Block 10 · pages 79-87
Chapter 3: Adverbs and Nouns – Basic Structure, Gender, and Diminutive
3.1.5 Adverbs
There are few true adverbs. Manner is often encoded in the verb. Manner adverbs include ʒik 'quickly', sallanda 'carefully', hullan 'much'. Spatio-temporal deictic adverbs are nedea 'here', senda ~ asenda 'there', and marad-oda 'now'.
3.2 Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, numerals
3.2.1 Basic structure of nouns
Nouns are of two types. Type 1 (prefixless) includes most Songhay cognates, Arabic loans, and some Tamasheq nouns. Plural is marked by suffix or prefix. Type 2 nouns have a prefix (usually a- for singular, i- for plural) and mark gender with t-...-t (feminine). Plural may involve a suffix and/or vowel pattern changes.
3.2.2 Gender
Gender is lexical and derivational; there is no agreement. Feminine is marked by the discontinuous morpheme t-...-t. It marks natural gender of humans and animals (e.g., a-boobaz 'male cousin' / t-a-boobas-t 'female cousin'), diminutive (e.g., e-ɣar 'cooking pot' / t-e-ɣar-t 'small pot'), and serves as a nominalizer.
3.2.2.1 Assimilation rules for the gender suffix -t
The suffix -t assimilates to the stem-final consonant. Voiced plosives/fricatives are devoiced (e.g., a-boobaz > t-a-boobas-t). Some occlusives fully assimilate, leaving only devoicing as a trace (e.g., t-a-sa-smat-t 'points'). Final /y/ + -t amalgamates to [q] (e.g., a-faqay 'brother' > t-a-faqaq-q 'sister').
3.2.2.2 Natural gender
The gender opposition productively marks female beings. Examples include humans (a-boobaz / t-a-boobas-t 'cross cousin'), wild and domestic animals (aa-har / t-aa-har-t 'lion/lioness'), and even two Songhay nouns (ʒeemi 'blacksmith' > t-a-ʒeemi-t). Some animals have only feminine-marked forms.
3.2.2.3 Diminutive
The feminine marker also encodes smallness. Regular size items have no marker; the small variety takes t-...-t (e.g., u-gmuʒ 'thumb' > t-u-gmuʃ-t 'little finger'). In some cases the opposition is lexicalized with unpredictable size relations (e.g., a-lkas 'tea glass' / t-a-lkas-t 'calabash'). Songhay cognates can take the marker for diminutive (e.g., karfu 'rope' > t-a-karfu-t 'small rope'). Names of trees and shrubs very regularly have feminine morphology.
Keywords : adverbs nouns noun structure gender feminine diminutive assimilation natural gender
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Passages from the site’s works on this topic, with the page cited: the original text is authoritative.
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… ....................75 3.1.4.2 Mood-Aspect-Negation (MAN) morphemes ......76 3.1.4.3 Direct object clitic .............................................78 3.1.5 Adverbs...................................................................79 3.1.5.1 Manner.............................................................79 3.1.5.2 Spatio-temporal ................................................80 Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, numerals ..............................80 3.2.1 Basic structu …
Christiansen-Bolli (2010), A Grammar of Tadaksahak, a Northern Songhay Language of Mali, p. 6
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82 Tadaksahak has two genders, which, following the grammatical tradition in Berber studies, will be referred to as masculine and feminine. Masculine gender has no formal expression, feminine gender is marked by means of the prefix t- and (in most singular nouns), the suffix -t, e.g. ée-jaf / t-ée-jaf-t ‘dune / small dune’. In those nouns which allow for a gender opposition, the feminine marks some other meanings besides the natural gender of animals and humans. It can mark t …
Christiansen-Bolli (2010), A Grammar of Tadaksahak, a Northern Songhay Language of Mali, p. 100
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… ongues n'apparaissent que dans les syllabes ouvertes non finales. Dans les syllabes fermées et en position finale, seules les voyelles courtes sont autorisées. Assimilation du point d'articulation du /n/ Le /n/ s'assimile régulièrement au point d'articulation du C qui le suit immédiatement. Cette règle s'applique aussi bien à l'intérieur d'un lexème qu'entre les mots d'une phrase ou d'une clause. Considérons les exemples suivants avec des formes assimilées dans le radical du …
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21 Mánzarnat cuir vert vif Atánʒi petit déjeuner Dévoisement des fricatives voisées En raison de l'assimilation régressive, les fricatives voisées sont dévoquées lorsqu'elles sont suivies d'une consonne sans voix, cf. les exemples suivants avec /ɣ/. Dévoisement du lexème /ɣ/ interne Verbe souche nom verbal Sens en Fr Yíɣsǝr aɣásar Sauter sur ou Descendre sur Yíɣʃid aɣáʃad être ruiné / accidenté Yíɣfǝl aɣáfal être verrouillé / verrouiller De même, l'élément aɣ- (sujet clitique …