Abbreviations Chart

 

adj adjectives describe nouns.
adj sfx
 Some adjectives are always joined to the nouns, so they are written with a hyphen in front of them in this particular dictionary to show that they must be joined to another word. For example the adjective -nanii meaning 'fine' can be joined to other words to become:

kunnanii   -   fine thing
nɛnanii    -   fine person

 
adj/adv
 adjective and adverb an be the function of certain words; this means that they describe nouns and add to the information about a verb. An example of this is vɛlɛɛ meaning 'limp'.

U chɔɔwɔ vɛlɛɛ.
He lay limply.

U du vɛlɛɛ.
He is limp.
adv adverbs add to the meaning of a verb as can be seen by kirkirkir which means 'quietly'.

Yaa so kirkirkir.
We sat quietly.
aux auxiliary or 'helping' verbs which is the work of ga and wa may be seen in the following:

N la ga yau buku.
Let me go and buy a book.

Ba wa hiininŋ!
Come and help me!
cf cross reference
conj
 conjunctions join parts of sentences together. This is shown by ka meaning 'and then'.

La ka ra ba.
Go and then come.
cont part continuous particle
dem demonstratives show that a particular noun is being referred to. Note the way naa meaning 'this' is used in the following sentence:

Chɔɔzi naa, n izoo fogofogo.
This morning I got up refreshed.
dem pn
 demonstrative pronouns replace nouns but refer specifically to them as in the case of anla meaning 'those, the ones'.

U di anla n kawɛɛ la.
He ate the ones that were left.
disc discontinuous
emph suff emphatic suffixes are joined to the ends of words and show emphasis. In the following example -buu is used like that.

Zinaabuu yaa ra siŋ kɔmmia la.
Today (emphatic) we are soaking the corn for the pito.
excl exclamations show surprise or strong feeling which may be illustrated by daŋga, an expression of surprise in:

Uŋ wa na alimpilee la, u ŋɔ Daŋga!
When he saw the aeroplane he said, "How about that!".
id idiom
int
 interjections are words that are used in responses such as too meaning 'okay', 'all right'.

N ŋɔ n daŋ la, u ŋɔ, Too.
I said I will go an he said, "Okay".
int interrogative particles show questions but are not joined to words. In the following gɛɛ is used in this way.

I ra la yawaa gɛɛ?
Are you going to the market?
loc locatives show the place that is being referred to. An example of this is de meaning 'there'.

U du de.
He is there.
n nouns are words referring to people, places or things. Both singular and plural forms are entered if both are used.

bie, biizi    n. child

If no plural is in use but only the singular and, vice versa if no singular is used but only the plural then the entries are given as follows:

sinii     n   tears

ize     n     type of insect that swarms around your head
num number
part particle
pn pronouns replace nouns. An example of this is u meaning 'he'.

Bie naa ra karmi nɛnnɛ.
This child reads well.

U ra karmi nɛnnɛ.
He reads well.
ptc
sfx suffix
sp species
unspec var of unspecified variant of
tmp temporals indicate time. The temporal wibaŋa meaning 'afternoon, noon' is used in this way in the following:

Yaa daŋ kaali wibaŋa ni.
We shall leave in the afternoon.
v verbs are words expressing action or states of things. Both the basic and augmented forms are given if both are used:

ba, ballɔ    v   to come

Note: In some cases the verb entered has more than one meaning and if this is so, then the meanings are numbered as in this example:

hel, hello     v 1. to reach (destination)
v 2. to grow