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
 I977

ISBN 90 70110 1 7 2

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 CONTENTS

Preface

DAUDA BAGAEI
Reanalyzing t h e Hausa c a u s a t i v e morpheme

W . E . A. VAN BEEK
Color t e r m s i n Kapsiki

J A C K CARNOCHAN
Bachama and Semito-Hamitic

KAREN H . EBERT
D e f i n i t e n e s s i n Kera

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

PHILIP JAGGAR
The n a t u r e and f u n c t i o n o f a u x i l i a r y v e r b s i n Hausa

WILLIAM R . LEBEN
P a r s i n g 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 p r o c e s s 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 v e r b 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 ? )v e r b base f o r m a t i o n s
 Preface

T h i s volume c o n s i s t s o f a c o l l e c t i o n o f p a p e r s o r i g i n a l l y p r e s e n t e d
a t t h e Leiden Colloquium on t h e Chadic Language Family, h e l d i n Leiden,
The N e t h e r l a n d s , September 15-17, 1976. A l l o f t h e p a p e r s p r e s e n t e d at
t h e Colloquium a r e i n c l u d e d h e r e . The volume i s n e v e r t h e l e s s n o t a
p r o c e e d i n g s i n t h e s t r i c t s e n s e o f t h e t e r m , and t h i s d e s i g n a t i o n has
p u r p o s e l y been avoided i n t h e t i t l e .
The purpose o f t h e Colloquium--the f i r s t meeting e v e r t o b e devoted
e x c l u s i v e l y t o Chadic l i n g u i s t i c s - - w a s t o s t i m u l a t e t h e exchange o f
i d e a s and d a t a on Chadic languages by p r o v i d i n g s c h o l a r s from a l l over
t h e world t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o e s t a b l i s h p e r s o n a l c o n t a c t w i t h one a n o t h e r
and t o l e a r n about work b e i n g c a r r i e d out e l s e w h e r e . Consistent with
t h e s e aims, a l l o f t h e Colloquium papers were viewed a s p r e l i m i n a r y ver-
sions. 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 m e e t i n g ,
some were simply p r e s e n t e d o r a l l y ; b u t i n e i t h e r c a s e , it was u n d e r s t o o d
t h a t t h e a u t h o r s welcomed comments, c r i t i c i s m , and s u g g e s t i o n s by t h e
other participants. The f i n a l v e r s i o n s of t h e p a p e r s , r e v i s e d t o i n c o r -
p o r a t e t h e v a r i o u s m o d i f i c a t i o n s a r i s i n g from d i s c u s s i o n s a t t h e Collo-
quium and subsequent communication between t h e a u t h o r s and t h e e d i t o r s ,
were completed d u r i n g t h e s i x months f o l l o w i n g t h e Colloquium.
The Leiden Colloquium was an i n f o r m a l meeting open t o a l l i n t e -
rested scholars. 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 t e n d e d : England, France, West Germany, The N e t h e r l a n d s , N i g e r i a , and
t h e United S t a t e s . I n terms o f t h e r e s e a r c h i n t e r e s t s o f t h e p a r t i c i - -
p a n t s , a l l f o u r c o u n t r i e s b o r d e r i n g on Lake Chad where Chadic languages
a r e spoken were r e p r e s e n t e d , namely, Cameroon, Chad, N i g e r , and N i g e r i a .
The p a p e r s i n t h i s volume a r e a good r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e n a t u r e and
range o f work b e i n g 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 c o m p a r a t i v e / h i s t o r i c a 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
f o c u s i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l p a p e r s i s g e n e r a l l y on problems w i t h i n Cliadic,
although comparisons i n v o l v i n g t h e broader A f r o a s i a t i c phylum a r e a l s o
touched o n . I n t h e d e s c r i p t i v e p a p e r s , a h a l f dozen d i f f e r e n t l a n g u a g e s
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 o f o r i g i n a l f i e l d
r e s e a r c h by t h e a u t h o r s . Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , Hausa i s t h e o n l y language
t o which more t h a n one d e s c r i p t i v e s t u d y i s devoted.
The Colloquium was sponsored and o r g a n i z e d by t h e D e p a r t ~ ~ noft
A f r i c a n L i n g u i s t i c s , Leiden U n i v e r s i t y . We would l i k e t o thank uur
c o l l e a g u e s J a n Voorhoeve, T h i l o 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 s u p p o r t o f t h e F a c u l t y o f L e t t e r s of t h e
U n i v e r s i t y , and of t h e 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

Contributors

Dauda B a g a r i , Dept. of N i g e r i a n Languages, Bayero U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e ,

Kano, N i g e r i a .
W. E . A . van Beek, I n s t i t u u t voor C u l t u r e l e A n t r o p o l o g i e , U n i v e r s i t e i t
Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
J a c k Carnochan, Dept. of P h o n e t i c s , School o f O r i e n t a l and A f r i c a n
S t u d i e s , U n i v e r s i t y of London, London, England.
Karen H . E b e r t , I n s t i t u t fiir Eriglische und Amerikanische P h i l o l o g i e ,
P h i l i p p s - U n i v e r s i t g t , Marburg, W . Germany.
Zygmunt F r a j z y n g i e r , Dept. o f L i n g u i s t i c s , U n i v e r s i t y o f Colorado,
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.
P h i l i p J a g g a r , Seminar fiir A f r i k a n i s c h e Sprachen und K u l t u r e n , 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 t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y , S t a n f o r d ,
C a l i f o r n i a , U.S .A.
P a u l Newman, A f r i k a a n s e Taalkunde, U n i v e r s i t e i t t e Leiden, Leiden,
Netherlands.
Roxana Ma Newman, A f r i k a a n s e Taalkunde, U n i v e r s i t e i t t e L e i d e n , Leiden,
Netherlands.
B e l l o Ahmad S a l i m , Dept. of N i g e r i a n Languages, Bayero U n i v e r s i t y
C o l l e g e , Kano , N i g e r i a .
R u s s e l l G . Schuh, Dept. of L i n g u i s t i c s , U n i v e r s i t y o f 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. S k i n n e r , Dept. o f A f r i c a n Languages and L i t e r a t u r e , Univer-
s i t y o f Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
N e i l S k i n n e r , Dept. of A f r i c a n Languages and L i t e r a t u r e , U n i v e r s i t y of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Ekkehard Wolff, Seminar f{lr A f r i k a n i s c h e Sprachen und K u l t u r e n , 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 ) Van Leynseele ( ~ e i d e n )

D. Barreteau ( p a r i s ) Meyer-Bahlburg ( ~ a m b u r ~ )
P. Boyeldieu ( p a r i s ) Rossing adi is on)
T. L. Cook ( ~ e i d e n ) Sachnine ( p a r i s )
G. Dimmendaal ( L e i d e n ) Saxon ( L O S Angeles)
A. J . Drewes ( ~ e i d e n ) Sc'hadeberg ( ~ e i d e r i )
L. Gerhardt ( ~ a m b u r g ) Schumann ( ~ a m b u r g )
C. Hoffmann (ibadari) Stallcup ( Stanford)
H . J o c k e r s ( ~ a r n b u r )g Voorhoeve ( L e i d e n )
M. Konter-Katani ( ~ e i d e n )
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. Introduction

I n 1960, F. W . Parsons p r e s e n t e d a comprehensive c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f

Hausa verbs,which h a s s i n c e beeen g e n e r a l l y a c c e n t e d 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 -
c a t i o n of Hausa v e r b s i n t o seven m o r p h o l o g i c a l l y 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 t o n e p a t t e r n , and on s y n t a c t i c and semantic
correlation.

( 1) Grade Examples
1 duubg ' t o look f o r (something)'
2 duubg ' t o look a t '
3 zubg 'to spill'
h zubee ' t o pour / s p i l l o u t '
5 zubd ' t o pour away'
6 zuboo ' t o pour ( i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n ) '
7 zubg ' t o "be a l l poured o u t '

1.1. S u r f a c e forms of v e r b s

The a c t u a l s u r f a c e forms of v e r b s a r e d e s c r i b e d w i t h r e f e r e n c e 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
o b j e c t immediately f o l l o w s t h e v e r b ; a "B-F'orm" , which i s used i f a
d i r e c t o b j e c t p e r s o n a l pronoun f o l l o w s t h e v e r b ; and a "C-Form", used
b e f o r e a d i r e c t o b j e c t o t h e r t h a n a p e r s o n a l pronoun. The f o l l o w i n g d i a -
gram e x e m p l i f i e s t h e s u r f a c e r e a l i z a t i o n s o f a l l t h e o c c u r r i n g forms o f
a l l seven g r a d e s .

~ o u b l evowe1.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 h i g h t o n e , and- L a low

tone.
 (2) Grade A-f orm
-.--

l Termination : -aa
Tone P a t t e r n : HLH)
Terminat,ion : -aa
Tone P a t t e r n : LH(L)
'Termination: -a
Tone P a t t e r n : LH(L)
Termination: -ee
Tone P a t t e r n : HL(H
Termination : -a? -a? ( d a )
Tone P a t t e r n : HH(H HH(H)
Terminati-on : -00
Tone P a t t e r n : HH(H
Termination: -U
Tone P a t t e r n : (L)LH

l .2 . The l l c a u s a t i v e l ' gra*

Grade 5 v e r b s a r e u s u a l l y c a l l e d " c a u s a t i v e grade v e r b s "because

t h e i r meaning almost always i m p l i e s c a u s a t i o n . In tne analysis of
Parsons ( l 9 6 0 / 6 1 ) and o f Neman ( 1 9 ~ 3 t)h~e c a u s a t i v e morpheme/marker i s
taken 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.
v e r b minus f i n a l v o w e l ) . Thus, a c c o r d i n g t o P a r s o n s , t h e s o - c a l l e d
' c a u s a t i v e " verb i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by " ( a ) t h e t e r m i n a t i o n -a~,'-as' arci.

( b ) a h i g h t o n e on each s y l l a b l e " . P a r s o n s a l s o observed some i d i o s y n -

c r a s i e s o f t h e c a u s a t i v e grade t h a t a r e n o t found w i t h o r h e r g r a d e s ,
such a s ( i ) " t h e p o t e n t i a l i t y o f dropping i t s t e r m i n a t i o n and a p p e a r i n g
simply a s a v e r b a l b a s e under c e r t a i n s y n t a c t i c a l c o n t e x t s and mtier c e r -
t a i n p h o n o l o g i c a l l y and l e x i c a l l y determined c o n d i t i o n s , ( i i ) a com-
p l e t e l y synonymous by-form i n which an e x t r a high t o n e d s y l l a b l e o r s u f -
fix -shee i s added, e i t h e r t o t h e f u l l form i n -as, or t o the
' a p o c o p a t e d l ' form r e p r e s e n t e d 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 s o - c a l l e d by-form
when he i d e n t i f i e s it w i t h t h e c a u s a t i v e marker - ( a ) s , s a y i n g "it i s

2 ~ ~ i s t ~ r i c at hl le y -F is d e r i v e d from an - S , whir11 is s t i l l pro-

nounced i n some n o r t h e r n d i a l e c t s of Hausa. H e n ~ e f o r t ~ hI, wi l1 LP wri-
t i n g t h e c a u s a t i v e marker a s - a s .
e v i d e n t 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 nothing
b u t t h e u n d e r l y i n g c a u s a t i v e marker -(a)s p l u s t h e pre-pronoun /ee/" ,
and I a g r e e w i t h Newman i n t h i s r e s p e c t .

1.3. The aims o f t h i s paper

I n t h i s p a p e r , I w i l l f i r s t o f a l l q u e s t i o n -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 o f Hausa c a u s a t i v e v e r b s a c c o r d i n g t o which C-riide
5 v e r b s a r e a n a l y z e d 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. v e r b minus
f i n a l vowel) and a c a u s a t i v e marker -as. I w i l l b r i n g forward e v i d e n c e
from w i t h i n Hausa t o demonstrate t h a t t h e c a u s a t i v e marker i s a c t u a l l y
only -S and not -as or -(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 o f a t t a c h i n g t h i s s u f f i x t o a v e r b i n o r d e r t o t u r n it i n t o
a c a u s a t i v e v e r b , one way u s i n g t h e v e r b a l r o o t ( j u s t l i k e t h e o t h e r
g r a d e s ) and a second way i n which t h e s u f f i x i s a t t a c h e d t o v e r b a l stems.
Secondly, I w i l l demonstrate how a c a u s a t i v e v e r b can drop i t s termina-
t i o n by u s i n g a p h o n o l o g i c a l r u l e which I have r e c e n t l y d i s c o v e r e d i n
Hausa.

2. Deriving t h e causative verb

There a r e two d i f f e r e n t ways by which a c a u s a t i v e v e r b can b e de-

r i v e d i n Hausa: (l) by s u f f i x i n g t h e c a u s a t i v e marker -s t o verbal
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 v e r -
b a l steins ( i . e . verb p l u s f i n a l v o w e l ) . 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 d e r i v e c a u s a t i v e v e r b s by s u f f i x i n g

t h e c a u s a t i v e 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 d e r i v e d . For example:
(3) Citation ~ o r m ^ Root Causative form
kooi-naa 'go back' *kooin- *koom-s- -+ kwan-S-' 'tabb a c k '

fita 'go o u t ' *£it * f i t - s - -* fis-s 'take ( s t h . ) o u t '

zuba ( a ) 'spill' *zub- zub-s-/zuu-s- p o u r / ' ~ h r t ws.wayt
rawaa 'dance' *raw- *raw-s- -+ rau-s- ' shake '
gay aa 'tell' *gay- *gay-S- -+ gai-s- ' greex '
H i s t o r i c a l l y , a l l Chadic languages had ( a n d some s t i l l h a v e / two
c l a s s e s of v e r b s : a-ending and i - e n d i n g ( c f . Newman 3 9 7 3 ) . %-asati?-e
v e r b s 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 - e n d i n g
v e r b s i n Hausa. Almost a l l Hausa d i a l e c t s have s t o p p e d u s i n g t h i s method
of d e r i v i n g 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 , b u t which I don't
speak anymore), t h a t s t i l l u s e s t h e root-method i n d e r i v i n g c a u s a t i v e
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 g e o g r a p h i c a l l y remote

from t h e "core-Hausa" d i a l e c t s of Kano, K a t s i n a , Sokoto, e t c . , and i s
u s u a l l y r e g a r d e d ( 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 v e r y con-
s e r v a t i v e form o f Hausa. I n t h i s d i a l e c t , c a u s a t i v e v e r b s a r e s t i l l con-
s i s t e n t l y d e r i v e d through t h e root-method, and a r e n o t restricted t o ~ h s -
B-Form o n l y . It i s t h e r e f o r e n o t uncommon t o h e a r v i l l a g e p e o p l e i n
Azare market, e s p e c i a l l y women, s a y i n g :

%he c i t a t i o n form of a v e r b i s t h e form found i n d i c t i o n a r i e s ( e . g .

Abraham 1 9 6 2 ) , which i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y t a k e n t o be t h e b a s e form f r o m which
o t h e r forms a r e d e r i v e d .
' ^ ~ a u s does
a n o t allow l o n g vowels i n c l o s e d s y l l a b l e s . Thus t h e ].on&
00 i n koom- i s s h o r t e n e d t o *kom-, ' and a n o t h e r ( 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 d e r i v e d from t h e v e r b r o o t *raw-. The
v e r b a l b a s e * r a m does n o t o c c u r . The r o o t *raw- from which t h e
c a u s a t i v e form i s d e r i v e d 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 b a s e d or.
v e r b s , such a s a g e n t i a l and l o c a t i v e nouns, e . g . m a r a y i i ' d a n c e r v a n d
marayaa ' p l a c e f o r d a n c i n g t .
'lizare i s t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and commercial c e n t r e o f G u d d i r 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 o f Gud-
d i r i l a n d come on Sundays. The poodle l i v i n g i n Azare ( a n d o t h e r l a r g e r
towns of G u d d i r i ) do n o t speak t,he Guddiri d i a l e c t anymore.
 7
(h) yau naa sal-S-i kaayaanaa da wuri
today I-comp. buy-cause goods-my w i t h 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 w i t h 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 sai-S-ii (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 y o u ? '

Compare t h e s e t o s t a n d a r d Hausa:

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

today I-comp. Duy-cause ( m a r k e r ) 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/? (da) suulsai-sh-ee su d a 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 c e e r i i g a - F da Audu ya 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 y o u ? '

2.2. The stem-method

I n t h i s method, c a u s a t i v e v e r b s 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 v e r b a l stems ( i . e . v e r b p l u s f i n a l v o w e l ) , e . g .

1 0 ) Verba,l stem Causative

koomaa ' go back ' kooma-S ' t a k e back'
zuba ( a ) 'spill' zuba-S p o u r / t h r o w away'
fita 'go o u t ' fita-S 'take out'
rawaa 'dance' f n . ) rawa-S ' shake '
gaYaa 'tell' gaya-S 'greet'

C a u s a t i v e v e r b s formed through t h e stem-method can o p t i o n a l l y b e aug-

mented w i t h t h e p r e p o s i t i o n da, whose numerous ( s e m a n t i c ) 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 o f S to sh
t a k e s ? l a c e o n l y b e f o r e e and n o t b e f o r e i .
i n c l u d e t h e marking o f c a u s a t i o n , e . g .

(11) yaaro-n yaa fita-? ( 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 '

girl-the .
she -camp b u y cause ( p r e p . ) d r e s s - h e r
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 g r a d e s n o t o n l y i n having a " p h o n e t i c ( a 1 l y ) -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 o f dropping i t s t e r m i n a t i g n znd appe3:;-
i n g s i n q l y a s a v e r b a l b a s e i n c e r t a i n s y n t a c t i c a l c o i i t e x t s and wider
c e r t a i n p h o n o l o g i c a l l y 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 h e r e i s t h e occurrence o f c a u s a t i v e v e r b s such a s :

(13) rau-da ' shake ' sai-da 'sell'

gai-da 'greet' kwan-da ' t a k e "back'

I a g r e e w i t h Parsons t h a t t h e forms i n ( 1 3 ) a r e d e r i v e d from l o n g e r

( u n d e r l y i n g ) forms through t h e d e l e t i o n of t h e c a u s a t i v e marker -S and
t h e vowel t h a t p r e c e d e s it,. That i s t o s a y , t h e forms i n ( 1 3 ) a r e de-
r i v e d from t h o s e i n ( 1 4 ) below.

( 14) r a m - ? da ( -+ rau-da)
gaya-7 da ( -^ gai-da)
saya-F da ( -+ sai-da)
koma-F da ( -+ kwan-da)

However, Parsons does not account f o r t h i s k i n d o f 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 o n l y when " t h e v e r b a l b a s e c o n s i s t s
o f or--In t h e case o f 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 o f t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n s o n a n t s . . . / y / , /W/, /t/, /I/;/r/,
/b/, /m/".

'~11d e s c r i p t i o n s o f 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); b u t t h i s is riot t r u e . in many
d i a l e c t s , these sentences a r e p e r f e c t l y acceptable without the da.
 Row, I would suggest t h a t Hausa has t h e f o l l o w i n g o p t i o n a l r u l e :

T h i s r u l e d e l e t e s a sequence of vowel and consonant in word-final posi-

t i o n i f t h e sequence i s preceded by a s o n o r a n t consonant. It i s t h i s
r u l e t h a t o p e r a t e s on t h o s e Hausa c a u s a t i v e v e r b s t h a t a r e d e r i v e d
through t h e stem-method and d e l e t e s t h e c a u s a t i v e marker -S p l u s n he
f i n a l vowel o f t h e v e r b a l S-cem. When t h e c a u s a t i v e marker i s t n a s
deleted, the preposition da must b e used t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e "apocoputed''
9
causative verb. This r u l e i s not r e s t r i c t e d t o c a u s a t i v e v e r b s alone--
it a l s o works elsewhere i n t h e l a n g u a g e , e . g .

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

one-the r e l .
doomi -n -> don 'because'
reason-of
shagab 'green' + sha? green'
wulu k black' -+ wu l 'black'
S itik 'black' -/+ *sit
shatab 'green' *shat
It s h o u l d be n o t e d , however, t h a t a l t h o u g h a l l r o o t s t h a t have &

f i n a l s o n o r a n t w i l l obey t h i s d e l e t i o n r u l e n o t a l l c a u s a t i v e v e r b s t , h a t
obey t h e r u l e have a f i n a l s o n o r a n t . For example, fit-a-? -> /fit-da/
+ [ fid-da] ' t a k e o u t ' and zub-a-? da -+ zub-da/zuu-da 'pour/throw
away'. Such c a u s a t i v e v e r b s s h o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d a s e x c e p t i o n s , espe-
c i a l l y when we c o n s i d e r t h a t t h e s e two examples a r e about t h e o n l y
c a u s a t i v e v e r b s i n Hausa t h a t do n o t have a f i n a l s o n o r a n t and y e t obey
this rule.

% u s s e l l Schuh p o i n t e d o u t t o m e t h a t some Chaflic languages ( e . g .

Kgizim, Kanakuru, ~ a d e )u s e da z o mark c a u s a t i o n . T h e r e f o r e , it i s
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 o n l y means of marking c a u s a t i o n i n Hausa ( ~ e w m a n1 9 7 1 ) ;
-S was probably a l a t e r i n n o v a t i o n .
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 c a u s a t i v e v e r b i n Hansa, a root-method ai\a a, stem-i'r:ietho&. in this
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 ) o f d e r i v i n g causa:i~e verb
with o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n a l p r o c e s s e s 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 o f words i n d e r i v a t i o n s .

3.1. The phenomenon o f u s i n g 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 n o t r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e formation o f c a u s a t i v e verbs alone. For
example, nouns meaning " n a t i v e o f " can b e d e r i v e d from p l a c e 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 u s i n g t h e compounci. morpheme
ba. ,ee (masculine) o r ba. ..aa (feminine) . When t h e compound mor-.
pheme i s added t o a p l a c e noun t o d e r i v e a " n a t i v e o f " noun, t h e f i n a l
vowel o f 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 f o l l o w i n g p l a c e n o m s , K a t s i n a , Sakkwato,
Amirka, Faransa ( ~ r a n c e ) t, h e f o l l o w i n g " n a t i v e o f " nouns can b e
d e r i v e d , u s i n g t h e root-method.

(17) ~ o o t Masculine
- - Feminine
katsin- ba-katsin-ee ba-katsin-aa
sakkwat - ba-sakkwac-ee ba-sakkwat-aa
anirk- ba-amirk-ee ba -amirk -.aa
10
fS a n s - ba-faransh-ee 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

u s e s t h e masculine form o f 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 . u s i n g noun stems r a t h e r t h a n r o o t s . For example, t h e f o l l o v i n g a l -
t e r n a t - i v e 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 n o r t h e r n and w e s t e r n d i a i e c f c s ) :

16) ba-katsin-i-y-aa 'a Katsins. woman'

ba-sakkwac -i-y -aa a Sokoto woman'
ba-amirk-i-y -aa !an American woman'
ba-fairansh-i-y-aa 'a. French 'doman'

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

The noims i n ( 1 8 ) a r e d e r i v e d t h r o u g h 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 f o l l o w i n g way:

(19 Ease ( = S t e d
- Feminine form
ba-katsin-ee ba-katsin-ee-aa -È 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 b a - a m i r k - i -y-aa
ba-f a r a n s h - e e ba-faransh-ee-aa -+ ba-f a p a n s h - i - y - a a

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 o f Iy/.
Another i n s t a n c e i n Hausa where a second o p t i o n e x i s t s i s i n t h e
derivation 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 v e r b s . The b a s e 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 v e r b s 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 v e r b . A f t e r t h e b a s e has been formed i n t h i s
way, t h e n t h e marker -ee i s added t o t h e b a s e t o form m a s c u l i n e p a s t
participials. 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 f o l l o w i n g v e r b s cfinkaa ' s e w ' ,
z a u n a a ' s e t t l e down', rinaa ' d y e ' , t h e f o l l o w i n g p a s t p a r t i c i p i a l s can
b e d e r i v e d from t h e reduplicated 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 -È zaunann -i-y-aa
rinann- r i n a n n -ee r i n a n n -aa ' dyed'
r i n a n n -ee -aa + rinann-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 d e r i v e d from a b s t r a c t nouns. Fox-

example, from t h e f o l l o w i n g a b s t r a c t nouns kyaawuu ' b e a u t y ' 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 Ifeminine )
kyakkyaw- kyakkyaaw-aa ' beauti.full
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

I t i s e v i d e n t t h a t i n Hausa morphology words c a n oe 6er-i-veo- f r ~ i i

two b a s e s : ( l ) r o o t s c r (2) steins t h a t a r e themselves derived, in<cin ? ? ?
roots. Most d i a l e c t s of Hausa do n o t u s e t h e root-me-chcd f o r u y r i b a
r i o n s nowadays. It can b e 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 a n d , a s s u c l , one s h o u l d expect t o find t h i s r a e ~ h o do f
d e r i v i n g c a u s a t i v e v e r b s b e i n g used only i n t h e most c o n s e r v a t i v e d i a -
lects. And t h i s i s t h e ca,se. I n f a c t , even i n Sokoto and n o r t h e r n
d i a l e c t s , t h i s method i s a p p a r e n t l y dead--as f a r a s t h e d e r i v - a t i o n o-T
c a u s a t i v e v e r b s i s concerned. T h i s i s e v i d e n t from ohe f a c t ^ha-L i n
almost a l l d i a l e c t s , c a u s a t i v e v e r b s d e r i v e d through t h e root-method a r e
found o n l y 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 e x p r e s s i o n s , such a s :

'May you b e g r e e t e d ' ( s a i d by K i n g ' 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 )
(23) A l l a h ya t s a r - s h s mu 'May God. p r o t e c t u s ! ' ( s a i i l 'by one
who h e a r s of a c a l a m i t , ~ )
(24) A l l a h y a f i s - s h - e e mu 'Good-night! ' ( l i t . 'May A P a h s e e u s
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 a t t e m p t e d t o show t h a t t h e c a u s a t i v e marker i n Ha-usa i s n o t

-as but -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 v e r b s can
"be formed w i t h o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n a l p r o c e s s e s i n t h e l a n g u a g e . I have :.l-
l u s t r a t e d t h a t c a u s a t i v e v e r b s can b e formed i n two ways: ( I ) by
i n g t h e c a u s a t i v e marker -S t o v e r b a l r o o t s , o r ( 2 ) by s u f f i x i n g it t o
v e r b a l stems, just l i k e many o t h e r d e r i v a t i o n s i n Iiausa.
 REFERENCES

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

London.
Newman, P a u l . 1971. " T r a n s i t i v e and i n t r a n s i t i v e i n Chadic l a n g u a g e s " ,
i n Afrikanische Sprachen und Kutturen - Ein Querschmtt, e d . 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 e x t e n s i o n s i n t h e Hausa
v e r b a l system", Stud. Afr. L i n g . 4:297-346.
P a r s o n s , F. W. 1960/61. "The v e r b a l system i n Hausa1', Afri'ka U. ~bersee
44 :1-36.
. 1962. " F u r t h e r o b s e r v a t i o n s on t h e ' c a u s a t i v e ' g r a d e o f t h e
v e r b i n Hausa", J . Afr. Lang. 1:253-72.
.1971/72. " S u p p l e t i o n 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. D i c t i o n m y of t h e Hausa Language, second e d i t i o n .

London.
Newman, P a u l . 1971. " T r a n s i t i v e and i n t r a n s i t i v e i n Chadic l a n g u a g e s " ,
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 e x t e n s i o n s i n t h e Hausa
v e r b a l system", Stud. Afr. Ling. 4 : 297-346.
P a r s o n s , F. W . 1960/61. "The v e r b a l system i n Hausa", Afrzka U. fibersee
44:l-36.
. 1962. " ~ u r t h e ro b s e r v a t i o n s on t h e ' c a u s a t i v e ' g r a d e o f t h e
v e r b i n Hausa" , J. A f r . 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 s y s t e m
o f ~ a u s a " ,A f r i k a U . Ubersee 5 5 :49-97, 188-208.
Papers in Chad";~ Linguistics
Ed. by P. Neman and R. M. Newman
Leiden : Afrika-Studiecentruin 1977

COLOR TERMS IN KAPSIKT

W. E. A. van Beek

Introduction

The human eye can perceive between 4 and 10 million shades of color
(~enneberg1967). 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.
short their theory states that though different languages use a diffe-
rent number of color terms (counting only 'basic color terms), there is
In

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. b a s i c c o l o r c a t e g o r i e s
occur i n t h e f o l l o w i n g sequence: w h i t e , 'black, r e d , g r e e n , y e l l o w ,
b l u e , brown, p i n k , p u r p l e , o r a n g e , and g r e y . Most languages use fewer
t h a n e l e v e n t e r m s , and one unexpected r e s u l t of t h i s r e s e a r c h has been
a f i x e d sequence i n t h e appearance o f c o l o r t e r m s . The a u t h o r s speak o f
an e v o l u t i o n o f c o l o r terminology. The r e g u l a , r i t y t h e y p r e s e n t i s stri-
k i n g 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 y p e s o f c o l o r t e r m i n o l o g y
( g i v e n e l e v e n b a s i c t e r m s ) , o n l y 22 a r e found t o occur and t h e s e can "be
o r d e r e d on a cumulative s c a l e .
I n t h i s p a p e r , we s h a l l p r e s e n t some d a t a on t h e c o l o r t e r m i n o l o g y
of one p a r t i c u l a r language, K a p s i k i , i n o r d e r t o make t h e f o l l o w i n g
points :
(1) Kapsiki b a s i c c o l o r terminology p r e s e n t s a c l e a r e x c e p t i o n t o t h e
e v o l u t i o n a r y sequence a s s e t f o r t h by B e r l i n and Kay;
(2) secondary c o l o 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 o f
b a s i c t e r m i n o l o g y , s o t h e t o t a l semantic s t r u c t u r e i s l e s s d e v i a n t t h a n
would b e judged from t h e b a s i c terminology a l o n e .

2. Method

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

t i e s w i t h t h e method. A l l c o l o r s v a r y i n f i n i t e l y i n b r i g h t n e s s and hue,
b u t s t i l l o t h e r t y p e s of v a r i a t i o n s e x i s t : c o l o r o f l i v i n g v s . non-
l i v i n g t h i n g s (snow 1 9 7 1 ) , f r e s h o r non-fresh l o o k i n g p l a n t s ( ~ o n k l i n
1 9 5 5 ) , b r i g h t o r f a d e d l o o k i n g c o l o r s ( B e r l i n and Kay 1 9 6 9 ) . Berlin
and Kay's r e s e a r c h h a s t r i e d t o l i m i t t h e t o t a l number o f col-or s h a d e s
and a t t h e same t i m e e l i m i n a t e some o f t h e s e o t h e r v a r i a n t s by u s i n g one
s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t , i . e . t h e Munsell c o l o r c h i p method. This c o n s i s t s
o f e l i c i t i n g b a s i c c o l o r terms w i t h t h e s e c o l o r c h i p s , a r r a n g e d i n a
s i n g l e c h a r t o f 329 c h i p s s e t up i n 40 h o r i z o n t a l g r a d a t i o n s o f hue a n d
8 v e r t i c a l g r a d a t i o n s of b r i g h t n e s s , p l u s a s e r i e s o f 9 d e g r e e s o f
b r i g h t n e s s of n e u t r a l shades.
I n o r d e r t o make my d a t a comparable w i t h t h a t of B e r l i n and Kay,
I u s e d t h e same c h a r t and asked my i n f o r m a n t s t c name t h e 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 e p r e s e n t e d t h e
 b e s t example of t h e c o l o 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 s h o u l d l o o k f o r b a s i c c o l o r t e r m s . I n order t o
q u a l i f y a s a b a s i c c o l o r t e r m , a term mast have t h e f o l l o w i n g c h a r a c t e -
ristics: ( a ) it must be monolexemic ( t h e meaning o f t h e tern; s h o u l d n o t
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 r a n g e o'f one
t e r m should n o t b e i n c l u d e d i n t h a t o f a n o t h e r t e r m (two c o l o r serais
should d e s i g n a t e d i f f e r e n t c o l o r s h a d e s ) ; ( c ) t h e t e r m should b e a p p l i e d
t o a l l k i n d s o f o b j e c t s , n o t j u s t one ( e . g . t h e t e r m "blond1' c m n o t
s e r v e a s a b a s i c c o l o r t e r m because it i s o n l y used f o r h a i r color and
o c c a s i o n a l l y a t y p e o f f u r n i t u r e f i n i s h ) ; ( d ) it must Le r . s y c h o l o g i c a l l y
s a l i e n t f o r i n f o r m a n t s ( i t must b e a normal, f r e q u e n t l y used t e r m 'by a l l
i n f o r m a n t s , and o c c u r a t - t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 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 i n f o r m a n t s were from t h e v i l l a g e o f ~ 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 b o r d e r . Intervillage variation is
c o n s i d e r a b l e b u t checks w i t h i n f o r m a n t s 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 K a p s i k i lexemes
f o r c o l o r a r e p r e c e d e d by t h e p r e f i x kwa, a multipurpose 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 c o n t e x t w i t h " l i k e " .
The b a s i c t e r m f o r w h i t e i s kwatyawtyaw, a monolexemic t e r m , a?
the single tyaw i s n o t used.
Black i s k w a ~ k i r i ^ y i , b u t t h e u s e o f t h i s t e r m exceeds t h e s i m p l e
meaning of b l a c k . a ark c o l o r e d " i s a ' b e t t e r t r a n s l a t i o n ; t h e K a p s i k i
c a l l themselves kwaqkiri^yi i n comparison w i t h 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 v a r y i n g i n b r i g h t n e s s .
o n l y , t h e d a r k e r one can b e c a l l e d kwa0kiri7yi. For example, one
r i t u a l i n t h e wet s e a s o n aims a t making t h e m i l l e t grow kwaqkiriTyi,
dark g r e e n . Confronted w i t h 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 d a r k e r n e u t r a l shades f o r t h i s t e r m a s
w e l l a s t h e d a r k e s t shades o f g r e e n , b l u e , and brown.
Red i s an i n t e r e s t i n g c a s e i n K a p s i k i . Two t e r m s 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 r e d d i s h c o l o r s , kwqcme and
kwqama. The former h a s t h e l a r g e r d i s t r i b u t i o n , c o v e r s t h e l a r g e r
f i e l d of shades w i t h t h e d a r k e r r e d s , and t h e l a t t e r d e s i g n a t e s inore t h e
pink reds. I n view o f t h e t o t a l system o f b a s i c c o l o r t e r m s , t h i s d i f f e -
r e n t i a t i o n i n r e d c o l o 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 t h r o u g h "this d i f f e r e n c e i n
phonetic 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 difference 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 a p p e a r i n l e x i c o n s a s s e p a r a t e words. I n o u r view, t h e y c a n
b e c o n s i d e r e d 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 i n f o r m a n t s t h e f i e l d of k w a ~ e m e and kwaxama a r e c l o s e l y joined.,
w i t h o u t i n t e r v e n i n g " n e u t r a l " s p a c e , makes t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h e more
plausible.
B a s i c t e r m s t a t u s p r e s e n t s some more problems f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g two
t e r m s , g r e e n and b l u e . The b a s i c c o l o r t e r m f o r g r e e n i s kwatlaka,
and f o r b l u e kwaxwema. The word tlaka means ' l e a f and xwsma nas
two mearings,'mountain' and ' s k y ' . One may q u e s t i o n 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 c o l o r t e r m s , b u t t h e s e terms a r e e l i c i t e d e a s i l y w i t h -
o u t any d i s c r e p a n c i e s between d i f f e r e n t i n f o r m a n t s , s o 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 c o l o r t e r m i s amply w a r r a n t e d . Moreover, a t e r m l i k e
kwaxwama i s u s e d t o i n d i c a t e a l l shades o f b l u e , n o t j u s t t h e l i g h t
b l u e of t h e sky.
With t h e s e f i v e terms we r u n o u t of t h e b a s i c c o l o r t e r m s , and t h i s
f a c t i s quite astonishing. By a l l e x p e c t a t i o n s , a b a s i c t e r m f o r y e l l o w
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 c o n t a i n s
f i v e t e r m s , t h e n it c o n t a i n s terms f o r b o t h y e l l o w and green" (1969: 2 ) .
O f c o u r s e t h e Kapsiki do d i f f e r e n t i a t e and p e r c e i v e t h e y e l l o w i s h c o l o r s ,
and one l e x i c o n g i v e s t h e t e r m kwaxaqwayaxagwaya f o r it. T h i s however
i s c l e a r l y n o t a monolexemic t e r m ( x a q w a y a means ' c o r n ' , l i t . ' m i l l e t
o f t h e J!4argit) and i s n o t i n v e r y common u s e . Informants g i v e s e v e r a l
d i f f e r e n t terms f o r y e l l o w , b u t t h e y a r e n o t in agreement about which
one i s t h e most common form. Other forms a r e kwarapuraxwu 'like the
flower of t h e raywu ( 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 o f Gawar', and kwadawadawa ' l i k e t h e vomit
of j a u n d i c e ' . They a r e c o l o r terms b u t have t o b e c o n s i d e r e d a s secon-
dary terms,
 So t h e b a s i c c o l o 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 y e l l o w and
t h e p r e s e n c e of p i n k . 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 c o l o r demarcation. For a f a i r e r conside-
r a t i o n o f c o l o r t e r m s , one should t h e r e f o r e n o t r e s t r i c t t h e analysis to
b a s i c terms h u t a l s o i n c l u d e secondary c o l o r t e r m s ; t h e s e are d i z ,~* l ~
,- ~ s e d .
below f o r K a p s i k i .
The f i r s t c a s e i s t h a t of t h e terms f o r y e l l o w a s c i t e d a3ove; the
shades i n d i c a t e d w i t h 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 c o l o r s can e a s i l y be e q u a t e d xith y e l l o w .
The terms kwagslagaia and kwapsadapsade i n d i c a t e the n e u t r a l
shades of " b r i g h t n e s s e x c e p t b l a c k , i . e . g r e y . The former means ' l i k e
rock1, the l a t t e r ' l i k e ash'.
Two shades of "brown a r e r e p r e s e n t e d "by kwagkwstia~kwetis ' l i k e
t h e calabashr o r kwandaramandarama ' l i k e t h e fruit of t h e ndsrsme
( ~ a r i s s ae d u l i s L.)' b o t h i n c o r p o r a t i n g "brown and l i g h t brown, and
kwaracfarscfa ' l i k e d i r t ' , which i s d a r k brown.
The t e r m kwaksagukserJu ' l i k e t h e k s a ~ u( ~ a c t y l o t e n ~ c u Aegypti-
ia
cum L . ) ' c o v e r s t h e a r e a we c a l l p u r p l e . Darker s h a d e s o f t h e same hue
a r e sometimes c a l l e d kwadzaregemadzaragema 'like a millet parasite
with purple flowers'.
One o t h e r c o l o r i n d i c a t e d w i t h a secondary t e r m i s kwamadameds
t o mean b e i g e (why do B e r l i n and Kay exclude t h i s from t h e E n g l i s h ' b a s i c
c o l o 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 i n f o r m a n t s d i s t i n g u i s h between d i f f e r e n t shades o f g r e e n ,
mainly v a r y i n g 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 ' , u s e d f o r
t h e d a r k e r 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 t e r m f i l l s i n a l l remaining n i c h e s , kwawalewals, by
which t h e c o l o r of w a t e r 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 w i t h kwawalswaia, b u t some i n f o r m a n t s simply u s e it f o r a l l r e -
maining shades and hues n o t named by o t h e r t e r m s . It i s a f i l l e r t e r m :
a s w a t e r can b e of any c o l o r , any c o l o r f a l l i n g o u t s i d e t h e r a n g e 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 t e r m , i n t e r e s t i n g
a s a phenomenon i n i t s e l f , may b e t o a c o n s i d e r a b l e 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 t h e r languages.

4. Discussion

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

t h e o r d e r i n which B e r l i n and Kay have found t h e b a s i c terminology t o
appear ( 1 = 'basic c o l o r term; 2 = secondary c o l o r term; t h e upper lexeme
indicates t h e l i g h t e r color; t h e bracket indicates t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of
a l t e r n a t i v e sequences ) .
1 kwatyawtyaw white
1 kwagkiri?yi black
1 kwaxeme red

2
kwatlaku
<
kwaxaqwayaxaqwaya
kwagwezu

kwaqgaraxa~garaxa
green

yellow
blue
1 kwaxwama

brown

---
2 kwagalagala / kwapsadapsada

I f o n l y b a s i c terms a r e c o n s i d e r e d , Kapsiki terminology i s q u i t e i r r e g u -

lar. The o n l y way o u t would b e t o a s s i g n t h e s t a t u s o f b a s i c t e r m o n l y
t o t h e Kapsiki e q u i v a l e n t s o f w h i t e , b l a c k , and r e d , w i t h 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 t h e 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 o f b e i n g "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. "~amoancolor 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
E d . by P . Newman and R . M . Newman
Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrurn 19 77

BACHAMA AND SEMITO-HAMITIC

J a c k Carnochan

I n "Bachama and ~ h a d i c " ( ~ a r n o c h a i i1 9 7 5 ) ~I showed w i t h a lirniteci

number o f examples how t h e consonants of Bachama c o u l d b e r e l a t e d t o
t h o s e s e t up f o r Proto-Chadic by Newman and Ma ( 1 9 6 6 ) . I n t h i s presen't
p a p e r , I wish t o show how f a r Bachama e v i n c e s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s suggested
by Diakonoff ( 1 9 6 5 ) a s b e i n g t y p i c a l of t h e family of S e m i t o - H m i t i c
languages i n g e n e r a l . SO f a r a s r e f e r e n c e t o t h e Chadic branch was con-

c e r n e d , he h a d , 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 b e o f 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 a n o t h e r language of t h e b r a n c h , 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 p h o n o l o g i c a l
f e a t u r e s which he c o n s i d e r e d t o b e t y p i c a l of Semito-Eamitic l a n g u a g e s
i n general. I am r e p e a t i n g t h e s e below, w i t h comments on t h e i r a p p l i c a -
t i o n t o Bachama.
The f i r s t i s t h e e x i s t e n c e of t r i p l e groups o f c o n s o n a n t s , a
' v o i c e d " , an "emphatic", and a " v o i c e l e s s " consonant w i t h ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y )
t h e same p l a c e 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 l o s i v e 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 thresh1 voiced b i l a b i a l p l o s i v e

biye ' t o break1 glottalized b i l a b i a l plosive
pure ' t o thatch' voiceless b i l a b i a l plosive
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 sink' g l o t t a l i z e d post-alveolar p l o s i v e
tule ' t o reach' voice1 e s s a l v e o l a r p1 o s i v e
( a i s an unrounded c l o s e back t o c e n t r a l vowel; e i s an
unrounded h a l f - c l o s e b a c k kto c e n t , r a l vowel. )

The p o s i t i o n i s complicated by t h e a d d i t i o n o f two more l a b i a l . p l o -

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

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 o f 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 respect,
Eachai-ia shows t h e c o n t r a r y , as b o t h t h e voi-ced and v o i c e 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 e q u e n t l y . Examples a r e
jipa ' p i o t t i n g ' , and bacama 'Bachama'
One f u r t h e r p h o n o l o g i c a l m a 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
accident.
Bach- s h a r e s t h e f e a t u r e of t o n e w i t h many l a ~ p ' u a g e sof t h e Chadic
b r a n c h , b u t t o n e i s not a p h o n o l o g i c a l f e a t u r e o f Semito-Hamitic i n gene-
r a l . It i s n o t commonly recognized a s an a r c h a i c f e a t u r e and may have de-
veloped a f t e r t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e b r a n c h , t h e Chadic l a n g a a g e s t c f n g
looked upon a s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e New s t a g e of a c h r o n o l o g i c a 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 v e r b
r o o t s i n Bachama a s b e i n g d i f f e r e n t from Hausa, t h e Chadic language on
which Diakonoff had t o depend s o much. He w r i t e s :

'The Tchad languages have p r a c t i c a l l y n o 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 o f 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
a n c i e n t f e a t u r e . It i s probable t h a t w h i l e t h e system o f 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 w i t h 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 v o c a l i c i n f l e c t i o n h a s g a i n e d supremacy
i n t h e Berbero-Libyan and i n t h e S e m i t i c b r a n c h e s , and a l s o i n
Egyptian (where p o s s i b l y a t some v e r y 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 C u s h 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 i c o n s o n a n t a l v e r b r o o t s

w i t h a r o o 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 h o s e v e r b s which have a non-open vowel i n t h e i r Grade 1 forms. For
t h e s e v e r b s , one cannot e s t a b l i s h a g e n e r a l r o o t vowel, t h e r e b e i n g X-?-

g u l a r v o c a 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 g r a d e , a s e x e m p l i f i e d b r i e f l y "blow.

nda p i i r e 'he thatched' Grade 1

nda p i r vaney
nda pyer venye
t a a p i i r a vuney
t a a pyaara venye
nda mbara cfiye
nda mbara cfiye
I'
'he thatched t h e h u t '
'he thatched t h e h u t s '
' t h e y went and t h a t c h e d t h e h u t ' Grade 2
l'
' t h e y went and t h a t c h e d t h e h u t s '
11
'he extinguished t h e f i r e t
I!
'he beat out t h e f i r e t

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 w e l l a n f o r v e r b s . These exam-
p l e s a r e g e n e r a l r a t h e r t h a n unique f o r Bachama, and may s u g g e s t t h a t
t h e Chadic branch i s c l o s e r t o t h e o i l i e r branches of t h e Semito-Hamitic
 U -i-
l a n g u a g e s t h a n P r o f e s s o r D i a k o n o f f , 'without s u c h evidence, had p - Cl-
-i 1.1-
S 'LY

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

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

Newman, P a u l and Roxana Ma. 1966. " C o n p a r a t i v e Chadic: phonology ana
l e x i c o n " , J . Afr. L m g . 5:218-51.
Schuh, R u s s e l l G . 1 9 7 6 . "The Chadic v e r b a l s y s t e m a n d i t s A f r o a s i a t i c
n a t u r e 1 ' , 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. D e r t

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.

hhgS ' woman ' + DEF h a l g a h-

kuli 'hut' -
kuliq
biagi l elephant ' -
baan>n
kssir 'root'
S on ' fat,' s o n-
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 + R e l a t i v e 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 a u s e i s p a r t of t h e NP, t h e
DEF-marker h a s t o f o l l o w i t .

(6) kul bs m k t : hhlhm b s m e e m e r-) ; j a g bs h s a t i g ? i d h h , 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 [it-DEF], they
destroy it'
/ /l
(7) k a y a a k e l g; m i n t i ' t e n : s k i n i q
' - t h i s i s t h e s t o r y t h a t I h e a r d [it-DEF]'

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

'a woman ' S g o a t '

' t h e woman's g o a t '
o u t n o t * h > r g - i-i k a h s l g s-i ' t h e g o a t 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'
(but not *karma$- kdmn;; - ' t h e son o f 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 o f u s i n g 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 E n g l i s h p o s s e s s i v e
c o n s t r u c t i o n s can n o t e x p r e s s more t h a n t h r e e meaning d i f f e r e n c e s :

a ) a
- son o f -
a chief
= a c h i e f ' s son
(.b) m son o f g c h i e f
c ) a
- son o f the c h i e f
(d) son o f chief = m chief 'S son
\ \
I n Kera, ( c ) can b e e x p r e s s e d by adding t h e numeral rnana ' o n e ' t o (11):

The DEF-marker can i n f l u e n c e t h e t o n e o f a foll.owing grammatical

morpheme. The s u b j u n c t i v e marker la and t h e l o c a t i v e marker -a are
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

(13) a y a n kumay l; ' g i v e me some b e e r q

(14) - la
a y a n kumay ' g i v e me t h e b e e r '
% \ "
(15) a q&&g k g r k a g e g e l a 'she was h i d i n g behind a b a s k e t '
A compound t o n e on t h e p e n u l t i m a t e s y l l a b l e i s c o n t r a c t e d LO H I before
the locative -a: g&g~i + -a + g&gdla, kulir) + -a + kuliqa. FOY

c o n s o n a n t - f i n a l nouns ending i n a h i g h t o n e , d e f i n i t e n e s s i s thus marked

o n l y by t h e t o n e of t h e s u f f i x :

(IT) ghd kssar: 'under a r o o t '

(18) gud k z s a r a (< 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. I t 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 r e q u e n t i n Hausa t h a n i n E n g l i s h , b u t
n o t h i n g i s s a i d about t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f i t s u s e i n Hausa. Some a u t h o r s
t a l k about a "previous r e f e r e n c e marker" ( c f . Schuh 1 9 7 2 : 1 6 6 f f . ) . The
t e r m i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h i s marker i s used o n l y i f t h e r e f e r e n t i n q u e s t i o n
h a s been mentioned b e f o r e . But s h o u l d 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 o f d e f i n i t e markers remains, o f c o u r s e , a
d e s i d e r a t u m n o t o n l y 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 h a s been p r e s e n t e d s o f a r o f t h e u s e o f E n g l i s h and German
definite articles either.
I n t h e f o l l o w i n g , I s h a l l make an a t t e m p t a t a comparative d e s c r i p -
t i o n o f t h e main u s e s 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 E n g l i s h 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
t y p e s h a s been worked o u t 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
articles ( ~ b e r 1
t 970). 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 E n g l i s h and ~ e r m ' a nexamples given w i l l b o t h h e l p t o
c l a r i f y t h e n o t i o n s and t o show t h e i r g e n e r a l a p p l i c a b i l i t y .
A. Generic r e f e r e n c e
When r e f e r r i - n g g e n e r i c a l l y , t h e c h o i c e 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 e n o p t i o n a l i n E n g l i s h and German. The r e s t r i c t i o n s on
t h e u s e 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 l a n g u a g e s , b u t t h e y need
n o t be s p e c i f i e d h e r e .
(19) the e l e p h a n t i s an i n t e l l i g e n t animal = an e l e p h a n t .. .
e l e p h a n 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 k l u g e s T i e r = e i n Elephant ...
d-
- i e Elephanten s i n d kluge T i e r e = Elephanten . - *

20) 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 e d millet

a l s d e r e r s t e Regen f i e l , gingen d i e Leute, (die)
rote H i r s e zu s s e n

B. Specific reference
F u r t h e r s u b c 1 a s s i f i c a t i o n i s n e c e s s a r y a c c o r d i n g t o whether t h e
referent i s :
(a) unique i n a given s o c i o - c u l t u r a l c o n t e x t
(21) sun
d i e Sonne
(22) the c h i e f
-
d e r HSuptling
(b) p r e v i o u s l y mentioned
(23) a man ... t h e man
e i n Mann ... d e r Mann
(24) some h u t s . .. -
the huts
e i n i g e Hiitten ... @ K i t t e n
(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 wln-ch i t
TT--;

s t a n d s 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 p o s s e s s i o n . 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 p o s s e s s i v e pronoun t o i n d i c a t e t h e i d e n -
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 p o s s e s s o r , a s
w e l l a s on t h e n a t u r e of t h e p o s s e s s o r (human, a n i m a l , o r i n a n i m a t e ) ,

(i) R e f e r r i n g 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 p o s s e s s o r i s a human b e i n g , t h e p o s s e s s i v e pronoun i s o b l i g a t o r y
i n E n g l i s h , 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 p o s s e s s i v e pronouns a r e n o t i n t # e r c h a n g e a b l e
i n a l l c o n t e x t s . T h e i r u s e depends l a r g e l y on s y n t a c t , i c 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 h e d i f f e r e n c e bet,ween
k i n s h i p and body-part t e r m s . The German forms g i v e n are t h e f o r m s pos-
sible i n subject position.
(25) man . . . h i s mother, his head
Mann . . . s e i n e / -d i-e M u t t e r , s e i n / d e r
-. . Kopf

If che p o s s e s s o r i s an animal, t h e p o s s e s s i v e pronoun i s a g a i n o b l i g a -

t o r y i n English. I n German, b o t h t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e and t h e p o s s e s -
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
p o s s e s s i v e pronoun i s sonewhat unusual w i t h k i n s h i p t e r m s .

(26) cow . - . --
i t s mother, & head
Kuh ... ? i h r e / d i e M u t t e r , i h r / d e r
-p Kopf

I f t h e p o s s e s s o r i s i n a n i m a t e , t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i s most coninion i n
b o t h E n g l i s h and German.

(27) hut ... the d o o r , --

t h e / i t s roof
HGtte ... TGr9 d a s / i h r Dach

i i ) Referring t o inalienables with p o t e n t i a l multiple r e f e r e n c e

I f t h e p o s s e s s o r i s a human b e i n g :

( 2 8 ) man ... brother, leg

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

I f t h e p o s s e s s o r i s an animal:

(29) cow ... - its leg, g leg

Kuh . . . --
i h r Bein Bein

If t h e p o s s e s s o r i s i n a n i m a t e :

(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 n o t a d m i t t e d i n any o f t h e s e c a s e s . Keg

Brader o r Bein can be used i n Gerrr~an o n l y in t h e c a s e o f p r e v i o 1 . 1 ~
mention o r p r e s u p p o s i t i o n of uniqueness. Non-unique p a r t s o f a n i m a l s
o r i n a n i m a t e s can b e i n t r o d u c e d 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 f e r e n c e i s made t o one element o u t of a s e t which, a s a whole,
counts a s a unique p a r t o f t h e p o s s e s s o r ; t h e forms t h u s b e l o n g i n
c a t e g o r y ( 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 r e n c e
I n g e n e r i c s e n t e n c e s , Kera commonly uses t h e DEF-marker.

(31) b > a n i-
$ harnt; d i g l > b> ' t h e / a n e l e p h a n t d o e s n ' t e a t mice '
(32) pep b> k e b s r i ;- hagan a n a ka:, - raawar) b>
kar$ 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 r e d 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 w i t h g e n e r i c meaning:

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

kaa occurs besides kai ' t h e people'

Generic W s w i t h o u t t h e DEF-marker a r e used mainly "by o l d e r p e o p l e . No

c o n d i t i o n s have been found f o r o m i t t i n g t h e marker; t h u s f o r some Kera
s p e a k e r s , it seems t o b e o p t i o n a l i n g e n e r i c s e n t e n c e s .
B. Specific reference
I n KPs w i t h s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e , 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
(33) c$w$n- ' t h e sun'
( 34 ) kdmnah- 'the chief '
(b) t h e r e f e r e n t h a s "been p r e v i o u s l y mentioned
( 35 ) hilhrn ... hhl-
z ' a man ... t h e man'
(36) kuli . .. kuli$ a hutlhuts ... the hut/hutst

Kera nouns d e n o t i n g i n a l i e n a b l e p o s s e s s i o n can never have t h e DEF-marker

a l o n e , i n c o n t r a s t t o German and, p a r t l y , E n g l i s h , c f . (27-27) . The
p o s s e s s o r h a s t o be i n d i c a t e d e i t h e r by a p o s s e s s i v e pronominal s u f f i x
o r by a noun, e g. .
(37) C3 'head'
/
cuuru
/
'h i S head'
/ /I
c u u r u- ~ ' h i s head-DFF'
c a s r a hhlhrn ' a man's head' cf. c a a r a h u l u-i ' the man's h e a d '
 i ) I f a r e f e r e n t denoted by a t e r m of i n a l i e n a b l e p o s s e s s i o n 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 p o s s e s s o r , t h e t e r n i s con-
s t r u c t e d with a possessive s u f f i x & t h e DEF-marksr.

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

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

Some younger s p e a k e r s make a d i s t i n c t i o n between human and non-huaan

p o s s e s s o r s , a s r e f l e c t e d , i n t h e S n g l i s h p o s s e s s i v e pronouns ( h i s / h e r
vs. i t s ) and i n t h e p r e f e r e n c e of t h e German d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e w i t h a n i -
mal k i n s h i p terms ( c f . ( 2 5 ) w i t h ( 2 6 ) ) . The c o n s t r u c t i o n 1V + POSS + DD'
i s t h e n 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 b e i n g s . In
s t a t e m e n t s about humans, t h e DEF-marker would he dropped, l e a v i n g o n l y
t h e possessive s u f f i x .

( 38' ) nar-
e de d g m e ' h e r mother i s i l l '
à ˆ / /
(39') ye l a s a q cuuru- 'they injured h i s head'

I n a l i e n a b l e p a r t s of i n a n i m a t e s i n Kera a r e u s u a l l y d e n o t e d 'by a
H + H c o n s t r u c t i o n , where t h e second N s t a n d s f o r t h e p o s s e s s o r :

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

(hi) caara kuli 'head [ o f ] h u t ' = 'roof'
(42) k a s ksp&j 'arm [ o f ] t r e e ' = 'branch'

I f t h e p o s s e s s o r h a s been mentioned i n a p r e v i o u s s e n t e n c e , t h e i n a l i e n -
a b l e i s r e f e r r e d t o by a N + N + DEF c o n s t r u c t i o n :

m i n t i c a a r e k u l i n b$ c i m - c i m i & r a
'when he came t o a h u t , he opened t h e d o o r ; he saw t h a t t h e r o o f
was r o t t e n 1

The DEF-marker, however, i s n o t due t o an e x p l i c i t o r i m p l i c i t p r e v i o u s

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
possessor.3 T h i s w i l l become c l e a r by comparing ( 4 3 ) w i t h ( 5 3 ) bplow.

~ n i ~ u e n e si s a l e x i c a l f e a t u r e does n o t n e c e s s a r i l y c o r r e s p o n d
t o r e a l i t y , although it i s 'based on some cuLturaJ s t a n d a r d s . Thus d o o r
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 t h a n one d o o r . The door t h e n r e f e r s t o t h e f r o n t d o o r ,
i f not i n d i c a t e d o t h e r w i s e by t h e context,.
 (Li) I f a r e f e r e n t i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y u n i q u e , any .--animate pos-
s e s s o r , whether human o r animal, has t o b e i n d i c a t e d by a p o s s e s s i v e
\ \
suffix. The niunera.1 mans ' o n e ' may be added a t t h e end. of t h e sen-
tence. The DEF-marker i s used e x c l u s i v e l y i n c a s e of p r e v i o u s mention
o r presupposition of uniqueness.

^ Â ¥ h s lf i n u ban g e m
1
/ \

' a 'brother o f h i s came, t o o '

f /
s l i n u ben g&m rnana
cf. (45) s3'indh- ban gsm ' h i s " b o t h e r ( u n i q u e o r mentioned b e f o r e )
came, t o o '
'they injured his leg'
one of h i s l e g s '
*a l e g of h i s '
cf. (47) -
ye l&&k&np&rdn ' t h e y i n j u r e d h i s l e g (mentioned ' b e f o r e ) '

However, t h e r e i s an e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s g e n e r a l r u l e r e g a r d i n g t h e
u s e of t h e DEF-marker. Some l e x i c a l l y ambiguous k i n s h i p t e r m s a r e d i s -
t i n g u i s h e d t h r o u g h t h e presence o r absence o f t h e DEF-marker independent
of c o n t e x t .

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

naandan 'my u n c l e 9 naenden
- 'my nephew'
nuundh ' h i s uncle' nuundhn
- ' h i s nephew'
49) mooma ' g r a n d f a t h e r , grandson, f a t h e r - i n - l a w ( o f woman)'
moomadsn 'my g r a n d f a t h e r ' moomad% - 'my grandson, my fa-cher-
in-law '
moomedh ' h i s grandfather' moomadh$
- ' h i s grandson'
(50) adiida 'grandmother, mother-in-law ( o f woman)'
ad; id; 'my grandmother' a d l i d ;- 'my mother-in-law'
adlids ' h e r grandmother' i d i i d s $- ' h e r mother-in-law'
(51) wa ben d a nuundh ' h e came w i t h h i s u n c l e '
(52) -
we ben d a nuund&< ' h e came w i t h 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 u n c l e ' even i n t h e c a s e of

'IVote t h a t t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n ( 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 e x i s -
t e n c e of s e v e r a l b r o t h e r s whereas t h e former can o n l y he used i f t h e r e i s
no such p r e s u p p o s i t i o n . This e x p l a i n s why a l e g o f h i s i s n o t pos-
s i b l e . Kera h a s no s e p a r a t e e x p r e s s i o n for ( b ) .
 p r e v i o ~ smention o r unique r e f e r e n c e whereas ( 5 2 ) has t o b e 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 c o n t e x 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 r s " c t i m e , i s
r e f e r r e - i t o by an i n d e f i n i t e MP. N e i t h e r t h e DEF-marker n o r a p o s s e s -
sive suffix are possible.

(53) we lug k ~ p ~ g
we, jarnag kas kzP>g (man:)
' h e climbed a t r e e , he c u t a b r a n c h '

This example p r o v e s t h a t t h e marking o f 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 E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n there--cannot be a t t r i -
r \
b u t e d 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 'branch'
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 ' d o o r ' i s i n ( b 3 ) , but
t h e DEF-marker i s o n l y a p p l i e d 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 f u n c t i o n s o f 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 u s e 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 b e v e r y s i m i l a r . We
f i n a l l y have t o mention two u s e s of t h e DEF-marker t h a t have no c o r r e s -
pondences i n E n g l i s h o r German.
( i ) The DEF-marker s u f f i x e d t o an UP w i t h an independent p o s s e s -
s i v e pronoun ( u s e d w i t h a l i e n a b l e p o s s e s s i o n ) r e f e r s a n a p h o r i c a l l y t o t h e
s u b j e c t o f t h e s e n t e n c e , 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
5
n o n - r e f l e x i v e use of p o s s e s s i v e pronouns.

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

she t o o k k n i f e her-DEF
cf. (55) a hag tgrte naati ' s h e 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 w i t h h i s stick'
he h i t - h i m w i t h s t i c k his-DEF
c f . (57) ws l s t n d da k&f'aw&n u u t 6 ' h e i h i t him2 w i t h h i s 2 / 3 s t i c k r
he h i t - h i m w i t h 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 p o s s e s s i v e pro-

nouns i s found i n Scandinavian languages, t o o , cf. Danish s i n k n i v ' h i s
own k n i f e ' , hans k n i v ' h i s (another person's) k n i f e ' .
 i i ) Temporal and c o n d i t i o n a l c l a u s e s a r e o b l i g a t o r i l y marked.
definite. The DEF-marker i s a t t a c h e d t o t h e l a s t c o n s t i t u e n t o f t h e
c l a u s e , which always precedes t h e main s e n t e n c e .

\ 32) p& b> k s b e r i n h a g i n 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 , p e o p l e went t o sow r e d m i l l e t ' ( l i - ~ .
f i r s t - r a i n s - D E F r a i n e d s o now-DEF . . . l )
58) jzQ m 4 I& pep bag,
- BCOCOQ aw-12 ghiA
' i f it w a s n o t a d e a t h 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) - k$rnnUh- is be m i n t 4 L v i r i Y $
t a l s q g S h nskan-ne warag, ti
'when t h e grave i s r e a d y , h i s r e l a t i v e s s t a r t t o a s k f o r g i f t s '
( l i t . 'hole-DEF 'being-enough

English German Kera

generic DEF/INDEF DEF/IMDEF DEF/(ITOEF)
specific
u n i que DEF DEF DEF
p r e v i o u s mention DEF DEF DSF
inalienable
u n i que
human POSS POSS ( + DEF)
animal POSS POSS i- DEF
inanimate DEF/(POSS) DEF
non-'unique
human POSS POSS PUS 3
animal POSS/INDEF POSS/IKDEF FOSS
inanimate INDEF INDEF INDEF
possessive r e f l e x i v e --- DEF
sentence adverbial DEF
clauses

DEF = d e f i n i t e a r t i cle/marker
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 = p o s s e s s i v e p r o n o u n / s u f f i x
(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 u s e
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 c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e DEF-marker t o g e t h e r 'with a p o s s e s s i v e pronoun o r
s u f f i x and t h e marking o f a d v e r b i a l c l a u s e s 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 e n c e s 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 h a n t h e d e f i n i t e
a r t i c l e , nor i s it used o n l y a s a p r e v i o u s r e f e r e n c e marker. I do n o t
c l a i m 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 p a p e r are e x h a u s t i v e ,
b u t I b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y 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 h e y have some r e l e v a n c e f o r o t h e r Chadic languages . 6

REFERENCES

1970. Referenz, Spreehsituatioz und die bestimten

E b e r t , Karen H .
ArtikeZ in einem nordfriesisehen Dialekt. D i s s e r t a t i o n , K i e l Uni-
versity. ( = S t u d i e n und M a t e r i a l i e n no. 4, N o r d f r i i s k Instituut,
.
~ r e d s t e d t)
. 1975. Sprache und Tradition der Kera (Tsehad), %it 1: Texte.
6.
Marburger S t u d i e n z u r Afrika- und Asienkunde, S e r i e A , Band
Berlin.
Jungraithmayr, H . and W . J . G . M5hlig. 1976. Ewfuhrung in die Hazisa
Sprache. Marburger S t u d i e n z u r Afrika- und Asienkunde, S e r i e A ,
Band 7. B e r l i n .
Schuh, R u s s e l l G . 1972. Aspects of Ngizin Syntax. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n ,
U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles.
1977. "The Bade/Ngizim d e t e r m i n e r system", Afroasiatic
Ling. 4( 3 ) :101-174.

R u s s e l l Schuh p o i n t e d o u t t o me d u r i n g t h e Colloquium t h a t he had

developed a v e r y s i m i l a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n f o r d e s c r i b i n g Lhe u s e of Bade
and Hgizim d e t e r m i n e r s , s e e 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 F r a j z y n g i e r

l. Introduction

The aim o f t h i s p a p e r i s t o d e s c r i b e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p betveeii

nominal and v e r b a l p l u r a l f o r m a t i o n s and t o c o n s i d e r 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 o f 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 l a n g u a g e s
i s t h e i d e n t i t y o f markers of nominal p l u r a l w i t h 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 o f t h e v e r b and a t t h e same t i m e ,
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 p a p e r , t h e s e forms o f 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 i n v o l v e d 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 superfluous.
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 e x p l a n a t i o n s f o r t h i s t y p e o f
identity. The f i r s t two i n v o l v e i n t e r n a l borrowing, from paradigm A t o
paradigm B o r v i c e v e r s a , i n t h i s c a s e , 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 v e r b a l p l u r a l . Such borrowing i s p l a u -
" -
s i d e s i n c e 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 t h i r d , 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 n o 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 p a p e r h a s been p a r t i a l l y s u p p o r t e d by a g r a n t

from t h e Council on Research and C r e a t i v e Work o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Colo-
r a d o . The U n i v e r s i t y h e l p e d a s w e l l by p r o v i d i n g 2 t r a v e l g r a n t which
e n a b l e d me t o a t t e n d t h e Colloquium. The work on Pero was c o n d u c t e d
w i l e I was a member o f t h e t a c a l t y of Abdullahi Bayero C o l l e g e , Ahmadu
B^-110 U n i v e r s i t y ; t h e i r s u p p o r t i s hereby ackricwler?gefl. I would l i k e t o
thank David Rood of t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Colorado f o r t h ~ careful reading
o f Ibs' manuscript and v e r y k i p l p f u l c o m r n t s . T '1 + o Lhanh I ' parti-
r-ipan-ts of t h e Leiden Colloquium, e s p e c i a l l y P a u l Newman, f o r t h e i r com-
ments on t h e p a p e r , 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 o f +,h(- c~.r~a.-ly n f' -Vn. A I L e r r o r s a r e my u o l c
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 c e r -
. ..AA.
.,- ,
;eir:a:-!tic; c o n d i t i o n s r e a , u i r e i t . H i s t o r i c a l l y thi:; ( ~ 1 2 1 . 6'':F int,er-

t i n c t i o n emerged i n a language. = -it is ~ - . u - J O s s i ~ l-to

S i r,L^ l e c + = c k tile
v a l i d i t y o f t h i s h y p o t h e s i s , I w i l l n o t c o n s i d e r 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 h e di.scussed.
The most widespread d e v i c e f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n o f nominal p l u r a l i s
gemination o f 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 b e 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 yof Chadic t h i s was
a d e v i c e used o n l y f o r t h e formation o f v e r b a l p l u r a l , and t . h a t it was
s u b s e q u e n t l y 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 b e t e s t e d f o r a n o t h e r f r e q u e n t marker of nominal p l u r a l ,
a, which, a l o n g w i t h gemination, was p o s t u l a t e d by Diakonoff (1965) t o
be a proto-Afroasiatic device. These two h y p o t h e s e s , i f a c c e p t e d , would
r u l e o u t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t e i t h e r o f t h e d e v i c e s 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 t h a n t h e p r e v i o u s l y men-
t i o n e d two, i n v o l v e s a morpheme of t h e form -Vn. I t o c c u r s almost ex-
c l u s i v e l y a s a nominal marker, A h y p o t h e s i s 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 b e 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 b e r e j e c t e d .
I n o r d e r t o p r e s e n t and defend t h e h y p o t h e s 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 p r e -
sented. The d a t a p a r t b e g i n s w i t h P e r o , which does n o t have a nominal
p l u r a l marker a t a l l , b u t i n s t e a d h a s a r i c h system of v e r b a l p l - u r a l
markers. T h i s i s followed by an a n a l y s i s o f t h e s i t n a t i o n i n Kanakuru,

t o nominal p l u r a l . T h i r d , a n a l y s i s of "che nominal and v e r b a l p l u r a l

f o r m a t i o n s 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 t h o s e 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 s c u s s i o n of t h e p o s s i b 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 f o l l o w i n g a n a l y s i s o f p l u r a l formation i n Pero i s r a t n e r
l e n g t h y f o r two r e a s o n s . 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
appropriate data. Second., s i n c e Pero has o n l y 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 P e r o w i l l L I ~n e c e s -

s a r y t o snow t h e c o n n e c t i o n 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 s c u s s e d b r i e f l y l a t e r i n t h e p a p e r .
There a r e s e v e r a l forms o f p l u r a l f o r t h e v e r b i n P e r o . 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 r o u p ) , 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 v e r b s h o u l d b e a b l e t o have a p l u r a l form. In
p r a c t i c e , t h i s i s n o t always t h e c a s e , and t h e r e a r e so^@ v e r b s f o r
which s p e a k e r s were n o t a b l e t o p r o v i d e a p l u r a l form.
T r i s y l l a b i c v e r b s form t h e p l u r a l by d o u b l i n g t h e consonant o f ;he
second s y l l a b l e , which may b e f o r m a l i z e d by t h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e .

c l )vc2vcsv -+ (cl )vczc2vc3~

[plural]

singular Plural Gloss

dgdjb dggdj 0 [dkkd jb] ' t h r o w on ground'
1lgdnb liggdnO [ likkUnh] f answer I

Monosyllabic v e r b s form t h e p l u r a l "m iliig i suffix -LT- t o fclie

v e r b a l stem:
/ \
ca-yy-o 'go down'
\
/
ce-yy-o 'drink'
'eat'
D i s y l l a b i c v e r b s w i t h a sonorant a t t h e o n s e t o f t h e secor-d sylla-
b l e form t h e p l u r a l by t h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e :

V9 i n t h e p l u r a l form i s e p e n t h e t , i c . A f t e r a h i g h 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 u n d e r l y i n g L'( rn. L Lh v+! ; t h e y

occur in t h i s p h o n o l o g i c a l form b e f o r e 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- p a r a d i g m a t i c forms o f t h e
verb.
 2
e p e n t h e t i c vowel i s -i-; elsewhere i t i s -U-.

Singular Plural Gloss

/Â
meno
\ /
memmuno
/ \
'l i k e'
'sleep'
'wash '
'run'

The above group o f v e r b s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t i n t h e p r e s e n t i n v e s -

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 o f 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 o f t h e same d e v i c e i n Pero. The u s e
o f r e d u p l i c a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n gemination o f a consonant i s p h o n o l o g i c a l l y
conditioned. It i s t h e p r e s e n c e o f a s o n o r a n t a t t h e o n s e t o f t h e se-
cond s y l l a b l e t h a t a p p a r e n t l y 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 v e r b s w i t h a s o n o r a n t a t t h e o n s e t o f 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 h a s e i t h e r a l o n g vowel o r a s o n o r a n t form t h e
p l u r a l by t h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e :

f f ^
bi'irb bi'$i'rb [pi71ro] 'make f i r e '
tdulb tu$ulb [ t67dl&] 'scatter'
g&elb gaol; i n c l i n e t h e head'
' check, examine
(medically) '
tLam0 &$urn; wait'
/ \ /(h/Â \
curro cuipuro [cd?dr:] V fry'
binno bL$dnb [ &^no] 'look'
D i s y l l a b i c v e r b s 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 l o s e d , add e i t h e r a s u f f i x -t- + r/V-V or 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 o f t h e e p e n t h e t i c vowel

i n Kanakuru ( c f . F r a j z y n g i e r 1976 ) .
3 ~ h $e i s p h o n e t i c a l l y r e a l i z e d as [ 7 ] due t o a g e n e r a l p h o n o l o g i c a 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 b e f o r e a l l v o w e l - i n i t i a l s y l -
l a b l e s . The V2 o f t h e p l u r a l form i s a copy o f Vi when V l i s [ + h i g h ] .
I f Vl i s [ - h i g h ] , t h e Vz of t h e p l u r a l cannot b e p r e d i c t e d a t t h e
p r e s e n t state o f a n a l y s i s .
suffix -j-. I t i s s t i l l p o s s i b l e t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h e r u l e which governs
t h e choice of -t- or -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 v e r b s i n t h i s group

add t h e s u f f i x -j-.

Singular P-l u r a l
- Gloss
-t- fund: fdndd-t-0 [ fdnddrb] ' cook '
cdttd-t-0 [cdttdr&] 'wring water out o f
cloth'
baddo baddd-t-h [badddrh] 'finish'
dill; di'lld-t-0 [d3'lldr&] ' f e t c h small quanti-
t i e s of wat,erl
-3 - am& /
ambu- j -0
/ \
' climb '
/ \ f / \
y emmo yemmu- j -0 c a r v e i n wood'
~666: c4bibd- j -0 'plant I

/
mummo
\ / Â
mummu- j -0
¥ \
'close'
/ / \
ben j0 ben ju- j -0 'saw'

There a r e o n l y a few examples which do n o t a l l o w 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 o p e r a t i n g i n P e r o . A l l o f them have t h e s i n g u -
l a r form CVCV r a t h e r t h a n CVCCV. Two of t h e s e examples i n v o l v e 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

~ekb cekkd-t -0 'lose'

/Â
cuga
\
cdkku-t -0 'f a l l down'

The remaining e x c e p t i o n s a l l i n v o l v e t h e s u f f i x -j-.

/ \ / / \
c amu cammu- j -0 ' t w i s t a rope'
{£ [<A] / /
iffu- j -0
\
'catch'
'rub '
P / \
caku [ciyh] cakku- j -0
bejh bej jdj0 [p&cdjO] thatch'
.\
maju maj j d j b ' 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 s o u r c e s i n g u l a r v e r b s o f
t h e s t r u c t u r e C l WC2V:
 diekb [diev:] dikkuko [ d^kkugb] ' 'fetch vater '
£0j 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 n c l u d e s v e r b s o f t h e s t r u c t u r e
( c ~ ) v c ~ c i~. ev ,w i t h t h e second consonant r e d u p l i c a t e d . The main s o u r c e
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)VCV s t r u c t u r e . The o t h e r
s o u r c e i s v e r b s which have t h e f i r s t vowel l o n g :

'eat something h a r d q
'beat

deefb d&fo discuss'

&at0 [piarO] &ttO ' pour '
tdufch tdbbo t a k e from c o n t a i n e r '
160kO [l60~0] 16kkO hang'

This r u l e o f p l u r a l formation i s o f c o u r s e t h e same as t h e r u l e f o r tri-

s y l l a b i c v e r b s , and could b e f o r m a l i z e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g way:

2.1. Summary o f p l u r a l formation i n P e r o

V2 = i i f Vl = i
V2 = U elsewhere

o or v a l u e o f V2 s e e f o o t n

t / C 3 alveolar

j/C3 non-alveolar
2.2. Conclusion r e g a r d i n g Pero

D e s p i t e t h e c o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i a t i o n and complexity i n t h e f o r m a t i o r
of t h e v e r b a 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 o f 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 v e r b .
It seems t h a t t h e r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f t h e second consonant i s r e l a t , i v e l y
e a r l i e r than s u f f i x a t i o n of -t- or -j-. T h i s c o n c l u s i o n i s b a s e d on
t h e following observations. A number of v e r b s have p l u r a l forms which
have a l r e a d y s p e c i a l i z e d meanings, u s u a l l y a narrowed meaning when corn-
p a r e d w i t h t h e meaning of t h e normal p l u r a l form:

beto ' cut i n t o two' betto 'cut into pieces'

afb ' open affb 'split'
a& ' e a t (e.g. peanuts) ' addo 'eat something h a r d (meat ) ' 2

cdbh ' show cub& 'teach'

Some of t h e s e v e r b s 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 r d e r t o convey t h e most g e n e r a l semantic n o t i o n implied- by t h e p l u -
r a l verb:

&fd j b ' s p l i t , dividet

.&fcfutb ' e a t many t i m e s , 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 i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e 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 the
p l u r a l forms o f t h e v e r b . 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 l a n g u a g e s .
The e x i s t e n c e of m o r p h o l o g i c a l l y p l u r a l v e r b s w i t h meaning d i f f e -
r e n t from t h e s i n g u l a r v e r b s , e . g . cub; 'show' v s . cub& 'teach'
i n d i c a t e s t h a t gemination and r e d u p l i c a t i o n a r e n o t due t o r e c e n t inno-
v a t i o n i n Pero. T h i s c o n c l u s i o n i s f u r t h e r s u p p o r t e d by t h e f a c t t h a t
the suffixes -t- and -j- are used o n l y when the gemination c a n n o t
a p p l y because t h e stem a l r e a d y h a s t h e s t r u c t u r e CVCCV, w i t h 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 p h o n o l o g i c a l o r semantic
grounds (~ewman1 9 7 4 : 8 2 ) . One i s t h e s u f f i x -ngin w i t h what a p p e a r t o
\ / \ /
be i t s v a r i a n t s -njin/-njen; t h e second i s t h e s u f f i x -iyan/-uyan
with i t s v a r i a n t s in, an, yen, and en. The t h i r d means o f forming
t h e nominal p l u r a l i s through gemination ( ~ r a j z y n g i e r1976; Newman 197b
a n a l y z e s it as h a r d e n i n g ) 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 - ~ o v es u f f i x e s .
Kanakuru h a s a v e r b a l p l u r a l a s w e l l , formed by gemination o f t h e
second consonant o f t h e v e r b ( F r a j z y n g i e r 1 9 7 6 ) , t h u s p a r t i a l l y resem-
b l i n g t h e t h i r d means o f 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 r e s e n t i n t h e nominal p l - u r a l "but
absent i n t h e verbal p l u r a l .
It a p p e a r s t h a t gemination i s an o l d e r d e v i c e than suffixation i n
t h e f o r m a t i o n o f 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 following. There i s a s m a l l number o f v e r b s which
have a p l u r a l form a s w e 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 v e r b s 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, b u t f o r which t h e r e a r e n o r e c o r d e d s i n g u l a r
forms. This may o f course be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e incompleteness of o u r
d a t a , a l t h o u g h t h e number o f such v e r b s makes t h i s an u n l i k e l y explana-
tion. The o t h e r p o s s i b l e r e a s o n f o r t h e l a c k o f t h e s i n g u l a r counrer-
p a r t s i s t h a t t h e y were l o s t and a r e n o t used any more. I f t h i s i s the
c a s e , 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 d e v i c e i n t h e formation of v e r b a l p l u r a l , a l t h o u g h it
i s n o t p r o d u c t i v e anymore. The s m a l l s e t o f nouns which form t h e i r p l u -
r a l i n t h e same way i n which t h e v e r b s 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 d e v i c e 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 a s w e l l .
The f o l l o w i n g i s an e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e development o f t h e p l u r a l
markers i n Kanakuru. A f t e r gemination ceased, t o o p e r a t e as a d e v i c e f o r
marking t h e p l u r a l , t h e v a r i o u s 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 v e r b a l p l u r a l s were n o t p e r c e i v e d anymore
as plural 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 t h t - r e
e x i s t e d two forms c o n t a i n i n g 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 -
tics. One o f t h o s e forms d i s a p p e a r e d from u s a g e .
It i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e whole p r o c e s s was t h e o p p o s i t e from t h e one
d e s c r i b e d above. One could c o n c e i v e , 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-
phological device c e a s e d t o o p e r a t e because it was d u p l i c a t i n g t h e
f u n c t i o n o f 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
c o n t r a d i c t e d by examining a number of l a n g u a g e s , 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 i m e ; redu-
p l i c a t i o n o f p a r t o f t h e verb i s a p r o d u c t i v e d e v i c e f o r t h e d e r i v a t i o n
o f f r e q u e n t a t i v e forms.

4. Other Chadic languages

I n t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f p l u r a l formation i n o t h e r Chadic l a n g u a g e s ,
I w i l l u s e 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 n g u i s h e d : E a s t , Biu-Mandara, West, and Masa. The
a n a l y s i s below i s b a s e d 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 n o t 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 a p p r o p r i a t e column. Most o f t h e
d a t a a r e quoted a s p r e s e n t e d i n t h e s o u r c e s I have been u s i n g , i n most
c a s e s w i t h o u t any a t t e m p t a t r e a n a l y s i s . The l i s t o f l a n g u a g e s i s "by
io means e x h a u s t i v e . '

' ~ n e f o l l o w i n g a r e t h e s o u r c e s used f o r t h e p a r t i c u l a r l a n g u a g e s :
Dangla ( ~ 6 d 1r 9~7 1 ) ; Jonkor and J e g u ( ~ u n g r a i t h m a y r1961/62; J . Lukas
1974175); Kera ( ~ a r e nE b e r t , p e r s o n a l communication); Kapsiki ( s m i t h
1 9 6 9 ) ; Kotoko, Logone, and Buduma ( ~ e s t e r m a n nand Biyan 1 9 5 2 ) ; T e r a
( P . Neman 1 9 7 0 ) ; Margi ( ~ o f f m a n n1963) ; Bachama ( ~ a r r i o c h a n1 9 7 ~;)
Galanda ( ~ . ~ e w m a1n9 7 1 ) ; Bade ( P . Lukas 1 9 6 7 / 6 8 ) ; Ron languages ( ~ u n g -
r a i t h m a y r 1965, 1970) ; G i s i g a (J. Lukas 1970) ; Angas ( ~ u n g r a i t h m a y r
1 9 6 3 ) ; Sura ( ~ u n ~ r a i t h m 1963164);
a~r Chip ( ~ u n ~ r a i t h m a y 1 9r 6 4 / 6 5 ) ; Bole
( J . Lukas 1 9 7 1 ) ; Kanakuru ( P . Newman 1 9 7 4 ) ; Pero ( ~ r a j z y r i ~ i 1976 er and
field not^^}; Musgu ( J . Lukas 1 9 4 1 ) ; Hausa usse sell Schuli's a n a l y s i s i n
Welmers 1973; F r a j z y n g i e r 1 9 6 5 ) .
EAST
Nominal Verb a 1
Suffix Infi x
I
SUBBRANCR A

Dangla 9

Jonkor v o c a l i c changes, e . g .
D -r a.
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
Mub i Vocalic change and l
gemination o f I
second consonant. l
l
1
SUBBRANCH B l
Kera -n . I
,

The forms i n J e g u 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 J e g u and Kera. The markers i n v o l v i n g -n and -k w i l l be
d e a l t with l a t e r i n t h i s paper. The i n f i x -a- i s of course a reten-
t i o n o f a v e r y o l d morpheme ( s e e Greenberg 1955) which w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d
l a t e r as well. U n f o r t u n a t e l y I d i d n o t have s u f f i c i e n t d a t a c o n c e r n i n g
t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l i n t h i s b r a n c h , b u t from Lukas (1975) it a p p e a r s t h a t
t h e i n t e n s i v e form of t h e v e r b i n Jonkor i n v o l v e s t h e change from o -È

a i n the prefix.
 Nominal Verbal

SUBBRANCH A
Gat anda R e d u p l i c a t i o n of f i r s t consonant
and i n s e r t i o n o f -a-. Rule ( f r o m
R . Newnan 1971 :35 ) :

Tera None.
-
Margi -'yar, -i ( t r a c e s ) . P l u r a l through r e d u p l i c a t i o n .

Kapsiki P l u r a l marked w i t h very R e d u p l i c a t i o n of p a r t o f stem.

few nouns d e n o t i n g hu-
mans 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.

Bachama Vocalic s u f f i x e s . I n t e r n a l vowel change. I n f i x -a-.

G i S i ga -ay, p o s t p o s i t i o n h a y . P l u r a l form o f v e r b marked b y s u f -

f i x e s -am o r -ak i n d i c a t e s p l u r a -
l i t y of s u b j e c t .

SUBBRAJMCH B
Mus gu Verb i s number-sensitive b u t , un-
l i k e i n o t h e r Chadic l a n g u a g e s , it
i s i n p l u r a l form when s u b j e c t i s
plural.
--

Kotoko Gemination of f i n a l con-

s o n a n t . S u f f i x e s : -e ,
-en, n i - i . Internal ( Information not a v a i l a b l e
vowel change. about v e r b a l p l u r a l f o r
most languages o f t h i s
Logone Semination of f i n a l con- subgroup. )
s o n a n t . I n t e r n a l vowel
:hange t o -a, s u f f i x
-en , -e .
S u f f i x e s : - a i , - e i , -e.
Xheer d e v i c e s a s i n
totoko .
 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 b e common t o a l l languages of t h i s subbranch. The
v e r b s i n subbranch A form p l u r a l s through r e d u p l i c a t i o n o r t h r o u g h t h e
v o c a 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 p a p e r f o r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f " i n t e r n a l
borrowing of forms" i n Chadic languages. Apparently, T e r a has l o s t t h e
p l u r a l forms o f t h e v e r b , s i n c e it i s t h e o n l y language i n t h e subbranch
t h a t does n o t have a mechanism f o r t h e d e r i v a t i o n o f v e r b a l ' p l u r a l s .
I n subbranch B , i n Kotoko ( G u l f e i d i a l e c t ) and Logone t h e r e i s an
-en suffix. Gemination o c c u r s a s a d e v i c e i n a t l e a s t t h r e e l a n g u a g e s .
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. As f a r as the
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 G i s i g a 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 G i s i g a and i n Musgu t h e v e r b
a g r e e s i n number w i t h o r i n d i c a t e s t h e number o f t h e s u b j e c t .

WEST
Nominal Verbal
Suffix Infix
l
SUBBRANCH A

Daf f o
m
l
f" Sha -a, -aa, -ash, l S u f f i x -an. Reduplication.
&3 -e. Tonal I
crt changes. I
3
l
W
Kulere -egy. Redupli-
G
cation. I

l
Bokkos -ha, -ash. - a - w i t h redu- ?
S2 Ip l ication.
0
l
a n , a s h , -ash, , -a-, -aa-. I n f i x e s -i-, -a-, -aa-.
e , -ee, -i. I S u f f i x e s -aq, -an.
Reduplication. l
 -unaa, -ukaa, -uwaa, -c ' a a , R e d u p l i c a t i o n o f first
- a i , -uu, -ii, -aa, -akuu, t h r e e phonemes o r o f s e -
-akii, -annii, -aCtii. cond s y l l a - b l e .
I n f i x -a-. R e d u p l i c a t i o n of
a consonant i s i n v o l v e d i n a
number o f s u f f i x e s .

Angas P l u r a l s e x i s t b u t are n o t
numerous.

Sura P o s t p o s i t i o n -mo. R e d u p l i c a t i o n of stem.

Change o f t o n e . S h o r t e n i n g
o f vowel. I n f i x -a-. Suf-
f i x e s : -ap, e l , -k. I n f i x
-1-.
-

Chip P o s t p o s i t i o n -mu. S u f f i x -p. I n f i x -a-.

S u f f i x e s : -ak, -an. Tonal
changes.

Bole R e d u p l i c a t i o n 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.

Kanakuru -ngin, n j i n / n j e n , iyan/uyan, Reduplication.

- i n , -an, -yen, -en.
R e d u p l i c a t i o n of consonant of
stem.

No p l u r a l . Reduplication.

SUBBRANCH B Suffix Inf i x

l
Bade 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, - o o t , 1
-ageet, -cin, -tin. I
Reduplication. I

It seems i m p o s s i b l e t o r e c o n s t r u c t a common -plural marker f o r t h e

West b r a n c h . Within t h e Ron l a n g u a g e s , one can determine a common p l u -
r a l marker and t h e same goes f o r Angas, S u r a , and Chip. But t h e p l u r a l
marker o f Angas, S u r a , and Chip i s a r e c e n t i n n o v a t i o n . It a p p a r e n t l y
i s a t h i r d person p l u r a l pronoun and it h a s been analyzed a s such ( c f .
Greenberg 1 9 5 5 : 2 0 2 ) . 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 h a s
been n o t e d f o r almost a l l o f t h e languages except f o r Angas, 3iAra, and
Chip.
The v e r b a l p l u r a l h a s been noted, i n a l l West l a n g u a g e s , e x c e p t f o r
Bade--but t h e r e my d a t a might b e incomplete s i n c e t h e s o u r c e f o r t h i s
language was an a r t i c l e d e a l i n g e x p l i c i t l y w i t h t h e nominal system. In
most o f t h e l a n g u a g e s , t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l i s marked e i t h e r by r e d u p l i c a -
t i o n o r by t h e a f f i x / a / . S u r a and Chip have a few addi-cicnal a f f i x e s
n o t s h a r e d 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 b e
innovations. I t i s worth n o t i n g t h a t n e i t h e r Pero n o r Kanakuru have / a /
a s a p l u r a l marker.

5. A n a l y s i s of t h e t h r e e branches of Chadic

5.1. Nominal p l u r a l

The most f r e q u e n t d e v i c e s used t o mark p l u r a l i n t h e t h r e e b r a n c h e s

o f Chadic a r e / a / and r e d u p l i c a t i o n o r gemination. Within each b r a n c h
t h e r e i s an abundance of p l u r a l markers which a r e n o t cognate w i t h i n t h e
b r a n c h , e . g . Margi -'yar, 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 o c c u r r e n c e i s o f t e n u n p r e d i c t a b l e on
any grounds. T h i s l e a d s t o a c o n c l u s i o n t h a t e x c e p t 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 p r o c e s s o r p r o c e s s e s which must have o c c u r r e d a f t e r P r o t o -
Chadic s p l i t i n t o t h e t h r e e o r more b r a n c h e s . 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 n o t emerge u n t i l t h e p a r t i c u l a r b r a n c h e s s p l i t
i n t o t h e modern l a n g u a g e s . Evidence f o r t h i s i s provided by t h e d i v e r -
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. T h e morpheme / a / . T h i s marker o c c u r s i n a l l of t h e b r a n c h e s o f

Chadic, most o f t e n a s an i n f i x , b u 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 n o t r e c o r d e d , such a s P e r o and Kanakuru,
e i t h e r d i d n o t have it o r l o s t i t .

5.1.2. Reduplication. T h i s p r o c e s s o c c u r s i n all of t h e b r a n c h e s o f

t h e Chadic f a m i l y , b u t n o t i n a l l l a n g u a g e s . I n subbranch A o f Biu-
Mandara i t o c c u r s o n l y i n K a p s i k i . I n t h e West branch it does n o t o c c u r
i n t h e Sura-Angas-Chip group. I n t h e E a s t "branch it o c c u r s o n l y i n Muhi.

'3.2. Verbal p l u r a l

T h i s c a t e g o r y o c c u r s i n a l l o f t h e languages f o r which I have d a t a .

The meaning of t h i s form always i n c l u d e s an i n d i c a t i o n of i n t e n s i t y o f
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 l a n g u a g e s , i t i m p l i e s
p l u r a l i t y of t h e o b j e c t . Musgu and G i s i g a a r e important e x c e p t i o n s , i n
t h a t v e r b s i n t h e s e languages a g r e e i n number w i t h t h e s u b j e c t and. have
t h e p l u r a l form i f t h e s u b j e c t i s p l u r a l . I t 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 v e r b i s
n o t u s u a l l y a f u n c t i o n o f verb-object agreement, a l t h o u g h t h i s h a s been
n o t e d a s w e l l , e . g . i n Kanakuru (~ewman1 9 7 4 : 7 2 ) . I n Margi ( ~ o f f m a n n
1 9 6 3 : 5 7 ) , i f t h e v e r b has a p l u r a l form t h e noun does n o t have t o have
the plural suffix. Thus t h e v e r b a l markers i n v e r b and noun i n Margi
a r e , a s it were, complementary.
The most common d e v i c e s f o r formation o f t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l a r e
r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f a s y l l a b l e o r gemination o f a consonant i n t h e v e r b .
S i n c e t h i s d e v i c e o c c u r s i n a l l o f t h e b r a n c h e s of Chadic and i n almost
a l l t h e l a n g u a g e s , one can assume t h a t it i s a r e t e n t i o n from t h e P r o t o -
Chadic v e r b a l system. The r u l e s f o r f o r m a t i o n d i f f e r from language t o
language, and t h o s e d i f f e r e n c e s have t o b e a t t r i b u t e d t o i n n o v a t i o n s 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 v e r b s 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, S u r a , c h i p ) . I n t h e E a s t branch it h a s been n o t e d i n J o n k o r .
On t n e evidence of t h e Biu-Mandara and West branches a l o n e , one c o u l d
conclude t h a t / a / was a morpheme marking p l u r a l i n t h e v e r b a l system o f
Proto-Chadic. The s u f f i x e s which occur i n S u r a and Chip, v i z . -p and
-k must be i n n o v a t i o n s t h a t emerged i n t h e s e languages after t h e y had
s p l i t from t h e o t h e r languages of t h e West branch.
The h y p o t h e s i s t h a t g e m i n a t i o n / r e d u p l i c a t j i o n and a f f i x / a / Tore
o r i g i n a l l y markers of t h e v e r b a l p l u r a l i s most s t r o n g l y s u p p o r t e d b y
t h e f a c t t h a t i n t h e m a j o r i t y o f languages t h e r e i s a v e r b a l p l u r a l hav-
i n g one o f t h e above forms even though t h e r e i s no nominal p l u r a l , o r
e l s e t h e nominal p l u r a l h a s 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 b r a n c h e s o f 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 a k e n t h i s d e v i c e
and used it i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f 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 l a n g u a g e s
only. The d a t a from Kanakuru s u g g e s 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 h a n t h e o t h e r forms o f t h e p l u r a l .

5.3. S u f f i x -Vn

Another c a n d i d a t e f o r a Proto-Chadic p l u r a l marker i s a s u f f i x which

always c o n t a i n s a t l e a s t an a l v e o l a r n a s a l , and u s u a l l y h a s t h e form -Vn.
The h y p o t h e s i s 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 f o l l o w s .
I n t h e E a s t branch o f Chadic it o c c u r s i n Kera. It a l s o o c c u r s i n
t
J e g u a s one o f 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
Jonkor do n o t have such a s u f f i x . If one were t o a c c e p t -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 J o n k o r
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
w i t h t h e p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n of Margi. Hoffrnann ( i n a remark a t t h e
~ o l l o q u i u m )p o i n t e d out t h a t r i n t h e Margi p l u r a l marker 'yar could
be c o n s i d e r e d a r e f l e x of Proto-Chadic *n, a c c o r d i n g 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 consider 'yar a s a r e f l e x o f t h e Proto-Chadic p l u r a l
marker. A s n o t e d i n t h e Biu-Mandara c h a r t , Margi h a s some t r a c e s o f t h e
plural suffix -i, t h e o n l y o t h e r p l u r a l marker a p a r t from 'yar. Some
o f t h e words t h a t t a k e it a r e :

Singular Plural Gloss

rods ' p e r s o n , man' m jl people '
shili man, husband.'
nkw> nkwa'l g i r l , daughter'

A s Hoffrnann w r i t e s ( 1 9 6 3 : 5 9 ) , a l l t h e s e p l u r a l forms may t a k e , i n

auaition, the plural suffix 'yar when used w i t h d e m o n s t r a t i v e s , e . g . :

mjilY;r :
k ' t h e s e people' (besides m j i k;)
~ h i l : ' ~ ; r k$ ' t h e s e men', e t c .

The n a t u r e o f 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

h a v i n g been borrowed. Besides, -i o c c u r s a s a p l u r a l marker i n a num-
b e r o f o t h e r Biu-Mandara l a n g u a g e s , e . g . Kotoko and Buduma. It a p p e a r s
therefore that the suffix 'yar 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 s u p p o r t e d by i t s s p r e a d i n t h e language.
I n subbranch B o f Biu-Mandara, a -Vn s u f f i x o c c u r s 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 l a n g u a g e s , o n l y Fyer has a -Vn
suffix -an, which can h a r d l y b e c a l l e d a p r o d u c t i v e s u f f i x , s i n c e o n l y
one word c o n t a i n i n g it i s provided by Jungraithmayr ( 1 9 7 0 ) , v i z . yuur-U
'eye', pi. yiran /y-i-r-an/. I n th-Ls word t h e r e i s a l r e a d y a p l u r a l
marker -i-. I n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f F y e r , t h e r e i s one more word, humu
'ear' , pi. humua~/humwa~, which c o n t a i n s a s u f f i x w i t h a n a s a l , b u t it
i s a velar nasal.
These two s u f f i x e s cannot be c o n s i d e r e d 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 w i t h o u t p r e v i o u s e x p l a n a t i o n of what might have
caused two d i f f e r e n t n a s a l s i n t h o s e s u f f i x e s . Besides, t h e s u f f i x e s
-an and -an o c c u r more f r e q u e n t l y 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 h a s -an a s t h e marker of t h e
v e r b a l p l u r a l , b u t does n o t have it a s t h e marker o f t h e nominal p l u r a l .
The two i n s t a n c e s c o n t a i n i n g t h e -VQ and -Vn morphemes i n Fyer c o u l d
be e x p l a i n e d 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 p a p e r , t h o s e p l u r a l markers have been i n t e r n a l l y
borrowed from t h e v e r b a l system. It seems t h a t t h e f a c t t h a t t h e two
c a s e s a r e d i f f e r e n t , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e o t h e r arguments p r e s e n t e d above,
r u l e s o u t 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 h a s a t l e a s t two s u f f i x e s t h a t may b e claimed t o have
developed from t h e P r o t o -Vn s u f f i x , a n o t h e r subgroup of t h e West,
c o n s i s t i n g o f S u r a , Angas, and Chip, does n o t have a -Vn suffix.
 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 c o n t a i n 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 v a r i o u s -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 d e v i c e s when compared w i t h gemination o f t h e second conso-
n a n t o f 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 f o l l o w i n g exam-c~les:
b a s e d on t h e d a t a i n Newman ( 1 9 7 4 : 8 4 ) , a r e p r e s e n t e d a c c o r d i n g t o i-he
analysis i n Frajzyngier (1976).

ddu ( < dUh6) d<kkdy an 'boar'

lip: [l{w:] l ipp&n 'calabashf
yiap: [yiaw:] y &pplyin ' chicken'
taki [taa] tikkin 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 c o n t a i n i n g -Vn h a s been added t o t h e

geminated noun, p r o b a b l y when gemination was n o t p e r c e i v e d any more a s
a p l u r a l i z i n g device. P e r o , a language from t h e same c l u s t e r , does n o t
have any p l u r a l marker.
Badea a language from Subbranch B of t h e West b r a n c h , 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 o f t h e -Vn s u f f i x e s i n Chadic l a n g u a g e s
may have two p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s .
a ) A c e r t a i n s u f f i x c o n t a i n i n g a n a s a l consonant functioned, a s a p l u r a l
"-:rker i n Proto-Chadic. T h i s marker was s u b s e q u e n t l y dropped by t h e majo-
r i t y of languages. The r e a s o n s f o r such a massive r e d u c t i o n o f t h i s
s u f f i x i n languages from v a r i o u s groups a r e n o t known. This hypothesis
n + i:;s
~ major weakness i n o u r i n a b i l i t y t o e x p l a i n 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 l a n g u a g e s , a
-V? s u f f i x developed i n d e p e n d e n t l y t o mark t h e nominal p l u r a l . Such
a h y p o t h e s i s can b e r e t a i n e d o n l y i f one could, show why s e v e r a l indepen-
d e n t changes produced s o s i m i l a r a r e s u l t . I n o r d e r f o r independent
i n n o v a t i o n s 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
s o u r c e f o r them. It a p p e a r s that, t h e r e i s such a s o u r c e i n t h o s e Chadic
languages t h a t have a -Vn suffix.
l a t e d t o t h e c l a s s of masculine nouns, which often contains a nasal cun-
s o n a n t , 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
nasal. The p l u r a l s u f f i x -vn could be d e r i v e d 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;eswhich have t h e
marker do indeed, have a form o f t h e masculiii? marker an
. ?

-Vn CGPLZ1Lii:g

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

d e m o n s t r a t i v e pronouns and many o t h e r forms ( c f . Schuli 1 9 7 5 ) .
It i s v e r y l i k e l y t h a t i n a number o f Chadic languages t h e f e m i n i n e
marker was a l s o u s e d i n t h e f o r m a t i o n of t h e p l u r a l , and t h a t t h i s "was
a n o t h e r s o u r c e o f 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 i n v o l v i n g -k or -t.
A t p r e s e n t , I am unable t o e x p l a i n how and why masculine ( a n d femi-
n i n e ) markers could b e transformed i n t o p l u r a l m a r k e r s , b u t t h i s i s
a p p a r e n t l y what happened i n Chadic languages. Outside o f t h e Chadic
branch o f A f r o a s i a t i c , a s i m i l a r phenomenon o c c u r r e d i n S e m i t i c , i n p a r -
t i c u l a r i n A r a b i c , where t h e -una p l u r a l s were f i r s t an i n n o v a t i o n a s
p l u r a l markers f o r masculine nouns and o n l y l a t e r s p r e a d t o cover b o t h
masculine and feminine nouns ( c f . Kury$owicz 1972: 1 3 9 ) .
S i n c e it i s i m p o s s i b l e 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 h a s t o assume t h a t t h e m u l t i t u d e
o f o t h e r morphemes o c c u r r i n g i n v a r i o u s Chadic languages must b e inno-
v a t i o n s , o c c u r r i n g a f t e r t h o s e 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 s m a l l e r branches o f Chadic.

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"
^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. Introduction

T h i s paper i s an a t t e m p t t o p i n p o i n t and examine t h e grammatical

p a r a m e t e r s of s o - c a l l e d " a u x i l i a r y v e r b s ' i n Hausa. These v e r b s a r e a
common and important f e a t u r e o f b o t h spoken and w r i t t e n Hausa,' and de-
n o t e e s s e n t i a l l y such u n i v e r s a l m o d i f i c a t i o n s 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 o f r e f e r e n c e o f t h i s p a p e r by d e a l i n g w i t h t h e problem
of terminology.
Most s c h o l a r s o f t h e language h a v e , t o v a r y i n g d e g r e e s , d e s c r i b e d
t h i s c l a s s o f v e r b s i n Hausa. With t h e e x c e p t i o n o f Parsons ( 1 9 7 1 / 7 2 ) ,
who p r e f e r s t h e L a t i n grammar t e r m " i n d e t e r m i n a t e " , a l l t h e s e s c h o l - a r s ,
i n c l u d i n g 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
t e r r n à ‘ P i l s z c z i k o w ( 1 9 6 0 ) ~ ~ a x w eand
l l Forshey ( 1 9 6 3 ) ~ K r a 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 b a s e d l a r g e l y upon r e s e a r c h done i n 197h w i t h some

of my Hausa s t u d e n t s a t Bayero U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e , Kano. I wish t o t h a n k
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 s e a r c h i n g t h i s p a r t i c u l a r
t o p i c a t t h e t i m e , and P . Neman and R . M. Newman. I am g r a t e f u l t o o t o
my c o l l e a g u e s a t Hamburg U n i v e 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
c o n s t r u c t i v e c r i t i c i s m s . L a s t l y I am i n d e b t e d t o F. W . P a r s o n s o f t h e
School o f O r i e n t a l and A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , London U n i v e r s i t y , who k i n d l y
r e a d through t h e o r i g i n a l d r a f t and made v a l u a b l e comments upon i t .
'0f t h e f i r s t f i f t y o r s o v e r b s which o c c u r i n t h e opening page of
Shehu Umar ( ~ a l e w a1 9 5 5 ) , 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 v e r b s 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 u n f o r t u n a t e l y g i v e s r i s e t o some t e r m i n o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n
s i n c e t h e t e r m " a u x i l i a r y " i s a l s o used i n Hausa t o & s c r i b e such e l e m e n t s
a s t h e -na o f 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 ' h e i s t r a v e l l - i n g ' , and the -ke morpnenie u s e d i n
t h e r e l a t i v e continuous a s p c - r t , ~ . p . inda yake -- t a f i y a 'where h e i s
travel.] i n g ' .
these verbs i n t o t o . However, none e x p l a i n e x a c t l y why t h e y c o n s i d e r
t h i s l a b e l an a p p r o p r i a t e one, beyond s a y i n g t h a t t l i e s e ver'us rf:-Fi-J - t o
processes in an a c t i o n r a t h e r t h a n t h e a c t i o n i t s e l f .
I n view o f t h i s c o n s i s t e n c y i n u s a g e , t h e r e f o r e , and i n t h e absence
a s y e t of a more a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p t i v e l a b e l t o a p p l y comprehensively t o
such d i v e r s e m o d i f i c a t i o n s of t h e v e r b a l n o t i o n a s i n c h o a t i o n , r e p e l i -
t i o n , continuance, e t c . , I s h a l l continue t o use t h e term "auxiliary"'
Moreover, t h e v e r y f a c t t h a t t h e s e v e r b s do o p e r a t e t o q u a l i f y a fol-low-
i n g verb which i s t h e n nominalised i n t h e form o f a v e r b a l noun, whose
semantic c o n t e n t i s a t t h e same time m o d i f i e d , would seem t o i n d i c a t e
t h a t t h e t e r m a u x i l i a r y ' i s n o t wholly i n a p p r o p r i a t e .
The n a t u r e and s y n t a c t i c f u n c t i o n o f A u x i l i a r y Verbs ( A V ) i n IIausa
have been d e s c r i b e d , w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f c l a r i t y and a c c u r a c y , i n
most of t h e s t a n d a r d grammars and d i c t i o n a r i e s of t h e language. Pilss-
czikowa (1960) i s t h e o n l y s c h o l a r t o d a t e who h a s p u b l i s h e d an a n a l y s i s
of t h e s e v e r b s which i s a n y t h i n g more t h a n 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 1 2 A V ~and s t a t e s how t h e y may o p e r a t e i n Hausa: ( a ) as intran-
s i t i v e v e r b s w i t h o u t a f o l l o w i n g complement ( " d ' u n e manisre i n d e p e n d a n t e ,
c.2.d. s a n s comp16ment1'), e . g . m i s a 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 p a r un s u ' o s t a n t i f 7 ' ) ,
e.g. ~ o k a c i nda aka gama maganar amfanin gona s o s a i 'when d i s c u s s i o n
of t h e farm produce was completely o v e r ' ; ( c ) w i t h a v e r b a l noun comple-
ment ("avec un compl6ment exprim6 p a r un nom d6verba11') e . g . ba t a

A S must b e obvious from t h e d i f f e r i n g t o t a l numbers p r e s e n t e d , t h e s e

a u t h o r s do not a l l l i s t t h e same AV; moreover, some v e r b s a r e g i v e n , e . g .
r i g a and s a , which must b e 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
t e r m AV-1 and AV-2, t h e i r u s e of t h e l a b e l " a u x i l i a r y " r e f e r s t o v e r b s
which a r e members of b o t h s u b c a t e g o r i e s .
4~ have p r o v i d e d my own E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n s o f t h e Hausa c i t a t i o n s
given by P i l s z c z i k o w a , 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 c o r r e c t i o n s i n t h e orthography in k e e p i n g w i t h
modern Hausa o r t h o g r a p h i c s t a n d a r d s . I have a l s o u n d e r l i n e d t h e AV i n
a l l t h e examples provided. S t a n d a r d 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 ~ si n t h i s study.
zuwa nan ' s h e cannot come h e r e ' ; o r ( d ) w i t h a " v e r b a l theme" roinpie-
ment ("avec un complement expriind p a r un thsme v e r u a l " ) , e . g . barawo ba
a t a b a 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 s a y s t h a t t h e ) may
govern e i t h e r a f o l l o w i n g " v e r b a l noun", e . g . kada ka d i n g a 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 d i n g a nurr.a 'they
were i n a p e r p e t u a l s t a t e o f h a p p i n e s s ' . And Bargery (1934) s a y s i n h i s
g l o s s e s of a few AV t h a t t h e y may be followed by a " v e r b a l noun", e . g .
ya % gani ' h e can s e e ' .
Maxwell and Forshey (1962:77-78) l i s t 11 AV and c l a i m t h a t t h e y a r e
' f o l l o w e d by t h e v e r b a l noun", e . g . s a i ka r i k a zuwa 'you must k e e p on
coming'. Parsons (1971/72:52) s a y s t h a t t h e s e v e r b s a r e " n o r m a - ~ . ~ 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 r e n c e f o r t h e s e two c l a s s e s o f noun, which i s n o t shi/ta b u t haka".
K r a f t and K r a f 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 " h e l p i n g v e r b s " , and add t h a t " t h e t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e u t t e r a n c e
u s u a l l y h i g h l i g h t s t h e verb m o d i f i e r (which i s o f t e n a v e r b a l noun)
r a t h e r t h a n t h e verb". K r a f t and Kirk-Greene (1973:157-60) g i v e a t o t a l
o f 1 2 AV and s t a t e t h a t t h e y a r e followed by " v e r b a l nouns", e . g . ban
sake g a n i n s a ba ' I d i d n ' t s e e 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 t y p e s o f nouns", e . g . y a c i k a karambani 'he i s extremely
meddlesome, a b i g n u i s a n c e ' .
Cowan and Schuh (1976:136, 181-82, 242-43) l i s t 8 o f t h e more com-
monly used AV and w r i t e : "These v e r b s a r e followed by t h e same t y p e s o f
v e r b a l e x p r e s s i o n s 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 " v e r b a l e x p r e s s i o n s " , t h e y 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 n c l u d i n g t h o s e which add t h e n o m i n a l i s i n g s u f f i x -wa i n t h e con-
t i n u o u s a s p e c t when t h e r e i s no o b j e c t f o l l o w i n g , e . g . maReri ya s a k e
liftewa ' t h e b l a c k s m i t h p a t c h e d ( i t ) over a g a i n ' and. t h o s e which do n o t
- &e t h e nominalising s u f f i x -wa, e .g. ban & cfaukar buhun gyacfa ba
' I c a n ' t p i c k up t h e sack of p e a n u t s ' . As examples o f " a c t i o n nouns"
they give magana ' s p e e c h , s p e a k i n g ' and wasa 'play, p l a y i n g ' , e . g .
sun -f-a r a wasa ' t h e y have s t a r t e d p l a y i n g ' .
 The f o r e g o i n g e x t r a c t s a r e an i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e c o n f u s i o n which
has surrounded t h e q u e s t i o n o f 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 f o l l o w i n g an AV i n Hausa. The a t t e m p t s s o f a r
t o d e s c r i b e t h i s c l a s s o f v e r b s have been r a t h e r i n a d e q u a t e and u n t i d y ,
and it i s t h e purpose of t h e p r e s e n t p a p e r 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 t h e r e b y tidy up
t h e grammatical b o u n d a r i e s o f 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 v e r b s

The b a s i c a i m o f t h i s synchronic a n a l y s i s i s t o determine t h e

n a t u r e and f u n c t i o n o f a u x i l i a r y v e r b s 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 v e r b s may be c o n f i d e n t l y a s s i g n e d t o t h i s c l a s s and
t h u s f o r m a l l y d e s i g n a t e d a s A u x i l i a r y 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 v e r b s i n Hausa which do not a c c o r d with
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 r e g a r d e d a s b e i n g Non-Aiixiliary
Verbs (NAV) f o r t h e purposes o f t h i s p a p e r . My model i s t h e r e f o r e b a s e d 1

e s s e n t i a l l y on a n 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. Auxiliary verbs

I d e f i n e an AV i n Hausa a s any verb which, w i t h a few e x c e p t i o n s

d i s c u s s e d i n f u l l below, may o n l y govern a s a complement a v e r b a l
(dynamic) noun ( 2 f o l l o w i n g d i r e c t o b j e c t ) , s u b j e c t t o t h e f o l l o w i n g
r e s t r i c t i v e conditions:
( i ) t h e s u b j e c t s o f t h e AV and t h e f o l l o w i n g v e r b a l dynamic noun
(WIN) must b e r e f e r e n t i a l l y i d e n t i c a l , t h e r e b y r u l i n g o u t such
constructions as na ji zuwansa ' I h e a r d him coming' ;
i i ) e x c l u d i n g t h o s e c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n which a v e r b o f motion may
immediately precede a T O N t o i n d i c a t e p u r p o s e , e . g . sun t a f i
cin abinci ' t h e y have gone ( i n o r d e r ) t o e a t ' .
2.1.1. F e a t u r e s o f v e r b a l dynamic nouns. Basically, VDN i n Hausa
s i g n i f y an a c t i o n , e v e n t , o r p r o c e s s , and s h a r e common b a s e s w i t h v e r b s .
They may be d i v i d e d i n t o t h o s e which t a k e t h e n o m i n a l i s i n g 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 a n a dafawa ' s h e i s cooking' and
t h o s e which do n o t add t h i s s u f f i x , e . g . t a n a saka 'she i s weavingf.
These two t y p e s o f v e r b a l noun a r e sometimes r e f e r r e d t o a s w e a k and
" s t r o n g " v e r b a l nouns, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Notice t h a t t h e v c r b a l noun i n
Hausa i s u s u a l l y r e n d e r e d i n E n g l i s h 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 b y a p r e s e n 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 o f TON
as follows: ( a ) t h e y a r e preceded, f o r t h e most p a r t , by i n d e t e r m i n a t e
v e r b s 6 such a s iya, fara, rika, e.g. Audu ya i y a s a k a IAudu can
weave'; ( h ) t h e y can occur i n t h e frame ...nake ( y i ) ,e . g . s a k a nake
( y i ) ' I am weaving' ; ( c ) t h e y can o c c u r immediately a f t e r a "continuous
pronoun", e . g . ina dafa abinci ' I am cooking f o o d ' ; ( d ) t h e y have plu-
r a l forms w i t h d i s t i n c t i v e r e d u p l i c a t e d p a t t e r n s w i t h -e suffixes,
which a r e n o t found w i t h non-verbal dynamic nouns ( s e e b e l o w ) , e , g . ya
i y a gyare-gyare ' h e can do v a r i o u s k i n d s of r e p a i r work'.

2.1.2. Direct object sl,ot. The q u e s t i o n o f 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 o f a VDN simply depends o f
c o u r s e 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 c o n s t r u c t i o n i n v o l v e d , and t h i s i s s u e i s o f no r e l e v a n c e h e r e .

2.2. Non-auxiliary v e r b s

For t h e purposes o f t h i s s t u d y , I d e f i n e NAV as any v e r b i n Hausa

which does n o t f u l f i l t h o s e s y n t a c t i c c o n d i t i o n s which s e r v e t o d e f i n e
AV. T h i s c a t e g o r y t h u s embraces a l l t h o s e v e r b s which a r e viewed., tra-
d i t i o n a l l y a t l e a s t , a s b e i n g 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 c o n s t r u c t i o n , e . g . y a bugi y a r o 'he h i t t h e b o y ' ,
na gan s h i ' I saw h i m ' , y a gudu ' h e r a n away'.
A few o f t h e v e r b s e x e m p l i f i e d i n t h e NAV column of Table I below
o p e r a t e b o t h t r a n s i t i v e and i n t r a n s i t i v e u s a g e s . However, s i n c e t h i s
a l t e r n a t i o n i s o f no importance f o r t h i s a n a l y s i s , o n l y t h e i r p o t e n t i a l
o p e r a t i o n a s AV, I l i s t o n l y one usage.

2.3. A u x i l i a r y v e r b s AV-1 and AV-2

As i s perhaps i n e v i t a b l e w i t h any a t t e m p t a t d e t e r m i n i n g t h e c l a s s
membership o f a v e r b , we f i n d t h a t t h e r e i s a c o n s i d e r a b l e o v e r l a p i n

' ~ a l a d a n c i u s e s Parsons ' l a b e l " i ~ ~ dLi,-rmi

c :ILL(-". As Parsoris ( 1971172:
5 2 ) 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 r c u - l a 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 g e n e r a l s y n t a c t i c
c a t e g o r y AV t h e r e a r e two s u b c a t e g o r i e s o f v e r b s . The f i r s t s u b c a t e g o r y
i n c l u d e s t h o s e few v e r b s which may o p e r a t e o n l y 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
t h e l a b e l M .The second l a r g e r s u b c a t e g o r y embraces t h o s e v^rbs which
a r e s y n t a c t i c a l l y c a p a b l e of f u n c t i o n i n g e i t h e r a s AV o r as W dep~tyiding
upon t h e t y p e o f complement t h e y c o n t r o l , and t h e s e I t e r m AV-2.7 Through-
o u t 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 o n l y 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 s c u s s i o n . Otner-
wise I simply u s e t h e g e n e r a l s h o r t h a n d n o t a t i o n AV.
The p o s i t i o n o f AV r e l a t i v e t o NAV may b e r e p r e s e n t e d a s f o l l o w s :

2.4. O p e r a t i o n o f AV-1 and AV-2

Table I i l l u s t r a t e s t h e o p e r a t i o n o f 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 a c c e p t e d a s b e i n g e x h a u s t i v e b u t it p r o b a b l y a c c o u n t s
f o r t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h o s e v e r b s which can be c o n f i d e n t l y a s s i g n e d 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 u s e d AV i n ~ a u s a . ~

7 ~ h ec h o i c e o f t h i s l a b e l i n no way i m p l i e s t h a t I c o n s i d e r t h i s sub-
category o f v e r b s t o b e more " a u x i l i a r y " t h a n " n o n - a u x i l i a r y " . It i s
simply t h a t t h e focus throughout t h i s paper i s on AV a s 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 a p p r o p r i a t e t o a p p l y t o
t h i s i m p o r t a n t o v e r l a p p i n g group o f v e r b s . However, t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e
r e l a t i v e frequency o f AV-2 o c c u r r i n g a s e i t h e r AV o r NAV, w h i l e i m p o r t a n t ,
i s beyond t h e p r e s e n t scope o f t h i s s t u d y .
1 n a l l t a b l e s , v e r b s a r e l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y by g r a d e , s t a r t i n g
w i t h Grade 1; t o n e p a t t e r n s a r e i n d i e a t l e d i n p a r e n t h c b e s . A b l a n k s p a c e
I n d i c a t e s n o n o c c u r r f n c r of t h e item. A l l examples i n t h p p a p e r a r e a t t e s -
t e d by Hausa s p e a k e r s ; some a r c t a k e n 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 a1955 1 .
 TABLE I

OPERATION OF AV-1 AND AV-2

Verb Grade Auxiliary Operation Auxiliary Non-Auxiliary O p e r a t i o n Non-Auxiliary

( A V - 1 and AV-2) ~otion(s) (AV-2 o n l y ) ' gotion(S )
AV + VDN ( + d i r . o b j . ) .
NAV (2d i r . o b j )

Grade 1 ( ~ i - L O )
cika ya c i k a shan g i y a do t o o / v e r y t a cika tulu fill
much, do t o
he d r i n k s t o o much b e e r she' f i l l e d t h e waterpot
excess
dada ya dada zuwa r e p e a t , do ya dada ruwa i n c r e a s e , add
he came a g a i n he added more water
daina ya d a i n a zuwa stop/cease
doing
he h a s s t o p p e d coming
dinga na dinga t a f i y a keep on doing,
c o n t i n u a l l y do
I k e p t on t r a v e l l i n g
dosa1O y a dosa t a f i y a keep on d o i n g ,
do r e g u l a r l y
he k e p t on t r a v e l l i n g
fara sun faxa k a r a t u b e g i n l s t a r t , be
f i r s t t o do
t h e y have s t a r t e d r e a d i n g
fasa ya f a s a zuwa f a i l t o , miss, tafiya t a fasa be postponed
d e c i d e n o t t o do
he f a i l e d t o come t h e journey h a s been
postponed
gama ya gama g i n i n g i d a finish, com-
p l e t e doing
he h a s f i n i s h e d b u i l d i n g
t h e house
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MJC 212) done done
t h e food i s n e a r l y 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 y a s h a ruwa drink
he comes h e r e o f t e n he drank some water
y i ta15 suka y i t a rokonsa keep on doing
t h e y k e p 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 n o n - a u x i l i a r y o p e r a t i o n o f t h e s e v e r b s 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 h a n a p e r s o n a l pronoun) and t h e A form ( u s e d
i f no o b j e c t f o l l o w s t h e v e r b ) .
l0T'here i s an KAV Gra.de 1 verb d o s a , which h a s a completely u n r e l a t e d meaning ' t o h a f t a h a n d l e ' .
Although it i s homophonous w i t h t h e AV Grade 1 dosa 'do r e g u l a r l y ' , it i s d e r i v e d from a d i f f e -
r e n t l e x i c a l base.
T h e phrase y a i y a doki i s h i g h l y i d i o m a t i c . The combination o f t h i s v e r b w i t h a noun d i r e c t
o b j e c t i s r e s t r i c t , e d t o such f i x e d p h r a s e s as y a i y a ruwa ' h e can s w i m ' , y a i y a Hausa 'he can
speak Hausa ( o r any o t h e r l a n g u a g e ) ' . Bargery (1934:482) g i v e s ya i y a hannunsa ' h e h a s become an
e x p e r t ' , and ka i y a bakinka ' c o n t r o l your t o n g u e ! ' . There i s a l s o an i n t e r e s t i n g K a l a l a t u ba ta
i y a miya ba ' K a l a . l a t u c o u l d n o t make/prepare/cook soup' ( M J C 2 : 1 6 ) .
^When followed "by a c o n c r e t e 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 , b u t o p t i o n a l b e f o r e a f o l l o w i n g VDN.
1 3 1 t i s p o s s i b l e of course t o g e n e r a t e a s e n t e n c e i n c o r p o r a t i n g b o t h a u x i l i a r y and non-auxi1iar.y
usage o f a v e r b such as t a b a , e . g . ka t a b a t a b a m a c i j i ? 'have you e v e r touched a s n a k e ? '
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.
15-
m e two elements of t h i s compound verb a r e sometimes i n c o r r e c t l y written t o g e t h e r , t h u s yita.
The i d e n t i t y o f t a i s u n c l e a r , though it could b e t h e v i a t i v e p a r t i c l e meaning 'by way of ' .
2.5. O b s e r v a t i o n s on Table I
2.5.1. AV i n Hausa s e r v e t o q u a l i f y a f o l l o w i n g v e r b whicht,nenbecomes
nominalised i n t h e form of a v e r b a l noun and whose semantic c o n t e n t i s
a t t h e same t i m e modified, e . g . y a zo ' h e came' , cf. ya dinga zuwa
' h e k e p t on coming'. With r e g a r d t o s y n t a c t i c b e h a v i o u r , AV can "be
d i v i d e d i n t o t h e two s u b c a t e g o r i e s AV-1 and AV-2.

2.5.2. AV-l . There a r e a h a n d f u l o f v e r b s i n Hausa ( 8 o u t of 35 l i s t e d )

which o p e r a t e e x c l u s i v e l y a s AV-1 i n t h a t t h e y may o n l y govern a s comple-
ment a v e r b a l (dynamic) noun (2direct object). These v e r b s , which
e x h i b i t a c l o s e nexus w i t h t h e i r comp1e.men-L and have s i n g l e c l a s s mem-
bership, are: daina, dinga, dosa, fara, gama, soma, faye, y i ta.
It s h o u l d b e added immediately, however, t h a t t h r e e o f t h e above
AV-1 may, i n s u r f a c e 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 h a s s t a r t e d t o r a i n ' ,
t a gama a b i n c i ' s h e h a s f i n i s h e d (making) t h e f o o d ' , and an soma ruwa
i t h a s s t a r t e d t o r a i n ' , examples which s h o u l d , a c c o r d i n g t o my ana-
l y t i c a l p r o c e d u r e , appear i n t h e NAV column and t h u s make fara, gama,
and soma a l l examples of AV-2. These and o t h e r a p p a r e n t e x c e p t i o n s
w i l l be h a n d l e d i n s e c t i o n 2.7.2.

2.5.3. AV-2. The remaining 27 v e r b s 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 o v e r l a p s i n t o b o t h AV and KAV
c l a s s e s depending upon t h e t y p e o f 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 m o d i f i c a t i o n
of t h e v e r b a l n o t i o n which t h e y 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. T h i s 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 o p e r a t i o n v a r i e s i n d e g r e e from
v e r b t o v e r b , 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
cases.

2.5.4. Ambuiguity a r i s i n g from AV v s . NAV usage. It i s worthwhile

n o t i n g h e r e t h a t t h e r e a r e some o r t h o g r a p h i c a l l y 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 , i n v o l v i n g b o t h t h e AV and NAV usages o f t h e same v e r b , 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 a n c e can o n l y b e e l u c i d a t e d 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 o f ( 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 zagi + direct object -nta, -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 a b u s e ' , where sha
i s NAV + d i r e c t o b j e c t zaginta, where t h e -nta is a subjectival
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) y a nemi taimakona

The two d i f f e r e n t meanings of ( 2 ) a r e ( a ) ' h e t r i e d t o h e l p m e ' , where

nema i s AV-2 + VDN taimako + o b j e c t i v e 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 ) ' h e 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 v e r b nema i s t h a t when o p e r a t i n g a s
AV-2 it a l l o w s a f o l l o w i n g VDN t o be r e p l a c e d by a complement c l a u s e i n
t
t h e s u b j u n c t i v e a s p e c 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 n h e r e n t i n t h e s e n t e n c e y a nemi taimakona, may b e r e s o l v e d
not o n l y by c o n t e x t b u t a l s o f o r m a l l y 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 s e n t e n c e would be e x p r e s s e d by y a nemi y a taimake
ni, 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 b e e x p r e s s e d 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 , a g a i n b o t h 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 o f AV w i t h i n t h e Hausa v e r b g r a d e system. Table I
r e v e a 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 o u t o f 35) o p e r a t e as Grade
l verbs. G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , AV do n o t CO-occur i ~ m o r et h a n one g r a d e .
The few e x c e p t i o n s t o t h i s r u l e a r e t h e Grade 1 v e r b s fara, soma,
rasa, dinga, and koma, and t h e Grade h flare, a l l o f which may o c c u r
a s AV i n o t h e r g r a d e s ( 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
restricted.
Both fara and soma, whi ch, a s f a r a s I am aware, a r e c o m p l e t e l y
synonymous i n a l l environments, may o p e r a t e Grade 2 u s a g e s . T h i s change
i n o p e r a t i o n , however, i s accompanied by a s u b t l e change i n meaning,
w i t h t h e Grade 2 forms o n l y 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 i d a n s i m i n t i a Kano ' h e was t h e F i r s t t o
b u i l d a c o n c r e t e house i n Kano'. Unlike t h e much more common Grade 1
forms of t h e s e two v e r b s , t h e i r Grade 2 c o u n t e r p a r t s cannot d e n o t e
'start/beginM . Both Abraham (1962 :251) and Bargery (1934 : 301) l i s t t h e
Grade 2 usages o f t h e s e v e r b s 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 h e a r d , i n c o n v e r s a t i o n 5 r i g i m a r d a y a f a r o 'the
agrument he (came and) s t a r t e d ' , h e r e a Grade 6 usage of fara, Taut
again t h i s i s very r a r e .
Bargery ( l 9 3 4 : 8 4 4 ) 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,
na r a s h i ganinsa ' I could not s e e him'., and a r a r e Grade 2 form. f o r
dinga, dingi karatu! 'keep on s t u d y i n g ! ' The v e r b feara may a l s o
o p e r a t e a Grade 2 form w i t h 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 n o t f i n i s h e d l o o k i n g a t i t t . T h i s p a r t i c u -
l a r usage i s l i s t e d by Bargery ( 1 9 3 4 : 5 5 9 ) , 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 a c r o s s i n
S
a text--a Grade 6 a u x i l i a r y usage o f koma , y a y a k a komo k a r a t u n
Ingilishi? 'how i s i t t h a t you have r e t u r n e d t o s t u d y i n g E n g l i s h ? '

2.6. Operation o f yin a s VDN

Our a t t e n t i o n now t u r n s t o t h e i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n o f the o t h e r con-

s t i t u e n t s which may o c c u r 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 o u r formula.16 Two c a t e g o r i e s o f noun can o c c u r i n t h i s n o s 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 o f t h e s e c a t e g o r 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 yin ' d o i n g / m a k i n g l , 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 yi 'do/makel.

2.6 . l . Non-verbal dynamic nouns. NVDN, l i k e VDPI, denote m a c t i o n

p r o c e s s , o r e v e n t , b u t d i f f e r i n t h a t t h e y have no morphological con-
n e c t i o n w i t h a v e r b , e .g. barci ' s l e e p / s l e e p i n g V, atishawa ' sneeze/

I 6 1 t i s also possible, o f c o u r s e , 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 p o t , e n t i a l d i r e c t o b j e c t , though t h i s i s o f no
importance h e r e .
sneezing', magana 'speech/speakingf, e t c . As a r u l e , NVDN o c c u r i n
t h e same grammatical ~ n v i r o n m e n ta s VDN. The o n l y d i f f e r e n t i n beha-
v i o u r i s t h a t s i n c e NVDN have no a s s o c i a t e d v e r b s , t h e y must combine
with t h e v e r b yi i n a l l a s p e c t s except t h e continuous when t h e VDN y i n
i s optionally suppressed, e.g. yana ( y i n ) magana ' h e i s speaking'.

2.6.2. A b s t r a c 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 o f a person o r t h i n g , e . g . zafi 'hotness', nauyi
'heaviness ' , santsi slipperiness' , etc.
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
yin + NVDN o r AM d i r e c t o b j e c t .

I 7 ~ o ar 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,
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2.7.1. All b u t one of t h e AV l i s t e d may combine w i t h NVDN i n Ilausci, and

a l i t t l e more t h a n 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 yin a s VDN. I n s e c t i o n 2 . 5 . 2 f o l l o w i n g Table

I , it was n o t e d t h a t such s t r i n g s a s an fara/soma ruwa ' i t h a s oegun
t o r a i n ' , and t a garna a b i n c i ' s h e h a s f i n i s h e d (making) t h e f o o d ' were
q u i t e a c c e p t a b l e and t h e r e f o r e appeared a t f i r s t s i g h t t o b e 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 t h e y a p p a r e n t l y i n c l u d e no VDN. The
problem now posed i s how does my model d e a l w i t h such c o n s t r u c t i o n s
which, though h i g h l y r e s t r i c t e d , a r e nonethelesswell--formed?
T h i s a p p a r e n t l y s e r i o u s f l a w i s r e s o l v e d 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 s u r f a c e r e a l i s a t i o n s o n l y , b e i n g simply d e l e t i o n "orans-
forms o f t h e u n d e r l y i n g 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
h a s 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

h a s 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

h a s 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
s o u r c e s e n t e n c e s o f a l l t h e s e c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n c l u d e t h e VDN yin 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 w i t h 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 v e r b s i n t h e reduced c o n s t r u c t i o n s as
AV-1 and n o t , as would seem t o b e t h e c a s e , NAVY i s s t r e n g t h e n e d , oy t h e
f a c t t h a t the deletion of yin i s p u r e l y 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 i n c l u d e t h e o v e r t l y marked yin w i t h o u t 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 i m e o f w r i t i n g up t h i s s t u d y , ve were unable t o f i l l t h e s e
"blank spaces i n Table I1 w i t h combinations a c c e p t a b l e t o my Hausa a s -
s i s t a n t s . I s h o u l d add t o o t h a t t h e r e was sometimes disagreement amongst
t h e s t u d e n 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 c o u r s e ,
a p a r t i c u l a r s e l e c t i o n i s simply a m a t t e r o f p e r s o n a l p r e f e r e n c e ( ~ 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 -
c h a n g e a b 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 a p p r o p r i - a t e AV.
 So t o o , a s c l e a r l y r e v e a l e d i n T a b l e 11, such c o n s t r u c t i o n s a s
ya c i k a s u r u t u ' h e c h a t c e r s a l o t ' (AV + NVDil i n s u r f a c e f o r m ) , and.
an k a r e z a f i ' t h e h o t weather i s o v e r v (AV + AS i n s u r f a c e 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 c o n s t r u c -
t i o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , s i n c e t h e dummy VDN yin i s a g a i n p r e s e n 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 w i t h o u t any change
i n meaning, g i v i n g ya cika yin surutu, and an Rare y i n z a f i . TO
t a k e y e t more examples from Table 11, such s e n t e n c e s a s suka y i t a
hira ' t h e y k e p t on c h a t t i n g ' , and ruwa y a kusa c f i m i ' t h e water i s
nearly 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 ( 2direct
o b j e c t ) s i n c e t h e NVDN hira and t h e AN cfimi 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 f o l l o w i n g t h e VDN yin 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 y a kusa y i n c f i m i a g a i n p e r f e c t l y a c c e p t -
a b l e Hausa s e n t e n c e s and completely synonymous w i t h t h e above. I am
a r g u i n g , i n o t h e r words, t h a t a s e n t e n c e such a s y a y i t a atishawa
' h e k e p t on s n e e z i n g ' 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 s e n t e n c e
1
y a y i t a bugun y a r o ' h e k e p t on b e a t i n g t h e b o y ' , 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 atishawa.
It s h o u l d b e p o i n t e d o u t 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 yin 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 t e n d s t o obscure i t s e x i s t e n c e i n u n d e r l y i n g
structure. 20 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 f o l l o w i n g s u p p o r t i v e evidence:
i ) The f i n i t e v e r b yi i s obligatory i n a l l a s p e c t s except t h e conti-
nuous when combined w i t h a NVDN o r AN, e . g . ya y i barci 'he s l e p t '
( l i t e r a l l y ' h e d i d s l e e p i n g ' ) , and ya y i sauki 'he i s b e t t e r ' ( l i t e -
r a l l y ' h e h a s made r e l i e f ' ) ,a feature already referred 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 i m e s t h a n n o t i n b o t h spoken

and w r i t t e n Hausa, it i s sometimes p r e f e r r e d . P i l s z c z i k o w a h e r s e l f
(1960:109, 116) p r o v i d e s a few examples where it i s o v e r t l y marked be-
f o r e a f o l l o w i n g NVDN, e . g . a kuma r i k a y i n gamacfe kullum ' p e o p l e
would c o n t i n u e 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 ' s h e r e f u s e d t o d r i n k t h e m e d i c i n e , and s h e
even r e f u s e d t o b r e a t h e ' .
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 yin b e f o r e a NVDN o r AH i n a n
a u x i l i a r y c o n s t r u c t i o n i s p a r a l l e l e d i n Hausa when t h e s e -cvo iuems
f o l l o w t h e continuous pronoun i n t h e continuous a s p e c t , e . g . ana ( y i n )
surutu ' t h e r e ' s a l o t of noise' , and ana ( y i n ) z a f i yanzu 'it i s h o t
a t t h e moment'. The two c o n s t r u c t i o n s t h u s s h a r e t h e same t r a n s f o r m po-
tential.
i i i ) When a s u r f a c e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e t y p e AV + UVDK, e . g . ya c i k a
surutu '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 transform;, t h e
underlying yi(n) o f t e n appears, y i e l d i n g s u r u t u n da y a cika y i
' t h e c h a t t e r i n g h e o f t e n does' o r , i n t e r e s t i n g l y , y i n surutun da ya
cika, a f a c t which might j u s t i f y r e g a r d i n g a i l t h e s e combinations o f AV
+ NVDN o r AM a s b e i n g simply " p h r a s a 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. C o n t r a s t i v e p r e s e n c e o r absence of yin w i t h c e r t a i n AV. With

r e g a r d 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 o f some v e r b s 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 n o t e 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 i n c l u d e d i n t h e p i e c e , t h e u n d e r l y i n g VUN yin must a p p e a r i n

an a u x i l i a r y c o n s t r u c t i o n t o disambiguate it from what might o t h e r w i s e
b e an ambiguous, n o n - a u x i l i a r y c o n s t r u c t i o n w i t h o u t yin. Compare t h e
following p a i r s of sentences:

3a) ya s h a y i n s u r u t u

This can o n l y mean ' h e c h a t t e r e d / c o m p l a i n e d a l o t ' , where sha is acting

a s AV-2 i n an a c t i v e c o n s t r u c t i o n , where t h e s u b j e c t s o f AV-2 sha and
t h e VDN yin 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 condition ( 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 c o u l d o n l y produce s u r u t u n d a ya sha yi, and. n o t * s u r u t u n da ya
sha.
3b) ya s h a s u r u t u
This can o n l y mean ' h e s u f f e r e d / e n d u r e d 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 .
of o t h e r s , with sha o p e r a t i n g h e r e 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 a n s f o r m c o u l d only

he a u x i l i a r y n o t i o n of sha ' o f t e n , to e x c e s s ' , i s p r o b a b l y de-

r i v e d from t h e secondary meaning o f NAY s h a ' s u f f e r / e n d u r e q .
yield s u r u t u n da y a sha.

(ha) ya sake y i n a i k i

T h i s means ' h e d i d some more work' = AV-2 + T O N + NVDN d i r e c t o b j e c t , ,

where a r e l a t i v e t r a n s f o r m y i e l d s a i k i n da y a s a k e y i .

(4b) y a sake a i k i

T h i s means ' h e changed h i s job' = NAV + noun d i r e c t o b j e c t (KVDN o r

s e m i - c o n c r e t e ? ) , where a r e l a t i v e t r a n s f o r m s y i e l d s a i k i n da ya sake.

2.7.4. Exceptions t o presence o f yin a s VDN. The f o r e g o i n g 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 p e r m i t s o p t i o n a l
d e l e t i o n o f t h e VDN yin i n t h e combinations AV ( + VDN y i n ) +
may b e a p p l i e d t o a l l such c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n Hausa.
{*F}
This i s n o t t h e c a s e
however. A s i s perhaps i n e v i t a b l e i n any a t t e m p t t o s e t up c a t e g o r i e s
o f v e r b s 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 b e h a v i o u r , t h e r e a r e a few
e x c e p t i o n s 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 o f t h i s
study. I s h a l l now c o n s i d e r t h e s e e x c e p t i o n s .
Two AV-2 i n o u r l i s t , fasa and rasa (examples marked w i t h * in
Table 11) a r e p r o b l e m a t i c a l i n t h a t t h e y may b e followed immediately by
a NVDN b u t t h e VDN yin is not allowed i n e i t h e r surface o r underlying
structure. Consider t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n t r a s t i v e p a i r s :2 2

(5a) y a f a s a y i n magana 'he decided not t o continue speaking'

(5b) y a f a s a magana ' h e decided, n o t t o s p e a k '
(6a) y a r a s a y i n maganar da z a i y i ' h e c o u l d n ' t s a y what h e i n t e n d e d t o
say'
(5b) y a r a s a maganar da z a i y i ' h e was a t a l o s s what t o s a y '

Exc.iiiples ( 5 a ) and ( 6 a ) a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d 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 i n c l u d e t h e VDU yin "before t h e NVDR
magana, whereas t h e l a t t e r cannot i n s e r t yin, L.--e uurpose o f t h i s
c o n t r a s t b e i n g 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 fasa and rasa 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 S a n i of Bayero U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e and t h e
School o f O r i e n t a l and. A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , U n i v e r s i t y o f London, f o r b r i n g -
i n g my a t t e n t i o n t o t h e counterexamples d i s c u s s e d h e r e .
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 c o n s i d e r 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 v e r y s l i g h t i n d e e d ,
u n l i k e s e n t e n c e s ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r , where t h e AV/NATJ
c o n t r a s t i n o p e r a t i o n and meaning i s c l e a r - c u t . Furthermore, m e r e may
b e some j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r c o n s i d e r i n g t h e nouns e x e m p l i f i e d i n Fentences
( 1 ) and ( 2 ) a s p o s s e s s i n g d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s , i . e . (semi-) c o n c r e t e noun
a s opposed t o v e r b a l dynamic noun, depending upon whether t h e preceding
v e r b i s AV o r NAVY a p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n which c a n n o t , I t h i n k , b e ex.-
t e n d e d t o s e n t e n c e s ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) -
Another e x p l a n a t i o n which might perhaps account f o r t h i s c o n t r a s -
t i v e behaviour i s t h a t we a r e i n f a c t d e a l i n g h e r e w i t h 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 ( 5 b ) , 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 r e a d y 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 , a g a i n o f a r a t h e r deep n a t u r e , ^
on t h e p r e s e n c e o r absence of yin b e f o r e a b s t r a c t nouns w i t h a h a n d f u l
of AV (examples marked w i t h + i n Table 11). Compare t h e f o l l o w i n g :

(7a) 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 w e i g h t '

i . e . referring t o a process
(7b) wannan mutum y a c i k a n a u y i ' t h i s man i s t o o h e a v y ' , i . e . r e -
ferring t o the state resulting
from t h e p r o c e s s
(8a) wurin nan y a saba y i n warin nama ' t h i s place has t h e bad smell of
m e a t ' i . e . at c e r t a i n times only
(8b) wurin nan y a saba warin nama ' t h i s p l a c e h a s t h e bad s m e l l of
.
meat ' , i e . normally
(9a) g a r i ya shiga y i n z a f i ' t h e town h a s become d i f f i c u l t t.o
live i n (financially)'
(9b) g a r i ya shiga z a f i ' t h e weat! e r h a s 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 o b l i g a t o r y VDN yin i s inserted
i n o r d e 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 v e r b s cika, saba, and shiga a r e thus
i n t e r p r e t e d a s AV-2 a c c o r d i n g t o my model, i n sentences ( 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 yin i s n o t allowed i n e i t h e r
underlying o r s u r f a c e form, a l i n g u i s t i c s i g n a l which then conveys a
s u b t l y d i f f e r e n t message t o a Hausa s p e a k e r . However, t h e same v e r b s
cika, saba, and shiga 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 a g a i n , they q u a l i f y on semantic grounds s i n c e
t h e m o d i f i c a t i o n i n meaning which t h e y undergo i s very low.
The c h o i c e of whether o r not t o i n c l u d e t h e VDN yin depends %here-
f o r e on t h e s p e c i f i c meaning t h e s p e a k e r wishes t o convey, and w h i l s t we
a r e f o r c e d "to admit t h a t such c o n s t r u c t i o n s a s t h o s e p r e s e n t e d above do
go c o u n t e r t o o u r b a s i c r u l e s , such counterexamples a r e n o n e t h e l e s s r a r e
and a r e determined by semantic c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f a r a t h e r deep k i n d . 2 3

2.8. AV + o b j e c t c l a u s e i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e a s p e c t
The remaining e x c e p t i o n s 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 l u d e d t o e a r l i e r , w i l l now b e t r e a t e d . 6 of t h e 35 AV l i s t e d , a l l o f
them AV-2, may govern a complement c l a u s e i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e a s p e c t ( s e e
a l s o d i s c u s s i o n under s e c t i o n 2 . 5 . 4 ) . Such a c l a u s e may s u b s t i t u t e f o r
a f o l l o w i n g VDN w i t h no change i n meaning, p r o v i d e d t h a t t h e two s u b j e c t s 1

remain t h e same. These AV i n c l u d e iya, saba, nema, isa, damu d a ,

r a b u 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 a p p e a r s t o "be a r u l e i n Eausa, again determined by s e -

mantic f a c t o r s , which does n o t a l l o w 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 i n a n i m a t e . Hence "wannan a k w a t i y a c i k a
y i n n a u y i ' t h i s box i s v e r y h e a v y ' , w i t h y i n i n c l u d e d , i s n o t
allowed, o n l y wannan akwati y a c i k a n a u y i , s i n c e an i n a n i m a t e o b j e c t
i s n o t capable o f e f f e c t i n g an a c t i o n o r p r o c e s s - whereas wannan mutum
y a c i k a y i n n a u y i i.s of course p e r m i s s i b 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 n o t s u r e j u s t how p r o d u c t i v e 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 s p e c t i n such c o n s t r u c t i o n s a s wannan akwati y a y i n a u y i ' t h i s box
i s heavy'.
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2.10. The " p r o - f o r m naka and sG~)-forms o f AV

A l l AV may i n a d d i t i o n 'be fol-i.,,~edc.y haka which is Lh? pr':..-.~

.,L!.

f o r a l l t h e grammatical items which may f i l l t h e s l o t o f c~r'iplemen'if o J -

lowing an AV. Thus f o r y a c i k a neman kucfi ' h e i s always l o o k i n g f'or
money' , one may s u b s t i t u t e ya cika haka, .&?^h
i n a col'.,-'~
-- where t.i.ifc

reference of haka would b e understood. Similarly, ya faye hiy.i;c-,. f>r

ya faye ( y i n ) surutu ' h e t a l k s t o o much; an d a i n a haka for a n daiiia
(yin) zafi ' t h e h o t weather i s o v e r ' , cf. yanzu s a i a d a i n a haka
(MJC 2 :233) 'now one s h o u l d s t o p ( d o i n g ) t h u s ' ; and y a i s a haka for
ya i s a y a 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 t e m s i s haka, and
not shi/ta/su, which a r e t h e r e f e r e n t pronouns f o r c o n c r e t e nouns, a
f e a t u r e a l r e a d y n o t e d by Parsons ( 1 9 7 1 / 7 2 : 5 2 ) . 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 h e y do n o t
a s a r u l e o p e r a t e a B form ( t h e form of t h e v e r b used b e f o r e a p e r s o n a l
pronoun direct object). Most AV i n f a c t o n l y o p e r a t e a C form ( t h a , t v
used b e f o r e a noun o r c l a u s e d i r e c t o b j e c t ) , and o c c a s i o n a l l y , i n r e l a -
t i v e t r a n s f o r m s , f o r example, an A form ( t h e form used when t h e r e i s no
f o l l o w i n g 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 i m e .
The o r t h o g r a p h i c a l l y 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 . n a nemi g a n i n / i n ga s a k i , arin.3.
ban sami g a n i n s a ba ' I " t i e d t o s e e t h e Emir, b u t d i d n o t manage TO

( s e e h i m ) ' , where t h e C form i s u s e d , w i t h g a n i n 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 a c c e p t a b l e A form ~ o L I s ~ ~ u L ~ ~ c , ~ .
There a r e a few examples of AV o p e r a t i n g a B form, though t h i s i s
r a r e and o c c u r s i n high1.y r e s t r i c t e d c o n t e x 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 ' h e h a s s t a r t e d (making) i"o (i , e . a
c h a i r ) ' ( B f o r m ) , which i s i n e f f e c t a d e l e t i o n t r a n s f o r m o f yaa faara
yin kujeeraa ' h e h a s s t a r t e d making a c h a i r ' ( C form) . He a l s o g i v e s
kaa t a b a k u j e e r a a ? 'have you e v e r made a c h a i r ? ' , which i s a g a i n a
d e l e t i o n o f t h e more common kaa t a b a y i n k u j e e r a a ? The s e n t e n c e kaa

2 7 ~ tnh i s s e c t i o n , I am f o l l o w i n g P a r s o n s ' ' t r a n s c r i p t i o n 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 o f t h e v e r b .
2.9. Obcervations on Table I I I

One o f t h e r e s t r i c t i v e requirements given i n o u r o r i g i n a l d e f i n i -

t i o n o f AV was t h a t t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e AV and i t s f o l l o w i n g complement
i n t h e formula AV + VDN ( + d i r e c t o b j e c t ) must b e i d e n t i c a l , and t h i s
b a s i c requirement h o l d s f a s t even when a s u b j u n c t i v e c l a u s e o p t i o n a l l y
r e p l a c e s t h e VDN (-
+ d i r e c t o b j e c t ) immediately f o l l o w i n g t h e A V . 2 6
Table I11 d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h i s c o r e f e r e n c e c o n s t r a i n t .

It seems t h a t t h e r e i s one e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s r u l e , d e t e r m i n e d 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 i n v o l v e s t h e AV-2 isa i n a sen-
t e n c e such a s t a i s a aure ' s h e s h o u l d b e m a r r i e d ' , 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 e p l a c e d "by an o b j e c t c l a u s e i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e , which would b e
t a i s a a aure t a , l i t e r a l l y , ' s h e i s worthy t h a t one s h o u l d marry h e r f ,
w i t h t h e i m p l i c a t i o n 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 b e
m a r r i e d , and n o t t a i s a t a y i aure ' s h e should marry', r e f e r r i n g t o
a woman who h a s a l r e a d y been m a r r i e d and s h o u l d marry a g a i n .
The v e r b s koma and shiga may a l s o precede a c l a u s e i n t h e sub-
junctive, e.g. y a koma y a s a c i kaya and ya shiga ya y i karatu,
meaning, r e s p e c t i v e l y , ' h e went back ( i n o r d e r ) t o s t e a l t h e g o o d s ' , and
' h e 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 e n s e .
Thus t h e two v e r b s koma and shiga a r e h e r e o p e r a t i n g n o t as AV b u t
a s KAV ( v e r b s o f motion) w i t h a f o l l o w i n g c o n j o i n e d c l a u s e i n t h e sub-
j u n c t i v e 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 shiga to
a c t a s AV, t h e above s e n t e n c e s would have t o r e a d ya koma s a t a r kaya
' h e r e t u r n e d t o s t e a l i n g g o o d s ' , and ya shiga ( y i n ) karatu 'he has
started/turned t o studying', i . e . i n a figurative sense.

2 6 1 s a y "immediately" b e c a u s e , w h i l s t o n l y a h a n d f u l o f AV c a n
govern a v e r b i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e a s a f i r s t v e r b , most AV may b e f o l l o w e d
by a -verb i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e a s t h e second v e r b , e . g . kana i y a d'aukan
wannan akwati k a s a k a s h i waje 'you can t a k e t h i s box and p u t it o u t -
side' .
 REFERENCES

Abraham, R . C . 19%. The PrineipZes of h7azdsa, volume one. Kaduria.

. 1962. Dictionavy of t h e d m s a Language, second e d i t i o n .

London.
Balewa, Abubakar Tafawa. 1955. S h e h Dinar'. Zaria.
Bargery , G . P. l 9 34. A Hausa-Eng Zish Dictionary and English-Hansa
V o c a b u ~ a .q London.
Cowan, J. R. and R u s s e 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 o f O r i e n t a l and A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , U n i v e r s i t y of
London.
Imam, Abubakar. 1937-39. Magana J a r i Ce, t h r e e volumes. Zaria.
K r a f t , Charles H . and A. H . M. Kirk-Greene. 1973. Hausa. Teach
Yourself Books. London.
K r a f t , C h a r l e s H. and ~ a ' r ~ u e r i Gt .e 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. J o s .
MJC. See 1ma.m.
P a r s o n s , F. W . 1955. " A b s t r a c t nouns o f s e n s o r y q u a l i t y and t h e i r de-
rivatives i n ~ a u s a,
" i n A f r i k a n i s t i s c h e Studien, e d . '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
o f ~ a u s a " ,Afr. U. ~ b e r s e e5 5 ~ 4 9 - 9 7 , 188-208.
1960. "Les v e r b e s a u x i i i a i r e s en haoussa", Roczmk
P i l s z c z i k o w a , Nina.
Orientalistzjczny 23(2):101-18.
SU. See Balewa.
2. Sample d e r i v a t i o n s f c r c l a s s 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 o f t h e p a r s i n g model a r e t h e f o l l c v i n g .
Lexical 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 phonetic representati.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 ) . D e r i v a t i o n s c o n s i s t i n comparing;
two forms Wi and W i w i t h r e s p e c t t o a morphological r u l e R w i t h a view
t o determining whether t h e y 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 b e some s t a g e i n t h e d e r i - v a t i o n a t which
t h e two forms i n q u e s t i o n match t h e environment o f morphological r u l e R ,
D e r i v a t i o n s proceed by undoing t h e e f f e c t s o f p h o n o l o g i c a l r u l e s step by
s t e p on t h e forms i n q u e s t i o n , when t h i s w i l l i n c r e a s e t,he reseir-biaice
between them. A rule A -+ [-F] / Y Z i s undone by r e p l a c i n g [--F]
w i t h [+F] on A i n YAZ. Analogously, an i n s e r t i o n 0 -r A / Y U-.- Z is
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 q u e s t i o n 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, c o n s i d e r t h e p l u r a l c l a s s wi.th a f a l l i n g t o n e 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 d e s c r i b e d and i l l u s -

t r a t e d i n Parsons ( n . d . ) ) .
(1) Singular Plural
a. damii d~mrnga 'b7undle '
b. ~aat&o k~.ttaa 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
g i v e n by t h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e :

2 ) Korphological r u l e ( ~ a l l i n gt o n e + -aa c l a s s )
[ CVCV] => [cVC-C-;a]
1234 sg 123 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 c o r r e s p o n d T,O

a p l u r a l i n which t h e second consonant i s doubled, and f o l l o w e d by 'uhe

ending -aa and i n which t h e t o n e 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 h e y 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 h e y cannot b e
Papers in Chadie L i n g u 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 ( 1 9 ~ 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) Singular Plural
a. beerLa b&erAa&e 'r a t '
z00m60
/
zoomaayee
\ /
'hare '
kiifii kiifiayge 'fish'

b. d&60 dLmaarn4e 'monitor'

dkaa dfeiade 'knife'
/ / / \ /
wurli wuraaree 'place'

The r e l e v a n 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 w h i l e i n
( b b ) it i s s h o r t . Accordingly, Newman proposes t o a p p l y a d o u b l i n g r u l e ,
which we may f o r m u l a t e a s i n (5), i n - t h e f o r m a t i o n 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 ) w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e i n f i x

f.

-La- i s e x p r e s s e d by r u l e ( 6 ) :

(6) I n f i x a tion

S i n c e t h e p l u r a l s i n (4a) do n o t s a t i s f y t h e environments of r u l e s ( 5 )
\ /
and (6), t h e y a p p e a r w i t h -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
g e n e r a 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 p r o c e s s e s p e r m i t s N e w a n 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 o f ( 7 ) :

(7) Singular -
P l u-
ral
kisk00 kgsaakee 'bowl 9
birnii biriange 'city'
kulkii kdlhakee ' cudgel '
The r o o t s kask-, e t c . do not f i t t h e environment o f r u l e ( 5 ) and s o do
n o t undergo doubling. But t h e y do f i t t h e environment o f (6), and s o
the infix -;a- i s i n s e r t e d j u s t t o t h e l e f t o f 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 ) .
p a r s e d by t h i s r u l e u n t i l t h e e f f e c t s o f some p h o n o l o g i c a l r u l e s a r e
undone. I n accordance w i t h t h e conventions summarized above, we undo
p h o n o l o g i c a l 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 description 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
l o n g vowel i n t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e w h i l e t h e p l u r a l Rattia has a s h o r t
one i s d e a l t w i t h by undoing t h e r u l e which s h o r t e n s vowels in c l o s e d
syllables. We undo t h e s h o r t e n i n g r u l e by changing vowels i n closed.
s y l l a b l e s t o [ + l o n g ] 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 c o r -
responding l o n g vowels. The f i r s t s y l l a b l e of k3ttaa 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
rules, since &at& and R3ttaa a r e a l r e a d y i n a form t o f i t t h e e n v i -
ronment o f r u l e ( 2 ) , and s o 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 l o n g w i t h a d i s c r e p a n c y 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 d i s c r e p a n c y i n t h e h e i g h 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 of 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 closed 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 o f i s i n c l u d e d i n Wi.

(3) W1 W2 MORPHOLOGY
LEXICAL FORMS: 9
+r(i-'&or&o
<3
L +rdlarraa
,. [cvcvj
1234 sg
=> [cQc-c-&q
123 3 P
!
v 9 [ hv, la!"-
a- * a/-^ -- [ +,-..l --

A f 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 e n v i -

ronment o f t h e morphological r u l e .

3. Neman's a n a l y s i s of aa-ee plurals

Newman ( 1 9 7 2 ) observes a r e g u l a r i t y t h a t i n g e n e r a l d e t e r m i n e s whe-

v /
ther the 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. Alternative analysis 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 b e h a v i o r o f t h e geminate consonants i n Hausa can b e e x p l a i n e d

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 c a n
b e m o t i v a t e d on g e n e r a l grounds. I f t h i s assumption i s c o r r e c t , it pro-
v i d e s f u r t h e r s u p p o r t f o r t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s , o v e r and above t h e argu-
ments i n Leben ( 1 9 7 7 ) . 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 e p r e s e n t them i n s t e a d , i n all-
languages, a s s i n g l e consonants w i t h 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
w i t h two a d j a c e n t s y l l a b l e s a t t h e same t i m e . Following Kahn ( l 9 7 6 ) , I
w i l l r e p r e s e n 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 o f a n a l y s i s d i s t i n c t from
b u 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 c o n n e c t
s y l l a b l e s ( d e s i g n a t e d by S ) w i t h 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 o f 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 o f 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 e q u a l l y p l a u s i b l e t o r e p r e s e n t t h e c o n t r a s t between
l o n g 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 r e p r e s e n -
t a t i o n f o r the long m i n ( 8 b ) i s t h e same a s t h e one Kahn p r o p o s e s f o r
a m b i s y l l a b i c consonants i n E n g l i s h , l i k e t h e n in honey, though t h e
phonetic 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 a m b i s y l l a b i c consonants as l o n g e r
v e r s i o n s o f consonants a s s o c i a t e d w i t h 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 n o t 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 p r o p o s a l i s t h a t it makes t h e f o l l o w i n g p r e d i c t i o n s : (i) i n
a language w i t h morpheme-internal c o n t r a s t s between l o n g and s h o r t v e r -
s i o n s o f 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 c a s e s l i k e
the n i n English honey i n which a s h o r t consonant can c l a i m m e ~ b e r -
s h i p i n two a d j a c e n t s y l l a b l e s ; and ( i i ) i n a language w i t h i n t e r l u d e s ,
t h e o n l y c a s e s i n which l o n g and s h o r t consonants can c o n t r a s t a r e
a c r o s s morpheme b o u n d a r i e s , where i d e n t i c a l segments can b e j u x t a p o s e d .
 T h i s a n a l y s i s n e a t l y c a p t u r e 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
b e t v e e n t h e forms of ( h a ) , ( b b ) , and ( 7 ) . There a r e , however, some prob-
l e m a 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 o f t h e a n a l y s i s .
For example, t h e f a c t t h a t £>$wr&' f i g t r e e ' h a s t h e p l u r a l bLwrkay&
while kyawrge 'door c o v e r i n g ' h a s t h e p l u r a l kyawkar& l e a d s Newrnan
t o posit that the w of b$wr6e i s [ + v o c a l i c ] , and presumably [-con-
s o n a n t a l ] , making it i m p o s s i b l e f o r t h i s W t o qualify as the f i r s t
consonant i n r u l e ( 6 ) . This causes jb$wree t o behave l i k e t h e nouns
of ( 4 a ) . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e W of ,ky$wr;e i s r e p r e s e n t e d by
Newman a s [ - v o c a l i c ] , and presumably [ + c o n s o n a n t a l ] , s o 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. S i n c e t h e r e i s no p h o n e t i c d i s t i n c t i o n c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o
t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n p o s i t e d by Newman t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e t h e t w o
kinds 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 of a phonological
feature.
A more extreme example i n v o l v e s r o o t s ending i n l o n g c o n s o n a n t s ,
l i k e t h o s e of g&m6o 'head pan' and t a l l L e ' s m a l 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 e x p e c t t h e s e t o
have t h e p l u r a l s *g&$aam6e and * t a l & a l 6 e , f o r t h e same r e a s o n t h a t
dam60 i n ( b b ) , a f t e r undergoing d o u b l i n g o f i t s f i n a l r o o t c o n s o n a n t ,
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 n o t e o f t h e problem w i t h tallLe and proposes t h a t t h e
/ '
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h i s word f o r purposes o f p l u r a l f o r m a t i o n i s * t a n l e e ,
where t h e n is [+vocalic]. T h i s p r e v e n t s ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) from a p p l y i n g ,
and s o g i v e s *tanl-&a-Le > tallaayge. The same p r o c e d u r e would c o r -
rectly yield g~mmhayLe a s 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 n e v e r s u r f a c e s makes one wonder i f a more
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d e x p l a n a t i o n i s n ' t p o s s i b l e ; and. t h e d i a c r i t i c u s e o f t h e
p h o n o l o g i c a l f e a t u r e [ + v o c a l i c ] t o mark n a s a l consonants (which, a f t e r
a l l , i n v o l v e a s t o p c l o s u r e 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 ] ) increases one's doubts about
the f e a s i b i l i t y of t h i s aspect of t h e analysis.
I n t h e p a r s i n g 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 , b o t h o f 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 f o l l o w i n g way:

(10) W1 W2 MORPHOLOGY
LEXICAL FORMS: gamoo

WS S
wvS s s
[9yisg =>

( 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 e n d i n g . )
\
[Q-~~Y=I^
/

Without undoing any p h o n o l o g i c a l 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 o f t h e morphological r u l e , and s o 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.
T h i s a n a l y s i s a l s o p r o v i d e s a way o f e x p l a i n i n g why t h e c o r r e c t
p l u r a l of dam60 is damaamee rather than *d~mm>ay&e. Of c o u r s e ,
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-
l o p e d i n Leben (1977)does n o t . I n c o r p o r a t i n g t h e new r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t

f o r geminates p e r m i t s t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s t o match Newman's i n d e s c r i p -

t i v e adequacy i n t h i s i n s t a n c e . 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. S i n c e Hausa geminates a r e t o b e
t r e a t e d as s i n g l e consonants b e l o n g i n g 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 g i v e n under Idr, i n (11):

1 1 ) W1 W2 MORPHOLOGY
LEXICAL FORMS: damdo [F:] => [ Q-iaye'e] -
PJ-

Since Doubling c r e a t e s a copy o f t h e segment m, t h e o n l y c a s e i n which

Doubling c o u l d "be undone i s where two segments m existed. Since t h e r e
a r e n o t two m's i n W2 i n ( l l ) , t h e environment f o r undoing Doubling i s
not met, and c o n s e q u e n t l y t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s o f the m o r p h o l o g i c a l r u l e
w i l l never b e met by t h e p a i r Wi and W ? . Additional 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 s k e t c h e d 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-
dhdo) , do not have interludes. A sign of this is that.
/ /
gammoo vs.
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 prob-
lem 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 p r e c e d e yin + NVDM:

y a y i a i k a w a r i n ( y i r ~ )magana ' h e promised t o say s~!ueLhi

Â¥".g
y a y i RoRarin ( y i n ) b a r c i h e t r i e d t o g e t some s l e e p '
y a y i n i y y a r ( y i n ) rnagana 'he decided lie would szy something'
na y i shawarar ( y i n ) magana f --1 cofisifiei-ed s a y i n g i l à ‘ -~
i.- 7l +

t a c i gaba da ( y i n ) b a r c i s h e c a r r i e , ? or- s l e e p i n g '

3. Concluding remarks

I have a t t e m p t e d i n t h i s paper t o p r o v i d e a worka.ble frmcvork -F-c,z7

d e s c r i b i n g and u n d e r s t a n d i n g 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 b o t h 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 r d e r t o d e f i n e t h e grammatical p a r a m e t e r s o f t h i s group o f
v e r b s , I used a s i m p l i s t i c b u t n o n e t h e l e s s p r a c t i c a l model b a s e d 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 v e r b s ( A V ) a,nd n o n - a u x i l i a r y
v e r b s ( N A V ) i n terms o f t h e i r f o l l o w i n g complements. Certain surface
s t r u c t u r e s which appeared t o be major e x c e p t i o n s t o t h e r u l e s s e t up
were e x p l a i n e d a s b e i n g t h e r e s u l t s of d e l e t i o n t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s a p p l i e d
t o b a s i c u n d e r l y i n g 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 i m e , 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
n o t e x c l u s i v e 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 u s a g e . 1
am aware t o o t h a t t h e r e may b e some v e r b s which cou1.d h e c o n f i d e n t l y as-
s i g n e d t o t h i s c l a s s b u t which have been i n a d v e r t e n t l y overlooked. h;--
thermore, time and space have n o t p e r m i t t e d t h e t r e a t m e n t o f s u c h impor-
t a n t q u e s t i o n s 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 u s e o f AV, t h e
a s p e c t s i n which t h e y o p e r a t e , AV whose n o t i o n s a-rs s b n i l - a r h u t n o t
i d e n t i c a l , and s o on.
D e s p i t e 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 r e s e n t e d i n t h i s a n a l y s i s have h e l p e d 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 q u e s t i o n s of a comparative fiat,ure and perhaps open - t h e way t o f u r -
t h e r r e s e a r c h into t h i s important c l a s s o f v e r b s i n r e l a t e d Chadic l a n -
guages.
t a b a k u j e e r a a ? i s i n f a c t ambiguous i n Hausa. It could mean 'did. you
touch the c h a i r ? ' (NAV+ concrete noun d i r e c t o b j e c t ) o r , a s Parsons
g i v e s , 'have you ever made a c h a i r ? ' i . e . AV ( + T O M y i n ) + concrete
noun d i r e c t o b j e c t , though t h e two d i s t i n c t meanings would of course be
e l u c i d a t e d by t h e context. Note, however, t h a t a t o p i c a l i s e d t r a n s f o r m
o f t h e a u x i l i a r y c o n s t r u c t i o n would y i e l d kujeeraa,kaa t a b a yii? ( C
form) ' a c h a i r , have you ever made o n e ? ' , w i t h t h e a d d i t i o n of t h e VDN
yii o b l i g a t o r y , and a s i m i l a r t o p i c a l i s e d transform of t h e non-
auxiliary construction kujeeraa,kaa t a b a a ? ( A form) o r kujeeraa kaa
tabaa t a ? ( B form) ' t h e c h a i r , d i d you touch it?'
Some AV a l s o have a D form ( t h a t used b e f o r e an i n d i r e c t o b j e c t ) ,
e . g . naa f a a r a a masa a i k i i ' I s t a r t e d working f o r him' ( D form), a
d e l e t i o n of t h e equally acceptable and synonymous naa f a a r a y i i masa
aikii ( C form). The D form i s c l e a r l y d i s t i n g u i s h e d i n t h e unambiguous
taasam may which i s t h e D form of t h e Grade 2 AV taasaa, e.g. yaa
taasam ma shiga bookaayee ( M J C 3 : ~ 2 )'he s e t about c o n s u l t i n g witch-
\
d o c t o r s ' ( s e e a l s o Table 11).

2.11. P h r a s a l verbs

F i n a l l y , t h e r e a r e a number of " p h r a s a l verbs" i n Hausa which

should be b r i e f l y mentioned s i n c e t h e y s h a r e some of t h e s y n t a c t i c , i f
none of t h e semantic, f e a t u r e s of AV. A s i l l u s t r a t e d below, a l l b u t one
of t h e s e verbs a r e compounded with t h e verb yi + dynamic noun, t h e one
exception being c i gaba d a , which i s a bound compound with t h e verb
ci 'eatr .
These p h r a s a l verbs may o p t i o n a l l y occur i n t h e same s y n t a c t i c envi-
ronment a s AV, f o r example, with a following VDN o r subjunctive c l a u s e
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 t a f i y a / y a t a f i gobe h e has decided, t o go tomorrow'
na y i shawarar gudu/in gudu ' I considered, f l e e i n g '
y a c i gaba da dukan/ya doki yaro 'he c a r r i e d on b e a t i n g t h e 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 e x p r e s s e d
a s [?;lsg
-
-> [ ~ - ~ a y & e ] where
, Q i n p l u r a l s was r e q u i r e d t o c o n t a i n

CW o r CVC f o l l o w e d by a t l e a s t a consonant. T h i s c o ~ d i t i o r ion Q s e r v e d

/ \ ^
t h e function o f bringing out t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y o f ragaayee. I n adclition,
Doubling was r e s t r i c t e d t o a p p l y o n l y a f t e r monosyllabic r o o t s w i t h a
s h o r t vowel f o l l o w e d by a s i n g l e consonant, a s i n Newman's a n a l y s i s .
/ \ /
T h i s brought o u t t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y o f waagaagee. There a r e two problems
w i t h t h i s approach, b e s i d e s t h e g e n e r a l one o f l a c k i n g a p r i n c i p l e t o
p e r m i t t h e s e c o m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e r u l e s w i t h o u t p e r m i t t i n g any a r b i t r a r y
complication. The f i r s t i s t h a t , i n o r d e r t o e x p r e s s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e
irregular plurals 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
s p e a k e r s as r e l a t e d t o t h e i r c o r r e s p o n d i n g 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 i d n o 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 b e f o r e a p a r s i n g c o u l d go t h r o u g h . T h i s r a i s e s t h e problem o f
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 c a s e s from i m p o s s i b l e ones l i k e *f&mnkarn~e.
7
The second problem i s t h a t i n o r d e r t o c a p t u r e 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 e x p r e s s t h e
r e s t r i c t i o n twice: w i t h o u t t h e c o n d i t i o n cn Q i n t h e morphological r u l e ,
t h e account would n o t have a d d r e s s e d t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y of r&>ayee, and
w i t h o u t t h e r e s t r i c t i o n on Doubling, t h e account would n o t have a d d r e s s e d
^ \ /
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 p r o v i d e m o t i v a t i o n f o r r e l i n q u i s h i n g
t h e u s e o f r u l e s a s a device f o r f i l t e r i n g o u t 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 e m s . Any r e s t r i c t i o n s p l a c e d on t h e r u l e s mus4
a c c o r d i n g l y "be m o t i v a t e d s o l e l y by t h e need t o a v o i d 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 l o w 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 o f t h e r o o t vowel i n t h e Doubling r u l e , t h e r e b y p e r m i t t i n g t h e
p a r s e r t o u s e 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 ea n d
dagaa/waag>ag&e. But we a r e s t i l l f a c e d w i t h t h e problem o f a c c o u n t i n g
f o r the i n t u i t i o n t h a t h y p o t h e t i c a l p a i r s l i k e f & ~ o / f ~ m ~ a yand
~e
f~am6o/f~am>am&ea r e l e s s well-formed members o f t h e aa-ee class
paradigm t h a n a r e t h e h y p o t h e t i c a l p a i r s f&noo/f&n~arnee and f~am6o/
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, t h e '
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 £$am6
than faamaam& is. In a conventional generative account, this task
poses no problem. If the singular is famoo, the root satisfies the
environment of Doubling, and so f&ainee is predicted as the plural.
If the singular is faamoo, the root does not satisfy the environment
of Doubling and so f$amkay&e is predicted. Hausa does happen to have
exceptions to Doubling, e .g. rig&o/r$g ( w)kay&e 'lazy' , which unexpec-
tedly 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~theyonly 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
\ /
--
c. Doubling -- / \
dam-aa -ee
9
--
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 c o n s t r u e d ) would s a n c t i o n t h e p a r s i n g o f
a l l f o u r o f t h e s e h y p o t h e t i c a l examples a s p o s s i b l e s i n g u l a r / p l u r a l
pairs. 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 a c c e p t a b l e p l u r a l s from
t h e more a c c e p t a b l e ones i s t h e degree t o which t h e y resemble o t h e r mem-
bers of the aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l paradigm. Of c o u r s e , it i s t h e morpho-
l o g i c a l and p h o n o l o g i c a l r u l e s o f Hausa t h a t determine t h e c o m p o s i t i o n
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 d e m o n s t r a t e d
i n section 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 o f a g i v e n paradigm. But a n o v e l f o r m
i s judged not o n l y 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 o f t h e same c l a s s . T h i s i s why a n o v e l E n g l i s h form l i k e
espical provokes a more p u z z l e d r e a c t i o n t h a n a n o v e l form l i k e opical
does. The -ical ending s u g g e s t s t o t h e l i s t e n e r t h a t t h e form i s mor-
p h o l o g i c a l l y complex, b u t t h e r e a r e no e x i s t i n g forms i n - ical that
are similar t o espical, w h i l e corresponding t o opical there are r e a l l

words l i k e topical, apical, optical. S i m i l a r l y , Hausa words o f t h e

/ /

form cVcby;e or cVcaac&e a r e l e s s l i k e l y c a n d i d a t e s f o r membership

i n t h e paradigm o f 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 l o s e match among e x i s t i n g aa-ee class plurals i s l e s s than f o r
/ /

words f o r t h e form CVciacee or CVcaay&e.

A d e s c r i p t i o n o f how t h e needed m e t r i c might work i s g i v e n i n ( 1 2 ) .

1 2 ) M e t r i c f o r l i k e l i h o o d - o f membership i n a paradigm
Membership of a n o v e l form i n a paradigm P i s a f u n c t i o n
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 n o v e l form
t o an o c c u r r i n g 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
e q u a l t h e resemblance of F1 t o a n o t h e r 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 b e 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 s u g g e s t e d h e r e i s a d a p t e d from t h e

m e t r i c proposed by Greenberg and J e n k i n s (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 c o u r s e , t h e p h r a s i n g
of ( 1 2 ) i s t e n t a t i v e , and one can imagine major and minor ways o f modi-
fying it. 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 i v i d e t h e aa-ee c l a s s paradigm i n t o s u b c l a s s e s a n d
a r e b e i n g r e p l a c e d "by t h e more t r a n s p a r e n t bawnaay6e and bdm>ay6e.
Schvh's e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h i s i s t h a t , because Klingenheben's Law- is n o t
s y n c h r o n i c a l l y p r o d u c t i v e 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
inverted, with 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 s u b c a t e g o r i z e d
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 p a r n i c u l a r
aa-ee class plural. Because t h i s s u b c a t e g o r i z a t i o n i s dif;-lL7ilt
l e a r n , t h e p l u r a l s t h a t r e q u i r e d it have s u b s e q u e n t l y been regala?: zed
\ /
to attach the more t r a n s p a r e n t ending -aayee t o the root.
I n Leben (1974) i a t t e m p t e d 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 b e c a u s e , o p e r a t i n g w i t h i n h i s own s e t o f assixap ti o n s ,
it r e q u i r e s a h y p o t h e t i c a l d i a c h r o n i c s t a g e i n which c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s
on t h e aa-ee c l a s s morphological r u l e were l o s t , f o l l o w e d -ay a s t a g e
i n which t h e s e same c o n d i t i o n s were r e s t o r e d . I proposed i n s f p a d t h a t
d i a l e c t s t h a t s t i l l permitted £>iwnaa/bakaanee b < w z < u / b < g ~ a j ~ f e , 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 g e n e r a t e
bawnaa from /baknaa/, bdwzdu from /bdgz<u/, e t c . , and t h a t the r e a - ^
son behind changing t h e p l u r a l s t o . 6 a ~ i & ~ & eand 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 i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n s unanswered, and t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s
r e s o l v e s t h e problem i n b o t h c a s e s . 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 o f Klingenhe'ben'r- Law
w i t h t h e evidence from r e d u p l i c a t i o n s . P r o d u c t i v e l y g e n e r a b l e fcrrns
like 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 K i i n g e n h e b e n ' s
Law, w h i l e t h e same i s n o 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 o b s t r u e n t s ( a n d sometirics t o n a s a l s ) r a t h e r t h a n
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 r o d u c t i v e and
nonproductive s u b p a r t s of Klingenheben's Law c o n s i s t s i n i t s a p p l y i n g
o n l y i n t ~ r p r e t i v e l yt o l a b i a l s and velai-S. 1-1'-1 d i a l e c t which h a s
bawnaa/bakaanee, t h e p l u r a l can be p a r s e d by 'undoing K l j ngenheben' S Law
in the singular. The d e r i v a t i o n would t a k e t h e f o l l o w i n g form:
 Similarly, k$sk&o is related t o kasaakde by f i r s t undoing y-
\ /
E p e n t h e s i s on t h e s u f f i x -aayee i n t h e morphological r u l e , g i v i n g
~ - a a - e e a s t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e p l u r a l p a t t e r n , and t h e n undoing ( 1 5 )
/ \ /
I n f i x a t i o n on k&>akee, giving kask-aa-ee.
The p a r s e r h a s t h e a b i l i t y t o a n a l y z e an improper p l u r a l l i k e
*kask>ayee a s an aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l of kaskdo, b u t procedure ( 12)
o u t l i n e d above marks *k&kaay6e a s a somewhat d e v i a n t member o f t h i s
\ /
c l a s s , s i n c e t h e o n l y members o f t h i s c l a s s t h a t have CC b e f o r e -aayee
a r e t h o s e i n which t h e f i r s t C i s a n a s a l , l i k e b$ngaay&, or a glide.
/ \ ^
like bawraayee. The p l u r a l bangaayee ' w a l l s ' i s r e l a t e d t o its si-n-
gular b$ng60 by undoing t h e redundant l a b i a l i z a t i o n on g before oo
i n the singular. The v a r i a n t bangw>ay& is related t o bangdo without
undoing any p h o n o l o g i c a l r u l e s , s i n c e t h e s u r f a c e forms t h e m s e l v e s meet
t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s o f morphological r u l e ( 1 3 ) i f we r e p r e s e n t orthogra-
phic gw as g w i t h t h e f e a t u r e [+round]. An improper p l u r a l form
*b$niag&e for bangdo c o u l d b e a n a l y z e d by t h e p a r s e r , b u t p r o c e d u r e T.

( 1 2 ) markes it a s an u n l i k e l y c a n d i d a t e f o r t h e Wi s l o t i n a d e r i v a t i o n
for the aa-ee c l a s s , because t h e r e i s o n l y one m a r g i n a l i n s t a n c e i n
which an ending o f 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 c o v e r i n g s ' . 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 fty~w~ar~e
undergoes one analogous t o kasaakee.

7. A d i a c h r o n i c argument f o r t h e p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s

Schuh ( 1 9 7 2 ) has observed t h a t c e r t a i n aa-ee c l a s s p l u - r a l s which

used t o c o n t a i n t h e ->a- i n f i x between two r o o t consonants a r e now
\ /
changing s o 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
n o t e s , where t h i s h a s 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 l o n g e 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-
h e b e n ' 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
to W and s y l l a b l e - f i n a l a l v e o l a r o b s t r u e n t s t o r. Examples o f a l t e r -
n a t i o n s induced by Klingenheben's Law a r e w - k, i n b$wnaa/fcak>an&e
'bush cow', and W - g, in bdwz&/bdg>aj&e 'Tuareg' . These p l u r a l s
n o t y e t l e d t o a corresponding r e g u l a r i z a t i o n o f t h e p l u r a l form. The
example i s fark&e/fataakee 'itinerant trader'. S i n c e t h i s i s , t o my
knowledge, t h e o n l y c a s e i n which Klingenheben's Law a p p l i e d t o an
a l v e o l a r consonant i n a s i n g u l a r w i t h an aa-ee c l a s s p l u r a l , it ¥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 e x c e p t i o n t o t h e
trend. 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 e a -
son "behind t h i s e x c e p t i o n . One f a c t o r might b e 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 b e £fark>ay&e
which would b e judged somewhat d e v i a n t by p r o c e d u r e ( 1 2 ) o f s e c t i o n 5.
But t h i s i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t , because Schuh n o t e s c a s e s l i k e zdwcly&/
zdkaataa ' h e a r 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 p r o d u c t i v e c l a s s : zuwciyooyii,
I believe 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
fitaakee can b e e x p l a i n e d i f we m a i n t a i n 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 r d e 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 with a recent
1
s u g g e s t i o n by Mervin R . Barnes, t h e r e i s p r e s s u r e t o change bakLan6e
to .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 s y n c h r o n i c r e f l e x o f Klingenheben's Law t h a t r e l a t e s la"bia1s and
v e l a r s with W; but fat~akee does n o t change t o *f&k>.ay&e because
t h e s y n c h r o n i c r e f l e x o f Klingenheben's Law s t i l l a p p l i e s p r o d u c t i v e l y .

Conclusion

It i s worthwhile t o remark b r i e f l y on t h e g e n e r a l approach t a k e n

i n t h i s paper. Upon e n c o u n t e r i n g d a t a t h a t a r e unexpected i n t h a t t h e y
go a g a i n s t o t h e r w i s e g e n e r a l r u l e s , I have a t t e m p t e d t o avoid, d e v i c e s
t h a t d i s m i s s t h e unexpected d a t a a s e x c e p t i o n a l and have chosen i n s t e a d
t o s k e t c h g e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e s o f p h o n o l o g i c a l 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 p r o b l e m a t i c . Naturally, t h i s type
o f approach w i l l n o 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 u s e f u l t o examine t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a k what f i r s t
a p p e a r s t o be an e x c e p t i o n i n s t e a d r e f l e c t s a more g e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e .
I n t h i s way, p r o b l e m a t i c c a s e s , f a r from b e i n g troublesome d e t a i l s , a r e
s o u r c e s o f new hypotheses about t h e s t r u c t u r e o f phonology.
c . Klingenheben' S
c
6a[-cor]naa -
Law

S i n c e 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 p a r s i n g t o go t h r o u g h , 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 q u e s t i o n l e f t unanswered by t h e s o l u t i o n proposed, i n
Leben (1974) i n v o l v e s t h e p r i n c i p l e o f minimization o f 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 e x p e c t 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 b a s e 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 o f an a f f i x i s compared w i t h 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 p a r s i n g a n a l y s i s can p r o v i d e an i n d e x o f
t h e s e t y p e s o f d i f f e r e n c e s by c o n s i d e r i n g t h e number (and. p e r h a p s t h e
complexity) o f r u l e s t h a t apply i n a p a r s i n g . Thus, d e r i v a t i o n ( 18) i s
t o be compared w i t h 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&
with t h e innovative p l u r a l bawnaayge.

Here no r u l e s need a p p l y , 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 to bawnaay&e p e r m i t s t h e lang-nage t o s h o r t e n i t s d e r i -
v a t i o n s i n t h e s e c a s e s w i t h o u t any m o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e ir.orphological
r u l e f o r t h i s c l a s s and w i t h o u t any d i r e c t e f f e c t on t h e p h o n o l c g i c a l
rules.
This explanation s u f f i c e s f o r t h e cases j u s t considered b u t t h e r e
a r e s i g n s t h a t it needs some r e f i n e m e n t . Schuh o b s e r v e s one c a s e i n
which an a p p l i c a t i o n o f Klingenhe'ben's Law t o t h e a l v e o l a r s e r i e s h a s
 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 e g n e n 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 ) d e t e r m i n e s t h e
l i k e l i h o o d o f membership o f a g i v e n form i n a paradigm> and ( i i i )t h a t
s u r f a c e forms change through t i m e i n o r d e 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 . P r i n c i p l e ( i ) i s i n ~ e ~ e s t i ai n
g
t h a t it p r e d i c t s t h a t l a a g u a g e s cannot c o n t r a s t geminates w i t h a1122i-
s y l l a b i c c o n s o n a n t s , and p r i n c i p l e s ( i i ) and ( i i i ) a r e p l a u s i b l e b e m u s e
t h e y seem t o b e i n a c c o r d w i t h known f a c t s . I have argued t h a t :i prin-
c i p l e ( i )i s c o r r e c t 7 it p r o v i d e s a new argument f o r any approach t&t
l i s t s words r a t h e r t h a n 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
( i i i )make t h e p a r s i n g approach an adequate v e h i c l e f o r e x p r e s s i n g 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 formulation.

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Bloomfield7 Leonard. 1933. Language. New York*

Greenberg7 Joseph H a 7 and James J . J e n k i n s . 1964. " S t u ~ i e si n t h e
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Neman Paul. 1972. " ~ y l l a b l eweight a s a p h o n o l o g i c a ~vari-akle" ,
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d i s y l l a b i c nouns i n Hausal'. Mim~ographed -
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S : : hl. having brought t o l i g h t t h e e ~ t i p i r i c a lcomplexity o f he s i t u a -
t i o n 9 K r a f 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 also split into /S/ arid /nl/ i n tfie

WST b r a n c h ; t h a t hrST a l r e a d y had *h1 a s a proto-phoneme (presumaLly
going back t o PC * h l ) ; a n d / o r t h a t t h e Zaar group languages were not
r e a l l y West Chadic b u 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 o f t h e hypotheses seemed t o f i t a l l o f t h e c a n f l i c k -
i n g e v i d e n c e 7 h e stopped s h o r t of a c t u a l l y a d o p t i n g any o f t h e n a s h i s
own.
I n t h i s p a p e r I propose t o t a k e up t h e q u e s t i o n of h l a t e r a l s agdirl
and t o p r o v i d e some answers r e g a r d i n g t h e i r p r e s e n c e o r a-bsence through-
out t h e Chadic f a m i l y . 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 e x p l a i n e d i n terms o f t h r e e major s o u r c e s * The
f i r s t i s a hlateral *h17 r e c o n s t r u c t a b l e f o r PC7 which p r o v i d e s h l a t e -
r a l s f o r t h e whole f a m i l y . 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 e c e n t change o f *S and *z into h1 and fil w i t h i n t h e Zaar g r o u p .
The absence of h l a t e r a l s i s e x p l a i n e d i n terms o f v a r i o u s i n s t a n c e s o f
sound laws changing h1 ( a n d sometimes Fil) i n t o non-fricative l a t e r a l s
o r non-lateralized 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
place a t various l e v e l s within t h e f m i l y : branch s u b b r a a c h , 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 h u s depends on t h e p r i o r e x i s t e n c e 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 family. Conversely7 t h e r e c o g n i t i o n of s h a r e d sound l a w s
s e r v e s a s evidence i n s u p p o r t of t h e presumed f a m i l y t r e e s t r u c t u r e .
,The r e a s o n i n g i s s p i r a l , n o t 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 b e making use of i n t h i s paper is s ~ i m ni n t h e accompanying
t r e e diagram. T h i s diagram i s b a s e d 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 3 f Hoffmann ( 1 9 7 1 )
has been modified and s u b j e c t e d t o t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f g r e a t e r i n t e r n a l
structure.
 A conspicuous p h o n o l o g i c a l f e a t u r e of' t h e ChaCiic i3ng-mge fais 2 y
n o t e d from t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g of modern Chadic s t u d i e s (Lulms 1 9 3 6 ) , i s
t h e p r e s e n c e o f l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e consonants ( n e n c e f o r t h l ' h l a : b ? r & l s ' ' ) ~
r e p r e s e n t e d h e r e by h1 f o r t h e v o i c e l e s s and fil f o r t h e voiced (oft,en
transcribed as tl and dl or 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 o f t h e Biu-P4and.ara {BM) branch such as T e r a y
Margi n West Chadic (IJST)
and Kotoko ( b u t n o t Bachzma o r ~ u d u i n a ) :
languages such a s Ngizimy W a r j i , and Zaar ( b u t n o t Hausa o r B o l e ) ancl
i n languages o f t h e Mass group ( t r e a t e d h e r e a s an indepeiident b r a n c h ) .
They a r e completely a b s e n t i n t h e E a s t Chadic ( E T b
)r a n c h , which i n -
c l u d e s 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 ) c o u l d be accounted f o r ~ X - It e r m s of
a c o n d i t i o n e d s p l i t of Proto-Chadic (PC) *S j-rito /S/ and ,&l/. Hlatz-
r a l s round o u t s i d e BM were n o t d i s c u s s e d b u t it was t a c i t l y assumed t h a t
t h e i r occurrence was s p o r a d i c and u n s y s t e m a t i ~and
~ t h & t t h e y c o u l d be
e x p l a i n e d by r e l a t i v e l y r e c e n t i n f i u e n c e f r o n n e i g h b o r i n g BT4 l a n g u a g e s *
Given t h e i m p r e s s i o n s one had a t t h e t i m e a-bout h l a t e r a l s outsj-de t h e
BM b r z n c h ? t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t h l a t e r a l s i n Chadic were due t o a BM
i n n o v z t i o n seemed r e a s o n z b l e .
S u b s e q u e n t l y y t,he adequacy af t h e s p l i t hypo.thesis t o a c c o u ~ tf o r
t h e o r i g i n o f Chadic h l a t e r a l s was c h a l l e n g e d b:! Krai't ( 1 9 7 1 ) Draving
on n e v l y c o l l e c t e d f i e l d r n z t e r i z l s on WST l z n g ~ ~ a g e se s p e c i a l l y t h o s e
b e l o n g i r q to t h e poor1.y known Wax-ji ( = N . ~ a u c h i )and Zaar ( = S . ~ , a u c h < )
g r o u p s y K r a f t showed t h a t h l a t e r a l s o u t s i d e BM were f a r f r o n r a r e . In
c o a p a r i n g cognate forms betweer1 t h e BM and VS'i? branches he discovered
t h a t t h e r e was n o t j u s t a s i n g l e corresporidence h1 : : S (which u n d e r l a y
t h e pTewman/Ma e x p l a n a t i a n ) but. t h a t orie a l s o found h1 : : h1 m d even
A. Angas Ki . Kirfi P. Pe r o
B. Bole L0 . Logone PC Prota-Chadic
BM Biu-Mandara M. Me,rgi R. Roll (Bokkos )
Br . Bura m. Mub i so. Sokoro
D. Dmgla Mg . Musgu T. Tera
EST E a s t Branch m. Mokulu Tm . Tmak
G. Gat anda Mn. Mangas W. Warj i
H. Hausa Ms. Masa WST West Branch
K. Kanakuru N. Ngizin z. Zaar ( S a y a n c i )
Kf. Kofyar Nc . Nancere Zm. Z ime

Source l : PC *h1

There a r e a number o f good Chadic c o g n a t e s 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 b e l o n g i n g t o subbranch WST-B). If cognates a r e <
found i n MASA, t h e y a l s o c o n t a i n 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 w i t h f r i c t i o n l e s s l (or r i n t h e c a s e of'
Hausa which h a s undergone an *l > r change ( ~ e w m a n197'9)). Cognate
f o m s i n EST languages ( t o b e d i s c u s s e d s e p a r a t e l y below) a p p e a r e i t h e r
with f r i c t i o n l e s s l o r with a voiceless p a l a t a l obstruent.

(l) Words w i t h PC *h1

Gloss WST-A WST-B BM EST brASA
'beat ' P. lofo Mg h 1 ib - Tm. l a b
'belch' A. jel W. yahl- T. jahli D* g ~ t y z M s . gifila?
'break' H. kary- N. kahla T. w f i l a
' cough ' W. aihli M. ?wuhla Mb. icca MS. ?oh1
cowvl K. la N. hla Mg. h l a y
cut v P. la Z. hla T. fila
'aeat ' K f . luwa W. hlE- G. hliw- M s . hliw-

'Ply guess is t h a t Hausa sZ/sZniyX ' b u l l / c o w t , which i s u s ~ m l l y

i n c l u d e d i n t h i s cognate s e t , does n o t r e a l l y b e l o n g .
 BRANCH SUEBRANCH GROUP

Bade
War ji

, Tera

.Â¥^.l ,Mandara
Mat a k m
Sukur
CHAD1 C BIU-MANDARA Daba
FAMILY
Bata

\\ Kotoko

S
Somrai
Nancere
-- Kera
EAST
Dangia
Mokulu
.
- Sokoro

MASA Mas a 'Masa, Zime . . .)

frictionless l a t e r a l i n contrast t o the hlateral. The answer, s u r p r i s -
i n g l y , seems t o be n o , a l t h o u g h t h e q u e s t i o n i s f a r 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
frictionless 1 t e n d s e i t h e r t o b e l i m i t e d t o non-basic v o c a b u l a r y o r
e l s e t o b e d e r i v e d from *I. I n e i t h e r c a s e it i s impossiole t o e s t a b -
lish 1 as a reflex of an e a r l i e r consonant o f 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.
a s a h l a t e r a l , it i s 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
r e c o g n i z a b l e c o g n a t e s elsewhere i n t h e f a m i l y . 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 o n l y one ( h ) l a t e r a l phoneme and that
it d i d n o t 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
pronunciation notwithstanding, *h1 was -
t h e PC l a t e r a l . From a m i v e r -
s a l p o i n t of view, t h e presence o f *h1 without. *l can be c o n s i d e r e d
u n n a t u r a l ; however, t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h i s p h o n o l o g i c a l vacuum where t h e
*l s h o u l d have been h e l p s t o e x p l a i n t h e numerous c a s e s i n Chadic where
o t h e r sounds have i n d e p e n d e n t l y changed i n t o / l / , e . g . *h1 > l (inde-
S.
p e n d e n t l y i n WST-A and i n EST) and *r > 1 ( i n d e p e n d e n t l y i n t h e Bura
group and i n Masa). Admittedly, t h e r e a r e a couple o f seemingly s t r o n g
etymologies ( i n c l u d e d i n Neman and Ma 1966) where a PC r e c o n s t r u c t i o n
with *l r a t h e r than *h1 seems c a l l e d f o r , e . g . 'child': H. yZrE;
M&. ali ( p i . ) ; Mk. ulo; and ' l o o k / s e e l : K. a l i ; Z. yeli; M.
ulai Mk. woll-. N e v e r t h e l e s s , I would contend t h a t t h e weight o f t h e
evidence s t i l l f a v o r s 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 e x p l a n a t i o n .

Source 2 : PC *s
The PC h l a t e r a l j u s t r e c o n s t r u c t e d accounts f o r t h o s e 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 r a l o r a l a t e r a l in
t h e WST branch. It a l s o p r o v i d e s a s o u r c e 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 p h o n e t i c a l l y r e a l i z e d a s [ l ] and [fill i n
s p e c i f i c p h o n o l o g i c a l environment,^ .
 Ill

'stand' K i . l~ N. h l a Lo. h l a D. utye

' tongue ' R. alis 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 b r a n c h e s , one can r e c o n s t r u c t a h l a t e r a l phoneme
*h1 f o r Proto-Chadic. T h i s 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 b r a n c h e s . Subsequently, i n one subbranch o f
WST (WST-A), *h1 changed i n t o 1, i n what was a p p a r e n t l y a n excep-
t i o n l e s s , u n c o n d i t i o n e d sound change. This innovation 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 o f WST-A
from WST-B b u t b e f o r e t h e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f WST-A i n t o i t s component
groups. h he *h1 > 1 change i s one o f t h e s h a r e d i n n o v a t i o n s t h a t
j u s t i f i e s p u t t i n g t h e Hausa, B o l e , 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 i m i n a t i o n of h l a t e r a l s i n t h e WST-A subbranch. Their 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 i n t r o d u c t i o n w i t h o u t s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r t h e g e n e r a l q u e s t i o n of h l a t e r a l s
i n Chadic .
S i n c e h l a t e r a l s a r e n o t 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 q u e s t i o n a b l e . 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 posi-
t i o n and t o sh i n n o n - i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n ( w i t h l a t e r "hardening" o f sh
into c or ty). T h i s h y p o t h e s i s , however, i s b a s e d on s c a n t y e v i d e n c e
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 b e f o r e it can b e e s t a b l i s h e d a s
fact.
The e x i s t e n c e o f a h l a t e r a l consonant i n t h e PC phonemic i n v e n t o r y
S almost c e r t a i n . An i n t e r e s t i n g q u e s t i o n i s whether PC a l s o had a

he e x i s t e n c e o f 1 r a t h e r t h a n t h e expected h1 i s due t o a n
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 ( a n d t h e n c e 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 l u e n c e from T e r a
o r Bura.
t h e s p l i t h y p o t h e s i s 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 for the
latter. E x a c t l y 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 s h - l i k e s i b i l a n t ( i f n o t
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 i n n o v a t i o n 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 i n n o v a t i o n , however, was n o t
the s p l i t of *S into S and hi, a s e a r l i e r t h o u g h t , b u t r a t h e r t h e
p h o n e t i c change of PC *S into h1 and t h e subsequent merger of t h i s
h1 with t h e h1 d e r i v i n g from PC *hl. T h i s i n n o v a t i o n can be as-
c r i b e d 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 -
flexes of *S a r e normal b o t h i n t h e subbranch t h a t i n c l u d e s T e r a ,
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 n o t s h a r e t h e *sj > h1 change-- ';

t h i s b e i n g a n i m p o r t a n t r e a s o n 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 b r a n c h . Rather, *S went t o s i n Masa, merging
w i t h t h e r e f l e x e s of PC *S, cf. asi- 'egg' < *asi with ase-
8
'leg' < *ase. S i m i l a r l y , i n t h e EST b r a n c h , *S > S and merged wit,h
t h e pre-existing S, cf. D. sZqo and Tn. h i n 'tooth' < *sari with
D. SF and Tm. he 'drink' < *sa. ( ~ o t et h a t a f t e r t h e merger, sound
laws such a s t h e change o f i n i t i a l S to 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 d e r i v e d 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) b u t i t 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 t o o k p l a c e o n l y a f t e r t h e two
subbranches had s e p a r a t e d from one a n o t h e r . I n WST-A, *S shifted t o
S and merged w i t h t h e S'S d e r i v e d from *S, a s had happened e l s e w h e r e ,

'T'he i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of PC * ? a s simply * s h , i . e . a s t h e r e g u l a r
p a l a t a l counterpart t o *S, was s u g g e s t e d i n d e p e n d e n t l y b y R u s s e l l Schuh
and Suzanne P l a t i e l ( p e r s o n a l communication).
'fi.11 PC r w o n d r u c t e d forms a r e taken from Newman ( 1 9 7 7 ) .
correopond t o an s or 311 i n t h e ozher branches. dorripare t h e exa-m-
p i e s i n ( 2 ) , ~ i - c nt h o s e i n ( I ) and i n ( 3 ) .

(2) Words w i t h PC * S
Gloss WST-A WST-B BM
-
'bone ' A. @ e s N. am-k T. ^ahl
'break' H. f a s - M. pahla
A . as W. sil- Lo. n h l e
'name' .
Kf sum Z . sum T. Ulam Mb. s a m i
'root1 P. cOri G. hlar- K C . sar-
'scatter' P. wacu I$. ways G. we1
' send' W . can Lo. h l a n Zm. s h i n
'tooth' Z. s h i n G. hlan- D. sago
'work' W. c 5 n a T. hiena So. u s s a n Ja. s i n

( 3 ) Words w i t h PC *S
G ~ O SS WST-A WST-B BM
- EST
P
MASA
1
' dream' B. s u n n a N . suwan Br . suni D. sOne Zm. m i s i n
'drink' B. s5 N . sa M. sa D. S'S
' know ' H. s a n i W. s a n G. sen KC. s e n
'leg' R. say L o . ass D. ase Ms. ase-
'mouse ' H . kiisii Z . kusag Mg . kusum Zm. kusom-

I n Nemnan and Ma ( 1 9 6 6 ) , 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 d e r i v e d from t h e normal PC *S by a c o n d i t i o n e d
s p l i t of *S into S and hi. This p r o p o s a l cannot b e m a i n t a i n e d . In
t h e f i r s t p l a c e , it h a s proved i m p o s s i b l e t o determine t h e environment
t h a t c o u l d have c o n d i t i o n e d 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 u n d e r l y i n g BM S and B14 h1 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 c o r r e s p o n d 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 impossibility i f

5 ~ h appearance
e of / h i / i n t h e presumably ccgnaLe P a ' a (WST-B) form
h i a r ( b r o u g h t t o my a t t e n t i o n by Margaret 3h-Lr ~ 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 6 e r i v e d from * S . I n
Ga'anda, n o n - i n i t i a l h i - l i t e r a l s sometimes a p p e a r a s / h i / , sometimes as /l/.
e.g. H. ftashi 'bone' < *?Jasu, c f . H. kiisi3 'mouse' < *kusam. In
t h e Bade group o f WST-B, *S changed i n t o a semivowel ( y o r w ) i n con-
trast to *S which remained s, e.g.

(4 Words w i t h PC *? Words w i t h PC *S
Gloss Bade Group Gloss Bade Group g
(~gizim) (~gizim)
' send' wana Lo . hlan 'dream' suwan Lo. suwane
' work ' wand T . hlsna ' buy ' mass T. masa
'tooth' yZnau G. hlan - 'drink' sa G. sa
' bone ' awu-k B r . Cpyehlu 'laugh' gamsa Br . kumshi
'scatter' ways G. we1 ' two ' shirin G. sarri

The h i s t o r i c a l development o f * % i n Warji and Z a a r , t h e o t h e r two

groups b e l o n g i n g 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 c a s e
o f t h e Bade group. N e v e r t h e l e s s , 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 . shin ' s e n d ' , and Z .
shin ' 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 s u g g e s t s 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 h e n t h e few c a s e s
such a s W. sZ ' e g g ' and Z . sum 'name', where an S now a p p e a r s 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 b e r e g a r d e d a s
e x c e p t i o n s 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/fil

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 w i t h o t h e r WST l a n g u a g e s .
P'-s.it o f t h e s t i m u l u s f o r K r a f t ' s (1971) s t u d y must undoubtedly have b e e n
tlie d i s c o v e r y 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 e x p l a -
nation. Some o f them ( n o r m a l l y h i ) a r e simply r e t e n t i o n s o f t h e i n h e -
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 *hl. 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 g r o u p s , e . g . Z .
hlG, Kf. luwa, W. hlii 'meat'; Z . hli, Ki. la, N. hla 'stand
up'; Z. yahls, K. ali 'earth'. Many o f 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 a n o t h e r o r i g i n , having come from a n
h i s t o r i c a l l y r e c e n t sound change *s/*z > hl/fil, e.g.

(5) *S *z
Za a r Other WST Zaar Other WST
' drink' hlya B. s a 'body' fili 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 c o n d i t i o n e d sound law r e s -

tricted to S and z i n p r e v o c a l i c p o s i t i o n where t h e n e x t consonant
was n o t a n a s a l . A s compared w i t h t h e examples i n ( 5 ) , t h e f o l l o w i n g
words r e t a i n e d t h e s i b i l a n t : yis 'excrement', gas 'bottom', pis
'arrow', 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 u n n a t u r a l . However, i f
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 = kusq),
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 into hl/fil becomes simply

a m a t t e r of p r e - v o c a l i c v s . non-pre-vocalic position.
<
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 n o t even a p p l y t o t h e e n t i r e Zaar group. R a t h e r , it w a s an h i s -
t o r i c a l l y s h a l l o w i n n o v a t i o n l i m i t e d t o t h e " ~ a r a w a " subgroup, one o f
t h e t h r e e d i v i s i o n s of t h e Zaar group, and n o t a p p l y i n g t o t h e o t h e r
subgroups ("Boghom" and " ~ u r u n t u m " ). l 0 T h i s cannot b e s e e n immediately
l o o k i n g a t t h e two languages Boghom and Guruntum, s i n c e t h e y have "both
entirely lost their hlaterals. However, i f one l o o k s a t Mangas, a s m a l l
language i n t h e Boghom subgroup, o r a t J u , a s m a l 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 f o u n d , b u t only a s r e -
flexes of *h1 and n o t o f *s/*z, t h e r e s t r i c t e d n a t u r e o f t h e Earawa
i n n o v a t i o n 'becomes a p p a r e n t , 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 ' s h o u l d now b e s e e n a s a f u n c t i o n n o t of t h e f i -
n a l n a s a l , a s s u g g e s t e d by t h e o r i g i n a l f o r m u l a t i o n , 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 s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e o f t h e Zaar
group, i n c l u d i n g t h e s p e c i f i c s u b d i v i s i o n adopted h e r e , i s a n u n p u b l i s h e d
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 w h o m
T am most g r a t e f u l .
(6) *h1 *S

B/G Subgroups Barawa B/G Subgroups Barawa

'meat' M. hlu hlii 'drink' Mn. s h e hie
' earth1 Ju ahli yZ1-d~ 'bird' Ju yZsi yahli

Loss o f h l a t e r a l s

Up t o now I have been concerned w i t h p r o v i d i n g e x p l a n a t i o n s 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 n o t 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 d i s a p p e a r a n c e .
a ) The complete absence o f h l a t e r a l s i n EST languages i s due t o a sound
law ( o r l a w s ) e l i m i n a t i n g PC *h1 t h a t p r o b a b l y took p l a c e i n Proto-EST
b e f o r e t h e branch s e p a r a t e d . A s d e s c r i b e d e a r l i e r , t h e change was pro-
b a b l y t h e c o n d i t i o n e d s p l i t of *h1 into 1 and something e l s e , most
likely sh.
(b) The absence of h l a t e r a l s i n t h e Hausa, Angas, Ron, and ( w i t h i n s i g -
n i f i c a n t e x c e p t i o n s ) Bole groups r e s u l t e d from t h e change o f *h1 to 1
i n t h e proto-language o f t h e WST-A subbranch.
(c) I n Boghom and Guruntum (two Zaar group l a n g u a g e s ) , 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 s h a l l o w sound laws changing *h1 into s and 1,
respectively.
d ) I n t h e BM b r a n c h , where t h e presence o f h l a t e r a l s i s normally t a k e n
f o r g r a n t e d , Bachma now h a s none because of an e x c e p t i o n l e s s sound law
changing a l l h l a t e r a l s t o 1. S i n c e some o f t h e h l a t e r a l s were o r i g i -
nally d e r i v e d 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 -
lJc.- 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. lum 'accept1, c f . K. lawi;

fala 'shatter' , c f . H. £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 a l t h o u g h it does have some (non-
b a s i c ) vocabulary items w i t h hi. However, Gudu, a n o t h e r language i n
t h e same group, s t i l l p r e s e r v e s i t s BM h l a t e r a l i n h e r i t a n c e , t h e r e b y i n d i -
c a t i n g how very r e c e n t t h e l o s s i n Bachana and Gude must have b e e n .
c ) Buduma ( a language i n t h e BM-B subbranch) i s unusual i n t h a t it h a s
l o s t n o t o n l y 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 , b o t h h a v i n g changed
to h (at least i n i n i t i a l position). Whether h1 and s were l o s t
i n a single *fricative > h r u l e o r whether t h e r e was a f e e d i n g se-
quence *h1 > S and t h e n *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 c a s e of a l o s s a f f e c t i n g n o t a b r a n c h n o r a
group n o r even a language, b u t r a t h e r a d i a l e c t o f a l a n g u a g e . In
Kotoko, a language b e l o n g i n g t o t h e same group a s Buduma, a l m o s t a l l
d i a l e c t s p r e s e r v e t h e i r s h a r e of h l a t e r a l s d e r i v e d from PC *h1 and *S.
I n t h e 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 > sh (e.g. shu ' m e a t ' , c f . Afade h l u ) and *thl?
[ 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 nthl?a). While s t r i k i n g from a p h o n e t i c p o i n t o f 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 h a s 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 p h o n o l o g i c a l system of t h e Makari d i a l e c t , s i n c e 'he
language p r e v i o u s l y d i d not have /sh/ o r /c?/ and t h u s t h e change n e i t h e r
i n c r e a s e d n o r d e c r e a s e d t h e number of p h o n o l o g i c a l c o n t r a s t s i n t h e system.
<
The problem o f t h e v o i c e d 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 b o t h v o i c e l e s s h1

and fil. A few have o n l y h1 b u t not f i l ; none h a s o n l y fil but not
hi. 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 o f t h e Zaar
group, t h e v o i c i n g d i s t i n c t i o n between h1 and fil was d i r e c t l y c o r r e -
lated. with a voicing 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 h e p a p e r , however, I have g e n e r a l l y i g n o r e d t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e
v o i c e l e s s and v o i c e d 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. T h i s was a s i m p l i f y i n g 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 a c h i e v e d . I n closing,
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 q u e s t i o n o f t h e 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 s o u r c e s of Chadic h l a t e r a l s - - * h 1 f o r a l l o f Chadic
plus *s f o r BM--both lead t o the voiceless h l a t e r a l hi, where, t h e n ,

-
W -
-

^ ~ c t u a l l ~Kanakuru
, h a s on1 y f i l and n o t 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 c o n s i d e r e d a n i n t e g r a t e d
p a r t o f t h e phonemic system.
does fii come from? Could t h e r e have been a d i s t i n c t i v e l y v o i c e d PC
hiatera1 *5l? Could fii be & d i r e c t r e f l e x of t h e m i s s i n g f r i c - z i o n -
less *l? O r i s it t h e r e s u l t o f secondary developments having t a k e n
p l a c e a t a more r e c e n t d a t e ? I n t h e absence of d i s t i n c t correspondence
s e t s involving h1 vs. fil o r any o t h e r r e l e v a n t evidence o f a n i n -
d i r e c t n a t u r e , 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/*ftl
c o n t r a s t ( i n whatever form) f o r Proto-Chadic. T h e r e f o r e , w h i l e none o f
t h e v a r i o u s p o s s i b i l i t i e s can b e r u l e d o u t 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 h y p o t h e s i s 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 into hi and E l 5 t?.e
c o n d i t i o n i n g f a c t o r s and t h e h i s t o r i c a l t i m e depths i n v o l v e d v a r y i n g from
group t o group and branch t o "banch.

REFERENCES

Hoffmann, C a r l . 1971. " P r o v i s i o n a l check l i s t of Chadic l a n g u a g e s " ,

Chad¥LN e u s Z e t t e ~[Marhurg], s p e c i a l i s s u e .
K r a f t , Charles H . 1971. "A n o t e on l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e s i n C h a d i c M 9
Stud. A f r . Ling. 2:27l-81.
Lukas, Johannes. 1936. "The i . i n g u i s t , i c 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 A f r i c a " , Afri.ca 9 :332-49 a

Kernan, P a u l . 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 e c o n s t r u c t i o n s " , Afroa&atic
Ling. ?(l) : l - b 2 .
,
-F---Q77 r ' a ' ~ land Roxana Ma. 1966. "Comparative Chadic: phonology and
w i c o n " , J . Afr. Lang. 5 :218-51.
Papc*~si n Chadie Lina1~¥7"~c*t¥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

T h i s p a p e r 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 b e l o n g i n g t o t h e T e r a group of t h e Biu-Mandara b r a n c h o f t h e
Chadic language f a m i l y . The changes t o b e d e s c r i b e d o c c u r i n noun and
v e r b stems.' They i n v o l v e p r i m a r i l y f r o n t i n g o f 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 c o n d i t i o n s under which t h e s e
changes t a k e p l a c e a r e n o t p h o n o l o g i c a l "but r a t h e r m o r p h o l o g i c a l , h a v i n g
t o do w i t h t h e i n f l e c t i o n a l forms o f noun and v e r b stems i n t h e environ-
ment o f 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 i m p l e stem and a m o d i f i e d stem.

The c h o i c e o f stem i s governed by t h e v a r i o u s 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 u s e d 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 d e t e r m i n e r s , w h i l e t h e m o d i f i e d s t e m
i s 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 s u b c a t e g o r i z e d 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 o f t h e m o d i f i e d 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 i m p l e stem. In
t h e o t h e r c l a s s , c a l l e d . t h e Y c l a s s , t h e m o d i f i e d 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 t e m . 2 The assignment ' o f nouns t o t h e
two c l a s s e s i s o n l y p a r t i a l l y p r e d i c t a b l e p h o n o l o g i c a l l y . 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 o u t a s p a r t o f a compara-

t i v e Chadic s y n t a x p r o j e c t funded b y a N a t i o n a l S c i e n c e Foundation g r a n t
GS-2279 ( ~ a u Newman,
l principal investigator).
^ o r a f u l l e r d e s c r i p t i o n of Ga'anda morphology and s y n t a x , s e e R .
Newman ( l 9 7 l a ) .
c o m p a r e t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f noun l i n k e r s i n T e r a ( P . Neman 1 9 7 0 : 1 5 4 ) .
ending i n t h e vowels a, e, and a belong t o t h e T c l a s s , while 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 c o n s o n a n t s 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 g e n d e r , s y n c h r o n i c a l l y t h i s i s no l o n g e r
t r u e s i n c e Ga'anda has l o s t grammatical g e n d e r .
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 w i t h 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 i m p l e stem. The m o d i f i e d stem i s used
b e f o r e 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'.
t h e p r e v i o u s r e f e r e n c e marker -&a, t h e demonstrative -di,
f
and t h e
g e n i t i v e marker -1. The simple stem i s used o n l y b e f o r e t h e p l u r a l
4
suffix -ca- (- -c-).

Simple stem Modified stem

x i Â-c -a '5
' arrows -a ' an arrow'
" Â ¥
far -ca -cfi ' t h o s e days' £art$-cfi t h a t dayt
shhk-c$-^& 'the spears' shhkto-^an 'the spear'
mban-c-; roads ' mbant-a [mbinndi] ' a road'
y h w C c - i [y&wC c;] goats y1kwZ t-a ' a goat'
\ \ 1 /
kwece-c-1-an ' h i s quivers' kw&$t-i-an [kw&&y~n] ' h i s quiver'
(P rules: t -> nd / N-; a -+ 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 m o d i f i e d

stems i s marked by b o t h vowel a l t e r n a t i o n s and consonant changes. In
t h i s c l a s s , t h e simple stem i s used b e f o r e t h e d e f i n i t e , p r e v i o u s r e f e -
r e n c e , d e m o n s t r a t i v e , and p l u r a l s u f f i x e s ; t h e modified s t e m i s u s e d
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. F o r convenience,

~ a s a l - f i n a l T nouns do n o t use t h e modified stem i n a l l t h e s e e n v i -

ronments b u t t h e s e e x c e p t i o n s need n o t concern u s h e r e .
4
Tone i s a s s i g n e d 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 a c c o r d i n g t o
t h e t o n e c l a s s o f t h e noun; t h e s e r u l e s a r e n o t d i s c u s s e d i n t h i s p a p e r .
' ~ a ' a n d a h a s a t h r e e - t o n e system p l u s downstep ( s e e R . Newman 1971b).
Downstep o c c u r s when a H i tone i s preceded by a non-segmental Mid o r Lo
I \
t o n e ( 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 b i r s h a a r e p h o n e t i c a l l y 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 i m p l e stem a r e i l l u s t r a t e d , w i t h the p l u r a l i n d e f i -
nite -ca ( < -c- + a) and a l l examples o f t h e modified stem v i t h t h e
singular indefinite -a.
The v o c a l i c a l t e r n a t i o n s between s i m p l e 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 f o l l o w :

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 c o r r e s p o n d i n g f r o n t vowels, i . e .

Simple stem Modified stem

[:l L;]'
+

cvc(c)- ?Al-c$ ?Al-a bone '

nAf-cc nAf-a person'
hi&-c: hier-; 'root '
/ \ / / \ /
xwarm-ca [ xwirSm' c c ] X we r m -a guinea-corn'
\
paxm-ca
\ /
[p>xSmc3] p&xm-Z 'sandal'
bAb-cc bib-c 'breast '
hl;m-c2 hlim-a ' name '
CVCVCV- dgkw~n~ci dgkwen -a
/ \ /
' stone'
k a l a r -c2 kil&r-2 'side'
\
paPaf-c2
\
J?ipif -2 ' lung '
k~lang>r-c~ k i 1 i D g &-
r ; 'wild boar'
P rule: cic2c3 -È 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 m o d i f i e d stems :

he t o n e of t h e e p e n t h e t i c a i s a copy of t h e p r e c e d i n g one.
 k6t;r-A ' chief '
coxweb-a
/ \ /
' frog'
mbo?lm-a 'flea'
There a r e a number o f nouns w i t h [U] i n t h e simple stem which change
to i i n t h e m o d i f i e d stem, t h u s a p p e a r i n g t o b e counterexamples. In
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 f o l l o w e d by W

and i s t h e r e f o r e a n a l y z e d a s a, t h e r e b e i n g no c o n t r a s t between a
and U i n t h i s environment.
\
mm-ca
\
[Amci]
\
wim-a
\
' ra.t '
\ \ \ \ /
cswan-CS [cUwAnci] ciwen-a 'elephant'

Stems which a l r e a d y c o n t a i n 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 i m p l e and m o d i f i e d stems o f Y nouns
concerns t h e consonant S. A l l o c c u r r e n c e s of S i n t h e s i m p l e 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 , m e d i a l l y , and f i n a l l y .

S>?-C; she^-; 'leaf '

\ \ /
saman -ca shim& -g 'fig tree'
hssn-ci ?&shin-$ 'type of grass'
/
wassan-ca
/ \ /
weshshen-a
/ \ /
'squirrel'
I I
kasax-c; k i sh&x-S yam'
I / \ / I / \ l / \ /
waas-ca [waas S;] weesh-a 'hair'
£ss-c [fsssa] f ish-a 'salt'
^ /
\ /
pars-CA [p>rSssL] pirsh-a [pirsh;] 'horse'
rule: s + c + ss)

A t f i r s t g l a n c e , it a p p e a r s t h a t t h e S -+ sh change i s a s i m p l e c a s e 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 v o w e l s , 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 r o n t
vowels. I n t h e case o f sh preceded by a f r o n t vowel, t h i s e x p l a n a t i o n
c o u l d h o l d s i n c e , i n Ga'anda, only ( i ) i s h and (e)esh a r e found,
never *(i)is and *(e)cs, e .g. x<shfi 'outside', mishta 'CO-wife' ,
teesh! 'to bury (waste)' . Thus a p r o g r e s s i v e S - p a l a t a l i z a t i o n r u l e
I I I / \ /
c o u l d account f o r sh occurring i n kishex-a, weesh-a, e t c . , but 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 pirsha where sh is- n o t immediately
preceded by a f r o n t vowel. One may n e x t a s k whether a r e g r e s s i v e s - p a l a -
t a l i z a t i o n r u l e e x i s t s which c o u l d e x p l a i n t h e o c c u r r e n c e of sh in
\ \ \
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 o f words have a l e x i c a l sh ( i . e . t h o s e n o t d e r i v e d from s as
above ) o c c u r r i n g b e f o r e a f r o n t vowel, e . g . shiyt: 't o begt , sherd
' t o be o l d ' . But t h e r e a l s o e x i s t words and c o n s t r u c t i o n s v h e r e
t h e sequences si and se 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$asi ' day a f t e r tomorrow' , ksrnsica 'youths ', hauseci 'Hausa
people' , kesi' S$ ' h e l p me 1 ' , \ \ /
a s i - t a ?y&m8a ' h e drank w a t e 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 before f r o r t
vowels i s n o t a u t o m a t i c . I t s o c c u r r e n c e i n t h e modified stems of Y nouns
i s t h u s n o t e x p l a i n a b l e i n terms o f a simple p h o n o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s .
R a t h e r , t h e p a l a t a l i z a t i o n h e r e 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 w i t h 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 h a s
t o do w i t h s t e m - f i n a l g. I n a d d i t i o n t o vowel f r o n t i n g , words w i t h
final g i n t h e s i m p l e stem change t h e g to y i n t h e m o d i f i e d stem.

Cfey -a 'fly'
d y -a 'bird'
\
sag-ca
/ \
s h i y -a
/
'stirring stick'
I I / I ' t
xarag-ca xirey-a 'nose'
' crocodile '
\ / \ /
cirey-a
khnbey-! ' t y p e o f melon'

T h i s change c o u l d p o s s i b l y b e d e s c r i b e d 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 c o n d i t i o n e d by a p r e c e d i n g f r o n t vowel. But se-
quences o f ir) and eg occur elsewhere i n Ga'anda, e.g. finan 'dye
it r e d ! ', sheg6 ' count ! ' , ketenr&nca 'storks'. 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 n o t phonol.ogically c o n d i t i o n e d .
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 s p e c t t o t h e i~/y alternation.
Most nouns w i t h stem-final g i n Ga'anda have cognate forms w i t h a n a s a l i n
c l o s e l y r e l a t e d l a n g u a g e s , e . g . G. carag- ' c r o c o d i l e ' , c f . Tera jiraq;
G. xaraq- ' n o s e ' , c f . Fidlimndi 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- "bird1, cf.
Gisiga cfiyaw; G. raq- ' b o w ' , c f . Hona riye. The e x p l a n a t i o n i s t h a t
i n present-day Ga'anda t h e simple stems cfaq- and rag- are reinter-
p r e t a t i o n ~b a s e d on a p r o c e s s o f 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 ' , cfiyca - ctegca, supports
t h i s analysis.
The s e t o f changes d e s c r i b e d above a l l p e r t a i n t o Y noluns e n d i n g i n
a consonant; t h e y do n o t a p p l y t o v o w e l - f i n a l Y nouns (which o n l y end i n
-i, as stated e a r l i e r ) . For r e a s o n s n o t y e t a p p a r e n t , i - f i n a l Y nouns
do n o t undergo any i n t e r n a l vowel/consonant changes. R a t h e 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, with
no f u r t h e r changes.

'spider'
' fever'
'moon '
'r i v e r '
There a r e two e x c e p t i o n s however; t h e two -i nouns below show b o t h
vowel f r o n t i n g and p a l a t a l i z a t i o n o f S i n addition t o -i deletion:

'youth"
'mosquito'

A t p r e s e n t , t h e r e seems t o b e no e x p l a n a t i o n why t h e s e two i-final Y

nouns e x h i b i t changes normally a s s o c i a t e d w i t h c o n s o n a n t - f i n a l Y nouns.
I n summary, t h e v a r i o u s changes r e q u i r e d f o r d e r i v i n g m o d i f i e d
stems from s i m p l e stems i n Y nouns a r e a s f o l l o w s : ( 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 the palatal sh; (c) 13 changes t o t h e p a l a t a l semivowel y.
The o v e r r i d i n g f e a t u r e s h a r e d by t h e s e changes i s p a l a t a l i t y o r
'Y-coloration" , f u n c t i o n i n g i n t h e morphology a s "Y-prosody". It i s
viewed a s a p r o s o d i c 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 t e m ,
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 m o d i f i e d s t e m
o f Y nouns t h u s c o n s i s t s of t h e simple stem marked w i t h Y - ~ Y c ~ o ~ J ,
which m a n i f e s 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 e x p l a i n a b l e i n ters.s o f synchro-
n i c a l l y productive phonological r u l e s . Rather, they a r e a l L r e l a t e d t o
a p r o s o d i c 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 w i t h 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 m o r p h o l o g i c a l l y determined p r o c e s s 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 v e r b stems. Here, it i s a p r o p e r t y
of v e r b a l c o n s t r u c t i o n s 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 p e r s o n s i n g u l a r pronoun. The v e r b a l con-
s t r u c t i o n has t h e f o l l o w i n g b a s i c o r d e r o f morphemes i n t h e a o r i s t , p e r -
f e c t i v e , and s u b j u n c t i v e t e n s e s :

t e n s e marker + v e r b 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 b e a t t a c h e d t o t h e
v e r b stem ( t o b e i l l u s t r a t e d b e l o w ) . 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 s u b j u n c t i v e by k$ i n the affirmative
and m; i n t h e negative. The simple v e r b a l c o n s t r u c t i o n 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 . ( C a n o n i c a l shapes o f v e r b stems a r e C V , C V C ,
C V C C , and C V C ~ . )

t h e y shot'
'they refuse '
'I got sick'
\ / \ /
t&sy a taxs-inca 'I got ready'
\ \ \ /
san- a san-man '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 p e r s o n s i n -

gular -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 a p p l i e d . The v e r b 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 d e s c r i b e d 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, since the 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
discussion.

kar - k e r -6n 'you r e f u s e d '

fad- £id- hlkmb<r; 'you b e a t a drum'
\
san- @ shin-& x i t i nds 'you a r e used t o him'
\ \ f /\ / /
kss- ma kish-ice-n s a wa ' d o n ' t h e l p me'
(cf. kLs-J"' ss ' h e l p me ! ' , which i s a simple i m p e r a t i v e
w i t h no s u b j e c t pronoun, hence no Y-prosody)
tax& k s t &xsh!-sn y o u should prepare'
\ \
para- m; pere-n n d s d o n ' t f o l l o w him'
p&fi: k; p i ~ & ^ - kn s l e m o 'you s h o u l d go t o m a r k e t '

If t h e v e r b stem c o n t a i n s a round vowel o or U, s u c h 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 x a wa ' d o n ' t s i t down'
/ /\
xuna- k> xdn&n x i 'you s h o u l d 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 v e r b
stems ending i n f i n a l -a. I n the perfective tense only, f i n a l -a is
r e p l a c e d by -i, e.g.

'they came '

'we ( i n c l . ) r a n '
went
y o u (pi.) '
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 e x p e c t e d
f r o n t i n g and p a l a t a l i z a t i o n do n o t 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 '

( cf . kS pidg-n 'you s h o u l d g o ' )
/ /\ \ ' f \
masa- a masi-n 'you l a u g h e d '
(cf. m: meshe-n W
; 'don't laugh')

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 p h o n o l o g i c a l 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 e x p e c t e d t o h a p p e n , a s , f o r
/ /\
example, i n t h e verb masa- above. The f a c t t h a t t h e y do n o t t a k e
p l a c e h e r e 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 n o t
simple p h o n o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s e s i n Ga'anda b u t r e s u l t from morphological
conditions.
I n connection w i t h t h e above, t h e r e i s one t e l l i n g e x c e p t i o n t o
t h e r u l e about -a verbs. With t h e monosyllabic verb st,em S;- 'to
d r i n k f , p a l a t a l i z a t i o n does o c c u r ( i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e a -+ i shift) ,
b u t o n l y 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
f o l l o w i n g paradigm:

Singular Plural
\ \ P
a si-mun ( i n c l.)
1st L S;-inc; [sinci]
\ \ /
a si-?an (excl. )

(P rule: a -r i/- #\
I t i s t h e e x c e p t i o n t h a t proves t h e r u l e .
The one c o n s o n a n t a l change i n t h e Y-prosody d e s c r i b e d f o r nouns
which does n o t apply t o v e r b s i s t h e g -F y change. I n verb stems,
final g remains g:

/
tag- L t :g -Sn 'you got s t u c k '

The domain o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f Y-prosody i n v e r b s i s n o t l i m i t e d t o

t h e simple v e r b stem. I t can a l s o apply t o a v e r b stem expanded by c e r -
t a i n "bound s u f f i x e s immediately f o l l o w i n g t h e stem. Two o f 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 v e r b s w i t h an a d j e c t i v a l meaning a r e formed from b a s i c
v e r b s by a t t a c h i n g t h e stem f o r m a t i v e -can- immediately t o t h e stem:

xad- ' t o get sick' X ; ~ + C $ ~- ' t o be sick'

mbsn - ' t o pleasef
/
mban+can-
/
' t o be p l e a s a n t '
When t h e s e d e r i v e d v e r b s cooccur w i t h 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 ( a n d presumably p a l a -
t a l i z a t i o n , a l t h o u g h no examples a r e p r e s e n t l y a v a i l a ' b l e ) . Derived
verbs with -can- o n l y 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 v e r y n i c e '

Another s u f f i x bound t o v e r b stems i s t h e f i r s t n e g a t i v e marker

-wa-. Negation i n Ga'anda i s marked by double, d i s c o n t i n u o u s markers.
The second n e g a t i v e marker i s a f r e e form wa which o c c u r s a t t h e end
of t h e s e n t e n c e . The form o f t h e f i r s t depends on t h e t e n s e . With t h e
s u b j u n c t i v e , 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 o f a -W;- s u f f i x e d t o t h e v e r b stem p r e c e d i n g 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 l o n g w i t h
t h e r e s t of t h e v e r b stem:

d's- m& 0 &we-n W; i f you d o n ' t g o '

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 e p a r e '

I n c o n c l u s i o n , it h a s been shown t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n 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. Al-
though t h e v a r i o u s components o f t h i s prosody a r e p h o n o l o g i c a l l y 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 m o r p h o l o g i c a l
factors.

REFERENCES

Neman, P . 1970. A Grammar o f Tera. Transformational Syntax and

Texts. U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a P u b l i c a t i o n s i n L i n g u i s t i c s 57.
Berkeley and Los Angeles.
Neman,R.M. 1 9 7 l a . 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 , U n i v e 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 s u e , e d .
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

B e l l o Ahmad Salim

Introduction

T h i s p a p e r i s an a t t e m p t t o f i n d some p l a u s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e
i n d e t e r m i n a t e [ + h i g h ] vowel t h a t i s found i n some Hausa words, t h e cor-
r e c t phonemic n a t u r e of which seems t o e l u d e even n a t i v e Hausa s p e a k e r s .
C e r t a i n groups o f words, nouns and v e r b s a l i k e , pose s p e c i a l problems i n
phonemic and o r t h o g r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . T h i s s t a t e o f a f f a i r s h a s been
r e a l i z e d by b o t h n a t i v e s p e a k e r s 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 P a r t y does n o t 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 c o u l d s o l v e t h e problem o f w r i t i n g such words a s
furtsi or fartsi
samu or sami
fure or fire
So t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f a 6 t h vowel i n t o t h e language c o u l d o n l y
cause confusion".

Hoffmann and S c h a c h t e r (1969:78) a l s o n o t i c e d t h e same problem and

n o t e d 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 t h e y a l t e r n a t e w i t h one a n o t h e r and o f t e n a sound between t h e
two , [ i ] ,i s h e a r d , e . g .

[teebir] or [teebur] or [teebir]

I a g r e e w i t h 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 a n o t h e r
graphemic vowel would o n l y cause c o n f u s i o n . 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 e x p l a n a t i o n ( i f any) t o h e l p i n t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l

*My thanks t o D r . James Coady of Ohio U n i v e 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 1 9 7 6 ) . who p a t i e n t l y l e n t an e a r
t h r o u g h o u t t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of t h i s p a p e r and o f f e r e d v e r y c o n s t r u c t i v e
criticisms.
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 b e used t o r e p r e s e n t a " s h o r t "
phoneme o r phone and a double one t o r e p r e s e n t "long".
a n a l y s i s of t h e segments t h a t have t h i s i n d e t e r m i n a t e vowel.
S e c t i o n 1 of t h i s paper w i l l l o o k 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 t e m p t 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 . In
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 " d a t i v e " pronouns w i l l b e l o o k e d a t
i n an a t t e m p t t o show t h a t a g e n e r a t i v e p h o n o l o g i c a l approach can b e
used t o e x p l a i n some of t h e p r o c e s s e s i n b o t h 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. S e c t i o n 3 w i l l d e a l w i t h t h e words
t h a t c o n t a i n t h e i n d e t e r m i n a t e h i g h vowel and t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e g e n e r a -
t i v e approach t o e x p l a i n t h e phenomena. Section 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 l o n g t h e l i n e s o f n a t u r a l gene-
r a t i v e phonology.

Section 1

It i s w i d e l y a c c e p t e d t h a t Hausa h a s t w e l v e vowel phonemes: five

s h o r t and f i v e l o n g monophthongs, and two d i p h t h o n g s . O f t h e s e , t h e mid
and h i g h 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 certain positions.
Taking t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l system o f vowel diagramming, we can g r o u p
/ e e l and / e / , l o o / and / o / , a s t h e [ - h i g h -low] vowels, and /ii/ a n d
/ i / , /uu/ and /U/ a s t h e [ + h i g h ] vowels. Long / a a / i s d e c i d e d l y [+low]
and s o i s / a / , which assumes a somewhat c e n t r a l p o s i t i o n , a l m o s t 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 f o l l o w i n g 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 [karee] ' dog'

kwalekwale [kwalakwale?] ' canoe '
maage [maag Y e ? ] 'cat'
dagee [dagyee] 'wild f e l i n e '
but
karen ' t h e dog'
kwalekwalen ' t h e canoe'
maagen 'the cat'
dagen 'the wild feline'
Only l e e / o c c u r s i n t h e middle o f a word, e . g .

ma jeemii [majeemii] ' tanner '

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 b u t a r e n e u t r a l i z e d e l s e -
where, e . g .

baakoo 'a stranger'

baako ' p r o p e r name '

but

baakon 'the stranger'

baakon ' t h e Bako'

Only /oo/ o c c u r s i n medial p o s i t i o n , e . g .

oodaa [ ?oodaa ] 'an order'

makoomaa [makwoomaa] ' Heaven '
From t h e above, we r e a l i z e a s o r t o f four-way p r o c e s s i n v o l v i n g t h e
s h o r t and l o n g phonemes and t h e [ + f r o n t ] and [ + back] phonemes, i . e .
/e, eel 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 t h o u g h t h e above examples a r e g i v e n
p h o n e t i c 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 r o c e s s e s and n o t
t h e r e s u l t o f f a s t speech ( p h o n e 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
i m p l a u s i b l e t o c l a i m c l o s e d s y l l a b l e c o n d i t i o n i n g f o r t h e above n e u 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 o f

(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 b e

(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 b e reduced t o a schwa i n t h i s p o s i t i o n , e , g .

karaa [ karaa] ' cane ' cf. [karaq], [karar)]

YaaYa [yaa~a?] 'elder brother' cf. [yaayaq], [yaayaq]

h. / i i / 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 o n l y / i / o c c u r s i n c l o s e d 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 .

sararii [sararii] 'open s p a c e '

sarari [ s s r a r i ^] 'name of a p l a c e '
shigaa [ shigaa] 'enteringt
shiiRaa [ shiifcaa] 'winnowing'

but

sararin [serarig] ' t h e open s p a c e '

sararin [sarsriq] 'name o f 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 m e d i a l p o s i -

tions but before n , t h e y a r e n e u t r a l i z e d and r e d u c e d t o [u], e . g .

duhuu [ duhuu ] 'darkness'

duhu [ duhu? ] ' a type of scorpion'
kuukaa [ kwuukaa] ' crying'
kunuu [ kwunuu] 'gruel '
but

duhun ' t h e darkness'

duhun ' t h e scorpion'

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 n o t have t h e t y p e of n e u t r a l i z a t i o n as
o b t a i n s w i t h t h e [+mid] vowels. But n o t i c e :

ha& [ ha&?] 'been mixed' cf. [hadig]

kunuu [ kwunuu] 'gruel ' [kwuniq]
jinii [jinii] 'blood' [jiniq]
tafi [tafi?] 'go' [tafkg]

Here we n o t i c e t h a t b o t h 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 o f whether t h e y w e r e u n d e r l y i n g
long o r short. F u r t h e r examples might h e l p t o c l a r i f y m a t t e r s :

tattabaruu [tattabaruu] 'pigeons' cf. [tattakerig]

tsaamii [tsaamii] 'sourness' [tsaamiq]
baakii [baakyii] 'mouth' [ baakyig ]
gafakuu [gafakwuu] 'satchels' [gsfakwe~]
jama'uu [jama^uu] 'peoples' [ jama?ag]
A p a t t e r n now b e g i n s t o emerge r e g a r d i n g high vowels f o l l o w e d by t h e
genitive linker -n. When t h e p r e c e d i n g consonant i s [ + b a c k ] , 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 p r e c e d i n g consonant i s [-back], t h e reduced vowel i s always

realized as [ i ] :

S i n c e / i i / , / i / and / u u / , 11-11a 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 as [ i ] before 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 before f i n a l -n can b e claimed f o r Hausa monoph-
thongs.

Section 2

Next we l o o k a t some i n t e r e s t i n g p r o c e s s e s t h a t seem t o "be l i m i t e d

o n l y t o t h e Hausa d a t i v e pronouns. The d a t i v e marker wa or ma2
i s n e v e r j o i n e d t o t h e f o l l o w i n g NP when it happens t o be a noun, e . g .

na s a y a r 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 ~ kk o l a n u t s t o h e r f r i e r ; & '
but
aa s a y a r masa d a 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 t o o k k o l a n u t s t o h e r '

As can b e s e e n , t h e r e v e r s e i s t h e c a s e when t h e f o l l o w i n g 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 m a r k e r
+ pronoun a s a s i n g l e word can be found by l o o k i n g a t t h e p r o c e s s e s t h a t
happen w i t h them. R e f u s a l t o a c c e p t t h e sequence a s a s i n g l e word would
mean acceptance o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e p r o c e s s e s t r a n s c e n d 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 s p e a k e r . 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 u s e ma w i t h pronouns.
ries. No p h o n o l o g i c a l l y o r p h o n e t i c a l l y p l a u s i b l e r e a s o n can be found
t o s u p p o r t t h a t c l a i m ( 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 S c h a c h t e r
1969). The sequences w i l l t h e r e f o r e b e a c c e p t e d a s one-word sequences
and be a n a l y z e d a s s u c h .

mani/mini [inani?], [mini?], [miq] ' bo/at/for me'

maka [maka? ] ' t o / a t / f o r you (mas-c. ) '
maki/miki [maikyi?] , [ m i k y i ? ] ' t o / a t / f o r you ( f e n . ) '
masa/mas/mar [inasa?], [mas], [mar] " c o / a t / f o r him'
mata [mata?] 'to/at/for her'
mana [mana? ] 'to/at/for us'
maku/muku [maukwu?], [makWu?] ' t o / a t / f o r you ( p i . ) '
masu/musu [musu?], [masu?] ' t o / a t / f o r them'

Items 1 , 3 , 7 , and 8 need s p e c i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n b e c a u s e t h e y n o t o n l y

n e u t r a l i z e front/back, but 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 d u a l p r o c e s s i n t h a t a f t e r "being
a f f e c t e d by t h e vowels a f t e r them, t h e y i n t u r n a f f e c t t h e [ a ] coming
b e f o r e them. Thus :

5 [+velarl

The a f f e c t e d consonants t h e n r e g r e s s i v e l y a f f e c t t h e vowe1.s b e f o r e them

s o t h a t we g e t a d i p h t h o n g i z a t i o n r u l e which f r o n t s o r b a c k s t h e vowels
concerned depending on whether o r n o t t h e y come b e f o r e a p a l a t a l i z e d
or labialized velar. The diphthongs and t h e n o n - a f f e c t e d [ a l ' s t h e n
undergo an o p t i o n a l vowel r e d u c t i o n r u l e where t h e [ a l ' s a r e r e d u c e d 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 i g h vowels f o l l o w i n g them, a s i n :

To summarize, we have an o b l i g a t o r y 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
labialized or palatalized velars ) , plus an o b l i g a t o r y d i p h t h o n g i z a t i o n
r u l e before t h e assimilated v e l a r s , and. t h e two o p t i o n a l ( t h o u g h p e r v a -
s i v e ) r u l e s o f vowel r e d u c t i o n 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 i g h vowel.
The n e x t p r o c e s s of f i n a l vowel d e l e t i o n ( a s w i t h i t e m s 1 and 4)
might w e l l prove our ( t r a d i t i o n a l ) g e n e r a t i v e approach i n a d e q u a t e .
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 e m s 1 and h , t h e f i n a l vowel may
o p t i o n a l l y be d e l e t e d , where b o t h vowels a r e o f 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/ in final
p o s i t i o n , p o s s i b l y c o n d i t i o n e d by Hausa i d e o p h o n e s ? ) But t h i s d e l e t i o n
r u l e r e f u s e s t o work i n t h e c a s e of i t e m 8. Here, a f t e r t h e vowel
r e d u c t i o n and a s s i m i l a t i o n r u l e s , t h e c o n d i t i o n f o r t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e
deletion rule 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 * [ m a r ] , 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?

Section 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 i n d e -
t e r m i n a t e vowel which seems t o a l t e r n a t e between [U], [ i ] ,and [ i ] . T h i s
p r o c e s s could have happened due t o a c a s e o f vowel r e d u c t i o n on s y l l a b l e s
w i t h 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 f o l l o w i n g vowel. If we expand r u l e ( 6 ) a l i t t l e , therefore, we
might be a b l e t o e x p l a i n t h e process--if it i s j u s t due t o a c a s e o f
vowel r e d u c t i o n .

T h i s can e x p l a i n words l i k e ' a n g e 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 u n d e r l y i n g phoneme and
s o d e r i v e 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 [turniii] +
[ t a r m i i ] -+ [ t i r m i i ] 'mortar'.
Various o t h e r words can a l s o b e e x p l a i n e d t h a t way, w i t h t h e e x p l a -
n a t i o n t h a t t h e above r u l e s of vowel r e d u c t i o n and t h e n a s s i m i l a t i o n
have now become s o p e r v a s i v e t h a t t h e y a r e no l o n g e r o p t i o n a l . If we
a c c e p t t h i s , t h e n 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 b e f o r e 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 u n d e r -

3 ~ i o t i c et h a t t h i s seems t o be a c a s e where a p h o n e t i c p r o c e s s t a k e s
p l a c e i n b o t h 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 r v e s a s a p h o n o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e (~ewman1 9 ~ 2 it ) ~h a s
no p h o n e t i c r e l e v a n c e ? 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 h a v i n g s t , r e s s .
l y i n g phoneme i n each o f t h e s e i n d e t e r m i n a t e c a s e s , e.g.

fushii/fishii [fushii] [fushii] [fishii] 1 anger 1

bukii/bikii [bukyii] [bykyii] [bikyii] ' celebration '
surukii/sirikii [surukyii] [sarakyii] [si-rikyii] ' in-law (male)'
E u t , a s we s h a l l s e e , t h e r e a r e s t i l l c a s e s where t h e u n d e r l y i n g and
p h o n e t i c r e a l i z a t i o n s s t i l l remain j u s t t h a t - - i n d e t e r m i n a t e , e.g.

usurii/usirii [?usuriil [?usurii] [?usirii] 'whistle'

bukaataa/bikaataa [bukaataa] [bykaataa] [bikaataa] 'need1
furee/firee [ furee ] [ furee] [f i r e e ] ' flower '
samu/sami [saamu?] [saamu?] [saami?] 'get'
fuskaa/ f i s kaa [fuskaa] [fuskaa] [fiskaa] 'face'
bunnee/binnee [ bunnee] [bynnee] [binnee] ' t o "bury'
musaakii/misaakii [ m u s a a k y i i ] [musaakyii] [ m i s a a k y i i ] ' d i s a b l e d per-
son ( m a l e ) '

With ' w h i s t l e ' , we have no e x p l a n a t i o n 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 n o t change, e x c e p t i f we c l a i m t h a t t h e consonants surround-
i n g it a r e b l o c k i n g t h e p r o c e s s . But t h i s h a s no p h o n e t i c m o t i v a t i o n .
With t h e o t h e r examples, t h e v o w e l ( s ) supposed t o i n f l u e n c e t h e p r o c e s s
are a l l [-high], s o even i f t h e vowel r e d u c t i o n r u l e does a p p l y (which
it d o e s ) , t h e r e i s s t i l l no e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e o t h e r p r o c e s s which
leads t o the alternation. The g e n e r a t i v e approach h a s 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 a n c e t o o , s i n c e we a r e s t i l l l e f t w i t h t h e problem o f decid-
i n g what t h e u n d e r l y i n g vowel o f t h e stem i s , i . e . we must make an ab-
s t r a c t choice.

Section 4

We have s e e n how it i s p o s s i b l e t o i s o l a t e the u n d e r l y i n g vowels i n

c a s e s 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 o n g , f r o n t o r back vowels. This h a s a l s o h e l p e d u s 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 i n g l e
entity, [±l W e have e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h i s if r x n t i r e l y a p h o n o l o g i c a l
p r o c e s s and n o t t h e 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 a c c e p t e d a s a phoneme i n Hausa.
 Next we c o n s i d e r e d a p r o c e s s t h a t could b e e n t i r e l y t h e 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 a b l e t o p o s i t an u n d e r l y i n g 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 u n d e r l y i n g phoneme. In
each c a s e , 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 a b l e t o e x p l a i n the p r o c e s s through t h e t r a d i t i o n a l
g e n e r a t i v e approach. With t h e words c o n s i d e r e d i n s e c t i o n 3 , it
a p p e a r s 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 p r o c e s s which may
have been p h o n e t i c a l l y o r phonemically m o t i v a t e d o r , a s w i t h t h e c a s e of
[ s a a m i 7 ] [saarna?] [saamu?], have no v a l i d m o t i v a t i o n a t a l l . In either
c a s e , whatever p r o c e s s may have m o t i v a t e d t h e a l t e r n a t i o n s , it has now
become s o p e r v a s i v e a s t o completely d i s t o r t whatever vowel was t h e
u n d e r l y i n g one i n each c a s e . We a r e t h e r e f o r e l e f t w i t h a l t e r n a n t s
which have no p l a u s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s 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 o f g e t t i n g around t h i s impasse i s t o a c c e p t Vennemann's
(1972, 1974) p r o p o s a l o f n a t u r a l g e n e r a t i v e 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 o f grammar cannot be

e x t r i n s i c a l l y ordered.
2. The S t r o n g N a t u r a l n e s s C o n d i t i o n :
P a r t 1. L e x i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f n o n - a l t e r n a t i n g 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 p h o n e t i c
representations.
P a r t 2. L e x i c a l 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 l o m o r p h s ' of t h e paradigm,
p l u s an ( o f t e n empty) s e t o f s u p p l e t i o n r u l e s . l'

This t h e r e f o r e e n t a i l s a lexicon of w i t h r u l e s "which

f u n c t i o n 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
the lexicon, and a s g e n e r a t i v e r u l e s o n l y when unknown words a r e
a d a p t e d t o t h e l e x i c o n , o r new words a r e c r e a t e d by a s p e a k e r . . . 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 h o s e

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
a g r e e , a s with S w a d ~ s h(1957), t,hat h i s t o r i c ' a l p v i d i ~ n c eh a s no r e l e v a n c e
a t a l l i n dr-t,orrnirij rig the phonemic iiyst,~-'rno f a language.
 i f we a c c e p t t h i s h y p o t h e s i s c o m p l e t e l y , t h e n 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 e x i c o n and t h e r e w i l l b e no r a s e s of
vowel n e u t r a l i z a t i o n - - w h e t h e r phonemic o r p h o n e t i c . 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 b e c o n s i d e r e d " f a s t speech" r u l e s
(~ennemann1974:350) because t h e y a r e s o p e r s i s t e n t a s t o cause confu-
s i o n even i n o r t h o g r a p h y . On t h e o t h e r hand, we might c o n s i d e r i n c o r -
p o r a t i n g Hudson's m o d i f i c a t i o n (1974:179) o f t h e a f o r e s a i d h y p o t h e s i s
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 c a s e , we do away w i t h c a s e s o f a b s o l u 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 e x p l a i n t h e non-generatable alternations i n
t h e d a t i v e pronouns and t h e i n d e t e r m i n a t e c a s e s i n s e c t i o n 3. We t h e r e -
f o r e g e t t o keep o u r r u l e s a s t h e y a r e i n t r i n s i c a l l y o r d e r e d . They w i l l
s e r v e a s redundancy r u l e s i n t h e c a s e o f a l l t h e forms a c c e p t e d i n t o t h e
l e x i c o n and a s g e n e r a t i v e r u l e s when new words a r e a c c e p t e d i n t o t h e
language. An argument can "be g i v e n t h a t t h i s s o l u t i o n i s no " b e t t e r t h a n
t h e t r a d i t i o n a l g e n e r a t i v e approach b u t n o t i c e t h a t we have no way o f
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]] b u t n o t *[man], except by a c c e p t i n g a l l t h e d i f f e r e n t a l t e r n a -
tions i n the lexicon. Also, whereas it can b e claimed t h a t n a t i v e Hausa
s p e a k e r s a r e c a p a b l e o f s a y i n g [masu?] i n c a r e f u l speech a s opposed t o
[rnasu?] and s o c o u l d b e expected t o be aware o f t h e u n d e r l y i n g phonolo-
g i c a l / a / i n t h e given environment, t h i s c l a i m cannot b e made i n t h e
c a s e 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 o f t h e above e v i d e n c e , t h e r e f o r e , o u r c l a i m t h a t
t h e o n l y p l a u s i b l e approach towards e x p l a i n i n g t h e s e phenomena i s t h e
n a t u r a l g e n e r a t i v e approach seems a d e q u a t e l y j u s t i f i e d . *

5
J o t e t h a t this t r e a t m e n t i s n e i t h e r completely s i m i l a r t o t h e con-
T,

e c p t o f " n o r m a l i s a t i o n " as proposed by Swadush (1957), n o r t h e " a r c h i -

phoneme-" o f t h e Prague s c h o o l , n o r t h e "morphophonerne" o f t h e st,ruct,u-
r a l i s t s (e.g. H a r r i s 1 9 5 1 ) , a s t h i s "archiphoneme' does n o t meet the
f ' j l L spec'i f ' i r ' n f , ions d c f i ncvl -tsar any o f t h f above c a s e s .
 REFERENCES

H a r r i s , Z e l l i g S. 1951. S t r u c t d Linguistics. Chicago.

Hoffniann, C . and P . S c h a c h t e r . 1969. "Hausa" , i n Tuetve Viqeriari
Languages, e d . by E. Dunstan, pp. 73-84. London.
Hudson, Grover. 1974. "The r o l e o f SPC's i n n a t u r a l g e n e r a t i v e
phonology", i n Papers from t h e Parasess-ion on natural Phonology,
e d . by A. Bruck e t a l . , , p p . 171-83. Chicago.
Hyman, L a r r y M. 1975. Phonotogy: Theory and Analysis. New York.
Newman, P a u l . 1972. " S y l l a b l e weight a s a p h o n o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e " ,
Stud. A f r . Ling. 3 ( 3 ) :301-23.
Schachter, P a u l . 1969. " N a t u r a l a s s i m i l a t i o n r u l e s i n ~ k a n ,
" Internet.
J . Amer. Ling. 35 :343-55.
Swadesh, M o r r i s . 1957. "The phonemic p r i n c i p l e " , i n Readings i n
L i n g u i s t i c s l , e d . by M. Joos , p p . 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 g e n e r a t i v e grammar",
i n Papers from t h e Parasession on Natural PhotzoZogy, e d . by A. Bruck
e t a l . , p p . 346-75. Chicago.
Working P a r t y on Hausa Orthography. 1972. " F i n a l r e p o r t and r e c o m e n -
d a t i o n " . Mimeographed. Kano.
 WEST C I I A D I C VERB CLASSES

R u s s e l l G . Schuh

1. Chadic v e r b c l a s s e s

1.1. Newman's Proto-Chadic classes. Parsons (1960161) proposed a c l a s -

s i f i c a t i o n o f Hausa v e r b s c a l l e d t h e "Grade system". I n t h i s system, a
v e r b a l "base" composed of a v e r b minus t o n e and f i n a l vowel p o t e n t i a l l y
" o p e r a t e s " seven " g r a d e s " each o f which c a r r i e s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c t o n e
p a t t e r n and f i n a l vowel. Thus from t h e b a s e say- ' B U Y ' , we have
/Â \
Grade I sayaa 'buy f o r ' , Grade I1 s&$a "buy', Grade I V sayLe 'buy
all of , etc. The g r a d e system h a s become t h e s t a n d a r d framework f o r
d i s c u s s i n g Hausa v e r b c l a s s e s , even f o r t h o s e n o t wholly i n agreement
w i t h t h e system. Moreover, t h e concept o f a b s t r a , c t l e x i c a l b a s e s which
a r e s u p p l i e d w i t h t o n e and f i n a l vowel o n l y i n s p e c i f i c morpho-syntac-fcic
c o n t e x t s h a s been w i d e l y a p p l i e d i n o t h e r Chadic languages such as
Bolanci ( ~ u k a s1970-72).
Newman (1975) a r g u e s t h a t t h i s system g i v e s an i n a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e
of v e r b c l a s s e s i n p a r t i c u l a r Chadic languages and i s n o t a system which
should. b e r e c o n s t r u c t e d f o r Proto-Chadic. In h i s reconstruction, sased
on d a t a from e i g h t Chadic l a n g u a g e s , Newman a r g u e s t h a t t o n e p a t t e r n a n d
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 o f a v e r t . I n the case
of Hausa ( c f . Kewman 1973) an a b s t r a c t v e r b a l "base does n o t o p e r a t e s e v e n
grades. R a t h e r , one o f t h e "grade forms" ( ~ r a d eI , 11, o r 111 d e p e n d i n g
on t h e v e r b ) i s b a s i c and o t h e r g r a d e s a r e d e r i v e d t h r o u g h replacement. o f

*Data on b o t h t h e Bade and Bole groups were c o l l e c t e d w h i l e working as

a Research Fellow w i t h t h e Centre f o r t h e Study of N i g e r i a n 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 ? c c , ~ 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 s y n t a x pro.j?ct funded by a N a t i o n a l S c i e n r ~F o u n d a t i o n
Grant G;-?P79 ( P a u l Newman, p r i n r ' i p a l i n v e s t i p a t o r ) . I a m p r a t , e f u l t o
P a u 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 hthe
arbitrarily chosen sequences takV and by:

(1) Disyllabic Monosyllabic

Hi-Hi L-"'-. , ^/G~

taka taka

L@-L0

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,ractedfor 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 i n n o v a t i o n s t l i i ~took p l a c e a f r e r t h e s e p a r a t i o n ¥.)l V, c t
Chadic from t h e remainder of t h e f a m i l y , b u t c e r t a i n l y i l l L J-'.I;LS docu-
mented h e r e must b e r e c o n c i l e d w i t h any b r o a d e r r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s .
The languages t o be d i s c u s s e d h e r e come from two subbranches o f
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 t u d y a r e g i v e n i n ( 2 a - b ) .

(2) a. Bole group2

These two groups of languages r e p r e s e n t t h e most widely d i v e r g e n t

subbranches o f West Chadic ( s e e Kewman 1 9 7 ~ and
) ~ f o r t h e ~ o s pt a r t
4
t h e y a r e not i n g e o g r a p h i c a l c o n t a c t . One can t h e r e f o r e ; j u s t i f ' i a b l y

2~lso p a r t of t h e Bole group a r e Tangale and P e r o , b o t h 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 B o l a n c i and
ITgamo ( c f . Kewman 1965 f o r ~ a h a ) . I d i d n o t have a c c e s s V . t oa n y graranati-
c a t m a t e r i a l s on t h e s e l a n g u a g e s , but d a t a from w o r d l i s t s do n o t a p p e a r
t o v i t i a t e t h e system r e c o n s t r u c t e d h e r e . Kanakuru d a t a c o n s i d e r e d were
from Uewman ( 1 9 7 4 ) . Data on o t h e r languages a r e from my own f i e l d n o t e s .
Lukas (1970-72) was c o n s u l t e d i n some c a s e s for- J o l a n c i , m a i n l y t o con-
f i r m f a c t s i n my own Bolanci d a t a .
or d i s c u s s i o n of Mgizirn v ~ r b s ,s e e Schuh ( 1 9 7 1 ) . However I now
look a t Ngizim v e r b c l a s s e s i n a somewhat d i f f e r e n t way t h a n w a s p r e -
r e n t e d 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 ) .
'+TheUgi zim now r ~ n i g h l - ~ ct h~trl 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 v e r b a l systems o f l a n -
Auages o f ~ u eL-J;) Groups a r e t:^e r e s u l t o f s h a r ~ dre+,ei L i d i . jrdni r'r\~Lo-

West Chadic r a t h e r t h a n o f chance o r c o n t i n u e d c o n t a c t . A n apparent

major omission from a comparative s t u d y of West Chadic i s Hausa. The
c a t e g o r i z a t i o n of Hausa v e r b s 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 r e -
c o n s t r u c t e d h e r e f o r West Chadic, a s a c o r p a r i s o n 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 s y n c h r o n i c Hausa system can b e h i s t o r i c a l l y r e c o n c i l e d w i t h 'uhe r e -
c o n s t r u c t e d West Cliadic system, a d i s c u s s i o n o f 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 .
R e t u r n i n g t o Newman's (1975) r e c o n s t r u c t i o n f o r Proto-Chadic, the
f o l l o w i n g p o i n t s o f comparison w i t h t h e p r e s e n t r e c o n s t r u c t i o n can b e
made :
a ) I am i n agreement w i t h Newman i n r e j e c t i n g t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h e
l e x i c a l form o f v e r b s c o n s i s t s of an a b s t r a c t b a s e Yrom which a l l a c t u a l
r e a l i z a t i o n s of v e r b s a r e d e r i v e d . I n p a r t i c u l a r , we a g r e e i n s a y i n g
t h a t t h e f i n a l vowel of a v e r b 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 v e r b s 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 e c o n s t r u c -
t i o n d i s a g r e e i n e s s e n t i a l l y two ways: f i r s t , i n lay reconstruction,
t o n e s o f v e r b s 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 v e r b s , f i n a l l e x i c a l vowel i s a l s o p r e d i c t a ' b l e . The system I h a v e
r e c o n s t r u c t e d f o r West Chadic i s g i v e n i n ( 3 ) :
(3) F i n a l vowel c l a s s e s : *-a f o r CV and ¤C v e r b s

. .
Tone : ...
t o n e s on c i l l v e r b s a r e ( L O
,.
.
) ni , 1.-e low t o n ? - on
a l l s y l l a . b l e s b u t t h e l a s t ; monosyllabic v e r b s ar?
a l l h i g h t o n e s i n c e t h e y have o n l y a l a s t " s y l - i a b l e

Although t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d f i n a l vowels have been r e p l a c e d by soiae o t h e r

vowel o r even l o s t c o m p l e t e l y i n some of t h e modern l a n g u a g e s , t h e r e i s
never more t h a n 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 i g h vowel and a low one.

1.3. What a r e t h e v e r b s b e i n g c l a s s i f i e d ? Many Chadic l a n g u a g e s 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
a g r e e , however, t h a t Proto-Chadic can be r e c o n s t r u c t e d a s h a v i n g had
o n l y 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 v e r b 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 p r o d u c t i v e u s e o f v a r i o u s
processes involving p e r i p h r a s i s o r verb derivation.
The r e c o n s t r u c t e d Proto-Chadic a s p e c 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 t u d y f o c u s s e s i n v o l v e
d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e form of t h e v e r b stem--normally differences i n f i n a l
vowel and sometimes i n t o n e . The fundamental q u e s t i o n i s , t h e n , can a n y

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 f o l l o w i n g :
Before pause Word-initial Medial
!i/ /U/ /i/ /ii/ /a/ /uu/ / a / i s a c o v e r symbol
f o r [ i ], [U], [k 1, t h e
c h o i c e - o f which i s con-
a a/ d i t i o n e d by a d j a c e n t
segments
6 2 = light syllable, -
S = heavy s y l l a b l e (~e-wman1 9 7 2 ) . Light s y l l a -
b l e s have a s h o r t vowel n u c l e u s , heavy s y l l a b l e s have a l o n g 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 p a r e n t h e s i z e d s i n c e b o t h t h e Bole
and Bade groups must be r e c o n s t r u c t e d a s having had v o w e l - i n i t i a l r o o t s ,
though some o f t h e modprn languages 1 ike Bolanci b e g i n a l l words w i t h a
consonant ( t , h i n consonant, i:: '? in words wi%h o r i g i n a l i n i t , i a L vowel ) .
one of t h e b a s i c " a s p e c t forms b e c o n s i d e r e d a s " l e x i c a l , i . e . r a o s t
~asi~~'f'7
While many d e t a i l s remain t o be l e a r n e d 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 p r o b a b l y o n l y
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 , s u b j u n c t i v e , and
imperfective. 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 i n f o r m a t i o n which i s a n p r e d i c r a d l e and
frequently neutralized i n other aspects. T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n 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 v e r b i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e a s p e c t w i l l end i n -LW or -6,
whereas a l l v e r b s end i n -i i n t h e subjunctive, e.g. perfective ns
\
masu
/
'I bought ', ng 'I caught ' , but subjunctive
\\/
na masi 'that
I buy', ni 'that I catch'.
S e c t i o n 2 of t h i s p a p e r i s devoted t o e v i d e n c e 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 a s p e c t form of v e r b s i n West Chadic, which w i l l l i k e -
wise be e v i d e n c e f o r t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d c l a s s e s given i n ( 3 ) . Section 3
g i v e s 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 w i t h 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-
c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e i m p e r f e c t i v e i s more complicated and w i l l n o t "be
attempted h e r e .

2. Reconstruction 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 g i v e n i n (4) w i t h 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 the citations i n (5) a r e t h e v e r b a s - u s e d when irnme-
diate1.y f o l l o w e d by t h e p e r f e c t i v e s u f f i x , r e c o n s t r u c t e d 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 p e r f e c -
t i v e a s p e c t v e r b s i n t h e Bade group a r e g i v e n i n ( 7 ) w i t h 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 v e r b s i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e
a s p e c t a s t h e y appear b e f o r e p a u s e . They can be aanalyzed as h a v i n g 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; or -6 i n ~ u w a i l ' ) , which i s p r o b a b l y cognate w i t h t h e d o l e g r o u p
*ko. I n Bade and Ngizim, t h i s s u f f i x -W combines w i t h a stem f i n a l
high vowel t o g i v e /U/.

( 7 ) Vowel c l a s s e s : C-
$C-
-sc- } -a;

-U
-U ( U -F [ a , U , i] depending on
phonetic context)

Tone S : verbs i n t h e perfective a l l f a l l i n t o t h e

pattern (LO ...
) H i ( b u t s e e remark on Duwai
monosyllabic v e r b s below)

(8) Bade ( ~ a s h u a ) Ngizim Duwai

cu jU jU jL& go'
(taw) (taw) tuwo 'eat'
--- mLwJ \
mu WO
f
'take'
Ca
/
saw
\
saw0
/
' drink'
return'
Scu bSnU band ' cook'
kS 16 kar6 ksrd steal'
\ / 8 /Â
masu masu (1nLas6) 'buy'
Sea 1
(dh~U deriw dLGiVd 'wait f o r '
khdaW cfskaw kscfa- 'surpass '
\
nawaw
/ \
nawaw
/ ' ' '11
nuwawo !ripenf

10-
~ n Duwai, a l l v e r b s 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 *SCUwhose 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 ' ) w h i l e v e r b s 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 ' , n o ' c o u n t ' , r6 ' s t o p ' ) There a r e , how-
e v e r , a few u n e x p l a i n e d e x c e p t i o n s 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 e x p e c t *to, and. b6 ' w r e s t ; l e t , w h e r e we would
e x p e c t *&W;.
'?luvai has no d i s y l l a b i c v e r b s 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
/ \
naayu
/ \
naayo
/
' grind'
kalmd k&rn6 ksrm6 cnop'

I n Bade and Ngizim, a l l C V v e r b s b u t t h e v e r b ' g o ' have s n i ^ c e d t o

the -a c l a s s . Duwai r e t a i n s b o t h vowel c l a s s e s For CV v e r b s bldt de-
v i a t e s s l i g h t l y from t h e reconstructedtonepattern. For v e r b s where t h e
perfective suffix takes the -W; form ( c f . fn. t h,i s s y l l a b l e be-
l ~ )
longs t o t h e (LO.. . ) H i tone pattern. CV v e r b stems w i t h 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 p u r p o s e s of t o n e assignment ario
t a k e t h e same t o n e p a t t e r n a s t h o s e CVCV stems where -W; h a s been
reduced t o -6.
With t h e s l i g h t a d j u s t m e n t s j u s t mentioned, t h e f i n a l vowel and
t o n e system of Bade group l a n g u a g e s 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 e c o n s t r u c t e d f o r West Chadic.

The s u b j u n c t i v e

A d e t a i l e d r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e s u b j u n c t i v e h a s n o t been worked
o u t f o r West Chadic . As an a p p r o x i m a t i o n , one can s a y t h a t f o r m a t i o n of
t h e Proto-West Chadic s u b j u n c t i v e i n v o l v e d adding -i t o the lexical
stem w i t h r e t e n t i o n of t h e (LO ...) H i tone pattern. The coarparati-ve
data, s t r o n g l y s u g g e s t t h a t t h e s u b j u n c t i v e -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 n c l u d i n g i t s f i n a l vowel. For -U stems, t h e -U

was e l i d e d l e a v i n g o n l y -i, but f o r -a stems, -a was r e t a i n e d t o

g i v e a diphthong -ai (> -e i n some l a n g u a g e s ) . However, a number of
modern l a n g u a g e s simply r e p l a c e b o t h l e x i c a l -U and ~a by -i SO

the e x a c t form o f t h e p r o t o - s u b j u n c t i v e must remain undetermined a t t h i s

time .
A number of languages have d i f f e r e n t Locr i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e from
t h o s e i n t h e p e r f e c t i v e , b u t i n b o t h t h e 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 (LO ...) H i pattern f o r the subjunctive i s
strong. Even where t h i s p a t t e r n i s n o t used t o d a y , t h e e v i d e n c e 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 t h e (LO ...) H i TIC,'.!(^^ a r e secondary and do
n o t r e p r e s e n t in o r i gi n a l l e x i c a l di s t i n c t i o n .
5 ) %lanci Karekare
C ii / u u t1.1-
f .
tuu-
/
' eat '
Caa saa-
/
saa-
/
;hee - ' dri-nk'
wodu -
/ / ,
) a r-
/
;cu/g yad - 'bite'
so1- dik-
/
buru -
/
'build'
Scaa khrnaa- kalaa- kwald-) 'hear'
\ /
pataa- fitga- (fat-) 'go o u t '
SCu don&- din&- 'sev'
mbiald- mbblmd- ' bury '
Comparing t h e Bole group vowel c l a s s e s w i t h 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 class t o the
-ii/-U/@ *-U class. Of
t h e languages examined f o r t h i s paper Gera, Geruma, Galambu, a n d 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 o n l y i n C V v e r b s . A l l other
v e r b s i n t h e s e languages have been s h i f t e d t o t h e class.
-ii/-U/@
Final -ii i s found o n l y w i t h monosyllabic v e r b s i n some l a n -
guages, b u t t h e i m p o r t a n t f a c t i s t h a t no language h a s a c o n t r a s t be-
tween v e r b s e n d i n g i n -ii and v e r b s e n d i n g 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 or -U depending on p h o n o l o g i c a l c o n t e x t , e . g . in
Bolanci t h e v e r b 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 ' h e b i t ' "but
/ \
~ o l - w o o - ~ i i 'he
built' ) .
Verbs i n t h e Bole group have t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d t o n e p a t t e r n
( L o . . . ) H i w i t h one i m p o r t a n t e x c e p t i o n : v e r b s which a r e r e f l e x e s o f
the reconstructed *&c6 t y p e have i n i t i a l h i g h t o n e i n a l l t h e lan-
guages e x c e p t ~ a r e k a r e . However, I p o i n t e d o u t above t h a t no modern

' ~ u k a s (l970/71:270-7l)does n o t mention t h a t v e r b s of t h i s c l a s s c a n

appear w i t h o u t s t e m - f i n a l -U. The s p e a k e r s t h a t I worked with c o u l d
pronounce a l l such v e r b s w i t h -U but nf-vcr did f o r t h e f i r s t form vo-
l u n t p p r e d 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-final - U , but all vi'rbs o f
-the CVCu/$ class, r o g a r d l P S S 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, a n d
indeed some languages never have a stem f i n a l vowel f o r such v e r b s . It
t h e r e f o r e must have been a' f e a t u r e o f t h e proto-language o f t h e Bole
group t h a t s t e m - f i n a l -U c o u l d b e d e l e t e d where such d e l e t i o n w a s
phonologically permissible. Deletion of f i n a l -6 gave ne'w CVC stems
which followed t h e c a n o n i c a l (LO ...) H i p a t t e r n and a u t o m a t i c a l l y s h i f t e d .
t o h i g h t o n e a l o n g w i t h CV s t e m s . I n t h o s e stems where f i n a l -U'S, for
p h o n o l o g i c a l r e a s o n s , were n o 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 b y
s p e a k e r s a s b e i n g e p e n t h e 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 c a n o n i c a l ver'c
stem t o n e p a t t e r n , w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t even CVCu v e r b s were g i v e n h i g h
tone. CVCaa stems were n o t s u b j e c t t o f i n a l vowel d e l e t i o n n o r were
-
SCu stems ( b e c a u s e o f t h e i m p o s s i b l e s y l l a b l e t y p e s which would r e s u l t ) ,
and t h e s e c l a s s e s of v e r b s 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 e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e h i g h t o n e i n C V C ( U ) s t e m s
comes from v e r b s used w i t h feminine s i n g u l a r and w i t h p l u r a l . s u b j e c t s .
When a v e r b h a s a second o r t h i r d p e r s o n feminine s i n g u l a r s u b j e c t , a
suffix -aC' ( C ' = f o l l o w i n g c o n s o n a n t ) 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 s u b j e c t stem. When t h e s u b j e c 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 '~ aCn d
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) ddw-~bo-~ii 'he beat '

db~-ak-kbo-~ii she b e a t '
\ / \
d~w-an-~oo-~ii t h e y beat'

f a l l i n g t o n e 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 i g h t o n e on o r i g i n a l *CV& v e r b s must b e an i n n o -
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 o f t h e Bole group gave h i g h t o n e t o
t h e s e v e r b s , o r t h a t Karekare h a s relowered t h e h i g h t o n e 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 w i t h t h e dominant Lo H i p a t t e r n of t h e
l a r g e m a j o r i t y o f v e r b s . Some languages o t h e r t h a n Karekare have a s m a l l
number of CVCu v e r b s w i t h i n i t i a l low t o n e . I n most c a s e s 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 o n g vowel o r geminate consonants w i t h r e t e n t i o n of t h e o r i g i n a l t o n e ,
e . g . Gera hal-m{ ' h e got w e t ' ( 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 s u - b j u n c t i v e f o r m a t i o n f o r each
language a r e g i v e n followed by c o n s i d e r a t i o n s For a r e c . - r s i r ~ ^ . L i o i For
'
t h e s u b j u n c t i v e i n t h a t group. Examples a r e t h e same i / e r d s a s z -n o s e
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 v e r b s r e p l a c e t h e l e x i c a l vowel w i t h -a and add

-i; t h e t o n e i s low
&h/@
v e r b s end i n -i
Lo H i
g ~ a aand S C a v e r b s end i n -e
Karekare: CV v e r b s r e p l a c e t h e l e x i c a l vowel w i t h -a arid add
-i a s a s e p a r a t e s y ^ l l a b l e ; t o n e s a r e Lo Hi
C V C g v e r b s become c<c&~
/.
S ~ a aand ZCU v e r b s end i n -11; t o n e s a r e Lo H i
Kirf i : C V I V v e r b s become C V ~ V ~( yVi =
~ l e x i c a l vowel; t o n e s
are H i ~ 0 ' ~
%!(V) v e r b s 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 n o t p r e s e r v e a C V C a c l - a s s )
-
S C u v e r b s end i n -3'; t o n e s a r e Lo H i

(10) Bolanci Karekare Kirfi

cu tli tar ti i 7 1 'eat '
Caa s>i
'> /
S 21 'drink'
5cu/O w0d i 'bite'
sol i dike 'build'
5~aa kUm& kali' 'hear '

-S C u
fat ^ 'go o u t '
doncfe dhrfi ' sew'
rnbiale bury'

For many monosyll~abicv e r b s t h e evidence s u g g e s t s 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 n c l u d i n g vowel. In Kirfi, the

^ ~ u k a s (1970/71:248) c a l l s t h i s a s p e c t t h e "Pr:iteritumU. D a t a on
monosyllabic v e r b s come from Lul~cas. The remainder o f t h e d a t a a r e from
my ova n o t e s but a g r e e w i t h those o f Lukas.
"one v e r b , *Le--&
\
'see'
/
, 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 v e r b i s n e e ^ c .
added -i a s s i m i l a t e d t o t h e p r e c e d i n g vowel ( t h e Gera system i s s i m i -
l a r ) , w h i l e i n B o l a n c i and K a r e k a r e , t h e ii/uu of the perfective stem
was r e p l a c e d 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 w i t h v e r b s having l e x i c a l -a, which comprise t h e m a j o r i t y of
monosyllabic v e r b s .
For d i s y l l a b i c v e r b s , t h e e v i d e n c e 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 l a n g u a g e s have o n l y 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 with t h e -U/@ class.
Bolanci and Karekare each have two vowel c l a s s e s i n t h e s u b j u n c t i v e ( a s
does Ngamo, whose system i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t o f ~ o l a n c i ) ,b u t w h e r e v e r
Bolanci has f i n a l -i Karekare h a s 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 e x p l a n a t i o n 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
l a n g u a g e s , S ~ a aand SCUv e r b s f a l l i n t o t h e same s u b j u n c t i v e vowel c l a s s .
Arriving a t a h i s t o r i c a l explanation f o r t h e present s u b j u n c t i v e
t o n a l system i s a s p r o b l e m a t i c 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 w i t h B o l a n c i , w h i l e Galambu and Gera p a t t e r n w i t h
Kirfi. I n no c a s e a r e s u b j u n c t i v e t o n e s n o t 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 v e r b 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.

( 11) Bade ( ~ a s h u a:) a l l v e r b s r e p l a c e t h e l e x i c a l vowel w i t h -.1";

tones a r e (LO ... ) Hi
Ngizim: a l l v e r b s r e p l a c e t h e l e x i c a l vowel wi-Lh -L;
CV v e r b s have H i t o n e i f t h e consonant i s v o i c e -
l e s s , Lo t o n e i f t h e consonant i s v o i c e d ; o t h e r
v e r b s have a l l Lo t o n e s 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 o n e s o t h e r w i s e '.
Duwai : -i i s added t o t h e l e x i c a l form (-L elides
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 i v e a diphthong d i ) ; t o n e s a r e
(LO ... ) Hi
 Bade ( ~ a s h u a )
' ea'.
"ike
' drink'
'return '
' cook'
'steal'
' buy '
'wait f o r '
' exceed '
'ripen '
k h m i ' sho? '
\
naayi
/
'grind'

Only Duwai adds t h e s u b j u n c t i v e -i d i r e c t l y t o t h e l e x i c a l stem,

i n c l u d i n g i t s f i n a l vowel. If t h i s i s t h e system t o b e 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 n a , l l e x i c a l vowel by -i in
a l l v e r b s i n Bade and Ngizim can b e e x p l a i n e d by a n a l o g i c a l e x t e n s i o n
from -U verbs where t h e -U i s e l i d e d by t h e -i) t o -a verbs.
Numerically, t h e -U v e r b s a r e many t i m e s more common t h a n t h e -a
verbs .
The (LO . . . ) H i t o n e p a t t e r n seems t o b e r e c o n s t r u c t a b l e i n t h e
s u b j u n c t i v e f o r t h i s group. Ngizim and some Bade d i a l e c t s hav? t o n e
p a t t e r n s o t h e r t h a n t h i s one, b u t i n Ngizim t o n e s 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 t h e y a r e determined by i n i t i a l
consonant t y p e ( v e r b s 'beginning i n v o i c e d o b s t r u e n t s a r e low, o t h e r s
high). S i n c e t o n e 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 a c -
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 subjunctive i s
almost c e r t a i n l y a secondary phenomenon i n t h o s e Bade group l a n g u a g e s
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 h a n he p e r f e c t i v e . T h i s i s n o t a s p e c i f i c propert,y
of t h e s u b j u n c t i v e .
b. The Kanakuru system

Newrnan ( 1 9 7 4 ) h a s g i v e n a complete d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e v e r b a l s y s -
tem o f Kanakuru, a language o f 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 t h a n any o f them a r e t o e a c h
other. The Kanakuru system shows l i t t l e resemblance t o t h a t r e c o n s t r u c -
ted here. I n p a r t i c u l a r , it does n o t have t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s n o t e d i n
( 3 ) between f i n a l vowel c l a s s and stem shape n o r does it u s e an i n v a -
riant (LO . . . ) 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-
e v e r , comparative evidence a l l o w s u s t o d i s c o v e r t h e i n n o v a ~ i o n st h a t
have t a k e n p l a c e i n Kanakuru.
Kanakuru v e r b s have two f i n a l vowel c l a s s e s : -i and -e , e.g.
\
y i n
/
'stop' , kap& 'sow' . Hewman (1975:78-79) e q u a t e s t h e s e vowel
c l a s s e s w i t h 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 g l a n c e t h i s seems c o r r e c t . However, when s u b j e c t e d t o c l o s e
s c r u t i n y it does not h o l d up i n i m p o r t a n t d e t a i l s . Frajzyngier (1.976)
g i v e s us t h e key f o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g how t h e Kanakuru system matches t h e
r e s t o f t h e Bole group. In Frajzyngier'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- w h i l e v e r b s w i t h 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 c o n s o n a n t ) .
Thus v e r b s i n -i a r e those of t h e s t r u c t u r e h, and verbs i n -e are
t h o s e o f t h e s t r u c t u r e %V. I n f a c t t h e v e r b r o o t s which F r a j z y n g i e r
a n a l y z e s a s CVcc- never a p p e a r w i t h a geminate consonant, b u t t h e e v i -
dence t h a t t h e consonants i n q u e s t i o n d e r i v e h i s t o r i c a l l y from gemi-
n a t e s i s v e r y 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 s y n c h r o n i c ana-
lysis. 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 o f v e r b 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 , h a s been a common p r o c e s s
i n t h i s group. Second, sound changes w i t h i n Kanakuru a l l o w u s t o under-
s t a n d what happened t o p r e v i o u s l y geminate consonants. Single stops
i n t e r v o c a l i c a l l y have weakened t o c o r r e s p o n d i n g s o n o r a n t s , e . g . *&J'
> Lr3' 'chew' ( s e e Newman 1 9 7 0 ) . T h i s sound change d i d n o t a f f e c t gemi-
n a t e c o n s o n a n t s , but s i n c e t h e r e w a s no l o n g e r a c o n s t r a s t between gemi-
n a t e and simple c o n s o n a n t s , t h e geminates were s i m p l i f i e d t o s i m p l e con-
s o n a n t s -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). Frajsyngier (1976:202-203) assumes t h a t
f o r a l l v e r b s of t h e shape CVCe, t h e second C was o r i g i n a : x r g:miiia'e.
However, I b e l i e v e a t l e a s t some CVCe v e r b s 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 v e r b s w i t h t h e i r c o g n a t e s i n
Bolanci i n b o t h t h e p e r f e c t i v e and s u b j u n c t i v e forms:

13) Bolanci Kanakuru

Perfective Subjunctive
'refuse' kdd- kh3' khd
'spit" tUf6- thi' tub:
' sweep' d&& - dame darn;
I cookf dinkd &nk& cringe
' sow' kapp6- kipp& kaP&

It i s immediately a p p a r e n t from t h e s e d a t a t h a t "ohe f i n a l vowels o f 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, b u t t o t h e Bolanci s u b j u n c t i v e .
So f a r t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f Kanakuru h a s c e n t e r e d on d i s y l l a b i c v e r b s .
Kanakuru has no " t r u e " monosyllabic v e r b s , b u t t h e r e a r e v e r b s 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 v e r b s w i t h l o s s of
an i n t e r v o c a l i c consonant, e . g . tai 'go' < *taw < *tar; (.P?.

Hausa taf;), b u 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 v e r b s , 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 w i t h normal d i s y l l a b i c v e r b s . Again, a comparison
w i t h Bolanci i s i n s t r u c t i v e :

( 14) Bolanci Kanakuru

Perfective Subjunctive
'eat' ti'i- tii tui
'return' /Â
maa - mA i mai

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 o f t h e s e CVV v e r b s w i t h t h e
vowel of t h e Proto-Charh'c -a class. Tn t h e c a s e of r e f l e x e s o f t r u e
monosyll a b i c v e r b s , however, t h e p r o p e r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n wi-th t h e F r o t o -
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
subjunctive -i added t o t h e o r i g i n a l l e x i c a l stem, which i n c l u d e s 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 s u b j u n c t i v e stem a s i t s l e x i c a l stem remains t o b e d i s c o v e r e d .
Tones of Kanakuru v e r b s have n o t y e t been mentioned. Kanakuru
v e r b s f a l l i n t o two t o n e 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 o f t h e i n i t i a l consonant: i f t h e verb begins i n a voiced
s t o p it i s H i Lo; i f it b e g i n s 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
t o n e s a r e Lo H i ; i f it b e g i n s i n a s o n o r a n t , t o n e i s n o t p r e d i c t a b l e .
These t o n e p a t t e r n s a r e s u b j e c t t o c o n s i d e r a b l e c o n t e x t u a l m o d i f i c a t i o n ,
however, s o t h a t t h e y must b e looked upon a s u n d e r l y i n g t o n e s upon which
morphophonemic r u l e s o p e r a t e , n o t a s some s o r t o f c a n o n i c a l p h o n e t i c
shape f o r v e r b s , which t h e (Lo . . . ) H i p a t t e r n i n o t h e r languages appears
t o be. 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 simply s a y t h a t
a l l t h e evidence s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e p r e s e n t t o n a l system f o r v e r b s i n
Kanakuru i n v o l v e s c o n s i d e r a b l e m o d i f i c a t i o n o f 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 v e r b stems i n Proto-^est Chadic

were r e c o n s t r u c t e d , u s i n g d a t a from a number o f 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 v e r b s w e r e
reconstructed, a -U c l a s s and an -a class, but i n contrast 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 n o t t o ap-
p e a r f r e e l y w i t h v e r b stems o f any s t r u c t u r e . The r e c o n s t r u c t e d -a
c l a s s i n c l u d e d o n l y v e r b s of t h e shape CV o x - 3 ~though
~ v e r b s of t h e -U

c l a s s could have any o f 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 e c o n s t r u c t i o n , t o n e f o r v e r b s 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 f o l l o w a p r e d i c t a b l e (LO ...) H i pattern.
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
g i v e n i n t h e l i g h t of t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d 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-etterV 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 'ITS -2
(0 I -2 (0 .r-l
'ri '(09 ' a *
g,(D
(U
'ric
'(0Q
'riG
- * /<S -3
% G
Q i"^ 2 04 3
,Q- Q -
 ~1-13
l
'03 -P^
e
I C H C13-l
/g
C k
0)
Q
.3
Q
(U
5: ~1-1
'E!,
C - C - U- 03
 .-
'3
I-]
'3
!-l
8
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

ri '3
1-1 I-]
? /(D
-
ft
*.1-1
 W 0 a) F ni a:'
^d a m
0)
v4
T-i
;4
c6
0 U
Ej
:3 kd 1.1-1
N
Ñ
:3
Q !:l;
 REFERENCES

F r a j z y n g i e r , Zygmunt. 1976. "Rule i n v e r s i o n i n Chadic: an e x p l a n a t i o n " ,

Stud. Afr. Ling. 7 :195-210.
J u n g r a i t h m a y r , Herrmann. i n press. "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 197b l ? .
Florence.
Lukas, Johannes. 1970/71, 1971/72. "Die P e r s o n a l i a und d a s p r i m a r e
Verb i m Bolanci ( ~ o r d n i ~ e r i e n,) A
" f r . U . ~ b e r s e e54 :237-86 ; 55 :114-38.
Newman, P a u l . 1965. "A b r i e f n o t e 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. " S y l l a b l e weight a s a p h o n o l o g i c a 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 e x t e n s i o n s 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 A f r i c a n Language Monograph
S e r i e s 9 . Leeds.
. 1975. " ~ r o t o - ~ h a d i vc e r b c l a s s e s " , Folia Orientalta [ ~ r a k 6 w ]
1 6 :65-84.
. 1977. "Chadic c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s " , Afroasiatie
Ling. 5(1):1-42.
.
i n p r e s s . "The f o r m a t i o n o f t h e i m p e r f e c t i v e v e r b stem i n
Chadic", A f r . U . fibersee.
P a r s o n s , F. W . 1960161. "The v e r b a l system i n Hausa" , Afr. U. Ubersee
44:l-36.
Schuh, R u s s e l l G. 1971. "Verb forms and v e r b a s p e c t s i n Kgizim" ,in
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 ,
" Afr. U. Ubersee 58:
106-119.
. 1975. I1B6de, y g 6 : d j i n and D6:ai i n t h e P o l y g l o t t a Africans" ,
Afr. Lang./Langues africaines 1:290-99.
 Margaret G . S k i n n e r

The p r e s e n c e of grammatical gender i n some 'sut tnot a l l Cr.a-d.ic _an-

guages h a s been o f 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 t u d y o f t h e fanlly.
Many l i n g u i s t s have u s e d 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 f a m i l y , o r , i n t h e absence of gyamma'cic?.!
gender, i t s exclusion. i n an e a r l y l i n g u i s t i c use o f t h e t e r m " ~ a m i r i c " ,
Lepsi.us (1863) i n c l u d e d Hausa among t h o s e A f r i c a n non-Semitic lanm:.iges
which d i s t i n g u i s h gender. Nearly a c e n t u r y l a t e r , Lukas ( l 9 3 6 /' used
p r i m a r i l y t h e p r e s e n c e 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 l a n g u a g e s , 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 r e c o g n i z e d a s Chadic) which,
a c c o r d i n g t o him, c o n s t i t u t e d a s e p a r a t e grouping because c f t h e a b s e n c e
of grammatical g e n d e r .
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 p u r e l y t y p o l o g i c a l c r i t e r i a h a s
been w i d e l y d i s c o u n t e d s i n c e t h a t time . l Y e t , though n o t 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 c o n s i d e r t h e wide range o f

* P a l a , c a l l e d f d u c ~ k by
~ s p e a k e r s o f the l a n g u a g e , i s sgoken by
some 20,000 N i g e r i a n s c o n c e n t r a t e d i n e i g h t v i l l a g e s s o u t h e a s t of K i n g i ,
Bauchi S t a t e . A f t e r t h e i n i t i a l d i s c o v e r y t h a t 'god' took feminine gen-
d e r a t t r a c t e d me t o t h e language, I s t a y e d t e n months in 1973-7b r e h e a r -
ching Pa'a , funded by Fulbright-Hays D o c t o r a l ~ e l l o w s h i pGECT 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 c h a p t e r of t h e P h i Kappa P h i honorary s o c i e t y .
This p a p e r has b e n e f i t e d from t h e h e l p f u l s u g g e s t i o n s o f 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 ; ? s t i o n s 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 a u t h o r i s , of c o u r s e , r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the e r r o r s which remain.
'Viz. Greenberg (1966: h 5 ) : "Here f i n Lukas], once a g a i n , w e meet t h e
t y p o l o g i c a l t h i n k i n g which has produced such confusion i n r e g a r d t o ] i n -
. , - r e l a t i o n s h i p s . Lakas e x c l u d e s iarig~iagr-Swhich do n o t have s e x
2 3 :;"-.i~
gender.
degrees of gender d i s t i n c t i o n made i n Chadic l a n g u a g e s .
A t t h e one extreme, languages such a s G i s i g a ( ~ u k a s1970:17) make
no gender d i s t i n c t i o n s o f any k i n d . S i m i l a r l y i n Margi ( ~ o f f m a n n1963:
66-67), s e x i s n o t a morphological c a t e g o r y , though t h e r e a r e o c c a s i o n a l
words which r e f e r t o t h e male o r female o f a s p e c i e s . Tera 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 t a k e
the t l i n k e r v e r s u s what Newman c a l l s t h e "I" l i n k e r (Newman 1970:154-
55). Other languages such a s Ngizim ( ~ c h u h1972) d i s t i n g u i s h s e x gender
of a n i m a t e s , w i t h a b i t o f f u z z i n e s 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 , w h i l e lumping a l l i n a n i m a t e s i n t o t h e c a t e g o r y "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 e x , d i s t i n g u i s h e s words which r e f e r
t o f e m a l e s , lumping a l l o t h e r s i n t o t h e c a t e g o r y "masculine" f o r demon-
s t r a t i v e and pronoun agreement.
I n l a n g u a g e s such a s Hausa and, a s we s h a l l s e e , P a ' a , words w i t h
no semantic s e x a r e a s s i g n e d masculine o r f e m i n i n e gender i n a seemingly
arbitrary fashion. As P a r s o n s (1960, 1961, 1963) h a s d e a l t e x h a u s t i v e l y
w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n of gender i n Hausa, I s h a l l r e f e r t o Hausa o n l y f o r
comparative p u r p o s e s 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 h a s what I would d e s c r i b e a s a f u l l gender s y s t e m , w i t h t h e
gender of t h e noun governing t h e c h o i c e from two s e t s o f p o s s e s s i v e 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 p e r s o n p r e v e r b a l pronouns. Addition-
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 f e m i n i n e nouns
though, l i k e Hausa, t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l common e x c e p t i o n s . 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
p o s s e s s i o n i s e x p r e s s e d i n P a l a by t h e noun p o s s e s s e d f o l l o w e d by t h e
p o s s e s s o r , w i t h no p h o n o l o g i c a l change i n e i t h e r .
I s h a l l begin 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 with t h e s e t of
p o s s e s s i v e pronouns s u f f i x e d t o masculine nouns f o l l o w e d b y t h o s e s u f -
f i x e d t o f e m i n i n e nouns.
 S u f f i x e d P o s s e s s i v e Pronouns

S u f f i x e d t o Masculine Noun S u f f i x e d t o Feminine tJoun

Singula-r Plura1 Singular Plural
/ \ / \
1s t -nan 1 -nig -YaYl - y i ~

As can be s e e n , 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 p e r s o n pronouns, m a s c u l i n e , f e m i n i n e , 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-si f o r ' h i s ( o r h e r ) house' and ' h i s ( o r h e r )
chest', respectively. The n f o r masculine and y f o r feminine dicho-
tomy i s a p p a r e n t 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 p o s s e s s i v e pronouns ( 'mine, y o u r s ' , etc. ) . 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 h e r e t h e r e i s a d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n
t h e masculine and feminine t h i r d p e r s o n 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 c a t i v e - shows up t o
d i s t i n g u i s h t h e feminine p o s s e s s o r . h he voi.celess l a t e r a l f r i c a t i v e
a p p e a r s i n o t h e r paradigms combined w i t h a t o mark f e m i n i n e , and w i t h
i t o mark p l u r a l i t y . )

he a r c e n t ' indicat,es mid t o n e , though the t o n e 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 p r e c e d i n g vowel.
 Independent Possessive Pronouns

Masculine Referent Feminine Referent

Singular Plural Singular Plural
AYAY i Ly imi
ayu
I . " . ' . '> / ^ \
aniani 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 P a f a ,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 na na ndsrJ' c3'ntA ka
v '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.

ease in typing, the voiceless lateral fricative [ Â ± is written

3 For

as tl, the voiced [ t o ] as dl. They are of course unit phonemes, as

are the prenasal consonants mb, nd, n j , etc.
 F r e v e r b a l Pronouns
--
Completed Continuous
Singular Plural Singular Flor a 1
1 \ / \
mana iT&na

[vb].

impers. a4
In this set, i marks feminine and p l u r a l , w h i l e U and. a a r e found.
i n masculine a n d / o r 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, w i t h few e x c e p t i o n s , 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 t h a n a, i n d i p h t h o n g s , and i n r e s o n a n t c o n s o n a n t s .
There a r e , however, a s i s t h e c a s e 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 p h o n o l o g i c a l grounds, such t h a t , p o l y s y l l a b 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 with
-i, and p o l y s y l l a b i c nouns which end i n any o t h e r vowel, d i p h t h o n g , o r
consonant, add t h e p l u r a l s u f f i x -aani, w i t h o r w i t h o u t t h e fina.1
vowel. A l l monosyllabic nouns form t h e i r p l u r a l s w i t h t h e -aani s'affix.

p--

he impersonal pronoun is a s u s p e c t e d H a w ? b o r r o v i n g , though i n

common usage i n P a ' a .
'"I'ne second p e r s o n p l u r a l completed p r e v e r b a l pronoun i s a d i s c o n z i -
nuous one, s u r r o u n d i n g t h e v e r b w i t h o r w i t h o u t i t s a t t a c h e d pronoun
o'bje':t. T f a noun o b j e c t f o l l o w s , t h e f i n a l - -ni i s n e v e r 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.iousi s a
redundant t e n s e - a s p e c t 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 sas much i nf'ormat, i o n .
 P a ' a Nouns

P o l y s y l l a b i c Feminine Nouns P o l y s y l l a b i c Masculine Nouns

Singular Plural Gloss Singular Plural Glos S

taka f tak:!' ' arrow ' bimi m birniyaan; ' ashes '
dlh?;rft&a f dl&rfthmi 'bee' baftalti m b i ~ i l t i y a a n ' i 'bark'
'breast '
f hifiybl; 'dish' jknk:!' m
\ l
finkiy&ini/ ' cooking
jinkaani pot '
'root '

toad'
'rat'

Gender E x c e p t i o n s
(plurals regular)
v 3 / <."I
sila m Sili I axe I rangasi f r&ng&kyaan^. 'mudfish'
j &a m jam:!' 'beans ' \
vagwe
I
f v>gw&y$an^. 'thorn'
\ /
ciri m cirl 'moon, month'
k00 t A m k00ti 'shoe I

gaculi m gaculj' 'ulcer'

Gender and P l u r a l Exceptions

gun jUwA m gun juwaani

' / \
' special ceremonial wine '

Monosyllabi c Nouns

n a'a n\i 'a n telope '

l
naa m
l /Â I
zaa m zaani 'bow'
W& i m l
weyaani ' \
'grass '
 \
y&i m
I
yeyaani
Â¥

' mount a i n '

k@i f k&iaani 'wind'
\ / \
bii f biyaani 'bag'
bin m birdan: 'anthill'
kan f k'miank ' sauce '
.\ / \
njir m njiraani 'anus'

It s h o u l d be n o t e d t h a t t h e l i s t s , even o f e x c e p t i o ~ ~ c are
', by no n ~ & c *
e x h a u s t i v e , 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 o f P a ' 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 -cab and -ciki
which, w h i l e no l o n g e r f u l l y p r o d u c t i v e , s e r v e 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
Singular Plural Gloss Singular Plural IJ-Loss

gancgk> gancaki ' cheek' zLnc i k l

\
zencikaani
I / \
'bird'
/ I / \
gbdincaka ghdincski 'Western cob I
/
sanciki
i \
sancikaani ' cock'
rlncski rync$ki ' crab' rnhzi&ciki
\ /
muzancil=aani
 I / \
'hunter1
ndincska ndincski ' jawt
v ~ k ~ c v~~ l &
k c~a k i oribi
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 n a t u r e o f t h e -caka/-ciki element i s

found i n t h e f o l l o w i n g examples i n which p l u r a l s a r e formed withour the
suffix:

Â¥
riarcaka
i / \
fiarwi
/
' cow' samb6rciki s&ib&i 'guest'
. - ~ n c"
r - l \
ska ndhtli 'jaw' dricik: wuraani
\ / \
'leopard '
(alternative plural) / X \ . / I \
nailaclk:l ngilaani 'lizard'
I f \
If I \
l < ~ k i r ~ ~ : ~kko ik i n a a n i 'land
monitor'

T h e r e i s g e n e r a l l y n o c h a r i g ~i n nomj n i l modifier;:;, w b e t n e r t h o y
which t h e masculine nouns t a k e kaka, and t h e f e m i n i n e kaki, the
o p p o s i t e f i n a l vowel o f most s i n g u l a r m a s c u l i n e and f e m i n i n e noiins. In
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 s e , p o s s i b l y 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 c o n c l u s i o n , P a ' a i s a language w i t h a f u l l y developed system of
graamatical gender, including a s e p a r a t e s e t of s u f f i x e d possessive
pronouns f o r masculine and feminine nouns, two d i s t i n c t e q u a l i z e 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 p e r -
son s i n g u l a r p r e v e r b a l pronouns. A l l o f t h i s does n o t , o f c o u r s e , make
P a ' a any more o r l e s s Chadicthan a language such a s G i s i g a o r Ngizim
which does n o t have grammatical gender b u t which h a s 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 w i t h o t h e r members o f t h e Chadic f a m i l y .

REFERENCES

Greenberg, J . H. 1966. The Languages o f Africa. Bloomington.

Hoffmann, C . 1963. A Grammar of t h e Margi Language. London.
Lepsius, C. R. 1863. Standard Alphabet for Reducing Unuritten Lan-
guages and Foreign Graphic Systems t o a Uniform Orthography i n Euro-
pean L e t t e r s , 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
C e n t r a l A f r i c a " , Africa 9:332-b9.
-- . 1970.Stud-ten zur Spraehe der Gisiga. Hamburg.
Newman, P a u l . 1970. A Grammar of Tera. Berkeley and ~ o sAngeles.
-
. 1974. The Kandkuru Language. Leeds.
P a r s o n s , F. W. 1960. "An i n t r o d u c t i o n t o gender -in Ha.usa", A f r . Lang.
~ t u d .1:117- 36.
.
1 9 6 1 . "The o p e r a t i o n o f Gender i n Hausa: t h e p e r s o n a l pro-
nouns and g e n i t i v e copula", A f y . Lanq. Stud. 2:100-24.
. 1963. "The o p e r a t i o n of gender i n Hausa: s t a b i l i z e r , depen-
d e n t 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 ,
U n i v e 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-

Neil Skinner

The f o l l o w i n g e i g h t e e n etymologies a r e an a t t e m p t t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r
d a t a a t p r e s e n t a v a i l a b l e , b o t h f o r Chadic and f o r o t h e r b r a n c h e s of
A f r o a s i a t i c , and t o s u g g e s t , v e r y t e n t a t i v e l y , what might have been t h e
etymon f o r e a c h . The e x t e n t t o which any o f t h i s may b e 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 o f Chadic l a n g u a g e s
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 o f 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 q u e s t i o n s which t h i s c o l l e c t i o n o f d a t a prompts
us t o a s k . I f g o a t s , s h e e p , and c a t t l e a l l were i n t r o d u c e d t o A f r i c a
from A s i a i n N e o l i t h i c t i m e s ( ~ u r d o c k1 9 5 9 ) , and i f Proto-Chadic was
spoken i n A f r i c a b e f o r e t h a t p e r i o d , t h e n probably o n l y t h e forms f o r
d o g 1 , ' c h i c k e n ' , and, p o s s i b l y , 'guinea-fowl' are s t r i c t l y relevant
evidence f o r Proto-Chadic.
Apart from A f r o a s i a t i c l a n g u a g e s , Kanuri ( o r ~ a z a - T e d a - ~ u b u )fi-
g u r e s i n t h e etymologies f o r ' c a m e l ' , ' c a t 1 , ' d o g ' , 'horse', 'ram', and
'sheep'. ( ~ a n u r ia l s o h a s kaji, which may b e Hausa kaajii 'chickens',
f o r 'guinea-fowl'.) Proto-Niger-Congo too figures i n those for 'chicken'
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 s e r v e d as
t h e v e h i c l e o f t r a n s f e r o f t h e name f o r t h e newly introduced, a n i m a l , 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 ~ ~ ca nlanguage. Of c o u r s e , 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 t h e 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 A f r i c a n S t u d i e s Program

f o r e n a b l i n g m r - t o t , r a v e l t o t h e Col.loquium; t o Th. Schumann a n d 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 t z r o n ,
who ki-ndl-y dr^w my a t t , @ n ti o n t o t h e D o l g o p o l ' s k i j r e f e r e n c e .
 The t r o u b l e w i t h 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 ' goat' , 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 b e i n doubt whether t h e y a r e a l l , i n f a c t , r e l a -
ted. 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
h y p o t h e s i z e d seem t o be *k-/g-, and t h i s i s u n l i k e l y t o b e a c o i n c i -
dence. S u f f i x e s a r e more v a r i a b l e , b u t t h e r e seem t o b e a s i g n i f i c a n - c
percentage of *K and * T , a s one would e x p e c t i n A f r o a s i a t i c .
So f a r , t o my knowledge, no g e n e r i c t e r m f o r ' d o m e s t i c a n i m a l ' 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 i n t e r e s - c i n g o v e r l a p p i n g w i t h 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 c o n t a i n s what a p p e a r
t o be t h e common consonants u n d e r l y i n g 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 t a k e n from s t a n d a r d s o u r c e s l i s t e d i n S k i n n e r ( i n
p r e s s ) , e x c e p t f o r t h e C u s h i t i c c i t a t i o n s , which have been t a k e n 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 d e p a r t e d
from t h e s p e l l i n g o f t h e s o u r c e , w r i t i n g e for e and o for 3 in
t h e S u r a and Tumak d a t a .
Languages from which d a t a have been quoted have been numbered a s
follows. The grouping i s based on Hoffmann ( 1 9 7 1 ) .

1. Hausa 5 a) Karekare g) Mburku

2. Gwandara b) Bole h) Kariya
3 a) Angas c) Ngamo i ) Tsagu
b) Sura d) Maha 7 Sigidi
c) Kofyar Tangale Ngizim
d) Mont01 Kanakuru Bade
e) Gerka *N. Bauchi Nancere
4. * Ron War ji Gabri
a) Fyer Pa' a Kera
b) Bokkos Sin Somrai
c) Daffo Diri Tumak
d) Sha Miya Sokoro
F-) Kulere Jimbin Barain
 Dangia Eata
Jegu Bachama
Nub i Zumu
Tera Hitkala
Ga ' anda Lmang
Jara V i zik
Bura Wandala
Margi Padnko
Kilba Glavda
*Higi Dghwede
E i g i Kamale Gvoko Ltogon e
*Fali Guduf
F . Bwagira Sukur
F. M u c e l l a *Matakam Banana
F. G i l l Hur z a
F. J i i b u Udlam

'meat, w i l d animal' ( l )

U W aa
u w a
0

u w i
U W ai
U ki ku- and - k i are affixes
b a ? n o t cognate
U U

U U t
u
i
U/ i. v o i c i n g uncert.ain
 cf. s e g u r t e 'do;rxstic animal'
and s e k a a k e y ' w i ld ani.mal.
19a t l u w i
2Ob t l a b a
"
22h i S e
27a tl i W n a
Arabic 1 i y aah 'wild 3 u l l ' ? p1

Akkadian 1 U 'wild 'bull'

Berber 1 U fi S w i l d animal'
Cushitic *1 i ) Aw ' ' c o w ' , etc.

' m e a t , w i l d a n i m a l ' (2) *k - r

he k i r y e t
5f a r a al-so has r o o t ( l )

6f/g *kw a r -
18b h a r a a l s o has r o o t ( l )
Cushitic
Gawwada g U r S e ? s u f f i x cognate with r o o t ( l )

Gobeze k U r S -
Werize k u r s e

meat, bull' (3)

5a kw a m ' cow1
8b k w a m a n 'bull '
12b k u m a
1 2c g i m o 'b u l l '
13 k o m e
151-) k u m

T. c r a v e 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

dofivsti c ariima'l B , hut rooi-, ( l ) i n p a r t , < c u l a r seems p a r t i c:ular.ly well
m?.
d^x-lamer~tcdand I,f~rq,t,c"J 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 r e n c e t o ' w i l d ' and ' d o m e s t i c ' 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 i d l -
c a t e d by a s u f f i x e d word meaning ' b u s h , savannah, d e s e r t ' , and t h i s may
be t h e e x p l a n a t i o n o f C , and C, i n some c a s e s . Roots ( l )and. ( 2 ) can
u s e f u l l y b e compared w i t h r o o t s ( l )and ( 2 ) f o r 'cow' below. For ' w i l d
animal' r o o t ( l ) ,non-Chadic h a s *l, where f o r 'cow' r o o t ( l ) ,non-
Chadic has *tl, y e t t h e Chadic e v i d e n c e seems t o p o i n t t o a common
proto-phoneme. I f , i n fact, *l i s t h e proto-Cl f o r ' w i l d a n i m a l ' (l),
then t h e s o f 1 2 a and 12c l o o k s l i k e a secondary development t h r o w i L
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 with Cushitic *jAqq ' m e a t ' , Hausa tsookaa ' m e a t ' , Musgu ksog
' m e a t ' , and Tamazight ksum 'meat'. I n root ( l ) , *W seems w e l l sup-
ported for C2 . The b of 20b i s presumably a l a t e r development. As for
C a , it seems t o have been l o s t i n Chadic.

' camel' *l-g - m

r aak U m ii
d l u k u r n o
* l a k u m i ? borrowed from Hausa b e f o r e
Hausa 1 > r occurred
d l a g a m a u

Egyptian
Semitic

T h i s i s t,ht: only one- of t,he e>ight,een c ~ t y m o l o g i e s t h a t we arc fairly

I-(
.
rt,a,iri
.
7 S a loanword. T t , u borrowing l:;--in Lorrris o f ttio oUn'r:?--
comparatively r e c e n t , n o t more t h a n 1,000 y e a r s ago. The Kano C h r o n i c l e
n o t e s t h a t t h e f i r s t r u l e r o f Kano t o own camels was A b d u l l a n i B a r j a ,
c a . 1 4 4 0 , b u t presumably t h e y were known i n t h e a r e a f o r hundreds o f
years before 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 during 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 s o u r c e , which seems p r o b a b l e , it i s s u g g e s t e d 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 B e r b e r s t h e b e a s t , from t h e Arabs
( ~ r .a l - g m l ) , i n c o r p o r a t i n g 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, kaligimo; and one s u s p e c t s t h a t
Logone borrowed from Kanuri. Perhaps t h e -0 o f some l a n g u a g e s came
from -a1 , s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t h e s e borrowed d i r e c t l y from A r a b i c . Lan-
guages f u r t h e r west more u s u a l l y have *g-l-m, e.g. Fula ngeloba.
The g e n e r a l l y c l o s e resemblance o f a l l t h e forms g i v e n i s i n s h a r p
c o n t r a s t w i t h 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 ' g u i n e a - f o w l ' , on t h e o t h e r hand, h a s forms which ( e x c e p 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 e a s y t o p o s t u l a t e t h e i n i t i a l proto-consonant. A likely
r e a s o n f o r t h i s v a r i a t i o n i n e x t e n t o f d i v e r g e n c e i s t h a t t h e Chadic-
s p e a k i n g p e o p l e s made t h e a c q u a i n t a n c e o f t h e guinea-fowl a t some p e r i o d
between t h e t i m e s t h e y domesticated t h e dog and were i n t r o d u c e d , t o t h e
camel. Thus w h i l e l e s s d i v e r g e n t 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 n o t s o 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. First,
t h e r e i s s u p p o r t f o r t h e f a i r l y r e c e n t d a t e o f Hausa 1 9 r (~ewman
1970); secondly, 1 > dl i s a p r o d u c t i v e p r o c e s s . This l a t t e r i s
o b s e r v a b l e i n languages i n Adamawa t h a t have borrowed F u l a luumo
'market' with i n i t i a l dl.
'cat'
1 a g w a a
ee 'male c a t '
2 e n ~ we
3a m s u n civet cat '
5f a
6 1 m
a m
8a i m
8b a m a n
lOa n a
lob aa n
12b i m
m S U 'civet cat'
12 c a m
l8'0 e t e ? e < a y < a w
22e m ung a m o k
22h m a g a m a k
26 ~ i i a u
Cushitic * ' A Z A HA r 'wild c a t '

Do t h e s e forms have one s o u r c e o r two? If t h e f o l l o w i n g i s c o r r e c t

t h e n one s o u r c e i s i n d i c a t e d . Kanuri h a s ngam ( i n addition t o patu,

which it l e n d s t o a number of n e i g h b o r i n g l a n g u a g e s , i n c l u d i n g a p p a r e n t l y
Fula fatu-ru). Daza a l s o h a s 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 C u s h i t i c i s c o g n a t e , it i s p o s s i b l e
that -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- ' b u s h 1 r e c o n s t r u c t e d 'by Newman and Ma.
' c h i c k e n , h e n , cock' *nD - (r)k - r

1 z a k a r a a ' cock
k aa z aa ' hen '
2 3 a k a r a ' cock'
k a j a hen'
3a d i l k i ' cock '
k i ' hen
3b d ee 1 ' cock'
kw ee ' hen '
3c d e l k o ' cock '
kw o m 'bush f o w l ' ? c o g n a t e
V
bb S 1 k o r 'hen'
k o r o g ' cock'
' hen '
' cock '
k a z i 'hen '
9 a j a ' cock '
k o l a k ' cock'
*dl- r k - ' c h i c k e n , cock'
c U k u r a n ' cock'
g a a z a

g a s k a m a n ' cock'
k a n 'chicken'
o k i r a c o c k , h e n l ( d i s t i n g u i s h e d by
tone)
12c k o k o r 'cock'
lha k u z a ' hen '
g a c a k ' cock'
1 5a mt a k a 'her.'
l5b a mt a k a hen'
16 k a g k a hen'
l7d Y U k y1 h e n ' probably n o t c o g n a t e
18b cf e k e y1 ' cock ' probably n o t cognate
cf i y e k t e1 ' hen' probably n o t cognate
l9a X t a k W a ' hen '
v a z a k a ' cock '
19b y a t a kw a 1
20 a o k k u l a ' chicken'
ts a k a l a ' cock'
20 c yw a c k a
20d g U S k e
20e i c o k o
21 t a k U r
22a nz U g u r a ' hen '
a g u r d a k cock '
22? 3 0 g u l o k
22h k a ts k a r

25a US k U 'hen'
k u s k u n i ' cock'
26 g amd a k 'hen'
g omz o k 'cock'
27a tl C k - ' c o c k , hen'
27b g u 3 a n a
Cushitic *l A kkw 'chicken, cock '
Arabic d ii k ' cock "

Here t o o t h e r e may b e more t h a n one etymon i n v o l v e d . There i s

c e r t a i n l y more t h a n one morpheme. The c o r e u n i t seems t o "be *E-,
presumably meaning ' c h i c k e n , fowl, "bird1. Then p o s s i b l y a *k-r
e i t h e r p r e f i x e d o r s u f f i x e d meaning ' f e m a l e ' . A *g- 'male' p r e f i x
i s more dubious. The *D- may be n o t unconnected w i t h of ' g u i n e a -
fowl', q.v. Incidentally, -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 e e Williamson and Shimizu ( 1 9 6 8 : 1 7 2 ) .

he p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f d is u n c l v a r , see Mouchct (10~10).

'COW, bull1 (l) * ( g - ) tl a 0

c f . 'wild animal' (1))

p i - Saanuu
domestic aninal'

a l s o 'wealth'

F u l a n i c a t t l e ' , c f . lob

m -
a 13 g i r 'domestic animal, wealth'
a a
a
' ak tl a n 'cow'
tlatl a r a n 'cattle'
i i d i ? n o t cognate
a Q
a be i
d o n 'meat', c f . 3b
dl a ' cow'
g e tl 'bull'
tl
*tl
murg U dl bull'
tl
a tit1
maan tl
22h g U s a g

25a ntl a
2 7b tl a a'
Hebrew S $ (h)
Akkadian 2 a '11 urn
Cushitic *tl t

There seems l i t t l e doubt h e r e o f a p r o t o - l a t e r a l f o r C l . The a d d i -

t i o n o f 'male' seems, a s f o r ' c o c k ' ,to b e made w i t h a g- prefix ( G is
a l s o involved i n C , of 'ram', see below). 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 'goat' (2)--as go- i s i n Angas. The Ron
randog a l s o o c c u r s i n Benue-Congo P l a t e a u languages ( ~ i l l i a m s o nand
Shimi zu 1968 :89 ) .
Newman has s u g g e s t e d t h a t Hausa saa ' b u l l ' cannot b e r e l a t e d t o
a proto TL-, s i n c e f o r Hausa g e n e r a l l y p r o t o TL > 1 > r. If,
however, t h e word was borrowed a t a t i m e 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., witness t h e
plural shaanuu).

cow, bull, heifer, calf ' ( 2 ) * K - r -

a. .
1 k a r S a n a ? sana is root ( l )
4d t a r w a
6 *Y a r w a
l 9a a l y a Q 'cattle'
22 c k 1 a tl a ? tia is root (l)
22 f k a r tl e ? tie i s root (l)
25b k i r n a
26 k r d a
Semi t i c 1 A R X
Cushi t i c *bA < A r (r) - 'bull '
 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 . ' c h i c k e n ' 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 ooy a
d o g o r o metathesis
pi. gaarag

k a n Y a
k a n Y
lha y iicf a
15a k i l a
15b h Y a'
16 k i/u r e
17a x u d a n
18a k a d e
18b S a k e Y ? not cognate5

19a k a r e
19c k i r e
20b, 22f k a d a

22g g i d e y
25a k 1 e
26 h e r 9 e ? not cognate
27a d ii - pi. durnay-na
Cushitic *k A ( r ) r -
Akkadian k 1 b ? not cognate
Hebrew i y Y ? not cognate
Tuareg 'a Y d i
Egyptian 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 a y , Miya ( N . ~ a u c h i ) ,

and s u g g e s t s a r e l a t i o n s h i p , it would seem--to p u t it m i l d l y - - u n l i k e l y .
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 r e d u c e s t h e scep-
ticism. However, i f , a s s u g g e s t e d f o r t h e second c o n s o n a n t , d > r
( a n d even a subsequent r > y ) i n many c a s e s , and one o f t h e t h r e e h a s
been l o s t , t h e n it becomes v e r y h a r d t o d e c i d e which t w o ' c o n s o n a n t s 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 o f forms c e r t a i n l y s u g g e s t s 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 with ' sheep' , 'ram' , 'cat ' , and 'horse '
( 2 ) , Kanuri i s r e l e v a n t , kari, a s i n Tutu kedi. This group o f Nilo-
Saharan may have 'borrowed from an e a r l i e r AA language t h a t h a d 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 r o o t f o r 'hound' i s *AS.

' donkey ' *j/Z - ( n ~ -)

1 3 a a k i i
? < Tuareg
IIJ a k e
4b ? loan < Hausa
6 *Z a
*"z a
12b cf U

19 a z U
V
2 Ob z U

20 c a 2y U

20 f dl i
22 a 1 z
22h z U

25a S e ' donkey mare '

Tuare g e j a
Cushitic *d A

As w i t h ' h o r s e ' ( l )and ' s h e e p ' , a k- s u f f i x may b e i n v o l v e d h e r e ,

a s u g g e s t i o n p r e v i o u s l y made by Jungraithmayr ( 1 9 ~ 1 a) l~
though t h e o n l y
d a t a t h a t s u p p o r t s 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 o f Kanuri koro, borrowed p r e -
sumably a t t h e same time a s t h e animal. There may b e c o n n e c t i o n s -with
'waterbuck' , f o r which N . Bauchi h a s zakumba ( ~ a ' a zakurnba 'donkey' )
and Hausa gwambaza (? < gwamba-za). The s u g g e s t i o n t h a t Hausa may
have borrowed from Tuareg may g e t some s u p p o r t from Hausa aayayii
c a r a v a n ' which may b e borrowed from Berber iyyalen 'donkeys' .
9 = g ( t e s t i c l e s ) ' (l)
aP *Kw - ( r ) 6

kw a i
g w a i w a 'testicles'
k oqy i
a k i n
8a agw a Y
8b gw 1 Y aa n
lob 13(g) a a .
l4a ~ ga rdl i
15b i hy i
17a t k w u r s i n
18a Q9Y a
l8b k w a l e
Cushitic *K A ~ WA Q (n) -
Tamazight t a g1 a i t
Arabic k a 1 W a testicle'
Maghrebi )
Arabic k a i k a h

'egg' (2) *'- -7

v
3a e S

3b,c aa S

5a 'y i ns a
5b c f i n s a
6 - 'ts -w/h -
8a z b ai 'egg sat on b u t n o t hatched'

9c k a c a k i ka- is a prefix
lOa g a s s o
12b cf ii S a
1 2c cf ee s ( h ) e
IT^ a dl i
19a tliitl i
v
20a s e y a
22a dl a y
2% tletl e t
26 a tl e
27 a z e n a

-- - -

hes u b s c r i b e d d o t i n d i c a t , e s an e x t r a YeaLur~,e i t h e r j'+omphat i c ]

o r [+prenasal] .
 If t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d 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 h e n t h e s e two r o o t s can be b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r . The T e r a and
F a l l Bwagira of r o o t ( l )and t h e Somrai of r o o t ( 2 ) p r o v i d e t h e l i n k s .
The j o i n t meaning would t h e n b e 'egg-of chicken'. I n which c a s e t h e
Bachama r o o t ( l )might b e t t e r have t h e 1 corresponding t o t h e Tera dl
r a t h e r than the proto ( r ) . Evidence from o t h e r AA languages s u p p o r t s
t h i s , with 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 c o n s o n a n t s , c, 5, and 1,
occur w i t h i n S e m i t i c a l o n e . Perhaps *DL i s indicated.

' g o a t , male g o a t ' ( l ) *b - k - r

'goats'

'male g o a t '

? 'male 'goat '

t 'male g o a t ' p i . b u k u r - i n

'goat'
'male goat,'
 b U k/g 0

l
aw k o
b e r k - 'cattle'
W eeg i r i
g U n o
b o k a r a 'male g o a t
y i k w a t a
k U

b a g e n
b o g a r e

mb a g a t e 'ram, s h e e p '
h U t u
ago
b o k
25 a s e b e g e 'male goat ' ? f o r p r e f i x
see root ( 2 )
m U

26 b egg â‚ r e
27a h U t a pi. bok-~a
Cushitic *b A(g)g A 'goat, sheep '
Arabic b a q a r 'cattle '

'male g o a t , g o a t ' ( 2 ) *D? - GW -*

b U ns *ugu > uya > uu > U

d 'castrated m a l e goat '

b uu S

nd a k u S
"
S iky e n
*'ts - G -
g a b u z
m a z a r a n
j ii g

he s u b s c r i b e d dot indicates a n e x t r a f e a t u r e o f some s o r t , perhaps

+prenasal] .
 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 aqg a r a
d i ~ a 1
m a z a w a l
z a v g i
*W Ay ; A 1 ' goat, ? wild'
m z 'male g o a t '
canz a ' female goat '

As w i t h ' d o g ' , t h e g r e a t v a r i a t i o n s o f b o t h r o o t s s u g g e s 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 ) ,a p p a r e n t l y a p r e f i x i n (2),
common t o b o t h , s u g g e s t s t h a t t h i s meant ' g o a t ' . I n t h a t case, k-r
may have meant ' female' ( a s was s u g g e s t e d f o r ' c h i c k e n ' ) and - GW -
'male ' . Williamson a n d Shimizu (1968) s u g g e s t a Proto-Niger--Congo -bi-
' goat ' .

' guinea fowl' * ? - b - n 9

00

m probably not cognate

o m probably not cognate
u n a
U r
U n
a n u
any i n
1 r
a 1

?he ssubscribod d o t i n d i c a t p s an extra feature', perhaps [+palat aal] .

12b z o p u 1 0
12 C 2 0 b 0 1 0
1h.a c i v a n '
1 5a 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 u n i f o r m i t y o f t h e s e forms s u g g e s t s tnat t h word

~
s p r e a d t h r o u g h t h e group o f languages a t a n o t t o o d i s t a n t period--
perhaps when t h e s p e a k e r s 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 e a d y d o m e s t i c a t e d , when t h e b i r d was f i r s t imported ( c f .
'camel'). Again, on t h e analogy o f Arabic which c a l l s it "Abyssinian
chicken" ( a n d , i n d e e d , ~ n g l i s h ) ,it i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e f i r s t conso-
n a n t may b e c o g n a t e w i t h t h e nD o f ' c h i c k e n ' , i n which c a s e t h e Angas
and S u r a might b e cognate a f t e r a l l , and b might b e d e r i v e d from gw.
But what d i d t h e second h a l f mean? 'Tree'? The name o f a n o t h e r p e o p l e ?
No C u s h i t i c e v i d e n c e i s a v a i l a b l e .

'horse' (1) * d - W -

d a waa k ii 'horses '

d U k u s i i ' pony '
g o o c f i y aa ' mare '
d u u k i y a 'wealth '
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 kwa n ' mare
d a a n a ' mare '
d o X ' s-Lallion '
15b t a g U

16 *g i/u d U wi
17a 2 U X U n
18b d U we
d U U ' mare '
113 g a d u u
Be Aauye h a t a i ? riot c o g n a t e
Egyptian 12 t r ? not c o g n a t e

'horse' ( 2 ) *P - r ( s -)

b r a n a l s o h a s r o o t (I)
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 ? not cognate
p i S s o 0

P 1 S 0 'stallion'
b o o r a h o r s e , mare '
P e S 0

P a r S a a l s o h a s root. (1)
inb a r S e ' m a l e donkey' ; a l s o has
root, ( l )

m 2 i e donkey'
 As Newman and Ma ( 1 9 6 6 ) p o i n t e d o u t f o r T e r a , 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 b o t h r o o t s . For r o o t ( l ) ,i t seems
fairly clear that the 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 e x i s t e n c e o f Kanuri far, Songhai bari
and Mande so, 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 o f 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 ( 1 9 4 7 ) . Perhaps r o o t ( l )r e f e r r e d t o an o l d e r b r e e d of
a n i m a l , l a t e r w i d e l y r e p l a c e d by a new a r r i v a l , p e r h a p s o f S e m i t i c
provenance.

' ram' *G - m - 1'

O ~ h 0s u b s c r i b e d riot, i n d i c a t e s an ext,ra f e a t u r e , p r o b a b l y [ + 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 the prefix, see ' 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 h e r e 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 o f l a n g u a g e s , but t h e r e i s ev-idence i n them
of *aw ( > ay > e e ) o r , more s i m p l y , *aw > o. Again Kanuri i s rele-
vant with ngalaro.

' sheep' *D - m

1 t U m aak ii plural
3a t u/a m
3b t u m
"
4a t a n ng a S

be t a m o
4e t imb a h
6 *t - m akw - -akwa i s a feminine s u f f i x
i n N . Bauchi
t S m aak U

t aam a n
t a m a k u n
aam a g a
a m a a i
a m a
a m <7 a Lone p a t t e r n s d i s t i n g u i s h sex
a 13 l< 0

u m a k
a 6 a ~
o m o x
 t i m a
t u w a k a
23 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 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 )
2 7 ~ c i m e
Cushitic *c I d - V2 i s o i n f i v e of the
examples quoted ( ? < aw)
Berber a d a m a n

The T e r a C 2 .6 and t h e Ron-Kulere C 2 mb raise the interesting

q u e s t i o n whether *D-m i s Proto-Chadic o r n o t . I n general, both these
languages have PC *m > m. Yet f o r t h i s r o o t , where e v e r y o t h e r l a n -
guage q u o t e d , e x c e p t C u s h i t i c (which h a s l o s t C 2 o r i s n o t c o g n a t e ) b u t
i n c l u d i n g B e r b e r , 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 h a n P r o t o -
Chadi c .
Again Kanuri dimi ' s h e e p ' i s o b v i o u s l y r e l e v a n t , borrowed, it i s
s u g g e s t e d , from one o f t h e e a r l i e r l a n g u a g e s . 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 h a s a d i f f e r e n t word, which may
s t r e n g t h e n t h e s u g g e s t i o n 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 , b u t n o t by any means l i m i t e d t o domestic o r
othecanimals ( a s s u g g e s t e d by J u n g r a i t h m a y r ) , compare t h e f o l l o w i n g :

' in-law' 'king '

Angas sur Ron-Daf f o saram
..
N . Bauchi *c-y N . Bauchi V c . r j L tsaara
"
Bachama sew
v Akkadian sarrum
Mus gu s u la Hau sa sarkii
Haus a surukii
Tera sarvaki

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] w i t h 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 .
Dolgopol'skij, A. B. 1973. SravGtel'no-istoriEes'kaja fonetika
ku'¤fiski~
jazykov [Comparative H i s t o r i c a l P h o n e t i c s o f t h e C u s h i t i c
Languages] . Moscow.
Hoffmann, C a r l . 1971. " P r o v i s i o n a l check l i s t o f Chadic l a n g u a g e s "
Chadic Newsletter [Marburg], s p e c i a l i s s u e .
Jungraithmayr , Herrmann. 1971. " R e f l e c t i o n s 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 sde l a Soci&e
Linguiskique de 2 'Afvique Oee-LdentaZe, v o l . 1, pp. 285-92 Abidj m. .
Kraft, Charles. 1971. "Some t h o u g h t s 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. T r i b a l S t u d i e s i n Northern Nigeria, two volumes.
London.
Mouchet, J . 1950. " V o c a b u l a i ~ e sc o m p a r a t i f s 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, P a u l . 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, P a u l and Roxana Ma. 1966. " ~ o n i p a r a t i v eChadic: phonology and
l e x i c o n " , J . A f r . hang. 5 :218-51.
Skinner, A. Neil. i n press. "N. Bauchi Chadic: common r o o t s " ,
A f r o a s i a t i c 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. I n t r o d u c t i o n

This p r e s e n t a t i o n c e n t e r s around t h e concept of " p l u r a l i t y " i n t h e

4
Chadic language family. A g e n e r a l study of expressions o f p l u r a l i t y h a s
t o t a k e i n t o account t h e d i f f e r e n c e between a t l e a s t two d i s t i n c t sub-
systems: "nominal p l u r a l i t y " on t h e one hand, and "verbal p l u r a l i t y " on
the other. It of course a l s o has t o attempt t o d i s c o v e r and e s t a b l i s h
t h e i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p 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 m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of < p l u r a l > w i t h i n verbs could b e
organized i n terms of a t l e a s t f o u r major a r e a s :
( 1) " l e x i c a l p l u r a l i t y " , i . e . expression o f p l u r a l through choice o f
lexemes, e.g. Ron-Fyer m o t : bwaar 'die (sg:pl) ' ;
(2) "base l e v e l p l u r a l i t y " , i . e . expression of p l u r a l by m o d i f i c a t i o n s
of t h e underlying ("base") form o f t h e same lexeme, e.g. Migama
maat : matt 'die (sg:pl)';
( 3 ) "stem l e v e l p l u r a l i t y " , i . e . expression of p l u r a l by thematic d e r i -
v a t i o n , e . g . Ron-Sha c i : cy-an 'eat (sg:pl)';
. ( 4 ) " a s p e c t u a l p l u r a l i t y " , based on a q u a n t i t a t i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f
verb a s p e c t s i n a dichotomous system ( " a s p e c t I" : "aspect 11").

*This study was p a r t i a l l y supported lay g r a n t s ( L U 2/26-27; WO 21611)

from t h e Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft f o r r e s e a r c h on Lamang and ad-
jacent Chadic languages i n 1973/74, i n connection with a l i n g u i s t i c r e -
search program i n t h e Lake Chad a r e a d i r e c t e d by Johannes Lukas, p r i n c i -
pal investigator (~amburg) .
This i s a s l i g h t l y modified v e r s i o n of t h e d r a f t which was ch'qtri-
buted t o t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s of t h e Colloquium. Some valuable comments p u t
forward a t t h e meeting and i n subseoiient d i s c u s s i o n s (esF^::>fi-l1y with P.
Newman) have been incorporated and a r e g r a t e f u l l y acknowledged. C e r t a i n
pin^i' fi ~s/fcioncL L f i c eL the continuing ~ l T o r t o i n c r e a s e our knowledge and
gain deeper i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e complex problems r a i s e d i n t h i s paper.
 -
Within this framework tais presentation is linited to the c
of nanifestations of "base level plurality" and irs interr*cl~-.tionship
- "?*v'Lion

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
In sections 3-5, form, function, and disrribu-
~froasiatic)mor~holo~~.
tion of a set of base-level formatives of verb and noun systems of 1 2
selected Chadic languages will be analyzed. Section 6 contains i sum-
mary 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 subcategorization.
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" (~ungraithmayrin 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 ~ v e ~ ~ f o r m a t i o(n s e ~section 2 below).
 The t h i r d h y p o t h e s i s 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 i n t r o d u c e d i n t o S e m i t i c 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 q u o t a t i o n i n s e c t i o n 2 "below),b u t which t o my knowleci.':?
has n o t y e t been made u s e o f i n comparative Chadic. It i s t h i s t h i r d
h y p o t h e s i s which a l l o w s us t o compare s i m i l a r o r i d e n t i c a l f o r m a t i o n s i n
t h e morphology o f v e r b s and nouns and which does n o t a p r i o r i c o n f i n e
t h e concept o f " p l u r a l " t o nominals n o r 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 h y p o t h e s 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 e x p r e s s i o n s o f p l u r a l , and between t h e s e and t h e marked
A-I1 ") within t h e
( "imperfective/habitual/durative/frequentative/etc.
binary aspect,system. h his A-I1 c& b e c o n c e i v e d o f as b e i n g s e p a n t i -
c a l l y marked i n comparison w i t h A-I i n . t h e same s e n s e , t h a t " p l u q a l " i s
marked i n o p p o s i t i o n t o " s i n g u l a r " i n t h e nominal system. )l

Accordingly, I have a t t e m p t e d i n t h i s p a p e r ( a ) t o adduce e v i d e n c e

f o r t h e wide d i s t r i b u t i o n o f o b v i o u s l y r e l a t e d f o r m a t i v e s o f p l u r a l /
i n t e n s i v e verb f o r m a t i o n s , 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 h y p o t h e s i s o f o r i g i n a l s e m a n t i c i d e n t i t y
of verbo-nominal p l u r a l s and A - I 1 a s p e c t f o r m a t i o n s t h r o u g h o b s e r v a t i o n s
o f ( i ) syntacto-semantic " c o l l i s i o n s " of these categories i n verbal
systems o f modern Chadic l a n g u a g e s , and ( i i )obvious p r o c e s s e s o f r e -
s t r u c t u r i n g o f t h e v e r b a l systems i n o r d e r t o a v o i d 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 b a s e s u n d e r l y i n g A - I 1
stems, s h i f t i n g from segmental t o suprasegmental a s p e c t marking, A - I 1
stem replacement by v e r b a l noun stem, e t c .
A quick g l a n c e a t languages o f t h e o t h e r b r a n c h e s o f A f r o a s i a t i c
s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e h y p o t h e s i s o f t h e p l u r a l / A - I 1 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 r s t v e r s i o n 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 t u d y (1968) on verbal. p l u r a l i t y . I n h i s
g e n e r a l i n t r o d u c t i o n , D r e s s i e r a r g u e s i n f a v o u r o f 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 i m p e r f e c t i v e a s p e c 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 s o n of more t h a n 40 languages from a l l o v e r t h e world. It c o n t a i n s a
s k e t c h o f v e r b a l p l u r a l i t y i n Hausa (pp. 95-101), which i s b a s e d on
F r a j z y n g i e r (1965) and h i s own informant work i n P a r i s i n 1965/66.
s u p p o r t e d by S e m i t i c and Berber e v i d e n c e t o o . We ; i r ~p o s s i ' b l y d e a l i i i g
with s t r u c t u r a l t r a i t s o f P r o t o - A f r o a s i a t i c which coidd i,c i t A U ~ Li L.~ pLi
a s r e f l e c t i n g c o g n i t i v e p r o c e s s e s i n t h e e a r ~ yn i b z o ~ 3Qi ayrltd,:Lo-
semantic c a t e g o r y 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 & c h
o f t h e t h r e e r e c o g n i z e d branches o f Chadic ( c f . IIoffmann Ib'T-i., Kenimoin

(1) Migama r e p r e s e n t s t h e E a s t e r n branch of t h e f a m i l y on which o n l y

very l i t t l e material i s a v a i l a b l e s o f a r ;
(2) Lamang, which i s spoken a l o n g t h e Nigeria-Cameroon "border i n t h e
s o u t h e a s t e r n 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
o f t h e C e n t r a l ( " ~ i u - ~ a n d a r a "b) r a n c h . Reference w i l l "be made t o som
o t h e r C e n t r a l branch l a n g u a g e s , such a s Gat anda, Kapsiki , and Bachama.
( 3 ) The Ron languages ( ~ y e r ,Bokkos, Daffo-Butura, S h a , K a l e r e ) of t h e
J o s P l a t e a u of c e n t r a l N i g e r i a r e p r e s e n t t h e Western branch o f C h a d i c ,
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 s c u s s i n g t h e i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p of b a s e 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 p r e l i m i n a r y remarks may b e a p p r o p r i a t e w i t h r e g a r d to
t h e model t h a t I have found t o b e u s e f u l f o r comparative s t u d i e s o f
Chadic ( a n d ~ f ~ o a s i a t i morphology.
c) The u n i t s of t h i s model s h a l l be
defined a s follows :
(1) "Root" s h a l l denote t h e u n i t which c o n t a i n s o n l y 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 c o n t a i n no vowels. There i s o n l y one r o o t f o r each lexeme.
The term r o o t a s it i s used h e r e 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 r o o t a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y conceived of 'L':. Semitic languages
r e a l l y m e r 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 , h e l a n g u a g e s
o r whether--as non-Semitic s t u d i e s have suggested--we ought t o s t a r t

^ T h i s s e c t i o n 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 g e n e r a l , a n d a l s o wiLh s p e c i f i c r e g a r d t o its
. .
a p p l i c a h i l ' 4 y t o F ' ( m i 1 , i c Langacigr.:.
 : + -,
...iuli
T T v o c a l i z e d r o o t s , i . e . " ' ~ a s e s " , a t t h e v e r y bottom of t h e system

i s a q u e s t i o n 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 b e r v c s d ~ s c r i p t i v cpu'-
poses i n a t l e a s t one branch o f A f r o a s i a t i c , i t 'will 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 t u d y t o d i s t i n g u i s h between " r o o t s " and
"bases" i n t h e way s u g g e s t e d h e r e .
(2) "Bases" s h a l l b e a l l v o c a l i z e d m a n i f e s t a t i o n s 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 a p p l i e d . V o c a l i z e d r o o t s w i t h o u t any

m o d i f i c a t i o n 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 w i t h s i m u l t a n e o u s m o d i f i c a t i o n s o f r a d i c a l s t r u c -
ture, i e . . augmented by consonant o r vowel l e n g t h e n i n g , 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 b a s e s , each b a s e may u n d e r l y more t h a n one s t e m .
The t e r m b a s e a s i t i s used h e r e i s n o t a newly coined t e r m . The
t r i p l e h i e r a r c h y o f root-base-stem had a l r e a d y b e e n i n t r o d u c e d i n t o
S e m i t i c s by Brockelmann a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h i s c e n t u r y :
' ~ l r e a d yi n Proto-Semitic most word forms d i s p l a y e d a s t a b l e founda-
t i o n of 3 c o n s o n a n t s , which one c a l l s t h e r o o t f o l l o w i n g t h e p r a c t i c e
o f t h e Jewish grammarians. But t h e o n l y v a l u e o f such a r o o t i s f o r
t h e s y s t e m a t i c a r t i f i c i a l o r d e r i n g of t h e v o c a b u l a r y 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 d a n g l e s 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 o f t h e nouns a s w e l l a s t h e v e r b s 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 c a s e s a l r e a d y f u r n i s h e d w i t h vowels, which i n
c o ~ t r a s tt o t h o s e a b s t r a c t r o o t s we a r e c a l l i n g b a s e s . Such b a s e s
s e r v e . . . a s nouns a s w e l l a s v e r b s , and a r e presumably o l d e r t h a n t h e s e
grammatical c a t e g o r i e s " ( ~ r o c k e l m a n n1908: 137-38, t r a n s l a t i o n mine) .
(3) "Stems" a r e word-level m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f b a s e s i n t h e s e n s e of syn-
t a c t i c a l l y f r e e forms. S o - c a l l e d "simple stems" c a r r y no a d d i t i o n a l
e x t e n s i o n o r m o d i f i c a t i o n ; t h e i r morphological shape i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t
o f t h e p o s t u l a t e d u n d e r l y i n g b a s e whether t h e l a t t e r i s "simple" o r
'extended". The t e r m i n o l o g i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n between "base" and "simple
stem" i s merely a q u e s t i o n o f d e s c r i p t i v e f o c u s , s o t h a t we s a y t h a t
b a s e s may " f u n c t i o n " a s simple sterns. S o - c a l l e d "extended stems" a r e
d e r i ' ~ e dfrom u n d e r l y i n g b u s e s through a f f i x a t i o n of f u r L h e r morplu"iri?s.
Thcl r e l e v a n c e 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 ized
i by H o f f m a r ~ n ( 1963) . For o u r pur-
2.1. Summary. More f o r coqarat.,ivepurposes -within A f r o a . s i a t i c t h a n for
-.
t h e synchronic d e s c r i p t i o n o f modern Chadic l a n g u a g e s , .L £117 suggesting
t h a t one s h o u l d keep d i s t i n c t t h e foll-owing f o r m a t i o n a l p r c c e s s 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 ) Affixation
Botn t h e s e n m ~ e r - s e n s i t i d - ebad;-;
::.a d G c :-
~ L A 7-~rbcll . lr,
the A-I " p e r f e c t i v e " stem.
(4) a d i s y l l a b i c b a s e used i n A-11 stems A i c h is c l ~ ~ ~ r az e d . by a
r e d u p l i c a t e d 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 o f a 1 1 [ + h i g b j vov=l S ' 2

-nigh] : *matakk
( ~ h e s eax-e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h i s t y p e o f A-11 b a s e which i~ i-nared, by
a l l b i r a d i c a l v e r b s whether t h e y d i s p l a y number-sensitive v e r b 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 v e r b s have o n l y two b a s e s and must b e considered rimher-
insensitive :

'i'h~:~, y . " ' ~ , f ~ ~ - i n s f1, ri i ~ ' i(JI.~'!,.;

l/;-; ?\ 1 a y f:,'l-n::l t,ions oi'
--how very r!-;;-~;
ver~,cd.noun wi(.i
Â

perf'?r;t,iv(;" :;!,,,U, '

W.
"; : L "~~~-'!n
Lhz ; a i,i i i . , , t ', ,
, ., . >,,
\1 L\;
7
polyverbs *mat *matakk matakk-a
*pan *panakk panakk-a
. . . 1
'A -L. j.eped3-a
" i-lp

*raw * r a i473.i~ t rawatt-a

*kekkid4 * kekkedcf kekkedd-a 'tickle'
*garkiy *garkayy g a r k a y y -a
*turguw *torgoww torgoww-a 'travel'
--
~ i a t ,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/
:-
^matt'.^ Shou- d. vie rloz expecu L^~J ~f ieaJi<-a2-ZS>Z:F.?~>~ - "-
>-l
. -

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. k e k k e d d - a ) .

his requirement of trirrjJica.~structure in the irnperfect.!~~ ~1.ffects

. .
birac!:, ,.- ,_^L.,as well since they are---irresprct.iveof ni:r.i1~!-:--sensi.t.,i-
/ity--augmented by a c ; n v l - ' - l / l < / in C 3 position 'before the final radi-

4m . .
~ - * h ~is c1 f o r m of 1"
. ; probably an a.,.,~!ILL l^!,< ?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 b a s e p l u r a l i t y and. i m p e r f e c t i v e 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 t y p e matakk-a s e r v e f o r t h e p l u r a l vorb 'ba.::? *matt,
s i n c e t h e s i n g u l a r v e r b b a s e s form t h e i r own i s p c - r f e c t i v e a s p e c t s1;em.
They do ' t h i s w i t h o u t augmentation by C 3 r a d i c a l and v i t h o u t :subsequc:nL
r e d u - p l i c a t i o n , b u t w i t h l e n g t h e n i n g o f t h e s u f f i x vow-el ins? >ad. Thus
f o r ' d i e ' , f o r example, we f i n d two imperfect!ve a s p e c t steins: (i\;
matakk-a corresponding t o *m a t t , and ( ii ) mat-aa correspcndir-g T;3

*maat. I have concluded and argued ( ~ o l f f1976) t h a t t h e : ~ ~ ~ p e i - f e c t i ? e

a s p e c 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 < p l u r a l > 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 o f 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 b y
terms such a s "linear/durative/frequentative/habitual/etc."i n opposi-
'cion t o a n o n - p l u r a l - l i k e "punctual" c o n n o t a t i o n o f A-i.) Following
t h i s l i n e of argument, an " i m p e r f e c t i v e + p l u r a l stem" which m a i n t a i n e d
t h e p l u r a l b a s e f o r m a t i v e s would be r e j e c t e d a s a p l e o n a s t i c f o r m a t i o n .
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 i m p e r f e c t i v e stems may
t h u s b e 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 p e r -
f e c t i v e and v e r b a l noun s t e m s , c f .

300T 1 B A S E S S T E M S
AUX
<-iirrp>

7 /
pan-aw pan -e
m------

? ? f ?
<+pl> m a t t - matakk- matt-o matt-e
< +nun >

l l
? /Â Y\ ? / /
<-p].> m a a t - mat- m a a t -0 m a a t -e mat -aa

U n f o r t u n a t e l y , no d a t a on Migama noun -pLural f o r m a t i o n 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 f o r -
m a t i v e ~used i n base and stem f'ormation o ~
+.; ,nl>> , such a s f i n a l radi-
]lUX<
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 p o s s i b l y even surf i x -a, are also u s e d i n
the format,ion of pllrra:! bases and s t e m s .
4.1. Laaiang.
P--
i.3 J.:AILs.~,--;,
~ ~ 5 ; ' : ; ¥,i-.
- ' - ' .

the fea-Lul-e< ir~tei1.si - r - > , :. . ' -

. .
several by ~ D p : . , - ,- _~; ' L -.,I .-.i^p.:.
-,7 ,.--r
-.- .:'-.:I:^' ;":,.:-ryi::,, >k!-?i., f ~ : , l

, -
v e r b bases itny .,'i-T \ L., , tf . i ; 2 ~ . ~r~:~.;.l. -
. ,. "..
,~., ? . ~ - -; ~ L t : l : ~ y ~ , ~ ~ ~ , . ~,: ~ c ~ , 2

some cases -.
D;{
,
~,:.)na-Lc;"&:-(----:- ;,!-.' .,-I?
;\
,., S
'

..> - tone--,,.
+,c,, ,-,

t e r n for A-11)" If 7::~: -v r.ly l

. , ;LY- .., -.
L I" .' +? ,
L ;L, :A: , .7. , :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 c o n t a i n s denominative v e r i J s . )
The f i r s t s e t o f Lamang i n t e n s i v e v e r b 'oases i s i i l u s t r a t e d by Lhe
f o l l o w i n g examples:

*k-l- 'take' *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 b a s e s u n d e r l y t h e v a r i o u s tense' stems of A - I ( "perfectire".).

The f o r m a t i o n o f simple and extended "bases i n Lamang can b e sum-
marized a s f o l l o w s :
( 1) Simple base-formation through Degree I v o c a l i z a t i o n ("unmarkedi' ) :
monoverbs : C a tsa ' cut '
polyverbs: CiaC2a kala 'take'
ClaC2aC3a tl'sgala 'stab'
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 111
e e f o r p o l y v e r b s ; Degree
I1 and I11 f o r monoverbs which a p p l y t h i s f o r m a t i o n t v i c e ; v e r b s 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 e11)
CiaClaCla ( ~ e g r e e11 E )
polyverbs : ClaCyaC2a; Cli/uC2aC2a
CiaC2aC3aC3a
(4) Ext,ended base-format ion t,hrongh ¥-.amp
e t e r e d u p l i c a t , i on o f t h e
D e g r ~I T~ basf::
 monoverbs : ClaCiaCiaCia
polyverbs : ClaC2aCiaCza; Cli/uC2aCli/uCya
ClaC2aC3aCiaC2aC3a*
The c o r r e s p o n d i n g v e r b a l nouns, which a l s o s e r v e a s " i m p e r f e c t i v e "
a s p e c t stems, t a k e a s u f f i x -0 and u s e a second s e t o f b a s e s c h a r a c -
t e r i z e d by t h e change o f a o c c u r r i n g b e f o r e 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 n o t dependent on t h e occ-dnence. of
the suffix -0, which i s r e p l a c e d 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
take(s)'. h he completely r e d u p l i c a t i v e Degree I V b a s e 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 v e r b s s u b s t i t u t e t h e i r nomi-
n a l b a s e i n t h e i r normal d e g r e e . )

Verbal noun stems

Degree I kal-o --- ---
Degree I1 kol-o mon -0 sul-o
Degree 111 kalol-o manon -0 sulol-o

The f o l l o w i n g c h a r t o f Lamang v e r b b a s e s ( w i t h v e r b a l noun stems

added i n p a r e n t h e s e s ) c o n t a i n s a l l s t r u c t u r a l t y p e s o f Lamang v e r b s .
(~xam~ln
e os t t r a n s l a t e d above a r e t h e r o o t s S-wl- 'walk', gh-1-
' s t e a l ' , and t h e Hausa loanword yarda 'agree'.)
Degree / Nonoverbs
,/
/
1 tsa kala
( k a l o)
tlagala
(t i e g a l 0 )
ghambasa
( ghamboso )
7
gwarva
7
yarda
sawla

tsatsa kala mana ghila sula

(tsotso) (kolo) mono ) ( g h i l i) sulo)
tlagala
(tiagolo)
ghambasa
( ghamboso )
g war ava
( gwarovo 1
yarada
( varodo )
7
sawala

tsatsatsa kalala manana sulala

(tsatsotso (kalolo) manono ) sulolo
tlagalala
(tiagalolo)
ghambasasa
(ghambasoso
g war avava
( g war avovo )
yaradada
( yaradodo )
7
sawalala

kalakala manamana
tlagalatlagala
ghambasaghambasa
gwaravagwarava
yardayard a/
yaradayarada
sav~alasawala

7 O n e set of lexically intransitive v e r b s t1nc1 some v e r b s of t ' o r ~ i g nori-

g i n do not form verbal nouns with -c) i n I1~[;rce I; anot,her set of i n t r a n -
sitive verbs d o e s n o t Y o r m niorphologically d i s t,i n c t v e r b a l noini stems at :ill -
4.2. Gatanda. I n order t o document d i f f e r i n g usages o f t h e same set of
formatives marking i d e n t i c a l semantic f e a t u r e s , I quote t h e following
paragraph and examples from R. Newman's stimulating grammar of Ga'anda,
a Central branch language belonging to t h e Tera subgroup (197li3^-35h
"Another optional verb f e a t u r e i s < i n t e n s i v e > . The presence of < * i n t >
is marked by a reduplicative verb stem. The intensive form u s u a l l y
reinforces t h e number of times t h e action i s performed, p a r t i c u l a r l y
i f t h e object acted upon is p l u r a l ....
This reduplication can be
represented 'by t h e following formula:

a 6al-inca c i n i c a 'I k i l l e d l i o n s t
a babal-inca c i n i c a 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 t h e corpset
a caca-nda marta xa 'they shot up (many times) t h e corpset
tla necan 'yar-i-ta 'he is (hab.) i n s u l t i n g me*
t l a necan *ya9yar-i-ta 'he i s (hab. ) i n s u l t i n g me (without
l e t t i n g up)
The ' i n t e r n a l -a-' vowel change of t h e root i s no doubt a r e f l e x of
t h e ' i n t e r n a l -a- p l u r a l s ' found i n other Chadic fend ~froasiatic)
languages. I n Gatanda9 however, it i s not considered as a formation
of a p l u r a l verb stem agreeing i n number with p l u r a l o b j e c t s , since
( a ) t h e o b j e c t may be s i n g u l a r , 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 t h e Higi subgroup, does not seem t o e x p l o i 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, b u t r a t h e r seems to
use only p a r t i a l and complete reduplication t o i n d i c a t e i n t e n s i t y / p l u r a -
l i t y (smith 1969 :l l l f f . ) . Kapsiki verb stems occur with both completely
and p a 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 h a b i t u a l action. Extended stems with parti-
a l l y reduplicated bases seem t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e a c t i o n w a s done several
times o r was d i r e c t e d toward several goals, e.g.

mene ' do ' : ka-memen4 t len6 nde 'he works a l l t h e t i m e '

pese 'grew' : 'a k&-pepes& i t has been growing ( a t least
some of i t )
zeme ' eat ' : 'a k6-zezernik6 'he has eaten ( a l i t t l e of s e e -
r a l things: -ski ) '
Complete reduplication of the base is used t o show "emphasis":
...gm&. ..ke-pesepese f f
' ...the .
grass. .has r e a l l y grown*
4.b. Bachama. T h i s Bata subgroup language h a s l o n g 'been l o o k e d a t
r a t h e r s u s p i c i o u s l y because it " u n t y p i c a l l y " 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 d a y s ,
we s h o u l d not b e s u r p r i s e d t o f i n d e q u a l l y a n c i e n t remnants i n t h e v e r b
system. And i n d e e d , Bachama does make u s e of t h e i n h e r i t e d p r i n c i ' o l e
of i n t e r n a l vowel change t o form p l u r a l v e r b b a s e s . The f o l l o w i n g i s
quoted from cainochan ( 1 9 7 0 : 1 0 1 f f . ) :
*
' A l a r g e number of v e r b s 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 a u s e s w i t h 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 a u s e s w i t h 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 v e r b i s a t v a r i a n c e w i t h t h e number o f t h e s u b j e c t o r
o b j e c t , and a p p e a r s t o b e independent of such c o n c o r d s , and t o r e -
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 s p e a k e r has
t o make a c h o i c e . He does s o a c c o r d i n g t o whether h e w i s h e s t o
f o c u s 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 o f a c t i o n o r s t a t e i n t h e
situation .... I n general*, t h e vowel i n t h e p l u r a l forms i s more open
t h a n 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 .... In general,
v e r b s w i t h -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 v e r b 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

w i t h v e r b s i n t h e "Normal Grade" and w i t h "Adessives" ( v e r b s 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 speaker):

Underlying 'thatch'
singular base
'break'
' chew'
' cook '

Underlying
p l u r a l base

As r e g a r d s cross-word c l a s s di s t r i . b u t i o n o f f o r m a t i v e s , cf. t h e follow-

i n g s e t o f Bachama s g : p l noun stems:
 'horse '
'hut '

5. Evidence from t h e Western branch: t h e Ron l a n g u a g e s , Kanakuru

A Hausa,
_ _ _ _

5.1. The Ron l a n g u a g e s . Verb stem f o r m a t i o n s i n t h e Ron l a n g u a g e s

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 . J u n g r a i t h m a y r
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 v e r b stems have been f r e q u e n t l y l i s t e d a l o n g s i d e B e r b e r and S e m i t i c
verb formations. Once o n l y , i n what I t a k e 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 ( 1 9 5 5 ) " i n t e r n a l
a - p l u r a l s i n AfroasiaticU--Jungraithmayr ( 1 9 6 5 ) 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 f o r m a t i v e under c o n s i d e r a t i c n :

''Within t h e system o f 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

I m p e r f e c t i v e - S u b j u n c t i v e and H a b i t u a l - P l u r a l stems may w e l l b e corn-
p a r e d w i t h 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 H a b i t u a l - P l u r a l stem from
t h e r e s p e c t i v e I m p e r f e c t i v e - S u b j u n c t i v e 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 K u l e r e ) 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 i v e n , o n l y a few s h a l l b e c i t e d h e r e .

Daf fo-Butura ngsar : ~gwsar 'bite '

halai : haalai 1 hear 1

Sha fud : fwacfacf 'blow'

bol : bole1 ' come '
\
Kulere sum : sw2am 'catch'
d-ik : cfiyhk 'touch, taste1

Compare t h e f o l l o w i n g s e t of corresponding noim p l u r a l f o r m a t i o n s c i t e d .

from t h e same p u b l i c a t i o n :

Daffo-Butura m>r :
\
mwar ' slave '
The ~ ' a s c i n a t i n gt e r m "Habitua.1-Plural stem" used i n t h i s e a r l y p u b l i c a -
t i o n w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y e l i m i n a t e d by Jungraithmayr b e c a u s e , a s h e a r g u e d
a few y e a r s l a t e r i n h i s more e x t e n s i v e t r e a t m e n t o f t h e Ron l a n g u a g e s
f

( 1 9 7 0 ) , 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 v e r b ster", " p l u r a l

stems" ought t o be k e p t d i s t i n c t from " a s p e c t stems". This i s a, i:-c,rict-
l y s y n c h r o n i c d i s t i n c t i o n made a t t h e expense o f t h e g e n e r a l i z a t i c r - S
v e r b for...CL-
c o n c e r n i n g 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)
t i o n s which t h e former t e r m i m p l i e d .
I f , f o r t h e moment, we 'follow Jungraithmayr 'S analysis ve f i n d
t h a t a c t u a l l y t h e o n l y language of o d o p t h a t u s e s i d e n t i c a l forms-
t i o n s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y i n b o t h c a t e g o r i e s , i . e . " d e r i v a t i o n " and. "in-
,
f l e x i o n " , seems t o b e Sha:

simplex : p l u r a l stem 1 A-I : A-11 stem

'breakt : 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 w i t h i t s o t h e r v e r b stem

f o r m a t i o n t y p e s ) seem t o a v o i d s t r a i g h f o r w a r d morphological a m b i g u i t y of
t h i s kind. N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e common u s e o f i d e n t i c a l f o r m a t i v e s i s ap-
p a r e n t once w e l o o k 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 v e r b stems and
h a b i t u a l a s p e c t stems i n t h e whole group. Compare t h e f o l l o w i n g c h a r t
i n v h i c h t h e i t e m s a r e a r r a n g e d a c c o r d i n g t o t y p e s o f steins and ~-i-l A
- l u -t 2
- ~-

l y i n g bases :
 Derivational-Thematic Aspectual-Infl-exional
( plural" ) habitual" 1
-- -.-

D a f fo 6il : 5yS1
Sha shum : shwb
--

FYer pun : pwaan

Sha shish : shaash
K

Daffo hwi : l~wy-~y

Sha ci : cy-an
--
Fyer Lol : bwal-an Kulere dyef : dyaf-ay
yf
ci : ca-ay
9 /*
Bokkos cu : cwa-ay
Daffo 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 19751
5.1.1. The case of Fyer. T h i s i s the only one o f t h e five t"::n lan-
guages i n which < p l u r a l > i s marked 5 0 t h a t base and ster.1 le-v2.!. (Jung-
raithmayr 1 9 7 0 : 6 0 f f . ) :
A
/t.
(i) b a s e l e v e l o n l y : muni : mwini 'love'
\ \
rjgor : ggwar 'hits'
pun : pwan ' cir~i,!!:fl,:i~~'
--- : bwaar cut / d i e '
i i ) stem l e v e l : (*bbhh ? ) boo : &h-: 1 stab
h
601 : bwal-an ' shoot'
1 n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e i s an extended t h e m a t i c stern marking 11 -
intensiie/
t o t a l i t y " by t n e s u f f i x -aq.)
S i n c e Fyer h a s chosen t h e m a t i c d e r i v a t i o n t o b-;marked a t b o ~ hbase
and srem l e v e l , t h e a s p e c t u a l dichotomy remains t o b e marked so-)- -aseg-
m e n t a l l y , i . e . by t o n a l distinction^.^ There a r e no cooccurrence r e -
strict,ions :

5.1.2. The c a s e o f Bokkos. T h i s language h a s taker1 t h e . a l - ~ : ? ~ : m t <op--

~,~e
t i o n i f compared w i t h Fyer: it h a s g i v e n up t h e p r o d u c t i v e f o r m a t i o n o f
extended t h e m a t i c v e r b 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 < p l u r a l > ! The morphologi.cal means o f
base and stem f o r m a t i o n 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
aspectual category. I t i s worth n o t i n g t h a t monoverbs w i t h a h i g h b a s e
vowel make u s e o f a stem l e v e l e x t e n s i o n by a s u f f i x -ay, whereas all

@AS a m a 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

v e r b stems a s a "dichotomy of a s p e c 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
' c o n f u s i o n ' t o have ori.ginate0 from Angas b y v h ' i - ~ ~Fyer h 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 satt,oy.ted i n
Eokkos "but t h e y 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 s c u s s i o n .
o t h e r verbs use b a s e e x t e n s i o n s o n l y .

5.1.3. The case o f Daffo-Butura. I n h i s d e s c r i p t i o n 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 .

bil : by31 ' draw water '

cu(h) : cway 'eat '
ndus : ndwss 'close ( a hole)'
qg&r : qgw$r ' b i t e , chew'
hwi : hvay 'throw'
lamo' : lamwa' 'skin'
ragot : 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 o f / a / v i t h subse-

quent d i p h t h o n g i z a t i o n , whereas monoverbs t a k e an e x t e n s i o n 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 s h o r t /a/. The r e g u l a r A - I 1 formation i n Daffo-Butura works
along e x a c t l y 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 l o n g
/aa/. I n t h e c a s e o f a few monoverbs, l o n g aa a t t h e s u r f a c e may go
back t o e i t h e r double formation ( e . g . CV + a + a y ) o r p l a i n analogy, e . g .
byail, ndwaas , lagwi&r, larnwai' , ragwait ; cwaiy, hwaiy, shwaay. It
i s l e f t t o o u r 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 r e -
p r e s e n t s an o l d o r r a t h e r r e l a t i v e l y r e c e n t device t o d i s t i n g u i s h between
" p l u r a l stems" and " h a b i t u a l stems". However, we cannot expect a n y t h i n g
b u t n e u t r a l i z a t i o n of t h e s g : p l d i s t i n c t i o n i n t h e A-TI formation under
t h e s e circumstances.
Thus Daffo-Butura marks both < p l u r a l > and < A - T T > e x c l u s i v e l y 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 -
sion. Leaving th^ l a t t e r aside, t h e r e i s a thematic d e r i v a t i o n a v a i l a b l e
5. l A . The c a s e of Sha. For t h i s l a n g u a g e , t h e e x i s t e n c e of L-.hree.I--
t

r i v a t i o n a l t h e m a t i c verb stems were suggested, 'by Jmgraithir:ayr : 2: :S-~,IXI

stem e n d i n g i n -ay t o n a r k , among o t h e r s ; " t o t a l i t y / i n t e n s i v e H ur

" a p p l i c a t i v e " f u n c t i o n s ; and t h i r d l y , a stem" f o r whi:.h only
f i v e examples could, 'oe found:

ci : cyan 'eat,'
du : dwan ' go'
shum : shwh ' catch'
shish : shGsh 'slaughter'
go1 : golol rbre&- ( ~ ) 'r

Whereas t h e -o and t h e -ay steins f r e e l y o c c u r i n t h e 'h:ibi.tual"

, e.g.
(A-11)
/
lwagag-o
P /
' (hab. ) r i s e and comeQ, lyandand--ay
,
\
' (hat-. )
box someone' s e a r s ' , there a r e no examples o f " p l u r a l stems" i n the
/ '"1
habitual! F o r C L , we f i n d a h a b i t u a l for:natiori cayay o n l y , 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) , b u t c o n t a i n i i i g
Lhe s u f f i x -ay which i s s o t y p i c a l o f t h e A-I1 f o r m a t i o n o f monover'bs
not. only in Sha b u t al-so i n 3okkos aria. :'.'.'affo ( s e e above ) . For d u ,
+- -.. is unfortunately no A-I1 f o r m a t i o n quoted a t a l l . I n t h e c a s e o f
<.;&re
Q

go1 : golol, no a s p e c 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 the description. According t o t h e r ~ l e svL'!?0:
27l), the h a b i t u a l o f
any CoC2 verb i s CoC2oCz , i . e . golol must c o n t a i n b o t h i n d i c a t i o n o f
A-I1 a s well as of p l u r a l . Thus we may speak o f b a s e 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 c a s e s o f 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-
tions :

I n t h e f i v e c a s e s c i t e d , the: l a c k o f " A - I 1 + p i " steins i n t h e d a t a c o u l d

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 f o ~ m s - - b u t it c o u l d a l s o
be due t o a s y s t e m a t i c 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 > f o r m a t i v e s w i t h i n t h e same b a s e .

5.1.5. The c a s e o f Kulere . According t o Jungraithmayr ( 1970 , there are

no p r o d u c t i v e t h e m a t i c stem e x t e n s i o n s 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 v e r b stems ending i n -o(he) a s belonging t o t h e category o f
aspect/tense. Yet t r a c e s o f t h e m a t i c d e r i v a t i o n have been n o t e d . l2 The
A-I1 ( " h a b i t u a l - p r o g r e s s i v e " ) stems i n Ku-Lere ( a g a i n a c c o r d i n g t o J-mg-
r a i t h m a y r ) employ t h e f o l l o w i n g :
( 1) -aa- i n f i x ( p o l y v e r b s w i t h h i g h b a s e vowel)
(2) -ay s u f f i x (monoverbs, and p o l y v e r b s w i t h non-high b a s e vowel)
( ~ u n g r a i t h m a y r ' st h i r d t y p e ( = b o t h -aa- i n f i x and -ay suffix) is
b a s e d 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 y p e 2 a b o v e . )
The e x i s t e n c e o f " 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 f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n concerning t h e formation o f ~ a s s i v eand a c t i v e
participles:
'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 v e r b s i n such a way t h a t a

''These rudiments o f t h e m a t i c - d e r i v a t i o n a l e x t e n s i o n s 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 h a s n o t p e r s i s t e n t l y been
l e x i c a l i z e d . a s Jungraithmayr seems t o imply ( p p . 323, 3 4 1 ) . T h i s c a n b e
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 v a l u e d as a
r a d i c a l consonant, i .e. a l o n g -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 e a s e o f mono-
/ /
verbs, may a l r e a d y c a r r y t,he A - T 1 s u f f i x -ay: ?(dy-3n : rya-ay-an 'see'.
 h i g h 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 c a s e o f mono-
s y l l a b i c v e r b s t e m s , o c c u r s 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 o f 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 'broken p o t '

/
fakygn ma-na-gywaal
/ / /
'broken p o t s '
coh m;-m;-& ' b r o k e n walking s t i c k '
/ / /
/
&h ma-ma-twaar ' b r o k e n walking s t i c k s '
Â¥f

z& m:-m&-szky 'cut-off rope'

za2r m$-rni-~y$&~ ' cut-off ropes '

Compare a l s o t h e f o l l o w i n g p a r a l l e l f o r m a t i o n s o f " p a s s i v e " and " a c t i v e "

participles :

'a k i l l e d p e r s o n '
' k i l l e d persons'
'a killer'
'killers '

The c o n c l u s i o n i s a p p a r e n t : t o u s e t h e a s p e c t u a l dichotomy o f t h e v e r b
system t o mark t h e number d i s t i n c t i o n o f s g : p l i n agreement w i t h t h e
number o f t h e nominal head of a c o n s t r u c t i o n would seem t o "be a s i l l y
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 n o t
i n h e r e n t i n t h e a s p e c t u a l dichotomy!

5.1.6. Summary o f Ron languages. The f o l l o w i n g c h a r t summarizes t h e

segmental markers o f < + p l u r a l > and < A - 1 1 > found i n t h e Ron l a n g u a g e s .

r e g a r d s t h e two forms z y a h ( e x t e n d e d b a s e ) and z y ~ l - a y

( e x t e n d e d 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 o f Aspect-11
formaLion i n K u l e r e , we a r e l e f t t o mere guesswork a s t o w h e t h e r
z y a h might r e f l e c t a formerly p r o d u c t i v e " p l u r a l " b a s e f o r m a t i o n .
T h i s i s fhp o n l y 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 .
Bokkos 1. -aa- / polyverbs
2. -aa / monoverbs: '<+high>
3. -ay / monoverbs: "< -hiem

a l. -a- / polyverbs 3. -aa- / polyverbs

2. -ay / monoverbs 4,. -a-ay / monoverbs
Sha I 1.
l
-a(a)- 1
l

2. -vc2/civcz- 4. -VC2/CiVC2-
3. -an / monoverbs 5. -ay / monoverbs
Kulere ( l . -aa- ) -aa- / p o l y v e r b s : < + h i g h>
3. -ay / polyverbs : -high >
/ monoverbs

As r e g a r d s cross-word c l a s s usage o f t h e s e b a s e and stem l e v e l

f o r m a t i v e s w i t h i n t h e same l a n g u a g e s , t h e r e a r e o n l y a few e x c e p t i o n s :
a ) Fyer h a s no noun p l u r a l t o match t h e f o r m a t i o n o f 66h-2 and
uses t h e s u f f i x -an o n l y i n combination w i t h -i- i n s e r t i o n ;
(b) Bokkos u s e s 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 aa i n t h e v e r b system;
c ) Sha does n o t u s e 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 c o n t a i n e d i n t h e d a t a anyway! ) ;
(d) Kulere does n o t u s e 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 p h o n o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s under which some o f t h e
f o r m a t i v e s a r e o r a r e n o t a p p l i e d i n t h e verb system a r e o n l y i n a few
c a s e s i d e n t i c a l t o t h e c o n d i t i o n s under which t h e y a r e a p p l i e d i n t h e
noun system. ( ~ought
t t o b e noted h e r e t h a t the i n d i v i d u a l Ron l a n -
guages may use up t o p i g h t d i f f e r e n t noun p l u r a l f o r m a t i o n s t h r o u g h va-
r i o u s t y p e s 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 i L a hmafcnh t h o s e
 223

verb f o r m a t i o n s 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 : fyiLr ' Fyer individual '

yuur-U
\
: yir ' eye '
bor : bwar 'home'
h&y : 'head'
\
yuur-U : eye'
Bokkos akot : ' child1
mwal : mwdl 'ear'
mUto : mutw-a
/
' navel '
re : ' husband'
titwi : ' sheep '
fat; : 'tree'
/
Daffo cipq
<Â
: 'fingernail'
khsdm : 'rat'
: 'fingernail '
f i : 'back'
sakdr : 'slave '
hwam : 'ear'
Sha mate1 : ' hen '
gish : gishash 'bone '
bur : bursr war'
'aton : ' nose '
baczn : bacenen ''bow1
: ' he-goat '
*?aku : "baboon'
perish : horse' '

/ /
Kulere sisig : star'
kiqgyer : kirigyaar ' snake '
sumor :
/ /\
sumaar hare'
:uk&h : ?ukw$h "baboon '
zAr : zair ' rope '
The s i t u a t i o n i n t h e Ron languages cannot he t a k e n t o he r e p r e s e n -
tative of t h e Western branch of Chadic. F o r c o n t r a s t i v e p ~ i r p o s e sI~
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 v e r b b a s e s a n d
one t y p e o f noun p l u r a l i n Kanakuru, and ti-ien t u r n t o a d i s c u s s i o n of
some r e d u p l i c a t i v e f o r m a t i o n s i n t h e Hausa verb and noun s y s t e m s .

5.2. Kanakuru. I n h i s comprehensive t r e a t m e n t o f t h e Kanakuru l a n -

guage, P . 2i-iiiiiaii ( l 9 7 4 :72) d e s c r i b e d a s y n c h r o n i c p r o c e s s o f "cor.c'onu,1'!
+,

hardening" ( [ + s o n ] + [ - s o n ] ) f o r b o t h v e r b and noun p l u r a l s :

A s m a l l s u b s e t o f Kariakuru v e r b s a r e number-sensitive and o b l i g z -
t o r i l y a g r e e i n numberwith t h e d i r e c t o b j e c t o f a t r a n s i t i v e
s e n t e n c e , o r w i t h t h e s u b j e c t of a n i n t r a n s i t i v e s e n t e n c e . There
i s never agreement between the vcr'b znci. t h e a g e n t i v e s u b j e c t o f a
t r a n s i t i v e s e n t e n c e . These p l u r a l v e r b 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 u n d e r l y i n g r o o t . "
It i s ¥wort n o t i n g t h a t "consonant hardening" i s a s y n c h r o n i c r u l e
whereas comparative evidence s u g g e s t s t h a t h i s t o r i c a l l y we a r e w i t r i e s s -
i n g r e s u l t s o f a "weakening" r u l e i n t h e s i n g u l a r stems o f Kanakuru ( c f .
Newman 1 9 7 0 ) . We may t h u s s a y t h a t weakening h a s o c c u r r e d i n b a s e s
u n d e r l y i n g t h e unmarked stems o f modern Kanakuru w h i l e t h e marked ( =
p l u r a l ) stems s t i l l show t h e consonants o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l b a s e s . l4 Cf.
a few s e l e c t e d examples from b o t h systems:

Verb system Noun system

sg : p1 s g : p1
dbwg : 'tie' liw; : 'calabash '
\ !
pori : &cf; 'go o u t ' sh&& : sh&cf-iY& 'gazelle '
/ \ / \
muri : mute 'die'

141n an i n t e r e s t i n g a r t i c l e which I saw o n l y a f t e r t h e d r a f t of t h i s

p a p e r was f i n i s h e d , F r a j z y n g i e r (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 v e r b ( a n d noun) p l u r a l s . He h a s good r e a s o n t o r e l a t e t h e
non-weakening o f o b s t r u e n t s i n t h e p l u r a l forms t o u n d e r l y i n g c o n s o n a n t
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 h e n becomes p r e d i c t -
a b 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 ' :
<sg> : <pl>
*muti : *mutte
4- +
m u r i : mute
Tn t h i s way, YiV"ikuru p r o v i d e s e x c e l l e n t evidence f o r t h e t y p e o f p l u r a l
b a s e 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
e n c o u n t e r e d i n Migama and, w i t h 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-I1 f o r m a t i o n i n t h i s l a n g u a g e , Kanakuru v\_ 3 m af a
riominalized v e r b stem ( " g e r u n d i v e " ) .

5.3. Hausa. When we t u r n t o Hausa i:or t h e d i s c u s s i o n oi7 bases t h r ~ tI r e

marked, f o r < p l u r a l / i n t e n s i v e > , 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 a g a i n q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from t h a t o f 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?:
w i t h extended b a s e s formed by means o f 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 o f t h e IIansa V-CA" ~ a v e1c3;i e x h a u s t i v e l y d i s c u s s 2~ -L,;

Frajzyngier (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

f o r m a t i o n s which Parsons (1960/61) h a s d i s t i n g u i s h e d a s " d e n c n i n a t i v e
v e r b s " , "extended v e r b s " , " p o s t - r e d u p l i c a t e d d e r i v a t i v e v e r b s " , 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 z y n g i e r ' s a n a l y s i s ,
t h e " i n t e n s i v e forms" o f Hausa v e r b s a r e m a n i f e s t e d i n two of P a r s o n s '
c l a s s e s a s ( 1 ) " p l u r a l v e r b s " , and ( 2 ) " p o s t - r e d u p l i c a t e d derivative
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 ei .r e) . , w i t h o u t any simplex b e i n g found i n t h e d i c -
tionaries--a s i t u a t i o n n o t uncommon i n o t h e r Chadic l a n g u a g e s ( c f .
Lamang d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n 4.1).
The t y p e s o f r e d u p l i c a t i v e v e r b "base f o r m a t i o n can b e i - l l u s t r a t e d
by t h e f o l l o w i n g s e t o f stems i n Grade I V :

Underlying simple b a s e Underlying extended b a s e 1 Type

rniakhr-Le 'strangle'

l
tarts-Le ' smash'
-

As t h e c h a r t above shows, < i n t e n s i v e > v e r b base f o r m a t i o n i n v o l v e - t v o

d i s t i n c t t y p e s o f r e d u p l i c a t i v e p r o c e s s e s , t y p e ( 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 t y p e ( 2 ) based on f i n a l oonsonarib r o d ~ ~ p l i c a t i o n .
Type ( 1 ) r e - d u p l i c a t i o n based on p l i a b l e - means a d d i t i o n o f a c l o s e d a y l -
1abl.ra to tip: nimplc: base. ltie u r i : , ~L cdrisunail L or tile added . J 1 1 :ib.Le

and i i,:: TOWC-l

-L. * > p i d rrom ' l , :;v l I c t b l e t o be r v d u p l i c a t v i l . The
;y l i t i L L', is l o ~ e dby a coda con. 1111, whi ph i s copi t ~ d. f r o m 1 - -+ -i^
t h e f o l l o w i n g s y l l a b l e , i f t h e s y l l a b l e t o b e 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 c o m p l e t e l y . Compare:

i ) maakhr-6e ( < *mak+maakura < *maa-ku-ra) 1 5

: m~mmaafthr-ee
h a i f - & : h>hh&.f-aa ( < *hay+hayfi < * h a y - f i ) ' g i v e b i r t h '
i i ) in$akbr-6e : maakdrkhr-Le ( < *maa+kur+kura < *maa-ku-ra, 'I

As t h e examples d e m o n s t r a t e , t h i s t y p e o f r e d u p l i c a t i o n may work 21 the

f i r s t syllable.as well a s t h e second s y l l a b l e ( i n t h e c a s e of - c r i s y l -
l a b i c simple b a s e s ) . T r i r a d i c a l b u t b i s y l l a b i c s i m p l e b a s e s of t h e
Jt

t y p e CVCCV can b e transformed, i n t o u n d e r l y i n g b a s e s 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 c o p i e d 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 t y p e ( 2 ) o f r e d u p l i c a t i v e v e r b b a s e f o r m a t i o n , i . e .
Parsons ' " p o s t - r e d u p l i c a t i v e d e r i v a t i v e verbs". F r a j z y n g i e r (1965 ) h a d
mentioned f o u r c a s e s i n which t h e s e extended b a s e s s e r v e a s " i n t e n s i v e s "
( q u o t e d i n t h e o f f i c i a l o r t h o g r a p h y from Bargery and ~ a y l o r :)

tartsa : tartsatsa ' t a k e a bee-line t o a p l a c e '

tartse : tartsatse/tararratse '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 a c c e p t e d a s < i n t e n s i v e > f o r m a t i o n s

remains somewhat d o u b t f u l . )
These Hausa f o r m a t i o n s , o f c o u r s e , b e a r v e r y c l o s e resemblance t o
formations discussed e a r l i e r i n t h i s paper, although t h e i r use a s
i n t e n s i v e b a s e s may be o f minor importance i n modern Hausa. This t y p e
i n v o l v e s "base l e v e l augmentation by means of r e d u p l i c a t i o n 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 o f - a ( a ) - between t h e f i n a l two r a d i -
cals. 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 v e r b s a r e quoted w i t h 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 o f t h e b a s e s ( c f . t h e examples f o r " p o s t - - r e d u p l i -
caLiivefl v e r b s i n P a r s o n s (1960/61:7, n o t e 1 4 ) ) .
R e d u p l i c a t i v e b a s e formation can be found i n t h e noun system of
Hausa a s w e l l . The r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f t h e f i r s t s y l l a b l e seems t o a p p l y
t o s i n g u l a r forms of s e m a n t i c a l l y 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- thick , -9ut iis
u s e may n o t b e 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
i n v o l v i n g 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 b a s e f o r m a t i o n s which m d e r l y
c e r t a i n t y p e s o f nomianl p l u r a l s t e m s , e . g .

\ / \ \ \ /
gajeer- : gajajjeeruu (< *gajerjeer-) 'short (things)'
(1:) gidia : gidiaj&e < *gidaad-I 'compound~s)'
bat- : bak>ak&e b l a c k ( t h i n g s) '
As r e g a r d s A - I 1 f o r m a t i o n i n Hausa, t h i s language makes u s e of a noaii-
n a l i z e d v e r b stem. Since base l e v e l i s t h u s not involved at all-, t h e r e
is PO r e a s o n why < p l u r a l / i n t e n s i v e > v e r b b a s e s s h o u l d n o t o c c u r i n t h e
v a r i o u s forms of A - 1 1 ( "continuous , r e l a t i v e c o n t i n u o u s , nega Live con-
t i n u o u s " ) which a r e a l l b a s e d on t h e v e r b a l noun.

Summary and c o n c l u s i o n

With t h i s - p r e s e n t a t i o n , 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 f o r m a t i v e s i n p l u r a l / i n t e n s i v e and a s p e c t - I 1 verb
formations and i n noun p l u r a l s . A t t h e same t i m e , it was o u r i n t e n - c i o n
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 o f 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 v e r b systems o f s e l e c t e d Chadic l a n g u a g e s , and how it can p r o v i d e
a framework f o r t h e comparative s t u d y of verb systems.
As concerns t h e h y p o t h e s i s o r o r i g i n a l i d e n t i t y o f < p l u r a l > and
< A - 1 1 > in t h e p r o t o - l a n g u a g e , t h e s a l i e n t o b s e r v a t i o n s made w i t h regai'i-
t o t h e s e l e c t e d Chadic languages r a n be suirmariz(5d in t h e c h a r t 'below.
 Predominantly o r exclusive-ly
marked a t . noun
BASE l e v d STEM l e v e l *
< + p l > I <aspect-11> < a s p e c t - I 1>
l
M i gama + + + l1 ?

Lamang + - I -
Ga ' anda + - ++ 1 -
Kapsiki + -
+ -
Bachama

Ran-Fyer
----l+
-
------
+ -i
I
I - v -

+
- - -

-Bokkos 1 - + +
-Daffo + + - +
-Sha + 1 + - +
-Kulere (+) + 4-

Kanakuru + - +
Haus a + - +
l
* I n c l u d e s 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

Three i m p o r t a n t g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s can b e drawn from t h e comparative

analysis:
(1) Verb systems and noun systems make u s e o f e i t h e r i d e n t i c a . 1 o r a t
l e a s t v e r y s i m i l a r f o r m a t i v e s t o i n d i c a t e markedness i n b i n a r y opposi-
t i o n s , b o t h < s g > v s . < p l > i n noun a s w e l l a s v e r b s y s t e m s , and < A - I > v s .
< A - 1 1 > i n t h e c a t e g o r y of v e r b i n f l e x i o n . his h a s been observed f o r
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. F o r Migama no d a t a on noun p l u r a l s
were a v a i l a b l e , and t h e t h r e e remaining C e n t r a l "branch languages gene-
r a l l y u s e an i n n o v a t e d s u f f i x t o mark noun p l u r a l s . )
2 ) When marking o f v e r b a l < p l > and < A - 1 1 > t a k e s p l a c e a t t h e b a s e
Level, t h e two f o r m a t i o n s a r e l i k e l y t o " c o l l i d e " , i . e . they cannot co-
o c c u r i n one and t h e same v e r b stem w i t h o u t 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 K o n - K u l e r e ~ m a r k e dhy + + under "base l e v e l " i n t h e
? h l r3 above. None; o f t h e f o u r C e n t r a l branch languages wan found t,o
marked a t t h e b a s e l e v e l . I f (A-II> c o n t i n u e s t o be m a r k e d : c +,he

l e v e l ( c f . t h e monoverbs of Ron-Daffo and 3on-~na) . 11' t,i1c fea.zurc

< p l u r a , l / i n t e n s ? v e > i s marked in t h e v e r b b a s e , t h e n <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 v e r o stem t o nomi.nalized v e r b a l noun stern, o r Ly any ,:om~i--
nation of t h e s e devices. ( ~ a n ~ u a g eofs ' t h i s t y p e a r e Lamany:, , d a ' a n d a ,
K a p s i k i , Bachama, R o n - Q e r , 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 n o t c l o s e t h i s p r e s e n t a t i on w i t h o u t v e n t u r i n g a p o s s i b l e - -
though a d m i t t e d l y h i g h l y s p e c u l a t i v e - - i r l z e r p r e l . a t i o n o f uhe o b s e r v e d
phenomena, i . e . propose a h y p o t h e s i s 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 , v e r b
p l u r a l s , and t h e s e m a n t i c a l l y marked a s p e c t . For t h e purposes o f t h i s
p a p e r , I s h a l l mainly f o l l o w Klingenheben (1926129, 19561 f-';r Pro to--
~ Moscati e t a l . (1969) f o r P r o t o - S e m i t i c (wh:;.ch I t a k e
A f r o a s i a t i ~and
Lo r e p r e s e n 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 b a s e s were c h a r a c t e r i z e d by such forrnatives as p o s s i b l y redu-
p l i c a t i o n o f t h e b a s e ( p a r t l y o r c o m p l e t e l y , i n c l u d i n g 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 , w i t h 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
a n d / o r vowel i n s e r t i o n , a n d / o r 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 b o t h t h e noun and t h e v e r b s y s t e m s . Al!
b a s e s were allowed t o combine w i t h stem-forming a f f i x e s , such a s g c n a e r
and number markers i n t h e nominal system, and v a r i o u s i n f l e x i o n a l a n d
t h e m a t i c - d e r i v a t i o n a l a f f i x e s i n t h e v e r b system. I c o n s i d e r it l i k e l y
that--if o n l y 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 v e r b system through t h i s symmetrical r e s h a p i n g o f t h e b a s e 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 o c c u r r e d , I assume--following Jungraithmayr in t h i s
r e s p e c t ~ t h a to n l y t h e s e two b a s e s o p e r a t e d i n t h e v e r b 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 i m p l e " v s . "augmented". ) During a f o l l o w i n g s t a g e o f development w i t h -
i n t h e v e r b system, t h e c o g n i t i v e v a l u e o f t h e p l u r a l - l i k e semantic f e a -
t a r e and i t s c o r r e s p o n d i n g f o r m a t i v e s was l o s t because t h e marked b a s e
had begun t o b e 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
category. T h i s s h i f t may have been s u p p o r t e d by ( a ) t h e l o s s o f t h e
b i n a r y o p p o s i t i o n , i . e . because one o f t h e a s p e c t b a s e s had c e a s e d t o
f u n c t i o n 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 s e r v e o n l y a s a common u n d e r l y i n g form f o r a s e t o f
a f f i x a t i o n a l l y derived "tenses" ( i n A-I1 , e .g. f o r "iterative", "fre-
q u e n t a t i v e " , " s u b j u n c t i v e " , e t c . ) which, a s a group, c o n t r a s t e d w i t h a
s i n g l e t e n s e o r group of t e n s e s b a s e d on t h e o p p o s i t e 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 b a s e d e r i v e d 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 t e m
b u i l t on t h e unmarked (<A-T>) b a s e . 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 or t h e A-11 b a s e had
ceased, t o f u n c t i o n 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 c a t e g o r y o f v e r b a l p l u r a l i t y had developed i n c o m p e t i t i o n w i t h
t h e asper:t2u£i.dichotomy whnro t h e l a t t e r becam? rnorf" Q\H\ more i n t e r p r e t e d .
111 l . r l lit:: 01' " I ' U I I I ~rIt , < ' i i v V:;.
!f -1 n ~ u i i i pi I, L i ; d f ' ;i.i:~.!i,i!. ,i./[~i.:ji:I~ l>, (,iic:;i'

~i:~,i~:.i!
l ! f l I 11~:i.1;:" w i . , t ~ \ t ~ ~ ~ 1.0~ ~: ; id: r vrc \ d l . l i i ' r ri\.iui.\icr eurii'c,t,ij ivii,i' ;;!~l~ji,:rL

o r DI),,cL:I, , or x , y . r i ; i . - ~ i ~ , ~Wi i ,i UI :;~.;rri:-i.nt,.i c I'LL(: (,or:;i 1 1 :i. vi ' 1 :: i ,,JJ,I, [un, ; ; i ~ : i ' i

( ' o l l i il iiol, be i n d i i.';~Lt:ii i 11 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;rr-i;i:i,ii "AI< I, i o n : ; : ~ r i , c r i " ) . AL S.11 i S l.~:i,r!., i c:u i :,.I' :: l,;iy;i' 0 1 ' ilL,v,-.!.: ! ' -

iiii'uL, vcr'L) " p i.ut.':~I.::/ i r i t , ( ~ r i ~iivr;;"

; r i Uicr
. ,
1 ' o i n : ~ iI I C , ~:.i.iui. !I~;~;LIIII.: i i L:,&[
.
:,'
.
(1

wi l.ii :i [ \ ' W verb;: or, :.L:; a pri~clu~:t.i.i~i;

~I>OO:;;::, ~ ' i : - i , i i ~ ~ : rl .ci i ic >~ ¥-:,';.¥L : : V , . ....

!,(!lil, i.: i b l l c ' f L t i t ' 9 l J c I i t,lirttl:~,l,J tf dc:J?i.vaL ini! :J,L Lill,' -ii Li.'nl i i!Vi'l , GJ: ^.'l(.'y b-'~?;',
leave the safer grounds of comparative phonolcw and. 1 .xi
- ~911. i l p v e r ~ h e -
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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