by Mary Steele
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A bibliography for Konkomba can be found on Mary Steele's user page
Negative Marking
Kaa is made up of two morphemes, a fusion of the clause conjunction ki and the negative particle aa, resulting in the word kaa, meaning 'and did not'. It is both a clause conjunction, joining two clauses, and a negative particle. conjunction'.
There are other similar lexical items, consisting of a personal pronoun, or a class pronoun, fused with the negative particle aa as follows:
- baa consisting of two morphemes/parts of speech
- bi 'they' 3rd person pl. pronoun, fused with the negative particle aa to form the word baa meaning 'they not'.
There are other examples like the above, as any class pronoun may fuse with a following negative particle, as follows:
- laa formed from the fusion of li 'class 8 pronoun' and aa 'negative particle' meaning 'it cl.8 not'
- waa from the fusion of u 'class pronoun 1, 2, or 3 with aa 'negative particle' meaning 'it cl. 1, 2, or 3, not'
just to give a few examples.
TypeCraft contains at present these examples illustrating annotation of negation in Konkomba:
Kijuk ki bi lijal paab na aa ŋan.
“The knife which is on the chair is no good”
Kijuk ki bi lijal paab na aa ŋan.
“the knife which is on top of the chair is not good”
| paab |
| paab |
| on-top-ofLOC |
| PRT |
Adverbial conjunctions
There is an Adverbial Conjunction aah which immediately precedes the verb and takes an obligatory clause final particle na. This may express Time, Reason (because), (or Manner with an additional particle pu immediately preceding the final particle na).
Temporal
Expressing time with a Nominal Subject
Uja ngbaan aah cha kisaak na u kan upeeman.
“‘When the man was going to the farm he saw an antelope.’”
| upeeman |
| u | pee | man |
| 1 | animal | red |
| N |
‘When the man was going to the farm he saw an antelope.’
Ute aah chuun nsan ni na, uwaa juu u
Ute aah chuun nsan ni na, uwaa juu u.
“‘When his/her father was walking along the path a snake bit him.’”
‘When his/her father was walking along the path a snake bit him.’
Uja ngbaan aah bi kisaak na, u ku uwaa.
Uja ngbaan aah bi kisaak na, u ku uwaa.
“‘When the man was on the farm he killed a snake.’”
‘When the man was on the farm he killed a snake.’
Expressing time with a pronominal subject
If this Adverbial Conjunction is immediately preceded by a pronoun, the pronoun is assimilated to the Conjunction, with the following possibilities: maah, saah, waah, taah baah, naah, yaah, kaah, laah, ŋaah. The clause final particle na occurs, as with the nominal subject.
Maah cha kisaak na m kan upeeman. ‘When I was going to the farm I saw an antelope.’
Maah cha kisaak na m kan upeeman.
“‘When I was going to the farm I saw an antelope.’”
| upeeman |
| u | pee | man |
| 1 | animal | red |
| N |
Saah bi kisaak na, aa kan upeeman. ‘When you (sg.) were at the farm, you saw an antelope.
Saah bi kisaak na, aa kan upeeman.
“When you (sg.) were at the farm, you saw an antelope.”
| upeeman |
| u | pee | man |
| 1 | animal | red |
| N |
Waah cha kisaak na u kan upeeman. ‘‘When he/she was going to the farm he/she saw an antelope.’
Waah cha kisaak na u kan upeeman.
“‘When he/she was going to the farm he/she saw an antelope.’”
| upeeman |
| u | pee | man |
| 1 | animal | red |
| N |
Taah bi kisaak na, ti kan upeeman. ‘When we were at the farm, we saw an antelope.
Taah bi kisaak na, ti kan upeeman.
“‘When we were at the farm, we saw an antelope.”
| upeeman |
| u | pee | man |
| 1 | animal | red |
| N |
Taah ŋeer na, ti ga ŋa tikpin la. ‘When they (noun class 5 plural, the soup leaves tifar) are ready, we will make soup.’
Taah ŋeer na, ti ga ŋa tikpin la.
“‘When they (noun class marker plural, the soup leaves 'tifar') are ready, we will make soup.’”
Baah cha kisaak na bi kan upeeman. ‘When they were going to the farm they saw an antelope.’
Baah cha kisaak na bi kan upeeman.
“‘When they were going to the farm they saw an antelope.’”
| upeeman |
| u | pee | man |
| 1 | animal | red |
| N |
Naah ŋeer na, ti ga buen. ‘When it (neuter) is opportune we will go.’
Naah ŋeer na, ti ga buen.
“‘When it (neuter) is opportune/fitting we will go.’”
Yaah ŋeer na, i ga dan. ‘When they (class 3 pl. animate) are ready they will come.’
Yaah ŋeer na, i ga dan.
“‘When they (class marker pl. animate) are ready they will come.’”
Yaah ŋeer na, ti ga kan. ‘Whey they (class 4 pl., 6 pl. inanimate) are ready we will get/see (them).’
Kaah ŋeer na, ti ga buu ŋinu. ‘When it (the farm, class 7 sg.) is ready, we will plant yams.’
Kaah ŋeer na, ti ga buu ŋinu.
“‘When it (the farm, class marker sg.) is ready, we will plant yams.’”
Laah ŋeer na, ti ga kan. ‘When it (the chair, class 8 sg.) is ready we will see/get (it).’
Laah ŋeer na, ti ga kan.
“‘When it (the chair, class marker sg.) is ready we will see/get (it).’”
Ŋaah ŋeer na, ti ga kan. ‘Whey they (the chairs, class 8 pl.) are ready we will see/get (them).’
Ŋaah ŋeer na, ti ga kan.
“‘Whey they (the chairs, class marker pl.) are ready we will see/get (them).’”
Reason
Expressing reason with a Nominal subject
Ute aah chuun nsan ni na, u bak a. ‘Because his father walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) he is tired.’
Ute aah chuun nsan ni na, u bak a.
“‘Because his father walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) he is tired.’”
Kijuk ngbaan aah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa. ‘Because the knife (class 7 sg.) got lost on the way I no longer have (it).’
Kijuk ngbaan aah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa.
“Because the knife (class 7 sg.) got lost on the way I no longer have (it).”
With pronominal subject
Maah chuun nsan ni na, m bak a. ‘Because I walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) I am tired.’
Maah chuun nsan ni na, m bak a.
“Because I walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) I am tired.”
Saah chuun nsan ni na, aa bak a. ‘Because you (sg.) walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) you are tired.’
Saah chuun nsan ni na, aa bak a.
“Because you (sg.) walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) you are tired.”
Waah chuun nsan ni na, u bak a. ‘Because he/she walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) he/she is tired.’
Waah chuun nsan ni na, u bak a.
Taah chuun nsan ni na, ti bak a. ‘Because we walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) we are tired.’
Taah chuun nsan ni na, ti bak a.
“Because we walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) we are tired.”
Baah chuun nsan ni na, bi bak a. ‘Because they walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) they are tired.’
Baah chuun nsan ni na, bi bak a.
“Because they walked on the path, (i.e. came on foot) they are tired.”
Naah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa. ‘Because it got lost on the way I no longer have (it).’
Naah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa.
“Because it got lost on the way I no longer have (it).”
| Naah |
| n | aah |
| itNEUT | because |
| PN |
Yaah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa. ‘Because they (class 3 pl., 4 pl., or 6 pl.) got lost on the way I no longer have (them).’
Yaah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa.
“Because they (class 6 pl.) got lost on the way I no longer have (them).”
Kaah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa. ‘Because it (class 7 sg.) got lost on the way I no longer have (it).’
Kaah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa.
“Because it (class 4 sg.) got lost on the way I no longer have (it).”
Laah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa. ‘Because it (class 8 sg.) got lost on the way I no longer have (it).’
Laah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa.
“Because it (class 9 sg.) got lost on the way I no longer have (it).”
Ŋaah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa. ‘Because they (class 8 pl.) got lost on the way I no longer have (them).’
Ŋaah waŋ nsan ni na, maa ki kpa.
“Because they (class 10 pl.) got lost on the way I no longer have (them).”
Manner
When Manner is indicated there is also a particle pu immediately preceding the final particle na (…aah … pun a).
Expressing Manner with a Nominal subject
Ute aah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la. ‘He/she is the same as his/her father’
Ute aah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la.
“He/she is the same as his/her father”
Kisaak ngbaan aah bi pu na, ti gee kina la. ‘We like the way the farm is.’
Kisaak ngbaan aah bi pu na, ti gee kina la.
“We like the way the farm is.”
Expressing Manner with a Pronominal Subject
Maah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la. ‘He/she is the same as me/I am’
Maah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la.
“He/she is the same as me/I am.”
Saah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la. ‘He/she is the same as you (sg.).’
Saah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la.
“He/she is the same as you (sg.).”
Waah bi pu na, ti mu bi kina la. ‘We are the same as he/she is.’
Waah bi pu na, ti mu bi kina la.
“We are the same as he/she is.”
Taah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la. ‘He/she is the same as we are.’
Taah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la.
“He/she is the same as we are.”
Baah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la. ‘He/she is the same as they are.’
Baah bi pu na, u mu bi kina la.
“He/she is the same as they are.”
Naah bi pu na, ti gee kina la. ‘We like the way it (neuter) is.’
Naah bi pu na, ti gee kina la.
“We like the way it (neuter) is.”
Yaah bi pu na, ti gee kina la. ‘We like the way they (Pron. class 3 pl., 4 pl. or 6 pl.) are.’
Yaah bi pu na, ti gee kina la.
“We like the way they (Pron. class 6 pl.) are.”
Kaah bi pu na, ti gee kina la. ‘We like the way it (Pron. class 5 sg. or 7 sg.) is.’
Kaah bi pu na, ti gee kina la.
“We like the way it (Pron. class 4 sg.) is.”
Laah bi pu na, ti gee kina la. ‘We like the way it (Pron. class 8 sg.) is.’
Laah bi pu na, ti gee kina la.
“We like the way it (cl.9) is.”
Ŋaah bi pu na, ti gee kina la. ‘We like the way they (Pron. class 8 pl.) are.’
Ŋaah bi pu na, ti gee kina la.
“We like the way they (cl.10) are.”
Noun classes
| Singular |
|
Plural |
|
| prefix |
suffix |
prefix |
suffix
|
| u- |
# |
bi- |
-b/m
|
| unii |
‘person’ |
binib |
‘people’
|
| usapɔɔn |
‘unmarried girl’ |
bisapɔm |
‘girls’
|
| uja |
‘man’ |
bijab |
‘men’
|
| uchaan |
‘stranger’ |
bicham |
‘strangers’
|
| ubɔr |
‘chief’ |
bibɔrb |
‘chiefs’
|
| Singular |
|
Plural |
|
| prefix |
suffix |
prefix |
suffix
|
| u- |
# |
bi- |
-b/m
|
| unii |
‘person’ |
binib |
‘people’
|
| usapɔɔn |
‘unmarried girl’ |
bisapɔm |
‘girls’
|
| uja |
‘man’ |
bijab |
‘men’
|
| uchaan |
‘stranger’ |
bicham |
‘strangers’
|
| ubɔr |
‘chief’ |
bibɔrb |
‘chiefs’
|
References
- ↑ Mary Steele. 2009. Annotating Konkomba. TypeCraft Grammar squib. Available online at http://www.typecraft.org. Accessed at [DATE].