Hadda: Difference between revisions

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Each tense has an infinitive formed with the bare stem of that tense that declines as a noun - e.g. ''gaɓɓam'' "in order to habitually throw". The corresponding participles/adjectives are formed with the genitive - e.g. ''gaaⱳiya'' "throwing" ("of throwing"), ''lamooriya'' "about to be lead", and ''ħaɗɗiya'' "Hadda (''adj.'')" ("of being Hadda").  
Each tense has an infinitive formed with the bare stem of that tense that declines as a noun - e.g. ''gaɓɓam'' "in order to habitually throw". The corresponding participles/adjectives are formed with the genitive - e.g. ''gaaⱳiya'' "throwing" ("of throwing"), ''lamooriya'' "about to be lead", and ''ħaɗɗiya'' "Hadda (''adj.'')" ("of being Hadda").  
The infinitive can also be used with person prefixes - e.g. ''migaaⱳa'' "my throwing".


====Mood====
====Mood====
Affects final vowel.
Affects ending.
*Indicative: ''-a''
*Indicative: ''-an''
**Used in declarative sentences for a statement of fact - ''ħaɗɗa'' "is Hadda"
**Used in declarative sentences for a statement of fact - ''ħaɗɗan'' "is Hadda"
*Potential: ''-e'' (palatalizes final velar)
*Potential: ''-en'' (palatalizes final velar)
**Used for an event considered likely - e.g. ''ħaɗɗe'' "probably is Hadda"
**Used for an event considered likely - e.g. ''ħaɗɗen'' "probably is Hadda"
*Dubitative: ''-o''
*Dubitative: ''-on''
**Used for an event considered possible but unlikely - e.g. ''ħaɗɗo'' "maybe is Hadda"
**Used for an event considered possible but unlikely - e.g. ''ħaɗɗon'' "maybe is Hadda"
*Conditional: ''-u''
*Conditional: ''-un''
**Used for an event whose occurrence is dependent on another condition - e.g. ''ħaɗɗu'' "would be Hadda"
**Used for an event whose occurrence is dependent on another condition - e.g. ''ħaɗɗun'' "would be Hadda"
*Imperative: ''-i'' (palatalizes final velar)
*Imperative: ''-in'' (palatalizes final velar)
**Used for command, imploring, self-encouragement, etc - e.g. ''ħaɗɗi'' "be Hadda!"
**Used for command, imploring, self-encouragement, etc - e.g. ''ħaɗɗin'' "be Hadda!"


====Tense + Aspect====
====Tense + Aspect====
Affects stem.
Affects stem.
*Simple future: Used for an event in the future.
*Simple future: Used for an event in the future.
**Initial velar: labialized - e.g. ''gwaaⱳa'' "will throw"
**Initial velar: labialized - e.g. ''gwaaⱳan'' "will throw"
**Other: stem vowel becomes ''o'' - e.g. ''moora'' "will lead", ''ħoɗɗa'' "will be/become hadda"
**Other: stem vowel becomes ''o'' - e.g. ''mooran'' "will lead", ''ħoɗɗan'' "will be/become hadda"
*Present progressive: Used for an event currently occurring.
*Present progressive: Used for an event currently occurring.
**Identical to the present infinitive - e.g. ''gaaⱳa'' "is throwing, has been throwing", ''maara'' "is leading, has been leading", ''ħaɗɗa'' "is hadda"
**Stem is identical to the present infinitive - e.g. ''gaaⱳan'' "is throwing, has been throwing", ''maaran'' "is leading, has been leading", ''ħaɗɗan'' "is hadda"
*Present habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurs (habitual) or general truths (gnomic).
*Present habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurs (habitual) or general truths (gnomic).
**''CaaCa'' verbs become ''CaCCa'' - e.g. ''gaɓɓa'' "throws", ''malla'' "leads"
**''CaaC-'' verbs become ''CaCC-'' - e.g. ''gaɓɓan'' "throws", ''mallan'' "leads"
**''CaCCa'' verbs become ''CaCaCCa'' - e.g. ''ħaɍaɗɗa'' "regularly becomes hadda"
**''CaCC-'' verbs become ''CaCaCC-'' - e.g. ''ħaɍaɗɗan'' "regularly becomes hadda"
*Simple past: Used for a simple event in the past.
*Simple past: Used for a simple event in the past.
**Initial velar: labialized + stem vowel becomes ''i'' - e.g. ''gwiiⱳa'' "threw"
**Initial velar: labialized + stem vowel becomes ''i'' - e.g. ''gwiiⱳan'' "threw"
**Other: stem vowel becomes ''u'' - e.g. ''muura'' "lead (past)", ''ħuɗɗa'' "became hadda"
**Other: stem vowel becomes ''u'' - e.g. ''muuran'' "lead (past)", ''ħuɗɗan'' "became hadda"
*Past progressive: Used for an event that was occurring in the past.
*Past progressive: Used for an event that was occurring in the past.
**Stem vowel becomes ''i'' (palatalizing initial velars) - e.g. ''jiiⱳa'' "was throwing", ''miira'' "was leading", ''ħiɗɗa'' "was hadda"
**Stem vowel becomes ''i'' (palatalizing initial velars) - e.g. ''jiiⱳan'' "was throwing", ''miiran'' "was leading", ''ħiɗɗan'' "was hadda"
*Past habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurred in the past.
*Past habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurred in the past.
**Like present habitual, but with stem vowel changing to ''i'' - e.g. ''jiɓɓa'' "used to throw", ''milla'' "used to lead", ''ħiɍiɗɗa'' "used to become hadda"
**Like present habitual, but with stem vowel changing to ''i'' - e.g. ''jiɓɓan'' "used to throw", ''millan'' "used to lead", ''ħiɍiɗɗan'' "used to become hadda"
*A future habitual can be formed by reduplicating the final consonant of the simple future - e.g. ''gwaɓɓa'' "will throw regularly", ''molla'' "will lead regularly", ''ħoɍoɗɗa'' "will regularly become hadda". Normally, this would be formed with a ''gaara'' construction - e.g. ''gaɓɓa gwaara'' "will throw regularly" (literally: will say throwing regularly)
*A future habitual can be formed by reduplicating the final consonant of the simple future - e.g. ''gwaɓɓan'' "will throw regularly", ''mollan'' "will lead regularly", ''ħoɍoɗɗan'' "will regularly become hadda". Normally, this would be formed with a ''gaaran'' construction - e.g. ''gaɓɓa gwaaran'' "will throw regularly" (literally: will say throwing regularly)
*The auxiliary verb ''gaara'' "to say" is ubiquitous in Hadda verbal morphology. Its functions include:
*The auxiliary verb ''gaaran'' "to say" is ubiquitous in Hadda verbal morphology. Its functions include:
**Forming compound tenses, which can either form new tenses or disambiguate existing forms - e.g. ''gaaⱳa gwaara'' "will be throwing", ''gaaⱳa jiira'' "was throwing" (equivalent to ''jiiⱳa''; might be used if another verb has the same past form), ''gwaaⱳa jiira'' "was going to throw"
**Forming compound tenses, which can either form new tenses or disambiguate existing forms - e.g. ''gaaⱳa gwaaran'' "will be throwing", ''gaaⱳa jiiran'' "was throwing" (equivalent to ''jiiⱳan''; might be used if another verb has the same past form), ''gwaaⱳa jiiran'' "was going to throw"
**Deriving verbs from nouns, interjections, loanwords, etc - e.g. ''ħiʔ gaara'' "to hiccup" (literally: to say ''ħiʔ''), ''telefoona gaara'' "to telephone" (literally: to say telephone).
**Deriving verbs from nouns, interjections, loanwords, etc - e.g. ''ħiʔ gaaran'' "to hiccup" (literally: to say ''ħiʔ''), ''telefoona gaaran'' "to telephone" (literally: to say telephone).
<!-- Originally, there were two tenses (past and non-past), each with three aspects (perfective, progressive/stative, and habitual/gnomic). The future tense comes from the present perfective. -->
<!-- Originally, there were two tenses (past and non-past), each with three aspects (perfective, progressive/stative, and habitual/gnomic). The future tense comes from the present perfective. -->


====Person + Number====
====Person + Number====
Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem. The initial consonant of the verb is not lenited, despite occurring between vowels. The prefix may be dropped if the subject is clear from context.
Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem. The initial consonant of the verb is not lenited, despite occurring between vowels. The prefix may be dropped if the subject is clear from context.
*1S: ''na-'' e.g. ''namiira'' "I was leading"
*1S: ''na-'' e.g. ''namiiran'' "I was leading"
*1P: ''nawa-'' e.g. ''nawagaaⱳa'' "we are throwing"
*1P: ''nawa-'' e.g. ''nawagaaⱳan'' "we are throwing"
*2S: ''ta-'' e.g. ''taħaɗɗi'' "be Hadda!"
*2S: ''ta-'' e.g. ''taħaɗɗin'' "be Hadda!"
*2P: ''tawa-'' e.g. ''tawajiiro'' "you (''pl.'') might have said"
*2P: ''tawa-'' e.g. ''tawajiiron'' "you (''pl.'') might have said"
*3S: ''fa-'' e.g. ''famalla'' "he/she leads"
*3S: ''fa-'' e.g. ''famallan'' "he/she leads"
*3P: ''fawa-'' e.g. ''famoora'' "they will lead"
*3P: ''fawa-'' e.g. ''famooran'' "they will lead"


====Voice====
====Voice====
Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem (after person prefixes). Unlike person prefixes, these do cause the initial consonant to lenite and lenite themselves when occurring after person or other voice prefixes. When multiple voice prefixes co-occur, the order is ''passive/reflexive/middle-inchoative/cessive-causative-intensive''.
Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem (after person prefixes). Unlike person prefixes, these do cause the initial consonant to lenite and lenite themselves when occurring after person or other voice prefixes. When multiple voice prefixes co-occur, the order is ''passive/reflexive/middle-inchoative/cessive-causative-intensive''.
*Passive: ''-la-'' e.g. ''laǥaɓɓa'' "is thrown"
*Passive: ''-la-'' e.g. ''laǥaɓɓan'' "is thrown"
**Indicates that the action is performed on the subject. The patient takes the nominative and the agent takes the instrumental.
**Indicates that the action is performed on the subject. The patient takes the nominative and the agent takes the instrumental.
*Reflexive: ''-sa-'' e.g. ''saǥaɓɓa'' "throws oneself"
*Reflexive: ''-sa-'' e.g. ''saǥaɓɓan'' "throws oneself"
**Indicates that the subject performs an action on themselves.  
**Indicates that the subject performs an action on themselves.  
*Middle: ''-ma-'' e.g. ''maǥaɓɓa'' "gets thrown"
*Middle: ''-ma-'' e.g. ''maǥaɓɓan'' "gets thrown"
**Indicates that an action affects the subject, without indicating the cause of the change.
**Indicates that an action affects the subject, without indicating the cause of the change.
*Intensive: Formed by reduplicating ''-Ca-'' or ''-CaCa-'' - e.g. ''gaǥaaⱳa'', ''gaⱳaǥaaⱳa'' "is throwing repeatedly/intensely"
*Intensive: Formed by reduplicating ''-Ca-'' or ''-CaCa-'' - e.g. ''gaǥaaⱳan'', ''gaⱳaǥaaⱳan'' "is throwing repeatedly/intensely"
*Causative: ''ŋa-'' e.g. ''ŋaǥaaⱳa'' "is causing to throw"
*Causative: ''ŋa-'' e.g. ''ŋaǥaaⱳan'' "is causing to throw"
*Inchoative: ''ca-'' e.g. ''caǥaaⱳa'' "is starting to throw"
*Inchoative: ''ca-'' e.g. ''caǥaaⱳan'' "is starting to throw"
*Cessive: ''kwa-'' e.g. ''kwaǥaaⱳa'' "is stopping throwing"
*Cessive: ''kwa-'' e.g. ''kwaǥaaⱳan'' "is stopping throwing"


====Negation====
====Negation====
Negation is accomplished with the circumfix ''ka-ŋ'' - e.g. ''namiira'' "I was leading" → ''kanamiiraŋ'' "I was not leading"
Negation is accomplished by dropping the final ''-n'' and adding the circumfix ''ka-ŋ'' - e.g. ''namiiran'' "I was leading" → ''kanamiiraŋ'' "I was not leading"


==Syntax==
==Syntax==

Revision as of 18:48, 3 June 2017

Hadda (Native: ħaɗɗa) is an a priori language inspired by various African languages.

Introduction

Phonology

Orthography

Note: There is no reason to include Greek and Cyrillic alphabets except my love of writing systems.

Hadda orthography
IPA Latin Simplified Latin Greek Cyrillic Maraasa Arabic Ge'ez Hebrew Notes
a A a A a Α α А а ـَ סַ
Aa aa Aa aa Ά ά Я я ـَا סַא
b B b B b Б b Б б ب ּב
β̞ Ƀ ƀ B b Β β В в ب ב allophone of /b/ between vowels
ɓ Ɓ ɓ B' b' Бϥ bϥ Бъ бъ ڀ קּו
c C c Ch ch Κι κι Ч ч چ כ׳
d D d D d D d Д д د ּד
ð̞ Đ đ D d Δ δ Ԁ ԁ ذ ך allophone of /d/ between vowels
ð Dh dh Δ δ Ԁ ԁ ዘ, ደ ךֿ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /d ~ ð̞/
ɗ Ɗ ɗ D' d' Dϥ dϥ Дъ дъ ڟ טּ
ɛ E e E e Ε ε Э э ـٖ סֵ
ɛː Ee ee Ee ee Έ έ Е е ـٖي סֵי
f F f F f Φ φ Ф ф ف פ
g G g G g G ɡ Г г ݣ גּ
ɣ̞ Ǥ ǥ G g Γ γ Ғ ғ ڠ ג allophone of /g/ between vowels
ʁ Ɣ ɣ Gh gh Γ γ Ғ ғ غ גֿ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /g ~ ɣ̞/
ɠ Ɠ ɠ G' g' Gϥ ɡϥ Гъ гъ ڨ קּ
Gw gw Gw gw Gυ ɡυ Гў гў ڭو גּו
h H h H h Χ χ Х х ھ ኸ, ሀ ה allophone of /k/ between vowels in non-guttural environment;
phonemic in loanwords (nativized as /ħ/ or /k ~ h/)
Hw hw Hw hw Χυ χυ Хў хў هو הו allophone of /kʷ/ between vowels in non-guttural environment
ħ Ħ ħ X x Һ h Һ һ ح ח
χ X x Kh kh Χ χ Х х خ כֿ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /k ~ h/ or /ħ/
i I i I i Η η И и ـِ סִ
Ii ii Ii ii Ή ή І і ـِي סִי
ɟ J j J j Gι ɡι Џ џ ج גּ׳
ʄ Ɉ ɉ J' j' Gϥι ɡϥι Џъ џъ ݘ קּ׳
k K k K k Κ κ К к ک כ
Kw kw Kw kw Κυ κυ Кў кў کو כו
l L l L l Λ λ Л л ل ל
m M m M m Μ μ М м م מ
n N n N n Ν ν Н н ن נ ֹ
ɲ Ɲ ɲ Ny ny Νι νι Њ њ ݧ נ׳
ŋ Ŋ ŋ Ng ng Ϝ ϝ Ҥ ҥ ݢ נ״
ŋʷ Ŋw ŋw Ngw ngw Ϝυ ϝυ Ҥў ҥў ڬو נ״ו
ɔ O o O o Ο ο О о ـٗ סֹ
ɔː O o O o Ό ό Ѡ ѡ ـٗو סוֹ
p P p P p Π π П п پ פּ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /f/ or /b/
q Q q Q q Κϥ κϥ Къ къ ق קּ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /ɠ ~ ʔ/ or /k/
ʔ Ɂ ɂ ' Γϥ γϥ Ғъ ғъ ٯٔ ، ء ק allophone of /ɠ/ between vowels
ʕ Ҁ ҁ C c S s Ҁ ҁ ع ע
ɾ R r R r Ρ ρ Р р ر ר allophone of /l/ between vowels;
occurs phonemically in loanwords (nativized as /l ~ ɾ/)
ɾˀ Ɍ ɍ R' r' Ρϥ ρϥ Ръ ръ ݬ [ጠ] ט allophone of /ɗ/ between vowels
s S s S s Σ σ ς С с س ס
ʃ Σ ʃ Sh sh Χι χι Ш ш ش ש allophone of /c/ between vowels;
phonemic in loanwords (nativized as /c ~ ʃ/ or /s/)
t T t T t Τ τ Т т ت ת
θ Ŧ ŧ Th th Θ θ Ѳ ѳ ث תֿ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /t/ or /s/
u U u U u Ω ω У у ـُ סֻ
Uu uu Uu uu Ώ ώ Ѹ ѹ ـُو סוּ
v V v V v Β β В в ۋ בֿ occurs in loanwords; nativized as /b ~ β̞ /, /f/, or /w/
w W w W w Υ υ Ў ў و ו allophone of /gʷ/ between vowels; phonemic word-initially
ʔʷ Ⱳ ⱳ 'W 'w Βϥ βϥ Въ въ ؤ קו allophone of /ɓ/ between vowels
j Y y Y y Γι γι Й й ي י allophone of /ɟ/ between vowels; phonemic word-initially
ʔʲ Ƴ ƴ 'Y 'y Γϥι γϥι Йъ йъ ئ [ጨ] ק׳ allophone of /ʄ/ between vowels
z Z z Z z Ζ ζ З з ز ז occurs in loanwords; nativized as /s/ or /d ~ ð̞/
ʒ Ʒ ʒ Zh zh Ζι ζι Ж ж ژ ז׳ occurs rarely in loanwords;
nativized as /ɟ ~ j/ (initially) or /c ~ ʃ/ (between vowels)

Consonants

Allophones and loanword-exclusive phonemes are enclosed in brackets.

Consonants
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Labiovelar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ ŋʷ
Plosive voiceless (p) t c k (q) (ʔ)
voiced b d ɟ g
glottalized ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ
Fricative voiceless f (θ) s (ʃ) (hʷ) (χ) ħ (h)
voiced (v) (ð) (z) (ʁ) ʕ
Approximant/Flap plain (β̞) (ð̞) (ɾ) l j (ɣ̞) w
glottalized (ɾˀ) (ʔʲ) (ʔʷ)

Vowels

Prosody

Stress

Stress is on the final long syllable in a word. A long syllable is one that contains a long vowel or is followed by two consonants.

Intonation

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(C).

Morphophonology

  • Velar consonants and their allophones can be modified by labialization and palatalization.
    • Labialization: k, h, g, ǥ, ɠ, ʔ, ŋ → kw, hw, gw, w, ɓ, ⱳ, ŋw
    • Palatalization: k, h, g, ǥ, ɠ, ʔ, ŋ → c/ʃ, ʃ, j, y, ɉ, ƴ, ɲ
  • Some consonants are lenited between vowels. This lenition is indicated in the orthography.
    • b, d, j, g, gw, c, l → ƀ, đ, y, ǥ, w, ʃ, r
    • ɓ, ɗ, ɉ, ɠ → ⱳ, ɍ, ƴ, ʔ
    • k, kw → h, hw (unless preceded or followed by /ħ/, /ʕ/, or a glottalized consonant)

Morphology

Nouns

Case

Affects final vowel.

  • Absolutive: -a
    • Citation form, direct object of verb, nominal complement, object of adpositions.
  • Nominative: -u
    • Subject of verb.
  • Genitive: -i (palatalizes final velar)
    • Possessor ("of"), adjectives, participles.
    • The genitive can be declined to agree in case with the possessed, in which case its absolutive is -iya - e.g. Yaħyiyak "away from Yahya's"
  • Dative: -o
    • Indirect object of verb ("to", "for").
  • Locative: -e (palatalizes final velar)
    • Location ("at", "in", "by", "on")
  • Ablative: -ak
    • Movement away from.
  • Allative: -am
    • Movement towards, purpose (with infinitives).
  • Essive: -aŋ
    • State ("as").
  • Translative: -af
    • Change of state ("into").
  • Instrumental: -as
    • Means ("with", "by means of"), agent ("by").
  • Commitative: -al
    • Accompaniment ("in company with").

Number

Infixed before case vowel.

  • Paucal: -aan-
  • Plural: -aaw-

Verbs

(Example verbs are gaaⱳa "to throw", maara "to lead", and ħaɗɗa "to be ħaɗɗa")

Non-finite forms

The present infinitive is of the form XCaaCa or XCaCCa, where X can be anything. Only the final portion (after X) changes. Therefore, "initial" consonant below refers to the initial consonant in the penultimate syllable.

Each tense has an infinitive formed with the bare stem of that tense that declines as a noun - e.g. gaɓɓam "in order to habitually throw". The corresponding participles/adjectives are formed with the genitive - e.g. gaaⱳiya "throwing" ("of throwing"), lamooriya "about to be lead", and ħaɗɗiya "Hadda (adj.)" ("of being Hadda").

The infinitive can also be used with person prefixes - e.g. migaaⱳa "my throwing".

Mood

Affects ending.

  • Indicative: -an
    • Used in declarative sentences for a statement of fact - ħaɗɗan "is Hadda"
  • Potential: -en (palatalizes final velar)
    • Used for an event considered likely - e.g. ħaɗɗen "probably is Hadda"
  • Dubitative: -on
    • Used for an event considered possible but unlikely - e.g. ħaɗɗon "maybe is Hadda"
  • Conditional: -un
    • Used for an event whose occurrence is dependent on another condition - e.g. ħaɗɗun "would be Hadda"
  • Imperative: -in (palatalizes final velar)
    • Used for command, imploring, self-encouragement, etc - e.g. ħaɗɗin "be Hadda!"

Tense + Aspect

Affects stem.

  • Simple future: Used for an event in the future.
    • Initial velar: labialized - e.g. gwaaⱳan "will throw"
    • Other: stem vowel becomes o - e.g. mooran "will lead", ħoɗɗan "will be/become hadda"
  • Present progressive: Used for an event currently occurring.
    • Stem is identical to the present infinitive - e.g. gaaⱳan "is throwing, has been throwing", maaran "is leading, has been leading", ħaɗɗan "is hadda"
  • Present habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurs (habitual) or general truths (gnomic).
    • CaaC- verbs become CaCC- - e.g. gaɓɓan "throws", mallan "leads"
    • CaCC- verbs become CaCaCC- - e.g. ħaɍaɗɗan "regularly becomes hadda"
  • Simple past: Used for a simple event in the past.
    • Initial velar: labialized + stem vowel becomes i - e.g. gwiiⱳan "threw"
    • Other: stem vowel becomes u - e.g. muuran "lead (past)", ħuɗɗan "became hadda"
  • Past progressive: Used for an event that was occurring in the past.
    • Stem vowel becomes i (palatalizing initial velars) - e.g. jiiⱳan "was throwing", miiran "was leading", ħiɗɗan "was hadda"
  • Past habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurred in the past.
    • Like present habitual, but with stem vowel changing to i - e.g. jiɓɓan "used to throw", millan "used to lead", ħiɍiɗɗan "used to become hadda"
  • A future habitual can be formed by reduplicating the final consonant of the simple future - e.g. gwaɓɓan "will throw regularly", mollan "will lead regularly", ħoɍoɗɗan "will regularly become hadda". Normally, this would be formed with a gaaran construction - e.g. gaɓɓa gwaaran "will throw regularly" (literally: will say throwing regularly)
  • The auxiliary verb gaaran "to say" is ubiquitous in Hadda verbal morphology. Its functions include:
    • Forming compound tenses, which can either form new tenses or disambiguate existing forms - e.g. gaaⱳa gwaaran "will be throwing", gaaⱳa jiiran "was throwing" (equivalent to jiiⱳan; might be used if another verb has the same past form), gwaaⱳa jiiran "was going to throw"
    • Deriving verbs from nouns, interjections, loanwords, etc - e.g. ħiʔ gaaran "to hiccup" (literally: to say ħiʔ), telefoona gaaran "to telephone" (literally: to say telephone).

Person + Number

Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem. The initial consonant of the verb is not lenited, despite occurring between vowels. The prefix may be dropped if the subject is clear from context.

  • 1S: na- e.g. namiiran "I was leading"
  • 1P: nawa- e.g. nawagaaⱳan "we are throwing"
  • 2S: ta- e.g. taħaɗɗin "be Hadda!"
  • 2P: tawa- e.g. tawajiiron "you (pl.) might have said"
  • 3S: fa- e.g. famallan "he/she leads"
  • 3P: fawa- e.g. famooran "they will lead"

Voice

Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem (after person prefixes). Unlike person prefixes, these do cause the initial consonant to lenite and lenite themselves when occurring after person or other voice prefixes. When multiple voice prefixes co-occur, the order is passive/reflexive/middle-inchoative/cessive-causative-intensive.

  • Passive: -la- e.g. laǥaɓɓan "is thrown"
    • Indicates that the action is performed on the subject. The patient takes the nominative and the agent takes the instrumental.
  • Reflexive: -sa- e.g. saǥaɓɓan "throws oneself"
    • Indicates that the subject performs an action on themselves.
  • Middle: -ma- e.g. maǥaɓɓan "gets thrown"
    • Indicates that an action affects the subject, without indicating the cause of the change.
  • Intensive: Formed by reduplicating -Ca- or -CaCa- - e.g. gaǥaaⱳan, gaⱳaǥaaⱳan "is throwing repeatedly/intensely"
  • Causative: ŋa- e.g. ŋaǥaaⱳan "is causing to throw"
  • Inchoative: ca- e.g. caǥaaⱳan "is starting to throw"
  • Cessive: kwa- e.g. kwaǥaaⱳan "is stopping throwing"

Negation

Negation is accomplished by dropping the final -n and adding the circumfix ka-ŋ - e.g. namiiran "I was leading" → kanamiiraŋ "I was not leading"

Syntax

Constituent order

Free, but most often SOV.

Noun phrase

Usually head-initial (i.e. noun comes before modifiers).

Verb phrase

Usually head-final (i.e. verb comes at the end).

Adpositional phrase

Usually head-final (i.e. postpositions).

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Example texts

Other resources