Dictionary Entries explained

 

Main entry and final vowel

Nouns come in two forms, the form used inside an utterance and the form that appears before a pause. The citation form is the pre-pausal form ending in -a. The pre-pausal form ends in a vowel, either: -a, -ə or -i. The pre-pausal form never ends in -u (Jarvis 1989: 51). This vowel follows the citation form.

tsakurəɗá,-a n.(1)  grosse jarred (big jar).

cekúleté,-ə n.(3) tissue d’une couleur unique (fabric of a unique color).

udɨ́ge,-i n.(3) veuve (widow).

The number between parentheses after certain names indicates the tonal class of the perturbations undergone by certain nouns (Anderson and Swackhammer 1981, Jarvis 1989: 52)

udə́va,-ə n.(3) esp. d’arbre (type of tree).

yalá,-a n.(4) famille (family).

 

Homonyms

Homonyms are indentified by the subscript after the word.

mbə́la₁ v.(3a) étendre (extend).

mbə́la₂ v.(3a) être trôp (too much).

mbə́la₃ v.(3a) commencer (to begin).

 

The plural form

In general, for most words the singular form is also used as the plural. When the plural form is different, it is marked by Pl.

dəguzəma,-ə Pl. dagwazama. n.(1) bouc (male goat).

ujɨná,-i Pl. ujerənéki. n.(1) chevreau (young goats).

 

Subentries
Complex forms are displayed as subentries under the base form.

yaɓa n.(1) couler, puiser (to flow, to draw water).

     yaɓaha yaɓa couler (to flow).

     yaɓarə yaɓa verser (lʼeau) sur (pour water over).

 

Discourse particles
In an entry, each headword is followed by the abbreviation (in italics) of the part of speech that serves to classify it. (See the list of Abbreviations under the Overview menu.)

gáɓa v. mêler (mix).

yawə yawə id. beaucoup dʼargent (a large amount of money).

 

Definition

The definition of each entry in the dictionary follows the part of speech and the number for the tonal class to which it belongs. Definitions consist of a single word or a phrase explaining the meaning of the word.

udzərə shɨgé,-ə n.(1) orteil (toe).

gása,-a n.(2) travail forcé pour lʼétat (forced labor by the state).

 

Illustrations with translation

Most entries are followed by an example sentence along with a translation to show how the word is used.

gáragada,-a n.(2) ondulation (wavy). À garagada a barama. La route est comme la tôle. (The road is like metal roofing.)

ságwaná,-ə n.(2) courge coupée en morceaux pour cuire (squash cut up for cooking). À recə sagwanə ndi da cege. On coupe la courge pour mettre dans la marmite. (The squash is cut for cooking in the pot.)

The literal meaning of an example is introduced by the abbreviation Lit.

mbə́la₂ v.(3a) être trop (too much). A mbələ mbələ kali harama maka. Tu mens trop. Lit. Tes mensonges sont trop (Your lies are too much).

 

Variants

Variants of certain words are presented immediately after the headword.

gɨ́de,-e Var. gɨ́de,-i  n.(2) ancêtres (ancestors).

ŋgála,-ə Var. ŋgə́la pron. poss. mien.

 

Compare

Certain minor variants have their own entry. The abbreviation Cf. points to the main entry where more information can be found.

ɓɨgujɨmə  Cf. ɓəgudzəmə

məɓəsa,-i  Cf. məɗəsa

 

Possessive forms

Certain words have a possessive form. This form is found after the headword.

kaya,-ə Poss. kayə daŋa n.(1) concession, case, maison (house).

meslira,-ə Poss. meslirəŋa n.(1) cousine ou tante maternelle (Female cousin or maternal aunt).

 

Grammatical reference number

A certain number of subentries are followed by a grammatical reference number (added reference)

məzá₂ v.(4b) rester en plus (rest a little more).

     məzárə mə́za avoir en plus (litt. lui rester en plus) A məzarə məzə hiyə akə bala. Mon père a une réserve de mil. Le mil est plus que suffisant pour mon père. (My father has a reserve of millet. The millet is more than sufficient for my father.[Gram. 25]