On the verbal system of Gashua Bade

Ziegelmeyer, Georg

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On the verbal system of Gashua Bade

Georg Ziegelmeyer, Universität Wien

urn:nbn:de:0009-0-45446

Abstract

This paper is an outline of the verbal system of the Gashua dialect of Bade, a West Chadic-B language spoken in the area in and around Gashua in northern Yobe State, Nigeria. Bade is dialectally quite diverse and might be considered to be a group of closely related languages rather than a single language. Overviews of the verbal systems of languages from the Bade-Ngizim group are available for Western Bade (Schuh 2007), Ngizim (Schuh 1971) and Duwai, posted by Schuh (2008) on the internet. Therefore, this paper fills a gap in descriptions of the verbal systems of languages from this linguistic group, which though similar, have interesting differences and are important from a comparative Chadic perspective.

Zusammenfassung

In diesem Artikel wird das Verbalsystem des Gashua Bade, einer westtschadischen B Sprache des nördlichen Bundesstaates Yobe, Nigeria, dargestellt. Bade ist dialektal äußerst divers und wird manchmal auch als eine Gruppe von eng verwandten Sprachen angesehen. Beschreibungen der Verbalsysteme von Sprachen der Bade-Ngizim Gruppe sind bereits vorhanden für das Western Bade (Schuh 2007), Ngizim (Schuh 1971) und Duwai (Schuh 2008). Obwohl die Verbalsysteme dieser Sprachen ähnlich sind, zeigen sich dennoch interessante Unterschiede, die vor allem aus einer komparativen Perspektive wichtig sind.

1. Introduction

<1>

In this paper a brief overview of the verbal system of Gashua Bade is given. The aim is to outline the major differences between the verbal systems of Gashua Bade and Western Bade, as described in Schuh (2007). Gashua Bade is a West Chadic sub-branch B language (Newman 1990), spoken in northern Yobe State, Nigeria. Together with Ngizim, Duwai and the extinct languages Teshena, Auyo and Shira (Broß 1997, Schuh 2001) it constitutes the Bade-Ngizim group. Gashua Bade and Central Bade, form a dialect continuum called Northern Bade. Although Central Bade has many linguistic features in common with Gashua Bade, it also shares some features with Western Bade. Another main dialect variety is Southern Bade. However, Bade is dialectally very diverse, to the extent that one could also speak of several 'Bade languages”. For a detailed discussion of Bade dialects see Schuh (1981). The major languages, which are adjacent to the Bade speaking area, are Kanuri in the East, and Hausa in the West. The history of north-eastern Nigeria, as well as linguistic scrutiny suggests that Bade is heavily influenced by its neighbouring languages in several linguistic domains. Besides borrowing of content words and a high amount of function words, the linguistic influence of Hausa and Kanuri on Bade becomes also evident in some grammatical domains, e.g. borrowing of derivational morphology (Schuh 2011, Ziegelmeyer 2009a, 2009b, 2009c, 2010). The data presented in this article predominantly come from my fieldwork in northern Yobe State during the years 2008 to 2010 [1] which consist of free interviews, e.g. narratives, and grammatical elicitations. Further examples are drawn from unpublished texts which were recorded and transcribed by Russell Schuh (2008).

<2>

In §2 brief remarks on the typology of Bade are given. §3 illustrates the framework for the grouping of verb classes in Bade, while in §4 the specific characteristics (i.e. form and function) of Gashua Bade TAMs are outlined. §5 shows examples for the use of intransitive copy pronouns, and in §6 several verbal extensions are discussed. §7 shows the formation of so called pluractionals. Finally in §8 major features of the verbal systems of Gashua Bade and Western Bade are contrasted.

2. Brief remark on Bade typology

<3>

Bade has the basic word order SVO, and case is not morphologically marked. It is rather an aspectual than a tense language, where temporal aspectual information is encoded in distinctions in tone and final vowel of verbs, accompanied by distinct preverbal subject agreement clitics and in some cases auxiliaries.

3. Verb classes

<4>

The framework for the grouping of verb classes in Bade comes from Lukas (1970-72), who established five verb classes in Bole. According to Schuh (2007) these five verb classes are at least reconstructable for proto-West Chadic. Reflexes of this system are found in Bade and several other West Chadic languages. The different classes are particularly reflected in certain TAM-forms of the verb. The perfective provides the basis for identifying different verb classes, which are labelled with capital letters A to D. Classes A and B can be sub-classified with respect to word and syllable structure (labelled with numbers and small letters). Table 1 illustrates the verb classes of Gashua Bade and in Table 2 several examples are given.

Table 1: Verb classes of Gashua Bade
Verb class	Root	Ending
A1	CVC	-u
A2	CVVC, roots with more than two Cs	-u
B1	CVC	-au [2]
B2	CVVC	-au
C	CV	-u
D	CV	-au

Table 2: Examples of different verbs in Gashua Bade
Verb class	Verb	Gloss	Class	Verb	Gloss
A1	màsu [3]	buy	B1	bàtau	suffice
A1	ǝ̀bdu	ask	B1	ǝ̀zgau	know

A2a	kàadu	bite	B2	càakau	weave cloth
A2a	kòotu	call	B2	càakau	weave cloth

A2b	càptu	collect	C	ju	go
A2b	ǝ̀gbǝ̀ɗu	pound guinea corn	C	ju	go

A2c	kàlàktu	return	D	bǎu	get
A2c	ǝ̀zvàvìyu	wash grain	D	sau	drink

4. Tense Aspect Mood (TAM) in Gashua Bade

<5>

Gashua Bade has six different TAM categories in affirmative sentences. In negative sentences only four of the six TAMs occur. Negation is realized by means of a clause-final negation marker bai or its variants pai and ɓai, respectively. There are a few exceptions where the negation marker can be followed by other operators. Especially various conjunctions may follow the negation marker bai which in course is monophthongized to bii, e.g. bii kwàyà = bii dà 'or', bìi ni 'if it’s not the case that'. Table 3 outlines the TAM-categories of Gashua Bade.

Table 3: TAM-categories in Gashua Bade
Affirmative	Negative
perfective	perfective	+	bai
imperfective	imperfective	+	bai
progressive/habitual	progressive/habitual	+	bai
subjunctive	second subjunctive	+	bai
second subjunctive
imperative	second subjunctive	+	bai

<6>

The primary indicators for TAMs are tone patterns and final vowels of verbs. Further indicators are different preverbal subject agreement clitics and/or auxiliaries with TAM-specific characteristics. In the following sections the TAM-specific features are outlined.

4.1. Perfective

The perfective is characterized by the verb-final vowels -u or -au (in medial position often - ǝ and - a ) and a (…L)-H tone pattern. The specific subject agreement clitics are summarized in Table 4.

Table 4: Perfective subject agreement clitics

1sg	nǝ, nǝ̀, nǝn, nǝ̀n	1excl	jǝ̀, jǝ̀n
		1incl	gù, gùn
2m	kǝ	2pl	wùn
2f
3m	(acî)	3pl	(aksì/akc ì)
3f	(atû)

<7>

First person subject clitics ending in -n are used when the verb begins in a consonant (example 1), otherwise the short forms are used (example 2). The tone of first person singular subject clitics is polar to the tone in the first syllable of the following verb. Note that in West Chadic languages the perfective of third persons is usually expressed by bare verbs, i.e. without subject agreement clitics (Schuh 2007). Gashua Bade is unusual in this respect, since even in simple declarative sentences overt subject agreement clitics of third persons are preferred (example 3). However, they are never used, when the subject is expressed by an overt nominal (example 4).

(1)

tau

eat

nǝ̀n

kajlùwà

1sg

eat.perf

mush

I ate mush

(2)

ǝ̀r̃bùtu

write

nǝ-r̃bùtǝ

wàsiikàa

1sg-write.perf

letter

I wrote a letter

(3)

gàfau

catch

acî

gàfa

vǝ̀nàkau

catch.perf

fish

he caught a fish

(4)

Muusaa

gàfa

vǝ̀nàkau

Musa

catch.perf

fish

Musa caught a fish

*Muusaa

acî

gàfa

vǝ̀nàkau

Musa

catch.perf

fish

<8>

In Gashua Bade and in Western Bade the negative perfective uses the same set of subject clitics as the perfective. However, while Gashua Bade uses the regular terminations - u and -o (> - ǝ and -a in medial position) marking verb class, in Western Bade verbs of all classes add the termination - àaCa-, where C is a copy of the stem-final consonant. In addition to this, Gashua Bade uses the clause-final negation marker bai (examples in 5), whereas in Western Bade the most frequent mark of negation is -m added to the end of the clause (examples in 6).

(5)	ǝ̀r̃bùtu	write	nǝ-r̃bùtǝ		wàsiikàa		bai
			1sg-write.perf		letter		neg
			I didn’t write a letter

	gàfau	catch	acî	gàfà		bai
			3m	catch.perf		neg
			he didn’t catch (it)

(6)	Western Bade
	màsu	buy	màsàasa-m
			buy.perf-neg
			didn’t buy

	gàfo	catch	gàfàafa-m
			catch.perf-neg
			didn’t catch

<9>

The perfective expresses notions of anteriority, completion, temporal limitations with active verbs but result-state with stative verbs (example 5). The canonical use of the perfective is to report completed events in non-complex, often mono-clausal statements. However, TAMs in Bade are unspecific for tense and the deictic notion of past-time event is relative to a given time-point. The reference time is usually the moment of speaking, and unless there is a context to the contrary, the perfective can be translated with English past or present perfect. If the reference time is in the past or in the future, the perfective can be translated with English pluperfect or future perfect, respectively.

4.2. Imperfective

<10>

Primary indicators for the imperfective are a set of subject agreement clitics in first and second persons, and TAM-specific auxiliaries in third persons (Table 5). The tones of first person singular and third persons are polar to the initial tone of the following verbal noun. First person plural and second persons always have L tone clitics. Vowel length of the clitics is also conditioned by the initial tone of the verbal noun, i.e. short before an initial H tone and long before an initial L tone.

Table 5: Imperfective subject agreement clitics and auxiliaries

1sg	nà, na, nàa, naa	1excl	jà, jàa
		1incl	gwà, gwàa
2m	yà, yàa	2pl	wùnà, wùnàa
2f	mà, màa
3m	(acî) à, a, àa, aa	3pl	(aks/cì) à, a, àa, aa
3f	(atû) à, a, àa, aa

<11>

The imperfective is also characterized by the use of a verbal noun (§4.4.) rather than a finite verb. Therefore, in the imperfective a construction of a verbal noun and a direct object is identical to a genitive construction (example 7). Also a pronominal direct object is realized with a genitive pronoun in the imperfective (example 8), but with a direct object pronoun in the perfective (example 9). Note that third person auxiliaries are also used when the subject is expressed by an overt nominal (example 7).

(7)	Paatǝmà	aa-bǝ̀nà-k	àwai
	Fatima	aux-cook.vn.imperf-gen	sauce
	Fatima will cook sauce

(8)	naa-bd-aalì	<	[naa + ǝ̀bdà + aalì]
	1sg-ask.vn.imperf-gen3m
	I will ask him

(9)	nǝ̂-bd-acî	<	[nǝ + ǝ̀bdu + acî]
	1sg-ask.perf-do3m
	I asked him

<12>

In Gashua Bade the previous reference marker (PRM) *-ku (> - w(u)) is added to the verbal noun, when the object of a transitive verb is not overtly realized (example 10). Note that Western Bade does not add the previous reference marker in constructions of this type.

(10)	nà-taksà-w
	1sg-tie.vn.imperf-prm
	I will tie (it) up

<13>

The imperfective denotes an event that is not completed at the time of reference and highlights the internal time-structuring of the situation relative to a given time point. The English translation may be progressive or future. The imperfective partially overlaps with the progressive/habitual (§4.3.). Note that in several Chadic languages, e.g. Ngizim, the imperfective denotes future, progressive and habitual events. This is not the case in Gashua Bade, where the imperfective is predominantly used for events which will take place in the future (examples 11 and 12), whereas the progressive/habitual is used for progressive or habitual events. [4]

(11)	sànak	nàa-ɗǝbdà-k				goomâk-ǝnkau
	tomorrow	1sg-buy.vn.imperf-gen				ram-dem
	tomorrow I will buy this ram

(12)	yàa-bda-w			kwàayà,	tanuu		ɗaa-gwà
	2m.ask.vn.imperf-prm			cond	now		town-poss1incl
	wùɗ-ùw		màma	Gàsiiwà	bìi		bi?
	name-prm		comp	Gashua	neg		q
	if you will ask, now, isn’t the name of our town Gashua?

(13)	aksi	tà- vǝ̀lii		lawà,	aks-a-lawà,
	3pl	aux-go.out.sub.for		run.vn	3pl-aux-run.vn.imperf

	aks-a-lawà,			aks-a-lawà	ii
	3pl-aux-run.vn.imperf			3pl-aux-run.vn.imperf	to

	ɗàa		jàk	wunya
	town		associated.with	girl
	they set out for running, and they were running and running to the town of the girl

(14)	àa-nee [5]	ɗàa-ksi	nà,	atu	teek-i	tà- ɗùwàtl-i
	aux-go.vn.imperf.to	town-poss3pl	when	3f	aux.see-sub	aux-tire-sub
	when she was going to her town, she recognized that she was tired

4.3. Progressive/habitual

<14>

The primary indicator for the progressive/habitual is a preverbal auxiliary và/va which is preceded by an independent pronoun (Table 6). Like the imperfective (§4.2.), the progressive/ habitual uses a verbal noun (§4.4.) rather than a finite verb, and a following direct object is realized by means of a genitive construction. It seems that tone of the auxiliary và/va follows the same rules as the third person clitics of the imperfective, i.e. polar to the initial tone of the following verbal noun.

Table 6: Subject agreement clitics and auxiliaries of the progressive/habitual

1sg	nii và, va	1excl	jà và, va
		1incl	gwà và, va
2m	gìi và, va	2pl	wùnà và, va
2f	gǝ̀m và, va
3m	(acî) và, va	3pl	(aks/cì) và, va
3f	(atû) và, va

<15>

The progressive/habitual in Gashua Bade is an innovation. Corresponding forms are absent from Western Bade, where progressive and future events are expressed by the imperfective, and also from closely related Ngizim, where the imperfective expresses progressive, future and habitual events. Note also that Western Bade has a habitual verbal extension which is absent in both Gashua Bade, and Ngizim. It is likely that the split in Gashua Bade into imperfective and progressive/habitual is conditioned by contact with Hausa which exhibits future expressing tense (future-time reference) and a range of modal (attitudinal) meanings, as well as imperfective encompassing dimensions of durativity (action-in-progress) and habituality (cf. footnote 3). The source of the progressive/habitual marker in Gashua Bade is not totally clear. It is argued in Tarbutu (2004) that the progressive marker và = gvà comes from the verb ǝ̀gvu 'fall'. However, this hypothesis would constitute a cross-linguistically rare or even unique grammaticalization process. The following sentences illustrate the progressive (examples 15-18) and habitual (example 19) use of this TAM-form.

(15)	aksǝ̀	tàks-ǝ	koor̃au		aksǝ̀
	3pl	tie-perf	donkey		3pl

	và -waanyà-k			any-uw,		và-waanyà-k	any-uw
	aux-milk.vn.prog-gen			milk-prm		aux-milk.vn.prog-gen	milk-prm
	they tied up the donkey, and they were milking and milking (her) milk

(16)	ǹda	a	gàaku,	ǹda	a	gàaku		àman	gàawa,
	people	at	place	people	at	place		year	many

	ǹda	va-jlǝ̀mi		kalvà		a	gàaku
	people	aux-make.vn.prog		chieftaincy		at	place
	it was like this for many years, and the chieftaincy was presiding at (this) place

(17)	aawun-nàa	jǝ̀bǝ-tkwà,	nii	và-ɗaaktà-w
	corn-poss1sg	spill.perf-body	1sg	aux-pick.one.by.one.vn.prog-prm
	my corn was spilled, and I was picking one by one

(18)	acì	vaa-bdà-w [6]	màma	gaaɗa	kǝ̀m?
	3m	aux-ask.vn.prog-prm	comp	because.of	q
	why is he asking?

(19)	ǝ̀bjlǝm	dǝ	kàyak	aksì	và-nee	balà
	hyena	and	squirrel	3pl	aux.go.vn.prog.to	hunting
	the hyena and the squirrel used to go for hunting

4.4. Verbal nouns

<16>

Gashua Bade has several patterns for the formation of verbal nouns. Although the relation between stem shape and verbal noun type is to some extend predictable, a given stem shape may also prefer a different verbal noun type. A comprehensive discussion of verbal nouns is beyond the scope of this paper. [7] Table 7 shows the most productive patterns of verbal nouns in Gashua Bade, i.e. verbal nouns ending in - à , and verbal nouns ending in - i. Note that monoconsonantal roots add a suffix - ’yi rather than just changing the vowel to -i. Furthermore, the vowel of in the root of the verbs in the second column becomes ǝ, presumably by assimilation to the final -i.

Table 7: Verbal nouns ending in -à and -i
Perfective	Verbal noun	Gloss	Perfective	Verbal noun	gloss
nau	nà	count	tau	tǝ̀’yi	eat
bàlu	balâ	hunt	bau	bǝ̀’yi	give
làwau	lawà	run	tàsau	tǝ̀si	find
kìiɗu	kiiɗâ	eat (e.g. meat)	kàtau	kǝ̀ti	return
tàksu	taksâ	tie	bàlu	bǝ̀li	give
bǝ̀nu	bǝ̀nà	cook	ǝ̀zgau	sǝ̀gi	know
ǝ̀bzu	ǝ̀bzà	put, place	m̀tu	mǝ̀ti	die
bǝ̀r̃tǝ̀nu	bǝr̃tǝnà	turn around
sǝ̀nòotu	sǝ̀nòotà	recognize

4.5. Subjunctive

<17>

Primary indicators for the subjunctive are the verb-final vowel -i, and (…L)H tone pattern. In addition to this, the subjunctive has a specific set of preverbal clitics (Table 8). The forms with a long vowel are used with some class D verbs, e.g. nau 'count' and dau 'remove'. In third persons preverbal tà/tàa is also used when the subject is realized by an overt nominal.

Table 8: Subjunctive subject agreement clitics and auxiliaries

1sg	nà, nàa	1excl	jà, jàa
		1incl	gwà, gwàa
2m	kà, kàa	2pl	wùnà
2f
3m	(acî) tà, tàa	3pl	(aks/cì) tà, tàa
3f	(atû) tà, tàa

<18>

In Bade and several other Chadic languages the subjunctive has a wide range of functions. Following Schuh (2003:20) the basic function can be summarized as "signalling an event which will have its inception subsequent to the moment of speaking and/or to an event in a superordinate clause".

In Gashua Bade the basic functions of the subjunctive comprise:

expression of wishes or requests,
complements to the verb ǹcu 'want, like, love' and other expressions of necessity, propriety,
‘before’-clauses introduced with kàabdǝ ̀r̃ ò, kàabòo 'before',
purpose clauses introduced with gàaɗàk 'in order to”,
expression of events which are in direct sequence to another event, irrespective of the TAM of the preceding event.

(20)	Kàaka	tà-m̀bàanàat-iigì!
	God	aux-help-sub.you
	may God help you (2m)!

(21)	acî	ǹcu	tà-kwt-atù	ii	patlà	bai
	3m	want.perf	aux-take-sub.her	to	marriage	neg
	he doesn’t want to marry her

(22)	bǝ̀lân	pùkar̃ǝr̃ǝn	tà-naì [8]	ǝ̀bzǝ̀ku
	it.is.good	students	aux-come.sub	today
	it is good, that the students come today

(23)	kàabdǝ̀r̃ò	nàa-vǝ̀l-i,	barìi	nàa-tk-i	vǝ̀ɗau
	before	1sg-go.out-sub	let	1sg-kill-sub	urine
	before I go out, let me (first) urinate

(24)	aksì	dàawau	aksì	tà-kwt-i	kare-nsì
	3pl	come.perf	3pl	aux-take-sub	goods-poss.3pl
	they came, and (then) they took their goods

<19>

The subjunctive is negated by the second subjunctive (§4.7.), except for its function as a marker of sequence. In this case the negative perfective or negative imperfective is used.

4.6. Imperative

<20>

Primary indicators for the imperative are the verb-final vowels -i (sg.) and - a (pl.) and a (…L)H tone pattern. The imperative is also characterized by the preverbal clitics à-, a- (àa-, aa- with certain verbs, e.g. làgu 'stop') for second person singular and plural. The tone of the proclitic is polar to the first tone of the verbal base. In Gashua Bade also the first person plural inclusive has an imperative form characterized by the proclitic gwà -. The imperative expresses commands, exhortations, etc. Negative command is expressed by the second subjunctive (§4.7.).

(25)	a-jlàɓ-i	a-jlàɓ-a	gwà-jlàɓ-a
	aux-sit.down-imp.sg	aux-sit.down-imp.pl	1incl-sit.down-imp.pl
	sit down!(2m and 2f)	sit down!(2pl)	let’s sit down!

(26)	aa-làg-i!	aa-làg-a!
	aux-stop-imp.sg	aux-stop-imp.pl
	stop! (2m and 2f)	stop! (2pl)

(27)	amarya-w	và-zǝ̀nà-w	màma:	‘gwà-zǝ̀n-a!’
	young.woman-prm	aux-say.vn.prog-prm	comp	1incl-say-imp.pl
	the young woman was saying: let’s say (it)!

<21>

Note that Western Bade requires gender/number marking suffixes with imperatives, e.g. catch! à-gàf-ii (2m), à-gàfǝ-m (2f), à-gàfa-wà (1incl), à-gàfa-wun (2pl).

4.7. Second subjunctive

<22>

Primary indicators for the second subjunctive are the verb-final vowel - a and a (…L)H tone pattern. The second subjunctive is also characterized by a specific set of preverbal clitics (Table 9).

Table 9: Subject agreement clitics and auxiliaries of the second subjunctive

1sg	nǝ̀	1excl	jǝ̀
		1incl	gwǝ̀
2m	kǝ̀	2pl	wùnǝ̀
2f
3m	(acî) tǝ̀	3pl	(aks/cì) tǝ̀
3f	(atû) tǝ̀

<23>

The basic function of the second subjunctive is to replace the subjunctive (except for its function as a marker of sequence) and the imperative in negated clauses (examples 28-31). In Gashua Bade negation of the second subjunctive is realized by the marker bai, whereas Western Bade suffixes the negation marker - m to the verb (example 32).

(28)	a-jlàɓ-i!	kǝ̀-jlàɓ-a	bai!
	aux-sit.down-imp.sg	2sg-sit.down-sub2	neg
	sit down!	do not sit down!

(29)	kǝ̀-tùwày-a	bai!
	2sg-forget-sub2	neg
	don’t forget (it)!

(30)	nǝ̀n-dǝ̀ps-ǝ	tâgwda-w	gàaɗàk	acî	tǝ̀- ba	bai
	1sg-hide-perf	money-prm	in.order.to	3m	aux-find.sub2	neg
	I hit the money lest he finds it

(31)	tô,	kàyak	ma:	‘kǝ̀-jlàm-a	nanu	bai!’
	well	squirrel	comp	2sg-do-sub2	this.way	neg
	well, the squirrel said: 'don’t make it this way!'

Western Bade
(32)	nǝ̀-gày-a-m!
	1sg-climb-sub2-neg
	don't climb (it)!

<24>

The second subjunctive also functions as a hortative for the first person singular, first person exclusive and third persons, e.g.

(33)	kâi,	nǝ̀-ja	nà-hàpt-i [9]	daagǝ̀m	fìi-nǝ̀m	ɓa
	well	1sg-go.sub2	1sg-lift.sub	for.you	thing-your	top
	well, let me go and lift your thing for you

4.8. Intransitive Copy Pronouns

<25>

Gashua Bade, like many other Chadic languages, has a specific set of intransitive copy pronouns (ICPs) which may follow intransitive verbs and copy person, gender and number of the subject. While in some Chadic languages, e.g. Kanakuru, ICPs are obligatory with all intransitive verbs, this is not the case in Gashua Bade. ICPs are especially found with imperatives of intransitive verbs. In other TAMs ICPs are not common. Note that in imperatives of the second person singular there is no gender distinction (cf. §4.6.), except for intransitive verbs which are followed by an ICP.

(34)	à-ji!	à-ji	naagìi!
	aux-go.imp.sg	aux-go.imp.sg	icp2m
	go! (2m or 2f)	go! (2m)

		à-ji	naagǝ̀m!
		aux-go.imp.sg	icp2f
		go! (2f)

		à-ja	nâwùn
		aux-go.imp.pl	icp2pl
		go! (2pl)

(35)	tǝ̀r̃zǝnà	à-ji-naagǝ̀m	ìi	sǝk	lakài!
	folktale	aux-go.imp-icp2f	to	underside.of	bed
	folktale, go under the bed! (closing of folktales)

5. Verbal extensions

<26>

Bade has several derivational processes which modify the meaning of the basic verb. In addition to a frozen process which is probably a remnant of a totality extension, there are four productive extensions attested in Gashua Bade:

	*Totality	-dù
	Transitive	-dù
	Instrumental	-du
	Intransitive	-a-
	Ventive	-àawo

<27>

Western Bade has all these extensions in common with Gashua Bade. However, Western Bade has also a habitual extension which is marked by a suffix - ag-, e.g. à ɗǝ̀bd ǝ-m 'sell (it)!” vs. à ɗǝ̀bd-àgǝ-m 'keep on selling (it)!”. The habitual extension is absent in Gashua Bade, instead habitual events are expressed by the progressive/habitual (cf. §4.3.).

5.1. Totality

<28>

Gashua Bade has several verbs which can add the suffix - dù without causing any change in meaning, e.g.

ǝ̀bzu	=	ǝ̀bzǝ-dù	leave (alone)
ǝ̀lmau	=	ǝ̀lmǝ-dù	leave thing behind
kùlǝ̀vu	=	kùlvǝ-dù	accompany
ǹtu	=	ǹtǝ-dù	swallow

<29>

The suffix - dù is most probably a remnant of the totality extension which is attested in a number of Chadic languages, e.g. in closely related Ngizim one of the allomorphs for the totality extension is -dù .

5.2. Transitive

<30>

Verbs for which the grammatical subject is the agent and also the patient of an event, i.e. unaccusative and unergative verbs, can be transitized by the suffix -dù , and appear in all TAMs, e.g.

ju	go	jǝ-dù	take, transport, carry
làgu	stop, remain	làgǝ-dù	stop something
ǝ̀stu	perform naming ceremony	ǝ̀stǝ-dù	give someone a name
ǝ̀tfu	enter	ǝ̀tfǝ-dù	put in
vǝ̀lu	go out	vǝ̀lǝ-dù	bring out something

(36)	tà- tàatl-i	dǝ̀m,	tà-vǝ̀lidù	ii	ǝ̀jgàmǝkǝ̀bdàm
	aux-split-sub	wood	aux-bring.out.sub	to	side.of.road
	she split firewood and brought it out to the side of the road

(37)	ǹdà	tà- nìidù	kwàm	màr̃emmà	àmànuw	vàɗ
	people	aux-bring.sub	bull	huge	year.prm	five
	they brought a huge five years old bull

5.3. Instrumental

<31>

In Gashua Bade the verbal extension -du can be used in order to mark an omitted oblique object which is in most cases an instrument. The English translation is most often 'perform something with it', e.g.

(38)	atû	và-làakan-du,	và-làakan-du
	3f	aux-walking-with.it.prog	aux-walking-with.it.prog
	she was going and going with it

(39)	gwà-jlǝ̀m-du	tàm?
	1incl-do.vn.imperf-with.it	q
	what will we do with it?

5.4. Intransitive

<32>

Bade has a productive process which derives intransitive middle verbs from transitive verbs by means of an infix -a- [10], i.e. from transitive verbs of the form …CVC-, where V = ǝ, intransitive verbs can be derived by infixing -a-, e.g.,

Transitive		Intransitive

ǝ̀gdu	snap (thing) off	kàdu	snap off
ùgɓu	moisten	gwàɓu	get wet
ǝ̀zgǝ̀tu	pierce	ǝ̀zgàtu	become pierced
ǝ̀zdǝ̀vu	accommodate someone	ǝ̀zdàvu	stay as a guest
bǝ̀r̃tǝ̀nu	turn around something	bǝ̀r̃tànu	turn around

<33>

Note that transitive and intransitive counterparts of this type have also different verbal nouns, e.g. transitive ǝ̀zdǝ̀vu 'lodge someone” has the verbal noun ǝ ̀zdǝ̀và , whereas intransitive ǝ̀zdàvu 'stay as a guest” has the verbal noun ǝ ̀zdàvù. In the following examples the use of transitive verbs and their intransitive counterparts is illustrated.

(40)	na-zdǝ̀và-k		magǝ̀laf	na-zdàvù-w	à	Gàsiiwà
	1sg-lodge.vn.imperf-gen		guest	1sg-lodge.vn.imperf-prm	in	Gashua
	I will accommodate a guest			I will lodge in Gashua

(41)	nǝn-bǝ̀r̃tànu			naa-bǝr̃tanù-w
	1sg-turn.around-perf			1sg-turn.around.vn.imperf-prm
	I turned around			I will turn around

(42)	nǝn-bǝ̀r̃tǝ̀n-aci			naa-bǝr̃tǝnà-k			zanii-nàa
	1sg-turn.around.perf-do3m			1sg-turn.around.vn.imperf-gen			gown-poss1sg
	I turned it around			I will turn around my gown

(43)	acî	ǹk-u	kùna-lì	kùna-lì			nàk-u
	3m	fill-perf	stomach-poss3m	stomach-poss3m			be.full-perf
	he filled his stomach			his stomach was full

5.5. Ventive

<34>

Bade has also a ventive extension indicating that an event had its inception at a remote point, but has an effect towards the point of reference, i.e. most commonly the place of speaking. With motion verbs the ventive usually indicates a motion towards the speaker. In the ventive the final vowel of the 'neutral” form is replaced by the following suffixes:

	'Neutral'	Ventive

perfective	ǝ̀tf-u	ǝ̀tf-àawo	s/he entered (citation form)
	nǝ̀-tf-u	nǝ̀-tf-àawo	I entered
imperfective	nàa-tf-à	nàa-tf-àyi	I will enter
subjunctive	acî tà-tf-i	acî tà-tf-e	he should enter
imperative (sg)	à-tf-i!	à-tf-ai!	enter!
imperative (pl)	à-tf-a !	à-tf-ìina!	enter!

(44)	nà-kagd-àyi-iwà	vǝr̃ɗàmu
	1sg-pluck-imperf-for.us	ebony.fruit

	awùn	yi	wùnà-càpt-i-iwà
	2pl	top	2pl-collect-sub-for.us
	I will pluck for us ebony fruits, and you, you should collect (them) for us

6. Pluractionals

<35>

Bade like most other Chadic languages has so called pluractional verbs. According to Newman (1990:53-54): "pluractional verbs sometimes relate to plurality of a nominal argument in the sentence (e.g. subject, direct object, even indirect object), [however G.Z.], the essential semantic characteristic of such verbs is almost always plurality or multiplicity of the verb’s action". Pluractional verbs are rare in my free interviews, however, I was able to elicitate the following pluractional patterns:

1.	Cu	>	CǝC(a)u		2.	ǝC₁C₂u	>	C₁aaC₁C₂u
	ju		jǝ̀ju	go		ǝ̀sfu		sàasfu	sweep
	sau		sǝ̀sau	drink		ǝ̀sku		sàasku	shave
	tau		tǝ̀tau	eat

3.	C₁ǝC₂u	>	C₁aaC₁ǝC₂u		4.	C₁aC₂u	>	C₁aaC₂ǝC₂(a)u
	dǝ̀r̃u		dàadǝ̀r̃u	wait		màsu		màasǝ̀su	buy
	kǝ̀lu		kàakǝ̀lu	steal		bàku		bàakǝ̀ku	roast
	pǝ̀mu		pàapǝ̀mu	strike		gàfau		gàafǝ̀fau	catch

5.	Verbs with more than two consonants
	ǝ̀skùnu	sàaskùnu	begin
	ǝ̀dgùnu	dàadgùnau	put, place, put on clothes
	càptu	càpcàptu	collect
	bànku	bànkùku	vomit
	kàzàyu	kàzàyǝ̀yu	be angry, be dissatisfied with what one is given
	pàgdu	pàagdǝ̀du	beat

(45)	kǝ̀ɗàw-u	nà	jà- naì	jà-pàagdǝ̀d-i
	dry.up-perf	cond	1excl-come.sub	1excl-beat-sub
	jà- pàagdǝ̀d-i	dǝk	dǝ̀m	sai …
	1excl-beat-sub	with	stick	until …
	when (it) is dry, we come, and beat (it), and beat (it) with a stick until …

7. Conclusions

<36>

The description of the verbal system of Gashua Bade aims at illustrating differences as well as similarities with the verbal system of Western Bade, as outlined in Schuh (2007). In addition to this, the comparison of Gashua Bade with Western Bade and closely related Ngizim makes it possible to establish innovations and retentions found in the verbal systems of Bade-Ngizim group languages (cf. Schuh 1981). First of all we find certain differences concerning subject agreement clitics and auxiliaries outlined in Table 10.

Table 10: Subject agreement clitics and auxiliaries in Gashua Bade and Western Bade
	Perfective		Imperfective		Progressive/Habitual
	GB	WB	GB	WB	GB	WB
1sg	nǝ, nǝ̀, nǝn, nǝ̀n	nǝ	nà, na, nàa, naa	na, naa	nii và, va	-----
2m	kǝ	gǝ	yà, yàa	yà, yaa	gìi và, va
2f	kǝ	gǝ	mà, màa	mà, maa	gǝ̀m và, va
3m	(acî)	(aci)	(acî) à, a, àa, aa	(aci) à, aa	(acî) và, va
3f	(atû)	(atu)	(atû) à, a, àa, aa	(atû) à, aa	(atû) và, va
1excl	jǝ̀, jǝ̀n	jǝ̀	jà, jàa	jà, jaa	jà và, va
1incl	gù, gùn	wǝ̀	gwà, gwàa	wà, waa	gwà và, va
2pl	wùn	awùn	wùnà, wùnàa	awùnà, awùnaa	wùnà và, va
3pl	(aks/cì)	(akci)	(aks/cì) à, a, àa, aa	(akci) à, aa	(aks/cì) và, va

	Subjunctive		Imperative		Second subjunctive
	GB	WB	GB	WB	GB	WB
1sg	nà, nàa	nà, naa			nǝ̀	nǝ̀
2m	kà, kàa	gà, gaa	à(a), a(a) V-i	à(a) V-ii	kǝ̀	gǝ̀
2f	kà, kàa	gà, gaa	à(a), a(a) V-i	à(a) V-ǝ-m	kǝ̀	gǝ̀
3m	(acî) tà, tàa	(aci) dà, daa			(acî) tǝ̀	(aci) dǝ̀
3f	(atû) tà, tàa	(atu) dà, daa			(atû) tǝ̀	(atu) dǝ̀
1excl	jà, jàa	jàa			jǝ̀	jǝ̀
1incl	gwà, gwàa	wàa	gwà V-a	à(a) V-a-wà	gwǝ̀	wǝ̀
2pl	wùnà	awùnàa	à(a), a(a) V-a	à(a) V-a-wun	wùnǝ̀	awùnǝ̀
3pl	(aks/cì) tà, tàa	(akci) dà, daa			(aks/cì) tǝ̀	(akci) dǝ̀

<37>

Following Schuh (1981) second person singular subject clitics can be reconstructed with initial *k- for proto-Bade-Ngizim. An innovation has taken place in Western Bade, where second person singular subject clitics are always voiced. In addition to this, second person plural clitics display a prefix a -, which is absent in other varieties. Concerning subjunctive preverbal auxiliaries of third persons, it is rather unclear whether the voiced type (Western Bade and Ngizim) or the unvoiced type (Gashua Bade) constitutes the conservative type.

<38>

In the perfective Gashua Bade displays subject agreement clitics with final -n used before verbs beginning in a consonant. Clitics of this kind are absent in Western Bade and Ngizim and, therefore, can be analysed as an innovation in Gashua Bade. Perfective verb suffixes - au in class B and class D verbs occur in Gashua Bade and Ngizim. In Western Bade an innovative monophthongization -au > - o has taken place. Negation of the perfective in Gashua Bade and Ngizim uses a clause-final negator bai, whereas in Western Bade *bai is reduced to -m. Note that besides nunation [11], negation of the perfective is one of the main features separating Gashua Bade from Western Bade. A special reduplicated form in the negative perfective is found in Western Bade (example 6) and in Southern Bade, e.g. nǝ jàajà ɓ ai 'I didn’t go', but absent in Gashua Bade and Ngizim. Therefore, it is difficult to say which construction type constitutes the innovation. However, given the fact that many languages in northern Nigeria (e.g. Hausa, Miya, Guruntum and several other Chadic languages, as well as Kanuri and Fulfulde) display a dichotomy in standard negation, i.e. negation of the perfective is differently marked from negation of the imperfective, we might hypothesize that the reduplicated form in the perfective constitutes a retention (cf. Ziegelmeyer 2009b).

<39>

The most important innovation concerns the split of the imperfective in Gashua Bade. While in Western Bade and Ngizim the imperfective expresses future reference as well as durativity (action in progress), in Gashua Bade the imperfective most often denotes future events, and a new innovative TAM-form denotes progressive and habitual events. It was already stated above that the split in Gashua Bade into imperfective and progressive/habitual is probably conditioned by contact with Hausa which exhibits a future TAM expressing tense (future-time reference) and a range of modal (attitudinal) meanings, as well as an imperfective TAM encompassing dimensions of durativity (action-in-progress) and habituality. With respect to expressions of habituality, Ngizim probably constitutes the conservative type, where the imperfective also encompasses this dimension, whereas in Gashua Bade habituality is expressed by the progressive/habitual and in Western Bade in terms of a habitual verbal extension (cf. §6). Furthermore in Gashua Bade and Ngizim constructions with a transitive verb in the imperfective and progressive/habitual (Gashua Bade only) with no overt direct object add the previous reference marker to the preceding verbal noun. This construction type is not used in Western Bade.

<40>

In the subjunctive mood several innovations have taken place in Western Bade. While all other Bade varieties have a (…L)H tone pattern on subjunctive verbs, in Western Bade tone of subjunctive verbs is conditioned by the initial consonant, i.e. verbs beginning in a voiced obstruent have a low tone on the first syllable, all other verbs have a high tone. In addition to this preverbal subject agreement clitics exhibit a polar tone to the first syllable of the verb, except for first and second person plural which always bear a low tone (for a more detailed description of the subjunctive in Western Bade see Schuh 2007). For instance Western Bade ga gàfì 'that you catch' and gà karmì 'that you chop' can be contrasted with Gashua Bade kà gàfi, and kà kàrmi respectively.

<41>

Another innovation in Western Bade concerns the negation of the second subjunctive, and is partially parallel to the negation of the perfective. Again the proto-Bade-Ngizim negation marker *bai has been reduced to -m.

<42>

Yet another innovation in Western Bade can be found in the imperative paradigm which distinguishes gender in the second person singular. This differentiation is absent in all other varieties.

<43>

Finally, as concerns verbal extensions, we can note that both Gashua Bade and Western Bade have a transitive, intransitive, instrumental and ventive extension. Only Western Bade has an additional habitual extension (cf.§6). Proto-Bade-Ngizim probably also had a totality extension. While this extension is still productive in Ngizim, in Gashua Bade and Western Bade only remnants of this extension are found.

Abbreviations

aux	auxiliary	pl	plural
C	consonant	poss	possessive pronoun
cond	conditional marker	prm	previous reference marker
dem	demonstrative	prog	progressive/habitual
do	direct object	q	question word
f	feminine	sg	singular
gen	genitive	sub	subjunctive
H	high tone	sub2	Second subjunctive
icp	intransitive copy pronoun	SVO	subject-verb-object
imp	imperative	TAM	tense-aspect-mood
imperf	imperfective	top	topicalizing particle
L	low tone	vn	verbal noun
m	masculine	V	vowel
neg	negation	1EXCL	1^st plural exclusive
perf	perfective	1INCL	1^st plural inclusive

8. References

Broß, Michael 1997.

'Some remarks on the history of the extinct languages Auyo, Shira and Teshena.' In: Wilhelm Seidensticker, Michael Broß and Ahmad Tela Baba (eds.), Guddiri Studies – Languages and Rock Paintings in Northeastern Nigeria, pp.37-63. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe

Lukas, Johannes 1968

'Nunation in afrikanischen Sprachen.' Anthropos 63:97-114

Lukas, Johannes 1970-72

'Die Personalia und das primäre Verb im Bolanci (Nordnigerien) - Mit Beiträgen über das Karekare.' Afrika und Übersee 54:237-286, 55:114-139

Newman, Paul 1990

Nominal and Verbal Plurality in Chadic. Dordrecht & Providence: Foris

Schuh, Russell G. 1971

'Verb forms and verb aspects in Ngizim.' Journal of African Languages 10:47-60, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/schuh/Papers/A01_1971_ngizim_verbs.pdf (09.07.2013)

Schuh, Russell G. 1975

'Nunation and gender in Bade.' Afrika und Übersee 58:106-119, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/schuh/Papers/A13_1975-75_nunation_Bade.pdf (09.07.2013)

Schuh, Russell G. 1981

'Using dialect geography to determine prehistory – A Chadic case study.' Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 3:201-250, http://aflang.humnet.ucla.edu/Bade/Papers/A35_1981_bade_dialectology.pdf (09.07.2013)

Schuh, Russell G. 2001

'Shira, Teshena and Auyo – Hausa’s (former) eastern neighbors.' Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 16/17:387-435, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/schuh/Papers/A70_2001_shira_teshena_auyo.pdf (09.07.2013)

Schuh, Russell G. 2003

'The functional unity of the Hausa and West Chadic subjunctive.' In: Jason Kandybowicz (ed.), Papers in African Linguistics 3, UCLA Working Papers in Linguistics 9, pp.17-42. Los Angeles: UCLA Department of Linguistics, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/schuh/Papers/D02_2003_Hausa_subjunctive.pdf (09.07.2013)

Schuh, Russell G. 2007

'Bade morphology.' In: Alan S. Kaye (ed.), Morphologies of Asia and Africa, pp.587-639. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/schuh/Papers/A98_2007_WB_morphology.pdf (09.07.2013)

Schuh, Russell G. 2008

'The Duwai verbal system.' Papers on Duwai. University of California AFLANG directory. Ms, http://aflang.humnet.ucla.edu/Duwai/Papers/duwai_verbal_system.pdf (11.08.2013).

Schuh, Russell G. 2011

'Grammatical influences of Kanuri on Chadic languages of Yobe State.' In: Doris Löhr, Eva Rothmaler & Georg Ziegelmeyer (eds.), Kanuri, Borno and Beyond – Current Studies on the Lake Chad Region (Topics in Interdisciplinary African Studies 22), pp.137-154. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/schuh/Papers/A121_2011_kanuri_gram_infl.pdf (09.07.2013)

Tarbutu, Muktar Musa 2004

'Bade-English-Hausa Dictionary (Gashua Bade).' Edited by Russell G. Schuh. Potiskum: Ajami Pres, http://aflang.humnet.ucla.edu/Yobe/Dictionaries/Gbade_english_hausa.pdf (09.07.2013)

Ziegelmeyer, Georg 2009a

'Between Hausa and Kanuri – On the linguistic influence of Hausa and Kanuri on Bade and Ngizim.' In: Eva Rothmaler (ed.), Topics in Chadic Linguistics V. Comparative and Descriptive Studies. (Papers from the 4^th Biennial International Colloquium on the Chadic Languages, Bayreuth, October 30-31, 2007), pp.173-185. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe

Ziegelmeyer, Georg 2009b

'Areal features in northern Nigeria – Towards a linguistic area.' In: Petr Zima (ed.), The Verb and Related Areal Features in West Africa – Continuity and Discontinuity within and across Sprachbund Frontiers (LINCOM Studies in African Linguistics 77), pp.269-306.. Munich: LINCOM Europa

Ziegelmeyer, Georg 2009c

'The Hausa particle "koo" – A widely spread formative in northern Nigeria.' In: Norbert Cyffer & Georg Ziegelmeyer (eds.) When Languages Meet – Language Contact and Change in West Africa. (Topics in African Studies 13), pp.65-91. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe

Ziegelmeyer, Georg 2010

'Retention and innovation – On adverbial subordination in Gashua Bade.' In: Georg Ziegelmeyer & Norbert Cyffer (eds.) Aspects of Co- and Subordination – Case Studies from African, Slavonic, and Turkic Languages. (Topics in Interdisciplinary African Studies 18), pp.119-144. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe

[1] I gratefully acknowledge the sponsorship of the FWF (Austrian Science Fund) which financed me during the project Dynamik sprachlichen Wandels in Nordostnigeria at the University of Vienna. My special thanks go to all my friends, colleagues and language consultants in Gashua.

[2] In Western Bade the ending is -o.

[3] Transcription: aa, ii, etc. = long vowel; a, i, etc. = short vowel; ǝ = high central vowel; à(a) = low tone; â(a) = falling tone; ǎ(a) rising tone; high tone is unmarked; ɓ, ɗ = laryngeal implosives; ’y = glottalized palatal glide; tl and jl = lateral fricatives, r̃ = apical tap/roll, c and j = palato-alveolar affricates.

[4] In elicitations Hausa future was almost always translated with Bade imperfective, and Hausa imperfective with Bade progressive/habitual, respectively.

[5] The form nee is a coalescence of /na + ii/, i.e. the verbal noun of the verb ‘to go’ and the preposition ii ‘to’.

[6] The preverbal auxiliary is sometimes realized with a long vowel, which might be conditioned by verb class. However, the precise rules are still unclear to me.

[7] For the formation of verbal nouns in Western Bade see Schuh (2007).

[8] naì is the subjunctive of the irregular ventive verb dàawau 'come'.

[9] Note that the second verb is in the subjunctive, which is normal in a sequence of events, regardless of the TAM of the first verb.

[10] Note that Bade and many other Chadic languages have the possibility to use one and the same verb as a transitive verb or an intransitive middle verb. For instance, in acî kùɓu mâgvuw 'he closed the door' kùɓu is a transitive verb with an agentive subject, whereas in mâgvuw kùɓu 'the door is closed' kùɓu is an intransitive middle verb, designating a change of state of the subject.

[11] In Western Bade citation forms (≈ indefinite forms) for common nouns have a final –n (frequently referred to as nunation) which originally comes from a definite determiner. For nunation in Western Bade see Lukas (1968) and Schuh (1975).

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On the verbal system of Gashua Bade

1. Introduction

2. Brief remark on Bade typology

3. Verb classes

4. Tense Aspect Mood (TAM) in Gashua Bade

4.1. Perfective

4.2. Imperfective

4.3. Progressive/habitual

4.4. Verbal nouns

4.5. Subjunctive

4.6. Imperative

4.7. Second subjunctive

4.8. Intransitive Copy Pronouns

5. Verbal extensions

5.1. Totality

5.2. Transitive

5.3. Instrumental

5.4. Intransitive

5.5. Ventive

6. Pluractionals

7. Conclusions

8. References

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