Mofu-Gudur (language)
The Mofu-Gudur is the city Maroua (on mofu-Gudur márəvà ) in the north of Cameroon spoken by about 20,000 people language. It belongs to the Chadian language family and, more precisely, to the Biu-Mandara branch. Méy ŋgá Màfàw "Language of Mofu" or méy ŋgá Gùdàl "Language of Gudur" can be used as a proper name for the language . The terminology is complicated by the fact that the tribal self-conception does not coincide with linguistic realities. Another language further north is called "(Northern) Mofu". The supra-regional language dominating in the region is the Fulfulde .
According to the system
Consonants
The Mofu-Gudur distinguishes the following consonants:
| Labials | Dental | Lateral | Palatal | Velare | rounded velars |
Labiovelare | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiceless plosives | p | t | c | k | kw | kp | |
| voiced plosives | b | d | j | G | gw | gb | |
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
| voiceless fricatives | f | s | ɬ | H | hw | ||
| voiced fricatives | v | z | ɮ | ||||
| Nasals | m | n | (ŋ) | (ŋw) | |||
| prenasal plosives | mb | nd | nj | ŋg | ŋgw | ŋgb |
Then there are l, r, w and y.
For system reasons, h is sorted as "Velar" in the table, but is a sound corresponding to the German h.
In the velar range there is no opposition between nasals and prenasalized plosives: at the beginning of the syllable only ŋg or ŋgw occurs, at the end of the syllable only ŋ or ŋw.
ɗ can be replaced by a glottal stop ʔ in a certain number of words, but not everywhere, whose phonological status is questionable.
The labiovelars are rare.
Vowels
The Mofu-Gudur has an unusually poor vowel system. According to Barreteau's analysis, only three phonemes can be distinguished: a, e, ə. Please note the following:
- ə occurs only inside, not at the beginning or end of a word.
- a is spoken in the vicinity of w and rounded velars like o. In a few words there is also a vowel o, which cannot be explained as a variant of a.
- e is often pronounced like ö around w and rounded velars.
- ə is spoken in the vicinity of y like i, in the vicinity of w and rounded velars like u. In the transliteration chosen here, i and u are also written in this case, but i and u are in principle only to be regarded as variants of ə.
- There is a form of vowel harmony : a and e are not mixed within a word; only one of the two vowels can occur. The vowel ə (including its variants i and u) is not affected by the vowel harmony.
- Virtually every word contains at least one a or e; Words that only have the vowel ə can arise in contextual pronunciation.
Marginally also occur: a or e as a long vowel (as a result of a stretching after dropping -h-) and - very occasionally - nasal vowels.
Only the vowel ə can precede the double consonance. Prenasal consonants and similar sounds listed in the table above count as simple consonants. Therefore, a word like mándàw "tomorrow" can easily occur (nd counts as a single consonant). Certain cases of duplicated words are also excluded from this rule: láklák "free" (with -a- despite the following double consonance -kl-). Certain words have variants such as mècə̀hé ~ mə̀ché "small".
volume
The Mofu-Gudur is a tonal language with two registers, which are represented here by accents: high (á), and low (à). As a rule, there is no or exactly one treble within a word; two consecutive high tones in the word are rather rare.
Contextual debate
In mofu gudur, the pronunciation of some words can change significantly in context:
- Words with a vowel initial sound lose this vowel if another word precedes it in the context. However, if the vowel initial sound was high-pitched, the high-pitched tone is retained and carried over to the preceding vowel. So tà "with" + ézèm "ram" becomes tá zèm "with the ram".
- The general rule that only the vowel ə is possible before double consonance applies, in principle, across word boundaries. For example, xwàndàv "rabbit" + kèɗé "this" becomes xwàndə̀v kèɗé "this rabbit", and pás "day" + pál "a" becomes pə́s pál "a day". Similarly, vár "rain" becomes və́r in context , and mày "hunger" becomes mìy . These pronunciation adjustments only apply to close word combinations and also not always to slow pronunciation.
- In the context of a sentence, -a- can be assimilated in front of a -e- of the following syllable to -e-. This occurs especially in certain close connections; so fá "for, because of" + mè "what?" to fé mè (pronounced fö´mè ) "why?".
Personal and possessive pronouns
The Mofu-Gudur makes no gender difference in the pronoun, but has three different forms that correspond to our "we":
| Personal pronouns | possessive pronouns | |
| 1. sg. "I" | Yah) | áɗàw |
| 2. so. "you" | kà (h) | ákà |
| 3rd sg. "he she" | áŋgá ~ áá | áŋgá |
| 1. pl. "I + you" | ámìyà | ámìyà |
| 1. pl. "I + you" | álákwà | álákwà |
| 1. pl. "me + others" | álà | álà |
| 2. pl. "her" | ákwàr | ákwàr |
| 3rd pl. "she" | átá | átá |
noun
Basics
Mofu-Gudur has no grammatical gender.
In principle, the rules of context pronunciation (see above) always apply to the noun as soon as any attribute follows; in particular, the vowel of the last syllable, if closed, becomes ə.
Numerous nouns contain a hidden high tone at the beginning of a word, which is inaudible as long as the word is spoken in isolation, but which changes the low tone of an immediately preceding syllable into a high tone. In principle, one has to memorize which nouns have this characteristic; it is particularly often those that begin with a voiced plosive. Examples:
- zèl "husband", tà zèl "with the husband" (tà "with" is low-pitched)
- bày "Chef", tá bày "with the boss" (bày "Chef" has a hidden high tone that changes the tone of the preceding syllable)
Plural
A trailing element hày can be used to express the plural:
- ɬá "cow" - ɬá-hày "cows"
- áhwàm "mouse" - áhùm-hày "mice" (hwam> hwəm> hum through contextual pronunciation)
Some shapes are slightly irregular:
- ŋgwàs "woman" - ŋgùsá-hày ~ ŋgùs-hày "women"
- bə̀zèy "child" - bə̀zá-hày "children"
- ɗákw "goat" - ɗáhwày "goats"
The plural does not always have to be marked. A noun that denotes a plural can also be used without hày and still be combined with a plural verb form.
Definite article
A specific article can be placed after the noun. According to the vowel harmony, this basically has the form ha (if the noun contains an a) or he (if it contains an e). The article has a polar tone, ie it is high-tone after the preceding low tone and low-tone after the preceding high tone.
- kwàkwá "bride" - kwàkwá-hà "the bride"
- dàdàwà "heart" - dàdàwà-há "the heart"
- cə̀mcèmè "hedgehog" - cə̀mcèmè-hé "the hedgehog"
If the noun ends in a consonant, which is usually the case, two peculiarities must be observed:
- The h- of the article falls off.
- Although the h- is falling, the last syllable of the noun is considered closed by the article, so its vowel changes due to contextual pronunciation.
- After -y, the article always reads a regardless of the vowel harmony.
Examples:
- wùdéz "tree" - wùdə́z-è "the tree"
- pə̀lès "horse" - pə̀lə̀s-é "the horse"
- bày "boss" - bìy-á "the boss"
- dáw "millet" - dúw-à "the millet"
- hwáɗ "belly" - húɗ-à "the belly"
- méy "mouth" - míy-à "the mouth"
Demonstrative
The demonstratives, e.g. B. kèɗé "this" or kàtáy "that" are placed after the reference word.
adjective
The adjective follows its reference word. Here, too, the context pronunciation must be observed:
- bày "boss" - bì màhùrá "the great boss"
- pás "day" - pə́s pál "one day"
- kìyá màmáákàr "the third month"
Possession
There is always the possession first and then the possessor. If the possessor is nominal, he is tied up by the particle ŋgá. The possessum receives contextual discussion:
- pə̀lès "horse" - pə̀lə̀s ŋgá bày "the boss's horse"
- méy "mouth" - míy ŋgá rác "the mouth of the scorpion" (àrác "scorpion")
- cèk "thing" - cə̀k ŋgá lèy "thing of the bush" = "wild animal"
When the possessessor is pronominal, possessive pronouns are used:
- ŋgwàs "woman" - ŋgùs áɗàw "my wife"
- báy ɗàw (contracted from báy áɗàw) "my boss"
- áŋgw áɗàw (contracted from áŋgwà áɗàw) "my stone"
Certain kinship terms can only be used with possessor. Then the common possessive pronouns do not appear, but special possessive suffixes:
- màmáy "my mother" - màmákw "your mother" - màmàŋ "his / her mother"
A mixed inflection is documented for the following noun:
- gə̀ms áɗàw "my maternal uncle" - gə̀ms ákà "your uncle m." - gə̀msàŋ "his uncle m."
verb
infinitive
One can postulate an abstract verbal root, but it never occurs independently; therefore verbs are better to quote in the infinitive. The infinitive consists of three parts: Prefix me + root + suffix -ey (examples follow below). Every verb form must contain some suffix; -ey is the default suffix that is used unless another suffix with a special meaning is used.
Infinitives with a-vowelism also rarely occur: màhwáy "run", màtùwày "cry". Irregular are màgwàw "can" and màsàwà "come".
Tone classes
There are four different tone classes:
(1) Verbs with a continuous low tone, e.g. B.
- mèlèy "take" (root -l-)
- mèsə̀rèy "to know" (root -sər-)
(2) Verbs with high tones in front of the root, e.g. B.
- ménèy "lie down" (root -n-)
- mézə̀mèy "to eat" (root -zəm-)
(3) Verbs with high tones on the root, e.g. B.
- mègə́rvèy "dance" (root -gərv-)
(4) Verbs with high tones after the root, e.g. B.
- mèséy "drink" (root -s-)
- mègə̀réy "leave" (root -gər-)
Since the verb root is often very short, the tone class is essential for recognizing the verb. Some pairs of verbs that differ only in tone:
- mécèy "hurt" - mècéy "cross over"
- mèwèy "get drunk" - mèwéy "command"
- métə̀fèy "spit" - mètə̀fèy "sew"
- méŋgə̀lèy "pick" - mèŋgə̀léy "ask"
Subject designation
To get a conjugated verb, you have to add subject signs to it. One derives the forms from the infinitive as follows:
The prefix me- is replaced by a prefixed pronoun:
- ya in the 1st person
- ka in the 2nd person
- a in the 3rd person
The default suffix -ey remains in the singular subject, but is replaced by -am in the plural subject, in the 1st pers. Plural there are special forms of -akwa and -amakwa.
The tone relationships remain those of the infinitive: As there, the high tone is either on the prefix, stem, suffix, or the verb is completely low-tone. Hence it is said:
- métə̀fèy "spit" - yá tə̀fèy "I spit"
- mètə̀fèy "sew" - yà tə̀fèy "I sew"
As an example, the conjugation of the verb mèwéy "befehlen" (root -w-):
| yà wéy | 1st sg. "I order" |
| kà wéy | 2.sg. "you order" |
| à wéy | 3.sg. "he / she commands" |
| yà wákwà | 1.pl. "we (I + you) command" |
| yà wámákwà | 1.pl. "we (me + you) command" |
| yà wám | 1.pl. "we (me + others) command" |
| kà wám | 2.pl. "you command" |
| à wám | 3.pl. "they command" |
Other verbs behave accordingly, e.g. B .:
- mègə́rvèy "dance" - à gə́rvèy "he / she dances" - à gə́rvàm "they dance"
- méɮə̀ɗèy "dig" - á ɮə̀ɗèy "he / she digs" - á ɮə̀ɗàm "they dig"
- mézə̀mèy "eat" - yá zə̀mèy "I eat" - yá zə̀mkwà "we eat"
If the root does not only contain the vowel ə, it adapts to the ending due to the vowel harmony:
- mèlècèy "get up" - yà lècèy "I get up" - yà làcàkwà "we (incl.) get up"
- mèbèbèɗèy "speak" - yà bèbèɗèy "I speak" - yà bàbàɗàm "we (excl.) speak"
The subject pronoun (here ya) is usually not affected by the vowel harmony.
The verb for "to go" (infinitive màdàw) is irregular:
| yà dàw | "I go" |
| kà dàw | "you go" |
| à dàw | "he / she goes" |
| yà nákwà | "we (me + you) go" |
| yà námákwà | "we (me + you) go" |
| yà dìyàm | "we (me + others) go" |
| kà dìyàm | "you go" |
| à dìyàm | "they go" |
Verb with object suffixes
The pronominal object is expressed by suffixes on the verb, which replace the default suffix -ey. As a rule, the syllable before the object suffix must be high-tone, only in the 3rd sg. the object suffix itself is high-pitched, but the syllable before it is low-pitched. Object suffixes using the example of mèkə̀ɗèy "suggest":
| à kə́ɗ-yà | 1st sg. "he hits me" |
| à kə́ɗ-kà | 2.sg. "he hits you" |
| à kə̀ɗ-á | 3.sg. "he / she beats him / her" |
| à kə́ɗ-ndámàr | 1.pl. "he beats us (me + you)" |
| à kə́ɗ-ndákwàr | 1.pl. "he beats us (me + you)" |
| à kə́ɗ-ndàr | 1.pl. "he beats us (me + others)" |
| à kə́ɗ-kwàr | 2.pl. "he beats you" |
| à kə́ɗ-tà | 3.pl. "he beats her (pl.)" |
See further: mèlèy "take" - à lèy "he takes" - à lá "he takes him"
If the verb already has an ending because of the plural subject, the object suffix comes after it. Instead of -am (plural subject) + á "him, she" is the form -màrá:
- à kə̀ɗ-m-àrá "they beat him"
Tense signs
The pure verb form denotes a temporally unmarked verb that can be translated as present or past. A tense sign can be placed between the subject prefix and the root to make the tense more precise. There are, among others:
Future tense: there . If the verb has a high tone before the root, this high tone is realized on the future tense sign:
- yá zə̀mèy "I eat" - yà dá zə̀mèy "I will eat"
- yá tə̀fèy "I spit" - yà dá tə̀fèy "I will spit"
- yá zə̀mèy ɗáf "I eat millet" - yà dá zə̀mèy ɗáf "I will eat millet"
Progressive: fá . Before this, the subject prefix a of the 3rd person is not realized:
- yà fá zə̀mèy ɗáf "I'm eating millet right now"
- fá zə̀mèy ɗáf "he / she is eating millet"
- áyàŋ fá sàwà "the squirrel is just coming"
Perfect: ta ... lá or ta ... cáy . The subject prefix a of the 3rd person is also not implemented before ta :
- yà tá zə̀mèy ɗáf lá "I ate millet"
- áyàŋ tà sàwà lá "the squirrel has come"
The second part of the perfect marking specializes in the meaning of the perfect. There are other alternatives, e.g. B. sém , which marks an involuntarily reached and irrevocable state:
- tá mə̀cèy sém "he died" (mémə̀cèy "to die")
imperative
If the verb has a suffix but no prefix, it corresponds to an imperative. The suffix indicates whether one or more people are addressed:
- mèbébə̀rèy "rub" - bébə̀rèy "rub!" - bábə̀ràm "rubs!"
- mèséy "drink" - séy "drink!"
Ventiv
The ventiv ending -awa on the verb expresses a movement towards the speaker and corresponds to the German prefix "her". The verb màsàwà "(here) to come" is always used with this ending. You can accept other verbs if necessary. If a verb has this ending, the default suffix -ey no longer appears.
vàr fá pàwà
Rain PROGRESSIV lays-her
"the rain falls here" = "it's raining" (mèpéy "put, put, put")
dative
The pronominal dative is expressed by similar suffixes to the verb as the pronominal direct object. However, the suffixes are usually high-pitched, and the suffix of the 3rd sg. "Him, you" is called -àr and is deep in tone.
- yà lə̀vèy "I say" - yà lə̀v-ká "I tell you"
- á lə́v-àr "he tells him"
- və̀l-m-ayá! "give me!"
- à fə̀c-yá wày "he cleans my house" (mèfə̀cèy "clean") - à fə̀c-àr wày "he cleans the house for him / her"
The nominal dative is formed with the preposition à:
- á lə̀vèy à kùtáf "he says to the turtle"
prepositions
The Mofu-Gudur has a number of prepositions, e.g. B .:
- à "to, to (direction)"
- dá "in (place)", "from (origin)"
- fá "on, for"
- tà "with, and"
If the noun starts with a vowel, there are phonetic contractions:
- tà "with" + áɬàw "meat" → táɬàw "with meat"
The connection with body part names results in complex prepositions, e.g. B .:
- dà rày "at the head of" = "on, over"
- à wáy "in the house of" = "at"
syntax
Verbal sentence
The normal word order is subject - verb - object. If the subject is nominal, a subject pronoun must also be used. The subject does not enter the context pronunciation because the sequence of subject and predicate is not considered a close connection. In contrast, the verb can appear before the object (optional) in context pronunciation. Examples:
yà dá zə̀mèy
I eat PROGR
"I eat"
kwə̀táf à hwáy
turtle they run
"the turtle runs"
áyàŋ à sàwà
squirrels are coming
"the squirrel is coming"
ŋgwàs à gə́rvèy
woman they dance
"the woman is dancing"
yá lə̀véy kèɗé ~ (with contextual pronunciation :) yá lə̀ví kèɗé "I say this"
yà dá pə̀rèy zánà
I PROGR wash clothes
"I wash the clothes"
As mentioned above, there are many nouns with the inherent property of making the preceding syllable high-pitched. Before such a noun, not only the vowel may change, but also the tone of the last syllable of the verb:
mèhə̀tèy "find" - à hə̀tàm "they find" - à hə̀tə́m áhwàm "they find mice"
Sometimes the object is also expressed pronominally:
à gə̀ɗ-màrá wàw
they light-it-on fire
"they light a fire" (áwàw "fire")
Non-verbal sentence
A copula corresponding to the German verb "sein" does not exist:
áŋgá màhùrá
he big
"he's big"
áŋgá bày
he boss
"he's boss"
áŋgá féɗè
he here
"he is here"
áŋgá dá mbàw
he in the yard
"he is in the yard"
bày màhùrá
boss big
"the boss is big" (note: no contextual discussion of the subject here either)
bày tá pə̀lès
boss with horse
"the boss is with a horse" = "the boss has a horse"
bày fá méy ndàw
boss on mouth man
"the boss is (on the mouth of =) in front of the man"
The particle àlà can be translated as "that is":
- àlà zèl "this is the husband"
Relative clause
The relative clause is introduced by a relative particle ma. The verb then no longer requires a subject sign. Relative clauses are often used to focus parts of sentences:
àlà yàh mà c-á máɬàgá
it-is I who weave-it cotton ribbon " it is I who
weaves / has woven the cotton ribbon"
Negation and question
Particles at the end of the sentence can be used to signal the negation (bá "not") and the question of the sentence (dà). Word questions can be expressed through relativistic constructions. These types of sentences are poorly documented.
yá wùɗìy kà bá
I don't want you
"I don't want you" (méwùɗèy "want")
má lə̀v ká ná wá
REL tells you TOPIC who
"who told you is who" = "who told you?" (mélə̀vèy "say")
vocabulary
Some elements from the basic vocabulary:
| eye | dèy |
| three | máhkàr ~ máákàr |
| one | pál |
| eat | mézə̀mèy |
| woman | ŋgwàs |
| five | ɮàm |
| give | mévə̀lèy |
| go | màdàw |
| big | màhùrá |
| Well | màháyà |
| hand | hár |
| Listen | mècə̀nèy |
| man | ndàw |
| mouth | méy |
| Surname | mézə̀lèy |
| say | mélə̀vèy |
| see | ménə̀kèy |
| four | mə́fàɗ |
| water | yám |
| knowledge | mèsə̀rèy |
| two | cèw |
literature
- Barreteau, Daniel 1987/8: Description du mofu-gudur, 2 volumes, Paris (contains an extensive dictionary, but not all areas of grammar are covered in detail)
- Barreteau, Daniel 1978: Aspects de la morphologie nomale du mofu-gudur, in J.-P. Caprile & H. Jungraithmayr (eds.): Préalables à la reconstruction du proto-tchadique, pp. 95–114
- Barreteau, Daniel 1978: Structure du lexème verbal en mofu-gudur, in J.-P. Caprile & H. Jungraithmayr (eds.): Préalables à la reconstruction du proto-tchadique, pp. 115–142