Reflexive prefix (nomadic varieties only)
The prefix nǝ- or nǝm- in Tagdal and Tadaksahak form reflexives – indicates actions in which the actors are performing the action upon each other, as in the following examples in Table 16.
[INSERT TABLE 16 HERE]
Table 16: the Berber reflexive in nomadic Northern Songhay languages
|
Verb root, Tadaksahak
|
Verb root, Tagdal
|
Reflexive verb
|
a. yirkǝb ‘pull’
|
ǝrkǝb ‘pull’
|
nǝmǝrkǝb ‘pull each other’
|
b. yistǝq ‘turn away’
|
ǝstǝq ‘turn away’
|
nǝmǝstǝq ‘turn each other away’
|
c. yiqǝl ‘wait’
|
ǝqǝl ‘wait’
|
nǝmǝqǝl ‘wait for each other’
|
d. yinfa ‘benefit’
|
ǝnfa ‘benefit’
|
nǝmǝnfa ‘benefit each other’
|
If the verb root is Songhay, an already-reflexive Berber form suppletes the Songhay verb root (see Table 17).
[INSERT TABLE/ 17 HERE]
Table 17: suppletive Songhay verb roots with Berber reflexive, nomadic Northern Songhay languages
|
Verb root of Songhay origin
|
|
Reflexive form
|
a. dab ‘dress’
|
|
nǝmsǝlsa ‘dress each other’
|
b. bay ‘know’
|
|
nǝmzǝdday ‘know each other’
|
c. zoq ‘fight’
|
|
nǝmǝgːǝr ‘fight each other’
|
d. haŋga ‘hear’
|
|
Nǝmsǝdːǝrgǝn ‘listen to each other’
|
e. harhor ‘play’
|
|
nǝmǝdːǝl ‘play together’
|
Sedentary Tasawaq does not have a reflexive affix, nor have we been able to find instances of it being used in natural speech, like cases of the Berber causative. Instead, it has a syntactic construction with a similar function, described in section 2.2.4 below.
-
ʃarayen construction
Tagdal and Tasawaq have a syntactic construction using ʃarayen42 – ‘friends’ in Songhay – to indicate that the subject and the direct object are performing the action of the verb upon each other, similar in function to the reflexive affix in Tagdal and Tadaksahak.43 Some examples are in Table 18. It is worth noting that we only heard one instance of the tʃaːren construction in Tadaksahak, which a number of other Tadaksahak speakers found unacceptable. Instead, the default seems to be the reflexive affix.
[INSERT TABLE 18 HERE]
Table 18: Songhay construction using ʃarayen in Northern Songhay languages
|
Tagdal
|
Tadaksahak
|
Tasawaq44
|
a.
|
ibhaʃi ʃarayen
|
ibhasi tʃaːren.*
|
ibhasay siraːyen.
|
i=
|
b-
|
haʃi
|
ʃaray -en
|
i=
|
b-
|
hasi
|
tʃaːray -en
|
i=
|
b-
|
hasay
|
siray –en
|
3p
|
INC
|
look
|
friend PL
|
3p
|
INC
|
look
|
friend PL
|
3p
|
INC
|
look
|
friend PL
|
‘They were looking at each other.’
|
‘They were looking at each other.’
|
‘They were looking at each other.’
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
b.
|
ina ʃarayen.
|
inǝkfa.
|
ina siraːyen.
|
i=
|
Na
|
ʃaray -en
|
i=
|
nǝm-
|
ǝkfa
|
i=
|
na
|
siraːy –en
|
3s
|
Give
|
friend PL
|
3s
|
REC
|
give
|
3s
|
give
|
friend PL
|
‘They gave to each together.’
|
‘They gave to each together...’
|
‘They gave to each together.’
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c.
|
isǝqǝrǝt ʃarayen.
|
inǝmǝnsu.
|
isǝqǝrǝt siraːyen.
|
i=
|
sǝqǝrǝt
|
ʃaray -en
|
i=
|
nǝm-
|
ǝnsu
|
i= sǝqǝrǝt
|
siraːy -en
|
3p
|
scream
|
friend PL
|
3p
|
REC
|
scream
|
3p scream
|
friend PL
|
They screamed at each other.’
|
‘They screamed at each other.’
|
‘They screamed at each other.’
|
Zarma has a construction using tʃaːre ‘friend’, while Təwəlləmmət uses the reflexive prefix nǝm- (see Table 19).
[INSERT TABLE 19 HERE]
Table 19: same sample sentences in mainstream Songhay and Berber
|
Təwəlləmmət
|
Zarma
|
a.
|
ǝnǝmaswadan.
|
igo tʃaːre guːna.
|
ǝnǝm-
|
aswad
|
-an
|
i=
|
-go
|
tʃaːre
|
guːna
|
REF-
|
look
|
3p
|
3p
|
INC
|
friend
|
Look
|
‘They were looking at each other.’
|
‘They were looking at each other.’
|
|
|
|
b.
|
ǝnǝmakfan.
|
ina tʃaːre se.
|
ǝnǝm-
|
akf
|
-an
|
i=
|
Na
|
tʃaːre
|
Se
|
REF
|
give
|
-3p
|
3p
|
give
|
friend
|
DAT
|
‘They gave to each together.’
|
‘They gave to each together.’
|
|
|
c.
|
ǝnǝmasaɣaren.
|
ikati tʃaːre ga.
|
ǝnǝm-
|
asaɣar
|
-en
|
i=
|
kati
|
tʃaːre
|
Ga
|
REF
|
scream
|
-3p
|
3p
|
scream
|
friend
|
At
|
‘The screamed at each other.’
|
‘The screamed at each other.’
|
-
Passive (Nomadic varieties only)
The prefix tǝw- or t- added onto Berber verb roots forms the passive voice in Tagdal and Tadaksahak. Some examples are given in Table 20.
[INSERT TABLE 20 HERE]
Table 20: Berber passive voice, nomadic Northern Songhay languages
|
Verb root, Tadaksahak
|
Verb root, Tagdal
|
Passive form
|
a. yibǝt ‘snatch’
|
ibǝt ‘snatch’
|
tibǝt ‘snatched’
|
b. yiqbul ‘accept’
|
ǝqbǝl ‘accept’
|
tǝwǝqbǝl ‘accepted’
|
c. kǝsan ‘dislike’
|
ǝksǝn ‘dislike’
|
tǝwǝksǝn ‘disliked’
|
If the verb root is Songhay, an already-passive Berber form suppletes the Songhay verb root as Table 21 shows.
[INSERT TABLE 21 HERE]
Table 21: suppletive Songhay verb roots with Berber passive, nomadic Northern Songhay languages
|
Verb root of Songhay origin
|
|
Suppleted passive form
|
a. bay ‘know’
|
|
tǝwǝsǝn ‘known’
|
b. nin ‘drink’
|
|
tǝwǝʃu ‘drunk’
|
c. ʒin ‘grab / take’
dʒin (Tadaksahak)
|
|
tǝwǝṭkǝl ‘grabbed / taken’
|
[INSERT TABLE 22 HERE]
Tasawaq has no passive voice. But it does have a syntactic construction with a similar function. Therefore, the nomadic varieties, Tagdal and Tadaksahak, both have a series of derivational morphemes affixed onto Berber verb roots: the causative s-, the reflexive nǝm- and the passive tǝw-. If the verb root is of Songhay origin, the default strategy is to supplete the root with one of Berber origin, with the derivational prefix lexicalised. Sedentary Tasawaq, on the other hand, only has the causative suffix –nda, which affixes only onto Songhay verb roots. Table 22 below demonstrates the default derivational strategies in the various languages in question.
Table 22: derivational affixes, Northern Songhay, Berber, mainstream Songhay
|
|
Tagdal
|
Tadaksahak
|
Tasawaq
|
Tayart
|
Gao Songhay
|
Causative
|
s-
|
s-
|
s-*45/-nda
|
s-
|
-ndi
|
Reflexive
|
nǝm-
|
nǝm-
|
-
|
nǝ-/nǝm-
|
-
|
Passive
|
tǝw-
|
tǝw-
|
-
|
t(V)w-
|
-
|
-
Syntactic construction with same function as Passive voice
Northern Songhay languages have a type of syntactic construction with a similar function, which places the direct object in the fronted position within the sentence, where the subject would normally go. Though technically not a passive construction – verb valence does not change – its function is similar: to downplay the importance of the AGENT and bring the UNDERGOER into prominence (see Table 23).
[INSERT TABLE 23 HERE]
Table 23: the functional-inverse construction in Northern Songhay languages
|
Tagdal
|
Tadaksahak
|
Tasawaq
|
a.
|
aro akar ize.
|
aro akar izatʃe.
|
aro akar ize.
|
aro
|
a=
|
kar
|
Ize
|
aro
|
a=
|
kar
|
izatʃe
|
aro
|
a=
|
kar
|
Ize
|
man
|
3s
|
hit
|
Child
|
man
|
3s
|
hit
|
child
|
man
|
3s
|
hit
|
child
|
‘The man hit the child.’
|
‘The man hit the child.’
|
‘The man hit the child.’
|
ize aro akar.
|
izatʃe aro akar.
|
ize aro akar.
|
ize
|
Aro
|
a=
|
Kar
|
izatʃe
|
aro
|
a=
|
kar
|
ize
|
aro
|
a=
|
Kar
|
child
|
man
|
3s
|
Hit
|
child
|
man
|
3s
|
hit
|
child
|
man
|
3s
|
hit
|
‘It was the child the man hit.’
|
‘It was the child the man hit.’
|
‘It was the child the man hit.’
|
b.
|
irimay moːta.
|
aremay toruft.
|
irimay moːta.
|
iri=
|
may
|
moːta
|
are=
|
may
|
toruft
|
iri=
|
may
|
moːta
|
1p
|
have
|
Car
|
1p
|
have
|
Car
|
1p
|
have
|
Car
|
‘We have a car.’
|
‘We have a car.’
|
‘We have a car.’
|
moːta irimay.
|
toruft aremay.
|
moːta irimay.
|
moːta
|
iri=
|
may
|
toruft
|
are=
|
may
|
moːta
|
iri=
|
May
|
car
|
1p
|
Have
|
Car
|
1p
|
have
|
car
|
1p
|
have
|
‘It is a car we have.’
|
‘It is a car we have.’
|
‘It is a car we have.’
|
c.
|
anjiguːna amǝgːǝr?
|
andeguːna amǝgːǝr?
|
andǝguːna amǝgːǝr?
|
anji=
|
guːna
|
amǝgːǝr
|
ande=
|
guːna
|
amǝgːǝr
|
andi=
|
guːna
|
amǝgːǝr
|
2p
|
see
|
Battle
|
2p
|
see
|
Battle
|
2p
|
see
|
Battle
|
‘Did you (PL) see the fight?’
|
‘Did you (PL) see the fight?’
|
‘Did you (PL) see the fight?’
|
amǝgːǝr anjiguːna?
|
amǝgːǝr andeguːna?
|
amǝgːǝr andiguːna?
|
amǝgːǝr
|
anji=
|
guːna
|
amǝgːǝr
|
ande=
|
guːna
|
amǝgːǝr
|
anji=
|
guːna
|
Battle
|
2p
|
See
|
battle
|
2p
|
see
|
battle
|
2p
|
See
|
‘Was it the fight you (PL) saw?’
|
‘Was it the fight you (PL) saw?’
|
‘Was it the fight you (PL) saw?’
|
Therefore, Northern Songhay languages have two syntactic constructions of Songhay origin with similar functions to the derivational prefixes. The ʃarayen construction – siraːyenin Tasawaq – which possibly does not exist in Tadaksahak,46 has a similar function to the Berber reflexive nǝm-. Similarly, the construction which fronts the UNDERGOER, thus bringing it into prominence, has a similar function as the passive voice prefix tǝw- of Berber origin. These constructions often involve both transfer of fabric (Grant 2002), that is to say the copying of actual morphemes with their senses, and transfer of pattern, which is the copying from other languages of ways in which morphemes (of whatever origin) are deployed. The two kinds of transfer are of course not incompatible.
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