 0 U :3 kd 1.1-1 Ã‘ Q ;l:!

REFERENCES

Fra j zyng ie r , Zygmunt. 1976. "Rule i n v e r s i o n i n Chadic: an exp lana t ion" , Stud. Afr. Ling. 7 : 195-210.

Jungrai thmayr, Herrmann. i n p r e s s . "A t e n t a t i v e f o u r s t a g e model f o r t h e development o f t h e Chadic languages", i n Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Hamito-Semitic Linguistics ( ~ p r i l 197b ? . Florence.

Lukas, Johannes. 1970/71, 1971/72. "Die P e r s o n a l i a und das pr imare Verb i m Bolanci ( ~ o r d n i ~ e r i e n ) " , A f r . U . ~ b e r s e e 54 : 237-86 ; 55 : 114-38.

Newman, Paul . 1965. "A b r i e f no te on t h e Maha language", J. West Afr. Lang. 2 : 57-58.

. 1970. " H i s t o r i c a l sound l a w s i n Hausa and i n Dera ( ~ a n a k u r u ) " , J . West A f r . Long. 7:39-51.

. 1972. "Sy l l ab l e weight a s a phonologica l v a r i a b l e " . Stud. Afr. Ling. 3:301-23.

. 1973. "Grades, vowel-tone c l a s s e s and ex tens ions i n t h e Hausa v e r b a l system", Stud. A f r . Ling. 4 : 297-346.

. 1974. The Kanakuru Language. West Afr ican Language Monograph S e r i e s 9 . Leeds.

. 1975. " ~ r o t o - ~ h a d i c verb c l a s s e s " , Folia Orientalta [ ~ r a k 6 w ] 16 : 65-84.

. 1977. "Chadic c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and r econs t ruc t ions" , Afroasiatie Ling. 5(1):1-42.

. i n p r e s s . "The formation o f t h e imper fec t ive ve rb stem i n Chadic", A f r . U . fibersee.

Parsons , F. W . 1960161. "The ve rba l system i n Hausa" , Afr. U . Ubersee 44:l-36.

Schuh, Russe l l G. 1971. "Verb forms and verb a s p e c t s i n Kgizim" , i n Special Chadic Issue, ed. by P . Newman, pp. 47-60. J. A f r . Lang. 1 0 ( l ) .

. 1974175. "Nunation and gender i n ~ a d e " , A f r . U . Ubersee 58: 106-119.

. 1975. I1B6de, yg6 :d j in and D6:ai i n t h e P o l y g l o t t a Africans" , A f r . Lang./Langues africaines 1:290-99.

Margaret G . Skinner

The presence of grammatical gender i n some 'sut tnot a l l Cr.a-d.ic _an-

guages has been of h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e t o t h e s tudy o f t h e fanlly.

Many l i n g u i s t s have used t h i s c r i t e r i o n a s t h e b a s i s f o r i t s i n c l u s i o n

i n t h e l a r g e r Hamito-Semitic fami ly , o r , i n t h e absence of gyamma'cic?.!

gender , i t s exc lus ion . i n an e a r l y l i n g u i s t i c use of t h e t e r m " ~ a m i r i c " ,

Lepsi.us (1863) inc luded Hausa among those African non-Semitic lanm:.iges

which d i s t i n g u i s h gender. Nearly a century l a t e r , Lukas ( l936 /' used

p r i m a r i l y t h e presence of grammatical gender t o d i s t i n g u i s h h i s so-ca.i-led

" Chado-FIamiti c" group from o t h e r languages, h i s so-called. " ~ a n d a r a "

group ( i n c l u d i n g languages now g e n e r a l l y recognized a s Chadic) which,

according t o him, c o n s t i t u t e d a s epa ra t e grouping because c f t h e absence

of grammatical gender .

Such c l a s s i f i c a t i o n on t h e b a s i s o f pu re ly t y p o l o g i c a l c r i t e r i a h a s

been widely discounted s ince t h a t t ime . l Yet , though not as a b a s i s f o r

subgrouping, I t h i n k it of i n t e r e s t t o cons ider t h e wide range of

* P a l a , c a l l e d f d u c ~ k ~ by speakers of the language, i s sgoken by some 20,000 Nigerians concent ra ted i n e i g h t v i l l a g e s sou theas t of Kingi , Bauchi S t a t e . A f t e r t h e i n i t i a l d i scovery t h a t 'god' took feminine gen- de r a t t r a c t e d me t o t h e language, I s t ayed t e n months in 1973-7b r e h e a r - ching Pa' a , funded by Fulbright-Hays Doctora l ~ e l l o w s h i p GECT 0-73-5396. T rrade one follow-up t r i p i n t h e slimmer o f 1975, assis-ced by t h e H i b b a r d Award of t h e Wisconsin chapter of t h e Phi Kappa Phi honorary s o c i e t y .

This paper has b e n e f i t e d from t h e h e l p f u l sugges t ions of E , Wolff and C . Hoffmann a t t h e Colloqui.um, and R . New-man, whose e d i t o r i a l sug- g;?st ions r e s u l t e d i n considerabl-e r e v i s i o n of t h e nominal a n a l y s i s . Only t h e au thor i s , of course , r e spons ib l e f o r the e r r o r s which remain.

'Viz. Greenberg (1966: h5 ) : "Here f i n Lukas], once aga in , w e meet t h e t y p o l o g i c a l t h ink ing which has produced such confusion i n r ega rd t o ] i n -

. , - 2 3 :;"-.i~ r e l a t i o n s h i p s . Lakas excludes iarig~iagr-S which do no t have s e x g e n d e r .

degrees of gender d i s t i n c t i o n made i n Chadic languages.

A t t h e one extreme, languages such a s G i s iga ( ~ u k a s 1970:17) make

no gender d i s t i n c t i o n s o f any k ind . S i m i l a r l y i n Margi ( ~ o f f m a n n 1963:

66-67), sex i s no t a morphological ca tegory , though t h e r e a r e occas iona l

words which r e f e r t o t h e male o r female of a s p e c i e s . Te ra has a r e l i c

of what might have been an e a r l i e r gender system i n t h e words which take

t h e t l i n k e r versus what Newman c a l l s t h e "I" l i n k e r (Newman 1970:154-

5 5 ) . Other languages such a s Ngizim ( ~ c h u h 1972) d i s t i n g u i s h sex gender

of animates , w i t h a b i t o f fuzz ines s i n t h e a r e a o f animal c h a r a c t e r s i n

o r a l n a r r a t i v e s , whi le lumping a l l inanimates i n t o t h e ca t egory "femi-

nine". Conversely, Kanakuru (Newman 1974:85-86), i n which grammatical

gender i s c l o s e l y t i e d t o semantic s ex , d i s t i n g u i s h e s words which r e f e r

t o females , lumping a l l o t h e r s i n t o t h e ca tegory "masculine" f o r demon-

s t r a t i v e and pronoun agreement.

I n languages such a s Hausa and, a s we s h a l l s e e , P a ' a , words wi th

no semantic s e x a r e ass igned masculine o r feminine gender i n a seemingly

a r b i t r a r y f a sh ion . As Parsons (1960, 1961, 1963) has d e a l t exhaus t ive ly

wi th t h e ques t ion of gender i n Hausa, I s h a l l r e f e r t o Hausa only f o r

comparative purposes i n o u t l i n i n g t h e system o f gender i n P a ' a .

P a l a has what I would desc r ibe a s a f u l l gender system, w i th t h e

gender of t h e noun governing t h e choice from two s e t s of posses s ive pro-

nouns, masculine o r feminine e q u a l i z e r - s t a b i l i z e r s , and, i n t h e c a s e o f

s u b j e c t s , o f t h e second and t h i r d person p reve rba l pronouns. Addit ion-

a l l y , t h e r e a r e f a i r l y r e g u l a r endings f o r masculine and feminine nouns

though, l i k e Hausa, t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l common except ions . The one a s p e c t

of t h e Hausa gender agreement system which P a ' a l a c k s i s t h e l i n k e r , f o r

possess ion i s expressed i n P a l a by t h e noun possessed fo l lowed by t h e

posses so r , w i th no phonological change i n e i t h e r .

I s h a l l beg in o u t l i n i n g t h e s p e c i f i c s of P a ' a w i t h t h e s e t o f

possess ive pronouns s u f f i x e d t o masculine nouns fol lowed by t h o s e su f -

f i x e d t o feminine nouns.

Suf f ixed Possess ive Pronouns

Suff ixed t o Masculine Noun Suf f ixed t o Feminine tJoun

Singula-r P l u r a1 S ingu la r P l u r a l / \ / \ 1 s t -nan 1 -nig -YaYl - y i ~

As can be seen , t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e two s e t s i s n e u t r a l i z e d i n

t h e t h i r d person pronouns, mascul ine, feminine, and p l u r a l . Thus w e \ I / \

have hara-yayi 'compound-my' and matsi-nu 'chest-your ( m - s g . ) ' , but

hara-s& and mut&i - s i f o r ' h i s ( o r h e r ) house' and ' h i s ( o r he r )

c h e s t ' , r e s p e c t i v e l y . The n f o r masculine and y f o r feminine d icho-

tomy i s apparent i n t h i s s e t , and i s c a r r i e d through i n t h e foll.owing

paradigm, t h e independent possess ive pronouns ( 'mine, yours ' , e t c . ) . It

i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e , however, t h a t he re t h e r e i s a d i f f e r e n c e between

t h e masculine and feminine t h i r d person pronouns when r e f e r r i n g t o a

feminine s i n g u l a r noun, a s t h e v o i c e l e s s l a t e r a l f r i ca t ive - shows up t o

d i s t i n g u i s h t h e feminine posses so r . h he voi.celess l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e

appears i n o t h e r paradigms combined wi th a t o mark feminine, and w i t h

i t o mark p l u r a l i t y . )

he arcen t ' indicat,es mid t o n e , though the tone of t h i s pronc'un v a r i e s considera'r,ly w i t h t,he- t o n e of t h e preceding vowel.

Independent Possessive Pronouns

Masculine Referent

Singular Plural

I . " . ' . aniani

Feminine Referent

Singular Plural

AYAY i Ly imi ayu

'> / ^ \ ayryayi AY^

1 /Â asu

isin ast1g3

The n masculine, y feminine dichotomy is carried through to the

equalizer-stabilizers, the equivalent of Hausa nee/cee, which can also

serve in both languages as enclitics of emphasis. In Pafa, the forms

are na masculine and ya feminine, as in the following front-shifted

emphatic sentences : h & tl/-ki Fiw\n6 k\ 'house it-is they-[ re11

are-building [rel]' , and Aki v na na ndsrJ' c3'ntA ka 'here it-was he did-

for-him work [rell'. Adverbials of time, place, etc. usually take the

masculine na form. The na form is also used almost invariably for

sentence-level emphasis.

The preverbal pronoun-tense-aspect markers are differentiated, for

gender in the second and third person singular in agreement with the

subject, whether the subject is manifest in the surface structure or

underlying. Unlike the possessive pronoun paradigms, there is no neu-

tralization of the third person pronoun masculine/feminine dichotomy, as

the following paradigm will show. The masculine/feminine distinction of

the second and third person singular is, however, neutralized in the

plural.

3 For ease in typing, the voiceless lateral fricative [ Â ± is written

as tl, the voiced [ t o ] as dl. They are of course unit phonemes, as are the prenasal consonants mb, nd, n j , etc.

Freverba l Pronouns --

Completed Continuous

S ingu la r P l u r a l

impers. a4

[ v b ] .

S ingu la r Fl or a 1 1 \ / \

mana iT&na

I n t h i s s e t , i marks feminine and p l u r a l , while U and. a a r e found.

i n masculine and/or s i n g u l a r pronouns.

I n t h e nominal system, on the o t h e r hand, p o l y s y l l a b i c feminine

nouns, with few excep t ions , end i n -a. P o l y s y l l a b i c masculine nouns

end i n vowels o t h e r than a , i n diphthongs, and i n resonant consonants .

There a r e , however, a s i s t h e case i n Hausa, a number of common mascu-

l i n e nouns which end i n a . Monosyllabic nouns a r e a l s o l e s s r e g u l a r i n

correspondence between f i n a l vowel and gender.

P l u r a l s a r e formed on phonological grounds, such tha t , po lysy l l ab i c

nouns which end i n -a form t h e i r p l u r a l s by r e p l a c i n g ;he -a w i t h

-i, and po lysy l l ab i c nouns which end i n any o t h e r vowel, diphthong, o r

consonant, add t h e p l u r a l s u f f i x -aani, with o r without t he fina.1

vowel. A l l monosyllabic nouns form t h e i r p l u r a l s wi th t h e - a a n i s ' a f f ix .

p--

he impersonal pronoun is a suspected Haw? borroving , though i n common usage i n P a ' a .

'"I'ne second person p l u r a l completed p reve rba l pronoun i s a d i sconz i - nuous one, surrounding t h e verb wi th o r without i t s a t t a c h e d pronoun o'bje':t. Tf a noun ob jec t fo l lows , t h e f inal- -ni i s never used.

he d i f f e r e n c e i n tone between t h e coin1 l e t - J and cofl~.iin.ious i s a redundant tense-aspect marl'er, as t h e form o f t h e f o l l o v i n r vt-rL--the continuous t a k e s t h e v e r b a l n o u n ~ g i v e s as much i nf'ormat, i on.

P a ' a Nouns

Po lysy l l ab i c Feminine Nouns P o l y s y l l a b i c Masculine Nouns

S ingular P l u r a l Gloss S ingu la r P l u r a l Glos S

t a k a f tak:!' ' arrow ' b i m i m birniyaan;

dlh?;rft&a f dl&rfthmi ' bee ' b a f t a l t i m b i ~ i l t i y a a n ' i

f hifiybl; ' d i s h ' \ l jknk:!' m f i n k i y & i n i /

j i n k a a n i

' ashes ' ' b a r k '

' b r e a s t ' ' cooking p o t '

' r o o t '

t o a d '

' r a t '

Gender Except ions

( p l u r a l s r e g u l a r )

v 3 s i la m S i l i I axe I / < . " I r a n g a s i f r&ng&kyaan^. 'mudfish '

j &a m jam:!' 'beans ' \ I vagwe f v>gw&y$an^. ' t h o r n '

c i r i \ / m c i r l 'moon, month'

k00 t A m k 0 0 t i 'shoe I

gaculi m gacu l j ' ' u l c e r '

Gender and P l u r a l Exceptions

gun jUwA ' / \ m gun juwaani ' s p e c i a l ceremonial wine '

Monosyllabi c Nouns

l

n a a m n a a n i ' a n t e lope ' ' \

l

m /Â I z a a z a a n i 'bow'

W& i m weyaani ' gras s ' l ' \

I Â¥ \ y&i m yeyaani ' mount a i n ' k@i f k&iaani 'wind'

b i i f \ / \ biyaani 'bag '

b in m birdan: ' a n t h i l l '

kan f k'miank ' sauce ' . \ / \ n j i r m n j i r a a n i ' anus '

It should be noted t h a t t h e l i s t s , even of e x c e p t i o ~ ~ c ' , are by no n ~ & c *

exhaus t ive , b u t a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of c a t e g o r i e s of Pa ' a 11cra~nals.

There a r e , a d d i t i o n a l l y , two nominal s u f f i x e s - c a b and - c i k i

which, while no longer f u l l y p roduc t ive , s e rve t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e gend-2r.

Nominal S u f f i x

Feminine Masculine

S ingu la r P l u r a l Gloss S ingu la r P l u r a l IJ-Loss

\ I / \ gancgk> gancaki ' cheek' zLnc i k l zenc ikaani ' b i r d '

/ i \ / I / \ gbdincaka ghdincski 'Western cob I s a n c i k i s anc ikaan i ' cock'

\ / Â I / \ r l n c s k i rync$ki ' c rab ' rnhzi&ciki muzancil=aani ' h u n t e r 1

ndincska nd incsk i ' jawt

v ~ k ~ c ~ k ~ v ~ l & c a k i o r i b i

fducek> fduc Aki ' P a ' a woman o r language '

One i n d i c a t i o n of t h e s u f f i x a l na tu re of t h e -caka/-ciki element i s

found i n t h e fo l lowing examples i n which p l u r a l s a r e formed withour the

s u f f i x :

Â¥ i / \ / riarcaka fiarwi ' cow' samb6rciki s&ib&i ' g u e s t ' r - l \ " \ / \

. -~ncska n d h t l i ' j a w ' d r i c i k : wuraani ' l e o p a r d ' ( a l t e r n a t i v e p l u r a l ) / X \ . / I \

nai laclk: l n g i l a a n i ' l i z a r d ' If I \ I f \ l < ~ k i r ~ ~ : ~ k i kokinaani ' l a n d

mon i to r '

T h e r e i s g e n e r a l l y no c h a r i g ~ i n nomj n i l modifier;:;, w b e t n e r thoy

which t h e masculine nouns t a k e kaka, and t h e feminine k a k i , t h e

oppos i te f i n a l vowel o f most s i n g u l a r mascul ine and feminine noiins. I n

c o n t r a s t t o t h e Hausa c a s e , adverbs g e n e r a l l y t a k e masculine pronouns

and e q u a l i z e r - s t a b i l i z e r s when used a s s u b j e c t s . Verbal nouns do l i k e -

w i se , poss ib ly because v e r b a l nouns u s u a l l y end i n o , normally a

masculine noun ending.

I n conclus ion , P a ' a i s a language wi th a f u l l y developed system of

graamat ica l gender , i nc lud ing a s e p a r a t e s e t o f s u f f i x e d posses s ive

pronouns f o r masculine and feminine nouns, two d i s t i n c t equa l i ze r -

s t a b i l i z e r s , and d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n by gender i n t h e second and t h i r d per -

son s i n g u l a r p reve rba l pronouns. A l l o f t h i s does n o t , o f cou r se , make

P a ' a any more o r l e s s Chadicthan a language such a s Gis iga o r Ngizim

which does not have grammatical gender b u t which has many o t h e r l e x i c a l

and s y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s i n common wi th o t h e r members of t h e Chadic fami ly .

REFERENCES

Greenberg, J. H. 1966. The Languages o f Africa. Bloomington.

Hoffmann, C . 1963. A Grammar of the Margi Language. London.

Leps ius , C . R . 1863. Standard Alphabet for Reducing Unuritten Lan- guages and Foreign Graphic Systems t o a Uniform Orthography i n Euro- pean Le t ters , second e d i t i o n . London and B e r l i n .

Lukas, J . 1936. "The l i n g u i s t i c s i t u a t i o n i n t h e Lake Chad a r e a i n Cent ra l Af r i ca" , Africa 9:332-b9.

-- . 1970. Stud-ten zur Spraehe der Gisiga. Hamburg.

Newman, Pau l . 1970. A Grammar of Tera. Berkeley and ~ o s - Angeles.

. 1974. The Kandkuru Language. Leeds.

Parsons , F. W . 1960. "An in t roduc t ion t o gender -in Ha.usa", A f r . Lang. ~ t u d . 1 : 117- 36.

. 1961. "The opera t ion o f Gender i n Hausa: t h e pe r sona l pronouns and g e n i t i v e copula", A f y . Lanq. Stud. 2:100-24.

. 1963. "The opera t ion of gender i n Hausa: s t a b i l i z e r , dependent nominals ar,d q u a l i f i e r s " , Afr. Lang. Stud. h 966-207.

Schuh, Pussr-:l G . 1972. Aspects of Ngizim Syntax. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , Un ive r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los Ange Les .

tapers "i-n Lhadie Lzng~4ist.t.c.s Ed. P . Newman and R . M . Newman Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum 1977

DOMESTIC ANIMALS I N CHADIf-

Nei l Skinner

The fo l lowing e igh teen etymologies a r e an at tempt t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r

d a t a a t p re sen t a v a i l a b l e , bo th f o r Chadic and f o r o t h e r branches of

A f r o a s i a t i c , and t o sugges t , very t e n t a t i v e l y , what might have been t h e

etymon f o r each. The e x t e n t t o which any of t h i s may be r e l e v a n t f o r

a ) Proto-Chadic forms and ( b ) t h e s u b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of Chadic languages

depends l a r g e l y on t h e r e l a t i v e d a t i n g . Which of t h e modern forms a r e

i n f a c t d i r e c t r e f l e x e s o f Proto-Chadic forms and which o f them a r e l a t e r

borrowings, t h e s e a r e t h e ques t ions which t h i s c o l l e c t i o n of d a t a prompts

us t o ask . I f g o a t s , sheep, and c a t t l e a l l were in t roduced t o A f r i c a

from Asia i n Neo l i t h i c t imes ( ~ u r d o c k 1 9 5 9 ) , and i f Proto-Chadic was

spoken i n A f r i c a be fo re t h a t pe r iod , t hen probably only t h e forms f o r

d o g 1 , ' ch i cken ' , and, p o s s i b l y , 'guinea-fowl' a r e s t r i c t l y r e l e v a n t

evidence f o r Proto-Chadic.

Apart from A f r o a s i a t i c languages, Kanuri ( o r ~ a z a - T e d a - ~ u b u ) fi-

gures i n t h e etymologies f o r 'camel ' , ' c a t 1 , ' dog ' , ' h o r s e ' , 'ram', and

' s h e e p ' . ( ~ a n u r i a l s o has k a j i , which may be Hausa k a a j i i ' c h i c k e n s ' ,

f o r 'gu inea- fowl ' . ) Proto-Niger-Congo t o o f i g u r e s i n t h o s e f o r ' ch i cken '

and ' g o a t ' . On t h e assumption t h a t an A f r o a s i a t i c language served as

t h e v e h i c l e of t r a n s f e r of t h e name f o r t h e newly introduced, animal , i t

seems l i k e l y t h a t these--except f o r 'camel1--were a l l borrowings from

s ~ ~ c n a language. Of course , t h e r e have been more r e c e n t borrowings the

o t h e r way, by Chadic languages from Kanuri, such a s the forms f o r

' donkey' , ' c a t ' , and. ' camel' , used by s e v e r a l languages spoken i n t h e

r.eighborhood of Kanuri .

* Thanks a r e due t,o the Uni v e r s i t y of' Wisconsin African S tud i e s Program f o r enabl ing mr- t o t , ravel t o the Col.loquium; t o Th. Schumann and K . E b e r t i'^r c o r r e c t infi; iry d a t a f o r Iblasa arid. Kera, r e s p e c t i v t ' l y ; arui t,o R. I l c tz ron , who ki-ndl-y dr^w my at t ,@nt i o n t o the Dolgopol ' sk i j r e f e rence .

The t r o u b l e w i th t h e o l d e r words h e r e , e s p e c i a l l y ' d o g ' , ' c h i c k e n ' ,

and ' goa t ' , i s t h a t t h e r e i s such v a r i e t y among t h e modern forms, t h a t

a t t h i s s t a g e one must be i n doubt whether t hey a r e a l l , i n f a c t , r e l a -

t e d . I have a l s o made assumptions a s t o which consonant t o e n t e r under

Cl o r C z o r C 3 , and which a s p r e f i x o r s u f f i x . However, most p r e f i x e s

hypothesized seem t o be *k-/g-, and t h i s i s u n l i k e l y t o be a co inc i -

dence. S u f f i x e s a r e more v a r i a b l e , bu t t h e r e seem t o be a s ign i f ican-c

percentage of *K and * T , a s one would expect i n A f r o a s i a t i c .

So f a r , t o my knowledge, no gene r i c te rm f o r 'domest ic animal ' is

r e c o n s t r u c t a b l e , b u t t h e r e i s some in te res -c ing over lapping wi th terms

f o r i n d i v i d u a l s p e c i e s , s e e 'cow' ( l ) and ' h o r s e ' ( l ) .

The s t a r r e d form a t t h e head of each etymology con ta ins what appear

t o be t h e common consonants under ly ing t h e modern forms and which may

have f i g u r e d i n t h e etymon.

Data have been taken from s t anda rd sources l i s t e d i n Skinner ( i n

p r e s s ) , except f o r t h e Cush i t i c c i t a t i o n s , which have been taken from

Dolgopol' s k i j (1973) . I n one i n s t a n c e , I have d e l i b e r a t e l y depa r t ed

from the s p e l l i n g of t h e source , w r i t i n g e f o r e and o f o r 3 i n

t h e Sura and Tumak d a t a .

Languages from which d a t a have been quoted have been numbered a s

fol lows. The grouping i s based on Hoffmann (1971) .

1. Hausa

2 . Gwandara

3 a ) Angas

b) Sura

c ) Kofyar

d ) Mont01

e ) Gerka

4. * Ron

a ) Fyer

b ) Bokkos

c ) Daffo

d ) Sha

F - ) Kulere

5 a ) Karekare

b ) Bole

c ) Ngamo

d) Maha

Tangale

Kanakuru

* N . Bauchi

War j i

Pa ' a

S i n

D i r i

Miya

Jimbin

g ) Mburku

h ) Kariya

i ) Tsagu

7 S i g i d i

Ngizim

Bade

Nancere

Gabri

Kera

Somrai

Tumak

Sokoro

Bara in

Dangia

Jegu

Nub i

Tera

Ga ' anda

J a r a

Bura

Margi

K i l b a

*Higi

E i g i Kamale

* F a l i

F . Bwagira

F. Mucel la

F. G i l l

F. J i i b u

'mea t , w i l d an imal ' ( l )

U W aa

u w a

0

0

0

U

U

u w i

U W a i

U ki

b a

U U

U U t

u

i

U / i.

E a t a

Bachama

Zumu

H i t k a l a

L m a n g

V i zik

Wandala

Padnko

Glavda

Dghwede

Gvoko

Guduf

Sukur

*Matakam

Hur z a

Udlam

Lto gon e

Banana

ku- and - k i a r e a f f i x e s

? n o t cognate

v o i c i n g uncer t . a in

19a

2Ob

22h i

27a

Arabic

Akkadian

Berber

Cush i t i c

c f . s e g u r t e 'do;rxst ic animal ' and sekaakey ' w i ld ani.mal.

t l u w i

t l a b a " S e

tl i W n a

1 i y a a h ' w i l d 3 u l l ' ? p1

1 U 'w i ld ' bu l l '

1 U fi S w i l d animal '

*1 i ) Aw ' ' cow' , etc.

'meat , w i l d an imal ' (2) *k - r

he k i r y e t

5f a r a

6 f / g *kw a r -

18b h a r a

Cush i t i c

Gawwada g U r S e

Gobeze k U r S -

Werize k u r s e

m e a t , b u l l ' ( 3 )

5 a kw a m

8b k w a m a n

12b k u m a

12 c g i m o

1 3 k o m e

151-) k u m

al-so has r o o t ( l)

a l s o has r o o t ( l)

? s u f f i x cognate wi th r o o t ( l)

' cow1

' b u l l '

' b u l l '

T. crave i n d i ~ j g e n c o for inc:.Ludinp; this word i n a l i s t , devoted t o

dofivst i c a r i i m a ' l B , hut rooi-, ( l ) i n par t ,<cular seems p a r t i c:ular.ly well

d^x-lamer~tcd and I,f~rq,t,c"J m?. H o w e v e r , a:: c a n hi" s e ~ n , t,l-ifre- ar'i;? iiifli ca-

t i o n s t h a t r e f e rence t o ' w i l d ' and 'domest ic ' was b l u r r e d i n tne e a r l i e r

forms. If Chadic languages a r e any guidance, ' w i l d ' may be been i r idl-

ca t ed by a s u f f i x e d word meaning 'bush , savannah, d e s e r t ' , and t h i s may

be t h e explana t ion of C , and C, i n some cases . Roots ( l ) and. ( 2 ) can

u s e f u l l y be compared wi th r o o t s ( l ) and ( 2 ) f o r 'cow' below. For ' w i l d

animal ' r oo t ( l ) , non-Chadic has *l, where f o r 'cow' r o o t ( l ) , non-

Chadic has *tl, y e t t h e Chadic evidence seems t o p o i n t t o a common

proto-phoneme. I f , i n f a c t , *l i s t h e proto-Cl f o r ' w i l d an imal ' (l),

then t h e s of 12a and 12c looks l i k e a secondary development throwiL

tl; s i m i l a r l y f o r 1811. The 22h form, on t h e o t h e r hand, may r e l a t e

b e t t e r wi th Cush i t i c *jAqq ' m e a t ' , Hausa tsookaa ' m e a t ' , Musgu ksog

' m e a t ' , and Tamazight ksum 'mea t ' . I n r o o t ( l ) , *W seems w e l l sup-

po r t ed f o r C 2 . The b of 20b i s presumably a l a t e r development. A s f o r

C a , it seems t o have been l o s t i n Chadic.

' camel' * l - g - m

Egyptian

Semi t ic

r a a k U m ii

d l u k u r n o

* l a k u m i

d l a g a m a u

? borrowed from Hausa b e f o r e Hausa 1 > r occurred

This is t,ht: only one- of t,he e>ight,een c~tymologies t h a t we arc fairly . .

I-( rt,a,iri 7 S a loanword. T t , u borrowing l:;--in Lorrris of t t i o oUn'r:?--

comparatively r e c e n t , not more than 1,000 y e a r s ago. The Kano Chronicle

notes t h a t t h e f i r s t r u l e r of Kano t o own camels was Abdullani Ba r j a ,

ca . 1 4 4 0 , bu t presumably they were known i n t h e a r e a f o r hundreds of

yea r s be fo re t h a t . Camels a r e s a i d t o have been f i r s t used f o r c r o s s i n g

t h e Sahara dur ing t h e e a r l y c e n t u r i e s of t h e C h r i s t i a n e r a . I f Berber

i s t h e source , which seems probable , it i s suggested t h a t E e r b e r ~ a s - English--borrowed t h e word, a s d i d t h e Berbers t h e b e a s t , from t h e Arabs

( ~ r . a l -gml) , i nco rpora t ing t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e a s p a r t o f t h e word.

Kanuri a l s o borrowed p r e f i x i n g ka , kal igimo; and one suspec t s t h a t

Logone borrowed from Kanuri. Perhaps t h e -0 of some languages came

from -a1 , sugges t ing t h a t t h e s e borrowed d i r e c t l y from Arabic . Lan-

guages f u r t h e r west more usua l ly have *g-l-m, e .g . Fula ngeloba.

The gene ra l ly c lo se resemblance of a l l t h e forms given i s i n sha rp

c o n t r a s t wi th a r o o t such a s 'dog' o r ' g o a t ' , where t h e r e a r e wide

divergences--so much s o t h a t some w i l l deny cognacy t o some o f t h e forms.

The r o o t 'gu inea- fowl ' , on t h e o t h e r hand, has forms which ( excep t f o r

examples quoted from t h e P l a t e a u ) a r e a l l c l e a r l y r e l a t e d , b u t it i s

s t i l l n o t easy t o p o s t u l a t e t h e i n i t i a l proto-consonant. A l i k e l y

reason f o r t h i s v a r i a t i o n i n e x t e n t of divergence i s t h a t t h e Chadic-

speaking peoples made t h e acquaintance of t h e guinea-fowl a t some p e r i o d

between t h e t imes they domesticated t h e dog and were introduced, t o t h e

camel. Thus whi le l e s s d ivergent t h a n , f o r example, t h e forms f o r

' g o a t ' , t h e forms f o r 'guinea-fowl' a r e not so uniform a s t h e forms f o r

camel' . Two minor p o i n t s a r e worth making about t h i s etymology. F i r s t ,

t h e r e i s support f o r t h e f a i r l y r e c e n t da t e of Hausa 1 9 r (~ewman

1970) ; secondly , 1 > dl i s a product ive process . This l a t t e r i s

observable i n languages i n Adamawa t h a t have borrowed Fula luumo

'marke t ' with i n i t i a l d l .

' c a t '

1

2

3 a

5 f

6

8 a

8b

lOa

lob

12b

12 c

l 8'0

22e

22h

26

Cush i t i c

a g w a a

e e 'male c a t '

e n ~ w e

m s u n c i v e t c a t ' a

1 m

a m

i m

a m a n

n a

aa n

i m

m S U

a m

e t e

' c i v e t c a t '

? e < a y < a w

m u n g a m o k

m a g a m a k

~ i i a u

* ' A Z A HA r ' w i l d c a t '

Do t h e s e forms have one source o r two? If t h e fo l lowing i s c o r r e c t

t h e n one source i s i n d i c a t e d . Kanuri has ngam ( i n a d d i t i o n t o patu,

which it l ends t o a number of neighboring languages, i n c l u d i n g a p p a r e n t l y

Fula f a t u - r u ) . Daza a l s o has ngam, perhaps borrowed from an e a r l i e r

s t a g e of a Chadic language. If t h e Cush i t i c i s cognate , it i s p o s s i b l e

t h a t -HAr is t h e second p a r t of a c o l l o c a t i o n , perhaps r e l a t e d t o the

g - r - 'bush1 r econs t ruc t ed 'by Newman and Ma.

' ch icken , hen, cock' *nD - ( r ) k - r

1 z a k a r a a

k a a z a a

2 3 a k a r a

k a j a

3a d i l k i

k i

3b d ee 1

kw ee

3c d e l k o

kw o m

bb V

S 1 k o r

k o r o g

k a z i

9 a j a

* d l -

c U

g a a z a

g a s

k o l a k

r k -

k u r a n

k a m a n

k a n

o k i r a

12 c k o k o r

l h a k u z a

g a c a k

1 5 a m t a k a

l 5 b a m t a k a

16 k a g k a

l7 d Y U k y 1

18b cf e k e y1

cf iye k t e1

' cock

' hen ' ' cock '

h e n '

' cock ' ' hen

' cock'

' hen ' ' cock ' 'bush fowl ' ? cognate

'hen '

' cock'

' hen ' ' cock ' 'hen ' ' cock ' ' cock'

' ch icken , cock'

' cock'

' cock'

' chicken '

c o c k , h e n l ( d i s t i n g u i s h e d by t o n e )

'cock '

' hen ' ' cock'

'her.'

h e n '

h e n '

h e n ' probably n o t cognate

' cock ' probably n o t cognate

' hen' probably n o t cognate

l 9 a X t a k W a

v a z a k a

19b y a t a kw a 1

20 a o k k u l a

ts a k a l a

20 c yw a c k a

20d g U S k e

20e i c o k o

2 1 t a k U r

22a n z U g u r a

a g u r d a k

22? 3 0 g u l o k

22h k a t s k a r

25a US k U

k u s k u n i

2 6 g a m d a k

g o m z o k

27a tl C k - 27b g u 3 a n a

Cush i t i c *l A kkw

Arabic d ii k

' hen ' ' cock '

' chicken '

' cock'

' hen ' cock '

'hen '

' cock'

'hen '

'cock '

' cock , hen'

' chicken , cock ' ' cock "

Here t o o t h e r e may be more than one etymon involved. There i s

c e r t a i n l y more t h a n one morpheme. The core u n i t seems t o "be *E-,

presumably meaning ' ch icken , fowl, "bird1. Then poss ib ly a *k-r

e i t h e r p re f ixed o r s u f f i x e d meaning ' f ema le ' . A *g- 'male' p r e f i x

i s more dubious. The *D- may be not unconnected wi th of 'gu inea-

fowl', q.v. I n c i d e n t a l l y , - tokoro i s a Benue-Congo r e c o n s t r u c t i o n

a l s o , s ee Williamson and Shimizu (1968:172) .

he pronuncia t ion o f d is unclvar , see Mouchct (10~10).

' C O W , b u l l 1 ( l ) * ( g - ) tl a 0

c f . 'w i ld animal ' (1))

' ak tl

t l a t l

d l

g e tl

t l

*tl

murg U dl

t l

a tit1

maan tl

m -

a 13 g i r

a a

a

a n

a r a n

i i d i

a Q

a be i

d o n

a

p i - Saanuu

d o m e s t i c a n i n a l '

a l s o 'wea l th '

F u l a n i c a t t l e ' , c f . lob

'domest ic animal , wea l th '

'cow'

' c a t t l e ' ? n o t cognate

'meat ' , c f . 3b

' cow'

'bull '

b u l l '

22h g U s a g

25a n t l a

2 7b tl a a '

Hebrew S $ ( h )

Akkadian 2 a '11 urn

Cush i t i c * t l t

There seems l i t t l e doubt he re of a p r o t o - l a t e r a l f o r C l . The addi -

t i o n of 'male' seems, a s f o r 'cock ' , t o be made w i t h a g- p r e f i x ( G i s

a l s o involved i n C , o f ' r am' , s ee be low) . Such a p r e f i x may a l s o have

been a c t i v e i n Ngizim--see ' g o a t ' (2)--as go- i s i n Angas. The Ron

randog a l s o occurs i n Benue-Congo P l a t e a u languages ( ~ i l l i a m s o n and

Shimi zu 1968 : 89 ) . Newman has suggested t h a t Hausa saa ' b u l l ' cannot be r e l a t e d t o

a p r o t o TL-, s i n c e f o r Hausa gene ra l ly p r o t o TL > 1 > r. I f ,

however, t h e word was borrowed a t a t ime subsequent t o t h e TL > r change,

it might have been borrowed a s S ( o r more l i k e l y , *Z., wi tnes s t h e

p l u r a l shaanuu).

c o w , b u l l , h e i f e r , c a l f ' ( 2 ) * K - r -

1 k

4d t

6 *Y

l 9 a

22 c k

22 f k

25b k

2 6 k

Semi t i c 1

Cushi t i c * b A <

..a

a r S a n a ? sana i s r o o t ( l )

a r w a

a r w a

a l y a Q ' c a t t l e ' 1 a tl a ? t i a i s r o o t ( l)

a r tl e ? t i e i s r o o t ( l)

i r n a

r d a

A R X

A r (r) - ' b u l l '

The Hausa, Matakam, and Mada d a t a p o i n t t o a meaning of' 'young

female' f o r t h e * K - r - , c f . ' ch i cken ' above. But t h e two p a r t s of t h e

c o l l o c a t i o n may simply have been r e p e t i t i v e , c f . 'meat' ( 2 ) above.

' dog' * k - d - r

k a r e e

kw i kw i Y a

k e r e

k w e e Q

k y a r a

c i r a

$7 y a r a

a dd a

a d a

i y e n a

' Y a

k a d a r i

k a r a m

k o o y a

d o g o r o

k a n Y a

k a n Y

meta thes i s

p i . gaarag

l h a

15a

15b

16

17a

18a

18b

19 a

19 c

20b, 22f

22g

25a

26

27a

Cush i t i c

Akkadian

Hebrew

Tuareg

Egyptian

? not cognate5

y i i c f a

k i l a

h Y a '

k i / u r e

x u d a n

k a d e

S a k e Y

k a r e

k i r e

k a d a

g i d e y

k 1 e

h e r 9 e ? not cognate

d ii - p i . durnay-na

*k A ( r ) r - k 1 b ? no t cognate

i y Y ? not cognate

' a Y d i

Y W ? not cognate

Here, a t f i r s t s i g h t , i f one t a k e s Hausa and, s ay , Miya ( N . ~ a u c h i ) ,

and sugges ts a r e l a t i o n s h i p , it would seem--to p u t it mi ld ly- -unl ike ly .

But a c a r e f u l comparison o f over f o r t y forms g r e a t l y reduces t h e scep-

t i c i s m . However, i f , a s suggested f o r t h e second consonant , d > r (and even a subsequent r > y ) i n many cases , and one of t h e t h r e e h a s

been l o s t , t hen it becomes very hard t o decide which two'consonants we

have t o d e a l w i t h i n any p a r t i c u l a r language.

The g r e a t v a r i e t y of forms c e r t a i n l y sugges ts t h e a n t i q u i t y of t h e

root--PAA r a t h e r t h a n PC--and, a s wi th ' sheep' , 'ram' , ' c a t ' , and ' h o r s e ' ( 2 ) , Kanuri i s r e l e v a n t , k a r i , a s i n Tutu k e d i . This group o f Nilo-

Saharan may have 'borrowed from an e a r l i e r AA language t h a t had a l r e a d y

l o s t t h e t h i r d consonant.

n not her A f r o a s i a t i c roo t f o r 'hound' is *AS.

' donkey ' * j / Z - ( n ~ ) -

1 3 a

4b IIJ a

6 *Z a

*" z a

12b cf U

19 a z U

2 Ob V

z U

20 c a 2y U

20 f d l i

22 a 1 z

22h z U

25a S e

Tuare g e j a

Cush i t i c *d A

a k i i

k e ? < Tuareg

? loan < Hausa

' donkey mare '

As w i t h ' ho r se ' ( l) and ' s h e e p ' , a k- s u f f i x may be involved h e r e ,

a sugges t ion p rev ious ly made by Jungraithmayr ( 1 9 ~ 1 ) ~ al though t h e o n l y

d a t a t h a t suppor ts t h e i d e a f o r t h i s r o o t i s from N . Bauchi. Most lan-

guages i n t h e Kanuri a r e a have some form of Kanuri koro , borrowed pre-

sumably a t t h e same time a s t h e animal. There may be connect ions -with

'waterbuck' , f o r which N . Bauchi has zakumba ( ~ a ' a zakurnba 'donkey' )

and Hausa gwambaza ( ? < gwamba-za). The sugges t ion t h a t Hausa may

have borrowed from Tuareg may g e t some support from Hausa a a y a y i i

caravan ' which may be borrowed from Berber i y y a l e n 'donkeys' .

9 a = g P ( t e s t i c l e s ) ' (l) *Kw - ( r ) 6

kw a i

g w a i w a

k o q y i

a k i n

' t e s t i c l e s '

8 a

8b

lob

l4 a

15b

17a t

18a

l8b

Cush i t i c *K

Tamazight t

Arabic Maghrebi )

a g w a Y

gw 1 Y aa n

13(g) a a .

~ g a r d l i

i hy i

k w u r s i n

Q9Y a

k w a l e

A ~ W A Q ( n ) - a g1 a i t

k a 1 W a

Arabic

'egg' ( 2 )

3a

3b,c

5 a

5b

6

8a

9 c

lOa

12b

12 c

IT^

19a

20a

22a

2%

2 6

27 a

k a i k a h

* ' - - 7

v e S

aa S

'y i n s a

c f i n s a

- ' t s - w / h - z b a i

k a c a k i

g a s s o

cf ii S a

cf ee s ( h ) e

a d l i

tliitl i v s e y a

d l a y

t l e t l e t

a tl e

z e n a

t e s t i c l e '

'egg sat on b u t n o t hatched'

ka- i s a p r e f i x

- - - -

he subscr ibed d o t i ndicat ,es an e x t r a YeaLur~, e i t h e r j'+omphat i c ] o r [+p renasa l ] .

If t h e r econs t ruc t ed S i n r o o t ( 2 ) i s cognate "with t h e nD of

' c h i c k e n ' , t hen t h e s e two r o o t s can be brought t o g e t h e r . The Tera and

F a l l Bwagira of roo t ( l ) and t h e Somrai of r o o t ( 2 ) provide t h e l i n k s .

The j o i n t meaning would then be 'egg-of ch i cken ' . I n which case t h e

Bachama roo t ( l) might b e t t e r have t h e 1 corresponding t o t h e Te ra dl

r a t h e r than t h e p r o t o ( r ) . Evidence from o t h e r AA languages suppor t s

t h i s , wi th kw > b:

Hebrew b e ( y ) s a a h

Arabic b a i d a h

Akkadian p e 1 U

It i s o f g r e a t i n t e r e s t t h a t a l l t h r e e consonants , c , 5 , and 1,

occur w i t h i n Semi t ic a lone . Perhaps *DL i s i n d i c a t e d .

' g o a t , male goa t ' ( l) *b - k - r

' g o a t s '

'male g o a t '

? 'male 'goat '

t 'male goa t ' p i . bukur- in

' g o a t '

'male goat,'

b U k/g 0

l aw k o

b e r k -

W e e g i

g U

b o k a

y i k w a

k U

b a g e

b o g a

mb a g a

h U

ago

b o k

' c a t t l e '

r i

n o

r a 'male goat

t a

n

r e

t e ' ram, sheep '

t u

25 a s e b e g e 'male goat ' ? f o r p r e f i x s e e r o o t ( 2 )

mÂ U

26 b e g g â‚ r e

27a h U t a p i . b o k - ~ a

Cush i t i c *b A(g)g A ' g o a t , sheep ' Arabic b a q a r ' c a t t l e '

'male g o a t , g o a t ' ( 2 ) *D? - GW - *

b U n s

d

b uu S

nd " S

*'ts

g a b u z

m a z

j

a k u S

i k y e n

- G -

a r a n

ii g

*ugu > uya > uu > U ' c a s t r a t e d m a l e goa t '

he subscr ibed dot indicates a n ex t ra f e a t u r e of some s o r t , perhaps +prenasa l ] .

s a k a 1

n c u w a

m a n c i ' U

z u f a

m u n z a x w u n

t a q g a r a

d i ~ a 1

m a z a w a l

z a v g i

*W A y ; A 1 ' g o a t , ? wild '

m z 'male g o a t '

c a n z a ' female goat '

As wi th ' d o g ' , t h e g r e a t v a r i a t i o n s o f bo th r o o t s sugges t a n t i q u i t y .

The i n i t i a l l a b i a l , p a r t of t h e r o o t i n ( l ) , appa ren t ly a p r e f i x i n (2),

common t o b o t h , sugges ts t h a t t h i s meant ' g o a t ' . I n t h a t ca se , k - r

may have meant ' female ' ( a s was suggested f o r ' ch icken ' ) and - GW - 'male ' . Williamson and Shimizu (1968) sugges t a Proto-Niger--Congo -bi-

' goat ' .

' guinea fowl' * ? - b - n 9

probably not cognate

probably not cognate

00

U

m

o m

u n a

U r

U n

a n u

a n y i n

1 r

a 1

?he ssubscribod d o t i n d i c a t p s an extra feature' , perhaps [+pal at aal] .

12b z o p u 1 0

12 C 2 0 b 0 1 0

1h.a c i v a n '

1 5 a t s i v i r a

19 a z a v a n a a k a

20a z a b r a

The remarkable uni formi ty of t h e s e forms sugges ts tnat t h ~ word

spread through t h e group of languages a t a no t t oo d i s t a n t period--

perhaps when t h e speakers moved i n t o an a r e a where t h e b i r d was found;

o r , i f a l r eady domest icated, when t h e b i r d was f i r s t imported ( c f .

' c a m e l ' ) . Again, on t h e analogy o f Arabic which c a l l s it "Abyssinian

chicken" (and , indeed , ~ n g l i s h ) , it i s suggested t h a t t h e f i r s t conso-

nant may be cognate wi th t h e nD of ' c h i c k e n ' , i n which case t h e Angas

and Sura might be cognate a f t e r a l l , and b might be de r ived from gw.

But what d i d t h e second h a l f mean? 'T ree ' ? The name of ano the r people?

No Cush i t i c evidence i s a v a i l a b l e .

' ho r se ' (1) * d - W -

'horses ' ' pony ' ' mare ' 'weal th '

d a waa k ii

d U k u s i i

g o o c f i y aa

d u u k i y a

d aa

t U U j e

d 0 k

*d - W k -

d a kw a ' r.iare ' d u u k a

k u s t a ' ponyf

d u w U n

d i i k w a n ' mare d a a n a ' mare ' d o X ' s-Lallion '

15b t a g U

16 *g i/u d U w i

1 7 a 2 U X U n

18b d U we

d U U

113 g a d u u

Be Aauye h a t a i

Egypt ian 12 t r

' h o r s e ' ( 2 ) *P - r ( s - )

b r a n

b a r i g

b u r i

m b i r i

p u r i "

p i r i S

w a a z a n

p i S s o 0

P 1 S 0

b o o r a

P e S 0

P a r S a

inb a r S e

' mare '

? riot cogna te

? not cogna te

a l s o h a s r o o t (I)

? n o t cogna te

' s t a l l i o n '

h o r s e , mare '

a l s o h a s root. (1)

'male donkey' ; a l s o has root , ( l )

m 2 i e donkey'

As Newman and Ma (1966) po in t ed out f o r Te ra , it i s o f i n t e r e s t

t h a t s e v e r a l o f t h e languages have both r o o t s . For r o o t ( l ) , it seems

f a i r l y c l e a r t h a t t h e k- i s a s u f f i x ( c f . 'donkey' and ' s h e e p ' ) .

Root ( 2 ) i s complicated by t h e ex i s t ence o f Kanuri f a r , Songhai bar i

and Mande s o , and y e t it i s a l s o t h e r o o t t h a t i s c l e a r l y widespread.

i n AA--though n o t one of D o l g o p o l ' s k i j ' s r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n C u s h i t i c ,

c f . Cohen (1947) . Perhaps r o o t ( l) r e f e r r e d t o an o l d e r breed of

animal , l a t e r widely rep laced by a new a r r i v a l , perhaps of Semi t ic

provenance.

' ram' *G - m - 1''

O ~ h 0 subscr ibed riot, i n d i c a t e s an ext,ra f e a t u r e , probably [ + p r e n a s a l ] .

22 a g o r a g o r a

22b <3 W a r a

22 f Q9 w u r

22 g e Z e m

22h dl e r~g e r e k

27a h U g a m 1 a f o r t h e p r e f i x , s ee ' g o a t ' (1)

Arabic h m 1

Be dauye n ' a

The major d i f f i c u l t y he re i n p o s i t i n g one r a t h e r than two r o o t s i s

t h e l o s s of C 2 i n a number of languages , but t h e r e i s ev-idence i n them

of *aw ( > ay > e e ) o r , more s imply, *aw > o. Again Kanuri i s rele-

vant wi th ngalaro.

' sheep' *D - m

1 t U m a a k ii

3 a t u/a m

3b t u m " 4 a t a n ng a S

be t a m o

4 e t i m b a h

6 *t - m a k w -

t S m a a k U

t a a m a n

t a m a k u n

a a m a g a

a m a a i

a m a

a m <7 a

a 13 l< 0

u m a k

a 6 a ~

o m o x

p l u r a l

-akwa i s a feminine s u f f i x i n N . Bauchi

Lone p a t t e r n s d i s t i n g u i s h sex

t i m a

t u w a k a

2 3 t a m a k

25a t e m a

26 e d m a edmak 'ram'

27a h u d i m i i

2 7 ~ c i m e

Cush i t i c * c I d -

s u f f i x e s d i s t i n g u i s n sex; f o r t h e p r e f i x , s e e 'goat, ' ( l )

V2 i s o i n f i v e of t h e examples quoted ( ? < aw)

Berber a d a m a n

The Tera C 2 .6 and t h e Ron-Kulere C 2 mb r a i s e t h e i n t e r e s t i n g

ques t ion whether *D-m i s Proto-Chadic o r n o t . I n g e n e r a l , bo th t h e s e

languages have PC *m > m. Yet f o r t h i s r o o t , where every o t h e r l an -

guage quoted, except Cush i t i c (which has l o s t C 2 o r i s no t cognate) b u t

i nc lud ing Berber , has m , t h e s e two languages do n o t . Again one sus-

p e c t s a word borrowed i n t o many languages a t a s t a g e l a t e r t han Proto-

Chadi c .

Again Kanuri dimi ' sheep ' i s obviously r e l e v a n t , borrowed, it i s

suggested, from one of t h e e a r l i e r languages. But i f s o , why no p r e f i x

ka-, which was added when 'camel ' was borrowed? Is p r e f i x i n g a l a t e r

development i n t h e language? Daza has a d i f f e r e n t word, which may

s t r eng then t h e sugges t ion t h a t Kanuri borrowed. Again i n t h i s r o o t , t h e

L- i s c l e a r l y a s u f f i x , bu t no t by any means l i m i t e d t o domestic o r

othecanimals ( a s suggested by Jungra i thmayr) , compare t h e fol lowing:

' in-law' ' k ing ' Angas s u r Ron-Daf f o saram

. . N . Bauchi *c-y N . Bauchi V c . r j L t s a a r a

" Bachama v s e w Akkadian sarrum

Mus gu s u l a Hau s a s a r k i i

Haus a s u r u k i i

Tera s a r v a k i

The meaning o f t h e s u f f i x vas more' lik+.:ly ' i n d i v i d u a l , animate being',

p o s s i b l y [+male] wi th a vowel r-harig? for [+female].

REFERENCES

Cohen, Marcel. 1947. Essai cornparatif sur l e vocah'Laive e t Za phon6tique du ehamito-semitique. P a r i s .

Do lgopo l ' sk i j , A . B . 1973. SravGtel 'no-istoriEes'kaja fonetika k u ' Â ¤ f i s k i ~ jazykov [Comparative H i s t o r i c a l Phonet ics o f t h e C u s h i t i c Languages] . Moscow.

Hoffmann, Ca r l . 1971. "P rov i s iona l check l i s t o f Chadic languages" Chadic Newsletter [Marburg], s p e c i a l i s s u e .

Jungraithmayr , Herrmann. 1971. "Ref l ec t ions on t h e r o o t s t r u c t u r e it-: Chadohamitic ( ~ h a d i c ) " , i n Actes du lzuiti2me c o n g ~ 2 s de l a Soci&e Linguiskique de 2 'Afvique Oee-LdentaZe, vo l . 1, pp. 285-92 . Abidj m.

K r a f t , Char les . 1971. "Some thoughts on l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e s i n ~ h a d i c " , Stud. Afv. Ling. 2:27l-81.

Meek, C . K . 1931. Tribal S tudies i n Northern Nigeria, two volumes. London.

Mouchet, J . 1950. " V o c a b u l a i ~ e s comparat i fs de quinze p a r l e r s du Nord-Cameroun", Butt . Soc. Etudes Camevounaises 29/30 : 5-74.

blurdock, George P. 1959. Africa: I t s Peoples and t h e i r m u r e History. New York.

Newman, Paul . 1970. " H i s t o r i c a l sound laws i n Hausa and i n Dera ( ~ a n a k u r u ) " , J. West Afr. Lang- 7 : 39-51,

Eiewnan, Paul and Roxana Ma. 1966. "~on ipa ra t ive Chadic: phonology and l ex i con" , J . A f r . hang. 5 :218-51.

Skinner , A . Ne i l . i n p r e s s . "N. Bauchi Chadic: common r o o t s " , Afroasiat ic L-ing.

Williamson, Kay and Kiyoshi Shimizu. 1968. Benue-Congo Comparat'Lve Vord L i s t . Ibadan.

Papers i n Chadic Linguistics Ed. "by P . Newman and R . M. Newman Leiden: Afrika-Studieceritrum 1977

PATTERNS I N CHADIC (AND AFROASIATIC?) VERB BASE FORMATInNS

Ekkehard* Wolf f

1. Introduction

This presenta t ion centers around t h e concept of "p lu ra l i ty" i n t h e 4

Chadic language family. A general study of expressions of p l u r a l i t y has

t o t ake i n t o account t he di f ference between a t l e a s t two d i s t i n c t sub-

systems: "nominal p lu r a l i t y " on t h e one hand, and "verbal p lu r a l i t y " on

t he o ther . It of course a l so has t o attempt t o discover and e s t a b l i s h

t he i n t e r r e l a t i onsh ip between t h e two. I n t h i s paper, focus i s on

verbal p l u r a l i t y .

The study of t h e manifestat ions of within verbs could be

organized i n terms of a t l e a s t four major areas :

( 1 ) " l ex i ca l p lu r a l i t y " , i .e . expression of p l u r a l through choice of

lexemes, e.g. Ron-Fyer m o t : bwaar ' d i e ( sg :p l ) ' ; ( 2 ) "base l e v e l p lu r a l i t y " , i . e . expression of p l u r a l by modificat ions

of t he underlying ("base") form of t h e same lexeme, e.g. Migama

m a a t : m a t t ' d i e ( s g : p l ) ' ;

( 3 ) "stem l e v e l p lu r a l i t y " , i . e . expression of p l u r a l by thematic de r i -

vat ion, e .g. Ron-Sha c i : cy-an ' e a t ( s g : p l ) ' ;

. ( 4 ) "aspectual p lu r a l i t y " , based on a quan t i t a t ive i n t e rp r e t a t i on of

verb aspects i n a dichotomous system ("aspect I" : "aspect 11").

*This study was p a r t i a l l y supported lay grants ( L U 2/26-27; WO 21611) from t h e Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft f o r research on Lamang and adjacent Chadic languages i n 1973/74, i n connection with a l i n g u i s t i c research program i n t h e Lake Chad a rea d i rec ted by Johannes Lukas, p r i nc i - pa l inves t iga to r (~amburg) .

This i s a s l i g h t l y modified version of t h e d r a f t which was ch'qtri- buted t o the pa r t i c i pan t s of t h e Colloquium. Some valuable comments pu t forward a t t h e meeting and i n subseoiient discussions (esF^::>fi-l1y wi th P . Newman) have been incorporated and a r e g r a t e fu l l y acknowledged. Cer ta in pin^i' fi ~s/fcionc L L f i c e L the continuing ~ l T o r t t o increase our knowledge and gain deeper i n s igh t s i n t o the complex problems r a i s ed i n t h i s paper.

Within this framework - tais presentation is linited to the c - "?*v 'Lion of nanifestations of "base level plurality" and irs interr*cl~-.tionship

with "aspectual plurality".

In section 2 of this paper, I shall first attempt to outline a

model utilizing the distinction between "root", "base", and "steiiil'

which I have found to be useful for the comparative study of Chadic (and

~froasiatic)mor~holo~~. In sections 3-5, form, function, and disrribu-

tion of a set of base-level formatives of verb and noun systems of 12

selected Chadic languages will be analyzed. Section 6 contains i summary and concludes with the formulation of a tentative hypothesis con-

cerning the histor"ica1 development of the synchronic patterning of

related formatives in noun plurals, +erbplural.s, and aspect fornia-uions.

Three hypotheses are fundamental to this presentation:

1 ) the hypothesis of Chadic as a valid linguistic entity within the

Afroasiatic (~amito-semitic) phylum;

(2) the hypothesis of a fundamental dichotomy of aspect in Chadic (and

Afroasiatic) verb systems;

( 3 ) the hypothesis of base formation being independent of and prior to

word class subcategorizat ion.

The first hypothesis rests on Greenberg' s classification (1966) of

African languages, which has remained unchallenged in any sr-rious way

ever since it was first proposed more than 20 years ago.

The second hypothesis is commonplace in at least one 'branch of

Afroasiatic, Semitic, and has been well argued for in Chadic over the

past 10 years, especially by H. Jungraithrnayr. He assumes a semantic

contrast of "perfective/imperfective" and maintains that "compared with

the perfective aspect form the imperfective aspect form is, in general,

marked; in other words, the ipf.asp. form appears as an extension of

the pf.asp. base" (~ungraithmayr in press, section 3.1.2). For the

purposes of this paper, I shall follow Jungraithmayr insofar as relating

the semantic category of the non-imperfective aspect (henceforth refer-

red to as the unmarked aspect A-l) to simple, and the imperfective aspect

(henceforth referred to as the marked aspect A-ll) to extended "base

l~ve~~formations ( s e ~ section 2 below).

The t h i r d hypothes is on which t h i s p r e s e n t a t i o n i s based i s one

t h a t C . Brockelmann in t roduced i n t o Semi t ic s t u d i e s a t l e a s t as e a r l y

a s 1908 ( s e e quo ta t ion i n s e c t i o n 2 "below), but which t o my knowleci.':?

has not y e t been made use o f i n comparative Chadic. It i s t h i s t h i r d

hypothes is which al lows us t o compare s i m i l a r o r i d e n t i c a l format ions i n

t h e morphology o f verbs and nouns and which does not a p r i o r i conf ine

t h e concept o f "p lu ra l " t o nominals nor t h e concept of " i n t e n s i t y " as

d i s t i n c t from t h e former t o v e r b a l s . Based on t h i s hypo thes i s , I am ar-

guing t h a t a semantic r e l a t i o n s h i p can be assumed t o e x i s t between nomi-

n a l and v e r b a l express ions of p l u r a l , and between t h e s e and t h e marked

A - I 1 ( "imperfective/habitual/durative/frequentative/etc. " ) w i t h i n t h e

b ina ry a spec t , sys t em. h his A - I 1 c& b e c o n c e i v e d o f as b e i n g sepan t i -

c a l l y marked i n comparison wi th A-I i n . t h e same s e n s e , t h a t "p luqa l" i s

marked i n oppos i t ion t o "s ingular" i n t h e nominal system. ) l

Accordingly, I have at tempted i n t h i s paper ( a ) t o adduce ev idence

f o r t h e wide d i s t r i b u t i o n o f obviously r e l a t e d format ives o f p l u r a l /

i n t e n s i v e verb formations, c e r t a i n m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f a s p e c t , and noun

p l u r a l s ; and ( b ) t o v e r i f y t h e hypothes is of o r i g i n a l semantic i d e n t i t y

of verbo-nominal p l u r a l s and A - I 1 a spec t formations through o b s e r v a t i o n s

of ( i ) syntacto-semantic " c o l l i s i o n s " o f t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s i n v e r b a l

systems of modern Chadic languages, and (ii) obvious p roces ses o f r e -

s t r u c t u r i n g of t h e v e r b a l systems i n o r d e r t o avoid t h e s e c o l l i s i o n s - -

such as n e u t r a l i z a t i o n o f t h e s g : p l c o n t r a s t i n bases unde r ly ing A - I 1

stems, s h i f t i n g from segmental t o suprasegmental a spec t marking, A - I 1

stem replacement by v e r b a l noun stem, e t c .

A quick g lance a t languages o f t h e o t h e r branches of A f r o a s i a t i c

sugges ts t h a t t h e hypothesis of t h e p lura l /A-I1 r e l a t i o n s h i p may b e

'Only a f t e r t h e f i rst ve r s ion o f t h i s paper had been d r a f t e d d i d I s e e W. D r e s s i e r ' s e x c e l l e n t s tudy (1968) on verbal. p l u r a l i t y . I n h i s gene ra l i n t r o d u c t i o n , Dres s i e r argues i n favour of a b a s i c i d e n t i t y of nominal and v e r b a l p l u r a l i t y and an a f f i n i t y between v e r b a l p l u r a l i t y and imperfec t ive a spec t . H i s r e a u l L s arc based on a t y p o l o g i c a l compa- r i son of more than 40 languages from a l l over t h e world. It c o n t a i n s a ske tch o f ve rba l p l u r a l i t y i n Hausa (pp. 95-101), which i s based on F ra j zyng ie r (1965) and h i s own informant work i n P a r i s i n 1965/66.

supported by Semi t ic and Berber evidence t o o . We ; i r ~ poss i 'b ly dea l i i ig

with s t r u c t u r a l t r a i t s o f P ro to -Af roas i a t i c which co idd i,c i t A U ~ i ~ p i L L. L

as r e f l e c t i n g cogn i t i ve processes i n t h e e a r ~ y n i b z o ~ 3 Qi ayrltd,:Lo-

semantic ca tegory development i n t h i s language farnil~y.

The languages s e l e c t e d f o r i l l u s t r a t i o n have been drawn. fro:!i e&ch

of t h e t h r e e recognized branches of Chadic ( c f . IIoffmann Ib'T-i . , Kenimoin

( 1 ) Migama r e p r e s e n t s t h e Eas t e rn branch of t h e family on which o n l y

very l i t t l e m a t e r i a l i s a v a i l a b l e s o f a r ;

( 2 ) Lamang, which i s spoken a long t h e Nigeria-Cameroon "border i n t h e

sou theas t e rn p a r t of N i g e r i a ' s Borno S t a t e , i s t h e main r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

of t h e Cent ra l ( " ~ i u - ~ a n d a r a " ) branch. Reference w i l l "be made t o som

o t h e r Cent ra l branch languages , such a s Gat anda, Kapsiki , and Bachama.

( 3 ) The Ron languages ( ~ y e r , Bokkos, Daffo-Butura, Sha, Ka le re ) of t h e

Jos P l a t eau of c e n t r a l N ige r i a r ep re sen t t h e Western branch o f Chadic,

supplemented by some c o n t r a s t i v e d a t a from Kanakuru and Hausa.

2 . Methodological p r e l i m i n a r i e s

Before d i scuss ing t h e i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p of base l e v e l and a ~ p e c t ~ u a l

p l u r a l i t y , a few pre l iminary remarks may be appropr i a t e w i th r ega rd to

t h e model t h a t I have found t o be u s e f u l f o r comparative s t u d i e s o f

Chadic (and ~ f ~ o a s i a t i c ) morphology. The u n i t s of t h i s model s h a l l be

def ined a s fol lows :

( 1 ) "Root" s h a l l denote t h e u n i t which conta ins only t h e i n d i s p e n s a b l e

elements of a lexeme. For comparative A f r o a s i a t i c , t h e r o o t i s assumed.

t o conta in no vowels. There i s only one r o o t f o r each lexeme.

The term r o o t a s it i s used he re r e f l e c t s i t s usage i n S e m i t i c s .

Whether t h e roo t a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y conceived of 'L':. Semit ic languages

r e a l l y mer i t s t h e s t a t u s o f a u n i t w i t h i n t h e morphology o f t ,he l anguages

o r whether--as non-Semitic s t u d i e s have suggested--we ought t o s t a r t

^This s ec t ion has g r e a t Ly p r o f i t e d from an exchange of i d e a s w i t h Eernharcl PelzL ( ~ r a z ) i n gene ra l , a n d a l s o wiLh s p e c i f i c regard t o its . . app l i cah i l '4y t o F ' ( m i 1 , i c Langacigr.:.

T T ...iuli : + -, vocal ized r o o t s , i . e . " ' ~ a s e s " , a t t h e very bottom of t h e system

i s a ques t ion f o r f u r t h e r comparative A f r o a s i a t i c s t u d i e s . A s long a s

t h e r o o t i s n o t elii,.inaLed. as a u n i t and s t i l l bervcs d ~ s c r i p t i v c pu'-

poses i n a t l e a s t one branch of A f r o a s i a t i c , it ' w i l l add t o c l a r i f i c a -

t i o n i n comparative A f r o a s i a t i c s tudy t o d i s t i n g u i s h between " roo t s " and

"bases" i n t h e way suggested h e r e .

( 2 ) "Bases" s h a l l be a l l voca l ized man i f e s t a t ions o f r o o t s , i . e . a l l

p o s s i b l e shapes o f r o o t s a f t e r r u l e s of v o c a l i z a t i o n and ( o p t i o n a l )

augmentation ( s e e below) have been app l i ed . Vocal ized r o o t s wi thout any \

modif ica t ion of t h e i r r a d i c a l s t r u c t u r e a r e r e f e r r e d t o a s "simple"

bases . Vocalized r o o t s wi th s imultaneous modi f ica t ions o f r a d i c a l s t r u c -

t u r e , i . e . augmented by consonant o r vowel lengthening , segment a d d i t i o n ,

r e d u p l i c a t i o n , e t c . , a r e c a l l e d "extended" o r "augmented" b a s e s . As

each r o o t may form s e v e r a l bases , each base may under ly more t h a n one s tem.

The term base a s it i s used h e r e i s not a newly coined te rm. The

t r i p l e h i e ra rchy of root-base-stem had a l r e a d y been in t roduced i n t o

Semi t ics by Brockelmann a t t h e beginning o f t h i s century :

' ~ l r e a d y i n Proto-Semitic most word forms d i sp l ayed a s t a b l e founda- t i o n of 3 consonants , which one c a l l s t h e r o o t fo l lowing t h e p r a c t i c e of t h e Jewish grammarians. But t h e only va lue o f such a r o o t i s f o r t h e sys temat ic a r t i f i c i a l o rde r ing of t h e vocabulary i n a d i c t i o n a r y . It i s an a b s t r a c t i o n , and t h e assumption t h a t t h e h i s t o r i c a l word forms have grown out of t h e s e r o o t s dangles e n t i r e l y i n t h e a i r . The a n a l y s i s of t h e nouns a s w e l l a s t h e verbs l e a d s us r a t h e r t o c e r t a i n simple b a s i c forms, i n a l l cases a l r e a d y fu rn i shed wi th vowels, which i n c o ~ t r a s t t o t hose a b s t r a c t r o o t s we a r e c a l l i n g bases . Such bases s e r v e . . . a s nouns as w e l l a s ve rbs , and a r e presumably o l d e r t han t h e s e grammatical ca t egor i e s " ( ~ r o c k e l m a n n 1908: 137-38, t r a n s l a t i o n mine) .

( 3 ) "Stems" a r e word-level man i f e s t a t ions o f bases i n t h e sense of syn-

t a c t i c a l l y f r e e forms. So-cal led "simple stems" c a r r y no a d d i t i o n a l

ex tens ion o r mod i f i ca t ion ; t h e i r morphological shape i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t

of t h e p o s t u l a t e d underlying base whether t h e l a t t e r i s "simple" o r

' ex tended" . The te rminologica l d i s t i n c t i o n between "base" and "simple

stem" i s merely a quest ion of d e s c r i p t i v e focus , s o t h a t we s a y t h a t

bases may " funct ion" a s simple sterns. So-cal led "extended stems" a r e

der i ' ~ e d from under ly ing buses through a f f i x a t i o n of furLher morplu"iri?s.

Thcl r e levance ol' t h e d i s t i n c t i o n o f simple v s . extended a t t h f s t e ' m

levc-; 1 i n C h u d i c was fi rs t r c ~ o g r i i zed by H o f f m a r ~ n ( 1963) . For our pur-

2.1 . Summary. More f o r coqarat.,ive purposes -within Afroa .s ia t ic t h a n for -.

t h e synchronic d e s c r i p t i o n o f modern Chadic languages, .L Â£117 sugges t ing

t h a t one should keep d i s t i n c t t h e foll-owing format iona l prccess t y p e s a^id

t h e i r r e s u l t i n g morphological c a t e g o r i e s :

(ii) Augmentation + apophony)

. . . l

i n ) Aff ixa t ion

Botn t h e s e n m ~ e r - s e n s i t i d - e bad;-; a.:: d G c ~ :- L A 7-~rbcll . lr,

t h e A - I "pe r f ec t ive" stem.

(4) a d i s y l l a b i c base used i n A-11 stems A i c h is c l ~ ~ ~ r a z e d . by a

r edup l i ca t ed augmented t h i r d r a d i c a l consonant /k/, sequence o f

i d e n t i c a l vowels, and apophonic change of a11 [ + h i g b j vov=l S ' 2

-nigh] : *matakk

( ~ h e s e ax-e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h i s type of A-11 base which i~ i-nared, by

a l l b i r a d i c a l verbs whether t hey d i sp l ay number-sensitive ve rb base

d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n i n A-I o r n o t . )

A l l o t h e r verbs have only two bases and must be considered rimher-

i n s e n s i t i v e :

' i ' h~ :~ , y . " ' ~ , f ~ ~ - i n s f r i ~ ' i 1, i l / ; - ; (JI.~'!,.; ? \ --how very r!-;;-~; 1 ay f:,'l-n::l t , ions oi'

Â W . , , ' , . > , , 7 ver~,cd. noun w i ( . i perf'?r;t,iv(;" :;!,,,U, ' "; : L "~~~-'!n Lhz ;ai i i i . , t , , , . \1 L\;

polyverbs *mat *matakk matakk-a

*pan *panakk panakk-a . . . " i -lp 'A 1 -L. j.eped3-a

* r a w * r a i473. i~ t rawat t -a

*kekkid4 * kekkedcf kekkedd-a

*ga rk iy *garkayy garkayy -a

*turguw *torgoww torgoww-a

'tickle'

'travel ' - - ~iat, may ve ask, ha& 'become 01' the number-differentia" -f

"bases of the number-sensitive s ~ b s c c .Z "^Iraaical verbs, such as *maa-c/

- "- >- l : - ^matt ' .^ Shou- d. vie rloz expecu L ^ ~ J ~f ieaJi<-a2- ZS>Z:F.?~>~ . -

caticyi vhen a >lur%l base is used in the imyerfective , i.e. cbocc'Jrrence of -C2C2- marking <+plural> -&C3- i;o mark <+imperfective>? The

formation we expect ought to look like **mattakk-a. But this form does

not exist, and obviously not because of any phonological res'criction

againsr two long consonants vithin a single stem (cf. kekkedd-a) .

his requirement of trirrjJica.~ structure in the irnperfect.!~~ ~1.ffects . . birac!:, ,.- ,_^L., as well since they are---irresprct.ive of ni:r.i1~!-:--sensi.t.,i- /ity--augmented by a c ;nv l - ' - l / l < / in C3 position 'before the final radi-

4m * . .

~ - h ~ . ; is probably an a.,.,~ !ILL l^!,< c1 form of 1" ?l a t r r r C i p 1 icat,ivt,- base of the type also observed in, e.g. cepcip 'crush'.

Apparently verb base p l u r a l i t y and. imperfec t ive aspect. arc- .L:; :-;erne way

incompatible because we have reason to assume thufc L!!-:: i.;;b.,. l Ye .-Â¥'l..Ll~-i'

stems of t h e type m a t a k k - a se rve f o r t h e p l u r a l vorb 'ba.::? *mat t ,

s i n c e t h e s i n g u l a r verb bases form t h e i r own i spc- r fec t ive aspec t s1;em.

They do ' t h i s without augmentation by C 3 r a d i c a l and v i t h o u t :subsequc:nL

redu-p l ica t ion , bu t wi th lengthening o f t h e s u f f i x vow-el ins? >ad. T h u s

f o r ' d i e ' , f o r example, we f i n d two imperfect!ve aspec t steins: ( i\;

m a t a k k - a corresponding t o * m a t t , and ( ii ) m a t - a a correspcndir-g T;3

* m a a t . I have concluded and argued ( ~ o l f f 1976) t h a t t h e : ~ ~ ~ p e i - f e c t i ? e

a spec t i n h e r e n t l y has a p l u r a l - l i k e semant,ic f e a t u r e , p o s s i b l y t h e ica-

t u r e i t s e l f , marked by f i n a l r a d i c a l r e d u p l i c a t , i o r . his f e a t u r e of A - I 1 o f t h e proto-laneuaae i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y descii 'bed by

terms such a s "linear/durative/frequentative/habitual/etc." i n opposi-

'cion t o a non-plural- l ike "punctual" connota t ion of A-i.) Following

t h i s l i n e of argument, an " imperfec t ive + p l u r a l stem" which main ta ined

t h e p l u r a l base formatives would be r e j e c t e d a s a p l e o n a s t i c format ion .

Modern Migama's d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f s g : p l i n t h e imper fec t ive stems may

thus be t h e r e s u l t o f r e s t r u c t u r i n g t h e system i n analogy t o t h e per -

f e c t i v e and ve rba l noun s tems, c f .

300T 1 B A S E S

< + p l > m a t t - matakk- < +nun >

l l <-p].> m a a t - m a t -

7 / pan-aw m------

? ? m a t t - o

? /Â m a a t -0

S T E M S

AUX <-i i r rp>

pan -e

f ? m a t t - e

Y\ ?

m a a t -e / /

mat -aa

Unfor tuna te ly , no d a t a on Migama noun -pLural formation a r e a v a i l a N e

t o me. I t would be i n t e r e s t i n g t o know whet,her some o r a l l o f t h e for-

m a t i v e ~ used i n base and stem f'ormation o~ ]lUX< +.; ,nl> > , such as f i n a l radi-

c a l r e d u p l i c a t i o n , vowel lowering and vowel copying, base augmentat;ioti

by consonant a d d i t i o n , and poss ib ly even surf i x -a, are also used i n

the format,ion of pllrra:! bases and s tems .

4.1. Laaiang. i.3 J.:AILs.~,--;, ~~5;':;- Â¥,i-. ' - ' . P--

the fea-Lul-e < ir~tei1.s i - r - > , :. . ' -

. . -,7 , . - - r several by ~ D p : . , - , ~ - _ ; ' L -.,I .- . i^p.: . -.- ..':-.:I:' ;":,.:-ryi::,, >k!-?i., f~:, l

, - verb bases i t n y .,'i-T \ L., , tf . i ; 2 ~ . ~ r~:~.;.l. , ~. ,? . - ~ . . . , " - . - ; ~ L t : l : ~ y ~ , ~ ~ ~ , . ~ ~ c ~ , 2 :,

-. , \; some cases D;{ ~,:.)na-L c;"&:-(----:- ;,!-.' .,-I? ,., S ..> - tone --,,. +,c,, - ,,

'

L ; , ::, 7 t e r n for A-11)" If 7 : : ~ : - v r y . , ; - .l l LY . ,. L - . I" .' +? L A , . . , :l LJal:-a~.& ::I;= -Z:/,(!7>.2..-

vowel change a l o n e , and thus a l s o appear t o use Degree If- a;; u i ' . ~ - i r

"normal" degree. ( A S seen from examples s x h a s ghili ':..ki.:i'tf and

xini ' s l e e p ' , t h i s group conta ins denominative veriJs . )

The f i r s t s e t o f Lamang i n t e n s i v e verb 'oases i s i i l u s t r a t e d by Lhe

fo l lowing examples:

*k-l- ' t a k e ' *m-n- ' do ' *S-1- 'fry

Degree I . *kala --- --- Degree I1 *kala *mana *sula

6

Degree 111 *kalala *manana *suiala

Degree IV *kalakala *manamana *sulasula

These bases underly t h e var ious tense' stems of A - I ( " p e r f e c t i r e " . ) .

The formation of simple and extended "bases i n Lamang can be sum-

marized as fo l lows:

( 1 ) Simple base-formation through Degree I v o c a l i z a t i o n ("unmarkedi' ) :

monoverbs : C a tsa ' c u t ' polyverbs: CiaC2a kala

ClaC2aC3a tl'sgala

' t a k e '

' s t a b ' ClaC2aC3a ghambasa ' laugh ' ClaC2C3a gwarva [gurva ] ' dance '

( 2 ) Simple base-formation through Degree I1 v o c a l i z a t i o n ( "marked." ) :

polyverbs: ClaC2a; Cli/uC2a

ClaC2aC3a

( 3 ) Extended base-formation through r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f f i n a l r a d i c a l

consonant and "marked" v o c a l i z a t i o n ( ~ e ~ r e e 111 f o r po lyverbs ; Degree

I1 and I11 f o r monoverbs which apply t h i s formation t v i c e ; verbs of

i n t e r n a l v o c a l i z a t i o n type i / u r e t a i n t h e vowel of t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e

of their simple b a s e ) :

monoverbs : C 1 aC 1 a ( ~ e g r e e 11)

CiaClaCla ( ~ e g r e e 11 E )

polyverbs : ClaCyaC2a; Cli/uC2aC2a

CiaC2aC3aC3a

(4) Ext,ended base-format ion t,hrongh Â¥-.amp e t e reduplicat , i on o f t h e

D e g r ~ ~ I T basf::

monoverbs : ClaCiaCiaCia

polyverbs : ClaC2aCiaCza; Cli/uC2aCli/uCya

ClaC2aC3aCiaC2aC3a*

The corresponding ve rba l nouns, which a l s o se rve a s " imperfec t ive"

a spec t stems, t a k e a s u f f i x -0 and use a second s e t o f bases charac-

t e r i z e d by t h e change of a occur r ing be fo re t h e f i n a l consonant t o o .

Note t h a t t h e i n t e r n a l vowel -0- i s not dependent on t h e occ-dnence. of

t h e s u f f i x -0, which i s r ep laced by t h e s u b j e c t pronoun i n a l l but t h e

t h i r d person s i n g u l a r , e . g . * kol-i, kol-ka, kol-o, e t c . "I, You, he

t a k e ( s ) ' . h he completely r e d u p l i c a t i v e Degree I V base d e r i v e s no

s e p a r a t e v e r b a l noun stem, and denominative verbs s u b s t i t u t e t h e i r nomi-

n a l base i n t h e i r normal deg ree . )

Verbal noun stems

Degree I kal-o --- --- Degree I1 kol-o mon -0 sul-o

Degree 111 kalol-o manon -0 sulol-o

The fo l lowing c h a r t o f Lamang verb bases (w i th v e r b a l noun stems

added i n pa ren theses ) con ta ins a l l s t r u c t u r a l t ypes o f Lamang v e r b s .

( ~ x a m ~ l e s not t r a n s l a t e d above a r e t h e r o o t s S-wl- ' w a l k ' , gh-1-

' s t e a l ' , and t h e Hausa loanword yarda ' a g r e e ' . )

Degree / Nonoverbs ,/ /

1 t s a

t s a t s a ( t s o t s o )

t s a t s a t s a ( t s a t s o t s o

ka la (ka lo )

t l a g a l a ( t i e g a l 0 )

ghambasa ( ghamboso )

7 gwarva

7 yarda sawla

ka la (ko lo )

t l a g a l a ( t i a g o l o )

ghambasa ( ghamboso )

g war ava ( gwarovo 1 yarada

( varodo ) 7

sawala

k a l a l a (ka lo lo )

t l a g a l a l a ( t i a g a l o l o )

ghambasasa (ghambasoso

g war avava ( g war avovo )

yaradada ( yaradodo )

7 sawalala

mana mono )

manana manono )

kalakala t l a g a l a t l a g a l a ghambasaghambasa gwaravagwarava yardayard a/

yaradayarada sav~alasawala

manamana

g h i l a ( g h i l i )

s u l a s u l o )

s u l a l a s u l o l o

7 O n e set of lexically intransitive verbs t1nc1 some verbs of t ' o r ~ i g n ori- g in do not form verbal nouns with -c) i n I1~[;rce I; anot,her set of i n t r a n - sitive verbs does n o t Y o r m niorphologically d i s t,i n c t verbal noini stems at :ill -

4.2. Gatanda. In order t o document d i f fe r ing usages of t h e same set of

formatives marking ident ica l semantic features , I quote t h e following

paragraph and examples from R. Newman's stimulating grammar of Ga'anda,

a Central branch language belonging to the Tera subgroup (197li3^-35h

"Another optional verb feature i s <intensive>. The presence of <*in t> is marked by a reduplicative verb stem. The intensive form usua l ly reinforces the number of times the action i s performed, p a r t i c u l a r l y i f the object acted upon is p lu ra l .... This reduplication can be represented 'by the following formula:

a 6al-inca c in ica 'I k i l l e d l i o n s t a babal-inca c in ica I k i l l e d l i o n s b y of them) a ce-nda marta xa t h e y 'shot up the corpset a caca-nda marta xa ' they shot up (many times) t h e corpset tla necan 'yar-i-ta 'he is (hab.) insu l t ing me* t l a necan *ya9yar-i-ta 'he i s (hab. ) i n su l t i ng me (without

l e t t i n g up)

The ' in te rna l -a-' vowel change of t h e root i s no doubt a r e f l e x of the ' in ternal -a- plurals ' found i n other Chadic fend ~froasiatic) languages. I n Gatanda9 however, it i s not considered as a formation of a p lura l verb stem agreeing i n number with p lu ra l objects , since (a) the object may be s ingular , and (b ) a non-intensive verb stem can be used with plural objects ."

4.3. Kapsiki . Different from Lamang and Gat anda, Kapsiki a language

of the Higi subgroup, does not seem t o exploi t t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s of in-

t e r n a l vowel change t o mark intensive verb bases, but r a the r seems to

use only p a r t i a l and complete reduplication t o indicate intensi ty/plura-

l i t y (smith 1969 : l l l f f . ) . Kapsiki verb stems occur with both completely

and pa r t i a l l y reduplicated bases. Simple stems with p a r t i a l l y redupli-

cated bases usually denote habi tual action. Extended stems with parti-

a l l y reduplicated bases seem t o indicate t h a t t he act ion w a s done several

times or was directed toward several goals, e.g.

mene ' do ' : ka-memen4 t len6 nde 'he works a l l t he t i m e '

pese 'grew' : 'a k&-pepes& i t has been growing ( a t least some of it)

zeme ' eat ' : 'a k6-zezernik6 'he has eaten (a l i t t l e of see - r a l things: -ski ) '

Complete reduplication of the base is used t o show "emphasis": f f . . .gm&. . . ke-pesepese ' . . . the grass. . .has r e a l l y grown*

4 . b . Bachama. This Bata subgroup language has l ong 'been l o o k e d a t

r a t h e r susp ic ious ly because it "un typ ica l ly" shows grammatical gander

i n tlie nominal system. I n t e r p r e t i n g t h i s t o dean uhat Bachama has

succeeded i n r e t a i n i n g t h i s grammatical f e a t u r e from Proto-Chadic days,

we should not be s u r p r i s e d t o f i n d equa l ly anc i en t remnants i n t h e verb

system. And indeed, Bachama does make use of t h e i n h e r i t e d pr inc i 'o le

of i n t e r n a l vowel change t o form p l u r a l verb bases . The fo l lowing i s

quoted from cainochan (1970:101ff . ) :

* ' A l a r g e number of verbs show i n t e r n a l vowel changes from s i n g u l a r t o p l u r a l forms, o f t e n c o r r e l a t i n g i n i n t r a n s i t i v e c l auses wi th a s i n g u l a r o r p l u r a l s u b j e c t , and i n t r a n s i t i v e c l auses wi th a singu- l a r o r p l u r a l o b j e c t . Sometimes, however, t h e s i n g u l a r o r p l u r a l form of t h e verb i s a t var iance wi th t h e number of t h e s u b j e c t o r o b j e c t , and appears t o be independent of such concords, and t o re - l a t e d i r e c t l y t o semantic f a c t o r s i n t h e s i t u a t i o n . For many v e r b s , t h e r e a r e d i s t i n c t s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l forms, and t h e speaker has t o make a choice . He does s o according t o whether he wishes t o focus a t t e n t i o n on t h e u n i t y o r d i s p a r i t y of a c t i o n o r s t a t e i n t h e s i t u a t i o n .... I n general*, t h e vowel i n t h e p l u r a l forms i s more open than t h a t i n t h e s i n g u l a r . There i s a s i m i l a r r e l a t i o n between t h e vowels i n t h e stems of s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l nouns .... I n g e n e r a l , verbs with -a- o r -aa- i n t h e s t e m h a v e no d i s t i n c t s i n g u l a r and p l u r a l forms . . . "

The s g : p l verb base c o n t r a s t i n Bachama can "be i l l u s t r a t e d both

wi th verbs i n t h e "Normal Grade" and wi th "Adessives" (ve rbs i n d i c a t i n g

a c t i o n i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e speake r ) :

Underlying s i n g u l a r base

Underlying p l u r a l base

' t h a t c h '

' b r eak '

' chew'

' cook '

As rega rds cross-word c l a s s di s t r i .bu t ion o f formatives , c f . t h e fol low-

i n g s e t o f Bachama s g : p l noun stems:

' horse ' ' hu t '

5 . Evidence from t h e Western branch: t he Ron languages, Kanakuru A____ Hausa,

5 .1 . The Ron languages. Verb stem formations i n t h e Ron languages

have been t r e a t e d e x t e n s i v e l y i n a s e r i e s of a r t i c l e s by H . Jungrai thmayr

s i n c e 1965. Used a s evidence o f common r e t e n t i o n s of A f r o a s i a t i c t r a i t s , . Ron verb stems have been f r equen t ly l i s t e d a longs ide Berber and Semi t i c

verb format ions . Once only , i n what I t ake t o be h i s f i r s t approach t o

t h e subject--a supplementary a r t i c l e t o Greenberg's (1955) " i n t e r n a l

a - p l u r a l s i n AfroasiaticU--Jungraithmayr (1965) dwelled on t h e cross-word

c l a s s d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e formative under cons ide ra t i cn :

' 'Within t h e system of v e r b a l a s p e c t s i n Ron t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between Imperfect ive-Subjunct ive and Habi tua l -P lura l stems may w e l l be corn- pared wi th t h e s i n g u l a r / p l u r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between nominals d i s - cussed above. A t l e a s t Daffo-Butura, Sha, and Kulere employ t h e same means and p a t t e r n s when forming a Habi tua l -P lura l stem from t h e r e s p e c t i v e Imperfect ive-Subjunct ive stem, i . e . e i t h e r i n t e r - c a l a t i o n ( D a f f o - ~ u t u r a and Kulere) o r r e d u p l i c a t i o n ha)" ( l965 : i o 6 f f . ) .

From t h e l i s t of examples g iven , on ly a few s h a l l be c i t e d h e r e .

Daf fo-Butura ngsar : ~ g w s a r ' b i t e ' h a l a i : haalai 1 hear 1

Sha f u d : fwac fac f 'blow'

bol : bole1 ' come ' Kulere

\

s u m : s w 2 a m ' c a t c h '

d-ik : cfiyhk ' t ouch , taste1

Compare t h e fo l lowing s e t of corresponding noim p l u r a l format ions c i t ed .

from t h e same p u b l i c a t i o n :

Daffo-Butura m > r \ : mwar ' s l a v e '

The ~ ' a s c i n a t i n g term "Habitua.1-Plural stem" used i n t h i s e a r l y publ ica-

t i o n w a s subsequent ly e l imina ted by Jungraithmayr because , a s he argued

a few y e a r s l a t e r i n h i s more ex tens ive t rea tment of t h e Ron languages f

(1970) , j u s t l i k e any o t h e r thema-cic d e r i v a t i o n a l verb ster", " p l u r a l

stems" ought t o be kept d i s t i n c t from "aspec t stems". This i s a, i:-c,rict-

l y synchronic d i s t i n c t i o n made a t t h e expense o f t h e gene ra l i za t i c r -S

concerning t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f p l u r a l and h a b i t u a l (A--11) verb for ...CL-

t i o n s which t h e former te rm implied.

I f , f o r t h e moment, we 'follow Jungraithmayr ' S a n a l y s i s ve f i n d

t h a t a c t u a l l y t h e only language of o d o p t h a t u ses i d e n t i c a l forms-

t i o n s s imul taneous ly i n both c a t e g o r i e s , i . e . "de r iva t ion" and. "in- ,

f l ex ion" , seems t o be Sha:

simplex : p l u r a l stem 1 A-I : A - 1 1 stem

' b reak t : g o l d -------

The o t h e r Ron l a n g ~ a g e s ( j u s t l i k e Sha with i t s o t h e r verb stem

formation t y p e s ) seem t o avoid s t r a igh fo rward morphological ambigui ty of

t h i s k ind . Never the less , t h e common use of i d e n t i c a l format ives i s ap-

pa ren t once w e look a t t h e o v e r a l l p i c t u r e of p l u r a l verb stems and

h a b i t u a l aspec t stems i n t h e whole group. Compare t h e fo l lowing c h a r t

~il lut2~- i n vhich t h e i tems a r e arranged according t o t y p e s o f steins and - - -A--

l y i n g bases :

Derivational-Thematic

( plural" ) -- -.-

D a f fo 6 i l : 5yS1 Sha shum : s h w b

--

FYer pun : pwaan

Sha sh i sh : shaash

K

Daf fo hwi : l ~ w y - ~ y

Sha c i : cy-an

Fyer Lol : bwal-an

Aspectual-Infl-exional

habitual" 1

- -

Kulere dyef : dyaf-ay yf

ci : ca-ay 9 /*

Bokkos cu : cwa-ay

Daf fo C U ~ : cwa-&- J

Within the frh~~izw'ork of this important contribution, Jungraithmayr

nowhere discusses the relationship of these formations to each 0~~he.r.

As was seen in the case of Migama (section 3), the assumed <ncoinpati7~<-

li ty of <+plural> and <+imperfective> within a single S-CS. formation

prevented the occurrence of an "imperfective + plural" stem. This was

in turn compensated for by innovation of a "n~n-~l.!r:-al imperfective

stem". The Ron languages, in at leasL Lyiii.-ee of which a situation caa-

parable to that of Migama exists, shall now Tae submitted to an analysis

as to their way out of what appears to "be an inherited, synt,acto-

semantic dilemma (all examples drawn from J'l-m-.r~ithrnayr 1975 1

5.1 .1 . The case of Fyer. This i s the only one of t h e five t"::n l an-

guages i n which i s marked 50 th a t base and ster.1 le-v2.!. (Jung-

rai thmayr 1 9 7 0 : 6 0 f f . ) :

/t. (i) base l e v e l on ly : A

muni : m w i n i ' l o v e ' \ \

r j g o r : g g w a r ' h i t s '

pun : p w a n ' cir~i , ! ! : f l , : i~~ '

--- : b w a a r cut / d i e '

i i ) stem l e v e l : (*bbhh ? ) boo : &h-: 1 s t a b h

601 : bwal-an ' shoo t '

11 - 1 n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e i s an extended themat ic stern marking intensiie/

t o t a l i t y " by t n e s u f f i x -aq.) Since Fyer has chosen themat ic d e r i v a t i o n t o b-; marked a t b o ~ h base

and srem l e v e l , t h e a spec tua l dichotomy remains t o be marked so-)- -aseg-

menta l ly , i . e . by t o n a l distinction^.^ There a r e no cooccurrence re -

s t r i c t , i o n s :

5 . 1 . 2 . The case o f Bokkos. This language has taker1 t h e . a l - ~ : ? ~ : m t < ~ , ~ e op--

t i o n i f compared wi th Fyer: it has given up t h e product ive formation o f

extended themat ic verb stems a l t o g e t h e r . Â I n s t e a d , p o s t p o s i t i o n a l par-

t i d e s a r e wed--but none t o mark ! The morphologi.cal means of

base and stem formation a r e t h u s f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e t o mark e x c l u s i v e l y t h e

a spec tua l ca tegory . It i s worth no t ing t h a t monoverbs wi th a h igh base

vowel make use of a stem l e v e l ex tens ion by a s u f f i x -ay, whereas all

@AS a ma t t e r o f f a c t , t8he i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e two t o n a l l y d i s t i n c t verb stems a s a "dichotomy of aspec t" remains somewhat doubtful ( c f . a l s o Jungraithmayr [1970:62], where h e asslimes " t h e powers f o r t h i s ' confus ion ' t o have ori.ginate0 from Angas by vh ' i -~~h Fyer i s surrounded.").

here a r e examples of lion-producti:ve 'base a u g m ~ n b a t i o r i s att,oy.ted i n Eokkos "but they a r e i r r e l e v a n t f o r t h e t o p i c under d i scuss ion .

o the r verbs use base extensions only.

5.1.3. The case of Daffo-Butura. I n h i s desc r ip t ion of t h i s Ron lan-

guage, Jungraithmayr simply f o r g o t t o mention t h a t " p l u r a l verb stems"

do e x i s t , a s we know from t h e vocabulary (PP. 212-23), e . g .

b i l : by31 ' draw water ' c u ( h ) : cway ' e a t ' ndus : ndwss ' c l o s e ( a h o l e ) '

qg&r : qgw$r ' b i t e , chew'

hwi : hvay 'throw'

lamo' : lamwa' ' s k i n '

r ago t : ragwat ' throw'

shu(h) : shway 'pour i n t o '

Synchronically, polyverbs form p l u r a l s by i n s e r t i o n of / a / v i t h subse-

quent diphthongizat ion, whereas monoverbs t ake an extension s u f f i x -ay

c f . Bokkos above i n t h e category of a s p e c t ) . Note t h a t t h e i n s e r t e d

vowel i s shor t /a/. The regu la r A - I 1 formation i n Daffo-Butura works

along exact ly t h e same l i n e s except t h a t t h e i n s e r t e d vowel i s long

/aa / . I n t h e case of a few monoverbs, long aa a t t h e su r face may go

back t o e i t h e r double formation ( e . g . CV + a + ay) o r p l a i n analogy, e .g .

b y a i l , ndwaas , lagwi&r, larnwai' , ragwait ; cwaiy, hwaiy, shwaay. It

i s l e f t t o our imagination whether t h e d i s t i n c t i o n i n vowel q u a l i t y re-

p resen t s an o l d o r r a t h e r r e l a t i v e l y recent device t o d i s t i n g u i s h between

" p l u r a l stems" and "habi tua l stems". However, we cannot expect anything

b u t n e u t r a l i z a t i o n of t h e sg :p l d i s t i n c t i o n i n t h e A-TI formation under

these circumstances.

Thus Daffo-Butura marks both and < A - T T > exclus ively a t t h e

base l e v e l with t h e exception of monoverbs, which use a s t , m Level o x t t ~ i i -

s i o n . Leaving th^ l a t t e r aside, t h e r e i s a thematic de r iva t ion a v a i l a b l e

.It 5 . l A . The case of Sha. For t h i s language, t h e ex i s t ence of L-.hree -- r i v a t i o n a l themat ic verb stems were suggested, 'by Jmgraithir:ayr : 2: :S-~,IXI

s tem ending i n -ay t o na rk , among o thers ; " t o t a l i t y / i n t e n s i v e H ur

"app l i ca t ive" func t ions ; and t h i r d l y , a stem" f o r whi:.h on ly

f i v e examples could, 'oe found:

c i : cyan 'eat,'

du : dwan ' go'

shum : s h w h ' ca t ch '

sh i sh : s h G s h ' s l a u g h t e r '

go1 : golol rbre&- ( ~ r ) '

Whereas t h e -o and t h e -ay steins f r e e l y occur i n t h e 'h:ibi.tual" / P / ,\

(A-11) , e.g. lwagag-o ' ( h a b . ) r i s e and comeQ , lyandand--ay ' (hat- . )

box someone' s e a r s ' , t h e r e a r e no examples of " p l u r a l stems" i n the / '"1

h a b i t u a l ! For C L , we f i n d a h a b i t u a l for:natiori cayay on ly , i.e. w i t h -

out t h e p l u r a l s u f f i x -an ( c f . Eyer fcwal-an above) , but containi i ig

Lhe s u f f i x -ay which i s s o t y p i c a l of the A-I1 formation o f monover'bs

not. only in Sha b u t al-so i n 3okkos aria. :'.'.'affo ( see above ) . For d u ,

+- <.;&re -.. Q is unfortunately no A-I1 formation quoted a t a l l . I n t h e case of

go1 : golol, no aspec t o r t e n s e s t e m whatsoever a r e l a b e l l e d a s sue'\

i n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n . According t o t h e r ~ l e s vL'!?0: 27l), the h a b i t u a l o f

any CoC2 verb i s CoC2 oCz , i . e . g o l o l must con ta in bo th i n d i c a t i o n o f

A - I 1 a s we l l a s of p l u r a l . Thus we may speak of base l e v e l n e u t r a l i z a -

l i o n s of t h e s g : p l c o n t r a s t i n A - I 1 stems. I n t h e cases of shum : s h w k

and shzsh : shaash , t h e r e t o o i s no s g : p l c o n t r a s t i n t h e A - I 1 forma-

t i o n s :

I n t h e f i v e cases c i t e d , the: l a c k of " A - I 1 + p i " steins i n t h e d a t a could

be a c c i d e n t a l and due t o f a i l u r e t o e l i c i t t h e s e fo~ms--but it could a l s o

be due t o a sys temat ic gap caused by t h e i n c o m p a t i b i l i t y o f A - I 1 and

< + p l > format ives w i t h i n t h e same b a s e .

5 .1 .5 . The case of Kulere . According t o Jungraithmayr ( 1970 , t h e r e a r e

no product ive themat ic stem extens ions a t a l l i n t h i s language s i n c e he

t r e a t s t h e verb stems ending i n -o(he) a s belonging t o t h e ca tegory o f

a s p e c t / t e n s e . Yet t r a c e s of themat ic d e r i v a t i o n have been noted . l 2 The

A - I 1 ( "habi tual-progressive" ) stems i n Ku-Lere ( aga in according t o J-mg-

ra i thmayr) employ t h e fo l lowing:

( 1 ) -aa- i n f i x (polyverbs wi th h igh base vowel)

(2) -ay s u f f i x (monoverbs, and polyverbs wi th non-high base vowel)

( ~ u n g r a i t h m a y r ' s t h i r d t y p e (= bo th -aa- i n f i x and -ay s u f f i x ) i s

based on o v e r d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f v a r i e t i e s of t ype 2 above.)

The e x i s t e n c e of " p l u r a l stems" i s d e f i n i t e l y r u l e d out--but compare

the fo l lowing quo ta t ion concerning t h e formation of ~ a s s i v e and a c t i v e

p a r t i c i p l e s :

'Comparable t o t h e Arabic maf^uul form, Kulere forms a p a s s i v e p e r f e c t i v e p a r t i c i p l e of t r a n s i t i v e verbs i n such a way t h a t a

''These rudiments of themat ic -der iva t iona l ex tens ions o f t h e stem a r e marked by a s u f f i x -an. Yet t h i s s u f f i x has not p e r s i s t e n t l y been l ex i ca l i zed . a s Jungraithmayr seems t o imply (pp. 323, 341) . This can be seen from t h e h a b i t u a l stems where a t times t h e f i n a l n i s valued as a r a d i c a l consonant, i .e. a long -aa- occurs i n f r o n t o f i t :

r y a d b : ryadasn 'draw, w r i t e ' lanzan : lanzazn

A b o x someone's e a r s '

c f . wit,hout s u f f i x : n i lanz-yah ' I box your (m.sg. ) e a r s ' ) but a t t i r n f ' s i s t r c ated as a s u f l i x t,o L l i ~ L: L t m wPiic-h, in t h r ease of mono-

/ / verbs, may a l r eady c a r r y t,he A - T 1 s u f f i x -ay: ?(dy-3n : rya-ay-an ' s e e ' .

high t o n e p r e f i x rna-, which i s r e d u p l i c a t e d i n t h e case o f mono- s y l l a b i c verb s tems, occurs i n f r o n t of t h e shortened. p e i f e c t i v ? stem ( i n t h e s i n g u l a r ) o r i n f r o n t of t h e h a b i t u a l stem ( i n t h e p l u r a l ) " (1970 : 325-6 ; t r a n s l a t i o n mine) .

*

Examples a r e :

fakyen m$-m$-gy$l / / / /

fakygn ma-na-gywaal

coh m;-m;-& / / / /

&h ma-ma-twaar Â¥f

z& m:-m&-szky

za2r m$-rni-~y$&~

'broken p o t '

'broken p o t s ' 'broken walking s t i c k '

'broken walking s t i c k s '

' cu t -o f f rope '

' cut-off ropes '

Compare a l s o t h e fo l lowing p a r a l l e l formations o f "passive" and "ac t ive"

p a r t i c i p l e s :

'a k i l l e d person '

' k i l l e d persons '

' a k i l l e r ' ' k i l l e r s '

The conclusion i s apparent : t o u s e t h e a s p e c t u a l dichotomy of t h e ve rb

system t o mark t h e number d i s t i n c t i o n of s g : p l i n agreement w i t h t h e

number of t h e nominal head of a cons t ruc t ion would seem t o "be a silly

t h i n g t o do f o r any language i f t h e number d i s t i n c t i o n were no t

i nhe ren t i n t h e a s p e c t u a l dichotomy!

5.1.6. Summary of Ron languages. The fo l lowing c h a r t summarizes t h e

segmental markers of < + p l u r a l > and < A - 1 1 > found i n t h e Ron languages .

r ega rds t h e two forms z y a h (extended b a s e ) and z y ~ l - a y (extended s t e m ) , t h e f i r s t of which v i o l a t e s t h e r u l e s of Aspect-11 formaLion i n Kulere, we a r e l e f t t o mere guesswork a s t o whether z y a h might r e f l e c t a formerly product ive "p lu ra l " base fo rma t ion . This i s fhp only c o n t r a s t i n g p a i r which I have found i n t h e d a t a .

2. -aa / monoverbs: '<+high>

3. -ay / monoverbs: "< -h i em

Bokkos

a l. -a- / polyverbs 3. -aa- / polyverbs

1. -aa- / polyverbs

Sha I 1. -a (a ) - 1 2. -ay / monoverbs 4,. -a-ay / monoverbs

l l

2 . -vc2/civcz- 3. -an / monoverbs

-aa- / polyverbs: < + h i g h > 3. -ay / polyverbs : -high >

/ monoverbs

4 . -VC2/CiVC2-

5 . -ay / monoverbs

Kulere

As regards cross-word c l a s s usage o f t h e s e base and stem l e v e l

formatives w i t h i n t h e same languages, t h e r e a r e only a few excep t ions :

a ) Fyer has no noun p l u r a l t o match t h e formation of 66h-2 and

uses t h e s u f f i x -an only i n combination wi th -i- i n s e r t i o n ;

( b ) Bokkos uses s h o r t a ( i n t e r n a l o r s u f f i x e d ) i n noun p l u r a l s a s

opposed t o l o n g a a i n t h e verb system;

c ) Sha does no t use t h e s u f f i x -an i n noun p l u r a l s ( t h e r e a r e no

monoradical nouns contained i n t h e d a t a anyway! ) ;

(d) Kulere does not u se t h e s u f f i x -ay i n noun p l u r a l s .

I n g e n e r a l , t h e phonological condi t ions under which some o f t h e

formatives a r e o r a r e not app l i ed i n t h e verb system a r e only i n a few

cases i d e n t i c a l t o t h e condi t ions under which they a r e a p p l i e d i n t h e

noun system. ( ~ t ought t o be noted here t ha t the i n d i v i d u a l Ron l a n -

guages may use up t o p ight d i f f e r e n t noun p l u r a l formations through va-

r i o u s types o f apophonic, s u f f i x a l , r e d u p l i c a t i v e , and t o n a l p r o c e s s e s . )

Typps of noun p l u r a l s found i n Jungraithmayr ( D T O ) wh iLah mafcnh t h o s e

(l. -aa- )

223

verb formations as nuiabe1-ed i n t h e c h a r t above are i l l ~ s t r a . c e 3 . below.

Fyer

Bokkos

Daffo

Sha

Kulere

: \

yuur-U :

bor :

h&y : \

yuur-U :

ako t :

mwal :

mUto :

r e :

t i t w i :

f a t ; : / <Â

c i p q :

khsdm :

:

f i :

sakdr :

hwam :

mate1 :

g i s h :

bur :

' a ton :

baczn :

:

*?aku :

p e r i s h : / / s i s i g :

kiqgyer : /

sumor :

:uk&h :

zAr :

f y i L r

y i r

bwar

m w d l /

mutw-a

g i shash

bu r s r

bacenen

kirigyaar /\

sumaar

?ukw$h

z a i r

' Fyer i n d i v i d u a l ' ' eye ' 'home'

'head '

eye '

' c h i l d 1

' e a r '

' navel ' ' husband'

' sheep ' ' t r e e '

' f i n g e r n a i l '

' r a t '

' f i n g e r n a i l ' ' back '

' s l a v e ' ' e a r '

' hen ' 'bone ' w a r '

' nose ' ''bow1

' he-goat ' "baboon'

h o r s e ' '

s t a r '

' snake ' h a r e ' "baboon ' ' rope '

The s i t u a t i o n i n t h e Ron languages cannot he t aken t o he rep resen -

tative of t h e Western branch of Chadic. For c o n t r a s t i v e p ~ i r p o s e s ~ I

s h a l l t h e r e f o r e quote from t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e p l u r a l verb bases and

one type o f noun p l u r a l i n Kanakuru, and ti-ien t u r n t o a d i scuss ion of

some r e d u p l i c a t i v e formations i n t h e Hausa verb and noun systems.

5 . 2 . Kanakuru. I n h i s comprehensive t rea tment of t h e Kanakuru l a n -

guage, P . 2i-iiiiiaii ( l 974 : 72) desc r ibed a synchronic process o f "cor.c'onu,1'! +,

hardening" ( [+son] + [-son]) f o r bo th verb and noun p l u r a l s :

A small subse t o f Kariakuru verbs a r e number-sensitive and ob l igz - t o r i l y agree i n numberwith t h e d i r e c t o b j e c t of a t r a n s i t i v e sen tence , o r wi th t h e s u b j e c t of an i n t r a n s i t i v e sen tence . There i s never agreement between the vcr'b znci. t h e agen t ive s u b j e c t o f a t r a n s i t i v e sen tence . These p l u r a l verb stems a r e formed from t h e s i n g u l a r by "hardening" t h e second consonant o f t h e under ly ing r o o t . "

It i s Â¥wort n o t i n g t h a t "consonant hardening" i s a synchronic r u l e

whereas comparative evidence sugges ts t h a t h i s t o r i c a l l y we a r e witr iess-

i n g r e s u l t s of a "weakening" r u l e i n t h e s i n g u l a r stems of Kanakuru ( c f .

Newman 1970) . We may thus say t h a t weakening has occurred i n bases

under ly ing t h e unmarked stems of modern Kanakuru whi le t h e marked ( =

p l u r a l ) stems s t i l l show t h e consonants of t h e h i s t o r i c a l b a s e s . l 4 Cf.

a few s e l e c t e d examples from both systems:

Verb system Noun system

s g : p 1 s g : p1

dbwg : ' t i e ' l i w ; : ' ca labash ' \ !

pori : &cf; 'go o u t ' sh&& : sh&cf-iY& ' g a z e l l e ' / \ / \ muri : mute ' d i e '

141n an i n t e r e s t i n g a r t i c l e which I saw only a f t e r t h e d r a f t of t h i s paper was f i n i s h e d , F r a j zyngier (1976 ) advocates an a l t e r n a t i v e a n a l y s i s f o r Kanakuru verb (and noun) p l u r a l s . He has good reason t o r e l a t e t h e non-weakening of obs t ruen t s i n t h e p l u r a l forms t o under ly ing consonant r e d u p l i c a t i o n ( ! ) The q u a l i t y of t h e f i n a l vowel t hen becomes p r e d i c t - ab l e from t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e , c f . , f o r i n s t a n c e . t h e verb ' d i e ' :

< s g > : *muti : *mutte

4- + m u r i : mute

Tn t h i s way, YiV"ikuru provides e x c e l l e n t evidence f o r t h e t y p e of p l u r a l base augmentation by consonant r e d u p l i c a t i o n which we have a l r e a d y encountered i n Migama and, wi th vowel i n s e r t i o n between t h e r e d i q l i c a t e d r a d i c a l s , i n Hausa, Ron-%ha, and Lamang.

A s regards A - I 1 formation i n t h i s language, Kanakuru v\_ 3 m af a

riominalized verb stem ("gerundive") .

5 .3 . Hausa. When we t u r n t o Hausa i:or t h e d i scuss ion oi7 bases t h r ~ t I r e

marked, f o r , we f i n d t h a t t h e s i t u a t i o n i n t h i s West-

e r n branch language i s again q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from t h a t of t n c Ron Ism-

guages and Kanakuru. I n Hausa, simple 'oases a r e i n r e g u l a r coutra?:

with extended bases formed by means of r e d u p l i c a t i o n . The r e s u l t i n g

i n t e n s i v e forms of t h e IIansa V-CA" ~ a v e 1 c3;i exhaus t ive ly d i s c u s s 2~ -L,;

Fra j zyng ie r (1965) . I n Haus'a we f i n d s e v e r a l extended b a s e s . i.e. t u e

formations which Parsons (1960/61) has d i s t i n g u i s h e d a s "dencn ina t ive

verbs", "extended verbs" , "pos t - redupl ica ted d e r i v a t i v e ve rbs" , and

" p l u r a l ( o r f r e q u e n t a t i v e ) verbs". According t o F r a j zyngier ' s a n a l y s i s ,

t h e " i n t e n s i v e forms" of Hausa verbs a r e mani fes ted i n two of Pa r sons '

c l a s s e s a s ( 1 ) " p l u r a l verbs", and ( 2 ) "pos t - redupl ica ted d e r i v a t i v e

verbs". I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e a r e a f a i r number of ' v e r b s i n t e n s i v e i n

shape" ( ~ r a j z ~ n ~ i e r ) , i . e . without any simplex be ing found i n t h e d ic -

t i ona r i e s - - a s i t u a t i o n not uncommon i n o t h e r Chadic languages ( c f .

Lamang d i scussed i n s e c t i o n 4.1).

The types o f r e d u p l i c a t i v e verb "base formation can be i - l l u s t r a t e d

by t h e fo l lowing s e t o f stems i n Grade I V :

Underlying simple base

rniakhr-Le ' s t r a n g l e '

l

tarts-Le ' smash'

-

Underlying extended base 1 Type

As t h e c h a r t above shows, verb base formation i n v o l v e - t v o

d i s t i n c t t ypes o f r e d u p l i c a t i v e p roces ses , type ( l ) based on s y l l a b l e

r e d u p l i c a t i o n , and type ( 2 ) based on f i n a l oonsonarib r o d ~ ~ p l i c a t i o n .

Type ( 1 ) re-dupl icat ion based on p l i a b l e - means a d d i t i o n of a c losed a y l -

1abl.ra to tip: nimplc: base. ltie ur i : ,~ L cdrisunail L or tile added .. J 1 1 :ib.Le

and i i,:: TOWC-l -L. *>pi d rrom ' l , :;v l I c tb l e t o be rvdup l i ca t v i l . The

;y l i t i L L', is l o ~ e d by a coda con. 1 1 1 1 , whi ph is copi t ~ d . f r o m 1 - - + -i^

the fol lowing s y l l a b l e , i f t h e s y l l a b l e t o be reduylicat ,ed i s -- opcr!.

Closed s y l l a b l e s a r e r e d u p l i c a t e d completely. Compare:

i ) maakhr-6e : m~mmaafthr-ee ( < *mak+maakura < *maa-ku-ra) 1 5

hai f -& : h>hh&.f-aa ( < *hay+hayfi < *hay- f i ) ' g i v e b i r t h ' 'I i i ) in$akbr-6e : maakdrkhr-Le ( < *maa+kur+kura < *maa-ku-ra,

As t h e examples demonstrate , t h i s type of r e d u p l i c a t i o n may work 2 1 t h e

f i r s t s y l l a b l e . a s w e l l a s t h e second s y l l a b l e ( i n t h e case of -c r i sy l -

l a b i c simple b a s e s ) . T r i r a d i c a l bu t b i s y l l a b i c s imple bases of t h e Jt

type CVCCV can be transformed, i n t o under ly ing bases o f -the "Y P- CVVCV

v i t h open f i r s t s y l l a b l e , by i n s e r t i o n o f a vowel copied from t h e f i r s t

s y l l a b l e i n t o t h e second s y l l a b l e between C 2 and C 3 , c f .

We now t u r n t o type ( 2 ) o f r e d u p l i c a t i v e verb base formation, i . e .

Parsons ' "pos t - redupl ica t ive d e r i v a t i v e verbs". F r a j zyngier (1965 ) had

mentioned f o u r ca ses i n which t h e s e extended bases s e rve a s " i n t e n s i v e s "

(quoted i n t h e o f f i c i a l or thography from Bargery and ~ a y l o r ) :

t a r t s a : t a r t s a t s a ' t a k e a bee- l ine t o a p l a c e '

t a r t s e : t a r t s a t s e / t a r a r r a t s e 'smash'

girma : girmama 'grow b i g ' : ' r e s p e c t someone'

daukaki ' r e s p e c t someone'

(Whether t h e l a s t two examples can be accepted a s format ions

remains somewhat d o u b t f u l . )

These Hausa format ions , o f course , b e a r very c l o s e resemblance t o

formations d i scussed e a r l i e r i n t h i s paper , a l though t h e i r u se a s

i n t e n s i v e bases may be o f minor importance i n modern Hausa. This t y p e

involves "base l e v e l augmentation by means of r edup l i ca t ion o f t h e f i n a l

r a d i c a l consonant p l u s i n s e r t i o n of - a ( a ) - between t h e f i n a l two r a d i -

c a l s . The l e n g t h of t h e i n s e r t e d vowel seems t o depend on t h e s t r u c t u r e

15T'he a b s t r a c t e d "bases" of IIausa verbs a r e quoted wi th a f i n a l vowel f o l l o w i n g liewrnon 1975).

of t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e of t h e bases ( c f . t h e examples f o r "post--redupli-

caLiivefl verbs i n Parsons (1960/61:7, note 1 4 ) ) .

Redupl ica t ive base formation can be found i n t h e noun system of

Hausa a s w e l l . The r edup l i ca t ion of t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e seems t o apply

t o s i n g u l a r forms of semant ica l ly marked "non-singular/rlon-s?ir.plel '

r e f e r e n t s , e .g. fiff:k$e Iwing ( s g . ) , kakkaur- t h i c k , -9ut iis

use may no t be e n t i r e l y r e l a t e d t o semantic p r o p e r t i e s . Rechipli .~at!~m

involv ing t h e second s y l l a b l e a s w e l l a s t h e f i n a l consonant p l u s

+ ( a ) - i n s e r t i o n a r e w e l l a t t e s t e d i n base formations which mder ly

c e r t a i n t ypes o f nomianl p l u r a l s tems, e . g .

\ / \ \ \ / g a j e e r - : g a j a j j e e r u u ( < * g a j e r j e e r - ) ' s h o r t ( t h i n g s ) '

(1:) g i d i a : g i d i a j & e < *gidaad-I ' compound~s ) '

bat- : bak>ak&e b l a c k ( t h i n g s ) '

As regards A - I 1 formation i n Hausa, t h i s language makes u s e of a noaii-

n a l i z e d verb stem. Since base l e v e l i s t h u s no t involved a t a l l - , t h e r e

i s P O reason why verb bases should not occur i n t h e

va r ious forms of A - 1 1 ( "continuous , r e l a t i v e cont inuous, nega Live con-

t i nuous" ) which a r e a l l based on t h e v e r b a l noun.

Summary and conclusion

With t h i s -presenta t ion , I hope t o have .,hovn t h e wide d i s t r i b u t i c n

i n Chadic o f r e l a t e d formatives i n p l u r a l / i n t e n s i v e and a spec t - I1 verb

formations and i n noun p l u r a l s . A t t h e same t ime, it was o u r inten-cion

ti.) demonstrate how "Le d i s t i n r t i o n between "bases" and "stems" f a c i l i -

t o c c c t h e a n a l y s i s and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of r e l e v a n t u n i t s i n t h e r a t h e r

complex verb systems of s e l e c t e d Chadic languages , and how it can p rov ide

a framework f o r t h e comparative s tudy of verb systems.

As concerns t h e hypothes is o r o r i g i n a l i d e n t i t y o f and

< A - 1 1 > in t h e proto- language, t h e s a l i e n t observa t ions made w i t h regai'i-

t o t h e s e l e c t e d Chadic languages ran be suirmariz(5d in t h e c h a r t 'below.

* Inc ludes suprasegmental marking, v e r b a l noun stem s u b s t i t u t i o n , and a f f i x a t i o n a l marking

M i gama

Three important g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s can be drawn from t h e comparative

a n a l y s i s :

Predominantly o r exclusive-ly marked a t .

noun

( 1 ) Verb systems and noun systems make use of e i t h e r ident ica.1 o r a t

Lamang + - I - Ga ' anda + - + + 1 - Kapsiki + - Bachama + -

I I - - - - - - - v - - - -

Ran-Fyer ----l +

- + -i +

-Bokkos 1 - + + -Daffo + + - +

l e a s t very s i m i l a r formatives t o i n d i c a t e markedness i n b i n a r y opposi-

STEM l e v e l * <aspec t - I1 >

l + l ?

BASE l e v d < + p l > I <aspec t -11>

-Sha

-Kulere

Kanakuru

Haus a

t i o n s , bo th < s g > v s . i n noun a s w e l l a s verb systems, and < A - I > v s .

< A - 1 1 > i n t h e category of verb i n f l e x i o n . his has been observed f o r

1 +

Bachama, t h e Ron languages a s a whole, Kanakuru, and H a u s a ~ m a r k e d + i n

t h e l a s t column i n t h e t a b l e above. For Migama no d a t a on noun p l u r a l s

+

+ 1 +

were a v a i l a b l e , and t h e t h r e e remaining Cen t r a l "branch languages gene-

r a l l y u se an innovated s u f f i x t o mark noun p l u r a l s . )

2 ) When marking o f ve rba l and < A - 1 1 > t a k e s p l ace a t t h e base

Level, t h e two formations a r e l i k e l y t o " c o l l i d e " , i . e . they cannot co-

-

occur i n one and the same verb stem without t h e " n o u t r a l i z a t i o n l ' o f t h e

+

( + )

+ +

sg: p1 c o n t r a s t i n t h e < A - T i > f80rmatjions. his happens i n Migama, Ron-Sha,

Ron-Daffo, and proba.bly Kon-Kulere~marked hy + + under "base level" i n t h e

? h l r3 above. None; o f the f o u r Cen t r a l branch languages wan found t,o

+ 4-

- + -

l +

marked a t t h e base l e v e l . I f ( A - I I > cont inues t o be marked : c +,he

l e v e l ( c f . t h e monoverbs of Ron-Daffo and 3on-~na) . 11' t,i1c fea.zurc

 i s marked in the verb base, t hen <A--LI) ara.Aing may

be s h i f t e d completely t o t h e stem l e v e l , f o r i n s t a n c e , by u s e o f s ~ ~ e c i a l

s u f f i x e s , by s h i f t i n g from segmental -to suprasegmental marking, 1-ly

s h i f t i n g from vero stem t o nomi.nalized v e r b a l noun stern, o r Ly any ,:om~i--

na t ion of t h e s e dev ices . ( ~ a n ~ u a g e s ' of t h i s type a r e Lamany:, , da ' anda ,

Kaps ik i , Bachama, Ron-Qer, Kanakuru, and. Hausa--marked + und-er 'base

l e v e l < + p l > " and "stem l e v e l (A-11>". )

I s h a l l no t c lo se t h i s p r e s e n t a t i on without ven tu r ing a poss ib l e - -

though admi t ted ly h i g h l y speculat ive-- i r lzerprel .a t ion of uhe observed

phenomena, i . e . propose a hypothes is on Lhe h i s t o r i c a l developi~eni: o f

t h e synchronic p a t t e r n i n g of r e l a t e d forniatives i n no-on p l u r a l s , verb

p l u r a l s , and t h e semant ica l ly marked a s p e c t . For t h e purposes o f t h i s

paper , I s h a l l mainly fol low Klingenheben (1926129, 1956 1 f-';r Pro to--

A f r o a s i a t i ~ ~ and Moscati e t a l . (1969) f o r Pro to-Semi t ic (wh:;.ch I t a ke

Lo r ep re sen t t h e c l o s e s t approximati-on t o Proto-Afroasia-uic avai.1.a.bi.e

The marked bases were c h a r a c t e r i z e d by such forrnatives as poss ib ly redu-

p l i c a t i o n of t h e base ( p a r t l y o r completely, i nc lud ing consonant recid-

p l i c a t i o n e s p e c i a l l y o f 2nd o r f i n a l r a d i c a l , wi th o r wit,hout [="gem-ina-

t i o n " ] vowel i n s e r t i o n ) , segmental augmentation by consonant a d d i t i o n

and/or vowel i n s e r t i o n , and/or apophonic vowel changes, t o mark : ~ l u r a l -

l i k e semantic f e a t u r e s i n both t h e noun and t h e verb systems. A l !

bases were allowed t o combine wi th stem-forming a f f i x e s , such a s gcnaer

and number markers i n t h e nominal system, and va r ious i n f l e x i o n a l and

t hema t i c -de r iva t iona l a f f i x e s i n t h e verb system. I cons ider it l i k e l y

tha t - - i f only by analogy--the concept of t h e s g : p l c o n t r a s t had e n t e r e d

t h e verb system through t h i s symmetrical reshaping of t h e base s y s t e n a t '

some e a r l i e r s t a g e of proto-Afroasia-fcic. p or t h e period, i n which t h e

Proto-Chadic s p l i t occur red , I assume--following Jungraithmayr in t h i s

r e s p e c t ~ t h a t only t h e s e two bases opera ted i n t h e verb system and t h a t

t h e morphological c o n t r a s t between t h e s e two was p r i m a r i l y t h a t of

' s imple" v s . "augmented". ) During a fo l lowing s t age of development wi th-

i n t h e verb system, t h e cogn i t i ve value of t h e p l u r a l - l i k e semantic fea-

t a r e and i t s corresponding format ives was l o s t because t h e marked base

had begun t o be t r a n s f e r r e d from t h e d e r i v a t i o n a l i n t o t h e i n f l e x i o n a l

ca tegory . This s h i f t may have been supported by ( a ) t h e l o s s o f t h e

b ina ry oppos i t i on , i . e . because one of t h e aspec t bases had ceased t o

func t ion a s a simple stem, i .e . a s a r e a l u n i t i n t h e b i n a r y o p p o s i t i o n ,

having come t o serve only a s a common underlying form f o r a s e t o f

a f f i x a t i o n a l l y der ived " tenses" ( i n A - I 1 , e .g. f o r " i t e r a t i v e " , " f r e -

quen ta t ive" , "subjunct ive" , e t c . ) which, a s a group, c o n t r a s t e d wi th a

s i n g l e t e n s e o r group of t e n s e s based on t h e oppos i te a s p e c t ; and/or by

{a) t h e l o s s of t h e marked "base i t s e l f , i . e . because f o r c e r t a i n r e a s o n s

t h e A - 1 1 base de r ived s t e m ( s ) had been s u b s t i t u t e d by o r merged w i t h

o t h e r i n f l e x i o n a l stems--in Chadic e s p e c i a l l y , / i t h a nominalized s tem

b u i l t on t h e unmarked (<A-T>) base . Thus A - I 1 was e i t h e r no l o n g e r

f e l t t o c a r r y p l u r a l - l i k e semantic f e a t u r e s o r t h e A-11 base had

ceased, t o func t ion a s a g r m a L i c a l u n i t alLogethi r. I n any c a s e , a

cop-r,li,ive ca tegory of ve rba l p l u r a l i t y had developed i n compet i t ion w i t h

the asper:t2uÂ£i. dichotomy whnro the l a t t e r becam? rnorf" Q\H\ more in t e rp re ted .

! f - 1 1 1 l . r l lit:: 0 1 ' " I 'U I I I~ I r t , < ' i i v V:;. 1 n~ui i ip I i , L i ; d f ' ; i . i :~. ! i , i ! . , i . / [ ~ i . : j i : I ~ l > , (,i ic:;i '

~i:~,i~:.i! l ! f l I 11~: i .1; :" w i . , t ~ \ t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ d r d 1 . 0 : ; i : rvc \ l . l i i ' r r i \. iui.\ icr euri i 'c,t, i j i v i i , i ' ; ; ! ~ l ~ j i , : r L

:: i ,,JJ,I, [un, ; ; i~ : i ' i o r DI),,cL:I, , or x , y . r i ; i . - ~ i ~ , ~ i i , W i UI :;~.;rri:-i.nt,.i c I'LL(: (,or:; i 1 1 :i. v i ' 1

( 'o l l i il i iol , be i nd i i. ' ;~Lt:i i i 1 1 Llii.' i 1 1 l ' i t : ; i i ~ ~ ~ : i , I (:.Â¥~.I.~,for;; i . c . D,y : s r f i . , ' . ' i , ur'

l,l.\n:;c ( l ; r r - i ; i : i , i i "AI< I, i o n : ; : ~ r i , c r i " ) . A L S.11 i S l.~:i,r!., i c:u i :,.I' :: l,;iy;i' 0 1 ' ilL,v,-.!.: ! ' -

. , . . i i i i ' u L , vcr 'L) " p i.ut.':~I.::/ i r i t , ( ~ r i ~ ; i ivr;;" r i U i c r 1 'o in :~ i I I C , ~ :.i.iui. !I~;~;LIIII.: i i L:,&[ :,' ( 1

wi l.ii :i [ \ ' W v e r b ; : o r , :.L:; a pri~clu~:t.i.i~i; ~ I>OO: ; ; : : , ~ ' i : - i , i i ~ ~ : r c i ~ l . i i c > Â¥-:, '; .Â¥L : : V , . ....

!,(!lil, i.: i b l l c ' f L t i t ' 9 l J c I i t, l irtt l :~,l,J tf dc:J?i.vaL ini! :J,L Li l l , ' -ii Li. 'nl i i ! V i ' l , GJ: ^. ' l ( . 'y b-'~?;',

.xi ~911. i l p v e r ~ h e - leave the safer grounds of comparative phonolcw and. 1 -

less 1 am of the opinion that the data available from Chadic languages

are today of sufficient quantity and quality to venture comparative

'enterprises of great pitch and moment" in the field, of gracmar too.

Many aspects of the problem necessarily had to be left iinconsi4ered3

mainly because my inquiry into them has not yet gone far emu*. Admit-

tedly this paper raises more questions than it answers. Yet one a.?::

this presentation has been to stimulate fellow Chadicists and maybe even

Hamito-Semitists to check the hypotheses and, on the basis of their o w

experience, either reject the approach suggested here or accept it as a

promising line of further research in the fields of comparative Chadic

and comparative Afroasiatic.

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