A Tasawaq (Northern Songhay, Niger) Text with Grammatical Notes

Maarten Kossmann

Leiden University

 

1. Introduction[1]

 

Tasawaq is a Northern Songhay language spoken in the oasis In-Gall about 100 km west of Agadez in Niger (for more information, see Bernus & Bernus 1972; Sidibé 2002). The language is poorly documented,[2] and only little textual material is available to the scientific community. As far as I know, only two texts have been published in Tasawaq,[3] neither of them marking tone; in the first place a relatively long text of oral history edited by Pierre-Francis Lacroix in Bernus & Bernus (1972:107-114), in the second place a 20-line text in Rueck & Christiansen (2001).

 

In this article, I present a Tasawaq story with glossing and comments, recorded in Agadez in October 2003, told by Mrs. Ibrahim, born Nana Mariama Aweïssou, originary from In-Gall, but then living and working in Agadez. Mrs. Ibrahim speaks Tasawaq, Hausa and French; at the time of the recording her daily language was Hausa.

 

Since Lacroix (1971), Tasawaq is normally considered a mixed language of Songhay and Tuareg, a view that was elaborated by Robert Nicolaï (e.g. 1990), as well as by Alidou (1988) and Wolff & Alidou (2001); for more agnostic views, see Kossmann (2007); Souag (2012). In the text, non-Songhay etymologies have been identified in the glossing line by means of superscript ^TU (Tuareg), ^HA (Hausa), and ^AR (Arabic).

 

2. Notes on Phonological Processes and Transcription[4]

 

Mrs. Ibrahim’s language has a number of features that differ from those described in Alidou (1988), Nicolaï (1979; 1979-1984; 1980) and Sidibé (2010a). While in some cases this may be due to analytical issues, at a number of points the differences clearly reflect dialectal variation within the language (Sidibé 2010a). Most salient among these is the existence of pharyngealized consonants in Mrs. Ibrahim’s speech, whereas the speakers underlying the other sources do not have it (Kossmann 2012).

 

The transcription follows the surface phonemics of the language, writing neutralizations and assimilations wherever they lead to differences on the phonemic level, but not writing them where they lead to allophonic variants. Some of the more important segmental phonemic and phonetic issues are the following:

 

(a) Short /e/ and /o/ are neutralized into /a/ when not in word- or phrase-final position. Lowering of /o/ may be accompanied by labialization of adjacent velar and uvular consonants (cf. Kossmann 2012). Examples:

 

báɣò	‘to want’	báɣà-kwáy	‘beloved’
ízè	‘child’	ízà-ɣó	‘this child’
gàrsé	‘thread’	gàrsá m̀ mè	‘the end of the thread (lit. mouth of the thread)’

 

(b) Long vowels only occur in non-final open syllables. A number of morphological processes lead to the opening of a closed syllable, accompanied by lengthening (or, seen from a different angle, show the original long vowel), e.g.

 

á nàm	‘he bit’	á nààm-á	‘he bit him’
á dàk	‘it hangs’	á dèèk-á	‘he hanged it’
à dáq	‘he took’	à dóóq-à	‘he took it’

 

In connected speech, long vowels sometimes appear in unexpected positions. Some of these are the result of vowel coalescence (although this mostly leads to a short vowel), others involve CV stems. The exact conditions of such lengthenings are unclear.

 

(c) In closed syllables with a nasal coda, the nasal is obligatorily realized as nasalization of the vowel when followed by a fricative or a glide. In other contexts, there is variation between nasalization and the presence of a nasal stop, which is not entirely predictable. Because of this, nasalization (written by superscript <ⁿ> following the vowel) and nasal consonants are transcribed differently. It is very well possible that a more elaborate study would show that the two are in fact free or idiolectally conditioned variants.

 

bânɣò	‘head’
ɣâ n wày	‘my wife’

 

 

àddín	‘religion’	àrbàɣín	‘forty’
hín	‘be strong’	nín	‘to drink’
mìsín	‘what’	zìrgín	‘be dirty’
síddìrgìn	‘to listen’	àmàzárgìn	‘a dirty person’
síggìrfìn	‘to kneel’	àsígìn	‘place where cattle is kept’

 

(d) Velar stops are strongly palatalized in contact with a front vowel /i/, /e/, [æ]~[ɛ], the latter being non-pharyngealized realizations of /a/. The outcome of palatalization is either a palatalized consonant [k^j], [g^j], or, in the case of /g/, a plain palatal stop [ɟ]. As palatalization is entirely predictable, it will not be written here.

 

(e) There is a strong tendency to devoice vowels between voiceless consonants and in final syllables. This makes it often difficult to hear the vowel, and especially to establish its tone. Although clearly a phonetic feature, which may be an idiosyncrasy of Mrs. Ibrahim’s speech, I write the devoicing in the transcription in order to indicate that in such situations both the tone and the vowel quality are uncertain. In some contexts, the tone of the devoiced segment can only be determined by its effects on downdrift.

 

(f) The role of consonantal length is not entirely clear. Some short grammatical morphemes are frequently geminated in intervocalic position (e.g. ^Hǹ ‘genitive’; ní ‘Negative Perfective’). Vaccillating consonantal length also appears with some other morphemes, but without a clear conditioning (e.g. qá ~ qqá ‘all’). I write consonantal length wherever I hear it.

 

Tasawaq tone has only received limited attention, and at many points my notations do not concur with existing descriptions, e.g. Nicolaï 1980, Alidou 1988, Sidibé 2010a. The tone system found in Mrs. Ibrahim’s speech has the following properties:

 

(a) There are two tones, High and Low, and one contour tone, Falling. There is, phonetically, no rising tone, except sometimes in vowel coalescence. The language has downdrift.

 

(b) Falling tone only occurs on long vowels, and on closed syllables with a sonorant as their coda, e.g. gáàsù ‘cheese’; hâmnì ‘flour’; sèèrây ‘friend’; àlxâl ‘situation’. There is one case of a Falling tone on a closed syllable of a different type: yâddà ‘still’. As a result of vowel coalescence, in connected speech, sometimes Falling tones appear on phonetically short vowels.

 

(c) In isolation, there are no polysyllabic words with an all-Low tone pattern (differently Nicolaï 1980:248-250). However, in a number of syntactic contexts, words do appear in an all-Low tone pattern. Such words have an initial Falling tone in isolation, or, when the syllable structure does not allow for a Falling tone, they have an initial High tone. As there are other words which keep their original tone pattern in the same syntactic contexts, I consider words with variation between all-Low and other patterns to be underlyingly all-Low.

 

The contexts where the all-Low pattern appears are the following:

 

-with nouns, when they are followed by an adjective, a numeral, the plural clitic ^H-yo, or a postposition. The isolated form is used with the demonstrative element ^L-ɣo.

 

dábdè	‘piece of clothing’ (< dâbdè)	bânɣò	‘head’
dàbdè sídày	‘red piece of clothing’	bànɣò kíṭṭá	‘a little head’
dàbdè hínká	‘two pieces of clothing’
dàbdá-yò	‘clothes’	bànɣwá-yò	‘heads’
dábdà-ɣó	‘this piece of clothing’
dàbdè gá	‘in the piece of clothing’

 

-with nouns, when preceded by a possessor phrase, e.g.

 

á-ǹ dàbdè

‘his piece of clothing’

á-m̀ bànɣò

‘his head’

 

-with verbs when they are followed by a direct or indirect object, e.g. with hâⁿg^wày ‘think of’ and qáɣàm (< qâɣàm) ‘chew’:

 

ɣá	b-hàngwày	ààrù-sí
1S	IMPF-think	man-DAT
‘I am thinking of the man’

 

á	qàɣàm	búúrù
3S	chew	bread
‘he chewed the bread’

 

(d) A number of elements take polar tone, i.e., their tone is the opposite of an adjacent tone. Polar tone is found on the following elements:

 

*Subject pronouns:

-Third person subject pronouns have a polar tone depending on the following element, e.g.

 

á nàm-ɣáy	‘he bit me’
à kár-ɣày	‘he hit me’

 

-The same is true for the marker of the plural imperative, wa, e.g.

 

wá nàm	‘bite (pl.)!’
wà kár	‘hit (pl.)!’

 

-There is variation between stable High tone and polar tone with 1S and 2S subject pronouns; this could be a difference between isolated forms (stable high tone) and clitic forms (polar tone), e.g.

 

ɣày báɣò	‘I want’
ɣáy záw-nàn	‘I brought there’

 

*Oblique pronouns:

 

-Third person and 1S and 2S direct object pronouns have polar tone to the element preceding it, e.g.

 

á gàngá-ɣày	‘she refused me’
à bárà-ɣáy	‘it is at me’

 

*The dative postposition -si has polar tone to the element preceding it,[5] e.g.

 

hùwáy-sì	‘to the milk’
hánsì-sí	‘to the dog’

 

Other postpositions have a stable tone (e.g. gá ‘in’), or the situation is unclear.

 

*The clitics ^H-yo ‘plural’ and ^L-ɣo ‘demonstative’, and probably some other clitics, have polar tone to the element preceding them, e.g.

 

ízà-yó	‘the children’(< ízè-´yo)
àssàbí-yò	‘the children’ (< àssàbí-´yo)
gáásù-ɣó	‘this gourd’ (< gáású-`ɣo)
lààbú-ɣò	‘this land’ (< lààbú-`ɣo)

 

(e) A number of elements are preceded by a floating tone, which attaches to the preceding element. The most common cases of this are:

 

*The plural clitic -^Hyo, e.g.

 

bânɣò

‘head’

bànɣá-yò

‘heads’ (< bànɣò-´yo)

 

*The demonstrative element -^Lɣo, e.g.        

 

yóóbú

‘market’

yóóbù-ɣó

‘this market’ (< yóóbú-`ɣo)

 

*The genitival postposition ^Hǹ (often geminated in intervocalic position), e.g.

 

ààrú ǹ bànɣò

‘the head of the man’ (< ààrù ´ǹ bânɣò)

 

Due to nasalization, and sometimes subsequent denasalization, the Low-toned MAN marker m̀ is often mainly realized as a Low tone. Similarly, the genitival postposition often functions as if it were a floating Falling tone; in the latter case, however, nasalization is never undone.

 

(f) Due to vowel coalescence or to the attachment of a floating tone, sometimes an infelicitous tone pattern is generated. Infelicitous tone patterns are either Rising tones, or Falling tones on open syllables with short vowels, or Falling tones on closed syllables with a non-sonorant consonant in the coda. The following tone rule accounts for most (possibly all) cases:

 

→R and infelicitous F are reduced to H when following a Low tone, and to L when following a High tone.

 

bàrá-ɣò	‘this person’	(< bàrô-ɣo < bàró-`ɣo)
yóóbù-ɣó	‘this market’	(< yóóbû-ɣo < yóóbú-`ɣo)
ízà-yó	‘children’	(< ízě-yo < ízè-´yo)
ààrú-yò	‘men’	(< ààrǔ-yo < ààrù-´yo)

 

3. Grammatical Notes

 

There is relatively little available on the grammar of Tasawaq. The most comprehensive overview is found in the unpublished MA Thesis of Alidou (1988), summarized in Wolff & Alidou (2001). The latter publication focusses on the relationship between elements with a Songhay etymology and elements with a Tuareg etymology, a focus shared with Kossmann (2007). A number of more detailed questions have been treated in Sidibé 2010a, 2010b, Kossmann 2008; 2009; 2010a; 2010b; 2011. As my data are not always entirely identical to Alidou’s, I think it is useful to provide some basic notions of Tasawaq morphology below. Genitival constructions, relativization and adjectives will not be treated, as they were already analyzed in Kossmann 2009, 2010a, and 2011, respectively.

 

3.1 Personal Pronouns

 

Tasawaq distinguishes between emphatic pronouns and clitic pronouns. Emphatic pronouns have their own tone, while many clitic pronouns have polar tone, i.e. they take the opposite tone of the adjacent element in the verbal complex. There is no difference between the two sets in the first and second person plural. The latter pronouns do not cause vowel lengthening in CVC verb stem, which suggests that they are not cliticized in any context.

 

In the Imperative, a special marker for the plural addressee is used.

 

	Emphatic pronouns	Subject pronouns	Direct Object pronouns
1S	ɣáy, ɣá	ɣay, ɣa[6]	ɣay
2S	ní	ni	ni
3S	ńgà, íngà	a	a
1P	írì	írì	írì
2P	índì	índì	índì
3P	ńgì, íngì	i	i
2S IMPT		Ø
2P IMPT		wa

 

For the first person subject pronouns, the allomorph ɣay / ɣáy is used when no overt MAN marker follows, while otherwise ɣa / ɣá is used. The clitic forms are also used in combination with postpositions. The allomorph ɣa (1S) is used with the postposition si ‘to’.

 

3.2 Nouns

 

There is a major divide between nouns of Songhay and nouns of Tuareg origin. Nouns of Tuareg origin have lexical (and highly irregular) plurals, while nouns of Songhay extraction use a NP-final clitic -^Hyo (polar yo preceded by a floating High tone). For details, see Sidibé 2010a; Kossmann 2007, Kossmann 2010b. Nouns of Tuareg origin denoting human beings allow for gender derivation, e.g.

 

àbóóbàz	‘male cousin’	tàbóóbàz	‘female cousin’
àgéélìm	‘male orphan’	tàgéélìm	‘female orphan’
ááràb	‘Arab man’	tááràb	‘Arab woman’
àtééfìn	‘Hausa man’	tàtééfìn	‘Hausa woman’
àṃíkṣàn	‘male enemy’	tàṃíkṣàn	‘female enemy’.

 

This is found with only two nouns of non-Tuareg origin:

 

zày-kwáy	‘male thief’[7]	tàzáykwàt	‘female thief’ (< Songhay)
ṃááyì	‘sorcerer’	ṭàṃááyàṭ	‘sorceress’ (< Hausa).

 

Otherwise, natural gender is expressed by suppletion, or not expressed at all, e.g. àlzírày ‘male or female in-law’; ízè ‘son, daughter’; àssàbí ‘male or female child’ (< Arabic); áàrù ‘man’ – wây ‘woman’; báynà ‘male slave’ – ṭààmú ‘female slave’. With Tuareg-based nouns, gender is also found differentiating fruits from their trees, and feminine gender generally expresses language names, e.g.

 

àbóóṛàq	‘fruit of the tàbóóṛàq’	tàbóóṛàq	‘tree, sp. (Balanites aegyptiaca?)’
ággàr	‘fruit of the tíggàr’	tíggàr	‘tree sp. (Acacia Nilotica?)’
àḳááfùṛ	‘European man’	tàḳááfùṛ	‘European language, (also: European woman)’
ásàwàɣ	‘inhabitant of In-Gall’	tásàwàq	‘Tasawaq, (also: fem. inhabitant of In Gall)’
ámɣùt	‘Tuareg man’	támɣùt	‘Tuareg language, (also: Tuareg woman)’

 

3.3 Verbs

 

Verb stems in principle do not change. There are, however, a few processes that apply when the verb is followed by a direct object clitic.

 

In the first place, a number of verbs of the structure CV̀nV́ have clipped forms (CV́n) when followed by a first or second singular direct or indirect object clitic, e.g.

 

á gùná	‘he saw’	à gún-ɣày	‘he saw me’
		à gún-nì	‘he saw you’
á zìní	‘he caught’	à zín-ɣày	‘he caught me’
á sìní	‘he said’	à sín ɣá-sì	‘he said to me’

 

In the second place, many verbs have vowel lengthening when followed by a third singular or plural direct object pronoun. Both these pronouns are vowel-initial; note however that the effect does not appear with the first and second person plural pronouns which also start in a vowel. The lengthening of the syllable sometimes shows underlying vowels obscured by the neutralization processes applying with short word-internal vowels. All CVC verbs have lengthening, e.g.

 

verb	verb with 3S object pronoun
ḅáq	ḅááq-à	‘to break’
báy	bááy-à	‘to know’
dàr	dààr-á	‘to stretch out’
dáb	dééb-à	‘to close’
dàk	dèèk-á	‘to hang’
dáq	dóóq-à	‘to take’
dàs	dòòs-á	‘to touch’
dút	dúút-à	‘to pound’
fún	fúún-à	‘to pierce’
fík	fíík-à	‘to plant, to bury’
nín	níín-à	‘to drink’

 

Vowel lengthening is also found with some disyllabic verbs. These include pluractional derivations from CVC verbs, and verbs derived by means of the deictic element -nàⁿ.

 

ḅáqḅáq	ḅáqḅááq-à	‘to break into pieces’
qwáṣqwáṣ	qwáṣqóós-à	‘to cut into pieces’
fík-nàn	fík-nààn-á	‘to bury (over there)’

 

Vowel lengthening is also found with a small number of underived disyllabic verbs:

 

báɣò	bááɣ-à	‘to want’
káwkáw	káwkááw-à	‘to skin’
qààrán	qààráán-à	‘to read’
xàssárà	xàssáár-à	‘to destroy’

 

Note that with most underived disyllabic verbs, and with verbs derived by the suffix -kàt(é), there is no vowel lengthening, e.g.

 

záw-kàt	záw-kàt-á	‘to bring’
ḅààráy	ḅààráy-à	‘to change’
fáṛàṭ	fáṛàṭ-á	‘to sweep’
kítàb	kítàb-á	‘to write’
kúrkùr	kúrkùr-á	‘to burn, to roast’
làɣáb	làɣáb-à	‘to wet mud’
kùbáy	kùbáy-ì	‘to attach, to meet’ (3P DO)

 

Mood, Aspect and Negation (MAN) are expressed by particles (some of which are grammaticalized verbs) that are put immediately before the verb stem:

 

	positive	negative	positive future I	positive future II	negative future
perfective	Ø-	ní-	Ø-kwáy	Ø-tí-	sí-b-kwáy-
imperfective	b-	sí-b-	b-kwáy-	b-tí-	sí-b-kwáy-
subjunctive	m̀-, `	m̀-sí-, `-sí

 

Alidou (1988:54) has <má> instead of m̀. This is probably a case of idiolectal or dialectal variation. Mrs. Ibrahim never has a full vowel with the subjunctive, and the tone is clearly Low. The element k^wáy comes from the verb k^wáy ‘to go’, while tí is no doubt related to tê (underlying form) ‘to come’. In the negative future, the element b is often assimilated to the following k, i.e. sí-k-k^wáy-.

 

The main uses of the MANs are as follows:

 

Perfective: punctual events that took place in the past (for examples, see the text) and states, e.g.

 

àžéémùr	à	Ø-ṇáṣ
ewe	3S	PRF-be.fat
‘the ewe is fat’

 

áàrù	ní-mày	túnfà
man	NEG:PRF-have	strength
‘the man has no strength, i.e. the man is weak’.

 

Imperfective: habitual and progressive, e.g.

 

ɣá	b-ṣíṛìnkìṭ	hààbú-yò
1S	IMPF-comb	hair-PL
‘I am combing my hair’

 

ɣá	b-sì	ṭàkááfùṛ
1S	IMPF-speak	European
‘I speak French’.

 

In addition to this, some stative expressions use the Imperfective, e.g.

 

à	b-ṭáy
3S	IMPF-be.humid
‘it is damp’

 

à	b-ṣílfìx-ɣáy
3S	IMPF-cause.pity-1S
‘I pity him’.

 

The exact distribution of Perfective and Imperfective expressions of state is unknown.

 

Subjunctive: In main clauses, the subjunctive expresses a wish or an order. In subordinate clauses, it is used to express finality, e.g.

 

á	Ø-sìn(í)	à-sí	á	m̀-sí-kwáy
3S	PRF-say	3S-DAT	3S	SBJ-NEG-go
‘he told him not to go’

 

ɣáy	Ø-báɣò	m̀-gùn-á
1S	PRF-want	SBJ-see-3S
‘I want to see him’.

 

Future I (< ‘go’) and II (< ‘come’) express the future. There is no obvious difference in use between the two, e.g.

 

á	Ø-sìní	síbàx	à	Ø-kwáy-gáw	àssáɣàl
á	Ø-sìní	síbàx	à	Ø-tí-gáw	àssáɣàl
PRF-3S	say	tomorrow	3S	PRF-FUTI/FUTII-work	work
‘he said, he would do the work tomorrow’.

 

The expressions have become fully grammaticalized. It is not possible to have a subject marker between k^wáy- or tí- and the main verb; moreover it is possible to combine the future marker k^wáy with the verb k^wáy ‘to go’, e.g. ɣà b-k^wáy-k^wáy ‘I shall go’.

 

In addition to these grammaticalized verbs in MAN constructions, there is one other multi-verb constructions of a similar type, the intensive marker ṭáⁿ (= ‘to be full’). The exact structure and meaning of this construction need more investigation (see Alidou 1988:51 for more examples). Example:

 

àssàbí	b-ṭán-sì	bábò
child	IMPF-be.full-speak	much
‘this child really talks a lot’.

 

There are a number of verbal derivations in Tasawaq:

 

1. The productive directional derivations kà ~ kàt ~ kàté ‘towards the speaker’ (Ventive) and -nàⁿ ‘away from the speaker’ (Itive), which historically derive from verbs (cf. Zarma kàté ‘to bring’; náŋ ‘abandon’), e.g.

 

à kwáy	‘he went’
à kwáy-kát	‘he went here’	à kwáy-nàn	‘he went away’

 

The derivational nature (rather than considering them clitics or adverbs) of the directional suffixes is shown by two arguments:

 

-directional suffixes precede object clitics. In the case of -nàⁿ, the suffix undergoes vowel lengthening when followed by a third person pronoun, just like verbs. Examples:

 

à káw-kàt-á	‘she took it out’
á màn-nààn-á	‘he approached it (over there)’

 

-directional suffixes can be part of the verbal base of an adjectival derivation, e.g.

 

fúr	‘to throw’	fùùró	‘thrown’
fúr-nàn	‘to throw away’	fúrnàànàn	‘thrown away’

 

When the directional suffixes are attached to a CV̀nV́ verb stem with a final i or u, the final stem vowel is clipped before the suffix., e.g.

 

hùnú	‘to go out’	hún-kàt	‘to go out towards me’
zìní	‘to catch’	zín-kàté	‘to catch towards me’

 

One verb shows irregular changes in stem shape:[8]

 

té	‘to arrive’	tóó-kàt	‘to arrive here’
		tóó-nàn ~ téé-nàn	‘to arrive there’

 

2. Pluractional derivation marked by full reduplication. The examples that were collected concern monosyllabic verbs:

 

ḅáq	‘to break’	ḅáqḅáq	‘to break into pieces’
qwáṣ	‘to cut’	qwáṣqwáṣ	‘to cut into pieces, to tear up’

 

3. The causative derivation -ǹdá.[9] This is the one valency-changing derivation in Tasawaq. In the variety spoken by Mrs Ibrahim, it is restricted to a lexically determined set of verbs:

 

dáy	‘to pay’	dáy-ìndá	‘to sell’
fàrɣá	‘to be tired’	fàrɣâ-ndá	‘to tire s.o.’
fáyfày	‘to be divorced, to separate’	fáyfày-ìndá	‘to divorce s.o.’
góódày	‘to be healed’	góódày-ìndá	‘to heal s.o.’
hík	‘to marry s.o.’	hík-ìndá	‘to marry off’
káání	‘to sleep’	káán-ìndá	‘to put to sleep’
kúngú	‘to be satiated’	kúngû-ndá	‘to satiate’
qààrán	‘to study’	qààrán-ìndá	‘to teach’

 

Many verbs do not allow for a derivation with -ǹdá, although they would conceptually be proper inputs for a causative derivation. Thus góódày ‘to heal’ and fàrɣá ‘to be tired’ allow for the causative derivation, but dóórí ‘to be ill’ does not. Different from our data, Alidou (1988:50) describes the causative derivation as regular and productive. She provides a number of examples, some of which were not accepted by Mrs. Ibrahim, such as <wándà> ‘to make eat’ and <nínəńdà> ‘to make drink’.

 

Note that -ǹdá cannot be analyzed as the comitative/instrumental preposition ǹdá and the following object as the prepositional complement. This analysis is impossible, as -ǹdá and the Direct Object can be separated by other elements, which could not be the case if it were part of a prepositional phrase, cf.

 

(b)	à dáyVERB-ìndáCAUSATIVE [à-sí]IO [húgù]DO	‘he sold the house to him’
(b’)	** à dáyVERB [ìndá]PREP [à-sí]IO [húgù]PREP
(b’’)	** à dáyVERB [à-sí]IO [ìndá]PREP [húgù]PREP

 

Tuareg has a productive causative derivation, and there are some cases in Tasawaq where a Tuareg underived verb corresponds to a Tuareg causative verb, or where a Songhay underived verb corresponds to a Tuareg causative verb. Different from some other Northern Songhay languages (cf. Christiansen 2010), this takes place only sporadically, and such cases are best considered lexical causatives. Examples:

 

dàqqáṛ	‘to be glued’	(< Tuareg)	ṣíḍḍìqqìṛ	‘to glue’	(< Tuareg)
nín	‘to drink’	(< Songhay)	síssìw	‘to give to drink’	(< Tuareg)
tùn	‘to wake up’	(< Songhay)	sínkàr	‘to wake up s.o.’	(< Tuareg)

 

Otherwise, constructions with the verb dáⁿ ‘to make’ are used to express a causative relation, e.g.

 

káání	à	b-dán-ɣày	ɣá	b-ṭífà
sleep	3S	IMPF-make-1S	1S	IMPF-yawn
‘sleep makes me yawn, lit. sleep is making me I am yawning’

 

A certain number of verbs are labile in their syntax, i.e. they can both be employed as transitives and as intransitives, in which the element that is the direct object in the transitive construction functions as the subject in the intransitive construction, e.g.

 

wánhà	à	hìná
food	3S	cook
‘the food is cooked’

 

ɣá	b-hìná	wánhà
1S	IMPF-cook	food
‘I am cooking the food’

 

séélàx	á	yìwál
knife	3S	sharpen
‘the knife has been sharpened’

 

ɣáy	yìwál	séélàx
1S	sharpen	knife
‘I have sharpened the knife’

 

3.4 Verbal Nouns

 

There are a number of derivations that make nouns out of verbs. Some of these also apply to verbal and to nominal bases.

 

3.4.1 Action Nouns

 

The most generally found derivation is the action noun. With verbs of Songhay origin, Mrs. Ibrahim’s variety mostly has zero derivation. In one class of verbs the tone changes, while there are a few residual cases of suffixation. Verbs borrowed from Tuareg have Tuareg verbal nouns.

 

The majority of Tasawaq verbs have verbal nouns identical to the verb. Their nominal nature can only be shown by their syntactic behavior as the head of a noun phrase, e.g.

 

ɣáy hàndìrì ɣá-ǹn ízè	‘I dreamed of my son’ (verb hândìrì)
ɣá-ǹn hàndìrì	‘my dream’ (verbal noun hândìrì)

 

Verbal nouns of Low-tone monosyllabic verbs change their tone to Falling. I have not been able to determine the tone of verbal nouns of Low-tone monosyllabic verbs which have syllabic shapes where Falling tone is excluded. Examples:

 

ḍàn	‘to sing’	ḍân	‘song’
ḍàw	‘to send’	ḍâw	‘the fact of sending’
gàw	‘to help’	gâw	‘help’

 

A small number of Songhay-based verbs (eight in my corpus) add a suffix to the verb in order to make the corresponding verbal noun. Sometimes this suffixation is accompanied by other changes. The suffixes are -yó,[10] -ní and -àⁿhà (probably from (^H)ǹ hà ‘the thing of’):

 

bán	‘to finish’	bán-yó	‘end’
bún	‘to die’	búú-yó	‘death’
ṭáy	‘to be humid’	ṭáy-yó	‘humidity’
máw	‘to smell’	màà-ní	‘smell’
yáy	‘to be cold’	yáy-ní	‘cold’
dáb	‘to close’	dáb-ànhà	‘stopper’
hâmbìrì	‘to fear’	hámbír-ânhà	‘fear’[11]
wá	‘to eat’	wá-ǹhà	‘food’ (NB. wá ‘the fact of eating’)

 

3.4.2 Derivation of Abstract Nouns by Means of the Suffix tèèré

 

Abstract nouns can be formed by attaching the suffix tèèré to a substantive, an adjective, or a verb stem, e.g.

 

ànááràg	‘neigbor’	ànááràg-tèèré	‘neighborhood’
sèèrây	‘friend’	sèèrây-tèèré	‘friendship’
táágí	‘new’	táágí-tèèré	‘novelty’
qwàrnó	‘hot’	qwàṛná-tèèré	‘heat’
wàṛɣá	‘fat’	wàṛɣá-tèèré	‘fatness’
sàwá	‘to resemble’	sàwá-tèèré	‘resemblance’
fùsús	‘to be light’	fùsús-tèèré	‘lightness’
ṇáṣ	‘to be fat (animals)’	ṇáṣ-tèèré	‘fatness’
yáy	‘to be cold’	yáy-tèèré	‘the cold’
làɣán	‘to be bad’	làɣán-tèèré	‘badness’

 

3.4.3 Derivation of Agent Nouns with the Suffix k^way

 

The suffix -k^way (polar tone) is used in order to derive agent nouns. The derivation expresses that the person involved is (habitually) closely related to, or defineable by the action or the object it is attached to. Examples:

 

verb/noun		derivation in kway
sì	‘to speak’	sìì-kwáy	‘somebody who knows how to talk’
yílmàq	‘to swim’	àlámàx-kwáy	‘swimmer’
nàm	‘to bite’	nàm-kwáy	‘biter’
kùt	‘to guard’	kùt-kwáy	‘guardian, shepherd’
gáání	‘louse’	gáání-kwày	‘lousy person’
kàṣó	‘prison’	kàṣá-kwày	‘prisoner’
húgù	‘house’	húgù-kwáy	‘house-owner’
kàntí	‘shop’	kàntíí-kwày	‘shop-owner’
táskàr	‘claw’	táskàr-kwáy	‘scorpion’

 

The basis of derivation is the verbal noun, as shown by forms such as àlámàx-k^wáy, which has the verbal noun àlámàx rather than the verb yílmàq.

 

The use of -k^way derived nouns is common with professions, e.g.

 

kùsú	‘pot’	kùsú-kwày	‘potter’
ṭàɣmú	‘shoe’	ṭàɣmú-kwày	‘cobbler’
ṭàṭáb	‘to sew’	ṭàṭáb-kwày	‘tailor’

 

In some cases, a borrowing denoting a profession has received the suffix -k^way, while the basic noun was not taken over: téélà-k^wáy ‘tailor’ (< Hausa teelà) ; lìkítà-k^wáy ‘doctor’ (< Hausa likità).

 

3.4.4 Derivation of Nouns by Means of the Prefix àmà-

 

A number of nouns are derived by means of the originally Tuareg prefix àmà-, with changes in the tonal and segmental structure of the stem. Nouns with the prefix àmà- denote persons with characteristics defined by the verbal stem.

 

zìrgín

‘to be dirty’

àmàzárgìn

‘dirty person’

 

While most nouns with àmà- have a Tuareg origin, derivation from a Songhay stem is attested in one case:

 

qwáq

‘to be dry’

àmàqáɣàn

‘avaricious person’

 

Nouns with the prefix àmà- typically allow for feminine derivation, as is usually the case with Tuareg-based nouns referring to persons.

 

3.5 ‘be’ Verbs

 

Tasawaq has three sets of verbs that can be translated as ‘to be’ in English: those expressing locality, those expressing attributes and identification, and those expressing existence. It is not clear to what extent these verbs can be combined with imperfective MAN morphemes.

 

	positive	negative
locality	bárà (transitive verb)	ssí
existence	sí	ssí
attribute	sí	ní-sí

 

The markers of locality, existence, and negative identity function like normal verbs, e.g.

 

ɣày	bárà	húgù	ǹn	ámmàs	(locality)
1S	be.in	house	GEN	inside
‘I am inside the house’

 

héèrì	à	bárà-ɣáy	(locality)
hunger	3S	be.in-1S
‘I am hungry (lit. hunger is in me)’

 

síbàx	ɣá	ssí	hígìyó	(locality)
tomorrow	1S	be.not.in	home
	‘tomorrow I will not be home’

 

à-ɣóó	wày	káyná-fó	à	sí,	á-ǹ	nàànà	ssí	(existence)
3S-PRX	woman	small-one	3S	be	3S-GEN	mother	be.not
‘there was a girl whose mother was no more (had died)’

 

The positive form of the attributive ‘be’ verb has special syntax. Different from other verbs, it is placed after its predicate, and always preceded by a pronoun. Examples:

 

(ɣáy)	gàndàsárkí	ɣày	sí
1S	soldier	1S	be
‘I am a soldier’

 

ɣá-ǹ	vèèló	hàà	sídày	à	sí
1S-GEN	bicycle	thing	red	3S	be
‘my bicycle is red (lit. my bicycle is a red thing)’

 

In the negation, it is possible to have the negated attributive marker between the subject and the predicate and still the (positive) attributive marker in final position:

 

ɣá-ǹn	ààrù	à	nní-sí	gàndàsárkí	à	sí
1S-GEN	man	3S	NEG:PRF-be	soldier	3S	be
‘my husband is not a soldier’

 

à	nní-sí	hà	qqá	à	sí
3S	NEG:PRF-be	thing	all	3S	be
‘this all is not the case (lit. all this thing is not)’

 

Probably, the negative ‘be’-verb ssí is historically a contraction of a negative marker sí and the positive ‘be’-verb sí. In the actual language, ssí functions as a verb on its own, as shown by nominalizations such as yàrdâ ⁿ ssí ‘doubt, lit. the not-being of belief’.

 

4. The Text with Annotations

 

The story was told in an elicitation-like context in Mrs Ibrahim’s house, with only the story-teller and the researcher present. In spite of the lack of natural context, it was told with great confidence, and hardly contains any hesitations or false starts. The story is told in a very lively way and with great humor. A first transcription of the text was made with the help of Mrs. Ibrahim. The present transcription is based on careful re-listening of the recording on the basis of this first transcription.

 

The text presented here is a well-known story in the region, a version of which appears, for instance, in Jacques Pucheu’s collection of Nigerien Hausa stories (Pucheu 1982:45ff.). There is a clear connection to Hausa stories in the name of one of the participants, the bóóráy tree. Mrs. Ibrahim explained that she knew this tree only from traditional stories. The name clearly reflects Hausa ɓauree ‘fig tree’ (Abraham ²1962:91, ‘ficus gnaphalocarpa and other varieties’), which appears in Pucheu’s Hausa version of the same story in the same role.

Hausa influence in the story telling is also evident from the formulae opening and closing the story, which are both from the Hausa tradition.

 

In the transcription, // indicates a major break in intonation. Elements that I could not interpret are put between square brackets and glossed and translated as [???]; when I could not make a reasonable guess at the phonetic shape, it was transcribed [xxx]. Elements between normal brackets are either unexpected elisions, or elements whose presence is not certain.

 

[1]	gààtán	gààtánkù̥,	[tàžíítìkùm]	índì	`-m(á)w	á	àssàbí-yò	//
	gààtánHA	gààtánkùHA	[???]	2P	SBJ-hear	o	childAR-PL
	‘Gààtán gààtánkù [???] you should hear, o children!’

 

gààtáⁿ gààtánkù̥. This is the common Hausa opening formula ga ta nan ga ta nan ku ‘here it comes, here it comes for you’ (Ahmad 1997:18).

 

tàžíítìkùm. I have not been able to make out the meaning of this phrase. It resembles the well-known north-African opening formula ḥažit-kum (‘I told you’) fairly well.

 

[2]	à-ɣóó	wày	káyná-fó	à	sí,	á-ǹ	nàànà	ssí,	//
	3S-PRX	woman	small-one	3S	be	3S-GEN	mother	not.be
	‘There was a girl, her mother had died,’

 

wày káyná. Lit. ‘little woman’; this is the normal expression for ‘girl’. The isolated form of ‘woman’ is wây.

 

á-ǹ nàànà. The isolated form of ‘mother’ is náànà.

 

[3]	á-m̀	bààbà	hík-kà	wày-fó.	//
	3S-GEN	father	marry-VNT	woman-one
	‘and her father had married a(n other) woman.’

 

[4]	ẓáàẓí	[hì],	hììgì-fó	kwáy-dán,
	day	[???]	wedding-one	FUTI-do
	‘One day a wedding was going to take place,’

 

ẓáàẓí. Allegro variant of záɣzí ‘day’, which was the form given in elicitation.

 

[5]	sáy	í	sìn	wày	káyná	íngì-qáá-s(ì)	í	`-táẓàɣàm.	//
	justHA	3P	say	woman	small	3P-all-DAT	3P	SBJ-groom
	‘and they said to all girls that they should groom themselves.’

 

sáy. This discourse marker is borrowed from Hausa. The frequency of its use may be a feature of personal style.

 

síⁿ. The verb sìní ‘to say’ is often clipped to sìn or sín. The exact conditioning of the choice of the tone in these clipped variants is not clear.

 

wày káyná íngì-qáá-s(ì). Doubling of the NP by an independent pronoun followed by qá is the regular way of expressing totality. The phrase clearly shows the NP-final position of the dative clitic.

 

táẓàɣà^m. This expresses all kinds of preparing oneself for a feast: putting on make-up, good clothes, bracelets and other jewelery. The verb and the identical noun ‘grooming’ look like a loan from Tuareg, but I have not been able to identify a source.

 

[6]	sáy	í-ǹ	nààná-yò	sìn	í-sì
	justHA	3P-GEN	mother-PL	say	3P-DAT
	‘And their mothers said to them’

 

nààná-yò. From nàànà-´yo.

 

[7]	sáy	í	`-kwáy	í	`-záw-kàté	bóóráy	ǹn	íz̥è̥.	//
	justHA	3P	SBJ-go	3P	SBJ-bring-VNT	tree.spHA	GEN	child
	‘that they should go and bring bóóráy fruit(s).’

 

bóóráy. The tree was only known to the speaker from stories. It represents Hausa ɓauree ‘fig tree’.

 

bóóráy ǹn ízè. The genitival postposition is geminated in between (semi)vowels. The expression ‘child of (a tree)’ indicates fruits. The ‘child’ expression is also used for nuts and kernels, e.g. táynì nn ízè (< táynì ´ǹ ízè) ‘date kernel, lit. child of the date’.

 

[8]	íngì-qáá	g(á)	ì	kwáy	bóóráy	í	m̀-káw	ìnd-á,
	3P-all	when	3P	go	tree.spHA	3P	SBJ-take.off	with-3S
	‘When they all went to the bóóráy-tree in order to pick from it,’

 

gá. The element gá functions as a noun (‘body’), as a postposition (‘in’) and as a subordinator (‘when’).

 

[9]	ì	káw-kà	bóóráy,	s(á)y	ì	túúk-à.	//
	3P	take.off-VNT	tree.spHA	justHA	3P	hide-3S
	‘they picked bóóráy (fruits) and hid it.’

 

ì túúk-à. The form of the verb represents a vowel lengthening of túk ‘to hide’.

 

[10]	í	gìsá	à-ɣó	wày	kíṭṭá	ǹ	nàànà	ssíí,
	3P	leave	3S-PRX	woman	small	GEN	mother	not.be
	‘They left this girl that did not have a mother,’

 

gìsá. From gìsí with coalescence with the following vowel.

 

ǹ nàànà ssíí. Relative clause from a genitival complement (cf. Kossmann 2010a for details).

 

[11]	á-m̀	màn	Kwàṛnóónì,
	3S-name	name	Kornoni
	‘named Kornoni,’

 

[12]	(í)	sì̥ná	à-sí:	“írì,	(í)r(ì)	wáá	(í)rí-m̀	bóóráy,	níí	zà?”	//
	(3P)	say	3S-DAT	1P	1P	eat	1P-GEN	tree.spHA	2P	FOC
	‘and said: “We, we have eaten our bóóráy, what about you?”’

 

[13]	à	sín:	“báybò.”	//
	3S	say	noTU
	‘She said: “No.”’

 

[14]	ì	dáán-à	à	wá	á-ǹ	wánè,
	3P	do-3S	3S	eat	3S-GEN	belonging
	‘They made her eat hers,’

 

ì dáán-à. From dáⁿ ‘to make’ with vowel lengthening.

 

ì dáán-à à wá. This double predicate construction, in which the object of dáⁿ is the subject of the second verb is the productive expression of the causative.

 

[15]	gí	ì	té	hígì-yó̥	àlkúl	bàrá	à	káw-kḁ̀t	á-ǹ	wánè.	//
	when	3P	arrive	home-PL	allAR	person	3S	take.off-VNT	3S-GEN	belonging
	‘(and) when they came home each one produced hers.’

 

gí. Assimilated variant of gá ‘when’.

 

té. The verb te ‘to come’ seems to be underlyingly Falling, a tone that sometimes surfaces when the final vowel is lengthened in discourse, e.g. à téè bí ‘he has come yesterday’.

 

hígì-yó. This plurale tantum form is only used in an adverbial sense, meaning ‘at home’. It is clearly connected to the noun húgù ‘house’.

 

bàrá. Form with vowel lowering of bàró.

 

[16]	á	sàbár-à	á-ǹ	nààná-yò̥-sí,	//	ì	ná	à-sí	dàbdá-yò,
	3S	show-3S	3S-GEN	mother-PL-DAT		3P	give	3S-DAT	cloth-PL
	‘And showed it to their mothers, and they gave them clothes,’

 

[17]	íngà,	í	gàngá	à-sí	sìn	sáy	á	`-záw-kḁ̀té̥.	//
	3S	3P	refuse	3S-DAT	say	justHA	3S	SBJ-bring-VNT
	‘but as for her, they refused to (give clothes to) her and said she should bring (it).’

 

[18]	sáy	à	yáttè	bóóráy	ǹ	tùgúzì	dà,
	justHA	3S	return	tree.spHA	GEN	tree	to
	‘And she went back to that bóóráy tree,’

 

dà ~ dáɣò. While no doubt historically derived from dá(ɣò), ‘place’, the element dà also functions as a postposition. I consider cases where dà is connected to the noun by means of the genitival marker ^Hǹ as constructions involving the noun ‘place’.

 

[19]	gá	à	té-nàn	ǹdá	tùgúzì	à	qwáq.	//
	when	3S	arrive-ITV	with	tree	3S	dry
	‘when she came there at the tree it was dry.’

 

[20]	sáy	á	sìní	//	bóóráy	ǹ	tùgúzì-sí:
	justHA	3S	say		tree.spHA	GEN	tree-DAT
	‘And she said to the bóóráy tree:’

 

[21]	“ní	dà	dáɣà	ɣày	té.”	//
	2S	TOP	toward	1S	arrive
	‘“I have come to you.”’

 

dà. This is the topic marker dà, in this text especially frequent after personal pronouns. It is not entirely clear whether its tone is always Low, or rather polar.

 

[22]	ḁ́	sìníí:	//	“mìsín	nì	báɣà	ɣá-ǹn	ízè?	//
	3S	say		why	2S	want	1S-GEN	child
	‘He said: “What do you want, my child?”’

 

nì báɣà. From nì báɣò. Note the polar tone on nì.

 

[23]	sáy	á	sìn	á-sì:	//
	justHA	3S	say	3S-DAT
	‘And she said:

 

[24]	“ní-ǹn	ízà-yó	ɣày	bá,	//	ɣá-ǹ	nàànà	sìní,
	2S-GEN	child-PL	1S	want		1S-GEN	mother	say
	“I want your fruits, my mother said’

 

[25]	sáy	ɣá	`-záw-nààn-í	gíná	á	`-náá-ɣày	dàbdá-yò.	//
	justHA	1S	SBJ-bring-ITV-3P	before	3S	SBJ-give-1S	cloth-PL
	‘that I should bring them before she would give me clothes.’

 

dàbdá-yò. From dàbdè-´yo; the form in isolation of the noun is dábdè (< dâbdè).

 

[26]	ɣá-ǹ	sèèrááyḁ̀n	ńgì-qí	ì	táẓàɣàm	ì	kwáy	ìnhì̥.”	//
	1S-GEN	friends	3P-all	3P	groom	3P	go	away
	‘My friends have all groomed and gone away.”’

 

sèèrááyḁ̀ⁿ. This is a plural of the originally Songhay word sèèrây. It is one of the few instances where a Tuareg plural formation is applied to an originally Songhay word (cf. Kossmann 2007, Sidibé 2010a).

 

ńgì-qí. From íngì-qá with vowel coalescence.

 

ìⁿhì̥. The exact meaning of the particle is unknown, but in the text it always occurs in contexts involving movement away from the speaker. In a number of cases in the text it is used in combination with a pronoun which denotes the person(s) going away.

 

[27]

á

sìn

á-sì̥:

“tò,

ɣáy

dà

márdà

ní

gùn

ɣá-ǹn

3S

say

3S-DAT

wellHA

1S

TOP

nowTU

2S

see

1S-GEN

ízà-yó̥

ì

qwáq.

//

child-PL

3P

dry

‘He said to her: “Well, as for me now, you see, my fruits are dry.’

 

tò. From Hausa tô ‘well’.

 

[28]	sáy	nì	kwáy	nì	záw-kà	ɣày-sí	//
	justHA	2S	go	2S	bring-VNT	1S-DAT
	‘You just go and bring me’

 

[29]	[hà]	hááwí	ǹ	kàkká-ɣòò-yó̥	ṭáàyó̥.”	//
	[???]	cow	GEN	excrement-PRX-PL	humid
	‘fresh cow dung.”’

 

kàkká-ɣòò-yó̥ ṭáàyó̥. In elicitation, Mrs. Ibrahim would only accept the plural marker -^Hyo in NP-final position. This sentence goes against this, as did her interpretation of the sentence when transcribing the story, which was kàkká-yà-ɣó ṭààyá-yò. The form ṭáàyó̥ maybe represents a shortening of ṭààyá-yò (< ṭààyó-´yo), although the exact way this would lead to [ṭáàyó̥] eludes me. One way to understand a double occurrence of -^Hyo is interpreting the sentence as a relative clause, i.e. ‘excrements that are humid’, as in the parallel line 47.

 

[30]	šííkèènán,	à	kwáy-kà	hááwí	dà,
	okHA	3S	go-VNT	cow	toward
	‘That’s it, she went to the cow,’

 

šííkèènáⁿ. Hausa shii kèè nan ‘OK, that’s it, that’s fine’ (Newman 2007:186).

 

[31]	hááwí	íngà	dà	gá	à	té,	//	á-ǹ	kàkká-yò	ì	qwáq.
	cow	3S	TOP	when	3S	arrive		3S-GEN	excrement-PL	3P	dry
	‘when she came to the cow, her dung was dry.’

 

hááwí íngà dà gá à té. Note the topicalisation of the prepositional phrase at a position before the subordinator gá.

 

[32]	sáy	á	sìn:	“hááwí,	hááwí,	ní	dà	dáɣḁ̀	ɣáy	tè̥.”	//
	justHA	3S	say	cow	cow	2S	TOP	toward	1S	arrive
	‘And she said: “Cow, cow I have come to you.”’

 

[33]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ɣá-ǹn	ízè,	mìsín	nì	bá?”	//
	3S	say	3S-DAT	1S-GEN	child	what	2S	want
	‘He said: “What do you want, my child?”’

 

[34]	“ní-ǹ	kàká	ṭààyá-yòò	ɣày	báɣò̥,	ɣá-ǹ	nàànà	fùmbá	á	sìn(í)
	2S-GEN	excrement	humid-PL	1S	want	1S-GEN	mother	stinking	3S	say
	‘“I want your fresh dung, my stepmother said’

 

nàànà fùmbá from nàànà fùmbó lit. ‘stinking mother’. This is the common expression for ‘stepmother’ in Songhay, e.g. Zarma nya fumbu ‘stepmother’ (Bernard & White-Kaba 1994:108); Timbuktu ñaa fumbo (Heath 1998a:93), Tadaksahak naná fumbú (Christiansen 2010:312).

 

[35]	à	sí̥-b-kwáy-náá-ɣày	dàbdá-yò,	sáy	ní	//
	3S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-give-1S	cloth-PL	justHA	2S
	‘she will not give me clothes, except if you…’

 

sáy ní. One of the few false starts in the story telling.

 

[36]	sáy	ɣáy	záw-nàn	bóóráy,
	justHA	1S	bring-ITV	tree.spHA
	‘except if I bring bóóráy,’

 

[37]	bóóráy	íngà	dà	sín,	à	sí̥-k-kwáy-náá-ɣày	á-ǹn	ízà-yó̥
	tree.spHA	3S	TOP	say	3S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-give-1S	3S-GEN	child-PL
	‘and the bóóráy said it will not give me its fruits’

 

[38]	sáy	ɣáy	záw-nḁ̀n	á-sì̥	kàkká-yò̥.”	//
	justHA	1S	bring-there	3S-DAT	excrement-PL
	‘except if I bring there dung.”’

 

[39]

sáy

hááwí

sìní̥:

“tó,

ɣáy

dà

márdà

héèrè

à

bárà

//

justHA

cow

say

wellHA

1S

TOP

nowTU

hunger

3S

be.in

‘And the cow said: “Well, as for me, I am hungry now,’

 

ɣáy dà márdà héèrè à bárà. Topicalization of the Direct Object ɣay. Without topicalization the expression is héèrè à bárà-ɣáy.

 

[40]	sáy	ní	m̀-kwáy	ní	m̀-záw-kà	ɣáy-sì	//	súùbù	dá,	//
	justHA	2S	SBJ-go	2S	SBJ-bring-VNT	1S-DAT		grass	TOP
	‘so you should go and bring me grass,’

 

[41]	àṃṃáá	kúmá	súùbù	á-ɣ(ò)	fìrízì,	ǹdá	nì̥-sí	mì-zí	//
	butHA	alsoHA	grass	3S-PRX	green,	if	NEG:PRF-be	this-ANP
	‘but for the green grass, if it is not like that,’

 

àṃṃáá kúmá. Hausa àmmaa ‘but’ and kuma ‘also, likewise’.

 

súùbù á-ɣ(ò) fìrízì. Relative clause, lit. ‘grass that is green’.

 

nì̥-sí. The Low tone on the marker of the Negative Perfective is unexpected.

 

[42]	ɣá	sí̥-k-kwáy-náá-nàn	kàká-yò̥.”	//
	1S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-give-ITV	excrement-PL
	‘I will not give (you) the dung.”’

 

[43]	šííkèènán,	sáy	à	kwáy-kàt,
	okHA	justHA	3S	go-VNT
	‘Ok, she went,’

 

[44]	gá	à	té	dà	átàkḁ̀s	ńgà-qáá	súùbù	à	qwáq.	//
	when	3S	arrive	TOP	plainTU	3S-all	grass	3S	dry
	‘and when she arrived, (in) the entire plain the grass was dry.’

 

[45]	á	sìní:	“átàkàs,	átàkàs,	níí	dà	dáɣà	ɣáy	tè.”	//
	3S	say	plainTU	plainTU	2S	TOP	toward	1S	arrive
	‘She said: “Plain, plain, I have come to you.”’

 

ɣáy tè. The tone is unexpected, as normally underlying tê surfaces as té. A possible interpretation is that the subject pronoun ɣáy does not have polar tone here and that, according to regular tone rules, ɣáy tê is simplified to ɣáy tè.

 

[46]	átàkàs	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ɣá-ǹn	ízè,	mì̥sín	ní	bà?”	//
	plainTU	say	3S-DAT	1S-GEN	child	what	2S	want
	‘The plain said: “My child, what do you want?”’

 

ní bà. The low tone on bà is unexpected. Normally the short form of báɣò surfaces as bá. A possible interpretation is that ní does not have polar tone in this case, and that bá is underlyingly bâ, so that ní bâ would become ní bà. The phrase occurs several other times in the story and seems to vaccillate between nì bá and ní bà.

 

[47]	“súùbù,	súùbù	ɣáy	báà,	súùbù-ɣá	ṭààyó.	//
	grass	grass	1S	want	grass-PRX	humid
	‘“Grass, grass I want, fresh grass,’

 

báà. Allegro form of báɣò.

 

súùbù-ɣá ṭààyó. Relative clause. The sentence given by Mrs Ibrahim when transcribing the text has a slightly different relative construction súùbù ɣáy báɣò à-ɣá ṭààyó.

 

[48]	ɣá	m̀-zááw-à	hááwí-sì,
	1S	SBJ-bring-3S	cow-DAT
	‘I should bring it to the cow,’

 

[49]	á	m̀-náá-ɣày	//	á-ǹ	kàká-yà-ɣó	ṭààyá-yòò,	//
	3S	SBJ-give-1S		3S-GEN	excrement-PL-PRX	humid-PL
	‘and she will give me her fresh dung’

 

á-^ǹ kàká-yà-ɣó ṭààyá-yòò. Relative clause, lit. ‘the excrements that are fresh’.

 

[50]	ɣá	m̀-zááw-ì	bóóráy-sì̥,	á	m̀-náá-ɣày	á-ǹn	ízà-yó̥.”	//
	1S	SBJ-bring-3P	tree.spHA-DAT	3S	SBJ-give-1S	3S-GEN	child-PL
	‘and I will bring it to the bóóráy tree so it will give me its fruits.”’

 

[51]	á	sìn:	“tó	//	márdà	ɣáy	dà	áárì	ɣày	bá,
	3S	say	wellHA		nowTU	1S	TOP	water	1S	want
	‘It said: “Well, now, I need water,’

 

[52]	ní	gùn	fát	à	bárà-ɣáy,	ɣày	qwáq.”	//
	2S	see	thirstTU	3S	be.in-1S	1S	dry
	‘you see I am thirsty, I am dry.”’

 

gùn. Shortened form of gùná.

 

[53]	šííkèènán,	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	//	“sáy	ní	m̀-húr-kà	áárì.”	//
	okHA	3S	say	3S-DAT		justHA	2S	SBJ-search-VNT	water
	‘That’s it, it said: “You should search for water.”’

 

húr-kà. The verb húr means ‘to enter’. In combination with the ventive suffix kà(té), it has an additional meaning ‘to search’.

 

áárì. This is the only Songhay-based plurale tantum noun that I have been able to identify, cf. áárì-ɣó ɣá b-wááṣ-ì ‘this water, I boil it (lit. them)’. No doubt its inherent plurality is a calque on the Tuareg plurale tantum aṃan ‘water’.

 

[54]	wày	kíṭṭá	Kwàṛnóónò	kwáy	//	sáy	à	sín:
	woman	small	Kornono	go		justHA	3S	say
	‘The girl Kornono went and said:’

 

[55]	“ɣá-ǹ	kwày,	ɣá-ǹ	kwày	ní	dà	dáɣò	ɣáy	tè.”	//
	1S-GEN	master	1S-GEN	master	2S	TOP	toward	1S	arrive
	‘“My Lord, my Lord, I have come to you.”’

 

[56]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ɣá-ǹn	ízè,	mìsín	nì	bá?”
	3S	say	3S-DAT	1S-GEN	child	what	2S	want
	‘He said: “My child, what do you want?”’

 

[57]	sìn	á-sì̥:	“áárì,	áárì	ɣày	báɣò,	áárì.”	//
	(3S?) say	3S-DAT	water	water	1S	want	water
	‘She said: “Water, water I want, water.”’

 

[58]	“ní	m̀-dán	mìsín?”	á	sìní	//
	2S	SBJ-do	what	3S	say
	‘“What are you going to do?”, He said.’

 

ní m̀-dáⁿ mìsíⁿ? When transcribing, the following equivalent was given: mìsín ní k^wáy-dán ǹdá áárì ‘what will you do with the water’.

 

[59]	“átàkàs	m̀-nín	á	m̀-kúmá	m̀-náá-ɣày	sùùbù	fìrízì.”	//
	plainTU	SBJ-drink	3S	SBJ-find	SBJ-give-1S	grass	green
	‘“The plain may drink in order to give me green grass .”’

 

á m̀-kúmá ^m̀-náá-ɣày. The presence of the second ^m̀ in this construction is not certain; the nasal­ization could also be due to the consonantal environment, while the Low tone is only audible (when present at all) by a very subtle downstep on náá. Mrs. Ibrahim translated á m̀-kúmá here as ‘so that’.

 

sùùbù fìrízì. The all-Low form of súùbù is used because it is followed by an adjective.

 

[60]	šííkèènán,	sìrìngí	kár,	sìrìngí	kár:	//	áárì.	//
	okHA	rain	beat	rain	beat		water
	‘That’s it, rain fell, rain fell: water.’

 

[61]	átàkàs	nín	áárì,	//	ááfàẓò	hún-kàt	à-ɣá	fìrízì,
	plainTU	drink	water		panicum.turgidumTU	go.out-VNT	3S-PRX	green
	‘The plain drank water, fresh afaẓo-grass came up,’

 

ááfàẓò hún-kàt à-ɣá fìrízì. Relative clause, lit.: ‘afaẓo-grass came up that was green’.

 

[62]	à	záw-kàt-á[h]	//	hááwí-sì.	//
	3S	bring-VNT-3S		cow-DAT
	‘she brought it to the cow.’

 

[63]	hááwí	wá,	à	dán	à-sí̥	kàká-yò.
	cow	eat	3S	do	3S-DAT	excrement-PL
	‘The cow ate and gave her the dung.’

 

[64]	à	kwáy	à	zááw-à	bóóráy-sì,	bóóráy	ná	à-sí̥	ízà-yó̥.	//
	3S	go	3S	bring-3S	tree.spHA-DAT	tree.spHA	give	3S-DAT	child-PL
	‘She went and brought it to the bóóráy tree, and the bóóráy tree gave her its fruits.’

 

[65]	gá	à	té	yâddà	sáy	//	á-ǹ	nàànà	fùmbó	sìn	á-sì̥
	when	3S	arrive	still	justHA		3S-GEN	mother	stinking	say	3S-DAT
	‘When she came back again, her stepmother said:’

 

[66]	“íngà	sí̥-k-kwáy-náá-nì	//	dàbdá-yò̥.	//
	3S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-give-2S		cloth-PL
	‘I will not give you the clothes.’

 

íngà sí̥-k-k^wáy-náá-nì. Lit. ‘she will not give you clothes’; the construction is halfway direct and indirect speech.

 

[67]	sáy	ǹdá	ní̥	m̀-kwáy	ní-nhì	mì-zí	dà.”	//
	justHA	with	2S	SBJ-go	2S-away	this-ANP	TOP
	‘You just go there like that (scil. in your old clothes).’

 

[68]	wày	káyná	íngì-qá	ì	táẓàɣàm	ì	kwáy	háṛ	ǹ	dáɣò̥.	//
	woman	small	3P-all	3P	groom	3P	go	playing	GEN	place
	‘The girls had all groomed themselves and gone somewhere to play.’

 

háṛ ǹ dáɣò̥. Lit. ‘(to) the place of playing’.

 

[69]	[laughs]	íngì-qá	ì	táẓàɣàm	ì	kwáy	háṛ	ìn	dá.
		3P-all	3P	groom	3P	go	playing	GEN	place
	‘They had all groomed themselves and gone somewhere to play.’

 

[70]	sáy	íngà-fóó	dà,	b-zídà	zídà	zídà	ṭáṛṛày	gá,
	justHA	3S-one	TOP	IMPF-walk	walk	walk	roadTU	in
	‘Only she alone walked and walked and walked on the road,’

 

[71]	sáy	á	gàr-kḁ̀	//	á	kùbáy	ǹdá	àfóó-yò̥,
	justHA	3S	find-VNT		3S	meet	with	one-PL
	‘and she found, she met some people,’

 

àfóó-yò̥. Plural of àfó ‘one’.

 

[72]

sáy

í

sìn

á-sì̥:

“wày

káyná

//

nì

báɣò

hááwí

ǹ

gí?”

justHA

3P

say

3S-DAT

woman

small

2S

want

cow

GEN

grease

‘and they said to her: “Girl, do you want cow’s grease?”’,

 

[73]	á	sìn:	“mìsín	gá	kwáy-dán	ǹdá	hááwí	ǹ	gí,
	3S	say	what	in	FUTI-do	with	cow	GEN	grease
	she said: “what shall (I) do with cow’s grease,’

 

[74]	ɣáy	ɣà	k-kwáy	gìngìrí	ǹ	dá.”	//
	1S	1S	IMPF-go	feast	GEN	place
	‘I, I am going to a feast.”’

 

[75]	í	sìn	á-sì̥:	“tó,	šííkèènán,	írì,	ír	kwáy	írì-nhì̥.”	//
	3P	say	3S-DAT	wellHA	okHA	1P	1P	go	1P-away
	‘They said: “That’s ok, we, we go away”’

 

[76]	à	kwáy,	à	kwáy,	à	kwáy	ṭáṛṛày	gá.
	3S	go	3S	go	3S	go	roadTU	in
	‘She went and went and went on the road’

 

[77]	sáy	á	gàr-kḁ̀té	wày-fó	//
	justHA	3S	find-VNT	woman-one
	‘and found a woman,’

 

[78]	á-ǹ	sèè-fó	bárà	Mákkà,	àffó	bárà	Màdíínà.
	3S-GEN	foot-one	be.in	MeccaAR	one	be.in	MedinaAR
	‘who had one foot in Mecca and one in Medina.’

 

[79]	sáy	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	//	“wày	zòònó,	//	ɣá-ǹ	káákà,
	justHA	3S	say	3S-DAT		woman	old		1S-GEN	grandmother
	‘She said: “Old lady, my grandmother,’

 

[80]	ní̥	m̀-zákàt	ní̥-ǹ	sóò-yó,	ɣá	m̀-yóókḁ̀y̥.”	//
	2S	SBJ-pull	2S-GEN	leg-PL	1S	SBJ-passTU
	‘pull together your legs so that I can pass.”’

 

sóò-yó. Irregular plural of sè.

 

[81]	(á)	sìná	à-sí:	“báybò.	//	ɣà	sí̥-k-kwáy-zákàt	ɣá-ǹ	sóò-yó	//
	(3S)	say	3S-DAT	noTU		1S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-pull	1S-GEN	leg-PL
	‘She said: “No. I will not pull together my legs,’

 

[82]	sáy	ǹdá	ní	m̀-dáq	ṭánzì	//	ní	m̀-fúr	ɣá-ǹ	sè.
	justHA	if	2S	SBJ-take	stone		2S	SBJ-throw	1S-GEN	leg
	‘except if you take the stone and throw it (on) my leg.’

 

[83]

méédḁ̀,

méédà

ní

m̀

//

yán

ɣá-ǹ

sè̥

hááwí

ǹ

gí̥.”

//

orTU

orTU

2S

SBJ

smear.oil

1S-GEN

leg

cow

GEN

grease

‘Or, or if you rub my leg with cow’s grease.”’

 

[84]	sáy	à	yḁ́k-kàt	á	b-zùrú	b-zùrú	b-zùrú,	//
	justHA	3S	return-VNT	3S	IMPF-run	IMPF-run	IMPF-run
	‘And she went back running running running,’

 

yḁ́k-kàt. Assimilated form from yát-kàt(é) ‘to go back (hither)’.

 

[85]	à	tê	à	gár-kàté	[xxx]	//
	3S	arrive	3S	find-VNT	[xxx]
	‘she came and found’

 

[86]	sááɣàt	à-ɣóó-yò	nḁ́	à-sí	//	hááwí	ǹ	gí.
	boy	3S-PRX-PL	give	3S-DAT		cow	GEN	grease
	‘the boys that had given her the cow’s grease.’

 

sááɣàt à-ɣóó-yò nḁ́ à-sí. Relative clause.

 

[87]	á	sìn	á-sì̥	“índì	m̀-náá-ɣày	hááwí	ǹ	gí.”
	3S	say	3S-DAT	2P	SBJ-give-1S	cow	GEN	grease
	‘She said to them: “You should give me cow’s grease.”’

 

[88]	í	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ír	sí-b-n-à	áy	márdà,
	3P	say	3S-DAT	1P	NEG-IMPF-give-3S	???	nowTU
	‘They said: “We will not give it now,’

 

ír sí-b-n-à. Probably deriving from ír sí-b-ná-à > ír sí-b-n-â > ír sí-b-n-à.

 

[89]	gá	ír	náá	nì̥-sí̥	ní	sìn	ní	sí̥-b-kùlḁ́.”	//
	when	1P	give	2S-DAT	2S	say	2S	NEG-IMPF-want
	‘when we gave (it) to you, you said you did not want (it).”’

 

kùlá. The verb is only used in negated sentences.

 

[90]	á	sìn:	“báybò,	wà	ẓáyḍàṛ	[xxx]”	//
	3S	say	noTU	IMPT:P	be.patientTU	[xxx]
	‘She said: “No, have patience (with me).”’

 

[91]	sáy	ì	ná	à-sí̥.	//
	justHA	3P	give	3S-DAT
	‘And they gave (it) to her.’

 

[92]	gá	à	té	sáy	à	yán	wày	zòòná-sì̥,
	when	3S	arrive	justHA	3S	smear.oil	woman	old-DAT
	‘When she came she rubbed the old woman,’

 

[93]	sáy	wày	zòòná	ǹ	sóò-yó	kírmù̥mì̥.	//
	justHA	woman	old	GEN	leg-PL	crouchTU
	‘and the legs of the old woman crouched together.’

 

[94]	à	kúṃṃá	ṭáṛṛày,	à	yóókày,	//
	3S	find	roadTU	3S	passTU
	‘She found a road, she passed,’

 

[95]	à	kwáy	à	kwáy	à	kwáy-kwáy	zààmá	//	à	máṛ	//
	3S	go	3S	go	3S	FUTI-go	then		3S	be.far
	‘she went and went and went going and then - it was far - ’

 

[96]	sáy	wày	zòònó̥	á	sìn	à-sí̥:	“kúmá	héé	wày	kíṭṭá!”	//
	justHA	woman	old	3S	say	3S-DAT	likewiseHA	hey	woman	small
	‘and the old woman said: “Hey, girl!”’.

 

[97]	sáy	à	yák-kàté.
	justHA	3S	return-VNT
	‘And she came back.’

 

[98]	gá	à	té	sáy	wày	zòòn(ó)	á	sì̥n	á-sì̥	//
	when	3S	arrive	justHA	woman	old	3S	say	3S-DAT
	‘When she had come the old woman said,’

 

[99]	[wàn,	àhà],	wày	zòònó	káw-kàt	hàyní	ǹ	tàdáqqàq,
	???	???	woman	old	take.out-VNT	millet	GEN	grainTU
	‘[???], the old woman took out a grain of millet’

 

hàyní. The isolated form is hâynì. The high tone on the second syllable is due to attachment of the floating high tone of the genitival adposition ^Hǹ.

 

[100]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ɣá-ǹ	hàyní	ǹ	mìn-zí	né,
	3S	say	3S-DAT	1S-GEN	millet	GEN	thing-ANP	here
	‘and said: “This thing of millet of mine,’

 

mìⁿ-zí. The exact meaning of this phrase is unknown; it seem to be different from mì-zí ‘like that’.

 

né. The element né normally means ‘here’. While transcribing, Mrs. Ibrahim paraphrased ɣá ǹ hàynì né as ‘voici mon mil’, with a Hausa-like interpretation of ne.

 

[101]	ní	m̀-dút-[à]	ɣḁ́-sì̥.”	//
	2S	SBJ-pound-[3S]	1S-DAT
	‘you should pound it for me.”’

 

[102]	[yá]	à	dán	hàyní	ǹ	tàdáqqàq	hâmbùrù	kú̥n	//
	[???]	3S	do	millet	GEN	grainTU	mortar	in
	‘She put the grain of millet in the mortar.’

 

[103]	gá	à	kár	dà	sáy	hâmbùrù	ṭán.
	when	3S	beat	TOP	justHA	mortar	be.full
	‘When she beat it the mortar became full.’

 

[104]	à	sínfìk-kàt-á,	à	yístàb-á	à	hímày-ḁ́	//
	3S	take.out-VNT-3S	3S	siftTU-3S	3S	wash-3S
	‘She took it out, she sifted it, she washed it.’

 

[105]	à	báṛàq-qàt-á	à	[h]	dán	áálìwà.
	3S	grind-VNT-3S	3S		make	millet.drinkTU
	‘She ground it and made áálìwà.’

 

báṛàq-qàt < báṛàq-kàt(é).

 

áálìwà is a drink based on water or milk and millet.

 

[106]	zàmá	à	kwáy	à	kwáy	à	kwáy,
	then	3S	go	3S	go	3S	go
	‘Then she just went and went and went’,

 

[107]	gá	wày		zòònó	sìn	á-sì̥:	“kúmá	héé,	wày	kíṭṭá!	//
	when	woman		old	say	3S-DAT	likewiseHA	hey	woman	small
	áyàw”		//
	comeTU
	‘when the old woman said: “Hey, girl! Come!”’

 

[108]	à	yák-kátè̥	//	gá	à	té	sáy	//	wày	kíṭṭá	//
	3S	return-VNT		when	3S	arrive	justHA		woman	small
	‘She returned; when she came, the girl,’

 

[109]	[zìní]	à	káw-kàt	[á-ǹn]	á-ǹn	éésàn	[á-ǹ]	í-ǹ	zííbì
	[take]	3S	take.off-VNT	[3S-GEN]	3S-GEN	toothTU	[3S-GEN]	3P-GEN	filth
	‘she took some filth of her tooth’

 

This sentence has a number of false starts and hesitations, untypical for most of the performance.

 

[110]	á	sìn	á-sì:
	3S	say	3S-DAT
	‘and said:’

 

[111]	“zìní̥,	dáán-à	//	kîlwà	kún	ní	m̀-zààná.”
	take	do-3S		gourd	in	2S	SBJ-churn
	‘“Take, put it in the gourd and churn.”’

 

[112]	íngà	wày	kíṭṭá	zààná	zààná	zààná,	kîlwà	ṭán	ǹdá	hùwá.	//
	3S	woman	small	churn	churn	churn	gourd	be.full	with	milk
	‘The girl churned and churned and churned and the gourd became full of milk.’

 

[113]	ì	nín	áálìwà,	zààmá	à	kwáy	yâddá.	//
	3P	drink	millet.drinkTU	then	3S	go	still
	‘They drank áálìwà, and then she went again.’

 

[114]	sáy	gá	à	máṛ,	yâddá	gá	wày	zòònó	yâddá	sááw-à,
	justHA	when	3S	be.far	still	when	woman	old	still	call-3S
	‘And when she had gone far, the old woman called her again,’

 

[115]	sìn	á-sì̥:	“áyàw	//	wây	mán	íǹ	dáà	nì	b-kwáy?”
	say	3S-DAT	comeTU		woman	what	GEN	place	2S	IMPF-go
	‘and said: “Come, woman where are you going?”

 

[116]	á	sìn	á-sì:	//	“gíngírí-fó	ǹ	dá	ɣà	k-kwáy-kwáy,
	3S	say	3S-DAT		feast-one	GEN	place	1S	IMPF-FUTI-go
	‘She said: “I am going to a feast,’

 

[117]	ɣá-ǹ	sèèrááyàn	ńgì-qí	ì	háw	dàbdè	táágí-yò,	//
	1S-GEN	friends	3P-all	3P	wear	cloth	new-PL
	‘all my friends wear new clothes.’

 

ńgì-qí < ńgì-qá.

 

[118]	ɣáy	à-gá	ɣá-ǹ	nàànà	ssí,	ɣá-ǹ	nàànà	fùmbó	gàngá-ɣày.”	//
	1S	3S-on	1S-GEN	mother	not.be	1S-GEN	mother	stinking	refuse-1S
	‘I, because I don’t have a mother, my stepmother refused (to give some to) me.”’

 

à-gá. ‘on it’ used in the meaning ‘because’.

 

[119]

á

sìn

á-sì̥:

“tó,

à

ní-sí̥

hà-qqá

à

sí,

ní

m̀-té.”

//

3S

say

3S-DAT

wellHA

3S

NEG:PRF-be

thing-all

3S

be

2S

SBJ-arrive

‘She said: “Well, that’s nothing, come.”’

 

à ní-sí hà-qá à sí. Emphatic construction: ‘it is not a thing (that) it is’.

 

[120]	wày	zòònó	góón-à,	à	káw-kàt-á[h]	dàbdà	táágí-yò.	//
	woman	old	swallow-3S	3S	take.off-VNT-3S	cloth	new-PL
	‘The old woman swallowed her, she took her out (with) new clothes.’

 

góón-à. Lengthened form of g^wáṇ before a vowel-initial direct object clitic.

 

dàbdà < dàbdè.

 

[121]

à

kwáy

à

kwáy

à

kwáy

yâddá

wày

zòònó

yâddá

sááw-à

//

3S

go

3S

go

3S

go

still

woman

old

still

call-3S

‘She went and went and went again and the old woman called her again.’

 

[122]	à	yâddá	tè	//	à	yâddá	góón-à	//
	3S	still	arrive		3S	still	swallow-3S
	‘She came again, she swallowed her again,’

 

[123]	à	káw-kàt-á	//	ǹd(á)	á-ǹn	ìṛákkàànàn.
	3S	take.off-VNT-3S		with	3S-GEN	ragsTU
	‘she took her out with her rags.’

 

[124]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“tó	márdà,	gíngírì-ɣá	ǹ	dáà	nì	kwáy,
	3S	say	3S-DAT	wellHA	nowTU	feast-PRX	GEN	place	2S	go
	‘She said: “Well now, at the place of this feast where you go,’

 

gíngírì-ɣá < gíngírí `ɣo.

 

gíngírì-ɣá ǹ dáà nì k^wáy. Relative clause without a relative marker (see Kossmann 2010a).

 

[125]	àssàbí	nì-báy	á-m̀	màn?”
	boyAR	2S-know	3S-GEN	name
	‘do you know the name of the boy?”’

 

[126]	á	sìn	á-sì:	“báybò.”	//
	3S	say	3S-DAT	noTU
	‘She said: “No.”’

 

[127]	tó	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ǹdá	nì	téé-nàn	ní	m̀-yát	àláqqḁ̀m̥.	//
	wellHA	3S	say	3S-DAT	with	2S	arrive-ITV	2S	SBJ-return	behindTU
	‘Well she said: “When you arrive there come last,’

 

[128]	ní	m̀-gì̥sí	ní-ǹ	sèèrááyàn	íngì-qá	hár	í	m̀-yóókày.
	2S	SBJ-leave	2S-GEN	friends	3P-all	until	3P	SBJ-passTU
	‘let all your friends pass first (lit. you should leave all your friends until they may pass),’

 

[129]	àssàbí	á-m̀	màn	Àskàndàríí	nà	Háwwà	Àskàndàrí,
	boyAR	3S-GEN	name	AlexanderAR	ofHA	EveAR	AlexanderAR
	‘The boy’s name is Alexander son of Eve,’

 

Àskàndàríí nà Háwwà Àskàndàrí, Àskàndàrí nà Háwà mày nábúúsà. The entire phrase has a song-like intonation.

 

Àskàndàríí nà Háwà. Expression using the Hausa genitive linker; the use of a genitival construction for descent is well-known in Hausa, cf. Newman 2000:350.

 

[130]	Àskàndàrí	nà	Háwà	mày	nábúúsà.
	AlexanderAR	ofHA	EveAR	haveHA?	whistle
	‘Alexander son of Eve with the whistle.’

 

mày nàbúúsà. The construction of this part of the name is rather Hausa than Tasawaq. In Hausa, an element mày is used to form modifier expressions with a noun (translatable, among others, as ‘the one having’) (Newman 2000:323ff.). Tasawaq, on the other hand, has a verb mày ‘to possess, to have’, e.g. ɣáy mày húgù ‘I own a house’ ; gíírí màrgé ní-mày? ‘how old are you (lit. how many years do you have)’. The similarity to the Hausa element is no doubt accidental: a verb mày, mey is well-attested in other Songhay languages, and is found well outside the area of Hausa influence (e.g. in Djenné, Heath 1998b:148). Notwithstanding, some mày constructions in Tasawaq may be calqued on Hausa, such as áàrù mày gáábì ‘a strong man (lit. a man having strength)’, cf. Hausa mài ƙarfii ‘strong (lit. having strength)’. In the expression mày nábúúsà, a Hausa(-like) construction seems to be found. As far as I can see, nábúúsà ‘whistle(s)’ does not occur in Hausa, which would make the full name a blend of Hausa and Tasawaq materials. The term nábúúsà was translated into French by Mrs. Ibrahim as ‘sifflet(s)’; her prompt translation suggests it is a current word in the language. There is, as far as I can see, no ready Songhay, Hausa or Tuareg etymology to it.

 

[131]	kúmá	ní	m̀-sí̥-háár-à	sáy	//	hândà-ɣá	àhínzà	wḁ́nè̥.”	//
	alsoHA	2S	SBJ-NEG-tell-3S	justHA		demand-PRX	three	belonging
	‘But don’t tell it until the third demand (= until he has asked the third time).”’

 

háár-à. From hár with lengthening before a vowel-initial clitic.

 

àhíⁿzà wḁ́nè̥. The normal ordinal construction consists of the cardinal numeral followed by the genitival marker wánè. The element à- constructs an independent form of the numeral. When modifying a noun, the form is híⁿzà. Alidou (1988:49) gives the same construction, but writes the genitival element n between the numeral and wánè, e.g. <à ɣó xámsà n wáné> ‘the fifth’. I do not hear nasalization on the final vowel of àhíⁿzà.

 

[132]	[nìgálmàg]	sìn	á-sì̥:	“tó.”
	[???]	say	3S-DAT	wellHA
	‘[???] She said: “Ok.”’

 

[133]	šííkèènán,	gá	à	té	dà	sáy	wày	káyná-yò̥	yóófḁ̀r̥:
	okHA	when	3S	arrive	TOP	justHA	woman	small-PL	startTU
	‘That’s it, when she came, the girls started (to say):’

 

[134]	“wàlá	írì-ɣó		táẓàɣàm	írì̥	ní-kú̥ṃá-kàt,	írì̥	ní-báy
	evenHA	1P-PRX		groom	1P	NEG:PRF-find-VNT	1P	NEG:PRF-know
	á-m̀		màn,
	3S-GEN		name
	‘“Even we who groomed ourselves we have not found, we don’t know his name,’

 

[135]	mîm	méérà	ní	//	tàmàzárgìn	wánè.	//
	???	nowTU	2S		filthy.womanTU	possessing
	‘how should you, filthy one?’

 

mîm méérà. The interpretation is unclear. The whole string was translated by Mrs. Ibrahim as ‘à plus forte raison toi’.

 

[136]	wà	zínkì̥s	néé,	báybò,	báybò,	fóò,	fóò,
	IMPT:P	moveTU	here	noTU	noTU	yuckTU	yuckTU
	‘Move (from) here, no, no, yuck, yuck,’

 

[137]	nì̥	sí̥-k-kwá(y)-gòòr(ó)	írí-ǹ	géérè	kú̥n!”	//	šííkèènán.	//
	2S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-sit	1P-GEN	half	in		okHA
	‘you should not sit in our part.” Ok.’

 

[138]	à	kwáy	ínhìn	à	yát,	tásàgḁ̀	[kút]	á	gòòró.	//
	3S	go	away	3S	return	sideTU	[???]	3S	sit
	‘She went away, she returned and sat down at the side.’

 

[139]	ì	bárà	náw,	ì	bárà	náw,	ì	bárà	náw	//
	3P	be.in	there	3P	be.in	there	3P	be.in	there
	‘They stayed there, they stayed there, they stayed there,’

 

[140]	à-ɣó	wày	káyná	yìzzááràn	yóókày.
	3S-PRX	woman	small	precedingTU	passTU
	‘the first girl passed.’

 

[141]	sáy	á	sìní:	//	“hár	ɣá-m̀	màn,	hár	ɣá-m̀	màn,
	justHA	3S	say		tell	1S-GEN	name	tell	1S-GEN	name
	‘He said: “Say my name, say my name,’

 

The entire dialogue in l. 141-147 is sung.

 

[142]	wày	kíṭṭá,	hár	ɣá-m̀	màn.	//
	woman	small	tell	1S-GEN	name
	‘girl, say my name.’

 

[143]	ǹdá	nì	ní-báy	ɣá-ǹ	màn,	n(í)	m̀-zínkìs,	ǹdá	àláqqàm.”	//
	if	2S	NEG:PRF-know	1S-GEN	name	2S	SBJ-moveTU	with	behindTU
	‘If you don’t know my name, go away to the last (place).”’

 

[144]	sìn	á-sì̥:		“ɣá	nní-báy	ní-m̀	màn,	ɣá	nní-báy
	say	3S-DAT		1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	name	1S	NEG:PRF-know
	ní-m̀		màn,
	2S-GEN		name
	‘She said: “I don’t know your name, I don’t know your name,’

 

[145]	ɣáw	wánè,	ɣá	ní-báy	ní-m̀	màn.	//
	1S	possessing	1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	know
	‘my love, I don’t know your name.’

 

[146]	ámmàà	ǹdá	ní	m̀-zín-ɣày,	//
	as.forHA	if	2S	SBJ-catch-1S
	‘But if you were to catch me’

 

zíⁿ-ɣày < zìní-ɣày. Mrs. Ibrahim explained that the phrase ‘if you were to catch me’ should be understood as ‘il faut se mettre d’accord’.

 

[147]	ní	m̀-kámbá-kḁ̀tá	ní̥-ǹ	báɣà-kwáy.”
	2S	SBJ-hold-VNT	2S-GEN	love-master
	‘then you would obtain me as your beloved.”’

 

[148]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“báybò	//	kwáy	ní-nhìn.”	//
	3S	say	3S-DAT	noTU		go	2S-away
	‘He said: “No, go away.”’

 

[149]	àffóó	húr-kà	mì-zí	dà,	mì-zí	dà,
	one	come.in-VNT	this-ANP	TOP	this-ANP	TOP
	‘The next one came in, like that, like that,’

 

[150]	sáy	gá	ì	tóó-kàt	Kwàṛnó̥ó̥nò̥	dḁ́[h].	//
	justHA	when	3P	arrive-VNT	Kornono	at
	‘until they came to Kornono’

 

[151]	sáy,	gá	à	té,	sáy,	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	//
	justHA	when	3S	arrive	justHA	3S	say	3S-DAT
	‘When she came, he said:’

 

[152]

“hár

ɣá-ǹ

màn,

hár

ɣá-ǹ

màn,

wày

kíṭṭá,

hár

ɣá-m̀

màn.

//

tell

1S-GEN

name

tell

1S-GEN

name

woman

small

tell

1S-GEN

name

‘“Say my name, say my name, girl, say my name.’

 

Line 152-155 are sung.

 

[153]	á	sìn:	“ɣá	ní-báy	ní-m̀	màn,	ɣáw	wánè,
	3S	say	1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	name	1S	possessing
	‘She said: “I don’t know your name, my love,’

 

[154]	ɣá	ní-báy	ní-m̀	màn.	//
	1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	name
	‘I don’t know your name.’

 

[155]	ámmà	ǹdá	nì	kwáy-zín-ɣày,	//	ní̥	mì-zí	dà,	ní	m̀-zín-ɣày.”
	as.forHA	if	2S	FUTI-catch-1S		2S	this-ANP	TOP	2S	SBJ-catch-1S
	‘But if you were to catch me, just like that, you should catch me”’

 

[156]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	“ɣà	sí̥-b-kwáy-zìn-ní	mì-zí	dà,	//
	3S	say	3S-DAT	1S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-take-2S	this-ANP	TOP
	‘He said: “I will not take you like that,’

 

zìn-ní < zìní-ni.

 

[157]	sáy	[dáy]	ìndá	nì̥-hár	ɣá-sì̥	ɣá-m̀	màn,
	justHA	[???]	if	2S-tell	1S-DAT	1S-GEN	name
	‘only if you tell me my name,’

 

[158]	ní	m̀-zínkì̥s	ní	m̀-kwáy	nì̥	ní̥-báy	ɣá-m̀	màn	[àyán	wkù̥].”	//
	2S	SBJ-moveTU	2S	SBJ-go	2S	NEG:PRF-know	1S-GEN	name	???	???
	‘you should move away and go, you don’t know my name [???]”.’

 

[159]	à	yâddá	yát:	“hár	ɣá-m̀	màn,	hár	ɣá-m̀	màn.”
	3S	still	return	tell	1S-GEN	name	tell	1S-GEN	name
	‘She came back again: “Say my name, say my name.”’

 

Line 159-163 are sung, but in a faster and less melodious manner than previously.

 

[160]	á	sìn	á-sì̥:	//
	3S	say	3S-DAT
	‘She said:’

 

[161]	“ɣá	ní-báy	ní-m̀	màn,	ɣá	ní-báy	ní-m̀	màn,
	1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	name	1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	name
	‘“I don’t know your name, I don’t know your name,’

 

[162]	àssàbí,	ɣá	ní-báy	ní-m̀	màn,	//
	boyAR	1S	NEG:PRF-know	2S-GEN	name
	‘boy, I don’t know your name,’

 

[163]	àmmá	ǹdá	nì	kwáy-zín-ɣày	nì	ní̥	m̀-zín-ɣày	mì-zí	dà.”	//
	as.forHA	if	2S	FUTI-catch-1S	2S	2S	SBJ-catch-1S	this-ANP	TOP
	‘But if you were to catch me, you should catch me like that.”’

 

[164]	á	sìn:	“báybò,	ɣá	sí̥-k-kwáy-zìn-ní.”
	3S	say	noTU	1S	NEG-IMPF-FUTI-take-2S
	‘He said: “No, I will not take you.”’

 

[165]	sáy	àhínz̥ḁ̀	wánè	sáy	á	sì̥n̥:	//
	justHA	three	possessing	justHA	3S	say
	‘And the third time she said:’

 

[166]	Àskàndàríí	nà	Háwwà	Àskàndàrí	//
	AlexanderAR	ofHA	EveAR	AlexanderAR
	‘Alexander son of Eve,’

 

The entire phrase 166-167 has a song-like intonation.

 

[167]	Àskàndàríí	nà	Háwwà	mày	nábúúsà.	//
	AlexanderAR	ofHA	EveAR	haveHA?	whistle
	‘Alexander son of Eve with the whistle.’

 

[168]	sílílí-yò	kùbáy	kóˀìnḁ́	//
	ululation-PL	meet	everywhereHA
	‘There was ululation everywhere,’

 

The phrase 168-169 is pronounced by the storyteller with evident delight.

 

kóˀìná. Code-switch from Hausa koo’ìnaa ‘everywhere’.

 

[169]	dáɣà-y(ó)	íngì-qá	sílílí-yò	//	dáɣà-y(ó)	íngì-qá	sílílí-yò.	//
	place-PL	3P-all	ululation-PL		place	3P-all	ululation-PL
	‘The whole place – ululation. The whole place – ululation!’

 

[170]	šííkèènán,	wày	káyná-yò̥	//	ǹdá	g(á)	à-ɣá	sìn:
	okHA	woman	small-PL		if	when	3S-PRX	say
	‘That’s it, the girls, when one said:’

 

[171]	“ɣáy	dà	kwáy-sí	sálìgá.”
	1S	TOP	FUTI-be	cesspitHA
	‘I shall be her cesspit.’

 

[172]	sáy	à-ɣá	sìn:	“ɣáy	dà	kwáy-sí	//	hímáy	ǹ	dá.”	//
	justHA	3S-PRX	say	1S	TOP	FUTI-be		washing	GEN	place
	‘another said: “I shall be her washing place.”’

 

[173]	“ɣáy	dà	kwáy-sí	sâmbú.”
	1S	TOP	FUTI-be	brazier
	‘“And I shall be her brazier.”’

 

[174]	“ɣáy	dà	kwáy-sí	ṭààmú̥.”
	1S	TOP	FUTI-be	slave.girl
	‘“And I shall be her slave girl.”’

 

[175]	íngì-qá	ì	yát.	//
	3P-all	3P	return
	‘They all went back.’

 

[176]	méérà	wày	kíṭṭá	súnfù,	šííkèènán	//	íngà	dà	à	hík.	//
	nowTU	woman	small	be.at.easeTU	okHA		3S	TOP	3S	marry
	‘Now the girl was at ease, that’s it, she married.’

 

[177]	kúrúnkú̥s, kùrùnkù̥sù̥
	[final formula of the story]HA

 

This is the Hausa closing formula ƙurunƙus! “it is off!” (Ahmad 1997:18).

 

5. References

 

Abraham, R.C. 1962. Dictionary of the Hausa language. London: University of London Press.

Ahmad, Said Babura. 1997. Narrator as interpreter. Stability and variation in Hausa tales. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.

Alidou, Ousseina. 1988. Tasawaq d’In-Gall. Esquisse linguistique d’une langue dite « mixte ». Mémoire d’Études et de Recherches, Université de Niamey (MA Thesis).

Bernard, Yves and Mary White-Kaba. 1994. Dictionnaire zarma–français. Paris: Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique.

Bernus, Edmond & Suzanne Bernus. 1972. Du sel et des dattes. Introduction à l’étude de la communauté d’In Gall et de Tegidda-n-tesemt (Études nigériennes, n^o 31). Niamey: Centre Nigérien de Recherches en Sciences Humaines.

Calame-Griaule, Geneviève. 2002. Contes tendres, contes cruels du Sahel nigérien. Paris: Gallimard.

Christiansen-Bolli, Regula. 2010. A grammar of Tadaksahak, a Northern Songhay language of Mali. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.

Heath, Jeffrey. 1998a. Dictionnaire songhay–anglais–français. Tome I. Koyra Chiini. Paris: L’Harmattan.

—. 1998b. Dictionnaire songhay–anglais–français. Tome II. Djenné Chiini. Paris: L’Harmattan.

Kossmann, Maarten. 2007. Grammatical borrowing in Tasawaq. Grammatical borrowing in cross-linguistic perspective, ed. by Yaron Matras and Jeanette Sakel 75-90. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

—. 2008. The borrowing of aspect as lexical tone: y-initial Tuareg verbs in Tasawaq (Northern Songhay). Studies in African Linguistics 36/2.151-166.

—. 2009. On genitive linking in Songhay. Afrikanistik Online. http://www.afrikanistik-online.de /archiv/2009/1740/

—. 2010a. On relative clauses in Northern Songhay: Tuareg and Songhay components. Aspects of co- and subordination – Case studies from African, Slavonic and Turkic languages, ed. by Georg Ziegel­meyer and Norbert Cyffer, 251-267. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.

—. 2010b. Parallel system borrowing: Parallel morphological systems due to the borrowing of paradigms. Diachronica 27/3.459-487.

—. 2011. Adjectives in Northern Songhay. Afrika und Übersee 90.109-132.

—. 2012. Pharyngealization and the vowel system of Tasawaq (Northern Songhay). Nordic Journal of African Studies 21/1. 21-33.

Lacroix, Pierre Francis. 1971. L’ensemble songhay-jerma : problèmes et thèmes de travail. Actes du 8e congrès international de linguistique africaine. Université d’Abidjan. Société de Linguistique d’Afrique Occidentale, 24-28 mars 1969, 87-99. Abidjan.

—. 1980. Les parlers du sous-ensemble Songhay-Zarma septentrional. Vol. I: Dictionnaire français – tasawaq; Vol. II: Dictionnaire tasawaq – français. (microfilm; not consulted)

Newman, Paul. 2000. The Hausa language. An encyclopedic reference grammar. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

—. 2007. A Hausa-English dictionary. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Nicolaï, Robert. 1979. Le songhay septentrional (études phonématiques). Bulletin de l’IFAN 41, série B/1. 304-370, 539-567, 829-866.

—. 1979-84. Sur la phonologie des langues ‘mixtes’ du songhay septentrional. Comptes rendus du GLECS 24-28. 395-412.

—. 1980. Le songhay septentrional (études prosodiques). Itinérances… en pays peul et ailleurs. Mélanges réunis à la mémoire de Pierre François Lacroix I, 261-289. Paris: Société des Africanistes.

—. 1981. Les dialectes du songhay. Contribution à l’étude des change­ments linguistiques. Paris: SELAF.

—. 1990. Parentés linguistiques (à propos du songhay). Paris: Éditions du CNRS.

Pucheu, Jacques. 1982. Contes haoussa du Niger. Paris: Karthala.

Rueck, Michael J. and Niels Christiansen. 2001. Northern Songhay Languages in Mali and Niger. A Sociolinguistic Survey. SIL International. http://www-01.sil.org/SILESR/1999/008/nsonghay.pdf.

Sidibé née Ouedraogo, Alimata. 2002. Analyse critique de quelques opinions sur l’idiome des Isawaghan : le tasawaq. Mu ƙara sani, Revue de l’Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines (Université Abdou Moumouni, Niamey) 10/1-2.185-197.

—. 2010a. Procédés de pluralisation et marques du pluriel dans une langue dite « mixte » : le tasawaq d’Ingall. Nordic Journal of African Studies 19/2.108-123.

—. 2010b. Les extensions verbales dans le tasawaq. Études Sahéliennes 4 (not consulted).

Souag, Lameen. 2012. The subclassification of Songhay and its historical implications. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 33/2.181-213.

Wolff, H. Ekkehard and Manou Ousseina Alidou. 2001. On the non-linear ancestry of Tasawaq (Niger). Or: how “mixed” can a language be? Historical language contact in Africa, special volume of Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika, ed.  by Derek Nurse, 523-574. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.