UNIT 9
Basic Sentences
-M. 1
1Ambassadeur-tuma work, employ, use
¿Y&m tumdá me bí? Do you work?
KÚlga-No, I don*t work.
M. 1
*Ambassadeur-do, make, prepare what, what kind of What do you do?
Kulga-read, study, learn, go to school, teach
student I*m a student.
-M. 1
1Ambassadeur-Ya súmà. That*s a good thing.
SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY
Mam yá diplomats. I am a diplomat.
Mam yá kóadà. I am a farmer.
Mam yá támeta. I am a mason.
Mam yá sóddaagà. I am a soldier.
Mam yá lógtodè. I am a doctor.
Mam yá kádènambá. I am a teacher.
Mam yá kóaasà. I am a merchant.
kadma
kadembiiga, -si M yá kádèmbíiga.
maana bwS
¿La yãm maanda bw£?
Áyò, m pá tiómd yé.
UNIT 9
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' v S ,
diplomate, -damba kóadà, -bà
támeta, -bá soddáagà, -sè
logtódè, *logtódàmbá kadn^samba, -damba koaasá, *koaasdbá
NEW WORDS
diplomat
farmer, planter mason
soldier, policeman
doctor; shaman, medicine man teacher
merchant, vender GENERAL NOTES
9A Aspect: Perfective: Imperfective
There are two aspects: the perfective and the imperfective. There are several perfective and several imperfective tenses. The perfective is unmarked, i.e., there is no grammatical element to indicate perfective, but it is indi
cated by the lack of the imperfective suffix. The perfective aspect indicates that at the time referred to (l) the action referred to has already been com
pleted, e.g., /A wàa me/, *He came (already)1, *He has (already) come1, or (2) the state of being referred to has already been achieved, e.g., /A yá Ámèdikel/,
!He is (already) an American*, *He has (already) become an American*.
The imperfective aspect is marked by the suffix /-d/, which occurs before the final vowels /-a/ and /-S/, and indicates that at the time referred to, the action referred to is (l) going on or continuing, e.g., /A gómdà me/, *He is talking (now)*, (2) repeated from time to time, e.g., /A zàmsdà M3c5dè/, *He studies More (from time to time)*, or *He is studying More (now)*, or (3) en
gaged in habitually, e.g., /A gómdà M<5<5dè/, *He speaks More.* Imperfective action is incompleted.
9B Present Tense: Immediate Present: Present Habitual
¿Yám tumdà me?
The present tense is marked by the imperfect suffix /-d/ plus the /-a/
suffix and indicates that something (l) is going on or in the process at the present moment of speaking, (2) is done from time to time, or (3) is done habitually, e.g., /¿Yãm tumda me?/, means not only, *What do you do regularly*, or, *What is your occupation*, but also *What are you doing?*, i.e., *What activity are you engaged in right at this moment?*
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UNIT 99C Stem Irregularity in Imperfectives.
A number of stems that now end in a vowel in the perfective apparently ended in a /-d/ at one time, and the influence of this /-d/ can still be seen in imperfectives such as the present, and also in agent nouns (Note 9E). A /-d/ at the end of a stem followed by a /-d/ suffix occurs as /t/ (Note
9D), e.g., /A wátà me/, *He is coming1, is the imperfective of the perfective /waa/, /A yítà me/, *He is leaving*, *He is coming from (somewhere)*, is the imperfective of /yíi/, and /A mótà me/, *He is building*, is the imperfective of /mee/, *build/construct of adobe*.
Verbs that end in /-s/ in the perfective have /-t/ in the imperfective, e.g., /A gétà me/ *He sees*, *He is looking*, is the imperfective of /gésà/.
9D Voiced Consonant Plus Identical Voiced Consonant.
If a suffix beginning with a voiced consonant occurs after a stem ending in the same consonant, except as given below, a single voiceless consonant occurs, i.e.,/bb/ is /p/, /dd/ is /t/, and /gg/ is /k/, e.g., /zag/ plus /-gá/
is /zaká/, *house*. The stem can be seen in the plural /zagse/ *houses*.
/wb/ or /ob/ is also /p/ after a vowel, e.g., /daw/ plus /-bá/ is /dápa/ *men*.
Some words have a plural in both a voiceless and a voiced consonant, e.g., /doogó/, *room*, has both /dotó/ and /doodo/, both meaning, *rooms*. In such
cases, there is a single vowel before the voiceless consonant, as in /dotó/, but a long or double vowel before the voiced vowel, as in /doodó/.
If a stem that ends in an /-nd/ is followed by a /-d/ suffix, both /d/*s occur, e.g., /A zínddà me/, *He is (in the act of) sitting down*. Between these two /d/*s, there is usually a [a],i.e., the second vowel in English
*sofa*.
If a stem ending in /-d/ is followed by /-damba/, either a flapped *r*
or a voiceless palatal fricative [§] plus a flapped *r* may occur.
9E Agent Nouns.
Agent nouns, i.e., actor nouns derived from verbs, also have the imper- fective suffix /-d/, e.g., /góamdà, -bà/, 'speaker*, i.e., *one who talks regularly or habitually*. The irregularities given in Note 9C are also re
flected in agent nouns, e.g., /támeta/, ’mason1, is from /mee/, ’build with adobe or mortar*. (/tám/ is from /tándo/, ’wet earth*, ’mortar*.) /támeta/
then means *one who builds with mortar or adobe*, i.e., *mason*.
UNIT 9
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Stems that end in /-s/ have the /-d/ suffix only in the plural, e.g., /koaasá/, l e n d e r 1, vs. /koaasdbá/, •venders1.
9-1A Repetition Drill Review Note 3E.
9.IB Substitution Drill Practice: Tone of
Dawa Sekù yá kádnsambá.
A tádà kádmbiis piiga.
A tádà kádndoogo.
Kadnsamb né kadembíis túmdà wúsgo.
Questions:
Practice: Tone of first syllable of verb.
You arrived.
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UNIT 9 3. ¿Dáwa Sekú tádá kádndoog bí?Ngée, a tadà kádndoogó.
4. ¿Ub túmdà wúsgo bí?
Ngée, ub túmdà wúsgo.
Comprehension Drill 2
Dáwa Kuk yá koaasa, la a ká máand bum yé. A ká tad bum yé, la a súud yá noogo.
Questions:
1. ¿Dawa Kuk yá koaas bí?
Ngée, a yá koaasà.
2. ¿La a máandà bw§?
Áyò, a ká máand bum ye 3. ¿A tádà bwS?
Áyò, a ká tád bum ué.
4. ¿A Kuk sdud yá noog bí?
Ngee, a súud yá noogo.
UNIT 10
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UNIT 10
Basic Sentences
•Dawa Tembila-kosa
súgdì
M kótà yám súgdì.
fcúmde, -a tao
dúnda, dúnna
M ká wá tumd®, taotao dúnda yé.
beg, ask, entreat pardon, excuse
I beg your pardon. Pardon/Excuse me.
work, job fast, quick today
I didn*t get to work very early today.
■Dawa Sekù-sídà
Ya sídà.
¿Ya waníT?
-Dawa kútu
weefé, *wiidí kútweefo, -dí saãmà
dá, dágl
Mam kútweef dàgè n saãml me.
truth That*s true.
Why Is that?
Tembila-lron horse bicycle
damage, hurt, injure, spoil Past tense marker (see Note 10A)
My bicycle was broken down.
nto
Nto, dé pá sáãrn yé.
-Dawa
Seku-yes, O.K.
O.K., it doesn*t matter. O.K., no harm done.