WOCAL 7 – Buea The origin and spread of possessee -like qualifiers in Central Africa.
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http:// llacan.vjf.cnrs.fr/ [email protected] s.fr UMR8135 CNRS INaLCO Centre André-Georges Haudricourt 7 rue Guy Môquet 94801 Villejuif Cedex - France Mark Van de Velde LLACAN - C.N.R.S. (Paris) WOCAL 7 – BUEA THE ORIGIN AND SPREAD OF POSSESSEE- LIKE QUALIFIERS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.
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Mark Van de Velde LLACAN - C.N.R.S. (Paris). WOCAL 7 – Buea The origin and spread of possessee -like qualifiers in Central Africa. 1. Introduction: possessee -like qualifiers. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of WOCAL 7 – Buea The origin and spread of possessee -like qualifiers in Central Africa.
http://llacan.vjf.cnrs.fr/[email protected]
UMR8135 CNRS INaLCOCentre André-Georges Haudricourt7 rue Guy Môquet 94801 Villejuif Cedex - France
Mark Van de VeldeLLACAN - C.N.R.S. (Paris)
WOCAL 7 – BUEA
THE ORIGIN AND SPREAD OF POSSESSEE-LIKE QUALIFIERS IN
CENTRAL AFRICA.
1. INTRODUCTION: POSSESSEE-LIKE QUALIFIERS
In a number of central African languages attributive NPs have the form of genitive constructions headed by the qualifier, i.e. the qualifier is construed as a possessee.
1. INTRODUCTION: POSSESSEE-LIKE QUALIFIERS
(1) Basaa (Bantu; Hyman 2003)a. li-wanda li=kiŋɛ5-friend V.GEN=chief‘the friend of the chief’b. li-kɛŋgɛ li=m-ut5-clever V.GEN=1-person‘a clever person’c. ma-kɛŋgɛ ma=ɓ-ôt6-clever VI.GEN=2-persons‘clever people’
1. INTRODUCTION: POSSESSEE-LIKE QUALIFIERS
PLAC but not DRNA
(2) Makwe (Benue-Congo, Bantu; Mozambique; Maud Devos 2008: 136)
muú-nu w-a=ki-búúli1-person I-GEN=7-silent‘a silent person’ (literally: ‘person of silent’)
(3) Zaar (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic, West B3; Nigeria; Bernard Caron 2005: 227)
lat kə muːriskin GEN new‘a new skin’ (literally: ‘skin of new’)
1. INTRODUCTION: POSSESSEE-LIKE QUALIFIERS
Sometimes compared to: expressive binominal NPs (EBNPs) (Ad Foolen 2004)
(4) Shingazidja (Benue-Congo, Bantu; Grande Comore; Michel Lafon 1997: 161)
a. trombe l-a=m-ndru [5]avorted_seed V-GEN=1-person
‘a dead loss’ b. dji-ndru l-a=meza
5-giant V-GEN=table ‘a huge table’
2. EXAMPLES FROM BENUE-CONGO LANGUAGES
Eton (Bantu A70; Cameroon; Mark Van de Velde 2008)
2. EXAMPLES FROM BENUE-CONGO LANGUAGES
Eton (Bantu A70; Cameroon; Mark Van de Velde 2008)
(5) ɛbèŋ ɛ lôŋɛ-bɛŋ ɛ=lòŋ5-beauty V.GEN=[5]hair‘beautiful hair’
(6) iŋgúŋgwal i môdi-ŋgúŋgwal i=m-òd7-miserable VII.GEN=1-person ‘a miserable person’
2. EXAMPLES FROM BENUE-CONGO LANGUAGES
(7) a. ivèvɛz mpég iꜜté ku i-vəvɛz H=ɴ-pɛg i-Ltɛ L-ku7-light VII.GEN=3-bag VII.PR
INF-fall ‘The light bag falls.’
b. mèté ꜜyɛn yɔ mə-Ltɛ L-jɛn j-ɔ1SG-PR INF-see VII-PRO‘I see it.’
3. EXAMPLES FROM UBANGIAN LANGUAGES
3.1. Gbaya (CAR; Paulette Roulon-Doko 1987, 2008, p.c.)
3. EXAMPLES FROM UBANGIAN LANGUAGES
3.1. Gbaya (CAR; Paulette Roulon-Doko 1987, 2008, p.c.)Two genitival constructions (-H and kɔ), with different semantics.
(8) gbaʔa fɔgbaʔa-H fɔold-REL field‘an old field (waste land)’
(9) gasa tuagasi-a(-H) tuabe.big-ADJ-(REL) house‘a big house’
3. EXAMPLES FROM UBANGIAN LANGUAGES
(10) bafa ndaèbafa-H ndaèmale-REL cow‘a bull’
(11) wèé yiwèè-H yifire-REL water‘hot water’
3. EXAMPLES FROM UBANGIAN LANGUAGES
(12) gasaagasi-a-H-abe.big-ADJ-REL-3SG.POSS.INAN‘the big one’ (lit. ‘its being big’)
3. EXAMPLES FROM UBANGIAN LANGUAGES
(9) gasa tuagasi-a(-H) tuabe.big-ADJ-(REL) house‘a big house’
(13) gasi kɔ tuabigness REL house‘the bigness of the house’
4. EXAMPLES FROM CHADIC LANGUAGES
Hausa (West Chadic; Nigeria)
4. EXAMPLES FROM CHADIC LANGUAGES
(14) kaaka-an yaaròograndfather-LK.MS boy[MS]‘the boy’s grandfather’
(15) riigaa far-aagown[FS] white-FS‘white gown’
4. EXAMPLES FROM CHADIC LANGUAGES
(16) a. far-a-r riigaawhite-FS-LK.FS gown[FS]‘white gown’
b. far-i-n zanèèwhite-MS-LK.MS cloth[MS]‘white cloth’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
• The geographical distribution combined with the typological rarity clearly point to a contact phenomenon
• But given the important typological variation between instances of this construction type in the languages of Central Africa:
• Which feature spread?• An abstract constructional scheme: use the
same strategy for expressing possessees and qualities.
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
3.2. Zande (DRCongo; Raymond Boyd 1987, ms.)
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
3.2. Zande (DRCongo; Raymond Boyd 1987, ms.)
(25) meme nyaboneanimal‘The bone of an animal’
(26) ga gbia ꜜkúmbaGEN chiefman‘the chief’s man’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
(27) paranga ꜜkúmbayoung man‘a boy’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
(30) a. gbanga ngua naa gurungua
long tree with shorttree‘the long stick and the short stick’
b. gbanga nguanaa guru hélong tree with short
3SG.INAN.POSS‘the long stick and the short one’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
(31) a. fura bòro wa fura angotétrackperson like trackdog NEG‘A person’s track is not like a dog’s
track.’b. fura bòro wa ga angoté
trackperson like GEN dog NEG‘A person’s track is not like a
dog’s.’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
(32) a. gbinza kúmba wa gbinzade té
old man like old woman NEG‘An old man is not like an old
woman.’b. gbinza kúmba wa ga de té
old man like GEN woman NEG‘Old men and women are not the
same.’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Kwakum (Bantu A93; Cameroon; Belliard 2006)
(33) a. paa myaʃigood3-voice‘a beautiful voice’b. ngúmba kɔnduentire 3-month‘an entire month’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
“La grande majorité des qualificatifs est dérivée de thèmes nominaux ou verbaux au moyen d’une finale –aawɛ”(34) a. calaawɛ ‘fast, sharp’ < cal ‘speed’
ɟòmaawɛ ‘dry’ < ɟomo ‘to dry’
b. i-dɛlɔ bulaawɛ 8-clothes many‘many clothes’
6. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
A TENTATIVE SCENARIO• The DRNA pattern originates in the
Ubangian languages.• In Gbaya, for instance, the majority of
qualifiers are relational nouns derived from verbs. DRNA constructions are structurally identical to Action Nominal Constructions.
• This analysis does not (or rarely) work in non-Ubangian “DRNA languages” in the area. DRNA must have been borrowed from Ubangian in these languages.
