Journal of Semitic Studies xxv/i Autumn 1980 THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE TIGRE VERB (MANSA< DIALECT) (II)* SHLOMO RAZ UNIVERSITY OF TEL-AVIV IO. VERBS WITH SEMIVOWELS A distinction is to be made here between those verbs whose final radical is a semivowel and those whose initial or medial radical is a semivowel. This distinction needs to be made by reason of two general phenomena: (a) verbs with initial or medial semivowels show a complementary biradical-triradical inflection in all types and are triradical in the derivatives, e.g., verbs with initial semi- vowels are biradical in the jussive of type A and triradical in all other types, and derivatives and verbs with medial semivowels are biradical in all morphological categories - imperfect ex- cluded - of type A and derivatives. Verbs with a final semivowel are biradical throughout; 1 (b) verbs with initial or medial semivowels make it possible to distinguish those verbs whose semivowel is w from those whose semivowel is y on morphological grounds. Verbs with a final semivowel do not make such a distinction possible as they have the same morphological import for those verbs which, historic- ally, had rv ory as their final radical. IO.I. VERBS WITH INITIAL SEMIVOWELS TYPE A. Apart from the jussive of type A, verbs with initial u> oty are inflected in the same manner in which the typical tri- consonantal verbs are inflected. It should be added here that the number of verbs with initialy is very small - probably no greater than four - but sufficient to substantiate the above statement. In the jussive, verbs with initial semivowel lose the first radical and the stem is thus CaC, to which the verb suffix with the vowel element /' is attached. The inflection of type A is as follows: Perfect: warsa "to inherit". * Part I was published in JSS xxv (1980), 66-84. 1 This is so apart from some feminine forms such as 2nd pers. fern. pi. of the morphological categories other than the perfect and 2nd pers. fern. sing, of the jussive (imperative) where y appears. This y can be interpreted, therefore, as an element of the feminine verb-suffix. 205 at Russian Archive on December 16, 2013 http://jss.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from
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Journal of Semitic Studies xxv/i Autumn 1980
THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE TIGREVERB (MANSA< DIALECT) (II)*
SHLOMO RAZ
UNIVERSITY OF TEL-AVIV
IO. VERBS WITH SEMIVOWELS
A distinction is to be made here between those verbs whose finalradical is a semivowel and those whose initial or medial radical isa semivowel. This distinction needs to be made by reason of twogeneral phenomena: (a) verbs with initial or medial semivowelsshow a complementary biradical-triradical inflection in all typesand are triradical in the derivatives, e.g., verbs with initial semi-vowels are biradical in the jussive of type A and triradical in allother types, and derivatives and verbs with medial semivowelsare biradical in all morphological categories - imperfect ex-cluded - of type A and derivatives.
Verbs with a final semivowel are biradical throughout;1
(b) verbs with initial or medial semivowels make it possible todistinguish those verbs whose semivowel is w from those whosesemivowel is y on morphological grounds. Verbs with a finalsemivowel do not make such a distinction possible as they havethe same morphological import for those verbs which, historic-ally, had rv ory as their final radical.
IO.I. VERBS WITH INITIAL SEMIVOWELS
TYPE A. Apart from the jussive of type A, verbs with initial u>oty are inflected in the same manner in which the typical tri-consonantal verbs are inflected. It should be added here that thenumber of verbs with initialy is very small - probably no greaterthan four - but sufficient to substantiate the above statement. Inthe jussive, verbs with initial semivowel lose the first radical andthe stem is thus CaC, to which the verb suffix with the vowelelement /' is attached. The inflection of type A is as follows:Perfect: warsa "to inherit".
* Part I was published in JSS xxv (1980), 66-84.1 This is so apart from some feminine forms such as 2nd pers. fern. pi. of
the morphological categories other than the perfect and 2nd pers. fern. sing,of the jussive (imperative) where y appears. This y can be interpreted,therefore, as an element of the feminine verb-suffix.
An optional biradical form is possible for the imperative ofverbs with initial u>, e.g. ladi "bring forth!" (2nd pers. fern. sing,of walda "to bring forth"); rod "get down!" (2nd pers. masc.sing, oiwarda "to descend".)IO.1.1. OTHER TYPES AND THEIR DERIVATIVES, ( i ) Verbs withinitial n> show no peculiarities. (2) Verbs with initial y areattested in the following types and their derivatives where theyshow no peculiarities.
TYPE Biyattama "to become an orphan"; imperfect/jussive:hyattam. 'a- A: 'aybasa "to dry" (trans.); imperfect: lay abbas;jussive: laybas. ta- C: taydmama "to decide"; imperfect/jussive:latydmam.
IO.2. VERBS WITH MEDIAL SEMIVOWELS
TYPE A. (1) The morphological phenomena which are common toverbs with medial semivowels - as distinct from that of thetypical triconsonantal verb - may be set out as follows: (a) verbswith medial semivowels are biradical in the perfect and jussive (im-perative) of type A and the derivative 'a-A;(b) gemination of themedial radical-in those cases where it is morphologically re-quired by the system - is not effected. (2) The inflection of verbswith medial w is distinctive from that of verbs with medialy in that:(a) the biradical stem of verbs with initial w has the vowel«in thejussive (imperative) of type A, and the derivative 'a- A whereverbs with initialy have the vowel /; (b) in the imperfect of type Aand the derivative 'a- A and in all morphological categories ofother types and derivatives w and y occur as medial radicals.
In the perfect of type A a distinction between verbs withmedial w and verbs with medialj is maintained only in the thirdpersons, where the vowel of the stem in the former case is 0 andin the latter case e. A central vowel, 3, occurs as the vowel of thestem in other persons of the perfect for both verbs with medial n>and verbs with medialy.
The inflection of verbs with medial semivowels is as follows:MEDIAL v.geda "to hurry".Perfect: gadko, gadka, gadki, geda, gedat, gadna, gadkum, gadkan, gedatv,
qayasa " to measure"lawata " to exchange"tayana "to explore"kawala " to guard"tsib ay ana " to recover(health)"
Ulawaia " to be placed,placed, put"
'arema3 " to remove"'adora* " to make turn"'akayana " to cause to betray"'ahwaka " to cause trouble "'atnayata "to encourage"'addawara* "to turn"'attaswara- "to be carried"
IO.2.2. THE VERBS MOTA "TO DIE" AND $OMA "TO FAST"
The verbs mota and soma whose inflection shows features whichare typical of both medial n> and medial y are exceptions to theabove generalisation regarding verbs with medial semivowels.
The verb mota shows distinctive features of a medial winflection in the morphological category of the perfect of type A,e.g. mota "he died', m$tki "when you (fem. sing.) die", the 'a- Aderivative, e.g.: 'amota "to kill", and the jussive (imperative) oftype A, e.g.: limut "in order that he will die". The imperfectforms of type A and the 'a- A derivative and all other types andderivatives have distinctive features of a medial y inflection,e.g.: hmayst (imperfect of type A), lamayst (imperfect of the 'a- Aderivative).
The collected examples oisoma suggest that the radicals u> and^yoccur in free variation in this particular verb: both Issawsm andhsaysm are recorded.
IO.3. VERBS WITH FINAL SEMIVOWELS
These verbs, whose historical origin is believed to be a tri-radical verb with final w or y, are represented by one biradicalinflection. * The morphological phenomena which are common toverbs with final semivowels - as distinct from the typical tri-consonantal verb - may be exemplified by the inflection oftype A verbs, as follows: saqa "to work".Perfect: laqeko, laqeka, Jaqeki, faqa, saqet, saqena, saqekum, saqehn,
10.3 .1 . TYPES OTHER THAN A AND THEIR DERIVATIVES
The endings typical of verbs with final semivowels, which arerepresented by the type A inflection, are common to derivativesof type A as well as other types and derivatives. A special state-ment must, however, be made for the non-perfect forms of verb
1 Cf. Sec. 14.2 and 17.5. In znd pers. fem. pi. forms of other categoriesthan the perfect, a transposition of thej and the consonant preceding it mayoccur, e.g. tswadya/twayda "you will do".
formations which do not have separate conjugations for theimperfect and the jussive morphological categories: such verbshave the endings of type A verbs in the imperfect for the verbformations other than t»- derivatives; ta- derivatives have theendings of the jussive.
Examples of the various types and their derivatives:
B
C
/-A/B
ti-C
'a-A
'at-C
'atta- A
'atta- C
Perfect
fossa " to cut meat fordrying"
lisa "to shave"(trans.)
Uqalla "to beroasted"
tsbaqa "to endangeroneself"
'abda "to destroy"
'atbdka "to bewailthe dead"
'attansa "to listenattentively"
'attanasa "to listenattentively"
Imperfect
lefasse(pi. Isfassu)
blast
htqalk(pi. btqallaw)
btbaqe
labaddt(pi. labaddu)
latbdke
lattanse
lattandse
Jussive
—
—
—
—
labde(labdaw)
—
—
Imperative
fasse
lose
Uqallt
Ubdqe
'abde
'atbdke
'attanse
'attanase
IO.4. VERBS WITH MORE THAN ONE SEMIVOWEL
There are, in theory, twelve radical-combinations in such verbswithin the frame of the triradical verb. In fact, however, thenumber of actual combinations is small, since: {a) there is noparadigmatic distinction between w andj in final position; (b) noinitialy verbs are in this group; (c) verbs with a medial and finalsemivowel are represented by the same inflection.
Verbs containing two semivowels show the morphologicalfeatures which are typical of their respective paradigms. Thus,the verb rvada "to do, to make", for example, has the endings ofa final semivowel and the beginning of an initial semivowelverb. Its inflection is as follows:Perfect: wadeko, wadeka, wadeki, rvada, wadet, wadena, wadekum,
Jussive: 'ide, tide, tiday, lide, tide, nide, tidaw, tidaya, lidaw, lidaya.Imperative: de,1 day, daw, day a.
As mentioned above, verbs containing a medial and final semi-vowel are represented by the same inflection - that of verbs witha final semivowel. The medial semivowel, either w or y, isretained throughout the inflection. Thus, the verb sawa "topervert, to distort", for example, has the imperfect form hsawe;the verb tnaya "to let pass the night", has the imperfect formhmaye and the jussive hmye.
Other types and derivatives show their typical expectedfeatures:
Perfect Imperfect Jussive
to- C tiwala "to be led" (animal) htwdle (pi. htwdlaw) htwale
'a-A 'adva "to make last" ladawt ladwe•'atta- A 'attawda " to cause to be done" lattawde lattawde
II. VERBS WITH BOTH A SEMIVOWEL AND A LARYNGAL
Verbs containing a semivowel and a laryngal reflect the behaviourof vowels which are adjacent to laryngals in addition to the basicmorphological features which are typical of their respectiveparadigms.
The following table is sufficient to illustrate the actual possi-bilities of combinations:
cLLCsvL
LCSVsvLSV
svsvsvLCC
II.I CLSV
(i) In the perfect the vocalic endings of this combination arethose of final semivowel verbs. When the final vowel of the stemis e the initial vowel of the stem is central. Thus, only thirdperson plural forms and third person masculine singular forms
1 Also occurring though less frequent are the forms wide, u»day, etc.Cf. Sec IO.I .
(2) In imperfect and jussive forms the expected combinedfeatures of medial laryngal and final semivowel verbs occur. Sinceimperfect and jussive forms have the same beginnings in mediallaryngal verbs, imperfect and jussive are formally contrasted onlyin their endings,1 in those persons in which final semivowelverbs exhibit such a contrast; imperfect: ttr'i "you (fem. sing.)will see"; Isr'e "he will see"; Isr'u "they will see"; jussive:tsr'ay "in order that you (fem. sing.) will see"; hr'e "in orderthat2 he will see"; In'aw "that they will see".
(3) In the imperative the endings are those of a final semi-vowel verb and the beginnings are those of a medial laryngalverb, except in the second person masculine singular, e.g. ra'e"seel", where the verb form follows a pattern of its own (cf.statement (1) above).
Other types and derivatives show no further peculiarities:perfect: t»- A/B: tsra'a "he was seen"; 'a- A: 'ar'a "he showed";imperfect/jussive: Utn'e; lar'e.
11.2. LCSV
The perfect inflection of type A is identical with that of finalsemivowel verbs. Other morphological categories of type A andother types and derivatives show no peculiarities. Perfect: ha%a"he wished"; imperfect: laba^e "he wishes", ha%e " I wish";jussive: hfo^e "(in order that) he will wish"; hi%e* "(in orderthat) I will wish".
Other types and derivatives show no special features. It shouldbe added here that 'a- A derivative does not exist for these verbs,since they begin with a laryngal. The meaning usually expressedby 'a- A can be conveyed by type C, e.g.: 'dta- "to bring home"as compared to 'ata- "to come home".
1 Excluding the case of 1st pers. pi. where the prefix of the imperfectform is 'm- and that of the jussive is at-.
2 The imperative forms are: n'e, ra'qy, ra'aw, ra'aya.3 Imperative bt^e (2nd pers. masc sing.).
This combination of initial laryngal, medial and final semivowelis worth mentioning: baya "to heal (v.i.)" "to recover (fromsickness)" being the single verb of its kind. The semivowel y - assecond radical - is retained throughout the inflection. Thus, theonly morphological difference between this combination andL C SV is in the gemination of the second radical of the latterand the non-gemination of the second radical here. Examples:
THE VERB BA'A AND VERBS WITH INFLECTION SIMILAR TO IT
(1) Type A is lacking in the case of verbs with medial radical w.(2) The inflection of type A verbs with medial radical y has:
(a) the biradical stemCaC throughout the paradigm of the perfect;(b) the optional occurrence of_y as medial radical throughout theparadigm of the jussive (imperative); (c) the optional occurrenceof a jussive paradigm where the stem is CaC and the prefixvowel / - a formation identical with that of verbs with initial w.
Some of the C SV L verb forms in the imperfect and jussiveof type A, which have suffixes, have optional endings owing tovowel transposition, a phenomenon typical of Verbs with finallaryngals.
Some verbs with the combination of radicals CyL are: baya "toenter"; qaha "to be red"; qa'a1 "to vomit". The phenomenanoted above may be exemplified by means of the inflection of theverb ba'a, as follows:Jussive
inflection shows the following morphological phenomena,which combine features of L S V C and SV L C verbs:
(1) The imperfect forms of type A and all other types andderivatives show no peculiarities and can be classified - in termsof radical arrangement - as L SV C, e.g. lahayab "he gives" whichis identical in form with lahayss "it is better".
(2) The perfect and jussive of type A stems is biradical, havingthe stem bob throughout. In this respect, the inflection of habais identical with that of verbs of the SV L C combination asdescribed in Sec. 11.5.
The medial radically occurs in all other existing types andderivatives.
The inflection of baba in type A is as follows:Perfect: habko, babka, habki, haba, babat, habna, babkum, habhn,
lahabo, lahaba.Imperative: bab, habi, habo, haba.Examples of derivatives:
Perfect Imperfect/jussive Imperative
ti- A tahqyaba ("to be given") htbayab tabayab'at- A 'atbayaba ("to cause to latbaysb 'atbaysb'atta- A give")
12. IRREGULAR VERBS
This section consists of two verbs whose morphological analysis- though best dealt with along with the triradical verb - requiresrecognition of their special morphological status. The verbs arecala "he was" and be/a "he said".
I2.I. THE VERB *ALA
This verb, whose function is to supply the forms of the verb "tobe" in the past, occurs only in the morphological category of theperfect of type A. The stem is V to which the verb suffixes areattached, e.g.: la/ko " I was", 'alaw "they were". The verb 'alabelongs historically to the group of verbs described above interms of radicals ( I I . J ) as a SV L C combination. Although the
verb wa'ala "to pass the day" occurs in Tigre, there is nothingto suggest any connection, from a descriptive point of view,between tva'ala and 'ala which are, in fact, two separate lexicalentities.
12.2. THE VERB BELA
This verb - originating from the root *bb/-is unique in itsinflection formation in that: {a) it has only one radical in the stemof some of its type A perfect forms to which prefixes of theimperfect are attached; (b) it has endings for those forms referredto in (a), i.e. in the perfect, which are typical of the jussiveendings of verbs with a final semivowel; (c) in its derivatives thestem is triconsonantal, bhl (excluding 'a- A which has a bi-consonantal stem), the radical h not occurring in type A. Thisphenomenon is typical of verbs with medial semivowel but isnever met with in the case of verbs whose medial radical is nota semivowel.
The inflection of type A exhibits the following morphologicalphenomena: Perfect. Third persons have forms typical of verbswith a medial semivowel while all other forms have formativeswhich are typical of categories other than perfect. In the secondpersons an optional form with the stem telk exists. Imperfect. Theprefixes and endings are typical of those of the triradical verb.The stem is b»lin forms without suffixes and Win suffixed forms.Jussive (imperative). The inflection is similar to that of verbs withan initial semivowel.
The inflection of bela is as follows:Perfect: 'sbe, tabe/telka, tabay/te/ki, bela, be/at,1 '$nbe2, t»baiv/telkum,
if-A Ubabala "to be said" htbabal'a-A 'aba/a " to make say, let speak" labtl'atta-A 'attaba/a"to make say" lattahl
13. VERBS WITH IDENTICAL SECOND ANDTHIRD RADICALS
When there is a zero vowel between second and third non-geminated radicals there is an assimilation of the two radicalsinto one doubled consonant of the same quality. Examples:'aqqa "to cut, to wound" (root: 'qq, type A); danna "to descend"(root: dmt, type A); 'a%%a%a "to command, to order" (root: \z>type B); 'adda "to visit (sick people)" (root: *ddy type A); 'aqqat"she wounded", 'aqqaw "they wounded"; tadanni "you (fem.sing.) will descend"; tadanno "you (masc. pi.) will descend";hdanna "they (fem. pi.) will descend".
Imperfect and jussive forms with pronominal suffixes:'a^akkum " I order you (masc. pi.)"; ta'asguni "you (masc. pi.)order me"; cf.: 'a^ZZ0 "^ order him"; ta'as^uKP " y o u (masc.pi.) order him"; 'agal la'adodo "in order that they (masc. pi.) willvisit him".
14. QUADRIRADICAL VERBS
The arrangement of radicals in the quadriradical verb exhibits,for the most part, the linear orders 1, 2, 3, 4 as in 'ambata "tobegin"; 1, 2, 1, 2 as in bafbafa "to mix" and 1, 2, 3, 3 as inqartata " to break into several pieces ". The characteristic morpho-logical features of the quadriradical verb are as follows. (1) Ab-sence of gemination in any one of the radicals. (2) In contrast totriradical verb formation, only types A and C exist. (3) No formalcontrast exists between the imperfect and jussive paradigms ofeither type and their derivatives. (4) The preformatives 'an- and'as- are found only with quadriradicals. The preformatives whichare typical of triradical verbs are found with quadriradicals aswell. In addition the quadriradical verbs occur, to a limitedextent, having the combinatory preformatives 'attan- and 'attas-,as in, eg.,1 'attanqalqala "to move" (v.t.); 'attasqamqama "to
1 For the function and meaning of the performatives mentioned in (4) seeSec. 2.5.
make groan". (5) The inflection formation of verbs with semi-vowels shows some peculiarities which are not paralleled in thecomparative triradical formation (see Sec. 10).
In all other respects, the quadriradical verb differs from thetriradical only in its stem inflection. The inflection of the quadri-radical verb is as follows:
The inflection of quadriradical verbs possessing a laryngal shows,mutatis mutandis (the stem has four radicals), the same charac-teristics as the inflection of triradical verbs possessing a laryngal.Some examples:L, 2, 3, 4. TYPE A: 'ambata1 "to begin"; imperfect/jussive:
Ist'anqaf. TYPE C: hardbata "to throw oneself (on the ground)";imperfect/jussive: lahardbst.L, 2, L, 2. TYPE A: basbasa "to rub, scrub"; imperfect/jussive:lahasbss.i, L, 3, 4. '<*- A: 'am'adaga1 "to be at one's prime"; imperfect/jussive: lam'aehg.i, L, 3, 3. TYPE A: fa'arara "to become dry"; imperfect/jussive:lafa'arsr; ti- A: Umabalala "to appeal to God"; imperfect/jussive: htmahalal.1, 2, 1, L. TYPE A: qarqsba "to knock"; imperfect/jussive:hqarqsh; TYPE C: qardqsha "to knock"; imperfect/jussive:hqardqsh.
14.2. QUADRIRADICALS WITH SEMIVOWELS
A quadriradical verb may contain one or two semivowels. Unlikethe formation of triradicals with semivowels, two quadriradicalverbs - having the same arrangement of radicals but lexicallydifferent - may show two separate inflections of the stem: one inwhich w retains its phonetic shape throughout the inflection,another in which w is represented by 0 in all morphologicalcategories of type A and its derivatives but retains its shape intype C and its derivatives.
The following is sufficient to illustrate the variety of actuallyattested combinations of radicals: (1) wCwC; (2) CCCSV;(3) CwCSV; (4) CwCC; (5) CyCSV; (6) CyCC.
(1) A group of verbs in which the radical SV retains itsphonetic shape. Examples: watwata "to shake" (v.t.); imperfect/jussive: Iswatwst.
(2) Verbs whose morphological behaviour is that of quadri-radicals with endings typical of verbs in general that have finalsemivowels. Examples: TYPE A: fan fa "to separate"; imperfect/jussive: hjante. TYPE C: Janata "to tear to pieces"; imperfect/jussive: hjandte.
(3) CwCSV represents two different types of stem. One typeand its inflection is similar to that of combination (2), as: nauma"to move" (v.t.); imperfect/jussive: hnawne, whereas with theother type of stem and its inflection the u> is actualised as 0throughout the entire paradigm of type A and its derivatives.
1 From the root *m'dg. The non-typical sequence VLCV is representedhere, as in *'ama'daga, by the sequence LVCV.
(4) Differs from (3) only in that its final radical is not a semi-vowel. Examples: TYPE A: daurara "to turn" (v.i.); imperfect/jussive: hdawsr; gorata "to load"; imperfect/jussive: hgorat.qofaba "to tear off"; imperfect/jussive: Uqofab. 'atta- A: 'atta-qofaba, causative of "to tear off"; imperfect/jussive: lattaqofob.'an- A: 'antotala "to swing"; imperfect/jussive: lantohl. TYPE C:'an- C: 'antawdtala "to swing"; imperfect/jussive: lantawdtsl.
(5) and (6) Verbs whose second radical is the semivowel y.Thisy is represented by e throughout the inflection of type A andits derivatives and retains its phonemic shape in type C and itsderivatives. The endings of such verbs are those of triradicalswith a final semivowel in the case of combination (5). TYPE A:gega "to make a mistake"; imperfect/jussive: Itgege. 'a- A: 'alela"to distinguish"; imperfect/jussive: lalele. t$- A: trfela passive of"to distinguish"; imperfect/jussive: htlele. TYPE A: deraba "to tietogether"; imperfect/jussive: hderab. 'a- A: 'aserara "to stand inline"; imperfect/jussive: laserar. ts- A: takelaba "to be sur-rounded"; imperfect/jussive: htkelab. TYPE C: haydrara " to chaseaway"; imperfect/jussive: lahaydrsr.
I have found no example of type C in the case of combinations(3) and (5). No conclusion, therefore, can be drawn with regardto type C verbs of which both the second and fourth radical aresemivowels.
15. VERBS OF MORE THAN FOUR RADICALSThere are some verbs of five consonants, of the order 1, 2, 3, 2, 3.2
A few of these have semantically corresponding triradicals, as:balaflafa or bdlafa "to chatter"; hataltala or hattala "to tremble";'aglablaba3 otgalba "to be startled, to withdraw (from fear)".
The inflection of the quinqueradical verb is different from thatof the quadriradical verb by virtue of the five radicals: the stemof type A verbs shows a vowel-less sequence of the third and
1 The semivowelj of the suffix of 3rd pets. fem. pi. is liable to metathesis,as ingpyla "they (fem.) dance", cE.golu "they (masc.) dance".
2 Some other verbs with a different order and number of radicals such asiankalkala " to slip ", qartatama "to be dense" (hail) exist but are few and arebest treated as lexical items.
fourth radicals and the stem of type C has a lengthened vowelfollowing the third consonant, TYPE A: balaflafa "to glitter";imperfect/jussive: hbalafhf; basaksaka "to whisper"; imperfect/jussive: lahalakJsk. TYPE C: halaqdlaqa "to stagger violently".
DERIVATIVES. Only 'a, 'at and 'atta formations of A and C typesappear to exist. Verbs whose first radical is a laryngal occur onlywith the preformative 'at, as is the case with the triradical verb,e.g. halaqlaqa " to be tired", 'atbalaqlaqa " to tire".
15.1. QUINQUERADICALS WITH SEMIVOWELS
(1) There is a small number of verbs of the order 1, 2, 3, 2, 3in which the second and the fourth radicals are u>. Their inflectionis similar to that of verbs with five radicals as described inSec. I J -.bawaswasa" to disappear " ; imperfect/jussive:/^zwiiw/;'awadwada "to grow dark"; imperfect/jussive: la'awadmd.
(2) There is a very small number of verbs - somewhere in theregion of a dozen - which have the vowel 0 following the secondradical throughout the inflection, e.g. banoba^a "to murmur";imperfect/jussive: labanobs^; 'aPobaba (V A) "to look down-ward"; imperfect/jussive: laPobab. 'a and 'atta are the onlyprefixed derivatives attested for such verbs.
In view of the small number of verbs and the absence of suchmorphological features as could determine 0 as a representationof n>, a statement may be made by analogy to the quadriradicalverb with a second radical 0, as described above.
Verbs of this group whose final radical is a semivowel haveendings which are typical of verbs with final semivowels. Theirinflection is as follows:'a- A: 'agdoda "to hobble".Perfect: 'agdodeko, 'agdodeka, 'agdodeka, 'agdoda. 'agdodat, 'agdodena,
There are instances in which compounds with two elements -constituting a grammatical unit - occur, whose function is that ofa verb. The first element of the compound is invariable; thesecond element - itself a verb - enables the compound to functionas a verb-class member in the sense that it is regularly conjugated,
immediately preceded by conjunctions and can supply the basisfor derivatives. In terms of syntagmatic relations these compoundsare unanalysable wholes, which at the semantic level representidiomatic expressions. Thus, if either element can be replaced byanother of the same paradigm (the same form-class), the form inquestion is not a verb compound.
The first element in the compound may exist as a lexical entityor be dependent upon the occurrence of the compound. As alexical entity it may exist either as a nominal form along with averb of the same root, or as an isolated linguistic form.
The inventory of verbs used as the second element of thecompound is limited to three: bela "to say" and its causativeform 'abala; wada "to do, to tmke";ga'a "to become". The verbbela is the one usually met with in verb compounds, and wada isencountered as its variant for some verbs, or as its free variantfor some others (see Sec. 16.4). The vetb ga'a is different frombe/a or wada in that it is never void of meaning: it denotes theinchoative aspect of the activity or state expressed by thecompound (see Sec. 16.5).
It should be mentioned here that from a morpho-semanticpoint of view any complex consisting of a verb and its nominalcomplement may be apprehended as lying between the twoextremes of lexicological unit and grammatical unit. In the caseof a verb compound, the meaning of the whole compound is notpredictable from the meaning of its constituents when: (a) thesecond element is void of lexical meaning and (b) the occurrenceof the first element is limited to the compound. Cases in whichthe first element is a free morphological and semantic entity andthe second element a verb whose original meaning is retainedcan be interpreted either as a verb and its complement or as anidiomatic expression, according to the contextual sense. Note thefollowing examples: sanni hama bello " He said to him:' Very well,then'" (i.e. " I accept"), walamallahayu sanni bello "And his friendsaid to him: 'O.K.'" (i.e. "And his friend agreed"); wa'ablawalat man qaddmu sanni 'ilaballom nakkarrom "And the father ofthe girl does not give them his consent in the first place-herejects them"; 'ab higa'atgadam 'ab lahasit hsddy 'agal lahab sannibela mangabba' wakdom latqdsaro "But, in any case, if the father ofthe betrothed girl has agreed to grant the wedding, they fix their[wedding] time".
16.1 .1 . EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS IN WHICH THE OCCURRENCE OFTHE FIRST ELEMENT IS NOT LIMITED TO THE COMPOUND
babal bela "to pardon, to excuse" (bahal "pardon"; babala "topardon"); qimif bela "to wink" (v.i.) (qtmtf "twinlding";qamafa "to wink" (v.i.)); balbal bela "to rattle" (balbal "con-fusion"; 'abalbala "to move rapidly to and fro"); babbab bela "toblaze" (hdb "6xc");fyf bela "to blow" (Juf "breathe, exhale");qa* bela "to make a sharp noise" (qa* "a sharp noise"); sut bela"to refuse" (sut "an exclamation of disbelief"); waba bela "to beastonished" (waba "an exclamation of astonishment"); by bela"to scare away" (by "a call to drive someone away").
16.1.2 . EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS IN WHICH THE USE OF THE
FIRST ELEMENT IS LIMITED TO THAT COMPOUND ONLY
rasras bela "to scratch" (v.i.) (rassa "to itch"); labab bela "tosweat" (lababa "to sweat");farsak bela "to break into pieces"(v.i.) (tafarsaka "to break into pieces"); kaskaf bela "to clatter,crackle" (kalkasa "to clatter, crackle"); 'awadwad bela "to growdark" ('awadwada "to grow dark"); bit bela "to spring forth";sanrik bela "to sniff"; tiftif bela "to puff" (v.i.); tun bela "to besilent".
As one can see from the examples given above the nominalforms which consist of the first element of the bela compoundand are derived from the root of the coexisting verbs do notsuggest a morphological structure typical of bela compounds.
16.2. THE VERB 'ABALA: THE TRANSITIVE AND CAUSA-
TIVE FORMATION OF BELA COMPOUNDS
Most bela compounds happen to be intransitive. They may berendered transitive or become causative of the intransitive by theuse of the verb 'abala, which is derivative 'a- A of the verb bela,in place of the second element in the compound.
When the first element in the compound is derived from a rootfrom which the coexisting verb is also derived, the compoundmay be related functionally to the verb, with the same kind ofrelationship which exists between ta- A and A. Consequently,compounds of which the second element is 'abala enter thisrelationship in accordance with the transitive or intransitivemeaning of the coexisting verb.
16.2 .1 . EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS IN WHICH THE OCCURRENCE OFTHE FIRST ELEMENT IS NOT LIMITED TO THE COMPOUND
balafla? bela or balaflafa "to glitter"; balalfaf 'abala "to makeglitter"; hwst bela or tilawata "to be exchanged"; hwat'abala orlawata "to exchange".
'atta formations are also encountered: sarmi bela " to agree;sanni 'abala "to make agree, to convince"; sami 'attabala "to getone's permission"; / / / bela "to select"; HI 'attabala "to makeselected".
16.2.2. EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS WHOSE FIRST ELEMENT ISLIMITED TO THAT COMPOUND ONLY
kafbela "to sit"; kaj'abala "to make sit"; bah bela "to rejoice";(v.i.); bah 'abala "to rejoice" (v.t.); hb bela "to get up" ; fob'abala "to cause to stand up, to raise".
16.3. THE ASPECTUAL USE OF BELA AND 'ABALA
In a certain number of verbs the compound carries furtherinformation concerning the aspect of action or state of hap-pening - as compared with the semantic content of a coexistingverb of the same origin as the first element of the compound. Theaddition in meaning can be specified in terms of intensity ormanner of the activity, such as: augmentative, attenuate oriterative. When 'abala is used in this manner, bela may occur asits passive form. Examples: lajqa "to sew"; hjsq 'abala "to sewa little"; hf»q bela passive of hjsq 'abala. lakja "to throw"; hfoj'abala "to throw a little/all"; hfoj bela, passive of hfoj 'abala.waswasa "to move"; waswas bela "to move fast, to move to andfro", halaqlaqa "to weep"; hslsqhq bela "to weep a little".'atmama "to complete"; tamam bela "to complete all, withoutdeficiency"; qansa "to get up"; qms bela "to get up (and beabsent) for a short while".
16.4. BELA IN FREE VARIATION WITH JTADA
In some compounds the second element, bela, is in free variationwith the verb wada, which, as a lexical entity, means "to make,to do". The transitive or causative meaning of the compound isrendered, however, through the use of ^ abala as the secondelement. Examples: hoy bela/wada "to hurry";gamam bela/wada"to be silent"; bmj bela/wada " to clear off" (v.i.); fohh bela/wada "to look at"; tajtaj bela/wada " to drip" (v.i.); dab bela/wada
"to fall down"; dab 'abala "cause to fall down, to overthrow".The verb wada may also be found as the second element of thecompound - not in variation with bela - having a role similar tothat of bela, as in: 'aqal wada "to be patient"; qalb wada "to•wish";yak wada "to hurry" (v.L).
l6.J. COMPOUNDS WITH GA'A
The verb,ga'<7 which means "to become, to happen, to be", mayoccur as the second element in some verb compounds. In suchcases the verb ga'a, though having the morphological status of itsequivalent element in bela compounds, retains - unlike the usuallycolourless bela - i ts original meaning of "to become". Thisretention of meaning gives the whole expression the notionwhich is typical of "predicative complexes of becoming".
A ga'a compound is, however, an idiomatic expression as muchas bela compounds are, and neither of its elements can be substi-tuted in the way in which elements of a predicative complex can.Thus, ga^ga'a "to become thin" is a lexical entity, while qatinga'a "he became thin" is a predicative complex which standsbeside: qatin 'ala "he was thin"; qatin tu "he is thin", ga^if ga'a"he became fat"; ga^tf tu "he is fat", etc. Examples of ga'acompounds: 'agbabga'a "to become senseless"; bawalhsga'a "tobreak to pieces" (v.i.); bad ga'a "to become poor" (bad "po-verty").
Some compounds make use of a transitive or causative con-struction beside the intransitive one, by replacing ga'a with wada.Examples: bin ga'a "to become speechless (by astonishment")(fim "confusion"); ban wada 'causative of bmga'a. barawraw ga'a"to become ripe, to ripen" (v.i.); barawraw wada " to ripen'(v.t.). sar wasar ga'a "to form groups" (v.i.); sar wasar wada "toform groups" (v.t.) (sar "comrade, companion").
17. THE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES INCONJUNCTION WITH VERBS
The Tigre language makes wide use of pronominal suffixeswhich denote the direct or indirect object implied by the verb.Note the following utterances: 'm%e farayo "put it (masc. sing.)here" ; katdb habayu "he gave him a book" 'agal labdb dab'ayu"he closed the door" (lit.: "the door, he closed it" (masc.sing.)), 'amassi'o " I shall come to him".
The pronominal suffix which is attached directly to the end of
the verbal form (some exceptions will be dealt with later) takesvarious phonemic shapes, but with each person a commonelement, e.g. V or VC, is encountered in all forms. The formsare as follows:
As seen from the above scheme, the first and second personpronominal suffixes differ, in each person, only with regard tothe gemination of their consonantal elements, whereas the thirdperson pronominal suffixes vary considerably. This is so sincefirst and second person forms, beginning with a consonant, arenot susceptible to those changes resulting from the meeting oftwo vowels - a situation which has brought about the presentrange of variations in the sequential forms of both the verbaland third person pronominal suffixes.
Some general observations regarding the comparison of: (a) theverbal stem which precedes the pronominal suffix with (b) theverbal stem which occurs in the absence of the pronominal suffix,may be summarised as follows (throughout the following sectionsthe triconsonantal non-laryngal verb is taken as a norm).1
I7.I. PHONETIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL PHENOMENAWHICH ARE SPECIAL TO STEMS FOLLOWED BY PRO-NOMINAL SUFFIXES
(1) Followed by first and second person pronominal suffixes. Inthe imperfect there is an absence of second-radical geminationthroughout the inflection, which results in clustering of thesecond and third radicals.
1 The following description is of type A verb. The manner by which othertypes and derivatives submit to changes can be deduced from the descriptionof type A, and examples will be given later.
(2) Followed by third person pronominal suffixes: (a) in theimperfect, gemination of the second radical occurs in secondperson feminine singular and second and third person masculineplural. With these verb forms the verb suffix is transposed andinserted between the second and third radicals. The transposedmasculine plural verb-suffix 0 is represented by u. Transpositionof a similar sequential order and degree of person occurs in thejussive and imperative, but with different vocalisation; thequality of the second and third plural verb-suffix vowel remainsintact, while the transposed second feminine singular verb-suffixvowel is represented by e.1 (b) In all morphological categoriesother than the perfect there is gemination of the third radical informs without a verbal suffix.
17.2. A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF VERB FORMS CO-OCCUR-
RING WITH PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES
17.2 .I . FIRST PERSON SINGULAR (MASC. AND FEM.): -fit, -mi. T h e
following table sets out a segmental analysis of the minimum freeforms. The column on the right gives the resulting form2 in theverb qatk "to kill".
Perfect
Person
Sing.2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc.3rd fern.
PI.2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc3rd fern.
Stem
CaCaCCaCaCCaCCCaCC
CaCaCCaCaCCaCCCaCC
Verb-suffix
1
In finalposition
-ka-ki-a-at
-kum-hn-aw-aya
Followedby the
pronominal Transitional Ultimatesuffix
-ka-ki-e-att-
-ku-k{»)n--aw-aya
element
———-a-
—-a-——
form
qatalkanniqatalkiniqatlenniqatlattatmi
qatlakuniqatalk{»)naniqatlawniqatlayam
1 Slightly higher than cardinal [«].2 In the following sections the terms "verb-suffix in final position" and
"ultimate form" will be used in accordance with their positional occurrencein the table.
The following morpho-phonemic phenomena may be observedin the above table.
(1) In all cases except one the conjunction of a verb suffix witha pronominal suffix necessitates the presence of a vowel immedi-ately preceding the pronominal suffix as when: {a) the verb suffixitself ends in a vowel; (b) the verb suffix ends in a consonant aswhen: (i) the final consonantal element of the verb suffix iselided; or (ii) a transitional vowel is inserted between the twosuffixes. While the third person feminine singular and the secondfeminine plural forms produce a transitional vowel, the secondmasculine plural verb-suffix loses its final consonantal element.
(2) The third person masculine plural verb-suffix constitutesa special case having t» as its syllable final. Semivowels in Tigre,in inter-vocalic or post-vocalic position, can be weakened or canlose their distinctive features altogether. In the present instance,two variants of the third person masculine plural forms arefound: [w] and [UJ]. The latter variant complies with the obser-vations set out in point (1).
(3) In the verb-suffix of second person feminine plural an 3vowel may sometimes be detected following a full actualisationof the k sound: this vowel is otherwise not essential to thesyllabic structure.
Imperfect
Person
Sing.2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc.3rd fern.
PI.2nd masc2nd fern.3rd masc3rd fern.
Stem
CaCCCaCCCaCCCaCC
CaCCCaCCCaCCCaCC
Verb-suffixA
In finalposition
—
——
-0
-a-0
-a
Followedby the
pronominalsuffix
—-/-——
-u-•a--u-•a-
Transitionalelement
-a-—-a--a-
————
Ultimateform
toqatlannitsqatlinihqatlanniUqatlatmi
hqatlmitoqatlanihqatlmihqatlani
Notes for the above table: (1) In persons where a verb-suffix doesnot exist the presence of a vowel is required between the verb
form and the form of the pronominal suffix. (2) In second andthird person masculine plural the verb-suffix 0 is representedby//.
Jussive
Verb-suffix
Person Stem
Followedby the
In final pronominal Transitionalposition suffix element
Ultimateform
Sing.2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc.3rd fern.
PL2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc3rd fern.
CCaCCCaCCCaCCCaC
CCaCCCaCCCaCCCaC
—-i——
-0
-a-0
-a
—-/-——
-u--a--u--a-
-a-—-a--a-
————
toqtalanniUqtalinihqtalatmitsqtalanni
ttqtaltmitsqtalanihqtalunihqtalani
Imperative
Ultimateform
qitalanniqatalini
qataluniqstalani
The morpho-phonemic phenomena noted in connection withthe imperfect table are also to be observed in the case of thejussive inflection and the appropriate imperative forms.
FIRST PERSON PLURAL (MASC. AND FEM.) : -rut, -nna. As first personsingular.
17.2.2. SECOND PERSON MASCULINE SINGULAR: -ka, -kka.
Perfect
Person
Sing.ist3rd masc.3rd fern.
PI.ist3rd masc.3rd fern.
Stem
CaCaCCaCCCaCC
CaCaCCaCCCaCC
Verb-suffixA
In finalposition
-ko-a-at
-na-aw-aya
Followedby the
pronominalsuffix
-ko-e-att-
-na--aw--aya-
Transitionalelement
——-a-
———
Ultimateform
qatalkokaqatlekkaqatlattakka
qatalnakaqatlawkaqatlayaka
Imperfect
Person
Sing,ist3rd mas.3rd fem.
PList3rd masc.3rd fem.
Stem
PP
P
pp
pR
RR
RR
R
Verb-suffixA
r \Followed
by theIn final pronominalposition suffix
-0 -u--a -a-
Transitionalelement
-a--a--a-
-a-
Ultimateform
'dqatlakkahqatlakkaUqatlakka
'mqatlakkabqatlukahqatlaka
Jussive
Prefixes and stem constitute the typical morphological featuresof the jussive category. The construction of the verb-suffix andthe pronominal suffix is the same as for the imperfect. Themorpho-phonemic phenomena noted in connection with thefirst person pronominal suffix are also to be observed withregard to the second person masculine singular.
2nd pers. fem. sing.: -ki; -kki.2nd pers. masc. pi.: -kum; -kkum.2nd pers. fem. pi.: -hn\ -kfon.No table or observations are necessary in the case of these
pronominal suffixes since their inflection in all morphologicalcategories corresponds with that of the second person masculinesingular pronominal suffix.
I7 .2 .3 . THIRD PERSON MASCULINE SINGULAR*. -0, -WO, -J/O; -hu\ -JU.
Perfect
Person
Sing.1st2nd masc.2nd fem.3rd masc.3rd fem.
PI.1st2nd masc.2nd fem.3rd masc.3rd fem.
Stem
CaCaCCaCaCCaCaCCaCCCaCC
CaCaCCaCaCCaCaCCaCCCaCC
Verb-suffixA
t
In finalposition
-ko-ka-ki .-a-at
-na-kum-km-aw-aya
Followedby thepro-
nominalsuffix
-k--ka--k(?y-a--att-
-na-kum--k{,)n--aw--aya-
Transi-tional
element
-w--b--J--J-
-b-—-ab-—
-b-
Vocalicelementof pro-
nominalsuffix
-0
-u-0
-u-0
-u-0
-u-0
-u
Ultimateform
qatalkwoqatalkabuqatalk{f)yoqatlqyuqatlatto
qatalnabuqatalkumoqatalk{s)nahuqatlawoqatlayabu
In comparing the verb-suffixes in final position with thosefollowed by the third person pronominal suffix as illustrated inthe above table, the following observations are to be noted.(1) There is an elision of the vowel of the verb-suffix in firstperson singular and second person feminine singular and an »follows the consonantal element-as a free variation-in thelatter case. (2) The consonantal element of the third personmasculine singular is geminated. (3) There is a transitional afollowing the final consonant of second person feminine pluralverb-suffix. The 3 vowel is not essential to the syllabic structureand occurs sporadically as a free variation, being an aspect of fullk realisation. (4) The final consonantal element of third person
masculine plural verb-suffix -w- has the weakened variation [UJ].(5) All other verb-suffixes remain intact.
The third person singular pronominal suffix is characterisedby its vocalic termination 0 or u and by the manner in which thisvocalic termination necessitates a preceding consonantal elementin forming a final CV sequence of the ultimate form. The pointsto be noted with regard to the perfect are as follows: (1) Thetermination u occurs following verb-suffixes which end with thevowel a in final position as well as in the ultimate form. (2) Thetermination 0 occurs following the verb-suffixes which end witha consonant, excluding the second feminine plural where uoccurs. (3) The preceding consonantal element is either the finalconsonant of verb-suffixes in final position ending with aconsonant or one of the three transitional elements - n>, y, b-when the verb-suffix in final position ends with a vowel. Hereagain, the second person feminine plural ultimate form stands asan exception, having the transitional sequence ah following aconsonantal verb-suffix termination. All u terminations but oneare preceded by a transitional b, the exception being third personmasculine singular wherey occurs. (4) The only two degrees ofperson in which the final vowel of the ultimate form is precededby a consonantal duster are the first person singular and thesecond person feminine singular. In these two instances thesecond element of the cluster - w andy respectively - points to ahistorical phonetic change which produced the semivowels,i.e. an off-on glide.
Notes for the above table, (i) The termination o occurs followingthe third radical of the stem in all persons except second andthird feminine plural where u occurs following a transitional b.(2) Gemination of the final radical occurs in all forms which donot have a verbal suffix. (3) There is a transposition of the verb-suffix into the stem in second person feminine singular and secondand third masculine plural of the ultimate forms together withthe representation of 0 by u. (4) Gemination of the medial radicaloccurs in the persons mentioned in Note (3).
Jussive
Person
Sing.1st2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc-3rd fern.
PI.1st2nd masc.2nd fern.3rd masc.3rd fern.
Stem (seecommentfollowingthe table)
CCaQQCCaC(C)CC(a/e)CCCaC(QCCaqQ
. CCaC(QCC(a/o)CCCaCCC(a/o)CCCaC
Verb-suffixA
t \
Followedby the
In final pronominal Transitionalposition suffix element
Comment. For the oblique line inside the parentheses read 'or".When removing the parentheses one of the vowels is left out,depending on the presence or absence of a pronominal suffix inthe inflected form.
In comparing the construction of the various constituents ofthe imperfect form and the manner in which they constitute theultimate forms with those of the jussive, two morpho-phonemicphenomena are found to be specific to the jussive: (a) the verb-suffixes of second and third person masculine plural retain theirphonemic shape; (b) the verb-suffix of second person femininesingular -/- in final position is represented by e in ultimate form.A further point to be noted is the omission of the vocalic element
of the stem in final position in persons requiring transpositionin the ultimate form.
Imperative
The phenomena noted above in connection with the jussive arealso to be observed in the case of the appropriate imperativeforms. The ultimate forms are as follows: qstallo, qstelo, qatolo,qstalahu.
3rd pers. fem. sing. pron. suf.: -a, -we, -ja\ -ba.3rd pers. masc. pi. pron. suf.: -om, -worn, -yom, -bom.3rd pers. fem. pi. pron. suf.: -an, -wan, -yan, -ban.No tables or observations are necessary in the case of these
pronominal suffixes, since their inflection in all morphologicalcategories corresponds with that of the third person masculinesingular pronominal suffix.
17.3. THE PRONOMINAL SUFFIX IN CONJUNCTION WITHVERB FORMS OF DERIVATIVES AND OTHER VERB TYPES
Derivatives of type A verbs, and also other types and theirderivatives, submit to the same changes as occur with type Ainflection, without losing their morphological typical features.This statement is true both in regard to verbs whose stem is tri-consonantal non-laryngal and verbs whose stem is quadricon-sonantal non-laryngal.
A further observation is, however, necessary to adapt the givendescription of type A to all types and derivatives. This obser-vation involves the transposed vocalic element of the verb-suffix of the imperative and jussive as follows (see aboveImperfect, note 3^.232): when the vowel between the second andthird radicals of the stem in final position is a, the plural verb-suffixes in the ultimate form retain their phonemic shape whilethe singular verb-suffix is actualised as e. When no phonemic orany other vowel separates the second and third radicals of thestem in final position, the plural verb-suffixes are actualised as uwhereas the singular verb-suffix retains its phonemic shape in theultimate form. In the light of this observation, the transposedvowels /', u in the imperfect and e, 0 in the jussive may beconsidered as typical of the morphological distinction of thetype A inflection as a particular case, and do not representmorphological properties typical of a formal distinction betweenthe imperfect and jussive in general. Some examples of thetriradical verbs are:
ta- A/B: tskabbata "to meet, to receive"; perfect: takabbatattom"she met them (masc.)"; tkabbatawa1 "they received her";imperfect/jussive: latkabbatabom " they (fern.) met them (masc.)";imperative: takabboto "receive (masc. pi.) him!", takabbota"receive (masc. pi.) her!".
'a- A: 'awdaqa "to overpower"; 'afgara "to let go out, topour" (v.t.); 'aqbala "to come back, to return"; 'aqmata "toobserve, to take notice of"; perfect: 'awdaketmi "he overpoweredme"; imperfect: tafaggarra "she pours it (lit. 'her', i.e. 'thesoup*)"; jussive: 'agal taqmutom "in order that you (masc. pi.)will observe them (masc.)".
QUADRIRADICAL VERBS in their ultimate forms reflect a morpho-logical behaviour similar to that of the triradical verbs, as in:sanbala "to give (a present)"; imperfect: sanbulo "they (masc.)give him (a present)". No further examples of the quadriradicalverb in the ultimate form will be given.
I7.4. VERBS WITH LARYNGALS
Verbs which have either first or second radical laryngal (seeSec. 9.1 and 9.2) comply with the description generated so far.
1 For tskabbatawa.2 The actual pronunciation is sometimes Ukahsakki, the [a] appearing
in order to overcome the difficulty of pronouncing a long unstressed vowelin a closed syllable.
A point - regarding verbs with second radical laryngal - worthmentioning again here (cf. Sec. 9.2) is the absence of any formaldifference between the imperfect and jussive in all existing types,except type A and all derivatives, owing to stem structure ingeneral and to the non-geminative feature of L in 'a- A inparticular.
17.4 .1 . EXAMPLES OF VERBS WITH SECOND RADICAL LARYNGAL
TYPE A: sahaba "to drag"; kabala "to endure"; rahama "to havepity on"; imperfect: hstobbo "he drags it (masc. sing.)"; hshubo"they (masc.) drag it (masc. sing.)"; jussive: 'agrt tskhola "inorder that you (masc. pi.) will endure it (fern, sing.)"; imperative:nhomom "have (masc. pi.) pity on them! (masc.)".
ta- A: takahada "to oppose"; tssa'ala "to ask"; imperfect/jussive: hthhodo "they (masc.) will resist him"; hsss'olom1 "they(masc.) ask them (masc.)".
17.4.2. VERBS WITH A THIRD RADICAL LARYNGAL (see See. 9.3)form a class of their own in retaining their significant morpho-logical features in the ultimate forms, notably the gemination ofthe second radical of the imperfect throughout its inflection andthe occurrence of the masculine plural verb-suffix -u- in theimperfect and jussive (imperative) - represented in normal rapidarticulation by 3. No sequential permutation occurs with thethird person pronominal suffix in the ultimate forms, and thevowel of the third person pronominal suffix is attached to theverb-suffix by means of a transitional element: -y- in the secondperson feminine singular, and -w- in the appropriate plural forms.The only significant change which occurs in these verbs is oneinvolving the quality of the vowel of the jussive stem: in formslacking a verb-suffix the vowel a in final position in the ultimateform becomes 3.
TYPE A : sam'a " to hear " ; mas'a " to come " ; imperfect: 'amasss'akka" I shall come to you (masc. sing.)"; tssamms'iyo "you (fem. sing.)will hear him"; tasamms'swo "you (masc. pi.) will hear him";
lasamma'awo "they (masc. pi.) will hear him"; jussive: ligaltamsa'anni "in order that you (masc. sing.) will come to me";'agallamsa'o "in order that he will come to him"; 'agaltasma'iyo "inorder that you (fem. sing.) will hear him"; 'aga/ tasma'awo "inorder that you (masc. pi.) will hear him"; imperative: sam'o,sam'iyo, sam'am, sam'ahu.
'a- A: 'amsa'a "to bring"; perfect: 'amsa'awa "they (masc.)brought for her"; imperfect: lamassa'awo "they (masc.) bringhim"; jussive: /amsa'awo "in order that they (masc.) will bringhim".
Verbs with n> or y as one of their radicals retain their typicalmorphological features. Verbs with a final radical semivowel -having peculiarities which resemble, in principle, the behaviourof verbs with a third radical laryngal - deserve special attention.These peculiarities can be described as follows, (a) No trans-position of verb-suffixes occurs, (b) In the case of verb forms ofthe imperfect and jussive (imperative) ending with the vowel ein final position, e is represented by a or zero in the imperfectand by a in the jussive (imperative). In both cases a transitional
y immediately follows the vowel concerned, (c) In imperfectforms with u in final position, the u of the ultimate form isrepresented by a or zero and a transitional w immediately followsthe vowel concerned. Examples (cf. Sec. 10.3): sama "toname";kara "to put (down)"; imperfect: tasammiyo "you (fem. sing.) willname him"; tasammayo or tasammyo "she will name him";sammawan or sammwan "they (masc.) name them (fem.)"; karratvoor karrwo "they (masc.) put it (masc. sing.) down"; jussive:'agattakrayo "in order that she will put it ( 'him')"; 'agallakrawo "inorder that they (masc.) will put it (masc. sing.)"; imperative:ksrayo "put (masc. sing.) it (masc. sing.) down"; karawo "put(masc. pi.) it (masc. sing.) down".
17.5 .1 . VERBS WITH MORE THAN ONE SEMIVOWEL (CF. SEC. IO.4)AND VERBS WITH BOTH A LARYNGAL AND A SEMIVOWEL exhibit a
synthesis of the morpho-phonetic behaviour of the sonantsconcerned. The final radical determines the presence or absenceof the verb-suffix transposition. Some examples: WCSV wada"todo,tomake";CLSVra'*"tosee";LSVC^"togive";
imperfect: waddiwo or waddwo "they (masc.) do it (lit. 'him')";hr'iivo "they (masc.) see him"; hayubo "they (masc.) givehim.. . "; jussive: 'agal lidawo "in order that they (masc.) will doit (masc. sing.)"; 'agalhr'awo "in order that they will see him";'agal hhobo "in order that they (masc.) will give him.. ." .
17.6. THE VERB BELA
This verb "to say" (cf. Sec. 12.2) retains its essential morpho-logical features in the ultimate form. A point to be noted is theexistence of the radical / throughout the inflection in the perfect,either as a suppletion of the form in final position, or by means ofthe use of telk- (or tel-) stem in the appropriate persons.1 Inother morphological categories of the verb a transposition of theverb-suffix occurs in the appropriate forms. The ultimate formswith the third person pronominal suffix are as follows.Perfect: 'abello, tabello/tello, telkyo, bello/belayu, tabello, 'anbel/o,
In order to complete the description of verb inflection in theultimate form, the following three phenomena should bementioned.
(a) The first person singular pronominal suffix -ni can stand infree variation with -tie,3 as in: sa'ana "to cause to mount";'afgara " to cause to go out"; jussive: 'agal lajgaranne "in orderthat he will let me go out"; sa'anme "make (masc. pi.) me ridehim (i.e.: the horse)".
(b) In verb forms, with the third person pronominal suffix, inwhich the transitional element is -h- preceded by a, the a can berepresented by a. The range of actualisation of the vowel extends
1 K. G. Rod^n, Kitdb 'ag'aqpt wtupr'an, 3rd ed., revised by Musa Aron,Asmara 1958, 22-3 gives the following forms of the stem tel-: telyo for te/kyo,telwo for telkumo, telyabu for telknabu. Cf. also E. Littmann, " Bilitterale Verbaim Tigrd", Orientalia Suecana in (1954), 94-101 (esp. 98-100).
2 With the first and second pers. pron. suffixes: beluni "they (masc.) saidto me"; beluki "they (masc.) said to you (fern. sing.)".
3 This variant is quite common in speech. Orthographically, however, it ispoorly represented.
from a through 9 to zero. Examples: rakba "to find"; 'dmara "toknow"; baba "to give"; sam'a "to hear"; ba%a "to seek, wish,want"; bela "to say"; basba "to wash" (v.t.); perfect: rakabkabu"you (masc. sing.) found him"; 'dmarkshu "you (masc. sing.)knew him"; habmhu "we gave h im. . . " ; wadekha "you did it(fem. sing.)"; 'isarrfanaha "we have not heard her"'; ha^endha "wesought her [for marriage]"; imperfect: hbhba "they (fem.) sayunto her"; hashba "they (fem.) wash her".
(c) The ultimate form of third person masculine plural perfect1
qatlaw "they killed" with first and second pronominal suffixes isgiven in the appropriate sections above, as katlawna, katlawka,etc. Two other variants of these ultimate forms are found, inboth of which an u precedes the pronominal suffix, and in one ofwhich the w of the plural suffix appears as y. Examples: half a"to pass"; sdwata "to flog"; kal'a "to prevent"; 'adda "tovisit"; 'aggaba "to wrong"; nas'a "to take"; 'athada "to give inmarriage"; hawaka "to confound"; haljawuka "they passed you(masc. sing.)"; Idwatawuki "they flogged you (fem. sing.)";kal'awuna "they prevented us"; 'addawuna "they visited us" ;'aggabayuna "they wronged us"; nas'ayuna "they took us" ;'atbadayuna "they gave us in marriage"; bawakayukum "theyconfounded you (masc. pi.)".
1 See Sec. 17.2.1, 17.2.2, first table in each section.
