THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

THE PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF MONO

VOLUME ONE









A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO

THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY


DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS






BY

KENNETH S. OLSON






CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

MARCH 2001

















































Copyright 2001 by Kenneth S. Olson
All rights reserved
iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

VOLUME ONE

LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................viii
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................xi
ABBREVIATIONS ...........................................................................................................xii

Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1
1.1 Demography and geography ...............................................................2
1.2 Classification.......................................................................................5
1.3 Ethnology and history .......................................................................11
1.4 The sociolinguistic situation .............................................................15
1.5 Dialects..............................................................................................18
1.6 Previous research on Mono ...............................................................19
1.7 Overview and methodology ..............................................................20
2. PHONEMES ....................................................................................................24
2.1 Consonants ........................................................................................27
2.2 Vowels ..............................................................................................38
2.3 Distribution of phonemes ..................................................................42
3. TONE ...............................................................................................................46
3.1 Lexical tone .......................................................................................46
3.2 Grammatical tone ..............................................................................50
3.3 Distribution of tones .........................................................................52
4. LABIALIZATION AND PALATALIZATION..............................................56
4.1 Description ........................................................................................58
4.2 Suggested interpretations ..................................................................62
4.3 Distribution of labialization and palatalization .................................67
5. THE SYLLABLE ............................................................................................69
5.1 Syllable types ....................................................................................71
6. WORD SHAPES .............................................................................................77
6.1 Nominal word shapes ........................................................................78
6.2 Verbal word shapes ...........................................................................86
6.3 Adverbial word shapes ......................................................................87
6.4 Grammatical-function-word word shapes .........................................90
7. MORPHOLOGY ............................................................................................91
7.1 Grammatical categories.....................................................................92
7.2 Phonological processes which cross morpheme or word
boundaries .......................................................................................118
7.3 Summary .........................................................................................122
iv
8. ACOUSTIC PHONETICS.............................................................................124
8.1 Consonants ......................................................................................126
8.2 Vowels ............................................................................................151
8.3 Secondary articulations ...................................................................167
8.4 Summary and further research ........................................................171
9. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................173

VOLUME TWO

Appendices
A. TEXTS ...........................................................................................................175
A.1 The elephant, the turtle, and the hippo (narrative text) ...................175
A.2 Preparing the fields for planting (procedural text) ..........................186
A.3 Proverbs ..........................................................................................189
A.4 Frequency counts ............................................................................192
B. WORD LIST ..................................................................................................194
C. AN EVALUATION OF NIGER-CONGO CLASSIFICATION ..................241
C.1 Niger-Congo classification: major sub-groupings ..........................244
C.2 Kwa and Benue-Congo ...................................................................246
C.3 Bantu ...............................................................................................250
C.4 Adamawa-Ubangi ...........................................................................256
C.5 Discussion .......................................................................................264
C.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................272
D. CROSS-LINGUISTIC INSIGHTS ON THE LABIAL FLAP ......................274
D.1 Introduction .....................................................................................274
D.2 Geographic distribution...................................................................275
D.3 Genetic distribution .........................................................................277
D.4 Articulation .....................................................................................280
D.5 Phonological status .........................................................................283
D.6 The origin of the labial flap.............................................................292
D.7 Languages containing the labial flap ..............................................294
D.8 Conclusion ......................................................................................312
E. RECORDINGS ..............................................................................................313
F. ADDITIONAL TABLES...............................................................................322

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................355

v


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: The languages of northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo ....................3
Figure 1.2: The locations of the Mono people and their ancestors .................................13
Figure 2.1: Consonant phonemes in Mono......................................................................27
Figure 2.2: Articulation of a portion of the word awctoro awctoro awctoro awctoro stick used in an animal trap
(Speaker A, cf. Chapter 8). Frames are 30 ms apart .....................................31
Figure 2.3: Vowel phonemes in Mono ............................................................................38
Figure 2.4: Reanalyzed Mono vowel system ..................................................................40
Figure 8.1: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word awa awa awa awa (Speaker K). The
period of closure is indicated by the arrows ...............................................127
Figure 8.2: Waveform and spectrogram of the word awara awara awara awara fierceness (Speaker K) 128
Figure 8.3: Waveform and spectrogram of the word jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc catfish (Speaker K) .....128
Figure 8.4: Waveform and spectrogram of the word awa awa awa awa road (Speaker K) .............130
Figure 8.5: Waveform and spectrogram of the word wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi calf, shin. Voicing precedes a
word-initial labial flap (Speaker A) ............................................................130
Figure 8.6: Waveform and spectrogram of the word ke-wa ke-wa ke-wa ke-wa to send (Speaker A) .....131
Figure 8.7: Waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K) ......................................133
Figure 8.8: Waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K) ......................................134
Figure 8.9: Waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker K) ......................................134
Figure 8.10: Waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker K) ......................................135
Figure 8.11: Waveform and spectrogram of possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K). Beginning
and end of closure are indicated by the arrows (see Section 8.1.4) ............135
Figure 8.12: Waveform and spectrogram of possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K) ................136
Figure 8.13: Waveform of the word ba-ati ba-ati ba-ati ba-ati low (Speaker K) ......................................136
Figure 8.14: Waveform of the word koba koba koba koba spirit (Speaker K) ......................................137
Figure 8.15: Close-up of waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker A) ...................138
Figure 8.16: Close-up of waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker A) ...................138
Figure 8.17: Close-up of waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K) ...................138
Figure 8.18: Close-up of waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker K) ...................139
Figure 8.19: Close-up of waveform of the word koba koba koba koba spirit (Speaker K) ..................139
Figure 8.20: Close-up of waveform of the word cdc cdc cdc cdc who (Speaker K) ......................139
Figure 8.21: Waveform of the word ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi to hit (Speaker K) .....................................140
Figure 8.22: Waveform and spectrogram of the word ke-gb5 ke-gb5 ke-gb5 ke-gb5 to receive, to find
(Speaker K) .................................................................................................142
Figure 8.23: Waveform and spectrogram of the word agba agba agba agba dugout canoe (Speaker K)
.....................................................................................................................144
Figure 8.24: Waveform and spectrogram of the word aba aba aba aba father (Speaker K) ...........144
Figure 8.25: Waveform and spectrogram of the word baga baga baga baga cheek (Speaker K) .........145
Figure 8.26: Waveform and spectrogram of the word kada kada kada kada oil (Speaker K) ..............146
Figure 8.27: Waveform and spectrogram of the word kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 big hoe (Speaker K) .....147
Figure 8.28: Waveform and spectrogram of possible word amba amba amba amba (Speaker K). Beginning
and end of closure are indicated by arrows .................................................150
vi
Figure 8.29: Plot of F
1
vs. F
2
(Speaker K) ......................................................................154
Figure 8.30: Plot of F
1
vs. F
3
(Speaker K) ......................................................................156
Figure 8.31: Plot of F
1
vs. F
2
' (Speaker K)......................................................................156
Figure 8.32: Plot of F
1
vs. F
2
(Speaker K) with location of American English vowels e ee e,
, and o oo o indicated .......................................................................................157
Figure 8.33: Spectrogram of Mono vowels spoken in isolation (Speaker K) .................159
Figure 8.34: Waveform and spectrogram of the word oporo oporo oporo oporo egg spoken with rapid and
normal speaking rates (Speaker K) .............................................................161
Figure 8.35: Waveform and spectrogram of the word ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait spoken with rapid
and normal speaking rates (Speaker A) ......................................................161
Figure 8.36: Waveform and spectrogram of the word mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa elephant spoken with rapid
and normal speaking rates (Speaker K) .............................................162
Figure 8.37: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K) ..........164
Figure 8.38: Waveform and spectrogram of the nonsense word ama ama ama ama (Speaker K). A nasal
formant F
N
is visible at approximately 2100 Hz.........................................165
Figure 8.39: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word ana ana ana ana (Speaker K). A nasal
formant F
N
is visible at approximately 2100 Hz. Formant tracking marks
show F
N
in second vowel ............................................................................165
Figure 8.40: Waveform and spectrogram of the word b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 tobacco (Speaker K) ........166
Figure 8.41: Waveform and spectrogram of the word k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 hippo (Speaker K) ..........167
Figure 8.42: Spectrogram of the word ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa pack, wrap up spoken at a slow speaking
rate. (Speaker K) .........................................................................................169
Figure 8.43: Waveform, F
0
trace, and spectrogram of the phrase e gja: gja e gja: gja e gja: gja e gja: gja Its difficult
to stir (Speaker K)......................................................................................170
Figure 8.44: Waveform, F
0
trace, and spectrogram of the underlined portion of the phrase
cndc se ke- cndc se ke- cndc se ke- cndc se ke-kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa n nn ng5ng5 g5ng5 g5ng5 g5ng5 ne ne ne ne ase ase ase ase They will be returning now.
(Speaker K) .................................................................................................171
Figure C.1: Classification of African languages. Data from Greenberg (1970) and
Williamson & Blench (2000) ......................................................................241
Figure D.1: Geographic distribution of the labial flap in Africa. Data from Grimes
(1996) and Moseley & Asher (1994) ..........................................................276

vii


LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Banda sub-classification. Languages marked C and S occur only in D. R.
Congo and Sudan, respectively. Languages marked +C and +S occur in D. R.
Congo and Sudan, respectively, as well as in CAR. Unmarked languages
occur only in CAR .............................................................................................7
Table 1.2: Levels of intelligibility between Banda speech varieties .................................10
Table 2.1: Consonant-vowel combinations in Mono .......................................................44
Table 2.2: Vowel-vowel (CV
1
CV
2
) co-occurrences .........................................................45
Table 3.1: Consonant-tone co-occurrences .......................................................................53
Table 6.1: Mono pronouns ................................................................................................85
Table 7.1: Mono phonological processes ........................................................................123
Table 8.1: VOT values for labial, velar, and labial-velar stops (Speaker K) ..................147
Table 8.2: Closure duration of prenasalized stops in Mono (Speaker K). Tokens taken
from cons2_11025.wav. Time is in seconds .................................................151
Table 8.3: Formant averages. Units are Hertz; standard deviations are in parentheses
(Speaker K) ....................................................................................................153
Table 8.4: Bandwidth averages. Units are Hertz; standard deviations are in parentheses.
(Speaker K) ....................................................................................................154
Table 8.5: Duration of vowels in CVLV sequences spoken at normal and rapid rates of
speech. Standard deviations are given in parentheses. (Speakers A and K) ..160
Table 8.6: Comparison of the duration of long and short vowels in a word-initial syllable
(Speaker K) ....................................................................................................163
Table 8.7 Comparison of the values of F
1
and F
2
for the labialization in the token
ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa pack, wrap up spoken at a slow rate and the average values of F
1

and F
2
for u uu u and o oo o measured in Section 8.2.1 ................................................168
Table A.1: Frequency counts of consonants in texts .......................................................192
Table A.2: Frequency counts of vowels in texts ..............................................................193
Table A.3: Frequency counts of tones in texts .................................................................193
Table D.1: Genetic affiliation of languages in which the labial flap is attested ..............279
Table D.2: Languages in which the labial flap is part of the phonological system .........291
Table F.1: Consonant-vowel co-occurrences (cf. Chapter 2) ..........................................322
Table F.2: Vowel-vowel (CV
1
CV
2
) co-occurrences (cf. Chapter 2) ...............................338
Table F.3: Consonant-tone co-occurrences (cf. Chapter 3) .............................................340
Table F.4: Formant and bandwidth values for Mono vowels (Speaker K) (cf. Chapter 8)
........................................................................................................................343
Table F.5: Time location of vowel measurements (cf. Chapter 8) ..................................352
viii


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A Mono proverb states, Water runs by itself, and thus it curves and bends. In
other words, if you do something by yourself, youll get off-track. Even though my name
is on the title page of this dissertation, numerous people were involved in making it a
reality, and I would like to take a moment to thank them.
I am very grateful to my dissertation committee, John Goldsmith, Bill Darden,
and Karen Landahl. They have devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to my
work, have provided numerous insights and encouragements, and have challenged me to
pursue excellence. I am also grateful to Jim McCawley, who was briefly on my
committee before his sudden departure. We miss you, Jim.
The other faculty members at the University of Chicago have been helpful as
well. I wish to mention specifically Salikoko Mufwene, the department chair, who has
been very supportive and shares my interest in the country of Congo; Rich Janda, who
was one of the readers for my major field exam and devoted much time to me as a
student; and Gene Gragg, who encouraged me to pursue Olson (1996).
I have benefited from discussions with and comments from many other linguists
as this dissertation has taken shape. This includes (but is not limited to) Stephen C.
Anderson, Patrick Bennett, Jutta Blhberger, Mary Bradshaw, Mike Cahill, Rod Casali,
Nick Clements, France Cloarec-Heiss, Bruce Connell, Didier Demolin, Marcel Diki-
Kidiri, Bill Gardner, Joseph Greenberg, Barbara Grimes, Eric Hamp, Robert Hedinger,
Beth Hume, Roger Kamanda, Mark Karan, Peter Ladefoged, Myles Leitch, Connie
Kutsch Lojenga, Ian Maddieson, Steve Marlett, Rob McKee, David Morgan, Barbara
Need, Paul Newman, Doris Payne, Tom Payne, Rob Pensalfini, Geoffrey Pullum, Rich
ix
Rhodes, Jim Roberts, Doug Sampson, Keith Snider, Jrg Stalder, John Stewart, Rhonda
Thwing, Dick Watson, and Kay Williamson. I especially thank John Hajek for working
with me on the labial flap project. I hope to meet you face to face some day!
My fellow students in the Department of Linguistics have been an encouragement
to me along the way. Joanna Lowenstein and Tami Wysocki deserve special thanks for
reading and commenting on several of the chapters. Also, thanks to Kati Gruber, Derrick
Higgins, and Tami Wysocki for a great year as co-officers for CLS.
Thanks to past and present members of the Western Congo Group of SIL: Richard
and Trish Aze, Margaret Hill, Jim Fultz, Beat and Robyn Kunz, David and Sharon
Morgan, JeDene Reeder, Ken Satterberg, Will and Judith Sawers, Harold and Ginny
Smith, and Elaine Thomas. Special thanks to Brian and Barb Schrag, my colleagues on
the Mono project, for your friendship and patience. I could not ask for better people to
work with.
Thanks to the members of the missionary community in northwestern Congo,
including the Covenant Church, the Free Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and
Mission Aviation Fellowship. I will never forget how kind and generous you all have
been to me.
Thanks to all of the people who prayed for me during my time in Congo and
Chicago. You have played a larger part in this than you realize. I also thank the churches
and individuals who supported me financially while I was in Congo and have continued
to do so during my studies.
I thank the members of the church communities in northwestern Congo for their
hospitality: the Communaut vanglique du Christ en Ubangi, the Communaut
vanglique en Ubangi et Mongala, and the Molegbe diocese of the Catholic Church. I
am happy to be partnering with you in the task of Bible translation. I thank Rev. and Mrs.
God for being my parents away from home, and Ama Geangozo Mbanza, Kilio
x
Tembenekuzu, Mbakuwuse Tshangbaita, and Sangemale Tshebale Mandaba for their
able work as language resource persons.
I honor my parents, Roger and Joan Olson, the people I respect the most in this
world.
Finally, I have saved the most important for last. The Westminster Shorter
Catechism states, Mans chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. J.S. Bach
understood this when he wrote the initials SDG, which stands for Soli Deo Gloria to
God alone be the glory, on many of his musical manuscripts. So, above all I exalt DMDO,
the compassionate and gracious God, and Jesus, his Son. Yes, glory, majesty, power,
and authority belong to him, in the beginning, now, and forevermore (Jude 25b, New
Living Translation).
Research for this dissertation was funded in part by a Century Fellowship from
the University of Chicago.

xi


ABSTRACT

In this dissertation, I describe in detail the phonology and morphology of Mono, a
language found in the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I
provide acoustic evidence to support my claims concerning the sound system. This is the
first acoustic study of Mono in the literature.
There are several unique features in the Mono phonological system. Mono has a
phonemic labial flap, a rare speech sound found almost exclusively in central Africa. I
devote one appendix to a cross-linguistic study of this sound. The vowel system has two
front and three back vowels, which contradicts a putative universal concerning vowel
systems. Mono has three level tones which have both lexical and grammatical function.
Tonal melodies and tonal polarity are attested. There are two secondary articulations,
labialization and palatalization, which are phonetically mid rather than high, and which
are a challenge for interpretation. A large number of words contain a bisyllabic CV
1
LV
1

sequence in which the two vowels are identical in quality and tone. The first V may be
shortened or elided in rapid speech. A word minimality condition on nouns requiring two
syllables is satisfied via the reduplication of a vowel. A large number of words have the
shape V
1
CV
1
LV
1
suggesting that the reduplication overapplies in such cases. Mono
morphology is predominantly prefixing, but reduplication and suprasegmental
modification are also attested. There are implicational restrictions on the leftward spread
of vocalic features.
xii


ABBREVIATIONS

The following are abbreviations for grammatical terms used frequently in the text
and examples.

1PL.EXCL 1st person pl. exclusive
1PL.INCL 1st person pl. inclusive
1SG 1st person singular
2PL 2nd person plural
2SG 2nd person singular
3PL 3rd person plural
3SG 3rd person singular
ADJ adjective
ADJ2 adjective (follows noun)
ADV adverb
BEN benefactive
CERT certainty
CLEFT cleft marker
COND conditional
CONJ conjunction
COP copula
DEIC deictic
DET determiner
DISC discourse marker
EMPH emphatic
EXCL exclamation
FUNC function word
FUT future
IMP imperative
INF infinitive
LOC locative
n. noun
NEG negation
NF non-future
NUM number
OB obligations
PL plural
PN proper noun
PRON pronoun
RED reduplicant
REFL reflexive
REP repetitive
QUEST question
REL relative clause marker
SS same subject
STAT stative
SUBJ subjunctive
TAM tense, aspect, and mood
TIME time expression
v. verb














This dissertation is dedicated to the Mono people of the Democratic Republic of Congo

1


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the phonology and morphology of
Mono, a Banda language found in the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of
Congo (D. R. Congo, formerly Zaire). Specifically, I am concerned here with the Bili
dialect of Mono.
The term Mono is used by the Mono people themselves (and by outsiders) to refer
to the language that they speak. The Mono people refer to themselves as the a-mono a-mono a-mono a-mono,
adding the a a a a- prefix which marks plural on animate nouns. Some references, such as
Tucker & Bryan (1956: 33) and Kamanda (1998), list this as a-m5n5 a-m5n5 a-m5n5 a-m5n5. This transcription
may be due to the fact that the vowel o oo o is nasalized following a nasal consonant, which
can be perceived as a lowering of the vowel.
Outsiders refer the Mono people as les Mono when speaking French or as ba-
Mono when speaking Lingala (Bantu C), the local trade language. In the latter case, the
speakers are simply employing the class 2 noun prefix ba-, which marks plural for
persons in Lingala (Guthrie & Carrington 1988: 14).
In many languages of the world, the term for the ethnic group is the same as the
word for people or human beings (Payne 1997: 13). In Mono however, this is not the
case. The word for people in Mono is a-zu a-zu a-zu a-zu, whereas the word Mono is not related.
The term Mono is also a derogatory term used by some people in the Central
African Republic (CAR) to refer to the Congolese in generale.g. Les Monos ne sont
que des voleurs. In fact, many people I have talked with in CAR appear to be ignorant of
the fact that Mono is a unique ethnic and linguistic group found in D. R. Congo.
2

There are several languages in the world with the name Mono. The language
which is the subject of the present study is given the code [MNH] in the Ethnologue
(Grimes 1996). Other languages bearing the name Mono include an Adamawan
language found in the North Province of Cameroon [MRU], a nearly extinct Uto-Aztecan
language found in east central California [MON], and an Austronesian language found in
the Solomon Islands [MTE].
The Mono people recognize that they are a part of a larger ethno-linguistic unit
called Banda. The Banda languages are found predominantly in the eastern half of CAR
and in northwestern D. R. Congo. In addition, a small number are found in southwestern
Sudan (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1988).
In this introductory chapter, I discuss background information for understanding
the Mono linguistic situation. This includes the demography and geography of the group
in Section 1.1, the genetic affiliation of the language as presently understood in Section
1.2, ethnographic information including what we know about the history of the group in
Section 1.3, the sociolinguistic situation in Section 1.4, dialectal variation in Section 1.5,
and previous research on the language in Section 1.6. Finally, in Section 1.7, I discuss the
scope and methodology of the study, and provide a chapter outline of the dissertation.
1.1 Demography and geography
Mono is spoken in five distinct regions of northwestern D. R. Congo. The Mono
people identify these five regions as each having a distinct dialect: Bili, Bubanda, Mpaka,
Galaba, and Kaga. The first two regions are in the Bosobolo Zone, whereas the last three
are in the Libenge zone. These regions are stretched out like beads on a string in an arc
starting just across the Ubangi River from Kouango, CAR, and proceeding south and then
west ending once again near the Ubangi River immediately to the south of Zongo (Fultz
& Morgan 1986).
3

The first region is centered on the town of Bili, as shown in Figure 1.1. Taking
data from a 1984 census, Fultz & Morgan list the population for this region as 33,180. A
map in Van Bulck & Hackett (1956) shows Kpagua (their Pagwa) being spoken in the
northeastern part of the Bili region, but Fultz & Morgan (p. 9) point out that all of these
Kpagua villages have since adopted Mono, so that Kpagua is now une langue morte
cette ct de lUbangi.


Figure 1.1: The languages of northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Bili region is bordered by Gobu and Langbasi (Banda) to the northwest, Furu
(West Central Sudanic, cf. Maes 1983) to the east, and an enclave of Ngombe speakers
(Bantu C) to the south. The Furu region is not homogenous, as there are villages which
speak other languages (e.g. Mbandja, Langbasi, Yakpa, Gbanziri, Kpala, and Ngombe)
interspersed amongst the Furu villages.
4

The Bubanda region is located to the southwest of the Bili region. The two
regions are connected via a road which passes through the Ngombe region and also by a
foot path which bypasses the Ngombe region. In fact, one of the eastern-most villages in
the Bubanda region, Modiri, actually speaks the Bili dialect. Fultz & Morgan list the
population for this region as 11,962. The Bubanda region is bordered on the east by the
Ngombe region, but there are a couple of Togbo villages on the border as well. On the
west side, the Bubanda region is bordered by Ngbaka-Minagende.
1

Further west past the Ngbaka-Minagende region is the Mpaka region. This region
consists of only five or six villages. Fultz & Morgan do not distinguish it as a separate
dialect (and thus do not give population data), but the people in this region consider their
speech to be distinct from the other Mono dialects. It is bordered on the east by Ngbaka-
Minagende. On the west, it is separated from the Galaba dialect region by four or five
villages each of which speak either Ngbaka-Mabo or Gilima.
The Galaba region has a population of 13,540. It is bordered to the south by
Ngbaka-Minagende and to the northwest by Ngbaka-Mabo.
Finally, Kaga is the Mono dialect furthest to the west. It is found along the road
between Zongo and Libenge and has 3,420 speakers. Kaga is bordered to the north by
Ngbaka-Mabo and to the south by Ngbundu (Banda).
Thus the total number of Mono speakers according to Fultz & Morgans data is
62,102 (Tucker & Bryan 1956: 33 list the Mono population as 23,423).
In addition to Mono, several other Banda languages are found in northwestern D.
R. Congo. These include Mbandja (approximately 200,000 speakers according to Grimes
1996), Gobu (12,283), Togbo (10,117), Langbasi (2,900), Yakpa (approx. 2,000,
interspersed amongst the Furu), Ngbundu-North (6,572), Ngbundu-South (9,371), and

1
This group refers to themselves as Ngbaka. However, some linguists use the label Ngbaka-
Minagende in order to distinguish the group from other languages with the name Ngbaka.
5

Ngbugu (interspersed with Ngbandi west of Mobayi). All population statistics are from
Fultz & Morgan except where noted. Two or three villages east of Pandu in the main
Gobu region speak a language called Ngbulu which may belong to the Banda group, but
survey needs to be done to clarify this. Cloarec-Heiss (1988) lists Kpala as a Banda
language, but Fultz & Morgan note that it is in fact related to Ngbaka-Mabo. There is no
present-day evidence that the Banda dialects Gbi, Kpagua, or Ngundu are spoken in D. R.
Congo, contrary to what is listed in Grimes (1996).
The Bili dialect of Mono appears to be the dominant dialect. It has a larger
population than all of the other Mono groups combined. In addition, it has the most
prestige of all the Mono dialects. All of the other groups hold a positive attitude toward
the Bili dialect.
1.2 Classification
Linguistic researchers have consistently classified Mono as a part of the Banda
language group (see, e.g., Tisserant 1930: 5 and Tucker & Bryan 1956: 33), an ethnically
homogenous yet linguistically diverse group with perhaps as many as 50 speech varieties
(Cloarec-Heiss 1988). Banda is generally considered to be part of the Ubangi branch of
Adamawa-Ubangi, itself a branch of Greenbergs (1970) Niger-Congo phylum.
In this section, I will discuss in detail the internal classification of Banda. For the
interested reader, Appendix C offers an evaluation of the presently accepted status of the
Niger-Congo family, including a detailed discussion of the external and internal
relationships of Adamawa-Ubangi. Here, I provide just a few remarks highlighting the
major conclusions of Appendix C with respect to Adamawa-Ubangi.
The most widely accepted procedure for establishing the classification of a
language family is to reconstruct proto forms and then describe the systematic changes
resulting in the present-day forms by use of the comparative method. Classifications
based on other evidence, such as typological features or cognate percentages, are less
6

convincing. More will be said about the methodology of language classification in
Appendix C.
1.2.1 Adamawa-Ubangi
Since Greenberg (1970), Adamawa-Ubangi has been considered to be a part of
Niger-Congo. Greenberg offered as evidence for this affiliation resemblances in form and
meaning (rather than correspondences in the accepted sense) between Adamawa-Ubangi
and the rest of Niger-Congo, both in their noun class systems and in lexical items. As
discussed in Appendix C, this evidence is strong for the Adamawan languages but weak
for most of the Ubangian languages. In fact, Boyd (1978) and Cloarec-Heiss (1995a)
point out shared features between Ubangian languages and their Nilo-Saharan neighbors
to the north and east. At present, it is generally thought that the Ubangian languages are
genetically a part of Niger-Congo and acquired certain typological features from Nilo-
Saharan as a result of language contact. The similarites between Nilo-Saharan and Banda
led Cloarec-Heiss (1995a) to hypothesize that Proto-Banda was a pidgin with Central
Sudanic as the substrate and Ubangian as the superstrate (i.e. the lexifier).
As far as the integrity of Adamawa-Ubangi is concerned, it is not clear that it
forms a linguistic unit. Bennett & Sterk (1977), Bennett (1983a), and Williamson (1989a)
point out that there is little evidence from lexicostatistics or shared innovations for an
Adamawa-Ubangi node in the Niger-Congo tree. Instead, such evidence points more
convincingly to a node consisting of both Adamawa-Ubangi and Gur, which Williamson
calls North Volta-Congo.
The integrity of Ubangi is also in question. Most of the classifications of the
group have either incomplete data, or have not specified clearly their criteria, or both.
Bennett (1983a) questions the inclusion of Gbaya within Ubangi and claims that there is
more evidence for an Ubangi node which excludes Gbaya rather than including it. Once
again, more research is necessary on this question.
7

1.2.2 Banda internal relationships
Table 1.1 presents a subclassification of Banda. Note that the node labels (e.g.
Central Core, Mid-Southern) are not terms that the Banda people use to describe
themselves, but were created by linguists for classificatory purposes. On the other hand,
the name of the group as a whole, Banda, and the names of the individual languages are
used by the people in referring to themselves.
2

Table 1.1: Banda sub-classification. Languages marked C and S occur only in D. R.
Congo and Sudan, respectively. Languages marked +C and +S occur in D. R. Congo and
Sudan, respectively, as well as in CAR. Unmarked languages occur only in CAR.
I. Central
1. Central Core
a. Banda-Bambari: Linda, Joto, Ndokpa, Ngapo, Gbende
b. Banda-Banda: Banda-Banda, Bereya, Buru(+S), Gbaga-South, Gbambiya, Hai,
Ka, Mbi, Ndi, Ngalabo, Ngola, Vidiri (+S), Govoro(S), Wundu(S)
c. Banda-Mbrs: Buka, Mbre, Moruba, Sabanga, Wada(+S)
d. Banda-Ndl: Ndl, Junguru(+S), Tangbago(+S), Ngao, Ngbala, Kpaya(S)
e. Mid-Southern: Bongo, Dukpu(+S), Yakpa(+C), Wasa(+S), Gobu (+C),
Kpagua, Mono(C)
f. Togbo-Vara: Togbo(+S,+C), Vara
2. Banda-Yangere: Yangere
II. South Central: Langbasi(+C), Langba, Ngbugu(+C)
III. Southern: Mbandja
IV. Southwestern: Ngbundu(C)
V. West Central: Dakpa, Gbaga-North, Gbi, Vita, Wojo, Golo(S)

The first attempt to sub-classify Banda was Tisserant (1930: 4-5). However, he
does not provide data or evidence to support his classification. It appears that this
classification is based purely on his impressions and not on a rigorous methodology.
Tisserant himself admits that his classification is not to be taken as definitive.
Cloarec-Heiss (1978) studies eleven Banda dialects and sets up a classification
based on phonological and lexical data. Her published data include an 80-item word list.

2
Grimes (1996) (1) does not list Buru in Sudan, (2) incorrectly lists Buka, Mbre, Moruba, and
Sabanga as occurring in Sudan, (3) lists Gobu as Gubu, (4) lists Langbasi as Langbashe, (5) lists
Mbandja as Mbanza, and (6) lists Gbaga-North as Gbaga-Nord. Cloarec-Heiss (1988) does not list
Golo in Sudan.
8

Her phonological analysis consists of making an inventory of phonemes in each language
and then classifying the languages according to three typological factors: (1) the presence
or absence of individual sounds, (2) pertinent oppositions between sounds in various
dialects, and (3) the syllable structure of certain lexical items. Her lexical comparison
focuses on the percentage of cognates found in each pair of languages.
Cloarec-Heiss (1986) proposes a classification of 43 Banda dialects (although she
in fact analyzes only 17 dialects), following the same phonological and lexical criteria
used in her previous study, and makes a stronger attempt to differentiate dialects.
Unfortunately, she does not discuss her data or analysis. She tentatively proposes two
major groups: Central Banda and Peripheral Banda, based predominantly on native
speaker sentiments (Cloarec-Heiss 1997). Central Banda is geographically central to the
overall Banda region and consists of a group of languages which are phonologically,
morphologically, and lexically homogenous. Nevertheless, six different sub-classes of
Central Banda do emerge. Peripheral Banda is made up of a more diverse group of
languages which are geographically dispersed, mostly to the west and south of the
Central Banda region. Cloarec-Heiss divides Peripheral Banda into five regions: West
Central, South Central, Southern, Southwestern, and Western. Cloarec-Heiss (1988)
offers a slight revision to her classification. She conflates Western with Central Banda,
making Yangere a seventh subgroup of Central Banda.
Olson (1996) provides a comparative study of a 204-item word list in 13 Banda
dialects: Linda, Yangere, Ngao, Vara, Wojo, Dakpa, Langbasi, Mbandja, Mono-Bili,
Mono-Bubanda, Mono-Galaba, Gobu, and Togbo. The data for the first eight languages
are taken from Moino (1988), while Olson includes the data for the last five languages
in his article. He studies several consonants, reconstructing Proto-Banda phonemes and
sound laws to account for the present-day pronunciations. In addition, he examines the
9

syllable structure which results from a reduplicative process in Banda, and provides
cognate percentages for each pair of languages.
His analysis leads him to reject the Peripheral Banda node, since each grouping
underneath the node is as distant phonologically and lexicostatistically from each other as
from Central Banda. Thus, he elevates South Central, Southern, Southwestern, and West
Central to the level of immediate constituents of the Banda node. In addition, he notes
that Yangere is more closely related to the Central Core than the other peripheral groups,
and so he posits an intermediate node to account for that level of relatedness.
On the other hand, Cloarec-Heiss (1997) argues for the Peripheral Banda node, on
the grounds that morphological rates of similarity between these speech varieties is high,
in fact, higher than lexical rates of similarity. However, she bases this on rates of
similarity rather than on a reconstructed morphology or definable shared morphological
innovations. Further research is necessary to substantiate her claim.
The internal classification of the Central Core of Banda as shown in Table 1.1 is
from Cloarec-Heiss (1986, 1988). However, as mentioned before, she does not explicitly
lay out her analysis, so it remains unclear exactly how she arrives at this internal
classification. Also, Olson (1996) does not make any claims regarding the internal
classification of the Central Core.
Cloarec-Heiss (1978), Fultz & Morgan (1986), and Olson (1996) each provide
lexicostatistical data comparing some of the Central Core languages. Unfortunately, none
of these studies contain languages from all six subgroups. Olson (p. 275) compares
languages within four of the subgroups: Banda-Bambari, Banda-Ndl, Mid-Southern,
and Togbo-Vara. For his data, the pairs of languages which are putatively part of the
same subgroup consistently (with one exception) score higher than 90%. However, this is
not exclusively so, so his results are inconclusive. A comprehensive lexicostatistical
10

study informing the internal classification of the Central Core languages remains to be
conducted.
It is also unclear whether the different subgroups within the Central Core consist
of speech varieties which are indeed mutually unintelligible. In other words, can each
node under Central Core be considered a separate language, or is it better to speak of the
Central Core as being a single language with six major dialectal variants? One possible
means of testing this is the Recorded Text Test (RTT, Casad 1974). In the RTT, texts are
recorded in several related speech varieties. These texts are then played for speakers of
the other speech varieties and the subjects are graded for their level of comprehension of
each text. Of course, care must be taken to insure that the test is in fact measuring
inherent intelligibility and not learned intelligibility.
In the mid 1990s, researchers with SIL and the Association Centrafricaine pour
la Traduction de la Bible et lAlphabetisation (ACATBA) in CAR conducted language
surveys in Linda (Blhberger 1996), Yakpa (Moehama 1994), Togbo (Buchanan 1996),
Yangere (Moehama 1995), and Ngbugu (Kieschke 1993). The first four of these surveys
conducted a rapid appraisal RTT, a simplified form of the test in which an evaluation
of intelligibility is made by playing a text from a related speech variety for a group of
people (rather than for individuals) who speak a language variety. The group is then
evaluated as having one of three levels: (1) good intelligibility, (2) some intelligibility, or
(3) no intelligibility. For the surveys conducted, the following scores were obtained:
Table 1.2: Levels of intelligibility between Banda speech varieties
Linda Mbre Ndele Mono Togbo
(CAR)
Togbo
(DRC)
Vara Ngbugu Mbanza Dakpa
Linda 2(+/-) 3(+)
Yakpa 1- 1(-) 3
Togbo
(CAR)
1 2 1 1- 1 1 3 2
Yangere 1 1 1- 1 1- 3 3 3
11

In some cases, differences in levels of intelligibility were observed within a
group. For example, in testing Linda speakers on Mono, some male speakers understood
the text well, many speakers understood the general outline of the text, whereas young
female speakers understood practically nothing in the text. In testing Yakpa speakers on
Mono, a group from one village understood both Mono texts well, but groups in two
other villages understood only the general outline of one text and nothing in the second
text. In testing Linda speakers on Ngbugu, most members of the group understood
nothing of the text, but a few men understood the general outline.
In general, speakers of Central Banda speech varieties had good intelligibility
with other Central Banda speech varieties, whereas texts from the Peripheral Banda
languages were usually not understood at all. This suggests that the Central Banda
varieties are best understood as dialects of a single language. However, due to the
tentative nature of the testing method, this must remain an open question until more
accurate testing is performed.
1.3 Ethnology and history
The Mono people live in the border region between the tropical rain forest to the
south and the savannah to the north. The year-round average high temperature is 90
degrees with about 65 inches of rain per year. The rainy season lasts from around April to
November, and the dry season from December to March each year.
The Mono people are predominantly agriculturalists. For subsistence, they raise
manioc, corn, rice, plantains, sweet potatoes, palm nuts, peanuts, spinach, tomatoes,
onions, pineapple, sugar cane, bananas, mangos, and papaya. As cash crops, they raise
tobacco, cotton, and coffee. A tobacco processing plant and a cotton company are located
in Bili. In addition, they raise small domesticated animals such as pigs, chicken, goats,
and sheep. Large domestic animals such as cattle and horses do not survive long in the
region due to the presence of tsetse flies. Hunting and fishing are common activities. The
12

men hunt small game, but large game, such as elephants and buffalo, have for the most
part been hunted out of the region. Fishing is common along the banks of the Ubangi
River.
Many men practice trades, such as weaving, carpentry, blacksmithing, and
tailoring, but for a given individual, this work complements rather than supplants
farming.
The Mono people are traditionally animistic (Vergiat 1981). They believe in a
supreme being who created the earth and humans, and lives in the heavens. There are
several other supernatural beings, each with a certain dominion, such as earth, water or
forest. The most noted of these is Toro, the gnie de la terre, who is the principal
character in many folk stories and legends. In his cunning way, he likes to trick people,
which either works to his favor or backfires.
Sickness or misfortune may be caused by these supernatural beings, or they may
be the result of a curse from another human. The remedy often consists of fetishes,
offerings, and sacrifices, as prescribed by the local shaman. Individual clans are
associated with a specific animal.
Around the time of puberty, the boys participate in a circumcision rite called
gaza. There used to be a corresponding excision rite for girls, but this has been outlawed
by the Congolese government.
3
The Mono people have a secret society called Ngakoala.
Vergiat mentions Maoro and Badagi as additional secret societies found amongst the
Banda people of CAR. Ebou (1933) provides a 60-item word list of the secret Banda
language Somal in CAR.
During the 20th century Catholic and Protestant mission activity was successful
amongst the Mono people, so today the majority call themselves Christian. As a result,

3
During the political chaos that ensued during the civil war in 1996-1997, this rite of excision was
resurrected in some villages.
13

the influence of the traditional religion has diminished, but is by no means extinct. For
example, today, the circumcision rites have for the most part died out in the Bili and
Bubanda regions, but are still practiced in the Mpaka and Galaba regions.
There are sparse sources available on the history of the Mono people, so a
detailed historical account is not possible. When asked about their origins, the Mono
people respond that they came from Sudan. However, if we accept the hypothesis that
Banda is a part of the Niger-Congo family, then the following sketch of Mono history
emerges.
The Ubangian people, being of Niger-Congo stock, originated to the west of the
present-day distribution. Newman (1995: 141) places the Ubangian core near the source
of the Sanaga River in Cameroon (see Figure 1.2). This would have been their location at
about 3000 B.C.

Figure 1.2: The locations of the Mono people and their ancestors.
Then, Ubangian expansion occurred in an easterly direction following the
northern fringes of the tropical rain forest, which at the time covered at least the southern
14

third of CAR. At its peak, the Ubangian expansion may have reached to the White Nile,
with the Banda family settling either in extreme eastern CAR or in the Bahr-el-Ghazal
province of Sudan. According to Bouquiaux & Thomas (1980), this migration took place
around 1000 B.C.
However, once in southwestern Sudan, the Ubangian people, particularly the
Banda, Ngbaka-Sere and Ngbandi groups, had contact with the Central-Sudanic people
(Nilo-Saharan), whose languages originated in the region (Cordell 1983: 37). Evidence of
this contact is that the Banda group absorbed some Central-Sudanic speakers (p. 38). The
resulting conflict led to a slight western movement of the Ubangian groups, with the
Banda people settling near the source of the Kotto River in eastern CAR, while the
Central Sudanic groups spread to the south and northwest of the Ubangian area.
Bouquiaux & Thomas and Cordell both agree that this rearrangement was complete by
around 1000 A.D.
At this point, the Banda people did not have a hierarchical political system.
According to Cordell (p. 38), they ...were extremely decentralized, living in small
groups of related males and their dependants. The clan was the only institution of broader
scale. This decentralization made the Banda easy prey for the next contact they
encounteredthe Arab slave trade. It is not clear when the slave trade first impacted the
Banda people. It was present in northern Africa by the 14th century, and continued to
grow until it reached its peak at the end of the 19th century. However, one piece of
evidencethe susceptibility to diseases of Banda slaves in the mid-19th century
suggests that the raiding reached their region more recently. Tisserant (1930) states that
the majority of the Banda people were still residing near the source of the Kotto River in
1830. In fleeing the slave raids, some groups, such as the Yangere, moved west and
settled in western CAR. Others, such as the Ngbandi, Mbandja, and Mono moved
southwest into D. R. Congo. Maes (1983) places the Ngbandi crossing of the Ubangi
15

River at the end of the 17th century and the Mbandja crossing at the end of the 18th
century. He also places the crossing of the Mono, Gobu and Togbo groups at the end of
the 17th century due to a Mbandja legend that they encountered Gobu speakers when
they crossed, but the similarity of these languages to the other Central Core languages to
the north would indicate that their crossing was probably much later, perhaps in the latter
half of the 19th century.
Before we leave the topic of Mono history, I mention two residual items. First,
Cordell (p. 56) points out that the Banda people acquired a poison oracle from the
Azande, so there was likely contact between the two groups during the Azande expansion
of 1750-1900. Second, Tisserant (p. 12) mentions that there was interbreeding between
Mono and a Sara group about 120 years ago, but he doesnt elaborate this claim.
1.4 The sociolinguistic situation
In the Bili region, it is not uncommon for a Mono speaker to be multilingual, to
different degrees, in several other languages. These languages include Lingala, French,
other Banda languages in the region (Gobu, Togbo, and Langbasi), Ngbaka-Minagende,
Ngbandi, and Sango.
Lingala (Bantu C), the trade language in the northern and western parts of the D.
R. Congo, is understood by many people, particularly those who have traveled in the
region or received education elsewhere. Speaking the language is considered prestigious.
It is used in contact situations with Bantu-speaking groups such as the Ngombe to the
south, in governmental situations, and in primary school.
However, the Mono speakers are not homogenous with respect to fluency in
Lingala. For example, male speakers have a higher level of proficiency in Lingala than
female speakers. In addition, geographic location is a factor. Along major roads and in
commercial centers, the level of Lingala is elevated, whereas in remote villages, the level
16

of Lingala is reduced, both for men and women. The highest level of Lingala is to be
found in Bili, the commercial and educational center of the region.
Fultz & Morgan (1986) performed a Lingala intelligibility test in the Mono-Bili
village of Bida. They rated Lingala comprehension at 59% for men and 10% for women.
The researchers rated on a percentage scale their impressions of a speakers ability to
understand a recorded Lingala text. We cant place too much weight on the specific
numbers in their results, but what we can deduce from the data is that the male Mono
speakers in this village have a mediocre level of Lingala on average, whereas female
Mono speakers have almost no comprehension of Lingala on average.
One unfortunate result of this testing method is that it does not give us a direct
measure of the percentage of people who speak Lingala well versus those with less
proficiency. However, if most women speak almost no Lingala, and many men speak it
poorly, then we can estimate that the percentage of the population who speak it well is
certainly less than 50%, and likely less than 30%.
French is spoken by some Mono people, particularly those with a high level of
education, and carries a high level of prestige with it. It is officially the language of
education in the schools from the third grade on, but in reality Lingala dominates in the
classroom, particularly in the primary grades. I do not have statistics on the percentage of
Mono speakers who know French, but it is certainly less than the percentage proficient in
Lingala.
The Mono people have much contact with the Banda groups immediately to the
north: the Gobu, Togbo and Langbasi groups. They have a high level of comprehension
of the three languages, with Gobu being the highest, Togbo second, and Langbasi third.
This is at least partly due to the inherent intelligibility which results from the genetic
relatedness of the languages. However, acquired intelligibility is likely a factor as well.
As a general rule, if possible, people speak the language of the village they are in. For
17

example, it is not unknown for a pastor to preach in the language of the local village
people, regardless of his mother tongue.
Of the four languages, Mono appears to be the most dominant. Fultz & Morgans
intelligibility scores indicate that in general the speakers of the other languages
understand Mono better than Mono speakers understand the other languages. Mono also
has the largest population of any of these groups.
To a lesser degree, there is some bilingualism in Ngbaka-Minagende, the
language of the largest ethnic group in northwestern D. R. Congo, and in Sango, the trade
language spoken just across the border in CAR.
Despite pressure from these other languages, particularly Lingala, Mono language
use remains vigorous, and it does not appear that Mono is in danger of extinction in the
near future. In fact, Fultz & Morgan (p. 9) observe an increase in the use of Mono in that
several villages which used to speak Yapka, Togbo, or Kpagua, now speak Mono. All in
all, the attitude of Mono speakers towards their language is positive. Mono remains the
language that children learn first at home, and Lingala is normally not learned until a
child goes to school. Mono remains the language used in the local market. In all church
services in the Mono region, the pastors preach in Mono. The only exception to this is in
Bili where many non-Mono speakers reside. Even there, however, the pastor will switch
into Mono during a sermon in order to explain a point more clearly to the Mono
parishioners.
Code switching is common in Mono, particularly in Bili. Lingala and (to a lesser
degree) French words and expressions are commonly inserted into Mono sentences. This
phenomenon is particularly prevalent among the youth, about which the older people say
that they dont speak Mono pur. At this point in the evolution of the language, it is
probably more appropriate to refer to this as code switching rather than borrowing, but it
is likely that many words from Lingala and French will eventually be integrated into the
18

language. Also, code switching is not limited to major grammatical categories, but
occasionally occurs with grammatical function words as well. Two examples which are
common include the French word mais but and the Lingala word te not.
1.5 Dialects
Dialectal variation is often reflected in geographical dispersion, and amongst the
Mono people, this is indeed the case. One example of phonological variation occurs
between the Bili and Bubanda dialects. Often (but not in all cases), a word containing i ii i in
the Bili dialect has a corresponding i the the Bubanda dialect, e.g. kindi kindi kindi kindi vs. kindi kindi kindi kindi field,
ke-di ke-di ke-di ke-divs. ke-di ke-di ke-di ke-di to read, igi igi igi igivs. igi igi igi igineck. Occasionally lexical items will be borrowed
from a language which is in geographic proximity. For example, the Galaba dialect of
Mono has borrowed the words tambc tambc tambc tambcrock and jaka jaka jaka jakadry season from the nearby
language Ngbaka-Mabo.
Sociological factors may cause dialectal variation within a given geographical
region. In the Bili region, the most salient of these appears to be age. Many speakers of
the Bili dialect differentiate between the speech of the older and younger generations, but
this appears to be more of a gradient rather than polar opposition, with the youngest
generation being influenced the most by the influx of Lingala. For example, my 35-year-
old language resource person would occasionally go to the elderly people to find out the
real Mono word for something, because he was accustomed to using a Lingala word
instead. At the same time, he would bemoan the fact that the school children would mix
Lingala in with their Mono.
As mentioned before, the Bili dialect is the object of study in this dissertation. But
more precisely, the four language resource persons with whom I worked most closely
were all male speakers in their 30s, residents of Bili, with at least a high school level of
education. In addition, all had traveled or lived to some extent outside of the Mono
region.
19

1.6 Previous research on Mono
The Mono language has received some attention in the literature. Three previous
studies of Mono phonology and morphology exist: an unpublished study by Kamanda
(1985) which discusses the Bubanda dialect, and Olson & Schrag (1997) and Kamanda
(1998) which both discuss the Bili dialect. Of these, Kamanda (1998) is the most
detailed. In addition, Tisserant (1931) and Olson (1996) provide some lexical data for
Mono.
The present study contributes to our understanding of Mono in several ways.
First, the study includes documentation which is not available in previous studies,
including a significant number of lexical items and texts. Second, this dissertation
includes a discussion of typological issues which is absent from previous studies. Third,
this study provides acoustic evidence to support the phonological analysis of Mono.
Finally, it should be pointed out that the fieldwork and analysis for Kamanda (1998) and
this study were performed independently of each other, an important point for descriptive
studies. When two independent studies corroborate each others data, we can raise our
level of confidence that the data are indeed accurate. The few places where the data differ
highlight items for future research.
The Banda language family as a whole has a limited but growing body of
available literature. Grammars include Tisserant (1930) on Banda, Tingbo (1978) on
Mbandja, and Cloarec-Heiss (1986) on Linda, with the latter being the most
comprehensive. Phonologies include Cloarec-Heiss (1967, 1969) on Linda, Robbins
(1984) on Mbandja, and Sampson (1985) on Tangbago, in addition to those mentioned
above for Mono. Finally, documents which contain additional lexical information on
Banda include Toqu (1906), Cotel (1907), Giraud (1908), Ebou (1918, 1933), Tisserant
(1950), Santandrea (1965), Cloarec-Heiss (1978), and Moino (1988).
20

Finally, several documents dealing with Mono cultural issues have been produced
by Congolese students as bachelor theses. These include Yasikuzu (1987), Tabu (1989),
and Ingozo (1990).
1.7 Overview and methodology
1.7.1 Goal and overview
The purpose of this study is to document the present state of the phonology and
morphology of Mono. The study is descriptive in nature, and I have tried to make the
presentation as accessible as possible so that researchers from various theoretical
backgrounds may find the study understandable. That is not to say that the study is void
of theory. Indeed, any presentation of data requires that the researcher make certain
theoretical commitments. I rely heavily on the tools developed within the framework of
structuralist phonology for the basic analysis. In addition, I employ language typology in
determining how the Mono phonological system relates to other languages. At times, I
incorporate notions from generative phonology into the analysis, and I make this explicit
when I do.
The study is also synchronic in nature. My goal is to characterize accurately the
language as it is spoken in the latter part of the 20th century. At points in the study, I
offer diachronic and comparative information, but I do so simply with the goal of
informing the synchronic analysis. Having said this, I hope that the present study will
contribute to comparative work, especially concerning questions of the place of
Adamawa-Ubangi within Niger-Congo.
Chapter 2 deals with the phonemic structure of Mono. I provide evidence for both
the consonant and vowel phonemes of the language. Among the consonants, I give
special attention to the labial flap, a sound which occurs throughout Central Africa, but
which as of yet has not received adequate treatment in the literature. In addition, I
21

examine in detail the vowel system of Mono, which appears to contradict a universal by
having more height distinctions in back vowels than front vowels. Finally, I discuss
distributional restrictions between consonant and vowels as well as allophonic variation.
Chapter 3 deals with tone. I provide evidence of contrast between the three
distinct level tones, and discuss the interpretation of phonetic contour tones. In addition, I
discuss both the lexical and grammatical functions of tone within the language. The latter
function is touched on briefly in this chapter, but is discussed in detail in Chapter 7.
Chapter 4 deals with the two secondary articulations which occur in Mono:
labialization and palatalization. I discuss several possible interpretations of these two
phenomena.
Chapter 5 deals with syllable structure. Of particular interest is a process which
prevents complex onsets in which a liquid occurs in the second consonantal position.
Chapter 6 documents the canonical forms of the major grammatical categories of
Mono. I discuss a word minimality condition which applies to the major grammatical
categories, as well as the interpretation of glottal stop which accounts for an apparent gap
in the inventory of verbal word patterns.
Chapter 7 deals with the morphology of Mono. First, I discuss the morphological
properties of the major grammatical categories in Mono, including prefixation,
reduplication, and suprasegmental modification. Then, I discuss phonological alternations
which may apply across morpheme or word boundaries. Of interest are the implicational
restrictions on which features are allowed to spread.
Chapter 8 provides acoustic phonetic data informing our understanding of Mono
phonology in at least two ways. First, this phonetic data provides instrumental
verification of the phonetic transcription. Second, the phonetic data provides more detail
concerning the precise nature of the individual sounds. Phonemic analysis concerns itself
22

with the contrast between sounds, and as a result may ignore phonetic detail. This chapter
intends to at least partially fill this void.
Chapter 9 reviews the major conclusions of the dissertation.
Finally, I provide several appendices to the dissertation. Appendix A includes
three interlinearized texts, which exemplify the phenomena and processes discussed in
this dissertation and provide data for future syntax and discourse studies. These texts
include a narrative, a procedural text, and a set of proverbs. Appendix B provides a 2000-
item word list intended for use in comparative studies on Ubangian languages. Appendix
C is an evaluation of our present understanding of Niger-Congo classification. Appendix
D is a cross-linguistic study of the labial flap. Appendix E documents the data included in
the audio recordings used for analysis in Chapter 8. Finally, a set of tables discussed in
the text is provided in Appendix F.
1.7.2 Field research
The data for this study were collected during two terms of field research. During
the first term, from January 1994 until June 1995, I resided in the Mono village of Bili
(see Figure 1.1). I was there as a member of SIL, by invitation of the Communaut
Evanglique du Christ en Ubangi (CECU). I was involved in the initial stages of a Bible
translation and literacy development project in Mono, working alongside my SIL
colleagues Brian and Barbara Schrag, who resided in Bili at the same time as I did.
During the first three months of my stay, I was hosted by the Catholic church of Bili
(diocese of Molegbe). We were assisted in our work in Bili primarily by Rev. Sangemale
Tshebale Mandaba and Mr. Mbakuwuse Tschangbaita, both mother-tongue speakers of
Mono. During this first term, a language committee was established, consisting of
governmental, educational, and ecclesiastical leaders in the Mono region. The SIL
researchers and the Mono language committee worked together to establish an
orthography for the Mono language. A preliminary version was approved in 1994.
23

In the winter of 1998, the Schrags and I conducted additional linguistic research
in Yaound, Cameroon. Unfortunately, civil unrest at the time prevented us from
travelling to D. R. Congo. Instead, we arranged for two mother-tongue Mono speakers,
Mr. Ama Geangozo Mbanza and Mr. Kilio Tembenekuzu, to travel from D. R. Congo to
Yaound in order to assist us in the research.
The data that we collected during the visits consist of field notes and audio
recordings of both elicited and natural speech. These data include word lists, phrases, and
texts of several discourse genres. The texts included traditional proverbs, folk stories, and
songs. Literacy materials in Mono that have been published to date include a folk story
book, a book on agriculture, two calendars including traditional Mono proverbs, and an
alphabet chart. In collecting data in Yaound, we focused on filling in gaps from our data
collected earlier in Bili. In addition, video recordings were made in Yaound in order to
document more thoroughly the labial flap. This dissertation relies predominantly on the
field notes collected during the two visits, but acoustic analysis based on the recordings is
presented to provide additional support for the transcribed data.

24


CHAPTER 2
PHONEMES

In this chapter, I present evidence for the consonant and vowel phonemes of
Mono. These are discussed in Sections 2.1 and 2.2, respectively. In addition, I discuss the
distribution of consonants and vowels in the syllable and word in Section 2.3. Tone
contrasts will be presented in Chapter 3.
In identifying phonemes, I rely on data which can fit into the CV syllable
patternthe only unambiguous syllable pattern in Mono containing an onset. Syllables
containing the secondary articulations of labialization and palatalization present a special
problem of interpretation and will be discussed in Chapter 4. The syllable patterns which
occur in Mono, including ones which are ambiguous in their interpretation, will be
discussed in Chapter 5.
The main tool I use for demonstrating the distinctiveness of phonemes is the well-
known methodology developed by the structuralists of identifying contrast in identical or
analogous environments (cf., e.g., Pike 1947).
In choosing lexical items for demonstrating contrast, I use the following criteria.
First, I have used citation forms exclusively, with one addition: I also employ verb roots
without the infinitive prefix as evidence for word-initial contrasts. Since the tonal
property of the first syllable of verb roots varies depending on the tense, aspect, and
mood of the verb, I present them here without tone markings. Second, I only employ
multimorphemic forms as evidence for contrast when monomorphemic forms are not
attested. Third, I have tried to avoid employing forms which exhibit phonological
variation unless other forms are not attested. This includes unpredictable variation, e.g.
25

keIe keIe keIe keIe ~ kcIe kcIe kcIe kcIe spoon, and variation due to optional phonological processes, such as
leftward vowel spreading discussed in Chapters 6 and 7.
Even when a contrast is established, researchers may not be convinced that a
sound is integrated into the phonological system because of other factors. Sapir (1921:
38) said that, All grammars leak. As a sound is added or lost in a language, it may go
through a period where it is only marginally part of the system. Factors such as analogy,
grammatical simplification, language contact, and sociolinguistic considerations can
influence a sounds status (Goldsmith 1995). Diagnostics which inform us on this
question include the following.
1. Distribution within the word. If a sound can occur in both word-initial and
word-medial position, this bolsters the claim that a sound is fully part of the phonological
system of a language. In this chapter, I provide examples of onsets with only a single
consonant; so in word-medial examples, the consonants are effectively in intervocalic
position.
2. Co-occurrence of consonants and vowels. If a consonant is attested before all
of the vowels in the language, this is evidence that the consonant is a distinct phoneme,
and not an allophone of another consonant. If, on the other hand, two consonant phones
never occur before the same vowel, they would be considered to be in complementary
distribution. Likewise, if a vowel can occur after all of the consonants in the language,
this is evidence that the vowel is a distinct phoneme, and not an allophone of another
vowel.
3. Distribution within grammatical categories. In some languages, marginal
phonemes only occur in certain sets of words, such as ideophones or plant and animal
names. Criteria for identifying ideophones in Mono will be given in Section 6.3. If a
sound occurs in all major grammatical categories, this is further evidence that the sound
is indeed part of the phonological system.
26

4. Frequency of occurrence. If a sound is rare compared to other sounds in the
language, this may call into question to what extent it is part of the phonological system.
There are two ways of counting phonemesfrequency of occurrence within a text or
frequency of occurrence within a lexicon. Trubetzkoy (1969: 256) notes that the former is
more appropriate for simple phoneme counts, whereas the latter is more appropriate for
studying functional load. In this chapter, I will note when a phoneme is rare in discourse
according to the frequency counts in Tables A.1, A.2, and A.3 in Appendix A. In
addition, I will note if a phoneme is attested in less than a dozen items in the lexicon,
given in Appendix B. The lexicon contains about 2000 lexical items.
5. Loan words. If a sound only occurs in words borrowed from another language,
this calls into question its phonological status in the language. I make note of cases where
a sound only occurs in loan words.
Most of the data in this dissertation are given in phonemic form. I present
phonemic data in boldface font, e.g. ungu ungu ungu ungu water. Phonetic data, showing allophonic
variation, is given in square brackets, e.g. [upgu] water. In a few cases, I will discuss
abstract analyses, akin to the Underlying Representations of generative phonology. In
these cases, the data are presented between slash marks, e.g. /ngu/ water.
The choice of presenting the data predominantly in phonemic form is to a certain
extent a practical decision. On the one hand, a major goal of the dissertation is to be as
descriptive as possible. This leads me to keep abstract analyses to a minimum, although
even a phonemic analysis is an abstraction to a certain degree. On the other hand,
presenting the data with a narrow phonetic transcription would be cumbersome,
especially in trying to present gradient behavior such as vowel nasalization. I find
presenting the data in phonemic form to be a good compromise between the two. In
addition, it is a form of data which is well-known in the literature.
27

2.1 Consonants
According to my analysis, Mono has 33 consonant phonemes, shown in Figure
2.1. Three of these phonemes are given in parentheses, indicating that I consider them to
be marginal in nature: d dd d, , and h hh h. The implosive stops b bb b and d dd d are voiced and are
produced with the ingressive glottalic airstream mechanism. All voiceless stops are
unaspirated.

labial alveolar palatal velar labial-velar glottal
implosives b bb b (d dd d)
vl. stops p pp p t tt t t] t] t] t] k kk k kp kp kp kp 1 11 1
vd. stops b bb b d dd d d d d d g gg g gb gb gb gb
prenas. stops mb mb mb mb nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd ng ng ng ng ngb ngb ngb ngb
vl. fricatives I II I s ss s ] ]] ] (h hh h)
vd. fricatives v vv v z zz z
nasals m mm m n nn n ( )
flaps/trills w w w w r rr r
laterals I II I
semi-vowels j jj j w ww w
Figure 2.1: Consonant phonemes in Mono
The pronunciation of each phoneme is the same as the identical symbol in the
International Phonetic Alphabet, except where explicitly noted. Note that though some
phonemes are shown as digraphs or trigraphs (e.g. kp kp kp kp and nd nd nd nd), they are considered to be
single phonemes. The choice of these particular representations is to avoid undue
complexity in transcription. The phonetic detail of the phonemes will be discussed below.
Several typological observations concerning the Mono consonant system are
worth noting. First, the implosive consonants follow the typological tendencies for such
segmentsthey are voiced, and they show a preference for fronted place of articulations,
i.e. labial is preferred to coronal, and coronal is preferred to velar (Maddieson 1984: 111).
Second, Mono has a labial flap w w w w which is rare in the worlds languages. Because little
has been written on this segment, I devote Appendix D to a cross-linguistic study of the
sound.
28

Mono consonants share several traits with other Ubangian languages (Boyd 1989:
199-201). First, the voiced/voiceless contrast is pertinent for both stops and fricatives.
Second, it has prenasalized stops. Third, all consonants occur both word-initially and
word-medially, with the exception of d dd d, which is not attested word-initially in my corpus.
This may be due to the fact that it is rare.
The consonant system presented here differs from the one presented in Kamanda
(1998) in four respects. First, Kamanda considers prenasalized stops to be sequences of a
nasal phoneme followed by a stop phoneme. His main reason for doing so is for the sake
of economy (p. 148). By employing this analysis, he reduces the phoneme inventory by
five phonemes. However, I have not followed that analysis mainly for distributional
reasons. There are no unambiguous consonant clusters in Mono, and thus treating the
prenasalized stops as N+C sequences would require introducing a CCV syllable pattern
which is otherwise unwarranted in Mono. In many Bantu languages, such as Runyambo
and Luganda (Hubbard 1995), prenasalized stops are analyzed as nasal + consonant
sequences because of compensatory lengthening effects. It is important to highlight that
such effects do not occur in Mono. I revisit this point in Section 8.1.4.
A second way in which the consonant system presented here differs from that of
Kamanda (1998) is that Kamanda classifies the labial-velar stops kp kp kp kp and gb gb gb gb as
implosives. There are several reasons why I have not opted to do this. First, there are no
corresponding labial-velar plosives in his system. Typologically, phonetically complex
consonants, such as implosives, tend to imply the existence of their simpler consonantal
counterparts (Burquest 1998: 49). Second, implosive labial-velars are very rare. In fact,
they do not occur in Maddiesons (1984) typological survey of phonetic sounds. Third,
voiceless implosives are also very rare in the worlds languages, which would discourage
us from considering kp kp kp kp to be an implosive. On the other hand, labial-velar plosives are
29

very common in African languages. Seeing no benefit typologically or analytically to
classifying labial-velars as implosives, I have opted to classify them as plosives instead.
Having said this, Ladefoged (1968) points out that labial-velars may have an
ingressive aspect which may lead to an implosive-like percept. I discuss this in more
detail in Section 8.1.3.
A third way in which the consonant system presented here differs from that of
Kamanda (1998) is that Kamanda groups palatal and velar consonants in a dorsal
category. He is thus able to reduce the number of place of articulation columns by one,
but he is then obliged to add an affricate manner of articulation row to his chart.
Fourth, Kamanda does not include a palatal nasal consonant in his inventory.
Indeed, the phoneme is marginal in my own analysis. As we will see in Chapter 4, it is
possible to re-analyze the sound as a sequence of n nn n + j jj j in Mono.
2.1.1 Labial consonants
I group the bilabial and labiodental consonants into a labial category. Eight labial
consonants are attested in Mono: b bb b, p pp p, b bb b, mb mb mb mb, I II I, v vv v, m mm m, and w w w w. The fricatives I II I and v vv v have a
labiodental articulation, whereas the rest of the consonants in the category are bilabial.
The labial flap is usually bilabial w w w w, but it may alternatively be produced as a labiodental
flap v v v v. The choice of these symbols for transcribing the sound are based on the IPAs
(1989: 70) recommendation of indicating taps and flaps by use of the breve diacritic.
The implosive b bb b occurs in over 20 lexical items in my corpus. In terms of its
occurrence in lexical items, it is not one of the more common phonemes in Mono.
However, it does occur in certain morphemes which are common in discourse: e e e e be be be be 2SG
and ba- ba- ba- ba- at. In many lexical items in my corpus, b bb b can be replaced by b bb b, e.g. ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ~
ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi bone. More research is necessary to determine if this variation is limited to
certain lexical items or if it can occur with any word containing the sound. This type of
variation is also attested between d dd d and d dd d, as discussed below.
30

Despite the fact that the labial flap w w w w is not widely attested in the worlds
languages, it is clearly a phoneme in Mono. It is attested in both word-initial and word-
medial positions; it occurs before most vowels in Mono, including front, back, high, and
low vowels; it occurs in nouns, verbs, and ideophones; and it is attested in over 25 words
in my corpus. However, it is rare in my corpus of texts. This evidence is discussed in
more detail in Appendix D.
There are two steps in the articulation of the labial flap w w w w. In the first step, the
lower lip retracts into the oral cavity to a position behind the upper teeth. At the same
time, the upper lip descends to wrap over the upper teeth. In the second step, the lower lip
moves forward quickly, flapping against the upper lip as it exits the oral cavity. It is
voiced throughout the articulation. In addition, during the articulation of the sound, the
tongue bunches in the back of the mouth, adding a velar component to the sound.
The video frames in Figure 2.2 show eight steps in the articulation of a bilabial
flap in Mono. The word is awctoro awctoro awctoro awctoro stick used in an animal trap, produced by a 30-year-
old male speaker. The video recordings were made at SIL in Yaound and digitized at the
University of Chicago Language Laboratories and Archives. The frames are in 30 ms
intervals. Frame a shows the mouth during the articulation of the vowel [a]. Frames b
through f show the first stage of the articulation of the flap during which the lower lip is
slowly brought into the mouth. Also at the same time, the upper lip is brought down to
cover the upper teeth. This stage takes about 120 ms. Frame g shows the beginning of the
second stage of the articulation. The upper lip remains stationary as the lower lip begins
its movement forward and makes contact with the upper lip. Frame h shows the lips
immediately after the flap. Note that the lower lip has moved down exposing the lower
teeth, while the upper lip has moved upward, but remains slightly tensed.
31


a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

h.
Figure 2.2: Articulation of a portion of the word awc awc awc awc toro toro toro toro stick used in an animal trap
(Speaker A, cf. Chapter 8). Frames are 30 ms apart.
32

The data in (1) show sample contrasts between the labial consonants in Mono.

(1) a. Labial consonants before a aa a in word-initial position:
b ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie at
p pa pa pa pa say
b bada bada bada bada rock
mb mbata mbata mbata mbata stool
I Ia Ia Ia Ia become
v va va va va pour
m ma ma ma ma show
w wa wa wa wa send
b. Labial consonants before a aa a in word-medial position:
b koba koba koba koba illness
p apa apa apa apa tsetse fly
b Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba clothes
mb kamba kamba kamba kamba knife
I aji I aji I aji I aji IcIa cIa cIa cIa mid-wife
v gava gava gava gava panther
m guma guma guma guma prepare
w kawa kawa kawa kawa gruel
2.1.2 Alveolar consonants
Nine alveolar consonants are attested in Mono: d dd d, t tt t, d dd d, nd nd nd nd, s ss s, z zz z, n nn n, r rr r, and I II I. The
phoneme r rr r is pronounced as a trill [r]. It is often lengthened in discourse, as in the word
[er:e] until. The phoneme l is pronounced as [l], with no velarization.
The implosive d dd d is rare, only occurring in seven lexical items in my corpus:

(2) cdc cdc cdc cdc who
gadc gadc gadc gadc what
kadawu kadawu kadawu kadawu hiccough
k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 monkey
kuda kuda kuda kuda debt
t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 voice
j5k5d5 j5k5d5 j5k5d5 j5k5d5 toe

However, two of these words, cdc cdc cdc cdc who and gadc gadc gadc gadc what, are common in discourse. In
some lexical items, d dd d varies freely with its plosive counterpart, e.g. t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 ~
t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 voice. Also, it is not attested in word-initial position. Because of these
factors, I consider it to be a marginal phoneme.
33

The data in (3) show sample contrasts between the alveolar consonants in Mono.

(3) a. Alveolar consonants before a aa a in word-initial position:
d -
t ta ta ta ta cut
d da da da da slap
nd ndaba ndaba ndaba ndaba table
s sa sa sa sa leak
z za za za za give, take
n na na na na go, come
r rawa rawa rawa rawa yell
I Ia Ia Ia Ia lick
b. Alveolar consonants before a aa a in word-medial position:
d kuda kuda kuda kuda debt
t kota kota kota kota large river, sea
d kada kada kada kada oil, grease
nd manda manda manda manda door
s gosa gosa gosa gosa type of green vegetable
z mbaza mbaza mbaza mbaza xylophone
n vana vana vana vana four
r bamara bamara bamara bamara lion
I ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait
2.1.3 Palatal consonants
I group alveopalatal and palatal consonants into a palatal category, which consists
of seven consonants: t] t] t] t], d d d d, nd nd nd nd, ] ]] ], , , and j jj j.
The phoneme is relatively rare, both in discourse and the lexicon. It occurs in
thirteen words in my corpus:

(4) cc cc cc cc caterpillar
ii ii ii ii tooth
ngci javuru ngci javuru ngci javuru ngci javuru drizzle
ooro ooro ooro ooro fat
t]a t]a t]a t]a aguara aguara aguara aguara shade, shelter
c c c c grovel
cre cre cre cre descend
i i i i belch
ingba ingba ingba ingba grumble, roar
iwu iwu iwu iwu embers
o o o o wake up
u u u u burn
ugwa ugwa ugwa ugwa forest spirit

34

However, contrasts are readily attested, as shown below. In addition, it occurs in
the major grammatical categories.
The phonemic status of is questionable for two reasons. First, it is rare both in
discourse and the lexicon. It is attested in only five lexical items in my corpus:

(5) gaa gaa gaa gaa branch
ngbaa ngbaa ngbaa ngbaa echo
ao ao ao ao cat (loan word from Lingala, Van Everbroeck n.d.: 231)
a a a a have patience
i i i i ~ ni ni ni ni rain

Second, in at least one case, it can be replaced by an alveolar nasal, e.g. i i i i ~ ni ni ni ni
rain. In addition, can alternatively be analyzed as a sequence of n nn n plus the secondary
articulation j jj j, which is discussed in Chapter 4. On the other hand, it is attested in both
word-initial and word-medial positions. I consider it to be a marginal phoneme.
The data in (6) show sample contrasts between the palatal consonants in Mono.

(6) a. Palatal consonants before i ii i in word-initial position:
t] t]i t]i t]i t]i shine
d di di di di sense
nd ndi ndi ndi ndi be straight
] ]i ]i ]i ]i plant
i i i i belch
i i i i ~ ni ni ni ni rain
j ji ji ji ji enter
b. Palatal consonants before i ii i in word-medial position:
t] it]i it]i it]i it]i song
d a a a a kidi kidi kidi kidi bead
nd ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi rust
] ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i saliva
ii ii ii ii tooth, tusk
ke-i ke-i ke-i ke-i ~ ke-ni ke-ni ke-ni ke-ni to rain
j aji aji aji aji mother
2.1.4 Velar and glottal consonants
Three velar and two glottal consonants are attested in Mono: k kk k, g gg g, ng ng ng ng, 1 11 1, and h hh h.
The prenasalized stop ng ng ng ng is pronounced [pg]. The phoneme h hh h is pronounced with more
friction than the h hh h in English.
35

The phoneme k kk k is the most commonly attested consonant in Mono discourse. This
corresponds to Maddiesons (1997) observation that k is the most commonly attested
consonant in most languages.
There is much evidence to support the status of the glottal stop 1 11 1 as a phoneme in
Mono. First, it occurs in items from most grammatical categories:

(7) Sample words containing a glottal stop
a. nouns
i1ir i1ir i1ir i1iri i i i name
ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja paddle
o1o o1o o1o o1o word
ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa basin
b. verbs
1a 1a 1a 1a suck
1c 1c 1c 1c call
1uru 1uru 1uru 1uru blow
c. pronouns
a1a a1a a1a a1a 1PL.EXCL
c1c c1c c1c c1c 2PL
d. kinship terms
a1a a1a a1a a1a aunt
a1u a1u a1u a1u uncle
e. animal names
j515 j515 j515 j515 cricket
ja15ng5 ja15ng5 ja15ng5 ja15ng5 eel
f. adverbs (both ideophones)
va1c va1c va1c va1c throw out
wi1i wi1i wi1i wi1i throw out

Second, the glottal stop is not rare, either in the lexicon or in discourse.
Third, it is attested both in word-initial and word-medial positions. However, here
a caveat must be noted. Its phonemic status in word-initial position is dubious, as is the
case in many Ubangian languages (Boyd 1989: 200). The cases of the glottal stop
occurring in word-initial position in Mono are in cliticized pronouns (e.g. 1a 1a 1a 1a 1PL.EXCL,
1c 1c 1c 1c 2PL) and in inflected verbs (e.g. 1a 1a 1a 1a suck, 1c 1c 1c 1c call, 1uru 1uru 1uru 1uru blow). It does not contrast
with its absence in this position, so one possible interpretation of the glottal stop in these
cases is that it is epenthetic. There is evidence for and against this interpretation in the
36

case of the pronouns. If the pronoun 1a 1a 1a 1a 1PL.EXCL is the subject of a relative clause, the
glottal stop is not attested:

(8) a a a a 1a 1a 1a 1a [a:1]
1
, not *[a1a]
REL 1PL.EXCL
that we (excl.)

This implies that the lexical entry for the word 1PL.EXCL is a a a a rather than 1a 1a 1a 1a. On the
other hand, the glottal stop is obligatory in most other cases; for example me baIa 1c me baIa 1c me baIa 1c me baIa 1c I
greet you (pl.) must be pronounced [me baIa 1c], not *[me baIa c]. In addition, evidence
from verbal word patterns discussed in Section 6.2 also suggests that the initial glottal
stop is epenthetic. There, treating the glottal stop in inflected verbs as epenthetic fills in
gaps within the set of attested word patterns.
The status of h as a phoneme in Mono is debatable. It is rare in both discourse and
in the lexicon. It occurs in sixteen words in my corpus, most of which are ideophones, but
it does occur in other grammatical categories as well, as shown in (9). I consider it to be a
marginal phoneme.

(9) Words containing h hh h
a. nouns
chcre chcre chcre chcre wax
hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa gourd rattle, lock
hoja o1o hoja o1o hoja o1o hoja o1o whisper
b. verbs
hcre oporo hcre oporo hcre oporo hcre oporo hatch
c. adverbs (all ideophones)
haao haao haao haao empty-handed
haga haga haga haga hard, wide
hao hao hao hao brightly
hao hao hao hao quickly, without reflecting
hara hara hara hara giant, high
hcrc hcrc hcrc hcrc sharp
h5r5g5 h5r5g5 h5r5g5 h5r5g5 hidden
hwija hwija hwija hwija hot
kpaha kpaha kpaha kpaha wide open
ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 narrow, hollow

1
The symbol [] is the IPA tone letter for a high-falling tone.
37

d. adjectives
ahara ahara ahara ahara dry
tahara tahara tahara tahara light

The data in (10) show sample contrasts for the velar and glottal consonants in
Mono.

(10) a. Velar and glottal consonants before a aa a in word-initial position:
1 1a 1a 1a 1a suck
k ka ka ka ka be finished
g ga ga ga ga be good
ng nga nga nga nga bark
h haga haga haga haga hard
b. Velar and glottal consonants before a aa a in word-medial position:
1 a1a a1a a1a a1a aunt
k daka daka daka daka borrow
g baga baga baga baga cheek
ng Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga slit drum
h kpaha kpaha kpaha kpaha wide open
2.1.5 Labial-velar consonants
Four labial-velar consonants are attested in Mono: kp kp kp kp, gb gb gb gb, ngb ngb ngb ngb, and w ww w. The
phonetic pronunciations of the first three phonemes are [kp], [gb], and [pgb] respectively.
All four consonants are well attested, but ngb ngb ngb ngb is rare in discourse.
The data in (11) show sample contrasts between all the labial-velar and labial
consonants in Mono.

(11) a. Labial-velar and labial consonants before a aa a in word-initial position:
kp kpa kpa kpa kpa flee
gb gba gba gba gba moisten
ngb ngba ngba ngba ngba be many
w wa wa wa wa cut
b ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie at
p pa pa pa pa say
b bada bada bada bada rock
mb mbata mbata mbata mbata stool
I Ia Ia Ia Ia become
v va va va va pour
m ma ma ma ma show
w wa wa wa wa send


38

b. Labial-velar and labial consonants before a aa a in word-medial position:
kp ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ten
gb kogba kogba kogba kogba granary
ngb kcngba kcngba kcngba kcngba alone
w biwa biwa biwa biwa nasal mucus
b koba koba koba koba illness
p apa apa apa apa tsetse fly
b Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba clothes
mb kamba kamba kamba kamba knife
I aji IcI aji IcI aji IcI aji IcIa a a a mid-wife
v gava gava gava gava panther
m guma guma guma guma prepare
w kawa kawa kawa kawa gruel
2.2 Vowels
According to my analysis, Mono has eight vowel phonemes: i ii i, c cc c, i ii i, e ee e, a aa a, u uu u, o oo o, and
5 55 5. The pronunciation of each phoneme is the same as the corresponding symbol in the
International Phonetic Alphabet. Long and nasal vowels exist, but these features are not
contrastive phonemically. Olson & Schrag (1997) and Kamanda (1998) consider the
system to be asymmetric, as shown in the chart in Figure 2.3:

Front Central Back
High i ii i i ii i u uu u
Mid c cc c e ee e o oo o
Low a aa a 5 55 5
Figure 2.3: Vowel phonemes in Mono
In terms of Chomsky & Halles (1968) distinctive features, Mono vowels can be
categorized as shown in (12). These feature values will useful for describing the vowel
spreading rules of Mono, which will be discussed in Chapters 6 and 7.

(12) i ii i c cc c i ii i e ee e a aa a u uu u o oo o 5 55 5
[high] + + +
[low] + +
[back] + + + + + +
[round] + + + +

39

All other things being equal, vowel systems tend towards symmetry, so the
system shown in Figure 2.3 is unexpected. However, vowel systems which are symmetric
except for the lack of the front low vowel e e e e are not uncommon in African languages.
They have been attested in several language families:

(13) Languages which are symmetric except for a missing front low vowel e ee e
2

a. Banda
Langbasi, Ngbugu, Ngundu, Kpagua, Gubu, Gbi, Linda, and Yakpa
(Cloarec-Heiss 1978)
b. Adamawa
Karan (Hartell 1993)
c. Gur
Lyele (Bassole 1982), Moba (Russell 1985)
d. Grassfields Bantu
Ewondo and Metta (Hartell 1993), Moghamo (Stallcup 1978)
e. Bantoid
Mambila (Perrin & Hill 1969)
f. Central Sudanic
Sara-Mbay (Cloarec-Heiss 1995a: 326)

Boyd (1989: 202) notes that Adamawa-Ubangian languages typically have
triangular seven- or nine-vowel systems, but if there is an asymmetry, it is usually
manifested as the lack of e ee e. In Zing and Karang (both Adamawan), there has been a
merger of c cc c and e ee e. For Banda (which includes Mono), Boyd suggests that e ee e has shifted to
a more central position.
A couple of typological observations are worth noting concerning the Mono
vowel system. First, Crothers (1978) observes that eight vowel systems are relatively rare
in the worlds languages, so the Mono system is not widely attested. Second, the Mono
system appears to contradict a universal put forth by Crothers: The number of height
distinctions in front vowels is equal to or greater than the number in back vowels
(Crothers, p. 122). According to the analysis of Olson & Schrag and Kamanda, Mono has
three back vowels, but only two front vowels.

2
Most of these references were pointed out to me by Roderic Casali (per. comm.).
40

If a aa a were reinterpreted as a low front vowel rather than a low central vowel, Mono
would then have three front vowels, i ii i, c cc c, and a aa a, two central vowels, i ii i and e ee e, and three
back vowels, u uu u, o oo o, and 5 55 5. This analysis would result in a system which agrees with
Crothers universal concerning vowel height distinctions. It also results in a symmetric
system if we followed Crothers in classifying vowels into peripheral (front, low, and
back) and interior (central, but non-low) groupings. This reanalyzed vowels system is
shown in Figure 2.4:

i ii i i ii i u uu u
c cc c e ee e o oo o
a aa a 5 55 5

Figure 2.4: Reanalyzed Mono vowel system

There is some phonetic justification for this reanalysis. In Section 8.2.1, I note
that the vowel a aa a in Mono is further forward in the vowel space than the corresponding
vowel a aa a of English, which is phonetically closer to [o].
The mid central vowel e ee e is the most common vowel in Mono discourse, followed
closely by a aa a. Cross-linguistically, a aa a is the most common vowel (Maddieson 1997), but in
languages with central vowels, e e e e is often the most common. English and French offer
familiar examples of this. In Mono, the frequency of e ee e may be due to the fact that it
occurs in several words which are quite common in discourse, as shown in (14):

(14) Common words containing e ee e
eme eme eme eme 1SG
ebe ebe ebe ebe 2SG
t]e t]e t]e t]e 3SG
e e e e same subject
ke- ke- ke- ke- INF
ne ne ne ne DET
ke-de ke-de ke-de ke-de be (equative)
ke-se ke-se ke-se ke-se be (existential)

41

The low central vowel a aa a is optionally raised to [] when preceded or followed by
a high vowel, as shown in (15). Phonetic evidence for this raising is given in Section
8.2.1.

(15) [tima] ~ [tim] tongue [amazi] ~ [amzi] morning
[zuwa] ~ [zuw] flour
3
[t]aIu] ~ [t]Iu] odor
[bi]a] ~ |bi]] two [pgbabi] ~ [pgbbi] bone

Vowel nasalization is not contrastive in Mono. It occurs on vowels which follow
nasal consonants. I also observed weak nasalization on word-initial vowels preceding a
nasal or prenasalized consonant, e.g. [endc] ~ [cndc] 3PL.
According to my auditory impressions, nasalization is most pronounced on low
back vowels and least pronounced on low non-back vowels. It is strongest on o oo o and 5 55 5:

(16) [mono] Mono
[m5] be tired
[k5n5] hippopotamus

On other vowels, nasalization occurs, but it is weaker:

(17) [kumu] head
[mi] bother
[pgomc] dew
[eme] 1SG
[vana] four

This variation in the perceived strength of nasalization is likely due to the interaction of
nasal formants with vowel formants. When there is significant overlap between these, the
effect will be a greater perception of nasalization. Acoustic characteristics of vowel
nasalization will be discussed in Section 8.2.3.
Nasalization does not spread across a consonant:

(18) [du m5I5] play (*[du m5I5])
[mototoro] (proper name) (*[mototoro])

3
A more common alternant is [zu@wu# ].
42


The data in (19) show sample contrasts between the vowels in Mono.

(19) a. Contrasts between vowels following word-initial d dd d
i di di di di be tangled
c dc dc dc dc chop
i di di di di count
e de de de de be (equative)
a da da da da slap
u du du du du tether
o do do do do become a fool
5 d5 d5 d5 d5 stomp
b. Contrasts between vowels following word-medial d
i komadiri komadiri komadiri komadiri hawk
c adcng5 adcng5 adcng5 adcng5 bend
i idi idi idi idi horn, antler
e ede ede ede ede and
a kada kada kada kada oil, grease
u budu budu budu budu bottom
o gbado gbado gbado gbado grub
5 5d5 5d5 5d5 5d5 laziness
2.3 Distribution of phonemes
2.3.1 Distribution in the syllable
In this section, I examine the distribution of phonemes within the CV syllable in
Mono. Specifically, I look at the co-occurrence restrictions between consonants and
vowels.
Sampson (1985: 140) and Cloarec-Heiss (1986: 26) note co-occurrence
restrictions between consonants and vowels in the Banda languages Tangbago and Linda,
respectively, which are closely related to Mono. Specifically, two restrictions hold in
those languages. First, the alveolar fricatives s ss s and z zz z do not occur before the front vowels
i ii i and c cc c. Second, the palatal consonants t] t] t] t], d d d d, nd nd nd nd, ] ]] ], and do not occur before the central
vowels i ii i and e ee e. These restrictions are shown in (20):





43

(20) i ii i c cc c i ii i e ee e
s ss s + +
z zz z + +
t] t] t] t] + +
d d d d + +
nd nd nd nd + +
] ]] ] + +
+ +

Olson & Schrag mention these same co-occurrence restrictions for Mono, but note
that there are exceptions. Indeed, several exceptions exist in my corpus:

(21) sepc sepc sepc sepc ~ scpc scpc scpc scpc stay
]iku ]iku ]iku ]iku ~ ]iku ]iku ]iku ]iku scar
]eta ]eta ]eta ]eta ~ ]cta ]cta ]cta ]cta intestine
t]e t]e t]e t]e ~ c]c c]c c]c c]c 3SG
t]e- t]e- t]e- t]e- towards

In the Mono lexicon, exceptions to the general restriction are rare, but two of the
forms, t]e t]e t]e t]e 3SG and t]e- t]e- t]e- t]e- towards are quite common in Mono discourse. It appears then,
that these restrictions are being relaxed in Mono. This may be partly due to pressure from
the trade language, Lingala, spoken in the Mono region but not in the Tangbago and
Linda regions. In Lingala, alveolar fricatives freely occur before front vowels, e.g. sika sika sika sika
new, scko scko scko scko always, ko-zika ko-zika ko-zika ko-zika to burn, zcka zcka zcka zcka obstacle.
Table 2.1 shows all the C+V combinations attested in Mono. A full set of sample
words is given in Table F.1 of Appendix F. The first sign in each box is for word-initial
syllables, the second sign is for non-initial syllables. A plus sign (+) indicates that the
C+V combination is attested in my corpus. A minus sign () indicates that it is not
attested. A minus sign with an asterisk (*) indicates forms which are attested by
Kamanda.






44

Table 2.1: Consonant-vowel combinations in Mono
C V i c i e a u o 5
b +/+ / / +/+ +/+ /+ /+ /
p +/+ +/+ +/+ /* +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
b +/+ +/+ +/+ /+ +/+ +/+ /+ +/
mb +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ /+ /
I / +/+ / +/ +/+ +/+ +/+ /
v +/+ +/+ +/+ / +/+ +/+ +/+ /
m +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
w +/+ +/+ +/+ */ +/+ +/+ / /
d / /+ / / /+ / /* /+
t +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
d +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
nd +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
s / +/+ / +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
z / / +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ /+
n +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ /+ /+ +/+
r +/+ /+ /+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ /+
I +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
t] +/+ +/ / +/+ +/+ +/+ /+ +/+
d +/+ +/+ / / +/+ /+ +/+ /+
nd +/+ +/+ / / +/+ /+ +/+ +/
] +/+ +/+ +/ +/ +/+ +/+ +/+ /+
+/+ +/+ / / /* +/+ +/+ /
+/+ / / / +/+ / / /
j +/+ +/+ / / /+ +/+ +/+ +/+
1 +/+ +/+ +/+ / +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
k +/+ +/+ +/+ +/ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
g +/+ +/+ +/+ / +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
ng +/+ +/+ +/+ / +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
h / +/+ / / +/+ /* +/ +/+
kp +/+ +/+ +/+ +/ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
gb / +/+ /+ */ +/+ /+ +/+ +/+
ngb +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+ +/+
w / +/+ / / +/+ +/+ +/+ /
Some paradigms in the table are nearly complete, such as contrast before the
vowel a a a a in both word-initial and word-medial position. However, several C+V
combinations are not attested in Mono (besides the case discussed above in (19)). The
gaps involving the marginal phonemes can simply be attributed to the limited number of
occurrences of these segments. On the other hand, certain categories are clearly
45

dispreferred in Mono. These include (1) a labial consonant followed by 5 55 5, (2) a palatal
consonant followed by 5 55 5, and velar and glottal consonants followed by e ee e.
2.3.2 Distribution in the word
Vowel harmony is attested in some Ubangian languages, especially of the Zande
group, so it is worth examining if this phenomenon is evident in Mono. Table 2.2 lists the
co-occurrence of vowels in CV
1
CV
2
patterns. In most cases, the examples are taken from
bisyllabic tautomorphemic words. Additional examples are from longer words, e.g.
CV
1
CV
2
CV or CVCV
1
CV
2
. Table F.2 in Appendix F gives a complete list of the words
used as evidence for these combinations. Plus signs in parentheses indicate forms which
are either heteromorphemic or exhibit variation.
Most combinations of vowels are attested within Mono words, and so strict vowel
harmony is not attested in Mono. However, it is also true that words containing both high
and mid vowels are rare in the lexicon.
Table 2.2: Vowel-vowel (CV
1
CV
2
) co-occurrences
V
1
V
2
i c i e a u o 5
i + + (+) + + (+) +
c + + + + + + +
i + + + + + +
e + + (+) + + (+) + +
a + + + + + + + (+)
u + + + + + + + +
o + + + + + +
5 + + (+) (+) + + + +

Consonant harmony is also attested in some Ubangian languages, e.g. Ngbaka-
Mabo (Thomas 1963). Such systems restrict the co-occurrence of consonants in C
1
VC
2
V
patterns. However, I leave this topic for further research.

46


CHAPTER 3
TONE

The majority of African languages have tonal systems, and Mono is no exception.
Mono has three contrastive level tones: High (H, marked with an acute accent above the
vowel), Mid (M, marked with a macron above the vowel), and Low (L, marked with a
grave accent). Rising and falling contour tones also exist in the language, but I analyze
them as sequences of level tones as discussed below.
Tone carries both lexical and grammatical function in Mono. In fact, tone bears
such a significant functional load in the Banda languages that several speech surrogates
have arisen. Sampson (1985: 143) reports whistle-talk in Tangbago. Arom & Cloarec-
Heiss (1976) report the use of talking drums in Linda. In Mono, I have observed the use
of xylophones for sending messages.
I discuss lexical tone in Section 3.1, grammatical tone in Section 3.2, and the
distribution of tone (including tonal melodies and tonal polarity) in Section 3.3.
3.1 Lexical tone
Lexical tone occurs on nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and grammatical
function words. In addition, there is some evidence that verbs have underlying lexical
tone, a point which will be discussed in Chapter 7. The following items provide evidence
of contrast between the three level tones in Mono and show at the same time the lexical
function of tone:





47

(1) H vs. M: [gba a a anda] net [awo o o o] lung
[gba a a anda] hunting shelter [awo o o o] wife
H vs. L: [ku u u uzu] semen [ka1ja a a a] paddle
[ku u u uzu] death [ka1ja a a a] weaver bird
M vs. L: [ma a a ara] barren
[ma a a ara] clan, fetish

Mono also contains phonetic contour tones: Falling (F, marked with a circumflex
above the vowel) and Rising (R, marked with a wedge above the vowel). I do not
consider these to be contrastive, however, for the following reasons. First, the vowels
which bear contour tones are always phonetically long, so minimal pairs with the level
tones cannot be established. In tautomorphemic environments, phonetically long vowels
always bear contour tones, and vowels with level tones are phonetically short. In
heteromorphemic environments, if a morphological or syntactic process creates a
situation where two identical vowels with identical tones are adjacent, an optional
process applies to resolve the hiatus. For example, when the plural prefix a- a- a- a- is applied to
a word beginning with a a a a, an optional I II I is inserted, as in (2a). Also, if vowel hiatus (see
Section 7.2.2) creates an a aa a + a aa a sequence, the sequence is reduced to a short a aa a in normal
speech, as in (2b).

(2) a. a-aba a-aba a-aba a-aba aIaba aIaba aIaba aIaba fathers
b. me baIa be ata me baIa be ata me baIa be ata me baIa be ata me baIa baata me baIa baata me baIa baata me baIa baata me baIa me baIa me baIa me baIa |bata] I greet you.

Second, tautomorphemic contour tones are rare in the lexicon, and many of the
occurrences are in plant and animal names, ideophones, and loan words. All of the
examples of tautomorphemic contour tones on phonetically long vowels in my corpus are
shown in (3).







48

(3) Tautomorphemic words containing contour tones
bakjakjaa bakjakjaa bakjakjaa bakjakjaa shallow
Ioot]c Ioot]c Ioot]c Ioot]c fever
gbadcc gbadcc gbadcc gbadcc pineapple
haao haao haao haao empty-handed
kaIcc kaIcc kaIcc kaIcc coffee (borrowed from French)
kotoo kotoo kotoo kotoo how much/how many
kpe kpe kpe kpe endoro endoro endoro endoro nudity
kpoo kpoo kpoo kpoo close together
Iuu Iuu Iuu Iuu anew
minduu minduu minduu minduu five
ngbaakoro ngbaakoro ngbaakoro ngbaakoro funeral
too too too too clean
t]aangbcndc t]aangbcndc t]aangbcndc t]aangbcndc calf
t]aaIa t]aaIa t]aaIa t]aaIa hyrax
waa waa waa waa very much
zii zii zii zii smooth, flat

Note that contour tones occur in three words which are common in discourse:
minduu minduu minduu minduu five, kotoo kotoo kotoo kotoo how much/how many, and waa waa waa waa very much.
Third, while minimal pairs are not found in my corpus due to the rarity of such
examples in Mono, my language resource persons differentiate three types of falling
tones in tautomorphemic environments, labeled HL, HM, and ML in (4).
1


(4) HL HM ML
[gbadc:1 gbadc:1 gbadc:1 gbadc:1] *[gbadc:1] *[gbadc:!] pineapple
*[wa:1] [wa:1 wa:1 wa:1 wa:1] *[wa:!] very much
*[Io:1t]c] *[Io:1t]c] [Io:!t]c Io:!t]c Io:!t]c Io:!t]c ] fever

Finally, in at least one case, there is a minimal pair between two falling tones in a
heteromorphemic environment. According to my analysis, one results from a HM
combination, and one results from a HL combination, as shown in (5). The word a a a a REL
is a relative clause marker. See Section 2.1.4 for a discussion of the status of the glottal
stop in this example.

(5) a. a 1a a 1a a 1a a 1a [a:1] that we (incl.)
b. a 1a a 1a a 1a a 1a [a:1] that we (excl.)

1
The tone letters [, , ] (IPA 1999) indicate falling, high-falling, and low-falling tones,
respectively.
49


Thus, I interpret a contour tone to be a sequence of two distinct level tones. The
question which arises is whether to consider the vowel associated with these tones to be a
single vowel or a geminate. In tautomorphemic environments, there is evidence that it
should be considered a single vowel. In the stative aspect and certainty mood, a single
reduplicated vowel receives two tonal specifications. This will be discussed further in the
next section. The independence of the number of tones and the number of vowels was
observed as early as Pike & Pike (1947: 82), who note this phenomenon in Mazateco.
Mono and Mazateco differ in one major respect, however. In Mono, if two tones occur on
a single vowel, the vowel is phonetically long, whereas in Mazateco, the length of the
vowel remains nearly constant. In moraic theory, tautomorphemic contour tones in Mono
are represented as in (6):

(6) H L
| |

\ /
a

Heteromorphemic cases such as in (4a) above clearly involve two distinct vowels.
Those can be represented as follows:

(7) H L
| |

| |
a a

In both cases, I transcribe a contour tone as a sequence of two distinct level tones
over adjacent identical vowels, e.g. aa aa aa aa = [a:1]. I have done this for the sake of ease of
transcription, but the reader should keep in mind that this represents the two different
configurations in (6) and (7).
50

3.2 Grammatical tone
Besides the lexical function described above, tone also has a grammatical function
in Mono. Specifically, the change of tone on the first syllable of the verb (and in one case
the subject pronoun) marks tense, aspect, and mood (TAM). In this section, I present the
different tonal patterns which may occur on the verb, and discuss briefly their meanings.
A more detailed discussion of the TAM categories is given in Section 7.2.
Verb morphology in Mono provides no evidence for lexical tone on verbs.
Cloarec-Heiss (1986: 319) notes that verbs in the related language Linda can be divided
into two classes as to whether they bear a M or L tone for the consecutive aspect.
However, in Mono, we have not observed this pattern. There is some evidence from
derivational processes that there is inherent tone on verb roots in Mono. This will be
discussed in Section 7.1.1.
Non-future (NF). The non-future tense indicates either the present or the past. It is
marked by a H tone on the first syllable of the verb. All following syllables of the verb
bear a L tone, as is the case in many tone languages:

(8) a. bakopg5 bakopg5 bakopg5 bakopg5 z zz za a a a awa awa awa awa
turtle take:NF road
The turtle left.
b. e e e e t tt ta a a a ra ra ra ra baIangu baIangu baIangu baIangu ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5
SS descend:NF at-eye-water at-chez
2
hippo
He descended into the water to hippos place.
c. me me me me n nn na a a a ga-Ie ga-Ie ga-Ie ga-Ie kindi kindi kindi kindi
1SG go:NF to-in garden
Im going to the fields.

Future (FUT). In the future tense, a H tone occurs on the final syllable of a subject
pronoun preceding the verb, and a L tone occurs on the vowels in the verb. If the
sentence does not have a subject pronoun in its non-future counterpart, the same subject
pronoun e e e e is inserted for the future form:

2
The term chez is French for at the home of. I employ it here in order to save space.
51


(9) a. b bb be e e e w ww wu u u u me me me me ze ze ze ze
2SG:FUT see:FUT 1SG EMPH
You will see me!
b. o1o o1o o1o o1o ne ne ne ne e e e e k kk ka a a a
word DET SS end:FUT
The problem will be resolved.

For 1a 1a 1a 1a 1PL.INCL, a rising tone results, rather than the expected H tone:

(10) 1a 1a 1a 1a a a a a k kk ko o o o
1PL.INCL:FUT fight:FUT
We will fight.

A motivation for the existence of the rising tone in (10) is that it preserves
contrast between the 1PL.INCL and 1PL.EXCL forms. If both pronouns followed the regular
pattern of the paradigm by replacing the default tone with a H tone, then both would be
realized as 1a 1a 1a 1a. The entire paradigm is shown in (11):

(11) citation form subject form future form
eme eme eme eme me me me me me me me me 1SG
ebe ebe ebe ebe be be be be be be be be 2SG
c]c c]c c]c c]c t]e t]e t]e t]e t]e t]e t]e t]e 3SG
aze aze aze aze 1a 1a 1a 1a 1aa 1aa 1aa 1aa 1PL.INCL
a1a a1a a1a a1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1PL.EXCL
c1c c1c c1c c1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 2PL
cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc 3PL

Imperative (IMP). The imperative mood (12a), as well as obligations (12b) and
interdictions, are marked by a L tone of the verb:

(12) a. w ww wu u u u se se se se ne ne ne ne adckc adckc adckc adckc 1aa 1aa 1aa 1aa ko... ko... ko... ko...
see:IMP place DET that 1PL.INCL:FUT fight:FUT
Know that we will fight...
b. e e e e Ii Ii Ii Ii adckc adckc adckc adckc be be be be s ss se e e e de de de de kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere
SS be.necessary:NF that 2SG be:OB with wisdom
You need to have wisdom.

Subjunctive (SUBJ). Advice (13a) as well as actions which are dependent on the
action of the previous clause (13b) are marked by a M tone on the first vowel of the verb:
52

(13) a. 1a 1a 1a 1a n nn na a a a ga-nde ga-nde ga-nde ga-nde magba magba magba magba
1PL.INCL go:SUBJ to-chez PN
Lets go to Magbas house.
b. za za za za upgu upgu upgu upgu Ie Ie Ie Ie me me me me me me me me ndo ndo ndo ndo
give:IMP water BEN 1SG 1SG drink:SUBJ
Give me water (in order that) I drink.

Stative (STAT). In the stative aspect, the first syllable of the verb root is
reduplicated and prefixed to the verb. The vowel of the reduplicant is lengthened (cf.
14b), and bears a HL pattern. The vowel of the verb root bears a L tone:

(14) a. e e e e ]uu-]u ]uu-]u ]uu-]u ]uu-]u
SS RED:STAT-bitter:STAT
It is bitter.
b. caIc caIc caIc caIc ]u ]u ]u ]u
coffee bitter:NF
The coffee is bitter.

Certainty (CERT). In the certainty mood, the first syllable of the verb root is
reduplicated and prefixed to the verb. The vowel of the reduplicant is lengthened, and
bears a HM pattern. The first vowel of the verb root bears a M tone, and following
vowels bear a L tone:

(15) e e e e zuu-zuru zuu-zuru zuu-zuru zuu-zuru
SS RED:CERT-be.slippery:CERT
It is slippery.
3.3 Distribution of tones
3.3.1 Distribution in the syllable
In this section, I look at the co-occurrence of a consonant with a following tone.
In some languages, voiced obstruents are referred to depressor consonants. These are
followed by a L tone, including in situations where one would expect a non-L tone. This
could be looked at as the insertion of a L tone or the maintenance of a L tone in the
position after a depressor consonant. Voiced sonorants and implosives rarely pattern with
the voiced obstruents with respect to these effects (cf. Hyman 1975: 228).
53

As mentioned in the previous section, the first syllable of a verb bears a H, M, or
L tone in Mono, depending on the tense, aspect, and mood. Thus, we expect most, if not
all C-tone combinations to be attested. This is indeed the case, as shown in Table 3.1
below. This agrees with Boyds (1995: 15) observation that consonant-tone interaction is
not attested in Ubangian. The one combination which is not attested concerns the
marginal consonant phoneme d dd d. A full set of sample words is given in Appendix F.
Table 3.1: Consonant-tone co-occurrences
H M L H M L
b + + + t] + + +
p + + + d + + +
b + + + nd + + +
mb + + + ] + + +
I + + + + + +
v + + + + + +
m + + + j + + +
w + + + 1 + + +
d + + k + + +
t + + + g + + +
d + + + ng + + +
nd + + + h + + +
s + + + kp + + +
z + + + gb + + +
n + + + ngb + + +
r + + + w + + +
I + + +
3.3.2 Distribution in the word
Some languages have a limited number of tonal patterns in comparison to the total
number of possible tonal combinations. One example concerns tonal melodies. Verbs in
Margi can have a H melody (tsa tsa tsa tsa beat, ndabya ndabya ndabya ndabya touch), a L melody (gha gha gha gha reach, dza1u dza1u dza1u dza1u
pound), or a LH melody (hu hu hu hu grow up, pezu pezu pezu pezu lay eggs), but a HL melody is not
attested (Kenstowicz 1994: 312-3).
54

Certain locative adverbs in Mono have a tonal melody associated with them.
Regardless of the underlying tones of the individual morphemes, tri-syllabic locative
adverbs always have a HLH tonal pattern, as shown in (16):

(16) a. t]aIangu t]aIangu t]aIangu t]aIangu in the water
t]a-aIa-ngu
place-eye-water
b. gasenda gasenda gasenda gasenda into the house
ga-ese-anda
to-place-house

Another process which can limit the number of possible tonal combinations is
tonal polarity, in which the tone of a morpheme is predictable given its environment. In
Mono, the prepositional prefix ga- ga- ga- ga- exhibits tonal polarity. If the following morpheme
bears a H tone, then ga- ga- ga- ga- bears a L tone (17a). If the following morpheme bears either a M
tone or a L tone, then ga- ga- ga- ga- bears a H tone (17b,c):

(17) a. ga-Ie ga-Ie ga-Ie ga-Ie to
b. ga-mangba ga-mangba ga-mangba ga-mangba behind
c. ga-ndiri ga-ndiri ga-ndiri ga-ndiri to the side of

Mono verbs have a limited number of tonal patterns marking TAM, as discussed
above in Section 3.2. These could be interpreted as being examples of tonal melodies. In
contrast to this, the other grammatical categories in Mono do not contain tonal melodies.
Rather, all logically possible combinations of level tones for bisyllabic words (3
2
= 9) and
nearly all possible combinations for trisyllabic words (3
3
= 27) are attested:

(18) Combinations of level tones in two-syllable words:
HH gosa gosa gosa gosa type of green
HM zuwa zuwa zuwa zuwa flour
HL Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba clothes
MH kako kako kako kako leaf
MM Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga slit drum
ML jawo jawo jawo jawo firewood
LH budu budu budu budu buttocks
LM zaja zaja zaja zaja anvil
LL gbado gbado gbado gbado grub
55


(19) Combinations of level tones in three-syllable words:
HHH pin pin pin pingiwi giwi giwi giwi suddenly
HHM pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu bat
HHL tekeka tekeka tekeka tekeka pain
HMH pakuIu pakuIu pakuIu pakuIu parrot
HMM
HML ndibida ndibida ndibida ndibida heel
HLH kadawu kadawu kadawu kadawu hiccough
HLM bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a tomorrow
HLL gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto latrine

MHH kombcIc kombcIc kombcIc kombcIc butterfly
MHM di-ngindi di-ngindi di-ngindi di-ngindi bladder
MHL gba-Ioba gba-Ioba gba-Ioba gba-Ioba rag
MMH gbangbaIc gbangbaIc gbangbaIc gbangbaIc baldness
MMM batima batima batima batima rope
MML ngbangcwo ngbangcwo ngbangcwo ngbangcwo type of cat
MLH gugati gugati gugati gugati prostitute
MLM bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 tortoise
MLL gba-koto gba-koto gba-koto gba-koto anthill

LHH kaIabi kaIabi kaIabi kaIabi head pad
LHM ade-kc ade-kc ade-kc ade-kc that
LHL d dd dcngctc cngctc cngctc cngctc pepper
LMH abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 ~ but]5 but]5 but]5 but]5 night
LMM agbivi agbivi agbivi agbivi pimple
LML makato makato makato makato boundary, frontier
LLH biruIu biruIu biruIu biruIu porcupine
LLM kamaju kamaju kamaju kamaju dung beetle
LLL bangana bangana bangana bangana zebra

Not all possible combinations are attested for quadrasyllabic words, but this is
likely due to the rarity of such words in Mono, and the large number of logically possible
combinations (3
4
= 81). Some sample words with four distinct tones are given in (20):

(20) Sample combinations of level tones in quadrasyllabic words
HLHM moropago moropago moropago moropago traveler
HLMM ndogoIcya ndogoIcya ndogoIcya ndogoIcya day before yesterday
LLLH adukuma adukuma adukuma adukuma ghost, ogre
LHMH aIcdozo aIcdozo aIcdozo aIcdozo hail
LHLH nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu blunt

56


CHAPTER 4
LABIALIZATION AND PALATALIZATION

Mono syllables may have one of two secondary articulations: labialization or
palatalization. All three of these terms have been used in different ways in the literature.
Thus, before discussing the realization of these phenomena in Mono, a few definitions
are in order.
Ladefoged and Maddieson (1996: 354) define a secondary articulation as an
articulation of a lesser degree of stricture accompanying a primary articulation of a higher
degree. In most cases, the secondary articulation is an approximant, but fricatives have
also been interpreted as such. The difference in stricture between primary and secondary
articulations distinguishes this type of phenomenon from doubly-articulated segments
(Catford 1977 refers to these as co-ordinate co-articulation), such as [kp], where the
two articulations have the same degree of stricture.
The timing of a secondary articulation with respect to a primary one has been a
topic of consideration as well. Pike (1947) points out that there are two cases attested:
At the time the stop closure is made, an additional modification may be added at
the lips (labialization), or at the front of the mouth (palatalization). This
articulation may be released either simultaneously with the release of the stop
closure or there may be a delayed release. (p. 32)
In other words, in the first case the secondary and primary articulations are
pronounced simultaneously. In the second case (which is the case in Mono), the
secondary articulation lags the primary one so that it is heard as an off-glide in relation to
the primary articulation. Ladefoged & Maddieson (p. 355) point out that the distinction
between these two cases can be difficult to make, because of the fact that the start and
57

end of an approximant are difficult to demarcate acoustically. However, there are
instances where the distinction between the two types of secondary articulation is
contrastive. For example, in Russian there is a contrast between sest [s'cst'] sit down,
in which palatalization occurs simultaneously with s, and syest [s'jcst'] eat up, in which
a palatal glide follows the s in a consonant-glide cluster. Note that the s is palatalized as a
result of the following glide. However, if there is a syllable boundary between a
consonant and an ensuing palatal glide, then the consonant is not palatalized. For
example, otc [at'cts] father vs. otjxat [atjcxat'] to go away riding (Bill Darden,
per. comm.).
The terms labialization and palatalization have been used to refer to both phonetic
and phonological phenomena. In the phonetic usage, they describe certain types of
secondary articulations, as discussed above. Labialization refers to the addition of a lip
rounding gesture (Ladefoged & Maddieson note that in most cases, there is an
accompanying raising of the back of the tongue as well), and palatalization refers to the
addition of a high front tongue position (i.e. [i]). For example, Russian contrasts the
presence and absence of palatalization on certain segments: [kr5I] roof vs. [kr5I']
blood (Ladefoged 1982: 210). Pohnpeian contrasts the presence or absence of
labialization on certain segments: [kap] bundle [kap] new (Ladefoged & Maddieson,
p. 360)
The other use of the terms concerns phonological alternations in which the
primary articulation itself is modified. For example, English s ss s is said to be palatalized
when it becomes ] ]] ], such as in the change from press to pressure. Also, the phoneme k is
said to be palatalized in English when it precedes a front vowel, as in [kij] key
versus [ko+] car.
When I use the terms labialization, palatalization, and secondary articulation in
discussing Mono, I am referring specifically to the presence of lip rounding or front
58

tongue position in addition to a primary articulation, and that these secondary
articulations are realized as off-glides from the primary articulation.
4.1 Description
As mentioned above, the two secondary articulations which occur in Mono are
labialization and palatalization. The presence of labialization is not surprising, since as
Ladefoged & Maddieson (p. 356) note, it is the most widely attested secondary
articulation in the worlds languages.
Labialization and palatalization in Mono are most often heard as the phonetically
short mid-vowels [o] and [c], respectively, but they may also be heard as [u] and [i]. The
fact that they are most often realized in the mid range of the vowel space as opposed to
the high range is of typological interest, since cross-linguistically they are most often
considered to correspond to high vowels rather than mid ones. Leftward vowel spreading,
which is discussed in detail in Sections 6.1 and 7.2.1, provides additional evidence that
these secondary articulations are mid rather than high in the vowel space. In one example
of this process, the quality of the vowel of a verb root is spread to the schwa of an
infinitive prefix:

(1) ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju k kk ku u u u -ju -ju -ju -juto ask

When the root begins with a syllable containing a secondary articulation, it is the
quality of the secondary articulation, rather than the vowel, which spreads:

(2) ke-gja ke-gja ke-gja ke-gja k kk kc c c c -gja -gja -gja -gja to stir

In this case, the vowel of the prefix becomes c cc c. If palatalization in Mono were
fundamentally high in the vowel space, we would expect the vowel of the prefix to
become i ii i, yielding *ki-gja ki-gja ki-gja ki-gja.
59

In this dissertation, I write labialization and palatalization as w ww w and j jj j, respectively.
They are in complementary distribution with the labial and palatal semi-vowel phonemes
by the fact that they occur following a consonant, rather than in syllable-initial position.
Both contrast with their absence: aga aga aga aga horn vs. agwa agwa agwa agwa buffalo, and anga anga anga anga another vs.
angja angja angja angja bamboo.
Contrary to Kamandas (1998) transcription, labialization and palatalization do
not bear tone in Mono. In cases where a verb containing a secondary articulation bears a
HM or HL tonal pattern, the first tone is not heard on the secondary articulation but rather
is heard on the vowel:

(3) a. cndc cndc cndc cndc se se se se ke-kw ke-kw ke-kw ke-kwa a a a a-kwa a-kwa a-kwa a-kwa
3PL be INF-RED-return:CERT
They will return.
b. e e e e gj gj gj gja a a a a-gja a-gja a-gja a-gja
SS RED-stir:STAT
It is difficult.

Evidence for this analysis comes from the tonal patterns in the certainty mood,
discussed in Section 3.2. In this mood, the first syllable of the verb root is reduplicated
and the reduplicant is then prefixed to the root. The reduplicant takes a HM tone pattern,
the first vowel of the root bears a M tone, and remaining vowels in the root bear a L tone,
as in (4):

(4) e e e e zuu-zuru zuu-zuru zuu-zuru zuu-zuru
SS RED:CERT-be.slippery:CERT
It is slippery.

Consider (3a) above. If labialization bore tone in this example, we would expect it
to take the M tone and the vowel a aa a in the root to take a L tone, as in (5):

(5) a. * cndc cndc cndc cndc se se se se ke-ko ke-ko ke-ko ke-ko a aa a-koa -koa -koa -koa
3PL be INF-RED-return:CERT
They will return.

60

However, this is not what we find. Instead, the M tone skips the secondary
articulation and lodges on the a aa a instead. In other words, the secondary articulation is
transparent to the tone patterns, and so it is best to interpret it as not bearing tone.
The two secondary articulations have a limited distribution in the syllable. Both
are attested following the velar and glottal consonants: k kk k, g gg g, ng ng ng ng, 1 11 1, and h hh h. In addition, the
palatal off-glide is attested following I II I in two lexical items, wuIja wuIja wuIja wuIja giraffe and ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja
November, and following m mm m in one lexical item, ke-mja ke-mja ke-mja ke-mja to shake. Also, the marginal
phoneme could be interpreted as the sequence n nn n + j jj j, as mentioned in Section 2.1.3, but
there is more evidence for the phonemic status of than for Ij Ij Ij Ij or mj mj mj mj. It occurs in more
lexical items, and it is found in both word-initial and word-medial position. Nevertheless,
its interpretation as a phoneme is tentative.
Two observations concerning the distribution of labialization and palatalization
are worth noting. First, Ladefoged & Maddieson (p. 356) note that cross-linguistically
labialization most commonly co-occurs with velar obstruents. This generalization holds
for Mono as well. On the other hand, Ladefoged & Maddieson note that of all the
secondary articulations, it is labialization which usually co-occurs with the largest
number of different types of segments (p. 356). In Mono, we see that palatalization lays
claim to this, since it co-occurs with l and m mm m (and n nn n depending on how is interpreted) in
addition to the velar and glottal consonants.
Within a morpheme, the off-glides are nearly always followed by the vowel a.
The only exceptions to this are either in ideophones (ngjcre ngjcre ngjcre ngjcre sound of a bell and
hwija hwija hwija hwija hot) or body parts (akjo akjo akjo akjo hoof). The secondary articulations do not immediately
follow labial-velar consonants, and they do not combine with each other in the same
syllable. The examples in my corpus are:




61

(6) Secondary articulations attested in my corpus of Mono
a. kw
akwa akwa akwa akwa work
akwara akwara akwara akwara chick peas
akwara akwara akwara akwara arrowhead
ke-kwa ke-kwa ke-kwa ke-kwa to return
zi akwande ngware zi akwande ngware zi akwande ngware zi akwande ngware eat first of new crops
b. kj
kjakja kjakja kjakja kjakja small
akjo akjo akjo akjo hoof
c. gw
zugwa zugwa zugwa zugwa ~ ugwa ugwa ugwa ugwa a type of forest spirit
ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa to pack, wrap up
kogwa kogwa kogwa kogwa box
d. gj
agja agja agja agja animal
ke-gja ke-gja ke-gja ke-gja to stir
magja magja magja magja sickle
e. ngw
angwa angwa angwa angwa difficulty
angwa angwa angwa angwa seed (grain)
gbangwa gbangwa gbangwa gbangwa a type of large leaf
ngware ngware ngware ngware seed (general)
ajikongwa ajikongwa ajikongwa ajikongwa insect
ngwangwa ngwangwa ngwangwa ngwangwa gizzard
f. ngj
angja angja angja angja material inside bamboo
ngjcre ngjcre ngjcre ngjcre sound of a bell
g. hw
hwija hwija hwija hwija hot
h. hj

i. 1w
ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa basin
1wara 1wara 1wara 1wara until morning
j. 1j
a1jara a1jara a1jara a1jara small (plural)
ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja weaver bird
ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja paddle
ko1ja ko1ja ko1ja ko1ja fruit bat
1jara 1jara 1jara 1jara flayed
k. Ij
wuIja wuIja wuIja wuIja giraffe
ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja November
l. mj
ke-mja ke-mja ke-mja ke-mja to shake

62

4.2 Suggested interpretations
Chao (1934) notes that there are cases where a classical phonemic analysis does
not lead to a unique solution. For example, Ladefoged & Maddieson (p. 357) point out
that for the Australian language Arrernte, analyses have varied as to whether labialization
should be considered a property of the consonant system or the vowel system.
For many African languages, Mono included, both labialization and palatalization
present such a problem of interpretation. In these languages the only unambiguous
syllable pattern is CV (and V in word-initial position), and a classical phonemic analysis
would require that the syllables containing labialization and palatalization, CwV and
CjV, be interpreted in such a way as to fit into the available unambiguous syllable
patterns. Alternatively, an additional syllable pattern (CCV or CVV) could be posited,
but there must be clear motivation for doing so. Bendor-Samuel (1962) outlines the basic
problem:
Are these features to be regarded as consonants or vowels? If they are consonants,
do they form a consonant cluster with the preceding consonant (to give a CCV
pattern), or are they to be analysed as part of a single complex consonant (CV)? If
they are vowels, do they form a sequence of two vowels with the following vowel
(to give a CVV pattern), or form part of a complex vowel nucleus? (p. 86)
All of these possible solutions, as well as two additional ones, have been
suggested for the Banda languages. In this chapter, I evaluate these possible solutions in
light of the Mono data.
The first solution is to posit additional consonant phonemes, corresponding to the
possible consonant-glide combinations: 1w 1w 1w 1w, 1j 1j 1j 1j, kw kw kw kw, kj kj kj kj, gw gw gw gw, gj gj gj gj, ngw ngw ngw ngw, ngj ngj ngj ngj, hw hw hw hw, hj hj hj hj, Ij Ij Ij Ij, and
mj mj mj mj. This solution accounts for the limited distribution of the sounds with respect to the
preceding consonants. In addition, no new syllable patterns need to be posited. There are
a couple of disadvantages to this solution, however. First, it requires the addition of
twelve consonant phonemes to the inventory, all of which are poorly attested in my
63

corpus. (Note, however, that Hockett 1958: 110 considers economy to be the least useful
and most vague of the basic principles for evaluating phonemic analyses.) Second, it
does not account for the co-occurrence restrictions between the off-glides and the
following vowel.
A second solution is suggested by Sampson (1985) for the Banda language
Tangbago. He posits two additional vowel phonemes, the diphthongs a a a a and 'a 'a 'a 'a, where the
secondary articulations are interpreted as on-glides to the vowel a aa a. This solution accounts
for the tautomorphemic distributional restriction of the secondary articulations before a aa a.
In addition, there is an economy of phonemes in that only two additional ones are needed.
However, there are a couple of disadvantages to this solution. First, it does not
account for the co-occurrence restrictions between the secondary articulations and the
preceding consonants. These must be stipulated separately. Second, it does not account
for the data resulting from subminimal root augmentation, a process which prevents
monosyllabic nouns, which is discussed in Section 6.1. For example, the word gja gja gja gja
animal occurs in Mbandja, but the reduplicated forms, *agja agja agja agja and *gjagja gjagja gjagja gjagja, do not. In
Langbasi, the entire syllable is reduplicated resulting in the form gjagja gjagja gjagja gjagja. In Mono, only
the vowel is reduplicated in this set of nouns. For example: ada ada ada ada leg, ungu ungu ungu ungu water, ipi ipi ipi ipi
dance, etc. If labialization or palatalization were the initial part of a phonemic
diphthong, we would expect the diphthong to reduplicate in its entirety, yielding jagja jagja jagja jagja in
Mono. Instead, only a aa a reduplicates, giving agja agja agja agja. This suggests that the ja ja ja ja sequence is
analyzable, and is thus not a single phoneme.
A third solution is posited by Cloarec-Heiss (1969) for the Banda language Linda.
She adds an additional syllable pattern CVV to the inventory by virtue of the fact that
several vowel sequences are attested in Linda, ia ia ia ia, io io io io, ao ao ao ao, oa oa oa oa,
1
and that there are tones on

1
Diki-Kidiri & Cloarec-Heiss (1985) mention the following vowel sequences in Linda: iu iu iu iu, i i i i, ia ia ia ia,
ao ao ao ao, u u u u, oa oa oa oa, ae ae ae ae.
64

each vowel in the sequence. She considers labialization and palatalization to be vocalic,
filling the first V slot in a CVV syllable. This is supported by the fact that in certain
cases, the secondary articulations bear tone in Linda.
In Mono, there are three arguments for this analysis. First, there are a handful of
words which could be considered to contain CVV syllable patterns: boa boa boa boa priest, hao hao hao hao
brightly (ideophone), mbiu mbiu mbiu mbiu very white (ideophone), ao ao ao ao cat (a loan word from
Lingala), haao haao haao haao empty-handed (ideophone), hao hao hao hao quickly (ideophone), and tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o
small. Second, vowels having contour tones are phonetically long and could be
considered to be a sequence of two vowels. Third, there is a case where a labial
consonant off-glide is formed in a heteromorphemic environment. A u becomes w
preceding a vowel with the same tone:

(7) a. me me me me gu gu gu gu jc jc jc jc [me gwi]
1SG return:NF EMPH
I returned.
b. songba songba songba songba agja agja agja agja ne ne ne ne Iu Iu Iu Iu jc jc jc jc |songba agja ne Iwi]
flesh animal DET rot:NF EMPH
The meat rotted.

However, the evidence for a CVV pattern is weakened by certain factors. First,
the words which contain this syllable pattern are small in number and are mostly
ideophones and loan words. Second, such words could be interpreted as containing a CV
syllable followed by a V syllable (CV.V), and as such would fit into the present inventory
of unambiguous syllable patterns, although this interpretation would require positing
additional word patterns. In fact, each word has an alternate pronunciation in which the
two-vowel sequence may be split up by a semi-vowel. For example, boa boa boa boa may also be
pronounced [bowa]. Third, the case of labialization in (7) results in a glide which is high
in the vowel space rather than mid, i.e. [u] rather than [o]. Fourth, the case in (7) creates a
glide-vowel sequence which does not adhere to the normal co-occurrence restriction
65

associated with the secondary articulations. Thus, we cannot confidently posit a CVV
pattern for Mono. In addition, phonetic reasons discourage us from following this
solution for Mono: the fact that the secondary articulations are phonetically short and do
not bear tone dissuades us from giving them a vocalic interpretation.
A fourth solution is suggested by Robbins (1984) for the Banda language
Mbandja. She suggests that labialization and palatalization (as well as pre-nasalization)
should be considered prosodies, in the Firthian sense of the word, presumably as features
of the syllable (but unfortunately she doesnt clarify this). Firthian prosodic analysis
allows for an element to be considered prosodic, even if it fills only a single segmental
slot, if it can be demonstrated that the element functions in some way on a higher
prosodic level (Robins 1970). However, in Mono, I have found no evidence to
demonstrate conclusively that labialization or palatalization function at a higher prosodic
level.
A fifth solution is put forth by Olson & Schrag (1997). They posit an additional
syllable pattern CGV (G = glide) for Mono. This type of analysis was first suggested by
Pike (1947)
2
and reiterated in Bendor-Samuel (1962). Olson & Schrag motivate the
solution by virtue of the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP, see e.g. Blevins 1995),
which observes that onsets rise in sonority as one approaches the nucleus, and codas fall
in sonority as one moves away from the nucleus.
The most common syllable pattern in African languages is a consonant followed
by a vowel (CV). In addition, many African languages have CGV syllable or CLV (L =
liquid) patterns. In these cases, a co-occurrence restriction typically requires the initial

2
If only two types of sequences of consonants occur at the beginning of utterances, and one of
these consists of labialized stops and the other of palatalized stops in each of which the off glide to [w] and
[y] is quite clearly delayed until after the release of the stop itself, it seems best to consider that the
contrasting pattern causes a separation of these items into sequences of two separate phonemes. (p. 135)

66

consonant to be lower in sonority than the following sonorant (i.e. adhering to the SSP).
In most cases, Mono included, this initial consonant is an obstruent.
In his rendition of phonemics, Pike assumes that sounds in a given language are
subdivided into two major groups: consonants and vowels.
3
In the positing of
unambiguous syllable patterns, then, the researcher is forced to label the elements within
a syllable as either C or V. This ignores the cross-linguistic tendency for languages to
have syllable patterns which obey the SSP, such as OSV (O = obstruent, S = sonorant).
Jakobson allowed for the inclusion of canonical syllable patterns of this type in a
phonemic analysis. Olson & Schrag suggest that OSV syllables should be considered
unambiguous in cases where other possible interpretations are exhausted.
4

There are at least two problems with the Olson & Schrag account. First, it
accounts for neither the co-occurrence restrictions between the secondary articulations
and the preceding consonants nor the co-occurrence restrictions between the secondary
articulations and the following vowel. As Bendor-Samuel (1962: 87) points out, these
restrictions must be stated in addition to accepting the additional syllable pattern.
Second, while this account essentially treats the secondary articulations as the two
semi-vowel phonemes w and j occurring in a unique position in the syllable, it should be
remembered that there is a clear phonetic difference between the secondary articulations
and the regular articulations of the semi-vowels. As pointed out above, the secondary
articulations are more mid than high in the height dimension (i.e. [o] and [c]), whereas
the semi-vowels w and j are high.

3
For example, in referring to consonants and vowels, Pike (1947: 60) states, In every language
there are two main groups of sounds which have sharply different distributions.

4
One interesting investigation, beyond the scope of this dissertation, would be a typological study
to determine of there are any implicational universals regarding OSV syllable patterns. Specifically, if a
language has OLV patterns, will it necessarily also have OGV syllables?
67

For the analysis in this dissertation, I will assume the interpretation of
labialization and palatalization argued for by Olson & Schrag (1997). However, in the
spirit of Chaos (1934) basic observation, I admit that this choice is not clear-cut:
[G]iven the sounds of a language, there are usually more than one possible way of
reducing them to a system of phonemes, and ... these different systems or
solutions are not simply correct or incorrect, but may be regarded only as being
good or bad for various purposes. (p. 363)
4.3 Distribution of labialization and palatalization
The distribution of labialization and palatalization with respect to preceding
consonants and following vowels was discussed in Section 4.1 above. Here, I discuss the
co-occurrence of more than one secondary articulation within a word.
There are cases in the worlds languages where both labialization and
palatalization occur in the same syllable. Ladefoged (1982: 211) gives evidence from Twi
(Niger-Congo, Ghana). Both secondary articulations occur in the name of the language,
resulting in the semi-vowel [q]. The name Twi, then, is pronounced [t

i]. In my corpus of
data, there are no cases of labialization and palatalization occurring on the same syllable.
There are three cases in my corpus of more than one syllable in a single word
containing a secondary articulation:

(8) a. kjakja kjakja kjakja kjakja small
b. ngwangwa ngwangwa ngwangwa ngwangwa gizzard
c. ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja November

In all three words, the two syllables containing the secondary articulation are
identical (except for the tones in 8b). Also, in 8a, the word may in fact be a case of
reduplication. There are no attested cases in my corpus in which both labialization and
palatalization occur in the same word. If further research reveals this gap to be a general
phenomenon in the language, that would be evidence that a secondary articulation has the
68

entire word as its domain, which would lend support to Robbins (1984) analysis of the
phenomena as prosodies. Further research on Mono is required concerning this issue.


69


CHAPTER 5
THE SYLLABLE

In this chapter, I discuss the syllable structure of Mono. There has been much
discussion in the literature on how best to define the syllable. Phonetic definitions, mostly
revolving around the notion of chest pulse (e.g. Pike 1947; Stetson 1951, cited in
Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996) have proved elusive. Rather, most linguists in both
structuralist and generative frameworks assume that the syllable is a phonological unit
within which segments are distributed (cf. Ladefoged & Maddieson, p. 281-2). In
discussing the syllable structure of Mono, my main goal is to identify the syllable
patterns found in the language. As we shall see, this bears on the phonemic analysis of
Chapter 2.
According to Pike (1947), classical phonemics assumes both phonetic and
phonological syllables, although with respect to his analytical procedure, it is the
phonological syllable which is crucial. In a given language, certain sequences of
segments can unambiguously be interpreted as belonging to a given syllable type. For
example, consider a hypothetical language which, in deference to Pike (p. 68), I will call
Kalaba. The words [ma], [bo], [su], and [sa] in Kalaba (p. 61) each unambiguously
consist of a single CV syllable. If this is the only unambiguous syllable pattern in the
language, then other syllables in the language should be interpreted in such a way as to fit
into this syllable type.
Some individual segments could be interpreted as being either a consonant or a
vowel. Suppose Kalaba contains the word [ia]. The high front segment [i] could
conceivably be interpreted as either a vowel, in which case the word would be transcribed
70

phonemically as ia, or as a semi-vowel, in which case the word would be transcribed
phonemically as ja. Only the latter case fits into the unambiguous CV pattern, and so ja
is the preferred interpretation.
In some cases a sound could be interpreted as a single segment or a sequence of
segments. Suppose Kalaba contains the word [t]a]. The alveopalatal affricate [t]] could
be interpreted as a sequence of two segments, [t] followed by []], in which case the word
would be transcribed phonemically as t]a t]a t]a t]a, or it could be interpreted as a single segment,
[c], in which case the word could be transcribed phonemically as ca ca ca ca. Only the latter case
fits into the unambiguous CV syllable pattern, so [t]] is interpreted as a single segment
rather than a sequence of segments in Kalaba.
The syllable thus plays the following role in phonemic analysis:

Language is assumed to have an abstract phonological unit called the syllable.

Based on our understanding of cross-linguistic behavior, certain sequences of
segments are assumed to comprise unambiguous syllable patterns in a given
language.

Sequences of segments which are cross-linguistically assumed to comprise
ambiguous syllable patterns are interpreted in such a way that they fit into the
unambiguous syllable patterns attested in a given language.

One issue which has not received much attention in the literature is whether or not
to take into consideration marginal data in putting forth an analysis of syllable structure.
That is, syllable patterns may (1) be rare, (2) only occur in loan words or ideophones, or
(3) have only a limited distribution within the word. I take these criteria into account in
considering whether or not to include a given syllable pattern in the inventory of Mono
syllable types.
71

5.1 Syllable types
In Mono, there are two unambiguous syllable patterns: CV and V. The CV
syllable type is generally considered to be a typological universal (Burquest 1998: 150),
1

perhaps because of the perceptual salience of the release portion of a consonant (Ohala &
Kawasaki 1984), so its presence in Mono is to be expected. The V syllable type has a
limited distribution, only occurring unambiguously in word-initial position in Mono.
However, word-initial onsetless syllables are cross-linguistically very common (Burquest
1998: 154), so its presence in Mono is also unproblematic. There are no cases of syllable-
final consonants in Mono.
Several ambiguous syllable types occur in Mono. These include CGV (G = glide,
or semi-vowel), CV
1
V
2
(where V
1
V
2
), CV:, and CLV (L = liquid).
The first ambiguous syllable type is CGV. This pattern is discussed in detail in
Chapter 4 with respect to labialization and palatalization. Distributional restrictions limit
the segments which precede and follow the semi-vowel in these syllables. Velar and
glottal consonants (k kk k, g gg g, ng ng ng ng, 1 11 1, and h hh h) may precede both semi-vowels (w and j), and in
rare cases m mm m, n nn n, and I II I precede j jj j. With a few exceptions discussed in Chapter 4, the semi-
vowels in this position always precede the vowel a. The fact that the semi-vowels co-
occur mostly with stop consonants and the low vowel a is not surprising. These
phonemes represent the extremes of the sonority hierarchy. As Goldsmith (1990: 111)
points out, [L]anguages may...require that the differences in sonority between adjacent
segments be greater than a certain amount. If a language allows only a radically reduced
set of three-segment syllables, it seems reasonable to expect that the initial and final
segments should be limited to those found at the extremes of the sonority hierarchy. One
possible explanation for the lack of labial and coronal stops in the onset of such syllables

1
See Breen & Pensalfini (1999) for a possible counter-example to this claim in the Australian
language Arrernte.
72

is suggested by Blevins (1995: 211) sonority hierarchy (for English) in which t has a
higher sonority than k.
2
On the other end of the scale, the lack of the low 5 55 5 in the nucleus
may be explained by the fact that 5 55 5 is usually considered to have an open-mid aperture in
phonetic descriptions, even though it patterns as a low vowel in Mono.
The presence of the CGV syllable type is not unusual. In many languages of the
world, the only case of consonant clusters involves CG sequences (Kenstowicz 1994: 42;
Bendor-Samuel 1962),
3
and Boyd (1995: 15) notes that this is true in Ubangian. In many
of the languages where this is the case, it is clearly advantageous to add this syllable type
to the inventory of syllable types in the language. As mentioned in Chapter 4, Pike (1947)
allows for this possibility. Burquest (1998: 159) cites the case of Senoufo where this is
clearly the preferred solution. Based on these reasons, and the discussion in Chapter 4, I
have added CGV to the inventory of syllable patterns in Mono.
The second ambiguous syllable type is CV
1
V
2
. A small number of words in Mono
contain two non-identical vowels in hiatus, e.g. boa boa boa boa priest (a complete list is given in
Chapter 4). These vowels could be analyzed as belonging either to the same syllable
(CVV) or to separate syllables (CV.V). The first option would require the addition of a
CVV syllable type to the Mono inventory. Both options would require increasing the
inventory of word shapes. However, these words are limited in number and are found
mostly in ideophones and loan words. Because of their marginal nature, I do not
incorporate them into the present analysis. This pattern is discussed in more detail in
Chapter 4.

2
Having said this, it appears, however, that Blevins has misread the figure in Ladefoged (1982)
from which she obtains this hierarchy. In the original chart (Figure 10.1, p. 222), t and k have equal
sonority.

3
According to Clements (1990) Sonority Dispersion Principle, OLV is the most optimal three-
member initial cluster, suggesting that that would be the first three-member cluster to appear in a language.
Empirical evidence suggests, however, that OGV is the first to appear.

73

Third, syllables containing phonetically long vowels (CV:) are attested in Mono,
e.g. minduu minduu minduu minduu five. These syllables always occur in conjunction with contour tones,
which are analyzed as sequences of non-identical level tones.
4
In Chapter 3, I give
evidence for considering length to be non-contrastive in Mono. As a result, I interpret
CV: syllables as variants of CV syllables and thus an additional syllable pattern does not
need to be posited for Mono to account for them.
Finally, the syllable type CLV (L = liquid) is an optional variant of the two-
syllable combination CV
1
LV
1
, in which the two vowels are identical in quality and in
tone. In careful speech, CV
1
LV
1
is produced, but in casual speech the first vowel is
shortened or it is completely elided. For example, the word ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait is also
pronounced ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa or ambIa ambIa ambIa ambIa. Words exhibiting this phenomenon include nouns (e.g.
gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru mortar), verbs (e.g. ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere to cut) and adjectives (e.g. a1jara a1jara a1jara a1jara small (pl.)).
Obstruents and semi-vowels are attested in the first position of the pattern, but liquids and
nasals are not. (The word maIuIu maIuIu maIuIu maIuIu cold weather is attested, but it is not clear that the first
u uu u can be elided in this case.) Example (1) shows the consonants which can occur in this
pattern. Note that if the first vowel is e or i, the second vowel is e ee e or i ii i, respectively.

(1) Sample words with CV
1
LV
1
pattern
a. Labial
b
p pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu bat
oporo oporo oporo oporo egg
b abaIa abaIa abaIa abaIa hello
jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu goat
mb ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait
mbiriIu mbiriIu mbiriIu mbiriIu pale color
I Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a soap
v javuru javuru javuru javuru rain
m
w angb5 buwiIi angb5 buwiIi angb5 buwiIi angb5 buwiIi type of banana
awara awara awara awara fierceness

4
See Section 3.1 for a discussion of optional exceptions to this.
74

b. Alveolar
d
t atara atara atara atara age-mate
d akidaIa akidaIa akidaIa akidaIa dusk
badoro badoro badoro badoro sweet potato
nd andoro andoro andoro andoro witchcraft
s kpasuru kpasuru kpasuru kpasuru slipperiness
z ke-zi-re ke-zi-re ke-zi-re ke-zi-re food
n
I maIuIu maIuIu maIuIu maIuIu cold weather
r
c. Palatal
t] t]ct]cre t]ct]cre t]ct]cre t]ct]cre insect
d uduru uduru uduru uduru waterfalls
nd ndarapanda ndarapanda ndarapanda ndarapanda ladder, scaffolding
] i]iri i]iri i]iri i]iri shadow
ooro ooro ooro ooro fat

j jaIawu jaIawu jaIawu jaIawu grinding stone
cjcre cjcre cjcre cjcre yellow
d. Velar
k d5k5I5ngba d5k5I5ngba d5k5I5ngba d5k5I5ngba scorpion
okoro okoro okoro okoro chest, torso
g bagara bagara bagara bagara cow
ng angaIa angaIa angaIa angaIa ladder
angara angara angara angara single person
e. Labial-velar
kp akpaIa o]o akpaIa o]o akpaIa o]o akpaIa o]o platform
kparaka kparaka kparaka kparaka July
gb t]agboIo t]agboIo t]agboIo t]agboIo smallness
agbara agbara agbara agbara comb
ngb kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi plank
ungburu ungburu ungburu ungburu old
w ke-wu-re ke-wu-re ke-wu-re ke-wu-re vision
f. Glottal
1 c1cIc c1cIc c1cIc c1cIc grudge holding
i1iri i1iri i1iri i1iri name
h ahara ahara ahara ahara dry
g. With labialization or palatalization
kw akwara akwara akwara akwara arrowhead
1j a1jara a1jara a1jara a1jara small (pl.)

If CV
1
LV
1
comprises the entire word, then elision of the first vowel is not
attested. For example, doro doro doro doro partridge is attested, but *dro dro dro dro is ill-formed. This is due to a
75

word minimality condition preventing monosyllabic lexical words, which is discussed in
Chapter 6.
The presence of the CV
1
LV
1
pattern may have a diachronic explanation. It is
conceivable that Mono had at one time an unambiguous CLV pattern which was
subsequently expanded to CV
1
LV
1
. This would explain the large number of words which
exhibit this pattern. Future comparative work is needed to support this hypothesis.
To account for these patterns in a synchronic analysis, we could posit a /CLV/
underlying form and introduce a rule of vowel epenthesis to break up the CL sequence.
This rule can be formalized as follows:

(2) Vowel epenthesis
V
1
/ C__LV
1


In Section 6.1, we will see that the interaction vowel epenthesis with the word
minimality condition lends additional support to this type of analysis.
This type of syllable patterning is not unique to Mono. Welmers (1973: 26ff)
notes that the orthography of Ewe recognizes CLV syllable shapes, e.g. IIc IIc IIc IIcbuy and
agbIc agbIc agbIc agbIcfarm, but that tonal evidence indicates there may be a vowel between the C and
L. For example, in taI Iatsc taI Iatsc taI Iatsc taI Iatscexcuse me, there is a High tone at the release of the I II I
which is distinct from the preceding and following tones. He suggests that the tone
bearing segment be interpreted as i ii i before unrounded vowels and u uu u before rounded
vowels, yielding taIiIatsc taIiIatsc taIiIatsc taIiIatsc in the above example. Like Mono, the quality of the vowel
between C and L is predictable from the following vowel.
Goldsmith (1990: 134) points out a mirror image case in Selayarese in which a
phonological word ends in I II I, r rr r, or s ss s underlyingly. Here, a vowel is epenthesized word-
finally which is a copy of the preceding vowel. Thus, /kataI/ itch becomes kataIa kataIa kataIa kataIa, and
/no1nos/ shake liquid becomes no1noso no1noso no1noso no1noso. The fact that the final vowel is predictable
from the preceding vowel is evidence that it is indeed epenthetic. Additional evidence for
76

this is that these words bear stress on the antepenultimate syllable, rather than on the
penultimate syllable, which is the normal case in the language.

77


CHAPTER 6
WORD SHAPES

In this chapter, I examine the acceptable shapes of words in Mono. Some authors,
such as Hockett (1958: 284ff), refer to these as canonical forms. The shape of a word is
dependent on at least three parameters: (1) whether it is a lexical word or a grammatical
function word, (2) the specific grammatical category of the word, and (3) whether a word
is spoken in isolation or produced in the context of a sentence. I will take all three of
these parameters into consideration in discussing word shapes.
Lexical words are also referred to as content words or contentives. These include
words within the major grammatical categories of a language, usually taken to be nouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They comprise an open class of words. Grammatical
function words are also referred to as grammatical words, function words, or functors.
These include conjunctions, prepositions, and pronouns.
1
They comprise a closed class of
words. This distinction is important with respect to at least one typological observation.
McCarthy & Prince (1995) note that in a large number of the worlds languages, lexical
words must be at least bimoraic or disyllabic, depending on the language. Following
Goldsmith (1995), I will refer to this as a minimality condition (MC).
2
MCs do not appear
to be limited to a specific language family or geographic region. Kenstowicz (1994:
640ff) discusses examples from a diverse group of languages, including English, Yidin
y
,

1
Hockett (1958: 264) includes substitutes (e.g. N pronouns, V do, Adv so), markers,
inflectional affixes, and derivational affixes in the class of functors. Since not all of these morphemes
constitute words, he avoids the term word.

2
McCarthy & Prince claim that word minimality is derivable from two other notions: the Prosodic
Hierarchy and Foot Binarity. Thus there is no Minimal Word Constraint in their model.
78

Arabic, Japanese, Lardil, Estonian, and Choctaw. Hockett (1958: 284) makes similar
observations for Fijian. As we will see, this phenomenon is also operative in Mono.
The attested word shapes may vary depending on the grammatical category of the
word. I will examine each major grammatical category in Mono separately. Also, Hockett
(1958) points out that shorter words are more common than longer words, taking the MC
into account.
The MC is most evident in words spoken in isolation, also referred to as citation
forms. The restriction may be lifted when words are spoken in certain contexts within a
sentence.
In this chapter, I discuss the word shapes attested in each major grammatical
category of Mono. In addition, I discuss the shapes of grammatical function words and
particles.
6.1 Nominal word shapes
In this section, I discuss the word shapes of Mono nouns. Adjectives and
pronouns show similar behavior with respect to word shapes, and so they will be
discussed here as well.
The following word shapes are attested for nouns spoken in isolation in Mono:

(1) Attested word shapes of Mono nouns
VCV aba aba aba aba father
CVCV Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu pot
VCVCV oIoro oIoro oIoro oIoro grass
CVCVCV bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 tortoise
VCVCVCV aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 hail
CVCVCVCV maIcgbanga maIcgbanga maIcgbanga maIcgbanga ladle

As noted in Chapter 5, onsetless syllables are only found unambiguously in word-
initial position. The shorter forms (VCV, CVCV, VCVCV) are much more frequently
than the longer forms, both in the lexicon and in texts, which is consistent with Hocketts
(1958: 284-5) observations for Fijian and English.
79

Noun compounding is a very common process in Mono. Many nouns in my
corpus which have two or more syllables are compounds, and it is likely that additional
nouns listed in Appendix B as monomorphemic will turn out to be multimorphemic given
further research. This would provide additional evidence that most Mono nouns are of the
shorter forms mentioned above.
Mono lacks monosyllabic nouns, i.e. ones with a V or CV word pattern. It thus
appears that there is a MC in Mono preventing nouns of less than two syllables.
3
Hockett
(1958: 288-9) suggests that a similar MC in Fijian is due to the limited inventory of Cs
and Vs in that language. However, that explanation is not possible for Mono, which has a
robust inventory of both Cs and Vs.
The following evidence lends additional support for a MC on Mono nouns. First,
Mono contains a rather large number of nouns with a V
1
CV
1
word pattern in which both
Vs are identical in quality and in tone in careful speech (2):
4


(2) Sample V
1
CV
1
nouns in Mono
a. ei ei ei ei ~ ii ii ii ii ~ ii ii ii ii tooth
b. edi edi edi edi ~ idi idi idi idi horn
c. engu engu engu engu ~ ingu ingu ingu ingu ~ ungu ungu ungu ungu water
d. ebc ebc ebc ebc ~ cbc cbc cbc cbc liver
e. ere ere ere ere thing
f. ego ego ego ego ~ ogo ogo ogo ogo hunger
g. ama ama ama ama mouth
h. aI5 aI5 aI5 aI5 ~ 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 sun

The value of the first vowel in each word is predictable given the value of the
second vowel, as discussed below. Since Mono lacks surface monosyllabic nouns, we can
posit an abstract underlying form which does not include the initial vowel of the word:


3
There are two nouns, which could be considered to be bimoraic: bo$a# bo$a# bo$a# bo$a# priest and a@o# a@o# a@o# a@o# cat (loan
from Lingala), but in Section 3.2 I argue that these forms are marginal to the phonological system.

4
Cloarec-Heiss (1978: 21) notes that this group of nouns contains a large proportion of words for
body parts, elements, and instruments. However, this cannot be construed as a semantic class, as nouns
from many other semantic domains are attested here as well.
80

(3) Underlying forms of sample V
1
CV
1
nouns in Mono
/i i i i/ tooth
/di di di di/ horn
/ngu ngu ngu ngu/ water
/bc bc bc bc/ liver
/re re re re/ thing
/go go go go/ hunger
/ma ma ma ma/ mouth
/I5 I5 I5 I5/ sun

A process of subminimal root augmentation (SRA) then inserts a vowel at the
beginning of the word. If the root vowel is [+low], then a aa a is inserted. If the root vowel is
[low], then the inserted vowel is e ee e. The rest of the forms in (2) can be derived by the
assimilation of the qualities of the root vowel to the inserted vowel, a process which I
refer to as leftward vowel spreading. In terms of distinctive features, the inserted vowel in
the second column of (2) acquires its value of the feature [high] from the root vowel.
Then, the inserted vowels in the third column acquire their values of the features [round]
and [back] from the root vowel (in addition to the feature [high]). Interestingly, there is
an implicational relationship here. The features [round] and [back] only assimilate if the
feature [high] has assimilated. As a result the forms *ci ci ci ci tooth and *ongu ongu ongu ongu water are
not attested. Thus, the forms in (2) can be derived from those in (3) via SRA and leftward
vowel spreading. This analysis accounts for the large number of V
1
CV
1
nouns in Mono,
as well as the distributional gap in our inventory of nominal word shapes in (1).
A question which arises is whether subminimal root augmentation should be
thought of as simple vowel epenthesis or as reduplication. Most of the features of the
inserted vowel can be attributed to the optional process of leftward vowel spreading.
However, the agreement of the feature [low] in the inserted vowel with the root is
obligatory. In addition, this agreement ignores an intervening secondary articulation (e.g.
akwa akwa akwa akwa work), but as we will see in Chapter 7, secondary articulations normally do
participate in leftward vowel spreading. As a result, I suggest that the inserted vowel
81

should be thought of as a reduplicated V, bearing the specification of the feature [low] of
the root, and underspecified for other place features. Then, leftward vowel spreading can
be formalized as in (4), with the restriction that if 4b or 4c apply, then 4a must also apply
if it can.

(4) Leftward vowel spreading (feature geometric formalism)

a. Dorsal Dorsal b. Dorsal Dorsal c. Labial Labial
C C C
[+high] [back] [+round]

Leftward vowel spreading also occurs across morpheme and clitic boundaries.
This will be discussed in Section 7.2.1.
In the related language Langbasi (Moino 1988), the corresponding subminimal
root augmentation process is clearly reduplicative. Roots cognate with those discussed
above for Mono undergo reduplication to satisfy the MC.

(5) Subminimal root augmentation in Langbasi
ii ii ii ii tooth
du du du du du du du du horn
ngungu ngungu ngungu ngungu water
nene nene nene nene thing
gogo gogo gogo gogo hunger
mama mama mama mama mouth
IoIo IoIo IoIo IoIo sun

Kamanda (1998: 257-8) lists eleven nominals in Mono which he considers to have
a CV word shape. If true, this would be evidence against the MC for nouns. However,
none of these forms is solid evidence for a nominal CV word shape, and in fact some of
his examples support the MC analysis. Two of the words he lists, be be be be 2SG and jc jc jc jc 3SG
are pronouns given in their clitic form rather than their citation form. Their citation forms
are ebe ebe ebe ebe and c]c c]c c]c c]c, respectively, which obey the MC. Three of the words, se se se se existence, te te te te
body, and nde nde nde nde place (his glosses), are given in their prepositional form. When used as
nouns, they are expanded to two syllables via SRA, yielding ese ese ese ese, ete ete ete ete, and ende ende ende ende. Three of
82

the words, 1i 1i 1i 1i far, kpi kpi kpi kpi different, Ia Ia Ia Ia above half, are part of a category which Kamanda
calls quasi-nominal. These forms are traditionally interpreted as adverbs rather than
nouns. Two of the words, nda nda nda nda pointed and ndo ndo ndo ndo short, are adjectives which are
bisyllabic in their citation form (anda anda anda anda and ondo ondo ondo ondo). Finally, one word pa pa pa pa above, is in fact
a preposition.
In the related language Linda, Cloarec-Heiss (1986: 126) considers the first vowel
of V
1
CV
1
words to be a derivational prefix. However, I argue against interpreting it as a
prefix in Mono for the following reasons. First, not all of the forms are derived from
other grammatical categories. For example, the word o1o o1o o1o o1o word is not derived from a
verb. Second, considering the first vowel a prefix does not explain why the process only
occurs with monosyllabic verb roots. The purely phonological account explains the cases
in which the process occurs. I say more on this in Section 7.1.1.
A second factor which lends support to the notion of a MC on Mono nouns is that
there are cases where the unaugmented forms in (3) above actually surface in the context
of a sentence or phrase. For example, in a noun phrase where a V
1
CV
1
noun follows an
adjective, the noun optionally surfaces as CV:

(6) ada ada ada ada 1o 1o 1o 1o
true word
Thats right.

In verbs where the object has been grammaticalized, the object surfaces as CV:

(7) a. ke-pa ke-pa ke-pa ke-pa 1o 1o 1o 1o
INF-say word
to speak
b. ke-wu ke-wu ke-wu ke-wu se se se se
INF-see place
to understand

Third, when underlyingly monosyllabic nouns are compounded, the resulting
word is bisyllablic. The minimality condition is satisfied, and as a result SRA does not
83

apply. For example, /ma ma ma ma/ mouth + /nda nda nda nda/ house manda manda manda manda door (*amaanda amaanda amaanda amaanda). In
words with a VCV pattern where the two vowels are distinct, this reduction is not
observed in compounding, e.g. /aji aji aji aji/ person + /obo obo obo obo/ flesh ajibo ajibo ajibo ajibo relative.
One additional comment regarding SRA is in order. There is one case where SRA
appears to overapply. Nouns which contain a CV
1
LV
1
pattern usually have the word
shape V
1
CV
1
LV
1
rather than CV
1
LV
1
. Thus, the word for bridge is agbara agbara agbara agbara, not *gbara gbara gbara gbara.
Since the form *gbara gbara gbara gbara is bisyllabic, it should satisfy the word minimality condition.
However, the trisyllabic form is the one that is attested rather than the bisyllabic form.
We can account for this pattern by appealing to a suggestion made in Chapter 5 that the
underlying form of such words is /CLV/. Thus the underlying form of agbara agbara agbara agbara would be
/gbra/. In a rule-based account, the ordering of SRA before vowel epenthesis (example 2
in Chapter 5) would lead to the correct output form:

(8) UR /gbra/
SRA agbra
V-epenthesis agbara
SR [agbara]

Descriptive adjectives. Descriptive adjectives in Mono pattern like nouns with
respect to word shapes. Criteria for defining this category will be discussed in Section
7.1.1. Adjectives spoken in isolation have the same word shapes as nouns:

(9) Word shapes of Mono adjectives
VCV 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 good
CVCV taIo taIo taIo taIo new
VCVCV cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre big
CVCVCV dakata dakata dakata dakata true
kpahuru kpahuru kpahuru kpahuru large, massive (Kamanda 1998: 683)
VCVCVCV
CVCVCVCV kporokoto kporokoto kporokoto kporokoto black

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The adjective kjakja kjakja kjakja kjakja small is attested. This could be considered a case of
reduplication, but since it is always realized as bisyllabic, it cannot lend support to a CV
word pattern for adjectives.
There are a large percentage of adjectives which are of the V
1
CV
1
shape:

(10) Sample V
1
CV
1
adjectives in Mono
ekpi ekpi ekpi ekpi ~ ikpi ikpi ikpi ikpi ~ ikpi ikpi ikpi ikpi tart
eIi eIi eIi eIi ~ iIi iIi iIi iIi heavy (Kamanda 1998: 671)
ebu ebu ebu ebu ~ ibu ibu ibu ibu ~ ubu ubu ubu ubu black
ekpc ekpc ekpc ekpc ~ ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc bad

endo endo endo endo ~ ondo ondo ondo ondo short
ada ada ada ada true
at]5 at]5 at]5 at]5 ~ 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 good

Many of these derive from the same base as a verbal form. For example, uIu uIu uIu uIu
smelly and ke ke ke ke-Iu -Iu -Iu -Iu to be smelly, to rot come from the same root /Iu Iu Iu Iu/. This phenomenon
will be discussed in detail in Section 7.1.1.
Other nouns. Kinship terms, body parts, and plant and animal names are
subcategories of nouns which often exhibit novel phonological behavior. With respect to
word shapes, the only group which appears to have unique behavior are the kinship
terms. While all of the word shapes in (1) above are attested for kinship terms, well over
half of the kinship terms begin with a vowel, most with the vowel a. Despite this, only
three kinship terms, aja aja aja aja brother, ingi ingi ingi ingi younger sibling, and 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 older sibling exhibit
a V
1
CV
1
word pattern, statistically much less than found amongst other Mono nouns.
Pronouns. Strictly speaking, pronouns are not a subcategory of the major
grammatical category of nouns. Rather, they are usually considered to be a type of
grammatical function word. However, pronouns in Mono exhibit similarities in behavior
to nouns with respect to word shapes, and so they will be discussed here.
Table 6.1 shows the forms of the pronouns in citation form, in subject position of
a clause, in object position in a clause, and in an associative noun phrase:
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Table 6.1: Mono pronouns.
citation form subject object associative
1SG eme eme eme eme me me me me me me me me me me me me
2SG ebe ebe ebe ebe be be be be be be be be ze ze ze ze
3SG.AN c]c c]c c]c c]c t]e t]e t]e t]e ]c ]c ]c ]c jc jc jc jc
3SG.INAN e e e e or etene etene etene etene tene tene tene tene or ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne
1PL.EXCL a1a a1a a1a a1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a
1PL.INCL aze aze aze aze 1a 1a 1a 1a aze aze aze aze 1a/aze 1a/aze 1a/aze 1a/aze
2PL c1c c1c c1c c1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c 1c
3PL cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc cndc

The citation form of each pronoun is an augmented version of the object pronoun
form, following the rules of SRA discussed above. Since aze aze aze aze 1PL.INCL and cndc cndc cndc cndc 3PL
are already bisyllabic in their reduced form, augmentation of these forms does not take
place.
The reduced forms of the Mono pronouns are the default forms used in Mono
discourse, in contrast to nouns where the augmented form is the default. The citation
form of the pronouns is employed in a limited set of constructions in addition to isolation.
These include predicate nominal constructions, both proper inclusion (11a) and equative
(11b) clauses, cleft sentences (11c), and appositional noun phrases (11d) and (11e):

(11) Constructions in which the citation form of pronouns is employed
a. ebe ebe ebe ebe kede kede kede kede mono mono mono mono
2SG COP Mono
You are a Mono.
b. c]c c]c c]c c]c de-de de-de de-de de-de aba aba aba aba me me me me ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3SG RED-COP father 1SG NEG
He is not my father.
c. eme eme eme eme da da da da se se se se ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi it]i it]i it]i it]i
1SG CLEFT be INF-hit song
Im the one that sang the song.
d. aze aze aze aze de de de de me, me, me, me, 1a 1a 1a 1a se se se se de de de de 1o 1o 1o 1o
1PL.INCL with 1SG 1PL.INCL be with word
You and me, we have a problem.
e. eme, eme, eme, eme, me me me me se se se se ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie gusu gusu gusu gusu
1SG 1SG:FUT be:FUT at-in bush
And me, Ill be in the bush.

86

One question which arises is whether the glottal stop in the words a1a a1a a1a a1a 1PL.EXCL,
c1c c1c c1c c1c 2PL and o1o o1o o1o o1o word is epenthetic. As we will see in the next section, there is some
evidence that a root-initial glottal stop in Mono verbs is epenthetic, and perhaps such an
analysis is appropriate for these nominal forms as well. The advantage to such an analysis
would be the existence of an underlying /V/ word shape for nouns, which is otherwise
unattested. I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this in Section 2.1.4. Note,
however, that the number of lexical items at issue here is limited to three.
There is one additional form in Mono which appears to undergo SRA. This
concerns the interrogative pronoun cdc cdc cdc cdc who. This word is formally similar to the
interrogative pronoun gadc gadc gadc gadc what. One possible analysis of this latter word is that it
contains the prefix ga- ga- ga- ga- towards, although the meaning of the prefix is bleached, and the
root /dc dc dc dc/. If this is the case, then the form meaning who could be considered to consist
of the same root having undergone SRA.
6.2 Verbal word shapes
Verbs in Mono take the infinitive prefix ke- ke- ke- ke- (H tone on prefix, L tone on vowels
of the root) when spoken in isolation. Consequently, all of the attested verbal word
patterns begin with a consonant:

(12) Word shapes of Mono verbs
CVCV ke-1i ke-1i ke-1i ke-1i to attach, bind
ke-gu ke-gu ke-gu ke-gu to return
CVCVCV ke-1oma ke-1oma ke-1oma ke-1oma to boil over
ke-daka ke-daka ke-daka ke-daka to borrow
CVCVCVCV ke-pagata ke-pagata ke-pagata ke-pagata to forbid

Note, however, that there is no contrast between the presence or absence of 1 11 1 in
the initial position of the root. It is conceivable that roots beginning with 1 1 1 1 could be
interpreted as having an initial vowel, and that 1 1 1 1 is epenthesized by rule. Such an
interpretation would give us both C-initial and V-initial verb root patterns, more in line
87

with the pattern for nouns. However, I have found no independent evidence that the
glottal stop in these positions is inserted.
Because of the presence of the infinitive prefix, verbal citation forms are at a
minimum bisyllabic. As a result, the MC is met for verbs and thus SRA does not apply.
As with nouns, the shorter verbal word shapes are the most widely attested. The
majority of Mono verb roots consist of (a) a single syllable, or (b) two syllables in which
the second syllable contains a liquid followed by a vowel identical to the vowel in the
first syllable:

(13) Mono bisyllabic CV
1
LV
1
verb roots
gcre gcre gcre gcre grow
kere kere kere kere quarrel
biIi biIi biIi biIi incite
Iara Iara Iara Iara deceive
g5r5 g5r5 g5r5 g5r5 drive away, chase
guru guru guru guru fade
ndoro ndoro ndoro ndoro suck
mbere mbere mbere mbere do

When both tones of the verb root are Low, the first vowel is optionally shortened
or elided. Thus, ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere ~ ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere ~ ke-mbre ke-mbre ke-mbre ke-mbre to do. However, in forms where the
two vowels have different tones, the reduction is not possible. For example,
mbere mbere mbere mbere do:NF cannot be reduced.
6.3 Adverbial word shapes
Documenting the word shapes of Mono adverbs is problematic, for a couple of
reasons. First, as Payne (1997: 69) points out, the category adverb is often treated as a
catch-all category, including words which cannot easily be categorized as nouns, verbs
or adjectives. Often the category adverb includes words referring to manner, time, and
location. Second, Mono contains a large number of ideophones
5
(Welmers 1973, Childs

5
Ideophones are sometimes referred to as expressives (see, e.g., Diffloth 1994). In the Africanist
literature, however, the term ideophone is more current.
88

1994, Elders 2000), most of which fit grammatically into the class of adverbs.
Ideophones are noted for having exceptional phonological behavior, and thus are not
good evidence for the general patternings of the language. A brief excursus on their
behavior is in order. This excursus is based predominantly on Childs (1994).
The ideophone is a form of sound symbolism found in a large number of African
languages, as well as other parts of the world. It involves a non-arbitrary mating of sound
and meaning. The term can be traced to Doke (1935) who defined the ideophone as A
vivid representation of an idea in sound. A word, often onomatopoetic, which describes a
predicate, qualificative or adverb in respect to manner, colour, smell, action, state, or
intensity. (p. 118)
Ideophones can express several different types of notions. The most well-known
examples are onomatopoetic terms in which a word imitates a sound in nature, but this
can be metaphorically extended to the other human senses (sight, smell, taste, and touch),
for which the term synesthesia can be employed. Ideophones can express lengthening
or repetition of an action or state (iconic lengthening). In addition, phonesthemes are
generally considered to be ideophonic as well.
Doke considered the ideophone to be a grammatical category in Bantu, distinct
from nouns, verbs, etc. However, Childs notes that they ordinarily make up a subset of
one or two already established classes in a given language. It is usually more accurate to
refer to ideophonic nouns, ideophonic verbs, etc. In the majority of cases, ideophones
function syntactically as adverbs.
Several features are used to identify ideophones, but there is no single feature
which is criterial. As a result, Childs states, It is thus best to think of ideophones as a
prototype category with a core of good members. The full set of ideophones also contains
less optimal members radiating outward from this core type and becoming less and less
ideophone-like (p. 181).
89

Ideophones often have unusual phonological features, such as overly short or long
duration, segments which are not a part of the regular phonemic inventory, and sequences
of segments which violate phonotactic constraints. They may have unusual
morphological features, most notably the repetition of a word. Syntactically, they are
often set apart from the rest of the sentence. Pragmatically, they are often only found in
declarative sentences and certain types of discourse.
Several of these features may be found in Mono ideophones. This includes
aberrant syllable patterns; for example the word hao hao hao hao brightly has a CVV syllable
pattern. There are unusual co-occurrence patterns; for example, the word hwija hwija hwija hwija hot
contains a high vowel following a secondary articulation. There are unusual phonemes;
for example, Mono ideophones have a disproportionately large number of occurrences of
the labial flap, as in the word wcgc wcgc wcgc wcgc hot. There are unusual tonal patterns, such as the
rising contour tone in the word kpoo kpoo kpoo kpoo near. Finally, ideophones are often repeated, as in
the expression in (14). The entire word is repeated rather than just the first syllable,
which is the case for verb reduplication (see Chapter 7).

(14) 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 t5 t5 t5 t5 wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc
sun pound:NF RED-hot
It is hot.

This having been said, the following word shapes are attested for Mono adverbs:

(15) Word shapes of Mono adverbs
CV ndc ndc ndc ndc also
kpi kpi kpi kpi different
gbo gbo gbo gbo sound of a drum (ideophone)
CVV hao hao hao hao brightly (ideophone)
CVVV haao haao haao haao empty-handed (ideophone)
VCV ata ata ata ata thus
CVCV kat]a kat]a kat]a kat]a quickly
haga haga haga haga hard (ideophone)
kpaha kpaha kpaha kpaha wide open (ideophone)
VCVCV
CVCVCV pingiwi pingiwi pingiwi pingiwi suddenly (ideophone)
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In my corpus of data, adverbs beginning with a vowel are dispreferred. However,
Kamanda (1998) includes several vowel-initial adverbs in his word list: ada-5I5 ada-5I5 ada-5I5 ada-5I5 east,
adiIa adiIa adiIa adiIa ~ diIa diIa diIa diIa evening, agbu agbu agbu agbu onomatopoeia, imitation of the noise of the fall of a heavy
object, agburu agburu agburu agburu ~ gburu gburu gburu gburu of one bound, akida akida akida akida ~ akidaIa akidaIa akidaIa akidaIa ~ kidaIa kidaIa kidaIa kidaIa evening, aIa-Io aIa-Io aIa-Io aIa-Io
standing, ama-zi ama-zi ama-zi ama-zi morning, angbangi angbangi angbangi angbangi ~ ngba ngba ngba ngbangi ngi ngi ngi brusquely, ara ara ara ara energetically, ata ata ata ata
in this way, ata-kc ata-kc ata-kc ata-kc in this way, cara-cara cara-cara cara-cara cara-cara in small pieces, indiri indiri indiri indiri near to, next to,
oara oara oara oara all, 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 reluctantly, 5I5-gadc 5I5-gadc 5I5-gadc 5I5-gadc ~ ba-5I5-gadc ba-5I5-gadc ba-5I5-gadc ba-5I5-gadc when, ucu ucu ucu ucu before, in front of,
early, ukuru ukuru ukuru ukuru middle, between (his glosses). More research is needed to resolve this
discrepancy.
It is not clear that the word minimality condition observed in nouns and verbs
holds for adverbs. Several adverbs with CV word shapes are attested in my corpus. More
research is necessary on this point.
6.4 Grammatical-function-word word shapes
As expected, Mono function words are not subject to the MC found in the major
grammatical categories. Word shapes that are attested are given in (16):

(16) Grammatical-function-word word shapes
V e e e e same subject pronoun
a a a a question marker
CV ne ne ne ne DET
da da da da CLEFT
ne ne ne ne of
VCV ede ede ede ede and
ase ase ase ase this
CVCV bata bata bata bata since, like
VCVCV adc-kc adc-kc adc-kc adc-kc that

91


CHAPTER 7
MORPHOLOGY

Morphology in Mono is manifested on nouns, verbs, prepositions, and a handful
of particles. Nominal morphology involves a plural prefix on animate nouns. Verbal
morphology includes (1) prefixes marking the infinitive, condition, and repetition; (2)
reduplication marking negation and some tense, aspect, and mood categories; and (3)
tonal morphemes which mark tense, aspect, and mood. Prepositional morphology
includes prefixes which mark precisions in location. I examine the morphological
behavior of nouns in Section 7.1.1, verbs in Section 7.1.2, prepositions in 7.1.3, and other
particles in Section 7.1.4. In addition, I discuss noun compounding and derivational
processes in Section 7.1.1.
Some phonological processes in Mono (such as vowel hiatus and glide formation)
become evident only when we look across morpheme or word boundaries. Other
processes which are known to apply within a morpheme are also applicable across
morpheme or word boundaries. In Section 7.2, I discuss phonological processes
exhibiting these types of behavior.
Morphological typology has been a topic of discussion in linguistics since at least
the early part of the nineteenth century. Recently Comrie (1989: 46ff) offered a revision
of the traditional typology, in which he categorizes languages along two continuathe
index of synthesis and the index of fusion.
According to Comrie, the index of synthesis classifies languages according to the
number of morphemes a word can contain. Languages in which a word typically contains
only one morpheme are termed isolating, whereas languages in which a word typically
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contains several morphemes are termed polysynthetic. In Mono, most words are
monomorphemic, and most multimorphemic words contain only two morphemes. For
example, in the first text in Appendix A, the first ten sentences have 51 monomorphemic
words, 18 bimorphemic words, and 2 trimorphemic words. As a result, Mono is more
isolating than it is polysynthetic. Mono verbs may have up to four morphemes, but this is
quite rare. For example, the verb in (1) contains four morphemes, the root na na na na go, the
conditional marker ke- ke- ke- ke-, the prefixal reduplicant na na na na marking negation, and a High tone
marking non-future.

(1) t]e t]e t]e t]e ke-na-na ke-na-na ke-na-na ke-na-na ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc...
3SG COND-RED-go:NF NEG
If he/she doesnt go...

The index of fusion classifies languages according to whether morphemes contain
a single component of meaning or multiple components. Languages in which a given
grammatical morpheme typically has a single component of meaning are termed
agglutinative, whereas languages in which a given grammatical morpheme may subsume
multiple meanings are termed fusional. On this continuum, Mono is closer to the
agglutinative end, since the grammatical morphemes of Mono have single components of
meaning.
Another typological parameter worth considering is the type of morphological
processes most common in the language (Payne 1997: 30). These can be prefixation,
suffixation, infixation, stem modification, reduplication, or suprasegmental modification.
Mono is predominantly a prefixing language, but reduplication and suprasegmental
modification are also attested.
7.1 Grammatical categories
In this section, I present the morphological processes observed for nouns, verbs,
prepositions, and some particles in Mono. This will necessarily involve discussing the
93

structural properties of these categories. However, I will not discuss distributional (i.e.
syntactic) arguments for the existence of the various grammatical classes. My primary
purpose in examining the morphology of Mono is to inform the phonology, and for this
purpose the structural properties of the grammatical classes are more fruitful than the
distributional properties. For those interested, a treatment of the syntax of Mono can be
found in Kamanda (1998). In addition, Cloarec-Heisss (1986) analysis of the related
language Linda is also beneficial for understanding the structure of Mono syntax.
7.1.1 Nominal morphology
Animate vs. inanimate nouns. One of the prototypical characteristics of Niger-
Congo languages is a robust noun class system, such as the one found in Bantu. In the
Ubangian languages, however, the only subgroup that shows a clear relationship to the
Niger-Congo noun class system is Mba. The rest of Ubangian has what Greenberg (1970:
12) calls uncertain survivals of the Niger-Congo system of affixes. The evidence for
this is so weak, however, that Boyd (1989: 205) has stated that there is little evidence of
the prior existence of noun class systems in Ubangian. As we will see, the one noun
class found in Mono appears to have its source in a more general process and is likely not
traceable to the Niger-Congo noun class system.
Nouns in Mono may be classified into two subgroups, based on whether or not
they accept the plural prefix a a a a- PL. Nouns which accept the plural prefix include those
which refer to animals and those which represent people, including kinship terms. I refer
to this category as animate nouns. Examples are given in (2). If the noun is monosyllabic
underlyingly (either /CV/ or /CLV/, see discussion in Section 6.1), a a a a- is prefixed to the
root (2d-e). Since the resulting form satisfies the word minimality condition, subminimal
root augmentation does not apply (whereas in the singular it does). Some proper names
take the plural prefix as well (2f-g).

94

(2) Sample animate nouns
a. gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo child agboIo agboIo agboIo agboIo children
b. bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 turtle abakong5 abakong5 abakong5 abakong5 turtles
c. cja cja cja cja firstborn acja acja acja acja firstborns (Kamanda 1998: 323)
d. uzu uzu uzu uzu person azu azu azu azu people
e. c c c cc c c c caterpillar ac ac ac ac caterpillars
f. biIi biIi biIi biIi Bili (town name) abiIi abiIi abiIi abiIi Bili-ites
g. mono mono mono mono Mono person amono amono amono amono Mono people

Inanimate nouns do not take the plural prefix. This category includes those words
which are considered prototypical nouns (Givn 1984: 51), such as rock, tree,
mountain, and house. It also includes plant names and body parts (3):

(3) Sample inanimate nouns
a. bada bada bada bada rock bada bada bada bada rocks
b. 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 tree 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 trees
c. kaga kaga kaga kaga mountain kaga kaga kaga kaga mountains
d. anda anda anda anda house anda anda anda anda houses
e. ngima ngima ngima ngima palm nut ngima ngima ngima ngima palm nuts
f. kane kane kane kane hand kane kane kane kane hands

If an animate noun has the vowel a aa a in word-initial position, then the plural prefix
may optionally take the form aI aI aI aI-. All the cases in my corpus of this behavior are with
kinship terms (4):

(4) Sample animate nouns which take a a a a- ~ aI aI aI aI- PL
a. aba aba aba aba father aaba aaba aaba aaba ~ aIaba aIaba aIaba aIaba fathers
b. a1u a1u a1u a1u uncle aa1u aa1u aa1u aa1u ~ aIa1u aIa1u aIa1u aIa1u uncles
c. aja aja aja aja brother aaja aaja aaja aaja ~ aIaja aIaja aIaja aIaja brothers
d. ata ata ata ata grandparent/grandchild aata aata aata aata ~ aIata aIata aIata aIata grandparents/grandchildren

The phonetically long vowel with a level tone which results from the
concatenation of the plural prefix to the forms in 4a and 4b is not attested
tautomorphemically and thus appears to be dispreferred by the grammar. The insertion of
the I II I in such cases serves to break up this structure into more acceptable syllable patterns.
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The I II I is also inserted to break up a rising tone in 4c and 4d, a structure which is rare in
tautomorphemic environments and thus also dispreferred.
1

Certain noun modifiers may also take the plural prefix. Descriptive adjectives take
the prefix when they modify animate nouns. For example, in the noun phrase
a-gboro a-gja a-gboro a-gja a-gboro a-gja a-gboro a-gja large animals, the adjective takes the plural prefix in modifying the
animate noun, but in the noun phrase ogboro ja]i ogboro ja]i ogboro ja]i ogboro ja]i large cups, the same adjective is in its
default form since the noun is inanimate. Cloarec-Heiss (p. 50) notes that in Linda, an
ordinal number may also take a plural prefix, as in (5). This is likely the case in Mono as
well, but I could not verify this with my corpus of data.

(5) Ordinal number with plural prefix in Linda (Cloarec-Heiss, p. 50)
a-bi]i a-bi]i a-bi]i a-bi]i ne ne ne ne kpc kpc kpc kpc
PL-two DET flee:NF
The second ones fled.

Besides the plural prefix a- a- a- a-, there are several lexical means for marking plural.
First, different verbs forms may be employed depending on whether a certain argument is
singular or plural. For example, the verb za za za za give is employed if the direct object is
singular whereas the verb ko ko ko ko give is employed if the direct object is plural:

(6) Lexical marking of plural in verbs: ko ko ko ko vs. za za za za take
a. vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 ke-ko ke-ko ke-ko ke-ko bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a e e e e sepc sepc sepc sepc baIc baIc baIc baIc
three INF-give two SS remain one
Three minus two equals one.
b. minduu minduu minduu minduu ke-za ke-za ke-za ke-za baIc baIc baIc baIc e e e e sepc sepc sepc sepc vana vana vana vana
five INF-give one SS remain four
Five minus one equals four.


1
A similar allomorph occurs in the related language Linda. Cloarec-Heiss (1986: 209) suggests
that the l ll l is inserted in order to avoid confusion between the plural prefix and the initial vowel a aa a of the
stem, which she considers a non-productive prefix. Thus, the use of a$l a$l a$l a$l would prevent the creation of a long
vowel as in the words a$a$ba@ a$a$ba@ a$a$ba@ a$a$ba@ fathers and a$a a$a a$a a$a$?u@ $?u@ $?u@ $?u@ uncles in (4a-b). This explanation seems motivated, but
Kamanda (1998: 332) points out that there are cases in Linda where the a$la$ a$la$ a$la$ a$la$ prefix (the form in Linda)
occurs with words in which the initial vowel of the stem is not a aa a, e.g. o$wo# o$wo# o$wo# o$wo# spouse vs. a$la$wo# a$la$wo# a$la$wo# a$la$wo# spouses.
Tisserant (1930: 27) on the other hand considers the use of a$la$ a$la$ a$la$ a$la$ to be a sign of respect.
96

Second, certain adjectives are lexically marked for plural. For example, the
adjective cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre big is singular and the adjective ogboro ogboro ogboro ogboro big is plural, as in (7):

(7) Lexical marking of plural in adjectives: cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre vs. ogboro ogboro ogboro ogboro big
a. ase ase ase ase kede kede kede kede cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre ja]i ja]i ja]i ja]i
this COP big(sg) cup
That is a big cup.
b. ase ase ase ase kede kede kede kede ogboro ogboro ogboro ogboro ja]i ja]i ja]i ja]i
this COP big(pl) cup
Those are big cups.

Third, plural can be indicated by use of quantifiers, either numeral or non-
numeral, as in (8):

(8) Lexical marking of plural in quantifiers
a. Ken se se se se de de de de ja]i ja]i ja]i ja]i bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a
PN be with cup two
Ken has two cups.
b. Ken se se se se de de de de ja]i ja]i ja]i ja]i ndoro ndoro ndoro ndoro
PN be with cup many
Ken has many cups.

Before leaving the topic of the plural in Mono, one additional observation needs
to be made. In Mono, there are a large number of lexical items which begin with the
vowel a- a- a- a-, but do not carry the semantic notion of plural. These include some animate
nouns, inanimate nouns, and adverbs. In the case of the adverbs, the initial a- a- a- a- is optional.

(9) Sample words beginning with the vowel a- a- a- a-
a. animate nouns
agja agja agja agja animal
at]o at]o at]o at]o louse
aba aba aba aba father (kinship term)
b. inanimate nouns
aIugu aIugu aIugu aIugu mushroom
akwa akwa akwa akwa work
akjo akjo akjo akjo hoof (body part)
c. adverbs
angbangi angbangi angbangi angbangi ~ ngbangi ngbangi ngbangi ngbangi brusquely, abruptly
abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 ~ but]5 but]5 but]5 but]5 night (time word)
akida akida akida akida Ia Ia Ia Ia ~ kidaIa kidaIa kidaIa kidaIa evening (time word)

97

d. other
andoro andoro andoro andoro ~ ndoro ndoro ndoro ndoro many
abaIaduwu abaIaduwu abaIaduwu abaIaduwu June
anganda anganda anganda anganda August

In at least one case, the word containing this initial a a a a can be analyzed. The word
agarawo agarawo agarawo agarawo match is made up of an initial a a a a, gara gara gara gara scratch, and owo owo owo owo fire.
Kamanda (pp. 328ff) suggests that this initial a a a a is a remnant of an earlier plural
prefix. He offers comparative data from several other Ubangian languages to support this
claim. In Mbandja (Tingbo 1978: 68-69), the category of animate is broader than in
Mono, including plant names and heavenly bodies. Thus, the following plural forms are
attested:

(10) Sample Mbandja plurals
singular plural Mono form (inanimate)
Iugu Iugu Iugu Iugu mushroom aIugu aIugu aIugu aIugu mushrooms aIugu aIugu aIugu aIugu mushroom(s)
mbiIipiIi mbiIipiIi mbiIipiIi mbiIipiIi star ambiIipiIi ambiIipiIi ambiIipiIi ambiIipiIi stars angcrcpc angcrcpc angcrcpc angcrcpc star(s)

In Ngbugbu, the plural prefix applies to both animate and inanimate nouns (11).
Note that the plural forms for the animate nouns (11a-b) are analogous to the forms for
Mono (in either the singular or plural).

(11) Sample Ngbugbu plurals
singular plural Mono form
gia gia gia gia animal agia agia agia agia animals agja agja agja agja animal(s)
t]5 t]5 t]5 t]5 louse at]5 at]5 at]5 at]5 lice at]o at]o at]o at]o louse/lice
g5 g5 g5 g5 village ag5 ag5 ag5 ag5 villages ogo ogo ogo ogo village(s)

In Ngbandi (Toronzoni 1989: 209-210, cited by Kamanda), the plural prefix a- a- a- a-
can occur on almost any noun, with the exception of terms regarding liquids and some
vague concepts:

(12) Sample Ngbandi plurals
singular plural Mono form
kua kua kua kua work akua akua akua akua works akwa akwa akwa akwa work(s)
ba ba ba ba father aba aba aba aba fathers aba aba aba aba father

98

Thus, according to Kamandas hypothesis, the proto-language containing the
above speech varieties had a plural prefix which was generalized to include most if not
all nouns. Then, in Banda (including Mono), the prefix ceased to apply to inanimate
forms, leaving traces of its presence in certain present-day inanimate nouns in Mono.
Given this hypothesis, one question that remains is the presence of the initial a a a a in the
adverbs, such as in (9c) above.
Compound nouns. Compounding is a common and productive process in Mono
(cf. Kamanda, pp. 304ff). Words and particles in normal grammatical constructions can
become fused together to create new words, examples of which will be shown below.
Cloarec-Heiss (p. 140) notes that the degree to which compounding occurs correlates
with the frequency of use of a construction.
2
This appears to be the case in Mono.
There are different parameters on which we can judge the degree of compounding
(cf. Cloarec-Heiss, pp. 133ff). First is the notion of semantic restriction (SR). In a
compounded form, the sense of the word is often limited compared to the original
grammatical construction. For example, the compound buIa buIa buIa buIa blindness is more restricted
semantically than the construction it comes from: ubu aIa ubu aIa ubu aIa ubu aIa black eye. Semantic
restriction can occur without a reduction in the form of the construction. For example, the
noun phrase 515r5 kako 515r5 kako 515r5 kako 515r5 kako lit: dry leaf has the restricted meaning notebook, book, but no
formal reduction is attested *15r5kako 15r5kako 15r5kako 15r5kako.
Second is the notion of formal reduction (FR). A compound may be reduced in
structure from the original form. The associative noun phrase cIc cIc cIc cIc 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 fruit (seed + tree)
may be reduced to Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5, in which the first vowel of each noun is deleted. The loss of the
first vowel in this case is not unexpected, since both of these nouns are of the word form
V
1
CV
1
. As we saw in Section 6.1, such nouns can be interpreted as having an underlying

2
In fact, Cloarec-Heiss claims that the degree of compounding is a function of the frequency of use
of the construction, but it is not certain that the causality is in this direction.
99

form /CV
1
/, with the process of subminimal root augmentation inserting the initial vowel
in the word. Since the compound is already bisyllabic, the motivation for SRA is lost,
hence yielding Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5.
Third is the degree of variation (Va). The formal reduction may be obligatory,
optional, or unattested. The word for door in Mono is manda manda manda manda which comes from ama ama ama ama
mouth and anda anda anda anda house. I have not attested the associative noun phrase ama ama ama ama anda anda anda anda, so
this appears to be a case in which the reduction is obligatory. In the case of fruit
discussed above, both Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 and cIc cIc cIc cIc 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 are attested, so the reduction is optional. A case in
which formal reduction is unattested is the word 5k5 ama 5k5 ama 5k5 ama 5k5 ama lip (skin + mouth). Here,
semantic restriction has occurred, but formal reduction has not, i.e. *k5ma k5ma k5ma k5ma.
Finally, a compound may exhibit irregular phonological modification (PM). For
example, the word jawo jawo jawo jawo firewood comes from the combination 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 tree and owo owo owo owo
fire. Given the phonological structure of the base words, we would expect the
compound to have the form *j5wo j5wo j5wo j5wo, but this is unattested. Rather, the 5 55 5 of /j5 j5 j5 j5/ has changed
to a aa a in the compound.
Examples of compound nouns in Mono are given in (13). The most common type
of compound results from the fusion of the elements in an associative noun phrase, in
which the first element is the head (13a). Also common is the combination of an
adjective and noun (13b). However, the elements which make up a compound noun are
not limited to those found in a noun phrase, as seen in (13d,e). The result of these
compounds is nevertheless a nominal word.









100

(13) Sample compound nouns in Mono
a. N + N (Associative noun phrase)
rada rada rada rada shoe < ere ere ere ere thing + ada ada ada ada foot (SR,FR,-,PM)
rogo rogo rogo rogo food < ere ere ere ere thing + ogo ogo ogo ogo hunger (SR,FR,-,PM)
jawo jawo jawo jawo firewood < 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 tree + owo owo owo owo fire (SR,FR,-,PM)
ndeda ndeda ndeda ndeda footprint < ende ende ende ende mark + ada ada ada ada foot (-,FR,-,-)
ngw ngw ngw ngware are are are seed (for planting) < angwa angwa angwa angwa grain + ere ere ere ere thing (SR,FR,-,-)
]iku ]iku ]iku ]iku scar < i]iri i]iri i]iri i]iri image + uku uku uku uku wound (-,FR,-,PM)
ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo forge < anda anda anda anda house + owo owo owo owo fire (SR,FR,-,-)
manda manda manda manda door < ama ama ama ama mouth + anda anda anda anda house (SR,FR,-,-)
sukumu sukumu sukumu sukumu hair (of head) < usu usu usu usu hair + kumu kumu kumu kumu head (-,FR,-,-)
agjangu agjangu agjangu agjangu fish < agja agja agja agja animal + ungu ungu ungu ungu water (SR,FR,Va,-)
(also agja t]aIangu agja t]aIangu agja t]aIangu agja t]aIangu)
goruju goruju goruju goruju ~ ogoro uju ogoro uju ogoro uju ogoro uju anus < ogoro ogoro ogoro ogorohole+ uju uju uju ujuexcrement (SR,FR,Va,PM)
(also, guruju guruju guruju guruju)
Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 ~ cIc cIc cIc cIc 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 fruit < cIc cIc cIc cIc seed + 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 tree (-,FR,Va,-)
5k5 ama 5k5 ama 5k5 ama 5k5 ama lip < skin + mouth (SR,-,-,-)
ungu owo ungu owo ungu owo ungu owo coffee, kerosene < water + heat (SR,-,-,-)
ogo ungu ogo ungu ogo ungu ogo ungu thirst < desire + water (-,-,-,-)
b. Adjective + Noun
buIa buIa buIa buIa blindness < ubu ubu ubu ubu black + aIa aIa aIa aIa eye (SR,FR,-,-)
gbada gbada gbada gbada lame < agba agba agba agba useless + ada ada ada ada foot (SR,FR,-,-)
515r5 kako 515r5 kako 515r5 kako 515r5 kako book < dry + leaf (SR,-,-,-)
ikpi ndimo ikpi ndimo ikpi ndimo ikpi ndimo sour orange < sour + orange (-,-,-,-)
c. Number + Noun
baIcIa baIcIa baIcIa baIcIa one-eyed < baIc baIc baIc baIc one + aIa aIa aIa aIa eye (SR,FR,-,-)
d. Noun + Verb
Ia15r5 Ia15r5 Ia15r5 Ia15r5 ~ I515r5 I515r5 I515r5 I515r5 lesson < aIa aIa aIa aIa eye+ 15r5 15r5 15r5 15r5 dry
3
(SR,FR,-,PM)
ungu kendo tene ungu kendo tene ungu kendo tene ungu kendo tene < water + drink + it (-,-,-,-)
drinking water
e. PREP + PREP/V/N
t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u ~ t]t]u t]t]u t]t]u t]t]u face < t]a t]a t]a t]a place + ut]u ut]u ut]u ut]u in front of (SR,FR,-,PM)
t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu ~ t]Iu t]Iu t]Iu t]Iu smell < t]a t]a t]a t]a place + Iu Iu Iu Iu smell bad (SR,FR,-,PM)
t]abaga t]abaga t]abaga t]abaga jaw bone < t]a t]a t]a t]a place + baga baga baga baga cheek (SR,-,-,-)
t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema palate < t]e-Ie t]e-Ie t]e-Ie t]e-Ie in + ama ama ama ama mouth (SR,FR,-,-)
f. N + N + N
ndema1o ndema1o ndema1o ndema1o account, report < ende ende ende ende mark+ ama ama ama ama mouth + o1o o1o o1o o1o word
g. N + ?
cIc owo cIc owo cIc owo cIc owo ~ cIcwo cIcwo cIcwo cIcwo rice < cIc cIc cIc cIc fruit, grain + owo owo owo owo ? (SR,FR,Va,-)
kane gcIc kane gcIc kane gcIc kane gcIc left hand < hand + left (-,-,-,-)
nguzu nguzu nguzu nguzu pregnancy < ungu ungu ungu ungu water + zu zu zu zu give birth (SR,FR,-,-)
jamc jamc jamc jamc my brother < aja aja aja aja brother + me me me me my (-,FR,Va,PM)
h. V + PREP
gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe hope < gbc gbc gbc gbc think + t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe in (SR,-,-,-)


3
In Togbo, the word for lesson is l$k@r$ l$k@r$ l$k@r$ l$k@r$, which can be analyzed as $l$ $l$ $l$ $l$ eyes + kr kr kr kr open.

101

One additional construction needs to be examined before leaving the topic of
noun compounding. In Mono, a there are a large number of agentive nouns (Cloarec-
Heiss, p. 134, refers to them as noms dagent), consisting of aji aji aji aji person, owner plus a
noun or infinitive verb (14). The form aji aji aji aji is a truncation of ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 person, owner.
4
In
some cases, there is variation between the two, e.g. aji akwa aji akwa aji akwa aji akwa ~ ajcng5 akwa ajcng5 akwa ajcng5 akwa ajcng5 akwa servant,
employee.

(14) Sample agentive nouns
ajogo ajogo ajogo ajogo inhabitant < aji aji aji aji person + ogo ogo ogo ogo village
aji angba aji angba aji angba aji angba ~ ajcng5 angba ajcng5 angba ajcng5 angba ajcng5 angba thief
aji kane aji kane aji kane aji kane thumb
aji bi-tu aji bi-tu aji bi-tu aji bi-tu deaf person
aji a-gcnc aji a-gcnc aji a-gcnc aji a-gcnc host
aji a-ja]c bi]a aji a-ja]c bi]a aji a-ja]c bi]a aji a-ja]c bi]a polygamist
aji ku-wu-se-1o aji ku-wu-se-1o aji ku-wu-se-1o aji ku-wu-se-1o wise person
aji ke-ndo kindi aji ke-ndo kindi aji ke-ndo kindi aji ke-ndo kindi farmer

This process is reminiscent of an agentive construction in English in which the
morpheme man is suffixed to a noun (e.g. milkman, postman, congressman).
Agentive nouns in Mono share some properties with compounds. First, they are of
the same form as the associative noun phrase, with the head being the first element.
Second, there is formal reduction, since ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 becomes aji aji aji aji. Third, there can be semantic
restriction, e.g. aji kane aji kane aji kane aji kane thumb (lit: person of hand). Fourth, there is phonological
modification in that the c cc c of ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 becomes i ii i in aji aji aji aji.
It is not clear whether aji aji aji aji should be considered a separate word or whether the
compound has truly become fused. It is a bound morpheme which must occur with a
following element, whereas ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 is a free morpheme. However, when the following

4
Cloarec-Heiss (p. 135) states that in Linda the agentive form comes from the word e$j" e$j" e$j" e$j" mother.
There is indeed formal identity between the two words in Linda (and in Mono as well), but the source in
Mono of the agentive form is clearly a$je#ng$ a$je#ng$ a$je#ng$ a$je#ng$ person, owner, based on examples such as a$j" a$kwa$ a$j" a$kwa$ a$j" a$kwa$ a$j" a$kwa$ ~
a$je#ng$ a$kwa$ a$je#ng$ a$kwa$ a$je#ng$ a$kwa$ a$je#ng$ a$kwa$ servant, employee where there is variation between the two, as well as native speaker
intuitions about the source.
102

element begins with a vowel, vowel hiatus results which is typically not resolved (that is,
one of the vowels is not deleted), contrary to the normal case with most compounds.
Kamanda (p. 319) hypothesizes that this is a case of grammaticalization in
process. What began as an associative noun phrase has undergone compounding. Now aji aji aji aji
is in the process of becoming a derivational agentive prefix, but does not yet exhibit all
the properties of a true prefix.
Derivation. Mono has several derivational processes. Boyd (1995: 11) claims that
derivation in the Ubangian languages essentially creates nominals from verbs (he
specifically discusses Gbaya, Banda, Ngbandi, and Sango). Both Cloarec-Heiss (pp. 116,
121) and Kamanda (p. 281) interpret the data in this way as well. I will treat derivation in
the same way, but there is some evidence (which I will discuss) that some cases of
derivation could be interpreted as progressing in the opposite direction, that is, from a
nominal to a verb.
The first derivational process to be discussed is the creation of a nominal from a
verb with no affixing, but with the process of subminimal root augmentation applying if
its structural description is met. In Mono, a large number of mostly stative and
intransitive verbs can become either a noun or a descriptive adjective. Since nominals
must be bisyllabic, subminimal root augmentation applies to monosyllabic forms, as
shown in (15). Note that SRA also applies to verbs of the form CV
1
LV
1
.

(15) Nominals derived from stative or intransitive verbs
a. High tones
ikpi ikpi ikpi ikpi tart < kpi kpi kpi kpi be tart (Adj < Stat V)
undu undu undu undu sweet < ndu ndu ndu ndu be sweet (Adj < Stat V)
515r5 515r5 515r5 515r5 dry < 15r5 15r5 15r5 15r5 dry (Adj < Intr V)
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre big (sg) < gcre gcre gcre gcre grow (Adj < Intr V)
cbc cbc cbc cbc big, fat < bc bc bc bc swell, become fat (Adj < Intr V)
odoro odoro odoro odoro ripe, red < doro doro doro doro ripen (Kamanda 1998: 659) (Adj < Intr V)
ese ese ese ese place < se se se se be (existential) (N < Stat V)
ana ana ana ana trip < na na na na come, go (N < Intr V)
cIc cIc cIc cIc fruit < Ic Ic Ic Ic bear fruit (N < Intr V)
5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 laughter < m5 m5 m5 m5 laugh (N < Intr V)
103

b. Mid tones
uIu uIu uIu uIu rotten < Iu Iu Iu Iu be rotten (Adj < Stat V)
iki iki iki iki sharp < ki ki ki ki be sharp (Adj < Stat V)
u]u u]u u]u u]u bitter < ]u ]u ]u ]u be bitter (Adj < Stat V)
5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 delicious < t]5 t]5 t]5 t]5 be tasty (Adj < Stat V)
5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 soft < m5 m5 m5 m5 be tired (Adj < Stat V)
(cf. ke-m5 5m5 ke-m5 5m5 ke-m5 5m5 ke-m5 5m5 to laugh)
imi imi imi imi thick < mi mi mi mi grow, be thick (Adj < Intr V)
ogboro ogboro ogboro ogboro big (plural) < gboro gboro gboro gborogrow (Adj < Intr V)
odo odo odo odo foolishness < do do do do be foolish (N < Intr V)
oIo oIo oIo oIo day < Io Io Io Io lie down (cf. keIo oIo keIo oIo keIo oIo keIo oIo sleep) (N < Intr V)
uzu uzu uzu uzu person < zu zu zu zu give birth (N < Trans V)
c. Low tones
owo owo owo owo fire < wo wo wo wo be hot (N < Stat V)
(cf. Iowo Iowo Iowo Iowo heat)

This process is best thought of as deverbalization rather than nominalization since
the resulting form is either a noun or a descriptive adjective, whereas the underived form
is always a verb.
Cloarec-Heiss (p. 126) and Kamanda (p. 281) both consider the reduplicated
vowel to be a prefix.
5
I question this interpretation for the following reason. The
epenthetic vowel only occurs with forms which can be analyzed as underlyingly
monosyllabic, e.g. uIu uIu uIu uIu < /Iu Iu Iu Iu/ rotten, 515 515 515 515r5 r5 r5 r5 < /1r5 1r5 1r5 1r5/ dry. Longer words do not undergo
SRA though they can have a nominal form, e.g. ziti ziti ziti ziti cold, peaceful < ziti ziti ziti ziti cool off. If
the form is indeed a prefix, we would expect the reduplication to apply to all such forms.
The prefix interpretation does not explain why it is only the monosyllabic underlying
forms which undergo the process. The attested pattern follows directly from a purely
phonological explanation involving SRA.
Note that the resulting forms bear one of the three level tones in Mono. The tone
which occurs on a given item is unpredictable. This could be interpreted in at least two
ways. First, this could indicate that verbs do have an underlying tone, as suggested by

5
Kamanda considers this an instance of a more general process of reduplication in Mono in which
the first syllable of a nominal is reduplicated indicating intensity, e.g. da$mba@ da$mba@ da$mba@ da$mba@ tail da$da$mba@ da$da$mba@ da$da$mba@ da$da$mba@ tail
(intensive) (p. 285). However, the items at issue do not bear any notion of intensity, and their form can be
explained without any reference to other morphological processes in Mono.
104

Cloarec-Heiss (1972: 86) for Linda. However, not all verbs are attested in a nominalized
form. For those which are not, there is no means of identifying the underlying tone.
Second, the tone could be considered a part of the underlying form of the nominal, in
which case the derivation would proceed from the nominal to the verb. The disadvantage
of this interpretation is that, for Ubangian, linguists typically analyze this type of
derivation as proceeding from verbs to nouns.
In Ubangian, it is common for some verbs to take a direct object which is the
nominalized form of the verb (Boyd 1995: 13). Levin (1993: 95) refers to this as a
cognate object construction. Cognate objects appear to be widespread, occurring in
languages as diverse as Igbo (Nigeria, Benue-Congo; John Goldsmith, per. comm.) and
English (Levin 1993 and references therein).
Several cognate objects are attested in Mono, shown in (16):

(16) na ana na ana na ana na ana travel (< go + trip)
Io oIo Io oIo Io oIo Io oIo sleep (< lie down, sleep + slumber, day)
wo owo wo owo wo owo wo owo have a fever (< be hot + fire)
kpa akpa kpa akpa kpa akpa kpa akpa run (for exercise) (< flee + ?)

The second derivational process to be considered also concerns the
nominalization of a verb. This process involves a prefix with the same segmental shape
as the infinitive prefix, ke- ke- ke- ke-. The resulting tonal pattern is either High-Low or High-Mid,
depending on the lexical item (17). One case of a verb with a stative conjugation is also
attested in my corpus (17c).

(17) Nominalized verbs (ke- ke- ke- ke-) (cf. Kamanda, pp. 295-303; Cloarec-Heiss, p. 123)
a. High-Low melody
ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na going < na na na na go
ke-zire ke-zire ke-zire ke-zire food < zi ere zi ere zi ere zi ere eat (sth)
ke-jindere ke-jindere ke-jindere ke-jindere kindness < ji nde ji nde ji nde ji nde ere ere ere ere like, love (sth)
ke-wusere ke-wusere ke-wusere ke-wusere knowledge < wu se ere wu se ere wu se ere wu se ere know (sth)
ke-wure ke-wure ke-wure ke-wure vision < wu ere wu ere wu ere wu ere see (sth)
ke-donga ke-donga ke-donga ke-donga honor < donga donga donga donga honor


105

b. High-Mid melody
ke-ga ke-ga ke-ga ke-ga beauty < ga ga ga ga be good, be beautiful
ke-nda ke-nda ke-nda ke-nda vomiting < nda nda nda nda vomit
ke-wu ke-wu ke-wu ke-wu breath < wu wu wu wu breathe
ke-zo garanga ke-zo garanga ke-zo garanga ke-zo garanga bread < zo garanga zo garanga zo garanga zo garanga bake manioc
ku-zu ku-zu ku-zu ku-zu semen < zu zu zu zu give birth (cf. kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu death)
c. High-Fall melody
ke-ngaanga ke-ngaanga ke-ngaanga ke-ngaanga acidity < nga nga nga nga be bitter

Tisserant (1930: 159) refers to these nominalized verbs as infinitives. However,
this does not explain the tonal patterns found in (17b,c) which do not follow the infinitive
High-Low tone melody.
6

In my corpus, both types of derivation are attested for one verb form, as shown in
(19). Note that ana ana ana ana journey has High tones, whereas the tone on the root of the
nominalized verb ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na going is Low.

(19) Verb SRA Nominalized verb
ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na come, go ana ana ana ana journey ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na going

Finally, I make just brief note of a couple of patterns in Mono morphemes which
may be vestiges of historical morphological processes. First, as mentioned in Section 6.2,
there are a large number of Mono verbs which have the form CV
1
r rr rV
1
, for example suru suru suru suru
tear, k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 open, para para para para choose, mbere mbere mbere mbere do, and ndoro ndoro ndoro ndoro suck. This may be a vestige
of an ancient derivational process in Ubangian. Kamanda (p. 502) notes that Ngbandi and
Ngbaka-Minagende both presently have a -rV derivational suffix. In Mono, there is
semantic similarity between a few verbs of the form CV and those of the form CV
1
r rr rV
1
,
e.g. su su su su uproot vs. suru suru suru suru tear, and c c c c grovel vs. cre cre cre cre descend.
Second, there are a number of animate nouns in Mono which begin with ja ja ja ja-, e.g.
jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu goat, jakoro jakoro jakoro jakoro snake, janu janu janu janu bird, jare jare jare jare livestock, javoro javoro javoro javoro dog, jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc catfish,
jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c male, ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c female, janga janga janga janga friend, and jawaza jawaza jawaza jawaza old woman. Cloarec-Heiss (p.

6
In the related language Mbandja (Tingbo 1978: 77), infinitives and nominalized verbs are distinct
in form. For example, the infinitive of the root ti ti ti ti fall is ta@t"$ ta@t"$ ta@t"$ ta@t"$ whereas the nominalized form of the verb is
k"t" k"t" k"t" k"t".
106

121) considers this to be an unproductive prefix in Linda meaning domesticated animal.
The words which include this form in Mono however are broader in semantic scope than
this. In any case, it is clear that this form is not productive in Mono.
7.1.2 Verbal morphology
Mono verbs can be modified by the addition of one of several prefixes, by
reduplication of the first syllable of the verb, and by changes in the tone on the verb (and
the preceding pronoun). Most constructions require a combination of these modifications,
and so I will discuss the constructions in turn. But first, a few preliminaries.
The prefixes that modify a verb are shown in (20). I consider these to be prefixes
on account of the fact that there are no attested intervening words between these forms
and the verb roots. There can, however, be an intervening reduplicant of the verb root.

(20) Mono verbal prefixes
a. ke- ke- ke- ke- infinitive
b. ke- ke- ke- ke- conditional
c. kpa- kpa- kpa- kpa- repetitive

In the infinitive form, the prefix always bears a H tone and all of the syllables of
the root bear L tones (21a-b). The infinitive form of a compound verb includes the tones
of the second element of the compound (21c). The forms of the conditional and repetitive
will be discussed below.

(21) Sample infinitive verbs
a. ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na to go
b. ke-zi-re ke-zi-re ke-zi-re ke-zi-re to eat
c. ke-ji-nde-ne ke-ji-nde-ne ke-ji-nde-ne ke-ji-nde-ne to want

I also analyze verbal reduplication as a case of prefixation. That is to say, a
reduplicant is prefixed to the verbal root, rather than suffixed. There are two arguments
for this interpretation. First, prefixation is the most common form of morphological
modification in Mono, and so we would expect that to be the first choice for an
107

interpretation. Second, the reduplicant is a copy of the first syllable of the base, rather
than a copy of the entire base.
One use of reduplication in Mono is to mark negation. This involves the
combination of a reduplicated verb and the particle ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc in clause-final position.
Examples are given in (22):

(22) Reduplication in Mono
a. me me me me mbe-mbere mbe-mbere mbe-mbere mbe-mbere tene tene tene tene ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
1SG RED-do:NF it NEG
I didnt do it.
b. cndc cndc cndc cndc ka-kakara ... ka-kakara ... ka-kakara ... ka-kakara ... ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3PL RED-uproot ... NEG
They didnt uproot. (Kamanda, p. 116)

Reduplication is used in several other constructions as well, which will be
discussed below.
Modifications in the tonal patterns on Mono verbs indicate different tense, aspect
and mood (TAM) characteristics. These tonal patterns may affect not just the verb, but
also a preceding subject pronoun. This is evidence that subject pronouns may be
considered clitics in Mono, since they are grammatically part of the subject but
phonologically dependent on the verbal system. All three level tones are attested on the
first syllable of a verb root, several tonal patterns are attested on reduplicants (H, HM,
and HL), and a H tone may replace the regular tone on a subject pronoun. Note that
regardless of the tense, aspect, or mood under consideration, the second and third
syllables of a verb root always bear a L tone.
Teasing out the exact semantic notions in a TAM system is a difficult task, and
there has been some discussion in the literature on the precise nature of the system in
Mono and related languages. Several analyses have been proposed for Banda (see e.g.
Cloarec-Heiss 1986, 1995b; Olson & Schrag 1997; Kamanda 1998), but more research
needs to be conducted in order to clarify this issue. In this dissertation, my main goal is to
108

document clearly the formal properties of Mono phonology and morphology, so
semantics has not been the main focus of my research. In the discussion that follows, not
too much weight should be put on the labels of each TAM category. Clarifying the
meanings of each category will require further research.
Non-future tense (NF). The non-future tense (either present or past) is identified by
a H tone on the first syllable of the verb root. A preceding subject pronoun retains its
lexical tone. A temporal adverb can specify the time frame. Example (23a) is in the
present, whereas examples (23b-c) are in the past:

(23) a. 1a 1a 1a 1a ji ji ji ji nde nde nde nde ke-di ke-di ke-di ke-di ndema toro ndema toro ndema toro ndema toro ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ne ne ne ne asekc asekc asekc asekc
1PL.EXCL want:NF INF-hear story time DET this
We want to hear a folk story now.
b. 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 baIc baIc baIc baIc bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 na na na na ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa
day one tortoise go:NF at-chez elephant
One day, tortoise went to elephants place.
c. cndc cndc cndc cndc ko ko ko ko Iima Iima Iima Iima jamburu jamburu jamburu jamburu
3PL take(pl):NF long.ago stones
Long ago they took stones.

Future (FUT). The future tense is indicated by a H tone on the clitic subject
pronoun
7
preceding the verb, and a L tone on first syllable of the verb root (24). When
the subject of a clause is a noun, then the same subject pronoun e e e e is inserted between the
noun and the verb (24c). The HL tone melody can be broken up by an intervening
morpheme (24d):

(24) a. be be be be wu wu wu wu me me me me bamba bamba bamba bambat]a t]a t]a t]a
2SG:FUT see:FUT 1SG tomorrow
You will see me tomorrow.
b. me me me me zuru zuru zuru zuru t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ze ze ze ze kerena kerena kerena kerena
1SG:FUT stomp:FUT inside 2SG broken
I will crush you.



7
It is manifested as a rising tone on the 1PL.INCL pronoun.
109

c. jcsu jcsu jcsu jcsu e e e e kwa kwa kwa kwa te-jc te-jc te-jc te-jc ga-pa ga-pa ga-pa ga-pa I5]5 I5]5 I5]5 I5]5
Jesus SS return:FUT REFL-3SG on-top soil
Jesus will return to earth.
d. 1aa 1aa 1aa 1aa kpa- kpa- kpa- kpa-zi zi zi zi anga anga anga anga ne ne ne ne ze ze ze ze
1PL.INCL:FUT REP-eat:FUT another DET EMPH
We will eat again later.

There has been some discussion in the literature concerning the precise distinction
between what I am calling the non-future and the future tenses. Boyd (1989: 206) notes
that many Adamawa-Ubangi languages have a basic distinction between perfective aspect
(the situation is looked at from the outside, without distinguishing its internal structure)
and imperfective aspect (the situation is looked at from the inside, and is concerned with
the internal structure; cf. Comrie 1976:4). For Linda, Cloarec-Heiss (pp. 310ff) considers
this distinction to be one of completed (accompli) aspect (the process or state is
considered to be acquired or certain) versus incompleted (inaccompli) aspect (the
process or state is considered to be incertain or in the process of succeeding; cf. Boyd
1995: 22). This is the distinction that Kamanda chooses in describing Mono. However,
Cloarec-Heiss (1995b: 85) changes her mind and considers the distinction in Linda to be
one of real mode (the process or state is considered to be existing) and virtual mode (the
process or state is considered possible or desirable; cf. Boyd 1995:22). The data in my
corpus point toward a distinction of non-future versus future, but a more detailed study is
necessary to clarify this.
Progressive aspect. The progressive aspect is indicated by the verb ke-se ke-se ke-se ke-se to be
inflected for TAM, followed by the infinitive form of the main verb.

(25) a. me me me me se se se se ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi it]i it]i it]i it]i
1SG be:NF INF-hit song
I am (was) singing.
b. me me me me se se se se ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi it]i it]i it]i it]i
1SG:FUT be:NF INF-hit song
I will be singing.
c. me me me me se-se se-se se-se se-se ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na gaIangu gaIangu gaIangu gaIangu ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
1SG RED-be:NF INF-go to.water NEG
Im not going to the water.
110


Repetitive aspect (REP). The repetitive aspect is indicated by the invariable prefix
kpa kpa kpa kpa- before the verb stem. The verb stem may be inflected for various TAM.

(26) a. me me me me kpa kpa kpa kpa -su -su -su -su anga anga anga anga ne ne ne ne
1SG REP-draw:NF other DET
I drew (water) again.
b. kpa kpa kpa kpa -pa -pa -pa -pa anga anga anga anga ne ne ne ne
REP-say:IMP other DET
Repeat. (lit: say again)
c. me me me me kpa kpa kpa kpa -se -se -se -se ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju aji aji aji aji me me me me adekc adekc adekc adekc t]e t]e t]e t]e para para para para udu udu udu udu ere ere ere ere ne ne ne ne Ie Ie Ie Ie me me me me
1SG REP-be INF-ask mother 1SG that 3SG look.for rest thing DET BEN 1SG
I was again asking my mother to look for some leftovers for me.

Stative aspect (STAT). The stative aspect (cf. Payne 1997: 240) is marked by
reduplication of the first syllable of the verb. The reduplicant bears a HL falling tone
while the first syllable of the verb root bears a L tone.

(27) a. e e e e ]uu-]u ]uu-]u ]uu-]u ]uu-]u
it RED:STAT-bitter:STAT
It is bitter.
b. e e e e gjaa-gja gjaa-gja gjaa-gja gjaa-gja
it RED:STAT-stir.with.difficulty:STAT
It is difficult to stir.
c. kpata kpata kpata kpata zuu-zuru zuu-zuru zuu-zuru zuu-zuru
mud RED:STAT-be.slippery:STAT
The mud was slippery.

Conditional mood (COND). The conditional mood is indicated by the invariable
prefix ke- ke- ke- ke- plus the verb stem. In my corpus, the verb stem is marked as non-future. The
second clause in the construction is often marked as future.

(28) a. be be be be ke ke ke ke -mbere -mbere -mbere -mbere ata ata ata ata gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo ne ne ne ne me me me me, ,, , me me me me ji nde ji nde ji nde ji nde ze ze ze ze waa waa waa waa
2SG COND-do:NF thus child of 1SG 1SG:FUT like:FUT 2SG much
If you do this, my child, I will love you a lot.
b. be be be be ke ke ke ke -na-na -na-na -na-na -na-na ncnc, ncnc, ncnc, ncnc, ete ete ete ete ne ne ne ne ke-de ke-de ke-de ke-de o1o o1o o1o o1o ne ne ne ne ze ze ze ze baIc baIc baIc baIc
2SG COND-RED-come:NF NEG being DET COP problem of 2SG one
If you do not come, the problem will be yours alone.

111

Imperative mood (IMP). The imperative mood is indicated by the absence of a
subject and the occurrence of a L tone on the first syllable of the verb stem. In the
negative form, a H tone occurs on both the verb root and the reduplicant.

(29) a. ko ko ko ko mangc mangc mangc mangc ne ne ne ne
take(pl):IMP corn DET
Take the corn.
b. na na na na de de de de 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 ne ne ne ne
go:IMP with good DET
Good-bye (lit: go well).
c. zi-zi zi-zi zi-zi zi-zi songba songba songba songba agja agja agja agja ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
RED-eat meat animal NEG
Dont eat meat.

Obligations/Interdictions mood. Obligations and interdictions are indicated by a L
tone on the first syllable of the verb root. This is the same form as the imperative, but the
subject is present. In addition, this form usually appears in a subordinate clause.

(30) a. e e e e Ii Ii Ii Ii adekc adekc adekc adekc be be be be se se se se de de de de kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere ga-pa ga-pa ga-pa ga-pa ne ne ne ne
SS suffice:NF that 2SG be:OB with wisdom on-top DET
You need to have wisdom as well.
b. me me me me se se se se ke-ji nde ke-ji nde ke-ji nde ke-ji nde ne ne ne ne adekc adekc adekc adekc ajungo ajungo ajungo ajungo me me me me de de de de a-ja]c a-ja]c a-ja]c a-ja]c
1SG be:NF INF-like DET that PL-sibling 1SG with PL-woman
cndc cndc cndc cndc Ii Ii Ii Ii gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe ne ne ne ne gaze gaze gaze gaze ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3PL enter:OB inside DET there NEG
I didnt want my sisters to go in there.
c. me me me me kpa-se kpa-se kpa-se kpa-se ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju aji aji aji aji me me me me adekc adekc adekc adekc t]e t]e t]e t]e para para para para
1SG REP-be:NF INF-ask mother 1SG that 3SG look.for:OB
udu udu udu udu ere ere ere ere ne ne ne ne I II Ie e e e me me me me
rest thing DET BEN 1SG
I was again asking my mother to look for some leftovers for me.
d. e e e e Ii Ii Ii Ii adekc adekc adekc adekc me me me me 1i 1i 1i 1i te-me te-me te-me te-me
it suffice:NF that 1SG tie:OB REFL-1SG
I need to go to the bathroom.

Subjunctive mood (SUBJ). The subjunctive mood is indicated by a M tone on the
first syllable of the verb root. It is often used to connote the idea of correctness or advice,
and it is conveyed in an English translation by use of the auxiliary should (31). In
addition, it is employed in a reason-result structure (32).

112

(31) a. e e e e se se se se kepa kepa kepa kepa adekc adekc adekc adekc 1a 1a 1a 1a na na na na gande gande gande gande cnc cnc cnc cnc
SS be:NF INF-say that 1PL.INCL come:SUBJ to 3SG.LOG
He is saying that we should go to him.
b. aja, aja, aja, aja, na na na na game game game game e e e e Ia Ia Ia Ia Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu ze ze ze ze jc jc jc jc
brother come:IMP here SS change:SUBJ heart 2SG EMPH
Brother, come here. You should really change your heart.
c. jcsu jcsu jcsu jcsu se se se se de de de de ogo ogo ogo ogo aze aze aze aze adekc adekc adekc adekc 1a 1a 1a 1a na na na na ga-nde ga-nde ga-nde ga-nde cnc cnc cnc cnc
Jesus be:NF with hunger 1PL.INCL that 1PL.INCL come:SUBJ to-chez 3SG.LOG
Jesus has a desire for us that we should come to him.
(32) a. o1o o1o o1o o1o ne ne ne ne ko ko ko ko me me me me waa waa waa waa a a a a me me me me na na na na ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju ke-ju be be be be ase ase ase ase
word DET bother 1SG much CONJ 1SG come:SUBJ INF-ask 2SG this
Those words hurt me a lot, so (that is why) I came to talk to you about it.
b. e e e e za za za za Ie Ie Ie Ie ]c ]c ]c ]c t]e t]e t]e t]e ndo ndo ndo ndo
SS take:NF BEN 3SG 3SG drink:SUBJ
I got him (water) so that he could drink.
c. e e e e se se se se koIo koIo koIo koIo ne ne ne ne ata ata ata ata a a a a 1a 1a 1a 1a se se se se ke-Io ke-Io ke-Io ke-Io t]akudu t]akudu t]akudu t]akudu ne ne ne ne
SS be:NF only DET thus CONJ 1PL.EXCL be:SUBJ INF-lie.down under DET
It (the house) was like that, so we were sleeping under it.

Certainty. One additional TAM form is a HM falling tone on a reduplicant
followed by a M tone on the verb root. The precise meaning of this form remains to be
determined. A couple of examples are given in (33):

(33) a. kaa-ka kaa-ka kaa-ka kaa-ka adckc... adckc... adckc... adckc... e e e e se se se se bata bata bata bata 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 ere ere ere ere
RED:CERT-leave:CERT that... it be like good thing
Be aware that...this is a good thing.
b. cndc cndc cndc cndc se se se se ke- ke- ke- ke-kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ne ne ne ne ase ase ase ase
3PL be INF-RED:CERT-return:CERT time DET this
They will indeed be returning now.

The copula ke ke ke ke-de -de -de -de and the verb ke-se ke-se ke-se ke-se to be both have irregular properties which
I will discuss briefly here. The copula is used to express equation (the entity of the
subject and the predicate nominal are the same), proper inclusion (the entity of the
subject is in the class of items indicated by the predicate nominal), and possession such as
The book is Johns. The form of the copula is ke-de ke-de ke-de ke-de in the positive and de-de de-de de-de de-de in the
negative. Occasionally the positive form is shortened to de de de de or left out entirely. If a
pronoun occurs in subject position, it is in its citation form.



113

(34) a. Proper inclusion
ebe ebe ebe ebe kede kede kede kede mono mono mono mono
2SG COP Mono
You are a Mono person.
b. Equative
c]c c]c c]c c]c de-de de-de de-de de-de aba aba aba aba me me me me nenc nenc nenc nenc
3SG RED-COP father 1SG NEG
He is not my father.
c. Possession
javoro javoro javoro javoro ne ne ne ne ase ase ase ase kede kede kede kede t]e t]e t]e t]e ne ne ne ne ze ze ze ze a a a a
dog DET this COP 3SG of 2SG QUEST
Is this your dog?

The verb ke-se ke-se ke-se ke-se to be is employed in existential clauses, possessive clauses (such as
Sally has nineteen cats), predicate adjectives, and predicate locatives. It is also used as an
auxiliary in a progressive construction, as discussed above. It can be marked for TAM. In
some constructions, it has an irregular negative form gu gu gu gu.
Existentials. Examples of the existential use of ke ke ke ke -se -se -se -se are given in (35). In the
negative non-future, the irregular form gu gu gu gu is employed. In the negative future, either se se se se or
gu gu gu gu may be employed.

(35) Existential
a. ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 se se se se ze ze ze ze
chicken be:NF EMPH
There is a chicken.
b. ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
chicken RED:NF-be(neg):NF NEG
There is no chicken.
c. *ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 se-se se-se se-se se-se ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
chicken RED:NF-be:NF NEG
(unattested)
d. ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 e e e e se se se se ze ze ze ze
chicken SS be:FUT EMPH
There will be a chicken.
e. ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 e e e e gu gu gu gu ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
chicken SS be(neg):FUT NEG
There will not be a chicken.
f. ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 ngat5 e e e e se se se se ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
chicken SS be:FUT NEG
There will not be a chicken.

114

There is a plural form ke-Ie ke-Ie ke-Ie ke-Ie, which is only used by the older generation and is
thus disappearing. Two forms are presently employed. The negated form is not changed.

(36) a. a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 se se se se ze ze ze ze
PL-chicken be:NF EMPH
There are chickens.
b. a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 Ie Ie Ie Ie ze ze ze ze
PL-chicken be(pl):NF EMPH
There are chickens.
c. a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
PL-chicken RED:NF-be(neg):NF NEG
There are no chickens.

A quantity may be specified in the noun phrase, or it may occur after the verb.

(37) a. a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a se se se se ze ze ze ze
PL-chicken two be:NF EMPH
There are two chickens.
b. a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 a-ngat5 se se se se bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a
PL-chicken be:NF two
There are two chickens.

Possessive clauses. In a possessive clause, the verb is followed by a prepositional
phrase with the preposition with. In the negative form, se se se se is reduplicated. The form gu gu gu gu
is not attested.

(38) a. e e e e se se se se de de de de 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 ne ne ne ne
SS be:NF with hardness DET
It is hard.
b. e e e e se-se se-se se-se se-se de de de de 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 ne ne ne ne ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
SS RED:NF-be:NF with hardness DET NEG
It is not hard.
c. *e e e e gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu de de de de 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 ne ne ne ne ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
SS red:NF-be(neg):NF with hardness DET NEG
(unattested)

Predicate adjective. In an adjectival clause, the verb is followed by an adjective.
In the negative form, se se se se is reduplicated. The form gu gu gu gu is not attested.



115

(39) a. e e e e se se se se tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o
SS be:NF small
It is small.
b. e e e e se-se se-se se-se se-se tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
SS RED:NF-be:NF small NEG
It is not small.
c. *e e e e gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu gu-gu tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
SS RED:NF-be(neg):NF small NEG
(unattested)

Predicate locatives. In a locative clause, the verb is followed by a prepositional
phrase. Either se se se se or gu gu gu gu may be employed in the negative, but there is no reduplication.

(40) a. t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me
3SG be:NF at-chez 1SG
He/she is at my place.
b. t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3SG be:NF at-chez 1SG NEG
He/she is not at my place.
c. t]e t]e t]e t]e gu gu gu gu ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3SG be(neg):NF at-chez 1SG NEG
He/she is not at my place.
d. t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a
3SG:FUT be:FUT at-chez 1SG tomorrow
He/she will be at my place tomorrow.
e. t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3SG:FUT be:FUT at-chez 1SG tomorrow NEG
He/she will not be at my place tomorrow.
f. t]e t]e t]e t]e gu gu gu gu ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3SG:FUT be(neg):FUT at-chez 1SG tomorrow NEG
He/she will not be at my place tomorrow.

Motion verbs express a locative goal in a similar manner, but they are
reduplicated in the negative.

(41) a. t]e t]e t]e t]e na na na na ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me
3SG come:NF at-chez 1SG
He/she came to my place.
b. t]e t]e t]e t]e na-na na-na na-na na-na ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde me me me me ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc
3SG RED:NF-come:NF at-chez 1SG NEG
He/she did not come to my place.

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7.1.3 Prepositional morphology
Most prepositions and locative adverbs in Mono are morphologically complex.
There is a closed set of prefixes which may attach to a base element to make the meaning
of the base more precise (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 272; Kamanda 1998: 522). The
prefixes are:

ba- ba- ba- ba- at. This prefix implies no movement with respect to a designated location.

ga- ga- ga- ga- ~ ga- ga- ga- ga- to. This prefix indicates movement towards a designated location. The
value of the tone depends on the following tone. If the following syllable bears a
High tone, then the tone on ga ga ga ga- is Low. If the following syllable bears a Low or
Mid tone, then the tone on ga ga ga ga- is High. Cases of tonal polarity are common in
two-tone systems, but cases in three-tone systems have not been discussed much
in the literature. Our language resource persons noted that in most cases either
tone could appear in a given context. However, in actual speech, the tonal polarity
phenomenon was observed.

kpe- kpe- kpe- kpe- just in. This prefix indicates a precise place or time.

t]e- t]e- t]e- t]e-, t]a- t]a- t]a- t]a- at/place. The meaning of these forms is unclear. Our language resource
persons indicated that these two forms have slightly different meanings, but they
couldnt specify the difference.

Teasing out the exact meaning of the prefixes is difficult, so more research is
needed to make more precise the definitions given above. These prefixes may attach to
several different types of bases. First, they may attach to prepositions, as in (42), to create
a complex preposition. More than one prefix may be attached to a given base (42e). In
addition, the base may appear in isolation (42f), but the prefix may not.

(42) a. bakopg5 bakopg5 bakopg5 bakopg5 na na na na ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde ba-nde mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa
turtle go:NF at-chez elephant
The turtle went to the elephants home.
b. me me me me se se se se ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na ga-Ie ga-Ie ga-Ie ga-Ie kindi kindi kindi kindi
1SG be INF-go to-in field
Im going to the field.
c. za za za za t]ada t]ada t]ada t]ada ne ne ne ne ze ze ze ze ga-ut]u ga-ut]u ga-ut]u ga-ut]u ndaba ndaba ndaba ndaba
take:IMP pencil of 2SG to-in.front.of table
Put your pencil in front of the table.


117

d. undu undu undu undu jc jc jc jc ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa agja agja agja agja t]e-Ie t]e-Ie t]e-Ie t]e-Ie gusu gusu gusu gusu k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 jc jc jc jc
size 3SG pass:NF over animal in-in bush all EMPH
His size surpasses all the animals in the bush.
e. Kendigia se se se se ke-dc ke-dc ke-dc ke-dc jawo jawo jawo jawo ba-t]a-kudu ba-t]a-kudu ba-t]a-kudu ba-t]a-kudu aja aja aja aja anda anda anda anda
PN be INF-chop firewood at-at-hole small house
Kendigia is chopping firewood in the paiyotte
f. me me me me pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie aga aga aga aga
1SG:FUT speak:FUT in horn
I will speak on the two-way radio.

Second, they may be prefixed to a variety of forms to create a locative adverb, as in (43):

(43) a. na na na na ga-me ga-me ga-me ga-me
come:IMP to-1SG
Come here.
b. me me me me se se se se ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na ba-1c ba-1c ba-1c ba-1c
1SG be INF-go at-there
Im going over there(somewhere).
c. 1a 1a 1a 1a wuta wuta wuta wuta ga-u]u ga-u]u ga-u]u ga-u]u
1PL.INCL exit:SUBJ to-outside
Lets go outside.

There is a subset of these locative adverbs which have an obligatory HLH tonal pattern.
This replaces whatever underlying tones are normally associated with the individual
morphemes:

(44) a. Ii Ii Ii Ii ga-se-nda ga-se-nda ga-se-nda ga-se-nda
enter:IMP to-place-house
Enter.
b. anga anga anga anga a-bakong5 a-bakong5 a-bakong5 a-bakong5 se se se se ndc ndc ndc ndc ba-Ia-ngu ba-Ia-ngu ba-Ia-ngu ba-Ia-ngu
other pl-turtle be also at-eye-water
Other tortoises live in the water.
c. t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se ke-pa ke-pa ke-pa ke-pa 1o 1o 1o 1o Ie Ie Ie Ie a-zu a-zu a-zu a-zu t]a-Ia-kpi t]a-Ia-kpi t]a-Ia-kpi t]a-Ia-kpi de de de de Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga
3SG be INF-speak words BEN PL-person place-eye-? with drum
He is speaking to the village people with a talking drum.

7.1.4 Other morphology
There are certain grammatical function words which are morphologically
complex. First, the word for where includes one of the prefixes mentioned in the
previous section:

118

(45) a. be be be be se se se se ke-na ke-na ke-na ke-na ga-ta ga-ta ga-ta ga-ta
2SG be INF-go to-on:QUEST
Where are you going?
b. kaIc kaIc kaIc kaIc ne ne ne ne jc jc jc jc se se se se ba-ta ba-ta ba-ta ba-ta
coffee of 3SG be at-on:QUEST
Where is his/her coffee?

Second, the demonstrative ase ase ase ase this can take the suffixes -kc kc kc kc or -me -me -me -me to mark
deixis, e.g. ase ase ase ase-kc kc kc kc ~ asc asc asc asc-kc kc kc kc this or ase-me ase-me ase-me ase-me that. The meaning can be temporal or
locational depending on the context. Similarly, the manner adverb ata ata ata ata in this manner
can take these two suffixes, e.g. ata ata ata ata-kc kc kc kc like this, and ata-me ata-me ata-me ata-me like that.
Finally, the reflexive marker te- te- te- te- is prefixed to a pronoun to give the following
forms:

(46) te-me te-me te-me te-me myself
te-z te-z te-z te-ze e e e yourself
tc-jc tc-jc tc-jc tc-jc himself/herself
ta-1a ta-1a ta-1a ta-1a ourselves (excl.)
ta-aze ta-aze ta-aze ta-aze ourselves (incl.)
tc-1c tc-1c tc-1c tc-1c yourselves
tc-cndc tc-cndc tc-cndc tc-cndc themselves

7.2 Phonological processes which cross morpheme or word boundaries
In this section, I discuss phonological alternations which can occur across
morpheme or word boundaries. These include leftward vowel spreading, vowel hiatus
resolution, glide formation, and raising of a.
7.2.1 Leftward vowel spreading
Leftward vowel spreading (LVS) was introduced in Section 6.1, where it occurred
in monomorphemic environments in which e ee e or a aa a was inserted as a result of subminimal
root augmentation (SRA). LVS is also attested across morphological and clitic
boundaries. If a morpheme with a schwa e e e e as the nucleus of the final syllable is followed
by a morpheme with a non-low vowel in the initial syllable, the schwa optionally takes on
the quality of the following vowel. The morpheme following the schwa must begin with a
119

consonant, and this consonant cannot be a glottal stop (the case of glottal stop will be
considered in the next section). In the case of a high vowel, the schwa may alternatively
become i ii i. If the schwa is followed by a morpheme with 5 55 5 as the nucleus of the first
syllable, then the schwa becomes o oo o. For example, consider the case where the infinitive
prefix ke- ke- ke- ke- is attached to a verb:

(47) kevi kevi kevi kevi ~ kivi kivi kivi kivi ~ kivi kivi kivi kivi to dance
keki keki keki keki ~ kiki kiki kiki kiki to cry
keu keu keu keu ~ kiu kiu kiu kiu ~ kuu kuu kuu kuu to burn
kedc kedc kedc kedc ~ kcdc kcdc kcdc kcdc to chop
kese kese kese kese to be (no alternation)
kedo kedo kedo kedo ~ kodo kodo kodo kodo to cultivate
kena kena kena kena to go (no alternation)
ket5 ket5 ket5 ket5 ~ kot5 kot5 kot5 kot5 to forge

These alternations result directly from the LVS rule given in (4) in Section 6.1. Note that
there is no assimilation of the feature [low].
In verbs which begin with a sequence of a semi-vowel followed by an a aa a, or which
contain a secondary articulation in the first syllable, it is the quality of the semi-vowel or
secondary articulation which is spread, rather than the quality of the nuclear vowel:

(48) kewa kewa kewa kewa ~ kowa kowa kowa kowa to cut (cf. kewu kewu kewu kewu ~ kuwu kuwu kuwu kuwu to see)
keja te keja te keja te keja te ~ kcja te kcja te kcja te kcja te to rest (cf. keju keju keju keju ~ kuju kuju kuju kuju to ask)
kekwa kekwa kekwa kekwa ~ kokwa kokwa kokwa kokwa to return
kegja kegja kegja kegja ~ kcgja kcgja kcgja kcgja to stir

These patterns were not evident in Section 6.1, because SRA inserted an a aa a before
[+low] vowels (cf. awa awa awa awa road, aja aja aja aja brother, akwa akwa akwa akwa work, agja agja agja agja animal)
So far, we have seen examples of LVS applying in augmented monomorphemic
words and between a prefix and a root. LVS may also occur between a root and a suffix,
e.g. ade-kc ade-kc ade-kc ade-kc ad ad ad adc c c c -kc -kc -kc -kc this. But it is not limited to applying across morpheme
boundaries within a word. The process is attested across word boundaries. For example, it
is attested between a clitic pronoun and a verb:

120

(49) a. e e e e Ii Ii Ii Ii i i i i Ii Ii Ii Ii ~ i i i i Ii Ii Ii Ii
SS be.necessary:FUT
It is necessary...
b. be be be be ro ro ro ro bata bata bata bata b bb bo o o o ro bata ro bata ro bata ro bata
2SG:FUT pass:FUT where
Where are you going?

It is also attested between prepositions and nouns:

(50) a. Ie Ie Ie Ie ]c ]c ]c ]c I II Ic c c c ]c ]c ]c ]c
BEN 3SG
for him/her
b. t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe utu utu utu utu t]eI t]eI t]eI t]eIu u u u utu utu utu utu ~ t] t] t] t]u u u u I II Iu u u u utu utu utu utu
in-in ear
in the ear

Finally, LVS is attested in non-augmented monomorphemic environments.
Several lexical items have a schwa which alternates with c cc c:

(51) a. kpekc kpekc kpekc kpekc ~ kpckc kpckc kpckc kpckc a week ago
b. sepc sepc sepc sepc ~ scpc scpc scpc scpc stay
c. nenc nenc nenc nenc ~ ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc NEG

There are additional monomorphemic items in my corpus which have the
environment for the application of LVS, but is not clear if the process applies in these
cases. Further field research is necessary to verify that the process applies to these forms.
Examples are given in (52):

(52) Attested form Predicted alternation Gloss
a. kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpiIinduvu kpiIinduvu kpiIinduvu kpiIinduvu ~ kpiIinduv kpiIinduv kpiIinduv kpiIinduvu u u u kidney
b. ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbcIcko ngbcIcko ngbcIcko ngbcIcko iron
c. teraIc teraIc teraIc teraIc directly
c. kpeendoro kpeendoro kpeendoro kpeendoro kpoondoro kpoondoro kpoondoro kpoondoro naked
d. Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iot5r5 Iot5r5 Iot5r5 Iot5r5 toad

LVS shares some features with both lexical and post-lexical rules. It is similar to a
lexical rule in that it is structure preserving. The forms which are created are all
phonemes in the language. It is similar to a postlexical rule in several ways. It may occur
across word boundaries, it is optional, and it does not appear to have lexical exceptions.
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7.2.2 Hiatus resolution
Certain phonological alternations may occur in Mono when two vowels are
brought into hiatus. I refer to this process as hiatus resolution. If a word-final schwa e ee e is
followed by a V-initial syllable, the schwa optionally takes on the quality of the
following vowel, creating a long vowel. This process differs from leftward vowel
spreading in that it occurs with low vowels as well as non-low vowels.

(53) e e e e se se se se at at at ata a a a |e sa ata]
SS be thus
Thats right.

If the tones of the two syllables are identical, then the schwa may assimilate or be
elided:

(54) me me me me baIa baIa baIa baIa be be be be ata ata ata ata [me baIa ba:ta] ~ [me baIa bata]
1SG greet 2SG also
I greet you in return.

Interestingly, this same pattern occurs if there is an intervening glottal stop, but
not if another consonant intervenes. Example (55) shows two such cases:

(55) a. 1a 1a 1a 1a na na na na de de de de te-1a te-1a te-1a te-1a |1a na de ta-1a]
1PL.EXCL go:NF with REFL-1PL.EXCL
We (excl.) went ourselves
b. Ie Ie Ie Ie 1a 1a 1a 1a [Ia1a]
BEN 1SG.EXCL
for us

Hiatus resolution is not always structure preserving, as it may create a long vowel
with a level tone, as in (54) above. It applies across word boundaries, is optional, and it
has no lexical exceptions.
7.2.3 Glide formation
There are cases in which glides are optionally formed from vowels due to
heteromorphemic environments. Most cases in my corpus involve the particle jc jc jc jc EMPH
122

which reduces to i i i i in casual speech (56a). If the vowel preceding jc jc jc jc is u uu u, then it is the u uu u
which shortens yielding wi wi wi wi (56b). In addition, glide formation occurs before other
particles as well (56c).

(56) a. Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a ka ka ka ka jc jc jc jc |Iurut]a kai]
soap be.finished EMPH
The soap is gone.
b. m mm me e e e gu gu gu gu jc jc jc jc [me gwi ]
1SG return:NF EMPH
Ive returned.
c. be be be be to to to to bata bata bata bata a a a a gu gu gu gu a a a a |be to bata a gwaa]
2SG come where REL return QUEST
Where are you coming from?

Glide formation is not structure preserving, since it violates the phonotactic
constraints of secondary articulations as in (56b). It applies across word boundaries and is
optional. It may be limited to applying with certain lexical items, but more research is
necessary on that point.
7.2.4 Raising of a
The raising of a aa a to discussed in Chapter 2 may apply across morpheme or word
boundaries. An example is given in (57):

(57) me me me me kpa-Iu kpa-Iu kpa-Iu kpa-Iu anga anga anga anga ne ne ne ne |me kp - -- -Iu pg ne]
1SG REP-planted other DET
I planted more again.

It is not structure preserving, as it creates an allophone of a phoneme. It is
optional and it does not have lexical exceptions.
7.3 Summary
As a summary, Table 7.1 lists the phonological processes which I have posited for
Mono and indicates if they are structure preserving, if they apply across word boundaries,
if they are optional, and if they have lexical exceptions.
123

Table 7.1: Mono phonological processes
Structure
Preserving
Across words Optional Exceptions
a. V-nasalization N N? Y N
b. Raising a N Y Y N
c. V-epenthesis Y N N N
d. V-shortening N N Y N
e. Subminimal Root
Augmentation
? N N N
f. Leftward Vowel
Spreading
Y Y Y N
g. Hiatus Resolution N Y Y N
h. Glide Formation N Y Y Y?


124


CHAPTER 8
ACOUSTIC PHONETICS

While phonological analysis is sufficient for identifying contrastive segments in
Mono, there are at least two potential problems with it. First, impressionistic phonetic
transcription is a methodology subject to human error. Linguistic researchers struggle
with the difficult task of identifying unfamiliar contrasts, many of which may escape their
hearing during the initial stages of fieldwork. And they must overcome the bias of their
own mother tongues phonological system, which colors the way they hear the sounds
they are transcribing. Studying the acoustic phonetic details of sounds offers a check on
the accuracy of phonetic transcription.
Second, the identification of phonological categories in Mono and the subsequent
assignment of certain symbols to those categories may give the false impression of
identity with similar sounds in other languages. Simply put, just because researchers
describing two different languages use the same symbol for a particular phoneme does
not necessarily mean that the two sounds are in fact pronounced the same. This issue is
crucial for those who study linguistic typology. By giving more detailed acoustic data for
specific sounds, I hope to give readers a clearer picture of what I mean by my phonetic
transcription.
The data for this chapter were obtained during two recording sessions. The first
set of recordings was made in Bili on September 26, 1994 using a Marantz PMD 420
analog tape recorder and a Shure dynamic microphone. The subject, Speaker M, was an
adult male native speaker of Mono, about 35 years old. We recorded the 204-item word
list found in Olson (1996) as well as 47 phrases, listed in Appendix E. The subject read
125

from a page, and each item was recorded once. These data were digitized at 10,000 Hz
using Kay Elemetrics Computerized Speech Lab at the University of Chicago Language
Laboratories and Archives.
The second set of recordings was made by Brian and Barb Schrag at the SIL
recording studio in Yaound, Cameroon, on March 16-18, 1998. Mike Fox was the
recording engineer. The recordings were made with a Nakamichi 550 analog tape
recorder and an AKG D330DT microphone. The two subjects, Speakers A and K, were
both adult male native speakers of Mono, about 30 years old. The recordings included
real and possible (i.e. nonsense) words spoken in isolation, sample phrases, and a folk
story. The subjects told the story in their own words, and then read the story from a
script. All tokens were spoken at normal rate. Some of the sample phrases were spoken at
a fast and a slow rate as well. A complete list of tokens is given in Appendix E. In
addition, we recorded Speaker K producing a 2000-item word list, included in Appendix
B.
A digital audio tape (DAT) copy was made at the University of Chicago
Language Laboratories and Archives at a sampling rate of 48,000 Hz and then converted
to WAV files using SoundDesigner II, version 2.8. The files were then downsampled for
analysis to 11,025 Hz using Cool Edit 2000.
1

Analysis of the tokens was done primarily using Kay Elemetrics Computerized
Speech Lab. Additional analysis was done using SILs Speech Analyzer, version 1.06a.
Each figure in this chapter indicates which of the two programs was used for a given
analysis.

1
One reason for downsampling is that SILs Speech Analyzer program can only read WAV files
which are sampled at a rate which is an integer multiple of 11,025 Hz. In cases where higher accuracy was
needed (e.g. studying the possible high frequency energy of implosives), I examined the tokens sampled at
48,000 Hz using CSL.
126

This chapter consists of four parts. First, in Section 8.1, I discuss the acoustic
properties of consonants. This includes labial flaps, implosives, labial-velar stops, and
prenasalized stops. In Section 8.2, I look at the acoustic properties of vowels. I plot the
formant values of the vowels, and look at duration and nasalization. In Section 8.3, I
provide preliminary evidence that secondary articulations are closer to mid vowels than
high vowels, and I discuss phonetic evidence that secondary articulations do not bear
tone. Finally, in Section 8.4, I summarize the findings and discuss items for future
research. Except where noted, the findings of this chapter are valid for all of the subjects.
8.1 Consonants
8.1.1 Labial flap
Because the labial flap is rare in the worlds languages, there has been little
acoustic research carried out on the sound. Three previous works discuss the acoustic
properties of the sound: Ladefoged (1968) for Margi, Thelwall (1980) for Ndogo, and
Demolin & Teston (1996, reiterating Demolin 1992) for Mangbetu. Of these, Demolin &
Teston go into the greatest detail. The present work represents the first study of the
acoustics of the labial flap in Mono.
The labial flap can be identified by virtue of a combination of four acoustic
correlates: (1) a short closure duration, (2) ascending transitions for F
1
, F
2
, and F
3

immediately after release, (3) a short duration of the formant transitions immediately
after release, and (4) a slow, gradual drop in F
2
before the closure.
Concerning the first correlate, Catford (1977: 130) notes that taps and flaps
typically have an oral closure duration of 10-30 ms. This duration distinguishes taps and
flaps from stops, which typically have a closure duration of at least 50-60 ms. According
to my measurements, the average closure duration of the labial flap in Mono is 23 ms
(SD=5.0, n=15). Ladefoged notes that the contact is less than 30 ms in Margi, and
127

Demolin & Teston note an average length of contact of 14 ms. This contact is denoted by
a brief interruption of the formant structure and a decrease in signal amplitude during the
closure period. These properties are evident during the time period indicated by the
arrows in Figure 8.1, which shows a spectrogram of the possible word awa awa awa awa.


Figure 8.1: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word awa awa awa awa (Speaker K). The
period of closure is indicated by the arrows.
Note, however, that the closure of the labial flap is not always complete, and so
this acoustic property is not always visible. Sixty percent of the tokens I examined exhibit
an obvious closure. Consider the spectrogram of the word awara awara awara awara fierceness in Figure
8.2. The general movement of the formant transitions is essentially identical to those of
Figure 8.1 during the onset and release of the flap. However, there is no clear break in the
formant structure nor a drop in signal amplitude. In this case, other acoustic correlates
must be present to identify the flap, which we will turn to now.
128


Figure 8.2: Waveform and spectrogram of the word awara awara awara awara fierceness (Speaker K).

Figure 8.3: Waveform and spectrogram of the word jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc catfish (Speaker K)
129

The second acoustic correlate of the labial flap is the rise of the first three formant
frequenciesF
1
, F
2
, and F
3
during the transition into the following vowel. These rising
transitions are typical of labial articulations in general (Lieberman & Blumstein, p. 225).
Thus, this property can be employed to distinguish labial flaps from alveolar taps and
flaps. In some cases, F
3
appears to be flat with an abrupt transition. Figure 8.1 shows an
example of this case. However, Figure 8.3 shows a spectrogram of the word jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc
catfish in which the rise in the transition of F
3
is visible.
Third, during the articulation of the labial flap, the transition of the formants into
the following vowel is very brief, as noted by Thelwall (1980: 81). This transition has an
average of 19 ms (SD=4.8, n=25) in Mono. This is slightly shorter than for stop
consonants, which typically have a formant transition duration of 20-40 ms (Lieberman
& Blumstein, p. 224). This property is particularly useful for distinguishing the flap from
semi-vowels, which must have a formant transition duration of at least 40 ms (p. 226).
Figure 8.4 shows a spectrogram of the word awa awa awa awa road. The duration of the formant
transitions at the release of the w ww w, about 40 ms, are indicated by the arrows. Even when
the closure of the labial flap is not evident, such as in Figure 8.2, this rapid formant
transition of the labial flap is still present, and so still distinguishes the flap from a semi-
vowel.
A sound can also be distinguished from other sounds by the lack of certain
acoustic properties. During the production of a labial flap, there is no aperiodic noise
such as is characteristic of fricatives, nor is there a burst such as is characteristic of stops.
When a labial flap occurs in word-initial position, it is preceded by a short period
of voicing. This indicates that the onset of the sound may be important in its perception.
Figure 8.5 shows a spectrogram of the word wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi calf, shin. The period of voicing
preceding the labial flap is indicated by the arrows. F
2
is visible during this period,
dropping from a value of about 1140 Hz to 780 Hz immediately before closure.
130


Figure 8.4: Waveform and spectrogram of the word awa awa awa awa road (Speaker K).

Figure 8.5: Waveform and spectrogram of the word wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi calf, shin. Voicing precedes a
word-initial labial flap (Speaker A).
131

In many tokens, a gradual drop of F
2
is observed preceding the labial flap. For
example, Figure 8.6 shows a spectrogram of the word ke-wa ke-wa ke-wa ke-wa to send. At the beginning
of the vowel e ee e (point A), F
2
has a value of 1400 Hz. There is a gradual decrease in the
value of F
2
until just before the closure of the flap (point B), F
2
has dropped to a value of
900 Hz. This drop in F
2
correlates both with the slow constriction of the lips preceding
the flap as well as the backing of the tongue observed by one of my language resource
persons. See Lieberman & Blumstein (p. 48) and de Jong & Obeng (2000) for further
discussion on this point.



Figure 8.6: Waveform and spectrogram of the word ke-wa ke-wa ke-wa ke-wa to send (Speaker A)
8.1.2 Implosives
As discussed in Chapter 2, Mono has two implosive consonants b bb b and d dd d, which
are optionally realized as their plosive counterparts, b bb b and d dd d, respectively. Lindau (1984)
points out phonetic differences between the implosives found in several Niger-Congo
132

languages on one hand (Degema and three Eastern Ijo languages), and the Chadic
language Hausa, on the other. The Niger-Congo languages she studied exhibit certain
regular acoustic patterns. First, the signal amplitude of the implosives either increases
gradually during the oral closure period or it is level and sizeable throughout the closure,
whereas plosives exhibit a gradual decrease in signal amplitude during closure. Second,
the implosive sound waves include high frequency energy during the first part of the
closure. She interprets this as a period of laryngealization (i.e. creaky voice), which is
then followed by modal phonation.
In Hausa, there is considerable variation in the production of implosives. One of
Lindaus subjects produced implosives like those of the Niger-Congo speakers, five
subjects produced a voiceless beginning of the closure, and eight subjects produced
implosives with aperiodic vibrations throughout the closure. Ladefoged & Maddieson
(1996: 85) refer to these latter sounds as creaky voiced implosives.
Lindaus characterization of laryngealization as aperiodic vocal cord vibrations
resulting in high frequency spectral energy is peculiar. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996)
consider laryngealization to be periodic and note two possible articulations. The parts of
the vocal cords near the arytenoid may be held tightly so that only the ligamental parts
vibrate, or alternatively the ligamental and arytenoid parts vibrate separately and out of
phase with each other. This second articulation leads to an apparent doubling of the
glottal pulse rate. Ladefoged (1968: 16) notes that laryngealization sometimes but not
always occurs in implosive consonants. I examined Mono implosives to determine if
there was evidence for either high frequency energy or a biphasic pattern.
I examined 25 tokens of Mono implosives. Among these, 15 exhibited a rising
signal amplitude during the period of closure, whereas ten exhibited a large, level signal
amplitude. There was some evidence for the type of laryngealization described by
Ladefoged & Maddieson, as discussed below. In addition, a small number of tokens
133

exhibited voicelessness during part of the period of closure. I will discuss these points in
turn.
First, I consider the signal amplitude during the period of closure of Mono
implosives. Speaker K produced the possible words aba aba aba aba, aba aba aba aba, ada ada ada ada, and ada ada ada ada, shown in
Figures 8.7-8.10. (In addition, spectrograms of aba aba aba aba and aba aba aba aba are given in Figures 8.11 and
8.12.) Here, we see the same general amplitude patterns as those observed by Lindau. For
the tokens with plosive consonants, aba aba aba aba and ada ada ada ada, there is a gradual decrease in signal
amplitude from the beginning to the end of the closure. For the tokens with implosive
consonants, aba aba aba aba and ada ada ada ada, there is a gradual increase in signal amplitude. Note that this
augmentation in signal amplitude does not begin at the start of closure, but rather begins
about one third of the way into the closure. This augmentation of signal amplitude is
evident in the spectrogram as well. In Figure 8.12, we can see the presence of formant
bands during the second half of the closure period for F
1
, F
2
, F
3
, and F
4
.


Figure 8.7: Waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K).
134


Figure 8.8: Waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K).

Figure 8.9: Waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker K).
135


Figure 8.10: Waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker K).

Figure 8.11: Waveform and spectrogram of possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K). Beginning
and end of closure are indicated by the arrows (see Section 8.1.4).
136


Figure 8.12: Waveform and spectrogram of possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K)

Figure 8.13: Waveform of the word ba- ba- ba- ba-ati ati ati ati low (Speaker K).
137

This increase in signal amplitude is also attested in word-initial implosives. Figure
8.13 shows the word ba-ati ba-ati ba-ati ba-ati low. Here, there is an increase in signal amplitude from the
beginning of the utterance until the release of the implosive.
In possible words and in words where the implosive is in initial position, the
increase in signal amplitude is a consistent pattern. In other tokens, however, a second
pattern is sometimes attested. Consider the waveform of the word koba koba koba koba spirit shown in
Figure 8.14. Here, the entire closure period of the implosive is characterized by a
relatively large, level amplitude rather than an increase in signal amplitude from the start
to end of closure. This alternative amplitude property was also observed by Lindau for
the Niger-Congo languages in her study.


Figure 8.14: Waveform of the word koba koba koba koba spirit (Speaker K).
The second property of implosives that I examine is the phonation type,
specifically whether there is evidence for laryngealization. Figures 8.15-8.18 are close-up
views of the closure period of the signal for the possible words aba aba aba aba and ada ada ada ada uttered by
138

both Speakers A and K. In Speaker As tokens, there is a small amount of noise
incorporated into the initial pitch periods of closure, but it is of a much smaller magnitude
than that found by Lindau. In Speakers Ks tokens, this aperiodic noise is absent. There is
no clear evidence for significant high frequency energy in the Mono tokens.


Figure 8.15: Close-up of waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker A)

Figure 8.16: Close-up of waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker A)

Figure 8.17: Close-up of waveform of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K)
139


Figure 8.18: Close-up of waveform of the possible word ada ada ada ada (Speaker K)
Figures 8.19 and 8.20 show close-up views of the closure period for the words
koba koba koba koba spirit and cdc cdc cdc cdc who. Both of these tokens exhibit a large, level signal amplitude
during closure rather than a rising amplitude. Here we see that in addition to the main
pulses occurring at the period of the fundamental frequency, there are also intermittent
smaller pulses of about half to two-thirds the amplitude of the main pulses. This is similar
to the biphasic pattern which Ladefoged & Maddieson claim corresponds to
laryngealization (cf. their Figure 3.3, p. 54).

Figure 8.19: Close-up of waveform of the word koba koba koba koba spirit (Speaker K)

Figure 8.20: Close-up of waveform of the word cdc cdc cdc cdc who (Speaker K)
140

In the tokens I examined, then, I found two distinct patterns. First, two-thirds of
the implosives exhibited a rising amplitude during the second half of the period of
closure. In these tokens, the voicing was nearly always modal. Second, one-third of the
implosives exhibited a large, level amplitude during the period of closure. In these
tokens, a biphasic pattern indicative of laryngealization was usually evident.
The third acoustic property of Mono implosives to be discussed is voicelessness.
A small percentage of the implosives in my data show voicelessness during the period of
closure. Figure 8.21 shows a waveform of the word ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi to hit. Here, voicing tapers
off at the beginning of the closure to the extent that it ceases in the middle of closure.
Then, this is followed by a period of increase in signal amplitude before the release of the
implosive. This is similar to the production of some of the Hausa speakers recorded by
Lindau.


Figure 8.21: Waveform of the word ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi ke-bi to hit (Speaker K).
141

In summary, the most salient acoustic correlate to Mono implosives concerns the
signal amplitude during the closure period. Specifically, Mono implosives exhibit either
an increase in signal amplitude during the latter part of oral closure or the maintenance of
a large, level signal amplitude. In addition, a biphasic pattern indicative of
laryngealization is observed in most of the tokens having a large, level amplitude, and a
small number of tokens exhibit voicelessness during the initial part of the closure period.
8.1.3 Labial-velars
There are several articulatory gestures which may be manifest in labial-velar stops
and may distinguish them from other types of stops. I will examine the acoustic evidence
for these in Mono. First, in some languages labial-velar stops employ a complex
airstream mechanism. Second, in many languages there is evidence that the labial and
velar gestures are staggered, with the velar gesture slightly in advance of the labial one.
Third, it has been claimed that the voice onset time (VOT) of labial-velar segments is
shorter than for labial and velar segments.
First, I address the issue of airstream mechanism. As pointed out in Chapter 2,
Kamanda (1998) classifies labial-velar stops as implosives in Mono. I offered typological
evidence in that chapter as to why that characterization is not appropriate. In this chapter,
I offer acoustic evidence for their classification as plain stops rather than implosive stops.
Ladefoged (1968) studied the airstream mechanism of labial-velar stops in 33
African languages. He found that the majority of the languages (23) had both pulmonic
egressive and velaric ingressive airstreams. The dorsum slides back in the articulation of
the sound, and as a result air flows into the oral cavity at both ends. The velaric
ingressive airstream gives an auditory impression of suction at release, which could give
the impression of an implosive sound.
In addition, Ladefoged found that eight languages had labial-velar stops which
involved three airstream mechanisms: a pulmonic egressive mechanism followed by a
142

brief glottalic ingressive mechanism, and overlaid by a velaric ingressive mechanism.
These stops were partly voiced. Thus, in some languages, labial-velar stops do have an
implosive element. It is worth examining the acoustic properties of labial-velars in Mono
to establish if there is evidence of an implosive aspect to these sounds.
Figure 8.22 shows a waveform of the word ke-gb5 ke-gb5 ke-gb5 ke-gb5 to receive, to find. If we look
at the period of closure, we see that the amplitude is level through the first half of closure,
and then there is a gradual drop in amplitude toward the end of the closure. As we saw in
the last section, the main characteristic of an implosive is a gradual increase in the signal
amplitude during the latter half to two-thirds of closure. Thus, the labial-velar stops do
not exhibit the primary acoustic property which characterizes implosive stops in Mono.

Figure 8.22: Waveform and spectrogram of the word ke-gb5 ke-gb5 ke-gb5 ke-gb5 to receive, to find
(Speaker K).
The labial-velar stops in Ladefoged (1968) which had a glottalic ingressive
component to their airstream mechanism exhibited a brief increase in signal amplitude
just before release (cf. Ladefogeds plate 3a). In Figure 8.22, this pre-release increase is
143

not attested, nor is it attested in the other tokens examined. Thus, Mono labial-velar stops
cannot be considered implosive based on this acoustic property.
The popping sound occasionally heard in Mono labial-velar stops, then, is likely
attributable to velaric suction. Mono labial-velars appear to pattern like the majority of
labial-velars in Ladefogeds study, that is, they have both pulmonic egressive and velaric
ingressive airstreams, but no glottalic ingressive airstream.
The second issue concerning labial-velar stops is whether the two articulations are
produced simultaneously, or whether they are staggered. My auditory impressions of the
sound in Mono indicate that the velar closure begins prior to the labial closure, and that
the velar release occurs prior to the labial release. Maddieson (1993, cited in Ladefoged
& Maddieson 1996) provides evidence for this from electromagnetic articulography for
Ewe. Connell (1994) points out that several researchers have provided acoustic evidence
for this staggering by showing that the formant transitions at the release of the labial-
velars correspond to those at the release of labial stops. Specifically, the values of F
1
, F
2
,
and F
3
all rise on release. Figures 8.23, 8.24, and 8.25 show spectrograms of the words
agba agba agba agba dugout canoe, aba aba aba aba father, and baga baga baga baga cheek, respectively. Note that the formant
transitions at the release of the labial-velar and labial stops all rise, whereas F
2
of the
velar stop has a noticeable drop in value after release. One significant difference between
the labial-velar and labial stops is that the F
2
transition of the labial-velar stop (Figure
8.23) shows a rise from a value of 1000 Hz to 1400 Hz in about 23 ms, whereas the F
2

transition for the labial stop (Figure 8.24) appears to have an abrupt transition.
Connell (1994) claims that the labial-velar F
2
transition is steeper and more
prominent than the labial F
2
transition. While I could not verify this claim, we can see
from comparing Figures 8.23 and 8.24 that the F
2
transition plays a prominent role in
distinguishing the two sounds.

144


Figure 8.23: Waveform and spectrogram of the word agba agba agba agba dugout canoe (Speaker K)

Figure 8.24: Waveform and spectrogram of the word aba aba aba aba father (Speaker K)
145


Figure 8.25: Waveform and spectrogram of the word baga baga baga baga cheek (Speaker K)
Given the auditory impressions mentioned above, we also expect that the
transitions into the closure of a labial-velar stop should correspond to those of a plain
velar stop. There is some indication that this is the case.
The F
2
transition into the labial-velar stop shares the characteristics of the labial
and velar stops. The F
2
transition into the labial stop drops in value, whereas the F
2

transition into the velar stop remains level. The F
2
transition for the labial-velar stop
exhibits a split just before closure, with one part dropping as in the labial stop and the
other part remaining level as in the velar stop.
The F
4
transition into the labial-velar stop is similar to the velar one. The F
4

transition into the labial stop drops in value, and the F
4
transition into the velar stop and
the labial-velar stop rises.
The third issue is the question of voice onset time (VOT) for labial-velar stops.
Both Maddieson (1993, for Ewe) and Connell (1994, for Ibibio) note that the VOT of
146

labial-velar stops is shorter than that of labials or velars. For Ibibio, the VOT of labial-
velar stops is actually negative. A preliminary investigation indicates that this pattern is
found in Mono as well. I examined six tokens each of word-initial k kk k, p pp p, and kp kp kp kp from
Speaker K. I measured the interval from the release burst to the onset of voicing. For k kk k
and p pp p, the release burst precedes the onset of voicing, and so by convention VOT is
positive. For kp kp kp kp, the onset of voicing precedes the release burst, and so VOT is negative.
An example of a positive VOT in which the release burst precedes the onset of
voicing is in Figure 8.26, which shows a spectrogram of the word kada kada kada kada oil. The period
from the release burst to the onset of voicing is indicated by the arrows.


Figure 8.26: Waveform and spectrogram of the word kada kada kada kada oil (Speaker K).
An example of a negative VOT in which the onset of voicing precedes the release
burst is in Figure 8.27, which shows a spectrogram of the word kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 big hoe. The
period from the onset of voicing to the release burst is indicated by the arrows.
147


Figure 8.27: Waveform and spectrogram of the word kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 big hoe (Speaker K).
The average values of VOT and the standard deviations are given in Table 8.1:
Table 8.1: VOT values for labial, velar, and labial-velar stops (Speaker K)
Wd-initial stop VOT (ms) SD (ms)
k kk k 27.6 1.5
p pp p 10.2 2.6
kp kp kp kp -10.0 9.5

The VOT of the labial-velar stop is negative in all but one of the tokens. Note that
the standard deviation of the labial-velar VOTs is larger than that for the other stops.
Connell also noted that there was a greater variation in VOT for labial-velar stops than
other stops in Ibibio.
2

In summary, then, we see that labial-velar stops in Mono have the following
characteristics. The primary acoustic correlate of implosive consonants is not present; the

2
Connell implies that a negative value of VOT for kp kp kp kp is evidence of a glottalic ingressive
component to its articulation. However, pharyngeal pressure measurements would be necessary to
substantiate this.
148

formant transitions at the release of the stop are similar to those of labial stops with a
noticeable variation in F
2
; the F
2
into closure splits, showing similarity with both labial
and velar articulations; F
4
rises in a way similar to a velar stop; and the voice onset time
of voiceless labial-velar stops in word-initial position is shorter than that of labial or velar
stops, and in most cases is negative.
8.1.4 Timing of prenasalized stops
In Chapter 2, I argued that prenasalized stops in Mono should be considered
single segments rather than sequences of a nasal plus an obstruent. My argument was a
phonological onethat prenasalized stops have the same distributional properties as
single segments.
One question that arises is whether phonetic evidence can bolster this claim.
Ladefoged & Maddieson (1986) suggest that there is no demonstrated phonetic
difference in timing between nasal + stop sequences and prenasalized stops (cited in
Maddieson 1989: 57), and as a result deciding between the analyses is a phonological
rather than phonetic question.
However, there is some cross-linguistic evidence which casts doubt on this
conclusion. Hubbard (1995) finds that in three Bantu languagesRunyambo, Sukuma,
and Lugandanasal + stop (NC) elements which participate in compensatory
lengthening have a duration which is at least one and a half times, and up to four times,
the duration of singleton N and C elements. She concludes that prenasalized stops should
be interpreted as clusters in these languages.
Further, Hubbard argues that there is a correlation between the phonological
representation and phonetic durational effects. She proposes that the mora is both an
abstract and a surface timing unit. The implication of this is that the presence of a mora to
account for compensatory lengthening results in a reflex at the phonetic level, including
an increase in the duration of the following NC compared with regular Ns and Cs.
149

One could infer from this that in languages without compensatory lengthening, or
other processes which involve the presence of a second mora in a syllable, NC sequences
should not be lengthened with respect to singleton Ns and Cs. There is some evidence to
suggest that this is the case. For example, Maddieson (1989) finds that prenasalized stops
in Fijian have the same closure duration characteristics as plain stops and liquids.
3

With these observations in mind, I examined the closure duration of prenasalized
stops in Mono to determine if there is a noticeable increase in duration in comparison to
plain stops. Mono is actually a better test case than Fijian for such a study. In Mono, like
in Fijian, prenasalized stops unambiguously pattern as single segments.
4
But Mono has a
three-way contrast between voiceless, voiced, and prenasalized stops, whereas Fijian only
has a contrast between plain voiceless stops and prenasalized stops. In Fijian,
prenasalized stops could be interpreted phonologically as plain voiced stops, but in Mono
such an interpretation is impossible.
I identified the start and end of closure via the following criteria. For plain stops,
the beginning of closure was marked where vertical striations disappeared from across
frequency range and only low-frequency striations remained visible. For prenasalized
stops, the beginning of closure was marked where there was a significant drop in the
strength of the formants and there was a clear change from the oral resonance values to
the nasal resonance values. The end of closure was identified by the spike representing
the stop burst. In all cases, the closure start- and end-points were readily identifiable. For
example, the beginning and end of closure is indicated by the arrows in Figures 8.11 and
8.28.


3
Maddieson measured closure duration in his study. On the other hand, Hubbard measured
individual segments following Peterson & Lehistes (1960) criteria for demarcation.

4
Also, there are no nasal + stop sequences across morpheme or word boundaries.
150


Figure 8.28: Waveform and spectrogram of possible word amba amba amba amba (Speaker K). Beginning
and end of closure are indicated by arrows.
Table 8.2 shows closure duration measurements for twelve plain voiced stops and
twelve prenasalized stops with the same places of articulation for each set. The tokens
used were possible words of the segmental frame aCa, where C is the stop being
measured.
As can be seen, there is a small increase in the duration of the closure for
prenasalized stops in comparison to plain voiced stops, an increase of about 8% on
average. However, a one-tailed t-test (Woods, Fletcher & Hughes 1986) found that this
increase was not significant (t = 1.38, p < .1).
Thus, the insignificant increase in closure duration for prenasalized stops in Mono
should not be characterized as comparable to the durational effects found in the Bantu
languages studied by Hubbard. Rather, the behavior of prenasalized stops in Mono is
more akin to that found by Maddieson for the phonologically simple Fijian prenasalized
stops. If there is indeed a mapping between phonology and phonetics such as is proposed
151

by Hubbard, then this is evidence that Mono NC sequences should be interpreted as
single segments rather than N + C clusters.
Table 8.2: Closure duration of prenasalized stops in Mono (Speaker K). Tokens taken
from cons2_11025.wav. Time is in seconds.
Plain stops Prenasalized stops
aba2a 0.152 amba2a 0.177
aba2b 0.174 amba2b 0.204
aba2c 0.150 amba2c 0.175
ada2a 0.129 anda2a 0.141
ada2b 0.128 anda2b 0.135
ada2c 0.117 anda2c 0.123
aga2a 0.139 anga2a 0.157
aga2b 0.143 anga2b 0.135
aga2c 0.138 anga2c 0.133
agba2a 0.171 angba2a 0.176
agba2b 0.152 angba2b 0.187
agba2c 0.166 angba2c 0.169

Mean 0.147 0.159
SD 0.0172 0.0246

8.2 Vowels
8.2.1 Vowel space
In this section, I examine the acoustic properties of the Mono vowel space. Since
even within its own language family the Mono vowel system is typologically rare due to
the lack of a front lower mid vowel e ee e, it is important to document its acoustic
characteristics in more detail.
Since Peterson and Barney (1952), vowels have typically been plotted according
to their first two formants (or resonances), F
1
and F
2
. Others have modified this basic
classification for a variety of reasons. Ladefoged (1982) suggests charting F
1
vs. F
2
F
1

because There is a better correlation between the degree of backness and the distance
between the first two formants. (p. 179). Liljencrants & Lindblom (1972) and Fant
152

(1973) suggest plotting F
1
vs. F
2
', where F
2
' is a weighted average of F
2
and F
3
,
according to (1):

(F
2
F
1
)
(1) F
2
' = F
2
+ .5 (F
3
F
2
)
(F
3
F
1
)

The advantage of employing F
2
' is that it takes into account a gradual increase in
the importance of the third formant as F
2
is raised in frequency. (Fant 1973: 52). My
goal here is exposition of the data, and so in this section, I will plot F
1
vs. F
2
and F
1
vs.
F
3
in order to present the data in the least processed form. In addition, I will plot of F
1
vs.
F
2
' for reasons which will become apparent later in this section.
I chose ten tokens of each vowel from Speaker K for measurement by employing
the following criteria. First, I attempted to identify vowels in comparable contexts.
Ladefoged (1997) suggests choosing two sets of vowels, one following a coronal stop and
one following a labial stop. As far as possible, I chose vowels in the initial syllable of a
word following these two sets of stops. However, in some cases these were not attested in
my corpus. Second, I avoided vowels which may have been affected by the context.
These included (1) vowels adjacent to a nasal consonant (e.g. mono mono mono mono Mono), which are
subject to nasalization in Mono, (2) the first vowel in a bisyllabic CV
1
LV
1
pattern within
a word (e.g. ondoro ondoro ondoro ondoro mist), which is subject to shortening or deletion, and (3) vowels
which are subject to the optional process of leftward vowel spreading (e.g. ungu ungu ungu ungu ~ ingu ingu ingu ingu ~
engu engu engu engu water), which calls into question the actual vowel quality being measured. The
low vowel a aa a can optionally be raised to [] as a result of a nearby high vowel (e.g. [bi]a]
~ [bi]] two). This case will be analyzed separately from cases where the vowel a aa a is not
raised. The full set of tokens used are given in Table F.3 found in Appendix F.
Unfortunately, there is at present no precise algorithm which can unequivocally
determine the best position for measuring formant frequencies. In this study I followed
153

the following criteria. First, I visually inspected a wide-band spectrogram of each token
to verify that there was a steady state period for the vowel. I then calculated the midpoint
of the steady state based on measurements of the start and end points. The window of
analysis was then centered on this midpoint. I took three measurements of each formant
frequency: (1) by visual inspection on a wide-band spectrogram (BW = 215.33 Hz, 75
points), (2) by drawing parabolas over an FFT plot, and (3) by employing LPC analysis.
In addition, bandwidth measurements of each resonance were documented using LPC
analysis. The parameters for the FFT and LPC analyses are given in (2):

(2) LPC and FFT parameters
a. LPC
Frame length: 20 ms
Filter order: 12
Pre-emphasis: 0.900
Analysis method: autocorrelation
Window weighting: blackman
b. FFT
Frame length: 512 points (46.44 ms) and 256 points (23.22 ms)
Pre-emphasis: 0.000
Window weighting: blackman
Smoothing level: none

Tables 8.3 and 8.4 show the average values for the first three formants and
bandwidths, respectively for each vowel.
Table 8.3: Formant averages. Units are Hertz; standard deviations are in parentheses
(Speaker K).
F
1
F
2
F
3

i 272 (28.4) 1940 (32.0) 2845 (90.7)
c 345 (24.5) 1920 (74.8) 2687 (66.4)
i 270 (18.7) 1565 (181.7) 2222 (91.1)
e 367 (50.1) 1410 (88.9) 2375 (51.23)
a 682 (47.4) 1292 (126.5) 2335 (106.8)
u 270 (35.0) 897 (55.3) 2302 (77.0)
o 385 (37.4) 897 (79.4) 2494 (78.9)
5 547 (23.6) 965 (66.3) 2407 (153.7)
552 (58.6) 1372 (83.3) 2397 (145.1)
154

Table 8.4: Bandwidth averages. Units are Hertz; standard deviations are in parentheses
(Speaker K).
BW
1
BW
2
BW
3

i 9.7 (1.9) 53.5 (23.4) 61.8 (20.1)
c 23.5 (7.2) 56.6 (16.7) 103.5 (22.7)
i 30.9 (13.5) 136.1 (44.5) 88.33 (54.3)
e 40.1 (8.1) 83.0 (26.1) 91.3 (43.7)
a 53.0 (19.7) 94.1 (36.6) 94.0 (20.2)
u 39.3 (15.0) 80.8 (47.0) 104.6 (62.6)
o 72.3 (43.8) 85.1 (29.7) 93.2 (49.1)
5 92.6 (29.0) 114.0 (74.9) 98.7 (25.0)
57.8 (18.8) 85.6 (45.9) 139.2 (71.8)

Figure 8.29 shows a plot of F
1
vs. F
2
created using the Plot Formants Hypercard
program from the UCLA Phonetics Lab. A vowel symbol is given for each individual
token.


Figure 8.29: Plot of F
1
vs. F
2
(Speaker K).
155

The axes are marked in Hertz, but scaled on the Bark scale, which reflects the
ears sensitivity to differences in pitch (cf. Ladefoged 1996: 80). The equation for
calculating bark units from Hertz (Zwicker & Terhardt 1980) is:

(3) B = 13 arctan (0.76 f) + 3.5 arctan (f/7.5)
2


B critical band value in Bark
f frequency in kHz, arctan in radians

The ellipses are centered on the mean for each vowel and have radii of two
standard deviations along the first two principal components of the distribution
(Maddieson & Anderson 1994). There is reasonable separation between the vowels
indicating that the values of F
1
and F
2
are sufficient acoustic properties for distinguishing
the vowels. However, some overlap exists between i ii i and c cc c, i ii i and i ii i, i ii i and e ee e, and u uu u and o oo o,
which indicates that other factors may assist in distinguishing these pairs of vowels.
Concerning i ii i and c cc c, there is a large difference in bandwidth between the F
1
values
of the two vowels, which may be an additional cue for distinguishing the sounds. The
vowel i ii i has a mean bandwidth of 9.7 Hz (SD = 1.9), whereas the vowel c cc c has a mean
bandwidth of 23.5 Hz (SD = 7.2).
Concerning i ii i and i ii i, there is a difference in the value of F
3
between the two
vowels, as is evident from the plot of F
1
versus F
3
shown in Figure 8.30. Since F
2
' takes
into account the influence of F
3
, a plot of F
1
vs. F
2
' also shows this separation between i ii i
and i ii i, as seen in Figure 8.31. Concerning i ii i and e ee e, and u uu u and o oo o, I found no parameter
resulting in an absolute separation between the two respective values in each pair.

156


Figure 8.30: Plot of F
1
vs. F
3
(Speaker K).

Figure 8.31: Plot of F
1
vs. F
2
' (Speaker K).
157

A couple of points should be noted with regard to these results. First, in general
terms, the vowels are evenly distributed throughout the vowel space, in line with
Crothers (1978) observation that [T]he vowel phonemes of a language tend to disperse
evenly in the available phonetic space (p. 125). However, there is one gap in the region
where we would expect the vowel [e]. In other words, the lack of [e] is not
just phonological, but it is indeed a phonetic phenomenon in Mono. The average
American English values of F
1
and F
2
for male speakers are 550 Hz and 1770 Hz,
respectively (Ladefoged 1982: 176). At this point in the chart in Figure 8.29, there is a
noticeable gap in the data. This figure is repeated in Figure 8.32 with the position of [e]
indicated. This occurs halfway between the regions where c cc c and a aa a are attested.


Figure 8.32: Plot of F
1
vs. F
2
(Speaker K) with location of
American English vowels e ee e, , and o oo o indicated.
158

Second, the value of F
2
for the Mono vowel a aa a provides evidence that that is the
correct symbol to use in transcribing the sound. The mean value of F
2
is 1292 Hz, which
is higher than the value of F
2
in the vowel o oo o of a typical male American English speaker
(~1100 Hz), but lower than the value of F
2
in the vowel of a typical American English
speaker (~1660 Hz, Ladefoged 1982: 176).
Of course, these observations are based on the assumption that the vowel space of
the Mono speaker correlates with the average vowel space of a male speaker of American
English. Unfortunately, as of yet, a foolproof method of normalizing such data has yet to
be developed. Ladefoged (1982: 195-6) admits that [P]honeticians do not really know
how to compare acoustic data on the sounds of one individual with those of another. He
suggests two possible approximations: (1) use the average value of F
4
as an
approximation of an individuals head size, or (2) assume that each set of vowels is
representative of the complete range of a speakers vowel qualities.
In the case at hand, the average F
1
and F
2
values for i and u are approximately the
same for American English and Mono, as shown in (4), so the assumption that the vowel
space is the same is a reasonable approximation.

(4) English Mono (Speaker 1)
F
1
F
2
F
1
F
2

i 280 2250 272.5 1940
u 310 870 270 897.5

Finally, note that there is separation between a aa a and its allophonic variant []. This
provides acoustic support for raising process exemplified in (15) of Section 2.2.
For comparison, Figure 8.33 shows each Mono vowel spoken in isolation.






159




Figure 8.33: Spectrogram of Mono vowels spoken in isolation (Speaker K).
8.2.2 Vowel duration
There are two aspects of vowel duration which were introduced previously in the
dissertation. First, in Chapter 5, I noted that in words containing a CV
1
LV
1
sequence (L =
liquid), the first vowel may optionally be shortened or even elided. In this section, I will
provide acoustic evidence for this optional rule and show that speaker rate is one
environment in which the process applies. Second, in Chapter 2, I noted that vowels with
contour tones are phonetically longer than other vowels. In this section, I will provide
some tentative acoustic evidence for this phenomenon.
First, let us examine the instance of a shortened or elided vowel in a CV
1
LV
1

sequence. One circumstance in which this occurs is in the case of rapid speech. I
measured the duration of both vowels in 15 words containing CV
1
LV
1
sequences spoken
at both normal and rapid rates by Speakers A and K. The first vowel was measured from
the burst of a previous stop or the end of aperiodic noise of a previous fricative to the
160

start of I II I or r rr r. The second vowel was measured from the end of I II I or r rr r to the point where
the F
2
of the vowel was no longer clearly visible. The results are given in Table 8.5.
Table 8.5: Duration of vowels in CVLV sequences spoken at normal and rapid rates of
speech. Standard deviations are given in parentheses. (Speakers A and K)

Normal Rapid Decrease
Speaker A
CV
1
LV
1
146 (31.7) 56.8 (26.0) 62%
CV
1
LV
1
132 (26.4) 87.6 (25.7) 34%
Speaker K
CV
1
LV
1
205 (37.8) 46.4 (17.8) 77%
CV
1
LV
1
122 (25.8) 74.9 (29.5) 39%
The duration of each vowel in each word was significantly shorter in rapid speech
than in normal speech. However, the shortening was consistently far more pronounced
for the first vowel of each sequence than the second. The first vowel was reduced by 60-
80% of its value in normal speech, whereas the second vowel was decreased by 30-40%
of its value in normal speech.
Figure 8.34 shows an example of this shortening process. The figure contains two
tokens of the word oporo oporo oporo oporo egg, the first produced with a rapid speaking rate and the
second at a normal rate. In rapid speech, both vowels in the Co oo oLo oo o sequence are shorter
than in normal speech, but the duration of the first o oo o, indicated by the arrows, has been
reduced in duration to a far greater extent than the second o oo o.
In some cases, the first vowel is completely elided in rapid speech. Figure 8.35
shows two tokens of the word ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait. The first token was produced with rapid
speech, whereas the second one was produced with normal speech. In rapid speech, the
first a aa a in the Ca aa aLa aa a sequence has been completely elided, yielding [ambIa]. In normal
speech, the first a aa a is visible.
161


Figure 8.34: Waveform and spectrogram of the word oporo oporo oporo oporo egg spoken with rapid and
normal speaking rates (Speaker K).

Figure 8.35: Waveform and spectrogram of the word ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait spoken with rapid
and normal speaking rates (Speaker A)
162

Words with only two syllables should not exhibit this elision, in order to satisfy
the word minimality condition discussed in Chapter 6. Indeed, if we look at Figure 8.36,
we see that this is the case. The figure presents two tokens of the word mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa elephant.
In the first token, produced with rapid speech, we see that both vowels, rather than just
the first, are shortened. There is also a significant shortening of the intervening consonant
l as well.

Figure 8.36: Waveform and spectrogram of the word mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa elephant spoken with rapid
and normal speaking rates (Speaker K)
Thus, rapid speech appears to be one condition for the occurrence of vowel
shortening or elision of the first V in a CV
1
LV
1
sequence. This does not exclude the
possibility that other factors may also produce this shortening. Further studies are needed
to consider other possible causes.
In Chapter 2, I noted that vowels with a contour tone are longer than those with
level tones. To test this, I compared two-syllable words containing a contour tone on the
first syllable against two-syllable words containing a level tone on the first syllable. I
163

measured the duration of the first vowel in these tokens. Measurement criteria were taken
from Peterson & Lehiste (1960). The results are shown in Table 8.6. The average
duration of a vowel with a contour tone was about 15 percent greater than the average
duration of a vowel with a level tone. A one-tailed t-test indicated that the difference was
significant (t = 1.955, p < .025).
Table 8.6: Comparison of the duration of long and short vowels in a word-initial syllable
(Speaker K)
Token Duration of long V (ms) Token Duration of short V (ms)
baati 191 bapa 140
baati 158 t]at]u 200
t]aat]i 192 t]at]u 177
t]aat]i 202 t]aIu 160
t]aaIa 218 t]aIu 162
t]aaIa 240 t]ada 190
t]ada 196
Mean 200 Mean 175
SD 25.5 SD 20.4
8.2.3 Vowel nasalization
In Chapter 2, I claim that vowels adjacent to a nasal consonant may be nasalized.
In this section, I provide acoustic evidence for this claim. The following results are based
on examination of 15 tokens containing nasal consonants.
The first step in determining the nasalization of vowels is to identify acoustic
correlates of such nasalization. Lieberman & Blumstein (1988: 223) note:
[T]he primary acoustic cue for vowel nasalization is a reduction in the spectral
prominence of the first formant. This is accomplished by either broadening the F
1

peak (making it wider in bandwidth) or creating an additional spectral peak
nearby...
Compare Figure 8.37 (aba aba aba aba) with Figure 8.38 (ama ama ama ama). In Figure 8.37, there is good
separation between F
1
and F
2
, both before and after the stop, so that the two formants are
distinguishable from each other. In Figure 8.38, however, the separation between the two
formants is not clear, especially before the nasal consonant. This is likely due to the
164

presence of a nasal formant at the same general frequency (this nasal formant is visible in
the nasal consonant). The same loss of separation between F
1
and F
2
can be seen in the
possible word ana ana ana ana in Figure 8.39. In addition, the formant structure of the vowels in
Figures 8.38 and 8.39 (adjacent to a nasal consonant) is less well defined than that found
in Figure 8.37 (adjacent to an oral consonant).
There is an additional property in the speech of Speaker K providing further
evidence for the presence of nasalization in the vowels adjacent to a nasal consonant.
Examine again the spectrograms of the possible words ama ama ama ama and ana ana ana ana in Figures 8.38 and
8.39. During the articulation of the nasal consonant in each case, there is a nasal formant
F
N
at a frequency of approximately 2100 Hz. It is lighter than the vocalic formants, but
nevertheless it is visible. Also note that in the vowel preceding the nasal consonant, F
3
is
visible at the beginning, but becomes less resolute close to the consonant. In the vowel
following the nasal consonant, F
3
is not clearly distinguishable, but the nasal formant at
2100 Hz projects into the vowel area.

Figure 8.37: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word aba aba aba aba (Speaker K).
165


Figure 8.38: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word ama ama ama ama (Speaker K). A nasal
formant F
N
is visible at approximately 2100 Hz.

Figure 8.39: Waveform and spectrogram of the possible word ana ana ana ana (Speaker K). A nasal
formant F
N
is visible at approximately 2100 Hz. Formant tracking marks show F
N
in
second vowel.
166

Figures 8.40 and 8.41 show spectrograms of the words b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 tobacco and k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5
hippo, respectively. In Figure 8.40, F
3
is visible for both vowels at about 2400 Hz, its
typical value for 5 55 5. In Figure 8.41, however, a couple of changes can be noted. First, in
the initial vowel, F
3
has dropped to a value of about 2250 Hz, perhaps due to the
influence of the nasal formant. In the second vowel, F
3
is not distinguishable. Rather, the
nasal formant at 2100 Hz is visible, continuing out from the consonant into the vowel.
These findings confirm that a nasal consonant does induce nasalization on
adjacent vowels. Both the vowel preceding the nasal consonant and the vowel following
the nasal consonant are affected.


Figure 8.40: Waveform and spectrogram of the word b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 tobacco (Speaker K)
167


Figure 8.41: Waveform and spectrogram of the word k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 hippo (Speaker K)
In Section 2.2, I noted that nasalization sounds more pronounced on certain
vowels than on others. When a nasal formant overlaps with an oral formant, the oral
formant will be affected to a larger degree than in cases of non-overlap. The expected
result, then, is that nasalization will sound more pronounced in cases of overlap.
8.3 Secondary articulations
In this section, I examine two questions regarding the phonetic implementation of
the secondary articulations of labialization and palatalization. In Chapter 4, I claimed that
labialization and palatalization in Mono are phonetically closer to mid vowels rather than
high vowels. Since these two secondary articulations are generally assumed to correspond
phonetically to high vowels, I need to bolster this claim. For example, Ladefoged &
Maddieson (1996: 363) note that palatalization concerns the superimposition of a raising
of the front of the tongue toward a position similar to that for i on a primary gesture.
5


5
Smalley (1989) did not make this assumption. See especially pp. 176, 178, and 183.
168

Second, I argue in Chapter 4 that labialization and palatalization do not bear tone. This
claim is essentially a phonological claim, that is, the distribution of these segments with
respect to tone argues for an interpretation in which they are considered not to bear tone.
Nevertheless, phonetic evidence could be considered an additional argument in support of
my analysis.
I first address the question of whether Mono secondary articulations are closer to
mid or high vowels. My auditory impressions indicate that they are best transcribed as [c]
and [o]. However, offering acoustic evidence for this claim is difficult. In normal speech
there is no steady state during their articulation such as found in vowels. As a result, it is
necessary to turn to tokens spoken at a slow rate of speech in order to identify formant
values. In my corpus, I was not able to identify a case of palatalization with steady-state
formants. On the other hand, acoustic evidence for labialization is more apparent. The
utterance shown in Figure 8.42 gives an example of labialization with an unmistakable
steady state. The steady state is indicated by the arrows in the figure.
Table 8.7 compares the average values of F
1
and F
2
for u uu u and o oo o measured in
Section 8.2.1 with the values measured for the token in Figure 8.42. The average value of
F
2
is identical for the two vowels. However, we see that the value of F
1
of the secondary
articulation in Figure 8.42, 350 Hz, is much closer to the average value of F
1
for o oo o (385
Hz) than the average value of F
1
for u uu u (270 Hz). As a result, for this token, it is preferable
to interpret labialization as corresponding to a mid vowel rather than a high vowel.
Table 8.7: Comparison of the values of F
1
and F
2
for the labialization in the token
ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa pack, wrap up spoken at a slow rate and the average values of F
1
and F
2
for u uu u
and o oo o measured in Section 8.2.1.
ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa u uu u (average) o oo o (average)
F
1
350 270 385
F
2
875 897 897

169


Figure 8.42: Spectrogram of the word ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa ke-gwa pack, wrap up spoken at a slow speaking
rate. (Speaker K)
The second issue regarding secondary articulations concerns whether or not they
bear tone. This is at its foundation a phonological question, depending on how the
secondary articulations are interpreted to be distributed within the phonological system of
the language. In Section 4.1, I argue on phonological grounds that Mono secondary
articulations do not bear tone. However, phonetic evidence which correlates with the
phonological analysis can be considered to strengthen the argument for the phonological
analysis.
The best phonetic evidence for arguing that a secondary articulation bears tone
would come from cases in which a contour toneanalyzed as a sequence of level
tonesoccurs on a CGV syllable. If the secondary articulation does indeed bear tone,
then we expect the change from the first tone to the second to coincide with the transition
from the secondary articulation to the nuclear vowel. If the secondary articulation does
not bear tone, then we expect the change from the first tone to the second to lag the
170

transition from the secondary articulation to the nuclear vowel. This latter case is what
we find in Mono. Figure 8.43 shows an F
0
trace and a spectrogram of the expression
e gjaa gja e gjaa gja e gjaa gja e gjaa gja Its difficult to stir. We see that the formants F
1
and F
2
have reached their
maximum movement towards the target vowel a aa a by point A (at the time mark of 29.18
seconds). At this point in time, F
0
has only dropped slightly from its starting value of
about 170 Hz. The major part of the transition from the High tone to the Low tone takes
place after this point. The contour tone occurs almost exclusively on the vowel a aa a rather
than on the preceding secondary articulation.


Figure 8.43: Waveform, F
0
trace, and spectrogram of the phrase e gjaa gja e gjaa gja e gjaa gja e gjaa gja Its difficult
to stir (Speaker K).
Figure 8.44 gives an example for labialization as well. Here we see an F
0
trace
and spectrogram for the underlined portion of the phrase cndc se ke cndc se ke cndc se ke cndc se ke - -- -kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa n nn ng5ng5 g5ng5 g5ng5 g5ng5
ne ne ne ne ase ase ase ase They will be returning now. Here, the influence of the labialization has
disappeared by point A (at the time mark of 0.825 sec). At this point on the pitch trace,
171

the pitch is just beginning to drop from its high. Thus, the entire drop in pitch occurs after
the articulation of labialization is completed. Once again, we see an offset between the
transition between the secondary articulation and the nuclear vowel, on one hand, and the
change from the first tone to the second on the other.



Figure 8.44: Waveform, F
0
trace, and spectrogram of the underlined portion
of the phrase cndc se ke- cndc se ke- cndc se ke- cndc se ke-kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa kwaa-kwa n nn ng5ng5 g5ng5 g5ng5 g5ng5 ne ne ne ne ase ase ase ase They will be
returning now. (Speaker K).
8.4 Summary and further research
In this chapter, I have examined certain acoustic properties of Mono with the
primary aim of supporting the transcription of the sound system I have proposed. In
addition, I have also discussed how these properties compare to similar properties in
other languages.
On this latter point, I have only scratched the surface. There is much more that
could be looked at in considering how the phonetic properties of Mono relate to cross-
172

linguistic universals and tendencies. Maddieson (1997), for example, sets forth a list of
properties which occur in a significant number of the worlds languages and are
candidates for being considered universals. Some of the putative universal properties that
Maddieson discusses which would be fruitful to examine in Mono include:

Higher vowels have a higher F
0
than lower vowels (Ohala & Eukel 1987; Whalen
& Levitt 1995).

Higher vowels have a shorter duration than lower vowels (Lehiste 1970).

Higher vowels have a greater tendency toward devoicing than lower vowels
(Jaeger 1978).

The vowel before a voiced consonant is longer than before its voiceless
counterpart.

F
0
tends to be higher after a voiceless consonant than after a voiced one.

Bilabial stops have a longer closure duration than velar stops.

The voice onset time (VOT) of velar consonants is longer than the VOT of
coronal consonants, and the VOT of coronal consonants is longer than the VOT of
labial consonants (Lisker & Abramson 1964, Byrd 1993).

There are other phonetic properties which would be worth examining as well.
These include:

My auditory impressions indicate that the Mono h hh h has a greater amount of friction
than the English h hh h.

Many Mono speakers are bilingual in Lingala, a Bantu language with two tones.
According to Maddieson (per. comm.), for speakers who are fluent in two
languages, one of which has three tones (High, Mid, Low) and one which has two
tones (High and Low), there are differing results as to what kind of
correspondence there is between the tones of the two languages. For bilinguals in
Hausa and Nupe, Hause High corresponds to Nupe High, Hausa Mid corresponds
to Nupe Low, and Hausa Low corresponds to Nupe . In other cases, the High of
the two-tone language is between the High and Mid of the three-tone language,
and the Low of the two-tone language is between the Mid and Low of the three-
tone language.


173


CHAPTER 9
CONCLUSION

In this section, I highlight briefly what I consider to be the interesting aspects of
Mono phonology and morphology.
Among the consonants, the labial flap is of interest due to its limited geographic
distribution (central and southeastern Africa) and the fact that it has not received much
attention in the literature. The default articulation of the labial flap in Mono is a bilabial
flap with egressive lung air, unusual because the sound is most often described as
labiodental cross-linguistically. I also note that a backing of the tongue co-occurs with the
sound. There are four acoustic correlates for the sound: (1) a brief closure of less than 30
ms, (2) rising F
1
and F
2
transitions after release, (3) short duration of formant transitions
after release, and (4) a slow, gradual drop in F
2
before the closure.
The Mono vowel system lacks a front low vowel. This phenomenon is attested in
other African languages, but it is unusual in that is leads to a smaller inventory of front
vowels than back vowels, contradicting a universal proposed by Crothers (1978). He
claimed that the number of height distinctions in front vowels is greater than or equal to
the number in back vowels. The Mono vowel system is also unusual in the fact that it has
eight vowels.
Mono has three levels tones. Tone has both a lexical and a grammatical function.
Tonal distinctions identify several TAM categories in the language. In addition, a tonal
melody is attested on certain locative adverbs, and the ga ga ga ga- prefix on prepositions
undergoes tonal polarity.
174

The two secondary articulations found in Mono, labialization and palatalization,
present a challenge for phonemic analysis in that there is not a unique solution, but rather
there are several possible interpretations. They are phonetically unusual in that they are
perceived as being articulated like the mid vowels o oo o and c cc c rather than like high vowels. I
gave acoustic evidence for this in Chapter 8.
Mono has a bisyllabic pattern, CV
1
LV
1
, in which the quality and tone of the two
vowels is identical. This pattern reduces to CLV in rapid speech, as discussed in Section
8.2.2. I suggest in Chapter 5 that the bisyllabic pattern has an underlying form of /CLV/
and that the presence of the CV
1
LV
1
pattern may be due to a diachronic change.
Mono lexical words have a word minimality condition in that they must have at
least two syllables. Many nominals in Mono have a V
1
CV
1
pattern, which I claim is the
result of the subminimal root augmentation (SRA) of an underlying /CV/ form.
Interestingly, there is also a large number of words with the shape V
1
CV
1
LV
1
, suggesting
that both SRA and V-epenthesis (which breaks up a CL sequence) apply to a /CLV/
underlying form.
Finally, concerning the optional process of leftward vowel spreading discussed in
Chapters 6 and 7, I note that there is an implicational restriction on which features are
allowed to spread. Specifically, if it is possible for the feature [high] to spread, then the
features [back] and [round] may only spread if [high] does. If [high] can spread but
doesnt, then [back] and [round] do not spread.



THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO






THE PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF MONO

VOLUME TWO









A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO

THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY


DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS






BY

KENNETH S. OLSON






CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

MARCH 2001


175


APPENDIX A
TEXTS

This appendix contains a narrative text (Section A.1), a procedural text (Section
A.2), and ten proverbs in Mono (Section A.3) with a translation in English. The first line
of each interlinearized sentence gives a phonemic transcription of the sentence. The
second line parses words into their individual morphemes. The third line provides a gloss
of each morpheme. The fourth line is a free translation of the sentence.
In Section A.4, I provide frequency counts for consonants, vowels, and tones in
each of the three texts. In addition, frequency counts of these items were obtained for a
larger corpus of texts not included in this dissertation.

A.1 The Elephant, the Turtle, and the Hippo (Narrative text)
1.
1a 1a 1a 1a ji ji ji ji nde nde nde nde kedi kedi kedi kedi ndema ndema ndema ndema toro toro toro toro ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ne ne ne ne asekc. asekc. asekc. asekc.
1a ji- nde ke-di ende-ama toro ng5ng5 ne ase-kc
1PL.INCL enter-NF mark INF-hear mark-mouth PN time DET this-DEIC
Lets hear a story now.

2.
ndema ndema ndema ndema toro toro toro toro ne ne ne ne mbaIa, mbaIa, mbaIa, mbaIa, bakong5, bakong5, bakong5, bakong5, ede ede ede ede k5n5. k5n5. k5n5. k5n5.
ende-ama toro ne mbaIa bakong5 ede k5n5
mark-mouth PN of elephant turtle and hippo
The story of the elephant, the turtle, and the hippo.

3.
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa kede kede kede kede agja agja agja agja a a a a t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se baIe baIe baIe baIe gusu. gusu. gusu. gusu.
mbaIa kede agja a t]e se- ba-Ie gusu
elephant COP animal REL 3SG be-NF at-in bush
The elephant is an animal that lives in the bush.
176

4.
t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se te te te te cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre ne. ne. ne. ne.
t]e se- te cgcre ne
3SG be-NF with big DET
He is large.

5.
undu undu undu undu jc jc jc jc ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa agja agja agja agja t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe gusu gusu gusu gusu k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 jc. jc. jc. jc.
undu jc ro- pa agja t]e-Ie gusu k5k5 jc
size 3SG pass-NF above animal in-in bush entire EMPH
His size surpasses all the animals in the bush.

6.
bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 kede kede kede kede agja agja agja agja a a a a t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se tca]o, tca]o, tca]o, tca]o, baIe baIe baIe baIe gusu. gusu. gusu. gusu.
bakong5 kede agja a t]e se- tca]o ba-Ie gusu
turtle COP animal REL 3SG be-NF small at-in bush
The turtle is a small animal who lives in the bush.

7.
an an an anga ga ga ga abakong5 abakong5 abakong5 abakong5 se se se se ndc ndc ndc ndc baIangu. baIangu. baIangu. baIangu.
anga a-bakong5 se- ndc ba-aIa-ungu
other PL-turtle be-NF also at-eye-water
Other turtles live in the water.

8.
k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 kede kede kede kede cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre agja, agja, agja, agja, a a a a t]e t]e t]e t]e se se se se baIangu. baIangu. baIangu. baIangu.
k5n5 kede cgcre agja a t]e se- ba-aIa-ungu
hippo COP big animal REL 3SG be-NF at-eye-water
The hippo is a large animal who lives in the water.

9.
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 baIc, baIc, baIc, baIc, bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 na na na na bande bande bande bande mbaIa. mbaIa. mbaIa. mbaIa.
5I5 baIc bakong5 na- ba-nde mbaIa
day one turtle go-NF at-chez elephant
One day, the turtle went to see the elephant.

10.
e e e e pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
e pa- Ie mbaIa adekc
SS say-NF BEN elephant that
He said to the elephant,
177

11.
mbaIa, mbaIa, mbaIa, mbaIa, aze aze aze aze de de de de me, me, me, me, 1a 1a 1a 1a se se se se de de de de 1o. 1o. 1o. 1o.
mbaIa aze de me 1a se- de o1o
elephant 1PL.INCL with 1SG 1PL.INCL be-NF with word
Elephant, you and me, we have a problem.

12.
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa ju ju ju ju ]c ]c ]c ]c badekc badekc badekc badekc ma, ma, ma, ma,
mbaIa ju- ]c adekc ma,
elephant ask-NF 3SG that DISC
The elephant asked him,

13.
o1o o1o o1o o1o gadc gadc gadc gadc da da da da a a a a gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 de de de de me me me me a a a a jamc jamc jamc jamc?
o1o gadc da 1a gb5- de me a aja-me
word what CLEFT 1PL.INCL find-NF with 1SG QUEST brother-1SG
Whats the problem between us, brother?

14.
t]e t]e t]e t]e pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
t]e pa- Ie mbaIa adekc
3SG speak-NF BEN elephant that
He said to the elephant,

15.
me me me me di di di di t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe utu utu utu utu me me me me adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
me di- t]e-Ie utu me adekc
1SG hear-NF in-in ear 1SG that
I heard that,

be be be be se se se se keji keji keji keji angba angba angba angba me. me. me. me.
be se- ke-ji angba me
2SG be-NF INF-enter hatred 1SG
You hate me.

16.
be be be be se se se se kepa kepa kepa kepa adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
be se- ke-pa adekc
2SG be-NF INF-speak that
Youre saying that,
178

eme eme eme eme kede kede kede kede koIo koIo koIo koIo agja, agja, agja, agja, a a a a me me me me se se se se kezi kezi kezi kezi 5]5. 5]5. 5]5. 5]5.
eme kede koIo agja a me se- ke-zi 5]5
1SG COP only animal REL 1SG be-NF INF-eat soil
Im only an animal, that I eat dirt.

17.
o1o o1o o1o o1o ne ne ne ne ko ko ko ko me me me me waa, waa, waa, waa,
o1o ne ko- me waa
word DET put-NF 1SG much
That really bothered me,

a a a a me me me me na na na na keju keju keju keju be be be be ase. ase. ase. ase.
a me na- ke-ju be ase
REL 1SG go-SUBJ INF-ask 2SG this
so I came to ask you about it.

18.
wu wu wu wu se se se se ne ne ne ne adekc adekc adekc adekc
wu- ese ne adekc
see-IMP place DET that
Know that,

aze aze aze aze de de de de me, me, me, me, 1aa 1aa 1aa 1aa ko ko ko ko t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ma ma ma ma kane kane kane kane aze aze aze aze jcka, jcka, jcka, jcka,
aze de me 1a- ko- t]e-Ie ama kane aze jcka
1PL.INCL with 1SG 1PL.INCL-FUT give-FUT in-in mouth hand 1PL.INCL then
You and me, were going to fight

a a a a o1o o1o o1o o1o ne ne ne ne e e e e ka. ka. ka. ka.
a o1o ne e ka-
REL word DET SS end-FUT
until this thing is settled.

19.
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie ]c ]c ]c ]c adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
mbaIa pa- Ie ]c adekc
elephant speak-NF BEN 3SG that
The elephant told him,
179

20.
ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc aja aja aja aja ze ze ze ze ase ase ase ase a a a a?!
ckpc aja ze ase a
bad small 2SG this QUEST
What kind of bad thing is this?

21.
me me me me zuru zuru zuru zuru t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ze ze ze ze kerena kerena kerena kerena e e e e ka ka ka ka jc jc jc jc!
me- zuru- t]e-Ie ze kerena e ka- jc
1SG-FUT tread-FUT in-in 2SG crushed SS end-FUT EMPH
Ill stomp on you ... until its over!

22.
bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 pa pa pa pa adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
bakong5 pa- adekc
turtle speak-NF that
The turtle said,

23.
be be be be wu wu wu wu me me me me ze ze ze ze!
be- wu- me ze
2SG-FUT see-FUT 1SG there
You will see me!

24.
cndc cndc cndc cndc pa pa pa pa 1o 1o 1o 1o ne ne ne ne kpeme kpeme kpeme kpeme er:e er:e er:e er:e
cndc pa- o1o ne kpe-me er:e
3PL speak-NF word DET just.in-DEIC until
They argued like that until

e e e e di di di di mbuIu mbuIu mbuIu mbuIu ko]c. ko]c. ko]c. ko]c.
e di- mbuIu ko]c
SS count-NF date fight
they settled on a date for the fight.

25.
bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 za za za za awa, awa, awa, awa, e e e e gu gu gu gu daa. daa. daa. daa.
bakong5 za- awa e gu- da
turtle take-NF road SS return-NF away
The turtle left and returned home.
180

26.
e e e e tara tara tara tara baIangu baIangu baIangu baIangu bande bande bande bande k5n5. k5n5. k5n5. k5n5.
e tara- ba-aIa-ungu ba-nde k5n5
SS descend-NF at-eye-water at-chez hippo
He descended into the water to the hippos place.

27.
e e e e pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
e pa- Ie k5n5 adekc
SS speak-NF BEN hippo that
He said to the hippo,

28.
k5n5, k5n5, k5n5, k5n5, aze aze aze aze de de de de me, me, me, me, 1a 1a 1a 1a se se se se de de de de 1o. 1o. 1o. 1o.
k5n5 aze de me 1a se- de o1o
hippo 1PL.INCL with 1SG 1PL.INCL be-NF with word
Hippo, you and me, we have a problem.

29.
k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie ]c ]c ]c ]c adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
k5n5 pa- Ie t]e adekc
hippo speak-NF BEN 3SG that
The hippo responded,

30.
me me me me se se se se baIa baIa baIa baIangu, ngu, ngu, ngu, be be be be se se se se baIe baIe baIe baIe gusu. gusu. gusu. gusu.
me se- ba-aIa-ungu be se- ba-Ie gusu
1SG be-NF at-eye-water 2SG be-NF at-in bush
Im in the water, youre in the bush.

31.
o1o o1o o1o o1o gadc gadc gadc gadc da da da da a a a a gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 de de de de me me me me a a a a?
o1o gadc da 1a gb5- de me a
word what CLEFT 1PL.INCL find-NF with 1SG QUEST
Whats the problem that youve found with me?

32.
t]e t]e t]e t]e pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
t]e pa- Ie k5n5 adekc
3SG speak-NF BEN hippo that
He said to the hippo,
181

33.
me me me me di di di di t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe utu utu utu utu me me me me
me di- t]e-Ie utu me
1SG hear-NF in-in ear 1SG
Ive been hearing that

be be be be se se se se keji keji keji keji angba angba angba angba me. me. me. me.
be se- ke-ji angba me
2SG be-NF INF-enter hatred 1SG
you hate me.

34.
1aa 1aa 1aa 1aa nga nga nga nga ko]c ko]c ko]c ko]c de de de de me me me me jcka jcka jcka jcka
1a- nga- ko]c de me jcka
1PL.INCL-FUT fight-FUT fight with 1SG then
We will fight

5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 ne ne ne ne ket5, ket5, ket5, ket5, be be be be wu wu wu wu me me me me teze teze teze teze ze. ze. ze. ze.
5I5 ne ke-t5 be- wu- me te-ze ze
day DET COND-pound 2SG-FUT see-FUT 1SG REFL-2SG EMPH
When the day comes, youll see me yourself.

35.
1aa 1aa 1aa 1aa nga nga nga nga ko]c ko]c ko]c ko]c de de de de me me me me te te te te kegbota kegbota kegbota kegbota ir:i ir:i ir:i ir:i mbimbi. mbimbi. mbimbi. mbimbi.
1a- nga- ko]c de me te ke-gbota ir:i mbimbi
1PL.INCL-FUT fight-FUT fight with 1SG ?? INF-pull taut tired
We will fight the tug-of-war.

36.
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 ne ne ne ne keIi, keIi, keIi, keIi, be be be be se se se se baIangu, baIangu, baIangu, baIangu,
5I5 ne ke-Ii be- se- ba-aIa-ungu
day DET COND-be.ready 2SG-FUT be-FUT at-eye-water
When the day comes, youll be in the water.

eme, eme, eme, eme, me me me me se se se se baIe baIe baIe baIe gusu. gusu. gusu. gusu.
eme me- se- ba-Ie gusu
1SG 1SG-FUT be-FUT at-in bush
And me, Ill be in the bush.
182

37.
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 ne ne ne ne Ii Ii Ii Ii jc, jc, jc, jc, bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 na na na na de de de de uwu. uwu. uwu. uwu.
5I5 ne Ii- jc bakong5 na- de uwu
day DET be.ready-NF EMPH turtle go-NF with rope
When the day came, the turtle got some rope.

38.
e e e e za za za za ama ama ama ama ne ne ne ne Ie Ie Ie Ie k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 baIangu, baIangu, baIangu, baIangu, e e e e wuta. wuta. wuta. wuta.
e za- ama ne Ie k5n5 ba-aIa-ungu e wuta-
SS take-NF mouth DET BEN hippo at-eye-water SS exit-NF
He gave one end of it to the hippo in the water, then he got out of the water.

39.
e e e e za za za za du du du du ama ama ama ama ne ne ne ne Ie Ie Ie Ie mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa baIe baIe baIe baIe gusu. gusu. gusu. gusu.
e za- udu ama ne Ie mbaIa ba-Ie gusu
SS take-NF end mouth DET BEN elephant at-in bush
He gave the other end to the elephant in the bush.

40.
t]e t]e t]e t]e ka ka ka ka kpuguru kpuguru kpuguru kpuguru ne. ne. ne. ne.
t]e ka- kpe-uguru ne
3SG leave-NF just.in-between DET
He went in between.

41.
t]e t]e t]e t]e ta ta ta ta rawa, rawa, rawa, rawa,
t]e ta- rawa
3SG cut-NF yell
He yelled,

42.
gbota, gbota, gbota, gbota, gbota gbota gbota gbota de de de de 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 ne, ne, ne, ne,
gbota- gbota- de 5gb5 ne
pull-IMP pull-IMP with hard DET
Pull! Pull with all your might!

gbota, gbota, gbota, gbota, de de de de 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 ne. ne. ne. ne.
gbota- de 5gb5 ne
pull-IMP with hard DET
Pull with all your might!
183

43.
cndc cndc cndc cndc se se se se kegbota kegbota kegbota kegbota tene. tene. tene. tene.
cndc se- ke-gbota tene
3PL be-NF INF-pull it
They were pulling.

44.
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa se se se se kegbota kegbota kegbota kegbota tene. tene. tene. tene.
mbaIa se- ke-gbota tene
elephant be-NF INF-pull it
The elephant was pulling.

45.
k5n k5n k5n k5n5 5 5 5 se se se se kegbota kegbota kegbota kegbota tene tene tene tene baIangu. baIangu. baIangu. baIangu.
k5n5 se- ke-gbota tene ba-aIa-ungu
hippo be-NF INF-pull it at-eye-water
The hippo was pulling in the water.

46.
cndc cndc cndc cndc gbota gbota gbota gbota tecndc tecndc tecndc tecndc er:e er:e er:e er:e kpi kpi kpi kpi Ie Ie Ie Ie akidaIa. akidaIa. akidaIa. akidaIa.
cndc gbota- te-cndc er:e kpi Ie akidaIa
3PL pull-NF REFL-3PL until all.day BEN dusk
They pulled against each other until the end of the day.

47.
uzu uzu uzu uzu baIc baIc baIc baIc a a a a gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 jc jc jc jc ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa janga janga janga janga ne, ne, ne, ne,
uzu baIc a gb5gb5 jc ro- pa janga ne
person one REL strength 3SG pass-NF above friend DET

t]e t]e t]e t]e gugu gugu gugu gugu ncnc. ncnc. ncnc. ncnc.
t]e gu-gu- ncnc
3SG RED-be.NEG-NF NEG
The strength of one did not surpass the strength of the other.

48.
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa m5 m5 m5 m5 jc. jc. jc. jc.
mbaIa m5- jc
elephant be.tired-NF EMPH
The elephant became tired.
184

49.
k5n k5n k5n k5n5 5 5 5 m5 m5 m5 m5 jc. jc. jc. jc.
k5n5 m5- jc
hippo be.tired-NF EMPH
The hippo became tired.

50.
bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 na, na, na, na, e e e e ju ju ju ju ama ama ama ama mbaIa. mbaIa. mbaIa. mbaIa.
bakong5 na- e ju- ama mbaIa
turtle go-NF SS ask-NF mouth elephant
The turtle went and asked the elephant.

51.
e e e e pa pa pa pa adekc adekc adekc adekc, ,, ,
e pa- adekc
SS speak-NF that
He said,

52.
be be be be pa pa pa pa Iima Iima Iima Iima adekc adekc adekc adekc
be pa- Iima adekc
2SG speak-NF a.while.ago that
You said before that

ebe ebe ebe ebe kede kede kede kede cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre agja. agja. agja. agja.
ebe kede cgcre agja
2SG COP large animal
youre a large animal.

53.
be be be be zuru zuru zuru zuru me me me me kerena kerena kerena kerena jc. jc. jc. jc.
be- zuru- me kerena jc
2SG-FUT tread-FUT 1SG crushed EMPH
That you would tread on me.

54.
mbere mbere mbere mbere gadc gadc gadc gadc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc a a a a gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 me me me me ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa ze ze ze ze a a a a?
mbere gadc kpe]ckc a gb5gb5 me ro- pa ze a
for what today REL strength 1SG pass-SUBJ above 2SG QUEST
How come today my strength surpassed yours?
185

55.
t]c t]c t]c t]c na na na na bande bande bande bande k5n5. k5n5. k5n5. k5n5.
t]c na- ba-nde k5n5
3SG go-NF at-chez hippo
He went to the hippo.

56.
e e e e pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie ]c ]c ]c ]c adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
e pa- Ie ]c adekc
SS speak-NF BEN 3SG that
He said to him,

57.
be be be be pa pa pa pa Iima Iima Iima Iima adekc adekc adekc adekc eme eme eme eme kede kede kede kede aja aja aja aja agja. agja. agja. agja.
be pa- Iima adekc eme kede aja agja
2SG speak-NF a.while.ago that 1SG COP small animal
You said before that Im only a small animal.

58.
be be be be d5 d5 d5 d5 t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe me me me me jc. jc. jc. jc.
be- d5- t]e-Ie me jc
2SG-FUT kick-FUT in-in 1SG EMPH
That youd kick me.

59.
mbere mbere mbere mbere gadc gadc gadc gadc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc a a a a gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 me me me me ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa ze ze ze ze asekc asekc asekc asekc a a a a?
mbere gadc kpe]ckc a gb5gb5 me ro- pa ze ase-kc a
for what today REL strength 1SG pass-SUBJ above 1SG this-DEIC QUEST
How come today my strength surpassed yours?

60.
gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 ndema ndema ndema ndema toro. toro. toro. toro.
gb5ng5gb5 ende-ama toro
conclusion mark-mouth PN
Now the conclusion of the story.
186

61.
ada ada ada ada budu budu budu budu ne ne ne ne se se se se ata. ata. ata. ata.
ada budu ne se- ata
foot bottom DET be-NF thus
This is the moral.

62.
agbozu agbozu agbozu agbozu pa pa pa pa adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
a-gbozu pa- adekc
PL-elder speak-NF that
The elders said,

63.
kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 jc. jc. jc. jc.
kewusere ro- pa gb5gb5 jc
wisdom pass-NF above strength EMPH
Knowledge surpasses strength.

64.
be be be be kese kese kese kese de de de de gb5gb5, gb5gb5, gb5gb5, gb5gb5, e e e e Ii Ii Ii Ii adekc, adekc, adekc, adekc,
be ke-se de gb5gb5 e Ii- adekc
2SG COND-be with strength SS be.fitting-NF that
If you have strength, it is good that

be be be be se se se se de de de de k kk kewusere ewusere ewusere ewusere gapa gapa gapa gapa ne. ne. ne. ne.
be se- de kewusere ga-pa ne
2SG be-OB with wisdom to-above DET
you have knowledge on top of it.

A.2 Preparing the fields for planting (Procedural text)

1.
bande bande bande bande 1a, 1a, 1a, 1a, ntango ntango ntango ntango ne ne ne ne kindi kindi kindi kindi keIii keIii keIii keIii jc, jc, jc, jc,
ba-nde 1a, ntango ne kindi ke-Ii- jc,
at-chez 1PL.EXCL time of field COND-be.sufficient-STAT EMPH
Where we come from, when planting time comes,
187

be be be be na na na na e e e e wu wu wu wu ama ama ama ama kindi kindi kindi kindi ma ma ma ma e e e e zuru zuru zuru zuru jc. jc. jc. jc.
be na- e wu- ama kindi ma e zuru- jc.
2SG go-NF SS see-NF mouth field DISC SS step.on-NF EMPH
you go stake out your field.

2.
be be be be kezuru kezuru kezuru kezuru ama ama ama ama kindi kindi kindi kindi a a a a keka keka keka keka jc, jc, jc, jc,
be ke-zuru ama kindi a ke-ka jc,
2SG COND-step.on mouth field REL COND-finish EMPH
After staking out your field,

be be be be g gg gu u u u e e e e t5 t5 t5 t5 ama ama ama ama kamba. kamba. kamba. kamba.
be gu- e t5- ama kamba.
2SG return-NF SS pound-NF mouth knife
then you return and sharpen your knife.

3.
be be be be ket5 ket5 ket5 ket5 ama ama ama ama kamba kamba kamba kamba jc jc jc jc o]o o]o o]o o]o k5re, k5re, k5re, k5re,
be ke-t5 ama kamba jc o]o k5re- ,
2SG COND-pound mouth knife EMPH place open-NF
After sharpening your knife, at daybreak,

be be be be na na na na nde nde nde nde kegara kegara kegara kegara kindi. kindi. kindi. kindi.
be na- nde ke-gara kindi.
2SG go-NF for INF-cut field
you go clear the field.

4.
be be be be gara, gara, gara, gara, be be be be gara. gara. gara. gara.
be gara- , be gara-
2SG cut-NF 2SG cut-NF
You cut and you cut.

5.
be be be be kegara kegara kegara kegara anga anga anga anga 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 kindi kindi kindi kindi ma ma ma ma ka ka ka ka jc, jc, jc, jc,
be ke-gara anga 5I5 vot5 kindi ma ka- jc,
2SG COND-cut another day three field DISC finish-NF EMPH
After having cleared the field for three days,
188

be be be be k kk ka a a a te te te te ne ne ne ne ata. ata. ata. ata.
be ka- te ne ata.
2SG leave-NF on DET thus
you leave it that way.

6.
e e e e kembere kembere kembere kembere ndambo ndambo ndambo ndambo ne ne ne ne 5I5, 5I5, 5I5, 5I5,
e ke-mbere ndambo ne 5I5,
SS COND-do some of day
After a few days,

be be be be na na na na e e e e ]o ]o ]o ]o jc, jc, jc, jc, ke]o ke]o ke]o ke]o tene. tene. tene. tene.
be na- e ]o- jc, ke-]o tene.
2SG go-NF SS burn-NF EMPH INF-burn it
you set fire to it [the field].

7.
c1c c1c c1c c1c banda banda banda banda kedc kedc kedc kedc t]amangba t]amangba t]amangba t]amangba ne, ne, ne, ne,
c1c banda- ke-dc t]a-mangba ne,
2PL begin-NF INF-chop towards-after DET
You begin to chop what remains,

mbere mbere mbere mbere kero kero kero kero ama ama ama ama c]c c]c c]c c]c 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 ne ne ne ne gase gase gase gase ne. ne. ne. ne.
mbere ke-ro ama c]c 5j5 ne ga-ese ne
in.order INF-gather mouth root tree DET to-place DET
in order to gather the roots together.

8.
c1c c1c c1c c1c kero kero kero kero ama ama ama ama c]c c]c c]c c]c 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 a a a a keka keka keka keka jc, jc, jc, jc,
c1c ke-ro ama c]c 5j5 a ke-ka jc,
2PL COND-gather mouth root tree REL COND-finish EMPH
After having gathered the roots,

jc jc jc jc se se se se kekate kekate kekate kekate javuru. javuru. javuru. javuru.
jc se- ke-kate javuru.
2PL be-NF INF-wait rain
you wait for the rain.
189

9.
javuru javuru javuru javuru kei kei kei kei , ,, , c1c c1c c1c c1c na na na na gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe kindi, kindi, kindi, kindi,
javuru ke-i, c1c na- ga-Ie kindi,
rain COND-rain 2PL go-NF to-in field
When it rains, then you go to the field

e e e e banda banda banda banda keIu keIu keIu keIu ngware ngware ngware ngware gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe kindi kindi kindi kindi ne ne ne ne gaze gaze gaze gaze adekc adekc adekc adekc
e banda- ke-Iu ngware ga-Ie kindi ne ga-ze ade-kc
SS begin-NF INF-plant seed to-in field DET to-there that
and begin to sow seeds there so that

c1c c1c c1c c1c zi zi zi zi de de de de awo awo awo awo ze, ze, ze, ze, de de de de agboIo. agboIo. agboIo. agboIo.
c1c zi- de awo ze, de a-gboIo.
2PL eat-OB with wife 2SG with PL-child
you, your wife, your kids will be able to eat.

10.
e e e e ga ga ga ga wa. wa. wa. wa.
e ga- wa.
SS be.good-NF much
The end.


A.3 Proverbs

1.
i i i i vi vi vi vi ipi ipi ipi ipi Iiaka Iiaka Iiaka Iiaka janga janga janga janga ze ze ze ze ncnc. ncnc. ncnc. ncnc.
e vi- ipi Iiaka janga ze ncnc
SS dance-NF dance like friend 2SG NEG
Lit.: Dont dance like your friend.
If your friend is doing something, and you dont know why, dont follow him.

2.
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa wu wu wu wu tejc tejc tejc tejc kpere kpere kpere kpere jcka, jcka, jcka, jcka, a a a a mcre mcre mcre mcre cIc cIc cIc cIc 5k5I5. 5k5I5. 5k5I5. 5k5I5.
mbaIa wu- te-jc kpere jcka a mcre- cIc 5k5I5
elephant see-NF REFL-3SG ?? then REL swallow-FUT fruit coconut
Lit.: Elephant knows himself well before swallowing a coconut.
Before doing something, make sure that you have the capability to do it.
190

3.
kat]a-kat]a kat]a-kat]a kat]a-kat]a kat]a-kat]a wo wo wo wo jamii. jamii. jamii. jamii.
kat]a-kat]a wo- jamii
RED-quickly kill-NF Yamizi
Lit.: Haste killed Yamizi.
Dont speak too soon.

4.
ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 ji ji ji ji nde nde nde nde ne, ne, ne, ne, jcka jcka jcka jcka a a a a cndc cndc cndc cndc dc dc dc dc ]c. ]c. ]c. ]c.
ajcng5 bakong5 ji- nde ne jcka a cndc- dc- ]c
owner turtle enter-SUBJ mark DET then REL 3PL-FUT cut-FUT 3SG
Lit.: If the owner of the turtle agrees, then they can cut the turtle.
If the owner agrees, then you can use something of his.

5.
kp5I5 kp5I5 kp5I5 kp5I5 se se se se kuti kuti kuti kuti jc, jc, jc, jc, e e e e mbere mbere mbere mbere t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ama ama ama ama gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo ne ne ne ne jc jc jc jc kpaha kpaha kpaha kpaha
kp5I5 se- kuti jc e mbere- t]e-Ie ama gboIo ne jc kpaha
nightjar be-NF only 3SG SS do-NF in-in mouth child of 3SG wide.open
Lit.: The nightjar is only himself. He made his childs mouth abnormally large.

6.
be be be be se se se se bata bata bata bata kamba kamba kamba kamba mono. mono. mono. mono.
be se- bata kamba mono
2SG be-NF like knife Mono
Lit.: You are like a Mono knife.
You speak with a forked tongue.

7.
ungu ungu ungu ungu kpa kpa kpa kpa de de de de kuti kuti kuti kuti jc, jc, jc, jc, e e e e dcng5. dcng5. dcng5. dcng5.
ungu kpa- de kuti jc e dcng5-
water run-SUBJ with ?? 3SG SS bend
Lit.: Water runs by itself, and thus it curves and bends.
If you do something by yourself, youll get off-track.

8.
be be be be kedidi kedidi kedidi kedidi agbozu agbozu agbozu agbozu ncnc, ncnc, ncnc, ncnc, be be be be ndo ndo ndo ndo ungu ungu ungu ungu ak5k5. ak5k5. ak5k5. ak5k5.
be ke-di-di- a-gbozu ncnc be- ndo- ungu a-k5k5
2SG COND-RED-hear-NF PL-elder NEG 2SG-FUT drink-FUT water PL-termite
Lit: If you dont listen to your elders, youll drink termite water.
If you dont listen to your elders, youll wind up dead.
191

9.
gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo kengc kengc kengc kengc Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga gbozu gbozu gbozu gbozu kevi kevi kevi kevi tejc tejc tejc tejc nde nde nde nde ne, ne, ne, ne,
gboIo ke-ngc Icnga gbozu ke-vi te-jc nde ne
child COND-beat drum elder INF-dance REFL-3SG mark DET

gbozu gbozu gbozu gbozu kengc kengc kengc kengc Icnga, Icnga, Icnga, Icnga, gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo kevi kevi kevi kevi tejc tejc tejc tejc nde nde nde nde ne. ne. ne. ne.
gbozu ke-ngc Icnga gboIo ke-vi te-jc nde ne
elder COND-beat drum child INF-dance REFL-3SG mark DET
Lit.: If a child beats a drum, then an elder will dance to it; if an elder beats a drum, then
a child will dance to it.
You can listen to the wisdom of both adults and children.

10.
cndc cndc cndc cndc zu zu zu zu gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo teraIc teraIc teraIc teraIc de de de de kena kena kena kena ]c ]c ]c ]c ncnc. ncnc. ncnc. ncnc.
cndc zu- gboIo teraIc de ke-na ]c ncnc
3PL give.birth-NF child directly with INF-go 3SG NEG
Lit.: A child doesnt walk the day it is born.
It takes time to learn something.

11.
Ickpa Ickpa Ickpa Ickpa kpa kpa kpa kpa jcka jcka jcka jcka a a a a idi idi idi idi jc jc jc jc e e e e n5. n5. n5. n5.
Ickpa kpa- jcka a idi jc e n5-
gazelle flee-SUBJ then REL horn 3SG SS turn-FUT
Lit.: If a gazelle flees, its horns will curve.
If you avoid danger, you will live long.
192

A.4 Frequency counts
Table A.1: Frequency counts of consonants in texts.
Elephant Fields Proverbs Misc TOTAL %
b 11 2 1 50 64 2.1%
b 30 11 4 80 125 4.1%
d 44 4 5 109 162 5.3%
d 3 0 0 4 7 0.2%
d 3 0 2 10 15 0.5%
I 10 0 0 22 32 1.0%
g 24 10 0 104 138 4.5%
gb 24 1 7 25 57 1.9%
h 0 0 1 2 3 0.1%
j 27 13 14 84 138 4.5%
k 77 31 19 262 389 12.6%
kp 6 0 6 28 40 1.3%
I 43 7 14 124 188 6.1%
m 39 9 4 107 159 5.2%
mb 16 5 3 45 69 2.2%
n 42 13 13 257 325 10.6%
nd 8 12 3 60 83 2.7%
nd 5 0 3 39 47 1.5%
ng 22 3 10 60 95 3.1%
ngb 2 1 0 3 6 0.2%
0 1 0 1 2 0.06%
p 20 0 1 58 79 2.6%
r 25 14 4 110 153 5.0%
s 34 2 2 121 159 5.2%
] 10 5 2 23 40 1.3%
t 26 7 7 103 143 4.6%
t] 16 1 3 49 69 2.2%
v 0 3 3 4 10 3.2%
w 10 4 2 51 67 2.2%
w 0 0 0 3 3 0.1%
z 19 5 5 96 125 4.1%
0 0 1 1 2 0.06%
1 11 5 0 72 88 2.9%
TOTAL 3080

193


Table A.2: Frequency counts of vowels in texts.
Elephant Fields Proverbs Misc TOTAL %
a 212 64 35 826 1137 30.9%
c 64 22 35 284 405 11.0%
e 252 60 34 966 1312 35.6%
i 12 3 13 47 75 2.0%
i 7 15 3 94 119 3.2%
o 45 13 16 198 272 7.4%
5 66 11 12 83 172 4.7%
u 53 11 11 114 189 5.1%
TOTAL 3681

Table A.3: Frequency counts of tones in texts.
Elephant Fields Proverbs Misc TOTAL %
H 286 71 51 969 1377 37.5%
M 129 43 42 540 754 20.5%
L 296 85 66 1095 1542 42.0%
TOTAL 3673



194


APPENDIX B
WORD LIST

The items in this lexicon come from texts, word lists, and elicited phrases. This
includes words from a draft version of the SIL Comparative African Word List (CAWL)
developed by Keith Snider and Jim Roberts.
Each entry includes the word transcribed phonemically, the part of speech (cf. list
of abbreviations on p. xii), and the definition. Additional information is included when
pertinent. This includes variant forms, morphological analysis, and the reference number
for the SIL CAWL.

a aa a

a a a a QUEST. question marker for yes/no questions.
a a a a PL. plural prefix; attaches to animate nouns, descriptive adjectives, and
ordinal numbers.
a a a a CONJ. subordinating conjunction which precedes a relative clause.
a a a a cf. pa pa pa pa.
aba aba aba aba n. father. #0329, 0333, 0345, 0353.
aba aba aba aba n. yam. #0624.
aba aba aba aba n. camp (for initiation rites). #0857.
aba aba aba aba mbcja mbcja mbcja mbcja n. father-in-law (wifes father), son-in-law. #0330, 0367.
abaIa abaIa abaIa abaIa n. hello. #1299.
abaIaduwu abaIaduwu abaIaduwu abaIaduwu PN. June.
abanga abanga abanga abanga n. molar tooth. #0066.
abanguIu abanguIu abanguIu abanguIu n. type of sugar cane. #0621.
aborona aborona aborona aborona n. Arabs.
abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 cf. but]5 but]5 but]5 but]5.
a a a a bi bi bi bi n. hammer. #1086.
ada ada ada ada n. leg, foot, footstep. #0041, 0061, 0109.
ada ada ada ada n. meaning, reason.
ada ada ada ada budu budu budu budu n. moral (of a story).
ada ada ada ada o1o o1o o1o o1o n. meaning. #1372.
ada ada ada ada 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. base of tree trunk. #0626.
ada ada ada ada uku uku uku uku n. hip, back of thigh.
adanga adanga adanga adanga n. lake. #0685.
195

adcng5 adcng5 adcng5 adcng5 n. bend, crook, curve. #0654.
adckc adckc adckc adckc Variants: adekc adekc adekc adekc, baIckc baIckc baIckc baIckc CONJ. that.
adena adena adena adena CONJ. that.
adoIo adoIo adoIo adoIo Morph: ada ada ada ada-5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 n. watch.
adu adu adu adu n. knot. #0818.
ada ada ada ada n. grass (a taller type of esb).
ada ada ada ada ADJ. real, true.
ada ada ada ada upu upu upu upu cf. dapu dapu dapu dapu.
adukuma adukuma adukuma adukuma n. ghost, ogre. #1170, 1175.
aIu aIu aIu aIu n. ant (reddish-brown biting). #0499.
aga aga aga aga n. horn (the musical instrument), two way radio, microphone.
agara agara agara agara ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi n. skeleton. #0085.
agarawo agarawo agarawo agarawo Morph: a a a a-gara gara gara gara-owo owo owo owo n. match.
agingi agingi agingi agingi n. abscess (small). #0204.
agja agja agja agja n. animal. #0394.
agja agja agja agja gusu gusu gusu gusu Variant: agja agja agja agja t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe gusu gusu gusu gusu n. wild animal. #0466.
agja agja agja agja t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi n. domesticated animal. #0479.
agja agja agja agja t]aIangu t]aIangu t]aIangu t]aIangu Variant: agjangu agjangu agjangu agjangu Morph: agja agja agja agja-ungu ungu ungu ungu n. fish. #0417.
agwa agwa agwa agwa n. buffalo. #0402.
agwa agwa agwa agwa t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi n. cow.
agba agba agba agba n. tuft, bundle. #0122, 0798.
agba agba agba agba Variant: agba agba agba agba ADJ. useless, pointless.
agba agba agba agba n. dugout canoe. #0801.
agbara agbara agbara agbara n. bridge. #0656.
agbara agbara agbara agbara n. comb.
agbivi agbivi agbivi agbivi n. pimple. #0223.
ahara ahara ahara ahara ADJ. dry.
aja aja aja aja n. fish trap. #1035.
aja aja aja aja ADJ. small.
aja aja aja aja n. mans brother. #0318, 0361.
aja aja aja aja hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa n. key.
aja aja aja aja ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu javuru javuru javuru javuru n. rainy season (little). #0750.
aja aja aja aja 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 Variant: ajajo ajajo ajajo ajajo n. small tree, small stick.
aja aja aja aja ungu ungu ungu ungu n. small river, creek.
ajabo ajabo ajabo ajabo Variant: aja aja aja aja ogo ogo ogo ogo Morph: a a a a-ja ja ja ja-obo obo obo obo n. clan. #0323.
ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 Variants: ajing5 ajing5 ajing5 ajing5, aji aji aji aji, ajc ajc ajc ajc n. person, owner.
ajcng5 ere ajcng5 ere ajcng5 ere ajcng5 ere n. owner. #0297.
ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 kezume kezume kezume kezume Morph: ke ke ke ke-zu zu zu zu-me me me me n. one who begets (parent). #0344.
aji aji aji aji n. mother. #0346, 0352, 0354.
aji aji aji aji agcnc agcnc agcnc agcnc Morph: a a a a-gcnc gcnc gcnc gcnc n. host. #0287.
aji aji aji aji aja]c aja]c aja]c aja]c bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a Morph: a a a a-ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c n. polygamist. #1205.
aji aji aji aji aki aki aki aki n. person who performs a circumcision.
aji aji aji aji akwa akwa akwa akwa Variant: ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 akwa akwa akwa akwa n. servant, employee. #0301.
aji aji aji aji angba angba angba angba Variant: ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 angba angba angba angba n. thief. #0387.
aji aji aji aji awa awa awa awa n. coward. #0277.
aji aji aji aji awa awa awa awa n. messenger. #0381.
aji aji aji aji bitu bitu bitu bitu n. deaf person.
aji aji aji aji Iunga Iunga Iunga Iunga n. hunchback. #0288.
196

aji aji aji aji gusu gusu gusu gusu n. bush dweller. #0275.
aji aji aji aji iji iji iji iji n. madman (crazy person), lunatic.
aji aji aji aji kane kane kane kane n. thumb. #0095.
aji aji aji aji kebi kebi kebi kebi Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. weaver. #0390.
aji aji aji aji keguma keguma keguma keguma o1o o1o o1o o1o n. messenger. #0381.
aji aji aji aji kegbara kegbara kegbara kegbara 1o 1o 1o 1o n. prophet.
aji aji aji aji kembere kembere kembere kembere gbare gbare gbare gbare oto oto oto oto n. potter. #0383.
aji aji aji aji kendo kendo kendo kendo kindi kindi kindi kindi n. farmer. #0376.
aji aji aji aji kewo kewo kewo kewo agja agja agja agja gusu gusu gusu gusu n. hunter. #0379.
aji aji aji aji kewo kewo kewo kewo agjangu agjangu agjangu agjangu n. fisherman. #0378.
aji aji aji aji koba koba koba koba n. patient, sick person. #0302.
aji aji aji aji kongwa kongwa kongwa kongwa n. insect. #0512.
aji aji aji aji kumu kumu kumu kumu n. enemy, supporter. #0282.
aji aji aji aji kuwuse1o kuwuse1o kuwuse1o kuwuse1o n. wise person. #1398.
aji aji aji aji IcIa IcIa IcIa IcIa n. midwife. #0382.
aji aji aji aji mara mara mara mara n. sterile person. #0304.
aji aji aji aji mbcja mbcja mbcja mbcja n. mother-in-law (wifes mother). #0349.
aji aji aji aji ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo n. blacksmith. #0371.
aji aji aji aji ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda n. rich man. #0300.
aji aji aji aji ojo ojo ojo ojo n. poor man. #0298.
aji aji aji aji oko oko oko oko n. wicked person. #1397.
aji aji aji aji o1o o1o o1o o1o n. guilty. #1656.
aji aji aji aji 5d5 5d5 5d5 5d5 n. careless, lazy person. #1636.
aji aji aji aji 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. doctor, fetish priest, medicine man. #0374, 0377, 0380.
aji aji aji aji rawo rawo rawo rawo n. sorcerer, witch. #0386, 0391.
aji aji aji aji wuti wuti wuti wuti n. beggar. #0272.
ajibo ajibo ajibo ajibo Morph: aji aji aji aji-obo obo obo obo n. relative. #0359.
ajinga ajinga ajinga ajinga n. co-wife. #0334.
ajo ajo ajo ajo n. 1) family, kinship. 2) love. #1200, 1370.
ajogo ajogo ajogo ajogo Morph: aji aji aji aji-ogo ogo ogo ogo n. inhabitant, person of. #0290.
ajond5 ajond5 ajond5 ajond5 n. principal wife. #0358.
aka aka aka aka n. wound. #0231.
akidi akidi akidi akidi n. bead (plastic). #1066.
aki aki aki aki n. razor, knife used in circumcision rite. #0832.
akidaIa akidaIa akidaIa akidaIa Variants: adiIa adiIa adiIa adiIa, aIakida aIakida aIakida aIakida, dadiIa dadiIa dadiIa dadiIa, kidaIa kidaIa kidaIa kidaIa TIME. dusk, afternoon, early
evening. #0761.
akjo akjo akjo akjo Variant: 5kjo 5kjo 5kjo 5kjo n. hoof. #0540.
ak5 ak5 ak5 ak5 n. husband. #0264, 0347.
ak5 ak5 ak5 ak5 n. male.
ak5 ak5 ak5 ak5 jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu n. he-goat. #0483.
akwa akwa akwa akwa n. work. #1104.
akwara akwara akwara akwara n. arrowhead.
akwara akwara akwara akwara n. chick peas, garbanzo beans.
akpa akpa akpa akpa Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. loincloth, cloth worn by woman. #0823, 1068.
akpaIa akpaIa akpaIa akpaIa o]o o]o o]o o]o n. platform. #0828.
akputu akputu akputu akputu n. herd (of cattle or sheep). #0553.
aIa aIa aIa aIa n. eye, surface (clear or reflective), point, blade. #0030.
aIa aIa aIa aIa udu udu udu udu n. spear head. #1040.
197

aIa aIa aIa aIa woIc woIc woIc woIc n. arrowhead. #1040.
aIawo aIawo aIawo aIawo Morph: aIa aIa aIa aIa-owo owo owo owo n. flame. #0671.
aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 n. hail. #0742.
aIi aIi aIi aIi ADJ. first thing. #1519.
aIivu aIivu aIivu aIivu n. family, offspring. #0265, 0328.
aIugu aIugu aIugu aIugu n. mushroom. #0608.
ama ama ama ama n. mouth, language, edge, boundary, price. #0067, 0655, 1128.
ama ama ama ama kota kota kota kota n. seashore. #0711.
ama ama ama ama Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. hem. #1071.
amane amane amane amane n. price.
amazi amazi amazi amazi Morph: a a a a-ama ama ama ama-izi izi izi izi Variant: damazi damazi damazi damazi TIME. morning, dawn. #0764, 0772.
amcndc amcndc amcndc amcndc n. glue.
amba amba amba amba ADJ. plain, ordinary.
ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa n. bait. #1029.
ana ana ana ana Variant: ene ene ene ene n. trip, journey, walk. #1763.
anda anda anda anda n. house. #0869.
anda anda anda anda abobo abobo abobo abobo n. termite hill.
anda anda anda anda makosa makosa makosa makosa n. cook house.
anda anda anda anda owo owo owo owo n. kitchen. #0870.
andiribi andiribi andiribi andiribi n. uvula.
andoro andoro andoro andoro n. witchcraft. #1181.
anda anda anda anda ama ama ama ama n. tip of something. #1777.
a a a a nga nga nga nga n. bottle, thermos, bowl, calabash. #0917, 0918, 0920.
anga anga anga anga ADJ. another, other. #1504.
anga anga anga anga ne ne ne ne n. some. #1507.
angaIa angaIa angaIa angaIa n. ladder, scaffolding. #1087, 1096.
angandoro angandoro angandoro angandoro Morph: anga anga anga anga-andoro andoro andoro andoro n. ancestral spirits.
anganda anganda anganda anganda PN. August.
angangoIc angangoIc angangoIc angangoIc n. type of sugar cane. #0621.
angara angara angara angara n. single person, bachelor. #0270.
angcrcpc angcrcpc angcrcpc angcrcpc n. star. #0718.
angja angja angja angja n. 1) bamboo, raffia. 2) nail. #0571, 0583, 1090.
ang5 ang5 ang5 ang5 n. rat.
ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 Variant: angoro angoro angoro angoro n. throat. #0094.
angwa angwa angwa angwa n. seed.
angwa angwa angwa angwa n. difficulty.
angba angba angba angba n. hatred.
angba angba angba angba n. theft. #1207.
angba angba angba angba ADV. after.
angba angba angba angba budu budu budu budu n. adultery.
angba angba angba angba kan kan kan kane e e e n. theft (with the hand).
angb angb angb angbe e e e Icnganda Icnganda Icnganda Icnganda n. peg. #0826.
angbo angbo angbo angbo n. festival.
apa apa apa apa n. tsetse fly. #0526.
arugu arugu arugu arugu n. no see-um, biting midge.
as as as ase e e e Variant: ase ase ase ase DEIC. this.
as as as ase e e e ba1c ba1c ba1c ba1c DEIC. that (there).
as as as ase e e e kc kc kc kc Morph: as as as ase e e e-kc kc kc kc DEIC. this.
198

as as as ase e e e me me me me Morph: as as as ase e e e-m mm me e e e DEIC. that (anaphoric).
asungu asungu asungu asungu n. flood. #0740.
a]ongb5 a]ongb5 a]ongb5 a]ongb5 n. type of sugar cane. #0621.
ata ata ata ata ADV. thus, also. #1509. ADJ. such.
ata ata ata ata n. grandparent, grandchild. #0332, 0337, 0338, 0339, 0340, 0341, 0343.
atakc atakc atakc atakc Morph: ata ata ata ata-kc kc kc kc Variant: natakc natakc natakc natakc ADV. like this.
atame atame atame atame Morph: ata ata ata ata-m mm me e e e ADV. like that, in that way.
ata ata ata atara ra ra ra n. age-mate. #0314.
ati ati ati ati LOC. down, below.
atu atu atu atu n. type of cat. #0407.
at]o at]o at]o at]o n. louse (lice). #0516.
awa awa awa awa n. fear. #1363, 1821.
awa awa awa awa n. path, way, road, track. #0706, 0723.
awa awa awa awa n. diarrhea.
awa awa awa awa baIc baIc baIc baIc ADV. the same as.
awa awa awa awa gusu gusu gusu gusu n. path. #0696.
awa awa awa awa ndaba ndaba ndaba ndaba n. awe, fear of God. #1164.
awa awa awa awa ungu ungu ungu ungu n. course of river. #0662.
awaja awaja awaja awaja n. baby. #0255.
awaku awaku awaku awaku n. cable for a trap.
awaza awaza awaza awaza PN. October.
awo awo awo awo n. wife. #0369.
awo awo awo awo n. lung. #0065.
awua awua awua awua n. mask. #1202.
awa awa awa awara ra ra ra n. fierceness. #1615.
awcngc awcngc awcngc awcngc n. rainbow. #0702.
awctoro awctoro awctoro awctoro n. stick used for animal trap.
awi awi awi awi n. hyena.
aze aze aze aze PRON. first person plural inclusive pronoun: citation, object, and
possessive form. cf. 1a 1a 1a 1a.
azu azu azu azu k5 k5 k5 k5 n. everybody. #1492.
a1a a1a a1a a1a n. aunt (fathers sister or wife of mothers brother). #0316.
a1a a1a a1a a1a PRON. first person plural exclusive pronoun: citation form. cf. 1a 1a 1a 1a.
a1jara a1jara a1jara a1jara ADJ. small (plural).
a1u a1u a1u a1u n. uncle (brother of mother). #0350.

b bb b

badoro badoro badoro badoro n. sweet potato. #0622.
bada bada bada bada n. 1) stone, rock (big). 2) battery. #0697, 0707, 0719.
bada bada bada bada n. dried sand (where water usually lies), rocks of the water.
baga baga baga baga n. cheek. #0023.
bagara bagara bagara bagara n. cow, ox. #0477, 0490.
bakjakjaa bakjakjaa bakjakjaa bakjakjaa ADV. shallow. #1682.
bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 n. tortoise (land turtle). #0461.
bakong5ngu bakong5ngu bakong5ngu bakong5ngu Morph: bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5-ungu ungu ungu ungu n. turtle (water turtle). #0462.
baIa baIa baIa baIa Variant: baIa baIa baIa baIa o]o o]o o]o o]o v. greet. #1337.
baIangba baIangba baIangba baIangba n. shield. #0839.
199

baIangba baIangba baIangba baIangba ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to n. comb (on a rooster).
baIc baIc baIc baIc NUM. one, first. #1523.
baIcIa baIcIa baIcIa baIcIa Morph: baIc baIc baIc baIc-aIa aIa aIa aIa n. being one-eyed. #0233.
bamara bamara bamara bamara n. lion. #0436.
bamba bamba bamba bamba v. exaggerate.
banda banda banda banda v. begin (loan from Lingala kobanda).
Banda anda anda anda PN. the Banda ethnic/language group.
bangana bangana bangana bangana n. zebra. #0468.
barakangba barakangba barakangba barakangba n. bat (large). #0398.
batima batima batima batima n. rope (heavy).
bc bc bc bc v. swell, be big, become fat. #1605.
bc bc bc bc ama ama ama ama v. stop up. #1750.
bcIcg5 bcIcg5 bcIcg5 bcIcg5 Variant: beIeg5 beIeg5 beIeg5 beIeg5 v. become bent (with age). #0128.
bere bere bere bere v. quarrel.
bere bere bere bere te te te te o]o o]o o]o o]o v. argue. #1324.
bija bija bija bija n. ebony. #0576.
biko biko biko biko Variant: bikwa bikwa bikwa bikwa TIME. day of the week (loan from Ngbandi, cf. Kamanda
1998: 653).
biko biko biko biko baIc baIc baIc baIc TIME. Monday.
biko biko biko biko bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a TIME. Tuesday.
biko biko biko biko minduu minduu minduu minduu TIME. Friday.
biko biko biko biko vana vana vana vana TIME. Thursday.
biko biko biko biko vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 TIME. Wednesday.
bindi bindi bindi bindi n. locust. #0515.
bingi bingi bingi bingi n. bracelet, ring, lip ring. #0797, 0803, 0833.
biruIu biruIu biruIu biruIu n. porcupine. #0451.
bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a NUM. two, second. #1524 (two).
bitu bitu bitu bitu Morph: bi bi bi bi(?)-utu utu utu utu n. deaf, deaf man. #0236, 0279.
biwa biwa biwa biwa Variant: bijo bijo bijo bijo n. nasal mucus. #0113.
biIi biIi biIi biIi ndema ndema ndema ndema te te te te ze ze ze ze v. imitate. #1424.
biIi biIi biIi biIi uzu uzu uzu uzu v. incite. #1244.
bingi bingi bingi bingi n. compound, home. #0859, 0868.
boa boa boa boa n. priest, Catholic (loan from French abbey?).
bobo bobo bobo bobo n. termite.
bongja bongja bongja bongja Morph: obo obo obo obo-angja angja angja angja n. material inside bamboo.
bowo bowo bowo bowo n. python. #0453.
b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 n. tobacco. #0850.
bu bu bu bu v. make black. #1571.
Bubanda ubanda ubanda ubanda PN. the Mono-Bubanda dialect and people.
budu budu budu budu n. buttocks, back, rear, bottom. PREP. at the bottom. #0008, 0021.
buIa buIa buIa buIa Morph: ubu ubu ubu ubu-aIa aIa aIa aIa n. blindness, blind man. #0234, 0274.
but]5 but]5 but]5 but]5 Morph: ubu ubu ubu ubu-(?). Variants: abut]5 abut]5 abut]5 abut]5, dabut]o dabut]o dabut]o dabut]o. TIME. darkness, night. #0763,
0774.

b bb b

ba ba ba ba- PREP. at (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 272).
baati baati baati baati Morph: ba ba ba ba-ati ati ati ati LOC. low. #1782.
200

bakc bakc bakc bakc Morph: ba ba ba ba-kc kc kc kc LOC. here.
bakcIc bakcIc bakcIc bakcIc Morph: ba ba ba ba-kcIc kcIc kcIc kcIc PREP. behind.
baIangu baIangu baIangu baIangu Morph: ba ba ba ba-aIa aIa aIa aIa-ungu ungu ungu ungu LOC. in the water.
baIe baIe baIe baIe Morph: ba ba ba ba-I II Ie e e e PREP. in.
bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a TIME. tomorrow. #0783.
bambija bambija bambija bambija TIME. day after tomorrow. #0765.
bande bande bande bande Morph: ba ba ba ba-nd nd nd nde e e e PREP. place, at the home of.
bapa bapa bapa bapa Morph: ba ba ba ba-pa pa pa pa PREP. on (top). #1483.
basenda basenda basenda basenda Morph: ba ba ba ba-e e e e s ss se e e e-anda anda anda anda LOC. inside.
ba]u ba]u ba]u ba]u Variant: bau]u bau]u bau]u bau]u Morph: ba ba ba ba-u]u u]u u]u u]u LOC. outside. #1484.
bata bata bata bata Variants: bata bata bata bata, bata bata bata bata CONJ. 1) since (as, because). 2) like. #1663, 1664.
bata bata bata bata Variant: bata bata bata bata, bata bata bata bata PREP. like. #1663, 1664, 1675.
bata bata bata bata Morph: ba ba ba ba-taa taa taa taa Variant: bata bata bata bata QUEST. where. #1513.
bat]akudu bat]akudu bat]akudu bat]akudu Morph: ba ba ba ba-t]a t]a t]a t]a-kudu kudu kudu kudu PREP. in.
baza baza baza baza Morph: ba ba ba ba-ze ze ze ze-a a a a QUEST. where.
baze baze baze baze Morph: ba ba ba ba-ze ze ze ze LOC. there.
ba1c ba1c ba1c ba1c Morph: ba ba ba ba-1c 1c 1c 1c(?) LOC. there (imprecise). #1776.
be be be be PRON. second person singular pronoun: clitic form (subject, direct object,
possessive for nominalized verbs). cf. ebe ebe ebe ebe.
bi bi bi bi Variant: i ii i v. hit, thresh, sew, hit with a hammer, beat, hit with a
stick/spear, strike (with hand). #0988, 1075, 1109, 1890, 1901, 1902.
bi it]i bi it]i bi it]i bi it]i v. sing. #1163.
bi bi bi bi kuturu-kuturu kuturu-kuturu kuturu-kuturu kuturu-kuturu v. smash, break. #1911.
bi bi bi bi Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga v. beat (drum). #1145, 1156.
bi bi bi bi t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ombo ombo ombo ombo v. flap the wings. #0563.

d dd d

da da da da v. slap, clap.
da da da da Variant: daa daa daa daa ADV. motion away from the listener.
da da da da CLEFT. signals focus.
da da da da kane kane kane kane v. clap (hands). #0158.
da da da da Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga v. beat (drum). #1145, 1156.
daka daka daka daka v. borrow. #1218.
daka ere daka ere daka ere daka ere v. get into debt. #1135.
daka daka daka daka Ie Ie Ie Ie v. lend. #1252.
damba damba damba damba n. tail. #0544.
damba damba damba damba ADV. still, yet.
dandoro dandoro dandoro dandoro n. spider. #0523.
dara dara dara dara nde nde nde nde o]o o]o o]o o]o v. curse. #1185.
dara dara dara dara pa pa pa pa kumu kumu kumu kumu v. surpass (height or importance).
dara dara dara dara utu utu utu utu v. attend to.
darama darama darama darama Variant: dara dara dara dara ama ama ama ama. v. swear, make an oath. #1355.
darambc]a darambc]a darambc]a darambc]a n. slipperiness. #1621.
dc dc dc dc v. chop, cut down (a tree), cut firewood, burst. #0946, 0998, 1895, 1896.
dc dc dc dc ata ata ata ata ne ne ne ne v. shorten. #1608.
dc dc dc dc de de de de ama ama ama ama v. peck. #0569.
dc dc dc dc gbara gbara gbara gbara-gbara gbara gbara gbara v. shiver, tremble. #0186, 1992.
201

dc dc dc dc t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. chop into pieces, crush (with the feet), split. #0994, 1898, 1977.
de de de de v. be; copula employed for equation or proper inclusion.
de de de de Variant: de de de de, te te te te PREP. 1) with. 2) of. CONJ. and. #1517.
de de de de 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 ne ne ne ne ADV. good, well. #1510, 1654.
deme deme deme deme DEIC. that.
di di di di v. be tangled.
dingini dingini dingini dingini n. elbow. #0029.
di di di di v. 1) count. 2) read. 3) lean to the side, bend, bank. #1411.
di di di di mbcti mbcti mbcti mbcti v. read. #1439.
di di di di t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema v. cackle. #0561.
di di di di t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema Ie Ie Ie Ie v. beseech, entreat, pray. #1327, 1347.
do do do do v. be foolish.
do do do do pane pane pane pane v. abound. #1625.
doIo doIo doIo doIo n. elephantiasis.
domoto domoto domoto domoto n. tomato (loan from French tomate). #0623.
doro doro doro doro n. partridge. #0449.
d5 d5 d5 d5 v. stomp, kick. #1874, 1903.
d5 d5 d5 d5 ji ji ji ji v. escape, evade. #1055, 1056.
d5 d5 d5 d5 pa pa pa pa v. avoid. #1790.
d5 d5 d5 d5 ungu ungu ungu ungu v. swim. #0194.
d5k5I5ngba d5k5I5ngba d5k5I5ngba d5k5I5ngba n. scorpion. #0521.
d5ndu d5ndu d5ndu d5ndu Variant: dandu dandu dandu dandu PN. December.
d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 n. part of the meal that is not the starch (can be either greens or meat).
d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 Variants: dong5 dong5 dong5 dong5, donga donga donga donga v. honor. #1243, 1622.
d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 n. praise. #1307.
d5ng5 it]i d5ng5 it]i d5ng5 it]i d5ng5 it]i v. praise, sing. #1162.
du du du du v. punch, tether (sheep or goats), tie up, twist. #0987, 1022, 1884.
du du du du m5I5 m5I5 m5I5 m5I5 v. play. #1259.
duIa duIa duIa duIa v. tie a knot. #1021.

d dd d

da da da da Variant: da da da da kotc kotc kotc kotc v. mix, spot, speckle. #1749.
da da da da PREP. opposite.
da da da da anda anda anda anda v. daub. #0999.
dagaIaIo dagaIaIo dagaIaIo dagaIaIo Morph: da-gaIaI da-gaIaI da-gaIaI da-gaIaIo o o o PREP. up, above. #1487.
dagat]at]u dagat]at]u dagat]at]u dagat]at]u Morph: da-ga-t]at]u da-ga-t]at]u da-ga-t]at]u da-ga-t]at]u n. front. PREP. towards. #1485, 1761.
dagapa dagapa dagapa dagapa Morph: da-gapa da-gapa da-gapa da-gapa. PREP. above. #1475, 1483.
daga]u daga]u daga]u daga]u Morph: da-gau]u da-gau]u da-gau]u da-gau]u PREP. outside. #1484.
dakata dakata dakata dakata Variant: dagata dagata dagata dagata ADJ. true (superlative).
danga danga danga danga v. mix, tangle. #0950, 1990.
dapu dapu dapu dapu Variant: ada ada ada ada i i i i p pp pi i i i EXCL. really. #1506.
dc dc dc dc v. coil, wind. #1926, 1997.
dcIene dcIene dcIene dcIene ?. some. #1507.
dcngctc dcngctc dcngctc dcngctc n. pepper. #0910.
dcpc dcpc dcpc dcpc n. fish-scale. #0537.
dcre dcre dcre dcre Variant: dcre dcre dcre dcre nd nd nd nde e e e v. 1) forget, be forgotten by. 2) stir a thin liquid.
#0958, 1418.
202

dcze dcze dcze dcze ADV. everywhere.
dc1cre dc1cre dc1cre dc1cre mindu mindu mindu mindu n. coarse sand, gravel. #0753.
di di di di v. 1) sense (hear, smell, taste...). 2) dig, harvest (tubers), hollow out.
#0976, 1001, 1007, 1342.
di di di di o1o o1o o1o o1o v. obey, listen. #1345.
di di di di 5t]5 ere 5t]5 ere 5t]5 ere 5t]5 ere v. taste. #0195.
di di di di t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu v. smell (something). #0189.
digi digi digi digi ADJ2. whole. #1705.
diju diju diju diju n. great grandparent.
diIikire diIikire diIikire diIikire ADJ. round.
dindi dindi dindi dindi n. greens.
dingiIi dingiIi dingiIi dingiIi v. get lost. #1823.
di di di dingiIi ngiIi ngiIi ngiIi n. mistake. #1203.
dingindi dingindi dingindi dingindi Morph: di di di di-ngind ngind ngind ngindi i i i n. bladder. #0012.
dit5 dit5 dit5 dit5 Variant: dut5 dut5 dut5 dut5 v. bathe. #0145, 0146.
dit5 dit5 dit5 dit5 Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba v. wash clothes. #1024.
do do do do v. 1) cultivate (something), hoe, crouch, squat. 2) cut (with an axe). 3)
plait. #1013, 1814, 1873.
do ere do ere do ere do ere n. weave (a basket or mat). #1073.
doj5 doj5 doj5 doj5 Morph: (?)-5j5 -5j5 -5j5 -5j5 n. stem of maize, millet, etc.; stake. #0643, 1097.
dokoro dokoro dokoro dokoro Morph: do do do do(?)- -- -okoro okoro okoro okoro n. rib. #0078.
doro doro doro doro n. sorghum. #0620.
duju duju duju duju n. ancestor, great-grandparent. #0315.

c cc c

cbc cbc cbc cbc n. liver. #0063.
cbc cbc cbc cbc n. type of grass (small), thatch (a particular kind of matiti). #1098.
cbc cbc cbc cbc ADJ. big, fat.
cdc cdc cdc cdc n. clitoris. #0026.
cdc cdc cdc cdc QUEST. who. #1515.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre ADJ. big. n. height. #1575, 1577, 1582.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre agba agba agba agba n. boat. #0795.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre kumu kumu kumu kumu n. pride.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga n. big drum. #1146.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre ogo ogo ogo ogo n. famine. #1196.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre ogo ogo ogo ogo n. district, province, country. #0862.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe mindu mindu mindu mindu n. desert. #0664.
cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre uzu uzu uzu uzu n. important person, king, master. #0289, 0291, 0293.
chcre chcre chcre chcre n. wax. #0854.
chcre chcre chcre chcre awatcre awatcre awatcre awatcre n. beeswax, bee-bread. #0550.
chcre chcre chcre chcre oporo oporo oporo oporo n. eggshell. #0532.
cja cja cja cja n. firstborn. #0335.
cja cja cja cja jawuru jawuru jawuru jawuru n. elder sister. #0364.
cjc cjc cjc cjc PRON. somebody, someone (unknown, unspecified).
cjcre cjcre cjcre cjcre ADJ. yellow, brown. #1563.
cjcre cjcre cjcre cjcre kumu kumu kumu kumu n. gray hair. #0111.
ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc ADJ. bad, evil. #1168, 1630.
203

ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc gusu gusu gusu gusu n. weeds. #0591.
ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu n. bad smell (of fish). #1611.
cIc cIc cIc cIc n. kidney. #0057.
cIc cIc cIc cIc n. fruit, grain, bean. #0593.
cIc cIc cIc cIc ndoporo ndoporo ndoporo ndoporo Morph: ndo ndo ndo ndo(?)-oporo oporo oporo oporo n. testicle. #0092.
cIc cIc cIc cIc ngima ngima ngima ngima n. palm nut. #0613.
cIc cIc cIc cIc owo owo owo owo n. shot gun shell.
cIc cIc cIc cIc owo owo owo owo Variant: cIcwo cIcwo cIcwo cIcwo n. rice. #0618.
cIc cIc cIc cIc 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 Variant: Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 n. 1) fruit of a tree, grain (usually for eating). 2) pill. #0893.
cnc cnc cnc cnc PRON. third person plural logophoric pronoun. cf. ene ene ene ene.
cndc cndc cndc cndc Variant: endc endc endc endc PRON. third person plural pronoun.
cngc cngc cngc cngc n. needle. #1072.
c]c c]c c]c c]c PRON. third person singular pronoun: citation form. cf. t tt t]e ]e ]e ]e, ]c ]c ]c ]c. #1453,
1454, 1455.
c]c c]c c]c c]c n. root.
c]c c]c c]c c]c 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 Variant: ]cjo ]cjo ]cjo ]cjo n. tree root. #0639.
cvcre cvcre cvcre cvcre n. type of bamboo. #0571.
cc cc cc cc n. caterpillar. #0503.
c1c c1c c1c c1c PRON. second person plural pronoun: citation form. cf. 1c 1c 1c 1c.
c1cIc c1cIc c1cIc c1cIc n. grudge holding.

e ee e

e e e e PRON. same subject pronoun, inanimate subject pronoun.
ebere ebere ebere ebere n. quarrel. #1264.
ebe ebe ebe ebe PRON. second person singular pronoun: citation form. cf. be be be be, ze ze ze ze.
ede ede ede ede CONJ. if. #1497.
ede ede ede ede Variant: gand gand gand gande e e e CONJ. and; noun phrase coordination. #1490.
ede ede ede ede etc etc etc etc ?. perhaps. #1505.
edendc edendc edendc edendc ?. same. #1681.
egere egere egere egere n. waist. #0103.
eme eme eme eme PRON. first person singular pronoun: citation form. cf. me me me me.
enckc enckc enckc enckc Variant: ]enckc ]enckc ]enckc ]enckc, t]enckc t]enckc t]enckc t]enckc Morph: t]e t]e t]e t]e-nckc nckc nckc nckc DEIC. that, which.
ene ene ene ene PRON. third person singular logophoric pronoun. cf. cnc cnc cnc cnc.
ene ene ene ene cf. n nn ne e e e.
eneta eneta eneta eneta Morph: en en en ene e e e-ta ta ta ta QUEST. which. #1514.
ende ende ende ende n. mark, impression, print, track, imprint, drawing; the impression that
something or someone makes; can also have a sense of presence for an
animate object; footprint; point (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 28, 160, 401).
#0552, 1770.
ende ende ende ende ada ada ada ada Variant: nd nd nd nde e e e da da da da n. footprint.
ere ere ere ere n. thing. #1466.
ere ere ere ere CONJ. until.
ere ere ere ere banda banda banda banda koba koba koba koba n. bride price.
ere ere ere ere kegb5ta kegb5ta kegb5ta kegb5ta de de de de oIoro oIoro oIoro oIoro n. rake.
ere ere ere ere k5-k5 k5-k5 k5-k5 k5-k5 n. everything. #1493.
ere ere ere ere ne ne ne ne uzu uzu uzu uzu n. belongings. #1120.
ere ere ere ere ogo ogo ogo ogo Variant: rogo rogo rogo rogo n. food.
204

ere ere ere ere t]angba t]angba t]angba t]angba n. inheritance. #1124.
ese ese ese ese n. place, point (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 28, 160). #0699, 1770.
ese ese ese ese keIi keIi keIi keIi 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 n. west. #1779.
ese ese ese ese kewuta kewuta kewuta kewuta 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 LOC. east. #1758.
ese ese ese ese oIo oIo oIo oIo n. sleeping place. #0878.
ete ete ete ete n. being, entity, physical person, body (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 28, 160).
ete ete ete ete ne ne ne ne PRON. that (subject).

I II I

Ia Ia Ia Ia v. become, cook, prepare, translate, change, alter, turn round. #1706, 1707,
1710, 1883.
Ia Ia Ia Ia di di di di v. go round. #1831.
Ia Ia Ia Ia ndcngcnc ndcngcnc ndcngcnc ndcngcnc v. spread (as disease or fire). #1979.
Ia Ia Ia Ia odoro ne odoro ne odoro ne odoro ne v. make red. #1573.
Ia Ia Ia Ia ondo ondo ondo ondo ne ne ne ne v. become short. #1609.
Ia Ia Ia Ia o1o o1o o1o o1o v. contradict. #1331.
I II Ia aa a te te te te v. become.
Ia Ia Ia Ia tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri v. become round. #1607.
Ia Ia Ia Ia t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 v. abandon. #1209.
Ia Ia Ia Ia t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. translate.
Iangu Iangu Iangu Iangu n. gruel, pap. #0897, 0909.
Iara Iara Iara Iara uzu uzu uzu uzu v. deceive. #1333.
Ic Ic Ic Ic gbaga gbaga gbaga gbaga v. shell (groundnuts). #0983.
IcIo IcIo IcIo IcIo n. iron (for ironing clothes) (loan from French fer).
Ie Ie Ie Ie BEN. to (a person or animal), indicates the beneficiary of an action.
Io Io Io Io LOC. up.
Ioot]c Ioot]c Ioot]c Ioot]c n. fever.
Iowo Iowo Iowo Iowo Morph: (?)-owo owo owo owo n. hot. #1658.
Iu Iu Iu Iu v. be rotten, smell (bad). #1678, 1744.
IuIu IuIu IuIu IuIu n. red ant.
Iu Iu Iu Iu mu mu mu mu n. Protestant.
Iunga Iunga Iunga Iunga n. hunch (of hunchback), bump (on back). #0052, 1614.
Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a n. soap, foam. #0673.

g gg g

ga ga ga ga v. be good, be beautiful, be pleasant, be sweet. #1632,1673.
ga ga ga ga- Variant: ga ga ga ga- PREP. towards, to (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 272).
ga ga ga ga te te te te v. please, satisfy. #1260.
gadc gadc gadc gadc QUEST. what. #1511.
gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru n. mortar. #1089.
gaIa gaIa gaIa gaIa n. market (loan from Sango?). #0871.
gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo Morph: ga-aIa-Io ga-aIa-Io ga-aIa-Io ga-aIa-Io LOC. up.
gaIangu gaIangu gaIangu gaIangu Morph: ga ga ga ga-aIa aIa aIa aIa-ungu ungu ungu ungu LOC. to the water.
gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe Morph: ga ga ga ga-I II Ie ee e PREP. into.
gamangba gamangba gamangba gamangba Morph: ga ga ga ga-mangba mangba mangba mangba PREP. behind.
game game game game Morph: ga ga ga ga-me me me me LOC. here.
205

gamba gamba gamba gamba v. honor, admire. #1243, 1401, 1622.
ganja ganja ganja ganja n. branch. #0628.
gande gande gande gande Morph: ga ga ga ga-nd nd nd nde e e e PREP. place.
gandiri gandiri gandiri gandiri Morph: ga ga ga ga-ndiri ndiri ndiri ndiri PREP. side. #1772.
ganga ganga ganga ganga n. calf. #0470.
gapa gapa gapa gapa Morph: ga-pa ga-pa ga-pa ga-pa PREP. on.
gara gara gara gara v. cut (grass/hay, with a knife/coupe-coupe), mow, weed (with a machete).
#0991.
Garaba araba araba araba-MoIcngc oIcngc oIcngc oIcngc PN. the Mono-Garaba dialect and people.
garanda garanda garanda garanda n. type of traditional dance.
ga ga ga garanga ranga ranga ranga n. manioc, cassava. #0594.
gase gase gase gase Morph: ga ga ga ga-e e e e s ss se e e e PREP. in.
gasenda gasenda gasenda gasenda Morph: ga-ese-anda ga-ese-anda ga-ese-anda ga-ese-anda LOC. in the house.
gata gata gata gata Morph: ga ga ga ga-taa taa taa taa QUEST. where.
gate gate gate gate Morph: ga ga ga ga-t tt te e e e PREP. place.
gati gati gati gati Morph: ga ga ga ga-ti ti ti ti(?) LOC. down.
gat]a gat]a gat]a gat]a Morph: g gg ga-t]a a-t]a a-t]a a-t]a PREP. bottom of.
gat]akudu gat]akudu gat]akudu gat]akudu Morph: ga ga ga ga-t]a t]a t]a t]a-kudu kudu kudu kudu PREP. under.
gau]u gau]u gau]u gau]u Morph: ga ga ga ga-u]u u]u u]u u]u LOC. outside.
gaut]u gaut]u gaut]u gaut]u Morph: ga ga ga ga-ut]u ut]u ut]u ut]u PREP. in front of.
gava gava gava gava n. panther.
gaza gaza gaza gaza n. 1) circumcision. 2) one who has completed the circumcision rite.
gaza gaza gaza gaza aga aga aga aga n. type of circumcision dance (lit: horn circumcision).
gaza gaza gaza gaza ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c n. female circumcision.
gaza gaza gaza gaza mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa n. type of circumcision dance (lit: elephant circumcision).
gaza gaza gaza gaza t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi n. medical circumcision (non-ceremonial, done by a nurse).
gaze gaze gaze gaze Morph: ga ga ga ga-ze ze ze ze LOC. there.
ga1c ga1c ga1c ga1c Morph: ga ga ga ga-1c 1c 1c 1c(?) LOC. there [imprecise].
gcIc gcIc gcIc gcIc ADJ. left. #1764.
gcnc gcnc gcnc gcnc n. stranger, guest. #0285.
gcre gcre gcre gcre v. grow, grow up, sprout. #0650, 1240, 1729.
gcre gcre gcre gcre ngware ngware ngware ngware v. grow (of plants). #0649.
gcta gcta gcta gcta v. chase away, knock down, blow down. #1805, 1904, 1924.
gi gi gi gi v. 1) push. 2) return (something). #1267.
gi gi gi gi ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c v. annul a marriage.
gi gi gi gi kuda kuda kuda kuda v. pay (debt). #1139.
gi gi gi gi 5t]5 ere 5t]5 ere 5t]5 ere 5t]5 ere v. thank. #1358.
gi gi gi gi uzu uzu uzu uzu gaut]u gaut]u gaut]u gaut]u ne ne ne ne v. help. #1242.
gi gi gi gi 1o 1o 1o 1o v. answer (a call). #1322.
gi gi gi gi 1o 1o 1o 1o Ie Ie Ie Ie v. answer, reply. #1323.
gi gi gi gi v. 1) sow, scatter seeds. 2) cause to defecate. 3) carve, file. #1106.
gi gi gi gi 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 v. work wood. #1119.
gi gi gi gi tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri v. make round, cut. #1110.
gi gi gi gi t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa v. plane off. #1115.
g gg gi ii i t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. hollow out. #1115.
gi gi gi gi uku uku uku uku v. set (trap), trap (animal), build a trap. #1061, 1065.
giri]i giri]i giri]i giri]i n. bile, gall bladder. #0011, 0044, 0110.
gja gja gja gja v. stir (with difficulty), do something repeatedly (with perseverance).
206

go go go go v. sprinkle (e.g. dust). #1980.
Gobu obu obu obu PN. The Gobu language and people.
gojo gojo gojo gojo Variant: gojc gojc gojc gojc n. goiter, crop (bird). #0211, 0531.
gonda gonda gonda gonda n. axe. #1028.
goro goro goro goro v. touch.
gorokpa gorokpa gorokpa gorokpa Morph: ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro-akpa akpa akpa akpa(?) n. cave. #0659.
goromamu goromamu goromamu goromamu Variant: ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro-mamu mamu mamu mamu n. vagina. #0101.
goruju goruju goruju goruju Morph: ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro-uju uju uju uju Variant: ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro uju uju uju uju n. anus. #0003.
gosa gosa gosa gosa n. type of green, traditional Mono food.
gotc gotc gotc gotc Variant: gotc gotc gotc gotc de de de de koda koda koda koda v. kneel. #1835.
g5 g5 g5 g5 v. bend down. #1794.
g5 g5 g5 g5 gapa gapa gapa gapa v. lean (become leaning). #1736.
g5 g5 g5 g5 ga ga ga ga ti ti ti ti v. become bent. #1709.
g5 g5 g5 g5 gat]akudu gat]akudu gat]akudu gat]akudu v. bow, bend. #1796.
g5r5 g5r5 g5r5 g5r5 v. drive away, send away, chase. #1228, 1270, 1804.
g5r5 g5r5 g5r5 g5r5 ckpc i]iri ckpc i]iri ckpc i]iri ckpc i]iri v. exorcise, drive out a devil. #1187.
gu gu gu gu v. 1) be (existential, used in the negative). 2) return (back to where you
started). 3) curse. 4) thatch. #1829.
gu gu gu gu daa daa daa daa v. say goodbye, take leave of. #1239.
gu gu gu gu ese ese ese ese v. despise. #1413.
gu gu gu gu ogo ogo ogo ogo v. move away, migrate. #1847.
gu gu gu gu o]o o]o o]o o]o v. insult. #1343.
gugati gugati gugati gugati Morph: gu-gati gu-gati gu-gati gu-gati n. prostitute. #0384.
guma guma guma guma v. prepare, repair, fix.
guma ere guma ere guma ere guma ere v. arrange. #1404.
guma guma guma guma se se se se ajare ajare ajare ajare v. tend animals. #0986.
guma guma guma guma se ere se ere se ere se ere v. store. #1016.
guma guma guma guma t]ande t]ande t]ande t]ande v. fix, mend. #1108, 1112.
guma guma guma guma zii zii zii zii v. flatten. #1937.
guru guru guru guru v. fade. #1932.
gurudamba gurudamba gurudamba gurudamba n. type of cat. #0467.
gusu gusu gusu gusu n. grass (in general, all types), grassland, bush country. #0579, 0658,
0679.
gusu gusu gusu gusu ngaIabo ngaIabo ngaIabo ngaIabo n. pipe-stem. #0827.
guza guza guza guza n. mouse. #0443.
gwa gwa gwa gwa v. pack (a package), wrap up. #1011, 1999.

gb gb gb gb

gba gba gba gba v. 1) moisten, be wet, rot, wet, immerse. 2) push down on ground (like
grass). #1703, 1996.
gba gba gba gba n. perfect. #1672.
gba gba gba gba de de de de ungu ungu ungu ungu v. become wet. #1756.
gbaamba gbaamba gbaamba gbaamba ne ne ne ne Morph: agba agba agba agba-amba amba amba amba ADV. purposeless, worthless, empty. #1502, 1645.
gbabu gbabu gbabu gbabu n. giddiness. #1365.
gbada gbada gbada gbada Morph: agba agba agba agba-ada ada ada ada n. crippled (in the feet), lame. #0235, 0239.
gbadavu gbadavu gbadavu gbadavu Morph: gbada gbada gbada gbada-i i i i v vv vi i i i n. fatness. #1576.
gbado gbado gbado gbado n. grub.
207

gbada gbada gbada gbada ngubi ngubi ngubi ngubi PN. May.
gbadada gbadada gbadada gbadada n. parcel of land, fence. #0807.
gbadcc gbadcc gbadcc gbadcc n. pineapple. #0615.
gbaga gbaga gbaga gbaga n. ground nut, peanut. #0602.
gbago gbago gbago gbago n. tobacco pipe. #0851.
gbaguru gbaguru gbaguru gbaguru n. proverb. #1309.
gbagba gbagba gbagba gbagba n. camp (for travelers), cattle pen, courtyard, enclosure, farm (loan from
Sango?). #0857, 0858, 0860, 0863, 0865.
gbaja gbaja gbaja gbaja n. type of traditional dance.
gbakane gbakane gbakane gbakane Morph: agba agba agba agba-kan kan kan kane e e e n. crippled (in the arms).
gbakindi gbakindi gbakindi gbakindi Morph: agba agba agba agba-kindi kindi kindi kindi(?) n. cripple. #0278.
gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto Morph: agba agba agba agba-koto koto koto koto n. anthill. #0548.
gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto n. latrine, outhouse.
gbaIaka gbaIaka gbaIaka gbaIaka n. drying rack.
gbaIoba gbaIoba gbaIoba gbaIoba Morph: agba agba agba agba-Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. rag. #0831.
gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda Morph: agba agba agba agba-anda anda anda anda n. temporary shelter in field or forest, hut. #0816.
gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda n. net. #1043, 1045.
gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda agjangu agjangu agjangu agjangu n. fishing net. #1038.
gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda dandoro dandoro dandoro dandoro n. spiders web. #0557.
gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda vuru vuru vuru vuru n. whirlwind.
gbangawo gbangawo gbangawo gbangawo n. gum disease.
gbangbaIc gbangbaIc gbangbaIc gbangbaIc ADV. baldness. #0106, 0127.
gbara gbara gbara gbara v. announce, preach.
gbara gbara gbara gbara o1o o1o o1o o1o v. prophesy. #1348.
gbaraga gbaraga gbaraga gbaraga n. falling trap. #1051.
gbare gbare gbare gbare n. utensil, dish, furniture. #0939.
gbare gbare gbare gbare oIo oIo oIo oIo n. bed.
gbaze gbaze gbaze gbaze TIME. day after day after tomorrow.
gbc gbc gbc gbc v. think, believe.
gbc gbc gbc gbc de de de de v. look after, believe, need, remember, think. #1253, 1406, 1433, 1441,
1446.
gbc gbc gbc gbc de de de de kembere kembere kembere kembere v. plan. #1436.
gbc gbc gbc gbc te te te te v. want, desire. #1449.
gbc gbc gbc gbc t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. hope.
gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe Morph: gbc gbc gbc gbc-t] t] t] t]e e e e-I II Ie e e e n. hope, oath, idea, thought. #1306, 1366.
gbo gbo gbo gbo ADV. the sound that a drum makes when it is hit.
gbogbo gbogbo gbogbo gbogbo n. mat. #0824.
gboku gboku gboku gboku ADJ. dried.
gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo n. child. #0257, 0368.
gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c n. boy, young man, son. #0256, 0312, 0366.
gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c n. girl, young woman. #0263, 0313.
gbongo gbongo gbongo gbongo n. zombie.
gboro gboro gboro gboro v. grow (plural).
gboro gboro gboro gboro ADJ. holy.
gbota gbota gbota gbota Variant: gbot5 gbot5 gbot5 gbot5 v. 1) pull. 2) drag. 3) record. #1818, 1854.
gbota gbota gbota gbota awatcre awatcre awatcre awatcre v. take out (honey from hive). #0985.
gbota gbota gbota gbota ere ere ere ere v. take away. #1286.
gbota gbota gbota gbota Ie Ie Ie Ie v. pull out. #1855.
208

gbota gbota gbota gbota t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe uwu uwu uwu uwu v. lengthen. #1606.
gbota gbota gbota gbota ungu ungu ungu ungu v. take out of water. #0961.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 v. 1) receive, find, get, succeed. 2) be difficult, be hard (physically). 3)
become old, grow, be fully developed, become mature, become ripe.
#0131, 1122, 1236, 1282, 1417, 1642, 1738, 1739, 1740.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 aIa aIa aIa aIa v. pay attention, take care. #1435.
gb5 ere gb5 ere gb5 ere gb5 ere v. receive. #1265.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 nde nde nde nde v. protect, guard, domesticate, tame, keep, put away, bless. #0971, 1248,
1959.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 nde nde nde nde agja agja agja agja v. herd (cattle or sheep). #0977.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 nde nde nde nde gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo v. bring up (a child). #1219.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 te te te te v. meet.
gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 uku uku uku uku v. hurt oneself. #0247.
gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 n. force, strength. #1623, 1694.
gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 te]o te]o te]o te]o v. hasten, hurry. #1833.
gb5kotc gb5kotc gb5kotc gb5kotc Morph: gb5- gb5- gb5- gb5-(?) n. fierceness. #1615.
gb5ku gb5ku gb5ku gb5ku 5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 n. clod. #0660.
gb5kumu gb5kumu gb5kumu gb5kumu n. difficult. #1642.
gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa n. hard. #1657.
gb5I5 gb5I5 gb5I5 gb5I5 n. road.
gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 n. conclusion.
gb5]5 gb5]5 gb5]5 gb5]5 n. bedroom, room. #0856, 0877.
gb5te ere gb5te ere gb5te ere gb5te ere v. sieze (by force, e.g. military). #1060.
gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu Morph: 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5-uzu uzu uzu uzu Variant: gbozu gbozu gbozu gbozu n. elder, parent, old, adult. #0135, 0253,
0293, 0375, 1655.
gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu ogo ogo ogo ogo n. chief, headman. #0373.
gburuwa gburuwa gburuwa gburuwa ADV. lasting.

h hh h

haao haao haao haao ADV. in vain, without success.
haga haga haga haga ADV. hard, wide. #1604.
hao hao hao hao ADV. brightly.
hao hao hao hao ADV. very fast, without reflecting on what youre doing.
hara hara hara hara ADV. giant, high. #0284, 1590.
hcrc hcrc hcrc hcrc ADV. sharp. #1683.
hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa n. gourd rattle.
hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa hcrcIa manda manda manda manda n. lock.
hcre hcre hcre hcre oporo oporo oporo oporo v. hatch. #0566.
hoja hoja hoja hoja o1o o1o o1o o1o n. whisper. #1316.
h5r5g5 h5r5g5 h5r5g5 h5r5g5 ADV. hidden, safe, well-protected.
hwija hwija hwija hwija ADV. hot.

i ii i

ija ija ija ija n. mother. cf. aji aji aji aji. #0348.
iji iji iji iji n. fool, madness, mad. #1371, 1388.
iji iji iji iji woIc woIc woIc woIc n. shaft (of arrow). #1047.
209

iki iki iki iki ADJ. sharp.
ik ik ik ikpi pi pi pi ADJ. tart.
iIi iIi iIi iIi ADJ. deep.
imi imi imi imi ADJ. thick.
imbi imbi imbi imbi ADJ. white, off-white, silver.
imbi imbi imbi imbi 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 n. color of white mans skin, pink. #1564.
imbi imbi imbi imbi 5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 n. whitewash.
indi indi indi indi n. blood. #0013.
indi indi indi indi n. seed, grain (for sowing).
indi indi indi indi aIa aIa aIa aIa n. pupil of eye. #0077.
indi indi indi indi k5so k5so k5so k5so n. pumpkin pip. #0638.
indi indi indi indi Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 n. kernel. #0632.
ingbi ingbi ingbi ingbi n. fish trap.
ipi ipi ipi ipi n. dance. #1144.
ipi ipi ipi ipi n. alcoholic beverage.
ipi ipi ipi ipi aga aga aga aga n. horn male circumcision dance.
ipi ipi ipi ipi ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa n. a traditional dance.
ipi ipi ipi ipi gaza gaza gaza gaza n. circumcision dance.
ipi ipi ipi ipi mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa n. elephant male circumcision dance.
ipi ipi ipi ipi mbundu mbundu mbundu mbundu n. beer, mead. #0882, 0902.
i]i i]i i]i i]i n. thorn, splinter. #0645, 0844.
i]iri i]iri i]iri i]iri n. shadow, image, spirit, drawing, photograph. #0712, 1179.
i]i i]i i]i i]iri ri ri ri japu japu japu japu n. moonlight. #0747.
i]iri i]iri i]iri i]iri uzu uzu uzu uzu n. soul. #1178.
it]i it]i it]i it]i n. song. #1155.
ii ii ii ii n. tooth, tusk (of warthog). #0098, 0545.
ii ii ii ii mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa n. elephants tusk. #0534.

i ii i

idi idi idi idi Variant: idi idi idi idi n. horn, antler. #0541.
igi igi igi igi n. neck. #0071.
iki iki iki iki n. crying, groaning, request, sound. #1298, 1310, 1311.
iki iki iki iki javoro javoro javoro javoro n. dog bark.
ikiri ikiri ikiri ikiri n. plant stalk.
iIi iIi iIi iIi n. sweat.
imi imi imi imi n. thick. #1600.
imbiIi imbiIi imbiIi imbiIi n. needle. #1072.
indi indi indi indi n. stupidity. #1376, 1395.
ingi ingi ingi ingi n. younger sibling. #0370.
ingi ingi ingi ingi aba aba aba aba n. fathers brother. #0331, 0359.
ingi ingi ingi ingi aji aji aji aji n. aunt (mothers sister). #0351, 0359.
ingi ingi ingi ingi jung5 jung5 jung5 jung5 n. younger sister. #0365.
ingiri ingiri ingiri ingiri ADJ. long, tall. n. noise. #1305, 1595.
ingiri ingiri ingiri ingiri javuru javuru javuru javuru n. thunder. #0758.
ingiri ingiri ingiri ingiri kamb kamb kamb kamba a a a n. sword, machete. #1048.
ingiri ingiri ingiri ingiri ne ne ne ne n. length. #1578.
ingbi ingbi ingbi ingbi n. metal rattle with wooden handle, bell. #0794.
210

ingbiri ingbiri ingbiri ingbiri Variant: ingbiri ingbiri ingbiri ingbiri n. salt. #0911, 0956.
ingbi]o ingbi]o ingbi]o ingbi]o Morph: ingbi ingbi ingbi ingbi-o]o o]o o]o o]o n. light. #0688.
ipi ipi ipi ipi Variant: upu upu upu upu n. matter, affair, truth. #1192.
iri iri iri iri ADV. hard.
ivi ivi ivi ivi Variant: uvu uvu uvu uvu n. abdomen, stomach, belly. #0001, 0010.
izi izi izi izi n. 1) cold. 2) air (breathed). #0651, 0734, 1638.
i1iri i1iri i1iri i1iri n. name. #1303.

j jj j

ja ja ja ja v. singe. #1974.
ja ja ja ja nda nda nda nda v. hesitate. #1421.
ja ja ja ja te te te te v. spend time, lie down, rest. #1276, 1666.
ja ja ja ja te te te te o]o o]o o]o o]o v. rest. #0182.
jabo jabo jabo jabo Morph: aja aja aja aja-obo obo obo obo n. member.
jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu n. goat. #0482.
jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu taba taba taba taba Variant: jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu taba taba taba taba n. sheep. #0481, 0492, 0494.
jagb5zu jagb5zu jagb5zu jagb5zu Morph: ja ja ja ja(?)-gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu n. old man. #0294.
jajo jajo jajo jajo n. baby sitter.
jaka jaka jaka jaka n. marsh, pool. #0690, 0701.
jakindi jakindi jakindi jakindi Morph: aja-k aja-k aja-k aja-ki i i i nd nd nd ndi i i i n. garden. #0894.
jakoro jakoro jakoro jakoro n. snake. #0457.
jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c n. male.
jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c kanga kanga kanga kanga n. male slave. #0292.
jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu n. dead man. #0260.
jakot jakot jakot jakot]a ]a ]a ]a jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu n. lamb. #0488.
jak5ne jak5ne jak5ne jak5ne Variant: jakanc jakanc jakanc jakanc, j5k5n j5k5n j5k5n j5k5ne e e e Morph: aja aja aja aja-kan kan kan kane e e e n. finger. #0037.
Jakpa akpa akpa akpa PN. the Yakpa language and people.
jaIawu jaIawu jaIawu jaIawu Variant: jaIawu jaIawu jaIawu jaIawu n. grinding stone. #0928, 0938.
jamba jamba jamba jamba v. learn. #1428. v. try, test. #1447.
jamburu jamburu jamburu jamburu n. 1) cooking stones (usually three, on top of which the pot is put),
fireplace, brazier (bambola). 2) family, clan. #0923, 0926.
janu janu janu janu Variant: j5nu j5nu j5nu j5nu n. bird, fowl. #0401, 0418.
janga janga janga janga n. joy.
janga janga janga janga n. friend. #0262.
jangangu jangangu jangangu jangangu n. brook, stream. #0657.
jangopc jangopc jangopc jangopc n. fingernail, claw. #0530.
jang5to jang5to jang5to jang5to Morph: aja aja aja aja-ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to n. chick. #0475.
jangba jangba jangba jangba n. type of traditional dance.
japa japa japa japa v. alter (clothes). #1707.
japu japu japu japu Variant: jcpu jcpu jcpu jcpu n. moon, month. #0692, 0771.
japu japu japu japu ban ban ban bande de de de zijcna zijcna zijcna zijcna n. full moon. #0677.
jarako jarako jarako jarako n. iron.
jare jare jare jare n. livestock, e.g. cattle, domesticated animal. #0473.
jasa jasa jasa jasa n. spring. #0717.
jasu jasu jasu jasu n. rat. #0455.
jasuru jasuru jasuru jasuru n. orphan. #0296.
ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c n. woman, female. #0268.
211

ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c kanga kanga kanga kanga n. female slave. #0283.
ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c koja koja koja koja n. widow. #0311.
ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c mara mara mara mara n. barren woman. #0271.
ja]i ja]i ja]i ja]i n. cup, bowl.
javoro javoro javoro javoro n. dog. #0478.
javuru javuru javuru javuru n. rain, flash of lightning (thunderbolt). #0739, 0748, 0751.
jawaza jawaza jawaza jawaza n. old woman. #0295.
jawc jawc jawc jawc PN. January.
jawo jawo jawo jawo Morph: (?)-owo owo owo owo n. firewood. #0927.
jawuru jawuru jawuru jawuru n. girl.
jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc n. catfish.
ja15ng5 ja15ng5 ja15ng5 ja15ng5 n. eel. #0415.
jc jc jc jc PRON. third person singular possessive pronoun.
jc jc jc jc CONJ. 1) but. 2) and.
jc jc jc jc EMPH. affirmative, already.
jc jc jc jc kotc kotc kotc kotc v. polish, make smooth. #1014, 1745.
jcka jcka jcka jcka CONJ. 1) then. 2) still. #0780.
jckc jckc jckc jckc v. sieve. #0957.
jcnga jcnga jcnga jcnga n. celebration (loan from Lingala eyenga).
jcre jcre jcre jcre v. have ringworm. #0226.
jcrowa jcrowa jcrowa jcrowa NUM. hundred. #1555.
jcrowa jcrowa jcrowa jcrowa bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a NUM. two hundred. #1556.
Jcsu csu csu csu PN. Jesus (loan from French Jsus).
ji ji ji ji v. enter s.t. into s.t.
ji ji ji ji angba angba angba angba v. hate. #1420.
ji ji ji ji gaIa gaIa gaIa gaIa v. dip, soak. #1929, 1976.
ji ji ji ji nde nde nde nde v. like (something), love, want, desire, accept, agree, admit (to a wrong),
wish. #1402, 1449, 1451.
ji ji ji ji nde nde nde nde o1o o1o o1o o1o v. accept, receive, take, agree. #1212.
ji ji ji ji se se se se Variant: ji ji ji ji s ss se e e e r rr re e e e v. teach, guide, lead, show. #1241, 1251, 1274, 1287.
ji ji ji ji te te te te v. get used to.
ji ji ji ji te te te te ag5g5r5 ag5g5r5 ag5g5r5 ag5g5r5 v. exchange. #1233.
ji ji ji ji uwu uwu uwu uwu v. thread (beads). #1076.
jima jima jima jima ADV. slowly. #1784.
jini jini jini jini n. husbands mother, daughter-in-law. #0326.
jiwa jiwa jiwa jiwa v. lose, be lost, disappear. #1930, 1950.
jiwa jiwa jiwa jiwa tene tene tene tene v. hide. #1422.
jiwu jiwu jiwu jiwu Variant: juwu juwu juwu juwu n. children of mothers brothers, nephew, niece. #0324,
0356, 0357.
jo jo jo jo v. abstain.
jo jo jo jo biwa biwa biwa biwa v. blow nose. #0151.
jo jo jo jo ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i v. spit. #0191.
jomba jomba jomba jomba n. type of cat. #0407, 0467.
jongombc jongombc jongombc jongombc n. vulture. #0463.
j5 j5 j5 j5 v. buy. #1134.
j5 j5 j5 j5 keziri keziri keziri keziri v. purchase food. #1142.
j5 j5 j5 j5 nde nde nde nde v. ask, need something. #1325.
j5gb5d5 j5gb5d5 j5gb5d5 j5gb5d5 Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. robe (mans gown). #0834.
212

j5k5d j5k5d j5k5d j5k5d5 5 5 5 Variant: j5k5d5 j5k5d5 j5k5d5 j5k5d5 n. toe. #0096.
j5ro j5ro j5ro j5ro t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. stretch. #1987.
j5r5ng5 j5r5ng5 j5r5ng5 j5r5ng5 n. globe shaped. #1587.
j515 j515 j515 j515 n. cricket. #0506.
ju ju ju ju v. 1) ask. 2) become cooked. #1718.
ju ju ju ju ere ere ere ere v. boil. #0941.
ju ipi ju ipi ju ipi ju ipi v. ferment (alcohol). #1725.
jugu jugu jugu jugu n. wind. #0731, 0759.
jung5 jung5 jung5 jung5 n. mans sister, womans sibling. #0319, 0361, 0362.
juru juru juru juru v. stretch out.
jut5 jut5 jut5 jut5 v. wash. #1995.
jut5 jut5 jut5 jut5 Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba v. wash clothes. #1024.

k

ka ka ka ka v. be finished, finish, used up, cease, pull up, come to a halt, wait, take
heed. #1701, 1716, 1726, 1727, 1856.
ka ka ka ka v. hurt, sell.
ka ka ka ka CONJ. so.
ka ka ka ka gapa gapa gapa gapa v. decide. #1412.
ka ka ka ka IaIo IaIo IaIo IaIo v. stand. #1278.
ka ka ka ka ndi ndi ndi ndi v. become straight. #1752.
ka ka ka ka pa pa pa pa uzu uzu uzu uzu v. order (someone to do something). #1346.
ka ka ka ka te te te te v. leave, finish. #1838, 1839.
ka ka ka ka ba ba ba ba ngima ngima ngima ngima n. palm-wine. #0908.
kada kada kada kada n. oil, grease. #0906.
kada kada kada kada aja aja aja aja ne ne ne ne n. animal fetus.
kada kada kada kada gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo n. human fetus. #0036.
kada kada kada kada ngima ngima ngima ngima n. palm oil. #0907.
kadangcrc kadangcrc kadangcrc kadangcrc n. gecko. #0421.
kadawu kadawu kadawu kadawu n. hiccough. #0214.
kaIcc kaIcc kaIcc kaIcc n. coffee (loan from French caf). #0596.
Kaga aga aga aga PN. the Mono-Kaga dialect and people.
kaga kaga kaga kaga n. mountain, hill. #0694.
kakara kakara kakara kakara v. dig up (yams), snatch. #0970, 1869.
kakiIi kakiIi kakiIi kakiIi n. basket. #0810.
kako kako kako kako n. leaf. #0633.
kako kako kako kako d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 n. vegetable. #0913.
ka ka ka ka ko ko ko ko gbangwa gbangwa gbangwa gbangwa n. notebook, paper.
kako kako kako kako mangc mangc mangc mangc n. leaf of corn plant. #0634.
kako kako kako kako ngima ngima ngima ngima n. leaf of palm. #0635.
kako kako kako kako 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. leaf.
kaIabi kaIabi kaIabi kaIabi n. head pad. #0813.
kaIakpa kaIakpa kaIakpa kaIakpa n. flat. #1586.
kaIango kaIango kaIango kaIango n. plate. #0934.
kaIawo kaIawo kaIawo kaIawo Variant: ka ka ka kaIawo Iawo Iawo Iawo n. machete, bush-knife. #1033.
kama kama kama kama NUM. hundred (loan from Lingala km).
kamaju kamaju kamaju kamaju n. dung beetle. #0507.
213

kamba kamba kamba kamba n. knife. #0929.
kane kane kane kane Variant: kanc kanc kanc kanc n. arm, hand. #0004, 0047, 0811.
kane kane kane kane baIc baIc baIc baIc n. fist (lit. one hand). #0039.
kane kane kane kane g gg gcIc cIc cIc cIc n. left hand. #0060.
kane kane kane kane jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c Variant: kanc kanc kanc kanc jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c ADJ. right.
kane kane kane kane ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c ADJ. left.
kanga kanga kanga kanga n. slave, captive, prisoner, deacon. #0276, 0299, 0303.
kanga kanga kanga kanga Variant: t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa kanga kanga kanga kanga n. shoulder, upper arm. #0082, 0100.
kara kara kara kara n. stranger. #0305.
karava karava karava karava n. charm, fetish. #1165.
kaso kaso kaso kaso n. gourd, squash.
kate kate kate kate Variant: katc katc katc katc v. wait (for). #1291, 1448.
kat]a kat]a kat]a kat]a ADV. quickly, early, fast. #0769, 1649.
kat]at]a kat]at]a kat]at]a kat]at]a TIME. long ago.
kat]u kat]u kat]u kat]u 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. bark.
kawa kawa kawa kawa v. snap, break. #1912.
kawa kawa kawa kawa n. gruel. #0897.
ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja n. weaver-bird. #0465.
ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja n. paddle. #0825.
kc kc kc kc DEIC. this.
kcka kcka kcka kcka oporo oporo oporo oporo v. hatch. #0566.
kcIckpa kcIckpa kcIckpa kcIckpa n. bed, village bed made out of bamboo. #0792.
kcngba kcngba kcngba kcngba n. alone. #1628.
kcrcda kcrcda kcrcda kcrcda n. type of broom (for outside).
kcwc kcwc kcwc kcwc v. fold. #1940.
kcwc kcwc kcwc kcwc ama ama ama ama Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba v. hem. #1074.
kcwc kcwc kcwc kcwc gapa gapa gapa gapa v. bend back. #1793.
kcwcto kcwcto kcwcto kcwcto n. weak. #1702.
ke ke ke ke COND. prefix for marking a conditional phrase.
ke ke ke ke- INF. prefix indicating infinitive form of the verb; nominalizer that turns a
verb into a noun.
keda keda keda keda ere ere ere ere n. mold. #0581.
kedi kedi kedi kedi ere ere ere ere n. number. #1521.
kedonga kedonga kedonga kedonga Morph: k kk ke e e e-donga donga donga donga n. honor.
keda keda keda keda t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa anda anda anda anda Variant: k kk ke e e e da da da da t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa n nn ne e e e n. plaster, roughcasting. #1092.
kega kega kega kega n. beauty.
kegb5 kegb5 kegb5 kegb5 kowo kowo kowo kowo n. payment. #1126.
kejindere kejindere kejindere kejindere n. kindness. #1199.
kejinde1o kejinde1o kejinde1o kejinde1o n. agreement. #1295.
kekara kekara kekara kekara n. cease (of rains). #0732.
keko keko keko keko te te te te azu azu azu azu n. marriage. #1201.
keIcng5ng5 keIcng5ng5 keIcng5ng5 keIcng5ng5 n. chameleon. #0406.
keIe keIe keIe keIe Variant: kcI kcI kcI kcIe e e e n. spoon. #0937.
ke ke ke keIi Ii Ii Ii 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 n. sunset. #0779.
kem5 kem5 kem5 kem5 n. fatigue. #0209.
kena kena kena kena n. going.
kenda kenda kenda kenda n. vomiting.
kengaanga kengaanga kengaanga kengaanga n. acidity. #1610.
214

kepc kepc kepc kepc izi izi izi izi n. wind (weak). #0731.
kerena kerena kerena kerena ADV. broken, crushed.
keto keto keto keto i1iri i1iri i1iri i1iri n. splendor. #1622.
keto keto keto keto Ie Ie Ie Ie i1iri i1iri i1iri i1iri n. namesake (lit: originate from name). #0355.
ketore ketore ketore ketore n. gift.
ket5 ket5 ket5 ket5 ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo n. blacksmithing. #1206.
keturu tene keturu tene keturu tene keturu tene n. movement. #1768.
kevu kevu kevu kevu Variant: k kk ke e e e v vv vi i i i, kuvu kuvu kuvu kuvu Morph: e e e e k kk ke e e e(?)-i i i i v vv vi i i i n. stomach (organ). #0090.
kewo kewo kewo kewo o]o o]o o]o o]o n. hot weather. #0745, 1616.
kewo kewo kewo kewo t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 n. fever (not malaria). #0210.
kewu kewu kewu kewu Variant: k kk ke e e e wu wu wu wu Ia Ia Ia Ia n. breath. #0107.
kewure kewure kewure kewure Morph: k kk ke e e e-wu wu wu wu-e e e e r rr re e e e n. vision (supernatural apparition). #1180.
kewusere kewusere kewusere kewusere Morph: k kk ke e e e-wu wu wu wu-e e e e s ss se e e e-e e e e r rr re e e e n. knowledge. #1368.
k kk kewuta ewuta ewuta ewuta 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 TIME. sunrise. #0778.
keziri keziri keziri keziri Morph: k kk ke e e e-zi zi zi zi-e e e e r rr re e e e n. food. #0892.
keziri keziri keziri keziri adiIa adiIa adiIa adiIa n. evening meal. #1194.
kezo kezo kezo kezo garanga garanga garanga garanga Variant: k kk ke e e e zo zo zo zo d dd de e e e garanga garanga garanga garanga n. bread. #0883.
ke1oma ke1oma ke1oma ke1oma I5su I5su I5su I5su n. nausea. #0221.
ki ki ki ki v. be sharp.
ki ki ki ki a aa ama ma ma ma v. sharpen (as a knife). #1018.
kingi kingi kingi kingi n. hamper, basket. #0810, 0916.
kingiwiri kingiwiri kingiwiri kingiwiri n. round. #1597.
kiti kiti kiti kiti n. squirrel. #0459.
ki ki ki ki v. cry, weep. #0167.
ki ki ki ki Ie Ie Ie Ie v. pray. #1347.
ki ki ki ki iki iki iki iki v. groan. #1338.
ki ki ki ki javoro javoro javoro javoro v. bark (as dog). #0560.
k kk ki ii i 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to v. crow (as a rooster). #0562.
ki ki ki ki te te te te ese ese ese ese v. suffer. #1445.
kikiIi kikiIi kikiIi kikiIi ADJ. heavy, serious, dull. #1589.
kikiIi kikiIi kikiIi kikiIi ere ere ere ere n. load. #0822.
kindi kindi kindi kindi n. garden, field, agriculture. #0669, 0963.
kiringbadc kiringbadc kiringbadc kiringbadc n. 1) wasp. 2) quiver. #0527, 1046.
kjakja kjakja kjakja kjakja ADJ. small.
ko ko ko ko v. take, get (more than one thing); give, put (more than one thing); sprout;
fight; bother.
ko ko ko ko aIa aIa aIa aIa te te te te v. watch. #1450.
ko ko ko ko de de de de 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 v. plunder (a town). #1261.
ko ko ko ko ere ere ere ere ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c v. give bridewealth. #1136.
ko ko ko ko gau]u gau]u gau]u gau]u v. take out. #1989.
ko ko ko ko gaIa gaIa gaIa gaIa kogba kogba kogba kogba v. store up. #1281.
ko ko ko ko gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe v. load. #1844.
ko ko ko ko gapa gapa gapa gapa v. add. #1400.
ko ko ko ko gati gati gati gati v. lower, unload. #1845, 1885.
ko ko ko ko kowo kowo kowo kowo v. pay (for goods or services). #1140.
ko ko ko ko ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda v. pay (wages or fine). #1141.
ko ko ko ko ngware ngware ngware ngware v. germinate. #0648.
ko ko ko ko t5 t5 t5 t5 gandiri gandiri gandiri gandiri v. put side by side. #1438.
215

koba koba koba koba Variant: koba koba koba koba n. illness, sickness, malady, evil spirit. #0216, 0242.
koba koba koba koba izi izi izi izi n. malaria (fever). #0220.
koba koba koba koba kota kota kota kota n. leprosy. #0219.
koba koba koba koba Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu n. heartburn.
koba koba koba koba mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa n. elephantiasis. #0208.
koda koda koda koda n. knee. #0058.
kogwa kogwa kogwa kogwa n. box. #0796.
kogba kogba kogba kogba n. granary. #0896.
koja koja koja koja n. penis. #0075.
koko koko koko koko n. quiet, silent. #1674, 1685.
koIo koIo koIo koIo Variant: keI keI keI keIe e e e, kot kot kot kote e e e, ket ket ket kete e e e FUNC. only.
koma koma koma koma n. nest. #0555.
komadiri komadiri komadiri komadiri n. hawk. #0427.
komc komc komc komc n. iguana. #0431.
komba komba komba komba n. guinea fowl. #0424.
kombcIc kombcIc kombcIc kombcIc n. butterfly. #0502.
konc konc konc konc Variant: kon kon kon kone e e e n. vein. #0102.
kondanga kondanga kondanga kondanga n. trouble. #1377.
konda konda konda konda v. rule over. #1268.
konda konda konda konda n. woven mat. #0824.
kongo kongo kongo kongo n. crab. #0409.
kopu kopu kopu kopu PN. September.
korogba korogba korogba korogba n. pangolin (scaly anteater). #0447.
ko]c ko]c ko]c ko]c Variant: kosc kosc kosc kosc n. war. #1208.
kota kota kota kota n. 1) large river, sea. 2) pearl. #0704, 0710, 1066.
kote kote kote kote Morph: 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5-e e e e t tt te e e e n. body.
koto koto koto koto n. small hill. #0682.
kotoo kotoo kotoo kotoo QUEST. how many, how much, how. #1495, 1496.
kowa kowa kowa kowa n. baby sling. #0790.
kowo kowo kowo kowo n. iron, metal, gold, iron ore, lead, money, large scale war. #0678, 0683,
0820.
kowo kowo kowo kowo amcndc amcndc amcndc amcndc n. tin. #0849.
ko1ja ko1ja ko1ja ko1ja n. fruit bat. #0399.
k5 k5 k5 k5 v. harvest, reap, gather, weave (tissue). #0976, 1058, 1077.
k5 k5 k5 k5 Variant: k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 FUNC. all. #1489. cf. Kamanda (1998: 326).
k5 k5 k5 k5 aIa aIa aIa aIa v. wink at. #0203.
k5 k5 k5 k5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 v. gather (fruit). #0973.
k5 k5 k5 k5 t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe o]o o]o o]o o]o v. settle dispute. #1273.
k5do k5do k5do k5do n. type of caterpillar.
k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 n. lizard. #0437.
k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 n. monkey. #0442.
k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 n. termite. #0524.
k5k5r5 k5k5r5 k5k5r5 k5k5r5 te te te te v. jam. #1734.
k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 n. hippopotamus, rhinoceros. #0429, 0456.
k5ng5duru k5ng5duru k5ng5duru k5ng5duru n. mantis, wasp. #0518, 0527.
k5ng5to k5ng5to k5ng5to k5ng5to Morph: k5 k5 k5 k5(?)-ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to n. rooster (cock). #0493.
k5ngb5 k5ngb5 k5ngb5 k5ngb5 ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo Morph: k kk ke e e e-ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo n. bellows. #1081.
k5pu k5pu k5pu k5pu n. silk cotton tree, kapok. #0586.
216

k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 v. open. #1671, 1849.
k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 ama ama ama ama v. open the mouth. #0179.
k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 k5r5 manda manda manda manda v. open (set ajar) (as a door). #1010.
k5r5j5 k5r5j5 k5r5j5 k5r5j5 ovoro ovoro ovoro ovoro Morph: 5k5r5 5k5r5 5k5r5 5k5r5-5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 ovoro ovoro ovoro ovoro n. backbone. #0007.
k5r5n5 k5r5n5 k5r5n5 k5r5n5 v. rub between the fingers, rub hands, rub body (e.g. when washing
yourself), crush (with the hands). #0183, 1898, 1964.
k5so k5so k5so k5so n. pig, hog (loan from French cochon?). #0486, 0491.
k5 k5 k5 k5so so so so n. squash.
k5t]u k5t]u k5t]u k5t]u n. bark (of tree). #0625.
ku ku ku ku v. press, push, squeeze. #1857, 1981, 1983.
kudu kudu kudu kudu n. hole, pit. #0554, 0698.
kudu kudu kudu kudu ovoro ovoro ovoro ovoro n. small of back. #0088.
kudu kudu kudu kudu ungu ungu ungu ungu n. well. #0855.
kuda kuda kuda kuda n. debt. #1121.
kuku kuku kuku kuku n. bedbug, flea. #0400, 0508.
kuIu kuIu kuIu kuIu ADJ. big.
kuIunguru kuIunguru kuIunguru kuIunguru Variant: kuIinguru kuIinguru kuIinguru kuIinguru n. centipede, millipede. #0504, 0519.
kumu kumu kumu kumu Variant: kuma kuma kuma kuma n. head, top. #0048, 1778.
kumu kumu kumu kumu anda anda anda anda n. roof. #1095.
kumu kumu kumu kumu anda anda anda anda cbc cbc cbc cbc n. thatched roof. #1099.
kuni kuni kuni kuni ADJ. right (direction). n. right hand. #0079, 1771.
kundi kundi kundi kundi n. harp.
kundu kundu kundu kundu PREP. in front of.
kuru kuru kuru kuru v. give out, share, divide, grow thin, grow lean. #1224, 1591.
kuru kuru kuru kuru t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. separate, become separated, spread everywhere. #1742, 1872, 1970.
kuruda kuruda kuruda kuruda n. thin (not fat). #1601, 1603.
kusene kusene kusene kusene n. barrier.
kutu kutu kutu kutu FUNC. only. #1670.
kuturu kuturu kuturu kuturu jawo jawo jawo jawo n. log. #0689.
kut]a kut]a kut]a kut]a n. mosquito. #0520.
kuvu kuvu kuvu kuvu Morph: (?)-uvu uvu uvu uvu n. stomach.
kuwuse1o kuwuse1o kuwuse1o kuwuse1o Morph: k kk ke e e e-wu wu wu wu-e e e e s ss se e e e-o1o o1o o1o o1o n. wisdom. #1379.
kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu Morph: oko oko oko oko-uzu uzu uzu uzu n. death. #0129.
kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu n. semen. #0117.
kwa kwa kwa kwa v. go back to, return. #1827.
kwakwa kwakwa kwakwa kwakwa n. grasshopper. #0511.

kp kp kp kp

kpa kpa kpa kpa v. run, flee, run away. #1863, 1864.
kpa kpa kpa kpa REP. again. #1488.
kpa kpa kpa kpa di di di di v. surround. #1785.
kpa kpa kpa kpa ndaji ndaji ndaji ndaji v. slide on water. #1824.
kpaha kpaha kpaha kpaha ADV. wide open.
kpaIa kpaIa kpaIa kpaIa ADV. something done regularly.
kpaIaka kpaIaka kpaIaka kpaIaka v. spill (liquid). #1870.
kparaka kparaka kparaka kparaka PN. July.
kparamcna kparamcna kparamcna kparamcna n. brain. #0017.
217

kpasuru kpasuru kpasuru kpasuru n. slipperiness. #1621.
kpata kpata kpata kpata n. mud. #0695.
kpckpcre kpckpcre kpckpcre kpckpcre n. joint. #0056.
kpc kpc kpc kpc kpcre kpcre kpcre kpcre kane kane kane kane n. wrist. #0105.
kpe kpe kpe kpe- PREP. just in (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 272).
kpeedoro kpeedoro kpeedoro kpeedoro ADV. naked. #0134.
kpekc kpekc kpekc kpekc TIME. a few days ago. LOC. here. #1762.
kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu n. kidney.
kpeme kpeme kpeme kpeme Morph: kpe kpe kpe kpe-m mm me e e e LOC. there (refers back to a previously mentioned place).
kpepa kpepa kpepa kpepa Morph: kpe kpe kpe kpe-pa pa pa pa PREP. in the presence of.
kpese kpese kpese kpese Morph: kpe kpe kpe kpe-ese ese ese ese PREP. in.
kpe]ckc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc kpe]ckc Variant: kpe]c kpe]c kpe]c kpe]c, kpes kpes kpes kpese e e e ke ke ke ke TIME. today, day, daytime. #0767, 0782.
kpeta kpeta kpeta kpeta Morph: kpe kpe kpe kpe-taa taa taa taa QUEST. where. #1513.
kpete kpete kpete kpete Morph: kpe kpe kpe kpe-t tt te e e e TIME. just happened (within the past few minutes).
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a Variant: zazu zazu zazu zazu bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a NUM. forty.
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a de de de de ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa NUM. fifty. #1550.
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu minduu minduu minduu minduu NUM. one hundred. #1555.
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu vana vana vana vana NUM. eighty.
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu vana vana vana vana de de de de ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa NUM. ninety. #1554.
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 NUM. sixty.
kpete kpete kpete kpete azu azu azu azu vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 de de de de ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa NUM. seventy. #1552.
kpete kpete kpete kpete uzu uzu uzu uzu baIc baIc baIc baIc Variant: zazu zazu zazu zazu bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a NUM. twenty. #1542.
kpete kpete kpete kpete uzu uzu uzu uzu baI baI baI baIc c c c de de de de ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa NUM. thirty. #1548.
kpi kpi kpi kpi v. be tart, be sour, spoil (food). #1691, 1748.
kpi kpi kpi kpi n. whole day.
kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi ADV. different. #1641.
kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi n. eagle, vulture. #0414, 0463.
kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi n. plank. #1091.
kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi manda manda manda manda n. wooden door. #0805.
kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 n. big hoe. #0965.
kpondoro kpondoro kpondoro kpondoro owo owo owo owo n. burn (slight). #0206.
kpoo kpoo kpoo kpoo ADV. close together, adjacent, tight, side by side. #1697, 1783.
kporokoto kporokoto kporokoto kporokoto ADJ. black (for things). #1561.
kpoto kpoto kpoto kpoto n. hat. #0812.
kp5 kp5 kp5 kp5 v. coagulate. #0162.
kp5I5 kp5I5 kp5I5 kp5I5 n. nightjar.
kpu kpu kpu kpu v. heap up. #1006.
kpu kpu kpu kpu 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 v. become wrinkled. #0125.
kpu kpu kpu kpu te te te te aze aze aze aze v. assemble, meet. #1215.
kpuguru kpuguru kpuguru kpuguru ADJ. half. #1522.
kpuru kpuru kpuru kpuru ADV. extra, exceedingly.
kpurukutu kpurukutu kpurukutu kpurukutu n. owl. #0446.

I II I

Ia Ia Ia Ia v. lick. #0250.
Iabawo Iabawo Iabawo Iabawo n. flame. #0671.
Iaboto Iaboto Iaboto Iaboto n. millet-beer. #0905.
218

IaIo IaIo IaIo IaIo Morph: aIa aIa aIa aIa(?)-Io Io Io Io LOC. above.
Iaga Iaga Iaga Iaga v. be disorderly.
Iaga Iaga Iaga Iaga n. disorderliness.
Iakiri Iakiri Iakiri Iakiri n. threshing-floor. #0879.
Iakpangba Iakpangba Iakpangba Iakpangba n. level. #1662.
Iakpoto Iakpoto Iakpoto Iakpoto n. millet-beer. #0905.
Iama Iama Iama Iama Ia Ia Ia Ia PN. March.
Iambo Iambo Iambo Iambo n. abscess (large).
Ianga Ianga Ianga Ianga n. calf (gen.). #0470.
Langbasi angbasi angbasi angbasi Variant: Langba]i angba]i angba]i angba]i PN. the Langbasi language and people.
Iapa Iapa Iapa Iapa n. gift. #0809.
Iapara Iapara Iapara Iapara n. 1) shoulder blade. 2) airplane. #0083.
Ic Ic Ic Ic v. bear fruit. #0647.
Ic Ic Ic Ic e e e e re re re re v. babble. #1326.
IcIc IcIc IcIc IcIc n. horse. #0487, 0495.
Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga n. talking drum.
Icra Icra Icra Icra v. smear.
Icra Icra Icra Icra n. squash.
Ie Ie Ie Ie v. be (existential, plural).
Ie Ie Ie Ie PREP. in, inside, by.
Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 n. toad. #0460.
Ii Ii Ii Ii v. 1) enter, lead to, go in. 2) be sufficient, be fitting, become equal. #1651,
1724, 1830.
Ii Ii Ii Ii aIa aIa aIa aIa v. harmonize. #1160.
Ii Ii Ii Ii de de de de v. befit, suit. #1405.
Ii Ii Ii Ii gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe v. jam. #1734.
Ii Ii Ii Ii kuda kuda kuda kuda v. borrow. #1218.
Ii Ii Ii Ii Ie indi Ie indi Ie indi Ie indi v. be accustomed. #1627.
Ii Ii Ii Ii Ie Ie Ie Ie 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 v. be accustomed. #1627.
Iibi Iibi Iibi Iibi TIME. yesterday. #0785.
Iija Iija Iija Iija TIME. olden times, earlier. #0777, 0788.
Iima Iima Iima Iima TIME. a long time ago.
Iima Iima Iima Iima kat]at]a kat]at]a kat]at]a kat]at]a TIME. olden times (very old). #0777.
Iindene Iindene Iindene Iindene n. enough. #1646.
Iingbi Iingbi Iingbi Iingbi v. weigh, measure. #1025, 1432.
Iiwa Iiwa Iiwa Iiwa n. pigeon (wild). #0450.
Ii Ii Ii Ii v. cut, shave. 2) be heavy. 3) sweat. #1588, 1972.
Ii Ii Ii Ii sukumu sukumu sukumu sukumu v. cut hair. #0168.
Io Io Io Io v. 1) lie down, sleep, remain. 2) bite. #1841, 1891.
Io Io Io Io de de de de v. copulate, lit. sleep with. #0165.
Io Io Io Io de ii de ii de ii de ii v. crunch. #0166.
Io Io Io Io gati gati gati gati v. lie down.
Io Io Io Io kot kot kot kotc c c c v. gnaw. #0175.
Io Io Io Io oIo oIo oIo oIo v. sleep, lie down. #0188, 1666.
Io Io Io Io wirima wirima wirima wirima v. gnaw around.
Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba Variant: Ieba Ieba Ieba Ieba n. clothes, garment, cloth. #0808, 1067, 1069.
Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu n. heart (fig.).
Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu Variant: Iesu Iesu Iesu Iesu n. clay pot, also for metal pot.
219

I5gb5d5 I5gb5d5 I5gb5d5 I5gb5d5 Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. trousers. #0853.
I5kakpi I5kakpi I5kakpi I5kakpi Morph: 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5-ka ka ka ka-kpi kpi kpi kpi TIME. noon. #0775.
I5su I5su I5su I5su ungu ungu ungu ungu n. pot (for water). #0935.
I515r5 I515r5 I515r5 I515r5 Variant: Ia15r5 Ia15r5 Ia15r5 Ia15r5 Morph: aIa aIa aIa aIa-15r5 15r5 15r5 15r5 n. class (in school).
Iu Iu Iu Iu v. 1) plant (to make a hole and put the seed in), cultivate, sow (for rice,
corn, peanuts, etc.). 2) cook/prepare greens or meat (the part of the meal
that is not starch). 3) curve, bend. #0944, 0969, 0981, 0984, 1815.
Iu Iu Iu Iu uIu uIu uIu uIu v. dream. #1414.
Iuba Iuba Iuba Iuba n. flute. #1151.
Iungbu Iungbu Iungbu Iungbu PN. April.
Iuu Iuu Iuu Iuu ADV. anew.

m mm m

ma ma ma ma v. show. #1274.
ma ma ma ma TIME. this morning.
ma ma ma ma DEIC. that.
magja magja magja magja n. sickle. #0966.
makato makato makato makato n. boundary, frontier. #0655, 0676, 0676.
maIcgo maIcgo maIcgo maIcgo n. breastbone, sternum. #0019.
maIcgbanga maIcgbanga maIcgbanga maIcgbanga n. ladle. #0930.
maIcng5r5 maIcng5r5 maIcng5r5 maIcng5r5 n. intestinal worm. #0217.
maIuIu maIuIu maIuIu maIuIu n. cold weather. #0735.
mamu mamu mamu mamu Morph: ama ama ama ama-mu mu mu mu(?) n. female genitals, clitoris.
manda manda manda manda Morph: ama ama ama ama-anda anda anda anda n. door, doorway. #0805, 0806.
manda manda manda manda PREP. after.
manda manda manda manda gbagba gbagba gbagba gbagba n. entrance hut. #0864.
mandiri mandiri mandiri mandiri n. law.
mangc mangc mangc mangc n. corn (maize). #0605.
mangi mangi mangi mangi n. stick/wood used for animal trap.
mangba mangba mangba mangba Variant: t]amangba t]amangba t]amangba t]amangba Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-mangba mangba mangba mangba PREP. after.
maporo maporo maporo maporo n. motorcycle.
Mara ara ara ara PN. god of the trap.
mara mara mara mara n. 1) tribe. 2) type, sort. #0267.
mara mara mara mara n. barren, sterile, impotent. #0232, 0238.
ma]cnga ma]cnga ma]cnga ma]cnga n. neighbor.
mawute mawute mawute mawute n. hip. #0051.
mcja mcja mcja mcja n. twin (male or female). #0307, 0308, 0309.
mcre mcre mcre mcre v. 1) swell. 2) swallow. #0193.
me me me me DEIC. that.
me me me me PRON. first person singular pronoun: clitic form (subject, object,
possessive). #1457, 1458. cf. eme eme eme eme.
mi mi mi mi v. 1) bother, irritate. 2) grow, increase, become large, be fat, be thick.
#1584.
mindu mindu mindu mindu n. sand. #0708.
minduu minduu minduu minduu NUM. five, fifth. #1527.
minduu minduu minduu minduu dama dama dama dama ne ne ne ne baIc baIc baIc baIc Morph: d dd de- e- e- e-ama ama ama ama NUM. six, sixth.
mi mi mi mi nduu nduu nduu nduu dama dama dama dama ne ne ne ne bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a NUM. seven, seventh.
220

minduu minduu minduu minduu dama dama dama dama ne ne ne ne vana vana vana vana NUM. nine, ninth.
minduu minduu minduu minduu dama dama dama dama ne ne ne ne vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 NUM. eight, eighth.
mi mi mi mi v. counsel.
mi mi mi mi ipi ipi ipi ipi v. advise. #1319.
mja mja mja mja Variant: mca mca mca mca v. shake. #1971.
mja mja mja mja kane kane kane kane v. wave (hand as a greeting). #1889.
mm mm mm mm EXCL. yes. #1518.
modo modo modo modo n. pride.
Mono ono ono ono PN. the Mono language and people.
moropago moropago moropago moropago n. traveler. #0389.
mowa mowa mowa mowa Variant: muwa muwa muwa muwa n. mourning, grief. #1204.
m5 m5 m5 m5 v. 1) be tired, be weak, ripen, become cooked. 2) build. #0141, 1105,
1123, 1677, 1702, 1718, 1740, 1755.
m5 m5 m5 m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 v. laugh. #1369, 1427.
m5 m5 m5 m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 mba mba mba mba v. smile. #1443.
m5 m5 m5 m5 t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u v. become cheerful. #1408.
m5k5 m5k5 m5k5 m5k5 n. cola nut. #0597.
m5I5 m5I5 m5I5 m5I5 n. playing.
muru muru muru muru n. leopard. #0435.

mb mb mb mb

mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa n. elephant. #0416.
mbamba mbamba mbamba mbamba n. mollusk (fresh-water). #0439.
mbarata mbarata mbarata mbarata n. horse. #0487, 0489.
mbata mbata mbata mbata n. stool. #0845.
mbaza mbaza mbaza mbaza n. xylophone.
mbcja mbcja mbcja mbcja n. the mans in-laws, i.e. the family of the wife (parents and brother),
brother in law. #0320, 0321, 0360.
mbc mbc mbc mbc Ic Ic Ic Ic n. blue duiker, gazelle. #0420.
mbcIcnga mbcIcnga mbcIcnga mbcIcnga Variant: mbcIcnga mbcIcnga mbcIcnga mbcIcnga n. crocodile.
mbcngc mbcngc mbcngc mbcngc n. forest pig, wild boar.
mbcpa mbcpa mbcpa mbcpa n. dove (domestic pigeon). #0412.
mbcti mbcti mbcti mbcti n. paper, book, letter (loan from Sango?). #0821.
mbere mbere mbere mbere v. do, act, create, make. #1918, 1928, 1951.
mbere mbere mbere mbere CONJ. because, for, in order to, ago. #1491.
mbere mbere mbere mbere akwa akwa akwa akwa v. work. #1293.
mbere mbere mbere mbere akwa akwa akwa akwa bata bata bata bata aji aji aji aji kem5nda kem5nda kem5nda kem5nda v. work as a mason. #1117.
mbere mbere mbere mbere akwa akwa akwa akwa Ie Ie Ie Ie v. serve. #1272.
mbere mbere mbere mbere angwa angwa angwa angwa v. beget. #0148.
mbere mbere mbere mbere b bb bata ata ata ata v. pretend. #1437.
mbere mbere mbere mbere ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc ere ere ere ere Variant: mber mber mber mbere e e e ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc i i i i p pp pi i i i v. err, make a mistake. #1415.
mbere ende mbere ende mbere ende mbere ende v. draw. #1226.
mbere mbere mbere mbere ere ere ere ere Ie Ie Ie Ie v. help, aid, assist.
mbere mbere mbere mbere gadc gadc gadc gadc QUEST. why. #1516.
mbere mbere mbere mbere Iindene Iindene Iindene Iindene v. satisfy. #1442.
mbere mbere mbere mbere Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu v. make a clay pot.
mbere mbere mbere mbere mburu-mburu mburu-mburu mburu-mburu mburu-mburu v. become dark. #1572.
221

mbere mbere mbere mbere o]o o]o o]o o]o v. be drunk. #0130.
mbere mbere mbere mbere te te te te v. abuse. #1211.
mbere mbere mbere mbere uzu uzu uzu uzu v. poison (a person). #1189.
mberejc mberejc mberejc mberejc 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 n. sunshine. #0757.
mbikpa mbikpa mbikpa mbikpa Morph: imbi imbi imbi imbi-(?) ADJ. whitish.
mbiriIu mbiriIu mbiriIu mbiriIu ADJ. pale color.
mbiu mbiu mbiu mbiu ADJ. albino.
mbiwa mbiwa mbiwa mbiwa Morph: imbi imbi imbi imbi-(?) ADJ. white. #1569.
mbimbi mbimbi mbimbi mbimbi se se se se v. spy. #1277.
mbombo mbombo mbombo mbombo v. faint. #0172.
mbowo mbowo mbowo mbowo n. coco yam, taro. #0595.
mb5k5 mb5k5 mb5k5 mb5k5 ngima ngima ngima ngima n. palm branch. #0637.
mb5k5I5 mb5k5I5 mb5k5I5 mb5k5I5 n. sunrise. #0778.
mbugu mbugu mbugu mbugu n. 1) dry season. 2) year.
mbuIu mbuIu mbuIu mbuIu n. date, promise. #1308.
mbundu mbundu mbundu mbundu n. white person (loan from French bonjour?). #0310.
mburusu mburusu mburusu mburusu Morph: mburu mburu mburu mburu(?)-usu usu usu usu n. white hair. #0104.

n nn n

na na na na v. go, come, walk. #1825, 1887.
na na na na ana ana ana ana v. voyage, travel. #1879.
na na na na ata ene ata ene ata ene ata ene v. take a walk. #1285.
na na na na de de de de v. accompany (lit: go with). #1786.
na na na na dcze dcze dcze dcze v. wander. #1888.
na na na na gate]o gate]o gate]o gate]o v. go away. #1826.
na na na na kat]a kat]a kat]a kat]a-kat]a kat]a kat]a kat]a v. be in a hurry. #1732.
na na na na mangba mangba mangba mangba Variant: na na na na ma ma ma ma nda nda nda nda v. follow. #1822.
na na na na mbcja mbcja mbcja mbcja v. negotiate for a wife.
na na na na oro oro oro oro agja agja agja agja v. hunt. #1059.
na na na na pa pa pa pa ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c v. cohabit. #1222.
natakc natakc natakc natakc cf. atakc atakc atakc atakc.
Ndaba daba daba daba Variant: Ndapa dapa dapa dapa PN. God (loan from Sango Nzpa). #1171.
ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc Variant: nenc, nc nenc, nc nenc, nc nenc, nc, 1m1m 1m1m 1m1m 1m1m FUNC. no, not. #1500, 1503.
ne ne ne ne ART. definite article.
ne ne ne ne PRON. Inanimate object pronoun.
ne ne ne ne Variant: ene ene ene ene CONJ. of, used to indicate possession for inanimate and
animate nouns; for, to.
nekp5r5 nekp5r5 nekp5r5 nekp5r5 n. dwarf, pygmy. #0281.
ni ni ni ni Variants: nu nu nu nu, nju nju nju nju, nji nji nji nji, ny ny ny ny v. 1) defecate. 2) rain.
ni ni ni ni uju uju uju uju v. defecate. #0169.
nikpi nikpi nikpi nikpi n. puff adder, poisonous snake. #0452, 0458.
nja nja nja nja Ie Ie Ie Ie v. have patience with.
njao njao njao njao n. cat (loan from Lingala niao).
nkoto nkoto nkoto nkoto NUM. thousand (loan from Lingala nkoto).
n5 n5 n5 n5 v. 1) pluck, play (instrument). 2) shoot. #1161, 1909.
n5n5 n5n5 n5n5 n5n5 v. wring out. #2000.

222

ntango ntango ntango ntango TIME. time (loan from Lingala ntngo).
Nzambc zambc zambc zambc PN. God (loan from Lingala Nzmbe).

nd nd nd nd

ndaba ndaba ndaba ndaba n. table.
ndanga ndanga ndanga ndanga v. annoy, disturb, bother. #1403.
ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo Morph: anda anda anda anda-owo owo owo owo n. forge. #1085.
ndcvc ndcvc ndcvc ndcvc n. mane. #0543.
nde nde nde nde PREP. at the home of, for, in order to; this preposition is from the word
ende ende ende ende mark. cf. Cloarec-Heiss (1986: 28, 160, 401).
nde nde nde nde gadc gadc gadc gadc QUEST. why. #1516.
ndebudu ndebudu ndebudu ndebudu o1o o1o o1o o1o Morph: ende ende ende ende-budu budu budu budu n. meaning. #1372.
nd nd nd nde e e e da da da da Morph: ende ende ende ende-ada ada ada ada n. footprint.
nd nd nd nde e e e ma ma ma ma Morph: ende ende ende ende-ama ama ama ama n. story, tale, sting of insects, some. #0558.
nd nd nd nde e e e ma ma ma ma jawo jawo jawo jawo n. log. #0689.
nd nd nd nde e e e ma ma ma ma Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba n. strap. #0847.
nd nd nd nde e e e ma ma ma ma uzu uzu uzu uzu n. speech. #1312.
nd nd nd nde e e e matoro matoro matoro matoro Morph: ende ende ende ende-ama ama ama ama-toro toro toro toro n. story, tale. #1313.
nd nd nd nde e e e ma1o ma1o ma1o ma1o Morph: ende ende ende ende-ama ama ama ama-o1o o1o o1o o1o n. account (report), announcement, news. #1294,
1296, 1304.
ndimu ndimu ndimu ndimu n. orange (loan from Lingala ndmo). #0612.
ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa n. rubber. #0836.
ndi ndi ndi ndi v. spoil, go bad, break down, be ruined. #1680, 1893, 1894.
ndi ndi ndi ndi ere ere ere ere v. destroy, spoil. #1899.
ndibudu ndibudu ndibudu ndibudu Morph: (?)-budu budu budu budu n. last, end. #1660, 1760.
ndikidi ndikidi ndikidi ndikidi n. curse. #1166.
ndindi ndindi ndindi ndindi 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. stump. #0644.
ndiri ndiri ndiri ndiri PREP. around, outside of, next to.
ndivida ndivida ndivida ndivida Morph: (?)-ada ada ada ada Variant: ndib ndib ndib ndibi i i i da da da da, nduvuda nduvuda nduvuda nduvuda n. heel. #0050.
ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri v. swarm.
ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri n. crowd, herd, swarm. #0259, 0474, 0559.
ndo ndo ndo ndo v. approach. #1787.
ndo ndo ndo ndo FUNC. near. #1482.
ndogoIcja ndogoIcja ndogoIcja ndogoIcja Variant: ndogoIca ndogoIca ndogoIca ndogoIca TIME. day before yesterday. #0766.
ndoromba ndoromba ndoromba ndoromba v. drown. #1900.
nd5k5 nd5k5 nd5k5 nd5k5 n. flower. #0578.
nd5k5Ii nd5k5Ii nd5k5Ii nd5k5Ii n. ant (soldier). #0500.
nd5ng5I5 nd5ng5I5 nd5ng5I5 nd5ng5I5 n. boundary, last (final), end. #0655, 1660, 1760.
ndu ndu ndu ndu v. be sweet. #1695.
nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu n. blunt. #1634.
nduku nduku nduku nduku n. vine or pole.
nduru nduru nduru nduru v. drown. #1900.
ndurugojo ndurugojo ndurugojo ndurugojo n. heron. #0428.
223

nd nd nd nd

nda nda nda nda v. vomit. #0252, 1975.
ndapa ndapa ndapa ndapa n. stick (for disciplining children).
ndarapanda ndarapanda ndarapanda ndarapanda n. ladder, scaffolding. #1087, 1096.
ndc ndc ndc ndc ADV. also.
ndckc ndckc ndckc ndckc n. chicken pox, measles.
ndcngcIc ndcngcIc ndcngcIc ndcngcIc v. infect. #0249.
ndi ndi ndi ndi v. be straight. #1693.
ndo ndo ndo ndo v. 1) drink (something). 2) open (a book). #0170.
ndo ndo ndo ndo boIo boIo boIo boIo v. smoke (tobacco). #1275.
ndo ndo ndo ndo t5pane t5pane t5pane t5pane kpuru kpuru kpuru kpuru v. (become) drunk. #1229.
ndoboro ndoboro ndoboro ndoboro n. bow. #1031.
ndoba ndoba ndoba ndoba ungu ungu ungu ungu Morph: ndo ndo ndo ndo-(?) ungu ungu ungu ungu v. drown. #1721.
ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa NUM. ten, tenth. #1532.
ndoro ndoro ndoro ndoro v. suck. #0192.
ndoro ndoro ndoro ndoro Variant: andoro andoro andoro andoro ADJ2. many, large number. #1520, 1667.
nd5 nd5 nd5 nd5 v. scratch, dig (the ground). #1969.
nd5 nd5 nd5 nd5 t]aguru t]aguru t]aguru t]aguru v. divorce. #1225.
nd5 nd5 nd5 nd5 t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. clear away, scatter. #0995, 1966.
nd5 nd5 nd5 nd5 t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe te te te te v. scatter. #1965.

ng ng ng ng

nga nga nga nga v. 1) bark. 2) fight, box. 3) get angry. 4) be bitter, be sharp. #1633.
nga nga nga nga ADV. spread out.
nga nga nga nga agja agja agja agja v. growl. #1339.
nga nga nga nga Ie Ie Ie Ie v. grumble. #1340.
nga nga nga nga ko]c ko]c ko]c ko]c v. fight. #1234.
ngaba ngaba ngaba ngaba n. snail. #0522.
ngada ngada ngada ngada n. hook, fishhook. #0815, 1036.
ngago ngago ngago ngago n. egg-plant. #0600.
ngaIa ngaIa ngaIa ngaIa ama ama ama ama v. sharpen (as an arrow) (bring to a point). #1019.
ngandc ngandc ngandc ngandc Variant: ngandc ngandc ngandc ngandc n. chair. #0802.
ngapa ngapa ngapa ngapa v. defend. #1054.
ngapo ngapo ngapo ngapo n. A short-handled hoe. #0964.
ngara ngara ngara ngara n. tendon. #0091.
ngawo ngawo ngawo ngawo Morph: anga anga anga anga(?)-owo owo owo owo n. smoke, fume. #0715.
ngawu ngawu ngawu ngawu n. nose. #0072.
ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda n. money, silver (loan from Sango or Ngbandi?). #0841, 1125.
ngcsa ngcsa ngcsa ngcsa v. sneeze. #0251.
ngcsa ngcsa ngcsa ngcsa n. rope, light.
ngci ngci ngci ngci javu javu javu javu ru ru ru ru n. drizzle. #0752.
ngima ngima ngima ngima n. palm tree, oil palm. #0582, 0609.
ngindi ngindi ngindi ngindi n. urine. #0123.
ngiri ngiri ngiri ngiri v. snore. #0190.
ngiri]i ngiri]i ngiri]i ngiri]i n. gall bladder.
ngiriwo ngiriwo ngiriwo ngiriwo Morph: i i i i ng ng ng ngi i i i r rr ri i i i-owo owo owo owo Variant: ng ng ng ngi i i i r rr ri i i i wu wu wu wu n. charcoal. #0921.
224

ngjcre ngjcre ngjcre ngjcre ADV. sound that a bell makes.
ngoIa ngoIa ngoIa ngoIa Morph: ungu ungu ungu ungu-aIa aIa aIa aIa n. tears. #0120.
ngoIomanc ngoIomanc ngoIomanc ngoIomanc n. wardrobe, cupboard.
ngomc ngomc ngomc ngomc n. dew. #0665.
ngombc ngombc ngombc ngombc n. gun. #1039.
ngombc ngombc ngombc ngombc n. cow (loan from Lingala Ngmbe).
ng5 ipi ng5 ipi ng5 ipi ng5 ipi v. dance in a trance. #1158.
ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ADV. narrow, hollow. #1596, 1617.
ng5I5 ng5I5 ng5I5 ng5I5 Variant: ngoIo ngoIo ngoIo ngoIo n. fish trap, hoop net. #1035.
ng5I5gb5 ng5I5gb5 ng5I5gb5 ng5I5gb5 n. valley. #0724.
ng5ndoro ng5ndoro ng5ndoro ng5ndoro n. devil, god. #1167, 1172.
ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 n. of this time, now. #0776.
ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ng5ng5 ne ne ne ne ase ase ase ase TIME. now.
ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to n. chicken. #0476, 0485.
n nn ng5zu g5zu g5zu g5zu n. jigger, maggot. #0513, 0517.
nguru nguru nguru nguru v. scrape, rake, weed (with a hoe). #0991.
nguru nguru nguru nguru kote kote kote kote v. scratch. #0184.
ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i Morph: ungu-i]i ungu-i]i ungu-i]i ungu-i]i(?) n. saliva, spittle. #0080.
nguzu nguzu nguzu nguzu Morph: ungu ungu ungu ungu-zu zu zu zu n. pregnancy. #0224.
ngwangwa ngwangwa ngwangwa ngwangwa n. gizzard. #0539.
ngware ngware ngware ngware Morph: angwa angwa angwa angwa-e e e e r rr re e e e n. seed (in general, what is planted). #0640, 0895.

ngb ngb ngb ngb

ngba ngba ngba ngba v. be many.
ngbaakoro ngbaakoro ngbaakoro ngbaakoro n. funeral. #1197.
ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi Variant: ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi n. bone. #0015, 0536.
ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngawu ngawu ngawu ngawu n. bridge of the nose. #0020.
ngba ngba ngba ngbadc dc dc dc n. bag, pocket. #0791, 0829.
ngbako ngbako ngbako ngbako n. wine (alcohol). #0914.
ngbaIabo ngbaIabo ngbaIabo ngbaIabo n. tobacco pipe. #0851.
ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja PN. November.
ngbanja ngbanja ngbanja ngbanja n. echo. #1311.
ngbando ngbando ngbando ngbando n. length. #1578.
ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi n. rust. #1620.
ngbangcwo ngbangcwo ngbangcwo ngbangcwo n. type of cat. #0407.
ngbangiri it]i ngbangiri it]i ngbangiri it]i ngbangiri it]i n. humming of a tune. #1153.
ngbangu ngbangu ngbangu ngbangu n. medium drum. #1147.
ngbangbo ngbangbo ngbangbo ngbangbo NUM. thousand. #1558.
ngbcja ngbcja ngbcja ngbcja n. white clay, lime, whitewash. #0728, 1088.
ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbeIcko n. iron. #0817.
ngbercnc ngbercnc ngbercnc ngbercnc n. copper. #0804.
ngbi ngbi ngbi ngbi Variant: ngb ngb ngb ngbi i i i ADV. deep. #1640.
ngbi ngbi ngbi ngbi ADV. clear, open.
ngbikiri ngbikiri ngbikiri ngbikiri n. temporary waterhole.
ngbindi ngbindi ngbindi ngbindi ADJ. bad, wrong, false.
ngbingi ngbingi ngbingi ngbingi n. warthog. #0464.
ngboboIo ngboboIo ngboboIo ngboboIo n. hyena. cf. awi awi awi awi.
225

ngbondo ngbondo ngbondo ngbondo kcIckpa kcIckpa kcIckpa kcIckpa n. bedstead, bed frame. #0793.
ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 v. light, sweep. #1009, 1020.
ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 te te te te o1o o1o o1o o1o v. agree. #1320.

ngb5ba ngb5ba ngb5ba ngb5ba v. join, mix with, assemble, cleave, make love, accumulate, gather up.
#1917, 1919, 1941.
ngb5ba ngb5ba ngb5ba ngb5ba te te te te aze aze aze aze v. assemble, meet. #1215, 1246.
ngb5ju ngb5ju ngb5ju ngb5ju n. fresh. #1652.
ngb5I5 ngb5I5 ngb5I5 ngb5I5 n. grass (a tall type of esb with which you can make a whistle).
ngb5nd5 ngb5nd5 ngb5nd5 ngb5nd5 n. beam, rafter. #1080.
ngb5ng5 ngb5ng5 ngb5ng5 ngb5ng5 n. shin. #0081.
ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu n. dry season, hot season, season. #0736, 0737, 0738, 0744, 0754.
ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu javuru javuru javuru javuru n. rainy season. #0749.

o oo o

obo obo obo obo n. flesh.
odo odo odo odo n. foolishness.
odoro odoro odoro odoro ADJ. red, ripe, purple, pink, dark orange. #1568.
odoro odoro odoro odoro 5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 n. red soil. #0703.
oIoro oIoro oIoro oIoro Variant: oIoro oIoro oIoro oIoro n. grass (lawn).
ogo ogo ogo ogo n. hunger, desire, need. #0112, 0133.
ogo ogo ogo ogo n. village. #0881.
ogo ogo ogo ogo ungu ungu ungu ungu n. thirst. #0121, 0140.
ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro n. small hole (e.g., hole in the wall).
ogboro ogboro ogboro ogboro ADJ. large (plural).
ojo ojo ojo ojo n. sadness, poverty, pity, sorrow. #1127, 1131, 1373, 1375, 1392.
oko oko oko oko n. badness. #1612.
oko oko oko oko uzu uzu uzu uzu Variant: kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu (Morph: oko oko oko oko-uzu uzu uzu uzu) n. corpse. #0258.
okoro okoro okoro okoro n. chest, torso. #0024.
okoro okoro okoro okoro n. small talking drum.
okporo okporo okporo okporo ADJ. true.
okporo okporo okporo okporo 1o 1o 1o 1o n. truth. #1378.
oIo oIo oIo oIo n. sleep, slumber, day. #0118, 0138.
oIo oIo oIo oIo gadc gadc gadc gadc QUEST. when. #1512.
ombo ombo ombo ombo n. wing. #0547.
ondo ondo ondo ondo ADJ. short. #1598.
ondo ondo ondo ondo ne ne ne ne n. wideness. #1581.
ondoro ondoro ondoro ondoro n. dew, mist, fog, cloud. #0733, 0741.
ongbo ongbo ongbo ongbo n. town. #0880.
oporo oporo oporo oporo n. egg. #0889.
oro oro oro oro n. 1) hunt, gathering of food. 2) alive (for animals and plants). #1042.
o]o o]o o]o o]o n. place, message. #0699.
o]o o]o o]o o]o k5 k5 k5 k5 n. everywhere. #1494.
oto oto oto oto n. clay (for making pots), potters clay. #1083, 1093.
ovoro ovoro ovoro ovoro n. back. #0006.
ovoro ovoro ovoro ovoro n. young, youth. #0143, 0269.
owo owo owo owo n. fire, lamp, flashlight, running engine. #0670.
226

owo owo owo owo ADJ. hot.
ozo ozo ozo ozo n. root.
oor oor oor ooro o o o n. fat. #0890.
ooro ooro ooro ooro awatcre awatcre awatcre awatcre Variant: ooro ooro ooro ooro n. honey. #0899.
o1o o1o o1o o1o n. 1) word, news, message. 2) language, speech. 3) affair, problem. #1317.
o1o o1o o1o o1o n. wailing, ululation (at funeral). #1315.
o1o o1o o1o o1o akwa akwa akwa akwa ogo ogo ogo ogo n. command. #1297.
o1o o1o o1o o1o ama ama ama ama ogo ogo ogo ogo n. language. #1300.
o1o o1o o1o o1o ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc n. innocent. #1659.
o1o o1o o1o o1o ogo ogo ogo ogo n. law. #1301.
o1o o1o o1o o1o uzu uzu uzu uzu n. speech. #1312.

5 55 5

5d5 5d5 5d5 5d5 n. laziness. #1661.
5g5 5g5 5g5 5g5 n. breastbone.
5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 5gb5 ADJ. hard, difficult, rough. n. elder brother. #0322, 1679.
5gb 5gb 5gb 5gb5 5 5 5 ungu ungu ungu ungu n. medium sized river.
5gb5wc 5gb5wc 5gb5wc 5gb5wc PN. February.
5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. 1) tree, wood, club, cudgel, fetish. 2) medicine. #0590, 0729, 1034,
1169.
5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru n. pestle.
5j5 i]i 5j5 i]i 5j5 i]i 5j5 i]i n. thorn-tree. #0589.
5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu n. poison. #0830.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 Variant: ak ak ak ak5 5 5 5 n. epilepsy, malice.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 n. 1) skin (of man), shell, hide (of animal), body. 2) health, male, color.
#0014, 0086, 0556, 0842, 1041, 1559
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 aIa aIa aIa aIa n. eyelid. #0033.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 ama ama ama ama n. lip. #0062.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 ama ama ama ama j5nu j5nu j5nu j5nu n. beak, bill. #0529.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 am am am ambundu bundu bundu bundu n. color of white mans skin, pink. #1564.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 bagara bagara bagara bagara n. bull. #0469.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 gbaga gbaga gbaga gbaga n. shell of groundnut. #0641.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 Icj5 n. skin (fruit). #0642.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga n. small drum. #1148.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 mangc mangc mangc mangc n. corn husk. #0631.
5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 t]aI t]aI t]aI t]aIaIo aIo aIo aIo ADJ. blue. #1562.
5k5I5 5k5I5 5k5I5 5k5I5 mbundu mbundu mbundu mbundu n. coconut palm. #0575.
5k5r5 5k5r5 5k5r5 5k5r5 n. skull. #0087.
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 n. 1) sun. 2) time, hour. #0721, 0768, 0781.
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 jcnga jcnga jcnga jcnga TIME. Sunday.
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 poso poso poso poso TIME. Saturday.
5I5 kpi 5I5 kpi 5I5 kpi 5I5 kpi TIME. all day. #0762.
5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 ADJ. soft, easy. #1690.
5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 n. laughter.
5nd5 5nd5 5nd5 5nd5 n. pasture. #0873.
5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 n. breast, udder. #0018, 0546.
5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 n. beehive. #0549.
227

5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 Variant: angb5 angb5 angb5 angb5 n. banana, plantain. #0592, 0616.
5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 buwcIc buwcIc buwcIc buwcIc n. type of plantain.
5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 Iaza Iaza Iaza Iaza n. small, sweet banana.
5r5 5r5 5r5 5r5 n. speed. #1774, 1821.
5r5 5r5 5r5 5r5 ADJ. tough (food).
5s5 5s5 5s5 5s5 n. elephant trunk. #0533.
5s5 5s5 5s5 5s5 n. pus. #0225.
5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 Variant: I5]5 I5]5 I5]5 I5]5 n. soil, earth, ground, land, floor, mud. #0680, 0686, 1084.
5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 adungbungbu adungbungbu adungbungbu adungbungbu n. slime. #0714.
5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 anda anda anda anda n. wall, brick.
5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 kindi kindi kindi kindi n. fertile soil. #0668.
5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 n. character. ADJ. delicious.
5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 ADJ. good.
5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 5t]5 I5su I5su I5su I5su n. generosity. #1364.
515r5 515r5 515r5 515r5 ADJ. dry. n. crust. #0924, 1644, 1688.
515r5 515r5 515r5 515r5 kako kako kako kako n. piece of paper, book (lit. dry leaf).

p pp p

pa pa pa pa v. say, speak.
pa pa pa pa Variant: a a a a PREP. on, above, over.
pa pa pa pa duru duru duru duru v. chat. #1330.
pa pa pa pa Ie Ie Ie Ie v. tell someone. #1357.
pa pa pa pa nde nde nde nde 1o 1o 1o 1o v. announce. #1321.
pa pa pa pa ndema ndema ndema ndema v. tell.
pa pa pa pa ndema1o ndema1o ndema1o ndema1o Morph: pa ende pa ende pa ende pa ende-ama ama ama ama-o1o o1o o1o o1o v. explain, teach. #1335.
pa pa pa pa 5g5ng5 5g5ng5 5g5ng5 5g5ng5 v. stutter. #1354.
pa pa pa pa pare pare pare pare v. gossip. #1336.
pa pa pa pa waIa waIa waIa waIa v. lie (tell lies). #1344.
pa pa pa pa zungba1o zungba1o zungba1o zungba1o Morph: zungba zungba zungba zungba-o1o o1o o1o o1o v. divine. #1186.
pa pa pa pa 1o 1o 1o 1o v. say, speak, talk. #1350, 1353, 1356.
pagata pagata pagata pagata Variant: pakata pakata pakata pakata v. forbid, prevent, prohibit. #1235, 1262.
Pakc akc akc akc PN. Easter (loan from French Pques).
pakuIu pakuIu pakuIu pakuIu n. parrot. #0448.
paIa paIa paIa paIa v. interlace. #1008.
paIa paIa paIa paIa Morph: pa pa pa pa-aIa aIa aIa aIa n. forehead. #0043.
panga panga panga panga n. house corner. n. hip.
papaji papaji papaji papaji n. papaya (loan from French papaye). #0614.
para para para para v. look for. #1430.
para para para para ADJ2. every, entire.
para para para para jawo jawo jawo jawo v. fetch firewood. #0998.
para para para para k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 ADV. everything, all, altogether. #1629, 1667.
para para para para t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe Variant: para para para para t]aguru t]aguru t]aguru t]aguru v. choose. #1409.
parango parango parango parango n. cockroach. #0505.
pc pc pc pc v. winnow, blow, fan. #0992, 1922, 1934.
pc pc pc pc owo owo owo owo v. work the bellows. #1118.
pcja pcja pcja pcja n. navel (normal). #0070.
pcIcma pcIcma pcIcma pcIcma n. 1) bud. 2) n. stopper. #0629, 0846.
228

pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu n. bat. #0397.
pctc pctc pctc pctc ADV. full. #1653.
pcwo pcwo pcwo pcwo v. wither. #1757.
pi pi pi pi v. stick. #1985.
pingiwi pingiwi pingiwi pingiwi ADV. suddenly.
pododo pododo pododo pododo n. narrow. #1596.
porong5to porong5to porong5to porong5to ada ada ada ada Morph: oporo oporo oporo oporo-ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to n. ankle. #0002.
poso poso poso poso n. week (loan from Lingala pso).
p5 p5 p5 p5 gate gate gate gate ne ne ne ne v. press. #1908.
p5tu p5tu p5tu p5tu ADV. sharp. #1683.
pu pu pu pu v. 1) shake hands. 2) squeeze out. #1982.

r rr r

rada rada rada rada Variant: erada erada erada erada Morph: e e e e r rr re e e e-ada ada ada ada n. shoe. #0840.
rawa rawa rawa rawa n. yell.
rawo rawo rawo rawo n. bad spirit, witchcraft. #1181.
rena rena rena rena v. crush.
ri ri ri ri v. jump.
ro ro ro ro v. 1) pass, go, overtake. 2) gather. #1850, 1851.
ro ro ro ro gaut]u gaut]u gaut]u gaut]u ne ne ne ne v. continue, resume. #1717.
ro ro ro ro ndi ndi ndi ndi v. go straight, steer. #1832.
ro ro ro ro pa pa pa pa v. surpass, dominate, overcome. #1258, 1877.
ro ro ro ro pa ne pa ne pa ne pa ne v. abound. #1625.
rodonga rodonga rodonga rodonga n. last child.
rogo rogo rogo rogo Morph: e e e e r rr re e e e-ogo ogo ogo ogo n. food.
rogo rogo rogo rogo ADV. shriveled, wrinkled. #1684.
ru ru ru ru v. 1) go out, be extinguished. 2) put out, extinguish, quench. 3) fly. #0564,
1960.
ru ru ru ru ere ere ere ere v. be patient, take courage.
ru ru ru ru owo owo owo owo v. be extinguished. #1647.
ru ru ru ru taIa-taIa taIa-taIa taIa-taIa taIa-taIa v. float. #1938.

s ss s

sa sa sa sa v. leak, filter, drip, trickle. #0947, 1931, 1947, 1993.
saka saka saka saka v. spread out to dry, sprawl. #1871, 1978.
sanduku sanduku sanduku sanduku n. trunk (loan from Lingala sandku, originally from Arabic).
sangapc sangapc sangapc sangapc Variant: s5ngapc s5ngapc s5ngapc s5ngapc n. worm (earthworm). #0528.
sara sara sara sara kumu kumu kumu kumu v. comb. #0163.
saraba saraba saraba saraba n. wild duck. #0413.
sa sa sa sarakopcja rakopcja rakopcja rakopcja ere ere ere ere Variant: sarakopja sarakopja sarakopja sarakopja e e e e r rr re e e e n. slipperiness. #1621.
se se se se v. be (existential), dwell. #1230.
se se se se ba ba ba ba v. be at. #1792.
se se se se bata bata bata bata agja agja agja agja v. be fierce. #1650.
se se se se de de de de v. have. #1731.
se se se se de de de de awa awa awa awa v. be afraid, be startled. #1380, 1394.
se se se se de de de de awa awa awa awa v. have diarrhea. #0246.
229

se se se se de de de de ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe v. slander. #1352.
se se se se de de de de ckpc ckpc ckpc ckpc I5su I5su I5su I5su v. slander. #1352.
se se se se de de de de gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe gbct]eIe v. be restless, unsettled. #1391.
se se se se de de de de gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 gb5gb5 v. be courageous, be able. #1384, 1624.
se se se se de i de i de i de indi ndi ndi ndi v. conceive, become pregnant (when the fetus is small). #0164.
se se se se de de de de janga janga janga janga v. be joyful, be happy, be pleased, rejoice. #1386, 1389, 1440.
se se se se de de de de koba koba koba koba v. be ill. #0248.
se se se se de de de de kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere kuwusere v. be intelligent. #1387.
se se se se de de de de modo modo modo modo v. be proud. #1390.
se se se se de de de de nguzu nguzu nguzu nguzu v. be pregnant, conceive (when you see that the womans stomach is
enlarged). #0164, 0241.
se se se se de de de de oko oko oko oko v. be angry. #1381.
se se se se de de de de t]uIa t]uIa t]uIa t]uIa v. be ashamed. #1382.
se se se se dig5 dig5 dig5 dig5 v. stoop. #1875.
se se se se dopa ne dopa ne dopa ne dopa ne v. be abundant. #1626.
se se se se gati gati gati gati v. sit, sit down, be seated. #0137, 1867.
se se se se haga haga haga haga v. be broad (e.g. large stomach).
se se se se indiri indiri indiri indiri owo owo owo owo v. warm oneself (by a fire). #0200.
se se se se ket]i ket]i ket]i ket]i owo owo owo owo v. become lit. #1737.
se se se se koko koko koko koko v. remain silent, calm oneself. #1349, 1407.
se se se se k kk kuIe uIe uIe uIe v. lie across. #1840.
se se se se kpawu kpawu kpawu kpawu v. be broad (e.g. river). #1583.
se se se se kpaziti kpaziti kpaziti kpaziti v. be shy. #1393.
se se se se ondo ondo ondo ondo ne ne ne ne v. become short. #1609.
se se se se pa pa pa pa azu azu azu azu v. rule over. #1268.
se se se se pa pa pa pa oporo oporo oporo oporo v. incubate. #0567.
se se se se ropa ne ropa ne ropa ne ropa ne v. be abundant. #1626.
se se se se tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o v. be little. #1594.
se se se se te te te te gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa v. become hard. #1730.
se se se se te te te te hcrc-hcrc hcrc-hcrc hcrc-hcrc hcrc-hcrc v. become sharp. #1743.
se se se se te te te te 5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 ne ne ne ne v. become soft. #1746.
se se se se te te te te p5tu p5tu p5tu p5tu-p5tu p5tu p5tu p5tu v. become sharp. #1743.
se se se se tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri v. become round. #1607.
sepc sepc sepc sepc Variant: scpc scpc scpc scpc v. stay, remain. #1861.
sepc sepc sepc sepc but]o but]o but]o but]o v. stop for the night. #1280.
so so so so oko oko oko oko v. be angry. #1381.
so so so so uju uju uju uju v. break wind. #0124, 0153.
songba songba songba songba n. meat, flesh, muscle. #0040, 0068, 0903.
soro soro soro soro v. contract, tighten. #1927.
s ss soro oro oro oro Morph: (?)-oro oro oro oro n. soul, life, alive (for humans). #0126, 0687.
s5 s5 s5 s5 v. harvest (corn) (the act of breaking it off the stalk), break off. #0968,
0976.
s5 s5 s5 s5 de de de de ndapa ndapa ndapa ndapa v. whip. #1026.
s5 s5 s5 s5 kote kote kote kote v. have an itch, tickle. #0218, 1289.
s5 s5 s5 s5 mangc mangc mangc mangc v. harvest (maize). #0974.
s5 s5 s5 s5 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 v. skin, take off skin, strip off. #1062, 1988.
s5 s5 s5 s5 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 mangc mangc mangc mangc v. husk (corn). #0978.
s5 s5 s5 s5 t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. cross. #1812.
230

su su su su v. 1) draw (water), pour, fill up. 2) uproot, pull up, weed (by hand). 3)
pierce, stab, sew. 4) write. 5) be full. #0991, 1002, 1075, 1905, 1913.
su su su su gbada gbada gbada gbada v. fence in. #1003.
su su su su gbaga gbaga gbaga gbaga v. harvest peanuts.
su su su su kumu kumu kumu kumu n. hair.
su su su su mbcti mbcti mbcti mbcti v. write. #1452.
su su su su se se se se v. patch. #1114.
suku suku suku suku te te te te v. swell. #1753.
sukumu sukumu sukumu sukumu Morph: usu usu usu usu-kumu kumu kumu kumu n. hair (of head). #0046.
suma suma suma suma Morph: usu usu usu usu-ama ama ama ama n. beard. #0009.
sungopc sungopc sungopc sungopc Morph: usu usu usu usu-ngopc ngopc ngopc ngopc Variant: ngopc ngopc ngopc ngopc n. nail (fingernail or toenail), claw.
#0038.
sunguIa sunguIa sunguIa sunguIa Morph: usu usu usu usu-ungu ungu ungu ungu-aIa aIa aIa aIa n. eyelash, eyebrow. #0031, 0032.
sura sura sura sura n. broom. #0919.
suru suru suru suru v. tear (cloth). #1698, 1991.
sut]apa]c sut]apa]c sut]apa]c sut]apa]c Variant: usu usu usu usu t]apa]c t]apa]c t]apa]c t]apa]c Morph: usu usu usu usu-t]a t]a t]a t]a-pa pa pa pa-]c ]c ]c ]c(?) n. pubic hair. #0115.

] ]] ]

]ara ]ara ]ara ]ara v. give doubt.
]c ]c ]c ]c v. 1) heal, save, cure. 2) get well, be cured. #1184, 1728.
]c ]c ]c ]c PRON. third person singular object pronoun: clitic form. cf. c]c c]c c]c c]c.
]c ]c ]c ]c gate gate gate gate ne ne ne ne v. construct, put together (assemble to make something). #1107.
]cdoro ]cdoro ]cdoro ]cdoro n. lemon (loan from French citron). #0604.
]ckc ]ckc ]ckc ]ckc v. pluck (chicken). #0952.
]ckpc ]ckpc ]ckpc ]ckpc n. hamper. #0810.
]cnga ]cnga ]cnga ]cnga n. falling trap. #1051.
]cre ]cre ]cre ]cre v. split (wood), cut with an axe (after the tree is already felled), peel bark.
]eta ]eta ]eta ]eta Variant: ]cta ]cta ]cta ]cta n. intestines. #0053.
]i ]i ]i ]i v. 1) plant (a shoot or a stem), thrust into the ground, plant. 2) bury.
#0989, 0993.
]i ]i ]i ]i aba aba aba aba v. plant, harvest (yams). #0982.
]i ]i ]i ]i t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. transplant. #0990.
]iku ]iku ]iku ]iku Variant: ] ]] ]i i i i ku ku ku ku Morph: i]ir i]ir i]ir i]iri i i i-uku uku uku uku n. scar. #0116.
]o ]o ]o ]o v. burn. #1714, 1715.
]u ]u ]u ]u v. be bitter.

t tt t

ta ta ta ta v. 1) cut (palm nuts). 2) light.
ta ta ta ta ada ada ada ada v. be mutilated. #0240.
ta ta ta ta ambara ambara ambara ambara v. decorate, be multicolored. #1000, 1567.
ta imbi ta imbi ta imbi ta imbi ere ere ere ere v. make white. #1574.
ta ta ta ta owo owo owo owo v. blaze. #1712.
ta ta ta ta rawa rawa rawa rawa Variant: ta ta ta ta rawa rawa rawa rawa v. yell, cry out, shout. #1332, 1351.
ta ta ta ta ungu ungu ungu ungu v. bale out (canoe). #1791.
ta ta ta ta uvu uvu uvu uvu v. be multicolored. #1567.
taa taa taa taa Morph: te te te te-a a a a QUEST. where.
231

tada tada tada tada n. lamp, torch. #0819, 0852.
taIo taIo taIo taIo ADJ. new. #1668.
taIo taIo taIo taIo japu japu japu japu n. new moon. #0773.
tahara tahara tahara tahara ADJ. light (not heavy). #1593.
takawara takawara takawara takawara n. crooked. #1639.
tamc tamc tamc tamc n. rock, flat rock, pebble. #0672, 0697, 0707.
tandu tandu tandu tandu n. deaf mute. #0280.
tara tara tara tara v. descend (to water), sink, flow. #1866, 1939.
tawongc tawongc tawongc tawongc n. spark, lightning bug, lightning. #0716, 0746.
ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa n. large basin (used for fetching water), cooking pot (earthenware), metal
pot. #0922, 0932.
tc tc tc tc v. fall, drop. #1820.
tc tc tc tc aji aji aji aji ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda v. be rich. #1132.
tc tc tc tc budu budu budu budu v. start.
tc tc tc tc de de de de v. fail. #1933.
tc tc tc tc de de de de oko oko oko oko v. become fierce. #1416.
tc tc tc tc de de de de o1o o1o o1o o1o v. be wrong. #1399.
tc tc tc tc mbcre-mbcre mbcre-mbcre mbcre-mbcre mbcre-mbcre v. appease, decrease. #1214, 1720.
tc tc tc tc 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 v. protect by charm. #1190.
tc tc tc tc pa pa pa pa uzu uzu uzu uzu v. seize (someone). #1060.
tc tc tc tc uzu uzu uzu uzu de de de de 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 v. sacrifice. #1191.
tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o Variant: taa]o taa]o taa]o taa]o, tcc]o tcc]o tcc]o tcc]o ADJ2. small, few. #1585, 1599.
tck5 tck5 tck5 tck5 v. cough. #0243.
tck5 tck5 tck5 tck5 n. cough, phlegm. #0114, 0207.
tcpa tcpa tcpa tcpa v. grasp, hold in arm. #0176.
tcre tcre tcre tcre Variant: t tt te e e e rc rc rc rc n. magic. #1173.
tcwc tcwc tcwc tcwc n. ant (big, black). #0498.
te te te te PREP. on. FUNC. reflexive marker, passive marker.
teaze teaze teaze teaze Morph: te-aze te-aze te-aze te-aze PRON. ourselves (inclusive).
tecndc tecndc tecndc tecndc Morph: te te te te-cndc cndc cndc cndc PRON. themselves.
te te te te jc jc jc jc Morph: te te te te-jc jc jc jc PRON. himself, herself.
tekeka tekeka tekeka tekeka n. pain. #0222.
teme teme teme teme Morph: te te te te-me me me me PRON. myself.
tene tene tene tene Morph: te te te te-n nn ne e e e PRON. third person inanimate object pronoun.
teraIc teraIc teraIc teraIc ADV. directly.
terejc terejc terejc terejc n. umbilical cord, bud. #0099, 0629.
teze teze teze teze Morph: te te te te-z zz ze e e e PRON. yourself.
te1a te1a te1a te1a Morph: te-1a te-1a te-1a te-1a PRON. ourselves (exclusive).
te1c te1c te1c te1c Morph: te te te te-1c 1c 1c 1c PRON. yourselves.
ti ti ti ti v. look.
tima tima tima tima n. tongue. #0097.
tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri tindiwiri n. circle, ring, round. #0803, 1597.
ti ti ti ti v. pick up.
ti ti ti ti ADV. just there.
t tt ti ii i gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo v. lift. #1842.
tirindi tirindi tirindi tirindi n. leech. #0514.
to to to to v. 1) give (as present), get for, take out (from container). 2) marry. 3)
leave. 4) be sticky. #0962, 1238, 1254, 1692.
232

to to to to ba ba ba ba v. come from. #1809.
to to to to iri iri iri iri v. cause to swell. #1754.
to to to to izi izi izi izi v. blow up, inflate. #1925.
to to to to kane kane kane kane gapa gapa gapa gapa v. bless. #1217.
to to to to kane kane kane kane te te te te v. help. #1242.
to to to to keziri keziri keziri keziri v. feed (animals). #0972.
to to to to okoro okoro okoro okoro Ie Ie Ie Ie ang5ndoro ang5ndoro ang5ndoro ang5ndoro v. make offerings to the dead. #1188.
togba togba togba togba v. border on. #1795.
Togbo ogbo ogbo ogbo PN. The Togbo language and people.
togb5 togb5 togb5 togb5 Variant: togba togba togba togba v. meet, join, put together. #1256, 1946.
toIa toIa toIa toIa v. begin.
tombcIc tombcIc tombcIc tombcIc n. morning-star (Venus). #0693.
to nde to nde to nde to nde v. look at. #0178, 1429.
to nde to nde to nde to nde t]andiri t]andiri t]andiri t]andiri v. look round. #1431.
too too too too ADV. clean. #1637.
toro toro toro toro v. make a hole (in order to plant corn/maize).
Toro oro oro oro PN. The hero of Banda folk stories. A trickster.
toro]5 toro]5 toro]5 toro]5 n. old (not new). #1669.
t5 t5 t5 t5 Variant: t5 t5 t5 t5 ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo v. 1) pound, forge, grind. 2) give pain, hurt, be bitter,
sharp, sting. #0174, 0953, 1004, 1005, 1986.
t5 t5 t5 t5 agja agja agja agja v. lead (out) cattle. #0979.
t5 indi t5 indi t5 indi t5 indi v. bleed. #0150.
t5 t5 t5 t5 iIi iIi iIi iIi v. perspire. #0181.
t5 t5 t5 t5 k5ngb5 k5ngb5 k5ngb5 k5ngb5 v. work the bellows. #1118.
t5 t5 t5 t5 Ie Ie Ie Ie v. revive. #1962.
t5 t5 t5 t5 I5su I5su I5su I5su v. palpitate. #0180.
t5 t5 t5 t5 ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro v. bore a hole. #1892.
t5 t5 t5 t5 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 v. grunt with effort. #1341.
t5 t5 t5 t5 pa pa pa pa v. uncover. #1994.
t5ndu t5ndu t5ndu t5ndu n. dumb (voice). #0237.
t5pc t5pc t5pc t5pc v. stick. #1984.
t5r5 t5r5 t5r5 t5r5 v. poke. #1906.
tu tu tu tu v. throw (a liquid substance).
tu tu tu tu ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i v. spit (lit. throw spittle). #0191.
tu tu tu tu pa ne pa ne pa ne pa ne v. spill (a solid). #1870.
tuju tuju tuju tuju n. fresh. #1652.
tukia tukia tukia tukia Variant: tukja tukja tukja tukja n. cotton, cotton plant (loan from Lingala tuka). #0598,
1070.
tukpa tukpa tukpa tukpa n. whiteness. #1560.
tundumanc tundumanc tundumanc tundumanc n. blunt. #1634.
tungb5ju tungb5ju tungb5ju tungb5ju ADJ. fresh.
turu turu turu turu v. budge, move, wipe. #1846, 1998.
turu turu turu turu te te te te o]o o]o o]o o]o v. touch. #0196.
turu turu turu turu t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe budu budu budu budu v. wipe off (excreta). #1292.
turugu turugu turugu turugu n. soldier. #0385.
turugu turugu turugu turugu n. outie navellarge belly button that sticks out.
turuma turuma turuma turuma v. scrape, pick off (with a scraper). #1968.
turu]a turu]a turu]a turu]a Variant: turu]5 turu]5 turu]5 turu]5 n. dust, ash. #0667.
233

t] t] t] t]

t]a t]a t]a t]a PREP. place (cf. Cloarec-Heiss 1986: 161).
t]a t]a t]a t]a Iakoro Iakoro Iakoro Iakoro n. chest.
t]aagama t]aagama t]aagama t]aagama Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-aga aga aga aga-ama ama ama ama n. jaw. #0054.
t]aaguara t]aaguara t]aaguara t]aaguara n. shade, shelter. #0838.
t]aakpa t]aakpa t]aakpa t]aakpa ADV. all.
t]aaIa t]aaIa t]aaIa t]aaIa n. jackal. #0432.
t]aandobo t]aandobo t]aandobo t]aandobo Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-andobo andobo andobo andobo(?) n. chin. #0025.
t]aangbcndc t]aangbcndc t]aangbcndc t]aangbcndc n. calf.
t]aat]i t]aat]i t]aat]i t]aat]i n. bank, shore (hollow). #0652.
t]aat]i t]aat]i t]aat]i t]aat]i kota kota kota kota n. river bank. #0705.
t]abaga t]abaga t]abaga t]abaga Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-baga baga baga baga n. jaw (bone). #0055.
t]abudu t]abudu t]abudu t]abudu Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-budu budu budu budu PREP. under.
t]abudu t]abudu t]abudu t]abudu ivi ivi ivi ivi n. lower abdomen. #0064.
t]ada t]ada t]ada t]ada Variant: t]aada t]aada t]aada t]aada Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-ada ada ada ada n. sole (of foot). #0089.
t]ada t]ada t]ada t]ada ng5r5 ng5r5 ng5r5 ng5r5 n. 1) throat. 2) voice.
t]ada t]ada t]ada t]ada n. pen.
t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 Variant: t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 t]ad5ng5r5 Morph: t]a-d5 t]a-d5 t]a-d5 t]a-d5(?)-ang5r5 -ang5r5 -ang5r5 -ang5r5 n. voice. #1314.
t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-Iu Iu Iu Iu n. smell. #0119.
t]aguru t]aguru t]aguru t]aguru n. middle. #1767.
t]agboIo t]agboIo t]agboIo t]agboIo n. smallness. #1579.
t]agburu t]agburu t]agburu t]agburu kumu kumu kumu kumu Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-gburu gburu gburu gburu(?) n. crown of the head. #0027.
t]akaIa t]akaIa t]akaIa t]akaIa Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-kaIa kaIa kaIa kaIa(?) ADJ. side, part.
t]aka t]aka t]aka t]akaIa Ia Ia Ia kote kote kote kote n. side of body. #0084.
t]akane t]akane t]akane t]akane Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-kane kane kane kane n. palm of hand. #0074.
t]akanga t]akanga t]akanga t]akanga Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-kanga kanga kanga kanga n. armpit. #0005.
t]akoro t]akoro t]akoro t]akoro n. height, length. # 1576, 1577.
t]akudu t]akudu t]akudu t]akudu Morph: t]a-kudu t]a-kudu t]a-kudu t]a-kudu PREP. under, below. #1486.
t]akumu t]akumu t]akumu t]akumu n. highest point, utmost, level. #0681, 1765.
t]aIaIo t]aIaIo t]aIaIo t]aIaIo Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-aIa aIa aIa aIa-Io Io Io Io LOC. above, sky, heaven. #0713.
t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi t]aIakpi Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-aIa aIa aIa aIa-kpi kpi kpi kpi(?) LOC. in the village.
t]aIangu t]aIangu t]aIangu t]aIangu Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-aIa aIa aIa aIa-ungu ungu ungu ungu LOC. in the water.
t]aIasu t]aIasu t]aIasu t]aIasu wowo wowo wowo wowo n. heartburn. #0212.
t]aI5nd5 ipi t]aI5nd5 ipi t]aI5nd5 ipi t]aI5nd5 ipi n. ritual place. #0876.
t]amangba t]amangba t]amangba t]amangba Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-mangba mangba mangba mangba PREP. after.
t]ambcIc t]ambcIc t]ambcIc t]ambcIc owo owo owo owo n. burnt grass. #0573.
t]ande t]ande t]ande t]ande Morph: t]a-ende t]a-ende t]a-ende t]a-ende PREP. in.
t]andiri t]andiri t]andiri t]andiri n. edge. #1759.
t]andu t]andu t]andu t]andu n. country. #0661.
t]and t]and t]and t]anda a a a n. thumb piano, hand piano. #1152.
t]anga t]anga t]anga t]anga v. melt. #1952.
t]angba t]angba t]angba t]angba Morph: t]a-angba t]a-angba t]a-angba t]a-angba PREP. behind. #1478.
t]angbangcIc t]angbangcIc t]angbangcIc t]angbangcIc ADJ. green. #1566.
t]angbcda t]angbcda t]angbcda t]angbcda n. fork (in road). #0866.
t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa bada bada bada bada n. ford. #0674.
t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa mindu mindu mindu mindu n. beach. #0653.
t]apadu t]apadu t]apadu t]apadu n. grave, cemetery. #0867, 0874.
234

t]apandik5 t]apandik5 t]apandik5 t]apandik5 n. rubbish. #0837.
t]apa]c t]apa]c t]apa]c t]apa]c Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-pa]c pa]c pa]c pa]c(?) n. pubes. #0076.
t]apa]5 t]apa]5 t]apa]5 t]apa]5 Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-pa pa pa pa-5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 n. world. #0730.
t]ate t]ate t]ate t]ate ama ama ama ama n. edge. #1759.
t]aturugu t]aturugu t]aturugu t]aturugu Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-turugu turugu turugu turugu n. army. #0254.
t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u Morph: t]a t]a t]a t]a-ut]u ut]u ut]u ut]u n. face. PREP. in front of. #0034, 1477.
t]cbaIc t]cbaIc t]cbaIc t]cbaIc Morph: (?)-baIc -baIc -baIc -baIc n. alone. #1628.
t]cj5 t]cj5 t]cj5 t]cj5 Morph: (?)-5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. handle.
t]cj5 t]cj5 t]cj5 t]cj5 gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru Variant: t]c5 t]c5 t]c5 t]c5 gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru gaIuru n. pestle. #0933.
t]cnc t]cnc t]cnc t]cnc n. midrib of palm-frond, type of broom. #0636.
t]ct]c t]ct]c t]ct]c t]ct]c n. full. #1653.
t]ct]cre t]ct]cre t]ct]cre t]ct]cre n. insect, tick. #0512, 0525.
t]e t]e t]e t]e PRON. third person singular subject pronoun: clitic form. cf. c]c c]c c]c c]c. #1453,
1454, 1455.
t]e t]e t]e t]e- PREP. within.
t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe Morph: t]e t]e t]e t]e-Ie Ie Ie Ie PREP. inside.
t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema t]eIema Variant: t]cIema t]cIema t]cIema t]cIema Morph: t]e t]e t]e t]e-Ie Ie Ie Ie-ama ama ama ama n. palate. #0073.
t]eIewapc t]eIewapc t]eIewapc t]eIewapc n. crevice. #0663.
t]i t]i t]i t]i v. shine, be bright, give light. #1635, 1942, 1973.
t]i t]i t]i t]i 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 v. be light (of day). #0789.
t]iki t]iki t]iki t]iki n. island. #0684.
t]ikiri t]ikiri t]ikiri t]ikiri n. winnow. #0967.
t]5 t]5 t]5 t]5 v. taste good, be tasty. #1696.
t]5 t]5 t]5 t]5 t]apa t]apa t]apa t]apa ere ere ere ere v. peel. #0951.
t]5ngb5I5 t]5ngb5I5 t]5ngb5I5 t]5ngb5I5 n. stick for sowing seeds (corn, peanuts, rice), walking stick, cane, thin
pole. #0628, 0799, 1100.
t]u t]u t]u t]u v. 1) die. 2) close, shut. #0244, 1807, 1865.
t]u t]u t]u t]u ogo ogo ogo ogo v. be starved. #0139.
t]uIa t]uIa t]uIa t]uIa n. shame. #1374.
t]wa t]wa t]wa t]wa Variant: t]owa t]owa t]owa t]owa v. scrape, scratch, dig. #1967, 1969.

u uu u

ubu ubu ubu ubu ADJ. black (for beings). #1561.
ubu ubu ubu ubu o]o o]o o]o o]o n. darkness. #0763.
ubu ubu ubu ubu uzu uzu uzu uzu n. black person. #0273.
uburu uburu uburu uburu n. filth, dirt. #0666, 1643.
uburu uburu uburu uburu n. swollen stomach.
udu udu udu udu n. spear, lance. #1044.
udu udu udu udu ADJ. the rest of.
udu udu udu udu d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 n. leftovers (food). #0900.
uduru uduru uduru uduru n. waterfall. #0726.
uIu uIu uIu uIu ADJ. rotten. #1619.
ugu ugu ugu ugu ADJ. far.
uguru uguru uguru uguru PREP. 1) in between, amongst.
uju uju uju uju n. excrement. #0108.
uju uju uju uju n. female, unmarried girl, female animal. #0261.
uku uku uku uku n. wound, hurt (a sore). #0215, 0228.
235

uku uku uku uku n. thigh (the part of the leg above the knee, front and back). #0093.
uku uku uku uku n. 1) trap, animal trap, bird line (adhesive to catch birds). 2) jealousy.
#1030, 1050, 1367.
uku uku uku uku gbada gbada gbada gbada n. ulcer. #0230.
ukuru ukuru ukuru ukuru n. lean, meager. #1592.
ukpuIu ukpuIu ukpuIu ukpuIu n. heap. #0814.
uIu uIu uIu uIu n. heart (the organ). #0049.
uIu uIu uIu uIu n. dream. #1361.
umburu umburu umburu umburu n. soot. #0936.
umburu umburu umburu umburu n. gunpowder.
umb umb umb umburu uru uru uru o]o o]o o]o o]o TIME. nightfall. #0787.
unu unu unu unu n. sesame. #0619.
undu undu undu undu n. size.
undu undu undu undu n. body.
undu undu undu undu ADJ. sweet. n. hernia, swelling, hump (of cow). #0213, 0229, 0542, 1614.
undu undu undu undu 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 n. trunk (of tree). #0646.
ungu ungu ungu ungu n. 1) water. 2) river. 3) year, season. #0725, 0754, 0784.
ungu ungu ungu ungu d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 d5ng5 n. broth, sauce, soup. #0885, 0912.
ungu ungu ungu ungu javuru javuru javuru javuru n. rainy season.
ungu ungu ungu ungu kako kako kako kako garanga garanga garanga garanga ADJ. green. #1566.
ungu ungu ungu ungu owo owo owo owo n. coffee, kerosene, diesel.
ungu ungu ungu ungu 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 n. milk. #0904.
unguru unguru unguru unguru ADJ. small, thin (not thick). #1602.
unguru unguru unguru unguru Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga n. medium drum. #1147.
ungburu ungburu ungburu ungburu ADJ. old.
uru uru uru uru idi idi idi idi v. whistle. #1360.
usu usu usu usu n. fur, human body hair, feather. #0535, 0538.
usu usu usu usu janu janu janu janu n. feathers.
u]u u]u u]u u]u ADJ. bitter, bitterness. #1613, 1711.
u u u u ]u ]u ]u ]u LOC. outside.
utu utu utu utu n. ear. #0028.
uturu uturu uturu uturu mindu mindu mindu mindu n. fine sand. #0709.
ut]u ut]u ut]u ut]u PREP. before, in front of. #1477.
ut]u ut]u ut]u ut]u ne ne ne ne FUNC. first. #1519.
uvu uvu uvu uvu anda anda anda anda n. wall. #1101.
uvuru uvuru uvuru uvuru n. weight. #1580.
uwu uwu uwu uwu ADJ. empty. #1645.
uwu uwu uwu uwu n. string, rope, cord, wire, line. #0835, 0848, 1103.
uwu uwu uwu uwu ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 n. larynx. #0059.
uwu uwu uwu uwu ere ere ere ere n. line of objects. #1766.
uwu uwu uwu uwu ndoboro ndoboro ndoboro ndoboro n. bowstring. #1032.
uwu uwu uwu uwu ngada ngada ngada ngada n. fishing line. #1037.
uzu uzu uzu uzu n. person. #0266, 0336.
uzu uzu uzu uzu ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc n. nobody.
236

v vv v

va va va va v. 1) pour (a granular substance). 2) scoop (a granular substance).
va va va va 5t5 5t5 5t5 5t5 uzu uzu uzu uzu v. accuse. #1318.
vana vana vana vana NUM. four, fourth. #1526.
va1c va1c va1c va1c v. throw out.
va1c va1c va1c va1c ADV. throw out (plural form).
vc vc vc vc v. 1) hit. 2) stone.
vcda vcda vcda vcda n. forest. #0675.
vcja vcja vcja vcja n. thicket. #0722.
vckc vckc vckc vckc n. okra. #0610.
vcre vcre vcre vcre v. 1) wear (clothes), undress. 2) strip off a stem. #0201, 1290.
vcre vcre vcre vcre cIc cIc cIc cIc owo owo owo owo Variant: vcr vcr vcr vcre e e e cIcwo cIcwo cIcwo cIcwo v. harvest (rice). #0975.
vcre vcre vcre vcre Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba v. dress (someone). #1227.
vi vi vi vi v. dance.
vi ip vi ip vi ip vi ipi i i i v. dance. #1159.
vi vi vi vi kane kane kane kane ze ze ze ze v. close the fist.
vivi vivi vivi vivi n. ant. #0497.
voka voka voka voka n. nape of neck. #0069.
voma voma voma voma n. fly (insect). #0509.
vongba vongba vongba vongba n. warthog. #0464.
voro voro voro voro v. roast, fry. #0948.
voro voro voro voro ADV. good health. #0142, 0286.
vorowo vorowo vorowo vorowo Variant: vorowo vorowo vorowo vorowo n. ash, cinders. #0915.
vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 NUM. three, third. #1525.
vu vu vu vu aIa aIa aIa aIa v. close the eyes. #0161.
vu vu vu vu ama ama ama ama v. close the mouth. #0160.
vu vu vu vu kane kane kane kane v. close fist. #0159.
vu vu vu vu se se se se o1o o1o o1o o1o v. deny. #1334.
vuda vuda vuda vuda n. cultivated ground. #0861.
vuvu vuvu vuvu vuvu n. sugar ant.

w ww w

wa wa wa wa v. cut, slice (with a knife), whittle, mark out, peg out (ground). #0946,
1111.
wa wa wa wa Variant: waa waa waa waa FUNC. very, much, many, forever, always. #0786.
wa wa wa wa ata ata ata ata ne ne ne ne v. shorten. #1608.
wa wa wa wa ati ati ati ati v. make (facial) incisions, tattoo, slash. #0177, 1910.
wa wa wa wa gaza gaza gaza gaza v. circumcise. #0157.
wa wa wa wa indi indi indi indi v. cause to bleed.
wa wa wa wa nde nde nde nde v. obstruct. #1848.
wa wa wa wa o1o o1o o1o o1o v. judge. #1247.
wa wa wa wa t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe 1jara 1jara 1jara 1jara-1jara 1jara 1jara 1jara v. cut up, flay, slaughter. #1053.
wai wai wai wai EXCL. yes, okay.
waja waja waja waja n. baby.
wajoo wajoo wajoo wajoo EXCL. Thats right!.
waIa waIa waIa waIa n. lie (falsehood). #1302.
237

ware ware ware ware n. manioc paste.
watcre watcre watcre watcre n. bee. #0501.
wcIc wcIc wcIc wcIc Variant: woIc woIc woIc woIc n. arrow. #1027.
wo wo wo wo v. 1) kill, slaughter. 2) be hot. #1063, 1249.
wo wo wo wo o]o o]o o]o o]o v. be hot (of person). #0132.
wo wo wo wo owo owo owo owo v. have a fever.
woga woga woga woga n. antelope. #0395.
woIa woIa woIa woIa ADJ. yellow. #1570.
womba womba womba womba n. sister-in-law. #0321, 0363.
wu wu wu wu v. 1) see (something). 2) breathe. 3) press (with your hand). #0154, 0178,
0185.
wu wu wu wu de de de de aIa aIa aIa aIa v. allow. #1213.
wu wu wu wu ere ere ere ere v. notice. #1434.
wu i]ire wu i]ire wu i]ire wu i]ire n. mirror.
wu wu wu wu ojo ojo ojo ojo v. forgive.
wu wu wu wu ojo ojo ojo ojo uzu uzu uzu uzu v. forgive. #1217.
wu wu wu wu se se se se v. know. #1426.
wu wu wu wu se se se se kembere kembere kembere kembere v. know how to. #1425.
wu wu wu wu t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe 5k5 5k5 5k5 5k5 v. feel. #0173.
wuIja wuIja wuIja wuIja n. giraffe. #0423.
wusetewu wusetewu wusetewu wusetewu Morph: wu-ese- wu-ese- wu-ese- wu-ese-(?) n. stupid person. #0306.
wuta wuta wuta wuta v. leave, exit, arrive, pass by, come (or go) out. #1788, 1810.
wuta wuta wuta wuta gapa gapa gapa gapa 5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 v. be born. #0152.

w w w w

wa wa wa wa v. send (someone or something). #1269.
wa i]i wa i]i wa i]i wa i]i v. extract a thorn. #0245.
wa wa wa wa o]o o]o o]o o]o nde nde nde nde v. invite, assemble (people). #1246.
wa wa wa wa 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 v. cut down. #0996.
wa wa wa wa uzu uzu uzu uzu nde nde nde nde v. send (someone to do something). #1271.
wadu wadu wadu wadu v. take out.
waIa waIa waIa waIa n. bone marrow. #0016.
wanga wanga wanga wanga v. cut across.
wara wara wara wara v. 1) be fast. 2) open.
wara wara wara wara te te te te v. refuse, reject. #1266.
wara wara wara wara te te te te o]o o]o o]o o]o te te te te v. abstain. #1210.
wara wara wara wara t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ere ere ere ere v. untie. #1023.
wcgc wcgc wcgc wcgc ADV. hot.
wi wi wi wi v. throw, sprinkle (water). #1914, 1980.
wi wi wi wi gbagonda gbagonda gbagonda gbagonda v. swing. #1878.
wi wi wi wi ngada ngada ngada ngada v. fish. #1057.
wi1i wi1i wi1i wi1i ADV. throw out (singular form).
wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi n. lower leg, calf, shin.
witi witi witi witi n. calf of leg. #0022.
wuruju wuruju wuruju wuruju n. dung beetle. #0507.
238

z zz z

za za za za v. take, get (one thing); give, put (one thing); place, set; catch (person or
animal); hold; pick up. #1237, 1052, 1284, 1860, 1944, 1956.
za za za za ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 v. choke. #1897.
za za za za awa awa awa awa Variant: za za za za awa awa awa awa Ie Ie Ie Ie v. frighten, startle. #1419, 1444.
za za za za de de de de ajo ajo ajo ajo v. carry on a pole. #1800.
za za za za di di di di v. hang up. #1943.
za za za za ere ere ere ere v. catch (object). #1803.
za za za za Ie Ie Ie Ie v. offer, bring. #1257, 1797.
za za za za gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo v. raise.
za za za za gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe a a a a wa wa wa wa ne ne ne ne v. apply (ointment), besmear. #0144.
za za za za gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe kane kane kane kane v. carry in arms. #1799.
za za za za gaIe gaIe gaIe gaIe kumu kumu kumu kumu v. carry on head. #1801.
za za za za gandiri gandiri gandiri gandiri ne ne ne ne v. put away. #1016.
za za za za gapa gapa gapa gapa v. increase. #1945.
za za za za gapa gapa gapa gapa ovoro ovoro ovoro ovoro v. carry (child) on back. #1802.
za za za za gati gati gati gati v. put down. #1858.
za za za za gati gati gati gati Ie Ie Ie Ie kumu kumu kumu kumu v. unload from head. #1886.
za za za za gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo v. carry a child. #1221.
za za za za iviri iviri iviri iviri v. come on suddenly, take in the act. #1410.
za za za za ja]c ja]c ja]c ja]c v. marry a wife. #1255.
za za za za jitumbu jitumbu jitumbu jitumbu v. punish (loan from Lingala etumbu). #1263.
za za za za jiwa jiwa jiwa jiwa tene tene tene tene v. hide (tr.). #1423.
za za za za j5re j5re j5re j5re v. sell. #1143.
za za za za kopc kopc kopc kopc v. stalk. #1064.
za za za za kuIe kuIe kuIe kuIe v. bar (door). #1920.
za za za za kuteneeku kuteneeku kuteneeku kuteneeku v. place crosswise. #1853.
za za za za mi mi mi mi v. lean. #1837.
za za za za mi]o mi]o mi]o mi]o v. support. #1283.
za za za za ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi v. rust. #1741.
za za za za ogo ogo ogo ogo v. conquer, defeat. #1223.
za za za za pote pote pote pote Variant: za za za za poote poote poote poote v. carry away. #1798.
za za za za tawo tawo tawo tawo v. take from cooking fire. #0960.
za za za za ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa ta1wa gatawo gatawo gatawo gatawo v. put a pot on the fire. #0954.
za za za za te te te te v. boast, brag, praise oneself. #1328.
za za za za te te te te gapa ne gapa ne gapa ne gapa ne v. increase. #1733.
za za za za te te te te nde nde nde nde v. be eager. #1362.
za za za za t5ndi t5ndi t5ndi t5ndi v. straighten. #1751.
za za za za t5]5 t5]5 t5]5 t5]5 v. stumble. #1876.
za za za za t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe v. knead, mould pottery. #0949, 1113.
za za za za uzu uzu uzu uzu akwa akwa akwa akwa v. hire. #1137.
za za za za wi1i wi1i wi1i wi1i v. throw away. #1915.
zaja zaja zaja zaja n. anvil. #1079.
zara zara zara zara n. far. #1780.
zara zara zara zara 5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 v. be barren (of land). #1631.
zara zara zara zara se se se se v. spy. #1277.
zat]u zat]u zat]u zat]u gapa gapa gapa gapa v. cover. #0945.
239

zawa zawa zawa zawa n. bitter herbs.
ze ze ze ze PRON. second person singular object pronoun. cf. ebe ebe ebe ebe.
ze ze ze ze EMPH. indeed. (Kamanda 1998: 521, 720 defines this word as l-bas,
following Cloarec-Heiss 1972: 58, 128).
zi zi zi zi v. eat. #0171.
zi zi zi zi akwande akwande akwande akwande ngware ngware ngware ngware v. eat first of new crops. #1231.
zi zi zi zi angba angba angba angba v. steal. #1279.
zi zi zi zi de de de de andoro andoro andoro andoro v. bewitch. #1183.
z zz zi ii i de de de de rawo rawo rawo rawo v. bewitch. #1183.
zi zi zi zi t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ere ere ere ere Morph: zi zi zi zi-t]e t]e t]e t]e-Ie Ie Ie Ie-e e e e r rr re e e e v. chew. #0156.
zii zii zii zii ADV. smooth, flat. #1689.
zingi zingi zingi zingi n. monitor lizard. #0441.
ziti ziti ziti ziti v. cool off, become cold, decrease, pacify. #1719, 1720, 1954.
ziti ziti ziti ziti ADJ. cold, peaceful.
zo zo zo zo v. grill, roast, bake. #0955.
zoma zoma zoma zoma te te te te v. embrace. #1232.
zomapo zomapo zomapo zomapo v. blow away. #1923.
zu zu zu zu Variant: zu zu zu zu pa]5 pa]5 pa]5 pa]5 Morph: zu zu zu zu-pa pa pa pa-5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 v. give birth to, loosen. #0147, 1949.
zu zu zu zu agja agja agja agja v. give birth (animals). #0565.
zu zu zu zu oporo oporo oporo oporo v. lay (eggs). #0568.
zu zu zu zu tenda tenda tenda tenda v. be loose. #1665.
zu zu zu zu t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe ere ere ere ere v. untie. #1023.
zu zu zu zu ungu ungu ungu ungu v. cross river. #1813.
zu zu zu zu wcre wcre wcre wcre-wcre wcre wcre wcre v. be loose. #1665.
zungba zungba zungba zungba ADJ. hidden.
zuru zuru zuru zuru v. 1) delimit, stake out (a field), divide up. 2) step on, tread. 3) be slippery,
be sticky. #1687, 1692, 1880.
zuru zuru zuru zuru darambc]a darambc]a darambc]a darambc]a v. glide, slip. #1824, 1868.
zuru ere zuru ere zuru ere zuru ere n. slipperiness. #1621.
zuwu zuwu zuwu zuwu Variant: zuwa zuwa zuwa zuwa n. flour. #0891.
zuwu zuwu zuwu zuwu garanga garanga garanga garanga n. manioc flour.



c c c c v. grovel.
c c c c wutu wutu wutu wutu v. beg (for money). #1216.
cre cre cre cre v. descend, go down. #1816.
i i i i v. belch. #0149.
ingba ingba ingba ingba v. grumble, roar. #1340, 1963.
iwu iwu iwu iwu n. embers. #0925.
o o o o v. wake up. #0198, 0199.
u u u u v. burn. #1713.
ugwa ugwa ugwa ugwa n. evil forest spirit.

1 11 1

1a 1a 1a 1a v. suck.
1a 1a 1a 1a PRON. first person plural inclusive pronoun: clitic form. cf. aze aze aze aze.
240

1a 1a 1a 1a PRON. first person plural exclusive pronoun: clitic and possessive form.
cf. a1a a1a a1a a1a.
1a 1a 1a 1a 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 v. nurse, breastfeed.
1aIa 1aIa 1aIa 1aIa Io Io Io Io Variant: 1a 1a 1a 1a Io Io Io Io v. stand up, stand, rise up. #1862.
1ara 1ara 1ara 1ara v. dig up, fill in.
1c 1c 1c 1c v. call.
1c 1c 1c 1c PRON. second person plural pronoun: clitic and possessive form. cf. c1c c1c c1c c1c.
1c ii 1c ii 1c ii 1c ii v. show teeth. #0187.
1c 1c 1c 1c o]o o]o o]o o]o v. call. #1329.
1i 1i 1i 1i v. 1) attach, tie, bind, pack (e.g. a truck), stop. 2) jump, dive. #1011, 1817,
1834, 1921.
1i 1i 1i 1i gb5n gb5n gb5n gb5nduru duru duru duru v. be astonished, be surprised. #1383, 1396.
1i 1i 1i 1i iviri iviri iviri iviri gara gara gara gara v. be depressed (emotional state). #1385.
1i 1i 1i 1i jako]c jako]c jako]c jako]c v. marry a husband.
1i 1i 1i 1i ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja ka1ja v. paddle. #1012.
1i 1i 1i 1i ngindi ngindi ngindi ngindi v. urinate. #0197.
1i 1i 1i 1i po po po po v. fasten. #1935.
1i 1i 1i 1i te te te te v. go to the bathroom (lit: to tie oneself), urinate.
1i 1i 1i 1i ungu ungu ungu ungu su su su su gate gate gate gate v. become wet. #1756.
1ima 1ima 1ima 1ima v. yawn.
1iri 1iri 1iri 1iri owo owo owo owo v. rub (fire) with fire stick. #1017.
1o 1o 1o 1o do do do do v. wail, ululate (at funeral).
1oma 1oma 1oma 1oma v. boil over. #0942.
1oro 1oro 1oro 1oro v. split, cut open, saw (wood). #0997, 1116.
1oro 1oro 1oro 1oro cIc cIc cIc cIc doporo doporo doporo doporo Morph: 1oro 1oro 1oro 1oro-cIc cIc cIc cIc-do do do do(?)-oporo oporo oporo oporo v. castrate. #0155.
1oro 1oro 1oro 1oro o]o o]o o]o o]o v. look at. #1429.
1oro 1oro 1oro 1oro o]o o]o o]o o]o dindiri dindiri dindiri dindiri v. look round. #1431.
15 15 15 15 v. climb, go up, ascend, mount. #1789, 1806, 1953.
15 15 15 15 gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo gaIaIo v. be elevated, rise. #1781.
15r5 15r5 15r5 15r5 v. 1) dry. 2) crawl. #1722, 1723, 1811.
15r5ng5 15r5ng5 15r5ng5 15r5ng5 n. frog. #0419.
1u 1u 1u 1u v. caress, flatter. #1220.
1u 1u 1u 1u uzu uzu uzu uzu v. incite. #1244.
1uru 1uru 1uru 1uru v. blow. #1157, 1922.
1uru 1uru 1uru 1uru idi idi idi idi v. whistle. #1704.
1uru 1uru 1uru 1uru owo owo owo owo v. blow on a fire.
1uru 1uru 1uru 1uru t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe t]eIe utu utu utu utu v. kiss. #1250.
1wara 1wara 1wara 1wara ADV. (until) the morning.

241


APPENDIX C
AN EVALUATION OF NIGER-CONGO CLASSIFICATION

The Niger-Congo language family is the largest language family in Africa,
comprising about 1,400 languages found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its northern border
stretches along a relatively straight line between Senegal and Kenya. In the south, in
present-day Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, Niger-Congo languages are intermixed
with Khoisan and some Indo-European languages. The other major families to be found
in Africa are Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, and Khoisan (see Figure C.1).


Figure C.1: Classification of African languages. Data from Greenberg (1970) and
Williamson & Blench (2000).
242

This paper aims to give an overview of the genetic classification of the Niger-
Congo language family. In addition, I focus on certain salient issues in the classification,
offering a critique of how these issues have been addressed in the past and indicating
further research which is necessary in order to clarify outstanding problems.
Attempts at classifying the languages of Africa date from the early part of the
nineteenth century. Both Cole (1971) and Williamson (1989a) offer good reviews of the
development of this field from that period until the middle part of the twentieth century.
Since 1950, four particular works have been very influential in updating and
summarizing the field of Niger-Congo classification. First, in the 1950s, Greenberg
published a series of articles on the topic employing a controversial method called the
method of resemblances (what he now calls multilateral comparison), which culminated
in his 1963 work, The Languages of Africa (I had access to the third edition: Greenberg
1970). Greenbergs work defined the Niger-Congo family and refocused the direction of
the field towards a classification based on genetic criteria. At the same time, it raised
questions about what constitutes an appropriate methodology for establishing genetic
relationship. Regardless of these issues, the Greenberg classification has taken on the role
of a useful referential classification in much the same way that Guthries (1948) alpha-
numerical classification has become the standard of reference for Bantu, even though
Guthries subgroupings are no longer widely accepted as genetically accurate.
1

The second major work on Niger-Congo language classification was Current
Trends in Linguistics 7: Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sebeok, ed., 1971). This
volume had a broad scope, encompassing language classification, linguistic history,
language policy, and a host of other topics related to language and linguistics in Sub-
Saharan Africa. With respect to Niger-Congo language classification, it only made minor

1
Despite the uncertainty about Guthries subgroupings, his reconstruction of Proto-Bantu is still
widely accepted.
243

changes to Greenbergs work. This is probably due to the fact that only a short amount of
time had elapsed since Greenbergs work and it had the broader goal of summarizing the
state of the art rather than pushing the theoretical envelope.
The third major work on Niger-Congo language classification was an article by
Patrick R. Bennett and Jan P. Sterk (1977) entitled South Central Niger-Congo: A
reclassification. This paper does not claim to be an overview of Niger-Congo
classification per se, but the conclusions that they draw have had widespread
ramifications for the field. In it, they study the Niger-Congo family using a combination
of lexicostatistics and evidence from common shared innovations.
The fourth major work on Niger-Congo language classification is The Niger-
Congo Languages (Bendor-Samuel, ed., 1989). This is the most recent definitive
statement on Niger-Congo classification. It incorporates much of the classificatory
research on the family from the preceding two decades and standardizes the nomenclature
for the family (Williamson 1989a: 18-20). One significant change worth noting is the
broadening of the Niger-Congo umbrella to include the Kordofanian languages. Bendor-
Samuels Niger-Congo is effectively the same as what Greenberg alternatively calls
Niger-Kordofanian or Congo-Kordofanian.
Implicit in the notion of language classification lies the question, On what basis
is the classification made? The received view among linguists is that the relatedness of
languages is defined in terms of historical evolution from a common parent language, i.e.
genetic relationship. They also tend to agree that the comparative method of historical
reconstruction is the most scientific method for establishing genetic relationship (cf.
Greenberg 1995, Newman 1995). However, in practice other methods have been
employed, most likely due to their ease of use. Heine (1980a) identifies lexicostatistics,
the identification of shared innovations (usually lexical), and Greenbergs method of
resemblances as alternative means for identifying a genetic classification. These methods
244

have been used extensively on African languages, so in a sense, a discussion about the
proper classification of Niger-Congo must out of necessity be intertwined with a
discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of classification. I
will look more closely at the question of methodology in Section C.5.2.
C.1 Niger-Congo classification: major subgroupings
Presently, the most widely accepted general classification of Niger-Congo is
found in Williamson (1989a: 21):

(1) Niger-Congo classification
A. Kordofanian
B. Mande [2]
C. Atlantic-Congo
1. Ijoid (?) [4h]
2. Atlantic (?) [1]
a. North
b. Bijago
c. South
3. Volta-Congo
a. Kru (?) [4a]
b. (New) Kwa [4b]
c. (New) Benue-Congo [4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 5, 6A3]
d. Dogon (?) [3b]
e. North Volta-Congo
i. Gur [3a, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g]
ii. Adamawa-Ubangi [6 (except 6A3) ]

For reference, Greenbergs corresponding subdivisions are given in square
brackets in the above chart. Question marks indicate nodes whose placement is
speculative. For the sake of consistency, I use Williamsons nomenclature for the names
of the subgroups throughout this paper, but the reader should be aware that the literature
has not been consistent in the use of node labels. For example, Williamsons Niger-
Congo, Kwa and Benue-Congo are significantly redefined from Greenbergs use of
these terms. On the other hand, Williamsons Atlantic is essentially the same as
Greenbergs West Atlantic.
245

Williamson bases much of her classification on Bennett & Sterk (1977). Bennett
& Sterks study consists of two parts. First, they set up the gross subgroupings of Niger-
Congo using lexicostatistical percentages. They analyze an 87-item word list in 50
languages, and examine data from previous studies. Second, they look more closely at the
question of the relatedness of Kwa and Benue-Congo. For this portion of the study, they
analyze lexicostatistical percentages for a 145-item word list in 150 languages. In
addition, they try to support each subgrouping by identifying shared lexical and
phonological innovations. I will look at the second part of their study in detail in Section
C.2. Here, I will briefly examine Williamsons classification, starting with the largest
units and working to the right on the chart.
Greenberg includes Mande and Atlantic-Congo within Niger-Congo, but excludes
Kordofanian. On the other hand, Williamson follows Bennett & Sterk in proposing a
three way split between the three branches. Her reasons are twofold: (1) Bennett & Sterk
find that Mande and Kordofanian have only a few lexical similarities with Atlantic-
Congo, and (2) Schadeberg (1981, cf. Williamson 1989a) shows that in one case Atlantic-
Congo is closer to Kordofanian than to Mande in that the Kordofanian noun class system
shows systematic resemblance to Atlantic-Congo, whereas Mande has no noun class
system. Williamson concludes that Mande and Kordofanian both split from the rest of
Niger-Congo at an early date, but that the split was not necessarily simultaneous.
Next, Williamson makes a subsequent split under Atlantic-Congo between Ijoid,
Atlantic, and Volta-Congo
2
. The split between Atlantic and Volta-Congo is based on
Bennett & Sterks lexicostatistical percentages. In fact, their percentages suggest that the
three sub-branches of Atlantic are so divergent that they are probably each coordinate
branches with Volta-Congo. Williamson leaves this an open question. The placement of
Ijoid at this level is more tentative. Greenberg places Ijoid within Kwa, but according to

2
The term Volta-Congo was coined by John Stewart; cf. Stewart (1976).
246

Bennett & Sterk, its lexicostatistical score is less than 18% with all languages except
(new) Benue-Congo, and Bennett & Sterk attribute this similarity to borrowing.
Williamson places it at this particular level for impressionistic reasonsit seems to be
outside Volta-Congo (p. 18).
Besides Ijoid, Greenberg also places Kru within Kwa. However, Williamson
removes it from Kwa based on Bennett & Sterks lexicostatistical percentages. I will
discuss its placement in more detail in Section C.4. What is interesting about the
positions of Mande, Atlantic, Ijoid, and Kru in the classification above is that their new
positions confirm the impressions of Greenberg himself:
The affiliation of Kru and Ijo to the Kwa group is to be considered tentative. Kwa
and Benue-Congo are particularly close to each other and in fact legitimate doubts
arise concerning the validity of the division between them. On the other hand
West Atlantic seems more remotely related to the other group and Mande the
most distant of all. (p. 39)
This quote also addresses the relationship of Kwa and Benue-Congo, which will
be the subject of Section C.2. The relationship between Kru, Gur, and Adamawa-Ubangi
will be discussed in Section C.4.1. It should be noted that Williamsons placement of
Dogon is purely speculative.
The important point to highlight in this section is that the major subgroupings of
Niger-Congo as posited by Williamson rely heavily on the lexicostatistical work of
Bennett & Sterk. Shared innovations only come into play in defining nodes lower down
in the tree, as we shall see for example in Section C.2 for (new) Kwa and (new) Benue-
Congo. In addition, no mention is made of the use of the comparative method at the
higher levels.
C.2 Kwa and Benue-Congo
The relationship between Kwa and Benue-Congo has generated much discussion
in the Niger-Congo classification literature. First, recent scholarship has cast doubt on the
247

original division between the two branches as set up by Westermann and retained by
Greenberg. Second, there is some evidence that the two groups should be considered a
single branch under Volta-Congo, rather than two. I will examine these two points in
turn.
Greenberg includes within old Kwa several languages which are today no longer
considered to be a part of new Kwa: Kru [4a], Yoruba [4c], Nupe [4d], Bini [4e], Idoma
[4f], Igbo [4g], and Ijo [4h]. In Williamsons (1989a) classification, Yoruba, Nupe, Bini,
Idoma, and Igbo have all been moved to (new) Benue-Congo, while, Kru and Ijo are now
considered neither (new) Kwa nor (new) Benue-Congo.
Williamson (1989a: 11) offers evidence for rejecting the old division between the
two groups. First, she claims that there are no single lexical items which occur in all of
the branches of old Benue-Congo and not in old Kwa. Greenberg (1970: 32) suggests that
the form *ana ana ana ana child is an old Benue-Congo innovation, but Williamson claims that the
form should be *gwana gwana gwana gwana, and that variants of this form occur in Igbo and Yoruba.
Greenberg states, Many other such innovations could be cited, but unfortunately, he
does not provide them. Second, there are no noun class innovations which occur in all the
branches of old Benue-Congo which are unique to old Benue-Congo. Finally, Elugbe &
Williamson (1977) argue that a certain putative typological distinction, the predominance
of CV roots in Kwa, is invalid.
The accepted realignment of Kwa and Benue-Congo is based primarily on
Bennett & Sterks (1977) lexicostatistical study. In rejecting Greenbergs Kwa/Benue-
Congo division, they note that the distinction between the two was originally on
typological grounds. That is, the (old) Kwa languages were said to have no or limited
concord systems, whereas the (old) Benue-Congo languages were said to have
functioning concord systems. However, Bennett & Sterk claim that in reality the
languages form a typological continuum from one extreme to the other rather than a
248

dichotomy. In addition, their lexicostatistical and shared innovation evidence reject the
distinction as well.
Instead, Bennett & Sterk offer a regrouping of the languages into what they call
Western South Central Niger-Congo (i.e. new Kwa) and Eastern South Central Niger-
Congo (i.e. new Benue-Congo). They claim that the lexicostatistical percentages support
this division, although they give neither their data nor their analytical charts for this part
of their study. In addition, they give four sample lexical isoglosses which demonstrate a
lexical border between the two groups:

(2) (new) Kwa (new) Benue-Congo gloss
*ta ta ta ta *tat tat tat tat(o oo o) three
*e e e e ~ 5 5 5 5 *beei beei beei beei breast
*jc jc jc jc ~ c c c c *koni koni koni koni firewood
*k5pgo k5pgo k5pgo k5pgo *top top top top neck

Stewart (1989: 218-219) examines the Kwa terms and concludes that the word for
firewood comes the closest to representing a Kwa innovation, though it is not
convincing to him. He points out that the Tano subgroup of Kwa is clearly defined based
on phonological innovations. However, ...no phonological innovation can yet be
assigned with any confidence to Kwa... It is clear from his prose that he doubts the
integrity of the (new) Kwa group.
Williamson (1989b: 249ff) examines the Benue-Congo terms and concludes that
only the word for neck appears to be a Benue-Congo innovation. She proposes seven
additional words which may be possible innovations, but she points out that not a single
one of them is attested in every division of Benue-Congo... Her conclusion is that
Proto-Benue-Congo existed as a single language (if at all...) for a very short period of
time. Thus the integrity of (new) Benue-Congo is also doubtful.
It is interesting to note that Bennett & Sterk do not claim that these two sets of
words represent common innovations for the two language groups, but it appears that
249

Stewart and Williamson interpret them as making that claim. Indeed, Bennett & Sterk
(1977: 255) find no common innovations for (new) Benue-Congo, and they do not
provide evidence for any (new) Kwa innovations.
In summary, (new) Kwa and (new) Benue-Congo are listed in the Niger-Congo
chart in Section C.1, but their status as units is by no means established.
The second question regarding Kwa and Benue-Congo is whether the two groups
should be considered a single branch under Volta-Congo, rather than two. Even though
Greenberg lists Kwa and Benue-Congo as separate subgroups of Niger-Congo, he himself
notes that the two are closely related to the extent that perhaps they should be considered
a single unit rather than two separate branches (see quote from Greenberg 1970 in
Section C.1 above).
Bennett & Sterk (1977) posit a group comprising (new) Kwa, (new) Benue-Congo
and Ijoid, which they call South Central Niger-Congo (SCNC). They state, SCNC is, as
will be shown, a well-defined group. They mean by well-defined group that there is
clear evidence for lexical innovations found only within the group. Strangely, the
promised data in support of the SCNC node are never given in the paper, as they focus
instead on justifying the subgroupings under SCNC. In addition, they cast doubt on the
inclusion of Ijoid within SCNC, since there are few obvious cognates.
Williamson (1989a) decides to abandon the SCNC node based on Schadebergs
(1986) re-evaluation of Bennett & Sterks data using Nearest Neighbor, Furthest
Neighbor, and Branch Average methods. However, it appears that more work needs to be
done to clarify this conclusion.
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C.3 Bantu
The term Bantu can be traced back to Bleek (1858, cf. Williamson 1989a: 4).
3

Linguists have devoted much study to the Bantu language family, which covers most of
the Niger-Congo region to the south and east of Cameroon. However, certain
fundamental questions remain. For example, what exactly comprises Bantu, and having
determined that, is it in fact a genetic unity? In this section, I will look first at how Bantu
relates to the other Niger-Congo languages. Then, I will turn my attention to the
questions of the domain and integrity of Bantu.
Below is the Bendor-Samuel (1989) classification for the Bantoid group,
including Bantu. Data are taken from Watters (1989: 412), Hedinger (1989: 425), and
Watters & Leroy (1989).

(3) Bantoid [5.D.]
A. Northern
1. Mambiloid
2. Fam
3. Tiba
4. Dakoid [6.A.3]
B. Southern (Wide Bantu)
1. Tivoid
2. Jarawan
3. Mbe
4. Ekoid
5. Mamfe
6. Beboid
7. Wide Grassfields
8. Tikar
9. Ndemli
10. Mbam
11. (Narrow) Bantu
a. Northwest
b. Other
i. Central
ii. East


3
Bleek included a much wider group of languages under Bantu than is usually included today. In
fact, his Bantu group resembles todays Niger-Congo group.
251

C.3.1 Inclusion of Bantu within Niger-Congo
In the mid nineteenth century, several researchers noted the genetic relationship
between Bantu and West African languages (cf. Cole 1971, Williamson 1989a: 4-6,
Watters 1989: 403). However, during the first half of the twentieth century, most scholars
began to treat Bantu as a separate language family on typological grounds, and were
often influenced by paleontology and biology. This tradition became so established that
when Westermann (1927) posited a West Sudanic group comprising the languages
west of Lake Chad, he excluded Bantu from this group, even though he himself identified
resemblances between Proto-West Sudanic and Proto-Bantu, both in basic vocabulary
and in noun class structure (cf. Greenberg 1970: 31ff). Westermann (1949) later mentions
explicitly the genetic relationship of the two groups.
Greenberg was thus not the first researcher to identify the genetic relationship of
Bantu to West Sudanic. Rather, his major contribution was identifying how Bantu is
situated within West Sudanic. He places it within the Benue-Congo subgroup, and then
renames the entire group Niger-Congo.
4
I will use the term West Sudanic to refer to the
Niger-Congo languages excluding Bantu.
Greenberg uses evidence from Westermann to support his claim that Bantu should
be included in West Sudanic. First, he points out that there are many resemblances
between Proto-West Sudanic and Proto-Bantu in terms of fundamental vocabulary. These
data show regular sound correspondences. Second, he notes that the noun class affixes of
Proto-West Sudanic resemble those of Proto-Bantu both in form and meaning. In fact, he
notes that the percentage of nouns in Bantu which show resemblance to Proto-West
Sudanic is significantly greater than the percentage of nouns in English which can be
related to Proto-Indo-European.

4
It appears that Greenberg (1970) was unaware of the previous work establishing a relationship
between Bantu and West African languages. He writes (p. 37): ...all previous writers...accept the Bantu-
Sudanese dichotomy as fundamental in African linguistics.
252

At the time of Greenbergs work, there was resistance to recognizing a genetic
relationship between Bantu and the West African languages. For example, Guthrie (1962)
argued for maintaining a distinction between the two groups. He claimed that the two
groups do not display the same regularity of correspondence as that which is found within
Bantu. Rather, he attributed the similarities to borrowing. He hypothesized a Pre-Bantu
people who lived between the Ubangi and Chari Rivers. According to him, some of these
people moved south and developed Proto-Bantu, while others moved west and lost their
language, but some words were loaned into the languages of that region.
Subsequent research contradicts Guthries claim by demonstrating that there are
indeed regular sound correspondences between certain West African languages and
Bantu. For example, Stewart (1965, cited in Schachter 1971), presents evidence of
regular sound correspondences between Central Akan and reconstructed Common
Bantu. The accepted view today is that Greenberg is right in placing Bantu within the
broader framework of Niger-Congo.
Greenberg (1970: 33-37) gives five reasons for rejecting a borrowing hypothesis,
such as the one put forward by Guthrie. First, Greenberg shows that there is a high degree
of agreement in the tonal systems of Efik and Proto-Bantu, to the extent that a borrowing
hypothesis would be suspect. Second, certain borrowings would have dubious
explanations. For example,
Bantu has a verb vi-ala to give birth. As a derivative from vi child + ala, a
verbal formative, it is quite understandable. But *vi child does not exist as a
word either in Bantu or the Semi-Bantu languages, whereas it is the ordinary word
for child practically everywhere else among the West Sudanic languages, and a
Proto-West Sudanic form *bi is generally assumed. The verb formation, on the
other hand, is peculiar to Bantu. For the West Sudanic languages to have
borrowed this word, would have required an analysis of the form vi-ala into its
constituent elements and the abstraction of the form *vi- in the meaning child.
(Greenberg 1970: 35)
253

Third, the supposedly borrowed words tend to be fundamental vocabulary, those
terms which are putatively least suspect to borrowing. Fourth, some common Bantu
words are found widely in West Sudanic, others are not found at all. This situation is
most easily explained if we consider the former to be Proto-Niger-Congo terms, while the
latter are shared innovations unique to Bantu. If Bantu is not a part of Niger-Congo, it
would be difficult to explain how the former terms were borrowed throughout West
Sudanic. Greenbergs fifth reason is that the supposed transitional languages are fact
Bantu. This issue will be dealt with in the next section.
C.3.2 Narrow vs. Wide Bantu
A second way in which Greenberg differs from Guthrie is in the question of what
exactly constitutes Bantu. He points out that certain supposedly transitional languages in
the northwest Bantu border area resemble Bantu more closely than they do the other
Benue-Congo languages; he cites Bamum, Bali, Banen, and Jarawa as examples. He
claims that these languages show lexical innovations characteristic of Bantu languages
as against the remaining Benue-Congo languages. Unfortunately, he does not provide
examples. Greenberg considers these languages to fit in the northwestern subgroup of
Bantu which includes Duala and Yaunde.
Williamson (1971, cf. Watters 1989) picks up on this wider use of the term
Bantu. She distinguishes between Wide Bantu, which is slightly more inclusive than
Greenbergs use of Bantu, and Narrow Bantu, which is essentially Guthries Bantu.
Wide Bantu is the same as Watters Southern Bantoid in the chart above.
The question which concerns us here is not which grouping should receive the
label Bantu, but whether either Wide or Narrow Bantu as defined do indeed form a
genetic unity. As mentioned above, Greenberg claims that his Bantu shows shared
innovations, but he does not provide examples, so establishing Wide Bantu as a genetic
254

unity requires further research. The question of the unity of Narrow Bantu will be
discussed in the next section.
C.3.3 The unity of Narrow Bantu
Even though there is a long history of considering Narrow Bantu a group, its
genetic unity has recently been called into question. Stewart (1976) notes that Guthrie
does not give evidence in the form of common shared innovations to support the unity of
Narrow Bantu.
Heine (1973, cf. Watters 1989) was the first to question the integrity of Narrow
Bantu. He notes that Bube, a Narrow Bantu language (Guthries zone A.30), is more
distant from the rest of Narrow Bantu than are Tivoid and Ekoid. Then, presentations at
the Conference on Bantu Expansion in 1977 added evidence that additional languages
needed to be excluded from Narrow Bantu. Heine (1980b: 336) specifically mentions
zones A.30, A.40, A.60, A.80, A.90, D.20, and D.30 as likely candidates for extraction
from Narrow Bantu.
Bennett & Sterks (1977) study casts additional doubt on the unity of Narrow
Bantu. Based on isoglossic evidence, they divide Narrow Bantu into two groups,
Equatorial Bantu, consisting of zones A, B, C and part of D; and Zambesi Bantu,
consisting of the rest of Narrow Bantu. According their analysis, Equatorial Bantu is
more closely related to Jarawan, Ekoid, and Mbam-Nkam (a Grassfields group), whereas
Zambesi Bantu is more closely related to Tivoid. Their evidence for this division are the
following isoglosses:

(4) Jarawan, Ekoid, Tiv, Zambesi
Mbam-Nkam, Equatorial
*w5k w5k w5k w5k / *upgwa upgwa upgwa upgwa hear
*-5p -5p -5p -5p / *nyucIc nyucIc nyucIc nyucIc hair
*-bap -bap -bap -bap / (no agreement) red

255

Watters (1989: 409) notes that *upgwa upgwa upgwa upgwa is found outside of Bantoid, so while
perhaps it is an isogloss, it cannot be an innovation. In addition, *-bap -bap -bap -bap is found in only a
subset of the languages of its group. Thus the evidence for this particular division is
rather weak, and if so, then their argument for separating Equatorial and Zambesi Bantu
is diminished significantly. Bennett & Sterk admit, our data on this area have not yet
been fully analyzed (p. 261).
Additional studies cast further doubt on the integrity of Narrow Bantu. For
example, using lexicostatistics, Bastin, Coupez, & de Halleux (1983) include Tivoid
within Narrow Bantu, placing it most closely to Equatorial Bantu. However, they do not
provide evidence from shared innovations for this claim.
Although certain questions remain about each of the abovementioned studies, it is
clear that the traditional notion of what comprises Narrow Bantu has been called into
question. Watters (1989) concludes that there are still many questions remaining with
respect to Bantoid internal classification, including the integrity of both Wide and
Narrow Bantu.
C.3.4 Bantu origins
One outgrowth of the study of Bantu classification has to do with conclusions
regarding the origin of the Bantu-speaking people (cf. Olivier 1979, Phillipson 1977,
Heine 1980a). The Bantu languages have been somewhat of a puzzle, since they cover a
wide area geographically, and yet they are closely related linguistically. Greenbergs
placement of Bantu within Niger-Congo provides a linguistic clue to solving this puzzle.
He suggests (1970: 38) that the original location of the Bantu speaking people was
southeastern Nigeria or western Cameroon in the area where the Benue-Congo languages
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(excluding Bantu) are located.
5
From this source, he posits a rapid migration of Bantu-
speaking people to the east and south, quickly spreading out to fill the areas where Bantu
is presently spoken. This rapid expansion provides an explanation for the geographically
distant yet linguistically close nature of the Bantu language area.
Three studies in the early seventies support this claim. Henrici (1973) and Heine
(1973) both performed lexicostatistical studies of Bantu, while Heine, Hoff & Vossen
(1975) used the method of resemblances. The details differ, but all three studies conclude
that the Bantu languages in the northwestern part of the Bantu area have the most distant
relationships linguistically, whereas those in the eastern half are closest linguistically.
The most straightforward interpretation of this is that it indicates a slow penetration of
the equatorial forest region, followed by an extremely rapid expansion of Bantu people
into the savanna regions to the east and south (Olivier 1979: 10).
Researchers have attempted to go into more detail about the exact nature of the
Bantu expansion, positing one or more migrations to account for linguistic and
archaeological data. However, due to space restrictions, I will not elaborate on this topic
here. The following references offer more information about the topic: Hinnebusch
(1989: 454), Olivier (1979), Heine (1979, 1980a), Phillipson (1977), Bennett (1983b),
and Williamson (1989b).
C.4 Adamawa-Ubangi
The Adamawa-Ubangi subgroup of Niger-Congo is located in an area centralized
around the country of Central African Republic. It reaches to most of the surrounding
countries, including Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of

5
Johnston (1886) had earlier suggested that Bantu was originally spoken in this region on the
grounds that most common Bantu word-roots referring to the environment indicated a forest environment
rather than a savanna environment (Olivier 1979: 8).
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Congo. Greenberg (1970) named it Adamawa-Eastern, Samarin (1971) suggested the
name Adamawa-Ubangian, and Boyd (1989) finally settles on the present name.
In this section, I will look first at the external relationships of Adamawa-Ubangi,
discussing its place within Niger-Congo and its relationship to closely related languages.
Then, I will turn to its internal relationships, focusing on the Ubangi group.
For reference, here is the classification which Boyd (1989) gives for Adamawa-
Ubangi:

(5) Adamawa-Ubangi classification
Adamawa [6A]
I. Leko [6A2], Duru [6A4], Mumuye/Yendang [6A5], Nimbari [6A12]
II. Mbum [6A6], Bua [6A13], Kim [6A14], Day
III. (?) Waja [6A1], Longuda [6A10], Yungur (?) [6A7], Jen [6A9]
Ubangi [6B]
I. Gbaya [6B1]
II. A. Banda [6B2]
B. Ngbandi [6B3]
C. 1. Sere [6B6]
2. a. Ngbaka [6B5]
b. Mba [6B7, 6B8]
III. Zande [6B4]

He states that two groups, Daka [6A3] and Fali [6A11], which Greenberg
classified as Adamawa, should be excluded from the group. In addition, he does not state
how Greenbergs Kam [6A8] group fits into his classificatory scheme.
C.4.1 Adamawa-Ubangi external relationships
There are two issues of external relationship which need to be considered with
respect to the Adamawa-Ubangi group. First is the question of whether Adamawa-Ubangi
should be included in Niger-Congo. Second is the question of the relationship of
Adamawa-Ubangi to its closest neighbors.
Westermann (1927) did not include Adamawa-Ubangi within his West Sudanic
family. One of Greenbergs (1970) major claims, beside that of including Bantu in Niger-
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Congo, is that Adamawa-Ubangi should be included in Niger-Congo as well. He offers
two types of evidence to support this claim.
First, Greenberg demonstrates that there are strong similarities both in form and
meaning between the noun class systems found in parts of Adamawa-Ubangi and those
found in the rest of Niger-Congo (e.g., the Bantu noun prefixes). In certain subgroups of
Adamawa, the similarities are striking. For example, Longuda has a well-developed
suffixal system marking both singular and plural. The plural ba ba ba ba of the personal class is
found in forms such as nji-re man, nji-b men. Longuda has a class marking parts of
the body which come in pairs, e.g. ju-a ju-a ju-a ju-a breast, ju-Ia ju-Ia ju-Ia ju-Ia breasts. It also has the ma class
which marks mass nouns and does not have a distinction between singular and plural, e.g.
tu-ma blood, b5-ma b5-ma b5-ma b5-ma salt.
Within the Ubangi group, Mba and Mondunga also have suffixes which show
resemblance in form and meaning to Niger-Congo, but the situation is not as clear for the
rest of the group. Greenberg claims that there are vestiges of the Niger-Congo noun class
system to be found in the prefixes of the rest of the Ubangian languages, and he uses
Banda to demonstrate this:
The situation in Banda is typical of most of the group. We have vowel prefixes in
o-tu ear, o-wu nose, a-ma mouth, and similar words. That these are prefixes
is, of course, suggested by comparative data: to, for example, is the morpheme
meaning ear throughout most of the Niger-Congo family, combined with some
classificational affix. That the a- in a-ma is a prefix is further shown within
Banda itself by the occurrence of ma in place of a-ma in certain compounds.
(Greenberg 1970: 12-13)
However, it is not clear that these vowels are indeed prefixes. Olson & Schrag
(1997) argue that the initial vowel in these forms is due to a minimal word restriction in
Banda which requires a noun to have at least two syllables. Thus a noun such as tu is ill-
formed in the language, and must be expanded to two syllables, in this case by the
addition of a vowel in initial position. In compound nouns, the minimal word restriction
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is already satisfied, and thus forms such as ma are free to occur without augmentation. In
addition, the form of the initial epenthetic vowel depends entirely on the form of the
following vowel. As a result, the initial vowel does not bear direct resemblance to any
specific prefix in the rest of Niger-Congo. Since resemblance in form is one of
Greenbergs requirements for relationship, a genetic affiliation cannot be established
between Banda and the rest of Niger-Congo by this evidence.
The only clear nominal prefix in Banda is a- which marks animate plural (e.g.
gbolo child, agbolo children), and which Greenberg suggests is an additional
resemblance with the rest of Niger-Congo. However, it is not clear that this prefix
corresponds directly in meaning with any of the general Niger-Congo noun class affixes,
and thus it is weak evidence for genetic affiliation.
Greenberg rightly states that the absence of the affixes does not prove lack of
connection. For example, he points out that the nominal affixes have been entirely lost
in Mande and parts of Kwa, but that these groups are still considered to be part of Niger-
Congo. On the other hand, evidence for the affiliation of Ubangi with Niger-Congo from
the noun class system is in reality weaker than Greenbergs portrayal, and thus casts
some doubt on the affiliation.
The second type of evidence that Greenberg uses to argue for the inclusion of
Adamawa-Ubangi in Niger-Congo is lexical resemblances. He provides a 49-item word
list
6
which shows putative cognates between Adamawa-Ubangi and the rest of Niger-
Congo. Unfortunately, Greenberg only gives a sampling of his data,
7
so it is impossible to
determine precisely the cognate scores which would result from his data. In the case of

6
Although the word list contains items from all the branches of Niger-Congo, Greenberg labels it
Adamawa-Eastern Comparative Word List. A more accurate name would be Niger-Congo Comparative
Word List.

7
From footnote 19: In general I have restricted citations to three languages from each group. Both
the number of languages cited and the number of etymologies on this list could be very greatly extended
(p. 40).
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Banda, only 8 out of the 49 words (16%) are listed as showing resemblance with other
Niger-Congo languages, a percentage which does not reach Greenbergs own criterion
(20%) for removing chance or symbolism from consideration as the source of the
resemblance (cf. Greenberg 1957).
On the other hand, in the case of Gbaya, another Ubangian language, 43 percent
of the words are listed as showing resemblance (21 out of 49), giving firmer evidence of
historical relationship. But it should be noted that the Adamawa-Ubangi languages have
short roots for the most part, a factor which increases the possibility of chance as source
of resemblance.
On a related note, some scholars have pointed to a connection between Adamawa-
Ubangi and the Nilo-Saharan family, which is immediately to the north and east
geographically. Boyd (1978) identifies a substantial number of resemblances between the
two groups, to the extent that he claims it is difficult to determine whether a given
Adamawa-Ubangian language belongs to Niger-Congo or to Nilo-Saharan. In the
particular case of Banda, Cloarec-Heiss (1995a) points out that it shares many properties
with the Central Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan. She describes phonological, lexical,
morphosyntactic, and syntactic convergences between the two groups. Her particular
hypothesis is that Proto-Banda was a pidgin, with Central Sudanic as the substrate and
Ubangian as the superstrate (i.e. the lexifier). What is clear is that there are significant
resemblances between the two language families which require an explanation in any
account of their linguistic history.
In summary, then, Greenbergs evidence for the inclusion of Adamawa-Ubangi
within Niger-Congo is substantial, but it is weaker than he claims, especially for the
Ubangi branch. In addition, there are significant resemblances with Nilo-Saharan which
must be accounted for.
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The second major issue with respect to the external relationships of Adamawa-
Ubangi is its relation to its nearest linguistic neighbors, Gur and Kru. Based on
lexicostatistics, Bennett & Sterk (1977: 249-250) tentatively posit a group called North
Central Niger-Congo (NCNC) which includes Gur, Adamawa-Ubangi, and probably
Kru. Lexical innovations offer weak support*so so so so two is found in Kru and parts of
Adamawa-Ubangi, while *du head is found in Kru and Adamawa-Ubangi and has the
form *yu in Gur. All three groups have suffixal noun class markers instead of the typical
prefixes in most of Niger-Congo.
Williamson (1989a: 15) casts doubt on the inclusion of Kru within NCNC. She
points out that Schadebergs (1986) reanalysis of the lexicostatistical data never shows
Kru grouped with Adamawa-Ubangi and Gur. Second, she quotes Boyd (per. comm.)
who doubts the reconstruction of *so so so so and *du for Adamawa-Ubangi. Third, she suggests
that the common suffixing of noun class markers may not have been a shared innovation,
since such suffixing must be posited elsewhere in Niger-Congo.
In fact, there is some doubt that Adamawa-Ubangi forms a linguistic unit at all,
but rather that it should form a group with Gur. Bennett & Sterk (1977) point out that
some Adamawa languages (e.g., Longuda and Tula) show higher cognacy scores with
Gur than with some other Adamawa-Ubangi languages. They suggest that Adamawa-
Ubangi and Gur form a continuum, or dialect chain. Bennett (1983a) reasserts this claim,
based on evidence from lexicostatistics and shared innovations. He is able to find no
phonological innovations and only a handful of weak lexical innovations to support the
unity of Adamawa-Ubangi. On the other hand, he states that there are a significant
number of lexical items shared by Adamawa-Ubangi and Gur. However, he admits that
the evidence for an Adamawa-Ubangi-Gur group is not as solid as he would like.
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Thus, the evidence points toward a possible node comprised of Gur and
Adamawa-Ubangi, which Williamson (1989a) calls North Volta-Congo. But it is unclear
that a branching into the Gur and Adamawa-Ubangi subgroups is justified.
C.4.2 Adamawa-Ubangi internal relationships
Much work remains to establish the internal relationships within Adamawa-
Ubangi. On the Adamawa side, Boyd (1974) has produced a comparative study, but he
makes no claims about the internal classification of the subgroup. On the Ubangian side,
several classifications have been posited, but on weak grounds. Samarin (1971) suggests
that Greenbergs groups B1, B3, B5, and B6 be grouped together, but he offers no
evidence. Barreteau & Moino (1978) offer the same classification as Samarin. They
state that it is based on typological criteria, but they dont state what their criteria are.
Boyeldieu & Cloarec-Heiss (1986) offer a classification based on the dialectometric
method (cf. Guarisma & Mhlig 1986), but their study is incomplete in that it does not
consider groups B6, B7 and B8.
For his classification listed above, Boyd (1989) does not give firm evidence. For
example, in discussing Adamawa, he states that he is basing his subdivisions on available
word lists, but he does not state his methodology in analyzing them. With respect to
Ubangi, he says, My understanding of available lexical data...leads me to propose a
tentative overall classification of Ubangi... Once again, he fails to explain what
analytical method leads him to his classification. As a result, we cannot place much
weight on his classification.
The division of Adamawa-Ubangi into two subbranches, Adamawa and Ubangi,
has been useful as a referential classification, but in fact this division is itself not
genetically well-established. Boyds (1989) offers the following evidence for the
division: This division can be justified both by typological features of phonology (e.g.,
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difference of syllable structure) and by characteristic lexical items (e.g., a hypothetical
*no- eye in Adamawa and *te to fall in Ubangi) (p. 178).
This is weak evidence for establishing a genetic division. First, it is generally
accepted that typological features are not suitable for arguing for a genetic relationship.
Second, it is unclear whether Boyd is claiming that these characteristic lexical items are
to be taken as shared innovations within each subgroup.
Bennetts (1983a) study of Adamawa-Ubangi makes use of evidence from
lexicostatistics (102-item word list in 50 languages) and shared innovations. His
conclusions are tentative, but certain observations are worth noting. First, the
lexicostatistic evidence casts doubt on the inclusion of Gbaya within Ubangi. Indeed,
Greenberg himself was unclear about this affiliation, stating (1955: 12, footnote 17), I
assign Gbaya to the Eastern [i.e. Ubangi] Branch with some hesitancy since it displays
evidence of affiliation with the Adamawa branch.
Bennett (1983a: 29-33) discusses whether Ubangi, minus Gbaya, may be
considered a unity. He gives evidence of a number of isoglosses which separate Ubangi
from the rest of Adamawa-Ubangi. In the case of the words for breast, man, and
leaf, the Ubangi languages preserve an initial *k, while the other languages show
innovations. In the case of the words fat, dog, and bone, the Ubangi languages
appear to be the innovators. Bennett then considers several potential problems with this
hypothesis, but in the end he concludes that Ubangi, minus Gbaya, is a unity.
Another major claim of Bennetts paper is that Greenbergs groups B2, B5, B6,
and B8 form a subgroup under the Ubangi node which he labels Ka. Bennett claims that
this is supported by lexicostatistical evidence (unfortunately, he gives neither his data nor
his cognate percentages) and shared innovations, of which he provides one: ka ka ka ka breast.
The other branches of Ubangi are coordinate with Ka, except Gbaya (B1) which Bennett
excludes from Ubangi as mentioned above. This differs significantly from Boyds (1989)
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classification listed above, but it has the benefit of being supported by a explicitly stated
methodology and analysis.
C.5 Discussion
The study of how Niger-Congo classification has progressed brings up two
important issues: (1) the completeness of the documentation and availability of data for
supporting claims which are made, and (2) the role and validity of the different
methodologies which are used in making the classifications.
C.5.1 Data and documentation
With respect to data and documentation, I will look at three works to exemplify
the issues involved: Greenberg (1970), Bennett & Sterk (1977), and Bennett (1983a). All
three works provide brief overviews of the type of data used, but fail to provide complete
references as to the source of the data. Bennett & Sterk (1977) state: It would be
impossible to list all the language sources consulted. This leaves the reader with no
means within the published literature of checking and verifying the claims made in the
paper. It also means that the reader has no way of assessing the integrity of the data.
Regarding Greenberg, Fodor (1969) states, There are many controversial, ambiguous or,
to be candid, incorrect data in the material of Greenberg...To avoid misunderstandings it
would have been more fitting to indicate in each case the sources Greenberg relied on.
Let me illustrate the point. Bennett (1983a: 27) makes passing reference to the
fact that he had access to the dictionary of Banda by Tisserant (1931). I can presume
from my knowledge of published material at the time that this was also the source of
Banda data for Greenberg. Now, though Tisserants dictionary is certainly a valuable
resource, it has serious flaws, especially in its completeness regarding dialectal variation
and its accuracy concerning vowel quality and tone. From my own library and field
research on Banda, I have access to more recent data on the language family, both
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published and personally elicited. As a result, I have the means of assessing the accuracy
of the data which Greenberg and Bennett cite for Banda. However, the case of Banda is
the exception, since for most of the languages cited, the reader does not know the source
of the data unless he is able to find out directly from the author.
In the cases where data are provided, they are often incomplete. Greenberg (1970:
13-24) provides a 49 item word list for Niger-Congo. In it, he only lists forms which he
determines are cognate across most of the groups, and he limits citations to three from
each group. As a result, there is no way to check cognate percentages (e.g. for
lexicostatistical purposes) from his data. In addition, there is no way to identify possible
lexical innovations for each group or subgroup. These limitations thus reduce the
usefulness of the word list for research purposes.
Bennett & Sterk (1977) do not provide word lists in their paper. Rather, they list
only the names of the languages for which they have word lists, the glosses for which
they have words, and the percentages of shared cognates. From this, the reader can check
the glosses for the presence of cultural vocabulary, but the reader is unable to verify the
cognate percentages. These data are only provided for the part of their study which gives
an overview of Niger-Congo. For the part of their study which focuses on Kwa and
Benue-Congo, they provide no data. To their credit, Bennett & Sterk do give a good
description of the procedure they use in analyzing their data.
Bennett (1983a) provides neither word lists nor cognate percentages, but only lists
the languages and glosses. Though the paper claims a certain classification based on
lexicostatistics, the reader is left without any knowledge of the cognate percentages on
which this classification is made.
C.5.2 Methodology
The second major issue in Niger-Congo classification is one of methodology. The
accuracy of the genetic classification is of course dependent on the accuracy of the
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methodology upon which the classification is made. To date, the conclusions regarding
Niger-Congo classification have been based predominantly on the method of
resemblances, lexicostatistics, and evidence from shared innovations. Very little has been
based on historical reconstruction using the comparative method. Some authors, such as
Bennett & Sterk, offer reconstructed lexical items as evidence for shared innovations, but
they unfortunately do not provide a detailed account of how they arrive at these
reconstructed forms. In the following sections, I will briefly discuss issues related to the
assorted methodologies which have been used in establishing the Niger-Congo
classification.
1. Method of resemblances. First, Greenbergs (1970) classification of Niger-
Congo is based on his method of resemblances (Greenberg 1957). The method is often
referred to as mass comparison, but this term refers to only one part of this
classification method. The method has been both extremely influential in African
linguistics and also the source of much controversy. Because of its importance in the field
of African linguistics and thus its relevance to the topic of this paper, I will give a brief
overview of the method.
Greenberg considers the method of resemblances to be a preliminary step which
makes hypotheses about the genetic relationship of languages. Its goal is more to
determine if languages are related rather than the degree to which they are related. Once
the method of resemblances has established that languages are related, then the
comparative method may be used to perform an historical reconstruction of the proto-
language and in the process extract sound laws which establish the genetic relatedness of
the languages.
There are two basic principles underlying the method of resemblances. First, one
identifies cross-linguistic resemblances which involve both form and meaning. These
resemblances may be between lexical items or between grammatical elements of the
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languages compared. Consider a trivial example which demonstrates the relevance of
both form and meaning. Both English and Mono (Congo) have words pronounced []u].
The Mono word means to be bitter, whereas the English word refers to an item worn on
the foot. In this case, there is a resemblance in form, but no resemblance in meaning.
Indeed, there is no known historical connection between the two words and the likelihood
of a connection is slim.
However, a simple resemblance in form and meaning is not enough to establish a
genetic relationship. Greenberg (1957) lists four possible sources of such a resemblance.
First, the forms may indeed be related genetically. Second, it is possible that one
language borrowed the form from another language. This is often the case in languages
which are in close geographic proximity. Third, the resemblance may be due to sound
symbolism, as in the case of onomatopoeia. For example, in Mono, the word for cat is
[ao]. The pronunciation of this word bears a striking similarity to the English word
meow, and is likely due to onomatopoeia. Fourth, the resemblance may be due to pure
chance. For example, in the Australian language Mbabaram, the word for dog is [dag]
(Dixon 1997: 16).
The first step, then, is to remove non-historic factors, i.e. symbolism and chance,
as possible explanations of the resemblance. Greenberg suggests three diagnostics. First,
if the percentage of resemblance between the two languages is greater than 20%, then
these factors may be eliminated from consideration. Second, the longer a form, the less
likely it is due to chance. Third, the presence of similar suppletive morphological
alternants is strong evidence for an historical connection. For example, the odds are
rather low that the resemblance between the English paradigm gud-, bet-, be- (good,
better, best) and the German one, gu:t-, bes, be-, is due to pure chance.
The next step is to remove borrowing as a factor. Greenberg (1957) claims, it is
always possible to tell whether a mass of resemblances between two language is the
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result of borrowing (p. 39). The main means to reduce the chance of borrowing is to
eliminate cultural words from consideration and to rely on basic vocabulary and
grammatical morphemes, items which are assumed to be the most resistant to borrowing.
Greenbergs claim may be a bit overstated as basic vocabulary and grammatical
constructions are not always immune to borrowing. For example, in Mono, the negation
marker nene is being replaced in the language by the Lingala negative marker te.
The second major principle underlying the method of resemblances is mass
comparison (or group comparison). This is basically the notion of identifying
resemblances across a broad scope of languages rather than isolated comparisons of pairs
of languages. Greenberg claims that the larger the number of languages that exhibit a
certain resemblance, the less likely that the resemblance is due to chance, symbolism, or
borrowing.
The method of resemblances has been widely criticized in the literature. In some
cases, such as in Dixon (1997), it is discounted as being simply typological in nature, but
this is a mischaracterization. Other researchers have posited more substantial criticisms.
First, Bennett & Sterk (1977) accept that Greenbergs method is adequate for
demonstrating relationship, but they state that it is not best suited for investigation of
degrees of relationship and subgrouping (p. 242). Indeed, this appears to be a problem
for Greenberg. In the quote in Section C.1 above, he notes that Mande and West Atlantic
are likely more remotely related to the other branches of Niger-Congo than his
classification would imply. Greenbergs classification does not include deeply-nested
branches in the genetic tree; rather, it is mostly flat.
A second criticism of Greenbergs method is his avoidance of positing sound
laws. Both Schachter (1971) and Fodor (1969) point this out. His critics argue that:
...Greenberg, although he has presented long lists of putative cognates among the
languages for which he claims genetic relationship, has not specified precise
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sound correspondences, and thus has failed to produce the only proof of cognation
that is acceptable in standard comparative-linguistic practice. (Schachter, p. 33)
Both of these criticisms ignore one essential caveat which Greenberg (1957)
states explicitly. He insists that the conclusions drawn from his method are to be
considered tentative; he sees them as hypotheses to be verified and expanded upon by
implementation of the comparative method. In other words, the value of his method is not
in the firm conclusions that it draws, but rather in the creation of a scaffolding from
which other research may build. Greenberg (1957) states:
The establishment of valid hypotheses concerning genetic relationships among
languages is a necessary preliminary to the systematic reconstruction of their
historical development. The appropriate techniques cannot be applied to
languages chosen at random but only if preliminary investigation has already
indicated the likelihood of the success of such an enterprise. (p. 35)
Greenberg thus does not intend for his method to replace the comparative method,
but rather to complement it.
2. Lexicostatistics. Much of the classificatory work on Niger-Congo is based on a
technique called lexicostatistics (cf. Gudschinsky 1956, Crystal 1997: 333), in which one
calculates the percentage of cognates in the basic core vocabulary of two languages. This
technique is used in glottochronology, a study which attempts to determine the rate of
change of languages over time. As originally defined, the term lexicostatistics refers to
the analytical technique and glottochronology refers to the general study, but today the
term lexicostatistics is often used in the broader sense. Hinnebusch (1989) states that it is
useful for identifying potential starting points for reconstructive comparative work.
Gudschinsky (1956) lists four basic assumptions of lexicostatistics. First, basic
core vocabulary is less subject to change than cultural items. As I noted above, the
method of resemblances makes this assumption as well. Second, the rate of retention of
basic vocabulary in a language is constant through time. Third, the rate of loss of basic
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vocabulary is the same in all languages. Fourth, if we know the percentage of true
cognates within the basic vocabulary between a pair of languages, we can calculate the
length of time that has elapsed since the two languages began to diverge from a single
parent language.
Bennett & Sterk (1977) are concerned about the use of lexicostatistics to identify
lower-level branching in a genetic tree. They state:
Lexicostatistics, while useful for preliminary gross subgrouping, is notif used
aloneadequate for indication of fine degrees of relationship. The nature of
lexicostatistics is such that geographic and social proximity tends to increase
cognacy scores significantly. (p. 245)
In addition, many scholars question the basic assumptions of lexicostatistics. For
example, Dixon (1997) states, The rate at which a language changes is not constant and
is not predictable (p. 9). He then gives examples of languages with accelerated change.
He also states, There is no universal principle that core vocabulary...is less likely to be
borrowed than non-core items (p. 10). He states that in Australia, the percentage of
shared vocabulary between a pair of languages is the same regardless of the number of
items compared. So while lexicostatistics may be useful as a rough estimate, the accuracy
of the method is in serious doubt.
3. Shared innovations. Evidence from shared innovations has been used, often in
conjunction with lexicostatistics, in order to justify certain nodes in a classification. It is
assumed that if a language produces an innovation at a certain point in time, then all the
descendents of that language will have that form whereas all externally-related languages
will not.
This of course runs the risk of skewing due to borrowings, chance or symbolism,
just as in the method of resemblances and lexicostatistics. Williamson (1989b: 249)
points out another problem: There is a certain problem in the use of lexical innovations
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in that they most often come about through semantic shift. Since this process may occur
repeatedly and independently, it is not fully reliable.
In addition, in this study we have seen how there can be confusion between
isoglosses and innovations. An isogloss indicates a linguistic boundary, but this may not
necessarily indicate that the opposing words both represent innovations at the same
genetic level.
4. The comparative method. The comparative method has been traditionally
considered the most accurate means by which to establish the genetic relationships
between languages. The method involves comparing lexical items and grammatical forms
between languages, setting up correspondences between the phonemes of the languages,
and then making hypotheses about the structure of the proto-language and the sound laws
which led to the development of the present-day languages in the family.
The use of the comparative method has been neglected in Niger-Congo
classification. It has been used on a micro level to establish the genetic relationship of
certain subgroups within Niger-Congo, e.g. Bantu, but to date there has been no
concerted effort to establish a proto-system for Niger-Congo as a whole, along with the
sound laws which led to the modern languages in the family. Dixon (1997: 32-35) does
not mince words in criticizing the Africanists for this, but to their credit, the Africanists
have stated all along the tentative nature of their conclusions and the need for the
application of the comparative method to verify their findings.
Dixon (1997) points out that there are certain problems associated with the
comparative method. First, it cannot be used blindly as a discovery procedure to
mechanically produce a reconstruction. Dixon provides a couple of hypothetical
examples to illustrate this point. Second, he quotes Bloomfield (1933), who states:
The comparative method, thenour only method for the reconstruction of
prehistoric languagewould work accurately for absolutely uniform speech-
communities and sudden, sharp cleavages. Since these presuppositions are never
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fully realized, the comparative method cannot claim to picture the historical
process. (p. 318)
This having been said, Dixon (1997) calls into question the appropriateness of
applying the comparative method to Niger-Congo at all. According to his punctuated
equilibrium model of language change, the Niger-Congo languages have been in a state
of equilibrium in which areal features have diffused over the geographical region through
borrowing, effectively masking the type of language change typically associated with
historical reconstruction. As a result, he doubts that an accurate reconstruction of Proto-
Niger-Congo is possible.
5. Other methods. Two other types of classifications, typology and
dialectometrical, have been occasionally employed in Niger-Congo classification, but I
have not focused on them in this paper. According to Heine (1980a), The typological
method is nowadays rejected by most linguists since its basic assumption that structural
comparisons necessarily lead to the discovery of genetic relationship has been proved
wrong in a number of cases (p. 298). The dialectometrical method has been the basis of
one study on African languages (Guarisma & Mhlig 1986), but I will not discuss it here
for lack of space.
C.6 Conclusion
It is clear from this overview of Niger-Congo language classification that much
more work needs to be done in this realm. The exact placement of Ijoid, Kru, and Dogon
within the Niger-Congo genetic tree remains to be determined. Whether several
linguistic groupsAtlantic, (new) Kwa, (new) Benue-Congo, Wide Bantu, Narrow
Bantu, and Adamawa-Ubangiare each a unity also remains to be established.
Up until now, the Niger-Congo classification has been influenced predominantly
first by work using the method of resemblances, and then by work focusing on
lexicostatistics and shared innovations. While these methods may be useful for
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approximating gross groupings, there are serious questions about the precision that can be
obtained by their application.
While the comparative method has occasionally been applied to small language
families within Niger-Congo, particularly Bantu, its use has so far been neglected in tying
the language family together as a whole. A comprehensive reconstruction of Niger-
Congo, including the establishment of sound laws, remains the major future task in
Niger-Congo classification.

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APPENDIX D
CROSS-LINGUISTIC INSIGHTS ON THE LABIAL FLAP

D.1 Introduction
The labial flap is a speech sound most commonly associated with the North
Central Savanna region of Africa. The sound is attested in over sixty languages in Africa
and one in Indonesia. The present paper is a detailed cross-linguistic study of the labial
flap. We discuss both the areal and genetic distributions of the sound, and in addition, we
draw generalizations regarding the articulation of the sound and its phonological status.
These generalizations have implications for understanding the historical development of
the sound. Our data derive from an extensive survey of the linguistics literature, but a
significant amount of previously unpublished data are presented here as well, both from
our own field work and from the input of other researchers.
The only previous cross-linguistic study of the labial flap is Greenberg (1983),
who drew tentative conclusions based on a sample of 18 languages. He found the largest
concentration of examples in Central Sudanic, and he remained agnostic as to whether the
ultimate source of the sound was Adamawa-Ubangi or Central Sudanic. Our findings
directly contradict the first of these claims, and we offer firmer evidence concerning the
ultimate source of the sound in Africa. The discrepencies between his and our findings
are likely attributable to his admittedly restricted sample. Indeed, Croft (1990: 19) points
out that a complete sample is advisable for studying linguistic phenomena which are
exhibited in a limited number of languages. In the present paper, we have attempted to
obtain a nearly complete sample of the languages in which the labial flap is attested.
275

The International Phonetic Alphabet does not yet include a symbol for the labial
flap. However, it does allow for the representation of a tap or flap by use of a breve
diacritic (IPA 1989: 70). In this paper, we transcribe the bilabial and labiodental flaps as
w and v, respectively, with a breve diacritic: w w w w and v v v v.
The outline of this paper is as follows. In Section D.2, we present the geographic
distribution of the labial flap, including maps which present the three major areas where
the sound is found. In Section D.3, we discuss the genetic distribution of the sound. In
Section D.4, we present generalizations concerning the articulation of the sound. In
Section D.5, we examine in detail evidence that the sound has been incorporated into the
phonological system of five languages. In Section D.6, we set forth a hypothesis
concerning the ultimate source of the sound. In Section D.7, we present each language in
which the sound is found, detailing the articulation of the sound as well as evidence for
its status in the phonological system of the language. Finally, we present our conclusions
in Section D.8.
D.2 Geographic distribution
Figure D.1 maps the languages in which the labial flap is attested. (The language
represented by each code number is listed in Table D.1.) Clearly, there are three distinct
regions in which the sound is found. First, the largest region corresponds roughly to the
savanna of North Central Africa and its immediate surroundings. The savanna is bounded
to the north by the Sahara, to the south by the tropical rain forest, to the west by the
Adamawa plateau, and to the east by the Upper Nile. Languages containing the sound
penetrate to a certain extent into the western and southern borders, but it appears that
these borders have retarded the spread of the sound.
Second, the labial flap is attested sporadically in a few Bantu languages in
southeastern Africa. Here, the sound is only attested in ideophones and does not appear to
276

have been incorporated completely into the phonological system of the languages in
which it appears.


Figure D.1: Geographic distribution of the labial flap in Africa. Data from Grimes (1996)
and Moseley & Asher (1994).
277

One question which arises immediately is whether the sound arose independently
in southeastern Africa or if its presence there is due to language spread from the north.
The received view of the spread of the Bantu people is that they originated in the border
region of present-day Cameroon and Nigeria and then migrated to the southeast to the
areas where Bantu is now spoken. An hypothesis concerning these migrations is that at
least one Bantu group traveled from west to east along the northern fringes of the tropical
rainforest and then turned south once they reached eastern Africa (cf. Phillipson 1977,
Heine 1979, Oliver 1979). Given this hypothesis, we can speculate that some Bantu
speakers acquired the labial flap through contact during this migration and retained
vestiges of it as they moved south away from the primary region where it is found.
Third, the labial flap is attested on the island of Flores in Indonesia (Donohue, to
appear). Further research is necessary in order to verify that this sound is indeed the same
as the one found in Africa. If this is the case, there is no evidence that the sound arose in
Indonesia due to language contact or common genetic descent, but it is more reasonable
to assume that it arose independently. This would also indicate that the sound is not a
uniquely African feature.
D.3 Genetic distribution
The labial flap occurs in three of the four major language families in Africa
Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic. In each family, it is not ubiquitous, but
rather occurs only in certain sub-branches. Presuming the major African family divisions
are correct, then this is evidence that the sound likely cannot be traced back to the proto
language of any of these major families. Rather, it is probable that the sound arose at a
later date and then spread via contact into the different families.
In Niger-Congo, the sound is widely attested in the Adamawa-Ubangi sub-branch.
It is most common in the Banda and Sere-Ngbaka-Mba branches of Ubangi, as well as
the Mbum-Day branch of Adamawa, and it is contrastive in many of these languages.
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Indeed, the labial flap is better attested in these three branches of Adamawa-Ubangi than
anywhere else in our study.
The only Niger-Congo language outside of Adamawa-Ubangi in which Greenberg
(1983) attested the sound was Shona, a Bantu language in the Benue-Congo sub-branch
of Niger-Congo. However, our findings indicate that the sound is more widespread within
Benue-Congo than indicated by Greenberg. It is attested in at least four southeastern
African Bantu languages, in two Northern Bantoid languages of Nigeria, and in one
Platoid language of Nigeria.
In Nilo-Saharan, the sound is found exclusively in the Central Sudanic sub-
branch. It is attested in both the East and West branches of Central Sudanic, but it appears
to be most common in the East branch. It is clearly contrastive in Mangbetu, but is only
found in intervocalic position in that language.
In Afro-Asiatic, the labial flap is attested only in the Chadic sub-branch. In all of
these languages, it is rare and is attested mostly in ideophones.
As mentioned, the labial flap is best attested in Adamawa-Ubangi. This is true in
three respects: (1) it is reported to occur in more languages in this group than in any other
group, (2) the languages with the largest number of lexical items containing the sound are
in this group, and (3) the sound is most clearly contrastive in this group. This observation
directly counters the claim by Greenberg (1983) and Cloarec-Heiss (1998) that the
greatest concentration of examples is in Central Sudanic.
Table D.1 below lists the languages in which we have found evidence for the
labial flap, along with their presently-accepted genetic affiliation. For each language, we
give the language name as listed in Grimes (1996), and we include in parentheses the
countries in which the language is spoken. Parentheses around a language code number
indicate that the evidence for the existence of the labial flap in that language is
questionable.
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Table D.1: Genetic affiliation of languages in which the labial flap is attested
Afro-Asiatic
Chadic
c1. Bana (Nigeria, Cameroon)
c2. Daba (Cameroon)
c3. Gabri (Chad)
c4. Gude (Nigeria, Cameroon)
c5. Kamwe (Nigeria)
c6. Marghi Central (Nigeria)
c7. Mokulu (Chad)
c8. Pev (Chad, Cameroon)
c9. Ron (Nigeria)
c10. South Mofu (Cameroon)
c11. Tera (Nigeria)
c12. Yiwom (Nigeria)
c13. Migaama (Chad)

Niger-Congo
Benue-Congo
Bantoid
Northern
t1. Kwanja (Cameroon)
t2. Samba Daka (Nigeria)
t3. Tep (Nigeria)
Southern
t4. Manyika (Zimb., Mozambique)
t5. Ndau (Zimbabwe)
t6. Nyanja (Malawi)
t7. Shona (Zimbabwe)
(t8). Kalanga (Zimbabwe)
Platoid
p1. Nungu (Nigeria)
Adamawa
a1. South Fali (Cameroon)
Leko-Nimbari
a2. Dii (Cameroon)
Mbum-Day
Bua
a3. Gula Iro (Chad)
a4. Niellim (Chad)
Mbum
a5. Karang (Cameroon, Chad)
a6. Kare (CAR)
a7. Kuo (Chad, Cameroon)
a8. Mambai (Cameroon, Chad)
a9. Mbum (Cameroon)
a10. Mundang (Cameroon, Chad)
a11. Nzakmbay (Chad, Cameroon)
a12. Tupuri (Cameroon, Chad)
Ubangi
Banda
Central Banda
b1. Banda-Bambari (CAR)
b2. Banda-Banda (CAR, Sudan)
b3. Banda-Mbrs (CAR)
b4. Banda-Ndl (Sudan, CAR)
b5. Banda-Yangere (CAR)
b6. Banda, Mid-Southern (CAR, DRC)
b7. Banda, Togbo-Vara (DRC, CAR)
b8. Banda, West Central (CAR)
b9. Ngbundu (DRC)
b10. Mbandja (DRC, CAR)
Ngbandi-Sango-Kpatiri
n1. Kpatili (CAR)
Gbaya-Manza-Ngbaka
g1. Gbaya-Bossangoa (CAR)
g2. Gbaya, NW (Cameroon, CAR)
g3. Manza (CAR)
g4. Ngbaka-Minagende (DRC)
Sere-Ngbaka-Mba
Sere
s1. Bai (Sudan)
s2. Feroge (Sudan)
s3. Mangayat (Sudan)
s4. Ndogo (Sudan)
s5. Sere (DRC, CAR)
s6. Tagbu (DRC)
Ngbaka-Mba
s7. Bangba (DRC)
(s8). Dongo (DRC)
(s9). Ngbaka-Mabo (CAR, DRC)
Zande
z1. Nzakara (CAR)

Nilo-Saharan
Central Sudanic
West
Kresh
w1. Aja (Sudan)
w2. Kresh (Sudan)
Bongo-Bagirmi
w3. Baka (Sudan)
w4. Gula (CAR, Sudan)
w5. Morokodo (Sudan)
w6. Sar (Chad)
w7. Yulu (Sudan, CAR)
East
Mangbetu
e1. Asua (DRC)
e2. Lombi (DRC)
e3. Mangbetu (DRC)
Mangbutu-Efe
e4. Efe (DRC)
e5. Lese (DRC)
e6. Mamvu (DRC)
e7. Mvuba (DRC)

Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
m1. Sikka (Indonesia)

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D.4 Articulation
Detailed studies of the articulation of the labial flap are rare, and this may be the
reason that articulatory descriptions have diverged widely in the literature. The sound has
been described as a fricative (e.g. Mohrlang 1972, Jungraithmayr 1990), a stop (Hagge
1968), and an implosive (Larochette 1958). Indeed, descriptions of the sound have varied
widely in the same language. In Mbum, Hagge (1968, 1970) refers to the sound as a
stop, but then later changes his opinion and refers to it as a vibrant (Hagge 1981). In
Mangbetu, Larochette (1958: 15) describes the sound as an implosive semi-vowel,
whereas McKee (1991: 192), describes the same sound as a voiced labio-velar flap
fricative. Utilizing acoustic and aerodynamic evidence, Demolin & Teston (1996)
demonstrate that the labial flap in Mangbetu is neither implosive nor fricative. There is
no drop in pharyngeal air pressure indicative of an implosive, nor is there aperiodic noise
indicative of a fricative. They conclude then that the sound is a labiodental flap with a
bilabial variant (p. 103).
There is a high degree of uniformity in the articulation of the sound cross-
linguistically. France Cloarec-Heiss (per. comm.) reports that the articulation is the same
in Banda, Kare, and Mangbetu. Bruce Connell (per. comm.) observes that the articulation
is the same in Tep and Mono (Mid-Southern Banda). One exception is that Constance
Kutsch Lojenga (per. comm.) has noted there is a weakening of the sound in Lese in
comparison to Ndogo. Our study reveals the following cross-linguistic generalizations
concerning the articulation of the labial flap.
Concerning the manner of articulation, the sound is clearly a flap, as defined by
Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996). They state:

(1) A flap is a sound in which a brief contact between the articulators is made by
moving the active articulator tangentially to the site of the contact, so that it
strikes the upper surface of the vocal tract in passing. (p. 231)
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This is identical to what Catford (1982: 129) calls a transient flap. There are
two stages in the articulation of the sound. In the first stage, the lower lip is retracted
slowly into the mouth well behind the upper teeth. In the second stage, the lower lip is
brought forward rapidly and strikes the upper lip or upper teeth in passing.
Ladefoged (1968) notes that in Central Marghi, the flap is preceded by an
additional stagea stop in which the lower lip is tensed against the upper lip and teeth.
To our knowledge, this initial stop has been attested only in Marghi, and it therefore
should not be considered a general property of the speech sound.
Concerning the place of articulation, most researchers identify the sound as
labiodental; that is to say, the lower lip makes contact with the upper teeth. Consequently,
labiodental could be considered the default or unmarked place of articulation for the
sound. However, an optional bilabial variant, in which the lower lip makes contact with
the upper lip rather than the upper teeth, has been noted in 13 languages, including ones
in Niger-Congo (Ndau, Shona, Dii, Karang, Kare, Kuo, Nzakmbay, Banda-Bambari,
Mid-Southern Banda, and Ngbaka-Minagende), Nilo-Saharan (Sar and Mangbetu), and
Afro-Asiatic (Bana). In addition, Pairault (1969) and Tingbo (1978) consider the sound to
be bilabial, rather than labiodental, in Gula Iro and Mbandja, respectively (both Niger-
Congo).
Note that our use of the terms bilabial and labiodental respects the traditional
usage, as defined by the actual place of contact on the passive articulator. This is different
from Ladefogeds (1997: 594) terminology, where he defines labiodental as a labial
articulation which involves retraction of the lower lip. If one follows this definition, then
both articulations of the labial flap could be considered labiodental. In any case, it
should be noted that the retraction involved in the labial flap (whether labiodental or
bilabial) is more extreme than that which is found in other labiodental sounds.
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Contrast between the two places of articulation has not been observed for the
labial flap. As a result, we use the term labial as a more general term to subsume
bilabial and labiodental, and only employ the more specific terms when the
distinction is pertinent to the discussion.
Concerning voicing, the labial flap is nearly always voiced. This is to be expected,
since in general taps and flaps are voiced, as noted by Maddieson (1984: 79). Three
sources indicate a voiceless articulation. First, Doke (1931) reports a voiceless labial flap
in one ideophone in the Zezuru dialect of Shona, va va va va of report of a gun (p. 224).
However, the lack of voicing occurs throughout the entire lexical item and is best
interpreted as the result of a word-level effect. Second, Pairault (1969) reports that the
labial flap is voiceless in word-initial position in Gula Iro: e.g. woo woo woo woo bang! vs.
5w5p 5w5p 5w5p 5w5p bang!. This correlates with a more general process in the language in which stops
are voiceless in word-initial and word-final position, but voiced in word-medial position.
Third, Jungraithmayr (1965) transcribes the sound in Yiwom with the letter f in the word
kaIim kaIim kaIim kaIim buffalo. However, Greenberg (1983) transcribes the sound in same lexical item
in the same language with a v with a left loop (), implying a voiced articulation.
Finally, a backing of the tongue appears to cooccur with the labial flap. This has
been noted in Mangbetu by Demolin & Teston (1996). In addition, the first author has
encountered this in his field research on the Mono dialect of Mid-Southern Banda. One of
the language resource persons observed this fact in his own speech production.
Interestingly, a similar backing of the tongue has also been observed in biliabial
implosives in Igbo (Ladefoged 1968: 6) and Mangbetu (Demolin 1995: 231).
To sum up this section, we have seen that the best articulatory description of the
most commonly attested type of labial flap is a voiced labiodental flap with egressive
lung air. In addition, a bilabial variant is attested for some languages, and there is
evidence for a backing of the tongue as well.
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D.5 Phonological status
D.5.1 Evaluation of phonological status
There is good evidence that the labial flap has been fully incorporated into the
phonological system of a significant number of languages. We have clear evidence of full
phonological status in thirteen languages, and the sound is probably phonological in at
least twelve more. These languages are concentrated in three sub-branches of Adamawa-
Ubangi (Mbum-Day, Banda, and Sere-Ngbaka-Mba), as well as in Central Sudanic.
Further fieldwork will likely increase this number substantially. In this section, we
examine the evidence for the phonological status of the labial flap in five of these
languages: Mono and Ndogo (Ubangian), Karang and Mbum (Adamawan), and
Mangbetu (Central Sudanic).
Specific criteria have been adopted here to evaluate to what extent a segment has
been incorporated into the phonological system of a language:
1. Contrast. Minimal pairs, or near-minimal pairs, between the labial flap and
other labial sounds are good evidence (but not proof) that the sound has been
incorporated into the phonological system of the language.
2. Distribution across grammatical categories. The more grammatical categories
a sound is attested in, the better the evidence that the sound is part of the phonological
system. In many languages, the sound is found only in ideophones, words which
commonly exhibit exceptional phonological shapes and are usually adverbial. Defining
the notion ideophone has been particularly troublesome. There has been much debate
as to whether ideophones form a distinct grammatical category or whether they should
rather be defined on semantic or phonological terms (see Welmers 1973: 459ff and
Childs 1994 for helpful discussion). In this paper, we either take the authors word that a
particular item is an ideophone, or we judge a word to be an ideophone when it seems
fairly obvious, but we are cautious in doing so. In addition, names of animal and plant
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species are known occasionally to exhibit exceptional phonological shapes (James
Roberts, per. comm.), so we make special note of these terms as well.
3. Frequency of occurrence. If the labial flap is rare compared to other sounds in
the language, this may call into question to what extent it has been incorporated into the
phonological system. Judging if a sound is common or rare can be difficult. For example,
if an author cites just a handful of examples of words with the sound in the language, that
does not necessarily mean that the sound is rare. On the other hand, if the sound is
attested in over a dozen lexical items, we would need to seriously consider its inclusion in
the phonological system. In judging the frequency of a sound, we have usually relied on
the judgment of the author, i.e. we report if the author says explicitly that the sound is
rare.
4. Distribution within the word. If the labial flap occurs in both word-initial and
word-medial position, this is evidence that the sound has been more fully incorporated
into the phonological system of the language. In most cases the labial flap does not occur
in consonant clusters (consonant clusters are limited in many of these languages), so the
word-medial position is in fact an intervocalic environment.
5. Researchers judgments. We note if a researcher considers the sound to be
phonemic in a given language. Examples of this include if the researcher specifically
calls the sound a phoneme, or if the sound appears in a phoneme chart. While this is not
proof of phonemic status per se, it may be an indication that the researcher is aware of
additional data leading to that conclusion that are not reported in the source.
6. Co-occurrence with vowels. For a few languages, we note if there are
restrictions on which vowels can follow the labial flap. If there is evidence of
complementary distribution of the labial flap with another labial sound before vowels,
then the labial flap could be considered an allophone of the other labial sound, rather than
a separate phoneme.
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7. Borrowed words. If the sound is only found in words borrowed from a trade
language or a language of wider communication, it is doubtful that the sound should be
considered part of the phonological system of the language.
At this point, a caveat regarding the data is in order (cf. Croft 1990: 25). Certain
problems concerning the data make a cross-linguistic study challenging. For example,
descriptive sources vary with regard to quality, and it is not always clear how to interpret
the phonetic transcription in some sources. However, the most serious problem concerns
the completeness of the data. Survey reports and sketch phonologies, while providing
helpful information, do not by definition cover the above criteria comprehensively. As a
result, evidence for the systematicity of the labial flap in some languages may actually be
greater than what we are able to infer from the sources. This problem would only be
resolved if comprehensive descriptive studies were available for all the languages studied
here, a ideal which is at present far from being realized.
D.5.2 Sample languages in which the labial flap is phonological
1. Mono. The first language we examine in detail is the Ubangian language Mono,
a dialect of Mid-Southern Banda spoken in the northwestern corner of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). We examine Mono in light of the criteria mentioned above.
First, the labial flap is fully contrastive with the other labial sounds in Mono.
Minimal pairs, or near-minimal pairs, are listed in (2):

(2) Contrast with other labial sounds in Mono (Olson & Schrag 1997)
labial labial-velar
stops pa pa pa pa speak kpa kpa kpa kpa flee
baIa baIa baIa baIa greet gba gba gba gba rot
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa elephant pgba pgba pgba pgba be many
implosives bata bata bata bata since
fricatives Ia Ia Ia Ia cook
va va va va pour
nasals ma ma ma ma show
flap wa wa wa wa send
approximant wa wa wa wa cut
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Second, the sound is comparatively well-attested in Mono, occurring in over 45
words, a sample of which are shown in (3). Third, the sound occurs in all major
grammatical categories in Mono, including nouns, verbs, and adverbs. The distinction
between the major grammatical categories is made on both paradigmatic and syntagmatic
grounds. For example, verbs take the infinitive prefix ke- ke- ke- ke-, adverbs occur following the
verb, and ideophonic adverbs are reduplicated. Some of the verbs could be thought to
have ideophonic semantic content, but it is clear that a large number of words in Mono
containing the sound are not ideophonic.
Fourth, the sound occurs in both word-initial and word-medial positions. Finally,
it occurs before most vowels in the language, including front, back, high, and low
vowels.

(3) Sample lexical items in Mono containing the labial flap (from the first authors
field notes except where noted).
nouns animals verbs
awcpgc awcpgc awcpgc awcpgc rainbow jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc catfish kewi kewi kewi kewi to throw
ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri crowd tcwc tcwc tcwc tcwc black ant kekcwc kekcwc kekcwc kekcwc to fold
awara awara awara awara wisdom awi awi awi awi hyena kewe kewe kewe kewe to roll (Kamanda 1998)
ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa rubber wato wato wato wato queen ant kewa kewa kewa kewa to send
awuru awuru awuru awurupgu pgu pgu pgu vehicle wuruju wuruju wuruju wuruju dung beetle kekawa kekawa kekawa kekawa to snap
buwcIc buwcIc buwcIc buwcIc type of banana

body parts adverbs/ideophones
waIa waIa waIa waIa bone marrow wi1i wi1i wi1i wi1i throw out
wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi thigh wcgc wcgc wcgc wcgc hot
witi witi witi witi calf

2. Ndogo. Ndogo is an Ubangian language (Sere-Ngbaka-Mba) spoken in Sudan.
It has a five vowel system where the vowels transcribed as e and o are pronounced [e]
and [5], respectively.
First, the labial flap is contrastive with the other labial sounds in Ndogo. Contrasts
are listed in (4):

287

(4) Contrast with other labial sounds in Ndogo (Peter Rebigo & Wanda Pace, per.
comm.)
labial labial-velar
stops pa pa pa pa to fetch kpaa kpaa kpaa kpaa leaf
ba ba ba ba to burst gba gba gba gba chief
mba mba mba mba rail or beam pgba pgba pgba pgba light (of something)
implosives ba ba ba ba house, home
fricatives va va va va to scatter (seed)
nasals ma ma ma ma to display
flap va va va va to fall
approximant wa wa wa wa to weep

Peter Rebigo and Wanda Pace (per. comm.) also report that contrast between the
labial flap and other labial sounds in Ndogo is attested before the other vowels (i, e, u,
and o). Second, the sound occurs in nouns, verbs, adjectives, and animal names, as shown
in (5) below. Third, Pozzati (1987) attests the sound in over 40 words. Finally, while the
sound normally appears in word-initial position, it can also occur in word-medial
position.

(5) Sample lexical items in Ndogo containing the labial flap (Peter Rebigo and
Wanda Pace, per. comm.; Constance Kutsch Lojenga, per. comm.)
nouns verbs
va va va va a sprout dc vcrc dc vcrc dc vcrc dc vcrc to say a lie
vaIa vaIa vaIa vaIa life kava kava kava kava to scratch
vc vc vc vc greeting, question va va va va to throw
vcc vcc vcc vcc raw one va va va va to sprout
vcc vcc vcc vcc a lie va va va va(to to to to) to fall (down)
vii vii vii vii child vaIa vaIa vaIa vaIa to live, to save
vi vi vi vi flower vcc vcc vcc vcc to greet, to ask
voko voko voko voko beam, rod vcc vcc vcc vcc to scatter
vuu vuu vuu vuu grinding stone vi vi vi vi must, may (auxiliary verb)
divi divi divi divi throwing-stick vii vii vii vii to measure, to weigh
vo vo vo vo protruding bone vii vii vii vii to open, to part
vu vu vu vu to block the way by putting a piece of wood

adjectives animal names
gbcIcvc gbcIcvc gbcIcvc gbcIcvc paralyzed guuguvuIuvu guuguvuIuvu guuguvuIuvu guuguvuIuvu small animal in duiker family
vc vc vc vc raw, unripe vuu vuu vuu vuu small bird in nightingale family
vooo vooo vooo vooo kind of sparrow which makes its nest
in holes along high river banks

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3. Karang. Karang is an Adamawan language spoken in Cameroon. First, the
labial flap is contrastive with the other labial sounds in Karang. Contrasts are are listed in
(6):

(6) Contrast with other labial sounds in Karang (Ubels & Ubels 1980, Bob Ulfers,
per. comm.)
labial labial-velar
stops pa pa pa pa to cultivate kpa kpa kpa kpa a hoe
ba ba ba ba to resemble gba gba gba gba to spread out
mba mba mba mba no longer pgba pgba pgba pgba to seize
implosives ba ba ba ba copulative
nasals ma ma ma ma toward
flap va va va va to beat
approximant wa wa wa wa interrogative marker

stops ba: ba: ba: ba: father kpa: kpa: kpa: kpa: the bush
mba: mba: mba: mba: be full
implosives ba: ba: ba: ba: to say
fricatives Ia: Ia: Ia: Ia: to argue
va: va: va: va: to greet
nasals ma: ma: ma: ma: be enough
flap va: va: va: va: to agree
approximant wa: wa: wa: wa: husband

Ubels & Ubels also provide contrasts before the vowels i, e, u, and o. Second, the
sound is comparatively well-attested in Karang, occurring in over a dozen words, a
sampling of which are shown in (7). Third, the sound occurs in all major grammatical
categories in Karang, including nouns, verbs, and ideophones. Fourth, the sound usually
occurs in word-initial position, but is also attested in word-medial position in two words.
Of particular interest is its occurrence following a consonant (presumably across a
syllable boundary) in pckvckvck pckvckvck pckvckvck pckvckvck very high. This is the only case in our data of the
sound occurring adjacent to a stop. Fifth, the sound is attested before all vowels in
Karang except 5 55 5.





289

(7) Sample lexical items in Karang containing the labial flap
nouns ideophones
v vv vuj uj uj uj kind of grass vaIang vaIang vaIang vaIang very
vara vara vara vara animal virim virim virim virim whole
vaw vaw vaw vaw loudly
verbs kavaw kavaw kavaw kavaw out of sight
vc vc vc vc to cut pckvckvck pckvckvck pckvckvck pckvckvck very high
vi vi vi vi to ask vububu vububu vububu vububu like rushing water
vir vir vir vir to brew vir vir vir vir hard
voI voI voI voI to distinguish
vu vu vu vu to throw away

4. Mbum. Mbum is an Adamawan language spoken in Cameroon. Hagge (1970)
and Hino (1978) conducted field research in different towns (Nganha and Mbang-
Mboum, respectively), so there may be a slight dialectal difference between the two
sources.
First, the labial flap is contrastive with most other labial sounds in Mbum.
Contrasts are listed in (8):

(8) Contrast with other labial sounds in Mbum (Hagge 1970):
stops ba ba ba ba clown va va va va lower jaw
mbc mbc mbc mbc built vo vo vo vo overturned
implosives bcn bcn bcn bcn stick vcn vcn vcn vcn god
fricatives Iu Iu Iu Iu paid vu vu vu vu threw
vu vu vu vu implored vu vu vu vu threw
mvoI mvoI mvoI mvoI axe voI voI voI voI witchcraft
nasals mor mor mor mor burned ground voI voI voI voI witchcraft
approximants woI woI woI woI error voI voI voI voI witchcraft

Hagge (1970) does not give explicit examples of contrast between the labial flap
and p, kp, gb, and ngb. Second, the sound occurs in nouns, verbs, pronouns, and
ideophones, as shown in (9). Third, the sound is common, occurring in over fifteen
words. Fourth, the sound occurs most often in word-initial position, but it is attested in
word-medial position in words which can be derived from other lexical items (e.g. asivir asivir asivir asivir
circle, bavi bavi bavi bavi yourselves).



290

(9) Sample lexical items in Mbum containing the labial flap (Hagge 1968, Hino
1978)
nouns verbs
va va va va lower jaw vaI vaI vaI vaI to divide, distribute
vatai vatai vatai vatai cross vap vap vap vap ~ hu hu hu hu to become fat
vcn vcn vcn vcn god var hana var hana var hana var hana to separate, say goodbye
vipambii vipambii vipambii vipambii fountain vc vc vc vc strangle, kill by cutting ones throat
voI voI voI voI witchcraft vi vi vi vi ask
vo vo vo vo overturn
vu vu vu vu ~ bu bu bu bu throw
vun vun vun vun apply ointment

pronouns ideophones
vi vi vi vi you vir vir vir vir round and round

5. Mangbetu. The final language we examine in detail is Mangbetu, a Central
Sudanic language found in northeastern DRC.
First, the labial flap is contrastive with the other labial sounds in Mangbetu.
Contrasts are listed in (10):

(10) Contrast with other labial sounds in Mangbetu (Demolin 1992)
labial labial-velar
stops nopi nopi nopi nopi forest nookpo nookpo nookpo nookpo little basket
nobu nobu nobu nobu to apply mud n5gbw5gbu n5gbw5gbu n5gbw5gbu n5gbw5gbu to nail
to house mcpgbopgbo mcpgbopgbo mcpgbopgbo mcpgbopgbo heavy
ncimboIo ncimboIo ncimboIo ncimboIo seed
implosives n5b5 n5b5 n5b5 n5b5 to cut
fricatives noIo noIo noIo noIo to cut
novo novo novo novo metal stick
nasals n5m5 n5m5 n5m5 n5m5 illness
n55mv5 n55mv5 n55mv5 n55mv5 armpit
trills n nn nonu onu onu onu to put out
nouno nouno nouno nouno hammock
n5mn5 n5mn5 n5mn5 n5mn5 type of hornbill
flap novo novo novo novo to scratch
novi novi novi novi to jump
approximant nowo nowo nowo nowo a growing mushroom

Demolin (1992) considers [mn] to be an allophone of /mb/. Second, the sound is
comparatively well-attested in Mangbetu, occurring in at least 23 words, a sampling of
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which are shown in (11). Third, the sound occurs in nouns, verbs, and numerals. Finally,
although it is found before all vowels, it only occurs in word-medial position.

(11) Sample lexical items in Mangbetu containing the labial flap (Demolin 1992)
nouns verbs numerals
ncivo ncivo ncivo ncivo root n5va n5va n5va n5va to play teve teve teve teve ten
navivi navivi navivi navivi strong wind novwavu novwavu novwavu novwavu to blow on fire eteve soonqru eteve soonqru eteve soonqru eteve soonqru twenty

animals body parts
na1ieve na1ieve na1ieve na1ieve snail navi navi navi navi tail
nevjavja nevjavja nevjavja nevjavja black bird neteve neteve neteve neteve nail/claw
Table D.2: Languages in which the labial flap is part of the phonological system
Cont Gramm Cat. # WI/WM Phoneme?
Adamawa
Dii - V/Ideo 4 WI/WM Poss.
Karang Y N/V/Ideo >16 WI/WM Def.
Kare Y N/V/Adj/Ideo >25 WI/WM Def.
Kuo - N/V/Adj/Ideo 5 WI/- Prob.
Mbum Y N/V/Pron/Ideo >15 WI/WM Def.
Mundang - N/V/Adv 5 WI/WM Poss.
Nzakmbay - V 2 WI/- Poss.
Ubangi
Banda-Bambari Y N/V/Adj/Adv >33 WI/WM Def.
Banda-Banda - N/V/Adv >33 WI/WM Def.
Banda-Mbres - N/V/Adv >33 WI/WM Def.
Banda-Ndele Y N/V 5 WI/WM Def.
Banda-Yangere - V 2 WI/- Prob.
Mid-Southern Banda Y N/V/Adv 45 WI/WM Def.
Togbo-Vara Banda - N/V/Adv >33 WI/WM Def.
West Central Banda - N/V/Adv >33 WI/WM Def.
Mbandja Y N/V/Adj/Ideo >33 WI/WM Def.
Gbaya-Bossangoa - N/Ideo 5 WI/WM Poss.
NW Gbaya - Ideo 3 WI/WM Poss.
Bai - N/V 5 WI/- Prob.
Feroge - N/V 4 WI/WM Prob.
Mangayat - N/V 5 WI/WM Prob.
Ndogo Y N/V/Adj >40 WI/WM Def.
Sere - N/V/Adj 8 WI/WM Prob.
Tagbu - N/V/Adj 5 WI/? Prob.
Central Sudanic
Kresh - N/V 3 -/WM Prob.
Baka Y N/V 2 WI/WM Prob.
Gula - N/Ideo 8 WI/WM Prob.
Yulu - N 5 -/WM Prob.
Lombi - N 3 -/WM Poss.
Mangbetu Y N/V/Num >23 -/WM Def.
Lese - N/V 4 WI/WM Poss.
Austronesian
Sikka Y ? - - Prob.
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Table D.2 lists all the languages in which there is significant evidence that the
labial flap is part of the phonologically system. We have also included our judgment as to
if the sound is definitely, probably, or possibly part of the phonological system of the
language. The labial flap is definitely a part of the phonological system of thirteen
languages, probably a part of the system in twelve languages, and possibly a part of the
system in seven languages.
D.6 The origin of the labial flap
At this point, an excursus on the origin of the labial flap is appropriate. Greenberg
(1983) suggests as its ultimate source either Adamawa-Ubangi or Central Sudanic,
without a convincing basis for choice (p. 12). Our findings go further in establishing
the source of the sound. As we saw in Section D.2, the sound is most widely attested in
Niger-Congo, particularly the Adamawa-Ubangi sub-group, followed by Nilo-Saharan
(Central-Sudanic), and finally Afro-Asiatic (Chadic). In addition, in the previous section
we have seen that evidence for incorporation of the sound into the phonological system of
a given language follows the same patternthe best evidence is found in Niger-Congo,
followed by Nilo-Saharan, and finally Afro-Asiatic.
This suggests an ultimate Niger-Congo origin for the labial flap. However, it was
likely not a part of proto-Niger-Congo. As mentioned before, the sound is well-attested
only in Adamawa-Ubangi sub-group of Niger-Congo, with only a few sporadic
attestations in Benue-Congo, and none in the other Niger-Congo sub-branches. This leads
us to suggest that the sound developed as an innovation in Adamawa-Ubangi. The sound
was probably borrowed into Central Sudanic soon thereafter, with borrowing into Chadic
and Benue-Congo being recent occurrences.
Having pinpointed the likely source of the labial flap, an additional question
arises: how did this sound develop historically? On this question, much research is still
needed, but we set forth an initial hypothesis. Greenberg (1983) notes that the geographic
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distribution of the labial flap bears a partial resemblance to that of labial-velar stops.
Besides the occurrence of the labial flap in southeastern Africa, which can be accounted
for by migration patterns as discussed in Section D.2, the distribution of the labial flap is
wholly subsumed within that of labial-velar stops. In addition, Boyd (1974: 51, 82-3)
identifies sound correspondences between labial-velar stops and the labial flap in the
Adamawa group, given in (12). He consequently posits the sound change *gb gb gb gb > v v v v (p. 55).
Our tentative hypothesis, then, is that the labial flap arose as a sound change from a
labial-velar stop in Adamawa-Ubangi.

(12) Sound correspondences between gb gb gb gb and v v v v in Adamawa (Boyd 1974)
hit throw scratch
Ndai [GKE] gbaI gbaI gbaI gbaI gbu gbu gbu gbu gba/gbu gba/gbu gba/gbu gba/gbu
Dama [DMM] gbar gbar gbar gbar gba gba gba gba
Pana [PNZ] gbun-nc gbun-nc gbun-nc gbun-nc gbee gbee gbee gbee kpuu-Ic kpuu-Ic kpuu-Ic kpuu-Ic
Pam [PMN], Mono [MRU] gbar gbar gbar gbar k kk kpa1n pa1n pa1n pa1n
Kuo gbu gbu gbu gbu kpan kpan kpan kpan
Dii gbe gbe gbe gbe gbe/ve gbe/ve gbe/ve gbe/ve kpo kpo kpo kpo
Karang va va va va vu vu vu vu ngba ngba ngba ngba
Nzakmbay va va va va vu vu vu vu ngba ngba ngba ngba
Kare va va va va vu vu vu vu gba gba gba gba
Mbum va va va va vu vu vu vu mbana mbana mbana mbana

Note that there are no lexical items where gb gb gb gb is attested in cognates in all of the
languages under consideration. The closest is the lexical item for scratch, shown in (12).
It is interesting to note that this hypothesis of a Niger-Congo origin for the labial
flap accords with a hypothesis set forth in Greenberg (1959, 1983). He notes that many
features unique (or almost unique) to Africa can be found in a large central area of Africa
which includes Niger-Congo, Songhai, Central Sudanic, and Chadic. In examining four
of these featureslabial-velar stops, the labial flap, the use of the verb to surpass to
mark the comparative, and the use of a single term to indicate both animal and meat
he traces them all back to a Niger-Congo origin, except for the labial flap, for which he
294

does not draw a firm conclusion. Our results give firmer evidence that the labial flap has
its origin in Niger-Congo as well, which concurs with his general proposal.
Before concluding our discussion of the origin of the labial flap, we need to offer
a couple of caveats. First, we have been assuming the integrity of Adamawa-Ubangi, but
there is by no means consensus amongst linguists on this assumption. For example,
Bennett (1983) found no phonological innovations and only a handful of weak lexical
innovations to support the unity of Adamawa-Ubangi. Second, we have been assuming
that Adamawa-Ubangi is a sub-branch of Niger-Congo. However, Boyd (1978) and
Cloarec-Heiss (1995) identify resemblances between Adamawa-Ubangi and Nilo-
Saharan which may indicate a genetic relationship between the two. More research on
this point is needed. Whatever the results of further classificatory work, it is clear that the
languages we have identified (e.g. Mono, Ndogo, Karang, Mbum, Mangbetu) are indeed
the languages in which the labial flap is most clearly established.
D.7 Languages containing the labial flap
In this section we provide a more detailed discussion of each language which
contains the labial flap. First, we provide the language name as listed in the Ethnologue
(Grimes 1996), its Ethnologue code, and the name used by a researcher if it differs from
the Ethnologue name. Each language listed is considered a mutually unintelligible speech
variety by the Ethnologue.
Next we list the country or countries in which the language is spoken. The
references cited include the first known mention of the labial flap in the literature for the
language, as well as additional sources which provide significant data concerning the
sound.
For each entry, we discuss briefly the articulation of the sound, particularly noting
if it is bilabial or labiodental, and if there is a voiceless variant. If the precise place of
articulation is not described, we simply refer to it as labial.
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In addition, we provide evidence concerning whether the sound should be
considered a part of the phonological system of the language, following the criteria laid
out in Section D.5.
D.7.1 Chadic languages
The labial flap is attested in thirteen Chadic languages. No evidence for contrast is
given by any of the sources. The sound is found almost exclusively in ideophones, with
most additional items being animal names. Several sources report the sound as being rare,
with the most examples being cited in Bana, where it is attested in six words. It is usually
found in intervocalic position.
Bana [FLI] (Nigeria, Cameroon). Hofmann (1990) reports a labial flap in Bana.
She refers to it as labiodental, but she notes that the lower lip may strike the upper
teeth, the upper lip, or both. She attests it in the following ideophones: bevep bevep bevep bevep ~ bevek bevek bevek bevek of
setting off running, gevcp gevcp gevcp gevcp of falling in the mud, gevem gevem gevem gevem of letting something fall in the
water, wevem wevem wevem wevem of swallowing suddenly, and wevep wevep wevep wevep on interfering in the affairs of
others. In addition, she attests it in the noun gevcp gevcp gevcp gevcp fishhook. It occurs only in
intervocalic position. She considers it a marginal phoneme. The language is called
Bana in Cameroon and Fali in Nigeria.
Daba [DAB] (Cameroon). Tadadjeu & Sadembouo (1979: 24) and Hartell (1993:
62-3, 70) report a labiodental flap in Daba. Tadadjeu & Sadembouo refer to it as a
vibrante labiodentale 1 bat.
1
It is attested in the word vivin vivin vivin vivin fish.
Gabri [GAB] (Chad). James Roberts (per. comm.) reports a labial flap in Gabri.
He notes that it is found only in ideophones.

1
Several French sources (e.g. Martinet 1991, Thomas et al. 1976) group trills and taps/flaps in the
category vibrant. Thus, a flap is a vibrant with a single closure (battement) whereas a trill is a vibrant
with several closures.
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Gude [GDE] (Nigeria, Cameroon). Mo Perrin (per. comm.) reports a labial flap in
Gude. She cites one rare ideophone: vub vub vub vub hit!.
Kamwe [HIG] (Nigeria). Mohrlang (1972: 23, 35, 42) reports a labiodental
flapped fricative in the Nkafa dialect of Kamwe. The sound is included in his phoneme
chart, but he does not provide evidence of contrast. He attests it in the following two
ideophones: vavava vavava vavava vavava signal of distress and biviIe biviIe biviIe biviIe (ideophone). He considers it rare.
Marghi Central [MAR] (Nigeria). A labial flap is attested in Marghi by Hoffman
(1963), Ladefoged (1968: 18), Ladefoged (1971: 52), and Ladefoged (1982: 154-5). The
first two sources explicitly mention a flap against the upper teeth. Ladefoged (1968: 18)
indicates that the flap is preceded by a stop in which the lower lip is tensed against the
upper lip and teeth. This initial stop has only been attested in Marghi. Hoffman attests
the flap in the following ideophones: bevu bevu bevu bevu of sudden appearance and flight, havawu havawu havawu havawu of
escape of an animal, kavahu kavahu kavahu kavahu of intruding into a place.
Mukulu [MOZ] (Chad). Jungraithmayr (1990: 196) mentions a labiodental flap as
occuring in the Mokilko dialect of Mukulu. He describes it as a coup fricatif dentilabial.
This is most likely a labiodental flap, but the description is unclear. He attests it in the
lexical item wuvum wuvum wuvum wuvum noise of falling in water.
Pev [LME] (Chad, Cameroon). Venberg (1975) reports a labial flap in Pev. He
includes it in his phoneme inventory, but he does not provide clear evidence of contrast.
It does not occur in intervocalic position. Venberg provides the following examples: vip vip vip vip
slingshot and vao vao vao vao once upon a time.
Ron [CLA] (Nigeria). Phil Davison (per. comm.) reports a labiodental flap during
the playing of the game awali (popularly known as Mancala in the U.S.). At the point
where the last stone is put in a hole so that a player succeeds in getting the opponents
stones, the player exclaims vip vip vip vip.
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South Mofu [MIF] (Cameroon). Barreteau (1988) reports a labiodental flap in
Mofu-Gudur. He attests it in the following ideophones:
2
pevar pevar pevar pevar crack, pavaj pavaj pavaj pavaj of
moving on water, vap vap vap vap ~ vcp vcp vcp vcp tumble, vasI vasI vasI vasI fall abruptly. He considers it rare.
Tera [TER] (Nigeria). Paul Newman (per. comm.) reports a labiodental flap in
Tera. Greenberg (1983) also reports a labiodental flap in Tera, citing Newman as his
source. Newman attests it in the word hevep hevep hevep hevep the sound of a hyena falling down from a
palm tree. Newman notes that it is found only in onomatopoeic words.
Yiwom [GEK] (Nigeria). A labial flap is cited in Jungraithmayr (1965: 172)
(Gerka) and Greenberg (1983: 12) (Gerka). As previously noted, Jungraithmayr uses
the symbol f to refer to the sound, which may indicate a voiceless articulation. However,
Greenberg uses a v with left loop to represent the sound in the same lexical item. Both
Jungraithmayr and Greenberg attest it in the word kavin kavin kavin kavin buffalo.
Migaama [MMY] (Chad). Jungraithmayr & Adams (1992) and Semur (1997,
cited by Bill Chesley, per. comm.) report a labiodental flap in Migaama. It occurs only in
ideophones and in word-medial position. Examples of words with the sound include
puvup puvup puvup puvup noise of the beating of wings (Semur 1997: I ) and kavac kavac kavac kavac whipping noisea
cooking term (Jungraithmayr & Adams 1992: 17).
D.7.2 Benue-Congo
1. Bantoid. The labial flap is found in two Northern Bantoid languages (Kwanja,
Samba Daka, and Tep) in Cameroon and Nigeria and four Narrow Bantu languages in
southeastern Africa. No evidence for contrast is given by any of the sources. It is found
almost exclusively in ideophones. Except for Shona, most sources give only one or two
examples. None of the sources consider the sound to be phonemic.

2
Barreteau says that these are adjectives or adverbs, but semantically they are clearly ideophonic.
298

Kwanja [KNP] (Cameroon). Weber & Weber (1987) and Blench (1993) report a
labiodental flap in Kwanja. Weber & Weber state that it is pronounced with some
nasalization. They note that it only occurs in ideophones and is very rare. They give the
following example: kitc viwu kitc viwu kitc viwu kitc viwu Rabbit took off out of sight!
Samba Daka [CCG] (Nigeria). Boyd (1994: 47, 64, 154, 162) and Cloarec-Heiss
(1998) report a labial flap in Samba Daka. Boyd attests it in the words vaat vaat vaat vaat hit and vck vck vck vck
split.
Tep (Nigeria). Bruce Connell (per. comm.) reports a labial flap in Tep. Grimes
(1996) considers Tep to be a dialect of Mambila [MZK], but Connell considers Tep to be
a separate language. He attests it in the lexical item for spiggot used specifically to tap
palm wine.
Manyika [MXC; Guthrie zone S] (Zimbabwe, Mozambique). Hannan (1974: 728)
reports a labial flap in the ideophone vojo vojo vojo vojo of disappearing into thick grass or forest in
Manyika.
Ndau [NDC; Guthrie zone S] (Zimbabwe). Doke (1931: 224) reports a labial flap
in Ndau. He describes the sound as either infra-labial (i.e. bilabial) or denti-labial
(i.e. labiodental). He attests it in the word k`ut`ivu k`ut`ivu k`ut`ivu k`ut`ivu thud. It is only found in ideophones.
Nyanja [NYJ; Guthrie zone N] (Malawi). Scott (1929: 590, 598) reports a
labiodental flap in Nyanja. He attests it in the words va va va va beating, hitting and wovo wovo wovo wovo
disappearing into, which both appear to be ideophones.
Shona [SHD; Guthrie zone S] (Zimbabwe). Doke (1931: 224) reports a labial flap
in the Karanga, Zezuru, and Korekore dialects of Shona. It has the same articulation as in
Ndau. The sound is attested only in ideophones. As mentioned previously, in one
ideophone in the Zezuru dialect, the sound is voiceless, but in fact, the entire word is
voiceless: va va va va of report of a gun. He attests it in the following words: vi vi vi vi of hollow thud
(Korekore), kutivi kutivi kutivi kutivi to thud on something hollow (Zezuru, Korekore), vvo vvo vvo vvo of striking on
299

the mouth (Karanga) or of flicking (Zezuru) (Hannan 1974: 714 transcribes this as vo vo vo vo),
and hovo hovo hovo hovo of animals rushing unseen through grass (Karanga). See also Fortune (1962:
30).
Kalanga [KCK; Guthrie zone S] (Zimbabwe). Doke (1931: 224) reports a labial
flap in the Rozi dialect of Kalanga (the z in Rozi is an alveolar labialized voiced
fricative). The articulation is the same as in Ndau. He attests the sound in the word kovo kovo kovo kovo
of cattle covering the veld. The sound is found only in ideophones.
He notes (Doke 1931: 14) that the Rozi people were scattered and that in many
places they spoke the local language instead of Rozi (Doke did his field work in 1929). It
is possible that this dialect is now extinct. Grimes (1996: 460) states, Rozvi (Rozwi,
Ruzwi, Chirozwi) speak Karanga dialect and do not have their own language. They are
dispersed over many areas of the country. Alternatively, it is possibly Lozi [LOZ].

2. Platoid.
Nungu [RIN] (Nigeria). In the Linguist List posting 8.45, Carten Peust states,
According to M[ary] Ward, a language in Nigeria called Rindre, Nungu, Wamba and a
few other names possesses a labiodental flap. No articulatory description or data are
given.
D.7.3 Adamawa
The labial flap is attested in ten Adamawa languages. It is most common in the
Mbum-Day subgroup. Contrasts are given for Karang and Mbum. In most languages, it
occurs either in all grammatical categories or in more than one. It is well-attested in
several languages. It is usually only found in word-initial position. Researchers consider
it to be phonemic in Karang, Kare, Kuo, and Mbum.
South Fali [FAL] (Cameroon). Ennulat & Ennulat (1971) report a labiodental flap
in South Fali (Fali de Ram). This is likely the Fali referred to by Cloarec-Heiss
300

(1998). Ennulat & Ennulat report the flap in the words vakta vakta vakta vakta clench the teeth and
vamnda vamnda vamnda vamnda slap.
Dii [DUR] (Cameroon). A labial flap is attested in Dii by Boyd (1974: 83)
(Dourou), Bohnhoff (1982) (Yag Dii or Duru), Segerer (1995, cited by France
Cloarec-Heiss, per. comm.) (Duru), and Cloarec-Heiss (1998) (Duru). Boyd (1974)
considers the articulation either bilabial or labiodental. Bohnhoff (1982) considers it to be
labiodental. He notes that it can occur in different grammatical categories. Boyd attests it
in the word ve ve ve ve to throw. Bohnhoff attests it in the words pivid pivid pivid pivid very steep, buvud buvud buvud buvud
fast, and bav bav bav bav sound of a horse galloping. This last word is the only example in our
data of the flap in word-final position.
Gula Iro [GLJ] (Chad). A labial flap is attested in Gula Iro by Pairault (1969) (in
the Pongaal dialect of Kulaal) and by Cloarec-Heiss (1998) (Kulaal). Pairault
considers the articulation to be bilabial. His notes that the sound is voiceless in word-
initial position and voiced in intervocalic position. He attests the sound in two ideophones
woo woo woo woo and 5w5p 5w5p 5w5p 5w5p, both which mean bang/boom. He does not consider the sound to be
phonemic.
Niellim [NIE] (Chad). A labiodental flap is reported in Niellim by Diane
Vanderkooi (per. comm.). She attests it in the ideophone kivab kivab kivab kivab definitively.
Karang [KZR] (Cameroon, Chad). A labial flap is reported in Karang by Boyd
(1974: 82-3) (Nd Mbli), Ubels & Ubels (1980), and Bob Ulfers (per. comm.). Boyd
considers the sound either bilabial or labiodental, whereas Ubels & Ubels consider the
sound to be labiodental. Ubels & Ubels note that the articulation of the sound is the same
as in Shona, but different from Margi (cf. Ladefoged 1971: 52). Evidence for the
phonological status of the labial flap in Karang is given in Section D.5.2.
Kare [KBN] (Central African Republic). A labial flap is attested in Boyd (1974:
63, 67, 82-3) (Kali), Lim (1997), and Cloarec-Heiss (1998). Boyd considers the sound
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bilabial or labiodental. Lim considers it labiodental. Boyd attests the sound in the words
var var var var man/husband, v vv vok ok ok ok to wash, va va va va to hit, and vu vu vu vu to throw. Lim attests the sound in
the following lexical itemsnouns: gavara gavara gavara gavara G-string, savere savere savere savere bitter wild yam, vara vara vara vara
testicles, vere vere vere vere vulva, viri viri viri viri excrement, viri viri viri viri zuru zuru zuru zuru wax, polish, v5I v5I v5I v5I sorcery; animal
names: gb5r5v5r5 gb5r5v5r5 gb5r5v5r5 gb5r5v5r5 type of reptile, kiviri kiviri kiviri kiviri beetle, nd5vere nd5vere nd5vere nd5vere type of insect, vundiIi vundiIi vundiIi vundiIi type
of water insect; plant names: giviri giviri giviri giviri type of tree, gosu ngavi gosu ngavi gosu ngavi gosu ngavi type of tree, ngavera ngavera ngavera ngavera
type of herb, vara vara vara vara type of tree, viu viu viu viu type of herb, vevera vevera vevera vevera type of herb; verbs: va va va va hit,
cry, shout, vc vc vc vc cut, vcrc vcrc vcrc vcrc break, viri viri viri viri become slack, cook many times, vi vi vi vi ask, vu vu vu vu
throw; adjectives: ngava ngava ngava ngava stupid; and ideophones: vcp vcp vcp vcp of a hard knock.
Kuo [KHO] (Chad, Cameroon). A labial flap is reported in Kuo by Boyd
(1974:71) (Ko), James Roberts (per. comm.), and Marcia Bleeker (per. comm.). Boyd
and Bleeker consider the sound to be either bilabial or labiodental. Bleeker considers the
sound to be a phoneme. She attests it in the words vi vi vi vi ask, vu vu vu vu throw, viw viw viw viw question,
and vududu vududu vududu vududu pell-mell. She notes that it occurs in nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and
ideophones, and that it occurs only in word-initial position. Boyd attests it in the word
vjam vjam vjam vjam play a game.
Mambai [MCS] (Cameroon, Chad). Eguchi (1971, cited by Stefan Elders, per.
comm.) reports a labio-dentale semivoyelle t tt t in Mambai. Elders confirms that it is
actually a labiodental flap. It is more rare than w.
Mbum [MDD] (Cameroon). A labiodental flap is reported in Mbum by
Richardson (1957) (Kapere dialect), Hagge (1968, 1970) (West Mbum dialect), and
Hino (1978) (in the town of Mbang-Mboum). Hagge (1968, 1970) refers to the sound as
a stop, but later he refers to it as a vibrant (Hagge 1981). Evidence for the phonological
status of the labial flap in Mbum is given in Section D.5.2.
Mundang [MUA] (Cameroon, Chad). A labial flap is reported in Mundang by
Elders (2000) and James Roberts (per. comm.). Elders considers the sound to be
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labiodental. He notes that it can occur in nouns, verbs, and adverbs, but he considers all
examples to be ideophonic. He attests the sound in the words bevaw bevaw bevaw bevaw black buffalo,
Derby eland, ma-veki ma-veki ma-veki ma-veki type of herb, ma ma ma ma-vaj -vaj -vaj -vaj type of mask for initiation and
mourning, v5p v5p v5p v5p to tan, to soften (of leather), and pavam pavam pavam pavam disproportionately large.
Nzakmbay [NZY] (Chad, Cameroon). The labial flap is reported in Nzakmbay by
Boyd (1974) (Njk Mbi) and James Roberts (per. comm.) (Nzakambay). Boyd
considers the sound bilabial or labiodental. He attests the sound in the lexical items for va va va va
to hit and vu vu vu vu to throw.
D.7.4 Ubangi
1. Banda. The labial flap is found in ten of the eleven Banda subgroups. The
subgroup in which it is not attested is South Central Banda, which includes Langbashe
(Cloarec-Heiss 1978: 17). Grimes (1996) generally treats each of these subgroups as a
single language, and we have followed that convention here. Sources give evidence for
contrast in Banda-Bambari, Banda-Ndl, Mid-Southern Banda, and Mbandja. In most
languages it is considered common, and it is attested in over twenty-five lexical items in
Banda-Bambari, Banda-Banda, Banda-Mbrs, Mid-Southern Banda, Togbo-Vara Banda,
West Central Banda, and Mbandja. Tisserant (1931) considers the flap a fundamental
sound in Banda. In most languages it is attested in both word-initial and intervocalic
positions.
Tisserant (1931) provides numerous examples of the labial flap. He reports no
less than 33 examples of the sound which occur in the ensemble des dialectes, ou la
majeure partie dentre eux (p. 10). Of these examples, the flap is in word-initial position
in 15 of them and in word-medial position in 18. These examples are comprised of nouns,
verbs, adverbs, and one adjective. He does not explicitly mention dialects in the Banda-
Ndl, Banda-Yangere, or Southwestern (Ngbundu) groups, so it is not clear if these 33
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words are found in those subgroups. In addition to these 33 items, numerous additional
items containing the flap are cited for individual dialects.
Banda-Bambari [LIY] (Central African Republic). Tisserant (1930, 1931) (Linda,
Gbwende, Djyoeto, Ngapu, and Ndokpwa dialects), Cloarec-Heiss (1967, 1978, 1986)
(Linda dialect) and Moino (1988) (Linda dialect) attest a labiodental flap in Banda-
Bambari. Marcel Diki-Kidiri (per. comm.) notes that a bilabial variant is possible.
Cloarec-Heiss (1967) provides contrasts between the labiodental flap and other
labial consonants. She reports the following words: avra avra avra avra force, vire vire vire vire round, vi vi vi vi throw,
and va va va va send.
Banda-Banda [BPD] (Central African Republic, Sudan). Tisserant (1931) reports
a labiodental flap in Banda-Banda, Belingo, Ndi, Gbaga, Mbi, and Buru, all dialects of
Banda-Banda.
Banda-Mbrs [BQK] (Central African Republic). Tisserant (1931) reports a
labiodental flap in Moruba, Wada, Mbele, and Sabanga, all dialects of Banda-Mbrs.
Banda-Ndl [BFL]. (Sudan, Central African Republic). Sampson (1985) reports
a labiodental flap in the Tangbago dialect of Banda-Ndl. Moino (1988) reports the
sound in the Ngao dialect. Sampson provides contrast with other labial sounds in both
word-initial and intervocalic positions. He provides examples of both nouns and verbs
containing the sound: va va va va fight, split, avingi avingi avingi avingi wall plate, ava ava ava ava fighting, v5 v5 v5 v5 send, vi vi vi vi
throw.
Banda-Yangere [YAJ] (Central African Republic). Richardson (1957) and
Moino (1988) report a labiodental flap in Banda-Yangere. Moino attests it in the words
v5 v5 v5 v5 to send and vi vi vi vi to throw.
Banda, Mid-Southern [BJO] (Central African Republic, D.R. Congo). A labial
flap is reported in Mid-Southern Banda by Tisserant (1931) (Bongo, Wasa, Yakpwa,
Mono, and Ngobu dialects), Cloarec-Heiss (1978) (Ngundu, Gobu, Kpagua, and Yakpa
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dialects), Olson (1996) (Mono and Gobu dialects), Olson & Schrag (1997) (Mono
dialect), and Kamanda (1998) (Mono dialect). Olson & Schrag (1997) consider the sound
to be bilabial with a labiodental variant. In addition, there is a backing movement of the
tongue during the articulation of the sound. Evidence for the phonological status of the
labial flap in Mid-Southern Banda is given in Section D.5.2.
Banda, Togbo-Vara [TOR] (D. R. Congo, Central African Republic). A labial flap
is reported in Togbo-Vara Banda by Cotel (1907: x) (Togbo dialect), Tisserant (1931)
(Togbo and Vora dialects), Olson (1996) (Togbo dialect), and Moino (1988) (Vara
dialect). Cotel and Olson attest it in the words va va va va send and vi vi vi vi throw.
Banda, West Central [BBP] (Central African Republic). A labiodental flap is
reported in West Central Banda by Tisserant (1931) (Dakpwa dialect), Santandrea (1965:
28) (Golo dialect), Cloarec-Heiss (1978) (Gbi dialect), and Moino (1988) (Dakpa and
Wojo dialects). Santandrea attests it in the word va ngu va ngu va ngu va ngu swim. Moino attests it in the
words va va va va ~ vo vo vo vo send, kcva kcva kcva kcva war, vi vi vi vi throw, and ngivi ngivi ngivi ngivi navel.
Ngbundu [NUU] (D. R. Congo). A labiodental flap is reported in Ngbundu by
Cloarec-Heiss (1978).
Mbandja [ZMZ] (D. R. Congo, Central African Republic). A labial flap is
reported in Mbandja by Tisserant (1931), Tingbo (1978) (Balawo dialect), Cloarec-Heiss
(1978), and Moino (1988). Tingbo notes that the articulation is bilabial rather than
labiodental. He provides some evidence of contrast. The sound occurs in all major
grammatical categories, it is common, occurring in over 30 lexical items, and it can
appear in both word-initial and word-medial positions. Jim Fultz (per. comm.) attests the
sound the following lexical itemsnouns: awipga awipga awipga awipga rainbow, aw5 aw5 aw5 aw5 monster,
deweIe pgu deweIe pgu deweIe pgu deweIe pgu lake, nyaweIe nyaweIe nyaweIe nyaweIe young woman, wapga y5 wapga y5 wapga y5 wapga y5 cross, wcIa wcIa wcIa wcIa fishing basket,
and wuIu gu wuIu gu wuIu gu wuIu gu island; animal and plant names: kawa kawa kawa kawa type of tree, k5w5 k5w5 k5w5 k5w5 tortoise,
mbewe mbewe mbewe mbewe tse-tse fly, nckawaIa nckawaIa nckawaIa nckawaIa grasshopper, and wat5I5 wat5I5 wat5I5 wat5I5 bee; body parts: pgewe pgewe pgewe pgewe
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joint, pgeweIe pgeweIe pgeweIe pgeweIe ankle, and pgewene pgewene pgewene pgewene wrist; verbs: gawa gawa gawa gawa jam, kawa kawa kawa kawa break, uwu uwu uwu uwu
lift, wa wa wa wa send, wa wa wa wa knock down, waIo waIo waIo waIo be supple, wata wata wata wata uproot, we we we we spray, wepge wepge wepge wepge
shake, wi wi wi wi throw, wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi discuss, wuIu wuIu wuIu wuIu agitate, wupguIu wupguIu wupguIu wupguIu lament, and wuIu wuIu wuIu wuIu roll;
adjectives: wapga wapga wapga wapga alternate; adverbs: wiIigi wiIigi wiIigi wiIigi firmly; and ideophones: gb5w5 gb5w5 gb5w5 gb5w5 (with
throw).
2. Ngbandi-Sango-Kpatiri. Kpatili [KYM] (Central African Republic). Boyd
(1988: 38, 107, 119) reports a labial flap in Kpatiri. He attests it in the words vc vc vc vc to
throw, vutu vutu vutu vutu calf (anat.), and kava kava kava kava right.
3. Gbaya-Manza-Ngbaka. The labial flap is attested in four Gbaya-Manza-
Ngbaka languages. GrandEury (1991) provides evidence for contrast in Ngbaka-
Minagende, but she does not consider the sound to be phonemic since it only occurs in
ideophones. In the language group, the sound occurs in ideophones and animal names. It
is considered rare.
Gbaya-Bossangoa [GBP] (Central African Republic). A labiodental flap is
reported in Gbaya-Bossangoa by Samarin (1966: 26) and Moino (1995: 162-3). Samarin
reports it in the words guvuup guvuup guvuup guvuup a very deep place in a river, h5v5k h5v5k h5v5k h5v5k descriptive of
passing on or falling out of sight, h5v5v5 h5v5v5 h5v5v5 h5v5v5 exclamation of victory (at winning at a throw
of dice), vop vop vop vop descriptive of hitting something, gava gava gava gava fish-trapping ramp (used only at
the town of Bowe).
Gbaya, Northwest [GYA] (Cameroon, Central African Republic). A labiodental
flap is attested in Northwest Gbaya by Moino & Roulon (1972: 65) (Gbaya Kara 'Bodoe
dialect), Noss (1981: 9) (Yaayuwee dialect), and Moino (1995: 58). Noss considers the
sound a phoneme, but does not provide evidence of contrast. He attests the sound in two
ideophones: hivik hivik hivik hivik abrupt movement, and vaa vaa vaa vaa sound produced by tapping something
soft. Moino reports the following, all ideophones: vii vii vii vii noise of the fall of an object,
hovop hovop hovop hovop sheer, huvuvuvu huvuvuvu huvuvuvu huvuvuvu with a noise of breaking water. It is rare.
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Manza [MZV] (Central African Republic). A labiodental flap is reported in Manza
by Moino (1995: 216) (Manza de Mala) and Cloarec-Heiss (1998) (Manja). Moino
notes its occurrence in the words for kuvu kuvu kuvu kuvu snail, guvu-hic-hic guvu-hic-hic guvu-hic-hic guvu-hic-hic bird (sp.) and
b5ng5v b5ng5v b5ng5v b5ng5v 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 5ng5 agama lizard. It occurs in intervocalic position. It is rare.
Ngbaka [NGA] (D. R. Congo). GrandEury (1991: 99) and Timothy Assama
Mambo (per. comm.) report a labial flap in Ngbaka-Minagende. GrandEury considers
the sound labiodental, but Mambo considers it bilabial. GrandEury provides evidence of
contrast but notes that the sound is only found in ideophones. The sound is rare.
GrandEury reports the sound in the words vundu vundu vundu vundu type of fruit, kuvu kuvu kuvu kuvu swallow like a
pig, vondo-vondo vondo-vondo vondo-vondo vondo-vondo enlarging a circle. Mambo attests the sound in the ideophone we we we we
sound of an animal disappearing into the forest.
4. Sere-Ngbaka-Mba. The labial flap is found in at least six Sere-Ngbaka-Mba
languages. Evidence for contrast is given in Ndogo, and further research will likely show
contrast in most if not all of the rest of the six languages. It occurs in both nouns and
verbs in all of the languages, in adjectives as well in Sere and Tagbu, and in all
grammatical categories in Ndogo. It is attested in over 40 lexical items in Ndogo, in eight
lexical items in Sere, and in four or five lexical items in Bai, Feroge, Mangayat, and
Tagbu. It occurs in both word-initial and word-medial position in Ndogo.
Bai [BDJ] (Sudan). A labiodental flap is reported in Bai by Santandrea (1961: 13,
148ff) and Tucker & Bryan (1966: 92). Santandrea reports it in five words, including
both nouns and verbs: vi vi vi vi child, vi-Ii vi-Ii vi-Ii vi-Ii girl, vu vu vu vu grinding stone, va va va va(ta ta ta ta) fall (down),
bcIc vcrc bcIc vcrc bcIc vcrc bcIc vcrc lie.
Bangba [BBE] (D. R. Congo). Boone (1995: 52) reports a labial flap in Bangba.
3

He notes its existence in the lexical item -kovo -kovo -kovo -kovo to heal.

3
Boone (1995) refers to the flap as an unusual sound, which he writes as vh. We clarified via
personal communication that it is indeed a labial flap.

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Feroge [FER] (Sudan). Santandrea (1950: 21-30, 43-46) reports a labial flap in
Feroge. He notes its existence in the nouns dcvigi dcvigi dcvigi dcvigi arrow and kcva kcva kcva kcva water, and the
verbs vara vara vara vara to plaster, and vaga vaga vaga vaga(h hh h) to throw.
4

Mangayat [MYJ] (Sudan). Santandrea (1950: 21-30, 43-46; 1961: 171) reports a
labiodental flap in Mangayat. He notes its existence in the nouns gcvcgc gcvcgc gcvcgc gcvcgc arrow,
gcmap-kcva gcmap-kcva gcmap-kcva gcmap-kcva thirst, and (p pp p)kcva kcva kcva kcva water, and the verbs vara vara vara vara to plaster, and vaga vaga vaga vaga(h hh h) to
throw.
Ndogo [NDZ] (Sudan). A labiodental flap is reported in Ndogo by Tucker (1940:
65), Santandrea (1961: 13, 87, 148ff), Tucker & Bryan (1966: 90-107), Thelwall (1980:
80-81), Pozzati (1987), Constance Kutsch Lojenga (per. comm.), and Peter Rebigo &
Wanda Pace (per. comm.). Evidence for the phonological status of the labial flap in
Ndogo is given in Section D.5.2.
Sere [SWF] (D. R. Congo, Central African Republic). A labiodental flap is
reported in Sere by Santandrea (1961:13, 148ff), Tucker & Bryan (1966: 86-107), and
Thomas et al. (1976: 166). Santandrea notes its existence in eight lexical items, including
the nouns vcndi vcndi vcndi vcndi brother, vi vi vi vi ~ wi wi wi wi child, vi-ni vi-ni vi-ni vi-ni girl, tcvc tcvc tcvc tcvc mahogany, kovo kovo kovo kovo nose, and
tcvi tcvi tcvi tcvi grinding stone, the verb kava kava kava kava light, and the adjective ngova-ngova ngova-ngova ngova-ngova ngova-ngova fast (quick).
Tagbu [TBM] (D. R. Congo). A labiodental flap is reported in Tagbu by
Santandrea (1961: 13, 91, 148ff). He notes its existence in five lexical items: mo-vi-ni mo-vi-ni mo-vi-ni mo-vi-ni
girl, va va va va ask, va va va va(ta ta ta ta) throw (down), va va va va unripe, and va-ki-ngo va-ki-ngo va-ki-ngo va-ki-ngo beyond the river.
Dongo [DOO] (D. R. Congo). Pasch (1986: 179-180, 389) reports the phoneme
/t tt t/ in Dongo and attests it in the word t5-e t5-e t5-e t5-e to cut with a knife. Unfortunately, she does
not describe the sound represented by this symbol, but given the geographical location, it
is likely a labial flap.

4
Santandrea uses an umlaut to mark centralization of a vowel (Santandrea 1961: 7). Use of it over
the high vowels i and u indicates the lax counterparts, I II I and U UU U, respectively.
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Ngbaka-Mabo [NBM] (Central African Republic, D. R. Congo). Richardson
(1957: 91) reports a flapped v in Ngbaka-Mabo, and attests it in the word for nine.
However, Cloarec-Heiss (1998) states that this is erroneous.
5. Zande. Nzakara [NZK] (Central African Republic). Santandrea (1965: 28)
reports a labiodental flap in the word kcvc kcvc kcvc kcvc thorn in Nzakara.
D.7.5 Central Sudanic (West)
The labial flap is found in seven West Central Sudanic languages. No evidence
for contrast is given by the sources. The sound occurs mostly in nouns, and to a lesser
extent in verbs. It is attested in five lexical items in Sar and Yulu, and in fewer lexical
items in the remaining languages. Sources consider it to be phonemic in Kresh and Baka,
but the evidence for this is limited.
Aja [AJA] (Sudan). Cloarec-Heiss (1998) reports the labial flap in Aja.
Kresh [KRS] (Sudan). A labiodental flap is reported in Kresh by Westermann &
Ward (1933), Tucker (1940), Tucker & Bryan (1966: 63), and Brown (1991: 54, 63).
(Kreish). Westermann & Ward consider it rare, but Tucker & Bryan claim that it is
very common. Westermann & Ward attest it in the words gcvc gcvc gcvc gcvc arrow and gcvumu gcvumu gcvumu gcvumu to
shoot with a bow. Brown attests it in the word brutuvuIuvu ni brutuvuIuvu ni brutuvuIuvu ni brutuvuIuvu ni honey badger. He
considers it to be phonemic, but does not provide evidence of contrast.
Baka [BDH] (Sudan). Tucker & Bryan (1966: 63, 78) and Parker (1985: 65-6)
report the labial flap in Baka. Parker gives contrasts with other labial sounds, and he
considers it to be a phoneme. Tucker & Bryan attest it in the word deve deve deve deve break. Parker
attests it in the word vc vc vc vci i i i August. The sound is rare.
Gula [KCM] (Central African Republic, Sudan). Santandrea (1970) (Kara) and
Nougayrol (1999: 47) report a labiodental flap in Gula. Nougayrol includes it in his
consonant chart, but does not provide contrasts. He reports the sound is rare. Santandrea
reports it in the words vaIa vaIa vaIa vaIa ox and kivi kivi kivi kivi ~ kinvi kinvi kinvi kinvi hard sesame. Nougayrol reports it in
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the Mr dialect in the words nguva nguva nguva nguva, crowned crane, avu avu avu avu Its not true!, ngavar ngavar ngavar ngavar run-
off ditch, var var var var (imitation of the noise of a slap), avar avar avar avar (imitation of the trotting of a
donkey), and gavar gavar gavar gavar (expressing the sloshing of a liquid transported in a receptacle), and
in the Zura dialect in the word ngva ngva ngva ngva, crowned crane.
Morokodo [MGC] (Sudan). Tucker & Bryan (1966:63) report a labiodental flap in
Morokodo. It is rare. They do not provide any data.
Sar [MWM] (Chad). The labial flap is attested in Sar by Palayer (1970, 1992) and
Fournier (1977: 39). Both authors call it labiodental, but Fournier notes that the lower lip
flaps against the upper lip. The sound is rare. Palayer (1970) attests it in the lexical items
viw viw viw viw pile, va va va va explosion, vap vap vap vap resonance, vab vab vab vab tumbling, and vay vay vay vay banging.
Yulu [YUL] (Sudan, Central African Republic). Santandrea (1970) reports a
labiodental flap in Yulu (both Yulu and Binga dialects). He considers it less common
than in Ndogo. In Yulu, it is found in the words dcvidcvi dcvidcvi dcvidcvi dcvidcvi arrow, kava kava kava kava ashes,
bangovai bangovai bangovai bangovai bow, ng5vo ng5vo ng5vo ng5vo shield, sow-mbovo sow-mbovo sow-mbovo sow-mbovo madida, and nduvu nduvu nduvu nduvu ~ nduvu nduvu nduvu nduvu waterbuck.
In Binga, it is found in the word dcvi dcvi dcvi dcvi arrow.
D.7.6 Central Sudanic (East)
The labial flap is found in seven East Central Sudanic Languages. Evidence for
contrast is given for Mangbetu. It occurs in nouns, verbs, and numerals in Mangbetu, in
nouns and verbs in Lese, and in nouns in Asua, Lombi, and Mamvu. It is most common
in Mangbetu, but appears to be rare in the rest of the languages. It is usually found in
word-medial position.
Asua [ASV] (D. R. Congo). Tucker & Bryan (1966: 29) and Demolin (1988: 68)
report a labiodental flap in Asua in the word Iavie Iavie Iavie Iavie tail (Demolins transcription).
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Lombi [LMI] (D. R. Congo). Demolin (1988: 81, 83) reports a labial flap in
Lombi in the lexical items neivo neivo neivo neivo root, navi navi navi navi tail, and neteve neteve neteve neteve claw.
Mangbetu [MDJ] (D. R. Congo). The labial flap is attested in Mangbetu in Tucker
& Bryan (1966: 29), Larochette (1958) (Mangbetu and Meje dialects), Demolin (1988:
69, 81, 83) (Mangbetu and Makere dialects), McKee (1991) (Meje dialect), and Demolin
& Teston (1996).
Demolin & Teston (1996: 103) state that the articulation of the sound is a
labiodental flap with a bilabial variant. The bilabial variant can occur before a and o.
The articulation of the sound is the same in all the languages of the Moru-Mangbetu
group...where this sound is encountered (Efe, Lese, Mamvu, and most of the languages of
the Mangbetu group). They provide instrumental evidence to demonstrate that the sound
is not an implosive, contra Larochette (1958), and not a fricative, contra McKee (1991).
In addition, they note that there is a backing movement of the tongue (p. 110).
Evidence for the phonological status of the labial flap in Mangbetu is given in
Section D.5.2.
Efe [EFE] (D. R. Congo). Demolin & Teston (1996: 103) mention the occurrence
of the labial flap in Efe. However, no data are given.
Lese [LES] (D. R. Congo). A labiodental flap is reported in Lese by Tucker &
Bryan (1966: 35), Demolin & Teston (1996: 103) and Constance Kutsch Lojenga (per.
comm.). In comparing the labial flaps in Ndogo and Lese, Kutsch Lojenga observed that
the flap in Lese is weaker in that there is no actual contact between the articulators.
Tucker & Bryan attest it in the word vi vi vi vi gather. Kutsch Lojenga attests it in the words
vava vava vava vava stomach ailment, avi avi avi avi friend, and peve peve peve peve type of plant.
Mamvu [MDI] (D. R. Congo). Tucker & Bryan (1966: 29, 46) report a labiodental
flap in the words ava ava ava ava father and omo-eve omo-eve omo-eve omo-eve my body.
311

Mvuba [MXH] (D. R. Congo). Demolin (1988: 68) reports a labial flap in Mvuba.
No data are given.
D.7.7 Austronesian.
Sikka [SKI] (Indonesia). Donohue (to appear) reports a labiodental flap in Sikka.
He provides constrast with /b/ and /v/.
D.7.8 Other
There are other possible references to the labial flap in the literature, but more
research is necessary to determine if the sound is in fact found in these languages.
Greenberg (1983) cites Tucker & Bryan (1966) as attesting a labial flap in Mundu
[MUH] (Sudan, D. R. Congo), but we could not verify this claim.
Besides the languages mentioned above, Boyd (1974: 82-3) also lists Ngoumi,
Touboro, and Pandjama as containing the labial flap. It is likely that these are all dialects
of Karang.
Santandrea (1965: 28) reports a labiodental flap in the Gbu dialect of Banda. It is
unclear what the classification of the language is. He also mentions its existence in the
Ngala dialect of Banda (p. 16). Again, it is unclear what the classification of this
language is. The language is moribund.
Welmers (1973: 75) mentions a bilabial flap as an allophone of /b/ in Efik, but he
does not describe the articulation. This sound patterns similarly to alveolar and velar
flaps, which are allophones of /d/ and /g/, respectively.
Ladefoged (1971: 52) reports a voiced bilabial trill or flap in Ngwe [NWE], but
considers the articulation to be distinct from that of the labial flap in Margi and Shona.
See also Gregersen (1977: 31).
312

D.8 Conclusion
In this paper, we have documented the geographic and genetic distributions of the
labial flap, and have drawn generalizations concerning its articulation and phonological
status. It is most well-attested, both in terms of number of languages and number of items
in each language, in the Mbum-Day branch of Adamawa, and the Banda and Sere-
Ngbaka-Mba branches of Ubangi. In terms of articulatory parameters, the sound is in
most cases a voiced labiodental flap with egressive lung air.
The labial flap is definitely or probably a contrastive unit of speech in at least 25
languages. It can be readily incorporated into the phonological system of a language, and
it appears to have arisen independently in two geographically distant parts of the world. It
is our view that the sound should take its place among other speech sounds which are
limited geographically (such as clicks), but which need to be accounted for in the
development of phonetic and phonological theory.
The nearly comprehensive nature of our study aided us in setting forth reasonable
claims concerning the center location of the phenomenon, and a clear hypothesis
concerning its ultimate origin. However, further research will be necessary in order to
strengthen this claim.
We have tried to be as comprehensive as possible in our examination of the labial
flap in order to avoid the pitfalls encountered by Greenberg due to his limited sample.
However, because many of the languages investigated in this paper have not yet been
adequately described, this goal was not entirely realized. We hope that by pinpointing the
key issues surrounding the labial flap, African and Asian linguists will be aided in
carrying out their research on the subject, eventually leading to more complete and
accurate documentation of the phenomenon.

313


APPENDIX E
RECORDINGS

Labial flap
(1) Files
labfl1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
labfl2_11025.wav (Speaker A)
labfl3_11025.wav (Speaker A)
labfl4_11025.wav (Speaker K)
labfl5_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(2) jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc catfish
awctoro awctoro awctoro awctoro stick used in an animal trap
awi awi awi awi hyena (or some similar animal)
wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi thigh
witi witi witi witi calf
waIa waIa waIa waIa bone marrow
k kk ke e e e wa wa wa wa to send
k kk ke e e e wara wara wara wara to untie
k kk ke e e e w w w w i i i i to throw
ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri ndiwiri azu azu azu azu crowd
a aa awara wara wara wara brave, proud, haughty
wcgc wcgc wcgc wcgc hot
tcwc tcwc tcwc tcwc ant (big, black) (#0498)
wuruju wuruju wuruju wuruju dung beetle (#0507)
awcngc awcngc awcngc awcngc rainbow
t tt ti i i i nd nd nd ndi i i i wiri wiri wiri wiri circle, ring (#0803)
nd nd nd ndi i i i wa wa wa wa rubber (#0836)
k kk ke e e e wara wara wara wara t tt te e e e refuse (#1266)
k kk ke e e e kawa kawa kawa kawa to snap
k kk ke e e e kcwc kcwc kcwc kcwc to fold
kcwcto kcwcto kcwcto kcwcto be weak (#1702)
takawara takawara takawara takawara crooked, be (#1639)
w w w w i1i i1i i1i i1i throw out
5 5 5 5 I5 I5 I5 I5 to to to to wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc It's hot out.
me se me se me se me se k kk kez ez ez eza a a a w w w w i1i i1i i1i i1i Im throwing out something
(one thing, e.g. a piece of paper)
aw aw aw aw urungu urungu urungu urungu vehicle
kawangonda kawangonda kawangonda kawangonda place near Bili
wato wato wato wato termite (sp.)
314

Flap sentence
(3) File
labfl5_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(4) aja de ama aja de ama aja de ama aja de ama wa m wa m wa m wa me, me n e, me n e, me n e, me na a a a e e e e wara wara wara wara awa awa awa awa k kk ku n u n u n u ne e e e jc m jc m jc m jc me n e n e n e na a a a wara de wara de wara de wara de awctoto ne k5 awctoto ne k5 awctoto ne k5 awctoto ne k5
e g e g e g e gu za u za u za u za w w w w i i i i 1i 1i 1i 1i ti ti ti ti t tt te e e e awa. awa. awa. awa.
(NB: We did not obtain a free translation of this sentence.)
Labial-velar stops
(5) Files
lvstp1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
lvstp2_11025.wav (Speaker A)
lvstp3_11025.wav (Speaker A)
lvstp4_11025.wav (Speaker K)
lvstp5_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(6) songba songba songba songba flesh
ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi bone
t]agburu kumu t]agburu kumu t]agburu kumu t]agburu kumu top of head
gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo child
ngb5ng5 ngb5ng5 ngb5ng5 ngb5ng5 shin
gbangbaIc gbangbaIc gbangbaIc gbangbaIc baldness
agba agba agba agba tuft
ke ke ke ke gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 to harden
gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu gb5zu elder
agbivi agbivi agbivi agbivi pimple
gbada gbada gbada gbada crippled, be
jagb5zu jagb5zu jagb5zu jagb5zu old person
e e e e ngboro ngboro ngboro ngboro old person
n nn nikpi ikpi ikpi ikpi puff adder
kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi vulture
ngbingi ngbingi ngbingi ngbingi warthog
d dd d5k5I5ngba 5k5I5ngba 5k5I5ngba 5k5I5ngba scorpion (#0521)
gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto gbakoto anthill (#0548)
5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 5ngb5 banana (#0592)
gbaga gbaga gbaga gbaga groundnut
agbara agbara agbara agbara bridge (#0655)
gor gor gor gorokpa okpa okpa okpa cave (#0659)
5]5 5]5 5]5 5]5 adungbungbu adungbungbu adungbungbu adungbungbu erosion (#0714)
ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu dry season
jugu jugu jugu jugu kpikpikpi kpikpikpi kpikpikpi kpikpikpi hard wind (#0743)
ukpuIu ukpuIu ukpuIu ukpuIu heap (#0814)
ngbadc ngbadc ngbadc ngbadc pocket (#0829)
gbagba gbagba gbagba gbagba camp, pen, compound (#0857)
gbare gbare gbare gbare utensil (#0939)
angba angba angba angba theft
315

Implosives and labialization
(7) Files
implo1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
implo2_11025.wav (Speaker A)
implo3_11025.wav (Speaker A)
implo4_11025.wav (Speaker K)
implo5_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(8) k kk ke e e e b bb bi i i i to hit
k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 monkey
ngaba ngaba ngaba ngaba snail
Iabawo Iabawo Iabawo Iabawo flame (#0671)
bamb bamb bamb bambi i i i ja ja ja ja day after tomorrow (#0765)
bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a bambat]a tomorrow
gadc gadc gadc gadc what
ab ab ab abi i i i hammer (#1086)
k kk kegi k egi k egi k egi kuda uda uda uda pay (debt) (#1139)
edc edc edc edc who
bata bata bata bata where
baI baI baI baIe e e e inside (#1481)
ba]u ba]u ba]u ba]u outside (#1484)
nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu blunt, be (#1634)
bad5ng5r5 bad5ng5r5 bad5ng5r5 bad5ng5r5 throat

akwa akwa akwa akwa work
kwakwa kwakwa kwakwa kwakwa grasshopper
ngware ngware ngware ngware seed
k kk kegw egw egw egwa a a a pack (#1011)
gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa gb5kwakwa hard, be (#1657)
angwa angwa angwa angwa seed
akwara akwara akwara akwara type of bean
Miscellaneous phrases (a)
(9) File
misc1a_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(10) Labial flap
5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 to to to to wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc wcgc-wcgc Its hot out.
me se kez me se kez me se kez me se keza a a a w w w w i1i i1i i1i i1i Im throwing out something.
(one thing, e.g. a piece of paper)

(11) Enya
javuru s javuru s javuru s javuru se keni e keni e keni e keni t tt ten en en ene e e e It's raining.
me me me me a a a a I II Ie me e me e me e me I'm having patience.

(12) a aa a c cc c in janu janu janu janu
janu s janu s janu s janu se ked e ked e ked e kedc garanga c garanga c garanga c garanga The bird is pecking manioc.
316

(13) High front rounded vowel |t]y]
t]e t]e t]e t]e t]u t]u t]u t]u I II Iib ib ib ibi i i i He died yesterday.

(14) Vowel nasalization
me se kem me se kem me se kem me se kem5 5 5 5 5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5 I am laughing. (orig: 5m5 5m5 5m5 5m5)
1 11 1a s a s a s a se ked e ked e ked e kedu m u m u m u m5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 We are playing.
Miscellaneous phrases (b)
(15) File
misc1b_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(16) t]e wu s t]e wu s t]e wu s t]e wu se kep e kep e kep e kepa a a a Mono ono ono ono He knows how to speak Mono.
kumu m kumu m kumu m kumu me k e k e k e ka m a m a m a me w e w e w e waa aa aa aa I have a headache.'
...v ...v ...v ...vot5, vana, minduu ot5, vana, minduu ot5, vana, minduu ot5, vana, minduu ...three, four, five...
me se ken me se ken me se ken me se kena a a a ana ana ana ana Im going on a trip. (orig: ana ana ana ana)
[me n me n me n me na a a a ana ana ana ana ana ana ana ana = Nakendaka mobembo]
me w me w me w me wu-wu s u-wu s u-wu s u-wu se n e n e n e ne n e n e n e nen en en enc c c c I dont know.
Miscellaneous phrases (c)
(17) File
misc1c_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(18) Does 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 become oIo oIo oIo oIo in the plural?
me n me n me n me na a a a ana ana ana ana mbere mbere mbere mbere 5I5 baIc 5I5 baIc 5I5 baIc 5I5 baIc I went on a trip for one day.
me n me n me n me na a a a ana ana ana ana mbere mbere mbere mbere 5I5 bi]a 5I5 bi]a 5I5 bi]a 5I5 bi]a I went on a trip for two days.
me n me n me n me na a a a ana ana ana ana mbere mbere mbere mbere 5I5 vot5 5I5 vot5 5I5 vot5 5I5 vot5 I went on a trip for three days.

(19) Tone
kaa-ka tca]o kaa-ka tca]o kaa-ka tca]o kaa-ka tca]o Wait a minute.
b bb be na gaI e na gaI e na gaI e na gaIe k e k e k e kindi de indi de indi de indi de 5I5 gadc 5I5 gadc 5I5 gadc 5I5 gadc When do you (habitually) go to the
field?
Miscellaneous phrases (d)
(20) File
misc1d_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(21) endc s endc s endc s endc se ke e ke e ke e ke kwaa-kwa ng5ng5 ne kwaa-kwa ng5ng5 ne kwaa-kwa ng5ng5 ne kwaa-kwa ng5ng5 ne as as as ase e e e They will come back here now.
e e e e ]uu-]u ]uu-]u ]uu-]u ]uu-]u It is bitter
e e e e kpii-kp kpii-kp kpii-kp kpii-kpi i i i It is tart.
e e e e gjaa-g gjaa-g gjaa-g gjaa-gja ja ja ja It is hard.
za za za za ungu I ungu I ungu I ungu Ie me, me e me, me e me, me e me, me ndo ndo ndo ndo Give me water to drink.
Miscellaneous phrases (e)
(22) File
misc1e_11025.wav (Speaker K)


317

(23) Secondary articulations
me se k me se k me se k me se kegw egw egw egwa a a a agja agja agja agja Im packaging some meat (orig: agja agja agja agja)
me se kegw me se kegw me se kegw me se kegwaa-gwa mpondu aa-gwa mpondu aa-gwa mpondu aa-gwa mpondu Nalingi kosala mpondu ya liboke.
t] t] t] t]e e e e Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu jc s jc s jc s jc se e e e te hao ne te hao ne te hao ne te hao ne He gets mad easily. (orig: t] t] t] t]e e e e Iosu Iosu Iosu Iosu)
Liquids (CV
1
LV
1
)
(24) File
liqui1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
liqui2_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(25) CV
1
LV
1
CLV
i i i i ] ]] ]ir ir ir iri i i i shadow
watcre watcre watcre watcre bee
ingbiri ingbiri ingbiri ingbiri salt
ebere ebere ebere ebere quarrel
agbara agbara agbara agbara bridge
jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu goat
javoro javoro javoro javoro dog
ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 throat
ahara ahara ahara ahara dry
akwara akwara akwara akwara chick peas
a1 a1 a1 a1jara jara jara jara small (pl.)
jarako jarako jarako jarako iron
oporo oporo oporo oporo egg
awctoro awctoro awctoro awctoro stick used for an animal trap
badoro badoro badoro badoro sweet potato
ondoro ondoro ondoro ondoro dew
ooro ooro ooro ooro fat
jakoro jakoro jakoro jakoro snake
ogoro ogoro ogoro ogoro hole
okporo okporo okporo okporo true
ogboro ogboro ogboro ogboro large (pl)
kak kak kak kaki i i i I II Ii i i i basket
jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc jawcIc catfish
k kk kikiIi ikiIi ikiIi ikiIi heavy
gbct] gbct] gbct] gbct]e e e e I II Ie e e e hope
ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa type of dance
abanguIu abanguIu abanguIu abanguIu sugar cane
t]5ngb5I5 t]5ngb5I5 t]5ngb5I5 t]5ngb5I5 stick for sowing seeds
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa elephant
gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo child
gcIc gcIc gcIc gcIc left
muru muru muru muru leopard
Leftward vowel spreading/Vowel hiatus
(26) Files
left1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
left2_11025.wav (Speaker K)
318


(27) Leftward vowel spreading
me se kevi me se kevi me se kevi me se kevi ipi. ipi. ipi. ipi. Im dancing.
me se kek me se kek me se kek me se keki i i i. Im crying.
me se ke me se ke me se ke me se ke u u u u. Im burning.
me se ked me se ked me se ked me se kedc c c c. Im chopping.
me se kek me se kek me se kek me se keko va1c o va1c o va1c o va1c. Im gathering stuff to throw away.
me se ken me se ken me se ken me se kena a a a ana ana ana ana. Im traveling.
me se ke me se ke me se ke me se ke t5 t5 t5 t5 ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo. Im forging.
me se kew me se kew me se kew me se kewa a a a. Im cutting.
me se ke me se ke me se ke me se ke ja ja ja ja t tt te-me e-me e-me e-me. Im resting.
me se ke me se ke me se ke me se ke kwa kwa kwa kwa. Im returning.
me se kegj me se kegj me se kegj me se kegja ware a ware a ware a ware. Im stirring manioc.
be r be r be r be ro o o o bata bata bata bata Where are you going?
me se kew me se kew me se kew me se kewus us us usen en en ene e e e. Im understanding.

(28) Vowel hiatus
n nn na de a de a de a de 5t]5 ne 5t]5 ne 5t]5 ne 5t]5 ne. Go well.
me g me g me g me gu u u u jc jc jc jc. Ive returned.
me b me b me b me baIa aIa aIa aIa be be be be ata ata ata ata. I greet you, also.
me me me me kpa-Iu kpa-Iu kpa-Iu kpa-Iu anga ne anga ne anga ne anga ne. I planted more again.
Proverbs
(29) Files
prov1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
prov2_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(30) See Appendix A
Mono vowels in isolation
(31) File
vowel1_11025.wav (Speakers A & K)

(32) i a o 5 u i c e i a o 5 u i c e i a o 5 u i c e i a o 5 u i c e
Mono consonants in aCa frame
(33) Files
cons1_11025.wav (Speaker A)
cons2_11025.wav (Speaker K)

(34) apa aba amba ata ada anda aka aga anga akpa agba angba apa aba amba ata ada anda aka aga anga akpa agba angba apa aba amba ata ada anda aka aga anga akpa agba angba apa aba amba ata ada anda aka aga anga akpa agba angba
ama ana ama ana ama ana ama ana aIa ava aIa ara awa aja a1a at]a ada anda aba aIa ava aIa ara awa aja a1a at]a ada anda aba aIa ava aIa ara awa aja a1a at]a ada anda aba aIa ava aIa ara awa aja a1a at]a ada anda aba
ada asa aza a]a a ada asa aza a]a a ada asa aza a]a a ada asa aza a]a aa awa aha a awa aha a awa aha a awa aha
Labial contrasts
(35) File
labcont1_11025.wav (Speakers A & K)
319

(36) wa wa wa wa send
bata bata bata bata where
b bb baIa aIa aIa aIa plus tard
mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa mbaIa elephant
I II Ia a a a cook
v vv va a a a pour
m mm ma a a a show
bata bata bata bata comme
MbaIa, bakong5, baIa, bakong5, baIa, bakong5, baIa, bakong5, e e e e d dd de e e e k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5
(37) Files
mbkown1_11025.wav
mbkown1_11025.wav
mbkrd1_11025.wav
mbkrd2_11025.wav
mbkrd3_11025.wav
random1a_11025.wav
random1b_11025.wav
random1c_11025.wav
random1d_11025.wav
random2a_11025.wav
random2b_11025.wav
random2c_11025.wav
random2d_11025.wav

(38) See Appendix A
a. Own words. Speakers A and K said story in their own words.
b. Paragraph format. Speakers A and K read story.
a. Sentence by sentence format. Speakers A and K were presented these in a non-
scientifically randomized order. The order was the same for each of them.
200-item word list
(39) Files
001.wav (Speaker M)
026.wav (Speaker M)
051.wav (Speaker M)
076.wav (Speaker M)
101.wav (Speaker M)
126.wav (Speaker M)
151.wav (Speaker M)
176.wav (Speaker M)
201.wav (Speaker M)

(40) See Appendix in Olson (1996)
320

Phrases (Speaker M)
(41) Files
ph01.wav (Speaker M)
ph26.wav (Speaker M)

(42) aja, me baIa be aja, me baIa be aja, me baIa be aja, me baIa be I greet you, brother.
ee, me baIa be ata aja ee, me baIa be ata aja ee, me baIa be ata aja ee, me baIa be ata aja I greet you, also, brother.
kotoo kotoo kotoo kotoo How are you?
ere gu-gu ncnc ere gu-gu ncnc ere gu-gu ncnc ere gu-gu ncnc Im fine (lit: there are no issues.
be se ze a be se ze a be se ze a be se ze a lit: You are?
ee, me se ze ee, me se ze ee, me se ze ee, me se ze lit: Yes, I am.
be to bata a gu a be to bata a gu a be to bata a gu a be to bata a gu a Where are you coming from?
me to baIe kindi a gu ase-me me to baIe kindi a gu ase-me me to baIe kindi a gu ase-me me to baIe kindi a gu ase-me Im coming from the field and
going home.
me to bande akcIo me to bande akcIo me to bande akcIo me to bande akcIo Ive coming from Kelo.
be se kena bata be se kena bata be se kena bata be se kena bata Where are you going?
me se kena gaIe anda 5j5 me se kena gaIe anda 5j5 me se kena gaIe anda 5j5 me se kena gaIe anda 5j5 Im going to the hospital.
be se kembere gadc be se kembere gadc be se kembere gadc be se kembere gadc What are you doing?
me se gbaamba ne me se gbaamba ne me se gbaamba ne me se gbaamba ne Im doing nothing
me gu da jc me gu da jc me gu da jc me gu da jc Im going home.
gu de 5t]5 ne gu de 5t]5 ne gu de 5t]5 ne gu de 5t]5 ne lit: Go well.
be gu de 5t]5 n be gu de 5t]5 n be gu de 5t]5 n be gu de 5t]5 ne e e e lit: You go well.
kugu be da a kugu be da a kugu be da a kugu be da a Are you going home?
ee, kugu me de-me ee, kugu me de-me ee, kugu me de-me ee, kugu me de-me Yes, Im going home.
me gu jc me gu jc me gu jc me gu jc Ive returned.
aja me ji nde kuju be aja me ji nde kuju be aja me ji nde kuju be aja me ji nde kuju be Brother, Id like to ask you something.
wu ju me wu ju me wu ju me wu ju me Forgive me.
1a Ii 1a Ii 1a Ii 1a Ii gasenda gasenda gasenda gasenda Lets go inside.
se gati se gati se gati se gati Have a seat.
i1iri me kede mbakuwusc i1iri me kede mbakuwusc i1iri me kede mbakuwusc i1iri me kede mbakuwusc My name is Mbakuwuse.
me na Iibi gande agaraba me na Iibi gande agaraba me na Iibi gande agaraba me na Iibi gande agaraba I went to Garaba yesterday.
me na bambat]a gande agaraba me na bambat]a gande agaraba me na bambat]a gande agaraba me na bambat]a gande agaraba Im going to Garaba tomorrow.
me wa o]o Ie awo me gande agaraba me wa o]o Ie awo me gande agaraba me wa o]o Ie awo me gande agaraba me wa o]o Ie awo me gande agaraba I sent a message to my wife in Garaba.
t]eIe ma jc kpaha t]eIe ma jc kpaha t]eIe ma jc kpaha t]eIe ma jc kpaha He has a wide mouth.
hcrcIa manda hcrcIa manda hcrcIa manda hcrcIa manda lock
ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja ngbaIjaIja November
be kegu be baIe awo ze Ie me be kegu be baIe awo ze Ie me be kegu be baIe awo ze Ie me be kegu be baIe awo ze Ie me If you go home, greet your wife for
me.
ndokpa de minduu de amane baIc ndokpa de minduu de amane baIc ndokpa de minduu de amane baIc ndokpa de minduu de amane baIc 16
ungu kendo tene sepc tca]o ungu kendo tene sepc tca]o ungu kendo tene sepc tca]o ungu kendo tene sepc tca]o Theres a bit of drinking water left.
Iurut]a ka jc Iurut]a ka jc Iurut]a ka jc Iurut]a ka jc Were out of soap.
me ji nde kejuto kote me me ji nde kejuto kote me me ji nde kejuto kote me me ji nde kejuto kote me I want to take a bath.
kumu me ka me waa kumu me ka me waa kumu me ka me waa kumu me ka me waa Ive got a headache.
ase kede gadc ase kede gadc ase kede gadc ase kede gadc What is that?
gadc da a gadc da a gadc da a gadc da a What is that?
a t]e se kede cdc a t]e se kede cdc a t]e se kede cdc a t]e se kede cdc Who is that?
me di-di nenc me di-di nenc me di-di nenc me di-di nenc I didnt hear.
321

me wu se ne ncnc me wu se ne ncnc me wu se ne ncnc me wu se ne ncnc I dont know.
1a 1a 1a 1a wuta gau]u wuta gau]u wuta gau]u wuta gau]u Lets go outside.
ete ne de-me ete ne de-me ete ne de-me ete ne de-me Thats right.
o]o k5r5 jc a o]o k5r5 jc a o]o k5r5 jc a o]o k5r5 jc a Good morning.
ada upu a ada upu a ada upu a ada upu a Isnt that so true?
e ga wa e ga wa e ga wa e ga wa Its good.
ungu ase t]5 wa ungu ase t]5 wa ungu ase t]5 wa ungu ase t]5 wa This is good water.


322


APPENDIX F
ADDITIONAL TABLES

Table F.1: Consonant-vowel co-occurrences (cf. Chapter 2)
1. Labial consonants
(1) Contrasts between labial consonants in word-initial position.
a. Labial consonants before i ii i:
b bi bi bi bi hit
p pi pi pi pi stick
b bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a two
mb mbikpa mbikpa mbikpa mbikpa whitish
I -
v vi vi vi vi dance
m mi mi mi mi bother
w wi wi wi wi throw
b. Labial consonants before c cc c:
b -
p pc pc pc pc winnow
b bc bc bc bc swell
mb mbcpa mbcpa mbcpa mbcpa dove
I Ic Ic Ic Ic shell
v vc vc vc vc hit
m mcre mcre mcre mcre swell
w wcgc wcgc wcgc wcgc hot
c. Labial consonants before i ii i:
b -
p pingiwi pingiwi pingiwi pingiwi suddenly
b biIi biIi biIi biIi incite
mb mbimbi mbimbi mbimbi mbimbi spy
I -
v vivi vivi vivi vivi ant sp.
m mi mi mi mi counsel
w wiIi wiIi wiIi wiIi calf
323

Table F.1, continued.

d. Labial consonants before e ee e:
b be be be be 2SG
p -
b -
mb mbere mbere mbere mbere do
I Ie Ie Ie Ie for
v -
m me me me me 1SG
w were were were were roll
(Kamanda 1998: 141)
e. Labial consonants before a aa a:
b ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie ba-Ie at
p pa pa pa pa say
b bada bada bada bada rock
mb mbata mbata mbata mbata stool
I Ia Ia Ia Ia become
v va va va va pour
m ma ma ma ma show
w wa wa wa wa send
f. Labial consonants before u uu u:
b -
p pu pu pu pu shake hands
b bu bu bu bu make black
mb mbugu mbugu mbugu mbugu year
I Iu Iu Iu Iu be rotten
v vu vu vu vu close
m muru muru muru muru leopard
w wuruju wuruju wuruju wuruju dung beetle
g. Labial consonants before o oo o:
b -
p pododo pododo pododo pododo narrow
b -
mb -
I Io Io Io Io up
v voka voka voka voka nape
m moropago moropago moropago moropago traveler
w -
h. Labial consonants before 5 55 5:
b -
p p5tu p5tu p5tu p5tu sharp
b b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 tobacco
mb -
I -
v -
m m5 m5 m5 m5 be tired
w -
324

Table F.1, continued.

(2) Contrasts between labial consonants in word-medial position
a. Labial consonants before i ii i:
b ng ng ng ngbabi babi babi babi bone
p ipi ipi ipi ipi dance
b kaIabi kaIabi kaIabi kaIabi head pad
mb bambija bambija bambija bambija day after tomorrow
I -
v ke-vi ke-vi ke-vi ke-vi to dance
m ke-mi ke-mi ke-mi ke-mi to bother, to grow
w angb5 buwiIi angb5 buwiIi angb5 buwiIi angb5 buwiIi banana sp.
b. Labial consonants before c cc c:
b -
p dcpc dcpc dcpc dcpc fish scale
b cbc cbc cbc cbc liver
mb ngombc ngombc ngombc ngombc gun
I kaIcc kaIcc kaIcc kaIcc coffee
(loan word from French)
v ndcvc ndcvc ndcvc ndcvc mane
m amcndc amcndc amcndc amcndc glue
w kcwc kcwc kcwc kcwc fold
c. Labial consonants before i ii i:
b -
p ipi ipi ipi ipi ~ upu upu upu upu matter
b ndibida ndibida ndibida ndibida heel
mb imbiIi imbiIi imbiIi imbiIi needle
I -
v agbivi agbivi agbivi agbivi pimple
m imi imi imi imi thick
w awi awi awi awi hyena
d. Labial consonants before e ee e:
b ebe ebe ebe ebe 2SG
p pupeIe pupeIe pupeIe pupeIe kapok
(Kamanda 1998: 133)
b ebere ebere ebere ebere quarrel
mb ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere ke-mbere to do
I -
v -
m game game game game here
w -
325

Table F.1, continued.

e. Labial consonants before a aa a:
b koba koba koba koba illness
p apa apa apa apa tsetse fly
b Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba clothes
mb kamba kamba kamba kamba knife
I aji IcIa aji IcIa aji IcIa aji IcIa mid-wife
v gava gava gava gava panther
m guma guma guma guma prepare
w kawa kawa kawa kawa gruel
f. Labial consonants before u uu u:
b nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu nduburubu blunt
p japu japu japu japu moon, month
b jaburu jaburu jaburu jaburu goat
mb jamburu jamburu jamburu jamburu cooking stones
I t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu smell, odor
v gbadavu gbadavu gbadavu gbadavu fatness
m kumu kumu kumu kumu head
w awurungu awurungu awurungu awurungu vehicle
g. Labial consonants before o oo o:
b Iaboto Iaboto Iaboto Iaboto millet beer
p ngapo ngapo ngapo ngapo hoe
b bobo bobo bobo bobo termite
mb Iambo Iambo Iambo Iambo abcess
I taIo taIo taIo taIo new
v javoro javoro javoro javoro dog
m domoto domoto domoto domoto tomato
(loan word from French)
w -
h. Labial consonants before 5 55 5:
b -
p ke-p5 ke-p5 ke-p5 ke-p5 press
b -
mb -
I -
v -
m kem5 kem5 kem5 kem5 fatigue
w -
326

Table F.1, continued.

2. Alveolar Consonants
(3) Contrasts between alveolar consonants in word-initial position
a. Alveolar consonants before i ii i:
d -
t tima tima tima tima tongue
d di di di di be tangled
nd ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa rubber
s -
z -
n ni ni ni ni ~ i i i i defecate
r ri ri ri ri jump
I Ii Ii Ii Ii enter
b. Alveolar consonants before c cc c:
d -
t tc tc tc tc fall, drop
d dc dc dc dc chop
nd ndcvc ndcvc ndcvc ndcvc mane
s scpc scpc scpc scpc ~ sepc sepc sepc sepc stay
z -
n ncnc ncnc ncnc ncnc ~ nenc nenc nenc nenc not
r -
I Ic Ic Ic Ic bear fruit
c. Alveolar consonants before i ii i:
d -
t ti ti ti ti pick up
d di di di di count
nd ndi ndi ndi ndi spoil
s -
z zi zi zi zi eat
n nikpi nikpi nikpi nikpi puff adder
r -
I Ii Ii Ii Ii cut, share
d. Alveolar consonants before e ee e:
d -
t te te te te REFL
d de de de de be (equative)
nd nde nde nde nde at the home of
s se se se se be (existential)
z ze ze ze ze 2SG
n ne ne ne ne DET
r re na re na re na re na crush
I Ie Ie Ie Ie be (existential plural)
327

Table F.1, continued.

e. Alveolar consonants before a aa a:
d -
t ta ta ta ta cut
d da da da da slap
nd ndaba ndaba ndaba ndaba table
s sa sa sa sa leak
z za za za za give, take
n na na na na go, come
r rawa rawa rawa rawa yell
I Ia Ia Ia Ia lick
f. Alveolar consonants before u uu u:
d -
t tu tu tu tu throw
d du du du du tether
nd ndu ndu ndu ndu be sweet
s su su su su draw (water)
z zu zu zu zu give birth
n -
r ru ru ru ru go out
I Iu Iu Iu Iu plant
g. Alveolar consonants before o oo o:
d -
t to to to to give
d do do do do become a fool
nd ndo ndo ndo ndo approach
s soro soro soro soro life
z zo zo zo zo grill, roast
n -
r ro ro ro ro pass
I Io Io Io Io lie down
h. Alveolar consonants before 5 55 5:
d -
t t5 t5 t5 t5 forge
d d5 d5 d5 d5 stomp
nd nd5k5 nd5k5 nd5k5 nd5k5 flower
s s5 s5 s5 s5 harvest
z -
n n5 n5 n5 n5 pluck
r -
I I5g I5g I5g I5gb5d5 b5d5 b5d5 b5d5 trousers
328

Table F.1, continued.

(4) Contrasts between alveolar consonants in word-medial position
a. Alveolar consonants before i ii i:
d -
t kiti kiti kiti kiti squirrel
d komadiri komadiri komadiri komadiri hawk
nd kundi kundi kundi kundi harp
s -
z -
n kuni kuni kuni kuni right
r ke-ri ke-ri ke-ri ke-ri to jump
I aIi aIi aIi aIi first thing
b. Alveolar consonants before c cc c:
d cdc cdc cdc cdc who
t dcngctc dcngctc dcngctc dcngctc pepper
d adcng5 adcng5 adcng5 adcng5 bend
nd amcndc amcndc amcndc amcndc glue
s ke-scpc ke-scpc ke-scpc ke-scpc ~ ke-sepc ke-sepc ke-sepc ke-sepc stay
z -
n gcnc gcnc gcnc gcnc guest, stranger
r angcrcpc angcrcpc angcrcpc angcrcpc star
I baIc baIc baIc baIc one
c. Alveolar consonants before i ii i:
d -
t aji wuti aji wuti aji wuti aji wuti beggar
d idi idi idi idi horn, antler
nd kindi kindi kindi kindi field
s -
z izi izi izi izi cold
n jini jini jini jini husbands mother; daughter-in-law
r giri]i giri]i giri]i giri]i bile, gall bladder
I imbiIi imbiIi imbiIi imbiIi needle
d. Alveolar consonants before e ee e:
d -
t kote kote kote kote body
d ede ede ede ede and
nd ende ende ende ende mark
s ese ese ese ese place, point
z aze aze aze aze 1PL.INCL
n ene ene ene ene of
r ere ere ere ere thing
I keIe keIe keIe keIe ~ kcIe kcIe kcIe kcIe spoon
329

Table F.1, continued.

e. Alveolar consonants before a aa a:
d ku ku ku kuda da da da debt
t kota kota kota kota large river, sea
d kada kada kada kada oil, grease
nd manda manda manda manda door
s gosa gosa gosa gosa green vegetable sp.
z mbaza mbaza mbaza mbaza xylophone
n vana vana vana vana four
r bamara bamara bamara bamara lion
I ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa ambaIa bait
f. Alveolar consonants before u uu u:
d -
t bitu bitu bitu bitu deaf
d budu budu budu budu bottom
nd mindu mindu mindu mindu sand
s gusu gusu gusu gusu grass, bushland
z kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu death
n unu unu unu unu sesame
r biruIu biruIu biruIu biruIu porcupine
I biruIu biruIu biruIu biruIu porcupine
g. Alveolar consonants before o oo o:
d angbodo angbodo angbodo angbodo louse
(Kamanda 1998: 134)
t oto oto oto oto clay
d gbado gbado gbado gbado grub
nd ondo ondo ondo ondo short
s kaso kaso kaso kaso ~ k5so k5so k5so k5so squash
z ozo ozo ozo ozo root
n mono mono mono mono Mono
r doro doro doro doro sorghum
I gboIo gboIo gboIo gboIo child
h. Alveolar consonants before 5 55 5:
d k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 monkey
t dit5 dit5 dit5 dit5 ~ dut5 dut5 dut5 dut5 wash
d 5d5 5d5 5d5 5d5 laziness
nd ajond5 ajond5 ajond5 ajond5 first wife
s 5s5 5s5 5s5 5s5 elephant trunk
z aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 aIcdoz5 hail
n k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 k5n5 hippopotamus
r ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 ang5r5 throat
I m5I5 m5I5 m5I5 m5I5 playing
330

Table F.1, continued.

3. Palatal Consonants
(5) Contrasts between palatal consonants in word-initial position
a. Palatal consonants before i ii i:
t] t]i t]i t]i t]i shine
d di di di di sense
nd ndi ndi ndi ndi be straight
] ]i ]i ]i ]i plant
i i i i belch
i i i i ~ ni ni ni ni rain
j ji ji ji ji enter
b. Palatal consonants before c cc c:
t] t]ct]cre t]ct]cre t]ct]cre t]ct]cre tick
d dc dc dc dc coil
nd ndc ndc ndc ndc also
] ]c ]c ]c ]c heal
c c c c grovel
-
j jc jc jc jc EMPH
c. Palatal consonants before i ii i:
t] -
d -
nd -
] ]iku ]iku ]iku ]iku ~ ]iku ]iku ]iku ]iku scar
-
-
j -
d. Palatal consonants before e ee e:
t] t]e t]e t]e t]e 3SG
d -
nd -
] ]eta ]eta ]eta ]eta ~ ]cta ]cta ]cta ]cta intestines
-
-
j -
e. Palatal consonants before a aa a:
t] t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu t]aIu smell
d da da da da spot
nd nda nda nda nda vomit
] ]ara ]ara ]ara ]ara give doubt
-
a a a a have patience
j ja ja ja ja rest
331

Table F.1, continued.

f. Palatal consonants before u uu u:
t] t]u t]u t]u t]u die
d -
nd -
] ]u ]u ]u ]u be bitter
u u u u burn
-
j ju ju ju ju ask
g. Palatal consonants before o oo o:
t] -
d do do do do cultivate
nd ndo ndo ndo ndo drink
] ]o ]o ]o ]o burn
o o o o wake up
-
j jo jo jo jo abstain
h. Palatal consonants before 5 55 5:
t] t]5 t]5 t]5 t]5 taste good
d -
nd nd5 nd5 nd5 nd5 scratch
] -
-
-
j j5 j5 j5 j5 buy

(6) Contrasts between palatal consonants in word-medial position
a. Palatal consonants before i ii i:
t] it]i it]i it]i it]i song
d akidi akidi akidi akidi bead
nd ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi ngbandi rust
] ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i ngu]i saliva
ii ii ii ii tooth, tusk
ke-i ke-i ke-i ke-i ~ ke-ni ke-ni ke-ni ke-ni to rain
j aji aji aji aji mother
b. Palatal consonants before c cc c:
t] -
d gbadcc gbadcc gbadcc gbadcc pineapple
nd endc endc endc endc 3PL
] ko]c ko]c ko]c ko]c war
cc cc cc cc caterpillar
-
j ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 ajcng5 person
332

Table F.1, continued.

c. Palatal consonants before i ii i:
t] -
d -
nd -
] -
-
-
j -
d. Palatal consonants before e ee e:
t] gbc-t]e-Ie gbc-t]e-Ie gbc-t]e-Ie gbc-t]e-Ie hope, thought
d -
nd -
] -
-
-
j -
e. Palatal consonants before a aa a:
t] Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a Iurut]a soap
d bada bada bada bada stone, rock
nd ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda ngcnda money, silver
] bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a two
gua gua gua gua house rat
(Kamanda 1998: 140)
gaa gaa gaa gaa branch
j mbcja mbcja mbcja mbcja in-law
f. Palatal consonants before u uu u:
t] t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u t]at]u face
d adukuma adukuma adukuma adukuma ghost, ogre
nd mbundu mbundu mbundu mbundu foreigner
] u]u u]u u]u u]u bitterness
ke-u ke-u ke-u ke-u to burn
-
j duju duju duju duju ancestor
g. Palatal consonants before o oo o:
t] at]o at]o at]o at]o louse
d pododo pododo pododo pododo narrow
nd ngbondo ngbondo ngbondo ngbondo frame
] tca]o tca]o tca]o tca]o small
ooro ooro ooro ooro fat
-
j gojo gojo gojo gojo goiter, crop
333

Table F.1, continued.

h. Palatal consonants before 5 55 5:
t] but]5 but]5 but]5 but]5 darkness, night
d k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 lizard
nd -
] gb5]5 gb5]5 gb5]5 gb5]5 bedroom
-
-
j 5j5 5j5 5j5 5j5 tree

4. Velar and Glottal Consonants
(7) Contrasts between velar and glottal consonants in word-initial position
a. Velar/glottal consonants before i ii i:
1 1i 1i 1i 1i attach
k ki ki ki ki be sharp
g gi gi gi gi push, return
ng ngima ngima ngima ngima palm tree
h -
b. Velar/glottal consonants before c cc c:
1 1c 1c 1c 1c call
k kcka kcka kcka kcka hatch
g gcre gcre gcre gcre grow
ng ngcsa ngcsa ngcsa ngcsa rope
h hcrc hcrc hcrc hcrc sharp
c. Velar/glottal consonants before i ii i:
1 1iri 1iri 1iri 1iri rub
k ki ki ki ki cry
g gi gi gi gi sow
ng ngiri ngiri ngiri ngiri snore
h -
d. Velar/glottal consonants before e ee e:
1 -
k keIe keIe keIe keIe spoon
g -
ng -
h -
e. Velar/glottal consonants before a aa a:
1 1a 1a 1a 1a suck
k ka ka ka ka be finished
g g gg ga aa a be good
ng nga nga nga nga bark
h haga haga haga haga hard
334

Table F.1, continued.

f. Velar/glottal consonants before u uu u:
1 1u 1u 1u 1u caress
k ku ku ku ku press
g gu gu gu gu return
ng nguzu nguzu nguzu nguzu pregnancy
h -
g. Velar/glottal consonants before o oo o:
1 1oro 1oro 1oro 1oro split
k ko ko ko ko put
g go go go go sprinkle
ng ngoIa ngoIa ngoIa ngoIa tears
h hoja o1o hoja o1o hoja o1o hoja o1o whisper
h. Velar/glottal consonants before 5 55 5:
1 15 15 15 15 climb
k k5 k5 k5 k5 harvest
g g5 g5 g5 g5 bend down
ng ng5zu ng5zu ng5zu ng5zu jigger
h h5r5g5 h5r5g5 h5r5g5 h5r5g5 hidden

(8) Contrasts between velar and glottal consonants in word-medial position
a. Velar/glottal consonants before i ii i:
1 wi1i wi1i wi1i wi1i throw out
k akidi akidi akidi akidi bead
g digi digi digi digi whole
ng bingi bingi bingi bingi bracelet, ring
h -
b. Velar/glottal consonants before c cc c:
1 va1c va1c va1c va1c throw out (plural)
k vckc vckc vckc vckc okra
g cgcre cgcre cgcre cgcre big
ng mangc mangc mangc mangc corn, maize
h chcre chcre chcre chcre wax
c. Velar/glottal consonants before i ii i:
1 i1iri i1iri i1iri i1iri name
k aki aki aki aki razor
g agingi agingi agingi agingi abcess
ng bingi bingi bingi bingi compound, home
h -
d. Velar/glottal consonants before e ee e:
1 -
k -
g -
ng -
h -
335

Table F.1, continued.

e. Velar/glottal consonants before a aa a:
1 a1a a1a a1a a1a aunt
k daka daka daka daka borrow
g baga baga baga baga cheek
ng Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga slit drum
h kpaha kpaha kpaha kpaha wide open
f. Velar/glottal consonants before u uu u:
1 a1u a1u a1u a1u uncle
k nduku nduku nduku nduku vine, pole
g aIugu aIugu aIugu aIugu mushroom
ng Iangu Iangu Iangu Iangu gruel, pap
h ngohuru ngohuru ngohuru ngohuru frog
(Kamanda 1998: 141)
g. Velar/glottal consonants before o oo o:
1 o1o o1o o1o o1o word, language
k bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 turtle
g ogo ogo ogo ogo village
ng kongo kongo kongo kongo crab
h -
h. Velar/glottal consonants before 5 55 5:
1 j515 j515 j515 j515 cricket
k k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 k5k5 termite
g bcIcg5 bcIcg5 bcIcg5 bcIcg5 become bent with age
ng bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 bakong5 turtle
h ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 ng5h5r5 narrow, hollow

5. Labial-Velar Consonants
(9) Contrasts between labial-velar consonants in word-initial position
a. Labial-velar consonants before i ii i:
kp kpi kpi kpi kpi be tart
gb -
ngb ngbi ngbi ngbi ngbi deep
w -
b. Labial-velar consonants before c cc c:
kp kpckpcre kpckpcre kpckpcre kpckpcre joint
gb gbc gbc gbc gbc think, believe
ngb ngbcja ngbcja ngbcja ngbcja white clay
w wcIc wcIc wcIc wcIc ~ woIc woIc woIc woIc arrow
c. Labial-velar consonants before i ii i:
kp kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi eagle, vulture
gb -
ngb ngbi ngbi ngbi ngbi clear, open
w -
336

Table F.1, continued.

d. Labial-velar consonants before e ee e:
kp kpete kpete kpete kpete just happened
gb gbedere gbedere gbedere gbedere clumsy
(Kamanda 1998: 136)
ngb ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbeIcko ngbeIcko iron
w -
e. Labial-velar consonants before a aa a:
kp kpa kpa kpa kpa flee
gb gba gba gba gba moisten
ngb ngba ngba ngba ngba be many
w wa wa wa wa cut
f. Labial-velar consonants before u uu u:
kp kpu kpu kpu kpu heap up
gb -
ngb ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu ngbugu dry season
w wu wu wu wu see
g. Labial-velar consonants before o oo o:
kp kpoto kpoto kpoto kpoto hat
gb gbo gbo gbo gbo sound of drum
ngb ngbondo ngbondo ngbondo ngbondo frame
w wo wo wo wo kill
h. Labial-velar consonants before 5 55 5:
kp kp5 kp5 kp5 kp5 coagulate
gb gb5 gb5 gb5 gb5 receive
ngb ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 ngb5 light, amass
w -

(10) Contrasts between labial-velar consonants in word-medial position
a. Labial-velar consonants before i ii i:
kp kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi kpikpi different
gb -
ngb Iingbi Iingbi Iingbi Iingbi weigh, measure
w -
b. Labial-velar consonants before c cc c:
kp ]ckpc ]ckpc ]ckpc ]ckpc hamper
gb ke-gbc ke-gbc ke-gbc ke-gbc think, believe
ngb t]angbcda t]angbcda t]angbcda t]angbcda fork in road
w jawc jawc jawc jawc January
c. Labial-velar consonants before i ii i:
kp nikpi nikpi nikpi nikpi puff adder
gb agbivi agbivi agbivi agbivi pimple
ngb kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi kpingbiIi plank
w -
337

Table F.1, continued.

d. Labial-velar consonants before e ee e:
kp -
gb -
ngb angbeIcnganda angbeIcnganda angbeIcnganda angbeIcnganda peg
w -
e. Labial-velar consonants before a aa a:
kp ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ten
gb kogba kogba kogba kogba granary
ngb kcngba kcngba kcngba kcngba alone
w biwa biwa biwa biwa nasal mucus
f. Labial-velar consonants before u uu u:
kp ukpuIu ukpuIu ukpuIu ukpuIu heap
gb t]agburu kumu t]agburu kumu t]agburu kumu t]agburu kumu crown of the head
ngb Iungbu Iungbu Iungbu Iungbu April
w kadawu kadawu kadawu kadawu hiccough
g. Labial-velar consonants before o oo o:
kp Iakpoto Iakpoto Iakpoto Iakpoto millet beer
gb gbogbo gbogbo gbogbo gbogbo mat
ngb angbo angbo angbo angbo festival
w ndawo ndawo ndawo ndawo forge
h. Labial-velar consonants before 5 55 5:
kp nekp5r5 nekp5r5 nekp5r5 nekp5r5 dwarf
gb gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 gb5ng5gb5 conclusion
ngb angb5 angb5 angb5 angb5 banana
w -


338

Table F.2: Vowel-vowel (CV
1
CV
2
) co-occurrences (cf. Chapter 2)

i - i digi digi digi digi whole
i - c
i - i dindi dindi dindi dindi greens
i - e ke-ji-nde-re ke-ji-nde-re ke-ji-nde-re ke-ji-nde-re kindness
i - a ngima ngima ngima ngima palm tree
i - u diju diju diju diju great grandparent
i - o aji aji aji aji -bo -bo -bo -bo relative
i - 5 se dig5 se dig5 se dig5 se dig5 stoop

c - i ngci javuru ngci javuru ngci javuru ngci javurudrizzle
c - c dcpc dcpc dcpc dcpc fish-scale
c - i
c - e dcre dcre dcre dcre forget
c - a Icnga Icnga Icnga Icnga talking drum
c - u pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu pcIczu bat
c - o pcwo pcwo pcwo pcwo wither
c - 5 tck5 tck5 tck5 tck5 cough

i - i tirindi tirindi tirindi tirindi leech
i - c japu bande zijcna japu bande zijcna japu bande zijcna japu bande zijcna full moon
i - i bingi bingi bingi bingi compound
i - e
i - a 1ima 1ima 1ima 1ima yawn
i - u aIivu aIivu aIivu aIivu family
i - o za mi]o za mi]o za mi]o za mi]o support
i - 5

e - i kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kpeIinduvu kidney
e - c keIcng5ng5 keIcng5ng5 keIcng5ng5 keIcng5ng5 chameleon
e - i ke-di ere ke-di ere ke-di ere ke-di ere number
e - e mbere mbere mbere mbere do
e - a teraIc teraIc teraIc teraIc directly
e - u kevu kevu kevu kevu ~ kuvu kuvu kuvu kuvu stomach
e - o kpeendoro kpeendoro kpeendoro kpeendoro naked
e - 5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 Iet5r5 toad

a - i ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi bone
a - c baIc baIc baIc baIc one
a - i mangi mangi mangi mangi stick used for animal trap
a - e gbare gbare gbare gbare utensil
a - a bada bada bada bada rock
a - u gbabu gbabu gbabu gbabu giddiness
a - o gbado gbado gbado gbado grub
a - 5 aI5 aI5 aI5 aI5 ~ 5I5 5I5 5I5 5I5 sun
339

Table F.2, continued.

u - i kundi kundi kundi kundi harp
u - c buwcIc buwcIc buwcIc buwcIc type of banana
u - i aji wuti aji wuti aji wuti aji wuti beggar
u - e mawute mawute mawute mawute hip
u - a kut]a kut]a kut]a kut]a mosquito
u - u budu budu budu budu buttocks
u - o ndurugojo ndurugojo ndurugojo ndurugojo heron
u - 5 jung5 jung5 jung5 jung5 sister

o - i
o - c ngomc ngomc ngomc ngomc dew
o - i
o - e ko-te ko-te ko-te ko-te body
o - a kota kota kota kota large river
o - u kopu kopu kopu kopu September
o - o bobo bobo bobo bobo termite
o - 5 vot5 vot5 vot5 vot5 three

5 - i za t5ndi za t5ndi za t5ndi za t5ndi straighten
5 - c t5pc t5pc t5pc t5pc stick
5 - i
5 - e jak5ne jak5ne jak5ne jak5ne ~ jakanc jakanc jakanc jakanc finger
5 - a ngb5ba ngb5ba ngb5ba ngb5ba join
5 - u k5pu k5pu k5pu k5pu silk cotton tree
5 - o ng5to ng5to ng5to ng5to chicken
5 - 5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 b5I5 tobacco
340

Table F.3: Consonant-tone co-occurrences (cf. Chapter 3)
(11) Consonants before H
a. Labial consonants before H:
b abi abi abi abi hammer
p pakuIu pakuIu pakuIu pakuIu parrot
b aba aba aba aba father
mb damba damba damba damba tail
I aIu aIu aIu aIu ant sp.
v vuda vuda vuda vuda cultivated ground
m amcndc amcndc amcndc amcndc glue
w awi awi awi awi hyena
w awaja awaja awaja awaja baby
b. Alveolar consonants before H:
d -
t atu atu atu atu cat sp.
d adu adu adu adu knot
nd d5ndu d5ndu d5ndu d5ndu December
s gosa gosa gosa gosa type of green
z aze aze aze aze 1PL.INCL
n kane kane kane kane ~ kanc kanc kanc kanc arm, hand
r hara hara hara hara giant
I Ioba Ioba Ioba Ioba clothes
c. Palatal consonants before H:
t] at]o at]o at]o at]o louse
d doro doro doro doro sorghum
nd mbundu mbundu mbundu mbundu foreigner
] a]ongba a]ongba a]ongba a]ongba type of sugar cane
-
gaa gaa gaa gaa branch
j gojo gojo gojo gojo goiter, crop
d. Velar/glottal consonants before H:
1 a1a a1a a1a a1a aunt
k kadawu kadawu kadawu kadawu hiccough
g baga baga baga baga cheek
ng ngago ngago ngago ngago egg-plant
h hcrc hcrc hcrc hcrc sharp
e. Labial-velar consonants before H:
kp ikpi ikpi ikpi ikpi tart
gb gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda net
ngb ngbako ngbako ngbako ngbako wine
341

Table F.3, continued.

(12) Consonants before M
a. Labial consonants before M:
b ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi ngbabi bone
p panga panga panga panga hip
b aba aba aba aba yam
mb mbaza mbaza mbaza mbaza xylophone
I oI oI oI oIoro oro oro oro grass, lawn
v vuvu vuvu vuvu vuvu sugar ant
m Iima Iima Iima Iima a long time ago
w Io wirima Io wirima Io wirima Io wirima gnaw around
w awo awo awo awo wife
b. Alveolar consonants before M:
d kuda kuda kuda kuda debt
t bitu bitu bitu bitu deaf person
d adanga adanga adanga adanga lake
nd bindi bindi bindi bindi locust
s asungu asungu asungu asungu flood
z kuzu kuzu kuzu kuzu death
n ene ene ene ene 3SG.LOG
r bamara bamara bamara bamara lion
I baIc baIc baIc baIc one
c. Palatal consonants before M:
t] t]uIa t]uIa t]uIa t]uIa shame
d dingiIi dingiIi dingiIi dingiIi mistake
nd endc endc endc endc 3PL
] ko]c ko]c ko]c ko]c war
cc cc cc cc caterpillar
-
j aji aji aji aji mother
d. Velar/glottal consonants before M:
1 a1a a1a a1a a1a 1PL.EXCL
k kako kako kako kako leaf
g arugu arugu arugu arugu no see-um, biting midge
ng ngawu ngawu ngawu ngawu nose
h ahara ahara ahara ahara dry
e. Labial-velar consonants before M:
kp kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 kpok5 big hoe
gb gbanda gbanda gbanda gbanda temporary shelter
ngb ng ng ng ngbangu bangu bangu bangu type of drum
342

Table F.3, continued.

(13) Consonants before L
a. Labial consonants before L:
b koba koba koba koba illness
p ndapa ndapa ndapa ndapa type of stick
b bada bada bada bada stone, rock
mb mbowo mbowo mbowo mbowo cocoyam, taro
I Iangu Iangu Iangu Iangu gruel, pap
v vuvu vuvu vuvu vuvu sugar ant
m kumu kumu kumu kumu head
w wi1i wi1i wi1i wi1i throw out
w kowa kowa kowa kowa baby sling
b. Alveolar consonants before L:
d k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 k5d5 monkey
t ata ata ata ata grandparent, grandchild
d damba damba damba damba tail
nd ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa ndiwa rubber
s sura sura sura sura broom
z guza guza guza guza mouse
n kuni kuni kuni kuni right
r arugu arugu arugu arugu no see-um, biting midge
I buIa buIa buIa buIa blind person
c. Palatal consonants before L:
t] t]iki t]iki t]iki t]iki island
d dindi dindi dindi dindi type of green
nd ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ndokpa ten
] bi]a bi]a bi]a bi]a two
ngci javuru ngci javuru ngci javuru ngci javuru drizzle
ke-i ke-i ke-i ke-i rain
j cja cja cja cja firstborn
d. Velar/glottal consonants before L:
1 dc1cre mindu dc1cre mindu dc1cre mindu dc1cre mindu gravel
k kakiIi kakiIi kakiIi kakiIi basket
g ganga ganga ganga ganga calf
ng ngara ngara ngara ngara tendon
h hara hara hara hara giant
e. Labial-velar consonants before L:
kp kp5I5 kp5I5 kp5I5 kp5I5 nightjar
gb gbaguru gbaguru gbaguru gbaguru proverb
ngb ngbingi ngbingi ngbingi ngbingi warthog

343

Table F.4: Formant and bandwidth values for Mono vowels (Speaker K) (cf. Chapter 8)

F
1
F
2
F
3
F
4
BW
1
BW
2
BW
3
BW
4

a aa a
ba$ ga@ Spec. 777.69 1440.16 2433.88 3441.99
(1) LPC 701.67 1325.45 2322.83 3646.43 52.72 125.21 121.98 127.36
cheek FFT 700 1325 2325 3350

ba$ ga@ Spec. 734.48 1425.76 2361.87 3787.63
(2) LPC 702.35 1360.21 2433.79 3607.58 56.23 95.92 111.88 281.61
FFT 700 1375 2375 3700

ba#ko$ng# Spec 595.56 1148.59 2325.53 3431.58
(1) LPC 598.31 1115.17 2292.36 3425.14 60.87 72.87 80.29 141.78
turtle FFT 625 1075 2325 3425

ba#ko$ng# Spec 609.74 1205.31 2282.99 3488.3
(2) LPC 622.15 1217.25 2296.55 3518.41 58.23 75.92 81.53 92.02
FFT 625 1150 2275 3525

ba$le# Spec 763.29 1468.97 2491.48 3773.23
(1) LPC 714.58 1462.72 2463.3 3628.64 68.10 46.99 122.22 108.90
one FFT 725 1450 2450 3550

ba$ le# Spec 705.68 1569.78 2534.69 3701.22
(2) LPC 761.17 1537.48 2521.28 3693.25 96.38 75.16 69.88 81.11
FFT 775 1475 2475 3725

ta$?wa@ Spec 638.1 1262.03 2254.63 3601.74
(1) LPC 639.26 1248.22 2268.56 3394.72 48.68 151.76 93.82 247.98
basin FFT 650 1250 2225 3175

ta$?wa@ Spec 623.92 1205.31 2240.45 3459.94
(2) LPC 630.15 1183.66 2230.68 3521.84 30.07 160.12 108.22 315.41
FFT 625 1150 2100 3450
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3500.61 Hz with a bandwidth of
1353.64 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

ta#fo$ Spec 734.48 1454.56 2433.88 3758.82
(1) LPC 706.12 1397.92 2394.98 3859.26 25.63 62.04 61.99 132.3
new FFT 700 1350 2400 3725
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3497.40 Hz with a bandwidth of
224.91 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.
344

Table F.4, continued.

ta#fo$ Spec 705.68 1440.16 2462.68 3758.82
(2) LPC 681.73 1332.22 2393.21 3845.7 33.92 74.74 88.08 94.91
FFT 700 1325 2400 3725
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3429.16 Hz with a bandwidth of
286.48 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

e ee e
mbe#ja# Spec 411.22 1885.95 2680.03 3516.66
(1) LPC 418.56 1888.25 2691.79 3535.34 22.5 47.32 109.15 63.23
in-laws FFT 375 1900 2675 3500

mbe#ja# Spec 425.4 1758.33 2651.67 3502.48
(2) LPC 419.89 1771.03 2668.51 3519.55 25.67 91.97 74.04 49.77
FFT 400 1775 2625 3500

pe$te$ Spec. 417.65 2001.83 2707.51 3557.2
(1) LPC 378.04 2015.92 2723.37 3523.04 12.92 56.00 102.55 69.57
full FFT 350 2050 2725 3525

pe$te$ Spec. 417.65 1973.02 2707.51 3514
(2) LPC 365.78 1897.79 2736.35 3490.68 14.26 56.79 101.26 51.8
FFT 325 1925 2750 3450
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3231.68 Hz with a bandwidth of
480.30 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

pe#ja$ Spec 368.68 1942.67 2651.67 3516.66
(1) LPC 370.26 1971.16 2708.1 3527.19 30.44 33.18 146.27 94.18
navel FFT 350 1950 2650 3475

pe#ja$ Spec 382.86 1999.39 2736.75 3516.66
(2) LPC 386.97 2004.91 2738.68 3534.73 29.64 36.08 140.47 85.58
FFT 350 2000 2700 3950

te$w(e@ Spec 368.68 1843.41 2580.77 3403.22
(1) LPC 369.81 1846.96 2606.07 3416.74 37.42 44.58 96.65 61.48
ant (sp.) FFT 325 1875 2575 3400

te$w(e@ Spec 340.32 1956.85 2609.13 3459.94
(2) LPC 356.89 1957 2632.78 3443.3 23.18 68.08 100.6 47.44
FFT 325 1975 2625 3400
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 2902.10 Hz with a bandwidth of
1913.07 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

ve$dZa$ Spec 340.32 1843.41 2779.29 3488.3
(1) LPC 353.98 1853.9 2789.33 3499.49 17.82 62.79 76.4 80.15
forest FFT 325 1850 2800 3475
345

Table F.4, continued.

ve$dZa$ Spec 368.68 1871.77 2736.75 3502.48
(2) LPC 353.16 1877.84 2747.88 3495.56 21.52 69.48 87.31 100.14
FFT 325 1900 2750 3450


d Spec 368.68 1432.19 2325.53 3389.04
(1) LPC 371.23 1439.86 2329.88 3365.97 40.73 101.72 54.93 66.29
be FFT 300 1400 2325 3350

d Spec 354.5 1389.65 2268.81 3431.81
(2) LPC 377.58 1436.71 2299.65 3429.06 47.55 100.82 33.72 37.41
FFT 300 1375 2275 3450

@b@r@ Spec 453.76 1290.39 2410.61 3403.22
(1) LPC 472.18 1298.02 2419.97 3442.25 44.68 45.2 152.9 97.12
quarrel FFT 425 1275 2450 3375
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3341.60 Hz with a bandwidth of
315.12 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

@b@r@ Spec 496.3 1276.21 2424.79 3502.48
(2) LPC 500.71 1312.67 2464.13 3519.59 31.18 59.17 136.6 24.56
FFT 450 1275 2400 3500

@d$ Spec 467.94 1503.09 2410.61 3516.66
(1) LPC 463.37 1481.8 2435.96 3562.12 31.49 43.27 98.27 142.71
if FFT 425 1475 2450 3450
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3425.03 Hz with a bandwidth of
420.08 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

@d$ Spec 425.4 1503.09 2368.07 3630.1
(2) LPC 425.6 1506.4 2410.37 3655.9 45.78 72.23 83.33 44
FFT 375 1475 2400 3650

@nd@ Spec 368.68 1418.01 2382.25 3360.68
(1) LPC 391.21 1447.32 2389.11 3393.01 47.17 95.4 37.6 24.66
mark FFT 375 1400 2375 3375

@nd@ Spec 340.32 1418.01 2382.25 3389.04
(2) LPC 355.4 1435.4 2385.69 3382.38 23.06 104.98 61.1 22.51
FFT 325 1375 2350 3375

t@k@ka$ Spec 411.22 1559.81 2368.07 3431.58
(1) LPC 414.01 1578.71 2402.32 3433.2 42.89 125.66 159.58 48.12
pain FFT 350 1575 2375 3425
346

Table F.4, continued.

t@k@ka$ Spec 397.04 1474.73 2339.71 3545.71
(2) LPC 407.17 1511.15 2394.33 3555.79 46.93 81.19 95.38 29.24
FFT 350 1475 2350 3525

i ii i
b"Sa$ Spec. 388.84 1987.42 2880.33 3499.6
(1) LPC 312.45 1950.73 2874.22 3456.34 9.84 78.29 73.06 60.44
two FFT 250 1975 2875 3375
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3391.82 Hz with a bandwidth of
392.77 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

b"Sa$ Spec. 388.84 2045.03 2808.32 3514
(2) LPC 303.03 1954.43 2825.82 3531.35 9.04 53.82 76.49 100.12
FFT 275 1975 2850 3425
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3366.12 Hz with a bandwidth of
184.12 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

b"tu# Spec 360.04 1929.82 2577.89 3355.58
(1) LPC 296.33 1936.86 2697.19 3292.09 11.41 37.81 72.08 18.81
deaf FFT 250 1925 2650 3250

b"tu# Spec 374.44 1973.02 2693.1 3369.98
(2) LPC 289.62 1925.2 2732.5 3282.43 9.62 48.42 94.37 46.57
FFT 250 1925 2775 3250

b"ja# Spec 297.78 1942.67 2892.73 3459.94
(1) LPC 295.42 1944.73 2903.13 3483.92 5.78 40.71 41.91 127.85
ebony FFT 275 1925 2925 3350

b"ja# Spec 283.6 1956.85 2963.63 3502.48
(2) LPC 282.68 1979.28 2972.26 3463.73 10.99 17.18 49.25 158.73
FFT 275 1975 2975 3425

k"t" Spec 269.42 1914.31 2878.55 3431.58
(1) LPC 278.27 1930.95 2933.98 3364.07 8.21 29.69 36.18 112.38
squirrel FFT 250 1925 2950 3250

k"t" Spec 241.06 1857.59 2765.11 3346.5
(2) LPC 269.12 1874.91 2793.56 3325.78 11.83 57.41 30.66 33.22
FFT 250 1875 2800 3300

l"b" Spec 326.14 1999.39 2836.01 3417.4
(1) LPC 336.29 1956.55 2849.76 3418.91 12.11 100.26 64.13 35.19
yesterday FFT 325 1975 2850 3425
347

Table F.4, continued.

l"b" Spec 326.14 1914.31 2807.65 3403.22
(2) LPC 336.3 1905.6 2814.18 3389.04 8.51 71.77 80.24 36.25
FFT 325 1925 2800 3350


a$dla$ Spec 269.42 1644.89 2282.99 3332.32
(1) LPC 294.48 1689.77 2305.55 3341.4 35.88 63 33.34 29.52
dusk FFT 275 1675 2250 3350

a$dla$ Spec 283.6 1715.79 2297.17 3417.4
(2) LPC 299.11 1773.83 2291.38 3419.99 39.29 91.99 61.34 21.41
FFT 250 1750 2250 3425

a$k Spec 311.96 1503.09 2268.81 3360.68
(1) LPC 312.02 1478.75 2275.99 3349.54 11.3 171.95 27.95 22.89
razor FFT 300 1500 2250 3325

a$k Spec 297.78 1559.81 2467.33 3374.86
(2) LPC 315.28 1539.65 2428.79 3367.33 12.48 101.37 75.63 25.42
FFT 300 1525 2375 3325

d Spec 255.24 1630.71 2183.73 3346.5
(1) LPC 290.22 1600.38 2170.79 3369.16 33.92 190.53 76.99 16.16
count FFT 250 1450 2150 3350

d Spec 283.6 1744.15 2169.55 3346.5
(2) LPC 296.68 1702.52 2173.63 3376.53 41.04 201.91 105.74 36.33
FFT 250 1800 2175 3375

knd Spec 297.78 1687.43 2325.53 3360.68
(1) LPC 302.09 1708.78 2341.72 3357.51 25.55 130.59 96.46 9.36
field FFT 275 1700 2275 3325

knd Spec 297.78 1673.25 2311.35 3318.14
(2) LPC 308.14 1680.74 2330.14 3346.65 16.11 99.16 58.88 36.62
FFT 275 1700 2325 3325

kpkp Spec 283.6 1347.11 2183.73 3218.87
(1) LPC 295.68 1490.38 2428.49 3199.92 38.46 172.82 228.7 24.32
eagle FFT 275 1325 2100 3200

kpkp Spec 269.42 1247.85 2141.19 3204.69
(2) LPC 294.18 1288.39 2159.36 3214.47 55.04 137.22 118.27 14.45
FFT 250 1225 2075 3175
348

Table F.4, continued.

o oo o
bo@wo# Spec 388.84 950.51 2491.48 3269.17
(1) LPC 413.88 874.67 2375.46 3264.07 109.08 144.34 184.77 123.23
python FFT 350 775 2475 3225

bo@wo# Spec 446.45 907.3 2520.28 3254.77
(2) LPC 402.57 837.72 2147.66 3530.69 189.79 96.28 185.4 108.79
FFT 375 825 ? 3525
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3002.06 Hz with a bandwidth of
432.69 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

do#ro# Spec 397.04 921.7 2467.33 3275.59
(1) LPC 409.36 911.2 2489.36 3337.98 51.96 94.8 98.64 77.06
partridge FFT 375 850 2400 3200

do#ro# Spec 382.86 964.24 2481.51 3289.77
(2) LPC 407.25 968.4 2466.4 3288.42 37.69 97.53 102.15 66.74
FFT 350 950 2400 3225

so$ro@ Spec 411.22 950.06 2538.23 3346.5
(1) LPC 411.18 957.65 2544.32 3332.58 65.04 41.94 66.49 53.71
life FFT 350 975 2475 3350

so$ro@ Spec 397.04 1020.96 2467.33 3417.4
(2) LPC 420.96 1011.21 2521.81 3416.09 48.05 103.56 69.86 36.78
FFT 350 1025 2450 3425

vo#ka# Spec 467.94 893.34 2495.69 3417.4
(1) LPC 458.02 911.36 2519.4 3430.44 74.36 72.86 56.24 34.37
nape FFT 400 850 2500 3425

vo#ka# Spec 439.58 893.34 2495.69 3431.58
(2) LPC 451.83 913.5 2501.37 3439.67 45.39 64.52 54.01 51.91
FFT 400 850 2500 3425

vo#t$ Spec 425.4 978.42 2623.31 3374.86
(1) LPC 474.87 1001.67 2639.35 3430.48 42.49 95.17 71.23 162.37
three FFT 450 875 2650 3400

vo#t$ Spec 496.3 1020.96 2580.77 3403.22
(2) LPC 494.26 1014.76 2590.25 3430.17 59.18 39.62 43.15 65.05
FFT 450 1000 2600 3400


b$l$ Spec 576.07 1036.92 2520.28 3485.19
(1) LPC 656.7 935.47 2515.09 3513.41 137.86 311.92 122.23 33.13
tobacco FFT 550 975 2525 3500
349

Table F.4, continued.

b$l$ Spec 532.86 1036.92 2534.69 3499.6
(2) LPC 595.05 967.11 2543.61 3477.23 141.42 150.76 134.6 27.88
FFT 550 925 2525 3475

k$k$ Spec 524.66 935.88 2041.93 3247.23
(1) LPC 564.05 961.72 2077.07 3232.1 85.26 80.54 51.71 35.72
termite FFT 550 900 2100 3250

k$k$ Spec 510.48 992.6 2169.55 3374.86
(2) LPC 542.03 990.03 2169.03 3388.99 98.5 112.12 98.72 19.16
FFT 550 950 2150 3375

mb$k$l$ Spec 510.48 935.88 2453.15 3403.22
(1) LPC 539.35 925.67 2494.6 3477.86 82.41 48.5 107.91 15.5
sunrise FFT 550 900 2450 3475
Note: The actual value of F
3
given by the LPC algorithm is 1891.11 Hz with a bandwidth of
257.38 Hz. The values of F
3
and BW
3
given above are actually F
4
and BW
4
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm. The number of poles employed in the LPC algorithm was 14.

mb$k$l$ Spec 538.84 935.88 2552.41 3431.58
(2) LPC 553.83 942.17 2627.22 3450.62 111.85 69.26 81.02 24.71
FFT 550 875 2600 3425
Note: The actual value of F
3
given by the LPC algorithm is 1958.99 Hz with a bandwidth of
1008.73 Hz. The values of F
3
and BW
3
given above are actually F
4
and BW
4
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm. The number of poles employed in the LPC algorithm was 14.

nd#k# Spec 510.48 1020.96 2382.25 3459.94
(1) LPC 535.85 1023.9 2421.93 3483.49 77.33 70.06 121.08 34.04
flower FFT 550 975 2425 3450

nd#k# Spec 482.12 1020.96 2396.43 3488.3
(2) LPC 506.99 1014.9 2389.88 3474.11 44.59 38.33 112.5 51.33
FFT 500 1000 2400 3450

ng@l# Spec 652.28 1162.77 2339.71 3530.84
(1) LPC 586.86 919.95 2412.94 3558.12 80.4 134.21 66.18 35.89
fish trap FFT 600 1075 2400 3550
Note: The actual value of F
3
given by the LPC algorithm is 1786.87 Hz with a bandwidth of
296.84 Hz. The values of F
3
and BW
3
given above are actually F
4
and BW
4
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm. The number of poles employed in the LPC algorithm was 14.

ng@l# Spec 581.38 1106.05 2467.33 3445.76
(2) LPC 549.31 981.81 2533.5 3470.05 66.11 124.49 91.26 49.85
FFT 525 1075 2500 3475
Note: The actual value of F
3
given by the LPC algorithm is 1762.21 Hz with a bandwidth of
374.07 Hz. The values of F
3
and BW
3
given above are actually F
4
and BW
4
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm. The number of poles employed in the LPC algorithm was 14.
350

Table F.4, continued.

u uu u
bu$du@ Spec 374.44 964.91 2261.06 3225.96
(1) LPC 267.25 929.3 2260.57 3149.34 44.24 26.33 64.31 16.89
bottom FFT 250 900 2200 3150

bu$du@ Spec ? ? ? ?
(2) LPC 286.09 900.21 2281.03 3099.11 58.94 99.79 90.95 34.98
FFT 250 800 2275 3100

bu#la$ Spec 331.24 936.11 2390.67 3355.58
(1) LPC 309.95 934.64 2463.52 3268.4 43.92 62.33 148.11 18.12
blind FFT 250 875 2350 3250

bu#la$@ Spec 345.64 921.7 2462.68 3355.58
(2) LPC 310.84 892.48 2477 3289.05 53.1 56.73 72.24 8.22
FFT 275 825 2400 3250

bu#tS@ Spec 269.42 935.88 2297.17 3204.69
(1) LPC 277.3 913.61 2400.08 3187.13 43.48 44.61 94.38 19.47
night FFT 250 875 2325 3175

bu#tS@ Spec 283.6 964.24 2282.99 3233.05
(2) LPC 293.07 911.92 2391.41 3161.97 57.88 172.93 217.03 132.58
FFT 250 925 2275 3225

tu@kpa@ Spec 326.14 907.52 2410.61 3417.4
(1) LPC 347.26 931.14 2361.51 3426.68 19.4 32.27 213.77 46.94
white FFT 325 900 2300 3450

tu@kpa@ Spec 340.32 907.52 3438.97 3431.58
(2) LPC 360.52 941.8 2474.08 3450.86 13.93 72.69 59.04 11.78
FFT 350 925 2450 3425

tu$ju# Spec 269.42 1063.5 2197.91 3289.77
(1) LPC 281.07 1098.51 2199.78 3310.62 25.82 155.91 48.9 21.23
fresh FFT 250 950 2200 3300

tu$ju# Spec 255.24 1063.5 2226.27 3318.14
(2) LPC 277.16 1049.09 2231.21 3323.53 32.08 84.7 37.16 16.84
FFT 250 1000 2250 3300

a a a a ~
b"Sa$ Spec 590 1526 2563 3571
(1) LPC 556.68 1551.42 2565.91 3552.06 85.06 44.70 92.52 127.66
two FFT 550 1525 2550 3550
351

Table F.4, continued.

b"Sa$ Spec 619 1497 2606 3485
(2) LPC 561.33 1483.32 2642.19 3494.94 60.47 41.00 222.13 49.06
FFT 550 1500 2625 3475
Note: The actual value of F
4
given by the LPC algorithm is 3289.89 Hz with a bandwidth of
1430.50 Hz. The values of F
4
and BW
4
given above are actually F
5
and BW
5
, respectively, as
calculated by the LPC algorithm.

b"wa# Spec 662 1310 2448 3528
(1) LPC 627.45 1313.76 2420.50 3511.53 36.97 122.94 39.53 102.33
mucus FFT 600 1250 2400 3500

b"wa# Spec 662 1324 2405 3614
(2) LPC 601.76 1301.93 2397.12 3600.14 77.88 197.64 67.93 55.92
FFT 600 1300 2375 3600

ja# vu#ru# Spec 518 1325 2261 3370
(1) LPC 437.59 1284.71 2195.86 3352.22 29.07 56.72 82.87 8.28
rain FFT 425 1300 2175 3325

ja# vu#ru# Spec 561 1397 2505 3542
(2) LPC 516.55 1422.84 2467.12 3478.37 57.19 48.28 167.27 49.50
FFT 475 1400 2275 3500

ngba# " Spec 662 1425 2563 3557
(1) LPC 629.21 1430.65 2455.06 3340.62 33.04 107.57 258.65 433.94
bone FFT 600 1400 2200 3500

ngba# " Spec 576 1382 2491 3672
(2) LPC 554.53 1413.54 2424.14 3594.75 75.59 97.66 146.03 29.13
FFT 550 1375 2400 3625

tSa@ fu$ Spec 619 1454 2592 3643
(1) LPC 613.24 1453.68 2619.09 3559.13 70.18 77.38 222.82 50.06
smell FFT 550 1350 2575 3575

tSa@ fu$ Spec 676 1425 2390 3557
(2) LPC 634.92 1399.56 2461.79 3555.68 52.58 62.58 92.55 146.56
FFT 625 1325 2400 3525
352

Table F.5: Time location of vowel measurements (cf. Chapter 8)

a aa a File Time (sec.)
ba$ ga@ cheek 0001 60.20850
0001 61.52409
ba#ko$ng# turtle 0451 20.53139
0451 21.68133
ba$le# one 1501 72.83401
1501 73.92792
ta$?wa@ basin 0926 11.19753
0926 11.95242
ta#fo$ new 1651 60.32950
1651 61.39326

e ee e
mbe#ja# in-laws 0326 31.70049
0326 32.84316
pe$te$ full 1651 8.07443
1651 9.10484
pe#ja$ navel 0051 53.64934
0051 54.73717
te$w(e@ ant (sp.) 0476 50.25043
0476 51.11576
ve$dZa$ forest 0651 62.55095
0651 63.70443


d be 1501 53.22492
1501 54.15351
@b@r@ quarrel 1251 43.61172
1251 44.56395
@d$ if 1476 67.01524
1476 68.07800
@nd@ mark 0551 0.51714
0551 1.55409
t@k@ka$ pain 0201 42.88952
0201 43.95130
353

Table F.5, continued.

i ii i
b"Sa$ two 1501 75.14698
1501 76.30464
b"tu# deaf 0226 22.67357
0226 23.67860
b"ja# ebony 0576 0.34895
0576 1.46995
k"t" squirrel 0451 16.26414
0451 17.14638
l"b" yesterday 0776 28.05782
0776 29.02946


a$dla$ dusk 0751 19.14772
0751 20.05177
a$k razor 0826 15.47033
0826 16.39397
d count 1401 26.74641
1401 27.75384
knd field 0651 45.07321
0651 46.17254
kpkp eagle 0401 31.43022
0401 32.35103

o oo o
bo@wo# python 0451 4.62375
0451 5.64240
do#ro# partridge 0426 28.27758
0426 29.15557
so$ro@ life 0126 0.47931
0126 1.61788
vo#ka# nape 0051 51.09028
0051 52.42393
vo#t$ three 1501 77.57327
1501 78.70772
354

Table F.5, continued.


b$l$ tobacco 0826 54.05710
0826 54.97960
k$k$ termite 0501 54.10045
0501 55.10429
mb$k$l$ sunrise 0776 12.45498
0776 13.62437
nd#k# flower 0576 2.55956
0576 3.60214
ng@l# fish trap 1026 20.96721
1026 21.99769

u uu u
bu$du@ bottom 0001 20.61422
0001 19.14403
bu#la$ blind 0226 18.55569
0226 19.59868
bu#tS@ night 0751 53.81038
0751 54.98348
tu@kpa@ white 1551 33.56279
1551 34.64122
tu$ju# fresh 1651 4.58648
1651 5.67622

a a a a ~
b"Sa$ two 1501 75.47042
1501 76.64570
b"wa# mucus 0101 28.65645
0101 29.74978
ja# vu#ru# rain 0726 50.60369
0726 32.16762
ngba# " bone 0001 37.64331
0526 30.38840
tSa@ fu$ smell 0101 43.25629
0101 44.44000


355


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