Table Of Content[blank]
A
GENERATIVE GRAMMAR
OF
AFAR
SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS
PUBLICATIONS IN LINGUISTICS
Publication Number 65
EDITOR
Virgil L. Poulter
University of Texas
at Arlington
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Alan C. Wares Iris M. Wares
CONSULTING EDITORS
Doris A. Bartholomew Eugene E. Loos
Pamela M. Bender-Samuel William R. Merrifield
Phyllis Healey Kenneth L. Pike
Robert E. Longacre Viola G. Waterhouse
A
GENERATIVE GRAMMAR
OF AFAR
Loren F. Bliese
A PUBLICATION OF
THE SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS
and
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
1981
ISBN 0-88312-083-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 78-66036
Copyright 1981 by Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc.
Copies of this publication and other publications of
the Summer Institute of Linguistics may be obtained
from
Bookstore
Summer Institute of Linguistics
7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd.
Dallas, TX 75236
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xiii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . xv
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
0.1 Orthography ......... . 1
0.2 Chart of Afar (ca' far) Phonemes 1
0.3 Parts of Speech 2
0.4 Roots ............ . 4
1 THE SENTENCE
1.1 Sentence Types .................... 5
1.2 Embedded Sentences .................. 12
2.NOUN PHRASE
2.1 Noun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 Demonstrative Plus Noun . . . . . . 15
2.3 Noun Phrase Complement . . . . . . . 16
2.4 Sentence Plus Noun Phrase--Relatives . . . . . . . 19
2.5 Relatives of Noun Phrases in Postpositional Phrases 21
2.6 -iyya Relative Pronoun When Relative Follows Its
Head Noun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.7 Constructions with -h gi 'de amount which and -h wac'di
time which . . • . . • • . • • • 25
2.8 Constructions with (a)'kah some 26
2.8.1 Reason for Which . . . . 27
2.8.2 Like, As, Manner Which . 27
2.8.3 Place Which . . . . . . . 28
2.8.4 Named • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 30
2.9 Pro Replacement of Postpositions in Complements 30
3 SENTENCE (VERB PHRASE) COMPLEMENT
3.1 Intransitive Sentence Complementation . . . . . . 31
3.1.1 Intransitive Complements with Subjunctive . 33
3.1.2 Negation with 'e Infinitive Complementation 36
3.2 Transitive Sentence Complementation 39
3.2.1 Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
v
vi A Generative Grammar of Afar
3.2.2 Subjunctive Transitive Complements . . . . 39
3.2.3 Transitive Infinitive Complements with -'e 40
3.2.4 Infinitive Complements with -i 42
3.2.5 Jussive Complement . . . . 43
3.3 Infinitive -'e Plus -h me'ce ought 44
4 POSTPOSITIONAL PHRASE
4.1 Postpositions on Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.2 Postpositions on Nominalized Sentences . . . . 47
4.3 Postpositions in Relative Sentences . . . . . 48
4.4 Order of Postpositional Phrase in the Sentence 50
4.5 Multiple Postpositional Phrases in a Sentence . 53
4.6 -h en is and -k sug was Idioms for Identification 53
4.7 -k comparison . • • . . . • 54
4.8 -1 Plus en must • • • • . • 55
4.9 -Vm -k Plus sug should have 55
4.10 Fear -k from . . . 55
4.11 Decide on, t or l . . . . . 56
5 CONJUNCTIVES
5.1 Conjunctives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.1.1 True Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . 57
5.1.2 Morphemes Taking either Regular or
Nominalized Sentences . . . . . . . . 57
5.1.3 Morphemes with Initial Geminate Consonants 60
5 .1. 4 wac' di wak' ti, 1 way when • . • . • • . 62
5.1.5 Coordination of Sentences . . . . . . . 62
5.1.6 Combination of Sentences with Identical
Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.1. 7 Coordination of Noun Phrases . . . . . 67
5.2 Subjunctive In Order to Conjunction . . . . . . 69
5.3 Subjunctive or -i Whether and Because Subjunctive 70
5.4 Jussive After, Since Conjunction . . . 71
5.5 Participles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.5.1 Perfect Participle, -h . . . . 71
5.5.2 Imperfect Participle, -uk, -ak 72
5.5.3 -ih, -ah as, while . . . 74
5.5.4 'luk or 'I ih having, with 74
5.6 Conditionals . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.6.1 Potential Conditionals . 75
5.6.2 Nonpotential Conditionals 78
5.7 Series of Conjunctives . . . 80
6 OTHER SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION TYPES (QUOTATIONS, NEGATION,
QUESTIONS, DELETIONS, MOVEMENTS)
6.1 Quotations (Direct Speech) . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6.2 Negation (Matrix 'ma, Embedded way) . . . . . . 84
6.3 Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.3.1 Questions Marked by Lengthened Vowel and
Falling Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Table of Contents vii
6.3.2 Rhetorical Questions, in'naa . . . . . . . 90
6.3.3 Questions Marked by Interrogative Pronouns . 90
6.3.4 Future Negative Questions . . . • 92
6.3.5 Didn't he? Negative Questions 93
6.4 Deletions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
6.4.1 Subject Deletion . . . . . • . 94
6.4.2 kin'ni is Reduction . . . . . . 94
6.4.3 Identical Noun Phrase Deletion . . • 95
6.4.4 Noun Phrase Conjunction as Deletion 96
6.4.5 Repetitive T1me . . . . . . • . . . 97
6.4.6 Frequentative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
6.4.7 Deletion of Identical Elements from Combined
Sentences with Identical Subjects . . . . • . 99
6.4.8 Deletion of Postpositions . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.4.9 -Vy'yen even (Shewa and Wollo) . . . . . 100
6.5 Word Order Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 101
6. 5 .1 Matrix Subject to the Front . . . . . . 101
6.5.2 Topicalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6.5.3 Movement of First Verb Away from Second 103
6.5.4 in'kih all Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
6.5.5 Movement of Matrix Object before Subordinate
Sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
6.5.6 Optional Movement of Demonstratives before
Relatives and Obligatory Movement before
Genitives or Adjectives . • . . . . . . . 106
6.5.7 Movement of Relative behind Head Noun . . . 106
6.5.8 Movement of -k Genitive Pronouns behind Noun 108
6. 6 Probability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7 VERBALS
7.1 Person •• . 110
7.2 Aspect .. 112
7.2.1 Perfect . . ..... . 112
7.2.2 Imperfect ......... . 113
7.2.3 Present (Irregular Verb Aspect) 115
7.2.4 Future Tense ... 115
7.2.5 Progressive Tense 117
7.2.6 Immediate ... . 117
7.2.7 Past Perfect .. . 118
7.2.8 Present Perfect ... . 119
7.2.9 Future Perfect (Northern) 119
7.2.10 Past Continuous ..... . 120
7.2.11 Future Continuous (Northern) 121
7.2.12 Past Immediate 121
7.2.13 Engaged in 121
7.3 Number ....... . 122
7.4 Gender ....... . 124
7. 5 Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
7.5.1 Intensive (Aussa Repetitive) 127
viii A Generative Grammar of Afar
7.5.2 Causative . . . . . . . . . . 128
7.5.3 Benefactive . . . . . . . . . 132
7.5.4 Passive . . . . . . . . . . . 136
7.5.5 Combinations of Focus Affixes 138
7.6 Mood . . . . . . . 139
7.6.1 Imperative. 139
7 .6. 2 Jussive . . 141
7 .6.3 Subjunctive 144
7.6.4 Consultative 146
7.7 Compound Verbs . . . 146
7.8 Verbal Nouns . . . . . . . 148
7.8.1 Suffix Class -'o Verbal Nouns 148
7.8.2 Prefix Class m- Verbal Nouns . . 148
7.8.3 Verbal Noun-' iyya for Modifiers and
Optionally for Regular Verbs 149
7.8.4 -a Verbal Noun . . . . . . . 149
7.8.5 Instrument-Agent Verbal Noun 150
7.8.6 Agent -i Verbal Noun . 150
7.9 -in'naanih whatever, whoever . . 151
7.10 Infinitives . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
7.10.1 -'e Infinitive . . . . . . . 153
7.10.2 -i Infinitive . . . . . . . . . 153
7.11 Participles (see 5.5 above for details) 154
7.11.1 Imperfect Participle 154
7.11.2 As Participle . . 154
7.11.3 Perfect Participle 154
7.12 Verb Classes . . . . . . . 155
7.12.1 Suffixing Verbs . . 155
7.12.2 Prefixing Verbs . . . . . . . . 156
7.12.3 Irregular Verb Class (Modifiers) 159
8 NOMINALS
8.1 Morphology of Noun Roots 162
8.2 Order of Noun Affixes . 162
8.3 Case . . . . . . . . . 162
8.3.1 Nominative Case 162
8.3.2 Genitive Case . 164
8.3.3 Accusative Case 173
8.4 Particular Noun Suffix 175
8.5 Noun Plural Affixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
8.5.1 Plural of Nouns with a Final Stressed Vowel 177
8.5.2 Plural of Nouns with a Final Unstressed
Vowel . . . . . . . . 177
8.5.3 Plural of Consonant-Final Nouns 178
8.6 Gender of Nouns • 180
8. 7 Vocative . . . 182
8.8 Abstract Nouns 184
8. 9 Numera 1s . . . 185
