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Verb Extensions in Abo (Bantu, A42)
Clare S. Sandy
University of California, Berkeley
1. Introduction*
This paper describes the derivational verb extensions of Abo, with a particular focus on segmental
forms and the historical and comparative implications of the findings. Reflexes of Proto-Bantu
extensions in Abo are shown to be very reduced in form and integrated with the root, similar to what is
seen in Basaá, a related language. Two extensions that are not clear reflexes of Proto-Bantu extensions
are detailed: the passive, which is cognate to the Basaá passive, and the associative which seems not to
have a Basaá cognate. Finally, a phenomenon by which multiple semantically empty extensions are
stacked up in some verb forms is investigated.
The findings in this paper are based upon work with only one speaker, and should therefore be
considered preliminary. Additional work with multiple speakers will be required to confirm and clarify
the results.
In this section, background on the context and phonology of the language is given, followed by a
brief overview of the verb extensions in Abo. Section 2. contains a discussion of a vowel raising
process common to many of the extensions. In Section 3., each of the extensions are described and
exemplified in turn. Combinatorics of the extensions are discussed in Section 4., and conclusions are
given in Section 5.
1.1. Language Background
Abo [áɓò], also known as Bankon [ɓàŋkón], is classified as a Bantu A42 language (Guthrie 1953),
and is part of the Basaa group. It is most closely related to Barombi (Lombi, Rombi). Abo is spoken in
the Littoral province of Southwestern Cameroon, in western central Africa. The language has
approximately ~12,000 speakers (Lamberty 2002); many also speak Duala (A24).
The segment inventory for Abo is given in (1).1 The voiceless velar obstruent alternates
predictably with a voiced velar obstruent and a voiced velar fricative in most situations, however, all
three sounds are written distinctly here, following the practical orthography and pending additional
analysis of their phonemic status.
(1) Consonants
p
t
b, ɓ
d, l
m
n
mb
nd
f
s
w
Vowels
c [ʧ]
j [ʤ]
ny [ɲ]
nj [nʤ]
k
g, gh [ɣ]
ŋ
ŋg, ŋk
high
mid-close
mid-open
low
front
i
e
ɛ
back
u
o
ɔ
a
y [j]
Possible syllables in Abo are CV, CVV, and CVC, where C can be a consonant cluster. Allowable
consonant clusters are a stop followed by a glide (CG), a nasal followed by another consonant (NC) or
*
1
Acknowledgements: the data in this paper was elicited as part of the 2010-2011 Field Methods class at UC
Berkeley, taught by Larry Hyman, and subsequent elicitation sessions stemming from that work. Much of the
data and analysis presented in this talk represents a collaborative effort between the author, Florian Lionnet,
and Larry Hyman, so I thank them for their data and insights. Many thanks are also due to our Abo consultant,
Achille Massoma.
Where practical orthography used in this paper differs from IPA in this table, IPA is given in brackets.
an by an obstruent plus glide sequence (NCG). Closed syllables are acceptable, including word-finally.
Long vowels are only possible in monosyllabic words.
Abo has two lexical tones, low (L) and high (H). Downstep creates phonetic mid tones. There are
two tone patterns for verbs, H and L, with only a handful of exceptions. Nouns show more tone
patterns, including H, L, LH, and HL, as well as a few less common patterns. Various syntactic and
morphological processes trigger complex tone changes on words, in particular, much inflection is
effected through tone (see Hyman and Lionnet (2011) for more on this topic).
1.2. Overview of Abo Derivational Verb Morphology
The verb extensions found for Abo are the applicative, associative, causative, gerundive (aka
imperfective), passive, reciprocal, and resultative (aka stative), as shown in the table in (2). Extensions
absent from Abo are a reflexive and a reversive. A total of 249 verb roots were checked for
productivity with the extensions found. The extensions vary in productivity, and could not combine
with all verb roots. The number of verbs each extension was found to combine with is indicated in (2)
as a measure of the extension's productivity.
(2) Summary of Abo Verb Extensions2
Extension
Gloss
APPLICATIVE
'X for'
ASSOCIATIVE
'X with'
CAUSATIVE
'cause to X'
GERUNDIVE
'Xing'
PASSIVE
'be Xed'
RECIPROCAL
'X each other'
RESULTATIVE
'is/has Xed'
Form
¨ -V
-(l)a
¨ -(V)s
-ak
-(l)abɛ
-na
¨ -í/V́
# Verbs
150
212
221
138
152
unknown
200
Example (nám 'hide')
némé
námá
némés
námâk
námábɛ́
némé
The uses of the extensions listed here can overlap, and some have idiosyncratic uses. The primary
focus of the current work is on the form of these extensions, so their precise semantic and syntactic
functions are not detailed here.
We choose to analyze the final vowels in Abo verbs as part of the suffixes they appear with.
Because of the acceptability of consonant-final words in the language in general, there is no need to
posit a 'final vowel' requirement. Further, because of the tonal expression of inflection, positing final
vowels as part of the inflectional system does not seem to be the correct analysis for Abo.
2. Vowel Raising
A vowel raising process is triggered by several of the verb extensions, so the basic pattern is
described once here, and referred back to, rather than being illustrated separately for each extension.
When an extension that triggers vowel raising is added to a stem, low vowels and open mid vowels in
the resulting stem are raised (including both the root vowel and any copy vowel, if present). Close mid
vowels and high vowels exhibit no change. A schematic diagram of the raising pattern is given in (3).
Vowel raising is exemplified in (4) by the effects of the causative extension on verb roots containing
various vowels.
2
In this table, a diaeresis in the Form column indicates that the extension is a trigger for vowel raising where
applicable, a V in the Form column represents a copy vowel, and the # Verbs column gives the number of
verbs found that the extension could combine with.
(3) Raising pattern schema:
i
e
ɛ
u
o
ɔ
a
(4) Basic raising pattern, illustrated with causatives:
GLOSS
VERB
CAUSATIVE
a.
get stuck
tík
tíghís
b.
block
kéŋ
kéŋés
c.
refuse, forbid
tɛ̀w
tèwès
d.
add
ɓát
bétés
e.
wet, be
sɔ̀p
sòpòs
f.
cough
kós
kósós
g.
undress
sùm
sùmùs
Vowel raising sometimes results in homophony between verb stems, as seen in (5).
(5) bwɛ̀ 'catch, seize, arrest'
bwè 'have'
causative: bwès
causative: bwès
The raising pattern described above is quite robust, but there are a few exceptions. While most
close mid vowels do not raise, a few do, and while most open mid and low vowels do raise, a few do
not. In a previous description of Abo by Atindogbé (1996:149), all vowels raise by one step, in contrast
to the present findings. It is possible that this discrepancy is due to individual speaker or dialectal
differences.
3. Abo Verb Extensions
3.1. Causative
Abo has both a direct causative, as in (6)b., which is very productive, and an indirect causative, as
in (6)c., which may not be productive. The indirect causative is discussed further in section 3.1.3.,
below.
(6) a. jɛ́ 'eat'
b. jés 'feed (directly, as a baby)'
c. jésì 'feed (indirectly, as in 'give to eat')'
The Abo causative is clearly descended from Proto-Bantu causative *-i-/ici. Abo's direct causative is
quite similar to its Basaá cognate (¨-s); but the indirect is more different (¨-h-a/¨-s-a).
3.1.1. Direct Causative (¨ -(V)s)
In vowel-final stems (where both vowels are the same, if two are present), the causative is formed
by adding -s. In CVV roots, the vowel is shortened and -s suffixed (CVVC is not an acceptable
syllable structure in Abo3). In consonant-final stems, the causative is formed by suffixing -Vs, where
the vowel is a copy of the first root vowel. On stems of the shape CVCVC ending in -s, no additional
causative suffix is added. No examples of a causative of more than two syllables were found. It was
3
The only word which we have found that is close to this syllable shape is wâyn 'wine', clearly an English loan.
not possible to add the causative suffix to a three-syllable vowel-final stem (e.g., sɔ́sìmɛ̀ 'beg (for favor,
service)') or to a two-syllable consonant-final stem (e.g., súŋkán 'be last, late', wóŋgwán 'help'). The
causative has no effect on the tone of the verb, i.e., the causative of a H tone verb will be H and the
causative of a L tone verb will be L. The causative triggers vowel raising in monosyllabic roots and in
disyllabic roots where both vowels are the same. Examples of regular causative formation are given in
(7).
(7) Regular causatives
GLOSS
VERB
CAUSATIVE
a.
have
bwè
bwès
b.
arrive, come
lɔ̀
lòs
c.
injure (someone, something)
kwèè
kwès
d.
catch, seize, arrest
bwɛ̀ɛ̀
bwès
e.
sell
fàà
fès
f.
let someone enter, put something inside
nímí
nímís
g.
bathe
tòndò
tòndòs
h.
dig up
fúlú
fúlús
i.
refuse, forbid
tɛ̀w
tèwès
j.
add
ɓát
bétés
k.
extinguish, turn off (light)
dímís
dímís
l.
cover (transitive)
kúghús
kúghús
m.
clean (table, floor etc.)
síŋís
síŋís
In disyllabic roots containing two different vowels, total vowel harmony does not always take
place. When the first vowel is higher than the second, vowel harmony occurs. When the first vowel is
the same height or lower than the second, no vowel harmony occurs. Vowel raising can apply to each
of the vowels, but does not always apply to both.
(8) Causatives of stems containing different vowels
GLOSS
harmony
VERB
CAUSATIVE
a.
cover
búté
bútús
b.
deceive, lie
lòghà
lòghòs
no harmony
c.
remember
kɔ̀ŋgè
kòŋgès
d.
count
sɔ̀ŋsɛ̀
sɔ̀ŋsès
3.1.2. Irregularities
In some CVV roots, the vowel shortens, an extra consonant appears, and the -Vs allomorph of the
causative suffix is used. A few CV roots also gain an extra consonant and follow the consonant-final
stem pattern for causative suffixation. Examples of these two types of irregularities are given in (9). At
least some of the consonants that surface in the causative forms can be attributed to a historically lost
consonant that is present in the reconstructed form of the verb (Bastin and Schadeberg 2011). In these
cases, the reconstructed consonant is given in the last column in (9). A few monosyllabic verbs use i, in
place of a copy vowel. These may represent a more conservative form of the extension, reconstructed
as *-i-/-ici in Proto-Bantu (Schadeberg 2003).
(9) Irregular causatives
RECONSTRUCTED
GLOSS
VERB
CAUSATIVE
FINAL C
added C
a.
swallow
mɛ̀ɛ̀
mèlès
*d
b.
sleep, fall asleep
láá
lélés
*d
c.
rot
bɔ̀ɔ̀
bòlòs
*d
d.
blow
fúú
fúlús
?
e.
press, iron, grind, crush
séé
séghés
?
f.
look at, look after
táá
téghés
?
g.
wash
sɔ̀ɔ̀
sòghòs
*k
formed with -is
h.
write
cèè
cèlìs
i.
full, be
yéé
yélís
j.
feed
jés
jésís
k.
close
kwès
kwèsìs
3.1.3. Indirect Causative (-si)
The table in (10) shows all attestations of the indirect causative. The presence of a final i makes
the Abo indirect causative appear a more conservative reflex of the Proto-Bantu causative than the Abo
direct causative, since the causative is reconstructed with a high final vowel (*-i-/-ici) in Proto-Bantu
(Schadeberg 2003), which seems to have been lost in the direct causative.
(10) Indirect causatives
DIRECT
CAUSATIVE
INDIRECT
CAUSATIVE
GLOSS
VERB
a.
come
fè
b.
eat
jɛ́
jés
jésí
c.
excrete, defecate
nyɛ̀
nyès
nyɛ̀sì
d.
cry
yɛ̀
yès
yɛ̀sì
e.
full, be
yéé
yélís
yésí
fèsì
It is not clear from this limited set of examples whether vowel raising is part of the indirect
causative or not. One verb shows vowel raising while others do not. The raising in (10)b could be due
to analogy with the direct causative of this particular form, but this does not explain why it would not
happen across the board. Another possible explanation is that for the verb displaying vowel raising, the
causative is being formed on a different stem (for instance, on the direct causative or the resultative,
which each independently trigger vowel raising). A second difference between the direct and indirect
causative is seen in (10)e: the consonant that appears in the direct causative is not present in the
indirect causative. It could be that the consonant is present underlyingly but is deleted due to the
following syllable, or it may be that the indirect causative is formed on the CVV base and not on the
CVC base.
3.2. Reciprocal (-na)
The reciprocal extension creates a reciprocal verb, and can occasionally lend a special lexicalized
meaning to the base verb, as seen in (11).
(11) a. ɓá !nɔ́k wɛ́
3PL hear 2SG
'they hear you'
b. ɓá !nók-ná
3PL hear-RECIP
'they hear each other, they get along'
The Abo reciprocal is cognate to Basaá (-n-a), and to Proto-Bantu *-an. The reciprocal is often
used in combination with the associative, which may be a source of confusion between these two
forms. This could account for -n appearing in some associative forms and -l in some reciprocal forms.
The reciprocal is formed by the addition of a -na suffix, which may be added to either a vowelfinal or consonant-final stem, as shown in (12).4 Based on the limited number of examples attested, the
reciprocal does not appear to condition vowel raising on the verb. Instances where there is vowel
raising e.g., (12)b, may be due to the reciprocal being in the resultative form. The reciprocal has no
effect on the tone of the verb, i.e., the reciprocal of a H tone verb will be H and the reciprocal of a L
tone verb will be L.
(12) Reciprocals
GLOSS
VERB
RECIPROCAL
RECIPROCAL GLOSS
a.
see
nɛ́
nɛ́ná
meet
b.
hear
nɔ́k
nókná
get along (lit., hear each other)
c.
hit, beat
ɓòm
ɓòmnà, ɓòmà
hit each other
d.
go, walk
kɛ̀
kɛ̀nà
take
3.3. Associative (-(l)a)
The associative licenses the expression of an instrumental or comitative argument of the verb. The
associative is most consistently and clearly identifiable in clauses relativizing on the instrumental/
comitative argument, as in (13).
(13) pàà
í
là
mɛ́
machete CL9
REL
1SG
'the machete I cut the grass with'
kɛ́-lá
cut-ASSOC
bikáy
grass.PL
The associative can appear in other constructions, in particular in combination with other derivational
suffixes, such as the reciprocal, as in (14).
(14) ɓá
ságh-á-ná
3pl
dance-ASSOC-RECIP
'they danced together/with each other'
It can have a more general argument-adding function with idiosyncratic semantics, such as ablative, as
in (15).
4
More work is needed to determine the extent of productivity and any variation in form of this suffix.
(15) yɔ̌ŋ 'take'
yɔ̀ná 'take from'
No cognate for this associative form is present in Basaá, nor is it reconstructed in Proto-Bantu.
The associative is formed with the addition of a -(l)a suffix. Consonant-final stems normally add
-a. In the associative form of monosyllabic vowel-final roots, a consonant usually surfaces between the
root and the extension. This consonant is either underlying (similar to what was seen in the causative)
or an added -l. In disyllabic vowel-final stems, the final vowel is normally just changed to -a to form
the associative. Examples of various associatives are given in (16). Some roots irregularly take the -la
allomorph of the associative extension, and in some cases a second vowel is irregularly deleted. As
alluded to in §1.1, the /k/→[gh] change seen in (16i) is a regular intervocalic phonological process.
(16) Associatives of various stems
VERB
ASSOCIATIVE
a.
GLOSS
eat
jɛ́
jélá, jéá
C present in
causative?
no
b.
give birth
bwáá
bwélá
yes
c.
go, walk
kɛ̀
kɛ̀là, kɛ̀nà
no
d.
cut, cut away (grass)
kɛ́ɛ́
kɛ́lá
yes
e.
heat
bápsɛ́
ɓépsá
n/a
f.
call
béghé
bélá
n/a
g.
carry (on head, back, in hand)
bɛ̀ghɛ̀
bɛ̀ghà
n/a
h.
scold
kímí
kímlá
n/a
i.
dance
sák
sághá
n/a
j.
close
kwès
kwèlà
n/a
k.
buy
wàn(d)
wàndà
n/a
l.
clean (table, floor etc.)
síŋís
síŋlá
n/a
m.
extinguish, turn off (light)
dímís
dímsá
n/a
In the cases where the same consonant surfaces in the associative and in the causative, we can
presume that this consonant is underlyingly – or at least diachronically – part of the root. When an l
appears in the associative for which there is no evidence of in the causative form, we must analyze -la
as an allomorph of the associative. The l may have deleted following consonants, historically. The l
could have originated from another suffix, such as the applicative, and been reanalyzed with the final
-a as an associative.
No clear pattern has been discovered regulating when vowel raising occurs in the associative and
when it does not. Forms with raised vowels could be due to analogy on the other forms, or due to the
combination of two forms. The associative has no effect on the tone of the verb, i.e., the associative of
a H tone verb will be H and the associative of a L tone verb will be L.
3.4. Passive (-(l)abɛ)
The passive extension in Abo causes a patient to be promoted to subject, as in (17). An agent may
be optionally expressed in an oblique.
(17) bɛ́t
→
'to rise'
à bɛ́t-ábɛ́
'it was brought up (e.g., upstairs)'
The passive shows semantic and functional overlap with the resultative (stative) form. The passive
may be used in (at least) the simple present and past tenses. The Abo passive is cognate to Basaá (¨-a,
¨-b-a). The passive does not appear to be a reflex of a reconstructed Proto-Bantu extension but a
similar form, a passive with the shape *-(a)b(e), is reconstructed for zones A and B. The Abo passive
reflects the form of the middles that Bostoen and Nzang-Bie (2010) claim developed into passives in
Bantu A70 languages by stacking of the middle + associative/reciprocal extensions.
In monosyllabic vowel-final roots, the passive is formed by the addition of a -labɛ suffix. In
polysyllabic vowel-final roots, on the other hand, the final vowel is truncated, and an -abɛ suffix is
added. Consonant-final roots take the -abɛ suffix. The regular /k/→[gh] alternation can be seen in
(16e). As in (16m) above, the second vowel of dímís 'extinguish' is deleted in this form; presumably
this is a frozen causative which may explain the unexpected behavior of the vowel. Examples of
regular passives are given in (18).
VERB
PASSIVE
a.
GLOSS
catch, seize, arrest
bwɛ̀
bwɛ̀lábɛ́
b.
eat
jɛ́
jɛ́lábɛ́
c.
write
cèè
cèlábɛ́
d.
say
kàà
kàlábɛ́
e.
break (something hard, e.g. wood, glass) ɓók
f.
bless
nàm
nàmábɛ́
g.
call
béghé
béghábɛ́
h.
measure, weigh
mɛ̀nɛ̀
mɛ̀nábɛ́
i.
extinguish, turn off (light)
dímís
dímsábɛ́
j.
help
wóŋgwán
wóŋgwánábɛ́
ɓóghábɛ́
(18) Regular passives
The passive does not normally trigger vowel raising. The passive has no effect on root tone; the
tones on the passive stem follow general patterns of inflection and metatony (see Hyman and Lionnet
2011) as seen in examples (19) and (20), where tense is marked tonally. The two syllables of the
passive suffix pattern together tonally.5
(19) dí kà-lábɛ́
'It is said'
(20) dí ká-làbɛ̀
'It was said'
3.4.1. Irregularities
Irregularities were observed in passive forms of certain verbs. A few passives are found with
raised vowels, as in (21)g., although the same vowels do not normally raise in the passive. Some
CV(V) roots have a consonant (other than the expected l) surface before the passive suffix, as in (21)ad. Some of these consonants can be attributed to root-final consonants that were lost historically, but
for others there is no evidence of this. In addition, the unexpected consonants are not always consistent
between causative and passive forms of the same verb.
A few CVC(V) roots take the -labɛ allomorph rather than the expected -abɛ allomorph, as in
(21)e-f. Prenasalized stops (e.g., (21)h.) seem always to take -labɛ form.
5
The only example we have of a passive of more than three syllables is a H verb, so all four syllables of the
passive are H. I presume a four syllable passive of a L verb would have the pattern LLHH, but this will have
to be confirmed with additional data.
(21) Irregular passives
GLOSS
VERB
PASSIVE
a.
go, walk
kɛ̀
kɛ́nàbɛ̀, kɛ́làbɛ̀
b.
see
nɛ́
nɛ́nábɛ́
c.
wash
sɔ̀
sɔ̀ghábɛ́
d.
pay
càà
càghàbɛ̀
e.
send
wɔ́m
wɔ́mlábɛ́
f.
suffer
tàk
tàklábɛ́
g.
hide (something), conceal wòt
wùtábɛ́
h.
bathe
tòndò
tòndlábɛ́
i.
roll, fold, wrap up
fóghó
fólábɛ́
3.5. Applicative (¨ -V) and Resultative (¨ -í/v́)
The applicative and the resultative (aka stative) are discussed together in this section because they
are often formally identical segmentally in Abo, although they remain tonally distinct. There is much
overlap in use between the applicative and the resultative, as is also seen between the causative and the
associative. The applicative in Proto-Bantu, *-ɪl, is likely the source of both the high vowel/vowel
raising and the recurring l in both Abo applicatives and resultatives.
The applicative is derivational, and adds an argument (generally a beneficiary), as shown in (23).
(22) à
wá!´n mákàkò
3SG
buy.PST crab.PL
'He bought crabs'
(23) à
wén!dé
mán
3SG
buy.APPL.PST
child
'He bought the child crabs'
màkàkò
crab.PL
The Abo applicative is cognate to the Basaá applicative (¨-l).
The resultative should be considered tense/aspect inflectional morphology. It can be used with
various derived and underived stems, including applicatives.
(24) mɛ̀
báŋà
shɔ̀rtì
1SG
sew.PST shirt
'I sewed the shirt'
(25) dí
bàŋé
CL5
sew.RESULT
'It is sewn'
(26) à
wèndé
3SG
buy.RESULT
'He bought crabs'
màkàkò
crab.PL
The form that we call the resultative is cognate to the Basaá stative (¨-i). The resultative/stative in Abo
and Basaá bear no resemblance to their Proto-Bantu counterparts.
Both the applicative and the resultative are formed by the addition of final vowel (either -i or a
copy vowel). In both forms, underlying or historic consonants in a CV(V) root will resurface. A nonhistoric -l sometimes appears in both forms. A comparison of applicative and resultative forms for
several verbs is given in (27).
(27) Resultatives and applicatives
VERB
APPLICATIVE
RESULTATIVE
a.
GLOSS
see
nɛ́
nɛ́
nɛ́ní
b.
cut, cut away (grass)
kɛ́ɛ́
kélí
kélí, kélé
c.
fold
fóó
fóó
fóló
d.
do, make
sáá
sélé
séé
e.
cover
búté
bútú
bútú
f.
lie down
nàŋà
níŋí
nèŋé
g.
grill, barbecue, roast
ɓòp
ɓòpò
ɓòpó
h.
leave behind
yék
yéghé
yéghé, yéghí
i.
close
kwès
kwésí
kwésí
j.
cover (transitive)
kúghús
kúghú
kúghú
Both the applicative and the resultative trigger vowel raising. The resultative adds a H tone suffix
to the verb. If the verb root is L toned, the resultative will be L-H; if the root is H toned, the resultative
will be H-H. Resultative forms do not participate in metatony (Hyman and Lionnet 2011). By contrast,
the applicative has no effect on the tone of the verb, i.e., the applicative of a H tone verb will be H and
the applicative of a L tone verb will be L.
3.5.1. Untangling the Two Segmental Forms
As an explanation for the significant overlap in segmental form between these two extensions, I
propose that the resultative historically had an -i suffix, the applicative had an -lV suffix, and that these
two verb forms have gotten mixed up in modern Abo. Slightly more -i forms are present in the
resultative than in the corresponding applicatives, and very slightly more -l forms are present in the
applicatives than in the corresponding resultatives. Cognate morphemes in Basaá support this weak
statistical tendency that it was the resultative that originally had an -i suffix. The reconstructed ProtoBantu applicative contains l, although it has a vowel which would correspond to Abo -el (Schadeberg
2003).
3.6. Gerundive (-ak)
The gerundive form in Abo is used to form nonfinite verbs, deverbal nominals, and imperfectives.
Examples are given in (28)-(29).
(28) sák
→
'to dance'
mɛ̀ kɛ́ íyǎ ín!yú mà sáɡhâk
'I went there for dancing (I went there to dance)'
(29) wáŋ
→
'to read'
à bɔ́tà wàŋgâk
'he began to read'
This extension is related to the Proto-Bantu 'repetitive' *ag ~ *ang, and to the Basaá 'imperfective' -g ~
-ag. Spellenberg (1922) and Atindogbé (1996) call the verb form bearing this extension in Abo the
infinitive.
The gerundive is formed by the addition of an -ak or -lak suffix. The suffix takes the form -Vgha
with certain disyllabic roots. Underlying or historic consonants in CV(V) roots resurface when this
extension is added. Examples of gerundives for verbs of various shapes are given in (30). Gerundive
suffix vowels sometimes participate in vowel harmony. It is unclear whether the gerundive conditions
vowel raising. The gerundive extension does not have any effect on the tone of the verb, i.e., the
gerundive of a H tone verb will be H and the gerundive of a L tone verb will be L.
(30) Gerundives
GLOSS
VERB
GERUNDIVE
a.
eat
jɛ́
jɛ́ghɛ́k
b.
say
kàà
kàlàk
c.
break (something hard, e.g. wood, glass)
ɓók
bóghôk
d.
grill, barbecue, roast
ɓòp
ɓóplàk
e.
call
béghé
béglàk
f.
cover
búté
bútlàk
g.
try
kèghà
kéghàk
h.
begin
bɔ̀tà
botagha
i.
heat
bápsɛ́
bápsèghè
j.
clean (table, floor etc.)
síŋís
síŋsàk
k.
close
kwès
kwèlàk
4. Combining Derivational Suffixes
4.1. Contentful Combinations
While some combinations are possible, all derivational extensions cannot combine freely.
Unsurprisingly, the resultative, being essentially inflectional in nature, combines freely with the true
derivational extensions, as does the subjunctive. Not only are combinations of derivational extensions
limited, when they do combine, the combination can be hard to see due to the similarity of many of the
forms. Examples of combinations found to be possible are given in examples (31)-(34). (31) shows an
associative reciprocal.
(31) ASSOCIATIVE + RECIPROCAL
ɓá ságh-á-ná
3PL dance-ASSOC-RECIP
'They danced with each other.'
In (32), the applicative and the causative are combined, in that order. However, there is a structural
ambiguity between the beneficiary and the causee; so the two readings given in the gloss are both
possible.
(32) APPLICATIVE + CAUSATIVE
mɛ̀ káá ké-lé-s
nyɛ́
wɛ̀
brètì
1SG FUT cut-APPLIC-CAUS 3SG
2SG
bread
'I will make him cut bread for you / I will make you cut bread for him.'
In (33)a, a sentence requiring both the associative and applicative meanings to be encoded in the verb
in order to be grammatical, shows that a morphological applicative or associative alone is acceptable.
However, when both the applicative and associative are morphologically expressed together on the
verb, in either order, as in (33)b, the sentence becomes unacceptable.
(33) ASSOCIATIVE + APPLICATIVE
a. ílɛ̀n
dì
là
mɛ́
ké-lé/ké-lá
wɛ́
brètì
knife
CL5
REL
1SG
cut-APPLIC/cut-ASSOC
2SG
bread
'The knife with which I cut the bread for you.'
b. *ílɛ̀n
dì
là
mɛ́
ke-le-la/kɛ-la-lɛ
wɛ́
brètì
knife
CL5
REL
1SG
cut-APPLIC-ASSOC/cut-ASSOC-APPLIC
2SG
bread
[intended reading: 'The knife with which I cut the bread for you.']
The example in (34)a shows several morphological possibilities for combining the associative and
gerundive meanings. The associative may be followed by the gerundive, or may stand alone, and either
of these forms may have an additional gerundive ending (or two) added. A gerundive alone, however,
may not stand alone in this syntactic construction, as shown in (34)b.
(34) associative + gerundive
a.
ílɛ̀n á bɔ́tà mɛ́ kɛ́-lɛ́-k/ké-là/kɛ́-lɛ́-gh-ɛ́k/kɛ́-lá-gh-ák
dì brètì
knife 3SG began 1SG cut-ASSOC-GER/cut-ASSOC/cut-ASSOC-GER-GER/cut-ASSOC-GER-GER CL5
bread
'The knife he began cutting with.'
b. *ílɛ̀n á bɔ́tà mɛ́ kɛ-gh-ɛk6
dì
brètì
knife 3SG began 1SG cut-GER-GER
CL5
bread
[intended reading: 'The knife he began cutting with.']
A rough summary of the order of extensions is given in (35). The associative and applicative occur
fairly close to the verb root, but their relative order has not yet been determined. The passive,
reciprocal, and causative occur somewhat further from the root, but again, their relative order has not
been determined so far. The gerundive falls consistently outside the other extensions.
(35)
ROOT -
Associative
Applicative -
Passive
Reciprocal
Causative
-
Gerundive
No evidence was found that suffixes could be reordered to reflect scope. Rather, scope was ambiguous,
as in (32), suggesting a templatic ordering principle.
4.2. Non-contentful Combinations
In the previous section, we have seen that extensions cannot not be stacked up in an agglutinating
fashion to create complex meanings to a very great degree, and in some cases, the semantic content of
more than one extension can be morphologically expressed by only one of the extensions. In this
section, practically the opposite phenomenon is demonstrated, in which multiple suffixes stack up
phonologically, but have no apparent effect on the semantics or syntax of the sentence. The forms seen
in (36) and (37) below were offered spontaneously when a simple gerundive or associative,
respectively, were being elicited. Most have synonymous shorter forms possible, but some do not.
6
*kɛghɛk (cut-GER-GER) is acceptable as a gerundive but cannot be used in this construction without the
presence of the adposition ni/nik 'with' to license the instrument.
(36) 'Long' gerundives
GLOSS
VERB
GERUNDIVE
a.
rise, go up
bɛ́t
bétàghàk (cf. bétàk)
b.
refuse, forbid
tɛ̀w
tɛ̀wàghàk, tɛ̀wɛ̀̀ghɛ̀k (*tɛ́wɛ̀k)
d.
extinguish, turn off (light)
dímís
e.
exchange
fèŋsà
féŋsàghàk (*fèŋsàk)
f.
count
sɔ̀ŋsɛ̀
sɔ́ŋsɛ́ghɛ́k (*sɔŋsek, *sɔŋsak)
g.
catch, seize, arrest
bwɛ̀
bwɛ̀lághak
h.
call
béghé
béglàghàk (cf. béglàk)
i.
hide (something), conceal
wòt
wútlàghàk
GLOSS
VERB
ASSOCIATIVE
a.
catch, seize, arrest
bwɛ̀
bwé!láná
b.
go, walk
kɛ̀
kɛ̀lànà
c.
refuse, forbid
tɛ̀w
tewana
d.
buy
wàn(d)
wàndànà
e.
count
sɔ̀ŋsɛ̀
sɔ̀ŋsàghànà, sɔ̀ŋsèlànà
f.
clean (table, floor etc.)
síŋís
síŋlághá
g.
wash
sɔ̀ɔ̀
sòwànà, sòghàna
dímsèghèk, dímsàghàk (*dimsek,
dimsak)
(37) 'Long' associatives
There was no difference in meaning or use between the shorter and longer forms, so there is no
apparent syntactic or semantic explanation for the multiple copies of extensions in these forms. It
would also be difficult to argue for a phonological motivation, because in many cases the parallel
shorter form exists.
Based on the forms in the tables above, the following generalizations about morph ordering can be
made:
• -na can follow -gha, -la (37)a, b, e
• -na cannot be repeated
• -gh/k can be repeated (36)
• -la cannot follow -na
• -gha can follow -la (37) f
Thus we have the template: -la-gha*-na, where * indicates one or more copies. Assuming that these
are empty versions of the contentful extensions discussed above, this gives us the speculative affix
order shown in (38), which is somewhat different from the one seen for contentful extensions in (35),
above.
(38)
ROOT - 'Associative/Applicative' - 'Gerundive' - 'Reciprocal/Associative'
5. Discussion
5.1. Summary
To summarize, this paper has shown that Abo uses a set of verb extensions that tend to be reduced
in form. These include the applicative, associative, causative (direct and indirect), gerundive, passive,
reciprocal, and resultative. Expression of morphological categories in Abo is accomplished through
segmental means, tonal changes, and/or vowel raising and vowel harmony. Of particular note, the
segmental forms of the applicative and the resultative appear to be intermixing, while they remain
tonally distinct. We have seen that in some cases, consonants that have been historically lost in root
forms resurface under affixation. However, in other cases, insertion of an -l- in combination with
several of the extensions occurs where there is no evidence for a historic root-final consonant. Finally,
we have observed another phenomenon whereby one or more semantically empty morphs (of the form
-l-, -n-, or -g/k-) may be 'stacked up' before a contentful associative or gerundive extension.
5.2. Comparative Implications
Bantu languages of homeland area (the Nigeria/Cameroon border), where Abo is located, tend to
be less conservative and have more non-Bantu features, as compared to other Bantu languages (Nurse
& Philippson 2003). This proves to be the case for Abo, which shows significant changes in the shape
and/or effects of verb extensions, does not have a final vowel morpheme requirement for verbs, and
has a vowel raising process which takes place with certain suffixes. In these broad respects, Abo
resembles the related language Basaá, but the details of its verbal extension system are different. A
comparison of extensions in Abo, Basaá, and reconstructed Proto-Bantu forms is given in (39).
(39) Comparison of extensions
Extension
Proto-Bantu
Basaá
(after Schadeberg 2003)
(Schadeberg 2003)
(Hyman 2003)
causative
dative (applicative)
impositive
neuter
positional (stative)
associative (reciprocal)
repetitive
extensive
tentive (contactive)
separative (reversive)
passive
*-i-/-ici
*-ɪl*-ɪk*-ɪk*-am*-an*-ag- ~ -ang*-al*-at*-ʊl-; -ʊk*-ʊ-/-ibʊ-
¨-s; ¨h-a/¨-s-a
¨-l, -n-ɛ
–
–
¨-í
-n-a
-g [k], -ag [ak]
–
–
¨-l, -l
¨-a, ¨-b-a, -a, -n-a
Abo
¨-(V)s; -si
¨-V
–
–
¨-í/v́
-na
-ak
–
–
–
-(l)abɛ
In terms of comparison to its neighbor, Basaá, Abo lacks the reversive, reflexive, and habitual
morphemes found in Basaá, but has an associative morpheme which Basaá lacks. Of the extensions
which are cognate in the two languages, the forms of the morphemes are generally very similar.
However, Abo passive, applicative, and causative extensions can have the same form when added to a
longer root as they do when they are added to a CV root, while their Basaá counterparts take different
forms in these situations.
In terms of comparison with Bantu more generally, some Abo extensions are clearly reflexes of
Proto-Bantu extensions, while others are quite different. Abo has an associative extension which is not
reconstructed for Proto-Bantu. It is possible that both the Abo reciprocal n and associative l may have
developed from Proto-Bantu associative/reciprocal *-an-. The stative/resultative and passive in Abo
and Basaá bear no resemblance to their Proto-Bantu counterparts. The applicative in Proto-Bantu, *-ɪl,
is likely source of both the high vowel/vowel raising and the recurring l in Abo applicatives and
resultatives. In Bostoen and Nzang-Bie's (2010) analysis, the passive in A70 languages developed from
the middle and associative/reciprocal. The Abo passive form is very similar to the middle they discuss,
although the associative/reciprocal component is not present. Furthermore, the non-compositional
result of stacking up multiple extensions discussed by Bostoen and Nzang-Bie's (2010) is quite
applicable to two phenomena seen in Abo. First, the l, which may originate in an applicative, is found
in combination with many extensions. Second, the apparently semantically empty l, n, g/k are found
with multiple copies in the gerundive and the associative.
Directions for future research include more work on the combinatorics and semantics of these
morphemes, and additional investigation into the phenomenon of multiple 'inactive' suffixes.
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