gram equational s

8/2/2019 Gram Equational S

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Chapter ##

EQUATIONAL ANDIDENTIFICATIONAL SENTENCES

ole, like other Chadic languages, does not have a copular verb. Copular sentenceswith nouns, adjectives, or other descriptive predicates simply juxtapose subject andpredicate. Nouns or adjectives that have formal morphological plurals must agree in

number with the subject. As in other sentence types, the normal way to question or focus asubject is to place it in sentence final position, with an obligatory clefting particle , ye,preceding the subject. Questioned predicates remain in situ. Numbers and names, whichare semantically distinct from descriptive predicates and which have distinct syntacticproperties in many lanuages, use the same syntax in Bole as do copular sentences with

nouns or other descriptive words as predicates.

1. Equational Sentences with Nominal Predicates

1.1. Affirmative equational statements. Equational sentences juxtapose the subject andthe predicate with no additional marking. First and second person subjects require thegeneral subject clitics (##), which condition Low Tone Raising (LTR##).1 Pronominalthird person subjects use the independent pronouns (##). Neither nominal nor pronominalthird person subjects condition LTR on the predicate First and second persons optionallymay use an independent pronoun together with the clitic, with no apparent difference inmeaning from the sentence without the independent pronoun. Utterances with first or

second person independent pronouns alone are interpreted as appositional phrases, e.g. inaApno I, a Hausa person . The examples in the paradigm below mean X am/is/are aHausa person ~ are Hausa people (Apno, Apnawi Hausa person, people)

Singular Plural

1 (ina) n Apno (mimmu) mu Apnawi2m (kai) ka Apino ma\" Apinawi2f (sh) shi Apno3m ishi Apno mate Apnawi3f ita Apno

Tjja\ni Apno Tijjani is a Hausa personBamoi an Pikka Bamoi is a Bole manLeng ani Pikka Lengi is a Bole womanmate anm Pkka they are Bole peopleanm Pkka mi&y&ya]n Naje\riya Boles are people of Nigeria1Ka Apno you (m) are a Hausa person (cf. table below) without LTR is acceptable, but the stronglypreferred variant in the Fika dialect has LTR.

B


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Bamoi Ma\}lummu Bamoi is our teachertemshi dabba a sheep is an animalkushi rewe la ga ampani a baobab is a useful tree (...[is] a tree that has use)

1.2. Negative equational statements. Negative equational sentences add the generalnegative marker sa to the end of the sentence.

Tjja\ni Apno sa Tijjani is not a Hausa personn Apno sa I am not a Hausa personka Apno sa you (m) are not a Hausa person

1.3. Equational questions and answers

1.3.1. Questioning and focusing the subject of equational sentences. Questioning thesubject of an equational sentence can use the standard postposing strategy for questiongand focusing subjects (##), i.e. the subject comes at the end of the sentence preceded by the

clefting particle ye] (ye when not phrase final).2 Alternatively, a subject question may use

the in situ strategy (##), with the subject in initial position but still with the clefting particleat the end. The pseudo-cleft strategy (##) for questioning subjects is not available inequational sentences, i.e. *an Moi Pkk ye l? who is the Emir of Fika? is notgrammatical.

A possible way to answer an equational sentence with a questioned subject is simply tostate the word that answers the question, as in English, Who is the Emir of Fika? ,(answer) Moi Abari. If the answer is a full sentence, the preferred answer type focusesthe word answering the question with the postposing strategy, placing the answering word atthe end of the sentence after the clefting particle.

Q: Moi Pkka n concone\ ye lo@ Lo Moi Pkka n concone\ ye]@Emir Fika of today CP who who Emir Fika of today CP

Who is the current Moi Fika?

A: Moi Pkka n concone\ ye Moi Abar. MOI ABARI is the current Moi Fika.

Q: Asbit ye solu yalla@ Solu yalla asbit ye]@hospital CP building which building which hospital CP

Which building is the hospital?

A: Asbit ye solu]-n petla ye].3 THE WHITE BUILDING is the hospital.hospital C P building-L white PRM

Q: Moi Bunje ye lo@ Lo Moi Bunje ye]@ Bamoi fio\ Madu@leader youth CP who who leader youth CP Bamoi or Madu

Who is Youth Leader? Bamoi or Madu?

A: Moi Bunje yeBamoi, saya Madu sa. BAMOI is the Youth Leader, not Madu.leader youth CPBamoi but Madu not

2 In verbal sentences with questioned or focused subjects, use of ye] is not obligatory, but in equationalsentences, it is obligatory since it serves as a cue that what follows is the subject, not the predicate.3 The first ye is the clefting particle, showing that what follows is the subject. The second ye] is thePrevious Reference Marker (##), showing definiteness of the subject, solu]n petla. Without the overtPRM, the sentence would be interpreted as a neutral equational statement meaning ,The (ye = PRM)

hospital is a white building.


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Q: Moi Bunje ye lo@ Lo Moi Bunje ye]@ Kai fio\ ish@Who is Youth Leader? You or him?

A: Moi Bunje ye ina, saya ishi sa. *I* am the Youth Leader, not him.

1.3.2. Questioning and focusing the predicate of equational sentences. A question

about the predicate of an equational sentence uses in situ Subject + Question Word order.It is ungrammatical to place the question word in sentence initial position. 4

Eme\ lo@ *Lo eme@ Who is this?Kufia ye le@ *Le kufia ye]@ What is a pot?

In questions that ask for simple identification of the questioned predicate, the mostnatural answer adds the particle j it is , which puts some emphasis on the answer, thoughit is possible to answer simply with the identifying word (see more below on identficationalsentences). Where the answer contains both subject and predicate, the answer takes thenormal Subject-Predicate order of equational sentences. It is possible to addj after thepredicate in such responses.

Q> Eme\ le@ What is this?A> Eme\ takarda. This is paper.

Q> Maine\ le@ What are these?A> Maine\ kufinshe Leng. These are Lengis pots.

Q> Eme\ lo@ Who is this (m)?A> Bamoi j.~Bamoi. Its Bamoi.

Q>

Oshe\ lo@ Who is this (f)?A> Leng j. ~Leng. Its Lengi.

Q> Maine\ ml lo@ Who (plural) are these [people]?A> Da\nde]m makaranta j. Theyre school children.

Q: Kai ka lo@ Who are you (m)?A:5 N Gimba (j).~ Ina Gimba.~ Ina n Gimba. Im Gimba.4 In English, one is sometimes not sure whether an equational question is asking about the subject or the

predicate. Syntactically the two are identical in the present tense since English always places question

words at the beginning of the sentence. On semantic grounds, a question like, Who is leader of the

youth? must be questioning the subjectone is asking who a certain property is predicated of, whereas,

Who is this? seems to be questioning the predicateone is singling out an individual and presumably

wants to know about a property that characterizes that individual. The distinction in what is being

questioned is clear in English in a sentence with an auxiliary, where subject-auxiliary inversion takes place

when a non-subject is questioned, e.g. Who could this be? (questioned non-subject) vs. Who could be the

leader of the youth? (questioned subject). In Bole, the syntax usually makes it clear what is being

questioned.5 Note that an answer to a questioned predicate can directly juxtapose a first person independent pronoun and

the predicate, a structure that we noted above is not acceptable as a simple equational declarative statement.


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Q: Sh shi lo@ Who are you (f)?A: Ina l Leng.~ Ina Leng. Im Lengi.

Q: Ma\" ml lo@ Who are you (pl.)?

A: Mimmu j. Its us.A: (Mimmu) mu pukarawa (j). Were students.

Q: Ishi l? Who is he?

A: Ishi Moi Bunje. He is Leader of the Youth.

Q: Ita l? Who is she?

A: Ita Moi Guma\ya. She is the Leader of the Female Youth.

Q: Mte ml l? Who are they?

A: Mate pukarawa. They are students.

Q: Bamoi l? Who is Bamoi?A: Bamoi ma\}lum. Bamoi is a teacher.

Q: Kai ka are memu yalla@ What kind of person are you (m)?A: Ina n am Pikka. I am a Bole.

Q: Sh shi ani a]u@ What is your (f) origin?(You are a person-of where?)

A: Ina n ani Pikka. Im a Bole woman. or Im a woman of Fika.

Alternative questions such as the following call for answers with focused predicates.

The answers have the same structure as neutral identificational sentences.

Q: Tjja\ni Apno fio\ (ishi) zan@ Is Tijjani a Hausa or a Kanuri?A: Ishi Apno, saya ishi zan sa. Hes a Hausa, its not the case that hes a Kanuri.

Q: Kai ka Apno fio\ ka zan@ Are you a Hausa or are you a Kanuri?A: Ina n Apno, saya n zan sa. Im a Hausa, its not the case that Im a Kanuri.

2. Identificational sentences

Bole expresses identificational sentences such as its a knife, theyre students, itsme with a noun or independent pronoun alone with no overt subject. An identificational

question comprising just a question word may consist of the question word with or withoutthe question particle w. A question asking for identity of a noun generally ends in the

question particle fio\. The answer to an identificational sentence may end with the emphasisparticlej.

Q> Lo@~ Lo wa@ Who is it?A> Ina j. Its me.A: Bamoi j. Its Bamoi.


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Q> Le@ ~ Le wa@ What is it?A> adi (j). Its a knife.

Q: Bamoi fio\@ Is it Bamoi?

A: O&o\, ish. Yes, its him.A: A|&a, ishi sa. No, its not Bamoi.

Q: Ishi fio\@ ~ Ishn fio\@6 Is it him?A: O&o\, ish. ~ O&o\, ishn. Yes, its him.A: A|&a, ishi sa. ~ A|&a, ishn sa. No, its not him.

Q: Ita fio\@ Is it her?A: O&o\, ita. Yes, its her.

3. Adjectival and other Descriptive Predicates

3.1. Affirmative statements with adjectival predicates. Several categories ofdescriptive words can be predicated of subjects. These include at least adjectives (##),ideophonic adjectives (##), and statives derived from verbs (##). Examples here will focuson adjectives, but they apply equally to these other categories. Like equational sentences,sentences with adjectival predicates simply juxtapose subject and predicate. First andsecond person subjects use subject pronoun clitics (##), which condition Low Tone Raising(LTR) on the predicate adjective. Third person pronominal subjects use the independentpronouns, which, like nominal subjects, do not condition LTR of the predicate adjective.Some adjectives have plural forms (##). Plural subjects require morphologically plural

adjectives if they exist. The paradigm shows the adjective fiole small, fiolle(plural) withall the pronoun subjects, as well as singular masculine and feminine nouns (showing thatthere is no gender agreement) and a plural noun.

Singular Plural

1 n fiole (mimmu) mu fiolle2m (kai) ka fiole ma\" flfiolle2f (sh) shi fiole3m ishi fiole mate fiolle3f ita fiole

lawo fiole the boy is small

lawo mondu fiole the girl is smallda\nde fiolle the children are smallkula eme\ sokkitok this (eme\) calabash is light-weight

(skktk = ideophonic adjective)

6 The variants with ishn (final -n and invariable L tone), are translated as Hausa sh fin, a formindicating previous reference. Only the third masculine singular independent pronoun has a variant with

final -n, i.e. *tn her or *inn me do not exist.


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sheken kewen his foot is swollen(kewe-n = stative from kawa\ swell)

For nouns that have no morphological plural, the adjective can be the indicator ofsemantic plurality of the noun.

za\wa gara the stick is longza\wa garre the sticks are long

For adjectives which have no morphological plural, the noun can show semantic plurality.

gam petla the ram is whitetemshi petla the ewe is whitetemka petla the sheep are white

In sentences where neither the subject nor the predicate have morphological plural forms,the only way to know number is from context.

tajiya petla the cap is white or the caps are white

Speakers sometimes add cap all to give a sense of plurality, e.g. tajiya cap petla, buta sentence like this, too, is not unambiguousit could mean all the caps are white, but itcould also mean the cap is completely white.

3.2. Negative adjectival statements. Negative adjectival predicates add the generalnegative marker sa to the end of the sentence.

gam petla sa the ram is not whiteda\nde fiolle sa the children are not small

Intensifying adverbs and ideophones may accompany adjectives in adjectival predicates.If an adjectival predicate with an intensifier is negated, the negative marker follows the entirepredicate. Placement of the intensifier after the negative in a sentence like Bamoi is verytall , if it yields any interpretation at all, would have to mean something like ??Bamoigreatly fails at being tall.

Bamoi garar rankata Bamoi is very tallBamoi garar rankata sa Bamoi is not very tall*@Bamoi garan sa rankatacf. Bamoi gara kala rankata sa Bamoi is tall, but not very much so

atampa dai shit the cloth is bright redatampa dai shit sa the cloth is not bright red*atampa dai sa shittemshi petla pok the ewe is snow whitetemshi petla pok sa the ewe is not snow white


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3.3. Questions and answers in adjectival sentences

3.3.1. Questioning and focusing the subject of adjectival sentences. Questioning thesubject of an adjectival sentence uses either the postposing strategy or the in situ strategy

(##cf. 1.3.1). In either case, the clefting particle y (ye if not phrase final) followsthe predicate. The pseudo-clefting strategy (##) is not available for adjectival predicates, i.e.

*an gran (ye) l? who is tall? (the one who is tall [is] who?) is ungrammatical:

Q: Garan ye lo@ Lo garan ye]@ Bamoi fio\ Madu@Who is tall? Bamoi or Madu?

A: Garan ye Bamoi, saya Madu sa. Bamoi is tall, not Madu.

Q> Petla ye yalla@Yalla petla ye]@ Gam fio\ temshi@ Which one is white? The ram or the ewe?

A: Petla ye temshi, saya gam sa. The EWE is white, not the ram.

3.3.2. Questioning and focusing the predicate of adjectival sentences. One canquestion the predicate using tn how?. As is normal in non-subject questions, the

questioned predicate is in situ at the end of the sentence. The clefting particle ye mayprecede tn.

Q: Gamko ye tan@ What is your ram like?A: Gamno (ye) petla. My ram is WHITE.

Q: Kai ka tan@ What are you like?A: Ina n gara . I am TALL.

A special case of questioning adjectival predicates would appear to be standard greeting

phrases meaning, Hows ? These have ngoor tn invariably in sentence initial

position, appearing to go against the normal in situ strategy for questioned non-subjects.However, these may not actually be questions involving adjectival predicates, since thestandard answers are not in the form Noun + Adjective.

Q: Ngo gatto@~Tan gatto@ Hows the tiredness?A: Ga gatto sa. Theres no tiredness.

Q: Ngo ruta@~ Tar ruta@ Hows the work?A: Ruta mu konn. As for the work we are at [on] it.

cf. Q: Ruta ye tan@ Whats the work like?A: Ruta ye ja]u. The work is tough.

The question word ngomust always be sentence initial. Placing the question word tnat the end of the sentence without the focus particle ye likewise results in an ungrammaticalsentence.

*ruta (ye) ngo@*ruta tan@


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4. Number predicates

Number predicates juxtapose the subject and predicate just as with equational andadjectival predicates. Sentences with number predicates differ from the other types in thatthey do not take pronominal subjects. If the semantic subject is a pronoun, the subject nounphrase has ko- head as its head.

Q: Kok-ku monou@ How many of you are there?head-your(pl) how many

A: Kommu pofifio. There are four of us.

Q: Kossu monou@ How many of them are there?A: Kossu ba\wulo. There are seven of them.

Q: Da\ndeko monou@ How many children do you have?Q> Da\nde]m makaranta monou@ How many school children are there?A: Da\nde ye dr po\rfio. There are fourteen children.

5. Name Predicates

Although a sentence like, My name is John, looks superficially like an equationalsentence, it is semantically distinct from, My teacher is John. In the latter, a property ispredicated of teacher , viz. that of being a person identified as John . In the formersentence, John is not a property of name . Rather, name is a variable, whose valuein this case is filled by John . In some Chadic languages, this semantic difference isreflected in different syntactic structures for true equational sentences as opposed tosentences with a name predicates. For example, Hausa asks the question, What is yourname? as yaya sunanka?, literally, How is your name? , and name sentences in Hausacannot use the stabilizer ne/ce, which is almost always present in normal copular sentences.In Ngizim, the quotative conjunction ma introduces a name predicate whereas regular

copular sentences simply juxtapose subject and predicate as in Bole. In Bole, however,name sentences do have the form of equational sentences with sun name as subject and lwhat? or the name itself as predicate. Adding the quotative conjunction n (##) creates asentence which is marginal and, in any case, would not be an inquiry or statement aboutsomeones name, i.e. ?*sunko n l? would mean something like, What do they sayyour name is?

Q: Sunko le@ What is your (m) name?A: Sunno Bamoi. My name is Bamoi.

Q: Sunshi le@ What is your (f) name?A: Sunno Leng. My name is Lengi.

Q: Sun ma\}lumku le@ What is your teachers name?A: Sunn Madu. His name is Madu.

Sunn Bamoi sa. His name is not Bamoi.

One can focus the name as follows:


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Bamoi ye sunn. BAMOI is his name.Leng ye sunno. LENGI is my name.Bamoi ye sunn sa. His name is not BAMOI.

These sentences are interpreted as putting focus on the name. That is, it appears that thename, which is the grammatical predicate, has been fronted for focus. Structurally, however,these sentences have the form normally used for focus of the SUBJECT, sunn. That is, thegrammatical subject is sentence final, preceded by the focus particle ye (see 1.3.1, ##).The sentence would be ungrammatical without the focus particle, i.e. *Bamoi sunn sa.7

7 There are structural parallels with Hausa. Hausa name sentences do not permit the stabilizer ne/ce, e.g.

sunansa Tanko (*ne) his name is Tanko. However, if the name is focused, it is sentence initial and

the stabilizer must follow it, e.g. Tanko ne sunansa his name is TANKO.

gram equational s

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