UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGOII

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3 1822 00806 6664

HANDBOOK

KESO

LANGUAGE

UNIVERSITY OF CAl

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3 1822

00806 6664

PL

THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,

SAN DIKSQ

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^

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

A HANDBOOKOF THE

ATESO LANGUAGE

A HANDBOOKOF THE

ATESO LANGUAGEB^

THEA.L.

VEN.

ARCHDEACON

KITCHING,

M.A.

author of "an outline grammar of the gang language" "on the backwaters of ths Nile"

SOCIETY lOR I'KOMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGELONDON: NORTHUMBERLAN'r) AVENCE,W.C.

I9I5

INTRODUCTIONThe Ateso dialect is spoken by a tribe ot" some 300,000 people living between Lake Kioga and Mt. Elgon in the Eastern Province of the Uganda Protectorate. The Teso are a cheerful, industrious people, amenable to control and eminently teachable. Although now for some six years only in close contact with civilization, the tribe has made phenomenally rapid progTess in the arts of peace the cultivation of cotton and labour on the construction of metalled roads has provided even the poorest peasants with abundant cash, and European articles, from cigarettes to bicycles, are in eager demand. Yet the name of this tribe does not appear, so far as the wTiter is aware, in any of the works on the peoples of the Uganda Protectorate. The Teso appear to belong to the same Nilotic gi-oup as the Nandi, Turkana and Karamojo The tribes, and the language has affinities with Masai. dialect is given by Sir H. H. Johnston, in his work The Uganda Protectorate, as Elgumi, a name which the Rev. W. Crabtree suggests has been applied to the tribe by the Masai {En game the nose) owing to the frecpient occurrence of the velar nasal ng. It is, however, doubtful if the sound in question is associated by natives with nasal utterance it is more probable that the word is the Masai Ilkume, one of their names for the Turkana tribe, who speak a dialect nearly resembling Ateso. A comparison between Ateso and the Turkana and Karamojo dialects is afforded by the following list of common;

=

;

words

^

English.

VI

INTRODUCTIONEnglish.

Vlll

INTRODUCTIONNumerals

5.

INTRODUCTIONIn these ng represents wj hard (as inloii(/er),

IX

while

/((/'

is

employed to denotesound )tg {ng hard

irg

soft (as in singer).is

As the hard ngis

does not occur in Ateso only one symbolsoft (velar nasal)

required

;

the

one phonetically, not compound is really ngg), and should therefore be represented Accordingly w' was in phonetic writing by a single symbol. adopted as the closest approximation to the Bantu ng\ The author regrets the necessity for abandoning the phonography of many authorities, but he was concerned solely with the consideration of what would best represent the spoken sounds to the Teso people, for whom his work is done, even at the cost of extra trouble to European philologists.

The author wishes to acknowdedge his indebtedness to the Rev. W. Crabtree, late of the C.M.S. Uganda Mission, for the use of his vocabularies of the Ateso dialect. He is also indebted to the members of the Mill Hill Roman Catholic IMission at Ngora for suggestions on the grammar of the language, and to Mr. C. W. Hattersley for permission to adopt his work entitled Lugaiida P/imse Book as a basis for theconversational chapters at the end of this book.

A HANDBOOK OF THE

ATESO LANGUAGEThe Alphabet.the The Ateso alphabet consists of twenty -three letters English consonants /, q, v, x, z, are not used, while n and h' The vowels are pronounced much as in Italian. are added. The approximate pronunciation of the letters is as follows;

a as a in fat her, not as inh,,

man

.

.

aparauebela apecelo

bendcJiair

,,

dotvn,, ,, ,,

adaketapeseaperit

maketether(father,

never as

in gender

.

egiluthali

hair been ,, evident,,

ekilyokit akipicjakait

jolt keep,, ,, ,, ,, ,,

apakietelepat

lane

mend nowonionsinger,

amaranait elwana akonen, akaiinever as in stronger.

kan'ina, n"61, kitin'

gone,,

boneglory

aiboko etogoaladot alupot

,, ,,

painrent

,,,,

akwarealosit11

sack

12t

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEas,, t

in tool.

etaget.

MIV

00 moon, never as in dutij

amutonoawaraga eyapye

,,

wy

y

went yard

Ateso vowels combine to make two diphthongsai asoi,,

i

in hite

adakaialadoi

oy alloy

Other vowels found occurring together are not diphthongs, but are pronounced separatelyibotei

aujo apolou

contains four syllables three ,, ,, four ,, ,,,,

adeodeoTransliteration.

five

,,

In?

transliterating

words boriowed from

other languages'p is

used for / and,,

aipiiga for the

Luganda,,

okufttga

s

z

emesa

,,

emezais

The nasalization common in Bantu dialects dropped eniusango becomes anusayd.

usually

Thus also by a combination of both these processes, the Luganda twiinza (jigger) becomes ejmsa in Ateso.

SUBSTANTIVES.Ateso substantives are divided into two main classes1.

2.

Masculine nouns, having the initial vowel e in the singular and i in the plural. Feminine nouns, having the initial vowel a in bothsingular

and

plural.

Beside these there are two smaller classes.'1

A

4.

few nouns, mostly denoting relaJ:ionships, having the vowel o in the singular and irregular plural. The diminutive forms of nouns in the other classes.initial

1 and 2 may be subdivided according to the ways forming the plural. Any noun in Class 1 denoting a person or animal may also be used in Class 2 by changing the initial

Classes

of

vowel,

e. g.

emerekek, a ram eblesit, a servantof the

amerekek, a eice ablesit, a maidservant

Some feminine nouns denote a weakermasculine equivalent,a bigtreee.

g.

1.

or smaller individual

ekitoi,

akitoi,

a piece of wood

ikitor, trees

akitor, firewood

ClassThere are eleven subdivisions1.

in the

masculine

class.

Nouns denoting

persons,

formed from verbs by the

addition to the root of the verb of e- or tka- in the case of strong verbs, and chc- in the case of weak verbs. These have the singular termination -an and plural -ah

ekamr^jau eken'alan ekelipan

a hunter

ikamejakiken'alak ikelipak-k,

a liar a beggar

The followingekurye

also

have plural termiiuitiona coward a blind man

but are

irregular in formation

ikuryesik

emudukl

imudukyok

142.-6t,

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE

Nouns with singular terminating and plural in -ai, -ei, -oi

in

-a,

-at,

-c,

-et,

-o,

ekojoerlkot

an arrowacliai)i

ikojoiirikoi

etomeedita ebotet3.

an elephanta basket a devicein

itomeiiditai

ibotei

Nouns with singular terminatingijo

p

or a vowel

and

plural in

or

syoa rat a moon, month

em inelap edia4.

imiryoilapyo idiasyo-oi,-1

a herb

Nouns with

plural -or

singular termination -ok, -6n\

and

ekin'okekicolon'

ekitwl5.

a dog a stool a shrub

in'okworikicolon'or

ikitwor-n,-k,

Nouns withekeretekisil

singular in

-/,

-u\

-/,

-r,

which add

-a in the plural

ekurukekiriton

a gourd a command a crow a scorpion

ikeretaikisila

ikurukuikiritona

Some add

-na or -ina to a singular in -m or -oa papyrus mat a cerval cat

ejani

ijanuna

ekwaro

ikwaroaa

Some nounsecokat

in -ai or -at

drop the

final letter

esaniai

a rirer a seedin-it

isanui

icoka-it,

Nouns endingeslgiiait

or -ait drop

some

in -anisigiia

drop

-n-

a cowrie shell a buffalo a man a

ekosohwauekilyokit

ikosobwaikilyok

Emtisogait

Mnsoga

Imusoga

A HANDBOOK OF THK ATESO LANGUAGE6.

l5

Nouns withchange theeroto

singular in

-?',

-o, -u, -it, -ot,

-In or

final syllable to -in

or -m, which

add

ebu

ekwameblesit

a road a hycena a uintl a servant

irotiu

ibwin

ikwaminiblesm

Some

in -6t,

or -et change the final syllable to -on, -eni

-t

ekadon'ot edokolet7.

a hell a monkeyin-7^, -6t,

ikadon'onidokoleni-ut,

Nouns with singularesirut

which drop theisiru

final

ekaiiumit ecopot

a mosquito a grain of semsem j)upil of the eye-?,-7^-,

ikaiiumi icopo-fi

8. Nouns with singular termination or change to -('

which add

-o

en'atun ebokoriteputiri

a

lion

a finger a wart hog

in'atuno ibokoroiputiro-unij

Some

in -o,

-7,

add -no or

in -ut

change to

eryagoepiri

etolut

a bag a pole a pelican

iryagonoipirino

itoluno

Similarly

esyep

emoru9.

a side a hillin -e or -et

isyepiuo

imorunowhich make pluralimaase imarein -e

Nouns with singularemaase emaret

a locust a bean

Also

ekiya10.

a charm, medicinein-e,-et,-'/,

ikeyeplural in -ya

Other nounsere

-s,

-t,

make

ekusejoket ekirore

a a a a

village

irerya

needlespirit

name

ikusya ijokya ikhorya

1611.

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE

A

few nouns add -on to the singularebuiietoii

a crevasse a kite

iburionitorion

any

There are a number of nouns which cannot be brought into of the above classes

etwo emelekuelon'oru

ekumeekweter

emwatununi

a drinking gourd a hoe a lumj) a nostril a dwarf a twinplural form, such assntallpox

itwol

imelekesilon'oras

ikumesikweteras

imwatukunamesof diseases

Some nouns have no

and a few abstract nounsekodoi

epuru eban'anutepu'yanut

measlesfoihf cleverness

Note.- It will be observed that the above classification of substantives is more or less arbitrary, and of little assistance Owing to the extreme in studying the formation of plurals. irregularity of Ateso in this respect it seems impossible to do more than group the substantives together in some such way as the above and memorize the forms individually.

Class

2.

The feminine1.

class has eight sub-divisions.in a vowel, except-/,

Nouns endingakale atibo ukulu

which addakalei atiboi

I

for the

plural-

a spoon a howl

an ostrich-~tt,

akului

iSome with singular inakit abilot abf'yet2.

-Ct,

-6t,

make

])lural in -i

an,

ear

akiabiloi

a jiute an egg//,

abeyl

Nouns

in n' or

iiuikiiig plural in -or

atapin' ateinisu

a guinea fowl a drum

-

atapin 'or atenusor

A3.

HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEin-i,

17-c

Nouns with singularakacerit

-u,

-It,

andin a

plural in

aof

star

akacere

4.

A

large

number

nouns endinga debt a iving a crocodile

consonant add -a

to form the plural

apesen

apescna

abebenukakiiian'

abebenukaakiiian'a

Others in

-at, -ait,

drop

-t

or

-it

asowaagerata

asowatageratait

a piece of iron a comb

Some nouns addthe -t

-na to the singular, those in -ut dropping

atenut agola5.

a branch a cor>ierin-?,

atenunaagolana-nl,

Nouns endingakoli

-o,

add

ending

in n' or -n

add

akun'

a cup a kneein-6t,

akolino akun'ino

Some nounsajulot6.

-ut,

akakut

merely drop the -t akaku a haiUtonea featherajulo-d,

Nouns endingan'ololo

in -an,

-I,

-It,

or chaiige the final syllable to -in

add

-7h to the singular

akanaisinit

a lake an arma abraceletJuit

aif ololln

akauinaisinin

amaduli7.

amadulin

Some nouns ending-ia or sia

add

in a consonant,

and a few

in -a or -i

adeka aparan8.

a disease a daya final-t

adekesia aparasiato -n

Some nouns changeatitibat

atitiban

acocorot

a heel a partridge

acocoron

nouns have no plural form, such as abstract nouns and a few others, e. g. ajakanut, a kingdom abelt, truthof feminine

A number

18

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEOthers have no singular, chiefly those denoting liquidsakipl, water

awokot, blood

The1.

following must also be included in Class 2

Infinitives used as abstract substantives

akialama, joyakerit, reverence2.

alosit,

journey

-ut

Abstract nouns formed from verbs with the terminationto be

asyana,

gracious

asyanut, grace

amuno,3.

to trust

amunonut,place,

covfideiice

Nouns denoting-7s.

formed from

infinitives

with the

affix

akilon", to bathe

akilon'is, bathroom

akiboyi,

to sit

akwana,4.

to be

sharp

akiboyls, a place akwanis, edge

Nouns denoting theakidoka,akirap,to

iiifinitives

instrument used, with the termination -et or -ait

formed

from

climb

to cover

adoket, a ladder arapetait, a lidof the masculine

5.

Imported words not denoting personsarupiya, a rupee

genderabaluwa, aletter

last

five classes the two first have no plural forms, the three follow the formation of the main classes given above. So in Class 3 we have plurals in -syo

Of these

akipoyls

a kitchen

and

in Class 4 plural foinis in -a

akipoylsyo

adoket arupiyana

a ladder

and in Class 5 plurals in -na

adoketa

ru])ees.

ClassThis Class contains a small

3.

numberokilen,

of nouns,

nearly

all

denoting relationships okoku, sononaci, brother, cousin

husband

otataylt, grandson

ocen, nephew

dion, pasture

A

HANDBOOK OF THK ATESO LANGUAGEiuitial o

19

There are also irregular forms without the^aivd, father

toto, tnolher

papa, ancestor

kiuaci, sister, cousineja,

mamayi, uncle

aunt

The

plural forms are irregular, as followsiklleni,

iidwe, so)isikliiaoau. brothers

itatayl,

husbands grandsons

icenion, nephews

fathers lupapa, ancestors lumamayi, imcleshipaita,,

orona, pastures lukatoto, mothers

akiuacan, sisters lukeja, aunts

The adjectival and other agreements are the samefor Class1,

as those except for words denoting female relations, which2.

follow Class

Class

4.

This class contains the diminutive forms of nouns in the other classes. The noun ibore (a thing) may also be included, as it is most commonly used in the diminutive form, though it may also be employed in the feminine abore

ibore, a thing ikoku, a child

iboro, things

iidwe, children

So tooekinok. dog anayit, a blade of grass amoru, a stoneikin'ok,iiia,

puppy

iveeds

imoru, a pebble

The Generic Plural.

Many nouns have a second form of the plural the ordinary form is used to denote specific individuals, the secondary form indicates the entire class of objects mentioned.;

Singular.

Specific Plural.

Generic Plural.

akwapu, koidetuan, personibore, thing

akwapin, count rgitun'a, people

akwapislnei, the world itun'asinei, nutnkindiborosinei, creation

iboro. things

20

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEDerogative Forms.

Bya

little,

the insertion of -dio- after the initial vowel the sense of a small quantity is given.little

adiokinetikusi, aidiobore,(f. the

a

hit

of your oil of a thing

adverbslittle little

nediokasilon. anediocici,

waytimep. 40.

a

and the verbal forms on

CASE.case,

Ateso nouns but some have a locative form.for the(a)

most part do not possess more than oneThis

is

made

By

dropping the

initial

vowel.

aparan, a day akware, a night etogo, a house akuju, the sky{b)

paran, by day kware, by night togo, in the house kuju, abore, in the sky

o or ko, the

the initial vowel of masculine nouns to former generally with verbs denoting motion, the latter mostly stativeejai

By changing

komesa,

it

is

on

the table

koloma olugudo, go(c)

out into the high road.

By

prefixing k to feminine nounssat in the kitchen.

eboyoto kakipoyls, they

Nouns of (6) formation often add the after the locative prefix ko-, never after okotometaokc, withinhis heart.

preposition

to

ma

The Possessive case is formed in Ateso by Genitive Case. the use of the preposition ka = of; the noun of the possessor always follows that of the tiling possessed

Okoku ka Elohim,or

the

Son of God

more definitely cteiepat Ifika Kmusutrnt,

the

European's boy.

ADJECTIVES.language,

no true adjectives in the Ateso place being supplied by verbs in relative form. They are made by the addition to the 'present tense of the verb of one of the relative pronouns Ic-, loka-, in the masculine class, ne-, )iaka-, in the feminine, i/i-nl- in the diminutive. Some of the commonest of these adjectives are as followsStrictly speaking there aretlieir

Sing.

Plur.

English.strongshortlight

legogon'

luegogon'

lewuryanalebenen leronolepololedlt

luewuryaka luebenenaklueroko luepolok luedlsyak lueren"ak

badgreat

smallredu'hite

lerenan

lokakwananlokitetet

lukakwan'aklukitetak

newbig,

lokapolon letyonolokawojaiilerl

lukapolok luetyoko lukawojakiuerlete

important

difficult

long, fall

crooked

Similarly we haveFeiii.

Diittin.

nerononedit

yenironoyenidit

nakapolon nakawojan

yenlkapolon yenikawojanin

and

so forth

There are one or two formednouns.lokilyoklthiale

a similar manner from

naberu

fenude21

22

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE

The forms compounded with the relatives le-, ne-, correspond generally to the English indefinite article, while the loka-, naka- forms correspond to the definite article, e. g.

Mam

akoto imelekes lumojon", koseonu lukagogon'.

/ do not want old hoes, pick out the strong ones.

Kotwana akiten' nedit Was it a small cow thatSomerelative as

?

Mam, nakapolon/

nakiryonon.

died

No,

the big black one.

adjectives are formed from transitive verbs with the above and the termination -at or -et.cloth for tying, ba)idage;from akiyen,totie

egoye lokiyenetekiya lokiloset ekiya lomatat akiboyis nekiyen'et ibore yenltubet

medicine for washing, lotion medicine for dri)iking a resting-placea thing to cut with

Adjectives always follow the noun (jualified, as in the phrases given above. Sometimes another noun may follow the adjective, limiting its application to the main subject, e. g.~ejakait lepolo asyanut

a

rerg gracious chief,

literally

a chief great as to his grace.

itun"a Iwedisyak akiyuwuni men of Utile faith elephants irith long tru)iks itomeyi luewojak ikumos

of the masculine gender, the letter n of the feminine,

always characteristic whether at the beginning oi' end of a word. So we have already seen the adjectival jjrefixes commence with I in the masculine and n in the feminine, and it will be noted that the demonstrative pronouns n'ol, n'ini, nul, n'un, are characterized by the same The diminutive class has its distinctive letters at the end. prefix ye)d in the singular, but in tlio plui-al always follows the agreements for the masculine.ItIx'I

may

noted heie that the letter

is

Numerals. Ateso possesses numerals up to 100, but after that is obliged to borrow foreign words. The numbers up to five are the basis of the whole system of notatioii, six being five and one, seven five and Iwo, and so foitli.

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGECardinals.

23

Masc.1.

Fein.

Dim.yenidiopetas masc.

ediopetiaieiinii

2.

3.4.

adiopet aaie auni

5. 6.7.

iun'won ikan ikankape ikaukaareikafikauni

aun'wouakafi

8. 9.

akankape akankaare akankauniakaiikauirwon

ikankaiin'won

10. itonioii

atomonkapeatomoii kape

11. itonion

20. akaisareyi

30. akaisauni

and so on through the tens, the same in all classes. The intermediate numbers take the gender agreementsthe units

in

Masc.33. akaisauni 64.

Fern.

ka huini akaisakankape ka hiuu'won

akaisauni ka nuuni akaisakaiikape ka

luiun'

wonakaisakankauni ka uadope ka lodope akwatat 200. akaisatomon aare, or akwata81. akaisakaiikauni

100. akaisatomon, or

aare

For one thousand and onwards words have been borrowed from Luganda1000. elukumi 2000. ilukumln iare.

Aboveeasiest to

this there are

no forms in common use, but the adopt are perhaps the following

10,000. arita, a translation of the Luganda word omutwalo, a load of shells, which in the days before the introduction of coinage numbered 10,00(^). the Luganda 100,000. akasiripu, a transliteration of

akasiriru.

Beyond

this

it is

at present impossible to count in Ateso.

24

A

HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEOrdinals.

3Iasc.1st

Fein.

Dimyenisodit yenikiaret

losodit

2nd lokiaret3rd lokhvuniet4tli

nasodit nakiaret

lokwononet

nakiwuniet nakwon'onet

venikiwuniet

10th lokitomonet lokakaisareyi 35th lokakaisauni ka lukafi 39th nakakaisauni ka nukan kaun'won20tli

and so

forth in all classes.

Adrerhial.Oi(ce, atipet.

Twice, akatenak aare

and so on. This form is not, however, used very frequently; a much more common usage is to employ the word irwana. abu kobu irwana aare kosubu kAvan'ini irwana akanIn the samehe came twice do this five times.

way(/ didit)

irwana ipu irwana ai ?

many

times.it)

How many

times {did you do

/

Interrogative Adjectives.

Like other adjectives these follow the noun

(|ualified.

Masc.enoina, irhichPI, inoika?

Frill.

aiioina

imwasayi, hoiv manyor

/

anoika aniwasayi

iniwayi

amwayiirhich sheep hare you brouyht ? for how many rupees do yousell

iyau enHMckek enoina ( igela arupivana aniwavi

^

it?

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEComparison.

25

for the comparative and superlative degrees, and these must be expressed by paraphrases. The comparative degree is usually indicated by the ase of the verb akitelekarlt to surpass.

There are no separate forms

=

ekakin'ok etelekarit lokoni

mi/ dofj

is hi(/(/er tJuDi

yours

Or

in relative

constructionthis coir is the bigger

akiten'

na

n'es netelekarit

=

The sui)erlative mav be indicated bv the addition alletogo n'ol n'es letelekarit keretliat

of kcre

house

is

the

biggest of

(dl

Or merely by appositionibore yenlclcl hai?

yenicici

whichis

is

the stnaUest ?

this

bo yen

the sinaUest

It will be noted that when an adjective is in simple apposition in English, in Ateso the adjective becomes a verb in direct construction, the relative prefix dro piping off and the

copula being omitted.

erono ayep ewuryaka iphino

the

axe

is

had

the poles are short

But the definite form of the adjective is used in apposition, generally with the copula n'es, Jces, when in English the adjective is preceded by the definite article.etun'anan elo n'es lokapolonakitor nu kes nukalan'iriokthis

man

is the

headman.

these trees are the heavy ones.

VEEBS.The verb is the most important part of speech in the Ateso language, supplying many deficiencies in other parts of speech at the same time it is both complicated and irregular in its conjugation. The forms given here appear to be those in most general use, but there is much local variation of usage, and it is difficult to obtain any general consensus of opinion as to the relative correctness of some formations. There are seven different classes of verbs, which are dealt with separately below, as well as a number of irregular and defective verbs. Apart from their classification according to conjugation, verbs are also divided into strong and weak this division is not according to termination, both strong and weak verbs being included in the various classes. Strong verbs take;

1.

a- as the prefix of the infinitive.^

2.

3.

4.

pronoun in the first and third ])ersons singular and the third persoii plural. ko- as prefix of the imperative, La- in first person of the subjunctive. eka- as prefix of the veibal noun denoting agent.a- as personal

Weak1.

verbs

take

aki- or ai- as prefix of the infinitive.first and third persons as above. imperative prefix, ke- in subjunctive. eke- or eki- as prefix of verbal noun.e-

2. 3.

as pronou)! in

ki- as

4.

So

inJ.

the strong verb furaioslt, injitiitire.

lo (/o

we have

2.

alot,

lie /la.s (joiie.!

3. 4.

kolot

(JO !

kaloto,

let

us

(jo.

r-kalotan, n f/oer, irarcller.'

With

II

few

(xc('j)1 inns,

mostly

inniiosylliil ic roots.

20

A HANDBOOK OF TUV. ATESO LAXCUAGEIntlie1.

27

weak verb

for fo agreeiiijiuilive.

we have

akiyiiwuni,

2. 3.4.

eyuwunit, he agrees. kiyu agree ! keyuwutu, lei us agree. ekeyuwunan, a believer, one who agrees.!

In

all

inflexions of tense, etc.,

verbs are classified apart

from the division into strong and weak, only pronominal and other prefixes being afltected by that division.

Moods and

Tenses.

There are five moods, each containing one tense, with the exception of the Indicative which has six main tenses.Indicative.1.

2.

3.

4.5.6.

Present Indefinite, efiakuni, / bring back. Present Imperfect, enakunit, / am bringing back. Future, eiiakimi nat or Iwaru, I slmll bring back. Perfect, eiiaku, / have brought back. Past, abu kiiiaku, / brought back. Past Imperfect, abala eiiakuni, / teas bringing back.

many verbs the two present tenses are identical, and in the future requires an adverb, nat for near time, livaru or molo for time more or less distant.Inall

Infinitive.

Imperative. Subjunctive, Conditional.

akiiiakuui or ainakuni, lo bring back. kiiiaku, bring back. See also p. 37. keiiaku, that I may bring back. Past Tense, tikiiiaku, / should have brou{)ht hack.

Conjugations.1.

Conjugation 1 includes all verbs having the termination -uni in the infinitive and present indicative singular. Those which denote motion imply that the motion is in the direction of the speaker.

28

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEStrong.

Weak.akiyuwuni,aikamuiii.to arjree

alomuni, to come in or out ayauni, to bririffaafiuni, to see

to to

catch hold of

akinakuui,akiituni, to

bring hack

alimuni,Indicative

to tell

remember

Mood.I bring back.kinakuniiilakunete

Present tense.

Future.

/ shall bring back.

enakuniiiiakuni

enakunfiiat orhvaru,etc., as Pi'esent.

enakuniPresent Imperfect.

enakunete/

am

bringing hack.

enakunit inakuuit enakunitPerfect.

kiuakunit inakunite enakunite

/ have brought back.

Weak.

Strong.

enaku

Past.

/ brought back.

abu

kifiaku

apotu kinakutu

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEConditional Mood.

29

tikinaku tikinaku tikinaku

tikinaku tikinakututikiiiakutu

Sometively,

and then the termination indicative are as followsPerfect,

transitive verbs in this class can be used intransiof the perfect and past

Past.

adaun kodaun

pi.

adaunos kodaunos

The imperative follows the past

tense.

There are also some intransitive forms in -uni of verbs in Class 5, which follow this conjugation.elelebata, they filled, but elelebunos, (hey are full ecanicanete, they spoil, l)ut ecanucanunos, they are spoilt

Conjugation

2.

This class contains verbs having the termination -ari in the infinitive and present indicative singular. Those which denote motion imply that the motion is in the direction away from the speaker, the opposite of verbs in Class 1.Strong.

alomari,

to

go in or out

apari, to stray

an 'ari,

to

open

30Past.

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO tANGUAGE/ went out.

abu koloniaPast Imperfect.abala alomariibala ilomari

apotu kolomasi/ was going out.

Same

in all persons.

abala alomariImperative Mood.

kibala kilomari ibalasi ilomarite abalasi alomarite

Go

out.

kolomaSubjunctive Mood.

kolomasi

That I

may

go out.

kaloma koloma kolomaConditional Mood.

kalomasi kolomasi kolomasiI should have gone out.

tikoloma

tikolomasi

Same3.

in all persons.

Conjugation

Class 3 contains verbs having the termination -ori in the If motion is implied infinitive and present indicative singular. it is in the direction away from the speaker, as in Class 2, e. g. abon'ori to go back (abon'uni, to come back).Strong.

A HANDBOOK OFPast.

THP:

ATESO LANGUAGE

31

/ touched.

abu kotiroPast Imperfect,abala atiroriImperative Mood.kotiro

apotu/ was

kotiro.si

Same

in all persons.

touchiiiff.

kibala kitirori,

etc.,

as above.

Touch.kotirosi

Subjunctive Mood.katiro kotiro kotiro

That I

may

touch.

katirosi

kotirosi kotirosi

Conditional Mood.tikotiro

I should have touched.tikotirosi

Same4.

in all persons.

Conjugation

This includes all verbs ending in -ini, mostly the preSee further on positional forms of verbs in other classes.p. 41.

Strong.aosikini, tolet

Weak.ainevini, to leave

go

agolokini, to shut

up

akiyapakini,

to

go gently

Indicative

Mood./tell.

Present Tense.aliniokini

Future.

/ shall

tell.

ilimokini aliniokini

kilimokini ilimokinete alimokineteI

aliniokini nat or hvaru,etc.,

as Present.

Present Imperfect.(often wanting)

nm

telling.

Perfect.aliniokiilinioki

/ have told.

termination -it, -ito as in conjugation 3Past./ told.

kilimoki ilimokis

alimoki

alimokis

abu kolimukiPast Imperfect.

aputu

kulinioki.s

Same

in all persons.

/ was telling.etc., as in

abala kolimukiui,

other conjugations

32

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAG-ETell.

Imperative Mood.

kolimokiSubjunctive Mood.

kolimokis

That I may

tell.

kalimoki kolimoki kolimokiConditional Mood.

kalimokis kolimokis kolimokis/ should hacetold.

tikolimoki

tikolimokis

Same

in all persons.

The xerh aineyini (to leave) differs in some tenses from this conjugation. The perfect is eiie; plural, eneyis ; past and imperative, hine, hineyis.Conjugation5.

The verbs

of this conjugation

mostly have roots ending in

a consonant, to which -i is added in the present indicative when the final consonant of the root is -t, it changes to s in the present indicative, e. g. akimat (to drink), amasi (I drink). There are a few verbs also which have a final vowel in the infinitive, viz. those which have roots ending in -r, e.g. akeri(to run).

Strong.

Weak.

run akimat, drinkakeri,

ainom,akillp,

strike

aswam, workask for

aisub, do

Indicatice

Mood.Future.etc.,

I shall drink.as Present.

amasi nat or Iwaru,

J'leseiit

Imperfect.

No

separate forms.

ta

Same

in all persons.etc.

Past Imperfect.

1

was drinking, abala amasi,

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEImperative Mood.

3;j

Drink.

komatSuhjunctive Mood.

koniata

That I

inaij

drink.

kamatkoniat

kamata komatakoniata/ should have drunk.

komatConditional Mood.

tikomat

tikomata SameConjugation6.

in all persons.

This class contains verbs which in the present describe a process and in the past or perfect the state which is the result of that process they provide, in the relative form, the The present tense adjectives previously explained on p. 21. ends in -ori, -ari, usually preceded by the letter -n,-, which changes in the plural to -k-. The verb atwanare (to die) is peculiar in having a plural form of the infinitive, atwakare, probably a survival of many such forms, though it appears to be the only one now in use. It is employed when the subject of the main verb is in the plural, e. g.;

ekotosi atwakare

they are likely to die.

Some

of the verbs in this class are

apolori, to

grow

big

making thelokapolon

adjective, lepolo,adjective, lewoja, adjective, lekono,

awojari,

to

lengthen

making thelokawojan

akonori,

to

ripento gel

making thelokakononshort

awuryanari,Indicative

making the adjective, lukewuryaka (plur.)

Mood.

34Past.

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE/ died.

abu kotwanaPast Imperfect.Imperative Mood.

apotu kotwaka

Same

in all persons.

/ was dying, abala atwani, etc.Die.

kotwanaSubjunctive Mood.

kotwaka

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGESubjunctive Mood.

35

That I

may

heat.

kebun'akibun'a kibun'aConditional Mood.

kebun'atakibun'ata kibun'ataI should have beaten.

tikebun'a

tikebun'ata

Same

in all persons.

Verbs in -oyi make the plural of the perfect, etc., in -oto Akiye (to sow) has koeyata in the imperative instead of -ata. plural, while akiye (to sing) makes koeyoto.

NOTES ON THE MOODS AND TENSES.FerfectIndicative.

tense in Conjunctioneroko, erin'a

1 is

The secondary form usually employed

in

-na

in

this

after the

adverb

eroko eyauna

he has not yet brought

it.

This formation is also found in Conjugation 4. Past Indicative. The auxiliary abu, apotu, is frequently omitted sometimes it appears to give the force of a pluperfect;

tense.

This tense suffers modification in terminationrelative phrases.

when used

in

A. After a relative pronoun the forms in use areConj.1.

S.

kenakunikeiiakunete

Conj,

5.

S.

komasikomasete

PI.

PI.

Conj.

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGETheaction,

37

A

forms are also employed to indicate continuous past

e. g.-

kicoraki abon'uni kolosi

/ told him

to

come hack, and he kept going

on.

The B forms appearrelative pronoun,e.

g.

in

an adjectival phrase without a

eon' ibore atwaria / have nothing to wipe it with. lit., There is not to me a thing which impes.

emame

Imperative Mood. When a command is given which is not to be carried out immediately or which involves continuous action, the terminations of the Present Indicative may be employed, the usual Imperative prefix being retained.e.

g.

kinakutu ekameleku, bring backkinakunete ekameleku, bring you take it).

but

my hoe back my hoe

{whenever

Subjtnwtice. In deliberative queries the subjunctive is not used but the Present Indicative, as in English the futuretense.e.

g.

enakuni

?

shall I bring

it

backis

?

Negatives.

The usual negative

verb

;

in

the Conditionalalosi, /

Moodti

it

whicli precedes the follows the prefix ii:

mam,

mam

do not go

mam kaloto,gone.

/ should not have

In the Imperative the negative is formed by prefixing When it is to the forms given in the conjugation. desired to express an absolute or continuous prohibition the Imperative prefix ki- or ko- is omitted and the repetitive aflBLx -nene is added.siri-

sirikoara ekin'ok siriarenene

do not

kill the

dogkill

thou shalt not

In the subjunctive mood the negative mam is not used, but the auxiliary verb aineyini to leave off, not to do:

kineyi aibirori kineyis atwakare

that Ithat

you

may not fall may not die

38

A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEPassive Voice.

In Ateso verbs this voice is defective; there are a few regular passive forms, others have to be supplied by the reversal of the clause, the subject of the passive verb becoming the object of an active one. In Classes 1-4 the final -i of the infinitive Infinitive. active is changed to -io, and in Class 5 -io is added to the final consonantapedori, to he able awuri, to bear aisub, to do

apedorio, to be possible awurio, to be bornaisubio, to be doneis

Indicative. The same termination -io present and future, singular and plural in

employedpersons

in the

all

nen'adakinio ikaru luipuIn the perfect -o or -noluen'alao'

laid

up for many yearsfinal

is

added to thethose

vowel

who have been deceived

eyeneno ekeki

the door is fastened

As a general rule the reversal of the clause is preferred, or the substitution of impersonal forms in the third personplirral.

So for

he was beaten

we have kinomai, they beat him.

Objective Forms.

the object of a verb is a personal pronoun, the separable forms of the pronouns are very commonly used, and always when emphasis is to be laid on the pronoun. The prefix of the past tense, however, may be varied to express a v ^^ pronominal object, as follows When the subject is / and the object is thee, you or them, or when the subject is he and the object me, the prefix is ka for strong verbs and ke for weak verbs. The prefix is ki in the following cases

When

When,, .,'

subject,,,. ,.

is

,,

,,

thou and object me, him or us he us or you ,, thee w^ me you me, us they

A

HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEis

39

When the subject the termination -aiClasse.(J.

is

they and the object thee, him or you, added in the case of verbs of the 5th'

^ftxkibun'ai?

tc^..(