Af Mexee

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Af Mexee is a Lowland East Cushitic language.

Introduction

Af Mexee dhehti (or Af Mexee for short) is a Somali condialect. The term Mexee dhehti means "What did you say?" and is used to differentiate Af Mexee from dialects such as Af Maxaa (tiri) (regular Somali) and Af Maay. However, 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 amany 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), amni "safety, security" (NOT *anni).

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 (for endings beginning in a consonant, these changes apply after syllable-final neutralizations):

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

  • dropped after -d, dh – 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-
  • t (of middle voice) + t, nt, nn

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.

Class I: 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: -am- (passive) verbs
  3. Conjugation 3 (A, B): -ish- (causative) verbs
  4. Conjugation 4 (A, B, C): -at- (middle) verbs
  5. Conjugation 5: -oop- verbs
Conjugation 1

Root verbs with no extra affixes. e.g. keeni "to bring" (stem: keen-)

(Note: –́ = penultimate high tone; ˊ– = initial high tone)

Infinitive
-i
keeni
Verbal Noun (f.)
-íd (-íth-)
keeníd
Present Affirmative Present Subjunctive Past Affirmative Past Negative Imperative Affirmative Imperative Negative
1S
-a
keena
keení
-i
keeni
-ín
keenín
2S
-ta
keenta
-tí
keen
-ti
keenti
ˊ–
kéen
ˊ–in
kéenin
3SM
-a
keena
keenó
-i
keeni
3SF
-ta
keenta
-tó
keen
-ti
keenti
1P
-na
keenna
-nó
keen
-ni
keenni
2P
-tíin
keentíin
-tiín
keentiín
-téen
keentéen
–́ a
keéna
-ína
keenína
3P
-áan
keenáan
-aán
keenaán
-éen
keenéen
Conjugation 2

Passive verbs derived from lexically causative verbs with the passive affix -am-. It conjugates as a Conjugation 1 verb, with the -am affix behaving as a part of the stem (all regular reductions and neutralizations apply). When derived from a Conjugation 3 verb, the -sh- becomes a -s-.

e.g. xirmi "to close (INTR), get closed" (stem: xir-am-)

Infinitive
-mi
xirmi
Verbal Noun (f.)
-míd (-míth-)
xirmíd
Present Affirmative Present Subjunctive Past Affirmative Past Negative Imperative Affirmative Imperative Negative
1S
-ma
xirma
-mí
xir
-mi
xirmi
-mín
xirmín
2S
-anta
xiranta
-antí
xirantí
-anti
xiranti
ˊ–an
xíran
ˊ–min
xírmin
3SM
-ma
xirma
-mó
xir
-mi
xirmi
3SF
-anta
xiranta
-antó
xirantó
-anti
xiranti
1P
-anna
xiranna
-annó
xirannó
-anni
xiranni
2P
-antíin
xirantíin
-antiín
xirantiín
-antéen
xirantéen
–́ ma
xírma
-mína
xirmína
3P
-máan
xirmáan
-maán
xirmaán
-méen
xirméen
Conjugation 3A

Verbs derived from root verbs with the causative affix -ish-. The sh combines with t and n to form s and nn respectively.

Conjugation 3B

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives with the causative affix -aash- (from -aa- + -(i)sh-).

Conjugation 4A

Verbs with the middle affix -o/at-. When derived from Conjugation 3 verbs, the -sh- becomes -s-, giving the combined affix -so/sat-.

Conjugation 4B

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives with the affix -oow/aath- (from -aa- + -at-). Class III verbs all have a Conjugation 4B counterpart, which is used inchoatively or continuatively. They share infinitive and imperative forms. e.g. ahaan "to be" (Class III) or "to become/remain" (Conjugation 4B).

Conjugation 4C

Verbs derived from nouns/adjectives (generally nouns ending in -o) with the affix -oow/ooth- (from -o + -aa- + -at-).

Conjugation 5

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

Class II: Prefix Conjugation

Class III: Stative Conjugation

Tense, Aspect, Mood, and Voice

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