Table Of ContentMinistry of Scientific Research and Innovation
The noun and verb in Mmen
a Center Ring Grassfields Bantu language
Mirjam Möller
SIL
B.P. 1299, Yaoundé
Cameroon
2012
The noun and verb in Mmen
Mirjam Möller
Abstract
The paper is a study of the noun and verb phrase in Mmen; it starts out with a description of
the noun class system. It also looks into the several different modifiers that are part of the
noun phrase and the way they agree with the head noun. The second part of this paper
describes the verb in Mmen and how tense, mood and aspect is expressed within the verb
phrase, as well as different ways of negating sentences. Finally this paper looks into some of
word order of simple clauses versa questions in Mmen.
Keywords
African linguistics, Grassfields Bantu languages, Proto-Ring, Center Ring language, Mmen,
noun class, noun class affixes, noun phrase, agreement, gender, noun modifiers, verb, tense,
mood, aspect, negation
Contents
1 Introduction and background ............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Sociolinguistic background ........................................................................................... 2
1.2 Previous studies ............................................................................................................ 2
2 Method ............................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Language consultants ................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................. 3
3 Phonology .......................................................................................................................... 3
3.1 Vowel inventory ........................................................................................................... 4
3.1.1 Vowel lenght .......................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Consonant inventory .................................................................................................... 5
3.2.1 Tone within the noun ............................................................................................. 6
3.2.2 Syllable structure within the noun ......................................................................... 7
4 The noun and the noun class system................................................................................... 8
4.1 The noun classes ........................................................................................................... 8
4.1.1 Class 1 .................................................................................................................... 9
4.1.2 Class 2 .................................................................................................................... 9
4.1.3 Class 3 .................................................................................................................. 10
4.1.4 Class 4 .................................................................................................................. 10
4.1.5 Class 5 .................................................................................................................. 10
4.1.6 Class 6 .................................................................................................................. 10
4.1.7 Class 6a ................................................................................................................ 10
4.1.8 Class 7 .................................................................................................................. 10
4.1.9 Class 8 .................................................................................................................. 11
4.1.10 Class 9 ................................................................................................................ 11
4.1.11 Class 10 .............................................................................................................. 12
4.1.12 Class 13 .............................................................................................................. 12
4.1.13 Class 19 .............................................................................................................. 12
4.2 Double class genders .................................................................................................. 13
4.2.1 Gender 1/2 ........................................................................................................... 14
4.2.2 Gender 3/6a ......................................................................................................... 15
4.2.3 Gender 3/13 ......................................................................................................... 15
4.2.4 Gender 5/6 ........................................................................................................... 15
4.2.5 Gender 5/13 ......................................................................................................... 15
4.2.6 Gender 7/6a ......................................................................................................... 15
4.2.7 Gender 7/8 ........................................................................................................... 15
4.2.8 Gender 9/10 ......................................................................................................... 16
4.2.9 Gender 19/6a ....................................................................................................... 16
4.3 Less common double class genders ............................................................................. 16
4.3.1 Genders 3/4~13 and 7/4~13 .............................................................................. 16
4.3.2 Gender 3/6a ......................................................................................................... 16
4.3.3 Gender 7/6 and 7/6a ........................................................................................... 16
4.3.4 Gender 1/10 and 1/13 ......................................................................................... 17
4.3.5 Gender 1~9/2 ...................................................................................................... 17
4.3.6 Gender 1~9/10 .................................................................................................... 17
4.3.7 Gender 9/2 ........................................................................................................... 18
4.4 Single class genders .................................................................................................... 18
4.5 Initial vowel and prefix deletion................................................................................. 19
5 The noun phrase and its modifiers .................................................................................... 20
5.1 Associative marker ..................................................................................................... 20
5.2 Possessives.................................................................................................................. 21
5.3 Numerals .................................................................................................................... 23
5.4 Quantifiers ................................................................................................................. 24
5.5 Adjectives ................................................................................................................... 25
5.6 Demonstratives ........................................................................................................... 26
5.7 Relative clause............................................................................................................ 27
5.8 Structure of the noun phrase ...................................................................................... 28
6 Pronouns .......................................................................................................................... 28
7 The verb in Mmen ............................................................................................................ 29
7.1.1 Verbal morphology............................................................................................... 29
7.1.2 Lexical tone within verbs ..................................................................................... 31
8 The verb phrase ................................................................................................................ 31
8.1 Subject marker ə in different environments ................................................................ 32
8.2 Tense .......................................................................................................................... 33
8.2.1 Present ................................................................................................................. 34
8.2.2 P0 ......................................................................................................................... 34
8.2.3 P1 near past marker fə ......................................................................................... 34
8.2.4 P2 ‘yesterday’ past marker a ................................................................................ 34
8.2.5 P3 distant past marker te/tə ................................................................................. 35
8.2.6 F1 immediate future nə ̀........................................................................................ 36
8.2.7 F2 ‘tomorrow’s’ future nə́ .................................................................................... 36
8.2.8 F3 distant future tə ́............................................................................................... 36
8.3 Aspect......................................................................................................................... 37
8.3.1 Perfective ............................................................................................................. 37
8.3.2 Imperfective ......................................................................................................... 38
8.3.3 Habitual ............................................................................................................... 39
8.3.4 Progressive marker with -ndo ............................................................................... 39
8.4 Other markers ............................................................................................................ 39
8.5 Mood .......................................................................................................................... 40
8.5.1 Hortative .............................................................................................................. 40
8.5.2 Imperative ............................................................................................................ 40
8.6 Auxiliary verbs ........................................................................................................... 41
8.6.1 Other verbal particles ........................................................................................... 42
8.7 Negation within the verb phrase ................................................................................ 43
8.7.1 Negation with pá‘à ............................................................................................... 43
8.7.2 Negation with và .................................................................................................. 43
8.7.3 Negation with váyn .............................................................................................. 43
8.7.4 Negation with tà’á ................................................................................................ 44
8.7.5 Negation with kə́ ................................................................................................. 44
9 Simple clause structure ..................................................................................................... 44
9.1 Questions.................................................................................................................... 45
10 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 47
References ........................................................................................................................... 48
Abbreviations
ADJ Adjective
AM Associative marker
ATTR Attribute
C Consonant
Cl Noun class
DEM Demonstrative
H High tone
HL High-low tone
HM High-mid tone
IV Initial vowel
IMPF Imperfective
PERF Perfective
L Low tone
M Mid tone
ML Mid-low tone
N Noun
N- Homorganic nasal
NEG Negation
NP Noun phrase
NUM Numeral
PB Proto-Bantu
PL Plural
POSS Possessive
PP Prepositional phrase
PR Proto-Ring
QUANT Quantifiers
QUEST Question marker
REL Relative clause
REF Referential
SG Singular
V Vowel
1 Prefix for class 1
2 Prefix for class 2, etc.
Acknowledgements
I would like to give special thanks to the Mmen language committee (MENLANGCO) for
their invaluable help and perseverance in teaching me their language. I also want to thank
Robert Hedinger for his valuable insights and assistance as I was writing this paper, as well
as Benjamin Mua and Signe Nilsson for comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Remaining
misstakes are all my own. Finally I want to thank God for taking me on this adventurous trip
to Mmen.
1 Introduction and background
As a Center Ring language of Narrow Grassfields, a subdivision of Wide Grassfields within
the Southern Bantoid languages, Mmen is part of a cluster including six other languages i.e.
Babanki, Bum, Kom, Kuk, Kung and Oku (Lewis 2009). The name Mmen [mɛn] comes from
the verb sé mwɛỳ n ‘to open up thick, bush-covered land’ and is used by the speakers
referring to both their language and their land. Another name, Bafumen1, was given the
people as the German colonizers ruled the area. Bafumen or Mmen is the name of the village
where the largest number of speakers is found i.e. 30 000 (Troyer, et al. 1995:8).
Ethnologue (Lewis 2009) and ALCAM, Atlas Linguistique du Cameroun (Dieu and Renaud
1983) use the name and spelling Mmen which is therefore the name used within this paper
as well. Other villages where Mmen is spoken are Cha’, Yemgeh, Nyos, Ipalim among others,
as seen in figure 1.
Figure 1. The Mmen-speaking area.© - 2012 Cartography by Monika Feinen
This study aims to describe the noun and verb in Mmen. It starts out with a background and
explanation of the method used for the collection of data, followed by a brief description of
the phonemes of the language. Following the background is a description of the noun, with
its noun class system and the different modifiers within the noun phrase. The next section
covers the verb and the different markers for tense, aspect, mood and negation. This is
finally summarised in a brief conclusion.
1 Other alternative spellings are Bafumeng, Bafoumeng, Bafmen and Bafmeng (Troyer, et al. 1995:3).
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1.1 Sociolinguistic background
Mmen might not belong to the group of languages which faces the greatest threat of being
extinguished. Concerning the usage of Mmen in schools and a newly started literacy
program, it seems as if the domains where Mmen is used are increasing. Nevertheless its
development is still limited due to the fact that there is only a small amount of materials in
the language i.e. an alphabet booklet, Mmen proverbs and a reading and writing book.
Quite a number of Mmen speakers are also found outside the language community. Some
who live in bigger towns or cities e.g. Yaoundé and Bamenda, have formed groups or
committees with other Mmen speakers. Elsewhere there might be very few or no settings
outside home, where Mmen is used. Many people might therefore lose motivation to speak
the language or transfer it to the next generation. One consultant expressed her regret that
only two of her children know how to speak Mmen, mainly because they were sent to live
with their grandmother in the village rather than with their mother who then lived in a
town. She said; “I always feel guilt when I talk to them in English. I know I am to blame, I wasn’t
patient and I did not live here in Bafumen” (Felicitas Nge Meh, 2012-01-10).
This statement alone is not enough to analyze a language’s state of vitality or endangerment,
but can nevertheless reflect the great need for a continued language development program,
leading to an increased number of domains in which Mmen is used. Apart from the need for
documenting and describing the grammar of Mmen, in order to enable good reading
materials and a good literacy program, there is some chance that research on the language
will contribute to maintain speakers’ interest of passing the language on to the next
generation.
1.2 Previous studies
Earlier studies on the Mmen language include a sociolinguistic survey done in 1995 (Troyer
et al.). An anthropological study of the history of the Western Grassfield mentions Mmen
briefly (Nkwi P.N 1982). Research on the phonology has been carried out by Agha (1987)
and on the noun class system by Agha-ah (1993). Linguistic work has also been done with
focus on the syntax of the noun phrase, with reference to Case grammar, by Bangha (2003).
However, none of these previous published works include a detailed description of the
agreement of modifiers within the noun phrase. Furthermore, since the consultants, as the
source of the data presented in Banga (2003) and Agha-ah (1993), were only partly living in
the language area, there is a chance that results presented in this study might differ in
comparison to these works.
Other more recent works on the language have been carried out by Kiessling (2010), who
included Mmen in a study of Infix genesis and incipient initial consonant mutations in some
lesser known Benue-Congo languages. The same author has also shared unpublished material
i.e. Sketch of Men (m.s.) and Men tonology (m.s.). Other unpublished material has been
shared by Nge Deris Meh (m.s.) on verb serialisation in Mmen. Recent work has also been
carried out by Björkestedt (2011a) on the phonology of Mmen, which also resulted into an
orthography guide (2011b).
Several related languages have also been subject to linguistic research, whereof many have
been carried out by Hyman e.g. Noun classes in the Grassfield Bantu borderland (1980b),
Tonology of the Babanki noun (1979c) and Babanki and the Ring group (1980a). Other studies
carried out on the Central Ring languages are e.g. The noun class system of Kom (Yuh 1986),
Tone in the Kom noun phrase (Jones 1997), Tone in the Oku noun and verb (Davis 1997) and A
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pedagogical grammar of Babanki (Akumbu and Fogwe 2012). Other works that have been
consulted in this study are works on Grassfields and Bantu languages in general e.g. Bantu
languages (Nurse and Philippson 2003).
2 Method
The data collected for the present study were gathered directly from native speakers in
Bafumen. A lexicon of about 2000 words, collected by Björkestedt and the language
committee, was used to develop questionnaires of noun and verb phrases. Since modifiers
within the noun phrase often take agreement with the class of the noun, each noun was put
in phrases including the different modifiers e.g. demonstratives, possessives and numerals.
Verb phrases were collected mostly through elicitation of questionnaires and studying of
texts.
The questionnaires were filled out partly by using the newly developed Mmen orthography
(Björkestedt 2011b). Tone also has to be marked in order to enable a full analysis of the
noun and verb. Phonetic pitch was therefore transcribed by using the letters, represented in
this paper by accent marks, H ,́ M ̄and L ̀ for level tones and HL ̂H, M ᷇, ML ᷆, LH ̌,
MH ᷄᷄and LM ᷅ for falling and rising tones. The questionnaires were also read out loud by one
consultant and recorded, which enabled numerous repetitions and evaluation of the first
transcription.
2.1 Language consultants
The term consultant2 is used in this paper referring to the mother tongue speakers of Mmen
who are the sources of all data presented. The Mmen community has formed a language
committee, in 2008, consisting of 10-15 volunteers that live in Bafumen. This committee
was also the resource for the data presented by Björkestedt (2011a, 2011b). The variation of
age within the group, which ranged from about 30 to 60, resulted in interesting discussions
about words’ meanings and revealed differences in the language use of the older generation
compared to the younger.
2.2 Theoretical framework
Field linguistics involves gathering data directly from native speakers within the language
area and since the main goal of field linguistics is to produce basic grammatical description
of the language being studied, it is also referred to as descriptive linguistics. Besides the
presentation of rigorous and accurate data the theoretical framework for this descriptive
study is based on the Basic Linguistic Theory (Dixon 1997:128).
3 Phonology
The sound system in Mmen consists of 26 distinctive consonants and 9 vowels. The
orthography used within this study is mainly based on the Mmen orthography (Björkestedt
2011b) which follows the General Alphabet of Camerooian Languages (Tadadjeu and
Sadembouo 1979). For a more detailed study of the Mmen phonology see Björkestedt
(2011a). The examples given in the following sections do not mark the tone of noun class
prefixes except when they manifest a different pitch than M on the surface, according to the
pronounciation in isolation.
2 Informant, collaborator, interviewee or teacher, are all alternative names for the same term.
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