Beja language

The identification of Beja as an independent branch of Cushitic dates to the work of Enrico Cerulli between 1925 and 1951.[4] Due to Beja's linguistic innovations, Robert Hetzron argued that it constituted an independent branch of Afroasiatic.[5] Hetzron's proposal was generally rejected by other linguists, and Cerulli's identification of Beja as the sole member of a North Cushitic branch remains standard today across otherwise divergent proposals for the internal relations of the Cushitic language family.[6]

Beja nouns and adjectives have two genders: masculine and feminine, two numbers: singular and plural, two cases: nominative and oblique, and may be definite, indefinite, or in construct state.[20] Gender, case, and definiteness are not marked on the noun itself, but on clitics and affixes. Singular-plural pairs in Beja are unpredictable.

Plurals may be formed by:

• the addition of a suffix -a to the singular stem: gaw 'house', gawaab 'houses' (the final -b is an indefinite suffix)
• the shortening of the final syllable of the singular stem (or Ablaut in this syllable[21]): kaam 'camel', kam 'camels'
• shift of the accent from the ultimate to the penultimate syllable: haˈdhaab 'lion', ˈhadhaab 'lions'
• a combination of these.

A small number of nouns do not distinguish between singular and plural forms. Some nouns are always plural. A few nouns have suppletive plurals.[22]

A noun may be prefixed by a clitic definite article, or have an indefinite suffix. Definite articles indicate gender, number, and case. The indefinite suffix marks gender only, and does not appear in the nominative case.[23] For feminine common nouns, the indefinite suffix is -t; for masculine nouns and feminine proper nouns, -b. The indefinite suffixes only appear after vowels. The definite article is proclitic. It has the following forms with masculine monosyllabic nouns that do not begin with [h] or [']:

The feminine definite articles begin with [t] but are otherwise identical (tuu-, too-, taa-, tee-). With nouns longer than one syllable and with nouns that begin with [h] or ['], reduced forms of the definite article are used which do not distinguish between cases, but maintain gender distinctions. In some dialects (e.g. that described by Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa for Port Sudan) the reduced forms maintain number distinctions; in others (e.g. that described by Vanhove and Roper for Sinkat) they do not.

Possessive relationships are shown through a genitive suffix -ii (singular possessed) or -ee (plural possessed) which attaches to the possessing noun. If the possessing noun is feminine, the genitive marker will begin with [t]; if the possessed is feminine, the suffix will end with [t]. When the suffix does not end with the feminine marker [t], it reduces to -(t)i, whether singular or plural. Because this suffix adds a syllable to the noun, full forms of articles cannot be used; thus, the article on the noun itself does not indicate case. However, agreeing adjectives will be marked for oblique case. No article or indefinite suffix may be applied to the possessed noun. The possessed noun follows the possessor. Examples:

• utaki raaw 'the man's friend (m)'
• utakiit raaw 'the man's friend (f)'
• tutakatti raaw 'the woman's friend (m)'
• tutakattiit raaw 'the woman's friend (f)'
• indaayeet raw 'the men's friends (f)'

(The noun tak 'man' has the suppletive plural da 'men'; raaw 'friend' has the shortened plural raw 'friends'.)

Postpositions follow nouns in the genitive. Examples:[24]

• Whad'aayiida uutak eeya. 'The man came toward the chief/elder.' (-da: 'toward')
• W'oor t'aritti geeb eefi 'The boy is with the girls.' (geeb: 'with')

Adjectives follow the nominal heads of noun phrases. They agree in gender, number, case, and definiteness, and carry case and definiteness markers of the same form as nouns.

Clauses may be composed of two noun phrases or a noun phrase and a predicative adjective followed by a copular clitic. The copula agrees in person, gender, and number with the copula complement (the second term), but the first- and third-person forms are identical. The copular subject will be in the nominative case, the copular complement in the oblique. Oblique -b become -w before -wa. Copular complements that end in a vowel will employ an epenthetic y between the final vowel and any vowel-initial copular clitic.

[25]

Examples:[26]

• Ani akraabu. "I am strong."
• Baruuk akraawwa. "You are strong."
• Baruuh hadhaabu. "He is a lion."
• Tuun ay-girshaytu. "This is a five-piastre piece."
• Hinin Imeeraaba. "We are Amirab."
• Baraah imaka. "They are the donkeys."
• Baraah igwharaaya. "They are the thieves."

Beja verbs have two different types, first noted by Almkvist: "strong verbs", which conjugate with both prefixes and suffixes and have several principal parts; and "weak verbs", which conjugate with suffixes only and which have a fixed root. Verbs conjugate for a number of tense, aspect, modality, and polarity variations, which have been given different names by different linguists:

(Roper analyzes additional subjunctive forms where Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa, and Vanhove see a conditional particle.)

Each of the above forms has a corresponding negative. (Vanhove refers to the imperative negative as the "prohibitive".) The past continuous and past share a past negative. Negative forms are not derived from corresponding positive forms, but are independent conjugations.

Every verb has a corresponding deverbal noun, which Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa refer to as a "noun of action", Vanhove calls an "action noun", and Roper a "nomen actionis". Numerous serial verb constructions exist which connote different aspectual and potential meanings.[27]

The third person masculine singular positive imperative is the citation form of the verb. Weak verbs have a long final suffix -aa while strong verbs have a short final suffix -a. For both weak and strong verbs, the negative imperative is formed by an identical set of prefixes baa- (for masculine singular and common plural) and bii- (for feminine singular). Strong verbs use a negative imperative root which has a lengthened vowel.[28]

Every Beja verb has a corresponding deverbal noun (Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa: "noun of action"; Vanhove: "action noun"; Roper: "nomen actionis"). For weak verbs, the deverbal noun is formed by a suffix -ti attached to the imperative root (see above). For strong verbs, deverbal nouns are not entirely predictable.

Examples:

• Weak verbs: diwaaa "to sleep" → diwtiib "sleeping"; afooyaa "to forgive" → afootiib "forgiving"
• Strong verbs: adhidha "to hobble" → adhuudh "hobbling"; nikwiyi "to be pregnant" → nakwiit "being pregnant"

There are patterns in strong verb deverbal nouns related to the structure of the citation form of the verb. However, these are not consistent.[29]

A further derived form is a suffix -aa attached to the citation root, and then followed by -b for masculine nouns and -t for feminine. Examples:

This form may be used as an adjective, but it is also employed in the construction of multiple conjugated negative forms. Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa analyse this form as a participle.[30] Martine Vanhove analyses it as a manner converb -a.[31]

The past continuous stem for strong verbs is not derivable from any other verb stem. The negative of the past continuous is identical to that of the past: There is only one past tense negative form. For both weak and strong verbs, the past negative is formed through a deverbal participial or converbal form (see above) followed by the present negative of the irregular verb aka "to be".[32]

Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa describe the past continuous as being used for "habitual, repeated actions of the (more distant) past."[33] It is the verb conjugation used for counterfactual conditionals, which leads to Roper's identifying this tense as the "conditional". It is also frequently used in narratives.[34]

The past or perfective stem for strong verbs is identical to the citation form (imperative) stem, with predictable phonetic modifications.[35] The negative is identical to that of the past continuous/aorist (above).

The present or imperfective has two stems for positive strong verbs, while the negative strong stem is identical to that used for the imperative (and thus also for past/perfective verbs).[35] Weak negative verbs add the prefix ka- to positive past/perfective forms.

The strong future stem is described differently by Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa and by Vanhove. Both agree that it is a fixed stem followed by a present/imperfective conjugated form of the verb diya "to say." Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa's strong stem is similar to the past continuous/aorist stem (next section), and identical for all numbers, genders, and persons, except the first person plural, which has a prefixed n-. For Vanhove, there are distinct singular and plural stems which are identical to the past continuous/aorist first person singular and plural, respectively.[36] Similarly, for weak verbs, Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa have a future stem ending in -i with a first person plural -ni, followed by a present tense/imperfective conjugation of diya. Vanhove sees the -i as a singular future, and the -ni as a general plural. For negative verbs, the negative present/imperfective of diya is used as the conjugated auxiliary.

(NB: Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa see verbs of the form CiCiC as having identical past continuous [aorist] and future stems. Some verbs of other forms have different stems, which would lead to a greater divergence between the forms described by them and those described by Vanhove.) E.M. Roper, describing the same dialect as Vanhove, identifies the stem employed as being identical to the past continuous/aorist (for him, "conditional"—see above), just as Vanhove does. However, he understands the form with n- as being used only with the first person plural, as Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa do.[37]

In addition to the future, Bidhaawyeet has a similar form expressing desire to undertake an act or intention to do so. The citation root takes a suffix -a for all persons, genders, and numbers, and is followed by a present tense/imperfective conjugated form of the verb diya "to say", as the future is.[38]

There is distinct disagreement between the major grammars of the past century on the modal conjugation or conjugations referred to as "jussive," "optative," and "potential."

Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa describe a "jussive" with the following paradigm. For strong verbs, the first person is based on the past/perfective stem, and the persons are based on the future stem; no negative jussive is given:

They give various examples of the jussive with translations into English, in order to give a sense of the meaning:

• Araatatay! "Let me ask!"
• Naan gw'ata? "What would you (m) like to drink?"
• Hindeeh nihiriway! "Please let us look for it!" (Atmaan dialect)[39]

Vanhove identifies a complex "potential" form composed of a nominalizing suffix -at followed by a present/imperfective reduced conjugation of the verb m'a 'come' (eeya in the non-reduced present/imperfective).

Vanhove describes the potential as expressing "epistemic modalities of inference or near-certainty."[40] Examples below, with the potential verbs in bold:

• "Deeyaraneek kaakan dabal had fiinataay," indi een. "'I am really exhausted, so I should rest a while,' he says."

Additionally, she recognizes an optative with positive and negative polarity. The positive optative is formed from a prefix baa- to the past continuous/aorist. The negative construction is more complex. In some dialects, the final -aay of most forms of the weak negative is a short -ay:

Vanhove gives no explanation for the use of the optative positive. The optative negative is used in conditional clauses with meanings of incapacity and necessity:

• "Har'iisii bity'aheebaay," ani. "'Don't let it come from behind me!' I told myself."
• Naat bitkatiim mhiin uumeek ingad. "The donkey stopped in a place where nothing can arrive."
• Dhaabi biidiiyeeb hiisan. "I thought he would not be able to run."
• Yaa iraanaay, ooyhaam thab'a! Baakwinhaay akaabuuyit... "Oh, man, hit the leopard! I don't need to shout at you and…"[41]

The following list is drawn from Wedekind, Wedekind, and Musa's 2007 grammar and Roper's 1928 handbook. Nouns are given in indefinite accusative forms (the citation form); unless marked otherwise, forms that end in "t" are feminine and all others are masculine. Verbs are given in the singular masculine imperative.

1. ^ Beja handles negation through distinct negative polarity conjugation. There is no lexical "not."
2. ^ In some dialects liiliit means "pupil."
3. ^ Ragad refers to the foot and leg.
4. ^ This is a rare suppletive imperative. Other forms of the verb have no /m/ and are constructed around a consonantal root /j/.
5. ^ Sootaay covers the blue-green range.

"Ten" has combining forms for the production of teens and products of ten. Numbers from 11–19 are formed by tamna- followed by the units. E.g., "fourteen" is tamna fadhig. Combining ones use the form -gwir; e.g., "eleven" is tamnagwir. "Twenty" is tagwuugw. "Twenty-one" is tagwgwagwir. "Thirty" is mhay tamun; "forty" is fadhig tamun; "fifty" is ay tamun; etc. "One hundred" is sheeb. For higher numbers, Beja-speakers use Arabic terms.

Ordinal numbers are formed by the addition of a suffix -a. "First" is awwal, borrowed from Arabic.

"Half" is tarab. Other fractions are borrowed from Arabic.[48]