A grammar of Makonde (Chinnima, Tanzania) Kraal, Pieter J.

Kraal, Pieter J.

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Kraal, P. J. (2005, October 20). A grammar of Makonde (Chinnima, Tanzania). Retrieved from

https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4271

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glides may appear as default consonants in onsetless syllables (glide insertion, see 2.7). In other syllables of the shape \V and ZV, the two glides phonologically have a different status. The glide \ has to be regarded as a consonant, while the glide Z underlyingly is a rounded vowel. One argument is found in prenasalization. Prenasalization affects only consonants, not vowels. The \ may be prenasalized, and results in QM (OX\pH\H/GLQMpp\H 11/10 lip). (In the Makonde variants of Mozambique, we found several examples of M which are \ in the variants of Tanzania, e.g., OXFKtt\D – OXVttMD 11 root, NX\iiQGD – NXMiiQGD 15 be thin, NX\~~PD – NXM~~PD 15 be dry.) Vowels may not be prenasalized, not in the verbal system (the SC and OC for 1SG; no prenasalization before vowel-initial stems) nor in the nominal system (class 10 nouns which are the plural of class 11 nouns with vowel-initial stems; these class 10 nouns are regarded as starting with \, e.g., OZiiX/GLQMiiX 11/10 net). Prenasalization of Z results in PEZ (OXZiiQL/GLPEZiiQL 11/10 fence), a clear indication that the Z itself is not prenasalized, but is regarded as preceded by a labial consonant. (In the Makonde variants of Mozambique, however, we found several examples of JZ which are Z in the variants of Tanzania, e.g.,OLZiiQJZD– OLJZiiQJZD 5 bone, OXZiiQL – OXJZiiQL 11 fence, XZRyZD – XJZyyJZD 14 mushroom and NXZiiOD – NXJZiiOD 15 to dress.) Another argument is found in syllable structure. Syllables of the shape CGV occur where the (consonant) \ may be followed by the glide Z(WH\ZD ‘be trapped’), but there are no such syllables where the Z may be followed by the glide \.

The symbol Q\ is not only used for the palatal nasal, but also for the phonetically identical palatalized alveolar nasal Q\ (Û Q + L), e.g., in the causative stem YLQ\D ‘make dance’ (cf. YLQD ‘dance’). The distinction between the palatal nasal and the palatalized alveolar nasal can only be made when the sound appears as onset of the final syllable of verbal stems. When the palatalized alveolar nasal occurs in that position, the tonal process Retraction of the final H tone to the penultimate syllable (R) has been blocked (see 3.5.2), e.g., NXYtLQ\D ‘to make dance’ (F tone: blocking of R); this process is not blocked when the palatal nasal occurs in that position, e.g., NXSiiQ\D ‘to beat’ (level H tone: no blocking of R). As the symbol Q\ represents two different underlying sources which can only be distinguished when appearing as onset of the final syllable of verbal stems, there are three other consonants for which the same story is valid: FK, K and Z. They are dealt with here below in short (for more details, see 6.3.2).

away’ . All instances of V in the final syllable of verbal stems are with incorporated vowel, probably the causative ÛL (a variant of the causative extension LK/HK is LV/ HV with the V with incorporated vowel).

Finally, in the dialect Chimaraba, the second part (E) of the prenasalized consonant PE (not the E on its own) contains a roll: [PEr].



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The syllabic nasal is homorganic. The syllabic nasal does not occur before vowel-initial stems and monosyllabic stems. As will be shown in the sections mentioned below, certain stem-initial consonants change when preceded by a syllabic nasal:

Y o P O o Q K,\ o Q\ KZ,Z o PZ

The following prefixes and concords occur as syllabic nasals in the proper environments (followed by the section numbers where they are described, and by examples):

NPx: cl.1/3, 18 (4.1, 4.2) QQ\iDYL/YDKiDYL sorcerer (cl.1/2) PPx: cl.18 (5.1) QQtLGD/NXOtLGD which (cl.18/17) SC: cl.18, 2PL (6.2.1) PPLtQH/YDYLtQH you/they should dance OC: cl.1, 2PL (6.2.1) PPZLLOH/WXKZLLOH die for her/us! Prenasalization of consonants occurs with the following prefixes (+ section where they are described):

NPx: cl.9/10 (4.1) SC/OC: 1SG (6.2.2)

Prenasalization occurs at the beginning of a word only in case of a SC of 1SG. As will be shown in the sections 4.1 and 6.2.2, the prenasalized consonants of the chart in 2.1 are only a part of the result of these prenasalizations. The result of these prenasalization also includes the nasals, KZ, V and K as well as PEZ; below, we give these results, followed by an example.

P < ÛS OXSDiSD/GLPDiSD wing Q < ÛW LQpHPER elephant Q\ < ÛFK OXFKtt\D/GLQ\tt\D root QJ¶ < ÛN LQJ¶iiQJD guinea fowl

K < ÛK OXKttPR/GLKttPR song PEZ < ÛZ OXZiiQL/GLPEZiiQL fence

Lorenz (1914:48) notes the existence of “ein nasales K” - [a nasal K] - which particularly appears with nasals. He in fact mentions the voiceless nasal which, as he remarks, began to disappear in more and more words at that time. He notes the nasal K in the examples where it was still audible, e.g., QKQ\RQJR ‘snake’ (pl.: PLKRQJR) and QKQ\DR ‘Yao person’ (pl.: YDKDR). We have found only one type of environment where a voiceless nasal optionally appears in Chinnima nowadays: 2PL of tenses with zero tense marker with KZLND ‘arrive’, e.g. the Optative, where next to PPZLtNH ‘you (pl) should arrive’ also PKPZLtNH is possible. The voiceless nasal starts with a short airstream through the nose while articulating the nasal; the nasal is voiceless, though there may be a very short final voiced phase. In one other dialect, Chindonde, voiceless nasals are retained in many words. The voiceless nasals in Chindonde are KP, KQ, KQ\ and KQJ¶.

NXS~KP~~OD to breath

PKPXXQJD wind

PKP~~QGD/MLKP~~QGD bundle of firewood QKQppPED/YDKQppPED boy (before initiation)

LKQ\~~PED house

NXQ~~KQJ¶D to stink NX\iKQJ¶DDQ\D to pour NXJiKQJ¶yyOD to push (once) LKQJ¶RyOH/MLKQJ¶RyOH dance LKQJ¶iYDDQJD/MLKQJ¶iYDDQJD dog QKQJ¶ZiiSD/MLKQJ¶ZiiSD armpit

Although there are examples of voiceless nasals within (verb) stems, in most words, voiceless nasals occur stem-initially. There are two specific environments where voiceless nasals appear. These environments are after a syllabic nasal, and with prenasalisation; the processes which occur in these environments are similar to those in Chinnima (see above). The first environment is with syllabic nasals followed by the voiceless consonants (non-stops) K and KZ, which become (voiceless) nasals.

QKQ\iDYL/YDKiDYL sorcerer QKQ\RyQJR/YDKRyQJR snake

KQ\DDQJL sand

PKPZLNLLOH/WXKZLNLLOH come to her/us

The second environment where voiceless nasals appear is with prenasalisation of the voiceless stops, S, W, FK and N, not with other consonants.

LKQJ¶iiQJD guinea fowl OXKttPX/MLKttPX song

Nowadays, there are words without voiceless nasals in this environment even in Chindonde. Some examples:

OXSiPEDDKL/MLPiPEDDKL bamboo OXWiiPER/MLQiiPER trap OXNDORyQJR/MLQJ¶DORyQJR throat

In some words, the singular form has a voiceless nasal while the plural does not. LKPX~OD/MLPX~OD nose

LKQ\~~PED/MLQ\~~PED house

A final note about Chindonde, there are examples of singular forms with a K where in the plural forms a K with stronger friction (noted K¶) appears.

OLSiiKX/PDSiiK¶X lung FKLKtQJ¶ttQR/YLK¶tQJ¶ttQR elbow



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Palatalization of consonants (called frication by Hyman (2003)), as occurs with the addition of the causative extension \ (ÛL), occurs with most consonants. Some examples are the following.

LS\D make cut grass (cf. LSD cut grass) OHN\D make leave (cf. OHND leave) \DK\D make throw away (cf. \DKD throw away) LY\D make steal (cf. -LYD steal)

The K\ is a palatalized K where the K has light friction (as occurs with labialized K, see below). With three consonants, palatalization changes their place and/or manner of articulation.

O + ÛL o G\ Q + ÛL o Q\ QJ¶ + ÛL o Q\

ZDG\D dress (cf. ZDOD put on clothes) QJ¶DQ\D make play (cf. QJ¶DQD steal)

SHQ\D make blow one’s nose (cf. SHQJ¶D blow one’s nose)

Not all consonants may be palatalized; with the addition of a causative extension, they do not get the short extension \(ÛL) but LK/HK or LV/HV. These consonants are FK, the consonants with incorporated vowel (FK, K, V), and the consonants Z, Q\, QM, QJ; also causative \ and passive Z do not get the extension \ (ÛL), but the longer ones. Examples are the following.

NRFKHKD make poke (cf. NRFKD poke) \RFKHKD make roast (cf. \RFKD roast) WRKHKD make touch (cf. WRKD touch) YLVLKD be made angry (cf. YLVD be angry) PRZHKD make cut hair (cf. PRZD cut hair) SDQ\LKD make beat (cf. SDQ\D beat) NXQMLKD make fold (cf. NXQMD fold) OLQJLKD make try (cf. OLQJD try) WRQ\HKD make rain (cf. WRQ\D rain) WDPZLKD make love (cf. WDPZD love, like)

Monosyllabic stems also get the longer extensions, e.g. OLKD ‘make eat’ (cf. O\D ‘eat’ ), as well as some stems with three or more syllables having N as their final consonant. Some examples are the following.

SZHWHNHKD make hurt (cf. SZHWHND hurt) YHOHNHKD make give birth (cf. YHOHND give birth) SHSHNHKD be made narrow (cf. SHSHND be narrow) PRWRNHKD make fall (cf. PRWRND fall) KLSXNLKD make sprout (cf. KLSXND sprout)

Just as disyllabic stems, stems as SHQHND ‘put sideways’ and WHOHND ‘cook’ may appear with the short as well as with the long extensions: SHQHN\D/SHQHNHKD and  WHOHN\D/WHOHNHKD. Stems with the final consonant (non-causative) \ appear with the following extension(s):

KDLKD make grind (cf. KD\D grind) WDG\D/WDLKD make put into (cf. WD\D put into) WHG\D/WH\HKD make trap (cf. WH\D trap)

PH\HKD make break off a piece (cf. PH\D break off a piece) ZLKD make return (cf. X\D return)

The stem PDOD ‘know’ may appear with the following extensions: PDG\D/ PDLKD. See 6.3.2 for more details about the causative extension.

With depalatalization, as occurs with the addition of the Perfective Final LOH, the original consonants are restored and the ÛL appears after the consonant O of the Perfective Final (which become LG\H). Some examples are the following.

LSLG\H (cf. LS\D make cut grass, LSD cut grass) OHNLG\H (cf. OHN\D make leave, OHND leave) LYLG\H (cf. LY\D make steal, LYD steal) QJ¶DQLG\H (cf. QJ¶DQ\D make play, QJ¶DQD play)

There is one exception: the original O is not restored with depalatalization, e.g., FKHGLG\H (cf.FKHG\D ‘make cut’, FKHOD ‘cut’); even the whole G\ remains in place, as can be seen with the addition of the applicative extension LO/HO (which becomes LG\/HG\), e.g., FKHG\HG\D.

Labio-velarization, as occurs with the addition of the passive Z (ÛX), occurs with most consonants. Some examples are the following.

LSZD be cut (grass) (cf. LSD cut (grass)) SLWZD be passed (cf. SLWD pass) YLNZD be put (cf.YLND put)

\DKZD be thrown away (cf. \DKD throw away) ORPEZD marry (of woman) (cf. ORPED marry (of man))

The KZ is a labialized K where the K is pronounced with simultaneous lip rounding; the K has light friction. It should be noted that the other (long) passive extension LZ /HZ may also appear instead of Z (ÛX).

Labio-velarization is not possible with the consonant Y, nor with Z and passive Z; the longer extension LZ/HZ is chosen instead. Some examples are the following.

LYLZD be stolen (cf. LYD steal) PRZHZD be cut hair (cf. PRZD cut hair) WDPZLZD be loved (cf. WDPZD love, like)

Monosyllabic stems also get the longer extension, e.g. OLZD ‘be eaten’ (cf.O\D ‘eat’). From the stems with the final consonant (non-causative) \, we found the following forms:

KDLZD be ground (cf. KD\D grind) WH\ZD/WH\HZD be trapped (cf. WH\D trap)

The passive forms of PDOD ‘know’ are PDOZD/PDLZD ‘be known’. From the lexicalized causatives, we found the following forms:



/LVWRIYRZHOV

The five vowels as they are spelled in this book are listed below. Their corresponding phonetic symbols are given in square brackets.

L [L] H [H] D[D] R [R] X [X]

The L is front/high, the H is front/mid, the D isfront/low, the Ris back/mid and the X is back/high.



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There are two instances of vowel harmony. One instance is restricted to verbal extensions with one of the high vowels L or X, of which the vowel harmonizes with the vowel of the preceding syllable. The applicative LO, the causative LKand LV, the neuter/impositive LN and the passive LZ occur as HO, HK and HV, HN, and HZ respectively, when they follow a syllable with one of the mid vowels H or R.

PLQ\D squeeze: KHSDgather (fruit): PLQ\LOD KHSHOD PLQ\LKD KHSHKD PLQ\LVD KHSHVD PLQ\LND KHSHND WZDODseize: WZDOLOD WZDOLKD WZDOLVD WZDOLND WZDOLZD QRZD be sweet: WDQJ¶XQD chew: QRZHOD WDQJ¶XQLOD QRZHKD WDQJ¶XQLKD QRZHVD WDQJ¶XQLVD QRZHND WDQJ¶XQLND QRZHZD

The separative extensions XO and XN only occur as RO and RN when they follow a syllable with the vowel R.

FKLPD shut, fasten: WHSD stoop, bend down: FKLPXOD WHSXOD

PDWD plaster a wall: PDWXOD PDWXND KRPD pierce: XWD pull: KRPROD XWXOD KRPRND XWXND

Verbal extensions with the low vowel D (as well as the Pre-Final DQJ and the Perfective Final LOH/LWH) do not change in any environment.

The other instance of vowel harmony occurs with Imbrication of the Perfective Final, where an harmonic vowel appears after the vowel of the penultimate syllable. The imbricated vowel occurs as Hwhen the vowel of the penultimate syllable is H or R; it occurs as L when the vowel of the penultimate syllable is L, D or X. Vowel coalescence occurs with the penultimate vowels L, H and D, resulting in L, H and H respectively (see 7.1.4 for further details).

SLNLWH < SLNLWD break away FKHNHWH < FKHNHWD cut SDSHWH < SDSDWD follow ROZHWH < RORWD point WXNZLWH < WXNXWD run

When all vowels of the verbal stem are D, like in SDSDWD ‘follow’, Imbrication may further affect all these vowels, e.g. SHSHWH (next to SDSHWH).

A similar process is found with some verbal stems where the vowel of the penultimate syllable seems to be imbricated in the first syllable. The imbricated stems are the more modern variants of the older forms without Imbrication.

SZHWHND < SRWHND wound, get hurt, be ill SZHFKHOD < -SRFKHOD receive

An imbrication-like process is found with certain verbal stems as well as with nouns. With this process, a vowel seems to replace the vowel of the preceding syllable; for the time being, we call this process Vowel Anticipation (but further analysis might prove that in fact Imbrication occurs). Forms with the replaced vowel are the more modern forms.

KLQLND < KXQLND cover KXQXNXOD < KXQLNXOD uncover NLPELOD < NXPELOD drink

NDWDSDOD < NDWRSDOD be good, be beautiful QNi\iQJDDWD < QN~\iQJDDWD helper



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There are two processes that occurred in the Makonde dialects of Mozambique which have spread north to the southern Makonde dialect of Tanzania, Chindonde. The processes are currently spreading over the Northern Makonde dialect of Tanzania, Chinnima, which we describe in this dissertation. Remarkably, the most southern dialects which are spoken along the Ruvuma, Chimatambwe and Chimaraba (Chimaraba is also spoken along the coast) are not (yet) affected by these processes (we have no data from the other coastal dialect Chimachinga). One process might be called Vowel Dissimilation, the other Final Vowel Raising.

Vowel Dissimilation occurs with tri- and more syllabic verb stems with identical mid vowels H or R. With trisyllabic verb stems, the first vowel changes to D; with four- syllable verb stems, the first two vowels change to D. The verb stems contain an expansion or a lexicalized extension.

WDOHND < WHOHND cook SZDFKHOD < SZHFKHOD receive FKDNHWD < FKHNHWD cut, chop QDQJ¶HQD < QHQJ¶HQD cut (with hands) PDWRND < PRWRND fall

WDQJROD < WRQJROD speak DORWD < RORWD point QDQRSD < QRQRSD be hard NDKDPROD < NRKRPROD cough SDSDWROD < SRSRWROD wring out

Note that all vowels of the stem (except the Final) should be identical; for instance, when the penultimate vowel of four syllabic stems is different, Vowel Dissimilation does not occur: Q\RQ\RPDOD ‘squat’ , ORPEROHOD ‘applaud’, QJRQJRPDQD ‘be curved’ .

With nouns derived from these verb stems, Vowel Dissimilation is taken over. FKLSZiFKpOppORFKLSZpFKpOppOR utensil (cf. SZHFKHOD receive) FKLWDQJRyGLFKLWRQJRyGL language (cf. WRQJROD speak) The other process is Final Vowel Raising. The final mid vowels H and R of certain non-verbal forms are raised to L and X respectively.

PX~WL < PX~WZH head FKLWXXQGL < FKLWXXQGZH anger OXWDiQX < OXWDiQR story LQJ¶RyZX < LQJ¶RyZR banana PX < PR a(n), one QX < QR this

XPL < RPL healthy, strong DKLRKH < RKHRKH every

Since Vowel Dissimilation and Final Vowel Raising are currently spreading over the Chinnima-area, forms with and without Vowel Dissimilation and Final Vowel Raising all are acceptable. But there are exceptions: the word for ‘head’ , e.g., is PX~WZH in Chinnima; PX~WL generally is regarded as Chindonde. The speakers of at least the South-Western part of the area more and more use the forms with Vowel Dissimilation and Final Vowel Raising.



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Vowel Coalescence of two adjacent vowels within a word gives the following results (there are no examples of H and R in the position of V1, but see under Liaison below):

Examples (no tones indicated in V1 V2 underlying forms)

L + L oL PLtKL < ÛPLLKL pestles L + H o \H P\ppGL < ÛPLHGL months L + D o \D Y\iiOD < ÛYLDOD fingers L + R o \R P\RyQJR < ÛPLRQJR backs L + X o \X O\~~OR < ÛOLXOR evening D + L o L NLtKL < ÛNDLKL little pestle D + H o H NppOX < ÛNDHOX little field D + D o D NiiOD < ÛNDDOD little finger D + R o R NRyQJR < ÛNDRQJR little back D + X o X N~~PED < ÛNDXPED little arrow X + L o ZL OZLtGL < ÛOXLGL door X + H o ZH ZppOX < ÛXHOX field X + D o ZD OZiiX < ÛOXDX net X + R o ZR OZyyJR < ÛOXRJR cassava X + X o X P~~PED < ÛPXXPED arrow

There are some nouns where VC/GF of D and L resulted in H, and vowel coalescence of X and R resulted in R. The full list:

PppKR < ÛPDLKR eyes PppQR < ÛPDLQR teeth ? PppGL < ÛPDLGL water

PyyPL < ÛPXRPL healthy person (PZyyPL also possible) PRyQJR < ÛPXRQJR back of body

PRyRWR < ÛPXRWR fire

VC/GF generally does not apply successively to sequences of three vowels. It does not apply to tenses with a tense marker, the vowel of the tense marker being one of three vowels in a row. With tenses without a tense marker, it does not apply because there is no VC/GF between a subject concord and a object concord when the subject concord is D (see below); when the subject concord is X or L, the non-existant initial sequences Z\ or \Z would occur. The only exception we found is with the Indirect Relative tense starting with a Pre-Initial with the vowel D, e.g., the “fixed” SD ‘when’ .

SZtLYD < ÛSD~tYD when you steal

cf. XQ~tLYH/ XQiZtLYH < ÛXQD~tYH you should not steal it (cl.3, 14) Sequences of four vowels are attested with Indirect Relatives with an object concord. But then, there is no VC/GF between the subject concord and the object concord. In the example below, there is VC/GF between the vowel of the subject concord and the vowel of the preceding SD, and between the vowel of the object concord and the initial vowel of the stem.

S~\ttYD < ÛSD~tLYD when you steal it (cl.9)

There are more restrictions on positions where VC/GF takes place. Within stems, there is no VC/GF:

- when the first of two adjacent vowels is H or D - between two identical vowels

In the examples below, two adjacent vowels belonging to different syllables are separated by a dot.

There is optional glide insertion in all these cases: NXWpZ~~OD, NX\iQGiZ~~ND NXS\i\ttOD and NXZ~Z~~OD; without glide insertion, the syllables of these forms do not fuse, but they remain separate syllables.

Within stems of nouns, there is also no VC/GF when the V2 is the vowel of the final syllable. In cases mentioned above (V1 is H or D, identical vowels), glide insertion is optional (not indicated in the examples below) with other stems. Glide insertion often occurs in other cases. (The rules are roughly as follows: the glide \ is inserted when V2 is L, and also when V1 is L while V2 is H or D; the glideZ is inserted when V2 is R or X, and also when V1 is R or X while V2 is H or D. However, we did not always find glide insertion in these cases; especially when X is V1 and L is V2, glide insertion rarely occurs.) It should be noted that we have not found an example of a verb stem with the V2 as the vowel of the final syllable (without a preceding glide).

FKLOHpX beard OXYDiX rib FKLS\DiL broom FKLNRyR banana LQJ~~ZR cloth PDX~ZD flowers OXZRyL rope NXPyyZD to shave

For the rest, VC/GF within stems is obligatory.

Outside stems, between a prefix and a vowel-initial nominal stem, there is no VC/GF: - when the stem is monosyllabic

- when the word is a name or loan word

(Glide insertion is indicated where it normally occurs.) OLtL egg

OLt\H egg OLtZX ashes

OX~XPD Ruvuma (river)  PDX~PED smells

? OX~~QML cleared thicket (pl.: GLP~~QML)  OLX~ZD flower

 GL\HpPEH mangos In other cases, VC/GF is obligatory.

PZLtKL/PLtKL < ÛPXLtKL/PLLtKL pestle/pestles FKDDQJD/Y\DDQJD < ÛFKLDDQJD/YLDDQJD galago/galagos

10 nouns which are the plural of class 11 nouns with vowel-initial stems are regarded as starting with \, e.g., OZiiX/GLQMiiX ‘net’ ): NX\iQGttND/NZiQGttND ‘to write’. Outside stems, within verbal forms, there is no VC/GF:

- between a subject concord and an object concord or a vowel-initial stem when the subject concord is D

- between a tense marker and an object concord with monosyllabic stems DtOROLtWH (s)he who has seen it/them (cl.9/4)

cf. WZtOROLtWH they who have seen it/them  WXNDttO\D if we eat it/them

 WXQDXXO\D we (will) eat it (cl.3 or cl.14) WXFKt~XO\D we were eating it

But there is always VC/GF in verbal forms between a subject concord and the following Far Past tense marker D.

WZiQtOLtPD < ÛWXiQtOLtPD we had cultivated (long ago) WZiQiOLtPD < ÛWXiQiOLtPD we cultivated (long ago)

VC/GF is optional in other positions within verbal forms, except in case of a vowel-initial stem preceded by the object concord ÛPX of class 1, which becomes PZ.

NX~XG\D/N~~G\D to ask NXtNiiOD/NZtNiiOD to live

WXLtYH/WZLtYH we should steal WXQLLtPED/WXQLtPED we sang

XQDtLYH/XQttYH you should not steal WXNDLOyyOD/WXNLOyyOD if we look at it (cl.9) WXQDFKLLtYD/WXQDFKLtYD we (will) steal it YDNiW~XXG\D/YDNiW~XG\D they do not ask us

WXPZtLYH we should steal it (e.g. a cow)

A consequence of VC/GF is tonal coalescence; this process is dealt with in 3.5.5. Although not dealt with there, a consequence of Liaison is also tonal coalescence, and the results are the same as those of VC/GF.

Liaison of two adjacent vowels across a word boundary gives almost the same results as vowel coalescence within a word. In addition, there are examples for H and R in the position of V1. The only example we found of H as V1 and D as V2 was preferably used without liaison; fast speech resulted in \D.

Liaison mainly occurs between a verb and a following (object) noun or (head-less) specifier.

QGROLW¶tQJ¶iDQGH < QGROLWHtQJ¶iDQGH I looked at the house YDQQROLW¶ppPH < YDQQROLWHppPH they looked at Eme YDQQROLW\¶iiOL < YDQQROLWHiiOL they looked at Ali YDQQROLW¶yyNL < YDQQROLWHyyNL they looked at Oki YDYDOROLW¶~YyRYy < YDYDOROLWH~YyRYy they looked at them YDQQZ¶ttPD < YDQQRODttPD they look at Ima YDQQZ¶ppPH < YDQQRODppPH they look at Eme YDQQZ¶iiOL < YDQQRODiiOL they look at Ali YDQQ¶yyNL < YDQQRODyyNL they look at Oki YDYDOy¶YyRYy < YDYDOROD~YyRYy they look at them

Liaison also occurs within complex verbal forms as well as between the index forms (QD and the associative PPx-D) and a following noun. It is generally refused between a noun and specifier as well as between two specifiers.



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On the surface, the following types of syllables occur (NC represents a prenasalized consonant, N represents a syllabic nasal, G represents a glide):

V VV GV GVV N

CV CVV CGV CGVV

NCV NCVV NCGV NCGVV

The nucleus (or peak) of a syllable consists of a vowel or a syllabic nasal, each of which counts as one mora. The mora is the Tone Bearing Unit (TBU, see 3.3). The syllabic nasal has a restricted distribution: it is a prefix, generally not occurring in final and prefinal position in words (see below). The syllables with two vowels occur post-lexically, and they also have a restricted distribution: they occur in penultimate position in phrase-final words, where the vowel is automatically lengthened by the post-lexical process Penultimate Lenghtening. (In the examples below, syllables are separated by a dot).

NXS\ittOD to sweep LQyyQGZD star

WXNi\DQJppWH we have not helped OXZiiQL fence

WXQDO\DDQJD we (will) eat a lot OLQJZppOH baboon

Rarely also occur syllables with three TBU’ s. VVV GVVV

CVVV CGVVV NCVVV NCGVVV

These types of syllables also occur post-lexically; they only occur as penultimate syllables of phrase-final words consisting of disyllabic stems in the tenses Relative Present and Relative Perfective, as well as penultimate syllables of phrase-final words containing certain nominal and pronominal stems where syllable fusion has taken place. All these cases are the result of blocking of the process Structure Simplification (3.5.6 and 3.5.8).

DtLtYD (s)he who steals QGtLtPD I who cultivate

WXZpHpWH we who have put on clothes PEZiDiOD I who put on clothes FKLORyRQJR pot

PZpHpQX you (pl.)

The syllabic nasals are homorganic; they are representations of the syllable PX of certain class prefixes and concords (cl.1, 3 and 18; 2PL) before other than monosyllabic stems.

QQHpPED 1 boy (before initiation) PSttQL 3 handle

QFKLORyRQJR18 in the pot

WXQWiDPZH we should like you (2PL) PX~QX 1 person

WXP~~O\H we should eat it (e.g. QNyRNR cl.1 animal)

In some cases, an allomorph of the syllable QJX of the concords for 1SG is represented by N, i.e., prenazalisation of the following consonant occurs, followed by cluster reduction in most cases (see 6.2.2).

YDQJXWiDPZH/YDQiDPZH they should like me

There is syllable fusion between a syllable and a following syllabic nasal (which is a TBU). The nucleus of the fused syllable consists of two TBU’ s. This process also occurs between words. In the examples below, the high-toned syllabic nasal raises the preceding TBU of the syllable with which it has been fused (see 3.5.8).

WXQi WiDPZD we (will) like him (object concord cl.1) YDPZRQi Q~~PH they see the man



3HQXOWLPDWHOHQJWKHQLQJDQGSHQXOWLPDWHVKRUWHQLQJ

There is no phonologically distinctive vowel length. But the penultimate syllable of phrase-final words is automatically lengthened by the post-lexical process PenUltimate Lengthening (PUL). Words in citation form, as the examples given in the preceding sections, are considered to have the same form as phrase-final words. A description of PUL is given in 3.2 and 3.5.1. In the examples below, PUL marks the end of a phrase, indicated by the sign ‘]’ .

WXYDRQDYDO~~PH] ~O\iPEiFKLLKL] we see the men only in the morning WXYDRQDYDNDQX~QX] ~O\iPEiFKLLKL] we see the young children only in the morning

The underlying forms of the forms with PUL in the first phrase are ÛYDO~Pp and ÛYDNDQXQ~. These forms appear when they occur as non-final words in phrases.

YDO~PpYiiQR these men YDNDQXQ~YHpWX our young children

Phrase-finally, PUL occurs followed by Retraction of the final H tone (R, see 3.5.2).

R PUL

YDO~~PH < ÛYDO~XPp YDNDQX~QX < ÛYDNDQXXQ~

However, the lengthened penultimate syllable of non-final phrases may be reduced with fast speech. This process, PenUltimate Shortening (PUS), is described in 3.5.9.

WXYDRQDYDO~PH] ~O\iPEiFKLLKL] we see the men only in the morning WXYDRQDYDNDQ~Q~] ~O\iPEiFKLLKL] we see the young children only in the morning