Gamo-Gofa-Dawro language
Gamo-Gofa-Dawro is an Omotic language of the Afroasiatic family spoken in the Dawro, Gamo Gofa and Wolayita Zones of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region in Ethiopia. Varieties are spoken by the Gamo, Gofa, Dawro; Blench (2006) and Ethnologue treat these as separate languages. Zala presumably belongs here as well. Dialects of Dawro (Kullo-Konta) are Konta and Kucha.[2] In 1992, Alemayehu Abebe collected a word-list of 322 entries for all three related dialects.[3]
Phonology edit
Segmentally, Gamo phonology operates with a system of twenty-six consonants and five vowel qualities, and in nearly every case a segment may occur short or long.
Consonants in Gamo language
| labial | dental | palatal | velar | laryngeal | ||||
| glottalized: | p’ | d’ | ts’ | č | k’ | ’ | ||
| stops: | voiced: | b | d | dz | j | g | ||
| plain: | ||||||||
| voiceless: | p | t | ts | č | k | |||
| voiced: | z | |||||||
| spirants: | ||||||||
| voiceless: | s | š | h |
| nasals: | m | n | ň | ||
| lateral: | l | ||||
| sonorants: | liquids: | ||||
| vibrant: | r | ||||
| glides: | w | y |
Vowels sound in Gamo language
| palatal | round | ||
| high | i | u | |
| mid | e | o | |
| low | a |
(Reference page 21/22). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language
Morphology edit
Noun plural edit
The morphology of plural making in Gamo is very straightforward and uniform.
Masculine plurals is marked by means of a suffix (-t) affixed to the oblique case form. The oblique is also the base for the suffixation of definiteness marking.
Examples:
absolutive singular singular oblique absolutive plural
kaná (dog) kaná kanatá
addé (man) addé addetá
yóó (thing) yóó yóotá
apúntsi (tear) apúntsa apúntsata
Feminine plurals lexical feminine nouns take a suffix (-int) to form their plurals. This is affixed not to the singular oblique however, but rather to the absolutive;
examples;
singular absolutive plural absolutive nominative oblique
miččó (sister) miččointa miččóinti miččointa
(Reference page 81). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Adjectives edit
By comparison with certain other languages of Ethiopia, Gamo has a large vocabulary of adjectives. Like nominals, adjectives fall into declension classes, and although, being adjectives, they do not inflect for nominative case and there is no agreement within the phrase for number or definiteness, the declensional differences relating to oblique case marking do appear in U-declension adjectives when they function attributively.
The correlation between which particular TV an adjective has and its membership of a declension class appears to hold exactly as in nouns; thus, adjectives having a TV-o are always S-declension, adjective having a TV-i are always U-declension, while those having the TVs-a and -e are distributed between the two declensions, although almost all are S-declension.
Example;
absolutive oblique declension gloss
hó'o hó'o S-declension hot
páč'e páč'e S-declension incomplete, not full
č'áač'a č'áač'a S-declension fried, roasted
bóottsi bóottsa U-declension white
góošši góošša U-declension mad
kaušé kaušá U-declension light-in weight
(Reference page 150) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Adjective and noun agreement edit
In the definite noun phrases where the noun is modified by an adjective the definite marker does not shift to the adjective, but remains on the noun
Example:
1 - Gita mittsai kundides
big.Obl tree.M-Def fall.pf-3M
The big tree fell down
2 - Boottsa miizati haik'k'ida
white.Obl cow.pl-Def.Nom die.pf-3pl
The white cows died
(Reference page 151<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>)
Adverbs edit
Adverbial notion however, can be expressed in a wide variety of ways. In terms of syntactic constructions the two most frequent means of expressing adverbial notions are postpositional phrases and converbial clauses.
A number of verb lexemes contain some intrinsic reference to temporal or spatial features. Thus,
Examples:
1 - gam’-‘~k’am’-‘ ‘be(come)/last a long time’
2 - giddotsiss-‘ ‘stay late’
3 - na’at-‘ ‘act childishly’
4 - minétt- ‘act bravely’
5 - miizat- ‘behave naively
6 - godat-‘ ‘behave in a masterly way
Other more examples
1 – K’uma katso wontara oikkadus
Lunch cook-VNO dawn Obl+Pp(-ra) start.Pf-3F
She started cooking lunch very early in the morning
2 – Zilaittsape oikkidi isti k’otara kiitetettes
Last-year.obl+Pp(-ppe) begin.pfCvb.3PlPronNom secret.Obl+Pp(-ra)send-a-message-to-one-another.Impf-3Pl
Since last year they have been corresponding secretly.
(Reference page 300) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Postpositions edit
Gamo has very few postpositions; my analysis recognizes just six;
(-n), (-s), (-ppe), (-kko), (-ra) and (-u).
Phonologically, these are fairly minimal and in all cases their phonological structure obliges them to occur as attachments to other words.
There are however, instances where a postposition attaches to other clitic elements, such as to the inclusivity marker (-kka) or to the hypotheticality marker (-kko).
Example
1 - Awokkonka demmakad
locIntPron + UniE+pp(-n)+incl find.impf-2sg-Neg
You won't find (it) anywhere at all
2 - Banga buuts'an keettse kammadis
barley.obi straw.obl+pp(-n)house cover.pf-Sg
I thatched a house with barley straw
The range of senses for the postposition (-s) may not appear to be quite so extensive but perhaps this is because English itself uses the preposition "for" so widely
Example;
1 - Ne butaletappe taas dičča
2SgDet puppy.pl-Def+pp(-ppe) 1SgDetJN-Obl+pp(-s) rear.Impt-2Sg
Bring up one of your puppies for me
(Reference page 155) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Pronouns edit
Personal pronouns have long and short forms, but while, for most of them, the short form can clearly be identified with the leftmost portion of the long form, in the 3rd person singular pronouns the short form consists of the rightmost portion of the long form.
Example:
| Verb complement clause subject noun phrase modifier |
| Long short long short long short |
| 1Sg tána - táni tá - tá |
| 2Sg néna - néni né - né |
| 1Pl nứna - nứni nứ - nứ |
| 2Pl/Pol íntena - ínteni ínte - ínte |
| 3M íza a ízi í íza a |
| 3F ízo o íza á ízi i |
| 3pl/Pol ísta - ísti - ísta - |
(Reference page 99) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Negation of verb edit
Negation in all subordinate clauses employs the simple-base with (-onta), which is also the form that functions in converbial negation. Since this form shows no agreement with its clause subject, the 'same subject': 'changed subject' marking which distinguishes converbial from subordinate clauses is neutralized. This situation is apparent in sentences (a - c). In other cases a subordinate clause status is made clearer periphrastically by the addition of the perfect or imperfect forms of the inherently negative verb (-agg).
Exemples:
a. Na'ita č'oo-gissonta haasa'oi hanenna
child.Pl-Def cause-to-shut-up.SubNeg have-a-conversation.infO.Nom be-possible.ImpF-3M-Neg
Without (someone) making the children shut up, it's not possible to have a conversation
b. Iza zore siyo itts' onta muumi godoltsida
3FPron advice hear-VNO refuse.SubNeg remain-silent.3Pl cause-a-disaster.pf-3pl
Remaining silent (at the time) when she would not have refused to listen to advice, they allowed her to get into a real disaster
c. Ta šammonta aggi-šin uyees!
1SgDet]N buy.SubNeg fail.1.ImpfSub-DS drink.Impf-3M
He drinks when I don't buy it!
(Reference page 266) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Numerals edit
In Gamo language counting forms are in general identical to the citation (absolutive) forms except in the case of issinno ‘one’ where a variant form ista may be employed.
| Absolutive nominative oblique |
| 1 issinnó~istá Issinnóì~isstóì issί |
| 2 nam’á~na’’á nam’áì~nam’ί nam’ί |
| 3 heeddzá heeddzί heeddzί |
| 4 oiddá oiddí oiddí |
| 5 iččáča~iččáč iččáci iččáč |
| 6 usúppuna~usúppun usúppuni usúppun |
| 7 láappuna~laappun láappuni láappun |
| 8 όspuna~όspun όspuni όspun |
| 9 uddúpuna~uddúpun uddúpuni uddúpun |
| 10 támma támmi támmi |
The forms denoting multiples of ten are based on tamma, which is preceded by the appropriate cardinal numeral in its pre-nominal oblique case form
Examples
| 20 na’í | tamma~nam’í | tam~láatama |
| 30 heeddzí | tamma~heeddzí | tam~heestama |
| 40 oiddí | tamma~oiddí | tam~όitama |
| 50 iččáč | tamma~iččáči | tamma |
| 60 usúppun | tamma~usúppun | tam |
| 70 láappun | tamma~láappun | tam |
| 80 όspun | tamma~όspun | tam |
| 90 uddúpun | tamma~uddúpun | tam |
| 100 ts’eetá | ||
1000 kúma
(Reference page 141) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>
Notes edit
- ^ Gamo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Gofa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Dawro at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Raymond G. Gordon Jr., ed. 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 15th edition. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- ^ * Alemayehu Abebe, "Ometo Dialect Pilot Survey Report" SIL Electronic Survey Reports SILESR 2002-068
External links edit
- World Atlas of Language Structures information on Gamo