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).

 

  -mbáá -sad -kɔ́ɔ́lé -mpée -syəə́l -héé
Class big small new other all which?
1 ambáá asad ekɔ́ɔ́lé ampée asyəə́l ahéé
2 bémbáá bésad békɔ̄ɔ̄lē bémpēe bésyə̄ə̄l béhéé
3 ḿbáá ńsad mékɔ̄ɔ̄lē mémpēe ńsyə̄ə̄l ŋ́héé
4 ḿbáá ńsad mékɔ̄ɔ̄lē mémpēe ńsyə̄ə̄l ŋ́héé
5 ámbáá ásad dékɔ̄ɔ̄lē démpēe ásyə̄ə̄l áhéé
6 mémbáá mésad mékɔ̄ɔ̄lē mémpēe mésyə̄ə̄l méhéé
7 émbáá ésad ékɔ̄ɔ̄lē émpēe ésyə̄ə̄l éhéé
8 éʼmbáá éʼsad békɔ̄ɔ̄lē bémpēe éʼsyə̄ə̄l éʼhéé
9 embáá esad ekɔ́ɔ́lé empēe esyəə́l ehéé
10 émbáá ésad ékɔ̄ɔ̄lē émpēe ésyə̄ə̄l éhéé
14 éʼmbáá éʼsad békɔ̄ɔ̄lē mpēe éʼsyə̄ə̄l éʼhéé
19 éʼmbáá éʼsad békɔ̄ɔ̄lē mpēe éʼsyə̄ə̄l éʼhéé
13 ámbáá ásad dékɔ̄ɔ̄lē mpēe ásyə̄ə̄l áhéé

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 bíníí
3 mén míníí
4 mén míníí
5 dén díníí
6 mén míníí
7 chén chê chíníí
8 bén bíníí
9 nén ne níníí
10 chén chê chíníí
14 bén bíníí
19 bén bíníí
13 dén 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 esyɔge, bottom of basket.

 

The associative markers

Class /__ /__ Pfx Class /__ /__ Pfx
1 a a 2
3 Ń 4 Ń
5 á 6
7 é é 8 éʼ
9 e e 10 é é
14 éʼ    
19 éʼ 13 á

 

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      
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

Pronouns

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 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 mə́ə̄
plural bán

Reporting particle (rp) for questions:

1sg 2sg 3sg Log
singular meéken weéken aáken mə́ə̄ken
plural bánken