Towards a Grammar of Gumer Phonology and Morphology of a Western Gurage Variety Thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Zurich for the degree of Doctor of ɱhilosophy by Sascha Völlmin Accepted in the fall semester 2012 on the recommendation of the doctoral committee: ɱrof. Dr. Balthasar Bickel ⁸main supervisor⁹ ɱrof. Dr. Walter Bisang Zürich 2017 Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations viii 1 Introduction 1.1 Scope of the thesis . . . . . . . 1.2 Gumer people and language . 1.3 Classification of the language 1.3.1 Gumer vs. Chaha . . . 1.4 ɱrevious studies . . . . . . . . 1.5 Data and method . . . . . . . 2 Phonology 2.1 Consonants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.1 Distribution of β, b and p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.2 Distribution of x and k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.3 Distribution of r and n ⁸and l⁹ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.3.1 Initial nasalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.3.2 ‘Geminate’ nasalization . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.3.3 Nasalization in penultimate coda position . 2.1.4 Assimilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.4.1 Assimilation of n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.4.2 Assimilation of r to n and l . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.4.3 Other cases of assimilation . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1 The open-mid vowels ɛ and ɔ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2 The central vowels ɨ and ə . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2.1 ɳealizations of ɨ / ə in combination with y / w 2.3 Syllable structure and epenthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 Syllable structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2 Epenthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2.1 The epenthetic vowel ɨ . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2.2 Epenthesis rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2.3 Epenthetic vowel ɨ between words . . . . . 2.3.3 Sequences of two vowels across morpheme boundaries 2.3.4 Short note on stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 3 4 6 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8 13 15 17 17 18 18 20 20 21 23 23 26 27 27 28 28 32 32 33 36 37 40 3 Verb morphology 3.1 Semitic root-and-pattern morphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Ethiosemitic verb types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Gumer verb types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.1 Mutations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.2 ɱroblem of ⁸de-⁹gemination in Imperfective and Jussive . 3.4 Main verb types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1 Sound verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1.1 Triradicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1.2 ɲuadriradicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.2 Weak verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.2.1 Weak triradicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.2.1.1 Triradicals with weak first radical . . 3.4.2.1.2 Triradicals with weak second radical . 3.4.2.1.3 Triradicals with weak third radical . . 3.4.2.2 Weak quadriradicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Special verb classes, subtypes and exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.1 Monoradicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2 ɳeduplicated verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2.1 Final reduplication ⁸122 / 1233⁹ . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2.2 ɲuadriradicals with total reduplication ⁸1212⁹ . 3.5.2.3 Verbs with identical first and second radical ⁸113⁹ 3.5.2.4 Frequentative ⁸medial reduplication 1223⁹ . . . 3.5.3 Special verb types and irregular verbs . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.1 Type 1rD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.2 Type 1rAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.3 Verbs with penultimate r and final I / U ⁸1rI / 1rU⁹ 3.5.3.4 Verbs with prefixed n- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.5 The verb tʼəppʷə ‘suck’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.6 The verb bar ‘say’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.7 The verbs aβ ‘give’ and od ‘tell’ . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.8 The verb wər ‘go’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.9 Exceptionally geminating verbs . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.10 Verbs with initial e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.11 Verbs with additional initial ə . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.12 Amharic loan verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3.13 Suppletive Imperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 Derived stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1 Derived stems with t(ə)- ⁸detransitivizer⁹ . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1.1 Allomorphs tə- vs. t- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1.2 Assimilation of t- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.2 Derived stems with a- ⁸direct causativizer⁹ . . . . . . . . . 3.6.3 Derived stems with at- ⁸indirect causativizer⁹ . . . . . . . 3.6.3.1 Assimilation of at- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii 41 41 42 43 43 45 49 49 49 54 55 56 56 58 61 64 67 67 68 68 69 71 72 72 72 73 74 75 75 76 76 77 78 79 79 80 81 82 83 85 87 88 91 94 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Uses of t(ə)-, a- and at- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.1 Detransitivizer t(ə)-: anticausative⁸-passive-reflexive⁹ . . 3.7.1.1 ɳeciprocals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.2 Causativizer a- ⁸direct causativization⁹ . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.3 Causativizer at- ⁸indirect causativization⁹ . . . . . . . . 3.7.3.1 Causation of reciprocity . . . . . . . . . . . . Verbs without basic stem ⁸prefix-necessitating or ‘bound’ stems⁹ Note on unpredictable and specialized meanings . . . . . . . . . Frequentatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.1 Frequentatives of basic stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.2 Frequentatives of derived stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subject marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.1 ɱerfective conjugation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.2 Imperfective conjugation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.3 Jussive conjugation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.4 Formation of feminine singular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.5 Formation of Impersonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.6 Allomorphs of subject markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.6.1 Verbs with weak final radical . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.6.2 Verb bases with initial vowel . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.6.3 1s Imperfective with prefixes . . . . . . . . . 3.11.6.4 Subject markers followed by object markers . Object marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.1 Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.1.1 Fused subject-object markers . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.2 Use of the object markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.2.1 ɱrimary object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.2.2 Benefactive and malefactive . . . . . . . . . . Formation of the Infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Formation and uses of the converbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.14.1 Formation of the t-converb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.14.2 Formation of the m-converb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.14.3 m-converb vs. t-converb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.14.4 The converbal linker -tanə ~ -ta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.14.5 Functions of the converbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verbal negation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15.1 Negated ɱerfective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15.2 Negated Imperfective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15.3 Negated Jussive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15.4 ɱrohibitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15.4.1 Negated Jussive vs. ɱrohibitive . . . . . . . . . 3.15.5 Negation of ɱast Imperfective ⁸ + banə⁹ . . . . . . . 3.15.6 Negation of ɱast ɱerfective ⁸ + banə⁹ . . . . . . . . . Depalatalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 95 97 99 103 108 109 111 112 113 116 120 121 122 122 123 128 133 133 138 139 140 141 141 143 147 148 149 149 151 151 152 153 154 155 156 156 157 158 159 159 159 160 161 4 3.17 The verb bar ‘say’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17.1 bar ‘say’ as quotative verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17.2 bar ‘say’ as complementizer / subordinator . . . . . . . 3.17.3 Other subordinate clauses with bar ‘say’ . . . . . . . . . 3.17.4 ɱhrasal verbs with bar ‘say’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17.5 The infinitives wəβəru and bɨrotu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17.6 Further idiosyncratic uses of bar ‘say’ . . . . . . . . . . 3.18 Tense, aspect, and mode ⁸TAM⁹ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.1 ɱerfective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.1.1 Main verb marker -m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.2 Imperfective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.3 Jussive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.4 Analytical forms with past auxiliary banə ~ -βa . . . . . 3.18.5 Future tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.5.1 Use of the two Futures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18.5.1.1 Future vs. Imperfective . . . . . . . . 3.18.5.1.2 Definite Future vs. Indefinite Future 3.19 Verbs of being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.19.1 ʽHaveʼ and ʽmustʼ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 166 168 170 171 173 174 174 174 177 178 179 179 181 183 183 184 188 193 Nominal morphology 4.1 Derivational nominal morphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Number and gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.2 Associative marker nə- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.3 Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.3.1 Feminine derivational morpheme -wət . 4.3 ɱronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.1 Independent pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.2 Demonstratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.2.1 The demonstrative element -kk- . . . . . 4.3.3 Further occurrences of the demonstrative elements 4.3.3.1 ɱresentatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.3.2 Spatial adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.3.3 Clause conjoining with xɨ and zɨ . . . . . 4.3.4 Indefinite pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.5 ɲuestion words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.6 ɱossessives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Definiteness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.1 Definite articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.1.1 The definite article -we . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.2 Use of articles and marking of definiteness . . . . . 4.4.2.1 Direct anaphora vs. associative anaphora 4.5 Numerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 195 204 204 207 208 210 211 211 212 215 216 216 216 217 219 220 227 233 233 236 237 237 239 iv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 4.7 4.5.1 Cardinal numerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5.2 Ordinal numerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Days of the week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nominal affixes and subordinators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.1 Affixes and nouns: prefixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.1.1 Attributivizer yə- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.1.2 ɳecipients, / , objects marked by yə4.7.1.3 ɱeripheral constituents marked by yə- . . . 4.7.1.4 Locative bə- and instrumental bə- . . . . . . 4.7.1.5 Comitative tə- and ablative tə- . . . . . . . . 4.7.1.6 Combinations with postpositions . . . . . . 4.7.2 Affixes and nouns: suffixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3 Affixes and verbs: subordinate clauses . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.1 ʽɳelative verbʼ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.2 ɳelative clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.3 Temporal clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.4 Complement clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.5 Conditional clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.6 ɱurposive clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3.7 Causal clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 241 241 242 243 243 246 246 248 249 250 251 252 252 254 254 256 257 257 259 Acknowledgements The present thesis has been realized as part of the project ʽFunctional Typology of Ethiopian Languagesʼ ⁸ʽFunktionale Typologie äthiopischer Sprachenʼ⁹ granted by the Swiss National Science Foundation ⁸no. 100012-109306 and no. 100012117861⁹. None of my work would have been possible without the generous help of so many people. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Yunus Hassen who became my friend and most important Gumer teacher. Without his patience during the countless hours he spent with me, this grammar would not be what it is. I am also greatly thankful to my other Gumer teachers Fedlu Hassen, Hayatu Mohammed, ɳuth Belachew and in particular Wondimu Aregga, who first introduce me to the Gumer villages and their people. I appreciate the hospitality of the families, relatives and friends of Wondimu, Yunus and Fedlu who opened their homes for me. Special thanks go to the many Gumer speakers who let me record stories and narrations, the most important contributors being Hassen, Musamma and Zerga. In Ethiopia, ɳonny Meyer played a key role both on a personal and a linguistic level. I highly appreciate his support and I am very grateful for the accomodation he provided me with for such a long time. I also wish to express my thanks to Hans and Gabi Schaumberger for their helping hand. Very important in establishing the first connections with Gumer speakers were Girma A. Demeke, Debela Goshu, Abubakr Sherifo and Seid Ahmed. I would like to thank my colleagues at the Department of Comparative Linguistics ⁸the former Department of General Linguistics⁹ at the University of Zürich for the many linguistic discussions and their support in general: Silvia ZauggCoretti, ɱer Baumann, Alexandra Herdeg, Mathias Jenny, ɳafael Suter, Tobias Weber and Fernando Zúñiga. And I am endebted to the late Karen H. Ebert who initiated the SNSF project and gave me the chance to undertake this adventure. I am also thankful for the numerous valuable discussions on various linguistic topics I had over the years with ɳonny Meyer, Joachim Crass, Ian Maddieson, Stephan Schmid, Ya’ar Hever, Christian ɳapold and many others, including the participants of workshops and conferences. vii Abbreviations * ? ¿ √ 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3, ⁸4⁹ Ѧ . . . . f  . . m ungrammatical form questionable form possible but rather dispreferred form root first, second, third person first, second, third, ⁸fourth⁹ consonant in a root ⁸spontaneous⁹ Amharic loan ⁸in glosses⁹ ablative təfocusing/coordinating ʽalsoʼ -m Amharic associative nəattribitivizer yəpast auxiliary banə ~ -βa past and past  banə ~ -βa benefactive comitative təcomplementizer copula converb m-converb t-converb dative yədefinite ⁸article⁹ demonstrative directional -nyə verb of existence feminine frequentative definite future -te indefinite future -ʃə goal -e imperative instrumental bəimperfective impersonal intransitive verb jussive converbal linker -ta ~ -tanə locative bəmasculine main verb marker -m malefactive-locative-instrumental viii p s negation ⁸primary⁹ object plural perfective plural possessive pragmatic praticles -a, -ʃ, -x prohibitive purposive -e relativizer yəsingular subject singular dummy head ‘thing’ kʼar transitive verb ix 1 Introduction 1.1 Scope of the thesis This thesis aims at describing the phonology and to a greater extent the morphology of Gumer, one of the many varieties that constitute the Gurage cluster of Ethiosemitic languages and dialects in Central Ethiopia. Gumer is closely related to Chaha, which is probably the best known and most studied among all ⁸Western⁹ Gurage varieties. In contrast, Gumer has virtually not received any attention so far, the main reason being that it is usually only considered a subdialect of Chaha or even the same as Chaha. Yet, despite the relatively numerous publications on Chaha, there is still no work deserving the name ‘grammar’ let alone ‘reference grammar’ of Chaha or any other Western Gurage variety. The present study pursues two main purposes by which I hope to fill some of the existing gaps and to contribute new insights to the overall knowledge we have about Gurage languages. On the one hand, this is the first time an extensive amount of data are collected that are specifically and exclusively Gumer and not, at best, “greater Chaha”. In order to be able to establish the ⁸presumably small⁹ differences between the two varieties, it was important to focus on those domains of the grammar that usually reveal dialectal differences the most. For that reason, the scope of this thesis is limited to a detailed a thorough documentation and description of the phonology and morphology of Gumer. This does not exclude the possibility that there are also differences in syntax, but it is quite probable that they would be even more subtle. However, for such a study a big corpus ⁸of spoken Gumer⁹ would be necessary, a task that exceeds the capacity of this thesis by far. On the other hand, as the title “Towards a grammar of Gumer” suggests, this thesis also intends to be an initial step towards a first comprehensive description of a Western Gurage variety. With this in mind, this study provides also occasional functional explanations supplementing the otherwise formal orientation of this study. 1.2 Gumer people and language Gumer is spoken in the Gumer wərəda ⁸district⁹ in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and ɱeople’s ɳegion ⁸SNNɱɳ⁹ of Ethiopia, approximately 130 km straight-line distance south-west of the country’s capital Addis Ababa. Alongside the gravel road from Welk’it’e to Hosaina, the Gumer speaking area roughly extends from Jemboro ⁸ʒəmbʷərə⁹ to the town of Arek’it’ ⁸arəkʼɨtʼ⁹. Midway between these two localities lies Mazoriya, a place where the road turns south. In twenty minutes walking distance north of Mazoriya there is a big mar There are two grammars of Eastern Gurage languages, namely on Zay ⁸Meyer 2005b⁹ and on Wolane ⁸Meyer 2006⁹.  More accurately it is called Gumer Mazoriya or Bole Mazoriya, məzoriya meaning simply ‘detour’ or ‘turning point’ in Amharic. 1 ket place with supra-regional importance called Bole or ewə gəbya. The region is about 3,000 meters above sea level and rather green and fertile. The landscape is characterized by successions of elongate ridges of hills on top of which the typical round houses are built alongside a broad middle way or public space called jəffʷərə. The Gumer extensively cultivate əssət ⁸enset, ensete ventricosum, “false banana”⁹, the common staple crop of the Gurage and many other peoples of southwest Ethiopia ⁸cf. Shack 1966⁹. The self- of the Gumer [gumər] is gʷəmarə. Their neighbors are speakers of other Gurage varieties: Chaha ⁸cəxa⁹ to the north-west, Ezha ⁸əʒa⁹ to the north, Muher ⁸mʷəxɨr⁹ to the north-east, Siltʼe ⁸sɨltʼe⁹ to the east, Gyeto ⁸gʸəta⁹ to the south, and Inor ⁸ɨnoːr⁹ to the south-west. The exact number of Gumer speakers is not known. According to the 2007 population and housing census ⁸FɳE 2008: 76⁹ there are about 80,000 people living in the Gumer wərəda. However, since the political borders and the linguistic confines do not necessarily correspond, the number of Gumer speakers may diverge considerably. According to the preceding population and housing census of 1994, which also has statistics of languages, there were 139,000 speakers of ‘Sebat Bet Gurage’ ⁸of which Gumer is one variety, see section 1.3⁹ in the Gumer wərəda. However, the Gumer wərəda seemingly has been divided recently and was bigger in 1994 including most Gyeto and parts of other groups. Lewis ⁸2009⁹ does not give any numbers for Gumer, but only for the other dialects of ‘Sebat Bet Gurage’ with a total of 440,000 speakers. Subtracting Lewis’s 80,000 Gyeto from 139,000 there would be roughly 60,000 Gumer speakers. This is less than the number of inhabitants of the Gumer wərəda in 2007, but taking into consideration rapid population growth a total of 80,000 speakers still seems quite reasonable. Nevertheless, due to the lack of reliable new statistics concerning languages, as well as other uncertain factors as for example migration to bigger cities outside the area or the fuzzy dialect borders especially between Gumer and Chaha, the actual number of speakers could differ significantly, even by several tens of thousands. The Gumer mostly adhere to the Christian or Muslim religion. The 1994 population and housing census reports that about 80⁵ of the population in the Gumer wərəda is Muslim. This is in contrast to the neighboring Chaha wərəda, where more than 50⁵ are Christians.  Often Gumer is also written Gumär, <ä> representing [ə]. Other spellings for gʷəmarə I have come across in the literature are: Gʷämära, Gʷämara, Gʷəmaro, Gomaro, Gwemarra. The Silt’e do not consider themselves Gurage ⁸any more⁹. In fact they are now organized in their own political administrative zone which officially split from the Gurage zone in 2001 ⁸Nishi 2005⁹. Also other groups do not call themselves Gurage, but refer to themselves by their respective group name ⁸Meyer 2011: 1221⁹. There are no maps or detailed figures available to me. 2 1.3 Classification of the language Gumer is a variety of Gurage and belongs to the South-Ethiosemitic ⁸also known as South Ethiopic⁹ division of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic phylum. The term Gurage does not stand for a uniform linguistic entity, but is used as a ⁸geographical⁹ designation for the southernmost Semitic speaking peoples surrounded by Cushitic and Omotic languages in a region roughly bordered by the “ɳift Valley lakes in the east, the ɳiver Awash in the north and the ɳiver Gibe in the west and southwest” ⁸Meyer 2011: 1220, referring to Hetzron 1972: 6f.; see also Goldenberg 2005: 924⁹. Afro-Asiatic > Semitic > South > Ethiopian > South South-Ethiosemitic South-Ethiosemitic Outer SE n-group † Gafat Transversal SE Harari-East Gurage Amharic Argobba tt-group Dobbi Muher Kistane East Gurage Harari | Zay Mesqan ɱWG/CWG Silt’e Western Gurage ɱeripheral Western Gurage Central Western Gurage | | Gumer Gyeto Chaha Inor Gura Endegeñ Ezha Ener † Mesmes Figure 1: South Ethiosemitic As can be seen in Figure 1, the Gurage varieties belong to both subbranches of South-Ethiosemitic, namely Outer South-Ethiosemitic and Transversal SouthEthiosemitic. Transversal South-Ethiosemitic consists of Amharic the national language of Ethiopia and the group Harari-East Gurage. East Gurage contains the languages Zay and Silt’e, including Wolane and others. The varieties of Outer South-Ethiosemitic are all considered to be Gurage except for the extinct Gafat. They share a number of typological features different from East Gurage and are called Gunnän-Gurage by Hetzron ⁸1977⁹. Genetically, Gafat, Kistane ⁸=Soddo⁹ 3 and Dobbi ⁸=Gog⁸g⁹ot⁹ form the n-group. The tt-group consists of Muher on the one hand and Western Gurage on the other hand. Western Gurage, in turn, contains Mesqan and the two groups Central Western Gurage and ɱeripheral Western Gurage. As for Gumer, it is part of Central Western Gurage together with Chaha, Ezha and Gura. The detailed classification of the Gurage varieties and in particular their status as dialects or distinct languages is still in debate. Muher, for example, has also been grouped together with Kistane and Dobbi as Northern Gurage ⁸though on typological grounds, cf. Hetzron 1977: 22⁹. In Lewis ⁸2009⁹, Muher appears at a completely different position. The tt-group is rearranged and divided into four different languages with several dialects: the extinct Mesmes, Mesqan, Inor with the dialects Endegeñ and Ener, and Sebat Bet Gurage with the dialects Chaha, Ezha, Gumer, Gura, Gyeto and Muher. The term Sebat Bet ⁸or səβat bet⁹ ‘Seven Houses/Tribes’, however, is usually not used as a language name but rather refers to a political confederation of the seven ⁸main⁹ groups of Western Gurage. Based on my own experiences with some of the Gurage varieties, I claim that Muher is the most divergent of these assumed dialects of Sebat Bet Gurage, whereas Gumer, Chaha and ⁸to a lesser extent⁹ Ezha are rather similar. 1.3.1 Gumer vs. Chaha There is no question that Gumer and Chaha are very closely related. Leslau ⁸1996: 111⁹ states that “there is no difference between Gumär and Čaha”, but this position is slightly too strict. There are some differences that indicate that these two varieties are best regarded as a dialect continuum, or following Hetzron ⁸1977: 4f.⁹ “Chaha and Gumer [...] should be considered two dialects of the same language”. ɳose ⁸2007: 403⁹ mentions that Gumer and Gura are subdialects of Chaha. However, according to a Gumer speaker, Gura is difficult to understand, while there seem to be no problems concerning the mutual intelligibility between Ezha and Gumer. This fact suggests that probably the whole Central Western Gurage group forms one dialect cluster. The Gumer and the Chaha are not only closely connected linguistically, but also in the Sebat Bet Gurage confederation they are represented by one common delegate and often subsumed under the term əgrangət cəxa, as expressed in the According to Hetzron ⁸1977: 23f.⁹, the division of Outer SE into the n-group and the tt-group is based on the different shape ⁸i.e. -n and -tt⁹ of the so-called main verb markers after ⁸historically⁹ long vowels. Note, however, that Mesqan and Central Western Gurage ⁸thus also Gumer⁹ have no traces of such a morpheme. It is not entirely clear which groups belong to Sebat Bet ⁸cf., for example, Shack 1966: 205f., Hetzron 1977: 4ff., Leslau 1979a: ix ff.⁹. One reason for Gura to be difficult to understand seems to be that any pre-stress consonant may be articulated with a glottal constriction ⁸Hetzron 1977: 43⁹, for example Gura bʔarəcʔənʔˈa vs. Gumer barəcənam ‘she told her’. But also the Gura texts in Hetzron ⁸1977: 216ff.⁹ suggest that it is more deviant from Chaha than Gumer. The word əgrangət is composed of əgr ‘foot’ and angət ‘neck’, which refer to the Chaha and 4 following Gumer sentence ⁸1⁹ taken from an account about the origins of the Sebat Bet Gurage. ⁸1⁹ cəxa tə-gʷəmarə ɨmmat-u, əgr-angət cəxa yɨ-wr-i. Chaha COM-Gumer only.one-COɱ.3smS foot-neck Chaha 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ‘Chaha and Gumer are the same, one calls them Egranget Chaha.’ Despite the close relation between Gumer and Chaha, people know which group they belong to.⁰ Nevertheless, it seems hardly possible to draw a clear dialectal boundary on linguistic grounds between them, as the speech of some Gumer speakers closer to the Chaha area tends to exhibit less features typical of Gumer. The boundary to the Ezha in the north seems easier to identify: there is, for example, a small village called yətəjyə, where a few of the about sixteen families speak Gumer, the majority speaking Ezha. The identified differences between Gumer and Chaha mainly concern phonology and morphology. They do not seem to diverge syntactically, but to substantiate this claim more research is needed. The following is a short summary of the differences ⁸cf. Völlmin 2009 for a more detailed description⁹. The sound [l] is rare in Gurage, but in Gumer it occurs more often than in Chaha. The enclitic present-tense copula ⁸↗ 3.19⁹ of 3pm and 3pf are -lo and -ləma in all environments, whereas in Chaha they are -ro/-rəma after vowels, -no/-nəma after consonants and -lo/-ləma after [r] ⁸Leslau 1983: 14⁹. Likewise, the benefactive suffixes ⁸↗ 3.12⁹ of the third persons singular and plural throughout start with an [l] ⁸-lə/-la/-lo/-ləma⁹ in Gumer, whereas in Chaha they have [r] instead of [l]. Similar to the copula, in Chaha there is an allomorph with [l] after final [r] only ⁸Hetzron 1977: 38⁹. The so-called ‘heavy’ set of the malefactive suffix ⁸↗ 3.12⁹ have a free variant with [k] instead of [p] in Chaha ⁸Banksira 2000: 262⁹. This k-variant seems to be the less frequent one in Chaha and, according to my own observations, absent in Gumer. The labialization of [β] always results in [w] in Chaha, but in Gumer also [bʷ] is heard. Chaha has the mid-open vowels [ɛ] and [ɔ]. They are usually the result of the combination a+y/i and a+w/u respectively, either within a lexeme or across morpheme boundaries. In Gumer, these combinations more often are realized as the diphthongs [ay] and [aw], but [ɛ] and [ɔ] are also heard ⁸↗ 2.2.1⁹. A characteristic of Ezha is its voiced geminates. In Chaha, on the other side, most geminates have undergone degemination and often also devoicing. Gumer represents a mixed type and stands between these two variants: ⁸historical⁹ gemGumer respectively indicating their relative altitude of settling, i.e. the Gumer are above the Chaha geographically ⁸cf. Shack ⁶ Marcos 1974: 39⁹. ⁰ Note, for example, that in the mid 19th century the Chaha belonged to the confederation of Amist Bet Gurage ⁸Five Houses⁹, the precedessor of Sebat Bet Gurage, but not the Gumer ⁸Shack 1966: 205⁹.  It is a well-known ⁸and amusing⁹ fact among the locals that the word jɨwə means ‘tail’ in Gumer, but ‘penis’ in Ezha. The Gumer speakers in yətəjyə try to avoid jɨwə given the presence of Ezha speakers in the same village. 5 inates have been devoiced as in Chaha, but degemination has not taken place under certain conditions. Most importantly, this concerns the penultimate radicals of verbs, which have preserved gemination whenever the final radical is short, i.e. in particular [r], or totally missing ⁸↗ 3.3.1⁹. 1.4 Previous studies Due to the fact that Gumer usually is considered a subdialect of Chaha and not the other way round ⁸cf., for example, Leslau 1969: 96⁹, it has not received much attention so far and there are only scant data available. Hetzron ⁸1977⁹ has one Gumer text, mentions several characteristic features of Gumer and even presents a paradigm of the present-tense copula. The same paradigm, which, however, does not conform to my data, is also found in Hetzron ⁸1972⁹. Meyer ⁸2007⁹ and Crass ⁶ Meyer ⁸2008⁹ contain a few Gumer data, and Meyer ⁸2005a⁹ is a short encyclopedia article on Gumer. Own publications on Gumer prior to the completion of this thesis are “Some dialectal differences between Gumer and Chaha ⁸Gurage⁹” ⁸Völlmin 2009⁹, “Benefactives and malefactives in Gumer ⁸Gurage⁹” ⁸Völlmin 2010a⁹, and “The so-called converbs in Gumer ⁸Gurage⁹” ⁸Völlmin 2010b⁹. Chaha, on the other hand, is probably the best documented Gurage variety. An early ⁸and for that reason completely outdated⁹ publication presenting very few data and a vocabulary list is Chiarini ⁸1887⁹. Since then, Chaha has repeatedly been the subject of studies, while other varieties have only been treated punctually or not at all. Wolf Leslau, a pioneer in Gurage studies, contributed many publications. The most important contribution is an etymological dictionary of Gurage in three volumes ⁸Leslau 1979a,b,c⁹, containing a great amount of lexical data of twelve Gurage varieties including Chaha, but not Gumer. Other works treating specific topics in Chaha grammar are Leslau ⁸1948, 1964, 1967, 1992, 1997⁹; Leslau ⁸1950, 1966, 1983⁹ also contain texts. Further articles dealing with Chaha include Banksira ⁸1999a,b⁹, Ford ⁸1991, 2003⁹, Kenstowicz ⁶ Banksira ⁸1999⁹, Lowenstamm ⁸1996, 2000⁹, McCarthy ⁸1983, 1986⁹, ɱetros ⁸1993, 1994, 1996a,b,c⁹, ɱrunet ⁶ ɱetros ⁸1996⁹, ɳose ⁸1994, 2000⁹, and Ueno ⁸2004⁹. Finally, among the newest publications are ɳose ⁸2007⁹, a concise summary of the Chaha morphology, and Banksira ⁸2000⁹, a noteworthy and quite exhaustive study of Chaha morphophonology. 1.5 Data and method Most of the data presented in this description were gathered during four different trips to Ethiopia between February 2006 and April 2008 with a total of six months in the field. Three subsequent trips in 2010 and 2011 of one month duration each were used to cross-check, verify and add data. In the early phase, the data collection took place mainly in Wolkite, the administrative center of the Gurage region, in a later phase more often in Addis Ababa, and of course in several Gumer villages in all phases. The villages such as keβaro, cʼacʼo in the north-western part, and dəwəʃe and xəttərat in the central part of Gumer are all located on the 6 northern side of the road Wolkite-Hosana between Jemboro ⁸ʒəmbʷərə⁹ and Bole ⁸ewə gəβya⁹. Gumer regions further south and in direction of the town of Arekʼitʼ ⁸arəkʼɨt’⁹ could not be included. The Gumer data were gathered mainly in two ways: on the one through elicitation primarily for vocabulary, word forms, verb paradigms and simple sentences , on the other by means of recording and transcribing conversations and stories. In a few recording sessions stimuli were used such as pictures and short clips of the projects ‘ / ʼ ⁸Bohnemeyer, Bowerman ⁶ Brown 2001⁹ and ‘ ʼ ⁸Bowerman, Gullberg, Majid ⁶ Narasimhan 2004⁹. Example sentences taken from recordings are as close as possible to the original utterances, but note that they are often edited and normalized, eliminating unnecessary repetitions, hesitations and obvious ⁸performance⁹ mistakes as well as mending unfinished sentences with the help of language consultants. The main language consultants ⁸the so-called ‘informants’⁹ and contacts to the Gumer villages were all young males in their ⁸early or late⁹ twenties residing in Wolkite or Addis Ababa. The storytellers of the recorded and transcribed texts were mostly older men above the age of fifty. 7 2 Phonology 2.1 Consonants Figure 2 shows the Gumer consonant inventory. Note ⁸a⁹ that the symbols as they are used here are based on the IɱA alphabet, but with some modifications ⁸for specifications of the phonetic qualities of some of them see below⁹; and ⁸b⁹ that not all of these consonants are fully independent phonemes: some of them have a restricted distribution or can be analyzed as allophones ⁸↗ 2.1.1-2.1.3⁹. labial alveolar stop palatalized labialized p b pʷ bʷ fricative palatalized labialized f nasal m mʷ labialized approximant fʷ tʼ cʼ s ʃ d j k kʸ kʷ z ʒ x xʸ xʷ kʼ kʼʸ kʼʷ g gʸ gʷ n β liquid glide t c velar r l w y Figure 2: Gumer consonant inventory Like many languages in the Horn of Africa, Gumer has ejectives ⁸Cʼ⁹ in addition to the plain consonants ⁸C⁹. Labials and velars can be labialized ⁸Cʷ⁹, whereas alveolars and velars have palatalized counterparts ⁸palatalized velars written with a superscript ʸ, i.e. Cʸ⁹. The consonant symbols that are not in accordance with IɱA include: the palatal affricates c, cʼ and j, which correspond to [ʧ], [ʧʼ] and [ʤ]; the glide y, which stands for [j], and accordingly the symbol for palatalization, which is a superscript ʸ rather than [ʲ]; and thus the palatalized velars [cʼ], [c], [ɟ], [ç], which are written here as kʼʸ, kʸ, gʸ, xʸ. The quality of r seems to come closest to an approximant [ɹ], especially in coda position ⁸Banksira 2000: 131⁹. Finally, according to Banksira ⁸2000: 2⁹ the bilabial represented as β is an approximant [β̞] in Chaha. In Gumer, however, this consonant seems to be slightly more closed.  Banksira ⁸2000: 2⁹ states that cʼ, c and j do not consist of two phases ⁸i.e. stop and fricative⁹ and differ in pronounciation from clusters tʼ+ʃ, t+ʃ and d+ʒ, respectively. For instance, the realization of tʃ in yɨ-t-ʃəkət ‘it gets better’ is different from c in yɨ-cəkkɨr ‘he cooks ⁸ ⁹’. While I agree that their pronounciations differ ⁸the ‘simple’ ones are ‘softer’⁹, I think that one cannot readily compare c with t+ʃ. In the latter case the sound is made up of two morphemes, a fact that may explain its ‘stronger’ realization. 8 This finding is supported by ⁸Hetzron 1977: 50⁹, who mentiones that b does not change to β in Gumer. ⁸On the distribution of β/b/p see also section 2.1.1⁹. Additionally to the above consonants, Gumer speakers marginally also use in loan words ⁸usually taken from Amharic⁹ the ejectives pʼ and sʼ as in itopʼya ‘Ethiopia’ and məsʼaf ‘book’, and the palatal nasal ɲ, mainly in the ⁸Amharic⁹ suffix -(ɲ)ɲa for language names like gʷɨragʷiɲa ‘Gurage ⁸language⁹’ or amarɨɲɲa ‘Amharic’. Further, I am aware of one instance of a glottal stop ʔ ⁸that is rather strong and clearly differs from a ‘normal’ onset of words beginning with vowels⁹, namely in ʔar, which is used in variation with kʼar ‘thing’. The following examples provide minimal or near-minimal pairs for most of the consonants in the contrasts voiceless vs. voiced ⁸2⁹, plain vs. ejective ⁸3⁹, plain vs. palatal ⁸4⁹, plain vs. labialized ⁸5⁹, and others ⁸6⁹. ⁸2⁹ voiceless vs. voiced tɨrəttərəm dɨrəttərəm ‘he tore’ ‘it thickened’ tən dən ‘smoke’ ‘stomach’ kɨβɨr gɨβɨr ‘respect ⁸ ⁹’ ‘objects, goods’ kəppam gəppam ‘he folded’ ‘he entered’ cəkkərəm jəkkʷərəm ‘he boiled’ ‘it wilted’ gʷəcə gʷəjə ‘appointment’ ‘hole, ditch, pit’ ərəkʸ ərəgʸ ‘I throw’ ‘throwǃ ⁸ kʸəkkʸərəm gʸəkkʸərəm ‘he held something in armpit’ ‘he straightened out’ kʷəncɨwə gʷəncə ‘small jar’ ‘hyena’ 2sm⁹’  The Gumer pronounciation of ‘Ethiopia’ ⁸Amharic: ityoppʼɨya⁹ varies: itopʼya ~ ɨtʼopʼya ~ ɨtopʼya.  Natively, sʼ is replaced with tʼ ⁸məsʼaf ~ mətʼaf ‘book’, sʼaf ~ tʼaf ‘write’⁹ and ɲ with n ⁸gʷɨragʷiɲa ~ gʷɨragʷina ‘Gurage ⁸language⁹’, amarɨɲɲa ~ amarina ‘Amharic’⁹.  The replacement of ejectives with glottal stops ⁸debuccalization⁹ occurred on a more regular basis in other Gurage varieties ⁸cf. Hetzron 1997: 537⁹, compare for example Inor bəʔər with Gumer bəkʼɨr ‘hundred’ or Inor ãʔãr with Gumer ɨntʼar ‘stick’. The case of Gumer ʔar ~ kʼar is probably a recent phenomenon seemingly found mainly with younger speakers. According to an informant, ʔar sounds more like Chaha. The phonological reduction may be explainable to some extent with its high frequency. 9 ⁸3⁹ kʷər gʷərə ‘saddle’ ‘season of agricultural activities’ sənam zənam ‘he arrived’ ‘he sowed’ sassam zassam ‘he became thin’ ‘he acted mad’ ʃɨr ʒɨr ‘legal argument’ ‘measurement of land’ baʃə bʷəʒə ‘sickness’ ‘lightning’ dappʷa sambʷa ‘kind of bread made from əssət’ ‘lung’ gʷɨppa abba ‘layer of stem of əssət’ ‘father’ plain vs. ejective tɨkkʷɨr tʼɨkʼʷɨr ‘cooked, boiled; a meal with cabbage and meat’ ‘black’ attərəm attʼərəm ‘he spent the night’ ‘he made a fence’ cənəcɨm cʼənəcɨm ‘she came’ ‘she gave birth’ gʷəncə kʼʷəncʼə ‘hyena’ ‘frog’ kaʃ kʼaʃ ‘divideǃ ⁸ 2s⁹’ ‘throw awayǃ ⁸ 2s⁹’ fəkkam fəkkʼam ‘he went away’ ‘he split ⁸wood⁹’ kʸəʃə-m kʼʸətʼəm ‘also a joke’ ‘he got tired’ akʸəsəm akkʼʸəm ‘he joked’ ‘he crunched grain’ kʷər kʼʷərə ‘saddle’ ‘roasted grain’ tɨkkʷɨr tʼɨkʼʷɨr ‘cooked’ ‘black’ 10 ⁸4⁹ plain vs. palatal tɨtot tɨcot ‘may she work’ ‘she works’ tənəm cənəm ‘he swore ⁸an oath⁹’ ‘he came’ tʼəkkʼʷərəm cʼəkʼʷrərə ‘it became black’ ‘early morning’ kʼəntʼəm kʼʷəncʼə-m ‘he punished’ ‘also a frog’ tədanəgom təjanəgom ‘they hit one another’ ‘they bumped into each other’ dəppərəm jəppərəm ‘he added’ ‘he finished’ sat ʃat ‘hour’ ‘bee-hive’ səkkərəm ʃəkkərəm ‘he got drunk’ ‘he changed’ zər ʒəra ‘rainy season; seed’ ‘light brown ⁸cattle⁹’ tɨzor tɨʒor ‘let her go around’ ‘she goes around’ tafʷəkɨk tafʷəkʸɨkʸ ‘you ⁸sm⁹ crawl on all fours’ ‘you ⁸s⁹ crawl on all fours’ məkkərəm məkkʸərəm ‘he gave advise’ ‘he set fire’ tɨfəkʼ tɨfəkʼʸ ‘she scrapes’ ‘you ⁸2s⁹ scrape’ kʼəttʼam kʼʸətʼəm ‘he punished’ ‘he got tired’ gɨβt gʸɨβat ‘hal’ ‘horse riding’ gənəzəm gʸənəzəm ‘he grew old’ ‘he cut into big slice’ təxəttərəm təxʸəttərəm ‘he covered’ ‘he followed’ yə-x yəxʸ ‘of that’ ‘here you ⁸s⁹ areǃ’ 11 ⁸5⁹ plain vs. labialized bər bʷəra ‘door’ ‘cow with white spot on forehead’ bɨʃa bʷɨʃe ‘red’ ‘evil’ jippə cʼɨppʷə ‘mat’ ‘parings of the əssət-root’ tʼəppam tʼəppʷəm ‘he skinned’ ‘he sucked’ kərə kʷər ‘day’ ‘saddle’ cəkkərəm jəkkʷərəm ‘he boiled’ ‘it wilted’ kʼənəm kʼʷənəm ‘he vanished’ ‘he roasted kʼəmətʼ kʼʷəmət ‘shame’ ‘calabash’ gɨppe gʷɨppa ‘enclosure’ ‘layer of stem of əssət’ gɨyə gʷəyə ‘dog’ ‘main house’ axə-m axʷəm ‘also you ⁸2sm⁹’ ‘he spilled ⁸ ⁹’ xɨmmu xʷɨmma ‘here it is’ ‘elbow’ cəffərəm jəffʷərə-m ‘he gave a mouthful’ ‘also public space’ tifə tʼɨfʷə ‘slap into face’ ‘bad’ mena mʷena ‘work, job’ ‘uncle ⁸maternal side⁹’ yɨtəm y-ətəmʷ ‘it tastes sweet’ ‘of sister’  In Leslau ⁸1979c: 161⁹ one finds buʃe.  In Leslau ⁸1979c: 365⁹ one finds xumma for Chaha and xʷɨmma for Ezha. 12 ⁸6⁹ others dəm dən ‘blood’ ‘belly’ kʼʷəmmərəm kʼʷənnərəm ‘he became strong’ ‘he trimmed’ cʼamma kʼʸamma ‘shoe’ ‘guarantor’ accʼəm akkʼʸəm ‘he shut’ ‘he crunched grain’ gʷəla gʷərə ‘horse pen’ ‘season of agricultural activities’ oʃa oxʸə ‘careless’ ‘Ohye ⁸subgroup of Gurage⁹’ bɨʃa bɨxʸə ‘red’ ‘mourning, funeral’ əxʷa əkkʷa ‘now’ ‘today’ gɨyə gɨwa ‘dog’ ‘cheapʼ tɨyəm tɨwə-m ‘he was visible’ ‘also hard’ 2.1.1 Distribution of β, b and p Following Banksira ⁸2000: 7⁹, β, b and p are largely allophones of /β/. The voiceless plosive [p] generally originates from a geminated /β/. It occurs as the mutated ⁸↗ 3.3.1⁹ penultimate radical of a verb root, either geminated ⁸7a⁹ or degeminated ⁸7b⁹, as the heavy malefactive ⁸↗ 3.12⁹ suffix ⁸7c⁹, but also in nominals ⁸7d⁹, which usually have counterparts in other Guarge varieties with bb instead of pp or p. ⁸7⁹ a. b. c. d. səppərəm ‘he broke’ sɨrəpətəm ‘he spent some time’ cəno-pi-m ‘they came to my detriment’ gʷəppay ‘brother’ ⁸cf. yɨsəβɨr ‘he breaks’⁹ ⁸cf. yə-səmbɨt ‘let him spend some time’⁹ ⁸cf. cənə-βi-m ‘he came to my detriment’⁹ ⁸cf. Ezha gʷəbbe, Leslau 1979b: 90⁹  More precisely, the Ohye ⁸or Oçe⁹ are a subgroup of Muher ⁸Meyer 2011: 1222⁹. 13 There are occasional loans with p ⁸especially word-initially⁹; however, a p that does not originate in a geminate β is usually replaced either by f as in folis ‘police’ or by b as in basta ‘spaghetti’ ⁸< pasta⁹ and bawnd ‘ten birr’ ⁸< pound⁹. The voiced plosive [b] ⁸or ‘strengthened’, cf. Banksira 2000: 159ff.⁹ occurs in geminates ⁸there is no [ββ]⁹ that have not been devoiced ⁸8a⁹, or in ⁸underlying⁹ voiced ‘geminates’ that have been degeminated ⁸8b⁹. These two instances are relatively rare, since most ‘geminate’ /ββ/ are devoiced to [p⁸p⁹] ⁸as seen in ⁸7⁹⁹. Further, all word-initial /β/ are realized as [b] ⁸8a⁹-⁸8c⁹, as well as all β following a nasal ⁸8d⁹. ⁸8⁹ a. b. c. d. abba tʼəbəsəm bəsər ambɨkʼ ‘father’ ‘he roasted’ ‘meat’ ‘cold, flu’ gʸəbbərəm ‘he paid taxes’ banə wəmbər ‘he was’ ‘live ⁸ ⁹’ In all other cases, /β/ is realized as the approximant [β], i.e. word-internally not following a nasal ⁸9a⁹ or word-finally ⁸9d⁹. ⁸9⁹ a. b. c. d. əcβa nɨβrət səβat səβ ‘central pillar of the house’ ‘live, living’ ‘seven’ ‘person’ If any prefix is added to a word-initial b, it is realized as [β] like all word-internal, ‘non-geminated’ /β/. ⁸10⁹ a. b. bə-βarə yə-βər ‘if he said’ ‘let him say’ ⁸cf. barəm ‘he said’⁹ ⁸cf. bərǃ ‘sayǃ’⁹ When labialized, /β/ usually becomes [w]. Some speakers, however, occasionally realize it as [bʷ], i.e. it is strengthened ⁸and never *[βʷ]⁹. ⁸11⁹ yɨ-β ‘he gives’ yɨ-w-ɨn ~ yɨ-bʷ-ɨn ‘he gives him’ However, it is worth mentioning that, since the distribution of [b] and [β] is predictable, it is not necessary to distinguish them in notation. As far as I understand, there is only one instance in Chaha where β contrasts unpredictably with b, namely in the verb tʼəβətʼ ‘take, hold’ ⁸Banksira 2000: 52⁹ where the penultimate radical exceptionally does not geminate or mutate, in contrast to, for instance, tʼəbəs ‘roast’ or ʃəpət ‘choose’. Based on this one exception, the distinctive use of <β> and <b> is justified. Nevertheless, according to my observations, with many Gumer speakers it is hardly possible to distinguish the pronunciation of the voiced  The distinction of [b]/[β] vs. [p] is not predictable in all cases. There are geminate penultimate radicals [bb] that are not devoiced to [pp] as the rule would suggest, for example gʸəbbər ‘pay taxes’ vs. jəppər ‘finish’. Further, [p] can occur in some loans. Thus, the use of the symbol <p> is required and cannot be represented by <b>. 14 bilabial in tʼəβətʼə and tʼəbəsə, i.e. they are either tʼəβətʼə and tʼəβəsə or ⁸rather⁹ tʼəbətʼə and tʼəbəsə. Further, in both verbs the β/b can become bʷ when labialized, as in ⁸11⁹, which in Chaha would be impossible with tʼəβətʼə and the normal case with tʼəbəsə. Also in the novel yəcʼamut ʃɨka <የጫሙት ሽካ> ⁸Gabreyesus 1960 E.C.⁹, which is written in Chaha, one can find tʼəwəʃim <ጠወሺም> ‘one roasted’ ⁸p. 280⁹ instead of expected tʼəbʷəʃim, i.e. the same consonant as in tʼɨwtʼɨnɨm <ጥውጥንም> ‘take him and’ ⁸p. 29⁹. These facts indicate that there tends to be no substantial ⁸or phonological⁹ difference between these bilabials that make a distinction in notation necessary. Nevertheless, in accordance with Banksira and others, β and b are both used here until more clarity is reached regarding their phonemic status in Gumer. 2.1.2 Distribution of x and k Banksira ⁸2000: 91ff.⁹ discusses the distribution of x and k in Chaha and argues that they are not contrastive. He assumes a phoneme /x/, of which [x] and [k] are allophones ⁸note that [k] is also an allophone of /g/⁹. This analysis is supported by the fact that there are probably no other ⁸real⁹ minimal pairs than the examples in ⁸12⁹.⁰ ⁸12⁹ xənam kənam ‘he put/prohibited’ ‘he ascended ⁸ ⁹’ axənam akənam ‘he shouted’ ‘he ascended ⁸ ⁹’ Although Banksira can explain many occurrences of k, some exceptions or problematic cases remain. For instance, there is no satisfactory explanation for the alternation of x and k in ɨxa ‘water’ and tɨkə ‘child’ respectively. Ignoring such difficulties, there are two main instances where k occurs rather than x. Firstly, k is the mutated ⁸↗ 3.3.1⁹ or geminated form of x, i.e. as the penultimate radical in verbs x alternates with k in certain templates: ⁸13⁹ nəkəβəm yɨrəxɨβ yənxəβ ‘he found’ ‘he finds’ ‘let him find’ Also, in other contexts, there is hardly ever a geminated *xx but only kk: ⁸14⁹ ɨkkɨm əkkʷa ‘merely, just’ ‘today’ Across morpheme boundaries x+x do not strengthen to k or kk, but remain xx ⁸15⁹. The ɱerfective subject suffix 1s -x and the 2nd person primary object suffixes -xə, ⁰ Banksira ⁸2000: 108⁹ explains the occurrence of k in (a)kəna in that it etymologically stems from the ejective [kʼ].  One exception is the verb xʷɨrəxxʷər ‘take out earwax’ ⁸*xʷɨrəkkʷər⁹ with geminated but not occlusivized xx as penultimate radical. 15 -xʸ, -xu, -xəma added to it, however, fuse to ⁸non-geminated⁹ -kə, -kʸ, -ku, -kəma ⁸16⁹ ⁸↗ 3.12.1.1⁹. ⁸15⁹ manəx-xə-m (*manək-kə-m) capture.ɱFV-2smS-M ‘you captured’ ⁸16⁹ < *od-x-xə-m od-kə-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.2smO-M tell.ɱFV-1sS-2smO-M ‘I told you’ Secondly, at least in verb stems, k occurs when followed by a fricative ⁸f, s, z, x⁹ ⁸17⁹, or by the vowel a ⁸or ə⁹ that is the reflex of a ⁸laryngeal⁹ root consonant that diachronically got lost ⁸18⁹. If there is no following a/ə or fricative, the verb features x rather than k ⁸19⁹. ⁸17⁹ kəfətəm yɨrəks ⁸*xəfətəm⁹ ⁸*yɨrəxs⁹ ‘he opened’ ‘he bites’ ⁸18⁹ kasəm yɨfəka ⁸*xasəm⁹ ⁸*yɨfəxa⁹ ‘he paid’ ‘he escapes’ ⁸19⁹ xənəməm ⁸*kənəməm⁹ yɨβəxɨr ⁸*yɨβəkɨr⁹ ‘he stayed a year’ ‘he loses’ If one adopts the idea that all surfacing k in verbs are underlying x, this rule explains the occurrence of k as a penultimate verb radical where according to the template the non-mutated form ⁸i.e. x⁹ is expected. The three forms in column ⁸a⁹ of ⁸20⁹ show the ‘normal’ pattern of a type A verb with the mutated penultimate radical only in the ɱerfective. The verb in column ⁸b⁹ is also of type A; nevertheless, it differs from the first one in that there is a fricative s following the velar, which consequently is realized as k in every case. Example ⁸21⁹ illustrates the same phenomenon with two verbs that have a vowel a instead of a consonantal radical. Again, both verbs belong to the same verb type A with mutation of the penultimate radical only in the ɱerfective, as is evident in ⁸a⁹ where the Imperfective and Jussive feature the underlying, non-mutated g. In turn, the verb in ⁸b⁹ has an underlying penultimate radical x, which is realized as k in all forms, contrary to the prediction of the template of verb type A. ⁸20⁹ a. nəkəβəm yɨrəxɨβ yənxəβ ⁸21⁹ a. wəkkam yɨwəga yəga ‘he found’ ‘he finds’ ‘let him find’ b. nəkəsəm yɨrəks yənkɨs ‘he bit’ ‘he bites’ ‘let him bite’ ‘he stabbed’ ‘he stabs’ ‘let him stab’ b. fəkkam yɨfəka yəfka ‘he escaped’ ‘he escapes’ ‘let him escape’ 16 However, even though the occurrence of k vs. x in verbs can be predicted for almost all instances, I do not assume that the roots of verbs like nəkəs ‘bite’ and fəkka ‘escape’ with penultimate k, as well as verbs with initial k like kəfət ‘open’, contain an underlying radical x. ɳather, their respective roots are √rks, √fkA and √kft, mainly due to the fact that the velar k never changes to or contrasts with x. 2.1.3 Distribution of r and n (and l) Banksira ⁸2000: 125ff.⁹ discusses the status of r and n ⁸in Chaha⁹ and shows that the contrast between them is neutralized in several cases. In particular, their distribution is complementary in verb bases, where, following Banksira’s analysis, r and n are represented by a single phoneme /r/, which is either realized as r or undergoes nasalization, i.e. it is realized as n. Nasalization in verb bases occurs in three instances: word-initially, as ‘geminate’ ⁸or mutated, see section 3.3.1⁹ penultimate radical, and in penultimate coda position. In parts of speech other than verb bases, however, one can find minimal pairs in non-initial position, showing the ⁸partial⁹ phonemic status of r and n: ⁸22⁹ kərə kənə ‘day’ ‘right’ mʷar mʷan ‘share’ ‘who’ 2.1.3.1 Initial nasalization Word-initially, /r/ is realized as n without exception, i.e. not only in verb bases but in all word classes ⁸apart from occasional Amharic loans⁹. This ⁸diachronically emerged development⁹ can be illustrated by the following three Gumer lexemes, which all begin in n, but have counterparts in Amharic with either initial n or r. This also includes l, which is rare in Gurage. ⁸23⁹ Gumer nədədəm nəddam naxəm Amharic nəddədə rədda lakə ‘it burnt’ ‘he helped’ ‘he sent’ When preceded by any affix, an otherwise word-initial n surfaces as r, illustrated in ⁸24⁹ by the attributivizer yə- prefixed to a noun. ⁸24⁹ nɨgʷɨs yə-rgʷɨs ‘king’ ‘of the king’ The same contrast of initial n vs. non-initial r in verb bases is exemplified in ⁸25⁹ with a plain ɱerfective verb and two derived stems. In ⁸26⁹, forms of the same verb with the prefixes bə- and yə- are shown, and ⁸27⁹ illustrates a ɱerfective verb in contrast to the Imperfective and Jussive, which have prefixed subject markers. 17 ⁸25⁹ nəgədom tə-ragədom at-ragədom ‘they touched’ ‘they touched each other’ ‘they caused to touch each other’ ⁸26⁹ bə-rəgʷəj-ɨn yə-rəgədə-ndə ‘if one touches me’ ‘who touched us’ ⁸27⁹ nəzəzəm yɨ-rəzɨz yə-rzəz ‘he dreamt’ ‘he dreams’ ‘let him dream’ 2.1.3.2 ‘Geminate’ nasalization In verbs, the penultimate radical is mutated in certain templates ⁸↗ 3.3.1, 3.4.1⁹. The mutated form of r is n, i.e. it is nasalized. This mutation goes back to gemination ⁸hence Banksira’s designation ‘geminate nasalization’⁹, which in Gumer has been degeminated in most but not all instances, leaving behind a simplex n or a still geminated nn. As exemplified in ⁸28⁹ with the verb tənəf ‘remain’, which is based on the root √trf, the penultimate r mutates/nasalizes to n in the ɱerfective, whereas the Imperfective and Jussive templates for this verb do not require mutation and the underlying r surfaces in these two forms. ⁸28⁹ tənəfəm yɨtərf yətrəf ‘he remained’ ‘he remains’ ‘let him remain’ 2.1.3.3 Nasalization in penultimate coda position Another instance of nasalization of r to n ⁸which cannot be accounted for by initial or ‘geminate’ nasalization⁹ is in the coda position of the penultimate syllable within a verb base. This is illustrated with the triradical verb nətʼəkʼ ‘snatch’ ⁸√rtʼkʼ⁹ in ⁸29⁹: as expected, a word-initial n in the ɱerfective alternates with a word-internal r in the Imperfective. In the Jussive, however, the consonant in question is realized as n despite its non-initial position. Due to the pattern of the Jussive, the r forms the coda of the penultimate syllable within the verb base ⁸yən.tʼɨkʼ⁹, where it is nasalized. Note that this is in contrast to the nominal yər.gʷɨs ‘of the king’ in ⁸24⁹ above, where the r does not nasalize despite being in the same syllable position. ⁸29⁹ nə.tʼə.kʼəm yɨ.rə.tʼɨkʼ yən.tʼɨkʼ ‘he snatched’ ‘he sntaches’ ‘let him snatch’  ɳeportedly speakers in the southern part of Gumer close to the town of Arek’it’ rather do not apply the ‘penultimate coda position’ rule but would say, for example, yərfɨg instead of yənfɨg ‘let him be greedy’. 18 Also in quadriradical verbs like dɨrəkkər ⁸√drgr⁹ ‘throw away’, r nasalizes to n in penultimate coda position. dɨ.rək.kə.rəm ‘he threw away’ yɨd.rək.kɨr ‘he throws away’ yə.dən.gɨr ‘let him throw away’ ⁸30⁹ There are exceptions to the penultimate coda position rule. If the root contains the labial nasal m, the r in penultimate coda position does not nasalize: ⁸31⁹ yər.məd yə.gər.dɨm ⁸*yənməd⁹ ⁸*yəgəndɨm⁹ ‘let him love’ ‘let him break something in two’ Also, contradictory to Banksira ⁸2000: 139⁹, I have recorded instances of verbs with two identical final radicals like nədəd ‘burn ⁸ ⁹’ ⁸√rdd⁹ where the first radical r is not nasalized. However, it seems that both variants coexist in Gumer. ⁸32⁹ yər.dəd yər.zəz ~ yən.dəd ~ ⁸? yən.zəz⁹ ‘let it burn’ ‘let him dream’ Further, quadriradical verbs with two identical final radicals like dɨrəzəz ‘be blunt’ ⁸√drzz⁹ or total reduplication like xʷɨrəxxʷər ‘take out earwax’ ⁸√xʷrxʷr⁹ usually do not nasalize ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 139f.⁹. ⁸33⁹ yə.dər.zɨz ⁸*yə.dən.zɨz⁹ ‘let it be blunt’ yə.xʷər.xʷɨr ⁸*yə.xʷən.xʷɨr⁹ ‘let him take out earwax’ Some verbs feature nasalized r n even though it is not in the coda position of the penultimate syllable. ɳather it forms the second but last consonant of the verb base ⁸34⁹. Following Banksira’s ⁸2000: 135f.⁹ analysis, this is the case with palatalized and labialized final consonants, which are complex, consisting of a plosive and an underlying radical y ⁸=/I/⁹ or w ⁸=/U/⁹. Thus, these two radicals together correspond to the ultimate syllable, the nasalized r originally occupying the penultimate coda position ⁸for example *yə.zən.gi > yəzəngʸ ⁹. ⁸34⁹ yəncʼ yəzəngʸ yənkʼʷ ⁸*yərcʼ⁹ ⁸*yəzərgʸ ⁹ ⁸*yərkʼʷ ⁹ ‘let him pluck’ ‘let him speak’ ‘let him shout’ ⁸cf. nəccʼəm, yɨrəcʼ⁹ ⁸cf. zɨrəkkʸəm, yɨzrəkʸ ⁹ ⁸cf. nəkkʼʷəm, yɨrəkʼʷ ⁹ Affixes do not affect penultimate coda nasalization: if a suffix changes the syllable structure such that an r of the verbal base becomes the penultimate syllable coda of the word ⁸35⁹, it does not nasalize ⁸a⁹. Similarly, if n is not any longer the coda of the penultimate syllable of the whole word due to a suffix, it still remains n and does not change back to r ⁸b⁹.  One exception is dɨrəttər ‘be stout, thick’ ⁸√drdr⁹ with the Jussive yə.dən.dɨr ⁸*yə.dər.dɨr⁹. 19 ⁸35⁹ a. yɨ.tərf b. yən.tʼɨ.kʼ yɨ.tər.f-o yən.tʼɨ.kʼ-ə.ma ⁸*yɨ.tən.f-o⁹ ⁸*yər.tʼɨ.kʼ-ə.ma⁹ ‘they remain’ ‘let them ⁸⁹ snatch’ In many cases, penultimate coda nasalization also seems to apply for nouns: ⁸36⁹ ‘chili’ ‘beard’ ‘stomach-ache’ a.fin.jə kɨn.cɨf mən.kəs ⁸cf. nəkəsəm, yɨrəks, yənkəs ‘bite’⁹ At least for some possible counterexamples to this rule like fɨrtʼət ‘headache’ the explanation is found in the fact that they consist of a root/base ⁸fɨrtʼ-; cf. fəntʼ √frtʼ ‘have headache’⁹ and a suffix ⁸-ət⁹ ⁸↗ 4.1, ⁸618⁹⁹. Since suffixes do not affect the rule, the consonant in question is not in penultimate coda position and does therefore not nasalize. 2.1.4 Assimilation 2.1.4.1 Assimilation of n If followed by a consonant, the nasal n assimilates to its point of articulation, thus the symbol n as it is used here in the ‘orthography’ can stand for [n, , ŋ]. ⁸37⁹ alveolar palatal velar sənda dengʸa ɨnkʼʷɨra [sənda] ‘knife’ [deɲɟa] ‘children’ [ɨŋkʼʷɨra] ‘egg’ A nasal followed by a bilabial consonant becomes [m]. In addition, β after nasal always strengthens to b. Before f the nasal is pronounced [ ]. Both instances are written here as m. ⁸38⁹ bilabial labio-dental yə-mbər sambʷa ɨmfas [ɨɱfas] ‘let him live’ ⁸cf. yɨ-rəβɨr ‘he lives’⁹ ‘lung’ ‘wind, air’ ⁸cf. Amharic nəfas⁹ Note that the mutated penultimate radical r→n that underwent ‘geminate’ nasalization in the verb cʼənəf ‘cut off the top’ ⁸√tʼ r⁹ seemingly does not assimilate to the directly following bilabial f in the Imperfective and Jussive. ⁸39⁹ yɨcʼənf ⁸*yɨcʼəmf ⁹ yətʼənf ⁸*yətʼəmf ⁹ ‘he cuts off the top’ ‘let him cut off the top’  Banksira ⁸2000: 1, 22⁹ also uses [ ] classifying it as alveo-palatal. However, IɱA [ ] stands for a retroflex nasal. Gumer does not have retroflex sounds, neither nasals nor obstruents a nasal could assimilate to. I assume Banksira’s use of [ ] is to signify a sound that is more palatal than [n] but less than [ ] to differenciate, for example, gʷəncə [gʷə ʧə] ‘hyena’ from kʼʸɨnkʼʸə [cʼɨ cʼə] ‘stone ⁸of fruit⁹, seed’. In my opinion, however, the former should be [gʷə ʧə]. 20 If n meets w ⁸across morpheme boundaries⁹, as is for instance the case with the negation marker an- ⁸↗ 3.15.1⁹ or the 1s marker -n- after any other prefix ⁸↗ 3.11.6.3⁹ and a verb with initial w, there are two possible outputs due to the fact that w is characterized as a labio-velar approximant with two points of articulation ⁸International ɱhonetic Assiociation 1999: ix, 17⁹. Thus, either the nasal is pronounced as a velar nasal [ŋ], or it becomes labial and the following w is occlusivized to bʷ ⁸40⁹. ⁸40⁹ /t-n-wər/ tɨ-n-wər [tɨŋwər] ~ tɨ-m-bʷər [tɨmbʷər] TEMɱ-1sS-spend.the.day.IɱFV ‘when I spend the day’ Consider also the following examples, illustrating the two variants with a negated ɱerfective ⁸41⁹ and a negated Imperfective 1p ⁸42⁹. ⁸41⁹ /an-wəttʼa-xʷ/ [ãŋwəttʼaxʷ] ~ [ambʷəttʼaxʷ] NEG-go.down.ɱFV-1sS ‘I did not go down’ ⁸42⁹ /a-n-wəga-nə/ [aŋwəganə] ~ [ambʷganə] NEG-1S-fight.IɱFV-1pS ‘we do not fight’ Finally, ⁸43⁹ shows that also a β that is labialized to w due to the 3sm suffix -n produces both outputs when preceded by a nasal as the 1s prefix n- 1s . ⁸43⁹ ə-βɨr ‘I say’ 1sS-say.IɱFV ə-wɨn-n ‘I say to him’ 1sS-say.IɱFV-3smO /b-n-βʷɨr-n/ ‘when I say to him’ TEMɱ-1sS-say.IɱFV-3smO [bɨmbʷɨnn] ~ [bɨŋwɨnn] 2.1.4.2 Assimilation of r to n and l (across morpheme boundaries) A stem-final r and a following suffix beginning with n or l assimilate to the pseudo-geminates nn and ll respectively. ⁸44⁹ ⁸< jəppər-nə-m⁹ jəppən-nə-m finish.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘we finished’ 21 ⁸< yɨ-xər-ni⁹ yɨ-xən-ni 3smS-become.IɱFV-BEN.1s ‘it is possible for me, I can’ ⁸< yɨ-xər-la⁹ yɨ-xəl-la 3smS-become.IɱFV-BEN.3sf ‘it is possible for her, she can’ ⁸< kʼar-lo⁹ wəxe kʼal-lo good THING-COɱ.3pmS ‘they are good ⁸things⁹’ ⁸< fʷɨr-lo⁹ fʷɨl-lo mouse-COɱ.3pmS ‘they are mice’ A final l ⁸as can occur in Amharic loans⁹ and a following n also assimilate to the pseudo-geminate nn. ⁸45⁹ ⁸< an-dəwwəl-nɨkʸ ⁹ an-dəwwən-nɨkʸ NEG-phoneѦ .ɱFV-1sS.BEN.2sf ‘I did not call you ⁸s⁹’ A base initial r and a directly preceding n also assimilate to nn, as the 1p prefix n- in ⁸46⁹ or the prohibitive marker ɨn- in ⁸47⁹. ⁸46⁹ ⁸< tɨ-n-rəβɨr-nə⁹ tɨ-n-nəβɨn-nə TEMɱ-1pS-live.IɱFV-1pS ‘when we were living’ ⁸47⁹ ⁸< ɨn-rəgəd-xə⁹ ɨn-nəgəd-xə ɱɳOHIB-touch.ɱFV-2sS ‘don’t touchǃ’ Assimilation of r and n to nn is even attested across word boundaries. ⁸48⁹ ⁸< mɨr n-ami⁹ mɨn=n-ami what=1sS-do.JUS ‘what should I do’  In Völlmin ⁸2009: 85⁹ there is an example xɨno ɨmar-lo ‘they are donkeys’ without assimilation. However, it seems that this only happens with slow or careful pronunciation, and if then only with nouns. Normally, final r of any word class assimilate to a following l; further examples are accʼɨl-lo ⁸< accʼɨr-lo⁹ ‘they are short’, bə-βəl-lo ⁸< bər-lo⁹ ‘they are in the river’, assɨl-lo ⁸< assɨr-lo⁹ ‘they are ten’, bə-βet fʷəl-lo ⁸< fʷər-lo⁹ ‘they are on top of the house’. 22 2.1.4.3 Other cases of assimilation Marginally, r can assimilate to s as in ɨrsɨyə ‘little’, which occasionally is pronounced as ɨssɨyə. Further, in the Jussive base of the verb tərəssa, r and s are contracted to təssa ⁸tərəsa tərsa təssa⁹. The assimilation of t(ə)- to the following consonant is described in section 3.6.1.2. 2.2 Vowels The Gumer vowel inventory illustrated in Figure 3 comprises the seven vowels that occur in all Gurage dialects ⁸Leslau 1979c: xv⁹, and very marginally the openmid vowels ɛ and ɔ. There is no phonemic distinction of vowel length , and Gumer does not have tones. front close i close-mid e open-mid ⁸ɛ⁹ open central ɨ ə back u o ⁸ɔ⁹ a Figure 3: Gumer vowel inventory In addition, vowels can also occur nasalized. Nasalization is not distinctive, but there are a few lexemes with nasal vowels as for example ãfʷ ‘bird; mouth’. Otherwise, a vowel can become nasalized when it is followed by /n/+C, with or without complete disappearance of the nasal consonant ⁸cf., for example, 3.15.2⁹. This can be within a lexeme ⁸49a⁹, or across morpheme boundaries ⁸49b⁹. ɳather frequent is the nasalization with the negation an- ⁸49c⁹. The morpheme -m of the m-converb ⁸↗ 3.14.2⁹ often assimilates to a following -ta(nə) becoming n, which then can nasalize the preceding vowel ⁸49d⁹. An instance of nasalization without complete loss of the nasal consonant is illustrated in ⁸49e⁹ with the benefactive marker -n followed by the object suffix -ku ‘you ⁸pm⁹’. ⁸49⁹ a. b. c. ‘breakfast’ ‘they are ⁸from a⁹ country’ ‘it is not’ gɨ̃nzɨr ~ gɨnzɨr gə̃llo ~ gənlo ⁸< gən-l-o⁹ ãxərə ⁸< an-xər-ə⁹  Leslau ⁸1979c: xix⁹ mentions two instances of a long ɛː, bɛː bar ‘bleat’ and mɛː bar ‘bleat’, but these are clearly of onomatopoetic origin; further a long oː in oː ~ yoː ‘yes’ ⁸cf. also Leslau 1979c: 1⁹. For Gumer I have recorded oː and oːk, both ‘yes’, and yoː ‘yesǃ ⁸as an answer when being called⁹’.  Other examples are: ãfʷar ‘kind of tree’, ãfʷɨna ‘nose’, ãfʷat ‘odor’, ãfʷɨraxʷə ‘pregnant ⁸of animals⁹’, ɨ̃fʷɨyə ‘content of both hands with palms up’, zãfʷa ‘afterbirth of cattle’. Note that they involve a labialized f. The tree name ãfʷar could be derived from of ‘mouth’, as well as ãfʷɨna ‘nose’ and ãfʷat ‘odor’. 23 d. e. dəwwəlõta ⁸< dəwwəl-o-n-ta < dəwwəl-o-m-ta⁹ yɨsrəβõnku ⁸< yɨ-srə-βo-n-ku⁹ ‘they called and’ ‘they buy for you’ An important observation concerns the frequency of the vowels. Despite the fact that Gumer exhibits a symmetrical distribution of the vowels in terms of their place of articulation, the actual frequency of the front and back vowels is significantly lower than that of the central ones. For Chaha, Banksira ⁸2000: xxx⁹ calculated a 1 : 26 : 1.23 ratio of the front, central and back vowels, respectively, i.e. the central vowels occur over ten times more often than the front and back vowels taken together. A quick calculation of my own Gumer data ⁸both in dictionary and texts⁹ showed a similar though slightly lower ratio, the frequency of the three central vowels ɨ, ə and a being approximately ten times higher. Contrary to Banksira, however, in my sample the front vowels occur more often than the back vowels. The reason for this disproportionate frequency lies in the special behavior of the front and particularly the back vowels. In many cases, the back vowels u and o cause labialization of a labializable consonant, and similarly the front vowels i and e can cause palatalization of a palatalizable consonant, the consequence of which is the “disappearance” of the vowels. To explain this phenomenon, Banksira ⁸2000: xxx, 3⁹ assumes two abstract phonemes /U/ and /I/. On the one hand, they represent the glides w and y, respectively, and on the other hand, the vowels u and i. Further, the mid vowels are in most cases biphonemic, i.e. the vowel e is a combination of /ə/+/I/, the vowel o of /ə/+/U/, and the open-mid vowels ɛ and ɔ are the fusion of /a/+/I/ and /a/+/U/. The latter two are only marginal in Gumer, where in fact this combination is normally realized as diphthongs ay and aw ⁸↗ 2.2.1⁹. In Banksira’s words, the explanation for the rare occurrence of the front and back vowels is then found in the fact that “the terminal features of /U/ ⁸a phonemic element found in all back vowels⁹ and /I/ ⁸a phonemic element found in all front vowels⁹ always abandon their articulators and float to dock on preceding targets” and “that they disappear and leave a trace on surrounding consonants in the form of a secondary labial or palatal articulation”. In the case of back vowels, such a ‘decomposition’ of u and o and the consequent labialization of a consonant can readily be illustrated with words that also exist in Amharic ⁸loans and cognates⁹. Thus we find for example amus ‘Thursday’, which is pronounced amʷɨs in Gumer, or the ɱerfective base of ‘die’, which is mot in Amharic and mʷət in Gumer. This process can be observed in the majority of words with back vowels and a preceding labializable consonant, even if there is an intervening non-labializable consonant as is the case with Amharic bəkʼlo ‘mule’ and Gumer bəkʼʷrə. Another example demonstrating the fact that the detachment and floating of the feature [round] is a quite natural process in Gumer is the loan word bʷəʒə ‘lightning; ⁸name of a deity⁹’ which in its original Omotic 24 or Cushitic language⁸s⁹ was bazō ‘God-sky’ ⁸Leslau 1979c: 169⁹. Occasionally, the same process can be observed across morpheme boundaries. The pm subject marker -o is sometimes decomposed when preceded by a labializable consonant, for example yɨ-twakk-o-βa ‘they used to fight’ yɨtwakkʷəβa. Further, in words where the preceding consonant is not labializable, labialization can also affect the following consonant as in the loans bɨrtukan ‘orange’, ʃufer ‘driver’, ʃukka ‘fork’ and mənokse ‘monk’, the Gumer pronunciation of which is bɨrtɨkʷan, ʃɨfʷer, ʃɨkkʷa and mənəkʷse ~ mələkʷse. The potential of labialization to float around in words can be seen in the word meaning ‘lady’ which has two labializable consonants and two possible outputs, i.e. ɨmmʷəβecə ~ ɨmməwecə. In words that do not have labializable consonants at all, labialization cannot take place, for example adot ‘mother’ or tʼona ‘strength’. Nevertheless, it is important to note that there are also instances of back vowels that do not trigger labialization of surrounding consonants, even if it were possible, as in goga ‘skin’ or kʼokʼ ‘partridge’, including some minimal pairs like bora ‘ox’ vs. bʷəra ‘cow with white spot on forehead’ or the subject marker 1s and 2pm of the ɱerfective, as for example in cot-xʷ-ɨm ‘I worked’ vs. cot-xu-m ‘you ⁸pm⁹ worked’. Consequently, the vowels u and o have to be considered phonemic ⁸cf. also Banksira 2000: 3⁹. As for the front vowels, the situation is not exactly the same in that there are probably no lexemes with a vowel e or i in Amharic, the equivalent of which would be decomposed resulting in a palatalized consonant in Gumer: the loan gazetʼa ‘newspaper’, for example, is still pronounced the same in Gumer and does not change to *gaʒətʼa. The element /I/ that causes palatalization as proposed by Banksira mainly represents a historically traceable ⁸or assumed⁹ i/y. ɱalatalization is usually the result of diachronic developments and concerns processes on a morphophonological level rather than being a ‘natural’ synchronic process. Thus, palatalized consonants can for instance trace back to a radical y in a verb root, as kʸ in bəkkʸə ‘cry’, which derives from the common Semitic root √bky ⁸Leslau 1979c: xxxviii⁹ ⁸↗ 3.4.2⁹, or to the feminine marker of the second person singular ⁸↗ 3.11.4⁹, which is still an overt -i in, for example, Arabic. Nevertheless, the low frequency of the front vowels has to be accounted for in such diachronic changes. Still, there is a number of occurrences of e and i where they do not trigger palatalization, even if it were possible, as in genzo ‘ax’, wəsifə ‘awl’, or Banksira’s ⁸2000: 3⁹ examples yakʼetʼ ‘he trades’ and yakʼitʼ ‘let him trade’. Consequently, they have to be considered phonemic. Due to the uneven distribution of the vowels, it is difficult to find pure minimal pairs. The following list shows some vowel contrasts in near-minimal pairs or at least in similar contexts:  Leslau ⁸1979c: 169⁹ states that it is “from Cushitic: Zaisse”. On Ethnologue ⁸Lewis 2009⁹ Zaisse is now called Zaysete ⁸and/or is a dialect thereo⁹ and belongs to the Omotic languages. 25 ⁸50⁹ sɨn sin ‘tooth’ ‘cup’ səstə sost ‘day after tomorrow’ ‘three’ sɨsə sasa ‘thin’ ‘thirty’ neβa naβa ‘thie’ ‘waist’ gɨnzɨr gənə genzo ‘breakfast’ ‘land’ ‘ax’ gunje gonə gamʷə ‘fog’ ‘backyard near house’ ‘time’ 2.2.1 The open-mid vowels ɛ and ɔ As mentioned above, the mid-open vowels ɛ and ɔ occur only very marginally in Gumer. Usually, the combinations of a+y/i and a+w/u result in the diphthongs ay and aw, respectively, but some speakers, especially those closer to the Chaha area, realize them as ɛ and ɔ. This can be within a lexeme ⁸51⁹ or across morpheme boundaries ⁸52b⁹. ⁸51⁹ əray tʼay wəray bay təkʼaw ⁸52⁹ a. b. ⁸~ ərɛ⁹ ⁸~ tʼɛ⁹ ⁸~ wərɛ⁹ ⁸~ bɛ⁹ ⁸~ təkʼɔ⁹ ‘cows’ ‘sheep’ ‘sleep ⁸ ⁹’ ‘no’ ‘drink ⁸coffee⁹!’ yɨkəftəmay ⁸~ yɨkəftəmɛ⁹ < yɨ-kəft-əma-i kʼʸɨcʼaw ⁸~ kʼʸɨcʼɔ⁹ 3S-open.IɱFV-pfS-3smO < kʼʸɨcʼa-u ‘they ⁸⁹ open it’ ‘it is law’ law-COɱ.3smS Note that one can also find speakers further away from Chaha who choose not to pronounce the diphthong version, but then the vowels tend to be realized more closed as e and o. In Chaha the mid-open vowels occur regularly in these contexts, and the distinction ay/aw vs. ɛ/ɔ can in principle be regarded as a dialectal difference between Gumer and Chaha. However, the fact that the mid-open vowels instead of the diphthongs were mainly recorded in Gumer speakers close to the Chaha area shows that there is no clear-cut dialect boundary. Note that all the above examples concern diphthongs in word-final position. The combination of the negation prefix a- and the subject prefix y-, for instance, is never realized as a diphthong ay but only e ⁸only occasionally as ɛ⁹ both in Gumer and Chaha: ⁸53⁹ erəxɨβ < *a-y-rəxɨβ ‘he does not find’ NEG-3smS-find.IɱFV 26 2.2.2 The central vowels ɨ and ə The two central vowels ɨ and ə need some clarification. In the ethiopistic tradition ⁸as founded by Leslau⁹, they are represented differently: the vowel ɨ here corresponds to the ethiopistic symbol <ə> and the vowel ə to <ä>, i.e. in particular the symbol called schwa ⁸ə⁹ does not stand for the same vowel in these two notations. Leslau’s ethiopistic <ə> is justified for the one fact that this vowel is almost exclusively epenthetic ⁸↗ 2.3.2⁹, the term schwa originally referring to the epenthetic vowel ⁸i.e. the non-underlying vowel that alternates with zero⁹ in Tiberian Hebrew ⁸van Oostendorp 1999⁹. Its phonetic nature, however, is not [ə] but closer to [ɨ]. In turn, the vowel represented by <ä> is phonetically close to a prototypical [ə], which is defined by the formants f1=500 Hz and f2=1500 Hz ⁸Ladefoged 1996: 121ff.⁹. In fact, my own measurements of a small Gumer sample of several speakers showed an average frequency of f1=589 and f2=1713 for the vowel ə, indicating that it is slightly lower and more fronted than an ideal [ə]. Amharic vowels do not seem to differ considerably from Gumer, i.e. perceptually they are very similar. According to measurements by Messele ⁸2007: 23⁹, the Amharic lower central vowel <ä> has the formants f1=466 Hz and f2=1502 Hz, i.e. it is very close to a prototypical [ə]. These facts are in favor of the use of the ⁸IɱA⁹ sign ə to represent this vowel both for Amharic and Gumer. The high central vowel ɨ is clearly higher than ə, but note that it is not as high as the IɱA sign [ɨ] might suggest: a ɳussian <ы> [ɨ], for example, seems more closed. Nevertheless, even though the Gumer [ɨ] is lower ⁸and probably also more fronted⁹ than a prototypical central high vowel, its quality is still closest to [ɨ]. For all the reasons above, and also in accordance with the notation of Banksira and ɳose, I have chosen the IɱA symbols ɨ and ə over <ə> and <ä>. 2.2.2.1 Realizations of ɨ and ə in combination with the glides y and w The glides y and w can have an influence on the two central vowels ɨ and ə. The following examples illustrate the most important changes. The sequence əyə tends to be realized as ɛyə or ɛə. The first ə is usually fronted to an open [ɛ]. The second ə can sound rather open too, but to a lesser extent. The glide between the two vowels is very weak. ⁸54⁹ asəyə zəyə [asɛyə ~ asɛə ⁸~ asɛyɛ⁹] [zɛyə ~ zɛə ⁸~ zɛyɛ⁹] ‘sell!’ ‘young woman’ Across morpheme boundaries, the sequence əwə usually becomes o ⁸occasionally perhaps with a slightly longer realization time⁹.  The term ‘schwa’ is often also used to refer to the neutral, central or reduced vowel of a language in general ⁸as opposed to the ‘phonetical schwa’⁹. It is well known that across languages such neutral vowels can have a great varietiy of realization differing from f1=500 Hz and f2=1500 Hz ⁸cf. Gósy 2004: 15f.⁹. 27 ⁸55⁹ bə-wəxe kʼar yə-wəfer [boxe kʼar] [yofer] ‘good bye’ ‘of the young bull’ However, this is not the case when w is a labialized β. ⁸56⁹ /nərə-βʷə/ /yə-βʷər-i/ nərəwə ⁸*nəro⁹ yəwəri ~ yəbʷəri ⁸*yori⁹ ‘he must’ ‘one should say’ A word-initial w rounds a following ə to ⁸approximately⁹ [ɵ ~ ɞ ~ ə̹] and a following ɨ to [ʉ]. ⁸57⁹ wənad wɨssa [wɵnad ~ wɞnad ~ wə̹nad] [wʉssa] ‘mare’ ‘bread made from əssət’ The combination of ɨ +y at the syllable coda is realized as [i]. In particular, this is the case when the Imperfective third person subject prefix y- is preceded by for example the prefix tɨ-. ⁸58⁹ tɨ-y-βəra [tiβəra] ‘when he eats’ The combination of ɨ +w at the syllable coda is approximately realized as [u], yɨwri being an example that is very frequent. ⁸59⁹ yɨ-wr-i ~ [yuri] ‘one says’ However, the pronunciation of y-uj-i ‘one tells’ ⁸with a base initial u⁹, for example, slightly differs from yɨ-wr-i ⁸with a base initial w⁹. Therefore the latter is not written as *yuri here, but yɨwri. This is in contrast to the case of ɨ +y above in ⁸58⁹ where the pronunciation clearly is [i] and a word like /tɨ-y-βəra/ is always written as tiβəra here. 2.3 Syllable structure and epenthesis 2.3.1 Syllable structure The Gumer syllable structure is not particularly complex. Since there are no ⁸distinctive⁹ long vowels, all syllables are based on a short vowel V as nucleus.⁰ Figure 4 shows all possible patterns, but note that the ones in brackets are marginal. The common syllables are CV and CVC in all positions of a word ⁸67⁹-⁸72⁹. Further, there are syllables without consonantal onset, namely V, VC and VCC ⁸60⁹⁸66⁹, but word-medially and word-finally they can only come about with some additional ⁸mainly possessive⁹ suffixes after o and e ⁸↗ 2.3.3⁹. The most complex syllable is CVCC ⁸73⁹, which, however, only occurs word-finally and only in certain constellations with respect to the sonority of the final two consonants ⁸see ⁰ As mentioned in the first footnote of section 2.2, there are also long vowels in three words for ‘yes’: oo ⁸VV⁹, ook ⁸VVC⁹ and yoo ⁸CVV⁹. 28 word-initial word-medial word-final #V #VC ⁸V⁹ ⁸VC⁹ ⁸V#⁹ ⁸⁸VC#⁹⁹ ⁸⁸VCC#⁹⁹ #CV #CVC CV CVC CV# CVC# CVCC# Figure 4: Syllable structures examples ⁸75⁹-⁸77⁹ below⁹. They often involve the liquid r and/or the plosive t ⁸which is analyzed as the default segment by Banksira 2000: 9f.⁹. Also note that, while most examples consist of one lexeme, many instances of CVCC in ⁸73⁹ are words ending in CVC plus an additional morpheme consisting of one consonant, or with a doubled final consonant. Other final CC clusters as well as initial CC clusters and all clusters of more than two consonants ⁸CCC or CCCC⁹ have to be split by means of the epenthetic vowel ɨ. The rules of epenthesis are discussed in detail in section 2.3.2. The following lists present all possible syllables, first citing three example words with the epenthetic vowel ɨ followed by one instance for the remaining ⁸six⁹ vowels each if available. Finally, note that the words used in this list mainly represent terminology belonging to domains of the traditional way of living such as farming, housing, tools, food etc. ⁸60⁹ Word-initial syllable #V ɨ.mar ɨ.mɨr ɨ.xa a.ka.fa e.wə ə.xɨr i.wɨn o.zat u.dɨn ⁸61⁹ ‘donkey’ ‘stone’ ‘water’ ‘shovel’ ‘salty earth eaten by cattle’ ‘barley, cereal’ ‘I give him’ ‘kind of porridge’ ‘I tell him’ Word-medial syllable V ⁸marginal⁹ sɨ.ne.a.xu as.so.ə.na ‘your ⁸pm⁹ wheat’ ‘my salt’  Syllables not listed are either not existing or no example could be found. Note that some instances represent marginal cases ⁸especially syllables with initial V⁹, while others are abundant.  According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 115⁹ a loan from a Cushitic language. 29 ⁸62⁹ Word-final syllable V# ⁸very marginal⁹ to.to.a ⁸63⁹ Word-initial syllable #VC ɨn.kʼʸər.kʼʸɨ.na ɨn.nə ɨʃ.ta an.ka.se ãfʷ.ra.xʷə en.wa əc.βa iβ.xə ɨ̃fʷ.yə od.xʸɨm ud.xə ⁸64⁹ ‘your ⁸s⁹ maize’ Word-final syllable VCC# ⁸very marginal⁹ ɨnk as.so.axʸʃ ⁸67⁹ ‘your ⁸p⁹ squirrel’ ‘their ⁸m⁹ mountain’ Word-final syllable VC# ⁸very marginal⁹ bə.kʼʷəl.lo.axʸ ⁸66⁹ ‘central rolled-up part of middle leaf of əssət’ ‘a bat-like piece of wood’ ‘women’ ‘a curved-handled staf’ ‘pregnant ⁸animals⁹’ ‘dry trunk of əssət’ ‘central pillar of the house’ ‘I give you ⁸sm⁹’ ‘contents of both hands with palms up’ ‘you ⁸s⁹ told’ ‘I tell you ⁸sm⁹’ Word-medial syllable VC ⁸marginal⁹ kʷɨ.to.ax.ma kʷə.to.əxʷ.na ⁸65⁹ ‘why don’t you ⁸pm⁹ workǃ’ ‘yes’ ‘what about your ⁸s⁹ salt’ Word-initial syllable #CV mʷɨ.rə.ya ʃɨ.ra bɨ.kʼɨl.le ʃa.me.ta zã.fʷa se.ra tə.βə.cə bi.tʼɨr go.nə tʼu.ri ‘knife used for cutting leaves of əssət’ ‘blossom of əssət’ ‘dried sheep leather’ ‘slightly fermented beer made of grain’ ‘afterbirth of cattle’ ‘big clay plate’ ‘knife for pulling out root of əssət’ ‘small clay plate’ ‘area behind the house ⁸where əssət is planted⁹’ ‘good working, expert’  This syllable structure is very marginal, the pragmatic particle -a presumably representing the only instance. Furthermore, -a could possibly also be analysed as -ʔa ⁸CV⁹.  According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 148⁹ bɨkʼɨlle originates from a Cushitic language and describes a ‘hide 30 ⁸68⁹ Word-medial syllable CV ʒɨ.βan.gʸɨ.βa ɨn.kʼʷɨ.ra kʷən.cɨ.wə no.ʃa.ʃə ɨm.me.tə.nə an.kʼə.fʷə sɨ.βi.sa yɨ.co.to bə.su.βi ⁸69⁹ Word-final syllable CV# zɨ xɨ gʷə.la əg.re ze.pə tʼa.fi a.wə.do cʼu.cʼu ⁸70⁹ ‘this’ ‘that’ ‘pen inside the house for horses or mules’ ‘grassy place for cattle behind house ⁸betw. gonə ⁶ river⁹’ ‘central part of an old əssət’ ‘kind of cereal ⁸and the flour thereo⁹’ ‘white ⁸used in combination with cereal or grain⁹’ ‘chick’ Word-initial syllable #CVC gʸɨm.mə wɨs.sa kɨn.cɨf  gam.ba gen.zo sən.kʼal.la jip.pə gon.zɨ.yə tum.ma ⁸71⁹ ‘instrument used to pound the root of əssət’ ‘egg’ ‘kind of small pot’ ‘ram ⁸male sheep⁹’ ‘mother of several young ⁸goat/sheep⁹’ ‘kind of spoon made of horn’ ‘piece of split bamboo to scrape stem of əssət’ ‘they farm, they work’ ‘in the early morning’ ‘headrest of wood’ ‘bread made from əssət’ ‘beard’ ‘kind of jar’ ‘ax’ ‘small house ⁸next to main house gʷəyə⁹’ ‘mat ⁸on floor inside house⁹’ ‘three earthen vessels on which cooking pot rests above fire’ ‘garlic’ Word-medial syllable CVC ɨn.kʼʷɨr.kʼʷi.nə ‘excrement of sheep or goat’ bə.tɨt.nət ‘width’ kʼʷɨr.cʼɨm.cʼɨm.yə‘ankle’ gɨ.ran.gɨr ‘young of a domestic animal’ of goat or sheep under the saddle or used to sit on’.  According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 112⁹ the word is awədawə and means ‘kind of cereal’. He mentiones the form awədo for Endegeñ only.  Leslau ⁸1979c: 345⁹ has, among others, kuncɨf for Chaha and kɨncɨf for Ezha.  Leslau ⁸1979c: 557⁹ only has səkʼal(l)a without nasal. 31 kʷər.βeʃ.ʃa ɨn.dəx.re.cə a.fin.jə wə.zob.bɨd tʼɨ.rum.ba ⁸72⁹ ⁹’ Word-final syllable CVC# ga.dɨr sɨ.kʼʷɨr a.tʼɨm də.rar ɨn.net wə.ʃər kʼʷɨ.rit man.ʒor nəβ.sə.tʼur ⁸73⁹ ‘young male sheep’ ‘kidney’ ‘⁸bird’s-eye⁹ chili’ ‘have a mouthful of cʼat ⁸ ‘trumpet’ ‘cattle pen inside the house’ ‘ceiling’ ‘bone’ ‘back part inside the house ⁸~ working place⁹’ ‘kind of bamboo’ ‘small pot’ ‘tip of house’ ‘aircraft’ ‘pregnant ⁸humans⁹’ Word-final syllable CVCC# an.ta.kɨrt wɨ.ra.wɨrx ʃɨn.kʷɨrt a.rɨst yɨ.nə.kʼʷamt an.ʃemxʷ yɨ.fəzz sə.jə.jimʃ an.cʼorxʸ tudxʸ ‘eucalyptus’ ‘what about the throat’ ‘onion’ ‘female ⁸animal⁹’ ‘Yinekwamt ⁸subgroup of Gumer⁹’ ‘I did not hide’ ‘it is better’ ‘one drove him away, you know’ ‘you ⁸s⁹ did not carry’ ‘she tells you ⁸s⁹’ 2.3.2 Epenthesis 2.3.2.1 The epenthetic vowel ɨ The vowel ɨ is epenthetic with only few exceptions. It is used to split clusters of three or more consonants, but also CC word-initially and some CC word-finally. Apart from the two demonstratives zɨ ‘this’ and xɨ ‘that’, which end in ɨ, the exceptions concern lexemes beginning with this vowel. In particular, ɨ can be a trace of a lost consonant still present in related languages ⁸for example ɨxa ‘water’, cf. Amharic wɨha; ɨmar ‘donkey’, cf. Arabic ħimaːr⁹, or, following Banksira ⁸2000: 156f.⁹, when words begin with a geminate consonant ⁸ɨyya ‘I’, ɨkka ‘like this’, ɨmmat ‘only, one’⁹. Further, there is a number of words with an initial ɨ followed by n ⁸or an assimilated m⁹ + plosive ⁸ɨngʷəd ‘other’, ɨmbakʼʸə ‘saliva’, ɨmfas ‘air’⁹. In  Leslau ⁸1979c: 104⁹ has atankɨrt for ‘eucalyptus’ in Chaha. 32 all these cases the initial vowel ɨ is stable, i.e. like the other vowels it does not disappear when preceded, for example, by the prefix bə- ‘in ⁸ ⁹; with ⁸ ⁹’ as in b-ɨngʷəd ‘in another; with another’; instead, the ə of the preposition is dropped. This is in contrast to verbs with the verbal prefix ɨn- ⁸for example ɨnkʼɨrəkkʼər ‘move’, ↗ 3.5.3.4⁹, the ɨ of ɨn- being dropped when preceded by another vowel ⁸for example bə-nkʼɨrəkkʼərə ‘if it moved’⁹. Finally, speakers occasionally realize an initial yɨ as ɨ resulting in variations like yɨna ~ ɨna ‘we’ or yɨft ~ ɨft ‘face, front’. 2.3.2.2 Epenthesis rules ɳose ⁸2000⁹ discusses epenthesis in Chaha. The following is a summary of the general rules, which are the same in Gumer. Note that in addition to the expected forms as described below other outputs are possible. These rather marginal forms are indicated in brackets with a superscript inverted question mark ⁸¿ ⁹. Gumer allows for CV and CVC syllables ⁸and a minimal syllable V wordinitially, unless one assumes a glottal stop on its onset⁹. Complex syllable onsets and codas are not possible, except some word-final CC# depending on the sonority of the involved consonants. Sonority also plays a role in determining the position of the epenthetic vowel ɨ that splits the prohibited *CCC clusters into CɨCC or CCɨC. Word-initially, all *#CC require epenthesis resulting in #CɨC. However, if the second C is r, the inserted ɨ is usually very short and hardly perceivable, which can be represented as #Cɨ r. ⁸74⁹ *#CC *#Cr #CɨC #Cɨ r sɨma ‘listenǃ’ d ɨrəkkərəm ( ~ dɨrəkkərəm) ‘he threw away’ Figure 5 shows the sonority hierarchy of consonants ⁸labialized and palatalized consonants are not represented as they behave the same as their primary counterparts⁹, which is relevant for the positioning of the epenthetic vowel in word-final CC# and CCC. Beginning with the glides, the consonants to the left have a higher sonority, while the stops to the right end rank lowest in the sonority hierarchy. There is no hierarchy among consonants of the same type. Fricatives and stops are obstruents, the remaining consonants being sonorants.  Note that here the ɨ of #Cɨ r is always written, for example zɨrəkkʸəm ‘he spoke’ ⁸rather than zrəkkʸəm⁹. Furthermore, also consider Banksira’s ⁸2000: 25⁹ statement that there is an epenthetic vowel in initial clusters, but in fast speech it is hardly audible, especially before sonorants, and that therefore he does not accept Cr clusters. This, however, is not completely in line with Banksira’s ⁸2000: 181⁹ footnote, where he mentiones that in fast speech a word-initial CC is not broken up by an epenthetic vowel if the second consonant is a sonorant, as for example in [grətəməm] ‘he cut in two’; this includes also β, for example [tʼβanərəm] ‘he folded’. 33 ⁸w y⁹ > r > β ⁸glides⁹ > liquids > other son. > mn > fszx > t tʼ k kʼ d g > nasals > fricatives > stops sonorants > obstruents Figure 5: Sonority hierarchy ⁸based on ɳose 2000: 405 / Chaha⁹ Word-final clusters CC# ⁸75⁹ are not split when the sonority of the first consonant is higher than that of the final one. In particular, ⁸a⁹ any sonorant followed by an obstruent and ⁸b⁹ obstruent clusters consisting of a fricative followed by a stop are not split. ⁸The examples in ⁸75⁹ - ⁸77⁹ are all 2sm Imperatives.⁹ ⁸75⁹ falling S CC# sonorant-obstruent fricative-stop ⁸¿ zɨmɨd⁹ ⁸¿ kɨfɨt⁹ zɨmd kɨft ‘pullǃ’ ‘openǃ’ In turn, when the sonority is rising or on the same level, word-final clusters are generally split ⁸76⁹. However, there is variation for the sequence r-sonorant as well as for obstruent-obstruent combinations, where speakers may also allow CC# ⁸77⁹. ⁸76⁹ ⁸77⁹ rising S CɨC# obstruent-sonorant gətɨm ⁸*gətm⁹ ‘lend!’ equal S CɨC# sonorant-sonorant gənɨm ⁸*gənm⁹ ‘give back loaned cow!’ rising S CɨC# ~ CC# stop-frictative kɨtɨf ~ kɨtf ‘hashǃ’ equal S CɨC# ~ CC# fricative-fricative stop-stop r-sonorant məsɨx əgɨd kʼɨrɨm ~ məsx ~ əgd ~ kʼɨrm ‘chewǃ’ ‘tie!’ ‘insult!’ Medial CCC clusters, i.e. sequences of three consonants between two vowels, have to be split into CCɨC or CɨCC. Here, the following syllable contact constraint plays a role ⁸ɳose 2000: 401⁹: “The first segment of the onset of a syllable must be lower in sonority than the last segment in the immediately preceding syllable.” This constraint entails that in a CCC cluster with a rising-falling or a fallingrising sequence the epenthetic vowel has to split the consonants that feature a rise in sonority ⁸forming a CɨC syllable⁹ and thus allowing for the third consonant, which is part of the falling sequence, to become the onset of a following syllable, i.e. CɨC.C ⁸78⁹, or the coda of a preceding syllable, i.e. C.CɨC ⁸79⁹. The examples below all represent the Jussive stem CCC and the affixes for 3pm, i.e. yə-CCC-o. Note that they do not cover all possible combinations. 34 ⁸78⁹ rising-falling S CɨCC obstruent-sonorant-obstr. yə.dɨm.do ⁸¿ yəd.mɨ.do⁹ ‘let them gather’ stop-fricative-stop yə.kɨf.to ⁸¿ yək.fɨ.to⁹ ‘let them open’ ⁸79⁹ falling-rising S CCɨC sonorant-stop-fricative fricative-stop-sonorant yən.kɨ.so ⁸*yə.rɨk.so⁹ ⁰ ‘let them bite’ yəs.dɨ.βo ⁸¿ yə.sɨd.βo⁹ ‘let them curse’ Medial CCC clusters with a consistent falling-falling sequence ⁸80⁹ do not violate the syllable contact constraint, thus the necessary epenthesis is equally possible in both positions. Here, the syllables are distributed according to an alignment rule saying that the maximal heavy syllables ⁸CVC⁹ pile up to the left of a word ⁸cf. ɳose 2000: 408ff.⁹. Consequently, in a word of the shape yə-CCC-o the epenthetic vowel occurs between the second and third consonant resulting in yəC.Cɨ.Co ⁸rather than yə.CɨC.Co⁹. ⁸80⁹ falling-falling S CCɨC liquid-nasal-obstruent yən.fɨ.go ⁸¿ yə.rɨf.go⁹ ‘let them be greedy’ However, medial CCC clusters with a consistent rising-rising sequence ⁸81⁹ violate the syllable contact constraint no matter where the epenthetic vowel is inserted. The theoretically possible solution with two epenthetic vowels ⁸CɨCɨC⁹ does not exist. ɳather, also here the same alignment rule as above applies with the epenthetic ɨ between the last two consonants. ⁸81⁹ rising-rising S CCɨC obstruent-other son.-liquidyəs.βɨ.ro ⁸¿ yə.sɨβ.ro⁹ ‘let them break’ Note that as with the final clusters above ‘rising sonority’ also implies ‘equal sonority’. The examples in ⁸82⁹ represent an equal-rising and a falling-equal sequence, showing that they behave like ⁸81⁹ and ⁸79⁹ respectively. ⁸82⁹ equal-rising S stop-stop-sonorant falling-equal S sonorant-stop-stop yəg.dɨ.ro ⁸¿ yə.gɨd.ro⁹ ‘let them put to bed’ yən.kʼɨ.tʼo ⁸*yə.rɨkʼ.tʼo⁹ ‘let them kick’ There are also medial CCCC clusters, in particular with verbs that have a CCC Jussive stem followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant, for example 1p nɨCCC-nə. Generally, verbs with a rising-falling sequence ⁸i.e. the ones with a CɨCC output of medial CCC clusters⁹ show a CɨC.CɨC shape ⁸83a⁹, while all others verbs ⁸with a CCɨC output of medial CCC clusters⁹ result in the form C.CɨC.C ⁸83b⁹. ⁸83⁹ a. b. nɨ.tʼɨβ.tʼɨ.nə nɨs.dɨβ.nə ⁸¿ nɨtʼ.βɨtʼ.nə⁹ ⁸¿ nɨ.sɨd.βɨ.nə⁹ ‘let’s grasp’ ‘let’s curse’ ⁰ r instead of n because it is not in penultimate coda position ⁸↗ 2.1.3.3⁹. 35 Again, it is important to note that although these rules predict the position of the epenthetic vowel in most instances, there is also idiolectal variation and other factors that can lead to different outputs  ⁸for more details see ɳose 2000: 416ff.⁹. The variation in final obstruent clusters is already exemplified above. Finally, according to ɳose ⁸2000: 415f.⁹ and Banksira ⁸2000: 26, 38⁹, verbs ⁸in Chaha⁹ with two identical final consonants necessarily have an extra epenthesis between them to prevent the formation of a geminate. Such extra epenthesis is also found in Gumer, but contrary to Chaha it is not necessary: I have recorded many instances with two identical consonants not split by ɨ. ⁸84⁹ kʼɨfɨf-o ~ kʼɨff-o yɨ-kʼɨfɨf-ʃə ~ yɨ-kʼɨff-ɨʃə yə-sdɨd ~ yə-sɨdd yɨ-rədɨd ~ yɨ-rədd yɨ-gədɨd-o ~ yɨ-gədd-o yɨ-fəzɨz ~ yɨ-fəzz ‘cut edgesǃ ⁸ 2pm ⁹’ ‘he will cut edges’ ‘may he chase away’ ‘it burns’ ‘they pierce’ ‘it is better’ 2.3.2.3 Epenthetic vowel ɨ between words Clusters of three consonants across lexeme boundaries have to be split by means of the epenthetic vowel ɨ as well. This situation comes about when a word ending in CC is followed by a word beginning with C. This kind of epenthesis only takes place in continuous speech, i.e. there cannot be an epenthetic ɨ when the speaker interrupts the flow of the speech between the two words, be it a short hesitation or a longer pause. Nevertheless, also in uninterrupted speech the ɨ tends to be rather short up to the degree that often it is virtually not present. Most prominently ɨ is heard after words that end in doubled consonants ⁸85⁹, whereas after other clusters it is usually weaker ⁸86⁹, especially when r is involved ⁸87⁹. Note that in the following examples epenthetic ɨ is only indicated for illustrative purposes, but it is not written elsewhere. ⁸85⁹ bɨrr ʃəm ɨnkʼʷɨss barəm [bɨrrɨ ʃəm] [ɨnkʼʷɨssɨ barəm] ‘he wanted birr/money’ ‘he shut up’ ⁸86⁹ yankʼ səβu [yankʼɨ səβu] ‘he is the person of justice’ ⁸87⁹ yətɨmwərkʼ cʼɨnɨnya [yətɨmwərkʼɨ cʼɨnɨnya] ‘Yetimwerk is in childbed’ The opposite, namely the lack of an epenthetic vowel due to a following word beginning in a vowel, can also happen. As is shown in ⁸88⁹, /tə-z-m/ on its own can only be realized with an epenthetic vowel between the two final consonants. In continuous speech, however, when /tə-z-m/ is followed by a word beginning with a vowel like /ema/, the whole phrase is resyllabified. With the m becoming the onset of a syllable, epenthetic ɨ is not necessary anymore.  For example yə.sɨβ.ro for yəs.βɨ.ro, yə.rɨm.do for yər.mɨ.do, nɨ.sɨd.βɨ.nə for nɨs.dɨβ.nə. 36 ⁸88⁹ /tə-z-m/ [tə.zɨm] *[təzm] ABL-DEM-ALSO ‘⁸also⁹ from this’ /tə-z-m ema/ [təz.me.ma] ?? [təzɨmema] ABL-DEM-ALSO way ‘⁸also⁹ from this way’ 2.3.3 Sequences of two vowels across morpheme boundaries When two vowels meet across morpheme boundaries there are basically five different possibilities how such a sequence is treated:  - one vowel is deleted - the two vowels fuse to a different vowel - one vowel becomes a glide ⁸i y and u w⁹ - a glide ⁸y or w⁹ is inserted - nothing happens, i.e. the two vowels form a hiatus The central vowel ə is deleted when followed by e, o, ə, and a ⁸89⁹.  The same is true for the vowel a ⁸90⁹, but with a following e there is also the option of a hiatus or the insertion of a glide ⁸d,e⁹. ⁸89⁹ a. b. c. d. agədə-e-m tɨkə-o tɨkə-əxʸta tɨkə-axʸ agədem tɨko tɨkəxʸta tɨkaxʸ ‘he tied me’ ‘Oh childǃ’ ‘her child’ ‘your ⁸s⁹ child’ ⁸90⁹ a. b. c. gʷeta-o naβa-əxʸta naβa-axʸ gʷeto naβaxʸta naβaxʸ ‘Oh Godǃ’ ‘her waist’ ‘your waist’  Banksira’s ⁸2000: 31f.⁹ short description of the treatment of hiatus in Chaha served as a basis for this section ⁸hence the mostly identical examples⁹. Gumer and Chaha work differently in a few details but in some cases ⁸in particular the ones involving glides⁹ I am somewhat reluctant to believe that these are real differences in pronounciation. ɱrobably this is only about differences in perception and/or notation. However the data may be incomplete and more variants exist ⁸both among Gumer and Chaha speakers⁹.  In sequences of two identical vowels ⁸i.e. ə+ə and a+a⁹ it is actually futile to decide which element is deleted. In segmented and glossed examples I follow the practice of always leaving out the vowel in affixes: ⁸i⁹ tɨkə+əxʸta tɨkə-xʸta child-3sf ‘her child’ ⁸ii⁹ abba+axə abba-xə father-2sm ‘your father’ vs. yə+əram -cow ‘of cow’ y -əram In Chaha a+e results in ɛ ⁸Banksira 2000: 31⁹. At times examples like gəppem in ⁸90d⁹ could also be heard as gəppɛm, but generally in Gumer the vowel appears to be more closed. 37 d. gəppa-e-m e. yɨ-gəβ-əma-e gəppem ~ gəppaem ~ gəppayem yɨgəβəmae ~ yɨgəβəmaye ‘I understand’ ‘in order for them to enter’ The combination of ə+i fuses to e. This occurs particularly in the Impersonal of verbs with final radical A, for example with nəssa ‘lift’ and səmma ‘hear’ ⁸91⁹. ⁸91⁹ a. b. nəʃʃə-i-m yɨ-səmʷə-i ‘one lifted him’ ‘one hears him’ nəʃʃem yɨsəmʷe Complete fusion to a different vowel occurs occasionally ⁸in Chaha regularly⁹ also with ə+u, a+u, and a+i, but normally the latter ones become the respective glides w and y ⁸92⁹. ⁸92⁹ a. b. c. tɨkə-u bora-u yɨ-fət-əma-i tɨkəw ⁸~ tɨko⁹ ‘it is a child’ boraw ⁸~ borɔ ~ boro⁹ ‘it is an ox’ yɨfətəmay ‘they ⁸⁹ release him’ ⁸~ yɨfətəmɛ ~ yɨfətəme⁹ Final u and i change to the respective glides also after the vowels e and o. ⁸93⁹ a. b. c. gʷəfəre-u bʷɨtɨto-u yɨ-tʼəβtʼ-o-i ‘it is an Afro’ ‘it is worn out cloth’ ‘they ⁸m⁹ grasp him’ gʷəfərew bʷɨtɨtow yɨtʼəβtʼoy The high vowels u and i, when followed by a non-high vowel, become the respective glides w and y, or alternatively the corresponding glide is inserted between the two vowels. ⁸94⁹ ⁸95⁹ a. yə-cəkkʷər-i-e b. wami-əta c. wami-axʸ a. b. tʼu-əta tʼu-axʸ yəcəkkʷərɨye ~ yəcəkkʷəriye wamyəta ~ wamiyəta wamyaxʸ ~ wamiyaxʸ tʼɨwəta ~ tʼuwəta tʼɨwaxʸ ~ tʼuwaxʸ ‘because one cooked it’ ‘his doing’ ‘your ⁸s⁹ doing’ ‘his breast’ ‘your ⁸s⁹ breast’ In the case of the purposive marker -e the more usual output after vowels is -y ⁸for example yɨgəβəmay, cf. 4.7.3.6⁹. They are treated here as allomorphs rather than a regular sound change since according to my observations it does not apply for 1s -e. Note, though, that 3pm -o + 3sm -i is often not realized as -oy. More commonly its form is either -əwi ⁸i.e. with the o changing to əw⁹, or oyi with the insertion of a glide ⁸cf. example ⁸401⁹⁹. yəcəkkʷəryo ‘the I do not have any examples for i +o. Banksira’s ⁸2000: 31⁹ yə-cəkkʷər-i-o cooked ones’ is not a suitable example since in my oppinion yo is not the result of two morphemes combined but simply the ‘heavy’ 3pm suffix -yo ⁸↗ 3.12⁹. 38 In case the second vowel is also high, I have usually noted variants where the second vowel changes to a glide ⁸similar to the examples in ⁸92⁹ and ⁸93⁹⁹, but at least in some cases other outputs where the first vowel becomes a glide or with insertion of a glide are also attested. ⁸96⁹ a. b. c. waβi-u bə-tʼu-u y-acənə-xu-i d. sɨβi-i waβiw bətʼuw yacənəxuy ~ yacənəxuyi sɨβyi ~ sɨβiyi ‘he is generous’ ‘it is with breast’ ‘the one you brought’ ‘break ⁸s⁹ itǃ’ The mid-high vowels e and o followed by the central vowels ə ⁸97a⁹, ⁸98a⁹ or a ⁸97b⁹, ⁸98b⁹ form hiatus. However, it seems that an o, similar to u +a wa in ⁸95b⁹, can also become a glide w, but presumably only when preceded by a labializable consonant like k in ⁸98c⁹. ⁸97⁹ a. b. gʷəfəre-əta sɨne-axu gʷəfəreəta sɨneaxu ‘his Afro’ ‘your ⁸pm⁹ wheat’ ⁸98⁹ a. b. c. asso-əna bʷɨtɨto-axə bʷɨllɨko-axʸ assoəna bʷɨtɨtoaxə bʷɨllɨkoaxʸ ~ bʷɨllɨkwaxʸ ‘my salt’ ‘your ⁸sm⁹ torn clothes’ ‘your ⁸s⁹ toga’ Occasionally hiatus also seems to occur with other preceding vowels as with u +a as in ⁸99⁹, but it is probably better to conclude that in such cases the glide is extremely weak. ⁸99⁹ a. cʼucʼu-axə cʼucʼuaxə ~ cʼucʼuwaxə ‘your ⁸sm⁹ chick’ Another borderline case where it is almost impossible to decide whether there is a hiatus or a glide represent the combinations o +e and a+e when a is not deleted. While I have usually perceived a hiatus, the insertion of a glide, which is very weakly pronounced though, is not wrong. ⁸100⁹ a. b. tɨ-kʼəttʼɨn-no-e yɨ-srə-βo-e c. yɨ-gəβəma-e tɨkʼəttʼɨnnoe ‘in order for her to kill them ⁸m⁹’ yɨsrəβoe ‘in order for them ⁸m⁹ to buy’ ~ yɨsrəβoye yɨgəβəmae ‘in order for them ⁸⁹ to enter’ ~ yɨgəβəmaye The portmanteau morpheme e- ⁸< a-y- ⁸ -3 ⁹⁹ before a base beginning with a occasionally seems to contain a weak glide, for example e-aʒ ~ ey-aʒ ‘he does not see’. When e +a is additionally preceded by a prefix the pronounciation can also be əy, for example təyaʒ ‘before he sees’. Alternatively, one might even analyze this output as labialized kʷ, i.e. bʷɨllɨkʷaxʸ. 39 Notice that all examples in ⁸100⁹ contain the suffixed purposive marker -e, which appears more commonly in its allomorphic form -y after any vowel ⁸↗ 4.7.3.6⁹, i.e. yɨsrəβoy rather than yɨsrəβoe ~ yɨsrəβoye. Finally, also the sequence of two e is realized with insertion of a hardly perceivable y. ⁸101⁹ a. yɨ-məkʸr-e-e yɨməkʸreye ‘so that it burns me’ 2.3.4 Short note on stress According to Banksira ⁸2000: 24⁹, stress ⁸in Chaha⁹ falls on the penultimate syllable, no matter whether the syllable is open ⁸102⁹ or closed ⁸103⁹. ⁸102⁹ acə́nəm acənə́xum ‘he brought’ ‘you ⁸pm⁹ brought’ ⁸103⁹ yə́ngɨd yətmə́rkək ‘let him touch’ ‘let him kneel down’ I can neither confirm nor deny this statement. In my impression the stress in words with an open penultimate syllable falls on the third but last syllable ⁸for example ácənəm⁹. But after all this is only an impression that cannot be proved here. ɱrobably the difficulty in determining the stress bearing syllable lies in the question what exactly counts as stress: pitch or intensity. It could be the case that in Gurage languages these two features do not fall on the same syllable ⁸ɳonny Meyer, p.c.⁹. As long as there is no further research on this topic, one has to go with Banksira’s native speaker intuition or knowledge. ⁰ ⁰ Some remarks on stress in Gurage languages can be found in Hetzron ⁸1977: 42f.⁹. Among several complications, his basic stress rule ⁸based on Ennemor, i.e. Inor⁹ differs from Banksira’s rule for Chaha. Thus, all in all, the situation is best summarized as not clear. 40 3 Verb morphology 3.1 Semitic root-and-pattern morphology Gumer features the typical root-and-pattern morphology common to all Semitic languages, which is well-known to linguists especially from Arabic. The different descriptions and studies of Semitic languages vary in their theoretical and practical treatment of this kind of morphology and the terminology used is not uniform, but generally speaking the differences are not significant. The following sections are not meant to discuss a new detailed analysis of Semitic morphology as a whole. ɳather, they outline the Gumer system in a descriptive way comparable to previous studies of Semitic languages. Nevertheless, there will be a few alterations in the manner of representation that proved to be useful for Gumer. The basic principle of the root-and-pattern morphology is as follows. Firstly, there is a root, typically consisting of three consonants called radicals, which bears the lexical semantics; secondly, there are different regular patterns, also called templates, which determine the quality and position of vowels with respect to the radicals. ɳadicals on their own do not occur as actual words, but have to be integrated into a template to form a base. In the case of verbs, for example, these bases are then further affixed with subject markers resulting in complete minimal words or verb forms. For example, the root √kft consists of the three radicals k, f, and t, conveying the basic meaning ‘open’. Their position with respect to each other is fixed: k is the first radical ⁸1⁹, f the second one ⁸2⁹, and t the third one ⁸3⁹. As illustrated in Figure 6, to form the ɱerfective base the radicals are integrated into the template 1ə2ə3 yielding kəfət, whereas the pattern 1ə23 forms the Imperfective base kəft. The root √dmd ‘gather’, for example, fits into the same templates, resulting in the ɱerfective and Imperfective bases dəməd and dəmd respectively. When furnished with the 3sm subject markers, a suffixed -ə for the ɱerfective and a prefixed yɨ- for the Imperfective, these bases build the conjugated verb forms kəfətə/dəmədə and yɨkəft/yɨdəmd. root template k | 1 base | verb form ə f | 2 ə {z kəfət t | 3 k | 1 } | kəfət-ə ə f | 2 t | 3 {z } kəft yɨ-kəft Figure 6: root/template/base/verb of √kft ‘open’ In Gumer, the root-and-pattern morphology is productive especially in the verb system; the formation of nominals based on this principle is more restricted. 41 For instance, there are no participles or nouns of place and time that would be formed productively with specific templates ⁸and affixes⁹ of potentially every single root. ɳather, these concepts are expressed descriptively as “someone who is doing” or “place where one does”. Furthermore, there are no ‘broken’ or ‘internal’ plurals typical of other Semitic languages, since Gumer nominals do not form plurals at all.  Nevertheless, there are nominals identifiable with roots also occurring in verbs,for example bʷɨsɨr ‘ripe’ and bəssər  ‘cook, be ripe’ belonging to √βsr, or mʷɨzɨr ‘number’ and mezzər ‘count’ belonging to √m zr ⁸cf. examples ⁸622⁹-⁸626⁹⁹. However, in the majority of cases the matching of root and template is not as straightforward as with the root √kft mentioned above. Due to many sound changes in the course of the history of the language and synchronic morphophonological processes, the relationship between words formed from the same root can be rather opaque. In particular due to the loss of some consonants, it is often not obvious anymore which template a surface word form ⁸underlyingly⁹ belongs to, which can, if at all, only be explained diachronically. For some verbs it is hardly possible to unequivocally assign them a root, as for example cona ‘sit’ and nɨwəʃʃə ‘get used to’. The former developed in an exceptional way from the reflexive təwəna ⁸compare with the causative a-wəna ‘put’⁹, the reflexive prefix tə- of which became palatalized to c ⁸cf. Leslau 1979c: 559⁹. Synchronically, the new root is best represented as √t UrA, but this structure does not exist elsewhere. The verb nɨwəʃʃə ‘get used to’ could be attributed to a root √rβsU or √rUsI ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 223⁹. However, this verb is a loan from a Cushitic language ⁸Leslau 1979c: 528⁹, which is the main reason that it does not readily fit into the usual patterns ⁸and also raises the question if every verb has to be attributed to a root⁹. 3.2 Ethiosemitic verb types In studies on Ethiosemitic languages, verbs are traditionally classified into different verb classes or verb types. The basic types are called A, B and C ⁸cf., for example, Hetzron 1972: 10⁹; ɳose ⁸2007: 405f.⁹, referring to ɱetros ⁸1993⁹, identifies an additional class D in Chaha. This classification is based on the absence or presence of gemination of the penultimate radical and the vowel quality in the templates of the three basic TAM forms ɱerfective, Imperfective and Jussive. The characteristics of the general Ethiosemitic verb types are: A gemination only in ɱerfective B gemination in all three TAM forms and presence of a palatal element C gemination in ɱerfective and Imperfective and vowel a after first radical The additional verb type D, which is not normally recognized in other Ethiosemitic languages, is characterized as: D gemination in all three TAM forms and presence of a labial element  Except for a few suppletive plural forms ⁸see table 82⁹.  Note that the citation form used here is base ⁸without the subject suffixes listed in table 56⁹. 42 This classification concerns triradical verbs, i.e. the prototypical type of verb consisting of three radicals. In addition, there are also numerous verbs with four consonants called quadriradicals  ⁸which traditionally are not assigned a specific label⁹. Due to the diachronic loss of laryngeal consonants on the one hand, and the loss ⁸or special behavior⁹ of the glides w and y on the other hand, there is also a considerably high number of verbs occurring with less consonants in their roots ⁸cf., for example, Ullendorff 1955: 24, 33, 35ff.; Hudson 1985: 39; Meyer 2011: 1244⁹. Thus, in modern Ethiosemitic languages, one finds biradicals ⁸and in Gumer even monoradicals⁹ originating from triradicals, as well as tri- and biradicals originating from quadriradicals. 3.3 Gumer verb types Gumer verbs fall into the same Ethiosemitic verb types briefly outlined above. Due to the already mentioned fact that many verbs have undergone numerous morphophonological changes in the course of the history of the language, a more fine-grained classification is necessary to capture the various additional subtypes that have arisen in Gumer. In other words, one model verb does not suffice to explain all verbs that belong to a certain ⁸basic⁹ verb type, and further exemplifications are needed. The two main morphophonological reasons responsible for these ʽirregularitiesʼ in the verb types are: ⁸a⁹ the diachronic loss of the post-palatal ⁸velar, pharyngeal and glottal⁹ consonants x, ħ, ʕ, ʔ and h on the one hand, as well as the loss of the approximants w and y on the other hand, the result of which is the missing of consonantal radicals in so-called ‘weak’ verb roots ⁸as opposed to ‘sound’ verb roots⁹; and ⁸b⁹ the status of etymological geminates of penultimate radicals. Below, the section 3.3.1 ‘Mutations’ discusses the problem of the etymological geminates. Then the regular ⁸‘sound’⁹ verb types are presented, followed by an illustration of the common ‘weak’ verbs, other special cases and exceptions. 3.3.1 Mutations As mentioned above, Ethiosemitic verbs geminate their penultimate radical in some forms as, for example, in the ɱerfective of type A verbs ⁸but not in the Imperfective or Jussive⁹. Concerning this feature, the Gurage varieties have been divided into two groups, namely ‘geminating’ and ‘non-geminating’ ⁸cf., for example, Leslau 1979c: lxxiii⁹. Ezha belongs to the geminating languages, which have retained the etymological geminates. By contrast, in the non-geminating varieties like Chaha, the originally geminate penultimate radicals generally have been degeminated and occur as singletons. However, in most environments they  Verbs with more than four radicals exist, but they are rather rare. In Leslau’s ⁸1995: 280⁹ Amharic grammar these verb types are called ‘abbreviated quadriradicals’ and ‘abbreviated triradicals’ or biradicals. 43 still show a reflex of the former gemination, i.e. where possible they are devoiced ⁸for example g k⁹ or occlusivized ⁸for example x k⁹. These sound changes are called here mutations. Figure 7 shows the pairs of basic consonants and their mutated forms. a. voiced fricative voiceless fricative b. voiced stop voiceless stop c. fricative stop d. liquid nasal basic mutated z, ʒ β/b, bʷ d, j g, gʷ, gʸ x, xʷ, xʸ r s, ʃ p, pʷ t, c k, kʷ, kʸ k, kʷ, kʸ n Figure 7: Mutation pairs Consonants subject to mutation include the voiced consonants with voiceless counterparts, the fricative x/xʷ/xʸ, and the liquid r. The voiced consonants are devoiced, whereas x/xʷ/xʸ and r are occlusivized to k/kʷ/kʸ and n respectively. The nasal m/mʷ ⁸n does not occur as basic root consonant⁹ as well as the voiceless consonants cannot be altered. Voiceless consonants include the ones that have no voiced counterpart ⁸f and the ejectives⁹, but note that also some of the voiceless consonants that occur as mutated forms can be the basic radicals. Thus for instance the t of kətəf ‘hash’ is original ⁸√kt⁹, whereas the t of sətəβ ‘curse’ is mutated ⁸√sdβ⁹. Gumer represents a mixed type concerning ⁸de-⁹gemination. In principle, it behaves like Chaha there is degemination and the mutation patterns are the same , but unlike Chaha degemination has not taken place in some cases. This leads to a slightly more complex situation than in ʽpureʼ non-geminating Gurage varieties ⁸where in general mutation replaced gemination⁹. Thus with the presence of gemination in some verbs in Gumer, there are four possible representations of an original geminate ⁸in contrast to two possibilities in the nongeminating Chaha⁹, summarized in table 1 with example verbs in the ɱerfective. + + nəkəβ xəttər √rxβ √xdr ‘find’ ‘thatch’ nəgəd gʸəbbər √rgd √g βr ‘touch’ ‘pay taxes’ Table 1: Mutation/gemination types The approximants w and y and the lateral l as penultimate radicals occur almost exclusively in loans and then only geminated, for example kʼəyyəs ‘plan’, dəwwəl ‘call, phone’, ella ‘covet’. ɳose ⁸2006⁹ reports practically the same situation in Endegeñ; see ɳose ⁸2006: 845⁹ for a proposed historical scenario of this development. 44 The occurrence of these four possibilities is not completely arbitrary. There is a considerable number of exceptions, but at large the distribution is as follows: /+ The combination gemination/+mutation occurs frequently and represents the “normal” case. For instance, the verb nəkəβ ‘find’, which is based on the root √rxβ, has a non-geminated but mutated penultimate radical ⁸x k⁹. / The combination gemination/ mutation only concerns verbs with penultimate radicals that can be devoiced, i.e. the absence of mutation in these verbs means absence of devoicing. Devoicing does not take place if the final radical is an obstruent ⁸stop or fricative⁹ except t ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 41ff., ɳose 2006: 845⁹. Examples are nəgəd ‘touch’ ⁸√rgd⁹ and nəgəf ‘drop, fall’ ⁸√rg⁹ without devoicing, as against sɨrəpət ‘spend some time’ ⁸√srβt⁹ with final radical t and devoicing ⁸β p⁹. Mutation of r, i.e. occlusivization to n, is not affected by this rule, for example tənəf ‘remain’ ⁸√tr⁹. + /+ Gemination of the penultimate radical ⁸be it mutated or not⁹ occurs if the last radical is of short duration. In particular this is r, which is by far the shortest consonant. Secondly gemination is also found with most verbs if the last consonant is missing ⁸so to speak when it has a duration of 0 ms⁹. Verbs with final radical r or missing final radical are surprisingly frequent ⁸in contrast to the gemination/ mutation verbs, which are significantly less numerous⁹. Examples are xəttər ‘thatch’ ⁸√xdr⁹ with a geminated and devoiced penultimate radical ⁸d tt⁹, or bənnər ‘fly’ ⁸√βrr⁹ with a geminated and occlusivized penultimate radical ⁸r nn⁹. + / The combination +gemination/ mutation is attested in verbs like gʸəbbər ‘pay taxes, pay tribute’ ⁸√g βr⁹ or xədda ‘betray’ ⁸√xdA⁹. Since verbs belonging to this group are not very frequent and behave differently than comparable verbs like, for example, jəppər ‘finish’ ⁸√d βr⁹ and bətta ⁸√βdA⁹ ‘take’ without apparent reason ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 81f.⁹, they might also be classified as exceptions ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 59⁹. 3.3.2 Problem of (de-)gemination in Imperfective and Jussive So far, the problem of ⁸de-⁹gemination has only been discussed for the ɱerfective, where the penultimate radical is subject to mutation in all verb types and occurs as geminate in the contexts described above, i.e. when the root final consonant is r or missing. However, depending on the verb type, mutation may also be reCf. measurements in ɳose ⁸2006: 846⁹, where r has an average duration of 24.7 ms, compared to for example f with a duration of 106.3 ms. 45 quired in the Imperfective and/or Jussive. Here, the occurrence of geminates is more complicated and needs further elaboration. In a nutshell, the situation is best captured as follows. Geminating verbs also show gemination where required by the Imperfective and/or Jussive template, but only when the consonant in question is followed by a vowel. This vowel can be there as required by the template, but it can also be ⁸and in terms of tokens often is⁹ the epenthetic ɨ according to the rules of epenthesis ⁸↗ 2.3.2⁹. If the consonant in question is word final or directly followed by another consonant, i.e. if it appears in syllable coda position, it remains a singleton. For verbs with a final radical r, this means in particular that the singular forms show gemination, whereas the second and third person plural forms do not. This contrast is exemplified in ⁸104⁹ with some third person verb forms of type B verb √d βr ‘finish’. ⁸104⁹ 3m 3f yɨ-jəppɨr tɨ-dəppɨr yɨ-jəpr-o yə-dəpr-əma The number/gender suffixes -o ⁸pm⁹ and -əma ⁸p⁹ both begin with a vowel. When they are added to the base, the word is syllabified differently. The final r becomes the onset of a syllable and the preceding penultimate and potential geminate moves into the position of a syllable coda, where it appears as singleton only. It is important to note that the conceivable ⁸or even expected⁹ outcome *yɨjəppɨro ⁸geminate + epenthetic vowel⁹ does not occur ⁸105⁹. ⁸105⁹ yɨ.jəp.pɨr + -o yɨ.jəp.ro ⁸*yɨ.jəpp.ro, *yɨ.jəp.pɨ.ro⁹ ‘they finish’ Another instance is illustrated in ⁸106⁹. When the 3sm copula -u, consisting of a vowel only, is suffixed to an Imperfective with final r, gemination disappears as in the case above. ⁸106⁹ tɨ.cək.kɨr + -u tɨ.cək.ru ⁸*tɨ.cəkk.ru, *tɨ.cək.kɨ.ru⁹ ‘she is cooking’ When a suffix is added that begins with a consonant, as for example 1p -nə ⁸107⁹ or the definite future marker -te ⁸108⁹, the syllabification of the word is not altered. The final radical r remains in coda position, preceded by the epenthetic ɨ and the geminated penult. ⁸107⁹ nɨ.jəp.pɨr + -nə yɨ.jəp.pɨn.nə ⁸*nɨ.jəp.rɨ.nə⁹ ⁸108⁹ yɨ.jəp.pɨr + -te yɨ.jəp.pɨr.te ⁸*yɨ.jəp.rɨ.te⁹ ‘we finish’ ‘he will finish’ Note that the linker -m itself consists only of a consonant. However, when suffixed to a final r, epenthesis is needed. The resulting -ɨm works like a suffix beginning with a vowel ⁸109⁹. ⁸109⁹ yɨ.jəp.pɨr + -m yɨ.jəp.rɨm ⁸*yɨ.jəp.pɨrm, *yɨ.jəp.pɨ.rɨm⁹ ‘he finishes and’ 46 As for the geminating verbs that lack a consonantal final radical, they have a ɱerfective base ending either in a or ə. The former also have a final a in the Imperfective and Jussive. Consequently the penultimate radical is always followed by a vowel and thus geminated, i.e. of course only if required by the template ⁸110⁹. ⁸110⁹ yɨkʼ.rəp.pa ⁸*yɨkʼ.rə.pa⁹ ‘he breaks at once, he snaps of’ The verbs with a base final ə in the ɱerfective do not show this vowel in the other TAM forms. Therefore the penultimate radical occurs word finally, constitutes a syllable coda and is not geminated ⁸111⁹. ⁸111⁹ yɨz.rəkʸ ⁸*yɨz.rəkkʸ ⁹ ‘he speaks’ According to the syllable structure rule of r-final verbs above, these verbs should show gemination when they receive a suffix that begins with a vowel. However, this is not the case. The penultimate radical remains a singleton, as in the singular form, irrespective of the type of suffix one adds, such as the number/gender marker -o ⁸112a⁹ or the linker -m ⁸112b⁹. ⁸112⁹ a. b. yɨz.rəkʸ + -o yɨz.rəkʸ + -m yɨz.rə.ko ⁸*yɨz.rək.ko⁹ ‘they speak’ yɨz.rə.kʸɨm ⁸*yɨz.rək.kʸɨm⁹ ‘he speaks and’ Finally, consider the following ⁸113⁹ minimal pair of the 3pm of the ə-final verb zɨrəkkʸə ‘speak’ and the a-final verb zɨrəkka ‘spread, stretch’, showing that the former does not geminate whereas the latter does. ⁸113⁹ a. b. yɨzrəkʸ yɨzrəkka yɨzrəko yɨzrəkko ‘he speaks / they speak’ ‘he spreads / they spread’ To sum up, gemination in verb forms is ⁸largely⁹ predictable. On the one side it can only be found where the verb template ⁸i.e. morphology⁹ allows for it, but its actual occurrence is conditioned by the environment, which is phonological in nature as described above. ⁸ɳose 2006: 847⁹ explains the retained gemination ⁸i.e. in Endegeñ, where the situation is basically the same⁹ as “a compensatory trade-off between penultimate gemination and short final consonants and between penultimate singleton and long final consonants”. In other words, the total duration of the medial and final consonant remains more or less the same in all verbs; or put differently, gemination maintains the length of verbs that would be “too short” due to their short or missing final consonant. Further, also the fact that in the Imperfective and Jussive gemination does not occur in certain syllable constellations shows that gemination is a phonological phenomenon rather than a ⁸pure⁹ morphological one. With depalatalization kʸ k ⁸↗ 3.16⁹. zɨrəkka is synonymous to zɨrakka, zɨrakka probably being the more common form. 47 The insight that the main purpose of the ⁸retained⁹ gemination is to compensate for the short duration of words leads to the assumption that gemination in longer words is less strong. And in fact, the longer a verb is or becomes with additional affixes, the weaker is the gemination. Thus, for example, the pp of səppərəm ‘he broke ⁸ ⁹’ appears longer than the one in təsəppərom ‘they broke ⁸ ⁹’, and in yɨtkʼʸəppərəma ‘they ⁸⁹ receive’ it is hardly perceivable and virtually not geminated anymore. Yet geminated consonants are distinguishable from singletons, a fact which becomes clear in particular when geminated Gumer verbs are contrasted with their non-geminated counterparts in Chaha. Since gemination is largely predictable, one might take into consideration not to write it. However, this requires that the non-native speaker ⁸or in this case rather reader⁹ knows which type a verb belongs to at least for the verbs with a penultimate radical that cannot mutate. Compare, for instance, the similar looking verbs səffər ‘measure’ and cəffər ‘take a mouthful’. Both verbs have a final radical r and therefore are geminating verbs, but in the Imperfective only the latter one as a type B verb requires gemination, whereas the former one as a type A verb does not. Thus we have the contrast yɨsəfɨr ‘he measures’ vs. yɨcəffɨr ‘he takes a mouthful’. An example with verbs that lack a final consonantal radical is fətta ‘untie’ and təfətta ‘become loose’ with the corresponding Imperfective forms yɨfəta ‘he unties’ and yɨtfətta ‘it becomes loose’. Moreover, in addition to some exceptions, there are many Amharic loanwords in use that are pronounced with full gemination as in Amharic, even if the verb shape as such would predict a nongeminating verb according to the Gumer rules, an example being wəssən ‘decide’. There are also some minimal pairs of an original and a borrowed verb that contrast only in their gemination ⁸in the ɱerfective⁹, for example kʼənəs ‘begin’ vs. kʼənnəs ‘decrease’. For these reasons, gemination is represented in the notation wherever it occurs. Nevertheless, it must be noted that gemination in Gumer generally is not very strong and harder to perceive than, for example, in the related language Amharic. The matter is complicated by the fact that the strength of gemination can vary from speaker to speaker. On the one hand, one should take into consideration that there is a considerable number of ‘mixed’ marriages with one parent speaking a different Gurage variety. Thus, for example, a ⁸non-geminating⁹ Chaha mother can have a weakening influence, whereas the speech of a ⁸geminating⁹ Ezha mother might reinforce gemination. On the other hand, it has also been shown ⁸Völlmin 2009⁹ that gemination in Gumer appears slightly less often in villages close to the neighboring Chaha speaking area. 48 3.4 Main verb types 3.4.1 Sound verbs The bases of the triradical verb types A, B, C, D and the quadriradical verb types E and F are summarized in table 2. The radicals are represented with the numbers according to their position. The penultimate radicals that are subject to mutation ⁸see section 3.3.1⁹ are underlined ⁸ ⁹: they occur in the ɱerfective of all types, in the Imperfective of all types except type A, and in the Jussive of types B, C and D. Note that the Jussive of type C occasionally also appears without mutation. Type ɳoot A1 A2 B C D √123 √123 √1 23 √1 23 √1 23 1ə2ə3 1ə2ə3 1ə2ə3 + 1a2ə3 1ʷə2ə3 1ə23 1ə23 1ə23 + 1a23 1ʷə23 123 12ə3 1ə23 1a23 / 1a23 1ʷə23 E F √1234 √12 34 12ə3ə4 12a3ə4 12ə34 12a34 1ə234 12a34 Table 2: Verb types 3.4.1.1 Triradicals Type A Verb type A ⁸table 3⁹ is characterized by the presence of mutation of the penultimate radical in the ɱerfective and the absence thereof in the Imperfective and Jussive. There are two subtypes distinguished by the vowels in the Jussive: A1 without vowel ⁸except for epenthetic ɨ, ↗ 2.3.2⁹, and A2 with the vowel ə between radical 2 and 3. Verbs of subtype A1 are usually transitive and those of A2 intransitive. There are exceptions to this rule, as for example nəməd/rəmd/rməd ‘love’, which is transitive but belongs to subtype A2 . Finally, note that verbs of type A2 often show variation and can alternatively also occur without ə in the Jussive. Type ɳoot A1 A2 √srkʼ √zrβ sənəkʼ zənəβ sərkʼ zərβ srkʼ zrəβ ‘steal’ ‘rain’ Table 3: Example bases of verb type A The following lists show a choice of verbs belonging to type A1 ⁸114⁹ and A2 ⁸115⁹, grouped according to their patterns of gemination/mutation ⁸↗ 3.3.1⁹. 49 ⁸114⁹ Verbs of type A1 /+ dənəg fənəm kʼənəm kʼənəs sənəβ sənəkʼ tʼənəkʼ /+ bətəx kəfət fətʼəm tʼəkʼəm / nədəf nəgəd nəgəf səgəd tʼəbəs tʼəβətʼ zəgəd / dəməd kətəf kʼəməs nəfəg nəfəkʼ nəkəs nəkʼətʼ nətʼəkʼ təkəs tʼəməd zəməd + /+ dəppər kʼəppər məkkər xəttər √drg √frm √kʼrm √kʼrs √srβ √srkʼ √tʼrkʼ ‘hit’ ‘slice’ ‘insult’ ‘begin’ ‘spin’ ‘steal’ ‘scoop out’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √βtx ‘uproot, pull out’ √kft ‘open’ √ftʼm ‘close, block up’ √tʼkʼm ‘be useful’ √rdf √rgd √rgf √sgd √tʼβs √tʼβtʼ √zgd ‘sting’ ‘touch’ ‘drop ⁸ ⁹’ ‘pray, worship’ ‘roast, fry’ ‘seize, hold’ ‘remember’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √dmd ‘meet’ √ktf ‘hash, chop’ √kʼms ‘taste’ √rfg ‘be greedy’ √rfkʼ ‘tear off; hiccup’ √rks ‘bite’ √rkʼtʼ ‘kick, step on’ √rtʼkʼ ‘snatch’ √tks ‘burn ⁸ ⁹’ √tʼmd ‘yoke’ √zmd ‘pull’ √dβr √kʼβr √mxr √xdr ‘add’ ‘bury, plant’ ‘advise’ ‘thatch’ 50 + /+ gəffər kʼəmmər kʼəttʼər nəkkʼər səffər səkkʼər tʼəkkʼər ⁸115⁹ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √gfr ‘push’ √kʼmr ‘delouse’ √kʼtʼr ‘kill’ √rkʼr ‘uproot, dig out’ √sfr ‘measure’ √skʼr ‘hang’ √tʼkʼr ‘hide ⁸ ⁹’ Verbs of type A2 /+ fənəx gənəf sənəf tənəf tʼənəkʼ xənəm zənəβ /+ bəkət / nəgəs / nəməd nəfəs + /+ bəkkər bəttər kʼəppər məkkər nəppər səkkər zəkkər + /+ bəssər fəkkʼər fəttʼər nəttʼər √frx √grf √srf √trf √tʼrkʼ √xrm √zrβ ‘tolerate’ ‘be long’ ‘be afraid, fear’ ‘remain’ ‘be dry’ ‘stay a year’ ‘rain’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √βkt ‘perish, die ⁸i.e. animals, without being slaughtered⁹’ √rgs ‘reign’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √rmd ‘love’ √rfs ‘blow ⁸wind⁹’ √βxr √βdr √kʼβr √mgr √nβr √sxr √zgr ‘lack’ ‘be first’ ‘be incomplete’ ‘suppurate’ ‘live’ ‘be drunk’ ‘jump’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √βsr ‘cook ⁸ ⁹, be ripe’ √fkʼr ‘be fat’ √ftʼr ‘be finished ⁸food⁹’ √rtʼr ‘melt ⁸ ⁹’ 51 Type B Verb type B ⁸table 4⁹ is characterized by the mutation of the penultimate radical in all three TAM forms and in particular by the presence of a palatal element. This feature is represented as a superscript after the first radical, i.e. √1 23. ⁰ The palatalization occurs on the first radical if it is a non-labial obstruent ⁸t, tʼ, d, s, z, k, kʼ, g, x → c, cʼ, j, ʃ, ʒ, kʸ, kʼʸ, gʸ, xʸ ⁹. With all other radicals in the first position, the second radical is palatalized instead, but only if it is velar ⁸k, kʼ, g, x → kʸ, kʼʸ, gʸ, xʸ ⁹. If neither the first nor the second radical is palatalizable, the first vowel is fronted to e ⁸ɳose 2007: 405⁹. ɱalatalization only manifests in the ɱerfective and Imperfective; in the Jussive, the consonants appear depalatalized and the fronted vowels centralized, i.e. e→ə ⁸↗ 3.16⁹. Type ɳoot B √d βr √m gr √m tʼs jəppər məkkʸər metʼəs jə⁸p⁹pr mə⁸k⁹kʸr metʼs də⁸p⁹pr mə⁸k⁹kr mətʼs ‘finish’ ‘burn’ ‘detach, break of’ Table 4: Example bases of verb type B The list in ⁸116⁹ presents a choice of verbs belonging to type B, grouped according to their patterns of gemination/mutation ⁸↗ 3.3.1⁹. ⁸116⁹ Verbs of type B /+ cʼənəf gʸənəz gʸətəm ʃəpət jəkəm /+ ʃəkət mesəx metʼəs + /+ cəkkər jəppər məkkʸər ʃəkkər √tʼ rf √g rz √g tm √s βt √d gm ‘cut the top’ ‘cut in big slices’ ‘lend’ ‘choose’ ‘bash’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √s kt ‘prepare, fix’ √m sx ‘ruminate’ √m tʼs ‘detach, break of’ √t gr √d βr √m gr √s gr ‘cook ⁸ ⁹’ ‘finish’ ‘burn, set fire’ ‘change’ ⁰ Banksira ⁸2000: 56ff.⁹ analyzes these verbs as quadriradicals with a vocoid ⁸radical⁹ I after the first radical. Meyer ⁸2011: 1244⁹, discussing Gurage languages in general, mentions that type B exhibits a thematic vowel e ~ i between the first two radicals. 52 √z βr ʒəppər + /+ cəffər gʸəttəβ mettʼər nəkʸəm ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ ⁸penultimate radical without mutated counterpart⁹ √t fr ‘take a mouthful’ √g tβ ‘bar’ √m tʼr ‘select, pick’ √r gm ‘ride, mount ⁸a horse⁹’ + / gʸəbbər mezzər √g βr √m zr ‘pay taxes’ ‘count’ Type C The main characteristics of verb type C ⁸table 5⁹ is the vowel a after the first radical in all three TAM forms. This feature is represented as a superscript , i.e. √1 23. Mutation of the penultimate radical occurs in the ɱerfective and Imperfective. In Ethiosemitic terms, the Jussive forms usually do not occur with mutation, but in Gumer they show variation in such a way that they mostly appear with mutation ⁸cf. also ɳose 2007: 408⁹. Type ɳoot C √m rx manəx manx manx / marx ‘capture’ Table 5: Example base of verb type C The following list shows some examples of type C verbs ⁸117⁹, which are much less common than type A and B. ⁸117⁹ Verbs of type C + /+ manəx zapət ʒanəg √m rx √z βt √ʒ rg ‘capture’ ‘get lost’ ‘go away’  /+ kʼattʼər √kʼ tʼr ‘knot’ Type D The characteristics of verb type D ⁸table 6⁹ are labialization of the first radical and mutation in all three bases.  The labializing element is represented by the super ʒanəg/ʒang/ʒarg has a jussive variant zang with depalatalization, a feature of type B verbs.  ɳose ⁸2007: 406⁹ states that type D has the same template in the Jussive as type B, but at the same time also that type D ⁸unlike type B⁹ does not feature mutation in the Jussive. This pattern could not be confirmed for Gumer where all verbs of type D show mutation in all bases. 53 script after the first radical, i.e. √1 23.  If the initial radical is not labializable the first vowel is realized as o as it is the case in the verb zobbəd ‘have mouthful of cʼat’. Note that there are other verbs with labialized consonants that do not belong to type D. Their labialization is primary and an inseparable part of the host radical and classify with one of the other types, for example type A tʼəkkʼʷər ‘become black √tʼkʼʷr, type B jəkkʷər ‘wilt, droop’ √d gʷr, type C zakkʼʷər ‘talk nonsense’ √z kʼʷr ⁸cf. also ɳose 2007: 406⁹. Type ɳoot D √kʼ mr √z βd kʼʷəmmər zobbəd kʼʷə⁸m⁹mr kʼʷə⁸m⁹mr zobbd zobbd ‘be strong’ ‘have mouthful of cʼat’ Table 6: Example base of verb type D Verbs belonging to this group are very rare. The list in ⁸118⁹ is probably close to exhaustive. ⁸118⁹ Verbs of type D bʷənəs gʷənnər kʼʷəmmər kʼʷənnər zobbəd √β rs √g rr √kʼ mr √kʼ rr √z βd ‘feel lonely’ ‘cut ⁸in a special way⁹’ ‘be strong, grow up’ ‘thatch peak of roof, trim, pile up’ ‘have a mouthful of cʼatʼ 3.4.1.2 Quadriradicals The quadriradicals ⁸table 7⁹ mutate the penultimate radical in the ɱerfective and the Imperfective, but not in the Jussive. There are two types: type E, which is much more common, and type F. The latter is characterized by the vowel a represented by a superscript , i.e. √12 34 which appears after the second radical in all three bases. By contrast, type E features the ⁸default⁹ vowel ə after the second radical in the ɱerfective and Imperfective only, whereas in the Jussive it appears after the first radical. Type ɳoot E F √grdm √fr tx grətəm fratəx grətm fratx gərdm fratx ‘break in two’ ‘mess’ Table 7: Example bases of quadriradicals  Banksira ⁸2000: 84⁹ suggests that these verbs are quadriradicals with a vocoid ⁸radical⁹ U after the first radical, analoguous to type B verbs ⁸Banksira 2000: 56ff.⁹. For Eastern Gurage, Meyer ⁸2011: 1244⁹ suggests a verb class with a thematic vowel o ~ u between the first two radicals. Banksira ⁸2000: 52⁹ has the form zəbʷəd with labialization of the second radical for Chaha. 54 The following two lists show example verbs of type E ⁸119⁹ and type F ⁸120⁹. Note that type F is not very frequent. ⁸119⁹ Verbs of type E dɨrəkkər gɨrətəm kʷɨrəkʷəm kʼɨrətʼəf kʼɨrətʼəm mɨsəkkər sɨrəpət xɨrətəm ⁸120⁹ √drgr √grdm √kʷrkʷm √kʼrtʼf √kʼrtʼm √mskr √srβt √xrtm ‘throw away’ ‘break in two’ ‘give blow with knuckles’ ‘pinch ⁸finger⁹’ ‘step on member’ ‘testify’ ‘spend some days’ ‘cut of’ Verbs of type F fɨratəx ʃɨraʃʃər tʼɨβannər √fr tx √ʃr ʃr √tʼβ rr ‘mess’ ‘level the ground’ ‘fold’ 3.4.2 Weak verbs Weak roots lack one ⁸or more⁹ of their consonantal radicals. These missing radicals correspond to either the glides w or y, or to the post-palatal ⁸velar, pharyngeal and glottal⁹ consonants x, ħ, ʕ, ʔ, and h that have been lost in the course of the history of the language. Banksira ⁸2000: 34⁹ assumes as a placeholder for a missing laryngeal a vocoid A, and the vocoids U and I for the missing w and y respectively. This representation is adopted here. A usually surfaces as the vowel a, whereas U leads to labialization or vowel rounding and I to palatalization or vowel fronting. It is important to observe that there are verbs occurring with three consonantal radicals on the surface that are not triradicals but originate from quadriradicals, for example fɨrəkkʼa from √frkʼA ‘split’ or zɨrəkkʸə from √zrgI ‘speak, talk’. The differing templates, in particular the position of the mutating radical, show that Compare these exemplary common Semitic ⁸CS⁹ roots ⁸cf. Leslau 1987⁹ with the actual Gumer equivalents: CS Gumer √fsw ‘fart’ √fsU ‘fart’ fʷəʃʃəm ‘he farted’ √bky ‘cry’ √βxI ‘cry’ bəkkʸəm ‘he cried’ ɱost-palatals: √nfx ‘blow’ √rfA ‘blow’ nəffam ‘he blew’ √ftħ ‘open’ √ftA ‘untie’ fəttam ‘he untied’ √blʕ ‘swallow’ √βrA ‘eat’ bənam ‘he ate’ √mlʔ ‘be full’ √mrA ‘be full’ mənam ‘it was full’ √whb ‘give’ √Aβ ‘give’ aβəm ‘he gave’ Note, however, that in some cases these ‘weak’ consonants can vary from language to language. Compare, for example, Gumer fəccʼə ‘grind’ based on the root √ftʼI containing a final I ⁸< glide y⁹ with its cognates fasʼħa ⁸√fsʼħ⁹ ‘cut, split’ in Geez and fəssʼɨħe ⁸√fsʼħ⁹ ‘break to pieces’ in Tigrinya ⁸Leslau 1987: 169⁹ with a final post-palatal. Glides: 55 these verbs are not underlying triradicals. Consider, for example, the mutated kkʸ of zɨrəkkʸə, which is the last consonant on the surface but the penultimate radical of the root √zrgI. 3.4.2.1 Weak triradicals Table 8 summarizes the common weak root patterns of underlying triradicals, beginning with verbs featuring a weak first radical, followed by verbs with a weak penultimate ⁸i.e. middle⁹ radical and verbs with a weak final radical. Note that most weak triradicals are attributable to type A. Type/subtype A1 -U23 A2 -U23 A1 -A23 A2 -A23 wə2ə3 wə2ə3 a2ə3 a2ə3 wə23 wə23 a23 a23 ⁸w⁹23 ⁸w⁹2ə3 ⁸ə⁹23 ⁸ə⁹2ə3 A-1U3-w A-1U3-o B-1U3 A-1A3-ə A-1A3-Ø A-1I3-y A-1I3-e 1ʷə3 1o3 1o3 + 1a3 1a3 1ʸə3 1e3 1ʷə3 1o3 1o3 + 1ə3 1⁸ ʸ⁹ 3 1ʸə3 1e3 1ʷ3 1o3 1o3 1a3 1a3 1ʸ2 1e3 / 1i3 A1 -12U-w1 A2 -12U-w2 C-12U A-12A A1 -12I-y A1 -12I-e A2 -12I B-12I C-12I 1ʷə2ə 1ʷə2ə 1ʷa2ə 1ə2a 1ə2ʸə 1e2ə 1ə2ʸə 1ə2ə + 1a2ʸə 1ʷə2 1ə2ʷ 1ʷa2 1ə2a 1ə2ʸ 1e2 1ə2ʸ 1ə2 + 1a2ʸ 1ʷ2 12ʷe 1ʷa2 12a 12ʸ 1i2 12e 1ə2 1a2ʸ Table 8: Common patterns of weak triradical roots 3.4.2.1.1 Triradicals with weak first radical Type U23 Triradicals with U as the first radical ⁸table 9⁹ do not lack a consonant in the ɱerfective and Imperfective, but surface with w. In the Jussive, however, this w is often dropped after the subject prefixes if the verb is intransitive ⁸i.e. type A2 ⁹, 56 whereas transitive verbs ⁸i.e. type A1 ⁹ usually do not elide w ⁸cf. ɳose 2007: 408⁹. In the Imperative, i.e. when there is no preceding subject marker, w is present in all cases. Type ɳoot A1 -U23 A2 -U23 √Ukʼs √Utʼkʼ wək’əs wət’ək wək’s wət’k’ wk’s ⁸w⁹t’ək’ ‘blame’ ‘fall’ Table 9: Example bases of triradical verbs with root U23 ⁸121⁹ Verbs of type A1 -U23 wəkʼəs wəsəd wəttər ⁸122⁹ √Ukʼs √Usd √Utr ‘blame’ ‘take, take away’ ‘draw tight’ Verbs of type A2 -U23 wətʼəkʼ √Utʼkʼ ‘fall’ Type A23 Triradicals that feature A as the first radical ⁸table 10⁹ start with the vowel a, followed by radicals 2 and 3. In the Jussive a changes to ə, which is elided after all subject prefixes but is still present in the Imperatives. Type ɳoot A1 -A23 A2 -A23 √Arβ √Adr anəβ attər arβ adr ⁸ə⁹rβ ⁸ə⁹dər ‘milk’ ‘spend the night’ Table 10: Example bases of triradical verbs with root A23 ⁸123⁹ Verbs of type A1 -A23 adəg afəs agəd agəz anəβ atʼəβ attʼər √Adg √Afs √Agd √Agz √Arβ √Atʼβ √Atʼr ‘throw down, make fall’ ‘scoop with both hands’ ‘tie, bind’ ‘help’ ‘milk’ ‘wash’ ‘make a fence’ wəsəd ‘take’, for example, is an exceptional A1 verb that elides the w in 57 : wəsəd / wəsd / ⁸w⁹sd. ⁸124⁹ Verbs of type A2 -A23 ammər anəkʼ anəs attər attʼər √Amr √Arkʼ √Ars √Adr √Atʼr ‘believe’ ‘be finished, come to an end’ ‘be less, be smaller’ ‘spend the night’ ‘be short’ Type I23 Unlike w, there are no verbs with an initial consonant y. The few verbs beginning with e might be attributed to verb type I23 ⁸cf. ɳose 2007: 409⁹. However, they are treated here as exceptions; see section 3.5.3.10 for examples. 3.4.2.1.2 Triradicals with weak second radical Type 1U3 Triradicals with U in the second radical position ⁸table 11⁹ occur with only two consonants, 1 and 3. Since it is the penultimate radical that is missing, mutation does not apply. U labializes the first radical if it is labializable, i.e. velars and labials ⁸A-1U3-w⁹. Otherwise it is realized as vowel o with verbs belonging to type A ⁸A1U3-o⁹ and verbs with palatalization belonging to type B ⁸B-1U3⁹. Type ɳoot A-1U3-w A-1U3-o B-1U3 √fUx √tʼUm √t Ut fʷəx tʼom cot fʷəx tʼom cot fʷx tʼom tot Table 11: Example bases of triradical verbs with root 1U3 ⁸125⁹ Verbs of type A-1U3-w fʷəx kʼʷəm mʷət ⁸126⁹ √fUx √kʼUm √mUt ‘wipe’ ‘stand’ ‘die’ Verbs of type A-1U3-o notʼ tos tʼom √rUtʼ √tUs √tʼUm ‘run’ ‘be confused’ ‘fast’ 58 ‘wipe’ ‘fast’ ‘work’ ⁸127⁹ Verbs of type B-1U3 √t Ut √tʼ Ur √d Us √z Ur cot cʼor jos ʒor ‘work’ ‘carry ⁸loads⁹’ ‘bash, hit with fist’ ‘go round’ Type 1A3 Triradicals with a second radical A ⁸table 12⁹ occur only with two consonants, 1 and 3. Since A stands for the penultimate radical that is missing, mutation does not apply. Typically, A is realized as a in the ɱerfective and Jussive, and as ə in the Imperfective ⁸A-1A3-ə⁹ ⁸128⁹. A few verbs do not have a vowel in the Imperfective ⁸A-1A3-Ø⁹ ⁸129⁹, but instead their first radical is palatalized when palatalizable. This is the case with the two verbs xar ‘know’ and sar ‘be pleasing, be pretty’ whose Imperfective bases are xʸr and ʃr respectively ⁸b⁹. The verb cal ‘can’, a frequently-used loan from Amharic, also belongs to the latter group ⁸c⁹. The very frequent verb bar ‘say’ ⁸d⁹ is irregular: its Jussive features the vowel ə ⁸↗ 3.17⁹. Type ɳoot A-1A3-ə A-1A3-Ø √dAkʼ √βAs √sAr √βAr dakʼ βas sar βar dəkʼ βs ʃr βr dakʼ βas sar βər ‘laugh’ ‘be bad’ ‘be pleasing’ ‘say’ Table 12: Example bases of triradical verbs with root 1A3 ⁸128⁹ Verbs of type A-1A3-ə cʼar dakʼ fakʼ gad gar kas kʼam mʷakʼ mar nax naz √cʼAr √dAkʼ √fAkʼ √gAd √gAr √kAs √kʼAm √mʷAkʼ √mAr √rAx √rAz ‘load; saddle’ ‘laugh’ ‘scrape’ ‘be hungry’ ‘be red-hot’ ‘divide’ ‘chew cʼat’ ‘be warm’ ‘have pity’ ‘send’ ‘be heavy’ Note that this verb developped from a derived form of a root √Ut ⁸Leslau 1979c: 175⁹, i.e. tə-wat, the detransitivizer tə- of which became palatalized to c. This verb is to be identified with words like wat ‘digging, ploughing; ploughed field’ and cəwac ‘farmer’. 59 √sAm √ʃAβ √tAm √tʼAf √UAr √UAtʼ sam ʃaβ tam tʼaf war watʼ ⁸129⁹ ‘kiss’ ‘pull’ ‘be sweet, taste good’ ‘write’ ‘spend the day’ ‘swallow’ Verbs of type A-1A3-Ø a. bas nakʼ b. sar xar c. cal d. bar √βAs √rAkʼ √sAr √xAr √cAl √βAr ‘be bad’ ‘be bigger, surpass’ ‘be pretty, be pleasing’ ‘know’ ‘can’ ⁸< ⁹ ‘say’ ⁸irregular, ↗ 3.17⁹ Type 1I3 Triradicals with I as second radical ⁸table 13⁹ occur with two consonants, 1 and 3. Since I is in the position of the penultimate radical, mutation does not apply. The element I causes palatalization of a preceding consonant ⁸A-1I3-y⁹ ⁸130⁹ or it is realized as vowel e ⁸A-1I3-e⁹ ⁸131⁹. Type ɳoot A-1I3-y A-1I3-e √kʼItʼ √tIg kʼʸətʼ teg kʼʸətʼ teg kʼʸtʼ teg / tig ‘be tired’ ‘be done successfully’ Table 13: Example bases of triradical verbs with root 1I3 ⁸130⁹ Verbs of type A-1I3-y kʼʸətʼ ⁸131⁹ √kʼItʼ ‘be tired’ Verbs of type A-1I3-e ʃem teg ter √ʃIm √tIg √tIr ‘hide’ ‘be done successfully’ ‘be late ⁸time⁹’ I have no explanation for verbs of type A-1I3-e like teg ‘be done successfully’; the initial t is a palatalizable consonant, yet it is not palatalized. 60 3.4.2.1.3 Triradicals with weak third radical Type 12U Triradicals with a third radical U ⁸table 14⁹ occur only with two consonants, 1 and 2. The element U labializes the rightmost labializable radical ⁸i.e. velars and labials⁹ preceding it and causes palatalization of 2 if it is palatalizable ⁸i.e. alveolars⁹ ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 22⁹. Note that the final ə in the ɱerfective is part of the base ⁸i.e. suffixed subject markers follow the ə, ↗ 3.11.6.1⁹. The verb tʼəffʷə ‘be satiated, full’ seems to be the only example belonging to the type A2 . Banksira ⁸2000: 202⁹ mentions that ⁸in Chaha⁹ “[t]he stem-final /U/ of /t’ɨfəU/ exceptionally palatalizes /ə/ to [e] only in the Imperative”, i.e. the base is tʼfʷe with a final e. Thus, the reason for the unusual vowel e lies in the shape of the template of A2 ⁸similar to səccʼə ‘drink’ below⁹, where there is the vowel ə between the penultimate and last radical, i.e. underlyingly we have tʼfəU. While the labial f is labialized by U ⁸and not palatalized⁹, the interfering ə is subject to the palatalizing effect of U and becomes fronted to e. Note, however, that in the ɱerfective there is also a vowel ə, which is not palatalized ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 202⁹. Nevertheless, in Gumer I have also recorded tʼfʷ without final e ⁸both for Imperatives and the other Jussive forms⁹. ɱresumably the alternative base exists because occasionally the Jussive of verbs of type A2 can also be formed according to the template of type A1 which lacks the vowel ə ⁸↗ 3.4.1.1⁹. Type ɳoot A1 -12U-w1 A1 -12U-w2 A2 -12U-w2 C-12U √fsU √rkʼU √tʼfU √f tʼU fʷəʃʃə nəkkʼʷə tʼəffʷə fʷaccʼə fʷəʃ rəkʼʷ tʼəfʷ fʷacʼ fʷʃ nkʼʷ tʼfʷe ~ tʼfʷ fʷacʼ ‘fart’ ‘roar’ ‘be satiated, full’ ‘mow’ Table 14: Example bases of triradical verbs with root 12U As examples ⁸132⁹-⁸135⁹ show, triradicals with root 12U are not very frequent. ⁸132⁹ Verbs of type A1 -12U-w1 kʼʷənə fʷəʃʃə ⁸133⁹ √kʼrU √fsU ‘roast’ ‘fart’ Verbs of type A1 -12U-w2 nəkkʼʷə √rkʼU ‘roar’ It is not clear whether in Chaha only the Imperative features this final e or all Jussive forms. 61 ⁸134⁹ Verbs of type A2 -12U-w2 √tʼfU tʼəffʷə ⁸135⁹ ‘be satiated, full’ Verbs of type C-12U √f tʼU √m sU fʷaccʼə mʷaʃʃə ‘mow’ ‘rub, massage’ Type 12A Triradicals with A on the third radical position ⁸table 15⁹ occur with the two consonants 1 and 2 and a final a, which belongs to the base. For this rather frequent type there are no formal subtypes A1 and A2 since the distinctive feature, the occurrence of the vowel ə in the Jussive of the latter, is neutralized by the final a. Type ɳoot A-12A √gβA gəppa gəβa gβa Table 15: Example base of triradical verb with root 12A ⁸136⁹ Verbs of type A-12A anna ⁰ bəna bətta fəkka fəkkʼa fəna fətta gəffa gəppa gəssa gətta kəna kəppa kʼəppa kʼəttʼa məna nəppa nədda nəffa nəkka nəmma √ArA √βrA √βdA √fkA √fkʼA √frA √ftA √gfA √gβA √gzA √gdA √krA √kβA √kʼβA √kʼtʼA √mrA √rβA √rdA √rfA √rgA √rmA ‘defecate’ ‘eat’ ‘take’ ‘escape’ ‘split’ ‘have intercourse’ ‘untie’ ‘push’ ‘enter’ ‘own, govern’ ‘pour’ ‘ascend’ ‘bend, fold’ ‘smear, oil’ ‘punish’ ‘be full’ ‘split’ ‘help’ ‘blow’ ‘coagulate’ ‘grow, sprout’ 62 ‘enter’ nəssa nətta səmma səna ʃətta təffa təppa tʼəppa tʼəmma tʼəna tʼəffa wəkka wəttʼa xədda xəna zəna √rsA √rtA √smA √srA √ʃtA √tfA √tβA √tʼβA √tʼmA √tʼrA √tʼfA √UgA √UtʼA √xdA √xrA √zrA ‘lift, raise’ ‘separate ⁸layers of əssət⁹’ ‘hear’ ‘arrive, reach’ ‘smell ⁸ ⁹’ ‘slap, spit’ ‘be hard’ ‘skin’ ‘be thirsty’ ‘call; hate; be expensive’ ‘be extinguished’ ‘stab’ ‘go up, go out’ ‘betray’ ‘put; forbid’ ‘sow’ Type 12I Triradicals with a third radical I ⁸table 16⁹ occur only with two consonants, 1 and 2. I palatalizes the directly preceding penultimate radical if it is palatalizable or otherwise raises the first vowel ⁸ə → e or ɨ → i⁹. In the case of kʼʸəmmə ‘defeat’ the initial velar is palatalized. This is probably the only such example. In contrast, initial velars of verbs with penultimate radical r like xənə ‘dig a hole’ do not palatalize even though the mutated n in the ɱerfective is not palatalizable ⁸the non-mutated r in the Imperfective and Jussive on the other hand is palatalized regularly, cf. table 73⁹. Note that the final ə in the ɱerfective is part of the base ⁸i.e. suffixed subject markers follow the ə⁹. Verbs of type A2 that have a palatalized penultimate in the ɱerfective and Imperfective, like səccʼə ‘drink’, appear with a depalatalized consonant but a final e instead in the Jussive ⁸stʼe⁹. This can be explained by the template of A2 , where there is a vowel ə between the penultimate and the final radical, i.e. underlyingly we have stʼəI with the interfering ə “absorbing” the palatalization to become fronted to e. Nevertheless, note that in the ɱerfective there is also a vowel ə, which is not fronted.  ⁰ In contrast to the singleton n in verbs with penultimate radical r and weak final radical, anna ‘defecate’ shows geminated nn, possibly explainable as compensation for the initial weak radical A ⁸compare with the discussion of retained gemination on page 47⁹.  Furthermore, due to the fact that in principle all verbs of type A2 can occur with the Jussiv template of A1 without vowel ə, the Jussive base of √stʼI is also attested as scʼ ⁸instead of stʼe⁹, i.e. the final I directly palatalizes tʼ. Thus, for example, the Imperative 2sm is not only sɨtʼe but also sɨcʼ. 63 Type ɳoot A1 -12I-y √sxI √kʼmI √sfI √stʼI √t rI √kʼ sI A1 -12I-e A2 -12I B-12I C-12I səkkʸə kʼʸəmmə seffə səccʼə cənə kʼaʃʃə səxʸ kʼʸəm sef səcʼ cən kʼaʃ sxʸ kʼʸm sif stʼe tən kʼaʃ ‘flee’ ‘defeat’ ‘sew’ ‘drink’ ‘come’ ‘throw away’ Table 16: Example bases of triradical verbs with root 12I ⁸137⁹ Verbs of type A1 -12I bəkkʸə fəccʼə məʃʃə nəccʼə səkkʸə kʼʸəmmə ⁸138⁹ ‘sew’ ‘dip, soak’ √stʼI √AkʼI ‘drink’ ‘crunch grain, chew’ Verbs of type B-12I cənə cʼənə ⁸141⁹ √sfI √cʼfI Verbs of type A2 -12I səccʼə akkʼʸə ⁸140⁹ ‘cry’ ‘grind; sharpen’ ‘become evening’ ‘pluck’ ‘flee’ ‘win, defeat’ Verbs of type A1 -12I-e seffə cʼeffə ⁸139⁹ √βxI √ftʼI √msI √rtʼI √sxI √kʼmI √t rI √tʼ rI ‘come’ ‘give birth’ Verbs of type C-12I gaʃʃə kʼaʃʃə maccə √g sI √kʼ sI √m tI ‘make a raid’ ‘throw away’ ‘be angry’ 3.4.2.2 Weak quadriradicals Table 17 summarizes the most common weak root patterns of underlying quadriradicals, i.e. those roots with a missing final radical ⁸other types are rare⁹. These 64 verbs behave like the weak triradicals with a missing final radical. In particular, this means that the radical that is subject to mutation appears as the last consonant on the surface. Note that quadriradicals of type F are rare. Type E-123U 12ə3ə 12ə3 1ə23 E-123A F-123A 12ə3a 12a3a 12ə3a 12a3a 1ə23a 12a3a E-123I F-123I 12ə3ə 12a3ə 12ə3 12a3 1ə23 12a3 Table 17: Common patterns of weak quadriradical roots Type 123U ɲuadriradicals with U as last radical ⁸table 18⁹ occur with three consonants: 1, 2 and 3. The element U labializes the rightmost labializable radical ⁸velars and labials⁹ preceding it and causes palatalization of radical 3 if it is palatalizable ⁸i.e. alveolars⁹. Note that the ə in the ɱerfective is part of the base. No examples for type F ⁸with vowel a⁹ could be found. Type ɳoot E-123U √tʼrkʼU √kʼrtʼU tʼrəkkʼʷə k’ʷrəccʼə tʼrəkʼʷ kʼʷrəcʼ tʼənkʼʷ kʼʷəncʼ ‘be dea’ ‘take a handful’ Table 18: Example bases of quadriradical verbs with root 123U ⁸142⁹ Verbs of type E-123U fɨkʼʷənə kʼʷɨrəccʼə tʼɨrəkkʼʷə zɨwənə √fkʼrU √kʼrtʼU √tʼrkʼU √zβrU ‘whistle’ ‘take a handful’ ‘be dea’ ‘envy’ Type 123A ɲuadriradicals with A as last radical ⁸table 19⁹ occur with three consonants: 1, 2 and 3. All forms have a final a, which belongs to the base. 65 Type ɳoot E-123A F-123A √kʼrβA √zr gA kʼrəppa zrakka kʼrəppa zrakka kʼəmba zraga ‘pinch of’ ‘stretch out’ Table 19: Example bases of quadriradical verbs with root 123A ⁸143⁹ Verbs of type E-123A fɨrətta fɨrəkkʼa gɨrəppa kʼɨrəffa kʼɨrəppa ⁸144⁹ √frtA √frkʼA √grβA √kʼrfA √kʼrβA ‘scatter, sprinkle’ ‘hatch’ ‘bend ⁸ ⁹’ ‘hit with stick or fist, parry’ ‘break at once, snap of’ Verbs of type F-123A √zr gA zɨrakka ‘stretch out’ Type 123I ɲuadriradicals with I as last radical occur with three consonants: 1, 2 and 3. The element I palatalizes the preceding consonant if it is palatalizable. Note that the ə in the ɱerfective is part of the base. Type ɳoot E-123I F-123I √kʼmtʼI √βr tʼI kʼməccʼə βraccʼə kʼməcʼ βracʼ kʼəmcʼ βracʼ Table 20: Example bases of quadriradical verbs with root 123I ⁸145⁹ Verbs of type F-123I dɨβəʃʃə fɨrəkkʸə kʼɨməccʼə zɨrəkkʸə ⁸146⁹ √dβsI √frkI √kʼmtʼI √zrgI ‘pound root of əssət’ ‘break in two’ ‘be ashamed’ ‘speak’ Verbs of type F-123I bɨraccʼə √βr tʼI ‘scatter’ 66 ‘be ashamed’ ‘scatter’ Other quadriradical types There are virtually no quadriradicals with a weak radical other than the final one. I am aware of two instances, nɨwəʃʃə ‘get used to’, which is based on either the root √rβsU or √rUsI ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 223⁹, and sɨmat ‘urinate’, which seems to have the root √smAt. Nevertheless, it is worth remarking that both are loans from Cushitic languages ⁸Leslau 1979c: 528, 579⁹.  This fact explains their unusual structure and it is questionable if they should be identified with a root at all. Nevertheless, as illustrated in table 21, they can be fit into the templates of type E. There is gemination in the ɱerfective and Imperfective, but of course this is not visible in the case of sɨmat where the penultimate radical is not a consonant. Further, note that sɨmat is similar to verbs of type A-1A3-ə ⁸see above⁹, which change their penultimate vowel from a to ə in the Imperfective, but with an additional initial consonant s. The vowel o of the Jussive base of nɨwəʃʃə is the result of əw ⁸the template being 1ə23 *rəwʃ roʃ ⁹. Type ɳoot E √rUsI/rβsU nwəʃʃə √smAt smat rwəʃ smət roʃ smat ‘get used to’ ‘urinate’ Table 21: Bases of nɨwəʃʃə ‘get used to’ and sɨmat ‘urinate’ 3.5 Special verb classes, subtypes and exceptions 3.5.1 Monoradicals Table 22 summarizes the rare monoradicals, i.e. verbs that surface with only one ⁸initial⁹ consonantal radical ⁸for aβ ‘give’ and od ‘tell’ see section 3.5.3.7⁹. The verbs ʃə ‘want’ and cə ‘leave’ belong to type B with a palatal element in the ɱerfective and Imperfective and depalatalization in the Jussive. The verb xʷə ‘spill’ features labialization and might be attributable to type A or D. All three verbs have a diphthong ay in the Jussive, but cə differs from the other two in that it has no vowel in the Imperfective. Type B ʃə cə xʷə ʃə c xʷə say tay xʷay ‘want’ ‘leave’ ‘spill’ Table 22: Monoradicals  sɨmat ‘urinate’ seems to be denominative from sɨmat ‘urine’, which itself comes from a Cushitic verb root ʃumaʔ - ⁸or similar⁹ furnished with a ⁸Gurage⁹ nominal suffix -(a)t ⁸Leslau 1979c: 579f.⁹. 67 3.5.2 Reduplicated verbs Usually, verb roots consist of three ⁸or four⁹ distinct radicals. In some verb roots, however, two radicals are identical, i.e. reduplicated. Usually the following three different types of reduplication in verb roots are distinguished ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 37, ɳose 2007: 409⁹: ⁸a⁹ final reduplication, i.e. triradicals and quadriradicals with an identical penultimate and final radical and the patterns 122 and 1233 respectively; ⁸b⁹ total reduplication, i.e. quadriradicals with the pattern 1212; ⁸c⁹ medial reduplication, i.e. verbs with the pattern 1223. Medial reduplication is commonly known in Ethiosemitic languages as the Frequentative. This form has to be distinguished from the other two reduplications in that it is a regular ⁸more or less productive⁹ derivation that adds the notion of intensity, repetition or distribution to the meaning of the basic ⁸triradical⁹ verb. Frequentatives are dealt with separately in section 3.10. In contrast, final and total reduplication concern the special appearance of some verb forms and are described in the following paragraphs. 3.5.2.1 Final reduplication (122 / 1233) Triradical verbs with final reduplication have the shape 122. They do not convey a specific meaning. Some authors regard them as biconsonantal roots that double their second radical to conform to the common triradical pattern ⁸cf. ɳose 2007: 409⁹, but here they are treated as a special case of triradicals.  They belong to all basic verb types and their penultimate radical ⁸i.e. the first of the identical two radicals⁹ is subject to mutation where required. table 23 shows the bases of example verbs of each type. Type ɳoot A B C D √βrr √β tt √β zz √kʼ rr bənnər betət bazəz kʼʷənnər bərr bett bazz kʼʷə⁸n⁹nr brər bətt bazz kʼʷə⁸n⁹nr ‘fly’ ‘be wide’ ‘feel depressed’ ‘trim, pile up’ Table 23: Example bases of triradicals with final reduplication Like triradicals with final reduplication, also quadriradicals with identical final radicals are not derivations. However, according to ɱrunet ⁶ ɱetros ⁸1996⁹, they often convey a meaning of repetition, “local movements” ⁸actions close to the body or small repetitive movements⁹, or physical impairment ⁸the same is true for quadriradicals with total reduplication, ↗ 3.5.2.2⁹. This type of verb has  Thus, the verbs bənnər ‘fly’ or fəzəz ‘be better’, for example, can be seen as having the root √βr or √βrr and √fz or √fzz, respectively. 68 the shape 1233 but behaves like ordinary quadriradicals. Table 24 lists the bases of example verbs of the two quadriradical verb types E and F. Type ɳoot E F √kʼmtʼtʼ √tʼβ rr kʼmətʼətʼ tʼβannər kʼmətʼtʼ tʼβa⁸n⁹nr kʼəmtʼtʼ tʼβarr ‘wrinkle’ ‘wrap up, fold’ Table 24: Example bases of quadriradicals with final reduplication As mentioned above, all verbs with final reduplication behave in principle like ordinary tri- and quadriradicals. Thus, it is only the penultimate radical that is mutated where required, but not the doubled final radical, for example bənnər ‘fly’ ⁸√βrr⁹ or jəpəβ ‘dam’ ⁸√d ββ⁹ . Nevertheless, palatalization and labialization of the last radical affects usually both consonants of the doubled pair. ɱalatalization occurs in the feminine singular in the Imperfective and Jussive ⁸147⁹ ⁸↗ 3.11.4⁹, labialization in any verb form with the light 3sm suffix -n ⁸148⁹ ⁸↗ 3.12.1⁹, and palatalization or palatalization in all Impersonal forms ⁸149⁹ ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹. ⁸147⁹ tɨgədd afʷkɨk ‘you ⁸sm⁹ pierce’ ‘squat ⁸sm⁹!’ tɨgəjj afʷkʸɨkʸ ‘you ⁸s⁹ pierce’ ‘squat ⁸s⁹!’ ⁸148⁹ kʼəfəfəm ‘he cut ⁸fingernails⁹’ kʼəfʷəfʷənɨm ‘he cut it’ ⁸149⁹ fəzəzəm ‘he got well’ kʼəβəβəm ‘he shaved’ fʷəʒəʒim kʼəwəwim ‘one got well’ ‘one shaved’ 3.5.2.2 Quadriradicals with total reduplication (1212) ɲuadriradical verbs with total reduplication have the shape 1212, but they are not derivations of corresponding biradicals or other verbs. Like the quadriradicals with final reduplication ⁸1233⁹, they often express a notion of repetitive actions or small movements, for example kʸɨfəkʸəf ⁸√kʸfkʸf ⁹ ‘sprinkle’, kɨsəkəs ⁸√ksks⁹ ‘dash to bits’ or dɨfədəf ⁸√dfd⁹ ‘mix flour with water’. Also, palatalization and labialization usually affects both parts of the reduplication, illustrated with the Impersonal forms of kɨtəkət ⁸√ktkt⁹ ‘crush s.th. up’ in ⁸150⁹. For the verb kʼɨmətʼətʼ ‘wrinkle’ I have once recorded the Jussive base kʼmətʼtʼ with the vowel ə after the second rather than after the first radical ⁸but not in the Imperative⁹. It is not clear whether this was a ⁸performance⁹ mistake or if some verbs can show variation. Note that other verbs with doubled final β do not strengthen the penult: kʼəβəβ ‘shave’, xəβəβ ‘encircle’, tʼəβəβ ‘be narrow’. ɱrobably this has to do with the fact that these are all type A verbs, in contrast to jəpəβ ‘dam’ which is a type B verb. Cases with only the final radical palatalized or labialized are also attested, but they are rather rare: tɨmezɨʒ ‘you ⁸s⁹ draw out’ ⁸instead of tɨmeʒɨʒ ~ tɨmeʒʒ⁹, kʼəfəfʷim ‘one cut ⁸fingernails⁹’ ⁸instead of kʼəfʷəfʷim⁹. There are a few cases like kʸɨfəkʸəf vs. kʸaffa ‘drizzle’, the first one with total reduplication and the second as a weak triradical without reduplication. Or arguably √kIfkIf. 69 ⁸150⁹ kɨtəkət-ə-m yɨ-ktəkt yə-kətkɨt kʷɨcəkʷəc-i-m ‘one crushed s.th. up’ yɨ-kʷcəkʷc-i ‘one crushes s.th. up’ yə-kʷəckʷɨc-i ‘one should crush s.th. up’ As can be seen in table 25, this type of verb features the same patterns as ordinary type E verbs, including mutation of the penultimate radical ⁸and only the penult⁹ in the ɱerfective and Imperfective. Type E drəttər drə⁸t⁹tr dəndr ‘thicken’ Table 25: Example bases of a quadriradical verb with total reduplication However, as exemplified in the following table 26, some verbs usually ⁰ delete the second radical in the Jussive. Type E zfəzəf zfəzf zəzf ‘put to soak’ Table 26: Example bases of quadriradical with total reduplication deleting the second radical in the Jussive This deletion occurs in case the second radical is a labial ⁸151⁹, or a dorsal followed by a coronal ⁸152⁹ ⁸Banksira 2000: 176ff.⁹: ⁸151⁹ ⁸152⁹ a. tʼɨβətʼəβ-ə-m yɨ-tʼβətʼɨβ tʼətʼɨβ ← ⁸/tʼəβtʼɨβ/⁹ ‘he emptied’  ‘he empties’ ‘emtpy!’ b. cʼɨfəcʼəf-ə-m yɨ-cʼfəcʼɨf cʼəcʼɨf ← ⁸/cʼəfcʼɨf/⁹ ‘he destroyed a great number’ ‘he destroys a great number’ ‘destroy a great number!’ c. tʼɨmətʼəm-ə-m ‘he rolled, twisted’ yɨ-tʼmətʼɨm ‘he rolls, twists’ tʼətʼɨm ← ⁸/tʼəmtʼɨm/⁹ ‘roll!, twist!’ a. dɨgədəg-ə-m yɨ-dgədɨg dədɨg ← ⁸/dəgdɨg/⁹ ‘he filled completely’ ‘he fills completely’ ‘fill completely!’ The first r assimilates to the d, ↗ 2.1.3.3. ⁰ Marginally, no deletion or deletion with compensatory gemination also occurs. For instance the Jussive forms of ⁸151⁹ can at times also be ¿ tʼəβtʼɨβ ~ ¿ tʼəttʼɨβ, ¿ cʼəfcʼɨf ~ ¿ cʼəccʼɨf, ¿ tʼəmtʼɨm ~ ¿ tʼəttʼɨm. 70 b. cʼɨkʼəcʼəkʼ-ə-m ‘he nagged’ yɨ-cʼkʼəcʼɨkʼ ‘he nags’ cʼəcʼɨkʼ ← ⁸/cʼəkʼcʼɨkʼ/⁹ ‘nag!’ In the verb gɨməkəm ‘chip the rims’, for example, the penultimate is mutated in the Jussive even though the template does not require it ⁸153⁹. This devoicing compensates the deletion of the preceding nasal, but this happens only if the penultimate is in an environment that does not block mutation; compare for instance with the Jussive dədɨg ‘fill completely, squeeze in’ ⁸152⁹, which has d rather than t in all bases due to the ultimate obstruent g ⁸obstruents except t blocking devoicing, see page 45⁹. ⁸153⁹ gɨməkəm-ə-m ‘he chipped the rims’ yɨ-gməkɨm ‘he chips the rims’ gəkɨm ← ⁸/gəmgɨm/⁹ ‘chip the rims!’ 3.5.2.3 Verbs with identical first and second radical (113) There is a group of verbs with the shape 113 with an identical first and second radical ⁸or the mutated variant⁹ in all TAM forms, exemplified in table 27. Type kʸəkkʸər kʸə⁸k⁹kʸr kə⁸k⁹kr ‘hold in armpit’ Table 27: Example bases of verb with identical first and second radical Verbs of this type all have palatalization or labialization of the first two radicals. The ones with palatalization resemble triradicals of type B in that they surface with mutated penultimate radical in all bases and depalatalization in the Jussive.  Following Banksira ⁸2000: 73⁹, however, they can be analyzed as totally reduplicated quadriradical verbs ⁸of underlying roots √1I2 or √1U2⁹, which have deleted their second radical in all bases ⁸rather than only in the Jussive, cf. table 26⁹. The verb kʸəkkʸər ‘hold in armpit’, for example, is clearly connected to the noun kʸɨrkʸɨr ‘armpit’. It is safe to assume that both words are based on a reduplicated root ending in r, which is deleted in the verb but not in the noun. Other examples are gʸəkʸət ‘accompany on departure’ and gʸəkkʸər ‘straighten out, arrange’. The latter is related to the not reduplicated gʸəra ‘naïve’ and the reduplicated gʸɨrgʸr bar ‘blaze’, even though here the semantic connection is not obvious.  Also the verb ʒəʃʃə ‘be cold, wet’ could be classified as having two identical initial radicals z, but it does not depalatalize in the Jussive like a type B verb. According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 724⁹ “the root is zzy possibly going back to zyzy”. Indeed, at first sight it is not obvious whether the root of this verb is √zzI ⁸i.e. verb type A2 ⁹ or √zIzI ⁸verb type E⁹, but in my opinion it is more plausible to assume the quadriradical root. Firstly, the Imperfective is yɨ-ʒəʃ with mutation of the final consonant which is a feature of the Imperfective of type E verbs. 71 Consider also the synonymous pair of verbs a-gʷəkkʷər and a-n-gʷɨrəkkʷər  ‘roar’ ⁸with additional prefixes, ↗ 3.6.2 and ↗ 3.5.3.4⁹, which are both based on the same reduplicated root, but the former one with a deleted first r. Another indication in favor of the reduplicative nature of this class of verbs is the fact that the identical radicals are both palatalized/depalatalized as well as labialized and not only one of them. Consider, for instance, the labialization of both radicals triggered by the 3sm suffix -n ⁸↗ 3.12.1⁹ in the Imperative gʷəkʷt-ɨn ‘accompany him on departure!’ ⁸without suffix gəkt⁹. Finally, assuming that these verbs are quadriradicals, the penultimate is not expected to occur in the mutated form in the Jussive. Yet we do not have forms like *gəgt ⁸<*gətgt⁹ but gəkt ‘accompany on departure’ instead with devoicing compensating for the deletion of the preceding radical. 3.5.2.4 Frequentative (medial reduplication 1223) The so-called Frequentative, a largely productive derivation, is formed by reduplication of the medial radical of triradical verbs and inserting either the vowel ə or a between the two reduplicated radicals ⁸1ə2ə3 12ə2ə3 / 12a2ə3⁹. Frequentatives also exist for derived stems but often with the vowel a only ⁸for example t-1ə2ə3 t-12a2ə3⁹. Consider ⁸154⁹ exemplifying medial reduplication by the ɱerfective of a simple and a derived stem. As mentioned above, refer to section 3.10 for a detailed discussion of the forms and functions of the Frequentative. ⁸154⁹ a. b. √sβr 1ə2ə3 səppər ‘break’ t-1ə2ə3 √kʼβr təkʼʸəppər ‘receive’ 12ə2ə3 / 12a2ə3 sɨβəppər / sɨβappər ‘break frequently’ t-12a2ə3 təkʼʸβappər ‘receive from each other’ 3.5.3 Special verb types and irregular verbs 3.5.3.1 Type 1rD Triradical verbs with an ultimate dental plosive ⁸d, t, tʼ⁹ and a mutated penultimate r n in the ɱerfective drop the vowel ə between these two radicals ⁸table 28⁹. Thus we have, for example, wəndəm ‘he went down’ ⁸*wənədəm⁹ or məntʼəm ‘he peeled’ ⁸*mənətʼəm⁹. The Imperfective and Jussive do not have a nasal and behave like normal type A1 verbs.  Also common is a-n-gʷɨrakkʷər with -a-. 72 Type A1 fənd fərd frd ‘judge’ Table 28: Example bases of verb with penultimate r and ultimate dental Note that the nasal-dental consonant cluster is never split. The epenthetic vowel that becomes necessary with subject markers beginning with a consonant always follows the dental, for example antʼɨxum ‘you ⁸pm⁹ cut’ ⁸*anɨtʼxum⁹ or wəndɨxʷɨm ‘I went down’ ⁸*wənɨdxʷɨm⁹. ⁸155⁹ Verbs of type A1 -1rD √Artʼ √frd √frtʼ √kʼrtʼ √mrtʼ √Urd antʼ fənd fəntʼ kʼəntʼ məntʼ wənd ‘cut’ ‘judge’ ‘split’ ‘despise’ ‘peel’ ‘go down’ 3.5.3.2 Type 1rAI There is a small group of verbs with an unusual shape. As exemplified in table 29, there is no vowel ⁸except epenthetic ɨ⁹ after the first radical in the ɱerfective and Imperfective and a palatalized r y as second consonant; the depalatalized r appears, for example, in the ɱerfective 3pm kʼɨraβom ‘they waited’ or the Infinitive kʼərəβot. Type kʼyə / kʼra kʼyə / kʼrə kʼəyə / kʼərə ‘wait’ Table 29: Example bases of verb with the root 1rAI ⁸156⁹ Verbs of type 1rAI cʼɨyə gɨyə kʼɨyə sɨyə tɨyə wɨyə √cʼrAI √grAI √kʼrAI √srAI √trAI √UrAI ‘stink’ ‘be bored’ ‘wait’ ‘buy’ ‘be visible’ ‘go down’ It is not entirely clear what root these verbs have. Leslau ⁸1979c: liv⁹ states that at least some of them go back to √1rħ, with the loss of the laryngeal ħ, but 73 this does not explain the palatalization of r y, which occurs also in most other Gurage varieties, sometimes not as palatalization of r but for instance as kʼʸ in Muher kʼʸɨrə or e in Wolane kʼerə. Judging from the vowels in Gumer, these verbs seem to be quadriradicals underlyingly. Like quadriradicals of type E they have no vowel after the first and second radical in the ɱerfective and Imperfective, but an ə in the Jussive. The second radical r consequently is not the penultimate, which explains that it is not mutated. The supposed loss of a laryngeal ħ leads to the assumption of the vocoid A as third radical, which is the reflex of former laryngeals also elsewhere. This is supported by the presence of a vowel a in the third persons ɱerfective as in kʼɨraβom ‘they waited’ ⁸↗ 3.16⁹. Finally, one might adopt a final radical I which causes the palatalization. This scenario parallels Imperatives of the feminine singular, which is formed by palatalization ⁸↗ 3.11.4⁹, in triradicals with a final A. Compare an assumed kʼɨyə < *kʼrAI with bɨyə 2sf. < bɨra+I ⁸2sm. + ⁹ ‘eatǃ’. Nevertheless, it must be left open whether one or all verbs of this type are really based on a root √1rAI and whether such an analysis reflects any diachronic development. Consider, however, Lowenstamm ⁸1996⁹ who reaches the same conclusion. At first sight, the verb nɨyə ‘sleep’ seems to belong to the same group, but it behaves differently. In particular the initial n is geminated in the Imperfective. Table 30 shows its bases. Type - nyə / na nnyə / nnrə nay / na ‘sleep’ Table 30: Bases of the verb nɨyə ‘sleep’ 3.5.3.3 Verbs with penultimate r and final I or U (1rI / 1rU) Verbs featuring final I or U and a penultimate radical r appear with only one consonant in bases that do not require mutation, as for example in the Imperfective and Jussive of verb type A ⁸table 31⁹. The final weak radical I palatalizes r to y, which then merges with the preceding vowel. Consider, for instance, the type A verb gənə √grI ‘cast a spell’ and its Imperfective ge ⁸gərI gəy ge⁹ and Jussive gi ⁸gɨrI gɨy gi⁹. In bases with mutation r → n no palatalization can take place with the result that the forms look ‘regular’, as for example the Imperfective cənI cən of the type B verb cənə √t rI ‘come’. Type A kʼənə kʼe kʼi ‘vanish, be lost’ Table 31: Example bases of verb with penultimate r and ultimate I 74 ⁸157⁹ Verbs with root 1rI gənə kʼənə tənə xənə a-mənə ⁸158⁹ √grI √kʼrI √trI √xrI √mrI ‘cast a spell’ ‘vanish’ ‘swear ⁸an oath⁹’ ‘dig a hole’ ‘do’ Verbs with root 1rU kʼʷənə a-fʷənə √kʼrU √frU ‘roast’ ‘rest’ 3.5.3.4 Verbs with prefixed nThere are a few verbs that have an additional nasal n- ⁸word initially ɨn-⁹ prefixed to the actual radicals, which often feature a reduplication pattern ⁸table 32⁹. These verbs are not derivations of verbs without n- but simply exist in this form on their own. Apart from the n-, their bases do not differ from equivalent verbs without n-. Type nkʼrəkkʼər nkʼrə⁸k⁹kʼr nkʼərkʼr ‘move ⁸ ⁹’ Table 32: Example bases of verb with prefixed n- ⁸159⁹ Verbs with prefixed nɨngɨβəkəβ ɨnkɨβannər ɨnkʼɨrəkkʼər ɨnkʼʸəf √gβgβ √kβrr √kʼrkʼr √kʼIf ‘thunder, rumble’ ‘roll ⁸ ⁹’ ‘move ⁸ ⁹’ ‘embrace, include’ 3.5.3.5 The verb tʼəppʷə ‘suck’ The verb tʼəppʷə √tʼβU ‘suck’ features the unusual vowels o and u in some forms of the Imperfective and Jussive. They come about because the non-geminated β is labialized by the final radical U, i.e. *βʷ w. In the persons that do not have a vocalic subject suffix this base-final w fuses then with the preceding vowels ə and epenthetic ɨ ⁸160⁹. When there is a number-gender suffix like -o, the w becomes the syllable onset and does not change ⁸161⁹. According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 232⁹, in Chaha and Ezha there is also a verb fʷənə ‘get well, heal’, but I could not confirm this. 75 ⁸160⁹ *yɨtʼəβʷ *yətʼɨβʷ *yɨtʼəw *yətʼɨw ⁸161⁹ *yɨtʼəβʷo *yətʼβʷo yɨtʼəwo yətʼwo yɨtʼo yətʼu ‘he sucks’ ‘let him suck’ ‘they ⁸m⁹ suck’ ‘let them ⁸m⁹ suck’ 3.5.3.6 The verb bar ‘say’ The very frequent verb bar √βAr ‘say’ shows some irregularities. In the ɱerfective it loses the base-final r before subject markers beginning with x as shown in table 33. Further, as already mentioned on page 59, the Jussive base features the uncommon vowel ə. See section 3.17 for a lineout of its various occurrences. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f Table 33: ba-xʷ-ɨm ba-xə-m ba-xʸ-ɨm bar-ə-m bar-əc-ɨm bʷar⁸-i⁹-m ban-nə-m ba-xu-m ba-xma-m bar-o-m bar-əma-m of bar ‘say’ 3.5.3.7 The verbs aβ ‘give’ and od ‘tell’ The two verbs aβ √Aβ ‘give’ and od √Ud ‘tell’ have only one consonantal radical ⁸the final one⁹ and begin with a vowel ⁸table 34⁹. They can be viewed as consisting of radical 2 and 3 only where radical 2 is weak. ɳoot √Aβ √Ud aβ od ⁸i⁹β ud aβ od ‘give’ ‘tell’ Table 34: Bases of the verbs aβ ‘give’ and od ‘tell’ The verb aβ ‘give’ goes back to the Semitic root √whb ⁸for example Arabic wahaba ‘give’, Leslau 1979c: 641⁹. In East Gurage languages like Wolane ⁸Meyer 2006: 94⁹ it has the ⁸expected⁹ form wāβ with the vowel a in place of the laryngeal h. In Western Gurage languages, however, the initial w eroded, resulting in a verb with the reduced root √Aβ. Apart from that, it basically behaves like a verb of type A-1A3-Ø, which have no vowel in the Imperfective and, if possible, The related noun waβi ‘generous’ still shows the initial w. 76 a palatalized first radical. Accordingly, the Imperfective base of aβ consists only of the consonant β and shows the vowel i as a remnant of the palatalization. Due to phonological reasons the subject marker y- absorbs the i and the base consists only of β ⁸162⁹. ⁸162⁹ a. t-iβ vs. b. 3sfS-give.IɱFV yɨ-β 3smS-give.IɱFV ‘she gives’ ‘he gives’ The verb od ‘tell’ seems to occur in all Gurage varieties and other Ethiosemitic languages ⁸for example Silt’e ēwəd, Endegeñ ēd, Muher ɔd; Gafat əwəd ‘speak’⁹, but quite likely it is a loan from a Cushitic language Leslau ⁸1979c: 112⁹. It is therefore not clear if it makes any sense to postulate a root, and if yes it is not evident what it should be. According to Wetter ⁸2010: 106⁹, the root of the corresponding verb awid ‘tell’ in Argobba is √wr ⁸i.e. √Ur⁹, but as he also mentions this does not account for the initial a, which resembles ⁸but is not⁹ the causative derivation ⁸↗ 3.6.2⁹. Also in Gumer the vowel o of od could be explained as a fusion of a+u at first sight. On the other hand, however, the Imperfective base is ud with u, a vowel that cannot be assumed to contain a. One possible scenario is illustrated in ⁸163⁹: the verb has the root √Ud and the first radical is missing. If put into the template of verb type A2 , the forms with the sequence /Uə/ yield the vowel o while /U/ without following ə is realized as u. As already discussed in section 2.2, the vowel o can be analyzed as biphonemic consisting of /ə/+/U/. In the case of od the elements occur in the reverse order /U/+/ə/ ⁸which usually would result in wə as it is for example the case with wər, ↗ 3.5.3.8⁹, but at least to some extent it is still comparable with the decomposition of o to a labialized consonant followed by ə ⁸i.e. Cʷə⁹ ⁸↗ 2.2⁹. Nevertheless, all in all the forms of od are probably best regarded as irregular. ⁸163⁹ template phonemic base verb form ⁸1ə⁹2ə3-⁸1ə⁹23 -⁸1⁹2ə3 /Uəd-/ /-Ud/ /-Uəd/ od-ud -od od-ə-m y-ud y-od ‘he told’ ‘he tells’ ‘let him tell’ 3.5.3.8 The verb wər ‘go’ The bases of the verb wər √Ur ‘go’ are formed irregularly ⁸table 35⁹. The verb goes back to a Semitic root √ħwr, realized, for example, as ħorə in Ge’ez or ħāra in Harari ⁸Leslau 1979c: 660⁹. In Gumer, the initial laryngeal is lost reducing the root to √Ur. The Imperfective base, however, unpredictably drops the w and features the vowel a instead, which elsewhere is the remnant of a lost laryngeal ⁸as for example anəβ ‘milk’ √Arβ < √ħlb or bəna ‘eat’ √βrA < √blʕ⁹. Based on the Imperfective, the root would be rather √Ar, but taking the ɱerfective as the more basic form, √Ur is in preference. 77 ɳoot √Ur wər ar wər ‘go’ Table 35: Bases of the verb wər ‘go’ 3.5.3.9 Exceptionally geminating verbs The verbs fennəkʼ ‘spit out milk’, ənnəkʼ ⁸ ~ ennəkʼ⁹ ‘vomit’ and əkkəs ‘wait’ are unusual ⁸table 36⁹. Like type B verbs they feature mutation in all bases, but exceptionally the penultimate radical is geminated throughout even though they do not have a weak final radical or r as the expected trigger for gemination ⁸cf. page 45⁹. A fourth verb that seems to fit into this group is əkkʸər ‘plane wood’. While it predictably geminates before final r, it unexpectedly does not reduce its gemination in the Imperfective and Jussive when followed by an additional morpheme ⁸↗ 3.3.2⁹. Furthermore, it does not depalatalize in the Jussive, and neither does fennəkʼ ⁸i.e. *fənnkʼ⁹. ɳoot √f rkʼ ⁸?⁹ √Irkʼ ⁸?⁹ √Iks ⁸?⁹ √Ikr ⁸?⁹ fennəkʼ ənnəkʼ əkkəs əkkʸər fennkʼ nnkʼ kks kkʸr fennkʼ ⁸ə⁹nnkʼ ⁸ə⁹kks ⁸ə⁹kkʸr ‘spit out milk ⁸child⁹’ ‘vomit’ ‘wait’ ‘plain wood’ Table 36: Bases of geminating verbs As for the root of the verbs with initial ə, one might assume that they have an initial weak radical I. In favor of this analysis is the fact that ənnəkʼ has a variant ennəkʼ with fronted vowel ə → e, and similarly əkkʸər has a fronted initial vowel in other Gurage varieties, for example īnkəl ⁸Zay⁹, ekkər ⁸Endegeñ⁹ and ekʸər ⁸Inor and Gyeto⁹ ⁸Leslau 1979c: 33⁹. A weak initial radical as opposed to the palatalizing element of type B verbs could also hold as explanation that there is no depalatalization in the Jussive. Thus, if these verbs are not of type B, the consistent gemination might be compensatory for the initial weak ⁸or ‘missing’⁹ radical. This is in accordance with weak verbs featuring initial e ⁸↗ 3.5.3.10⁹ that also geminate in all bases. Furthermore, also the doubly weak verb anna √ArA ‘defecate’ geminates in the ɱerfective, whereas n of verbs with of the structure √CrV remains a singleton ⁸for example bəna √βrA ‘eat’, cənə √t rI ‘come’⁹. Finally, the question why əkkəs does not have palatalized kʸ, whereas əkkʸər does, can be explained by the fact that the former is a Cushitic loan ⁸Sidamo kēʃʃi, Leslau Nevertheless, the data are not complete and it seems that reduction of gemination and depalatalization is also possible, but this has to be checked. However, what is then the root of fennəkʼ, which also does not depalatalize, if not √f rkʼ? 78 1979c: 34⁹. However, in this case the ə seems to be prothetic similar to the verbs in section 3.5.3.11. 3.5.3.10 Verbs with initial e As indicated on page 58, there are some verbs with initial e. Due to the fact that there is no verb beginning with y ⁸in contrast to initial a and w⁹ it would not be far-fetched to attribute these verbs a first radical I. Furthermore, the realization of initial yə as e is also found in the negative verb of existence enə ⁸cf. table 81⁹ which corresponds to Amharic yəllə ’there is notʼ. As table 37 shows, the two attested verbs ella ‘covet’ and effə ‘cover with lid’ geminate in all bases ⁸comparable to other verbs with initial weak radical⁹. The verb ella is very unusual for its geminated l, but note again that it is a Cushitic loan, for example Kʼabeena hele’a- ~ hela- ⁸Leslau 1979c: 38⁹ or Libido heela’- ⁸Joachim Crass, p.c.⁹. ɳoot √IlA √IfI ella effə ella iff ⁸~ eff⁹ ella eff ‘covet, desire’ ‘cover with lid’ Table 37: Bases of verbs with initial e 3.5.3.11 Verbs with additional initial ə There are a few verbs that have an additional vowel ə preceding the first radical, ərəkkʸə ‘throw’ and əʃəʃʃə ‘massage’ being two ⁸slightly distinct⁹ examples ⁸table 38⁹. The verb ərəkkʸə is probably related to Amharic ləgga √lgA ‘hit and throw a ball’ with regular change l → r ⁸Leslau 1979c: 88⁹. The initial ə therefore seems to be purely prothetic, a phenomenon that occurs sometimes in combination with r ⁸cf. Amharic lam vs. Gumer əram ‘cow’, or Amharic rob vs. Gumer əro ‘Wednesday’⁹. According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 101⁹ the verb əʃəʃʃə ‘massage’ is a reduplicated stem of *aʃə ⁸< *√ħsy⁹ connected to the Semitic root √ħss ‘stroke; rub’. Thus, the initial ə could be explained as remnant of the a. ɳoot √rgI √sIsI ərəkkʸə əʃəʃʃə rəkʸ ʃəʃ ⁸ə⁹rəgʸ ⁸ə⁹ʃəʃ ‘throw’ ‘massage, rub’ Table 38: Bases of verbs with prothetic ə It is not clear which variant is more acceptable, but there seems to be some variation ⁸as well as in the Jussive⁹. ɱresumably the function of prothetic ə is to preserve the sound r, which otherwise would change to n word-initially ⁸↗ 2.1.3.1⁹. 79 3.5.3.12 Amharic loan verbs Since it is easily possible to borrow words and constructions from the related and structurally similar Amharic, there are also many Amharic verbs used in Gumer. While the subject conjugation is adapted to the Gumer paradigms, the verb bases are usually taken over as they are. Accordingly, gemination is retained, there is no mutation, and unusual consonants appear as for example l, geminated ww or yy, or “non-geminated” n. Table 39 lists four examples, all of them type B verbs borrowed from Amharic, followed by sentences they are attested in. Note that while the first two are common in the daily language, the last two represent rather spontaneous borrowings. ɳoot √dwl √wsn √kʼys √lbd dəwwəl wəssən kʼəyyəs ləbbəd dəwwl wəssn kʼəyys ləbbd dəwwl wəssn kʼəyys ləbbd ‘call, phone’ ‘decide’ ‘plan, put up a scheme’ ‘glue on, cover’ Table 39: Example bases of some verbs borrowed from Amharic ⁸164⁹ dəwwəl-ə-ni-m. phoneѦ .ɱFV-3smS-BEN.1s-M ‘He called me.’ ⁸165⁹ at-əta bə-cəxa yɨ-rəβɨr-xəma wəssən-o-m. one-3sɱOSS LOC-Chaha 3smS-live.IɱFV-COMɱ decideѦ .ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They decided that one of them live⁸s⁹ in Chaha.’ ⁸166⁹ səβat-m-əxʷna gojjo kʼəyyəs-o-m. seven-ALSO-3pmɱOSS houseѦ planѦ .ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘The seven of them planned houses.’ ⁸167⁹ sɨkʼɨl ⁰ acənə-c-ɨm gɨyə-m fərəz-ɨm y-anə-wə dog-ALSO horse-ALSO ɳEL-EX-MAL.3sm picture bring.ɱFV-3sfS-CV.M ləbbəd-əc-ɨm. glue.onѦ .ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘She brought a picture with a dog and a horse on it and glued it [on the wall].’ Sometimes there are ‘minimal pairs’ of an original and a borrowed verb that contrast only in their gemination ⁸i.e. in the ɱerfective⁹ as kʼənəs ‘begin’ and kʼənnəs ‘decrease’ ⁸168⁹. Note, however, that there are also the native Gumer verbs kʼəppər ‘decrease’ and anəs ‘be⁸come⁹ less’. ⁰ Arguably this a loan word from Amharic sɨʼɨl ⁸ሥዕል⁹ ‘picture, painting’, where the ejective kʼ is the rendering of the glottal stop, which is not part of the consonant inventory of Gumer. 80 ⁸168⁹ ‘begin’ kʼənəs-ə-m yɨ-kʼərs yə-kʼɨrs ‘decrease’ ⁸< Amharic⁹ kʼənnəs-ə-m yɨ-kʼənnɨs yə-kʼənnɨs 3.5.3.13 Suppletive Imperatives The verbs cənə ‘come’ and acənə ‘bring’ have suppletive Imperatives both based on an element beginning with n- ⁸table 40⁹. Their suffixes, however, are from different sets: while namə ‘bring; give’ features the common Imperative suffixes -Ø and + in the singular and -o and -əma in the plural ⁸↗ 3.11.3⁹, ne- ‘come’ takes the ɱerfective subject markers ⁸↗ 3.11.1⁹. Likewise, the latter suffixes also occur on the third special Imperative with yə- meaning ‘take, here you are’. 2sm 2sf 2pm 2pf ‘bring; give’ ‘come’ ‘take, here you are’ namə nem nam-o namə-ma ne-xə ne-xʸ ne-xu ne-xma yə-xə yə-xʸ yə-xu yə-xma Table 40: Suppletive imperatives The suppletive Imperative for ‘take’ is exclusively used when handing over something to someone. It corresponds therefore rather to ‘here you areǃ’ than to ‘takeǃ’, a fact that is easily comprehensible given that it is based on yə- ‘ ⁸for, to⁹’ ⁸Leslau 1979c: 686⁹. The verbs of taking such as tʼəβətʼ, bətta or wəsəd all have their regular Imperatives which mean ‘take from somewhere or someone’ rather than ‘take/accept from me, here you are’. Similarly, the suppletive Imperative namə ‘bring, give’, as a manner of speaking the opposite of yə-xə, is used when one wants someone to give or bring something to oneself. The regular Imperative of ‘give’, aβǃ, is a command to give something to somebody else. Compare the two different Imperatives of ‘give’ in ⁸169⁹ and ⁸170⁹ and their different object markers, i.e. 1st vs. 3rd person. Further, also consider the 1st person benefactive with namə ⁸171⁹ which is the Imperative used to say ‘bring me something ⁸from somewhere⁹, ⁸go and⁹ get me something’ in contrast to namə with the primary object meaning ‘give me, hand over to me’. Note that namə also occurs without object suffix ⁸172⁹. ⁸169⁹ ɨxa nam-eǃ water bring.IMɱ[.2smS]-1sO ‘Give me waterǃ’ ⁸170⁹ ɨxa aw-ɨnǃ water give.IMɱ[.2smS]-3smO ‘Give him waterǃ’ 81 ⁸171⁹ ɨxa namə-niǃ water bring.IMɱ[.2smS]-BEN.1s ‘Bring me waterǃ’ ⁸172⁹ namə nɨ-wra-n, namə nɨ-wra-n! give.IMɱ[.2smS] 1sS-eat.JUS-3smO give.IMɱ[.2smS] 1sS-eat.JUS-3smO ‘Give [me and] let me eat it, give [me and] let me eat itǃ’ 3.6 Derived stems There are three ⁸mainly⁹ valency-changing prefixes: t(ə)-, a-, and at-. Directly preceding the ‘bare’ verbal roots they form the so-called derived stems. Their templates, however, differ in some cases from the plain stems without prefixes. Table 41 is an overview of the templates of the attested derived stems of sound triradical verbs. Examples of derived stems of weak verbs as well as quadriradicals are found in the corresponding sections. ɱrefix Type t(ə)- A B -a-a- C a- A B C D -a- -aat- A B C -a-a- t⁸ə⁹-1ə2ə3 t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 t⁸ə⁹-1ə2ə3 + t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 + t-1ə2ə3 t-1a2ə3 t-1ə2ə3 + t-1a2ə3 + t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 t-1a2ə3 t⁸ə⁹-1ə2ə3  t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 / t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 t⁸ə⁹-1ə2ə3 t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 + / t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 + t⁸ə⁹-1a2ə3 a-1ə2ə3 a-1a2ə3 a-1ə2ə3 + a-1a2ə3 a-1ʷə2ə3 a-1ʷa2ə3 a-1ə23 a-1a23 a-1ə23 + a-1a23 a-1ʷə23 a-1ʷa23 a-123 a-1a23 a-1ə23 a-1a23 a-1ʷə23 a-1ʷa23 at-1ə2ə3 at-1a2ə3 at-1ə2ə3 + at-1a2ə3 + at-1a2ə3 at-1ə23 at-1a23 at-1ə23 + at-1a23 + at-1a23 at-1ə23 at-1a23 at-1ə23 at-1a23 + at-1a23 Table 41: Templates of derived stems of sound triradical verbs For each prefix there are two possibilities, a ‘neutral’ one with the ⁸default⁹ vowel ə  and one with the ⁸additionally infixed⁹ vowel -a- between the first two radicals.  Jussive t(ə)-1ə2ə3 with mutation is also attested, for example təxəttər ‘dressǃ’ ⁸normally təxədər⁹, but these forms are very rare in such a way that they are probably occasional performance mistakes or idiolectal variantions rather than systematic formations.  In the case of a- of type A there is no vowel in the Jussive. 82 Forms with -a- usually express the notion of reciprocity ⁸↗ 3.7.1.1⁹. Note that type C verbs, which already have a vowel a in their underived form, do not occur with ə. There is probably no verb that appears in all possible six combinations of the three prefixes t(ə)-, a-, and at- and the two vowels ə and a. For example, while some forms are common, only two verbs could be found for a derived stem with a- plus inserted -a-  and no equivalent form for a type B verb. 3.6.1 Derived stems with t(ə)- (detransitivizer) The prefix t(ə)- can be attached to all verb types but the templates undergo some changes ⁸table 42⁹. With verbs of type A the template differs from the basic verb in the following two points: all TAM forms feature twice the vowel ə ⁸i.e. one between first and second and one between second and third radical⁹ and there is mutation of the penultimate radical not only in the ɱerfective but in the Imperfective as well. Similarly, also verbs of type B show twice the vowel ə in all TAM forms rather than only the first one in the Imperfective and Jussive. In other respects they feature mutation in all TAM forms and depalatalization in the Jussive as they do in the corresponding basic forms. Verbs of type C keep their characteristic vowel a after the first radical, but other than the basic forms there is the vowel ə between second and third radical in all TAM forms. Finally, the few examples of type C all showed mutation in the Jussive. Type A B C t⁸ə⁹-xəttər t⁸ə⁹-ʒəppər t⁸ə⁹-manəx t-xəttər t-ʒəppər t-manər t⁸ə⁹-xədər t⁸ə⁹-zəppər t⁸ə⁹-manəx ‘dress ⁸onesel⁹’ ‘return’ ‘be taken prisoner’ Table 42: Example bases of t(ə)- ⁸173⁹ Verbs of type A + t(ə)tədəməd təgəttər tərəməd tərəkəβ təsəppər təxəttər √dmd √gdr √rmd √rxβ √sβr √xdr ‘gather’ ‘lie down’ ‘be expensive, dear’ ‘be found’ ‘break ⁸ ⁹’ ‘dress’ tagəd tatʼəβ √Agd √Atʼβ ‘be tied, be taken prisoner’ ‘wash onesel’  The two attested forms are type A verb arakəβ ‘announce search, inquire as to the whereabouts of lost cattle or goods’ and type D verb afʷagəg ‘cut off flesh from bone’ ⁸the latter seemingly not occuring in the underived basic stem⁹. No type D is attested in my data. 83 ⁸174⁹ ⁸175⁹ təfətta tərəssa təsəmma √ftA √rsA √smA ‘be loosened, be untied’ ‘get up; forget’ ‘feel, sense’ təkʼetʼ təʃem √kʼItʼ √ʃIm ‘be traded’ ‘hide onesel’ təkʼʸəmmə təməccə √kʼmI √mtI ‘lose, be defeated’ ‘be convenient’ təβer təmar tərakʼ təsar təʃad təxʸər √βAr √mAr √rAkʼ √sAr √ʃAd √xAr ‘be said’ ‘study’ ‘grow up ⁸child⁹’ ‘ask’ ‘take a share’ ‘be known’ tətos √tUs ‘be in a mess’ Verb of type B + t(ə)təfəkkʼʸər təkʼʸəppər təkʼʸənəβ təkʼʸəttʼər təʃəkət təxʸəttər təʒəppər √f kʼr √kʼ βr √kʼ rβ √kʼ tʼr √s kt √x tr √z βr ‘play, sing’ ‘receive, accept, welcome’ ‘be near’ ‘ride pillion’ ‘be fixed, become well behaved’ ‘follow’ ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ təcʼənə √tʼ rI ‘be born’ Verb of type C + t(ə)təβannər təmanəx √β rr √m rx ‘be demolished, fall apart’ ‘be taken prisoner’ The prefix t(ə)- together with the vowel -a- between the first and second radical conveys the meaning of reciprocity ⁸table 43⁹ ⁸↗ 3.7.1.1⁹. Except for -a-, there is no change in the template of type A verbs with t(ə)- and ⁸default⁹ vowel ə. Minor exceptions are verbs of type B with t(ə)- and -a- which do not depalatalize in the Jussive, and there are verbs that show mutation in the Jussive and others that do not. Verbs of type C, already possessing a vowel a after the first radical, cannot form an additional reciprocal form. 84 Type A B t⁸ə⁹-rakəβ t⁸ə⁹-jakəm t-rakəβ t-jakəm t⁸ə⁹-raxəβ t⁸ə⁹-jakəm ~ t⁸ə⁹-jagəm ‘meet ⁸each other⁹’ ‘bash each other’ Table 43: Example bases of t(ə)- + -a- ⁸176⁹ ⁸177⁹ Verbs of type A + t(ə)- + -atədanəg təragəd tərakəs tərakəβ təsatəβ tətʼabətʼ √drg √rgd √rks √rxβ √sdβ √tʼβtʼ ‘hit each other, fight’ ‘touch each other’ ‘quarrel’ ‘meet ⁸each other⁹’ ‘insult ⁸each other⁹’ ‘get stuck, hold each other’ təwakka √UgA ‘fight ⁸with one another⁹, stab one another’ Verbs of type B + t(ə)- + -atəjakəm təjanəg təcaffər təcʼabəkʼ təʃamʷəx √d gm √d rg √t fr √tʼ βkʼ √s mʷx ‘bash each other’ ‘bump into’ ‘give mouthful to each other’ ‘be pressed, be glued’ ‘lean on, lean back’ 3.6.1.1 Allomorphs tə- vs. tThe two allomorphs tə- and t- alternate depending on their position in the word. The variant with vowel appears word-initially, whereas t- is used when there is another preceding morpheme of any nature. Imperfectives ⁸178⁹ and Jussives ⁸179⁹ have prefixed subject markers and thus always occur with t-. In the prefixless Imperatives ⁸180⁹ the morpheme appears in the word-initial form tə-. ⁸178⁹ yɨ-tkʼʸəppər 3smS-accept.IɱFV ‘he accepts’ ⁸179⁹ yə-tkʼəppər 3smS-accept.JUS ‘let him accept’ There is no underived stem *ʃəmʷəx of this root. Further note that Leslau ⁸1979c: 579⁹ does not have labialized mʷ, i.e. təʃaməx, but this contradicts my data. 85 ⁸180⁹ təkʼəppər accept.IMɱ[.2smS] ‘accept!’ ɱerfectives do not have prefixed subject markers and thus feature word-initial tə-. ⁸181⁹ təgəttər-ə-m təʒəppər-ə-m təmanəx-ə-m ‘he lay down’ ‘he returned’ ‘he was captured’ lie.down.ɱFV-3smS-M return.ɱFV-3smS-M be.captured.ɱFV-3smS-M However, if a ɱerfective form receives a prefix such as subordinators ⁸182⁹-⁸183⁹ or negation ⁸184⁹-⁸185⁹, as well with the ɱrohibitive that uses the ɱerfective base ⁸186⁹, the word-internal allomorph t- is used. ⁸182⁹ səβ bə-tmanəx-ə person COND-be.captured.ɱFV-3smS (< təmanəxə) ‘if somebody gets captured’ ⁸183⁹ yə-txʸəttər-ə-n zərma ɳEL-follow.ɱFV-3smS-3smO young.man (< təxʸəttərə) ‘the young men that follow him’ ⁸184⁹ an-tɨrəssa NEG-get.up.ɱFV[.3smS] (< tərəssa) ‘he did not get up’ ⁸185⁹ gən-ɨnyə an-tɨʒəppər-xə? country-DIɳ NEG-return.ɱFV-2smS (< təʒəppərə) ‘Did you not return to the coutryside?’ ⁸186⁹ ɨn-tɨwakkʷeǃ ɱɳOHIB-fight.ɱFV.IɱS.3smO ‘One do not fightǃ’ The same is true when the Infinitive with -ot is furnished with negation an- ⁸187⁹ or another prefix ⁸188⁹. Similarly, the prefix wə- of the other Infinitive always features t- ⁸189⁹ ⁸↗ 3.13⁹. ⁸187⁹ an-tɨfəkkʼər-ot (< təfəkkʼər) NEG-play-INF ‘not play⁸ing⁹’ ⁸188⁹ yə-tfəkkʼər-ot ATTɳ/DAT-play-INF (< təfəkkʼər) (< təmanəx) ‘of/for playing’ ⁸189⁹ wə-tmanəx INF-be.taken.prisoner ‘be taken prisoner’ Finally, if tə- is prefixed to a verb that begins with a vowel, ə is dropped also in word-initial position. 86 ⁸190⁹ tatʼəβ-ə-m wash.oneself.ɱFV-3smS-M (*təatʼəβəm) < atʼəβəm ‘wash ⁸ ⁹’ ‘he washed himsel’ ⁸191⁹ tagəd-ə-m be.tied.ɱFV-3smS-M (*təagədəm) < agədəm ‘tie’ ‘it was tied’ 3.6.1.2 Assimilation of tWhen the prefix t- is adjacent to a consonant ⁸i.e. the first root consonant of a verb⁹ the former assimilates to the latter in some cases ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 13f.⁹. Firstly, if the first root consonant is d or j, t- is obligatorily voiced. ⁸192⁹ d /yɨ-t-dəməd/ /yə-t-dəməd/ yɨddəməd yəddəməd ‘gather’ j /yɨ-t-janəg/ /yə-t-janəg/ yɨdjanəg yədjanəg ‘bump into’ There is optional voicing assimilation with the other voiced obstruents ⁸according to Banksira 2000: 13 only in fast speech⁹, i.e. g ⁸193⁹, z and ʒ ⁸see ⁸195⁹ below⁹. Furthermore, t- can optionally be realized as ejective when followed by kʼ ⁸194⁹. ⁸193⁹ g /yɨ-t-gəttər/ /yə-t-gədər/ yɨtgəttər ~ yɨdgəttər yətgədər ~ yədgədər ‘lie down’ ⁸194⁹ kʼ /yɨ-t-kʼaw/ /yə-t-kʼaw/ yɨtkʼaw ~ yɨt’kʼaw yətkʼaw ~ yət’kʼaw ‘drink coffee’ All alveolar fricatives ⁸s, ʃ, z, ʒ⁹ can occasionally feature total assimilation of t-. Nevertheless, no assimilation ⁸apart from the optional voicing with z and ʒ⁹ is much more common. ⁸195⁹ s /yɨ-t-sər/ /yə-t-sar/ yɨtsər ~ yɨssər yətsar ~ yəssar ‘ask’ ʃ /yɨ-t-ʃem/ /yə-t-ʃem/ yɨtʃem ~ yɨʃʃem yətʃem ~ yəʃʃem ‘hide ⁸ z /yɨ-t-zɨrakʸ/ yɨtzɨrakʸ ~ yɨdzɨrakʸ ~ yɨzzɨrakʸ yətzangʸ ~ yədzangʸ ~ yəzzangʸ ‘talk together’ /yə-t-zangʸ/ ⁹’ This is in contrast to Amharic, where the cognate t- completely assimilates to a following consonant in all cases resulting in geminates, for example təkʼəmmətʼə ‘he sat down’ yɨkkʼəmətʼ ‘he sits down’ or təfəlləgə ‘he was wanted / looked for’ yɨffəlləg ‘he is wanted / looked for’ ⁸cf. Leslau 1995: 468⁹ 87 ʒ /yɨtʒɨβappər/ /yə-t-zangʸ/ yɨtʒɨβappər ~ yɨdʒɨβappər ‘be inverted; ~ yɨʒʒɨβappər return freyətzangʸ ~ yədzangʸ quently’ ~ yəzzangʸ There is no assimilation when the root consonant is a sonorant as in ⁸196⁹. ⁸196⁹ r /yɨ-t-rakəβ/ /yə-t-raxəβ/ yɨtrakəβ ⁸*yɨdrakəβ⁹ yətraxəβ ⁸*yədraxəβ⁹ ‘meet’ β /yɨ-t-βeβər/ /yə-t-βeβər/ yɨtβeβər ⁸*yɨdβeβər⁹ yətβeβər ⁸*yədβeβər⁹ ‘say to each other’ m /yɨ-t-mər/ /yə-t-mar/ yɨtmər yətmar ⁸*yɨdmər⁹ ⁸*yədmar⁹ ‘learn’ As for the voiceless alveolar stops c, cʼ and t’, Banksira ⁸2000: 13⁹ states that they cause total assimilation of t-, as for instance yɨ-t-cafər → yɨccafər. Here, however, the notation with ‘unassimilated’ t- has been chosen ⁸197⁹ ⁸in accordance to ⁸192⁹ /t-j/ dj rather than jj⁹. ⁸197⁹ c /yɨ-t-cafər/ /yə-t-cafər/ yɨtcafər yətcafər ‘give a mouthful to each other’ cʼ tʼ /yɨ-t-cʼən/ /yə-t-tʼən/ yɨtcʼən yəttʼən ‘be born’ Finally, needless to say that t- does not change when it meets t. ⁸198⁹ c /yɨ-t-tos/ /yə-t-tos/ yɨttos yəttos ‘be in a mess’ 3.6.2 Derived stems with a- (direct causativizer) The prefix a- can be attached to all verb types without changes in their basic templates ⁸table 44⁹. One minor exception are verbs of type A2 : their derived causative Jussive bases do not show the vowel ə that is present in the underived Jussive ⁸see page 49⁹. Thus direct causatives have only one template for type A. Verbs of type B do not alter and feature their characteristic loss of palatalization in the Jussive also in the derived causative. As for verb type C, all attested Jussive bases show mutation, whereas the underived Jussives occur either with or without mutation. Note that in principal I do not claim that Banksira’s total assimilation is wrong. Given that he is a native speaker of Chaha, I assume that he must feel some difference between tc and cc. Nevertheless, I am not sure if there really is a discernible ⁸acoustic or measurable⁹ difference between them. Maybe Banksira’s analysis is somewhat influenced by the Amharic orthography conventions? Note that a Gumer speaker suggested to write unassimilated t in Gumer, for example yɨtcaffər <ይትቻፈር>. 88 Type D, which is rare, shows no changes in the template. Type A₍₁₎ A₍₂₎ B C D a-xəttər a-tʼənəkʼ a-cəffər a-zapət a-wənəs a-xədr a-tʼərkʼ a-cə⁸f⁹fr a-zapt a-wəns a-xdr a-tʼrkʼ a-tə⁸f⁹fr a-zapt a-wəns ‘dress ⁸ ⁹’ ‘dry ⁸ ⁹’ ‘give a mouthful’ ‘cause to get lost’ ‘make feel lonely’ Table 44: Example bases of a- ⁸199⁹ Verbs of type A + aaβəssər afəttʼər afəzəz agəffər aməntʼ arədəd arəttʼər atʼəβətʼ atʼəməd atʼənəkʼ atʼənnər awənd axəttər √βsr √ftʼr √fzz √gfr √mrtʼ √rdd √rtʼr √tʼβtʼ √tʼmd √tʼrkʼ √tʼrr √Urd √xdr ‘cook ⁸ ⁹’ ‘hurry; prepare food’ ‘improve’ ‘lower’ ‘escape’ ‘light fire, kindle’ ‘melt ⁸ ⁹’ ‘give somebody to hold’ ‘catch ⁸fish⁹, trap’ ‘dry ⁸ ⁹; frighten’ ‘filter, purify’ ‘bring down’ ‘dress ⁸ ⁹’ aβas adəkʼ arəkʼ axʸər √βAs √dAkʼ √rAkʼ √xAr ‘make worse’ ‘make laugh’ ‘make distant, take far away’ ‘become clear’ aβətta aβəna afəkka afətta agəppa agəssa akəna asəna atʼəffa awəna awəttʼa axəna √βdA √βrA √fkA √ftA √gβA √gsA √krA √srA √tʼfA √UrA √UtʼA √xrA ‘mary off one’s daughter’ ‘feed’ ‘remove, take out’ ‘gallop’ ‘put in, let in; marry’ ‘burp’ ‘ascend ⁸ ⁹’ ‘bring, take to’ ‘extinguish’ ‘put, put down’ ‘take out’ ‘shout, make noise’ 89 ⁸200⁹ ⁸201⁹ akʸəs akʼetʼ ateg ater √kIs √kʼItʼ √tIg √tIr ‘joke’ ‘trade’ ‘ask somebody to do ⁸esp. buy⁹ something’ ‘make slowly, be late’ afʷənə akʷəʃʃə √frU √ksU ‘take a rest’ ‘remove upper layer of əssət’ akʼʷəm amʷəkʼ arotʼ √kʼUm √mUkʼ √rUtʼ ‘put up, erect; stop ⁸ ‘warm, heat’ ‘make run’ agənə amənə arəʃʃə asəkkʸə √grI √mrI √rsI √sxI ‘make problems’ ‘do’ ‘plait, weave’ ‘make flee’ Verbs of type B + aaβetət ajəggər ajəkkʷər arəkʸəm acəffər axʸəttər √β tt √d gr √d gʷr √r gm √t fr √x tr ‘widen’ ‘trouble ⁸ ⁹’ ‘make droop, make wilt’ ‘make ride, put somebody on horse’ ‘give a mouthful’ ‘make follow, escort’ acənə √t rI ‘bring’ Verbs of type C + aazapət azakkʼʷər aʒanəg ⁸202⁹ ⁹; step on something’ √z βt √z kʼʷr √ʒ rg ‘cause to lose one’s way’ ‘make somebody speak too much’ ‘make somebody leave’ Verbs of type D + aawənəs afʷəkək √β rs √f kk ‘make feel lonely’ ‘crawl’ The w results from an intervocalic bʷ. Note, however, that in Gumer awənəs and abʷənəs coexist, see example ⁸11⁹. 90 Verbs with prefix a- and additional infix -a- are very rare. The only two examples that could be found are represented in table 45. Note that while arakəβ ‘announce search’ is a derivation of nəkəβ √rxβ ‘find’, there is seemingly no other form belonging to the root √f gg than afʷagəg ‘cut off flesh from bone’. Type A D a-rakəβ a-fʷagəg a-raxβ a-fʷagg a-raxβ a-fʷagg ‘announce search’ ‘cut off flesh from bone’ Table 45: Examples of a- + -a- 3.6.3 Derived stems with at- (indirect causativizer) The prefix at- is attested with verb types A, B and C⁰⁰ ⁸table 46⁹. When prefixed to type A verbs, at- entails some changes to their templates. Firstly, the Jussive base features the vowel ə between the first two radicals, and secondly the Imperfective base shows mutation. Nevertheless, there are only very few examples and the data are sometimes contradicting ⁸or showing variation⁹. Very strikingly, however, there is a group of type A verbs that acquire a palatal element in combination with at-. Thus, they behave basically like type B verbs with mutation in all bases and depalatalization in the Jussive ⁸see below⁹. Finally, the templates of type C verbs remain the same, the Jussive featuring mutation rather than variation. Type A A B C B at-səppər at-gʸəffər at-ʒəppər at-manəx at-sə⁸p⁹pr at-gʸə⁸f⁹fr at-ʒə⁸p⁹pr at-manx at-səβr at-gə⁸f⁹fr at-zə⁸p⁹pr at-manx ‘cause to break’ ‘cause to release’ ‘cause to return’ ‘cause to be captured’ Table 46: Examples of at- ⁸203⁹ Verbs of type A + ataddənəg atrəgəd atsəppər √drg √rgd √sβr ‘cause to beat’ ‘cause to touch’ ‘cause to break’ Leslau ⁸1979c: 524⁹ lists atrakəβ for this meaning in Chaha, while Banksira ⁸2000: 36⁹ has arakəβ. ⁰⁰ No example for type D could be found. One example of another verb type that I recorded with atis atɨnnə ‘put to sleep’ derived from the weak quadriradical nɨyə ‘sleep’. Both basic and derived form behave somewhat irregular ⁸cf. table 30⁹. It is not clear whether there are other quadriradical verbs ⁸type E and F⁹ with at- or not. 91 ⁸204⁹ ⁸205⁹ atmər atrəkʼ atrotʼ atxʸər √mAr √rAkʼ √rUtʼ √xAr ‘teach’ ‘bring up, raise ⁸children⁹’ ‘force to run’ ‘inform’ atβəna √βrA ‘make eat’ attənə √trI ‘cause to swear, have someone take an oath’ Verbs of type B + atatkʼʸənəβ atʃəkət adʒəppər √kʼ rβ √s kt √z βr ‘bring near, present’ ‘cause to be fixed, have repaired’ ‘cause to return’ atcot adʒor √t Ut √z Ur ‘cause to work, hire’ ‘force to go around’ Verbs of type C + atatmanəx atkʼattʼər adzakkʼʷər √m rx √kʼ tʼr √z kʼʷr ‘cause to be captured’ ‘assist knotting, make knot’ ‘cause to talk too much’ atmaccə √m tI ‘make angry’ As mentioned above, some verbs of type A receive an additional palatal element when prefixed with at-. As can be seen in ⁸206⁹, initial velars are palatalized. The alveolar s in atsenəf ‘scare’, on the other hand, is not altered but the first vowel is raised to e.⁰ This is in contrast to ‘real’ type B verbs where alveolars are always palatalized ⁸for example ʃəkkər √s gr ‘change’⁹. Verbs beginning with radical A as in the second group in ⁸206⁹ seem to occur regularly with a palatal glide and the vowel a changed to ə. In the case of atyəkək ‘itch’ I have also recorded atekək with raised vowel. Finally, note that also atxʸər ‘inform’ in ⁸203⁹ shows palatalization. However, this verb is a special case in that it features palatalization in all derivations, except for the plain ɱerfective and Jussive forms which are xar and yə-xar respectively. ⁸206⁹ Verbs of type A + at- + atgʸəffər atkʸətəf atsenəfə √gfr √ktf √srf ‘cause to release, deprive’ ‘have something hashed’ ‘scare someone’ ⁰ For Chaha, ɳose ⁸2007: 413⁹ mentiones the form atsyənəf with a glide, but this form could not be confirmed in Gumer. An alternative form seems to be atsənəf without any palatal element. 92 atyəttər atyəkək atyəsəs atyəʃʃə √Adr √Akk √Ass √AʒI ‘leave s.th. for next day, make spend the night’ ‘itch’ ⁸~ atekək⁹ ‘make sweep’ ‘show’ The templates of verbs with prefix at- and additional infix -a- ⁸table 47⁹ are almost the same as the ones without -a-. Again, type A verbs show mutation in the Imperfective but not in the Jussive. Type B verbs do not feature depalatalization in the Jussive as it is the case with t(ə)- + -a-.⁰ Type A B at-rakəβ at-kʼʸappər at-rakβ⁰ at-kʼʸa⁸p⁹pr at-raxβ at-kʼʸa⁸p⁹pr ‘introduce’ ‘exchange words’ Table 47: Examples of at- + -a- ⁸207⁹ ⁸208⁹ Verbs of type A + at- + -aatragəd atrakəβ attakkər √rgd √rxβ √tkr⁰ ‘cause to touch one another’ ‘introduce’ ‘chase away’ atβatta atrassa atwana atwand √βdA √rsA √UrA √Urd ‘consult one another’ ‘help lift’ ‘make a plan’ ‘belittle, humiliate’ Verbs of type B + at- + -aatkʼʸappər atcʼamət √kʼ βr √tʼ mt ‘exchange words, make reach ⁸e.g. by shouting⁹’ ‘think, reflect’ ⁰ Note that atkʼʸappər is the only attested type B verb with at- + -a-. It is not excluded that additional examples would show some variation, especially in the Jussive, as also for atkʼʸappər one instance of no mutation in the Jussive ⁸at-k’ʸaβr⁹ was recorded. ⁰ This verb shows variation in the Imperfective base between ⁸regular⁹ mutation at-rakβ and no mutation at-raxβ. The same is attested with t(ə)-: t-rakβ ~ t-raxβ. ⁰ According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 34⁹ attakkər is related to *akkər ⁸which does not exist in its underived form⁹, thus the root would be √Akr rather than √tkr. 93 3.6.3.1 Assimilation of atThe dental of at- assimilates in basically the same contexts as t- ⁸↗ 3.6.1.2⁹ to a directly following consonant. Note that at- is adjacent to the first radical in all TAM forms, i.e. other than with t(ə)- this rule also applies in the ɱerfective. Nevertheless, here only a few instances are attested. They show obligatory voicing before the dental d ⁸209⁹ and optional voicing before the other voiced obstruents gʸ ⁸210⁹ and the sibilants z and ʒ⁰ ⁸211⁹. ⁸209⁹ d /at-dənəg-ə/ /y-at-dənɨg/ /y-at-dərg/ addənəgə yaddənɨg yaddərg ‘cause to beat’ ⁸210⁹ g⁽ʸ⁾ /at-gʸəffər-ə/ /y-at-gʸəffɨr/ /y-at-gəffɨr/ atgʸəffərə ~ adgʸəffərə yatgʸəffɨr ~ yadgʸəffɨr yatgəffɨr ~ yadgəffɨr ‘cause to be released, free’ ⁸211⁹ z /at-zakkʼʷər-ə/ /y-at-zakkʼʷɨr/ /y-at-zakkʼʷɨr/ atzakkʼʷərə ~ adzakkʼʷərə ‘cause to speak yatzakkʼʷɨr ~ yadzakkʼʷɨr too much’ yatzakkʼʷɨr ~ yadzakkʼʷɨr ʒ /at-ʒəppər-ə/ /y-at-ʒəppɨr/ /y-at-zəppɨr/ atʒəppərə ~ adʒəppərə yatʒəppɨr ~ yadʒəppɨr yatzəppɨr ~ yadzəppɨr ‘cause to return; get well’ Note that other than with t-, the occasional total assimilation of the dental in at- to a following sibilant seems to be almost impossible, or at least not very common. Apart from one instance assɨyənəf ‘scare’ ⁸normally atsɨyənəf ~ atsenəf ⁹ I have never recorded forms like *azzakkʼʷər, *aʒʒəppər, *assəppər or *aʃʃəkət. 3.7 Uses of t(ə)-, a- and atThe three derivational verbal prefixes are devices that primarily serve to change the valency of verbs. While t(ə)- is a detransitivizer reducing the valency, both aand at- are causatives increasing it. Most verbs cannot occur with all three derivations. ɳather, depending on their semantics and/or transitivity, they allow one or two of them. Any verb stem, be it underived or derived, can only express one value of valency, i.e. change in valency necessitates derivation. As shown in ⁸212⁹ the basic ⁸underived⁹ stems are either intransitive or transitive.⁰ Conversely, derived forms can either represent the intransitive part of a verb pair, i.e. with t(ə)-, or the transitive one, i.e. with a-. ⁸212⁹ tə-rəssa betət ‘get up’ ‘be wide’ ← nəssa a-βetət ‘lift’ ‘widen’ ⁰ Another example verb is atʒor ~ adʒor ‘cause to go round’. ⁰ ɱossible exceptions are ambitransitives like verbs of ingestion, cf. Amberber ⁸2000: 313⁹. 94 In addition to these regular cases, there is a considerable number of verbs that do not possess a basic underived stem. Especially among these prefix-necessitating ⁸‘bound’⁹ stems there are verbs where the prefixes do not change the valency as such but rather encode valency or express other nuances ⁸cf. ɱetros 1994 and Banksira 1999a on Chaha, and Amberber 2000 on Amharic⁹. 3.7.1 Detransitivizer t(ə)-: anticausative(-passive-reflexive) The detransitivizer t(ə)- combines with transitive verbs to derive anticausatives, and marginally passives and reflexives. ⁸213⁹ səppər ‘break ⁸ ⁹’ cʼənə atʼəβ ‘give birth’ ‘wash’ təsəppər təcʼənə tatʼəβ ‘break ⁸ ⁹; ⁸be broken ⁸by someone⁹⁹’ ‘be born’ ‘wash onesel’ Derivations with t(ə)- fade out the subject ⁸agent⁹ of the original transitive verb ⁸214a⁹ ⁸but see the reflexives below⁹, while the old object syntactically becomes the new subject ⁸214b⁹. ⁸214⁹ a. b-afər b. ‘He lifted him from the ground.’ b-afər cona-m-ta tərəssa-m. nəssa-n-ɨm. LOC-land lift.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M LOC-land sit.ɱFV[.3smS]-CV.M-LINK get.up.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘He sat on the ground and stood up.’ The most common type of the three valency-reducing derivations mentioned above are anticausatives. Like derived intransitive verbs they feature the logical undergoer as subject but other than passives there is no ⁸external⁹ causer implied ⁸cf. Dixon ⁶ Aikhenvald 2000, in particular Amberber 2000 for Amharic⁹. A list of some typical anticausatives are given in ⁸215⁹, followed by a few example sentences ⁸216⁹-⁸220⁹. ⁸215⁹ Examples of anticausative derivations ʒəppər gəttər nəssa ʃem fətta tɨʼmətʼəm gɨrətəm məntʼ bɨraccʼə ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ ‘put to sleep’ ‘lift’ ‘hide ⁸ ⁹’ ‘untie’ ‘twist ⁸ ⁹’ ‘break in two ⁸ ‘peel’ ‘scatter ⁸ ⁹’ ⁹’ 95 təʒəppər təgəttər tərəssa təʃem təfətta tətʼmətʼəm təgrətəm təməntʼ təβraccʼə ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ ‘lie down’ ‘get up, set of’ ‘hide ⁸ ⁹’ ‘become loose’ ‘twist ⁸ ⁹’ ‘break in two ⁸ ‘peel off ⁸skin⁹’ ‘scatter ⁸ ⁹’ ⁹’ ⁸216⁹ xɨ təʒəppər-o-m bet-əxʷna gəpp-o-m. DEM return.ɱFV-3pmS-M house-3pmɱOSS enter.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘Then they returned home.’ ⁸217⁹ tərəss-o-m-tanə sɨddət wər-o-m. stand.up.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M-LINK exile go.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They stood up ⁸set of⁹ and went into exile.’ ⁸218⁹ tətʼmətʼəm-ə-m. wədərə b-əgr-əna rope LOC-foot-1sɱOSS twist.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘A rope twisted around my foot.’ ⁸219⁹ ãfʷɨna-na təməntʼ-ə-m. nose-1sɱOSS peel.off.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘My nose peeled off.’ ⁸220⁹ at kilo yɨxər sɨkkʷar təβraccʼə-m. one kilo approximately sugar scatter.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘Approximately one kilo of sugar scattered.’ In contrast to Amharic, for example, the passive use of t(ə)- is much less frequent in Gumer. The verb təcʼənə ‘be born’ as in ⁸221⁹ is one of the very few examples that could be counted as “real” passive. ⁸221⁹ yə-tcʼənə-x-wə kərə ɳEL-be.born.ɱFV-1sS-MAL.3sm day ‘my birthday ⁸lit. the day I was born on⁹’ Otherwise, passive values are generally expressed by means of the Impersonal ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹. As the alternative translation ‘be broken ⁸by somenone⁹’ of təsəppər in ⁸213⁹ above demonstrates, passives with t(ə)- are occasionally in use, but most of the time such constructions appear to be copies from Amharic. Consider the following sentence where the speaker first used the derived təmanəx ‘he was captured’ and then corrected themself to the Impersonal of the underived verb manəxʷi ‘one captured ⁸him⁹’. ⁸222⁹ əxʷa yə-tmanəx-ə-m səβ yə-manəxʷ-i səβ now ɳEL-be.captured.ɱFV-3smS-ALSO person ɳEL-capture.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO person bə-məgəra-w-ʃ yɨ-sre-βa. INSTɳ-calves-COɱ.3smS-ɱɳAG 3S-buy.IɱFV.IɱS.3smO-AUX.ɱT ‘Now, also captured people used to be bought ⁸back⁹ by calves.’ ⁸lit.: ... it is with calves that one used to buy a person that one took prisoner.⁹ As for reflexives, there are not many verbs that readily fit the common definition saying that they are constructions “in which subject and object are the same entity” ⁸ɱayne 1997: 198⁹. In most cases reflexivity is expressed by gəg ‘body’ plus possessive suffix as the object of the verb ⁸with or without object marker yə-, ↗ 4.7.1.2⁹. 96 ⁸223⁹ (yə-)gəg-əna b-ɨxa dən aʃʃə-xʷ-ɨm. DAT-body-1sɱOSS LOC-water inside see.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I saw myself in the water.’ ⁸224⁹ (yə-)gəg-əna ə-tʼəra. DAT-body-1sɱOSS 1sS-hate.IɱFV ‘I hate myself.’ The clearest instances of reflexive verbs with t(ə)- are grooming verbs like tatʼəβ ‘wash onesel’, but it is important to note that the object, i.e. the body part that is washed, does not have to be demoted ⁸225b⁹, and even the primary object suffix on the verb referring to the ⁸definite⁹ object is possible ⁸225c⁹. ⁸225⁹ a. tatʼəβ-xʷ-ɨm. b. ‘I washed myself.’ gʷɨnər-əna tatʼəβ-xʷ-ɨm. c. ‘I washed my head/hair.’ gʷɨnər-əna tatʼəβ-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. wash.ɱFV-1sS-M head-1sɱOSS wash.ɱFV-1sS-M head-1sɱOSS wash.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I washed my head/hair.’ Thus the derived reflexive form with t(ə)- does not reduce valency as such, but it still expresses reflexivity in the sense that the subject is affected. Interestingly, it seems that reflexivity is only possible when the way of washing is established in the culture. For instance, since traditionally one does not brush one’s teeth ⁸i.e. with a toothbrush, water and toothpaste⁹, there is no verb equivalent to ‘brush teeth’. When somebody wants to refer to this activity, it is only possible with the basic transitive verb atʼəβ ‘wash’ ⁸226⁹, very much as one would use it with any other object that is not a body part ⁸227⁹. ⁸226⁹ sɨn-əna atʼəβ-xʷ-ɨm. tooth-1sɱOSS wash.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I brushed ⁸lit. washed⁹ my teeth.’ ⁸227⁹ cʼamma atʼəβ-nə-m. shoe wash.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘We washed shoes.’ 3.7.1.1 Reciprocals As already indicated earlier, the infix -a- added to derived stems conveys the meaning of reciprocity. This concerns in particular the t-stems, but also the atstems ⁸↗ 3.7.3.1⁹, which express causation of reciprocity ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 36f.⁹. 97 In contrast, a-stems virtually cannot form reciprocals.⁰ In ⁸228⁹ a few illustrative examples of reciprocals derived from their basic verb are listed ⁸including one quadriradical⁹. ⁸228⁹ √drg √rxβ √UgA √t fr ‘hit’ ‘find’ ‘stab’ ‘take a mouthful’ √d gm jəkəm ‘bash’ √zrgI zɨrəkkʸə ‘speak, talk’ ‘hit each other’ ‘meet’ ⁸“find each other”⁹ ‘fight, stab each other’ ‘give a mouthful to each other’ təjakəm ‘bash each other’ təzrakkʸə ‘talk together, converse’ dənəg nəkəβ wəkka cəffər tədanəg tərakəβ təwakka təcaffər ɳemember that the t-stem without -a- do not express reciprocity, but simply passive ⁸or reflexive or anticausative⁹ as in the following contrastive pairs. ⁸229⁹ tərəkəβ tətʼəβətʼ ‘be found’ ‘be caught’⁰ vs. tərakəβ vs. tətʼabətʼ ‘meet’ ⁸“find each other”⁹ ‘get stuck; hold each other’ Furthermore, needless to say that the vowel a in derived stems of type C verbs is part of the verb root and therefore does not mark reciprocity. ⁸230⁹ √m rx manəx ‘take prisoner’ √m tI maccə ‘be angry’ təmanəx ‘be taken prisoner’ ⁸*‘take each other prisoner’⁹ atmaccə ‘make s.o. angry’ ⁸*‘make each other angry’⁹ Since reciprocals involve two agents acting on each other, they normally occur with plural subject markers ⁸231⁹-⁸234⁹ ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 36f.⁹. ⁸231⁹ sɨddɨscɨm-əxʷna bə-βoks all.six-3pmɱOSS tədanəg-o-m. INSTɳ-boxing hit.each.other.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘The six of them boxed each other.’ ⁸232⁹ sost gɨred bə-tifə yɨ-ddanəg-əma. three girls INSTɳ-slap.in.face 3S-hit.each.other.IɱFV-pfS ‘Three girls slap each other in the face.’ ⁸233⁹ xʷet gɨred cənə-ma-m agat t-agat-əxnəma two girls come.ɱFV-3pfS-CV.M shoulder COM-shoulder-3pfɱOSS təragəd-əma-m. touch.each.other.ɱFV-3pfS-M ‘Two girls came and touched each other’s shoulder.’ ⁰ The reason for this must be connected to the fact that most a-stems are causatives of anticausative verbs, which do not have a ⁸human⁹ agent. One exception I am aware of is azrakkʸə √zrgI ‘engage in conversation, talk together’ derived from zɨrəkkʸə ‘speak, talk’. ⁰ ɱrobably the verb tətʼəβətʼ as a passive is only a loan construction from Amharic ⁸i.e. təyaz⁹ 98 ⁸234⁹ xɨ za səβat səβ səβacɨm-əxʷna at-at bɨxer DEM DEM seven person all.seven-3pmɱOSS one-one nation xər-o-m-tanə yɨ-twakk-o-βa. become.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M-LINK 3S-fight.each.other.IɱFV-pmS-AUX.ɱT ‘Then, these seven persons fought each other all seven of them as one nation each.’ With singular subjects as in ⁸235⁹, they express a habitual meaning ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 37⁹. Similarly in ⁸236⁹, the verb is in the singular because it is intended to express that the many listed subjects generally engage in fighting activities and not that they all fight against each other ⁸even though they also fought against each other⁹. ⁸235⁹ yɨ-twakka səβ 3smS-fight.each.other.IɱFV person ‘someone who fights’ ⁸236⁹ gʸəta-m ɨkkɨm, ɨnor-ɨm ɨkkɨm, ɨndəganə-m ɨkkɨm, mʷəxr-ɨm ɨkkɨm, Gyeto-ALSO just əʒa-m Inor-ALSO just Endegeñ-ALSO just Muher-ALSO just ɨkkɨm yɨ-twakka. Ezha-ALSO just 3smS-fight.each.other.IɱFV ‘The Gyeto, the Inor, the Endegeñ, the Muher and the Ezha fight just the same.’ Finally, note that reciprocals are also combinable with the Impersonal: ⁸237⁹ tərakʷəʃ-i-m, təwakkʷe-m, səβ anəkʼ-ə-m. quarrel.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M fight.ɱFV.IɱS.3smO-M person be.finished.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘They ⁸one⁹ quarreled, they ⁸one⁹ fought, and people died.’ ⁸238⁹ oo, təsanəfʷ-i-m. yes fear.each.other.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M ‘Yes, they ⁸one⁹ feared each other.’ 3.7.2 Causativizer a- (direct causativization) The typical occurrence of the causativizer a- ⁸239⁹ is with intransitive ⁸unaccusative⁹ verbs that express a state and/or the respective change of state ⁸a⁹, the English translation often being rendered with ‘be’ or ‘become’ plus adjective as in ⁸b⁹. Further, verbs of inherently directed motion combine with a- as well ⁸c⁹. Additionally, a small number of transitive verbs also form derived stems with a-. On the one hand, there are the verbs of ingestion, which can be considered ambitransitives ⁸d⁹, and on the other hand there are a few transitive verbs that occur with a-, but only when the derived stem expresses a transfer of possession ⁸e⁹ ⁸cf. Banksira 1999a⁹. 99 ⁸239⁹ a. b. c. d. e. nəttʼər tʼənəkʼ wənd bəna sɨyə ‘melt ⁸ ⁹’ ‘be⁸come⁹ dry’ ‘go down’ ‘eat’ ‘buy’ arəttʼər atʼənəkʼ awənd aβəna asyə ‘melt ⁸ ⁹’ ‘dry ⁸ ⁹’ ‘bring down’ ‘feed’ ‘sell’ Intransitive verbs that are not unaccusative ⁸i.e. verbs with agentive subjects⁹ normally do not form direct causatives with a-, but with at- ⁸↗ 3.7.3⁹. Exceptions are verbs of ⁸directed⁹ motion ⁸245⁹ and verbs of ingestion and transfer of possession ⁸252⁹. ⁸240⁹ dənəs zəkkər ‘sing and dance’ ‘jump’ addənəs atzəkkər ‘make dance’ ⁸*adənəs⁹ ‘make jump’ ⁸*azəkkər⁹ Direct causativization with a- introduces an external causer who brings about the state or change of state, or following ɱayne ⁸1997: 181⁹ who is “directly, instantly, and probably physically responsible for the effect”. Syntactically, as shown in ⁸241⁹ the new argument ⁸i.e. the causer⁹ becomes the subject and the old subject appears as the object of the causative construction. ⁸241⁹ a. kʼawa fəttʼər-ə-m. b. ‘The coffee is prepared.’ yunus kʼawa afəttʼər-ə-m. coffee be.ready.ɱFV-3smS-M Y. coffee make.ready.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘Yunus prepared coffee.’ In ⁸242⁹ a selection of typical direct causative derivations from intransitive unaccusative verbs is shown, followed by a few more example sentences ⁸243⁹-⁸244⁹. ⁸242⁹ Examples of direct causative derivations mʷakʼ bas fəzəz dɨrəttər nɨwəʃʃə fəttʼər tʼənnər bəssər nədəd jəkkʷər teg zapət ‘be⁸come⁹ warm’ ‘be⁸come⁹ bad’ ‘be⁸come⁹ better’ ‘be⁸come⁹ thick’ ‘be⁸come⁹ familiar, learn’ ‘be⁸come⁹ ready ⁸food⁹’ ‘be⁸come⁹ filteredʼ ‘cook ⁸ ⁹’ ‘burn ⁸ ⁹’ ‘droop, wilt’ ‘be done successfully’ ‘get lost’ 100 amʷəkʼ aβas afəzəz adrəttər arwəʃʃə afəttʼər atʼənnər aβəssər arədəd ajəkkʷər ateg azapət ‘warm ⁸ ⁹’ ‘make worse’ ‘make better’ ‘make thick’ ‘make familiar, teach’ ‘make ready, prepare ⁸food⁹’ ‘filter’ ‘cook ⁸ ⁹’ ‘set fire, ignite’ ‘make droop’ ‘accomplish successfully’ ‘make get lost’ ⁸243⁹ a. mɨʃt-xʸɨta b. ‘The woman laughed.’ nɨkkʼar-u y-adəkʼ-ə-ndə. dakʼ-əc-ɨm. woman-DEF.sf-COɱ.3smS laugh.ɱFV-3sfS-M a.lot-COɱ.3smS ɳEL-make.laugh.ɱFV-3smS-1pO ‘[This] made us laugh ⁸244⁹ .’ a. yə-rədəd-ə b. ‘The house that burnt down is a restaurant.’ y-arədəd-ə kʼar bə-βəna bet-xʷɨt ʃərətβet-u. ɳEL-burn.ɱFV-3smS house-DEF.sm restaurant-COɱ.3smS ɳEL-burn.ɱFV-3smS THING COND-eat.ɱFV[.3smS] ‘if he eats something that burns ⁸i.e. spicy⁹’ With verbs of directed motion ⁸‘go’⁹, as well as cənə ‘come’ and səna ‘arrive’, derivation with a- expresses that an object is taken, brought, put, etc. in the respective direction as illustrated in ⁸245⁹ and the following example sentences ⁸246⁹⁸251⁹. ⁸245⁹ Examples of direct causatives of verbs with directed motion ‘go in’ ‘go out’ ‘go down’ ‘go up’ ‘come’ ‘arrive, reach’ gəppa wəttʼa wənd kəna cənə səna ⁸246⁹ tʼəwətʼ-ə-n-ɨm-tanə ‘put in, bring in, etc.’ ‘take out, bring out, etc.’ ‘take down, bring down, etc.’ ‘take up, bring up, etc.’ ‘bring’ ‘bring to, take to’ agəppa awəttʼa awənd akəna acənə asəna xɨ bəryə agəppʷa-n-ɨm. take.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-CV.M-LINK DEM B. bring.in[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He grabbed him and then he brought ⁸entered⁹ him to Berye.’ ⁸247⁹ ɨmmat kʷɨtara-ta only awəttʼa-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. chicken-3smɱOSS take.out.ɱFV-1s-3smO-M ‘I only took out the chicken.’ ⁸248⁹ mʷɨz-xʷɨta tə-səmɛ awənd-o-m. banana-DEF.sm ABL-sky take.down.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They took down the bananas from overhead ⁸lit. sky⁹.’ ⁸249⁹ yə-gʷrage berəsəβ akəna-m. ATTɳ-Gurage nationality ascend.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘He brought ⁸lead⁹ the Gurage people up [the hill].’ ⁸250⁹ asəna-xʷ-ɨm ə-tʒəppər-te. take.to.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M 1sS-return.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘I will take it [there] and come back.’ 101 ⁸251⁹ tʼəppʷə-m acənəw-i-m-tanə kətəfʷ-i-m acənəw-i-m xɨ wəlando skin.ɱFV.IɱS-CV.M bring.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-CV.M-LINK DEM welando bar-ə-m. hash.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-CV.M bring.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M say.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He said: “They skinned and brought it, then they hashed welando⁰ and brought it”.’ As mentioned above, some verbs of ⁸transfer o⁹ possession, even though not intransitive, can also form causatives with a-. The same is true with verbs of ingestion, which might be classified as a special case of verbs of ⁸transfer o⁹ possession. In both cases, there is a recipient who in a broad sense is the new possessor of an entity that is transferred; consider that both asəccʼə ‘give to drink’ and atʼəβətʼ ‘give to hold’ in ⁸252⁹ contain the verb ‘give’ in their English translations. ⁸252⁹ Direct causatives of verbs of ingestion and transfer of possession bəna səccʼə tʼəppʷə cəffər sɨyə tʼəβətʼ bətta ‘eat’ ‘drink’ ‘suck’ ‘take a mouthful’ ‘buy’ ‘grasp, hold’ ‘take’ aβəna asəccʼə atʼəppʷə acəffər asyə atʼəβətʼ aβətta ‘feed’ ‘give to drink’ ‘suckle’ ‘give a mouthful’ ‘sell’ ‘give to hold’ ‘give in marriage’ As for the marking of ⁸primary⁹ objects on the causatives of these non-intransitive verbs, there are cases where the theme and other cases where the recipient occurs as suffixes on the verb ⁸i.e. only one at a time⁹. In ⁸253⁹, it is the recipients -no ‘them’ and -naxə ‘you ⁸sm⁹’ that occur as object suffix on the verb aβəna ‘feed’. In contrast, with asyə ‘sell’ in ⁸254⁹ it is the theme that is represented by the suffixed primary object -n ‘it’. ⁸253⁹ a. cʼɨza t-aβəra-no-e b. ‘She wanted to feed them drugs ⁸i.e. poison⁹.’ zɨx asa atʼəməd-ə-m-ta y-aβəna-naxə ʃə-c-ɨm. drug 3sfS-feed.IɱFV-3pmO-ɱUɳɱ want.ɱFV-3sfS-M mɨs this fish catch.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M-LINK ɳEL-feed.ɱFV[.3smS]-2smO man y-axə yəməcʼərəʃa tʼəlat-axə-w. ATTɳ-2sm worstѦ enemy-2smɱOSS-COɱ.3smS ‘This man, who cought and fed you fish, is your worst enemy.’ ⁸254⁹ a. yə-kəbbədə abba-ta ATTɳ-K. bet-we asəyə-n father-3smɱOSS house-DEF sell.IMɱ[.2smS]-3smO bʷar-ə-n-ɨm? say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘Did Kebbede’s father tell him to sell the house?’ ⁰ A meal made of raw meat with spices and butter ⁸Leslau 1979c: 652⁹. 102 b. be, məngɨst-u asəyə-n yə-war-ə-n. no government-COɱ.3smS sell.IMɱ[.2smS]-3smO ɳEL-say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO ‘No, the government told him to sell it.’ ⁸Lit.: No, it is the government who told him “Sell it!”⁹ On the one hand, the occurrence of the object suffixes is conditioned by the definiteness of the referents ⁸↗ 4.4.2⁹. Thus, in ⁸253⁹ the themes cʼɨza ‘drug’ and asa ‘fish’ are ⁸generic⁹ indefinite and therefore unmarked, whereas the recipients are definite. In contrast, in ⁸254⁹ it is the theme betwe ‘the house’ that is definite and therefore marked on the verb ⁸and the recipient is not specified at all⁹. On the other hand, however, it also seems that different verbs allow or favor different alignments. In ⁸255⁹, for example, the theme zɨ dɨnica ‘these potatoes’ is definite and there is no recipient in form of an overt noun. Thus it could be thinkable that the 3sm object suffix refers to the potatoes. Nevertheless, the normal ⁸if not the only possible⁹ reading of this sentence is that “Kebbede fed these potatoes to him”. Conversely, example ⁸254⁹ above showed that a primary object suffix on asyə ‘sell’ refers to the theme, so that the recipient has to be expressed by means of a benefactive object as in ⁸256⁹. ⁸255⁹ kəbbədə zɨ K. dɨnica awəna-n-ɨm. DEM potato feed.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘Kebbede fed him these potatoes.’ ⁸*‘Kebbede fed these potatoes [to somebody].’⁹ ⁸256⁹ kəbbədə dɨnica asyə-la-m. K. potato sell.ɱFV[.3smS]-BEN.3sf-M ‘Kebbede sold potatoes to her.’ ⁸also ‘Kebbede sold potatoes for/in behalf of her’.⁹ 3.7.3 Causativizer at- (indirect causativization) The causativizer at- typically forms causatives of transitive verbs. Nevertheless it is relatively free in use and can in principle occur with all types verbs including intransitive ones. As illustrated in ⁸257⁹, there are indirect causativizations from verbs of motion, perception, emotion or ingestion up to transitive verbs with highly agentive subjects like dənəg ‘beat’. Note that verbs with an initial vowel a as the last three examples in ⁸257⁹ can form causatives with at- only on formal grounds, regardless whether direct causativization with a- is expected or not. 103 ⁸257⁹ Examples of indirect causative derivations notʼ ʒor sənəf ‘run’ ‘go round’ ‘be afraid’ tənə bəna xar səppər ʃəkət ʒəppər nəgəd kətəf dənəg aʃʃə akək ‘swear’ ‘eat’ ‘know’ ‘break’ ‘fix, prepare’ ‘return’ ‘touch’ ‘grind, hash’ ‘beat’ ‘see’ ‘scratch’ attər ‘spend the night’ atrotʼ atʒor atsɨyənəf ~ atsenəf attənə atβəna atxʸər atsəppər atʃəkət atʒəppər atrəgəd atkʸətəf addənəg atyəʃʃə atyəkək ~ atekək atyəttər ‘force to run’ ‘force to go round’ ‘scare someone’ ‘have s.o. take an oath’ ‘cause to eat, make eat’ ‘inform ⁸“cause to know”⁹’ ‘cause to break’ ‘have s.th. repaired’ ‘get well, let s.o. return’ ‘make touch’ ‘have s.th. ground, hashed’ ‘make beat, cause to beat’ ‘show’ ‘itch ⁸“make scratch”⁹’ ‘make spend the night; leave s.th. for next day’ Syntactically, at- introduces a new argument, the causer, which appears as the new subject of the causativized verb. In example ⁸258b⁹, this is the explicitly mentioned pronoun xʷɨt ‘he’. In turn, the old subject gɨyəxʷɨta ‘the dog’ in ⁸258a⁹ becomes the causee and appears as ⁸additional⁹ object of the causativized verb in ⁸258b⁹. ⁸258⁹ a. gɨyə-xʷɨta fɨrank-əta b. ‘The dog ate his money.’ xʷɨt yə-gyə-xʷɨta fɨrank-əta bəna-m. dog-DEF.sm money-3smɱOSS eat.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M atwəna-n-ɨm. 3sm DAT-dog-DEF.sm money-3smɱOSS make.eat.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He made the dog eat his money.’ In causatives with at- there is a causer that makes someone else ⁸the causee⁹ do something. It is the causee that executes the action expressed by the basic verb and not the causer. Due to the fact that in contrast to causatives with a- there is this third actant “between” the causer and the action, derivations with at- are labeled indirect causativization. Other terms found in the literature are directive, distant, mediated, factitive or causee-controlled ⁸Kulikov 2001: 892⁹. It is not always necessary to explicitly mention the causee. In the derived sentence ⁸259b⁹ the old subject ⁸xʷɨt ‘he’⁹ is not present at all. Nevertheless it is understood that it is not the new subject ⁸ɨyya ‘I’⁹ that did the beating themself but that there is another person, the ⁸implicit⁹ causee, that did it. 104 ⁸259⁹ a. (xʷɨt) yə-mɨʃt-əta dənəg-ə-na-m. b. ‘He beat his wife.’ (ɨyya) yə-mɨʃt-əta addənəg-xɨ-na-m. 3sm DAT-wife-3smɱOSS hit.ɱFV-3smS-3sfO-M 1s DAT-wife-3smɱOSS make.beat.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I let beat his wife.’ / ‘I had his wife beaten.’ Ueno ⁸2004⁹ discusses at-causatives ⁸in Chaha⁹ and identifies two possibilities for the causee to appear, as accusative causee ⁸260a⁹ or as oblique causee with bə⁸260b⁹. Her examples are repeated here ⁸transcription and glossing adapted⁹. ⁸260⁹ Chaha ⁸Ueno 2004: 110⁹ a. yə-raxel yə-mʷət-ə DAT-ɳ. b. angaca atkʼəpən-nə-ya-m. ɳEL-die.ɱFV-3smS cat make.bury.ɱFV-1pS-3sfO-M ‘We had ɳachel bury the dead cat.’ yə-mʷət-ə angaca bə-raxel atkʼəpən-ne-m. ɳEL-die.ɱFV-3smS cat INSTɳ-ɳ. make.bury.ɱFV-1pS.3smO-M ‘We had the dead cat buried by ɳachel.’ I do not have enough Gumer data to illustrate both possibilities ⁸at least partly due to the fact that sentences with too many overt participants are not easily accepted⁹, except example ⁸261⁹ with an oblique causee marked by bə-. ⁸261⁹ (ɨyya) yə-wənəxʷə-na 1s mɨʃt bə-mɨs-əxʸta ATTɳ-neighbor-1sɱOSS woman INSTɳ-man-3sfɱOSS addənəg-xɨ-na-m. make.beat.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I had my neighbor’s wife beaten by her husband.’ As for the object suffixes on the causative forms, note that in ⁸260b⁹ the 3sm object suffix refers to the new object, the causee, whereas in ⁸259b⁹ it is the patient rather than the causee that is occurring on the verb as 3sf object suffix -na, i.e. the same referent as in the underived form in ⁸259a⁹. Also note that the use of object suffixes is largely conditioned by definiteness, animacy and other factors rather than the semantic role of the arguments as causee or patient ⁸↗ 3.12.2⁹. Concerning the semantics, there are several nuances that indirect causatives can express. The main meaning distinction is between ⁸generally⁹ making or letting a third intermediate person do an action including the possibility to leave out the causee, i.e. having an action done ⁸by someone⁹ as in ⁸259b⁹ and ⁸more specifically⁹ force someone to do something as in ⁸258b⁹. In this regard, consider sentence ⁸262⁹ as an example that can have both readings, i.e. letting or permitting to spend the night ⁸for example as a guest⁹ and forcing to spend the night ⁸for example by the police⁹. ⁸262⁹ at kərə atyəttər-əβo-ndə-m. one day make.spend.the.night.ɱFV-3smS-1pO-M ‘They let/made us spend the night for one day.’ 105 Further, an assistive or cooperative meaning ⁸‘help to bring about’, ‘assist at bringing about’, cf. Kulikov 2001: 892⁹ is attested in some verbs as for example atkʼattʼər in ⁸263⁹.⁰ ⁸263⁹ yunus yə-fədlu bet t-iy-arəʃʃ-i Y. wədərə ATTɳ-F. house TEMɱ-3S-build.house.IɱS-3smO rope atkʼattʼər-ə-m. make.knot.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘When one was building Fedlu’s house, Yunus assisted knotting ropes.’ The causer is often human ⁸or animate⁹ acting more or less consciously as in the examples above, but it can just as well be an abstract concept, circumstances, etc. as it is exemplified in ⁸264⁹-⁸266⁹. ⁸264⁹ atzakkʼʷər-ə-m. yunus be bər-ot-əta Y. no say-INF-3smɱOSS make.chatter.ɱFV-3smS-1pO-M ‘Yunus saying no made [people] speak a lot.’ ⁸265⁹ yə-yunus ojə ATTɳ-Y. bɨzə səβ atmaccə-m. gossip many person make.angry[.3smS]-M ‘Yunus’s gossip made many people angry.’ ⁸266⁹ zənga-ta atsɨyənəf-ə-ndə-m. affair-3smɱOSS scare.ɱFV-3smS-1pO-M ‘The situation scared us.’ As mentioned earlier, at- typically combines with transitive verbs. When it occurs with intransitive verbs, however, there is usually a contrast between direct causatives with a- and indirect causatives with at-. With verbs of ⁸undirected⁹ motion like notʼ ‘run’ it seems that the direct causative arotʼ ‘make run’ does not convey the meaning of forcing. ɳather the focus lies on the movement as such which is facilitated or brought about by some cause. This is in a way comparable to causatives of verbs expressing states and change of states. Thus arotʼ as in ⁸267⁹ could be paraphrased as ‘causing that someone or something is in or enters the state of being in motion’. ⁸267⁹ yə-xər-ə kʼar y-arotʼ-no. ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS THING 3smS-make.run.IɱFV-3pmO ‘Something makes them run.’ Hetzron ⁸1977: 73⁹ describes this meaning of not forcing as “make it possible / necessary for someone to do something” and mentions the verbs arəkʸəm ‘allow riding, make it possible to ride’ vs. atrəkʸəm ‘force to ride, order to ride’. Further, also take notice that the typical use of such direct causatives happens with ani⁰ Another example is atrassa ‘help to lift’ derived from nəssa ‘lift’. ɱresumably the assistive meaning is only possible with inserted -a-. In the case of atk’attʼər ‘assist knotting’ this is not visible since the basic verb is kʼattʼər ‘knot’, a type C verb that already has an a. 106 mals as causee ⁸268⁹-⁸270⁹, expressing again that one puts the animals in the state of moving rather than telling ⁸i.e. forcing⁹ them to move. ⁸268⁹ kʷɨtara y-arotʼ. chicken 3smS-make.run.IɱFV ‘He chases chickens ⁸he makes chickens run⁹.’ ⁸269⁹ kʷɨtara y-aβərɨr. chicken 3smS-make.fly.IɱFV ‘He makes chickens fly away ⁸he flushes chickens⁹.’ ⁸270⁹ fərəz y-aʒor. horse 3smS-make.go.round.IɱFV ‘He makes horses go around in a circle.’ In contrast, indirect causatives with at- tend to be interpreted as ‘forcing someone to move’, or in other words the focus of the causer lies on the causee ⁸in order that they move⁹ rather than on the action of moving. ⁸271⁹ aman y-atrotʼ-no. A. 3smS-make.run.IɱFV-3pmO ‘Aman is chasing them.’ Consider also the comparable situation of the verb of motion ʒor ‘go round, turn’ ⁸272⁹ and its causative derivations. First, the direct causative in ⁸273⁹, featuring an inanimate causee ⁸road⁹, can be paraphrased as ‘cause that [the road] turns’ or ‘cause that [the road] is in the state of being turned’, and the indirect causative where the causer makes people perform the action of turning or going around ⁸274⁹. ⁸272⁹ gəβya t-e-sər-o-m kənə-nyə ʒor-o-m. market TEMɱ-NEG.3S-arrive.IɱFV-pmS-ALSO right-DIɳ turn.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘They turned to the right before they reached the market.’ ⁸273⁹ aʒor-xu-m-tanə tə-x-m-e ɨndəgəna b-atʼatʼ ema ABL-DEM-ALSO-GOAL make.turn.ɱFV-2pmS-CV.M-LINK againѦ acənə-xu-m-tanə tə-drɨjjɨt LOC-A. road ema dəməd-xu-m. bring.ɱFV-2pmS-CV.M-LINK COM-organization road join.ɱFV-2pmS-M ⁸Speaking about the construction of a road:⁹ ‘From there you turned [the road], and then you brought it to the road of Atat, then you connected [it] with the road of the organization.’ ⁸274⁹ əcʼɨr-xʷɨt atʒor-ə-m gəffər-ə-no-m. fence-DEF.sm make.go.round.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M release.ɱFV-3smS-3pmO-M ‘He forced ⁸or made, or let⁹ them to go around the fence and released them.’ With inchoative-stative verbs, the form with at- has to be considered the causative of the transitive direct causative with a- rather than a derivation “directly” from the intransitive basic verb. Thus, as demonstrated with bəssər ‘cook 107 ⁸ ⁹, become cooked, become ripe’ ⁸275⁹, the direct causative renders the verb transitive ⁸276⁹ and the indirect causative with at- expresses that someone makes another person perform the transitive event ⁸277⁹. ⁸275⁹ ambər bəssər-ə-m. spinach cook.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘The spinach ⁸got⁹ cooked.’ ⁸276⁹ adot-əna ambər aβəssər-əc-ɨm. mother-1sɱOSS spinach cook.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘My mother cooked spinach.’ ⁸277⁹ ɨyya y-adot-əna 1s ambər atβəssər-xɨ-na-m. mother-1sɱOSS spinach cook.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I had my mother cook spinach.’ 3.7.3.1 Causation of reciprocity The infix -a- in combination with at-stems expresses causation of reciprocity ⁸“cause to each other”⁹. A few examples are listed in ⁸278⁹ in comparison to other forms belonging to the same verb root. ⁸278⁹ a. b. c. d. e. addənəg addanəg təwakka atwakka nəkʸəm atrakʸəm atrəgəd atragəd atrəkəβ atrakəβ ‘cause to hit’ ‘cause to hit each other’ ‘fight each other’ ‘cause to fight each other’ ‘ride’ ‘pile up objects atop another ⁸“cause to ride on each other”⁹’ ‘make someone touch someone’ ‘cause to touch one another’ ‘hand over, cause ⁸i.e. help⁹ to find’ ‘introduce ⁸“cause to find each other”⁹’ As Banksira ⁸2000: 37⁹ points out, causation of reciprocity requires a plural object. ⁸279⁹ y-atraxɨβ-no 3smS-introduce.JUS-3pmO ‘let him introduce them’ 108 3.8 Verbs without basic stem (prefix-necessitating or ‘bound’ stems) There are verbs that do not possess an underived basic stem. ɱetros ⁸1994⁹ discusses these prefix-necessitating verbs ⁸in Chaha⁹ and provides a presumably exhaustive list ⁸ɱetros 1994: 1234f.⁹. There are verbs that occur with one ⁸280⁹ or two ⁸281⁹ of the prefixes tə-, a- and at- ⁸there is no instance of a verb with a- and at- only⁹. ⁸280⁹ tə- *məccə təməccə *aməccə *atməccə a- *kʷəʃʃə *təkʷəʃʃə akʷəʃʃə *atkʷəʃʃə at- ⁸281⁹ *takkər *tətakkər *atakkər attakkər tə- & a- *kʼʸəppər təkʼʸəppər akʼʸəppər *atkʼʸəppər tə- & at- *kʼaw təkʼaw *akʼaw atkʼaw ‘be suitable’ ‘remove fibres from əssət’ ‘chase away’ ‘accept, receive’ ‘hand over, pass over’ ‘drink coffee’ ‘give coffee to drink’ Verbs that have only one ‘bound’ form can by and large be considered lexicalized items, but at least in some cases one can find a remnant meaning of intransitivity/reflexivity with tə- and transitivity/causativity with a- or at-. An exception are some verbs of ‘involuntary body movement’ ⁸ɱetros 1994: 1221f.⁹ which are intransitive despite the fact that they feature the prefix a-.  Some of the prefix-necessitating verbs in ɱetros’s list in fact have a basic stem. However, in such cases the meaning of the verb with prefix should not be considered a valence-changing derivation from the basic stem. ɳather these verbs possess their own ⁸unpredictable but usually comprehensible⁹ semantics ⁸↗ 3.9⁹. There are also some verb stems listed that are reciprocal/ frequentative forms for which there are basic underived stems, for example təsmamma ‘agree’ from səmma ‘hear’, but also without predictable semantic connection.  From this verb root there is also a form with at- but with additional -a-, i.e. atkʼʸappər ‘respond, talk back, exchange words’.  Some verbs of this group are experiencer verbs that realize their argument as primary object ⁸↗ 3.12.2.1⁹. 109 ⁸282⁹ axəna agəssa awzassa ‘shout’ ⁸cf. xəyat ‘shouting’⁹ ‘belch’ ‘perspire’ ⁸cf. wɨzat ‘sweat’⁹ In the case of the prefix-necessitating verbs that occur in an opposition of təversus a- or at-, the forms are rather valency encoding than valency changing. This means that tə- expresses the intranstive and a- or at- the transitive meaning, whereby it is not decidable whether tə- reduces or a- increases the valency ⁸remember that normally tə- reduces and a- increases the valency of the basic stem⁹. ⁸283⁹ təxəttər təxrəpəp ‘dress onesel’ ‘cover oneself with cloth’ axəttər axrəpəp ‘dress someone’ ‘cover someone with cloth’ ⁸284⁹ təmar təkʼaw ‘learn’ ‘drink coffee’ atmər atk’aw ‘teach’ ‘give to drink coffee’ Some pairs of verbs as the two in ⁸285⁹ do not alter the ⁸total⁹ number of arguments. Instead, in the case of the transfer verb in ⁸286⁹ the role of the subject changes from goal ⁸with tə-⁹ to source ⁸with a-⁹. In the second verb pair with the meanings ‘follow’ and ‘precede’ ⁸i.e. ‘make follow’⁹ the subject and object change their role as follower and followed ⁸287⁹ ⁸cf. ɱetros 1994: 1223f.⁹. ⁸285⁹ təkʼʸəppər təxʸəttər ‘accept, receive’ ‘follow’ ⁸286⁹ a. aβdo xʷet kʷəncɨwə (tə-lula) təkʼʸəppər-ə-m. b. ‘Abdo received two pots ⁸from Lula⁹.’ aβdo (yə-lula) xʷet kʷəncɨwə akʼʸəppər-ə-(na-)m. A. two small.pot A. DAT-L. akʼʸəppər axʸəttər ABL-L. ‘hand over, pass over’ ‘precede’ receive.ɱFV-3smS-M two small.pot pass.ɱFV-3smS-⁸3sfO-⁹M ‘Abdo passed two pots ⁸to Lula⁹.’ ⁸287⁹ a. gərəd ərc təxʸəttər-əc-ɨm. b. ‘A girl follows a boy.’ gərəd ərc axʸəttər-əc-ɨm. girl boy follow.ɱFV-3sfS-M girl boy precede.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘A boy follows a girl ⁸~ a girl precedes a boy⁹.’  There is a basic stem of the same root √xdr, namely xəttər, but with a specialized meaning ‘thatch a roo’ ⁸↗ 3.5.3⁹. 110 3.9 Note on unpredictable and specialized meanings Some ⁸derived⁹ stems express a specialized meaning which is not predictable from the semantics of the basic stem ⁸or the corresponding root⁹ plus the derivational prefix. There are verb forms where the semantic connection is completely lost or at least obscured, even to the extent that they cannot easily be considered as belonging to the same verb root. Another instance are verbs that have gained additional meanings through semantic extension. Examples of verb roots where there is no transparent link between underived and derived stem are √frkʼkʼ with fɨrəkʼəkʼ ‘remove layers of plant one by one’ and təfrəkʼəkʼ ‘be arrogant, be careless’ or √gfr with gəffər ‘let go, release’ and agəffər ‘bring down’. In the case of the root √xdr there is a basic stem xəttər translating as ‘thatch a roo’ and two derived stems axəttər and təxəttər meaning ‘dress ⁸ / ⁹’. There is little doubt that ‘thatch’ and ‘dress’ are etymologically connected sharing the common semantics ‘cover’. Nevertheless, axəttər and təxəttər ‘dress’ are not derivations of xəttər ‘thatch’. Instead, the latter nowadays has a specialized separate meaning which is not part of a three-way valency changing set Ø vs. tə- vs. a-. Another example is axʷə ‘leak’ which strictly speaking is not the causative of xʷə ‘spill, pour’ ⁸but there is atxʷə ‘make spill’⁹. Two instances of verbs that have gained specialized meanings by semantic extension ⁸i.e. they still coexist with the transparent meaning⁹ are agəppa ‘put in, bring in’ which also means ‘marry’ ⁸said of a man who “lets enter” the wife into his home⁹ ⁸288⁹ or awəttʼa ‘take out, bring out’ which can among other things also mean ‘name, appoint’ ⁸289⁹. ⁸288⁹ agβ-ot bə-tkɨnət wəxe kʼar ã-xər-ə. LOC-childhood marry-INF good THING NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS ‘Getting married in childhood is not good.’ ⁸289⁹ zax səβ ɨnnɨm-əxʷna […] at-at-at-at-at DEM person all-3pmɱOSS yə-ʒɨr danə [...] one-one-one-one-one ATTɳ-zhir judge awəttʼ-o-m. name.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘These people all […] named one zhir-judge each ⁸i.e. five in total⁹.’ Further, note that there are ⁸derived⁹ stems containing the reciprocal infix -athat do not express reciprocity, or at least this meaning is not obvious anymore. The verb atwana in ⁸290⁹, for example, relates to the verbs awəna ‘put’ and cona ‘sit’ and could be rephrased as ‘cause to sit on each other’. Nevertheless, the extended meaning ‘make a plan’ can hardly be understood as a reciprocal action ⁸cf. Leslau 1979c: 654⁹. Also the quadriradical verbs in ⁸291⁹ do not represent a meaning of reciprocity. Moreover, they do not possess a basic stem and cannot be compared to forms without -a-. ⁸290⁹ √UrA atwana ‘pile up in a special way; make a plan’ 111 ⁸291⁹ √frtʼr √rfrf təfrattʼər tərfanəf arfanəf ‘jump around, bounce’ ‘become dirty’ ‘make dirty’ Finally, there are also verbs with the shape of a Frequentative ⁸↗ 3.10⁹ that do not straightforwardly express the repeated action of the verb they are derived from. ⁸292⁹ √kʼmr kʼəmmər kʼɨmammər ‘delouse’ ‘do lousy, do not whole-heartedly’ √kʼβr kʼəppər akʼβappər ‘bury, plant’ ‘cover fire with ashes to keep it alive’ √dβr dəppər tədβappər ‘add’ ‘be wrong’ 3.10 Frequentatives ɳeduplication of the medial radical is commonly known in Ethiosemitic languages as the ‘Frequentative’. It is a derivation that conveys the notion of intensity or repetition added to the basic meaning of the verb. The formation is fairly productive with ⁸mostly transitive⁹ triradical verbs. ɲuadriradicals and verbs already containing a reduplicated radical, i.e. with the shape 122 ⁸↗ 3.5.2.1⁹ or 113 ⁸↗ 3.5.2.3⁹, cannot form Frequentatives ⁸cf. ɳose 2007: 410⁹. Frequentative derivations are possible with basic as well as all derived stems ⁸t(ə)-, a-, at-⁹. An overview of the bases of the basic sound triradicals and derived stems is given in tables 48 and 49. Note that not many verbs could be collected, especially for the derived stems, and that there is some puzzling variation in the Jussive concerning gemination and palatalization, a problem which remains to be resolved by more reliable data. Type A 12ə2ə3 ~ 12a2ə3 12ə23 ~ 12a23 B 12ə2ə3 ~ 12a2ə3 + 12ə23 ~ 12a23 + C 12a2ə3 12a23 12ə23 ~ 12a23 12ə23 ~ 12a23 12ə23 ~ 12a23 + 12ə23 ~ 12a23 + 12a23 Table 48: Templates of Frequentatives of sound triradical verbs  The general problem of variation of gemination vs. non-gemination ⁸but also palatalization vs. depalatalization⁹ in the Jussive is also mentioned in Hetzron ⁸1977: 70⁹. He states that “[t]here seems to be interdialectal variation”. ɱrobably one could even go further and say that there can be idiolectal variation, fostered by the multitude of dialects some speakers are exposed to. 112 ɱrefix Type t(ə)- A B t⁸ə⁹-12a2ə3 t⁸ə⁹-12a2ə3 + t-12a2ə3 t-12a2ə3 + t⁸ə⁹-12a2ə3 / ⁸t⁸ə⁹-12a2ə3⁹ t⁸ə⁹-12a2ə3 / ⁸+ ⁹ a- A B a-12a2ə3 a-12a2ə3 + a-12a23 a-12a23 + a-12a23 / ⁸a-12a23⁹ a-12a23 + at- A B at-12a2ə3 at-12a2ə3 + at-12a23 at-12a23 + at-12a23 at-12a23 + Table 49: Templates of Frequentatives of derived stems of sound triradical verbs 3.10.1 Frequentatives of basic stems The Frequentative is derived from triradical verbs by reduplication of the penultimate radical and insertion of either the vowel ə or a between the two reduplicated radicals ⁸1ə2ə3 12ə2ə3/12a2ə3⁹. Table 50 shows verbs of types A, B and C and their corresponding Frequentative derivations in the ɱerfective. Note that verbs of type B that feature the ‘palatalized’ vowel e ⁸like metʼəs ‘detach’⁹ completely lack it in the Frequentative. Type ɳoot A B √sβr √d βr √m gr √m tʼs √z βt C səppərə jəppərə məkkʸərə metʼəsə zapətə sɨβəppərə / sɨβappərə jɨβəppərə / jɨβappərə mɨkʸəkkʸərə / mɨkʸakkʸərə mɨtʼətʼəsə / mɨtʼatʼəsə zɨβapətə Table 50: Examples of Frequentative derivations ⁸ ‘break’ ‘finish’ ‘set fire’ ‘detach’ ‘get lost’ ⁹ Generally, all Frequentatives of basic stems can occur with inserted ə as well as a ⁸table 51⁹. The two variants do not seem to bear any semantic differences and are freely interchangeable. However, the forms with a are much more common and the few verbs of type C if forming Frequentatives at all appear to avoid the variant with ə. The derived Frequentatives are quadriracals with largely the same patterns as the underived quadriradical types E and F. In particular, it is only the penultimate radical that is subject to mutation, whereas the first half of the reduplicated pair occurs in its unchanged form. Thus, the Frequentative reveals the underlying nature of the penultimate radical especially of the regular type B verbs, which have mutation in all bases. Consider for instance the g of the Frequentative jɨgəkəm ‘hit  No Frequentatives of the small group of type D verbs could be found. It is not clear if they are impossible due to fromal restrictions or if they are theoretically possible but simply not in use. 113 with fist repeatedly’, which is derived from jəkəm ‘hit with fist’ ⁸√d gm⁹, in contrast to the k of the Frequentative cɨkəkkər ‘cook repeatedly, cook several things’, which is derived from cəkkər ‘cook’ ⁸√t kr⁹. In the Jussive, the Frequentative differs slightly from regular quadriradicals in three aspects. First, the vowels ə or a are always placed between the reduplicated radicals, i.e. between the second and the third radical, whereas in quadriradicals of type E the place of the vowel ə is after the first radical. Second, Frequentatives of type B verbs do not depalatalize in the Jussive. Third, the bases of the Jussive often show mutation/gemination, but as mentioned above there is some considerable variation. Apart from that, note that the three verb types converged to basically the same templates. Type ɳoot A √sβr B √d gm C √z βt sβəppər ~ sβa⁸p⁹pər jgəkəm ~ jgakəm zβapət sβə⁸p⁹pr ~ sβa⁸p⁹pr jgəkm ~ jgakm zβapt sβə⁸p⁹pr ~ sβa⁸p⁹pr jgəkm ~ jgakm zβapt ‘break repeatedly’ ‘hit with fist repeatedly’ ‘get lost several times’ Table 51: Examples of Frequentatives bases As with all reduplicated verb forms palatalization and labialization usually affect both doubled consonants, as in the Imperative 2sf ⁸293a⁹ and the Impersonal ⁸293b⁹. ⁸293⁹ a. b. jɨgəkɨm jɨgʸəkʸɨm sɨβəppər-ə-m sɨwəppʷər-i-m ‘bash repeatedly ⁸sm⁹ǃ’ ‘bash repeatedly ⁸s⁹ǃ’ ‘he broke repeatedly’ ‘one broke repeatedly’ It has been mentioned above that Frequentatives express the notion of intensity and most commonly repetition. ɳepetition does not mean that an action is done ‘again’ but that it happens more than once. This can come about in basically two different ways: either the action itself is carried out several times or it is carried out on several objects. Naturally, the third logical option is a combination of the first two, i.e. the action is carried out several times on several object. Thus, in particular with unspecific or indefinite objects, there are usually three possible readings ⁸294⁹.  Though, for the type B verb məkkʸər ‘set fire’ with palatalized second radical I have recorded the depalatalized Frequentative Jussive yəmkəkkɨr ‘set fire repeatedly’ ⁸cf. ɱerfective mɨkʸəkkʸərəm and Imperfective yɨmkʸəkkʸɨr⁹.  For example, I have recorded Jussive bases ʒɨβaβr and ʒβa(p)pr of the verb ʒɨβappər ‘turn over’ ⁸derived from ʒəppər √z βr ‘return’⁹. 114 ⁸294⁹ wədərə mɨtʼatʼəs-ə-m. rope detach.FɳEɲ.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He detached the/a rope several times.’ ‘He detached ⁸the/several⁹ ropes.’ ‘He detached ⁸the/several⁹ ropes several times.’ When the direct object is clearly singular as it is the case with the 3sm definite article -xʷɨt in ⁸295⁹ or, in absence of an overt noun phrase, for example also the 3smO suffix -n in ⁸296⁹ and ⁸297⁹, the only conceivable reading is that the action is carried out several times on the same object. ⁸295⁹ yə-tʼay-xʷɨt tʼɨβaβətʼ-ə-m aʃʃə-n-ɨm. DAT-sheep-DEF.sm grasp.FɳEɲ.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M see.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He checked [the quality o] the sheep by touching/grasping it several times.’ ⁸296⁹ kʼɨmaməs-ə-m cə-n-ɨm. taste.FɳEɲ.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M leave.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He tasted it a few times and left it.’ ⁸297⁹ əram-xʷɨt mɨsəsəx-ə-m jəppʷər-ə-n-ɨm. cow-DEF.sm ruminate.FɳEɲ.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M finish.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘The cow finished it ruminating several times. Since Gumer does not feature nominal plural marking, nouns are ambiguous in terms of their number ⁸more precisely nouns unless marked with a definite article, ↗ 4.2⁹. In such cases plurality can be discerned through the Frequentative form of the verb. In ⁸298⁹ mena ‘work’ must refer to more than one job due to the Frequentative yəjβaprɨm ⁸as opposed to the underived form yədəprɨm⁹ ‘he should ... and finish’. ⁸298⁹ mena-ta yə-jβapr-ɨm tɨmɨrtɨβet yə-wər. work-3smɱOSS 3smS-finish.FɳEɲ.JUS-CV.M school ‘He should go to the school to finish his jobs.’ 3smS-go.JUS The following pair of examples illustrates the common correlation between plural object and Frequentative ⁸299a⁹ on the one hand and singular object and underived verb form ⁸299b⁹ on the other hand. ⁸299⁹ a. gɨβɨr-xɨno ʃɨkakət-ə-m b. ‘He keeps his stuff ⁸several objects⁹ well organized.’ ⁸More literally: ‘He has put the stuff having organized them.’⁹ gɨβɨr-xʷɨt ʃəkət-ə-m awəna-n-ɨm. awəna-no-m. stuff-DEF.pm organize.FɳEɲ.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M put.ɱFV[.3smS]-3pmO-M stuff-DEF.sm organize.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M put.ɱFV[.3smS]-3pmO-M ‘He keeps his stuff ⁸one object⁹ well organized.’ ⁸More literally: ‘He has put the stuff having organized it.’⁹ 115 In the second sentence ⁸299b⁹, the object gɨβɨrxʷɨt ‘the stuf’ could possibly not only be understood as consisting of a single object but also as ‘stuff as a whole’ in the sense that it actually does consist of several discernible objects but is perceived or treated as one entity. Anyhow, a comparable situation arises in ⁸300⁹ with one of the very few nouns that have a ⁸suppletive⁹ plural form like əram ‘cow’ and əray ‘cows’ ⁸see table 82⁹. The latter expressing plurality, it expectedly occurs with the Frequentative of ʃəkkər ‘change’ as in ⁸300a⁹ with the interpretation that the action is carried out on each individual member of the group of əray ‘cows’. However, it can also stand with the underived verb form as in ⁸300b⁹. Consequently the action is carried out only once which in turn means that əray, though consisting of a number of individual cows, is treated as one entity. ⁸300⁹ a. əray ʃɨgakkɨrǃ b. ‘Change the cowsǃ’ ⁸for example the place of grazing of each cow⁹ əray səgɨrǃ cows change.FɳEɲ.IMɱ[.2smS] cows change.IMɱ[.2smS] ‘Exchange the cowsǃ’ ⁸for example with sheep⁹ Finally, in some cases the Frequentative is better understood as lexicalized form with distinct ⁸though related⁹ semantics rather than a derivation of the basic verb. The verb ʒɨβappər in ⁸301⁹, for example, is formally a Frequentative of ʒəppər ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ but it simply translates as ‘turn over, turn upside down’. The important point here is that it does not mean that the action of turning over wussa happened several times ⁸but note that a frequentative reading ‘turn over several times’ is also possible⁹. ⁸301⁹ yunus wɨssa ʒɨβappər-ə-m. Y. wussa turn.over.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M ‘Yunus turned over the wussa-bread.’ 3.10.2 Frequentatives of derived stems As already mentioned above, also stems derived with t(ə)-, a- or at- can form Frequentatives. Like the basic triradical verb, they double the medial radical and the vowel a ⁸or occasionally also ə⁹ is inserted between the reduplicated consonants ⁸for example tə-1ə2ə3 tə-12a2ə3⁹. Tables 52-54 show example verbs of type A and B of each stem ⁸no verbs of type C and D could be found⁹. Again, note that all Frequentative derivations tend to converge to one common pattern of mutation/gemination in all bases. The Jussive bases often showing variation, there are also forms without mutation attested as in the example of type A in table 53. Further, the Jussive of type B verbs usually depalatalizes in t-stems, but not in the other two.  Sometimes also the first of the doubled consonants appears in the mutated form as in təmkakkər √mxr ‘advise each other’. This is also reported by Leslau ⁸1950⁹ cited in Hetzron ⁸1977: 71⁹. 116 Type ɳoot A B √mxr √kʼ βr t-mkakkər t-kʼʸβappər t-mkakkər t-kʼʸβappər t-mkakkər t-kʼβappər ‘advise each other’ ‘receive from each other’ Table 52: Examples of Frequentatives bases of derived verbs with t(ə)- Type ɳoot A B √kʼβr √d gr a-kʼβappər a-jgakkər a-kʼβappr a-jgakkr a-kʼβaβr a-jgakkr ‘cover fire with ashes’ ‘be troublesome’ Table 53: Examples of Frequentatives bases of derived verbs with a- Type ɳoot A √rgd at-rgagəd at-rgagd at-rgagd B √kʼ rβ at-kʼʸranəβ at-kʼʸranβ at-kʼʸranβ ‘make many people get in touch with each other’ ‘serve several things’ Table 54: Examples of Frequentatives bases of derived verbs with at- Occasionally the vowel between the doubled medial radical is ə instead of a. It seems that this is the preferred case with weak verbs. ⁸302⁹ √rsI arəʃʃə ‘plait the hair’ tərʃəʃʃə ‘plait each other’s hair’ Verbs with a weak second radical reduplicate the first radical to form the Frequentative. The only examples available, all of them reciprocals with tə-, are listed in ⁸303⁹. The first two verbs belong to type A-1A3-Ø, which shows palatalization in some forms, as they also do in the derived stems ⁸note the vowel e in təβeβər⁹. ⁸303⁹ √xAr təxʸər ‘be known’ √βAr təβer ‘be said’ √kʼIf ɨnkʼʸəf ‘embrace’ təxʸəxʸər ‘get to know one another’ təβeβər ‘say to each other’ tənkʼʸəkʼʸəf ‘embrace each other’ ~ tənkʼʸakʼʸəf Verbs that have a weak first radical A also copy the second radical and feature the vowel ə or a between the doubled pair, with this type of verb seemingly having a strong preference for ə. As for the initial vowel of the root, it does not surface as a anymore in the Frequentative ⁸304⁹. Banksira ⁸2000: 66⁹ segments this verb as t-əgəgəz, i.e. the slot of the first radical is not empty but filled with ə as the remnant of the initial a. ⁸304⁹ √Agz agəz ‘help’ təgagəz ~ təgəgəz 117 ‘help each other’ Further, in the Imperfective and Jussive bases of the derived Frequentative of such verbs like aʃʃə √AzI ‘see’ ⁸305⁹ the initial radical A leaves a trace insofar as the prefix t- is geminated followed by the epenthetic vowel ɨ in the place of the first radical. ‘look at each other’ təʒəʒə⁰ yɨttɨʒəʒ ⁸*yɨdʒəʒ⁹ yəttɨʒəʒ ⁸*yɨdʒəʒ⁹ ⁸305⁹ Frequentatives of t-stems derived from basic stems are used to express reciprocal actions carried out more than once, typically by several people simultaneously and/or everybody acting on each other as in ⁸306⁹ ⁸the basic stems being ɨnkʼʸəf ‘embrace’ and bar ‘say’⁹. ⁸306⁹ arβət kabort yə-txəttər-əma gɨred tənkʼʸəkʼʸəf-əma-m four coatѦ səlam ɳEL-dress.ɱFV-3pfS girls embrace.each.other.ɱFV-3pfS-CV.M greeting təβeβər-əma-m. say.to.each.other.ɱFV-3pfS-M ‘Four girls wearing coats hugged and greeted each other.’ A reciprocal state of affairs is also treated as Frequentative when more than one pair of twos act on each other parallelly as in ⁸307⁹-⁸308⁹. ⁸307⁹ yə-xʷet-xʷet gʷɨnər yɨ-tɨrsəs-əma. DAT-two-two hair 3S-plait.each.other.IɱFV-pfS ‘They plait their hair each other in pairs.’ ⁸308⁹ yə-xʷet-xʷet-əxnəma kʼɨmar yɨ-tkʼɨmammər-əma. DAT-two-two-3pfɱOSS louse 3S-delouse.each.other.IɱFV-pfS ‘They delouse each other in pairs.’ With verbs that do not have a basic stem like təkʸəppər ‘receive, accept’, the Frequentative does not necessarily express reciprocity. ɳather, the relation between təkʼʸəppər in ⁸309⁹ and təkʼʸβappər in ⁸310⁹ is the same as between a ⁸“normal”⁹ basic stem and its Frequentative, though in this case one could translate təkʼʸβappər with ‘receive from each other’. ⁸309⁹ kubbayya tɨ-t-iβ-na cupѦ təkʸəppər-əc-na-m. TEMɱ-3sfS-give.IɱFV-3sfO receive.ɱFV-3sfS-3sfO-M ‘When she gave her a cup, she received ⁸accepted⁹ it from her.’ ⁸310⁹ xʷet dengʸa arβət gɨred cəkʷəlat təkʼʸβappər-o-m two boys four tʼəβətʼ-o-m. girls chocolate receive.FɳEɲ.ɱFV-3pmS-M hold.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘Two boys [and] four girls exchanged chocolate ⁸and kept it⁹.’ ⁰ The expected form would be təʒəʃʃə with geminated and mutated penultimate radical, but I have only recorded təʒəʒə. I do not have an explanation for that. 118 Yet another case represents təʒβappər ‘turn around ⁸ ⁹’ in ⁸311⁹. ɳather than being the Frequentative reciprocal of ʒəppər or təʒəppər ‘return ⁸ / ⁹’, this is the anticausative of ʒɨβappər ‘turn around, turn over ⁸ ⁹’ which has already been described as lexicalized form with its own specialized ⁸though related⁹ semantics ⁸see example ⁸301⁹⁹. ⁸311⁹ təʒβappər-ə-m y-aʒ-ɨn. turn.around.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M 3smS-see.IɱFV-3smO ‘Turning around, he sees him.’ Just as basic transitive verbs like the ones in ⁸298⁹-⁸300⁹ above do, also derived stems form Frequentatives when there are multiple objects. Compare the singular object in ⁸312⁹ with the Frequentative in example ⁸313⁹ containing two objects. ⁸312⁹ yɨ-sətʼ-əβo kʼar an-atkʼʸənəβ-əc banə. 3S-drink.IɱFV-pmS THING NEG-bring.near.ɱFV-3sfS AUX.ɱT ‘She had not served ⁸lit. brought near⁹ anything to drink.’ ⁸313⁹ murida ʃay-ɨm kʼawa-m M. atkʼʸɨranəβ-əc-ɨm. tea-ALSO coffee-ALSO bring.near.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘Murida served ⁸lit. brought near⁹ tea and coffee.’ Frequentatives of a-stems express repeated actions the expected way as in ⁸314⁹ where the verb awəttʼa ‘take out’ has several objects. ⁸314⁹ ɨmɨr-ɨm əcʼə-m awtʼattʼa-m. stone-ALSO wood-ALSO take.out.FɳEɲ.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘He took out stones and wood.’ It seems, however, that Frequentatives of a-stems tend to adopt specialized semantics quite often. Thus, awtʼattʼa can also mean ‘investigate’, or the Frequentative akʼβappər, a derivation from kʼəppər ‘bury’, is used most of the time together with ɨsat ‘fire’ in the very specific meaning ‘cover fire with ashes to keep it alive’ ⁸rather than the literal translation ‘bury repeatedly’⁹. ⁸315⁹ kʼəppər akʼβappər ⁸316⁹ ɨsat akʼβaβɨrǃ ‘bury’ ‘cover fire with ashes to keep it alive ⁸“bury repeatedly”⁹’ fire bury.FɳEɲ.JUS[.2smS] ‘Cover the fire with ashesǃ’ Consider also the following few Frequentatives of a-stems ⁸in comparison to nonFrequentatives⁹ expressing a meaning that is semi-specialized in the sense that it is not predictable but still retraceable. ⁸317⁹ ajəggər ajgakkər ‘trouble ⁸ ⁹’ ‘be troublesome ⁸“make trouble repeatedly”⁹’ 119 ⁸318⁹ ʃətta aʃtatta ‘smell ⁸ ‘snif’ ⁹’ ⁸319⁹ ʒəppər aʒβappər ‘retrun ⁸ ⁹’ ‘take/carry back and forth ⁸“make return repeatedly”⁹’ aʃətta ‘smell ⁸ ⁹’ Finally, note the case of the Frequentativ aftʼattʼər that coexists with afəttʼər, but with basically the same meaning ‘be fast’ ⁸apart from the other meaning ‘prepare food’⁹. If there is a semantic difference it seems to be very subtle. ⁸320⁹ afəttʼər aftʼattʼər ⁸321⁹ afəttʼər-xə-m ‘boil ⁸coffee⁹, prepare food; hurry, be fast’ ‘be fast, do something quickly’ cənə-xə-m? hurry.ɱFV-2smS-M come.ɱFV-2smS-M ‘Did you come quickly ⁸soon⁹?’ ⁸322⁹ aftʼattʼər-xʷ-ɨm cot-xʷ-ɨm ə-ʒʒəppər-te. do.fast.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M make.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M 1sS-return.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘I will do it quickly and come back.’ 3.11 Subject marking Verbs are obligatory marked with subject affixes added to the verb bases indicating person, number, and gender. The ɱerfective receives suffixes only, whereas the Imperfective and Jussive have prefixes and additional suffixes. Table 55 summarizes the subject markers of all three TAM forms. The position of the base is indicated by three dots. 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf …-xʷ …-xə …-xʸ …-ə …-əc …-nə …-xu …-xma …-o …-əma …+ + ə-… t-… t-…+ y-… t-… n-…-nə t-…-o t-…-əma y-…-o y-…-əma y-…+ + Table 55: Subject markers 120 n-… … …+ yə-… t-… n-…-nə …-o …-əma yə-…-o yə-…-əma ⁸yə-⁹…+ + All TAM forms feature the common three persons plus a “fourth person” called Impersonal ⁸ ⁹, a hallmark of Gurage languages. The Impersonal is special in terms of form and use and is treated in section 3.11.5. The other persons all occur as singular and plural. The second and third persons distinguish between masculine and feminine gender. The second person feminine singular forms all contain palatalization, either as -xʸ in the subject marker of the ɱerfective or as palatalization within the Imperfective or Jussive base ⁸↗ 3.11.4⁹. Note that the consonantal prefixes and suffixes beginning with a consonant often occur with an epenthetic vowel ɨ according to the epenthesis rules ⁸↗ 2.3.2⁹. Compare, for example, the subject markers pre- or suffixed to a vowel of the verb base with the markers affixed to a consonant as in ⁸323⁹. ⁸323⁹ a. bəna-xma-m vs. eat.ɱFV-2pfS-M work.ɱFV-2pfS-M ‘you ate’ b. ‘you worked’ vs. t-aʒ cot-xɨma-m 2smS-see.IɱFV tɨ-ʒor 2smS-go.around.IɱFV ‘you see’ ‘you go around’ Some of the subject markers have allomorphs in combination with object markers, subordinating prefixes, negation or with weak verbs ⁸↗ 3.11.6⁹. 3.11.1 Perfective conjugation The suffixes of the ɱerfective are different for each person. However, all second persons contain the element x, and both plural feminine forms end with ma. Table 56 shows the complete ɱerfective conjugation of a regular type A verb. Take notice that these forms here are bare forms that do not occur in isolation like this, but only in combination with further affixes, i.e. the main verb marker -m ⁸↗ 3.18.1.1⁹, subordinators ⁸↗ 4.7⁹, and/or negation an- ⁸↗ 3.15⁹. For the Impersonal see section 3.11.5. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f kəfət-xʷ kəfət-xə kəfət-xʸ kəfət-ə kəfət-əc kəfət-nə kəfət-xu kəfət-xɨma kəfət-o kəfət-əma kəfʷəc⁸-i⁹ Table 56: of √kft ‘open’ 121 3.11.2 Imperfective conjugation The Imperfective has prefixes and additional suffixes in the plural. Third person is marked by y-, whereas t- stands for second person, but typical of Semitic languages t- is also used in the third person singular feminine. The first persons do not share the same prefix, ə- standing for singular and n- for plural ⁸but see section 3.11.6.3 for the allomorph n- of ə-⁹. As for the suffixes in the plural, there is -nə in the first person, echoing the nasal of the prefix, whereas in the second and third persons, -o marks masculine and -əma feminine. Finally, note that the Impersonal has a default third person prefix y- ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹. Table 57 shows the complete Imperfective conjugation of a regular type A verb. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ə-kəft tɨ-kəft tɨ-kəfc yɨ-kəft tɨ-kəft nɨ-kəft-ɨnə tɨ-kəft-o tɨ-kəft-əma yɨ-kəft-o yɨ-kəft-əma yɨ-kəfʷc⁸-i⁹ Table 57: of √kft ‘open’ 3.11.3 Jussive conjugation The subject markers of the Jussive in table 58 resemble the ones of the Imperfective, but there are the following differences: the first person singular is marked by n-, analogous to the first person plural; the third persons ⁸except for the singular feminine t-⁹ have the prefix yə- with an additional ə; and finally the second persons, which are the Imperatives, do not have a prefix at all. In the Impersonal there are two possibilities: a regular Jussive with a default subject prefix yə- and an Imperative without prefix. According to Banksira ⁸2000: 254⁹ these two variants are in free variation. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f nɨ-kɨft kɨft kɨfc yə-kɨft tɨ-kɨft nɨ-kɨft-ɨnə kɨft-o kɨft-əma yə-kɨft-o yə-kɨft-əma yɨ-kɨfʷc⁸-i⁹ ~ kɨfʷc⁸-i⁹ Table 58: of √kft ‘open’ 122 When the Jussive base is used to build other forms than the ‘bare’ Jussive, the subject affixes are the same as in the Imperfective shown in table 59. This is the case with the Indefinite Future ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹, in Negation ⁸↗ 3.15.3⁹ and in the apodosis of irreal conditional clauses ⁸↗ 4.7.3.5⁹. Hetzron ⁸1996: 102⁹ calls these forms “archaic jussive” ⁸i.e. the affixes of the actual Jussive in table 58 are innovations⁹. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ə-kɨft tɨ-kɨft tɨ-kɨfc yɨ-kɨft tɨ-kɨft nɨ-kɨft-ɨnə tɨ-kɨft-o tɨ-kɨft-əma yɨ-kɨft-o yɨ-kɨft-əma yɨ-kɨfʷc⁸-i⁹ Table 59: ‘Archaic’ of √kft ‘open’ 3.11.4 Formation of feminine singular Verbs denoting second person feminine singular subjects contain a palatal element, i.e. there is a palatalized consonant or a fronted vowel. This palatalization goes back to the suffix *-i, but in Gumer there is no separable morpheme anymore. In the ɱerfective, the suffix for 2sf is -xʸ, as opposed to 2sm -xə. ⁸324⁹ vs. nəkəβ-xʸ-ɨm find.ɱFV-2sfS-M ‘you ⁸s⁹ found’ nəkəβ-xə-m find.ɱFV-2smS-M ‘you ⁸sm⁹ found’ In the Imperfective and Jussive we find the palatalization of a consonant in the base or, if not possible, the fronting of a vowel. As trigger of this palatalization one can assume a high vocoid -I ‘suffixed’ to the verb base ⁸cf., for example, Banksira 2000: 191⁹. Examples ⁸325⁹-⁸349⁹ each show the 2sf Imperfective and Imperative, and in brackets the corresponding masculine forms for comparison. In bases ending with a velar ⁸k, kʼ, g, x⁹ ⁸325⁹ or alveolar obstruent ⁸t, tʼ, d, s, z⁹ ⁸326⁹ it is always this final consonant that is palatalized, irrespective of the properties of the preceding radicals. ⁸325⁹ tɨ-sərkʼʸ sɨrkʼʸ ⁸tɨ-sərkʼ⁹ ⁸sɨrkʼ⁹ ‘you steal’ ‘stealǃ’ tɨ-ʒangʸ ʒangʸ ⁸tɨ-ʒang⁹ ⁸ʒang⁹ ‘you leave’ ‘leave!’  See Lowenstamm ⁸2000⁹ for a ⁸formal⁹ analysis of the Chaha 2nd feminine singular formation. 123 ⁸326⁹ tɨ-fʷəxʸ fʷɨxʸ ⁸tɨ-fʷəx⁹ ⁸fʷɨx⁹ ‘you wipe’ ‘wipeǃ’ tɨ-gʸənʒ gʸɨnʒ ⁸tɨ-gʸənz⁹ ⁸gʸɨnz⁹ ‘you cut in a big slice’ ‘cut in a big sliceǃ’ tɨ-wərj wɨrəj ⁸tɨ-wərd⁹ ⁸wɨrəd⁹ ‘you descend’ ‘descendǃ’ tɨ-rocʼ nocʼ ⁸tɨ-rotʼ⁹ ⁸notʼ⁹ ‘you run’ ‘run!’ tɨ-akʸəʃ akʸəʃ ⁸t-akʸəs⁹ ⁸akʸəs⁹ ‘you joke’ ‘joke!’ tɨ-kəfc kɨfc ⁸tɨ-kəft⁹ ⁸kɨft⁹ ‘you open’ ‘open!’ The palatalized form of r is y, realized as i after consonants, i.e. Cɨy ⁸327⁹ tɨ-səβi sɨβi ⁸tɨ-səβɨr⁹ ⁸sɨβɨr⁹ ‘you break ⁸ ⁹’ ‘breakǃ ⁸ ⁹’ tɨ-ʒəppi zəppi ⁸tɨ-ʒəppɨr⁹ ⁸zəppɨr⁹ ‘you return ⁸ ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ tɨ-tʼəkʼi tʼɨkʼi ⁸tɨ-tʼəkʼɨr⁹ ⁸tʼɨkʼɨr⁹ ‘you hide ⁸ ⁹’ ‘hide! ⁸ ⁹’ tɨ-xʷrəxʷi xʷərxʷi ⁸tɨ-xʷrəxʷɨr⁹ ‘you take out the earwax’ ⁸xʷərxʷɨr⁹ ‘take out the earwaxǃ’ Ci ⁸cf. ⁸58⁹⁹. ⁹’ If the palatalized r y follows the vowel ə, this combination is realized as e, i.e. Cəy Ce ⁸cf. example ⁸53⁹⁹. This is for example the case in the Jussive of verb type A2 ⁸328⁹, which has the template 12ə3, or in the Imperfective and Jussive of derived stems with prefixed t(ə)- or at- ⁸329⁹, or in the Jussive of verbs with a missing penultimate radical like bar ‘say’ and wər ‘go’ ⁸330⁹. ⁸328⁹ ⁸329⁹ tɨ-rəβi nɨβe ⁸tɨ-rəβɨr⁹ ⁸nɨβər⁹ ‘you live’ ‘live!’ t-adi əde ⁸tɨ-adɨr⁹ ⁸ədər⁹ ‘you spend the night’ ‘spend the nightǃ’ tɨ-tgʸəkkʸe təgəkke ⁸tɨ-tgʸəkkʸər⁹ ‘you look up’ ⁸təgəkkər⁹ ‘look upǃ’ t-atme atme ⁸t-atmər⁹ ⁸atmər⁹ ‘you teach’ ‘teachǃ’  For the Jussive of ʒanəg ‘leave, go away’ also ʒarg and zarg are attested ⁸but not *zang⁹. 124 ⁸330⁹ tɨ-βi be ⁸tɨ-βɨr⁹ ⁸bər⁹ ‘you say’ ‘sayǃ’ t-ay we ⁸t-ar⁹ ⁸wər⁹ ‘you go’ ‘go’ If the palatalized r ⁸331⁹ tɨ-ʒoy zoy y follows the vowel o, we have the combination oy. ⁸tɨ-ʒor⁹ ⁸zor⁹ ‘you go around’ ‘go around!’ Further, a final l ⁸which can occur in loans⁹ is also palatalized to y/i. ⁸332⁹ tɨ-ci cay ⁸tɨ-cɨl⁹ ⁸cal⁹ ‘you can’ ‘can!’ In case the base final consonant is already palatalized ⁸i.e. in verbs with a final radical I or U, which both cause palatalization of preceding radicals, ↗ 3.4.2.1.3⁹, the feminine and masculine forms do not differ ⁸333⁹. ⁸333⁹ tɨ-rəkʸ ərəgʸ ⁸tɨ-rəkʸ ⁹ ⁸ərəgʸ ⁹ ‘you throw’ ‘throw!’ tɨ-txʸakʼʸ təxʸakʼʸ ⁸tɨ-txʸakʼʸ ⁹ ⁸təxʸakʼʸ ⁹ ‘you boast’ ‘boast!’ tɨ-βəxʸ bɨxʸ ⁸tɨ-βəxʸ ⁹ ⁸bɨxʸ ⁹ ‘you cry’ ‘cry!’ tɨ-mac mac ⁸tɨ-mac⁹ ⁸mac⁹ ‘you get angry’ ‘get angry!’ tɨ-arəʃ arʃ ⁸tɨ-arəʃ ⁹ ⁸arʃ ⁹ ‘you weave, you plait’ ‘weaveǃ, plaitǃ’ If the base final consonant is not palatalizable, i.e. if it is a labial ⁸p, b, β, f, m⁹ or the nasal n, palatalization floats further left. Either, the vowel i is inserted between the second but last and the final consonant of the base ⁸or replaces the epenthetic ɨ⁹ ⁸334⁹, or when there is already the vowel ə or a between these two consonants, these vowels are raised to e or ɛ, respectively ⁸335⁹. ⁸334⁹ t-ariβ əriβ ⁸t-arɨβ⁹ ⁸ərɨβ⁹ ‘you milk’ ‘milk!’ tɨ-kətif kɨtif ⁸tɨ-kətf ⁹ ⁸kɨtf ⁹ ‘you hash’ ‘hash!’ tɨ-gʸətim gətim ⁸tɨ-gʸətɨm⁹ ⁸gətɨm⁹ ‘you lend’ ‘lend!’ 125 ⁸335⁹ tɨ-wəssin wəssin ⁸tɨ-wəssɨn⁹ ⁸wəssɨn⁹ ‘you decide’ ⁸< ‘decide!’ ⁹ tɨ-tkʼʸəneβ təkʼəneβ ⁸tɨ-tkʼʸənəβ⁹ ‘you are ⁸become⁹ near’ ⁸təkʼənəβ⁹ ‘be⁸come⁹ nearǃ’ tɨ-ʃeβ ʃɛβ ⁸~ ʃeβ⁹ ⁸tɨ-ʃəβ⁹ ⁸ʃaβ⁹ ‘you pull’ ‘pull!’ tɨ-cʼen tʼen ⁸tɨ-cʼən⁹ ⁸tʼən⁹ ‘you give birth; you father’ ‘give birth!; father!’ However, when the second but last consonant is a velar, there is no insertion or raising of a vowel, but this velar is palatalized ⁸336⁹. Furthermore, a velar can even be palatalized in third but last position in case the second but last consonant is r ⁸337⁹, but these forms alternate with insertion of i in the manner of the verbs in ⁸334⁹ above. ⁸336⁹ ⁸337⁹ tɨ-jəkʸɨm dəkʸɨm ⁸tɨ-jəkɨm⁹ ⁸dəkɨm⁹ ‘you bash’ ‘bashǃ’ tɨ-rəxʸɨβ nɨxʸəβ ⁸tɨ-rəxɨβ⁹ ⁸nɨxəβ⁹ ‘you find’ ‘find!’ tɨ-kʼʸərm ~ tɨ-kʼərim kʼʸɨrm ~ kʼɨrim ⁸tɨ-kʼərm⁹ ⁸kʼɨrm⁹ ‘you insult’ ‘insult!’ Velars that are already labialized usually become palatalized, too, losing hereby their labialization. However, at least in the case of nəkkʼʷə ‘roar’, vowel raising and retention of labialization is also attested. ⁸338⁹ tɨ-fkʼʸən fɨkʼʸən ⁸tɨ-fɨkʼʷən⁹ ⁸fɨkʼʷən⁹ ‘you whistle’ ‘whistle!’ tɨ-kʷrəkʸɨm kʷərkʸɨm ⁸tɨ-kʷrəkʷɨm⁹ ‘you give a blow with the knuckles’ ⁸kʷərkʷɨm⁹ ‘give a blow with the knucklesǃ’ tɨ-xʸə ⁸tɨ-xʷə⁹ ‘you spill’ tɨ-rəkʼʸ ~ tɨ-rekʼʷ nɨkʼʸ ~ nikʼʷ ⁸tɨ-rəkʼʷ ⁹ ⁸nɨkʼʷ ⁹ ‘you roar’ ‘roar!’ In verbs with a final radical A, palatalization does not directly target the base final a but floats further left to the preceding consonants treating them the same way as the regular base final consonants described above; the base final a, however, is changed to ə in all cases. Thus, rightmost velars ⁸k, kʼ, g, x⁹ ⁸339⁹, alveolar obstruents ⁸t, tʼ, d, s, z⁹ ⁸340⁹, and the liquid r ⁸341⁹ are palatalized.  The Imperative is xʷay for both masculine and feminine. 126 ⁸339⁹ ⁸340⁹ ⁸341⁹ t-afəkʸə afkʸə ⁸t-afəka⁹ ⁸afka⁹ ‘you remove’ ‘removeǃ’ tɨ-wəgʸə wɨgʸə ⁸tɨ-wəga⁹ ⁸wɨga⁹ ‘you stab, fight’ ‘stabǃ, fightǃ’ tɨ-βəjə bɨjə ⁸t-βəda⁹ ⁸bɨda⁹ ‘you take away’ ‘take awayǃ’ tɨ-rəʃə nɨʃə ⁸tɨ-rəsa⁹ ⁸nɨsa⁹ ‘you lift’ ‘liftǃ’ tɨ-zəyə zɨyə ⁸t-zəra⁹ ⁸zɨra⁹ ‘you sow’ ‘sow!’ If the consonant preceding the base final a is not palatalizable, i.e. if it is a labial ⁸p, b, β, f, m⁹ or the nasal n, palatalization floats further left. As with the regular verbs, only velars are palatalized in this position ⁸342⁹, whereas other consonants remain unaffected ⁸even if they are palatalizable elsewhere⁹. Instead, the vowel i is inserted ⁸or replaces the epenthetic ɨ⁹ between the two consonants or the vowel ə is raised to e ⁸343⁹. ⁸342⁹ ⁸343⁹ tɨ-gʸəfə gʸɨfə ⁸tɨ-gəfa⁹ ⁸gɨfa⁹ ‘you push’ ‘push!’ tɨ-kʼʸəβə kʼʸɨβə ⁸tɨ-kʼəβa⁹ ⁸kʼɨβa⁹ ‘you oil’ ‘oilǃ’ tɨ-kʼʸrəppə kʼʸəmbə ⁸tɨ-kʼrəppa⁹ ⁸kʼəmba⁹ ‘you snap of’ ‘snap off!’ tɨ-tʼeβə tʼiβə ⁸tɨ-tʼəβa⁹ ⁸tʼɨβa⁹ ‘you take away’ ‘skinǃ’ tɨ-semə simə ⁸tɨ-səma⁹ ⁸sɨma⁹ ‘you listen’ ‘listen!’ In reduplicated verbs, palatalization affects both the base final and the doubled consonant of the pair. Example ⁸344⁹ shows verbs with final and ⁸345⁹ with total reduplication. Note that with doubled r only the base final r is palatalized ⁸346⁹. ⁸344⁹ t-akʸɨkʸ əkʸɨkʸ ⁸t-akɨk⁹ ⁸əkɨk⁹ ‘you scratch’ ‘scratch!’ tɨ-gəjj gɨjj ⁸tɨ-gədd⁹ ⁸gɨdd⁹ ‘you pierce’ ‘pierce!’ t-aʃɨʃ əʃɨʃ ⁸t-asɨs⁹ ⁸əsɨs⁹ ‘you sweep’ ‘sweep!’  Or with epenthetic ɨ between the identical final radicals ⁸see example ⁸84⁹⁹: tɨ-gəjɨj ⁸tɨ-gədɨd⁹ ‘you 127 ⁸345⁹ ⁸346⁹ tɨ-kʃəkʃ kəʃkɨʃ ⁸tɨ-ksəks⁹ ⁸kəskɨs⁹ ‘you dash to bits’ ‘dash to bitsǃ’ tɨ-sxʸəsxʸ ⁸tɨ-sxəsx⁹ ‘you grind slightly with pestle’ tɨ-βəri bɨre ⁸tɨ-βərɨr⁹ ⁸bɨrər⁹ ‘you fly’ ‘flyǃ’ tɨ-ʃraʃʃi ʃɨraʃi ⁸tɨ-ʃraʃʃɨr⁹ ⁸ʃɨraʃɨr⁹ ‘you level the ground’ ‘level the ground!’ If the final doubled consonants are not palatalizable, the vowel i is inserted between them, but palatalization of a preceding velar is also possible ⁸347⁹. Likewise also totally reduplicated verbs receive an inserted i when the base final consonant is not palatalizable ⁸348⁹. ⁸347⁹ ⁸348⁹ tɨ-kʼəfif kʼɨfif ⁸tɨ-kʼəfɨf ⁹ ⁸kʼɨfɨf ⁹ ‘you cut edges’ ‘cut edges!’ tɨ-kʼʸəbb kʼʸɨbb ⁸tɨ-kʼəbb⁹ ⁸kʼɨbb⁹ ‘you shave’ ‘shave!’ tɨ-tβətiβ tətiβ ⁸tɨ-tβətɨβ⁹ ⁸tətɨβ⁹ ‘you tie up’ ‘tie upǃ’ Also in Frequentatives ⁸↗ 3.10⁹ palatalization always affects both parts of the doubled medial radical ⁸349⁹. ⁸349⁹ tɨ-jgʸəkʸɨm jɨgʸəkʸɨm ⁸tɨ-jgəkɨm⁹ ⁸jɨgəkɨm⁹ ‘you bash repeatedly’ ‘bash repeatedlyǃ’ 3.11.5 Formation of Impersonal The Impersonal is formed by labialization and palatalization within the bases rather than by an overt and separable affix. This formation goes back to a suffix *-u originally denoting plural masculine ⁸cf. Hetzron 1977: 83⁹. Synchronically, one can assume a vocoid -U ‘suffixed’ to the verb base, whose features [round] and [high] trigger labialization and palatalization in the preceding base, respectively ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 206ff.⁹. These sound changes are the same in all of the three basic TAM forms. The following examples show the Impersonals of the ɱerfective, Imperfective and Jussive, and in brackets the 3sm forms for comparison. Note that the -i in the Impersonal is the 3sm , which is present by default ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹; for the final main verb marker -m in the ɱerfective see section 3.18.1.1. pierce’, gɨjɨj ⁸gɨdɨd⁹ ‘pierceǃ’  The Imperative is səsxʸ ⁸səsx⁹ with deletion of a radical ⁸see table 26 and examples ⁸151⁹-⁸152⁹⁹.  Other forms I have recorded do not involve palatalization of the final r but insertion or suffixation of i: tɨ-βərir and tɨ-βərri. 128 The feature [round] of -U floats left and targets the first labializable consonant. Thus, base final labials ⁸350⁹ and velars ⁸351⁹ are all labialized. Note that velars are also palatalizable, but in the Impersonal they are labialized only. ⁸350⁹ ⁸351⁹ nəkəw-i-m yɨ-rəxw-i yə-nxəw-i ⁸nəkəβ-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-rəxɨβ⁹ ⁸yə-nxəβ⁹ ‘find’ kətəfʷ-i-m yɨ-kətfʷ-i yə-kɨtfʷ-i ⁸kətəf-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-kətf ⁹ ⁸yə-kɨtf ⁹ ‘hash, chop’ gʸətəmʷ-i-m yɨ-gʸətmʷ-i yə-gətmʷ-i ⁸gʸətəm-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-gʸətɨm⁹ ⁸yə-gətɨm⁹ ‘lend’ adəgʷ-i-m y-adgʷ-i y-ədgʷ-i ⁸adəg-ə-m⁹ ⁸y-adɨg⁹ ⁸y-ədɨg⁹ ‘throw down’ sənəkʼʷ-i-m yɨ-sərkʼʷ-i yə-sɨrkʼʷ-i ⁸sənəkʼ-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-sərkʼ⁹ ⁸yə-sɨrkʼ⁹ ‘steal’ manəxʷ-i-m yɨ-manxʷ-i yə-manxʷ-i ⁸manəx-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-manx⁹ ⁸yə-manx⁹ ‘capture’ If the base final consonant is not a labial or velar, labialization floats further left until it finds a suitable host, as the second but last consonant in ⁸352⁹, or even further left as in ⁸353⁹. ⁸352⁹ kəfʷəc-i-m yɨ-kəfʷc-i yə-kɨfʷc-i ⁸kəfət-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-kəft⁹ ⁸yə-kɨft⁹ ‘open’ ⁸353⁹ kʼʷənəʃ-i-m yɨ-kʼʷərʃ-i yə-kʼʷɨrʃ-i ⁸kʼənəs-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-kʼərs⁹ ⁸yə-kʼɨrs⁹ ‘begin’ Base final coronal obstruents ⁸t, tʼ, d, s, z⁹ are palatalized due to the feature [high] of -U. This is illustrated in ⁸352⁹-⁸353⁹ and in ⁸354⁹. The latter examples also show that labialization is totally absent if there is no labializable consonant in the base at all. ⁸354⁹ wacʼ-i-m yɨ-wəcʼ-i yə-wacʼ-i ⁸watʼ-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-wətʼ⁹ ⁸yə-watʼ⁹ ‘swallow’ 129 oj-i-m y-uj-i y-oj-i ⁸od-ə-m⁹ ⁸y-ud⁹ ⁸y-od⁹ ‘tell’ agʸagʸəʒ-i-m y-agʸagʸʒ-i y-agʸagʸʒ-i ⁸agʸagʸəz-ə-m⁹ ⁸y-agʸagʸz⁹ ⁸y-agʸagʸz⁹ ‘be proud, show of’ Other than the palatalization trigger -I of the 2nd person singular feminine ⁸↗ 3.11.4⁹, the -U of the Impersonal does not palatalize r ⁸355⁹. ⁸355⁹ ʃəkkʷər-i-m yɨ-ʃəkʷr-i yə-səgʷr-i ⁸ʃəkkər-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-ʃəkkɨr⁹ ⁸yə-səgɨr⁹ ‘change’ Furthermore, palatalization triggered by -U does not float, i.e. only the base final consonants are palatalized. The base final n in the Jussive in example ⁸356⁹ is not palatalizable, but also the preceding t, even though a palatalizable consonant, remains unchanged. ⁸356⁹ y-atən-i ⁸y-atən⁹ ‘let him bring ⁸let one bring⁹’ The base final a in verbs with a final radical A does not block palatalization. The palatalizable consonants preceding a are treated like base final consonants, as for example the t c in ⁸357⁹. The base final a, however, is changed to ə ⁸as in the palatalization process of the 2nd person singular feminine, ↗ 3.11.4⁹. When followed by the default 3sm suffix -i ⁸which is by far the most frequent occurrence of an Impersonal⁹, ə and i fuse to the vowel e. ⁸357⁹ /nəccə-i-m/ /yɨ-rəcə-i/ /yə-ncə-i/ nəcce-m yɨ-rəce yə-nce ⁸nətta-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-rəta⁹ ⁸yə-nta⁹ ‘separate ⁸layers of əssət⁹’ Take note that the base final a always changes to ə, also when no palatalization of a consonant takes place ⁸358⁹. ⁸358⁹ /səmmʷə-i-m/ /yɨ-səmʷə-i/ /yə-smʷə-i/ səmmʷe-m ⁸səmma-m⁹ ‘hear’ yɨ-səmʷe ⁸yɨ-səma⁹ yə-smʷe ⁸yə-sma⁹ /bʷənə-i-m/ /yɨ-wərə-i/ /yə-wrə-i/ bʷəne-m yɨ-wəre yə-wre ⁸bəna-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-βəra⁹ ⁸yə-βra⁹ ‘eat’ All verbs with base final ə have an alternative way of forming the Impersonal ɱerfective base which is used very frequently in Gumer. They feature an epenthetic or additional β in the place of the missing final consonantal radical which then becomes regularly labialized to w, for example bəkkʸə ‘cry’ and fʷəʃʃə 130 ‘fart’ ⁸359⁹. In the Imperfective and Jussive of these two verb, which have no base final ə, there is ⁸normally⁹ no additional β w. In contrast, a verb like sɨyə √srAI ‘sell’ with base final ə in Imperfective and Jussive again features β w ⁸360⁹. ⁸359⁹ bəkkə+β-i-m fʷəssə+β-i-m bəkkəw-i-m ⁸~ ¿ bəkkʷ-i-m⁹ fʷəssəw-i-m ⁸~ ¿ fʷəʃʃ-i-m⁹ yɨ-βəxʷ-i yɨ-fʷəʃ-i yə-βxʷ-i yɨ-fʷʃ-i ⁸360⁹ yɨ-srə+β-i yə-sərə+β-i ‘one cried’ ‘one farted’ ⁸*yɨ-βəxʸəw-i, *yɨ-βəxəw-i⁹ ⁸*yɨ-fʷəʃəw-i, *yɨ-fʷəsəw-i⁹ ‘one cries’ ⁸*yə-βxəw-i⁹ ⁸*yɨ-fʷʃəw-i⁹ ‘let one cry’ ‘let one fart’ yɨ-srəw-i yə-sərəw-i ‘one farts’ ‘one buys’ ‘let one buy’ In reduplicated verbs, labialization and palatalization always occur on both consonants of the doubled pair, as in the following totally reduplicated verbs: ⁸361⁹ with final labialization, ⁸362⁹ with final palatalization, and ⁸363⁹ with non-final labialization and final palatalization. Example ⁸364⁹ shows the totally reduplicated verb sassa ‘be thin’ with a final A ⁸√sAsA⁹. ⁸361⁹ tɨwətəw-i-m yɨ-twətw-i yə-tətw-i ⁸tɨβətəβ-ə-m⁹⁰ ‘tie up’ ⁸yɨ-tβətɨβ⁹ ⁸yə-tətɨβ⁹ ⁸362⁹ nɨʒənəʒ-i-m yɨ-nʒənʒ-i yə-nəʒnɨʒ-i ⁸nɨzənəz-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-nzənɨz⁹ ⁸yə-nəznɨz⁹ ‘nag’ ⁸363⁹ kʷɨʃəkʷəʃ-i-m yɨ-kʷʃəkʷʃ-i yə-kʷəʃkʷɨʃ-i ⁸kɨsəkəs-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-ksəks⁹ ⁸yə-kəskɨs⁹ ‘dash to bits’ ⁸364⁹ ʃaʃʃe-m yɨ-ʃaʃʃe yə-ʃaʃʃe ⁸sassa-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-sassa⁹ ⁸yə-sassa⁹ ‘be⁸come⁹ thin’  At times even fʷəʃʃəwim seems acceptable.  Or alternatively also yɨsre.  Occasional exceptions to the rule are possible, i.e. at times only the second consonant of the doubled pair is affected. ⁰ Also attested with gemination tɨwəttəw-i-m ⁸tɨβəttəβ-ə-m⁹. 131 The following two examples show verbs with final reduplication: ⁸365⁹ with labialization and ⁸366⁹ with palatalization. ⁸365⁹ səkʷəkʷ-i-m yɨ-səkʷɨkʷ-i yə-skʷɨkʷ-i ⁸səkək-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-səkɨk⁹ ⁸yə-skɨk⁹ ‘drive a peg’ ⁸366⁹ fʷəʒəʒ-i-m yɨ-fʷəʒʒ-i yə-fʷʒəʒ-i ⁸fəzəz-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-fəzz⁹ ⁸yə-fzəz⁹ ‘be⁸come⁹ better’ Also in Frequentatives, i.e. in verbs with medial reduplication, labialization ⁸367⁹ and palatalization ⁸368⁹ affect both consonants. ⁸367⁹ təʒwappʷər-i-m ⁸təʒβappər-ə-m⁹ ‘turn upside down ⁸ yɨ-ʒʒɨβappər-i ⁸yɨ-ʒʒɨwappʷər⁹ yə-ʒʒɨwawər-i ⁸yə-ʒʒɨβaβər⁹ ⁸368⁹ aʃcacce-m y-aʃcacce y-aʃcace ⁸aʃtatta-m⁹ ⁸y-aʃtatta⁹ ⁸y-aʃtata⁹ ⁹’ ‘snif’ Consonants that are already palatalized cannot be labialized in the Impersonal. The verb gʸəkkʸər ‘straighten out, arrange’ in ⁸369⁹, for example, has palatalized velars in the ɱerfective and Imperfective, which remain unchanged, whereas in the Jussive they are depalatalized ⁸↗ 3.16⁹ and therefore become open to labialization. ⁸369⁹ gʸəkkʸər-i-m yɨ-gʸəkʸr-i yə-gʷəkʷr-i ⁸gʸəkkʸər-ə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-gʸəkkʸɨr⁹ ⁸yə-gəkkɨr⁹ ‘straighten out, arrange’ Velars that are already labialized do not change. However, note that the verb nəkkʼʷə ‘roar’ is probably the only such example ⁸370⁹, for which also palatalization is attested in the feminine singular ⁸↗ 3.11.4⁹. ⁸370⁹ nəkkʼʷ-i-m yɨ-rəkʼʷ-i yə-rkʼʷ-i ⁸nəkkʼʷə-m⁹ ⁸yɨ-rəkʼʷ ⁹ ⁸yə-rkʼʷ ⁹ ‘roar’  Here, I have also recorded instances where only the last t is palatalized, i.e. aʃtaccem etc. 132 3.11.6 Allomorphs of subject markers 3.11.6.1 Verbs with weak final radical As illustrated in table 60, some of the bases of verbs with a weak final radical ⁸i.e. without consonant as final radical⁹ end in a vowel. If the final radical is A, the ɱerfective, Imperfective and Jussive bases end in a. If the final radical is I or U, the ɱerfective base ends in ə, whereas the Imperfective and Jussive bases do not feature a final vowel. A I U √gβA √sxI √fkʼrU gəppa səkkʸə fkʼʷənə gəβa səxʸ fkʼʷən gβa sxʸ fkʼʷən ‘enter’ ‘flee’ ‘whistle’ Table 60: Example bases of verbs with weak final radical These base final vowels and suffixed subject markers beginning with a vowel interact with each other, which can bring about allomorphs in some cases. In the ɱerfective, the vowel of the subject suffixes 3sm -ə and 3sf -əc is absorbed by the base final vowel a ⁸371⁹ or ə ⁸372⁹, resulting in the allomorphs -Ø and -c.,  ⁸371⁹ 3sm *bəna-ə-m 3sf eat.ɱFV-3smS-M *bəna-əc-ɨm eat.ɱFV-3sfS-M ⁸372⁹ 3sm *cənə-ə-m 3sf come.ɱFV-3smS-M *cənə-əc-ɨm come.ɱFV-3sfS-M bəna-Ø-m bəna-m eat.ɱFV-3smS-M eat.ɱFV[.3smS]-M bəna-c-ɨm ‘he ate’ ‘she ate’ eat.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘he came’ cənə-Ø-m cənə-m come.ɱFV-3smS-M come.ɱFV[.3smS]-M cənə-c-ɨm ‘she came’ eat.ɱFV-3sfS-M Note that if the base final vowel is not a ⁸371⁹ but ə ⁸372⁹, one could also argue that it is the base final vowel that is absorbed ⁸*cənə-ə-m cən-ə-m⁹. However, in analogy to the instances with a, where clearly the subject marker is deleted, it is more conclusive to assume that this is also the case in ⁸372⁹.  The zero morpheme -Ø is not represented in the examples elsewhere; in the glosses square brackets are used to indicate the ‘missing’ but implicitly known morpheme.  Banksira ⁸1999b: 29, 2000: 243⁹ assumes that the perfective bases of sound verbs also end in -ə ⁸for example √kft kəfətə-⁹, thus the 3sm and 3sf subject suffixes ⁸always⁹ being -Ø and -c ⁸for example kəfətə-Ø-m and kəfətə-c-ɨm⁹. However, in all other cases ⁸be it a subject suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel⁹ the verb base does not show a final ə ⁸for example 2sm kəfət-xə-m⁹, a fact which he “explains” by stating that ə is truncated when followed by CV or a vocoid. Banksira ⁸1999b, 2000: 241ff.⁹ needs all these assumptions for his analysis of the system of all Chaha subject affixes. In my view this is an over-analysis that poses problems rather than simplifying matters. 133 In contrast, the plural subject suffixes 3pm -o and 3pf -əma override the base final vowel, no matter if it is a ⁸373⁹ or ə ⁸374⁹. ⁸373⁹ 3pm *səna-o-m arrive.ɱFV-3pmS-M arrive.ɱFV-3pfS-M arrive.ɱFV-3pfS-M 3pf *səna-əma-m ⁸374⁹ sən-o-m arrive.ɱFV-3pmS-M 3pm *kʼʸəmmə-o-m sən-əma-m kʼʸəmm-o-m win.ɱFV-3pmS-M win.ɱFV-3pmS-M win.ɱFV-3pfS-M win.ɱFV-3pfS-M 3pf *kʼʸəmmə-əma-m ‘they ⁸m⁹ arrived’ ‘they ⁸⁹ arrived’ ‘they ⁸m⁹ won’ kʼʸəmm-əma-m ‘they ⁸⁹ won’ Similar to the singular forms above, one might argue that in the case of 3pf -əma after ə it is the vowel of the suffix that is dropped ⁸*kʼʸəmmə-əma-m kʼʸəmməma-m, accordingly with an allomorph -ma⁹. Nevertheless, in analogy to all other instances in the plural such an analysis would be rather inconsistent. It goes without saying that the same rule also applies for second and third persons plural of the Imperfective ⁸375⁹ and Jussive ⁸376⁹ bases that end in a. ⁸375⁹ 2pm *tɨ-cona-o 2S-sit.IɱFV-pmS 2S-sit.IɱFV-pfS 2S-sit.IɱFV-pfS 2pf *tɨ-cona-əma 3pm *yɨ-cona-o 3S-sit.IɱFV-pmS 3pf *yɨ-cona-əma 3S-sit.IɱFV-pfS ⁸376⁹ tɨ-con-o 2S-sit.IɱFV-pmS 2pm *tora-o tɨ-con-əma yɨ-con-o 3S-sit.IɱFV-pmS yɨ-con-əma tor-o sit.IMɱ-pmS sit.IMɱ-pfS sit.IMɱ-pfS 3pm *yə-tora-o 3S-sit.JUS-pmS 3pf *yə-tora-əma 3S-sit.JUS-pfS ‘you ⁸p⁹ sit’ ‘they ⁸m⁹ sit’ ‘they ⁸⁹ sit’ 3S-sit.IɱFV-pfS sit.IMɱ-pmS 2pf *tora-əma ‘you ⁸pm⁹ sit’ tor-əma yə-tor-o 3S-sit.JUS-pmS yə-tor-əma ‘sit downǃ ⁸pm⁹’ ‘sit downǃ ⁸p⁹’ ‘let them ⁸m⁹ sit down’ ‘let them ⁸⁹ sit down’ 3S-sit.JUS-pfS In addition to the ‘normal’ forms as seen in ⁸373⁹-⁸376⁹, there is a second variant that often occurs after bases with a final vowel: -əβo and -əβəma ⁸instead of o and -əma⁹. Thus, as illustrated with some examples in ⁸377⁹, there are often two possibilities. Like their shorter forms, the longer allomorphs -əβo and -əβəma delete the final vowels of the verb base. Again, this is particularly evident with bases that end in a.  I have recorded only one instance where the base final a was not deleted: ellaβom ‘they coveted’. 134 ⁸377⁹ 3pm *wəttʼa-o-m ascend.ɱFV-3pmS-M 3pf *wəttʼa-əma-m ascend.ɱFV-3pfS-M 2pm *tɨ-cona-o 2S-sit.IɱFV-pmS 2pf *tɨ-cona-əma 2S-sit.IɱFV-pfS 3pm *assə-o-m wəttʼ-əβo-m ~ wəttʼ-o-m ‘they ⁸m⁹ went up’ wəttʼ-əβəma-m ~ wəttʼ-əma-m ‘they ⁸⁹ ascend.ɱFV-3pfS-M went up’ ascend.ɱFV-3pmS-M tɨ-con-əβo ~ tɨ-con-o 2S-sit.IɱFV-pmS tɨ-con-əβəma ~ tɨ-con-əma ‘you ⁸p⁹ sit’ 2S-sit.IɱFV-pfS ass-əβo-m ~ ass-o-m see.ɱFV-3pmS-M see.ɱFV-3pmS-M see.ɱFV-3pfS-M see.ɱFV-3pfS-M 3pf *assə-əma-m ‘you ⁸pm⁹ sit’ ass-əβəma-m ~ ass-əma-m ‘they ⁸m⁹ saw’ ‘they ⁸⁹ saw’ Very generally speaking, the variants with the additional əβ are in free distribution with the shorter ‘normal’ forms ⁸i.e. with verb bases ending in a vowel⁹. The choice seems to depend at least partially on idiolectal preferences, but some geographical distribution might also play a role. Supposedly in villages closer to the Chaha area the longer forms are less frequent, but this claim has to be verified. Then again, however, there is a rather clear difference in frequency depending on the quality of the final vowel. As illustrated with wəttʼa and cona in ⁸377⁹, bases ending in a can occur with the longer allomorphs, but here the shorter forms are significantly more common, i.e. for instance səmma səmm-o-m ‘they heard’ is clearly preferred over səmm-əβo-m. In contrast, verbs with bases ending in ə tend to occur with -əβo and -əβəma much more often, i.e. for example fɨkʼʷənə fɨkʼʷən-əβo-m ‘they whistled’ is as at least as common as fɨkʼʷən-o-m if not the preferred form, up to the extent that some speakers would reject the shorter one. Above, the additional əβ is analyzed as part of the subject marker since it deletes the base final vowels a as do the shorter ‘normal’ forms. However, based on the ⁸preferred⁹ formation of the Impersonal ⁸ɱerfective⁹ of verbs with a base final ə ⁸i.e. where the longer subject suffixes with β are rather frequent⁹, one might also conclude that the β belongs to the base itself. The Impersonal does not have an overt subject suffix, but with said verbs there is in most cases a base final glide w, very much the same as if the verb had a final radical β which is labialized in the Impersonal ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹. Compare the ɱerfective Impersonals of nəkəβ and bəkkʸə. ⁸378⁹ 3sm 3pm √rxβ ‘find’ nəkəβ-ə-m nəkəβ-o-m nəkəw-i-m √βxI ‘cry’ bəkkʸə-m bəkk-o-m ~ bəkk-əβo-m bəkkəw-i-m It is not clear if this was a performance mistake or a further ⁸though less frequent⁹ possiblity. ⁸It was not intended to mean ‘he coveted to their detriment’, which would have the same form.⁹ 135 On grounds of the Impersonal bəkkəwim and not knowing any other forms of the paradigm one would have to conclude that its base is bəkkəβ, and consequently the ⁸longer form o⁹ 3pm should then be analyzed as bəkkəβ-o-m ⁸with the regular subject suffix -o⁹. However there is also the equally possible shorter form bəkk-o-m based on bəkk(ʸə) ⁸with depalatalization, ↗ 3.16⁹, thus β is not an essential part of the base in the plural forms. Due to that, but above all due to the fact already exemplified above that -əβo/-əβəma delete the base final a of verbs like cona ‘sit’ ⁸cona con-o-m ~ con-əβo-m⁹ these longer forms are treated here as allomorphs of the ‘regular’ subject markers -o/-əma. This analysis is supported by the fact that the forms with β occasionally even occur with verbs that have a consonantal final radical, for example wər-əβo-m instead of wər-o-m ‘they went’. This phenomenon being rather seldom in the ɱerfectives it occurs slightly more often in the Imperfective and Jussive, for example y-adr-əβo instead of y-adr-o ‘they spend the night’ or yə-tot-əβo instead of yə-tot-o ‘let them ⁸pm⁹ work’. The data seem to point out that these variations are only found with weak verbs, i.e. with verbs having a weak ⁸i.e. non-consonantal⁹ radical also in other positions than the last one. Sound verbs featuring only sound consonantal radical apparently cannot occur at all with the longer subject suffixes. Note that -əβo/-əβəma can be restricted in use or at least become the dispreferred choice when these forms coincide with a ɱerfective verb with 3sm -ə + -β-. Compare for example the two different segmentations of cənəβom in ⁸379⁹. ⁸379⁹ a. cən-əβo-m vs. b. come.ɱFV-3pmS-M cənə-βo-m come.ɱFV[.3smS]-MAL.3pm-M ‘they ⁸m⁹ came’ ‘he came to their ⁸m⁹ detriment’ The plural in ⁸a⁹ above is a perfectly usual form, but it could at times come in conflict with the 3sm + interpretation ⁸b⁹. In such cases speakers might tend to avoid ambiguities by opting for the shorter form cən-o-m. However, such misunderstandings presumably do not occur very often, except where the context is not clear or missing. As for the weak verbs that do not have a base final ə such as wər ‘go’ ⁸380⁹, the use of -əβo/-əβəma is possible ⁸a⁹, but the malefactive reading ⁸b⁹ seems more natural in such a way that plural forms with -əβo/-əβəma generally are dispreferred. Thus, in contrast to verbs with a base final vowel ⁸as for instance the above mentioned cənəβom ‘they came’⁹, here the shorter subject markers are more common ⁸i.e. wərom/wərəmam ‘they went’⁹. ⁸380⁹ a. ¿ wər-əβo-m vs. b. go.ɱFV-3pmS-M wər-ə-βo-m go.ɱFV-3smS-MAL.3pm-M ‘they ⁸m⁹ went’ ‘he went to their ⁸m⁹ detriment’ If the plural forms -əβo/-əβəma do not completely coincide with 3sm + , they are again more acceptable and frequent since there is no ambiguity anymore. For instance, many verbs with base final vowels feature also palatalization which is blocked ⁸or depalatalized⁹ in the third persons plural of the ɱerfective ⁸↗ 3.16⁹. 136 Consider the example verb aʃʃə ‘see’ in ⁸381⁹ with palatalized ʃʃ vs. non-palatalized ss. Here, the form 3sm + malefactive aʃʃəβom ⁸c⁹ cannot be mistaken for 3pm, which is assəβom ⁸b⁹ ⁸in contrast to cənəβom in ⁸379⁹ above⁹. ⁸381⁹ a. aʃʃə-m vs. b. see.ɱFV[.3smS]-M see.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘he saw’ c. ass-əβo-m ~ ass-o-m ‘they ⁸m⁹ saw’ aʃʃə-βo-m see.ɱFV[.3smS]-MAL.3pm-M ‘he saw to their ⁸m⁹ detriment’ ⁸*‘they saw’⁹ According to Banksira ⁸2000: 233f., 243⁹, the masculine plural marker -o goes back to *-əβU, i.e. following the regular sound processes the marker is derived as /-əβU / /-əβʷ / /əw/ [o]. Thus, if this analysis is correct, the bilabial element β is not only an additional element of the allomorph -əβo of the masculine plural marker, but is underlyingly already part of the regular -o. Given that -əβo predominantly occurs with verbs that have a base final vowel, one could then further assume that this β occupies or docks onto the empty slot of the missing consonantal radical. Consequently, it becomes to some extent also part of the base, which might serve as an explanation that in the Impersonal of such verbs it is virtually always present ⁸i.e. in its labialized form w⁹. The thesis that the masculine plural marker -o derives from *-əβU is supported by the fact that the plural feminine forms -əβəma are slightly less frequent than the masculine -əβo. For instance, cənəβo-m tends to be interpreted as more natural than cən-əβəma-m ‘they came’, or the other way round the shorter form cən-əma-m seems somewhat more acceptable and consequently used more often than the corresponding short masculine cən-o-m. Nevertheless, even if the diachronic analysis *-əβU -o as posited by Banksira is adequate, it does not account for the actual synchronic occurrence of əβo. First of all, as seen above, there is also the feminine form -əβəma, furthermore these allomorphs with β are used in the Imperfective and Jussive, where there is no base final vowel ə ⁸see table 60⁹, and they even occur with verbs that do not have a weak final radical at all. Moreover, if -o is the direct result of *-əβU, why should the last vowel still be o in the longer form -əβo, and not, for example, u ⁸*-əβu⁹? All in all it does not seem to be farfetched to hypothesize that -əβo origins in *-əβU ⁸or similar⁹ and occurred first as 3pm with ⁸ɱerfective⁹ verbs that have a base final vowel. Later, -əβ- must have been reanalyzed as an element to be used generally after base final vowels, thus yielding feminine -əβəma. Then, presumably, the use of both -əβo and -əβəma as plural markers of verbs with weak final radical expanded to the Imperfective and Jussive to the extent that nowadays it can even occur with all other weak verbs. This supposed development also reflects by and large the frequency of occurrence of the allomorphs with β. 137 3.11.6.2 Verb bases with initial vowel In the Imperfective, the 1s subject prefix ə- is not overt with verb bases beginning in a vowel. This is the case when the verb has a weak first radical ⁸except U ⁹ ⁸382⁹, and with the causative prefixes a- and at- ⁸383⁹. ⁸382⁹ *ə-agd 1sS-tie.IɱFV *ə-ella 1sS-covet.IɱFV *ə-ud 1sS-tell.IɱFV ⁸383⁹ *ə-acən 1sS-bring.IɱFV *ə-atmər 1sS-teach.IɱFV Ø-agd ‘I tie’ agd 1sS-tie.IɱFV [1sS.]tie.IɱFV Ø-ella ella 1sS-covet.IɱFV Ø-ud [1sS.]covet.IɱFV ud 1sS-tell.IɱFV Ø-acən Ø-atmər ‘I bring’ [1sS.]bring.IɱFV atmər 1sS-teach.IɱFV ‘I tell’ [1sS.]tell.IɱFV acən 1sS-bring.IɱFV ‘I covet’ ‘I teach’ [1sS.]teach.IɱFV The same is true for the ə of the third person marker yə- in the Jussive which is deleted when followed by a base beginning with a vowel. Again this is with verbs that do not have a consonantal first radical ⁸384⁹ but note that if it is A, the Jussive bases ⁸except Imperative⁹ do not have an initial vowel or with the causative prefixes a- and at- ⁸385⁹. ⁸384⁹ *yə-od 3sS-tell.JUS *yə-ella 3sS-covet.JUS ⁸385⁹ *yə-amʷəkʼ 3sS-heat.JUS *yə-atəʒ 3sS-show.JUS y-od ‘let him tell’ y-ella ‘let him covet’ y-amʷəkʼ ‘let him heat’ y-atəʒ ‘let him show’ 3sS-tell.JUS 3sS-covet.JUS 3sS-heat.JUS 3sS-show.JUS This does not only result in the allomorphy yə- ~ y- in the Jussive, but in some cases there is also a formal identity between Imperfective and Jussive, namely if the two bases happen to have the same shape. ⁸386⁹ y-akʷəʃ vs. 3sS-remove.fibres.IɱFV ‘he removes fibres’ ⁸387⁹ y-atmər-əma 3S-teach.IɱFV-pfS ‘they ⁸⁹ teach’ y-akʷəʃ ⁸<*yə-akʷəʃ ⁹ 3sS-remove.fibres.JUS ‘let him remove fibres’ vs. y-atmər-əma 3S-teach.JUS-pfS ‘let them ⁸⁹ teach’ 138 ⁸<*yə-atmər-əma⁹ 3.11.6.3 1s Imperfective with prefixes In the Imperfective, the 1s prefix ə- changes to -n- when it is preceded by another prefix, i.e. the negation marker a- ⁸388⁹ on the one hand, and the subordinators t- ⁸389⁹ and b- ⁸392⁹ on the other hand. It hereby becomes formally the same as the 1s marker of the Jussive and the 1p marker of the Imperfective and Jussive, which are n- also without preceding prefix ⁸see table 55⁹. ⁸388⁹ ə-xʸɨr a-n-xʸɨr 1sS-know.IɱFV NEG-1sS-know.IɱFV ə-cot tɨ-n-cot 1sS-work.IɱFV TEMɱ-1sS-work.IɱFV ‘I know’ ⁸389⁹ ‘I work’ ‘I do not know’ ‘when I work’ In verbs with an initial vowel, where the subject marker ə- is deleted, it appears again as -n- after the same prefixes. ⁸390⁹ ar a-n-ar [1sS.]go.IɱFV NEG-1sS-go.IɱFV ‘I go’ ⁸391⁹ aʒ tɨ-n-aʒ [1sS.]see.IɱFV TEMɱ-1sS-see.IɱFV ame bɨ-n-ame [1sS.]do.IɱFV TEMɱ-1sS-do.IɱFV ‘I see’ ⁸392⁹ ‘I do not go’ ‘I do’ ‘when I see’ ‘when I do’ The 1s -n- assimilates its point of articulation to the following consonant and for instance becomes a bilabial nasal before β, which itself occlusivizes to b ⁸↗ 2.1.4.1⁹. Further, note that a base initial r and an adjacent 1s n assimilate to the pseudogeminate nn. ⁸393⁹ ə-βəra *a-n-βəra 1sS-eat.IɱFV a-m-bəra NEG-1sS-eat.IɱFV ‘I eat’ ‘I do not eat’  Consider, however, the case of the verb ərəkkʸə ‘throw’. Although its Imperfective base begins with r it does not assimilate to the preceding nasal. ɱrobably this r is ‘stable’ and never changes to n. Hence the unusual ə before the actual first radical r which prevents it from appearing wordinitially where all r nasalize to n ⁸↗ 2.1.3.1⁹: ⁸i⁹ ə-rəkʸ 1sS-throw.IɱFV ‘I throw’ bɨ-n-rəkʸ ⁸*bɨnnəkʸ ⁹ TEMɱ-1sS-throw.IɱFV ‘when I throw’ 139 ⁸394⁹ ə-βɨr *bɨ-n-βɨr bɨ-m-bɨr 1sS-say.IɱFV TEMɱ-1sS-say.IɱFV ‘I say’ ⁸395⁹ ə-rəβɨr ‘when I say’ *a-n-rəβɨr 1sS-live.IɱFV a-n-nəβɨr NEG-1sS-live.IɱFV ‘I live’ ‘I do not live’ 3.11.6.4 Allomorphs of subject markers followed by object markers Some of the subject markers change their form obligatorily, some optionally, when they are followed by object markers. ɳefer also to section 3.12.1.1 for the ‘fused’ subject-object markers. The 1s ɱerfective suffix -xʷ has an allomorph -x when followed by any object marker as, for example, the 3sf primary object -na. ⁸396⁹ ba-xʷ-ɨm *ba-xʷ-na-m say.ɱFV-1sS-M ba-x-na-m say.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I said’ ‘I said ⁸to⁹ her’ The 1p suffix -nə of the ɱerfective, Imperfective and the Jussive alters to -ne before most object markers, as, for example, the 2pm primary object -ku ⁸397⁹ or the 3sf malefactive -pa ⁸398⁹. ⁸397⁹ nɨ-sdɨ-nə *nɨ-sdɨ-nə-ku 1pS-take.JUS-1pS 1pS-take.JUS-1pS-2pmO ‘let’s take’ ⁸398⁹ n-ud-nə nɨ-sdɨ-ne-ku ‘let’s take you ⁸pm⁹ ⁸with us⁹’ *n-ud-nə-pa 1pS-tell.IɱFV n-ud-ne-pa 1pS-tell.IɱFV-1pS-2sfO ‘we tell’ ‘we tell to her detriment’ In contrast to this, before the primary objects featuring the consonant y, i.e. 3sf -ya, 3pm -yo and 3pf -yəma, the 1p subject marker can also be -nə. ⁸399⁹ attakkən-nə-yo-m chase.away.ɱFV-1pS-3pmO-M ⁸~ attakkən-ne-yo-m⁹ ‘we chased them away’ The 3sf ɱerfective suffix -əc has an optional allomorph -əcə before any object marker, as, for example, the 3sm primary object -n ⁸which triggers also labialization⁹. ⁸400⁹ bar-əc-ɨm bʷar-əcə-n-ɨm ~ bʷar-əc-n-ɨm say.ɱFV-3sfS-M say.ɱFV-3sfS-3smO-M ‘she said’ ‘she said ⁸to⁹ him’ The suffix -o designating 3pm in the ɱerfective and 2/3pm in the Imperfective 140 and Jussive is occasionally realized as -əw when followed by ⁸and only by⁹ the 3sm primary object -i. ⁸401⁹ yɨ-βr-o yɨ-βr-əw-i ~ yɨ-βr-o-yi 3S-say.IɱFV-pmS 3S-say.IɱFV-pmS-3smO ‘they ⁸m⁹ say’ ‘they ⁸m⁹ say ⁸to⁹ him’ Note that there is either the change from -o to -əw before -i or the insertion of a glide y between -o and -i. The third conceivable output with the final 3sm -i becoming y is usually not accepted. ɳather, -o-y is understood as 3pm and the purposive marker ⁸↗ 4.7.3.6⁹. ⁸402⁹ yɨ-βr-o-y 3S-say.IɱFV-pmS-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order that they ⁸m⁹ say’ 3.12 Object marking 3.12.1 Forms There are three semantically distinct and mutually exclusive possibilities to mark objects on the verb by means of suffixes: ‘primary object’ ⁸ ⁹, ‘benefactive’ ⁸ ⁹, and ‘malefactive-locative-instrumental’ ⁸ ⁹. Table 61 summarizes the basic forms of these three object suffixes. Note that there are no Impersonal object suffixes. Some suffixes have allomorphs in connection with preceding subject markers ⁸in particular ↗ 3.12.1.1⁹. For the semantics and use of the object suffixes refer to section 3.12.2. ‘ 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf ’ -e -⁸na⁹xə -⁸na⁹xʸ -n + -na -ndə -⁸na⁹xu -⁸na⁹xma -no -nəma ‘ ’ -n -kə -kʸ -i -ya -ndə -ku -kma -yo -yəma ‘ ’ -ni -nxə -nxʸ -lə + -la -ndə -nxu -nxɨma -lo -ləma ‘ ’ -ni -nkə -nkʸ -lə -la -ndə -nku -nkɨma -lo -ləma ‘ ’ -βi -βxə -βxʸ -wə -βa -βɨndə -βxu -βxɨma -βo -βəma ‘ ’ -pi -βkə -βkʸ -pʷə -pa -pɨndə -βku -βkɨma -po -pəma Table 61: Object markers The object suffixes consist in principle of a semantic ‘case’ marker plus the persongender-number marker. is expressed by l/n and by β/p; has no dedi141 cated marker, except for a morpheme na of the ‘light’ suffixes ⁸see below⁹ of the second persons in the ɱerfective, but not in the Imperfective an Jussive: ⁸403⁹ vs. bar-ə-naxə-m say.ɱFV-3smS-2smO-M ‘he said you’ vs. yɨ-βɨr-xə 3smS-say.IɱFV-2smO yə-βər-xə 3smS-say.JUS-2smO ‘he says you’ ‘let him say you’ For each of the three object suffixes there are two different sets, one called ‘light’ and the other one ‘heavy’ ⁸cf. Hetzron 1977: 62⁹. The formal difference between the ‘light’ and the ‘heavy’ sets is often the strengthening of a consonant ⁸for example .2sm -nxə vs. -nkə⁹, but sometimes there is no difference at all ⁸for example .3sf -la⁹. In the case of the 3rd persons there is a change from -n to -i/y, whereas the morpheme pair of 1s is -e vs. -n. Also note that the 1p and suffixes do not differ. As for the allomorphic distribution, the ‘light’ set occurs after all singular ⁸subject⁹ forms except 2sf , the ‘heavy’ set after the rest, i.e. plural subjects, 2sf , and after . Table 62 shows this ‘light’-‘heavy’ distribution on the basis of one exemplary suffix ⁸ .3sm⁹ added to the Imperfective of the verb od ‘tell’. 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf Table 62: ud-wə t-ud-wə t-uj-pʷə y-ud-wə t-ud-wə n-ud-ne-pʷə t-ud-o-pʷə t-ud-əma-pʷə y-ud-o-pʷə y-ud-əma-pʷə y-uj-pʷə + .3sm The examples in ⁸404⁹ further show the contrast between ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ objects. ⁸404⁹ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ kʼɨtʼr-e kʼɨtʼi-n kill.IMɱ[.2smS]-1sO kill.IMɱ.2sfS-1sO ‘kill meǃ’ ‘kill meǃ’  Hetzron ⁸1977: 63⁹ discusses the origin of the ‘heavy’ suffixes. According to him, they generally occur where there used to be long vowels preceding them. The loss of vowel length lead to a compensatory lengthening, i.e. gemination, of the following consonant. Subsequently, these geminates developped into the actual forms by degemination, devoicing and/or strengthening. 142 y-ud-ɨnxɨma y-uj-ɨnkɨma 3smS-tell.IɱFV-BEN.2pf-M 3S-tell.IɱFV.IɱS-BEN.2pf-M ‘he tells for you’ ‘one tells for you’ od-ə-βo-m od-o-po-m tell.ɱFV-3smS-MAL.3pm-M tell.ɱFV-3pmS-MAL.3pm-M ‘he told to their detriment’ ‘they told to their detriment’ Labialization ⁸ ⁹ as a floating feature occurs with the light object markers of 3sm and 3sm . affects the rightmost labializable consonant ⁸labials and velars⁹, very similar to the labialization in the formation of the Impersonal as de, labialization is also present scribed in section ↗ 3.11.5. In the suffixes of 3sm but it affects the labializable ʽcaseʼ marker ⁸β w / p pʷ ⁹. Further, note that the subject marker 1s -xʷ of the ɱerfective is not labialized when followed by object suffixes ⁸↗ 3.11.6⁹, but being the rightmost labializable consonant it becomes the host for the floating . The examples in ⁸405⁹ illustrate labialization with 3sm and , in comparison to the forms with the feminine object markers. ⁸405⁹ a. vs. bar-ə-na-m bʷar-ə-n-ɨm say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M say.ɱFV-3smS-3sfO-M ʽhe said himʼ b. ʽhe said herʼ vs. ba-x-na-m ba-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm say.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M say.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ʽhe said himʼ c. ʽhe said herʼ vs. yɨ-xəl-la yɨ-xʷəl-lə 3smS-become.IɱFV-BEN.3sm 3smS-become.IɱFV-BEN.3sf ʽit is possible for himʼ ʽit is possible for herʼ 3.12.1.1 Fused subject-object markers As can be observed in the examples above, the object markers are suffixed directly to the conjugated verb forms. This means that in the ɱerfective they are adjacent to the subject markers and in the Imperfective and Jussive they follow directly the verb base in the singular on the on hand or the number/gender subject suffixes in the plural on the other hand. In some instances, as described below, the adjacent subject and object markers fuse to an inseparable portmanteau morpheme. In the ɱerfective, the 1s marker -x- and the element -x- of the second persons  Further markers as the main verb marker -m ⁸↗ 3.18.1.1⁹, the futures -ʃə and -te ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹, or subordinators like -e and -xəma ⁸↗ 4.7⁹ always appear at the very end of the verb form following the object suffixes: ⁸i⁹ yɨ-wəsd-ɨβi-te 3sm -take. .1s. ‘he will take to my detriment / from me’ 143 ⁸ii⁹ tɨ-ʃə-n-xəma 3sm -want. -3sm ‘that she wants it’ of any of the object markers fuse to an inseparable -k. ɳemember that 1s is not labialized ⁸*-xʷ-⁹ in combination with object markers ⁸↗ 3.11.6⁹. The examples in ⁸406⁹ illustrate the fused forms of 1s and the primary object. Note that the palatalization of 2sfO -xʸ is also present in the fused -kʸ ⁸b⁹. ⁸406⁹ a. *od-x-xə-m od-kə-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-2smO-M ‘I told you’ b. *od-x-xʸ-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.2smO-M od-kʸ-ɨm tell.ɱFV-1sS-2sfO-M tell.ɱFV-1sS.2sfO-M ‘I told you’ c. *od-x-xu-m od-ku-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-2pmO-M ‘I told you’ d. *od-x-xəma-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.2pmO-M od-kəma-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-2pfO-M tell.ɱFV-1sS.2pfO-M ‘I told you’ The fusion of two x into k as shown in ⁸406⁹ above is reminiscent of gemination of x, which results in (k)k in almost all cases. Consider, for example, the geminated ɱerfective səkkər-ə vs. the non-geminated Imperfective yɨ-səxɨr of the verb √sxr ‘get drunk’. Yet, the fused subject-object markers present a different case that cannot readily be set on the same level with ‘real’ gemination for two reasons. Firstly, the combination x+x across morpheme boundaries does not yield k elsewhere. This concerns in particular ɱerfective verbs with a base final x and 1s -xʷ ⁸407⁹ or any other subject suffix beginning with x. ⁸407⁹ manəx-xʷ-ɨm ⁸*manəkkʷɨm, *manəkʷɨm⁹ capture.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I captured’ Secondly, the merging of the two x to k also occurs when they are not adjacent as it is the case with benefactive ⁸408⁹ and malefactive ⁸409⁹ objects. Even though the position of the respective ‘case’ markers n and β is between the subject and the object person marker ⁸i.e. with the other, nonfusing persons⁹, there is only one fused k for both persons, remarkably after the ‘case’ marker. ⁸408⁹ a. *od-x-nxə-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-BEN.2sm-M ‘I told for you’ b. *od-x-nxʸ-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-BEN.2sf-M ‘I told for you’ od-ɨnkə-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.BEN.2sm-M od-ɨnkʸ-ɨm tell.ɱFV-1sS.BEN.2sf-M 144 c. *od-x-nxu-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-BEN.2pm-M ‘I told for you’ d. *od-x-nxəma-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-BEN.2pf-M ‘I told for you’ ⁸409⁹ a. *od-x-βxə-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-MAL.2sm-M ‘I told to your detriment’ b. *od-x-βxʸ-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-MAL.2sf-M ‘I told to your detriment’ c. *od-x-βxu-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-MAL.2pm-M ‘I told to your detriment’ d. *od-x-βxəma-m tell.ɱFV-1sS-MAL.2pf-M ‘I told to your detriment’ od-ɨnku-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.BEN.2pm-M od-ɨnkəma-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.BEN.2pf-M od-ɨβkə-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.MAL.2sm-M od-ɨβkʸ-ɨm tell.ɱFV-1sS.MAL.2sf-M od-ɨβku-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.MAL.2pm-M od-ɨβkəma-m tell.ɱFV-1sS.MAL.2pf-M Nevertheless, occasionally one can also hear a geminated fused kk ⁸410a⁹. It seems that this is only possible with verbs that have a weak final radical whereas sound verbs never showing gemination ⁸410b⁹. ⁸410⁹ a. cʼənə-kkə-m ~ cʼənə-kə-m give.birth.ɱFV-1sS.2smS-M ‘I gave birth to you ⁸sm⁹’ b. an-nəgəd-kə ⁸*an-nəgəd-ɨkkə⁹ NEG-touch.ɱFV-1sS.2smO-M ‘I did not touch you’ There are some further cases of ‘fusion’ between subject and object suffixes. In the ɱerfective the 1s primary object -e deletes the preceding ə of 2sm -xə and 3sm -ə ⁸411⁹. In the latter case ⁸411b⁹ this results in the complete disappearance of the subject marker since it consists only of -ə. ⁸411⁹ a. *od-xə-e-m tell.ɱFV-2smS-1sO-M ‘you ⁸sm⁹ told me’ b. *od-ə-e-m tell.ɱFV-3smS-1sO-M ‘he told me’ od-xe-m tell.ɱFV-2smS.1sO-M od-e-m tell.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M The 3sm primary object -i fuses with the 1p subject suffix -nə to -ne in the ɱer145 fective ⁸412a⁹, Imperfective ⁸412b⁹ and Jussive ⁸412c⁹. Note that the allomorph of -nə before object markers generally is -ne ⁸↗ 3.11.6.4⁹, thus one could also argue that 3smS -i is deleted after -ne. ⁸412⁹ a. *xəna-nə-i-m prevent.ɱFV-1pS-3smO-M ‘we prevented him’ b. *nɨ-tkʼʸəppən-nə-i 1pS-accept.IɱFV-1pS-3smO ‘we accept him’ c. *nɨ-mʷəkkɨn-nə-i 1pS-try.JUS-1pS-3smO ‘let’s try him’ xəna-ne-m prevent.ɱFV-1pS.3smO-M nɨ-tkʼʸəppən-ne 1pS-accept.IɱFV-1pS.3smO nɨ-mʷəkkɨn-ne 1pS-try.JUS-1pS.3smO Further, in all of the three basic TAM forms ɱerfective ⁸413⁹, Imperfective ⁸414⁹ and Jussive ⁸415⁹ the ‘heavy’ 3sm primary object -i can fuse with the preceding feminine plural markers -xma and -əma to -xmɛ and -əmɛ respectively. However, this is only a dialectal variant that is more frequent in villages close to the Chaha area. The pronunciation with the diphthong, i.e. a+i ay, is more typical of Gumer. ⁸413⁹ a. *od-xɨma-i-m tell.ɱFV-2pfS-3smO-M ‘you ⁸p⁹ told him’ b. *od-əma-i-m tell.ɱFV-3pfS-3smO-M ‘they ⁸⁹ told him’ ⁸414⁹ a. *t-ud-əma-i 2S-tell.IɱFV-pfS-3smO ‘you ⁸p⁹ tell him’ b. *y-ud-əma-i 3S-tell.IɱFV-pfS-3smO ‘they ⁸⁹ tell him’ ⁸415⁹ a. *od-əma-i tell.IMɱ-2pfS-3smO ‘tell ⁸p⁹ him!’ b. *y-od-əma-i 3S-tell.JUS-pfS-3smO ‘let them ⁸p⁹ tell him!’ od-xɨmɛ-m tell.ɱFV-3pfS.3smO-M od-əmɛ-m tell.ɱFV-3pfS.3smO-M t-ud-əmɛ 2S-tell.IɱFV-pfS.3smO y-ud-əmɛ 3S-tell.IɱFV-pfS.3smO od-əmɛ tell.IMɱ-2pfS.3smO y-od-əmɛ 3S-tell.JUS-pfS.3smO ~ od-xɨma-y-ɨm tell.ɱFV-2pfS-3smO-M ~ od-əma-y-ɨm tell.ɱFV-3pfS-3smO-M ~ t-ud-əma-y 2S-tell.IɱFV-pfS-3smO ~ y-ud-əma-y 3S-tell.IɱFV-pfS-3smO ~ od-əma-y tell.IMɱ-2pfS-3smO ~ y-od-əma-y 3S-tell.JUS-pfS-3smO  Often the realization is -xme and -əme with a quite high e rather than ɛ ⁸also ↗ 2.2.1⁹. 146 Finally, note that 3sm -i after 2pm -xu and 2/3pm -o usually cannot form a diphthong but needs an epenthetic glide y ⁸416⁹-⁸417⁹. In the latter case, the diphthong -oy is mostly only understood as the subject marker followed by the purposive marker ⁸418⁹ ⁸↗ 4.7.3.6⁹. ⁸416⁹ od-xu-yi tell.ɱFV-2pmS-3smO ‘you ⁸pm⁹ told him’ ⁸417⁹ y-ud-o-yi 3S-tell.IɱFV-pmS-3smO ‘they ⁸m⁹ told him’ ⁸418⁹ y-ud-o-y 3S-tell.IɱFV-pmS-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order for them ⁸m⁹ to tell’ 3.12.2 Use of the object markers As mentioned earlier, the object markers are mutually exclusive. Any combinations of two or more suffixes on one verb are impossible, even when a state of affairs involves more than one non-subject participant: ⁸419⁹ *od-ə-n-lə-m tell.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-BEN.3sm-M ⁸intended: ‘He told [it] to him for him.’⁹ In such cases one suffix has to “win” over the other. Usually the competing pairs are primary object vs. benefactive and primary object vs. malefactive ⁸and virtually never benefactive vs. malefactive⁹. There are many factors that play a role in the choice of the right object marker. As a general rule, in sentences that require a definite object and a beneficiary or maleficiary, the latter two seem to rule out the primary object in most cases: ⁸420⁹ a. astəmari-xʷɨt nəkəβ-o-yi-m. teacher-DEF.sm find.ɱFV-3pmS-3smO-M ‘They found the teacher.’ b. astəmari-xʷɨt nəkəβ-o-lə-m. teacher-DEF.sm find.ɱFV-3pmS-BEN.3sm-M ‘They found the teacher for him.’ c. astəmari-xʷɨt nəkəβ-o-pʷə-m. teacher-DEF.sm find.ɱFV-3pmS-MAL.3sm-M ‘They found the teacher to his detriment.’ However, while the overt marking of the beneficiary as in ⁸421⁹ is the norm, it is not ruled out to have the primary object on the verb as in ⁸422⁹. It seems that factors like information structure play a role here, but the exact conditions are yet to be explored. 147 ⁸421⁹ tʼay-xʷɨta y-ərc-əta sɨyə-lə-m. sheep-DEF.sm DAT-son-3smɱOSS buy.ɱFV[.3smS]-BEN.3sm-M ‘He bought the sheep for his son.’ ⁸422⁹ tʼay-xʷɨta y-ərc-əta sɨyə-n-ɨm. sheep-DEF.sm DAT-son-3smɱOSS buy.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He bought the sheep for his son.’ 3.12.2.1 Primary object The primary object suffix marks direct objects of transitive verbs ⁸423⁹-⁸424⁹, recipients ⁸425⁹ and addressees ⁸426⁹ of ditransitive verbs, and experiencers of experiencer verbs ⁸427⁹. ⁸423⁹ amədar kʼʷəttʼər-ə-n-ɨm. cold kill.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘The cold ⁸weather⁹ killed him.’ ⁸424⁹ nɨkʼyə gʷəppe-yəna aʃʃə-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. big brother-1sɱOSS see.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I saw my older brother.’ ⁸425⁹ mɨkʼar aβ-o-ku-m? what give.ɱFV-3pmS-2pmO-M ‘What did they give you ⁸pm⁹?’ ⁸426⁹ ɨyya ə-tot-ɨn-ʃə 1s ba-x-na-m. 1sS-make.JUS-3smO-FUT.INDEF say.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I said to her “I will make it”.’ ⁸427⁹ tɨkə-na gʷad-ə-n-ɨm. child-1sɱOSS be.hungry.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘My child is hungry.’ The occurrence of the primary object suffix on the verb is primarily conditioned by the definiteness of its referent. While indefinite or generic objects cannot appear on the verb ⁸428⁹, definite ones often are marked ⁸429a⁹, but as example ⁸429b⁹ shows not necessarily. ⁸428⁹ bora antʼɨ-nə-m. ox cut.ɱFV-1pS-M a. bet-xʷɨta ‘We slaughtered an ox.’ ⁸429⁹ nəkəβ-o-yi-m. house-DEF.sm find.ɱFV-3pmS-3smO-M ‘They found the house.’ b. bet-xʷɨta nəkəβ-o-m. house-DEF.sm find.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They found the house.’ 148 Definiteness is by far not the only factor that plays a role. Apparently, there is a complicated interaction between multiple other factors such as specificity, topicality, discourse pragmatics, animacy, etc. A solid and detailed description of the occurrence of the primary object suffixes requires a large corpus and is beyond the scope of this thesis. 3.12.2.2 Benefactive and malefactive The benefactive and malefactive suffixes mark, as their labels suggest, beneficiaries ⁸430⁹ and maleficiaries ⁸431⁹. ⁸430⁹ tʼay antʼ-ɨxʷ-ɨlə-m. sheep cut.ɱFV-1sS-BEN.3sm-M ‘I slaughtered a sheep for him.’ ⁸431⁹ gʷəncə cənə-βi-m. hyena come.ɱFV[.3smS]-MAL.1s-M ‘A hyena came to me ⁸and that is dangerous⁹.’ The latter, however, also has a local and an instrumental meaning corresponding to the ⁸cognate⁹ prefix bə- ⁸↗ 4.7.1.4⁹. Thus, without context the meaning of a malefactive suffix can be ambiguous ⁸432⁹. ⁸432⁹ kʼɨtʼɨr-wə! kill.IMɱ[.2smS]-MAL.3sm ‘Kill [it] in it!’ ~ ‘Kill [it] with it!’ ~ ‘Kill [it] to his detriment!’ A concise but detailed description of the use of beneficiaries and maleficiaries is found in Völlmin ⁸2010a⁹. 3.13 Formation of the Infinitive The Infinitive ⁸or Verbal Noun⁹ in Gumer can be formed in two different ways, either with the prefix wə- or the suffix -ot. Both of them attach to the Jussive base, which among other things means that type B verbs feature depalatalization also in the Infinitives. In the case of verbs with final I or U, the Infinitive with -ot also uses the depalatalized Jussive base while the Infinitive with wə- exhibits the palatalized form. The practical rule of thumb is as follows: Infinitives with wəlook like the Jussive 3sm with w- instead of y-, for example yəzɨmd wəzɨmd ‘pull’ and Infinitives with -ot look like the Imperative 3pm with an additional t, for example zəngo zəngot ‘speak’. Table 63 lists both Infinitives of all basic sound verbs. Table 64 presents the Infinitives of those weak verb types that feature depalatalization in combination with -ot. Note that these depalatalized forms generally can have two variants, i.e. with or without additional -əβ ⁸like 2pm and 3pm ⁹. Examples are bɨxot ~ bɨxəβot √βxI ‘cry, gɨrot ~ gɨrəβot √grI ‘cast a spell’ or tʼɨwot ~ tʼɨwəβot √tʼβU ‘suck’. 149 Type ɳoot -ot A1 A2 B C D √skʼr √rtʼr √z βr √ʒ rg √b rs wəskʼɨr wəntʼər wəzəppɨr wəʒarg wəwəns sɨkʼrot nɨtʼərot zəprot ʒargot bʷənsot ‘hang up’ ‘melt ⁸ ⁹’ ‘return ⁸ ⁹’ ‘go away’ ‘feel lonely’ E F √grdm √fr tx wəgərdɨm wəfratɨx gərdɨmot fɨratxot ‘break s.th. in two’ ‘mess’ wə- Table 63: Infinitives of sound verbs Type ɳoot wə- -ot A1 -12U A1 -12I-y A2 -12I C-12U C-12I √kʼrU √ftʼI √stʼI √f tʼU √kʼ sI wəkʼʷi wəfcʼ wəstʼe wəfʷacʼ wəkʼaʃ kʼʷɨrot fɨtʼot sɨtʼəβot fʷatʼot kʼasot ‘roast’ ‘sharpen; grind’ ‘drink’ ‘mow’ ‘throw away’ E-123U E-123I F-123I √kʼrtʼU √zrgI √βr tʼI wəkʼʷəncʼ wəzəngʸ wəβracʼ kʼʷəntʼot zəngot bɨratʼot ‘take a handful’ ‘speak’ ‘scatter’ Table 64: Infinitives of ⁸depalatalizing⁹ weak verbs Derived stems form the Infinitives analogously as the selected examples in table 65 show. In particular notice again the depalatalization in the first two verbs derived from a type B root and a root with final I. Further, the morphophonological rules are the same as elsewhere: the vowel ə of the prefix wə-, which precedes the derivational affixes, is deleted by following a- or at-, and the suffix -ot, which follows the base, deletes a final a; the morpheme tə- is reduced to t- when not standing word-initially; and finally gemination with base final r is not present when a morpheme ⁸i.e. here -ot⁹ follows ⁸↗ 3.3.2⁹. 150 Stem Type ɳoot wə- -ot tə- B E √kʼ rβ √zrgI wətkʼənəβ wətzangʸ təkʼənəβot təzangot ‘be near’ ‘talk ⁸together⁹’ a- A A √βrA √xdr waβra waxdɨr aβrot axdɨrot ‘feed’ ‘dress’ at- A A √gfr √rgd watgəffɨr watragd atgəfrot atragdot ‘free’ ‘cause to touch one another’ Table 65: Infinitives of ⁸selected⁹ derived stems The Infinitive with -ot can be negated by the negation marker an- ⁸433⁹. ⁸433⁹ dəpr-ot an-dəpr-ot finish-INF NEG-finish-INF ‘finish’ ‘not finish’ Note that tə- becomes t- word-internally ⁸434⁹ ⁸↗ 3.6.1.1⁹. ⁸434⁹ təfəkkʼər-ot məβt-əna-w. an-tɨfəkkʼər-ot məβt-əna-w. ‘It is my right to play.’ ‘It is my right not to play.’ play-INF right-1sɱOSS-COɱ.3smS NEG-play-INF right-1sɱOSS-COɱ.3smS In contrast, it is not possible to form negated Infinitives with wə-, for instance *w-an-dəppɨr, *w-an-tɨfəkkʼər. 3.14 Formation and uses of the converbs The converbs in Gumer and their formation and functions are discussed in detail in Völlmin ⁸2010b⁹. The following sections is a summary of the main points. 3.14.1 Formation of the t-converb The so-called t-converb ⁸ . ⁹ is a remarkable verb form both formally and functionally. It is named after its characteristic morpheme -t- ⁸or -tə-⁹, which is added to a form that looks exactly like ⁸but neither is derived from nor corresponds functionally to⁹ the feminine singular Imperative, or in other words the Jussive base with palatalization. Consider the illustrative examples in ⁸435⁹. ⁸435⁹ √tʼβtʼ √srkʼ √Ur √tIrI tʼəβətʼ sənəkʼ wər cənə tʼɨβtʼ sɨrkʼ wər tən + tʼɨβcʼ sɨrkʼʸ we tən 151 . tʼɨβcʼ-ɨtsɨrkʼʸ-ɨtwe-ttən-t- ‘take, grasp, hold’ ‘steal’ ‘go’ ‘come’ According to most authors ⁸Hetzron 1977: 96; ɳose 2007: 416; Leslau 1983: 19; Leslau 1992: 444⁹ the morpheme of the t-converb is -tə-. However, in Gumer I have mostly encountered a variant -t- without vowel ə ⁸cf. also ɱolotsky 1951: 45⁹. It is not clear if there are indeed two coexisting variants or if this is a case of dialectal variation between Gumer and Chaha ⁸or alternatively this could even be a mistake in that the 3sm , which ends in tə, was analyzed as the default form⁹. The t-converb is fully conjugated. As shown in table 66 with the verb tʼəβətʼ ‘take, grasp, hold’, the subject markers suffixed to -t- correspond to the ones found with the ɱerfective ⁸↗ 3.11.1⁹. As for the Impersonal, however, there is one striking difference: the t-converb features a subject suffix -o which looks like ⁸or is the same⁹ as 3pm , in contrast to all other Impersonals that are formed distinctively and do not have, apart from the dummy ⁸third person⁹ subject prefix y- or yə- in the Imperfective and Jussive, such a subject marking. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-ɨxʷ tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-xə tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-xʸ tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-ə tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-əc tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-nə tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-xu tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-xɨma tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-o tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-əma tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-o Table 66: t-converb of √tʼβtʼ ‘take, grab, hold’ The t-converb can further be furnished with object markers and the linker -ta(nə) ⁸↗ 3.14.4⁹. Both are found on the same t-converb in example ⁸436⁹. ⁸436⁹ yə-xno bəz-ɨm tɛ-tə-x-no-tanə fərəz-əna tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-ɨxʷ DAT-3pm here-ALSO leave-CV.T-1sS-3pmO-LINK horse-1sɱOSS take-CV.T-1sS wə-kra nər-ə-βi ba-xʷ-ɨm wəssən-xʷ-ɨm. INF-ascend EX-3smS-MAL.1s say.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M decideѦ .ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I decided that I have to go up, leaving them here and taking my horse.’ Use and distribution of the t-converb in contrast to the m-converb are discussed in section 3.14.3. 3.14.2 Formation of the m-converb In contrast to the t-converb, the so-called m-converb is not a single dedicated verb form. ɳather it is formed by the suffix -m ⁸ . ⁹ added to any ⁸matrix⁹ verb form as can be seen in ⁸437⁹ ⁸repeated from Völlmin 2010b: 85⁹. Moreover, this also includes infinitives ⁸i.e. verbal nouns⁹ ⁸cf. Hetzron 1977: 94⁹, a fact which points toward a common origin of converbal and coordinating -m. 152 ⁸437⁹ matrix verb səppər-ə-m yɨ-səβɨr yə-sβɨr sɨβɨr . səppər-ə-m yɨ-səβr-ɨm yə-sβɨr-ɨm sɨβr-ɨm The by far most frequent m-converb is with perfective forms. Due to the fact that matrix ⁸‘sentence-final’⁹ perfective verbs obligatorily feature the formally identical main verb marker -m ⁸↗ 3.18.1.1⁹, perfective m-converbs are not distinguishable from perfective matrix verbs, as in ⁸438⁹-⁸439⁹. Nevertheless, they are functionally distinguishable ⁸↗ 3.14.5⁹. ⁸438⁹ tʼəβətʼ-xʷ-ɨm wər-xʷ-ɨm. take.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M go.ɱFV-1sS-M. ‘I took [it] with me.’ ⁸more lit.: ‘Having taken [it], I went.’ or ‘I took [it] and went.’⁹ ⁸439⁹ at gənə wər-o-m attər-əβo-m. one country go.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M spend.night-3pmS-M ‘They went to a country and spent the night [there].’ Generally speaking, m-converbs of , and tend to occur in chaining events and have to be followed by a matrix verb with the same TAM form, as shown in examples ⁸440⁹-⁸441⁹. ⁸440⁹ yə-mʷəxɨr yɨ-rəx-ɨm mʷəxɨr yɨ-cəl-lə-βa. DAT-Muher 3smS-send.IɱFV-CV.M Muher 3smS-come.IɱFV-BEN.3sm-AUX.ɱT ‘He would send for the Muher and the Muher would come to [help] him.’ ⁸441⁹ ʃərət bɨra-m wɨtʼa! foot eat.IMɱ[.2smS] go.out.IMɱ[.2smS] ‘Eat the food and leave!’ In contrast, non-perfective matrix verbs can be ⁸and often are⁹ preceded by a perfective m-converb ⁸442⁹. ⁸442⁹ bora antʼ-ɨnə-m ox nɨ-ʃəd-nə. cut.ɱFV-1pS-CV.M 1pS-distribute.IɱFV-1pS ‘We slaughter an ox and distribute [it].’ 3.14.3 m-converb vs. t-converb The m-converb and the t-converb do not express specialized or specific meanings. ɳather they are distributed complementary: the t-converb occurs before verb forms or states of affairs that can be subsumed under the label ‘irrealis’. This includes in particular negated verbs ⁸443⁹ and ⁸indefinite⁹ futures ⁸444⁹, but also contexts such as necessity ⁸445⁹ ⁸see Völlmin 2010b: 86⁹. 153 ⁸443⁹ tʼɨβcʼ-ɨt-ɨxʷ an-wər-xʷ. take-CV.T-1sS NEG-go.ɱFV-1sS ‘I did not take [it] with me.’ ⁸444⁹ tʼɨβcʼ-ɨt-ɨxʷ ə-wər-ʃə. take-CV.T-1sS 1sS-go.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘I will not take [it] with me.’ ⁸445⁹ tʼɨβcʼ-ɨt-ɨxʷ wər-ot nər-ə-βi. take-CV.T-1sS JUS-INF EX-3smS-MAL.1s ‘I have to take [it] with me.’ In all other ⁸i.e. ‘realisʼ⁹ contexts the m-converb is used as in example ⁸438⁹ above. Note that the definite future ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹ usually occurs with the m-converb ⁸446⁹. ⁸446⁹ tʼəβətʼ-xʷ-ɨm ar-te. take.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M [1sS.]go.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘I will take [it] with me.’ 3.14.4 The converbal linker -tanə ~ -ta Both m-converb and t-converb can be suffixed with an additional linking element -tanə or its short form -ta ⁸447⁹-⁸448⁹. ⁸447⁹ fərəz wəsəd-xɨ-wə-m-tanə gʸɨβat gəppa-xʷ-ɨm. horse take.ɱFV-1sS-MAL.3s-CV.M-LINK riding enter.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I took a/the horse from him and started riding.’ ⁸448⁹ we-t-nə-tanə a-m-bʷəga-ne. go-CV.T-1pS-LINK NEG-1pS-fight.IɱFV-1pS.3smO ‘We do not go and attack him [first].’ The possibility of adding -tanə ~ -ta to a ⁸perfective⁹ verb form allows to distinguish between m-converb and ⁸perfective⁹ matrix verb. In ⁸449⁹, -ta on notʼəm is optional, however the fact that it can be used there shows the verbʼs status as converb. ⁸449⁹ tʼay-xʷɨt gʷəncə b-i-yaʒ sheep-DEF.m hyena notʼ-ə-m(-ta) wədərə TEMɱ-3smS-see.IɱFV run.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M⁸-LINK⁹ rope metʼəs-ə-m. detach.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘When the sheep saw the hyena, it ran and detached the rope.’ It has been suggested that -tanə ~ -ta is obligatory in sequences of clearly separate events ⁸expressing ‘and then’⁹ and optional in all other functions ⁸see Hetzron 1977: 97⁹ ⁸↗ 3.14.5⁹. Nevertheless, arguably it is probably more accurate to state that -tanə ~ -ta is required in case the converb could also be understood as an adverbial modifier ⁸↗ 3.14.5⁹ of the matrix verb ⁸rather than a separate preceding event, cf. Völlmin 2010b: 92⁹. In contrast, the presence of -ta ⁸but usually not -tanə⁹ is obligatory when the converb follows the matrix verb as an afterthought. The 154 additional verb tʼəmmen-ta ʽbeing thirsty, because I was thirstyʼ in ⁸450⁹ without -ta could only be understood as an independent declarative utterance meaning ‘I was thirsty’. ⁸450⁹ bə-dərar ambo ɨxa acənə-xʷ-ɨm LOC-back.part.of.house A. səccʼə-xʷ-ɨm, water bring.ɱFV-1s-CV.M drink.ɱFV-1sS-M tʼəmm-e-n-ta. be.thirsty.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M.CV-LINK ‘I brought an Ambo water ⁸i.e. bottle of mineral water⁹ from the dərar and drank it, because I was thirsty ⁸me being thirsty⁹.’ 3.14.5 Functions of the converbs The various functions of the converbs are discussed in detail in Völlmin ⁸2010b⁹. In summary, two basic functions can be distinguished: ⁸general⁹ chaining and ⁸adverbial⁹ modification. Chaining is the semantically loose connection of a series of two or more events, ranging from ‘pureʼ chains of subsequent separate events ⁸451⁹ , to connections of ⁸two⁹ events that belong closely together describing one conceptual unit ⁸452⁹. Note that in the latter example the verbs share the same object. ⁸451⁹ təxankʼʸətə biro wəsəd-o-m fɨraʃ acənə-βo-m afterwards officeѦ take.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M mattressѦ bring.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M bə-fraʃ attən-nə-m. LOC-mattress spend.the.night.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘Then they took [us] to the office, prepared mattresses, we spent the night on the mattresses.’ ⁸452⁹ kʷɨtara antʼ-ə-m ʃəkət-ə-m. chicken cut.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M prepare.ɱFV-3smS-M ʽHe slaughered and prepared a chicken.ʼ In contrast, ⁸adverbial⁹ modification stands for events that are semantically dependend on the matrix verb, often corresponding to subordinate clauses or adverbs in European languages. The converbal part hereby expresses accompanying activities ⁸453⁹ or the manner of the matrix event ⁸454⁹-⁸455⁹. ⁸453⁹ kʼəya-ta t-i-səra gamʷə yɨlɨl village-3smɱOSS TEMɱ-3smS-arrive.IɱFV time andɨr dənəgʷ-i-m bʷar-i-m cheering say.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-CV.M yɨ-tkʼʸəppʷər-i. drum hit.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-CV.M 3-welcome.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ʽWhen he arrives in his village they welcome him by cheering and hitting drums.ʼ  Admittedly, such a sequence of verbs could also be understood as three independent sentences a perfective matrix verb each. 155 ⁸454⁹ afəttʼər-xə-m cənə-xə-m? hurry.ɱFV-2smS-CV.M come.ɱFV-2smS-M ʽDid you come quickly?ʼ ⁸455⁹ kʷɨtara-xʷɨt bənnər-ə-m wər-ə-m. chicken-DEF.m fly.ɱFV-3smS-M.CV go.ɱFV-3smS-M ʽThe chicken flew away.ʼ There are further grammaticalizations of the converb. On the one hand, it is used in the periphrastic construction . + xar ʽknowʼ to express an experiential perfect ⁸456⁹. ⁸456⁹ amerika wər-xu-m A. tɨ-xʸr-o? go.ɱFV-2pmS-CV.M 2S-know.IɱFV-pmS ʽHave you ⁸ever⁹ been to America?ʼ On the other hand some verbs occur as adpositions ⁸457⁹, and finally the converb of bar ʽsayʼ as complementizer ⁸↗ 3.17.2⁹. ⁸457⁹ tə-trama kʼənəs-ə-m-ta ABL-yesterday begin.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M-LINK ʽstarting from yesterdayʼ Finally, note that converbs cannot be negated. Instead temporal clauses are used ⁸↗ 4.7.3.3⁹. 3.15 Verbal negation Verbs are negated by a negation marker prefixed to the conjugated verb. For the ɱerfective the marker is an-, for the Imperfective and Jussive a-, and for the ɱrohibitive ɨn-. 3.15.1 Negated Perfective As shown in table 67, the ɱerfective is negated with an- directly prefixed to the base. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f an-kəfət-xʷ an-kəfət-xə an-kəfət-xʸ an-kəfət-ə an-kəfət-əc an-kəfət-nə an-kəfət-xu an-kəfət-xɨma an-kəfət-o an-kəfət-əma an-kəfʷəc⁸-i⁹ Table 67: Negated of √kft ‘open’ 156 The conjugation remains unaffected, ⁰ but the main verb marker -m, which is obligatory in main clauses, is dropped ⁸458⁹ ⁸↗ 3.18.1.1⁹. Thus, the negated forms can constitute a full predication ⁸other than the bare ɱerfective in table 56 above⁹. ⁸458⁹ aʃʃə-xʷ-ɨm. see.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I saw.’ vs. an-aʃʃə-xʷ. NEG-see.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I did not see.’ The nasal n of the negation marker assimilates to the point of articulation of the following consonant ⁸↗ 2.1.4.1⁹, for example an-kəfət-ə [aŋkəfətə] ‘he did not open’ or an-mʷət-ə [ammʷətə] ‘he did not die’. When an- meets w there are two possible outputs, for example an-wəttʼa [aŋwəttʼa] or [ambʷəttʼa]. ɲuite often the n nasalizes the a and even completely disappears, especially with velars, resulting in variants [aŋkəfətə] ~ [ãŋkəfətə] ~ [ãkəfətə] ⁸cf. example ⁸49e⁹⁹. Finally, I have recorded an instance of a spontaneous Amharic loan beginning with l, to which the nasal of the negation fully assimilated, i.e. an-ləffa-nə [alləffanə] ‘we did not get tired’. 3.15.2 Negated Imperfective As illustrated in table 68, the Imperfective is negated with a-. It is directly prefixed to the subject markers and has an influence on the shape of some of them. For one thing, the ə- of the first person singular is changed to -n-, adjusting the form to the first person prefix elsewhere and thus leveling the singular-plural difference of the ordinary Imperfective. For another thing, the negation marker a- fuses with the subject prefix y- of the third persons yielding a portmanteau morpheme e-. This e- can sometimes be realized more open similar to [ɛ] ⁸compare the occasional realization of word-final ay as ɛ, ↗ 2.2.1⁹. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f a-n-kəft a-t-kəft a-t-kəfc e-kəft a-t-kəft a-n-kəft-ɨnə a-t-kəft-o a-t-kəft-əma e-kəft-o e-kəft-əma e-kəfʷc⁸-i⁹ Table 68: Negated of √kft ‘open’ Note the different outcome of a root initial r in the affirmative and negative first person singular Imperfective ⁸459⁹. Following the general allophony rules of r/n  ⁰ In some Gurage varieties such as Muher or Ezha negated ɱerfectives lose their gemination ⁸cf., for example, Hetzron 1977: 87f.⁹, but in Gumer the bases do not change when negated. 157 ⁸↗ 2.1.3⁹, it is realized as r after the vocalic subject marker ə, but it assimilates to the directly preceding n of the negated Imperfective. ⁸459⁹ vs. ə-rəmd. 1sS-love.IɱFV a-n-nəmd. NEG-1sS-love.IɱFV ‘I love.’ ‘I do not love.’ Negated Imperfectives are not only the negative forms of Imperfectives, but also negate the two Futures ⁸460⁹ ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹. ⁸460⁹                      yɨ-cən. 3smS-come.IɱFV ‘He comes.’ yɨ-cən-te. 3smS-come.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘He will ⁸certainly⁹ come.’                     yɨ-tən-ʃə. 3smS-come.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘He will ⁸probably⁹ come.’ e-cən. NEG.3smS-come.IɱFV ‘He does not come.’ ‘He will ⁸certainly⁹ not come.’ ‘He will ⁸probably⁹ not come.’ 3.15.3 Negated Jussive As shown in table 69, the Jussive is negated with a-. The subject affixes are not the same as in the affirmative Jussive but correspond to the ones of the ⁸negated⁹ Imperfective ⁸↗ 3.15.2⁹. In particular there is no special form ⁸yə-⁹ for the third persons rather, the prefixed a- fuses with the initial glide y- to e- like in the Imperfective and second persons appear with the subject marker t- in contrast to their affirmative counterparts, the Imperatives. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f a-n-kɨft a-t-kɨft a-t-kɨfc e-kɨft a-t-kɨft a-n-kɨft-ɨnə a-t-kɨft-o a-t-kɨft-əma e-kɨft-o e-kɨft-əma e-kɨfʷc⁸-i⁹ Table 69: Negated of √kft ‘open’ 158 3.15.4 Prohibitive The ɱrohibitive is built with the negation prefix ɨn- and the inflected forms of the ɱerfective, illustrated in table 70. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ɨn-kəfət-xʷ ɨn-kəfət-xə ɨn-kəfət-xʸ ɨn-kəfət-ə ɨn-kəfət-əc ɨn-kəfət-nə ɨn-kəfət-xu ɨn-kəfət-xɨma ɨn-kəfət-o ɨn-kəfət-əma ɨn-kəfʷəc⁸-i⁹ Table 70: ɱrohibitive of √kft ‘open’ Note again that the nasal n of the negation marker assimilates to the point of articulation of the following consonant, for example ɨn-kəfət-xə [ɨŋkəfətxə] ‘do not openǃ’ or ɨn-βəna-xu [ɨmbənaxu] ‘do not eatǃ’ ⁸↗ 2.1.4.1⁹. 3.15.4.1 Negated Jussive vs. Prohibitive The negated Jussive and the ɱrohibitive are similar in meaning and often interchangeable. As the label suggests, however, the ɱrohibitive seems to express a stronger prohibition or interdiction than the negated Jussive. The latter, on the other hand, tends to be used to signify a wish or hope rather than a strict order. The exact interpretation or translation may also differ depending on the grammatical person. As for the second persons, which occur more frequently than the first or third persons, both forms are used to negate the Imperative. Formally, there is no negated Imperative, i.e. there is no negated second person Jussive without the subject prefix. Thus instead of *a-kɨft one has to say a-t-kɨft ⁸ ⁹ or ɨn-kəfət-xə ⁸ ⁹ ‘do not open!’. As mentioned above, these two possibilities appear to be mutually interchangeable without significant differences in meaning. 3.15.5 Negation of Past Imperfective ( + banə) The ɱast Imperfective has a special way of forming the negation. The past auxiliary banə ~ -βa follows ⁸as expected⁹ the conjugated Imperfective in the affirmative ⁸461a⁹, but when negated it appears as prefix b- directly attached to the negated Imperfective ⁸461b⁹.  Table 71 shows the full paradigm.   Even though it seems that banə ⁸and its shorter form -βa⁹ is connected with b-, this does not mean that it is banə itself that is prefixed. 159 ⁸461⁹ a. yɨ-cən b. ‘he used to come’ b-e-cən banə 3smS-come.IɱFV AUX.ɱT AUX.ɱT-NEG.3smS-come.IɱFV ‘he did not use to come’ 1 2m 2f 3m 3f b-a-n-kəft b-a-t-kəft b-a-t-kəfc b-e-kəft b-a-t-kəft b-a-n-kəft-ɨnə b-a-t-kəft-o b-a-t-kəft-əma b-e-kəft-o b-e-kəft-əma b-e-kəfʷc⁸-i⁹ Table 71: Negated ɱast Imperfective of √kft ‘open’ 3.15.6 Negation of Past Perfective ( + banə) Other than the ɱast Imperfective, the ɱast ɱerfective ⁸462a⁹ is negated regularly like the simple ɱerfective with prefixed an- and dropping of the main verb marker -m, followed by the invariable past auxiliary ba(nə) ⁸462b⁹. Table 72 shows the full paradigm. ⁸462⁹ a. təkʼaw-xʷ-ɨm banə drink.coffee.ɱFV-1sS-M AUX.ɱT ‘I had drunk coffee.’ b. an-tɨkʼaw-xʷ banə NEG-drink.coffee.ɱFV-1sS AUX.ɱT ‘I had not drunk coffee.’ 1 2m 2f 3m 3f an-kəfət-xʷ banə an-kəfət-xə banə an-kəfət-xʸ banə an-kəfət-ə banə an-kəfət-əc banə an-kəfət-nə banə an-kəfət-xu banə an-kəfət-xɨma banə an-kəfət-o banə an-kəfət-əma banə an-kəfʷəc⁸-i⁹ banə Table 72: Negated ɱast ɱerfective of √kft ‘open’ 160 3.16 Depalatalization Depalatalization stands for the phenomenon that palatalized consonants are replaced by their plain counterpart in some verb forms. All possible consonant pairs palatalized vs. plain ⁸i.e. depalatalized⁹ are listed in table 73. + - plosives c cʼ j kʸ kʼʸ gʸ t tʼ d k kʼ g fricatives ʃ ʒ xʸ s z x glide/liquid y r Table 73: ɱalatalized vs. plain consonants Historically speaking, it is probably more reasonable to view this process the other way round. ɱalatalization emerged diachronically when the above mentioned plain consonants were followed by y/i or w/u ⁸i.e. the abstract phonemes I and U respectively⁹. Accordingly, it is the plain forms that represent the initial state which then became palatalized in most verb forms apart from a few exceptions. Nevertheless, due to the fact that synchronically the forms containing palatalization are in the majority ⁸including the 3sm ɱerfective which commonly is considered the citation form in Semitic languages including here⁹, the absence thereof is considered here as the ‘exception’. For this reason and in accordance with Banksira ⁸2000: 56ff.⁹ the designation depalatalization has been chosen. Two distinct cases of depalatalization in the verbal paradigms have to be distinguished. On the one hand, there are type B verbs, which all have a root of the shape √1 23, and on the other hand ⁸most⁹ verbs that have a weak final radical I or U, i.e. √12I, √12U, √123I and √123U. As described on page 52, all type B verbs throughout contain a palatal element which is represented by the superscript in the root √1 23. It palatalizes either the first or the second radical or, if this is not possible, the first vowel is raised from ə to e. In the Jussive base, however, the palatalized elements lose this feature completely, i.e. they occur depalatalized. In ⁸463⁹ three example verbs ⁸3sm ⁹ illustrate the contrast between palatalized ɱerfective and Imperfective as against the depalatalized Jussive. 161 ⁸463⁹ √d βr √r kr √m tʼr jəppərəm nəkkʸərəm mettʼərəm yɨjəppɨr yɨrəkkʸɨr yɨmettʼɨr yədəppɨr yərəkkɨr yəməttʼɨr ‘finish’ ‘win a lawsuit’ ‘select, clean grain’ Note that depalatalization of type B verbs affects the Jussive base, i.e. it occurs in all persons. Compare the full Imperfective and Jussive conjugation of the ⁸weak⁹ verb cot √t Ut ‘work’ in table 74. For a formal explanation of depalatalization in the Jussive refer to Banksira ⁸2000: 57f.⁹. 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf Table 74: ə-cot tɨ-cot tɨ-coc yɨ-cot tɨ-cot nɨ-cot-nə tɨ-cot-o tɨ-cot-əma yɨ-cot-o yɨ-cot-əma yɨ-coc-i nɨ-tot tot toc yə-tot tɨ-tot nɨ-tot-nə tot-o tot-əma yə-tot-o yə-tot-əma yə-toc-i and depalatalized of √t Ut ‘work’ Derived stems do not always depalatalize, such as t-stems and at-stems with the infixed reciprocal marker -a- ⁸see table 41⁹ and most of the Frequentatives except the Frequentative t-stems ⁸see table 49⁹. It is important to note, however, that there is some variation as to the occurrence or absence of depalatalization especially in the derived stems, but also in the basic type B verbs. I have recorded several instances of retention of palatalization in the Jussive as for example yəβetɨt ~ yəβətɨt ‘let it be wide’. It is not clear whether these are regular ⁸though less frequent⁹ variants, influences from other Gurage dialects, or mere occasional performance mistakes. It is also thinkable that infrequent verbs rarely occur in the Jussive, which may be the cause of confusion ⁸the same is true for mutation patterns⁹. Further, note that there are verbs with palatalized consonants that do not belong to type B and therefore do not depalatalize, for example type A ʃaβ √ʃAβ ‘pull’, type C cʼappər √cʼ βr ‘pare root of əssət’ where the palatals are basic root consonants. A different distribution of depalatalization show weak verbs, both triradicals and quadriradicals, with a final radical I or U. As outlined above and illustrated again ⁸with 3sm ⁹ in ⁸464⁹, they palatalize the preceding penultimate radical ⁸if palatalizable⁹. 162 ⁸464⁹ √sxI √fsU √kʼmtʼI √kʼrtʼU səkkʸəm fʷəʃʃəm kʼɨməccʼəm kʼʷɨrəccʼəm yɨsəxʸ yɨfʷəʃ yɨkʼməcʼ yɨkʼʷrəcʼ yəsxʸ yəfʷʃ yəkʼəmcʼ yəkʼʷəncʼ ‘flee’ ‘fart’ ‘be ashamed’ ‘take a handful’ All verbs featuring this format depalatalize in the plural forms with the subject 3pm /3pf as well as and 2pm /2pf suffixes -(əβ)o  and -əma, i.e. and 3pm /3pf ; further in the Impersonal ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹ and the Infinitive with -ot ⁸↗ 3.13⁹. Consider the full paradigm of the bəkkʸə √βxI and the plural forms exhibiting depalatalized k/x instead of kʸ /xʸ in table 75. 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf bəkkʸə-xʷ-ɨm bəkkʸə-xə-m bəkkʸə-xʸ-ɨm bəkkʸə-m bəkkʸə-c-ɨm bəkkʸə-nə-m bəkkʸə-xu-m bəkkʸə-xma-m bəkkə-βo-m bəkkə-ma-m bəkkəw-i-m ə-βəxʸ tɨ-βəxʸ tɨ-βəxʸ yɨ-βəxʸ tɨ-βəxʸ nɨ-βəxʸ-nə tɨ-βəx-o tɨ-βəx-əma yɨ-βəx-o yɨ-βəx-əma yɨ-βəxʷ-i nɨ-βxʸ bɨxʸ bɨxʸ yə-βxʸ tɨ-βxʸ nɨ-βxʸ-ɨnə bɨx-o bɨx-əma yə-βx-o yə-βx-əma yə-βxʷ-i Table 75: √βxI ‘cry’ and depalatalization There are some scattered instances lacking depalatalization which seem to occur rather randomly. Nonetheless, even though they are not the rule, forms like aʃʃəmam ‘they ⁸⁹ saw’ ⁸in addition to assəmam ~ assəβəmam, but seemingly not *aʃʃəβəmam⁹ do not seem impossible.  Apart from these occasional exceptions, some verbs with final radical I or U regularly never depalatalize. This concerns verbs with penultimate radicals that are not or cannot be palatalized at all as for example the type A verbs kʼʸəmmə √kʼmI ‘win’ or seffə √sfI ‘sew’. They both feature non-palatalizable labials as penultimate radical and instead show palatalization of the preceding consonant kʼ kʼʸ and vowel raising ə e respectively. In the depalatalizing contexts this kind of verb does not depalatalize as the 3pm   Verbs with final I or U most frequently have -βo in 3pm of the ɱerfective, but -o ⁸deleting the base final ə⁹ is also attested, for example cənom ~ cənəβom ‘they came’.   For instance, I have recorded nəccʼəβom / yɨrəcʼo / yəncʼo ‘pluck’ without depalatalization instead of expected nəttʼəβom / yɨrətʼo / yəntʼo. This verb exists also in Amharic ⁸nəccʼə⁹, but since it is found in many Gurage varieties it does not seem to be a loan ⁸cf. Leslau 1979c: 449, Banksira 2000: 227⁹. I believe that the absence of depalatalization here was triggered by the Amharic forms ⁸which stay palatalized throughout⁹ and that normally depalatalization takes place. 163 forms in ⁸465⁹ show. The reason for this must be explained by the fact that the palatal elements are not adjacent to the subject suffixes -(əβ)o and -əma. ⁸465⁹ √kʼmI ‘win’ kʼʸəmmom ⁸*kʼəmmom⁹ yɨkʼʸəmo ⁸*yɨkʼəmo⁹ yəkʼʸəmo ⁸*yɨkʼəmo⁹ √sfI ‘sew’ seffom yɨsefo yəsifo ⁸*səffom⁹ ⁸*yɨsəfo⁹ ⁸*yəsfo⁹ Further, note that verbs with final radical U and a penultimate radical that is not palatalizable do not surface with a palatal element at all ⁸for example tʼəppʷə √tʼβU ‘suck’ or sɨxʷənə √sxrU ‘be thorny’⁹. When the penultimate radical is palatalizable as well as labializable ⁸i.e. a velar, but only kʼ is attested⁹, there is always labialization ⁸for example nəkkʼʷə √rkʼU ‘shout’ or tʼɨrəkkʼʷə √tʼrkʼU ‘be⁸come⁹ dea’⁹ and never palatalization ⁸*nəkkʸə, *tʼɨrəkkʼʸə⁹. Evidently, even though belonging to the same type of verbs with final I or U, depalatalization cannot apply in these cases. Verbs of type A with root √1rI, exhibiting the penultimate radical r, represent a special case. While r itself palatalizes to y, its mutated form n does not change. Thus in the ɱerfective, which features mutation, depalatalization does not apply. In the relevant plural forms of the Imperfective and Jussive, on the other hand, the depalatalized r surfaces, illustrated with xənə √xrI ‘dig a hole’ in ⁸466⁹, as opposed to the palatalized y ⁸which fuses with the preceding vowel, i.e. Imperfective xərI xəy xe and Jussive xɨrI xɨy xi⁹. ⁸466⁹ √xrI ‘dig a hole’ 3sm 3pm xənəm xənəβom yɨxe yɨxəro yəxi yəxro In a similar way, verbs with the root √1rAI ⁸↗ 3.5.3.2⁹ like sɨyə ‘buy’ depalatalize, too, revealing the second radical y r ⁸467⁹. Note the appearance of vowel a in the ɱerfective. ⁸467⁹ √srAI ‘buy’ 3sm sɨyəm yɨsyə yəsəyə 3pm sɨraβom yɨsrəβo yəsərəβo The monoradicals ʃə ‘want’ and cə ‘leave’ are also depalatalized in the relevant plural forms. ɳemarkably, however, they also depalatalize in the whole Jussive base as can be seen in ⁸468⁹. Thus they combine the characteristics of verbs with final radical I or U and type B verbs. 164 ⁸468⁹ ʃə ‘want’ 3sm ʃəm yɨʃə yəsay cə ‘leave’ 3sm cəm yɨc yətay 3pm saβom yɨsəβo yəsaβo 3pm taβom yɨtəβo yətaβo It is not clear to what root these verbs belong ⁸if it is possible and useful to determine a root at all⁹, but concluding from above insights one could propose √sIAI and √tIAI. However, this does not explain the difference between ʃə and c of the Imperfective bases. According to Banksira ⁸2000: 227⁹, the Imperative 2sm of cə ‘leave’ in Chaha is tɔ with rounding of the vowel ⁸i.e. tɔ < taw⁹, a fact which suggests a final radical U. Since I have also heard to alongside the recorded tay, it remains to check if one or the other form is more common, and/or if to in Gumer is actually ⁸a contraction o⁹ the Amharic təw(əw) ‘leave ⁸it⁹ǃ’ that exists as a borrowed exclamation/interjection besides the actual Imperative tay. As mentioned above, the Impersonal uses the depalatalized base, but note that since palatalization is part of the formation of the Impersonal ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹, verbs with final radical I or U and penultimate alveolars appear again with palatalization in the Imperfective and Jussive as illustrated with the verb accʼə √atʼI ‘shut’ ⁸469⁹. Compare with the verb akkʼʸə √akʼI ‘crunch grain’ ⁸470⁹ which does not feature palatalization of the penultimate velar in the Impersonal. ⁸469⁹ ⁸470⁹ √atʼI ‘shut’ 3sm accʼə-m y-acʼ yə-cʼ 3pm attʼə-βo-m y-atʼ-(əβ)o yə-tʼ-(əβ)o √akʼI ‘crunch grain’ 3sm 3pm akkʼʸə-m akkʼə-βo-m y-akʼʸ y-akʼ-(əβ)o yə-kʼe yə-kʼ-əβo attʼəw-i-m y-acʼ-i yə-cʼ-i akkʼəw-i-m y-akʼʷ-i yə-kʼəw-i  Leslau ⁸1979c: 570⁹ discusses possible origins and cognates of ʃə and tends to relate it to the Amharic type B verb səyyə ‘desire, crave, lust after’. Since this is a type B verb with a root ⁸in Amharic⁹ √syy or √syw, this proposition seems reasonable and the Gumer root √sIAI ⁸or maybe √sIAU⁹ not far fetched ⁸but of course this does not explain the assumed A⁹.  Here, the palatalization is ‘absorbed’ by the vowel ə e ⁸cf. verb type 12I and table 16⁹.  According to my recordings, the shorter Jussive 3pm yəkʼo and Impersonal yəkʼʷi seem to be clearly dispreferred. 165 3.17 The verb bar ‘say’ The verb bar √βAr ‘say’ is probably the most frequent verb ⁸apart from the copula⁹ and occurs in a variety of different constructions and functions. The versatility of  is one of the characteristics of the Ethiopian language area ⁸cf. Cohen et al. 2002⁹. Meyer ⁸2009⁹ is an overview of the quotative verb in Ethiosemitic languages and Oromo. It contains data from the Gurage variety Muher and provided some input for this section. Apart from its use as regular full verb, bar ‘say’ primarily functions as quotative verb that marks the end of quoted ⁸direct⁹ speech, either sentences or larger passages. As a further development, the converb of bar grammaticalized ⁸or is on its way to grammaticalize⁹ into a complementizer of verbs of saying, thinking, etc. in general as well as some other subordinating functions, including the formation of clauses to express beneficiaries ⁸see example ⁸491⁹⁹ and adverbial phrases. In addition, bar is used abundantly in so-called phrasal verbs as the ⁸semantically rather empty⁹ device to integrate non-verbal elements like particles, ideophones, etc. into the verbal system. Finally, bar expresses some ideosyncratic meanings. Formally, probably due to its frequency, bar is slightly irregular in that the ɱerfective base loses the r before subject suffixes beginning with x ⁸471⁹. Also, it features the unusual vowel ə in the Jussive base ⁸472⁹ ⁸also ↗ 3.5.3.6⁹. ⁸471⁹ vs. bar-ə-m say.ɱFV-3smS-M say.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘he said’ ⁸472⁹ ‘you ⁸sm⁹ said’ vs. yə-βər ba-xə-m 3smS-say.JUS yə-xar 3smS-know.JUS ‘let him say’ ‘let him know’ 3.17.1 bar ‘say’ as quotative verb In principle there is no reported speech in Gumer in the sense that the deictic center of a quoted sentence is fully adjusted to the new situation. ɳather, the usual way of quoting someone’s speech is by reproducing it as it ⁸presumably⁹ was uttered originally. The quotation is then often ⁸but not obligatorily⁹ closed by the appropriate form of bar ‘say’ marking it as quotation. Consider the following examples ⁸473⁹-⁸476⁹. ⁸473⁹ a-n-ar bar-ə-no-m. NEG-1sS-go.IɱFV say.ɱFV-3smS-3pmO-M ‘He said to them: “I do/will not go.”’ ⁸474⁹ nocʼ sevenap nem run.IMɱ.2sfS S. bar-o-ya-m. bring.IMɱ.3sfS say.ɱFV-3pmS-3sfO-M ‘They said to her: “ɳun! Bring Seven-up!”’ 166 ⁸475⁹ mɨʃt-xʸɨta səβlə bɨ-t-βɨn-na woman-DEF.sf S. aβet bar-əc-ɨm. TEMɱ-3sfS-say.IɱFV-3sfO at.your.service say.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘When the woman said to her “Seble”, she said “At your service!”. ⁸476⁹ mʷena-na bə-sost zənga tɨ-ʃr-o-n; ə-rəmdɨ-xu ba-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. maternal.uncle-1sɱOSS INSTɳ-three thing 2S-be.pleasing.IɱFV-pmS-1sO 1sS-love.IɱFV-2pmO say.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I said to him: “My uncle ⁸i.e. referring to the related Gyeto people⁹, I like you by ⁸because o⁹ three things; I love you [all]”.’ Gumer being a verb-final language, the quotative verb bar always follows the ⁸whole⁹ quotation, which can be one or several sentences as in the examples above. Similarily, the Impersonal of bar ɱerfective bʷarim ‘one told’ or Imperfective yɨwri ‘one tells’ often closes a longer passage of a narration, marking it as a nonwitnessed, retold story. The following excerpt ⁸477⁹ of a narration shows twice an Impersonal of bar after a longer stretch of speech, framed by { and }. As seen in both instances, it can happen that two different forms of bar follow each other, the first one being the quotation verb belonging to the last sentence⁸s⁹ and the final Impersonal one marking the narration as hearsay. ⁸477⁹ a. { xɨ cənəw-i-m-tanə bərr ankʷakkʷə-m DEM come.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-CV.M-LINK gateѦ knock.ɱFV.IɱS-CV.M gəppʷə-m oj-i-m. enter.ɱFV.IɱS-CV.M tell.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M ‘{ Then they came and knocked on the door, entered and spoke.’ mɨr gən-l-o? b-i-βɨr gʷəmarə-l-o what country-COɱ-3pmS TEMɱ-3smS-say.IɱFV Gumer-COɱ-3pmS bʷar-i-m. say.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M ‘When he said: “What country are they [from]?”, they ⁸i.e. servants⁹ said: “They are Gumer”.’ məttaya tʼəβətʼ-o-m bribe cənə-βo-m. take.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M come.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘“They came with a bribe.”’ mhm. mɨkʼar-u? ɨnde əz-o bar-ə-m. mhm what-COɱ.3smS please see.IMɱ-2pmS say.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He said: “Mhm. What is it? ɱlease [go and] seeǃ”’ […] zɨkka məgəra. like.that calves ‘“Like this calves.”’ mɨraxɨl-l-o? how.many-COɱ-3pmS ‘“How many are they?”’ 167 arβa yɨ-xər-o. forty 3S-become.IɱFV-pmS ‘“Around forty.”’ ɨngʷəd kʼar other enə-no-we? THING NEG.EX[.3smS]-EX-3pmO-ɲ ‘“Don’t they have anything else?”’ xʷet wəfer nər-ə-no. two young.bull EX-3smS-3pmO ‘“They have two young bulls.”’ tənəf-o-m; afər-əxʷna gəppa-m, gʷəmarə, remain.ɱFV-3pmS-M land-3pmɱOSS enter.ɱFV[.3smS]-M Gumer bar-ə-m } yɨ-wr-i. say.ɱFV-3smS-M 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ‘He said: “They win ⁸remain/escape unharmed⁹; their land entered [the new boundaries], the Gumer” }, it is said.’ b. […] { xɨx məgəra b-osəd-ə-βo ankʼʸə gʷəmarə-xɨno DEM calves LOC/TEMɱ-take.ɱFV-3smS-MAL.3pm after attɨm səβ t-e-aʒ-o any bə-x person TEMɱ-NEG.3S-see.IɱFV-pmS LOC-DEM place y-amʷəkʼ-o-m y-ɨyya-y Gumer-DEF.pm mədər əj-əxʷna hand-3pmɱOSS t-e-cən-o-m 3S-warm.JUS-pmS-M DAT-1s-GOAL TEMɱ-NEG.3S-come.IɱFV-pmS-ALSO kʼawa-xno yə-tkʼaw-o-m-tanə bet-əxʷna coffee-3pmɱOSS 3S-drink.JUS-pmS-CV.M-LINK house-3pmɱOSS yə-kr-o bar-ə-m } bʷar-i-m. 3S-ascend.JUS-pmS say.ɱFV-3smS-M say.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M ‘{ Then, after he had taken the calves from them, he said: “The Gumer, before anybody sees them, they should warm their hands over there and without even coming to me they should drink their coffee and go home” }, it was said.’ 3.17.2 bar ‘say’ as complementizer / subordinator The verb bar ‘say’, usually in form of a converb, functions as a complementizer of verbs of saying, thinking, etc. and subordinator for various other subordinated clauses. The minimal structure, as it is exemplied in ⁸478⁹, can be summarized as [“ ” saying ], i.e. it consists of a quoted sentence concluded by a converbal form of bar followed by the matrix verb. ⁸478⁹ [ “ ” cənə-xʷ-ɨm bar. ba-xʷ-ɨm ] od-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. come.ɱFV-1sS-M say.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M tell.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I told him that I came.’ 168 The subordinating converb of bar and the matrix verb always share the same subject ⁸3sm in ⁸479⁹⁹. However, the quoted sentence can have a different subject marking even though referring to the same person, since the deictic center usually is not adjusted to the new speech situation: ⁸479⁹ cənə-xʷ-ɨm bar-ə-m od-ə-m. come.ɱFV-1sS-M say.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M tell.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘Hei told: “Ii came”.’ ‘Hei told that hei came.’ The verb bar ‘say’ never combines with the converb of itself in embedding the quotation but stands alone: ⁸480⁹ cənə-xʷ-ɨm (*ba-xʷ-ɨm) ba-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. come.ɱFV-1sS-M say.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M say.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I said him that I came.’ The verbs of saying, thinking, etc. that occur with the converb of bar as complementizer include od ‘tell’ ⁸481⁹, atcʼawəd ‘chat, talk to, tell stories’ ⁸482⁹, təsar ‘ask’ ⁸483⁹, assəβ ‘think’ ⁸484⁹ and wəssən ‘decide’ ⁸485⁹. ⁸481⁹ abba-na mʷət-ə-m bar-ə-m y-ud-xə-te. father-1sɱOSS die.ɱFV-3smS-M say.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M 3smS-tell.IɱFV-2smO-FUT.DEF ‘He will tell you that his father died.’ ⁸482⁹ tərakəβ-nə-m bar-ə-m atcʼawəd-e-m. meet.ɱFV-1pS-M say.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M tell.stories.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M ‘He told me that they met.’ ⁸483⁹ əz-o bar-ə-m təsar-ə-m. see.IMɱ-2pmS say.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M ask.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He asked [them] to [go and] see.’ ⁸484⁹ əxʷa ɨyya mɨr wə-tot nər-ə-βi now 1s ba-xʷ-ɨm assəβ-xʷ-ɨm. what INF-work EX-3smS-MAL.1s say.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M think.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I thought: “Now, what do I have to do?”’  I have recorded assəβ ‘think’ only geminated, also in the Imperfective and Jussive. Since in Amharic assəβ is a type B verb featuring gemination throughout, it seems obvious that it is a loan in Gumer taken over with full gemination ⁸↗ 3.5.3.12⁹. Nevertheless, Leslau ⁸1979b: 620, 1979c: 95⁹ lists asəβ with singleton s in Chaha, which would be the expected format also in Gumer ⁸and in other Gurage varieties⁹. If it is not a loan, the gemination in Gumer could be explained with Amharic influence or, probably more likely, as compensatory lengthening due to the “weakness” of the first ⁸A⁹ and third ⁸β⁹ radicals, comparable to anna √ArA ‘defecate’ or gʸətəβ ~ gʸəttəβ √g tβ ‘bar’ ⁸cf. the discussion on retained gemination on page 47⁹. The alternative verb atcʼamət ‘think, reflect’ ⁸Leslau 1979c: 182⁹ I encountered only once.  wəssən ‘decide’ is a loan from Amharic but commonly used. According to Leslau ⁸1979b: 172⁹ the original word for ‘decide’ in Chaha is antʼ ⁸= ‘cut’⁹, metʼəs ⁸= ‘detach’⁹ or tənəm tərəssa ⁸= ‘swearing stand up’?⁹. I have not encountered them in the meaning ‘decide’. It has to be verified if and how frequent they are in use. 169 ⁸485⁹ yə-xno bəz-ɨm tɛ-tə-x-no-tanə fərəz-əna tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-ɨxʷ, DAT-3pm here-ALSO leave-CV.T-1sS-3pmO-LINK horse-1sɱOSS take-CV.T-1sS wə-kra nər-ə-βi ba-xʷ-ɨm wəssən-xʷ-ɨm. INF-ascend EX-3smS-MAL.1s say.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M decideѦ .ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I decided that I have to go up, leaving them here and taking my horse.’ The following example ⁸486⁹ shows two points to note. First, the overt subject can intervene between the subordinating converb and the matrix verb. Second, as it is the case with quotations discussed above, the verb of saying can be preceded by a longer part of quoted speech consisting of several sentences. ⁸486⁹ əgi ʃərət ɨm-bəna-xu. əkkʷa mɨʃt tɨ-kʼəttʼɨr-xu-te. okay food ɱɳOHIB-eat.ɱFV-2pmS today woman 3sfS-kill.IɱFV-2pmO-FUT.DEF mɨʃt gʷəpsa-n-ya. tɨ-kʼəttʼɨr-xu-te bar-o-m fʷɨga woman stepmother-COɱ-3sfS 3sfS-kill.IɱFV-2pmO-FUT.DEF say.ɱFV-3pmS-M Fuga od-o-m. tell.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘“Ok. Don’t eat the food! Today the woman will kill you. The woman is a stepmother. She will kill you”, the Fugas told.’ 3.17.3 Other subordinate clauses with bar ‘say’ The same structure of a quoted sentence subordinated to a matrix verb by means of the converb of bar ‘say’ is also used to express functions other than ‘purely’ quoting speech. Since it is a property of the converbs to be rather vague semantically, the logical connection between subordinated bar-clause and matrix clause tends to be determined from context, world knowledge or verb semantics. For example, a purposive meaning is achieved with a Jussive ⁸1s or 1p ⁹ in the “quoted” sentence as in the following examples ⁸487⁹-⁸488⁹. For comparison consider the literal translations in brackets. This is only one possiblity to form purposive clauses ⁸↗ 4.7.3.6⁹. ⁸487⁹ nɨ-ʒ-ɨn bar-ə-m wɨyə-m. 1sS-see.JUS-3smO say.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M go.down.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘He went down to see him ⁸lit. he went down saying: “Let me see him”⁹.’ ⁸488⁹ nɨ-mʷəkkɨn-ne bar-o-m wəttʼ-o-m. 1pS-try.JUS-1pS.3smO say.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M go.out.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They went out to try him ⁸lit.: they went out saying: “Let’s try him”⁹.’ If one changes the TAM form of the “quoted” verb, the interpretation of the logical connection between the clauses changes slightly. While in the first example ⁸489⁹ the Jussive prompts the purposive reading as in the examples above, the Imperfective in ⁸490⁹ is more neutral and rather interpreted as cause. However, for a more accurate understanding of such differences more data are needed. 170 ⁸489⁹ asa nɨ-tʼɨβtʼ bar-əc-ɨm mərəβ tʼəβətʼ-əc-ɨm. fish 1sS-take.JUS say.ɱFV-3sfS-CV.M net take.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘She took a net to catch fish ⁸lit.: she took a net saying: “Let me catch fish”⁹.’ ⁸490⁹ asa ə-tʼəβtʼ bar-əc-ɨm mərəβ tʼəβətʼ-əc-ɨm. fish 1sS-take.IɱFV say.ɱFV-3sfS-CV.M net take.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘Wanting to catch fish she took a net ⁸lit.: she took a net saying: “I catch fish”⁹.’ Beneficiaries can be expressed as complements of bar ‘say’ in the construction ʽ  “for ”ʼ, usually with bar as converb as in ⁸491⁹. ⁸491⁹ y-axə bar-əc-ɨm-ta kʼərikʼar xəna-c-wə. DAT-2sm say.ɱFV-3sfS-CV.M-LINK little put.ɱFV-3sfS-MAL.3sm ʽShe put ⁸only⁹ a little bit in it for you ⁸your benefit⁹.ʼ 3.17.4 Phrasal verbs with bar ‘say’ Like all Ethiosemitic and surrounding languages ⁸cf. Meyer 2009⁹, Gumer has a great number of phrasal verbs consisting of a nominal part, often ideophones or other invariable words ⁸sometimes derived from verb roots⁹ plus an auxiliary verb. The most frequent one is bar ‘say’, followed by amənə ‘do’, whereby they often form a pair intransitive vs. transitive, respectively. The auxiliary verbs themselves are semantically rather empty and function as bearer of the verbal information such as TAM and participant marking ⁸cf., for example, Meyer 2006: 100⁹. The list in ⁸492⁹ contains phrasal verbs with bar combined with ideophones and other invariable words that are not relatable to verbs ⁸verb roots⁹ or other nouns. While some of them are clearly of onomatopoethic nature ⁸for example taʔ bar ‘pop’⁹, others are ‘isolated’ instances of ⁸unusual⁹ words, as for example sənkalle bar ‘bind foreleg and hindleg together’. Note that full or partial reduplication or final gemination occur rather often. ⁸492⁹ Ideophones and invariable words bəkβək bar fʷɨnkʸɨnn bar fʷɨtt bar ga bar (ɨn)kʼʷɨss bar jad bar kəʃə bar ko bar kʼo bar kʼərkʼər bar kʼəttʼ bar kʼɨr(r) bar ‘smell bad ⁸esp. goat, sheep⁹’ ‘move a little bit aside’ ‘drink at a gulp’ ‘dawn’ ⁸> gat ‘dawn, early morning’⁹ ‘be silent, be quiet, keep still’ ‘struggle’ ‘have diarrhoe’ ⁸experiencer verb⁹ ‘scream, shout, shout for help’ ⁸> kot ‘shouting’⁹ ‘stop raining’ ‘be⁸come⁹ active, alert’ ⁸experiencer verb⁹ ‘be straight, upright; stand still’ ‘feel bad about something, be discontented’ ⁸exper. verb⁹ 171 sənkalle bar sɨnkʼʷɨn bar ʃɨgɨg bar ta ~ taʔ bar wəbb bar ‘bind foreleg and hindleg so that horse ⁸etc.⁹ cannot run’ ‘bleed from the nose’ ⁸experiencer verb⁹ ‘shudder with disgust’ ⁸experiencer verb⁹ ‘pop’ ‘try, attempt, try out, feign to hit’ In ⁸493⁹ a few examples of phrasal verbs that can be related to verbs or verb roots are shown. ⁰ Note again the typical reduplicative patterns. ⁸493⁹ Invariable words attributable to a verb root bʷɨʒbʷɨʒ bar  gʸɨrgʸɨr bar sɨbbɨrr bar ‘feel depressed, feel lonely’ < bazəz ‘feel depressed’ ‘blaze, burn easily’ < gʸəkkʸər  ‘straighten out’ ‘break completely’ < səppər ‘break’ ⁸also Amharic⁹ ɱhrasal verbs with əgi ‘okay’ and bay ‘no’ are very frequent. On the one hand, they can mean more or less literally ‘say yes, okay’ ⁸494⁹ and ‘say no’ ⁸495⁹ uttered by a person. On the other hand the subject can also be inanimate ⁸496⁹, in which case əgi and bay bar mean ‘work/function’ and ‘not work/function’ respectively. ⁸494⁹ əgi bar-əc-ɨm wər-əc-ɨm. okay say.ɱFV-3sfS-CV.M go.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘She said OK and went.’ ⁸495⁹ fʷacʼ bar-e-m-ta əj-əna bɨ-n-artʼ bay mow.IMɱ[.2smS] say.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-CV.M-LINK hand-1sɱOSS TEMɱ-1sS-cut.IɱFV no ba-xʷ-ɨm. say.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘He said to me “mow!”, and when I cut my hand I said no ⁸i.e. I stopped, I refused⁹.’ ⁸496⁹ sankʼa bay bar-e-m. door no say.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M ‘I could not handle ⁸open/close/etc.⁹ the door. / The door did not work.’ It is even possible to combine inanimate subjects with the structure of quotations. Typically consisting of a negated first person Imperfective, they expresses that something did not work or function ⁸497⁹ similar to bay bar ‘say no’ but thanks to the “quoted” verb specifying the kind of event. ⁸497⁹ ʃərət-əxʸta a-n-təm bar-ə-m. food-3sfɱOSS NEG-1sS-be.tasty.IɱFV say.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘Her food did not become / was not tasty.’ ⁸lit.: ‘Her food said “I am not tasty”’⁹.     Cf. Amharic kʼəttʼɨta ‘straight’. ⁰ ɱresumably, this list is not representative and could be extended but I lack the necessary data.  Leslau ⁸1979c: 170⁹ provides buʒʒ bar.  < *√gIrgIr with loss/assimilation of r ⁸↗ 3.5.2.3⁹. 172 The productive construction consisting of bar and a totally reduplicated noun is used express that something smells or tastes like the noun in question. Consider the following illustrative examples: ⁸498⁹ asso asso bar mʷɨz mʷɨz bar tən tən bar ‘taste like salt, be salty’ ‘taste/smell like banana’ ‘smell like smoke’ ⁸499⁹ ɨxa asso asso yɨ-βɨr. < asso ‘salt’ < mʷɨz ‘banana’ < tən ‘smoke’ water salt salt 3smS-say.IɱFV ‘The water tastes salty.’ There are also phrasal verbs with pairs of single ⁸1V22⁹ vs. reduplicated ⁸1V21V2⁹ ideophones, the latter usually expressing intensitiy or repetition. Note, however, the third pair which contrasts with respect to the kind of posture they refer to. ⁸500⁹ kacc bar kackac bar ‘move/walk somehow quickly’ ‘move/walk very quickly’ təkk bar təktək(k) bar ‘drip, trickle in drops ⁸once, a bit⁹’ ‘drip, trickle in drops ⁸continuously, a lot⁹’ zəff bar zəfzəf bar ‘sit gracelessly ⁸when very exhausted⁹’ ‘walk gracelessly ⁸when very exhausted⁹’ 3.17.5 The infinitives wəβəru and bɨrotu The infinitives of bar ‘say’ plus the enclitic 3sm copula -u, i.e. wəβər-u and bɨrotu, are used in the meaning of ‘that means, that is to say, namely’ ⁸501⁹-⁸502⁹ and as pragmatic marker approximately corresponding to ‘actually’ ⁸503⁹, the boundary between these two functions not being clearcut. ⁸501⁹ ɨngʷəd yə-dənəs-ə-n-xʷɨta other e-ʃɨr-βɨndə ɳEL-sing.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-DEF.sm NEG.3smS-be.pleasing.IɱFV-MAL.1p kʼar-u a-n-zrəkʸ-ne wə-βər-u. THING-COɱ.3smS NEG-1pS-tell.IɱFV-1pS.3smO INF-say-COɱ.3smS ‘The other things he sang are not nice, that means we won’t tell them.’ ⁸502⁹ təxankʼʸe dəgmo datta yɨ-frəkʼʷe, afterwards butѦ zɨ mədər bər-ot-u. chest 3S-split.IɱFV.IɱS.3smO DEM place ‘And then the chest is split, that is at this place.’ ⁸503⁹ təxankʼʸə bə-jəppər-xu ankʼʸə mɨkʼar-u afterwards LOC/TEMɱ-finish.ɱFV-2pmS after yə-tənəf-ə say-INF-COɱ.3smS what-COɱ.3smS wə-βər-u. ɳEL-remain.ɱFV-3smS INF-say-COɱ.3smS ‘And then, after you have finished, what’s then actually?’ 173 3.17.6 Further idiosyncratic uses of bar ‘say’ The imperative of bar, used alone, is employed as a request to the conversation partner to start, continue or repeat an action. ⁸504⁹ bərǃ say.IMɱ[.2smS] ‘Do it againǃ Go aheadǃ’ Often the intended action denotes specifically beating ⁸cf. Meyer 2009: 32⁹, as it is obvious with the prepositional phrases bəβoks ‘with a box, with the fist’ in ⁸505⁹ and bətifə ‘with a slap in the face’ in ⁸506⁹. ⁸Compare the latter example with example ⁸232⁹, where bətifə is used in combination with the verb ʽhitʼ.⁹ ⁸505⁹ bə-βoks bʷar-ə-n-ɨm. INSTɳ-box say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘He punched him with a box ⁸blow with fist⁹.’ ⁸506⁹ bə-tifə bar-əc-na-m. INSTɳ-slap.in.face say.ɱFV-3sfS-3sfO-M ‘He slapped her in the face.’ The semantically bleached auxiliary bar is also the default verb used to integrate extralinguistic information and signs. These include body movements like hand gestures or facial expressions, often when demonstrating or imitating an action. In ⁸507⁹, a throwing gesture accompanied the word ɨkka ‘like this’. ⁸507⁹ naβa-ta tʼəβətʼ-xʷ-ɨn-ɨn-ta cʼəxʷə-na ɨkka ba-xʷ-ɨm. waist-3smɱOSS take.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-CV.M-LINK spear-1sɱOSS like.this say.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘Holding it on its waist ⁸in the middle part⁹ I made like this with my spear.’ 3.18 Tense, aspect, and mode (TAM) Gumer distinguishes between three verb bases constituting the three basic TAM forms ɱerfective, Imperfective and Jussive ⁸including Imperative⁹. The first two can further be furnished with the auxiliary banə ~ -βa ‘was, . ’ for past tense ⁸↗ 3.18.4⁹, and the latter two with -te and -ʃə, respectively, for two different future tenses ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹. The ɱerfective in affirmative main clauses obligatorily features the main verb marker -m, as described in section 3.18.1.1 below. 3.18.1 Perfective The ɱerfective is used to expresses the perfective aspect, which also covers the functions of the perfect aspect/tense ⁸in contrast to Amharic, for example, there is no distinct perfect verb form, but see example ⁸519⁹ for the experiential perfect⁹. In Bertinetto’s ⁸2006: 266⁹ words “[p]erfectivity refers to an event’s being viewed in its entirety, that is, as a terminated event” entailing “that the speaker envisages the terminal point as an essential part of the event”. 174 From this characterization follows that ⁸total-⁹terminative ⁸508⁹ and action verbs ⁸509⁹ commonly have a past reading ⁸i.e. when used as an event placed on an actual time-line⁹. Time adverbs like tɨrama ‘yesterday’ in the latter example can additionally underline the past time frame. ⁸508⁹ təxankʼʸe at ʃi bɨrr aβ-o-m. afterwards one thousand birr give.ɱFV-3pmS-M. ‘Afterwards they gave 1000 birr.’ ⁸509⁹ tɨrama wɨssa fakʼ-nə-m. yesterday wussa scrape.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘Yesterday we scraped wussa-bread.’ Since the ɱerfective refers to a terminated event as a whole irrespective of its internal duration, it is also compatible with verbs and adverbs that express long time spans ⁸510⁹. ⁸510⁹ səβat sat əkkəs-nə-m. seven hour wait.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘We waited for seven hours.’ A very large group of verbs in Gumer constitute the inchoative-stative verbs. They are characterized by a change of state i.e. they have an initial instead of a terminal point and the following state. The ɱerfective selecting this initial point expresses that the change of state is terminated, the result of which is the subsequent ⁸new⁹ state. Due to the fact that this state is understood as still lasting ⁸and relevant⁹ at the time of speaking, inchoative-stative verbs usually receive a present reading with the ɱerfective. For example, kʼʷəm ⁸511⁹ expresses the change of state ‘stand up’ and the resulting state thereof is that someone ‘is standing’ and from cona ‘sit down’ follows that someone ‘is sitting’ ⁸512⁹. ⁸511⁹ kʼʷəm-o-m. stand.up.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They are standing.’ ⁸512⁹ sost gɨred at-əxʸta three girl cona-c-ɨm afər cona-c-ɨm at-əxʸta b-ombər one-3sfɱOSS ground sit.ɱFV-3sfS-M one-3sfɱOSS LOC-chair at-əxʸta kʼʷəm-əc-ɨm. sit.ɱFV-3sfS-M one-3sfɱOSS stand.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘Three girls, one ⁸of them⁹ is sitting on the ground, one ⁸of them⁹ is sitting on a chair and one ⁸of them⁹ is standing.’ While ‘stand/stand up’ and ‘sit/sit down’ are undoubtedly belonging together in English forming a pair of a stative and an inchoative-stative verb that is expressed with one lexeme in Gumer, there are many other cases that are not readily recognizable as inchoative-stative verbs ⁸from an English point of view⁹. Consider for example the verb cʼor that is usually translated as ‘carry ⁸on shoulders or head⁹’, but actually it also includes ⁸or rather primarily means⁹ the ⁸change of state⁹ event 175 preceding the carrying, i.e. the loading ⁸on shoulders or head⁹. Thus, the ɱerfective in ⁸513⁹ literally can be rendered as ‘⁸has⁹ loaded’, but translates rather as ‘is carrying’. ⁸513⁹ nɨkʼyə gɨβɨr cʼor-ə-m. big goods carry.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He is carrying a heavy load.’ Other examples include for instance tʼəβətʼ ‘grasp, take hold’ or the numerous verbs that correspond to adjectives in English, usually as pairs of ‘become V be V’, such as gənəz ‘be⁸come⁹ old’. ⁸514⁹ gɨn əxʷa gənəz-əc-ɨm. butѦ now be.old.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘But now she is old.’ Furthermore, probably all experiencer verbs belong to the inchoative-stative verbs. The state, describing bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts, perceptions and the like, the experiencer is in at the actual time of speaking is also rendered by the ɱerfective, i.e. it is presented as a result. Note again that the ɱerfective translates as present tense in English. ⁸515⁹ kʸɨtta kʼəmmʷə-n-ɨm. rabbit fall.ill.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘The rabbit is sick ⁸more lit.: the rabbit has fallen ill⁹.’ ⁸516⁹ kʼʸətʼ-xʷ-ɨm. be.tired.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I am tired ⁸more lit.: I have become tired⁹.’ The ɱerfective also covers functions of a perfect. Similar to the resulting states of the inchoative-stative verbs, perfects express “the continuing relevance of a previous situation” ⁸Comrie 1976: 56⁹. This reading of the ɱerfective is thus also possible with terminative and action verbs. Depending on the context, example ⁸517⁹ can refer to an event situated completely in the past, or as perfect with a resulting and still relevant situation. Often the perfect implies a translation with ‘already’ as in ⁸518⁹. ⁸517⁹ kʼawa sɨyə-xʷ-ɨm. coffee buy.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I bought coffee ⁸back then, at that time⁹.’ ~ ‘I have bought coffee ⁸and it is available now⁹.’ ⁸518⁹ kʼənəs-o-m? begin.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘Have they ⁸already⁹ begun?’ 176 There is a special construction to express an experiential perfect, which “indicates that a given situation has held at least once during some time in the past leading up to the present” ⁸Comrie 1976: 58⁹. It consists of a converb ⁸↗ 3.14⁹ followed by the Imperfective of xar ‘know’ as in ⁸519⁹ ⁸repeated from page 156⁹. ⁸519⁹ amerika wər-xu-m A. tɨ-xʸr-o? go.ɱFV-2pmS-CV.M 2S-know.IɱFV-pmS ‘Have you ⁸ever⁹ been to America?’ 3.18.1.1 Main verb marker -m In affirmative main clauses the ɱerfective obligatorily features the main verb marker -m. It occurs word-finally after subject and object markers. In contrast, negated and subordinated ɱerfective lacks -m as illustrated in ⁸520⁹. ⁸520⁹ main verb subordinated verb cənə-xʷ-ɨm bə-cənə-xʷ come.ɱFV-1sS-M COND-come.ɱFV-1sS an-cənə-xʷ b-an-cənə-xʷ NEG-come.ɱFV-1sS COND-NEG-come.ɱFV-1sS This morpheme has been analyzed as past tense marker as well ⁸cf. ɳose 2007⁹, because it has the same distribution as the two future markers + -te and + -ʃə ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹: they are present obligatorily in affirmative main clauses but absent in negation and in subordination. Here, however, the designation main verb marker is preferred because + -m never alternates with bare in main clauses, while bare and without the future markers exist ⁸with other meanings of course⁹. Moreover the Futures, in particular the Indefinite Future, are rather modal categories than pure tense. Finally, the past tense reading of the ɱerfective is not ⁸primarily⁹ triggered by the marker -m but rather inferred from the aspectual ⁸perfective⁹ value. At any rate, here the neutral gloss is used. The main verb marker should not be confused with the marker of the mconverb ⁸↗ 3.14.2⁹, the focusing -m, or the coordinating -m ⁸ʽ ʼ⁹.  Consider, for example, the subordinated conditional in ⁸521⁹, where the suffixed -m is a focus marker ⁸ʽalsoʼ⁹, translating as ʽeven ifʼ. ⁸521⁹ bə-sənəkʼ-xʷ-ɨm neβa e-wɨn-n. COND-steal.ɱFV-1sS-ALSO thief NEG.3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-1sO ʽEven if I steal one will not call me a thief.ʼ   Nevertheless, all -m presumably have the same etymological origin. 177 3.18.2 Imperfective The Imperfective is used to express the imperfective aspect. In contrast to perfectivity, “imperfectivity refers to the terminal point of the event not being envisaged” ⁸Bertinetto 2006: 266⁹, which often is also described as “explicit reference to the internal structure of a situation, viewing a situation from within” ⁸Comrie 1976: 24⁹. In the majority of the cases, the ⁸bare⁹ Imperfective expresses a habitual meaning ⁸522⁹ and has to a lesser extent also progressive readings, at least in the sense that an event is going on at the time of speaking ⁸523⁹. There is, however, also an explicit way of forming a high-focal progressive with the copula -u suffixed to the Imperfective, focusing the verb and its imperfectivity ⁸524b⁹. ⁸522⁹ gʸəta-m gʷəmarə-m yɨ-twakka. Gyeto-ALSO Gumer-ALSO 3smS-fight.IɱFV ‘The Gyeto and the Gumer fight with each other ⁸regularly⁹.’ ⁸523⁹ mena-we əxʷa-m yɨ-cot. work-DEF now-ALSO 3smS-work.IɱFV ‘He still works /is still working ⁸on the same work⁹.’ ⁸524⁹ a. kʷɨtara yɨ-tʼəβtʼ? b. ʽDoes he catch chickens?ʼ kʷɨtara yɨ-tʼəβtʼ-u? chicken 3smS-take.IɱFV chicken 3smS-take.IɱFV-COɱ.3smS ʽIs he catching chickens ⁸right now⁹?ʼ Inchoative-stative verbs can only be understood as habitual in combination with the Imperfective ⁸525⁹, since an actual state is expressed by the ɱerfective. ⁸525⁹ kʼawa b-an-tɨkʼaw-xʷ gʷɨnər-əna yɨ-fərtʼ-e. coffee COND-NEG-drink.coffee.ɱFV-1sS head-1sɱOSS 3smS-split.IɱFV-1sO ‘When I don’t drink coffee, I get a headache.’ ɱermanent qualities, without any implication that there has been a preceding change of state, can also be rendered by the Imperfective as in ⁸526⁹, apparently interchangeable with the corresponding adjective ⁸plus copula⁹ as in ⁸527⁹. ⁸526⁹ ɨntʼar-əta y-atʼɨr. stick-3smɱOSS 3smS-be.short.IɱFV ‘His/the stick is short.’ ⁸527⁹ ɨntʼar-əta accʼɨr-u. stick-3smɱOSS short-COɱ.3smS ‘His/the stick is short.’ Finally note that the Imperfective cannot refer to future events, the choice between one of the two Futures being obligatory ⁸↗ 3.18.5⁹. 178 3.18.3 Jussive The Jussive, to which also the Imperative belongs, is a modal verb form used to express orders, wishes, intentions, permissions and similar meanings. It can only occur in matrix sentences and is never a subordinate mood. Consider the following illustrative examples. ⁸528⁹ yə-səβat_bet_gʷɨrage ammətʼatʼ-əta n-od-xə. ATTɳ-Sebat_Bet_Gurage originѦ -3smɱOSS 1sS-tell.JUS-2smO ‘Let me tell you the origin of the Sebat Bet Gurage.’ ⁸529⁹ wəfer ərtʼ-oǃ young.bull cut.IMɱ-2pmS ‘Slaughter a young bullǃ’ ⁸530⁹ danə yə-fɨrd-ɨndə. judge 3smS-judge.JUS-1pO ‘May a judge judge us / A judge shall judge us.’ 3.18.4 Analytical forms with past auxiliary banə ~ -βa Both the ɱerfective and the Imperfective ⁸but not the Jussive⁹ form analytical forms with the past auxiliary ⁸‘was’⁹ rendering the event anterior to another one or placing it in the ⁸more remote⁹ past. They can be labelled ‘ɱast Imperfective’ and ‘ɱast ɱerfective’. As shown in ⁸531⁹, there are two interchangeable forms of the auxiliary, the full form banə and a shortened one -βa. The latter seemingly behaves like a clitic and is therefore written adjacent. Both forms are invariable ⁸in contrast to the copula, ↗ 3.19⁹. Note that the main verb marker -m ⁸↗ 3.18.1.1⁹ of the ɱerfective is not lost. ⁸531⁹ wər-ə-m ‘he went’ wər-ə-m banə ~ wər-ə-m-ba ‘he had gone’ y-ar ‘he goes’ y-ar banə ~ y-ar-βa ‘he used to go’ The past auxiliary banə ~ -βa places the habitual or progressive meaning of the Imperfective into the past, mostly corresponding to English ‘used to’. ⁸532⁹ mʷeʃə yɨ-cʼəkʼʷs hide banə. 3smS-beg.IɱFV AUX.ɱT ‘He used to beg for hide ⁸i.e. clothes made of dried leather⁹.’ ⁸533⁹ dɨrə ɨkka banə? y-amʷər-i formerly like.this 3smS-do.IɱFV.IɱS-3smS AUX.ɱT ‘In the past, did they use to do it like this?’ ⁸534⁹ ɨruz tɨ-cəkɨr-wə-βa. rice 3sfS-cook.IɱFV-MAL.3sm-AUX.ɱT ‘She used to cook rice with/in it.’ 179 ⁸535⁹ ə-βɨr-xə-βa. 1sS-say.IɱFV-2smO-AUX.ɱT ‘I used to say [it to] you.’ The past auxiliary with the ɱerfective results in a form similar to a pluperfect that, broadly speaking, locates a past event anterior to another past event. Accordingly, in ⁸536⁹ the second question of speaker A refers to an event prior to the one in the first question, i.e. emra ‘last year’ as opposed to this year respectively. ⁸536⁹ A: gən-e an-wənd-ɨxə-we? country-GOAL NEG-go.down.ɱFV-2smS-ɲ ‘Did you not go ⁸down⁹ to the countryside?’ B: əə… amət e-xər um year NEG.3smS-become.IɱFV […] tə-wənd-ɨxʷ? ABL-go.down.ɱFV-1sS ‘Um… isn’t it a year since I went ⁸down⁹?’ A: yə-zər wənd-ɨxə-m-ba emra? DAT-rainy.season go.down.ɱFV-2smS-M-AUX.ɱT last.year ‘Did you go ⁸down⁹ for the rainy season last year?’ With inchoative-stative verbs, as it is the case with the experiencer verb in ⁸537⁹, the pluperfect is used to refer to the state when it is not actual any more, the simple ɱerfective expressing a state lasting at the time of speaking. ⁸537⁹ balləfə əgr-əta kʼərikʼar akkʼʸə-n-ɨm-ba. latelyѦ leg-3smɱOSS a.little.bit hurt.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M-AUX.ɱT ‘Lately his leg/foot was a little bit hurt.’ However, it is not always required to backshift a past state with banə as shown in example ⁸538⁹, which even contains the time adverbial tɨrama kʼɨrərə ‘yesterday morning’. ⁸538⁹ tɨrama kʼɨrərə gʷɨnər-əna fəntʼ-e-m. yesterday morning head-1sɱOSS split.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M ‘Yesterday morning I had a headache.’ ɳather, in such cases the past auxiliary explicitly indicates that the state in question is not lasting any longer as in ⁸539⁹, whereas the lack of it as in ⁸538⁹ above leaves this option open. ⁸539⁹ gʷɨnər-əna fəntʼ-e-m-ba. təxankʼʸətə akimbet wər-xʷ-ɨm. head-1sɱOSS split.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M afterwards hospital go.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I had a headache. Then I went to the hospital.’ The characterization also applies to verbs other than inchoative-stative verbs. In example ⁸540⁹ the pluperfect wərxʷɨm banə expresses that the speaker went ⁸or had gone⁹ to the town of Awasa but now he is not there anymore. 180 ⁸540⁹ ɨkka tɨ-t-βɨr-e yə-zəgəd-e kʼar awasa like.this TEMɱ-2smS-say.IɱFV-1sO ɳEL-remember.IɱFV-1sO THING A. wər-xʷ-ɨm banə, balləfə, t-at go.ɱFV-1sS-M AUX.ɱT latelyѦ samt yɨfte. ABL-one week before ‘When you say this to me, what I remember, I went to Awasa, lately, one week ago.’ Finally, banə ~ -βa also combines with the Jussive in the apodosis of irreal or counterfactual conditinals ⁸541⁹ ⁸↗ 4.7.3.5⁹. ⁸541⁹ məkina tə-cənə car ʃəwa nɨ-wən-nə-βa. COND-come.ɱFV[.3smS] Addis.Ababa 1pS-go.JUS-1pS-AUX.ɱT ‘If a car came, we would go to Addis Ababa.’ ~ ‘If a car had come, we would have gone to Addis Ababa.’ 3.18.5 Future tense Future events have to be expressed obligatorily by one of the two distinct Future forms traditionally labeled Definite Future and Indefinite Future ⁸Hetzron 1996, 1977: 85⁹. The Definite Future is formed by -te suffixed to the Imperfective, whereas the marker of the Indefinite Future is -ʃə added to the Jussive base. The subject affixes are the same for both Future forms, namely the ones of the ‘plain’ Imperfective. Hence, as shown in table 76, apart from the addition of -te there is no difference in the conjugation between the Definite Future and the Imperfective ⁸cf. table 57⁹. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ə-kəftɨ-te tɨ-kəftɨ-te tɨ-kəfcɨ-te yɨ-kəftɨ-te tɨ-kəftɨ-te nɨ-kəftɨ-te tɨ-kəft-o-te tɨ-kəft-əma-te yɨ-kəft-o-te yɨ-kəft-əma-te yɨ-kəfʷc⁸-i⁹-te Table 76: Definite Future ⁸√kft ‘open’⁹ In contrast, as illustrated in table 77, the conjugation of the Indefinite Future differs from the ‘plain’ Jussive, which features some specific subject markers. In particular, this concerns the 1st person singular ə- vs. n-, the 2nd persons t- vs. Ø⁸i.e. the Imperatives⁹, and the 3rd persons y- vs. yə- ⁸cf. table 58⁹. 181 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ə-kɨftɨ-ʃə tɨ-kɨftɨ-ʃə tɨ-kɨfcɨ-ʃə yɨ-kɨftɨ-ʃə tɨ-kɨftɨ-ʃə nɨ-kɨftɨ-nə-ʃə tɨ-kɨft-o-ʃə tɨ-kɨft-əma-ʃə yɨ-kɨft-o-ʃə yɨ-kɨft-əma-ʃə yɨ-kɨfʷc⁸-i⁹-ʃə Table 77: Indefinite Future ⁸√kft ‘open’⁹ The Future markers are suffixed to the very end of a verb form. In case there is an object marker it occurs in its regular place directly after the base ⁸i.e. before the Future marker⁹. Consider for example the 3sm -i of both Impersonals in tables 76 and 77 above. Note that here the object marker is represented in brackets because it is the default marker needed when there is no object ⁸↗ 3.11.5⁹, but in case another object is present -i is “replaced” as illustrated in ⁸542⁹. Consider also example ⁸543⁹ with an object and a verb other than an Impersonal. ⁸542⁹ y-aw-kə-ʃə. 3S-give.JUS.IɱS-2smO-FUT.IDEF ‘One will give [it to] you.’ ⁸543⁹ tɨ-kʼətʼɨr-xu-te. 3sfS-kill.IɱFV-2smpO-FUT.DEF ‘She will kill you.’ It goes without saying that the epenthetic vowel ɨ is needed when the suffixes create a succession of three or more consonants ⁸↗ 2.3.2⁹. For instance, with the verb kəfət ‘open’ in the tables above or with sənəkʼ ‘steal’ in ⁸544⁹ ɨ comes between the base final consonant and the initial consonant of the suffix, whereas with səppər ‘break’ ⁸545⁹ its position is before the base final consonant. ⁸544⁹ /y + sərkʼ + te/ /y + srkʼ + ʃə/ yɨ-sərkʼɨ-te yɨ-sɨrkʼɨ-ʃə ⁸545⁹ /y + səβr + te/ /y + sβr + ʃə/ yɨ-səβɨr-te yɨ-sβɨr-ʃə As for the origins of the two markers, it seems to be quite obvious that -ʃə grammaticalized from the verb ʃə ‘want’ ⁸Hetzron 1977: 85⁹. Note, however, that the Jussive does not function as a subordinate mode in dependent clauses, neither with ʃə ‘want’ nor other verbs, i.e. there is no construction {⁸dependent⁹ Jussive  Banksira ⁸2000: 251⁹ uses the term Subjunctive for “what is usually called the Jussive”. In my view the label Subjunctive is highly misleading ⁸if not wrong⁹. It is true that the Jussive in Gumer and the Subjunctives in some European languages ⁸especially ɳomance⁹ partially overlap in their use 182 + Main Verb ‘want’} that could have served as a direct model for the Indefinite Future. As for the possible origin of -te, the situation is not clear. The final e could be connected to the purposive or directional marker -e ⁸see table 94⁹. Sometimes the pronunciation of -te is rather closed tending to -ti, a fact which is reminiscent of the allomorph -y ⁸< -i⁹ of the purposive or directional marker -e. The origin of the dental t is even less clear. One could try to establish a connection to the dental that optionally occurs in copular forms between personal pronouns and copula ⁸for example ɨyya-t-ɨn-xʷ 1s-t-1s ‘it is me’, see table 79⁹. In Banksira’s ⁸2000: 9f.⁹ synchronic analysis, t is the default “epenthetic” consonant, but in other languages of the Ethiopian language area, t ⁸along with n⁹ occurs rather often as a copula or copula-like element and subsequently also in focus constructions ⁸see most articles in Crass ⁶ Meyer 2007, and, for example, Zaugg-Coretti 2009⁹. If this assumption is true, the original meaning of -te could have been something like ‘it is to’, expressing that an event ‘is ⁸about⁹ to’ occur. Anyhow, this scenario is highly speculative and could prove completely wrong by further research. 3.18.5.1 Use of the two Futures 3.18.5.1.1 Future vs. Imperfective In affirmative main clauses the use of either the Definite Future -te or the Indefinite Future -ʃə is obligatory for state of affairs that occur after the time of speaking. Consequently the ‘plain’ Imperfective does not cover the whole range of Non-ɱast but is restricted to what can be called ɱresent tense. This includes events that are going on at the very time of speaking on the one hand ⁸546⁹, and habitual events ⁸547⁹ and generic statements ⁸548⁹ on the other hand. ⁸546⁹ ⁸547⁹ ete-n-xʸ? where-COɱ-2sfS — məsəlal acən. ladderѦ [1sS.]bring.IɱFV ‘Where are you? I am getting ⁸or bringing⁹ a ladder.’ zax aβəʃa-xʷɨta ɨnnɨm kərə coc-lə-m yɨ-βəra. DEM habasha-DEF.sm every day work.ɱFV.IɱS-BEN.3sm-CV.M 3smS-eat.IɱFV ‘[As for] this habasha, every day one cooks for him and he eats.’ ⁸548⁹ yɨ-gəd-no dengʸa wəfram gɨred yɨ-rəmd. 3smS-be.hungry.IɱFV-3pmO boys fatѦ girls 3smS-love.IɱFV ‘Skinny ⁸lit. who are hungry⁹ boys love fat girls.’ In contrast, the ‘plain’ Imperfective cannot stand in situations describing future events. Consider for example sentence ⁸549⁹ which contains the temporal expression ‘next year’ explicitly referring to a time point in the future. ⁸for example as Optative⁹, but the Jussive never appears in dependent clauses, which in turn is the typical occurrence of Subjunctives. 183 ⁸549⁹ yɨ-cən amət yɨ-jəpr-o-te. 3smS-come.IɱFV year 3S-finish.IɱFV-pmS-FUT.DEF ‘They will finish next year.’ For both Futures there are only affirmative forms and they only occur in main clauses. For negation the negated Imperfective is used ⁸↗ 3.15.2⁹. Thus ⁸550⁹ can stand for habitual and future events. ⁸550⁹ bə-xʷɨya bɨrr a-n-cot. INSTɳ-twenty birr NEG-1sS-work.IɱFV ‘I will not work for twenty birr.’ ‘I do not work for twenty birr ⁸usually/generally⁹.’ 3.18.5.1.2 Definite Future vs. Indefinite Future The difference between the Definite and the Indefinite Future is essentially an epistemic one. With the choice of -te or -ʃə the speaker declares the degree of commitment to the truth or ⁸maybe more adequately⁹ the degree of certainty that something will happen. When a future event is considered certain, the Definite Future is used. The speaker knows that it will definitely happen because it has previously been decided on, is not questionable anymore and/or is inevitable ⁸due to external factors⁹. In other words the future event is presented as a fact. The Indefinite Future, on the other hand, is chosen when a future event cannot be considered certain or given. As stated in Hetzron ⁸1996: 109⁹ it is more subjective than the Definite Future and expresses different nuances of epistemic modality like hopes, intentions, wishes, etc. Often, the essence of the respective meaning can be captured by ⁸implicitly⁹ adding the adverbs ‘certainly’ to the translation of a Definite Future and ‘probably’ or ‘hopefully’ to an Indefinite Future ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 251, who uses “we know” and “we hope”⁹. Of course this is not equally applicable in all cases, but it is a convenient means to express the basic notion of certainty ⁸551⁹ vs. uncertainty ⁸552⁹. ⁸551⁹ yɨ-cən-te. 3smS-come.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘He will come ⁸certainly / definitely / I know / I assure you⁹.’ ⁸552⁹ yɨ-tən-ʃə. 3smS-come.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘He will come ⁸probably / quite likely / I hope / I assume⁹.’ What follows are several different situations illustrating the use of the two Futures. Typical instances of uncertainty include contexts where the speaker cannot commit to the truth of the state of affairs due to lack of ⁸direct⁹ evidence. The above sentence ⁸552⁹, for example, was uttered to me while we were sitting for  For some further examples in several other Gurage varieties refer to Hetzron ⁸1996⁹. 184 some time at a rural road waiting for a bus that could take us from the Gumer countryside to the next town. At that time of the day buses are rare but usually one or the other still shows up. Nevertheless, since noone could have any direct evidence that a bus is indeed on its way ⁸especially in total absence of modern means of communication or official timetables etc.⁹ the only possible choice was the Indefinite Future. If the speaker had had a telephone, for example, and called the driver who then had told them that they are on their way already, the use of the Definite Future as in ⁸551⁹ would have become possible. The two Futures can also distinguish promises ⁸“certain”⁹ from suggestions ⁸“uncertain”⁹. In ⁸553⁹ the speaker indicates with the use of the Definite Future that he is willing to hold his promise. He assures that what he says has been decided already and there is no reason to have any doubts. In contrast, sentence ⁸554⁹ is a suggestion rather than a promise. The speaker had an idea to help out and thus proposes to do the cooking. In addition, since it was the first time for the speaker to cook that specific meal, the Indefinite Future also means that she cannot promise a good outcome but just wants to try to do it. ⁸553⁹ ʃərət-m-axə dəmoz-m-axə ɨnnɨkʼar-axə ɨyya food-ALSO-2smɱOSS salary-ALSO-2smɱOSS everything-2sɱOSS 1s ə-kəs-te bʷar-ə-nɨ-m. 1sS-pay.IɱFV-FUT.DEF say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘He said to him “I will pay for your food and your salary, everything of you”.’ ⁸554⁹ yə-sost səβ ʃərət ɨyya ə-tot-ɨn-ʃə ATTɳ-three person food 1s ba-x-na-m. 1sS-make.JUS-3smO-FUT.INDEF say.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I said to her “I will cook the food for three people”.’ In ⁸555⁹ there is an Indefinite Future directly followed by kʼal kɨdanu ‘it is a promise’, a fact which seems to contradict the above description. However, here the promise ⁸‘we will take you’⁹ is depending on a condition ⁸‘tell us!’⁹ which has to be fulfilled first in order for the promise to become a “fact”. ⁸555⁹ yɨna n-an-nə 1p mədər y-axu-m 1pS-go.IɱFV-1pS place kʼal_kɨdan-u. nɨ-sdɨ-ne-ku-ʃə. DAT-2pm-ALSO 1pS-take.JUS-1pS-2pmO-FUT.INDEF a-n-c-ɨne-ku. od-o-ndə. promiseѦ -COɱ.3smS NEG-1pS-leave.IɱFV-1pS-2pmO tell.IMɱ-2pmS-1pO ‘We will take ⁸also⁹ you to the place we are going. It is a promise. We will not leave you. Tell us!’ Another example for the conditional nature of the Indefinite Future is shown in ⁸556⁹. Here the addressee is told to open the door if someone specific comes. Since there is a condition, the opening of the door cannot be considered an event that is certain to happen, a fact which explains the use of the Indefinite Future.  kʼal kidan ‘promise’ is a loan from Amharic. 185 ⁸556⁹ sada tɨ-t-cən S. sankʼa tɨ-kɨftɨ-ʃə. TEMɱ-3sfS-come.IɱFV door 2smS-open.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘When Sada comes you ⁸should⁹ open the door.’ The Definite Future also occurs in questions. At first sight this seems to be counterintuitive since one would normally believe that the speaker, i.e. the one that asks, cannot but be uncertain about the future events as such. Why else would they have to ask? Consider the following short excerpt of a conversation ⁸557⁹ containing one content and one yes/no question. ⁸557⁹ A: mʷan-mʷan yɨ-cən-te who-who bə-gən? 3smS-come.IɱFV-FUT.DEF LOC-country ‘Who ⁸pl⁹ will come / is coming from the countryside?’ B: gaʃʃe. father ‘Father.’ A: gaʃʃe yɨ-cən-te? father 3smS-come.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘Father will come / is coming?’ B: ɨnk. yes ‘Yes.’ In the first question, speaker A wants to know who will come to town to attend speaker B’s graduation ceremony. At least two factors render somebody’s future coming uncertain: first, the final exams are still months ahead, so actually it is not even certain that B will eventually graduate; second, A does not know if it has already been decided at all that somebody will come ⁸or if it is feasible⁹. Nevertheless, the Definite Future is the right choice here because in this question speaker A does not mean to express their own certainty about the event but they want to inquire who is already known ⁸to speaker B⁹ to certainly come to the ceremony. The Indefinite Future would rather be used when one is pondering who in general could be considered a possible candidate to come. As to the first factor, by using the Definite Future speaker A respects speaker B’s capability of graduating successfully. The Indefinite Future could rather be interpreted that speaker A does not take the upcoming graduation for granted. Also in the second question of ⁸557⁹ the Definite Future is not referring to the asker’s certainty. In fact this question is not intended to ask for new contents but it is simply an echo question repeating what has been said just before ⁸even though B’s answer did not contain the verb yɨcənte ‘he will come’, this is what was meant⁹. There are instances where the use of the Definite Future is the most adequate choice for pragmatic reasons even though the speaker cannot be certain  gaʃʃe is an Amharic term of respect to older males, very often used to refer to one’s father. 186 as such about the future event. In ⁸558⁹, although the speaker has no control of what will happen and moreover even in combination with the modal expression gʷeta bəβarə ‘God willing’, the Definite Future is employed to present the state of affairs as if it were a fact in order to encourage the addressed person in his plans. ⁸558⁹ axə dəmmo – gʷeta bə-βar-ə – zədrə tɨ-kʼərs-ɨm-ta 2sm butѦ God yɨ-cən amət tɨ-jəppɨr-te. COND-say.ɱFV-3smS this.year 2smS-begin.IɱFV-CV.M-LINK 3smS-come.IɱFV year 2smS-finish.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘You then finish.’ God willing will begin this year and next year you will Similarly, the Definite Future occurs in menaces and threats to underline their significance. In example ⁸559⁹ the speaker is kept prisoner and has no information whether his people, the Gumer, will come to free him ⁸i.e. by exchanging calves as ransom⁹ or not. The Indefinite Future here would sound like a harmless suggestion and deprive the sentence of its menacing nature. ⁸559⁹ gʷəmarə yɨ-cən-te Gumer awa-xə məgəra 3smS-come.IɱFV-FUT.DEF woe-2smɱOSS calf y-acən-te. 3smS-bring.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘The Gumer will come woe to you! they will bring calves.’ As we have seen so far, the Indefinite Future is used when a speaker is not certain about a future event as with nəgə ‘tomorrow’ in ⁸560⁹. ⁸560⁹ nəgə sada sukʼ tɨ-kɨftɨ-ʃə. tomorrow S. shop 3sfS-open.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘Tomorrow Sada will [probably] open a shop.’ However, it can also occur in contexts that refer to past events as in ⁸561⁹. Here, the person who answers the question about an event that presumably took place tɨrama ‘yesterday’ does not know the correct answer but assumes ⁸or infers⁹ that it happened and expresses this by means of the Indefinite Future. ⁸561⁹ A: sada tɨrama sukʼ kəfət-əc-ɨm? S. yesterday shop open.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘Did Sada yesterday open a/the shop?’ B: tɨ-kɨftɨ-ʃə. 3sfS-open.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘ɱrobably she has opened [one/it].’ This example suggests that the modal ⁸i.e. epistemic⁹ value of the Indefinite Future is stronger than the temporal component possibly even up to the extent that it is analyzable as the only inherent category. However named, the vast majority of occurrences of the Indefinite Future still refers to future time points. One general 187 exception to this tendency, though, is the use of the copula or more precisely its corresponding ⁸suppletive⁹ Indefinite Future form yɨxɨrʃə etc. based on the verb xər ‘be, become’. In ⁸562⁹ tɨxɨrʃə does not translate as ‘you will be/become’ but it expresses probability. ⁸562⁹ zɨkka bə-βa-xʷə-n gi axə yə-mʷət-ə abba-na like.this COND-say.ɱFV-2smS-3smO time 2sm ɳEL-die.ɱFV-3smS father-1sɱOSS balagara tɨ-xɨr-ʃə. opponent 2smS-become.JUS-FUT.INDEF ‘If you say such things about him, you [probably] are my dead father’s enemy.’ Finally, note that the copula does not need to occur in a Future tense ⁸563⁹. ⁸563⁹ nəgə jɨmat-u. tomorrow Friday-COɱ.3smS ‘Tomorrow is Friday.’ 3.19 Verbs of being The verbs of being form an irregular system. The present tense copula ⁸ ⁹ is enclitic and does not belong to any verb root. ɳather it consists of a copular element ⁸-n-/-l-⁹ plus person markers partly corresponding to the set. The present tense of the verb of existence ⁸ ⁹ is a distinct verb form nər- ⁸not attributed to any root⁹ with the subject markers of the set. In negation and subordination as well as TAM forms other than present tense, suppletive verbs are employed. On the one hand, there are suppletive forms going back to the common Ethiosemitic root *√hlw ‘exist’ ⁸Meyer 2011: 1246⁹, all of which employ the subject markers. They are anə- ⁸subordinated ⁹, enə- ⁸negated ⁹, and banə- ⁸past of and ⁹. The latter also functions as past tense auxiliary in analytic forms with and ⁸↗ 3.18.4⁹, however often only in its invariable ⁸enclitic⁹ form -βa. On the other hand, the verbs xər √xr ‘become’ ⁸negation and/or subordination of ⁹ and nəppər √rβr ‘live’ ⁸negation and/or subordination of banə⁹ are used. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f Table 78: -n-xʷ -n-xə -n-xʸ -u -n-ya -ndə -n-xu -n-xɨma -l-o -l-əma present tense ⁸affirmative⁹ The present tense copula ⁸ ⁹ consists of -n- plus subject markers in part corresponding to the ones of the set. For 3pm /3pf the copular element is 188 -l- rather than -n-. In 1p , -n- is absorbed by the nasal of the subject marker -ndə. The 3sm copula does not feature any consonantal marker, but consists of -u only ⁸-w after vowel as in ⁸568⁹⁹. The copula is a clitic attaching to the last word of the predication as in ⁸563⁹ above or ⁸564⁹-⁸568⁹. ⁸564⁹ gʷɨrage-n-xu. Gurage-COɱ-3pmS ʽYou ⁸pm⁹ are Gurage.ʼ ⁸565⁹ gʷəmarə-l-o. Gumer-COɱ-3pmS ʽThey ⁸pm⁹ are Gumer.ʼ ⁸566⁹ nɨkkʼar wəxe kʼar-u. very good THING-COɱ.3smS ʽIt is very good.ʼ ⁸567⁹ mətʼaf-xʷɨt bə-satʼin fʷər-u. book-DEF.M LOC-box on-COɱ.3smS ʽThe book is on the box.ʼ ⁸568⁹ mena-xno-w. work-3pmɱOSS-COɱ.3smS ʽIt is their job.ʼ An additional copular element -t- can occur optionally when directly follows the corresponding personal pronoun of the first and second persons. The third persons do not seem to allow for -t-. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ɨyya-t-ɨn-xʷ axə-t-ɨn-xə axʸ-t-ɨn-xʸ xʷɨt-u xʸɨt-ɨn-ya Table 79: yɨna-t-ɨndə axu-t-ɨn-xu axma-t-ɨn-xɨma xɨno-l-o xɨnəma-l-əma with pronouns and -t- A typical occurence of these forms is in cleft sentences as in ⁸569⁹. ⁸569⁹ ɨyya-(tɨ-)n-xʷ yə-sɨyə-xʷ-ɨn. 1s-⁸t-⁹COɱ-1sS ɳEL-buy.ɱFV-1sS-3smO ʽI bought it ⁸lit. it is me who bought it⁹.ʼ The present tense of the verb of existence ⁸ ⁹ is nər-, which only exists in this form and is not attributed to any verb root. Note that the final r assimilates to the  ɳeportedly, 3smS xʷɨt-ɨt-u ʽit is himʼ is possible in Ezha. 189 nasal of 1pS. Formally,  is conjugated like a verb ⁸↗ 3.11.1⁹, but since it expresses present tense it does not occur with the main verb marker -m ⁸↗ 3.18.1.1⁹. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f nər-xʷ nər-xə nər-xʸ nər-ə nər-əc nən-nə nər-xu nər-xɨma nər-(əβ)o nər-əma Table 80:  present tense ⁸affirmative⁹ Some typical uses of the verb of existence are illustrated in ⁸570⁹-⁸573⁹. ⁸570⁹ rəwda nər-əc. ɳ. EX-3sfS ‘ɳauda is here ⁸i.e. around, available⁹.’ ⁸571⁹ xɨkka nər-əǃ there EX-3smS ‘It is there!’ ⁸572⁹ b-ɨnəkʼʷamt yəcʼəmar, gəmʷə, togyə, mənzo, gʸɨβyə yɨ-wr-i LOC-Y. səβ Y. G. T. M. G. 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO nər-ə. person EX-3smS ‘In Yinekwamt ⁸a subgroup of Gumer⁹ there are people ⁸i.e. subgroups of Yinekwamt⁹ called Yechemar, Gemwe, Togye, Menzo, [and] Gyibye.’ ⁸573⁹ yɨ-tcʼawəj-i kʼar təcʼər nər-ə. 3S-chat.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO THING abundantly EX-3smS ‘There are a lot of things to talk about.’ As mentioned above, some suppletive forms of verbs of being go back to the Ethiosemitic root *√hlw ‘exist’. They all have the shape of and are conjugated like a verb as table 81 shows. Note that they never feature the main verb marker -m, reasons being that they express present tense and/or are subordinated and/or negated. The basic form is anə, which only exists as subordinated . The negated present tense of  is enə ⁰ ʽthere is notʼ, which is also used in subordination. Finally, banə functions as past tense of both and  in main clauses. This verb most probably originates in the subordinated form b- ⁸ / ⁹+ anə, which also accounts for the absence of -m despite its past tense reference. However, other explanations about its origins have been proposed ⁸cf. Hetzron 1977: 106f.⁹.  In contrast, for example, to the cognate allə in Amharic, which is  and  ⁰ Cf. the Amharic cognate form yəllə-m ʽthere is notʼ. 190  in main clauses. 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf Negated  Subordinated  ɱast and  enə-xʷ enə-xə enə-xʸ enə enə-c enə-nə enə-xu enə-xma enə-βo enə-ma -anə-xʷ -anə-xə -anə-xʸ -anə -anə-c -anə-nə -anə-xu -anə-xma -anə-βo -anə-ma banə-xʷ banə-xə banə-xʸ banə banə-c banə-nə banə-xu banə-xma banə-βo banə-ma Table 81: Verbs of being originating in *√hlw ‘exist’ The following examples illustrate negated  in main clauses ⁸574⁹-⁸576⁹ and in subordination ⁸577⁹. Note that the subordinator yə- is missing as is often the case with relativized negated verbs ⁸↗ 4.7.3.1⁹. ⁸574⁹ neβa enə. thief NEG.EX[.3smS] ‘There is no thief ⁸there are no thieves⁹.’ ⁸575⁹ bə-βet səβ enə. LOC-house person NEG.EX[.3smS] ‘There is nobody at home.’ ⁸576⁹ cʼəxʷə-na tʼəβətʼ-xʷ-ɨm tɨ-n-cən yɨ-kʼʷəm səβ spear-1sɱOSS take.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M TEMɱ-1sS-come.IɱFV 3smS-stand.IɱFV person enə. NEG.EX[.3smS] ‘There is no one who stays put/upright when I come with ⁸lit. holding⁹ my spear.’ ⁸577⁹ afinjə enə-wə chili kʼar NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.3sm THING ʽsomething without chili in itʼ In subordination,  is anə as in the complement clause ⁸578⁹ or the relative clause ⁸579⁹. ⁸578⁹ ɨnnɨmgi bə-dəwəʃe y-anə-xʷ-xəma tɨ-xʸɨr-we? always LOC-D. ɳEL-EX-1sS-COMɱ 2smS-know.IɱFV-ɲ ʽDo you know that I am always ⁸available/found⁹ in Deweshe?ʼ ⁸579⁹ əxʷa y-anə-xə-wə məsriyaβet? now ɳEL-EX-2smS-MAL.3sm workplaceѦ ʽThe workplace you are in now?ʼ 191 Both and  ⁸affirmative⁹ share a common past tense banə ⁸ . ⁹. Example ⁸580⁹ shows a past tense copula and ⁸581⁹ a past tense verb of existence. ⁸580⁹ afər-əta tʼəβɨβ banə. (< tʼəβɨβ-u) land-3smS narrow BE.ɱT[.3smS] ‘His land was narrow.’ ⁸581⁹ bə-fərənji gən at aβəʃa banə. LOC-foreigner country one habasha BE.ɱT[.3smS] (< at aβəʃa nərə) ‘There was a habasha in a foreign country.’ The same verb banə is also the past auxiliary in analytic forms with and ⁸↗ 3.18.4⁹, however quite often in its invariable ⁸enclitic⁹ form -βa ⁸582⁹. For the past of and  ⁸ . ⁹, the full form banə is used more frequently, but it also occurs as -βa ⁸583⁹. ⁸582⁹ angɨwa yɨ-wəre-βa. whey 3S-eat.IɱFV.IɱS.3smO-AUX.ɱT ‘They ⁸one⁹ used to eat whey.’ ⁸583⁹ yədrə səβ xʷɨjɨr y-əram goga-βa-ʃ. former person clothes ATTɳ-cow skin-BE.ɱT-ɱɳAG ‘The clothes of people of old was cow leather ⁸you know⁹.’ ɱresent tense is replaced by the of xər √xr ʽbecomeʼ in negation ⁸584⁹⁸585⁹ and subordination ⁸586⁹-⁸587⁹. Note that this suppletive verb expresses present tense despite its form. ⁸584⁹ dəβo-axə an-xər-ə. relative-2smɱOSS NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS ʽHe is not your relative.ʼ ⁸585⁹ bə-gən-əxʷna nɨkkʼar yi-kʷəʃ-i, LOC-country-3pmɱOSS very an-xər-ə-we? 3S-pay.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS-ɲ ʽIn their country they pay a lot, isnʼt it ⁸i.e. donʼt they⁹?ʼ ⁸586⁹ xʸɨt dəngənə yə-xər-əc-xəma 3sf rich ə-xʸɨr. ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3sfS-COMɱ 1sS-know.IɱFV ʽI know that she is rich.ʼ ⁸587⁹ ərəkʼʷe yə-xər-e far ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS.ɱUɳɱ ʽbecause it is farʼ As suppletive verb for negated and subordinated banə ⁸i.e. past and past ⁹ the of nəppər √rβr ‘live’ is used. Examples ⁸588⁹ and ⁸589⁹ show complement clauses of a past tense copula and a past tense verb of existence, respectively, and ⁸590⁹ illustrates negated banə. 192 ⁸588⁹ xʸɨt mərkama yə-rəppər-əc-xəma 3sf beautiful ə-xʸɨr. ɳEL-live.ɱFV-3sfS-COMɱ 1sS-know.IɱFV ʽI know that she was beautiful.ʼ ⁸589⁹ at gərəd yə-rəppər-əc-xəma one girl ə-xʸɨr. ɳEL-live.ɱFV-3sfS-COMɱ 1sS-know.IɱFV ʽI know that there was one girl.ʼ ⁸590⁹ tʼɨrə an-nəppər-ə. expensive NEG-live.ɱFV-3smS ʽIt was not expensive.ʼ Furthermore, the of nəppər √rβr ʽliveʼ instead of can be used to express permanent states ⁸591⁹. Similarly, in combination with an m-converb it describes a habitual state of affairs ⁸592⁹. ⁸591⁹ bə-gəbya yɨ-rəβɨr. LOC-market 3smS-live.IɱFV ‘It is available on the market.’ ⁸592⁹ ɨxa səccʼə-xʷ-ɨm ə-rəβɨr. water drink.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M 1sS-live.IɱFV ‘I ⁸always/habitually⁹ drink water.’ 3.19.1 ʽHaveʼ and ʽmustʼ Verbal possession ⁸ʽhaveʼ⁹ is expressed by the verb of existence ⁸and its suppletive forms⁹ plus the primary object suffixes, and obligation ⁸ʽmustʼ⁹ is expressed by the verb of existence plus malefactive suffixes ⁸see table 61 for the forms⁹. In verbal possession, the primary object refers to the possessor while the possessed is the subject ⁸593⁹-⁸594⁹. This is evident in example ⁸595⁹ where the verb agrees with the feminine noun. However, usually the verb of existence appears simply as masculine singular ⁸i.e. the default gender, ↗ 4.2.3⁹, no matter if the possessed is plural ⁸596⁹ or even human ⁸597⁹. ⁸593⁹ wənəxʷə nər-e. neighbor EX-3smS.1sO ʽI have a neighbor.ʼ ⁸594⁹ bet banə-ndə. house BE.ɱT[.3smS]-1pO ‘We had a house.’ ⁸595⁹ at gʷaddəɲɲa banə-c-e. one friendѦ BE.ɱT-3sfS-1sO ‘I had one ⁸a certain⁹ friend ⁸⁹.’ ⁸596⁹ xʷet wəfer nər-ə-no. two young.bull EX-3smS-3pmO ʽThey have two young bulls.ʼ 193 ⁸597⁹ dengʸa nər-ə-n. boys EX-3smS-3smO ʽHe has boys.ʼ When the possessor appears as an overt noun it stands before the possessed noun ⁸598⁹-⁸599⁹. Note that it remains unmarked, even though in other instances dativelike primary objects may be marked with yə- ⁸↗ 4.7.1.2⁹. ⁸598⁹ ɨntəganə sera enə-n. Endegeñ custom NEG.EX[.3smS]-3smO ‘The Endegeñ do not have customs.’ ⁸599⁹ dada lufa gaz enə-n. D. L. war NEG.EX[.3smS]-3smO ‘Dada Lufa does not have [any history o] war.’ Obligation is expressed literally as ʽthere is on someoneʼ. The content verb is in the form of an infinitive ⁸or verbal noun, ↗ 3.13⁹ which functions as the syntactic subject. The obligated person is indexed as malefactive on the verb of existence ⁸600⁹-⁸602⁹. ⁸600⁹ wə-βra nər-ə-βxə. INF-eat EX-3smS-MAL.2sm ʽYou ⁸sm⁹ must eat ⁸lit. eating is on you⁹.ʼ ⁸601⁹ wə-kra nər-ə-β-i. INF-ascend EX-3smS-MAL.1sO ʽI have to go up.ʼ ⁸602⁹ ətʼβ-ot nər-ə-wə. wash-INF EX-3smS-3smO ʽHe must wash.ʼ or ‘It is necessary to wash ⁸ ~ one must wash⁹.’ Negated  + yields the translation ʽshould not, need notʼ ⁸603⁹. This example also illustrates that the obligated person ⁸axə⁹ remains unmarked as overt noun or pronoun despite the fact that it is indexed as malefactive on the verb. ⁸603⁹ xʷɨt bə-mʷət-ə gɨzyə axə wə-mbər enə-βxə. 3sm LOC/TEMɱ-die.ɱFV-3smS time 2sm INF-live NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.2sm ‘When he is [already] dead, you should/need not live.’ 194 4 Nominal morphology 4.1 Derivational nominal morphology In Gumer we can distinguish between two categories of derivational nominal morphology. First, there is a small set of affixes with a more or less consistent usage to derive nouns ⁸and some adjectives⁹ from adjectives and nouns. The most productive ones with a clear meaning are -nət ⁸604⁹, -ina ⁸605⁹, and -ənə ⁸606⁹. Some other affixes can be assigned a meaning, too, but they occur less frequently and are if at all less productive ⁸607⁹-⁸615⁹. Second, there is a great variety of irregular patterns to derive nouns and adjectives from verbs ⁸or rather verb roots⁹. They are usually neither productive nor attributable to specific meanings.  Among these unpredictable patterns there are ‘bare’ forms only consisting of the root consonants ⁸622⁹ and forms with additional suffixes as for example -a ⁸616⁹, -ət ⁸618⁹ or -t ⁸620⁹. Note that some of these patterns feature additional palatalization and/or labialization that is not part of the basic root, for example ⁸624⁹ or ⁸625⁹. See Banksira ⁸2000: 185ff.⁹, in particular for his analysis of such root-internal labializations and palatalizations,  and ɳose ⁸2007: 423ff.⁹ for a general short overview of the derivational nominal morphology. The suffix -nət ⁸604⁹ derives abstract nouns from adjectives ⁸a-d⁹ and nouns ⁸e-h⁹. Final vowels are deleted ⁸d-h⁹ and the gemination in kʼʸamma ⁸g⁹ is reduced. ⁸604⁹ -nət a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. mʷəkʼ bətɨt nɨkʼ dəngənə wənəxʷə tɨkə kʼʸamma amakʸə ‘warm’ ‘wide, broad’ ‘big’ ‘rich’ ‘neighbor’ ‘child’ ‘guarantor’ ‘⁸wife’s male⁹ in-law⁸s⁹’ mʷəkʼnət bətɨtnət nɨkʼnət dəngənnət wənəxʷnət tɨknət kʼʸamnət amakʸnət ‘heat, temperature’ ‘width, breadth’ ‘greatness’ ‘richness, being rich’ ‘neighborhood’ ‘childhood’ ‘guarantee, insurance’ ‘⁸wife’s male⁹ kinship’   Due to the fact that these patterns are rather unproductive, it seems at times difficult to consider them as nominal derivations as such, especially the rare ones. In some cases it might therefore be safer to state that certain nominals and verbs can be identified with the same root. Consider for instance zər ‘seed’ and zəna ‘sow’ ⁸√zrA⁹ or kʼɨβ ‘butter’ and kʼəppa ‘smear’ ⁸√kʼβA⁹.   In short, labialization and palatalization are both triggered by the features [round] and [high], respectively, of an abstract element /U/ word-internally or as ⁸part o⁹ a suffix. I do not intend to reject this analysis, but I will not go into more details here for mainly for two reasons: first, a majority of Banksira’s examples, mainly the so-called participles, seemed to be rather marginal or even unknown to my Gumer speakers and could therefore not be confirmed; second, Banksira’s analysis does not predict all forms correctly ⁸see, for example, Banksira 2000: 204⁹. Thus, in addition to the fact that the derivations in question can hardly be assigned specific meanings, there are many irregularities and exceptions. In order to obtain a completer picture of the nominal derivations in Gumer, a more systematic survey is needed. 195 There are also words with -nət that are not necessarily abstract derivations from a concrete adjective or noun. For instance, we can find the words ʃɨtnət that seems to be derived from ʃɨtta. However, these are coexisting words with apparently the exact same meaning ‘smell, odor’, the latter probably being a loan from Amharic. Another example is the pair tʼor and tʼornət, both seemingly expressing the same or almost the same meaning ‘war, fighting’. Alongside -nət there is also the variant ɨnnət in use as, for example, tʼorɨnnət ‘war’ and kʼʸammɨnnət ‘guarantee’. ɱrobably, this geminated form is either borrowed directly from Amharic or an influence from a neighboring geminating Gurage variety. The suffix -ina ⁸605⁹ is added to the name of peoples, nations, places or countries to form the corresponding language name. It can also be used with mɨr ‘what’ to ask for a language ⁸d⁹. The final vowel of the basic word is deleted ⁸a,b⁹. Besides -ina, the Amharic form -ɨɲɲa is also in use, especially among younger speakers. ⁸605⁹ -ina a. b. c. d. gʷɨrage amara jərmən mɨr ‘Gurage ⁸people⁹’ ‘Amhara ⁸people⁹’ ‘German, Germany’ ‘what?’ gʷɨragina amarina jərmənina mɨrina ‘Gurage language’  ‘Amharic language’ ‘German language’ ‘what/which language?’ The suffix -ənə ⁸606⁹ added to nominals forms agentive nouns or adjectives, mostly expressing a profession or a ⁸permanent⁹ quality. Note that the final vowel is deleted ⁸d⁹. In the case of ʃɨrənə ‘crazy’ ⁸g⁹, the word is not directly derived from ʃɨr, but is connected to the reduplicated form ʃɨrʃɨr. Finally, the suffix -ənə is also used to form ordinal numerals ⁸h⁹ ⁸↗ 4.5.2⁹. ⁸606⁹ -ənə a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. fərəz dəm gaz mena naxʷcər tʼom ʃɨrʃɨr sost ‘horse’ ‘blood’ ‘war’ ‘work’ ‘message’ ‘fast’ ‘gotten crazy’ ‘three’ fərəzənə ‘rider’ dəmənə ‘murderer’ gazənə ‘warrior’ menənə ‘worker’ naxʷcərənə ‘messenger’ tʼomənə ‘Christian’ ʃɨrənə ‘mad, crazy’ sostənə ‘third’ Another suffix occuring in agentive nouns or adjectives is -amma ⁸607⁹. It is much less common than -ənə and probably not productive. Occasionally, it can also be heard without gemination, especially with mərkama ‘beautiful’.   Or gʷɨragʷe / gʷɨragʷina.  The possible “candidates” ʃɨr ‘lawsuit’ and ʃɨra ‘blossom of əssət’ have to be excluded due to their semantics. ɳather, ʃɨrənə is connected to the reduplicated ʃɨrʃɨr ‘gotten crazy’ used in ʃɨrʃɨr bar ‘be crazy’ ⁸cf. Banksira 2000: 142 and Leslau 1979c: 584⁹. 196 ⁸607⁹ -amma a. b. c. ‘gossip, news, lie’ ‘chant, song, poem’ ‘appearance, shape’ ojə weg mərk ojamma wegamma mərkamma ‘liar’ ‘minstrel’ ‘beautiful, pretty’ It is important to note that by far not all agentive nouns or professions can be derived by -ənə or -amma. More commonly these concepts are expressed by relative clauses attributed to səβ ‘person’, i.e. ‘somebody who is V-ing’ as in ⁸608⁹ and ⁸609⁹ ⁸cf. also example ⁸614⁹⁹. ⁸608⁹ xʷɨjɨr yɨ-sef səβ clothes 3smS-sew.IɱFV person ‘tailor ⁸lit.: a person who sews clothes⁹’ ⁸609⁹ awi yɨ-tʼəβtʼ-o səβ wild.animals 3S-take.IɱFV-pmS person ‘hunters ⁸lit.: persons who catch wild animals⁹’ The suffix -wət ⁸610⁹ is used to derive feminine nouns ⁸a,b⁹, or nouns with a special related meaning ⁸c⁹. Again, note that final vowels are deleted and gemination is reduced. ⁸610⁹ -wət a. b. c. mərkamma gəmbəna tʼɨrar ‘beautiful’ ‘dark’ ‘shade’ mərkamwət ‘beautiful one ⁸⁹’ gəmbənwət ‘dark one ⁸⁹’ tʼɨrarwət ‘shadow’ According to ɳose ⁸2007: 424⁹, the suffix -yə ⁸611⁹ converts adjectives into nouns with an extended meaning as illustrated in ⁸a⁹. However, as for ɨrsɨyə ‘small’ and nɨkʼyə ‘big’ ⁸b,c⁹ it is not clear if there is a difference in meaning. With nouns, -yə occurs together with the prefixed attributivizer yə- ⁸d⁹. ⁸611⁹ -yə a. b. c. d. tʼɨkʼʷɨr ɨrs nɨkʼ ɨmmat ‘black’ ‘small’ ‘big’ ‘only one’ tʼɨkʼʷɨryə ɨrsɨyə nɨkʼyə y-ɨmmatyə ‘black wɨssa-bread’ ‘small’ ‘big’ ‘an only child’  Not uncommon is also the use of an Amharic loan word, for example asa atʼmaj ‘fisherman’ instead of “original” Gumer asa y-atʼəmd səβ.  I could not find more equivalent examples.  ɳose ⁸2007: 423⁹ mentions that also -wət if used with a noun occurs with yə-. However, I could not find relevant examples ⁸ɳose’s example yə-ʃəxɨr-wət ‘potter ⁸⁹’ was not accepted⁹.  As it seems tʼɨkʼʷɨryə can denote any object that is black, but in particular it is used for a black kind of wɨssa. 197 With eβər- ‘so-and-so’ -yə stands for masculine, whereas -wət ⁸see above⁹ marks the feminine form, i.e. eβəryə ‘so-and-so ⁸m⁹’ and eβərwət ‘so-and-so ⁸⁹’. The two prefixes wə- ⁸612⁹ and mə- ⁸613⁹ occur in some instrumental nouns. They can contain other affixes as -a, -yə or -t. There are also derivations that convey non-instrumental meanings like mənkəs ‘stomach-ache’. ⁸612⁹ wəa. b. c. ⁸613⁹ seffə fəccʼə fənt √sfI √ftʼI √frt ‘sew’ ‘grind’ ‘cut in hal’ a. atrassa √rsA ‘help to lift’ matraʃyə b. kʼʷənə √kʼrU ‘roast’ makʼʷret c. nəkəs √rks mənkəs wəsifə wəfcʼə wəfənca ‘awl’ ‘lower millstone’ ‘entrance ⁸dividing the house in two⁹’ mə- ‘bite’ ‘stretcher for carrying dung’ ‘stick used to roast coffee beans’ ‘stomach-ache’ It is important to note that such instrumental derivations cannot be applied to any verb root. In fact there are only a handful of pertinent examples ⁸cf. also Banksira 2000: 216⁹. Usually, instrumental meanings are expressed by impersonal constructions in a relative clause ⁸ʽrelative verbʼ, ↗ 4.7.3.1⁹ involving an instrumental object ⁸glossed , ↗ 3.12.1⁹ attributed to the dummy head kʼar ‘ ’. ⁰ ⁸614⁹ yɨ-kəfʷcɨ-pʷə kʼar 3smS-open.IɱFV.IɱS-MAL.3sm THING ‘opener ⁸lit.: a thing with which one opens⁹’ In addition to all the above affixes that are productive or at least attested several times, there are some derivational suffixes in abstract nouns, like -nat, -nər, -cər, -ərə, -arə ⁸615⁹, that occur very rarely, most of them presumably only once. Note that they are not suffixed to some other noun or adjective but form an abstract noun “directly” from the verb root. For instance there is no such noun as *k’ʸəm or *kʼʸəmmə from which kʼʸəmnat ‘sickness’ would be derived. ɳather it is connected to the verb k’ʸəmmə ‘be ill’ and the verb root √kʼmI.  The verb makʼʷret should be derived from akʼʷənə with causative a-, but it is not clear if this is in use.  ⁰ Other heads for the ʽrelative verbʼ are also possible. Leslau ⁸1979c: 528⁹ has for example ⁸Chaha⁹ yɨ-rəʃ-pʷə gɨβɨr ‘weaving loom ⁸lit. an object/utensil with which one weaves⁹’. I have also recorded instances without head noun such as yɨ-gəwə-pʷə ‘entrance ⁸lit. one enters by/in it⁹’, though in such cases it is not entirely clear if they are really used as referential nominal like this or if they are predications. 198 ⁸615⁹ other suffixes a. b. c. d. e. kʼʸəmmə kʼʸətʼ nax tʼəkkʼʷər məʃʃə √kʼmI √kʼItʼ √rAx √tʼkʼʷr √msI ‘be ill’ ‘be tired’ ‘send’ ‘be black’ ‘become evening’ kʼʸəmnat kʼʸɨcʼnər naxʷcər cʼəkʼʷrərə mɨsarə ‘sickness’ ‘fatigue’ ‘message’ ‘early morning’ ‘evening’ There is a considerable number of nominalizations with a suffix -t, -ət, -at or -a.  Generally, they are all identifiable with verb roots, but the derivations do not follow specific patterns.  The following lists are not exhaustive but show some illustrative examples. Words of similar shape are grouped together. Nominals with the suffix -a ⁸616⁹ often have the pattern 123-a ⁸a-e⁹ and show labialization of the rightmost labial or velar consonant ⁸kʼura in ⁸a⁹ is derived from *kʼɨwra < *kʼɨβʷra⁹, and final alveolars are palatalized ⁸c-d⁹. The example zənga ⁸⁹, derived from the weak quadriradical verb zɨrəkkʸə √zrgI, behaves differently. ⁸616⁹ -a a. b. c. d. e. f. kʼəppər gəffər məna agəz wənd zɨrəkkʸə √kʼβr √gfr √mrA √Agz √Urd √zrgI ‘be incomplete’ ‘let go, release’ ‘be full’ ‘help’ ‘go down’ ‘speak’ kʼura gɨfʷra mʷɨra əgʷʒa wɨrja zənga ‘incomplete’ ‘abandoned ⁸house⁹’ ‘full’ ‘ally, help’ ‘abortion’ ‘word, matter’ Another example that seems to fit into this class is gʷɨdβa ‘trench’. Etymologically it is without doubt connected to the verb gʸəttəβ ⁸√g dβ⁹ ‘bar’, but in this case it is most probably a loan from Amharic ⁸gudba⁹ rather than a derivation directly from the Gumer verb or verb root. If it were originally Gumer one could expect the final labial β to be labialized. In contrast to -a, nominals with -at do not feature labialization ⁸617⁹,  but the medial radical r in ⁸a,b⁹ appears in its palatalized form y. Note that except for xəttərat ⁸c⁹ all examples have weak final radicals. Since this is mostly A, the a might also be seen as part of the base and not of the suffix -at. Nevertheless, I assume that here the suffix is indeed -at which deletes the root-final vowels ⁸in accord with Banksira 2000: 196⁹.   According to ɳose ⁸2007: 424⁹ they go back to former gender markers.   As mentioned above, there is an analysis of the derivations involving labialization and palatalization in Banksira ⁸2000: 185ff.⁹; see footnote ⁸162⁹.   The labialized fʷ in ⁸a⁹ is due to the final radical U. 199 ⁸617⁹ -at a. b. c. d. e. f. g. a-fʷənə a-xəna xəttər gəppa kʼɨyə tʼəmma wəzza √frU √xrA √xdr √gβA √krAI √tʼmA √UzA ‘rest’ ‘shout, make noise’ ‘stop from fighting’ ‘enter’ ‘wait; look afterʼ ‘be thirsty’ ‘sweat, be shiny’ fʷəyat ‘rest’ xəyat ‘noise, shouting’ xəttərat ‘truce’ gəppat ‘evening’ kʼərat ‘night watch’ tʼɨmat ‘thirst’ wɨzat ‘sweat’ Nominal derivations with -ət ⁸618⁹ often follow the pattern 123-ət without additional labialization or palatalization ⁸a-d⁹, but note the slightly different output with the weak verbs in ⁸e-⁹. ⁸618⁹ -ət a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. fəntʼ nəppər sədəd fəttʼər cʼar cʼɨyə effə a-xʷə √frtʼ √rβr √sdd √ftʼr √cʼAr √crAI √IfI - ‘have headache’ ‘live’ ‘drive away’ ‘create’ ‘load’ ‘stink’ ‘cover with lid’ ‘leak’ fɨrtʼət nɨβrət sɨddət fɨtʼrət cʼərət cʼinət ɨffʷət axʷət ‘headache’ ‘life’ ‘exile’ ‘creature, nature’ ‘load, freight’ ‘bad smell’ ‘pot lid’ ‘leak ⁸roo⁹’ Finally consider the following few examples with final -it or -et ⁸619⁹ and the nouns with final -t that are derived from the ideophones ⁸620⁹ used in phrasal verbs with bar ‘say’ ⁸↗ 3.17.4⁹. ⁸619⁹ -it, -et a. b. c. kʼʷənnər tʼənəkʼ seffə √kʼ rr ‘trim ⁸tip of house⁹’ √tʼrk’ ‘be dry’ √sfI ‘sew’ kʼʷɨrit ‘tip of house’ tʼɨnkʼʸit ‘fright’ sɨfet ‘sewing’  xəttərat is also the name of a Gumer village. Further, concerning its meaning, Leslau ⁸1979c: 370⁹ states that the equivalent word in Inor, Endegeñ and Gyeto means ‘postponement asked by the family of the killer concerning the payment of blood money’.  It is not evident what the rood of xʷə should be. Comparing it to the cognate verb in Geʼez kaʕawa √kʕw ⁸Leslau 1987: 272⁹ it could be √xAU. Then again the y in Jussive base xay in Gumer suggest the presence of a radical I, as do the ⁸ɱerfective⁹ forms hoʔyə in Endegeñ or kəʕe in Tigre ⁸cf. Leslau 1979c: 362⁹.  There are also nouns ending in -it that are not derived from verb roots, for example ɨmbʷɨrβit ‘whirlwind’ or ɨnkʼʷɨrfit ‘obstacle’.  tʼənəkʼ ‘be frightened’ is an experiencer verb. The basic meaning is ‘be dry’. 200 ⁸620⁹ -t a. b. ‘dawn’ ‘shout, scream’ ga bar ko bar gat kot ‘dawn’ ‘shouting’ Some nouns feature the shape 12a3-ə with their final root consonant palatalized ⁸621⁹. If it is not palatalizable the preceding vowel a is raised to e ⁸e⁹. As can be seen in ⁸b,c,⁹ the medial radical occurs in its mutated form. When there are weak radicals, the pattern is not evident anymore on the surface, for example gajə < *gAajə ⁸d⁹. Note that there can also be additional labialization ⁸c⁹. It has to be left open if this is due to the fact that the basic verb is a type B verb. ⁸621⁹ 12a3-ə + a. b. c. d. e. nəməd dənəg ʃəpət gad sənəf √rmd √drg √s βt √gAd √srf ‘love’ ‘hit’ ‘choose’ ‘be hungry’ ‘fear’ nɨmajə dɨnagʸə ʃɨpʷacə gajə sɨnefə ‘love’ ‘cough’ ⁰ ‘choice’ ‘hunger’ ‘fear’ A note on the productivity of such derivations is in order here. Overall, it seems that other than the few suffixes above ⁸604⁹-⁸606⁹ the derivational patterns are not productive at all but each of them contains only a limited number of members. Nevertheless, it is not ruled out that one could form creatively new words based on one or the other pattern. This happened with the pattern 12a3-ə and the verb cəffər √t fr ‘take a mouthful’. In Gumer, there is no noun derived from this root, but to express ‘mouthful’ the Amharic loan gurʃa ~ gʷɨrʃa is used ⁸which relates to the Amharic verb gʷərrəs ‘take a mouthful’⁹. Asked if there really is no Gurage equivalent of gʷɨrʃa, a speaker suggested that it had to be cɨffʷarə immediately adding, however, that this word does not exist. ɲuite a big number of nouns and adjectives derived from verb roots have the shape 123 without additional affixes ⁸622⁹. Many of them, however, feature additional internal labialization ⁸623⁹, palatalization ⁸624⁹ or both ⁸625⁹. When there are weak radicals involved, the connection between form and pattern are not always evident,  as for instance tʼu and eβ. Note also that a root-final A changes to ə when palatalization or labialization is involved ⁸there is no labializable consonant in tʼɨrə and arə⁹. The following lists are not exhaustive.  Another word that might belong to this group is ojə ‘gossip, news’ from od ‘tell’ and the root √AUd, i.e. ojə < *AUajə. On the other hand, why would then the output not be əwajə? See also Leslau ⁸1979c: 111⁹ who has əwjə and not *əwajə in the related Gurage language Kistane ⁸Soddo⁹.  This hypothesis is supported by the Chaha word k’ʸɨnawə ‘proximity, nearness’ ⁸Banksira 2000: 218, Leslau 1979c: 491⁹ which fits into this pattern. It is derived from a type B verb ⁸k’ənəβ, √k rβ ‘be near’⁹ and also features labialization ⁸β w⁹. However, it is not sure if the derived noun is also common in Gumer.  ⁰ ‘Coughing’ is an experiencer verb, for example yɨ-dərg-e ‘I am coughing’ is literally ‘it hits me’.   The classification of such cases might be disputed. 201 ⁸622⁹ 123 a. b. c. d. e. f. ⁸623⁹ bəssər dəməd fəkkʼər fəntʼ gədəd məntʼ mezzər nəfəg səkkʼər tʼəbəs tʼəffa təppa tʼəna anna attʼər tə-fəkkʼʸər fəna təffa anəβ 123 + + a. tə-xəttər b. fətʼəm c. d.     ‘cut in hal’ ‘judge’ ‘suppurate’ ‘get black, burn’ ‘spend a year’ ‘suck’ fɨnt fɨrd mɨgɨr tʼɨkʼʷɨr xɨrɨm tʼu  ‘hal’ ‘judgment’ ‘pus’ ‘black’ ‘year’ ‘breast’ √βsr √dmd √fkʼr √frtʼ √gdd √mrtʼ √m zr √rfg √skʼr √tʼβs √tʼfA √tβA √tʼrA √ArA ‘be ripe, cook’ ‘gather, join, unite’ ‘be fat’ ‘become blind’ ‘pierce’ ‘peel’ ‘count’ ‘be greedy’ ‘hang’ ‘roast’ ‘be spoilt, extinguish’ ‘be hard’ ‘be expensive’ ‘defecate’ bʷɨsɨr dɨmʷd fʷɨkʼʷɨr fʷɨrtʼ gʷɨdɨd mʷɨrtʼ mʷɨzɨr nɨfʷɨg sɨkʼʷɨr tʼus tʼɨfʷə tɨwə tʼɨrə arə ‘ripe’ ‘joined, united’ ‘fat ⁸n⁹’ ‘blind’ ‘torn’ ‘barren’  ‘number’ ‘greedy’ ‘roo’ ‘roasted ⁸meat⁹’ ‘bad, evil’ ‘hard’ ‘dear, expensive’ ‘stool’ √Atʼr √f kʼr √frA √tfA √Arβ ‘be short’ ‘sing’ ‘have intercourse’ ‘slap; spit’ ‘milk’ accʼɨr fɨkʼʸɨr fɨyə tifə eβ ‘short’ ‘song’ ‘vagina’ ‘slap ⁸in face⁹’ ‘milk’ 123 + a. b. c. d. e. ⁸625⁹ √frt √frd √mgr √tʼkʼʷr √xrm √tʼβU 123 + a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. ⁸624⁹ fənt fənd məkkər tʼəkkʼʷər xənəm tʼəppʷə bettər mettʼər √xdr ‘dress’ √ftʼm ‘block up, close’ xʷɨjɨr ‘clothes’ fʷɨcʼɨm ‘closed, untouched’ √β tr ‘distinguish, separate’ bʷɨcɨr ‘different’ √m tʼr ‘select, clean ⁸grain⁹’ mʷɨcʼɨr ‘neat, washed ⁸clothes⁹’  tʼu < *tʼɨw < *tʼɨβʷ ⁸the labialization is due to the final radical U⁹  Usually understood as a piece of land without grass ⁸because it was eaten by cows etc.⁹. tʼus < *tʼɨws < *tʼɨβʷ s eβ < *ayβ 202 Another smaller group of nouns and adjectives has the pattern 1ə2ə3. ⁸626⁹ 1ə2ə3 a. tʼənəkʼ b. wəttər c. kʼɨməccʼə d. √tʼrkʼ ‘be dry’ √Utr ‘draw tight’ √kʼmtʼI ‘be ashamed’ tʼərəkʼ wətər kʼəmətʼ gədər ‘dry’ ‘tendon’ ‘shame’ ‘new’ There are numerous other patterns for nouns and adjectives, many of them considerably less frequent than the forms presented above. Consider the following two non-exhaustive lists of illustrative examples, divided into forms without ⁸627⁹ and with additional suffixes ⁸628⁹. ⁸627⁹ a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. zənəβ kʼəmmər nəfəs betət tʼəβəβ cʼor nakʼ cʼənə gənəf mʷakʼ fənəx cʼəkʼʷəs cot sassa fəkkʼa dɨrəttər dɨrəzəz √zrβ ‘rain’ √kʼmr ‘kill louse’ √rfs ‘blow ⁸wind⁹’ √b tt ‘be wide’ √tʼββ ‘be narrow’ √tʼ Ur ‘carry’ √rAkʼ ‘be bigger’ √tʼ rI ‘give birth’ √grf ‘be long’ √mʷAkʼ‘be warm’ √frx ‘be patient’ √tʼ kʼʷs ‘beg’ √t Ut ‘work; farm’ √sAsA ‘be thin’ √fkʼA ‘split’ √drdr ‘thicken’ √drzz ‘be blunt’ zɨraβ kʼɨmar ɨmfas bətɨt tʼəβɨβ tʼor nɨkʼ cʼɨn gef mʷəkʼ faraxʸ cʼakʼʷaʃ cəwac sɨsə fəkʼʷə jənjɨr dɨrzɨz ‘rain’ ‘louse’ ‘wind’ ‘wide, broad’ ‘narrow’ ‘bundle ⁸of grass⁹’ ‘big’ ‘woman-in-childbed’ ‘long’ ‘warm’ ‘patient’ ‘beggar’ ‘farmer’ ‘thin’ ‘split’ ‘thick’ ‘blunt’ ⁸628⁹ a. b. c. d. e. f. g. betət kətəf gəttər bəkkʸə a-kʸəs gədəd xənə √b tt √ktf √gdr √bxI √kIs √gdd √xrI bʷɨtɨto kɨtfʷə gɨdyə bɨxʸə kʸəʃə gʷəjə xəyə ‘worn out cloth’ ‘chopped raw meat’ ‘sleep’ ‘mourning, funeral’ ‘joke’ ‘hole’ ‘ditch’ ‘be wide’ ‘chop, hash’ ‘put to sleep’ ‘cry’ ‘joke’ ‘pierce’ ‘dig a hole’  The adjective gədər ‘new’ seems the belong to the root √gdr. However, I find it difficult to attribute it to the verb gəttər ‘put to sleep’ based on the same root. Another word that features the same consonants is gadɨr ‘cattle pen inside house’. Since this is the place where cows sleep, the meaning of the verb seems to fit in this case. According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 265⁹, however, this word is a loan from a Cushitic language. Furthermore, I am not aware of any other nominal derived from a verb root featuring the same template 1a23.  This is the only example with this shape ⁸first vowel ə with additional ⁹ I am aware of. 203 h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. tənə kʼʷənə wənd xar kʼʷəmmər cot ʒəʃʃə tʼɨrəkkʼʷə √trI √kʼrU √Urd √xAr √kʼ mr √t Ut √zIzI √tʼrkʼU ‘swear’ ‘roast’ ‘go down’ ‘know’ ‘be strong’ ‘work; farm’ ‘be cold’ ‘be dea’ təyə ‘oath’ kʼʷərə ‘roasted grain’ wərəjə ‘forecourt’ xari ‘wise, intelligent’ kʼʷəmarə ‘strong, fully grown’ cuca ‘ploughing, working’ ziza ‘cold, wet’ tʼənkʼʷalla ‘dea’ 4.2 Number and gender Nominal morphology marking gender and number is almost inexistent in Gumer. While the verbal conjugation and pronouns ⁸including the possessive suffixes⁹ distinguish between masculine and feminine gender as well as singular and plural number, nouns show these features overtly only in some limited cases, mainly with the definite articles ⁸which themselves are derived from pronouns, ↗ 4.4.1⁹. In other words, the categories number and gender that are inherent to nouns manifest almost only in the agreement with “pronominals” including overt pronouns, possessive suffixes, definite articles, and in particular the verbal subject and object agreement affixes. 4.2.1 Number Nouns do not form any plurals at all except for a very small group that have suppletive plurals ⁸see table 82⁹. The same form is used for singular ⁸629⁹-⁸630⁹ and plural reference ⁸631⁹, as well as in generic contexts ⁸632⁹. ⁸629⁹ bəlay yɨ-wr-i B. gʷəppay-əna yə-cʼɨʃt-e bar-ə-m 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO brother-1sɱOSS DAT-Ch.-GOAL say.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M kəna-m. ascend.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘My brother called Belay said “To Chisht” ⁰ and went up.’ ⁸630⁹ fərəz-əna tʼɨβcʼɨ-t-ɨxʷ wə-kra nər-ə-βi ba-xʷ-ɨm horse-1sɱOSS take-CV.T-1sS INF-ascend EX-3smS-MAL.1sO say.ɱFV-1sS-CV.M wəssən-xʷ-ɨm. decideѦ .ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I decided that I have to take my horse and go up.’  wərəjə is the space between the house⁸s⁹ and the fence separating the private property from jəffʷərə ⁸the public space/road in villages⁹.  According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 624⁹, tʼənkʼʷalla with geminate ll is only Ezha, whereas the Chaha form of ‘dea’ is tʼənkʼʷara. Since usually Gumer is expected to be more like Chaha than Ezha, it has to be checked which form is more common among Gumer speakers.  ⁰ The cult of cʼɨʃt is the “yearly ceremonial in honour of the Sky-god wakʼ [Waq]” and is attended by men only ⁸Shack 1966: 180⁹. 204 ⁸631⁹ bə-βet, tə-gʷəppay-əna sost fərəz tʼəβətʼ-nə-m wəttʼa-nə-m. LOC-house COM-brother-1sɱOSS three horse take.ɱFV-1pS-CV.M go.up.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘At home, [me] with my brothers took three horses und went out ⁸set of⁹.’ ⁸632⁹ ɨyya fərəz nəkm-ot yɨ-ʃr-e. 1s horse ride-INF 3smS-be.pleasing.IɱFV-1sO ‘I like to ride horses.’ In spite of the fact that nouns are invariable, they have to agree in number ⁸and gender, see below⁹ with the verb. In the following examples the subject ⁸633⁹ and object ⁸634⁹ clearly recognizable as plurals thanks to the plural definite article xɨno reflect the plural number in the subject and object suffixes respectively ⁸and of course the singular subject in ⁸634⁹ agrees with the singular subject marker⁹. ⁸633⁹ bet-xɨno nɨkkʼal-l-o. house-DEF.pm many-COɱ-3pmS ‘The houses are many.’ ⁸634⁹ astəmari-xʷɨta yə-təmari-xɨno təsar-ə-no-m. teacher-DEF.sm DAT-student-DEF.pm ask.ɱFV-3smS-3pmO-M ‘The teacher asked the students.’ To be sure, singular or plural number does not have to be visibly expressed in the nominal morphology ⁸i.e. by the definite article⁹. ɳather, number is semantically determined and manifests in the verbal agreement where required. In both ⁸635⁹ and ⁸636⁹ the object is bet ‘house’, but in the former example it is singular and in the latter plural as it can be seen in the corresponding object suffixes on the verb. ⁸635⁹ y-astəmari-xʷɨta bet aʃʃə-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. ATTɳ-teacher-DEF.sm house see.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I saw the house of the teacher.’ ⁸636⁹ y-astəmari-xʷɨta bet aʃʃə-x-no-m. ATTɳ-teacher-DEF.sm house see.ɱFV-1sS-3pmO-M ‘I saw the houses of the teacher.’ As mentioned above, a very small group of nouns have suppletive plural forms all belonging to the core vocabulary denoting female and male humans as well as cattle. Banksira ⁸2000: 242⁹ names six cases ⁸for Chaha⁹ as listed in table 82.   According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 213⁹ dengʸa ‘boys’ might be borrowed from a Cushitic language where the original dungʷi meant ‘servant’.   According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 82⁹, əray ‘cows’ is despite its similarity to the singular əram ‘cow’ a loan from a Cushitic language where it means ‘cattle, domestic animals’. Thus, it might be possible that also in Gumer it is a collective noun rather than a plural in the strict sense. 205 mɨʃt mɨs gərəd ərc əram ⁸dək ‘woman/women’ ‘man/men’ ‘girl/girls’ ‘boy/boys’ ‘cow/cows’ ‘calf/calves’⁹ ɨʃta gəmya gɨred dengʸa  əray  ?? məgəra Table 82: Suppletive plural forms ⁸according to Banksira 2000: 242⁹ According to my observations, however, only five of them are obligatory number oppositions. The case of məgəra ‘calf/?? calves’ is highly questionable and needs more investigations.  Leslau ⁸1979c: 394⁹ translates it as plural ‘calves’, but there are some contradicting facts. Firstly, the alleged singular dək apparently denotes a kind of calf different to məgəra and even Leslau ⁸1979c: 204⁹ says that dək means ‘calf of a certain size’. Secondly, məgəra is used in contexts that are typical of singular. For instance, in generic usage as in ⁸637⁹ and ⁸638⁹ the alleged plural word məgəra is used rather than dək. Along these lines, compare its use in example ⁸638⁹ with sentence ⁸639⁹ where the singular word əram ‘cow’ and not the plural əray ‘cows’ appears in the basically same function of specifying the material. ⁸637⁹ yədrə məttaya dəmmo məgəra-w-ʃ. butѦ former bribe calves-COɱ.3smS-ɱɳAG ‘In old times the bribe was calves, you know.’ ⁸638⁹ yə-məgəra dannəra banə. xa-ta DEM-3smɱOSS ATTɳ-calves tanned.hide BE.ɱT ‘The other ones were calf leather.’ ⁸639⁹ yədrə səβ xʷɨjɨr y-əram goga-βa-ʃ. former person clothes ATTɳ-cow skin-BE.ɱT-ɱɳAG ‘The clothes of people of old were cow leather, you know.’ In addition to the above singular usage, məgəra occurs also in unmistakably plural contexts after numbers higher than one as with bəkʼɨr ‘hundred’ in ⁸640⁹. ⁸640⁹ mʷena-ta togyə bəkʼɨr məgəra yə-sɛ, uncle-3smɱOSS T. hundred calves ɨngʷəd ɨnəkʼʷamt bəkʼɨr 3smS-find.JUS other I. hundred məgəra yə-say. calves 3smS-find.JUS ‘Yes, his uncles, the Togye, should find one hundred calves, the other [people of the] Inekwamt should find one hundred calves.’   Menuta ⁸2002⁹, for example, lists the same words in Ezha ⁸with slightly different pronounciation⁹ except ‘cow/cows’. Thus also according to him dəkk and məgəra are suppletive singular/plural forms of ‘calf.’ 206 Thus, in conclusion, məgəra means ‘cal’ and is used unchanged for all numbers very much like any other ordinary nouns. Likewise dək, rather than being the singular of məgəra, is a common noun, too, referring to a different type of animal ‘calf of a certain size’. Nevertheless, regardless of the actual status of məgəra, one might postulate that the suppletive plural words do not express number in a strict sense but are, for example, collectives and/or analoguosly the singular forms singulatives. This hypothesis would be supported in the case of məgəra which is etymologically related to məgarya in Tigrinya meaning ‘flock, herd’ ⁸Leslau 1979c: 394⁹ and thus does not refer to single individuals. Be this as it may, the suppletive plurals ⁸except məgəra⁹ always trigger plural ⁸and gender⁹ agreement on the verb. Thus, dengʸa ‘boys’ in ⁸641⁹ agrees with the masculine plural object and subject suffixes -no and -o respectively and gɨred ‘girls’ agrees with -əma in ⁸642⁹, very much as it is the case with all plural nouns like in ⁸633⁹ or ⁸634⁹ above. ⁸641⁹ yɨ-gəd-no dengʸa wəfram ɨʃta 3smS-be.hungry.IɱFV-3pmO boys fatѦ yɨ-rəmd-o. women 3S-love.IɱFV-pmS ‘Hungry ⁸slender⁹ boys love fat women.’ ⁸642⁹ arβət gɨred b-ombər con-əma-m four tənkʼʸəkʼʸəf-əma-m. girls LOC-chair sit.ɱFV-3pfS-CV.M embrace.each.other.ɱFV-3pfS-M ‘Four girls embraced each other sitting on a chair.’ 4.2.2 Associative marker nə- The associative marker nə- ⁸n- before vowels⁹ is a prefix that attaches to nouns ⁸or noun phrases⁹. It is used to express “plurality” in the sense that one refers the noun in question plus similar items or persons that are typically associated with it. Thus, nə-dɨstʼ in ⁸643⁹ referts to pots and other items of the semantic field of dishes like plates, cutlery, drinking glasses etc. without specifying them. In ⁸644⁹, nə- occurs with agaz, a military rank, referring to all men with the same title ⁸in this case nə- is similar to a plural marker⁹ and/or men with the title agaz and others possessing comparable military ranks. The combination of nə- with a proper name like nə-βətrə in ⁸645⁹ translates as ‘Betre and everybody associated with Betre’, which, depending on the context, can mean Betre and his family and relatives, or for example Betre and his followers or group, etc. ⁸643⁹ nə-dɨstʼ aʃkʼar t-aʃkʼar tɨ-rəkʸ. ASS-pot something COM-something 3sfS-throw.IɱFV ‘She throws pots and dishes and things and stuff.’ ⁸644⁹ n-agaz and enə-no. ASS-agaz compulsion NEG.EX[.3smS]-3pmO ‘The agaz and so on do not have a problem. ⁸645⁹ zɨ nə-βətrə metyə-xʷna-w. DEM ASS-B. grandfather-3pmɱOSS-COɱ.3smS ‘This is the grandfather of Betre and the like.’ 207 In example ⁸646⁹ the speaker repeated the almost same sentence only changing the object, which nicely illustrates the contrast between an associative noun and a list of single items, i.e. ‘bananas and similar things’ vs. ‘oranges and bananasʼ. ⁸646⁹ nə-mʷɨz yɨ-srəβ-o-e-w-ɨʃ yə-cənə-βo, ASS-banana 3S-buy.IɱFV-pmS-ɱUɳɱ-COɱ.3smS-ɱɳAG ɳEL-come.ɱFV-3pmS bɨrtɨkʷan-ɨm mʷɨz-ɨm yɨ-srəβ-o-e-w-ɨʃ orange-ALSO banana-ALSO 3S-buy.IɱFV-pmS-ɱUɳɱ-COɱ.3smS-ɱɳAG yə-cənə-βo. ɳEL-come.ɱFV-3pmS ‘They came to buy bananas and the like, they came to buy oranges and bananas.’ Examples ⁸645⁹ above and ⁸647⁹-⁸648⁹ below show that nə- ⁸like bə- and tə-⁹ deletes the prefix yə-. The suffix -xəma ‘like’ always occurs together with yə- ⁸↗ 4.7.2⁹ but with nə- it misses ⁸i.e. *nə-yə-farda-xəma⁹. ⁸647⁹ xɨkka nə-farda-xəma soresa bə-tmanəx-ə like.this ASS-F.-like hero COND-be.captured.ɱFV-3smS […] ‘If like this a hero like Farda is captured…’ ⁸648⁹ nə-βərdəfərə nə-βərkəfətə-xəma-nyə bə-xər-o ASS-berdefere ASS-berkefete-like-DIɳ COND-become.ɱFV-3pmS […] ‘If they are something like berdefere [or] berkefete…’ Example ⁸649⁹ shows that nə- also occurs with demonstratives, the attributivizer yə- again deleted ⁸i.e. < yə-z yə-dada ɨndaʃo metyə ‘grandfather of this dada Indasho’⁹. Note that the double marking of demonstrative and noun is common. ⁸649⁹ nə-z nə-dada ɨndaʃo metyə-ta-w, ASS-DEM ASS-dada I. mənzo-w. grandfather-3smɱOSS-COɱ.3smS M.-COɱ.3smS ‘He is a grandfather of this dada Indasho and the like, he is a Menzo.’ Finally, consider nə- with the numeral arβət ‘four’ in ⁸650⁹ where it does not mean ‘four and other numbers’ but ‘four or a similar number’, i.e. ‘about, around’. ⁸650⁹ mɨraxɨr jəffʷərə wəsəd-ə-βo-m wə-βər-u? wəʃərmɨne, how.much public.space take.ɱFV-3smS-MAL.3pm INF-say-COɱ.3smS W. dɨlfay, əxʷa-m səndəkʼʷə, n-arβət. D. now-ALSO S. ASS-four ‘How many jəffʷərə ⁸i.e. villages⁹ did he take from them, then? Weshermine, Dilfay, and also Sendekwe, about four.’ 4.2.3 Gender Similar to number, also gender is not expressed by nominal morphology ⁸except for very marginal instances, cf. ↗ 4.2.3.1⁹. The only cases where masculine and feminine genders have to be distinguished are again the overt pronouns, posses208 sive suffixes, the definite articles and verbal agreement. Gumer features masculine as the default gender. This means that everything is treated grammatically as masculine except for human beings of female sex. Consider the feminine subject and object markers as well as the feminine definite article in example ⁸651⁹ containing two female participants, as well as the feminine plural forms agreeing with gɨred ‘girls’ in example ⁸652⁹. ⁸651⁹ mɨʃt-xʸɨta səβlə bɨ-t-βɨn-na woman-DEF.sf S. aβet bar-əc-ɨm. TEMɱ-3sfS-say.IɱFV-3sfO at.your.service say.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘When the woman said to her “Seble”, she said “At your service!”. ⁸652⁹ tɨkʼʷɨr-ɨm nəcʼə-m kabort yə-txəttər-əma gɨred yɨ-rotʼ-əma. black-ALSO white-ALSO coatѦ ɳEL-dress.ɱFV-3pfS girls 3S-run.IɱFV-pfS ‘Girls wearing black and white coats are running.’ Feminine gender only concerns humans but not animals even if their natural sex is female. Thus the seemingly strange contradiction between a chicken laying eggs and masculine subject marking in ⁸653⁹ is due to the masculine default gender. ⁸653⁹ kʷɨtara ɨnkʼʷɨra yɨ-cʼən. chicken egg 3smS-lay.IɱFV ‘Chickens lay eggs.’ When a word like tɨkə ‘child’ refers to a human being without specification for gender, verbal agreement still can distinguish between feminine ⁸654⁹ and masculine ⁸655⁹. When used non-specifically as in ⁸656⁹, speaking about ‘the child’ irrespective whether it is a boy or a girl, the default gender masculine is chosen. ⁸654⁹ a. zɨ b. ‘This child ⁸⁹ did not die.’ yə-z tɨkə fəzəz-ə-na-m. tɨkə am-mʷət-əc. DEM child NEG-die.ɱFV-3sfS DAT-DEM child get.well.ɱFV-3smS-3sfO-M ‘This child ⁸⁹ got well.’ ⁸655⁹ a. ãfʷ b. ‘He has not yet opened [his] mouth; he is still a child ⁸m⁹.’ yə-tkə-ta fɨrank yɨ-sərkʼ-xəma amʷənə-n-ɨm. yɨ-kəft-e an-səna; gəna tɨkə-w. mouth 3smS-open.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ NEG-arrive.ɱFV[.3smS] stillѦ child-COɱ.3smS DAT-child-3smɱOSS money 3smS-steal.IɱFV-COMɱ do.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He made his child ⁸m⁹ steal money. ⁸656⁹ tɨkə-we wəxe kʼar e-trəkʼ. child-DEF good THING NEG.3smS-grow.up.IɱFV ‘The child does not grow up well.’ Further, a mixed group of males and females, be it in a coordinated phrase ⁸657⁹ or simply juxtaposed ⁸658⁹, is always treated as masculine. 209 ⁸657⁹ gərəd-ɨm ərc-ɨm con-o-m-tanə yɨ-djakəm-o. girl-ALSO boy-ALSO sit.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M-LINK 3S-bash.each.other.IɱFV-pmS ‘A girl and a boy bash each other sitting.’ ⁸658⁹ xʷet gɨred at ərc banə-βo. (*banə-βəma) two girls one boy BE.ɱT-3pmS ‘There were two girls [and] one boy.’ The default gender being masculine, it goes without saying that all inanimated objects and abstract nouns are masculine as in the following examples. ⁸659⁹ zɨx sənda sɨsə kʼar y-art’. DEM knife thin THING 3smS-cut.IɱFV ‘This knife cuts thin things ⁸only⁹.’ ⁸660⁹ afinjə nɨkkʼar yɨ-məkkʸɨr chili very yə-xər-e 3smS-burn.IɱFV ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS.ɱUɳɱ a-n-nəmʷd-ɨn. NEG-1sS-love.IɱFV-3smO ‘Because chili is very hot ⁸lit. burns⁹, I do not like it.’ ⁸661⁹ tɨrama zɨraβ zənəβ-ə-m. yesterday rain rain.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘Yesterday it rained.’ ⁸662⁹ amədar kʼʷəttʼər-ə-n-ɨm. cold kill.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘The cold ⁸weather⁹ killed him.’ 4.2.3.1 Feminine derivational morpheme -wət The morpheme -wət occurs on some nouns referring exclusively to females, for example gəmbənwət ‘dark one ⁸⁹’ or mərkamwət ‘beautiful one ⁸⁹’. With eβər‘so-and-so’ the feminine -wət contrasts with -yə that stands for masculine, i.e. eβərwət ‘so-and-so ⁸⁹’ vs. eβəryə ‘so-and-so ⁸m⁹’. Consider its use in the following sentence: ⁸663⁹ bərdəfərə cʼərəto, agaz mʷani, agaz sərəto, agaz eβəryə, berdefere ʃe Ch. agaz M. agaz S. muxəmməd yɨ-wr-ɨyo abbagada sɨla, agaz so.and.so.m abbagada yɨ-wr-ɨyo səβ S. ɨnnɨm sheikh M. 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3pmO 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3pmO person all bə-təra-xʷna mɨker yɨ-sətʼ-o. LOC-turnѦ -3pmɱOSS monthly.gathering 3S-drink.IɱFV-pmS ‘The men called berdefere Chereto, agaz Mʷani, agaz Sereto, agaz soand-so, abbagada Sila, sheikh Muhemmed all in their turn celebrate ⁸the monthly gathering⁹ miker.’  Banksira ⁸2000: 218f.⁹ calls -wət feminine superlative, for example mərkamwət ‘the most beautiful ⁸⁹’. ɳose ⁸2007: 423⁹ states that words with -wət “may [...] have a superlative meaning”.  Hetzron ⁸1977: 53⁹ mentiones the form eβərwə for masculine ⁸seeminlgy for Chaha⁹. 210 4.3 Pronouns 4.3.1 Independent pronouns Table 83 shows the independent pronouns. Like in the verbal conjugation they distinguish between first, second and third person, singular and plural number, as well as masculine and feminine gender in the second and third persons. However, there is no pronoun for the Impersonal. All second persons are based on ax- with number/gender extensions. The third persons are built on xɨ which is a demonstrative element ⁸↗ 4.3.2⁹ with number/gender specific suffixes. Note the palatalization as a sign of feminine gender in the singular forms axʸ and xʸɨt(a) as well as the feature [+round] in the masculine forms axu, xʷɨt(a) and xɨno. The third person singular pronouns contain the dental element t which also derives from a demonstrative element known from other Semitic languages ⁸cf. Leslau 1979c: 369⁹. Further, the third persons singular have two variants, one with final a and one without. The difference between them is not clear, but probably the final a expresses a certain additional demonstrative meaning comparable to the contrast xɨ and xa of the demonstratives ⁸↗ 4.3.2⁹. This is also supported by the fact that axʸ sometimes, though very rarely, can appear as axʸa. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f ɨyya axə axʸ xʷɨt ~ xʷɨta xʸɨt ~ xʸɨta yɨna ( ~ ɨna) axu axma xɨno xɨnəma Table 83: Independent pronouns Syntactically, the independent pronouns function like nouns or noun phrases. They can occur as subjects ⁸664⁹ or objects, usually with yə- ⁸665⁹ ⁸↗ 4.7.1.2⁹, or as heads of any other adposition ⁸666⁹-⁸668⁹. ⁸664⁹ xʷɨt bə-mʷət-ə gɨzyə axə wə-mbər enə-βxə. 3sm LOC/TEMɱ-die.ɱFV-3smS time 2sm INF-live NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.2sm ‘When he is [already] dead, you should not live.’ ⁸665⁹ y-axə an-nəgəd-kə. DAT-2sm NEG-touch.ɱFV-1sS.2smO ‘I did not touch you.’ ⁸666⁹ yə-kʸəsəs-xʷ-ɨn bə-xʷt banə. ɳEL-accuse.ɱFV-1sS-3smO LOC/INSTɳ-3sm BE.ɱT.3smS ‘I accused him for this [reason].’ ⁸667⁹ t-axə gi a-n-an-nə. COM-2sm time NEG-1pS-go.IɱFV-1pS ‘We do ⁸will⁹ not go with you.’ 211 ⁸668⁹ y-ɨyya-xəma dəm-u. DAT-1s-like blood-COɱ.3smS ‘According to me it is blood.’ In combination with adpositions as in the last three examples ⁸666⁹-⁸668⁹, the independent pronouns can of course not be left out. However, Gumer being what is often called a “ɱɳO-drop” language, pronouns are not obligatory when they are arguments of the verb. In particular in subject or object position they are overtly stated only when they are somehow ‘emphasized’ ⁸‘focused’ or ‘topicalized’⁹ expressing a contrast. In ⁸669⁹ the pronoun ɨyya ‘I’ underlines that the speaker and not someone else will pay. In ⁸670⁹, there is a change of subject between the subordinate and the main clause where ɨyya ‘I’ contrasts with xʸɨta ‘she’ and as the new subject represents the new ‘topic’. ⁸669⁹ ʃərət-m-axə dəmoz-m-axə ɨnnɨkʼar-axə ɨyya food-ALSO-2smɱOSS salary-ALSO-2smɱOSS everything-2sɱOSS 1s ə-kəs-te bʷar-ə-n-ɨm. 1sS-pay.IɱFV-FUT.DEF say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘He said to him: “Your food and your salary, I will pay everything of you.”’ ⁸670⁹ ɨyya yɨ-trəs-e. təxankʼʸə lɨk xʸɨta tɨ-t-ar afterwards justѦ 3sf TEMɱ-3sfS-go.IɱFV 1s ‘Then, just when she goes, I forget it.’ 3smS-forget.IɱFV-1sO Having a demonstrative origin, the third person forms also function as definite markers suffixed to the noun they determine. For their use refer to section 4.4.2. ⁸671⁹ a. ərc-xʷɨt(a) b. ‘the boy’ dengʸa-xɨno c. ‘the boys’ mɨʃt-xʸɨt(a) d. ‘the woman’ ɨʃta-xɨnəma boy-DEF.sm boys-DEF.pm woman-DEF.sf women-DEF.pf ‘the women’ 4.3.2 Demonstratives Gumer possesses two demonstrative bases, z- and x-. Both occur as basic forms zɨ and xɨ ⁸the only words in Gumer that end with the epenthetic vowel ɨ⁹ and with a as za and xa. Further, all forms except xa can be augmented by -x, the number of possible demonstrative forms amounting to seven. As it seems, the forms with and without -x are interchangeable in most contexts. 212 zɨ ~ zɨx xɨ ~ xɨx za ~ zax xa FAɳ NEAɳ  Table 84: Demonstratives Table 84 suggests that Gumer has a four-way system consisting of a proximal, a medial and two distal demonstratives. There is a basic contrast between the two forms with ɨ expressing ‘near’ vs. the two forms with a expressing ‘far’. While zɨ is near the speaker, xɨ can be characterized as near the addressee or generally a bit further away from the speaker but still located in the relative vicinity within reach in a broad sense. In contrast, the demonstratives za and xa both refer to places that are far both from speaker and addressee. Usually they are clearly out of reach and located in a space that is somewhat set apart from where speaker and addresse are. The difference between the two distal demonstratives za and xa is not entirely clear. Since it does not make sense to say that something is far away but closer to the addressee, xa rather refers to a place that is farther away than za. Sometimes it seems that the forms with x could be described as ‘the other one ⁸in the same surroundings⁹’. In any case, xa does not, for example, refer to non-visible entities. ⁸672⁹ zɨ(x) bet xɨ(x) bet za(x) bet xa bet ‘this house ⁸right here, next to the speaker⁹’ ‘this/that house ⁸right there, next to the addressee⁹’ ‘that house ⁸over there⁹’ ‘that house ⁸over there, even farther, the other one over there⁹’ So far, the examples described the demonstratives in exophoric usages involving pointing at entities in the extra-linguistic world. In addition, all forms also occur in endophoric usages making text-internal references. It is important to note that the situation here is less clear. Among other things, the different forms do not seem to occur equally often in exophoric and endophoric usages. To gain a better and more complete picture further investigations are needed. The following examples ⁸673⁹-⁸676⁹ illustrate the occurrence of all four demonstratives in sentences taken from narratives leaving the exact reason for their use open.  It seems that many other Gurage varieties distinguish less than four levels. According to Meyer ⁸2011: 1240f.⁹ they usually have a binary distinction proximal zɨ(x) vs. distal za(x). Likewise, an informant reports that in the neighboring Gyeto za is used much more often than in Gumer, which is an indication that Gyeto lacks xɨ.  Cf. Amharic yɨh ‘this’ vs. ya ‘that’ ⁸Leslau 1979c: 701⁹. 213 ⁸673⁹ ɨyya tə-z-m 1s ema ə-wərd-e ə-ʃə banə. ABL-DEM-ALSO way 1sS-go.down.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ 1sS-want.IɱFV AUX.ɱT ‘I wanted to go down this ⁸the same⁹ way.’ ⁸674⁹ ɨruz tɨ-cəkkɨr-wə bə-x ɨxa. rice 3sfS-cook.IɱFV-MAL.3sm INSTɳ-DEM water ‘She cooks rice with it, with this water.’ ⁸675⁹ zax aβəʃa-xʷɨta kʼɨrr bʷar-ə-n-ɨm. DEM Habasha-DEF.sm IDEO.angry say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘That Habasha got angry.’ ⁸676⁹ xa səβ alaβa-w. DEM person A.-COɱ.3smS ‘That person is ⁸an⁹ Alaba.’ As it is the case with the demonstratives in exophoric use, there does not seem to be a considerable difference between the alternate forms with ⁸677⁹ and without ⁸678⁹ -x. ⁸677⁹ ɨnnɨmkʼar arwəʃʃə-n-ɨm, zɨ aβəʃa-xʷɨta. everything teach.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M DEM Habasha-DEF.3sm ‘He taught him everything, this Habasha.’ ⁸678⁹ bə-mʷət-ə gɨzyə zɨx ərc səβɨr LOC/TEMɱ-die.ɱFV-3smS time bəkkər-ə-m. DEM boy patience lack.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘When he died, this boy lost patience.’ Like nouns, the demonstratives can obtain nominal morphology as the illustrative choice of examples with adpositions ⁸679⁹ and possessives ⁸680⁹ show. ⁸679⁹ yə-z bə-x tə-za xɨx-e bə-zx-e xɨx-e-nyə ‘of this’ ‘with that’ ‘from that’ ‘to that, there’ ‘in this, here’ ‘towards that, to there’ ⁸680⁹ zɨx-əta xɨx-əta za-ta xa-ta zɨx-əxʷna xa-xʷna ‘this one’ ‘that one’ ‘that one’ ‘that one’ ‘these ones’ ‘those ones’ There are two formal points to note concerning zɨ and xɨ. First, after prepositions they lose ⁸or rather do not have to have⁹ the final vowel ɨ ⁸681⁹; second, before suffixes only the forms zɨx and xɨx with the additional -x are possible ⁸682⁹.  Note that a form like təze derives from tə-za-y ⁸ ~ tə-za-e⁹. 214 ⁸681⁹ a. bə-z b. ‘at this place’ bə-x ɨxa mədər LOC-DEM place (*bəzɨ) (*bəxɨ) INSTɳ-DEM water ‘with that water’ ⁸682⁹ a. zɨx-əxʷna (*zəxʷna) b. ‘these ones’ xɨx-əta (*xəta) DEM-3pmɱOSS DEM-3smɱOSS ‘that one’ The use of demonstratives and definite articles do not exclude each other. As can be seen in the first word of ⁸683⁹, they even can attach directly to each other without overt head noun. ⁸683⁹ tə-za-xʷɨta t-i-βr-o t-i-βr-o samt COM-DEM-DEF.sm TEMɱ-3S-say.IɱFV-pmS TEMɱ-3S-say.IɱFV-pmS week gɨzyə zax xɨnd-xʷɨta y-aβəʃa b-əkkəs-o LOC/TEMɱ-wait.ɱFV-3pmS time kʼʷankʼʷa DEM Indian-DEF.sm ATTɳ-Habasha languageѦ gəppʷa-n-ɨm. enter.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘Speaking and speaking with that one, when they waited one week, that Indian understood the language of the Habasha ⁸i.e. Amharic⁹.’ The same is true for possessives in ⁸684⁹-⁸685⁹ or ⁸680⁹ above. ⁸684⁹ za ɨxa-ta tɨ-ʃə-n-xəma an-xar-xʷ. DEM water-3smɱOSS 3sfS-want.IɱFV-3smO-COMɱ NEG-know.ɱFV-1sS ‘I did not know that she wants that water.’ ⁸685⁹ zɨx-əta e-trəss-e. DEM-3sɱOSS NEG.3smS-forget.IɱFV-1sO ‘I will not forget this.’ 4.3.2.1 The demonstrative element -kkThere is another demonstrative element -kk- with a general meaning ‘like ⁸this⁹’. On the one hand, it appears in ɨkkɨm ‘just, simply’ ⁸686⁹, on the other hand there is the form ɨkka ‘like this, such, thus’ ⁸687⁹. ⁸686⁹ səβ enə-wə, bet enə-wə, nɨβrət person NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.3sm house NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.3sm living enə-wə, ɨkkɨm meda-w. NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.3sm just field-COɱ.3smS ‘There is no person ⁸in it⁹, there is no house ⁸in it⁹, there is no life ⁸in it⁹, it is just land.’ 215 ⁸687⁹ yənkʼar ɨkka bar-o-n-ɨm? zɨx-əta DEM-3smɱOSS why like.this say.ɱFV-3pmS-1sO-M ‘Why did they say this to me like this?’ Both can occur with preceded demonstratives z- or x- as zɨkkɨm / xɨkkɨm ⁸688⁹ and as zɨkka / xɨkka ⁸689⁹-⁸690⁹. These forms can occasionally also be used as spacial adverbs ⁸see below⁹. ⁸688⁹ t-ɨngʷəd aβəʃa gɨzyə zɨkkɨm yə-wəndɨmu-xəma COM-other Habasha time like.this DAT-W.-like ‘together with another Habasha, just like Wendimu’ ⁸689⁹ əgi zɨkka yə-xɨr. okay like.this 3smS-become.JUS ‘Okay, it shall be like this.’ ⁸690⁹ xɨkka tʼəwətʼ-əc-n-ɨm. like.that take.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘She held it like that.’ 4.3.3 Further occurrences of the demonstrative elements 4.3.3.1 Presentatives The demonstrative elements zɨ and xɨ also occur in presentative expressions. As an independent word ⁸or one-word predication⁹, zɨ means ‘here ⁸it is⁹, take’, mostly said when handing over something to someone. In a copula sentence with either zɨ or xɨ there is an inserted geminate mm before the copula -u ‘is’. They are used usually used when pointing at something. Finally, there is zɨmʷɨnnyə which is used mostly when one finds an item after looking for it ⁸as an answer to ɨndem-u ‘where is it?’, ↗ 4.3.5⁹. However, as it seems these expressions interchangeable to a certain degree. ⁸691⁹ zɨǃ zɨ-mm-uǃ xɨ-mm-uǃ zɨmʷɨnnyə! ‘Here you are! Take!’ ⁸mostly when handing over s.th.⁹ ‘Here it is!’ ⁸mostly when pointing⁹ ‘There it is!’ ⁸mostly when pointing⁹ ‘Here it is!’ ⁸mostly when finding something⁹ 4.3.3.2 Spatial adverbs Spatial adverbs ⁸‘here’, ‘there’⁹ are formed with the demonstratives and ⁸usually⁹ one or both of the local affixes bə- or -e. Generally speaking, the suffix -e is used for movements ⁸692⁹ and the prefix bə- ⁸with or without -e⁹ for positions ⁸693⁹, but other constellations are also quite frequent as in ⁸694⁹-⁸696⁹. ⁸692⁹ zɨx-e ne-xəǃ DEM-GOAL come.IMɱ-2smS ‘Come hereǃ’ 216 ⁸693⁹ yə-xno bə-z-ɨm te-tə-x-no-tanə… DAT-3pm LOC-DEM-ALSO leave-CV.T-1sS-3pmO-LINK ‘Leaving them ⁸exactly⁹ here…’ ⁸694⁹ bə-za b-attər-o gamʷə… LOC-DEM LOC/TEMɱ-spend.the.night.ɱFV-3pmS time ‘When they spent the night there…’ ⁸695⁹ bə-zx-e nəppər-xʷ-ɨm. LOC-DEM-GOAL live.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I lived here.’ ⁸696⁹ xɨx-e nər-ə. DEM-GOAL EX-3smS ‘It is there.’ In addition, zɨkka ‘like this’ ⁸↗ 4.3.2.1⁹ can be employed to express spatial relations even without further affixes ⁸697⁹. Also consider the spatial expressions with zɨkka, xɨkkɨm and zɨkkɨm plus prepositions in ⁸698⁹-⁸699⁹. ⁸697⁹ zɨkka awra-n. like.this put.IMɱ[.2smS]-3smO ‘ɱut it here.’ ⁸also: ‘ɱut it like this.’⁹ ⁸698⁹ bə-zɨkka nəkəβ-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. LOC-like.this find.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘I found it here.’ ⁸699⁹ wərəjə-ta xʷet əcʼɨr-u, tə-zɨkkɨm at-u, space.in.front.of.house-3smɱOSS two fence-COɱ.3smS ABL-like.this one-COɱ.3smS tə-xɨkkɨm at-u. ABL-like.that one-COɱ.3smS ‘The wereje is [defined by] two fences, one from here, one from there.’ Moreover, demonstratives can combine with other morphemes like axɨr ‘about, as much as’ and gi ‘time’, sometimes with the focusing element -m. They correlate with the question words mɨraxɨr ‘how much’ and mɨrgi ‘when’ ⁸↗ 4.3.5⁹. ⁸700⁹ z-axɨr x-axɨr xɨ-m-axɨr xɨ-m-gi ‘this much’ ‘that much’ ‘that much’ ‘just then, at once, ⁸that time⁹’ 4.3.3.3 Clause conjoining with xɨ and zɨ The demonstratives zɨ and especially xɨ appear abundantly in clause conjoining comparable to English ‘and then’ or, reflecting their demonstrative origin, ‘after this/that’. On the one hand, xɨ ⁸and sometimes zɨ⁹ are used as independent words,  I do not have any examples with xɨkka. 217 on the other hand they occur in combination with adpositions. As for the latter, the most frequent form is tə- ‘from’ + x- ‘that’ + ank’ʸə ‘after’, which can further be extended by -e ‘ , to’ or -əta ‘3sm ’. Further, but less frequent, the forms can also be built with the prefixes bə- ‘ ’ and yə- ‘ ; ’ and the demonstrative z- ‘that’ in any combination. təbəyə- xz- ankʼʸə [-e] [-(ə)ta]⁰⁰ Figure 8: ‘afterwards, and then’ The following two examples ⁸701⁹ and ⁸702⁹ illustrate their clause conjoining use. ⁸701⁹ yə-mɨryəm səβ nɨ-cot-nə-m təxankʼʸe ləwtʼ cənə-m. nɨ-βəra-nə banə. DAT-whatever person 1pS-work.IɱFV-1pS-CV.M 1pS-eat.IɱFV-1pS AUX.ɱT afterwards changeѦ come.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘We used to eat ⁸i.e. live⁹ working for whoever. Then the ⁸political⁹ change happened.’ ⁸702⁹ kʷɨtara-ta awəttʼa-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. bəxankʼʸə ne-xʸ chicken-3smɱOSS take.out.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M afterwards come.IMɱ-2sfS kʷɨtara-xʷɨta bəssər-ə-m ba-x-na-m. chicken-DEF.sm cook.ɱFV-3smS-M say.ɱFV-1sS-3sfO-M ‘I took out the chicken. Then I said to her “Come, the chicken is cooked”.’ Note that the demonstrative element occasionally misses as in y-ankʼʸ-e ⁸703⁹. ⁸703⁹ yankʼʸe at bet nəkəw-ni-m wər-xʷ-ɨm. afterwards one house find.ɱFV.IɱS-BEN.1s-CV.M go.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘Then they found me a house [and] I went.’ Further, xɨ ⁸and zɨ⁹ alone also function as clause conjoining items. Often their use is combined with a short ⁸hesitating⁹ speech pause or lengthening of the vowel, probably comparable to English ‘so…’. Consider the following three examples ⁸704⁹-⁸706⁹, in particular ⁸706⁹ where xɨ is followed directly by another demonstrative, za, which shows that xɨ here indeed is not a demonstrative that determines a noun but serves the function of clause conjoining. ⁸704⁹ bə-βəkan ɨncʼɨm-əxʷna y-ar-əβo, LOC-B. enə-no. yə-xʷɨjɨr-əxno tʼatʼa naked-3pmɱOSS 3S-go.IɱFV-pmS DAT-clothes-3pmɱOSS troubleѦ xɨ... begi yɨ-wr-i NEG.EX[.3smS]-3pmO DEM B. mədər wən-nə-m. 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO place go.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘In Bekan they walk around ⁸lit. go⁹ naked, they do not care about their clothes. Then... we went to a place called Begi.’ ⁰⁰ There is an alternative form with a different final vowel -(ə)tə. 218 ⁸705⁹ zɨ... dɨrə kɨtfʷə acənəw-i-m... kitfo barɨya yɨ-rəβɨr bring.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M DEM formerly slave 3smS-live.IɱFV an-nəppər-ə? NEG-live.ɱFV-3smS ‘Kitfo was brought ⁸706⁹ xɨ… za so… weren’t there slaves in the past?’ fərənji tə-kʼʸɨn-kʼʸɨn-əta n-an-nə, yɨna. DEM DEM foreigner ABL-buttocks-buttocks-3sɱOSS 1pS-go.IɱFV-1pS 1p ‘So… that foreigner, we follow him, we.’ 4.3.4 Indefinite pronouns The indefinite pronouns mʷanim ‘any’, mɨryəm ‘whatever’ and attɨm ‘no; any’ are formed with the suffix -m added to mʷan ‘who’, mɨr ‘what’ and att- respectively. The former two additionally feature an inserted i or yə with unknown origin and function. The latter is related to the numeral at ‘one’ but differs from it having a geminate tt.⁰ It also occurs without the nasal as attɨkʼar. While they can stand alone, often the indefinite pronouns occur in so-called series followed by one of the specifying words səβ ‘person’, kʼar ‘thing’, mədər ‘place’ or gamʷə ‘time’ ⁸cf. Haspelmath 1997: 21⁹. ⁸707⁹ ‘person’ ‘thing’ ‘place’ ‘time’ mʷanim ‘any’ mɨryəm ‘whatever’ attɨm ‘no; any’⁰ mʷanim səβ mʷanim kʼar mʷanim mədər mʷanim gamʷə mɨryəm səβ mɨryəm səβ mɨryəm mədər mɨryəm gamʷə attɨm səβ attɨnkʼar ~ attɨkʼar⁰ attɨm mədər attɨm gamʷə Typically, mʷanim and mɨryəm occur in affirmative ⁸708⁹-⁸711⁹ contexts, whereas attɨm combines with negated verbs ⁸712⁹-⁸715⁹. ⁸708⁹ mʷanim gamʷə bə-gʷad-ə-n any time COND-be.hungry.ɱFV-3smS-3smO […] ‘Anytime when one is hungry […]’ ⁸709⁹ əssət-axə bə-mʷanim mədər kʼɨβr-ot tɨ-cɨl. enset-3smɱOSS LOC-any place plant-INF 2smS-canѦ .IɱFV ‘You can plant your əssət anywhere.’ ⁸710⁹ yə-mʷanim-əta ba-xʷ-ɨm xʷet bəna-xʷ-ɨm. DAT-any-3smɱOSS say.ɱFV-1s-M two eat.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘In any case, I ate two.’ ⁰ The pronounciation of the indefinite pronoun attɨm clearly contrasts with at-ɨm ‘also one, even one, and one’, i.e. at. ⁰ With negative verb often to be translated with ‘no…’, otherwise ‘any…’. ⁰ In accordance with Leslau ⁸1979c: 105⁹ written together. 219 ⁸711⁹ mɨryəm səβ b-acənəw-i yɨ-ttʼəkkʼəm banə. COND-bring.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO whatever person 3smS-take.advantage.IɱFV AUX.ɱT ‘When one brought [them], anyone took advantage. ⁸712⁹ zɨx-əta attɨm enə-wə. ɨyya bɨ-n-amʷe-n DEM-3sɱOSS 1s TEMɱ-1sS-do.IɱFV-3smO any ‘When I do this, it is no problem.’ ⁸713⁹ ɨntəganə sera enə-n, NEG.EX[.3smS]-MAL.3sm t-attɨm gənə. Endegeñ custom NEG.EX[.3smS]-3smO COM-any country ‘The Endegeñ do not have [shared] customs ⁸traditions⁹, with no country.’ ⁸714⁹ attɨm səβ any t-e-aʒ-o person TEMɱ-NEG.3S-see.IɱFV-pmS […] ‘Before anybody sees⁰ them, […]’ ⁸715⁹ attɨkʼar e-xʸɨr soresa-w. anything NEG.3smS-know.IɱFV hero-COɱ.3smS ‘He is a hero that does not know ⁸i.e. worry about⁹ anything.’ Finally, note that in local indefinite expressions the specifying word mədər ‘place’ often is not necessary. ⁸716⁹ bə-mʷanim enə. LOC-any NEG.EX[.3smS] ‘He is nowhere.’ ⁸717⁹ attɨm-e wər-ot an-ʃə. any-GOAL go-INF NEG-1sS-want.IɱFV ‘I do not want to go anywhere.’ 4.3.5 Question words Formally, the question words of Gumer can be divided into two types: basic and composed or derived. In table 85 the latter ones are shown indented following the question word they are based on. Synchronically, mɨkʼar ‘what’ and especially məmɨr ‘how’ could possibly also be counted as basic words even though they derive from mɨr ‘what’. In all other cases the derivational morphemes are still quite transparent. In particular the prefixes yə-, bə- and tə- function basically the same way as with nominals ⁸↗ 4.7⁹. As for məcə and məcra ‘when’, the latter is represented as the derived form due to its additional ending -ra.⁰ The question words meaning ‘where’ are based on e, but ⁸probably⁹ more frequently one finds ete.⁰ It is not entirely clear whether its final -e is connected to -e ‘ ; ’ ⁸↗ 4.7.2⁹ or not. As for et ‘which’, note that it should be kept apart from ete. ⁰ Usually the Imperfective verb base in 2/3p is t-e-az-o with voiced z rather than ʒ, cf. 3.16. ⁰ In other Semitic languages the basic word for ‘when’ does not contain -ra or similar, for example Arabic matā or Amharic məce ⁸Leslau 1979c: 387⁹. ⁰ According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 1⁹, e ‘where’ exists only in Chaha ⁸and by extension in Gumer⁹, the other Gurage varieties ⁸but also including Chaha⁹ featuring ete or a corresponding form. 220 mʷan yəmʷan mɨr mɨkʼar yənkʼar məmɨr yəmɨr mɨrgi mɨraxɨr mɨraxɨrgi mɨr enət mɨrina məcə məcra e ~ ete be ~ bete tete etenyə et⁸⁹ ɨndem- ‘who’ ‘whose’; ‘for who’ ‘what’ ‘what’ ‘why, what for’ ‘how’ ‘why’ ‘when ⁸what recent time⁹’ ‘how much, how many’ ‘how many times’ ‘what kind’ ‘what language’ ‘when’ ‘when’ ‘where ⁸to⁹’ ‘where’ ‘where from’ ‘in which direction’ ‘which’ ‘where ⁸is⁹’ < yə- ‘ ’; ‘ ’ + mʷan ‘who’ < mɨr ‘what’ + kʼar ‘ ’ < yə- ‘ ’ + mɨkʼar ‘what’ < mɨr-mɨr ‘what-what’⁰ < yə- ‘ ’ + mɨr ‘what’ < mɨr ‘what’ + gi ‘time’ < mɨr ‘what’ + axɨr ‘equal’ < mɨraxɨr ‘how many’ + gi ‘time’ < mɨr ‘what’ + enət ‘kind’ < mɨr ‘what’ + -ina⁰ asking about the future, with asking about the past, with < bə- ‘ ’ + e⁸te⁹ ‘where’ < tə- ‘ ’ + ete ‘where’ < ete ‘where’ + -nyə ‘towards’ said when s.th. should be around Table 85: ɲuestion words The following two examples show typical short questions consisting of a question word followed by the verb. ⁸718⁹ mʷan yə-mbər? who 3smS-live.JUS ‘Who should live?’ ⁸719⁹ ete-n-xʸ? where-COɱ-2sfS ‘Where are you ⁸s⁹?’ The most common position of the question words is directly before the verb, no matter if it is the subject ⁸720⁹ or object ⁸721⁹. ⁸720⁹ zɨ wɨssa mʷan aβəssər-ə-m? DEM wussa who cook.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘Who baked this wussa-bread? ⁰ According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 406⁹ məmɨr derives from mɨr-mɨr. ⁰ See example ⁸605⁹. 221 ⁸721⁹ luβaβat mɨr aβəssər-əc-ɨm? L. what cook.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘What did Lubabat bake?’ Also in more complex question with subordinate clauses the question words normally occur before the verb of the clause it belongs to rather than at the beginning of the whole sentence. ⁸722⁹ mɨr yɨ-xʷəra-n? zɨxe-nyə yɨ-rəx-e here-DIɳ 3smS-send.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ what 3smS-prevent.IɱFV-3smO ‘What does prevent him to send [someone] here?’ ⁸723⁹ bə-fətəna bə-wətʼəkʼ-xə mɨr t-ame-te? LOC-exam COND-fall.ɱFV-2smS what 2smS-do.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘What will you do if you fail in the exam?’ Further, consider also the question word in ⁸724⁹ appearing in a dependent clause ⁸quoted speech⁹ and preceding the verb denoting the main content, regardless of whether this is an infinitive or whether there are more verbal elements following or not. ⁸724⁹ əxʷa ɨyya mɨr wə-tot nər-ə-βi now 1s ba-xʷ-ɨm assəβ-xʷ-ɨm. what INF-make EX-3smS-MAL.1s say.ɱFV-1sS-M think.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I thought: “Now, what do I have to do?”’ Nevertheless, it is also quite possible for a question word to appear in a different position like, for example, at the beginning of a sentence before the object ⁸725⁹. ⁸725⁹ yəmɨr ɨxa-xʷɨta why xʷə-xʸ-ɨm bar-əc-ɨm. water-DEF.sm spill.ɱFV-2sfS-M say.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘She said: “Why did you spill the water?”’ One possible reason for this must be information structure, but also the type of question word might play a role. Other than mʷan ‘who’ and mɨr ‘what’ in most examples above, yəmɨr ‘why’ does not function as a core argument of the verb. In particular mɨr and mɨkʼar ‘what’ often ask for the object which generally tends to occurs right before the verb anyway ⁸726⁹. ⁸726⁹ ogʸət, mɨkʼar t-aʒ? O. what 2smS-see.IɱFV ‘[ɱeople o] Ogyet, what do you think ⁸lit. see⁹?’ Since the thing or person one asks about constitutes the focus of a sentence, question words appear quite often in cleft sentences. In this case their position can change to the front or the end of a sentence. However, this is only apparent when there are enough other words intervening between question word and verb as in examples ⁸727⁹-⁸734⁹. 222 ⁸727⁹ mʷan-u yɨ-dəwwɨl? who-COɱ.3smS 3smS-phoneѦ .IɱFV ‘Who is calling?’ ⁸728⁹ ankʼʸə mɨkʼar-u təxankʼʸə bə-jəppər-xu afterwards LOC/TEMɱ-finish.ɱFV-2pmS after yə-tənəf-ə what-COɱ.3smS wə-βər-u. ɳEL-remain.ɱFV-3smS INF-say-COɱ.3smS ‘And then, after you have finished, what’s then ⁸left to do⁹, actually?’ ⁸729⁹ məmɨr-u y-amʷər-i? how-COɱ.3smS 3smS-do.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ‘How is it done / how do they do it?’ ⁸730⁹ t-ete-w yə-səna-xə? ABL-where-COɱ.3smS ɳEL-arrive.ɱFV-2smS ‘Where did you arrive from?’ ⁸731⁹ bə-nkʼar-u əxʷa təwag-ot-əta? LOC-what-COɱ.3smS now fight-INF-3smɱOSS ‘About what is the fighting now?’ ⁸732⁹ yə-nkʼar-u yɨ-dəkʼ? DAT-what-COɱ.3smS 3smS-laugh.IɱFV ‘Why is he laughing?’ ⁸733⁹ əxʷa bə-mɨr-u səβatənə fokʼ ə-wətʼa? now INSTɳ-what-COɱ.3smS seventh floorѦ 1sS-go.up.IɱFV ‘Now, with what do I go up to the seventh floor?’ ⁸734⁹ mʷan-u za-ta nəgə cənə-m yɨ-cot-ɨn? who-COɱ.3smS DEM-3smɱOSS tomorrow come.ɱFV[.3smS-M] 3smS-make.IɱFV-3smO ‘Who can come to/and do this tomorrow? ɲuestion words can appear doubled when they are meant to refer to more than one entity. In example ⁸735⁹, the speaker uses the reduplicated mʷan-mʷan ‘who ⁸pl⁹’ to enquire about more than one person, presumably intending to hear all individual names. A slightly different case is the doubled question word mɨraxɨr ‘how much’ in example ⁸736⁹. Here it is used in a distributive meaning expressing the notion of ‘each’. ⁸735⁹ mʷan-mʷan yɨ-cən-te who-who bə-gən? 3smS-come.IɱFV-FUT.DEF LOC-country ‘Who ⁸pl⁹ will come from the countryside?’ ⁸736⁹ mɨraxɨr mɨraxɨr aβ-o-ku-m? how.much how.much give.ɱFV-3pmS-2pmO-M ‘How much did they give you each?’ The usage or meaning of some of the question words does not always correspond one-to-one to the English translation. For example, when asking for someone’s ʃɨm ‘name’, mʷan ‘who’ is used rather than məmɨr ‘how’ or mɨr ‘what’ ⁸737⁹-⁸738⁹. 223 Further, to ask for the time mɨraxɨr ‘how much’ is used ⁸739⁹. ⁸737⁹ y-axə ʃɨm mʷan nɨ-βər? ATTɳ-2sm name who 1sS-say.JUS ‘How ⁸lit. who⁹ should I call you?’ ⁸738⁹ mʷan yɨ-wr-i? ʃɨm-əta name-3smɱOSS who 3smS-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ‘How ⁸lit. who⁹ is he called? What’s his name?’ ⁸739⁹ sat mɨraxɨr-u? hour how.much-COɱ.3smS ‘What time is it?’ The difference between the two question words meaning ‘what’, mɨr and mɨkʼar, is not entirely clear. Usually they seem to be interchangeable as it is the case in ⁸740⁹ where the speaker used both words in what appears to be the exactly same context. ⁸740⁹ əxʷa za-ta mɨr yɨ-cot, zɨx-əta mɨkʼar yɨ-cot, now that-3smɱOSS what 3smS-make.IɱFV this-3smɱOSS what mɨr yɨ-cot-o 3smS-make.IɱFV yɨ-βɨn-no. what 3S-make.IɱFV-pmS 3smS-say.IɱFV-3pmO ‘He says to them: “Now, what does that one do, what does this one do, what do they do?”’ The conceivable assumption that mɨkʼar, which contains kʼar ‘thing’, could refer to objects and mɨr to abstract concepts does not prove correct. Compare the following two examples which both ask for concrete objects, once with mɨr ⁸741⁹ and once with mɨkʼar ⁸742⁹. ⁸741⁹ mɨr sɨyə-xə-wə-m? what buy.ɱFV-2smS-MAL.3sm-M ‘What did you buy with it?’ ⁸742⁹ mɨkʼar aβ-o-ku-m? what give.ɱFV-3pmS-2pmO-M ‘What did they give you?’ The question word mɨraxɨr ‘how much, how many’ is normally followed by a noun it determines as in ⁸743⁹, but it can also be used elliptically as in ⁸744⁹. ⁸743⁹ mɨraxɨr kərə əkkəs-xu-m? how.many day wait.ɱFV-2pmS-M ‘How many days did you ⁸pm⁹ stay?’ ⁸744⁹ mɨraxɨl-l-o? səβat bet gʷɨrage t-i-wr-i seven house Gurage TEMɱ-3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO how.many-COɱ-3pmS ‘Speaking about Sebat Bet Gurage, how many are they?’ 224 Also mɨr enət ‘what kind’ normally is followed by a noun as in ⁸745⁹. ⁸745⁹ mɨr enət ʃərət tɨ-rəmd? what kind food 2smS-love.IɱFV ‘What kind of food to you like?’ To ask ‘where’, there are two pairs of forms: e ~ ete on the one hand and be ~ bete with the locative preposition b(ə)- on the other hand. Usually the forms without b(ə)- occur with verbs of motion indicating a direction, i.e. ‘where to’ ⁸746⁹-⁸747⁹, whereas with the preposition they refer to locations ‘where’ ⁸748⁹-⁸749⁹. ⁸746⁹ e gaʃʃe-na wər-ə-m? father-1sɱOSS where go.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘Where did my father go?’ ⁸747⁹ ete nɨ-tʼa? where 1sS-go.up.JUS ‘Where should I go up?’ ⁸748⁹ ʃɨm-ʃɨm tʼənə-m yɨ-rəʃe kʼar be nər-ə? name-name call.ɱFV.IɱS-CV.M 3S-lift.IɱFV.IɱS.3smO THING where EX-3smS ‘Where does such a thing exist that one distributes [food] by calling name by name?’ ⁸749⁹ bete nəkəβ-xʷə-n-ɨm? where find.ɱFV-2smS-3smO-M ‘Where did you find it?’ Nevertheless, in some cases one can also use ete instead of bete. It seems that this is only possible when a certain “movement” is involved in the sense that an entity is not anymore at a specific location but “has moved away” from it. ⁸750⁹ əxʷa ete y-anə-xəma a-n-xʸɨr. now where ɳEL-EX-COMɱ NEG-1sS-know.IɱFV ‘I don’t know where it is now.’ Finally, e(te⁹ can also be followed by postpositions like dar ‘until’ in ⁸751⁹ or, to explicitly express ‘in direction o’, by the affix -nyə ‘towards’ ⁸752⁹. ⁸751⁹ gɨnɨɲɲunnət-ənda e meetingѦ -1pɱOSS dar-u? where until-COɱ.3smS ‘Until where is our meeting [point]?’ ⁸752⁹ tɨrama ete-nyə t-ar banə? yesterday where-DIɳ 2smS-go.IɱFV AUX.ɱT ‘Where were you going yesterday?’ When searching for something in the immediate context or environment but, contrary to expectations, is not findable at the moment, one uses ɨndem ⁸plus copula⁹ rather than bete. 225 ⁸753⁹ ʒɨβangʸɨβa ɨndem-u? zhibangyiba where-COɱ.3smS ‘Where is the zhibangyiba?’⁰ Similarly, ɨndem is also used when one is in the vicinity of several possible referents but does not know which one⁸s⁹ of them are meant. Thus, for example, standing in a village with all houses within sight, one could utter the question in ⁸754⁹, or seeing a big group of girls one might ask the question in ⁸755⁹. In contrast, be(te) ‘where’ is used when generally inquiring the location of an entity “in the world”. Note that in these cases the English translation is rather ‘which’ than ‘where’. ⁸754⁹ bet-axə ɨndem-u? house-2smɱOSS where-COɱ.3smS ‘Which/where is your house?’ ⁸755⁹ gɨred-axə ɨndem-l-əma? girls-2smɱOSS where-COɱ-3pfS ‘Which/where are your daughters?’ Gumer distinguishes between two question words for ‘when’, məcə and məcra. The former asks for a time point in the future ⁸or present⁹ and combines with the Imperfective ⁸756⁹-⁸757⁹. The latter is used for the past and occurs with the ɱerfective ⁸758⁹. ⁸756⁹ ɨyya-m axə-m gʷəmarə məcə-w 1s-ALSO 2sm-ALSO Gumer nɨ-fəka-nə? when-COɱ.3smS 1pS-leave.IɱFV-1pS ‘Me and you, when do we leave for Gumer?’ ⁸757⁹ məcə-w tɨmɨrt tɨ-kʼərs? when-COɱ.3smS studying 3sfS-begin.IɱFV ‘When does she begin to study?’ ⁸758⁹ məcra-w tɨmɨrt yə-k’ənəs-xə? when-COɱ.3smS studying ɳEL-begin.ɱFV-2smS ‘When did you begin to study?’ Note that the morpheme -ra also occurs with səstə, nəβatə and samtə to refer to days in the past rather than in the future.⁰ ⁰ ʒɨβangʸɨβa is a tool used to pound the root of əssət. According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 720⁹ it is a loan word from Kʼabeena. ⁰ According to Hetzron ⁸1977: 112⁹ these terms are built on an old ordinal pattern CaCɨC, i.e. sost ‘three’ səst- ‘third day ⁸counted from today⁹’, arβət ‘four’ nəβat- ‘fourth day ⁸counted from today⁹’ ⁸without initial vowel a the r becomes n⁹ and sɨmʷɨt ‘eight’ samt- ‘eighth day ⁸counted from today⁹’, i.e. a week ⁸samt also being the word for ‘week’⁹. There seem to be further terms for fifth, sixth and seventh day. 226 ⁸759⁹ səstə səstɨra ‘the day after tomorrow, two days from now’ ‘the day before yesterday, two days ago’ nəβatə nəβətra ‘three days from now’ ‘three days ago’ samtə samtɨra ‘a week from now’ ‘a week ago’ The question word et ‘which’, not to be confused with e(te) ‘where’, most commonly appears together with the 3sm possessive suffix -əta and without head noun as in ⁸760⁹ corresponding to English ‘which one’. ⁸760⁹ et-əta tɨ-rəmd? which-3smɱOSS 2smS-love.IɱFV ‘Which one do you like?’ If there is an overt head noun, the question word et precedes it and occurs without -əta. Note that there is the copula -u attached to the head noun forming ⁸what appears to be⁹ a cleft sentence. However, while all other question words also occur in normal non-clefted sentences, it seems that this is impossible with et. ⁸761⁹ et ʃərət-u tɨ-rəmd? which food-COɱ.3smS 2smS-love.IɱFV ‘Which food do you like?’ Further, the copula also occurs ⁸somewhat unexpectedly⁹ on the head noun in sentences with predicative adjectives ⁸762⁹-⁸763⁹ rather than at the end of the sentence after the adjective. It is not clear what conditions this unusual word order. ⁸762⁹ et bet-u tʼɨrə? which house-COɱ.3smS expensive ‘Which house is ⁸more⁹ expensive?’ ⁸763⁹ et gɨred-l-əma mərkama? which girls-COɱ-3spfS beautiful ‘Which girls are beautiful?’ 4.3.6 Possessives In Gumer there are two possibilities to refer to the possessor pronominally. First, the attributivizer yə- is prefixed to the independent pronouns preceding the possessum, very much like any noun that is attributed to another noun ⁸↗ 4.7.1.1⁹. ⁸764⁹ y-ɨyya angət ATTɳ-1s neck ‘my neck’ 227 ⁸765⁹ y-axə ʃɨm ATTɳ-2sm name ‘your ⁸sm⁹ name’ ⁸766⁹ yə-xʷta ʃərət ATTɳ-3sm food ‘his food’ The second and more common means are the possessive suffixes attached to the possessed noun. As table 86 shows, they distinguish person, number and gender like the independent pronouns with which they also share some formal similarities. The second persons, all of them beginning with a, look exactly the same as their independent counterparts. The third persons except 3sm -əta consist of ə followed by the pronoun. However, there are two freely interchangeable forms for 3pm. In the more common variant -əxʷna the feature [round] detached from the final vowel of -əxno and docked on the velar x resulting in -əxʷna. The first persons also have an initial ə. While the pronominal element of 1p corresponds to the object suffix, 1s features a completely distinct form. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f -əna -axə -axʸ -əta -əxʸta -ənda -axu -axma -əxʷna ~ -əxno -əxnəma Table 86: ɱossessive suffixes The initial vowels of the possessive suffixes interact with preceding vowels in different ways according to the rules discussed in section 2.3.3. Various examples illustrating this are given in tables 87 and 88, in addition to their ⁸unchanged⁹ forms after consonants like the t of bet ‘house’. The initial a of the second persons delete a preceding ə as with tɨkə ‘child’. Both initial a and ə form hiatus with preceding o as with asso ‘salt’, and there is a glide y after i as in təmari ‘student’. In the case of tʼu ‘breast’ the vowel changes to the glide w ⁸another possibility with u being insertion of a glide w as for example in cʼucʼuwaxə ‘your chicken’⁹. When the same two vowels meet ⁸i.e. ə+ə and a+a⁹ one of them is deleted. In segmented and glossed examples the ⁸arbitrary⁹ convention followed here always leaves out the vowel of the suffix. 228 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf bet ‘house’ tɨkə ‘child’ angacca ‘cat’ bet-əna bet-axə bet-axʸ bet-əta bet-əxʸta bet-ənda bet-axu bet-axma bet-əxʷna ~ -əxno bet-əxnəma tɨkə-na tɨk-axə tɨk-axʸ tɨkə-ta tɨkə-xʸta tɨkə-nda tɨk-axu tɨk-axma tɨkə-xʷna ~ -xno tɨkə-xnəma angacca-na angacca-xə angacca-xʸ angacca-ta angacca-xʸta angacca-nda angacca-xu angacca-xma angacca-xʷna ~ -xno angacca-xnəma Table 87: ɱossessive suffixes in different environments ⁸ɱart I⁹ 1s 2sm 2sf 3sm 3sf 1p 2pm 2pf 3pm 3pf asso ‘salt’ tʼu ‘breast’ təmari ‘student’ asso-əna asso-axə asso-axʸ asso-əta asso-əxʸta asso-ənda asso-axu asso-axma asso-əxʷna ~ -əxno asso-əxnəma tʼɨw-əna t’ɨw-axə tʼɨw-axʸ tʼɨw-əta tʼɨw-əxʸta tʼɨw-ənda tʼɨw-axu tʼɨw-axma tʼɨw-əxʷna ~ -əxno tʼɨw-əxnəma təmari-yəna təmari-yaxə təmari-yaxʸ təmari-yəta təmari-yəxʸta təmari-yənda təmari-yaxu angacca-xma təmari-yəxʷna ~ -yəxno təmari-yəxnəma Table 88: ɱossessive suffixes in different environments ⁸ɱart II⁹ The difference between suffixed and attributed possessive pronoun is not ⁸necessarily⁹ neutral vs. emphasized because both can occur at the same time ⁸767⁹-⁸768⁹. Nevertheless, their co-occurrence might express some additional emphasis compared to the single use of only one or the other option. ⁸767⁹ y-ɨyya simkard-əna at xʷet sost arβət-u, pinkod. ATTɳ-1s SIM.card-1sɱOSS one two three four-COɱ.3smS ɱIN.code ‘My SIM card is one-two-three-four, the ɱIN code.’ ⁸768⁹ y-axə tʼəlat-axə-w. ATTɳ-2sm enemyѦ -2smɱOSS-COɱ.3smS ‘He is your enemy.’ Along these lines, an attributive phrase with two nouns ⁸↗ 4.7.1.1⁹ can sometimes be furnished with an additional possessive suffix on the second noun resuming the preceding attributed noun ⁸769⁹-⁸771⁹. However, since normally this is un229 grammatical as shown in ⁸772⁹, it remains to explore in what circumstances it is still possible. ⁸769⁹ yə-səβat bet gʷɨragʷe ammətʼatʼ-əta n-od-xə. ATTɳ-seven house Gurage originѦ -3smɱOSS 1sS-tell.JUS-2smO gʷəmarə y-atʼəfʷa-n-e b-i-cən ‘Let me tell you about the origin of the Sebat Bet Gurage.’ ⁸770⁹ Gumer yə-gʷəmarə 3smS-ambush.IɱFV-3smO-ɱUɳɱ TEMɱ-3smS-come.IɱFV ATTɳ-Gumer agaz-əta abbagada-ta arβa-w. agaz-3smɱOSS abbagada-3smɱOSS fourty-COɱ.3smS ‘When the Gumer come to ambush him, the agaz [and] abbagada of the Gurage are forty.’ ⁸771⁹ yə-gʷəmarə tə-gʸəta dar-əxʷna xʷɨt bə-βar-ə kʼar ATTɳ-Gumer COM-Gyeto boundary-3pmɱOSS 3sm INSTɳ-say.ɱFV-3smS THING yə-xɨr. 3smS-become.JUS ‘The boundaries of Gumer and Gyeta shall be according to what he said.’ ⁸772⁹ *yə-fərəz wərcə-ta ATTɳ-horse front.leg-3smɱOSS ⁸intended: ‘the horse’s front leg⁹’ If required by information structure, a noun phrase referring to a possessor presumably in particular proper names as in ⁸773⁹-⁸774⁹ can be left-located into a topical position and then resumed by the possessive suffix. ⁸773⁹ umər farda mʷena-ta U. F. zɨxe gʷəmarə-w. uncle.maternal.side-3smɱOSS here Gumer-COɱ.3smS ‘Umer Farda’s uncles [and family] are here Gumer people.’ ⁸774⁹ ɨmɨryə tə-gəβrə_xanna adot-əxʷna I. COM-G._H. ɨnjera_adot-əxʷna banə-c. mother-3pmɱOSS stepmother-3pmɱOSS BE.ɱT-3sfS ‘Imiryeʼs and Gebre Hanna’s mother was their stepmother.’ ⁸‘As for Imirye and Gebre Hanna, their mother was their stepmother.’⁹ The ‘normal’ neutral attributive construction ⁸↗ 4.7.1.1⁹ does not feature the possessive, thus the above sentence would be as in ⁸775⁹. ⁸775⁹ y-ɨmɨryə tə-gəβrə_xanna adot ATTɳ-I. COM-G._H. ɨnjera_adot-əxʷna banə-c. mother-3pmɱOSS stepmother-3pmɱOSS BE.ɱT-3sfS ‘Imirye and Gebre Hanna’s mother was their stepmother.’ What follows are a few more illustrative example sentences showing possessive markers suffixed to nouns in various syntactic positions as object ⁸776⁹, local expression without adposition ⁸777⁹ or in a prepositional phrase ⁸778⁹. ⁸776⁹ əgr-əxʷna yɨ-β-o-ndə. foot-3pmɱOSS 3S-give.IɱFV-pmS-1pO ‘They give us their feet.’ 230 ⁸777⁹ bet-axu wər-oǃ house-2pmɱOSS go.IMɱ-2pmS ‘Go ⁸to your⁹ homeǃ’ ⁸778⁹ y-okkʷa-c-ɨn afinjə ɨkka ATTɳ-pound.ɱFV-3sfS-3smO chili b-əgr-əxʸta like.this INSTɳ/LOC-foot-3sfɱOSS tʼəwətʼ-əc-n-ɨm. take.ɱFV-3sfS-3smO-M ‘She held the afinje she had pounded with her feet ⁸or: kept at her feet⁹ like this.’ In particular note that the suffix attaches directly to the possessed noun and not, for example, to the adjective ⁸779⁹ or to the end of the whole noun phrase ⁸780⁹. ⁸779⁹ ɨrs gʷəppay-əna fərəz yɨ-kʼyə banə. little brother-1sɱOSS horse 3smS-look.after.IɱFV AUX.ɱT ‘My little brother was looking after the horses.’ ⁸780⁹ yə-fərəz-əta wərcə aʃʃə-xʷ-ɨm. ATTɳ-horse-3smɱOSS front.leg see.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I saw the front leg of his horse.’ Discourse particles like -ʃ ‘you know’ follow the possessive suffix ⁸781⁹. In contrast, the coordinating -m ‘also, and’ exceptionally stands between noun and possessive ⁸782⁹. This fact suggests that the possessive suffixes are clitical rather than suffixal. ⁸781⁹ dəwo-axə-ʃ an-xər-ə. relative-2smɱOSS-ɱɳAG NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS ‘He is not your relative ⁸you know⁹.’ ⁸782⁹ ʃərət-m-axə dəmoz-m-axə ɨnnɨkʼar-axə ɨyya food-ALSO-2smɱOSS salary-ALSO-2smɱOSS everything-2sɱOSS 1s ə-kəs-te bʷar-ə-n-ɨm. 1sS-pay.IɱFV-FUT.DEF say.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘He said to him: “Your food and your salary, I will pay everything of you.”’ The possessive suffixes occur in functions that usually are not viewed as possession in the traditional sense. The use of 3sm -əta as marker of ⁸associative⁹ definiteness is discussed briefly in section 4.4.2.1. Further, possessive suffixes of all persons occur with numerals, quantifiers and nominals like gəg ‘body’ or xʸɨn ‘heart’. In combination with numerals and quantifiers ⁸783⁹-⁸786⁹, the possessives express the meaning ‘  of ’. ⁸783⁹ arβət-ənda four-1pɱOSS ‘the four of us’ 231 ⁸784⁹ yə-xʷecɨm-ənda awənə-ndə-m. DAT-both-1pɱOSS feed.ɱFV.IɱS-1pO-M ‘They fed both of us.’ ⁸785⁹ atat-ənda atat gojjo tʼəβətʼ-nə-m. some-1pɱOSS some hutѦ take.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘Some of us took some huts.’ ⁸786⁹ zax səβ ɨnnɨm-əxʷna at-at-at-at-at DEM person all-3pmɱOSS yə-ʒɨr danə one-one-one-one-one ATTɳ-zhir judge awəttʼ-o-m. take.out.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘These persons, all of them […] named one zhir-judge each.’ To express reflexives ⁸‘sel’, ‘own’⁹, the corresponding possessives are suffixed to gəg ‘body’ ⁸787⁹-⁸789⁹. ⁸787⁹ gʷeta gəg-əta God e-trəməd, b-oxe zənga self-3smɱOSS NEG.3smS-be.expensive.IɱFV INSTɳ-good thing yə-kʼəyə-ndə. 3smS-protect.JUS-1pO ‘God himself is not expensive, may he protect us with good things.’ ⁸788⁹ gəg-əta baləge yə-xər-ə-xəma yɨ-xʸɨr. self-3smɱOSS stupidѦ ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS-COMɱ 3smS-know.IɱFV ‘He himself knows that he is stupid.’ ⁸789⁹ yə-gəg-əna fərəz ATTɳ-body-1sɱOSS horse ‘my own horse’ Further, there are a few adverbial expressions formed with possessive suffixes. For example, ‘easily, jokingly’ can be expressed by yə-sya-mon the basis of sɨya , literally ‘from/with one’s heart’, ‘joke’ ⁸790⁹-⁸791⁹. The construction tə-xʸntranslates as ‘slowly, carefully’ ⁸792⁹. Finally, also ‘naked’ always occurs with possessives as ɨncʼɨm⁸793⁹. According to Leslau ⁸1979c: 56f.⁹ it also means ‘only’, but it seemingly is based on the substantive or adjective ɨncʼ ‘nakedness, naked’. ⁸790⁹ bɨ-n-wəgʷa-n yə-sya-m-əta xɨkka TEMɱ-1sS-stab.IɱFV-3smO DAT-joke-ALSO-1pɱOSS like.that amənə-βi-m-tanə fərəz fʷɨnkʸɨnn amənə-m. do.ɱFV[.3smS]-MAL.1s-CV.M-LINK horse step.aside do.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘When I stabbed him, he made easily like that ⁸on me⁹ and made the horse step aside a bit.’ ⁸791⁹ yə-βora bəsər gɨβtɨ-gɨβt yə-sya-m-ənda ATTɳ-ox meat half-half afettən-ne-m. DAT-joke-ALSO-1pɱOSS finish.up.ɱFV-1pS.3smO-M ‘We easily finished up the ox meat each a half.’ 232 ⁸792⁹ ɨnnɨmgi tə-xʸn-əta always y-ar. COM-heart-3smɱOSS 3smS-go.IɱFV ‘He always goes slowly/carefully.’ ⁸793⁹ bə-βəkan ɨncʼɨm-əxʷna y-ar-əβo. LOC-B. naked-3pmɱOSS 3S-go.IɱFV-pmS ‘In Bekan they walk around naked.’ 4.4 Definiteness Overt marking of definiteness in Gumer is less prominent than, for example, in ɳomance or Germanic languages. ɳose ⁸2007: 421⁹ even states that “[g]enerally, there is no expression of definiteness on the noun”. This does not mean that there are no morphological means to mark definiteness in Gumer. ɳather it has to be understood in such a way that definite articles are required in noticeably less contexts and that they do not simply appear to signal that a noun ⁸or noun phrase⁹ is identifiable for the hearer ⁸identifiability and familiarity being the main conditions triggering the use of definite articles in general, cf. Lyons 1999: 3⁹ but that some other factors play a role as well. In addition to said definite articles, Gumer features possessive suffixes ⁸↗ 4.3.6⁹ and demonstratives ⁸↗ 4.3.2⁹, the other two commonly known categories that render nouns definite. A crucial point is the fact that the possessives not only express possession but also definiteness in contexts where other languages only use definite articles, that is Gumer distinguishes rather clearly between associative uses marked by the possessives and anaphoric uses marked by the definite articles ⁸↗ 4.4.2.1⁹. A further noteworthy point is that articles and possessives can combine with demonstratives ⁸↗ 4.3.2⁹. Finally, it is understood that the ⁸independent⁹ pronouns ⁸↗ 4.3.1⁹ and proper names are inherently definite, also without explicit additional marking for definiteness. 4.4.1 Definite articles Gumer has two types of definite articles. On the one hand, there is the invariable suffix -we which occurs rather marginally. Since it is presumably an influence from neighboring Gurage varieties like Ezha, it is addressed only briefly in 4.4.1.1 below. On the other hand there is the ‘proper’ definite article in Gumer which corresponds formally to the third person independent pronouns ⁸↗ 4.3.1⁹ and thus appears in four forms distinguishing number and gender as illustrated in table 89. Note that the singular articles have two forms each as do the independent pronouns. The two variants with and without final a seem to be freely interchangeable in most if not all contexts. 233 m f -xʷɨt ~ -xʷɨta -xʸɨt ~ -xʸɨta -xɨno -xɨnəma Table 89: Definite article It is not entirely clear whether the definite article is an independent word, a clitic or an affix. ɳose ⁸2007: 422⁹ states that it follows the noun and writes it separated, for example mɨs xʷɨta ‘the man’ or mɨʃt xʸɨta ‘the woman’. Hetzron ⁸1977: 56⁹, on the contrary, claims that “the appropriate third person independent pronouns are suffixed”, but in his transcribed texts it is also written independently, for example kʼərcʼat huta ‘the basket’. It seems to me that the noun and the following article form a single unit with only one intonational peak. Therefore I chose the convention to write them together as for example kʷɨtaraxʷɨta ‘the chicken’ or səβxɨno ‘the persons’ rather than kʷɨtara xʷɨta or səβ xɨno. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the definite article apparently never drops ⁸or at least usually does not drop⁹ the epenthetic vowel ɨ even if it were possible ⁸or required⁹ according to the syllable structure ⁸↗ 2.3.2⁹ as shown in ⁸794⁹-⁸797⁹. For example, in a word composed of kʷɨtara + xʷɨta the syllable boundaries are expected to be rearranged from kʷɨ.ta.ra.xʷɨ.ta to kʷɨ.ta.raxʷ.ta, but normally the output remains kʷɨtaraxʷɨta. This fact is an indication that the definite article has kept its independent status to some extent. ⁸794⁹ kʷɨ.ta.ra + xʷɨ.ta chicken ‘the chicken’ ⁸795⁹ mɨʃt ‘the woman’ ⁸796⁹ den.gʸa ⁸*mɨʃ.tɨxʸ.ta⁹ den.gʸa-xɨ.no ⁸*den.gʸax.no⁹ ɨʃ.ta-xɨ.nə.ma ⁸*ɨʃ.tax.nə.ma⁹ DEF.pm ‘the boys’ ⁸797⁹ mɨʃt-xʸɨ.ta DEF.sf + xɨ.no boys ⁸*kʷɨ.ta.raxʷ.ta⁹ DEF.sm + xʸɨ.ta woman kʷɨ.ta.ra-xʷɨ.ta ɨʃ.ta + xɨ.nə.ma boys DEF.pf ‘the women’ The choice of the article is determined by the gender and number of the noun they are attached to. As discussed in section 4.2.3, in Gumer the default gender is masculine, a fact which makes -xʷɨt(a) the most frequent article of the four. It thus occurs with male human beings ⁸798⁹, animals ⁸799⁹, inanimate objects ⁸800⁹, and abstract nouns ⁸801⁹. 234 ⁸798⁹ mɨs-xʷɨta jeneral banə. man-DEF.sm general BE.ɱT ‘The man was a general.’ ⁸799⁹ kʷɨtara-xʷɨta bəssər-ə-m. chicken-DEF.sm cook.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘The chicken is cooked.’ ⁸800⁹ kʼawa-xʷɨta sɨyə-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. coffee-DEF.sm cook.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘I bought the coffee.’ ⁸801⁹ amədar-xʷɨt baʃə-xʸta cold-DEF.sm aβas-ə-βa-m. sickness-3sfɱOSS make.worse.ɱFV-3smS-MAL.3sf-M ‘The cold [weather] worsened her sickness.’ The only nouns that are treated as feminine are female human beings. ⁸802⁹ mɨʃt-xʸɨta dakʼ-əc-ɨm. woman-DEF.sf laugh.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘The woman laughed.’ ⁸803⁹ gərəd-xʸɨta cənə-c-ɨm. girl-DEF.sf come.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘The girl came.’ The gender of the plurals remains the same as in the singular. ⁸804⁹ dengʸa-xɨno əray yɨ-wər-o. boys-DEF.pm cows 3S-tend.IɱFV-3pmS ‘The boys tend cattle.’ ⁸805⁹ ɨʃta-xɨnəma əssət yɨ-fəkʼ-əma. women-DEF.pf enset 3S-scrape.IɱFV-3pfS ‘The women scrape əssət.’ The definite articles not only attach to nouns but also to other ‘nominal’ parts of speech like ʽrelative verbsʼ ⁸↗ 4.7.3.1⁹ as in ⁸806⁹-⁸807⁹, demonstratives ⁸808⁹, question words ⁸809⁹ and adjectives ⁸809⁹. ⁸806⁹ ʃəwa yɨ-dəwwɨl-xʷɨta Addis.Ababa 3smS-phoneѦ .IɱFV-DEF.sm ‘the one who calls to Addis Ababa’ ⁸807⁹ y-axə yɨ-kəs-xə-xʷɨt DAT-2sm 3smS-pay.IɱFV-2smO-DEF.sm ‘the one who pays you’ ⁸808⁹ za-xɨno cənə-βo-m. DEM-DEF.sm come.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘Those ones came.’ 235 ⁸809⁹ wəmbər naməǃ – ‘Bring a chairǃ Which one? chairѦ et-xʷɨt? – accʼɨr-xʷɨt. bring.INF.2smS which-DEF.sm short-DEF.sm The short oneǃ’ 4.4.1.1 The definite article -we As mentioned above there is a definite article -we that appears occasionally in Gumer. In Ezha and Muher -we is the regular definite article while in other Western Gurage languages it is not attested ⁸Meyer 2011: 1243⁹. Due to the fact that in Gumer it is used more often by speakers in areas closer to Ezha and Muher than to Chaha, it is quite probable that -we is an influence from Ezha or Muher. The article -we is invariable and combines with any gender and number, for example ərcwe ‘the boy’, dengʸawe ‘the boys’, gərədwe ‘the girl’ and gɨredwe ‘the girls’. In contrast to the definite article -xʷɨt, which always occurs at the end of the whole noun phrase ⁸810⁹, -we attaches to preceding adjectives or relative clauses that modify the noun ⁸811⁹. ⁸810⁹ yə-rədəd-ə bet-xʷɨt ʃərətβet-u. ɳEL-burn.ɱFV-3smS house-DEF.sm restaurant-COɱ.3smS (*yərədədəxʷɨt bet) ‘The house that burnt down is a restaurant.’ ⁸811⁹ yə-rədəd-ə-we bet ʃərətβet-u. ɳEL-burn.ɱFV-3smS-DEF house restaurant-COɱ.3smS (*yərədədə betwe) ‘The house that burnt down is a restaurant.’ In recorded stories and conversations -we occurs very rarely. By contrast its frequency is slightly higher in isolated elicited sentences as in ⁸812⁹ and the following examples ⁸813⁹-⁸814⁹. ⁸812⁹ mɨs-we gʷəβəz yə-xər-e gʷəncə tʼəβətʼ-ə-m. man-DEF braveѦ ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS.ɱUɳɱ hyena ‘Because the man is brave, he caught a hyena.’ ⁸813⁹ bɨkʼʷrə-we yə-tkə-xʷɨt mule-DEF take.ɱFV-3smS-M nəkʼʷətʼ-ə-n-ɨm. DAT-child-DEF.sm kick.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘The mule kicked the child.’ ⁸814⁹ gʷad-ə-n-ɨm-ta ʃərət-we yɨ-wəra-n. be.hungry.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-CV.M-LINK food-DEF 3smS-eat.IɱFV-3smO-M ‘Having become hungry he eats the food.’ This fact suggests that -we is likely to occur when a noun that should be definite ⁸for whatever reason⁹ has not been mentioned previously and cannot be referred to anaphorically with the definite article -xʷɨt etc. This hypothesis seems to be supported by the situation found in the short excerpt in ⁸815⁹ where the speaker tells what he has heard about the disadvantages of early marriage and  The definite article should not be confused with the we ‘or’ in questions or the ⁸optional⁹ question marker we in yes/no-questions. 236 giving birth. Since it is part of common knowledge that children belong to such a context and therefore are ‘known’, the first mention of tɨkə ‘child’ in the third sentence is with the definite article. However, due to the fact that it has not been mentioned explicitly in the previous sentences, anaphoric reference in the sense of “the aforementioned child” is not possible. ⁸815⁹ bə-tkɨnət agβ-ot wəxe kʼar ã-xər-ə… yalə LOC-childhood marry-INF good THING NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS withoutѦ gɨzyə-xnəma cʼənə-ma-n-ta yɨ-tgʷədd-əma… tɨkə-we wəxe time-3pfɱOSS give.birth.ɱFV-3pfS-CV.M-LINK 3S-be.hurt.IɱFV-pfS child-DEF good kʼar e-trəkʼ… təxankʼʸətə tə-ms-əxnəma THING NEG.3smS-grow.up.IɱFV afterwards COM-husband-3pfɱOSS yɨ-trakəs-əma. 3S-quarrel.IɱFV-pfS ‘Getting married in childhood is not good… giving birth without their period, they ⁸⁹ are harmed… the child does not grow up well… and then they quarrel with their husband.’ Anyhow, these interpretations of -we are only tentative and have to be verified. Given that its frequency is low, it seems plausible that -we is indeed just a loan that does not play an integral role in the Gumer system of definiteness. 4.4.2 Use of articles and marking of definiteness Overt marking of definiteness in Gumer follows other rules than, for example, in European languages. The two main differences are, firstly, the rather clear distinction between direct anaphora and associative anaphora, and secondly the fact that the articles, in particular for direct anaphora, are much less obligatory and consequently less frequent. 4.4.2.1 Direct anaphora vs. associative anaphora In the marking of definiteness, Gumer distinguishes rather strictly between direct anaphora and associative anaphora. Cutting out the odd article -we, the definite articles xʷɨt(a) etc. as described in section 4.4.1 are used for direct anaphora ⁸816⁹, while associative anaphoric definiteness ⁸817⁹ is marked by the 3sm possessive suffix -əta ⁸↗ 4.3.6⁹. ⁸816⁹ ema-xʷɨta ə-xʸɨr. way-DEF.sm 1sS-know.IɱFV ‘I know the way ⁸speaking about a known/previously mentioned way⁹.’  Direct anaphora relates to a referent that has already been introduced to the discourse earlier ⁸“the aforementioned”⁹ and associative anaphora describes an indirect reference, where a referent is associated with another referent that has just been mentioned or to ⁸extralinguistic⁹ referents that are available in the discourse context ⁸“the one related to the aforementioned”⁹ ⁸cf. Fraurud 2001⁹. 237 ⁸817⁹ ema-ta ə-xʸɨr. way-3smɱOSS 1sS-know.IɱFV ‘I know the way ⁸for example to the known place we intend to go⁹.’ Example ⁸818⁹ illustrates the two different definiteness markings. First, a referent ⁸kʷɨtara ‘chicken’⁹ is introduced, which remains unmarked. A few sentences later the speaker resumes this same referent and marks it with the definite article -xʷɨta indicating that it is the known aforementioned chicken. In the following, a completely new referent ⁸ɨxa ‘water’⁹ enters the discourse. The topic of the story is cooking chicken and it is known to both speaker and hearer that chickens are cooked in water. Therefore, the first mentioning of ɨxa has to be marked as definite. Since it is not explicitly aforementioned but rather associated with kʷɨtara, the possessive -əta is in order. ⁸818⁹ at kərə kʷɨtara (Ø) yɨ-cəkʷr-i […] one day chicken kʷɨtara-xʷɨta cəkkər-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. 3S-cook.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO chicken-DEF.sm cook.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M bə-cəkkər-xʷ-ɨn ankʼʸə ɨxa-ta LOC/TEMɱ-cook.ɱFV-1sS-3smO after xʷə-xʷ-ɨn-ɨm. water-3smɱOSS spill.ɱFV-1sS-3smO-M ‘One day a chicken was cooked. […] I cooked the chicken. After I had cooked it, I spilled the water.’ As for the use of the definite article for direct anaphora, it is important to note that it is not used whenever an aforementioned referent occurs a second time. ɳather it seems that a certain topicality is also needed for it to receive the definite article. In the second sentence of ⁸819⁹ fərəz ‘horse’ appears for the second time, however due to the fact that here it is a rather generic ⁸backgrounded, almost “incorporated”⁹ object of nəkʸəm ‘ride’ this happens without definite article. In contrast, it is the ⁸new⁹ topic and subject of the following sentence and marked definite. ⁸819⁹ a. bə-raxʷ-i ankʼʸə, fərəz (Ø) tʼəβətʼ-ə-m LOC/TEMɱ-send.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO after ankʼa-ta agəd-ə-m. mouth-3smɱOSS tie.ɱFV-3smS-M b. horse take.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M […] ‘After they had sent him, he took a horse and tied its/the mouth.’ bet-ɨnyə tɨ-n-kəra-nə fərəz (Ø) yə-sost house-DIɳ TEMɱ-1pS-go.up.IɱFV-1pS horse DAT-three nəkʸəm-ne-m. ride.ɱFV-1pS.3smO-M c. ‘When we went ⁸up⁹ home, the three of us mounted the horse.’ fərəz-xʷɨta t-i-yafəta nɨfas kʷəffɨyya horse-DEF.sm TEMɱ-3smS-gallop.IɱFV wind hat wəsəd-ə-βi-m. take.ɱFV-3smS-MAL.1s-M ‘When the horse galloped, the wind took the hat from me.’ 238 A more reliable description of the distribution definiteness markers requires further research with the aid of large text corpora, a task that clearly is beyond the scope of this thesis. 4.5 Numerals 4.5.1 Cardinal numerals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 at xʷet sost arβət ammɨst sɨddɨst səβat sɨmʷɨt ʒətʼə 100 1000 assɨr xʷɨya sasa arβa amsa sɨdsa ⁸ ~ sɨlsa⁹ sɨβa ⁸ ~ səβa⁹ sɨmra ⁸ ~ səmana⁹ zɨtʼəra ⁸ ~ zətʼəna⁹ bəkʼɨr ~ məto xʷɨm ~ ʃi Table 90: Cardinal numerals I The numerals below ten and their corresponding multiples of ten share some similarities, but there is no regular derivative morpheme. Note that the final t of the numerals 2 to 8 ⁸9 does not end in t⁹ misses in the tens, which instead show a final a. As for ammɨst ‘five’, sɨddɨst ‘six’ and assɨr ‘ten’, they can also be heard without clear gemination. ɱrobably due to school education, younger speakers occasionally also use the Amharic forms for higher numerals, for example sɨlsa instead of sɨdsa ‘sixty’ or zətʼəna instead of zɨtʼəra ‘ninety’. In the case of ‘hundred’ and ‘thousand’, the Amharic məto and ʃi ⁸820⁹ are much more in use than bəkʼɨr ⁸821⁹ and xʷɨm. In particular xʷɨm ‘thousand’ seems to become completely obsolete and is usually replaced by ʃi. ⁸820⁹ at ʃi xʷet məto yə-mraxɨr kərə wə-βər-u? one thousand two hundred DAT-how.much day INF-say-COɱ.3smS ‘That is 1200 for how many days?’ ⁸821⁹ mʷena-ta togyə bəkʼɨr məgəra yə-sɛ. uncle-3smɱOSS T. hundred calf 3smS-find.JUS ‘His uncles, the Togye, should find one hundred calves.’ 239 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 counting quantity asrat asrə xʷet asrə sost asrarβət asrammɨst asrə sɨddɨst asrə səβat asrə sɨmʷɨt asrə ʒətʼə asrəm at asrəm xʷet asrəm sost asrəm arβət asrəm ammɨst asrəm sɨddɨst asrəm səβat asrəm sɨmʷɨt asrəm ʒətʼə 21 22 47 99 117 254 838 1970 2606 xʷɨyam at xʷɨyam xʷet arβam səβat zɨtʼəram ʒətʼə məto asrə səβat xʷet məto amsam arβət sɨmʷɨt məto sasam səmʷɨt (at) ʃi ʒətʼə məto sɨβa xʷet ʃi sɨddɨst məto sɨddɨst Table 91: Cardinal numerals II The numerals from 11 to 19 are formed from asrə ⁸rather than assɨr ‘ten’⁹. There are two possibilities to compound them: either the unit numeral directly follows asrə, and in case the former begins with a vowel the ə of asrə is dropped; or there is an -m between asrə and the unit numeral ⁸cf. -m ‘also, and’⁹. It seems that the forms without -m are usually used for counting and the ones with -m to state a quantity. However, this distinction is probably not very clear-cut. Compound numerals above twenty tend to contain the -m both for counting and quantity ⁸822⁹-⁸823⁹, but there are also examples without it ⁸824⁹. ⁸822⁹ b-ɨmmat kərə zətʼəna-m səβat səβ kʼəttʼər-o-m. LOC-only.one day ninety-ALSO seven person kill.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘In a single day they killed 97 people.’ ⁸823⁹ xʷɨya-m arβət ɨkka twenty-ALSO four banə-nə. like.this BE.ɱT-1pS ‘We were like 24 [persons].’ ⁸824⁹ xʷɨya ammɨst bɨrr yɨ-bʷ-ɨn. twenty five birr 3S-give.IɱFV.IɱS-1sO ‘They give me 25 birr.’ To express totality ⁸‘all’⁹, another -m is suffixed to the cardinal numerals and the final t of 2 to 8 is palatalized to c. Thus we have, for example, xʷecɨm ‘all two, both’ ⁸825⁹, soscɨm ‘all three’ ⁸826⁹, arβəcɨm ‘all four’, ʒətʼəm ‘all nine’, amsam ‘all fifty’, mətom ‘all hundred’, ʃim ‘all thousand’. The final t of at ‘one’ in compound numerals is not palatalized, as for example in xʷɨyam atɨm ‘all twenty one’. ⁸825⁹ yə-xʷecɨm-ənda at-at adda aw-ɨndə-m. DAT-both-1pɱOSS one-one servant give.ɱFV.IɱS-1pO-M ‘For both of us they gave one servant each.’ ⁸826⁹ soscɨm gɨzyə yɨ-srə-βo-nku all.three time banə? 3S-buy.IɱFV-pmS-BEN.2pm AUX.ɱT ‘They bought ⁸would buy⁹ all three meals ⁸lit. times⁹ for you?’ 240 4.5.2 Ordinal numerals 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th atənə xʷetənə sostənə arβətənə ammɨstənə sɨddɨstənə səβatənə sɨmʷɨtənə ʒətʼənə 10th 20th 30th 40th 50th 60th 70th 80th 90th assɨrənə xʷɨyanə sasanə arβanə amsanə sɨdsanə sɨβanə sɨmranə zɨtʼəranə 100th 1000th bəkʼrənə xʷɨmranə Table 92: Ordinal numerals Ordinal numerals are formed by -ənə ⁸-nə after a vowel⁹ suffixed to the cardinal numeral. Some people tend to employ the Amharic -əɲɲa instead of -ənə, especially for higher numerals. Note that the ordinal numeral of xʷɨm ‘thousand’ is xʷɨmranə. Like all modifiers the ordinal numerals precede the noun ⁸827⁹. ⁸827⁹ bə-mɨr-u səβatənə fokʼ ə-wətʼa? INSTɳ-what-COɱ.3smS seventh floorѦ 1sS-go.upIɱFV ‘With what do I go to the seventh floor?’ Finally, take note of the names of the fractions gɨβt ‘hal’ ⁸828⁹, kʼɨrtʼ ‘quarter’ and bʷɨtʼɨr ‘eighth’. The latter one is often used to designate a part of the wɨssabread that is not necessarily the eighth part of it. Finally, shares are counted by means of əj ‘hand’, for example sost əj ‘three shares’, ammɨst əj ‘five shares’, etc. ⁸828⁹ yə-βora bəsər gɨβtɨ-gɨβt yə-sya-m-ənda ATTɳ-ox meat half-half afettən-ne-m. DAT-joke-ALSO-1pɱOSS finish.up.ɱFV-1pS.3smO-M ‘We easily finished up the ox meat each a half.’ 4.6 Days of the week The days of the week are shown in table 93. According to Leslau ⁸1979b: 260⁹ the name of Friday can also be addərə in Chaha and most other Gurage varieties, but I have only recorded jɨmat. Due to its Arabic origin ⁸<jumʕa(t)⁹, jɨmat it is probably the common name among Muslims. Note the names əro and amʷɨs which are connected to the numerals arβət ‘four’ and ammɨst ‘five’ respectively, referring to ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Thursday’ as the fourth and fifth day ⁸as it is also the case in other Middle Eastern languages like Arabic or ɱersian, which all start counting with Sunday⁹. 241 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday wɨtʼət wɨtʼət mərəga əro amʷɨs jɨmat kʼətʼa səmbət wɨr səmbət Table 93: Days of the week 4.7 Nominal affixes and subordinators Gumer possesses a relatively small set of affixes, both prefixes and suffixes, that occur with nominals. All affixes except the associative marker nə- and -nyə ‘towards’ also appear with verbs to form various kinds of subordinated clauses. Table 94 summarizes the affixes and their basic functions both with nominals and in subordination. Nouns yəbə- / btə- / tnə-e -xəma -nyə , Subordinated verbs / , ,⁸ / ⁹ , Table 94: Nominal affixes and subordinators The three prefixes yə-, bə-, and tə-, very likely older than the suffixes, are mutually exclusive. As opposed to this, combinations of prefixes and suffixes as well as successions of two suffixes are possible. Both -xəma and -e often occur together with yə-, and -nyə is most of the time preceded by -e. The former case is reminiscent of the co-occurrence of prefixes and postpositions to express some more specialized relations ⁸↗ 4.7.1.6⁹. All affixes are in their essence nominal rather than verbal markers. The fact that they also appear with verbs can be explained or at least visualized as follows: for subordination only the so-called ‘relative verbs’ ⁸↗ 4.7.3.1⁹ can be used. The ‘relative verbs’ themselves are a ‘nominalized’ form of the verb that are used for relative clauses, i.e. to modify nominals, but also as ⁸headless⁹ nominals themselves comparable in their function but not in their form to participles in European languages. As ‘nominalized’ forms, the ‘relative verbs’ can be furnished with nominal morphology like articles on the one hand, or the said affixes to build 242 forms used in subordination expressing more or less specific meanings on the other hand. Nevertheless, it is very important to note here that the claim that the ‘relative verbs’ are ‘nominalizations’ of verbs is not at all obvious and therefore highly disputable. In principle, ‘relative verbs’ are formed by the attributivizer yə-, but this morpheme is only present, i.e. “surfacing”, in the ɱerfective and only when there is no other prefix involved. Thus, in many instances no visible nominalizing morpheme as such is present. The properties of ‘relative verbs’ are discussed in more detail in section 4.7.3.1. There are a few further suffixes ⁸or clitics⁹ that have quite a different distribution than the above affixes. They are not nominal markers per se but mainly serve pragmatic functions and/or information structure, like -ʃ, -x and -a. The suffix -m represents an intermediate case. It is used as pragmatic and focusing marker ⁸‘also’⁹ ⁸829⁹, as nominal coordinator ⁸‘and’⁹ ⁸830⁹, and as linker with verbs ⁸not based on ‘relative verbs’⁹ forming the so-called m-converbs ⁸↗ 3.14.2⁹. ⁸829⁹ zətʼəna ammɨst bɨrr bet-ɨm ninety five y-asəra-xu? birr house-ALSO 3smS-bring.IɱFV-2pmO ʽDo 95 birr bring you also home?ʼ ⁸830⁹ gərəd-ɨm ərc-ɨm girl-ALSO boy-ALSO ʽa girls and a boyʼ 4.7.1 Affixes and nouns: prefixes The most versatile prefix in Gumer is yə- which combines a variety of functions. Firstly, it is an attributivizer that conjoins ⁸two or more⁹ nouns. Secondly, it covers dative-like functions marking overt nominals as recipients, beneficiaries ⁸and maleficiaries⁹, and by extension in some cases also primary objects ⁸i.e. differential object marking⁹; and furthermore it is also used to mark peripheral constituents that are not local, instrumental or comitative, often translating with ‘for’. The latter functions are covered by the prefixes bə- ⁸ and ⁹ and tə- ⁸ and ⁹. The attributivizer yə- is dropped when bə- or tə- is present. The same is true with the associative marker nə-, which is described in section 4.2.2. 4.7.1.1 Attributivizer yəA noun is attributed to another noun with yə- on the first element the dependent noun or ‘possessor’ followed by the head noun which remains unmarked. ⁸831⁹ yə-kəbbədə ɨmɨr ATTɳ-K. stone ‘Kebbede’s stone’  Very roughly speaking, -ʃ corresponds to ‘you know’, -x to ‘as for’, and -a to ‘I assure you ⁸emphasis⁹’. 243 There are basically two possibilities how the attributed noun qualifies the head noun. First, the common relation is possessor possessed in very broad sense ranging from ownership to a rather general notion of ‘belonging’ that expresses that an entity relates to another one. ⁸832⁹ yə-βeyda xʷɨjɨr ATTɳ-B. clothes ‘Beyda’s clothes’ ⁸833⁹ yə-jəmal adot ATTɳ-J. mother ‘Jemal’s mother’ ⁸834⁹ yə-dina gən ATTɳ-outsider country ‘the enemy’s country’ ⁸835⁹ yə-gʷrage kʼar ATTɳ-Gurage language ‘the language of the Gurage’ ⁸836⁹ yə-gʷeta fəkʼad ATTɳ-God permissionѦ ‘God’s permission’ ⁸837⁹ yə-jəβən ɨffʷət ATTɳ-coffee.pot pot.lid ‘the lid of the coffee pot’ ⁸838⁹ yə-drə səβ ATTɳ-former.times person ‘people of/in old times’ Second, the attributed noun can modify the meaning of the head noun specifying its type, subcategory, origin, material, etc. ⁸839⁹ yə-ʒɨr danə ATTɳ-zhir judge ‘zhir-judge’ ⁸840⁹ yə-wərkʼ kʼələβət ATTɳ-gold ring ‘gold ring’ The distinction between possession/belonging and specification can be very subtle. Consider the different possible translations of the following examples.  ʒɨr is a unit to measure land ⁸approximately 12 feet⁹ ⁸Leslau 1979a: 136⁹ and the zhir-judge is the person in charge of measuring the land. 244 ⁸841⁹ y-asa ʃərət ATTɳ-fish food ‘food [made] of fish’ / ‘fish food ⁸i.e. food for fish⁹’ ⁸842⁹ y-əram goga ATTɳ-cow skin ‘cow hide ⁸material⁹’/ ‘the cow’s skin ⁸possession⁹’ Further, note that instead of the ordinary possessive suffixes ⁸↗ 4.3.6⁹ one can also attribute the full pronouns to express possession by means of yə-. ⁸843⁹ y-ɨyya angət ATTɳ-1s neck ‘my neck’ ⁸844⁹ y-axə ʃɨm ATTɳ-2sm name ‘your ⁸sm⁹ name’ Nouns with yə- can also occur elliptically without head noun as in ⁸845⁹-⁸846⁹. ⁸845⁹ y-arɨβ sera-w-ʃ, yə-tʼorɨnnət. ATTɳ-war custom-COɱ.3smS-ɱɳAG ATTɳ-warѦ ‘That is the customs of war, of fighting.’ ⁸846⁹ A: nam-e ɨnde sɨlk-əxʸta nɨ-məzgɨbʷ-ɨn. give.IMɱ-2smS-1sO please phoneѦ -3sfɱOSS 1sS-registerѦ .JUS-3smO ‘Give [it to] me please, so I can register her phone [number].’ B: əgi, yə-rəwda we yə-jəmal? okay ATTɳ-ɳ. or ATTɳ-J. ‘Ok, ɳauda’s or Jemal’s?’ When there is more than one noun attributed, the marker yə- occurs only on the first element. ⁸847⁹ yə-βora bəsər kɨtfʷə (*yə-βora yə-βəsər kɨtfʷə) ATTɳ-ox meat kitfo ‘kitfo [made] of ox meat, ox meat kitfo’ ⁸848⁹ yə-soresa bet xʷɨjɨr yə-βora dannəra-βa. ATTɳ-hero house clothes ATTɳ-ox tanned.hide-AUX.ɱT (*yə-soresa yə-βet xʷɨjɨr) ‘The clothes of a hero’s house ⁸family⁹ were ⁸o⁹ ox leather.’ ⁸849⁹ y-adot-ənda (*y-adot-ənda y-abba bet) abba bet ATTɳ-mother-1pɱOSS father house ‘the house of the father of our mother’ The attributivizer yə- disappears when one of the two prepositions bə- or tə- is attached. 245 ⁸850⁹ b-əcʼə kʼʸɨn-e LOC-wood bottom-GOAL < *bə-yə-əcʼə kʼʸɨn-e ‘at the bottom of the tree’ ⁸851⁹ bə-sost səβ gɨβt < *bə-yə-sost səβ gɨβt LOC-three person middle ‘in the middle of three persons’ ⁸852⁹ b-atʼatʼ ema acənə-xu-m-tanə tə-drɨjjɨt ema LOC-A. road bring.ɱFV-2pmS-CV.M-LINK COM-organizationѦ road dəməd-xu-m. < *bə-y-atʼatʼ; < *tə-yə-dɨrɨjjɨt join.ɱFV-2pmS-M ‘You brought [it] to the road of Atʼatʼ and connected [it] with the road of the organization.’ 4.7.1.2 Recipients, beneficiaries/maleficiaries, primary objects marked by yəThe second major function of the prefix yə- is the marking of dative-like roles, namely recipients ⁸853⁹ including addressees ⁸854⁹, further beneficiaries ⁸855⁹ and maleficiaries ⁸856⁹, and finally certain direct objects ⁸857⁹. ⁸853⁹ yə-gərəd aβ-ə-m. sat-əta watch-3smɱOSS DAT-girl give.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He gave his watch to a girl.’ ⁸854⁹ y-asən bɨrr name bɨr-ot kʼəmətʼ-u. DAT-A. birr give.IMɱ[.2smS].1sO say-INF shame-COɱ.3smS ‘It is a shame to say to Hasen: “Give me money”.’ ⁸855⁹ tʼay-xʷɨta y-ərc-əta sɨyə-lə-m. sheep-DEF.sm BEN-son-3sm.ɱOSS buy.ɱFV[.3smS]-BEN.3sm-M ‘He bought the sheep for his son.’ ⁸856⁹ əkkʷa yə-kəbbədə gʷəncə cənə-wə-m. today DAT-K. hyena come.ɱFV[.3smS]-MAL.3sm-M ‘Today a hyena came to Kebbede ⁸which is dangerous⁹.’ ⁸857⁹ yə-kəbbədə kʼʷəttʼər-ə-n-ɨm. DAT-K. kill.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘He killed Kebbede.’ The marking of some direct objects - known as differential object marking - is conditioned by an interplay of several factors. Overt nouns ⁸or noun phrases⁹ are more likely to receive yə- the higher they are on the hierarchies of definiteness, humanness, animacy, topicality or discourse prominence, but also to disambiguate when a referent could be understood either as subject or object. 4.7.1.3 Peripheral constituents marked by yəAs mentioned above, yə- is also used to mark several kinds of peripheral relations that are not local, instrumental or comitative. Many uses correspond to English 246 ‘for’ as in examples ⁸858⁹-⁸863⁹ below. Consider also the question words yə-nkʼar ⁸< yə-mɨkʼar⁹ and yə-mɨr both meaning ‘for what, why’. ⁸858⁹ yə-zər wənd-ɨxə-m-ba emra? DAT-rainy.season go.down.ɱFV-2sm-M-AUX.ɱT last.year ‘Did you go down ⁸to the countryside⁹ for the rainy season last year?’ ⁸859⁹ at ʃi xʷet məto yə-mraxɨr kərə wə-βər-u? one thousand two hundred DAT-how.much day INF-say-COɱ.3smS ‘That is 1200 for how many days?’ ⁸860⁹ yə-transɨport kas-o-ndə-m. DAT-transportation pay.ɱFV-3pmS-1pO-M ‘They paid us for transportation.’ ⁸861⁹ yə-xʷya at wəfer DAT-twenty one young.bull ‘for twenty [calves] one young bull’ ⁸862⁹ kərə yə-xʷet kərə yə-sost kərə təmettər-ə-m bazəra y-at guest DAT-one day DAT-two day DAT-three day be.stretched.ɱFV-3smS-CV.M yɨ-tkʼʸəppɨr. 3smS-accept.IɱFV ‘A guest ⁸stranger⁹ is accepted for one day, for two days, for three days maximum.’ ⁸863⁹ yə-x bə-tət yə-gʸəta yə-xɨr. DAT-DEM LOC-down DAT-Gyeto 3smS-become.JUS ‘From there down it ⁸the land⁹ shall be for the Gyeto.’ Further occurrences of yə- cover many different uses translated into English as ‘about’, ‘by’, ‘in’, etc., as illustrated in the following examples ⁸864⁹-⁸869⁹. Note also the forming of the adverbial expression in ⁸870⁹. ⁸864⁹ əxʷa yə-xʷt kʼar yə-tcʼawəj-i. now DAT-3sm THING 3S-talk.JUS.IɱS-3smO ‘Now let’s talk about that.’ ⁸865⁹ yə-gʷəmarə kʼar DAT-Gumer ə-tʼəf-te. language 1sS-write.IɱFV-FUT.DEF ‘I will write about the Gumer language.’ ⁸866⁹ yə-xʷjɨr-əxno tʼatʼa enə-no. DAT-clothes-3pmɱOSS troubleѦ NEG.EX[.3smS]-3pmO ‘They do not have any trouble with/about their clothes.’ ⁸867⁹ at ʃi xʷet məto yə-xʷya t-i-ʃəj-i one thousand two hundred DAT-twenty TEMɱ-3S-divide.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO mɨraxr-u? how.much-COɱ.3smS ‘How much is it when you divide 1200 by twenty?’ 247 ⁸868⁹ yə-gʷragina zəngʸ! DAT-Gurage.language speak.IMɱ[.2smS] ‘Speak ⁸in⁹ Gurage!’ ⁸869⁹ fərəz yə-sost nəkʸəm-nə-m. horse DAT-three ride.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘We mounted the horse in three ⁸at a time⁹.’ ⁸870⁹ a. yə-sya-m-əta b. ‘easily, simply, not seriously’ yaβekʼo lallego yəsyaməta yəsyaməta DAT-joke-ALSO-3smɱOSS Y. L. easily easily sədəd-ə-n-ɨm-ʃ. drive.away.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M-ɱɳAG ‘Yabeko Lallego drove him away very easily.’ 4.7.1.4 Locative bə- and instrumental bəThe preposition bə- covers two different basic functions. Firstly, it expresses locative meanings ⁸ : ‘in, at’⁹ as illustrated in ⁸871⁹-⁸874⁹. This includes also temporal meanings ⁸875⁹-⁸877⁹. ⁸871⁹ bə-gən-əxʷna nɨkkʼar yɨ-kʷəʃ-i, LOC-country-3pmɱOSS much an-xər-ə-we? 3S-pay.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS-ɲ ‘In their country they pay a lot, don’t they?’ ⁸872⁹ bə-joka attər-o-m. LOC-J. spend.the.night.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They spent the night in Joka.’ ⁸873⁹ bə-fraʃ attən-nə-m. LOC-mattress spend.the.night.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘We spent the night on mattresses.’ ⁸874⁹ bə-z mədər kʼʷəyə-nǃ LOC-DEM place wait.IMɱ[.2smS]-3smO ‘Wait for him hereǃ’ ⁸875⁹ b-ɨmmat kərə zətʼənamsəβat səβ LOC-only.one day ninety.seven kʼəttʼər-o-m. person kill.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They killed ninety-seven persons in a single day.’ ⁸876⁹ ɨnnɨm gɨzyə bə-smʷɨt sat yɨ-cən. every time LOC-eight hour 3smS-come.IɱFV ‘He always comes at eight oʼclock.’ ⁸877⁹ bə-tkɨnət agβ-ot wəxe kʼar ã-xər-ə. LOC-childhood marry-INF good THING NEG-become.ɱFV-3smS ‘Getting married in childhood is not good.’ Secondly, bə- marks instrumental meanings ⁸ in examples ⁸878⁹-⁸880⁹. 248 : ‘with, by means o’⁹ as shown ⁸878⁹ b-ɨxa-xɨʷta ɨngʷəd mena tɨ-cot-wə. INSTɳ-water-DEF other work 3sfS-make.IɱFV-MAL.3sm b-alanga t-i-dərg-e gɨzyə ‘She makes something else with the water.’ ⁸879⁹ INSTɳ-whip TEMɱ-3smS-hit.IɱFV-1sO time ‘when he hit me with a whip’ ⁸880⁹ bə-kʼɨβ əsəssəw-i-m. INSTɳ-butter massage.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M ‘One was massaged with butter.’ 4.7.1.5 Comitative tə- and ablative təThe preposition tə- has two different basic functions. On the one hand, it expresses a comitative meaning ⁸ : ‘with, together with’⁹ as in ⁸881⁹-⁸884⁹. By extension, tə- is also used as coordinating device that usually translates as ‘and’. While the neutral coordination is formed with …-m …-m ⁸more literally ‘also … also …ʼ⁹, tə- occurs in coordination of two nouns that belong together closely or even naturally and appear often in collocation. Consider for instance the word for ‘parents’ aβtadot < aβ t-adot ⁸i.e. father -mother⁹, further examples being the proper names of a pair of siblings ⁸886⁹ or ‘Chaha and Gumer’ ⁸885⁹, as well as the two adjectives referring to two brothers ⁸887⁹. ⁸881⁹ tə-gʷəppɛ-yəna sost fərəz tʼəβətʼ-nə-m wəttʼa-nə-m. COM-brother-1sɱOSS three horse take.ɱFV-1pS-M go.up.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘Together with my brothers we took three horses und went up.’ ⁸882⁹ tə-ms-əxnəma yɨ-trakəs-əma. COM-husband-3pfɱOSS 3S-quarrel.IɱFV-pfS ‘They quarrel with their husbands.’ ⁸883⁹ t-aβdul mənnan tərakəβ-nə-m. COM-A. M. meet.ɱFV-1pS-M ‘We met Abdul Mennan.’ ⁸884⁹ t-axə tor-ot ə-ʃə. COM-2sm sit-INF 1sS-want.IɱFV ‘I want to sit with ⁸next to⁹ you.’ ⁸885⁹ cəxa tə-gʷəmarə ɨmmat-u əgr-angət cəxa yɨ-wr-i. Chaha COM-Gumer only.one-COɱ.3smS leg-neck Chaha 3S-say.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ‘Chaha and Gumer are the same, they are called egranget Chaha.’ ⁸886⁹ sidi ɨmɨryə tə-gəβrə_xanna cʼənə-m. S. I. COM-G._H. give.birth.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘Sidi fathered Imirye and Gebre Hanna.’  Leslau ⁸1979c: 40⁹ has aranga for Chaha and alanga for Inor.  Note the different constructions of Gumer and English in ⁸883⁹, the English verb ‘meet’ not requiring the preposition ‘with’. 249 ⁸887⁹ ɨrs tə-rkʼ gʷəppay bə-xər-o little COM-big brother COND-become.ɱFV-3pmS ‘if they are a younger and an older brother’ On the other hand, tə- expresses ablative meanings ⁸ : ‘from’⁹ as in examples ⁸888⁹-⁸890⁹. This also includes comparative constructions where tə- marks the standard of comparision ⁸‘than’⁹, shown in examples ⁸891⁹-⁸892⁹. ⁸888⁹ tə-mena gəppa-c-ɨm ʃərət tɨ-t-cot tɨ-tnadəd. ABL-work enter.ɱFV-3sfS-CV.M food TEMɱ-3sfS-work.IɱFV 3sfS-be.angryѦ .IɱFV ‘When she comes home from work and prepares food, she gets angry.’ ⁸889⁹ ɨras gobəna tə-tət yə-gʷrage y-atʼəfɛ DAT-Gurage 3smS-ambush.IɱFV:ɱUɳɱ ɳ. tə-cəxa G. cənə-m... ABL-down come.ɱFV[.3smS]-M cənə-m. ABL-Chaha come.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘To ambush the Gurage, ɳas Gobena came from below... he came from Chaha.’ ⁸890⁹ wərəjə-ta xʷet əcʼɨr-u, tə-zɨkkɨm at-u, space.in.front.of.house-3smɱOSS two fence-COɱ.3smS ABL-like.this one-COɱ.3smS tə-xɨkkɨm at-u. ABL-like.that one-COɱ.3smS ‘The space in front of the house is [defined by] two fences, one from here, one from there.’ ⁸891⁹ bet-əna tə-βet-axə yɨ-rkʼ. house-1sɱOSS ABL-house-2smɱOSS 3smS-be.bigger.IɱFV ‘My house is bigger than your house.’ ⁸892⁹ tə-βɨrtɨkʷan lomi ABL-orange yɨ-fəzz. lemonѦ 3smS-be.better.IɱFV ‘Lemons are better than oranges.’ 4.7.1.6 Combinations with postpositions (relational nouns) In addition to the affixes there are several postpositions that either occur alone or, more commonly, together with one of the three relational prefixes ⁸↗ 4.7.1⁹. Some of them correspond to nouns designating body parts as indicated in the not exhaustive list in ⁸893⁹. Some ⁸local⁹ postpositions often feature an additional suffix -e ⁸↗ 4.7.2⁹; while yɨfte ʽbeforeʼ only exists with -e, there is, for instance, a variation ankʼʸə ~ ankʼʸe ʽafterʼ. ⁸893⁹ ankʼʸə dar dən eβar fʷər kʼʸɨn ʽafter, behindʼ ʽuntilʼ ʽinsideʼ ʽwithoutʼ ʽabove, onʼ ʽ⁸at⁹ bottomʼ < back < border, limit < belly < bottom, buttocks 250 ʽbeside, alongside, next toʼ ʽuntilʼ ʽbelow, underʼ ʽbefore, in frontʼ ʽopposite, in front ofʼ məyə sɨn tət yɨft-e yɨft-ɨft < side, rib < səna √srA ʽreachʼ < face< face-face The following examples illustrate the uses of some postpositions without prefixes ⁸894⁹-⁸896⁹ and with prefixes ⁸897⁹-⁸900⁹. See also the formation of ʽafterwardsʼ in figure 8. ⁸894⁹ əxʷa-m dar yɨ-rəβɨr. now-ALSO until 3smS-live.IɱFV ‘He lives until now ⁸i.e. still⁹.’ ⁸895⁹ ɨzəxʷəce y-agaz andenə kʼəβɨr sɨn ɨnnɨm y-adya I. ATTɳ-A. A. grave until all banə. ATTɳ-Siltʼe BE.ɱT ʽIzekhweche until the grave of Agaz Andene all belonged to the Siltʼe.ʼ ⁸896⁹ ʃay sɨkkʷar eβar a-n-ʃə. tea sugar without NEG-1sS-want.IɱFV ‘I do not want tea without sugar.’ ⁸897⁹ wəʃər-xʷɨta bə-βet yɨftɨft awəna-n-ɨm. cooking.pot-DEF.sm LOC-house opposite put.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO-M ‘He put the cooking-pot opposite ⁸in front o⁹ the house.’ ⁸898⁹ b-əcʼə fʷər wədərə səkkʼər-ə-m. LOC-wood top rope hang.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He hung a rope on a/the tree ⁸lit. wood⁹.’ ⁸899⁹ tə-βet fʷər wənd-ə-m. ABL-house top descend.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘He came down from ⁸on top o⁹ the roof.’ ⁸900⁹ yə-βr-ot-ənda yɨfte dəwwəl-xʷ-ɨlə-m. DAT/ATTɳ-eat-INF-1pɱOSS before phoneѦ .ɱFV-1sS-BEN.3sm-M ‘Before we ate I called him.’ 4.7.2 Affixes and nouns: suffixes The suffixed similative -xəma ʽlike, ʼ ⁸901⁹-⁸902⁹ and the directional⁸-local⁹ -e ʽto, ⁸at⁹, ʼ ⁸903⁹ occur together with the prefix yə- ⁸here glossed as in analogy to other peripheral constituents, ↗ 4.7.1.3⁹. ⁸901⁹ yə-wəndɨmu-xəma DAT-W.-SIMIL ʽlike Wendimuʼ  The word ankʼʸə does not denote ‘back’ as bodypart in Gumer ⁸or Chaha⁹, but take notice that it has this meaning in Mesqan and Siltʼe ⁸Leslau 1979c: 72⁹. 251 ⁸902⁹ y-axə-xəma ɨmbi-n-xʷ. DAT-2sm-like refusalѦ -COɱ-1sS ʽI am undefeated like you.ʼ ⁸903⁹ sost fərəz tʼəβətʼ-nə-m wəttʼa-nə-m, yə-cʼɨʃt-e. three horse take.ɱFV-1pS-CV.M go.up.ɱFV-1pS-M DAT-Ch.-GOAL ʽWe took three horses and went up, to Chisht.ʼ However, -e occurs without yə- with demonstratives forming spatial adverbs ⁸↗ 4.3.3.2⁹. ⁸904⁹ zɨx-e tɨ-tmər-e cənə-c-ɨm. DEM-GOAL 3sfS-learn.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ come.ɱFV-3sfS-M ʽShe came here to study.ʼ In combination with bə-, -e expresses a local meaning rather than a direction or goal. Note again that yə- is dropped when another preposition is present. ⁸905⁹ bə-βxʸ-e tərakəβ-nə-m LOC-funeral-GOAL meet.ɱFV-1pS-M ʽWe met at the funeral.ʼ The directional -nyə translates roughly as ʽtowards, ʼ and partly overlaps with -e semantically ⁸906⁹-⁸907⁹. Often it is preceded by -e as in ⁸908⁹-⁸909⁹, reinforcing the directional meaning of -e. ⁸906⁹ gən-ɨnyə an-tɨʒəppər-xə? countryside-DIɳ NEG-return.ɱFV-2smS ‘You did not return to the countryside?’ ⁸907⁹ bet-ɨnyə ə-tgəttər-e wər-xʷ-ɨm. house-DIɳ 1sS-lie.down.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ go.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I went home to sleep.’ ⁸908⁹ ɨngʷəd-e-nyə a-n-ar. other-GOAL-DIɳ NEG-1sS-go.IɱFV ʽI do not go anywhere else.ʼ ⁸909⁹ xɨx-e-nyə tʼən-o-ndə-m. DEM-GOAL-DIɳ call.ɱFV-3pmS-1pO-M ʽThey called us there.ʼ 4.7.3 Affixes and verbs: subordinate clauses 4.7.3.1 ʽRelative verbʼ As introduced in section 4.7, the traditionally called ʽrelative verbsʼ can be conceptualized as nominalized verb forms. Firstly, they work like adjectives, i.e. they occur before nouns and modify them as in ⁸910⁹-⁸911⁹, in other words they form relative clauses ⁸hence the name ʽrelative verbʼ⁹. Secondly, they can host nominal morphology such as the definite article ⁸912⁹-⁸914⁹ or possessive suffix ⁸915⁹. 252 ⁸910⁹ yə-mʷət-ə abba-na ɳEL-die.ɱFV-3smS father-1sɱOSS ʽmy father who diedʼ ⁸911⁹ yɨ-cən amət [ɳEL.]3sm-come.IɱFV year ʽnext/coming year ⁸lit. year that comes⁹ʼ ⁸912⁹ yə-dənəs-ə-n-xʷɨta ɳEL-sing.and.dance.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-DEF.sm ʽ⁸that⁹ what he sangʼ ⁸913⁹ y-oj-yo-xɨno ɳEL-tell.IɱS.ɱFV-3pmO-DEF.pm ‘the ones who were told’ ⁸914⁹ y-axə yɨ-kəs-xə-xʷɨt DAT-2sm [ɳEL.]3smS-pay.IɱFV-2smO-DEF.sm ʽthe one who pays youʼ ⁸915⁹ sər yɨ-fʷacʼ-əta sər yɨ-fʷacʼ. grass [ɳEL.]3smS-mow.IɱFV-3smɱOSS grass 3smS-mow.IɱFV ʽThe one who mows ⁸i.e. is able to mow⁹ grass, mows grass.ʼ The ʽrelative verbʼ can be or ⁸but not ⁹. The marker is the prefix yə-, i.e. the same as the attributivizer ⁸↗ 4.7.1.1⁹, but the catch in Gumer is that yə- only appears with , while with there is no overt marker. Moreover, negated often lack yə- as well. Nevertheless, ʽrelative verbsʼ are diagnosed by the properties mentioned above and illustrated in ⁸911⁹, ⁸914⁹ and ⁸915⁹: their position before the head noun and the possibility of hosting nominal morphology. The primary use of the ʽrelative verbsʼ is in relative clauses ⁸↗ 4.7.3.2⁹. Further, as headless ʽpseudo-relativesʼ, i.e. not attributed to a noun, they express the backgrounded unfocused old information in cleft sentences, here illustrated with focused question words ⁸916⁹-⁸917⁹. Again, note that the ʽrelativeʼ is not distinguishable from a main verb formally, but functionally by its occurence in the cleft construction ⁸cf. with the unclefted counterparts⁹. ⁸916⁹ mɨkʼar-u yə-tənəf-ə? what-COɱ.3smS ɳEL-remain.ɱFV-3smS ⁸cf. mɨkʼar tənəf-ə-m⁹ ʽWhat is left? ⁸lit. what is it that remained⁹ʼ ⁸917⁹ yənkʼar-u yɨ-dəkʼ? why-COɱ.3smS [ɳEL.]3smS-laugh.IɱFV ‘Why is he laughing?’ what remain.ɱFV-3smS-M ⁸cf. yənkʼar yɨ-dəkʼ⁹ why 3smS-laugh.IɱFV Finally, the ʽrelative verbsʼ can be viewed as the basis of any other subordinate clause involving the affixes b(ə)-, t(ə)-, -e, -xəma ⁸see table 94⁹ as shortly described in the sections 4.7.3.3-4.7.3.7 below. The marker of the ʽrelative verbsʼ yə- is indicated in the glosses with only when overtly present. However, in this section ⁸4.7.3⁹ all ʽrelative verbsʼ are glossed with [ .] for illustrative purposes. 253 4.7.3.2 Relative clauses To form relative clauses the ʽrelative verbʼ ⁸↗ 4.7.3.1⁹ is employed and constitutes ⁸as in any other subordinate clause⁹ the last word of the clause. Thus it directly stands before the head noun it modifies, with all other constituents of the relative clause preceding the ʽrelative verbʼ. When the head noun is the subject of the relative clause, the verb agrees regularly with it as in ⁸918⁹-⁸919⁹. ⁸918⁹ bə-tʼərəppʼeza fʷər yə-cona LOC-tableѦ on səβ ɳEL-sit.ɱFV[.3smS] person ʽ⁸a/the⁹ person who sits on ⁸top o⁹ the tableʼ ⁸919⁹ kabbort yə-txəttər-əma ɨʃta coatѦ ɳEL-dress.ɱFV-3pfS women ʽwomen wearing ⁸lit. who have put on⁹ coatsʼ In the other cases, the head noun is resumed pronominally in the relative clause according to its syntactic role. If it is the primary object ⁸920⁹, ⁸921⁹ or ⁸922⁹, it is marked with the corresponding suffix on the ʽrelative verbʼ. ⁸920⁹ gʷəyə yɨ-wr-i G. mədər [ɳEL.]3S-say.IɱS.IɱFV-3smO place ʽ⁸a/the⁹ place called Gweye ⁸lit. a place that one calls [it] Gweye⁹ʼ ⁸921⁹ basta yə-ʃəkət-əc-lo gəmya gʷəppay-əxta-l-o. pasta ɳEL-prepare.ɱFV-3sfS-BEN.3pm men brother-3sfɱOSS-COɱ-3pmS ʽThe men she prepared pasta for are her brothers ⁸lit. that she prepared pasta for them⁹.ʼ ⁸922⁹ t-adr-o-pʷə mədər [ɳEL.]2S-spend.the.night.IɱFV-pmS-MAL.3sm place ʽ⁸the⁹ place where you ⁸pm⁹ spend the night ⁸lit. that you spend the night in it⁹ʼ 4.7.3.3 Temporal clauses The basic temporal clauses ⁸ʽwhenʼ⁹ are formed with t- + ⁸924⁹. ⁸923⁹ dengʸa-ta t-i-ʃə ⁸923⁹ or b- + amədar kʼʷəttʼər-ə-n-ɨm. children-3smɱOSS TEMɱ-3smS-want.IɱFV coldness kill.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ʽWhen he was looking for his children, coldness killed him.ʼ ⁸924⁹ mɨr gən-l-o gʷəmarə-l-o b-i-βɨr what country-COɱ-3pmS TEMɱ-3smS-say.IɱFV Gumer-COɱ-3pmS bʷar-i-m. say.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-M ʽWhen he said “What country are they [from]?”, one said “They are [from] Gumer”.ʼ 254 Both options are often interchangeable and moreover can overlap with conditional meanings ⁸↗ 4.7.3.5⁹. However, explicitly simultaneous events ⁸ʽwhileʼ⁹ tend to be expressed with t. Furthermore, the repetition of verbs with texpresses long-lasting events ⁸925⁹. ⁸925⁹ tɨ-n-afəta tɨ-n-afəta bet cənə-xʷ-ɨm. TEMɱ-1sS-ride.IɱFV TEMɱ-1sS-ride.IɱFV house come.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘ɳiding riding, I came home.’ Temporal clauses are often supplemented with postposed gamʷə ~ gɨzyə ~ gi ʽtimeʼ ⁸926⁹-⁸928⁹. ⁸926⁹ sɨddət t-iy-ar-o exile gamʷə at gənə wər-o-m TEMɱ-3S-go.IɱFV-pmS time one country go.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M attər-əβo-m. spend.the.night.ɱFV-3pmS-M ʽWhen they went into exile, they went to one ⁸a certain⁹ country and spent the night.ʼ ⁸927⁹ bə-mʷət-ə gɨzyə zɨx ərc səβɨr TEMɱ-die.ɱFV-3smS time bəkkər-ə-m. DEM boy patience lack.ɱFV-3smS-M ‘When he died, this boy lost ⁸his⁹ patience.’ ⁸928⁹ a-n-ar t-i-βɨn-no gi... NEG-1sS-go.IɱFV TEMɱ-3smS-say.IɱFV-3pmO time ʽWhen he said to them “I donʼt go”...ʼ Negated temporal clauses translate as ‘before’ ⁸929⁹-⁸930⁹ or ‘without’ ⁸931⁹⁸932⁹ ⁸also see example ⁸477b⁹⁹. Note that most of the time they feature an additional focusing -m ⁸ʽ ʼ⁹. The same form is also used to negate converbs as is the case in the latter two examples. ⁸929⁹ cʼet t-e-wətʼa əray ərəβ-ot yɨ-kəβd. sun TEMɱ-NEG.3smS-ascend.IɱFV cows milk-INF 3smS-be.difficult.IɱFV ʽIt is difficult to milk cows before the sun rises.ʼ ⁸930⁹ gəβya t-e-sər-o-m kənə-nyə ʒor-o-m. market TEMɱ-NEG.3S-arrive.IɱFV-pmS-ALSO right-DIɳ turn.ɱFV-3pmS-M ‘They turned to the right before they reached the market.ʼ ⁸931⁹ t-a-m-bəra-nə-m wan-nə-m. TEMɱ-NEG-1pS-eat.IɱFV-1pS-ALSO spend.the.day-1pS-M ʽWe spent the day without eating ⁸i.e. we didnʼt eat the whole day⁹.ʼ ⁸932⁹ t-e-xʸr-ɨm dənəgʷ-ə-n-ɨm. TEMɱ-NEG.3smS-know.IɱFV-ALSO hit.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ʽHe beat him without knowing ⁸i.e. unintentionally⁹.ʼ The temporal relation ʽafterʼ is not expressed with an temporal verb but by bə- ⁸or tə-⁹ plus ⁸relative⁹ verb and the postposition ankʼʸə ~ ankʼʸe ʽafterʼ ⁸933⁹⁸935⁹, analogous to nominal local/temporal relations with postpositions ⁸↗ 4.7.1.6⁹. 255 ⁸933⁹ bə-jəppər-əc ankʼʸə LOC/TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]finish.ɱFV-3smS after ʽafter she had finished ⁸after finishing⁹ʼ ⁸934⁹ təxankʼʸe bə-cənə-xə ankʼʸə nɨβrət bəmɨr-βa? afterwards LOC/TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]come.ɱFV-2smS after life how-BE.ɱT ʽAnd then, after you had come, how was life?ʼ ⁸935⁹ əj-əna t-antʼ-ɨxʷ ankʼʸe accɨm an-fʷaccʼə-xʷ. hand-1sɱOSS ABL/TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]cut.ɱFV-1sS after at.all ʽAfter I ⁸had⁹ cut my hand, I never mowed again.ʼ NEG-mow.ɱFV-1sS-M Further, -xəma ‘like, ’ suffixed to bə-/tə- + ⁸relative⁹ when, immediatelyʼ ⁸936⁹. ⁸936⁹ bet tə-gəppa-xʷ-xəma expresses ‘just/exactly əram cʼənə-m. house ABL/TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]enter.ɱFV-1sS-SIMIL cow give.birth.ɱFV[.3smS]-M ‘Exactly when I entered the house, a cow gave birth.’ ⁸937⁹ bəze eβ t-anəw-i-m-xəma yɨ-səcʼ-i. here milk ABL/TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]milk.ɱFV.IɱS-3smO-ALSO-SIMIL 3S-drink.IɱFV.IɱS-3smO ‘Here milk is drunk immediately after milking.’ 4.7.3.4 Complement clauses Complement clauses are formed by -xəma suffixed to the ʽrelative verbʼ, which can be ⁸938⁹-⁸939⁹ or ⁸940⁹-⁸941⁹ depending on the intended tense/aspect of the subordinate clause. ⁸938⁹ bete yə-trakəβ-nə-xəma tərəss-e-m. where ɳEL-meet.ɱFV-1pS-COMɱ forget.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-M ʽI ⁸have⁹ forgot where we met.ʼ ⁸939⁹ abba-ta yə-mʷət-ə-xəma y-ud-xə-te. father-3smɱOSS ɳEL-die.ɱFV-3smS-COMɱ 3smS-tell.IɱFV-2smO-FUT.DEF ‘He will tell you that his father died.’ ⁸940⁹ abba-xə cʼamma y-asyə-xəma father-2smɱOSS shoe ə-xʸɨr. [ɳEL.]3smS-sell.IɱFV-COMɱ 1sS-know.IɱFV ʽI know that your father sells shoes.ʼ ⁸941⁹ za ɨxa-ta tɨ-ʃə-n-xəma an-xar-xʷ. DEM water-3smɱOSS [ɳEL.]3sfS-want.IɱFV-3smO-COMɱ NEG-know.ɱFV-1sS ‘I did not know that she wants this water.’ To express ʽwhether ⁸or not⁹ʼ, the verb in the complement clause is repeated and negated, with the complementizer suffixed to the second, negated verb only ⁸942⁹. ⁸942⁹ yə-mʷət-ə am-mʷət-ə-xəma e-xʸr-i. ɳEL-die.ɱFV-3smS [ɳEL.]NEG-die.ɱFV-3smS-COMɱ NEG.3S-know.IɱS.IɱFV-3smO ‘It is not know whether he is dead ⁸or not⁹.’ 256 4.7.3.5 Conditional clauses ⁸943⁹. The verb of the apodosis ɳeal conditional clauses are formed with bə- + can in principle occur in any regular main verb form as for example Imperfective or Definite Future in ⁸944⁹, or the Indefinite Future in ⁸945⁹ . ⁸943⁹ bə-zənəb-ə ambɨr jɨ-rəma. COND-rain.ɱFV-3smS cabbage 3smS-grow.IɱFV ‘If it rains, the cabbage grows/will grow.’ ⁸944⁹ bə-trəssa-xʷ y-aʒ-e(-te). COND-get.up.ɱFV-1sS 3smS-see.IɱFV-1sO⁸-DEF.FUT⁹ ʽIf I stand up, he sees me ⁸he will see me⁹.ʼ ⁸945⁹ amir b-aβ-kə A. tɨ-sd-ɨn-ʃə? COND-give.ɱFV-1sS.2smO 2smS-take.JUS-3smO-INDEF.FUT ʽIf I give you Amir, will/would you take him [with you]?ʼ Irreal and counterfactual conditional clauses are formed with tə- + ⁸946⁹-⁸947⁹. The verb of the apodosis is a Jussive with the past auxiliary banə ~ -ba ⁸↗ 3.18.4⁹. Note that in contrast to the actual Jussive the subject markers correspond to the ones of the Imperfective ⁸i.e. ”archaic jussive”, see table 59⁹. ⁸946⁹ tə-zənəb-ə ambɨr jɨ-rma-ba. COND-rain.ɱFV-3smS cabbage 3smS-grow.JUS-AUX.ɱT ‘If it rained, the cabbage would grow.’ ~ ‘If it had rained, the cabbage would have grown.’ ⁸947⁹ tə-trəssa-xʷ yɨ-ʒ-e-βa. COND-get.up.ɱFV-1sS 3smS-see.JUS-1sO-AUX.ɱT ʽIf I had got up, he would have seen me.ʼ 4.7.3.6 Purposive clauses ɱurposive clauses ⁸ʽin order toʼ⁹ are formed by -e suffixed to the ⁸relative⁹ verb ⁸948⁹-⁸949⁹. ⁸948⁹ ə-wərd-e [ɳEL.]1sS-go.down.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order for me to go down’ ⁸949⁹ zɨxe tɨ-tmər-e cənə-c-ɨm. here [ɳEL.]3sfS-learn.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ come.ɱFV-3sfS-M ‘She came here to study.’ After vowels the marker is often realized as -y ⁸950⁹. However, the full form is also possible, either with inserted glide ⁸951⁹ or alternatively forming a hiatus with o and a ⁸952⁹. 257 ⁸950⁹ yɨ-manx-e-y [ɳEL.]3smS-capture.IɱFV-1sO-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order for him to capture me’ ⁸951⁹ yɨ-məkʸr-e-ye [ɳEL.]3smS-burn.IɱFV-1sO-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order for it to burn me’ ⁸952⁹ yɨ-srəβ-o-e [ɳEL.]3S-buy.IɱFV-pmS-ɱUɳɱ ~ yɨ-srəβ-o-ye ‘in order for them ⁸m⁹ to buy’ The vowel ə it is deleted when -e is suffixed ⁸953⁹ ⁸cf. example ⁸89⁹⁹. Deletion is also possible with the vowel a ⁸954⁹, however this output could also be analyzed as the alternative monophthong pronounciation e ⁸~ ɛ⁹ of ay ⁸↗ 2.2.1⁹. ⁸953⁹ yɨ-səmʷə-pʷ-e [ɳEL.]3S-hear.IɱFV.IɱS-1sO-MAL.3sm-ɱUɳɱ < *yɨ-səmʷə-pʷə-e ‘in order for one to hear with it’ ⁸954⁹ yɨ-gəβ-e [ɳEL.]3smS-enter.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ < yɨ-gəβa-e or yɨ-gəβa-y ‘in order ⁸for him⁹ to enter’ Note that in a sequence of three vowels as it occurs in 3pmS -o + 3smO -i + -e the medial i has to be pronounced as geminated glide yy ⁸955⁹. If there is only a simple y, this is understood as the epenthetic glide between 3pmS -o + -e without 3smO -i ⁸956⁹ ⁸cf. example ⁸952⁹ above⁹. ⁸955⁹ yɨβroyye < /yɨ-βr-o-i-e/ [ɳEL.]3S-say.IɱFV-pmS-3smO-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order for them ⁸m⁹ to say him’ ⁸956⁹ yɨβroye < /yɨ-βr-o-e/ [ɳEL.]3S-say.IɱFV-pmS-3smO-ɱUɳɱ ‘in order for them ⁸m⁹ to say’ Negated puropsive clauses additionally feature the prefix b- ⁸957⁹-⁸958⁹. Thus it is formally identical to a Negated ɱast Imperfective + -e ⁸↗ 3.15.5⁹ or a temporal verb that is negated + -e, but note that negated temporals are normally formed with t- ⁸↗ 4.7.3.3⁹. Here the gloss has been chosen. ⁸957⁹ nɨfas b-e-gəβ-e bərr yɨ-zəgʷe. wind TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]NEG.3smS-enter.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ door 3smS-close.IɱFV.IɱS.3smO ʽThe door is shut so that the wind does not come in.ʼ ⁸958⁹ əxɨr b-e-rəma-m-e kʼʷənə-βo-m barley TEMɱ-[ɳEL.]NEG.3smS-grow.IɱFV-ALSO-ɱUɳɱ roast.ɱFV-3pmS-CV.M zən-əw-i-m. sow.ɱFV-3pmS-3smO-M ‘In order that the barley does not grow, they roasted and sowed it.’ 258 When purposive clauses feature a different subject than the main clause they are usually expressed by the ʽcomplement clauseʼ construction with -xəma ⁸↗ 4.7.3.4⁹. Compare sentence ⁸959⁹ with same subjects to sentence ⁸960⁹ with different subjects. The negated purposive clause in ⁸961⁹ lacks the prefix b- ⁸in contrast to ⁸957⁹-⁸958⁹ above⁹, but b-e-wətʼkʼ-ɨwə-xəma is equally possible. ⁸959⁹ kʼawa afətʼr-e ɨsat məkkʸər-xʷ-ɨm. coffee [ɳEL.][1sS.]boil.IɱFV-ɱUɳɱ fire set.fire.ɱFV-1sS-M ‘I made a fire to boil coffee.’ ⁸960⁹ adot-əna kʼawa t-afətʼɨr-xəma ɨsat mother-1sɱOSS coffee [ɳEL.]3sfS-boil.IɱFV-COMɱ/ɱUɳɱ fire məkkʸər-xɨ-la-m. set.fire.ɱFV-1sS-BEN.3sf-M ‘I made a fire in order for my mother to make coffee.’ ⁸961⁹ yə-fərəz-əta əcʼə e-wətʼkʼ-ɨwə-xəma DAT-horse-3smɱOSS wood [ɳEL.]NEG.3smS-fall.IɱFV-MAL.3sm-COMɱ/ɱUɳɱ gafərar akəna-m agʷəd-ə-n-ɨm. part.inside.house ascend.ɱFV[.3smS]-CV.M tie.ɱFV-3smS-3smO-M ‘In order that no wood fall on his horse, he brought it to the gafərar and tied it.’ ɱurposive clauses occur regularly as complements of the verbs ʃə ʽwantʼ ⁸962⁹ and xəna ʽpreventʼ ⁸963⁹. ⁸962⁹ tɨ-kʼətʼɨn-no-e ʃə-c-ɨm. [ɳEL.]3sfS-kill.IɱFV-3pmO-ɱUɳɱ want.ɱFV-3sfS-M ʽShe wanted to kill them ⁸m⁹ʼ. ⁸963⁹ yɨ-rəda-na-y mɨr yɨ-xʷəra-n? [ɳEL.]3smS-help.IɱFV-3sfO-ɱUɳɱ what 3smS-prevent.IɱFV-3smS ‘What does prevent him from helping her?’ Finally, for purposive readings of Jussive in pseudo direct speech plus converb of bar ʽsayʼ as subordinator, see section 3.17.3. 4.7.3.7 Causal clauses Causal clauses ⁸ʽbecauseʼ⁹ are expressed with the ʽrelativeʼ and suffixed -e ⁸ ⁹ ⁸964⁹, or by a ʽrelative verbʼ form followed by yəxəre, i.e. the ʽrelativeʼ of xər ʽbecomeʼ plus the same marker -e ⁸965⁹. Note that for causals, only with -e can only be understood as purposive the latter form is possible ⁸966⁹; ⁸↗ 4.7.3.6⁹. In contrast, causals with and without yəxəre seem to be interchangeable.  Further purposive clauses are also used with the Amharic loans cal ʽcanʼ and fəkkʼəd ʽallowʼ 259 ⁸964⁹ tɨrama bay yə-bar-e-ye a-n-nəmʷd-ɨn. yesterday no ɳEL-say.ɱFV-3smS.1sO-ɱUɳɱ NEG-1sS-love.IɱFV-3smO gaʃʃe-na yə-kʼʸəmmʷə-n ʽI donʼt like him because he said no to me yesterday.ʼ ⁸965⁹ yə-xər-e father-1sɱOSS ɳEL-fall.ill.ɱFV[.3smS]-3smO ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS.ɱUɳɱ ʽbecause my father was sickʼ ⁸966⁹ bə-gzɨyə yɨ-məʃ yə-xər-e nɨ-dəppɨn-nə. LOC-time 3smS-become.night.IɱFV ɳEL-become.ɱFV-3smS.ɱUɳɱ 1pS-finish.JUS-1pS ʽLets finish because it will become night soon.ʼ 260 References Amberber, Mengistu ⁸2000⁹. Valency-changing and valency-encoding devices in Amharic. In: ɳ.M.W. Dixon ⁶ Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald ⁸eds.⁹, Changing valency. Cambridge: CUɱ, 312-332. Banksira, Degif ɱetros ⁸1999a⁹. Du rôle des préfixes a-, tə- et at- en chaha. Recherches Linguistiques / Linguistic Research. 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