Gidar (language)

The Gidar (self-designation má-káɗà ) is a language spoken by around 40,000 people around the city of Guider in northern Cameroon . It belongs to the family of Chadian languages , and there to the subgroup of the Biu-Mandara languages ​​(also: Central Chadian languages). The supra-regional language that dominates the region and is also mastered by most of the Gidar speakers is the Fulfulde .

According to the system

Consonants

	Labials	Dental	Velare	Lateral
voiceless plosives	p	t	k
voiced plosives	b	d	G
Implosive	ɓ	ɗ
voiceless fricatives	f	s	H	ɬ
voiced fricatives	v	z		ɮ
Nasals	m	n	ŋ

Then there are the sonorants w , y , r and l .

ɬ and ɮ are laterals with a rubbing noise, on the other hand l has no rubbing noise and corresponds to the German l .

The implosives and the laterals with rubbing noise, two types of sounds that also occur in many other Chadian languages, are striking.

The contrast between n and ŋ is limited and essentially only exists at the end of the word: There is only n before a vowel , before a consonant n and ŋ can be used without distinction ( naturally, before g and k one always speaks ŋ ).

Vowels

There are 6 vowels i , e , a , o , u , ə . The documentation sometimes shows variation between u and ə in the vicinity of labials. o and u are pronounced as ö or ü if the syllable that follows the same word contains an e or i (example: gǜlí "women")

Vowels and consonants can both appear elongated, but these cases are rare.

Vowels can also appear nasalized; this too is not common.

Sounds

The Gidar is a tonal language with two registers, high and low frequencies . Each syllable is spoken with one of the two tones. The high tone is marked here by an acute accent (e.g. á), the low tone by a grave accent (e.g. à). Vocabulary can be distinguished by the tone, cf. má "mouth" - mà "mother".

Many grammatical suffixes have what is known as the polar tone, i.e. i.e., they have the opposite tone as the preceding syllable. So these morphemes have no inherent tone at all; their tone is determined by the context. The tone polarity means that the lexical tone of the preceding syllable is acoustically emphasized all the more clearly.

The documentation is sometimes inconsistent about the sounds. It is to be expected that tone changes may occur in the context that are not yet fully understood.

Consonant clusters

The Gidar uses numerous consonant clusters. Two consonants can follow one another at the beginning of a word and up to three consonants in the interior of a word or phrase. Examples:

glà	House
ɬré	six
mbàrá	but
psə̀	give
tàkprá	knee
à pə́rmkà	he heard
mə̀lpènkɗé	Rivers

Pausal and context form

The specialty of the Gidar is that numerous words make a difference between a pausal form , which is used in isolation and before a syntactic cut, and a context form , which is used in normal sentence contexts. Most words whose pausal form ends in a vowel throw it off in the context form. This also creates consonant clusters at the end of the word. In some cases, in the context form, the tone of the falling vowel is carried over to the vowel of the preceding syllable. Sometimes there are even more complicated relationships between the two forms: In the context form, the final vowel falls off, but instead a vowel ə occurs between the consonants that remain at the end or a vowel jump takes place to prevent an unusual cluster. Some examples:

• "Horse": pə́lsà (pausal form) - pə́ls (context form), z. B. in contexts like pə́ls də̀ ... "a horse and ..."
• "Child" wínà (pause form) - wín (context form)
• "Animal, meat" ɬúà (pausal form) - ɬú (context form)
• "Cow" wàɬíyà (pausal form) - wàɬí (context form)
• "his mother" màní (pausal form) - màn (context form)
• "my" náwà (pausal form) - nàw (context form)
• "dir" sùkó (pausal form) - súk (context form)
• "say" ə́náhá (pausal form) - ə́ná (context form)
• "buy" lbáhə̀ (pausal form) - lbà (context form)
• "I bought" nə̀ lbá-kà (pause form) - nə̀ lbáh-ə̀k (context form, the -h- occurs again here)
• "he ate" à zə́mkà (pausal form) - à zə́mə̀k (context form), z. B. in à zə́mə̀k ɬúà "he ate meat"
• "Bitch" kə̀rkə́ (pause form) - krə́k (context form)
• "Wife" gùlkú (pause form) - glúk (context form)
• "Women" gǜlí (pausal form) - gíl (context form)

There is no difference between pause and context form:

• for all words that end in a consonant
• basically with proper names
• with individual further words, e.g. B. glà "house"

noun

Plural

Nouns can form a plural. This usually ends in -ɗe, sometimes after a vowel with -ɗi. The plural suffix has a polar tone. A final vowel of the noun falls off in part similar to the "context form", or an ending a is colored to e when the plural ending occurs. There are some irregularities. Examples:

• "Bird" bə́ngá, pl. Bə́ngéɗì
• "Dog" krà, pl. Kə̀rɗé
• "River" mə̀lpá, pl. Mə̀lpènkɗé
• "House" glà, pl. Glèɗé
• "Cow" wàɬíyà, pl. Wàɬìɗé
• "Man" zə̀l, pl. Zèlí
• "Frau" ɗák, pl. Gǜlí (very irregular)

Many nouns, including almost all body part names, do not have a special plural form.

genus

It is a question of definition whether one ascribes a grammatical gender to the gidar or not. First there is a suffix -kə (with a polar tone), with which one can derive natural feminine or (for things) diminutive. It solves z. T. similar stem changes to the noun as the plural ending. Examples:

• krà "dog" - kə̀rkə́ "bitch"
• gə́mdá "chicken" - gə́mdákə̀ "chicken"
• glà "house" - glánkə̀ "little house"
• gòrdú "knife" - gòrdúkù "knife" (with vowel adjustment)

Attributes and verbs show congruence. A form that we can call "feminine" is used together with all these derivatives of -k auf and additionally with all nouns that denote female persons (and which do not necessarily have the suffix -kə). The other form ("masculine") is used with all other nouns. One can speak of a gender congruence here. If we gave greater weight to the shading of the meaning of the diminutive, we could also speak of a "great class" and a "small class" instead of "masculine" and "feminine". However, we are following the usual terminology that represents the two classes as a pleasure system. In the following, the term "feminine" refers to the class that covers feminine and diminutive at the same time.

In contrast to German, the congruence behavior of a noun in the gidar is easy to predict, and you don't have to memorize the gender for every noun.

adjective

Attributive adjectives always come after their reference word and congruent with it in number and gender. The reference word is in the context form. There are two types of adjectives:

Some adjectives take the same suffixes -ɗe / i and -kə as nouns:

• krà tə̀tré "a black dog"
• krə́k tə̀tùr-kə́ "a black bitch"

krə́k is the context form of kə̀r-kə́ "bitch". The abstract stem of the adjective "black" should be * tə̀tùré , from which different vowels are elidated ( * tə̀tùré > tə̀tré ; * tə̀tùré-kə́ > tə̀tùrkə́ ).

• kírə́ŋ mə̀fyé-ɗì "small children"

kírə́ŋ is the context form of kírnì "children", mə̀fyé-ɗì is the plural of mùfĩ́yá "small".

Other adjectives take the same suffixes that serve as possessive suffixes (see below), i.e. -ni (mask.), -Ta (fem.), -Ti (plural):

• ɗə́f màɓə̀r-nì "the other person"
• ɗí mèɓír-tì "the other people / people"

Context forms of ɗə̀fá "human" or ɗíyí "human" are present here. The adjective is given the ending -tì .

Personal pronouns and related things

There are independent personal pronouns, so-called subject pronouns, object suffixes and possessive suffixes. In the 3rd pers. so called there is a difference according to gender (defined as described above in the section "noun"):

	independent pronoun pausal form	independent pronoun context form	Subject pronouns	Object suffix	Possessive suffix
1. sg. "I"	ìná	in	nə̀	-wà	-wa
2. so. "you"	ìsí	ìs	kə̀	-kù	-ko
3rd sg. mask. "he" / large	ndə̀ní	ndə́n	à	-nì / -á	-ni
3rd sg. fem. "she" / small	ndə̀tá	ndə́t	tə̀	-tà	-ta
1. pl. "we"	mə̀námə̀	mə̀nám	mə̀	-mə̀	-mə
2. pl. "her"	mə̀nókùm	mə̀nókùm	kə̀	-kúm	-cum
3rd pl. "she"	ndə̀dáŋ	ndə̀dáŋ	à	-í / -tí	-ti

Possessive expressions

As in many other languages ​​of the world (but not in German) there is a grammatical difference between alienable (external) possession and inalienable possession (this mainly of body parts and kinship terms). In each case the sequence possessum-possessor is used.

Inalienable Possession

First to the inalienable possession. If the owner is pronominal, a possessive suffix (see the previous section for these) is added to the noun. It is important to note that the suffixes -ko "your", -kum "your" and -ti "you (pl.)", But not -ni "be", a vowel -a- of the preceding syllable to -o - or -e umlauten.

• kí "head" - kí-wà "my head"
• má "mouth" - má-nì "his mouth"
• mà "mother" - mò-kó "your mother" - mè-tí "her (pl.) mother"

All possessive suffixes (except -kum ) lose their ending vowel in the context form:

• àfə́-nì "his father", in the context àfə́n

If the owner is nominal, there is a pronominal suffix first (in the context form) and then the owner. There is no genitive marking on the owner as in German:

• àfə́-n sómbò "the father of Sombo", literally "his father, (namely that of) Sombo"
• àfə́-t wánkə̀ "the girl's father", literally "her father, (namely that of the) girl"
• mè-t kírnì "the mother of children" (mèt is the context form of mè-tí, this from mà + ti).

Alienable Possession

Now for the alienable possession. A possessive suffix cannot be appended to the possessum of an alienable possession. Rather, the genitive preposition ná occurs between the two elements :

• glùk ná mə̃́lìy "the boss's wife"
• glúk ná-wà "my wife"
• krà ná wínà "a child's dog"
• krà ná-wà "my dog"

When combined with the possessive suffixes, ná is changed in the usual way; the forms nó-kò "your", né-tì "you (pl.)", but ná-nì "to be" arise.

The form ná is only used if the possessor is masculine singular. Is it feminine singular, is nát , is it plural, is nét . These forms can be explained as compositions of ná with the possessive suffixes -ta or -ti :

• krà nát wánkə̀ "the girl's dog" (literally: dog - from - her - girl)
• krà nét kírnì "the children's dog" (literally: dog - of-them - children)

verb

Person and tense

Verb forms in the Gidar almost always have to be preceded by a subject pronoun, even if a subject is already expressed otherwise in the sentence. The verbal stem itself is subject to few changes. In principle, the subject pronoun can already form a statement together with the verb stem (e.g. nə̀ zə́m "I eat / ate"), but this construction is rather rare. In most cases a tense or aspect marking is added. The following three markings can be considered particularly important:

• -kà (perfect), is added to the verbal stem
• tàt- / (3.sg.mask. and 3.pl. :) tày- (progressive), replaces the subject pronoun . However, since the progressive marking does not mark the person clearly enough, the independent personal pronoun is also used where necessary (namely in the first and second person).
• wá- (future tense ), is placed in front of the subject pronoun and merges with it.

In the 2nd and 3rd pers. Plural, the verb takes a plural stem ending in - (á) n (final - (á) ŋ ).

	Perfect	Progressive	Future tense
1. sg. "I ate / am currently eating / will eat"	nə̀ zə́m-kà	ìn tàt zə́m	wán zə́m
2. so. "you ate etc."	kə̀ zə́m-kà	ìs tàt zə́m	wák zə́m
3rd sg. mask. "he ate etc."	à zə́m-kà	tày zə́m	wá zə́m
3rd sg. fem. "she ate etc."	tə̀ zə́m-kà	tàt zə́m	wát zə́m
1. pl. "we ate etc."	mə̀ zə́m-kà	mə̀nám tàt zə́m	wám zə́m
2. pl. "you ate etc."	kə̀ zə́mán-kà	mə̀nókùm tàt zə́máŋ	wák zə́máŋ
3rd pl. "they ate etc."	à zə́mán-kà	tày zə́máŋ	wá zə́máŋ

The vowel a of the perfect marking is colored to e or o if the preceding syllable contains an e / i or o / u :

• nì dé-kè "I came" (under the influence of the verbal stem with e , the subject pronoun nə̀ is also recolored here to nì )

In the context form, the perfect mark is reduced to -k (or -ə̀k ).

Two-syllable forms of the pronoun of the present tense series are sometimes also documented:

• wánk tàtə́ húmà "the girl is crying"
• tàyí zə́m zə̀gá "he eats something" (zə̀gá = "thing, something")

The verb lə́ "to go" has a completely irregular plural stem ddóŋ:

• à lə̀-k éngílì "he went home" (éngílì = "at home, home"; lə̀k is the context form of lə́-kà)
• à ddón-k éngílì "they went home"

Verb with object suffixes

The pronominal object ("me", "you" etc.) is expressed by suffixes that are added to the verb (see above in the section "Personal pronouns"):

• wá və́r-mə̀ "he will hit us"

If the verb also has a perfect mark -ka , the object suffixes precede it. The tone of the object suffixes changes to a high tone, and the vowels of the suffixes -wa "mich", -ni "him" and -ta "she" are reduced to ə :

• k ùl-wə́-kà "you saw me"
• à g-wə́-kà "he expected me" ( g = "expect")
• à hál-tə́-kà "he stole her (either woman or little thing)"
• nə̀ və́r-kú-kò "I hit you" (-kò from -kà with vowel coloring)

The form of the object suffix of the 3rd sg. mask. is complicated and would require further research. The basic form is probably -nì :

• tàt ə́zgə́l-nì "she feeds him"
• à dá-nə́-kà "he cooked it" (nì + ka> nə́-kà)
• à zbà-nə́-kà "he followed him"

Many verbs whose stem ends in a consonant have an ending -á in the final position (progressive, future tense) and -ə́ before the perfect suffix:

• wá grák-á "he will end it (m.)"
• wá grák-tá "he will end it (f.)"
• à gràk-ə́-kà "he finished it (m.)"
• à gràk-tə́-kà "he finished it (f.)"

• wák sə̀n-á "you will recognize him"
• kə̀ sə́n-ə́-kà "you have recognized him / it; you know him; you know it"

• nə́ və̀r-ə́-kà "I hit him"
• á və̀r-wə́-kà "he hit me"

• à pə̀rm-ə́-kà "he heard him"
• à pə̀rm-tə́-kà "he heard her (f.)"

• à tàw-kà "he slaughtered"
• à tàw-ə́-kà "he slaughtered him / it"

• nə̀ lbá-kà "I bought"
• nə̀ lbàh-ə́-kà "I bought it" (a stem ending -h , which is inaudible before k , appears again here)

• à zə́m-ə́-kà "he ate it"

The -ə́ can be recoloured to -ú or -í in the vicinity of corresponding vowels:

• à ngróf-ú-kò "he broke it / him" ( ə́ > ú after o )
• à bày-í-kè "he killed him" ( ə́ > í after y )

Finally, verbs are documented that use the pronominal object of the 3rd sg. mask. express with -ànì (end position) or -á (internal position):

• ìs tàt úl-wà "you see me"
• ìn tàt úl-ànì "I see him"
• ìn tàt úlə̀-tà "I see you (f.)"
• n ùl-á-kà "I saw him"
• n ùlə́-tə́-kà "I saw her (f.)"

The following verb seems to have an -ani-> -anə in its internal position:

• à ɓə́lə́-kà "he shook"
• à ɓl-ànə́-kà "he shook him"

The object suffix of the 3rd pers. Plural is similarly complicated and is not shown here.

Object suffixes for plural subjects

If the verb has to have a plural suffix in the 2nd or 3rd person plural and also contains an object suffix, both suffixes merge in a way that is not easily predictable. Some examples:

• mùnòkúm tàt úl-wə́nì "you see me" (-wə́nì = "me" + plural)
• á və̀r-wə́n-kà "they beat me"
• à zə́m-tə́n-kà "they ate it (f.)"
• à pə̀rm-nə́n-kà "they heard him / it"
• tày ə́mpə́r-nə́ŋ "they eat it"
• kə̀ və̀r-nə́n-kà "you beat him"
• kə̀ vr-ántə́-kà "you beat them (fem. sg.)"

Subject suffixes

Some intransitive verbs of position and movement have, in addition to the subject pronoun, a so-called subject suffix, which formally is very similar to the object suffix. Presumably one can compare these verbs with reflexive verbs of other languages ​​(such as German "I hold myself up", "I move away"). Examples:

• à nzá-n-kà "he ran" ( -n- is the subject suffix )
• tə̀ nzá-t-kà "she ran"
• nə̀ sá-w-kà "I stayed"
• tə̀ sá-tə̀-kà "she stayed"

In some expressions, the subject is expressed exclusively through the subject suffix:

• ə̀ndàw "I want to go / let me go" ( ə̀ndà "go" + w "(m) me")

Subjunctive

A form that can be called a subjunctive is formed by putting similar subject pronouns in front of the verbal stem as in the perfect, but the pronouns are all high-pitched and the 3rd pers. so called mask. has the special form də́ (instead of the à of the perfect). The subjunctive has a modal meaning:

• də́ lə̀ "may he go"
• mə́ lə̀ "let's go"

imperative

The imperative has a prefix á- in the singular and mə̀- in the plural, as well as an ending -ə̀ :

• á-pə̀rm-ə̀ "listen!"
• mə̀-pə̀rm-ə̀ "hear!"
• á-zə́m-ə̀ "eat!"
• á-zə́m-á "eat it!"
• á-plá-nì "leave him!"

prepositions

There is a group of small words that come before nouns or possessive suffixes that we can call prepositions, e.g. B .:

ví "because of" - ví-wà "because of me" - ví-kò "because of you" - ví-nì "because of him" - ví-tà "because of you" (etc.)

sə̀ (dative) - sə̀-wá "mir" - sù-kó "dir" - sə̀-ní "him" (etc.) (Context forms: sə́w, súk, sə́n etc.)

The genitive particle ná discussed above is also a preposition.

In front of nouns in the masculine singular, prepositions are placed in their basic form. Before feminine and plural nouns, on the other hand, they have to adopt possessive suffixes congruent with them (in the context form). Examples:

• ví wàɬíà "because of the cow" (this noun is masculine)
• ví-t Kə̀zá "because of Kəza (woman's name)", literally: "because of her, Kəza"

With and

Another preposition is də̀ "with" (in the instrumental and comitative sense):

• də̀ zə̀l-wá "with my husband"
• də́-t glúk ná-wà "with my wife"
• dí-t gíl ná-wà "with my wives" (dít is the context form of dì-tí from də̀ + ti)

This preposition can also be translated with "and":

• Tìzí də́-t Kə̀zá "Tizi and Kəza"

The local preposition á

The preposition á "in, zu", which denotes place and direction, can only be directly connected with nouns that already have a local meaning:

• á wálàŋlà "in the village, into the village"

Otherwise, a mediating element must intervene:

• à lə́-k á zá fə̀-ní "he went to his father". The element zá occurs between the preposition á and fə̀-ní "his father".

This element in turn shows gender congruence like a preposition:

• á zà Sómbò "to Sombo (man's name)"
• á zà-t Kə̀zá "to Kəza (woman's name)"

Syntactic peculiarities of the dative

Usually adverbial clauses follow the verb. The special feature of the connections between the dative preposition and the possessive suffix is ​​that they penetrate the verb phrase between the verbal stem on the one hand and the perfect indicator on the other. If the verb has a plural marking, this is put twice, namely once in its usual position after the verbal stem and a second time after the dative pronoun. Examples:

sómbò à ná sə̀-nə́-k ná óhò
Sombo he say to-him-perf. that no
"Sombo (man's name) said to him« no »"

à náh-án sə̀-nə́-nə̀-k sómbò
they say-pl. zu-him-Pl.-Perf. Sombo
"they said to Sombo"

à lbàh-án sə̀-wə́-nə̀-k wàɬíyà
they buy-pl. to-me-Pl.-Perf. Cow
"they bought me a cow"

This construction, which at first glance is very difficult, can be explained well under the assumption that the dative preposition is actually a shortened form of the verb psə̀ "give", so that the latter sentence was originally constructed as "they bought (and ) gave me a cow ".

negation

Every negated sentence ends with the negation ɓà . Some sentences, including those in the progressive, can be simply denied by adding this negation:

• tày hə́mà "he cries"
• tày hə́m ɓà "he doesn't cry" ( hə́m is the context form of hə́mà )

The perfect cannot be in the negated sentence. To negate a perfect, one uses a form that is identical to the subjunctive (and which lacks the perfect marking -kà in particular ):

kə́ bbó sə́-w ɓà
you-subj. don't help me
"you didn't help me "

də́ lbà wàɬì ɓà
er-Subj. don't buy cow
"he didn't buy the cow"

The imperative has a special negation, in which the usual subject pronoun is used instead of the typical imperative features:

kə̀ vrə́-t ɓà
you don't hit-them
" don't hit them (fem.)!" (vrə́-t is the context form of və̀r-tá)

Relative forms

In the relative clause

Like many other Chadian languages, the Gidar also uses special verb constructions in relative clauses, which can only be touched on here. Basically there is a "relative" counterpart to every tense. The perfect is replaced by a form that has largely the same subject pronouns as the perfect, but lacks the perfect mark -kà . The 3rd pers. so called mask. has the additional peculiarity that the subject pronoun appears in two variants, namely as də̀ , if the reference word is the subject of the relative clause, and as à otherwise. In addition, the relative clause is usually introduced by the relative particle mə̀z . Examples:

ɗə́f mə̀z də̀ kíy-ùk á-nkà
man rel. er-rel. bring-you-in-here
"the man who brought you here"

ɗák mə̀z à pél sə̀-tá
Ms. Rel. he speak to-her
"the woman with whom he spoke"

ɬú mə̀z mù wə́l
Tier Rel. we see
"the animal that we saw"

In the focus construction

Relative forms, without the relative particles, are also used for focusing. Such constructions are much more common in Gidar (and generally in Chadian languages) than the rather cumbersome-sounding German translations. The focused part of the sentence is always at the beginning of the sentence:

zə̀rmbá də̀ dé
Zərmba er-Rel. come
"Zərmba (man's name) it is who came."

wàɬì à lbáhə̀
cow he buy
"A cow is what he bought."

ask

Sentence questions

The sentence question is formed by adding a particle sà at the end of the sentence . In addition, the sentence receives question intonation: a high tone on the penultimate syllable in the sentence, i.e. the syllable that immediately precedes the particle sà . The tense forms are the same as in the normal statements:

kù wlú-wə́-nə́-k sà
you see-me-plural-perfect question
"Have you seen me?"

Verbal questions

In verbal questions, the question word is at the beginning of the sentence and always a particle dì at the end of the sentence. The sentence must be formulated as a focus construction (see above):

náwá-y də̀ də̀ sə́-n wáy dì
who-is he-Rel. cook for-him food Question
"Who cooked him food?"

mə́ à zə́m dì
what he eat question
"What did he eat?"

náwá-y kə̀ wə́l dì
who-is you see question
"Who did you see?"

syntax

Verbal sentence

A sentence with a verbal predicate contains at least a subject pronoun and a verb (in this order). If the subject is expressed separately, the sentence consists of subject - subject pronoun - verb. The connection is usually so close that the subject adopts the context form:

wín è gílí-kè
child he go out-perf.
"The child went out"
wín is the context form of wínà , the a vowels of both the subject pronoun and the perfect indicator are colored here by the vowelism of the verb to e .

The object follows the verb; the verb enters the context form:

tày zə́m-áŋ ɬúà
they eat-pl. Meat
"they eat meat"

nə̀ kól-ə̀k máddàmbà
I open-Perf. Door
"I opened a door"

Once the object has been determined, the verb must have a corresponding object suffix:

nə̀ kól-ə́-k máddàmbà
I open-es-perf. Door
"I opened the door" (literally: "I opened the door")

Adverbial clause

A sentence with an adverbial predicate can in any case be constructed in the progressive with the same subject elements as verbal clauses in the progressive.

• Místè tàt éngílì "Miste (woman's name) is at home"
• tát də̀ dàlá "she has money" (literally: "she is with money")
• Zə́rmbà tày də́-t wánk górkù "Zərmba has a young daughter" (literally: "... is with a young daughter")

Nominal rate

If the predicate of the sentence is a noun, the following elements are used as the copula "is / are":

• yí (3rd so-called mask.)
• tə́ (3rd so-called fem.)
• ngə́ (3rd pl.)

These are enclitics and are always in the second position in the sentence. Examples:

• krà yí "that's a dog"
• kr-ɗé ngə́ "these are dogs"
• Kə̀zá tə́ mə̀lmú-wà "Kəza is my sister"
• náwá-y dì "who is that?" (dì is a question particle)

vocabulary

Some elements from the basic vocabulary:

eye	era
three	hókù
one	tákà
eat	zə́m
woman	ɗák
five	ɬé
give	psə̀
go	lə́
Well	mòggò
hand	vá
Listen	pə̀rm
man	zə̀l
mouth	má
Surname	íyà
say	ə́náhá
see	wə́l ~ úl
four	póɗó
water	ìnkílè
knowledge	sə̀n
two	súlà

literature

• Z. Frajzyngier 2008: A Grammar of Gidar, Frankfurt
• R. Schuh 2010: Comments on Zygmunt Frajzyngier's Grammar of Gidar, in: Afrika und Übersee 91: 119–136

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Remarks

1. ↑ Subject pronouns are never at the end of an utterance and should therefore be viewed as contextual forms.
2. ↑ The possessive suffixes have a polar tone
3. ↑ also with nasal vowel: -wã
4. ↑ "Wife" is regarded as alienable, in contrast to kinship terms such as "mother".
5. ↑ The imperative is an exception.
6. ↑ These presentic pronouns are apparently composed of an element tà- and the copula, which is used in the nominal sentence.
7. ↑ The form tàŋ zə́máŋ also occurs.
8. ↑ Compare the similar pronoun in the subjunctive. In contrast to the subjunctive, however, the subject pronouns of the relative perfect are low-pitched.