Lamang

The Lamang , self-designation gwàɗ làmàŋ , is a language spoken by around 50,000 people in the region around the city of Gwoza (in Lamang gwòzò ) in northeastern Nigeria . It belongs to the Biu-Mandara branch within the Chadic languages . The speakers usually use Hausa as a second language. Làmàŋ actually only means "our ( -màŋ ) people ( là )".

A closely related language spoken in the neighboring region of Cameroon that is sometimes viewed as a dialect of the Lamang is the Hdi (Xədi).

According to the system

Consonants

The Lamang distinguishes the following consonant phonemes:

	Labials	Dental	Sibilants	Lateral	Velare	Labiovelare
voiceless plosives	p	t	ts		k	kw
voiced plosives	b	d	dz		G	gw
prenasal plosives	mb	nd	ndz		ŋg	ŋgw
Implosive	ɓ	ɗ
voiceless fricatives	f		s	ɬ	x	xw
voiced fricatives	v		z	ɮ	γ	γw
Nasals	m	n			ŋ	ŋw

Then there are l, r, w and y.

The sibilants can be palatalized before e and i, so that e.g. B. s and ts sound like š or č. This is not specifically noted below.

Vowels

We can distinguish six vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ə. Occasionally, especially in certain grammatical forms, vowels can appear as long vowels (never ə).

The status of ə is unstable: This vowel can often stand or drop out depending on the speed of speech, which then creates groups of consonants:

• zə̀ɗàl ~ zɗàl "man"
• kə̀lá ~ klá "take"
• mádə̀và ~ mádvà "antelope"
• dzə̀vò ~ dzvò "hand"
• ə́mγàm ~ ḿγàm "boss"

In addition, ə never appears at the end of a word.

In the context of a sentence, verbal vowels, especially -a, are often reduced to ə or repelled entirely. The impersonal subject suffix -lo "man" often becomes -l in the interior of a sentence. This phenomenon has not yet been precisely documented.

volume

Like all other Chadian languages, Lamang is also a tonal language. A distinction is made between two registers: high tone (á), low tone (à) and occasionally a falling tone (â).

The tone is, however, predictable to a relatively large extent. In principle, the treble is the default. Certain consonants, so-called "depressor consonants", have the property of lowering the tone of all syllables to the right of them within the same word to the low tone. All voiced (but not glottalized) plosives and fricatives function as depressor consonants. This connection can be seen well in the following nouns:

• éwé "mouth": no depressor, therefore high tones throughout
• bùnà "Mahlstein": Depressor at the beginning, therefore low tone throughout
• ógò "Goat": Depressor in the middle, hence starting with high tone, then low tone

This tendency is especially true for nouns. It is less effective with verbs whose tone is determined more by the grammatical form than by the nature of the consonants, as well as with foreign words that can retain their original tone progression. The rule given here also does not apply to pronouns and grammatical elements.

Miminal pairs of words that differ only in tone can be found in the verbal system (examples below in the section "Simple versus derived verbs").

accent

Independent of the tone, there is an accent (more precisely: sentence accent). The penultimate syllable of an utterance tends to be emphasized; this also applies to words spoken in isolation. The emphasis can be used to lengthen the vowel and, if necessary, to raise a low tone. For example, a word like dùwà "fairy tale" can sound in isolation or at the end of a sentence like dúúwà. These effects of the accent are ignored in the following, rather the words are paraphrased according to their pronunciation as required in the context.

Personal and possessive pronouns

Like many other Chadian languages, Lamang distinguishes three different forms that correspond to our "we", but has no gender difference according to the "he" vs. "she" of German.

	independent	Subject suffixes	Object suffixes	Possessive suffixes
1st sg. "I"	ìyò	-yo ~ -i	-ì-	-ɗà
2.sg. "you"	kàγà	-ka	-ɗà-	-γà
3.sg. "he she"	nèɗè	-ɗe ~ -Ø	-n / A-	-ìnì
1.pl. "I + you (+ others)"	nàmàŋ	-maŋ	-mà-	-màŋ
1.pl. "I + you"	nàmwà	-mwa	-m (à) wà-	-mwà
1.pl. "me + others"	nàyìŋ	-yiŋ	-nì-	-yìŋ
2.pl. "her"	kàγènì	-keni	-wà-	-γénì
3.pl. "she"	nàxáŋ	-xáŋ	-n / A-	-tàŋ
impersonal "man"	-	-lo	-	-

Remarks:

• The choice of the subject suffix of the 1st sg. (-yo or -i) and the 3rd sg. (-ɗe or zero) depends on the tense used.
• The subject suffix -xáŋ "she" has inherent highs. All other subject suffixes usually adopt the tone of the preceding syllable.
• There is no object suffix for the 3rd pl. to disposal. Alternatively, the suffix of the 3rd sg. used.

noun

The lamang has no grammatical gender.

Nouns can form a plural form. This is used less often than in German and is unnecessary if another word in the sentence shows that a majority is meant.

The plural usually has an ending -xá. A final vowel of the noun often falls before this. Examples:

• ílí "eye" - ílxá "eyes"
• sə́rá "leg" - sə̀ráxá "legs"
• γwà "mountain" - γwàxá "mountains"
• ḿγàm "Chef" - ḿγàmxá "Chefs"
• ɬá "cow" - ɬáxá "cows"
• lúmà "city" - lúmáxá "cities"
• dàdà "father" - dádxá "fathers"
• ógò "goat" - ógxá "goats"

The following four nouns have irregular plural forms:

• zɗàl "man" - zálá "men"
• márákwá "woman" - míxá "women"
• úzàŋà "boy, son" - úzíná "boy, sons"
• mákwá "girl, daughter" - úzínkùγì "girl, daughters"

Possession

The order Possessum - Possessor is always used. The possessor can be a noun (which is then not specially marked) or a possessive suffix.

Two a suffixes are appended to the possessum , which is expressed in a lengthened spoken a . The tone of this long a matches the tone of this suffix before the possessive suffix, but before the noun it is usually the opposite of the tone of the first syllable of the same. Examples:

• ógò "goat" - ógáá dàdà "father's goat" - ógààɗà "my goat" - ógììnì "his goat" - ógááγénì "your goat"
• ɬá "cow" - ɬààγà "your cow"
• mákwá "daughter" - mákwáá dàdà "the father's daughter" - mákwììnì "his daughter"
• úzíná "children" - úzínáà márákwá "the children of women"
• úvàxà "farm" - úvàxáá ndònò "the farm of Ndono (name)" - úváxììnì "his farm"

If the possessum is a plural formed with the ending -xá, the first a -suffix occurs between the stem and the plural ending, and the second a -suffix follows the plural ending and merges with it again to form a long a :

• ógxá "goats" - ógáxáá dàdà "father's goats" - ógáxààɗà "my goats" - ógáxììnì "his goats" - ógáxááγénì "your goats"
• ɬáxá "cows" - ɬáxààγà "your cows" - ɬáxááγénì "your cows"

The words dàdà "father" and mámá "mother" show peculiarities as possessions. In the singular they have a shortened stem before the possessive suffix:

• dààɗà "my father" - dààγà "your father" - dììnì "his father"
• mààɗà "my mother" - mààγà "your mother" - mììnì "his mother"

In the plural, do not insert -a- before the plural ending:

• mámxá "mothers" - mámxááγénì "your mothers"

adjective

The adjective follows its noun. This then has the same -aa extension as in front of a possessor:

• óg-áá ŋgrà "a black goat"
• màkw-ìn-áá málè "his oldest daughter"

Demonstrative pronouns

The suffixes -na "this" or -ya "those" are used, the tone of which is taken from the preceding syllable. Depending on the respective noun, the final vowel of the same can become ə or fall off completely:

• lúmà "city" - lúmà-nà "this city" - lúmà-yà "that city"
• lúmáxá "cities" - lúmáxá-ná "these cities" - lúmáxá-yá "those cities"
• fítí "day" - fítə́-ná "this day" - fítí-yá "that day"
• márákwá "woman" - márákw-ná "that woman" - márákw-íyá "that woman"

verb

Basics

The formation of the verb is based on two stem forms: the aorist stem and the verbal noun. The aorist stem is shorter and can be seen as the root of the verb, but the verbal noun serves as a citation form.

In the formation of forms, there is a fundamental distinction between simple and derived verbs. Derived verbs are composed of simple verbs plus one or two (no longer) derivation suffixes. Plural stems (see below) of simple verbs are also considered simple.

Verbs have no lexical tone. Rather, the tone of a verbal form is completely determined by its grammatical form and, in the case of derived verbs, also by the derivative suffix.

Simple versus derived verbs

Numerous suffixes are available for the formation of derived verbs, which are not discussed in detail here. The suffixes are each associated with a characteristic tone gradient. To a certain extent, the derived verbs correspond to the German verbs with prefixes ("durchschnitt" from "cut" etc.). As an example, some derivatives of sá "drink" (quoted here in the verbal noun):

• sə̀ŋtá "have a drink" (most of it is left)
• sə́stà "drink the most" (a little is left)
• sə̀stá "drink up" (nothing is left)
• súŋtá "to water; to give the cattle to drink"
• sútá "drink yourself up"
• sùtá "take away and drink somewhere else"

And some derivatives of drá "burn":

• drə̀ŋtá "burn a little, char"
• drə́stà "burn in part"
• drə̀stá "burn from below"
• drə́ŋtà "burn in"
• drúŋtá "to burn for someone"
• drúŋtà "burn completely"
• drànúŋtà "to burn completely for someone"
• drútá "to burn for oneself"
• drùtá "to be burned"

verbs of motion

This group includes the verbs lá "to go" and sá "to come". These are usually expanded with one of four suffixes - mandatory in the verbal noun - which indicate the direction of movement in a very special way. The system is characterized by the fact that the Lamang language area is located on the western slope of the Mandara Mountains .

Using the example of lá "go", the following four variants emerge, quoted here in the verbal noun:

• làgátá "go down", "go westward"
• lə́ftá "go up", "go eastward"
• lə́btà "to go out", only used for moving north or south
• láátà "go in", can be used regardless of the direction of the compass

Aorist stem versus verbal nouns

In simple verbs, the aorist stem always ends in -á. Before this high-tone ending, the aorist stem is mostly low-tone, but high-tone aorist stems are also documented throughout. In verbal nouns, the ending usually becomes -ò, less often -à or -ùkù. A -a- of the stem is colored before -ò to -o-. The verbal noun is consistently deep. Examples:

	Aorist tribe	Verbal nouns
laugh	γə̀mbàsá	γə̀mbòsò
to take	kə̀lá	kə̀lò
take (plural stem)	kàlá	kòlò
to cut	tsá	tsò
to sit down	tsxúrá	tsxùrà
speak	kwàrá	kwòrò
to die	mtá	m̀tùkù
to do	màná	mono
to forget	mbìtsá	mbìtsò

The verbal noun of derived verbs always has an ending -ta. The tone progression of the derived verbs is largely determined by the respective derivative suffix. Examples:

	Aorist tribe	Verbal nouns	Type of derivation
bring	kə̀láá	kə̀láátà	from kə̀lá "to take" with a suffix -áá
cut through	tsə́ŋ	tsə́ŋtà	from tsá "cut" with a suffix -ŋ
(north or south) come out	sə́b	sə́btà	from sá "to come" with a suffix -b
to put (someone or something)	tsxúráá	tsxúráátá	from tsxúrá "to sit down" with a suffix -áá

Plural stem

Each verb can form a plural stem, which primarily denotes the plurality of the object or (in the case of intransitive verbs) the subject, but sometimes also other nuances such as an intensified action. The plural stem is formed either by inserting -a- after the first consonant or, if the stem form of the verb does not allow this, by reduplicating the last consonant. Examples (forms given here in the aorist stem without tone designation):

	simple trunk	Plural stem
to build	ba	baba
marry	uma	wama
laugh	γəmbasa	γambasa
to take	kəla	kala
talk	ɗamala	ɗamalala
call	xəga	xaga
see	nγa	naγa
to do	mana	manana
to forget	mbitsa	mbitsatsa

Aorist

On the basis of the root forms of the aorist stem and the verbal noun, the lamang forms numerous tense forms. The formally simplest tense is the aorist, which is not tied to a specific time slot. It is used relatively rarely.

The aorist consists of the aorist stem plus a following subject, which can be nominal or pronominal (see section "Personal and possessive pronouns" above). In the 3rd sg. there is the suffix -ɗe.

• tsá-yó "I cut" - tsá-ká "you cut" - tsá-ɗé "he / she cuts"
• sə́f-í "I came up" - sə́f-ká "you came up" - sə́f-ɗé "he / she came up" - sə́f múfák "the Kanuri (a people) came up"

Perfect

The perfect is formed by doubling the aorist stem. The first trunk shows the normal course of the aorist's tone, i.e. a treble on the final -á, the second trunk stays on this treble unless it begins with a "depressor consonant". The subject follows the perfect stem formed in this way. In the 3rd sg. no suffix appears. Examples:

• tsá-ts-í "I cut" - tsá-tsá-ká "you cut" - tsá-tsá "he cut"
• kwàrá-kwár-í "I spoke" - kwàrá-kwárá-ká "you spoke" - kwàrá-kwárá "he spoke"
• mbìtsá-mbìts-ì "I forgot" - mbìtsá-mbìtsà-kà "you forgot" - mbìtsá-mbìtsà "he forgot"

In certain verbs, the first of the two stems is shortened aloud:

• psá "search" - pá-psá "he was looking"
• mtá "die" - má-mtá "he died"
• tsxúrá "sit down" - tsá-tsxúrá "he has sat down"

Derived verbs show their derivation suffix only after the first of the two stems:

• sə́-bs-ì "I came out" - sə́-b-sà-kà "you came out" - sə́-b-sà "he came out"
• tsə́-ŋ-ts-ì "I cut through" - tsə́-ŋ-tsà-kà "you cut through" - tsə́-ŋ-tsà "he cut through"

Subjunctive

The subjunctive is characterized by an a- prefix. The 3rd sg. has the suffix -ɗe. The form is (with simple verbs) completely high-pitched. The 2nd sg. is seldom used because the imperative usually occurs in this function:

• á-ts-í "I may cut" - á-tsá-ká "you may cut" - á-tsá-ɗé "he may cut"

Derived verbs do not add their derivation suffix to the verbal stem, but to the a-prefix:

• sə́-b-tà (sə́-p-tà) "come out", but: á-ps-ì "I may come out" - á-p-sà-kà "you may come out" - á-p-sà-ɗè " he may come out "
• tsə́-ŋ-tà "cut through", but: á-n-ts-ì "I may cut through" - á-n-tsà-kà "you may cut through" - á-n-tsà-ɗè "he may cut through"

imperative

There are two ways of figuring the imperative of the singular, which obviously differ slightly in terms of meaning (not explained in more detail here): Either there is the stem of the subjunctive, i.e. a prefix á in front of the high-tone aorist stem:

• á-tsá "cut!"

Or (only from non-derived verbs) there is the pure aorist stem with low tone:

• tsà "cut!"

One of the elements -wà- (2.pl.), -mà- ("I + you") or -màwá- ("I + you") can be inserted in front of the verbal stem. The distinction between the two imperative variants then seems to become blurred. The following forms are documented:

• à-wà-sà "drink!"
• à-mà-sà "let's drink!"
• à-màwá-sá "let's drink!"

The following is to be noted on irregular imperatives:

• là "go" - mbàɗá "go!" - mbàwá "goes!"
• sà "come" - sèwè "come!" - sèwéɗé "comes!"

Past tense

A past tense is formed from the combination of the verbal noun with the following subject. This generally stands for an unfinished action without a precise definition of a time level. The subject suffixes displace the final vowel of the verbal noun. The 3rd sg. stands without a suffix. The past tense can only be formed from non-derived verbs:

• ts-ì "I cut" - ts-kà "you cut" - tsò "he cuts"
• kwòr-ì "I speak" - kwòr-kà "you speak" - kwòrò "he speaks"
• kə̀l-ì "I take" - kə̀l-kà "you take" - kə̀lò "he takes"
• tsxùr-ì "I sit down" - tsxùr-kà "you sit down" - tsxùrà "he sits down"

Durative

The durative has the same form as the past tense, but is high-pitched. Like the past tense, it can only be formed from non-derived verbs:

• ts-í "I am still cutting" - ts-ká "you are still cutting" - tsó "he is still cutting"
• kwór-í "I still speak" - kwór-ká "you still speak" - kwóró "he still speaks"

Progressive

The progressive is formed like the past tense with an additional prefix ŋ́ (which also means "in"). In contrast to the imperfect tense, the progressive can also be formed from derived verbs.

• ŋ́-kwòr-ì "I am speaking" - ŋ́-kwòr-kà "you are speaking" - ŋ́-kwòrò "he is speaking"

Narrative

The narrative has the formation pattern gú + subject + verbal noun. The pronominal subject of the 3rd sg. is not designated:

• gú-yí tsò "and then I cut" - gú-ká tsò "and then you cut" - gú tsò "and then he cut"

gú zɗàl ŋ́ márákw ɮə̀gààtá
NAR husband and wife answer
"and then the husband and wife answered "

Future tense

A future tense can be expressed by combining the prefix dá- with several tenses, most often the past tense:

• dá-kə̀l-ì "I will take" - dá-kə̀l-kà "you will take" - dá-kə̀lò "he will take"

that alone can be translated as "will go":

dá ŋ gàv-ì
will go in Gava I
"I will go to Gava (city)"

prepositions

The lamang has a few prepositions, e.g. B .:

• ŋ́ "in"
• má "to"
• tá "on"
• ndà "with (also: and)"

They can be connected with pronominal suffixes that are formally similar to the subject suffixes:

• mí-yó "to me" - má-ká "to you" - mé-ɗé "to him / her" - má-yíŋ "to us" - má-xáŋ "to them"
• ndì-yò "with me" - ndà-kà "with you" - ndè-ɗè "with him / her" - ndà-yìŋ "with us" - ndà-xáŋ "with them"

But it is also possible to combine prepositions with the independent pronouns:

• ndà nèɗè (next to ndè-ɗè) "with him / her"

Often, body part nouns are also added, which creates further possibilities of expression, e.g. B .:

• má γàŋ-á ùfù "to the head (γàŋ) of the tree", d. h .: "on the tree"

syntax

Word order

The basic word order of the Lamang is verb-subject-object. This distinguishes Lamang from most other Chadian languages, which prefer the subject-verb-object position. But since some other ancient Afro-Asian languages ​​are also verbinitial (e.g. Egyptian , Classical Arabic, Biblical Hebrew ), this property of Lamang could be an ancient characteristic:

dzàvə́ŋdzà lə́ŋɗíyákə́ ŋ́ xóγò ŋ́ bàláá-yákwà
have-gathered-bird-people in yesterday in Balaa-Yakwa
"the bird-people gathered yesterday in Balaa-Yakwa (place)"

However, in principle, each part of the sentence can be moved before the verb for special emphasis.

Nominal object

Basically, the direct and indirect objects (be it nominal or pronominal) are expressed in the same way. The nominal object is often, but not always, introduced by the preposition t (ə):

mànáá-ɗ t xə̀gà
make-he AKK house
"he made (built) a house"

xə̀náá-y tə́ lγə̀ŋ
slaughter-I AKK bull
"I slaughtered the bull"

PSA lt úɓá
looking-man AKK milk
"you look milk"

Pronominal object

The pronoun object is expressed through elements in the verb listed in the Personal and Possessive Pronouns section above. These elements are in the same place as the verb derivative suffixes, so:

• between stem and subject suffix
• between prefix a- of the subjunctive / imperative and stem
• between the two reduplicated stems in the perfect tense

As for the relative order of the pronominal object and derivative suffixes, some derivative suffixes come before the pronominal object and others (and most of them) come after the pronominal object.

Examples:

• là-ŋà-nə́-bl-ì "I brought him out", from là-ŋáb-tà "bring out", a derivation of là "go": là is double because of reduplication in the perfect tense, in the derivative suffix sequence -ŋáb- becomes - nə́- "him" inserted, -ì is "I"
• vlà-ɗə́-vlà-l màkwà "man (-l) gave you (-ɗə́-) the girl (vlà, perfect reduplication)"
• vlà-ɗə́-vlà "he gave (it) to you"
• γùn-ì-s ndònò "Ndono (name) sent me (-ì-)"
• náγ-í-tá-ɗè "he (-ɗè) loves me (-í-)"
• From kwàr-ə́p-tà "to say", a derivation of kwara "to speak", one forms kwàr-í-p-tà "to say to me", and in the imperative í-p-kwàrà "tell me!". Here -i- "mir" stands in front of the stem and behind the imperative prefix a-, which, however, merges with the vowel i- and therefore remains invisible.

mànà-ná-mán-ì tə̀ nànà
do-him-do-I AKK this
"I did this for him"

Non-verbal sentence

With a non-verbal predicate, no copula is necessary in Lamang. In principle, the sequence predicate-subject also applies here:

má xgàà-ɗ mákwàà-γà
in house-my daughter-your
"my daughter is in your house"

ŋ́ xúɗáá lùwà ɗè
in the belly city he
"he is (in the belly the =) in the city"

ùnd rxà málà ábdù
person nice Mr. Abdu
"Mr. Abdu is a nice person"

negation

The negation takes place in principle through the particles wó "not" at the end of the sentence:

• màná-xáŋ "they did (it)" (aorist) - màná-xáŋ wó "they did (it) not"

In some tenses there are special features. For example, in the negated past tense a paraphrase with the auxiliary verb xà (actually "exist") must be used:

• kə̀l-kà "you take" - xà-kà kə̀l wó "you don't take"

Even with an adverbial predicate, xà stands:

xà dá ndà nèɗ wó
AUX FUT with he not
"(he) will not be with him"

The subjunctive and the imperative cannot be negated with wó. Instead, there is a separate tense, the negative subjunctive. It has the suffix -tá:

• tsá-tá-yó "I may not cut" - tsá-tá-ká "you may not cut; do not cut!" - tsá-tá-ɗé "he may not cut"

In the negative subjunctive, however, it is much more common to use derived verbs, in this case for example:

• tsə́ŋ-tá-yó "I must not cut through" - tsə́ŋ-tá-ká "you must not cut through; do not cut through!" - tsə́ŋ-tá-ɗé "he must not cut through"

One of the derived variants of verbs of motion must be in the negative subjunctive:

• sèwè "come!", but (for example): sə́ptàkà "don't come out!"

(There is no such thing as a simple "don't come!")

question

In verbal questions there is the question word at the beginning of the sentence and the particle nè at the end of the sentence:

né món-kà nè
what are you doing QUESTION
"what are you doing?"

wé kwàrà-ɗə́-ptà nè
who told-you (-ɗə-) QUESTION
"who told you?"

In sentence questions there is the particle rè at the end of the sentence:

á-mt-í rê
die-I (subjunctive) QUESTION
"should I die?"

dzàŋ-ká rè
stupid-du QUESTION
"are you stupid?

vocabulary

Some elements from the basic vocabulary (verbs are quoted in the aorist stem):

eye	ílí
three	xə̀kə́ná
one	tálá
eat	zá
woman	márákwá
five	xùtáfá
give	vlá
go	lá
big	gùlò
Well	ɗγwànà
hand	dzə̀vò
Listen	sə̀ná
man	zə̀ɗàl
mouth	éwé
say	kág
see	nγá
four	ùfáɗá
water	ímí
knowledge	sə́nə̀ŋ
two	xésá

literature

• Ekkehard Wolff 1983: A grammar of the Lamang language (Gwàɗ Làmàŋ), Glückstadt

A Lamang dictionary does not yet exist.

Remarks

1. ↑ There is probably a local construction here, something like "he is speaking".
2. ↑ dzà "to gather", reduplicated in the perfect tense, with derivative suffix -vəŋ.