Table Of ContentGraduate Institute of Applied Linguistics
Thesis Approval Sheet
This thesis, entitled
A Grammar Sketch of Dazaga
written by
Josiah Keith Walters
and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
with major in
Applied Linguistics
has been read and approved
by the undersigned members of the faculty
of the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics
_______________________________
Dr. Paul Kroeger (Supervising Professor)
_______________________________
Dr. Michael Boutin
_______________________________
Dr. Steve Parker
_______________________________
date signed
A Grammar Sketch of Dazaga
by
Josiah Keith Walters
Presented to the Faculty of
the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts
with major in
Applied Linguistics
Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics
June 2015
© 2015 Josiah Keith Walters
All Rights Reserved
CERTIFICATE
I acknowledge that use of copyrighted material in my thesis may place me under
an obligation to the copyright owner, especially when use of such material exceeds usual
fair use provisions. I hereby certify that I have obtained the written permission of the
copyright owner for any and all such occurrences and that no portion of my thesis has
been copyrighted previously unless properly referenced. I hereby agree to indemnify and
hold harmless the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics from any and all claims that
may be asserted or that may arise from any copyright violation.
__________________________
Signature
__________________________
Date
THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE
I hereby authorize the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Library to
duplicate this thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship.
Agreed: ____________________________
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ABSTRACT
A Grammar Sketch of Dazaga
Josiah Keith Walters
Master of Arts
with major in
Applied Linguistics
Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, June 2015
Supervising Professor: Dr. Paul Kroeger
In this thesis, I describe the phonology, morphology, and syntax of Dazaga, a
Saharan language spoken in Niger and Chad, based on a corpus of about 2,600 lexical
items, as well as hundreds of sentences, gathered by Kevin Walters and the author, over
the past three decades. Phonemic /p/ is lacking from the twenty consonants. The nine
vowel phonemes harmonize in ATR within the phonological word, although /a/ is
transparent. Tone patterns in a pitch-accent system. The distribution of articles is
determined by combinations of definiteness and specificity. In lieu of the previously
proposed three class verb system for Dazaga (Lukas 1953), I analyze verbs as exhibiting
split-intransitivity. S and transitive verbs are either simple verbs or light verb
a
constructions. Basic word order is SOV. Transitive subjects receive optional ergative
case, whose occurrence is determined by a variety of factors. Monotransitive objects
receive optional accusative case. Recipients of ditransitive verbs are primary objects
(based on object agreement), but obligatorily take dative case, thus displaying an
uncommon pattern of mixed alignment. Causatives are either periphrastic, causative light
verb constructions, or serial verb constructions. Serial verb constructions are also used to
increase valency and to express an action and its purpose.
14 May, 2015
DEDICATION
To Dad (Kevin) and Mom (Colleen)
This study is largely the fruit of your many years of hard work.
“Others have done the hard work,
and [I] have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
John 4:38 (NIV)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks go first of all to you, Dad and Mom. You gladly provided me with
your data from your many years of work with Dazaga, and have been enthusiastic
supporters of my research. Dad, I can’t adequately express how much I appreciate the
countless hours you’ve fit into your already-too-busy schedule to answer questions, offer
suggestions, and comment on each chapter of this thesis.
I greatly appreciate the oversight and assistance provided by the members of my
thesis committee. Paul Kroeger gladly met many times to discuss various aspects of my
analysis. His guidance in analyzing the verb system was particularly instrumental in
getting me on the right track. Michael Boutin offered many insightful comments that
have helped shape important aspects of my analysis, such as the terminology of split-
intransitivity. His careful editor’s eye and instinct for clarity of expression have greatly
improved various sections of my thesis. Steve Parker’s insistence on more plausible
explanations and robust evidence has made my phonology chapter much more
analytically sound. His built-in, human spell-checker has helped me correct numerous
errors.
Je veux également remercier M. El Hadj Oumar Mamane pour son aide généreuse
et sa patience. Comme un locuteur natif du dialecte Keshirda de Dazaga, son aide et ses
intuitions ont été très importantes pour mes recherches. J’apprécie le temps qu’il a donné
pour répondre à mes nombreuses questions, ainsi que son aide pour corriger mon français
là où il le fallait. Sa disponibilité pour travailler ensemble en février 2015 m’a fourni des
informations importantes qui me manquaient sur la tonalité.
Several other linguists have helped me in various ways. Andrew Wolfe provided
me with an early copy of his and Tajeldin Adam’s work on the optional ergative marker
in Beria (2015), which has greatly influenced my own analysis. He has also kindly read
and commented on various other aspects of my analysis. Rod Casali graciously provided
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me with access to his article on tongue root harmony in Africa (2008). Angelika Jakobi
willingly shared her work on the Beria verb system (2011) and Beria focus markers
(2006). Mark Ortman shared with me his important work on the Tedaga verb system
(2003). Milton Watt persuasively encouraged me, at the very beginning of my time at
GIAL, to consider writing a thesis.
Friends here at GIAL have helped and encouraged me in my work. Rachel
Jamison provided me with her bibliography on light verb constructions. Joy Sanders gave
me her phonetician’s judgment of the rhotic segments in Dazaga. Marlin Leaders helped
me with various aspects of using FLEx (FieldWorks Language Explorer) and Phonology
Assistant. The GIAL librarians — Ferne Weimer, Carole Unseth, Dorothy Buice, and
Robert Sivingy — have willingly helped me with various aspects of my research. I
particularly appreciate Carole Unseth’s help with obtaining various resources through
InterLibrary Loan. Jana Teders reviewed the mechanics of this thesis and offered helpful
suggestions for improvement.
Miriam, you’ve been patient through my many long days in class and in the
library. Thanks for your hard work and your support and encouragement. I love you.
Titus, Esther, and Kate, thanks for seeing me out the door each morning and excitedly
welcoming me home each evening.
“Now to him who is able to keep [us] from stumbling and to present [us]
blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time
and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25; ESV)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... xiv
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. xvi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................. xvii
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................... 1
1.1 The Daza people and the Dazaga language ............................................ 1
1.2 Objectives and methodology of the present study .................................. 5
1.3 Typological sketch of Dazaga ................................................................ 6
1.4 Explanation of certain conventions ........................................................ 9
Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................ 11
2.1 Early minor works ................................................................................ 11
2.2 The major works ................................................................................... 12
2.3 Recent minor works .............................................................................. 14
Chapter 3: Phonology ..................................................................................... 17
3.1 Consonant phonemes ............................................................................ 17
3.1.1 Phones [b] and [p] ......................................................................... 19
3.1.2 Phones [s] and [ʃ] .......................................................................... 21
3.1.3 Phones [kʷ] and [ɡʷ] ...................................................................... 22
3.1.4 Rhotics ........................................................................................... 23
3.2 Vowel phonemes .................................................................................. 24
3.2.1 Nazalized vowels........................................................................... 26
3.2.2 [±ATR] vowel pairs [e,ɛ], [o,ɔ]....................................................... 26
3.2.3 The phone [ɨ] ................................................................................. 27
3.3 Syllable and word structure .................................................................. 28
3.4 Tone ...................................................................................................... 33
3.5 Vowel harmony .................................................................................... 38
3.6 Other Phonological processes .............................................................. 40
3.6.1 Assimilation .................................................................................. 41
3.6.2 Dissimilation ................................................................................. 41
3.6.3 Deletion ......................................................................................... 42
3.7 Orthography .......................................................................................... 43
Chapter 4: Nouns and Noun Phrase Constituents ....................................... 44
4.1 Syntactic categories found in noun phrases ......................................... 44
4.1.1 Nouns ............................................................................................ 45
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