Notes on Grammar
This section briefly presents some aspects of Akoose grammar that should help in understanding the material presented in the dictionary. For a fuller treatment, see Hedinger, Robert. 2008. A Grammar of Akoose: A northwest Bantu Language. Dallas: SIL International.
https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/8746
Special emphasis is on the forms connected with the noun class system, giving tables of forms varying due to the requirements of that system.
Parts of speech
Nouns
Nouns can be grouped into classes on the basis of the way they form their singular and plural forms, as well as on the agreement patterns of other words within the noun phrase and beyond.
Noun prefixes
Singular and plural prefixes are numbered following the convention for Bantu languages giving a number for the singular and the corresponding plural.
| Class | /__ C | /__ V | Class | /__ C | /__ V |
| 1 | N-, Ø- | m-, mw-, w- | 2 | be- | b- |
| 3 | N- | m-, mpw-, mw- | 4 | N- | m-, mpw-/mpy-, mw-/my- |
| 5 | a- | d-, dy-, (h-) | 6 | me- | m-, my- |
| 7 | e- | chw-, chy-, ch- | 8 | e’- | b-, by- |
| 9 | Ø- | ny- | 10 | Ø- | ny- |
| 14 | e’- | bw-, b- | |||
| 19 | hy-, h- | 13 | l- |
Noun class genders
Singular classes combine with plural classes in different ways. Common pairings are:
1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/6, 7/8, 9/10
Less typical pairings are:
3/2, 3/6, 5/4, 6/2, 6/6, 9/6, 13/6, 14/6, 19/13
Some nouns have alternate plurals in class 6 indicated by the tilde next to the typical plural:
7/8~6, 9/10~6, 19/13~6
Examples of typical pairings:
Gender 1/2
nchîb bechîb thief, thieves
mod bad person, people
Gender 3/4
nchém nchém bat(s)
ntyə́g ntyə́g box(es)
Gender 5/6
abad mebad cloth(s)
dúu múu nose(s)
Gender 7/8
echem e’chem tongue(s)
chyaá byaá leaf, leaves
Gender 7/6
ekuu mekuu leg(s)
ehɔ́b mehɔ́b voice(es)
Gender 9/10
káb káb antelope(s)
nyǎd nyǎd forest buffalo(s)
Other examples:
Gender 14/6
eʼmii memii finger(s)
bwɛl mɛl tree(s)
Gender 19/13
hyǒn lǒn firewood
hyɛn lɛn mushroom(s)
The prefix is usually a good indication of class membership. There is, however, one exception. When the -ɛ suffix is added to a noun of any class it takes on the agreement features of gender 1/2.
Gender 1/2
ehúlhúlɛ behúlhúlɛ cotton
awagtɛɛ bɛwagtɛɛ offshoot(s)
ngúdɛ bengúdɛ mushroom(s) sp.
sɛ́dɛ besɛ́dɛ small hand(s) of plantain
ləə beləə thing(s)
Some nouns have no singular/plural distinction and therefore only occur in one class. Single class genders are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 19.
Gender 1 mesɛnɛ diabetes
Gender 2 bɛhwɛ̌ ant sp.
Gender 3 nsám sneezing
Gender 5 ahéb fever
Gender 6 metɔg greediness
Gender 7 esíí desire
Gender 9 píd thirst
Gender 13 lɔɔ laughter
Gender 14 eʼsôn shame
Gender 19 hyɔb black pepper
Noun phrases and agreement
Most noun phrase modifiers have to agree in class with the head of the noun phrase. Below the modifiers that take agreement from the head noun will be presented in tables.
Noun Modifiers
Adjectives
There is a small number of words considered as adjectives that follow nouns. Other concepts that indicate the quality of the noun appear in verbal constructions (e.g., âyə́g v.adj. to be red) or in nominal constructions (e.g., ebíd n.mod. useless).
Possessives
Possessives precede the head noun: echi ndáb his house.
| P o s s e s s o r | |||||||
| Person | 1S | 2S | 3S | 1P | 2P | 3P | |
| Class | my | your | his/her | our | your | their | |
| P o s s e s s e d | 1 | awem | awoŋ | awi | awɛd | awɛn | awab |
| 2 | ábem | áboŋ | ábi | ábɛd | ábɛn | ábab | |
| 3 | ḿmem | ḿmoŋ | ḿmi | ḿmɛd | ḿmɛn | ḿmab | |
| 4 | ḿmem | ḿmoŋ | ḿmi | ḿmɛd | ḿmɛn | ḿmab | |
| 5 | ádem | ádoŋ | ádi | ádɛd | ádɛn | ádab | |
| 6 | ḿmem | ḿmoŋ | ḿmi | ḿmɛd | ḿmɛn | ḿmab | |
| 7 | échem | échoŋ | échi | échɛd | échɛn | échab | |
| 8 | ábem | áboŋ | ábi | ábɛd | ábɛn | ábab | |
| 9 | echem | echoŋ | echi | echɛd | echɛn | echab | |
| 10 | échem | échoŋ | échi | échɛd | échɛn | échab | |
| 14 | ábem | áboŋ | ábi | ábɛd | ábɛn | ábab | |
| 19 | ábem | áboŋ | ábi | ábɛd | ábɛn | ábab | |
| 13 | ádem | ádoŋ | ádi | ádɛd | ádɛn | ádab | |
| LOC | áwem | áwoŋ | áwi | áwɛd | áwɛn | áwab | |
Demonstratives
There are a number of different demonstratives. There are three forms, near speaker (proximal), away from speaker (distal) and far from the speaker (far distal).
Some precede the head noun: ábén bǎn these children.
Pre-nominal demonstratives
| Class | this/these | that/those | that/those(far) |
| 1 | anén | ane | aníníí |
| 2 | ábén | ábé | ábíníí |
| 3 | ḿmén | ḿmé | ḿmíníí |
| 4 | ḿmén | ḿmé | ḿmíníí |
| 5 | ádén | ádé | ádíníí |
| 6 | ḿmén | ḿmé | ḿmíníí |
| 7 | échén | éché | échíníí |
| 8 | ábén | ábé | ábíníí |
| 9 | enén | ene | eníníí |
| 10 | échén | éché | échíníí |
| 14 | ábén | ábé | ábíníí |
| 19 | ábén | ábé | ábíníí |
| 13 | ádén | ádé | ádíníí |
Others follow the head noun: mebad mê, those cloths.
Post-nominal demonstratives
| Class | this/these | that/those | that/those(far) |
| 1 | nén | ne | níníí |
| 2 | bén | bê | bíníí |
| 3 | mén | mê | míníí |
| 4 | mén | mê | míníí |
| 5 | dén | dê | díníí |
| 6 | mén | mê | míníí |
| 7 | chén | chê | chíníí |
| 8 | bén | bê | bíníí |
| 9 | nén | ne | níníí |
| 10 | chén | chê | chíníí |
| 14 | bén | bê | bíníí |
| 19 | bén | bê | bíníí |
| 13 | dén | dê | díníí |
Numerals
Numerals follow the head noun. Numbers one to five agree with the head noun in noun class: epun ehɔ́g one day. Numbers six to nine do not.
The numeral one -hɔ́g, pɔ́g
| Class | one | Class | some |
| 1 | nhɔ́g | 2 | behɔ́g |
| 3 | nhɔ́g | 4 | nhɔ́g |
| 5 | ahɔ́g | 6 | mehɔ́g |
| 7 | ehɔ́g | 8 | eʼhɔ́g |
| 9 | pɔ́g | 10 | ehɔ́g |
| 14 | eʼhɔ́g | ||
| 19 | eʼhɔ́g | 13 | ahɔ́g |
The numerals two to five and how many?
| -bɛ | -láán | -niin | -táan | -tə́ŋ | ||
| Class | prefix | two | three | four | five | how many? |
| 2 | bé- | bébɛ | béláán | béniin | bétáan | bétə́ŋ |
| 4 | ń- | ḿbɛ | ńláán | ńniin | ńtáan | ńtə́ŋ |
| 6 | mé- | mébɛ | méláán | méniin | métáan | métə́ŋ |
| 8 | éʼ- | éʼbɛ | éʼláán | éʼniin | éʼtáan | éʼtə́ŋ |
| 10 | é- | ébɛ | éláán | éniin | étáan | étə́ŋ |
| 13 | á- | ábɛ | áláán | ániin | átáan | átə́ŋ |
The ordinal numeral -’só first
| Class | first | Class | first |
| 1 | a’só | 2 | bé’só |
| 3 | mé’só | 4 | mé’só |
| 5 | dé’só | 6 | mé’só |
| 7 | é’só | 8 | éʼsó |
| 9 | e’só | 10 | é’só |
| 14 | béʼsó | ||
| 19 | béʼsó | 13 | dé’só |
Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns link relative clauses to the head noun and agree with it in class: nsɔ́n ḿme ńtómé mə́, work which is too much for him.
The relative pronouns
| Class | which | Class | which |
| 1 | awe | 2 | ábe |
| 3 | ḿme | 4 | ḿme |
| 5 | áde | 6 | ḿme |
| 7 | éche | 8 | ábe |
| 9 | eche | 10 | éche |
| 14 | ábe | ||
| 19 | ábe | 13 | áde |
Associative noun phrase and compound nouns
A very common way of modifying a noun is by placing another noun next to it with a link element called an associative marker (am):
mesúsú mé esyɔge, bottom of basket.
The associative markers
| Class | /__ | /__ Pfx | Class | /__ | /__ Pfx |
| 1 | a | a | 2 | bé | bé |
| 3 | Ń | mé | 4 | Ń | mé |
| 5 | á | dé | 6 | mé | mé |
| 7 | é | é | 8 | éʼ | bé |
| 9 | e | e | 10 | é | é |
| 14 | éʼ | bé | |||
| 19 | éʼ | bé | 13 | á | dé |
Noun phrases consisting of two nouns linked with an associative marker are referred to as associative noun phrases. Such phrases often have become compound nouns with their own meaning. It is therefore often difficult to distinguish between associative noun phrases (grammatical constructions) and compound nouns (complex words). Here are some examples of compound nouns:
mpɛmǐnɛ crazy person
ngaabobɛ spider
ebwɛ́ngo Golden cat
aláá á mbɔ́té pressing iron
bebaa bé mbɔ́té tailors
Verbs
Akoose verbs have a rich morphology, that is, they consists of a stem plus a number of affixes.
Infinitive
The infinitive consists of an infinitive prefix a- or â- plus the stem.
âkun retaliate
âboŋsɛn prepare
Roots, stems and extensions
Roots are the basic meaningful element of the verb.
âbom meet
âsíi iron
âsɔɔm hide
âbɛ́ be
Stems consist of a verb root plus one derivational suffix (extension).
âbome nail
âbomed arrange
âbomɛn meet with
âbomlɛn attack
âbomned nail to
âbomted collect money
âbomtɛn join together
The following are extension; the meaning of which is often not clearly identifiable:
-e applicative, often means do for sb.
-ed causative, mostly transparent
-ɛn instrumental or comitative, mostly transparent
-ned mostly no distinct meaning
-nɛn mostly no distinct meaning
-ted mostly no distinct meaning
-tɛn mostly no distinct meaning
-led mostly no distinct meaning
-lɛn mostly no distinct meaning
-ɛl rare
-med rare
-sɛn rare
-gɛn rare
Subject markers
In most cases, verbs begin with a prefix indicating the subject.
| Singular | Plural | ||||||||
| 1S | 2S | 3S | LOG | 1+2S | 1P | 2P | 3P | ||
| Class | Class | ||||||||
| 1 | N-/me- | e-/we- | a- | mə̂- | 2 | de- | sê- | nyî- | bé- |
| 3 | Ń-/mé | 4 | Ń-/mé | ||||||
| 5 | á-/dé- | 6 | mé | ||||||
| 7 | é- | 8 | éʼ-/bé- | ||||||
| 9 | e- | 10 | é- | ||||||
| 14 | éʼ-/bé- | ||||||||
| 19 | éʼ-/bé- | 13 | á-/dé- | ||||||
Verb paradigms
It would take too much space to fully illustrate a representative sample of the different types of verbs with their many forms. An example of two simple verbs in the main form are given below, the first one with an inherent low tone, the second with a high tone. The dependent forms are used in dependent clauses, questions, etc. The main forms are used in independent clauses. For more details see Hedinger (2008).
âpim (also apim) to throw away
AFFIRMATIVE Main form Dependent form
he is throwing apimɛʼ ápimɛɛ́
he has thrown apimé ápímé
he threw ampǐm ámpimmɛ́
he was throwing apimáá ápímáá
he will throw ǎpǐm ápimmɛ́
he will be throwing ǎpimɛ́ʼ/ɛʼ ápimɛ́ɛ́
NEGATIVE Main form Dependent form
he is not throwing ěepīmɛ̄ɛ̄ épimɛ́ɛ́ ěepīmɛ̄ʼ/ē
he has not thrown ěepimɛɛ́ épimɛɛ́ ěepime
he did not throw eŋkêmpimmɛ́ éŋkêmpimmɛ́ enkêmpǐm
he was not throwing ěepimaá épimaá ěepimaa
he will not throw êepimmɛ́ êepimmɛ́ êepǐm
he will not be throwing êepimɛ́ɛ́ êepimɛ́ɛ́ êepimɛ́ʼ
IMPERATIVE AND HORTATIVE
throw! pǐm
throw!! pimɛ́ʼ
he should throw ápim
he should throw ápimɛʼ
don’t throw! wěepīmɛ̄ʼ
OTHER FORMS
he throws ápīm
he throws ápim
he throws and throws ápimɛ́ʼ/ɛʼ
âwɔ́g (also awɔ́g) to wash
AFFIRMATIVE Main form Dependent form
he is washing awɔ́gɛʼ áwɔ́gɛɛ́
he has washed awɔ́gé áwɔ́gé
he washed anwɔ́g ánwɔ̄gkɛ̄
he was washing awɔ́gáá áwɔ́gáá
he will wash ǎwɔ̄g áwɔ̄gkɛ̄
he will be washing ǎwɔ̄gɛ̄ʼ/ɛʼ áwɔ́gɛ́ɛ́
NEGATIVE Main form Dependent form
he is not washing eewɔ́gɛ́ɛ́ éewɔ̄gɛ̄ɛ̄ eewɔ́gɛ́ʼ/é
he has not washed eewɔ́gɛɛ́ éewɔ̄gɛɛ́ eewɔ́ge
he did not wash enkênwɔ́gkɛ́ éŋkênwɔ́gkɛ́ enkênwɔ́g
he was not washing eewɔ́gaá éewɔ̄gaá eewɔ́gaa
he will not wash êewɔ́gkɛ́ êewɔ́gkɛ́ êewɔ́g
he will not be washing êewɔ́gɛ́ɛ́ êewɔ́gɛ́ɛ́ êewɔ́gɛ́ʼ
IMPERATIVE AND HORTATIVE
wash! wɔ́g
wash!! wɔ́gɛ́ʼ
he should wash áwɔ̂g
he should wash áwɔ́gɛʼ
don’t wash wěewɔ̄gɛ̄ʼ
OTHER FORMS
he washes áwɔ̄g
he washes áwɔ́g
he washes and washes áwɔ́gɛ́ʼ/ɛʼ
Auxiliary verbs
Akoose has about 70 auxiliary verbs (v.aux). These verbs are used together with a main verb to form complex sentences. In the following sentence the auxiliary verb âsébe "to be first" can be seen to take verbal affixes, whereas the main verb âpɛ "to arrive" is in the infinitive form.
Asébpé apɛ hɛ́n. He was first to arrive here.
Here is a small sample of auxiliary verbs. For more examples, see Hedinger (2008: 157-163):
âbɛl always
âtə́ŋgɛn must
âkog nearly
âlɛl be hard
âwámsɛn quickly
âlyə́ge instead
âsébe be first
âpɔ́l be early
Akoose has a rich set of pronouns, distinguishing between personal and class pronouns, singular, plural, emphatic, focused, as well as compound pronouns. See the tables below:
Personal pronouns
Personal Pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |||
| person | Pronouns | Pronouns | ||
| simple | focused | simple | focused | |
| 1st | me | meé | sé | sɛ́ɛ̄ |
| 2nd | wɛ | weé | nyí | nyɛ́ɛ̄ |
| 3rd | mə́ | mə̂ | bə́ | bə̂ |
Class pronouns
Pronouns for Classes 1 -19
| Singular | Plural | ||||
| Pronouns | Pronouns | ||||
| Class | simple | focused | Class | simple | focused |
| 1 | mə́ | mə̂ | 2 | bə́ | bə̂ |
| 3 | mə́ | mə̂ | 4 | mə́ | mə̂ |
| 5 | də́ | də̂ | 6 | mə́ | mə̂ |
| 7 | chə́ | chə̂ | 8 | bə́ | bə̂ |
| 9 | chə́ | chə̂ | 10 | chə́ | chə̂ |
| 14 | bə́ | bə̂ | |||
| 19 | bə́ | bə̂ | 13 | də́ | də̂ |
Compound pronouns
sóo we/us two, I and you (sg) (inclusive) (1+2)s
súmə̄ we/us two, I and he (exclusive) (1+3)s
nyúmə̄ you two, you and he (2+3)s
búmə̄ those two, he and he (3+3)s
syá(nē) we/us, I/we and you (pl) (inclusive) (1+2)p
syábə̂ we/us, I/we and they (exclusive) (1+3)p
nyábə̄ you pl, you and they (2+3)p
bə́bə̂ they, he/they and they (3+3)p
Emphatic pronoun
Emphatic pronoun for persons
| Person | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
| sg | mměn | mmǒŋ | mwěn | class 1 |
| myself | yourself | himself | ||
| pl | (sé) běn | (nyí) běn | (bə́) běn | class 2 |
| ourselves | yourselves | themselves |
The emphatic pronoun for classes
| Class | ….self | Class | ….self |
| 1 | mwěn | 2 | běn |
| 3 | měn | 4 | měn |
| 5 | děn | 6 | měn |
| 7 | chěn | 8 | běn |
| 9 | chěn | 10 | chěn |
| 14 | běn | ||
| 19 | běn | 13 | děn |
Focus marker
The focus marker is used in focus constructions where a clause constituent has been fronted.
bengómɛ́ɛ́ bə́ə bébédé ndyééd echê it was locusts that were his food
| Class | Class | ||
| 1 | mə́ə | 2 | bə́ə |
| 3 | mə́ə | 4 | mə́ə |
| 5 | də́ə | 6 | mə́ə |
| 7 | chə́ə | 8 | bə́ə |
| 9 | chə́ə | 10 | chə́ə |
| 14 | bə́ə | ||
| 19 | bə́ə | 13 | də́ə |
Reported speech marker
Reported speech or thought is introduced with a particle that agrees in person with the person speaking, thinking, etc. In speech within speech, there is a special reporting particle to refer to the reported speaker called logophoric.
Reporting particle (rp) for statements:
| 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | Log | |
| singular | meé | weé | aá | mə́ə̄ |
| plural | bán | |||
Reporting particle (rp) for questions:
| 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | Log | |
| singular | meéken | weéken | aáken | mə́ə̄ken |
| plural | bánken | |||
