A Grammar of Mankanya

An Atlantic language of Guinea-Bissau,

Senegal and the Gambia
 Published by
LOT phone: +31 20 525 2461
Kloveniersburgwal 48
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The Netherlands http://www.lotschool.nl

Cover illustration: photo by Timothy Gaved of Mankanya hats, past and present, on
a traditional cloth.

ISBN: 978-94-6093-346-2
NUR: 616

Copyright © 2020: Timothy Gaved. All rights reserved.

A Grammar of Mankanya
An Atlantic language of Guinea-Bissau,
Senegal and the Gambia

Proefschrift
ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,
op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof.mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker
volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties
te verdedigen op donderdag 5 november 2020
klokke 16.15 uur

door

Timothy J. D. Gaved

geboren te Bromley, Engeland

in 1965
Promotor: Prof.dr. Maarten Mous
Co-promotor: Dr. Victoria Nyst
Promotie commissie: Prof.dr. Maarten Kossmann
Prof.dr. Friederike Lüpke (University of Helsinki)
Prof.dr. Konstantin Pozdniakov
(CNRS & INALCO, Paris)
 List of Tables i

Table of Contents
List of Tables.................................................................................vii
Abbreviations.................................................................................ix
Acknowledgements.........................................................................xi
Chapter 1 - Introduction....................................................................1
1.1 Sociolinguistic situation......................................................................1
1.2 Previous work.....................................................................................4
1.3 Data sources........................................................................................4
1.4 Language overview.............................................................................5
1.4.1 Phonology......................................................................................5
1.4.2 Orthography................................................................................... 6
1.4.3 Morphology and syntax.................................................................6
Chapter 2 - Phonology.......................................................................9
2.1 Introduction........................................................................................9
2.2 Phonemic tables..................................................................................9
2.2.1 Consonant phonemes.....................................................................9
2.2.2 Vowel Phonemes..........................................................................11
2.2.3 The mid central vowel /ə/ and [Pə] prefixes...............................11
2.3 Contrasts...........................................................................................12
2.3.1 Labials and Dentals......................................................................13
2.3.2 Alveolars and Retroflexes.............................................................14
2.3.3 Palatals.........................................................................................19
2.3.4 Velars...........................................................................................20
2.3.5 Vowels.........................................................................................21
2.4 Allophones and their distribution.....................................................25
2.5 Interpretation....................................................................................25
2.5.1 Interpretation between vowels and consonants...........................25
2.5.2 Interpretation between units and sequences................................26
2.5.2.1 Prenasals................................................................................. 26
2.5.2.2 Long vowels............................................................................27
2.5.3 Glottal stop.................................................................................. 27
2.6 Syllables............................................................................................27
2.7 Word schemas................................................................................... 28
2.8 Occurrences and co-occurrence restrictions......................................28
2.9 Interpretation....................................................................................29
2.10 Accent............................................................................................. 29
2.11 Tone................................................................................................ 29
Chapter 3 - Nouns and Nominals......................................................31
3.1 Basic word classes.............................................................................31
3.2 Word structure..................................................................................31
3.3 Noun morphology.............................................................................33
ii Table of Contents

3.3.1 Class prefixes...............................................................................33

3.3.1.1 Noun class semantics..............................................................37
3.3.1.2 Irregularities...........................................................................41
3.3.1.3 Proper noun marker................................................................42
3.3.2 Special cases................................................................................42
3.3.2.1 Proper Nouns..........................................................................42
3.3.2.2 Borrowed words......................................................................43
3.3.3 Possessor suffixes.........................................................................43
3.3.4 Derivational suffixes....................................................................44
3.4 Compound Nouns..............................................................................45
3.5 Pronouns........................................................................................... 45
3.6 Summary of agreement prefixes........................................................49
Chapter 4 - The Verb.......................................................................51
4.1 Word structure..................................................................................51
4.2 Inflection........................................................................................... 52
4.2.1 Subject prefixes............................................................................52
4.2.2 Serial............................................................................................55
4.2.3 Persistive prefix...........................................................................55
4.2.4 Negative.......................................................................................56
4.2.5 Selectional suffixes.......................................................................58
4.2.6 Co-reference prefix.......................................................................60
4.2.7 Object Suffixes.............................................................................61
4.2.7.1 Object Suffixes on Main Verbs................................................61
4.2.7.2 Object Suffixes on Verbs with the Selectional Suffix..............62
4.2.8 Aspectual affixes..........................................................................63
4.2.8.1 Imperfective............................................................................63
4.2.8.2 Completive..............................................................................64
4.2.9 Middle voice................................................................................66
4.2.10 Imperative..................................................................................67
4.3 Derivation.........................................................................................68
4.3.1 Stem Category Change (-al).........................................................69
4.3.2 Causative (-an, -ëş)......................................................................70
4.3.3 Reciprocal (-ar, -ir, -ad)...............................................................70
4.3.4 Benefactive (-ar, -ir, -ad)..............................................................71
4.3.5 Separative (-ëş)............................................................................73
4.3.6 Extensive (-ënt, -ëb).....................................................................73
4.3.7 Instrumental (-na)........................................................................74
4.3.8 Reduplication...............................................................................75
Chapter 5 - Infinitives and Participles..............................................79
5.1 Infinitives..........................................................................................79
5.2 Participles.........................................................................................82
Chapter 6 - Other word classes.........................................................87
 Table of Contents iii

6.1 Agreeing Noun Modifiers..................................................................87

6.1.1 Adjectives.....................................................................................87
6.1.2 Determiners..................................................................................90
6.1.3 Cardinal numbers.........................................................................92
6.1.4 Ordinals.......................................................................................95
6.1.5 Demonstratives............................................................................96
6.1.6 Genitive particle...........................................................................98
6.2 Invariable Noun Modifiers..............................................................100
6.2.1 Quantifiers................................................................................. 100
6.2.2 Invariable locative modifiers.....................................................100
6.2.3 Anaphoric demonstratives.........................................................101
6.3 Prepositions.................................................................................... 101
6.4 Locatives.........................................................................................104
6.5 Conjunctions...................................................................................106
6.6 Interrogatives.................................................................................. 108
6.7 Invariable Particles.........................................................................110
6.8 Adverbs........................................................................................... 111
6.9 Sound symbolic modifiers...............................................................114
Chapter 7 - Simple Syntax..............................................................117
7.1 Simple Sentence..............................................................................117
7.1.1 Basic Verbal Sentence................................................................117
7.1.1.1 Existence...............................................................................120
7.1.2 Sentence with “wo” as a copula.................................................121
7.1.2.1 Stative clauses (adjectival)....................................................121
7.1.2.2 Equative clauses (nominal)...................................................121
7.1.2.1 Genitive clauses....................................................................122
7.1.2.2 Locative clauses....................................................................122
7.1.3 Selectional suffix sentence.........................................................122
7.1.4 Non-verbal clauses.....................................................................124
7.2 Simple clausal modifications...........................................................125
7.2.1 Negative clauses.........................................................................125
7.2.2 Yes/No interrogative clauses.....................................................126
7.2.3 Content interrogative clauses.....................................................127
7.2.4 Imperative clauses.....................................................................130
7.3 Noun Phrase.................................................................................... 131
7.3.1 Structure....................................................................................131
7.3.2 Adjectives................................................................................... 134
7.3.3 Cardinal Numbers......................................................................135
7.3.4 Genitive Constructions...............................................................135
7.3.4.1 Inalienable Genitive Construction.........................................136
7.3.4.2 Alienable Genitive Construction...........................................136
7.3.5 Demonstratives..........................................................................137
iv Table of Contents

7.3.6 Determiners...............................................................................138
7.3.7 Quantifiers................................................................................. 139
7.4 Infinitival clauses............................................................................141
7.5 Locative phrases..............................................................................143
7.6 Temporal phrases............................................................................147
7.7 Pronouns......................................................................................... 149
7.7.1 Personal pronouns.....................................................................149
7.7.1.1 Independent subject pronouns..............................................149
7.7.1.2 Object pronouns....................................................................151
7.7.2 Non-personal pronouns..............................................................152
7.7.2.1 Demonstrative pronouns.......................................................152
7.7.2.2 Indefinite pronoun................................................................153
Chapter 8 - Verb System................................................................155
8.1 Introduction.................................................................................... 155
8.2 Lexical aspectual classes.................................................................155
8.3 Auxiliaries and Auxiliary Verb Constructions.................................158
8.4 Preliminary Information.................................................................159
8.4.1 Analysis of k- a- prefixes............................................................159
8.4.2 Verbs with infinitive complements............................................161
8.5 Completive and Imperfective..........................................................161
8.5.1 Completive................................................................................. 161
8.5.2 Imperfective...............................................................................166
8.6 Functional Overview.......................................................................168
8.7 Tense............................................................................................... 168
8.7.1 Future........................................................................................ 168
8.7.2 Past............................................................................................ 173
8.7.3 Sequential.................................................................................. 176
8.8 Aspectual constructions..................................................................177
8.8.1 Habitual.....................................................................................177
8.8.2 Continuative..............................................................................180
8.8.3 Persistive.................................................................................... 183
8.8.4 Ingressive...................................................................................184
8.8.5 Progressive.................................................................................187
8.8.6 Repetitive...................................................................................189
8.8.7 Terminative................................................................................190
8.9 Modal constructions........................................................................193
8.9.1 Obligative and Epistemic...........................................................193
8.9.2 Prohibitive................................................................................. 195
8.10 Complex Auxiliary Verb Constructions.........................................197
Chapter 9 - Complex clauses..........................................................201
9.1 Clauses joined by linking words......................................................201
9.1.1 Balanced clauses........................................................................201
 Table of Contents v

9.1.2 Relations requiring deranking....................................................204

9.2 Clauses linked by verbal forms.......................................................210
9.3 Semantics of clause relations..........................................................213
9.4 Subordinate clauses.........................................................................213
9.4.1 Complement clauses...................................................................214
9.4.1.1 Modals.................................................................................. 214
9.4.1.2 Phasals.................................................................................. 217
9.4.1.3 Manipulatives.......................................................................218
9.4.1.4 Desideratives.........................................................................219
9.4.1.5 Perceptions...........................................................................220
9.4.1.6 Knowledge............................................................................221
9.4.1.7 Propositional attitude...........................................................222
9.4.1.8 Utterance..............................................................................222
9.4.2 Adverbial clauses.......................................................................224
9.4.2.1 Temporal clauses..................................................................224
9.4.2.2 Manner..................................................................................226
9.4.3 Relative clauses..........................................................................227
9.4.3.1 Antecedent is the Subject of the Relative Clause..................227
9.4.3.2 Antecedent is a non-Subject in the Relative Clause..............229
9.4.3.3 Object pronouns in Relative Clauses.....................................231
9.4.3.4 Antecedent is a modifier in a genitive phrase in a Relative
Clause................................................................................................ 231
9.4.3.5 Headless relative clauses.......................................................232
9.4.3.6 Relative clause semantics......................................................232
9.4.4 Participle clauses.......................................................................234
9.5 Other types of clause linking..........................................................235
9.5.1 Temporal (I)...............................................................................235
9.5.1.1 Temporal Succession (Is)......................................................235
9.5.1.2 Relative Time (Ir)..................................................................236
9.5.1.3 Conditional (Ic).....................................................................236
9.5.2 Consequence (II)........................................................................237
9.5.2.1 Cause (IIc).............................................................................237
9.5.2.2 Result (IIr)............................................................................238
9.5.2.3 Purpose (IIp).........................................................................239
9.5.3 Possible Consequence (III).........................................................240
9.5.4 Addition (IV)..............................................................................241
9.5.4.1 Unordered addition (IVu).....................................................241
9.5.4.2 Same event addition (IVs).....................................................241
9.5.4.3 Elaboration (IVe)..................................................................242
9.5.4.4 Contrast (IVc)........................................................................242
9.5.5 Alternatives (V)..........................................................................245
9.5.5.1 Disjunction (Vd)....................................................................245
vi Table of Contents

9.5.5.2 Rejection (Vr).......................................................................246

9.5.5.3 Suggestion (Vs).....................................................................246
9.5.6 Manner (VI)...............................................................................247
9.5.6.1 Real (VIr)..............................................................................247
9.5.6.2 Hypothetical (VIh)................................................................247
9.6 Conclusion......................................................................................247
Chapter 10 - Coherence in Texts.....................................................249
10.1 Participant reference.....................................................................249
10.1.1 Introduction of participants.....................................................249
10.1.2 Participants which are syntactic subjects.................................251
10.1.3 Participants which are not syntactic subjects..........................254
10.1.4 VIP strategies...........................................................................256
10.2 Linking.......................................................................................... 258
10.2.1 Demonstrative aŋ.....................................................................258
10.2.2 Renewal...................................................................................260
10.2.2.1 Nominal renewal.................................................................260
10.2.2.2 Verbal renewal....................................................................261
10.3 Points of departure........................................................................263
Chapter 11 - The particle kë...........................................................267
11.1 Clause chaining and switch reference...........................................268
11.2 Kë after a noun phrase..................................................................273
11.3 Kë with hënk di.............................................................................277
11.4 What sort of information does kë occur with?..............................280
11.5 Summary.......................................................................................282
Chapter 12 - Glossed Texts.............................................................283
12.1 Two women who had humps........................................................283
12.2 A voyage to the Casamance..........................................................293
References................................................................................... 301
Samenvatting...............................................................................305
Curriculum vitae..........................................................................311
 List of Tables vii

List of Tables
Table 1.1: Consonant Phonemes....................................................................5
Table 1.2: Vowel Phonemes...........................................................................6
Table 2.1: Consonant Phonemes....................................................................9
Table 2.2: Vowel Phonemes.........................................................................11
Table 3.1: Noun Classes...............................................................................35
Table 3.2: Comparison of class numbers with Trifkovič..............................37
Table 3.3: Possessor suffixes........................................................................44
Table 3.4: Independent subject pronouns....................................................45
Table 3.5: Independent object pronouns......................................................46
Table 3.6: Genitive Pronouns.......................................................................47
Table 3.7: All singular pronouns and pronominal suffixes...........................48
Table 3.8: All plural pronouns and pronominal suffixes..............................48
Table 3.9: Summary of agreement prefixes..................................................49
Table 4.1: Subject prefixes - singular...........................................................52
Table 4.2: Subject prefixes - plural...............................................................53
Table 4.3: Object pronominal suffixes..........................................................61
Table 4.4: Object suffixes used with the selectional suffix...........................62
Table 6.1: Adjective prefixes........................................................................87
Table 6.2: Determiner prefixes.....................................................................91
Table 6.3: Numbers 1-10..............................................................................92
Table 6.4: Ordinal numbers.........................................................................95
Table 6.5: Demonstratives............................................................................96
Table 6.6: Demonstrative prefixes................................................................97
Table 6.7: Locatives................................................................................... 104
Table 8.1: Auxiliary verb constructions.....................................................159
Table 9.1: Dixon's classification of clause relations...................................237
Table 9.2: Summary of formal differences in subordinate clause types.....250
viii
 Abbreviations ix

Abbreviations
1P 1st person Plural HAB Habitual
1S 1st person Singular IMP Imperative
2P nd
2 person Plural IMPERF Imperfective
2S 2nd person Singular INDEF Indefinite
AGR Agreement prefix INF Infinitive
ALT Alternative INGR Ingressive
ASP Aspectual prefix INSTR Instrumental
AUX Auxiliary INT Interior
BEN Benefactive LOC Locative
C1AS Noun class 1a Singular MID Middle
C1P Noun class 1 Plural NEG Negative
C1S Noun class 1 Singular OBJ Object
CAUS Causative ORD Ordinal
CHG Stem category change PFX Nominal Prefix
CMPL Completive POSS Possessive
CNT Countable PRHB Prohibitive
CNTR Contrafactual PROX Proximal
COMP Complementiser PST Past
COREF Co-reference PSTV Persistive
DEF Definite PTCP Participle
DEM Demonstrative RCP Reciprocal
DIR Directional REP Repetitive
DIST Distal SEL Selectional
DS Different Subject SEP Separative
EXT Exterior SEQ Sequential
FUT Future SER Serial
GEN Genitive SitT Situation Time
x Abbreviations

SUB Subject TT Topic Time

TA Time of Assessment TU Time of Utterance
TMTV Terminative
 xi

Acknowledgements
Over the years many speakers of Mankanya have helped me understand
their language better, and I am thankful to all of them. I can’t name them
all, but in particular I would like to thank Gustave Campal, Jacques
Toupane and Francois Boissy for their input at different stages.
I would also like to thank all my SIL colleagues, both past and present, for
all the ways they have helped me become a better linguist.
My thanks go to my supervisor Maarten Mous who has guided me through
the process of creating this study, and my co-supervisor Victoria Nyst and
my committee, Maarten Kossmann, Friederike Lüpke, and Konstantin
Pozdniakov whose comments helped me refine it.
Thanks also to Gerrit de Witt who translated the Dutch Samenvatting at the
end of this book.
Finally thanks to my wife Maggie and my daughters Ruth and Anna for all
their support and interest along the way.
xii
 1

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Sociolinguistic situation

According to the Ethnologue (Lewis, Simons and Fennig, 2013), Mankanya
is a language spoken by approximately 75,000 people across the countries
of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and the Gambia. Mankanya is an exonym, and the
majority call themselves bahula, the people of Hula, (the original name for
their chief town which is now called Bula), and the language is referred to
as uhula. A small number of Mankanya refer to themselves as bawuh,
reflecting their origins in the town of Co1.

Approximate location of Mankanya speakers

1 Bula/hula and Co[ko]/wuh may indicate a historical system of

consonant mutation which no longer exists.
2 Chapter 1

Bula and Co are towns in the Cacheu region of Guinea-Bissau. However,

over the years there has been a steady migration of Mankanya northwards.
Trifkovič (1969, p. 3) cites Carreira (1960) as putting the start of this
migration in the first quarter of the 19th century. The same sources indicate
that the migration was due to a number of causes: insufficient cultivable
land, internal conflicts and abuse of power by the colonial authorities. The
Mankanya first moved into southern Senegal (the area known as the
Casamance), particularly around Ziguinchor the regional capital, and then
expanded eastwards along the southern bank of the River Casamance. Later
they also moved into the Gambia. Like virtually all Senegalese languages,
internal migration has additionally created Mankanya communities in most
major urban centres.
Many Mankanya speakers in the home area are farmers, and in recent times
have been heavily involved in the cultivation of cashew nuts, a major export
cash crop for both Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.
Traditionally, the Mankanya have a hierachical social structure, with each
village having a chief, who would ultimately be under the authority of the
chief (or king) of Bula. This chieftaincy has been apparently traced back to
1522 (Niouky and Robert, 2011). The chief of Co seems to have the second
highest authority and at some point in the past broke away, but was then
brought back under the authority of Bula. Though the system of chiefs still
exists, they now play a largely symbolic role. For example, in the past the
royal compound at Bula would be the home to the royal officials as well as
the king, but now only the king and his family live there with very little
pomp and ceremony.
The Mankanya were one of the main groups to respond to the outreach of
Catholic missions in the area around the beginning of the 20 th century, and
most Mankanya would now call themselves Catholic. However, many of
them also maintain their traditional religious practices.
One aspect of the Catholic influence is that, since Catholic missions often
involved schools, education has a high value amongst the Mankanya.
Particularly in Senegal, many Mankanya are well educated. Mankanya are
exposed to schooling in one of three different languages, depending on the
country in which they live: Portuguese, French, or English, in Guinea-
Bissau, Senegal and the Gambia respectively. Because of the history of civil
war, the education system in Guinea-Bissau is much less developed than
those in the other two countries.
Mankanya has been in contact with Upper Guinea Creole, a Portuguese
based creole, probably since its origins around the beginning of the 17 th
century (Kihm, 1994, p. 4). For over 400 years this creole has been the
language of wider communication in what is now Guinea-Bissau and the
 Introduction 3

Casamance area of Senegal. In the past 30 years Wolof has begun to take
over that role in the Casamance.
Mankanya, along with Manjaku and Pepel, form a group of closely related
languages, often referred to as Manjaku, the largest of the three. This group
is part of the Atlantic family of languages, which in turn is part of the Niger-
Congo phylum.
The most recent work on the structure of the Atlantic family is by
Pozdniakov and Segerer (Forthcoming). They propose the following
structure:

Wolof Wolof, Lebu

Nyun Baynunk; Buy
Tenda Basari, Bedik, Konyagi, Tanda, Bapen
NORTH
Jaad Biafada, Badiaranke
Fula-Sereer Fula (Pular, Pulaar, …); Sereer
Cangin Palor, Ndut, Noon, Laala, Saafi
ATLANTIC Nalu Nalu; Baga Fore; Baga Mboteni

Balante Ganja, Kentohe, Fraase

Fogny, Banjal, Kasa, Kwataay,
BAK Joola Karon, Ejamat, Keerak, … Bayot?
Manjaku Bok, Cur, Bassarel; Pepel, Mankanya
Bijogo Kamona, Kagbaaga, Kajoko
In the BAK group, all the languages apart from Bijogo were originally
classified as part of a group of the same name in earlier work, e.g. Sapir
(1971). The BAK group has the common feature that some version of the
bak- morpheme appears as a marker of the third person plural. For example
in Mankanya the third person plural object pronoun is baka.
Variation within Mankanya has not been formally described. Trifkovič
(1969) treats Mankanya as one language without dialects. Anecdotally,
Mankanya speakers say that there are only two dialects – the main one
uhula, and a second minor one uwuh, spoken by Mankanya living in the
region of Co. More significant differences are influences from the languages
of wider communication. For example, code switching with French for large
numbers and dates is common in Senegal, but with English in the Gambia.
The lack of variation in Mankanya as compared to neighbouring languages
like the Jola languages is a question for further research. One factor maybe
4 Chapter 1

that Mankanya society is traditionally hierarchical, with an overall king

based in Bula. Another may be that the Mankanya put a high value on
education, which results in an increase in mobility between the various
Mankanya communities, both for schooling, and afterwards for work.

1.2 Previous work

The only formal description published on Mankanya is “Le Mancagne: étude
phonologique et morphologique: étude phonologique et morphologique”
(Trifkovič, 1969). This description does not completely correspond with my
data, and I will note where there are differences. Since then a number of
students at the University Cheik Anta Diop in Dakar have produced
unpublished phonologies at the French Maî îtrise level, but those I have seen
have not produced new analyses.
The Mankanya people have been discussed in some anthropological work
notably Jacqueline Trincaz e.g. “Mythes, sens et représentations de la
maladie chez les Mancagne de Casamance” (Trincaz, 1973).
More recently there has been “Pratiques et representations des parlers
macagnes de Goudomp (Senegal)” (Ndecky, 2011).
The most closely related languages have been described in “A Manjako
grammar with special reference to the nominal group” (Karlik, 1972) and
“Phonologie, morphologie et structures syntaxiques du Pepel” (Ndao, 2011).
The three languages together are discussed and compared in a chapter of
“Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal
classification” (Wilson and Storch, 2007).
Data from Mankanya can also be found in the work of Alain Kihm, e.g.
“Noun class, gender, and the lexicon-syntax-morphology interfaces: A
comparative study of Niger-Congo and Romance languages” (Kihm, 2005).

1.3 Data sources

The data used as the basis of this thesis was collected over the time period
2000-2012, whilst I was resident in Senegal and working principally with
Mankanya speakers who were involved in translation and literacy
programmes in their language.
I have a corpus of 45 texts of different lengths and genres and this is
supported by elicited data. Some of the texts were originally oral, and
others were written. Not all the texts have been fully glossed. Two examples
can be found in the appendixes.
Additionally I had access to the translation of the New Testament and some
parts of the Old Testament into Mankanya. As a translation this can not be
 Introduction 5

considered a primary source, but it was a useful source of ideas and

illustrations that informed my analysis.
My lexical database contains 4055 lexemes (mostly roots, but also
containing some expressions). 2361 of these were published as “Petit
lexique mancagne-français: suivi d'un index français-mancagne” (Gaved and
Stammers, 2004)

1.4 Language overview

1.4.1 Phonology
In this section I will give a brief overview of the phonology and more details
can be found in chapter 2. Both here and in that chapter I use IPA symbols
but elsewhere I use the officially recognised orthography for Mankanya
(Republic of Senegal, 2006) as that is how many of the texts were either
written or transcribed.
Mankanya has 37 consonant phonemes and 13 vowel phonemes (assuming
length as a contrastive feature), which are shown below. Where the
orthographic symbol is different from the IPA, that is shown in brackets.
Vowel length is shown orthographically by repeating the vowel symbol.
Labials Apicals Retroflexes Palatals Velars
Voiceless p t ʈ (ţ) c k
plosives
Pre-nasalised ᵐp (mp) ⁿt (nt) ⁿʈ (nţ) ᵑk (nk)
voiceless plosives
Voiced plosives b d ɟ (j) g
Pre-nasalised ᵐb (mb) ⁿd (nd) ᶮɟ (nj) ᵑg (ng)
voiced plosives
Nasals m n ɲ (ñ) ŋ
Vibrants r
Pre-nasalised ⁿr (nr)
vibrants
Fricatives f θ (ŧ) ʂ (ş) h
Pre-nasalised ᵐf (nf) ⁿθ (nŧ) ⁿʂ (nş) ᵑh (nh)
fricatives
Sonorants l j (y) w
Pre-nasalised ⁿl (nl) ᶮj (ny) ᵑw (nw)
sonorants
Table 1.1: Consonant Phonemes
6 Chapter 1

Front Central Back

High i iː u uː
ʊ (ú) ʊː
Mid e eː ə (ë) o oː
Low ɐ (a) ɐː

Table 1.2: Vowel Phonemes

All oral consonants can appear in a prenasalised form, though not all
prenasalised consonants are found in word roots. (See section 2.8
Occurrences and co-occurrence restrictions)
Mankanya is not a tonal language, nor, unlike the related Jola family, does
it have vowel harmony based on so-called advanced tongue root
distinctions.
Considering long vowels and prenasalised consonants as units then common
root patterns are CVC, and CVCVC (and longer patterns). There are a few
CV roots, and some grammatical terms have a V root. Addition of affixes
can lead to forms like VCVCV, CVCVCCVC and others.

1.4.2 Orthography
Mankanya had no widely accepted written form until recently. It is only in
the last 20 years that an orthography was developed, resulting in
Mankanya's official recognition as a “National Language” by the Senegalese
government in 2005 (Republic of Senegal, 2006) (it was officially
recognised in 2005 but not signed into law until 2006). The orthography
uses Latin characters, and in common with other Senegalese languages uses
Ŋ/ŋ [ŋ], Ñ/ñ [ɲ], and Ë/ë [ə]. It also uses some symbols found in few other
languages of the region Ŧ/ŧ [θ], Ţ/ţ [ʈ] and Ş/ş [ʂ]. The Senegal based
Mankanya cultural association, Pkumel, has been running literacy classes
(mostly in the Casamance and Guinea-Bissau) since 2001 and a translation
of part of the Bible (Genesis and the New Testament) was published in
2014.
Some orthographic representations follow the conventions used with all
other Senegalese languages. Prenasals are represented orthographically with
“m” before “b” or “p” and “n” before any other consonant. Vowel length is
represented by doubling the vowel symbol. e.g [oː] is written “oo”.

1.4.3 Morphology and syntax

Most words in Mankanya are multimorphemic – a stem is normally prefixed,
and maybe also have derivative suffixes. Like many Niger-Congo languages
there are noun classes, and there is agreement between a noun and its
 Introduction 7

modifiers. There is also verb agreement with its subject. The morphology of
nouns is described in chapter 3 and that of verbs in chapter 4. Infinitives
and participles are described in chapter 5 and other word classes in chapter
6.
The dominant order of constituents in a clause is Subject Verb Object,
adpositions are prepositions, and in a noun phrase most modifiers follow the
head noun. Simple sentence types as described in chapter 7 and more
complex types in chapter 9. Tense, aspect and mode in Mankanya is mostly
expressed by means of auxiliary verbs. This system is described in chapter 8.
The following short text from the beginning of a folk story illustrates some
of these features.
1 Uñiiŋ ubi aya unuur uloŋ
u- ñiiŋ u- bi a- ya u- nuur u- loŋ
C2S hyena C2S PAST SER go C2S day C2S INDEF
du uţeeh
d- u u- ţeeh
EXT LOC.DIST C2S field
“Hyena went one day into the bush”
2 Awin bnob ţi bhër bi
a- win b- nob ţ- i b- hër b- i
SER see C5S beehive INT LOC.PROX C5S hole C5S GEN
bko
b- ko
C7S tree
“He saw a beehive in the hole of a tree.”
3 Aşë kak adu ţmaalu aji baya
a- şë kak a- du ţ- maalu a- ji ba- ya
C1S SEQ return SER call NAME hare SER say C1P go
bduuf kë ţmaalu akak aji « Ŋya ».
b- duuf kë ţ- maalu a- kak a- ji ŋa- ya
C5S extraction DS NAME hare C1S REP SER say C2P go
“He came straight back to call Hare to come and help him extract the
honey. The hare came, saying ‘Let's go’ ”

Noun classes and noun modifier agreement can be seen in sentence 1 u-nuur
u-loŋ “a day” and sentence 2 b-hër b-i b-ko “hole of the tree”. This is
discussed in sections 3.3.1 Class prefixes and 6.1 Agreeing Noun Modifiers.
The first sentence shows verbal subject agreement with the u- C2S prefix on
the initial noun and the initial auxiliary. See section 4.2.1 Subject prefixes
for more information.
8 Chapter 1

Sentences 1 and 2 show two different locatives du (exterior distal locative)

and ţi (interior proximal locative). These are discussed in section 6.4
Locatives.
This text also illustrates several auxiliaries: bi PST “Past”(section 8.7.2 Past),
şë SEQ “Sequential” (section 8.7.3 Sequential) and kak REP “Repetitive”
(section 8.8.6 Repetitive).
There also examples in this text of the use of the reduced serial prefix a- SER
“Serial” which is discussed in sections 4.2.2 Serial and 9.2 Clauses linked by
verbal forms, and the different subject marker kë (section 11 The particle
kë).
 9

Chapter 2 - Phonology
2.1 Introduction
This chapter gives a sketch of the phonology of Mankanya. It does not aim
to be exhaustive, but rather to give a background so as to aid the reader of
the later chapters.
Mankanya has 51 phonemes of which 38 are consonants (including 2 semi-
vowels and their pre-nasalised equivalents) and 13 vowels. 22 of the 38
consonants are pre-nasalised.
The reasons for considering pre-nasals as consonants, rather than NC
consonant clusters will be discussed later.

2.2 Phonemic tables

2.2.1 Consonant phonemes
Labials Apicals Retro- Palatals Velars
flexes
Voiceless p t ʈ c k
plosives
Pre-nasalised ᵐp ⁿt ⁿʈ ᵑk
voiceless plosives
Voiced plosives b d ɟ g
Pre-nasalised ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ ᵑg
voiced plosives
Nasals m n ɲ ŋ
Vibrants r
Pre-nasalised vibrants ⁿr
Fricatives f θ ʂ h
Pre-nasalised fricatives ᵐf ⁿθ ⁿʂ ᵑh
Sonorants l j w
Pre-nasalised sonorants ⁿl ᶮj ᵑw
Table 2.1: Consonant Phonemes
10 Chapter 2

The phoneme /c/ is very rare in Mankanya. I have found it only in

ideophones and in a few others word which are possibly borrowed.
[kɐˈcɐh] /kɐˈcɐh/ basket
[bəˈcɐkwal] /bəˈcɐkwal/ trousers
[ʊˈcɐːlʊ] /ʊˈcɐːlʊ/ sardine
[pəˈcɐwrən] /pəˈcɐwrən/ basket

Trifkovič (1969) agrees that /c/ is rare, and lists two other words with this
phoneme. However, in my data these words are pronounced differently.
[nɐˈɟʊːk] /nɐˈɟʊːk/ poor person (Trif: [nɐˈcʊk])
[kɐˈkiʈ] /kɐˈkiʈ/ harvest (Trif: [kɐˈkic])

Despite its rarity, there are sufficient contrasts with similar sounds to prove
that it is a separate phoneme (see section 2.3.3).
I have only found /s/ in borrowed words, so don’t consider it a phoneme.
[sˈkɔːlɐ] /sˈkɔːlɐ/ school
[ŋəriːsijɐ] /ŋəˈriːsijɐ/ church

It's noticeable that some Mankanya, for example those born in Dakar, have a
tendency to replace the sound [θ] with the sound [s]. This substitution may
partly be explained by the influence of French and Wolof where the sound
[θ] does not exist.
[mɐɟ kɐˈsʊpɐ] instead of: [mɐɟ kɐˈθʊpɐ] maize
[nɐˈseːk] instead of: [nɐˈθeːk] the first

Trifkovič (1969) doesn't mention this sound in her study, maybe because
she was exposed to fewer French or Wolof speaking Mankanya.
It is noteworthy that all the consonants except /c/ (and of course the nasals
themselves) have a corresponding pre-nasal form. The reasons for
considering these as unit phonemes, rather than a NC sequence are
considered below in section 2.5.2.1. Trifkovič (1969, p. 19) says that /c/
can also be preceded by a nasal, but I have not found any examples, and so
therefore have left that blank in the chart.
Trifkovič (1969) has the phonemes /ʈɕ/ (alveo-palatal voiceless affricate)
and /ɕ/ (alveo-palatal voiceless affricate) where I have /ʈ/ (retroflex
voiceless plosive) and /ʂ/ (retroflex voiceless fricative). These sounds are
phonetically close. Note also that the phoneme /ʈ/ has a tendency to be
realised as the afficate [ʈʂ] at the end of a word. (See section 2.4 Allophones
and their distribution).
 Phonology 11

Note that the apical plosives /t/ and /d/ are realised as dentals – [t t] and
[dt], whereas the other apical consonants, /n/, /l/ and /r/, are alveolar.

2.2.2 Vowel Phonemes

Front Central Back
High i iː ʊ ʊː u uː

Mid e eː ə o oː

Low ɐ ɐː

Table 2.2: Vowel Phonemes

Trifkovič (1969, p. 22), considers that /e/ has two allophones [e] and [ɛ],
the first in word final positions, and in the interior of monosyllabic roots,
the second in all other positions. I did not find examples that showed this
distribution, but rather found that the phoneme was realised somewhere
between the two cardinal positions.
Trifkovič (1969) also found two allophones of /o/ - [o] and [ɔ]. She found
[o] in closed monosyllables, and [ɔ] elsewhere. As with [e] and [ɛ] above
my data suggest that there is just one sound somewhere between the two.
I have decided to use the closed symbols to represent the two phonemes,
that is /e/ and /o/.
On the other hand Trifkovič (1969) doesn't recognise the existence of the
phoneme /ʊ/ or it's long version /ʊː/. However, I have found words which
contrast these sounds. See section 2.3.5.
Some speakers of Mankanya claim that there is similar distinction with front
vowels presumably including /ɪ/. I have not had the opportunity to gather
any data that might prove this.
There is no vowel harmony in Mankanya, like the other members of the
Manjaku family, but unlike the Jola languages which make up most of the
rest of the BAK family.

2.2.3 The mid central vowel /ə/ and [Pə] prefixes

In Mankanya, nouns and verbs often have prefixes of the form [P ə] (where
‘P’ is a stop or a nasal). The [ə] is not very perceptible and Trifkovič
describes it as a pause (Trifkovič, 1969, p. 34). In addition it is not clear
whether this short sound always has the same quality as the vowel [ə].
Trifkovič considers it as an indeterminate vowel (Trifkovič, 1969, p. 34).
12 Chapter 2

[pəˈkʊmɛl] central pillar of a house

[məˈjik] it’s hot
əˈ
[b tək] mortar
[ŋəˈde] we eat
[dəˈjɐ] I'm going
It is difficult to find true contrasts between [P ə] and [Pə], because [Pə] is
normally found at the beginning of words and unstressed. [Pə] can be
found initially in some inflected words, but it is then also stem initial and
stressed.
[ˈpə.nɐn] take out!
[ˈbə.bɐn] wrap!
[ˈkə.bɐn] enter!
[Pə] can also be found in some non-initial non-stressed contexts:
[kaˈnθiː.nta.məʂ] folk story
[pəˈnde.mənt] tongue
[ɐˈbə.rəʂ] he grinds
Note that an unstressed [ə] can sometimes be deleted and a word
resyllabified, for example through derivation.
[ɐ.ˈɟə.məʂ] he extinguishes (e.g. the fire)
[bɐ.ˈɟəm.ʂɐ] (e.g. the fire) extinguishes itself
The minimal vowel sound in [Pə] can also be deleted where the plosive is
nasal, and the initial consonant of the root is homorganic
[ᵑko] animals [ŋə] + [ko]
[ᵐboʂ] ground [mə] + [boʂ]
I will therefore interpret [ə] as a preaccentual realisation of /ə/.
Though in this chapter I have written this realisation of /ə/ this is not the
orthographic convention used in other chapters, where it is omitted.

2.3 Contrasts
The following sections give illustrative contrasts for the above phonemes.
 Phonology 13

A common contrast for the prenasal is found in the form of the verb found
in relative clauses, where the initial consonant of the root is prenasalised.
Where possible I have tried to find other contrasts.

2.3.1 Labials and Dentals

/p/
 /b/
/pɐˈwo/ it (C4S) is /bɐˈwo/ they (C1P) are
/pəˈpok/ to refuse /pəˈbok/ to climb a palm
/ɐˈjip/ he dug /ɐˈkib/ he cut
 /m/
/pəˈpʊʈ/ to rot /pəˈmʊʈ/ cotton
/pəˈtɐp/ to bite /pəˈtɐm/ to be hard
 /f/
/pəˈpən/ to go out /pəˈfən/ to count
/uˈlɐːp/ hoe /uˈleːf/ body
 /w/
/pʊl/ C4S object pronoun /wʊl/ C2S object pronoun
/pəˈpɐt/ to paddle /pəˈwɐt/ to let drop
/bəˈkʊp/ shelter /bəˈkow/ head
 /ᵐp/
/pəˈlep/ ear lobe /ʊˈleᵐp/ work
/ɐˈpʊlʊŋ/ which he pulled /ɐˈᵐpʊlʊŋ/ he who worked
/ᵐp/
 /p/ - see /p/ above
 /m/
/pəˈleᵐp/ to work /pəˈlem/ to sit on an egg
/kɐˈᵐpob/ chickenpox /nɐˈmob/ sponsor
/b/
 /ᵐb/
/pəˈbɐn/ to touch /pəˈᵐbɐn/ soap
/ɐˈbɐnʊŋ/ which he touched /ɐˈᵐbɐnʊŋ/ he who touched
 /p/ - see /p/ above
 /f/
/ʊˈbeːrʊ/ butterfly /ʊˈfeːrʊ/ market
/pəˈməb/ to carry /pəˈməf/ to wake early
14 Chapter 2

 /w/
/bi/ c5S genitive /wi/ C2S genitive
/nɐˈkob/ drummer /nɐˈkow/ clairvoyant
/ᵐb/
 /b/ - see /b/ above
 /m/
/kɐˈmbʊŋ/ nape of neck /kɐˈmʊl/ firewood

2.3.2 Alveolars and Retroflexes

/θ/
 /ⁿθ/
/ɐˈθeːnʊŋ/ which he plays /ɐˈⁿθeːnʊŋ/ he who plays
/bɐˈdəθ/ they close /bɐˈdəⁿθ/ they brush
 /t/
/pəˈdəθ/ to close /pəˈdət/ to snatch
/pəˈtʊm/ to sharpen /pəˈθʊm/ to be many
 /ʈ/
/pəˈkeθ/ to dig up /pəˈkeʈ/ to die
/ʊˈθɐɲ/ female goat /ʊˈʈɐɲ/ nickname
 /d/
/pəˈθeːm/ to answer /pəˈdeːm/ to catch
/ʊˈkɐθ/ bird /ʊˈɟɐd/ wound
 /n/
/ɐˈθeːm/ he answers /ɐˈneːm/ he is lost
/pəˈdəθ/ to close /pəˈdən/ to be dense
 /r/
/pəˈɡɐθ/ to vomit /pəˈɡɐr/ to destroy
 /ʂ/
/pəˈθoːʂ/ to question the dead /pəˈʂoːʂ/ to judge
/pəˈfɐːθ/ to be white /pəˈfɐːʂ/ to divide
 /l/
/pəˈθoh/ to cough /pəˈloh/ to carry on the side
/pəˈfɐːθ/ to be white /pəˈfɐːl/ to slit the throat

/ⁿθ/
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 Phonology 15

 /n/
/pəˈⁿθʊk/ crowd /ʊˈnʊk / flu
/bəˈɟəⁿθ/ chest /nɐˈɟən/ human
/uˈteⁿθ/ sorrel seed /bəˈten/ appearance
/t/
 /ⁿt/
/ɐˈtɐpʊŋ/ who he shoots /ɐˈⁿtɐpʊŋ/ the one who shoots
/pəˈgʊt/ to mark out /pəˈgʊⁿt/ to fight
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /ʈ/
/pəˈtuh/ to close /pəˈʈuh/ to be blunt
/pəˈfət/ to peel /pəˈfəʈ/ to dwell
 /d/
/pəˈfɐt/ to boil /pəˈfɐd/ to whip
/nɐˈte/ you (pl) hear /nɐˈde/ you (pl) eat
 /n/
/pəˈtiːmɐ/ to wear /pəˈniːmɐ/ to marry
/pəˈdət/ uproot /pəˈdən/ to be dense
 /r/
/pəˈfət/ to peel /pəˈfər/ to spend the night
 /ʂ/
/pəˈton/ to urinate /pəˈʂon/ to grind
/pəˈɟot/ to fall /pəˈɟoʂ/ to select
 /l/
/pəˈfɐt/ to boil /pəˈfɐl/ to cut
/pəˈtih/ to groan /pəˈlih/ to roar
/ⁿt/
 /t/ see /t/ above
 /n/
/pəˈpɐⁿt/ take a detour /pəˈbɐn/ to touch
/nɐˈⁿtohi/ (an) elder /nɐˈnoh/ friend
/ʈ/
 /ⁿʈ/
/ɐˈʈəŋkʊŋ/ who he helped /ɐˈⁿʈəŋkʊŋ/ he who helped
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /t/ - see /t/ above
16 Chapter 2

 /d/
/pəˈʈu/ to put /pəˈdu/ to call
/bɐˈʈi/ they run /bɐˈdi/ they accept
 /n/
/ˈʈenɐn/ offer! /ˈnenɐn/ give!
 /r/
/pəˈkʊtɐn/ to galvanise (someone) /pəˈkʊrɐn/ commission
/pəˈfət/ to cover /pəˈfər/ to pass the night
 /ʂ/
/ᵐpoʈ/ fruit (sense: children) /ᵐboʂ/ ground
/bəˈɟoːʈ/ malice /pəˈɟoːʂ/ ember
 /l/
/pəˈfɐʈ/ fill to the brim /pəˈfɐl/ cut
/pəˈʈi/ run /pəˈli/ moon
/ⁿʈ/
 /ʈ/ - see /ʈ/ above
 /n/
/ʊˈɟoⁿʈ/ cold (n) /ʊˈɟon/ duration
/pəˈⁿʈɐk/ metal /pəˈnɐk/ daytime
/d/
 /ⁿd/
/kɐˈdʊŋ/ altar /bəˈⁿdʊŋ/ piece of bread
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /t/ - see /t/ above
 /ʈ/ - see /ʈ/ above
 /n/
/pəˈdʊg/ to make a noise /pəˈnʊg/ to buy
/pəˈbɐd/ to be low /pəˈbɐn/ to arrive
 /r/
/pəˈbʊʊd/ to punch hard /pəˈbuʊr/ to escape
 /ʂ/
/pəˈled/ to be completely full /pəˈleʂ/ to remember
 /l/
/pəˈdəmɐn/ to praise /pəˈləmɐn/ door
 Phonology 17

/ⁿd/
 /d/ - see /d/ above
 /n/
/iˈⁿdʊk/ stick for hitting /iˈnʊk/ you (sg) touch with the head
/n/
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /t/ - see /t/ above
 /ʈ/ - see /ʈ/ above
 /d/ - see /d/ above
 /r/
/pəˈtɐn/ to attach /pəˈtɐr/ to spread
/ʊˈnɐb/ flycatcher (bird) /ʊˈrɐb/ Arabic (language)
 /ʂ/
/ᵐbon/ thinness /ᵐboʂ/ ground
 /l/
/pəˈniːm/ to marry /pəˈliːm/ to be lost
/kɐˈmeen/ burial place /kɐˈmeel/ liquid
/r/
 /ⁿr/
/ɐˈrɐtɐnʊŋ/ that he scattered /ɐˈⁿrɐtɐnʊŋ/ he who scattered
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /t/ - see /t/ above
 /ʈ/ - see /ʈ/ above
 /d/ - see /d/ above
 /n/ - see /n/ above
 /ʂ/
/pəˈrɐb/ to search /pəˈʂʊb/ to rain
 /l/
/pəˈrɐtɐn/ to spill /pəˈlɐtɐn/ to reheat
/ʊˈfoːr/ gun powder /ʊˈfoːl/ hedgehog
/ⁿr/
 /r/ - see /r/ above
18 Chapter 2

 /n/
/ɐˈⁿrɐtɐnʊŋ/ he who scattered /ɐˈnɐʈɐnʊŋ/ that he raised
/ʂ/
 /ⁿʂ/
/ɐˈʂɐlʊŋ/ that he thought /ɐˈⁿʂɐlʊŋ/ he who thought
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /t/ - see /t/ above
 /ʈ/ - see /ʈ/ above
 /d/ - see /d/ above
 /n/ - see /n/ above
 /r/ - see /r/ above
 /l/
/ⁿʂ/
 /ʂ/ - see /ʂ/ above
 /n/
/ɐˈⁿʂoːrʊŋ/ he who hated /ɐˈnoːrʊŋ/ (one) who he wearies
/l/
 /ⁿl/
/ɐˈlɐtɐnʊŋ/ that he reheats /ɐˈⁿlɐtɐnuŋ/ he who reheats
 /θ/ - see /θ/ above
 /t/ - see /t/ above
 /ʈ/ - see /ʈ/ above
 /d/ - see /d/ above
 /n/ - see /n/ above
 /r/ - see /r/ above
 /ʂ/ - see /ʂ/ above
/ⁿl/
 /l/ - see /l/ above
 /n/
/ɐˈⁿlɐtɐnuŋ/ he who reheats /ɐˈnɐʈɐnʊŋ/ that he raised
 Phonology 19

2.3.3 Palatals
/c/
Remember that this phoneme is very rare. Therefore these contrasts are only
analagous ones.
 /ɟ/
/kɐˈcɐh/ basket /ʊˈɟɐnel/ window
 /ɲ/
/kɐˈcɐh/ basket /nɐˈɲɐbəʂ/ you (pl) eat breakfast
 /j/
/kɐˈcɐh/ basket /nɐˈjeŋ/ you (pl) watch over
/ɟ/
 /c/ - see /c/ above
 /ᶮɟ/
/ɐˈɟebʊŋ/ who he healed /ɐˈᶮɟebʊŋ/ he who healed
 /ɲ/
/ˈɟoʈɐn/ be naughty! /ˈɲoʈɐn/ bring!
 /j/
/ˈɟʊkɐn/ learn! /ˈjʊkɐn/ be beautiful!
/ᶮɟ/
 /ɟ/ - see /ɟ/ above
 /ɲ/
/məˈᶮɟel/ darkest night /kɐˈɲen/ hand
/j/
 /c/ - see /c/ above
 /ɟ/ - see /ɟ/ above
 /ɲ/
/nɐˈjeŋ/ you (pl) watch over /kɐˈɲen/ hand
 /ᶮj/
/ɐˈjilʊŋ/ who he sent /ɐˈᶮjilʊŋ/ he who sent
/ᶮj/
 /j/ - see /j/ above
20 Chapter 2

 /ɲ/
/ɐːˈᶮɟebi/ he’s not got well /kɐˈɲen/ hand
/ɐːˈᶮɟeː.hi/ he didn’t sing /kɐˈɲeːn/ five
/ɲ/
 /c/ - see /c/ above
 /ɟ/ - see /ɟ/ above
 /j/- see /j/ above

2.3.4 Velars
/ɡ/
 /ᵑɡ/
/ɐˈɡoːtʊŋ/ who he scratched /ᵑɡʊːⁿt/ he who scratched
 /k/
/ˈɡʊtɐn/ fight! /ˈkʊtɐn/ uproot!
/iˈdʊɡ/ you make a noise /iˈdʊk/ you(sg) leave (something)
 /ŋ/
/ɐˈɡʊt/ he fights /ɐˈŋʊp/ he grumbles
/bɐˈnug/ they buy /bɐˈnʊŋ/ they guess
 /h/
/ˈɡoːtɐn/ scrape! /ˈhoːtɐn/ hollow out!
/ᵑɡ/
 /ɡ/ - see /ɡ/ above
 /ŋ/
/kɐˈᵑɡʊri/ bracelet /pəˈŋʊbɐn/ to mock with a gesture
/k/
 /ᵑk/
/pəˈjoːk/ to blow (wind) /pəˈjoːᵑk/ to wait
/ɐˈkɐkʊŋ/ that he returns /ɐˈᵑkakʊŋ/ he who returns
 /ɡ/ - see /ɡ/ above
 /ŋ/
/ɐˈnʊk/ he hunts /ɐˈnʊŋ/ he guesses
/pəˈkɐw/ to reap /pəˈŋɐw/ to begin to ripen
 /h/
/ʊˈkʊb/ crab /ʊˈhʊb/ bundle of straw
/nɐˈyok/ rich person /ˈnɐˈyok/ victor
 Phonology 21

/ᵑk/
 /k/ - see /k/ above
 /ŋ/
/pəˈniːᵑk/ to look everywhere /pəˈɲiːŋ/ tooth
/pəˈrɐᵑk/ to be bitter /pəˈdɐŋ/ to stir
/ŋ/
 /ɡ/ - see /ɡ/ above
 /k/ - see /k/ above
 /h/
/pəˈŋɐːb/ to steer /pəˈhɐːb/ to open one’s mouth
/h/
 /ɡ/ - see /ɡ/ above
 /k/ - see /k/ above
 /ŋ/ - see /ŋ/ above
 /ᵑh/
/ɐˈhʊːrʊŋ/ that he cries loudly /ɐˈᵑhʊːrʊŋ/ he who cries loudly
/ᵑh/
 /h/ - see /h/ above
 /n/
/ɐˈᵑhʊːrʊŋ/ he who cries loudly /ɐˈnoːrʊŋ/ (one) who he wearies

2.3.5 Vowels
/i/
 /iː/
/pəˈtib/ to cut /pəˈtiːm/ horn
/pəˈtib/ to cut /pəˈniːm/ to marry
 /e/
/pəˈɟiŋ/ to bend over /pəˈɟeŋ/ to be bow-legged
/ʊˈlil/ good (adj) /ʊˈlel/ yellow (adj)
 /ə/
/pəˈdi.nɐn/ to agree /pəˈdə.nɐn/ to make watertight
 /u/
/pəˈʈi/ to run /pəˈʈu/ to put
22 Chapter 2

 /ʊ/
/iˈko/ things /ʊˈko/ thing
/pəˈɟiŋ/ to bend over /pəˈɟʊŋ/ to cook

/e/
 /eː/
/kɐˈɲen/ hand /kɐˈɲeːn/ five
/pəˈdet/ to hold /pəˈteːt/ foyer
/bɐˈten/ they look /bɐˈteːr/they understand each other
 /i/ - see /i/above
 /ə/
/pəˈdet/ to hold /pəˈdət/ to uproot
/pəˈdem/ to capture /pəˈdəm/ to grow
 /ɐ/
/pəˈdet/ to hold /pəˈdɐt/ to choose
/pəˈten/ to look at /pəˈtɐn/ to delay
/ɐ/
 /ɐː/
/pəˈdɐŋ/ to disturb /pəˈdɐːŋ/ to be smooth
/pəˈnɐm/ to flee /pəˈnɐːm/ to resemble
 /ə/
/pəˈdɐt/ to choose /pəˈdət/ to uproot
/iˈtɐl/ ropes /iˈtəl/ hides
 /e/ - see /e/above
 /o/
/pəˈkab/ shelter /pəˈkob/ to hit
/ʊˈban/ arrival /ʊˈbon/ famine
/o/
 /oː/
/ɐˈbot/ he then did /ɐˈboːt/ he sucks
/pəˈyok/ to be rich /pəˈyook/ to blow (wind)
 /ə/
/pəˈmob/ to catch /pəˈməb/ to attach
/pəˈɟom/ to stink /pəˈɟəm/ to cool down
 /ɐ/ - see /ɐ/ above
 /u/
/pəˈɟok/ to become engaged /pəˈɟuk/ forehead
 Phonology 23

 /ʊ/
/pəˈdom/ to attach /pəˈdʊm/ to bite
/pəˈdo/ to do /pəˈdʊ/ to call
/u/
 /uː/
/pəˈjut/ to bend down /pəˈpuːt/ to spit
/pəˈjut/ to bend down /pəˈjuːɟ/ to show
 /o/ - see /o/ above
 /ʊ/
/pəˈɟuk/ forehead /pəˈɟʊk/ to teach
 /i/ - see /i/above
 /ə/
/pəˈʈup/ speak /pəˈʈəp/ to pass
/ʊ/
 /ʊː/
/pəˈɟʊk/ to teach /pəˈɟʊːk/ poverty
 /o/ - see /o/above
 /u/ - see /u/ above
 /i/ - see /i/ above
 /ə/
/pəˈlʊt/ to jump /pəˈlət/ to sew
/ə/
 /e/ - see /e/ above
 /ɐ/ - see /ɐ/ above
 /o/ - see /o/ above
/iː/
 /i/ - see /i/ above
 /uː/
/pəˈfiːʈ/ to illuminate /pəˈfuːʈ/ to blow
 /ʊː/
/pəˈdiːk/ to refuse to respond /pəˈɟʊːk/ poverty
/eː/
 /e/ - see /e/ above
24 Chapter 2

 /iː/
/pəˈleːk/ forest /pəˈliːk/ well
/pəˈmeːr/ to get to know someone /pəˈmiːr/ to resign oneself
 /ɐː/
/pəˈneːm/ to be lost /pəˈnɐːm/ to resemble
/ʊˈθeːk/ first /ʊˈθɐːk/ country
/ɐː/
 /ɐ/ - see /ɐ/ above
 /eː/ - see /eː/ above
 /oː/
/pəˈmɐːk/ to be ill /pəˈmoːk/ to embrace
/kɐˈpɐːm/ ignorance /kɐˈpoːm/ bread
/oː/
 /o/ - see /o/ above
 /ɐː/ - see /ɐː/ above
 /uː/
/pəˈɡoːt/ to peel /pəˈpuːt/ to spit
/pəˈhoːt/ to shrug /pəˈpuːt/ to spit
 /ʊː/
/ˈɡoːtɐn/ scratch! /ᵑɡʊːⁿt/ biceps
/ˈbˈɟoːʈ/ evilness /pəˈɟʊːk/ poverty
/uː/
 /u/ - see /u/ above
 /oː/ - see /oː/ above
 /ʊː/
As these two phonemes are rare it’s difficult to find contrasts.
 /iː/ - see /iː/ above
/ʊː/
 /ʊ/ - see /ʊ/ above
 /oː/ - see /oː/ above
 /uː/ - see /uː/ above
 /iː/ - see /iː/ above
 Phonology 25

As noted above the vowel /ə/ is unique in several ways. Firstly it has no
long counterpart, but it has a preaccentual realisation of [ᵊ]. It is also
susceptible to deletion in unstressed positions. This is particularly noticeable
with the addition of successive suffixes. For example:
/pbərəʂ/+/ɐ/ → /pbərʂɐ/
/phɐːbəʂ/+/ɐ/ → /phɐːbəʂɐ/
It is also susceptible to assimilation:
/ɐjɐ / +/əⁿʈ/ → /ɐjɐːⁿʈ/

2.4 Allophones and their distribution

I have in my data the sound [ɜ] which I analyse as an allophone of /ɐ/
because it is only found in closed syllables, either in penultimate or final
position. It is always in free variation with [ɐ]. [ɐ] is found in all positions.
[ʊˈᵑkəᵑkəlɜʂ] [ʊˈᵑkəᵑkəlɐʂ] /ʊˈᵑkəᵑkəlɐʂ/ worm
[ˈʈupɜn] [ˈʈupɐn] /ˈʈupɐn/ speak!
Note that I have decided to consider the sound [s] as an allophone of the
phoneme [θ] (see the discussion in section 2.2.1). It is in free variation with
[θ] for Mankanya speakers who are fluent in major European languages
(e.g. French, English or Portuguese).
The phoneme /ʈ/ has two allophones. At the end of a word it is often
pronounced as an affricate [ʈʂ]:
[pᵊˈlɐməⁿʈʂ] /pᵊˈlɐməⁿʈ/ to swim
[nɐˈpoʈʂ] /nɐˈpoʈ/ child
whilst in every other position it's realised as /ʈ/:
[ˈʈiːni] /ˈʈiːni/ run!
[uˈʈəb] /uˈʈəb/ fish
Note that stops are normally unreleased before a pause.

2.5 Interpretation
2.5.1 Interpretation between vowels and consonants
The consonants /j/ and /w/ appear intervocalically as well as at the
beginning of a word or stem, preceding a vowel, or word finally following
vowel. The corresponding vowels /i/, /u/ and /ʊ/ appear in every other
position:
26 Chapter 2

[ˈjoŋkɐn] [/ˈjo.ᵑkɐn/] CV.CVC wait!

[kɐˈjeːh] [/kɐˈjeːh/] CV.CVC song
[dᵊˈjɐ] [/dəˈjɐ/] C.CV I'm going
[ʊˈpi] [/ʊˈpi/] V.CV goat

2.5.2 Interpretation between units and sequences

2.5.2.1 Prenasals
As was stated above, all the consonants in Mankanya can be prenasalised.
These could be interpreted as units, which would give 16 extra phonemes,
or as sequences that would lead to the introduction of 3 new syllable
patterns – NCV, NCVC, and CVNC.
Each prenasal can be found at the beginning of a word, and there are many
examples where a prenasal crosses a morphological boundary:
[ᵑko] animals vs. [ʊˈko] animal
[ᵑki] that I dance vs. [ɐˈki] he dances
[ⁿde] that I eat vs. [iˈde] you eat
The construction used in the last two examples can be found with almost all
verbs. A nasal prefix is assimilated into the stem initial consonant to become
a pre-nasal.
Not all prenasals can be found at the end of words - only prenasalised
unvoiced oral stops /ᵐp, ᵑk, ⁿt, ⁿʈ/ and the prenasalised unvoiced interdental
fricative /ⁿŧ/.
/ʊˈleᵐp/ work
/iˈniːᵑk/ you're searching everywhere
However, there is no restriction on simple consonants, e.g. /b/ or /g/
/ɐˈɟeb/ he's getting better
/kɐˈbiːg/ fence

It should be noted that there is a difference between the nasal prefix N-

which results in a prenasal consonant, and the [ŋᵊ] prefix. For example
[ᵑki] that I dance vs.
[ŋᵊˈki] we dance
(There is sometimes assimilation of the [ŋᵊ] prefix for some common words
or in fast speech e.g. [ŋᵊˈko] → [ᵑko] animals)
 Phonology 27

I will treat prenasals as units, e.g. [ᵐp] as the single consonant phoneme
/ᵐp/ which is written as “mp” in the orthography.

2.5.2.2 Long vowels

There are never VV sequences where the two vowels are different, so I will
treat all long vowels as units:
/ˈbɐɐʈ/ [bɐːʈ] CVC women
/ˈɡootɐn/ [ˈɡoːtɐn] CV.CVC scratch!
/ˈʈiini/ [ˈʈiːni] CV.CV run!
/ɐˈbii/ [ɐˈbiː] V.CV he came
Some long vowels are the result of the addition of vowel suffixes to vowel
final roots:
[ɐˈbi] he’s coming [ɐˈbii] he came
[ɐˈjɐ] he’s going [ɐˈjɐɐ] he’s gone

2.5.3 Glottal stop

The glottal stop is not phonemic, but occasionally appears when there is a
short vowel before a pause. There is one word where the glottal stop is
found and that is the negative interjection:
[ɐʔɐʔ] no!

2.6 Syllables
Syllables in Mankanya usually contain a vowel nucleus, though as shown
above the preaccentual realisation of /ə/ is very short. The exception is the
nominal prefix “m-”. Often it can first analysed as part of the first phoneme
in the stem:
“m-boʂ” /ᵐboʂ/ CVC ground
However, there is an allomorph “mn-”, where I analyse it as a separate
syllable.
“mn-tow” /mⁿtow/ C.CVC milk
Open syllables are the most frequent. Syllables that contain only a vowel are
often found at the beginning of the word. Closed syllables are normally
found at the end of the word. Syllabic consonants are only found at the
beginning of the word.
Long vowels are attested in CV and CVC in all positions.
28 Chapter 2

Mono- Polysyllabic words

syllabic
words
Syllabic First Mid-word Last syllable
schema syllable
CV Yes Yes Yes Yes
CVC Yes Rare Yes Normal
V Yes Frequent No No
position
C No Yes – No No
followed
by
morpheme
boundary
VC Yes Very rare Very rare Very rare

2.7 Word schemas

The phonological word is composed of one or more syllables. However,
monosyllabic words are mostly grammatical function words. The syllables
CV, CVC and VC can appear in any position. Syllabic C (/m/) only appears
in word initial position, and syllable V normally appears word initially, and
can be a monosyllabic word.

2.8 Occurrences and co-occurrence restrictions

All the consonants, including the prenasalised ones, but excluding /c/
and /ᶮc/ (which are very rare) are attested word-initially. However, /c/ is
attested root-initially. This implies that there is probably no restriction on
word initial consonants.
All consonants are found word finally except /mb, nd, c, nc, nf, ng, nh, nj,
nl, nr, nş, nw, ny/. As noted in section 2.5.2.1 the only prenasalised
consonants found at the end of words are prenasalised unvoiced oral
stops /mp, nk, nt, nţ/ and the prenansalised unvoiced interdental /nŧ/.
Vowels only occur word initially as prefixes or as monosyllabic words. The
vowels /ɐ, ʊ, i/ occur in this position as noun prefixes or affirmative verbal
prefixes. Their long equivalents /ɐː, ʊː, iː/ occur in negative verbal prefixes.
The vowel /o/ is sometimes found as a monosyllabic disjunctive particle.
/e/ and /ə/ are never found word initially.
 Phonology 29

All the short vowels except /ə/ are found word finally. /ɐ, ʊ, i, o, e/ are
found word-finally in monosyllabic roots and words. /ɐ, ʊ, i/ are found
word finally as the result of suffixation. The long vowels /ɐː, ʊː, iː, oː, eː/ are
found in monosyllabic words as the result of the addition of the suffix /-i/.
Vowels are never found noun or verb root initially.

i e ɐ ə o ʊ u iː eː ɐː oː ʊː uː
Monosyllabic Word Initial x x x
Monosyllabic Word Final x x x x x x x x x x
Polysyllabic Word Initial x x x x x x
Polysyllabic Word Final x x x
Lexical Root Initial
Grammatical Root x x x
Initial

2.9 Interpretation
Unambiguous syllable schemas are CVC, CV, V, and VC:
ʊˈʂɐl thought V.CVC
kɐk again CVC
kɐˈtoh house CV.CVC
nɐˈme clairvoyant CV.CV
ʊˈko animal V.CV
ʊn 1p independent pronoun VC
ni my mother CV
i genitive particle V

2.10 Accent
Normally the accent is placed on the first syllable of the root.

2.11 Tone
Mankanya is not a tonal language. Some informants say that there is a
grammatical difference in some sentences which are segmentally identical,
which they say is tonal. However, my limited data on this does not
corroborate this claim.
30 Chapter 2
 31

Chapter 3 - Nouns and Nominals

3.1 Basic word classes

I will use the following criteria to define some of the basic word classes in
Mankanya. These apply to complete words, and the following section will
describe how these words are constructed from different stems.
Nouns can designate both concrete objects and abstract ideas, for example
katoh “house” and manjoonan “truth”. A noun can be possessed. There is a
nominal agreement system based on the prefix of the noun and the prefixes
of most noun modifiers (a few noun modifiers are invariant). On the basis of
this agreement nouns can be grouped into noun classes.
Adjectives modify nouns and the prefix of an adjective agrees with the
prefix of the noun it is modifying. A word denoting a quality that is not
modifying a noun will not by this definition be described as an adjective. An
adjective can modify nouns of several different noun classes. For example
with the adjectival root week “large” - napoţ naweek “large child”, katoh
kaweek “large house”.
Actions or states are designated by single verbs, or by a combination of
auxiliary verbs and main verbs. Only verbs can take inflectional prefixes
which agree with the subject, though they can be bare stems when used in
combination with auxiliaries. Verbs govern the number and types of other
constituents in a clause.
Some word forms overlap these categories, in particular infinite verb forms
and participles, which have some characteristics of both nouns and verbs. I
will deal with these in chapter 5.

3.2 Word structure

Most words in Mankanya are multi-morphemic. Multi-morphemic words
consist of a root, which may take derivational suffixes to form a stem. This
stem in turn can take inflectional prefixes and suffixes.
32 Chapter 3

Roots can be divided into three groups, which I will label nominal, verbal
and general.
Nominal roots can only take nominal affixes, and result in words that are
nouns or noun modifiers.
3.1 a. u-buş “dog”
b. ka-toh “house”
c. p-maŋa “mango fruit”
d. b-maŋa “mango tree”
e. ka-week “big (e.g house)”
A small number of roots are verbal and only take verbal inflectional affixes
to become verbal words. They require a derivational suffix to become a
nominal stem which can then take noun class prefixes and other nominal
affixes.
3.2 root verb noun
a. şub “rain” u-şub “it rains” u-şub-al “rain”
b. jeenk “redden” pa-jeenk “it reddens” u-jeenk-al “red”

Some nominal roots can become verbal stems with the addition of a
derivative suffix, however, these are not very productive.
3.3 root noun verb
a. week “big” u-week “big” a-week-a “he gets bigger”
na-week “elder sibling”
b. naaf “idiot” na-naaf “idiot” a-naaf-a “he is stupid”
c. tiinku “small” u-tiinku “small” ba-tiink-ëţ “they are few”
d. joob “cold” u-joob “cold” u-joob-ëţ “it cools”

General roots either take verbal inflectional affixes to become verbal words,
or nominal prefixes to become nouns or noun modifiers. With these roots
there is no way of establishing whether one or other form is more basic.
3.4 root verb noun
a. lemp “work” a-lemp “he works” u-lemp “work”
b. kit “break” a-kit “he breaks” ka-kit “harvest”
c. kob “hit” a-kob “he hits” na-kob “drummer”
(lit. hitter)
d. yeeh “sing” a-yeeh “he sings” u-yeeh “song”
na-yeeh “singer”
e. piiŧ “write” a-piiŧ “he writes” u-piiŧ “writing”
f. do “do” a-do “he does” u-do “action”

Roots can also take derivational suffixes to create a stem before taking the
affixes that make them verbal or nominal words. Like roots, a stem can
 Nouns and Nominals 33

either be nominal (can only result in nouns and noun modifiers) or general
(can also result in verbs). I have not found any examples of derived verbal
stems (stems that can only result in verbs without further derivation).
3.5 root verb noun
a. do “do” a-do “he does” u-dol-ade “tradition”
b. juk “learn” a-juk-an “he teaches” na-juk-an “teacher”
c. lemp “lemp” a-lemp-ar “he works for” na-lemp-ar
“servant”

Verbal words will be dealt with in more detail in Chapter 4.

3.3 Noun morphology

3.3.1 Class prefixes
Common nouns are made up of a prefix and a stem, as do most noun
modifiers, and these modifiers agree with the noun.
3.6 katoh kajeenkal
ka- toh ka- jeenk -al
C3S house C3S redden CHG
“red house”
3.7 bañaaŋ baŧum
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧum
C1P person C1P many
“many people”
3.8 ŋpi ŋtëb ŋi
ŋ- pi ŋ- tëb ŋ- i
C2P goat C2P two C3P DEM.PROX
“these two goats”
Verbs also take prefixes which agree with the subject noun (see section
4.2.1 for more detail).
3.9 bantohi baţiini
ba- ntohi ba- ţiini
C1P elder C1P speak
“The elders speak”
3.10 upi ufeer
u- pi u- feer
C2S goat C2S graze
“The goat grazes”
Most nouns have different prefixes for singular and plural but some also
have a differentiation between an unspecified, indefinite plural, and a
34 Chapter 3

counted, definite one, as shown in the examples below. The counted plural
form is used when the noun is modified by a cardinal number. This three
way system exists in other related languages e.g. Baïnounk (Cobbinah 2013)
and I will label them “general plural” (or just “plural”) and “counted
plural”. As general plurals are by far the more frequent, for simplicity of
glossing they will be glossed P and counted plurals P.CNT.
3.11 ppiiŧi pi
p- piiŧi p- i
C4S pen C4P DEM.PROX
“this pen”
3.12 ipiiŧi iloŋ
i- piiŧi i- loŋ
C4P pen C4P INDEF
“some pens”
3.13 kpiiŧi ktëb
k- piiŧi k- tëb
C4P.CNT pen C4P.CNT two
“two pens”
The pattern of agreement of nouns with modifiers and verbs can be used to
divide nouns stems into classes. Unlike among linguists working on Bantu
languages, there is no widespread agreement amongst those working in
Atlantic languages about how to number classes. For example Trifkovič
(1969), Sagna (2008) and Ndao (2011) number each individual prefix,
Karlik (1972) and Soukka (2000) assign a number to each singular/
plural/counted plural grouping, and others such as Segerer (2000) and
Cobbinah (2013) use the phonological form of each individual prefix.
In this thesis I will label classes in the same way as as Karlik and Soukka,
e.g. a noun stem which takes (and whose modifiers take) the u- prefix in the
singular and ŋ- prefix in the plural will be considered class 2, with glosses
C2S and C2P respectively. The numbering is my own, and is arbitrary. In this
system what is important is not the form of an individual prefix, but rather
the group of prefixes a particular noun stem can have. Homophonous
prefixes might therefore appear in different classes. For example p- prefix in
pdunk “clay pot” is considered class 4 singular because it groups with i- in
idunk “clay pots” and k- in kdunk ktëb “two clay pots”, whereas p- in plaak is
considered class 6 singular as it groups with m- in mlaak “stones” and ŋ- in
ŋlaak ŋtëb “two stones”. This is similar to the way Bantuists use “gender”
(where numbered individual classes are grouped as singular/plural pairs),
or to Cobbinah's (2013) “paradigm” (where phonologically labelled
individual classes are grouped as pairs or triads to create number
distinctions).
 Nouns and Nominals 35

A number of recent researchers have labelled classes with something

reflecting a group of possible phonological forms. For example in Bijogo,
Segerer's KO class includes kɔ-, ko- and ku- (Segerer 2000). This has
advantages in languages where vowel harmony means the form of the prefix
changes depending on the form of the stem, but this is not the case in
Mankanya.
In my analysis classes are based on the agreement patterns of modifiers, and
the noun classes represent an inflectional system, where the two or three
prefixes belong to a lexical unit. Labelling a prefix with class and number
reflects that.
Class Sg Example Pl Example English Count Example
Pl (two …)
1a a- ayin ba- bayin husband = bayin batëb
abuk babuk child babuk batëb
1 na- napoţ ba- bapoţ child(ren) = bapoţ batëb
nalët balët tailor(s) balët batëb
2 u- ubuş ŋ- ŋbuş dog(s) = ŋbuş ŋtëb
ujah ŋjah star(s) ŋjah ŋtëb
3 ka- kañen i- iñen hand(s) = iñen itëb
katoh itoh house(s) itoh itëb
4 p(a)- pdunk i- idunk pot(s) k- kdunk ktëb
paŧenda iŧenda cloth(s) kŧenda ktëb
5 b(a)- blaañ i- ilaañ wrap(s) k- klaañ ktëb
batani itani flock(s) ktani ktëb
6 p- pmaŋa m- mmaŋa mango(s) ŋ- ŋmaŋa ŋtëb
plaak mlaak stone(s) ŋlaak ŋtëb
7 b- bmaŋa m- mmaŋa mango ŋ- ŋmaŋa ŋtëb
tree(s)
bkem mkem oil palm(s) ŋkem ŋtëb
8 m(a)(n)- mnlilan joy
meel water
9 d- dko i- iko place(s) k- kskoola ktëb
skoola iskoola school(s)
10 n- nñiiŋ little hyena
nkow little head
Table 3.1: Noun Classes
Table 3.1 above summarises the noun prefixes. Modifier prefixes are not
identical, there is a summary in table 3.9 at the end of this chapter and I
describe them in later chapters. Each class has the possibility of up to three
prefixes for the different number values: singular, plural, counted plural.
Classes 1, 2 and 3 do not differentiate between general and counted plurals.
Classes 4 and 5 (which have singular prefixes p(a)- and b(a)-) have the same
36 Chapter 3

general plural and the counted general plural). Classes 6 and 7 (which have
singular prefixes p- and b-) also share the same general plural and the same
counted plural. Class 8 which includes mass and abstract nouns only has
one number value and hence one prefix, which I have assigned to the
general plural column. Class 10 (diminutive) only has a singular number
value.
The class 1a singular prefix a- is used with a small number of kinship nouns.
It is considered a subclass of class 1, as noun modifier agreement and verb
subject agreement is identical to those nouns that take the main class 1
singular prefix na-.
Singular prefixes in class 4 and 5 can have forms consisting of a singular
consonant, (p- or b-) or forms with consonant followed by a (pa- or ba-).
There seems to be no phonological or semantic rule as to which is used,
though forms with a are less frequent. These forms are not considered a
different class as the agreement pattern is the same as the simple consonant
only forms. For example compare 3.14 and 3.15 below.
3.14 blaañ bweek
b- laañ b- week
C5S wrap C5S big
“big wrap”
3.15 batani bweek
ba- tani b- week
C5S herd C5S big
“large herd”
Similarly a small number of class 8 nouns take the form man- instead of mn-.
Class 8 nouns roots that begin with a vowel, or n, take the prefix m-,
otherwise prefixes mn- or man- are used.
3.16 a. mn-lilan “joy”
b. mn-dëm “greatness”
c. mn-jooţan “sadness”
c. man-joonan “truth”
d. man-ţaaf “anxiety”
d. m-eel “water”

There is no singular/plural/uncountable plural distinction in class 8. I have

lined up the class 8 prefix with plurals, as it is possible to use m- to indicate
many multiple small things, e.g plaak “stone” (which is class 4 ilaak
“stones”, klaak ktëb “two stones”) can be used with the m- prefix to become
mlaak “gravel”, and in this way it is similar to the class 6 and 7 plural m-.
Certain stems can be used with prefixes from more than one class. For
example ben can be class 7 bben “rhun palm”, class 6 pben “fruit of the rhun
 Nouns and Nominals 37

palm” or class 5 kaben “rhun palm branch”. The extreme case of this is ko
which has a broad meaning of “thing”, the type of thing being indicated by
the class prefix, for example ŋko “animals”, bko “tree”, dko “place”. This will
be discussed further below.
The class 10 n- is a diminutive prefix that is fairly infrequent. It is found
with a small number of stems where the non-diminuitive noun is in a
different class.
3.17 Noun Class Diminutive
a. u-ñiiŋ “hyena” 3 n-ñiiŋ “little hyena”
b. ka-hoţ “foot” 4 n-hoţ “little foot”
c. b-kow “head” 6 n-kow “little head”

There is no stem that combines only with n-, and it can only have singular
number. It does trigger agreement in noun modifiers and verbs that is
different to other classes. This might be evidence for the idea of two
different singular prefixes that parallel the two different plural prefixes
(uncounted and counted) that are found in some classes. Counter-evidence
is that the use of this prefix is restricted to a very small number of stems.
For comparison, here is a table that shows the relationship between the
classes I use in this thesis and those used by Trifkovič (1969). Note that
Trifkovič does not assign a class to d- because she considers it rare. Though
it is true that it is only found on one noun, it is used as an agreement prefix
with many others. She also does not describe the n- diminutive prefix.
Class Sing. Class in Plural Class in
Trifkovič Trifkovič
1a a- 1a ba- 6
1 na- 1 ba- 6
2 u- 2 ŋ- 7
3 ka- 3 i- 8
4 p(a)- 4 i- 8
5 b(a)- 5 i- 8
6 p- 4 m- 9
7 b- 5 m- 9
8 m(a)(n)- 10
9 d- - i- -
10 n- -
Table 3.2: Comparison of class numbers with Trifkovič
3.3.1.1 Noun class semantics
The semantics of a noun word are determined from the semantics of the
stem and the prefix. This is clear from the fact that the number of the noun
38 Chapter 3

is determined by the prefix. But equally, as noted above, certain roots and
stems can be used with different prefixes to denote different things. For
example the root ben has semantics related to the rhun palm, but by itself its
meaning is schematic, and we could label it RHUN PALM (using the
semantic convention of capital letters). It is only in combination with the
class 7 prefix b- it becomes bben “rhun palm tree”, with the class 6 prefix p-
pben “fruit of the rhun palm” or class 3 prefix ka- kaben “rhun palm
branch”. Cobbinah (2013) and Watson (2014) describe similar construction
of meaning in two related languages Baïnounk Gubëeher and Jola Kujireray.
Though the noun prefix contributes meaning to the noun, a prefix’s
semantic content is not clearly defined. For example not all nouns with a ka-
prefix are branches, or parts, or long and thin. Equally while many nouns
with a u- prefix are animals, there is also a group of u- prefix nouns that
relate to languages. Class 6 p- which is predominately fruit also contains
words like pliik “well” and ppaw “log”.
The stem ko – loosely defined as THING, combines with the widest range of
prefixes.
3.18 a. u-ko thing (class 2 singular)
b. ŋ-ko animals (class 2 plural)
c. ka-ko container (class 3 singular)
d. p-ko small object, e.g. a bead or a stick
(class 4 singular)
e. i-ko things (class 4 or 5 plural)
f. b-ko tree (class 7 singular)
g. mn-ko fruit, trees (class 6 or 7 plural)
h. d-ko place (class 9 singular)

There are some semantic correlates with the different noun classes which I
will discuss below, but there are also many exceptions, for example body
parts can be found in classes 2, 3, 4, and 5. Kihm notes a similar situation in
in Manjaku (Kihm 2005).
Class 1a a-/ba- There are a very small number of nouns found in this
subclass. They are all human, and restricted to kinship terms.
3.19 a. a-yin cousin
b. a-har wife

Class 1 na-/ba- Nouns that take these prefixes are all human.
A large group of nouns in this class are formed with general stems with the
meaning of “one who does” an action, or “one who is” a state.
3.20 a. na-kob drummer (lit:hitter) c.f. pkob to hit
b. na-ţupar spokesman c.f. pţupar to speak for
 Nouns and Nominals 39

c. na-poţ child c.f. ppoţ to be small

When combined with a stem indicating an ethnic or family group, the
resulting meaning is a member of that group.
3.21 a. na-hula a Mankanya
b. na-laaŧ a Balanta
c. na-diiŋal a member of the Dingal family
This group also includes three common nouns where the prefixes behave
irregularly: ñaaţ “woman”, ñiinţ “man”, ñaaŋ “person”. See section 3.3.1.2
for more detail.
Class 2 u-/ŋ- The majority of nouns in this class are non-human animates
e.g. animals, fish, bird, reptiles and spirits.
3.22 a. u-buş dog
b. u-laar spider
c. u-pi goat
d. u-tapal catfish
e. u-nŧaayi spirit
The class also includes some inanimates, for example:
3.23 a. u-bel shield
b. u-fëţ compound
c. u-ţup word, speech
When u- is combined with an ethnic stem, the meaning of the resulting
noun is the language or dialect of that group. This meaning may have
developed by extension from u-ţup “word, speech” (3.23c above), or perhaps
they were originally modifiers of u-ţup.
3.24 a. u-wuuh the dialect of Ko (the bawuuh)
b. u-laaŧ the Balanta language
c. u-mbaabu a European language (Europeans are ba-mbaabu)

The u- prefix can also be used with the singular of certain words normally
found in class 5 or class 7, to give the sense of augmentative.
3.25 Noun Class Augmentative
a. b-laañ “wrap” 5 u-laañ “big wrap”

Class 3 ka-/i- Most nouns that take this prefix cannot be easily grouped.
However, with certain words, these prefixes have a meaning of a “small part
of” something.
3.26 a. ka-kën palm leaf (c.f. pkën “oil palm”)
b. ka-mpoban fragments of a bottle (c.f. umpoban “bottle”)
40 Chapter 3

c. ka-mul stick of wood (c.f. bmul “dry tree”)

Class 4 p(a)-/i- There are no obvious groupings in this class.

Class 5 b(a)-/i- There are no obvious groupings in this class
Class 6 p-/m- The most significant group in this class is fruit (in the most
general sense).
3.27 a. p-bën rhun palm fruit (c.f. bbën “rhun palm”)
b. p-maŋa mango (c.f. bmaŋa “mango tree”)
c. p-maanan grain of rice (c.f. umaanan “rice”)

Some researchers, for example Cobbinah (2013) and Watson (2014) have
suggested that the semantic motivation for the equivalent of this class in
related languages is things that are “round” or “with spherical diameter”.
Though seems to apply to many members beyond fruit, it is difficult to see
why that is salient to some nouns in this class, e.g. a grain of rice.
Class 7 b-/m- The nouns in this class are almost entirely trees and plants.
3.28 a. b-bën rhun palm
b. b-maŋa mango tree
c. b-liik peanut plant
d. b-joşar bean plant

There is clearly a relationship between these two classes, but it is not

possible to determine which might be the basic class. Considering that p-ko
means “small object” and b-ko means “tree”, a strong possibility is that b- is
the basic class. The use of p- then gives the sense “small thing” when
combined with a tree-like stem X, to give a meaning “small thing from X” or
in other words “fruit of tree X”.
However, the b- prefix has a derivative augmentative function with certain
nouns.
3.29 Noun Class Augmentative
a. na-poţ “child” 2 b-poţ “big child”
b. ka-hoţ “house” 3 b-toh “big house”

This could be an argument that the p- form is the basic class and the use of
b- gives the sense “big version of fruit X”, i.e. “the X tree”.
The phenomenon of noun prefix alternation on the same noun stem to
distinguish between fruit and trees is very common in Atlantic languages
(Creissels and Lüpke Forthcoming).
 Nouns and Nominals 41

Class 8 m(a)(n)- This class contains liquids and other uncountables:

3.30 a. meel water
b. mn-tow milk
c. m-niir fat

By extension this prefix can also be used with some stems found in other
classes to derive a liquid or uncountable meaning.
3.31 a. m-nob honey (c.f. unob “bee”)
b. mn-laak gravel (c.f. plaak “stone”)

It also contains abstract concepts:

3.32 a. mn-lilan happiness
b. mn-tit intelligence
c. man-jooan truth

Class 9 d- Only one noun has the prefix d-, dko “place”. However, the d-
prefix is used for noun agreement and da- for verb agreement with almost
all recently borrowed nouns (even if the nouns themselves don't have a
prefix), proper nouns which signify places, and time nouns.
3.33 a. kaara d-i nul his face
b. pekadu d-i baka their sin
c. dmass da-kmbiiŋ Sunday that is coming
d. faan da-wo di Naşibaţi tomorrow belongs to God

Class 10 n- As noted above this is a diminutive prefix.

3.3.1.2 Irregularities
A small number of nouns are irregular.
There are 3 nouns which have class 1 agreement, but where the noun
prefixes are different to the agreement prefixes:
3.34 a. ñaaţ/baaţ woman/women
b. ñiinţ/biinţ man/men
c. ñaaŋ/bañaaŋ person/people
In example 3.34a and b the stems unusually start with a vowel - aaţ
“female” and iinţ “male” and the prefixes are ñ- and b- instead of na- and
ba-. In 3.34c the singular seems to follow the same pattern where na- has
been replace by ñ-, presumably before the now non-existent stem aaŋ.
However, in the plural the whole singular form has become reinterpreted as
the stem ñaaŋ, and the prefix is the normal class 1 plural ba-.
42 Chapter 3

There are some other nouns where it seems that a prefix has been dropped,
and agreement is alliterative.
3.35 pkëş/këş eye/eyes
këş ki nan your eyes (eyes of you)

The noun meeţ “room” has a plural imeeţ but has class 9 agreement in the
singular (d-)
3.36` meeţ/imeeţ room/rooms
meeţ di ajug katoh the room of the head of the household

Note that meeţ is also a locative modifier meaning “inside” (see section
6.2.2).
I have found a couple of other nouns that have unusual patterns.
3.37 a. mntim/itum mouth/mouths
b. udolade/idolade custom/customs

3.3.1.3 Proper noun marker

In animal based folk stories the names of certain central animals have the
prefix ţ- instead of the normal prefix for animals u-. This has the effect of
creating a proper noun. This is comparable to, in English, “Hare ate the
rice” as opposed to “the hare”, or “a hare”.
3.38 Common Noun Proper Noun
a. u-ñiiŋ “hyena” ţ-ñiiŋu “Hyena”
b. u-maalu “hare” ţ-maalu “Hare”

The resulting noun causes agreement either with u- like its unmodified
form, or sometimes a- as if the character was a human. This is a stylistic
variation depending on the narrator. Because of the variability of its
agreement and limited use I have not analysed it as a class prefix.

3.3.2 Special cases

3.3.2.1 Proper Nouns
Proper nouns do not take prefixes (though some proper nouns contain
fossilised prefixes). They trigger semantic agreement so human names cause
verbs and modifiers to agree like class 1 nouns (na-/ba-). Names of places
cause agreement as if they were class 9 nouns (d-/i-).
 Nouns and Nominals 43

3.3.2.2 Borrowed words

Like all languages in contact with others, Mankanya has borrowed words
from other languages, notably from Upper Guinea Creole which for many
years was the language of wider communication in the Mankanya area.
Some borrowed words have been absorbed into a noun class based on
semantics – for example the mango (first recorded in West Africa in 1824) is
found in class 6 p-maŋa “mango fruit” and class 7 b-maŋa “mango tree” like
other fruits and their trees.
Other words have developed agreement based on sound similarities. For
example dmaas “dimanche/Sunday” (borrowed from French) takes
agreement with d- prefixes (however, this is also a semantic fit as a time
word). The word ŋriŧia “church(es)” (borrowed from Upper Guinea Creole
igrisia) takes agreement with ŋ- prefixes, even in the singular. It might be
expected that this word would take agreement with i- prefixes, but a
possible explanation is that [i] followed by the cluster [gr] has been
reinterpreted as [ig] followed by [r] (as [gr] is not an acceptable stem initial
cluster in Mankanya) and in turn [ig] > [ŋ].
Other borrowed words do not start with anything that looks like a class
prefix, e.g. skoola “school”, rosadi “shrine”, kaara “face”, pekadu “sin”.
Noun modifiers for the these words take the prefix d- “class 10”. For
example skoola dnuura “the good school”, rosadi dweek “the big shrine”. In
the plural these words take i- – iskoola inuura “the good schools”, ikaara
“faces”.

3.3.3 Possessor suffixes

There is a paradigm of suffixes which is used for possession of a small
number of nouns, mainly kinship terms, when the possessor is animate. The
paradigm is incomplete and there no suffixes for 1st singular, 1st plural
exclusive, or 3rd person plural. In these cases an independent pronoun must
be used. For those nouns which do not use the suffixes, independent
pronouns are also used but in a more complex syntactic structure (see
section 7.3.4.2 Alienable Genitive Construction).
44 Chapter 3

Person/ Suffix Example English translation Pronoun

number
Singular:
1st a-buk naan my child naan
ba-buk naan my children
2nd -u ka-toh-u your (sg) house nu
i-toh-u your (sg) houses
3rd -ul a-har-ul his/her wife nul
ba-har-ul his/her wives
Plural:
1st inc -un a-nin-un our mother nun
ba-nin-un our mothers
1st exc a-nin nja our mother nja
ba-nin nja our mothers
2nd -an a-şin-an your (pl) father nan
ba-şin-an your (pl) fathers
3rd a-ţa baka their younger sibling baka
ba-ţa baka their younger siblings
Table 3.3: Possessor suffixes

3.3.4 Derivational suffixes

There are two derivational suffixes that can be used with a nominal stem
(that is a stem that can be used in either nouns or adjectives), neither of
which are very productive. Both have the same function, to change a
nominal stem into a verbal one.
The first is -a.
3.39 stem noun or adjective verb
a. week “big” u-week “big” a-week-a “to get bigger”
na-week “elder sibling”
b. naaf “idiot” na-naaf “idiot” a-naaf-a “to be stupid”

The second is -ëţ. This is mostly used with nominal stems with a primarily
property meaning.
3.40 stem noun or adjective verb
a. tiinku “small” u-tiinku “small” ba-tiink-ëţ “they are few”
b. kuul “blind” na-kuul “blind person” a-kuul-ëţ “he is blind”
c. kow “head” na-kow “clairvoyant” a-kow-ëţ “he has
b-kow “head” extraordinary
knowledge”
 Nouns and Nominals 45

3.4 Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are a combination of a noun and a noun. Both nouns take
their normal prefixes, but verbs and adjectives agree with the class of the
first noun.
3.41 a. uyoor-bapoţ – praying mantis u-yoor – something that swallows
ba-poţ – children
b. ubuş-kajaagal – jackal u-buş – dog
ka-jaagal – bush
c. kaduŋ-ubopal – toadstool ka-duŋ – umbrella
u-bopal – frog
d. naţup-kaŧaaki – liar na-ţup – speaker
ka-ŧaaki – falsehood

3.5 Pronouns
There is a set of independent subject pronouns shown in the table below.
Notice that non human pronouns are prefixed with the noun class prefix of
the noun being replaced. Most simple sentences only use the verbal
agreement prefix if a subject noun phrase is not present.

Person Singular Plural

1st nji nja (incl)
un (excl)
2nd iwi an
Class
1 ul bukal
2 wul ŋul
3 kul yul
4 pul yul
5 bul yul
6 pul mul
7 bul mul
8 mul
9 dul yul
10 nul (unattested)
Table 3.4: Independent subject pronouns
There is a possible 1st person plural distinction between inclusive nja
(including the addressee(s)) and exclusive un (excluding the addressee(s)).
46 Chapter 3

This distinction is becoming obsolete, and many people just the use the two
words synonymously.
There is a set of independent object pronouns. Singular human objects, and
1st and 2nd plural objects are normally verbal pronominal suffixes. See
section 4.2.7 Object Suffixes and section 7.7.1.2 Object pronouns. These
suffixes are not agreement features as there is no verb/object agreement in
Mankanya.
Table 3.5 shows the independent object pronouns. For 1st person plural
exclusive, both 2nd person forms and class 1 singular a pronominal verbal
suffix is used and these are shown in brackets. Like the subject pronouns the
non-human pronouns are prefixed with the noun class prefix of the noun
being replaced.

Person Singular Plural

1st naan nja (incl)
(-un) (excl)
2nd (-u) (-an)
Class
1 (-a) baka
2 wa ŋa
3 ka ya
4 pa ya
5 ba ya
6 pa ma
7 ba ma
8 ma
9 da ya
10 na (unattested)
Table 3.5: Independent object pronouns
There is no morphological distinction made between direct and indirect
objects, and the same pronouns or suffixes are used in both situations:
3.42 Ŧukma akob baka
ŧukma a- kob baka
Thukma C1S hit C1S
“Thukma hit them”
3.43 Ŧukma aţen baka kamişa
ŧukma a- ţen baka ka- mişa
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) C1S C3S shirt
“Thukma gives a shirt to them”
 Nouns and Nominals 47

As noted in section 3.3.3 above there are independent pronouns used with
most nouns to express genitive relations like possession. Their use is
illustrated in examples 3.44 and 3.45 but they will be discussed in more
detail in section 7.3.4.2 Alienable Genitive Construction. The pronouns are
listed in Table 3.6 below. The variants starting with ŧ- are used by some,
mainly older, speakers.

3.44 upi wi naan

u- pi w- i naan
C2S goat C2S GEN C1S
“my goat”
3.45 upi wi baka
u- pi w- i baka
C2S goat C2S GEN C1S
“their goat”

Person Singular Plural

1st naan (or ŧaan) nja (incl)
nun (or ŧun) (excl)
2nd nu (or ŧu) nan (or ŧan)
Class
1 nul (or ŧul) baka (or bakan)
2 wa ŋa
3 ka ya
4 pa ya
5 ba ya
6 pa ma
7 ba ma
8 ma
9 da ya
10 na (unattested)
Table 3.6: Genitive Pronouns

Tables 3.7 and 3.8 summarise all the pronouns. Also included for
comparison are the object pronominal forms used with the selectional suffix
-uŋ described in the next chapter.
48 Chapter 3

Singular
Person Subject Object Object suffix Genitive
with -uŋ
1st nji naan -aan naan (or ŧaan)
2nd iwi -u -i nu (or ŧu)
Class
1 ul -a -ul nul (or ŧul)
2 wul wa wa wa
3 kul ka ka ka
4 pul pa pa pa
5 bul ba ba ba
6 pul pa pa pa
7 bul ba ba ba
8
9 dul da da da
10 nul na na na
(unattested) (unattested) (unattested) (unattested)
Table 3.7: All singular pronouns and pronominal suffixes
Plural
Person Subject Object Genitive
1st nja (incl) nja (incl) nja (incl) nja (incl)
un (excl) -un (excl) un (excl) nun (or ŧun) (excl)
2nd an -an -an nan (or ŧan)
Class
1 bukal baka baka baka (or bakan)
2 ŋul ŋa ŋa ŋa
3 yul ya ya ya
4 yul ya ya ya
5 yul ya ya ya
6 mul ma ma ma
7 mul ma ma ma
8 mul ma ma ma
9 yul ya ya ya
10
Table 3.8: All plural pronouns and pronominal suffixes
 Nouns and Nominals 49

3.6 Summary of agreement prefixes

In the following chapters I will describe the subject agreement on verbs and
the three different paradigms of agreement prefixes on noun modifiers. The
following table summarises these along with the noun prefixes.

Class Noun Adj Dem Gen Verb

1a Sing a-
na- Ø- Ø- a-
1 Sing na-
Plural bak-/bik-/ bak-/bik-/
ba- ba- ba-
Count buk- buk-
2 Sing u- u- u- w- wa-
Plural
ŋ- ŋ- ŋ- ŋ- ŋa-
Count
3 Sing ka- ka- ka- k- ka-
Plural
i- i- i- y- i-
Count
4 Sing p(a)- p- p- p- pa-
Plural i- i- i- y- i-
Count k- k- k- k- ka-
5 Sing b(a)- b- b- b- ba-
Plural i- i- i- y- i-
Count k- k- k- k- ka-
6 Sing p- p- p- p- pa-
Plural m- m- m- m- maN-
Count ŋ- ŋ- ŋ- ŋ- ŋa-
7 Sing b- b- b- b- ba-
Plural m- m- m- m- maN-
Count ŋ- ŋ- ŋ- ŋ- ŋa-
8 m(a)(n)- mn- m- m- maN-
9 Sing d- d- d- d- da-
Plural i- i- i- y- i-

10 n- na-

Table 3.9: Summary of agreement prefixes

50 Chapter 3
 51

Chapter 4 - The Verb

4.1 Word structure

As noted in section 3.2 - roots can be divided into three groups, nominal,
verbal, and general. Verb words are constructed from verbal or general
roots or stems.
4.1 stem verb
a. lemp “work” a-lemp “he works”
b. jip “dig” ba-jip “they dig”
c. buur “escape” d-buur “I escape”
d. ya “go” a-ya “he goes”

They can also be constructed from stems which are formed by a nominal
root with a class changing stem as in the examples below.
4.2 stem noun or adjective verb
a. week “big” u-week “big” a-week-a “he gets bigger”
na-week “elder sibling”
b. naaf “idiot” na-naaf “idiot” a-naaf-a “he is stupid”
c. tiinku “small” u-tiinku “small” ba-tiink-ëţ “they are few”
d. joob “cold” u-joob “cold” u-joob-ëţ “it cools”

As this chapter is describing the morphology of verbs, for simplicity I will

refer to all stems that are the basis of verb words as verbal stems. I will not
therefore distinguish between stems that can only be used in verbs, and
stems that can also be used in nouns.
Verbal stems can take various derivational suffixes to form another verbal
stem with a different meaning.
Verbal stems when combined with inflectional affixes form a verbal word.
Some verbal words have the syntactic role of an auxiliary, and add tense,
aspect or modal information to the main lexical verb. There is no
morphological distinction between auxiliaries and lexical verbs. See Chapter
8 for a discussion of the use of auxiliaries.
52 Chapter 4

4.2 Inflection
4.2.1 Subject prefixes
Generally, verbs take prefixes that agree with the subject in number and
person, or nominal class.
4.3 bantohi baţiini
ba- ntohi ba- ţiini
C1P elder C1P speak
“The elders speak”
4.4 baţiini
ba- ţiini
C1P speak
“They speak”
4.5 upi ufeer
u- pi u- feer
C2S goat C2S graze
“The goat grazes”

The full paradigm is given in the tables below:

Person Noun Prefix Example
Class
Sing.
1 d- djuk I learn
2 i- ijuk you learn
3 1 a- ajuk he/she learns
2 u- upi udaan the goat drinks
3 ka- katoh kajot the house falls
4 pa- pdunk pajot the pot falls
5 ba- bayeti bajot the coat falls
6 pa- pmaŋa pjot the mango falls
7 ba- bamaŋa bajot the mango tree falls
9 da- dko dayiki the place is hot
10 na- nñiiŋ naţi the little hyena runs
Table 4.1: Subject prefixes - singular
 The Verb 53

Person Noun Prefix Example

Class
Plural
1 ŋ- ŋjuk we learn
2 na- najuk you learn
3 1 ba- bajuk they learn
2 ŋa- ŋpi ŋadaan the goats drink
3 i- itoh ijot the houses fall
4 i- idunk ijot the pots fall
5 i- iyeti ijot the coats fall
6 maN- mmaŋa manjot the mangos fall
7 maN- mmaŋa manjot the mango trees fall
8 maN- meel manjot the water falls
9 i- ipekadu yi nu your sins are forgiven
ipëni
Count
Plural
3 4 ka- kdunk ktëb two pots fall
kajot
5 ka- kyeti ktëb kajot two coats fall
6 ŋa- ŋmaŋa ŋajot two mangos fall
7 ŋa- ŋmaŋa ŋajot two mango trees fall
Table 4.2: Subject prefixes - plural
The first person plural verb agreement does not have the inclusive/exclusive
distinction that is found in pronouns.
It is noticeable that all the consonantal 3rd person prefixes contain an a-.
One possible analysis might therefore be that they are actually
decomposable into C- a-, where C is the class prefix and a- indicates third
person (a- does not indicate tense or aspect as it is always present). The
exceptions to this would be the class prefixes that are not consonants. It
would then have to be argued that third person a- is deleted when preceded
by a vowel. Another problem is the maN- prefix where there is a nasal that
follows the a-. The last problem is the existence of the 2nd person plural
marker na-, which also contains an a. For these reasons I will use the
simpler analysis that prefixes ending with a are non-decomposable.
The first person singular has three alternative forms: m- (syllabic consonant,
never assimilated) when the verb is negative (see section 4.2.4), N- (pre-
nasalisation of the first consonant) in certain subordinate verb forms (for
example with the selectional suffix - see section 4.2.5), and ka- after the
auxiliary ji “habitual” (section 4.2.6), and in a clause following a
proposition headed by woli “if/when” (section 9.1.2).
54 Chapter 4

Normal form:
4.6 ddaan meel
d- daan meel
1S. drink water
“I drink water”
Negative:
4.7 mëndaan meel
m- ën- daan meel
1S.NEG NEG drink water
“I don't drink water”
Subordinate:
4.8 wi ndaanuŋ meel
wi n- daan -uŋ meel
when 1S.SUB drink SEL water
“When I drank the water…”
With woli:
4.9 woli abi , kafiŋ uguk
woli a- bi ka- fiŋ u- guk
if C1S come 1S.HAB kill C2S chicken
“If he comes, I will kill the chicken”
In the last context the second person singular also has an alternative k-. For
example:
4.10 iji klemp na utaakal
i- ji k- lemp na u- taakal
2S HAB 2S.HAB work with C2S evening
“You work in the evenings”
The class 1 plural prefix ba- can also be used as a general non-referential
pronoun, indicating a vague someone or some people as the agent. This
meaning can often be translated by the passive in English.
4.11 bamoya na başin
ba- moy -a na ba- şin
C1P bury C1S.OBJ with C1P father
“He was buried with his ancestors”
4.12 Plaak pi bajaaŋ badëŧna pa
p- laak p- i ba- ja -aŋ ba- dëŧ -na p- a
C6S stone C6S GEN C1P HAB SEL C1P shut INSTR C4S OBJ
paşë wo pweek
pa- şë wo p- week
C6S SEQ be C6S older
‎“The stone that covered it (the well) was large” or ‎“The stone that they
covered it with was large”
 The Verb 55

4.13 Toma i bajaaŋ badu kbet

toma i ba- ja -aŋ ba- du k- bet
Thomas GEN C1P HAB SEL C1P call C3P.CNT twins
“Thomas, known as the twin…”

4.2.2 Serial
The a- prefix is also used in serial clauses (see section 9.2). In clause
chaining the second and subsequent verb clusters (i.e. auxiliaries and main
verbs) are inflected with the a- prefix regardless of the number, person or
class of the subject.
4.14 upi uţi aneej katoh
u- pi u- ţi a- neej ka- toh
C2S goat C2S run SER enter C3S house
“The goat ran and entered the house”
This prefix combines with the imperfective prefix k- (see section 4.2.8) if
the action is not yet completed.
4.15 dde kadaan
d- de k- a- daan
1S eat IMPERF SER drink
“I'm eating and then I will drink”
This combination of prefixes can also be found in other verbal constructions
where there is an auxiliary. For example:
4.16 dluŋ kanug ulibra uhalu
d- luŋ k- a- nug u- libra u- halu
1S FUT IMPERF SER buy C2S book C2S new
“I will buy a new book”
However, the combination of IMPERF k- with SER a- functions differently to
the combination of IMPERF k- with the Class 1 Singular marker a-. In the
latter case, IMPERF k- follows a-. For example, in the subordinate temporal
clause:
4.17 wi akyaaŋ Dakar
wi a- k- ya -aŋ Dakar
when C1S IMPERF go SEL Dakar
“When he was going to Dakar…”

4.2.3 Persistive prefix

When the persistive auxiliary is used with a stative verb (see section 8.8.3)
then the stative main verb is prefixed with a prenasalisation of the initial
consonant of the root:
56 Chapter 4

4.18 Ahum nwo ţi bgah

a- hum n- wo ţ- i b- gah
C1S PSTV PSTV be INT LOC.PROX C5S way
“He was still on the road.”
4.19 Ahum nlowi
a- hum n- low -i
C1S PSTV PSTV be_far CMPL
“He was still far away”

4.2.4 Negative
Negation of the verb is marked both with a morphological change plus a
distinctive intonation pattern.
If the verb has completive aspect (see section 4.2.8), the surface segmental
marking of the negative is a lengthening of the vowel of the subject prefix
(if there is one), followed by a pre-nasalisation of the first consonant of the
stem. If this consonant is a nasal then it is lengthened. In the glosses in this
description the negative morpheme is represented by ën-, a possible
underlying form.
4.20 Dama aandee
Dama a- ën- de -e
Dama C1S NEG eat CMPL
“Dama didn't eat”
Other examples are:
4.21 Affirmative Negative
a. ba-juk-i “they learnt” ba-an-juk-i “they did not learn”
b. a-keţ-i “he is dead” a-an-keţ-i “he is not dead”
c. i-ŋal-i “you loved” i-iŋ-ŋal-i “you did not love”

There are two consonantal prefixes, the 1st person forms. As noted above in
section 4.2.1 the 1st person singular has a special negative form m-, but the
1st person plural form is ŋ- as in affirmative sentences. With these two
consonantal prefixes the negative does not cause any lengthening of the
prefix.
4.22 Affirmative Negative
a. d-juk-i “I learnt” m-ën-juk-i “I did not learn”
b. ŋ-ŋal-i “we loved” ŋ-ëŋ-ŋal-i “we did not love”

If the verb is in the imperfective (see section 4.2.8), then the k- prefix is
used and that is what is pre-nasalised (/ᵑk/ but written in the orthography
as “nk”)
 The Verb 57

4.23 Dama aankde umaanan

Dama a- ën- k- de maanan
Dama C1S NEG IMPERF eat rice
“Dama isn't eating the rice”
Other examples are:
4.24 Affirmative Negative
a. ba-juk “they learn” ba-an-k-juk “they don't learn”
b. a-win “he sees” a-an-k-win “they don't see”
c. i-ŧok “you spoil” i-in-k-ŧok “you don’t spoil”
d. d-juk “I learn” m-ën-k-juk “I don’t learning”
e. ŋ-ŋal “we love” ŋ-ëŋ-k-ŋal “we don’t love”

All verbal negation has a distinctive rising and falling pitch. If only single
verb words are considered then it would appear to be tonal and attached to
the negative marking.
4.25

Dama aandee
Dama a- ën- de -e
Dama C1S NEG eat CMPL
“Dama didn't eat”
4.26

Dama aankde umaanan

Dama a- ën- k- de u- maanan
Dama C1S NEG IMPERF eat C3S rice
“Dama isn't eating the rice”
However, in relative clauses where the negative morpheme is found on the
second verb word, the pitch pattern seems to be found on the initial verb
word. For this reason I consider it a phenomenon of intonation rather than
tone.
4.27

ñaaŋ anwooŋ aankţaş

ñaaŋ a- n- wo -oŋ a- ën- k- ţaş
person C1S COREF be SEL C1S NEG IMPERF follow
“The person who does not follow”
58 Chapter 4

4.2.5 Selectional suffixes

In certain constructions, for example relative clauses, the first verbal word
requires the suffix -uŋ, which I have labelled the selectional suffix, glossed
SEL. Its presence indicates that the clause containing this verb is selecting a
certain item from amongst a possible range. There does not seem to be a
similar suffix in related languages. Depending on the construction the item
in question might be the subject or the object of the verb. A more detailed
discussion of when it is used can be found in chapter 9.
The following example shows its use in a temporal clause.
4.28 wi ndaanuŋ meel
wi n- daan -uŋ meel
when 1S.SUB drink SEL water
“When I drank the water…”
When -uŋ follows a vowel, the /u/ normally assimilates to that vowel
quality, with a resulting long vowel.
4.29 a. a-ya “he goes” wi a-ya-aŋ “when he went”
b. a-bi “he comes” wi a-bi-iŋ “when he came”
c. a-du “he calls” wi a-du-uŋ “when he calls”
d. a-de “he eats” wi a-de-eŋ “when he ate”

There are four exceptions to this rule.

Following the auxiliary şë, both the final vowel /ë/ and the /u/ become /a/.
4.30 a-şë “he.SEQ” wi a-şa-aŋ “when he.SEQ”

Following the auxiliary ji, both the final vowel /i/ and the /u/ become /a/
4.31 a-ji a-nug “he.HAB buys” wi a-ja-aŋ nug “when he.HAB buys”

Following do “do” an /l/ is inserted before -uŋ. When do is the auxiliary

“INGR” - ingressive - this tends not to happen, though this is a tendency and
not an exceptionless rule.
4.32 a-do “he does” wi a-dol-uŋ “when he did”

Following a verb which has the middle suffix -a (see section 4.2.9 below)
both the final vowel of the middle suffix /a/ and the /u/ of the selectional
suffix become /i/ (example 4.33a). Note that this is different to what
happens when the suffix -a is 3rd person singular object (example 4.33b)
4.33 a. a-naţ-a “he stands up” wi a-naţ-i-iŋ “when he stood up”
b. a-kob-a “he hits him” wi a-kob-ul-uŋ “when he hit him”
 The Verb 59

When the verb is followed by the 2PL suffix -an the selectional suffix
becomes -aŋ.
4.34 uko wi bakdolanaŋ
u- ko w- i ba- k- dol -an -aŋ
C2S thing C2S GEN C1P IMPERF do 2P.OBJ SEL
“The thing that they are doing to you”
When the verb stem is reduplicated, then the behaviour of the selectional
suffix depends on the context of the verb. In most situations the -uŋ suffix is
attached to the initial verb stem:
4.35 ul aŋaluŋ ŋal wa
ul a- ŋal -uŋ ŋal w- a
C1S.subj C1S like SEL like C2S OBJ
“It was he who wanted it”
4.36 biki nanuguŋ nug du ñaaŋ
bik- i na- nug -uŋ nug d- u ñaaŋ
C1P GEN 2P buy SEL buy EXT LOC.DIST person
aloŋ nayaanţ
a- loŋ na- yaanţ
C1S INDEF C1S stranger
“those you had bought from a foreigner”
However, the causative suffix -an is added after the copy of the root, and
then the selectional -uŋ suffix is added after:
4.37 unŧaam wi bafal falanuŋ
u- nŧaam w- i ba- fal fal -an -uŋ
C2S livestock C2S GEN C1P cut cut CAUS SEL
“the meat that they had had cut up”
4.38 ñaaţ ankbuk bukanuluŋ
ñ- aaţ a- n- k- buk buk- -an -ul -uŋ
C1S woman SER COREF IMPERF produce C1P CAUS C1S.ALT.OBJ SEL
“the woman who is helping her give birth”
In one reduplication context -uŋ becomes -aŋ. This is following wi “when”,
and the reduplication give a sense of immediacy.
4.39 wi awinaŋ win baka
wi a- win -aŋ win baka
when C1S see SEL see C2P.OBJ
“As soon as he saw them…”
4.40 wi bapënaŋ pën ţi
wi ba- pën -aŋ pën ţ- i
when C1P go_out SEL go_out INT LOC.PROX
“As soon as they had left from there”
60 Chapter 4

In this context when the stem ends with the middle suffix -a, there is no
assimilation (marked orthographically with an apostrophe), as there would
be with -uŋ, but the middle suffix still changes to -i before it.
4.41 Wi baheli'aŋ hela
wi ba- hel -i -'aŋ hel -a
when C1P disembark MID SEL disembark MID
“As soon as they got out the boat…”
As noted in section 4.2.1 above the 1st person singular prefix has the form
N- when used in a word with the selectional suffix.
There is a rarer selectional suffix -i, which seems in current language to be
synonymous with -uŋ but which in the past probably had some difference in
meaning. The -i and -uŋ suffixes in this context were possibly derived from
the -i and -uŋ demonstrative roots (see section 6.1.5 Demonstratives). Karlik
(1972, 111) records a distinction between -i and -uŋ in Manjaku, where he
describes -uŋ as emphatic.

4.2.6 Co-reference prefix

In relative constructions (for more detailed discussion see section 9.4.3),
where the subject of relative clause is also in a grammatical relation with
the main verb, the first verb word in the relative clause is marked with a
prefix. This prefix is the pre-nasalisation of the first consonant of the stem,
and, if present, the pre-nasalisation of the imperfective marker k- (see
section 4.2.8 Aspectual affixes). There is no other context where this co-
reference marker is found. In examples 4.42 and 4.43 the subject of the
relative clause is the object in the matrix clause. In example 4.44 the subject
of the relative clause is also the subject in the matrix clause.
4.42 dwin nalët ambomanuŋ blaañ
d- win na- lët a- m- boman -uŋ b- laañ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF make SEL C6S wrap
“I saw the tailor who made the dress”
4.43 dwin nalët ankmbomanuŋ
d- win na- lët a- n- k- m- boman -uŋ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF IMPERF COREF make SEL
blaañ
b- laañ
C6S wrap
“I saw the tailor who is making the dress”
 The Verb 61

4.44 ñaaŋ ankndeeŋ pnam

ñaaŋ a- n- k- n- de -eŋ p- nam
person C1S COREF IMPERF COREF eat SEL C4S salt
aanhil kawo aankmaak
a- ën- hil k- a- wo a- ën- k- maak
C1S NEG be_able IMPERF SER be C1S NEG IMPERF be_ill
‎“Someone who eats salt will not get ill”
For comparison 4.45 shows an example where the subject of the relative
clause (“they” indicated by the 3P prefix ba-) is not in grammatical relation
with the main verb ŋal “like”, and so there is no co-reference prefix.
4.45 Aŋal iko yi bakbiiŋ kanug
a- ŋal i- ko y- i ba- k- bi -iŋ k- a- nug
C1S like C3P thing C3P GEN C1P IMPERF FUT SEL IMPERF SER buy
“She likes the things that they are going to buy”

4.2.7 Object Suffixes

4.2.7.1 Object Suffixes on Main Verbs
For most human objects the pronominal form is a verbal suffix. These are
shown below.
Person Pronoun Example
Singular
1st -in2 akobin He hit me
2nd -u akobu He hit you (sg)
Class 1 -a akoba He hit him/her
Plural
1st (excl) -un akobun He hit us
2nd -an akoban He hit you (pl)
Table 4.3: Object pronominal suffixes
st
The 1 plural inclusive pronoun, the class 1 plural pronoun, and all
pronouns referring to non-human classes are separate words, and have been
discussed in section 3.5. The syntax of objects will be discussed in section
7.1.1.
4.46 Ŧukma akob Naala
ŧukma a- kob Naala
Thukma C1S hit Nala
“Thukma hits Naala”

2 Some people pronounce this pronoun ën.

62 Chapter 4

4.47 Ŧukma akoba

ŧukma a- kob -a
Thukma C1S hit C1S.OBJ
“Thukma hits her”
4.48 Ŧukma akobun
ŧukma a- kob -un
Thukma C1S hit 1P.OBJ
“Thukma hits us”

4.2.7.2 Object Suffixes on Verbs with the Selectional Suffix

When the selectional suffix -uŋ is present, most object suffixes have a
different form, and one becomes an independent word.
Person Suffix Example
singular
1st aan ankob-aan-uŋ who hit me
2nd i ankob-i-iŋ who hit you (sg)
Class 1 ul ankob-ul-uŋ who hit him/her

plural
2nd an ankob-an-aŋ who hit you (pl)
Table 4.4: Object suffixes used with the selectional suffix
The 1st plural exclusive suffix becomes an independent word when the
selectional suffix is used. This is shown in example 4.49. It is not a suffix as
it comes after the selectional suffix which always marks the end of the
verbal word.
4.49 wi akobuŋ un
wi a- kob -uŋ un
when C1S hit SEL 1P.OBJ
“When he hit us, …”
As described in section 4.2.5 above the class 1 singular object suffix and the
middle voice suffix (which are both -a in main verbs) have a completely
different form with the selectional suffix.
4.50 a. a-naţ-a “he stands up” wi a-naţ-i-iŋ “when he stood up”
b. a-kob-a “he hits him” wi a-kob-ul-uŋ “when he hit him”

However, the change in the 2nd person singular from -u to -i with the
selectional suffix results in a form that is identical to the allomorph of the
middle voice suffix with the selectional suffix.
 The Verb 63

4.51 a. a-naţ-a “he stands up” wi a-naţ-i-iŋ “when he stood up”

b. a-kob-u “he hits you” wi a-kob-i-iŋ “when he hit you”

4.2.8 Aspectual affixes

There are only two affixes that are related to tense and aspect. One of them,
the prefix k- indicates imperfective. The opposite, perfective, is not marked
morphologically. In some contexts the distinction between imperfective and
perfective is not marked at all. This distinction (usually called
accompli/inaccompli in French descriptions) is common in Atlantic
languages. See for example (Soukka 2000; Segerer 2000; Bassene 2017).
The other, the suffix -i (and its allomorphs), marks completive. Note that
though k- and -i cannot co-occur, they are also not in complementary
distribution.
All other tense and aspect distinctions are made by means of auxiliaries.
In this section I will describe the morphology of the affixes k- and -i; their
meaning and use will be described in more detail along with the tense and
aspect auxiliaries in section 8.

4.2.8.1 Imperfective
In neutral sentences, in the affirmative the imperfective/perfective
distinction is unmarked.
4.52
a. a-daan “he drinks/is drinking”
b. ba-poş “they walk/are walking”

In the negative, the imperfective is marked with the prefix k-, but the
perfective is unmarked.
4.53
a. a-an-k-daan “he's not drinking” or “he will not drink”
b. a-an-daan “he didn’t drink”
c. ba-an-k-win “they are not seeing” or “they will not see”
d. ba-an-win “they didn’t see”

In sentences where the verb requires a selectional suffix the imperfective is

marked in the affirmative, and the perfective is not marked.
4.54 Dwin nalët ankmbomanuŋ blaañ
d- win na- lët a- n- k- m- boman -uŋ b- laañ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF IMPERF COREF make SEL C6S wrap
“I saw the tailor who is making the dress”
64 Chapter 4

4.55 Dwin nalët ambomanuŋ blaañ

d- win na- lët a- m- boman -uŋ b- laañ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF make SEL C6S wrap
“I saw the tailor who made the dress”
The negative with a selectional suffix requires different syntax, but again it
is the imperfective that is marked:
4.56 Ñiinţ anwooŋ aankbi
ñ- iinţ a- n- wo -oŋ a- an- k- bi
C2S man C1S COREF be SEL C1S NEG IMPERF come
amaaki
a- maak -i
C1S be_ill CMPL
“The man who's not coming is ill”
The imperfective often co-occurs with the serial prefix a-, for example with
future auxiliaries:
4.57 Aluŋ kaniw katoh
a- luŋ k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
“He will build the house”
There is also a k- prefix used to negate the imperative but I analyse this as a
separate morpheme.

4.2.8.2 Completive
Completive is marked with suffix -i. It is typically used with change of state
verb stems, where it causes the state to be construed as current.
4.58 a-dëm “he is getting bigger” a-dëm-i “he is big”

It can also be used with action verbs in which the whole action is in view
and is often assumed to be complete, and therefore in the past.
4.59 a-daan “he drinks” a-daan-i “he drank”

The completive -i makes the verb syntactically intransitive.

4.60 Awula poot kë adaani
a- wul -a poot kë a- daan -i
C1S give C1S.OBJ wine DS C1S drink CMPL
“She gave him wine and he drank”
4.61 * Awula poot kë adaani pa
a- wul -a poot kë a- daan -i p- a
C1S give C1S.OBJ wine DS C1S drink CMPL C4S OBJ
“She gave him wine and he drank it”
 The Verb 65

Because of this the completive -i suffix never co-occurs or combines with

object suffixes like -u (2S) or -a (C1S). It can combine with the middle voice
– see example 4.74 below.
This seems to correspond with some uses of the perfective in other Atlantic
languages. In the examples below similar morphemes are underlined:
4.62 Noon (Soukka 2000, 40:181)
Noh-ii tam-in
sun-DEF hot-PERF
“The sun is hot”
In Jola languages there is an -e suffix which gives a perfective meaning, but
also seems to be related to constituent focus.
4.63 Bandial (Bassène 2007)
Atejo na-bbaɲ-e e-súg-ol
Atejo s3s-retourner-TAM CL3-village-PSS3s
“Atejo has returned to his village.”
4.64 Fonyi (Hopkins 1995)
ñaa a-nifaan-au na-fel-e e-saa-ay
alors C1-vieux-DEF il.DEV-détacher-EN C3-mouton-DEF
“And so the old man untied the sheep.”
Hopkins also notes a -i derivational marker to which he gives the meaning
“characterised by” but which also seems to have a function closer to the -i
suffix in Mankanya.
4.65 Fonyi (Hopkins 1995)
moor “to sleep” móór-í “to be asleep”
bol “to grill” ból-í “to be hot”

4.66 Fonyi (Hopkins 1995)

jaat b-ala-ab bú-ból-í-ból-í m-áamak
aujourd'hui C5-soleil-DEF C5-brûler-NA-RDP c10-beaucoup
“It is very hot today.”
Additionally he notes that this suffix makes the verb intransitive, which, as
noted above, also happens with the Mankanya -i suffix.
The completive -i can be used in the negative:
4.67
a. a-an-daan-i “he didn't drink”
b. ba-an-dëm-i “they didn’t grow”

When the completive -i combines with a vowel at the end of a verb stem,
then assimilation occurs with a resulting long vowel.
66 Chapter 4

4.68
a. ade “he eats” adee “he ate”
b. baya “they go” bayaa “they went”

A small number of verbs have stems that end with an i which is not the
completive suffix:
4.69 a. awooni “he cries”
b. aŧepi “he sows”
c. dţiini “I speak”
d. ŋţaafi “we dream”

With these words the completive suffix -i causes a lengthening of the final i
of the stem.
4.70 Nji kak dţaafii
nji kak d- ţaafi -i
1S again 1S dream CMPL
“I also dreamt”

4.2.9 Middle voice

Verbs can be marked to indicate a middle voice, where the subject has some
elements of being both the agent and the patient. In verbs that are not
terminated by the selective suffix -uŋ the middle voice is marked by the
suffix -a. This is identical in form to the class 1 singular object suffix which
means some verbal words are ambiguous. However, when verbs end in -uŋ
e.g. in relative clauses, the two morphemes have different forms (as noted in
section 4.2.7.2).
The middle voice suffix is used for two functions, reflexivity, where the
subject is the agent and the patient, and true middle voice, where the agent
of the verb is not specified.
When the middle voice is used on its own there is no syntactic object.
Here are some examples that need to be translated by a reflexive in English:
4.71
a. dñow bapoţ “I wash the children” dñow-a “I wash myself”
b. anaţ “he is standing” anaţ-a “he stands up”
c. apuunk ñiinţ “he shaves the man” apuunk-a “he shaves himself”
d. ajëmëş bdoo bdoo bajëmş-a
“he extinguishes the fire” “the fire extinguishes itself”

A passive type meaning is achieved by combining the middle voice suffix -a

with the benefactive suffix -ar.
 The Verb 67

4.72
a. dtib pmul “I cut the wood” dtib-ar-a “I was cut”
b. pdum “to bite” ddum-ar-a “I was bitten”

In context the agent is not known and it is not possible to specify the agent
in a prepositional phrase, or by other syntactic means. However, this
combination of -ar and -a does allow an object (-a reduces the valence but
-ar increases it) and with this it is possible to specify a theme. For example:
4.73
awoh imişa “he put on a shirt” (active)
awohara imişa “he was wearing a shirt” (passive)

Note that in some cases it is possible to add the completive suffix -i. When
this occurs the two suffixes combine with the result of -aa. For example:
4.74
a. bdoo bajëmşa “the fire is extinguishing itself”
bdoo bajëmëşaa “the fire has extinguished itself”
(or the fire has been extinguished)
b. meel manwala “the water is receding”
(lit. “the water is descending itself”)
meel manwalaa “the water has gone down”

4.2.10 Imperative
The affirmative imperative is formed by adding a suffix of the form -an or
-ani. The 2nd person singular has no subject prefix, whereas the 2 nd person
plural has the normal subject prefix used in declarative verbs.
For example with the verb poş “walk”:
4.75
a. poş-an “walk (2S)!”
b. na-poş-an “walk (2P)!”

With a few frequent monosyllabic roots, the form -ani (or an allomorph) is
used when the imperative verb is used in isolation. Compare the isolated
form in example 4.76a with example 4.76c.
4.76
a. ya-ani “Go!”
b. bi-ini “Come!”
c. ya-an du batani “Go to the herd!”
68 Chapter 4

One verb behaves irregularly for the imperative, jej “take”. It doesn’t take
the imperative suffix, and instead has a reduced root nje in the singular and
je in the plural.
4.77
a. nje bŧepi “Take the seed!”
b. na-je bŧepi “Take(2p) the seed”

When a pronominal object suffix is used, it combines with the imperative in

different ways.
The 1st person singular -in combines with the -an to become -aan.
4.78 na-ŧiink-aan “Listen to me!”

The 1st person plural -un replaces the -an.

4.79 na-ŧiink-un “Listen to us!”

The class 1 singular -a is added after the -an.

4.80 na-ŧiink-an-a “Listen to him!”

The causative -an combines with the imperative -an to become -aan. This
could lead to word forms that are ambiguous between causative and first
person singular object.
4.81 na-jinţ-aan “Make clean!”

There are two ways of creating a negative imperative, one morphological,

shown here, and one analytical, shown in section 7.2.1. To create a negative
imperative morphologically, the prefix k- is added to the stem.
4.82
a. k-poş “don't walk! (2S)”
b. na-k-poş-an “don't walk! (2P)”

4.3 Derivation
All the verbal affixes which are derivational are suffixes.
Here is a list of the derivational suffixes that can be attached to verb stems.
(allomorphs are given in brackets). Note that this is a list of the forms of the
affixes. The following sections will be organised functionally, so multi-
functional forms will be discussed in several sections. Equally, different
forms but with the same function will be grouped together.
 The Verb 69

-al stem category change (CHG) (section 4.3.1)

-an causative (CAUS) (section 4.3.2)
-ar (-ir, -ad) reciprocal (RCP) (section 4.3.3)
-ar (-ir, -ad) benefactive (BEN) (section 4.3.4)
-ëb extensive (EXT) (section 4.3.6)
-ënţ extensive (EXT) (section 4.3.6)
-ëş causative (CAUS) (section 4.3.2)
separative (SEP) (section 4.3.5)
-na instrumental (INST)(section 4.3.7)

Some of the suffixes can be combined (sometimes with the deletion of an

unstressed vowel). In the examples below * in the gloss indicates the
meaning of the root is unknown because the unmodified root is unattested
a-kan-ş-a 3S-adhere-SEP-MID “he takes off”
a-jëm-ş-an 3S-cool-SEP-CAUS “he extinguishes”
a-tib-ar-a 3S-cut-BEN-MID “he cuts himself”
a-duw-an-a 3S-call-CAUS-MID “he is called”
a-bom-and-ar 3S-*-CAUS-BEN “he plans”
a-yook-ar-an 3S-air-BEN-CAUS “it takes off”
a-pat-ş-ar 3S-differ-CAUS-BEN “he divides amongst”
a-num-ënţ-an3S-*-EXT-CAUS “he offers to share”
a-hoţ-al-ëş 3S-leg-CHG-CAUS “he adds”
a-ya-ar-ad 3S-go-DIR-BEN “he goes to get someone”
a-ţënk-ëb-ër 3S-help-EXT-BEN “he has the means”

4.3.1 Stem Category Change (-al)

The suffix -al changes a verbal stem into a nominal one. It is not very
productive:
4.83 root verb noun or adjective
a. şub “rain” u-şub “it's raining” u-şub-al “rain”
b. jeenk “redden” p-jeenk “to redden” u-jeenk-al “red”
c. maak “get ill” a-maak “he's getting ill” na-maak-al “invalid”

This suffix can also be used with nominal roots to produce a verbal stem, or
with a verbal root without an apparent change of category. This only seems
to happen in conjunction with other derivative morphemes, for example the
causative -ëş (which is also not very productive). This sometimes results in a
major change of meaning. This might indicate that the -al morpheme is not
a recent innovation. Alternatively it might indicate that it was once not
category changing and that the causative -ëş was used as verbalizer.
4.84 root noun or adjective verb
a. hoţ “leg” ka-hoţ “leg” a-hoţ-al-ëş “he adds”
b. ŧum “full” ka-ŧum-i “full” u-ŧum-al-ëş “it is filled up”
70 Chapter 4

4.3.2 Causative (-an, -ëş)

The addition of the suffix -an gives a causative sense to the derived verb.
For example:
4.85
a. d-pën “I'm leaving” d-pën-an bapoţ “I'm making the children
leave”
b. p-yiik “to be hot” a-yiik-an meel “he heats up the water”
c. a-juk “he's learning” a-juk-an “he's teaching”

The suffix -ëş (which is less is less productive than the suffix -an) also gives
a causative sense, and is never found in combination with the -an causative.
4.86
a. p-haab “to leave ones mouth open”
p-haab-ëş “to open (e.g. a door)”
b. p-yiik “to be hot” p-yiik-ëş “to heat up (e.g. a meal)”
c. p-gar “to separate oneself” p-gar-ëş “to separate”

Neither suffix is repeatable to create a double causative. An idea like “make

them learn” would have to be expressed analytically using do “do” (see
section 9.4.1.3 Manipulatives).
Note a verb with a 2nd person plural prefix and a causative ending -an is an
identical form to a 2nd person plural imperative.
4.87
a. na-juk-an “2P-learn-CAUS” “You are teaching”
a. na-juk-an “2P-learn-IMP” “Learn!”

For the combination of the causative -an and the imperative -an see example
4.81 above.

4.3.3 Reciprocal (-ar, -ir, -ad)

The addition of the suffix -ar (or its allomorphs -ir and -ad) can give a
reciprocal meaning to the derived verb. That is, the subject must be plural
(and can be more than just two individuals), and plural subject is both the
agent of the verb and the undergoer. I have not found an example of the use
of this suffix to give a chain meaning (e.g. A follows B follows C).
The allomorph -ad occurs when the verb stem ends in a liquid consonant,
i.e. /l/ or /r/ (see examples 4.88 d and e)
 The Verb 71

The allomorph -ir seems only to occur after the verb yit “meet”.
4.88
a. p-fiŋ “to kill” p-fiŋ-ar “to kill one another”
b. p-laţ “to contradict” p-laţ-ar “to discuss”
(Lit “to contradict one another”)
c. p-yit “to meet” p-yiti-ir “to meet one another”
d. p-ŋal “to love” p-ŋal-ad “love one another”
e. p-şoor “to hate” p-şoor-ad “hate one another”

Note that with some verbs the suffix -ar can also have a benefactive
meaning. See the examples in the next section.
The reciprocal -ar suffix reduces the syntactic valence. For example:
4.89
a.Şompi aŋal Naala “Shompi loves Naala”
Şompi na Naala aŋalad “Shompi and Naala love one another”
b.nawulan Naala mboş “Greet Naala” (lit. give Naala the ground)
nawuladan mboş “Greet one another”

4.3.4 Benefactive (-ar, -ir, -ad)

A benefactive meaning can be derived by the addition of the suffix -ar (or
its allomorphs -ir and -ad). Like the reflexive, the allomorph -ad occurs
when the verb stem ends in a liquid consonant, i.e. /l/ or /r/. The
allomorph -ir occurs if the stem ends in i (see example 4.98b).
4.90
a. p-duk “to leave” p-duk-ar “to leave for someone”
b. p-nug “to buy” p-nug-ar “to buy for someone”
c. p-lemp “to work” p-lemp-ar “to work for someone”
d. p-fiŋ “to kill” p-fiŋ-ar “to kill for someone”

The benefactive -ar suffix increases the syntactic valence. For example:
4.91 Şompi alemp
Şompi a- lemp
Shompi C1S work
“Shompi works”
4.92 Şompi alempar Naala
Şompi a- lemp -ar Naala
Shompi C1S work BEN Nala
“Shompi works for Naala”
72 Chapter 4

4.93 Naala abuk napoţ ñiinţ

Naala a- buk na- poţ ñ- iinţ
Nala C1S produce C1S child C1S male
“Naala gave birth to a son”
4.94 Naala abukar Şompi napoţ ñiinţ
Naala a- buk -ar Şompi na- poţ ñ- iinţ
Nala C1AS produce BEN Shompi C1S child C1S male
“Naala bore Shompi a son”
As noted in the previous section -ar can mean either reciprocal or
benefactive. A benefactive use requires at least one object, and increases the
syntactic valence. A reciprocal use must have a plural subject and reduces
the syntactic valence. For example with fiŋ “kill”:
4.95 Mankañ afiŋ upi
mankañ a- fiŋ u- pi
Mankanya C1S kill C2S goat
“Mankanya killed a goat”
4.96 Mankañ afiŋar upi Dama
mankañ a- fiŋ -ar u- pi Dama
Mankanya C1S kill BEN C2S goat Dama
“Mankanya killed a goat for Dama”
4.97 bantohi biki Bula bafiŋar
ba- ntohi bik- i Bula ba- fiŋ -ar
C1P elder C1P GEN Bula C1P kill RCP
“The elders of Bula were killing each other”
The benefactive can also be used with some verbs of motion with an object
to give a directional sense towards the object, and often with a nuance of
purpose.
4.98 a. p-poş “to walk” p-poş-ar “to walk towards”
b. p-bi “to come” p-bi-ir “to come towards”

For example:
4.99 uji uyaar ŋnŧaayi paaj na uloŋ
u- ji u- ya -ar ŋ- nŧaayi paaj na u- loŋ
C2S HAB C2S go BEN C2P demon six and C2S INDEF
ŋanwuţuŋ apel wa
ŋa- n- wuţ -uŋ a- pel w- a
C2P COREF be_ugly SEL SER be_more C2S OBJ
“It (a spirit) goes to seven others who are worse than it”
 The Verb 73

4.100 baŧënţ naan batëb babiirën pñooţ

ba- ŧënţ naan ba- tëb ba- bi -ir -ën p- ñooţ
C1P peer 1S.GEN C1P two C1P come BEN 1S.OBJ INF take
bŧuh
b- ŧuh
C5S fishing
‎“Two of my peers came to me to take me fishing”

4.3.5 Separative (-ëş)

The addition of the suffix -ëş seems to give an inverted sense to the derived
verb. However, the sense tends to be of separation, uncovering, opening,
rather than a spread of senses (e.g. including covering, closing etc), so I will
label it separative, rather than inversive.
4.101
a. d-gur u-meeşa “I cover the table” d-gur-ëş u-meeşa “I uncover the table”
b. p-dëŧ “to close” p-dëŧ-ëş “to open”
c. p-jij “to embark” p-jij-ëş “to disembark”
d. p-moy “bury” p-moy-ëş “dig up”

There are a number of verbs with this suffix where the root no longer exists
on its own.
4.102
a. p-fat-ëş “undo” *pfat
b. p-fën-ëş “unknot” *pfën
c. p-wuñ-ëş “uncover, mix” *pwuñ

With certain other words where the separative is used, the “unseparated”
sense is not the root, but rather a differently derived stem.
4.103
a. p-woh-ëş “to undress” p-woh-ar-a “to dress”
b. p-nig-ëş “to open” p-tuh “to close”
(also p-nig-an “to lock” )

Example 4.103 b above seems to indicate a now lost root nig “close”, where
“to lock” p-nig-an is INF-close-CAUS.

4.3.6 Extensive (-ënt, -ëb)

The suffix -ënţ seems to widen the meaning of the derived verb, maybe be
based on the idea of doing the action for a prolonged amount of time, or
repeatedly.
74 Chapter 4

4.104
a. p-haab “to leave the mouth open” p-haab-ënţ “to yawn”
b. p-jej “to take” p-jej-ënţ “to gather”
c. p-lam “to swim” p-lam-ënţ “to swim for pleasure”
d. p-ya “to go” p-ya-anţ “to travel”

Note that following a vowel, the ë in the suffix is changes its quality to
match.
There are some verbs which have the -ënţ suffix, but where the root is no
longer used verbally without derivation. However, the resulting derived
forms are compatible with the sense described above; sleeping is something
that occurs over a prolonged period of time and breathing is something that
occurs repeatedly.
4.105
a. a-ŋoy-ënţ “he sleeps” *a-ŋoy but b-ŋoy “sleep (noun)”
b. a-hef-ënţ “he breathes “ *a-hef but u-hef-ënţ “breath(noun)”

The suffix -ëb seems to have the same meaning but it is rare.
4.106 a. p-jat “to drip” p-jat-ëb “to rain lightly”
(i.e. “to drip repeatedly”)

There is at least one verb that uses the -ëb suffix where the underived root is
no longer used at all:
4.107
a. p-funt-ëb “to whistle” *pfunt

4.3.7 Instrumental (-na)

The suffix -na (or -:na when the verb stem terminates with a vowel) gives an
instrumental sense. That is to say the object following is now construed as
the instrument of the action
4.108
a. p-liik “to draw water” p-liik-na u-baldu “to draw water with a bucket”
b. p-de “to eat” a-de-ena kataam “he eats with a spoon”

Note that this suffix is not identical to the word na “with”. It is possible to
use na with the instrumental -na in the same sentence. For example:
4.109 ddeena na kataam
d- de -ena na ka- taam
1S eat INSTR with C3S spoon
“I eat with a spoon”
 The Verb 75

With certain verbs of motion the suffix -na gives a sense of “through”:
4.110
a. p-ţëp “to pass” a-ţëp-na Tilen “he went through Tilene”
b. p-neej “to enter” a-neej-na p-lëman “he entered through the door”

4.3.8 Reduplication
Verbal stems can be completely reduplicated to the right, to alter the
meaning in various ways. The reduplicated stem is written separately in the
official orthography, in contrast to other languages in the BAK family e.g.
Jola-Fonyi. Mankanya has no vowel harmony or tone to help determine
phonological word boundaries and other evidence is ambiguous (see
below).
Reduplication often adds a sense of continuity.
4.111 dlemp lemp na iñen yi naan
d- lemp lemp na i- ñen y- i naan
1S work work with C3P hand C3P GEN 1S.GEN
“I was working (all the time) with my hands”
Or it can give sense of completeness.
4.112 ulemp wi nji nlempuŋ lemp
u- lemp w- i nji n- lemp -uŋ lemp
C2S work C2S GEN 1S 1S.SUB work SEL work
pa an
pa an
in_order_to 2P.OBJ
“The work that I put so much effort into for you” Lit “the work that I
worked for you”
It is also often found combined with the auxiliary ba “terminative”, to give a
combined sense of having just done something (see section 8.8.7).
4.113 Dba niim niim
d- ba niim niim
1S TMTV marry marry
“I just got married”
4.114 Abuk naan abaa keţ keţ
a- buk naan a- baa keţ keţ
C1AS child 1S.GEN C1S TMTV die die
“My child has just died”
Reduplication is also found with the auxiliary bi “past” with a sense of
immediacy.
76 Chapter 4

4.115 pmaak pabi pën pën ţi a

p- maak pa- bi pën pën ţ- i a
C4S illness C4S PST go_out go_out INT LOC.PROX OBJ
“The illness immediately left him”
4.116 pñaak pabi ţañan ţañan ptula
p- ñaak pa- bi ţañ -an ţañ -an p- tul -a
C4S blood C4S PST stop CAUS stop CAUS INF pour_out MID
“The blood immediately stopped flowing”
It can also be found with the combination of auxiliaries do “ingressive” and
bi “past” (see section 8.10 Complex Auxiliary Verb Constructions) to again
emphasise the completeness of an event that has already happened.
4.117 Unuur udo bi yob yob
u- nuur u- do bi yob yob
C2S day C2S INGR PST be_night-time be_night-time
“The day had already become completely night”
4.118 bado bi yeenk yeenk baluk bi
ba- do bi yeenk yeenk ba- luk b- i
C1P INGR PST receive receive C5S payment C5S GEN
baka
baka
C1P.OBJ
“They have already received completely their reward”
4.119 ado bi dinan dinan
a- do bi dinan dinan
C1S INGR PST agree agree
“They have already agreed”
The whole stem gets repeated, but without any inflectional affixes. In
example 4.120 lut “jump” is reduplicated, but is a bare stem anyway (as a
perfective after the auxiliary bi “past”). poş “walk” is marked as imperfective
with k- (and consequently a- “SER”) on the initial stem, but the prefixes are
not reduplicated with the copy.
4.120 Kë abi lut lut anaţ abi
kë a- bi lut lut a- naţ a- bi
DS C1S PST jump jump SER stand SER PST
kapoş poş
k- a- poş poş
IMPERF SER walk walk
“He immediately jumped upright and started walking”
The selective suffix -uŋ is also not repeated (also see example 4.112 above)
 The Verb 77

4.121 pnŧuk pankdëmuŋ dëm

p- nŧuk p- a- n- k- dëm -uŋ dëm
C4S group C4S SER COREF IMPERF grow SEL grow
“The crowd was continually growing”
Similarly, the imperative suffix -an is only attached to the main stem.
4.122 Naţëpan ţëp
na- ţëp -an ţëp
2P pass IMP pass
“Make way!”
In contrast derivational affixes are reduplicated. In example 4.123 the
benefactive suffix -ar is reduplicated, and in 4.124 it is the causative suffix
-an.
4.123 balempar lempar naşih
ba- lemp -ar lemp -ar na- şih
C1P work BEN work BEN C1S chief
“They continually serve the chief (in whatever they are doing)”
4.124 aşë bi kaŧaran ŧaran
a- şë bi k- a- ŧar -an ŧar -an
SER SEQ PST IMPERF SER be_fast CAUS be_fast CAUS
unuur ujinţ
u- nuur u- jinţ
C2S day C2S clean
“They waited desperately for dawn” (Lit: “They caused dawn to be fast”)
Object suffixes are attached to the main stem, not the copy.
4.125 dkooţu kooţ
d- kooţ -u kooţ
1S petition 2S.OBJ petition
“I urge you”
4.126 dñehanu ñehan
d- ñehan -u ñehan
1S request 2S.OBJ request
“I plead with you”
4.127 ado bi datan dat
a- do bi dat -an dat
C1S INGR PST choose 2P.OBJ choose
“He has already chosen you (pl)”
The fact that inflectional suffixes do not get reduplicated but derivational
ones do is evidence that the copy is separate word.
78 Chapter 4

4.128 ado bi dat dat baka

a- do bi dat dat baka
C1S INGR PST choose choose C2P.OBJ
“He has already chosen them”
 79

Chapter 5 - Infinitives and Participles

In this short chapter I describe two word forms that fall between nouns and
verbs. Infinitives and participles both have some verbal features and some
nominal features, but infinitives are slightly more verbal, and participles are
slightly more nominal.

5.1 Infinitives
The prefix p- is the mark of the infinitive form of the verb, and cannot co-
occur with a subject prefix. This prefix is identical in form to that used on
class 4 and class 6 nouns.
An infinite verb on its own appears to act exactly like a singular noun of
class 4 or class 6 but as there is no plural to distinguish it, I will arbitrarily
choose class 4. It can appear as a subject or object of another verb, and
when a subject, the agreement prefix is pa-. For example:
5.1 phomp paniink ubeeka bŧi
p- homp pa- niink u- beeka bŧi
INF chatter C4S spread C2S town all
“The gossip spread throughout the town”
Infinitives can occur in a genitive phrases (see section 7.3.4.2)
5.2 pkeţ pi anin
p- keţ p- i a- nin
C4S death C4S GEN C1AS mother
“my mother's death”
5.3 bko bi pme bnuura na buţaan
b- ko b- i p- me b- nuura na b- uţaan
c7s object c7s GEN INF know C5S goodness and C5S evil
“the tree of knowing good and evil”
An infinite verb cannot take the completive suffix -i or the imperfective
prefix k-. Neither does it have a negative form (see section 4.2.4). If an
infinite verb needs to be negative then the infinitive prefix can be used with
80 Chapter 5

a negative auxiliary like wut (as in example 5.4). Similarly it can be used
with other auxiliaries for tense and aspect distinctions (example 5.5).
5.4 uko unnuuriiŋ uwo pwut
u- ko u- n- nuur -i -iŋ u- wo p- wut
C2S thing C2S COREF be.good MID SEL C2S be INF leave
kade uyemaţ
k- a- de u- yemaţ
IMPERF SER eat C2S meat
‎“It is good to not eat meat” (Lit “The thing that is good is to leave eating
meat”)
5.5 bahepar pluŋ kaŧiinka byaaş
ba- hepar p- luŋ k- a- ŧiink -a b- yaaş
C1P ask INF FUT IMPERF SER hear C1S.OBJ C5S time
bloŋ
b- loŋ
C5S INDEF
“They asked to hear him another time.”
5.6 bajukan baaţ pdo kalemp
ba- jukan b- aaţ p- do k- a- lemp
C1P teach C1P woman INF INGR IMPERF SER work
ţi itoh yi baka
ţ- i i- toh y- i baka
INT LOC.PROX C3P house C3P GEN C1P.OBJ
“They teach women to start working in their homes.”
5.7 iko yi pluŋ kawaap
i- ko y- i p- luŋ k- a- waap
C3P thing C3P GEN INF FUT IMPERF SER sell
“The things to be sold”
An infinitive can be the head of a clause which can include objects, verbal
modifiers and adverbial phrases. The infinitival clause as a whole is nominal
in nature and like an infinite verb word can be the subject or object of the
verb in its matrix clause.
5.8 Pwala kaŧëmp paanwo nin uko
p- wala ka- ŧëmp pa- ën- wo nin u- ko
INF come_down C3S circumcision C4S NEG be NEG C2S thing
uloŋ
u- loŋ
C2S INDEF
“To be circumcised is nothing”
 Infinitives and Participles 81

5.9 name pwul babukan iko inuura

na- me p- wul ba- buk -an i- ko i- nuura
2P know INF give C1P child 2P.OBJ C3P thing C3P good
“You know how to give your children good things”
5.10 nhinan pdo uko mënţ bnuura
n- hinan p- do u- ko mënţ bnuura
1S.SUB be_able_to INF do C2S thing that well
“I am able to do this thing well”
An infinite verb word can also take object pronominal suffixes.
5.11 Ñiinţ ahoŋ abi pkitun hënk ba
ñ- iinţ a- hoŋ a- bi p- kit -un hënk ba
C1S man C1S which SER come INF meet 1P.OBJ NARR QUES
“Who is that man coming to meet us?”
5.12 Woli ñaaŋ aŋal plemparaan
woli ñaaŋ a- ŋal p- lemp -ar -aan
if person C1S like INF work BEN 1S.OBJ
“When someone wants to work for me”
Many general stems form nouns with a nominal prefix which is not p-. For
example:
5.13 infinitive noun
a. p-lemp “to work” u-lemp “the work”
b. p-gut “to fight” u-gut/ŋ-gut “the fight/the fights”
c. p-kit “to harvest” ka-kit/i-kit “the harvest/the harvests”
c. p-ki “to dance” u-ki/ŋ-ki “the dance/the dances”

These verbal nouns cannot be used to replace an infinitive in structures like

complements where the subject is the same as the subject of the matrix
sentence (for example 5.12 above). Some structures, notably the progressive
(see section 8.8.5 Progressive), require a verbal noun rather than an
infinitive.
Some other stems can form nouns with a p- nominal prefix but the resulting
word is not the infinitive, even though it looks and sounds identical. The
two words have different meanings. A frequent example is pde “to eat” (an
action) (infinitive) or “the meal (the thing being eaten)” (noun) (which is
class 6 as the plural is ide). In the following examples 5.14 and 5.15 pde is a
normal noun (note that in 5.15 pde is modified by an adjective) and in 5.16
and 5.17 it is an infinitive which has an agent.
5.14 Baţij pde abëkana
ba- ţij p- de a- bëkan -a
C1P bring C6S meal SER put_down C1S.OBJ
“They brought a meal and put it down in front of him”
82 Chapter 5

5.15 ajuŋa pde plil

a- juŋ -a p- de p- lil
C1S cook C1S.OBJ C6S meal C6S good
“She cooked him a good meal”
5.16 Naşih aneenan bañaaŋ pde na pdaan
na- şih a- neenan ba- ñaaŋ p- de na p- daan
C1S chief C1S forbid C1P person INF eat and INF drink
“The chief forbade people to eat and drink”
5.17 aya aneej aţo pde
a- ya a- neej a- ţo p- de
C1S go SER enter SER sit INF eat
“He went and entered and sat down to eat”

5.2 Participles
There is an -i suffix which can a create a nominal stem from a verbal stem.
This nominal stem can be used to create nouns or adjectives (depending on
the semantics of the stem). I will refer to words created in this way as
participles. This -i suffix behaves differently to the completive -i suffix
(section 4.2.8). There are some similarities to the structure of the relative
verb word (section 4.2.5 and 4.2.6) The participle suffix also behaves
differently from the stem category changing suffix -al.
Some examples of participles are:
5.18 batani
ba- tan -i
C5S secure PTCP
“herd”
5.19 ptuhi
p- tuh -i
C4S close PTCP
“stopper”
5.20 kabuki
ka- buk -i
C3S produce PTCP
“womb”
The word used to describe something as small is a common example of a
participle used adjectivally. There is no adjective formed simply from the
root poţ as found in napoţ “child”, but rather poţ is treated as a verbal stem
with the addition of the co-reference prefix N- and the participle suffix -i.
The agreement prefixes used are the adjectival ones (na- in example 5.21
and b- in example 5.22, listed in chapter 6) rather the verbal ones (a- and
 Infinitives and Participles 83

ba- respectively). Compare example 5.21 with the relative clause in example
5.23.
5.21 napoţ nampoţi
na- poţ na- m- poţ -i
C1S child C1S COREF be_small PTCP
“small child”
5.22 batani bmpoţi
ba- tan -i b- mpoţi
C5S secure PTCP c7s small
“small herd”
5.23 napoţ anfëţuŋ du
na- poţ a- n- fëţ -uŋ d- u
C1S child SER COREF dwell SEL EXT LOC.DIST
kañog pliik
k- a- ñog p- liik
IMPERF SER be_close C6S well
“the child who lived near the well”
Other adjectives are built similarly.
5.24 ñaaŋ nampaţi
ñaaŋ na- m- paţ -i
person C1S COREF differ PTCP
‎“someone different”
5.25 unuur unjinţi
u- nuur u- n- jinţ -i
C2S day C2S COREF be_clean PTCP
“every and all day” (Lit: clean day)
When the head noun is the location or the instrument of the action of the
participle then there is no co-reference prefix N- but instead there is the
suffix -n which seems to be related to the causative derivation. This is
shown in the examples below. Again note that the agreement is d- and b-
(noun agreement), not da- and ba- (subject agreement).
5.26 dko djuŋni
d- ko d- juŋ -n -i
C9S place C9S cook CAUS PTCP
“the cooking place”
5.27 bdoo bjuŋni
b- doo b- juŋ -n -i
C5S fire C5S cook CAUS PTCP
“the cooking fire”
84 Chapter 5

5.28 bgah bneejni

b- gah b- neej -n -i
C5S way C5S enter CAUS PTCP
“the entry road”
5.29 bgah byaani da
b- gah b- ya -an -i d- a
C5S way C5S go CAUS CMPL C9S OBJ
“the road leading there”
Compare these with with an adjective formed with the stem category
changing suffix -al. This doesn’t require any other morphemes apart from
the agreement prefix.
5.30 naşih najeenkal
na- şih na- jeenk -al
C1S chief C1S redden CHG
“head chief” (Lit:red chief)
Participles cannot be marked morphologically as negative, nor can they take
the imperfective prefix k- or the completive suffix -i.
A relative clause can be used to modify a noun that has been modified by a
participle.
5.31 dko dmoyni danwooŋ
d- ko d- moy -n -i da- n- wo -oŋ
C9S place C9S bury CAUS PTCP C9S COREF be SEL
du uţeeh meeţ
d- u u- ţeeh meeţ
EXT LOC.DIST C2S field inside
“the burial place that is in the field”
Participles can also be modified by adverbs.
5.32 unuur unyimani maakan
u- nuur u- n- yiman -i maakan
C2S day C2S COREF respect PTCP very
“a very sacred day”
A participle can also be the head of a participle clause (see section 9.4.4).
Compare example 5.33, which contains a participle clause dbomanani
ŋkaaru “car repairing” with example 5.34 which contains a relative.
 Infinitives and Participles 85

5.33 añooţ ukaaru wi nun du

a- ñooţ u- kaaru w- i nun d- u
C1S take C2S car C2S GEN 1P.poss EXT LOC.DIST
dko dbomanani ŋkaaru
d- ko da- boman -an -i ŋ- kaaru
C9S place C9S make CAUS PTCP C2P car
“He took our car to the garage (lit. the car repairing place)”
5.34 dko dambomanuŋ na iñen yi
d- ko da- m- boman -uŋ na i- ñen y- i
C9S place C9S COREF make SEL and C3P hand C3P GEN
bañaaŋ bajën
ba- ñaaŋ ba- jën
C1P person C1P black
“a place made by human hands” (Lit: “… made by the hands of black men”)
86 Chapter 5
 87

Chapter 6 - Other word classes

6.1 Agreeing Noun Modifiers

6.1.1 Adjectives
As described in chapter 3, some nominal and general stems (i.e. all those
stems that can take a nominal prefix) can take any nominal prefix, and the
resulting word can be used to modify a noun (within the bounds of semantic
possibility). I will refer to these words as adjectives. Their syntactic
behaviour is described in section 7.3.2. Some of the nominal prefixes have a
slightly different form when used in adjectives and these are highlighted in
bold below.
Class Sg Plural Count
Plural
1 na- ba- ba-
2 u- ŋ- ŋ-
3 ka- i- i-
4 p- i- k-
5 b- i- k-
6 p- m- ŋ-
7 b- m- ŋ-
8 mn-
9 d- i- k-
10 n-
Table 6.1: Adjective prefixes
Adjectives modifying any class 1 noun (whether or not the noun is in
subclass 1a) take the main class 1 singular nominal prefix na- as shown in
example 6.1.
Adjectives modifying class 4 and 5 nouns always use the p- and b- prefixes,
even if the nouns use the pa- or ba- forms.
88 Chapter 6

Adjectives modifying class 8 prefixes never contain an a. The normal form is

mn-.

6.1 ayiţul nañog

a- yiţ -ul na- ñog
C1AS relative C1S.POSS C1S close
“close relative”
6.2 napoţ nadëm
na- poţ na- dëm
C1S child C1S large
“large child”
6.3 katoh kajinţ
ka- toh ka- jinţ
C3S house C3S clean
“clean house”
6.4 iyeeh ijon
i- yeeh i- jon
C3P song C3P old
“old song”
6.5 napoţ naweek
na- poţ na- week
C1S child C1S big
“older child”
6.6 katoh kaweek
ka- toh ka- week
C3S house C3S big
“big house”
6.7 mnlilan mnweek
mn- lilan mn- week
C8 happiness C8 big
“great joy”
Sometimes adjectives can be used with the head noun understood, for
example in 6.8 naweek means “the older one”. Furthermore some adjectives
have become lexicalised, for example in 6.9 naweek means “older brother”.
6.8 Naweek awo Dama
na- week a- wo Dama
C1S older C1S be Dama
“The elder was called Dama”
 Other word classes 89

6.9 Naweek Dama aya Dakar

na- week Dama a- ya Dakar
C1S elder_sibling Dama C1S go Dakar
“Dama's older brother is going to Dakar”
To form an attributive adjective from a verbal root, it is necessary to use the
derivational stem category changing suffix -al to form a nominal stem.
6.10 katoh kajeenkal
ka- toh ka- jeenk -al
C3S house C3S redden CHG
“red house”
6.11 naşih najeenkal
na- şih na- jeenk -al
C1S chief C1S redden CHG
“red chief (king of the Mankanya)”
6.12 kahoţ kamaakal
ka- hoţ ka- maak -al
C3S leg C3S be_ill CHG
“ill leg”
6.13 bkow bmaakal
b- kow b- maak -al
C5S head C5S be_ill CHG
“aching head”
Predicational adjectival meaning with general or verbal stems is achieved
by adding the completive suffix.
6.14 napoţ adëmi
na- poţ a- dëm -i
C1S child C1S grow CMPL
“The child is big (or the child has grown)”
6.15 upi umaaki
u- pi u- maak -i
C2S goat C2S be_ill CMPL
“The goat is ill”
Adjectives based on purely nominal stems can be used predicationally with
the copula wo.
6.16 uleef uwo ujoob
u- leef u- wo u- joob
C2S body C2S be C2S cold
“I'm feeling fine” (Lit ‎“the body is cold”)
90 Chapter 6

6.17 uhaaş uwo ujinţ na nji

u- haaş u- wo u- jinţ na nji
C2S soul C2S be C2S clean with 1S
“My conscience is clear” (Lit ‎“the spirit is clean with me”)
When adjectives are used predicationally with 1 st and 2nd person subjects,
there is no agreement in person – agreement is as if the subjects are class 1
nouns.
6.18 Nawo bajinţ
na- wo ba- jinţ
2P be C1P clean
“You are clean.”
6.19 Dwo nayok
d- wo na- yok
1S be C1S rich
“I am rich.”
Two adjectives have quantitative meanings - ŧum “lots” and ntiinku, “a
little”.
6.20 bañaaŋ baŧum
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧum
C1P person C1P many
“many people”
6.21 bañaaŋ bantiinku
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ntiinku
C1P person C1P in_small_amount
“few people”
Though they are morphologically adjectives, their syntactic behaviour is
slightly different – see section 7.3.7.

6.1.2 Determiners
Two noun modifiers form a different word class based on the agreement
prefixes they take. These are loŋ, the indefinite marker which indicates an
indefinite, but not generic, noun, and ndoli the individuation marker (“each”
in English). Both of these are different from the root of the cardinal number
1 loolan. I will refer to these as determiners, though this is different from
the determiner category in English.
The individuation marker seems to be a grammaticalised form of a
participle based on the verb do “do”.
The agreement prefixes are similar to those for adjectives, with the only
difference being in the class 1 singular form.
 Other word classes 91

Class Sg Plural Count

Plural
1 a- ba- ba-
2 u- ŋ- ŋ-
3 ka- i- i-
4 p- i- k-
5 b- i- k-
6 p- m- ŋ-
7 b- m- ŋ-
8 m-
9 d- i- k-
10 n-
Table 6.2: Determiner prefixes
For class 1 singular nouns the agreement prefix is a- (unlike na- for
adjectives, or zero for demonstratives). For class 1 plural nouns and all
other noun classes, the agreement is the regular adjectival prefix.
6.22 Bawaapa ñiinţ aloŋ i katim
ba- waap -a ñ- iinţ a- loŋ i ka- tim
C1P sell C1S.OBJ C1S man C1S INDEF GEN C3S name
kawooŋ Şompi
ka- wo -oŋ Şompi
C3S be SEL Shompi
“They sold him to a man whose name was Shompi.”
6.23 Woli aya jotna bañaaŋ biki kafah
woli a- ya jotna ba- ñaaŋ bik- i ka- fah
if C1S FUT dive C1P person C1P gen C3S part
kaloŋ , bañaaŋ biki kandukiiŋ
ka- loŋ ba- ñaaŋ bik- i ka- n- duki -iŋ
C3S indef C1P person C1P GEN C3S COREF stay SEL
bahil kaţi
ba- hil k- a- ţi
C1P be_able IMPERF SER run
“If he attacks the people of one group, the people of the other group can
escape.”
6.24 Wal mënţ awayëş ñaaŋ andoli
w- al mënţ a- wayëş ñaaŋ a- ndoli
C2S moment that C1S settle person C1S each
‎“At that moment he will judge each person”
92 Chapter 6

6.25 Aji ţu ţi ubeeka undoli

a- ji ţu ţ- i u- beeka u- ndoli
C1S HAB place INT LOC.PROX C2S town C2S each
ŋdeey
ŋ- deey
C2P grain
“He put grain in each town”
The determiner pattern of agreement is used also used with cardinal
numbers (section 6.1.3), demonstratives (section 6.1.5) and the
interrogative hoŋ (section 6.6).

6.1.3 Cardinal numbers

The first 10 cardinal numbers are shown in the table below. Those that
agree with the head noun have the agreement prefix shown as CL-.
CL-loolan 1 paaj 6
CL-tëb 2 paaj na CL-loŋ 7
CL-wajënţ 3 bakreŋ 8
CL-baakr 4 kañeen kaloŋ 9
kañeen 5 iñeen 10

Table 6.3: Numbers 1-10

The cardinal numbers show evidence of once being based around six. In
particular paaj “6” is invariable, and “7” is “six and one” paaj na uloŋ, with
uloŋ agreeing with the head noun. (There is also a difference in ordinal
numbers above 6 – see section 6.1.4).
However, base 10 now dominates – higher numbers are formed using a tens
and units system (see below). Kañeen “5” is related to kañen “hand” and
iñeen “10” to iñen “hands”.
The numbers CL-loolan “1”, CL-tëb “2”, CL-wajënţ “3” and CL-baakr “4”
agree with the noun. As noted above, only part of paaj na CL-loŋ “7” agrees.
The other numbers kañeen “5”, paaj “6”, bakreŋ “8”, kañeen kaloŋ “9” and
iñeen “10” are invariable.
6.26 upi uloolan
u- pi u- loolan
C2S goat C2S one
“one goat”
 Other word classes 93

6.27 ŋpi ŋtëb 3

ŋ- pi ŋ- tëb
C2P goat C2P two
“two goats”
6.28 ŋpi paaj
ŋ- pi paaj
C2P goat six
“six goats”
6.29 ŋşubal iñeen
ŋ- şubal iñeen
C2P year ten
“ten years”
The agreement follows the pattern of the determiners (section 6.1.2 above),
i.e. class 1 is a- for singular and ba- for plural.
6.30 ñaaŋ aloolan
ñaaŋ a- loolan
person C1S one
“one person”
6.31 baaţ batëb
b- aaţ ba- tëb
C1P woman C1P two
“Two women”
With the nouns in classes 4, 5, 6, 7 (p-/i-, b-/i, p-/m-, b-/m-), the counted
plural prefixes (k- or ŋ-) are used on both the noun and the number.
6.32 dnug ppiiŧi
d- nug p- piiŧi
1S buy C4S pen
“I bought a pen”
6.33 dnug ipiiŧi
d- nug i- piiŧi
1S buy C4P pen
“I bought some pens” or “I bought pens”
6.34 dnug kpiiŧi ktëb
d- nug k- piiŧi k- tëb
1S buy C4P.CNT pen C4P.CNT two
“I bought two pens”

3 Note that the class 2 has no separate counted prefix, ŋ- is used for both
counted and uncounted nouns.
94 Chapter 6

For numbers above 10, the tens are conjoined to the units with the
conjunction na.
6.35 ŋşubal iñeen na paaj - na - uloŋ
ŋ- şubal iñeen na paaj na u- loŋ
C2P year ten and six and C2S INDEF
“seventeen years”

Multiples of ten, are indicated by compounding iñeen “ten” with a number

between 2 and 9.
6.36 ŋşubal iñeen - paaj
ŋ- şubal iñeen paaj
C2P year ten six
“sixty years”

The word for 100 is iñeen-week “big ten”. For numbers above 100, the
hundreds are conjoined to the tens with na.
6.37 ŋşubal iñeen - week na iñeen na paaj -
ŋ- şubal iñeen week na iñeen na paaj
C2P year ten big and ten and six
na - uloŋ
na u- loŋ
and C2S INDEF
“one hundred and seventeen years”
Multiples of a hundred are indicated with the word yaaş, (which as a noun
uyaaş means “moment in time”) followed by a number between 2 and 9.
6.38 ŋşubal iñeen - week ŋyaaş paaj
ŋ- şubal iñeen week ŋ- yaaş paaj
C2P year ten big C2P time six
“six hundred years”
 Other word classes 95

6.1.4 Ordinals
There are distinct words for ordinal numbers up to the 6th. For 2nd to 6th the
ordinal is formed by adding the suffix -anţën to the cardinal number (with
some adjustment in the case of 3rd). Those that agree with the head noun
have the agreement prefix shown as CL-.
CL-ŧeek 1st
CL-tëbanţën 2nd
CL-wajanţën 3rd
CL-baakanţën 4th
CL-ñeenanţën 5th
paajanţën 6th

Table 6.4: Ordinal numbers

6.39 upi uŧeek
u- pi u- ŧeek
C2S goat C2S first
“the first goat”
6.40 ddaan uyaaş utëbanţën
d- daan u- yaaş u- tëb -anţën
1S drink C2S time C2S two ORD
“I drank a second time”
6.41 bapoţ biinţ baŧeek
ba- poţ b- iinţ ba- ŧeek
C1P child C1P male C1P first
“the first boys”

Ordinals 1st to 5th agree with the head noun using the adjectival agreement
pattern given in table 6.1 above. Also note that 6th ordinal paajanţën, like
the cardinal 6, is invariable.
For numbers higher than 6 a different structure must be used, which uses
the root ţënk. For example:
6.42 naşih naţënk bakreŋ
na- şih na- ţënk bakreŋ
C1S chief C1S ORD eight
“the eighth chief”
96 Chapter 6

6.43 ddaan uyaaş uţënk iñeen ŋtëb na

d- daan u- yaaş u- ţënk iñeen ŋ- tëb na
1S drink C2S time C2S ORD ten C2P two and
uloolan
u- loolan
C2S one
“I drank for the twenty-first time” (in context “… umpteenth time”)

Here, ţënk agrees with the head noun in the singular, also following the
adjectival agreement pattern.
With the number “seventh”, the loŋ part agrees using the determiner
agreement pattern, whereas the ţënk follows the adjectival agreement
pattern.
6.44 naşih naţënk paaj na aloŋ
na- şih na- ţënk paaj na a- loŋ
C1S chief C1S ORD six and C1S one
“the seventh chief”

6.1.5 Demonstratives
There are four possible demonstrative roots, depending on the degree of
distance from the deictic centre.

Degree of distance Demonstrative

near (proximal) i
far (distal) uŋ
very far undu/undi
neutral (narrative) aŋ

Table 6.5: Demonstratives

There is some variation with the third root with younger people tending to
use undi, and older people saying undu. Maybe this reflects a lost
distinction; compare this with the locatives di and du (see section 6.4 -
Locatives)
The fourth root aŋ is not used to indicate things in real space. It is most
often found in narratives to refer back to something just stated.
Prefixes for demonstratives differ from those used with adjectives.
 Other word classes 97

Class Sg Plural Count

Plural
1 Ø- bik- bik-
buk- buk-
bak- bak-
2 w- ŋ- ŋ-
3 k- y- y-
4 p- y- k-
5 b- y- k-
6 p- m- ŋ-
7 b- m- ŋ-
8 m-
9 d- y- k-
Table 6.6: Demonstrative prefixes
Apart from demonstratives that agree with class 1 nouns, all other
demonstrative prefixes are single consonants. As the roots are all vowel
initial, the class 2 u- prefix is now interpreted as w-. Similarly in the classes
that had a plural i- prefix, this is now interpreted as y-. The class 8 prefix is
always m- and never mn-.
6.45 upi ujënël wi
u- pi u- jënël w- i
C2S goat C2S black C3S DEM.PROX
“this black goat”
6.46 ŋpi ŋtëb ŋi
ŋ- pi ŋ- tëb ŋ- i
C2P goat C2P two C3P DEM.PROX
“these two goats”
Demonstratives modifying singular class 1 nouns do not have a prefix.
6.47 ñaaŋ i
ñaaŋ i
person DEM.PROX
“this person”
6.48 nantohi uŋ
na- ntohi uŋ
C1S elder DEM.DIST
“that old man over there”
In the plural, class 1 nouns take one of the prefixes bik-, buk-, or bak-
depending on the vowel of the root. This may reflect a historic phonological
harmony process, but it is not productive in present day speech.
98 Chapter 6

6.49 bañaaŋ biki

ba- ñaaŋ bik- i
C1P person C1P DEM.PROX
“these people”
6.50 bapoţ bukuŋ
ba- poţ buk- uŋ
C1P child C1P DEM.DIST
“those children over there”
6.51 bantohi bakaŋ
ba- ntohi bak- aŋ
C1P elder C1P DEM
“these old people”
In her study on Mankanya, Trifkovič (1969, pp. 81–83) found examples of
the demonstrative i kuŋ with singular nouns in classes 1 and 2, in free
variation with uŋ, but I have not found this variant.
These demonstratives can be used independently as demonstrative
pronouns.
6.52 aşë kak awulën i
a- şë kak a- wul -ën i
C1S SEQ again SER give 1S.OBJ DEM.PROX
“he also gave me this one” (referring to a baby)
6.53 aji na undu biini abi
a- ji na undu bi -ini a- bi
C1S say and DEM.vdist come IMP C1S come
“he says to another one 'come' and he comes”
6.54 ploŋ pabi kadëm kapel
p- loŋ pa- bi k- a- dëm k- a- pel
C4S INDEF C4S FUT IMPERF SER grow IMPERF SER be_more
pundu
p- undu
C4S DEM.vdist
“one will be greater than the other”
The demonstrative roots i and uŋ are also used in locatives (see section 6.4).

6.1.6 Genitive particle

The genitive particle -i is identical in form to the proximal demonstrative -i,
and follows the same agreement pattern. It can be used to indicate a variety
of relationships between two nouns.
 Other word classes 99

6.55 katoh ki naşih

ka- toh k- i na- şih
C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief
“house of the chief”
6.56 naşih i Ko
na- şih i Ko
C1S chief GEN Ko
“king of Ko”
6.57 pnŧuk pi biinţ
p- nŧuk p- i b- iinţ
C4S group C4S GEN C1P man
“group of men”
6.58 pŧoof pi uţeeh
p- ŧoof p- i u- ţeeh
C4S half C4S GEN C2S field
“middle of the field”
It is also used to introduce a relative clause when the head noun has the
role of an object in the relative clause. (for more detail see section 9.4.3)
6.59 iko yi banuguŋ
i- ko y- i ba- nug -uŋ
C3P thing C3P GEN C1P buy SEL
“the things they bought”
They can also be used with an implied head noun.
6.60 biki Dakar
bik- i Dakar
C1P GEN Dakar
“those from Dakar” (implied head bañaaŋ “people”)
6.61 Wi Naala akñoguŋ dko
w- i Naala a- k- ñog -uŋ d- ko
C2S GEN Nala C1S IMPERF be_close SEL C9S place
di bafëţuŋ awin Dama
d- i ba- fëţ -uŋ a- win Dama
C9S GEN C1P dwell SEL SER see Dama
“As Naala got close to where they lived, she saw Dama” (implied head wal
“time”)
In example 6.61 the implied head noun is wal “moment/time”. This use is so
frequent that wi has become grammaticalised to become a word with the
meaning of “when” or “whilst”. I will use this gloss in all examples where
this construction is used.
100 Chapter 6

6.2 Invariable Noun Modifiers

6.2.1 Quantifiers
There are two invariable quantifiers that modify nouns and noun phrases,
bŧi “all” and ţañ “only”:
6.62 ŋpi bŧi
ŋ- pi bŧi
C2P goat all
“all goats”
6.63 bapoţ biki Dama ţañ
ba- poţ bik- i Dama ţañ
C1P child C1P GEN Dama only
“only Dama's children”

6.2.2 Invariable locative modifiers

There is a small group of words which modify nouns to give a location in
relation to it. They each have a homophonous noun from which they were
derived, but in contrast to that noun they have no number and neither agree
with other words, nor trigger agreement. For this reason they don’t fit the
definition of adjectives. The locative modifiers are:
meeţ “inside”
bdig “outside”
duuţ “on top/up high”
uţeeh “under”

6.64 ţi bko bloŋ uţeeh

ţ- i b- ko b- loŋ uţeeh
INT LOC.PROX C7S object C7S INDEF under
“under a tree”
6.65 du pnkuŋ duuţ
d- u p- nkuŋ duuţ
EXT LOC.DIST C4S hill on
“on top of the hill”
Their syntactic behaviour is described in section 7.5, and is shown to be
different to the five locative nouns:
kabaŋ “side”
kadun “front”
kamayu “left”
kadeeu “right”
kafeţ “back”
 Other word classes 101

Notice that in this example of a locative noun, it does trigger agreement,

unlike the locative modifiers.
6.66 ţi kadun ki katoh ki naşih
ţ- i ka- dun k- i ka- toh k- i na- şih
INT LOC.PROX C3S front C3S GEN C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief
“in front of the chief's house”

6.2.3 Anaphoric demonstratives

In Mankanya there is an invariable anaphoric demonstrative, mënţ or
mënţan. This is used in a discourse to indicate that the head noun refers to
something previously introduced.
Trifkovič (1969, p. 84) says that there is a distinction of proximity between
mënţ and mënţan. This is not something that occurs in my data.
6.67 Wi nji kapënuŋ da , dka
wi nji ka- pën -uŋ d- a d- ka
when 1S.emph 1S.HAB go_out SEL C9S OBJ 1S have
wori mënţan ŋşubal paaj
wori mënţan ŋ- şubal paaj
time that C2P year six
“When I left there, I was at that time 6 years old”
It can also be used in conjunction with the definite demonstrative.
6.68 Paapa aji ŋboman ŋnkuma ŋtëb .
paapa a- ji ŋ- boman ŋ- nkuma ŋ- tëb
daddy SER say 1P make C2P pig C2P two
Ŋnkuma ŋtëb mënţan ŋuŋ ŋafiŋ bŧi .
ŋ- nkuma ŋ- tëb mënţan ŋ- uŋ ŋa- fiŋ bŧi
C2P pig C2P two that C2P DEM.DIST C2P kill all
“Dad told us to prepare two pigs. Both those pigs were killed”

6.3 Prepositions
There are three prepositions:
te until/as far as
ji like/before
na with

The preposition te can be used with noun phrases that either indicate time
or location.
102 Chapter 6

6.69 te hënkuŋ
te hënkuŋ
until now
“until now”
6.70 te unuur mënţ
te u- nuur mënţ
until C2S day that
“until that day”
6.71 te mnjinţ
te mn- jinţ
until C9 dawn
“until dawn”
6.72 te du pnkuŋ duuţ
te u p- nkuŋ duuţ
until LOC.DIST C5S hill up_there
“to the top of the hill”
6.73 aya te Byame
a- ya te Byame
3S go until Byame
“he went as far as Byame”
Te can also introduce a clause.
6.74 te baweek biki naan baanţaş
te ba- week bik- i naan ba- an- ţaş
until C6S elder_sibling C2P GEN 1S.GEN 3P NEG follow
bgah mënţan
b- gah mënţan
C6S way that
“until my brothers don't follow this way”
It is possible that te has been borrowed from an old form of Upper Guinea
Kriol which has a Portuguese superstrate, or an old form of Portuguese.
Modern Portuguese has até as in the following example:
6.75 Nós esperaremos até que ele se decida a cruzar o rio
“We will wait until he decides to cross the river”
In modern Upper Guinea Kriol this construction has become tok as shown in
the following example:
6.76 E fika la tok Jon muri
“He stayed there until John died”
 Other word classes 103

Ji introduces a comparison:

6.77 Ddo pa paŧum ji ŋjah ŋi baţi

d- do a pa- ŧum ji ŋ- jah ŋ- i ba- ţi
1S do OBJ C4S many like C2P star C2P GEN C5S sky
“I will make them (your offspring) as many as the stars in the sky”
6.78 Bawo bayafan ji başin baka
ba- wo ba- yafan ji ba- şin baka
C1P be C1P shepherd like C1P father C1P.POSS
“They are shepherds like their ancestors”
To describe a verb, ji must be preceded with awo “be”.
6.79 Anaţ awo ji uniw
a- naţ a- wo ji u- niw
C1S stand SER be like C2S wall
“He stood like a wall” (Lit “He stood, he is like a wall”)
6.80 Bafooyën awo ji ŋbuş
ba- fooy -ën a- wo ji ŋ- buş
C5S surround 1S.OBJ SER be like C2P dog
“They surround me like dogs”
The word ji can also be used non-prepositionally with a clause (see section
9.4.2), and often in this case means “before”.
6.81 Bka bi nu babi wo btiişu
b- ka b- i nu ba- bi wo b- tiişu
C7S possessions C7S GEN 2S.POSS C7S PST be C7S little
ji ndo kabi
ji n- do k- a- bi
before 1S.SUB INGR IMPERF SER come
“You weren't very rich before I came”
It is likely that the preposition ji “like” has been grammaticalised from the
verb ji “say”. This is a process that has been documented in other languages
see (Heine and Kuteva, 2002, p. 269)
The preposition na indicates either an accompaniment or an instrument.
6.82 Bawo ţi bţeem na aşin
ba- wo ţ- i b- ţeem na a- şin
C1P be INT LOC.PROX C5S pirogue with C1AS father
baka
baka
C1P.OBJ
“They were in the boat with their father”
104 Chapter 6

6.83 Baţiini na a
ba- ţiini na a
C1P speak with OBJ
“They spoke with him”
6.84 Ado kë bafiŋa na kakej
a- do kë ba- fiŋ -a na ka- kej
C1S do COMP C1P kill C1S.OBJ with C3S sword
“He made them kill him with a sword”
6.85 Afëţ wa na kakana
a- fëţ w- a na ka- kana
C1S invert C2S OBJ with C3S calabash
“He covered it with a calabash”
The word na can also be used as a conjunction between noun phrases:
6.86 Naala na Dama banug ŋţëb
Naala na Dama ba- nug ŋ- ţëb
Nala and Dama C1P buy C2P fish
“Naala and Dama buy fish”
6.87 Abuk biinţ na baaţ
a- buk b- iinţ na b- aaţ
C1S produce C1P man and C1P woman
“She had both boys and girls”

6.4 Locatives
Locatives are a combination of a root indicating distance and either the
prefix ţ- or d-. The prefix ţ- usually indicates the interior of some conceptual
space, or on its surface, so I refer to this as internal (gloss INT). The prefix d-
indicates a more general location, conceptually viewed from outside, so is
referred to as external (gloss EXT). Most uses of these locatives are
syntactically prepositional.

Degree of Internal External

distance
near (proximal) ţi di
far (distal) ţuŋ du

Table 6.7: Locatives

 Other word classes 105

6.88 Naala añagani ţi katoh

Naala a- ñagan -i ţ- i ka- toh
Nala C1S be_sad CMPL INT LOC.PROX C3S house
“Naala was sad in the house”

6.89 Bawo na mben ţi feţ

ba- wo na m- BEN ţ- i feţ
C1P be with c6p swelling INT LOC.PROX back
“They had humps on their backs”

6.90 Djuk ţi Ŧugtor ŋşubal bakreŋ

d- juk ţ- i Ŧugtor ŋ- şubal bakreŋ
1S learn INT LOC.PROX Ziguinchor C2P year eight
“I learnt in Ziguinchor for eight years” (The speaker is in Ziguinchor at the
time of speaking)

6.91 uţeeh ţi pmeş

u- ţeeh ţ- i p- meş
C2S field INT LOC.PROX C4S royal_compund
“the field in the royal compound”

6.92 Wi njukuŋ di untabanka

w- i n- juk -uŋ d- i u- ntabanka
C2S GEN 1S.SEL learn SEL EXT LOC.PROX C2S village
“When I learnt in the village…” (The speaker is not in the village at the
time of speaking)

6.93 unuur wi nguran du Bula

u- nuur w- i nguran d- u Bula
C2S day C2S GEN death_rite EXT LOC.DIST Bula
“The day of the death rite in Bula”

6.94 Wal i apënuŋ na a du

w- al i a- pën -uŋ na a d- u
C2S moment GEN C1S go_out SEL with OBJ EXT LOC.DIST
bdig
b- dig
C6S property
“At that time he left with him from the property”

These are the typical uses, but there is evidence that the di/du distinction is
being eroded, with a degree of free variation between speakers.
The locatives ţi and ţuŋ can also be used adverbially.
106 Chapter 6

6.95 Aduk baka ţuŋ

a- duk baka ţ- uŋ
C1S leave C1P.OBJ INT LOC.DIST
“He left them there”
6.96 Pënan ţi !
pën -an ţ- i
go_out CAUS INT LOC.PROX
“Leave here”
Also, by extension of the adverbial use, ţuŋ can be used as a question word,
often, but not always, accompanied by the question particle ba.
6.97 Aharu awo ţuŋ ba
a- har -u a- wo ţ- uŋ ba
C1S wife 2S.POSS C1S be INT LOC.DIST QUES
“Where is your wife?”

6.5 Conjunctions
As seen above the word na can be used as an additive conjunction. For the
alternative conjunction there is the word këme.
6.98 ŋşubal ŋtëb këme ŋwajënţ
ŋ- şubal ŋ- tëb këme ŋ- wajënţ
C2P year C2P two or C2P three
“two or three years”
6.99 ubuş udugar ñaaŋ këme unŧaam
u- buş u- dug -ar ñaaŋ këme u- nŧaam
C2S dog C2S make_noise BEN person or C2S livestock
“The dog made a noise at either people or animals”
Këme can also be used to conjoin clauses:
6.100 ţiki naţaş bgah këme nafiyaar
ţiki na- ţaş b- gah këme na- fiyaar
because_(of) 2P follow C6S way or 2P believe
uţup wi naŧiinkuŋ
u- ţup w- i na- ŧiink -uŋ
C2S speech C2S GEN 2P hear SEL
“because you follow the law or because you believe the word that you
heard”
 Other word classes 107

There are also a number of subordinating conjunctions. All these words are
invariable. Their use is discussed in more detail in section 9.4.
pa goal
ţiki cause
ukaaŋ kë reason
woli conditional
le conditional
bë contrast

6.101 Ala dko danwooŋ na ŋţeeh ,

a- la d- ko da- n- wo -oŋ na ŋ- ţeeh
C1S seek C9S place C9S COREF be SEL with C2P field
pa phil kado kajaar .
pa p- hil k- a- do ka- jaar
in_order_to INF be_able IMPERF SER do C3S agriculture
“He searched for a place with fields, in order to be able to farm”
6.102 Mënhil ptiima blaañ bi
më- ën- hil p- tiima b- laañ b- i
1S.NEG NEG be_able INF wear C5S wrap C5S DEM.PROX
ţiki bañowi
ţiki ba- ñow -i
because_(of) C5S wash CMPL
“I can't wear this wrap because it is wet”
6.103 Ŋya uţeeh woli bnuur baanyiiki
ŋ- ya u- ţeeh woli b- nuur ba- an- yiik -i
1P go C2S field if C7S sunlight C5S NEG be_hot CMPL
“We're going to the field if it's not hot”
6.104 ñaaŋ awinën le afiŋën
ñaaŋ a- win -ën le a- fiŋ -ën
person C1S see 1S.OBJ if SER kill 1S.OBJ
“If someone sees me they will kill me”
6.105 Ŋnuur paaj - na - uloŋ ŋaţëp le ,
ŋ- nuur paaj na u- loŋ ŋa- ţëp le
C2P day six and C2S INDEF C2P pass when
kado uşubal uşub
ka- do u- şubal u- şub
1S.ALT do C2S rain C2S rain
“When 7 days have passed, I will make it rain”
108 Chapter 6

6.6 Interrogatives
There are six content interrogative words:
in “who”
we(l) “what”
hum “what/how/how many”
ţuŋ “where”
lum “when”
hoŋ “which”

These words are all invariable apart from hoŋ which agrees with the noun
that is being questioned. It has the same agreement pattern as the
determiners.
in is used to question human subjects, objects or genitive “possessors”.
6.106 In amaakuŋ ?
in a- maak -uŋ
who C1S be_ill SEL
“Who is ill?”
6.107 In i Ŧukma akobuŋ ?
in i ŧukma a- kob -uŋ
who GEN Thukma C1S hit SEL
“Who did Thukma hit?”
6.108 Iwo abuk in ba ?
i- wo a- buk in ba
2S be C1AS child who QUES
“Whose child are you?”
Note that in example 6.106 the verb has the selectional suffix -uŋ, this is for
reasons of focus. Similarly example 6.107 uses a relative construction with
the genitive particle i, because the question word in has been fronted. This
structure is found in other examples below. This is discussed in more detail
in section 7.2.3.
We is used for non human subjects or objects and has variant wel before a
vowel or semi vowel.
6.109 Wel wi ikdoluŋ ?
wel w- i i- k- dol -uŋ
what C2S GEN 2S IMPERF do SEL
“What are you doing?”
Hum questions manner. This includes questioning someone's name. It also
questions number.
 Other word classes 109

6.110 Hum di di ñiinţ i

hum d- i d- i ñ- iinţ i
how C9S DEM.PROX C9S GEN C1S man GEN
añoomuŋ aţiini hënk ?
a- ñoom -uŋ a- ţiini hënk
C1S dare SEL SER speak thus
“How does this man dare to speak like this?”
In this example the demonstrative and the genitive particle agree with hum
using the class 9 prefix d-, the one used by default for all common nouns
that don’t fit into other classes (typically borrowed words).
6.111 Katimu kawo hum ?
ka- tim -u ka- wo hum
C3S name 2S.POSS C3S be how
“What is your name?”
6.112 Kë woli ñaaţ aandi pbi na
kë woli ñ- aaţ a- an- di p- bi na
DS when; if C1S woman C1S NEG accept INF come and
nji , kado hum ?
nji ka- do hum
1S.subj 1S.ALT do how
“What shall I do if the woman does not agree to come with me?”

6.113 Nawo na ipoom hum ba ?

na- wo na i- poom hum ba
2P be with C3P bread how QUES
“How many loaves do you have?”
Ţuŋ questions location.
6.114 Aharu awo ţuŋ ba ?
a- har -u a- wo ţ- uŋ ba
C1S wife 2S.POSS C1S be INT LOC.DIST QUES
“Where is your wife?”
Lum questions time.
6.115 Iluŋ kajun katiban lum ?
i- luŋ k- a- jun k- a- tiban lum
2S FUT IMPERF SER begin IMPERF SER clear_(field) when
“When are you going to begin clearing?”
110 Chapter 6

6.116 Lum di di uko waŋ

lum d- i d- i u- ko w- aŋ
when? C9S DEM.PROX C9S GEN C2S thing C2S DEM
ukwooŋ ?
u- k- wo -oŋ
C2S IMPERF be SEL
“When will this thing happen?”
hoŋ selects a particular instance from among several.
6.117 Bañaaŋ biki bawo bahoŋ ba ?
ba- ñaaŋ bik- i ba- wo ba- hoŋ ba
C1P person C1P DEM.PROX C1P be C1P which QUES
“Who are these people? (Lit: which are these people)”
6.118 Iwo i pntaali phoŋ ?
i- wo i p- ntaali p- hoŋ
2S be GEN C4S lineage C4S which
“You are from which family?”

6.7 Invariable Particles

There are a small number of invariable particles which have a grammatical
function.
nin negative
ba interrogative tag
i polar interrogative tag
kë subject switch (different subject) (see chapter 267)
keeri therefore

6.119 nin uko uloŋ

nin u- ko u- loŋ
NEG C2S thing C2S INDEF
“nothing”
6.120 We wi ikdoluŋ ba ?
we w- i i- k- dol -uŋ ba
what? C2S GEN 2S IMPERF do SEL QUES
“What have you done?”
6.121 Ñaaţ akuŋa uliik i ?
ñ- aaţ a- kuŋa u- liik i
C1S woman C1S carry C2S peanuts QUES
“Is the woman carrying peanuts?”
 Other word classes 111

6.122 Kë unŧaayi uşë yeenk pben

kë u- nŧaayi u- şë yeenk p- BEN
DS C2S demon C2S SEQ receive C6S swelling
amëban , kë Naala aşë neej aki
a- mëb -an kë Naala a- şë neej a- ki
C1S carry CAUS DS Nala C1S SEQ enter C1S dance
“The spirit took the hump and carried it, and Naala entered the ring and
danced”
6.123 Nawutan keeri kaţaaf uko
na- wut -an keeri k- a- ţaaf u- ko
2P leave IMP in_that_case IMPERF SER worry C2S thing
wi faan
w- i faan
C2S GEN tomorrow
“So don't worry about tomorrow!”
For more details on how these are used see sections 7.2.1 and 7.3.1(nin),
section 7.2.2 (i), section 7.2.3 (ba), section 11 (kë), sections 9.1.1 and
9.5.2.2 (keeri).

6.8 Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs and some can also modify nouns or a limited number
of adjectives.
buţaan badly
bnuura well
maakan greatly
ntiinku a little
kak again
lah contra factual
le irrealis
ţañ only

The adverbs buţaan “badly” and bnuura “well” are derived from the
homophonous nouns buţaan “evil” and bnuura “good/well”.
6.124 Dama awet buţaan
Dama a- wet buţaan
Dama C1S sweep badly
“Dama sweeps badly”
6.125 Ŧiinkaan bnuura
ŧiink -a -an bnuura
hear IMP 1S.OBJ well
“Listen carefully to me!”
112 Chapter 6

The adverb maakan “very”, in addition to modifying verbs, can also modify
the adjectives ŧum “many/much” and week “large”
6.126 Uko mënţ ude Şompi maakan
u- ko mënţ u- de Şompi maakan
C2S thing that C2S eat Shompi very
“This thing worried Shompi a lot”
6.127 Ado wo nayok naweek maakan
a- do wo na- yok na- week maakan
C1S INGR be C1S rich C1S big very
“He became very rich”
6.128 Dwul naweeku itaka iŧum
d- wul na- week -u i- taka i- ŧum
1S give C1S elder_sibling 2S.poss C4P money C3P many
maakan
maakan
very
“I gave your brother lots of money”
The root ntiinku is used to create quantifying adjectives (see example 6.21
above) but as an invariable bare root it can be used to modify verbs.
6.129 Bajon ntiinku du ukalabuş
ba- jon ntiinku d- u u- kalabuş
C1P last a_little EXT LOC.DIST C2S prison
“They were in prison for a while”
The adverb kak is derived from the verb kak “return” which is also used as
an auxiliary to indicate a repeat of the event. The adverb kak has a similar
meaning as the auxiliary.
6.130 Baaţ bŧi bajej ŋa kak
b- aaţ bŧi ba- jej ŋ- a kak
C1P woman all C1P take C2P obj again
“All the women also took them.”
It can modify a noun to indicate “as well” or “also”.
6.131 Şompi ul kak kë abuk napoţ
Şompi ul kak kë a- buk na- poţ
Shompi 3S.SUBJ again DS C1AS child C1S child
ñiinţ
ñ- iinţ
C1S man
‎“Shompi, he also produced a son”
It can also be an intensified by the adverb makaan.
 Other word classes 113

6.132 Başoora kak maakan

ba- şoor -a kak maakan
C1P hate C1S.OBJ again very
“They hated him even more”
The adverb le is used to mark the verb that is irrealis and is used in some
conditional constructions. Unlike other adverbs it appears between the verb
and any object (except pronoun suffixes).
6.133 Iwin le uko wi nu kjej
i- win le u- ko w- i nu k- jej
2S see IRL C2S thing C2S GEN 2S.POSS 2S.ALT take
wa
w- a
C2S obj
‎“If you see your thing here, then take it.”
6.134 Ñaaŋ awinën le afiŋën
ñaaŋ a- win -ën le a- fiŋ -ën
person C1S see 1S.OBJ IRL SER kill 1S.OBJ
‎“If someone sees me, they will kill me.”
It appears between an auxiliary and the main verb
6.135 Iwo le kaluk daaşa lukan da
i- wo le k- a- luk daaşa luk -an d- a
2S must IRL IMPERF SER pay tax pay IMP C9S OBJ
‎“If you owe taxes, then pay them!”
The adverb lah gives a contrafactual meaning to the verb. It appears in the
same position as le.
6.136 Woli ŋdëman lah unŧoŋ
woli ŋ- dëm -an lah u- nŧoŋ
when; if 1P grow CAUS CNTRFACT C2S divinity
“If we had worshipped an idol…”
6.137 Dhilan lah kadolu buţaan
d- hilan lah k- a- dol -u b- uţaan
1S be_able CNTRFACT IMPERF SER do 2S.OBJ C5S evil
“I could harm you”
The adverb ţañ “only”, is quantifier that modifies nouns (see example 6.63
above), but it also modifies verbs.
6.138 Naŧiiman ţañ
na- ŧiim -an ţañ
2P stay_still_and_keep_quiet IMP only
“Just keep quiet”
114 Chapter 6

6.9 Sound symbolic modifiers

There is a closed class of words that modify adjectives or verbs that are
monosyllabic of the form CVC and are invariable. They have very strict
collocation rules and normally each one can only be used with one or two
different words. For example kafaaŧal feh “brilliant white” where feh
“brilliant” is a modifier that can only be used with faaŧal “white”. These
words are sound symbolic, and I will refer to them as ideophones. Different
from what is found in many other languages, Mankanya ideophones do not
contain marginal or non-phonemic sounds.
6.139 Katoh ki Naala kawo kafaaŧal feh
ka- toh k- i Naala ka- wo ka- faaŧal feh
C3S house C3S GEN Naala C3S be C3S white very_(white)
“Naala's house is very white”
6.140 ajej puum abooţan ţi
a- jej p- uum a- booţ -an ţ- i
C1S take C6S corpse SER wrap CAUS INT LOC.PROX
blaañ bfaaŧal feh
b- laañ b- faaŧal feh
C5S wrap c7s white very_(white)
“He took the body and wrapped it in a very white wrap”
6.141 Naŧeek ampënuŋ ajeenk jud
na- ŧeek a- m- pën -uŋ a- jeenk jud
C1S first C1S COREF go_out SEL C1S redden very_(red)
“The first one to come out was very red”
6.142 Bawoharana bayeti bjeenkal
ba- wohar -an -a ba- yeti b- jeenk -al
C1P dress CAUS C1S.OBJ C5S coat C5S redden CHG
jud
jud
very_(red)
“They dressed him in a very red coat”
6.143 iţup hënkuŋ na ŋjinţ piş
i- ţup hënkuŋ na ŋ- jinţ piş
2S speak now and C2P clean very_(clean)
“You now speak clearly (Lit: with clean words, i.e. not figuratively)”
6.144 kë başë yomp juk aŧiinka
kë ba- şë yomp juk a- ŧiink -a
DS C1P SEQ be_quiet very_(cold) SER hear C1S.OBJ
“then they became very quiet and listened to him”
 Other word classes 115

Some of the more frequent ideophones are:

Modifier Used with
baŋ kay “dry”
yiik “hot”
feh faaŧ “white”
jud jeenk “red”
juk joobëţ “cold”
yomp “quiet”
lot now “wet”
pëţ jën “black”
piş jinţ “clean”
rad tam “hard”
116 Chapter 6
 117

Chapter 7 - Simple Syntax

This section will look at the simpler syntactic structures, firstly the
monoclausal sentence, then the noun phrase.

7.1 Simple Sentence

There are four simple monoclausal sentence types in Mankanya: the basic
verbal sentence, copulative sentence using pwo, sentences where the only
verb is marked with the selectional suffix -uŋ and non-verbal sentences.

7.1.1 Basic Verbal Sentence

The simplest verbal sentence only has a verb. For example:
7.1 Ade
a- de
C1S eat
“He's eating”
7.2 Jukan !
juk -an
learn IMP
“Learn!”
Note that in 7.1 there is no pronoun in this clause. This is commonly the
case as the verbal prefix provides sufficient information.
For some instances of tense, aspect or mode, a verbal complex of several
verbal words is used instead of a single verbal word, where one or more
auxiliaries modify a final lexical verb. The verbal system will be discussed
in more detail in section 8.
7.3 Aluŋ kade
a- luŋ k- a- de
C1S FUT IMPERF SER eat
“He will eat”
118 Chapter 7

7.4 Ado bi de
a- do bi de
C1S INGR PAST eat
“He's already eaten”
Where there is a subject noun phrase, its normal unmarked position is
before the verb:
7.5 Upi udaan
u- pi u- daan
C2S goat C2S drink
“The goat is drinking”
As discussed in section 4.2.1 the verbal prefix agrees with the subject. More
complex noun phrases are possible – here are some examples but they will
be discussed in more detail in section 7.3 below.
7.6 Şompi abi
Şompi a- bi
Shompi C1S come
“Shompi is coming”
7.7 Ŋpi ŋtëb ŋweek ŋabi
ŋ- pi ŋ- tëb ŋ- week ŋa- bi
C2P goat C2P two C2P big C2P come
“The two big goats are coming”
7.8 Katoh kajon kajot
ka- toh ka- jon ka- jot
C3S house C3S old C3S fall
“The old house is falling over”
7.9 Bañaaŋ biki Bula baya
ba- ñaaŋ bik- i Bula ba- ya
C1P person C1P GEN Bula C1P go
“The people from Bula are going”
In a transitive clause, the unmarked position of the object is after the verb.
7.10 Ade umaanan
a- de u- maanan
C1S eat C2S rice
“He's eating rice”
7.11 Dama akob ubuş
Dama a- kob u- buş
Dama C1S hit C2S dog
“Dama hits the dog”
 Simple Syntax 119

Some verbs of motion can take an object without the need of another word
to express semantic notions like GOAL or SOURCE, where that object is a
proper noun.
7.12 Dama aya Dakar
Dama a- ya Dakar
Dama C1S go Dakar
“Dama is going to Dakar”
7.13 Dama aluŋ kabi Dakar
Dama a- luŋ k- a- bi Dakar
Dama C1S FUT IMPERF SER come Dakar
“Dama will come from Dakar”
Otherwise the GOAL or SOURCE is encoded in a locative phrase (see section
7.5):
7.14 Aya du kaloona meeţ
a- ya d- u ka- loona meeţ
C1S go EXT LOC.DIST C3S canvas inside
“He went inside the tent”
7.15 Bañaaŋ baŧum babi ţi a
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧum ba- bi ţ- i a
C1P person C1P many C1P come INT LOC.PROX OBJ
“Many people are coming to him”
There are verbs that can be used to create ditransitive clauses, e.g. pwul
“give” or pñooţ “take”:
7.16 Dama awul pmoh ubuş
Dama a- wul p- moh u- buş
Dama C1S give C4S bone C2S dog
“Dama gives the dog a bone”
7.17 Şompi añooţ upi Dakar
Şompi a- ñooţ u- pi Dakar
Shompi C1S take C2S goat Dakar
“Shompi takes the goat to Dakar”
Following Hasplemath (2005), ditransitive clauses involve a verb denoting
transfer of an entity (T) from an agent (A) to a recipient (R). As can be seen
from the examples above, Mankanya does not use any special coding for
either R or T (a double object construction). And the preferred order is to
have the object denoting T, the entity being transferred, closest to the verb.
This is not fixed and the two objects can be inverted. Because there is no
overt coding this can lead to ambiguity in out of context sentences.
120 Chapter 7

When the recipient R is human, and a pronoun that is not an affix is used,
then the human pronoun immediately follows the verb. More detail can be
found in sections 3.5 and 4.2.7.
7.18 Dama awul baka umaanan
Dama a- wul baka u- maanan
Dama C1S give C1P.OBJ C2S rice
“She give them some rice”
7.19 Dama awulu umaanan
Dama a- wul -u u- maanan
Dama C1S give 2S.OBJ C2S rice
“Dama gives you (sg) some rice”
With verbs like yil “send” or dook “expel”, R can be encoded with a locative
phrase (see section 7.5)
7.20 Dyila du an
d- yil -a d- u an
1S send C1S.OBJ EXT LOC.DIST 2P.OBJ
“I sent him to you”
7.21 Baluŋ kadookan du katoh
ba- luŋ k- a- dook -an d- u ka- toh
C1P FUT IMPERF SER chase 2P.OBJ EXT LOC.DIST C3S house
“They will chase you from the house”
Verbs can be modified by adverbs, which occur after the object
7.22 Aŋal poonu abuk Dama maakan
a- ŋal poonu a- buk Dama maakan
C1S like girl C1AS child Dama very
“He loved Dama's daughter a lot”

7.1.1.1 Existence
A special case of the simple sentence is that which expresses existence. This
type of sentence uses the verb ka which is normally translated as “have”.
There is no explicit subject and the verbal prefix is class 2 singular u-. This
might have historically referred to a subject like wal “moment”.
7.23 Uka du ukalabuş naţaşa
u- ka d- u u- kalabuş na- ţaşa
C2S have EXT LOC.DIST C2S prison C1S teenager_(boy)
“There was in the prison, a young man.”
 Simple Syntax 121

7.24 Uka kak baaţ baloŋ

u- ka kak b- aaţ ba- loŋ
C2S have again C1P woman C1P INDEF
bannaţuŋ alow aşë ten
ba- n- naţ -uŋ a- low a- şë ten
C1P COREF stand SEL SER be_far SER SEQ look_at
“There were also some women there, standing at a distance, watching.”
Compare those examples with use of ka to mean “have”:
7.25 Ayok maakan aka ŋnŧaam na itaka
a- yok maakan a- ka ŋ- nŧaam na i- taka
C1S be_full very SER have C2P livestock and C4P money
‎“He was very rich; he had flocks and money.”

7.1.2 Sentence with “wo” as a copula

There are four types of clauses that use the verb wo as a copula. These are
stative, equative, genitive and locative clauses. In other contexts wo
functions as an auxiliary. See sections 8.8.5 and 8.9.1.

7.1.2.1 Stative clauses (adjectival)

In stative clauses the complement of wo is an adjectival phrase.
7.26 Katoh ki Naala kawo kafaaŧal
ka- toh k- i Naala ka- wo ka- faaŧal
C3S house C3S GEN Nala C3S be C3S white
“Naala's house is white”
7.27 Katoh ki Naala kaanwo kajënël
ka- toh k- i Naala ka- an- wo ka- jënël
C3S house C3S GEN Nala C3S NEG be C3S black
“Naala's house is not black”
7.1.2.2 Equative clauses (nominal)
In equative phrases the complement of wo is a noun phrase.
7.28 Naala awo najukan
Naala a- wo na- jukan
Nala C1S be C1S teacher
“Naala is a teacher”
7.29 Napoţ ñaaţ naweek awo abuk naan
na- poţ ñ- aaţ na- week a- wo a- buk naan
C1S child C1S female C1S big C1S be C1AS child 1S.GEN
“The big girl is my daughter”
122 Chapter 7

7.1.2.1 Genitive clauses

An alienable genitive phrase can follow wo. Alienable genitive phrases will
discussed in section 7.3.4.2.
7.30 Dama awo i pnŧuk pi Şompi
Dama a- wo i p- nŧuk p- i Şompi
Dama C1S be GEN C4S group C4S GEN Shompi
“Dama is in Shompi's group”
7.31 Pdiim pawo pi Naala
p- diim pa- wo p- i Naala
C4S voice C4S be C4S GEN Nala
“The voice is that of Naala”
7.1.2.2 Locative clauses
In locative clauses wo is followed by a locative phrase (see section 7.5).
7.32 Ppiiŧi pawo ţi kabaŋ ki praata
p- piiŧi pa- wo ţ- i ka- baŋ k- i p- raata
C4S pen C4S be INT LOC.PROX C3S side C3S GEN C6S bowl
“The pencil is next to the bowl”
7.33 Awo du buro
a- wo d- u buro
C1S be EXT LOC.DIST office
“He is at the office (far from here)”

7.1.3 Selectional suffix sentence

Some sentences have the only verb in the clause marked with the selectional
suffix -uŋ. They are typically used for marked focus or for topicalisation,
and are similar to cleft sentences in English.
An example of topicalisation occurs in the following example. The context is
that a man and his two wives Naala and Dama have been introduced. Naala
has been described and then this sentence occurs:
7.34 Ul i ñiinţ aţuuŋ ţi
ul i ñ- iinţ a- ţu -uŋ ţ- i
3s.subj GEN C1S man C1S place SEL INT LOC.PROX
uhaaş wi nul
u- haaş w- i nul
C2S soul C2S GEN 3s.poss
“It was she who he loved” (Lit: “She who the man had put in his soul”)
The topic of the sentence (ul – referring to Naala) is the object of the verb ţu
“put”. The normal position of an object is after the verb, but the normal
position for the topic is clause initial. Therefore to make the object the
 Simple Syntax 123

topic, a relative clause structure (see section 9.4.3) is used to front the
object. The only verb in this sentence is the one in the “relative clause”. A
literal translation would be “She who the man had put in his soul” Note that
no extra material (like “It was” in English) is needed.
Sometimes a clause like this is used to mark a change of topic. In example
7.35 below Spider is reintroduced, after an episode narrating the actions of
another participant. Here Spider is the subject of the sentence so no fronting
occurs to align it with the topic position. However, a structure is used
similar to that of a relative clause where the subject of the relative clause is
a constituent of the matrix sentence (see section 9.4.3.1). However, there is
no co-reference morpheme -N (see section 4.2.6) because there is no matrix
sentence. Again no extra material is required (kë is there for other reasons),
and a literal translation would be “So Spider too who was in the house”
7.35 Kë ulaar kak hënk uwooŋ du
kë u- laar kak hënk u- wo -oŋ d- u
DS C2S spider again Narr C2S be SEL EXT LOC.DIST
katoh ki nambaabu
ka- toh k- i na- mbaabu
C3S house C3S GEN C1S western
“In the same way the spider was at the European's house”
These structures are also used for marked focus, for example to correct
something. A response to the question Anug ŋtëb i ? “Did he buy fish?”
might be:
7.36 A-a , uyemaţ wi wi anuguŋ
a-a u- yemaţ w- i w- i a- nug -uŋ
no! C2S meat C2S DEM.PROX C2S GEN SER buy SEL
“No, it was meat that he bought”
And response to the question Awin Dama ţi katoh i ? “Did he see Dama at the
house?” might be:
7.37 A-a , Naala i i awinuŋ
a-a Naala i i a- win -uŋ
no! Nala DEM.PROX GEN C1S see SEL
“No, it was Naala who he saw”
7.38 A-a , du ufeeru di di
a-a d- u u- feeru d- i d- i
no! EXT LOC.DIST C2S market C9S DEM.PROX C9S GEN
awinuluŋ
a- win -ul -uŋ
C1S see C1S.ALT.OBJ SEL
‎“No, it was at the market where he saw her”
124 Chapter 7

Content interrogative clauses are often sentences like these. (See section
7.2.3)
7.39 In amaakuŋ ?
in a- maak -uŋ
who? C1S be_ill SEL
“Who is ill?”
7.40 Wel wi bakdoluŋ ?
wel w- i ba- k- dol -uŋ
what? C2S GEN C1P IMPERF do SEL
“What are they doing?”
In these examples the question word is in the normal topic position at the
front of the clause. In example 7.39, marking the verb with the selectional
suffix puts marked focus on the question word. In example 7.40 the
question word is the object of the verb and a relative clause structure has
been used to left shift it from the object position to the position for question
words.

7.1.4 Non-verbal clauses

Some clauses do not contain a verb. They are typically used to present
something.
For example these following two examples only contain a noun phrase
followed by the genitive particle and a demonstrative.
7.41 Babuk naan biki biki
ba- buk naan bik- i bik- i
C1P child 1S.GEN C1P GEN C1P DEM.PROX
“Here are my children”
7.42 Katoh ki ki
ka- toh k- i k- i
C3S house C3S GEN C3S DEM.PROX
“This is the house”
As demonstratives and genitive particles share the same form, there are
several possible analyses. Demonstratives have several different roots
depending on distance (i, uŋ, undi, undu) but I have not found this type of
clause with anything but an i root, so this would seem to imply that a
genitive is involved. A genitive would require a noun phrase on either side
of the genitive particle, and this could be the case if the last word was a
demonstrative, which sometimes can be a full noun phrase (see section
7.3.5).
 Simple Syntax 125

The other form of presentational clause consists of a noun phrase followed

by a.
7.43 Nji a !
nji a
1S.emph OBJ

“It is I!”
7.44 Ajug naan a !
a- jug naan a
C1AS owner 1S.GEN OBJ

“It's my master”
It seems that a is an expletive pronoun.

7.2 Simple clausal modifications

7.2.1 Negative clauses
In a simple clause, negation of the verb is marked by morphological changes
to the verb, and additionally a distinctive intonation (see section 4.2.4).
However, there is no change to the syntax of the sentence. For example:
7.45 Dama aanka napoţ
Dama a- an- ka na- poţ
Dama C1S NEG have C1S child
“Dama doesn't have a child”
compared with:
7.46 Dama aka napoţ
Dama a- ka na- poţ
Dama C1S have C1S child
“Dama has a child”
Similarly the imperative shows no difference in syntax though the
morphological negation is different.

7.47 Kten kafeţ !

k- ten ka- feţ
NEG look_at C3S behind
“Don't look behind!”
Negation of imperatives can alternatively be expressed syntactically by
using wut “leave” as an auxiliary, to create a prohibitive.
126 Chapter 7

7.48 Nawutan kado buţaan

na- wut -an k- a- do b- uţaan
2P leave IMP IMPERF SER do C5S evil
“Don't do evil!”
Where a negative subject or object is used (see section 6.7), the verb must
also be expressed negatively, either with morphological negation as shown
in 7.49, or by using the verb wut as in 7.50.
7.49 Nin ñaaŋ aanwo da
nin ñaaŋ a- an- wo d- a
NEG person C1S NEG be C9S OBJ
“No-one is there”
7.50 Nin ñaaŋ awutan kaduk uko uloŋ
nin ñaaŋ a- wut -an k- a- duk u- ko u- loŋ
NEG person C1S leave CAUS IMPERF SER keep C2S thing C2S INDEF
“No-one is to keep anything”
There is another negative structure that is used with selection suffix clauses
and non-verbal clauses. In this case the clause starts with the anaphoric
demonstrative mënţ followed by a noun phrase. This is a very unusual
construction and I currently cannot explain how this structure has
developed.
7.51 Mënţ babuk naan biki biki
mënţ ba- buk naan bik- i bik- i
that C1P child 1S.GEN C1P GEN C1P GEN
“These aren't my children”
7.52 Mënţ nji djejuŋ kanŧeeri
mënţ nji d- jej -uŋ ka- nŧeeri
that 1S.SUJ 1S take SEL C3S knife
“It wasn't me who took the knife”
7.53 Mënţ naweek naan awooŋ naşih
mënţ na- week naan a- wo -oŋ na- şih
that C1S elder_sibling 1S.GEN C1S be SEL C1S chief
“It isn't my brother who is chief”

7.2.2 Yes/No interrogative clauses

A simple declarative clause can be transformed into a Yes/No question by
the addition of the tag i at the end of the sentence. There is no special
intonation for these types of questions.
 Simple Syntax 127

7.54 Ñaaţ akuŋa uliik

ñ- aaţ a- kuŋa u- liik
C1S woman C1S carry C2S peanuts
“The woman is carrying peanuts”
7.55 Ñaaţ akuŋa uliik i ?
ñ- aaţ a- kuŋa u- liik i
C1S woman C1S carry C2S peanuts QUEST
“Is the woman carrying peanuts?”

7.2.3 Content interrogative clauses

An interrogative word in a simple clause replaces the phrase that is being
questioned.
7.56 Ido we ?
i- do we
2S do what?
“You’re doing what?”
7.57 Ika bapoţ hum ?
i- ka ba- poţ hum
2S have C1P child how?
“How many children do you have?”
7.58 Iluŋ kajun katiban lum ?
i- luŋ k- a- jun k- a- tiban lum
2S FUT IMPERF SER begin IMPERF SER clear_(field) when?
“When are you going to start the clearing?”
7.59 Iwo abuk in ba ?
i- wo a- buk in ba
2S be C1AS child who? QUES
“Whose child are you”

As noted in section 7.1.3 it is possible to advance the interrogative to the

first place in the sentence using a structure similar to a relative clause.
7.60 Wel wi ikdoluŋ ?
wel w- i i- k- dol -uŋ
what? C2S GEN 2S IMPERF do SEL
“What are you doing?”
128 Chapter 7

7.61 Hum di ŋhilanuŋ kabelana

hum d- i ŋ- hilan -uŋ k- a- bel -an -a
how? C9S GEN 1P be_able SEL IMPERF SER shield CAUS MID
maak pi SIDA ?
maak p- i SIDA
illness C4S GEN AIDS
“How do we protect ourselves against AIDS?”
Note that in example 7.60 the genitive that introduces the structure agrees
with wel “what” as if it is in noun class 2, probably by phonological
analogy. In contrast hum “how” in example 7.61 causes agreement in class 9
because there is no noun class where the noun prefix is h-. Ţuŋ “where”
causes similar agreement. The class 9 prefix d- is the one used by default for
all common nouns that don’t fit into other classes (typically borrowed
words) and also all proper nouns which describe locations.
The interrogative pronoun in “who” is normally at the beginning of the
phrase. Note that even though in is the subject, and therefore in its normal
position, the verb is marked with the selectional suffix, to mark focus.
7.62 In ankkobuŋ plëmën ?
in a- n- k- kob -uŋ p- lëmën
who? C1S COREF IMPERF hit SEL C4S door
“Who's knocking at the door?”
7.63 In amaakuŋ ?
in a- maak -uŋ
who? C1S be_ill SEL
“Who is ill?”
Compare that with:
7.64 Dama amaakuŋ
Dama a- maak -uŋ
Dama C1S be_ill SEL
“It's Dama who is ill”
Notice that the verb agreement with in “who” is the singular of class 1, the
noun class that contains the majority of human nouns.
When the object is being questioned and is a person then in is also used and
is normally fronted with a relative clause.
7.65 In i Ŧukma akobuŋ ?
in i ŧukma a- kob -uŋ
who? GEN Thukma C1S hit SEL
“Who did Thukma hit?”
 Simple Syntax 129

That example can be compared with the following which would be a

marked form, used in echo questions.
7.66 Ŧukma akob in ?
ŧukma a- kob in
Thukma C1S hit who?
“Thukma hit who?”
The question “Why?” is formed from wel “what” plus the existential verb ka
and the complementiser kë. The question word is the subject of ka, so ka
agrees in class 2, but is in marked focus (similar to example 7.63). The
literal translation might be “What thing exists that you don’t believe him”
7.67 Wel ukaaŋ kë naanfiyaara ?
wel u- ka -aŋ kë na- an- fiyaar -a
what? C2S have SEL COMP 2P NEG believe OBJ
“Why don't you believe him?”
Here are some examples where the interrogative replaces the phrase in a
clause where the verb wo is used as a copula. In examples 7.69 and 7.70,
the question words are not fronted, but in contrast to the above example,
these are the unmarked forms of these questions. This maybe related to the
use of wo to give negative meaning in relative clauses (see section 9.4.3):
7.68 In awooŋ naţilan ?
in a- wo -uŋ na- ţilan
who? C1S be SEL C1S liar
“Who is the liar?”
7.69 Katimu kawo hum ?
ka- tim -u ka- wo hum
C3S name 2S.POSS C3S be how?
“What is your name?”
7.70 Katohu kawo ţuŋ ?
ka- toh -u ka- wo ţ- uŋ
C3S house 2S.POSS C3S be INT LOC.DIST
“Where is your house?”
An interrogative can also replace a phrase in a non verbal clause.
7.71 Wel wi wi ?
wel w- i w- i
what? C2S GEN C2S DEM.PROX
“What is this?”
An interrogative can replace a sentential complement.
130 Chapter 7

7.72 Wel wi ifiyaaruŋ ?

wel w- i i- fiyaar -uŋ
what? C2S GEN C3P believe SEL
“What do you believe?”
With any content interrogative clause, it is possible to finish with the
interrogative particle ba. Its usage is optional.
7.73 In aţuwiiŋ pdo haŋ ba ?
in a- ţuw -i -iŋ p- do haŋ ba
who? SER place 2S.SEL.OBJ SEL INF do DEM QUES
“Who gave you permission to do this?”
7.74 Aba do do we ba ?
a- ba do do we ba
C1S CMPLTV do do what? QUES
“What has he just done?”

7.2.4 Imperative clauses

Imperative clauses never have an explicit subject. Where there is a sequence
of related imperatives clauses, the first verb is in the imperative and
following verbs have the declarative form with a second person subject.
7.75 Ţiin ibuuran ubida wi nu !
ţi -in i- buur -an u- bida w- i nu
run IMP 2S escape CAUS C2S life C2S GEN 2S.POSS
“Run and save your life!”
7.76 Kten kafeţ ibot iwut
k- ten ka- feţ i- bot i- wut
NEG look_at C3S behind 2S do_something_next 2S leave
kanaţ nin dko dloŋ ţi
k- a- naţ nin d- ko d- loŋ ţ- i
IMPERF SER stand NEG C9S place C9S INDEF INT LOC.PROX
uŧaak wi !
u- ŧaak w- i
C2S country C2S DEM.PROX
“Don't look back and don't stop anywhere in this country!”
 Simple Syntax 131

7.3 Noun Phrase

7.3.1 Structure
The head noun is normally first in the phrase followed by its modifiers.
7.77 bapoţ baweek bawajënţ
ba- poţ ba- week ba- wajënţ
C1P child C1P big C1P three
N ADJ NUM
“Three big children”
However, when a noun phrase is negated the negative particle precedes the
noun.
7.78 nin ñaaŋ
nin ñaaŋ
NEG person
NEG N
“No-one”
Based on the examples I have in my corpus the most frequent order of the
constituents is:
NEG N GENN ADJ PTCPP NUM ORD GENP DEM QUANT RELC
Where
NEG Negative particle
N Noun
GENN Genitive Noun (Inalienable)
ADJ Adjective or series of Adjectives
PTCPP Participle Phrase
NUM Cardinal Number
ORD Ordinal Number
GENP Genitive Phrase (Alienable)
DEM Demonstrative
QUANT Quantifier (including adjectival quantifiers)
RELC Relative Clause
Relative clauses and participle clauses are dealt with in sections 9.4.3 and
9.4.4.
Here are some examples of noun phrases:
132 Chapter 7

7.79 bapoţ baweek bawajënţ biki

ba- poţ ba- week ba- wajënţ bik- i
C1P child C1P big C1P three C1P GEN
N ADJ NUM DEM
“These three big children”
7.80 bapoţ baweek bawajënţ biki bŧi
ba- poţ ba- week ba- wajënţ bik- i bŧi
C1P child C1P big C1P three C1P GEN all
N ADJ NUM DEM QUANT
“All these three big children”
7.81 nin ñaaŋ (same as example 7.78)
nin ñaaŋ
NEG person
NEG N
“No-one”
7.82 nin uko uloŋ
nin u- ko u- loŋ
NEG C2S thing C2S INDEF
NEG N DET
“Nothing”
7.83 bapoţ biki Dama bŧi
ba- poţ bik- i Dama bŧi
C1P child C1P GEN Dama all
N [ GENP ] QUANT
“All Dama's children”
7.84 bapoţ biinţ biki Dama bŧi
ba- poţ b iinţ bik- i Dama bŧi
C1P child C1P man C1P GEN Dama all
N ADJ [ GENP ] QUANT
“All Dama's boys” (Lit. male children)
7.85 baweek Dama bŧi
ba- week Dama bŧi
C1P elder_sibling Dama all
N GENN QUANT
“All Dama's elder siblings”
7.86 baweek Dama biinţ bŧi
ba- week Dama b iinţ bŧi
C1P elder_sibling Dama C1P man all
N GENN ADJ QUANT
“All Dama's elder brothers”
 Simple Syntax 133

7.87 katoh ki naşih ki

ka- toh k- i na- şih k- i
C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief C3S DEM.PROX
N [ GENP ] DEM
“This house of the chief”
7.88 katoh ki naşih i
ka- toh k- i na- şih i
C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief DEM.PROX
N [ GENP ]
“The house of this chief”
7.89 iko yi bŧi
i- ko y- i bŧi
C3P thing C3P DEM.PROX all
N DEM QUANT
“All these things”
7.90 unuur uŧeek wi ufeŧtu wi Şompi
u- nuur u- ŧeek w- i u- festu w- i Şompi
C2S day C2S first C2S GEN C2S feast C2S GEN Shompi
N ORD [ GENP [ GENP ]]
“The first day of Shompi's feast”
7.91 ŋpi ŋwajënţ ŋŧeek
ŋ- pi ŋ- wajënţ ŋ- ŧeek
C2P goat C2P three C2P first
N NUM ORD
“The first three goats”
7.92 dko dmoyni danwooŋ
d- ko d- moy -n -i da- n- wo -oŋ
C9S place C9S bury CAUS PTCP C9S COREF be SEL
N PTCPP [ RELP
du uţeeh meeţ
d- u u- ţeeh meeţ
EXT LOC.DIST C2S field inside
]
“the burial place that is in the field”
7.93 dko dhankni ŋdeey ŋi naan bŧi
d- ko d- hank -n -i ŋ- deey ŋ- i naan bŧi
C9S place C9S keep CAUS PTCP C2P grain C2P GEN 1S.GEN all
N [ PTCPP ]
“place for keeping all my grain”
134 Chapter 7

7.94 bţeem bmpoţi bbuurni

b- ţeem b- m- poţ -i b- buur -n -i
C5S pirogue C5S COREF be_small PTCP C5S escape CAUS PTCP
N PTCPP PTCPP
“small rescue boat”

7.3.2 Adjectives
Adjectives follow the noun and agree with it.
7.95 katoh kajinţ
ka- toh ka- jinţ
C3S house C3S clean
“clean house”
7.96 iyeeh ijon
i- yeeh i- jon
C3P song C3P old
“old song”
7.97 naşih najeenkal
na- şih na- jeenk -al
C1S chief C1S red CHG
“red chief (paramount chief)”
7.98 ŋnkaneel ŋmpoţi ŋwaaţ
ŋ- nkaneel ŋ- mpoţi ŋ- waaţ
C2P sheep C2P small C2P female
“small ewes”
7.99 ŋnkaneel ŋwaaţ ŋjënal
ŋ- nkaneel ŋ- waaţ ŋ- jën -al
C2P sheep C2P female C2P be_black CHG
“black ewes”
There is some evidence of semantic ordering if there are multiple adjectives.
For example the two adjectives that quantify, ŧum “many” and ntiinku “few”,
must appear after any other adjectives.
7.100 katoh kaweek kaŧum
ka- toh ka- week ka- ŧum
C3S house C3S big C3S many
“Many big houses”
7.101 meel mntiinku
meel m- ntiinku
water C8 in_small_amount
“a little water”
 Simple Syntax 135

7.3.3 Cardinal Numbers

A cardinal number always follows the noun, but it can be before or after an
adjective:
7.102 kpiiŧi ktëb kweek
k- piiŧi k- tëb k- week
C5P.DEF pen C5P.DEF two C5P.DEF big
“Two big pens”
7.103 kpiiŧi kweek ktëb
k- piiŧi k- week k- tëb
C5P.DEF pen C5P.DEF big C5P.DEF two
“Two big pens”
7.104 kpiiŧi kjeenkal ktëb kweek
k- piiŧi k- jeenkal k- tëb k- week
C5P.DEF pen C5P.DEF red C5P.DEF two C5P.DEF big
“Two big red crayons”

7.3.4 Genitive Constructions

Mankanya has two slightly different forms of genitive construction, which I
label in this thesis as alienable and inalienable. The inalienable construction
consists of the genitive noun immediately following the head noun.
7.105 aşin naşih
a- şin na- şih
C1AS father C1S chief
“the chief's father”
The alienable construction requires the genitive particle.
7.106 upi wi naşih
u- pi w- i na- şih
C2S goat C2S GEN C1S chief
“the chief's goat”
For more detail see section 7.3.4.2.
In section 3.3.3 I listed the pronominal possessor suffixes which are used
with inalienable nouns, and the pronouns that replace the possessor of an
alienable noun. In this section I will show the two genitive constructions,
which correspond to the two types of genitive relation.
I refer to these constructions as genitive to reflect the fact that they cover
more relations than simple possession, for example relations such as origin,
description or composition.
136 Chapter 7

7.3.4.1 Inalienable Genitive Construction

The inalienable genitive construction is used with the small number of
nouns that are inalienably possessed. These are the kinship terms found in
noun class 1a, plus other kinship terms in class 1 like naweek “elder sibling”
and nabuk “offspring”.
In an inalienable genitive construction the genitive noun phrase is
unmarked and follows the head noun without being preceded by any
particle. Any adjectives must follow it.
7.107 a. naweek Naala Nala's older sibling
b. naweek Naala niinţ Nala's older brother
c. naweek Naala anin Dama The older brother of Nala
the mother of Dama
d. anin naşih The chief's mother
e. babuk aşin Siblings (father’s offspring)
In addition there are a small number of other words from other classes e.g.
katim “name”, katoh “house(hold)”, ulemp “work”, uhaaş “soul”, uleef
“body”, which can use the either form of genitive construction. Often these
other words are used with a possessive suffix for pronominal contexts, but
full possessor noun phrases are usually headed by the genitive particle.
Apart from uleef “body”, all body parts use the alienable genitive
construction described in the next section.

7.3.4.2 Alienable Genitive Construction

Most nouns are alienably possessed. In this case the head noun is followed
by a genitive phrase which is headed by the genitive particle. (See section
6.1.6). The genitive particle agrees with the head noun.
The genitive particle is followed either by a noun phrase (most of the
examples below) or by a possessive pronoun (example 7.109 - see section
3.5 for the full paradigm).
An alienable genitive construction can be used to express a wide variety of
relationships between the two nouns.
- Possession
7.108 katoh ki naşih
ka- toh k- i na- şih
C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief
“the chief's house”
7.109 upi wi naan
u- pi w- i naan
C2S goat C2S GEN 1S.GEN
“my goat”
 Simple Syntax 137

7.110 katoh ki naweek i skoola

ka- toh k- i na- week i skoola
C3S house C3S GEN C1S leader GEN school
“The head teacher's house”
7.111 katoh ki aninun ñiinţ
ka- toh k- i a- nin -un ñ- iinţ
C3S house C3S GEN C1AS mother 1P.OBJ C1S man
“My maternal uncle's house”
- Origin
7.112 bañaaŋ biki Bula
ba- ñaaŋ bik- i Bula
C1P person C1P GEN Bula
“the people of Bula”
- Scope
7.113 naşih i bahula
na- şih i ba- hula
C1S chief GEN C1P Mankanya
“the king of the Mankanya”
- Type
7.114 batani bi ŋnkuma
ba- tani bi ŋ- nkuma
C5S herd PAST C2P pig
“herd of pigs”
- Location
7.115 pŧoof pi bdëk
p- ŧoof p- i b- dëk
C4S half C4S GEN C5S sea
“middle of the sea”

7.3.5 Demonstratives
Demonstratives appear after adjectives and numbers in the noun phrase.
7.116 katoh kaweek ki
ka- toh ka- week k- i
C3S house C3S big C3S DEM.PROX
“this big house”
138 Chapter 7

7.117 upi ujënal wuŋ

u- pi u- jën -al w- uŋ
C2S goat C2S be_black CHG C2S DEM.DIST
“that black goat”
7.118 ŋpi ŋtëb ŋi
ŋ- pi ŋ- tëb ŋ- i
C2P goat C2P two C2P DEM.PROX
“these two goats”
The demonstrative can be used in embedded noun phrases (e.g. as part of a
genitive phrase). Because such phrases occur between the head noun and
the demonstrative, it can lead to sentences with different syntactic structure
having the same surface word order. In the two examples below the word
order is N GEN N DEM. Such situations are often disambiguated by the
agreement on the demonstrative. So in 7.119 the demonstrative agrees with
the head noun katoh, which shows that the sentence structure is [[N GEN N]
DEM]. In example 7.120 the demonstrative agrees with the embedded noun
naşih, so the structure is [N GEN [N DEM]].
7.119 katoh ki naşih ki
ka- toh k- i na- şih k- i
C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief C3S DEM.PROX
“This house of the chief”
7.120 katoh ki naşih i
ka- toh k- i na- şih i
C3S house C3S GEN C1S chief DEM.PROX
“The house of this chief”
This is different to adjectives which appear before genitive phrases.
7.121 katoh kaweek ki naşih ki
ka- toh ka- week k- i na- şih k- i
C3S house C3S big C3S GEN C1S chief C3S DEM.PROX
“This big house of the chief”

7.3.6 Determiners
The position of the determiner ndoli “each” seems to be after adjectives but
before genitive phrases.
7.122 unuur undoli wi pnoorfën
u- nuur u- ndoli w- i p- noorfën
C2S day C2S each C2S GEN INF rest
‎“each day of rest”
 Simple Syntax 139

7.123 iko iwuţaan indoli yi ŋleef

i- ko i- wuţaan i- ndoli y- i ŋ- leef
C3P thing C3P evil C3P each C3P GEN C2P body
ŋi nja ŋaŋaluŋ
ŋ- i nja ŋa- ŋal -uŋ
C2P GEN 1P.poss C2P like SEL
‎“every evil thing that our bodies desire”
The position of loŋ “indefinite” is quite variable.
7.124 pnkuŋ ploŋ pweek
p- nkuŋ p- loŋ p- week
C4S hill C4S INDEF C4S older
“a big hill”
7.125 batani bweek bi ŋnkuma bloŋ
ba- tani b- week b- i ŋ- nkuma b- loŋ
C5S herd C5S big C5S GEN C2P pig C5S INDEF
“a big herd of pigs”
7.126 umpëlënŧ uloŋ ufaaŧal
u- mpëlënŧ u- loŋ u- faaŧal
C2S horse C2S INDEF C2S white
“A white horse”
7.127 ŋlemp ŋŧum ŋloŋ
ŋ- lemp ŋ- ŧum ŋ- loŋ
C2P work C2P many C2P INDEF
“many types of job”
7.128 uţeeh uloŋ umpaţi
u- ţeeh u- loŋ u- mpaţ -i
C2S field C2S INDEF C2S separately PTCP
“a different field”
7.129 iko iloŋ iweek injaaŋ
i- ko i- loŋ i- week i- n- ja -aŋ
C3P thing C3P INDEF C3P big C3P COREF HAB SEL
ijeehan
i- jeehan
C3P shine
“some big things that shine”

7.3.7 Quantifiers
The two adjectives that quantify have been described in section 7.3.2 above.
The invariable quantifiers bŧi “all, entirety” and ţañ “only” occur at the end
of a noun phrase, even after a relative clause.
140 Chapter 7

7.130 uŧaak bŧi

u- ŧaak bŧi
C2S country all
“the whole country”
7.131 ŋko ŋmpoţi bŧi
ŋ- ko ŋ- mpoţi bŧi
C2P animals C2P small all
“all the little animals”
7.132 uko uloolan ţañ
u- ko u- loolan ţañ
C2S thing C2S one only
“only one thing”
7.133 bukal batëb bŧi
bukal ba- tëb bŧi
3p.subj C1P two all
“both of them”
7.134 ŋwal ŋntiinku ţañ
ŋ- wal ŋ- ntiinku ţañ
C2P time C2P in_small_amount only
“just a little time”
7.135 uko uloolan ţañ
u- ko u- loolan ţañ
C2S thing C2S one only
“only one thing”
7.136 bañaaŋ biki mboş bŧi
ba- ñaaŋ bik- i mboş bŧi
C1P person C1P GEN earth all
“All the people of the world”
7.137 uŧaak wi ikwinuŋ wuŋ bŧi
u- ŧaak w- i i- k- win -uŋ w- uŋ bŧi
C2S country C2S GEN 2S IMPERF see SEL C2S DEM.DIST all
“All that land that you see”
7.138 abukul i aŋaluŋ ţañ
a- buk -ul i a- ŋal -uŋ ţañ
C1AS child 3s.POSS GEN C1S like SEL only
“only his son whom he loved”
7.139 ŋko ŋmpoţi ŋankyiţuŋ bŧi
ŋ- ko ŋ- mpoţi ŋa- n- k- yiţ -uŋ bŧi
C2P animals C2P small C2P COREF IMPERF fly SEL all
“all the little flying animals”
 Simple Syntax 141

Compare 7.139 with the position of the quantifying adjective in 7.140

which comes before the relative clause.
7.140 Bañaaŋ baŧum bankŧiinkuluŋ
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧum ba- n- k- ŧiink -ul -uŋ
C1P person C1P many C1P COREF IMPERF hear 3s.POSS SEL
“many people who were listening to him”
Sometimes the invariable quantifiers occur at the end of noun phrase that is
embedded in another noun phrase.
7.141 ŋkaŧ bŧi ŋi baţi
ŋ- kaŧ bŧi ŋ- i ba- ţi
C2P bird all C2P GEN C5S sky
“All the birds of the air”
7.142 iko inuura iweek bŧi yi
i- ko i- nuura i- week bŧi y- i
C3P thing C3P good C3P big all C3P GEN
ikdoluŋ
i- k- dol -uŋ
2S IMPERF do SEL
“All the things that you are doing”
The invariable quantifiers normally occur after a demonstrative:
7.143 iko yi bŧi
i- ko y- i bŧi
C3P thing C3P DEM.PROX all
“All these things”
7.144 uŧaak wi bŧi
u- ŧaak w- i bŧi
C2S country C2S DEM.PROX all
“All this country”

7.4 Infinitival clauses

As noted in section 5.1 the infinitive form of the verb, with prefix p-, cannot
be used with a subject, but can take objects. The resulting clause is nominal
in nature and can be used where noun phrases are used.
They can occur as the subject of a clause:
142 Chapter 7

7.145 Pwala kaŧëmp paanwo nin uko

p- wala ka- ŧëmp pa- an- wo nin u- ko
INF come_down C3S circumcision C4S NEG be NEG C2S thing
uloŋ
u- loŋ
C2S INDEF
“To be circumcised is nothing”
They also occur as a complement, most commonly when the subject of the
verb is the subject of the sentential complement.
7.146 dŋal pnug kamişa kahalu
d- ŋal p- nug ka- mişa ka- halu
1S like INF buy C3S shirt C3S new
“I want to buy a new shirt”
They can be modified by adverbs which don’t normally modify nouns
7.147 dŋal pjuk iyeeh yi nan yi
d- ŋal p- juk i- yeeh y- i nan y- i
1S like INF learn C3P song C3P GEN 2P.POSS C3P GEN
bnuura
bnuura
well
“I want to learn your songs well”
They can also be possessed:
7.148 Mënţ pbi pi nul paţijuŋ uko
mënţ p- bi p- i nul pa- ţij -uŋ u- ko
not INF come C4S GEN C1S.POSS C4S bring SEL C2S thing
mënţ
mënţ
that
“It was not his coming that caused this thing”
7.149 phaj pi naan
p- haj p- i naan
INF suffer C4S GEN 1S.POSS
“my sufferings”
They can also be used with certain action verbs to indicate a purpose.
7.150 dya pnug ulibra uhalu
d- ya p- nug u- libra u- halu
1S go INF buy C2S book C2S new
“I'm going (in order to) buy a new book”
 Simple Syntax 143

7.5 Locative phrases

A locative phrase is a phrase headed by one of the locative particles ţi, ţuŋ,
di, duŋ, followed by a noun phrase.
7.151 ţi pŧoof pi meel
ţ- i p- ŧoof p- i meel
INT LOC.PROX C4S half C4S GEN water
“in the middle of the water”
7.152 ţi dko dloolan
ţ- i d- ko d- loolan
INT LOC.PROX C9S place C9S one
“in one place”
7.153 du uŧaak wi baka
d- u u- ŧaak w- i baka
EXT LOC.DIST C2S country C2S GEN C2P.OBJ
“in their country”
The noun phrase may contain one of four modifying locative nouns (meeţ
“inside”, bdig “outside”, uţeeh “under”, duuţ “on, on top”). These words do
not agree with the noun as an adjective does, and appear at the end of the
noun phrase. This is could be analysed as the nouns being in an inalienable
relation (see section 7.3.4.2)
7.154 ţi upuur meeţ
ţ- i u- puur meeţ
INT LOC.PROX C2S boat inside
“inside the boat”
7.155 ţi bko bloŋ uţeeh
ţ- i b- ko b- loŋ uţeeh
INT LOC.PROX C7S object C7S INDEF under
“under a tree”
7.156 du uleef bdig
d- u u- leef bdig
EXT LOC.DIST C2S body outside
“outside the body”
7.157 du pnkuŋ duuţ
d- u p- nkuŋ duuţ
EXT LOC.DIST C4S hill on
“on top of the hill”
144 Chapter 7

7.158 ţi mboş mi pndiiş duuţ

ţ- i mboş m- i p- ndiiş duuţ
INT LOC.PROX earth C8 GEN C4S desert on
“on the surface of the desert floor”
There are also 5 locative nouns – kabaŋ “side”, kadun “front”, kafeţ “back”,
kadeenu “right” and kamayu “left”, which can appear as the head of the noun
phrase embedded in the locative phrase. They are all in noun class 3 with
the ka- prefix, possibly because the last four nouns developed from
adjectives modifying the noun kabaŋ “side”.
7.159 ţi kadun
ţ- i ka- dun
INT LOC.PROX C3S front
“in front”
7.160 ţi kadeenu
ţ- i ka- deenu
INT LOC.PROX C3S right
“on the right”
7.161 ţi kadun ki katoh ki
ţ- i ka- dun k- i ka- toh k- i
INT LOC.PROX C3S front C3S GEN C3S house C3S GEN
naşih
na- şih
C1S chief
“in front of the chief's house”
7.162 ţi kafeţ ki bţeem
ţ- i ka- feţ k- i b- ţeem
INT LOC.PROX C3S behind C3S GEN C5S pirogue
“behind the boat”
7.163 ţi kadeenu ki baka
ţ- i ka- deenu k- i baka
INT LOC.PROX C3S right C3S GEN C2P.OBJ
“on their right”
7.164 ţi kamayu ki aşin
ţ- i ka- mayu k- i a- şin
INT LOC.PROX C3S left C3S GEN C1AS father
“on the left of the father”
Unlike the 3S possessive pronoun shown in example 7.163 above the 1S
possessive pronoun is used with the inalienable form of genitive
construction. Other possessives can be expressed either way.
 Simple Syntax 145

7.165 ţi kadun naan

ţ- i ka- dun naan
INT LOC.PROX C3S front 1S.POSS
“in front of me”
At least deenu and mayu can be used as adjectival roots in non locational
phrases.
7.166 pkëş pi nu pdeenu
p- këş p- i nu p- deenu
C4S eye C4S GEN 2S.POSS C4S right
“your right eye”
Locatives can be either verbal complements, or adjuncts. This difference can
be seen when the locative is fronted; the verb must use the selectional suffix
when the locative is a complement, but can be unchanged when it is an
adjunct (example 7.169).
7.167 awin pliik ploŋ du uţeeh
a- win p- liik p- loŋ d- u u- ţeeh
C1S see C6S well C4S INDEF EXT LOC.DIST C2S field
“He saw a well in the field”
7.168 Du ukalabuş mënţ di di
d- u u- kalabuş mënţ d- i d- i
EXT LOC.DIST C2S prison that C9S DEM.PROX EXT GEN
Yoŧef awooŋ
Yoŧef a- wo -oŋ
Joseph C1S be SEL
“It was in the prison where Joseph was”
7.169 du uţeeh awin pliik ploŋ
d- u u- ţeeh a- win p- liik p- loŋ
EXT LOC.DIST C2S field C1S see C6S well C4S INDEF
“In the field, he saw a well”
7.170 abëkan napoţ ţi bko bloŋ
a- bëkan na- poţ ţ- i b- ko b- loŋ
C1S put_down C1S child INT LOC.PROX C7S tree C7S INDEF
uţeeh
uţeeh
under
“She put him down under the tree”
7.171 bapën du Ziguinchor
ba- pën d- u Ziguinchor
C1P go_out EXT LOC.DIST Ziguinchor
“They left Ziguinchor”
146 Chapter 7

Sometimes with verbs of motion the locative is dropped, the location

becomes a simple noun phrase. Both the following examples are equivalent.
7.172 aban du ubeeka
a- ban d- u u- beeka
C1S arrive EXT LOC.DIST C2S town
“He arrived at the town”
7.173 aban ubeeka
a- ban u- beeka
C1S arrive C2S town
‎“He arrived at the town”
Locative particles are neutral with respect to directionality. For example the
following sentences uses the locative particle ţi where English requires
“from” or “out of”.
7.174 ţenaan meel mntiinku
ţen -aan meel m- ntiinku
give_(as_present) 1S.OBJ water C8 in_small_amount
ţi pdunku
ţ- i p- dunk -u
INT LOC.PROX C4S pot 2S.POSS
“Give me a little water from your pot”
Directionality is only expressed in some verbs, like ya “go”and bi “come”,
where the direction is in relation to the speaker or by adding the derivative
benefactive morpheme -ar to a neutral verb like poş “walk”.
7.175 aya du katoh
a- ya d- u ka- toh
C1S go EXT LOC.DIST C3S house
“He's going to the house” / “He's going from the house”
7.176 abi du katoh
a- bi d- u ka- toh
C1S come EXT LOC.DIST C3S house
“He's coming to the house” / “He's coming from the house”
7.177 apoşar du katoh
a- poş -ar d- u ka- toh
C1S walk BEN EXT LOC.DIST C3S house
“He's walking towards the house”
Locative phrases can be also be used to express non-physical locations, e.g.
ţi and ţuŋ are often used to express a location in time.
 Simple Syntax 147

7.178 ţi wal wi
ţ- i w- al w- i
INT LOC.PROX C2S moment C2S DEM.PROX
“at this time”
7.179 ţuŋ ŋnuur mënţan
ţ- uŋ ŋ- nuur mënţan
INT LOC.DIST C2P day that
“in those days”

7.6 Temporal phrases

Temporal phrases have no specific syntactic form, they are simply noun,
locative or prepositional phrases that express time.
A temporal noun phrase can be a simple time noun, or combinations of time
nouns:
7.180 Dko daluŋ kajeeh faan
d- ko da- luŋ k- a- jeeh faan
C9S place C9S FUT IMPERF SER be_bright tomorrow
“The weather will be good tomorrow” (Lit: The place will be bright
tomorrow)
7.181 Takal na uŧejan dyeeh
takal na d- ŧejan d- yeeh
yesterday and C2S night C9S sing
“Last night, I sang”
Or more complex noun phrases:
7.182 Unuur uţëbanţën , banaţa na nfa
u- nuur u- tëb -anţën ba- naţ -a na nfa
C2S day C2S two ORD C1P stand MID and morning
kub
kub
early
“On the second day, they got up early”
They are commonly headless relative clauses, with the implied head noun
being wal “moment, time”.
7.183 Wi bapënuŋ ţi meel
wi ba- pën -uŋ ţ- i meel
when C1P go_out SEL INT LOC.PROX water
“When they came out of the water…”
148 Chapter 7

7.184 Wi ŋnuur ŋloŋ ŋaţëpuŋ

wi ŋ- nuur ŋ- loŋ ŋa- ţëp -uŋ
when C2P day C2P INDEF C2P pass SEL
“After some days had passed…”
7.185 Wi unuur ujinţuŋ
wi u- nuur u- jinţ -uŋ
when C2S day C2S be_clean SEL
“When day broke…”
Temporal phrases are often placed at the beginning or end of a sentence.
However, temporal phrases which are not relative clauses are also found
immediately after the verb, before any object which is an independent
word.
7.186 Bade nţa blant na nji
ba- de nţa b- lant na nji
C1P eat today C5S lunch and 1S.subj
“They're eating lunch with me today”
7.187 Kë Naala ajej unuur mënţ bgah aya Dakar
kë Naala a- jej u- nuur mënţ b- gah a- ya Dakar
DS Nala C1S take C2S day that C5S way SER go Dakar
“So Naala set off that day to go to Dakar”
7.188 Yaan faan na nfa du Dakar
ya -an faan na nfa d- u Dakar
go Imp tomorrow and morning EXT LOC.DIST Dakar
“Go tomorrow morning to Dakar”
In the following example, in order to put the focus on the time of the event,
a relative clause is used to bring the time noun before the verb.
7.189 Uko mënţ faan di di
u- ko mënţ faan d- i d- i
C2S thing that tomorrow C9S DEM.PROX C9S GEN
ukwooŋ
u- k- wo -oŋ
C2S IMPERF be SEL
“This thing will happen tomorrow”
Examples 7.178 and 7.179 in the previous section show locative phrases
that express time.
Certain nouns which denote a part of the day e.g. nfa “morning” and uŧejan
“night”, always appear in a prepositional phrase headed by na “with”.
 Simple Syntax 149

7.190 Na uŧejan mënţ bawul aşin baka

na u- ŧejan mënţ ba- wul a- şin baka
and C2S night that C1P give C1AS father C1P.OBJ
poot
poot
wine
“That same night they gave their father wine”
7.191 Şompi anaţa na nfa kub
Şompi a- naţ -a na nfa kub
Shompi C1S stand MID and morning early
“Shompi got up early in the morning”

7.7 Pronouns
7.7.1 Personal pronouns
In Mankanya personal pronouns indicate the person and number of the
subject, and in the case of non-humans, the class. See sections 3.5 for the
complete paradigm.

7.7.1.1 Independent subject pronouns

Independent subject pronouns are not often used in a neutral phrase to
replace the subject noun or noun phrase. The subject prefix is sufficient to
indicate the person, number and class of the subject. For example:
7.192 Bakob babi
ba- kob ba- bi
C1P drummer C1P come
“The drummers are coming”
7.193 Babi
ba- bi
C1P come
“They are coming”
7.194 Upi ude
u- pi u- de
C2S goat C2S eat
“The goat is eating”
7.195 Ude
u- de
C2S eat
“It eats”
The subject prefix on the verb is still required even when a pronoun is used
as the subject.
150 Chapter 7

Independent subject pronouns are used to express the subject, when the
subject is in marked focus. They can either be used in an independent
vocative phrase:
7.196 Iwi , iyeeh
iwi i- yeeh
2S.SUBJ 2S sing
“You, you sing”
Or in subject position:
7.197 Kë ul aşë yomp yomp
kë ul a- şë yomp yomp
DS 3S.SUBJ C1S SEQ be_quiet be_quiet
“But he remained silent”
They are also used if a pronoun is needed in a coordinated noun phrase:
7.198 Şompi aya afëţ du pnkuŋ ,
Şompi a- ya a- fëţ d- u p- nkuŋ
Shompi C1S go C1S dwell EXT LOC.DIST C4S hill
ul na babukul baaţ batëb
ul na ba- buk -ul b- aaţ ba- tëb
3S.SUBJ and C1P child 3s.POSS C1P female C1P two
“Shompi and his two daughters left to go and live in the hills”
7.199 Ul na baţaşarul baando hilan
ul na ba- ţaşar -ul ba- an- do hilan
3S.SUBJ and C1P follower 3S.POSS C1P NEG INGR be_able
pde
p- de
INF eat
“He and his followers were not even able to eat”
7.200 Nji na napoţ ŋya Ziguinchor
nji na na- poţ ŋ- ya Ziguinchor
1S.SUBJ and C1S child 1P go Ziguinchor
“My child and I are going to Ziguinchor”
The 1st singular subject pronoun is also commonly used in relative clauses
and other situations where the 1st person subject prefix is pre-nasalisation.
7.201 bhoŋar bi nji ndoluŋ
b- hoŋ -ar b- i nji n- dol -uŋ
C5S promise BEN C5S GEN 1S.SUBJ 1S.SEL do SEL
“the promise that I made”
 Simple Syntax 151

7.202 uko wi nji nţupuŋ

u- ko w- i nji n- ţup -uŋ
C2S thing C2S GEN 1S.SUBJ 1S.SEL announce SEL
“the thing that I announced”
7.7.1.2 Object pronouns
Object pronouns follow the verb.
Most of the human object pronouns are suffixes which start with a vowel.
Only the class 1 plural pronoun, which starts with a consonant is an
independent word. All pronouns referring to non-human classes are also
separate words.
7.203 Ŧukma akob Naala
ŧukma a- kob Naala
Thukma C1S hit Nala
“Thukma hits Naala”
7.204 Ŧukma akoba
ŧukma a- kob -a
Thukma C1S hit 3s.OBJ
“Thukma hits her”
7.205 Ŧukma akob bapoţ
ŧukma a- kob ba- poţ
Thukma C1S hit C1P child
“Thukma hits the children”
7.206 Ŧukma akob baka
ŧukma a- kob baka
Thukma C1S hit C2P.OBJ
“Thukma hits them”
7.207 Ŧukma akob upi
ŧukma a- kob u- pi
Thukma C1S hit C2S goat
“Thukma hits the goat”
7.208 Ŧukma akob wa
ŧukma a- kob w- a
Thukma C1S hit C2S OBJ
“Thukma hits it (goat)”
In a ditransitive clause where the pronoun is written as independent word,
the pronoun always follows the verb.
152 Chapter 7

7.209 Ŧukma aţen kamişa Şaja

ŧukma a- ţen ka- mişa Şaja
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) C3S shirt Shaja
“Thukma gives a shirt to Shaja”
7.210 Ŧukma aţena kamişa
ŧukma a- ţen -a ka- mişa
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) OBJ C3S shirt
“Thukma gives her a shirt”
7.211 Ŧukma aţen ka Şaja
ŧukma a- ţen k- a Şaja
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) C3S OBJ Shaja
“Thukma gives it to Shaja”
This is the case even for an indirect object.
7.212 Ŧukma aţen ikaalu upi
ŧukma a- ţen i- kaalu u- pi
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) C3P food C2S goat
“Thukma gives food to the goat”
7.213 Ŧukma aţen wa ikaalu
ŧukma a- ţen w- a i- kaalu
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) C2S OBJ C3P food
“Thukma gives it the food”
When two non-human pronouns are used the direct object directly follows
the verb.
7.214 Ŧukma aţen ya wa
ŧukma a- ţen y- a w- a
Thukma C1S give_(as_present) C3P OBJ C2S OBJ
“Thukma gives it (food) to it (goat)”
Normally the Mankanya avoid using two human pronouns together. The
following example is possible but rare.
7.215 Ŧukma awula a
ŧukma a- wul -a a
Thukma C1S give 3s.OBJ OBJ
“Thukma gives him to her”

7.7.2 Non-personal pronouns

7.7.2.1 Demonstrative pronouns
I have already discussed demonstratives in section 7.3.5.
 Simple Syntax 153

They can also be employed as demonstrative pronouns, replacing a

complete noun phrase, in either object or subject positions.
7.216 dŋal ki
d- ŋal k- i
1S like C3S DEM.PROX
“I want this one”
7.217 ŋi ŋawo ŋnuura
ŋ- i ŋa- wo ŋ- nuur -a
C2P DEM.PROX C2P be C2P be_good CMPL
“These are good”
7.7.2.2 Indefinite pronoun
The indefinite marker, that is CL-loŋ where CL is the class prefix, can also be
used as an indefinite pronoun, in either subject or object positions.
7.218 Baloŋ baanji bahil pnug ya
ba- loŋ ba- an- ji ba- hil p- nug y- a
C1P INDEF C1P NEG HAB C1P be_able INF buy C3P OBJ
“Some people can't buy them”
7.219 ŋloŋ ŋadaan meel
ŋ- loŋ ŋa- daan meel
C2P INDEF C2P drink water
“Some (animals) drank water”
154 Chapter 7
 155

Chapter 8 - Verb System

8.1 Introduction
In this chapter I will first discuss the lexical aspectual classes of verbs in
Mankanya, and then how auxiliary verbs are used to create tense and aspect
distinctions.
As noted previously, the main ways of making tense and aspect distinctions
in Mankanya are analytic, rather than morphological. In particular extensive
use is made of auxiliaries, most of which can be identified as being
grammaticalised versions of lexical verbs. These auxiliaries combine with
main verbs in auxiliary verb constructions (hereafter referred to as AVCs).
Some of the material in this chapter was first treated in Gaved (2014).
As explained in section 8.4.2, this chapter does not discuss lexical verbs
which take a sentential complement (which may be non-finite). They will
dealt with in chapter 9, where I discuss complex clauses. Because of the
nature of grammaticalisation, there are some cases where the distinction
between auxiliary and lexical verb with sentential complement is fuzzy.

8.2 Lexical aspectual classes

Before discussing how morphology and auxiliaries add tense and aspectual
information to a clause, it is necessary to consider the aspectual semantics
of the lexical verb. Various classifications have been proposed, of which the
most widely discussed is that of Vendler (1957), extended by various others,
for example Van Valin (van Valin Jr 2005). Here I will use the framework
used by Botne (1983) based on work by Freed (1979). He proposes that a
verb describes an event that has three possible phases: an optional onset
(O), a nucleus (N), and an optional coda (C). Aspectual classes are then
defined by whether they include initial or final boundaries or both, and
whether phases are punctual or durative.
The most easily identifiable verbs are activities which have a nucleus that
describes something that with a duration, for example yeeh “sing”. An event
156 Chapter 8

of “singing” usually has a point where the singing starts, and some point
where it ends. It could therefore simply be represented by:

N
However, it can also be viewed as having an onset phase (highlighted in
English by “as I start to sing”) and a coda (in English “as I finished
singing”).

O N C
In a simple sentence like dyeeh “I sing”, activity verbs give no indication of
beginning or ending, only the nucleus is profiled.
The duration of the nucleus could be extremely short, for example with
semelfactive activity verbs like kob “hit”. It is rare for these verbs to have
onset and coda phases, unless the context is a zoomed-in view of the time
duration.

N
Such verbs have an iterative reading when used in a progressive form awo ţi
pkob “I am hitting” (see section 8.8.5).
Some events descriptions have a definite end; these are accomplishments in
Vendler’s system. For example whereas niw “build” can be an activity
without a clearly defined end, the event described by aniw katoh “He builds
a house” finishes when the house is built. Another example is ade pmaŋa “he
eats the mango” where the event finishes when the mango is all consumed.
They have a resultant state e.g. the built house.

O N C
There are also semelfactive accomplishments, for example kit “break”:

N
These can be compared with change of state verbs like dëm “become big”,
and bon “become thin” which have no clearly defined end point. There is an
onset phase of starting to become the state, the nucleus is the process of
becoming the state, and then there is the continuing coda of being in the
state.

O N C
A significant indication of these change of state verbs is that they are not
construed as in the past when used with the completive -i suffix (see section
8.5.1).
 Verb System 157

8.1 Baţoon ţi uŧaak wi na nja

ba- ţo -on ţ- i u- ŧaak w- i na nja
C1P sit IMP INT LOC.PROX C2S country C2S GEN and 1P.OBJ
udëmi
u- dëm -i
C2S grow CMPL
“Let them live in this country with us - it is big”
Without the completive suffix (example 8.2) or when used with imperfective
prefix k- (example 8.3), the nucleus (i.e. process of changing state) is
profiled:
8.2 Adëm te kë anin ado
a- dëm te kë a- nin a- do
C1S grow until DS C1AS mother C1S INGR
kayana
kay -an -a
be_dry CAUS C1S.OBJ
‎“He grew until he was weaned”
8.3 Wi akñoguŋ ubeeka
wi a- k- ñog -uŋ u- beeka
when C1S IMPERF be_close SEL C2S town
‎“As he was approaching the town…”
There are also a small number of “true” state verbs, where there is duration,
but no beginning and end.

N
An indicator of these verbs is that when used without the completive suffix
-i, they indicate a current state. For example the verb naţ “stand” in the next
example:
8.4 Aşë win biinţ bawajanţ kë banaţ
a- şë win b- iinţ ba- wajanţ kë ba- naţ
C1S SEQ see C1P man C1P three DS C1P stand
du kadunul
d- u ka- dun -ul
EXT LOC.DIST C3S front 3s.POSS
“Then he saw three men standing in front of him.”
Also when they are used with the imperfective k-, they can only have a
future reading, (not a current reading like activities, or a coming-to-be
reading like change of state verbs).
158 Chapter 8

8.5 In aknaţuŋ
in a- k- naţ -uŋ
who? C1S IMPERF stand SEL
“Who will stand?”
Derivation can change the aspectual class. For example whereas naţ is a
stative verb, naţa (with the middle suffix -a) is an activity verb.

8.6 Anaţa
a- naţ -a
C1S stand MID
“He stood up”

8.3 Auxiliaries and Auxiliary Verb Constructions

There are many different definitions for the term auxiliary. Heine (1993, 3–
26) gives an overview of the different viewpoints which overlap in some
cases. Anderson (2006, 4) gives this definition “an item on the lexical verb –
functional affix continuum, which tends to be at least somewhat
semantically bleached, and grammaticalised to express one or more of a
range of salient verbal categories…” Anderson contends that there probably
cannot be a language independent formal criterion to determine whether a
given element is a lexical verb or an auxiliary verb, so I will adapt his
definition to give the following one specific to Mankanya: “a word that
takes verbal inflection prefixes, whose stem has undergone some semantic
bleaching and which modifies a verb to express tense, aspect or mood, or
similar semantic values”
Anderson’s definition is based on work about the processes of
grammaticalisation e.g. Heine (1993) and Heine and Kuteva (2002).
Grammaticalisation is the combination of linguistic changes whereby over
the course of time lexical items become grammatical items. In the context of
auxiliaries, a common pattern has been found to be that lexical verbal items
often become markers of tense, aspect and mode. Heine refers to this as the
Verb-to-TAM chain, and Anderson, in the definition above, calls it the
lexical verb – functional affix continuum. As lexical verbs move along this
chain, they change semantically, morphosyntactically, morphonologically
and phonetically, though often each aspect changes at a different rate.
Very often an auxiliary verb is only partially responsible for the tense or
aspect distinction brought to a clause, and it must be accompanied by other
morpho-syntactic changes, and the whole is often referred to as an Auxilary
Verb Construction (AVC). This is illustrated in English by the progressive
construction, be -ing, where only the combination of the auxiliary verb be
with the verbal morpheme -ing that gives the progressive meaning. Using
one without the other results in an ungrammatical clause.
 Verb System 159

8.4 Preliminary Information

The table below summarises the main auxiliary verb structures found. Most
auxiliaries occur before the lexical verb they modify.

Structure Example Gloss

AGR-AUX ASP-SER-STEM a-luŋ k-a-niw katoh He will build a house
AGR-AUX STEM a-bi niw katoh He built a house
AGR-AUX AGR-STEM ba-ji ba-nug uţëb They always buy fish
AGR-AUX LOC PFX-STEM ba-wo ţi u-lemp They are working
AGR-AUX AGR-GEN INF-STEM ba-wo bik-i p-lemp They should work
AGR-AUX AGR-GEN ASP-SER-STEM ba-wo bik-i k-a-lemp They must work

Table 8.1: Auxiliary verb constructions

AGR Agreement prefix
ASP Aspectual prefix
AUX Auxiliary
GEN Genitive particle
LOC Locative*
PFX Nominal prefix
SER Serial prefix
STEM Verbal stem

*The only locative used in auxiliary constructions is ţi - the internal

proximal locative.
In the examples in this chapter, the auxiliary verb will be glossed with the
sense of the overall construction. In some cases one form (e.g. bi) maybe
glossed in different ways in different structures.

8.4.1 Analysis of k- a- prefixes

A number of different auxiliary constructions use the first structure in
Table 8.1 above - for example the future with luŋ (for more detail see
section 8.7.1).
8.7 Aluŋ kaniw katoh
a- luŋ k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
“He will build the house”
The lexical verb in this structure has the form kaniw. This is the stem niw
“build” plus some prefixes. These prefixes are invariable. I have analysed
these as k- “imperfective” and a- “serial”, but an alternative might seem to
160 Chapter 8

be the nominal class 3 singular prefix ka-, or the habitual first person
singular prefix ka-. In the next few paragraphs I discuss why I prefer the
first analysis.
Though the nominal prefix ka- can be used to create verbal nouns (see
section 5.1), it is only used with certain stems. For example, lemp “work”
does not form a verbal noun with ka- but with the class 2 prefix u-, i.e.
ulemp.
8.8 ulemp wi iñen yi naan
u- lemp w- i i- ñen y- i naan
C2S work C2S GEN C3P hand C3P GEN 1S.GEN
“The work of my hands”
However, when it is used in the future construction with luŋ it still takes k-
and a-.
8.9 Aluŋ kalemp faan
a- luŋ k- a- lemp faan
C1S FUT IMPERF SER work tomorrow
“He will work tomorrow”
The imperfective k- indicates an action that has not yet finished. For
example:
8.10 Alaalan umeeşa wi akbomanuŋ
a- laalan u- meeşa w- i a- k- boman -uŋ
C1S feel C2S table C2S GEN C1S IMPERF make SEL
“She is touching the table that she is making”
So it is not unexpected to find an imperfective prefix used with the future as
a future act is clearly not yet finished.
Further, when luŋ is used with woli “if”, the k- is dropped, though the future
sense remains. It would seem that irrealis nature of woli makes the
imperfective k- unneccessary.
8.11 … woli naluŋ aya ŋrisiya ţi dmaas
woli na- luŋ a- ya ŋrisiya ţ- i dmaas
if 2P FUT SER go church INT LOC.PROX Sunday
ŋya na baka
ŋ- ya na baka
1P go and C1P.OBJ
“… if you go to church this Sunday, we will go with you”
This indicates that either there are two prefixes k- and a- or that ka- has
been replaced by a-. If ka- were the class 3 singular nominal prefix then a-
would also be expected to be a nominal prefix, the singular prefix of class 1.
 Verb System 161

This seems unlikely as that prefix is only used elsewhere on a very small
group of kinship terms, e.g. aşin “father”.
It seems equally unlikely that this is the same as habitual first person
singular prefix ka-, which in all other case is only found with first person
singular subjects.

8.4.2 Verbs with infinitive complements

Verbs like ŋal “want”, or numa “need”, which take infinitival clauses as
complements as an alternative to a nominal complement, are sometimes
referred to as auxiliaries, but I will not be treating them as such in this
section. Though semantically they could be said to indicate modality, there
is no difference in their meaning when used with a nominal complement or
an infinite verbal complement. There is no semantic bleaching, and
therefore do not fit the definition of auxiliary given in section 8.1.
8.12 Dŋal pjuk iyeeh yi nan
d- ŋal p- juk i- yeeh y- i nan
1S like INF learn C3P song C3P GEN 2P.POSS
“I want to learn your songs”
8.13 Nanuma pde
na- numa p- de
2P need INF eat
“You need to eat”

8.5 Completive and Imperfective

The two main aspects that are morphologically marked in Mankanya are the
completive and imperfective. Note that it is completive aspect that is
marked, not perfective. Perfective aspect sees the event as a complete
whole, regardless of whether the event has finished or not, whereas the
aspect that is marked in Mankanya cannot be used with an unfinished
event. As described in section 4.2.8 the imperfective aspect is marked in
some contexts with the k- prefix, and completive aspect is marked in some
contexts with the -i suffix. The two affixes cannot co-occur, but their
distribution is not complementary.

8.5.1 Completive
The completive aspect in Mankanya describe the current state of an event
where the end of the nucleus (if one exists) is in the past, relative to the
speaker’s viewpoint. It cannot be used with future events.
In a simple declarative sentence it is marked with the -i suffix.
162 Chapter 8

With change of state verbs, the completive aspect expresses the actual state.
Depending on the context this may be either present or past and this is
reflected in the free translations of the examples below.
8.14 Naşih adeebaţi
na- şih a- deebaţ -i
C1S chief C1S be_angry CMPL
‎“The chief was/is angry”
8.15 Wal wi Paapa akkeţuŋ
w- al w- i paapa a- k- keţ -uŋ
C2S moment C2S GEN daddy C1S IMPERF die SEL
uñogi
u- ñog -i
C2S be_close CMPL
“The time when father was going to die was/is near”
8.16 Ado wa kë uyimani
a- do w- a kë u- yiman -i
C1S do C2S OBJ DS C2S respect CMPL
“He made it sacred”
8.17 Napoţ aankeţi
na- poţ a- an- keţ -i
C1S child C1S NEG die CMPL
“The child is/was not dead”
8.18 Baji na Naala kë Şompi abukul
ba- ji na Naala kë Şompi a- buk -ul
C1P say and Nala DS Shompi C1AS child 3s.POSS
abani
a- ban -i
C1S arrive CMPL
“They told Nala that Shompi her son had arrived”
This can be diagrammed like this, where TT is the Topic Time and the grey
box indicates the part of the event that is profiled by the -i suffix.

O N C

TT
Diagram 8:1: Timeline of completive with change of state verbs
 Verb System 163

The sense is similar with purely stative verbs:

8.19 Tenan baţi , ifën ŋjah woli
ten -an ba- ţi i- fën ŋ- jah woli
look_at IMP C5S sky 2S count C2P star if
ihinani
i- hinan -i
C3P be_able_to CMPL
“Look at the sky, count the stars if you are able”
8.20 Woli Ajugun aŋali , ŋluŋ
woli a- jug -un a- ŋal -i ŋ- luŋ
if C1AS owner 1P.POSS C1S like CMPL 1P FUT
kawo bajeb
ka- wo ba- jeb
C3S be C1P healthy
“If our Lord is willing, we will be healed”
8.21 Şompi kë aşë mëbana ţi
Şompi kë a- şë mëb -an -a ţ- i
Shompi DS C1S SEQ carry CAUS C1S.OBJ INT LOC.PROX
kañen anaţana kë anaţi
ka- ñen a- naţ -an -a kë a- naţ -i
C3S hand SER stand CAUS C1S.OBJ DS SER stand CMPL
“He took her in his hand, made her stand up and she stood”
For purely stative verbs, it seems that the completive is used to highlight the
state.
N

TT
Diagram 8:2: Timeline of completive with pure state verbs

When used to describe activities or accomplishments, the event is

interpreted as in the past.
8.22 Wi adoluŋ kë bamuuri aduka
wi a- dol -uŋ kë ba- muur -i a- duk -a
when C1S do SEL DS C1P cross CMPL C1S leave MID
aloolan
a- loolan
C1S one
“When he had made them cross, he was left alone”
164 Chapter 8

O N C

TT
Diagram 8:3: Timeline of completive with activity and
accomplishment verbs
The event described can be a negative activity as in example 8.23. Here the
negative activity is explicitly temporally bound by the first half of the
sentence.
8.23 Aţo da ŋnuur ŋwajanţ aandee
a- ţo d- a ŋ- nuur ŋ- wajanţ a- an- de -e
C1S sit C9S OBJ C2P day C2P three C1S NEG eat CMPL
aandaani
a- an- daan -i
C1S NEG drink CMPL
“He stayed there three days, not eating, not drinking”
The completive -i makes the verb syntactically intransitive.
8.24 Awula poot kë adaani
a- wul -a poot kë a- daan -i
C1S give C1S.OBJ wine DS C1S drink CMPL
“She gave him wine and he drank”
8.25 * Awula poot kë adaani pa
a- wul -a poot kë a- daan -i p- a
C1S give C1S.OBJ wine DS C1S drink CMPL C4S OBJ
“She gave him wine and he drank it”
8.26 * Awula poot kë awaapi pa Dama
a- wul -a poot kë a- waap -i p- a Dama
C1S give C1S.OBJ wine DS C1S sell CMPL C4S OBJ Dama
“She gave him wine and he sold it to Dama”
This de-transitivisation highlights the action, rather than the object, and
converts accomplishment verbs into activities. In example 8.27 and 8.28
what is important is the eating and drinking, not what was eaten or drunk.
8.27 Ayişa kë adee abot
a- yiş -a kë a- de -e abot
C1S serve_out_(food) C1S.OBJ DS C1S eat CMPL and
awula poot kë adaani
a- wul -a poot kë a- daan -i
C1S give C1S.OBJ wine DS C1S drink CMPL
“She served him and he ate, gave him wine and he drank”
 Verb System 165

8.28 Wi wi ayaaŋ aliik

w- i w- i a- ya -aŋ a- liik
C2S DEM.PROX C2S GEN C1S go SEL SER draw_water
ubuuli aŧuman awul napoţ kë adaani
u- buuli a- ŧuman a- wul na- poţ kë a- daan -i
C2S gourd SER fill SER give C1S child DS C1S drink CMPL
“Going to the well, she drew water in a gourd, filled it and gave it to the
child, and he drank”
8.29 Babuki o baambuki ,
ba- buk -i o ba- am- buk -i
C1P produce CMPL or C1P NEG produce CMPL
bawayşëri , baamba ba bniim
ba- wayşër -i ba- am- ba ba b- niim
C5S disperse CMPL C5S NEG finish finish C5S marriage
“With children or without children, separated, their marriage is not
finished”
In relative and other clauses that are marked with -uŋ it is not possible to
use the completive -i.
8.30 Wi abanuŋ du Ŧugtor
wi a- ban -uŋ d- u Ŧugtor
when C1S touch SEL EXT LOC.DIST Ziguinchor
“When she arrived at Ziguinchor”
8.31 Baţupa uko bŧi wi badoluŋ
ba- ţup -a u- ko bŧi w- i ba- dol -uŋ
C1P speak C1S.OBJ C2S thing all C2S GEN C1P do SEL
na wi bajukanuŋ
na w- i ba- juk -an -uŋ
and C2S GEN C1P learn CAUS SEL
“They told him all the things that they had done and taught”
8.32 plaak pandëmuŋ maakan
p- laak pa- n- dëm -uŋ maakan
C6S stone C6S COREF grow SEL very
“A stone that was very large”
8.33 Dwin nalët ambomanuŋ blaañ
d- win na- lët a- m- boman -uŋ b- laañ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF make SEL C6S wrap
“I saw the tailor who made the dress”
In these cases the detransitisation that is found with -i suffix does not occur.
166 Chapter 8

8.5.2 Imperfective
Imperfective is not usually marked in a simple affirmative declarative
sentence. As noted in section 4.2.8.1 it is marked with k- in a variety of
other situations.
It is found in relative and other clauses that are marked with -uŋ. Compare
example 8.34 with example 8.33 above .
8.34 Dwin nalët ankmbomanuŋ
d- win na- lët a- n- k- m- boman -uŋ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF IMPERF COREF make SEL
blaañ
b- laañ
C6S wrap
“I saw the tailor who is making the dress”
Without any other auxiliaries the imperfective profiles the nuclear phase of
an event. As it does not reference the end of the event there is no difference
of interpretation between activity and accomplishment verbs.

O N C

TT
Diagram 8:4: Timeline of imperfective with activity and accomplishment verbs

Compare also the following two temporal clauses with the change of state
verb ñog “become near”:
8.35 Wi nakuul añoguŋ
wi na- kuul a- ñog -uŋ
when C1S blind C1S be_close SEL
“When the blind man had come close\When the blind man was near”
8.36 Wi nakuul akñoguŋ
wi na- kuul a- k- ñog -uŋ
when C1S blind C1S IMPERF be_close SEL
“As the blind man was\is approaching”
Whereas the first example profiles the coda, i.e. the current state, the
imperfective k- profiles the nucleus, the changing state.

O N C

TT
Diagram 8:5: Timeline of imperfective with change of state verbs
 Verb System 167

The imperfective is always marked in negatives:

8.37 Dama aankde umaanan
Dama a- an- k- de u- maanan
Dama C1S NEG IMPERF eat C3S rice
“Dama isn't eating the rice”
After a kë that is acting as a complementiser (COMP), the imperfective is
marked if the event after the kë is occurring at the same time as the event
before the kë. So in example 8.38 the walking ikpoş occurred the same time
as the hearing dŧiink.
8.38 Dŧiink kë ikpoş ţi uwoorta
d- ŧiink kë i- k- poş ţ- i u- woorta
1S hear COMP 2S IMPERF walk INT LOC.PROX C2S garden
kë nlënki
kë n- lënk -i
DS 1S.SUB be_afraid CMPL
‎“I heard you walking in the garden and I was afraid”
8.39 aşë win udu kë ukpën
a- şë win u- du kë u- k- pën
SER SEQ see C2S smoke COMP C2S IMPERF go_out
da
d- a
C9S OBJ
‎“and he saw smoke rising there”
8.40 Naşibaţi ayeŋ napoţ kë akdë
na- şibaţi a- yeŋ na- poţ kë a- k- dëm
C1S God C1S guard C1S child DS C1S IMPERF grow
“God was with the boy as he grew up”
Otherwise after a kë, if the verb has object arguments it is unmarked for
aspect.
8.41 Awul wa nalemparul kë ajuŋ
a- wul w- a na- lemp -ar -ul kë a- juŋ
C1S give C2S OBJ C1S work BEN 3s.POSS DS C1S cook
aŧaran
a- ŧar -an
SER be_fast CAUS
“He gave it to his servant and she cooked it quickly”
8.42 Awin kë mboş manjun pkay
a- win kë m- boş man- jun p- kay
C1S see DS C8 earth C8 begin INF be_dry
“He saw that the land had begun to dry”
168 Chapter 8

If it has no object arguments then it is marked with the completive -i (see

example 8.24 above).

8.6 Functional Overview

Tense
Future AGR-luŋ ASP-SER-STEM aluŋ kaniw katoh He will build
AGR-ya ASP-SER-STEM aya kaniw katoh a house
AGR-bi ASP-SER-STEM abi kaniw katoh
Past AGR-bi STEM abi de He ate
Aspect
Sequential AGR-şë STEM aya Dakar, aşë nug He went to
ŋţëb Dakar, and
then he
bought fish
Habitual AGR-ji AGR2-STEM aji alemp He usually
works
Continuative AGR-jon ASP-SER-STEM ajon kalemp He's still
working
Persistive AGR-hum ASP-SER-STEM ahum kalemp He's still
working
Ingressive AGR-doo STEM adoo de until he eats
Repetitive AGR-kak SER-STEM akak abi He's coming
again
Progressive AGR-wo ţi PFX-STEM awo ţi ulemp He's working
Terminative AGR-STEM1 SER-ba STEM2 ade aba daan He drank
after he ate
Mode
Obligative AGR-wo GEN INF-STEM awo i plemp He must work

Epistemic AGR-wo GEN ASP-SER- awo i kabi He should

STEM work

8.7 Tense
8.7.1 Future
The first tense that I will consider is the future, that is the Topic Time (TT)
is in the future with respect to the Time of Utterance (TU).

TU TT

Diagram 8:6: Timeline of future tense

 Verb System 169

To indicate that something will happen in the future, it is possible to use

three different auxiliaries: luŋ which cannot be used as a lexical verb (see
discussion below), ya which as a lexical verb means “go, move away from
the speaker”, and bi which as a lexical verb has the sense of “come, move
towards the speaker”. Though there might have been differences in the past,
current speakers do not consistently differentiate. In informal speech ya
seems now to predominate, but the translation of the New Testament into
Mankanya (translated over the period 2000-2010) mostly uses luŋ.
8.43 aluŋ kaniw katoh
a- luŋ k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
“He will build the house”
8.44 aya kaniw katoh
a- ya k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
“He will build the house”
8.45 abi kaniw katoh
a- bi k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
“He will build the house”
All three auxiliaries can be used with any verb stem, and there seems to be
no restriction on which verbs they can be used with.
8.46 Naluŋ kame manjoonan
na- luŋ k- a- me ma- njoonan
2P FUT IMPERF SER know C8 truth
“You will know the truth”
8.47 Baluŋ kakeţ jibi ŋlimariya ŋajaaŋ
ba- luŋ k- a- keţ jibi ŋ- limariya ŋa- ja -aŋ
C1P FUT IMPERF SER die like 1P animal C2P HAB SEL
ŋakeţ
ŋa- keţ
C2P die
“They will die like animals”
8.48 Ŋdeey ŋaluŋ kaŧum
ŋ- deey ŋa- luŋ k- a- ŧum
C2P grain C2P FUT IMPERF SER many
“There will be much grain”
Note that in example 8.48 above, the future is profiling the nucleus/coda of
a change of state verb, i.e. indicating that the state will be reached.
170 Chapter 8

An important common feature is that the lexical verb in the construction is

marked with the prefix k- “imperfective”. This is especially important
because using bi without the imperfective marker gives the sense of
something in the past (see section 8.7.2 below). The future is incompatible
with the completive aspect -i.
The auxiliary luŋ no longer exists as an independent lexical verb. It is
further along the grammaticalisation chain from lexical verb to functional
affix than the other future auxiliaries and this is an indication that it is the
oldest of the three future forms. What it might have developed from is not
clear. Possibly it might have originated from a verb terminated with the
subordinating suffix -uŋ. A candidate for this could be la “look for”, which
inherently has a semantic component of incompleteness. There is a similar
notion of futurity in the English expression “looking to do something” as in
“I'm looking to work in the field of linguistics”. la and uŋ could have
combined to form luuŋ which then shortened to luŋ. Evidence in favour of
this possibility is that when used in a situation where the -uŋ suffix would
normally be used, e.g. in a relative clause, luŋ does not take this suffix.
8.49 Unuur wi akluŋ kakeţ
u- nuur w- i a- k- luŋ k- a- keţ
C2S day C2S GEN C1S IMPERF FUT IMPERF SER die
“The day when he will die”
Compare this to another verb that ends with uŋ - juŋ “cook”
8.50 kapoom ki ajuŋuŋ
ka- poom k- i a- juŋ -uŋ
C3S bread C3S GEN C1S cook SEL
“The bread that she had baked”
Another possibility is found in the fact that uŋ also exists as a distal
demonstrative stem, and this may have somehow combined with the same
verb la “look for”. Cross-linguistically, spatial distance is sometimes a
metaphor for temporal distance.
However, neither of these grammaticalisation chains are documented in
Heine and Kuteva (2002).
The second future auxiliary structure that I will look at is that which is
formed by using ya as an auxiliary. The lexical meaning of ya is “go, move
away from the speaker”
8.51 Bantohi baya untabanka
ba- ntohi ba- ya u- ntabanka
C1P elder 3P go C2S village
“The elders are going to the village”
But in the following example it adds the sense of future.
 Verb System 171

8.52 aya kaniw katoh (repeat of example 8.44)

a- ya k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
“‎He will build the house”
Ya can also be used with a verbal complement, a stem with the infinitive p-
prefix, with the sense of going somewhere with the purpose of doing
something.
8.53 Şompi aya pyit aşin
Şompi a- ya p- yit a- şin
Shompi C1S go INF meet C1S father
“Shompi is going to meet his father”
This construction still has the sense of motion, but the event of meeting is in
the future. Constructions like this probably influenced the development of
ya as an auxiliary with the k- a- prefixes on the lexical verb.
The grammaticalisation of verbs meaning “go” into future auxiliaries is
attested in many languages. Here are a couple of examples:
8.54 Zulu (Heine and Kuteva 2002, 163)
a baya eGoli
ba- ya e- Goli
3:PL- go LOC- Johannesburg
“They are going to Johannesburg”
b bayakufika
ba- ya- ku- fika
3:PL- go INF arrive
“They will arrive”
8.55 Igbo (Heine and Kuteva 2002, 164)
a ó gà àbyá
he go come:NOMIN
“He's going to come”
The third way of indicating future is with the verb bi as an auxiliary.
8.56 Abi kaniw katoh (Repeat of example 8.45)
a- bi k- a- niw ka- toh
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build C3S house
‎“He will build the house”
As seen in section 8.7.2, this verb has a lexical meaning of “come, motion
towards”.
172 Chapter 8

The grammaticalisation chain of a verb with the sense of “come” into a

future tense marker is, like go, not unusual. Here are some further examples
from Heine and Kuteva:
8.57 Bambara (Heine and Kuteva 2002, 76)
a ù tɛ nà
3:PL NEG:AUX come
“They didn't come”
b à ná sà
3:SG FUT die
“He will die” (=everyone has to die someday)
8.58 Zulu (Heine and Kuteva 2002, 77)
a ngiyeza
ngi- ye- za
1:SG- ?- come
“I'm coming”
b uzakufika
u- za- ku- fika
2:SG- come INF arrive
“He'll arrive”4
Whereas Zulu uses both come and go to differentiate between near and
distant future, the Mankanya speakers I have asked do not seem to be able
to make a similar distinction between the three different auxiliaries used to
form the future in their language. Some mention the motion component in
ya and bi. Others have the intuition that ya and bi refer to nearer future
than luŋ. However, there seems to be no consistent distinction.
It would seem fairly unusual for bi to have grammaticalised both as a future
auxiliary and as a past auxiliary. The fact that bi as a past auxiliary seems to
have developed along the chain (where bi is modifying the lexical verb
de “eat”) abi ade > (abii de ?) > abi de might indicate that the process of
changing to the past marker has been going on for some time. This would in
turn suggest that bi as a future marker is a more recent innovation. Further
research is needed, including a comparison with related and neighbouring
languages, to be more certain.
When used in the negative, all the future structures have the negative prefix
on the auxiliary. Compare this to the negative version of the PAST use of bi
in example 8.74.

4 This is the translation given in Heine and Kuteva, though if the gloss is
correct it should be “You'll arrive”.
 Verb System 173

8.59 pşih pi nul paankluŋ

p- şih p- i nul pa- an- k- luŋ
C6S kingdom/throne C6S GEN C1S.POSS C6S NEG IMPERF FUT
kaba
k- a- ba
IMPERF SER finish
“His kingdom will not end”
8.60 baankya kaŧoka da
ba- an- k- ya k- a- ŧok -a d- a
C5S NEG IMPERF FUT IMPERF SER break MID C9S 3.OBJ
“They will not be ruined there”
8.61 aankbi kaţënk baka
a- an- k- bi k- a- ţënk baka
C1S NEG IMPERF FUT IMPERF SER help C1P.OBJ
“He is not going to help them”
When these structures are used in a situation that requires the -uŋ
selectional suffix (SEL) (allomorph -iŋ in the example below), it is the
auxiliary ya or bi that takes the suffix (as noted above luŋ does not take this
suffix) and requires a k- prefix, but the lexical verb still takes the k- and a-
prefixes. For example:
8.62 Baţi uko wi bañaaŋ
ba- ţi u- ko w- i ba- ñaaŋ
C1P be_afraid_of C2S thing C2S GEN C1P person
bakbiiŋ kado
ba- k- bi -iŋ k- a- do
C1P IMPERF FUT SEL IMPERF SER do
“They were afraid of what the people would do”

8.7.2 Past
The verb bi “come” can be used as an auxiliary to indicate PAST tense, i.e.
the Topic Time (TT) is in the past with respect to the Time of Utterance
(TU).
TT TU
Diagram 8:7: Timeline of past tense
8.63 Abi niw katoh
a- bi niw ka- toh
C1S PST build C3S house
“He built the house”
174 Chapter 8

8.64 Ñiinţ abi ya du uŧaak

ñ- iinţ a- bi ya d- u u- ŧaak
C1S man C1S PST go EXT LOC.DIST C2S country
unlowuŋ
u- n- low -uŋ
C2S COREF be_apart SEL
“The man went to a far country (lit: a country that was far)”
8.65 Ibi bi pŧokun i
i- bi bi p- ŧok -un i
2S PST come INF break 1P.OBJ QUEST
“Did you come to destroy us?”
The lexical verb in this structure is just a bare stem, without prefixes, and
this is invariable.
When used with a purely stative verb like ţaf “be old” and naţ “be standing”
it describes the state in the past.
8.66 Şompi abi ţaf
Şompi a- bi ţaf
Shompi C1S PST grow_old
“Shompi was old.”
Compare this with the completive affix -i (see 8.5.1 above) which profiles
the current state of a stative verb.
8.67 Dţafi
d- ţaf -i
1S grow_old CMPL
“I am old.”
Similarly with change of state verbs like noor “become tired”
8.68 Pntaali pi nu pabi noor
p- ntaali p- i nu pa- bi noor
C4S lineage C4S GEN 2S.POSS C4S PST get_tired
“Your descendants are weary.”
8.69 Baţeŋan babi ŧum
ba- ţeŋan ba- bi ŧum
C1P priest C1P PST be_numerous
“There were many priests.”
The verb which is being used as an auxiliary in this structure has a lexical
meaning of “come, motion towards”. It is clear that in example 8.64 it
cannot have that meaning as it would be incompatible with the meaning of
the main verb “go, motion away”.
 Verb System 175

8.70 Babuk naan babi Dakar

ba- buk naan ba- bi Dakar
C1P child 1S.GEN C1P come Dakar
“My children are coming to Dakar”
The verb bi can be followed by an infinite verb, with the meaning of coming
in order to do something.
8.71 Abi pyit na iwi
a- bi p- yit na iwi
C1S come INF meet and 2S
“He's coming to meet you”
In example 8.72, bi as a lexical verb is the beginning of a serial structure,
and the following lexical verb is prefixed with a-, the serial prefix, which is
indicating a separate action (see section 9.2 for more detail on serial
structures).
8.72 Uñiiŋ na umaalu ŋabi anaţ
u- ñiiŋ na u- maalu ŋa- bi a- naţ
C2S hyena and C2S hare C2P come SER stand
ţi pŧoof
ţ- i p- ŧoof
INT LOC.PROX C4S half
“Hyena and Hare came and stood in the middle.”
When bi is used as an auxiliary in a structure where the selective marker -uŋ
is needed, as in example 8.73, the stem is now also prefixed by the serial
marker a-. This would seem to indicate that the auxiliary structure has
developed from the serial structure and that the serial a- has been elided
after the i of bi.
8.73 pliik pi balempar naşih babiiŋ
p- liik p- i ba- lempar na- şih ba- bi -iŋ
C6S well C4S GEN C1P servant C1S chief C1P PST SEL
aŧeha
a- ŧeh -a
SER seize MID
“the wells that the servants of the chief had seized”
In the negative, the negative prefix is applied to the auxiliary bi.
8.74 Naala aambi buk
Naala a- am- bi buk
Nala C1S NEG PST produce
“Nala hadn't borne any children”
The grammaticalisation chain of a verb meaning “come” to a past tense
marker is not uncommon. It occurs in French:
176 Chapter 8

8.75 Je viens de manger

1S.SUB come.PRES from to_eat
“I just ate”
and in other languages e.g. Yoruba (Heine and Kuteva 2002, 73)
8.76 O ti lɔ
HE come:out go
“He has gone”

8.7.3 Sequential
When one event follows on from another, the verb şë is used. I have labelled
this as sequential, glossed as SEQ. This could be viewed as relative time
tense, i.e. the event marked by it takes place after, or simultaneously, with
the event described by the previous verb. The amount of time between the
two events is not significant. This could be diagrammed like this, where the
first event occurs at Topic Time 1 (TT1), and the second event at Topic
Time 2 (TT2). The Time of Utterance is not significant.

TT1 TT2

Diagram 8:8: Timeline of sequential tense

8.77 Baya Dakar aşë nug ŋţëb

ba- ya Dakar a- şë nug ŋ- ţëb
C1P go Dakar SER SEQ buy C2P fish
“They went to Dakar, and then bought some fish”
8.78 Dpoş aşë yeeh
d- poş a- şë yeeh
1S walk SER SEQ sing
“I sing as I walk”
In some contexts the time component is completely missing and the
meaning is simply “and also”.
8.79 Naweek awo Dama aşë wo
na- week a- wo Dama a- şë wo
C1S elder_sibling C1S be Dama SER SEQ be
aannuura ţi bten
a- an- nuura ţ- i b- ten
SER NEG be_good INT LOC.PROX C5S looks
“The eldest was Dama, but she wasn't pretty to look at”
It is not always used with a serial prefix, as shown by example 8.80:
 Verb System 177

8.80 Kë baaţ batëb bukuŋ başë wo na

kë b- aaţ ba- tëb buk- uŋ ba- şë wo na
DS C1P woman C1P two C1P DEM.DIST C1P SEQ be and
mben ţi feţ
m- ben ţ- i feţ
C6P swelling INT LOC.PROX back
“But these two women had humps on their backs”
There is no lexical meaning for this verb.
When used in a construction that requires the -uŋ marker, the final word
form is şaaŋ. This seems to imply that the original form was şa.
Phonological degradation is a typical part of the process of
grammaticalisation.
8.81 Wal wi Dama aşaaŋ atenën
w- al w- i Dama a- şa -aŋ a- ten -ën
C2S moment C2S GEN Dama C1S SEQ SEL C1S look_at 1S.OBJ
“Then, at that moment, Dama looked at me”

8.8 Aspectual constructions

8.8.1 Habitual
The auxiliary ji is used to denote a habitual aspect - defined by Comrie
(1976, 27) as “describing a situation which is characteristic of an extended
period of time” It will be glossed as HAB.
8.82 Aji lemp di Dakar
a- ji lemp d- i Dakar
C1S HAB work EXT LOC.PROX Dakar
“He works (all the time) in Dakar”
The event is not necessarily of long duration, however over the period of
the topic time (which may be an undefined extended duration) the event
will always happen (often multiple times).
8.83 Baji bawul naşih kafah kañeenanţën
ba- ji ba- wul na- şih ka- fah ka- ñeen -anţën
C1P HAB C1P give C1S chief C3S part C3S five ORD
ţi iko yi bakituŋ
ţ- i i- ko y- i ba- kit -uŋ
INT LOC.PROX C3P thing C3P GEN C1P harvest SEL
“They give the king a fifth of what they harvest”
178 Chapter 8

8.84 Bañaaŋ banwooŋ na uşal unŧuŋa

ba- ñaaŋ ba- n- wo -oŋ na u- şal u- nŧuŋa
C1P person C1P COREF be SEL with C2S mind C2S wise
baji bakeţ
ba- ji ba- keţ
C1P HAB C1PC1P die
“Wise men always die”
8.85 Nanoh naniim aji lilan woli
na- noh na- niim a- ji lilan woli
C1S friend C1S bridegroom C1S HAB be_happy if
aŧiink pdiim pi naniim
a- ŧiink p- diim p- i na- niim
C1S hear C4S voice C4S GEN C1S bridegroom
“The friend of the bridegroom is happy when he hears the bridegroom's
voice”
The habitual construction uses the verb ji, which when used lexically means
“to say”.
8.86 Woli pde baji “ Pde pi
woli p- de ba- ji p- de p- i
WHEN; IF C6S meal C1P say C6S meal C6S GEN
bayaanţ pi pi ”
ba- yaanţ p- i p- i
C1P stranger C6S DEM.PROX C6S DEM.PROX
“When they brought the meal they said 'This is the strangers' meal' ”
It can also be used as a quotative marker with other speech verbs.
8.87 Kë bangooli başë ŧeema aji
kë ba- ngooli ba- şë ŧeem -a a- ji
DS C1P soldier C1P SEQ reply C1S.OBJ SER say
nayaanţ aloŋ ankuŋiiŋ pdunk
na- yaanţ a- loŋ a- n- kuŋ -i -iŋ p- dunk
2P stranger C1S INDEF C1S COREF be_burdened MID SEL C4S pot
akbiiŋ yeeh
a- k- bi -iŋ yeeh
SER IMPERF come SEL sing
“The soldiers responded that a stranger carrying a pot was coming along
singing”
This grammaticalisation chain from the verb “to say” to an auxiliary giving
the habitual meaning is not documented in Heine and Kuteva (2002), and
so may be unusual.
A feature of the habitual which is different from all the other AVCs in
Mankanya is that the lexical verb agrees with the subject. In addition the
 Verb System 179

prefixes used are an unusual set. With any non-human subject, and with 1st,
2nd and 3rd plural human subjects, the lexical verb takes the same subject
prefixes as the auxiliary, that is to say the normal verb prefixes. For
example:
8.88 Bniim baji batan na uwit
b- niim ba- ji ba- tan na u- wit
C5S marriage C5S HAB C5S secure and C2S cow
waaţ
w- aaţ
C2S female
“The marriage is normally secured with a cow.”
However, for singular human subjects a different set is used. For 1 st person
singular human subjects the lexical verb takes the prefix ka-. This seems to
be different to the combination of k- “imperfective” and a- “serial” found in
other constructions, in that in those constructions the k- a- is invariable as
regards the person, number and class of the subject. Also apart from the
invariable serial a-, everywhere else a- is associated with 3rd person subjects.
It also unlikely to be the class 3 singular prefix ka-, which would also be
very unusual if attached only to the 1st person singular.
A 2nd person singular human subject takes the prefix k-. For similar reasons
to those stated above this seems to be different from the imperfective k-.
For 3rd person singular subjects the lexical verb takes no prefix.
Using ka- for 1st person singular, and k- for 2nd person singular is also
attested in a different structure. That is in a clause following a clause
introduced by the conditional woli, where the second cause depends on the
condition of the first clause.
8.89 Woli uunwo , kame
woli u- un- wo ka- me
if C2S NEG be 1S.ALT know
“If it is not so, I will know.”
8.90 Woli iinkakana , kkeţ iwi
woli i- in- kak -an -a k- keţ iwi
if 2S NEG return CAUS C1S.OBJ 2S.ALT die 2S.SUBJ
na biki katohu
na bik- i ka- toh -u
and C1P GEN C3S house 2S.POSS
“If you don't return her, you and all your household will die”
I can see no relationship between the habitual and the conditional with woli.
I suggest that these maybe traces of a historical system of prefixes. It is
interesting that Karlik notes that one of the prefix sets in Manjaku also has
180 Chapter 8

ka- and k- (Karlik 1972, 266). This seems to parallel the Mankanya usage
with woli, but not that of the habitual.
In the negative, it is the auxiliary ji that takes the negative prefix. Unlike the
future negative structures, the imperfective prefix k- is not required.
8.91 Unuur ji wuŋ , waanji uţilma
u- nuur ji w- uŋ wa- an- ji u- ţilma
C2S day like C2S DEM.DIST C2S.NEG NEG HAB C2S forget
“A day like that will not be forgotten”
If the habitual auxiliary ji is used with the -uŋ marker, they combine in an
unusual way to form jaaŋ. For example:
8.92 Ajaaŋ ajuŋ
a- ja -aŋ a- juŋ
C1S HAB SEL SER cook
“It is she who does the cooking.”
In no other place in Mankanya do /i/ and /ʊ/ combine to form /aa/. More
usually the -uŋ added to stem ending in i results in a long vowel. For
example with the verb bi to come.
8.93 Naala awo wo ţi ŋwooni wi
Naala a- wo wo ţ- i ŋ- wooni wi
Nala C1S be be INT LOC.PROX C2P tears when
Dama abiiŋ
Dama a- bi -iŋ
Dama C1S come SEL
“Naala was crying when Dama came”
This maybe an indication that the verb was originally ja. This is similar to
the sequential (section 8.7.3) where the phonological change with -uŋ
suggests a different historical form.
The other thing to note in example 8.92 is that now the lexical verb has the
prefix a-. This is similar behaviour to the lexical verb used with the PAST
auxiliary bi in example 8.73.

8.8.2 Continuative
Events that are ongoing at the time of speaking and where the focus is on
the duration are expressed with the auxiliary jon. It can often be translated
into English by “still”. I will refer to it as continuative, to distinguish it
from two other constructions that signify a continuous aspect, the
progressive (section 8.8.5) and the persistive (section 8.8.3). The
progressive describes an event that is ongoing without any other special
focus. The persistive is close in meaning to the continuative, but whereas
the continuative highlights the fact that the duration is longer than
 Verb System 181

expected, the persistive highlights the fact that the end of the event has not
yet come. Following an idea from Botne (1983), these could be considered
as external and internal views of the event.
The continuative can be shown on the time line diagram below, where the
Topic Time (TT) occurs during the Situation Time (SitT), and the Situation
Time is longer than some Reference Situation Time.

TT
Reference SitT SitT

Diagram 8:9: Time of the continuative aspect

8.94 Ajon kalemp

a- jon k- a- lemp
C1S CONT IMPERF SER work
“He's still working”
8.95 Kë baanjon kaka bakiij
kë ba- an- jon k- a- ka ba- kiij
DS C1P NEG cont IMPERF SER have C1P thief
“They still didn't have the thieves”
8.96 Bañaaŋ baŧiinka , ţiki ajon
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧiink -a ţiki a- jon
C1P person C1P hear C1S.OBJ because_(of) C1S CONT
kañoŋarën baka dayaamu di
k- a- ñoŋar -ën baka dayaamu d- i
IMPERF SER be_surprised CAUS C1P.OBJ magic C9S GEN
ajaaŋ ado
a- ja -aŋ a- do
C1S HAB SEL C1S do

“The people listened to him, because he continued to amaze them with the
magic that he did”
It can also have a meaning similar to the habitual but with the focus on the
extended duration.
8.97 Ajon kayit da na banohul
a- jon k- a- yit d- a na ba- noh -ul
C1S cont IMPERF SER meet C9S OBJ and C1P friend 3s.POSS
“He often met there with his friends”
182 Chapter 8

8.98 Aya aneej da , jibi ajonuŋ

a- ya a- neej d- a jibi a- jon -uŋ
C1S go SER enter C9S OBJ like SER cont SEL
kado
k- a- do
IMPERF SER do
“He went there as he always did”
As a lexical verb jon means “stay”, or “to do something for a while”.
8.99 Ajon pşih ţiki aya pa
a- jon p- şih ţiki a- ya p- a
C1S last C6S kingdom/throne because_(of) SER go C6S OBJ
nampoţi
na- mpoţi
C1S small
“He lasted a long time on the throne, as he ascended to it as a child”
8.100 Aluŋ kaniw jibi ajonuŋ
a- luŋ k- a- niw jibi a- jon -uŋ
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build like SER last SEL
“He will build as he always does”
8.101 Wi baţooŋ ajon ţi uŧaak
wi ba- ţo -oŋ a- jon ţ- i u- ŧaak
when C1P sit SEL SER last INT LOC.PROX C2S country
“When they had stayed a long time in the town…”

8.102 Baloŋ bañehana aţo da ajon

ba- loŋ ba- ñehan -a a- ţo d- a a- jon
C1P INDEF C1P request C1S.OBJ C1S sit C9S OBJ SER last
kë aandinani
kë a- an- dinan -i
DS C1S NEG agree CMPL
“Some of them asked him to stay with them for a while, but he refused”
This progression from a verb meaning “stay” to continuative auxiliary is
documented by Heine and Kuteva, for example in German:
8.103 (Heine and Kuteva 2002, 255)
Er ist beim Reiten geblieben
He is at riding remain:PARTCP
“He stuck to horseback riding”
 Verb System 183

8.8.3 Persistive
Events that are ongoing at the time of speaking and where the focus is on
the fact that they have not finished are expressed with the auxiliary hum.
This is in contrast to the continuative (see section 8.8.2) with the auxiliary
jon which profiles the duration of an ongoing event. The persistive could be
consider as internal view of the continuity of the event.
The persistive can be shown on the time line diagram below, where the
Topic Time (TT) occurs during the Situation Time (SitT), and the Situation
Time End is in the future relative to the topic time.
TT
SitT SitT End

Diagram 8:10: Timeline of the persistive aspect

With activity verbs the imperfective prefix is required:
8.104 Bahum kaţëlşër
ba- hum ka- ţëlşër
C1P PSTV C3S exchange
‎“They were still discussing.”
8.105 Wi Naala ahumuŋ kaţiini
wi Naala a- hum -uŋ k- a- ţiini
when Nala C1S PSTV SEL IMPERF SER speak
“When Naala was still talking…”
With stative verbs, the prefix is the pre-nasalisation of the first consonant of
the root (resulting in a long nasal if that consonant is a nasal).
8.106 Şompi ahum nnaţ ţi kadun
Şompi a- hum n- naţ ţ- i ka- dun
Shompi C1S PSTV PSTV stand INT LOC.PROX C3S front
ki Naala
k- i Naala
C3S GEN Nala
‎“He was still standing in front of Nala.”
8.107 Ahum nwo ţi bgah
a- hum n- wo ţ- i b- gah
C1S PSTV PSTV be INT LOC.PROX C5S way
“He was still on the road.”
For change of state verbs, the completive suffix -i is required as well as the
nasal prefix.
184 Chapter 8

8.108 Ahum nlowi

a- hum n- low -i
C1S PSTV PSTV be_far CMPL
“He was still far away”
As a lexical verb hum has the similar sense of “to still be”.
8.109 Ahum du dko di
a- hum d- u d- ko d- i
C1S still_be EXT LOC.DIST C9S place C9S GEN
“He was still in that place”
8.110 Ŋhum ţi nfa mpoţi
ŋ- hum ţ- i nfa mpoţi
1P still_be INT LOC.PROX morning small
“We are still in the early morning”
8.111 Paapa ahum najeb i
paapa a- hum na- jeb i
daddy C1S still_be C1S healthy GEN
“Is father still healthy?”

8.8.4 Ingressive
Focus on the beginning of the event is known as ingressive aspect (glossed
INGR), and this is indicated in Mankanya by using the verb do (which
phonologically becomes doo in the example below). It can be followed
either by a bare verbal stem or by a stem prefixed by k- “imperfective” and
a- “serial”.
This can be shown on the time line diagram below where the topic time
(TT) is at the beginning of the Situation Time (SitT).
TT SitT

Diagram 8:11: Timeline of the ingressive aspect

8.112 Aya adoo ban ubeeka

a- ya a- doo ban u- beeka
C go SER INGR arrive C2S town
“He₁ went, until he₁ arrived at the town”
 Verb System 185

8.113 Bañaaŋ baŧum babi añoga kë

ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧum ba- bi a- ñog -a kë
C1P person C1P many C1P come SER be_close C1S.OBJ DS
adoo paya ţi bţeem bloŋ aţo
a- doo paya ţ- i b- ţeem b- loŋ a- ţo
C1S INGR climb INT LOC.PROX C5S pirogue C5S INDEF SER sit
“Many people came and crowded him to the point that he got into a boat
and sat down”
The verb do has the lexical meaning of “to do, to make”.
8.114 Ado uko ji ŋşubal ŋtëb
a- do u- ko ji ŋ- şubal ŋ- tëb
C1S do C2S thing like C2P year C2P two
“He does this thing for two or three years…”
8.115 Ddo bane uniw afoyan katoh
d- do ba- ne u- niw a- foy -an ka- toh
1S do C5S last_year C2S wall SER encircle CAUS C3S house
naan
naan
1S.GEN
“Last year I built a wall around my house.”
Heine and Kuteva (2002) do not document this as a grammaticalisation
chain.
When used with a bare stem, do becomes doo, as in example 8.112. This
seems to indicate that the underlying form is in fact do followed by the stem
prefixed with the a- “serial” prefix, and that there has been an assimilation
of the a- to produce a long o.
8.116 kë bantohi badoo win kë Nabanka Biyagi
kë ba- ntohi ba- doo win kë Nabanka Biyagi
DS C1P elder 3P INGR see DS Nabanka Biyagi
apel baka
a- pel baka
C1S be_more C1P.OBJ
“The elders came to see that Nabanka Biyagi was stronger than them”
This analysis is confirmed when do is used in a relative clause and is
therefore followed by -uŋ (which phonologically becomes -oŋ). The a- prefix
on the stem now reveals itself.
186 Chapter 8

8.117 Tenan , Naala , i nayiţuŋ ,

ten -an Naala i na- yiţ -uŋ
look_at IMP Nala GEN 2P be_related_to SEL
andooŋ awo naţaf awo kak na
a- n- do -oŋ a- wo na- ţaf a- wo kak na
C1S COREF INGR SEL C1S be C1S elderly C1S be again with
kayiŋ
ka- yiŋ
C3S stomach
“Look, Naala, your relative, who has reached old age, is also pregnant”
With change of state verbs the end of nucleus is profiled by this
construction.
8.118 Bade bŧi adoo yok
ba- de bŧi a- do -o yok
C1P eat all SER INGR be_full
“They ate it all until they were full”
This could be diagrammed like this:

O N C
TT
Diagram 8:12: Time line of ingressive aspect with change of state verbs
8.119 Bawo katap baka mnlaak
ba- wo k- a- tap baka mn- laak
C1P must IMPERF SER shoot C1P.OBJ c6p stone
badoo bakeţ
ba- do -o ba- keţ
C1P INGR c7s die
“They₁ must throw stones at them₂ until they₂ are dead”
This construction can sometimes have the sense of a contra-expectational
addition as in the following example:
8.120 Ŋko ŋi uţeeh ŋabi bŧi
ŋ- ko ŋ- i u- ţeeh ŋa- bi bŧi
C2P animals C2P GEN C2S field C2P come all
pmaar wa kë umaalu umpokuŋ
p- maar w- a kë u- maalu u- m- pok -uŋ
INF be_present C2S OBJ DS C2S hare C2S COREF refuse SEL
ulemp udoo bi
u- lemp u- doo bi
C2S work C2S INGR came
“All the wild animals came to witness it, even Hare who had refused to
work came”
 Verb System 187

In the negative, it is the auxiliary do that takes the negative prefix.

8.121 Baluk bi kli bakreŋ
ba- luk b- i k- li bakreŋ
C5S payment C5S GEN C4P.DEF moon EIGHT
baandoo këş pa ñaaŋ andoli
ba- an- do -o këş pa ñaaŋ a- ndoli
C5S NEG INGR be_enough in_order_to person C1S each
ayeenk bnduŋ
a- yeenk b- nduŋ
C1S receive C5S bit
“Eight months wages would not be enough for each person to have a bit (of
food)”

8.8.5 Progressive
The construction used to describe the progressive aspect uses the structure
wo ţi and followed by a verbal noun. The word ţi is a preposition meaning
“inside something near”. So the literal sense of this structure is to be “in the
doing of something”.
This can be shown on the time line diagram below, where the Topic Time
(TT) occurs during the Situation Time (SitT).
SitT TT

Diagram 8:13: Timeline of progressive aspect

8.122 Naala awo ţi bŋoy bweek

Naala a- wo ţ- i b- ŋoy b- week
Nala C1S be INT LOC.PROX C5S sleep C5S big
“Naala is sleeping deeply”
8.123 Baniw bawo ţi ulemp
ba- niw ba- wo ţ- i u- lemp
C1P mason C1P be INT LOC.PROX C2S work
“The builders are working”
8.124 Dwo ţi pboman uniw kë
d- wo ţ- i p- boman u- niw kë
1S be INT LOC.PROX C4S make C2S wall DS
ukaaru uşë jotna wa awat
u- kaaru u- şë jotna w- a a- wat
C2S car C2S SEQ hit_against C2S OBJ SER bring_down
“I was building the wall when the car knocked it down.”
188 Chapter 8

8.125 Kë bantohi bawo ţi plaţar

kë ba- ntohi ba- wo ţ- i p- laţ -ar
DS C1P elder 3P be INT LOC.PROX C4S discuss RCP
wal mënţan wuŋ baŧum
w- al mënţan w- uŋ ba- ŧum
C2S moment that C2S DEM.DIST C1P be_many
“And during that time many of the elders were in discussion”

For some verbs, for example boman “make” in example 8.124 and laţar
“discuss” in example 8.125, the verbal noun and the infinitive forms are
identical. This is not the case for verbs like ŋoy “sleep” and lemp “work”
(examples 8.122 and 8.123). The infinitive forms of those verbs can be seen
being used in infinite complements, for example:
8.126 Bapok plemp
ba- pok p- lemp
C1P refused INF work
“They refused to work”

The verb wo, when not used in an auxiliary verb construction is normally
translated by “to be”, and is used in existential and descriptive clauses.
8.127 Katim naan kawo Naala
ka- tim naan ka- wo Naala
C3S name 1S.GEN C3S be Nala
“My name is Naala”
 Verb System 189

8.128 Naweek awo Dama aşë wo

na- week a- wo Dama a- şë wo
C1S elder_sibling C1S be Dama SER SEQ be
aannuura ţi bten , natëbënţën
a- an- nuura ţ- i b- ten na- tëb -ënţën
C1S NEG be_good INT LOC.PROX C5S looks C1S two ORD
awooŋ nanuura maakan awo Naala
a- wo -oŋ na- nuura maakan a- wo Naala
C1S be SEL C1S beauty very C1S be Nala
“The eldest was Dama who was not beautiful to look at; it was the second
who was a great beauty, she was called Naala”
The verb wo when used as an auxiliary is also used to express obligative and
epistemic modality, see section 8.9.1 below.

8.8.6 Repetitive
An event that is happening for a second time or is being done in addition to
a previous action can be indicated by using the verb kak as an auxiliary.
This is different, though related to the adverb kak “again”. This will be
glossed as REP for repetitive.
This can be shown on the time line diagram as:
SitT TT

Diagram 8:14: Timeline of repetitive aspect

8.129 Akak abi
a- kak a- bi
C1S REP SER come
“He's coming back again” or “He's also coming”
8.130 Dkak aţupan uko wi
d- kak a- ţup -an u- ko w- i
1S REP SER announce 2P.OBJ C2S thing C2S GEN
“Again, I tell you this thing”
8.131 Akak amobana kayiŋ abuk
a- kak a- mob -an -a ka- yiŋ a- buk
C1S REP SER catch CAUS MID C3S stomach SER produce
napoţ ñiinţ
na- poţ ñ- iinţ
C1S child C1S male
“She again became pregnant and gave birth to a son”
190 Chapter 8

8.132 Pakak awo uki wi blaata

pa- kak a- wo u- ki w- i b- laata
C4S REP SER be C2S dance C2S GEN C5S metal_drum
“It is also used in the 'blaata' dance”
In the negative it can be translated as “no longer”, literally “did not again”.
It does not preclude the event happening again, just that the event has not
happened between the Situation Time and the Topic Time.
8.133 Baankak awul un balemparu
ba- an- kak a- wul un ba- lemp -ar -u
C1P NEG REP SER give 1P.SUBJ C1P work BEN 2S.POSS
pbooli
p- booli
C4S reed
“They would no longer give us, your workers, straw”
As a lexical verb kak means to “return”, or “turn around”
8.134 Wi Dama akakuŋ du bhër
wi Dama a- kak -uŋ d- u b- hër
when Dama C1S return SUB EXT LOC.DIST C5S hole
aanţënk da Şompi
a- an- ţënk d- a Şompi
SER NEG find C9S OBJ Shompi
“When Dama returned to the hole, she didn't find Shompi there”
When used as an auxiliary in a clause with -uŋ, -uŋ is attached to kak and
there are no other significant changes.
8.135 Şompi i bakakuŋ adu Piyeer
Şompi i ba- kak -uŋ a- du Piyeer
Shompi GEN C1P REP SUB SER call Peter
“Shompi, who was also called Pierre”

8.8.7 Terminative
There are two structures which profile the termination of an event, which
both use the same auxiliary ba. As a full verb ba has the sense “to finish”. I
label this “terminative” (TMTV) in order to distinguish it from the completive
aspect.
When used with an infinitive the fact that the event is finished is profiled.
This can be shown on a time line diagram as:

SitT TT

Diagram 8:15: Timeline of terminative aspect with infinitive

 Verb System 191

8.136 Wi Naala abaaŋ pţiini na Dama

wi Naala a- ba -aŋ p- ţiini na Dama
when Nala C1S TMTV SEL INF speak with Dama
“When Naala had finished talking with Dama…”
8.137 Wal wi bakbaaŋ pţup
w- al w- i ba- k- ba -aŋ p- ţup
C2S moment C2S GEN C1P IMPERF TMTV SEL INF speak
“As they were finishing speaking…”
8.138 Doon kala pba pŋom na a
do -on k- a- la p- ba p- ŋom na a
INGR IMP IMPERF SER seek INF TMTV INF argue with OBJ
“‎ Try hard to stop arguing with him”
It can also be used with a lexical verb with a serial prefix (and in normal
speech the two a vowels become one long vowel). This construction has the
meaning of the event happening after an unexpected length of time, or after
other events.
Expected TT SitT TT

Diagram 8:16: Timeline of terminative aspect with verb with serial prefix

8.139 Abuk aşin aba apën

a- buk a- şin a- ba a- pën
C1AS child C1AS father C1S TMTV SER go_out
“His brother finally came out” (Context: birth of twins)
8.140 Adookar na a ado ŋnuur paaj na
a- dook -ar na a a- do ŋ- nuur paaj na
C1S chase BEN and OBJ SER do C2P day six and
uloŋ aba amoba
u- loŋ a- ba a- mob -a
C2S INDEF SER TMTV SER catch C1S.OBJ
“He chased him for seven days before catching him”
This auxiliary can also be used to mean “never”. To obtain this meaning it is
used in an unusual construction – in addition to the negative, it always has
the selective suffix -aŋ (underlying -uŋ) and the lexical verb requires the
middle prefix -a.
8.141 Aambaaŋ kapoşa
a- am- ba -aŋ k- a- poş -a
C1S NEG TMTV SEL IMPERF SER walk MID
“He had never walked.”
192 Chapter 8

8.142 Mëmbaaŋ kapoka nin

m- ëm- ba -aŋ k- a- pok -a nin
1S.NEG NEG TMTV SEL IMPERF SER refuse C1S.OBJ NEG
pdo uko wi ijakuŋ
p- do u- ko w- i i- jak -uŋ
INF do C2S thing C2S GEN 2S tell SEL
“I have never refused to do anything you asked me to do.”
When combined with a reduplicated stem and an activity verb it usually
means that the activity was completed very recently.
8.143 Naţijan ŋţëb ŋi nabaaŋ amob
na- ţij -an ŋ- ţëb ŋ- i na- ba -aŋ a- mob
2P bring IMP C2P fish C2P GEN 2P TMTV SEL SER catch
mob ŋuŋ
mob ŋ- uŋ
catch C2P DEM.DIST
“Bring those fish you have just caught!”
Similarly with a change of state verb, the change of state has occurred very
recently.
8.144 Abuk naan aba akeţ keţ
a- buk naan a- ba a- keţ keţ
C1AS child 1S.GEN C1S TMTV SER die die
“My child has just died”
With a reduplicated state verb the sense it can have the sense “completely”
or “fully”
8.145 Baţaşarul baba añoŋar ñoŋar
ba- ţaşar -ul ba- ba a- ñoŋar ñoŋar
C1P follower 3S.POSS C1P TMTV SER be_surprised be_surprised
maakan
maakan
very
“His followers were completely amazed”
It can also mean a contra-expection end result, e.g.
8.146 pmaak paba adëm dëm
p- maak pa- ba a- dëm dëm
C4S illness C4S TMTV SER grow grow
“The illness ended up getting worse”
8.147 aba ahuuran huuran maakan
a- ba a- huuran huuran maakan
C1S TMTV SER cry_out cry_out very
“He ended up shouting louder”
 Verb System 193

Lexically it can follow a verb, meaning “to finish”, optionally with a time
complement.
8.148 Naala aţo du katohul aba
Naala a- ţo d- u ka- toh -ul a- ba
Nala C1S sit EXT LOC.DIST C3S house 3S.POSS SER finish
pli
p- li
C4S month
“Naala stayed at his house for a month” (Lit: “Naala stayed at his house,
finished a month”)
8.149 Bayeeh aba , aşë pën
ba- yeeh a- ba a- şë pën
C1P sing SER finish SER SEQ go_out
“They left after they had sung”
8.150 Wi badaanuŋ aba , baneej katoh
wi ba- daan -uŋ a- ba ba- neej ka- toh
when C1P drink SUB SER finish C1P enter C3S house
“When they had drunk, they entered the house”
The use of a terminative auxiliary that occurs after the main verb appears to
be an areal feature. Ndao comments that this is a feature borrowed from
Upper Guinea Creole (Ndao 2011, 183). This is supported by the fact that a
post-verbal morpheme ba indicating anteriority is described in Kihm's
grammar of Upper Guinea Creole (Kihm 1994, 14:99–108).

8.9 Modal constructions

Auxiliary constructions are also used to make modal distinctions.

8.9.1 Obligative and Epistemic

Two forms of modality are expressed by using wo “be” in conjunction with
the genitive marker i. The first which I have labelled Obligative, seems to
indicate deontic modality, i.e. it indicates that something must be done
because it is required, or because it is a logical necessity. Deontic modality
in English is illustrated in the sentence “The car must be ready tonight, so
that I can use it tomorrow”. The other form, Epistemic, indicates more that
the speaker believes something should happen. This is illustrated in English
by “He should be coming, as he told me yesterday that he would come”.
The two constructions differ in that the Epistemic is expressed using the
infinitive prefix p-, whereas Obligative modality is expressed with the stem
prefixed by the k- “imperfective” and a- “serial” prefixes.
194 Chapter 8

8.151 Ddo bane uniw afoyan

d- do ba- ne u- niw a- foy -an
1S do C5S last_year C2S wall SER encircle CAUS
katoh naan aşë wo i pwat wa
ka- toh naan a- şë wo i p- wat w- a
C3S house 1S.GEN SER SEQ be GEN INF bring_down C2S OBJ
hënkuŋ
hënkuŋ
now
“Last year I built a wall around my house, but this year I have to knock it
down.”
8.152 Kë woli iwo i pya ţiki inuh
kë woli i- wo i p- ya ţiki i- nuh
DS if 2S be GEN INF go because_(of) 2S miss
katoh ki şaaş …
ka- toh k- i şaaş
C3S house C3S GEN your_father
“If you must go because you miss your father's house…”
8.153 Iko mënţ iwo yi kawo
i- ko mënţ i- wo y- i k- a- wo
C4P thing that 2S be C4P GEN IMPERF SER be
“These things must happen”
8.154 Ñaaŋ ankbanuŋ pnkuŋ awo
ñaaŋ a- n- k- ban -uŋ p- nkuŋ a- wo
person C1S COREF IMPERF touch SUB C4S hill SER be
i kakeţ
i k- a- keţ
GEN IMPERF SER die
“Anyone who touches the hill, will definitely die”
8.155 Anŋaluŋ pwo naweek ţi
a- n- ŋal -uŋ p- wo na- week ţ- i
C1S COREF like SUB INF be C1S leader INT LOC.PROX
an awo i kawo nalempar
an a- wo i k- a- wo na- lempar
2P.OBJ SER be GEN IMPERF SER be C1S servant
baŧënţul
ba- baŧënţ -ul
C1P peer 3S.POSS
“The one who wants to be a leader must be a servant to his peers”
The i after the wo agrees with the subject of wo for non-human subjects (see
example 8.153 above). I have analysed it as the genitive marker and it can
be seen to occur in that position after wo when used with a nominal.
 Verb System 195

8.156 Baji meel muŋ manwo mi baka

ba- ji meel m- uŋ man- wo m- i baka
C1P say water C8 DEM.DIST C8 be C8 GEN C1P.OBJ
“They said that this water is theirs”
There are two other analytical possibilities, either the demonstrative i and
or a new homophonous particle. I rule out the first as I have no evidence of
the demonstrative in that position. For the second, it seems to unnecessarily
complicate the system when an existing particle has already been identified
as being used in that position.
In the negative, the auxiliary wo takes the negative prefix, and the sense
becomes an obligation for something not to happen – e.g “this thing must
not happen”.
8.157 Ñaaŋ aloŋ aanwo i kame
ñaaŋ a- loŋ a- an- wo i k- a- me
person C1S INDEF C1S NEG be GEN IMPERF SER whether
kë abi ţi dko di
kë a- bi ţ- i d- ko d- i
DS C1S come INT LOC.PROX C9S place C9S DEM.PROX
“No-one must know that someone has come to this place”
(Lit: “Someone must not know …”)
Similarly when used in a relative clause, it is the auxiliary wo that takes the
suffix -uŋ.
8.158 uko wi bawooŋ i kado
u- ko w- i ba- wo -oŋ i k- a- do
C2S thing C2S GEN C1P be SEL GEN IMPERF SER do
“The thing they must do”

8.9.2 Prohibitive
The prohibitive is formed with the auxiliary wut and followed by the lexical
verb prefixed by the k- “imperfective” and a- “serial” prefixes.
8.159 Ŋwut kafiŋa
ŋ- wut k- a- fiŋ -a
1P PRHB IMPERF SER kill C1S.OBJ
“Let's not kill him.”
8.160 Aji na baka bawut kaţup nin ñaaŋ
a- ji na baka ba- wut k- a- ţup nin ñaaŋ
C1S say with C1P.OBJ C1P PRHB IMPERF SER speak NEG person
“He told them not to tell anyone.”
196 Chapter 8

It is often found as an imperative:

8.161 Wutan kalënk
wut -an k- a- lënk
PRHB IMP IMPERF SER be_afraid
“Don't be afraid!”
8.162 Nawutan kafiŋa
na- wut -an k- a- fiŋ -a
2P PRHB IMP IMPERF SER kill C1S.OBJ
“Don't kill him!”
But it is also found with the causative in the 3 rd person.
8.163 Itim yaŋ iwutan
i- tim y- aŋ i- wut -an
C3P name C3P DEM C3P PRHB CAUS
kaŧiinkana ţi itum yi
k- a- ŧiink -an -a ţ- i i- tum y- i
IMPERF SER hear CAUS MID INT LOC.PROX C3P mouth C3P GEN
nan
nan
2P.POSS
“These names mustn't be heard on your lips.”
8.164 Nin aloŋ awutan kapën
nin a- loŋ a- wut -an k- a- pën
NEG C1S INDEF C1S prhb CAUS IMPERF SER go_out
du dko di
d- u d- ko d- i
EXT LOC.DIST C9S place C9S DEM.PROX
“No-one must leave this place.”
8.165 Bawutan kaneej ubeeka
ba- wut -an k- a- neej u- beeka
C1P PRHB CAUS IMPERF SER enter C2S town
“They must not enter the town.”
Lexically wut has the meaning “to prevent/to abandon/to let go”
8.166 Bawut du ŋţeeh ŋnŧaam ŋi
ba- wut d- u ŋ- ţeeh ŋ- nŧaam ŋ- i
C1P leave EXT LOC.DIST C2P field C2P livestock C2P GEN
baka
baka
C1P.OBJ
“They left their livestock in the field.”
 Verb System 197

8.167 Baankwut nin katoh kaloŋ

ba- an- k- wut nin ka- toh ka- loŋ
C1P NEG IMPERF leave NEG C3S house C3S INDEF
kanaţ
k- a- naţ
IMPERF SER stand
“They will not leave one house standing.”

8.10 Complex Auxiliary Verb Constructions

Auxiliaries can be combined to create more complex AVCs.
A common combination is the ingressive do followed by the past bi. The
emphasis is on the fact that the start of the event has happened in the past.
With an activity verb the activity is understood to be complete. If the verb
is a change of state verb, then that state is understood to have been changed
to in the past. For a stative verb the emphasis is on the fact that the state
has existed for some time.
This can be shown on the time line diagram as below, where the Topic Time
(TT) emphasises the beginning of the Situation Time (SitT), and the
Situation Time (SitT) is completed before the Time of Assessment (TA).

TT SitT TA

Diagram 8:17: Timeline of ingressive and past combined

8.168 Ddo bi ţupan
d- do bi ţup -an
1S INGR PST speak 2P.OBJ
“I have already told you.”
8.169 Bañaaŋ mënţ ado bi dat dat baka
ba- ñaaŋ mënţ a- do bi dat dat baka
C1P person that C1S do PST choose choose C1P.OBJ
“These people he had already chosen.”
8.170 Ado bi keţ
a- do bi keţ
C1S INGR PST die
“He is\was already dead”
8.171 Bţeem bado bi low low pkay
b- ţeem ba- do bi low low p- kay
C5S pirogue C1P INGR PST be_far be_far C4S dry_land
“The boat was already far from dry land”
198 Chapter 8

8.172 Bado bi wo baristoŋ ţi ŋrisiya

ba- do bi wo ba- ristoŋ ţ- i ŋrisiya
C1P INGR PST be C1P Christian INT LOC.PROX church
evanjelik
evanjelik
Evangelical
“They were already Christians in the Evangelical church”
8.173 Ado bi ka ka itaka iŧum
a- do bi ka ka i- taka i- ŧum
C1S INGR PST have have C4P money C3P many
“He already had a lot of money”
If the root is prefixed by the k- “imperfective” and a- “serial” prefixes, then,
as expected, the event is not complete and is still ongoing.
This can be shown on the time line diagram below, where the Time of
Assesement (TA) is now during the Situation Time (SitT):

TT SitT TA

Diagram 8:18: Timeline of ingressive and past auxiliaries with

imperfect prefix
8.174 Ŋme na manjoonan kë nado bi
ŋ- me na ma- njoonan kë na- do bi
1P know and C8 truth DS 2P INGR PST
kado haŋ
k- a- do haŋ
IMPERF SER do DEM
“We really know that you are already doing this”
The order of auxiliaries is fixed; the ingressive do must proceed the past bi.
Inverting the order gives an ungrammatical sentence, or sentence with a
different meaning. For example:
8.175 ţiki abi kado
ţiki a- bi k- a- do
because_(of) C1S PST IMPERF SER INGR
karab napoţ pa pfiŋa
k- a- rab na- poţ pa p- fiŋ -a
IMPERF SER search_out C1S child in_order_to INF kill C1S.OBJ
“… because he was going to start looking for the child in order to kill him”
When the do bi combination is used in a clause, for example a relative
clause, it is the ingressive do which takes the selective marker -uŋ (which
phonologically changes to -oŋ).
 Verb System 199

8.176 … kë bakak awo bukal batëb bŧi

kë ba- kak a- wo bukal ba- tëb bŧi
DS 3P REP SER be 3P.SUBJ C1P two all
bañaaŋ bandooŋ abi ţaf ţaf
ba- ñaaŋ ba- n- do -oŋ a- bi ţaf ţaf
C1P person 3P COREF INGR SEL SER PST grow_old grow_old
“They were also, both of them, already very old.”
It is interesting that in this situation, the past bi is now preceded by the
serial prefix a-. This would seem to indicate again that the structure has
developed from a serial verb structure. However, in the simple form do bi is
not doo bi, as in example 8.117 where do is used on its own as an ingressive.
This suggests that do bi has undergone a further step of grammaticalisation
towards becoming a single word dobi. This process can be seen in English in
the development of the Modern English word “because” from the two words
in Middle English “by cause”. Further evidence to strengthen this proposal
is that many newly literate Mankanya will write do bi as dobi.
In the negative it is the first auxiliary do that takes the negative marker.
This could be diagrammed like this, where the Topic Time (TT) is before the
both the Time of Assessment (TA), and the Situation Time (SitT).

TT SitT TA

Diagram 8:19: Timeline of negative of ingressive and past auxiliaries

8.177 Baando bi wata wal mënţ
ba- an- do bi wat -a w- al mënţ
C1P NEG INGR PST bring_down C1S.OBJ C2S moment that
ukalabuş
u- kalabuş
C2S prison
“They had not yet at that time put him in prison”
This negative combination of auxiliaries can also be found combined with
the persistive hum. This gives the sense of “still had not yet”. In the diagram
the Topic Time is profiled as being before some Expected Topic Time.
TT Expected TT TA

Diagram 8:20: Timeline of persistive of ingressive and past auxiliaries

8.178 Bahum baando bi piinţ
ba- hum ba- ën- do bi piinţ
C1P pstv C1P NEG INGR PST lie_down
“They still hadn't slept”
200 Chapter 8

The sequential marker şë is always the first auxiliary when used in

combination with other auxiliaries.
8.179 kë unŧaayi uşë do bi neej ţi
kë u- nŧaayi u- şë do bi neej ţ- i
DS C2S spirit C2S SEQ INGR PST enter INT LOC.PROX
Şompi
Şompi
Shompi
“… but the spirit had already entered Shompi”
8.180 Kë bañaaŋ baŧum başë ji baya
kë ba- ñaaŋ ba- ŧum ba- şë ji ba- ya
DS C1P person C1P many C1P SEQ HAB C1P go
du a
d- u a
EXT LOC.DIST OBJ
“And many people kept coming to where he was”
The habitual ji proceeds do and bi.
8.181 aloŋ aji do bi banën da
a- loŋ a- ji do bi ban -ën d- a
C1S INDEF SER HAB INGR PST arrive CAUS C9S OBJ
uŧeek
u- ŧeek
C2S first
“Someone always gets there first”
However, I have also found this example where the ingressive do precedes
the habitual:
8.182 ido kaji kaluŋ kabi
i- do k- a- ji ka- luŋ k- a- bi
2S INGR IMPERF SER HAB 2S.HAB FUT IMPERF SER come
“You should come regularly”
So it seems that the order of the auxiliaries is not completely fixed, and
some can be moved to create different nuances. Further research is needed
in this area.
 201

Chapter 9 - Complex clauses

In this chapter I will examine the ways in which clauses in a multiple clause
sentence combine. The first part of the chapter will look at the various
forms that exist in Mankanya for combining clauses. Then I will go on to
discuss how those forms are used to represent various semantic relations
between clauses.
The first section is subdivided into two subsections, those forms where a
word or words is used to join two clauses, or link one clause to some
constituent of another, and those which are joined or linked by the use of
verb forms.
The first of these subsections is further subdivided depending on whether
one of the clauses requires syntactic or morphological modification which
could not appear in a simple neutral clause. Where the clausal relation
requires no changes the clauses are said to be balanced, otherwise a clause
which requires changes is said to be de-ranked.

9.1 Clauses joined by linking words

9.1.1 Balanced clauses
The following words can be used to link two formally equal clauses:
këme alternative
hënk result
keeri result
ţiki cause
bë negative while

The word këme joins two clauses in a disjunctive alternative relation

(section 9.5.5.1).
202 Chapter 9

9.1 Iwi ţi uleefu ijakuŋ uko

iwi ţ- i u- leef -u i- jak -uŋ u- ko
2S INT LOC.PROX C2S body 2S.POSS 2S tell SEL C2S thing
waŋ këme baloŋ baţupuŋ haŋ
w- aŋ këme ba- loŋ ba- ţup -uŋ haŋ
C2S DEM or C1P INDEF C1P announce SEL DEM
ţi nji
ţ- i nji
INT LOC.PROX 1S
“Did you say this or did someone else say this about me?”
The word hënk introduces a result clause (section 9.5.2.2).
9.2 Jakan na baka iwo aţa'naan hënk
jakan na baka i- wo a- ţa' naan hënk
tell and C1P.OBJ 2S be C1AS young_sibling 1S.GEN so
iţu bamëbanaan bnuura
i- ţu ba- mëb -an -aan b- nuura
2S place C1P. attach CAUS 1S.OBJ C5S goodness
“Say that you are my sister, so that you will cause them to be good to me”
9.3 Ŋdeey ŋuŋ bahank ŋa pa
ŋ- deey ŋ- uŋ ba- hank ŋ- a pa
C2P grain C2P DEM.DIST C1P keep C2P OBJ in_order_to
ŋşubal paaj na uloŋ ŋi ubon hënk
ŋ- şubal paaj na u- loŋ ŋ- i u- bon hënk
C2P year six and C2S INDEF C2P GEN C2S hunger so
bañaaŋ biki uŧaak bawutna
ba- ñaaŋ bik- i u- ŧaak ba- wut -na
C1P person C1P GEN C2S country C1P leave INSTR
kakeţ
k- a- keţ
IMPERF SER die
“This grain will be kept for the seven years of famine so the people of the
country will not die”
The word keeri introduces a result clause (section 9.5.2.2).
9.4 Babuk başih keeri baanwo i
ba- buk ba- şih keeri ba- an- wo i
C1P child C1P chief in_that_case C1P NEG must GEN
kaluk
k- a- luk
IMPERF SER pay
“Therefore chiefs’ children don't have to pay.”
 Complex clauses 203

9.5 Keeri idinan iyeenk uko wi

keeri i- dinan i- yeenk u- ko w- i
in_that_case 2S agree 2S receive C2S thing C2S gen
nwuliiŋ
n- wul -i -iŋ
1S.SUB give 2S.SUB.OBJ sel
“So please accept the thing that I give you.”
9.6 Ţupun keeri , we wi işaluŋ
ţup -un keeri we w- i i- şal -uŋ
speak 1P.OBJ in_that_case what C2S GEN 2S think SEL
“So tell us what you think.”
The word ţiki introduces a cause clause (section 9.5.2.1) and it is never
sentence initial.
9.7 Dduka Dakar ţiki dmaaki
d- duk -a Dakar ţiki d- maak -i
1S leave MID Dakar because 1S be_ill CMPL
“I stayed in Dakar because I was ill”

9.8 Naţiin iñaay na uŧaak bŧi

naţ -i -in i- ñaay na u- ŧaak bŧi
stand MID IMP 2S walk_about with C2S country all
ţiki dluŋ kawulu wa
ţiki d- luŋ k- a- wul -u w- a
because_(of) 1S FUT IMPERF SER give 2S.OBJ C2S OBJ
“Get up and walk about all this land, because I will give you it.”
9.9 Babi bŧi ţi a ţiki baŧiink
ba- bi bŧi ţ- i a ţiki ba- ŧiink
C1P come all INT LOC.PROX OBJ because_(of) C1P hear
uko wi adoluŋ
u- ko w- i a- dol -uŋ
C2S thing C2S GEN C1S do SEL
“They all came to him because they had heard of the things he had done.”
The word bë is a contrastive marker (section 9.5.4.4), and is most frequently
used with a negative clause.
9.10 Aji ţi uşalul agar
a- ji ţ- i u- şal -ul a- gar
C1S say INT LOC.PROX C2S mind 3s.POSS C1S scatter
baniw na a bë aankţup bañaaŋ
ba- niw na a bë a- ën- k- ţup ba- ñaaŋ
C5S fiancé(e) and OBJ CNTR C1S NEG IMPERF speak C1P person
“He thought that he would break off the engagement but not tell anyone”
204 Chapter 9

9.11 Iten ţi iko yi naan bŧi

i- ten ţ- i i- ko y- i naan bŧi
2S look_at INT LOC.PROX C3P thing C3P GEN 1S.GEN all
bë iinwin win nin kako kaloŋ ki
bë i- in- win win nin ka- ko ka- loŋ k- i
CNTR 2S NEG see see NEG C3S container C3S INDEF C3S GEN
nu
nu
2S.POSS
“You looked through all my things, but didn't find any pot of yours”

9.1.2 Relations requiring deranking

The following words can be used to link clauses either to other clauses or a
constituent within a clause. They require the clause that they introduce, at
least in some contexts, to be deranked, i.e. to have a syntactic or
morphological modification which could not appear in a simple neutral
clause.
jibi comparison or cause
ji comparison or cause
pa goal
woli irrealis
le irrealis
ukaaŋ kë cause
Ci genitive (C is an agreement prefix)

The following features are found in deranked clauses, though not

necessarily together:
- selective suffix -uŋ on verb
- nasalisation as 1S prefix
- required marking of imperfective aspect
- alternative 1S and 2S prefixes ka- and k-

Clauses introduced by the word jibi require the selective marker -uŋ on the
verb. It has two uses – to indicate manner (section 9.4.2.2) or to indicate a
cause (section 9.5.2.3).
9.12 Aluŋ kaniw jibi ajonuŋ kado
a- luŋ k- a- niw jibi a- jon -uŋ k- a- do
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build like C1S last SEL IMPERF SER do
“He will build as he always does”
 Complex clauses 205

9.13 Jibi awooŋ aankak afiyaara ,

jibi a- wo -oŋ a- an- kak a- fiyaar -a
like C1S be SEL SER NEG REP SER believe C1S.OBJ
aşë ţup pyaanţ
a- şë ţup p- yaanţ
SER SEQ announce INF go_visiting
“As he still didn't believe her, he said he was going to go on a voyage”
The use of jibi also requires the subordinate version of the 1st person
singular prefix, i.e. prenasalisation of the following consonant, rather than
d-.
9.14 Dŋal kakakalëşan ntiink jibi
d- ŋal k- a- kakalëş -an ntiink jibi
1S like IMPERF SER repeat 2P.OBJ a_little like
nwooŋ ţfa ţi kpoţ
n- wo -oŋ ţëfa ţ- i k- poţ
1S.SEL be SEL in_the_past INT LOC.PROX C3S childhood
“I want to tell you a little of what I was like as a child”
9.15 Dlempar aşinan jibi nhiniiŋ bŧi
d- lemp -ar a- şin -an jibi n- hina -iŋ bŧi
1S work BEN C1AS father 2P.POSS like 1S.SEL be_strong SEL all
“I worked for your father as much as I could”
It seems likely that jibi is related to ji. A clausal comparison is introduced by
jibi, whereas ji a can introduce a clausal comparison or a simple nominal
comparison (see 9.16 below and section 9.4.2.2).
9.16 Abi kayoora yoora ji plaak
a- bi k- a- yoora yoora ji p- laak
C1S FUT IMPERF SER drown drown like C6S stone
‎“He began to sink like a stone”
In Karlik’s description of the related language Manjaku (Karlik, 1972, p.
215) he describes a structure which has bi surrounding a causality or
manner clause. This could indicate a common source for Manjaku bi and
Mankanya jibi. Unfortunately, he only gives an example of its use in a time
clause. (example updated to current orthography).
9.17 Koulon bi ndo bi nşi napaţ
something when I(PAST) when I.was child
“Something from the time when I was a child”
The word pa introduces a clause expressing a purpose (section 9.5.2.1).
Karlik (1972) describes the same word in Manjaku and suggests that it is
borrowed from Kriol.
206 Chapter 9

When the subject of the clause expressing the purpose is identical to the
subject of the matrix clause, the verb in the purpose clause takes an
infinitive prefix.
9.18 Ŋya duuţ pa pmeer bahula
ŋ- ya duuţ pa p- meer ba- hula
1P go up_there in_order_to INF get_to_know C1P Mankanya
“We're going to the Casamance to get to know the Mankanya”
If the subject of the purpose clause is different and in the first person
singular, then the first person singular subordinate prefix is used.
9.19 Ŋya duuţ pa nhil njukan
ŋ- ya duuţ pa n- hil n- jukan
1P go up_there in_order_to 1S be_able 1S teach
uhula
u- hula
C3S Mankanya
“We're going to the Casamance, so that I can teach Mankanya”
Otherwise no particular morphological changes are necessary in the purpose
clause.
9.20 Ŋya duuţ pa Dama ahil ajukan
ŋ- ya duuţ pa Dama a- hil a- jukan
1P go up_there in_order_to Dama C1S be_able C1S teach
uhula
u- hula
C2S Mankanya
“We're going to the Casamance, so that Dama can teach Mankanya”
Woli introduces a clause that describes something that either does not exist
yet, or is not known to exist, or may or may not be true. It can be used for
future events which are sure, as well for conditional events (section
9.5.1.3).
The woli clause may appear before or after the main clause it relates to. If
the woli clause appears first then the normal 1st and 2nd person prefixes d-
and i- cannot be used in the main clause. Instead the alternatives ka- and k-
must be used.
9.21 Woli dŧar abi kabi de
woli d- ŧar a- bi ka- bi de
when; if 1S be_fast SER come 1S.ALT FUT eat
‎“If I come back quickly, I'll eat”
 Complex clauses 207

9.22 Ŋya uţeeh woli bnuur baanyiiki

ŋ- ya u- ţeeh woli b- nuur ba- an- yiik -i
1P go C2S field when; if C7S sunlight C7S NEG be_hot CMPL
“We will go to the fields, if it isn't too hot”
9.23 Tenan baţi , ifën ŋjah woli
ten -an ba- ţi i- fën ŋ- jah woli
look_at IMP C5S sky 2S count C2P star when; if
ihinani
i- hinan -i
2S be_able CMPL
“Look at the sky, count the stars if you are able”
9.24 Woli abi , ŋfiŋ uguk
woli a- bi ŋ- fiŋ u- guk
when; if C1S come 1P kill C2S chicken
“If/When he comes we will kill a chicken”
When the woli clause is in the past the clause is additionally marked with
the word lah to indicate a contrafactual statement. Compare the following
example with example 9.24 above.
9.25 Woli abi lah , ŋfiŋ uguk
woli a- bi lah ŋ- fiŋ u- guk
when; if C1S come CNTRFACT 1P kill C2S chicken
“If he had come, we would have killed a chicken”
When the woli clause contains an auxiliary with future meaning (luŋ, ya, bi)
the main verb is not prefixed with k- imperfective prefix (example 9.26), as
would be normal (example 9.27). It would seem that irrealis nature of woli
makes the imperfective k- unnecessary.
9.26 Woli naluŋ aya ŋrisiya ŋya na baka
woli na- luŋ a- ya ŋrisiya ŋ- ya na baka
when; if 2P FUT SER go church 1P go and C1P.OBJ
“If you are going to go to church, we will come with you.”
9.27 Naluŋ kaya ŋrisiya
na- luŋ k- a- ya ŋrisiya
2P FUT IMPERF SER go church
“You are going to go to church”
The particle le marks a clause in the same way woli does; it indicates that
the clause is irrealis. Unlike woli it occurs after the verb.
9.28 Apiitaar le naşë fën te iñeen
a- piitaar le na- şë fën te i- ñeen
C1S whistle IRL 2P SEQ count until C3P ten
‎“When he whistles, you'll count to ten”
208 Chapter 9

If the subject in the clause marked with le is in the first person singular, the
subordinate prefix N- is used. This is different to a clause with woli.
9.29 Mpiitaar le naşë fën te iñeen
m- piitaar le na- şë fën te i- ñeen
1S.SEL whistle IRL 2P SEQ count until C3P ten
‎“When I whistle, you'll count to ten”
Like woli, the clause following le can be used with the contrafactual lah, to
indicate a possible event that did not occur.
9.30 Awul le lah awul kaŧuman
a- wul le lah a- wul k- a- ŧum -an
C1S give IRL CNTRFACT C1S give IMPERF SER be_numerous CAUS
“If he had given, he would have given a lot”
When there is an auxiliary, then le is placed after the auxiliary.
9.31 nluŋ le ka itaka kaniw katoh
n- luŋ le ka i- taka ka- niw ka- toh
1S.SEL FUT IRL have C4P money 1S.ALT build C3S house
kaweek
ka- week
C3S big
“If I have the money I will buy a big house”
This example also illustrates that like woli, the dependent clause requires
the alternative version of the 1st and 2nd person singular verb prefixes.
Two clauses can be linked together with the verbal expression ukaaŋ kë.
9.32 Dmaaki ukaaŋ kë dduka Dakar
d- maak -i u- ka -aŋ kë d- duk -a Dakar
1S be_ill CMPL C2S have SEL COMP 1S leave MID Dakar
“I was ill, and for this reason I stayed in Dakar”
Note that example 9.7 and 9.32 are complementary and describe the same
events.
Ukaaŋ seems to be composed of u- “C2S”, ka “have” and the subordinate
suffix -uŋ. The word uka is used sometimes as an existential introducer. The
use of the class 2 singular prefix here may be related to its use in uko
“thing”.
 Complex clauses 209

9.33 Uka du ukalabuş naţaşa

u- ka d- u u- kalabuş na- ţaşa
C2S have EXT LOC.DIST C2S prison C1S teenager_(boy)
aloŋ anwooŋ nalemp i naşih i
a- loŋ a- n- wo -oŋ na- lemp i na- şih i
C1S INDEF C1S COREF be SEL C1S worker GEN C1S chief GEN
bayeŋ
ba- yeŋ
C1P guard
“There was in the prison, a young man, who was a servant of the chief
guard”
Note that the subordinate form of the first person singular prefix is required
after ukaaŋ kë.
The expression ukaaŋ kë can occur at the beginning of a sentence to refer to
something in the previous sentence.
9.34 a) Anaţa ţi pkeţ !
a- naţ -a ţ- i p- keţ
C1S stand MID INT LOC.PROX C4S death
“He's come back from the dead”
b) Ukaaŋ kë aka mnhina mi
u- ka -aŋ kë a- ka mn- hina m- i
C2S have SEL COMP C1S have C8 power C6P DEM.PROX
pdo mlagre !
p- do m- lagre
INF do C8 miracle
“It's for this reason that he has power to do miracles”
The genitive marker -i is used to introduce a relative clause where the
antecedent of the relative clause is a non-subject in the relative clause. The
genitive agrees with the antecedent. This word has probably
grammaticalised from the proximal demonstrative -i. Further, its use in
relative clauses is possibly the source of its use as the genitive particle.
As its function in relative clauses (introducing an element which modifies
the head noun) is the same as that of the genitive marker, I have to chosen
to gloss it as GEN rather than DEM.PROX or something new.
In relative clauses introduced by -i, the first verb word takes the subordinate
suffix -uŋ and when relevant the imperfective prefix k-.
9.35 Alaalan umeeşa wi akbomanuŋ
a- laalan u- meeşa w- i a- k- boman -uŋ
C1S feel C2S table C2S GEN C1S IMPERF make SEL
“She's touching the table that she's making”
210 Chapter 9

9.36 Aŋal iko yi baknuguŋ

a- ŋal i- ko y- i ba- k- nug -uŋ
C1S like C3P thing C3P GEN C1P IMPERF buy SEL
“She likes the things that they buy”
If the relative clause has a first person singular subject then the subordinate
prefix N- is used.
9.37 Ado uko wi njakuluŋ
a- do u- ko w- i n- jak -ul -uŋ
C1S do C2S thing C2S GEN 1S.SUB tell C1S.ALT.OBJ SEL
“He is doing the thing that I told him to do.”

9.2 Clauses linked by verbal forms

Clauses can be linked together without any linking words. If the subject in a
clause is unchanged from the previous clause, then the subject prefix on the
verb is substituted by a- which I have glossed as SER for serial. This prefix is
identical in form to the subject prefix when the subject is a class 1 singular
noun.
9.38 Ukaŋa ujohara añog baka
u- kaŋa u- johara a- ñog baka
C2S sort_of_bird C2S move_(a_little) SER be_close C1P.OBJ
akak afuuŧ kayeeh
a- kak a- fuuŧ ka- yeeh
SER REP SER splash C3S song
“The bird moved, came closer to them, and started singing again.”
9.39 Kë baŧooli abomandër aţonkandër bŧi
kë ba- ŧool -i a- bomandër a- ţonkandër bŧi
DS C1P straight CMPL SER get_ready SER gather_together all
ţuŋ pnduud pi naşih nafeey
ţ- uŋ p- nduud p- i na- şih na- Feey
INT LOC.DIST C6S compound C4S GEN C1S chief 2P Feey
aya
a- ya
SER go
“And straight away, they got themselves ready, and gathered together in the
chief of the Nafeey's compound, and then left”
Example 9.38 shows that auxiliaries can be used with local scope in serial
clauses, and example 9.39 shows the use of an adverbial locational phrase.
 Complex clauses 211

Negation always has local scope.

9.40 Dama ade aţiş aaŋŋoyënţi
Dama a- de a- ţiiş a- aŋ- ŋoyënţ -i
Dama C1S eat SER go_home SER NEG sleep CMPL
“Dama ate, went home, but she didn't sleep”

The following example shows that some auxiliaries can have a scope across
the following clauses. The future auxiliary bi effects all the following
clauses, and all the verbs need to be prefixed by the imperfective k-.
9.41 Ñaaŋ aloŋ abi kabop
ñaaŋ a- loŋ a- bi k- a- bop
person C1S INDEF C1S FUT IMPERF SER hide_oneself
kado kaŧiink nja
k- a- do k- a- ŧiink nja
IMPERF SER INGR IMPERF SER hear 1P.OBJ
kabot kame uko
k- a- bot k- a- me u- ko
IMPERF SER do_something_next IMPERF SER know C2S thing
wi ŋkaaŋ
w- i ŋ- ka -aŋ
C2S GEN C2P have SEL
“Someone will hide, and hear us and know what we have”

When the subject changes then the particle kë is used to show a change of
subject. Compare the following two examples:
9.42 Şompi akob baka aşë ya
Şompi a- kob baka a- şë ya
Shompi C1S hit 3P.OBJ SER SEQ go
“Shompi hit Nala and then he (Shompi) left”
9.43 Şompi akob baka kë aya
Şompi a- kob baka kë a- ya
Shompi C1S hit 3P.OBJ DS C1S go
“Shompi hit Nala and she (Naala) left”
There will be more discussion on the use of kë in section 11.
212 Chapter 9

An instrumental suffix -na on the verb in the second clause can be used to
express purpose (section 9.5.2.3):
9.44 Aţup baka uko wi awinuŋ
a- ţup baka u- ko w- i a- win -uŋ
C1S announce C1P.OBJ C2S thing C2S GEN C1S see SEL
bawutna kaya ţi dko
ba- wut -na k- a- ya ţ- i d- ko
C5S leave INSTR IMPERF SER go INT LOC.PROX C9S place
duŋ
d- uŋ
C9S DEM.DIST
“He told them what he had seen so that they did not go there”

9.45 Wulun kak bŧepi ŋhilna ŋwo

wul -un kak b- ŧepi ŋ- hil -na ŋ- wo
give 1P.POSS again c7s seed 1P be_able INSTR 1P be
bajeb
ba- jeb
C1P healthy
“Give us grain, so that we can be live.”
9.46 Bañaaŋ bawula ŋnŧaam ŋi
ba- ñaaŋ ba- wul -a ŋ- nŧaam ŋ- i
C1P person C1P give C1S.OBJ C2P livestock C2P GEN
baka ahilna ade
baka a- hil -na a- de
C1P.OBJ SER be_able INSTR SER eat
“The people gave him their livestock, so that they could eat.”
If the purpose clause has the same subject then a serial prefix a- is used.
9.47 Dwaap mlemani alukna Dama
d- waap m- lemani a- luk -na Dama
1S sell C6P orange SER pay INSTR Dama
“I sold some oranges in order to pay Dama”
9.48 Ajaaŋ awul naşih najeenkal
a- ja -aŋ a- wul na- şih na- jeenk -al
C1S HAB SEL C1S give C1S chief C1S redden CHG
kalomar aneejna pşih
ka- lomar a- neej -na p- şih
C3S key SER enter INSTR C6S kingdom/throne
“It is he who gives the king the key in order to enter the kingdom”
If the purpose clause is a different subject and the first person singular then
the prefix must be the subordinate form N-.
 Complex clauses 213

9.49 Awulin kakoopa ndaanna

a- wul -in ka- koopa n- daan -na
C1S give 1S.OBJ C3S glass 1S.SEL drink INSTR
“He gave me the cup so that I can drink”
Clauses can be linked by marking the second verb with an auxiliary like şë.
This is often used for temporal sequencing (section 9.5.1.1), but can also be
used for same event addition (section 9.5.4.2).
9.50 Dñowa aşë wohara
d- ñow -a a- şë wohara
1S wash MID SER SEQ wear_(clothes)
“I wash and then get dressed”
9.51 Bko babi dëm bnuura aşë keţ
b- ko ba- bi dëm bnuura a- şë keţ
C7S tree C7S PAST grow well SER SEQ die
“The tree grew well and then it died”

9.3 Semantics of clause relations

This section describes the semantics of clause relations, and how the various
forms described above are used to express those semantics.
In this section I will use two overlapping frameworks to classify these clause
relations. Firstly I will use the work of Cristofaro (2005) to describe
subordinate clauses, and then the work of Dixon (2009) to describe other
clause types. The two classification overlap in describing adverbial clauses
and where this occurs I shall refer back to previous relevant sections.

9.4 Subordinate clauses

Cristofaro (2005) categorises semantically subordinate clauses into three
groups depending on how the State of Affairs (SoA) described by each
clause relates to each other.
- Complement clauses – one SoA entails that another SoA is referred to.
- Adverbial clauses – one SoA corresponds to circumstances where another
SoA takes place.
- Relative clauses – a participant of the main SoA is identified within a set of
possible referents by mentioning some other SoA in which they take part.
Semantically subordinate clauses are not necessarily syntactically
subordinate clauses.
214 Chapter 9

9.4.1 Complement clauses

Cristofaro further divides up complement clauses into the following
subgroups:
- Modals (must, can, be able to)
- Phasals (start, begin, stop)
- Manipulatives (order, make, persuade)
- Desideratives (‘want’ , etc)
- Perceptions (see, hear)
- Knowledge (know)
- Propositional attitude (think, believe)
- Utterance (say, tell)

9.4.1.1 Modals
Modal complement clauses always have the same subject as the matrix
clause. They use auxiliary verb constructions already described in chapter 8.
Obligation uses the form wo i ka- structure:
9.52 Ŋwo i kapoş ŋnuur ŋwajanţ
ŋ- wo i k- a- poş ŋ- nuur ŋ- wajanţ
1P must GEN IMPERF SER walk C2P day C5P.cnt three
“We must walk three days.”
9.53 Iko mënţ iwo yi kawo
i- ko mënţ i- wo y- i k- a- wo
C3P thing that C3P be C3P GEN IMPERF SER be
‎“These things must happen.”
Negating the auxiliary can mean negation of the obligation as in 9.54 or
obligation to not do something as in 9.55.
9.54 Babuk başih baanwo i kaluk
ba- buk ba- şih ba- an- wo i k- a- luk
C1P child C1P chief C1P NEG must GEN IMPERF SER pay
“Children of chiefs do not have to pay.”
9.55 Baanwo kapaya pnkuŋ
ba- an- wo k- a- pay -a p- nkuŋ
C1P NEG must IMPERF SER raised MID C4S hill
“They must not climb the hill.”
Obligation to not do something can be more explicitly expressed with the
auxiliary construction wut ka-
 Complex clauses 215

9.56 Nawutan kalow maakan

na- wut -an k- a- low maakan
2P leave IMP IMPERF SER be_apart very
“You must not go far”
Ability is expressed with the auxiliary construction hil ka-.
9.57 Ŋhil kado kañaay na
ŋ- hil k- a- do k- a- ñaay na
1P be_able IMPERF SER INGR IMPERF SER walk_about and
uŧaak
u- ŧaak
C2S country
“We can begin to move freely around the country.”
9.58 Nin ñaaŋ aanhil kalempar
nin ñaaŋ a- an- hil k- a- lemp -ar
NEG person C1S NEG be_able IMPERF SER work BEN
başih batëb
ba- şih ba- tëb
C1P chief C1P two
“No-one is able to work for two masters”
9.59 Ihinan kajebanaan
i- hinan k- a- jeban -aan
2S be_able_to IMPERF SER heal 1S.OBJ
“You can heal me”
The verb hinan (which appears in free variation with hilan and hil) has the
sense of “to be able to”. It appears as an auxiliary either with the infinitive
prefix p- or with the serial prefix a- (often prefixed by the imperfective k-).
The difference in meaning between the two structures tends to vary
somewhat between speakers (and sometimes the same speaker at different
times will use the two structures to mean the same thing).
When used with the infinitive marker p- it the core meaning seems be “to
have the ability to do something”.
9.60 Ahinan pyeeh
a- hina p- yeeh
C1S be_able_to INF sing
“He can sing”
The ability can be either internal ability, or ability within external
constraints.
It can be used for both future and past events. Compare the following two
examples from the same text.
216 Chapter 9

9.61 Ŋţëb ŋakeţ , bdëk bapuţ , bañaaŋ

ŋ- ţëb ŋa- keţ b- dëk ba- puţ ba- ñaaŋ
C2P fish C2P die C5S sea C1P rot C1P person
baankak ahil pdaan ţi meel
ba- ën- kak a- hil p- daan ţ- i meel
C1P NEG REP SER be_able INF drink INT LOC.PROX water
mi ba
m- i b- a
C8 GEN C5S OBJ
“The fish will die, the river smell, and people will not even be able to drink
its water”
9.62 Ŋţëb ŋakeţi , kë bdëk bapuţi ,
ŋ- ţëb ŋa- keţ -i kë b- dëk ba- puţ -i
C2P fish C2P die CMPL DS C5S sea C5S rot CMPL
bañaaŋ baankak ahil pdaan meel
ba- ñaaŋ ba- ën- kak a- hil p- daan meel
C1P person C1P NEG REP SER be_able INF drink water
“The fish died, the river smelt, and people were not even be able to drink
water”
When followed by a verb with just the serial prefix a- the meaning is
similar, but the event is in the past.
9.63 Bahil apoş pnak na uŧejan
ba- hil a- poş p- nak na u- ŧejan
C1P be_able SER walk C4S daytime and C2S night
“They were able to walk night and day”
9.64 Ahil anaţ ţi kadunan
a- hil a- naţ ţ- i ka- dun -an
C1S be_able SER stand INT LOC.PROX C3S front 2P.POSS
“He is able to stand in front of you”
When the imperfective k- is present the construction has a more modal
meaning. The exact sense depends on context, ranging from a permissive
“Let him do something”, to a more conditional “he could do something”.
9.65 Ahinan kayeeh
a- hina k- a- yeeh
C1S be_able_to IMPERF SER sing
“Let him sing”
9.66 Ahinan kaŧokun ulemp
a- hina k- a- ŧok -un u- lemp
C1S be_able_to IMPERF SER ruin 1S.OBJ C2S work
“He could ruin our work”
 Complex clauses 217

9.4.1.2 Phasals
Phasal subordinates where the matrix verb is jun “begin” or ţañan “stop”,
are not introduced by a complementiser. The subject of the subordinate
clause is always the same as the matrix clause, and the subordinate clause is
headed by an infinitive.
9.67 Aşë jun pkul Naala ajugul
a- şë jun p- kul Naala a- jug -ul
C1S SEQ begin INF despise Nala C1AS owner 3s.POSS
“Then she began to hate Naala, her mistress”
9.68 Aşë jun pjukan baka
a- şë jun p- jukan baka
C1S SEQ begin INF teach C1P.OBJ
“Then he began to teach them”
9.69 Baţañan pniw ubeeka
ba- ţañ -an p- niw u- beeka
C1P stop CAUS INF build C2S town
“They stopped building the town”
9.70 Aţañan plempar nja
a- ţañ -an p- lemp -ar nja
C1S stop CAUS INF work BEN 1P.OBJ
“She stopped working for us.”
These phasal verbs can also just take a noun that describes an action as a
complement.
9.71 Aţañan kabuk
a- ţañ -an ka- buk
C1S stop CAUS C3S birth
“She stopped giving birth”
9.72 Naşë ŋal pdo baka baţañan ulemp
na- şë ŋal p- do baka ba- ţañ -an u- lemp
2P SEQ like INF do C1P.OBJ C1P stop CAUS C2S work
“You want them to stop the work”
Beginning can also be expressed with the ingressive auxiliary do.
9.73 Mëŋŋal bayafan biki nja bado
më- ŋ- ŋal ba- yafan bik- i nja ba- do
1S.NEG NEG like C1P shepherd C1P GEN 1P.POSS C1P INGR
kaŋom
k- a- ŋom
IMPERF SER dispute
“I don't want our shepherds to begin arguing”
218 Chapter 9

9.4.1.3 Manipulatives
What Cristofaro calls manipulatives are expressed with do “do/make” and
the subordinate clause is normally introduced by the word kë.
9.74 Ado kë baŧuman ŋşaaku
a- do kë ba- ŧum -an ŋ- şaaku
C1S do COMP C1P be_numerous CAUS C2P bag
“He made them fill the sacs”
9.75 Naşih i bayeŋ ado kë Şompi
na- şih i ba- yeŋ a- do kë Şompi
C1S chief GEN C1P guard C1S do COMP Shompi
aklempar baka
a- k- lemp -ar baka
C1S IMPERF work BEN C1P.OBJ
“The head guard made Shompi work for them”
9.76 Bado kë bapënan baka ţi
ba- do kë ba- pën -an baka ţ- i
C1P do COMP C1P go_out CAUS C1P.OBJ INT LOC.PROX
dko
d- ko
C9S place
“They₁ made them₂ take them₃ from the place”
9.77 Aşë do kë bawul napoţ kë adee
a- şë do kë ba- wul na- poţ kë a- de -e
C1S SEQ do COMP C1P give C1S child DS C1S eat CMPL
‎“Then he made them give the child something to eat”
9.78 Aşë do kë nwin babuku
a- şë do kë n- win ba- buk -u
C1S SEQ do COMP 1S.SEL see C1P child 2S.OBJ
“Then he allowed me to see your children”

9.79 Naşibaţi ado kë nţilma unoor

na- şibaţi a- do kë n- ţilma u- noor
C1S God C1S do COMP 1S.SEL forget C2S tiredness
wi naan bŧi
w- i naan bŧi
C2S GEN 1S.GEN all
“God makes me forget all my tiredness”
 Complex clauses 219

9.80 Ado wa kë uyimani (same as ex. 7.16)

a- do w- a kë u- yiman -i
C1S do C2S OBJ COMP C2S respect IMP
“He made it sacred”
Occasionally the kë is dropped.
9.81 Ddo baka bapën
d- do baka ba- pën
1S do C1P.OBJ C1P go_out
‎“I made them leave”
9.4.1.4 Desideratives
Desire is expressed with the verb ŋal “want/love”. If the subject is different
in the main clause and the complement clause, and the subject of the
complement clause is the first person singular then the subordinate version
of that prefix is used.
9.82 Naŋal nwutanan naşih i
na- ŋal n- wut -an -an na- şih i
2P loved 1S.SEL leave CAUS 2P.OBJ C1S chief quest
“Do you want me to release the chief to you?”
9.83 Dŋal name kë djon ŋal pbi
d- ŋal na- me kë d- jon ŋal p- bi
1S like 2P know COMP 1S cont like INF come
du an
d- u an
EXT LOC.DIST 2P.OBJ
“I want you to know that I have for a long time wanted to come to you”
If the subject is the same then the infinitive form of the first verb word is
used, or the k- a- prefix. The difference between the two structures needs
research, but it seems that most cases of the infinitive relate to past states.
9.84 Dŋal maakan pwinan
d- ŋal maakan p- win -an
1S like very INF see 2P.OBJ
“I really wanted to see you”
9.85 Aanŋal ppeeţa ţi kadun
a- an- ŋal p- peeţ -a ţ- i ka- dun
C1S NEG want INF reveal MID INT LOC.PROX C3S front
ki bañaaŋ
k- i ba- ñaaŋ
C3S GEN C1P person
“He did not want to reveal himself in front of the people.”
220 Chapter 9

9.86 Iŋal kaya na ñiinţ i i

i- ŋal k- a- ya na ñ- iinţ i i
2S want IMPERF SER go with C1S man DEM.PROX quest
“Do you want to go with this man?”
9.87 Naweeku aŋal kafiŋu
na- week -u a- ŋal k- a- fiŋ -u
C1S elder_sibling 2S.POSS C1S like IMPERF SER kill 2S.POSS
“Your brother wants to kill you”
9.4.1.5 Perceptions
Perception verbs like win “see” and ŧiink “hear/feel” use the word kë to
introduce a complement clause. No other changes are required in the
complement clause. Note in example 9.89 that there is no change of subject,
which shows that kë is acting as a complementiser and not a change of
subject marker.
9.88 Awin kë mboş manjun pkay
a- win kë m- boş man- jun p- kay
C1S see COMP C8 earth C8 begin INF be_dry
“He saw that the land was beginnning to dry.”
9.89 Dwin kë dhil kado da
d- win kë d- hil k- a- do d- a
1S see COMP 1S be_able IMPERF SER do C9S OBJ
ulemp unuura
u- lemp u- nuura
C2S work C2S good
“I saw that I was able to do good work there.”
9.90 Aŧiink plul kë palul maakan
a- ŧiink p- lul kë pa- lul maakan
C1S hear C4S flute COMP C4S blow very
“He heard the flute blow loudly.”
The imperfective prefix k- is used where an action is occurring at the time of
perception.
9.91 Şompi akat këş aşë win kë Dama
Şompi a- kat këş a- şë win kë Dama
Shompi C1S raise_(eyes) eye SER SEQ see COMP Dama
akbi
a- k- bi
SER IMPERF come
“Shompi lifted his eyes and saw that Dama was coming.”
 Complex clauses 221

9.92 Dŧiink kë ikpoş ţi uwoorta

d- ŧiink kë i- k- poş ţ- i u- woorta
1S hear COMP 2S IMPERF walk INT LOC.PROX C2S garden
“I heard you walking in the garden.”
9.93 Aŧiink bapoţ kë bakhuuran
a- ŧiink ba- poţ kë ba- k- huuran
C1S hear C1P child COMP C1P IMPERF cry_out
“He heard the children shouting.”
In the following two examples the imperfective prefix k- is not used. In the
first the change of state has happened, in the second the action has not
happened.
9.94 Awin kë Naala adëmi
a- win kë Naala a- dëm -i
C1S see COMP Nala C1S grow CMPL
“He saw that Naala had grown.”
9.95 Ŋwin bnuura kë baambi hil pneej
ŋ- win bnuura kë ba- am- bi hil p- neej
1P see well COMP C1P NEG past be_able INF enter
du dko
d- u d- ko
EXT LOC.DIST C9S place
“We saw clearly that they had not been able to enter the place.”
The same structure with kë as a complementiser is used when ŧiink is used
figuratively.
9.96 Aŧiink ţi uleeful kë
a- ŧiink ţ- i u- leef -ul kë
C1S hear INT LOC.PROX C2S body 3s.POSS COMP
ajebi
a- jeb -i
C1S recover CMPL
“He realised that he had been healed.”

9.4.1.6 Knowledge
The verb me “know” is used to express knowledge. Where it used with a
subordinate clause, that clause is introduced by the complementiser kë. No
other changes are required in the complement clause.
9.97 Name kë dlempar aşinan
na- me kë d- lemp -ar a- şin -an
2P know COMP 1S work BEN C1AS father 2P.POSS
‎“You know that I work for your father.”
222 Chapter 9

9.98 Bame kë akeţi

ba- me kë a- keţ -i
C1P know COMP C1S die CMPL
“They know that he is dead.”

9.99 Bañaaŋ bukuŋ baamme kë nduba

ba- ñaaŋ buk- uŋ ba- am- me kë nduba
C1P person C1P DEM.DIST C1P NEG know COMP boy
uŋ awo ţi btuur meeţ
uŋ a- wo ţ- i b- tuur meeţ
DEM.DIST C1S be INT LOC.PROX C5S coffin inside
“Those people didn't know that that boy was inside the coffin.”
9.100 Dme kë dţo ţi na an bŧi
d- me kë d- ţo ţ- i na an bŧi
1S know COMP 1S sit INT LOC.PROX with 2P.OBJ all
“I know that I am staying with you.”

9.4.1.7 Propositional attitude

The verb fiyaar “believe” is used to denote propositional attitude. It can be
used with a noun, but where it used with a subordinate clause, that clause is
introduced by the complementiser kë. No other changes are required in the
complement clause.
9.101 Afiyaar kë dwoona du Ziguinchor
a- fiyaar kë d- woona d- u Ziguinchor
C1S believe COMP 1S come_from EXT LOC.DIST Ziguinchor
“He thought that I came from Ziguinchor.”
9.102 Baanfiyaar kë abi wo nakuul
ba- an- fiyaar kë a- bi wo na- kuul
C1P NEG believe COMP C1S past be C1S blind
“They didn't believe that he had been blind”
9.4.1.8 Utterance
Speech is always introduced by the verb ji “speak”. This can be used on its
own, or after a speech verb like ŧeem “answer”, where it is prefixed with the
serial prefix a-.
 Complex clauses 223

9.103 Ulioŋ unwooŋ i uşih ujej

u- lioŋ u- n- wo -oŋ i u- şih u- jej
C2S lion C2S COREF be SEL GEN C2S chief C2S take
bţup aji ulemp ubaa
b- ţup a- ji u- lemp u- ba -a
C5S speech SER say C2S work C2S finish CMPL
“The lion who was the king spoke up and said ‘The work is finished’ ”
9.104 Woli baţij pde baji pde pi
woli ba- ţij p- de ba- ji p- de p- i
if C1P bring C6S meal C1P say C6S meal C4S GEN
bayaanţ pi pi
ba- yaanţ p- i p- i
C1P stranger C4S GEN C4S DEM.PROX
“When they brought them the meal they said ‘This is the stranger's meal’ ”
9.105 Kë bangooli başë ŧeema aji
kë ba- ngooli ba- şë ŧeem -a a- ji
DS C1P soldier C1P SEQ reply C1S.OBJ SER say
nayaanţ aloŋ ankuŋiiŋ pdunk
na- yaanţ a- loŋ a- n- kuŋ -i -iŋ p- dunk
C1S stranger C1S INDEF C1S COREF be_burdened MID SEL C4S pot
akbiiŋ
a- k- bi -iŋ
C1S IMPERF come SEL
“And the soldiers replied ‘It is a stranger carrying a pot who is coming’ ”
9.106 ( Uloŋ )... aşë do kahuuh
u- loŋ a- şë do k- a- huuh
C2S elephant SER SEQ INGR IMPERF SER shout
aji nabiini , nabiini .
a- ji na- bi -ini na- bi -ini
SER say 2P come IMP 2P come IMP
‎“Elephant started to shout out crying ‘come! Come!’ ”
The only difference between direct and indirect discourse is the verbal
prefix.
9.107 Uji uwo wi pdo ukoolan
u- ji u- wo w- i p- do u- koolan
C2S say C2S must C2S GEN INF do C2S one_thing
“He said that he had to do one thing”
The verb şal also uses this structure. This verb is usually translated as
“think”, but rather than propositional attitude, the use of ji suggests that it
may rather denote internal speech, e.g “he said to himself”.
224 Chapter 9

9.108 Dşal aji i awutaruŋ itaka

d- şal a- ji i a- wut -ar -uŋ i- taka
1S think SER say GEN C1S leave BEN SEL C4P money
iŧum a
i- ŧum a
C3P many OBJ
“I think it was the one who was let off the biggest amount of money.”
9.109 Bañaaŋ başal aji dwo in ba ?
ba- ñaaŋ ba- şal a- ji d- wo in ba
C1P person C1P think SER say 1S be who? ques
“Who do people think I am?” (Lit: “people think I am who?”)
şal can also be used with an infinitive when the subject of the complement
clause is the same as the subject of the main clause.
9.110 Aşal pwutanaan
a- şal p- wutan -aan
C1S think INF release 1S.OBJ
“He₁ thought that he₁ would release him₂.”
9.111 Başal pgarën na an
ba- şal p- gar -ën na an
C1P think INF scatter 1S.OBJ and 2P.OBJ
‎“They thought that they would separate me and you.”

9.4.2 Adverbial clauses

An adverbial clause is one where the State of Affairs described by the
subordinate clause corresponds to circumstances where, when or how the
State of Affairs described by the matrix clause takes place.

9.4.2.1 Temporal clauses

As shown in section 6.3 te “until” can either be followed by a noun phrase
or by a clause.
The verbs in the clause introduced by te use the subordinate form of the
prefix for the first person singular. There are no other morphological or
syntactic changes in the adverbial clause.
 Complex clauses 225

9.112 Naduka ţi kawo ukalabuş

na- duk -a ţ- i k- a- wo u- kalabuş
2P leave MID INT LOC.PROX IMPERF SER be C2S prison
te ndo ten me ŋţup ŋi nan
te n- do ten me ŋ- ţup ŋ- i nan
until 1S.SEL INGR look_at know C2P speech C2P GEN 2P.POSS
ŋajoonani
ŋa- joonan -i
C2P be_true CMPL
“You will stay in prison until I know that what you say is true”
9.113 te baweek biki naan baanţaş
te ba- week bik- i naan ba- an- ţaş
until C6S elder_sibling C2P GEN 1S.GEN 3P NEG follow
bgah mënţan
b- gah mënţan
C6S way that
“until my brothers don't follow that way”
9.114 Abi wo wo da te kanşëntën
a- bi wo wo d- a te ka- nşëntën
C1S PAST be be C9S OBJ until C3S umbilical_cord
kajot jot
ka- jot jot
C3S fall fall
“She stays there until the umbilical cord falls off”
The te clause is quite mobile. In example 9.115 it occurs in the middle of
the main clause, just after the subject.
9.115 Dko mënţ te du umbaŋ wi
d- ko mënţ te d- u u- mbaŋ w- i
C9S place that until EXT LOC.DIST C2S side C2S GEN
ubeeka dawo na itant
u- beeka da- wo na i- tant
C2S town C9S be with C3P river
“That area, as far as the town, was well irrigated” (Lit: was with rivers)
A temporal relation indicating an end point can be expressed with the word
ji “before”, which is homophonous with ji “like” (section 9.4.2.2 below).
9.116 Ŋŋal pţiiş ji uşubal ubi uşub
ŋ- ŋal p- ţiiş ji u- şubal u- bi u- şub
1P like INF go_home before C2S rain C2S PAST C2S rain
“We want to go before it rains”
226 Chapter 9

This construction can only be used if the action expressed in the first clause
will happen in the future. The futurity need not be expressed syntactically
with a future auxiliary.
As with the te the verbs in the second clause use the subordinate form for
the first person singular.
9.117 Dya kawina ji mbi
d- ya k- a- win -a ji m- bi
1S FUT IMPERF SER see C1S.OBJ before 1S.SEL FUT
ndo kakeţ
n- do k- a- keţ
1S.SEL INGR IMPERF SER die
“I will see him before I die”

To describe a specific time, or duration of time a clause introduced by wi

“when/while” is used. This is in fact a headless relative clause (see section
9.4.3.5) with an implicit head wal “time”. (So wi is actually w- i “C2S GEN”).
The verb is marked like other relative clauses where the antecedent is a
non-subject, i.e. with a selectional suffix -uŋ, and where appropriate, the
imperfective prefix -k. (see section 9.4.3.2).
9.118 Wi abanuŋ aşë jot di meel
wi a- ban -uŋ a- şë jot d- i meel
when C1S touch SEL SER SEQ fall EXT LOC.PROX water
‎“When she arrived, she fell in the water”
9.119 Wi ŋdeeŋ aba , ŋţiiş
wi ŋ- de -eŋ a- ba ŋ- ţiiş
when 1P eat SEL SER CMPLTV 1P go_home
“When we had finished eating, we went home”
9.120 Wi Naala akñoguŋ dko di
wi Naala a- k- ñog -uŋ d- ko d- i
when Nala C1S IMPERF be_close SEL C9S place C9S GEN
bafëţuŋ awin Dama
ba- fëţ -uŋ a- win Dama
C1P dwell SEL SER see Dama
“As Naala got close to where they lived, she saw Dama”
9.4.2.2 Manner
As shown in section 9.1.2 ji “like” can be followed by a clause to show
hypothetical manner.
 Complex clauses 227

9.121 Dţaafi kë uwo wo ji dnaţ ţi

d- ţaafi kë u- wo wo ji d- naţ ţ- i
1S dream DS C2S be be like 1S stand INT LOC.PROX
kabaŋ ki bdëk
ka- baŋ k- i b- dëk
C3S side C3S GEN C5S sea
“I dreamt that I was standing at the side of the river”
The word jibi shows real manner:
9.122 Aluŋ kaniw jibi ajonuŋ
a- luŋ k- a- niw jibi a- jon -uŋ
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build like SER last SEL
kado
k- a- do
IMPERF SER do
“He will build as he always does”
9.123 Baloŋ bado jibi bameeŋ di
ba- loŋ ba- do jibi ba- me -eŋ d- i
C1P INDEF C1P do like C1P know SEL EXT LOC.PROX
ikow yi baka
i- kow y- i baka
C5P head C3P GEN C1P.POSS
“Some did as they thought they should”

9.4.3 Relative clauses

Relative clauses are those where a participant of the main state of affairs is
identified within a set of possible referents by mentioning some other state
of affairs in which they take part.
Relative clauses in Mankanya occur after the head noun that they are
modifying, towards the end of the nominal phrase.
Syntactically there are two different structures, depending on whether or
not the antecedent is the subject of the relative clause.

9.4.3.1 Antecedent is the Subject of the Relative Clause

When the antecedent is the subject of the relative clause there is no word,
relative pronoun or otherwise, that introduces the relative clause. Instead
the first verbal word is marked to indicate that the subject of the verb also
has a grammatical role in the matrix sentence. As noted in section 4.2.6,
this mark is a prefix that is realised by the pre-nasalisation of the first
consonant of the stem. If this consonant is a nasal, then that nasal is
lengthened. If present, the imperfective prefix k- is prenasalised, in addition
to the nasal before the stem. I gloss this prefix COREF for coreference.
228 Chapter 9

The first verb word is also marked with the selectional suffix -uŋ.
9.124 ateem naan ambukuŋ ni
a- teem naan a- m- buk -uŋ ni
C1AS grandparent 1S.GEN C1S COREF produce SEL my_mother
“My maternal grandmother (Lit: my grandparent who gave birth to my
mother)”
9.125 praata panjotuŋ
p- raata pa- n- jot -uŋ
C6S bowl C6S COREF fall SEL
“The bowl which fell”
9.126 Dwin nalët ambomanuŋ blaañ
d- win na- lët a- m- boman -uŋ b- laañ
1S see C1S tailor C1Sa COREF make SEL C5S wrap
“I saw the tailor who made the dress”
9.127 Dwin nalët ankmbomanuŋ blaañ
d- win na- lët a- n- k- m- boman -uŋ b- laañ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF IMPERF COREF make SEL C5S wrap
“I saw the tailor who is making the dress”
9.128 Dwin nalët anknluŋ
d- win na- lët a- n- k- n- luŋ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF IMPERF COREF FUT
kaboman blaañ
k- a- boman b- laañ
IMPERF SER make C5S wrap
“I saw the tailor who is going to make the dress”

As the antecedent is the subject of the verb in the relative clause, that verb
agrees with the antecedent.
9.129 Anug ŋnŧaam ŋambukiiŋ uŧeek
a- nug ŋ- nŧaam ŋa- m- buk -i -iŋ u- ŧeek
C1S buy C2P livestock C2P COREF produce MID SEL C2S first
“He bought the animals that were born first”
9.130 kanëm kankmbiiŋ
ka- nëm ka- n- k- m- bi -iŋ
C3S week C3S COREF IMPERF C8 come SEL
“Next week” (lit. “the week that is coming”)
To express a negative, a different structure is used, as the negative is also
marked with prenasalisation of the verb stem. The verb wo “to be” is
introduced at the beginning of the verbal complex and takes the
subordinating suffix and the coreferential prefix. The next verbal word
 Complex clauses 229

(either main verb or auxiliary), takes the negative marker. Note that wo is
never marked for imperfective.
9.131 Ñiinţ anwooŋ aambi amaaki
ñ- iinţ a- n- wo -oŋ a- am- bi a- maak -i
C2S man C1S COREF be SEL C1S NEG come C1S be_ill CMPL
“The man who hasn't come is ill”
9.132 Ñiinţ anwooŋ aankbi
ñ- iinţ a- n- wo -oŋ a- an- k- bi
C2S man C1S COREF be SEL C1S NEG IMPERF come
amaaki
a- maak -i
C1S be_ill CMPL
“The man who's not coming is ill”
9.133 Dwin nalët anwooŋ aankluŋ
d- win na- lët a- n- wo -oŋ a- an- k- luŋ
1S see C1S tailor C1S COREF be SEL C1S NEG IMPERF FUT
kaboman blaañ
k- a- boman b- laañ
IMPERF SER make C5S wrap
“I saw the tailor who is not going make the dress”
Note that both wo and the second verbal word agree with the subject of the
relative clause as shown clearly in example 9.132 above.
9.134 Dwo na biinţ batëb banwooŋ
d- wo na b- iinţ ba- tëb ba- n- wo -oŋ
1S be and C1P man C1P two C1P COREF be SEL
baando bi de
ba- an- do bi de
C1P NEG INGR PAST eat
“I am with two men who haven't yet eaten”

9.4.3.2 Antecedent is a non-Subject in the Relative Clause

When the antecedent of the relative clause is some other than the subject in
that clause, the relative clause is introduced by the word -i which agrees
with the antecedent. As already mentioned in section 9.1.2 I have chosen to
gloss it as GEN “genitive” as its function is the same (introducing an element
which modifies the head noun).
As with other relative clauses, the first verb word takes the selective suffix
-uŋ and when necessary the imperfective prefix k-.
230 Chapter 9

9.135 Alaalan umeeşa wi akbomanuŋ

a- laalan u- meeşa w- i a- k- boman -uŋ
C1S feel C2S table C2S GEN C1S IMPERF make SEL
“She's touching the table that she's making”
9.136 Aŋal iko yi baknuguŋ
a- ŋal i- ko y- i ba- k- nug -uŋ
C1S like C3P thing C3P GEN C1P IMPERF buy SEL
“She likes the things that they buy“
9.137 Aŋal iko yi bakbiiŋ kanug
a- ŋal i- ko y- i ba- k- bi -iŋ k- a- nug
C1S like C3P thing C3P GEN C1P IMPERF FUT SEL IMPERF SER buy
”She likes the things that they are going to buy”
9.138 Ŋşë pënan kakaarta ki aşinun
ŋ- şë pënan ka- kaarta k- i a- şin -un
1P SEQ take_out C3S card C3S GEN C1AS father 1P.OBJ
apiiŧuŋ un
a- piiŧ -uŋ un
C1S write SEL 1P.subj
“We got out the map that our father had drawn us”
9.139 Mënte uko wi ijakuŋ
më- n- te u- ko w- i i- jak -uŋ
1S.NEG NEG hear C2S thing C2S GEN 2S tell SEL
“I didn't understand what you said”
To express a negative the verb wo is used in the same way as was noted in
section 9.4.3.1 above.
9.140 Ado ulemp wi bawooŋ
a- do u- lemp w- i ba- wo -oŋ
C1S do C2S work C2S GEN C1P be SEL
baaŋŋali
ba- aŋ- ŋal -i
C1P NEG like CMPL
“He does the work that they don't like”
9.141 Aŋal iko yi bawooŋ baanji banug
a- ŋal i- ko y- i ba- wo -oŋ ba- an- ji ba- nug
C1S like C3P thing C3P GEN C1P be SEL C1P NEG HAB C1P buy
“She likes the things that they don't usually buy”
With ditransitive clauses the same structure is used with either object, as
shown in the examples below.
 Complex clauses 231

9.142 nalemp ñaaţ i Şompi awuluŋ Dama

na- lemp ñ- aaţ i Şompi a- wul -uŋ Dama
C1S worker C1S female GEN Shompi C1S give SEL Dama
abukul
a- buk -ul
C1AS child 3S.POSS
“the servant that Shompi had given to his daughter Dama”
9.143 nalemp i bawuluŋ baluk bi
na- lemp i ba- wul -uŋ ba- luk b- i
C1S worker GEN C1P give SEL C5S payment C5S GEN
ŋşubal kañeen
ŋ- şubal ka- ñeen
C2P year C3S five
“the servant that they had given five years wages to”
9.4.3.3 Object pronouns in Relative Clauses
As noted in section 4.2.7.2 - some object pronouns change their form when
used in a relative clause. These are the singular pronouns and the 2 nd person
plural pronoun. This change occurs regardless of whether the antecedent is
subject or an object, and if an object, regardless of whether it is the first or
second object.
9.144 Ñaaŋ ampokanaŋ apokën
ñaaŋ a- m- pok -an -aŋ a- pok -ën
person C1S COREF refuse 2P.SEL.OBJ SEL C1S refuse 1S.OBJ
“The person who rejects you, rejects me”
9.145 uko wi baktaparuluŋ
u- ko w- i ba- k- tapar -ul -uŋ
C2S thing C2S GEN C1P IMPERF accuse C1S.SEL.OBJ SEL
“the thing they accused him of”
9.146 itaka yi nwuliiŋ
i- taka y- i n- wul -i -iŋ
C4P money C4P GEN 1S.SEL give 2S.SEL.OBJ SEL
“the money that I gave you”

9.4.3.4 Antecedent is a modifier in a genitive phrase in a

Relative Clause
It is possible to relativise a noun which is the modifier in a genitive phrase
in the relative clause (for example a possessor). The structure is the same as
that used for objects, but a resumptive pronoun is required, either as an
object pronoun (e.g. ŋa in example 9.147) or as a verbal possessive suffix
(e.g. -ul in example 9.148).
232 Chapter 9

9.147 Uwit ukaş na upi ukaş ŋi

u- wit u- kaş na u- pi u- kaş ŋ- i
C2S cow C2S male and C2S goat C2S male C2P GEN
baţuuŋ pñaak pi ŋa ţi
ba- ţu -uŋ p- ñaak p- i ŋ- a ţ- i
C1P place SEL C4S blood C4S GEN C2P OBJ INT LOC.PROX
dko dyimanaan maakan
d- ko d- yiman -a -an maakan
C9S place C9S respect MID CAUS very
“the male cow and the male goat, whose blood had been put in the very
sacred place”
9.148 Dwin ñiinţ i nmeeŋ abukul
d- win ñ- iinţ i n- me -eŋ a- buk -ul
1S see C1S man GEN 1S know SEL C1AS child 3S.POSS
“I saw the man whose child I know”
9.4.3.5 Headless relative clauses
Relative clauses where the head is not explicit are often found.
9.149 Bannooruŋ baanji baya
ba- n- noor -uŋ ba- an- ji ba- ya
C1P COREF get_tired SEL C1P NEG HAB C1P go
“Those who were tired didn't go”
9.150 Biki nwinuŋ du baankmbi
bik- i n- win -uŋ d- u ba- an- k- m- bi
C1P GEN 1S see SEL EXT LOC.DIST C1P NEG IMPERF NEG come
“Those I saw there aren't coming”

9.4.3.6 Relative clause semantics

Relative clauses which have an explicit head can be divided into two types,
those that are restrictive, and those that non-restrictive. A restrictive
relative clause identifies the head amongst several possible referents. A non-
restrictive clause adds additional information to the head.
Not all languages permit both types, but relative clauses of both types are
found in Mankanya, and there is no morpho-syntactic distinction.
Example 9.151 from the beginning of a story, shows two non-restrictive
relative clauses. Each add extra information and each could be removed
from the sentence, and it would still make sense.
 Complex clauses 233

9.151 Ubi ka ţfa , di untanka

u- bi ka ţëfa d- i u- ntanka
C2S past have in_the_past EXT LOC.PROX C2S village
uloŋ , ñiinţ nawaap naţaf
u- loŋ ñ- iinţ na- waap na- ţaf
C2S INDEF C1S man C1S seller C1S elderly
ammaakuŋ aniimar na napoţ ñaaţ
a- m- maak -uŋ a- niim -ar na na- poţ ñ- aaţ
C1S COREF be_ill SEL C1S marry BEN and C1S child C1S woman
nanuura i bapoţ baţaşa biki
na- nuura i ba- poţ ba- ţaşa bik- i
C1S beauty GEN C1P child C1P teenager_(boy) C1P GEN
untanka bŧi baŋaluŋ
u- ntanka bŧi ba- ŋal -uŋ
C2S village all C1P like SEL
“Once, there was an old ill man who married a beautiful young woman,
who all the boys in the village loved”

Later on in the same story, there is an example of a restrictive relative

clause:
9.152 kë ñaaţ aşë ya aya ţup
kë ñ- aaţ a- şë ya a- ya ţup
DS C1S woman SER SEQ go SER go announce
baniw , ul i aŋaluŋ maakan
ba- niw ul i a- ŋal -uŋ maakan
C5S fiancé(e) 3s.subj GEN C1S like SEL very
“The woman went to talk to her beloved, he who loved her a lot”

Here the relative clause identifies which boy is being talked about amongst
the ones who have been introduced in the story, the one “who loved her a
lot”. Similarly later in the same story, this boy is referred to in the same
way.
9.153 ame kë naţaşa i ñaaţ
a- me kë na- ţaşa i ñ- aaţ
C1S know COMP C1S teenager_(boy) GEN C1S woman
aŋaluŋ maakan aya pfër baniw
a- ŋal -uŋ maakan a- ya p- fër ba- niw
C1S like SEL very SER go INF spend_the_night C5S fiancé(e)
“He knew that the boy who the girl loved a lot was going to spend the night
with her”
Here are several other examples of restrictive relative clauses.
234 Chapter 9

9.154 Aşë ji « bayaanţ bambaaŋ

a- şë ji ba- yaanţ ba- m- ba -aŋ
SER SEQ say C1P stranger C1P COREF CMPLTV SEL
abi kë ŋşë kiijana »
a- bi kë ŋ- şë kiij -an -a
SER come DS 1P SEQ steal CAUS MID
“They said ‘The strangers who have just come are robbing us’ ”
9.155 ñaaŋ anduwaniiŋ Nabanka Biyagi
ñaaŋ a- n- duw -an -i -iŋ Nabanka Biyagi
person SER COREF call CAUS MID SEL Nabanka Biyagi
aşë wo da ,
a- şë wo d- a
SER SEQ be C9S OBJ
“A person called Nabanka Biyagi was there”

9.4.4 Participle clauses

Semantically, participle clauses in Mankanya would be classed as relative
clauses. However, they are formally different.
As already described in section 5.2, participles agree with the noun they are
modifying using adjectival agreement markers, rather than the verbal
agreement markers used with relatives. Further, participles cannot be
marked morphologically as negative, nor can they take the imperfective
prefix k-.
A participle can also be the head of a participle clause, and the following
two examples are repeated from that section. Compare example 9.156,
which contains a participle clause dbomanani ŋkaaru “car repairing” with
example 9.157 which contains a relative.
9.156 añooţ ukaaru wi nun du
a- ñooţ u- kaaru w- i nun d- u
C1S take C2S car C2S GEN 1P.POSS EXT LOC.DIST
dko dbomanani ŋkaaru
d- ko da- boman -an -i ŋ- kaaru
C9S place C9S make CAUS PTCP C2P car
“He took our car to the garage (lit. the car repairing place)”
9.157 dko dambomanuŋ na iñen yi
d- ko da- m- boman -uŋ na i- ñen y- i
C9S place C9S COREF make SEL and C3P hand C3P GEN
bañaaŋ bajën
ba- ñaaŋ ba- jën
C1P person C1P black
“a place made by human hands”
 Complex clauses 235

9.5 Other types of clause linking

Dixon classifies semantic types of clause linking in Dixon (2009). This
classification only relates to clause linkages which are not relative clauses or
complement clauses. This means that adverbial clauses are found in both his
classification, and Cristofaro’s, and so I have already described them in
section 9.4.2. This is Dixon’s classification, with his numbering:

Linking type
I Temporal
Is Temporal Succession
Ir Relative Time
Ic Conditional
II Consequence
IIc Cause
IIr Result
IIp Purpose
III Possible Consequence
IV Addition
IVu Unordered addition
IVs Same event addition
IVe Elaboration
IVc Contrast
V Alternatives
Vd Disjunction
Vr Rejection
Vs Suggestion
VI Manner
VIr Real
V1h Hypothetical
Table 9.1: Dixon's classification of clause relations

9.5.1 Temporal (I)

9.5.1.1 Temporal Succession (Is)
As noted in section 8.7.3 and also section 9.2 the primary use of şë is to
indicate a successive event, and it is commonly found in serial clause
constructions:
236 Chapter 9

9.158 Bko babi dëm bnuura aşë keţ

b- ko ba- bi dëm bnuura a- şë keţ
C7S tree C7S PAST grow well SER SEQ die
“The tree grew well and then it died”
9.5.1.2 Relative Time (Ir)
Relative time is achieved with adverbial temporal clauses that begin with wi
or wal wi. These have been described in section 9.4.2.1.
9.159 Wi abanuŋ aşë jot di meel
wi a- ban -uŋ a- şë jot d- i meel
when C1S touch SEL SER SEQ fall EXT LOC.PROX water
‎“When she arrived, she fell in the water”
9.5.1.3 Conditional (Ic)
Conditional clause relations can be marked in two ways, the clause initial
word woli or the verb following word le (see also section 9.1.2). Both words
mark irrealis so give no information about the probability of the condition
becoming true, only that it is not true at the time of utterance.
9.160 Woli dŧar abi kabi de
woli d- ŧar a- bi ka- bi de
when; if 1S be_fast SER come 1S.ALT FUT eat
‎“If I come back quickly, I'll eat”
9.161 Ŋya uţeeh woli bnuur
ŋ- ya u- ţeeh woli b- nuur
1P go C2S field when; if C7S sunlight
baanyiiki
ba- an- yiik -i
C7S NEG be_hot CMPL
“We will go to the fields, if it isn't too hot”
9.162 Tenan baţi , ifën ŋjah woli
ten -an ba- ţi i- fën ŋ- jah woli
look_at IMP C5S sky 2S count C2P star when; if
ihinani
i- hinan -i
2S be_able CMPL
“Look at the sky, count the stars if you are able”
9.163 Woli abi , ŋfiŋ uguk
woli a- bi ŋ- fiŋ u- guk
when; if C1S come 1P kill C2S chicken
“If/When he comes we will kill a chicken”
 Complex clauses 237

9.164 Woli naluŋ aya ŋrisiya ŋya na baka

woli na- luŋ a- ya ŋrisiya ŋ- ya na baka
when; if 2P FUT SER go church 1P go and C1P.OBJ
“If you are going to go to church, we will come with you.”
9.165 Apiitaar le naşë fën te iñeen
a- piitaar le na- şë fën te i- ñeen
C1S whistle IRL 2P SEQ count until C3P ten
‎“When he whistles, you'll count to ten”
9.166 Mpiitaar le naşë fën te iñeen
m- piitaar le na- şë fën te i- ñeen
1S.SEL whistle IRL 2P SEQ count until C3P ten
‎“When I whistle, you'll count to ten”
9.167 nluŋ le ka itaka kaniw katoh
n- luŋ le ka i- taka ka- niw ka- toh
1S.SEL FUT IRL have C4P money 1S.ALT build C3S house
kaweek
ka- week
C3S big
“If I had the money I would buy a big house”

9.5.2 Consequence (II)

9.5.2.1 Cause (IIc)
There are three ways of marking a causal semantic relation, the words jibi
and ţiki and the expression ukaaŋ kë (see also sections 9.1.1 and 9.1.2).
The words jibi and ţiki both mark the semantic supporting clause. Ţiki
requires no syntactic changes to the clause it introduces, whereas jibi
requires the verb in the clause it introduces to have the selection suffix -uŋ,
and the subordinate version of the 1S prefix N-.
9.168 Dduka Dakar ţiki dmaaki
d- duk -a Dakar ţiki d- maak -i
1S leave MID Dakar because 1S be_ill CMPL
“I stayed in Dakar because I was ill”
9.169 Jibi awooŋ aankak afiyaara ,
jibi a- wo -oŋ a- an- kak a- fiyaar -a
like C1S be SEL SER NEG REP SER believe C1S.OBJ
aşë ţup pyaanţ
a- şë ţup p- yaanţ
SER SEQ announce INF go_visiting
“As he still didn't believe her, he said he was going to go on a voyage”
238 Chapter 9

9.170 Dlempar aşinan jibi nhiniiŋ bŧi

d- lemp -ar a- şin -an jibi n- hina -iŋ bŧi
1S work BEN C1AS father 2P.POSS like 1S.SEL be_strong SEL all
“I worked for your father as much as I could.”
The expression ukaaŋ kë mark the semantic focal clause.
9.171 Dmaaki ukaaŋ kë dduka Dakar
d- maak -i u- ka -aŋ kë d- duk -a Dakar
1S be_ill CMPL C2S have SEL COMP 1S leave MID Dakar
“I was ill, and for this reason I stayed in Dakar”
9.5.2.2 Result (IIr)
Result is most often expressed with the word hënk (see also sections 9.1.1).

9.172 Jakan na baka iwo aţa'naan

jakan na baka i- wo a- ţa' naan
tell and C1P.OBJ 2S be C1AS young_sibling 1S.GEN
hënk iţu bamëbanaan bnuura
hënk i- ţu ba- mëb -an -aan b- nuura
so 2S place c7s attach CAUS 1S.OBJ C5S goodness
“Say that you are my sister, so that you will cause them to be good to me”
9.173 Ŋdeey ŋuŋ bahank ŋa pa
ŋ- deey ŋ- uŋ ba- hank ŋ- a pa
C2P grain C2P DEM.DIST C1P keep C2P OBJ in_order_to
ŋşubal paaj na uloŋ ŋi ubon hënk
ŋ- şubal paaj na u- loŋ ŋ- i u- bon hënk
C2P year six and C2S INDEF C2P GEN C2S hunger so
bañaaŋ biki uŧaak bawutna
ba- ñaaŋ bik- i u- ŧaak ba- wut -na
C1P person C1P GEN C2S country C1P leave INSTR
kakeţ
k- a- keţ
IMPERF SER die
“This grain will be kept for the seven years of famine so the people of the
country will not die”
Result can also be expressed with the word keeri.
9.174 Nawutan keeri kaţaaf uko
na- wut -an keeri k- a- ţaaf u- ko
2P leave IMP in_that_case IMPERF SER worry C2S thing
wi faan
w- i faan
C2S GEN tomorrow
“So don't worry about tomorrow!”
 Complex clauses 239

9.175 Dşal keeri aji mënkkak

d- şal keeri a- ji m- ën- k- kak
1S think in_that_case SER say 1S.NEG NEG IMPERF return
pwinan
p- win -an
INF see 2P.OBJ
“I decided, therefore, not to come back and see you.”
9.5.2.3 Purpose (IIp)
Purpose clauses are introduced by the word pa, with either an infinitive for
the same subject, N- for a different 1 singular subject, or normal verb
subject prefixes in all other cases (see also section 9.1.2).
9.176 Ŋya duuţ | pa nhil njukan
ŋ- ya duuţ pa n- hil n- jukan
1P go up_there in_order_to 1S be_able 1S teach
uhula
u- hula
C3S Mankanya
“We're going to the Casamance, so that I can teach Mankanya”
9.177 Ŋya duuţ | pa pmeer bahula
ŋ- ya duuţ pa p- meer ba- hula
1P go up_there in_order_to INF get_to_know C1P Mankanya
“We're going to the Casamance to get to know the Mankanya”
9.178 Ŋya duuţ | pa Dama ahil
ŋ- ya duuţ pa Dama a- hil
1P go up_there in_order_to Dama C1S be_able
ajukan uhula
a- jukan u- hula
C1S teach C2S Mankanya
“We're going to the Casamance, so that Dama can teach Mankanya”
9.179 Aşë do kë bayaarada Ŧaara
a- şë do kë ba- ya -ar -ad -a Ŧaara
C1S SEQ do DS C1P go DIR BEN C1S.OBJ Sara
pa aniima
pa a- niim -a
in_order_to C1S marry C1S.OBJ
“He made them go and fetch Sarah, so that he could marry her.”
Purpose clauses which have the same subject as the initial clause can also
be introduced by adding the imperfective prefix in front of the serial prefix.
240 Chapter 9

9.180 Babi ajip kakab bdëk

ba- bi a- jip kakab b- dëk
C1P PST SER dig next_to C5S sea
kakaana meel mnuura
k- a- ka -an -a meel m- nuura
IMPERF SER have CAUS C1S.OBJ water C8 good
‎“They dug wells near the river, in order to have fresh water.”
9.181 Dţi ţi kabuurna Naala
d- ţi ţi k- a- buur -n -a Naala
1S run run IMPERF SER escape CAUS MID Nala
“I was running in order to escape Naala.”
9.182 Bañooţa te du pnkuŋ duuţ
ba- ñooţ -a te d- u p- nkuŋ duuţ
C1P take C1S.OBJ until EXT LOC.DIST C4S hill on
kahilna kawuuka
k- a- hil -n -a k- a- wuuk -a
IMPERF SER be_able CAUS MID IMPERF SER push C1S.OBJ
du uţeeh
d- u u- ţeeh
EXT LOC.DIST C2S field
“They took him to the top of a hill, in order to push him off.”
Purpose can also be expressed by an instrumental suffix -na on the verb in
the second clause:
9.183 Wulun kak bŧepi ŋhilna ŋwo
wul -un kak b- ŧepi ŋ- hil -na ŋ- wo
give 1P.POSS again c7s seed 1P be_able INSTR 1P be
bajeb
ba- jeb
C1P healthy
“Give us grain, so that we can be live.”

9.5.3 Possible Consequence (III)

Mankanya does not have a specific way of marking possible consequence,
but instead uses the wutna ka- construction to express negative purpose:
9.184 Yaan du pnkuŋ iwutna
ya -an d- u p- nkuŋ i- wut -na
go IMP EXT LOC.DIST C4S hill 2S leave INSTR
kakeţ
k- a- keţ
IMPERF SER die
“Flee to the hills, so that you will not die” (instead of lest you “die”)
 Complex clauses 241

9.5.4 Addition (IV)

9.5.4.1 Unordered addition (IVu)
Clauses in an unordered addition relation are joined by the word kë (see
also section 10).
9.185 Dwo ţi kañog pliik kë
d- wo ţ- i ka- ñog p- liik kë
1S be INT LOC.PROX C3S area_near C6S well DS
baaţ biki ubeeka bakpën pbi
b- aaţ bik- i u- beeka ba- k- pën p- bi
C1P woman C1P GEN C2S town C1P IMPERF go_out INF come
kaliik meel
k- a- liik meel
IMPERF SER draw_water water
“I am near the well, and the women of the town are coming to draw water.”
9.186 Wi abaaŋ pţiini na Şompi aşë ya
wi a- ba -aŋ p- ţiini na Şompi a- şë ya
when C1S tmtv SEL INF speak and Shompi SER SEQ go
kë Şompi aţiiş katohul
kë Şompi a- ţiiş ka- toh -ul
DS Shompi C1S go_home C3S house 3s.POSS
“When he had finished speaking to Shompi, he left and Shompi returned to
his house.”
9.5.4.2 Same event addition (IVs)
Same event addition is achieved by marking the second clause with the
auxiliary şë. As the event normally has the same subject the second verb
prefix is a serial prefix a- (see also section 9.2).
9.187 Akat këş aşë win biinţ bawajanţ
a- kat këş a- şë win b- iinţ ba- wajanţ
C1S raise_(eyes) eye SER SEQ see C1P man C1P three
kë banaţ du kadunul
kë ba- naţ d- u ka- dun -ul
DS C1P stand EXT LOC.DIST C3S front 3s.POSS
“He lifted his eyes and saw two men standing in front of him”
9.188 Batëb ţi biinţ bukuŋ
ba- tëb ţ- i b- iinţ buk- uŋ
C1P two INT LOC.PROX C1P man C1P DEM.DIST
bapënna da aşë ya Ŧugtor
ba- pën -na d- a a- şë ya Ŧugtor
C1P go_out cfg C9S OBJ SER SEQ go Ziguinchor
“Two of the men left there, going to Ziguinchor”
242 Chapter 9

9.5.4.3 Elaboration (IVe)

Elaboration is achieved simply by juxtaposing two clauses.
9.189 Kë Ŧaara aşë wo aanhil pbuk
kë Ŧaara a- şë wo a- ën- hil p- buk
DS Sara SER SEQ be C1S NEG be_able INF give_birth

aanka napoţ
a- ën- ka na- poţ
C1S NEG have C1S child
“But Sarah was unable to give birth, she had no children.”
9.5.4.4 Contrast (IVc)
Contrast is often shown by the use of the verbal expression aşë wo followed
by a finite verb (see also section 9.2).
9.190 Dwin Naşibaţi na këş naan aşë wo
d- win Naşibaţi na këş naan a- şë wo
1S see God and eye 1S.GEN SER SEQ be
mënkeţi
m- ën- keţ -i
1S.NEG NEG die CMPL
‎“I saw God with my own eyes, but I didn't die”
9.191 Naweek awo Dama aşë wo
na- week a- wo Dama a- şë wo
C1S elder_sibling C1S be Dama SER SEQ be
aannuura ţi bten
a- ën- nuura ţ- i b- ten
SER NEG be_good INT LOC.PROX C5S looks
‎“The elder one was Dama, but she was not beautiful to look at”
9.192 baţa'ul babi du dko
ba- ţa -ul ba- bi d- u d- ko
C1P young_sibling 3s.POSS C1P come EXT LOC.DIST C9S place
di awooŋ aşë wo baanhinan
d- i a- wo -oŋ a- şë wo ba- ën- hinan
EXT LOC.PROX C1S be SEL SER SEQ be C1P NEG be_able_to
añoga ţiki bañaaŋ
a- ñog -a ţiki ba- ñaaŋ
SER be_close C1S.OBJ because_(of) C1P person
baŧumi
ba- ŧum -i
C1P be_numerous CMPL
“His brothers came to the place where he was, but they couldn't get near
because there were so many people”
 Complex clauses 243

9.193 Abel awo nayafan , kë Kayin aşë wo

abel a- wo na- yafan kë Kayin a- şë wo
Abel C1S be C1S shepherd DS Cain C1S SEQ be
najaar
na- jaar
C1S farmer
“Abel was a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer”
9.194 Iwin kë Şompi abuk paapa ajab
i- win kë Şompi a- buk paapa a- jab
2S see DS Shompi C1AS child daddy C1S grow
uleef kë nji nşë wo na katël
u- leef kë nji n- şë wo na ka- tël
C2S body DS 1S 1S.SUB SEQ be and C3S skin_(of_person)
kajinţ
k- a- jinţ
IMPERF SER be_clean
“You know that Shompi my brother is hairy, but I have smooth skin”
Where the subjects are different the different subject marker kë is sometimes
used to highlight the contrast (also see section 11):
9.195 Ŋjugude ŋaŧool pdëpa ţi
ŋ- jugude ŋa- ŧool p- dëp -a ţ- i
C2P vulture C2P leave INF heap MID INT LOC.PROX
ŋnŧaam ŋankeţuŋ ŋuŋ kë Şompi
ŋ- nŧaam ŋa- n- keţ -uŋ ŋ- uŋ kë Şompi
C2P livestock C2P COREF die SEL C2P DEM.DIST DS Shompi
aşë dook ŋa
a- şë dook ŋ- a
SER SEQ chase C2P OBJ
“Vultures straight away descended on the cattle that were dead, and Shompi
chased them”
9.196 babi pyompana , kë aşë pok
ba- bi p- yompan -a kë a- şë pok
C1P come INF calm C1S.OBJ DS C1S SEQ refuse
“They came to calm him but he refused”
There are some cases where contrast is just implied:
9.197 Abi ŋal pfiŋa , aşë ţi
a- bi ŋal p- fiŋ -a a- şë ţi
C1S PST like INF kill C1S.OBJ SER SEQ be_afraid_of
bañaaŋ
ba- ñaaŋ
C1P person
“He₁ wanted to kill him₂ but he₁ was afraid of the people”
244 Chapter 9

9.198 Mënţ ul akdukiiŋ na iko

mënţ ul a- k- duki -iŋ na i- ko
that 3s.subj C1S IMPERF stay SEL and C3P thing
yi nu , napoţ i ikbukuŋ
y- i nu na- poţ i i- k- buk -uŋ
C3P GEN 2S.POSS C1S child GEN 2S IMPERF produce SEL
akdukiiŋ na ya
a- k- duki -iŋ na y- a
C1S IMPERF stay SEL and C3P OBJ
“He won't inherit your things, it's the child who you will engender who will
inherit them”
Note that şë on its own is not contrastive.
9.199 aten uŧaak bŧi aşë win udu
a- ten u- ŧaak bŧi a- şë win u- du
C1S look_at C2S country all SER SEQ see C2S smoke
kë ukpën da
kë u- k- pën d- a
DS C2S NEG go_out C9S OBJ
“He looked at all the country and saw smoke rising there”
Neither is a redundant kë:
9.200 Aţup baka uko unţëpuŋ , kë
a- ţup baka u- ko u- n- ţëp -uŋ kë
C1S speak C1P.OBJ C2S thing C2S COREF pass SEL DS
başë lënk maakan
ba- şë lënk maakan
C1P SEQ tremble very
“He told them what had happened and they were very afraid”
The word bë is a contrastive marker and is most frequently used with a
negative clause.
9.201 Iten ţi iko yi naan bŧi
i- ten ţ- i i- ko y- i naan bŧi
2S look_at INT LOC.PROX C3P thing C3P GEN 1S.GEN all
bë iinwin win nin kako kaloŋ ki
bë i- in- win win nin ka- ko ka- loŋ k- i
CNTR 2S NEG see see NEG C3S container C3S INDEF C3S GEN
nu
nu
2S.POSS
“You looked through all my things, but didn't find any pot of yours”
 Complex clauses 245

9.202 Aji ţi uşalul agar

a- ji ţ- i u- şal -ul a- gar
C1S say INT LOC.PROX C2S mind 3s.POSS C1S scatter
baniw na a bë aankţup bañaaŋ
ba- niw na a bë a- ën- k- ţup ba- ñaaŋ
C5S fiancé(e) and OBJ CNTR C1S NEG IMPERF speak C1P person
“He thought that he would break off the engagement but not tell anyone”
When the initial clause is also negative, it is often translated by “until”.
9.203 Mënhil kado nin uko
m- ën- hil k- a- do nin u- ko
1S.NEG NEG be_able IMPERF SER do NEG C2S thing
uloŋ bë iindo bi ban da
u- loŋ bë i- in- do bi ban d- a
C2S INDEF CNTR 2S NEG INGR PST arrive C9S OBJ
“I can do nothing until you have arrived there.” (Lit “... while you have not
arrived there”)
9.204 Mënkde bë mënţup uko
m- ën- k- de bë m- ën- ţup u- ko
COREF NEG IMPERF eat CNTR COREF NEG speak C2S thing
wi nji nwooŋ i kaţup
w- i nji n- wo -oŋ i k- a- ţup
C2S GEN 1S 1S.SUB must SEL GEN IMPERF SER speak
“I will not eat until I have said the thing I must say.” (Lit “... while I have
not said the thing I must say”)
9.205 Nin aloŋ awutan kamuur
nin a- loŋ a- wut -an k- a- muur
NEG C1S INDEF C1S prhb CAUS IMPERF SER cross
plëman bë nfa maambani
p- lëman bë nfa ma- am- ban -i
C4S door CNTR morning C8 NEG arrive CMPL
“No-one must go out the door until morning.” (Lit “... while morning has
not arrived”)

9.5.5 Alternatives (V)

9.5.5.1 Disjunction (Vd)
For a symmetrical disjunctive alternative relation between two clauses the
word këme is used (see also section 9.1.1):
9.206 Alemp ţi uţeeh këme aya ubeeka
a- lemp ţ- i u- ţeeh këme a- ya u- beeka
C1S work INT LOC.PROX C2S field or C1S go C3S town
“He's working in the field or he's gone to town”
246 Chapter 9

9.207 Woli baanfiyaaru awo baanŧiinku

woli ba- an- fiyaar -u a- wo ba- an- ŧiink -u
if C1P NEG believe 2S.POSS SER be C1P NEG hear 2S.POSS
‎“If they don't believe you or listen to you...”
9.5.5.2 Rejection (Vr)
The construction of wo + negative verb seems to give a rejection type
relationship between clauses (see also section 9.2):
9.208 Awuluŋ un mnhina manwooŋ
a- wul -uŋ un mn- hina ma- n- wo -oŋ
C1S give SEL 1P.subj C8 power C8 COREF be SEL
mi pdolan naya kadun awo maanwo
m- i p- dol -an na- ya ka- dun a- wo ma- ën- wo
C8 GEN INF do CAUS 2P go C3S front SER be C8 NEG be
mi pdolan naŧoka
m- i p- dol -an na- ŧoka
C8 GEN INF do CAUS 2P be_broken
‎“It was he who gave us the authority for advancing you instead of damaging
you”
9.5.5.3 Suggestion (Vs)
A suggestion type relationship occurs with the verb hokan “to prefer”. The
dispreferred clause is introduced with kë di:
9.209 Ŋhokan kado kalempar baka
ŋ- hokan k- a- do k- a- lemp -ar baka
1P prefer IMPERF SER do IMPERF SER work BEN C1P.OBJ
kë di pkeţ ţi pndiiş
kë d- i p- keţ ţ- i p- ndiiş
DS C9S DEM.PROX INF die INT LOC.PROX C4S desert
“We prefer to be made to work for them, rather than to die in the desert”
9.210 Uhokan ñaaŋ ahaj ţi pdo
u- hokan ñaaŋ a- haj ţ- i p- do
C2S prefer person C1S suffer INT LOC.PROX INF do
bnuura kë di ahaj ţi pdo
bnuura kë d- i a- haj ţ- i p- do
well DS C9S DEM.PROX C1S suffer INT LOC.PROX INF do
buţaan
b- uţaan
C5S evil
“It is preferable for someone to suffer whilst doing good, rather than to
suffer in doing evil”
 Complex clauses 247

9.5.6 Manner (VI)

9.5.6.1 Real (VIr)
Real manner relations are created with a jibi adverbial clause (see section
9.4.2.2).

9.211 Aluŋ kaniw jibi ajonuŋ

a- luŋ k- a- niw jibi a- jon -uŋ
C1S FUT IMPERF SER build like SER last SEL
kado
k- a- do
IMPERF SER do
“He will build as he always does”
9.5.6.2 Hypothetical (VIh)
Hypothetical manner relations are created with a ji adverbial clause (see
section 9.4.2.2).
9.212 Dţaafi kë uwo wo ji dnaţ ţi
d- ţaafi kë u- wo wo ji d- naţ ţ- i
1S dream DS C2S be be like 1S stand INT LOC.PROX
kabaŋ ki bdëk
ka- baŋ k- i b- dëk
C3S side C3S GEN C5S sea
“I dreamt that I was standing at the side of the river”

9.6 Conclusion
The formal structures used for the various semantic relations suggested by
Cristofaro and Dixon between them show a wide variety, and few correlates.
Looking at the subordinate clauses of Cristofaro’s classification we can see
three main groups, based on the complementiser, either kë, aji or no
complementiser. But apart from knowledge and propositional attitude using
the same structure (but different verbs), all other types are distinctive.
This is equally true of the types given by Dixon where the majority have no
formal features beyond the linking word.
248 Chapter 9

kë aji Alternative 1s p- k- a- Imperfective

prefix marked
Phasals ✓
Modals ✓ ✓
Desideratives ✓ ✓ ✓
Manipulatives ✓ ✓ ✓
Perceptions ✓ ✓
Knowledge ✓
Propositional ✓
attitude
Utterance ✓
Table 9.2: Summary of formal differences in subordinate clause types
 249

Chapter 10 - Coherence in Texts

In this chapter I will discuss some of the different ways of creating
continuity and discontinuity above the sentence level to make texts
coherent. Most of the examples will come from texts of a narrative genre. I
start with a discussion of participant reference, and then goes on to describe
various renewal devices and other points of departure.
This is only an overview, and an in depth study is a matter for another
thesis.

10.1 Participant reference

A primary aspect of what makes a text coherent is how participants are
referenced from sentence to sentence within it. For the purpose of this
discussion, a participant in a text is any entity that plays an ongoing role,
and so may be human, animal or inanimate. Participants can be divided into
major participants that play a significant role in the story and minor
participants who do not. A participant is introduced, and once introduced
they are referenced by noun, pronoun, or just a verbal prefix and the
following sections describe how this is done in Mankanya.

10.1.1 Introduction of participants

New participants in a text are introduced with a noun phrase often followed
by adjectives, a relative clause or a noun phrase in apposition.
10.1 Dka nantohi ajug katoh
d- ka na- ntohi a- jug ka- toh
1S have C1S elder C1AS owner C3S house
anniimuŋ baaţ batëb
a- n- niim -uŋ b- aaţ ba- tëb
C1S COREF marry SUB C1P woman C1P two
“I'll tell you about an old man, head of his household, who had married two
wives.”
250 Chapter 10

Example 10.1 is from the beginning of a story, and starts with a formulaic
introduction dka “I have”, and the participant being introduced is the
syntactic object of that verb. Here there is no proper noun, but the common
noun nantohi “old man”, is followed by a descriptive noun phrase and a
descriptive relative clause.
10.2 Ubi ka ţfa , di untanka
u- bi ka ţfa d- i u- ntanka
C2S PST have in_the_past EXT LOC.PROX C2S village
uloŋ , ñiinţ nawaap naţaf
u- loŋ ñ- iinţ na- waap na- ţaf
C2S INDEF C1S man C1S seller C1S elderly
ammaakuŋ aniimar na napoţ ñaaţ
a- m- maak -uŋ a- niim -ar na na- poţ ñ- aaţ
C1S COREF be_ill SUB C1S marry BEN with C1S child C1S woman
”There was once, in a village, an old ill seller, who married a young
woman.”
Example 10.2 is also from the beginning of a story, and starts with a
different formulaic introduction ubi ka ţfa “it had in the past”, roughly
equivalent to the English “Once upon a time”. This is followed by a
geographical scene-setting clause, before the participant is introduced as the
object, again with a descriptive noun phrase, and a relative clause. The
sentence finishes with a scene-setting action clause.
Note that in the last two examples, the two characters are major
participants. Despite not having names their importance is marked by the
absence of the indefinite particle -loŋ. Contrast this with the following
introduction of a minor participant:
10.3 Kë ñaaţ aloŋ naţaf kë aşë win
kë ñ- aaţ a- loŋ na- ţaf kë a- şë win
DS C1S woman C1S INDEF C1S elderly DS SER SEQ see
jibi Naala añagani ţi katoh
jibi Naala a- ñagan -i ţ- i ka- toh
like Nala C1S be_sad CMPL INT LOC.prox C3S house
“An old lady saw that Naala was sad in the house”
In example 10.4 a character is introduced mid-narrative, along with some
minor characters (the villagers), where the major characters are Hare and
Hyena. She is introduced with a proper name, and a descriptive noun phrase
in apposition.
 Coherence in Texts 251

10.4 Kë Ţwaraati ahar umaalu na bayiţ

kë Ţwaraati a- har u- maalu na ba- yiţ
DS Tswaraati C1AS wife C2S hare and C1P relative
baka bŧi kë babi aţoo awooni
baka bŧi kë ba- bi a- ţo a- wooni
C1P.OBJ all DS C1P come SER sit SER cry
“Tswaraati, wife of the hare, with all their relatives, came, sat and cried.”
Again in example 10.5 a minor character in the text (here an historical
chief), is introduced with proper name and descriptive noun phrase.
10.5 Aşë wo kë Jonu abuk Unjon
a- şë wo kë Jonu a- buk Unjon
SER SEQ be DS Jonu C1AS child Unjon
apayan pşih
a- pay -an p- şih
SER raised CAUS C6S kingdom/throne
“So, Jonu, Unjon's son, was raised to the throne.”
In animal stories major participants are often just introduced with a
common noun used as a proper name.
10.6 Umaalu na Uloŋ ŋawo ţi
u- maalu na u- loŋ ŋa- wo ţ- i
C2S hare and C2S elephant C2P be INT LOC.PROX
dko dloolan
d- ko d- loolan
C9S place C9S one
“Hare and Elephant lived in the same place”
Sometimes the common nouns are formally converted to proper names by
replace the class prefix u- with prefix ţ-.
10.7 Ţñiiŋu na Ţmaalu baţiini unuur
ţ- ñiiŋu na ţ- maalu ba- ţiini u- nuur
NAME hyena and NAME hare C1P speak C2S day
uloŋ pluŋ kaya pkiij maaj
u- loŋ p- luŋ k- a- ya p- kiij maaj
C2S INDEF INF FUT IMPERF SER go INF steal millet
‎“Hyena and Hare talked one day of going to steal some millet”
It is notable that unlike many languages, demonstratives play no role in the
introduction of participants.

10.1.2 Participants which are syntactic subjects

Once a participant has been introduced, further reference to it depends on
its context.
252 Chapter 10

Dooley and Levinsohn (2001) suggest a way of describing participant

reference in relation to the following contexts.
- the subject is the same as the previous proposition.
- the subject is the hearer of the preceding reported discourse
- the subject was as non-subject in the previous proposition
- all other cases of change of subject

Languages generally have a default rule for each of these cases, which is
sometimes over-ridden for stylistic reasons.
I will now consider each of the above contexts.
Where the subject of a proposition is the same as the subject of the previous
proposition then no noun or pronoun is needed and the verb takes takes the
serial verb prefix a-.
Example 10.8 from an animal folk tale has two participants Hare and
Tortoise, which although anthropomorphised, still take the class 2 prefixes
normal for animals. The first verb therefore has the class 2 plural prefix ŋa-.
However, though they continue to be the subject in the following two verbal
groups, the prefix is substituted by a- in both cases.
10.8 Umaalu na Uloŋ ŋawo ţi
u- maalu na u- loŋ ŋa- wo ţ- i
C2S hare and C2S elephant C2P be INT LOC.PROX
dko dloolan aşë win ñaaţ nanuura
d- ko d- loolan a- şë win ñ- aaţ na- nuura
C9S place C9S one SER SEQ see C1S woman C1S beauty
maakan aşë wo ţi pla'a
maakan a- şë wo ţ- i p- la' -a
very SER SEQ be INT LOC.prox INF seek C1S.OBJ
‎“Hare and Elephant lived in the same place, and they saw a beautiful
woman, and they were courting her”
The same thing can be seen in example 10.9. The house is noun class 3 with
a prefix ka-, but the second verbal group is prefixed with a-.
10.9 Katohul kabi wo kajeenkal aşë
ka- toh -ul ka- bi wo ka- jeenk -al a- şë
C3S house 3s.poss C3S PST be C3S redden CHG SER SEQ
kak hënkuŋ kafaaŧal
kak hënkuŋ ka- faaŧal
become now C3S white
‎“His house was red, but now it is white”
Example 10.10 illustrates the same situation with human participants
though this example doesn’t have a noun as an initial subject.
 Coherence in Texts 253

10.10 Babi abi juk uhula aţup

ba- bi a- bi juk u- hula a- ţup
C1P come SER PST learn C2S Mankanya SER announce
wa akuţ apiiŧ wa
w- a a- kuţ a- piiŧ w- a
C2S OBJ SER also_be SER write C2S OBJ
‎“They came and they learnt Mankanya, spoke it and also wrote it”
If the subject is the hearer of the preceding reported discourse then a
nominal phrase is normally used.
10.11a Kë uñiiŋ uji na upi « Iwi ,
kë u- ñiiŋ u- ji na u- pi iwi
DS C2S hyena C2S say and C2S goat 2S
iji ktoon di meeţ »
i- ji k- toon d- i meeţ
2S HAB 2S.ALT urinate EXT LOC.prox inside
“Hyena said to Goat ‘You urinate inside’ ”
b Kë upi uŧeem wa aji ...
kë u- pi u- ŧeem w- a a- ji
DS C2S goat C2S reply C2S OBJ SER say
“‎ And Goat answered ‘...’ ”
When the subject participant was a non-subject in the preceding proposition
then the standard agreeing verb prefix is used.
10.12 kë najaar akak aya tap wa kë
kë na- jaar a- kak a- ya tap w- a kë
DS C1S farmer C1S REP SER go shoot C2S OBJ DS
uwooni aya
u- wooni a- ya
C2S cry SER go
‎“The farmer also shot him (the goat’s child), and he (the goat’s child) cried
and left.”
In all other cases where the subject changes then a noun phrase is used.
10.13 Kë wal wi ubaldu udaŋrënuŋ
kë w- al w- i u- baldu u- daŋrën -uŋ
DS C2S moment C2S GEN C2S bucket C2S raise SUB
du pliik , kë meel makpën
d- u p- liik kë meel ma- k- pën
EXT LOC.dist C6S well DS water C8 IMPERF go_out
‎“As the bucket was raised from the well, the water came out”
The previous two examples also have the kë different subject marker which
is explained in more detail in chapter 11.
254 Chapter 10

10.1.3 Participants which are not syntactic subjects

In most cases, after their first mention, participants that are not subjects in
the current proposition, are referenced by object pronouns or suffixes.
This is the case when the non subject participant was a subject in the
previous proposition.
10.14 kë uñiiŋ uşë gaŧ ituk kë başë
kë u- ñiiŋ u- şë gaŧ i- tuk kë ba- şë
DS C2S hyena C2S SEQ vomit C3P manioc DS C1P SEQ
mob wa
mob w- a
catch C2S OBJ
“And Hyena vomited manioc and so they hit him”
10.15 a Wi abanuŋ aşë jot di meel
wi a- ban -uŋ a- şë jot d- i meel
when C1S touch SUB SER SEQ fall EXT LOC.prox water
“When she arrived she threw herself in the water”
b Kë meel mankak alutana apënan
kë meel man- kak a- lut -an -a a- pën -an
DS water C8 REP SER jump CAUS C1S.OBJ SER go_out CAUS
bdig
b- dig
C5S outside
“and the water threw her out again, and she landed outside”
It is also the case when the participant was not a subject in the preceding
proposition. In the following example Hare and Hyena are bakan “them” in
both propositions.
10.16 Aneejan bakan ţi untabanka ala
a- neejan bakan ţ- i u- ntabanka a- la
SER insert C1P.OBJ INT LOC.prox C2S village SER seek
bakan meeţ katoh kanuura
bakan meeţ ka- toh ka- nuura
C1P.OBJ inside C3S house C3S good
“They₁ (villagers) brought them₂ (Hare and Hyena) into the village and
they₁ looked for a nice room for them₂”
 Coherence in Texts 255

10.17 ahaabëş inkuŧi yi bahankuŋ

a- haabëş i- nkuŧi y- i ba- hank -uŋ
C1S open C4P granary C4P GEN C1P keep SUB
ŋdeey aşë waap ŋa bañaaŋ
ŋ- deey a- şë waap ŋ- a ba- ñaaŋ
C2P grain SER SEQ sell C2P OBJ C1P person
‎“He opened the granary where they had stored the grain and sold it to the
people”
Sometimes however, if the participant is a 3rd person object in both
propositions then it can be omitted in the second one.
10.18 Kë unŧaayi uşë yeenk pben
kë u- nŧaayi u- şë yeenk p- BEN
DS C2S demon C2S SEQ receive C6S swelling
amëban
a- mëb -an
SER carry CAUS
“The spirit took the lump, and carried it”
10.19 Ajej plaak ploŋ apafna bkow
a- jej p- laak p- loŋ a- paf -na b- kow
C1S take C6S stone C4S INDEF C1S put INSTR C5S head
“He took the stone and lay his head on it”
10.20 Amar pko ploŋ ţi
a- mar p- ko p- loŋ ţ- i
C1S pick_(fruit_etc.) C6S fruit C6S INDEF INT LOC.PROX
bko mënţ ade , akak awul
b- ko mënţ a- de a- kak a- wul
C7S tree that SER eat SER return SER give
ayinul , kë adee .
a- yin -ul kë a- de -e
C1AS husband 3S.POSS DS C1S eat CMPL
“She picked some fruit from that tree, ate it, and returned to her husband,
gave him some, and he ate”
This can also be the case with double object verbs.
10.21 Ajej kapoom akitëş ka awul
a- jej ka- poom a- kit -ëş k- a a- wul
C1S take C3S bread SER break CAUS C3S OBJ SER give
baka
baka
C1P.OBJ
‎“He took the bread, broke it and gave it to them”
256 Chapter 10

10.22 ( Balaaŧ )... apënan

ba- laaŧ a- pën -an
C1P Balante_(from_Guinea-Bissau) SER go_out CAUS
napoţ ñaaţ neegani , awula
na- poţ ñ- aaţ n- eegani a- wul -a
C1S child C1S woman C1S teenage_girl SER give C1S.OBJ
“The Balantas brought out a young woman and gave (her) to him”
In a presentation, Cobbinah (2018) noted similar behaviour in the related
languages of Jóola Kujireray and Baïnounk Gubëeher.
When a non-subject participant has played no role in the previous
proposition, then normally a full noun phrase is used.
10.23 a kë umaalu ugaŧ pdede
kë u- maalu u- gaŧ p- de de
DS C2S hare C2S vomit C6S meal meal
“Hare only vomited the meal”
b kë uñiiŋ uşë gaŧ ituk
kë u- ñiiŋ u- şë gaŧ i- tuk
DS C2S hyena C2S SEQ vomit C3P manioc
“But Hyena vomited manioc”

10.1.4 VIP strategies

Sometimes, there are quite long passages in texts that do not follow the
default behaviours given above. This is usually because a major character is
being specially treated. The special treatment of a major character is
referred to as using a VIP (Very Important Person) strategy by Dooley and
Levinsohn (2001) as the character is receiving special treatment like a real
life VIP.
For example in the story “Hare and Hyena steal some millet”:
10.24 Aji na uhar wa uya kë najaar
a- ji na u- har w- a u- ya kë na- jaar
SER say and C2S wife C2S poss C2S go DS C1S farmer
akak aya tap wa kë uwooni aya kë
a- kak a- ya tap w- a kë u- wooni a- ya kë
C1S REP SER go shoot C2S OBJ DS C2S cry SER go DS
ukak aji na wa «…
u- kak a- ji na w- a
C2S REP SER say and C2S OBJ
“He told his wife to go, but the farmer hit her too. She cried and went back
and he (Hyena) said to her”
Look at the passage laid out in chart 10.1 on page 257. The references
follow the rules described above, until the last one. Here we would expect a
 Coherence in Texts 257

new noun phrase as the action switches from Hyena’s wife back to Hyena.
However, we find Hyena referred to here just by a verbal prefix.
This seems to be possible as Hyena is the major participant. As we will see
in Chapter 11 kë marks a switch in participant so we know the u- prefix
does not refer to Hyena’s wife.
Noun Phrase Verb Noun Phrase (Object)
(subject)
Aji na uhar wa
Ser.say with C2S.wife C2S.GEN
“He said” “to his wife”
(Hyena) (Hyena’s wife)
uya
C2S.go
“she went”
(Hyena’s wife)
kë najaar akak aya tap wa
DS C1S.farmer C1S.REP SER.go hit 3s.OBJ
“but the farmer” “he also hit” “her”
(Farmer) (Hyena’s wife)
kë uwooni
DS C2S.cry
“and” “she cried”
aya
SER.go
“she left”
(Hyena’s wife)
kë ukak aji na wa
DS C2S.encore SER.say with C2S.OBJ
“and” “he said again” “to her”
(Hyena) (Hyena’s wife)

Chart 10.1: A VIP strategy

Another example can be found in a different text.
258 Chapter 10

10.25 Kë bawat ubaldu du pliik kë

kë ba- wat u- baldu d- u p- liik kë
DS C1P bring_down C2S bucket EXT LOC.dist C6S well DS
udo do kluŋ meel kë mampën ado ŧar
u- do do kluŋ meel kë mam- pën a- do ŧar
C2S INGR do water DS C8 go_out SER do be_fast
ŧar ŧar kë ukak aŧiink
ŧar ŧar kë u- kak a- ŧiink
be_fast be_fast DS C2S REP SER hear
‎“Now they (the women) dropped the bucket down the well, it started to go
'klung', the water slopped out, going 'thar, thar,thar', and he heard it again.”
The last u- in ukak refers to Hare, even though the bucket uses the same
prefix.
In the both the previous examples, the sentence cited is the second
repetition of a similar event, and so this could make it easier for the strategy
to work as the hearer is expecting the same character to act.

10.2 Linking
Various devices are used to link sentences, paragraphs or episodes in a text.

10.2.1 Demonstrative aŋ
A common method of linking propositions is using the neutral
demonstrative aŋ often in combination with the word ko “thing”. In
example 10.26 proposition b opens with uko waŋ “this thing” which refers
back to the whole of proposition a.
10.26 a. Dwul naweeku itaka iŧum
d- wul na- week -u i- taka i- ŧum
1S give C1S elder_sibling 2S.POSS C4P money C4P many
maakan
maakan
very
‎“I'm giving you brother lots of money.”
 Coherence in Texts 259

b. Uko waŋ ukyuujuŋ bañaaŋ bŧi

u- ko w- aŋ u- k- yuuj -uŋ ba- ñaaŋ bŧi
C2S thing C2S DEM C2S IMPERF show SEL C1P person all
banwooŋ na iwi kë iwo najinţ
ba- n- wo -oŋ na iwi kë i- wo na- jinţ
C1P COREF be SEL and 2S DS 2S be C1S clean
ţi uko unţëpuŋ .
ţ- i u- ko u- n- ţëp -uŋ
INT LOC.PROX C2S thing C2S COREF pass SEL
‎“This shows all those who are with you that you are pardoned of the thing
that happened”
In example 10.27 proposition b starts with ñiinţ aŋ “this man” referring back
to the man introduced in proposition a.
10.27 a. Ñiinţ aloŋ i bajaaŋ bado
ñ- iinţ a- loŋ i ba- ja -aŋ ba- do
C1S man C1S INDEF GEN C1P HAB SEL C1P do
Korneliyuŧ .
Korneliyuŧ
Cornelius
‎“There was a man called Cornelius”
b. Ñiinţ aŋ aji dëman akuţ afiyaar
ñ- iinţ aŋ a- ji dëm -an a- kuţ a- fiyaar
C1S man DEM C1S HAB grow caus SER also_be SER believe
Naşibaţi
Naşibaţi
God
‎“This man believed and worshipped God”
Example 10.28 starts with a temporal clause containing the noun phrase iko
yaŋ “this thing”, referring to the events described in preceding sentences.
10.28 Wi iko yaŋ iţëpuŋ ajon , kë
wi i- ko y- aŋ i- ţëp -uŋ a- jon kë
when C3P thing C3P dem C3P pass SEL C1S last DS
başë bi aji na Naala : « Şaaş
ba- şë bi a- ji na Naala şaaş
C1P SEQ PST SER say and Nala your_father
amaaki . »
a- maak -i
C1S be_ill CMPL
‎“Sometime later, Naala was told 'Your father is ill' ”
260 Chapter 10

10.2.2 Renewal
Another linking method is the use of renewal, that is the use of structures
that repeat something already stated in the text.

10.2.2.1 Nominal renewal

A frequent form of nominal renewal is the structure NOUN mënţan Cuŋ where
C is a nominal prefix, mënţan is an invariable demonstrative and uŋ is the
distal demonstrative root. It is only the distal demonstrative uŋ that is used
in this construction and not the others i.e. i proximal, undu extra-distal and
aŋ neutral.
10.29 Uşë kaban ţi bko mënţan
u- şë k- a- ban ţ- i b- ko mënţan
C2S SEQ IMPERF SER arrive INT LOC.prox c7s tree DEM
buŋ , aşë jun uŧeek ...
b- uŋ a- şë jun u- ŧeek
C5S DEM.dist SER SEQ begin C2S first
“He arrived at that tree and he started first..”

10.30 Kë baţaşa mënţan bukuŋ , ñaaŋ

kë ba- ţaşa mënţan buk- uŋ ñaaŋ
DS C1P teenager_(boy) DEM C1P DEM.DIST person
anduwaniiŋ Nabanka Biyagi aşë wo
a- n- duw -an -i -iŋ Nabanka Biyagi a- şë wo
C1S COREF call CAUS MID SUB Nabanka Biyagi C1S SEQ be
da ...
d- a
C9S OBJ
“Amongst those boys, there was someone called Nabanka Biyagi”
Sometimes this form of renewal is used with the word wori “moment” to
create a temporal renewal.
10.31 Kë uşë pën wori mënţan wuŋ , kë
kë u- şë pën wori mënţan w- uŋ kë
DS C2S SEQ go_out time DEM C2S DEM.dist DS
ŋakak untanka
ŋa- kak u- ntanka
C2P return C2S village
‎“At that moment, he got out, and they returned to the village”
A nominal renewal of this form can refer to a whole situation, rather than a
participant, or one aspect of it.
 Coherence in Texts 261

10.32 Kë Dama aşë win kë ayin baka

kë Dama a- şë win kë a- yin baka
DS Dama SER SEQ see COMP C1AS husband C1P.OBJ
aŋal Naala apela
a- ŋal Naala a- pel -a
C1S like Nala SER be_more C1S.OBJ
“Dama saw that their husband loved Nala more than her”
Ţi duŋ mënţan duŋ di
ţ- i d- uŋ mënţan d- uŋ d- i
INT LOC.PROX C9S DEM.DIST DEM C9S DEM.dist C9S GEN
di Dama abaaŋ kabi şoor
d- i Dama a- ba -aŋ k- a- bi şoor
C9S DEM.PROX Dama C1S CMPLTV SUB IMPERF SER PST hate
şoor Naala ..
şoor Naala
hate Nala
“In this situation, Dama began to hate Nala.”
10.2.2.2 Verbal renewal
It also possible to use verbal renewal, where a verbal part of the sentence is
repeated. Example 10.33 comes from the start of a new episode in a story.
Elephant has succeeded in trapping Hare, and the next episode tells of his
return to the village. The clause uşë tuh wa ţi bhër “he trapped him in the
hole” in sentence 10.33a closes an episode, and a new episode is started by
repeating the same phrase (with just a slight modification) in 10.33b.
10.33 a Uwajanţën kë uloŋ uşë tuh wa
u- waj -anţën kë u- loŋ u- şë tuh w- a
C2S three ORD DS C2S INDEF C2S SEQ close C2S OBJ
ţi bhër
ţ- i b- hër
INT LOC.PROX C5S hole

b Wal wi uşaaŋ atuh wa

w- al w- i u- şa -aŋ a- tuh w- a
C2S moment C2S GEN C2S SEQ SUB SER close C2S OBJ
ţi bhër , kë uşë ţij mnob
ţ- i b- hër kë u- şë ţij m- nob
INT LOC.PROX C5S hole DS C2S SEQ bring C8 honey
muŋ …
ma- uŋ
C8 DEM.DIST
‎“The third time he closed him in the hole. When he had closed him in the
hole, he took the honey ...”
262 Chapter 10

Later in the same story there is another example of verbal renewal. This
time the renewal (the repetition of uşë pën “he got out”) marks the start of
the conclusion.
10.34 umaalu kë uşë pën , aşë mook
u- maalu kë u- şë pën a- şë mook
C2S hare DS C2S SEQ go_out SER SEQ hug
Ţwaraaţi aji : « ... »
Ţwaraaţi a- ji
Tswaraatsi SER say

Kë uşë pën wori mënţan wuŋ kë

kë u- şë pën wori mënţan w- uŋ kë
DS C2S SEQ go_out time that C2S DEM.DIST DS
ŋakak untanka
ŋa- kak u- ntanka
C2P return C2S village
“Hare got out of the hole, embraced Tswaraatsi and said ' ... '. When he had
got out, they went to the village”
Example 10.35 shows a verbal renewal in the story of Nabanka Biyagi. After
a war Nabanka Biyagi finally becomes king. Then the narrator gives us some
background information about the royal compound. To restart the main
narrative the narrator uses verbal renewal (the repetition of aneejan pşih “he
became king”).
10.35 Nabanka Biyagi kë anaţa , kë
Nabanka Biyagi kë a- naţ -a kë
Nabanka Biyagi DS C1S stand MID DS
bahula baţeŋana , kë aneejan
ba- hula ba- ţeŋan -a kë a- neejan
C1P Mankanya C5S sacrifice MID DS C1S insert
pşih .
p- şih
C6S kingdom/throne

[ .. Sentences containing background information not shown for clarity…]

Kë Nabanka Biyagi kë aneejan pşih
kë Nabanka Biyagi kë a- neejan p- şih
DS Nabanka Biyagi DS C1S insert C6S kingdom/throne
‎“Nabanka Biyagi stood up, the Mankanya made sacrifices, and he became
king. (Background information about the name of the place) Nabanka
Biyagi became king...”
These examples show that verbal renewal is a device that is used to provide
coherence, while at the same time marking important points in the text e.g.
episode changes.
 Coherence in Texts 263

10.3 Points of departure

In a text there are often discontinuities in the thread of the story, and these
can be a jump in time, a change of location, or a change of reference.
The structures that occur at discontinuities to maintain cohesion are
sometimes referred to as points of departure. Points of departure in
Mankanya are usually sentence initial.
Temporal points of departure are often time noun phrases.
10.36 Ţi uşubal uloŋ , ţi
ţ- i u- şubal u- loŋ ţ- i
INT LOC.prox C2S rain C2S INDEF INT LOC.prox
wal wi mnkaaju ,
w- al w- i m- nkaaju
C2S moment C2S GEN c6p cashew_apple
“One year, at the time of the cashew harvest ...”

10.37 Na utaakal ukeţ , wal wi

na u- taakal u- keţ w- al w- i
and C2S evening C2S die C2S moment C2S GEN
nantohi ayaaŋ , kë ñaaţ aşë ya
na- ntohi a- ya -aŋ kë ñ- aaţ a- şë ya
C1S elder C1S go SUB DS C1S woman SER SEQ go
aya ţup baniw
a- ya ţup ba- niw
SER go announce C5S fiancé(e)
‎“In the middle of the night, when the old man had gone, the woman went to
talk with her lover ‎”
They can also be headless relative clauses, with an implied head of wal
“time”.
Locational points of departure can be locative phrases:
10.38 Ţi pŧoof pi bnkan kë
ţ- i p- ŧoof p- i b- nkan kë
INT LOC.prox C4S half C4S GEN C5S salt-marsh DS
ŋaşë ţo pfaaşër bka bi ŋa
ŋa- şë ţo p- faaşër b- ka b- i ŋ- a
C2P SEQ sit INF share_out c7s possessions c7s GEN C2P OBJ
“In the middle of the salt-marsh, they stopped to share out their gains ‎”
264 Chapter 10

However, narratives often keep the “spotlight” on the main participants, so

changes of location are often connected with a movement verb.

10.39 Aşë ŧool aban ţuŋ kawuj

a- şë ŧool a- ban ţ- uŋ ka- wuj
SER SEQ leave SER arrive INT LOC.dist C3S entrance
untabanka .
u- ntabanka
C2S village
“They left and arrived at the entrance of a village‎‎”
10.40 Wi ŋyaaŋ aban ţi Gambi
wi ŋ- ya -aŋ a- ban ţ- i Gambi
when 1P go SUB SER arrive INT LOC.prox Gambia
awala ţi pmuur bdëk
a- wala ţ- i p- muur b- dëk
SER come_down INT LOC.prox INF cross C5S sea
“When we had gone a while, we arrived in Gambia, and got down to cross
the river”
Sometimes a point of departure can be giving a reason for the following
action, for example using jibi.
10.41 Jibi untanka upoţuŋ , kë baniw
jibi u- ntanka u- poţ -uŋ kë ba- niw
like C2S village C2S be_small SUB DS C5S fiancé(e)
ñaaţ natëbënţën ame ...
ñ- aaţ na- tëb -ënţën a- me
C1S woman C1S two ORD SER know
“As the village was small, the second lover knew...”
10.42 Jibi ŋko ŋundu ŋaşaaŋ awo
jibi ŋ- ko ŋ- undu ɲa- şa -aŋ a- wo
like C2P animals C2P DEM.VDIST C2P SEQ SUB SER be
ţi bwuukar , awuuk ukomal
ţ- i b- wuuk -ar a- wuuk u- komal
INT LOC.prox C5S push RCP SER push C2S hippo
“As those animals were pushing, they pushed the hippo”
Another common point of departure structure is the use of hënk followed by
a relative structure introduced by di, which bases the new action on what
has just gone on before.
 Coherence in Texts 265

10.43 Kë hënk di abaaŋ kabi

kë hënk d- i a- ba -aŋ k- a- bi
DS so C9S GEN C1S cmpltv SUB IMPERF SER past
duka duka ţi pdo na Naala
duka duka ţ- i p- do na Naala
stay stay INT LOC.PROX INF do and Nala
‎“So this is what she (Dama) kept doing to Nala.”
10.44 Kë hënk di Naala ayaaŋ na uŧejan
kë hënk d- i Naala a- ya -aŋ na u- ŧejan
DS so C9S GEN Nala C1S go SUB and C2S night
aţënk ŋnŧaayi
a- ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi
SER find C2P demon
‎“And so Nala went at night, she found the spirits …”
10.45 Kë hënk di Dama akaaŋ aya na
kë hënk d- i Dama a- ka -aŋ a- ya na
DS so C9S GEN Dama C1S REP SUB SER go and
uŧejan aya ţënk ŋnŧaayi
u- ŧejan a- ya ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi
C2S night SER go find C2P demon
“And so Dama also went at night, she found the spirits …”
266 Chapter 10
 267

Chapter 11 - The particle kë

This chapter discusses the particle kë which is found throughout natural
texts, but is far less frequently found in elicited sentences. Trifkovič (1969)
glosses it simply as NARR (for narrative particle) in her texts at the back of
her volume, and doesn’t describe it at all. When asked the meaning of the
particle, native speakers tend to say “and” or “but”, which could be
translations in certain contexts, but inadequately describes its behaviour.
It’s major use is to mark a different subject:
11.1 Kë nduba akak aŧëfa aţi , kë
kë nduba a- kak a- ŧëfa a- ţi kë
DS boy C1S REP SER land_on_ones_feet SER run DS
nanug btuur kë aţi , kë naţoŋ
na- nug b- tuur kë a- ţi kë na- ţoŋ
C1S buyer C5S coffin DS C1S run DS C1S driver
ukaaru akak aţi
u- kaaru a- kak a- ţi
C2S car C1S REP SER run
“The boy landed on his feet and ran off, the owner of the coffin ran off, and
the driver of the car he also ran off.”
But it is not required, and in some cases (particularly between sentences) a
different subject is not marked explicitly with kë:
11.2 a Napoţ añowna du meeţ ,
na- poţ a- ñow -n -a d- u meeţ
C1S child C1S wash CAUS MID EXT LOC.DIST inside
uko unwoyi , du meeţ meeţ .
u- ko u- n- woy -i d- u meeţ meeţ
C2S thing C2S coref be ptcp EXT LOC.DIST inside inside
“The child is washed inside, this thing is done inside”
268 Chapter 11

b Ñaaţ ambukuŋ aji le aji

ñ- aaţ a- m- buk -uŋ a- ji le a- ji
C1S woman C1S COREF produce SEL C1S HAB IRL SER HAB
apën bdig , aya ya kañowa
a- pën b- dig a- ya ya k- a- ñowa
SER go_out C5S outside SER go go IMPERF SER wash_oneself
“The woman who has given birth, if she goes outside, it is to wash”
In some situations it occurs with the same subject:
11.3 Wori mënţan ŋwo nji na Bernard na Marcel
wori mënţan ŋ- wo nji na Bernard na Marcel
time that 1P be 1S and Bernard and Marcel
kë ŋpok pya ŋrisiya
kë ŋ- pok p- ya ŋrisiya
DS 1P refuse INF go church
“At that time we were me and Bernard and Marcel, and we refused to go to
church”

11.1 Clause chaining and switch reference

One of the primary uses of the particle kë is to mark a different subject in a
clause chain. Therefore its gloss is DS (Different Subject).
In section 9.2 I described the fact that sentences can be formed of multiple
non-subordinate clauses, juxtaposed without connectors. This phenomenon,
known as clause chaining, is found elsewhere in Africa (Heine and Nurse,
2007) as well as other parts of the world, for example Papuan languages
(Foley, 1986) Where the subject of a clause is the same as the previous one,
the verb takes a special agreement prefix a-. However, this special prefix is
identical to the prefix used for singular, class 1 nouns. Therefore there could
be an ambiguity in certain situations, and kë can be used to clearly mark
when a subject has changed.
To illustrate this, consider the multi-clause sentence from the “Two
Humpbacked Wives” text shown in example 11.4 below. I have noted the
subject of each clause in the right hand column.
This sentence consists of a chain of seven clauses, with no connecting words
(apart from kë) between them. Chaining is common in narrative texts,
though this example is longer than average.
 The particle kë 269

11.4 Subject
a: Kë hënk di Naala ayaaŋ na uŧejan Naala
kë hënk d- i Naala a- ya -aŋ na u- ŧejan
DS so C9S GEN Nala C1S go SEL and C2S night
“So Naala went at night”
b: aţënk ŋnŧaayi Naala
a- ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi
SER find C2P demon
“she found the spirits”
c: kë ŋado pŧoof spirits
kë ŋa- do p- ŧoof
DS C2P do C4S half
“they made a circle”
d: aki spirits
a- ki
SER dance
“they danced”
e: kë aşë ban Naala
kë a- şë ban
DS C1S SEQ arrive
“she arrived”
f: anaţ Naala
a- naţ
SER stand
“she stood”
g: akob iñen na ŋa Naala
a- kob i- ñen na ŋ- a
C1S hit C3P hand and C2P OBJ

“clapped with them”

“So Naala went at night, found the spirits dancing in a circle, went up to
them, stopped and clapped with them”

When the same subject does several actions in a chain the verbal agreement
prefix is substituted by a- on second and subsequent verbs. We can’t see this
when the subject is a singular human, as the prefix is already a-, but this
phenomenon is illustrated in clauses c and d in the example (repeated
below).
270 Chapter 11

c: kë ŋado pŧoof
kë ŋa- do p- ŧoof
DS C2P do C4S half
“they made a circle”
d: aki
a- ki
SER dance
“they danced”

The spirits ŋnŧayi form a circle and dance. On the first verb, they are
referred to by the full prefix form ŋa-, but the special a- prefix is used on the
second verb.
If we now consider the final three clauses, Naala is again the subject.
e: kë aşë ban
kë a- şë ban
DS C1S SEQ arrive
“she arrived”
f: anaţ
a- naţ
SER stand
“she stood”
g: akob iñen na ŋa
a- kob i- ñen na ŋ- a
C1S hit C3P hand and C2P OBJ

“clapped with them”

Here Naala is again the subject. But without kë there would be no way of
telling the referent of the verb prefix. The kë indicates that there has been a
switch to a different subject.
If we look again at the whole sentence, and look for where kë is used, we
see that it occurs at the beginning of clauses a, c, and e. Leaving aside the
beginning of the sentence, we can see that the kë occurs each time the
subject changes. That is, Naala is the subject of clauses a-b, the spirits are
the subject of clauses c-d (introduced by a kë) and Naala is again the subject
of the final clauses e-g, (and kë again marks this switch of subject).
It should be noted that kë is used even though there are other indications
that the subject is different, e.g. verb prefix in clause c ŋa- can only refer to
the spirits.
 The particle kë 271

A second example from the “Two Humpbacked Wives” text illustrates

another situation where kë is used:
11.5 Wi ŋakiiŋ aban ţi a
wi ŋa- ki -iŋ a- ban ţ- i a
when C2P dance SEL SER arrive INT LOC.PROX OBJ
kë aşë ji na wi akabiranuŋ
kë a- şë ji na w- i a- kab -ir -an -uŋ
DS C1S SEQ say with C2S GEN SER be_near_to RCP CAUS SEL
“When they were dancing and they arrived at her, she asked her neighbour
…”
Here the first clause is actually a subordinate temporal clause, but kë is used
in the same way as in example 11.4. The subject of the subordinate wi
clause is the spirits (shown by the ŋa- prefix), but Naala is the subject of the
main clause. The kë indicates a different subject and makes clear the
referent of the subject prefix on the first main clause verb.
The kë is not obligatory after a wi clause. This is illustrated in the following
sentence where there is a wi clause, but no change of subject means no kë is
needed.
11.6 Wi uwooŋ uunwina aşë ya na
wi u- wo -oŋ u- un- win -a a- şë ya na
when C2S be SEL C2S NEG see C1S.OBJ SER SEQ go and
pa
pa
in_order_to
“When it (the spirit) could not find her, it went with it (the hump).”
However, in the “Hare and the Elephant” text, a similar structure does use
kë, even though the subject has not changed. This would seem to indicate
that kë sometimes has a broader discourse function.
11.7 Wal wi uşaaŋ atuh wa
w- al w- i u- şa -aŋ a- tuh w- a
C2S moment C2S GEN C2S SEQ SEL SER close C2S OBJ
ţi bhër ,
ţ- i b- hër
INT LOC.PROX C5S hole
kë uşë ţij mnob muŋ akakanan
kë u- şë ţij m- nob ma- uŋ a- kak -an -an
DS C2S SEQ bring C8 honey C8 DEM.DIST
aya di untanka
a- ya d- i u- ntanka
SER go EXT LOC.PROX C2S village
“When he (Elephant) had closed him (Hare) in the hole, he took the honey
and returned to the village.”
272 Chapter 11

Kë is also found in sentence initial position. This was seen in example in

example 11.4 and is also seen in the following examples:
11.8 Kë biki untanka bŧi baţi abi
kë bik- i u- ntanka bŧi ba- ţi a- bi
DS C1P GEN C2S village all C1P run SER come
ayit
a- yit
SER meet
“Then all the villagers came running to meet together.”
11.9 Kë Ţwaraati , ahar umaalu , na
kë Ţwaraaţi a- har u- maalu na
DS Tswaraatsi C1AS wife C2S hare and
bayiţ baka bŧi kë babi aţoo awooni
ba- yiţ baka bŧi kë ba- bi a- ţo a- wooni
C1P relative C1P.GEN all DS C1P come SER sit SER cry
“Tswarati, Hares wife, and all their relations, sat down and cried.”
11.10 Kë ñaaţ aloŋ naţaf kë aşë win
kë ñ- aaţ a- loŋ na- ţaf kë a- şë win
DS C1S woman C1S INDEF C1S elderly DS C1S SEQ see
jibi Naala añagani ţi katoh
jibi Naala a- ñagan -i ţ- i ka- toh
like Nala C1S be_sad CMPL INT LOC.PROX C3S house
“An old lady saw how Naala was sad and staying in the house.”

This sentence initial kë can also occur after adverbial points of departure,
and renewals.
11.11 ţi pla a mënţan puŋ kë
ţ- i p- la a mënţan p- uŋ kë
INT LOC.PROX INF seek OBJ that C4S DEM.DIST DS
umaalu ubi gañir aka ñaaţ
u- maalu u- bi gañir a- ka ñ- aaţ
C2S hare C2S PST win SER have C1S woman
“In this courting, Hare succeeded in winning the women.”
11.12 Uwajanţën kë uloŋ uşë tuh wa
u- waj -anţën kë u- loŋ u- şë tuh w- a
C2S three ORD DS C2S INDEF C2S SEQ close C2S OBJ
ţi bhër
ţ- i b- hër
INT LOC.PROX C5S hole
“The third time, Elephant closed him into the hole.”
 The particle kë 273

In the wider context of these examples, kë is still marking a different

subject.
This is also illustrated by the following single sentence example which has
full noun phrases for most of the subjects:
11.13 Subject
Kë başë ya pla mnob na Hare and
kë ba- şë ya p- la m- nob na Elephant
DS C1P SEQ go INF seek C8 honey and
umaalu kë bko başë wo
u- maalu kë b- ko ba- şë wo
C2S hare DS c7s object c7s SEQ be
kë bko başë wo Tree
kë b- ko ba- şë wo
DS c7s object c7s SEQ be
akab ţi pliik Tree
a- kab ţ- i p- liik
SER be_near_to INT LOC.PROX C6S well
awo na bhër Tree
a- wo na b- hër
SER be and C5S hole
kë bnob bawo da bee hive
kë b- nob ba- wo d- a
DS C5S beehive C5S be C9S OBJ
“So they (along with Hare) went to look for honey. Now there was a tree
(bko) near to the well and it had a hole and there was a bee hive there.”
We see therefore that a primary use of kë is used to mark a change of
subject, but if there are other indications that the subject has changed (e.g.
different verb prefixes) then its presence is not obligatory. It is also
occasionally used when there is no change of subject for reasons that need
more research.

11.2 Kë after a noun phrase

Though the main use of kë is clause initially for marking a different subject
it can also be found between a subject noun phrase and the verb. The
following examples illustrate this.
274 Chapter 11

11.14 Kë Ţwaraati kë aşë bi , akak

kë Ţwaraaţi kë a- şë bi a- kak
DS Tswaraatsi DS C1S SEQ come SER REP
awat ubaldu wi nul ţuŋ
a- wat u- baldu w- i nul ţ- uŋ
SER bring_down C2S bucket C2S GEN 3s.poss INT LOC.DIST
pliik
p- liik
C6S well
“So Tsewaratsi came, and she also lowered her bucket into that well”

11.15 Kë ñaaţ aloŋ naţaf kë aşë win

kë ñ- aaţ a- loŋ na- ţaf kë a- şë win
DS C1S woman C1S INDEF C1S elderly DS C1S SEQ see
jibi Naala añagani ţi katoh .
jibi Naala a- ñagan -i ţ- i ka- toh
like Nala C1S be_sad CMPL INT LOC.PROX C3S house
“An old lady saw how Naala was sad and staying in the house.”
In these examples the first kë each time marks a subject switch, but the
second does not have seem to have the same function. It does not occur
every time there is a subject switch followed by a noun or noun phrase. The
second kë, between the subject noun or noun phrase seems to highlight the
subject.
One possible reason for this highlighting function is contrast. In the
following example there is partitive contrast between all the spirits in
sentence 11.16a and the one who had taken Nala's hump in 11.16b. (There
are several occurrences of kë in this example, including the
complementising kë COMP. The relevant one is underlined in sentence
11.16b.)
11.16a Kë ŋnŧaayi ŋaduka ki ki
kë ŋ- nŧaayi ŋa- duk -a ki ki
DS C2P demon C2P leave MID dance dance
ţuŋ te kë unuur udo jinţ kë
ţ- uŋ te kë u- nuur u- do jinţ kë
INT DEM.DIST until COMP C2S day C2S INGR be_clean DS
ŋaşë jun pwayşër .
ŋa- şë jun p- wayşër
C2P SEQ begin INF disperse
“The spirits stayed dancing there until daybreak, and then they started to
disperse”
 The particle kë 275

b Unşaaŋ ayeenk pben ţi

u- n- şa -aŋ a- yeenk p- ben ţ- i
C2S COREF SEQ SEL C1S receive C4S swelling INT LOC.PROX
Naala kë uşë kak ala ñaaŋ anwuluŋ
Naala kë u- şë kak a- la ñaaŋ a- n- wul -uŋ
Nala DS C2S SEQ again SER seek person C1S COREF give SEL
wa napoţ .
w- a na- poţ
C2S OBJ C1S child
“The one who had taken the lump from Nala, looked again for the one who
had given him the 'child' ”
It is also sometimes used as a way of introducing new characters:
11.17 Kë Ţwaraati , ahar umaalu , na
kë Ţwaraaţi a- har u- maalu na
DS Tswaraatsi C1AS wife C2S hare and
bayiţ baka bŧi , kë babi ...
ba- yiţ baka bŧi kë ba- bi
C1P relative C1P.OBJ all DS C1P come
“Then Tsewaratsi, Hare’s wife, and all their relations came …”
This is the first time in this story that Tsewaratsi has been mentioned. It is
also the beginning of a new discourse unit.
11.18 Kë ñaaţ aloŋ naţaf kë aşë win
kë ñ- aaţ a- loŋ na- ţaf kë a- şë win
DS C1S woman C1S INDEF C1S elderly DS SER SEQ see
jibi Naala añagani ţi katoh
jibi Naala a- ñagan -i ţ- i ka- toh
like Nala C1S be_sad CMPL INT LOC.PROX C3S house
“An old lady saw how Naala was sad and staying in the house.”
Here an old lady, a minor character, is introduced. As in the previous
example this also begins a new discourse unit.
Sometimes its only use is to mark a new discourse unit. The following
example from the story of Nabanka Biyagi comes after a non-event line
discursion about why the royal compound is a symbol for the Mankanya
people. The sentence starts a new discourse unit describing the events after
Nabanka Biyagi (who is no longer a new character) becomes king.
11.19 Kë Nabanka Biyagi kë aneejan pşih
kë Nabanka Biyagi kë a- neejan p- şih
DS Nabanka Biyagi DS SER insert C6S kingdom/throne
“So Nabanka Biyagi became king”
Here is another example from the “Hare and the Elephant” This starts a new
discourse unit where Tsewaratsi’s actions reveal where Hare is trapped.
276 Chapter 11

11.20 Kë Ţwaraati kë aşë bi akak

kë Ţwaraaţi kë a- şë bi a- kak
DS Tswaraatsi DS SER SEQ came SER return
awat ubaldu wi nul ţuŋ
a- wat u- baldu w- i nul ţ- uŋ
SER bring_down C2S bucket C2S GEN 3s.poss INT LOC.DIST
pliik
p- liik
C6S well
“So Tsewaratsi came, and she also lowered her bucket into that well”
In all these examples above the kë between noun phrase and verb has
occurred with the sentence initial kë marking a different subject. However,
in the “Hare and Elephant” there are several places where kë does not occur
in this position, even though there is a sentence initial kë marking a
different subject. This shows it is not obligatory in this situation.
11.21 kë umaalu ubi gañir aka ñaaţ .
kë u- maalu u- bi gañir a- ka ñ- aaţ
DS C2S hare C2S PST win C1S have C1S woman
“..Hare won the girl”
Udeeb kë uşë de uloŋ
u- deeb kë u- şë de u- loŋ
C2S anger DS C2S SEQ eat C2S INDEF
“Elephant got angry” (Lit. “Anger ate Elephant”)
Here the kë highlights udeeb ‘anger’, and this indicates the beginning of a
new discourse section. However, there is no sentence initial kë which would
normally be associated with a different subject.
A similar situation occurs later in the story, after the women have lowered
their bucket.
11.22 kë ukak aŧiink , aşë ji :“….”
kë u- kak a- ŧiink a- şë ji
DS C2S REP SER hear SER SEQ say
“He (Hare) heard it again and said “….” ”
Ţwaraati kë aşë hanţla
Ţwaraaţi kë a- şë hanţla
Tswaraatsi DS C1S SEQ look_up
“Tsewaratsi lifted her eyes …”
It seems that where kë is used after the noun phrase, kë as a different
subject marker before it is optional. This could be an indication that
historically the kë after the noun phrase was in fact the same particle but
has been moved to highlight the subject.
 The particle kë 277

Though there are some instances where the use of kë after the noun phrase
can be explained by contrast, the majority of cases of this usage of kë seem
to mark the beginning of a new discourse unit. This might be considered a
natural extension of its use, as often (but not always) the beginning of a
discourse unit is in some way contrastive with the preceding unit.
Here is a breakdown of the discourse units in a story about Hare and
Elephant. Where kë is used with a noun phrase the first part of each
sentence of the unit is shown, and the kë is underlined. Some sentences also
have a kë at the beginning of sentence indicating a different subject.

Introduction and background 1-2

Elephant gets angry 3-4 Udeeb kë uşë de uloŋ
Elephant tricks Hare and shuts him 5-7 Kë uloŋ kë uwini
in a hole
Elephant returns to the village and 8-9
tells his story
Hare’s wife’s reaction 10 Kë Ţëwaraati, ahar
umaalu, na bayiţ baka
bŧi kë babi
Women draw water and hear Hare 11-14
singing
Hare’s wife draws water and hears 15-17 Kë Ţëwaraaţi kë aşë bi
Hare singing
Hare’s wife tells women to draw 18-20 Ţëwaraaţi kë aşë ji na
water again and Hare sings again baaţ bukuŋ
Hare’s wife finds Hare and lets him 21 Ţëwaraaţi kë aşë hanţla
out
They return to village and conclusion 22-24

The frequency of this usage of kë varies from text to text.

11.3 Kë with hënk di

Kë at the beginning of a sentence is sometimes combined with hënk di ‘like
this’. This is used three times in the “Two wives” story. The first time it
introduces a summary statement that closes the introductory section.
278 Chapter 11

11.23 Kë hënk di abaaŋ kabi

kë hënk d- i a- ba -aŋ k- a- bi
DS so EXT LOC.PROX C1S CMPLTV SEL IMPERF SER PST
duka duka ţi pdo na Naala te kë
duka duka ţ- i p- do na Naala te kë
stay stay INT LOC.PROX INF do and Nala until DS
bado bot awo ţi ploolan
ba- do bot a- wo ţ- i p- loolan
C1P INGR do_something_next SER be INT LOC.PROX C4S one
na ñiinţ kë ñaaţ aji bi duka duka
na ñ- iinţ kë ñ- aaţ a- ji bi duka duka
and C1S man DS C1S woman C1S HAB PST stay stay
kañagan ţuŋ katoh
k- a- ñagan ţ- uŋ ka- toh
IMPERF SER be_sad INT LOC.DIST C3S house
“So this is what she (Dama) kept doing to Naala until she and her husband
were in agreement, and the woman (Naala) was sad and stayed in the
house.”
The other two examples are parallel, and are the introductory clauses of
each of Naala and Dama’s attempts to remove their humps. In these
examples, though there is a subject switch, there is also a proper noun, so
the kë is not required in order to disambiguate.
11.24 Kë hënk di Naala ayaaŋ na
kë hënk d- i Naala a- ya -aŋ na
DS so EXT LOC.PROX Nala C1S go SEL with
uŧejan aţënk ŋnŧaayi
u- ŧejan a- ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi
C2S night SER find C2P demon
“And so Naala went at night, she found the spirits …”
11.25 Kë hënk di Dama akaaŋ aya
kë hënk d- i Dama a- ka -aŋ a- ya
DS so EXT LOC.PROX Dama C1S REP SEL SER go
na uŧejan aya ţënk ŋnŧaayi
na u- ŧejan a- ya ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi
with C2S night SER go find C2P demon
“And so Dama also went at night, she found the spirits …”
Another example of this construction can be found in the story of Nabanka
Biyagi which tells his rise to the chiefdom of all the Mankanya, and the
building of the first royal compound. Kë hënk di is found at the end of the
introductory section describing the expansion of Bula the chief village.
 The particle kë 279

11.26 Kë hënk di ŋŧaak ŋi

kë hënk d- i ŋ- ŧaak ŋ- i
DS so C9S DEM.PROX C2P country C2P GEN
namehaŋ ŋuŋ bŧi ŋakyaaŋ ya aya
na- meh -aŋ ŋ- uŋ bŧi ŋa- k- ya -aŋ ya a- ya
2P know SEL C2P DEM.DIST all C2P IMPERF go SEL go SER go
aya
a- ya
SER go
“And so it was that all those villages that you know were appearing.”
The expression hënk di does not require a kë as it also found twice in that
story without it.
The first occurs at the end of the second section which describes how the
older men have begun to fight over who will be king.

11.27 Kë ugut umeeţ ubi bot

kë u- gut u- meeţ u- bi bot
DS C2S war C2S interior C2S PST do_something_next
aneejan
a- neejan
SER insert
“And so a mystic war started.”
Hënk di bawooŋ abi fiŋar fiŋar
hënk d- i ba- wo -oŋ a- bi fiŋ -ar fiŋ -ar
so C9S DEM.PROX C1P be SEL SER PST kill DIST kill DIST
te kë naşih nafeey aşë ka pnduud
te kë na- şih na- Feey a- şë ka p- nduud
until COMP C1S chief C1S Feey C1S SEQ have C6S compound
pi nul pi abëkani baţaşa
p- i nul p- i a- bëkan -i ba- ţaşa
C4S GEN 3s.poss C4S GEN SER put_down CMPL C1P teenager_(boy)
biki nul da
bik- i nul d- a
C1P GEN 3s.poss C9S OBJ
“So like this they started killing each other until the chief of the Nafeey
formed his group of those who had been initiated there.”
280 Chapter 11

Kë baţaşa mënţan bukuŋ ñaaŋ

kë ba- ţaşa mënţan buk- uŋ ñaaŋ
DS C1P teenager_(boy) that C1P DEM.DIST person
anduwaniiŋ Nabanka Biyagi aşë wo
a- n- duw -an -i -iŋ Nabanka Biyagi a- şë wo
SER COREF call CAUS MID SEL Nabanka Biyagi C1S SEQ be
da kë aşaaŋ awo naweek baka
d- a kë a- şa -aŋ a- wo na- week baka
C9S OBJ DS C1S SEQ SEL C1S be C1S elder_sibling C1P.GEN
“Amongst those initiates, there was someone who was called Nabanka
Biyagi, and he was the eldest.”
Here the hënk di still serves as a summariser, but the marker kë appears on
the sentence before, and on the following sentence which is the beginning
of a new episode.
The second occurs at the end of the story as a conclusion.
11.28 Hënk di Nabanka Biyagi aneejanuŋ
hënk d- i Nabanka Biyagi a- neej -an -uŋ
so C9S DEM.PROX Nabanka Biyagi C1S enter CAUS SEL
apaş Pmeş
a- paş p- meş
SER create C4S royal_compund
“So this was how Nabanka Biyagi became king and founded Pmesh”
Here kë is not used in any of the immediately surrounding sentences.
As both kë and hënk di separately are used to mark discourse units it may be
that using them together empahsises this marking.

11.4 What sort of information does kë occur with?

Some languages have words for marking discourse units which are only
found in either background material or in the main event line. This is not
the case in Mankanya with kë as it occurs in both situations. For example,
the following excerpt is from the introductory section of the “Two
Humpbacked Wives”, describing the household situation of the two wives.
All the sentences are background material, but kë is found in sentences
11.29a and 11.29c.
11.29a Kë baaţ batëb bukuŋ başë wo
kë b- aaţ ba- tëb buk- uŋ ba- şë wo
DS C1P woman C1P two C1P DEM.DIST C1P SEQ be
na mben ţi feţ .
na m- BEN ţ- i feţ
and c6p swelling INT LOC.PROX back
“And these two women had humps on their backs”
 The particle kë 281

b Anwooŋ naweek i katoh awo

a- n- wo -oŋ na- week i ka- toh a- wo
C1S COREF be SEL C1S elder_sibling GEN C3S house C1S be
na pben pmpoţi .
na p- BEN p- mpoţi
with C4S swelling C4S small
“The eldest in the household had a small hump.”
c Kë pi anwooŋ Naala pawooŋ
kë p- i a- n- wo -oŋ Naala pa- wo -oŋ
DS C4S GEN C1S COREF be SEL Nala C6S be SEL
pweek kë aşaaŋ akaana kanuura
p- week kë a- şa -aŋ a- ka -an -a ka- nuura
C4S older DS C1S SEQ SEL SER have CAUS MID C3S beauty
maakan .
maakan
very
“But Naala’s was big, though she had great beauty.”
d Ul i ñiinţ aţuuŋ ţi uhaaş
ul i ñ- iinţ a- ţu -uŋ ţ- i u- haaş
3s.subj GEN C1S man C1S place SEL INT LOC.PROX C2S soul
wi nul .
w- i nul
C2S GEN 3s.poss
“It was her that the husband loved.”
In the story of Hare and Elephant kë introduces a reminder of background
information at the start of a new section.
11.30 Kë işë me bko buŋ bakab
kë i- şë me b- ko b- uŋ ba- kab
DS 2S SEQ know c7s object c7s DEM.DIST c7s be_near_to
ţi dko di pliik pi
ţ- i d- ko d- i p- liik p- i
INT LOC.PROX C9S place EXT LOC.PROX C6S well C4S GEN
untanka wi bañaaŋ bakliiknuŋ
u- ntanka w- i ba- ñaaŋ ba- k- liik -n -uŋ
C2S village C2S GEN C1P person C1P IMPERF draw_water CAUS SEL
“Now you know that tree is near to the village well where people draw
water.”
For examples of kë used in the main event line, we could look at many of
the examples already given. Here are two more:
282 Chapter 11

11.31 Kë bawat ubaldu du pliik

kë ba- wat u- baldu d- u p- liik
DS C1P bring_down C2S bucket EXT LOC.DIST C6S well
kë udo do kluŋ meel kë mampën ado ŧar
kë u- do do kluŋ meel kë mam- pën a- do ŧar
DS C2S INGR do water DS C8 go_out SER do
ŧar ŧar kë ukak aŧiink
ŧar ŧar kë u- kak a- ŧiink
DS C2S REP SER hear
“Now they (the women) dropped the bucket down the well, it started to go
'klung', the water slopped out, going 'thar, thar,thar', and he heard it again.”
11.32 Kë unŧaayi uşë yeenk pben
kë u- nŧaayi u- şë yeenk p- BEN
DS C2S demon C2S SEQ receive C6S swelling
amëban kë Naala aşë neej aki
a- mëb -an kë Naala a- şë neej a- ki
SER carry CAUS DS Nala C1S SEQ enter SER dance
“So the spirit took the hump and held it, and Naala entered the ring and
danced”

11.5 Summary
This chapter has given a brief overview of some of the uses of kë.
The primary function of kë with event line clauses seems to be that of
signalling a switch in subject but it is occasionally used where there is no
switch of subject.
Sometimes kë appears after the subject noun phrase, in order to mark that
noun phrase, either for the purpose of contrast, or maybe for the
introduction of a new character.
However, kë is sometimes used when the subject has not changed. Often
these occur at the beginning of a new discourse unit, and highlight this
change.
A more in-depth study of the discourse level uses of this word is required.
 283

Chapter 12 - Glossed Texts

12.1 Two women who had humps

The following text was written in 2003 by an unknown author connected to
the Mankanya literacy program in Goudomp run by Pkumel (the Mankanya
cultural association) and SIL. It was written to go into a booklet of folk tales
and was edited to correct orthographic errors.
The initial number of each line indicates the paragraph number, the second
the sentence within that paragraph.

Ñiinţ na baharul batëb banwooŋ na mben ţi feţ

(A man and his two wives who had humps on their backs)
1.1 Dka nantohi ajug katoh
d- ka na- ntohi a- jug ka- toh
1S have C1S elder C1AS owner C3S house
anniimuŋ baaţ batëb .
a- n- niim -uŋ b- aaţ ba- tëb
C1S COREF marry SEL C1P woman C1P two
“There was once an old man who had married two women”
1.2 Naweek awo Dama aşë wo
na- week a- wo Dama a- şë wo
C1S elder_sibling C1S be Dama SER SEQ be
aannuura ţi bten , natëbënţën
a- ën- nuura ţ- i b- ten na- tëb -ënţën
SER NEG be_good INT LOC.PROX C5S looks C1S two ORD
awooŋ nanuura maakan awo Naala .
a- wo -oŋ na- nuura maakan a- wo Naala
C1S be SEL C1S beauty very C1S be Nala
“The elder was Dama, and she was not beautiful; the second was very
beautiful and was called Naala”
284 Chapter 12

1.3 Kë baaţ batëb bukuŋ başë wo na

kë b- aaţ ba- tëb buk- uŋ ba- şë wo na
DS C1P woman C1P two C1P DEM.DIST C1P SEQ be with
mben ţi feţ .
m- BEN ţ- i feţ
c6p swelling INT LOC.PROX back
‎“But these two women had humps on their backs”
1.4 Anwooŋ naweek i katoh awo
a- n- wo -oŋ na- week i ka- toh a- wo
C1S COREF be SEL C1S big GEN C3S house C1S be
na pben pmpoţi .
na p- BEN p- mpoţi
with C6S swelling C6S small
‎“The one who eldest in the house had a small hump”
2.1 Kë pi anwooŋ Naala pawooŋ
kë p- i a- n- wo -oŋ Naala pa- wo -oŋ
DS C6S GEN C1S COREF be SEL Nala C6S be SEL
pweek , kë aşaaŋ akaana kanuura
p- week kë a- şa -aŋ a ka -a -na ka- nuura
C6S older DS SER SEQ SEL 1S rfx C3S beauty
maakan .
maakan
very
‎“Naala's hump was big, but she had great beauty”
2.2 Ul i ñiinţ aţuuŋ ţi
ul i ñ- iinţ a- ţu -uŋ ţ- i
3s.subj DEM.PROX C1S man C1S place SEL INT LOC.PROX
uhaaş wi nul .
u- haaş w- i nul
C2S soul C2S GEN 3s.POSS
“The husband loved her”
2.3 Kë Dama aşë win kë ayin baka
kë Dama a- şë win kë a- yin baka
DS Dama C1S SEQ see COMP C1AS husband C1P.OBJ
aŋal Naala apel a .
a- ŋal Naala a- pel a
C1S like Nala SER be_more OBJ
“But Dama saw that their husband loved Naala more than her”
 Glossed Texts 285

2.4 Ţi duŋ mënţan duŋ

ţ- i d- uŋ mënţan d- uŋ
INT LOC.PROX C9S DEM.DIST that C9S DEM.DIST
di di Dama abaaŋ kabi
d- i d- i Dama a- ba -aŋ k- a- bi
C9S DEM.PROX C9S GEN Dama C1S finish SEL IMPERF SER PST
şoor şoor Naala kakak ţi a
şoor şoor Naala k- a- kak ţ- i a
hate hate Nala IMPERF SER return INT LOC.PROX OBJ
kakar na ŋnuur , kakuut
k- a- kar na ŋ- nuur k- a- kuut
IMPERF SER insult with C2P day IMPERF SER slander
kaji na ñiinţ me aŋal ŋal ñaaŋ
k- a- ji na ñ- iinţ me a- ŋal ŋal ñaaŋ
IMPERF SER laugh with C1S man know C1S like like person
anwooŋ na pben pweek puŋ .
a- n- wo -oŋ na p- BEN p- week p- uŋ
C1S COREF be SEL with C6S swelling C4S older C4S DEM.DIST
‎“Because of this Dama began to hate Naala, and began to insult her every
day, slandering her, saying to her husband how could he love someone who
had such a big hump”
2.5 Kë hënk di abaaŋ kabi duka
kë hënk d- i a- ba -aŋ k- a- bi duka
DS like_thatC9S GEN C1S finish SEL IMPERF SER PST stay
duka ţi pdo na Naala te kë bado
duka ţ- i p- do na Naala te kë ba- do
stay INT LOC.PROX INF do with Nala until DS C1P INGR
bot awo ţi ploolan na
bot a- wo ţ- i p- loolan na
do_something_next SER be INT LOC.PROX C4S one with
ñiinţ kë ñaaţ aji bi duka duka
ñ- iinţ kë ñ- aaţ a- ji bi duka duka
C1S man DS C1S woman C1S HAB PST stay stay
kañagan ţuŋ katoh .
k- a- ñagan ţ- uŋ ka- toh
IMPERF SER be_sad INT LOC.DIST C3S house
‎“She kept doing this to Naala until her husband agreed with her, and Naala
stayed unhappily in the house”
286 Chapter 12

3.1 Kë ñaaţ aloŋ naţaf kë aşë win

kë ñ- aaţ a- loŋ na- ţaf kë a- şë win
DS C1S woman C1S INDEF C1S elderly DS C1S SEQ see
jibi Naala añagani ţi katoh .
jibi Naala a- ñagan -i ţ- i ka- toh
like Nala C1S be_sad CMPL INT LOC.PROX C3S house
‎“Then an old lady saw how Naala was in the house, unhappy”
3.2 Abi ajaka : « Woli iŋal pka
a- bi a- jak -a Woli i- ŋal p- ka
C1S come SER tell C1S.OBJ if 2S like INF have
ukëra ţuŋ ayinu , kya
u- këra ţ- uŋ a- yin -u k- ya
C2S success INT LOC.DIST C1AS husband 2S.POSS IMPERF go
na uŧejan du kabaŋ ki unkintar
na u- ŧejan d- u ka- baŋ k- i u- nkintar
with C2S night EXT LOC.DIST C3S side C3S GEN C2S garden
wi nan .
w- i nan
C2S GEN 2P.POSS
‎“She said to her ‘If you want to have success with your husband, go at night
to the side of your garden ”
3.3 Iţënk ŋnŧaayi da ŋado pŧoof
i- ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi d- a ŋa- do p- ŧoof
C3P find C2P spirit C9S OBJ C2P do C4S half
kaki .
k- a- ki
IMPERF SER dance
‎“You'll find spirits there, doing the circle dance”
 Glossed Texts 287

3.4 Işale ban da knaţ

i- şa -le ban d- a k- naţ
2S SEQ irr arrive C9S OBJ 2S.ALT stand
kanaakiir na ŋa , kakob
k- a- naaki -ir na ŋ- a k- a- kob
IMPERF SER join RCP with C2P OBJ IMPERF SER hit
iñen maakan , wal wi
i- ñen maakan w- al w- i
C3P hand very C2S moment C2S GEN
ŋakfoyşaruŋ kaban ţi
ŋa- k- foy -ş -ar -uŋ k- a- ban ţ- i
C2P IMPERF encircle CAUS BEN SEL IMPERF SER arrive INT LOC.PROX
iwi , kşë ji na wi ikabiranuŋ
iwi k- şë ji na w- i i- kabir -an -uŋ
2S 2S.ALT SEQ say with C2S GEN 2S be_next_to CAUS SEL
, mëbanan napoţ nji dkaaŋ pki (
mëb -an -an na- poţ nji d- ka -aŋ p- ki
attach CAUS IMP C1S child 1S 1S have SEL INF dance
napoţ mënţ awooŋ pben puŋ ).
na- poţ mënţ a- wo -oŋ p- BEN p- uŋ
C1S child that C1S be SEL C6S swelling C4S DEM.DIST
‎“When you arrive there, stop and join in with them and clap loudly. When
the circling arrives with you, say to the person who is now next to you "hold
the baby, it's my turn to dance" (this baby is that hump)”
3.5 Wi kneejuŋ pŧoof kaki ,
wi k- neej -uŋ p- ŧoof k- a- ki
when IMPERF enter SEL C4S half IMPERF SER dance
kşë pën na bundu kabi
k- şë pën na b- undu k- a- bi
2S.ALT SEQ go_out with C5S DEM.VDIST IMPERF SER FUT
kado kaţi ţi pya katoh
k- a- do k- a- ţi ţ- i p- ya ka- toh
IMPERF SER INGR IMPERF SER run INT LOC.PROX INF go C3S house
. »
‎“When you enter the middle of the dance, go out the other side, then start
running to go home’ ”
288 Chapter 12

4.1 Kë hënk di Naala ayaaŋ na uŧejan

kë hënk d- i Naala a- ya -aŋ na u- ŧejan
DS like_that C9S GEN Nala C1S go SEL with C2S night
aţënk ŋnŧaayi kë ŋado pŧoof aki , kë
a- ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi kë ŋa- do p- ŧoof a- ki kë
C1S find C2P spirit DS C2P do C4S half SER dance DS
aşë ban anaţ akob iñen na ŋa .
a- şë ban a- naţ a- kob i- ñen na ŋ- a
SER SEQ arrive SER stand SER hit C3P hand with C2P OBJ
‎“So Naala went at night, found the spirits that were doing the circle dance,
and went up to them, stood and clapped hands with them.”
4.2 Wi ŋakiiŋ aban ţi a ,
w- i ŋa- ki -iŋ a- ban ţ- i a
C2S GEN C2P dance SEL SER arrive INT LOC.PROX OBJ
kë aşë ji na wi akabiranuŋ
kë a- şë ji na w- i a- kab -ir -an -uŋ
DS C1S SEQ say with C2S GEN SER be_near_to RCP CAUS SEL
: « Mëbanan napoţ i , nji dkaaŋ
mëb -an -an na- poţ i nji d- ka -aŋ
attach CAUS IMP C1S child DEM.PROX 1S 1S have SEL
pki . »
p- ki
INF dance
‎“When their dancing arrived with her, she said to the person who was now
next to her "hold this baby, it's my turn to dance"”
5 Kë unŧaayi uşë yeenk pben
kë u- nŧaayi u- şë yeenk p- BEN
DS C2S spirit C2S SEQ receive C6S swelling
amëban , kë Naala aşë neej aki .
a- mëb -an kë Naala a- şë neej a- ki
SER attach CAUS DS Nala C1S SEQ enter SER dance
‎“So the spirit took the hump and held it, and Naala entered the dance”
6.1 Aban ţuŋ aşë pën na bgah
a- ban ţ- uŋ a- şë pën na b- gah
C1S arrive INT LOC.DIST SER SEQ go_out with C5S way
bloŋ , aşë bi kaţi ţi
b- loŋ a- şë bi k- a- ţi ţ- i
C5S INDEF SER SEQ FUT IMPERF SER run INT LOC.PROX
pya katoh .
p- ya ka- toh
INF go C3S house
‎“She arrived there, then left by another path, and began to run to come
home”
 Glossed Texts 289

6.2 Aban aneej meeţ apiinţ .

a- ban a- neej meeţ a- piinţ
C1S arrive SER enter room SER lie_down
‎“She arrived, entered inside and slept”
6.3 Kë ŋnŧaayi ŋaduka ki ki ţuŋ
kë ŋ- nŧaayi ŋa- duk -a ki ki ţ- uŋ
DS C2P spirit C2P leave MID dance dance INT DEM.DIST
te kë unuur udo jinţ kë ŋaşë jun
te kë u- nuur u- do jinţ kë ŋa- şë jun
until DS C2S day C2S INGR be_clean DS C2P SEQ begin
pwayşër .
p- wayşër
INF disperse
‎“The spirits stayed dancing until day broke and then they began to leave”
6.4 Unşaaŋ ayeenk pben ţi
u- n- şa -aŋ a- yeenk p- BEN ţ- i
C2S COREF SEQ SEL SER receive C6S swelling INT LOC.PROX
Naala kë uşë kak ala ñaaŋ anwuluŋ
Naala kë u- şë kak a- la ñaaŋ a- n- wul -uŋ
Nala DS C2S SEQ turn SER seek person SER COREF give SEL
wa napoţ .
w- a na- poţ
C2S OBJ C1S child
‎“The spirit who had taken the hump from Naala began to go around looking
for the person who had given him the baby”
6.5 Wi uwooŋ uunwina aşë ya
w- i u- wo -oŋ u- un- win -a a- şë ya
C2S GEN C2S be SEL C2S NEG see C1S.OBJ SER SEQ go
na pa .
na p- a
with C6S OBJ
‎“When it couldn't see her, it left with it”
7.1 Kë Dama aşë naţa na nfa awin Naala
kë Dama a- şë naţa na nfa a- win Naala
DS Dama SER SEQ get_up with morning C1S see Nala
jibi aheŧuŋ aşë ji akak
jibi a- heŧ -uŋ a- şë ji a- kak
like C1S straighten_up SEL SER SEQ HAB SER become
apënan pben pi nul .
a- pën -an p- BEN p- i nul
SER go_out CAUS C6S swelling C6S GEN 3s.POSS
“When Dama got up in the morning, she how Naala was straightened up,
and how she had become, and that she had removed her hump”
290 Chapter 12

7.2 « Ayinun afiyaar kadukin

a- yin -un a- fiyaar k- a- duk -in
C1AS husband 1P.OBJ C1S believe IMPERF SER leave 1S.OBJ
» ; aşë deebaţ ado jot afiiŧa .
a- şë deebaţ a- do jot a- fiiŧa
C1S SEQ be_angry C1S INGR fall SER faint
“ ‘Our husband will think of leaving me!’ and she got so angry that she
fainted.”
8.1 Kë Naala na pjoob bkow pi nul
kë Naala na p- joob b- kow p- i nul
DS Nala with INF cool C5S head C4S GEN 3s.POSS
aţupa jibi adoluŋ kë pben pi
a- ţup -a jibi a- dol -uŋ kë p- BEN p- i
C1S speak C1S.OBJ like C1S do SEL DS C6S swelling C6S GEN
nul pado pën .
nul pa- do pën
3s.POSS C6S INGR go_out
“But Naala was kind, and told her how she had made her hump go”
8.2 Kë hënk di Dama akaaŋ aya na
kë hënk d- i Dama a- ka -aŋ a- ya na
DS like_that C9S GEN Dama C1S REP SEL SER go with
uŧejan aya ţënk ŋnŧaayi kë ŋado pŧoof
u- ŧejan a- ya ţënk ŋ- nŧaayi kë ŋa- do p- ŧoof
C2S night SER go find C2P spirit DS C2P do C4S half
aki , kë aşë ban abi ya ya
a- ki kë a- şë ban a- bi ya ya
SER dance DS SER SEQ arrive SER PST go go
di wi Naala awuluŋ pben
d- i w- i Naala a- wul -uŋ p- BEN
C9S DEM.PROX C2S GEN Nala C1S give SEL C6S swelling
anaţ akob iñen .
a- naţ a- kob i- ñen
SER stand SER hit C3P hand
“So Dama also went at night and found the spirits doing circle dancing; she
arrived and went straight to the place where the spirit to whom Naala had
given her hump was, stood and clapped her hands”
 Glossed Texts 291

8.3 Wi ŋakiiŋ aban ţi a kë

w- i ŋa- ki -iŋ a- ban ţ- i a kë
C2S GEN C2P dance SEL SER arrive INT LOC.PROX OBJ DS
aşë ji na wa umëbana
a- şë ji na w- a u- mëb -an -a
SER SEQ say with C2S OBJ C2S attach CAUS MID
napoţul akiina , akaaŋ pki
na- poţ -ul a- ki -in -a a- ka -aŋ p- ki
C1S child 3s.POSS SER dance CAUS MID C1S REP SEL INF dance
.
“When the dancing arrived at her, she asked it to hold her baby as it was
her turn to dance, so that she could dance”
9.1 Kë unŧaayi uşë ji : « Yow !
kë u- nŧaayi u- şë ji yow
DS C2S spirit C2S SEQ like yes!
“And the spirit said "Wait a minute!" ”
9.2 Hënk di aloŋ ajaknuŋ
hënk d- i a- loŋ a- jak -n -uŋ
like_that C9S GEN C1S INDEF C1S tell 1S.OBJ SEL
mmëbana napoţ takal aşë ţi
m- mëb -an -a na- poţ takal a- şë ţi
1S.SUB attach CAUS MID C1S child yesterday SER SEQ run
adukaraan a , naam iwi a ?
a- duk -ar -aan a naam iwi a
SER leave BEN 1S.OBJ OBJ resemble 2S OBJ
‎“ "It was like this that someone asked me to carry their baby yesterday, and
ran, leaving it with me - don't you look like her?" ”
9.3 Nje a awi . »
nje a a- wi
take OBJ C1S here_is
‎“ "Take him, here he is" ”
292 Chapter 12

9.4 Kë Dama ayeenk anaakrën na pi

kë Dama a- yeenk a- naakrën na p- i
DS Dama C1S receive SER mix with C6S GEN
nul , ado pweek , aşë kowa pya
nul a- do p- week a- şë kowa p- ya
3s.POSS SER do C6S older SER SEQ be_ashamed INF go
na pa katoh , aşë bi kaţi ţi
na p- a ka- toh a- şë bi k- a- ţi ţi
with C6S OBJ C3S house SER SEQ PST IMPERF SER run run
pya kajot di bdëk kakeţ .
p- ya ka- jot d- i b- dëk k- a- keţ
INF go C3S fall EXT LOC.PROX C5S sea IMPERF SER die
‎“So Dama received it, and mixed it with hers, which became big; she was
ashamed to go with it to the house and so straight away ran to throw herself
in the sea, in order to die.”
9.5 Wi abanuŋ aşë jot di meel
w- i a- ban -uŋ a- şë jot d- i meel
C2S GEN C1S arrive SEL SER SEQ fall EXT LOC.PROX water
.
‎“When she arrived, she threw herself in the water.”
9.6 Kë meel mankak alutana
kë meel man- kak a- lut -an -a
DS water C8 REP SER jump CAUS C1S.OBJ
apënan bdig aşë jaka , nji ,
a- pën -an b- dig a- şë jak -a nji
SER go_out CAUS C5S outside SER SEQ tell C1S.OBJ 1S
mnnkyeenk ñaaŋ nado bwuţaan .
mn- n- k- yeenk ñaaŋ na- do b- wuţaan
C8 NEG IMPERF receive person C1S doer c7s evil
‎“But the sea threw her back again, out of the water and said to her "Me, I
don't accept evil people!" ”
 Glossed Texts 293

12.2 A voyage to the Casamance

The following text was transcribed from an oral recording with the help of
the speaker. He had been asked to relate an incident that involved him, and
he told the story of the first time he had returned with his brother to the
Casamance area of Senegal as a teenager. The story is being told in Dakar.
1 Wi ŋwooŋ i pya duuţ , pya
wi ŋ- wo -oŋ i p- ya duuţ p- ya
when 1P be SEL GEN INF go up_there INF go
pme duuţ , kë aşinun kë aşë
p- me duuţ kë a- şin -un kë a- şë
INF know up_there DS C1AS father 1P.OBJ DS SER SEQ
piiŧun kakaarta pa ŋmeena
piiŧ -un ka- kaarta pa ŋ- me -an -a
write 1P.OBJ C3S card in_order_to C2P know CAUS MID
bgah bnuura
b- gah bnuura
C5S way well
“When we had to go to the Casamance, to get to know the Cassamance, our
father drew us a map, so that we would know the right route”
2 Wi ŋyeenkuŋ kakaarta mënţën kuŋ
wi ŋ- yeenk -uŋ ka- kaarta mënţën k- uŋ
when 1P receive SEL C3S card that C3P.cnt DEM.DIST
aya ala ukaaru apaya aŧool aya
a- ya a- la u- kaaru a- paya a- ŧool a- ya
SER go SER seek C2S car C1S climb SER leave SER go
“When we had received this map, we went and looked for a minibus,
climbed in and straight away we left”
3 Wi ŋyaaŋ aban ţi Gambi
wi ŋ- ya -aŋ a- ban ţ- i Gambi
when 1P go SEL SER arrive INT LOC.PROX Gambia
awala ţi pmuur bdëk
a- wala ţ- i p- muur b- dëk
SER come_down INT LOC.PROX INF cross C5S sea
“When we had gone a while, we arrived in Gambia, and got out to cross the
river”
294 Chapter 12

4 Wi ŋwaliiŋ kë bapayan ŋkaaru

wi ŋ- wala -iŋ kë ba- pay -an ŋ- kaaru
when 1P come_down SEL DS C1P raised CAUS C2P car
kë un ŋpaya bak na ihoţ , ado nug
kë un ŋ- paya bak na i- hoţ a- do nug
DS 1P.subj 1P climb ferry and C3P leg SER INGR buy
iko yi de ţuŋ , ade
i- ko y- i de ţ- uŋ a- de
C3P thing C3P GEN eat INT LOC.DIST SER eat
“When we had got out, they embarked the minibus, and we got onto the
ferry on foot, then bought some things to eat there, and ate.”
5 Wi ŋmuuruŋ bdëk umba wundu
w- i ŋ- muur -uŋ b- dëk u- mba w- undu
C2S GEN 1P cross SEL C5S sea C2S side C2S DEM.vdist
akak ajej ukaaru mënţan haŋ aŧool pya
a- kak a- jej u- kaaru mënţan haŋ a- ŧool p- ya
SER REP SER take C2S car that DEM SER leave INF go
duuţ
duuţ
up_there
“When we had crossed the river to the other side, we again took that
minibus, and set off to go the Casamance”
6 Wi ŋdooŋ aya aban kañog
w- i ŋ- do -oŋ a- ya a- ban k- a- ñog
C2S GEN 1P INGR SEL SER go SER arrive IMPERF SER be_close
duuţ kë ŋpaţ bgah ŋi Diaroume ,
duuţ kë ŋ- paţ bgah ŋ- i Diaroume
up_there DS 1P junction C2P GEN Diaroume
‎“When we had arrived in the Casamance, at the Diaroume junction,”
7 ime iko yi duuţ , iko
i- me i- ko y- i duuţ i- ko
2S know C3P thing C3P GEN up_there C3P thing
ide yi duuţ
i- de y- i duuţ
C3P edible C3P GEN up_there
‎“(you know the Casamance, the things that are eaten in the Casamance”
 Glossed Texts 295

8 woli iwo ţi iji tam baloŋ

woli i- wo ţ- i i- ji tam ba- loŋ
if C3P be INT LOC.PROX C3P HAB be_hard C1P INDEF
baanji bahil pnug ya kë ado
ba- an- ji ba- hil p- nug y- a kë a- do
C1P NEG HAB C1P be_able INF buy C3P OBJ DS SER do
ya bnuura
y- a bnuura
C3P OBJ well
“if they are here, they are expensive, some people cannot buy them and
prepare them well)”
9 Kë ŋşë jun pnug uliik kë
kë ŋ- şë jun p- nug u- liik kë
DS 1P SEQ begin INF buy C2S peanuts COMP
unjuŋi kë ŋbi kanug nug ,
u- n- juŋ -i kë ŋ- bi k- a- nug nug
C2S COREF cook SEL DS 1P FUT IMPERF SER buy buy
anug mnaana anugran iko aŧuman
a- nug m- naana a- nug -r -an i- ko a- ŧuman
C1S buy c6p banana SER buy DIST CAUS C3P thing SER fill
uŧak wi ŋwoonaanuŋ
u- ŧak w- i ŋ- woona -an -uŋ
C2S bag C2S GEN 1P come_from CAUS SEL
‎“We began to buy cooked peanuts, and we were buying here and there, we
bought bananas, we bought things everywhere, and we filled the sack that
we had brought with us”
10 Wi ŋyaaŋ aban du karaŧ ki
wi ŋ- ya -aŋ a- ban d- u karaŧ k- i
when 1P go SEL SER arrive EXT LOC.DIST garage C3S GEN
ŋkaaru kë ukaaru kë unaţi kë
ŋ- kaaru kë u- kaaru kë u- naţ -i kë
C2P car DS C2S car DS C2S stand CMPL DS
ŋwala
ŋ- wala
1P come_down
“When we arrived at the bus garage, the minibus stopped, and we got out”
296 Chapter 12

11 kë ŋşë pënan kakaarta ki

kë ŋ- şë pën -an ka- kaarta k- i
DS 1P SEQ go_out IMP C3S card C3S GEN
aşinun apiiŧuŋ un apiiŧuŋ
a- şin -un a- piiŧ -uŋ un a- piiŧ -uŋ
C1AS father 1P.OBJ C1S write SEL 1P.subj C1S write SEL
bgah bŧi jibi ŋwooŋ kaţaş bgah
b- gah bŧi jibi ŋ- wo -oŋ k- a- ţaş b- gah
C5S way all like 1P be SEL IMPERF SER follow C5S way
“we got out the map that our father had drawn us, on which he drawn the
whole route that we had to follow”
12 kë aya kaban te ŋënkhepar
kë a- ya k- a- ban te ŋ- an- k- hepar
DS SER go IMPERF SER arrive until 1P NEG IMPERF ask
“for us to arrive without asking.”
13 Wi ŋtenuŋ kakaarta mëntan kuŋ
wi ŋ- ten -uŋ ka- kaarta mëntan k- uŋ
when 1P look_at SEL C3S card that C3P.cnt DEM.DIST
bŧi aşë ŧool aţaş bgah bi
bŧi a- şë ŧool a- ţaş b- gah b- i
all SER SEQ leave SER follow C5S way C5S DEM.PROX
ayuujuŋ ţi kakaarta
a- yuuj -uŋ ţ- i ka- kaarta
C1S show SEL INT LOC.PROX C3S card
“When we had looked at the map, we straight away followed the route that
he had showed us on the map”
14 aţaş ţaş bgah te ado ya aneej
a- ţaş ţaş b- gah te a- do ya a- neej
SER follow follow C5S way until SER INGR go SER enter
du katoh ki aninun ñiinţ
d- u ka- toh k- i a- nin -un ñ- iinţ
EXT LOC.DIST C3S house C3S GEN C1AS mother 1P.OBJ C1S man
“and followed it until we arrived and entered our uncle's house”
15 Wi ŋbanuŋ awul mnteeña
wi ŋ- ban -uŋ a- wul m- nteeña
when 1P arrive SEL SER give C8 greetings
“When we arrived, we gave our greetings”
 Glossed Texts 297

16 Nin aloŋ ţi katoh

nin a- loŋ ţ- i ka- toh
NEG C1S INDEF INT LOC.PROX C3S house
aanyikrënun
a- ën- yikrën -un
C1S NEG recognise 1P.OBJ
“No-one in the house recognised us”
17 Aninun ñiinţ aando yikrënun
a- nin -un ñ- iinţ a- an- do yikrën -un
C1AS mother 1P.OBJ C1S man C1S NEG INGR recognise 1P.OBJ
parce que wi awinuŋ un ujoni
wi a- win -uŋ un u- jon -i
when C1S see SEL 1P.subj C2S last CMPL
“Our uncle didn’t even recognise us, because it was a long time since he had
last seen us”
18 Ŋhoj wori mënţan bapoţ bampoţi
ŋ- hoj wori mënţan ba- poţ ba- m- poţ -i
1P be_still time that C1P child C1P COREF be_small PTCP
te ado ya adëm
te a- do ya a- dëm
until SER INGR go SER grow
“We were still, at that time, small children and since then we had been
growing”
19 parce que wori mënţan nji dka ŋşubal iñeen
wori mënţan nji d- ka ŋ- şubal i- ñeen
time that 1S 1S have C2P year C3P ten
na ŋpaaj na uloolan
na ŋ- paaj na u- loolan
and 1P six and C2S one
“because I was seventeen at that time”
20 ukaaŋ kë baanyikrën un
u- ka -aŋ kë ba- an- yikrën un
C2S have SEL DS C1P NEG recognise 1P.subj
“and so that's why they didn't recognise us”
21 Wi nji kapënuŋ da , dka wori
wi nji ka- pën -uŋ d- a d- ka wori
when 1S 1S.ALT go_out SEL C9S OBJ 1S have time
mënţan ŋşubal paaj
mënţan ŋ- şubal paaj
that C2P year six
“When I left there I had been six years old”
298 Chapter 12

22 Baţoo ŋşubal iñeen na uşubal , kë

ba- ţo -o ŋ- şubal i- ñeen na u- şubal kë
C1P sit CMPL C2P year C3P ten and C2S rain DS
baanwinën ukaaŋ kë baanyikrënën
ba- an- win -ën u- ka -aŋ kë ba- an- yikrën -ën
C1P NEG see 1S.OBJ C2S have SEL DS C5S NEG recognise 1S.OBJ
na aţa naan bŧi
na a- ţa naan bŧi
and C1AS young_sibling 1S.GEN all
“Eleven years had passed without them seeing me and this is why they
didn't recognise either me or my brother”
23 kë mbaa ţoo ţuŋ aţup bakan
kë m- baa ţo -o ţ- uŋ a- ţup bakan
DS 1S.SUB tmtv sit CMPL INT LOC.DIST C1S speak C1P.OBJ
bŧi dko di ŋpënuŋ kë babaa
bŧi d- ko d- i ŋ- pën -uŋ kë ba- baa
all C9S place EXT LOC.PROX 1P go_out SEL DS C1P tmtv
leş
leş
remember
“I ended up staying there and telling them all where we came from and they
finally remembered”
24 aninun ñiinţ kë alilani
a- nin -un ñ- iinţ kë a- lil -an -i
C1AS mother 1P.OBJ C1S man DS C1S be_good CAUS CMPL
na aharul bŧi
na a- har -ul bŧi
and C1AS wife 3s.POSS all
“Our uncle was very pleased and so was his wife”
25 Kë bapënan iko yi de , iko
kë ba- pën -an i- ko y- i de i- ko
DS C1P go_out CAUS C3P thing C3P GEN eat C3P thing
yi de yi duuţ
y- i de y- i duuţ
C3P GEN eat C3P GEN up_there
“They got out things to eat, things to eat from the Casamance”
 Glossed Texts 299

26 unkaara , mkonkombra , mnkem kë ŋde

u- nkaara m- konkombra mn- kem kë ŋ- de
C2S peanuts C6P cucumber C6P palm_nut DS 1P eat
ţuŋ bŧi kë balilani
ţ- uŋ bŧi kë ba- lil -an -i
INT LOC.DIST all DS C1P be_good CAUS CMPL
“Peanuts, cucumbers, palm nuts, and we ate from them all and they were
happy”
27 Faan kë afiŋarun unkuma , adu
faan kë a- fiŋ -ar -un u- nkuma a- du
tomorrow DS C1S kill BEN 1P.OBJ C2S pig SER call
bañaaŋ ado mnlilan
ba- ñaaŋ a- do mn- lilan
C1P person SER do C8 happiness
“The following day he killed a pig for us, and called people to show their
happiness”
28 Wi ŋţooŋ ţuŋ ŋnuur
wi ŋ- ţo -oŋ ţ- uŋ ŋ- nuur
when 1P sit SEL INT LOC.DIST C2P day
ŋanduki kë pwin bayiţun
ŋa- n- duk -i kë p- win ba- yiţ -un
C2P COREF leave PTCP DS INF see C1P relative 1P.OBJ
“While we stayed there the rest of the days that were left for seeing our
relatives”
29 kë ŋşë ji ŋya ţi ŋntabanka
kë ŋ- şë ji ŋ- ya ţ- i ŋ- ntabanka
DS 1P SEQ HAB 1P go INT LOC.PROX C2P village
ŋmpoţi ŋuŋ
ŋ- mpoţi ŋ- uŋ
C2P small C2P DEM.DIST
“we went to those little villages”
30 Antidi ŋba pnoorfën pi ŋyaaŋ
antidi ŋ- ba p- noorfën p- i ŋ- ya -aŋ
before 1P tmtv C4S rest C4S GEN 1P go SEL
ŋñaay bayiţun bŧi Ŧugtor ame
ŋ- ñaay ba- yiţ -un bŧi Ŧugtor a- me
1P walk_about C1P relative 1P.OBJ all Ziguinchor SER know
bakan bŧi .
bakan bŧi
C1P.OBJ all
“Before we finished the holiday we had taken, we went around all our
Ziguinchor relatives to know them all” (antidi is a Creole word)
300 Chapter 12

31 Unuur wi ŋkţiişuŋ , baando

u- nuur w- i ŋ- k- ţiiş -uŋ ba- an- do
C2S day C2S GEN 1P IMPERF go_home SEL C1P NEG INGR
ŋal ŋţiiş
ŋal ŋ- ţiiş
like 1P go_home
“The day that we left, they didn't even want us to go”

32 Ŋţaalad na bakan ţuŋ bŧi ,

ŋ- ţaal -ad na bakan ţ- uŋ bŧi
1P get_used_to RCP and C1P.OBJ INT LOC.DIST all
wi ŋkţiişuŋ , un ŋëndo ŋal
w- i ŋ- k- ţiiş -uŋ un ŋ- an- do ŋal
C2S GEN 1P IMPERF go_home SEL 1P.subj 1P NEG INGR like
pţiiş
p- ţiiş
INF go_home
‎“We had got know all of them there and when we were going home, we also
didn't want to leave”
33 Parce que baţaalad bi ŋţaaladuŋ
ba- ţaalad b- i ŋ- ţaal -ad -uŋ
C1P relationship C1P GEN 1P get_used_to RCP SEL
na bakan , ŋbi ŋal ŋal pţo da .
na bakan ŋ- bi ŋal ŋal p- ţo d- a
and C1P.OBJ 1P PST like like INF sit C9S OBJ
‎“Because of the relationships we had made, we just wanted to stay”
34 Ma ŋdohara pli ploolan aşë ţiiş
ma ŋ- do -hara p- li p- loolan a- şë ţiiş
but 1P do CONC C4S month C4S one SER SEQ go_home
kë bañaaŋ kë balilan ţuŋ bŧi
kë ba- ñaaŋ kë ba- lil -an ţ- uŋ bŧi
DS C1P person DS C1P be_good CAUS INT DEM.DIST all
“But even though we had stayed only a month before leaving, they were all
happy there”
 References 301

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304 References
 List of Tables 305

Samenvatting
Dit proefschrift beschrijft de grammatica van het Mankanya, een taal
oorspronkelijk uit Guinee-Bissau, maar ook gesproken in het zuiden van
Senegal en in Gambia. Deze beschrijving bevat twaalf hoofdstukken en is
gebaseerd op taalgegevens die verzameld zijn tussen 1999 en 2012, in de
tijd dat de auteur in Senegal woonde.
In hoofdstuk 1 wordt de Mankanya bevolking geïntroduceerd, samen met
hun taal, het gebied waar ze wonen en relevante sociolinguïstische
achtergrondinformatie.
Hoofdstuk 2 biedt een overzicht van de fonologie van de taal. Mankanya
heeft 51 fonemen: 38 medeklinkers en 13 klinkers. Bijzondere medeklinkers
zijn de stemloze interdentale wrijfklank /θ/, de stemloze retroflexe
plofklank /ʈ/ en de stemloze retroflexe wrijfklank /ʂ/. Er zijn 4 neusklanken
en 16 medeklinkers die voorafgegaan kunnen worden door een neusklank.
Het klinkersysteem is asymmetrisch met meer achter- dan voorklinkers. Elke
klinker, behalve de centrale midden klinker, heeft een lange en een korte
variant. Er is geen klinkerharmonie en geen betekenis onderscheidende
toon.
Hoofdstuk 3 beschrijft de morfologie van de zelfstandige naamwoorden. De
meeste woorden in het Mankanya bestaan uit meerdere morfemen. Aan de
wortel kunnen achtervoegsels worden toegevoegd om afleidingen te
vormen. Vervoegingen maakt de taal met voor- en achtervoegsels. Veel
wortels kunnen functioneren als zelfstandig naamwoord of als werkwoord.
De uiteindelijke woordklasse is afhankelijk van het gebonden morfeem. De
meeste bijvoeglijke naamwoorden hebben voorvoegsels die overeenkomen
met het voorvoegsel van het zelfstandig naamwoord dat ze modificeren. Dit
systeem van corresponderende voorvoegsels is de basis om zelfstandige
naamwoorden in te delen in 10 naamwoordklassen. Elke naamwoord klasse
kent drie verschillende voorvoegsels: voor enkelvoud, meervoud en telbaar
meervoud. Dit hoofdstuk beschrijft ook achtervoegsels die bezit aanduiden,
bezittelijke voornaamwoorden en persoonlijke voornaamwoorden voor
onderwerp en object (lijdend of meewerkend voorwerp).
306 Samenvatting

Hoofdstuk 4 beschrijft de werkwoord morfologie. De voorvoegsels voor

onderwerp corresponderen in persoon en getal. De eerste persoon enkelvoud
heeft aparte voorvoegsels voor inclusief en exclusief. In constructies waarin
meerdere zinnen achter elkaar staan zonder voegwoorden, is het
onderwerpsvoorvoegsel gereduceerd tot het seriële voorvoegsel a-.
Ontkenning wordt gemarkeerd in de werkwoordsvorm door een voorvoegsel
tussen het onderwerpsvoorvoegsel en de stam van het werkwoord. Het
object is een achtervoegsel dat persoon en getal aangeeft.
Twee gebonden morfemen worden gebruikt voor aspect, het voorvoegsel k-
dat onvoltooide tijd aangeeft en het achtervoegsel -i dat markeert dat de
actie van het werkwoord afgesloten is. Naast de lijdende en de bedrijvende
vorm heeft de taal ook een vorm, aangeduid met het achtervoegsel -a, voor
acties die hier semantisch tussen in liggen. Er zijn acht achtervoegsels om
werkwoord afleidingen mee te maken. Combinaties zijn mogelijk. Het zijn
onder andere de causatieve, de instrumentele en de benefactieve afleiding
en de wederkerige vorm.
Hoofdstuk 5 beschrijft infinitieven en deelwoorden, die beide zowel verbale
als nominale eigenschappen hebben. Infinitieven hebben het voorvoegsel p-
in plaats van een onderwerpsvoorvoegsel en kunnen het hoofd zijn van een
infinitief-zin. Infinitieven hebben geen vervoegingen, afleidingen zijn wel
mogelijk. Een infinitief-zin kan het onderwerp of het object zijn van een
ander werkwoord in de zin.
Deelwoorden worden gevormd door middel van het achtervoegsel -i. Zij
hebben nominale voorvoegsels. Afhankelijk van de betekenis van de stam
functioneren ze als zelfstandige of bijvoeglijke naamwoorden. Zij kunnen
het hoofd zijn van een bijzin.
Hoofdstuk 6 beschrijft andere woordklassen. Woorden die iets zeggen over
het zelfstandig naamwoord zijn onder te verdelen twee groepen. In de eerste
groep hebben woorden een voorvoegsel dat correspondeert met de
naamwoord klasse van het zelfstandig naamwoord (bijvoeglijke
naamwoorden, lidwoorden, telwoorden en rangtelwoorden, aanwijzende en
bezittelijke voornaamwoorden). De woorden in de tweede groep zijn
onveranderlijk en corresponderen niet (hoeveelheidsaanduidingen,
onveranderlijke bepalingen van plaats, anaforische aanwijzende
voornaamwoorden). Woorden die corresponderen hebben hetzelfde
voorvoegsel als dat van het zelfstandig naamwoord, of wat daarop lijkt. Er
zijn twee paradigma's die enigszins van elkaar verschillen afhankelijk van
de woordklasse. Hoewel telwoorden en rangtelwoorden meestal
corresponderen, zijn sommige onveranderlijk.
 Samenvatting 307

Andere kleine woordklassen in dit hoofdstuk zijn voorzetsels, bijwoorden

van plaats, voegwoorden, vraagwoorden, bijwoorden en idiofonen (woorden
die bijvoorbeeld een geluid nabootsen).
Hoofdstuk 7 beschrijft de eenvoudige grammaticale constructies. De
eenvoudigste zin is een enkel woord, meestal een werkwoord. De
woordvolgorde in een ongemarkeerde bevestigende zin is onderwerp,
werkwoord, object. Zinnen met wo als koppelwerkwoord drukken een
toestand uit, stellen twee zaken aan elkaar gelijk, of duiden bezit of een
plaats aan. Er zijn ook zinnen waarin het enige werkwoord in de zin
gemarkeerd is door het achtervoegsel -uŋ, dat specifiek gebruikt wordt voor
focusmarkering of topicalisatie. Er zijn ook zinnen zonder werkwoord, deze
worden gewoonlijk gebruikt om iets te introduceren.
Basismodificaties creëren negatieve zinnen, ja/nee vraagzinnen, open
vraagzinnen en zinnen met een gebiedende wijs.
Zinsdelen met een zelfstandig naamwoord hebben gewoonlijk het
zelfstandig naamwoord aan het begin, gevolgd door woorden die er iets
over zeggen. Bezitsaanduidingen beginnen meestal met een partikel. Een
klein aantal zelfstandige naamwoorden echter staat de aanwezigheid van dit
partikel niet toe.
Dit hoofdstuk beschrijft ook infinitief-zinnen en bepalingen van plaats en
tijd.
Persoonlijke voornaamwoorden worden normaal gesproken niet gebruikt
voor het onderwerp in ongemarkeerde bevestigende zinnen. Zij kunnen wel
gebruikt worden om focus aan te geven of één van de personen in een
meervoudig onderwerp. Persoonlijke voornaamwoorden voor lijdend- of
meewerkend voorwerp volgen op het werkwoord en staan altijd dichter bij
het werkwoord dan een zelfstandig naamwoord, of het nu een lijdend of
meewerkend voorwerp betreft.
Aanwijzende voornaamwoorden en de markeerder voor een onbepaalde
persoon kunnen ook gebruikt worden als persoonlijke voornaamwoorden.
Hoofdstuk 8 beschrijft het werkwoordssysteem. Mankanya maakt de meeste
verschillen in tijd, aspect en modaliteit door middel van hulpwerkwoorden
die aan het hoofdwerkwoord voorafgaan. Sommige hulpwerkwoorden, zoals
ya "gaan" dat als hulpwerkwoord voor de toekomende tijd fungeert, komen
ook voor als hoofdwerkwoord. De combinatie van een hulpwerkwoord en
een hoofdwerkwoord wordt in dit boek een hulpwerkwoordconstructie
genoemd.
308 Samenvatting

De aspecten dat een actie afgesloten is of dat die nog voortduurt worden
morfologisch gemarkeerd met respectievelijk -i en -k. Daarnaast komt -k met
dezelfde aspectuele functie ook voor in hulpwerkwoordconstructies.
Voor toekomende tijd gebruiken de meeste sprekers luŋ “gaan”, of ya “gaan”
en bi “komen”, gecombineerd met het bovengenoemde aspectuele -k op het
hoofdwerkwoord. Verleden tijd wordt gemarkeerd met bi, maar zonder -k.
Een actie die volgt op een eerdergenoemde actie, wat beschouwd kan
worden als relatieve tijd, wordt gemarkeerd door het hulpwerkwoord şë.
Constructies met andere hulpwerkwoorden die een aspect aangeven zijn: ji
voor een actie die gewoonlijk uitgevoerd wordt, jon voor een actie die
doorgaat, hum voor een actie die volgehouden wordt, do voor een actie die
start, wo ţi voor een actie die aan de gang is, kak voor een actie die herhaald
wordt en ba voor een actie die gestopt wordt.
Noodzakelijkheid en epistemische modaliteit kunnen worden uitgedrukt met
het woord wo gevolgd door het genitieve partikel i en het hoofdwerkwoord.
Het hoofdwerkwoord heeft het voorvoegsel p- bij noodzakelijkheid en k- en
a- voor epistemische modaliteit.
Een verbod wordt gemarkeerd door het hulpwerkwoord wut.
Sommige hulpwerkwoorden kunnen samen voorkomen in een zin, zoals do
(een actie starten) en bi (verleden tijd), die samen betekenen dat het begin
van een actie in het verleden ligt.
Hoofdstuk 9 beschrijft meer complexe zinstypen, beginnend met een
overzicht van de gevonden gevallen, gevolgd door een beschrijving van de
manier waarop deze gebruikt worden om verschillende semantische relaties
te vertegenwoordigen. Zinnen kunnen aan elkaar gekoppeld worden door
verbindingswoorden. Sommige daarvan vereisen dat één van de zinnen van
een hoofd- een bijzin wordt, d.w.z. dat die zin een morfologische
verandering ondergaat die verder niet voorkomt in hoofdzinnen. In
sommige gevallen kunnen zinnen aan elkaar verbonden worden zonder
voegwoord, maar met een aangepaste werkwoordsvorm in één van de
zinnen.
De semantiek van bijzinnen wordt beschreven met de typologie die
voorgesteld is door Cristofaro (2005): de hoofdindeling is complement,
bijwoordelijke bijzin en relatieve bijzin. Hoofdzinnen worden beschreven
met de typologie die Dixon (2009) voorgesteld heeft.
Hoofdstuk 10 bespreekt enkele van de methoden om van een tekst een
samenhangend geheel te maken. De bekende strategieën voor de verwijzing
 Samenvatting 309

naar karakters zijn beschreven met de theorie van Dooley en Levinsohn

(2001). Kenmerkend is dat persoonlijke voornaamwoorden niet worden
gebruikt als het voorvoegsel van het werkwoord voldoende duidelijk maakt
naar wie het onderwerp verwijst. Voornaamwoorden voor lijdend- en
meewerkend voorwerp worden gebruikt, maar in sommige omstandigheden
kunnen ze weggelaten worden.
Enkele manieren om delen van een tekst aan elkaar te verbinden worden
toegelicht: zoals het gebruik van het neutrale aanwijzende voornaamwoord
aŋ, of herhaling van het zelfstandig naamwoord of van het werkwoord.
Wisselingen in een verhaal worden aangeduid met een nieuwe start,
gewoonlijk aan het begin van de zin. Een nieuwe start in de tijdlijn is vaak
een bepaling van tijd. Een nieuwe locatie wordt meestal aangegeven door
een bepaling van plaats.
Hoofdstuk 11 bespreekt het partikel kë dat veel voorkomt in spontane tekst,
maar veel minder in zinnen verkregen tijdens veldwerk. Eén van de
hoofdfuncties van dit partikel is om een wisseling van onderwerp te
markeren in constructies met meerdere zinnen achter elkaar zonder
voegwoorden. Het is echter ook gevonden in situaties waarin het onderwerp
dezelfde referentie houdt, wat erop kan duiden dat het een bredere
discourse functie heeft.
Als het gebruikt wordt om een wisseling van onderwerp te markeren, dan
staat kë aan het begin van de zin. Er zijn gevallen waarin het volgt op het
onderwerp, soms samen met kë aan het begin van de zin. Het lijkt erop dat
dit het onderwerp extra onder de aandacht brengt, ofwel om het te
benadrukken, of om een nieuw karakter te introduceren.
Hoofdstuk 12 bevat twee teksten met een letterlijke vertaling. De ene is een
volksverhaal, de andere is een persoonlijk verhaal in de ik-vorm.
310 Samenvatting
 List of Tables 311

Curriculum vitae

Timothy John Drew Gaved was born in Bromley, England on 21st January
1965. He completed his secondary education at Kelsey Park School,
Beckenham, England in 1983, and then studied Electronic Engineering at
the University of Essex, England where he received a BSc (Hons) in 1986.
After a period of work in software engineering, he began working with SIL
International in Senegal in 1999. From 1999-2012 he lived in Dakar and
worked as a linguistic specialist, helping develop the languages of the
region. As well as working with the Mankanya language, he was also
involved with training and the coordination of SIL’s linguistic activities. In
2012 he returned to England and studied part time at the School of Oriental
and African Studies, University of London, and received an MA in
Linguistics in 2014. At the end of 2014 he became an external PhD student
with Leiden University. Currently he works for SIL West Africa as a
linguistics consultant, concentrating on the languages of Coîte d’Ivoire.