Download OBJECTS, DIRECT AND INDIRECT

Chapter ##
OBJECTS, DIRECT AND INDIRECT
B
ole direct and indirect objects are morphologically and syntactically as well as
semantically distinct. However, they share special status among constituents of the
verb phrase because when they are pronominal, they appear as clitics to the verb in
most environments, and in some cases, their pronominal clitic forms are identical. In other
cases, their pronominal forms differ, but it is convenient to describe the differences by
contrasting them rather than by describing each separately.
1. Nominal Direct Objects
A nominal direct object (DO) has no overt marking other than sentential position. If a
nominal DO is present, it is always the first noun phrase after the verb. Moreover, it forms
a phonological phrase with the verb stem, i.e. the verb root plus clitics, as shown by the fact
that a verb stem ending in H tone conditions Low Tone Raising (##) on a following object.
næ ngoæra temshi
aæ daæyaæ-di la\woæ
aænìm Pìkkaæ aæ kappo morfio
mu ele¥-su ati gefie bo¥
ishi fioæl-ti se\fii
goæjja kashaæu
Ï-no keleæ gaæ boænoæ
‘I will tie the sheep (tèmshi)’[Future]
‘he will leave the child again (la¥woæ)’ [Future]
(Additive extension -di on the verb—##)
‘the Bole people plant millet (moærfio)’ [Habitual]
‘we take them gifts (aæti gefie bo¥)’ [Habitual]
(IO clitic -su ‘to them’ on verb)
‘he should swallow the medicine (se¥fii)’ [Subjunctive]
(Totality extension -ti on the verb—##)
‘buy sesame (kaæshaæu)!’ [Plural Imperative]
‘greet the family for me (keæleæ)!’ [Singular Imperative]
(IO clitic -no ‘for me’ on verb)
In some contexts, LTR does not apply between a verb and a direct object noun, but
blocking of LTR in these cases has explanations other than syntactic constituency. It is
either the verb form itself that systematically blocks LTR, or it is the word category of the
DO that systematically fails to undergo LTR.
VERBAL MORPHOLOGY BLOCKS
LTR
Completive verb + DO (LTR blocked by suppressed completive marker -wò/-gò/-kò—##)
¶næ ngoru\-woæ teæmshi¶ ‡ næ ngoru\ teæmshi (•næ ngoru\ temshi) ‘I tied the sheep’
Ventive extension, regardless of TAM
Perfective:
Future:
Habitual:
næ ngoæru-n teæmshi
næ ngoær-a¥ko\ teæmshi
næ ngo;r-a¥ko\ teæmshi
‘I tied the sheep (and came)’
‘I will tie the sheep (and come)’
‘I tie the sheep (and come)’
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Subjunctive:
Imperative:
næ ngoæru;-t-tu teæmshi
ngoærì-t-tê teæmshi
‘I should tie the sheep (and come)’
‘tie the sheep (and come)!’
Future verbs ending in the clitic -na (Class C and D verbs)
næ yêna teæmshi
næ we\na teæmshi
‘I will stab the sheep’
‘I will get the sheep’
First person plural Imperative clitic -mu
ngoæra\-mu teæmshi
WORD CATEGORY OF THE DO RESISTS LTR
Proper names:
Demonstratives:
Question words:
Numbers:
‘let’s tie the sheep!’
(##)
mæ moæya Maækkau
mæ moæya maæine\}
ka moya yaællaæ@
mæ moæya poæfifio
‘I will look at Makkau’
‘I will look at these’
‘which one (yàllà) will you look at?’
‘I will look at four’
2. Nominal Indirect Objects
A nominal indirect object (IO) is marked by the preposition /n;/ (syllabic “ n” with high
tone).1 It can be pronounced as in, and we write the “ i” in the practical Bole orthography.
The nasal completely assimilates to a following liquid and to the point of articulation of all
other following segments (##). It becomes /Ω;/ before words written with orthographic
initial vowels, which always have a glottal stop onset. A nominal indirect object follows a
direct object, but, the ordering of nominal indirect object with respect to most other predicate
constituents is variable (##).
mi&y&ya oænan safiikaæ m; pukaæra¥wa
aæ jÏ eæweæ po¥to n; da\ndeæ
næ dewu\ do\do n“: ya\l" ìno
maæte aæ jÏ zuæmeæ r; RÏma]n
næ êna wa¥shì l: la\woæko
tom-nÏ l: Lengì
‘the people gave alms to the students’
‘one is showing pictures to the children’
‘I left money for my family’
‘they are shaving the Imam’
(‘they are [doing] shaving to the Imam’)
‘I will admonish your child’
(‘I will do scolding to your child’)
‘he showed him to Lengi’
1
We mark high tone on the preposition with acute accent to differentiate the syllabic sonorant bearing its
own tone from a non-syllabic sonorant consonant.
2
Note on the possible source of the n; IO marker. The nominal IO marker, n;, is identical
to the independent genitive n; ‘that of’, as in m; Bamoi ‘Bamoi’s, that of Bamoi’. In other
West Chadic languages, morphemes expressing these two functions are unrelated. The IO
marker seems to derive historically from the independent genitive. The path for this
development is probably constructions where either interpretation is possible. Below are
examples from texts, where this is the case:
aæ inna bo¥ keæleæ n; su\ru\nì
‘he was going for greeting to his in-laws’ (IO)
‘he was going for greeting of his in-laws’ (genitive)
Da\" Zoængeæ le\ ma¥taæ bo¥ im mi&y&ya¥to ma¥takko¥ sa.
‘Da Zonge not even a good-bye to her family did she utter.’ (IO)
OR ‘Da Zonge, not even taking leave of her family did she utter.’ (genitive)
OR
3. Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns
In most contexts, pronominal direct objects and indirect objects are clitics to the verb.
Both functions use the same clitics, and in many cases, the verb!+ !clitic construction is
formally identical for the two functions.
There are two object clitic pronoun paradigms. Morphological context, not function,
determines the choice of paradigm. Phonological variation within the paradigms,
particularly in tone, depends in part on morphophonology, in part on function. We may
refer to the two paradigms as FINAL OBJECT CLITICS and NON-FINAL OBJECT CLITICS .
The Final Object Clitics are always the last clitic of a verbal construction;2 the Non-final
Object Clitics always have one or more clitics added after them. We illustrate the full
paradigm for each set with the verb ngor ‘tie’ in the future TAM, without and with the
totality extension -tì (##). For reasons discussed below, the interpretation of the clitic in all
these forms is that of the indirect object.
FINAL OBJECT CLITICS
NON-FINAL OBJECT CLITICS
1 s.
2 m.s.
2 f.s.
3 m.s.
3 f.s.
aæ ngoæraæ-no
aæ ngoæraæ-ko
aæ ngoæraæ-shi
aæ ngoæraæ-nì
aæ ngoæraæ-to
aæ ngoæraæ-na\-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-ka\-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-shê-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-nê-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-ta\-tì
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.
aæ ngoæraæ-mu
aæ ngoæraæ-ku
aæ ngoæraæ-su
aæ ngoæraæ-mu\-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-ku\-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-su\-tì
If pronominal DO and IO cooccur in a clause, the IO will always be a clitic on the verb,
and the DO will always be expressed by an independent pronoun (##), e.g.
ita aæ fioæppaæ-no ishì
‘she will follow him for me’ not ‘she will follow me for him’
Because the IO always preempts the clitic position, there would be no occasion to have a
pronominal phrase using the indirect object preposition n;. For the same reason, all
2
The final clitics also function as genitive pronouns because they are always final within their phrase (##).
3
discussion of pronominal DO’s below assumes that the DO is the only pronominal object
in the clause.
Differences or absence of differences between DO and IO pronouns depend on three
cross-cutting factors: (1) TAM, (2) absence or presence of the totality or additive
extensions (##), (3) absence or presence of the ventive extension (##). We take the second
and third factors in turn, discussing issues affecting each TAM. We illustrate only with 3rd
singular masculine and feminine forms. From the forms these pronouns take, all others are
predictable:
• 3rd masculine singular: This form is always segmentally nì in the final form, nê in the
non-final form. It is unlike other persons in that it always has Hi tone only if the totality
or additive extensions are present and always has Lo tone elsewhere.
• 3rd feminine singular: This form is segmentally to in the final form and ta\ in the nonfinal form. 1st person singular and 2nd person masculine singular have the same vocalic
alternation (no¶na\, ko¶ka\ respectively). Other persons retain the same vowels in both
final and non-final forms, differing only in length (shi¶shê ‘you (f.s.), mu¶mu\ ‘us’, etc.).
Tone of the non-final forms of all these clitics is Hi. Tone of the final forms is Lo in
/Hi___pause, Hi elsewhere (##).
3.1. No extensions
Completive: DO and IO are identical and always take the non-final form of the clitic
because the completive will always have at least the completive clitic -wo/-ko/-go (##)
following the pronominal clitic.
ngor-nÏ-wo
ngor-ta\-wo
‘he followed him’ = ‘he followed for him’
‘he followed her’ = ‘he followed for her’
Subjunctive and Imperative: Verbs in the subjunctive and imperative have two stem
forms: an INDIRECT OBJECT STEM, used when the verb includes an IO clitic, and a BASE
STEM, used elsewhere. The INDIRECT OBJECT STEM incorporates the IO clitic into an
overall LH tone pattern on the verb, and (aside from class B verbs), the verb itself has a
“ non-base” final vowel (Ø vowel for A1, -i for A2, -ê for C, -e\ for D). A DO clitic is
added to the BASE STEM. The “ Verb + object noun” examples use the noun teæmshi
‘sheep’.3
Class
A1 ‘tie’
Verb + object noun
ngoæri temshi
A2 ‘follow’
fioæppe temshi
B ‘shoot’
beæse temshi
C ‘stab’
yaæi teæmshi
Verb + DO clitic
ngoæri-nì
ngoæri-toæ
fioæppe\-nì
fioæppe\-toæ
beæse\-nì
beæse\-toæ
yaæi-nì
yaæi-to
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Verb + IO clitic
ngoær-nì
ngoær-to
fioæppì-nì
fioæppì-to
beæse¥-nì
beæse¥-to
yÏ-nì
yÏ-to
We illustrate only with subjunctive. The imperative (##) introduces additional details which distract from
the broader picture of incorporation of IO clitics into an IO stem vs. simply adding DO clitics to the base
verb stem.
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D ‘get’
waæi teæmshi
waæi-nì
waæi-to
we¥-nì
we¥-to
Historical and comparative note: Incorporation of an indirect object into the verb to
form an indirect object stem is a reconstructable feature for proto-Bole-Tangale. Newman
(1974:40-41) describes an almost identical pattern for Kanakuru. Lukas (1970-72:§§170171) erroneously assumes that there is only a single category of “ personaler Ergänzung”
in Bole, perhaps on the basis of the completive, where IO and DO are, indeed, identical.
This assumption leads him to propose special historical or synchronic tonal alternations
which are unneeded and for which there is no support. It may be that incorporation of IO
pronouns into an IO stem goes to a deeper Chadic level than Bole-Tangale. In Miya,
behavior of indirect object clitics suggests a closer association to the verb than that of direct
objects (Schuh 1998:296).
Future and Habitual: Direct object and indirect object clitics are identical in the habitual
and in the future in all verb classes except class A1 in the future. In A1 future only, the tone
pattern of the verb stem is Lo Hi, i.e. the same as that for the subjunctive and imperative. As
in the subjunctive and imperative, the IO clitic is incorporated into the Lo Hi tone pattern
whereas the DO clitic is added to the Lo Hi stem. We illustrate future only for classes A1
and A2 to contrast them, and in habitual only from class A1, since DO and IO are identical
in all classes in habitual. See ## for examples in other classes.
Future: A1 ‘tie’
Verb + object noun
aæ ngoæra temshi
Future: A2 ‘follow’
aæ fioæppaæ teæmshi
Habitual: A1 ‘tie’
aæ ngoro temshi
Verb + DO clitic
aæ ngoæra-nì
aæ ngoæra-toæ
aæ fioæppaæ-nì
aæ fioæppaæ-to
aæ ngoroæ-nì
aæ ngoroæ-to
Verb + IO clitic
aæ ngoæraæ-ni
aæ ngoæraæ-to
aæ fioæppaæ-nì
aæ fioæppaæ-to
aæ ngoroæ-nì
aæ ngoroæ-to
3.2. Totality and additive extensions (##, ##)
Though they are functionally quite different, the totality and additive extensions are
mutually exclusive and differ formally only in that totality is -tV and additive is -dV. The
totality or additive are always the final clitic of a verb!+ !clitics. A DIRECT OBJECT pronoun
takes the form of an independent pronoun (##) following the verb. An INDIRECT OBJECT
pronoun is a clitic on a verb, and the totality or additive clitic follows it. The indirect object
must thus use the NON-FINAL pronoun clitic, but otherwise, the form of the verb itself,
including tone pattern, is the same as in the non-extended form. We illustrate each TAM
with the verb ngor ‘tie’ plus the totality extension.
Completive
Subjunctive
Future
Verb + DO pronoun
ngor-tu¥ ishì
ngor-tu¥ itaæ
ngoær-ti ishì
ngoær-ti itaæ
aæ ngoæraæ-ti ishì
aæ ngoæraæ-ti itaæ
Verb + IO clitic
ngor-nê-tì
ngor-ta\-tì
ngoær-nê-tì
ngoær-ta\-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-nê-tì
aæ ngoæraæ-ta\-tì
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aæ ngoroæ-ti ishì
aæ ngoroæ-ti itaæ
Habitual
aæ ngoroæ-nê-tì
aæ ngoroæ-ta\-tì
3.3. Ventive extension (##)
Though the ventive extension differs formally from TAM to TAM, it is always the first
clitic added to a verb root. Both direct object and indirect object pronouns are expressed by
clitics added to the ventive stem. In completive, future, and habitual, ventive + IO and
ventive + DO are identical. In subjunctive and imperative, ventive stem + DO adds the clitic
-yi, triggering the NON-FINAL forms of the object clitics. Addition of -yi is anomalous
because normally this clitic signals an unexpressed object and is thus mutually exclusive
with both noun and pronoun objects. Subjunctive/imperative ventive + IO appears to
incorporate the IO to form an INDIRECT OBJECT STEM of an anomalous type, viz.
verb!+ !ventive has a Lo Hi tone pattern, but the object clitic also has Hi (except for 3rd m.s. nì, which is always Lo). Final object clitics should have Lo tone after Hi (see above). It is
as if the Hi tone associated with the ventive extension were “ invisible” when assigning tone
to the clitic. The ventive formatives are in small caps in the examples. As above, the
illustrative verb is ngor ‘tie’.
Completive
Subjunctive
Plural imperative
Future
Habitual
Verb + DO pronoun
ngoæri-N-nì-N-go
ngoæri-N-ta-N-go
ngoæri-N-nÏ-yi
ngoæri-T-ta¥-yi
ngoæra-N-nÏ-yi
ngoæra-T-ta¥-yi
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-N-nì-N-GO
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-N-ta-N-GO
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-N-nì-N-GO
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-N-ta-N-GO
Verb + IO clitic
ngoæri-N-nì-N-go
ngoæri-N-ta-N-go
ngoæri-N-nì
ngoæri-T-to
ngoæra-N-nì
ngoæra-T-to
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-N-nì-N-GO
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-N-ta-N-GO
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-N-nì-N-GO
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-N-ta-N-GO
3.4. Ventive extension and totality or additive extension
In terms of direct vs. indirect object pronoun clitics, presence of the totality or additive
extension overrides presence of the ventive, i.e. DIRECT OBJECT pronouns are expressed
with independent pronouns following the verb with all its clitics. INDIRECT OBJECTS take
the form they would with the ventive stem alone except that they have the NON-FINAL form
of the clitic since the totality/additive clitic will always follow the pronoun.
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Completive
Verb + DO pronoun
ngoæru-N-tuæ-N ishì
ngoæru-N-tuæ-N itaæ
Verb + IO clitic
ngoæri-N-ni-N-tì
ngoæri-N-ta-N-tì
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Note the difference in completive verb stem vowel with the direct vs. indirect object. The -i - in the
indirect object form is the -i - found with all class A1 and A2 verbs before pronoun clitics (##), even
though the clitic is here separated from the verb root by the ventive extension. The -u- in the form with
direct object is the “default” completive vowel for class A1 and A2 verbs.
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Subjunctive
Plural imperative
Future
Habitual
ngoæri-T-ti ishì
ngoæri-T-ti itaæ
ngoæra-T-ti ishì
ngoæra-T-ti itaæ
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-T-ti ishì
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-T-ti itaæ
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-T-ti ishì
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-T-ti itaæ
ngoæri-N-ni-T-tì
ngoæri-T-ta-T-tì
ngoæra-N-ni-T-tì
ngoæra-T-ta-T-tì
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-N-ni-N-tì
aæ ngoær-AK
Á I-N-ta-N-tì
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-N-ni-N-tì
aæ ngor-AK
Á I-N-ta-N-tì
4. Functions of Objects
Functionally, there is little to say about direct objects. The semantics of the verb usually
determines the relation between action and object, e.g. patient (gowu\ gaænga ‘he beat the
drum’), consumption (ngafiu\ lo ‘he ate meat’), changed state (ita ∫oætaz zo¥ri ‘she cut the
rope’), placement (la∫u\ daæwun ‘he laid out the mat’), transfer (Ma\luæm Ba¥ba
sheæpìnutu¥ mo\taænì ‘Malum Baba sold his car’), perception (lìkitaæ moy-na\-wo ‘the doctor
examined me/looked me over’), creation (soltu¥ boænoæ ‘he build a house’), and so forth.
Formal indirect objects, on the other hand, fulfill several functions that are syntactically
distinct in some languages and that lend themselves to alternative formal expression in Bole.
4.1. Semantic relations expressed by indirect objects. Semantically, an indirect object
may be dative, benefactive, or malefactive, the interpretation depending on the choice of verb
and context.
Dative:
Benefactive:
Malefactive:
næ onu\ safiikaæ m; pukaæra¥wa
eæwe¥-no goæggoæ!
næ kaæppu\ moærfio m; bo\noæ
aæ we\naæ-ko do\do
an fiuættuki m; Bamoi
koba¥ shìr-ka\-tì aægo\goæko!
‘I gave alms to the students’
‘show me the way!’
‘I planted millet for my father’
‘he will get money for you’
‘an evil act has been done to/against Bamoi’
‘don’t let your watch get stolen!’
(“let-not one steal from you your watch”)
Because a formal direct object may fulfill more than one semantic role, it is possible to
get two indirect objects in the same clause if one is a pronoun clitic to the verb, but two
phrases both marked by the preposition /n;/ may not cooccur.
Ï-no keleæ Ω; AÆjiyaæ
•Ï keæleæ Ω; AÆjiyaæ m; Bamoi
‘greet the District Head for me’
(‘do to me (-no) greeting to the DH (AÆjiyaæ) ’)
‘greet the District Head for Bamoi’
A benefactive may alternatively be expressed using bo¥ ‘for the sake of. on behalf of’,
allowing dative and benefactive to cooccur. However, if used in conjunction with an
n;-phrase, the bo†-phrase has an n;-phrase embedded within it.
næ ze\na do\do n; da\nde¥no ≠ næ ze\na do\do bo¥ da\nde¥no
‘I set aside money to/for my children’
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i keleæ Ω; AÆjiyai keleæ n; AÆjiya bo¥ m; Bamoi (cf. *i keleæ Ω; AÆjiyaæ bo¥ Bamoi)
‘greet the District Head (do greeting to the D.H) on Bamoi’s behalf’
næ onu\ guduæma\wa Ω; AÆbu bo¥ m; Bamoi
‘I gave a contribution to Abu on Bamoi’s behalf’
A malefactive sense can be assured by adding ko- ‘head’ to the indirect object.
zoænge sattuæ& &aætti ye n; ko aikì
‘the hyena drank up the gruel (àtti) to the squirrel’s
detriment’
zoænge so¥me se\naæti aætti ye n; konnì ‘the hyena began drinking up the gruel to his
detriment’
kontu¥ daæwun ye n; ko AÆbu
‘he took away the mat from Abu’
aæ jÏ teæke¥ti n; kottoæ
‘he is finishing it off (e.g. food) to her detriment
(kottoæ ‘her head’)’
4.2. Indirect objects with intransitive verbs. Intransitive verbs can take both nominal
and pronominal indrect objects depending on the verb and a suitable interpretation. The
first two examples, using the verb ndê ‘go/come’ are from recorded texts. The third and
fourth both use the ko- malefactive form, though the third also has the regular n; in addition.
la¥woæ ndim-mu-n gaæ kuæshi konaæ
Nda\muæ-no!
Bamoi motu\ n; ko da\nde¥nì
rin kommu gaæ jo
‘the boy came to us at the kona baobab’
“Let’s go for me!’
‘Bamoi died on his children’
‘he burst in (“entered”) on us at a run’
4.3. Indirect objects as patients in “do ACTION + IO”. Bole has a number of
constructions where, instead of a transitive verb with a direct object, the transitive action is
expressed by ê ‘do’ plus a “ transitive noun” , with the patient of that noun expressed as an
indirect object.
ê ya¥raæ n; da\ndeæ
næ ê ya\to l: la\woæ
næ êna wa¥shi l: la\woæko
i keleæ n; ya]lìkoæ
næ Ïshi ruta n; su\ru\noæ
‘he admonished the children’
(“he did admonishment to the children’)
‘I bounced the child’ (“I did bouncing to the child’)
‘I will scold your child’ (“I will do scolding to your child ” )
‘greet your family’ (“do greeting to your family’)
‘I work for my in-laws’ (“I do work for my in-laws”)
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