Kera (language)
The kera , self-designation kéérá , is a language spoken in the region south of the city of Fianga in southwestern Chad . It belongs to the family of the Chadian languages and there to the subgroup of the Eastern Chadian languages. The number of speakers is indicated differently, as 15,000 or 50,500.
According to the system
Consonants
The Kera distinguishes the following consonants:
| Labials | Dental | Palatal | Velare | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiceless plosives | p | t | c | k | (ʔ) |
| voiced plosives | b | d | j | G | |
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||
| voiceless fricatives | f | s | H | ||
| voiced fricatives | v | z | |||
| Nasals | m | n | ŋ |
Then there are the sonorants r, l, w and y.
The phonemic status of ʔ is questionable.
An opposition voiceless vs. voiced (e.g. t vs. d ) consists primarily of the wording . There are hardly any minimal pairs inside the word, but there are those between non-implosive and implosive consonants (e.g. ɗ ).
Words usually end in a vowel, sonorant, or nasal. Other consonants at the end of a word are only found in ideophones (onomatopoeic words).
Vowels
The kera has six vowels that can be represented in a 2 × 3 matrix:
| open | e | a | O |
| closed | i | ə | u |
The vowels also appear long, but only in an open syllable. Nasal vowels are also used in very few words.
There is a tendency towards some form of vowel harmony , whereby a word contains either only open or only closed vowels. This plays a special role in the verbal system, where typically either adding suffixes changes the stem vowel or suffixes are available in two variants to be selected depending on the stem vowel, so that the vowel harmony is fulfilled. However, the language also has a number of words, mainly nouns, that do not conform to the vowel harmony.
You will also encounter the following vowel rules at various points in the grammar, which may be pointed out below:
- Before i / u of the following syllable, the underlying a becomes ə (because of the vowel harmony), and the underlying ə becomes i or u.
- Before the a of the following syllable, an a becomes ə if it is in an open syllable.
volume
The Kera is a tonal language with three registers: high (á), medium (ā), low (à). In rarer cases there are also movement sounds: rising (ǎ), falling (â). These are usually recognizable as a result of the loss of a vowel, the tone of which is carried over to the preceding syllable. The tone plays an important role in distinguishing between grammatical forms.
Predictability of the tone
The tone in the Kera is predictable to some extent from the consonants, but not completely, so the three tones must be considered phonemic. The following tendencies can be identified:
- The mid-tone can be used as the default.
- Some syllables have an inherent high tone. This affects end syllables and grammatical suffixes much more often than word stems. Adding a high-tone suffix can turn a preceding mid-tone into a high tone.
- If a word begins with a voiced plosive or fricative (especially b , d , j , g , v , z ; limited and less predictable also f , s , h ), at least the first syllable, but often the rest of the word as well , deep tone. At least with verbs it can be seen that the low tone is propagated to the right as long as the syllables are only separated by simple sonorants (sounds like m , n , r , l ); on the other hand, the propagation of the low frequency is interrupted by voiceless or glottal consonants and groups of consonants.
- Voiced plosives / fricatives in the interior of the word have no recognizable sound-lowering effect.
- The low tone caused by a voiced plosive or fricative can change not only medium-tone but also inherently high-tone syllables to low-tone ones, i.e. H. in the event of a conflict, the bass wins.
These rules apply very strictly to verbs. There are numerous exceptions to nouns. At least some of these are loanwords from other languages whose original tone pattern has been retained.
Personal and possessive pronouns
| independent pronoun | suffix | possessive pronouns | |
| 1. sg. "I" | tēn | -n | nín |
| 2. so. mask. "you" | tām | -m | nə̄mtí |
| 2. so. fem. "you" | tē | -ī | nīītí |
| 3rd sg. mask. "he" | wə̄, tó | -ú | nūūtú |
| 3rd sg. fem. "she" | ā, tá | - (r) á | nāātá |
| 1. pl. incl. "I + you / her" | on | náŋ | |
| 1. pl. excl. "me + others" | áré | náré | |
| 2. pl. "her" | on | -ŋ | nə̄ə̄tí |
| 3rd pl. "she" | yē, té | -í | nēēté |
For the 1st person pl. there are no suffixes.
In the 3rd person there are the variants tó, tá and té:
- whenever there is no subject role
- than more pronounced forms
- in indirect speech with subject identity ("he said that he ...")
noun
If the noun ends in a vowel, then this vowel falls off in the context, for example whenever the noun is followed by an attribute. However, this does not apply if the vowel is preceded by a consonant group, because otherwise a sequence of three consonants, which is not allowed in the Kera, would arise in the context of the sentence.
Gender and number
The kera has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine. The gender is mainly shown in congruence phenomena. In many cases, however, the gender can already be seen in the form of the noun, because masculine nouns often begin with a prefix k- (less often g- or p-), feminine ones often with a prefix t- (less often d- or h-).
Only some of the nouns form plural forms, which are then always quite irregular. They usually have a prefix k-, sometimes also a suffix -w or inner ablaut.
Examples:
| masculine | feminine | Plural |
| pūr "boy" | door "girl" | kə́már "children" |
| kóóyá "dog" | tóóyá "bitch" | kááyá "dogs" |
| sēēnə̄ "brother" | nāwrə̄ "sister" | kə̄sāānə̄ "siblings" |
| kúmná "chief" | kə̄kámnáw "chiefs" | |
| tə́ə́yə́ "calabash" | kə́ə́yə́w "calabashes" | |
| ágày "hoe" | kə́gày "chop" |
Many nouns do not form the plural form: də̀r "Auge, Augen".
Terms for the uncountable are usually treated as grammatical plurals and are accordingly often with k-:
- kān "water"
- kāw "milk"
- kāāɗáw "grass"
- kīn "sleep"
- káásáw "millet"
adjective
Adjectives usually have differentiated forms for masculine, feminine and plural, sometimes with prefixes similar to those described for the nouns. The shapes are generally quite irregular. Examples:
| masculine | feminine | Plural | |
| big | bòbló | mótò | kə́mtə́ŋ |
| new, young | kīmīrwí | tēmērwá | kə̄mārwáŋ |
| red | kə́ə́lí | hə̀rlə́ | kə́ə́lə́ŋ |
| beautiful | písí | pə́sá | pə́sáŋ |
| black | kīsírkí | sárká | kə̄sárkáŋ |
| sweet | jìbìdì | jìbìdə̀ | jìbìdə̀ŋ |
| White | gìbìrwí | bə̀rwá | gə̀bə̀rwə́ŋ |
However, some adjectives are indeclinable, e.g. B. gòdògròy "short".
Adjectives are behind their reference word and congruent with it:
- tāāmə̄gá sárká "a black sheep"
- káámáŋ kə̄sárkáŋ "black sheep"
Definite article
The Kera has a certain article that is very similar to that of German in its use. It consists of a suffix -ŋ (rare and probably archaic -ŋa) with a polar tone, i.e. H. there is a mid-tone -ŋ̄ after the preceding high tone, high-tone -ŋ́ after the preceding low or mid tone. After a consonant the -ŋ does not appear and only the sound remains. Examples:
- hə̀lgə́ "woman" - hə̀lgə́ŋ̄ "the woman"
- kūlī "house" - kūlīŋ́ "the house"
- hùlùm "man" - hùlùḿ "the man" (instead of * hùlùmŋ́)
- tə̄r "girl" - tə̄ŕ "the girl"
- kə́pàŋ "tree" - kə́pàŋ́ "the tree"
The article stands behind all other attributes:
- kūl bòbló-ŋ̄ "the big house"
In contrast to German, only one article can appear in genitive combinations, namely at the end of the group:
hàrgá kə́ hə̀lgə́-ŋ̄
goat from woman-ARTICLE
"the woman's goat"
Possession
Inalienabel
Inalienable (inalienable) possession exists when it comes to the possession of body parts, relatives and the like. In this case the possessum takes on a special form, which can be described as a status constructus following the analogy of the Semitic languages . The formation of the status constructus is quite irregular; usually there is an extension at the end of the word. For reasons of meaning, however, a status constructus is only formed from a manageable number of nouns. The status constructus is followed by the possessor either in the form of a pronominal suffix (for forms see above in the section "Personal and possessive pronouns") or a common noun. A case marking of this noun, corresponding to the German genitive, does not exist.
The following table gives some examples for nouns in the basic form and in the status constructus with hùlùḿ "the man" as possessor:
| kōr "blood" | kōrdə̀ hùlùḿ "the man's blood" |
| gèlèr "fingernail" | gèlèrgə̀ hùlùḿ "the man's fingernail" |
| kúsúkí "meat" | kúsúkdə̀ hùlùḿ "the flesh of the man" |
| kámpá "foot" | kāmpār hùlùḿ "the man's foot" |
| kāsī "hand" | kās hùlùḿ "the man's hand" |
| gə̀gə̀r "knee" | gə̀gə̀ə̀rə̀ hùlùḿ "the man's knee" |
| cə̄ "head" | cə̄ə̄rə̄ hùlùḿ "the man's head" |
| door "girl, daughter" | tə̄rnə̄ hùlùḿ "the daughter of the man" |
Some nouns, especially kinship terms such as B. "Brother" can only be used in the status constructus, that is, with an explicit possessor.
When adding suffixes, the vowel harmony comes into play. The vowel change takes place either in the nominal stem or in the suffix. When the suffixes -i and -u appear, the nominal stem adapts: A -a- of the stem becomes -ə-, but -ə- of the stem becomes -i - / - u-. In contrast, the suffix -a of the 3rd person changes. so called fem. not the nominal stem, but becomes -ə after a closed stem vowel.
The suffix of the 1st person so called and all 3rd person suffixes are high-pitched for most, but not all nouns, and then mostly evoke high-pitched notes on the entire word.
Since for the 1st pers. pl. If there are no suffixes, the usual status-constructus connection with the pronoun of the 1st person occurs here. pl. a.
As an example, the noun cə̄ "head" with suffixes:
| cə́ə́rń | "my head" |
| cə̄ə̄rə̄m | "your (mask.) head" |
| cīīrī | "your (fem.) head" |
| cúúrú | "his head" |
| cə́ə́rə́ | "her (fem.) head" |
| cə̄ə̄rə̄ áŋ / áré | "our head; our heads" |
| cə̄ə̄rə̄ŋ | "your head; your heads" |
| cíírí | "their (pl.) head; their heads" |
The connections of status constructus with pronominal suffixes are not always completely predictable. Further examples:
| Normal form | status constructus | + "my" | + "your (mask.)" | + "to be" | |
| belly | - | gììdə̀ | gììdǹ | gììdìm | gììdù |
| Brothers | - | sēēnə̄ | séénń | sēēnēm | síínú |
| wife | - | mār | mārń | mə̄rām | mūrú |
| parents | - | kámnə̄ | kámnān | kámnām | kə́mnū |
| foot | kámpá | kāmpār | ? | ? | kə̄mpúrú |
| hand | kāsī | cheese | káásń | kāāsām | kə́ə́sú |
| knee | gə̀gə̀r | gə̀gə̀ə̀rə̀ | gə̀gə̀ə̀rǹ | gə̀gə̀ə̀rə̀m | gùgùrù |
| Surname | - | sám | ? | sə̄mām | sə̄mú |
| uncle | - | nə̄ə̄nə̄ | nə̄ə̄ndə̀n | nə̄ə̄ndə̀m | nūūndù |
| move | - | kērkə̄ | kérkə́n | kērkə̄m | kírkú |
| son | - | kōrmə̄ | kōrmōn | kōrmōyōm | kūrmūyū |
| aunt | - | nāārə̄ | ? | nə̄ə̄rām | nə̄ə̄rú |
Alienabel
Alienable Possession is expressed in nominal Possessor by the construction Possessum + kə́ + Possessor:
- kūl kə́ kúmnáŋ̄ "the chief's house" (kūlī "house")
- hàrgá kə́ hə̀lgə́ŋ̄ "the woman's goat"
A special series of possessive pronouns is available for the pronoun possessive pronouns (see table above):
- kūl nín "my house"
- kə́cə́ŋ nēēté "their (pl.) cows"
The possessive pronouns of the 3rd person are extended by -ŋ̄, provided that they are identical in reference to the subject:
- wə̄ hàŋ hàrgá nāātá "he took her (fem.) goat", but:
- ā hàŋ hàrgá nāātáŋ̄ "she took her (own) goat"
Demonstrative
The German demonstrative pronoun "this" corresponds to the series tóŋ (mask.) - táŋ (fem.) - téŋ (pl.). These forms are placed after the noun:
- hùlùm tóŋ "that man"
verb
Basic form
Verbs have a basic form that on the one hand roughly corresponds to our infinitive, but on the other hand can also function as a tense form. Verbs are quoted in this form.
The tense formed by the basic form denotes general statements without a precisely defined time reference. You can partly compare it with the English simple present.
The basic form ends in -é or -í. The choice of the ending depends on the vowel harmony: Use -é after the stem vowel e, a or o, on the other hand -í after the stem vowel i, ə or u.
The ending -é / -í is inherently high-pitched. However, it becomes low-pitched if the verb has a low-pitched tone caused by its initial consonant and this is only separated from the ending by a simple sonorant (example hàmè "essen"). See the "Predictability of Tone" section above.
The ending -é / -í is dropped in the interior of the sentence after a simple consonant:
- hàmè "eat", but hàm kúsúkí "eat meat"
- gùsí "buy", but gùs hàrgá "buy a goat"
preterite
Instead of -é / -í there is an ending -ŋ in the simple past, which is preceded by a copy of the stem vowel of the verb. -Ŋ is also inherently high-pitched, so that the past tense always has the same tone pattern as the basic form.
Verbs of the type félé "find" form the past tense on -aŋ because the stem is actually * fal-. (In the basic form there is an umlaut * fálé> félé.)
In the case of short verbs whose stem only consists of consonant + vowel, the vowel of the simple past cannot be predicted from the basic form, e.g. B .:
- ɗé "go" - ɗéŋ "went"
- sé "drink" - sáŋ "drank"
Optional
An optative is formed using the ending -la . The verb appears in its pure root form. The ending can be separated from the verb and does not adapt to it according to the rules of vowel harmony. A (nominal or pronominal) object occurs between the verb and - la .
About the sound:
- If the suffix -la follows the verbal stem, it is basically medium-tone, but low-tone according to the lower-tone stem.
- If the suffix follows the object, it is basically high-tone, but medium-tone after the specific article.
Examples:
- wə̄ fāl-lā "may he find"
- wə̄ fə̄lām-lá "may he find you"
- wə̄ fə̄lū-lá "may he find him"
- wə̄ fāl kāā lá "may he find people"
- wə̄ fāl kāŋ́ lā "may he find the people"
- wə̄ gùs-là "may he buy"
- wə̄ gùs-lá "may he / she buy him / her" (gùsú + lá or gùsə́ + lá is contracted to gùs-lá, so that only the sound on the optional marking points to the object)
- áŋ ɗēē-lā "we want to go / let's go"
In the 2nd pers. so called the optative can be used without a subject pronoun. This then corresponds to our imperative. The pronoun must be in the plural:
- hàm-là "eat!"
- ɗēē-lā "go!"
- āŋ ɗēē-lā "goes!"
Verbal nouns
The verbal noun, which is also important for the formation of the progressive (see below), mostly corresponds to the basic form, so it has an ending -é or -í like this. The only difference is that the sound-lowering effect of a low-pitched stem does not extend to the ending of the verbal noun.
Examples:
- hàmè "eat" - hàmé "eat; food"
- bì "come" - bǐ "come; arrival"
Verb with object suffixes
The verb can be joined with the same personal suffixes that function as possessive suffixes. In the verb, they denote the object. The addition of the suffixes brings about all kinds of sound changes in the stem. Furthermore, the suffix -ŋ of the past tense before the personal suffix becomes -n-. As an example, the respective forms of the verb félé "to find" are given in the basic form and in the simple past:
| Basic form | preterite | |
| without a suffix | félé | fə́láŋ |
| + "me" | fə̄lān | fālnān |
| + "you (mask.)" | fə̄lām | fālnām |
| + "you (fem)" | fə̄lī | fə̄lnī |
| + "him" | fə́lú | fə́lnú |
| + "they (fem.)" | fə́lá | fálná |
| + "us (incl.)" | fél áŋ | fə́láŋ áŋ |
| + "us (excl.)" | fél áré | fə́láŋ áré |
| + "you" | fə̄lāŋ | fālnāŋ |
| + "they (pl.)" | fə́lí | fə́lní |
Observations:
- There are no 1st person plural suffixes. Alternatively, the normal form of the verb is combined with the personal pronoun.
- A copy of the stem vowel is inserted before the consonant suffixes to make the form speakable.
- The suffixes -i and -u trigger stem changes due to vowel harmony.
- Stems with an underlying stem vowel * -a-, which also includes the verb félé "to find" shown in the table, show further complications: A change -a-> -ə- is not only found in the vowel harmony of -i and -u, but also, if in an open syllable, in front of -a. The basic form is félé instead of * fálé through assimilation.
- The third person suffixes are inherently high pitched. Therefore, verbs with the third person suffix always have the same tone progression as the basic form and the past tense without a suffix, two forms that also have a high-tone ending.
- Verbs with a suffix of the first or second person, on the other hand, do not have a final high note. These forms are therefore consistently medium-tone or (through the action of a voiced consonant at the beginning of the word) low-tone.
Root forms of selected verbs
The following are given: the basic form, the past tense, with transitive verbs also their connections with the object suffixes for "me" and "him", the verbal noun and the optative.
| Basic form | Basic form + "me" |
Basic form + "him" |
preterite | Simple past + "me" |
Simple past + "him" |
Verbal nouns | Optional | |
| eat | hàmè | hàmàn | hə̀mù | hàmàŋ | hàmnàn | hə̀mnù | hàmé | hàm-là |
| Find | félé | fə̄lān | fə́lú | fə́láŋ | fālnān | fə́lnú | félé | fāl-lā |
| give | áyé | āyān | ə́yú | áyáŋ | āynān | ə́ynú | áyé | āy-lā |
| go | ɗé | - | - | ɗéŋ | - | - | ɗé | ɗēē-lā |
| to buy | gùsí | gùsùn | gùsú | gùsúŋ | gùsnùn | gùsnú | gùsí | gùs-là |
| come | bi | - | - | bə̀ŋ | - | - | bǐ | bə̀ə̀-là |
| love, want | bèlè | bə̀làn | bə̀lù | bə̀làŋ | bàlnàn | bə̀lnù | bèlé | bàl-là |
| to take | hè | hàn | hàw | hàŋ | hàànàn | hə̀ə̀nù | hě | hàà-là |
| write | jèèrè | jèèrèn | jììrù | jèèrèŋ | jèèrènèn | jììrùnù | jèèré | jèr-là |
| to sit down | ísí | - | - | ə́sə́ŋ | - | - | ísí | ə̄s-lā |
| search | gòldé | gòldòn | gùldú | gòldóŋ | gòldònòn | gùldúnú | gòldé | gòldə̀-là |
| drink | sé | sān | sáw | sáŋ | sāānān | sə́ə́nú | sé | sāā-lā |
| burn | kí | kūn | kúw | kúŋ | kūūnūn | kúúnú | kí | kūū-lā |
Essentially, all forms can be derived from the specified rules, but in individual cases there may be unpredictable features. Forms like hàn "to take me" are actually based on a long vowel (* hàà-), which is shortened to a closed syllable. The long vowel appears again in hààrà "to take them (fem.)", Where a transitional sound -r- appears between the stem and the ending -à.
Progressive
The progressive roughly corresponds to the English present progressive or past progressive and can often function as a translation of a German present tense. The construction is: subject pronoun - bə̀ - verbal noun - (object) - locative ending (see below for this). It is something like "he is doing something" u. to understand. The locative ending -á is used in a preceding vowel and is only recognizable after an object in certain cases.
Examples:
- wə̄ bə̀ hàmé "he is eating (straight)" (-á is not recognizable after hàmé)
- wə̄ bə̀ gòldòm-á "he's looking for you (right now)"
- wə̄ bə̀ gùldú "he's looking for him (right now)"
- wə̄ bə̀ hə̀rsí kūlí "he is (currently) building a house" (kūlī "house" + -á becomes kūlí)
- wə̄ bə̀ hə̀rsí kūlíŋā "he is building (currently) the house"
Future tense
A future tense is expressed by adding the element yāŋ to the basic form:
- wə̄ hàmè "he eats" - wə̄ hàm yāŋ "he will eat"
- wə̄ fə́lú "he will find him" - wə̄ fə́lú yāŋ "he will find him"
There are a number of other tenses that are not covered here.
Plural stem
Some of the verbs form a plural stem. It is used when an action is carried out several times, by several subjects (in intransitive verbs) or on several objects (in transitive verbs).
In the plural stem, a voiced initial consonant often becomes voiceless, which triggers a tone change because the sound-lowering effect of the voiced consonant is lost:
- gèrè "plant" - plural stem kéré
Some short verbs add an additional consonant:
- vè "to lay" - plural stem féké
Example:
- wə̄ gə̀ràŋ kə́pàŋ "he planted a tree"
- wə̄ kə́ráŋ kə́pàŋ wāāɗē "he planted four trees"
Adverbial expressions
locative
The language has a locative ending -á, which is only used to a limited extent. The ending is generally high-pitched. In some cases, always after the definite article, the locative ending is medium-tone. The a goes up in a preceding vowel, so that the locative is then only recognizable through the tone or possibly not at all.
Only a few nouns and place names can be used in the pure locative:
- māālāw "covered area between the woman's hut and the cooking place, (short: courtyard") - māālə́w-ā "in the courtyard"
- kúpòr (place) - kúpòrá "in Kupor"
The locative ending should also be used in certain adverbials ending in -a:
- kə́nā "here"
- āpə́ya "above"
- ádàwrá "below"
The locative is still productive in the construction body part - possessor - locative ending. If the possessor is nominal, the body part designation is also high-tone in this construction. Examples:
- kāāsām "your (masked) hand (also: your hands)" - kāāsə̄má "in your hand"
- kə̄ə̄sī "your (fem.) hand" - kə̄ə̄sí "in your hand" (locative only recognizable by the high tone)
- kə́ə́sú "his hand" - kə́ə́sú "in his hand" (locative not recognizable at all)
- kās hùlùm "hand of a man" - kás hùlùmá "in the hand of a man" (also kās "hand" is high-pitched)
In many cases this construction corresponds functionally to a German prepositional compound:
- gùd "lower part"
- gùd kə́pə̀ŋ-á "at the bottom of a tree = under a tree"
- gùd kə́pə́ŋā "under the tree"
- kērkə̄ "back, backside"
- kérkə̄ kə́pə̀ŋá "behind a tree"
- kérkə̄ kə́pə́ŋā "behind the tree"
- kérkə̄ kūlí "behind a house" (kūlī "house" + á> kūlí)
- kérkə̄ kūlíŋā "behind the house"
- kērkə̄má "behind you"
- cə̄ə̄rə̄ kūlīŋ́ "the head of the house = the roof" - cə́ə́rə̄ kūlíŋā "on the roof"
The locative also plays a role in the construction of the progressive form of the verb (see above).
prepositions
Local adverbials are usually formed by combining the locative with the preposition ā:
- kə́kə́y "way" - ā kə́kə́y-ā "on the way"
- kə́ɓə́r "bed" - ā kə́ɓə́r-ā "in bed"
- kōɗōm "your place" - ā kōɗōm-á "at your place"
The preposition gèr (gèrd-) "bei" is used either with or without a locative ending; in one case the meaning is local, in the other directional:
- gèrd-ə̀n-á "with me" - gèrd-ə̀n "to me"
- gìrd-ú (from * gìrd-ù-á) "with him" - gìrd-ù "to him"
Another common preposition is də̀ "with". Connected with pronominal suffixes the following forms arise:
- də̀ə̀rń "with me"
- də̀ə̀rə̀m "with you (mask.)"
- dììrì "with you (fem.)"
- dùùrú "with him"
- də̀ə̀rə́ "with her"
- Etc.
dative
The pronominal dative is denoted by almost the same suffixes on the verb as the pronominal direct object, but with the special feature that the dative suffixes do not have an inherent high tone (not even in the 3rd person).
- wə̄ wə́ə́tú "he says it" - wə̄ wə̄ə̄tū "he tells him"
- wə̄ ə́yú "he gives him" - wə̄ ə̄yū "he gives him"
- wə̄ gùsnùm "he bought you; he bought you"
The nominal dative, on the other hand, is formed with the preposition á. Instead of the object suffixes, it sometimes happens that á is combined with the independent personal pronoun.
- á tó "him"
- wə̄ ə́y á hə̀lgə́ŋ̄ "he gives it (ə́yú) to the woman"
āy kúsúk lá á kóóyáŋ̄
give meat OPTATIVE DATIVE dog.ARTICLE
"give the dog meat!" (kúsúki = "meat")
syntax
Word order
The normal word order is subject - verb - object. Neither the subject nor the object are marked by a special case. The subject is expressed by some nominal expression, e.g. B. a noun or an independent pronoun realized.
mə̄sár hùmùŋ kə́cə́ŋ nēēté wə́rā
Europeans took away
their cows "the Europeans took away their cows"
The verb loses a final vowel in front of the object, unless it is preceded by a consonant group.
- wə̄ bèl hàmè "he wants to eat" (bèlè "want")
- wə̄ gòldé káásáw "he's looking for millet"
- wə̄ fə́láŋ hùlùḿ "he found the man"
Non-verbal sentence
Sentences can be formed with a nominal or adverbial predicate without a copula:
- kūlī-ŋ́ bòbló "the house (is) big"
- mēnsálá nə̄ə̄nd-ə̀n "Mensala (name) (is) my uncle"
If the predicate consists of a with-expression, there is a correspondence to our verb "haben":
Ye də Beke àblàw
them with cattle much
"they (are) with much cattle" = "they have much cattle"
negation
A sentence is usually negated by bà at the end of a sentence that is otherwise normally formed:
- wə̄ hàmàŋ bà "he didn't eat"
- tēn bèl bà "I don't want to"
The optative, however, has a special negation of the form á + basic form + bà :
- gòldə̀-là "search!"
- á gòldé bà "don't look!"
Sentences with a non-verbal predicate (this also includes the construction of the progressive) are to be negated by pāāpá ... bà :
- kūlīŋ́ pāāpá bòbló bà "the house is not big"
- wə̄ pāāpá bə̀ hàmé bà "he is not eating"
Question sentence
Questions always contain the element mó at the end of the sentence:
- wə̄ bì yāŋ "he will come" - wə̄ bì yāŋ mó "will he come?"
This also applies to verbal questions. With these, the question word is not necessarily at the beginning of the sentence, as in German, but in its normal syntactic position:
mīntí lə́táŋ nə̄wr-ī mó
who hit your sister-your QUESTION
"who hit your sister?"
wə̄ ānē mó
er wo QUESTION
"where is he?"
ā bə̀ŋ də̀ mīntí mó
she came with who QUESTION
"with whom did she come?"
Subordinate clauses
A common conjunction is míntí "that":
wə̄ wááté míntí mār-ń ānē mó
he says that woman-my where QUESTION
"he asked: Where is my wife?"
If míntí is preceded by one of the elements bə̀ (mask.) / Də̀ (fem.) / Gə̀ (plural), a relative clause is created:
kō bə̀ míntí yē kééré ádà-ŋ́
place REL. that they sacrifice there-ARTICLE
"the place where they sacrifice"
vocabulary
Some elements from the basic vocabulary:
| eye | də̀r |
| three | sōōpē |
| one | mə̀nà |
| eat | hàmè |
| woman | hə̀lgə́ |
| five | wīīɗīw |
| give | áyé |
| go | ɗé |
| big | bòbló |
| Well | písí |
| hand | kāsī |
| Listen | ə́skí |
| man | hùlùm |
| mouth | kū |
| Surname | sám |
| say | wááté |
| see, know | ásé |
| four | wāāɗē |
| water | kān |
| two | ɓāsī |
literature
- Ebert, Karen H. 1975: Language and tradition of the Kera (Chad). Part I: Texts. Berlin: Reimer.
- Ebert, Karen H. 1976: Language and tradition of the Kera (Chad). Part II: Lexicon. Berlin: Reimer.
- Ebert, Karen H. 1979: Language and tradition of the Kera (Chad). Part III: Grammar. Berlin: Reimer.
- Pearce, M. 1998/9: Consonant and Tone in Kera (Chadic), Journal of West African Languages 27: 33-70
Remarks
- ↑ Ebert (1979: vi)
- ↑ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ker
- ↑ Only used in alienable possession.
- ↑ kə́pàŋ "tree" + article ŋ́ + locative ending ā should actually result in * kə́pə̀ŋ́ā, but is simplified to kə́pə́ŋā.
- ↑ Compare it with kūl bòbló-ŋ̄ "the big house", where the article is at the end of the whole group.
- ↑ The article refers to kō "place".