01
A GRAMMAR OF BUeM:
THE LeLcMI LANGUAGE
Edward Jay Allan
Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
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Abstract
This grammar of the Lelemi dialect of Busm is the first attempt to describe the morphology and syntax of any of the 14 Togo-Remnant languages in detail; in it , I have tried to describe the major structures and many of the minor structures of the languageswhich occur in informal or semi-formal speech. The phonetics and most of the phonology are described in taxonomic terms; the vowel harmony system and the syntax and morphology, however, are described in a sligh tly modified "Aspects" model of transformational-generative grammar. Of spe cial interest to the non-specialist are my discussions of vowel harmony, of the noun class system, and of the verbal aspect system and serial verb constructions. 03
Acknowledgements
To the reader of this thesis, the acknowledgements are among the least important of its pages; to me, how ever, they are among the most important, for in them I can thank the people whofve helped me. Foremost among them are my parents, without whose moral, financial and every other kind of support 11d never have started, let alone finish. I owe a deep debt of gratitude also to my supervisor, Professor Jack Carnochan, for his gentle nudges—and, when necessary, for his not-so-gentle nudges; my special thanks also to Dr. Neil V. Smith and to Mr. F.D.D. Winston for a great many useful discussions and suggestions. I'd also like to thank many other members of the staffs of the Linguistics Departments at Univer sity College and at SOAS and of the SOAS Africa Dept, for help and advice most freely given.and to the Central Re search Fund for providing me with equipment and money for informants1 fees. So many people helped me in Ghana that I don't really know where to begin, though f i r s t place in my thanks must 0 li
undoubtedly go to George Eamson Agyei, my steward, one of my principal informants, and most importantly my friend, for a ll he did to make my stay in Ghana both successful and enjoyable. Immediately after George, I must mention Nana Agyei, Chief of Okajakrom and Twifohene of Buem, whom I had good reason to c a ll &ti father1, and my informants, not only for Buem, but for other languages too; unfortunately, they were too numerous to thank individually by name, but my appre ciation goes out to them as individuals. My thanks also go out to Mr. W.K. Agbenyega, Principal of Jasi- kan Training College, Mr. P.K. Akoto-Ampaw, Principal of St. Francis1 Training College, and Ms. Janet E. Booth, Officer-in-Change of the Hohoe Teachers Center, for their kindness in letting me teach atttheir re spective in stitutions and to my fariends— former colleagues and former students—for making work so fun. Finally, my sincere thanks to Dr. and Ms. Kevin C. Ford for lin g u istic and other support and to my erst while roommate, Mr. James A. Engler, for putting up with out complaint with my fieldnotes and everything else cluttering up the kitchen table. Table of Contents
Abstract ...... 2 Acknowledgements ...... 3
Part I# Introduction ...... 15 The People ...... 17 The Language ...... 19 Genetic Relationships ...... 19 Dialects of Buem ...... 20 Earlier work on the language ...... 26 Work in the language ...... 28 The Grammar ...... 29 Source dialect ...... 29 Fieldwork ...... 29 Scope and format of the grammar ...... 31
Part II. Phonology ...... 34
Transcription ...... 35 The Word ...... • ...... 37 The Syllable • • • • ...... 39 The Consonants • * ...... 43 Consonant Clusters ...... 51 Cl- clusters ...... 51 Cv- clusters •••••...... 52 The Vowel System ...... 55 The vowels ...... 55 Vowel harmony ...... •. • ...... 60 Reduced vowel harmony ...... 66 Tone ••*••• ...... 76
Part III. The Sentence ...... 83 Questions ...... 85 Exclamations ...... 87 Imperatives ...... 88 Basic clause structure ...... 88
Part IV. The Noun Phrase ...... 90 Types of Noun Phrase ...... 91 The Nominal Type of Noun Phrase ...... 91 Simple Nouns ...... 92 07
The Noun Class System ...... * ...... 97 Co-occurrence restrictions on prefixes ••• 115 Noun Suffixes ...... 117 Concord and Agreement 119 Compound Nouns ...... 1^5 Noun + Noun combinations ...... 125 Noun + Verb combinations ...... 129 Other combinations ...... 131 Syntactic notes ...... 132 Derived Nouns •••••«•**.•»...... 134 Derived Agent Nouns ...... * Derived Nouns of Suitability ...... 142 Derived Nouns of Place ...... 153 Other Derived Nouns ...... 157 Possessors 161 Nominal possessors ...... 161 Possessive pronouns ...... 166’ Inalienable possession ...... 168 Noun Modifiers ...... 171 Sex Markers ...... 171
Participles ...... 174 08
Numbers ...... 181 Cardinal numbers ...... 181 Ordinal numbers ...... 186 Cardinal and ordinal numbersused together • 189 ^Counting plurals” ...... 190 Adjectives ...... 192 Determiners ...... 195 Spatial determiners ...... 198 The referential determiner ...... Use with other modifiers ...... 199 Relative Clauses ...... 20$ nSame Subject” Relative Clauses ...... 202 "Different Subject” Relative Clauses ...... 205 Quantifiers ...... 209' Co-occurrence restrictions ...... 210 Personal Pronouns ...... 21? Objective pronouns ...... 214" Independent pronouns ...... 216 Possessive pronouns ...... 222 Reflexive or reciprocal pronouns ...... 222* In fin itives ...... • 224 The Infinitival Phrase as subject of a verb 226 The Infinitival Phrase as object of averb 230 In fin itiv es used for emphasis ...... 233
Part V. The Verb Phrase ...... 235 The Verb Phrase ...... 236 TheVerb ...... 236 Verbal Concord markers ...... 238 Tense markers ...... 242 Modality markers ...... 243 The VerbRoot ...... 244 Verb Suffixes ...... 246 Verb Paradigms . • 253 The Affirmative Simple Past ...... 253 The Affirmative Past Progressive ...... 256 The Affirmative Simple Present ...... 261 The Affirmative Present Progressive ...... 267* The Affirmative Simple Subjunctive ...... 271 The Affirmative Simple Future ...... 275 Verbs marked for Aspect ...... 281
Certainty ...... 282 a o
Customary action ...... 286 Motion away from the speaker ...... 290 Motion towards the speaker ...... 294
Negation ...... 298 The Negative Past ...... 299 Negative Present for verbs of state ...... 303
The Negative Present for other verbs ...... 306
The Negative Future ...... 309 The Negative Subjunctive ...... 313 Negation of verbs marked for other aspects • 315 Imperatives 320 Relative Verb Forms ...... 324 The Relative Past ...... 326 The Affirmative Relative Present for verbs
of state ...... 3 27 The Affirmative Relative Present for
other verbs ...... 3 2 8
The Negative Relative Present ...... 329
The Affirmative Relative Future ...... 331
The Negative Relative Future ...... 331 11
Subject and Object Potentials ...... 333 Subject potentials ...... 333 Complementation ...... 340 Adverbials and Prepositional Phrases •• 354 Adverbials of accompaniment ...... 354 Instrumentals ...... 356 Manner adverbials ...... 357 Spatial adverbials ...... 360 Time adverbials ...... 363
Part VI# Conjunction and Subordination ...... 369 Conjunction of Noun Phrases ...... 370 Conjoined NPs as subjects of a verb ...... 372 Effects of conjunction on noun modifiers •• 378 Conjunction of Verb Phrases (Serial Verbs) ...... 379 Serial verb constructions and buti 'to take' ...... 388 Serial verb constructions and bute 'to give' ...... 392 12
Serial verb constructions and butulo fto surpass* ...... 394 Repetition of objects in conjoined sentences 396 Conjoining Entire Sentences ...... 399 The Disjunctive Conjunctions ...... 402 Conjunction of entire sentences ...... 403 Conjunction of Noun Phrases as subjects of a verb ...... 404 Conjunction of Noun Phrases as objects of a verb * ...... 409 Conjunction of Noun Phrases as objects of preposit ions ...... • 406 The use of lye and rnunS in questions •• 407 Sequence of Tenses ...... 409 Sentences as Complements ...... 415 Indirect Discourse ...... 418 Indirect statements ...... 418 Indirect questions ...... 422 Indirect commands • • ...... 425 Indirect interjections ...... 426 Subordinate Clauses ...... 427 "If" clauses ...... 427 The causal clause ...... 433 The time clause ...... 436 The purpose clause ...... » 440 The ttas if" clause ...... 441 Juncture phenomenon ...... 442
Part VII* Emphasis ...... 444 The "Oral Comma," ni ...... 445 Emphasis of a Noun Phrase ...... 449 Emphasis of the subject of a verb ...... 449 Emphasis of the object of a verb ...... 449 Negation and Noun Phrase emphasis ...... 453 Emphasis of a Verb ...... 555 Interrogative Words ...... 455
Appendix A ...... 459 Summary of the Noun Class System ••••• 460 Appendix B. Connected Texts. 464 The Origins of Baglo ...... * ...... 465 Why There are Chiefs ...... 470 k^tonja ...... 474
Bibliography 478 Part I. Introduction Kadjeb/ CENTRAL- VGLTA-;._oiUN Word word DISTRICT BUCivi O BA LEMI t i BOiV/Ll 5 Ah'P*"U © SAurmoF/ <> Si UKPE TV/I-5PEAKING POPULATION oaman r \ %%%% EWE-SPEAKING POPULATION f-rac/d RtPA'OUNT CHEF'S PESIDENCE Atonko MAIN PGAOS ROUGH A. GADS 2 3 4 5 6 7 5 idxm Jasikan Okadjakrum i < > fA i ^ > V.O' Tf
_ ^ Anyinase □ ■ A ; C"-v jA .O .Amamforo O'/A* C 7r«. CTM* w> “------v/jn\) ( icv-'; J • -^yerane t i «. ‘{ • > (4 (T* ■ ViWiU Gdc/. ndsc. 1 NT \ n.S v 0. <<«\ I J <*■(.. Lekanti' U ' f^Y-% f» * \ iTetcman i / Vi'N \ Sag/cf k \\V 1 flC.'d'Avoma Odom/ - Adokor NewAycma\/z I Ozolu\ nK~™ t J J / / V A iOHP^fe (T\ . i < \ , ’//■■■'A \ i >) //o/roe
«ccr i, Reproduced by permission from Hdfitaann and Ayitevi (1968) il7 The People The area around the h ills which mark the border betwen Ghana and Togo is —or should be--of interest to the comparative Africanist for it is inhabited by a number of different peoples, called collectively the Togo Remnant peoples, who speak languages which seem quite different from the languages spoken by their neighbors. In this grammar, I shall attempt to describe the language spoken by the Buem, who are, with a population of about 17,000, the second most numerous of a ll the Togo Remnant peoples and by far the most numerous of any of the ten Togo Remnant peoples now living in present-day Ghana. The Buem live in seventeen villages and towns in the middle of Ghana*s Volta Region (see map); these villa g es and towns are located between the Togo border* to the East and Tapa Abotiase and Vorawora (both ex cluded) to the Vest and between Hohoe to the South and Kadjebi to the North (both excluded). There are no Buem settlements in Togo it s e lf . While the biggest 18 town in the Buem speaking area is Jasikan, much of Jasi- kanfs population consists of migratory cocoa farmers from Togo and other parts of Ghana, so that the Buem town with the greatest number of Buem speakers in it is probably Borada, where the Paramount Chief liv e s. Linguistically and ethnically,, the Buem are bor dered by the Akans to the North and West, by the Bowiri, the Akpafu-Lolobi and the Likpe to the South, and by the Axlo and Kposo to the East. Just beyond the Akpafu-Lolobi, the Likpe, the Axlo and the Kposo are the Ewes. Both Akan and Ewe belong to the Volta- Comoe sub-group of Kwa; a ll the other languages are Togo Remnant languages. Most Buem, including the women, speak Buem plus another languages the western segment of the Buem, the B&fana, speak Buem and Akan, while the eastern segment, the B&lfcmi, speak Buem and Ewe; almost a ll the younger Buem also speak at least some English as w ell, and some of. the oldnmen s t i l l understand German. 19 The Language Genetic Relationships. According to Heine (1968), Buem is most closely related to.Akpafu-Lolobi and then to Likpe and Santrokofi; Heine places all four languages within the "NA” sub-division of the' Togo Remnant languages (henceforth, TRLs). The relation ships, however, of the TRLs with other language groups still remains quite indeterminate: Greenberg (1963) feels that the TRLs are a sub-group of Akan- Ewe in the Kwa sub-family of Niger-Congo; Heine agrees with th is , adding that he feels the TRLs are most closely related to Guang, but that Guang is closer to Akan than it is to the TRLs. On the other hand, de Wolf (1971) feels that "Togo Remnant is d e fin ite ly part of Benue-Congo and that a ll other languages of Greenberg1s (1966) Kwa subfamily DO form part of a higher unit of” which Benue-Congo is the other p a r t11 (de Wolf’s emphasis) and continues by placing the TRLs ■ tentatively on a level co-ordinate with Plateau and Jukunoid under Benue-Congo. At present, however, only <20 the Scottish verdict of "Not Proven" can be given to any of these claim s. Dialects of Buem. Buem speakers are divided into two groups: the B&fana (literally, "those^who remained"), who live to the north and west of Baika and who call what they speak Ltfana, and the Balemi ( lite r a lly , "those who advanced"), who liv e to the east of Teteman and who call what they speak Lblfcmi. In addition, Lbfana has three readily distinguishable sub-dialects: "General" L£fana, the Lbfana spoken in Baika, and the Lfcfana spoken in Borada. L&lemi is substantially uni form and is mutually intelligible with all forms of Lbfana. In th is grammar, I sh all use the name "Buem" to refer to the language spoken by the B&fana and the BStlfcmi, reserving the names "Lfcfana" and "L£lbmi" strictly for matters dealing with one dialect but not the other; the name "Buem",iincidentally, is of Twi o rig in and is the name used by non-Buems to re fe r to the Buem and by Buems themselves to refer to themselves to non-Buems. 21 While a fu ll-sc a le dialect study is impossible here, the following notes should indicate some of the more significant differences between Ltlemi and Lb- fana: 1* Vocabulary. • Lbfana has, in general, borrowed many more words from Akan than has Lbltmi. In addition, Lfcfana speakers from Baika seem to have innovated, ra ther more words from other sources than have speakers of any of the other dialects, presumably because Baika speakers form a sort of enclave among speakers of Likpe and Lolobi. 2. Phonology, (a) In Lfcllmi, / l / may occur in any consonantal position and is almost always realized as fljl- In Lefana, however, /l/ occurs as flj only morpheme initially; elsewhere, /l/ has the following realizations: i. In Borada, /l/ never occurs word- i n i t i a l - Lfcl. m a Borada n a fyam' L tl. lisemi Borada Isemi ‘Teteman1 Lfel. l£dl Borada edl 11 ate 1 22 ii. In Lbltmi, /l/ is almost always realized as £l^J when it follows a consonant; in L£fana, however, /l/ is always realized as ^rj after a consonant: Lbl. b=>bla ~ L£f. b^bra 'to do1 Lbl. =5kl3z> ~ L£f. -)kr=>=> 'canoe1 Lbl. 3kl&ma ~ L£f. =>krama 'dog' L£l. aviate - Ltf. Iivrate 'thirty1 iii. In L£l£mi, the first person singular agreement prefix for past tenses of the verb is le- or I f - , depending on vowel harmony; in most Lkfana d ia le c ts, however, it is ne- or ni- and in the Borada sub dialect, as just noted, it is e- or 1- : Lbl. ledl ~ L£f. nedi 'I ate* Lei. lef=> ~ L tf. ntfb 'I washed* L&1. l£bJ> ~ L£f. nibS 'I came* Lbl. lfyS - Lbf. niye (I bought' Lei. Ifmwl ~ L£f. nimwi 'I p ra ise d 1 (b) Lfclemi verbs with the structure "CV^lVg ^ave reflexes in Lbfana in which there is syncope of the first vowel, yielding -CrV^ : , Lei. butulfc - Lbf. butr5 'to surpass' Lbl. b^kuli? - L£f. br>krz) 'to cut* This syncope, associated with the lengthening of the fin a l vowel of the word, also occurs with some nouns as well: Lei. adil2i L lf. ad ralt 1 food f Lfcl. letal& L lf. letraa 'mat1 L il. levall. 0 * 0 L lf. levraS. *eggf (c) In Lefana, underlying nasalized vowels are realized as nasalized vowels on the surface as well; however, in at least the Baglo sub-dialect of L£lbmi, underlying nasalized vowels are realized only as oral vowels unless they occur before a stop consonant within the same noun phrase, in which case the underlying 0*0 nasalized vowels are realized a s V + N : L£l. fatuj - Lbf. {^tuj 'elephant1 Lei. [=>t3J ~ Li:f. £z>tz>J 1 house * L£l. l^b=>kuj - L£f. [tokuj 'to chew* 1a. Lbl. liyfe =>tz). b. Lfcf. lfyfe =>t:o. 1s+Pa+buy house. 'I bought a'house.1 but, in both Lfcllmi and Lbfana, 2. l£s& =>t=> r\ kemo. 1s+Pa+go house 0 inside. fI went inside the house.1 (d) In Lbfana and in some sub-dialects of Lllemi, the sequence /t/ + /i/ is realized as [tji] | this palatalization does not occur in the Baglo sub-dialect of Lelsmi: Bag. [*atij - - Tet. £htfij * father* Ok. [atfi] Bag. j^lftlj - ~ Tet. flitjlj *1 took* Ok. fnitji]] Bag. ^n&DtimlOk. [~m=>=>tj"imlJ fI*m reducing (e.g., price)1 Bag. fzotia] - Ok. [h cttj'ik j *he learns* Bag. [ =>=>tinaj - Ok [ b b t^ in k j *he teaches* There is one exception to this, however; in all dia lects, the segment /t/ of the verb bz>tl *to know* is realized as [d^J in the present tense affirmative, though in paradigms for all other tenses the segment / 1/ is realized either as [tj or as [ y fji depending on 125 dialect. In Baglo, for example, we get the following alternations:. [hd^ij fI know1 [n&atlj 'I don't know1 fadjl] 'You(s) know’ LkatlJ 'You(s) donft know1 C=>d^lj 'He knows 1 [ r o t l j 'He do es n 't know1 [bbd^lj 'We know' £bz>z>tlj 'We don't know' etc* (e) Some nouns which showlreduplication of the stem consonant in Lfclemi have reflexes in Lefana in which the first syllable of the stem is deleted with a concom itant lengthening of the vowel of the prefix: L ll. bnlnl L lf. 3=>na 'man' L ll. kajije L lf. kaaje 'monkey' L ll. lr)wer)wl L lf. aaT)wi 'bee' L ll. alele L lf. alele • f ly ’ 3* Syntax, (a) In L£lemi, both low tone and mid tone verbs are hon§)honous in the affirmative simple past tense; in L&fana, mid tone and low tone verbs are d if ferentiated in the affirmative simple past: 126 Lei. ler)wSi 'I cooked; I harvested' L lf. nepwk fI cooked* nepwa 'I harvested' (b) Even in informal or casual speech, Lelemi speakers generally retain the fu ll range of concord and agreement in pronouns and in verb prefixes; many Lefana speakers, on the other hand, use the unmarked pronoun forms in informal speech and appear to a lter nate randomly between marked and unmarked agreement in verb prefixes in casual speech. Earlier work An the language. Heine (1968) presents the most comprehensive over-view of the field of Togo Remnant studies; however, since Heine's aims were the comparative study of the respective noun class systems coupled with the historical reconstruction of the lexicon, his treatment of individual languages is necessarily brief. To date, the only lengthy studies of any of the TRLs are Ford’(1971), a study of aspects, primarily tonal, of Avatime, and Hdftmann (1971), an outline grammar of Lelemi with some connected texts; 27 unfortunately, I did not learn of Hdftmann’s grammar u ntil this thesis was virtually completed* Otherwise, there have been only about 15 works dealing with Buem as Buem; for the most part, these works are wordlists, of which Kropp (1967) is by far the most extensive and the most useful for general purposes, while Cansdale (undated) is a valuable comparative guide to animal names throughout Ghana* The fir s t known work on the syntax of Buem is Vestermann (1910), which gives a brief outline, generally accurate, of some of the major structures of the language and which has a Lefana-German lexicon as well; other syntactic work consists of Hdftmann (1966), Hdftmann (1970), Allan (1972a) and Allan (in press). Seidel (1898), working from Plehn (1895), represents the first attempted description of the phonology of Buem; possibly owing to shortcomings in the source material (which I have not seen), Seidel’s work is wildly inaccurate, and the findings in Vester mann (1910) are much more in line with my own, especially with fcespect to the vowel system (Allan, 1972b; see also Ford (in press)). 128 Vork in the language, Funke (1919) presents the firs t connected text, a discussion of marriage customs which internal evidence suggests came from a speaker from Teteman. The Rev. Fr# A#0# Dogli, from Baglo, wrote everything else printed in Buem: ten pamphlets, largely religious and pedagogical in nature, which appeared at irregular intervals between 1953 and 1955; in addition, Fr. Dogli translated the entire Catholic missal, which is still in use. At the present time, the Rev.FFr* J. Laast is preparing a Lelemi hymn book at Teteman. Both Fr# Dogli and, I believe, Fr# Laast transcribe Buem using Ewe orthography; le tte rs my Lbfana speaking friends have written me generally use Twi orthography. As far as I know, there are no plans to translate the Bible into Buem. In addition to these texts, and those in Hdftmann and Ayitevi (1968), there are two phonograph records (i#e., four sides) of evangelical preaching by a Mr# Odumah, from, I believe, Teteman. >23 The Grammar Source d ialect. This grammar is based on that dialect of Lfclbmi spoken in Baglo and in Baglo-Odumase, miles from Baglo. I chose this dialect primarily be cause it is probably the most conservative and because the only Buem literature, other than Funkefs text, is written in this dialect. In addition, Lll£mi forms in general can be used as a sort of "base" from which cer tain L£fana forms can be predicted given the addition of a small number of low-level phonological rules, like the /l-r/ alternation and metasthesis/syncope rules discussed in Dialects of Buem, above. Since the con verse, that Lfclemi forms can be predicted from the L&- fana forms, is not true in the self-same cases, a grammar of Lelfcmi can be considered as being, in a sig nificant way, a "source grammar" for Lefana. Fieldwork. I collected material for this grammar during a 23-month field trip from September 1970 to July 1972; the first year of this time I spent at Jasikan Training 130 College, Jasikan (Buem) and the balance of my stay at St. Francis1 Training College, Hohoe. My principal informants for Lbfana were Messrs. Kojo Ginger Ray Braimah-Mintah, a student at Jasikan Training College, and George Lamson Agyei, a student at Volta Commercial College, both natives of Okajakrom, and my principal informants for Llllmi were Messrs. Lewis D.K. Dokpor, a student at Jasikan Training College who came from Baglo, and Dominic K. Nyarko, a student at St. Francis1 Training College who came from Baglo-Odumase. Both of my principal Lllbmi informants had had previous experience with working with their language: Dokpor stayed with his classificatory grandfather, the Rev. Fr. Dogli, who tried to pass on to him a feel for the structure of his language, and Nyarko had previously served as an informant for Hildegard Hoeftmann during her field trip to Baglo. Mr. Philip Agyakwa, from Atonkor, and Mr. Lucas Aggadey, from Baglo, also con tributed substantial amounts of time, and Messrs. Michael Dudu and Richard Akoto-Addey gave me much use ful information on the Borada dialect of Lefana. 131 Costs of the fieldwork were met by the Central Research Fund of the University of London, which provided me with a generous grant for equipment and informant's fees. Scope and format of the grammar. In this grammar I will deal with the synchronic description of the phonology, morphology,c£nd syntax of L£lbmi: because the only published descriptions of any of the Togo Remnant languages consist primarily of sketchy frag ments, dealing mostly with the noun class systems and rarely with anything else, it seems to me preferable to attempt a description of the complete language (with the exception of its semantics), even at the risk of appearing to deal with some portions of that description superficially, rather than to deal with a smaller portion of the language exhaustively. The phonology consists of the taxonomic descrip tion of the sounds that I have heard' used in speech and of the permissable combinations of those sounds; I have, in addition, tried to give a generative phono- !32 logical account of the vowel harmony system. The mor phology and syntax are described within the framework of the "Aspects model" (alias "Standard Theory") of transformational generative grammar as proposed in Chomsky (1965) and modified in Chomsky (19720* Basical ly, this theory entails the use of a relatively small number of ordered context-free rules, called "base rules," which establish the fldeep structure," or the basic relationship and order of the elements of a sen tence, followed by a series of context-sensitive rules, not necessarily ordered, called "transformational rules," which can alter the relationships and ordering established by the base rules and which can combine elements to form the "surface structure." Generally speaking, in this grammar I w ill use base rules to de velop what has traditionally been called "syntax" and transformational rules to develop what has traditionally been called "morphology." I have generally omitted base rules which rewrite non-terminal symbols into individual words, in order to avoid useless pedantry. At th is point, I should mention that I intend to use the theory of '33 transformational grammar as a tool to help to describe the language, not to use the language as a tool to hfelp describe the theory of transformational grammar; in short, I don!t want to hide the forest for the "trees." Since I am not a native speaker of Lelemi, I cannot claim that my rules will generate "all and only" gram matical sentences in Lelemi; my rules will, however, generate all the structures commonly used within a single sentence of discourse and should generate many of the rarer structures as well. Except where the study of semantics directly im pinges on the syntax of Lelemi or where the semantics of Lelemi presented definite problems to me when I was learning the language, the field of semantics has been excluded from this grammar. Part II. Phonology. 35 Transcription In this grammar, I have used the "Africa” alpha bet, rather than the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), to transcribe segmental speech sounds, i.e ., consonants, vowels, and glides; this transcription differs from an IPA transcription with respect to the following: the use of the symbol •y1 to denote the palatal glide transcribed in IPA as fjf, and the a.lreo IaS use of the symbols and !c f to denote the palatal affricates transcribed in IPA as ’d^1 and 1 * 9 re spectively. Suprasegmental speech sounds are transcribed as follows: v Nasalization v High tone v (unmarked) Mid tone V Low tone fv Downstepped tone Underlying representations subject to morphophonemic alternations are written with capital letters, e.g., the form BA- is the underlying representation of the surface prefixes ][ba] or [be] (with the selection based on vowel harmony). In underlying representations, tone is marked as follows: * V Underlying High tone on that segment I V Underlying Mid tone >i it it V Underlying Low tone u it ti V Underlying High tone on preceding segment V Underlying Mid tone tt n tt V Underlying Low tone it n tt When tone is not marked for an underlying segmental, V , this indicates that the tone on that segmental is subject to variation. Because a stric tly phonemic transcription could not adequately deal with problems of morphophonemic alternation, such as those presented by the vowel har mony system, I have used a broad phonetic transcription instead, which differs from a phonemic transcription in recognizing, for example, the / l - r / alternation's which a strictly phonemic transcription would ignore. The Word A "word” (as opposed to a "morpheme") in Buem can be defined in either of two ways: i. A word is a sequence of sounds which can be uttered in isolation and which cannot be segmented into shorter sequences of sounds such that each such shorter sequence of sounds can also be uttered in isolation, or ii. A word is a sequence of sounds which can function in syntagmatic relation with a word as defined above and which cannot be segmented into shorter sequences of sounds such that each such shorter sequence of sounds is its e lf a word, either as defined in (i.) above or irr the first part of this definition. Words defined under (i.) would be primarily nouns, verbs, cardinal numbers, adverbs, etc. which could occur either as commands or as answers to questions, for example, by themselves; words defined under (ii.) would be primarily noun modifiers, verb modifiers, prepositions, conjunctions, etc. which couldn’t normally occur by themselves in iso lation, but which can occur with words which carl occur in isolation. While these definitions do have some loop-holes, they should be sufficiently rigorous for my needs. The only monosyllabic words in Buem are: i. Object Pronouns, ii. The "Oral Commay" -ni , and some iii. Connectives (Prepositions and Conjunctions), iv. Adverbs, v. Adjectives,and Noun Quantifiers, and vi. Onomatopoeic words. All other words have at least two syllables; the longest word I have yet encountered has five syllables. The vast majority of all words have only two syllables, inclusive of prefix, followed by a much smaller number with three syllables, including prefix, and an even smaller number, almost a ll of them verbs, with four syllables, including prefix. The Syllable There are seven types of syllable which occur in native Buem words, listed below in descending order of estimated frequency: i. CV' , ii. V t i i i . CwV , iv. Civ , v. N , vi. Vn , and vii* CVn . The CV type of syllable is far the commonest since it the only type of syllable that can occur anywhere in a word and since, with certain minor exceptions, it is the only type of syllable that must occur in a word, ku *and, with* de fhow?! bo 1 Come I 1 lbna fmeat* belbku 1 women* '■*0 toting fto teach’ ligulabi ’money1 Next commonest is the V type of syllable, which occurs either as an affix or as the- residue of a presumed CV type syllable irhaiNoun Stem which has undergone metas thesis or some similar process. ^>tz> 1 house 1 ubo 'he came1 ooT)wa ’he is harvesting isdia* j * ’it is good’ IDSX 11 . N ’gourd’ r»klantie: * cutlass * The only times that a V syllable occurs as the only syllable of a word are the Object Pronoun for the second person singular, o , and onomatopoeic words and the answers to quest ions - which are "Yes-Nd." i i i ’Yes’ 'No1 ' - - Both CwV and C1T types of syllables have the same d is tri bution, occurring only in stems, never as affixes. They sure exemplified on pp. 51ff and occur as the only syllables of a word only in possessive pronouns (see pp. 166-8), in imperatives, in adjectives/noun quantifiers, and in onomatopoeic words. Tiwa fhis, her, itsT bla 'Do! 1 fwi 1 Spit J1 bli ' small* via 'Bang !I ' Syllabic nasals occur only word in itia lly or in compounds or derived forms. ntu 'water* nsu 'but1 hda 'I am grasping' kater]k=5 'bedroom' Syllable type Vn occurs only in the word for born', =>nta, anta , and in the Baglo determiners 2nv^ fthat' and 2nD^ 'yonder'; syllable type CVn occurs only in the word for 'corn1, lenta , in the Baglo determiners when they have CV- prefixes, e.g., banv=> 'those', and in participles derived from Verb Stems with underlying nasalized vowels: 2 dundi 'k ille d 1 =skundi '"chopped"' The Consonants of Lelemi k2 —i ft ft —1 rH X —1 ft t —1 ft —i ft r—1 cd cd 0) o cd cd cd o > If ft Cd cd 3 0 n : t f t f •ft T3 taO O taO o O 0 > co 4- c a w > ) *|H i -ft —i t f V W o 0 CO . a > O ' a o > > 0 ft H > *H 0f^ 0 f-^ 0 O d w cd -ft «—1 •iH t f O o 0 0 o > > td K w •ft n • T3 0 0 o O < V ft *ri 1 -P 1 t f •ft o o o cd 0 : u a: l U > - t f i—i t f cd cd 0 1 r ft: t f p s cd c r"O cr w •ft w O t f 0 K Figure The Consonants There are 21 consonants in Lblbmi, 18 oral consonant and 3 nasal consonants; these consonants, plus / rj/9 which is a conditioned allophone of /ji/ recognized in the orthography, are listed in Figure I. Except as noted below, these consonants have no allophonic vari ations. /t/ is always realized in the Baglo dialect of Lelemi as [t] except in the affirmative present tense of the verb bz>tl ’to know1, where / t / is realized as h V ajl *2s knows* - aati *2s doesn’t know In other dialects, there are other alternations as well, already discussed in Part I under Dialects of Buem. /kp/ has three different realizations, of which the most common, [kpj, has two full closures. Occasionally, however, some speakers use [pwj before /i/: £ukpi] ' , [upv&lj *3s died1. Rarely, some speakers use a strongly aspirated jp^ before a back vowel: £llkpi>J - ’place, knot* /b/ sometimes is realized as [tj9 instead of \y] , at the beginning of a sentences (bkasej jjBS. as fej ‘birds' / f / has a variety of allophones, of which the com monest is a labio-dental realization in which the upper teeth come into contact with the back of the lip rather than the top and in which there is little or no rounding; this yields a sound intermediate between that usually transcribed as 'f' and that usually transcribed as either '5' or 'f'. The realization If] is generally heard be fore /w/; occasionally, a form of /f/ with quite a no ticeable "whistle" component also occurs before /w/, especially before /wi/s £bafwi=>J - [b&.J-wl=>j - jb&j-swl^] 'id o l, fe tis h In the wor< < the pharyngeal fricative [6*] iis occasionally used: C&buofiwara], though one speaker does use the glottal fricative here instead: [ febuohwara]. and [JswJ sounds, Kropp (1967) writes: ^5 "The sound transcribed in Lejana is a bilabial palatal voiceless spirant, in which the upper lip protrudes slightly over the lower (viz. Akan hw). Sometimes a slight whistle can, be heard.” There is noomention elsewhere in the literature of the "whistle” variant of /f/, although the whistle is often, as I say, quite noticeable: Heine (1968) simply lis ts both / f / and as phonemes, without further comment. It may be, therefore, that the whistle variant is quite a recent innovation. /p/ is written 'ny' in the texts. It has a velar allophone [ r)j, which occurs before /u/: ar)u fhe/she/it! / l / does not alternate with / n/ in the Baglo di alect, nor does it alternate with / r / in the Baglo dia lect except in the following words: kadrul, k=> 'compound1 kwabla ~ kwabra 'Thank you' lijero 'I send greetings* buvre ~ buvls 'Please* biovruma 'to be different', bzstra 'to depart' avrukpo 'God1 / r / occurs only in the above seven words, in the Baglo dialect, and in loan words: l^rl 'truck, lorry* fraide 'Friday' rjkrali 'Accra* raura 'Worawora* gegrege 'a type of bush with milky stems' < o ' ►d 'Ml cb o ' cb o ' o ' cb O' O U' O c* cb U' o U' O' H' 3 H' e b H' c f hH p O p P M* p w cb o cb o O' 3 o H- o o o to X S* w p Cb cb O' cb O' cb O' cb O' OC O u . O U' O U' <3 o ' d Hj P to P 3* (V O p ' P I—* H' 3 H* o \ << P Qj o n P P N P o o 3 toO 3 H* P 0*} 3 c cb O' P U* cb o ' p M cb d O U' 3 H) o U' CV P p < p o ' o ' d 1—' to P' c o ' p ' p P rr 3 p cb P o S o O o c M o 3 cb P o cb M CL. p to cb to cb o ' cb o ' cb o ' O c O U' O c < w> o ' O' o € U' O o o o P O \ to B U 3 3* P o s: cb M cb o ' cb o ' cb o ' CO H' o c* O c * O c* c 3 d e t e w be o ' < l l e w s \ C c> o to C' c d H*- M I-1 O < P 3 R {/) C_J. o D j cb o ' cb 3 P R cb 3 cb 3 O U' O U' P' o - u y O C ' R to g cu Q j cb 3 H' O' H' o n ' P H ' cb H' CD O' p 3 H' p P d H* R cb R P 3) P P H- 3 3 O B cb O' cb O' P R cb 3 cb 3 O O c P o c O C' to 3 C_l. Q j cb £ CO ( f t p P CO 3 P ( f t P' P o CO C_J. p H* h—1 R p < r P 3 P cb P P 3 cb O' Cb 3 cb 3 cb 3 cb 3 cb 3 O U' o U' o U O U' O U' O U' r to C_i. o Q j c b to p/ O' p / O j p 3 p / (ft p / 3 P< CD CD 3 P 3 H* £ C P CO Ml B P CO P M* cb d 3 H- V) 3* P Qj cb o ' cb 3 cb 3 P R P u O U O U' o U' c cb R w C_J. to Qj 3 U O u O U' d U' M- O O M O 3 Qj c M- 3 C P to B cb o p o' H- r 3 C P if 9 cr* cd S' CD c+ O' d r O' o B CD (-> O C' o U C H* P K* tV S' 3 Oi Oj ^ £ H* Qj CO H* H ' P P P P •d 3 M* CD o CO c d- d" c+ O' d* O' S' O U O U' H* m' M FV CO CO (0 o id M c cv P d* P 3- H*P 3 c+ O' c+ o ' P U' d- O' d- o ' P- u o U o U' Cto O U' O U' ct} P M O' 3* O p (_j p o p ' P p ' CO ►o Q, P' S' P o 0Q c p ' H* c M p CO a> Cfc} p d* 3* P o C o ►i 3 o' c+ o ' c+ o ' d* O' c+ O' 0 c O U O U' O C 3 I-* Cb H* O' o 3 u CD o ' i-b hd P P P P U' H- o Oi P c+ Cft CO (D s ' ct-p d ” H- CO1 d CT1 'C M H' O C' P Hy 3 • 3 B H* pr C ' p CD O CD C ^ c+ S ' £ P d- CD k C+- crt" rt* H- C+1 c+ crt* cr CL, ,C+ 51 Consonant Clusters A consonant cluster is defined as the sequence of two consonants within a single morpheme. There are two types of consonant cluster in Lblemi: sequences of C + 1 and sequences of C + w . The former will henceforth be referred to as "Cl- clusters" and the latter as "Cw- clusters." Cl- clusters. The Cl- cluster also includes sequences of C + r , given earlier discussions of /l-r/ alterna tion. At least some of the Cl- clusters are the result of diachronic metastheses: Likpe z>k=)l=> ~ Lei. z>kl=>=> ’canoe1 or of borrowingsfrom other languages: Twi okrama ~ Lei. z>klama ’dog*. Following are some examples of Cl- clusters: /pi/ pla’ ’Splat2’ / t l / biDtra ’to depart* /k l / r>klamaf ba- ’dog1 oklantll, le- ’cutlass’ 52 SklSfu, ba- *young man* okl=>=>, le- *canoe 1 z>kl=>3kli3, ba- 'big brown squirrel /b l/ br>bla 'to do* ublebl, be- 'young woman1 z>bllwa, ba- 'old person1 b lil 'sm all1 litibluku 'God' / d l / kadrui, k=>- 'compound * / g l/ aglz>T)gr>, ba- 'red palm-wine ant' / v l/ avrukpo 'God ' brjvruma 'to be different* Cw- clu sters* Not a ll sequences of C + w form true consonant clusters; some are, instead, merely the phonetic result of suffixing a vowel to a verb stem which happens to end in -u : bzbcul fto be burnt1 - bz>cula fto burn* b=)kul 'to be dried* - bz>kula * to dry* Some examples of "true" Cw- clusters are: 53 /kw/ b?bkwa to paint1 j biDkweni to carry on one’s back1 bkwe, le- th ro at1 lbkwa, year1 /bw / bz>bwe to apologize, feel sorry1 b=>bwl to hunt1 bubwlll to fa ll down’ ebwo, be- animal* llbwi, h- pot * kabwa, k=>- hat * kebwe, be- in sect’ libwo madness’ /dw/ k&dweb well1 (adverb) budwo to welcome1. / f w/ bz>f wala to d rill a hole’ bzjfwala to be(come) bright, white, grey’ bu fwi to spit* b=>fwini to yell in anger* bofwl^ to be mistaken* bofwi”) to suck (e.g., juice from orange)’ blifwi=> idol, fetish* /sw / bli-swfe fvery small1 /cw / bibcwe ’to forge m etal1 bz>cwe 1 to await1 bzscwi !to be p ainfu l1 ucw ili, be- ’person* ncweni 1 firewood’ /jw / kjwi fbrains, intelligence1 /mw / bz>mwamwa ’to crumple (e .g ., paper)1 bumwi ’to p raise’ bumwe ’to smell (something)’ zbmwerawe, ba ’f i r e f l y ’ limwi ’fat* (noun) r>mwi * today * /t)w/ b=>T]wa 'to cook’ bzn^wa 'to harvest’ bz>T}wi 'to carve' lipwi 'hair’ aTiwerjwe, ba- ’bee' r>r)wa, ba- * sibling* UT)W1 ’1' The Vowel System The vowels. There are seven phonemic vowels in the Baglo dialect of Lelemi, with values quite close to those of the primary cardinal vowels symbolized by £i, e, e, a, =>, o, if). In addition, there is a sur face vowel [<-J , rather more open than [ij , which is an optional allophone of / i f which occurs only in a syllable of a noun stem which is followed by another syllable in the same word ending in / i f . ^animij ~ [anlmlj ’rice1 [kubiti] ~ ^kubitij 'happ iness1 Vowels may be phonologically nasalized (and, in other dialects, phonetically nasalized as well); in the Baglo dialect, however, the only phonetic correlation to pho nological nasalization occurs when the vowel which is phonologically nasalized precedes a stop consonant within the same Noun Phrase; for exgmple, although the Verb Stem -ku 'chew1 is phonologically nasalized, there is no pho netic nasalization associated with it either in the infi nitival form b^ku 1 to chewf o.r in the finite form 5G toku ‘we chewed' as in b^ku kabe. 1p+PAS+chew fish !Ve ate a fish.1 There is surface nasalization, however, in the parti ciple formed from -ku 'chew*, jb.kundi 'chewable* That the surface nasality is conditioned by a stop con sonant within the same Noun Phrase—a restriction which might seem to be odd—is illustrated by the difference in the realizations of r^t^, le- 'house1 in the third of the following sentences as compared to the firs t two. use i^t^. 3s+PAS+go house 'He went home.' use z>t=> kamadi. 3s+PAS+go house yesterday 'He went home yesterday.' use =>t=3 T) kemo. 3s+PAS+go house 0 .inside. 'He went into the house..' 57 The simplest explanation is that in the second sentence k&madl ’yesterday* was outside the Noun Phrase con taining =Dt=> , whereas in the last sentence kemo 1 in side1 was inside the Noun Phrase containing =>t=5 . That this explanation is probably correct is shown even more clearly when we consider parallel sentences with Dina, le- ’town1, a word in which we could expect a carry-over of nasalization to a following word because of the natural nasalization induced by /m/ ; we find, however, that oma, le- ’town’ works just like =>t=>, le- ’house*. use iDtna. 3s+PAS+Go town ’He went to (his home) town. * use =>ma kamadi 3s+PAS+go town yesterday 'He went to (his home) town yesterday.' usi =>ma p kemo. 3s+PAS+go town 0 inside 'He went into town.' (See Hyman (1972) for a discussion pf the development of 58 nasals and nasalized vowels in Kwa and in TRLs.) Although there are only seven phonemic, surface vowels in Lelemi, it is necessary to posit a system of nine underlying vowels in order to account for the facts of the language adequately; these nine under lying vowels are /I , i, e, £, a, =>, o, u, U/ # The following distinctive feature matrix schematizes both the surface and the underlying vowels. I i e £ a ID 0 u U High + + - - - — - + + Low — - - — + - - — — Back - - — - — + + + + Advanced + - + -- — + — + Figure III Matrix for Vowels buti 1 to take1 b=)ti 1 to know* bu te * to give 1 bz>t£ fto judge* bLta * to rise * bumo * to be satisfied* b^no * those' hbtb *to be worn out* butu 1 to spit* b^du *to bite* Figure IV Vocalic Contrasts For the most part, these features are self-explanatory. The features j^HighJ and ^LowJ, for example, are approxi mately equivalent to the terms "Close” and "Open,” re spectively, in referring to the extent of tongue raising or lowering and associated mouth opening; hence, since the vowels /e, e, =>, 0/ are a ll Mid vowels, they all f-High have the distinctive feature specification of - The feature ^Advanced j is the Buem equivalent of the articulatory feature Stewart (1967, 1970) calls Hoot Advancing, which refers to the position of the root of the tongue for a particular vowel; vowels which are specified as [+Advancedj are~those which tradi tionally have been called "Tense", and those which are specified as [^-AdvancedJ are those which traditionally have been called "Lax.” Since I have performed no in strumental work on Busm, I am using the feature j^AdvancedJ primarily as a "Cover .term." Vowel harmony. Buem-has "cross-height" vowel harmony, a type of vowel harmony, quite common in Vest Africa, in which 61 ... on the basis of the harmony, the vowels of the language in question can be divided into two mutually exclusive sets such that (i) the tongue positions of the vowels of one of the sets are high in relation to the tongue positions of their counterparts in the other set, but (ii) the tongue position of at least one member of the relatively high set is lower than the tongue position of at least one member of the relatively low set. (Stewart, 1971:198) In Buem, vowel harmony entails that a ll vowels of a poly syllabic word, with the exception of compound nouns, un assimilated loan words, and certain verbs marked for Aspect, shall either be all £+AdvancedJ or a ll ^-AdvancedJ , and cannot change their specification until all selectional rules have applied. The vowel harmony pattern of a stem (e.g., a Noun Stem or a Verb Stem) is "given" and conditions the vowel harmony pattern of affixes, the most important of which are prefixes. <82 Phonologically, there are four different "shapes" that a prefix can take: i. 0- , ii. N- , ... i i i . V- , and iv. CV- . Vowel harmony is irrelevant to the firs t two, 0- and N- ; the last two, V- and CV- , can be considered together. There are three pairs of vowels which can occur in prefixes, with one member of each pair being used when the word stem has [+Advance^ vowels and with the other member being used when the word stem has [-AdvancedJ vowels. The archi- phoneme of each pair is symbolized by a capital lette r, and the pairs in question are: J^+AdvancedJ [~-AdvancedJ A /e / / a/ E / I / / e / O'" /U/ /=>/ A glance at the distinctive feature matrices for the archi- phoneraes and the pairs subsumed will make the relationships between the pairs clearer; symbols marked by V s co-vary. -High xHigh —«*Low -Low A- n = E- = -Back -Back ^/Advanced Advanced ^ ig h 0- = -Low +Back ^Advanced Figure shows which prefix vowels can co-occur with which stem vowels; again, selection of the stem vowel determines whether the prefix vowel is f+Advanced ] or [^-Advanced] . Prefix Stem A E 0 f+Advanced] e I U e ----- o U j^-AdvancedJ a e 3 e a z> u Figure V Patterns of Vowel Harmony s<* Following all the selection rules, a low-level phono logical rule causes /1/ to merge with / i/ and /U/ to merge with /u / . While this outline may seem rather complicated, the following paradigms should show how simple the system really is. The verbs form minimal pairs on the basis of pAdvancedJ and are presented in the Affirmative Simple Past (see p. 3 ff). bote *to judge* bute *to give [-Advanced ( [+AdvancedJ) V letb I \ lite I ate You, A- \ ete You, A- K o o 0) 0) i i 6 ti ute * b^te We, N, BO- / bute We, N, B0- bete You vjudged bite You j gave bate They, BA- I bete They, BA- lete LE- V lite LE- kat e KA- \ kete KA- k^te K0- y kute K0- B5 btbdu fto bite* budu ’to arrive* ( £-AdvancedJ) ( [+AdvancedJ) ledu lidu I 1 \ adu You, A- \ edu You, A- 6du He, 0- J udu He, 0- b^du We, N, BO- / budu We, N, B0- bedu You C bit bidu You ( arrived badu They, BA- ( bedu They, BA- ( ledu LE- \ lidu LE- kadu KA- I kedu KA- / k^du K0- J kudu K0- J A great many other verbs are differentiated on the basis of •AdvancedJ . Vowel harmony also serves to differentiate a good many nouns as well, though here the distinctions made by different noun class prefixes are much more important, ase, ba- *bird* - ese, be- .’g;oat’ atu, ba- *elephant* ~ etu, be- ’flying ant k=>tu, a- ‘e a r’ ~ -fkutu *soup* I etu ’flying ant ('See Ford (in press) for a discussion of vowel harmony in other TRLs and in Ewe,) Reduced vowel harmony. As I have stated, verbs marked for Aspect form one of the exceptions to the rules of vowel harmony. These verb forms, whose morphology and paradigms are treated on pp 281 ff , function.in terms of a reduced vowel harmony. The Aspect markers a ll have the structure -(C) A (A)- , and these always harmonize with the Verb Stem, so that, for example, the Go-itive marker -TA- (see pp. 290ff) *s realized as / - t a - / before a Verb Stem with [^-AdvancedJ vowels and as / - t e - / before a Verb Stem with £+Advanced^ vowels. Similarly, non-High prefixes (i.e., those with the structure (C)A- ) harmonize with the Aspect marker and the Verb Stem. Non-Low prefixes, however, a ll have the j_+Advanced] allomorphs, so that the third person singular prefix, for example, 0- is realized as /u -/ before an Aspect marker plus Verb Stem, re gardless of whether they have /_+Advancedj vowels or j^-Advancedj^ vowels. Hence, we no longer have a set of 67 six prefix vowels, but instead one of four, as illus trated in Figure VI Prefix Aspect Stem A E 0 A [^-Advanced] e I U e I e ----- o U (j-Advancedj a I u a i e a r> u Figure VI Reduced Vowel Harmony (As before, / i / merges with / i / and /U/ merges with /u / .) The difference between the two systems of full harmony and reduced harmony can be seen if the paradigms on pp. 64ff are compared with the paradigms overleaf, which are in the Negative Past. (The Negative marker is -TA- ). G8 b=>te 'to .judpe' ntate I \ atate You, A- \ utatb He, 0- butate Ve, N, BO- / bitate You V didn!t judge batate They, BA- \ litate LE- \ katate KA- I kutate KO- J bute fto give* ntete I r etete You, A- . \ utete He, 0- I butete Ve, N, BO- / bitete You >didn't give betete They, BA- I lftet& LE- \ ketete KA- kutete KO- J S3 br>du * to bite* ntadu I atadu You, A- ) utadu He, 0- j butadu We, N, BO- I bftadu You V didn't bite batadu They, BA- 1 litadu LE- \ katadu KA- j kutadu KO- / budu !to arrive1 ntadu I 'N\ etedu You, A- utedu He, 0- butedu We, Nj BO- / bftedu You Vdidn't arrive betedu They, BA- I lftedu LE- ketedu KA- J kutedu KO- ^ 17 Q The way in which we deal with the data depends on the extent to which we want to allow diachronic infor mation into the synchronic description of the language. ,0n a, purely synchronic level, the six Aspect markers can be handled in a two-step operation: in the fir s t step, the overall vowel harmony rule is applied to the verb, and in the second step an ad hoc rule obligatorily makes all Non-Low prefixes [j-Advanced] (and ^+High^ too, since the feature of £+Highj co-varies for Non-Low pre fixes with that of pAdvanced^ ). Vowel Harmony # (C)_ V c (C) V ((c) v) * j^-Ad vj |^Advj j^AdvJ where * = iterative potential Ad hoc Non-Low Prefix rule 7 +High -Low -— ==) -Low / Aspect j-Adv +Adv j L This analysis/ then, presumes that the underlying form for. utate 'he didn't judge' would be *z>tate , that the un- 71 derlying form for bftadu 'You didn't bite' would be *betadu , etc. While the process outlined above is descriptively adequate, it certainly doesn't explain why Non-Low prefixes are always l^+Adv^J before an A s p e c t marker. If we allow historical/comparative evidence, however, we can both describe and explain the forms of the pre fixes used before an Aspect marker, thought at the cost of some complexity in the rules. Although the sound variously transcribed as , ce] or no longer occurs as a surface vowel of Buem, it does s t i l l occur as a surface vowel in Likpe, as the £+AdvancedJ counterpart of /a / , which is (^-Advanced^ in both Likpe and Buem. Although as yet I have not been able to work out the full pattern of Likpe-Lelemi-Lefana correspondences, one fact is quite clear: while Likpe noun stems with the / 3 / vowel tend to have Lelemi and Lefana cognates with the ^-Advanced^ vowel /a / , Likpe verb stems with the / 3 / vowel have Lelemi cognates with (usually) the £+AdvancedJ / i / or the £+AdvancedJ / e / . Assuming that the present Aspect marker—or at least some of them—have developed from verbs in Proto- ■72 Buem, the not too distant ancestor of Likpe, Santrokofi, Akpafu/Lolobi, and Lelemi/Lefana, and that the forms in the proto-language contained the * 3 , what guesses can we make as to the historical development? i. There is some evidence, though again not fully worked out, that current system of vowel harmony in the TRLs were developed into virtually their present forms well before the Proto-Buem group split off from the other TRLs. It is, therefore, safe to assume that if the an cestor of the Aspect marker had a [^-Advanced] vowel, then the prefix to that Aspect marker also had a £+AdvancecT] vov/el. There would be no change in the harmony pattern of the prefix and Aspect marker yet, even though the two might be affixed to a subsequent verb; this can be deduced comparatively on the basis of the harmony pat terns of compound verbs in Igbo, for example, and inter nally on the basis of compound and derived noun formation in Buem. Synchronically, this would be represented by' a rule like the Vowel Harmony, rule of p. 7 ° , which applies to a ll words in Buem consisting of only one stem and af fixes and to the prefix and first stem of ddrived and compound nouns. i i , The Aspect markers become fully bound and get reanalyzed as derivational affixes, parallel to the causative suffix (see pp. $ ). As a derivational affix, the Aspect marker would thereby fa ll under the scope of the Vowel Harmony rule, though there is no reason to assume that its prefix would also fall under the scope of a reapplication of the Vowel Harmony rule, Synchronically, this would be effected by a rule shifting a boundary symbol from the right of the Aspect marker, where the boundary symbol preceded the following Verb Stem, to the left of the Aspect marker, where it would follow the prefix. SD: # (C) V (C) V (V) £ C V X SC: $ (C) V £ (C) V (V) C V X where X = any possible syllables or $ followed by re-application of the Vowel Harmony rule. i i i . As part of the reanalysis of the Aspect marker as a derivational’ affix,, its vowel gets assimilated to f i t in with the rest of the vowel system by a rule like "*1> I (U 3 Assimilation -High ' -High 1 +Low - a. * 0 T 3 ft - t c = — =-) [+AdvJ L+Advj C-AavJ 1L b. 0 ft T3 - t l =— ) L+Advj |>Adv] [-AdvJ II c. 0 ft ta -te ==—=— ) [+A6v] [-Advj t k6vJ a. utate iv. Finally, if the verb has a Non-High prefix, the prefix harmonizes with the rest of the word and has the same height as the vowel of the Aspect marker. This would be accomplished by a rule like the 3Assimilation rule, which is very close to the structure rule for Non-High prefixes (see page C3 ) # This proposed diachronic analysis is speculative in places, but should be correct in its general outline; it is uncertain, however, to what extent the synchronic de scription of the language should incorporate this dia chronic analysis. The chart below lists the allomorphs of all the pre fixes which are subject to Vowel Harmony, both in their full Vowel Harmony forms and in their reduced Vowel Harmony forms. Full Reduced Prefix Harmony Harmony j^+Advancedj ^-AdvancedJ £+AdvancedJ (^-AdvancedJ 0- u- u- u- A- e- a- e- a* BA- be- ba- be- ba* BE- bi- be- bi- bi- B0- bu- b=3- bu- bu- KA- ke- ka- ke- ka- KO- ku- k=>- ku- ku- LE- li- le- l i li- MO- mu-. nu>- mit ■ mu- NA- ne- na- ne- na- Figure VII Allomorphs of Prefixes ■76 Tone Buem is a register-type tone language with three level tones, called High, Mid, and Low. use 3t=> H L M M 3s+PAS+go house 'He went home.1 I perceive the interval between the High tone and the Mid tone as being "less" than that between the Mid tone* In addition to the three level tones, there are two gliding tones, one which glides from Mid or High to Low, b lii 'few, l i t t l e ' fwii 'all, every' and one which glides from Low to Mid, aase 'bird1 These gliding tones, however, are undoubtedly merely the phonetic result of a difference in the level of tone in two adjacent syllables which are not separated by any con sonant; for this reason, these gliding tones do not have "toneraic" status (cf. Welmers, 1959) in the same way as the three level tones. Although the tones of particular classes of words may vary according to well-defined rules (e.g., the rules of tone change associated with possession on pp. /£/-£ ), I have not identified any tonal "down- drift” or "terracing” analogous to that found in languages such as Igho; a Mid tone towards the end of a sentence, even a fairly long sentence, seems to be on about the same pitch as a Mid tone towards the beginning, and it is never the case that a Low tone towards the end of a sentence is higher than a Mid tone anywhere in the sen tence. "Down-step," however, (as opposed to ”down-drift") does sometimes occur in possessive constructions. Tone functions both lexically and syntactically. Lexical tone (in this grammar, called "inherent tone") refers to the tone that a particular word has in isolation or in some other specifiable "frame" (see Pike (194#)') and can differentiate between two words of the same word class which would otherwise be identical;. z>fb Calabash1 - =>fe !sunf 11 lu ’roads! ~ lilu 'yam1 b^du fto k i l l 1 - bLdu fto bite* b^ta ’to sting1 - b=>ta ’to rise’ Inherent tone is especially important in the differenti ation of nouns and in the differentiation of Verb Roots. Nouns are divided into two groups on the basis of their inherent tones. One group, much the smaller of the two, consists of those nouns which have three or more tones: utsuli, be- 1 person * &dila 1 food 1 lenimi, a- ’eye 1 aasl, ba- ’bird * =>sika, l t - * knife’ =>kl=of le- ’canoe’ =>klantil, Is— ’cutlass * ligulabi ’money * ibklama, ba- ' dog’ Dnana, ba- ’man ’ Most of these nouns have prefixes on Low tone, and the inherent tone of nouns with three or more tones does not change in possessive constructions. The other group, 79 which contains the vast majority of the nouns in Buem, consists of nouns which have only two tones; this group is itse lf divided into three sub-groups: i. Nouns with tones Low-Low atu, ba- 'elephant * ubi, be- 'c h ild ' kabb, kz>- 'fish ' il Nouns with tones Mid-Mid le- 'house' kuli, e- 'head' kani, ba f porcupine and i i i . Nouns with tones Low-Mid lifu, e- 'abandoned farm1 k=>yu.f a- 'spirit, soul' ese, be- 'goat' I have not found any disyllabic nouns with tones Mid-Low* The greatest number of minimal pairs is between nouns with tones Low-Mid and nouns with tones Low-Low: lilu 'roads* - lilu 'yam'. z>k=> 'a lie ' - =>k=> 'sputum' bana 'scorpions' - bana 'men' bati ’cats * bati 1 fathers’ legba ’a proverb* - l£gba * fe e t' =3ja ’f i r e ’ * 0 *a husband' ese *a goat' iV - ese 1 horns 1 I have found one minimal trip let of nouns differentiated by tone and tone alone: lbnyl, a- - lenyi, a- ~ lenyi, a- •breast* ’tooth1 'name* one contrast Low-Mid and Mid-Mid: =>kpe, ba- ’toddler1 - ^kpe, ba- ’grasscutter’ and one contrast Low-Low and Mid-Mid: hfb ’calabash* - =>fe ’sun* While a noun’s noun class membership seems to bear l i t t l e or no relationship to its tone, it seems that there are more nouns referring to animates which have Low tone prefixes than there are with Mid tone prefixes. The tone pattern of a disyllabic noun may be affected by certain constructions like the Possessive. Like nouns, Verb Roots can be divided into two groups on the basis of tone. One group, again very much smaller than the other, consists of Verb Roots which have two or 81 more tones (Note that the tone of the Verb Prefix is NOT included in the number of tones); b=>temi !to speak1 bolemi 'to open* b=>bz>m=>di 'to tr y 1 bokaka fto shine brightly* The other group consists of Verb Roots containing only one tone, the tone of affixes excluded, and is sub divided into Mid tone Verb Roots and Low tone Verb Roots* based on their tone in the Infinitive: b=>du * to k i l l 1 ~ bibdu *to bite* bufwi * to spit* - bufwi 1 to be sick* bista *to sting* ~ b“>ta 'to rise* b=>f3 1 to accept* - b=>fz> *to wash* bzsdia * to suffice* ~ b=>dia fto be good* High tones are never found in Noun Stems nor in Verb Roots or Verb Stems. Syntactically, tone characterizes certain construc tions, such as the Affirmative Past Progressive and the Affirmative Present Progressive: rodu 'he has killed' . ~ zodu 'he is k illin g ' zodu 'he has bitten' ~ 3=>du 'he is biting' In these cases, the inherent tone of a morpheme may be altered by the effects of the syntactic tone(s) associ ated with the construction, as for the Negative Future: uladu 'he won't k ill' - uladu 'he won't b ite' Part III. The Sentence. The Sentence Sentences can be divided into four types on the basis of o&atise structure: i. Simple sentences, consisting of only one clause, ii. Compound sentences, consisting of two or more clauses joined by a co-ordinate conjunction, iii. Complex sentences, consisting of a main clause and a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinate conjunction, and iv. Compound complex sentences, consisting of two or more sentences, at least one of which is a com plex sentence, joined by a co-ordinate conjunction. (Relative clauses are not considered for the purpose of this classification,)nor are verbal complement clauses.) I deal with compound and complex sentences in Part VI. Sentences can be further classified as to whethe they are: i. Declarative, ii. Interrogative, iii. Imperative, or iv. Exclamatory, with Interrogative, Imperative, arid Exclamatory sentences being considered as essentially being optional variants of Declarative sentences; the reason for this is that all the rules which apply to Declarative sentences also apply to the other three types of sentence, but the converse does not hold* 1. 9 S (Conjc + S)* 0 2. CINTER ^ ) (Conjg + Sent)* Sent ( y IMPER > ) V EXCLAH \ (The asterisk, *, following a symbol denotes the possi bility of indefinite recucsion.) Questions* Buem has both Yes-No questions and the equi valent of English Wh- questions, which entail the use of an interrogative word; I discuss Vh- questions on pp. . Other than through the use of an inter- rogative word, questions differ from statements in that the final syllable of the sentence is prolonged and is on a Mid tone; if the final syllable is a -V- type syllable, then the penultimate syllable is also on a Mid tone. This applies to both Yes-No and Vh- ques tions. + , , , T 1. C (V) V1 ======) C (V) V1 V1 This can be illustrated by the following sentences: 1a. banabl beyu &k=>k:b. boys 3p+PAS+steal chicken fThe boys stole a chicken.1 b. banabl beyu atokzo? boys 3p+PAS+steal chicken? *Did the boys steal a chicken?1 2a. lcdl&. LE+PAS+be-good • It's OK.1 b. lediaa? LE+PAS+be-good? fVas itOOK?' 87 3a, &ar)w&. lilu . 2s+PRES+harvest yam •lou are harvesting yams.' b. aar)wa llluu? 2s+PRES+harvest yam? •Are you harvesting yams?* 4a, banam ball* children 3p+PAS+sleep 'The children slept.' b. banam balee? children 3p+PAS+sleep? 'Did the children sleep?1 Exclamations* Exclamations differ from statements in that exclamations end in oo • / 5. banabl bey& atokr? oo* boys 3p+PAS+steal chicken! 'The boys stole a chicken!' 6* lld la oo* LE+PRES+be-goodI 'It's fine!1 88 7# JiarjwJi 111& 00. 2s+PRES+harvest yam] •You're harvesting yam]1 8. banam ball 00. Children 3p+PAS+sleep] •The children slept]1 Imperative 5• I discuss imperatives oft pp. 9 ^ - 3 # Basic clause structure, Vith one exception, discussed on p , all sentences, whether they are declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, or imperative, have a Noun Phrase (NP) as their subject fallowed by a Verb Phrase (VP): P 3. S e n t ) NP + VP This is the case even when there is no overt subject since the subject of a sentence can be deleted optionally when the verb agrees with the subject in person or noun class and in number .(see page 3^3). 9. banabl bey& •The boys stole a chicken,1 can yield 10* beyii &k:ok^>. <£They stdle a chicken *1 since beyu agrees with banabl in noun class and number, but 11* banabl neyli &kokr>. boys FEL+PAS+steal chicken •Boys stole a chicken .1 cannot yield 12. ♦neyu &k=>k=> ♦•stole a since neyfi does not agree with banabl in noun class and number, so there could be no recoverable d letion of the subject of the sentence. Part IV. The Noun Phrase 91 Types of Noun Phrase There are three types of Noun Phrase: i. a Nominal type (Norn), ii. a Pronominal type (Pro), and i i i . an Infinitival type (InfP). Both the Nominal type of Noun Phrase and the Pronominal type may be followed by an optional Quantifier (Quant), The Nominal Type of Noun Phrase The Nominal type of Noun Phrase consists of a Noun (N), which may be modified by a Possessor (Poss) pre ceding it and/or by other Modifiers (Modif) following it. P5 Nom ) (Poss) N (Modif) 92 There are three types of Noun: i. Simple Nouns (^gimp^* 11. Compound Nouns (^Comp^* and i i i . Derived Nouns (Npe r) . Simp P6 N ------) Comp Der Simple Nouns A Simple Noun consists of a Noun Class marker (NC) followed by a Noun Stem (NSt) followed by an optional Noun Suffix (NSuff). 17 “si„p ) NC + NSt ' (NSuff) The form and function of the Noun Class markers is dis cussed on p 7 and on pp //?^ ? the form of the Noun Suffixes is discussed on p 111 . Since the pho nological form of the Noun Stem has been discussed on pp**?^77^ I will concern myself here solely with a discussion of its syntax. Basically, the Noun Stem contains every thing one needs to know about a noun in order to use 93 it correctly in a sentence. In an Aspects-model TG, this knowledge is considered as being of two sorts, one phonological and the other syntactic, both coming together to form a "lexical entry" (Chomsky,r 1965:84 ff and passim). The syntactic information is contained in a "Complex Symbol" (CS^) which consists of a variety of features characteristic of the use of that noun: P8 N S t------CSN While some of these features are contextual, most* can be described in terms of selectional features. The features I use for Buem include information on the following: i. What Noun Class(es) the noun belongs to, a con textual feature symbolized as, e.g., rHI , ... , [XVII_J; ii. Whether the noun is animate ^Animate] ; i i i . If [+Animat ej , whether the noun is human £ -Human] ; iv. If [-Animate], whether the noun is a count noun |iC ountj; _ v. If j^-CountJ , whether the noun is an abstract noun ^Abstract] ^ ^ vi. If [-Animate] , whether the noun is a place noun [ipiacej • 31» Obviously, these categories of formal features form only a partial sampling of the total features possible, and there are a great many more categories which could be proposed to exclude the equivalent of *John is baking a book.; however, a point of diminishing returns soon sets in, and the six features I use should be sufficient to categorize nouns for this grammar. In the sample lexicon below, I have used some prin ciples of redundancy (cf. Chomsky, 1965:T64.fff) in col lapsing the number of features stated explicitly: for example, since a ll nouns are also ^-Animate] the feature (+Animat0 is redundant and can be omitted. Similarly, since a ll (^Abstract) nnouns are both and ^"-Animate] , the la tter two features are also redun- dant and can be omitted. In one sense, it is redundant to give the Noun Stem together with the prefix(es) that it takes and to state in the complex symbol whic'hpre-- fix(es) can occur with the Noun Stem; however, there is some justification for this since the Noun Class pre fixes also indicate the vowel harmony pattern of- the Noun 35 Stem and do carry tone, Samole Lexicon =>. narau ba- p a ___ , +Human] 'c h ild 1 o. loku be- p a ___ , +Human] 1 woman' e. se :bb- p b ___ , +AnimateJ 'goat' tS 1 r.- |p I ___ , -Animate, +Count] 'house, room' li,bwi e- [IV___ , -Animate, +Count 'p o t' ka. ji ba- £v , ^Animate] 'monkey' ka.bwa k =>*r [VI___ , -Animate, +Count] 'h a t 1 to.di a- [VIII , -Animate, +Countj 'cloth' n. te pCI , -Count, -Abstract^ 'palm wine 1 a.nimi /.XII , -Count, -Abstract] 'rice ' to. s=> [pVI , -Count, +Abstracp ' thinness' r“ u li- i i ___ ' stick , -Animate, Count^ ku VIII__ ' tree ' At this stage, a (partly r>runed) derivational tree would look something like FigureTZZZZI SG ‘ s ‘ NP VP Nom (Quant) (Poss (Modif) NC NSt muna li lu my XIV. yam those all are+fine fAll those yams of mine are fin e .1 Figure VIII Partial Expansion of NP The Noun Class System Every noun in L£l£mi belongs to one of 18 d if ferent noun classes. These noun classes are like gender in languages such as French, German, or Latin in that both noun class membership and gender determine the form of concord and agreement in word classes like adjectives, determiners, pronouns, and fin ite verb forms; a system of noun classes differs from a gender system, however, in that a noun in a language with a noun class system has its noun class membership marked morphologically in the noun its e lf —in the case of Lblfcmi and other TRLs by prefixing the Noun Class marker to the Noun Stem—whereas the gender of a noun in a language with a gender system is oftentimes not shown in the noun itself, but is marked rather in the agreement forms alone, which may be independent of the morphological shape of the noun. The distinction between the two systems can be brought out clearly by contrasting the words for 'house 1 in L&lemi and French: the 0- prefix to the L£lemi S& word rjt=> shows instantly and unambiguously that z>t=> is a member of a class of nouns whose concord and agreement forms are formed by 0- • z>.to r>.fwaladi zD.ms =>.dia. 0.house 0,white O.this O.is+good. 'This white house is good .1 There is no analogous marking, however, in the French word maison to show that maison is a member of a class of nouns which have feminine concord and agree ment forms: Ce.tte maison blanc.he est bon.ne. This.Fem house white.Fern is good.Fern- 'This white house is good .1 De Volf (I971:32ff) discusses the difference between gender systems and noun class systems in rather more detail. There are nine different prefixes which are used to indicate noun class membership; the posited under lying representations of these prefixes are A-, 0-, BA-, B0-, KA-, K0-, LE-, N-, and 0 , with surface 99 realizations as described on page 75* The total of 18 noun classes is the result of the use of some of these prefixes to mark the singular forms of some nouns and the plural forms of others: there are 10 noun classes in which the singular form of the noun has a different prefix from the plural form and 8 noun classes in which there is no difference in the prefix, regardless of whether the noun is singular, plural, or mass- Figuretabulates the possible combinations of Noun Class prefixes to form the different noun classes together with the number of members of each noun class in a fairly representative sample of 308 non-derived nouns. There is s t i l l a great deal of semantic content attached to individual noun classes, in the sense that the nouns associated with particular categories of natural objects tend to belong to particular noun classes: I can be fairly sure, for example, that if I elicit the name of a bird previously unknown to me, that name will belong to Class III, LE/BA, even before my informants response. • Singular Plural Frequency la. 0- BA- 45 b. A- BA- 24 II. 0- ‘ LE- 51 III. LE- BA- IV. LE- A- 47 V. KA- BA- 15 VI. KA- KO- 34 VII. K0- BA- 4 VIII. K0- A- 20 IX. KA- N- 3 X. 0- BA- 5 Mass (Common) / XI. N- 9 XII. A- 11 XIII. 0- 7 XIV. LE- 17 X > • KA- 8 XVI. KO- 6 XVII. 0 - 10 XVIII. BO- * Figure IX The Noun Classes All members are derived 1 0 1 Noun Class la., 0/BA, contains most animate nouns which i. Refer to humans: onana banana •man * Sloku beloku •woman 1 ubi bebi •child * 3ti bati 1 father * =>t)wa ba/nwa 'sibling* =>kpe bakpe ' toddler * ->kpana bakpana 'companion1 bafz> ' stranger' =>ga baga 'c h ie f' ucwiri becwiri •person' ii. Which show reduplication: =>gbarjgba bagbar]gba •Pied crow1 z>kr>r>k=> bakrokz> 'sn ail' =>klo=5kl^ b a k l= )3 k l^ 'big brown squirrel1 =>mwemwe bamwemwe •firefly* 3sansa basansa •black kite’ i l l . Which may have been borrowed: ~>kz>t^>k3 bakz>t=)k=3 •porcupine * r^klama baklama *dog* 1 0 2 oderjke bader]ke ’crocodile 1 =>nancwi banancwi ' cow1 iv . or Which are Derived Agent Nouns (see PP» 135ff)s =>dune badune ’killer* 3t)wane bar)wane ’cook * =>tinane bat inane 1 teacher * udine bedine 'weaver 1 okpalane bakpalane 'fetish p riest' There is a small number of other animate nouns in this noun class which don't seem to fit into any of the above sub-categories: okpe bakpe 'grasscutter' =>kanane bakanane 'leopard' =>kpa bakpa 'ram' Noun Class 1b*, A/BA, contains the names of animals, in the widest sense, which are commonly found around the house and the names of some big game animals as well: ebuo bebuo 'animal' aase baase 'b ird ' ese bese 'goat' 103 Ima bltna ' scorpion 1 bakzok^ ’ chicken 1 alfclb bklele ’midge a n t' aklibma baklzxna ’black-shouldered kite lizard buzzard 1 * worm1akui)g=> baku r)g=> * worm1akui)g=> ayikpe bayikpe ’mouse’ alz>l=> bal^liD ’f ly 1 ab=>t3 bab=3t=> *bush-pig * atu batu ’elephant’ etu betu ’flying termite’ This class also includes a couple of words, most likely borrowed, which refer to humans: aasi baasi ’wife’s mother’ asantine basantine ’slave* Noun Class II, 0/LE, generally, but far from invariably, refers to artifacts and to domesticated crops: ibbbdie lebedie ’plantain* =>kee lekee ’cutlass' ulu 11lu ’road* m bte lfcf e ' calabash z>do ledo 'story 1 =mta lenta 'corn1 okpana lekpana 1 okra1 rxna leraa 'town* . upo lipo 'palm-wine torch* 3S11% . % lesii *gourdf Z>t3 letz> * house * It also contains a few body parts: =>gbk legba *foot/leg* =>ka leka 1 t a i l 1 z>kwe lekwe 1 throat ' b it lilt fsore, wound 3l=>na lel=>na * skin * utu litu 'heart * III, LE/BA, contains: l. le names of various tribe s: lblemi balemi 'Lllemi* lefana bafana 'Lefana* lele bale 'Santrokofi' llkpfcle b&kpkle 'Likpe1 lifu befu 1Akpafu-Lolobi' 11.• * The names of most birdsnand bats: lebr>b=> bab^b:b {speckled pigeon* ligbwini b&gbwini fhooded vulture* lejina bajina 'fox-faced bat* llkuku bekuku 'owl' lfckpafe bakpaf e ' "swallow"* l^mapgbe bamapgbe 'laughing dove' lepa bapa 'fruit bat' In addition, one informant has given likuubi hekuubi ' worm' Noun Class IV, LE/A , contains nouns i. Soffit ikitchen utensils: l£cami acami 'p la te ' libwi ebwi 'p o t' liboku eboku 'c h a ir' ii. >Jost body p arts: lenimi animi 'eye 1 lknyi &nyi tooth 106 ltnyl &nyl !bre a st1 l£fwi=> af wi=> ‘fingernail1 lisfe ese% % 1 horn1 iii. Natural events and objects: limel emei ‘day1 lekwa akwa ‘year* lltu etu *ant h i l l 1 leku aku * fo re st‘ letabi atabi * stone * Ufa efu ‘abandoned farm‘ iv. A wide variety of other things: liku eku ‘clan, family* likpo ekpo ‘place, site, knot* l£gba agba ‘proverb * lela ala ‘thing* likuku ekuku ‘piece‘ lenyi anyi ‘name' leyabl ayabi ' s ta r ' Additionally, Noun Class IV is the noun class to which Derived Nouns of Suitability (see p p ) are assigne lidila adlla 'food' 107 lld lli fedlla 'needle' IfetalS. atalli 'mat1 levalli avala 'egg' ledala adala 'cutting tool* Noun Class V, KA/BA, contains the names of animals that mostly live in the bush: kaji baji 'small brown monkey* kanverl banvere 'adult palm tree beet kape bape 'duika* kesi .besi 'r a t ' kani bani 'porcupine' keyu beyu 'monkey' Noun Class VI, KA/KO, contains a miscellany of things and, historically, may have been the class to which diminutives were assigned. kabee k=>bee 'twig' kabwa fe=>bwa 1 ha t' kabuli kabuli !vine; moon, month* 108 kadrul k=>drul compound kaje k=>je fbasket * kama kz>ma 1back1 kawe k=»we 'mortar1 There is an interesting relationship between Noun Class V and Noun Class VI in that certain animate nouns with a KA- prefix in the singular can take either a BA- prefix or a K0- prefix in the plural. As far as I can tell, this occurs only with the word for 'fish* and with the names of certain reptiles and insects: kitbfc kz»bl/ 'f'fish is h 1 bkb£ k&Jljel kzjjljee/ 'nocturnal moth bkjfcjee kkpatiyale krjp^tiyalfc 'lizard* bapatiyale katamukpa kotamukpa 'scorpion' batamukpa kljarjgbe k=>jar)gbe 'to rto ise ' bajapgbe 1 I have been unable to determine if this^alternation is dialectal or idiolectal. 109 Noun Class VII, KO/BA, contains only the names of a few animates: kofonu bafonu 'sheep* kibl&kpi balakpi 1 snake* kz>pi5=> bapz)3 * lizard* Noun Class VIII, KO/A, contains the names of: i. Some natural objects: k^bi abi 'mountain* kubo ebo *palm tree* kufi efi *bush path* kuji eji * tree * ii. Some body parts: kuli eli 'head * k=>vwi avwi *wing* k=>nu enu *hand Noun Class IX, KA/N, contains only about half a dozen miscellaneous items: kabo mbo *medicine* kemo mmo *farm* 11 0 Noun Class X, 0/BA, contains onomatopoeic or borrowed names for animates: gbiskpz> bagb^kp^ 'duck* wewe bawewe 'dog1 k2>kz>li~>k=> bak=>k=)li=5k^ ‘rooster* Noun Class XI, N-, contains a number of non-count, mass nouns, including many referring to liquids: pkpa *life* mla 1law * mma * salt * nnD *oil* mpatahi * trouble* nte *liquid; palm wine* nt^ *ashes* ntu *water* ntubwa 'sandflies* (.*) Most of the members of Noun Classes XII through XVI are non-count nouns; that is, they cannot generally be fol lowed by a number. Some of these non-count nouns are: Ill Noun Class XIIf : aba 'mud ' Ifi fmud 1 animi 'r ic e 1 &nta !corn! Noun Class XIII, 0- : ub5 ja 1 blood * ufi ' lime 1 UWD 'honey' Noun Class XIV, LE- : lena 'meat' llsuo ' sweat * lemwi 'fat* Noun Class XVj KA- : kana 'porridge' kamu 'ric e ' keti 'thatch' kat=3 'i'oof, Heaven, above' 1 12 Noun Class XVI# K0- : kutu 'soup* kominiwl 'sand* It should be noted, however, that not a ll members of Noun Classes XII-XVI are non-count: some members, for example, of Noun Class XIV, LE-, can take a num ber after them: lilu llt)Wl 'one yamf lilu £t£ 'three yams1 li:t)wa lfrjwi 'one grey hair* lepwa £t£ . 'three grey hairs* lellD llT)Wl 'one body* le lo £t£ 'three bodies* and so can Derived Nouns of Place (see ), which are members of Noun Class XV, KA- : kadik=> kurjwf 'one kingdom* kadik=> £t£ 'three kingdoms' kapwak=5 kupwi 'one kitchen* kapwakz) £t£ 'three kitchens* kapwakiJ kurjwi 'one harvest place* k&rjwak^ £t£ 'three harvest places* In addition, one or two informants had plural forms for some words which are invariable for other infor mants; this was primarily the case for nouns in Noun Class XIII, 0-, which had plurals formed by analogy with Noun Class II, O/LE : 3fe (lefe) ‘sun* 3ja (lfcja) 'f ir e ' and much less so for nouns in Noun Class XV, KA-, which had plurals formed by analogy with Noun Class VI, KA/KO : ka^ik^ (k:Ddik:b) 1 kingdom1 kar)wak=> (k=>r)wakr>) 'kitchen* kas=> (k^s=D) 'thinness'. Noun Class XVII, consists of: i. unassimilated loan words, mostly borrowed from Twi: abrube 'pineapple' akutu 'orange' apintima 'small drum' slka 'money' jSidi (from Ewe) 'kitchen1 lz>rl (from English) 'truck, lorry* ii. proper names, including the names of people, Gauntries, and towns: kofi 'Kofi' (boy's name) ama 'Ama' (g irl's name) ata 'Attah* ('Twin') mensa 'Mensah' ('Third-Born') kwasi 'Kwasi' (boy's name) gana 'Ghana* amerika 'America* ablz»ci (from Ewe) 'overseas, esp. England' leg=>l5 'Baglo' (town) ho 'Ho' (town) pkraa 'Accra' (city) kumasi 'Kumasi' (city) The names of the residents of a particular area form a subcategory of this second class of the members of Noun Class XVII; this names are formed by suffixing the Akan formative —fo '-(i)an, -er* to the name of the town or country: 115 ganafo !Ghanaian(s)1 amerikafo 'American(s)T hohoifo 'Hohoe people' leg=>lofo 'Baglo people* twifo 'Twi speaker(s)1 Noun Class XVIII, B0-, consists solely of infinitives, which are discussed on ff brspwa 'cooking1 b~>T)wa 'harvesting* bumwl 'praising' budife 'removing' Co-occurrence restrictions ofr prefixes. Normally, a? noun stem can belong to only one noun class, e.g., the noun stem -nana 'man' is found only with the.prefixes from Noun Class la., O/BA, to form =>n£ina, bananli 'man, men', and never, say, with the prefixes from Noun Class VI, KA/KO: *kanan&, *k^nkna . Some noun stems, however, are found with the prefixes from more than one class, though with a somewhat different meaning with each dif- 116 ferent set of prefixes; thus there is the triplet ntu (Cl. XI) ~ ketu (Cl. XV) ~ kutu (Cl. XVI) ’water1 ’river * 1 soup' all of which have the central meaning of ’something to do with water.* In Bantu languages, this type of morphological/semantic development is quite widespread; (cf. Heny, 1972); in Buem, however, this behavior is no longer productive and is restricted primarily to the formation of abstracts: zjqwa, ba- (Cl. Ia) krbqwa (Cl. XVI) 'sib* ’relationship’ ±>ti, ba- (Cl. Ia) kbti (Cl. XVI) 'fa th e r’ ’paternity’ and even then it is largely restricted to forming doublets with infinitives: bopwa (Cl. XVIII) . lerjwa (Cl. XIV) 'cooking* 'way of cooking' butemi (Cl. XVIII) • litemi (Cl. XIV) ' speaking' 'way of speaking; language' buye (Cl. XVIII) . kuyee (Cl. XVI) 'trading* ' trad e' For fbrther comment, see my discussion of derived nouns, pp. 157ff. Noun Suffixes The two Noun Suffixes in Buem are -fo'resident of . . . ' and -BI 'young, immature'. P9 NSuff ------) (-fo) (-BI) As mentioned on page M , -fo can be suffixed to a place name to denote an inhabitant of that place: ganafo ' Ghanaian(s)' h^hoifo 'Hohoe people' kutefo 'Kute people' twifo 'Twi speaker^s)' -BI can be suffixed to a noun (almost always an ani mate noun) to refer to a young or immature specimen; it has the same tone as thesyllable preceding it. T2 SB: ,X + C - y + -BI ± SC: X + C V + -bi ± |j*rLoT o J (^LoT oJ3 z>nibl bit- 1 boy (s) ' SlSkubi bfe- %glr.l(s)* oklimabi bi- ' puppy* jitabi ba- 'lion cub' 118 ~kasbbi ba- !baby bird* Yaobi fl i tt l e Yao1 ganafobi ’little Ghanaian(s)1 -BI is also used with one or two inanimate nouns to denote unfinished products: ontabi ’unprocessed corn* or young residents: skubi ’school-children* ganabi ’young Ghanaian(s)’ -BI is presumably the stem for the noun ubi, be- ’child*. There is one slight problem with respect to noun suffixes, for parallel to the noun lbtabi, a- ’stone1 is the noun lbtakpa, a- ’mountain’, where -kpa is presumably some sort of augmentive; as far as I can tell, however, -kpa is not paired with -BI elsewhere, and there is no nonh *lbta ? ’boulder’. HdJftmann (1965) did tentatively identify -kpa as a formative; however, some of her examples were obvious borrowings from Ewe* At present, it seems that the -kpa of lbtakpa, a- is on a par with the "cran-” of "cranberry.” 119 Concord and Agreement i Robins (1964:249) defines concord and agreement "as the requirement that the forms of two or more words of specific word classes that stand in specific syntactic relationship with one another shall also be characterized by the same paradigraatically marked category (or cate gories)." In Buem, the categories that determine syn tactic concord and agreement are number and the form of the Noun Class prefix to the Noun, thereby satisfying Winston's "strong" definition of a noun class language (Winston, 1962). In this grammar, I use the term "con cord" to refer to the relationship which occurs in en- docentric constructions, i.e., to the relationship be tween a Noun and certain of its modifiers, and the term "agreement" to refer to the relationship which occurs in exocentric constructions, !■•©., between a Noun and pronouns referring to that Noun and between the subject of a verb and most finite forms of the verb. There is syntactic concord between a Noun and the following parts of speech which modify that Noun: i. Participles, i i. Ordinal numbers and cardinal number upwf * 11 iii. Determiners, and iv. Relative Pronouns. Concord takes the following forms: i. If the Noun is in the singular and belongs to any of Noun Classes Ia, lb, II, X, or XVII, or if it is non-count and belongs to Noun Class XIII (i.e., if i the Noun is prefixed by 0- , by "animate" A- , or by "singular" ), then, the concordial prefix is 0- : =>nana Dml 'th is man1 atu :Dm£ 'this elephant' =>t:s :Sm£ 'th is house* akutu 3me 'th is orange1 uwo ^mt 'th is honey' ii. If the Noun is in the plural and belongs to any of Noun Classes Ia, lb, III, V, VII, X, or XVII or if it is non-count and belongs to Noun Class XVII (i.e.,, if the Noun is prefixed by BA- or "non-singu lar" 0- ), then the concordial prefix is BA- : 121 banani bamb 1 these men1 batu bame ’these elephants’ balbmi bam£ .’.these Lelemi* feaji bame ’these small monkeys* bafonu baml ’these sheep’ bltwewe bame ’these §logsf twif5 baml ’these Twi-speakers’ i i i . If the Noun is in the plural and belongs to either Noun Class IV or Noun Class VIII or if it is non-count and belongs to Noun Class XII (i.e., if the Noun is prefixed by "inanimate” A- ), then the con cordial prefix is A- : ebwi am?: ’these pots* adi ame ’these cloths* animi ame ’this rice* iv. If the Noun is in the plural and belongs to Noun Class IX or if it belongs to either Noun Class XI or Noun Class XVIII (i.e., if the Noun is prefixed by either N- or BO- ), then the concordial prefix is BO- : mmo b^m?: ’these farms* 122 ntu b^me 'th is water1 br>du birnb 'th is k illin g 1 v. All Nouns prefixed with LE- have concordial forms in LE- , regardless of number or Noun Class: let=5 leme 'these houses1 llbwl leme 'this pot1 l£lbmi leme 'th is Lelemi' lilu lemb 'th is yam, these yams' vi. All Nouns prefixed with KA- . have concordial forms in KA- , regardless of number or Noun Class: kaji kamk 'th is small monkey' kabwa kam£ 'th is hat' kemo kame 'th is farm' kamu kame 'this, rice' vii. All Nouns prefixed with K0- have concordial forms in K0- , regardless of number or Noun Class: kobwa k^mfe 'these hats' k=>di k^mb 'th is cloth' kofonu k^m?: 'th is sheep' kutu kome 'th is soup' These concordial forms are tabulated in Figure 1 Noun Prefix Concordial Form A- (sing.) 0- 0- (sing.) BA- BA- 0- (p lu r.) A- (plur.) A- N- B0- LE- LE- KA- KA- K0- K0- Figure X Noun Concordial Forms 121+ and are introduced transformationally by agreement rules (cf. Chomsky, 1965•175) which operate on the "Cone" segment of Phrase-structure rules like the one for Relative Pronouns (see page 201 ), P27 RelP ------) Cone + -ni The agreement rule for Buem is: T3 0 - l+ N , (la, lb, II, X, XIII, XVII? +Singj BA- f+N, (la, lb, III, V, VII, x, XVI l] -Sing J Cone ==) A- / [>,■ /IV, VIII, XIl| -Sin g] + Y + £anc B0- [+N, (ix, XI, XVIIl] -Sin gj LE- [+H, LE KA- L+n » KA - j K0- _C+N, KO ] where X = intervening modifiers of N I discuss agreement on pp. 213-222 and pp. 2J8ff. 125 Compound Nouns A compound noun results from the fusion of one noun either with another noun or, less frequently, with a verb stem. While there are a great many com pound nouns currently in use, it seems that the process of compounding is no longer productive; it is this lack of productivity that separates compound nouns from derived nouns. Noun + Noun combinations. Historically, it seems that this type of compound noun was formed from the fusion of the singular or non-count forms of the two nouns involved—parallel to the English compounds fbookend', 'busstop', e tc .—rather than from the fusion of plural forms, *Booksend1, * 1busesstop*, and that the firs t of the two nouns was structurally a possessor of the second. The following rule schematizes the most com mon method of fusion: 126 1 2 3 4 SDI ± NC + NSt ± ± NC + NSt ± SC: ± 3 + 2 + 4 * / 3 = CV- Restated, if the (singular or non-count) Noun Class prefix of the second noun consists of a consonant followed by a vowel, then the Noun Class prefix of the first noun is deleted and the Noun Class prefix of the second noun takes its place. ese leyu ====) liseyu ’goat sty* fgoat' ’shed’ kofonu + leyu ====) lefonuyu ’sheep sty* * * sheep1 * shed’ =>ga^ % + liboku ====) l£gaboku ’throne* 'c h ief’ ’ stool * =>ga + kabwa ====) kagabwa ’crown* ’chief* ’hat* r>nta * kana ====) kantana ’corn gruel’ 'corn' ’gruel* umo + kabull ====) kemobuli ’(cotton) thread* fcotton 1 * thread’ Cifo + llbo =-=-) llfobS 'ball of fufu’ * * f u f u * 'b all' 127 ketu + kudz> ====) ku tud=3 'river bank1 1 river ' side' kamu + l l t h ====) lemut=> 'pile of 1 ric e ' 'heap' husked rice' kkatua + kutu ====) kz>katuatu 'groundnut soup* 'peanuts' 'soup' kuli + kama -===) kelima 'back of head' 'head' 'back' z>t^ + kama ====) katzAna 'inner room1 'house' 'back' If, however, the prefix to the second noun does not have a CV- structure and the prefix to the firs t noun does, then the prefix to the second noun is deleted and the prefix to the firs t noun serves as the prefix to the entire compound word, usually: 1 2 3 4 SD: ± NC + NSt ± ± NC + NSt ± SC: ± 1 + 2 ± 4 * / 3 ^ CV- & 1 p CV- kubo + nnz>mi ====) kubon=>mi 'palm pomade' 'palm' 'oil* kat=> + =>sil ====) kat=)sii 'hanging gourd' 'above' 'gourd' 128 % . N kbnb =3S11 ====) k=>n=>sil ‘bladder f ‘urine1 ‘gourd* kalz> + udila ====) kalz>dila ‘kind of ‘ground’ ’needleT poisonous snake’ If neither of the prefixes is of CV- structure, then the prefix A- is used if the compound noun yields the name of a bird: ukpine + aase --==) ukpinese "’omen, of death” ‘dead.man’ ‘bird* b ird 1 ntu + aase ====) etusb ‘cattle egret' ’water* ‘b ird ’ In * one other example I have, the prefix KA- is used: asl + Dte': ====) kkslnt=> 'hearthside' ‘hearth’ ‘house* There are some exceptions to these rules; these ex ceptions are primarily the names of various food items or parts of food items’: kal:=> + lebe ====) Mzobb 1 cocoayam1 ‘ground* *kernel' kal=> + &jutu ====) 31-3 1 ju tu ' cassava1 'ground* 'root lfcbe + nn^ml ====) abenz>mi 'kernel oil' 'kernel* 'oil' Noun + Verb combinations* Generally, when a" compound noun is formed from a noun stem plus verb stem, the noun stem precedes the verb stem, and the compound noun is prefixed by LE- 2 SD: sfc NC + NSt ± VSt ± SC: =fc LE- + NSt + VSt ± lel3 + -pwa ====) lel3T)wa ' sweat' 'body* 'cook' kama + -kpb ====) lemarjkpb ' lateness' 'back* 'delay k=snu + -ja ====) linunja thanks 'hand' 'clap' kenye +" -y=> ====) linyeyz> temptation1" 'mouth' 'want' abi + -bo ====) lebibo suffering* 'pain' 'have' 130 lekpa + -lie ====) lEkpalie 'turn at duty 1 'custom' 's it' likpo + “Se ====) likpose 'mark; brand' 'place' 'run' There are two nouns, however, both compounded with ala 'things', which are not prefixed by LE- : ala + -bla ====) kalabla 'work' 'thing* 'work, do' ala + -kpi ====) kMakpi 'snake' 'thing' 'die* Considerably less common is the arrangement VSt + NSt ; most of the compound nouns I have collected under this rubric are the names of plants or animals: -du + l i l i ====) kadulili 'yellow seed which 'h u rt' 'head' causes headaches' - t i + libi ====) ketilibi 'dung-beetle' ' take' 'dung' —dz> + l£tabi ====) led=>ntabi 'whetstone' ' sharpen 1 stone' 131 -fa + kat=> ====) z)fanat=> 'plantain1 'hang1 'dbove* As we see, in most cases, the original noun still re tains its prefix; I suspect that these compound nouns entered the languages well before the others. Other combinations. I have found one example of a com pound noun formed from the sequence NSt + VSt. + NSt : kalo + -du + ebuo ====) al^dumbuo 'bedbug found in 'ground' 'b ite ' 'animal* swish houses' and one example of a compound noun formed from a verb stem i followed by a tense marker followed by a verb stem: -di + TAA- + -bu ====) kaditeebu 'left-over 'eat' HABit 'remain' food' There are also a couple of examples of compound nouns formed from the sequence VSt + VSt , where the firs t verb > is bonu 'to see': -nu + -si h. ====) lenuhsia 'remembrance' 'see' 'follow' -nu + -jie ====) lenunjie 'jealousy' 'see' 'follow* Syntactic notes. While most compound nouns are in variable, some compound nouns do, in fact, have separate singular and plural forms: etuse be- 'cattle egret' litublo e- 'water well' katiDsil ko- 'hanging gourd' ub£ji li- 'royal-palm' kuvod=> e- 'la trin e ' These plural forms are presumably formed by analogy with the plural forms for simple nouns and support my claim that the original elements of the compound nouns were the singular, rather than the plural, forms of the nouns involved: if the plural forms were involved, then the expected plural form, according to my formulation on page /2-7, for katiDsii 'hanging gourd' would be *letr>sii since the plural form for ^sil 'gourd' is lfcsii . It should be noted, however, that the fact that a particular compound noun may be invariable is independent of whether that compound is a count or a non-count noun: 133 kagabwa ker)w£ 'one crown1 kagabwa inyz> 'two crowns' The information as to whether a particular compound noun is variable of invariable would be stored in the Complex Symbol for the noun—since compound nouns (with the ex ception of those formed NC + VSt + VSt ) function syntactically like simple nouns, the complex symbols would be like those for simple nouns in other respects too: li.tubio e- \lY__, -Animate, +CountJ 'water well' ka.gabwa |^XV__, -Animate, +Count]] 1 crown' ka.ntana |]xV __, -Count, -Abstract] 'corn gruel' Is. l=3t)wa (_XIV__, -Count, -Abstract] ' sweat' ka. t^ n j a fxv__, +Abstract] 'kin marriage l i . semi fxiV, « -Count, -AbstractJ 'Teteman' e.tuse be- ( lb __, -^Animate"! 'cattle egret There are special problems involved, however, with compound nouns formed NC + VSt + VSt since these—or at least the two I have—s t i l l have considerable verbal properties in addition to their properties as nouns; these problems are substantially identical to those pertaining to derived nouns and will be discussed there. Derived Nouns There are three types of derived noun which are produced by fully productive processes: i. Derived Agent Nouns (NAgent^* ii. Derived Nouns of Suitability (Nguit^* and iii* Derived Nouns of Place ^ p i ace^* ^Agent P10 ®Der ------) "suit ^Place These nouns are called "derived nouns" because they re flect the relationship between a "dummy" noun in an un derlying sentence and the verb of that underlying sen tence; the underlying noun + verb is converted into a single surface noun transformationally, and the order of any other Noun Phrases that were, in the original under lying sentence is also altered transformationally* 135 Derived A^ent Nouns. Derived Agent Nouns presumably have their origin in structures in which the "dummy’1 noun, which is necessarily animate, is the subject of the verb of an underlying relative clause; the verb is a non-copular and may or may not have a single object: N ) f+N, +Animatej + • S P11 Agent Agent P12 ) [+N, +AnimateJ + VSt -(-NP) ’Agent [-Cop] This would result in a tree diagram like: N Agent N. |~+Animjf Agent N VSt (NP) L+Anim] [-CopJ An alternate notation for the tree diagram is someone someone + VSt (NP)J ^ L Q-Cop] ’ in further discussion, I shall use the linear notation 13G instead of tree diagrams. The following phrases will exemplify the under- ly ing forms of Derived Agent Nouns: someone |“g someone + -tina + alaTJS 'teach* 'things' someone j"g someone + -pw^L + kamuj g 'harvest' 'rice' someone £s someone + -T)wa] g 'harvest' someone £s someone + -kpi J g 'd ie ' The deep structure to these phrases is then altered as follows: the "someone"s are deleted, being replaced by prefixing the Verb Stem with the Noun Class markers for Noun Class la (i.e., with the prefix pair 0/BA ) and by suffixing the Verb Stem with -NE . In addition, if the verb in the original embedded sentence had an object, that object is transposed to appear before the new noun formed from the Verb Stem. 137 T4 SD: someone someone + VSt (NP)]g [« SC: (NP) ± la + VSt + -NE ± Applying this transformation to the examples on the preceding page, we get: Jila O/BA-tina-NE 1 teacher(s ) 1 kamu O/BA-rjwa-NE 'rice harvester(s) 0/BA-pwa-NE ’harvester(s)1 O/BA-kpi-NE 'corpse(s)' A morphophonemic rule then applies to give the new noun the appropriate vowel harmony and tonal patterns: the Noun Class prefix (but not the suffix) harmonizes with the Verb Stem, The prefix is on a Low tone. If the Verb Stem is monosyllabic, then it is on a Mid tone; if it is polysyllabic, then the first syllable is on a Low tone, and subsequent syllables are on Mid tones. The suffix has a Mid or Low tone opposite to the in herent tone of the final syllable of the Verb Stem. 138 T5 SD: la + VSt + -NE * ([+Syll] ) f+Syll * [^LoTq, SC: la + VSt + -ne '/*Adv- [p Adv7 -Adv ( +Syll ) |+SyllI +LOTO + L0T0 ) [-L0T0J -c /L o T o - J ( J ** The final, surface forms for the structures on page f* are, therefore: hla. z>tinane, ala batinane 'teacherCs)* kamu 3>r)wane, kamu barjwane 'rice harvester(s) 1 ->Tiwane, barjwane h arv ester (s) 1 ukpine, bekpine fcorpse(s)f Other examples of.Derived Agent Nouns are: b^rjwa ======) z»r]wane, ba- 1 cook( s) 1 'to cook* busela\ % ■» * ) uselane, be- 1 traveller(s)1 !to tra v e l1 bz>f z> ===== ) hfz>ne9 ba- ' recipient (s) 1 'to receive1 b3f=D = = = ) =>f=>ne, ba- *washer(s)* fto wash1 tonu ======) Dnune, ba- 1 spectator(s ) 1 'to see1 bunu ======) unune, be- ' liste n e r(s ) ' fto hear* bufwi ======) ufwine, be- 'invalid(s)' fto be sick1 bufwi ======) ufwine, be- ’Bronx cheerer(s)1 fto give a Bronx cheer1 b=)si ======) 3sine, ba- 'emigrant(s) ' fto come from' b=>du ======) =)dune, ba- 1 kille r (s) 1 fto k i l l 1 b^kpala ======) z>kpalane, ba- 'worshipper(s) ' 'to worship' Derived Agent Nouns are used in much the same way as ther animate nouns and occur in sentences like: 1. baalp muna =)pwane George. 3p+PRES+call my cook George 'My cook,Is name is George.' 2. K3t=>ka bekisine badu p. Kotoka haters 3p+PAS+kill him 'The people who hated Kotoka killed him.' or ItfO 'Kotoka's enemies killed him.? 3. kemo b&sene baayz> z>nantu. farm goers 3p+PRES+like rain ’Farmers like ra in .’ 4. fran&obi be.berjwuni ala bat inane. Franco+young 3p+C0ME+become things teachers. ’Franco students are going to become teachers.T 5. rjwa ligulabi uyune ukpi kamadi. his money thief 3s+PAS+die yesterday. ’The thief of his money died yesterday.1 6. muna adi =>f:one oca oma p kemo. my clothes washer 3s+PRES+is-at town $ inside. 'The man who washes my clothes lives in town.' 7. Mensa 6nu rjwa bafonu beyene lbdijb. Mensah 3s+PAS+see his sheep buyers in+the+morning.1 ’Mensah saw the buyers of his sheep this morning1 or 'Mensah saw his sheep-buyers this morning.1 (Sentences like 7 are inherently ambiguous because the sur face structure of pwa bafonu beyene gives no indication as to whether the underlying structure is 11*1 N Agent N VSt NP Simp BA-VSt-NE -ye pwa bafonu AGENT 'buy1 'his' 'sheep' which would be the deep structure underlying the first interpretation, or whether it is NP N Poss Agent N S Agent VSt NP pwa BA-VSt-NE -ye bafonu 'his' AGENT 'buy' 'sheep', which would be the deep structure underlying the second interpretation. This ambiguity is common to all derived nouns. 1^2 Derived Nouns of S u ita b ility . Since the term ^Derived Noun of Suitability” is my own coinage, I shall preface my discussion of what a "Derived Noun of Suitability" is syntactically with a discussion of what it is seman tically. It seems that there are three basic ways in which a language can order derived nouns which express the notions of the (animate) Agent of an action, the (inanimate) Recipient of an action, and the (inanimate) Instrument of an action: i. A language can use separate forms for each of the three relationships, thus presumably indicating that a ll three relationships are about equally dissim ilar, with no two relationships having more in common with each other than either has with the third. This type of lin g u istic behavior is found in Akan, Ewe, Nkonya, and Likpe, for example: (Ewe) nudula 'someone who eats' nucyunu 'something to eat with nu<}u<^u 'something to eat' i i . The same forms can beeused to refer both to the Agent of an action and to the Instrument used in per forming the action, thus presumably indicating that the relationship of Agent and Instrument have more in common with each other than either of them has with the re lationship of Object or Recipient. This arrangement is very common in English, where the -er suffix is used quite frequently to denote both the means and the man of an action indifferently: a *dish-washer" is either a man or a machine that washes dishes, a "riveter” is either a man or a machine that drives rivets, etc. iii* The same forms can be used to refer to both the Object or Recipient of an action and to the Instru ment of the action, presumably indicating that both the Object and the Intrument are similar in both being "things" used by an Agent. We find this pattern to a limited extent in American English, at least, for exam ple, with words such as a "broiler*, which refers either to a chicken which is suitable for broiling or to an oven, g rill, etc. which can bemused for broiling, a "fryer", which is either a chicken suitable for frying or a pan for frying in, and so on. In Buem, all derived Instruments and Objects (with the exception of parti cip les used as substantives (see p» t&° )) are formed in the same way and, significantly, with the noun stem - la 'thing'; I apply the term "Derived Nouns of Suita bility" to derived nouns of this type. Derived Nouns of S uitab ility presumably have their origin in structures in which the dummy noun is modified by a relative clause with a compound predicate containing the verb - t i 'use' with the dummy as it s object fo l lowed by some other Verb Phrase (See pp.-5^/^ for discussion of buti in serial verb constructions). P13 NSuit ------^ -Animatd, +CountJ + PH SSuit ------) INDEF + - t i + NP + VP This gives us the formula: something INDEF + -ti + something. Vp| g , which can be exemplified by 1145 something j^ INDEF + - t i + something, -f=> adi J ^ ’something used in washing clothes* something jj. INDEF + -ti + something, ’something used in washing* something ^ INDEF + - t i + something, -fi lilUj/g ’something used in roasting yam1 something INDEF + - ti + something, -fijg ’something used in roasting’ something ^ INDEF + -ti + something, -d ij^ ’something used in eating* which are parallel to such straightforward relative clause as: om5 INDEF + - t i + omo, -f=> adi J ^ ======) om?> =>ni befeti baaf=> adi OMO Rel 3p+PRES+use 3p+PRES+wash clothes ’OMO which is used in washing clothes* adi j~g INDEF + - t i + adi, -f^j g ===-^=) adi ani b&eti b&afr> clothes Rel 3p+PRES+use 3p+PRES+wash ’clothes which are being taken for washing* etc. The deep structures to these phrases are then al- w tered as follows: the ’’somethings are deleted, being replaced by prefixing the Verb Stem with the Noun Class markers for Noun Class IV (i.e ., with the prefix pair LE/A ) and by suffixing the Verb Stem with -la . If the verb in the original embedded sentence had an object, that object is transposed to appear before the new noun formed. Everything else is deleted. T6 SD: something INDEF + - ti + something. VSt (NP)j g SC: (NP) ± IV + VSt + -la =fc Applying this transformation to the examples on the pre ceding page, we get: adi LE/A-fz>-la ’things to wash clothes with* LE/A-fz>^la ’"things to be washed * lilu LE/A-fi-la ’things to roast yam with’ LE/A-fi-la ’things to roast’ LE/A-di-la ’things to eat* A morphophonemic rule then applies to cause the prefix to harmonize with the verb stem and to assign tone: the verb stem retains its inherent tone, which is also ’’copied” onto the prefix. (Since my corpus contains no examples ■p»/ys ylla b/c of Derived Nouns of Suitability* formed from verb stems in which the tone of the firs t syllable differs from that of any subsequent syllable, the tonal section of this rule may need future revision.) T7 SD: ± IV + VSt + -la ± SC: ± IV + VSt + -la ± "^Adv bufl ======) llfila efllli 'to be sick1 'thing(s) which cause illness1 Because I have not encountered similar types of derived noun in other languages, I have cited below a fair number of sentences, which were quite freely eli cited, to illu stra te the different ways in which Derived Nouns of Suitability can be used: 8* bodu b=>di lebela lib e ll. killing BO+is IV+be-hidden+thing big 'Murder is a great secret, ' 9. Papa uti lib ila ubl ketubwi kenyi. Papa 3s+PAS+use IV+cover+thing 3s+PAS+cover water+pot mouth 'Father used a lid to cover the mouth of the waterpot.* 10. Kofi ^da uji ku ledala Kofi 3s+PAS+cut stick with IV+cut+thing 'Ko'fi cut the stick with a chopping tool (e..g., ,* axe) 1 11. b3z>dl kdila abwini. 1p+PRES+eat IV+eat+thing good 'We eat good food,' Ih3 12* li.fila lecul nh z>ja kemo. IV+roast+thing LE+PAS+be-burnt at fire inside fThe roast got burnt in the f i r e , 1 13* onan^, muukisi mi uti l i f l la ute mi. man REL+PRES+hate me 3s+PAS+take IV+.be-sick+thing 3s+PAS+give me fThe man who hates me gave me so me t h i ng__ t o, make me sick. T 14* lsf=>la lenv=> lele kadwsfc* IV+wash+thing LE+that LE+clean well 'This soap cleans well.1 15* af=?la anvz5 aarjwu pii. IV+wash+thing A+that A+PRES+be-dirty a-lot !Those things to be washed are quite d ir ty .' 16. k:bmuny=>n k=>di k=>yu ls f^ la . communion KO+is soul IV+receive+thing ’Communion is something received by the soul.' 17. l i t ! nnr>ml le ji a.j ila p ii. 1s+PAS+use palm-oil 1s+PAS+fry IV+fr.v+things a-lot 'I used palm oil to fry many things suited to frying. 1 1?;G 18. kebi mmi kadi lc.jala lirjwf. drum "small" KA+be IV+drum+thing one 'A "small drum" is one thing to drum on. ' 19. kofonu k=>di bafwio. lekpala. sheep KO+be fetish IV+sacrifice+thing ’A sheep is a sacrifice to an id o l.* 20. =>pia =>di batl kuku likpola. speafc 0+be fathers old IV+fight+thing 'The spear was our fore-fathers1 weapon. r 21. likpidi lbdi atibruku linila. evil LE+be God IV+re.ject+thing 'Sin is something loathesome to God.1 22. l i t ! lspwala lerjwa kana. 1s+PAS+use IV+cook+thing 1s+PAS+cook gruel 'I used a cooking pan to cook g ru e l.1 23. liye anwala ani ka lilu , animi, ku okpana na kuye. 1s+PAS+buy IV+cook+thing .like yam, rice, and " okra at market " 'I bought things to cook like yam, rice and okra at the market.1 151 24. foteTiwtnl =>ku ^sika mia £nw£nila eyi. 1 s+PAS+NEG+writ^e le tte r because my IV+write+thing A+PAS+get-lost ’I didn't write a letter because my writing materials got lost.' or 'because my thoughts to write down got lost.' 25. m=>wia lite la fua lesir)k=> kud=>. 1s+PRES+desire IV+give+thing your area side fI want a gift from you.' 26. su mi litem ila lir]wi na linu IMP+tell me IV+st>eak+thing one REL 1s+SUBJ+hear 'Tell me one story that I should h e a r.' 27. mia litlla libunu. my IV+take+thing LE+PRES+be-heavy 'My luggage is heavy.' 28. liyu lye letula mama letu mi z>gba. thorn or IV+pierce+thing other LE+PAS+pierce me foot 'Either a thorn or some other piercing thing pierced my foot.' 29. doko avala ebo mof etr5 akr>k=> avala. turkey IV+lay+thing A+PRES+have bigness, A+PRES+sur- pass chicken IV+lay+thing. 'Turkey eggs are bigger than chicken eggs.' 50. ufo hdi lewr>la Iitjwi. fufu 0+be IV+pound+thing one 'Fufu is one thing th at's pounded. ' 31. Iik=)sua ddwd , nsu kebu avola. Atosua O+PAS+CONT+give-birth, but INDEF+remain IV+give-birth+thing *Akz>sua has given birth, but the afterbirth still remains.' 32. slka =>di mia leypla. money 0+be my IV+like+thing 'Money is my desire.' 33. becuani nadi liyula lenv^ fui bekpx. people REL+PAS+eat IV+steal+thing LE+that a ll 3p+PAS+die 'All the people who ate the stolen goods died.' 153 Derived Nouns of Place, Derived Nouns of Place pre sumably derive from structures in which the "dummy" noun is the object of the connective nh ’at, in 1 in a relative clause, ( na is discussed more fully in the section on Directionals, P15 NPlace ------) [+N» - Animate» +Count} Spiace P16 sPlace ------) INDEE + vst (NP) na jjf-N, -Animate, +CountJJ This gives us the formula: something g INDEF •*+ VSt (NP) na something^ g which can be exemplified by: something /g INDEF + -dl na something! g ^ ’eat* something INDEF + -ni nte na somethingjg ’drink1 ’palm-wine* something INDEF + -nye nSi somethingf g ’w ait’ something £g INDEF + -f=> ala nk something/g ’wash* ’things* ' The deep structure is then altered as.follows: the Verb Stem is prefixed with KA- , the prefix to Noun Class XV, and suffixing the Verb Stem with -k=> (which Hdftmann (1965) views as being the stem to the di rectional noun aki ’vicinity1). As for other de rived nouns, the object of the *verb, if any, in the relative clause is transposed to appear before the new noun formed, and everything else is deleted. T8 SD: something INDEF + VSt (NP) na somethin SC: (NP) ± KA- + VSt + k=> ± This rule converts the structures on the previous page to KA-dl-k=5 ’eating placep dining room’ nte KA-ni-k=> 'palm-wine drinking place’ KA-nye-k=> 'waiting place' lila KA-fz>-kz> 'place to wash clothes’ The Vowel Harmony rule of p 7 o and the nasalized vowel realizationrrule of pj 7 (f apply, and the prefix is given the same tone as the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem, the Verb Stem retaining its inherent tone. T9 SD: ± KA- + VSt + kh ± SC: ± KA VSt + + kr> ± [^Adv] [/AdvJ +Syll ) t+SyllJ ULoTo] ^LoTo <^+Nas^ 155 The surface forms for the structures on page /iTf is , therefore, k&dlk=> ‘eating place; dining room1 nte kaniko V 'palm wine bar1 nte kanirjkz) ) keny^ko ") ( 'waiting room' kfenyet)k=> ) ala k&foko 'place to wash clothes' Other examples of Derived Nouns of Place are: bo-qwa ======) kariwaf)kz>/kaTiwakr> 'to cook* 'kitchen' borjwa ======) ka.T)war]k=>/kar)wak=3 'to harvest' 'harvesting site' b^nyl ======) kanylrjfe=>/kanylk=> / 'to excrete' 'latrine' bosa ======) kasako 'to treat, heal' 'hospital' bote ======) katenko/.kateko 'to sleep' 'bedroom' botiya ======) katiyako 'to learn' 'school' 156 Although Derived Nouns of Place are invariable, they are, nonetheless, count nouns and can occur in phrases like: bakz>k=> kavar)ki> kepwi 'one chicken laying box* b&kr>kz> kavarjkz) fny^ 'two chicken laying boxes* lelr> k&sak=> kerjwi *one hospital* lel=> kasak=> iny^ ’two hospitals* Derived Nouns of Place occur in sentences like: 34. ^sla sika na r)wa kafz?kz> kerao. 3s+PAS+place money in its receive+place inside •He put the money in its reception place.* 35. utl pwa adi ubiku n& kaf=>k=>. 3s+PAS+take his clothes 3s+PAS+bring in wash-fplace SBhe took her clothes and brought them to the laundry.* 36. knta k&nwknk=> khca na ulu kudr>. corn harvest+place KA+is-at in road side •The corn harvesting site is near the road.* 37. uni nobla kutu na kanwank^ kemo. mother REL+PRES+make soup in cook+place inside •It's Mother who makes soup in the kitchen.' 157 In addition to the preceding Derived Nouns of Place which are formed from Verb Stems, there is one Derived Noun of Place, ajumak=> ‘work place1, which is formed from a noun, lijuma K a word for ‘work1 borrowed from Twi. Other Derived Nouns. In addition to the productive forms of nominal derivation already discussed, there is one further type which is of limited and somewhat idiosyncratic productivity; this type, discussed in passing on page ll ^ , gives rise to abstract nouns, nouns of manner, cognate object nouns, and cognate nouns of means, etc. Derived nouns of this sort are formed by prefixing KA- or K0- or LE- to the Noun Stem or Verb Stem for which an abstract, etc. is to be formed. Unfortunately, however, there are no general principles by which a rule can be formulated as to which prefix goes with which stemr so that the appropriate nominalizing prefix (or abstract forming prefix in the case of nouns with non-abstract forms) must be stated separately for each stem and cannot be introduced transformationally (cf. Chomsky (li7&))* That this is the case is shown by the following: =3T)wani ba- ======t=) kz^rjwani 'sibling' ‘relationship1 “>nur)ku ba- ======) llnurjku uwi 'old man' 'old age* z>namu ba- ======) lenamu uwi 'child* 'childhood* oklofu ba- ======) leklofu uwi 'youth* 'youth' =sti ba- ======) kz>t i 'father' 'paternity' r>ga ba- ======) lega 'chief' 'chieftaincy' b^bla ======) kabla 'work' 'work' bz?ca ======) kzsca 'be at; score' 'shame, disgrace' bz>du ======) kadu 'hurt' 'rheumatism' 1 SP : * / . b=)f £ ======) lefe 'blow* ’nasal mucus* b=>ja ======) ka ja 'exceed* 'excess' b=>k=> ======) kr>kr5, a- 'mill' 'mill' bukpl ======) kukpi 'die' 'death* bilfc ======) llll 'sleep' 'sleep' bz>ni5 ======) \Anh 'urinate' 'urine' b^nu ======) kanu 'see1 'mirror' bz?T)wa ======) leriwa fcook' 'way of cooking' b=>sl ======) k lsi 'be from' 'home' b=>susu ======) kas&su 'think' 'thought' bz>t?: =—=——=) . kz>t £ 'judge'. 'conversation' 180 butemi ======): litemi 1 speak1 1langu age 1 bz>t=> ======) kat=>, k=>- 1 dance1 - 1 dance1 biswunli ======) lewuna ’breathe* *sigh* buye ======) kuye ’trade* ’price; market place* In these cases, the Complex Symbols would have forms rather like: -ga j+N, la___ , +Human ’chief1: XIV , +AbstractJ - ti £+N, la , +Human ’father*: XVI , +AbstractJ in the case of noun-noun pairs, or -le Anim__, - NP, -Stative; +N, XIV , +Abstract] ’sleep’ -kpi [+V, Anim __, - NP, -Stative; +N, XVI , +AbstractJ ’die* -pwa [+V, Anim , - Abstract, -Stative; +N, XIV__ , +AbstractJ ’cook* -t=> £+V, Anim , Cognate, -Stative; . +N, VI _, -Animate, -Abstract J ’dance* in the case of verb-noun pairs. 161 Possessors Possessors always precede the noun possessed. A possessor can be either a Nominal group followed by an optional Quantifier or a Possessive Pronoun. It is possible that a Quantifier can follow a Possessive Pronoun; however, this would be extremely rare and does not occur in my corpus at a ll. Nom (Quant) ) Nominal possessors. While word order is sufficient to mark possession, there are also some tonal alternations involved when a Nominal group is the possessor of a noun. These tonal alternations are progressive rather than regressive, in the sense that the tone of the Nominal group affects the tone of the noun possessed rather than vice versa. The following principles apply: i. If the noun .possessed has three or more syllable then there is no tonal alternation: 162 =>nan& + =>sii - ™ ) =>n^nk 3sil *man* ’gourd * *a man * s gourd * z>nan§t + bklantle ------==) =>nana oklantifc *man * ’cutlass * * ’a man's cutlass' =>fr> + 3klama =------) 3fz> z^klkma 1 stranger * ’dog* 'a stranger's dog’ baga fwii + biinana _ ) baga fwii bainank dhiefs a ll 'rajfn * 'the men of a ll the ’all chiefs' ch iefs’ ii. If the final tone of the Nominal group is Low, then there is no alternation in the tone of the noun possessed: ona + lilu =====) r>n&. lilu •friend1 •yam1 *a friend’s yam* r>nli + ese =====)\ %ona % ese % •friend* *goat* *a friend * s goat * ona + kama =====) =>n2t kama •friend*" ’back* *a friend’s back* =?ga 3m=> + Ilia =====) ±>ga lilu <5hief the ’yarn* ’the chief*s yam’ 4the chief*- 163 3ga bmb + hse =====) z>ga bmb ese 1 the ch ief1 'goat' 'the chief's goat' =5ga imb + le t=> =====) z>ga diiid le tz> 'the chief' 'houses' 'the chief's houses' i i i . If the final tone of the Nominal group is High, then there is no alternation in the tone of the noun possessed: =>ga urjwi + lilu =====) =5ga utjwi lilu 'one chief' 'yam' 'one chief's yamfe' ^ga upwi + ese =====) =>ga upwf hse 'one chief' 'goat' 'one ehietf's>goat* 3ga upwf + let=> =====) =5ga urjwi letz> 'one chief' 'houses' 'one chief's houses' iv. If the final two tones of the No.minal group are Mid, then there is no alternation in the tone of the nourt possessed if its first tone is Low: =>ga + lilu =====) =>ga lilu 'chief' 'yam' 'a chief's yams' z>ga + fese =====) =>ga hse 'chief' 'goat' 'a chief's goat' However, if the first tone of the noun possessed is Mid, then the tone of the noun possessed is downstepped optionally: =3ga + let^ =====) Dga let=>, =3ga ' le t=> 'chief1 'houses' 'a chief's houses' =>kpe + kuli =====) ukps kuli, =>kpe 'kuli 'grasscutter' 'head' 'a grasscutter's head' r>t=> + kemo =====) z>tr> r] kemo, z>tz> r\ 'kemo 'house' 'inside' 'inside the house' v. If the final two tones of the Nominal group are Low-Mid, then there are a number of different alternations: a. If the inherent tone of the noun possessed is Low-Low, then it becomes Mid-Low: Dt]wa + lilu =====) DTiwa lilu 'sibling' 'yam* 'a brother's yams' ese + =>gba =====) Ise z>gba 'goat' 'foot' 'a goat's foot* b. If the inherent tone of the noun possessed is Low-Mid, then it becomes High-Mid: =5T]wa + ese =====) =>r)wa ese 'sibling' 'goat' 'a brother's goat' 1S5 I 1 / CD CO oE p n * n “■ n n 4^ 4J n 43 n n n cd n ✓cd 3 cd cd co n e P t*0 t»D ✓D *n n n - . -»-> ocd b a » CD a> CO CD CO 'CD CO M •n CD *< D /CD a; CO cd co ✓ Scd ✓3 Tonal Alternation with Possessive ✓D rH /D rH •H rH ✓H rH rH /D »—1 rH r-H cd /H ✓cd 3 cd r—I e P t*o ✓n 0 ■»- O - t*0 CO T3 E ». CO E •H Ch CD CD Cd rH CD CO ✓cd *H 3 P c d *H CO C G P -H ttf) p o ✓fl i 16 b fese + lfcnyi =-===) ese lenyi 'goat' !tooth' 'a goat's tooth* =>ja + or)wa =====) =>ja ^rjwa 'husband' *siblingf *a husband’s sibling* c. If the inherent tone of the noun possessed is Mid-Mid, then there is no alternation: or)wa + z>t=> =====) Dr]wa =)t3 'sibling' 'house' 'a brother's house1 ese + kama =====) ese kama 'goat' 'back' 'a goat's back' vi. There are no other alternations caused by possession I have schematized the tonal alternations caused by possession in Pigure^J. Possessive Pronouns. The members of the series of possessive pronouns vary~with the-dialect of the Buem speaker. In the Baglo sub-dialect of Lllemi, a ll possessive pronouns must agree with their referent in number and person or noun class membership, although in rapid speech the un marked possessive pronoun form, pwa , is often used to refer to inanimate possessors. The series of possessive 167 pronouns used in Baglo and Baglo-Odumase is: 1s mCmk munk z>tr> 'my house1 2 funk funa r>tz> ’your house1 3 hwa T]wa ot=? 'his/her/its house 1P bua bua otz> 'our house1 2 bina bina =>t^ 'your house' 3 f bana, bana 3t=» 'th e ir house* ( mana mana z>t=3 0-, A- (Anim) T)wa T}wa =>t=? 'his/her/its house' BA- "bana bana r>t=> 'their house' mana mana z>tz> A- (Inanim) ana ana ^>to 1 A- 's- house ' LE- anya anya =>tr> 'LE-* s house' KA- kana kana rjt=> 'KA-'s house' K0- kuna kuna =>t^> 'KO-'s house' N-, B0- anya anya =>t=> 'N-, BO-'s house' Possessive pronouns are used in sentences such as: m=>yz> =>t=> 3me =>sika t)wa kuye k^dia. I+PRES+like house this because its price XVI+PRES+be-ggod *1 like this house because its price is good.1 168 mby=> l£t:D l£mb =>slka anya kuye kibdia. XI like these houses because their price is good.1 noy=> llbwi leme z>sika anya kuye k=>dia. 'I like this pat because its price is good.’ m=>y=> ebwi ame =)sika ana kuye k=>dia. 'I like these pots because their price is good.1 ooyzD kabe kam£ =>slka kana kuye kz>dia. *1 like this fish because its price is good.1 n£>y=> k^b£ k^me 3sika kuna kuye k=>dia. fI like these fish because their price is good.1, e tc . Inalienable Possession. Special marking of a noun as being subject to inalienable possession is not a signi ficant characteristic of Buem, and the names of body parts can occur with or without a possessor indifferent 1 y: kul'i ki33du mi. head VIII+PRES+hurt me *My head h u rts .* is not, for example, very much more commonly used than 169 mun?i kuli lo^du mi. my head VIII+PRES+hurt me 'My head h u rts .1 nor is kuli kzodu ma. head VIII+PRES+hurt them fTheir heads h u rt.1 much more common thair bana eli aadu ma. their heads VIII+PRES+hurt them ‘Their heads h u rt.' The rule seems to be that if the aoun referring to the body part is the subject of the sentence, then either a possessive pronoun can be used with the appropriate singular/plural form of the noun or the possessive pro noun can be omitted and the singular form of the body part can be used alone. When the body part is not the subject of the verb, then both the possessor of the body part and the body are treated as objects of a double transitive verb: 170 6th. ma kafz>. 3s+PAS+kick them belly. 'He kicked them in the b e lly ,1, where the body part is in the singular. 171 Noun Modifiers A Noun may be modified by any or a ll of the fol- lowing: i. A Sex marker (Sex), ii. Participles (Part), i i i . Numbers (Num), iv. Adjectives (Adj), V. A Determiner (Det), and/o vi. Relative Clauses (S£ei)» These occur in the following order: P18 Modif ------) (Sex)(Part)(Num)(Adj)(Part)(Det)(Spe^) .Sex Markers Animate nouns may, but need not, be specified for their sex. There are two pairs of nouns in common use to denote sex: =>nana, ba- fmanf and dlbku, b&- ’woman1 form one pair, and z>jane, b&- ’husband* and ulene, be- *wife’ form the other pair. The pair =>nltna/ol&ku can 172 be used to modify both nouns referring to humans and nouns referring to other animates; the other pair, r>jane/Jilene modifies only non-human animates: if either =)jane or ulene follows a human noun, then the human noun is interpreted as being the possessor of ^jane ‘husband1 or fclene ‘wife1, as the case may be: kla ibtlnane =>jane ‘the teacher*s husband' *‘the male teacher' ulche. ala otinane 'the teacher's wife' *'the lady teacher' This is schematized by: f Male P19 Sex ) / J^+N, +Animate^ / Female z>jane / [^+N, -HumanJ P20 Male -----) z>n&na f&l&ku / -HumanJ P21 Female — ) \ ulene As the following examples show, the Sex marker varies in 173 number with the noun it modifies: zm&ncwi zjn&na or =>n?incwi =>jane 'bull* b&n&ncwi banana or b&n&ncwi bajane 'b u lls 1 =>nancwi &l&ku or inancwi ulene 1 cow1 banancwi belSku or b&nancwi b&lene 1 cows1 ak=?k=5 ^n&na or ?iki3kr> r?jane 'ro o ste r1 bS.k3k=3 b&n&n& or b&tokr* bajane 1 roosters1 ak=3k=> bl&ku or akz>k3 ulene 1 hen1 bak=>k:b b&loku or bakz>k=) b&lene 'hens’ % % \ ^ ese =>nana or ese =>jane 'billy-goat' bese banana or bese bajane 'billy-goats 1 hse 5lbku or ese ulene 'nanny-goat' bese bel&ku or b&se belene 'nanny-goats' S.1& z>tlnane =>nana 'male teacher' kla batlnane banan?L 'male teachers ala Mlnane ol5ku 'lady teacher' ala b&tlnane belbku 'lady teachers skubi =>nan& 'school-boy' skubi banana ' school-boys' skubi bloku 1school-girl' skubi bfel&ku 1school-girls' 17k Participles Participles arise from underlying sentences in which the head noun of the Noun Phrase is either the object of a transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive verb; as far as I can tell, the verb may be any verb except a copular verb, the iteritive verb b^s^ 'to again1, or a verb of ability, of speaking or of motion. f ± INDEF + VSt + N * P22 P a r t ) ^ =fc N + VSt ± where VSt = [+V, -Cop, - I t, -Motion This underlying structure is represented by; NP N Part INDEF VSt with respect to the first part of the rule and by 175 NP N Part VSt with respect to the second part of the rule. In the linear notation, these are schematized by the formulae: INDEF + VSt ' + a J e.g. INDEF .+ -du + s j •k ill' N L INDEF + -r)wa + NJ fcook' N ( q INDEF + -T)wa + g] 'harvest' N I „ INDEF + -llml + N - S - S 'open' r N INDEF + -bile + N 'spoil' 176 and a [s a + v s lJ s e.g N fg N + -kpi} S d ie1 N fg N + -baj s 'be cold* -llm ljg a [sS 'be open' a [s a + - t i e j s 'be spoilt* It will be noted that -lemi 'open; be open* and the pair -blle/-ble ' spoilt; be spoilt' are on both lists. In the case of -lemi 'open; be open', this is because the verb can be used both transitively and intransitively (see pages W7-8 ); in the case of -blle/-bie 'spoil; be ! spoilt', this is because it is possible to form a parti ciple both from the intransitive form of the verb and from the transitive form (marked by the -LE suffix) as well (see pages 3-4 7 ^ ), with the participle formed from the causative form apparently indicating deliberate action. 177 To anticipate a bit, we get, for example, the pairs kutu k&biedi > 'spoilt soup' kutu kubiledi J ncweni bz>cuidi ^ * > 'burnt firewood' ncwsni bzDCuladi) in which the participle in the firs t member of each pair leaves the question of the cause of the spoiling or burning open, whereas the participle in the second member of each pair implies that the spoiling or the burning was caused by some agent. The P-markers just shown are altered as follows: the Verb Stem is prefixed with a concord marker (Cone), which fa lls on a Low tone, the tone(s) of the Verb Stem are raised to Mid, and the Verb Stem is suffixed with -di , which may, perhaps, be the stem of the determiner 2-<3i fa certain'. Everything else is deleted. : . f ± INDEF + VSt + N ± T10 SD: N (Y)j i ± N + VSt * SC: N (Y) ± Cone + VSt + -di ± [+L0T0] [-L o T o 7 where Y = any intervening Noun Modifier 178 The normal Vowel Harmony rule and Nasal Realization rule apply, and the surface forms of the structures on pages /75 and is: 2 * dudi, 2 *dundi •killed1 2*Tlwadi, 2* hwandi •cooked * 2 -T)wadi, 2 *r)wandi ’harvested1 2*lemidi ’open(ed)1 u.biledi • spoilt * u.kpidi *dead*;( ’wicked, evil* 2 *badi b.bandi •cold 1 £.biedi 1 sp o ilt1 as in lilu lbnwandi ’cooked yam*; ’harvested yam * kM&kpi k=>dundi *a killed snake * letry lelemidi ’open doors* 2ga ukpidi ’a wicked chief* 2 nta 2^=>di ’milled corn* blse b^nyimidi ’snared goats* 2 nantu |>bandi ’cold rain* There are thre^.-further cotnmeats -to made:-.with re- spect to participles: i. Occasionally, a one-word manner or time adverbi al may follow the participle, as in fc^wla k=>betu kobladi- kadwee. 1s+PRES+look fish+stew made well Ili’im looking for some well-made fish stew. ’ b&leye& k=>di kudidi bwe-bwe. INDEF+FUT+NEG+buy cloth woven poorly ’People won’t buy poorly woven c lo th .1 b&na ese =>yudi kamadl nekpl. their goat stolen yesterday REL+PAS+die ’It was their goat stolen yesterday that died.* This entails modifying the P-rule on page Hi to read: * INDEF + VSt -l- N Part ) ± N + VSt and the T-rule on page /■*/7 read: frfc INDEF + VSt + N ± ") SD: N (Y) / V v (Adv) / * N + VSt ± ) A . ‘ SC: N (Y) ± Cone + VSt + -di ± (Adv) ^+LoTojf ^-LoToJ ii. As noted in rule P (B on page /?/ , participles can both precede and follow numbers and adjectives. As yet, I have not been able to isolate any principles for place ment, and it seems that phrases like adi ejiedi iny=> cloths reddened two 'two red .cloths1 and adi iny3 Ijied i are merely sty listic variants of one another. iii. Participles can be used as substantives (i.e., as Derived Nouns of Utmost Suitability); in this case, if they are to denote an animate, they are marked with the prefixes for Noun Class la, O/BA; if they are to denote an inanimate, they are marked with the prefixes for Noun Glass II, O/LE . Nouns of Utmost Suitability are used much less frequently than Nouns of Suitability and are reserved to denote things which especially typi fy the action of the verb; hence, while adila refers to any kind of food, ibdidirefers to food for human' consumption especially; while lfcfMa refers to any thing used in connection toith washing,. 3f±jdi, l£fz>di is used to denote especially dirty clothes. 181 Numbers Buem has both cardinal and ordinal numbers, with cardinal numbers preceding ordinal numbers when both are used together (See page / for examples). P23 Num ------) (Cardinal) (Ordinal) Cardinal numbers* The basic multiples in the system of numbers are 10's and 50*s. The cardinal numbers, as used in counting, are: 1 urjwi 2 inyS 3 I t l 4 in i 5 US 6 bkS 7 mat£ 8 mane 9 leya lir)wi (literally, 'remaining 11) 10 lbvu 11 ltvuTjwl 12 lfcvuny^ 182 13 Itvu Itb 14 Ifcvune * 15 l£vu £l5 16 lfcvu £ku 17 lfcvu mati: 18 lfcvu mane, 19 lbvCi leya lirjwi or l£vu laliriwi 20 aAva nyo (two 10fs) 2V aava nyo urjwl 22 aava nyo nyo 23 SAva nyo ete 30 avia at£ (three 10fs) 31 Aviate T)wl 32 aviate nyo 40 avlene (four 10fs) 41 kvlene riwl 42 avlene nyo 50 l l t l 183 l l t i k'urjwl (50 + 1) llll k'uny^ 11ti ku lbvu (50 + 10) l l t l ku lbvurjwl l l t i ku llvunyo l l t i ku avanyo (50 + (10 x 2)) l l t i ku avanyo urjwl l i t ! ku Avanyo nyo lltl ku avia h tt lit! ku avlene fetl any^ (two 50fs) or oha (borrowed from Twi) &tl anyiD k ruT)wl ((50 :x 2) + 1) or oha kfut]wi feti any^ ku llvurjwl or oha ku llvurjwl 18h * • • 200 h t\ ene or ohk fn y6 1000 mpimu (borrowed from Twi) I offer no explanation for changes in vowels, consonants, or tones in the above list (e.g., &ava nyo '20' but avia atb *30 f) other than that th at's the way the Buem count. Full concord applies only to the cardinal number urjwl *1’, which takes prefixes from the series for Advanced vowels. T11 X + N (Y) unwf + X ) X + N (Y) ± Cone + *T)wi ± + X where X = any string or none Y = any intervening modifiers of N z>nana utjwi one man1 atu uriwf one elephant r?ma ur^wf !one town1 libwi lirjwi one pot 185 k=)di kupwf 'one cloth1 k&jljl: kepwi 'one basket* In general, concord doesn't apply to any other cardinal number, except that when the numbers fnyi '2 r through * Iku *6' modifies a noun prefixed with A- immediately preceding, the number gets prefixed with /a-/ instead of its usual vowel, optionally. banana fny^ 'two men' batu fny^ 'two elephants' lema fnyi 'two towns' fny= 'two baskets' ebwi any=> 'two pots' adi any^ 'two cloths' ebwi at;b. • three pots' ebwi ane four pots' ebwi al5 five pots' ebwi aku six pots' adi a t2: 'three cloths' adi ane 'four cloths' 18B adi al=5 ffive cloths1 adi aku 'six cloths' Ordinal numbers. Ordinal numbers are formed by suf fixing -di , presumably the same -di that is the participle suffix, to the respective ordinal number. There is a suppletive form u.de- which takes the place of urjwf 11 ', P24 Ordinal ------) Cardinal + -di T12 * ur]w 1 ± + -di ======) ± u.dedi ± The first six ordinal numbers are subject to concord as well; the ordinals corresponding to the cardinals urjwi '1 ', inyi '2 ', and fne *4' take prefixes from the Advanced series, and the ordinals corresponding to the cardinals et£ f3f, el^ f5ff and £ku '6* take prefixes from the Unadvanced series. T13 Iny^di ------) u^ny^di T14 fctedi -==-=-) 3 . tedi T15 inedi u.nedi T16 bl^nd i ------) 3 . l^ndi T17 ekund i — =-> 3#kundi 187 In isolation, then, the ordinal numbers are 1st udedi 2nd uny=>di 3rd =>tedi 4th unedi 5 th 3l=>ndi 6th akundi 7th matedi 8th manedi 9th leyarjwidi 10th l£vudi 11th levu^widi 12th ; levunyr>di 20$h avlany=>d i 30th avlaatfcdi and we can see the operation of concord in the following examples: uculi udedi the 1st person 188 uculi Ciny^di the 2nd person bculi z>tedi the 3rd person uculi matedi the 7th person b&culi bededi the 1st people beculi beny=>di the 2nd people b&culi bktedi the 3rd people beculi matedi the 7th people lepa lidedi the 1st fruit bat lepa llny=>di the 2nd fruit bat lepa lbtedi the 3rd fruit bat lepa matedi the 7th fru it bat bapa bededi the 1st fruit bats bapa b&ny=>di the 2nd fru it bats bapa batedi the 3rd fruit bats bapa matedi the 7th fruit bats kawe k&dedi the 1st mortar kawe k&ny=>di the 2nd mortar 189 kawe katedi the 3rd mortar kawe matedi the 7th mortar krswe kudedi the 1st mortars lr=>we kuny=>d i the 2nd mortars kowe kotedi the 3rd mortars kr»we matedi the 7th mortars kr>di kudedi the 1st cloth k=>di ku ny=>d i the 2nd cloth k^di k^tedi the 3rd cloth k=>di matedi the 7th cloth kdi &dedi the 1st cloths adi eny=>di the 2nd cloths adi atedi the 3rd cloths adi matedi the 7th cloths and so on. ~ Cardinal and ordinal numbers used together. As stated above, when cardinal and ordinal numbers are used together 190 to modify a noun, the cardinal number precedes the ordinal: bananli mane b&dedi 'the firs t 8 men1 lema £ny=> lldedi 'the £i'rstd2 towns' as in si asi Hohoe, lema fny^ lldedi when 2s+PRES+depart Hohoe, towns 2 firs t 'When you leave Hohoe, the firs t two towns ndi Befu, lema fny^ linyr>di ndi Bakpfcle, REL+be Akpafu, towns 2 second REL+be Likpe, are Akpafu, the second two towns are Likpe, lema fne letedi ndi Balemi. towns 4 third REL+be Lllemi the third four towns are Lelemi.* "Counting plurals". Of some interest, though of quite minimal importance within the language, is a phenomenon I call "counting plurals," a phenomenon restricted to about half a dozen nouns which have two distinct plural forms, one for use when the noun is not modified by a cardinal number and another for use when the noun is modi- 191 fied by a cardinal number. UCUli UT]W1 fone person1 bfeculi bam?: * these people1 * nculi bio bame 'these five people* kbcweni kerjwf *one piece of firewood* bcweni am?: * these pieces of firewood* * hcweni elo am?: ‘these fives pieces of firewood* The members of Noun Class IX, KA/N , may, perhaps, be a reduced version of this: kemo kupwi 'one farm* mmo ame ’these farms* mmo elo am?: * these five farms* kuvo kuriwf *one medicine' mvo ame 'these medicines' V mvo ?:lo am?: 'these five medicines' 192 Adjectives There are under three dozen adjectives in Buem, all of which are invariable. Following is a list of all the adjectives which I was able to elicit. blii, blf-swe small b3 big buni good bwe, bwe-bwe bad bbbebbe wide w * gee true, rightful jeje, jie, jie-jie red long juo distant kana important kan ja ta ll kede holy, sacred kuku old keke useless, irresponsible kpo thick kpele low 193 klbkui short jeele ordinary, average lldu-lldu different pil many pim great e le i few mama different see clean, neat su dark tuu black In addition, there are two numerical adjectives, pfl 'many, ‘much' and £lee 'few*. In addition to the above one-word adjectives, it is possible to form adjectival phrases by suffixing -di to a Noun Phrase referring to the characteristic desired; the two commonest adjectival phrases are llvetfe lfcwodi leaf LE+born+di 'Kew leaf like1, (i.e., 'green') and 191* &kokz> llmwidi chicken fat+fli 'chicken-fat-like1 (i.e., 'yellow'), as in kodi llvfcte llw=>di k:5mb cloth leaf new-like that 'that green cloth1 and kudi aki>kz> llmwidi k:Sffib cloth chicken fat-like that 'that yellow cloth' Determiners Determiners are used either to indicate the spatial relationship that a noun has to the speaker or to indi cate referential relationship. All determiners are sub ject to concord, and all determiners take concordial prefixes from the Unadvanced series of prefixes. . ) Cone The absence of any determiner is normally the equivalent of the English indefinite article "a, an.” Spatial determiners. There are two different series of spatial determiners used in the Baglo sub-dialect of L£lemi: one series of two terms which is considered to be ’’Standard Buem” and another series of three terms which is used-only locally. "Standard Bue.m” Speaker close D.me 'th is Speaker far & hearer near; previous reference 3 .no 'that, the1 186 Baglo Speaker close 3#ml: * th is 1 Speaker far & hearer close; previous reference 3.nv=> ’that, the’ Speaker & hearer far 2*nd^ ’yonder * "Standard" Baglo =>nana 3n&n& 3ml: ’this man’ ^nanli 3m3 =>nknli 3nv=> ’that, the man’ \ \ ^ / % 3nana didd rbnana 3njl: ’yonder man* bknana bame banana baml: ’these men* banana bam=> banana banv3 ’those, the men* banana bam=> bananaaban je ’yonder man’ 3ma 3m e z>ma 3 ml: ’this town* =>ma 3m3 3 ma 3nv3 ’that, the town’ 3ma 3ma 3nje ’yonder* lema leme lema leme ’these towns* lema lem3 lema lenv3 ’those, the towns’ lema lera3 lema lenje ’yonder towns* 1P7 kabe kamb kabe kamb fthis fishf kabe kano kabe kanvz> 'that, the fish1 kabe kano kabe kanjb ‘yonder f is h f kz>be k:Smb kz>be k:Smb ‘these fish1 k^be k=xro kz>be k£>nv=> ‘those, the fish* k^be k^no k=>be k^njb ’yonder fish* k^di k^mb kz>di k£>mb ‘this cloth1 k=?d i k~>no kodi k^nv=> ‘that, the cloth’ fodi k6mb kz>di kMjb ‘yonder cloth* adi ame adi amb ’these cloths’ ad i am=> adi anv~> 'those, the cloths' ad i amz> adi anjb 'yonder cloths' nte b^mb nte bimb 'this palm wine’ nte b^m=> nte .b^nv=3 'that, the p.w.1 nte b^mzj nte b^nje 'yonder p.w.' 188 The referential determiner. In addition to the deter miners with spatial reference, there is one determiner 2-di fa certain1, which has no spatial reference, but specific which is used to refer to a/ individual or individuals, not previously referred to, which belong to a larger group of individuals. Its use, therefore, in a sen tence like =>klama =>di ^du muna ese. dog certain 3s+PAS+kill my goat fA certain dog killed my goat.1 contrasts with the absence of a determiner in bklama z>du muna ese. dog 3s+PAS+kill ray goat 'A dog killed my g o at.1, in which the speaker is indifferent as to which dog, and with the use of any spatial determiner in rbklama ^>du muna Ise. dog the 3s+PAS+kill my goat. 'The dog killed my goat.' or 'That dog killed my g o at,', in which the dog in question has been previously referred 193 to or is being pointed to. As is the case with other determiners, the referen tia l determiner is subject to concord and belongs to the Unadvanced vowel harmony pattern. Dnana z>di 'a certain man1 banana badi •certain men* Dtna =>di fa certain town1 lema ledi 'certain towns' kabe kadi 'a certain fish' kz>be todi 'certain fish1 kodi kodi Ja certain cloth1 adi adi 'certain cloths' nte bz>di 'certain palm wine* rt-.seems quite likely thatithe stem of the determiner, -di , is the suffix used with participles and is related to the noun z>di, Is- 'an article'; this view is en hanced by the existence of the pair utsuli, be- 'a per son' and ucwedi, be- 'somebody, certain people'. Use with other modifiers. There seem to be no restric- . tions on the use of determiners with other modifiers other 2GQ than with relative clauses, where some special forms are used. On a contrastive basis, it should be noted that determiners, especially spatial determiners, are used quite frequently with possessives: muna hse ime 'this goat of mine1 muna ese 3mi5 'that goat of mine* muna blse bam?: 'these goats of mine' muna bese bano 'those goats of mine' Kofi kz>di kDmb 'this cloth of Kofi's1 Kdfi kr>di k^mo 'that cloth of Kofi's' K&fi adi amb 'these cloths of Kofi's' K5fi adi am=3 'those cloths of Kofi's' It should also be noted that the spatial determiners can also be used with infinitives (see pp ): t)wa bafonu br^ku b^me bzodia. his sheep INF+chew this XVIII+PRES+NEG+be good 'th is eating of sheep of h is 'is n 't good.' 201 Relative Clauses A Relative Clause consists of a Relative Pronoun followed by a Sentence. SRel ------^ RelP + Seat . In L£lemi, the Relative Pronoun consists of a concord marker on Mid tonefollowed by -ni , which is probab ly the "oral comma" discussed on py ? as for de terminers, the concord markers for the Relative Pronoun come from the Unadvanced series. P27 RelP ------) Cone + -ni -HiTo -LoTo^ When the Relative Pronoun =>.ni follows the determiner :D.mb 'the, th a t1, the two are merged to form i.msni . Ti8 SD: * Cone + -me ± + RelP SC: ± Cone + -meni ± There are two different types of Relative Clause: in one type, the subject of the embedded sentence is re- ferentially identical to the head noun which is modified by the Relative Clause; in the other type, the subject 202 of the embedded sentence is different from the head noun the Relative Clause modifies. These two types will be referred to as "Same Subject" and "Different Subject", respecitively. "Same Subject" Relative Clauses, These have underlying Phrase-markers approximately like: Rel RelP VP Comp VPr TM VSt where VPr = Verb Prefix, TM = Tense Marker, and Comp = Complement or in linear notation: N Cone + -ni N + VPr + TM + VSt + Comp g This Phrase-marker is exemplified by r>nb.na z>ni j~g rbnjtnS. VPr + PAS + -ku lenaj g man RelP man VPr + PAS + chew meat k:bbb k:Sin=> toni |~g k=)be VPr + PRES + -kuiJ g fish the RelP fish VPr + PRES + dry baasb bani £g baasb VPr + FUT + ”ve^]s birds RelP birds VPr + Fut + fly 5l5kubi =>ni |~g &lSkubi VPr + PAS + NEG + -pwa lil&Jg g irl RelP g irl VPr + PAS + NEG + cook yam banabi bani £g banabl VPr + PRES + NEG + - t i alii] g boys RelP boys VPr + PRES + NEG + know anything llbwl lemeni L llbwi VPr + FUT + NEG + -bH] s pot this+RelP pot VPr + FUT + NEG + -break These Phrase-markers are then transformed as follows: the subjects of the embedded sentences are deleted and the Verb Prefixes are rewritten as Relative forms (dis cussed on VV**7^ / / )• T19 SD: N' (X) RelP (Poss) N' (Y) VPr + TM + Z SC: N* (X) RelP + Rel + TM + Z where X = intervening modifiers of N' Y = (Modif)(Quant) Z = the remainder of the Verb Phrase The surface structures for the underlying Phrase-markers on the preceding page are, then, =>nana =>ni naku lena man RelP Rel+PAS+chew meat 'a man who ate meat* k=>bb k=Smz> k=>ni mzokui fish the RelP Rel+PRES+dry !the fish which are drying* baase bani nnuvel birds RelP Rel+FUT+fly *birds which will fly* olSkubi =>ni natapwa lilu g irl RelP Rel+PAS+NEG+cook yam *a g irl who didn't cook yam1 banabl bani naati ala boys RelP Rel+PRES+NEG+know anything 'boys who don't know anything' llbwi lemeni neebie ’ pot this+RelP Rel+FUT+NEG+break . 'th is pot which won't break' Verbs whose prefix is rewritten as a concord marker are ungrammatical: *onana z>ni =>ku lena *k=>bc kom^ k=>ni kzokul *banabi bani balati ala "Different Subject" Relative Clauses. There are two sub-types of the "Different Subject" type of Relative Clause: one in which the nominal common to both the embedded sentence and to the dominating Noun Phrase is the object of the verb of the embedded sentence, and the other in which the shared noun is the possessor of another noun in the embedded sentence. The first of these sub- types has an underlying structure approximately like: or in linear notation: N Cone + ~ni [sS NP ’ - |S ^ i This Phrase-marker is exemplified by: pn^tna =>ni j^g z^klama 3du rbnanaij g man RelP dog 3s+PAS+bite man kz>b£ kz>ni g ajiremwa =oy=> kob^j g fish RelP cat 3s+PRES+want fish kutu k=>ni £g men-sa Mz>di kutuj g stew RelP Mensah 3s+FUT+eat stew 207 ~>b&nci =>ni | g bataku bhbnci cassava RelP 3p+PAS+NEG+chew cassava ubi =5ni g litinS. ubi irjglijj child RelP 1s+PAS+teach child English ledi leni £g litina ubi lsdij g language RelP 1s+PAS+teach child language These Phrase-markers are converted to surface structures simply by deleting the shared nominal in the embedded Relative Clause. T20 SD: N1 (X) RelP + NP + V (Y)(Poss) N1 (Z) (Y) SC: Nf (X) RelP + NP + V (Y) where X = intervening modifiers of Nf Y = remainder of Complement not dominated by N1 Z = (Modif)(Quant) The surface forms for the preceding underlying structures is, then, =>nana ^ni oklaraa ^du 'a man that a dog b i t 1 k=>b£ krrni ajir£mwa =>zjy=> *fish that the cat wants’ 208 kutu koni mensS. z»l=>di 'stew Mensah will eat* =>b&nci ^ni bataku 'cassava they didn't eat' ubi z>ni lftln a lTjgliJ 'a child I taught English to1 ledi leni litin a ubi 'a language I taught a child' When the shared noun is the possessor of a noun in the embedded sentence, thenethe only alteration in the embedded sentence is to replace the shared noun with the appropriate possessive pronoun. skubi =?ni pwa z>ku 6yi 'a schoolchild whose book got lost' =>ga =>ni rjwa z?klama uye muna kaakubi 'a chief whose.:dog stole my chicken' r>ga =>ni muna =>klama uye pwa kaakubi 'a chief whose chicken my dog stole' =>t=> =>ni nca pwa kemo 'a house I live inside of* 209 Quantifiers There are eleven quantifiers which occur at the very end of a Noun Phrase containing either a Nominal group or an independent or objective pronoun. These quantifiers are: biala ’any ’ buu ’different’ Ite ’only * fwil ’a l l 1 gee ’real, actual, rightful* • kiini, kani-ete ’the same’ lbn=> 'as well, also* le ti, leti-pe ’only' mene 'and others similar’ Baglo: 'only' Okajakrom: ’entire, whole 'only' Quantifiers are used in phrases like: &bu fwil fall of us1 n^nS. &je mene fNana Agyei and others like him1 b&se fwii !all goats’ 210 =>nta =>k=>di leti-pe 'only milled corn1 lena liful^di lenr) ?bo-iled meat as w ell1 bfetsuli mate pe ’only seven people lilu fete kani ’the same three yams’ baga gee ’the true ch iefs’ e ji bli^swe amfe s^>5 ’only these small trees* banamu biala ’any children' Co-occurrence restrictions* It is possible for cer tain of the quantifiers to co-occur with each other, as in baga gee mene 'true chiefs and others like them' banana kani ete 'only the same men' skubi mene fwii 'all people 'like school-children skubi fwii mene 'a ll school-children and others* like them'; However, it was impracticable to note co-occur.rence re stric tions other than that fwii 'all' is incompatible with 211 the quantifier bi&l& ’any1, the number uqwi ’one*, and the numerical adjectives ele£ 1 few1,and pil fa lot of*. There are two other co-occurrence restrictions, which are rather more significant: i. When mene ’and others sim ilar1 is used as the quantifier of the subject of a verb or of the referent of a pronoun, then plural agreement forms must be used, nana aje mene bebo muna kudr>. Nana Agyei et al. 3p+I>AS+come ray side ’Nana Agyei and others like him came to me.’ *nana &je mene uhb muna kud=>. ii. When the subject of a verb is modified by any o f the- quantifiers with the meaning "only", then a rela tive form of the verb must be used, kw&ku hie n£b5. Kwaku only Rel+PAS+come ’Only Kwaku came.* banana bte bame leti-pe nekpl. men three these only Rel+PAS+die ’Only these three men died.1 212 *kw&ku ete ub&• *ban&na bte bame leti-pe beb&. 213 Personal Pronouns There are three series of personal pronouns: i. Objective pronouns, which are used following a verb, ii* Possessive pronouns, which function as the possessor of a Noun, and i i i . Independent pronouns, which are used for everything else. r *o0bJ / v __ P28 pr o ------) 1 Proposs / ------N ( Pr°Ind In addition, the verbal concord markers discussed on can also be considered as a type of personal pronoun. Personal pronouns are marked either for person and number or^for Noun Class and number. There are three persons which are distinguished: 1s the speaker 1p the speaker(s) and others 2 one listener 2 more than one listener 3 some other 3 several others There are no sex distinctions made in the pronoun system, nor is there any distinction made between "inclusive" and "exclusive" "we." Some of the dis tinctions made by the Noun Class system are collapsed in the pronoun system: there are seven distinctions made in the series of independent and objective pro nouns, and six in the series of possessive pronouns. Since there is no simple one-to-one mapping possible between the distinctions of the independent and ob jective pronouns and those of the possessive pronouns I shall not attempt to. set up underlying forms for the personal pronouns and then derive a ll the surface pronouns from these underlying forms, even though for most of the surface pronouns the relationships are clear. Objective pronouns. Objective pronouns follow immedi ately after a verb, and, as for other verbal objects, can occur only once in a serial construction (see pp ). There is some dialectal variation in the series of objective pronouns; the Baglo series is: 1s ml 1 p bu 2 h 2 mi 3 r) 3 ma Noun Prefix A- (sing.) 0- (sing.) 0- (plur.) LE- (sing.) LE- (plur.) nya A- (plur.) These objective pronouns are exemplified in sentence's like ^nu ml ’He saw me.1 =>nu '■He saw you. 1 ^nu Tl.% ' He saw him/her/it.' * X 1 i>nu b Ci . 'He saw us 4 rbnu rtia. . 'He saw them.' uy& ese; lenu * He bought a goat; I saw i t . ' uye bhse ; lenu ma. 'He bought goats; I saw them.' X ^ > t = > ; uye lenu V- 'He bought a house; I saw it. ' uye leto; lenu nya. ’He bought houses; I saw them. uye libwi ; lenu ni. 'He bought a pot; I saw i t . ’ uy& ebwi; lenu nya. 'He bought pots; I saw them.* uye k=>di; lenu ku. 'He bought a cloth; I saw i t .' uy& adi; lenu nya. 'He bought cloths; I saw them. uye kabe; lenu ka. 'He bought a fish; I saw i t . ' u yb kibbe; lenu ku. 'He bought fish; I saw them.' uye kaji; lenu ka. 'He bog&ht a monkey; I saw it. uye baji; lenu ma. 'He bought monkeys; I saw them uye nte; lenu mu . 'He bought palm wine ; I saw it Independent pronouns* The series of independent pronouns uses the same distinctions as the series of objective pro nouns. The same series of independent pronouns is used throughout the Buem-speaking area, and that series is: 217 1s ami 1p abu 2 liwo 2 ami 3 &t]u 3 ama Noun Prefix 0 - A- (sing.) (sing.) BA- araa 0- (plur.) LE- (sing.) am LE- (plur.) anya A- (plur.) KA------■aka K0- aku N- amu B0- Independent pronouns are most commonly used for em phasis: jkmi l^si arnerik^,. f.I come from America. ' av/o gana. 'You come from Ghana.( &pu :Ssl n&ljiriil. 'He comes from Nigeria abu b=>sl lisemi. 'We come from Teteman. ami besi baika. 'You come from Baika. ' ama basi legolo. 'They come from Baglo. m=>y3 ese z>nv=>; apu l>dla. 'I like that goat; it's fine.' mzjyiD bese banv=); ama badla. 'I like those goats;, they're fine.1 mByz> zDt=5 DnvD; apu =>dia. 'I like that house; i t 's fin e .' m=)yzj let=D l£nv=>; anya ledia. 'I like those houses; they're fine.' m=>y=> libv/i lenvr); ani ledia. 'I like that pot; it's fine.' m=>y=> febwi anvo; anya adia. 'I like those pots; they're fine.' m=>y=> k=>di k=>nvl>; aku k^dia. 'I like that cloth; it's fine.' m=>yr> adi anvl>; anya ad la. 'I like those cloths; they're fine.' 219 m=>y3 kabe Wnv=>; aka k&dia. •I like that fish; it's fine,1 m=>yz> k=>bb k:Snvz>; &ku k=>dia. 'I like those fish; they*re fine.1 m=>y=) kaji kanvr>; aka kadia. fI like that monkey; i t fs fine.1 mbyz) baji banv=>; ama badia. fI like those monkeys; they're fine.1 m=>y=5 nte bz>nvi>; amu b=>dia. 'I like that palm-wine; i t fs f in e .1 Independent pronouns can also be used as emphatic objects; in this case, they are fronted to appear before the sub ject of the verb. T21 SD: X + NP + V + ProInd + X ' SC: X + ProJnd + NP + V + X Hence, instead of baali> mi kwaku. 3p+PRES+call me Kwaku •I'm called Kwaku.1, we get the much more common 220 limi b&^l=jlcw&ku. me 3p+PRES+call Kwaku 'I^m called Kwaku.1 ojr 'My name is Kwaku.1 Sim ilarly, kvo b&ali) atosua. fYou!re called Akosuah. 1 &j}u baall) atta. fHefs called Attah. 1 abu baalrb balbmi. !Vefre called the Balemi.' ami baal=> babruni. fYoufre called ''White men.’11 ama baali> befu. ’They* re called the Akpaf u . 1 and, in the frame of blt^y=3 ______2*nv^> baga baawia. 3p+PRES+want _____ that; ___ C hiefs:3p+PRES+seek 'They want that _____ ; that’s what chiefs seek.1, are b!.ay=> ese ^nv=>; arju baga baawia. 'g o a t1 b£Ay=> bese banv=); ama baga baawia. 'g o a ts' b&ayu z>tr3 ^nv=>f» lirju baga baawia. 'house' baayn let=> lenvzj; anya baga baawia. 'houses' ba&yro llbwl lenvr>; ani baga baawia. 'pot' ba&y=> ebwi anv=>; anya baga baawia. 'p o ts .' baayz) k^>di kinv^b; aku baga baawia. 'c lo th ' 221 b&&y:o adi anvl>; anya baga baawia. 1 clo th sT ba&y=> kabb kanv=>; aka baga baawia. 'fish ' baayo k=>be kronvo; aku baga baawia. !fis h T baayiD kaji kanvz>; aka baga baawia. 'monkey1 ba&y^ baji banv->; ama baga baawia. 'monkeys' baayz) nte bionv^; amu baga baawia. 'palm-wine' Finally, independent pronouns are used instead of objective pronouns as the seqand or subsequent object when a verb has two or more conjoined objects; the first pronoun object does come from the objective series, how ever. leewia libwl ku z>fe; liy l ni ku ar^u. 1s+PAS+CONT+seek pot and calabash; 1s+PAS+buy it and it 'I was looking for a pot and a calabash, and I bought them.' leewia aval& ku kamu; lfye nya ku aka. 1 s+PAS+CONT+seek eggs and rice; 1s+PAS+buy them.: and some 'I was looking for eggs and rice* andkl bought them.' (In rapid speech, however, the neutral form ma is oft . used instead: 222 leewia llbwi ku b ft; liy& ma. 1s+PAS+CONT+seek pot and calabash; 1s+PAS+buy them 'I was looking for a pot and calabash, and I bought them.’) Possessive pronouns. Possessive pronouns have been dis cussed on pp Reflexive or reciprocal pronouns. The noun lel=> ( 1=>1=> in Okajakrom) 'body' is the closest equivalent in Buem to a reflexive or reciprocal pronoun. When lel=> is used as the object of a verb, no possessive pronoun is used with it. ledu lelz>. fI killed myself.1 adu lelz>. 'You killed yourself.' 3du lelr>. 'He killed himself.1 b^du le lo . 'We killed ourselves.' b£du lelo. 'You killed yourselves.1 badu lel=>. 'They killed themselves.' etc. When lel=> is used to itensify the subject of the verb, a possessive pronoun is u.sed with it. 223 ledu jata muna 1 e1=>. fI killed a lion myself.1 adu j&ta fula lelz>. fYou killed a lion yourself.1 ^du jata T)wa 1e1=d. 'He killed a lion himself.' bz>du j&ta bula lel=>, 'We killed a lion ourselves.' bedu jkta bina IeIid. 'You killed a lion yourselves. badu jata bana lel=>. 'They killed a lion themselves kofi ^du jata r\wa lel=?. 'Kofi killed a lion himself.1 22ft Infinitives The final type of Noun Phrase is the In fin itiv al Phrase. An Infinitival Phrase has the following struc ture: an optional Noun Phrase which can function as the subject of the Verb Stem in the Infinitive, an In fin itiv e which consists of the Noun Class marker for Noun Class XVIII, BO- , followed by a Verb Stem, and following the Infinitive another Noun Phrase which can function as the object of the Verb Stem in the In fin i tive. When the In fin itiv al Phrase is the subject of a sentence, it can also be followed by an optional spatial determiner marked for concord with Noun Class XVIII. P29 InfP -) (NP) Inf (NP) ( BO- + Detg / ____ VP) P30 Inf ------) BO- + VSt Ignoring the spatial determiner, a fully expanded Infini tival Phrase has the Phrase-marker overleaf: The normal Vowel Harmony rule operates on the prefix to the infinitive, which has the same tone, in isolation, as the firs t tone of the Verb Stem. T22 SD: BO- + VSt SC: BO- + VSt (There are certain tonal alternations which occur in con text; these will be discussed presently.) The struc tures represented by these rules can be exemplified by: kSfi b=>r|wa. lllu Kofi INF+harvest yam fKofifs harvesting of yam* ama b=?pwa lllu Ammah INF+cook yam 'Ammah's cooking of yam* 226 :bklama bbdu muna hse dog INF+bite my goat *a dogfs biting of my goat* lijlremwa b=>du cat .. ' INF+kill ‘a c a t's killing* br>du ajir£mwa INF+kill cat ‘k illing a cat* bumwi INF+praise ‘praising* brjtiya ala INF+learn things ‘learning* The Infinitival Phrase as sub.ject of a verb. When an In finitival Phrase is used as the subject of a verb, the Noun Phrase object, if any, of the infinitive is trans posed to appear immediately before the infinitive. 227. T23 SD: (NP1) Inf + NP2 + VP SC: (N?1) NP2 + Inf + VP If the infinitive has the tone pattern Low-Low and the noun preceding it has the tone .pattern Low-Mid, then the tone of the infinitive becomes Mid-Low, as would be the normal tonal alternation in sequences of Noun + Noun, as illustrated on page /£5~; it makes no difference whether the noun preceding the infinitive is the subject of the infinitive or its object. k5fi lllu bz3t)wa b=5dia bu. Kofi yam XVIII+harvest XVIII+be-good us ’Kofi’s yam harvesting is good for u s.1 amh lllu bzjpwa b=>dia bu. Ammah yam XVIII+cook XVIII+be-good us ’Ammah’s yam cooking is good for u s .1 =>klama muna ese br>du b^dia bu. dog my goat XVIII+bite XVIII+be-good us fA dog*s'biting my goat is good for u s .1 &jlr£mwa b=>du bz>dia bu. cat XVIII+kill XVIII+be-good us ’Killing a cat is good for us.1 or fA cat’s killing is good for us.* 228 bumwi bodla bu. XVIII+praise XVIII+be-good us fPraise is good for us.1 ala b=>tlya b=?dla bu. things XVIII+learn XVIII+be-good us •Learning is good for us.1 It will be noticed that phrases like k&fi lilu b=>r)wa and ajlremwa b=>du are inherently ambiguous—the first can be translated either as "Kofi's harvesting of yam" or as "the har vesting of Kofi's yam" and the second either as "a c a t's killing" or as "the killing of a cat;" This ambiguity arises from the same source as the ambiguity possible with derived nouns discussed on pp , i.e., whether the underlying structure of kofi lllu b=>pwa is NP Inf NP k5fi b=>r)w!i lilu which gives the first interpretation, or whether it InfP Inf NP Poss N br3T)wa kofi lilu which yields the second interpretation, Similarly, ajiremwa b=>du can come either from InfP NP Inf ajirlmwa which yields the first interpretation, or from 230 InfP Inf NP which yields the second interpretation* Phrases like these can be disambiguated only through context. The Infinitival Phrase as object of a verb. There is a small number of verbs which can take infinitival com plements; these verbs, discussed more fully on pp 4IS-& include b=3b=5m=>d i 1 to tr y 1 b=>kana 1 to be able to 1 b=>ti fto know' b=>tiya 1 to learn * boyz> 1 to want1 bz>da ku fto be in the midst of*. The infinitival complements to these verbs consist of an Infinitive followed by whatever complements the Verb 23 Stem of the Infinitive could usually take. P31 InfP ------) Inf + Comp / [+V, __ InfPj Sentences whose complements are Infinitival Phrases Could have deep structures rather like NP VP V Comp InfP Inf Comp and can be exemplified by i. =>=>y=>=> bukpl. 3s+PRES+NEG+want Inf+die fHe doesn’t want to d ie .1 232 where the complement to the Infinitive is 0 ; ii. =>~>yz>=> butiy& alk. 3s+PRES+NEG+want Inf+learn things 'He doesn't want to le a rn .1 where the complement to the Infinitive is a single noun; i i i . bhy=>b butina yao &la. 3s+PRES+NEG+want Inf+teach Yao things 'He doesn't want to teach Yao anything.' where the complement to the Infinitive is a sequence of two nouns; iv. b b yb b butiya b^rjwa. 3s+PRES+NEG+want Inf+learn Inf+cook 'She doesn't want to learn how to cook.' where the complement to the Infinitive is another Infini tival Phrase; and v. bby'Db butiya si =>kpe =>mz> ukpi l£dije. 3s+PRES+NEG+want Inf+learn if grasscutter the 3s+PAS+die morning 'She doesn't want to find out if the grasscutter died this morning.' where the complement to the Infinitive is an embedded 233 Sentence. Infinitives used for emphasis* The action of a verb in a main clause can be emphasized by inserting the Infinitive form of the verb immediately before the subject of the verb. T24 SD: X + NP + VConc + VSt + EMPH + Y SC: X + XVIII + VSt1 + NP + FinP + VSt' + Y where VConc = Finite Prefixes X and Y = any strings That is, an underlying Phrase-marker like S NP VP Comp VConc VSt EMPH is transformed to a Phrase-marker like V 23h NP VP BO- VSt Comp VConc VSt This can be exemplified by: bosi biSsi asanti kama. Inf+come-from 1p+PAS+come-from Ashante back 'We came from behind the Ashante land.' b=>di ledl kamadi usel. Inf+eat 1s+PAS+eat yesterday night 'I did eat last night.' % b^pwa ajua ^orjwa ofayi. Inf+cook Adjuah 3s+PRES+cook now 'Adjuah jis cooking now. 1 bumwl b&emwi atibruku uwi.biara. Inf+praise 3p+PRES+praise God time every fThey are always praising God.' 235 Part V* The Verb Phrase 236 The Verb Phrase The Verb Phrase consists of a Verb (V) plus Com plement (Comp), followed by optional space or time adverbials (AdvSpa, AdvTemp) . P32 VP ------) V + (Comp) (AdvSpa) (AdvTemp) This yields a Phrase-marker like: S NP V Comp AdvSpa AdvTemp The Verb The Verb consists of a Pinite Verb Prefix (FinP) followed by a Verb Stem (VSt): v ) FinP + VSt The Finite Verb Prefix consists of either a Verbal Concord marker (VConc) or a Relative marker (REL), followed by a Tense marker (TM), followed by an op tional Modality node (Mod); the Verb Stem consists of a Verb Root (Vb) followed in some cases by a Verb Suffix (VSuff) FinP TM (Mod) P35 VSt ) Vb (VSuff) At this stage, a fully-expanded Bhrase-marker for a verb is: V FinP VSt VSuff 238 Verbal Concord markers* With the exception of verbs in certain types of relative clause or in certain types of purpose clause, a ll finite verbs must be prefixed by a Verbal Concord marker, which agrees with the subject of the verb in person and number or in Noun Class membership and number. V r 1 1 Sing sin g 2 2 T25 VConc ------) Plural / Plural |33 J J ' lo [_3_ Nouf Cone / I n f P i As the rule states, the Verbal Concord markers used when the subject of the verb is a nominal or an in fin itiv al phrase are the same as the concordial pre fixes which mark the concord between a Noun and its modifiers. The Verbal Concord marker which refers to the first person singular has three syntactically conditioned allomorphs, MO- , LE- , and N- ; the Verbal Concord markers for the other persons are as follows: I 233 1 sing LE-, K0-, N- 1 plural BO- 2 A- 2 BE- 0- 3 BA- Noun Prefix Verbal Prefix 0- A- (singular) (singular) BA- gf- (plural) N- B0- A- (plural) A- LE- LE- KA- *KA- KO- -KO- Pigure XII Verbal Concordial Prefixes I 2^0 T26 " 2 Sing " A-" 3 Sing 0- 1 Plural B0- 2 Plural BE- 3 Plural BA- The Verbal Concord markers are tabulated in Figur e^% T[~ and can be exemplified by the paradigm for the af firmative present tense of the verb b=>dia 1 to be good1; since the personal pronouns are optional, they have been enclosed in parentheses. (ami ndla. 11 am good.1 (awo adia. 'You are good. 1 (ariu =>dia. 'He/she/it is good.1 (abu b=>dia. 'We are good.1 (ami bcdia. fYou are good.1 (ama badla. 'They are good.* =>n&na ^>mt odia. 'This man is. good. banana bam£ badia, '.These men are good.' atu “>rab =3dla.. 'This elephant is good.' batu bamb b&dia. 'These elephants are good. 2kl z>t3 5me i>dia. 'This house is good.' let=> leme l£dia. 'These houses are good. lepa l£me ledla. 'This bat is good. 1 bapa bam?: badia. 'These bats are good.' llbwl lerab lbdia. ' This pot is good.' ebwi ame adia. 'These pots are good.' kaji kame k&dla. fThis monkey-is good.1 baj i bame badia. ‘These monkeys are good kabwa kame kadia. 'This hat is good.' kz»bwa kzom?: k=)dia. 'These hats are good.1 kemo kame kadia. 'This farm is good.' mmo b^me b=>dia. 'These farms are good.1 kofonu k£me kr>dia. 'This sheep is good.' bafonu bame badia. 'These sheep are good.' k=>di k^me k=>dla. 'This cloth is good.' adi ame adia. 'These cloths are good. wewe Dme z>dia. 'This dog is good.' bawewe bamb badia. 'These dogs are good.' nte b^me b^dia. 'This palm wine is good animi ame adia. 'This rice is good.' lilu leme lfcdia. 'This yam is goodi1 or 'These yams are good.' 21+2 kamu kam£ k&dla. 'This rice is good.’ kutu k^m?: kodla. 'This soup is good.' uwo =>dla. 'This honey is good.1 ala botina b=>dia. 'Teaching is good.1 There are certain special concord rules which apply when the subject of the verb consists of a compound noun phrase; these rules are discussed on pp I discuss the formation of the Relative Verb forms on pp Tense markers. There is a five-term tense system with the terms Past (PAS), Present (PRES), Future (FUT), Sub junctive (SUBJ), and Imperative (IMP). PAS PRES P36 TM ------) FUT SUBJ IMP The terms of Past, Present, and' Subjunctive are marked tonally and by the form of the first person singu lar concordial prefix. The Future and Imperative are 2^3 marked by affixation and by vowel harmony* Modality markers. There are two types of Modality marker; one type contains the Progressive marker (PROG), which does not alter the vowel harmony cha racteristics of the verb, and the other type con tains the various Aspect markers (ASP), which do alter the verbfs vowel harmony pattern (See discussion on pp and pp )• In general, the various Modality markers are restricted to occurrence in particular tenses and, in some cases, to particular verbs: the Progressive marker, for example, can occur only in conjunction with the Past or Present tenses. (Restrictions on the Aspect markers will be discussed on pp 2 with the expansion of ASP ). PROG / PRES 2kh The Verb Root. The Verb Root, like the Noun Stem, con sists of a sequence of sounds associated with a Complex Symbol, which states the syntactic and semantic restric tions which govern the use of the verb. The most im portant of these restrictions are those which control: i. what subjects and objects the verb can take (discussed under "Coraplementation”), ii. what tenses and modality markers the verb can take (discussed on p .26f and pp. ^0 ), and iii. what suffixes the verb can take, if any,(dis cussed in the next section). To anticipate future discussion, Complex Symbols would have the following-forms, for example: bubi [+V, -PRES + PROG ____ , ____ Np] 'to have' bubo C+V, -PRES (PROG) ____ , ____ PlaceJ 'to come' bod a [+V, PRES (PROG) ____ , Anim ____ - AbstractJ 'to hold' bodu [+V, -PRES ____ ,______Anim J 'to kill' b=>ku +V, - I : -PRES , -Abstract _____, ± ’to be dried1; -LA : -PRES ____ , Anim_____ , r Abstract fto dry 21+5 b=>ti [+V, -PRES + PROG _____ , Anim . - ______± 1 to know1; -A : -PRES , Anim Abstract 1 to learn1; _____ -NA : -PRES _ , Anim ______(AnimjNP) f t o s h o w ' J buse L+v» -PRES + PROG _____ , Adj*J fto be1 where, in accordance with the conventions of Chomsky (I965*11l)t a feature like [[-PRES ~J is to be read as "not occurring in the Simple Present", a feature like j[ -PRES + PROG ~J is to be read as "not oc curring in the Present Progressive", ^Anim mJ is to be read as "must have an animate subject", etc. The feature j^PRES (PROG)J , associated with the verb b^>da J to. grasp, to hold1, is, therefore, a bit of an anomaly since bz>da can occur in other tenses than just the Simple Present or Present Progressive; given the restrictions oh the present tenses of other verbs, it seems useful to’ensure that the present tenses for all verbs be fully specified. Verb Suffixes. Diachronically, five verb suffixes can be identified: i. -A b=3dia ' ter be good ' b=>dia 'to be enough* budie 'to create; to remove1 buf ie 'to catch' b^hia 'to be important' bulie 'to be sitting' brapua 'to be imminent* ii. -I b=>kal 'to remember' br>pal 'to crack' buvel 'to fly* 111 -0 buduo 'to be full up; to arrive bzjf wlo 'to be mistaken' \ IV. -LA" br>dula ' to vomit' bzjfwala 'to pierce a hole'. b^fw&la 'to be white' 2kl bubimi 1 to unfold' bubwlli 'to fa ll down' budumi 'to in s u lt' bz»f eni 'to scratch' br>leml * 10 carry piggy-back bupweni 'to write 1 bupwuni ' to become' bunyimi 'to t i e ' b=5nyimi 'to suckle' bz>vimi 'to peel Synchronically, however, all these suffixes, with the exception (to be discussed presently) of most instances of -L^ and a handful of instances of -A and -I , have completely lost whatever morphemic status they may once have had and should be considered as inseparable parts of the Verb Stem. As for the exceptions:- In my discussion of tran sitivity, I deal primarily with verbs which have only one morphological form (i.e ., in which the Verb Stem and the Verb Root are identical) regardless of whether 2kQ the verb is being used transitively or intransitively. There are, however, some 30 verbs which have one mor phological form when they are used intransitively (in some cases, transitively, but with a single object) but a different morphological form when they are being used transitively (in some cases, transitively, but with a double object). The intransitive forms of many of these verbs are suffixed by -A or -I ; the transitive \ forms, however, are a ll suffixed by -LA . -|a# lbcami lbepwu. plate LE+PRES+be-dirty fThe plate is dirty.* abla =>z>r)wuna lecami. Abla 3s+PRES+be-dirty+make plate 'Abla is making the plate d ir ty .' 2a. kutu kubie. soup KU+PAS+spoil+become 'The soup got spoiled.1 b. ajwa ublle kutu. Aj ua 3s+PAS+spoil+make soup •Ajua spoiled the soup.1 3a*. adi aakui. cloths A+PRES+dry+get 'The cloths are drying.1 b. kwasi rokula adi* Kwasi 3s+PRES+dry+make cloths fKwasi is drying the c lo th s .1 4a# ubi ini ntu. baby 3s+PAS+drink water fThe baby drank w ater.* zonina ubi ntu. 3s+PAS+drink+make baby water fShe made the baby drink w ater.1 The suffix vowel harmonizes with the verb root (cf. brsdia 'to be su fficien t1 and budie 1 to. remove1), and the consonant of the -LA suffix becomes /n/ if there is a nasal consonant in the verb root. T27 SD: X + Vb + VSuff ± C V X + C V + (L) A [ ^Nas} [fAdv] (JyHasj) AdvJ Following is a list of all paired verbs curren 250 in use in Baglo in which the transitive (or double ransit ive) member of the pair is suffixed by -LA # b^be 1 to be hidden' b^bela 'to hide s . t . ' bubie 1 to be spoiled ' bubile ' to spoil s.t. ' brocui 1 to be burnt1 bz>cula 'to burn s . t . ' b^fa 1 to hang down1 bz>f ala 'to hang s . t .' b:bf £ * to blow1 b=>flla 'to make s.o. blow’ bujie 1 to be red' bujele 'to redden' bz>kui 1 to be dry1 b=>kula 'to d ry s . t . ' bz>kps * to be l a te ' b=>kpela 'to delay' b=>ma ’to be dented' b=>mana 'to squash * bun& ’to be long’ bunbne 'to lengthen’ b^ni ’to drink' s . b=>nina 'to make.s-.o. drink' buni 'to be clean, bunine 'to clean, extinguish extinguished 1 bz>T)WU ’to be d irty ’ b^pwuna 'to make s.t. dirty* bunye ’to stand' bunyene 'to make s.o. stand' b=>nyi 'to sink’ br>nyin& 'to sink s . t .' bz>nyi 'to be adulte- bonyina 'to adulterate s.t .' rated' bbsla ' to follow' bosiala ' to send after' 251 b^ta 'to rise 1 bz>tala ' to ra ise ' b=>ti&\ 'to learn * b=>tin?i ' to teach* bu ti ' to carry' bu tilh ' to help s.o. carry' b=>t=5 ' to go ahead' botMo ' to send ahead' biDvia ' to cross s.t.' b=>viala ' to bring s.o. across s. t. ' b^yi ' to be. :16st' b=5yila 1 to lose' br>yia 'to be afraid ' b^yilS. ' to frighten' buyu ' to be low' buyule ' to lower' b=>lfc ' to s i t ' b=>lele ' to s e ttle ' There are four verbs on this list which especially stand out: bujele fto redden1, bisiala 'to send after', b^tina 'to teach',, and b^vi&la 'to bring s.o. across s .t.1 bujele stands out because for some reason, un known to me, the vowel of the intransitive form has been lost; the other three stand out because they seem to form triplets alongside the respective verb roots which can occur without suffixes: bisti 'to know1 - b^tia 'to learn' . * b=>tin& 'to teach' 252 tosi ’to be from1 ~ bz>sla 'to follow' b=>siala 'to send afte r' bovi 'to be across from s . t . 1 ~ (muna =>tz> £vi ketu. 'My house is across the riv e r.') b=>vilt 'to cross s.t.' (levia ketu. 'I crossed the river.") bz>viala 'to bring s.o. across s.t.' (levi& muna ese ketu. 'I brought my goat across the river.') In addition, it may be that the three verbs b=>cue 'to forge (metal)', b=>cula 'to burn s . t . ', and biscui 'to be burnt* form a trip le t. At firs t blush, one is led to infer that historically the suffix -A may have been some sort of inchoative (which might help to explain % why it was retained in the causatives formed with -LA ) f but as yet there is insufficient data to support this. 253 Verb Paradigms , The Affirmative Simple Past, The Affirmative Simple \ jA Past is the affirmative verb tense most frequently used to refer to events that have already occurred; it carries no implication of the duration of the e- i vent in question and can be defined operationally as that affirmative verb tense which most frequently oc- j curs in the frame j kamadi. 1_ yesterday.1 j Dialectally, there are some tone differences in 1 the formation of the Affirmative Simple Past. In the Baglo dialect, the Affirmative Simple Past is formed as follows: the Verbal Concord marker occurs on a High tone, while all the syllables of the Verb Stem become Low. The Verbal Concord marker harmonizes with the Verb Stem, and the Verbal Concord marker for the first person singular is LE- . 25i+ T28 SD: VConc + PAS SC: VConc + vst r- - p— _ _ ~~Adv «*Adv _+HiToj __ +L0T0 j (An asterisk following a feature denotes iteration; in the above rule, for example, it indicates that a ll tones within the Verb Stem are Low, regardless of the total number of tones there are*) * T29 1 + Sing + PAS =—==) LE- It will be noticed that the effect of these rules is to make the Affirmative Simple Past tenses of both Mid-tone and Low-tone verbs identical and, therefore, ambiguous in suitable contexts: in the Baglo dialect, the sentence lepwa kamadi , for example, means either *1 cooked yes terday* or *1 harvested yesterday.1 In general, the paradigms for the verbs budu *to k i l l 1, bzbdu ’to b ite 1, bufwi 1 to spit*, bufwl * to be sick*, and bz>tin& ’to teach* will be used as examples. Overleaf are sample paradigms for the Affirmative Simple Past tense. ledu I 'N adu You, A- 6du He, 0- b^du We, N,B0- bedu You y killed; bit badu They, BA- ledu LE- kadu KA- k:Sdu KO- j lifwi I efwl You, A- \ ufwi He, 0- 1 bufwl We, N,BO- / bifwi You y spat; were befwi They, BA- sick lifwi LE- \ kefwi ^ KA- | kufwi KO- J 256 letlna atlnli You, A- 6tina He, 0- b^tlna We, N, B0- b ete , nma \ batlna They, BA- taught letina katin& k^tin^ The Affirmative Past Progressive. Like the Affirmative Simple Past, the;.Affirmative Past Progressive is used to refer to events which have already occurred; unlike the Affirmative Simple Past, however, the Affirmative Past Progressive asserts that the past action has effects con tinuing til some subsequent time, usually the present. The Affirmative Past Progressive can be defined operational ly as occbrring in both the frames * ______= > fa y i. * * ____ now. 1 257 and ______asa na libo. before that I+PAS+come t before I came. 1, although the Affirmative Past Progressive can not occur in the frame kamadi. i yesterday.1 I have noticed no dialectal difference in the for mation of the Affirmative Past Progressive, which is formed as follows: the Verbal Concord marker occurs on a High tone, as for the Affirmative Simple Past. The Progressive marker, which is an infixed vowel which copies a ll the features other than tone of the vowel of the Verbal Concord marker, immediately preceding it, as for the Affirmative Present Progressive, takes the inherent tone of the firs t syllable of the verb stem, and the in herent tone of the' firs t syllable of the verb stem is spread over the rest of the verb stem. As for the Af firmative Simple Past, the concord form for the firs t person singular is LE- . Vowel harmony applies throughout. 258 T30 SD: VConc + PAS PPOG VSt SC: (C) V + V c(c) v • (X)* ^Adv •^Adv |~^AdvJ JVAdvj <5High pHigh yBack fBack +HiTo /ioTo [/loTo] [/lioTo] J The following paradigms will exemplify the A ffir mative Past Progressive tense: leedu aadu You, A- 3=>du He, 0- b3=>du We, N, BO beedu You baadu They, BA have killed leedu LE- kaadu KA- k3ZDdU K0- ' 259 todi? 1 to bite f le£du I aadu You, A- \ rodu He,- 0- j b:odu We, N, BO- I b££du You \ have bitten baadu They, BA- l££du LE- kaadu KA- I k^du KO- / bufwi fto s u it1 liifw i I eefwi You, A- j uufwi He, 0- j buufwi We, N, BO- I biifwi You s have spit beefwi " They, BA- liifwi LE- ' \ keefwi KA- kuufwi KO- J 2G0 bufwl fto be sick 1 liifw i I *" \ eefwi You, A- \ uufwi He, 0- I buufwi We, N, BO- j biifwi You I have been sick beefwi They I liifwi LE- \ keefwi KA- 1 kuufwi KO- J b^tina 'to teach* leetina I aatina You, A- \ :£otina He, 0- i b^otina We, N, BO- / beetina You > have taught baatina They, BA- lee tina LE- kaatina. KA- k^=>tina KO- / 261 The Affirmative Simple Present, There are only about three dozen verbs, mostly either verbs of state or verbs describing one's physical position, which can be used in the Affirmative Simple Present, that is, which can be used without an accompanying Progressive marker. The following list includes all those Verbs of State which I have so far encountered; significantly missing from this lis t are most of the verbs of mental activity or of sensation, which generally occur in the present in Buem only in the present progressive. Verbs of State with ^-Advanced] Harmony: nca ' I am alive; I am at ' nda 11 am holding, grasping 1 ndi 11 am a 1 ndia 'I am good] nfa *1 am squatting' rjke 11 am concerned in, involved pkweni 11 am carrying on my back' pkpe *1 am waiting, am in behind' hie ' I .am kneeling 1 262 mm a am resting on _____ 1 hsla am following1 hs=> am repeating, againing, alsoing* nte am lying down1 ntale am untilling (time)1 n ti/n ji know1 ntz> am in front 1 ndia am sufficient1 Verbs of State with J^+AdvancedJ Harmony: mbi am wearing1 mbo have 1 flgbo am leaning against rjkeli am running, moving aroung* nje have hanging from my shoulder1 n li am sitting1 nnye am standing1 nse am (Ad.jec tive) * ntedu go as far as _____ 1 nti am carrying, taking, marrying* ntulo surpass* 2G3 The Affirmative Simple Present is formed as follows: the final tone of the verb is Mid, and the penultimate syllable and, where present, prepenultimate syllable of the verb have the same tone as ‘the inherent tone of the firs t syllable of th.e Verb Stem; vowel harmony applies throughout. T31 SD: VConc + PRES + VSt C V ((C) V) SC: VConc , + VSt HiTo L0T0 The'concordial form for the first person singular is a syllabic nasal N- , homorganic with the following con sonant . T32 1 + Singular ====) N- / PRES+ VSt The following paradigms, for the verbs b^ti 1 to know’, bubo 1 to have', b^dia fto be sufficient1, and bodia 'to be good1, will illustrate the Affirmative Simple Present. 299 b^t i 'to know 1 nji aji You, A- =>ji He, 0- b^gi V/e, N, BO beji know baji They, BA- lEJl^ • * kaji koji bubo 11 o have 1 mbo I ebo You, A- ubo He, 0- bubo Ve, N, BO. blbo You have bebo They, BA- libo LE- kebo KA- kubo K0- 26 bixH ia fto be sufficient 1 ndia adia You, A- =>dia He, 0- b=>dia We, N, B0- bedia suffice badia They, BA- ledia kadia todia b^dia fto be good 1 ndia adia You, A- 3dia b^dia We, N, BO- btdia You are good badia They, BA- l£dia LE- kadia KA- kz>dia K0- 266 There are three verbs which are exceptions to the tonal section of the preceding rules, however; the final tones of the verbs b^talb 'to u n til1, butedu ’to until1, and butulo 1 to'surpass' are all Low in the Affirmative Simpile Present* In the case of the first two, the reason may be that these may actually be forms of the verbs bMe 'to sit, be well' and budu 'to arrive', both marked with the egressive marker -TA- ; no explanation comes to mind immediately for butuli other than that -lo is a suffix. It should be noted that there are a number of verbs among the thirty which can occur in the Affir mative Simple Present which can also occur in the Affirmative Present Progressive, depending on whether the action involved is considered as being momentary or habitual: if the action is considered as being essentially momentary, i.e ., if a frame like ______ofayi. '______now. ' is appropriate, then the simple present must be used: \ fcda k=>di ofayi. 'I'm holding a cloth now.' 2G7 If the action is considered as being essentially habi tual, however, i.e ., if a frame like uwi biala. 1 a ll the time .1 is appropriate, then the present progressive must be used: mroda kzjdi uwi biala. *1 always hold a cloth .1 The Affirmative Present Progressive. Most verbs can occur in the present only when they are marked with the Progressive marker; this applies whether the ac tion of the verb is considered as being momentary or whether i t is considered as being habitual. The Af firmative Present Progressive is formed as follows: the tone of the concordial prefix is Low, the Pro gressive marker is an infixed vowel which copies all the features other than tone of the vowel, immediately preceding it, of the concordial marker and which has a tone Mid or Low opposite the inherent tone of the final syllable of the Verb Stem, and the Verb Stem re- 280 tains its inherent tone. Vowel harmony applies throughout. T33 SD: VConc + PRES + PROG + SC: (C) V + V + (x)* (C) V cWld v c/Adv ] 1 ^-kdvl dv J u ^High fHigh ^Back , /Back +L0T0J - T34 1 + Singular ====) MO- / PRES + PROG + VSt The following paradigms will exemplify the Affirma tive Present Progressive tense. bz?du 1 to k i l l 1 m=£du I " N. aadu You, A- z£>du He, 0- / b=»du We, N, BO- / beedu You are k illin g 1 baadu They, BA- ( llldu LE- I kaadu KA- \ k^odu KO- 269 br>du 'to b ite 1 m=>z>d u I \ a&du You, A- j b^du He,- 0- j bz53du V/e, N, BO- / beedu You N- are biting baadu They, BA- I leedu LE- \ k&adu KA- \ krs=)du KO- J bufwi fto spit' muufwi I eefwi You, A- \ uufwi He, 0- j buufwi We, N, BO- / biifwi You y are spitting beefwi ' They, BA- f liifwi . LE- \ keefwi KA- kuufwi KO- j 270 bufwi 'to be sick 1 muufwi I feefwi You, A- J uufwi He, 0- / buufwi We, N, BO- I biifwi You y are sick beefwi They, BA- I liifwi LE- \ kkefwl KA- \ kuufwi KO- J br?tina 1 to teach 1 miotina I >> aatina You, A- I zotina He, 0- j b=>^tina We, N, BO- I beetina You \ are teaching baatina They ( leetina LE- \ kaatina KA- j kLr>tina KO- J 271 The Affirmative Simple Subjunctive, In a main clause, the Subjunctive is used to express the desire that an event occur, without necessarily implying that the event actually will occur. fula lega kadik=> kebo. thy law "eating"-place KA+SUBJ+come fThy Kingdom come.1 The Subjunctive is used much more frequently, however, following certain verbs of mental activity or which express necessity, desirability, etc. m=>bz5mr)di litiy a lfclemi ledi. 1s+PRES+try 1s+SUEJ+learn Lelemi language 'I'm trying to learn the Lelemi language.1 yak r>bla kutu. IMP+let 3s+SUBJ+make soup 'Let her cook soup.1 ^hia ka badu =>kwaduz). 3s+PRES+be-important that 3p+SUBJ+kill bush-cow •It's important that they kill a bush-cow.' 8n>y=> ka febo. 1s+PRES+want that 2s+SUBJ+come 'I want you to come.' 272 The Affirmative Simple Subjunctive is formed as fol lows: the verbal concordial marker is on a Low tone. If the Verb Stem is monosyllabic, then its tone Low or Mid opposite to its inherent tone; if the Verb Stem is poly syllabic, then it seems that it retains its inherent tone. Vowel harmony applies throughout. T35 SD: VConc SUB J C(C) V j^-LoTojf SO: VConc + c(c) Q Adv ^Adv jfLoTi . ^-/LoTo^ T36 SD: VConc + SUBJ 4- C(C) V X* SC: VConc + C(C) V X* +L0T0 The verbal concordial marker for the first person singular is LE- . T37 1 + Singular =====) LE- / SUBJ The paradigms overleaf will illu stra te the Affirma tive Simple Subjunctive. *97 . * 9-J b=>du 1 to k i l l 1 l£du I adu You, A- \ ibdCi He, 0- b=>du We, N, BO- / b£du You V should k ill b&du They, BA- 1 l£du LE- kadu KA- k=?du KO- J bibdfi 'to b ite T l£du I X adu You, A- ' =>du He, 0- br>du We, N, BO- / b£du You X. should bite b&du They, BA- I lbdu LE- k&du KA- k=5du KO- j ?7h bufwi 1 to s p it 1 lifwi fefwl You, A- ufwi He, 0- bufwi Ve, N, B0- bifwi should spit befwi They, BA- lifwi kkfwi kufwl bii fwi 'to be sick' lifwi fefwi You, A- iifwi He, 0- bufwi BO bifwi You shouldshould be sick befwi They, BA- lifwi LE- k&fwi KA- k&fwi K0- 275 toting Ho teach1 IttinS. I " X &tina You, A- 1 “>tin& He,* 0- \ b5tin& We, N, BO- / betina You V should teach b&tina They, BA- 1 l£tina LE- \ katina KA- \ kMina K0- / The Affirmative Simple Future, The Affirmative Simple Future implies only that the event described will occur at somevtime in the future, without any implication ei ther of certainty or of motion. There are several forms used to express the Affirmative Simple Future; one of these forms seems to be rather more formal than the others, which can vary freely, even within a single ide olect. The more formal variants can be exemplified (in the third person singular) by: Mubb bb>du. 'He will k ill .1 =>dubo b=>du. 3lubb b=5du. 'He will bite .1 =>dubo b=>du. Mubb bufwi.' 'He will spit.' ->dubb bufwi. =>lubo bufwi. 'He will be sick.' :bdubo bufwi. i>lubo bz>tina. 'He will teach .1 =>dubb b^tina. ^ where the firs t morpheme of the firs t words, =>- , is the third person singular prefix, the second morpheme, -lu- or -du- , is the marker for the Affirmative Sim ple Future, and the final morpheme of the firs t words, -bo , is presumably the Verb Stem for the verb bubo 'to come1; the second words are infinitives. The origin of the morpheme -lu- or -du- is conjectural; Hdftmann (1971s51n) suggests that it is derived (dia- chronically) from the Verb Stem -du 'reach, arrive'; however, synchronically, the verb budu has the wrong vowel harmony pattern. The alternation between / l / and 211 / d/ is presumably an archaic holdover, somewhat parallel to the alternation between /l/ and /d/ in certain mor phemes in the Bala dialect of Likpe (sekpele), which is quite closely related, • . ■ The informal variants are essentially reductions of the formal variants just given; for reasons of economy, only the reduced forms of Mubo b=>du and Mubo bufwi will be given. In order of presumed reduction, these are Mub^du 3lu3du.. V fHe will b ite .1 =>l^odu =>lubufwl f fHe will be sick .1 Muufwi ) with the loss firs t of the -bd of Mubo , followed by the loss of the /b/ of the infinitival prefix, fol lowed, in the case of :bl=>z>du , by the regressive assimi lation of the vowel. It shall have been noticed that whether the Verb Stem has the f+Advanced^J vowel harmony or the [-AdvancedJ vowel harmony',, the verbal concordial prefix has the ^-AdvancedJ harmony. The rule overleaf will describe the formation of the second of the reduced \ 278 forms of the Affirmative Simple Future. T38 SD: VConc + FUT + VSt SC: VConc + LUO + VSt -Adv Q^Adv^ £«*AdvJ +L0T0 The concordial form for the first person singular is n- to which the / l / of -LUO- assim ilates. T39 1 + Singular + LUO =====) nnuO The following paradigms will illu stra te this in formal variant of the Affirmative Simple Future. b=>du fto k ill' rm ur>du alu=>du You, A- 3lu=>du He, 0- bMu=>du Ve, N, BO- bbluz>du will k ill baluibdu They. BA- lelu^du kaluz>du kiblu=>du 279 todu 1 to bite 1 hniodu I alu=5du You, A- =>1uodu He,- 0- / bMur>du We, N, BO- I b£lu=)du You will bite balu=>du They, BA- \ leluodu LE- \ kaluibdu KA- I kMu^du K0- J bufwi , 1 to s p it1 hnuufwi I * aluufwi You, A- \ Muufwi He, 0- J bMuufwi We, N, BO- / beluufwi You will spit baluufwi" They, BA- f lfcluufwi LE- ' \ kaluufwi KA- \ kMuufwi K0- I 280 bufwi 1 to be sick* fanuufwi I &luufwl You, A- J Muufwi He, 0- / brbluufwi We, N, BO- / beluufwi You V will be sick baluufwi They, BA- I lbluufwl LE- \ kaluufwi KA- j kMuufwl K0- J b=>t inli fto teach1 nnuMina I alu=>tina You, A- ] Mu=>tin£i He, 0- / bMu^tina We, N* BO- / beluz>tina You f will teach balu=>tina They, BA- [ lfcluMina LE- kalu^tina KA- J kolu^tina K0- s 281 Verbs marked for Aspect. There is a five term Aspect system, with the terms: i. Negation (NEG), ii. Certainty (CEFT), iii. Customary action (CUST), iv. Motion away from the speaker (GO), and v. Motion towards the speaker (COME). Some of these Aspects are mutually exclusive, and two can appear only in certain tenses. In addition, the aspect of Negation has three different allomorphs, de pending on tense. J (NEG) (CUST/PAS )~) ( (GO) P38 ASP ------) I M ( (CERT/FUT ) j / (COME) All Aspect markers have in common the fact that they alter the vowel harmony patterning of the Verb Prefix, as discussed on pp ; to recapitulate, when fol lowed by an Aspect marker, Verbal Prefixes with Non-Low vowels (ir*e., 0-, LE- , BO- , and K0- ) must occur- in their +Advanced J forms;, the normal vowel harmony rules apply, however, when the Verbal Prefix contains a Non-High vowel (i.e ., A- , BA- , and KA- ). 282 Certainty, As stated, the aspect of Certainty can occur only with the Future; in main clauses, it is used pri marily to indicate that the speaker feels that an event will inevitably take place. uati na naayzo qwa kalala. 3s+FUT+CERT+know that 1s+PRES+NEG+like his mischief •He1!! certainly know that I donft like his mischief.1 atibluku uate becwiri fwii. God 3s+FUT+CERT+judge men a ll fGod will judge a ll men.1 bekpidi baaca k=>ca. evil-doers 3p+FUT+CERT+catch shame fThe wicked will certainly be shamed.1 biese =>ma ^mwi. 1p+FUT+CERT+go town today *We will definitely go home today.1 The Certainty aspect also occurs quite frequently in future conditionals. si bieye animi ni, ak=>sua =>lu=>r]wa. if 1 p+FUT+CERT+buy r.ice , Akosuah 3s+FUT+cook •If we buy rice, Akosuah will cook it.* 283 The Future Certain is formed as follows: the Verbal Concordial Prefix and the Certainty marker -A- have tones Mid or Low opposite to the inherent tone of the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem; the Verb Stem retains its inherent tone. The Concordial Prefix harmonizes ac cording to the rules of reduced vowel harmony, while the Certainty marker harmonizes with the Verb Stem. T40 SD: VConc + FUT + CERT + VSt VConc + -A- + -^Adv ■^L6w -J LoTo The Verbal Concordial prefix for the first person singular ism-. T41 1 + Singular ) m- / FUT + CERT The paradigms overleaf will exemplify the Future Certain. bz»du 'to kill' madu aadu You,. A- uadu He, 0- buadu We, N, BO- biadu You shall k ill b&adu They, BA- liadu LE- kaadu KA- kuadu K0- bz>du 1 to bite 1 madu aadu You, A- uadu He, 0- buadu We, N, BO biadu shall bite baadu They, BA- liadu kaadu kuadu 285 bufwi 1 to spit* mefwi I eefwi You, A- uefwi He,. 0- bu^fwi We, N, BO biefwi You shall spit befefwi They, BA- llkfwi LE- k&efwi KA- kuefwi K0- bufwi 1 to be sick1 mefwi eefwi You, A- uefwi buefwi We, N, B0- biefwi You shall beefwi They, BA liefwi LE- • keefwi kuefwi K0- biDt ina 'to teach* matina aatina You, A- u&tina buatina BO biatina You shallshall teach baatina They, BA liatin a LE- kaatina KA- kuatina K0- Customary action* The aspect of Customary action can oc cur only with the Past or in certain serial verbal con structions; the aspect of Customary action is marked by i - TAA- and can be described by the following rule: T42 SD: VConc + PAS + CUST + VSt SC: VConc' + -TA A - + C(C) V X* r /Adv I^Adv^ffAdvJ [fAdv] -^Jjo'w +HiTo [+L0TXL0T0J 1/LoToJ 287 in which the Verbal Concordial Prefix is on a High tone, the first syllable of the Customary action infix is on a Low tone, and the second syllable of the Customary action infix is on the same tone as the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem. The firs t person singular concord form is n- . t 43 1 + Singular =====) n- / PAS + CUST The following paradigms will illu stra te the Customary Past. bisdu 1 to k i l l 1 ntaadu I ataadu You, A- utaadu He, 0- / butaadu Ve, N, BO- / bitaadu You V used to k ill bataadu They, BA- j litaadu LE- \ kataadu KA- kutaadu K0- / ntaadu I ataadu You, A- u talidu He, 0- buta&du We, N, B0- bitaadu You bataadu They, BA litaadu LE- kataadu KA- kutaadu K0- bufwi 1 to s p it1 nteefwi I - et&efwi You, A- uteefwi He, 0- buteefwi Ve, N, B0- biteefwi You be teefwi They, BA- liteefwi LE- keteefwi KA- kuteefwi K0- 283 bufwi 'to be sick* nt££fwl I "X eteefwl You, A- j ut&efwl He, 0- J buteefwi We, N, BO- / bit&efwl You V used to be sick beteefwi They, BA- I Ifteefwi LE- \ keteefwi KA- J kuteefwi K0- b=>tina !to teach* ntaatina ataatina You, A- utaatina He, 0- butaatina We, N, B0- bftaatina used to teach bataatina They., BA- lita atin a kataatina ku taatina Motion away from the speaker. Apart from the aspect of Negation, the most commonly used aspect marker is that of motion away from speaker, - TA- , which can be used with virtually any verb and which asserts that the agent of the action of the verb will move away from the speaker in the course of performing the action. When the verb containing this "Go-itive" is not marked by any other aspect marker, a ll tense distinctions other than that of the Imperative and, for the first person singular, the Subjunctive, fall together. The Affirma tive Go-itive is formed as follows: the Verbal Con cordial Prefix is on a Low tone and is subject to the * reduced vowel harmony. The infixed syllable, TA , is on a High tone and harmonizes with the Verb Stem, which retains its inherent tone. T44 SD: VConc + TM + GO + VSt SC: VConc + TA + VSt -“Adv [pAdv] IfiAdvJ /' +HiTo]+ L0T0! /' +HiTo]+ The first person singular concordial prefix is li- be-. fore the Subjunctive; otherwise, it is n- SUBJ + GO 1 + Sing “ ===) PAS, PRES, FUT + GO My discussion of the Negative will include a discussion of the Negative of the motion markers; because of their relatively rare occurrence, I can make no claims as to the behavior of the motion markers with aspect markers other than the Negative. The following paradigms will exemplify the Affirma tive Goitive. br>du !to k i l l 1 ntadu I atadu You, A- \ utadu He, 0- I butadu We, N, BO- j bitadu You 1 are going (away) batadu They, BA- to k ill litadu LE- \ katadu KA- \ kutadu K0- ) b^>du 1 to bite * htadu I atadu You, A- j utadu He, 0- / butadu Ve, N, BO- / bitadu You I are going (away) batadu They, BA- f to bite lltadu LE- \ katadu KA- \ kutadu K0- J bufwi 1 to spit* ntefwi I etefwi You, A- \ utefwi He, 0- J butefwi We, N, BO- , j bitefwi You ( are going (away) betefwi They, BA- j to spit litefwi LE- I ketefwi KA- 1 kutefwi K0- J Q bufwi 1 to be sick' ntefwl I etefwi You, A- j utefwi He, 0- j butefwi Ve, N, BO- / bitefwi You I are going (away) betefwi They, BA- f to be sick litefwi LE- 1 ketefwi KA- \ kutefwi K0- y b=>tina 1 to teach1 htatina I atatina You, A- I utatina He, 0- / butatina Ve, N, BO- / bltatina You I are going (away) batatina They, BA- / to teach litatina LE- 1 katatina KA- I kutatina K0- I Motion towards the speaker. The other motion marker, - BA- , is used to denote either motion towards the speaker or'lack of motion on the part of the agent of the action of the verb. In all other respects, save one, this MCome-itive" functions like the "Go-itive”; the respect in which it differs is that the ‘"Come-itive" does not co-occur with the Imperative. The Affirmative Come-itive is formed as follows: the Verbal Concordial Prefix is on a Low tone and is subject to the reduced vowel harmony; the infixed syl lable, -BA- , is on a Mid tone and harmonizes with the Verb Stem, which retains its inherent tones. T46 SD: VConc + TM + COME + VSt SC: VConc + ^■Adv -/Low +L0T0 The concordial prefix for the first person singular is li for the Subjunctive Come4tive and m- for other tenses. Optionally, the /b / of the infix assimilates to the m- T47 11- / SUBJ + COME 1 + Sing =====:==) % m* / {PAS, PRES, FUT^ + COME opt T48 nib a =-— -==) mma The Affirmative Come-itive is exemplified by the following paradigms. b=>du 1 to kill* mmadu abadu You, A- ubadu He, 0- bubadu We, N, BO- bibadu are coming babadu They, BA- to k ill libadu kabadu kubadu bodu 1 to bite* mmadu I \ abadu You, A- ubadu .He* 0- / bubadu We, N, BO- / bibadu You V are coming babadu They, BA- j to bite libadu LE- \ kabadu KA- \ kubadu K0- J bufwi !to s p it1 mmefwi I 'X ebefwi You, A- J ubefwi He, 0- I bubefwi We, N, BO- J bibefwi You \ are coming bebefwi- ~ They, BA- j to spit libefwi LE-•. \ kkbefwi KA- \ kubefwi K0- 1 bufwi fto be sick* imnefwi I ebefwi You, A- ) ubefwi He, 0- bubefwi We, N, B0- bibefwl You \ are coming bebefwi They, BA- C to be sick libefwi LE- \ k&befwl KA- \ kubefwl K0- J brat ina *to teach* mmatina I \ abatina You, A- ubatina He, 0- bubatina We, N, B0- bibatina You V are coming babatina They,- BA- | to teach libatina LE- \ kabatina KA- ' kubatina K0-‘ J 2?8 Negation, There are three allomorphs, conditioned by tense, which are used to signal the negation of a verb*: i. -V- , which is used to negate the Present tense of verbs which have no Present Progressive form, ii. -LA- , which is used to negate the Future tense of all verbs and the Present tense of verbs which do have a Present Progressive form, and iii. -TA- , which is used to negate every other tense (i.e., Past, Subjunctive, and Imperative. •V- / PRES C+V, -PRES + PROG P39 i NEG ) Both -TA- and -LA- entail that the Verbal Con cordial Prefix show the reduced vowel harmony already dis cussed; the full vowel harmony system, however, applies when the verb is negated by -V- . The Negative Past, The Negative Past is the negative equivalent of both the Affirmative Simple Past and the Affirmative Past Progressive; however, if the speaker wishes to form an exact negative equivalent of the Af firmative Past Progressive, the Negative Past is often modified by the adverb t=> 'y e t'. £bla kutu She made soup.1 utabla kutu She didn't make soup. 3r>bla kutu She has made soup.1 utabla tz> kutu. 'She hasn't made soup y e t.1 The Negative Past is formed as follows: both the prefix and the -TA- infix are on High tones, while the Verb Stem retains its inherent tones. As just stated, the prefix is subject to reduced harmony, and the verbal concordial prefix for the first person singular is n- • T49 SD: VConc + PAS + TA + VSt SC: VConc + TA + VSt ^Adv ^ ^Low T50 1 + Singular ) n- / ___ PAS + NEG + VSt 300 b=x3u 1 to k i l l 1 ntadu 1 '~>S\ atadu You, A- J utadu He, 0- / butadu We, N, BO- / bftadu You I didn’t kill, batadu They, BA- f haven’t killed litadu LE- \ katadu KA- ] ku tadu KO- / ’to b ite 1 ntadu I atadu You, A- utadu He, 0- bu tadu We, N, B0- bftadu You didn’t bite batadu ' They, BA haven’t bitten' litadu LE-' katadu KA- kutadu K0- bufwi 'to spit1 ntefwi etefwi You, A- utefvi He, 0- butefwl We, N, B0- bitefwi didn't spit, betefwi They, BA- haven't spit litefw i ketefwi kutefwi bufwi 'to be sick1 ntefwi etefwi You, A- utefwi butefwi bitefwi You weren't sick betefwi They, BA- haven't been litefw i LE- sick ketefwi kutefwi K0- 302 b-pjink 'to teachf ntatina I atatina You, A- j utatina He, 0- / butatina Ve, N, BO- / b£tatina You I didn't teach, batatina They, BA- ( haven't taught litatina LE- \ katatina KA- j kutatina KO- J b~>ca 'to be (somewhere)' ntaca I ataca You, A- . J utaca He, 0- J butaca Ve, N, BO- bftaca You V werenilt, haven't bafaca They, BA- / been at litaca LE- kataca KA- kutaca KO- J Negative Present for verbs of state. The Present tense of verbs of state is negated by infixed a vowel on a Low tone which copies all the features of the vowel, immediately preceding it, of the verbal concordial pre fix and by raising, if necessary, all tones of the Verb Stem to Mid. The appropriate verbal concordial prefix % for the firs t person singular is LE- . T51 SD: VConc + PRES + NEC + (+V,'"-PRES + PROG SC: (C) V + V + (C(C)) V * ^*-Adv "UAdv Q^-AdvJ gHigh § High >Back yBack jfLoTo__ +L0 T0 [ - L0 T0J ====) LE- / __ PRES + NEG T52 + Sing f+V. -PRES + PROG ____ 1 30i+ b^ti fto know1 lbeji I a&ji You, A- \ =>z>j i He, 0- I bzoji We, N, BO- / b££ji You V don't know baaji They, BA- I lllji . LE- \ kaaji KA- \ k5z>ji KO- J bub6 1 to have f lilbo I \ £&bo You, A- \ uubo He, 0- I btiubo We, N, BO- / bilbo You f don't have be&bo They, BA- | liibo LE- k£ebo KA- kuubo KO- J bz>dia 1 to be su ffic ie n t1 l££dia aadia You, A- b i)d ia He-, 0- bzodia We, N, B0- bebdia are not sufficient baadia They, BA- l£bdia kaadia k=£dia b^dia 1 to be good 1 leldia aadia You, A- ^ o d ia He, 0- b^=>d i a We, N, B0- bledia arenft good baadia They, BA- l£edia k&^dia kz&dia 306 The Negative Present for other verbs. The Negative Present for verbs other than verbs of state is formed as follows: the Verbal Concordial Prefix, which is subject to reduced vowel harmony, is on a Low tone. The Negative marker, -LA- , harmonizes with the Verb Stem and is on a Low or Mid tone opposite to the firs t tone of the Verb Stem. The Verb Stem re tains its inherent tone. T53 I SD: VConc + PRES + -LA- + I +V, -PRES SC: VConc + -LA- + C(C) V (X)* ^Adv •/-Low +L0T0 When the Verbal Concordial Prefix refers to the first person singular, the concordial prefix is NA- and the / l / of -LA- is deleted; the tone of the prefix is the same as that of the Negative marker. T54 1 + Sing + PRES + -LA- ====) NAA- r ^ o T o ] LoToj Overleaf are paradigms for the Negative Present. 307 todu fto kill* naadu allidu You, A- uladu He, 0- buladu We, N, B0- t killing, blladu don’t k ill baladu They, BA- llladu kaladu kuladu br>du fto bite* naadu aladu You, A- &ladu He, 0- buladu We, N, B0- aren1 t biting, blladu don’t bite baladu They, BA- llladu kaladu kuladu 308 bufwi fto spit* neefwi fcl&fwi You, A- ul&fwi He,* 0- bullfwi We, N, B0- aren’t spitting, bilefwi don’t spit belefwi They, BA- lilefw i k&l&fwi kulefwi bufwi fto be sick’ neefwi elefwi You, A- ulefwi He, 0- bulefwi We, N, BO- bilefwi aren’t sick belefwi They, BA- lilefw i kelefwi kulefwi 309 totina fto teach1 naatina I SsX alatina You, A- ulatina He, 0- / bulatina We* N, BO- I don't teach, bllatina You f aren't teaching balatina They, BA- lilatina LE- kalatina KA- kulatina KO- / The Negative Future. The Negative Future is formed in the same way for all verbs: the Verbal Concordial Prefix, which is subject to reduced vowel harmony, is on a Low tone. The Negative marker, -LA- , harmonizes with the Verb Stem and is on a Low tone if the inherent tone of the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem is Low, on a High tone if the inherent .tone of the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem is Mid. The firs t syllable of the Verb Stem is on a Mid or Low tone opposite to its inherent tone; 310 the second syllable, if any, and subsequent syllable of the Verb Stem retain their inherent tone. T55 SD: VConc + FUT + -LA- + C(C) V (X)* ryLoTo7 VConc + 4LA- ^-Adv AdvJ -.iliOW 'i j" +HiTo +L0T0 f -L0T0 The Verbal Concordial Prefix for the first person singular % % is NA- ; following NA- , the /l/ of -LA- is deleted; however, there is no alteration in the tone of the Verbal Concord Prefix, as there is for the Negative Present. T56 1 + Sing + PUT + -LA- ) NAA It will be noticed that the Negative Future of verbs with Low tone (inherently) is the same as the Negative Present of verbs with Mid tone (inherentlyj since the sur face tone pattern of both is Low-Low-Mid ; as far as I could determine, the ambiguity inherent in this can usually be resolved only by context. Overleaf are paradigms for the Negative Future. 311 b^du !to k i l l 1 naadu I aladu You, A- ) uladu He; 0- / buladu We, N, BO- I blladu You V won!t k ill baladu They, BA- f llladu LE- I kaladu KA- \ kuladu KO- J br>du fto b ite 1 naadu I aladu You, A- \ uladu He, 0- \ buladu Ve*. N, BO- / blladu You y won't bite baladu They, BA- llladu LE- \ kaladu KA- \ kuladu KO- J 312 bufwi fto spit* n&efwl elefwi You, A- ulefwi He, 0- bulefwl We, N., B0- bilefwl won't spit belefwi They, BA- lilefw i kfelefwl kulefwi bufwi 'to be sick1 neefwi el&fwi You, A- ulefwi bulefwi Ve, N, B0- bllfefwi You won't be sick belefwi They, BA- lllfefwi LE- kelefwi kulefwi K0 313 totina ’to teach1 naatma alatina You, A- filatina He, 0- bulatlni We, N, B0- bilatlna won *t teach balatina They, BA- lila tin k kalatlna kulatina The Negative Subjunctive. The Negative Subjunctive is formed as follows: the Verbal Concordial Prefix is subject to reduced vowel harmony, and the Negative marker -TA- harmonizes with the Verb Stem* All tones are Low. T57 SD: VConc + SUBJ + -TA- + VSt SC: VConc + -TA- + VSt <*Adv [fkdvj [fkdvj -/Lo w +L0T0 |^+LoToJ +L 0T0J The concordial prefix for the first person singular is li as for other Subjunctives. 31 h The paradigms for both Mid tone and Low tone verbs are identical; ambiguities are resolved by context. b^du * to k ill' br^du ' to bite 1 litadu atadu You, A- utadu He, 0- butadu We, N, B0- bltadu shouldn't kill, batadu They, BA- shouldn't bite litadu katadu kutadu bufwi 'to s p it1 b&fwi 'to be sick1 litefw i etefwi You, A- utefwi He, 0- butfefwl We, N, B0- bitefwi shouldn't spit, betefwi They, BA- shouldn't be sick litefw i ketefwi kutefwi 315 b=>t ina *to teach* llta tin a atatina% I \ . s % You, A- utatm a He, 0- butlitina We, N, B0- bitatlna You shouldn*t teach batatina They, BA- llta tin a LE- katatina KA- kutatina KO- Negation of verbs marked for other aspects. While it is possible for Negation to be combined with any of the other aspect markers, save that of Certainty, only the combi nation of Negation and one of the Motion markers occurs at all frequently, and even that primarily with respect to the Present/Future tenses. For this reason, I will limit my discussion of the negation of verbs marked for other aspects to the negation of verbs marked for motion; this is formed as follows: the Verbal Concordial Prefix 316 is subject to reduced vowel harmony and is on a Low tone. % The Negative marker, -LA- for Present or Future tenses, * -TA- for other tenses, is also on a Low tone and har monizes with the Verb Stem and 'the Motion marker. The Motion marker is on a High tone and harmonizes with the Verb Stem. The firs t syllable of the Verb Stem is Mid or Low opposite to its inherent tone; subsequent syllables retain their inherent tone. T58 [(PRES -TA- SD: VConc + \/PAST + C(C) V (X)* -BA- SUBJ [^LoToj -TA- SC: VConc + C(c) V (X)* -TA- -BA- f Adv [VAdvJ [fAdv] -PLow +L0T0 L+HiToJ [vIoTo] • As before, the Verbal Concordial’Prefix for the firs t person singular is li - for the Subjunctive. For the other tenses, it is n- , following which, the / l / of \ -LA- is deleted. 317 T59 PAST GO SD: 1 + Sing + / pres + NEG + COME ((futfut )J hTA GO SQ: NA I f COME Below are paradigrrs for the Negative Present Go-itive br^du 1 to k i l l 1 naktadu I alatadu You, A- ulatadu He, 0- bulatadu Ve, N, BO- aren't going bilatadu You (away) to k ill balatadu They, BA- lllatadu LE- kalatadu KA- kulatadu KO- 318 b=>dQ fto b ite 1 nSStadu I alatadu You, A- tilatadu He, 0- bulatadu Ve, N, BO aren't going bilatadu You (away) to bite bS.lS.tadu They, BA- lllStadu LE- kS.lS.tadu KA- kSlStadu K0- bufwi *to spit* n&etefwl I eletefwl You, A- 5lStefwl He# 0- b&lStefwl We, N, BO aren’t going bllStefwl You (away) to spit bSlStefwl They, BA lllStefw l LE- kSlStefwl KA- kSletefwl KO- bhfwl fto be sic nfeetefwi I eletefwi You, A- ul&tefwi He, 0- buletefwi Ve, N, BO- \ aren1t going blletefwi You / (away) to be b&letefwi They, BA- 1 sick lil&tefwi LE- keletefwi KA- kulltefwi K0- / butina 1 to teach1 naatatina I "S.\ alatatina You, A- ulatatina He, 0- bulatatina Ve, N, B0- aren1t going bllatatina You (away) to teach balatatina They, BA- lllatatina LE- kalatatina KA- kulatatina K0- J 3 < 0 Imperatives. An imperative can be addressed either to one person or to more than one person; if it is addressed to only one person, then the Verbal Concordial Prefix is omitted (alternatively, is rewritten as 0 ); if it is addressed to several people, however, the normal second person plural prefix, BE- , is used. T60 2 + Sing =====) 0 / ____ IMP So far, I have identified four types of imperative: i. an Affirmative Simple Imperative, which carries no implication of motion* Sinfiru lar Plural du bedu Kill] du bedu Bite! fwi blfwi Spit! fwl blfwl Be sick tina betina Teach! f=> \>lfh Wash! f=> b!f=> Accept! lemi belsmi Open! ii. an Affirmative Go-itive Imperative, which implies that the action is to be performed at some distance from the speaker. (Note the reduced vowel harmony in the plural p refix .) Singular Plu ral t&du bitadu Go k ill! tadu bitadu Go bite! tefwi bitefwi Go spit! tefwi bitefwi Go be sick! tatina bit&tina Go teach! tafz> bitaf^ Go wash! tafo bitafio Go accept! talemi bitalemi Go open! iii. a Negative Simple Imperative. Singular Plural tadu bitadu Don't kill! tadu bitadu Don't bite! tefwi bitefwi Don't spit! tefwi bitefwi Don't be sick! tatinli bltatina Don't teach! tafz) bltafo Don't wash! taf 3 bitaf=> Don't accept! talemi bitalemi Don’t open! •-* r* Jcc and iv. a Negative Go-itive Imperative (which occurs, however, rather rarely ). Singular Plural t&tadu bltatadu Donr t go k ill] tatadu bltatadu Don' t go bite i tltefwi bltetefwi Donf t go spit! tetefwi bitetefwi Don' t go be sick.1 tatatina bitatatina Don11 go teach: tatafz> bitatafz> Don 11 go wash.1 tataf=> bitatafr> Don11 go accept .r tatalemi bltatalemi Don11 go open: These imperatives are formed as follows: i. the Affirmative Simple Imperative. The concord prefix, if any, harmonizes with the Verb Stem and is on a Low tone. The first syllable of the Verb Stem retains its inherent tone; the second (and subsequent) syllables are on a Mid tone. T61 SD: (BE-) + IMP + VSt SC: (BE-) + C(C) V -cAdv ^o^AdvJ p^Adv +L0T0 -L0T0 323 ii. the Affirmative Go-itive Imperative. The concord prefix, if any, is [+AdvancedJ and on a Low tone (i.e ., is bl- ). The Go-itive marker -TA- harmonizes with the Verb Stem and is on a Low tone. The first syllable of the Verb Stern retains its in herent tone; the tone of other syllables is Mid. SD: (BE-) IMP + GO + VSt SC: (bl-) -TA- + C(C) V (X)* yAdv £«AAdvj -sAdv j +L0T0 -L o T o j L i i i . the Negative Simple Imperative. The concord prefix, if any, is ^Advanced ~j and on a Low tone (i.e ., is b l- ') . The Negative marker -TA- harmonizes with the Verb Stem and is on a Mid tone. The Verb Stem re tains its inherent tone(s). T63 SD: (BE-) IMP + NEG + VSt SC: (bl-) -TA- + VSt o^Adv ^AdvJ _-LoTo iv. the Negative Go-itive Imperative. The concord prefix, if any is £+AdvancedJand on a Low tone (i.e ., is bi- ). Both the Negative marker -TA- and the Go-itive marker, -TA- , harmoni?e with the Verb Stem and are on Low tones. The Verb Stem retains its inherent tone{s). T64 SD: (BE-) IMP + NEG + GO + VSt -TA- + -TA- + VSt o^Adv 1 ^-Adv /7*^AdvJ +L0T0 I +L0T0 - ^ J Relative Verb Forms In addition to their use in "same-subject” relative clauses (see pp '/{), Relative Verb Forms are used to express emphasis, generalizations, historical facts, or statements of habitual or customary action. Relative Verb Forms are found in Past, Present, or Future tenses; they have both affirmative and negative forms and can be marked for Motion away. This is illustrated, as follows: i. Statements referring to eternal truths or to events in Present time. baase muvel na kat^. birds REL+PRES+fly in sky ’Birds fly in the sky.’ bajll neevel. monkeys REL+PRES+NEG+fly fMonkeys don’t f l y . ’ j=>rj mipwa adlla teete mi. George REL+PRES+cook food CUST+give me ’George cooks food for me.* nelspn naapwa teete mi. Nelson REL+PRES+NEG+cook CUST+give me ’Nelson doesn’t cook for me.’ ii. Statements referring to historical truths or to events in Past time. kwami pkruma nadi gana lslr> kudredi. Kwame Nkrumah REL+PAS+eat Ghana body firs t 'Kwame Nkrumah ruled Ghana first.* S.camp3T| natadi gana lelu kudredi. Acheampong REL+PAS+NEG+eat Ghana body firs t ’Acheampong didn’t rule Ghana first.* iii. Prophetic statements. Iitibruku nuz>cie babwene. God REL+FUT+forgive repentant •God will forgive the repentant.1 atibruku naacie bekpidi. God REL+FUT+NEG+forgive wicked 'God will not forgive sinners.1 The Relative Past. The Relative Past, both affirmative and negative forms, is formed as follows: the Relative Past prefix, NA- , is on a High tone. If the verb is being negated, then the Negative marker -TA- is infixed, also on a High tone. Monosyllabic Verb Stems are on Mid or Low tones opposite to their inherent tone; unfor tunately, I have no sound data on the tonal behavior of polysyllabic Verb Stems. All vowels harmonize. T65 SD: REL + PAS (NEG) C(C) V NA (-TA-) ^Adv ^Adv f Adv +HiTo +HiTo •^LoTo hpia. nadu =>nana fA spear killed that man.’ 3pia natadu =>nana duid . 'A spear didn’t kill that man.1 =>klama nadu z>nana 3mz>. 'A dog bit that man.1 z>klama natadu =>nana 6mb. fA dog didn’t bite that man.' ami ney& lena. bought meat.* ami neteye lena. fJ[ didn’t buy meat.’ kwaku neyu slka. ’Kwaku stole the money.1 kwaku neteyu sika. * * Kwaku didn’t steal the money.’ The Affirmative Relative Present for verbs of state. The Affirmative Relative Present for verbs of state (see pp%: ^ ) is identical* to' the form used for the first person singular Affirmative Simple Present of verbs of state. It is formed by the following rule: T66 SD: REL + PRES + [ +V, -PRES + PROG ___ 1 C V ((C) V) SC: N- + £*+V, -PRES + PROG J (c V) (C) ^ V 1 1 I “HiT° 1 j'^XoTo J ^LoTo j -LoTo J atosua nda lodi. 1Akosuah is holding a cloth .1 ata Tjkpe kama. 'Attah is lagging behind .1 ami ndi UT]uoti fula atibruku. 'X am the Lord thy God .1 ntu b£ml; ndia. 'This water is sufficient.' Relative The Affirmative/Present for other verbs. The Affirmative Relative /Present for other verbs is formed as follows: The Relative % Affirmative Present prefix, MO- , is on a Low tone and harmonizes with the Verb Stem, which retains its inherent 323 tone(s). All vowels harmonize. T67 SD: REL- + PRES + /+V, -PRES % SC: MO- + VSt <^-Adv +L0T0 l£pi§i mz>du bAn&.nau 'Spears kill people .1 =>kl§uaa mz>du z>nana z>mb0 fI t fs a dog th a t's'b itin g the man .1 ama muye lena. fI t fs Ammah who buys meat .1 kwaku muyu sika. 'Kwaku steals money.' banamu miby^ mapgp. 'Children like mangoes.' The Negative Relative Present. ' The Negative Relative Present is formed as follows: The Relative prefix is % NA- , on a Low tone, the Negative marker is -A- on a Mid or Low tone opposite to the tone of the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem, and the Verb Stem retains its inherent tone(s). All vowels harmonize. T68 SD: REL + PRES + NEG + VSt SC: NA- + -A- + C(C) V (X)* ^Adv J erAdV j <^dv^\^AdvJ +L0T0J -^LoTo [ ^LoToJ and the rule for compared with the Negative Present and Negative Future, b ajll neevel na kat:o. 'Monkeys don't fly in the sky .1 z>k lama naidu akz>k3 3m=>. 'A dog isn't killing that chicken.' 3klama naadu =>nana 3nn>. 'A dog isn't biting that man.' ami neeye lena. 'Ammah doesn't buy meat.' kwaku ne&yu sika. 'Kwaku do.esn't steal money.' The Affirmative Relative Future, The Affirmative Relative Future is formed as follows: the verb is N prefixed by NUO- , in which the first syllable is Low and the second is on the same tone as the f ir s t tone of the Verb Stem. The Verb Stem retains its inherent tone(s). All vowels harmonize. T69 SD: REL + FUT + VSt SC: NU 0 + C(C) V (X)* *~Adv I f^Adv fLoToJ £^LoTo J ipia nuisdu • 3nana £m=). •It's a spear that'll kill that man .1 zjklama nuz>du =>nana 6mz>. •It's a dog that'll bite that man.' ami nuuye lena. 'It's me who'll buy meat.' kwaku nuuyu sika. 'I t 's Kwaku who'll steal money.' The Negative Relative Future. The Negative Relative Futu is formed as follows: the Relative prefix is NA- , on 332 a Low tone. The Negative marker is -A- on the same tone as the inherent tone of the firs t syllable of the Verb Stem. Monosyllabic Verb Stems have Mid or Low tone opposite to their inherent tone; my data for poly syllabic Verb Stems' is insufficient to draw valid con clusions from. All vowels harmonize. SD: REL + FUT + NEG + VSt SC: NA- + -A- + VSt fAdv f Adv +L0T0 c /Ijo T o The Negative Relative Future and the Negative Relative Present, therefore, are often identical and can be am biguous. l£pia naadu =>nan& ddid . Spears won’t kill that man.* z>klama naadu onana d u d . *A dog won*t bite that man.* ami neey& lena. *I won*t buy meat.* kwaku neeyu sika. *Kwaku won’t steal money.* Subject and Object Potentials Subject potentials. With the exception of some verbs like i l e (ka) 'it is expected (that) 1 and z>di (ka) 'it's necessary (that )1 which take sentential comple ments, all verbs have subjects in deep-structure, al though these deep-structure subjected can be deleted optionally before a verb with a Verbal Concordial Pre fix. T71 NP + VConc + X ==£==) VConc + X 1a* mu na ^klama 6du ese. ======) my dog 3s+PAS+kill goat 'My dog killed a goat .1 b* ^du ese. 3s+PAS+kill goat 'He killed a goat.' 2a* lie ami l£nvz> llbie. ======) plate this LE+PAS+got-broken 'This plate got broken. 1 b* lfbie. LE+PAS+got-broken ' It got broken .1 331* 3*U muna z?klama nadu ese. ==^=:==) my dog Rel+PAS+kill goat 'It was my dog that killed a goat .1 b 0 *nadu ese. Rel+PAS+kill goat ♦’killed a goat .1 I can make no claims as to kny deep-structure subjects for the verbs with sentential complements; there seems to be no justification in Buem for presupposing anything like the transposition and ”It"-insertion of English sentences like "It's necessary for him to do the work" or ’'It’s important that I see him*" Verbs wfa ir into four categories on the basis of the subjects that they can take: i. Those which have no subject. This group is very small and is restricted to verbs which take sentential complements: pli ka lebla kutu. it-is-expected that 1s+SUBJ+make soup ’I have to make soup.*, *1 ought to make soup .1 ii. Those which can have any Noun Phrase as their subject. This group includes verbs like b=>ca ’to be (somewhere)1, bz>di ’to be (someone or something)’, bibdia * to be good’, bz>du 'to k i l l ’, buse 'to be (qual ty) ’, b=5tu 1=5 'to surpass', etc. yao *xiu =>kpe. i Yao 3s+PAS+kill grasscutter 'Yao killed a grasscutter .1 l e t a b i ledu =>kpe. stone LE+PAS+kill grasscutter 'A stone killed the grasscutter.' kuvo b=5ni bidu =>kpe. medicine drinking BO+PAS+kill grasscutter 'Drinking poison killed the grasscutter.’ i i i . Those which take only animate subjects. This group includes verbs like bukpi ’to d ie', b^nu 'to see', b=Dti 'to know', b=>Tiwa 'to harvest’, etc. I, see l i t t l e point in dividing this group into those verts which can take only human subjects and those which can take any animate subjects since at worst a sentence like =5kpe ^rjwa animl. 'The grasscutter cooked ric e .' •'i ^ r> j c b is only marginally deviant. iv. Those which take only inanimate subjects or subjects which are presumed to be no longer animate. This group includes verbs like b=>kui 1 to be dry1, b=>cui 'to get burnt1, bubie 'to get broken', b=>wur=> 'to be exhausted*, etc. z>nantu =>na. rain 3s+PRES+rain 1I tfs raining .1 l£na l i f i. meat LE+PRES+be-hot 'The meat's hot. ’ k=>be k^kui na letabi kat=>. fish KO+PAS+dry at stone top 'The fish dried on top of the rock.' The second type, the group which can take any subject, would be le ft unmarked in the complex symbol for the verb; the other types would be listed as follows: ii and i- 337 In some cases, subject selection may co-vary with com plement selection, so that a verb may belong to two of the groups of subject potential depending partly on what somplements it takes. Thus, when the verb b=>hia 1 to be important 1 is used intransitively (i.e., without any complement) it can take any Noun Phrase as its subject: L bo rad a oga z>hia. Borada chief 3s+PRES+be-important 'The chief of Borada is important.' klh. bibtia bzshia. things learning BO+PRES+be-important, 'Learning is important.' ; however, when it is followed by a sentential complement, it takes no Noun Phrase as its subject: . =>hia ka beye adi. 3s+PRES+be-important that 3p+SUBJ+buy cloths 'I t 's important that they buy cloths.' Similarly, when br>l£mi 'to open' is used intransitively, i t takes only inanimate subjects; house 3s+PRES+open .'The door is open.’* but it takes an animate subject when used transitively (iwe., when followed by at least one Noun Phrase): pwa =>r)wani ^lemi z>t-o. his brother 3s+PA3+open house fHis brother opened the door. These verbs, and others like them, would have complex symbols like: ’to be important 1 l+V, -Anim______+Anim ’to open 1 At this point, I should mention that while Buem has no passives which are like those of English, it is possible to indicate that the performer of an action (i.e., the subject of a verb which is not intransitive) is either unknown or irrelevant by using the Verbal Concordial Prefix for the third person plural, BA- : badu =Dkpe. 3p+PAS+kill grasscutter ’They killed the grasscutter .1 or ’The grasscutter was killed.’ balfcml =>t^. 3p+PAS+open house ’They opened the door .1 or •The door was opened .1 baal=> ml kwaku. 3p+PKES+call me Kwaku •They call me Kwaku .1 or • I ’m called Kwaku.’ baculA kuji. 3p+PAS+burn tree •They burned the tre e .1 or ’Somebody burned the tre e .1 or •The tree was burnt. ’ (Note that this last example differs from kuji kicui. tree KO+PAS+get-burnt •The tree got b u rn t.’ in that the forme-r implies deliberate action, while the la tte r does not.) I am not certain as to what the deep- structure Noun Phrase subject is in these constructions (and, for that matter, in the underlying sentences for derived nouns); however, it seems likely that it is a Noun Phrase like b&cwiri badl !certain people 1 since it is this which is used when the subject of an intransi tive verb or of a verb of motion is indefinite, b&cwiri bad! bebo me. people certain 3p+PAS+come here ’Certain people came here.* Complementation. There are several different ways by which a verb can be complemented: i. It can have no complement at a l l . ( i . e . , a verb can be intransitive): muna ati ukpi. my father 3s+PAS+die fMy father died.’ ii. It can be followed by a single Noun Phrase, functioning as a direct object, and optional prepositional phrases of instrument and/or accompaniment (i.e., a verb can be transitive): muna ati 6du rokps. my father 3s+PAS+kill grasscutter ’My father killed a grasscutter.' muna ati £du =>kp£ ku z>klantie. my father 3s+PA3+kill grasscutter with cutlass ' ’My father killed a grasscutter with a cutlass, muna ati use kemo-ku muna uni. my father 3s+PAS+go farm with my mother , ’My father went to farm with my mother.’ i i i . It can be followed by two Noun Phrases,1the first functioning as an Indirect object, the second as a direct object. (In many cases, the indirect object, which is almost invariably animate,can be omitted.) letina frankofuo ledi ala. 1s+PAS+teach Franco-people language things ’I taught Franco students things about language letina ledi ala. Ts+PAS+teach language things *1 taught things about language .1 bete kwasi =>ku. 3’p+PAS+give Kwasi book '* ’They gaVe Kwasi a book. ’ ojr ’Kwasi was given a book.* 3i»2 iv. It can be followed by a prepositional phrase of accompaniment qt instrument: 3z>sia ku ami. 3s+PRES+follow with me 'It's following me.* zote r} ku ami. 3s+PRES+sleep 0 with me 'She sleeps with me .1 (In many cases, the ku of the prepositional phrase is tending to fuse with the Verb Stem.) v. It can be followed by a prepositional phrase consisting of ku following by an Infinitival fhrase: ' b=jda ku ajuma b^bla. 1p+PRES+hold with work doing ’We're in the middle of working .1 (As far as I can tell, this complement occurs only after i bz>da *to hold, to grasp’.) vi. If the verb is b=>di 'to be', it can be followed by a single Noun Phrase in apposition with the subject of the verb: 3^3 r)wa papa =>di oka j :onia oga. his father 3s+PRES+be Okajakrom chief fHis father is the chief of Okajakrom .1 v ii. If the verb is buse ' to be ', it can be fol lowed by an adjective or participle: use b o o . 3s+PRES+be big 'It rs big.' v iii. It can be followed by. a sentential complement in the Subjunctive: mobomodi liti.a lfclfcml ledi. 1s+PRES+try 1s+SUBJ+learn Lellmi language 'I'm trying to learn the Lelemi language.' Iiakana ese kuye. 2s+PRES+NEG+be-able 2s+SUBJ+go market 'You can't go to market.' ix. It can be followed by a sentential complement in the Subjunctive and introduced by ka : mowla ka ese kuye. 1s+PRES+seek that 2s+SUBJ+go market 'I want you to go to market.' 3Mt x. It can be followed by indirect discourse, with or without an indirect object: bunu ka bfbd me. 1p+PAS+hear that 2p+PAS+come here fWe heard that you came h e re .* basu T) ka t]wa papa uukpi. 3p+PAS+tell him that his father 3s+PAS+PR0G+die fThey told him that his father had d ied .1 o_r 'He was told that his father had died.1 The rule below schematizes these various complements: (NP) NP (PrepP) Accom ku + InfP P40 Comp ) (NP) ( ka} (SUBJ)) S and the following observations should be made: i. Although generally a verb can be complemented in only one way, some verbs can be complemented in several different ways: 3^5 nda l£cami. 1s+PRES+hold plate fIfm holding a p late.' nda ku llcami b=>f=3. 1s+PRES+hold with plate washing 'I'm in the process of washing the p late.' bekpo twifi ku lbpia. 3p+PAS+fight Twis with spears 'They fought the Twis with spears.' bekpfc ku twifo ku llp ia. 3p+PAS+fight with Twis with spears 'They fought with the Twis with sp ears.1 ^su Itgba. 3s+PAS+tell proverb 'She told a proverb.' £su ma ka zopwa kamu. 3s+PAS+tell them that 3s+PRES+harvest rice 'She told them that she was harvesting, .rice.' ii. In affirmative sentencest all transitive verbs, with the exception of verbs of motion and some verbs in serial constructions ),must have at 3«i6 least one object. In the event that the exact recipient of the action of the verb is unknown or irrelevant, the noun hla 1 things1 is used as the object. *mbrjwa. 1s+PRES+cook **I ’m cooking.1 but mz>T)wa ala. 1s+PRES+cook things * 1*111 cooking something.1 *3obla. 3s+PRES+work **He!s working.1 but =£>bla ala. 3s+PRES+work things 'He's doing something.1 *b3du. ' 1p+PAS+kill * lWe killed.' but 3h7 todu ala. 1p+PAS+kill things fWe killed things.' This restriction does not hold for negative sentences: transitive verbs in negative sentences can occur either with or without a complement, ntatjwa. 1s+PAS+NgG+cook *1 didnft cook .1 ntaqwa ala. 1s+PAS+NEG+cook things !I didn't cook anything.* iii. In the same way that the choice:of a-subject for the verb is governed by selectional restrictions, so is the choice of an object for the verb: verbs like b=Ddu *to k ill', for example, require animate objects, verbs like b=)pai *to crack 1 require inanimate objects, etc. (I shall consider the question of whether, for example, .. an object for verbs like bz>pai . 'to crack* should be formally opacified as being [-Animate, rHlgidJ to be irrelevant.) iv. Verbs of motion in Buem should be considered as being a sub-category of the class of transitive verbs rather than as being a sub-category of the class of in transitives. The prime reason for this is that the .structure of sentences like lisfe kemo. 1s+PAS+go farm 'I went to farm.' is identical to that of sentences like liy& kemo. 1s+PAS+sell farm 1r sold a farm.' and quite different from that of sentences like lifwi na kemo. 1s+PAS+be-sick at farm f I was sick at farm.1 The first two have deep-structures like: 3*#9 NP VP Vb NP FinP VSt 1s PAS -se lf- kemo while the last has the deep-structufe: FinP Prep • NP 1s 1s PAS 0 na kemo (A small problem does arise, however, if we consider the sentences libo ml. 'I came here .1 lifwi me. 11 was sick here. 1 and *liye me. *!I sold here .1 in which the parallelism seems much greater between the verb of motion and the intransitive verb than between the verb of motion and the transitive verb; it can be resolved more easily by allowing verbs of motion to take objects only optionally, rather than obligatorily r than by asserting that Spatial Determiners like me fhere! and m^> ’there 1 are complements of verbs of motion, since this la tte r proposal would give sentences like lfbb me. two dif ferent deep-structures, one in which me was dominated by the Complement node and the other in which it was domi nated by the Spatial Adverbial node. I consider sentential complements on pp. As I stated on p.^-f , the information as to the subject and complement potentials of a particular Verb Root is f>stored in the Complex Symbol for that Verb Root. Some of these Complex Symbols are exemplified below. b&bo £+V, -PRES + PROG ___ , NP ' to have '7 bubo [+Vt -PRES (PROG) ___ , 0, ____ -Anim ' to come 'J bz>da f+V, PRES (PROG) t Anim , - Abstract; xte- grasp, to hold’, _____ ku + InfP fto be in the process of 352 b=>dl {+V, -PRES + PROG ___ , _____ NP 'to exist as'; -PRES ___ , Anim Sff _Abstract (except figuratively) fto eatj brjdu Q+V, -PRES ___ Anim 'to kill 'J b^du f+V, -PRES ___ Anim ____ , -___ 0, Ab- stract fto ite'J bufwl (j-V, -PRES ___ Anim _0 fto be sick .J bz>kana L+V, -PRES ___ InfP, SUBJ + S 'to be able'J b^ku [+V, -PRES:___ -I : -Abstract sf ’to be dried 1 ____ -LA : Anim_____ -____ 0, - Abstract 'to dry'j^ bukpl [+V, -PRES ___ , Anim____ 0 .'to die'J bukpo £+V, -PRES ___ , Anim____ (ku) Anim 'to fight (with)' J b^l£mi f+V, -PRES _ -Anim_ 0, Anim -Anim, - Abstract 1 to open 'J bz>nu f+V, -PRES __ Anim Slf - Ab- stra c t, _____ ka + S 'to see'J buse [+Vf. -PRES + PROG ___, ______Adj, ___ Tart 'to be^ 353 tosi |jhVf -PRES + PROG ___ , JZf, -Anim ’to come from1; -A : Anim ku + Anim fto follow after b=3su £+V, -PRES ___ , Anim______(Anim) Abstract, Anim___ (Anim) ka + S fto bz>ti L+V, -PRES + PROG , Anim____ NP, Anim___ ka + S ’to know’; -A : -PRES ___ Anim___ Abstract, Anim ____ ka + . S ’to learn’; ____ -NA : -PRES , Anim___ (Anim$NP),. Anim (Anim) ka + S ’to teach, to show"*7 35i+ Adverbials and Prepositional Phrases There are five types of adverbials: i. Adverbials of accompaniment (Accom), ii. Instrumentals (Inst), iii* Manner adverbials (^dv^an) , iv. Spatial adverbials (Advg )f and v. Time adverbials (^c2vxemp) • The firs t two are dominated by the node labelled "PrepP II ku in the verbal complement; the last three are dominated by the node labelled "Adv" in the Verb Phrase. P411 PrepP^u ------) (Accom)(Inst) P42 Adv ) (AdvMan)(AdvSpa)(AdvTemp) Adverbials of accompaniment. Adverbials of accompaniment consist of the preposition ku ’with' followed by an animate Noun Phrase. P43 Accom ------) ku + NP £+Anim] There are a few verbs which take complements consisting solely of adverbials of accompaniment: b=>sla !to follow1, 355 b^>te fto l i e 1, b=>sa ’ to meet’, and adverbials of accompaniment can follow most verbs which have only a single object or which are verbs of motion, leka 3ku omo ku kwami. 1s+PAS+read book that with Kwame 'I read the book with Kwame. r mz»di abolo ku atesua. 1s+PF.ES+eat abolo with Akosuah ’I ’m eating "abolo” (a kind of bread) with Akosuah.’ lise oma ti kemo ku mensa. 1s+PAS+go town $ inside with Mensah. *1 went to town with Mensah.’ bebo m£ ku mana bebi. 3p+PAS+come here with their children ’They came here with their children.* I should point out, however, that it is much more common to find sentences with compound subjects than it is to find sentences with adverbials of accompaniment, ami ku ak^sua b^rbdi abolo. I and Akosuah 1p+PRES+eat abolo ’Akosuah and I are eating abolo .1 356 Instrumentals* Instrumental adverbials consist of the preposition ku !with* followed by an inanimate Noun Phrase* P44 Inst ------) ku + NP L~Anim7 They can follow virtually any transitive verb and a number of intransitive verbs as well* badu bakpe ku mana lbklantie. 3p+PAS+kill grasscutters with their cutlasses •They killed grasscutters with their cutlasses .1 kSfi ikulb lilu ku pwa z>sika. Kofi 3s+PAS+cut yam with his knife •Kofi cut yams with his knife .1 bua adi ku omo. 1p+PRES+wash our clothes -with Omow •We wash our clothes with Gmo.f blculi bame bekpb ku atabi. people- these 3p+PAS+fight with stones •These people fought with stones.' beculi bame bekpo ku twifo ku atabi. people these 3p+PAS+fought with Twis with stones •These people fought with the Twis with stones .1 357 Manner adverbials. Manner adverbials are formed in one of three ways: i # By use of a Manner adverb (Manner), ii. By use of a Prepositional Phrase consisting of na followed by either kale !mannerf or ulu fway! and appropriate modifiers, or iii* By use of a Prepositional Phrase consisting of ani 'like' followed by a Noun Phrase followed optionally by kale 'manner1* P45 f Manner f ^g^i ^ AdvM an _) na 7 filu \ Modif ani NP (kale) There are a great many words which are used as manner adverbs; while many of them are onomatopoeic and may be restricted to one or two verbs, there are a number of manner adverbs which can be used with a great variety of verbs; some of these are: basa-basa 'without paying attention' bwE-bwe 'badly' bwEE 'slowly' 358 g=>nd i-rg^nd i 1 crookedly 1 k&dweb ’’fine* kale-kale ’half-heartedly, without con centrating 1 kede-kede ’completely’ kesi-kesi ’everywhere* kra(-kra) ’’’at aaalll," in no way* mo mo mo General intensifier: very loudly, very rapidly, etc. t)waa ’clearly* pla ’quickly’ sinini ’as expected* SI3SZ5 'truly* tataata ' lev el’ tbteete '(filled) to the top’ taajaa ’excessively' kaja 'excessively' A number of adjectives- can also be used as manner adverbs, Probably the most obvious charscteristic of the manner ad- verbs is their reduplication; slightly less obvious is the fact tha a number of them show obvious signs of re- 359 lationship with other kinds of words: S3 'tr u e 1 S3S3 'tru ly ' kesi 'place* (n) kesi-kesi 'everywhere' bwe 'bad' bwe-bwe 'badly' bubomo 'be fa t' momomo Intensifier bota 'to rise' tataata ' lev el' Manner adverbials introduced by na are most often used to describe actions for which there is no one-word adverb. 3dk bu na kale naadia fcu. 3s+PAS+treat us in manner Rel+PRES+NEG+be-good us 'He treated us in a manner that wasn't good for us 3blii. r)wa kalabla n'ulu 3ni leewia. 3s+PAS+do his work in+way REL 1s+PAS+PROG+seek 'He did his work in the way I had looked f o r . ' Manner adverbials* introduced by ani are used for similes. kojo zobla lel=> ani =>tinane (kale). Kojo 3s+PRES+do self like teacher (manner) 'Kojo acts like a teacher.' kwabena isz>t£ml S.ni pga (kale). Kwabena 3s+PRES+talk like chief (manner) 'Kwabena talks like a chief .1 This type of manner adverbial should be compared with the subordinate clauses of manner (pp. 441-2 ). Spatial adverbials. Spatial adverbials consist either of the stem to the Spatial Determiners (see pp. 195ff) or of a prepositional phrase introduced by na and followed either by the name of a place or by a Noun Phrase in which the head noun refers to a place. Det, P46 AavSpS ) In "Standard Buem," the Spatial Determiners are me 'here' and d p 1 there1; in Baglo and Baglo-Odumase, they are me 'here1, nvp 1 there1, and nje 'yonder1. The same nouns which can function as the objects of verbs of motion can also function as the objects' of the preposition na in a Spatial adverbial. Other than the names of places such as Hohoe, Jasikan, Kumasi, etc. or such as =3t=> 1 house 1 oma 'town 1 kemu 'farm' kadrui .'compound (fig ., home)' kuye 'market1, the nouns used most commonly as the objects of a verb of motion or of na in a spatial adverbial are: kama 'behind, in back of' lenu kwami na kadrui kama. 'I saw Kwame in back of the house .1 animl 'in front o f 1 lenu kwami na kadrui animl. *1 saw Kwame in front of the house .1 lo l ^5 'on top of' lenu ayikpe na liboku lz>l=>. 'I saw a mouse'on top of the chair.' kal=> 'beneath, under' lenu ayikpe na liboku kal=>. 'I saw a mouse under the chair.' kadu 'bottom' (on the outside) lenu efi na libwi kadu. 'I saw dirt on the bottom of the pot.' kemo 'inside 1 lenu kwami na =)t=) ti kemo. 'I saw Kwame inside the house.' kud3 (Lef. kr=)) 'beside, chez, near' lenu ayikpe na kadrui kud=>. 'I saw a mouse beside the house.' lenu ayikpe na vampair kud^. 'I saw a mouse near Vampire.' or '. . . around Vampire' kake 'side, section, area, "quarter”' lenu kwami na kadrui k=>dl anu kake. 1s+PAS+see Kwame at compound eating hand side 'I saw Kwame in the right-hand side of the compound.' nte 'between' borada hca lisemi ku jasikan rite. Borada REL+PRES+be-at Teteman and Jasikan between 'Borada is between Teteman and Jasikan.' aki* 'among' ulie bal£ml ak^. 'He stays among the Lelemi .1 kat=3 'up, above, over' =>fe =>ca bua kat^. 'The sun is above us.' k&da 'down, below, at the foot o f 1 ketu kam=> kaca k=>bi kada. 'The river is at the foot of the mountain.' The following observations should be made: i. The nouns which function as the objects of na cannot be considered as post-positions since virtually all of them have the same distribution as other inanimate nouns-and virtually a ll have otherwise independent status in the language, as we can see by omitting the na from a couple of sentences: in lenu kwami kadrui kama. 'I saw the back of Kwame's house.', for example, and in lenu ayikpe liboku lz>l^. 'I saw the top of the mouse's c h a ir.', kama 'back' and l^Ls 'top' both function as the object of the verb lenu' 'I Saw.' The fact that the objects of na are not post-positions is made especially clear by looking at the words of the folk song "Lela n'ava" ("The Things You Sow"): 36<+ ...lela n'ava na kalis, ...th in g REL+2s+PAS+sow on Earth, '...what you sowed on Earth ,1 arju n'eede na kat=>.. . ' it REL+2s+FUT+CERT+reap in Heaven... rthat’s what you’ll reap in Heaven...’, in which both kal=> and kat^ can only be considered as full nouns. i i. kake ’side’ is usually preceded by either kr>dl anu ’right hand’ or k= 3mi 'left'; it may also be preceded by either kama ’re a r’ or animl 'fro n t'. i i i . kat=5 and kada are also used to refer to North and South, respectively; the other two compass points, East and Vest, are referred to by the phrases 3fe katukz> 'sun’s rising place' and ^fe kanupko 'sun's setting place', respectively. iv. The difference between sentences like use 3ma. and use r>ma t) kemo. or between sentences like' use i>ti 3. and use ot=> r) kemo. is analogous to the difference be tween the English sentences ,!He went to town." and "He went to the town." or between "He went home." and "He went to the house." 3G5 Time adverbials. Time adverbials usually come at the end of a sentence, but may be front-shifted for emphasis; the time adverbials ebia ’perhaps 1 and zjfale 'perhaps 1 always occur at the beginning of a sentence. T72 SD: NP + V (X) Adv^ + EMPH SC: AdvTemp + NP + V T73 SD: NP + V (X) NP + V (X) There are three kinds of time adverbials: i. Time adverbs, ii. Adverbial phrases of time, consisting of a tem poral noun and its modifiers, if any, and optionally preceded by asa 'before', and iii. Adverbial phrases of time, consisting of either asa 'before' or na '..ata' followed by an abstract noun followed by uwi 'tim e'. It is possible for the different kinds of time adverbial to co<=>occur, either with other time adverbials of the same type or 366 of different types; however, I have not yet worked out the patterns of ordering or the co-occurrence restric tions, and in fact it is possible that the two types "Time" and " N 11 can be collapsed into one. f +Tempj P47 Time (asa) N (Modif) [+TempJ AdvTemp } JassT) NP uwi I n a ' j+Absf- tract] Below is a list of some of the more commonv/words used in time adverbials. kamad i 'yesterday* smwi ’today * tonad i 'tomorrow * kadi *a particular day* ofayT *now * 3pe * now 1 daa •always * uwi biala.kemo *all the time* 367 kudil fnever' ku ku 'ancient times * diedi fthe future 1 uyislu 'a few days1 kama 'before' tr> .'yet, still' lekwa, a- 'year' k^buli, a- 'month' dape 'week' limei, e- 'day' Manta, le- 'morning' (poet ledijl 'morning' ^fwi 'daytime 1 usei, li- 'evening' use, li- 'night* kasa 'night-time* The original Buem calendar consisted of five-day weeks; however, this calendar is no' longer in use except by fetish-priests and others who observe the traditional forms of worship and has been replaced by the general 388. Ghanaian calendar, which uses a seven-day week. The names of the days of the week according to the tradi tional calendar are: 1st day l&yai Aya-day (Goddess) 2nd " adolimei Adoli-day (God) 3rd " lime pl=>r> 4th " llyei 5 th ” limeny=>nei (No farming for kudubi clan) The names of the days of the week according to the general Ghanaian calendar and the birthday names are: Dax Boy Girl Sunday kwasida Kwasi Akosuah Monday joda Kojo Adjuah Tuesday blada Kwabena Amina Wednesday kuda Kwaku Akuah Thursday yaoda Yao Yawa Friday ■■'fida Kofi Afua, Afi Saturday memlida Kwame Ammah 369 Part VI. Conjunction and Subordination 370 Conjunction of Noun Phrases When two or more sentences differ only in their selection of instances of Noun*Phrase in the same po sition, they can be conjoined by inserting ku 'and1*' ^ ‘ ‘ (tee- between each pair of dissimilar Noun Phrases and re taining the balance of the structure of only one' of the sentences* T74 (X) NP1 (Y) ) (X) np 2 (Y) (X) »P, ( i l ] BP2 (Y) 1 / \ % .V 1a. liye =>sii. 'I bought a gourd .1 ) b. lfyS =>fe. *1 bought a calabash* c. lfy& =>sii ku =>fe. *1 bought a gourd and a calabash .1 2a. bekpo ku asantifo n*uwi kuku. fThey fought with the Asanti long ago.* ) b. bekpo ku kwawufo n*uwi kuku. 'They fought with the Kwawu long ago.* c. bekp5> ku asantifo ku kwawufo n*uwi kuku. 'They fought with the Asante and the Kwawu long ago .1 371 When the conjoined Noun Phrases consist of nouns, in fi nitival phrases, or pronouns in the third person, then the ordering is irrelevant; liye 3sii ku ofe kamadi. fI bought a gourd and a calabash yesterday,* and liye =>fe ku osii kamadi. fI bought a calabash and a gourd yesterday .1 are both equally acceptable. However, when one or more of the conjoined Noun Phrases is a pronoun in either the firs t or the second person, the ordering is that firs t person pronouns come before second person pronouns, which come before everything else. ala b t inane =owia mi ku awo ku bula bakpana. thing teacher 3s+PRES+seek me and you(s) and our friends 'The teacher is looking for me and you and our f riends.' *al& Minane 3=5wia o ku ami. thing teacher 3s+PPES+seek you(s) and me *'The teacher is looking for you and me .1 Whether the pronouns are singular or plural is irrelevant. (X) [ 2J (Y) (X) NP (Y) (X) Conjoined NPs as subjects of a verb. When the subject of a finite verb which is not a Relative Verb form con sists of two or more conjoined Noun Phrases, not more than one of which is animate, the verb agrees in number and Noun Class only with the Noun Phrase which immedi ately precedes it; the number and/or Noun Class' of earlier Noun Phrases is completely irrelevant. libwi l£pai. LE/A+pot LE+PRES+be-cracked fThe pot is cracked .1 Ifccami llpai. LEyA+dish LE+PRES+be-cracked 'The dish is cracked^ libwl ku llcami llpai. LE/A+pot and LE/A+dish LE+PRES+be-cracked 'The pot and the dish are cracked .1 373 *libwl ku l£cami &pai. *LE/A+pot and LE/A+dish A+PFES+be-cracked S.cami apai, LE/A+dish A+PRES+be-cracked LThe dishes are cracked.f llbwl ku acami apai. LE/A+pot and LE/A+dish A+PHES+be-cracked ’The pot and the dishes are cracked .1 acami ku llbwi lepai. LE/A+dish and LE/A+pot LE+PRES+be-cracked ’The dishes and the pot are cracked.* *acami ku llbwl apai. *LE/A+dish and LE/A+pot A+PRES+be-cracked z>fe £nvi> 3pai. O/LE+calabash O+that O+PRES+be-cracked ’That calabash is cracked.’ =>fe ^nvi> ku libwi lepai* O/LE+calabash O+that and LE/A+pot LE+PRES+be-cracked ’That calabash and the pot are cracked.* llbwl ku =>fe DnvD :bpai. LE/A+Pot and O/LE+calabash O+that O+PEES+be-crack’ed ’The pot and that calabash are cracked.' 37*j *llbwl ku z>fe z»nvi 5 lepal. *LE/A+pot and O/LE+calabash O+that LE+PFES+be-cracked iibbedit z>ca 3tz> t) kemo. O/LE+plantain O+PFES+be-in.room / inside 'A plantain is in the room .1 kajii kaca r)to t) kemo. KA/BA+monkey KA+PFES+be-in room 0 inside fA monkey is in the room .1 r)b£di£ ku kajii kaca z>to t) kemo. O/LE+plantain and KA/BA+monkey KA+PFES+be-in room inside fA plantain and a monkey are inside the room .1 kajli ku zjbedie i>ca ot^ t} kemo. KA/BA+monkey and O/LE+plantain O+PRES+be-in room inside fA monkey and a plantain are inside the room.* ?kajil ku z>bsdie baca =>t=> t) kemo. ?KA/BA+monkey and O/LE+plantain BA+PRES+be-in room inside *r>bedie ku kajii hca z>t3 r) kemo. *0/LE+plantain and KA/BA+monkey O+PFES+be-in room inside 375 Similarly, z>fe ku libwl ku acami ku kuji kl>pal. 'A calabash and a pot and dishes and a stick c. are cracked.’ kuji ku rsfe ku libwi ku acami apai. *A stick and a calabash and a pot -and dishes are cracked.1 acami ku kuji ku z>fe ku libwi lepal. 'Dishes and a stick and a calabash and a pot are cracked.* libwl ku acami ku kuji ku rfe z>pai. *A pot and dishes and a stick and a calabash are cracked.* are all acceptable, while sentences like *acami ku kuji ku libwi apai. *LE/A+Dish and KO/A+stick and LE/A+pot A+PRES+be- cracked are a ll unacceptable, even though the Noun Phrases con cerned a ll have identical plural, forms. (Incidentally, this provides strong counter-evidence to the suggestion made by Voeltz (1971) and Givon (1972) that conjoined 378 Noun Phrases probably always entail plural agreement forms: in Buem, the same rule (see page 2 3 8 ) which controls agreement for simple Noun Phrases also controls agreement for most compound Noun Phrases as well.) The situation is different, however, when two or more of the conjoined Noun Phrases are animate; in this case, the following rules apply: i. If one of the conjoined Noun Phrases is the firs t person pronoun, either singular or plural, then Verbal Concordial Prefix is marked for the first per son plural. T76 SD: Cl] ku NP + VConc SC: M j ku NP + BO- ami ku awo buse skul. I and you(s) 1p+PAS+go school 'You and I went to school.1 ami ku kofi buse skul. I "and Kofi 1p+PAS+go school •Kofi and I went to school.1 ii. If neither is the first person pronoun, but one is the second person pronoun, either singular or plural, then the Verbal Concordial Prefix is marked for the second person plural. T77 SD: [2J ku NP + VConc SC: [ 2] ku NP + BE- awo .ku k?>fi bise skul. you(s) and Kofi 2p+PAS+go school •You and Kofi went to school.1 awo ku muna bebi bise skul. you(s) and my children 2p+PAS+go school •You and mychildren went to school.• iii. Otherwise, the Verbal Concordial Prefix is marked for the third person plural. T78 SD: NP ku NP + VConc £+ AnimJ C+AnimJ SC: NP ku NP + BA- [^+Anim] £+ AnimJ kofonu ku ese baca liyu kemo. sheep and goat 3p+PRES+be-in shed inside •A sheep and a goat are inside the shed.1 T]w2l ubl ku pwa papa b.ekpi. his child and his father 3p+PAS+die •His child and his father died.' Effects of conjunction on noun modifiers. Generally, there is no reduction of identical noun modifiers when two or more Noun Phrases are conjoined. 3a. libwl llkpidi 1a bad po t r : ) b. ltcami llkpidi fa bad dish* c. libwl llkpidi ku l£cami llkpidi, •a bad pot and a bad dish* 4a. banana bamb 'these men1 _ ) b. belbku bame 'these women' c. banana bamb ku beloku bam£ 'these men and women1 There are, in Buem, no ambiguities similar to the oft-quoted "old men and women," which would be rendered in Buem either as banana kuku ku beldku , where banana kuku 'old men' . would form one unit and beloku. 'women' another or as banana kuku ku belbku kuku 'old men and old women.' 379 Conjunction of Verb Phrases (Serial Verbs) Serial verbal constructions are the result of the conjunction of two or more sentences which have the same Noun Phrase(s) as their subjects, which refer to the same periods of time, which are all affirmative or all negative, and which differ only in their selection of verbs and complements. The Verb Phrases are ordered by the referential sequence of events, so that a verb re ferring to one event which takes place before a second event w ill occur in the sentence earlier than a verb referring to the second event; when they appear, how ever, the verb bos^ 'to again* always occurs first in a serial construction and the verb butulS 'to sur pass* always occurs last in a serial construction, os b =>dl slka utul5 am&, 3s+PAS+again 3s+PAS+eat money 3s+PAS+surpass Ammah 'She again wasted more money than Ammah.' l£sS kuye lfye lena leku. 1s+PAS+go market 1s+PAS+buy meat 1s+PAS+chew 'I went to the market, bought meat, and ate i t . ' 360 Furthermore, when more than one verb is used to describe a particular segment of an event, generally the more ge neral verb precedes the more specific one. r>ga £no *otlml zosu mSt riwa mla. chief that 3s+PRES+speak 3s+PRES+tell them his law •That chief is speaking to tell them his law.* itiblfiku fi&bla uate ku b&kpine fw il. God 3s+CERT+do 3s+CERT+judge with dead a ll •God w ill certainly act to judge a ll the dead.' To a large extent the motivation for the conjunction of different sentences to form a serial construction is referential and, therefore, extra-linguistic—I can find no plausible way which is not also circular to indicate in the grammar itself that the speaker considers one event to be taking place simultaneously with another; for this reason, the following rule is intended only as a rough guide for the formation of serial verbal constructions. T79 TIME., + NP1 + VP ) TIME,, + NP1 + VP; NP1 + VP1 + VP2 It w ill be noted that there is no surface connective con- W**81 <*/ •*>« joining the two Verb Phrases. Owing partly to co-occurrence restrictions on Modality markers which apply to particular verbs, a formal presen tation of the rules governing the Tense and Modality markings of verbs in serial constructions would be rather cumber some and, I fe e l, not especially helpful; hence, I pre fer to make the following observations informally only. i. As stated, all verbs in a serial construction must be either all affirmative or all negative* kifi uyi lena iku. Kofi 3s+PAS+buy meat 3s+PAS+chew 'Kofi bought the meat and ate i t . ' k&fi uteye lena utaku. Kofi 3s+PAS+NEG-Kbuy meat 3s+PAS+NEG+chew 'Kofi didn't buy any meat and eat i t . ' ♦k&fi uyh lena utaku. ♦Kofi 3s+PAS+buy meat 3s+PAS+NEG+chew ♦'Kofi bought meat and didn’t eat i t . ' ye lena ku. 2s+IMP+buy meat 2s+IMP+chew •Buy meat and eat it 1f t^ye lena t&ku. 2s+IMP+NEG+buy meat 2s+IMP+NEG+chew 'Don't buy meat and eat i t . ' ♦ye lena taku. ♦2s+IMP+buy meat 2s+IMP+NEG+chew ♦'Buy meat and don’t eat it 2' It should be noted, however, that the starred examples would be grammatical if the Verb Phrases were separated either by a brief interval or by nsu 'but'; however, in this case, we would have two separate sentences, ra ther than one single sentence with a serial verb construe tion. kofi uyS lena nsu utaku. Kofi 3s+PAS+buy meat but 3s+PAS+NEG+chew 'Kofi bought some meat but he didn't eat any.' ye lena. t&ku. 2s+IMP+buy meat. 2s+IMP+NEG+chew. 'Buy meat2 Don't eat anyI' 383 ii. As stated, all verbs must have the same time re ference and, where permitted by selectional restrictions on an individual verb's choice of Modality markers, a ll verbs in a serial construction must have the same markers for Modality (in addition to the markers for Negation, just discussed). lfltl osika leekul=> lllu. 1s+PAS+PROG+take knife 1s+PAS+PROG+cut yam •I've taken a knife and cut the yam.1 atibl&ku uabla uate ku bSkpine fw il. God 3s+CERT+do 3s+CERT+judge with dead a ll 'God will surely act to judge-all the dead.' ♦atibluku u&bla Muote ku b&kpine fw il. ♦God 3s+CERT+do 3s+RIT+judge with dead a ll ♦itibluku Mu=>bla uate ku b&kpine fw il. ♦God 3s+FUT+do 3s+CERT+judge with dead a ll Atibluku M uibla z>lu?>te ku b&kpine fw il. God 3s+FUT+do 3s+FUT+judge with dead a ll 'God will act to judge all the dead.' This rule is subject to several caveats: (a.) When a verb in a serial construction follows the verb buse fto go1 in the Present Affirmative tense, i t is marked for the Aspect of Motion Away. lis S li kuye ftteye lena fttaku. 1s+PRES+go market 1s+G0+buy meat 1s+G0+ehew 'I'm going to market to go buy meat to go e a t .1 ♦ lfsela kuye muuye lena mroku. *1s+PRES+go market 1s+PRES+buy meat 1s+PRES+chew *lfs&lA kuye mfeeyS lena maaku. *1s+PRES+go market 1s+CERT+buy meat 1s+CERT+chew (b.) When the first verb of a serial construction (or, i f the fir s t verb is bzoso 'to continue', the second verb) is in the affirmative but does not refer to the present time then subsequent verbs may be in the subjunctive; this usually indicates that the purpose of the fir s t action was to cause the second. liyh lena nA kuye l£ku. 1s+PAS+buy meat at market 1s+SUBJ+chew fI bought meat at the market in order to eat i t . ' mbti =>fe leni ntu. 1s+CERT+take calabash 1s+SUBJ+drink water 'I'll pick up a calabash to drink water from it.' 395 Qtetl b ft z>ni ntu. 3s+G0+take calabash 3s+SUBJ+drink water ’He's going to take a calabash to drink water from.' ilubli ofe buti :oni ntu* 3s+FUT+come calabash INF+take 3s+SUBJ+drink water 'He will pick up a calabash to drink water from*' (=>lubu =>fe buti is in the "long form” of the Affirmative General Future when the second verb in a se r ia l construction does not refer to the purpose of the f ir s t verb, and the fir s t verb is in the "long form" of the Affirmative General Future, then the second Verb Phrase has the form of an Infinitival Phrase, Mubfi =>fe buti b^ni ntu, 3s+FtlT+come calabash INF+take INF+drink water 'He'll pick up a calabash and drink water from it.', presumably reflecting the view that the underlying sentences are ilubifc =>fe b&ti 'He'll pick up a calabashl' and Mubu ntu boni •He'll drink water.') 5 386 (c*) When the first verb of a serial construction (or, if the fir s t verb is bus^ *to. continue1, the second verb) is in the affirmative and refers to custo mary or habitual actions, then subsequent verbs are (f Hence, the sentence b£&T]va animl teete ma. 3p+PRES+cook rice CUST+give them fThey cook rice to give them.' is acceptable if it refers to a customary action, as in bl&Tjwa animl teete mS. uwi biara. 'They always cook rice to give them.', but is not usually acceptable if it refers solely to an action that is taking place at the same time that the speaker is talking, % ♦ba&Tjwa animl teete ma !>fayl. ♦'They cook rice to give them now.', in which case % ba&Tiwa animl bSete ml, r^fayl. 'They are cooking rice and giving it to them now is preferred. The obverse is also true, and a sentence like ♦ba&Tiwa animl bSetS ml, uwi biara. ♦'They are always cooking rice and giving it to them.' is also not acceptable. The distinction can be made a 388 bit clearer if we look at a verb like boda fto hold1, which can occur either in the Simple Present or in the Present Progressive. When it occurs in the Simple Pre sent, thereby indicating that the action of the verb is not customary or habitual, subsequent verbs in serial construction are also in the Present, nda z>fe nnoni ntu. 1s+PRES+hold calabash 1s+PRES+drink water fI ,m holding a calabash and drinking water.*, but when it occurs in the Present Progressive, then sub sequent verbs must be marked for Customary action, m=>z>da ^fe taani ntu. . 1s+PRES+PR0G+hold calabash CUST+drink water *1 hold a calabash to drink water from.* Serial verb constructions and buti rto take*. The verb buti fto take* is probably the commonest of the verbs which are found in serial verb constructions, where1 - i t is frequently used to give the implication of deliberate, intended action. This is clearly seen if we compare the following sentences, 389 lfbllfe lfccami. 1s+PAS+break dish •I broke a d ish .1 l£bll& ltcami ku litabi. 1s+PAS+break dish with stone fI broke a dish with a stone.1, where the act^of breaking might have been either acciden tal or deliberate, but is left unstated as to which, with the following sentences, which contain a serial construc tion, l f t l lfccami lfbllfe. 1s+PAS+take dish 1s+PAS+break fI took a dish and broke i t . f litl lfctabi lfblll llcami. 1s+PAS+take stone 1s+PAS+break dish •I used a stone to break the dish.' Here, there is no possibility that the act of breaking might have been accidental; it could only have been de liberate. Similarly, the sentence lijwa :ocul&, kJbbl na ija kemo. Adjuah 3s+PAS+burn fish on fire inside •Adjuah burned the f ir e- in the fir e . 3S0 does not assert that Adjuah burnt the fish deliberately, while the use of buti 'to take* in a serial construc tion does, Ajwa utl kibbt ^cula na oja kemo. Adjuah 3s+PAS+take fish 3s+PAS+burn in fire inside 'Adjuah took the fish and burned them in the f ir e .' In some cases, where the notion of deliberate action is not perhaps appropriate, buti is used as sort of an in tensifies as in l i t l =>nancwi lfbdku me. 1s+PAS+take cow 1s+PAS+bring here fI took a cow and brought it h ere.1 The verb buti 'to take' can collocate with a great many other verbs in serial verb constructions, apparently with very few restrictions, as the following representative list {which my informant produced spontaneously within un der three minutes) can testify; all verbs are in the Af firm ative Simple Past, as e lic ite d . lftl ... lfvi I borrowed without permission l£ t l * ...lit& I gave • levli I lay on the ground * l£tz>T)ku I sent ahead • leb U I used in making - • lecSi I put inside • lfsarikQ I sent with • lesl&ku I sent after • Ifmfcnfe I posted • lilb I shared • lesu I revealed • lekpalA I used in sweeping lfwl I poured • lff& l I burned • lekfilz? I cut • l e l l I erected * IsmanJt I glued • lem&na I tied (e.g., scarf, wrap) • Ifnylml I tied together • I ffU I used in catching If the verb following buti has an object, then the object of buti is the instrument used in performing the action of the second verb, l£ tl zjsika lekulz) lllu . 1s+PAS+take knife 1s+PAS+cut yam •I took a knife and cut the yam.1, but when the second verb has no object, then the object of buti is the entity upon which the action of the second verb is to be performed, l f t l lllu l£kulz>. 1s+PAS+take yam 1s+PAS+cut n •I took a yam and cut it.' Serial verb constructions and bute 'to give5 5 The verb bute fto give' also occurs quite frequently in serial constructions, where it and its object denote the person on whose behalf an action is performed, as in lebl?L kutu l£t& muna b&t)wani. 1s+PAS+make soup 1s+PAS+give my siblings 'I'made soup and gave it to my brothers and siste r s. or 'I made soup to give to my brothers and s is t e r s .1 393 us&li kuye ti&ye lena tfe&te mi. 3s+PRES+go market CUST+buy meat CUST+give me •She goes to market to buy meat to give me.1 or •She goes to market to buy meat for me.’ tidu bakpe tete mi. 2s+IMP+NEG+kill grasscutters 2s+IMP+NEG+give them •Don*t kill grascutters for them.• Even though bute can take a double object, as in bete mi slka. 3p+PAS+give them money •They gave them money.f , where the first Noun Phrase functions as an Indirect Ob ject and the second Noun Phrase functions as a Direct Object, bute quite commonly occurs in a serial verb con struction with buti ’to take1, as in betl slka beti mi. 3p+PAS+take money 3p+PAS+give them •They took money and gave it to them.1, avoiding the possibility of ambiguity in sentences like buti mensi leku. 1p+PAS+give Mensah books 33*+ which can be interpreted either as "We gave Mensah's books away" or as "We gave books to Mensah." Serial verb constructions and butulo fto surpass1* The verb butuli *to surpass1 is used to express comparative relations of all sorts; it can occur either as the only verb of a sentence or as the final verb in a serial verb construction. In the Baglo d ialect, butulo occurs as the only verb of a sentence only when the thiiog that the subject of the verb butuli is superior in can be ex pressed as a Nominal group; in this case, the person surpassed is the object of butulS and the thing he*s surpassed in is the posessor of kemo 1 inside' in the prepositional phrase na . . . kemo . ntulS kwamlni nh. slka kemo. 1s+PRES+surpass Kwamina in money inside ^ 'v e got more money than Kwamina. yao utulS kwStku na ajwi kemo. Yao 3s+PRES+surpass Kwaku in brains inside •Yao has more brains than Kwaku.* 335 2lt]u utuli o r& b&l5ku ku bebi kemo* he 3s+PRES+surpass you in wives and children inside •He has more wives and children than you*' (If there is no prepositional phrase following the object of butulo , then the superiority is understood to be in numbers* banabl betulS b&lokubi. boys surpass g irls •There are more boys than g ir ls .') Vhen butuli occurs in a serial verb construction, it always occurs last and is subject to the same constraints that apply to other verbs in serial Yerb constructions* kwaku ubo mbo utulo yao* Evaku 3s+PRES+have size, 3s+PRES+surpass Yao •Kwaku is bigger than Yao.f adl slka etulo ama. 2s+PAS+eat money 2s+PAS+surpass Ammah. 'You spent {or wasted ) more money than Ammah.' &di slka f&etuli am S.. 2s+PRES+eat money Z,CUST*+surpass Ammah. •You spend (or waste ) more money than Ammah.' 3S6 kwlsi fiukeli ise t!!tul& k5jo. Kwasi 3s+PRES+run race CUST+surpass Kojo •Kvasi runs a better race than K ojo.1 ll&zsdi slka lluutul! ami. 2s+FUT+eat;money 2S+ITJT+surpass Ammah, fYoufl l spend (or waste ) more money than Ammah.1 mlly^ lllu m!etulo animl. 1s+CERT+like yam 1s+CERT+surpass rice ' I 1!! like yam better than r i c e .1 ami. uladl slka uutulo I. Ammah 3s+PRES+NEG+eat money 3s+FRES+NEG+surpass you •Ammah doesn't spend ( 01 * waste ) as much money as you .1 lekull lena 1ft! Iblna Iftull kojo. 1s+PAS+cut meat 1s+PAS+give Abena 1s+PAS+surpass Kojo 'I cut more meat to give to Abena than Kojo d id .1 Repetition of objects in conjoined sentences. Generally, when a* referent the recipient of the action of more than one verb in a serial construction, there is only one verb in the serial construction, usually the first, which is complemented by a NounPhrase referring to the referent, and theother verbs whose activity impinge on the referent occur without any object complement, lfy ! lena l£ fl l£kfi. 1s+PAS+buy meat 1s+PAS+roast 1s+PAS+chew •I boughtmeat, roasted i t , and ate i t . 1 ?lfy! lena lifl nl lek!. ?1s+PAS+buy meat 1s+PAS+roast it 1s+PAS+chew *lfy! lena l f f l nl lekS nl. *1s+PAS+buy meat 1s+PAS+roast it 1s+PAS+chew it Even in conjoined sentences which do not result in serial constructions, it is a bit unusual for there to be two instances of Noun Phrases referring to a single re ferent and functioning as objects of verbs; I think that lfy! lena lffl 1ft! yao n! okfi 1s+PAS+buy meat 1s+PAS+roast 1s+PAS+give Yao and 3s+PAS+chew •I bought meat, roasted it , and gave it to Yao and he ate i t . ' is considered stylistically superior ta lfy! lena lffl 1ft! yao n! 3ku nl. 1s+PAS+buy meat 1s+PAS+roast 1s+PAS+give Yao and 3s+PAS+chew it •I bought meat, roasted i t , and gave it to Yao, and he ate i t . 1, although this last would still be acceptable. Conjoining Entire Sentences There are five words or phrases commonly used to conjoin entire sentences; these five words or phrases are na and nsu but, however &T)U then rjwa klb therefore, for this reason arju bearing this in mind In addition, there are two words used for "or”; I w ill discuss them separately. There seem to be no co-occurrence restriction s on tense or aspect when two or more declarative sentences are conjoined, le j l lena na bMubo bz>ku.k=>n2idl. 1s+PAS+fry meat and 1p+FUT+come INF+chew tomorrow fI fried meat and wefll eat it.tomorrow.1 5 fl5 , nsu T}wa k=>nu kutedu. 3s+PAS+jump but his hand KO+PAS+NEG+reach. •He jumped up, but he couldn’t reach i t . 1 k&fi ubull nk i f i tonu. Kofi 3s+PAS+fall-dovn and 3s+PAS+break arm •Kofi f e ll and broke his arm.1 utl ledi te mi na ukbll ^trz>. 3s+PAS+take something CUST+give me and 3s+PAS+run 3s+PAS+depart •She gave me something and ran away.1 When two affirmative imperative sentences are conjoined with na fandf# the fir s t remains in the imperative while the verb of the second changes to a tense which appears to be the Subjunctive. t i =>sik& n’Ckur^ ujl 6mb me f\ke 2s+IMP+take knife and+2s+SUBJ+cut stick the here 0 •Take a cutlass and cut the stick here.1 bo vi let=> Its na irjwunl kz>dl anu. 2s+IMP+come 2s+IMP+cross houses three and 2s+SUBJ+turn eating hand •Go past three houses and then turn right.1 I have no examples of the conjunction of two or more negative imperatives except in serial constructions, nor have I any examples of the conjunction of two or more questions except *♦01 in serial constructions* On a purely impressionistic basis, it seems that Buem uses inter-sentential conjunctions rather more fre quently than does English; however, much more study is needed on the topic of use of conjunctions. **02 The Disjunctive Conjunctions In the Baglo dialect, there are two conjunctions, lye and munCi , which are approximately equivalent to the "exclusive for,M of English; lye is used to con join declarative or imperative sentences or parallel structures within declarative or imperative sentences and, under certain conditions, can also conjoin questions or parallel structures within questions, munu , on the other hand, can conjoin only questions or parallel struc tures within questions. The structures that lye and mfinfi can conjoin are: i. Entire sentences ii. Noun Phrases functioning as objects of a verb iii. Noun Phrases functioning as subjects of a verb iv. Prepositional Phrases, and v. Adverbials, and the rule governing disjunctive conjunction is as fol lows: in declarative or imperative sentences, lye in tervenes between each pair of structures to be conjoined; in questions, however, either lye . or munii intervenes <♦03 between each pair of structures to be conjoined except for the final pair, which can be conjoined only by munu . Conjunction of entire sentences* The following sen tences illustrate the use of lye and mun& in con joining entire sentences; as far as I can tell, there are no restrictions on tenses or aspects* enyl lye etenyi 2s+PAS+excrete lie Or 2s+PAS+NEG+excrete lie fEither you told a lie or you didn't.1 enyl zoko mfinu etenyi d k ^d ? 2s+PAS+excrete lie or 2s+PAS+NEG+excrete lie? 'Did you t e ll a lie or didn't you?1 Ji&ye kemu lye u&bla ajuma rik r>ma kemo. 3s+CERT+buy farm or 3s+CERT+do work in town inside 'Either he'll buy a farm or he'll do work in town.' Sfeye kemu munu uabla ajuma nh =>ma rj kemoo? 3s+CERT+buy farm or 3s+CERT+do work in town inside? 'Will he buy a farm or w ill he work in town?' ti lilu lemz> te mi lye tesfe. 2s+IMP+take yam that 2s+IMP+give me or 2s+IMP+GO+go 'Take that yam and give it to me or le a v e .1 ‘♦O1* te mi sika im l ly e m&adii =>. 2s+IMP+give me money that or 1s+CERT+kill you 'Give me the money or I ' l l k ill you,' Conjunction of Noun Phrases as subjects of a verb. When the subject of a Verb Phrase consists of two or more Noun Phrases conjoined by either lye or munu , the Relative Verb forms must be used. The "right-most" concord, as described on pp. 372- , does not apply. oga lye &la b t Inane 6m=> muklsi mi. chief that or thing teacher that REL+PRES+hate me 'Either the chief or the teacher hates me.' 3ga :5m=> m&nii alii =?tInane :Sm=> muklsi mii? chief that or thing teacher that REL+PRES+hate me? 'Does either the chief or the teacher hate me?' ♦=>ga lye ala Mlnane 5w b uuklsi mi. ♦chief that or thing teacher that 3s+PRES+hate me ♦uga 3mz> lye al2i =>tlnane b&eklsi mi. ♦chief that or thing teacher that 3p+RRES+hate me ^05 mun& S ti ly e mtink uni nebi m£* my father or my mother REL+PAS+come here fEither my mother or my father came here*1 *m&n& Siti ly e mlinh uni ubS me* *my father or my mother 3s+PAS+come here *m&n& Jiti ly e m&nli uni beb& me* *my father or my mother 3p+RAS+come here Conjunction of Noun Phrases as ob.iects of a verb* Vhen the object of a verb consists of two or more Noun Phrases conjoined by either lye or m&nu 9 the Noun Phrase ob jects may be fronted optionally, presumably for emphasis. Any verb tense may be used* 2owl?i lll& ly e animl. 3s+PRES+seek yam or rice 'She's looking for either yam or rice*’ lllf i lye animl n'=>owlli* yam or rice that 3s+PRES+seek ,It,s either yam or rice that shefs seeking.1 ^06 bM?>fwl=> &k=)k=> kutu ly e Sse kutu. 1p+FUT+slurp chicken s&ew or goat stew tVe,ll eat either chicken stew or goat stew.1 &k^k=> kutu lye &se kutu na bl>l”>fwl3, chickbn stew or goat stew that 1p+FUT+slurp •It’s either chicken stew or goat stew that wefll eat,f bfsela borada m&nii lisem ii? 2p+PRES+go Borada or Teteman? •Are you going to Borada or to Teteman?1 borada munu lisemi na b£sll2&? Borada or Teteman that 2p+PRES+go? •Is it to Borada or to Teteman that you’re going?1 mini ule z>oy=> lcodi k^ml ly e kodi konvi lye kodi lrfnjfc. my wife 3s+PRES+like cloth this or cloth that or cloth yonder •My wife wants either this cloth, that cloth, or the other one,• Conjunction of Noun Phrases as objects of prepositions. <*07 ly e and Q&nu can be used to conjoin two or more Noun Phrases which are the objects of a preposition, zobla mi n& len& ?) n& hohoi lye jaslk&n. 3s+PRES+make me that 1s+PAS+see him in Ho hoe or Jasikan 'It seems to me that I saw him in either Hohoe or Jasikan.1 ukpS kfi kw&si ly e kwamln&. 3s+PAS+fight with Kwasi or Kwamina 'He fought with either Kwasi or Kwamina.1 uklfi lll& lenv=> k5 Sklantlb ly e =>siklu 3s+PAS+cut yam that with cutlass or knife 'He cut that yam with either a cutlass or a knife. The use o f ly e and mun5 in q uestions. m&n& Afcwalways used to conjoin the final pair of Noun Phrases in a ques tion; earlier pairs of Noun Phrases, however, can be con joined by either munft or lye in questions. ^08 zowlS. 111& ly e animl m&nfi z>bancii? row IS. 11 lu mftnJi animl mun& 2>bS.ncii? 3s+PRES+seek yam or rice or cassava? •Is she looking for yam, for rice, or for cassava?1 &kokz> kutu ly e fese kutu mun& tobetu nh. bz>l5>fwlo:=>? Skr>kr) kutu m&nJi Sse kutu m&nu kobetu nS. bblofwlro? chicken stev or goat stew or fish-stew that 1p+FUT+slurp? •Is it chicken stew, goat stew, or fish stew that we'll eat?1 m&nS, 2iti ly e muna uni mun& 5cwedi mamS. nebo mee? muni k t i m&nu m&nS. uni m&nJi Cicwedi mamS. nebi mee? my father or my mother or person other REL+PAS+come here? 'Did my mother or my father or anybody else come here?1 Sequence of Tenses The tense of the verbs in an embedded sentence is conditioned by the relationship between the time of the action of the embedded sentence and the time of the action of the matrix sentence. The following principles govern the sequence of tenses in complex sentences: i# If the action of the embedded sentence takes place at the fcame time as the action of the matrix sentence, and the time of the action of the matrix sentence is not the future, then the verbs of the embedded sentence are in the Present tense and the verbs of the matrix sentence are in the Present tense if the action is still continuing; otherwise, the verbs of the matrix sentence are in the Past# It should be noted, however, that the Simple Present tense may be used in the embedded sentence only if the action of the embedded sentence is still going on mftutfc ma lig u la b i is lk a ba&Tiwa kana, 1s+PRES+give them money because 3p+PRES+cook porridge •I *111 giving them money because they are cooking porridge,1 lfte ma llgulabi islka ba&T)wa kana, 1s+PAS+give them money because 3p+PRES+cook porridge •I gave them money because they were cooking p orrid ge,1 mun& ubi *oma 3slka rjkweni p. my baby 3s+PRES+laugh because 1s+PRES+carry him •My baby is laughing because I *ni carrying him piggy-back,1 mun'k ubi onA oslka mzokweni u, my baby 3s+PAS+laugh because 1s+PRES+carry him •My baby laughed because I was carrying him - ' piggy-back* * ♦mfinS. ubi omJi :Sslka ?)kweni u, ii* If the action of the embedded sentence takes place before the action of the matrix sentence# and the time of h it the action of the matrix sentence is not the future, then the verbs of the embqdded sentence are almost in variably in the Past Progressive (if the verbs are in the affirmative), and the verbs of the matrix sentence are in the Present if the action of the matrix sentence is still continuing; otherwise, the verbs of the matrix sentence are in the Simple Past* mhut& ma llg u la b i :Sslka baarjwa kana* 1s+PRES+give them money because 3p+PAS+PR0G+cook porridge ,I ,m giving them money because they have cooked p orrid ge.1 l i t h ma llg u la b i oslka baarjva kana* 1s+PRS+give them money because 3p+PAS+PR0G+cook porridge *1 gave them money because they had cooked porridge.* Occasionally, the Simple Past is used in the embeddedd sentence; however, I feel that this occurs primarily in casual speech, and even then only rarely. ?muut£ m?t llg u la b i 5slka bar)wi kana* ?1s+PRES+give them money because 3p+PAS+cook porridge ?,I tm giving them money because they cooked p o rrid g e.1 iii. If the time of the action of the matrix sen tence is in the future, then the tenses of the verbs in both the matrix sentence and the embedded sentence are the same as they would be if all the sentences were in dependent sentences; however, if the time of the em bedded sentence is the future, then more often than not the Future Certainty is used rather than the Simple Future, at least in its reduced forms. m%et& ma llg u la b i ^slka barjwi kana* 1s+CERT+give them money because 3p+PAS+cook porridge •I'll give them money because they cooked p o rrid g e.1 m£et& ma llg u la b i ^slka ba&rjwa kana* 1s+CERT+give them money because 3p+PRES+cook porridge.* •I’ll give them money because they are cooking porridge,1 mietfe mJt llg u la b i ^slka b&lub5 kana br>T)wa. 1s+CEKT+give them money because 3p+FUT+come porridge INF+cook •I'll give them money because they'll cook p orrid ge.1 m&&t& ma llg u la b i :5slka baarjwa kana. 1s+CERT+give them money because 3p+CERT+cook p orrid ge.* •I'll give them money because they'll cook p orrid ge.1 Similarly, if the time of the action of the rabfedded sentence is in the future, all verbs have the same tenses that they would have in independent sen ten ces. l i t h ma llg u la b i :5slka b&lub5 kana bor^va. 1s+PAS+give them money because Jp+FUT+come porridge INF+cook •I gave them money because they w ill cook porridge.' lftS mk llgulabi ^slka batarjwa kana. 1s+PAS+give them money because 3p+GO+cook porridge •I^ave them money because they are/were going to cook porridge.1 iv. Notwithstanding the above, if the verb of the matrix sentence entails a sentential complement whose verbs must be in the Subjunctive, then the verbs of the embedded sentence will be in the Subjunctive. (See the following section.) * VL5 Sentences as Complements There is a small number of verbs which take sub ordinate sentences as their complements* In most cases9 these subordinate sentences have their verbs in the Subjunctive, and in some cases,,the subordinate sentences are introduced by ka 'that1. As far as I can deter mine, the only verb, other than those introducing indirect discourse, which is complemented by a subordinate sentence not in the Subjunctive is b=>dla 'to be good': id la bu ka ama r»r)va b£& ad ill,. 38+PRES+be-good us that Ammah 3s+PAS+cook our food 'It's good for us that Ammah cooked our food*' =>dla bu ka ama ulrjwa bua ad ill.* 3s+PRES+be-good us that Ammah 3s+CERT+cook our food 'It's good for us that Ammah will cook our fo o d .' Two verbs, b^brmiodi 'to try' and bokana 'to be able', can be complemented either by an Infinitival Phrase or by *♦16 a subordinate sentence in the Subjunctive whose under lying subject is identical to the subject of the verb of the matrix sentence: mz>br>m=>di llti& ltltm l le d i. 1s+PRES+try 1s+SUBJ+learn Lelemi language 'I'm trying to learn the Lelemi language.* kwami =>b=>m3di Jitia 1 ti t ml le d i. Kwame 3s+try 3s+SUBJ+learn Lelemi language ’Kwame is trying to learn the Lelemi language.* mobsmodi b=>ti& Itltm l le d i. 1s+PRES+try INF+learn Lelemi language ,I ,m trying to learn the Lelemi language.1 One verb, b=>ya ’to permit*, is complemented by an animate object followed by a subordinate sentence in the Subjunctive: £yli mi iifebla. 3s+PAS+allow me 1s+SUBJ+work fHe le t me work.* m=£>ya k&fi UTjwa kamu. 1s+PHES+permit Kofi 3s+SUBJ+harvest rice ’I'm letting Kofi harvest rice.' There are several other verbs which take sentences in the Subjunctive and introduced by k& ; these verbs include brjyo to iihq* b*>wla to want1 bz>fo to be necessary* b sd i to be necessary* bohia to be important* as exem plified bys mi>yo k& l l t i a ala, 1s+PRES+want that 1s+SUBJ+learn things *1 want to learn things.* noy^ kk kbfi uti& &1&. 1s+PRES+want that Kofi 3s+SUBJ+learn things *1 want Kofi to learn.1 =>hia kS, k&fi u tia a la , 3s+PRES+be-important that Kofi 3s+SUBJ+learn things •Itfs important for Kofi to learn.* Indirect Discourse All four types of sentence—declarative, inter rogative, imperative, and exclamatory—can occur as the complement of a verb of speaking, hearing, or other mental activity, although there are restric tions as to which type of sentence can occur as the complement of particular verbs and, in addition, there are restrictions on the ordering of the verbs of speaking depending on the type of sentence which complements them. In general, the principles governing sequence of tenses in embedded sentences, as described on pp. Ao^ t ap ply to embedded sentences in indirect discourse as well. Indirect Statements. When a declarative sentence follows a verb of perception such as b^nu fto see1, bunu *to hear*, bz>ti fto know1, &jwi buti 1 to have in mind1, etc., thereby forming an indirect statement, it is in troduced by ka • l£n& ka m5n& uleni uuye lena. 1s+PAS+see that my wife 3s+PRES+buy meat •I saw that my wife was buying meat.1 le n i ka munSi Dileni uuye lena. 1s+PAS+see that my wife 3s+PAS+PR0G+buy meat •I saw that my wife had bought meat.1 unu ka lblldl lebla "kpaa." 3s+PAS+hear that thing+certain LE+PAS+make "Bang!” •She heard something go "Bang!"* n ji ka ^camp^r) &abla Tjwa kalabla. 1s+PRES+know that Acheampong 3s+CERT+do h is work •I know that Acheampong w ill do h is work.* □ji ka &awia fua leku. 1*+PRES+know that 2s+PRES+seek your books •I know that you're looking for your books.1 letla ka baleml baca Hohoi ku k&jlbl ntl. 1s+PAS+learn that Buem JJ>+PRES+live Ho hoe and Kadjebi between 'I learned that the Buem live between Hohoe and Kadjebi.' <+20 atanu ka kutu k:Sml: kubiee? 2s+PAS+NEG+see that soup that KO+PAS+get-spoiled? 'Didn't you see that the soup got spoiled?1 There are three verbs of speaking which are commonly used before indirect statements: b^teml 'to speak1, bz>su 'to t e l l 1, and b^ni 'to sa y '. The verb b=>temi fto speak'* cannot immediately precede an indirect state ment, but can be used in a serial construction with other verbs of speech. The verb b^su fto te ll1 can occur either in a serial construction with other verbs of speech or by itself; if b^su occurs by itself, it must be followed by an animate object and the in direct statement must be introduced by ka • baslt ma ka leeTjwa animl* 3p+PAS+tell them that 1s+PAS+PROG+cook rice 'They were told that I had cooked r ic e .' bzosu b&la bakpana ka kifi ocJt eli £l5. 1p+PRES+tell our friends that Kofi 3s+PAS+score heads fiv e 'We are tellihg our friends that Kofi scored five goals.1 The verb b^ni fto say* is the commonest of the verbs of speaking, occurring before the vast majority of in direct statements, either by itself or in a serial con struction. It takes no object other than the indirect statement itself, which is not introduced by any con ju n ction . yao :5nl b&tanu fj. Yao 3s+PAS+say 3p+PAS+NEG+see him fYao said they didn't see him. 1 banl manS. bati basl asanti kama. 3p+PAS+say th eir fathers 3p+PAS+come-from Asanti back 'They say th e ir fathers came from in back of the Ashanti.' htanl eeye kz>di konvzu 1s+PAS+NEG+say 2s+PRES+buy clo th that 'I didn't say you were buying that cloth.' Generally, verbs of speaking preceding an indirect statement are grouped together in a serial construction, with the verb b=>ni 'to say' coming last. So far, I have identified the following combinations: ^22 i . ten i batlml banl bawd r=> rjwa kal&bla. 3p+PAS+speak 3p+PAS+say 3p+PAS+finish h is work fThey said that they fin ish ed h is w ork.1 i i . bz5su br>ni basu r) banl ba&wurz> r)wa kalabla. 3p+PAS+tell him 3p+PAS+say 3p+PAS+PROG+finish h is work 'They told him theyfd finished his work.' iii. bitoMl bssu b=>ni batbml basu ?} banl ba&wur=> r]va k a lib la . 3p+PAS+speak 3p+PAS+tell him 3p+PAS+say 3p+PAS+PR0G+finish h is work 'They spoke to t e l l him that they had fin ish ed h is work.' Indirect Questions. Indirect questions follow b^su •to tell', which can occur either by itself or in a se rial construction following b^ni 'to say1. When a yes-no question is embedded to form an in direct question, it loses the characteristic lengthening *♦23 of the final syllable and is introduced by si fif'. aabla kutuu? t 2s+PASi*PR0G+make stew? •Have you made stew?1 os& si aabla kutu. 3s+PAS+ask i f 2s+PAS+PR0G+make stew •She asked i f you*d made stew.* i)wa hse =oku bula intaa? h is goat 3s+PRES+chew our corn? •Is his goat eating our corn?1 3nl £su mi s i Tjwa &se 5oku bula z>nta. 3s+PAS+say 3s+PAS+tell me i f h is goat 3s+PAS+chew out corn •He asked me if his goat was eating our corn.1 A question which uses an interrogative word as a direct question also loses the characteristic lengthening o f the fin a l sy lla b le when i t becomes embedded; other wise there is no change, other than those conditioned by sequence of tenses, when it becomes embedded. h2k b i n 9aay=o? what th a t92s+PRES+want? •What do you want?9 l£nl lesJi bin'aky^* 1s+PAS+say 1s+PAS+ask what th a t12s+PRES+want f I asked what you wanted,* zxna neeboo? who REL+PAS+come? •Who came?' i=>nl zosu =>ma n&Sbo, 3s+PRES+say 3s+PRES+ask who REL+PAS+come •He*s asking who cam e,• bi osu bzobla bula k&labla na kale kanvM? what reason 1p+PRES+make our work in way that? •Why do we do our work lik e th a t? 1 mzonl mrosu bi ^su boz>bla bula kal&bla na kale kanvo, 1s+PRES+say 1s+PRES+tell what reason 1p+PRES+make our work in way that •I•m asking why we do our work like that,9 In d irect commands# Indirect commands follow b=>su fto t e l l 1 and are introduced by nk ; the verbs of the in direct command are in the Subjunctive. It is likely that the underlying structure of an indirect command is a declarative sentence in the Subjunctive rather than an imperative; however, for present purposes, the un derlying source is irrelevant. The following sentences w ill illustrate indirect commands. ma nk b£b&. 3s+PAS+tell them that 3p+SUBJ+come •He told them to come.1 o s i bill k b t i hk ub&. 3s+PAS+tell their father that 3s+SUBJ+come •He told their father to come.1 ssCk mi nk llb S . 3s+PAS+tell me that 1s+BUBJ+come •He told me to come.' I have not yet been able to determine whether sentences lik e <*26 ?6su n&. b&l& z>ti 6b6. ?3s+PAS*tell that their father 3s+SUBJ+come ?,He said that their father should come.1 or ?£sfi k5fi na r)wa =>ti ubb. ?3s+PAS+tell Kofi that his father 3s+SUBJ+come ?*He told Kofi that his father should come.V although I feel that the latter sentence would be much more acceptable than the former. Indirect interjections. Indirect interjections general ly follow broni *to say1; they are not introduced by any conjunction. 5nl "kpamj" 3s+PAS+say "BangJ" •She said "Bangl"’ *+27 Subordinate Clauses I have identified five types of subordinate clause: i. the "if” clause, ii. the causal clause, iii. the time clause, iv. the purpose clause, and v. the "as if" clause* By far, the commonest types of subordinate clause are the causal clause, the time clauses, and one sub-type of "if" clause, the general "if" clause; the other types of subordinate clause are rather rare* "If* clauses* All *if" clauses are introduced by si (by sa , in the Okajakrom dialect of Llfana) ’i f 1, occurring either by itself as the only subordinate con junction or with some other connective* There are three types of "if" clause: i« the general "if" clause, introduced by si alone, ^28 ii. the ,contrary-to-fact clause, introduced by si , with the main clause introduced by T^kSL ’then*, and lit. the "only if" clause, which is introduced by fctu si fonly ifr; the main clause is often in troduced by ask ’b efore1. The general "if" clause is by far the commonest o f the "if" clauses and expresses simple cause-and-effect relationships. Like other subordinate clauses, general "if" clauses usually precede the main clause; however, general "if" clauses may follow the main clause optional- ly . ) i Sent2 + s i + Sent-| s i kky=o, kkana buye munk afealk. i f 2s+PRES+want, 2s+PRES+can INF+buy my eggs •If you want to , you can buy my e g g s .1 or kkana b&ye muna avala s i aayz>. 2s+PRES+can INF+buy my eggs i f 2s+PRES+want •You can buy my eggs i f you want t o . 1 **29 Any tense or aspect form can be used in a general "if" clause; however, if the "if"cclause refers to a future event, it seems that the Future Certainty is used more frequently than the Ganeral Future, although both s i jorj uarjwS. kutu, =>lubS buye k&. i f George 3s+CERT+cook stew, 3s+FUT+come INF+buy i t 'If George cooks stew, she will buy some.' and si j^rj ilubS b^wa kutu, =>lub5 buye ku. i f George 3s+FUT+come INF+cook stew , 3s+FUT+come INF+buy i t 'If George cooks stew, she will buy some.' are acceptable. General "if" clauses can be further exem plified by the followings si lfyu slka ni, alub=>ti. i f 1s+PAS+steal money comma, 2s+FUT+INF+know 'I f I sto le money, y o u 'll know i t . ' s i liy h slka ni, atl. i f 1s+PAS+steal money,comma, 2s+PAS+know 'I f I sto le money, you knew i t . ' or **30 •Vhen I sto le money, you knew it .* ' s i f'=>nwani ukpl n i, &kana n 'S ti ul&kudi. i f your+brother 3s+PAS+die comma, 2s+PRES+can na+2s+SUBJ+marry woman+certain •If your brother is dead, you can marry his wife* * s i aanyS, n i, nya& =or)wa bgbh. al^ . s i 2s+PRES+trod comma, then 2s+PRES+cut foot bottom •If you step on it, then it*d cut the soles of your feet.1 or 'When you step on it, it cuts the soles of your feet.1 Finally, the general "if1* clause, with appropriate negation, functions as the equivalent of the English ••unless" clause in Lelemi. s i ilfcye a d lla , koka kM5=>du bu. i f 2s+FUT+NEG+buy food, hunger KO+FUT+bite us •If you don't buy food, we*ll be hungry.' or •Unless you buy food, we'll be hungry.* Llfana speakers prefer to use the Twi word jise 'unless* *+31 instead in order to express the notion of "unless." 'jise aluye a d lla , k=>ka kolu=>du bu. u nless 2s+FUT+buy food, hunger KO+HJT+bite us •Unless you buy food, we'll be hungry*1 The contrary-to-fact clause seems to occur only sen tence initially. Within thecontrary-to-fact clause itself, I have noted the use only of theSimple Past tense, with or without infinitival emphasis? within the main clause, I have noted the use only of the Gene ral Future and the Simple Past tenses, although given a suitable context I suspect that the Present tense might also be used* T81 SD: s i + X + TN + Y + r\\A + Z SC: s i + X+ PAS + Y + j)\A + Z si lfyu slka ni, rfea :otl. i f 1s+PAS+steal money comma, then 3s+PAS+know •If I had sto len any money, then he would have known about i t . 1 ^32 s i buye n i uyi l l l i , Tjki nnuyu nl i f INF+buy that 3s+PAS+buy yam, then 1s+FUT+steal it •If she had bought yam, then Ifd steal i t .1 s i b^T)wa n i 4r)wi kutu, r)ki l£ d l kfi* i f INF+cook stew that 3s+PAS+cook stew, then 1s+PAS+eat i t fIf she had cooked stew, then I fd have eaten e a t . r s i bib5 n i ubi, i?ki l£nu f). i f INF+come that 3s+PAS+come, then 1s+PAS+see him rIf he had come, then I would have seen him. * The aspect of Certainty may not be used in the main clause of a sentence containing a contrary-to-fact clause. *si lfyi slka ni, nki uiti. i f 1s+PAS+steal money,comma, then 3s+CERT+know #,If I had stolen money, then he will know it.f My corpus contains only one instance of an "only if w clause: in this one example, the verb of the subordinate ^33 clause is in the Simple Past, while the verb of the main clause is marked for Qertainty. htu si lerjwk ni, asa uadi, only i f 1s+PAS+cook comma, before 3s+CEBT+eat •She'll eat only if I cooked,• % The Causal clause. The causal clause is introduced by :Sslka 'because'; like the general "If clause, the causal clause can eithe^recede or follow the main cla u se. opt T82 ^slka + Sent^ + Sentg ======) Sent2 + fJslka + Sent-j 3slka If bo, l£nu rj. because 1s+PAS+come, 1s+PAS+see him 'Because I came, I saw him.1 or lenu T) sslka lfbo. 1s+PAS+see him because 1s+PAS+come •I saw him because I came.9 As far as I can determine, there are no restrictions on the tenses or aspects which can occur in causal clauses other than those described under "Sequence of Tenses," pp. . s s lk a baarjwa kana, lftl mk llg u la b i. because 3p+PAS+PR0G+cook porridge, 1s+PAS+give them money •Because they had cooked porridge, I gave them money . 1 3slka bar)w£, kana, l£tb mk llg u la b i. because 3p+PAS+cook porridge, 1s+PAS+give them money. •Because they cooked porridge, I gave them money.• £slka baluiwa kana, lftl mk llg u la b i. * % because 3p+PHES+cook porridge, 1s+PAS+give them money •Because they were cooking porridge, I gave them money.• islk a batarjwa kana, litk m&aligulabi. because 3p+CO+cook porridge, 1s+PAS+give them money •Because they're going to cook porridge, I gave them money.' 435 3slka b&taT)w?i kana, lftfc mk llg u la b i* because 3p+PAS+NEG+cook porridge, 1s+PAS+give them money 'Becaaue they didn’t cook porridge, I gave them money.* :Sslka baarjwa kana, mbutfe ma llg u la b i. because 3p+PRES+cook porridge, 1s+PRES+give them money 'Because they're cooking porridge, I'm giving them money.' £slka b&aTjwa kana, meetfe mk llg u la b i. % because Jp+PRES+cook porridge, 1s+PUT+give them money 'Because they’re cooking porridge, I 'll give them money.' oslka ba&rjwa kana, n&^te mk llg u la b i. because 3p+PRES+cook porridge, 1s+FUT+NEG+give them money 'Because they're cooking porridge, I'won't give them any money.' i*36 In addition to the causal clause introduced by islka because1, it is possible to introduce a causal clause by nn&ka 'although'. Causal clauses intro duced by nn&ka 'although' have the same properties / as those introduced by £sika 'because1; causal clauses introduced by nnaka 'although', however, oc cur quite infrequently. nn&ka baarjwa kana, l f t l mi. llg u la b i. although 3p+PAS+PR0G+cook porridge, 1s+PAS+give them money 'Although they cooked porridge, I gave them money.' The time clause. There are two types of time clause: i# the "as" clause, used for actions taking place at the same time as the action of the main clause and which is introduced by ka 'when, while, as', and ii. the "before" clause, used for actions taking place before the action of the main clause and which is introduced by as& na or, depending on idiolect, ansfc nk 'b efo re .1 • There are no •’after” clauses in Buem; instead, the earlier event goes into a "before” clause, and the later event goes into a main clause, so that the Buem equi valent o f "After / he saw me, * he went home." would be as S. nk usfe kadrul, =Snb mi. * * . before that 3s+PAS+go home, 3s+PAS+see me •Before he went home, he saw m e.f Generally, "as” clauses and "before" clauses both pre cede the main clause; hpwever, both may follow the main clause as an optional, stylistic variant. ka ^ opt T83 ► + Sent-, + Sent0 =»=====) asSi na r ka ^ Sent0 + 5 > + Sent- 2 ( as* na \ 1 onb mi as* na us* kadrul. % % % 3s+PAS+see me before that 3s+PAS+go home •He saw me before he went home . 1 There are a number of tense and aspect restrictions in volved in the use of time clauses. The tense of "as” clau ses must be co -r e fe r e n tia l with that of the main ^38 clause: 1. If the "as" clause is marked for aspect (other than negation) or fu tu rity , then the main clause must also be marked for aspect of for futurity. / ka fiabla kutu, b^lobS animl b=>T)wa. as 3s+CERT+make stew, 1p+FUT+come rice INF+cook rAs he makes stew, wefll cook rice.1 ka &abl& kutu, bus&lS, butaTjwa animl. % % as 3s+CERT+make stew, 1p+PRES+go 1p+GO+cook rice vAs he makes stew, w e 'll go and cook r ic e . 1 ka utabla kutu, bol&z>T)wa anim l. as 3s+G0+make stew, 1p+FUT+cook rice 'While he goes to make stew, we'll cook rice.' ii. If the "as" clause is in the Present Progressive, then the main clause must be either in the Present &r the Simple Past. ka =oT)wa animl, bzobla kutu. as 3s+PRES+cook r ic e , 1p+PRES+make stew 'While she cooks r ic e , we're making stew.. ka baatlml bu, buunu, as 3p+PRES+speak-to us, 1p+PRES+hear 'When they speak to us, we listen . 1 ka z&riwa animl, b:Sbl?t kutu. as 3s+I)EES+cook r ic e , 1p+PAS+make stew 'While fehe was cooking rice, we made stew . 1 ka baateml bu, bunu. as 3p+PRES+speak-to us, 1p+PAS+hear 'While they were talking to us, we listened iii. If the "as" clause is in the past, then the main clause must also be in the past. ka £r)wa fcniml, b:Sbl& kutu. as 3s+PAS+cook r ic e , 1p+PAS+make stew 'While she cooked rice, we made stew .' ka batlml bu, bunfi. as 3p+PAS+speak-to, 1p+PAS+hear 'When they spoke to us, we listened . 1 Inaddition, the sequence of tenses rules, as dis cussed on pp f apply to "before" clauses. The tfarnosc clause. Purpose clauses always follow the main clause of the sentence;they are introduced by k&na fso th a t 1 and their verbs are marked for the aspect of Certaintyf regardless of the tense of the main clause. T84 k&nS. + Sent+ Sentg =====) Sentg + kina + Sent^ lfyl lena kana mhnh ubi uaku. 1s+PAS+buy meat so-that my ch ild 3s+CERT+ehfcw fI bought meat so that my child might eat.f mfifiye lena kina m&na ubi ukku. 1s+PRES+buy meat so-that my ch ild 3s+CERT+ehlv buying meat so that my child might eat . 1 ildubu buye lena kana mun&. ubi uaku. 1s+OTT+come INP+buy meat so -th a t my ch ild 3s+CERT+ehew • I 1! ! buy meat so that my ch ild might e a t . f lfsllA kuye nteye lena kank muna ubi uaku. 1s+PRES+go market 1s+G0+buy meat so-th at my ch ild 3s+CERT+chew • I ’m going to market to kuyjneat so that my child might eat . 1 **<*1 lftim l ml mini etemila k&.na bl&ti T]wa k alala 1s+PAS+tell you my case so-th at 2p+CERT+know his mischief •I told you my business so that you'd know of his mischief *1 The "as i f clause. The "as if" clause always follows the main clause of the sentence; it is introduced by 2inl si or, depending on the speaker*s idiolect, anl ka 'as if, as though1# The verb of the "as if" clause may be marked for any tense or aspect# ) + Sent 1 bzodu bakpe &nl s i biifikisl ma# 1p+PRES+kill grasscutters as if 1p+PRES+hate them 'Ve kill grasscutters as if we hate them #1 use anl ka toka kzoda u. 3s+PRES+go as though hunger KO+PRES+sting him fHe looks as though he's hungry.' H 2 =sodl knl s i utadl to kobull kuTiwi m£n£. 3s+PRES+eat as i f 3s+PAS+NEG+eat yet month one th is •He's eating as though he hadn't eaten for a month.* ocIJl lelo anl si kokw& n'usl. 3s+PAS+hold body as i f funeral that+3s+PAS+go vHe dressed up as though it was a funeral that he was going to . 1 ootlml knl ka =>ga n'odi. 3s+PRES+speak as i f ch ief that+3s+PRES+be •He speaks as though he were a c h ie f . 1 Juncture Phenomenon. There are certain juncture pheno mena which can.occur when a subordinate clause precedes a main clause. The most common of these juncture phe nomena is the insertion of ni ,*the~oral comma, at the end of the subordinate clause; this is discussed more thoroughly on pp . The next most common juncture phenomenon occurs when the fin a l word o f the subordinate clau se i s a verb whose fin a l sy lla b le is on a Mid tone; ' H 3 in this case, the final syllable is prolonged and con verted to a Mid-Low glide: s i hayz>b9 akana n'eti clSkudi* i f 2s+PRES+want, 2s+PRES+can that+2s+SUBJ+marry woman+certain fI f you want to, you can marry h is w i f e ,1 There may be other juncture phenomena involved in con nection with subordinate clauses; however, these would occur much more infrequently than the two types just mentioned or the absence of any juncture phenomenon* Part VII• Emphasis " ' H 5 The "Oral Comma," ni The use of the "oral comma," ni , is by far the commonest means of emphasising or h igh ligh tin g a Noun Phrase or a subordinate clause; in 60 lines of con nected text, ni occurs 33 times* While the use of ni is optional in all cases,, there are, for example, relatively few sentence-initial subordinate clauses which lack ni at the end* ka b=>ta nv=> n i, aqu bub&lfc T p ts le . when 1p+PRES+rise there n i, then 1p+C0ME+rest N otsie fVhen we migrated from there, we came to settle at Notsie*1 s i Itanyi n i, ny&k =or)wa =>gba al=>* % i f 2s+PRES+tread |ii, then 3s+PRES+cut fo o t bottom fI f you stepped on i t , i t fd cut the so le of your foot.1 si f'^Tjvani ukpl nif Akana n'feti ulSkudi, if your+brother 3s+PAS+die ni,, 2s+PRES+can that+2s+SUBJ+take woman+certain •If your brother is dead, you can marry h is w ife* 1 The "oral comma", ni , is also used to set off the grammatical subject of the sentence as a sort of appositive, with the approximate translation meaning of "As for ..." bfili ledi nvb n i, lbca nvh k*:5mwi. % « our language there ni, LE+PRES+be-at there as+today •As for our language there, it*s still there today,• kbu bag&li n i, abu nakpb kama. % we Baglos n i, we REL+PAS+lag back •As for us Baglos, we stayed behind,• ni can also be used to emphasise fronted adverblals. kfesia b£si ni, bssl lis^nti kama klsi&dl, % % where 1p+PAS+come-from n i, 1p+PAS+come-from Ashanti back somewhere ' " w fAs for where we come from, we came from somewhere behind the A shanti*1 kiku n i, b&l&ku nata&slk ku b&n&n& kemo. % old-tim es n i, women REL+PAS+CUST+follow with men farm •In the olden days, women used to follow men to farm** aTju lim el l£ d l n i, uni kb 3 t i batr=> b e st kemo* then day certain n£, mother and father 3p+PAS+depart 3p+PAS+go farm YThen, on a certain day, the mother and father left to go to farm*• Finally, ni is occasionally used at the end of a sentence which makes a definition or which identifies some entity; presumably, ni is used for this instead of the verb br>di fto be1* ebuo =>ni badb k afl ni* animal which 3p+FAS+kill antelope ni fThe animal that was killed is an antelope*1 ■ ^ 8 b&cwiri beellfe bale k6 b&fana nte biwill ni* people 3p+PHES+live Santrokofi and Bifana between Bowiris ni •The peeple who live between the Santrokofi and the B&fana are the Bowiri.9 Emphasis of a Noun Phrase A Noun Phrase is generally emphasised when it is part of the response to a question* To some extent, the form of Noun Phrase emphasis varies with negation; this is discussed on pp. 453ff • Emphasis of the subject of a verb* To stress the fact that a particular person or thingsdAd or did not per form a particular action, the Relative Verb forms, as discussed on pp* 324 ff » are used, and the examples used to illustrate the Relative Verb forms will also illustrate emphasis of the subject of a verb* Emphasis of the ob.iect of a verb* The object of the main verb o f a sentence can be emphasised by "fronting" it, or placing it at the beginning of the sentence, and following the transposed object by na 'that', 1a* Ak^suA zokula k=>b£. + EMPH =sa= = = ) Akosuah 3s+PRES+smoke fis h fAkosuah is smoking f i s h . 1 b. k ^ b t na &lr>su?i =ak&l?i. fis h that Akosuah 3s+PRES+smoke • I t 's fis h th at Akosuah is smoking*' 2a* m?>=>yz> llg u la b i. + EMPH ======1s+PHES+like money •I like money.' b. llgulabi nk mzoyo. money that 1s+PEES+like •It's money that I like*1 3a. bM5>r)wa =>nta. + EMPH ======1p+FUT +faarvest corn •Ve'll harvest corn*1 b. =>nta na bz>lor)wa* corn that 1p+FUT+harvest •It's corn that we'll harvest.' If a verb is’capable of taking two objects, only the second -can -be fronted. 4a. litfe ma =»ku • + EMPH ===== 1s+PAS+give them book •I gave them a book*' *♦51 b. ^ku nil lftS mA. book that 1s+PAS+give them fIt was a book that I gave them.1 c# #k a nAllti z>ku. ♦they that 1s+PAS+give book * 'I t was them that I gave a book t o . 1 5a. maik ^tlnA frakofo AtontA. + EMPH ======) % Mike 3s+PAS+teach Franco+students math 'Mike taught Franco students math.' b. AkontA na maik 6tlnA frankofo. % math that Mike 3s+PAS+teach Franco+students 'It was math that Mike taught Franco students. * c. *frankofo na maik zStlnA AksntA. * ♦Franco-students that Mike 3s+PAS+teach math *'It was Franco students that Mike taught math to.' For this reason, ganafo ^ga bAAlo Acampsr). Ghana-people chief 3s+PRES+call Acheampong 'Ghana's leader is called Acheampong.' can be considered as deriving from **52 b&&l3 lie amp?*} ganafo =Dga* + EMPH 3p+PRES+call Acheampong Chana-people chief 'They call Acheampong-Ghana?a■lead er.', while &camp=>T) bULla ganafo isga. Acheampong 3p+PEES+call Ghana-people chief 'Acheampong is called Ghana's leader*1 can be considered as deriving from b&&l:> ganafo sga iLcamp^ri. + EMPH 3p+PRES+call Ghana-people chief Acheampong 'They c a ll Ghana's leader Acheampong*1 Vhile it is extremely unusual9 it is possible for the object of a verb of motion to be fronted. 6a. l£ s l amerika. + EMPH ======) * 1s+PAS+come-from America 'I come from America.' b. amerlkS. na le sl* America that 1s+PAS+come-from ' I t ' s America that I'm from .' My informants found this quite awkward, however. In a sentence embodying a serial construction, only <♦53 the object of the first verb can be fronted* 7a* u tl 5>sik2i ukl5 lena. ♦ EMPH 3s+PAS+take knife 3s+PAS+cut meat 'She took a knife and cut the meat*1 b* isikJi na u tl uklS lena* knife that 3s+PAS+take 3s+PAS+cut meat 'It was a knife she used to cut the meat.' c* *lena na u tl is ik l. uklb* ♦meat that 3s+PAS+take knife 3s+PAS+cut ♦ 'I t was meat she used a knife to cut*' I don't know whether fronting could take place in a compound sentence; however, I strongly doubts that i t could* Negation and Noun Phrase emphasis* It is possible to express the fact that while a particular action may have taken place, it did not involve a particular per son or thing; the normal rules for emphasis apply, and either of the negative particles hdi or nc is inserted immediately before the emphasised Noun Phrase. hdi kobl nh hkos&a ooklilh. not fis h that Akosuah 3s+PRES+smoke • I t ' s not fish that Akosuah i s smoking.1 hdi llg u la b i na mohyo. not money that 1s+PRES+like •It's not money that I lik e.1 ne onta na bol^wa. not corn that 1p+FUT+harvest 'It's not corn that we'll harvest.' ne oku nh lfth mh. not book that 1s+PAS+give them •It wasn't a book that I gave them.* ne kwaml neebS me. not Kwame REL+PAS+come here •It wasn't Kwame who came h ere.' hdi ama muufi lilu . not Ammah REL+PRES+roast yam •It's not Ammah who's roasting yam.1 hdi hma ntadu kani. not they REL+GO+kill porcupine 'It's not they who'll go and kill a porcupine. *♦55 Emphasis o f a Verb I discuss the use of infinitives to emphasise the action of a verb on pp. Interrogative Words There are three kinds of interrogative words: 1* Interrogative pronouns: ima •whoCm)?* bi *what* ii« Interrogative determiners: ele fhow many?1 2m£ni •which?* and iii. Interrogative adverbs: de fhow?* bi 3su •why?1 lema *why?* we *where?* “ ' ^56 These words, or, in the case of the interro gative determiners, the Noun Phrases dominating them, almost always occur sentence-initially, even though their analogs in declarative sentences may occur else where in the sentence. When these in terrogative words precede a word beginning with a vowel, an epen thetic n1 is inserted, and when =>ma •who?1 functions as the subject of the sentence, the Relative Verb forms are used. bi n'&abla? what n f+2s+PRES+do? fVhat are you doing?1 =ana neb& m£? who REL+PAS+come here? •Who came here?* de bet>5 m£? how 3p+PAS+come here? •How did they get here?1 Sma badii? whom 3p+PAS+kill? 'Whom did they k ill? 1 ^57 bi =>su n*ey& miink k=>dii? what cause n*+2s+PAS+steal my cloth? •Why . did you ste a l my c lo th ? 1 we bac& kamad11? where 3p+PAS+be-at yesterday? •Where were they yesterday?1 lllu els n^Syee? yam how-many n'^Se+PRES+buy? •How many yams are you buying?1 llgulabi ele n&eyee? money how-much n*+2s+PRES+spend? •How much money are you spending?1 The interrogative determiner ^meni fwhich1 func tions in much the same way as other determiners in that i t must agree with the head noun o f the Noun Phrase con* taining it. When the Noun Phrase containing ^meni is the object of the-verb-* the rules for emphasis apply, b&klluna b&meni baku fua lenaa? dogs which 3p+PAS+chew your meat? •Which dogs ate your meat?1 : ' *+58 =*ga bm ini ukpli? c h ie f which 3s+PAS+die? •Which ch ief died?1 fua =)T)wani omeni MubB mee? your horther which 3s+FUT+come here? •Which brother of yours w ill come here?* llli lfcmeni na fua uni Buyee? yam which that your mother 3s+PRES+buy? •Which yams is your mother buying?1 k ltu b i kBmeni rik b f t ll? waterpot which that 2p+PAS+take? •Which water pot did you take?1 na isused also when gmeni is part of a Noun Phrase whichis part of a fronted adverbial. uwi =>meni nk bebo mee? time which that 3p+£AS+come here? •What time did they come here?1 459 Appendix A. Summary of the Noun Class System V* PO _fc f c * > *+G0 > n ii w *d 0) •o 0) *d w a <0 M C* M 0*1 H* (to CL ►1 CD 01 *3 o CD a a CL o CD a Gf a o h d c ►1 a O w -a o o M c P a W ea P a CL e* w £ 2 1 P c 3 B CL s o' CO o 0 H c b3 W w «• P B > o w > o o o' 1 1 i 1 1 SS H* g t 0 O O w ta O ti u O VII Cfc 1 W > > W B B P' M P o' H* P a p p# P • ** ■ 1 1 1 o X o psr c f*r c* p/ p«r a p P c 0) VIII (ft * i i > > M a •« a p p p p# p a ►a << «< 1 > > X »—I P? P X p P' PT £ a m • 0*3 - 1 1 5S txJ o B B G* P p' M p a • >a 1 1 1 o CC P * p • 0) sS .3 <*} - 1 1 W > > W B B M • P' P o' p* B M P P a p P ►a <# 1 I w 12J o c * c B p P XI a << i > > a P' p a P' B XII £ p • 1 i i o o c p c p .3 XIII -ZJ - * 1 (ft XVII .3 & M • P < c c o 1 p p XVI 3 c p* iv IV iv c* o o w w 1 i P' XV P IV PV p* 5 £ PV > N > 1 1 3 XIV H* 3 P * P H+ P 3 td f w l I > fc> o bd W *+63 Appendix B. Connected Texts I *+65 The Origins of Baglo narrated by Samuel Ayitevi bula b&lemi ni, klsia b^sl ni, bosi asanti kama klsiadi. bula ledi nv=> ni, lfcca nvz> k'^mwi, nsu b:DSz> lesz> liise an! ka na abu bz>teml me. ka bz>ta nvz> ni, ar)u buball rptsie; ndi ban! Tptsie b^sl. bz>si b^si bubalele nvz>. arju ka bubu b^le ni, mana 3ga *5ni baalzs 1 agpkz>li ni, muna kudz> bubo bubalele. ar)u ka bubo bubalele ni, udu ^ni na uti rida bu ni, z^dia bu. ^nl b^tu kr 5wz>du b=>ka bzsmana pma, na kutak=> laa kutada atibruku. anu ka bz^wu leti ni, uuti abualaku ku l£pr£ntua kz>ke taaca. sf aanya ni, nyaa z^nwa zsgba 10 alz>. arno ka bz>z>T]wu le ti lemeni, anu na buubo ntu teewi kz>vodu kunwi. buubo ntu teewi. b&ubo^teewi. zoji. anu ka kzjvodu k^me kz>le kubo, l£ni: vlaa ni, aT)u bota gbiaa; aTju bula fui b^tMz). aT)u ka bztzlD ni, kz>bi kodi kz>ca kama me, leni, na baalz> ku ' jinaya 1. 15 ar^u bula ful bub&lie nvz>, abu balemifu il. ka bubelie nvz> ni, arju bzxsnu kada me ni, zmantu z>z>na, kadwe?:.. aT)u b^tsuli bese kal:> ku bz>ta. abu bagolcjfni, abu ' * ^66 nakpfc kama. aT}u ka b^ta ni, baakllidi beelie kada nvr>, bakw=>l=> fu ii. ariu nay& na abu bulie legblo me. 20 Translation We Balemi, the place we come from, we come from a certain place behind the Asanti. As for our language, it is s t i l l there, but it hasn’t continued to remain like what we speak here. When we migrated from there, we arrived at rptsie; (however) i t fs not from there, Tptsie, that we originate. Only in passing did we lodge there. Then, when we got there, their chief 5 there was called Agz>kz>li, our section came and stayed there. While we were staying, that manner which he was using in governing us wasn’t good for us. He told us to build a wall to go around the town (high enough) to reach God. When we were treading the d irt, he would put pieces of iron and of bottles into it. If you were 10 trodding, then it would cut the sole of (your) foot. As we were kneading this soil, then we would throw water, pouring (it) bn one wall. We were throwing water (and) pouring it. We were throwing and pouring. He didn’t know. When this wall fell down, like this: vlaa, then we got up 'gbiaa; then we all fled. When we fled, there was a certain hill behind here /pointing/ and i t ’s called ’Dzinaya.’ Then we all settled there, a ll us Balemi. When we settled there, as we were looking down here, it was raining, quite nicely. Then people started migrating. We the Baglos, we stayed behind. When we migrated, the rest had settled down there, they had all finished. That’s why we settled in Baglo here. Notes Hdftmann and Ayitevi (1968:216-247) present a very interesting account of some of the oral traditions of the Togo Remnant peoples, especially of the Tptsie legend, which is common, it seems, to most of the people of the southern part of Volta Region and Togo; they also include ~a number of original texts, including one on the rptsie legend in Lelemi. (For identification, my informant, Samuel.Ayitevi, is the grand-father of the co-author of the article, John K. Ayitevi.) ^88 1# bula the possessive pronoun used as a sort of appositive# ni, a sort of "verbal comma” used to high light the preceding phrase, often best translated by fas .for'. 2 . kesiadl. (= kesia, !place' + kadi 'a certain') in many cases, e.g., becwedi ‘certain people1, the concord prefix to 2 »^i fa certain1 is omitted. b^s^> lesz? the infinitive is used together with the verb to emphasize the action. 3 . lesl> liise note that while les=> 'i t continued' is in the affirmative, liise 'it didn't remain 1 is in the negative, abu the independent pro noun is here used for emphasis. 4. anu an adverb which seems to indicate simultaneity of action, trans lated either by 'then* or left untranslated; in con junction with ka (i.e., apu ka ), translated by 'when' or 'while1, ndi emphasises the elements negated. b=>sl b=3s i . see note to bos^ lesi> in line 2; literally, 'coming, we came (from)'. 5. bubalele note the use Of the Come-.i-tive marker -BA- . 7. utl oda refers to Agzstoli. 8 . b^ka b^mana b^>ka means 'to be f i r s t ', b^mana means 'to squeeze', together they mean 'to sur round'. 9 . bzrenwu , uuti both in the present pro ^69 gressive (like many of the verbs following) to show habitual action as sort of a "historical present". 10 taaca 'placing, putting 1 form of present pro gressive used by second and subsequent verbs in a serial construction. 11. a Id (= kalis 'bottom1, 'ground') apparently, because hgba. kalis 'the sole of the foot' has become almost a fixed phrase, the consonant of the ka- prefix has been lost. 13. kisl£ kubfr see b= 5ka bismkna in line 8 . Separately bM£ means 'to rest, to sleep', bubJ> means 'to come, but together they mean f-to fa ll down'. Ifcni a deictic which introduces a quotation or, as in line 15, is used when somebody is pointing, vlaa. gbiaa (l. 14) onomatopoeic words. 17 k&da refers to the western part of the Buem d istric t. 18. bese kalis (= bes& 'they went' + kalo 'bottom', 'ground') 'they began'. 19. nakoe relative verb form in the Past tense, used to emphasise the subject, beelil ... baawMz> ( 1* * 20) • note use of Past Progressive in serial construction. 20. nay a see nakpi: in line 19* Vhy There are Chiefs narrated by Samuel A yitevi ijkk b u ilt kukk n i, bkkbo 'oga. aTju, kcvedl bulk ako kbaavo ubi. ubi ume otk 3b 1 tlo, nsu ulksel. kiwi kalo* aTju limel ledl ni, uni k& oti batro best kemo. arju Bltku unorjgu odl ullk n i, arju unu ka le le d i Itbla kpa.1 ete unu "JiJiJiJifiJi." ete ubi om£ otk unyk. utefwle kylkpt ome na utl ubi ubefl n'oblk kutu* odl. nubi im£ u&se hsaa!" aiju utasu kuelk. ar)U ka uni mtnt bebd ni, aTju na osk osu ma onl, ltni, mana ubi om£ uuse. arju banl ulesk; arju onl uuse, nil si oko n'ronyi ni, si bakkda u nk batro bese kemo ni nk bkvi eni na bebklle tj kudo na s i uwi onvo udu nk bkknu. arju ka bakada u na batro best klkku om£ kudo n i, ar)u benfi f,kpan " ^ ijiji." ka batk baanu n i, t t e usk a so. aTju na o ti kk uni ku ulkku onvo ake b est bat alt, arju ballml. arju oti udu oto arju na otk tj kasa nk ufl u odk momdkmo. onl, nbi osu n*kkbla mi * * leni?" hska esek." arju onl, "II." kmo onl, "si ktask n i, ltlE n i osu klkse n i, nyak nk bonyonu o." # # arju o n l, "nsu oo?" onl "H." "oga ndi. s i btca mi 3t:D £mel mat I n& bid is mi na ami ndi 3ga nk ^ma omtnl kemo ni blatasumu mi ni, nil mesfe." arju i n i , nesee?t! 5 n l,,ln^^•,, ar)u in i, " leled i biara mi to." arju n'iSl?) benet)k& na u tl isu ma, kmu banl, "di" nil baabla. arju S3)S=> b e tl u bac&. =>to em el mate, limel mated! ni, betl u bes5)T}ku na baca kato na bato nk babla betfe u kalena utsuli :»di lega. aTju na nv=> na boliAnu b:5tl ka =3ga Dca soso. Translation Anyhow, we settled down in the olden days, (but) we didn't have any c h ie f. Then somebody among us came to give birth to a child. The child grew up, but he wouldn't walk. He remained on the ground. Then, on a certain day, his mother and father went to farm. Then there was a certain old fcoman sitting there and she heard something go "Pop!" Immediately after, she heard, "F ififififi." Right after, the child stood up. He went and caught a mouse and he took i t , roasted i t , and made stew out of it. He ate it. "So the kid walks." Then she didn't say anything. Then when the * * 7 2 mother and father came back, the old maman told them that that child of theirs was walking. They said he didn't walk; then she said he did walk, in fact i f she were te&ling lie s , then if they'd take leave of 10 her and go off to farm, stay there a while, and re turn to her place, when the time came they'd see. Then they took leave of her and went to the woman's place and heard "Pop""Fifififi." Vhen they got up to look, then he was really walking. Then the father and mother and old woman went there and went in. The father entered the house and seized the child, holding 15 him tigh tly. He said, "Why do you act th is way with me? You really do walk,1* He answered, "Yes," The former said, "If you don't say why you don't walk, then we'll stay with you." Then the child said, "Should I t e ll you?" The father said, "Yes." "I'm a ch ief, 20 If you put i r i n a room for seven days and take me out and I'm a chief in this town and you go to serve ine, then I'll walk." The father asked, "You'll walk?" The child replied, "Yes." The father said, "I'll do everything." Then he summoned the elders and revealed (the matter) to them; they said, "OK"; in fact, they'd do i t . Then, in fact, they took (the child) and put him in a room for seven days. On the seventh day, they sent him out and drummed and danced, and they did everything for him as (they would) for some body becoming a chief. It's from that that we should see to know why there really are chiefs. Notes 2. uba&wr? 3s+C0ME+bear. obi ll o (a. obi l i l o ) 11. b&belle n kudo tj is presumably a reduced form of rjwa . 'her'. 12. bSltnu 3p+CERT+bee. 14. a so (* soso ) 'truly'. 20. beca ... bidie both verbs are in the Subjunctive. 22. bl&tasumu presumably 2p+CERT+G0+serve• h7h k^tzAjll _ ^narrated by Dominic Nyarko hbu baghlh ni, si z>t:sdl kemo banu kh mana bhtsuli basti bhemhmo na balay^ kh mana b&bi bhtelle khjk =>ma imamadl ni, bhkana na bhti, ani, fu1 i^wani ubidi bete f* ubidl n'uti kana kemo khlhyi ml. si f'^wani finuTjgudl lye f^riwani ublildl z>nana ukpl ni, si &2iyr>, 5 hkana n'hti ulfckudi. rjwa al=> hdi: kfikfl ni, belhku na talis la ku banana kemu. ama ku ma nab la ajuma. arju 3sfi, blonu ka si z>nltna ukpl ni na hl&ku 6sb ullh khduli nv=> ni, nya ?>dla. Tjwa klh hdi bebi banv=> batabl t^ el=>. si utl mk uslrjgu kesi mhma ni, baluubo hbi na f f orjwani 10 nwa oto kemo kayl. arju osu n:Shfa ka si ucuedi =>yro, =>kana u ti =>T)wani ulokudi. T)wa hl^ ndi =n)wani uukpl; aTju is=> uubo. Translation Marriage within the Family We the Baglos, if in a certain house they see that their people continue not to be many and they donft want *+75 their children to set up a household in any other town, they can ttake, say, a child of your brother’s and give him/her to a child of your own to marry so that the lineage won’t be lost to you. If either your older brother or your younger brother dies, if you want to, you can 5 marry his wife. The grounds are that in the olden days, women used to fallow the .men: to farm. They’d both do the work. Therefore, we see that if a man died and his wife continued to remain at that compound, it would be good. The reason is that the children hadn’t yet grown up. If the mother took them and sent them somewhere e lse , 10 they would suffer and your brother’s own household would lose out. For this reason it ’s important that if some body wants to, he can marry his brother’s wife. The reason is that the brother has died; he’s not there any more. Notes 1. ni the "verbal comma", rot^dl (= :ot=> 'house' and :odl 'a certain’) 2. basis bS^momo even though bS&m&mo 'they are not many’ is negated, ba.sz> ’they continue’ is not; this is one of the few cases in which all the verbs in a serial verb construction do not co-vary with respect to negation. kz>.1& abstract noun formed from bjh., b£- ’husband1; cf. k=>tunjl ’marriage within the fam ily', which is an abstract compound noun formed from z>to, le - 'house, home' and =>;)&, bl- ’husband’ . 3* b&kana na blti ’they can take'; I cannot account for the reason that na is inserted between b&kana ’they can’ and blti ’they should take', ani possibly the same as the preposition Ini ’as if’, fu' r>nwani an elided form of fu ll =>nwani 'your sib lin g 1, ubidi (= ubi ’child' and ^di 'a certain’) the determiner 2^i occurs quite frequently with nouns in the kinship system, pos sibly to indicate inalienable possession; compare 5l5ku •a woman’ with Slokudi ’a wife' and, possibly, i>r)wa ’a sibling' with =>qwani '(somebody's) sibling*. 4# kana 'so th at’, introducing a purpose clause, pro bably an elided form of kail na 'a way which'. kemo ’household', literally, ’house's inside', kalayi agrees with kemo ’inside'. 7. natalsll ku 'used to follow'; the Relative Past is used to express a historical fact. &ma ku ma 'they both*; Suna ’they' presumably refers to b&liku fwomenf and ma 'they' presumably refers to b&n|tn& ’men*, ma 'they' is the object form of the pronoun and, in formal speech, would not usually follow a conjunction, nablS. also in the Relative Past to ex press a historical fact. 10. f'-snwani nwa ^t^ kemo lite r a lly , 'your brother's his house inside'; the pos sessive pronoun iiwa fhis' is used to give emphasis, analogous to the English "own" as in "your brother's own household." 11. the falling tone and lengthening of the final syllable indicates the end of the clause. 478 Bibliography. Bibliography In addition to Works mentioned in the body of the thesis, this select bibliography also contains references to other works relating to Buem. Allan, E.J. (1972a) w,Verbing Things* in Busm." Paper to Xth VALS Conference, Accra. Unpublished mimeo. — ~ (1972b) "The Vowel System of Lelemi.1* Paper to Xth VALS Conference, Accra. Unpublished mimeo. —— (in press) HAspects of the Aspect System of Lelcmi (Buem).” To appear in Proceedings of the 4th Conference on African L inguistics. Bertho, J. (1952) "Les dialectes du Moyen Togo.” Bull. IPAN 1046-1107. Cansdale, G.S. (undated) A List of S cien tific and Ver nacular Names of the Pauna of Ghana. Legon? Chomsky, N. (1965) Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, Mass.; MIT Press. ------(1970) "Remarks on Nominalization.” In R. Jacobs and P. Rosenbaum (eds.), Readings in Transformational Grammar. Waltham, Mass.; Ginn. 480 DeVolf, P. (1971) The Noun Class System of Proto- Benue -Congo, The Hague: Mouton, Series Practica. Dogli, A.O. (1953) Balemi Munueni ("I'm writing to the Balemi"), Vol. I-III. Hohoe, Ghana: Obekusji Press. (1955) Balemi Munueni ("I'm writing to the Balemi"), Vol. IV-X. Privately printed in Holland. —----- (undated) Mpayebo Kede (Catholic Missal). Privately printed in Holland. Ford, K.C. (1971) Aspects of Avatime Syntax. Unpub lished Ph.D. th esis, Univ. of Ghana, Legon. — - (in press) "On the Loss of Cross-Height Vowel Harmony." To appear in Papers on Ghanaian Linguis- tice. Legon: Institute of African Studies. Funke, E. (1919) "Originaltexte aus der Klassensprachen." Zelt. f. Engeborenspr. 10:261-313 Givdn, T. (1972) Studies in ChiBemba and Bantu Grammar. Supplement 3 to SAL. Greenberg, J.H. (1963) The Languages of Africa. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press. —----- (1966) The Languages of Africa. 2d ed. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press. Heine, B. (1968) Per Verbreitung und Gliederung der Togo-Restvolker. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.Verlag. Heny, F. (1972) "Bantu Lexical Classes and Semantic Universals (with Some Remarks on How Not to Write Phonological Rules)." SkL 3:207-258. Hintze, U. (1958) Bibliographle der Kwa-Sprachen und der Sprachen der Togo-Restvolker. Berlin: Akademie Verlag. Hdftmann, H. (1966) "Die Nominalklassen inr Lelemi." In J. Lukas (ed.), Neue Afrikanistische Studien 5. Hamburg: Deutsches Institut fflr Afrika-Forschung. —---- (1970) "Verfahrensweise und Methoden bei der Aufnahme schriftlich nicht fixierter Sprachen." Probleme der Lexicogfaphie. Berlin: Akademie Verlag. — - (1971) The Structure of Lelemi Language. Leipzig: VEB Verlag Enzyklop&die. HdJftmann, H .f and Ayitevi, J.K. (1968) "Oral traditions of some of the so-called Remnant People in the Cen tral Volta Region of Ghana." Mitt, des Instituts f. Orientforschung 14:216-241. Hyman, L.M. (1972) "Nasals & Nasalization in KWa." *♦82 Johnston, H.H. (1919) Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages* Vol. I. OUP. — — (1922) Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages. Vol. II* OUP. Kropp, M.E. (1967) ' Comparative African Wordlists No, 3: Lefana. Akpafu and Avatime. Legons In sti tute of African Studies. Migeod, P.W.H. (1911) The Languages of West Africa. Vol. I . Londons Kegan Paul, Trench, Trdbner & Co. ------(1913) The Languages of Vest Africa. Vol. II. Londons Kegan Paul, Trench, Trflbner & Co. Pike, K. (1948) Tone Languages. Ann Arbors Michigan Univ. Press. Plehn, R. ((1895) Beitrage zur Volkerkunde des Togpg gebietes. Robins, R.H. _(1964) General Linguisticss An Intro ductory Survey. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press. Seidel, A. (1898) "Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Sprachen in Togo" Zeit. f. Afr. u. ocean. Spr. 4:235-238. <♦83 Stewart, J.M. (1967) "Tongue root position in Akan vowel harmony." Phonetica 16:185-204. ~ —- (1970) *Tongue root position in the Volta- Comoe languages and its significance for the re construction of. the original Bantu vowel sounds." ALS 11:340-350. ------(1971) "Niger-Congo: Kwa." In T. Sebeok (ed .), Current Trends in Linguistics 7: Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Hague: Mouton. Voeltz, E. (1971) "Surface Constraints & Agreement Resolution: Some Evidence from Xhosa." SAL 2:37-60. Welmers, V.E. (1959) "Tonemics, Morphotonemics and Tonal Morphemes." General Linguistics 4:1. Vestermann, D. (1910) "Die Lefanasprache in Togo." ’’ Mitt. Sem. Orient. Sprache 33*2, pp. 39-57. —— (1927) "Lie westlichen Sudansprachen"" Mitt. Sem. Orient. Sprache 30. Vestermann, D., and Bryan, M.A. (1952) Languages off Vest Africa. OUP. Vinston, F.D.D. (1962) "The Nominal Class System of