Af Mexee: Difference between revisions

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Root verbs with no extra affixes.
Root verbs with no extra affixes.


*Infinitive: -i
*Verbal noun: -íd ''f.'' (-íth-)
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! !! Present Affirmative !! Present Subjunctive !! Past Affirmative !! Past Negative !! Imperative Affirmative !! Imperative Negative
! !! colspan="4" | Infinitive || colspan="4" style="background: none" | <center><span style="font-weight:normal">''-i''</span></center> || colspan="4" style="background: none" | <center><span style="font-weight:normal">''keen<b>i</b>''</span></center>
|-
|-
| <center>1S</center> || <center>''-a''</center> || <center>''-i''</center> || <center>''-i''</center> || rowspan="7" | <center>''-in''</center> || colspan="2"  style="background: gray" |
! !! colspan="4" | Verbal Noun (''f.'') || colspan="4" style="background: none" | <center><span style="font-weight:normal">''-íd'' (''-íth-'') </span></center> || colspan="4" style="background: none" | <center><span style="font-weight:normal">''keen<b>íd</b>''</span></center>
|-
|-
| <center>2S</center> || <center>''-ta''</center> || <center>''-ti''</center> || <center>''-ti''</center> || <center>-</center> || <center>''-in''</center>
!  !! colspan="2" | Present Affirmative !! colspan="2" | Present Subjunctive !! colspan="2" | Past Affirmative !! colspan="2" | Past Negative !! colspan="2" | Imperative Affirmative !! colspan="2" | Imperative Negative
|-
|-
| <center>3SM</center> || <center>''-a''</center> || <center>''-o''</center> || <center>''-i''</center> || colspan="2" rowspan="3" style="background: gray" |  
| <center>1S</center> || <center>''-a''</center> || <center>''keen<b>a</b>''</center>|| <center>''-i''</center> || <center>''keen<b>i</b>''</center>|| <center>''-i''</center> || <center>''keen<b>i</b>''</center>|| rowspan="7" | <center>''-in''</center> || rowspan="7" | <center>''keen<b>in</b>''</center>|| colspan="4" style="background: gray" |
|-
|-
| <center>3SF</center> || <center>''-ta''</center> || <center>''-to''</center> || <center>''-ti''</center>
| <center>2S</center> || <center>''-ta''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ta</b>''</center>|| <center>''-ti''</center> ||  <center>''keen<b>ti</b>''</center>||<center>''-ti''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ti</b>''</center>|| <center>-</center> || <center>''keen''</center>|| <center>''-in''</center> || <center>''keen<b>in</b>''</center>
|-
|-
| <center>1P</center> || <center>''-na''</center> ||<center> ''-no''</center> || <center>''-ni''</center>  
| <center>3SM</center> || <center>''-a''</center> || <center>''keen<b>a</b>''</center>|| <center>''-o''</center> || <center>''keen<b>o</b>''</center>|| <center>''-i''</center> || <center>''keen<b>i</b>''</center>|| colspan="4" rowspan="3" style="background: gray" |
|-
|-
| <center>2P</center> || <center>''-tiin''</center> ||<center> ''-tiin''</center> || <center>''-teen''</center> || <center>''-a''</center>|| <center>''-ina''</center>
| <center>3SF</center> || <center>''-ta''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ta</b>''</center>|| <center>''-to''</center> || <center>''keen<b>to</b>''</center>|| <center>''-ti''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ti</b>''</center>
|-
|-
| <center>3P</center> || <center>''-aan''</center> || <center>''-aan''</center> || <center>''-een'' || colspan="2" style="background: gray" |
| <center>1P</center> || <center>''-na''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ni</b>''</center>|| <center> ''-no''</center> || <center>''keen<b>no</b>''</center>|| <center>''-ni''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ni</b>''</center>
|-
| <center>2P</center> || <center>''-tiin''</center> || <center>''keen<b>tiin</b>''</center>||<center> ''-tiin''</center> || <center>''keen<b>tiin</b>''</center>|| <center>''-teen''</center> || <center>''keen<b>teen</b>''</center>|| <center>''-a''</center>||  <center>''keen<b>a</b>''</center>||<center>''-ina''</center> || <center>''keen<b>ina</b>''</center>
|-
| <center>3P</center> || <center>''-aan''</center> || <center>''keen<b>aan</b>''</center>|| <center>''-aan''</center> || <center>''keen<b>aan</b>''</center>|| <center>''-een''</center> || <center>''keen<b>een</b>''</center>|| colspan="4" style="background: gray" |
|}
|}



Revision as of 04:25, 14 January 2017

Af Mexee is a Lowland East Cushitic language.

Introduction

Af Mexee dhehti (or Af Mexee for short) is a Somali condialect. Af Mexee means "language of 'What (did you say)?'" and is used to distinguish it from dialects such as Af Maxaa (the main form of Somali) and Af Maay. It contains features inspired by various Somali dialects, including Af Maay and Af Ashraaf. Since it is a Somali dialect, Af Mexee speakers refer to their language simply as Af Soomaali.

Phonology

Orthography

Consonants

' b p t j ch x kh d th r s sh dh c g gh f q k l m n ny w h y

Vowels

a e i o u

aa ee ii oo uu

Diphthongs

ay aw ey oy ow

aay aaw eey ooy oow

Consonants

Af Mexee consonant phonemes
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Postalveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Nasal m n ny /ɲ/
Stop consonant voiceless (p) t /t̪/ k q ' /ʔ/
voiced b d /d̪/ dh /ɖ/ ɡ
Affricate voiceless ch /tʃ/
voiced j /dʒ/
Fricative voiceless f s sh /ʃ/ kh /x̠~χ/ x /ħ/ h
voiced p /β/ th /ð/ gh /ɣ/ (gh) /ɣ̠~ʁ/ c /ʕ/
Approximant l y /j/ w
Trill r /r~ɾ/

Vowels

Af Mexee has five vowel articulations that all contrast frontness/backness and vowel length. There is little change in vowel quality when the vowel is lengthened.

There are five diphthongs that also occur in front and back, long and short versions.

Af Mexee monophthongs
Front series Back series Orthography
short long short long short long
Close front unrounded /
Near-close near-front unrounded
i ɪ ɪː i ii
Close-mid front unrounded /
Open-mid front unrounded
e ɛ ɛː e ee
Near-open front unrounded /
Open back unrounded
æ æː ɑ ɑː a aa
Open-mid central rounded /
Open-mid back rounded
ɞ ɞː ɔ ɔː o oo
Close central rounded /
Close back rounded
ʉ ʉː u u uu
Af Mexee diphthongs
First element is front First element is back Orthography
short long short long short long
æi æːi ɑɪ ɑːɪ ay aay
æʉ æːʉ ɑu ɑːu aw aaw
ei eːi ɛɪ ɛːɪ ey eey
ɞi ɞːi ɔɪ ɔːɪ oy ooy
ɞʉ ɞːʉ ɔu ɔːu ow oow

Prosody

Stress

Intonation

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(C), where V is any vowel or diphthong.

The consonants that can be geminated at syllable boundaries are: m, n, l, and r.

The consonants ', b, x, kh, d, r, s, sh, c, g, f, q, l, n, and h occur syllable-finally. The consonants p, ch, t, th, gh, k, m and ny cannot occur syllable-finally (although there are exceptions for t, k, and m). They undergo the following neutralizations:

pb (or, in some cases, w)

t, thd

k, ghg

nyyn, sometimes y

non-geminated mn (m before b)

J and dh may occur in coda in a loanwords, although they are usually replaced with sh and r respectively. For example, xaj "Hajj", ogsaydh "oxide". T, k, and m may also occur in a few words, mostly of Arabic origin. In almost all cases, variants with the expected d, g, or n exist. For example, xikmad "wisdom" (also xigmad), fitno "trial, temptation" (also fidno), muslim "Muslim" (also muslin).

The consonants p, th, gh, and ch do not occur word-initially in native words. They come from intervocalic -b-, -d/t-, -g/k-, and -lt- respectively (the modern intervocalic b, d/t, and g/k come from geminated consonants). When word-initial in loanwords, p and gh are pronounced /p/ and /ɣ̠~ʁ/ instead of the regular /β/ and /ɣ/.

Vowels cannot occur in hiatus. Instead, epithetic consonants such as ', y, and w are inserted in between.

Morphophonology

Sandhi

At morpheme boundaries, the following changes occur:

t (2nd person/feminine endings, middle voice, definite article/modifiers):

  • dropped after -d, dh, t – Exception: -d assimilates to -t- of the middle voice to form -t- (instead of the expected -d-)
  • l + t → ch
  • t → th after underlying -a, aa, e, ee, o, oo (note that -o and -e become a before th)
  • t of the middle voice, if it occurs between vowels after any applicable reductions, is softened to -th-

k (definite article/modifiers):

  • dropped after -', x, kh, c, g, q, h
  • k → h after final -a, e, o (which then assimilate to the following vowel)

s (middle causative)

  • l + s → sh

Vowels

  • An a, e, or final -o followed by one of the "guttural" consonants (', x, c, or h) assimilates to the following vowel. If the following vowel is o, they can either become a or o. e.g.ma dhoho or ma dhaho "he does not say"
  • Unstressed vowels are usually dropped before vowel-initial endings if it will not violate phonotactics.
e.g. gacan (stem: gacam-) + -ooyngacmooyn "hands" (not *gacamooyn)
Sometimes metathesis is involved.
e.g. culus "(he/she is) heavy" + -aancuslaan "(they are) heavy" (not *culsaan)

Morphology

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Independent Clitic Possessive3 With locative particles
Stressed Unstressed Subject1 Object2 + ún + ká + kú + lá
1S
aní
an(i)
an
i
key
íin
iká
ikú
ilá
2S
athí
ad/athi
ad
ku
kaa
kúun
kuká
kukú
kulá
3SM
usú
us(u)
us
(su)
kiis
súun
suká
sukú
sulá
3SF
ishí
ish(i)
ish
(shi)
kishi
shíin
shiká
shikú
shilá
1P
unú
un(u)
an/un
nu
keen
núun
nuká
nukú
nulá
2P
isín
isin
ad/isin
sin
kiin
síin
sinká
sinkú
sinlá
3P
ishó
isho
ish/isho
(sho)
kisho
shóon
shoká
shokú
sholá
IMP4
la
lóon
laká
lakú
lalá

1 Clitic subject pronouns are optional and are often dropped unless needed for clarity or emphasis. For further emphasis, the independent forms may be used. In the plural, the clitic forms un, isin, and isho are formal; the more commonly used forms are an, ad, and ish respectively.

2 Third person object pronouns are only used for humans and (anthropomorphized) animals.

3 Masculine forms are shown (the corresponding feminine forms begin in t-). Possessives may be used as modifiers, in which case they attach to the noun, or independently as possessive pronouns.

4 Used for impersonal passive. Although it is technically a subject pronoun, it behaves as an object pronoun (but always comes before any true object pronouns).

K/T Pronouns

The k/t determiners (including possessives and the definite article) can be used independently as pronouns. They pluralize by inserting the infix -uw- after the k of the masculine singular.

e.g. kan "this (one), m.", tan "this (one), f.", kuwan "these (ones)"
ki "the one, m.", ti "the one, f.", kuwi "the ones"

There is an additional k/t pronoun with no determiner equivalent:

  • ko, to, kuwo: one/ones (indefinite) - e.g. ko kale "another one"

Nouns

Plural is formed with -ooyn (definite: -ooyki) or -yaal (definite: -yaalki). The ending -yaal is used for nouns (mostly masculine) ending in -e or -i, e.g. tuke "crow" → tukeyaal. All other nouns take the ending -ooyn. For feminine nouns ending in -o, the -o becomes a and an epithetic th is added before the ending. For example, maghaalo "city" + -ooynmaghaalathooyn "cities". Masculine nouns assimilate the -o to the ending.

Some words (mostly body parts) have a "short" plural in -o (definite: -ihi) in addition to the "long" plural in -ooyn/yaal. In the case of body parts, the short plural is when they belong to one person.

e.g. Gacantisho taagheen. = They raised their hand (i.e. each person raised a hand; hand is in singular).

Gacmihisho taagheen. = They raised their hands (i.e. each person raised both hands; hand is in short plural).
Gacmihi la taaghi. = The hands (of a single person; hand is in short plural) were raised.
Gacmooyki la taaghi. = The hands (of multiple people; hand is in long plural) were raised.

For other words, the short plural is used as a pseudo-collective noun.

Particles

K/T Determiners

The definite article attaches to the noun and is subject to sandhi rules.

  • Masculine/Plural: -ki
  • Feminine: -ti

There is also a remote definite article.

  • Masculine/Plural: -kíi
  • Feminine: -tíi
    • Does not affect tonation of the word.

Other determiners that behave similarly to the definite article:

  • Possessives (see Personal Pronouns)
  • Demonstratives:
    • -kan/tan: this, these
    • -kaas/taas: that, those
  • Interrogative:
    • -kée/tée: which
      • Causes any high tones in the word to be dropped.

Negation Particles

The negation particles are ma, an, ha, and ya. Each of these serves a different function.

  • ma is the default negation particle in main clauses and is used with the indicative. e.g. ma qapi "I do not have".It can combine to clitic subject pronouns:
    • ma + an(an)maan(an) (for (an), see the next point)
    • ma + ad/athanmaad/maathan
    • ma + us(an)maws(an)
    • ma + ish(an)maysh(an)
    • ma + un(an)mawn(an)
    • ma + isin(an)maysin(an)
    • ma + isho(n)maysho(n)
  • an has two functions:
    • It is used to form negative subject pronouns, which replace clitic subjects in negative clauses. e.g. ma anan qapin "I did not have", compare an qapi "I had". In this usage, an is optional and may be dropped - e.g. ma an qapin. It combines to clitic subjects:
      • ad + anathan
      • isho + anishon
      • The rest simply add -an - i.e. anan, usan, ishan, unan, isinan
    • It is also used as the sole negation particle in subordinate clauses. Since negation is shown on the verb, it is also optional here. e.g. ninkii (an) af soomaali aqiin "the man who does not know Somali". Note that in this usage, an prefers clause-initial position (although something like ninkii af soomaali an aqiin would not be incorrect).
  • ha is used in the negative imperative. e.g. ha bixin "don't leave".
  • ya is used to negate the jussive. e.g. ya usan bixin "don't let him leave". Like ma, ya can combine with clitic subjects. e.g. yawsan bixin.

Adjectives

Adjectives are not declined for gender. However, they may optionally be conjugated for time (following the stative conjugation).

e.g. min yar "a small house", min yaraay "a house that was small"

Adjectives can be reduplicated or take stative endings to show plurality, or the singular forms may be used.

e.g. minooyn yaryar/yaraan "small houses" (also minooyn yar)

Verbs

There are three main classes of verbs: the suffix, prefix, and stative conjugations.

Suffix Conjugation

The suffix conjugation is the most common and productive verb class. It can be divided into 5 conjugation groups:

  1. Conjugation 1: Root verbs
  2. Conjugation 2: Passive verbs
  3. Conjugation 3 (A, B): Causative verbs
  4. Conjugation 4 (A, B): Middle verbs
  5. Conjugation 5 (A, B, C): -ow verbs
Conjugation 1

Root verbs with no extra affixes.

Infinitive
-i
keeni
Verbal Noun (f.)
-íd (-íth-)
keeníd
Present Affirmative Present Subjunctive Past Affirmative Past Negative Imperative Affirmative Imperative Negative
1S
-a
keena
-i
keeni
-i
keeni
-in
keenin
2S
-ta
keenta
-ti
keenti
-ti
keenti
-
keen
-in
keenin
3SM
-a
keena
-o
keeno
-i
keeni
3SF
-ta
keenta
-to
keento
-ti
keenti
1P
-na
keenni
-no
keenno
-ni
keenni
2P
-tiin
keentiin
-tiin
keentiin
-teen
keenteen
-a
keena
-ina
keenina
3P
-aan
keenaan
-aan
keenaan
-een
keeneen
Conjugation 2

Verbs derived from root verbs with the passive affix -am-.

Conjuagtion 3A

Verbs derived from root verbs with the causative affix -ish-.

Conjuagtion 3B

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives with the causative affix -aash-.

Conjuagtion 4A

Verbs with the middle affix -o/at-.

Conjuagtion 4B

Middle verbs derived from causative verbs, with the affix -so/sat- (from -ish- + -o/at-).

Conjuagtion 5A

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives with the affix -ow/aath-. Note that the th in -aath- is identical to the middle -t- and therefore assimilates to a following t.

Conjuagtion 5B

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives with the affix -ow/ooth-.

Conjuagtion 5C

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives with the affix -ow/oop-.

Prefix Conjugation

Stative Conjugation

Syntax

Constituent order

The most common (and underlying) word-order is SOV.

Noun phrase

  • Cardinal numbers come before the noun. If a cardinal number is present, the singular form of the noun is used.
nimooyn "men" BUT afar nin "four men" (afar nimooyn is also acceptable)
  • Adjectives and determiners other than cardinal numbers come after the noun.
  • The definite article and other suffixed determiners attach to the noun unless it is preceded by a cardinal number, in which case they attach to the number.
nimooyki "the men" BUT afarti nin "the four men"
  • Possessive phrases can be formed in two ways:
a) Genitive construction
minki Shariif = Shariif's house (lit. the house (of) Shariif)
b) Possessive determiner
Shariif minkiis = Shariif's house (lit. Shariif his house)

Verb phrase

(Subject Pronoun) + Object Pronoun + Locative Particle + Negation (+ Clitic Subject Pronoun) + Relational Particle + Verb

Clitic subject pronouns come after the negation particle if present. Otherwise, they go at the beginning (in which case either the clitic or non-clitic forms may be used).

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Example texts

Other resources