Bagirmi language
Bagirmi (also Baguirmi; autonym: tàrà ɓármà) is the language of the Bagirmi people of Chad belonging to the Central Sudanic family, which has been tenatively classified as part of the Nilo-Saharan superfamily. It was spoken by 44,761 people in 1993, mainly in the Chari-Baguirmi Region, as well as in Mokofi sub-prefecture of Guéra Region.[2] It was the language of the Sultanate of Bagirmi (1522-1871) and then the Wadai Empire before the Scramble for Africa.
| Bagirmi | |
|---|---|
| tàrà ɓármà | |
| Native to | Chad, Nigeria |
Native speakers | (45,000 in Chad cited 1993 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bmi |
| Glottolog | bagi1246 |
| This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. | |
During the 1990s, Bagirmi was given written form and texts providing basic literacy instruction were composed through the efforts of Don and Orpha Raun, Christian missionaries of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America, late in their Chadian careers. In 2003, Anthony Kimball developed a font to support the Bagirmi alphabet and a Keyman input method for Latin keyboards, and the body of published Baguirmi literature continues to expand. The majority of this literature was distributed in Chad by David Raun, a missionary and the son of Don and Orpha Raun, at a token cost as a service to the Bagirmi-speaking peoples of Chad.
Grammar edit
Nouns edit
Most of the nouns in Bagirmi are disyllabic and the common noun form is a consonant + vowel + consonant + vowel. The final vowel is usually semi-mute.[3]
Examples: ŋwon(o) - child, njɨl(i) - shadow
The simpliest form of nouns in Bagirmi is monosyllabic and usually consists of a consonant and vowel.
Examples: ro -body, ŋga - foreigner, njo - night
In Bagirmi language plurality of nouns is presented by the suffix -ge. This rule applies not only to the simple noun but also to its possible qualifiers and to the end in noun compounds and genetive constructions. In this case, the suffix is added only once at the end of the noun phrase.[4]
Examples: kam(o) (eye) - kamge (eyes), bat(a) (sheep) - badge (sheeps)
Forms denoting sex edit
To indicate sex ŋgab(a) (man, male) or nee (woman, female) should be added to a noun.
Examples: ŋwon ŋgab(a) - boy, ŋwon nee - girl
Adjectives edit
Most words in adjectival constructions act as nominal or verbal roots and cannot be differentiated from them (except the fact that they are more subject to reduplication). These words are “adjectives” only due to their applications. Also, a lot of these words can take both nominal and verbal affixes.
Pronouns edit
Personal pronouns in Bagirmi are used as:
A. forms of personal mention applied in isolation or as subject in non-verbal predication;
| First person | ma (I) | je/jege (we) |
| Second person | i (you) | se/sege (you, pl.) |
| Third person | ne (he, she) | je/jege (they) |
Examples:
ma deb ŋgab(a) – I am a man
i ‘Barma – you are a Bagirmi
ne ŋgʷol(o) – he/she is big
ma mala or ma ‘döŋ – I myself
je mala or je ‘döŋ (or je ‘döŋge) – we ourselves
B. forms of personal mention applied as object of a verb as possessor in the genitive case and also after prepositions;
The forms are suffixed:
| First person | -(ʉ)m(a) (I) | -je (we) |
| Second person | -I (you) | -se (you, pl) |
| Third person | -(i)ny(a) (he, she) | -je (they) |
The first and third persons: sing. -ʉm(a) and -iny(a) are used after a consonant, -(m)a and -ny(a) after a vowel.
Examples:
As object of verb: (following a consonant) je j-ɛt k-ak- ʉm(a) – they see me
(following a vowel) je j- ɛt ki-nya-m(a) – they leave me
After a preposition: sem(a), sɨ-m(a) – with me
si – with you
se-ny(a), sɨ-ny(a) – with him/her
C. forms of personal mention applied before suffixes and postpositions;
In this position pronouns don't have any changes except the omission of semi-mute vowels. It's only about the first and third persons of B-forms.
The examples demonstrate only the general locative postposition -ki.
jo-m-ki – on me
jo-ny-ki – on him
but jo-je-ki – on us
Verbs edit
Verb classes edit
For conjugational purposes verbs are divided into five classes built on the form of the verbal roots. Verbal roots mainly have a monosyllabic or dissyllabic form. A reliable indicator of class is the presence or absence of the prefix k- in the Indefenite Aspect or the Infinitive.
Class I: Monosyllabic verbs containing a consonant (or consonant combination) and vowel.
sa - eat, nya - put, nji - sit
Class II: Dissyllabic verbs containing a vowel plus consonant plus vowel (the last vowel is often semi-mute). Also, all verbs of Class II take k- prefix.
ab(e) - go, ak(a) - see, ad(a) - give
Class III: Dissyllabic verbs containing a consonant plus vowel plus consonant plus vowel (the last vowel is often semi-mute). A consonant can be presented as a consonant combination. Monosyllabic verbs could also be included into this Class. They consist of a consonant plus long (or half-length) vowel or vowel combination.
tad(a) - make, do; ŋgal(a) - swim; 'bar(a) - cook
Class IV: Verbs of the Class III pattern but with an initial vowel.
Class V: Verbs containing a consonant plus vowel plus consonant plus vowel plus consonant plus vowel (sometimes the mid/final vowel is missing).
ndokolo - roll, tatla - clean, susuri - scatter
Verb aspects edit
There are two types of verb aspects in Bagirmi language: the Definite Aspect and the Indefinite Aspect. The Definite Aspect is applicable to complete, momentary verb actions. The Indefinite Aspect, conversely, represents verb actions which are incomplete, progressive. The Definite Aspect is also used to indicate the Imperative mood. The Indefinite Aspect is defined by the prefix k- in verbs from Class I and Class II.
Negation edit
The negation of verbs is presented by adding a postposition eli. The initial vowel is omitted when preceded by another vowel (except the situation when pronouns ma and i are placed).
Examples:
ma m-sa li – I did not eat
je j-ab eli – we did not go
se gei-ki li – you (pl) do not, or did not, want
There is also a postposition daali which means “no more”, “no longer”.
Examples:
ma m-tad-iny daali – I did not do it again
je j-ab nuu daali – they did not go there any longer
Word order edit
Bagirmi language saves a direct word order in a sentence (subject + verb + object).
Examples:
je ka-ma napa – we (je) help (ka-ma) each other (napa)
When it comes to the genitive construction, the possessor always follows the possessed.
Examples:
‘bel an Paca – captive of the Patia
Adverbs edit
In Bagirmi there are only several words whose function is adverbial and could be described as adverbs. Majority of adverbial constructions are made up of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectivals, with or without implementing of prepositions and postpositions, could contain a phrase or even a sentence. Not rarely an adverbial phrase is built up by integrating a preposition or postposition with a noun or pronoun.
The usual place of adverbials is at the end of a sentence. This position is especially suitable for interrogatives and adverbials of place and manner.
Numerals edit
| No. | Text in Bagirmi | No. | Text in Bagirmi | No. | Text in Bagirmi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | kɛ'dɛ | 11 | dokkeme kar kɛ'dɛ | 30 | d |
| 2 | sap | 12 | dokkeme kar sap | 40 | d |
| 3 | mw | 13 | dokkeme kar mw | 50 | d |
| 4 | so | 14 | dokkeme kar so | 60 | d |
| 5 | mi | 15 | dokkeme kar mi | 70 | d |
| 6 | mika (5+1) | 16 | dokkeme kar mika | 80 | d |
| 7 | c | 17 | dokkeme kar c | 90 | d |
| 8 | marta | 18 | dokkeme kar marta | 100 | aru |
| 9 | doso | 19 | dokkeme kar doso | 200 | aru-sap |
| 10 | dokkeme | 20 | d |
In Bagirmi there are no ordinal numbers. The order is expressed only by the cardinals, adverbs and postpositions. And adverbials ("times") can be expressed by using mwot(o) (under).
Example: 'de nja mwuta - He came on the third day
ne 'de mi - He came fifth
ne tad ŋgas ɛnna mwot(o) - dokkeme - He did this ten times
Word order edit
In Bagirmi language the order of numerals and nouns in relation to each other is reverse.
Examples: nja sap - two days; nap mi - five months
Phonology edit
Consonants edit
The consonant table presented below contains sounds which are supposed to be native to Bagirmi. The sounds f, v, z, ʃ and h are heard in loan-words.
| Bilabial | Dental | Retroflex | Sibilant | Palatal | Velar | Labio velar | Laryngeal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explosive | p, b | t, d | t, d | c, j | k, g | |||
| Implosive | 'b | 'd | 'j('y), 'ny | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ny | ŋ | ||||
| Fricative | (ʄ) | s, z | ||||||
| Liquids etc. | r, l | y | w |
The sounds given in brackets are variants (not specific phonemes).
Vowels edit
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i I | ö | u U |
| Close-mid | e | ä | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | a | ɔ |
| Open |
- i-vowel (i, I) is similar to the vowel in English "feet", I - in "fit". Their using depends on position and context. Being pronounced in isolation i-vowel appears in monosyllables and polysyllables. Also it could be found before ny.
si - milk, ji - hand, ri -name
- u-vowel (u, U) is similar to the vowel in English "pool" (U - in "pull"). Accordingly to position, the distribution of u-vowels is parallel.7
lua - year, mʷu - grass, tut(u) - dry
- e-vowel (e, ɛ) is close to the English vowel in "bed". Sometimes e-vowel cannot be distinguished from ɛ clearly. Words with e-vowels are more common than with ɛ.
deb(e) - person, tej(e) - honey, gèl(e) - lefthand
- o-vowel (o, ɔ): o is more open than Cardinal №7, while ɔ is near to Cardinal №6. In some cases it cannot be distinguished o from ɔ. Words with o-vowels are more common than with ɔ-vowels.
ro - body, tòt(o) - hill, kʷɔrlo - giraffe, kʷɔlɛ - pot
- the central vowels ä, ö: ä often emerges as a modificator of a or another vowel when it's about connected speech. Ö has been noticed in a higher number of words.
mà kàb(e) - I shall go
köndèi - small basket
References edit
- ^ Bagirmi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Oxfam and Office National de Développement Rural (ONDR). 2016. Atlas de la vulnérabilité dans le Guera. Première partie: synthèse regional. 2nd edition (updated from 2013 edition). PASISAT (Projet d'Appui à l'Amélioration du Système d'Information sur la Sécurité Alimentaire au Tchad).
- ^ Stevenson, Roland C. (1969). Bagirmi Grammar. University of Khartoum. p. 18.
- ^ Stevenson, Roland C. (1969). Bagirmi Grammar. University of Khartoum. p. 28.
External links edit
- Bagirmi - French Dictionary [1]
- Keyman - Type in Baguirmi