A grammar of Kuteb

A Jukunoid language of

East-Central Nigeria

Robert Koops

African Language monographs I

KAY WILLIAMSON EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

Rüdiger Köppe Publishers, Köln

 KAY WILLIAMSON EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (KWEF)

Preface

The Kay Williamson Educational Foundation exists to continue the work of the late
Professor Kay Williamson, formerly professor of Nigerian Heritage at the
University of Port Harcourt. The Trust, managed by friends and colleagues of Kay,
has two main goals;

a) To prepare for publication various manuscripts and studies which were left
after the death of Professor Williamson
b) To encourage new research and publication on Nigerian languages

In view of the numbers of manuscripts in limbo for lack of financial support, the
Foundation has initiated a publication series in conjunction with the publisher
Rüdiger Köppe of Köln. Books of international interest will be printed in Europe in
sufficient numbers to be both made available to scholars worldwide and to be sold
at a subsidised price within West Africa, in particular to make available these texts
to the communities whose language is described.

The trustees are pleased to support this, the first publication in the series, a
grammar of Kuteb, by Robert Koops. Kuteb, and indeed the whole Jukunoid family
remains a poorly-known group of languages and this makes a substantial
contribution to expanding our understanding of them. A dictionary of the Kuteb
language is also in preparation. This should be the first stage in an extended project
of publication, encompassing existing materials and those prepared with
Foundation funding.
Roger Blench
(For the trustees)
December 2007
Please visit
http://www.rogerblench.info/KWEF/KWEF/KWEF%20opening%20page.htm
i Kuteb grammar front matter
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments .................................................................................... x
Table of Abbreviations ............................................................................ xi

CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION............................................................. 1

1.1 Introduction..................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Language, geography, and culture .................................................................. 1
1.2.1 Geographical, Social, and Historical Background ................................... 2
1.2.2 Culture and Religion ................................................................................ 7
1.3 Linguistic Classification ................................................................................. 9
1.4 Dialects and Orthography ............................................................................. 10
1.5 Theoretical Approach.................................................................................... 12
1.6 History of Research and Writing in Kuteb.................................................... 14
1.7 Sources of Data ............................................................................................. 15
Images of the Kuteb area in the 1970s .................................................. 16
CHAPTER TWO. PHONOLOGY PART I: SEGMENTS............................ 19
2.1 Introduction: vowels, consonants, tones ....................................................... 19
2.2 Vowels .......................................................................................................... 20
2.2.1 Oral Vowels .......................................................................................... 20
2.2.1.1 The Phonemic Status of [i]............................................................. 21
2.2.1.2 The vowel /i/ in noun prefixes ....................................................... 22
2.2.1.3 The central vowel /i/ in reduplicated syllables............................... 22
2.2.2 Nasal Vowels ........................................................................................ 23
2.2.2.1 Contrasts between oral and nasal vowels:...................................... 24
2.2.2.2 Contrasts among nasal vowels: ...................................................... 24
2.2.2.3 Description of the Nasal Vowels: .................................................. 24
2.2.2.4 Discussion of Nasal Vowels .......................................................... 24
2.2.3 Vowel Length......................................................................................... 25
2.2.4 Vowel Assimilation and Elision............................................................. 25
2.2.4.1 Factors in Vowel Elision................................................................ 25
2.2.4.2 Elision in verb-object sequences.................................................... 26
2.2.4.3 Elision in the Associative Construction ......................................... 26
2.2.4.4 Other Environments for Elision ..................................................... 27
2.3 Consonants .................................................................................................... 30
2.3.1 Simple Stops ......................................................................................... 31
2.3.2 Affricated Stops .................................................................................... 33
2.3.3 Fricatives ............................................................................................... 35
Kuteb grammar front matter ii
2.3.4 Resonants .............................................................................................. 36
2.3.5 Flap and Lateral..................................................................................... 37
2.3.6 Approximants........................................................................................ 37
2.3.7 Distribution of Consonants .................................................................... 37
2.4 Consonant Clusters ....................................................................................... 38
2.4.1 Welmers (1948): Complex Obstruents................................................... 39
2.4.2 Complex alveopalatal consonants as per Shimizu (1980)...................... 40
2.4.3 An alternative analysis of complex consonants ..................................... 40
2.4.4 Modified Consonants and Syllable Structure......................................... 41
2.4.4.1 C + approximant as a vowel sequence (CVV)............................... 42
2.4.4.2 C + approximant as a modified Single Consonant (Cw, Cy).......... 42
2.4.4.3 C + Semivowel as Consonant Cluster (CC)................................... 42
2.4.5 Modified Labials .................................................................................... 43
2.4.6 Modified Alveolars: ............................................................................... 44
2.4.7 Modified Velars ..................................................................................... 45
2.4.8 The possibility of CCC Clusters ............................................................ 45
2.5 The Standard Orthography............................................................................ 45
CHAPTER THREE. PHONOLOGY PART II: PROSODY ......................... 47
3.1 Introduction................................................................................................... 47
3.2 Tone Patterns................................................................................................. 47
3.2.1 Tone Levels............................................................................................ 47
3.2.2 Tone Sequences...................................................................................... 49
3.3 Defining the syllable ..................................................................................... 50
3.3.1 The Role of Tone in defining the Syllable ............................................. 50
3.3.2 Rhythmic Patterns and the syllable ....................................................... 51
3.3.3 Grammatical Structure and Syllable Structure...................................... 51
3.3.4 Recurring Consonant-Vowel Sequences............................................... 52
3.3.4.1 The Syllable Nucleus ..................................................................... 52
3.3.4.2 Syllable Boundaries and Canonical Shapes ................................... 53
3.3.5 Sonority and Syllabicity......................................................................... 54
3.3.6 Ambiguities in syllable Division............................................................ 54
3.4 Tonal Sandhi (Tone-sequence rules)............................................................. 55
3.4.1 Tone Spreading ...................................................................................... 56
3.4.2 Noun Objects after High- and Mid-tone Verbs ...................................... 56
3.4.3 Verbs after Future Marker...................................................................... 57
3.4.4 Associative-possessive Marker .............................................................. 57
3.5 High Tone ‘Up-step’ ..................................................................................... 58
3.6 Larger Phonological Units ............................................................................ 59
3.6.1 Phonological Words ............................................................................... 59
3.6.2 Phonological Phrases ............................................................................. 59
iii Kuteb grammar front matter
CHAPTER FOUR. WORD CLASSES ...................................................... 61
4.1 Introduction................................................................................................... 61
4.2 Major Word Classes: Nouns and Verbs ........................................................ 61
4.2.1 Nouns ..................................................................................................... 62
4.2.1.1 Identifying features of Nouns (Noun Morphology) ....................... 62
4.2.1.2 Functional Classes of Nouns.......................................................... 63
4.2.2 Verbs ...................................................................................................... 68
4.2.2.1 Identifying Features ....................................................................... 68
4.2.2.2 Problems in verb analysis .............................................................. 69
4.2.2.3 Functional Classes of verbs ........................................................... 70
4.2.2.4 Does Kuteb have Verbal Extensions?............................................ 76
4.3 Minor Word Classes...................................................................................... 80
4.3.1 Adverbs .................................................................................................. 80
4.3.2 Adjectives--an emerging category?........................................................ 81
4.3.2.1 Formal Features of the Proposed Adjectival Category .................. 82
4.3.2.2 Distribution of the Proposed Adjectives ........................................ 83
4.3.2.3 Conclusion of ‘adjective’ discussion ............................................. 86
4.3.3 Pronouns................................................................................................. 87
4.3.4 Interjections............................................................................................ 87
4.3.5 Particles: TAM markers and Determiners.............................................. 87
4.3.5.1 Tense-Aspect-Mood Markers. ....................................................... 87
4.3.5.2 Determiners.................................................................................... 88
4.3.6 Prepositions............................................................................................ 88
4.3.7 Conjunctions .......................................................................................... 89
4.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 89
CHAPTER FIVE. THE NOUN PHRASE (1) .............................................. 91
5.1 Introduction................................................................................................... 91
5.2 Simple Nominals........................................................................................... 91
5.2.1 Simple Nouns ......................................................................................... 91
5.2.1.1 The Noun Class System ................................................................. 92
5.2.1.2 Grammatical Classes of Nouns ...................................................... 98
5.2.2 Derived Nouns ..................................................................................... 100
5.2.2.1 Proper Names:.............................................................................. 100
5.2.2.2 Nouns formed from Verb + Object Noun .................................... 101
5.2.2.3 Nouns of N + V structure:............................................................ 101
5.2.2.4 Nouns formed by reduplication.................................................... 101
5.2.2.5 Nouns formed from the Associative Construction....................... 102
5.2.2.6 Nominalizations with Prefix + tī.................................................. 102
5.2.2.7 Nominalized clauses (prefix + tā+ S)........................................... 105
Kuteb grammar front matter iv
5.2.2.8 Nominalizations with Incorporated Object .................................. 106
5.2.2.9 Nominalized Possessive Pronouns............................................... 107
5.2.2.10 Nominalized Possessive Nouns ................................................. 108
5.2.2.11 Nominalized Specifiers.............................................................. 108
5.2.2.12 Nominalized Demonstrative ...................................................... 111
5.2.2.13 Numerals .................................................................................... 111
5.3 Pronouns ..................................................................................................... 114
5.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 115
CHAPTER SIX. THE NOUN PHRASE (2) .............................................. 116
6.1 Introduction................................................................................................. 116
6.2 NP’s with determiners................................................................................. 117
6.2.1 The specifier íkīn.................................................................................. 117
6.2.2 Referentials: awū/wū, abā/bā ayī/yī ..................................................... 120
6.2.3 Demonstratives..................................................................................... 120
6.2.4 NPs with quantifiers............................................................................. 121
6.2.5 NPs with Adjectives............................................................................. 122
6.3 NPs with relator tī ....................................................................................... 122
6.3.1 NPs with numeral attributive component............................................. 122
6.3.2 NPs with nominal attributive component............................................. 123
6.3.3 NPs with Adjectival Component.......................................................... 124
6.3.4 Nominals with Sentence as Attributive Element.................................. 125
6.4 Nominals with ná and / ΄ / (genitive) .......................................................... 126
6.4.1 The form and meaning of the genitive ................................................. 126
6.4.2 Development of Prepositional Phrases from N ΄ N.............................. 129
6.4.2.1. Risū ‘on, over’ (from risū ‘head’)............................................... 131
6.4.2.2 Uwae ‘in, into’ (from uwae ‘inside’) ........................................... 132
6.4.2.3 Uwé ‘in front of’ (from uwé ‘face’)............................................. 132
6.4.2.4 Isim ‘behind’ (from isim ‘back’) ................................................. 133
6.4.2.5 Uwōg ‘at’ (from uwōg ‘place’).................................................... 134
6.4.2.6 Ijwē ‘into, in, at’ (from ijwē ‘body’)............................................ 134
6.4.2.7 Unzu ‘edge of’ (from unzu ‘mouth’) ........................................... 135
6.4.2.8 Kutáŋpwā ‘between’ .................................................................... 136
6.4.2.9 Yī ‘To’ ......................................................................................... 136
6.5 Co-ordinate Noun Phrases .......................................................................... 136
6.6. Appositives................................................................................................. 137
6.7 Discussion of the Noun Phrase ................................................................... 138
6.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 140
CHAPTER SEVEN. SIMPLE SENTENCE STRUCTURE ....................... 141
7.1 Introduction................................................................................................. 141
v Kuteb grammar front matter
7.1.1 Criteria for Categorization ................................................................... 141
7.1.2 Kinds of Propositions and Semantic Roles .......................................... 142
7.1.3 Grammatical Roles: "Subject," and "Object"....................................... 142
7.1.4 Prepositional Phrases ........................................................................... 143
7.1.5 Overview.............................................................................................. 143
7.2 Sentences with one Argument..................................................................... 144
7.2.1 Stative................................................................................................... 144
7.2.1.1 Statives and Imperfect.................................................................. 144
7.2.1.2 Statives and Locative Expressions............................................... 145
7.2.1.3 Statives and Expressions of Degree ............................................. 146
7.2.1.4 Statives and Ideophones............................................................... 146
7.2.1.5 Statives and Reflexives ................................................................ 147
7.2.2 Non-stative One-Argument Sentences: Traditional ‘Intransitive’ ....... 149
7.3 Sentences with Two Arguments ................................................................. 154
7.3.1 Equative Sentences............................................................................... 155
7.3.2 Sentences with Locative Verbs ............................................................ 159
7.3.2.1 The basic locative verb (tá).......................................................... 159
7.3.2.2 Sentences with Motion Verbs ...................................................... 161
7.3.2.3 Sentences with verbs of Posture/Position .................................... 162
7.3.3 Transitive sentences: introduction........................................................ 165
7.3.3.1 Restricted- object Transitive Sentences ....................................... 167
7.3.3.2 Cognate-object Sentences ............................................................ 170
7.3.3.3 Defining Characteristics of Two-Argument Sentences................ 172
7.3.3.4 Conclusion on Transitivity........................................................... 179
7.4 Sentences with Three Arguments................................................................ 180
7.4.1 Subject + Benefactive +Goal ............................................................... 181
7.4.2 Subject + Benefactive + Instrument.................................................... 182
7.4.3 Subject + Benefactive + Body Part ...................................................... 184
7.4.4 Other Three-argument Sentences ........................................................ 186
7.5 Sentences with Four Arguments ................................................................. 189
7.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 190
CHAPTER EIGHT. SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS ......................... 191
8.1 Introduction................................................................................................. 191
8.2 Identification of Serial Verbs in Kuteb ....................................................... 192
8.2.1 Negation Sharing.................................................................................. 192
8.2.2 Argument Sharing ............................................................................... 194
8.2.2.1 Object Sharing ............................................................................. 194
8.2.2.2 Subject Sharing ........................................................................... 195
8.2.3 Sharing of Auxiliaries ......................................................................... 196
8.2.3.1 SVCs with Shared FUTURE Marker......................................... 196
Kuteb grammar front matter vi
8.2.3.2 SVCs with shared imperfective marker ...................................... 197
8.2.3.3 SVCs with Shared PERFECTIVE Marker................................. 198
8.2.3.5 SVCs with Shared INDIRECT SPEECH Marker...................... 199
8.2.3.5 SVCs with Shared conditional Marker ....................................... 200
8.3 Some Serial Verb Constructions ................................................................. 201
8.3.1 Motion SVC ......................................................................................... 201
8.3.2 Motion-Action SVC ............................................................................. 206
8.3.2.1 Direction-Action SVC ................................................................ 207
8.3.2.2 Action-Direction SVC ................................................................ 208
8.3.3 Case-role Marking SVC8..................................................................... 210
8.3.3.1 Patientizing SVC......................................................................... 210
8.3.3.2 Instrumental SVC........................................................................ 210
8.3.3.3 Benefactive SVC......................................................................... 211
8.3.3.4 The Commitative SVC................................................................ 213
8.3.4 Comparative SVC ................................................................................ 216
8.3.5 Colexicalizations .................................................................................. 217
8.4 Serial Verbs and the Sequential Conjunction.............................................. 219
8.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 221
CHAPTER NINE. TENSE, ASPECT, MOOD, NEGATION, AND
QUESTIONS .......................................................................................... 222
9.1 Introduction................................................................................................. 222
9.2 Kuteb TAM markers ................................................................................... 222
9.2.1 Tense: The Future Marker ú................................................................. 224
9.2.1.1 Formal Features of Future............................................................ 224
9.2.1.2 Functions of ú (FUT) ................................................................... 225
9.2.2 Aspect................................................................................................... 226
9.2.2.1 Perfective Action Marker pú (‘PRF’) .......................................... 227
9.2.2.2 Ongoing Action: Imperfective (‘IMP’)........................................ 230
9.2.2.3 Other Time-related Markers......................................................... 233
9.2.3 Mood .................................................................................................... 241
9.2.3.1 Imperative .................................................................................... 241
9.2.3.2 Hortative (‘HO’) .......................................................................... 242
9.2.3.3 Reported Speech Sentences ......................................................... 245
9.2.3.4 Conditional Sentences.................................................................. 245
9.3 Negative sentences...................................................................................... 246
9.4 Questions..................................................................................................... 248
9.4.1 Yes-No Questions ................................................................................ 248
9.4.2 Content Questions ................................................................................ 248
9.4.3 Other Question Words.......................................................................... 250
9.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 251
vii Kuteb grammar front matter
CHAPTER TEN. DEICTICS, PRONOUNS, AND ANAPHORA .............. 253
10.1 Introduction............................................................................................... 253
10.2 Deixis: Pronouns and Demonstratives ...................................................... 253
10.2.1 Pronouns............................................................................................. 253
10.2.1.1 Form of the pronouns................................................................. 253
10.2.1.2 Independent pronouns............................................................... 254
10.2.1.3 Subject pronouns........................................................................ 254
10.2.1.4 Object Pronouns........................................................................ 255
10.2.1.5 Possessive and Verb Focus Pronouns ........................................ 256
10.2.1.6 Verb-Focus Pronouns and Object Pronouns in Sequence......... 257
10.2.1.7 A Comparison of pronouns in Southern Taraba ....................... 258
10.2.1.8 Pronouns: meaning.................................................................... 259
10.2.2 Demonstratives, Spatial and Temporal Deictics ................................ 260
10.2.2.1 Spatial Deictics and Demonstratives......................................... 261
10.2.2.2 Temporal Deictics..................................................................... 264
10.3 Anaphora: the use of awū, abā, ayī in text ................................................ 264
10.3.1 Spatial, Temporal, and Instrumental Anaphora................................. 267
10.3.2 Discussion of Text Referring Expressions ........................................ 268
10.3.3 Link between PN, DEM, and SPEC.................................................. 269
10.4 Reflexive Pronouns ................................................................................... 269
10.5 Independent Possessive Pronouns............................................................. 270
10.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 270
CHAPTER ELEVEN. COMPLEX SENTENCES ..................................... 271
11.1 Introduction............................................................................................... 271
11.2 Sentence Types in Kuteb........................................................................... 271
11.2.1 Sentences with Relative Clauses ........................................................ 271
11.2.2 Sentences expressing speech and thought (Verba Dicendi)............... 273
11.2.3 Purpose Sentences.............................................................................. 274
11.2.4 Reason Sentences ............................................................................... 274
11.2.5 Conditional Sentences........................................................................ 275
11.2.6 Counterfactual Conditions ................................................................. 275
11.2.7 Adversative ........................................................................................ 275
11.2.8 Sequential........................................................................................... 276
11.2.9 Adverbial Clauses .............................................................................. 277
11.2.10 Nominal Clauses .............................................................................. 277
11.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 277
Kuteb grammar front matter viii
References ............................................................................................ 280
Appendix 1. A Kuteb story: The Boy Who Refused to Marry............. 285

PHOTOS

Photo 1. Tipping a roof in Askaen .......................................................................... 16

Photo 2. New roof in Askaen.................................................................................. 16
Photo 3. Apura literacy class .................................................................................. 16
Photo 4. Carrying a grindstone ............................................................................... 17
Photo 5. Harvesting rice.......................................................................................... 18
Photo 6. Flute-players ............................................................................................. 18
Kuteb grammar front matter x
Acknowledgments

[insert sentences saying that this paper is based on a thesis

submitted xxx]. A note of appreciation is in order for the helpful advice and
encouragement of my committee at the University of Colorado, Drs. Barbara Fox,
Dorothy Kaschube, David Rood, and Allan Taylor. I especially thank my
chairman, Dr. Zygmunt Frajzyngier, who coached me at every step and prodded
me into new ways of thinking about Kuteb grammar and other African languages.
Crucial encouragement and criticism has come from the late Dr. Kay Williamson
and Dr. Roger Blench. The latter in particular has encouraged the effort to get this
material on Kuteb published for the benefit of scholars locally as well as abroad.
The steady encouragement and patience of my wife Esther was a crucial
component in this project from the beginning to the very end. To her, and to our
children Alexander, Ruthie, and Jed, who perhaps paid the greatest price of us all,
in the form of lost time with Dad, I dedicate this work, with the hope that they may
never lose their curiosity about the wonders of God’s creation, including the
miracle we call language. But I would not be properly African if I did not also
include in this dedication my mother, Jean Koops, who would often ask me at the
close of the day ‘And what have you done for mankind today?’ and my father,
Bernard Koops, who taught me Latin in a way that hooked me on language. And
while the list of laudable African contributors to this book is long, I want to honor
in this dedication two special Kuteb friends who have gone on before us: Mr. Seth
Shamaki of Sabon Gida Askaen, and Pastor Daniel Andenyantso. (whose name
means ‘people are good together’). Pastor Daniel shared his house, his family, and
many a cup of tea in the early days when I was struggling to learn the language.
Seth (‘Seti’), though he could not speak, brightened every encounter with an
unforgettable smile.1

Robert Koops
[place]
[date]

1
He is the drummer pictured in Figure 2 above.
xi Kuteb grammar front matter
Table of Abbreviations
1p first person plural pronoun JW Jukun of Wukari
1s first person singular pronoun POSS possessor/possessive
2p second person plural pronoun PN pronoun
2s second person singular PREP preposition
pronoun MIR mirative
3 third person general pronoun N noun
3p third person plural pronoun NEC necessative
3s third person singular pronoun NEG negative
Adj adjective NP noun phrase
Assoc associative NUM number/numeral
BEN benefactive OBL obligative (=HO)
C consonant PRF perfective
CFC counterfactual condition Q question marker
COMP complementizer REC riciprocal action
DEM demonstrative REF referential
DET determiner REIT reiterative
DUP duplicated REL relator
EXT extensive (or maximal) S sentence
FUT future SEQ sequential
HO hortative SPEC specifier
IMP imperfective SVC serial verb construction
IS indirect speech V Verb, Vowel
INSTR instrumental
JT Jukun of Takum
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 1
CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction
The need for basic data on African languages continues unabated as we enter the
21st Century. Heine and Nurse (2000:5) bemoan the poor documentation for
African languages and the paucity of scholars who work on them. Blench (2006)
continues the lament. This book is intended to make a contribution towards closing
the breach by presenting a sketch of basic phonological, morphological, and
syntactic patterns in Kuteb, one of the 150 or so languages of the Central Nigerian
group within the (East) Benue-Congo family. As background, an assortment of
topics is included in this chapter: the geographical and social context, linguistic
classification, dialects, theoretical approach, history of research, orthography,
sources of data, and acknowledgments.

1.2 Language, geography, and culture

The emergence of sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and folk taxonomy as independent
disciplines in the past few decades has highlighted a fact that scholars have known
for centuries, but which is sometimes in danger of being ignored, that human
languages have contexts. An utterance, whether a word or sentence or paragraph,
has no meaning outside its context. This is not a superficial matter of labeling
objects and events with nouns and verbs. It often enters into the very fabric of the
grammar of the language. Take an example of this context-relatedness from Kuteb.
The rules of social behavior in Kuteb society encourage gregariousness and
cooperation. Idiosyncratic, nonconformist behavior is potentially dangerous. This
behavioral norm has its reflection in the grammar of the language: just as the
ownership of objects is indicated by a suffixed possessive pronoun indicating an
exclusive association between the person and the possessed object, verbs also
sometimes affix the possessive pronoun, indicating actions that the subject may be
doing in a unilateral and/or surprising way.
To give the broadest context possible in the brief scope of this book, I include here
a description of the geographical and social background of the Kuteb people. My
intention is not to make some new or profound statement about language and
culture, or to promote (or challenge) the Whorfian Hypothesis about how language
dictates our thought, but to provide a general picture of the context for the reader as
he or she peruses the data in the following chapters. In this regard also, the reader
is encouraged to note the sample text in the appendix that illustrates one of the
sorts of things that Kuteb people do with their language. A section on orthography
reflects the monumental but potentially uncelebrated fact that on the threshold of
2 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
the 21st Century Kuteb is becoming a written language, with all that that
potentially entails.2

1.2.1 Geographical, Social, and Historical Background

The people known as Kuteb (or ‘Kutep,’ or ‘Kutev’ in the literature) number more
than 100,0003 and live mainly in what is now Takum Local Government Area of
Taraba State, Nigeria. There are two or three hamlets of Kuteb speakers in
Cameroun.4 Their area covers a rough triangle with its apex at Takum, the major
commercial center (10o E, 7o N on Map 1). The Gamana River cuts through the
southern part of the area, and the Donga runs north and south across the east side.
Bordering the Cameroun mountains, the Kuteb area is typical savannah (lots of
grass and small trees) dotted with hills, which, incidentally, have provided
protection in recent history during inter-ethnic warfare. The nickname ande ti
rikwen (‘mountain people’) perhaps developed during this period. The rivers and
their tributaries, plus numerous springs, provide a continuous water supply, even
through most of the dry season, which lasts from around October to March.
Roughly speaking, the neighbors of the Kuteb are the Jukun on the North, the Tiv
to the West, the Yukuben (Oohum), Bete, and Lufu immediately to the South, and,
to the East, the Icen, Ndoro, and an assortment of ethnic groups called ‘Tigong’ (or
‘Tigum’). While this is the general picture, there is in fact a lot of intermingling in
the area, and, in addition to the above groups, there is a sprinkling of Chamba,
Fulani, and Kpan communities here and there.

2
See Ong (1982).
3
Extrapolated from the Nigerian Government Census of 1952, district government records
and U.N. birth-rate statistics. Subsequent Census figures are suspect. The figure of 30-
50,000 in Nigeria (1992) in Ethnologue (15th Edition 2005) is surely too low and should be
updated.
4
Atlas Linguistique du Cameroun and Case Van Wyke, personal correspondence. See also
the map and comments in Shimizu 1980.
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 3
Until recent political violence wrought havoc in the area, Takum was a
cosmopolitan place. It sprang up in early colonial days as a meeting place of many
ethnic groups including the British colonialists. Takum was normally ruled by a
Kuteb chief and a council made up of representatives of Kuteb clans, with a Jukun

Map 1. The Kuteb and their neighbours

Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba traders did a brisk business, particularly in Takum town,
4 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
and there are others, too numerous to mention by name, from both inside and
outside Nigeria, who made a living for themselves in the area. observer. Local
chiefs in the surrounding villages reported to the chief of Takum.

Map 2. Major Kuteb towns

Inter-ethnic contact has had its effect on the language and culture of the Kuteb
people, as it does anywhere else. In addition to the indigenous cults currently used
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 5
by practitioners of the traditional religion there are others imported from the Jukun
and from Cameroun. Politically and religiously, the Jukun, Chamba, and Kuteb
have had a long history of interaction and mutual influence, through, for example,
Jukun control of certain cults (ákwā, akuma, and acha-nyande, for example), the
distribution of salt, and the propagation of the Christian and Muslim faiths. This
influence is evident in heavy borrowing from the Jukun language in colloquial
speech. Likewise, there are extensive borrowings from Hausa, some introduced by
early missionaries and converts, who found it easier to introduce Hausa words
rather than to find equivalents in local languages. Other loanwords (often Arabic or
English in origin) came via Hausa traders and Hausa-speaking district officials.
The Kuteb people were traditionally farmers, hunters, and fishermen, the area
being rich in the resources peculiar to these trades: guinea corn, maize, millet,
cassava, sweet potato, cocoyam, groundnut, bambara nut, and a wide variety of
wild game and fish. Before the oil boom in the 1970s, a number of cash crops were
raised including sesame seed, tobacco, and rice, while shea nuts were harvested for
export from the forests. Yams are increasingly farmed, perhaps due to influence
from the Tiv to the west. The oil palm has a revered position in the culture of the
Kuteb, providing oil (both red oil from the outside of the kernel and white from the
inside), wine, brooms (from the leaves), a salt substitute (from the ashes), and
wood for building.
As for Kuteb history, local tradition says that the people scattered to their present
villages from Usa Mountain on the east side of the area. The yearly Kuciceb
Festival commemorates this event. Previous to the descent from Usa, the history is
uncertain, and for various speculations the reader is referred to Mr. Saddi Mgbe’s
book, Know the Story of Kutebs, and Shimizu’s Comparative Jukunoid. Mgbe
advances the once-popular idea that the Kuteb migrated from Egypt (implying a
large group of them), but at the same time recounts the tradition that a single man
named Kuteb married two Camerounian women, who gave birth to the heads of the
present-day clans.5 His book also gives details of the clan divisions, which number
ten or eleven, depending on how certain subdivisions are made. Shimizu’s study,
based purely on linguistic evidence, does not contradict the local tradition, but does
suggests that Mr. Kuteb and his cousin Mr. Yukuben were the western-most
descendants of a group of people that included also the Kpan and Icen to the east of
them (between the Donga and Suntai rivers), and the Jukun, Mbembe, and Wurbo

5
Variations on both theories are possible, of course. Mr. Kuteb and his brothers (or their
great grandparents) could have come from Egypt. The linguistic evidence, however, does
not support this.
6 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
ancestors still further east, across the Suntai (Bantaji) River. Shimizu very
tentatively hypothesizes that, wherever the latter group came from before, after
settling, they experienced several expansions. First, they went north all the way
across the Benue to Kona, then east across the Taraba. Following that, some went
west almost as far as the present-day Abinsi, while those who were north of the
Benue expanded eastward and northward. Finally, others of the ‘north-siders’
expanded to the west. All this was long before the establishment of the Kororofa
Kingdom, and is highly speculative.
The linguistic evidence for the unity of all these groups is based on the similarity
between words in the different present day languages. The table shows some
lexical items in five of the approximately ten ‘Jukunoid’ (Jukun-like) languages
(tones unmarked):

Yukuben Kuteb Kpan Icen Jukun (T)

‘two’ aapan ifaen ifa/ifan fa/mfa apina
‘moon’ oofan/ uuvan ushaen ufyan ifka/fkan sona
‘slave’ uupyi upyi ufyi/uswi afi/fi fo
‘come’ ba ba bo bwa bi
‘arm’ kuubu kujwo abgu bu avo
‘ripe’ min ben/bin byen bge byin
‘meat’ kiibi/kibe ibye/izwe ibi/iwe uwe awi

On a list of 100 common items, Kuteb comes out with about 40-45 that are similar
to Jukun words, and about 75 that are similar to Yukuben words. Kpan, Icen, and
Jukun are more likely to have 75 similar words among them.
Despite this unity, there is also an important difference among the above
languages. Kuteb and Yukuben have retained prefixes on the nouns (ku-, uu-, kii-
etc.) whereas all the other languages have lost these prefixes, and some have added
suffixes (for example the –a on Jukun kuna (chicken) and sona (moon); compare
mba-kun ‘chicken’ and ishaen ‘moon’ in Kuteb). This suggests to language
historians that Kuteb and Yukuben have stayed in one place whereas the other
languages have spread out. All this, however, is highly speculative, and needs to be
correlated with evidence from archeology, comparative folklore and religion, as
well as oral tradition.
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 7
1.2.2 Culture and Religion
The following notes derive from interviews with a Kúkwén from Lissam and many
others over a period of a decade or more. Particular credit is due to C. A. Iyabah
and the late Apwende O. Muri as well to Mr. Saddi Mgbe, for his book Know the
Story of Kutebs.
The major day-to-day religious activity involved various ‘cults’ (apkín) which
required sacrifices and rituals of various kinds. Through these acts, people,
domestic animals, and farms were believed to be productive, and protected from
natural disaster and human interference (kisī). But the highest religious authority
was the Kúkwén Rikwen, as shown by the fact when these other rituals fail, the
Kúkwén is consulted to find out what went wrong.
A few remarks about the Kúkwén Rikwen are in order. Long ago, each clan had its
own mountain (rikwen), and each mountain has a priest, called ‘kúkwén rikwen’
with a shrine on the mountain. The kúkwén rikwen was the major authority on
religious ritual. He made special sacrifices twice a year on the mountaintop, once
for the planting of crops and again for the harvest. Men, women and children
attended these ceremonies, and no one was allowed even to clear the ground for
farming until this important ceremony was performed. The Kúkwén also leads
special ceremonies when there is a plague or a drought. He was also involved in the
installation of a chief.
Being a holy person, the kúkwén rikwen was subject to a long list of taboos
(Mgbe cites 30), such as not eating out of a manufactured dish or a multi-colored
container, not eating uncooked food, not finishing the food or drink he is served,
not drinking plain water, never saying he is hungry, and never staying overnight in
a large town like Takum. He rarely bathes, will not touch a stranger, will not cross
a river by boat unless it is absolutely necessary, and then he will face the back of
the boat. He will have only a small farm as people are supposed to bring farm
produce to him.
The kúkwén rikwen is striking in appearance. He always wears a dark indigo blue
robe and baggy blue hat, and a string of blue beads around his neck. In the case of
drought, he spreads his blue robe out on his roof to induce the rain to come.
Although most Kúkwén are married, he is seen as the ‘wife’ of the mountain
(rikwen).
The death of a kúkwén is a major event. When it happens, junior kúkwéns called
acwo or ayijwo come and bury him, as his body is holy, and dire consequences
will follow if ordinary people desecrate the body by touching it. In fact, if possible,
they are kept from knowing it by being told the kúkwén has a headache. The body
8 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
is wrapped in a mat and taken through a hole broken into the wall, rather than
through the door. Kúkwéns from other clans come to conduct burial rites,
accompanied by plenty of meat from sheep, goats and dogs, and lubricated
generously with guinea corn beer. When the Kúkwén’s wife finally announces,
with a death wail, that her husband is dead, the whole village goes into mourning,
and any animal wild or domestic, that approaches the gravesite will be killed.
After the institution of the Kúkwén rikwen, the next important religious
functionary is the masquerade (ikyi, or ici, in Lissam and Lumbu). Each year in
each village, well-to-do persons sponsor the coming-out of a masquerade feast.
The ikyi festivities are associated with ancestor veneration. Around March or
April, one or more masquerades known as ikyi amūnn (ikyi of the heaps) come
out to ensure the productivity of the fields. Each masquerade is decorated with a
skirt of fresh yellow palm leaves and head-gear of various types (sack-cloth is
prominent, as well as a variety of beautifully carved masks). Pieces of metal are
attached to the legs to make noise. The elders of each town dress up the
masquerades in secret places well away from the community (‘at the farm’—
ufáng), and create songs to sing when they appear. These songs are generally
songs of praise or abuse to prominent people in the community.
Although the identity of the masquerades is supposed to be a secret, most are
identifiable by their voices and /or their bare feet. The name ‘Ikyisinde’ (Ikyi is
person) conveys the fact that people really know who the masquerade. Woe betide
any woman or child who comes too close, however, especially when the
masquerade is on the way from the ufáng (‘farm’) where he is dressed up. The
masquerades and their escorts carry whips that are readily put to use; others beat
bells (ikyongkóng) and drums to warn villagers of their coming. The ikyi typically
dance for six days and on the seventh day everyone except adult women feasts on
the meat of as many goats as the sponsor is able to provide. Women who
accidentally break the rules must pay with a white cock and a roll of tobacco. If
they try to keep their knowledge secret, when sickness comes around, a seer will
eventually trace the cause to one of these trespasses involving ikyi. Masquerades
also come out in November and December to pray with the elders for the old farms
to be revitalized for the next season.
Farm productivity in traditional society depends not only on the prayers of the ikyi,
but also on a variety of ‘cults’, some local and some imported. Two of these are
Andakwe and Rikam. They involve preparing bundles containing various potent
objects and substances, which are then tied to trees on the perimeter of the farm.
These are believed to cause trespassers swollen limbs, ulcerated sores, and
headaches. Payment of a fine to the owner of the farm usually causes the malady to
go away, if the ‘fetish’ was well-prepared.
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 9
Three types of marriage were practiced in earlier times. The first was ‘sister
exchange’ (kufen). If a man wanted to marry into another family, he would offer
one of his sisters to that family in exchange. In the other marriage arrangement
(mba awen) usually involves a man seeking a second wife. He arranges with a
family that he will marry the next female child they have. When the baby girl is
born, the man brings palm oil, beads, and wine as gifts, and continues to help the
family until the girl grows up, at which time he pays seven goats. Then, on a
certain evening, the man and his friends officiously ‘kidnap’ the girl, while the
parents and others shout ‘she’s too young’ (Ū kō-wū bē.) and they kidnappers
respond, ‘She’s mature (Ū kō pú-wū). At the groom’s house a celebration is then
held for three or four days.
In the third type of marriage, a man arranges for his son to marry the daughter of
one of his friends, when their children grew up. This used to be a normal practice,
and it often worked well, but apparently allowed for the possibility that either of
the young people had the right to break the engagement if they didn’t like the
intended spouse. These practices have been largely superceded, of course, by
various practices imported from the West. In particular, a young man selects his
own prospective bride, and then asks his father or an uncle to approach the girl’s
parents for approval. Gifts are presented, and eventually a bride-price is settled on.
In the ‘levirate,’ when a man dies, his brother marries the widow, and all the
children belong to him. While this was supposed to ensure the welfare of the
widow and her children, it was easily abused when the deceased was wealthier than
his brothers, and could bring suffering to the widow and her children. According to
Mgbe, however (1973:35) a widow can refuse to marry her late husband’s brother
and live instead in her husband’s compound together with her children.

1.3 Linguistic Classification

Kuteb is classified as part of Niger-Congo, a phylum that embraces possibly 360
million speakers (Williamson & Blench 2000). Within that, it is a member of the
East Benue-Congo group of languages, which includes languages stretching all to
way from Kainji in western Nigeria through the Jos Plateau and Taraba areas, plus
most of the Cross-River languages and Bantu, which stretches right across to East
and Southern Africa. That very large group itself comprises seven groups, one of
which has been called ‘Jukunoid’ and has somewhere around 20 members.
According to Shimizu (1980b), who has done most of the work on this up to the
present, Kuteb is closest in its vocabulary to Yukuben (‘Oohum’), and both form a
branch parallel to ‘Central Jukunoid’ comprising Icen (Itxwyen), Kpan, and six
10 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
other languages, including Jukun proper. The confirmation and refinement of these
early proposals remains an opportunity for continuing research.
Figure 1 shows the groups comprising the Central Nigerian languages and their
broader relation to other East Benue-Congo languages.
Figure 1. Central Nigerian languages: proposed classification
Proto-Central Nigerian

Cross River,
Mambiloid,
Kainji Plateau Jukunoid Dakoid Bantoid

Source: Blench (in press)

1.4 Dialects and Orthography

Dialects in Kuteb correspond roughly to the ten clans, rather than to geographical
areas. This reflects an initial period of mutual isolation (Mgbe notes that each clan
was assigned to a hill) during which various geographical dialects developed,
followed more recently by a time in which people moved around, either due to
Chamba attacks (so Mgbe) or in their quest for more farmland, sometimes to places
adjacent to other transplanted groups (e.g. ‘Lissam Sambo/Atape,’ ‘Kpambo Puri,’
and ‘Jenuwa Kogi’ just south of the Gamana River). A thorough dialect study
needs yet to be done incorporating phonological, morphological, and syntactic
variation. It may also be observed that the Likam and Akente clans, resident in
Takum town, are not accounted for here. At this point, on the basis of prominent
consonantal variations and lexical items the following rough dialect clustering may
be observed:6

Bika-Kpambai (locally, ‘Abyika, Atsaenskun’)

Lissam-Lumbu (locally, ‘Askaen, Arumbu’)
Jenuwa-Fikyu-Kpambo (locally, ‘Arubur, Atsaensi, Aticwo’)
Rufun (Local name displacing the old ‘Kunabe’)

6
I use the ‘foreign’ names for the Kuteb clans and villages here, as they are more likely to
be on maps.
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 11
The most prominent consonantal variations are as follows:

Std. Bika Kpa- Lis- Lu- Ru- Jen- Fi- Kpa-

Orthog. mbai sam mbu fun uwa kyu mbo
1 jw/zhw d v v

2 j/zh d
3 pk px fk pk/px
4 tk tx sk tk/tx
5 ky ky t ky
6 b/w w b w
V v
7 nz/njw nd n nz n
8 bz/by/vy by b by/vy* zw/dzw v
9 py/tsw py p py ts w

Examples:
1. kujwó / kuzhwó ‘arm’ jwūnn / zhwūnn ‘throw’
2. ují / uzhí ‘rope’ jāen ‘shine’
3. apxín / afkín ‘cults’ ipxam /ifkam ‘mud’
4. txí / skí ‘different’ txir / skir ‘mock’
5. kyang / cang ‘walk’ ikying / icing ‘housefly’
6. ubur / uwur ‘hat’ ubunn / uwunn ‘drum,’ ‘pool’
7. unzu /unju /nzhwu ‘mouth’ kínzō/ únjō /ínjwō ‘one’
8. ibyē /ivyē /izwē ‘animal’ byag /vyag /zwag ‘hot’
9. upyí / utswí ‘slave’ pyír / tswír ‘refuse’

The most noticeable difference in conversation, apart from varying degrees of

noun-prefix loss, is that in the Arubur-Atswaen (Jenuwa-Kpambai-Fikyu) area
(generally speaking, the Southwest) /zw, dzw/ corresponds to the /vy/by/ of
Lissam, Lumbu and Bika. E.g., Lissam ibyē, ‘meat,’ byāg, ‘hot’ (in some
subsections of Lissam pronounced as ivyē and vyāg) are in the southwestern
dialects have izwē, or idzwē, and zwāg, or dzwāg. The voiceless counterpart of
these follows a similar pattern, as in the words upyí ‘slave,’ pyír ‘refuse,’ which
come out utswí and tswír in Arubur-Atswaen. Also, in some words Lissam tends to
12 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
7
use /c/ [t∫] where all the other dialects have /ky/. In terms of grammar,
Lissam/Lumbu seems to be more conservative than the others, as seen in the
preservation of full prefixes on the nouns and the limited elision of the future
marker. There are lexical variations. A typical example is the use of urwán for
‘friend’ in Lissam-Lumbu area and sákī elsewhere. Lissam and Lumbu use ahán
for ‘thus’; others use mên or nuŋ mên. Kpambai uses abi for the second person
singular pronoun.
As this work is describing specifically Lissam-Lumbu speech, the orthography
used in this work differs slightly from the standard orthography used for the
recently published New Testament. First, for simplicity, I use /ŋ/ for the phonetic
[ŋ] in all positions, whereas in the standard orthography it is written as ‘ng’ in
word-final position, as ‘ngh’ at the beginning of syllables and ‘n’ in the cluster /ŋw/
(‘nw’).
This orthography Standard Example
c [tʃ] ky ice / ikye ‘border’
ŋ [ŋ] ng acáng/ akyáng ‘songs’
ng [ŋg] ngg ingog/ inggog ‘pig’
Because of the inelegance of writing both tone and nasalization over vowels, I am
adopting the convention of the standard orthography by representing nasalized
vowels as vowel plus ‘n.’ This, however, necessitates writing the final alveolar
nasal /n/ as ‘nn’ here, as will be further elaborated in the next chapter.
Mention should be made here of C.A. Iyabah’s proposed orthography in the 1950s
which differed from the above by using ‘ea’ instead of ‘ae’ for the low front vowel
and using final –p and –k rather than –b and –g. Printed material occasionally
appears with these alternatives, which are so similar to the standard as to be
insignificant for readers.
Regarding dialects, it is worth noting that Mgbe considers Yukuben/Oohum
(‘Ayigiben’) as one of the clans of Kuteb, subdividing it into two groups: Achillo
with its hamlets and the Bete-Fete-Lufu-Kapya group. It is clear that Yukuben is
closely related to Kuteb, but due to lack of data the affinity of these various groups
to Kuteb and to each other is far from clear. It is hoped that current research into
Yukuben will shed light on these languages/dialects.

1.5 Theoretical Approach

The descriptive apparatus used in this work has deliberately been kept to a
minimum in an effort to make the data accessible to scholars from a variety of
theoretical traditions. Whatever theory may be evident in the chapters that follow is

7
Note, however, that all dialects use /c/ in words like cī ‘eat’ and acīkunn ‘beans.’
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 13
eclectic. As a translator I am confronted daily with evidence of some sort of
‘universal grammar’ and though I assume the general framework of a ‘deep
structure’ which is somehow close to this universal grammar and a ‘surface
structure’ which represents the phonetics of speech, the derivation of surface forms
from underlying ones, useful as it may be, does not occupy a prominent place here.
This work will deal with two kinds of meaning: lexical meaning (the meanings of
individual words) and structural, or grammatical, meaning. That is, the syntactic
patterns in which words are arranged themselves encode certain meanings
(sometimes more than one, yielding ambiguity). Along with this, or perhaps part
and parcel with it, is the idea that syntactic structures are used for discourse and
pragmatic purposes.8
Thus, in the polarization between formal and functional linguistics, I lean towards
the functional side. While formal systems which propose highly abstract forms may
in fact ‘explain’ the data, producing the desired surface structure, I feel they have a
tendency to leave behind the realities of cognitive processing—the anchor of the
psychologically real. Thus, the reader will find frequent reference to ‘function’ in
this book, not just to ‘structure’ in and of itself. Grammar, in my opinion, is not
autonomous from semantics. One may, for example, derive a serial verb
construction from two or three underlying sentences. But why should a language
conjoin sentences in that way? What is the function of such conjunctions in
discourse? There always seem to be further questions to ask. Granted, a linguistic
theory should predict what can be said in a language, but explanation in terms of
pragmatics, discourse, and/or diachronic processes is as important to the full
description of language structures as the characterization of the relationship
between any purported deep structure and the surface.
Functionalism has many dimensions. Not only do I see pieces and configurations
of linguistic material as having a function in larger pieces or configurations or
levels of language and discourse, I also see language itself as a functional system in
society. In this regard, the writings of Dik, Van Valin, Givón, Bybee, Langacker,

8
Garcia (1979) would go so far as to state that syntax per se does not even exist. I prefer
Givón’s more modest position, that there is a ‘structural’ level called syntax, but in order to
explain it ‘one must make reference...to a number of SUBSTANTIVE explanatory
parameters of language. Thus, syntax is ‘a DEPENDENT, functionally motivated entity
whose properties reflect...the properties of the explanatory parameters that motivate its rise’
(Givón, 1979:82).
14 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
Lakoff, Johnson, and others who have reacted to the excessive formalism of
Chomskyian linguistics have shaped my thinking considerably.9
One final and crucial aspect of my view is that the categories and constructions that
one proposes for a language must be based on distinctions that come from the
language itself rather than being imposed on the language from outside, on the
basis of some other language.

1.6 History of Research and Writing in Kuteb

The first record of Kuteb is found in Koelle’s Polyglotta Africana (1854), which
contains a 200-item wordlist apparently from the Atsaen or Rubur dialect.
Dr. William Welmers may be credited with doing the first serious (though very
brief) analysis of the phonology and morphology of Kuteb in 1948 during a short
visit. Following that, some important practical work was done by Mr. Christopher
Akintse Iyaba and Mr. Othniel Apwende Muri, who, with the help of Miss
Margaret Dykstra of the Sudan United Mission, wrote down indigenous Christian
songs which were printed in a Jukun-Kuteb songbook Litafi a Soo Zo around 1960.
These two gentlemen also worked with Dr. Peter Ladefoged around that time, the
results of the research appearing in A Phonetic Study of West African Languages
(1964). Dr. Joseph Greenberg took a Kuteb wordlist in the language around that
time for his own comparative studies and of course Kuteb is included in his
monumental study Languages of Africa in 1966. The Atlas Linguistic du
Cameroun documents the speech of a few farm settlements of Kuteb across the
border in Cameroun.
Mr. K. Shimizu arrived in the late 1960s; his dissertation (Comparative Jukunoid),
appearing first in mimeographed form in 1971 and then in published form in 1980,
contains many references to Kuteb that I will comment on in the course of the
present work. Comparisons will also be made with his Grammar of Jukun.
My own study began in 1966 and has continued off and on to the present. My wife
and I learned to speak the language and helped the local church produce reading
primers, collections of folk tales, a songbook (Akyang Unju Kuteb ), and a
translation of the New Testament (Irá Tínyang). Key people in the research and
writing, besides those mentioned above, were Mr. Alexander Solomon, Mr. Naboth
Jatau, Mrs. Abigail Shamaki, Mr. Ayuba Akawu, Rev. Yakubu Danbeki, Mr.
Obadiah Abomci, Rev. Zachariah Andepam, Rev. Daniel Shaenpam, and Mr. Ikun
Habu Andenyang, to mention just a few to whom I am most grateful.

9
See Givón (1979) Ch. 2-4 for an exposition of grammar as a by-product of deeper
communicative principles.
Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 15
1.7 Sources of Data
In the body of the book, the Kuteb sentences are, in most cases, taken from tape-
recorded texts produced by the people just mentioned. In a number of cases, the
tape-recorded examples were used to elicit other sentences that I recorded in
notebooks. In some cases I have constructed other sentences modeled on the above.
Mr. Obadiah Abomci has been very helpful in checking the naturalness of all the
sentences in this work. A few examples have been culled from the primer series
(Apurá), the stories of which were created by Mrs. Abigail Shamaki and others.
Mention must also be made of the usefulness of a concordance of my first database
produced through the Linguistic Information Retrieval Project of the Summer
Institute of Linguistics and the University of Oklahoma Research Institute. A
second database, compiled recently, was used to produce a word-list, which has
proved useful in finding examples. Finally, a rough dictionary, prepared by Mr.
Ayuba Akawu and myself with input from Ikun Andenyang, has provided some
illustrative material. Mr. Andenyang’s own privately circulated writings on Kuteb
have been a useful source of examples.
16 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
Images of the Kuteb area in the 1970s

Photo 1. Tipping a roof in Askaen

Photo 2. New roof in Askaen

Photo 3. Apura literacy class

Chapter One A Grammar of Kuteb 17

Photo 4. Carrying a grindstone

18 A Grammar of Kuteb Chapter One
Photo 5. Harvesting rice

Photo 6. Flute-players
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 19
CHAPTER TWO. PHONOLOGY PART I: SEGMENTS

2.1 Introduction: vowels, consonants, tones

The 26 simple consonant and 13 vowel phonemes in Kuteb10 may be seen at a
glance in the following diagrams arranged by point and manner of articulation (for
consonants) and by tongue position (for vowels):

Consonants: Vowels:11
p t ts c k i ĩ i u ũ
mb nd nz nj ŋg e ẽ o õ
b d* j g æ æ a ã

f s sh h Tones12
v* z* low / / (unmarked)
mid / ¯ / (macron)
m n ny ŋ high / / (acute)
r l* falling / ˆ /
w y rising / ˇ/

The segments above are taken to be single sounds even when represented by
digraphs (e.g. mb, sh). The starred forms are found in common loan-words and
names, or, in the case of /v/ and /z/, subdialectal variations. If some consonant
clusters were to be taken as units, the inventory would be much bigger at this level
(see diagram at 3.0 below).
The above inventory of sounds is typical of Niger-Congo Languages in general
(see Heine and Nurse 2000:31-33, 36-38) and of Central Nigerian languages in
particular (see Bendor-Samuel et al 1989:366-369). The only thing unusual may be
the salience of the prenasalized voiced stops (mb, nd, nj, ŋg). These stops are found
throughout Taraban languages, although in several languages their occurrence is
restricted to preceding oral vowels, with the simple nasal stops /m, n, ñ, ŋ/ occuring

10
The phonology here represents the Lissam-Lumbu dialect, although other dialects are
discussed.
11
From here on nasal vowels will be written as V + n; /æ/ will be written as /ae/.
12
Tones are described in detail in Chapter 3.
20 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
before nasalized vowels. In Kuteb the prenasalized variety are more prevalent than
the simple voiced stops (b, d, g). Closely related Kapya has both the simple voiced
stops and the prenasalized ones in contrast, as does Oohum (‘Yukuben’). I do not
record double stops (kp, gb, mgb) for Lissam dialect, although Shimizu does (kp).
Most of the Taraba languages have the double stops, including Kapya and Oohum,
although in Oohum, Shimizu (1980a: 66) analyzes them as labialized velars (kw,
gw, ngw).
This analysis substantially follows Welmers (1948). Departures from his work and
that of Shimizu (1980) are noted in passing and discussed in the section on
analytical problems. Words marked <H, <J, and <E are borrowings from Hausa,
Jukun, and English.

2.2 Vowels
The vowels contrast as to the height of the tongue (high, mid, low) and as to its
position forward or back in the mouth (front, central, back). They are further
divided into oral and nasal vowels on the basis of the position of the velic. I deal
first with the oral vowels and then the nasal vowels.

2.2.1 Oral Vowels

front central back
high i i u
mid e o
low ae a

Examples of oral vowels in words:

utī ‘spear’ kitīb ‘cotton’ kitú ‘dish’
tē ‘dismiss’ tō ‘cook’
tae ‘lead’ tā ‘shoot’

The vowels /i, a, u/ are found initially in words; their nasal counterparts and the
vowels /e/, /ae/, and /o/ are not found initially except perhaps in ideophones,
interjections, and some borrowed names. The central vowel /i/ is found only word-
medially, and its phonemic status is uncertain (see discussion below).
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 21
/i/ [i] is a close high front unrounded vowel. /si/ ‘to be’ /utī/ ‘spear’ It varies to
[ ] (mid front lax vowel) in closed syllables. /isim/ ‘back’ and before
prenasalized stops /indo/ ‘vulture’
/e/ [e] is a mid front unrounded vowel which varies to [ ] in closed syllables.
/ceb/ ‘step on’ /ise/ ‘dance’
/ae/ [æ] is a close low front unrounded vowel. /tae/ ‘to lead,’ /pae/ ‘to pay,’
/kicáeb/ ‘sickness’
/a/ [a] is an open low central vowel which ranges to [ ] or [ ] in closed
syllables. /atā/ ‘weapons,’ /utab/ ‘open space’
/o/ [o] is a mid back rounded vowel which varies to [ ] in closed syllables.
/ukó/ ‘duiker,’ /tō/ ‘cook’ /utōb/ ‘heart’
/u/ [u] is a high back rounded vowel which laxes to [ ] in closed syllables and
before prenasalized stops. /urú/ ‘game’ /kūb/ ‘bite’ /unde/ ‘person’ /umbae/
‘child’
/i/ [i] is a high central unrounded vowel appearing in certain words, especially
where there is neutralization of /u/ and /i/ and as a result of reduplication (to be
discussed below). /kutīb/ ‘cotton’ /ipiŋ/ ‘gun’ /irím/ ‘grass’
The major problem in the analysis of oral vowels is the phonemic status of the
central vowel /i/. It occurs in closed syllables, in some noun prefixes, and with
verbal reduplication. These contexts will be discussed in turn.

2.2.1.1 The Phonemic Status of [i]

The limited distribution of /i / (word-medial only) makes it impossible to find clear
cases of contrast between /i / and other vowels. Even the cases we have of contrast
in closed syllables are not very convincing. Not all speakers have a contrast, for
example, between /kisīm/ ‘knife’ and /isim/ ‘back.’ Some alternate freely between
/kisīm/ and /kisīm/ while others alternate between /kisīm/ and /kisūm/. The word
for ‘grass,’ similarly, exhibits variation in some speakers between /irím/ and /irím/
or between /irím/ and /irúm/. It would seem likely that /i/ could be taken as a
conditioned variant of /u/ and/or /i/ in closed syllables. It is impossible to
determine, however, whether /i / in most words has come from /u/ or from /i/. I
have therefore posited the phoneme /i/ for those cases. Further research is needed.
Comparative studies may well yield some useful evidence. Most of the other
Jukunoid languages have a central non-low vowel (Shimizu 1980a:66-83). In the
official orthography, words with /i/ are written with either /u/ or /i/.
22 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
2.2.1.2 The vowel /i/ in noun prefixes
What has been said about stems above could also be said for some noun prefixes.
The prefixes ku-, ki-, and ri- exist. On the basis of symmetry one might expect to
find ru- as well. It occurs phonetically, as in the following:
ruwén ∼ riwén ‘nose’ rubwen ∼ ribwen ‘open’
rukwen ∼ rikwen ‘mountain’ ruwáe ∼ riwáe ‘tallness’

Shimizu (1980a:138) rightly observes that the [ru] and [ri] varieties are conditioned
variants of /ri-/ before [+lab] consonants.13 This distribution hypothesis was
reinforced by some unexpected evidence in the form of the local version of
‘spoonerizing.’ Speakers transposed the syllables of [riwén] and [rikwen] to
become: [wenrí] and [kwenri].14

2.2.1.3 The central vowel /i/ in reduplicated syllables

Verbs are often reduplicated to emphasize ongoing action (see Chapter 9). If the
verb vowel is back, or the initial consonant labialized, the vowel of the copied form
will be a form of /u/, as in these examples, given with the root form in parentheses:
kūkōb (<kōb) ‘sewing’ kúkwáb (<kwáb) ‘trying’
būbōm (<bōm) ‘be strong’ pupwen (<pwen) ‘counting’
tūtō (<tō) ‘cooking’ cwúcwé (<cwé) ‘agreeing’
If the verb vowel is front, the vowel of the copied element will normally be a form
of /i/, as in:
fīfēr (<fēr) ‘close by’ bībyāg (<byāg) ‘be hot’
pipinn (<pinn) ‘fly’ cícáeb (<cáeb) ‘be sick’
One may note from kúkwén ‘priest’ and bībyāg ‘be hot’ that in the formation of
the reduplication the labialization and palatalization takes precedence over the stem
vowel.

13
He also observes, in the same place, that /ki-/ is similarly influenced /kindop/ is
pronounced /kundop/ by some speakers. Note in this case that the conditioning element is
not the following consonant but the following back vowel (/o/).
14
A surprise in this research was the word [riwáe] "tallness,’ which came out [waerú]. This
may be a demonstration of how language change takes place. Shimizu (1980:132-176) has
demonstrated that historically only the ri- prefix existed. But in the mind of the spoonerizer,
the vowel is associated with /u/.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 23
When the verb vowel is low (or, one could argue, central, as [a] appears to be
phonetically more central than back), the vowel in the copy element is raised and
centralized to [i]. Examples:
kīkāb (>kāb) ‘think’ kika (>ka ) ‘go’
sisa (>sa) ‘take’ fifab (>fab) ‘sour’
cicang (>cang) ‘walk’ titam (>tam) ‘hide’

Since one can predict the quality of the vowels in the reduplicated portion of these
words, it would seem reasonable to interpret them as allophones of the stem vowel
in each case. However, if we have already posited a phoneme /i/ to account for the
indeterminacy of the vowels in certain nouns, why should the segments in question
above not be considered cases of /i/? Once again, it is impossible to choose in a
non-arbitrary way whether a given instance of [i] is a member of the phoneme /i/ or
of the phoneme /a/.
Finally, one may note the phrases kíka bē ‘not yet’ and kāŋ kíŋ ‘very necessary’
that obligatorily use the central vowel. They possibly originate from reduplicated
forms, although the high-low tone pattern of kíka argues against that in the case of
kíka bē.
2.2.2 Nasal Vowels
Like their oral counterparts, the nasal vowels contrast in terms of tongue height and
position forward or backward in the mouth. One may note from the following chart
that the oral vowel / i / has no nasal counterpart. (Phonetically, of course, a
centralized vowel, like other vowels, adjacent to a nasal consonant may become
nasalized, as in /ipiŋ/ ‘gun,’ /ayī si kāŋkíŋ/ ‘It is very necessary’). We write the
nasalized vowels as vowel plus ‘n.’
front back
high in [ĩ] un [ũ]
mid en [ẽ] on [õ]
low aen [æ ] an [ã]
24 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
2.2.2.1 Contrasts between oral and nasal vowels:
Front vowels: i/in, e/en, ae/aen
kupī ‘point’ pīn (ideophone)
uwé ‘face’ wēn ‘kill’
bāe ‘stick to’ bāen ‘marry’
Back vowels: u/un, o/on, a/an
ukú ‘mushroom’ kutúkūn ‘tree’
ukó ‘red duiker’ kákon ‘stalk’
ka ‘go’ kan ‘divide’

2.2.2.2 Contrasts among nasal vowels:

íkīn ‘some’ kún ‘creep’
ikén ‘thing’ kákon ‘stalk’
rikaen ‘poison’ kan ‘divide’

2.2.2.3 Description of the Nasal Vowels:

/in/ [ĩ] is the nasalized counterpart of /i/. /pīn/ (ideophone) /fín/ ‘clean’
/en/ [ẽ] is the nasalized counterpart of /e/. /ikén/ ‘thing,’ /shēn/ ‘spread out to dry’
/aen/ [æ ] is the nasalized counterpart of /ae/ and quite common. /ifáen/
‘antelope,’ /ukwáen/ ‘cough’
/an/ [ã] is the nasalized counterpart of /a/. /kan/ ‘divide,’ /kúkān/ ‘land crab’
/on/ [õ] is the nasalized counterpart of /o/ and quite rare. /kákon/ ‘stalk,’ /Sózon/ a
name
/un/ [ũ] is the nasalized counterpart of /u/, occurring in a few words. /arun/ ‘robe,’
/rikun/ ‘group farming’

2.2.2.4 Discussion of Nasal Vowels

The nasal vowels are less frequent than the oral vowels. Among the nasal vowels,
the vowels /in/, /un/, and /aen/ are fairly common and /on/ very rare. Lissam
speakers tend to use /in/ in words where others use /en/ (ishin ‘horn,’ kitsīn
‘bracelet’). Also, some Lissam speakers use /oŋ/where others use /on/ ([õ]).
Nasal vowels occur only in CV syllables. Thus there is no contrast between CVC
and CVnC.
Oral vowels in syllables ending with nasal consonants are inevitably influenced by
the nasality of the final consonant, and in some cases it is difficult to tell if a word
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 25
ends in a nasal vowel or in a vowel plus a nasal consonant (e.g., rubūn [rubũ] or
rubūŋ ‘spring’). This suggests that the final nasals are a probable source for the
nasal vowels in the language, and that assimilation and final -n loss are still going
on. Shimizu (1980a:59) attributes the large number of nasal vowels in Jukun to the
reduction of final nasal consonants (see also Gerhardt 1989:368) in Proto-
Jukunoid.
2.2.3 Vowel Length
A few words in the language raise the question of whether vowel length is
contrastive. They are iyéē ‘no,’ kadée, part of riddle introduction formula, ahóō
‘What do I care?!’ The vowel of the last example is usually pronounced with a
glottal stop at the end [ahóōɁ], making it even more unusual. I take these words to
be ideophonic (like skuuuu ‘slowly’) and not part of the normal contrastive feature
system of the phonology. Ideophones will be discussed Chapter Four (Word
Classes).
2.2.4 Vowel Assimilation and Elision
In Kuteb, as in many other languages,15 vowel elision is very complex, resisting
any neat and simple description. What follows is a rough account. A great deal of
careful research, preferably with instruments, is still needed.
Vowel elision may occur whenever the vowels of two words come together. When
that happens, one of the vowels assimilates (partially or completely) to the other.
Then at a faster rate, the sequence is shortened. In some cases, the one vowel, in
effect, replaces the other. In other cases the surface vowel has features of both of
the component vowels. After a statement about crucial factors in elision, we
consider vowel elision in various environments.

2.2.4.1 Factors in Vowel Elision

Three general factors determine the final quality of the resulting vowel:
1. Whether elision occurs at all depends on the speed of utterance. The faster the
speech, the more likelihood of elision occurring.
2. The matter of elision is related to the deterioration of the noun prefix system in
Kuteb. Whether this deterioration causes changes in the elision patterns or is the
result of elision patterns is an open question. It is common for the prefixes u- and i-
to be dropped or weakened medially in sentences. The result is that the initial
vowel of a noun will often change to match that of the previous vowel, and/or be

15
See Bamgbose (1989); Sonaiya (1989); Akinlabi, Akiubiyi, and Oyebade (1987); Badejo
(1988?), Adive (1989:45) for a few discussions of vowel assimilation and elision.
26 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
lost completely. In verb-object sequences this pattern contrasts with that of some
Kwa languages, where the vowel of the verb is typically displaced by the vowel of
the following noun.
3. Some vowels are stronger than others. The vowel /a/, for example, tends to
dominate others, whether it occurs first or second in the sequence. The vowel /i/,
on the other hand, is weaker than others and is often dominated. The vowels /u/ and
/i/ often become approximants (w/y) if initial in a VV sequence.
4. The tones of both vowels are retained in moderate speech. In faster speech the
two tones are realized on a single syllable. At higher speeds the tones get levelled
out (the higher of the two tones typically taking precedence over the lower) and
influenced by the tones of adjacent syllables.
In the following I give a rough approximation of what happens as the pace of
speech moves from slow (on the left) to fast (on the right). It will be seen that in
addition to the vowel assimilation the subject pronouns lose their vowel prefixes in
fast speech, and in the case of first person singular the pronoun is reduced from
ame to m.

2.2.4.2 Elision in verb-object sequences

1) Awū tā ukúr [awūtāakút] [ūtākút]
3s shoot crocodile
He shot a crocodile.

2) Ame kú tō icír [mkútōicít] [mkútōocít] [mkútōcít]

1s CONT cook yams
I am cooking yams.

3) Atī tu aser. [tītwaset] no change in faster speech

1p find money
We found money.

2.2.4.3 Elision in the Associative Construction

uwá Alí [uwáalí] [uwâlí] ‘Ali s wife’
uwá Ilíya [uwáílíya] [uwálíya] ‘Iliya s wife’
uwá ukwe [uwáūkwe] [uwáākwe] [uwákwe] ‘chief’s wife’
atú Alí [atwáalí] [atwâlí] ‘Ali's dishes’
atú Ilíya [atwílíya] [atúlíya] ‘Iliya's dishes’
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 27
atú ukwe [atúukwe] [atúūkwe] [atúkwe] ‘chief’s dishes’
utī Alí [utyāalí] [utyâlí] [utâlí] ‘Ali's spear’
utī Iliya [utīílíya ] [utílíya] ‘Iliya's spear’
utī ukwe [utyûkwe] [utûkwe] [utūkwe] ‘chief’s spear’
keké Alí [kekyáalí] [kekyâlí] [kekâlí] ‘Ali’s bicycle’
keké Ilíya [kekéílíya] [kikélíya] ‘Iliya’s bicycle’
keké ukwe [kekyéukwe] [kekyûkwe] ‘chief’s bicycle’
ukó Alí [ukóalí] [ukwâlí] ‘Ali’s duiker’
ukó Ilíya [ukwílíya] ‘Iliya’s duiker’
ukó ukwe [ukóukwe] [ukókwe] ‘chief’s duiker’
rikae Alí [rikalí]16 ‘Ali’s axe’
rikae Ilíya [rikálíya] ‘Iliya’s axe’
rikae ukwe [rikáakwe] ‘chief’s axe’

2.2.4.4 Other Environments for Elision

Other environments in which vowels are elided involve the conditional and future
markers, verb-focus pronouns17 before and after object pronouns, and relative
markers. Examples of each are shown below.
Pronoun with conditional:
In conditional sentences, the vowel of the pronoun is lost to the vowel of the
conditional particle /a/. Note also that the prefix of the pronoun is also dropped in
rapid speech.
4) Ame a bá, m ú nda fu kóbo. [mabá...]
1s if come 1s FUT give 2s kobo
If I come, I’ll give you a kobo.

5) Afu a bá... [faabá] ~[fabá]

2s if come
If you come …

16
An associative high tone link between these nouns influences the tonal pattern in various
ways that are not discussed here. See Chapter Three, Section 5.1.3 and Chapter Six (Section
4).
17
Verb-focus pronouns are discussed in Chapter Nine Section 3.3.7.
28 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three

6) Anī a bá... [nāabá] ~ [nâbá] ~ [nabá]

2p if come…
If you (pl) come...

7) Atī a bá… [tāabá] ~ [tâbá]18 [tabá]

1p if come
If we come…

8) Awū a bá… [wāabá] ~[awâbá] [wabá]

3s if come
If he/she comes...

Pronoun with future

The future marker /ú/ often, but not always, loses its vowel quality to the vowel of
the preceding noun or pronoun.
9) Atī ú bá. [tí bá] ~ [tú bá]
1p FUT come
We will come.

10) Ā ú bá. [āá bá] [á bá]

3p FUT come.
They will come.

11) Awū ú bá. [awūúbá]~ [wúbá]

3s fut come
He/she will come.

18
The falling tone mark here represents a mid-to-low glide. For more on tone, see Chapter
Three.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 29
12) Ukwe ú bá. [ukweúbá] ~[ukwébá]
chief fut come .
Chief will come.
Note in 9) that /i/ and /u/ are of equal strength, resulting in free variation between
[atí] and [atú]. In 10) /a/ displaces /u/; [ú bá] is unacceptable.
Verb-focus pronoun followed by object pronoun:19
As in the case of the conditionals, the final vowel of the verb-focus pronoun is
always lost when it precedes an object pronoun. This may be due to the inherent
strength of the vowel /a/ in the object pronoun.

13) Afu tu-fu ame bē. [afutǔfamebē]

2s find-2s 1s NEG
You (sg) did not find me.

14) Ame tu pú-m abā. [ametupúmabā]20

1s find PRF-1s 3p
I have found them.

15) Atī tu pú-tī anī. [atītupútanī]

1p find PRF-1p 2p
We have found you (pl).
Relativizer plus pronoun subject.
16) Ā kú shā tī ā bá iké. [ākúshātāābáiké]
3p IMP want REL 3p come here
They want to come here.
Compare:

19
The object pronoun here is actually the independent form. See Chapter Four 3.3 for
discussion.
20
Alternatively one could posit two variants of the pronouns: me and m, fu and f, wu and
w, etc. However, it is intuitively more satisfying to keep the underlying morphemes the
same and account for the variation with phonological or morphological rules.
30 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
17) Ande tī ā kú bá... [andetāākúbá]
people REL 3p CONT come
‘the people who are coming’
The long vowel [āā] formed from /tīā/ gets shortened in fast speech. This occurs so
regularly in Lissam speech that for many speakers /tā/ has replaced /tī/ as the
relative marker, not only for the plural but also for the singular. The following, for
example, has been recorded:
18) unde tā kú bá
person REL IMP come
‘the person who is coming’
Conjunction tí ‘and’ plus Noun
Again, the prefix /a-/ in a noun following the conjunction /tí/ dominates the vowel
of the noun.
aróm tí andá [arómtândá] ‘men and women’
andá tí anyīsu [andátânyīsū] ‘women and children’
Reciprocal Construction
The reciprocal marker /átsō/ occurs after verbs but can occur also with the verbal
extension /té/. In fact the combination is taken as one word /tétsō/ by many
speakers. This appears to be one case where the vowel /a/ has given way to another
vowel.
19) Atī rū té átsō ~ atī rū tétsō
1p go with RECIP
We went together.

Compare:
20) Abā ndeya átsō wánde.
3p help RECIP work
They helped each other work.

2.3 Consonants
The simple consonants are described minimally here in groups, with words
showing the basic feature contrasts. Discussion follows each group in turn.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 31
2.3.1 Simple Stops
The stops contrast primarily as to voicing, prenasalization, and point of
articulation.
labial alveolar velar
voiceless p t k
voiced prenasal mb nd ŋg
voiced b d* g*
The phoneme /g/ occurs only word finally, where it could be equally taken as a
variant of /k/, and in clusters after /b/ and /nd/, where it could be taken as a variant
of /k/ (or /x/ as in Welmers’s analysis). Taking this with the absence of /d/ in
indigenous words, one could conclude that the regular set of voiced stops is
prenasalized and that the non-prenasalized voiced stop /b/ is an anomaly in the
native Kuteb inventory. However as /d/ is found in many loan-words, it seems best
to consider the stops as consisting of the three sets in three positions. The double
stops (kp, gb) found in many Central Nigerian languages are not found in Lissam
dialect, but they are in other dialects. The following words illustrate the regular
contrasts in intervocalic position:
labial alveolar velar
upae ‘penalty’ kutóŋ ‘ear’ ukab ‘stream’
umbae ‘child’ indo ‘vulture’ ingog ‘pig’
ibae ‘sack’ ludó a game girib (ideophone)
/p/ is a voiceless bilabial stop, slightly aspirated. /pū/ ‘take’ /upwen/ ‘rain’
/b/ is a voiced bilabial stop. In final position and before a pause it is usually
unreleased and sometimes slightly voiced. In word-final position before another
word beginning with a vowel, /b/ is a voiced fricative [β]. /kukūb/ bone21 /ribú/
‘arrow’ /báe/ ‘write’
/mb/ is a voiced prenasalized bilabial stop. /mbé/ ‘receive’ /mbāg/ ‘pierce’
/t/ is a voiceless alveolar stop, slightly aspirated. /kutóŋ/ ‘ear’ /kitú/ ‘calabash’
/d/ is a voiced alveolar stop typically found in loan words and names. /adá/
‘cutlass’ (<H) /ádan/ ‘slowly’ (<J) /dúbú/ ‘thousand’ (<H) /Addi/ a person’s name
/nd/ is a voiced alveolar prenasalized stop. /nde/ ‘do’ /undá/ ‘woman’

21
The labial consonant occurring finally is taken to be a variety of /b/ although the
voiced/voicing distinction is neutralized finally. See discussion below. The velar stop (k/g)
is interpreted similarly.
32 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
/k/ is a voiceless velar stop, slightly aspirated. In clusters after stops /k/ is [x].
/ukab/ ‘stream’ /apkín/ ‘spirits’
/g/ is a voiced velar stop. In word-final position before pause /g/ is unreleased [k].
In clusters after /mb/ and /nd/ it is a fricative [ ] and before other words beginning
with a vowel it is usually voiced, with the closure reduced to a fricative ([ ]).
/pégi/ ‘plot of land’ /gugá/ ‘pail’ /ndgob/ ‘weave’ /kumbgáb/ ‘whip’
/ng/ is a prenasalized voiced velar stop. /ingar/ ‘grinding of teeth’ /Tonga/ a town
/ingog/ ‘pig’ /fangó/ ‘road’
It is appropriate to ask whether the prenasalized stops really constitute single units
or might not rather be treated as clusters. I treat them as units for two reasons. First,
when they occur across syllable boundaries, the nasal component stays with the
stop. This is evident from the large number of single syllable verbs beginning with
prenasalized stops, such as nde ‘do’ and mbé ‘receive.’ It also comes out clearly in
the local version of ‘spoonerizing’ in which rimbwē ‘sore’ is inverted to become
mbwerī and rinda ‘gift’ comes out ndari. Furthermore, these stops may be
labialized and palatalized, in which case treating them as CC would entail creating
three-member clusters, which otherwise do not occur in the language. Further
evidence for the unitary interpretation of /mb nd ng/ comes from hummed versions
of the above verbs, which invariably have one pulse and a single tone. A double
pulse or different tone would indicate syllabic nasals, which do occur in Kuteb, but
contrast with the prenasalized stops.
Although labio-velar double stops occur in other dialects, I do not have non-
suspect examples in my own data from Lissam. Shimizu (1980a:70) cites /kp/ as a
‘cluster’ in Lissam speech, but no example is given, and I have not recorded this.22
The neighboring Bika and Aticwo dialects use /kp/ in words such as /kpāg/ ‘hard’
(=Lissam /bōm/) and /gb/ as in /gbākyā/ (kpākyā?), a town, and /gbem/ ‘gun’
(/kpēm/? Lissam /ipiŋ/)23. Note also the prenasalized double stop in Bika dialect:
/mgba/ ‘maize’ (/mbapwa/ in Lissam).
A glottal stop occurs in the word m’m ‘no’ but is not listed here in the inventory of
sounds as it is not considered part of the contrastive feature system. It seems to be a
modified loan word from Hausa a’a.
Returning to the regular elements of the system, one may note considerable
variation in the surface form of /b/ and /g/ in final position. According to Shimizu

22
It is quite possible that the labiovelars are spoken in a subdialect that I am unaware of.
They definitely need to be considered part of the broader Kuteb phonological inventory.
23
It is difficult to hear the difference between /kp/ and /gb/ in these forms, which perhaps
supports my earlier hypothesis that the voiceless and prenasalized stops form the major
opposition in the stop series.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 33
(1980a:65), in all of the Jukunoid languages but Jiru, the distinction between
voiced and voiceless stops in final position is lost. In Kuteb, before pause and
homorganic consonants, the stops are usually unreleased. Before another word
beginning with a vowel they are weakened and/or voiced, depending on the point
of articulation: [b]~[ β], [ř], and [g]~[ ]. This explains the variety of spellings of
the name ‘Kuteb’ as ‘Kutep’ or ‘Kutev’ found in the literature.
The final bilabial could be considered a variety of either /p/ or /b/. On the grounds
of consistency with the alveolar and velar stops (see below), I take the final labial
stop as an allophone of /b/. Incidentally, this also conforms to the current
‘standard’ spelling.
The final alveolar stop could be assigned to /t /or to /r/, but since it surfaces as a
flap before a following vowel, it is assigned to /r/. Historical evidence suggests that
at least some final alveolar consonants were at one time /t/: cf. PBC *ukútí
‘crocodile’ (Kuteb: ukúr).
In the case of the final velar stop, I have taken it to be an allophone of /g/ rather
than /k/. The choice between k/g in final position (as with p/b and t/r) seems to me
arbitrary. One either has to write a rule devoicing the final stops before pause (or
before a following voiceless consonant), or write a rule voicing them when a vowel
follows in another word.
Before pause or Before vowel in next word
utterance-final
ritúk Ayī si ritúg a? [ayīsiritúɁâ]
it be market ? Is it a market?
p
rikū Ayī si rikūb a? ? [ayīsirikūβâ]
it be bone ? Is it a bone?
ukút Ayī si ukúr a? ? [ayīsiukúřâ]
it be crocodile? Is it a crocodile?
2.3.2 Affricated Stops
The affricates, in Welmers (1948), include only the palatal series. I have added a
dental-alveolar series /ts/ and /nz/ ([ndz]~[nz]) for reasons to be discussed below.
Note the absence of /dz/ here. That, together with *d and *g, reinforces the
hypothesis that the voiceless and prenasalized stops are the ‘normal’ native series.
34 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
dental/alveolar palatal
voiceless ts c [t ]
voiced prenasal nz [ndz]~[nz] nj [nd ]∼[n ]
voiced j [d ] ∼ [ ]
/ts/ [ts] is a voiceless alveolar affricated stop with the tongue tip placed close to the
lower teeth. /kitsínn/ ‘jealousy’ /tsēn/ ‘white’
/nz/ [ndz]∼[nz] is a voiced prenasalized counterpart of /ts/ above, with very light
stop action. /kínzō/ ‘one’ /unzu/ ‘mouth’ /nzáa/ ‘Is it so?’
Welmers treats the sequence /ts/ as two units in order to avoid setting up a series of
alveolar affricates on the basis of one case (ts). However, he concedes (1948:5 and
endnote p. 22) that the word /tswa/ ‘(rain) fall’ argues against his analysis. I
therefore take /tswa/ to be an argument in favor of /ts/ as a unit.24 Welmers
apparently considered /ndz∼nz/ a subphonemic variant of /nj/ (though ndz/nz and
nj contrast in my data). I take /nz/ ([ndz]) as a unit for symmetry with /ts/ and
because a cluster /n/+/z/ (or /nd/ + /z/) would require setting up a native phoneme
/z/ which I have recorded only in loan words. Shimizu (1980:68) lists /dz/ but not
/ts/, which may be an accidental omission, as he does have an example of /ts/ (/tsi/
to stand). I have not seen an example of /dz/ in his data. In any case, we have here
evidence of a voiceless and voiced prenazalized set (ts and ndz) as being the basic
contrast.25 /unzu/ ‘mouth,’ /nzáa/ a question
/c/ [t ] is a voiceless palato-alveolar affricated stop. /acīn/ ‘medicine’ /tīcí/ ‘old’
/acíkunn/ ‘beans’
/nj/ [nd ]~[n ] is a voiced prenasalized palato-alveolar affricated stop with very
slight stop action. /nji/ ‘bury’ /ínjā/ ‘brother’
As in the case of the non-nasalized form /j/ [d ]∼[ ], the stop is so light as to
suggest that /nj/ could as well be considered part of a fricative series with sh (i.e.
/sh zh nzh/).
/j/ [d ]∼[ ] is a voiced palato-alveolar affricate or fricative. The stop, if any, is
extremely light, and both varieties are acceptable in medial position. In the speech
of some speakers, there is complementary distribution, the affricate form appearing
only word-initially, the fricative alternating with the affricate within a word, i.e.,
/ují/ [ud í]∼[u í ] ‘rope,’ /jaŋ/ [d aŋ]’deep,’ jīm[d īm] ‘cool,’ ajīb [ad īp]
~[a īp] ‘dirt’

24
Another analysis again would be to open the canon of syllable types to three-member
sequences. This is will be discussed below in Section 3.
25
One could shift /z/ [z]~[dz] out of the affricate set into the fricatives by making [z]~[dz]
and [nz]~[ndz] a part of the series /s – z – nz/, but nothing would be gained by doing so.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 35
Examples:
alveolar palatal
itsē ‘father’ ice ‘boundary’
unzu ‘mouth’ ínjā ‘sprout’
jāeb ‘buy’
Shimizu (1980:69) takes the palatal series (my c, j, nj, sh) as /ty/, /dy/, /ndy/, /sy/.26
Welmers (1948) considered this possibility but avoided it, as we shall see below,
and instead created the palatal series /c, j, nj, sh/. Further discussion follows in
section 3.0.
Another point regarding the prenasals, raised both by Welmers and Shimizu with
respect to Jukunoid languages, is the complementary distribution of nasal and
prenasal stops. In the other Jukunoid languages, the nasal stops (m, n, ŋ) occur only
before nasal vowels and mb, nd, ŋg before oral vowels. In Kuteb, although it is true
that the prenasals do not occur with nasalized vowels, the nasals occur before both
oral and nasal vowels. Examples:
umbae ‘child’ maerikōm ‘twenty’
undá ‘woman’ rináe ‘anger’
fangó ‘road’ úŋā ‘jaw’
2.3.3 Fricatives
The fricatives contrast by point of articulation as shown in the diagram below.
(Starred items are (sub-) dialectal and/or borrowed).
labial alveolar palatal glottal
voiceless f s sh h
voiced v* z*
Examples of fricatives in some common words:
labial alveolar palatal glottal
ufu ‘door’ ise ‘outside’ ishi ‘broom’ ahán ‘thus’
vóno ‘mattress’ Izé (a name) shā ‘want’
/f/ is a voiceless labiodental fricative. /ifaen/ ‘two’ /fob/ ‘reach’ /fkēn/ ‘flay’

26
He also includes /zy/. It would be good to know if he has evidence for a contrast between
/zy/ [ ] and /dy/ [d ]. I have not seen any.
36 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
/v/ is a voiced labiodental fricative, found in loan words and names. /vim/
‘cleaning powder’ The phoneme /v/ does occur in one subdialect of Lissam speech
(used by Welmers) as a variant of /b/ but only with palatalization: /vy/. (See
Section 3.0 on consonant clusters.)
/s/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative. /sa/ ‘take’ /usú/ ‘load’
/z/ is a voiced alveolar fricative found in loan words and names. /Izé/ a name /zóbe/
‘ring’ (<H) In a subdialect of Lissam /z/ alternates with /j/ [ ] in uzāen ~ ujāen
‘tongue.’ Shimizu lists /z/ as a phoneme and I take this to be the Ambukom sub-
dialect. In any case, in his analysis the sound [ ] is interpreted as /zy/ so /z/ is
required on theoretical grounds.
/sh/ [ ] is a voiceless palato-alveolar fricative. /shā/ ‘seek,’ /ishab/ ‘fat, lard’
Shimizu (1980a:69) takes /sh/ as a cluster of /s/ and /y/, which possibly reflects the
historical facts (see discussion below) but has not caught on as a way of writing
this sound. In clusters with /w/ (phonetically a labiodental f ) the phoneme /sh/ is
pronounced with the tongue-tip down [ ]. (See discussion on clusters, below.)
/h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative occurring in a few words: /ahán/ ‘thus,’ /ahóo/
‘what do I care?’ /hén/ (exclamation) and numerous loan words from Hausa and
English. The phoneme /h/ is sometimes substituted for /s/ in the word /sa/ ‘take’ or
‘put,’ apparently for stylistic reasons. The other dialects do not have /h/ at all apart
from loan words.
On the phonetic level, velar fricatives occur, the voiceless [x] as an allophone of /k/
and the voiced [ ] as an allophone of /g/. /tkí/ [txí] ‘different’ /ndgōb/ [nd ōb]
‘weave’. Welmers, because he did not admit /g/, decided to posit /x/ for both of
these sounds, with two phonetic variants [x] and [ ]. It could be asked here why
/nz/ in unzu (mouth) is not included in a set with /s/ and /z/. The answer is that
there is variation of /nz/ between [ndz] and [nz], and we have taken the stopped
variant as primary, making it a voiced counterpart of /ts/.
2.3.4 Resonants
The nasals contrast according to point of articulation. As a set they contrast with
the prenasalized stops discussed above:
labial alveolar palatal velar
nasal m n ny [ ] ŋ27
prenasal mb nd nj ng [ŋg]
Examples:

27
In the standard orthography /ŋ/ is written as ‘ngh’ initially and ‘ng’ finally.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 37
labial alveolar palatal velar
myae ‘measure’ náe ‘lie down’ rinyī ‘name’ ribāŋ ‘wound’
mūnn ‘fill’ nam ‘be soft’ nyaŋ ‘good’ ŋāe irá ‘shout’
/m/ is a voiced bilabial nasal. /mūm/ ‘dig,’ /mae ifaen/ ‘forty,’ /kimú/ ‘potto’
/n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal. /núŋ/ ‘see’ /num/ ‘be tired’/ kūnn/28 ‘call’
/ny/ [ ] is a voiced alveopalatal nasal (see discussion on clusters below). /nyam/
‘suck,’ /rinyí/ ‘name’
/ŋ/ is a voiced velar nasal occurring initially and finally in syllables. /ŋáŋ/ ‘tightly’
/Kiŋám/ (a name) /asaŋ/ ‘years’
2.3.5 Flap and Lateral
The only native phoneme here is /r/ [ř], a voiced alveolar flap. In final position
before pause it is often unreleased, raising the prospect of considering it a variant
of /t/. However, we have decided to include it with /r/ as in most cases it is realized
as [ř]. /rū/ ‘go’ /irá/ ‘word’ /ukúr/ [ukút] ‘crocodile’ The voiced lateral /l/ occurs in
many borrowings, as in:
léma ‘umbrella’ lemó ‘citrus’
Larabá ‘a name’ Balá a name
ludó a game Alí a name
2.3.6 Approximants
/w/ is a voiced bilabial approximant. /uwé/ ‘face’ /wōm/ ‘dry’
In clusters following labial and velar consonants /w/ is a quick bilabial release of
the consonant. In clusters with the palatal consonants (/c, j, sh, nj/) /w/ represents a
voiced or voiceless labiodental release (cf. Section 3.0).
/y/ is a voiced palatal approximant. After labial stops (in clusters) it is often slightly
sibilant. /uyī/ ‘needle,’ /upyí/ [upyí]∼[up í] ‘slave’ /ibyē/ [ibyē]∼[ib ē]
‘meat/animal’
2.3.7 Distribution of Consonants
The consonants are distributed as follows:
Initial in CV: p ts t c k b (d) (g) mb nd nj ŋg f s sh h v z nz mnŋ rl
Final in C(C)VC: b r g m n* ŋ* 29

28
Double /nn/ represents the consonant /n/ in contrast to the single /n/ which represents
nasalization.
38 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
In CC clusters:
Cw pw cw kw Cy py
mbw njw ngw mby
bw jw
fw ?sw shw
mw ŋw

Ck pk tk
fk sk
Cg mbg ndg
The above consonant clusters represent those occurring within single syllables.
When syllables come together in words, many more combinations occur. As the
definition of ‘word’ has yet to be worked out for Kuteb, it is impossible to make a
definitive list of the consonant combinations that can occur across syllable
boundaries. Theoretically, any combination of a syllable-final consonant (m, n, ŋ,
b, r, g) followed by syllable-initial consonant (all of them) is possible. It is likely,
however, that some reduction may occur, as in ushitong ‘soup-stirrer’ (from shir +
utoŋ) in which the /r/ has been dropped out. Again, when final /nn/ [n]stems
precede stems beginning with /n/, the double /nn/+/n/ is reduced, as in munae
(munn-náe) ‘be abundant,’ munji (munn-nji) ‘forget.’
The following are a sample:
ms rikamsínn ‘spider’ mpk rikampkú ‘bat’
rf rikwerfe ‘corner’ rb riturbyínn ‘beetle’
nnt rifunntā ‘total’ gt iwágtíye ‘fishing’
nnts rikunntsig ‘catfish’ mr Amamrá (a name)

2.4 Consonant Clusters30

Sorting out the complex obstruents in Kuteb has been a serious challenge to those
who have attempted it. Ladefoged (1964:31) has recorded the phonetics of this
series; it is left for us to sort out the phonemics. It may be useful to present the full
range of complex consonantal sounds in rough phonetic terms first, before
presenting our analysis.

29
Final /n/ and /ŋ/ are written ‘nn’ and ‘ng’ in the standard orthography.
30
General discussions of consonant clusters in African languages are given in Welmers
1973:53-67 and in Heine and Nurse 2000:144-152.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 39
31
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Post-Pal. Velar
pw py px ts tx t t f kw
mbw mby mb ndz nd nd nd v ŋgw
bw by b d d v (gw)

fw fy fx sk f
mw my (m ) nay ŋw
Note that the labial series has three kinds of modification, the alveolar series only
has velarization, and the velar series only has labialization. It would be possible to
take the dental series as showing a fourth type of modification if [ts] and [ndz]
were seen as /t/ and /nd/ with alveolarization. The scheme above has gaps for three
kinds of modification in the alveopalatal area (e.g. tw, ty, and tx), and at least two
modifications in the velar area (e.g. kw, ky), so it is appropriate to ask if there
could be an underlying system that would be more regular. Variations in other
dialects may offer clues. For example, note that where other dialects have
palatalized velar (ky), Lissam has [t ].
Let us examine how the alveolars and palatals have been approached by Welmers,
Shimizu, and myself before going into more detail on each of the series.
Welmers (1948:3) considered taking the palatals (t , nd , d , ) as /ty/, /ndy/,
/dy/, /sy/32 but rejected the idea because it complicated the analysis of the
postpalatal series. In his scheme the labials have three modifications: labial, palatal,
and velar. The alveolar consonants have only velarization, the palatals have
labialization, and the velars have only labialization, as follows:
2.4.1 Welmers (1948): Complex Obstruents
dental alveolar palatal post-pal. velar
ts tx c[t ] cw[t f] kw
z [dz] j [d ]~[ ] jw [d v]~[ v]
nz [ndz] ndx [ndγ] nj [nd ]~[n ] njw [nd v] ŋgw
shw [ f]
Looking again at the rough phonetics, we see that the stops may be labialized,
palatalized, labio-dentalized, and velarized.

31
In addition to being post-palatal, these sounds are made with the tongue tip down.
32
As he did in analyzing Jukun (Welmers 1968:6).
40 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Post-Palatal Velar
pw py px ts tx t t f kw
mbw mby mb ndz nd nd nd v ŋgw
bw by b b d v (gw)
Shimizu (1980a:69) observed that the neat triple modification pattern of the labials
could nicely be repeated in the alveopalatals by rearranging our alveolar, palatal,
and post-palatal columns. The palatal series (t , nd , d , , ) he analyzed as /ty
dy sy zy/ just as he initially did with Jukun (1980b:9) following Welmers (1968:6).
The postpalatals he then took as /tw ndw dw sw/. The result is a neat set that
exactly parallels the labials as follows:
2.4.2 Complex alveopalatal consonants as per Shimizu (1980)

with labialization with palatalization with velarization

tw [t f] ty [t ] tk [tx]
ndw [nd v] ndy [nd ] ndg [nd ]
dw [d v] dy [d ]
sw [ f] sy [ ] sk
The simplicity and symmetry of this pattern make it attractive. It eliminates the
need for the phonemes c, j, and nj in the language. One might add that
palatalization in the labial series is often sibilant (py = [p ] for example), so that
writing [t ] as /ty/ is not implausible. An argument against it is that it requires
setting up /d/ in the language, which otherwise does not occur as a native
consonant. Since he posits /dz/ as a separate phoneme, he could have avoided
setting up /d/ by considering [d ] as /dzy/ and [d v] as /dzw/). Indeed, the phones
[d ] and [d v] are so weakly stopped that one could reasonably take them as
representing /zh/ and /nzh/ in the fricative series with /sh/.
Practically speaking, a major drawback of Shimizu’s analysis is the fact that the
labiodentalized clusters are, as Ladefoged observes, pronounced with the tongue tip
down, making it difficult for native speakers to accept them as related to /t, nd s/,
etc. It is worth noting that in analyzing the Jukun palatals, Shimizu (1980b:9),
abandoned the analysis of [t ] [d ] [ ] as /ty/, /dy/, /sy/ on the grounds that it
does not really improve the efficiency of the system and that it is impractical for
writers. He uses /c/, /j/, /sh/ instead, following Welmers.
2.4.3 An alternative analysis of complex consonants
Neat as it is, Shimizu’s system is not as regular as it could be. The velar series only
has one modification (labialization) and the dental series /ts, ndz/ is anomalous.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 41
One further possibility for regularizing the system is to consider the [t ] [d ]
[nd ] set as underlying palatalized velars. This is suggested by the fact that in
many words where Lissam has /c/ [t ], other dialects have /ky/ [t ], e.g. kyaŋ
[t aŋ] ‘walk’ ikyiŋ/ [it iŋ] ‘housefly.’ Then, if we reanalyze the dental series (ts,
ndz), we could have the following:
alveopalatal/coronal velar
ty [ts] tw [t f] tk [tx] ky [t ] kw
ndy [ndz] ndw [nd v] ndg [nd ] ngy [nd ] ngw
dy [dz] dw [d v] (dg) [d ] gy [d ] (gw)
This would reduce the points of articulation to three (labial, coronal, velar) and
give the labial series and the coronal series three modifications each, and the velar
series two.
This may well represent the historical development of some of the sounds, but is
not ‘phonetic’ enough for the contemporary reader. The people I worked with
refused to accept the palatals as ‘ty ndy dy sy.’33 This may have been due to the
adoption of Welmers’ analysis by those he worked with, or more probably because
of the influence of Hausa and English, which have the phonemes /c/, /j/ and /sh/. In
any case, Welmers’ analysis was accepted early on for a practical alphabet, and it
continues to be the standard, with slight modification, to the present.
I have added /nz/ [nz]~[ndz] (in the fricative series) from the word unzu ‘mouth’
Shimizu notes /dz/ but not /ts/ (1980:68); Welmers has [ts] but not [dz].
A minor departure from Welmers may be noted in my analysis of the velar in
clusters: Welmers created a phoneme /x/ with voiced and voiceless allophones,
whereas I, having given /g/ phonemic status, assign the velarization [x] to /k/ and
[ ] to /g/. E.g. /ndgob/ [nd op] ‘weave’ (Welmers: ndxop), /kutkom/ [kutxom]
‘stone.’
2.4.4 Modified Consonants and Syllable Structure
The basic issue to be addressed at this point is how the components of these sounds
are related to each other in the structure of the syllable, which is formulated in
terms of consonants and vowels.
w y
In considering cases like [p e], [p e], etc., three possibilities exist: The sounds
represent either:
1. CVV E.g. /pue, pie/,

33
Bika’s nju (ndyu?) for ‘mouth’ and njo (ndyo?) ‘one’ may shed light on the protoforms
of these sounds.
42 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
2. CCV E. g. /pwe, pye/, or
3. CwV or CyV E.g. pwe or pye (where Cw and Cy represent unit phonemes).
Setting aside cases of /Ck/ and /Cg/ for the moment, I consider arguments for each
possibility in turn, using /kwa/ as a case in point.

2.4.4.1 C + approximant as a vowel sequence (CVV)

Against this position is the fact that within words there is no pattern of VV
sequences such as /eo/, /oe/, /ei/, or /ea/ on which to base our case. Borrowings
from Hausa such as kai! (expression of surprise) cannot be the basis for deciding
syllable patterns.34
w y
2.4.4.2 C + approximant as a modified Single Consonant (C , C )
While interpreting all cases of Cw and Cy as single units has the advantage of
reducing the variety of syllable structures to CV and V, it has other problems. First,
it multiplies the number of consonants in the language. Secondly, one then needs to
explain, for example, why the newly created complex consonants (e.g. ky, py) only
occur initially in syllables and never finally, as do their simpler counterparts /k/ and
/p/.
Shimizu (1980:8-9), analyzing Jukun, which also has a large number of modified
consonants, first took them as clusters on the grounds that it reduces the number of
consonants (26 versus 48). However, it seems that he later abandoned this approach
in favor of simplifying the syllable structure to CV. The same could be done for
Kuteb, but at our present stage of analysis, I see no disadvantage in positing the
syllable structures as CV and CCV, etc., rather than trying to maintain a CV pattern
as Shimizu does. It seems to be a matter of trading off complexity at one level of
structure for complexity at another.
An exception to this is the alveo-palatal series ([ ] [t ] [d ] [nd ]) where both
the internal unity of the sounds and external (distribution) factors favor a unit
analysis: /sh c j nj / rather than a cluster analysis (sy, ty, dy, ndy) as we argued
above.

2.4.4.3 C + Semivowel as Consonant Cluster (CC)

One may observe, first of all, that the phonemes /w/ and /y/ occur independently of
clusters, as in /iwág/ ‘fish’ and /ayēb/ ‘millet.’ Furthermore, when a word with a

34
In most cases where words with /ai/ are borrowed from Hausa, the /ai/ is interpreted as /e/
as in /kose/ ‘beancakes’ (>H: kosai). Indeed, such reinterpretation is even happening within
Hausa itself.
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 43
final consonant precedes a word beginning with semivowel, the two adjoining
consonants form a cluster identical to those we observe at the beginnings of words:
21) Ukwab ye wū. [ukwabyewū]
monkey catch 3s
Monkey caught him/it.
Compare:
22) Akwā byīr yī. [akwābyīryī]
Akwa gather it/them
Akwa gathered it/them.

23) Ukwab wēn wū. [ukwabwẽwū]

monkey killed 3s
Monkey killed him/it.
Compare:
24) Akwa bwe. [ákwābwe]
Akwa keep silent
Akwa kept silent.
Taking the above observations together with the fact that there is in the language
(according to the present analysis) a pattern of two-member clusters set by the
sequences /pk/, /tk/, /mbg/, /ndg/, /sk/, and /fk/, one may conclude that there are
some grounds for taking /kwa/, /pya/, etc. as CCV.
Let us now review the modified consonants in order by point of articulation, with
examples.
2.4.5 Modified Labials
Aside from the question of the prenasalized stops discussed earlier (Section 2.1.1),
the modified bilabials constitute no analytical problem, and I illustrate them here
before moving on to the alveolars and velars.
44 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
Cy py upyí ‘slave’ pyē ‘slash’
mby mbye ‘build’ ámbyī ‘water’
by ibyē ‘meat’ byāg ‘be hot’
my myae ‘measure’ umyím ‘cliff’

Cw pw upwen ‘rain’ pwan ‘worn’

bw bwe tág ‘be quiet’ bwe ‘still, keeping on’
mbw rimbwe ‘swelling’
mw mwa ‘how many’
fw fwēr ‘to shake’ ifwen ‘chaff’

Ck pk mbapkú ‘dog’ apkín ‘spirits’

mbg kumbgáb ‘whip’ umbga ‘sheath’
One point of interest here is how the dialects vary with regard to the palatalized
stops. The labial stop + /y/ in Lissam is equivalent to a dental stop + /w/ in Fikyu
and Jenuwa. That is:
Lissam Fikyu, Jenuwa
py tsw pyí /tswí ‘refuse’
by dzw byīr/dzwīr ‘black’
mby ndzw imbyí/indzwí ‘bottom’
For purposes of historical reconstruction it may be useful also to know that some
subgroups of Lissam use /vy/ instead of /by/ in words like byīr (‘black’) and that
the Fikyu forms vary freely between stop and fricative articulation (i.e. between
dzw and zw). If we take the phonetic form of some of these cases, e.g. [v īr] and
[zwīr], it will be seen that a kind of double metathesis of manner and point of
articulation takes place. A similar alternation occurs between /tx/ of Lissam and
/sk/ of Arufun in words like txī versus skī ‘dip’ and txūn asú versus skūn asú
‘insult.’
2.4.6 Modified Alveolars:
Having interpreted [ts] and [ndz] as single (though complex) dental-alveolar
consonants rather than as sequences, we are left with a velarized set:35

35
Welmers cites uswam (babboon) as an example containing /sw/. I record this word as
usom. It is quite possible that other dialects have labialized alveopalatals (e.g. twēr ‘pierce’
in Fikyu, Kpambai).
Chapter Two Kuteb Grammar 45
kutkom ‘stone’ kutxín ‘penis’
ndgob ‘weave’ undga ‘euphorbia’
txí ‘be different’ txīr ‘mock’
2.4.7 Modified Velars
We have already observed that Lissam and Lumbu are the only Kuteb dialects that
do not have palatalized velars. Where all other dialects use /ky/ Lissam speakers
use /c/ [tʃ]. This leaves us with labialization as the only modification in the velar
series:
kwáb ‘try’ rikwen ‘mountain’ ákwām ‘bananas’
ukwe ‘chief’ kwār ‘strike’ kwāen ‘cough’
36
ngwā ‘drink’ gwámna ‘governor’ riŋwāen ‘salt’
2.4.8 The possibility of CCC Clusters
A couple of words have raised the issue of whether there may be three-member
clusters in Kuteb. One of these is (upwen) tswa ‘(rain) fell.’ As we have considered
/ts/ a single unit, /tsw/ is then a CC cluster. In an analysis which takes /ts/ as two
consonants, one would have to create a CCCV syllable structure to accommodate
/tswa/.
Another case is /afkyáng/ ‘ruhn palm.’ As some speakers alternate between
/afkáng/ and /afkyáng/ we have chosen to consider it either a case of CC or an
anomaly. More research is needed.

2.5 The Standard Orthography

The standard Kuteb orthography, as used in the literacy primer series Apurá and
the New Testament (Irá Tīnyang), differs from the above in the following ways:
1. Word-final consonant /ŋ/ is written as ‘ng,’ e.g., asung ‘hair.’
2. Word-initial /ŋ/ with labialization is written ‘nw’ as in nwúnn [ŋwún]
‘get up,’ nwáŋrū [ŋwáŋrū] ‘to save.’
3. Syllable-initial /ŋ/ without modification (rare) is written ‘ngh,’ e.g.,
ngháe irá ‘shout’ e.g., Anghamrá (a name), Kinghám (a name).

36
In addition to /ky/ for /c/ in a number of words, Bika speakers use /ngy/ for /nj/ in the
word /íngyā/ ‘brother’ (Lissam: ínjā). Add to that the pronunciation of /inji/ as /indgi/ in
Atsaen (Kpambai): and you have an intriguing historical puzzle. However, there do seem to
be some ordinary /nj/ words in Atsaen as well.
46 Kuteb Grammar Chapter
Three
4. Syllable-initial /ŋg/ without modification (rare) is written ‘ngg,’ e.g.
fanggó ‘road.’ (Note also Bika yíngga ‘today’ (=Lissam yáka, Fikyu nyíka).
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 47
CHAPTER THREE. PHONOLOGY PART II: PROSODY

3.1 Introduction37
Sound organization above the level of consonants and vowels (‘segments’) is
called ‘prosody’ or ‘supra-segmental phonology.’ In this chapter I deal with
syllables, tone and some phonological processes involving changes in tone. As is
the case in most (if not all) languages (Lyons 1981:97), the syllable plays an
important role in Kuteb phonology as a structure in which sequential constraints on
consonants can be formulated. Furthermore, although I only touch on it here,
syllables constitute the components of larger phonological units. Tonal change
rules (‘sandhi’), presumably operating within the domains of these larger units, are
most effectively formulated in terms of syllables rather than segments.

3.2 Tone Patterns

Although in terms of the world’s tone languages, Kuteb is a ‘register tone’
language, as opposed to ‘contour tone’ languages, it will be seen that the limited
tonal patterns on words make it a little like a contour tone language. Since tone is a
major component in the definition of ‘syllable’ in Kuteb, let us deal with that first.
3.2.1 Tone Levels
Welmers (173:105) observes that there are four tones in Kuteb, but that only three
actually contrast in lexical items. No four-way contrast can be found among nouns
or verbs in isolation. The ‘fourth tone,’ we shall see, is the result of an ‘upstep’
rule. We mark the tones here as: low (unmarked), mid (marked with a macron), and
high (marked with an acute accent). The relative intervals between these tones are
indicated in the following diagram.
high ------ ----- --- ----o- -o--o-- -o--- ----- ----- -----
------ ----- ----- ----- ----o- ----- ------ -o---
mid ------ ---o- ----- ----- ------ ----- --o- -----
low -o—o- -o--- -o--- ----- ----- --o-- ----- -----
ukwe risū urú kákúm kúrāŋ som cī bá
chief head game horse crow sit eat come
Note that the gap between mid and high is greater than that between low and mid.
Note also that the narrow gap between the syllables of kúrāŋ ‘crow.’ Tone in

37
For a brief overview of tone phenomena in African languages by G. N. Clements, see
Heine and Nurse 2000:152-158. For an older and more comprehensive treatment see
Welmers 1973:77-115.
48 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
Kuteb is ‘lexical,’ that is, it is used to distinguish one word from another. Thus we
speak of the word risū as having a low and mid tone, and urú as having a low and
high tone, etc.
It will be seen that each word has its ‘basic’ tone pattern. Tone-sequence rules will
operate on these words to create glides, either within words or within phrases. The
introduction of non-native vocabulary has introduced new tone patterns, to be
described below.
Some examples of minimal or near-minimal contrasts in nouns, where the initial
low tone in the prefix provides a frame for comparing the tone of the stems:
low tone versus mid tone
upwen ‘rain’ upwēn ‘bushfowl’
ricwo ‘grindstone’ icwō ‘palm kernels’
ukwab ‘monkey’ ukwāb ‘feast’
rikaen ‘poison’ rikāen ‘trouble’
mid tone versus high tone
iwōg ‘bees’ iwág ‘fish’
kutūnn ‘share’ utúnn ‘intermediary’
acīn ‘medicine’ ucín ‘tail’
low tone versus high tone
ifaen ‘two’ ifáen ‘antelope’
ishaen ‘argument’ isháen ‘month’
rikwen ‘mountain’ rikwén ‘judgment’
iku ‘leprosy’ ikú ‘mushrooms’
Verbs: low tone mid tone high tone
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 49
mam ‘create’ mām ‘finish’
sha ‘braid’ shā ‘want’
yen ‘cross’ yēn ‘transplant’
nyaŋ ‘be good’ nyāŋ ‘draw out’ nyáŋ ‘only’
tso ‘plant’ tsō ‘ascend’ tsó ‘show’
bae ‘ignite’ bāe ‘stick to’ báe ‘write’
tur ‘knead’ tūr ‘cut down’ túr ‘push’
caen ‘be full’ cáen ‘be old’
kwen ‘be hard’ kwén ‘learn’
cwū ‘die’ cwú ‘lie down’
tōm ‘send’ tóm ‘farm’
kōb ‘sew’ kób ‘be tall’
In addition to the level tones given above, a few rare cases make it necessary to
posit a falling tone and a rising tone:
Falling Rising
kínûŋ ‘bird’ kurúkŭm ‘toad’
kíkôg ‘chest’ kícĕ ‘bowl’
imbô ‘chimpanzee’ gbămsa ‘sickle’ (<J)
ipâm ‘pound (money)’ aměnjā ‘brothers’
In these words the duration of the glide is the same as the duration of the level
tones in the words given earlier. If not we would suspect that the falling and rising
tones are sequences of high-plus-low and low-plus-high tones. More will be said
about the falling tone (or ‘down-glides’) later.
There is a high-low-high-falling sequence in a formula introducing riddles (ícàâŋ),
but this word may be considered outside the normal inventory of the language,
particularly as it also has a double vowel. The sequence runs:
A: ícàŋ!
B: kadée!
A: (Riddle)
3.2.2 Tone Sequences
A word on the distribution of tones in words may be useful later as we study
syllable combinations and phonological words. Low tone is the most frequent tone;
hence the decision to leave it unmarked in the practical orthography, even though
50 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
comparison with related languages might have suggested leaving mid-tone
unmarked, as is done in Wukari Jukun. The fact that nouns typically begin with a
low-tone prefix accounts for a large number of these low tones. Low tone can be
followed by low tone, mid tone, high tone, or falling tone, as in:
ukwe ‘chief’ risū ‘head’ riwén ‘nose’ imbô ‘chimpanzee’
Only a couple of nouns begin on mid tone; they are followed only by mid tone:
yākā ‘daughter’ tsōwēn ‘day after tomorrow’
A number of nouns begin with high tone. They can be followed by high tone, mid
tone, or low tone, as in:
kákúm ‘horse’ ákwām ‘banana’ máto ‘car’
The high-low sequence seems to be typical of loan words from Hausa and English
(compare tíca ‘teacher’ pégi ‘plot of land’ cóci ‘church’). Rarely, one can find high
followed by a high-low glide: kinûŋ ‘bird.’
In summary, then, we have the following:
LOW – LOW; LOW-MID; LOW-HIGH; LOW-HIGH-FALLING
*MID-LOW; (MID-MID); *MID-HIGH; *MID-HIGH-FALLING
HIGH – LOW; HIGH – MID; HIGH-HIGH; HIGH-FALLING.

3.3 Defining the syllable

I attempt here to characterize what I take to be syllables in Kuteb as fully as I can
with my present data, pointing out the various features by which, presumably,
people perceive syllables in speech, and the variety of types they display.
3.3.1 The Role of Tone in defining the Syllable
It might be supposed from the examples above that the syllable could be defined
solely in terms of tone placement. The word ikú ‘mushrooms,’ for example, uses
two pitch levels, low and high. Kúrāŋ ‘crow’ uses high and mid. On the basis of
tone, these words obviously have two syllables each. But where are the syllable
boundaries? Is the word for mushrooms ik-ú (CV-V) or i-kú (V-CV)? And if the
tone does not change, as in kákúm ‘horse’ one could only conclude that it was one
syllable. Clearly, more is needed than just tones. For example, note the tone pattern
roughly portrayed in the following string:
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 51
1) [atīkutēpkúcáenpwêntíkufkentīcín]
--- --- - --- ---
-
--- --- - ---
--- --- - --- ---
a tī ku tēp kú cáen pwên tí ku fxen tī cén
‘We Kutebs use stumbling as a means of divination.’
Using tone breaks we can identify at least ten units in this utterance, as shown in
the table below. The x’s in the lower line represent possible units.
a tī ku tēp kúcáenpwên tí kufxen tī cén
x x x x ??????????? x xx? x x
There is an ambiguous stretch (kúcáenpwên) marked by ????? because a single
tone covers most of the stretch, sliding to low at the very end, and theoretically we
do not know how to break it. In order to parse the ambiguous stretch, one needs to
follow canonical segment-sequences to be given below.
If we think in terms of how a person hears phonological units, it is likely that he or
she uses a number of features simultaneously: pitch, segment sequences, sonority,
and possibly rhythm. I now discuss these in turn, showing how each contributes to
a possible definition of syllable for Kuteb.
3.3.2 Rhythmic Patterns and the syllable
While there is some evidence for rhythmic patterns in Kuteb, they do not seem to
be distinctive enough to base any rules or categories on. They seem rather to be a
corollary of pitch patterns and morphological structure. This is an area that needs
further inquiry, particularly with instruments.
3.3.3 Grammatical Structure and Syllable Structure
Morphological and syntactic information also enter into the perception and
segmentation of syllables.38 In the case above [kúcáen] can be divided if we know
that kú is a morpheme meaning ‘incomplete action’ (imperfect aspect). And if we
know that kufken has a plural afken, then we can deduce that there may be a break

38
As early as 1964 K. Pike recognized the role of grammatical structure in perceiving
phonological structure, demonstrating that ‘grammar’ is not an autonomous system, as
some claimed at a later date. See ‘Grammatical Prerequisites to Phonemic Analysis,’ (Pike,
1964); and Lyons (1981:97).
52 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
between /ku/ and /fken/. The sentence above, divided according to grammatical and
phonological criteria together, is written:

25) Atī Kutēb kú cáen ipwen tí kufxen tī cén.

1p Kuteb IMP do divination PREP foot REL stumble
We Kutebs use stumbling as a means of divination.

It is useful to note in passing, however, that the division of a string of sounds into
syllables does not necessarily coincide with division by grammatical category
(noun, verb, particle, etc.). For example, in the five-syllable sentence
m.núŋ.ma.fu.bē
the third syllable contains the word m ‘I’ (a verb-focus pronoun here) and part of
the pronoun afu. The sentence, divided with grammatical classes in mind, is:

26) m núŋ-m afu bē.

I see-I you NEG
I did not see you.

The first /m/ acts as a syllable in itself (see below); the second /m/ acts as the first
segment of a consonant-vowel sequence. This partially accounts for the
incongruence between grammatical class and syllable. Another example:
utum [utum] ‘rat’
u tu m [utum] ‘You found me.’
The above are the same syllabically but the first is one morpheme and the second,
three. The word for ‘rat’ has a final consonant /m/. The pronoun /m/ which
sometimes is syllabic (as in m kú bá ‘I am coming’) is resyllabified here as a final
consonant.
We now examine the segments and observe how they interact with tone to define
more precisely the peaks and boundaries of syllables.
3.3.4 Recurring Consonant-Vowel Sequences
Here I describe the internal structure of Kuteb syllables, and present the restricted
set of segment sequences that comprise the canon of syllable shapes in Kuteb.

3.3.4.1 The Syllable Nucleus

As sentence 25) above illustrates, vowels and consonants, in general, alternate
rhythmically in the speech string. It may also be observed that in Kuteb there is
often a strong (but not 100%) correlation between the number of tone changes and
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 53
the number of vowels in a string of speech. This leads us to surmise (following a
long tradition in African linguistics) that vowels form the nuclei of syllables and
are the main carriers of tone. But vowels are not the only carriers of tone. It has
long been observed in many languages that nasal consonants may also carry tone
and act as syllable nuclei. Thus, in the sentence
27) M kú bá.
1s IMP come
I am coming.
the first phoneme, /m/, carries its own (low) tone and therefore may constitute a
syllable, as may kú and bá, each having a vowel. We have yet to say anything
about syllable boundaries.

3.3.4.2 Syllable Boundaries and Canonical Shapes

To determine boundaries we look at units spoken in isolation and analyse their
beginnings and ends. For example, one finds that all consonants may occur initially
in utterances, and most of them may be followed by /w, k, g, y/ to form utterance-
initial clusters. At the end of utterances one finds /m, n, ŋ, b, r, g/. These then must
be syllable-final segments. Combinations of this set of final C’s plus any
consonants but /w, k, g, y/ cannot be within a syllable. They must be across
syllable boundaries.
A few problematical sequences (like mb, ŋg, bw, and by) will be dealt with after
we present the recurring segment sequences arising from the unambiguous
examples:
N (syllabic nasal), V, CV, CVC, CCV, CCVC.
VC sequences like at or ek or op are not found in Kuteb. The other sequences are
illustrated below, with a dot marking the syllable boundary.
1. N (syllabic nasal)
Ɂ.m. ‘no,’ m.kú.rū. ‘I’m going’
2. V (Vowel)
u.fu ‘door,’ i.ciŋ ‘flies,’ á.kwām ‘bananas’
3. CV
bá ‘come,’ u.tī ‘spear,’ rī ‘speak’
4. CVC
mūm ‘dig,’ ri.túg ‘market,’ tēr ‘run,’ kunn ‘call’
5. CCV
54 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
u.kwe ‘chief,’ pyír ‘refuse,’ tkí ‘draw (water)’
6. CCVC
kwáb ‘try,’ ku.tkom ‘stone,’ byīr ‘black’
It may be observed that each of the above has either a vowel or a syllabic nasal as a
‘nucleus’ or ‘peak.’ One or two consonants preceding the nucleus we call the
‘onset’ while the optional final consonant is often called the ‘coda.’
3.3.5 Sonority and Syllabicity
It has been pointed out (Jespersen 1922) that syllable structure generally follows a
pattern such that segments of greatest sonority are closest to the nucleus. Vowels
are more sonorant than consonants. Fricative consonants are more sonorant than
stops. Using a scale adapted from Ladefoged (1982:222), some common Kuteb
words are shown below with their sonority contours.
If a peak in sonority marks a syllable nucleus, one may discern from the above
diagrams that there are two syllables in kutkom and one in tkir. However, as in
the case of tone, sonority has not proven to an adequate ground for a rigorous
definition of ‘syllable’ in most languages.
3.3.6 Ambiguities in syllable Division
The above features (rhythm, sonority, tone, canonical shape) enable a hearer to
identify syllable peaks in a large percentage of speech. However, ambiguities may
still arise as to boundaries. Three cases where such ambiguities arise involve the
prenasalized stops, final nasals, and semivowels. The following pairs illustrate the
sort of ambiguities that may occur:
Prenasalized Stops and Final Nasals
Compare the following two sentences:

28) ū mbae pú-wū. [ūmbaepúwū]

3s delivered PRF-3s
She had a baby.

29) Utum bae urwā. [utumbaerwā]

rat lit fire
The rat lit a fire.
Phonologically, there is no difference between final /–um/ plus /b-/ and final u-
plus a following /mb-/). The same observation holds in the following pairs:
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 55
Alveolar Nasal (ny) and final Nasals
30) Atápu nyīŋ. [Atápunyīŋ]
Atapu is thin.

31) Apwākunn yīr ibae. [apwākunyīrībâe]

Apwakunn tied the sack.
Final stops and following semivowel
In the case of final stops followed by a semivowel in the next word, the stops
become voiced and are structurally ambiguous with an initial labialized or
palatalized voiced stop:
32) Ukwab wēn wū. [ukwabwēnwū]
Monkey kill 3s
The monkey killed him.

33) Akwā bwetág. [ákwābweták]

Akwa silent
Akwa was silent.

34) Ashwág wēn wū. [ashwágwēnwū]

Snails kill 3s
Snails killed him.

35) A sa Gwámna. [asagwámna]

3s take Gwamna
They took Gwamna.
Phonologically, there is no way of knowing whether the final segment in the
morphemes above go with what precedes or what follows. Only lexical information
can tell us. It will be seen, then, that phonological, semantic, morphological, and
syntactic information all work together to decode strings of speech sound.

3.4 Tonal Sandhi (Tone-sequence rules)

In this section I describe some instances of the more obvious of the tonal changes
occurring in Kuteb, namely tone-spreading and tonal up-drift.
56 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
3.4.1 Tone Spreading
This phenomenon occurs in three grammatical environments: 1) where a noun
object follows a verb, 2) where a verb follows a future marker, and 3) in the
genitive construction.
3.4.2 Noun Objects after High- and Mid-tone Verbs
In Section 2.1 I described verbs as either high, mid, or low in tone. The majority of
nouns have a low-tone prefix and a stem bearing high, mid, or low tone. The low-
tone nouns are subject to a sandhi rule as follows: following a verb of mid or high
tone, the prefix pitch assimilates to the pitch of the verb, and the basic tone of the
noun stem glides down from the pitch of the verb to low.39 The tone of the verb
spreads, so to speak, onto the noun stem. For example:
umbae (low-tone noun) ‘child’; núŋ (high-tone verb) ‘see’
36) Ame núŋ umbae. [amenúŋmbâe]
1s see child
I see a child.
aser (low-tone noun) ‘money;’ shā (mid-tone verb) ‘seek’
37) Abā kú shā aser. [abākúshāsêr]
3p IMP want money
They want money.
kufxen (low-tone noun) ‘foot’; cén (high-tone verb) ‘stub’
38) Awū cén kufxen. [awūcénkúfxên]
3s stub foot
He stubbed his toe.
What is theoretically interesting here is the domain of the sandhi rule. The high
tone of the verb cén acts not only on the immediately adjacent syllable, converting
it to high; it carries right across the noun prefix (ku-) and acts on the noun stem,
converting it to a high-low glide. This is evidence that the noun prefixes are
weakening. Even though they may be manifest by consonants and vowels, they are
passed over by the tone-spreading rule.
A related issue here is the behaviour of some common nouns which appear to
follow the same sandhi rule: kúnûŋ ‘bird’ and kíkwâb ‘hoe’ have stems which
glide from high to low. It appears that, in contrast to the low tone prefixes
discussed in the previous paragraph, the high-tone prefixes in these words are
triggering the sandhi rule, just as if they were a future marker followed by a verb
(see next section). To represent these words accurately in the lexicon, it would
seem adequate to mark only the prefix tone, as the glide is predictable. However, a
growing number of high-low loan words like máto ‘car,’ tíca ‘teacher’ and táya

39
In the case of nouns with a single vowel prefix (E.g. u- or I-) the vowel is often dropped.
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 57
‘tire’ do not follow the tone-change rule. In a fully adequate lexicon, either the
glide must be written, or a rule must be formulated which excludes words of
foreign origin from the tone-change rule.
3.4.3 Verbs after Future Marker
Future is marked in Kuteb by an underlying segment /ú/ which, in the surface
structure, is often elided with the vowel of the previous noun or pronoun (see
Chapter 2 Section 2.3). The high tone of the future marker, however, is always
retained. Furthermore, low-tone verbs after the future marker typically change to
high-falling. For example:
39) Abā ú som iké. [abāásômiké]~[abásômké]
3s FUT sit here
They’ll sit here.

40) Atī ú tu. [atīítû] ~ [atítû]

1p FUT find
We will find (it).

41) Apurá ú nde. [Apuráándê] ~ [Apurándê]

Apura FUT do
Apura will do it.
3.4.4 Associative-possessive Marker40
A possessive pronoun is linked to the head noun by a ‘floating’ high tone, which
merges with a previous tone to form an up-glide. For example:
ukwe + / Ɂ/ + m [ukwĕ `m]
chief ASSOC 1s ‘my chief’
With nouns, however, when used in the same construction, the floating tone is
often shifted to the prefix of the second noun, where it displaces the inherent low
tone. Examples:

40
The Associative marker is treated more fully in Chapter 6 (Section 4.0) and in Chapter 10
(Section 3.1).
58 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
unde / Ɂ / ice [undĕce]
person of boundary ‘neighbor’

kujwó / Ɂ / ricī [kujwórícī]

arm of right ‘right arm’

3.5 High Tone ‘Up-step’

We pointed out earlier (Section 2.1) the fact that verbs and nouns have different
pitch patterns, monosyllabic verbs having phonetic tones 1-3, and bisyllabic nouns
having typically 1-1, 1-2, 1-4, and 4-3 patterns. Welmers insisted that to mark this
unambiguously, four tonemes were required. His example, which I have re-written
with numbers for tone: (1=low, 2=mid, 3=high, 4=very high):
núŋ see + kusóg house
m1 nuŋ3 ku2sog4 ‘I saw a house.’
A simpler way of dealing with this problem is to consider nouns with the apparent
1-4 tone as being low-high, and the nouns with tone 4-3 as high-mid, and then
positing an up-step rule, as follows. When a high-tone noun stem follows a high
tone verb, the noun steps up.
42) Awū kú tóm ritóm.
3s IMP farm farm tóm
kú tóm
wū ri
‘He’s farming.’ a
Another case is where a quantifying noun (numeral) follows a high-tone noun:
andá itsóŋ
women five tsóŋ
ndá
i
‘five women’ a
The same happens in phrases having two high nouns joined by the conjunction tī:
undá tī kucáen cáen
woman REL oldness ndá
tī ku
‘an old woman’ u
Chapter Three Kuteb Grammar 59
3.6 Larger Phonological Units
3.6.1 Phonological Words
This chapter has dealt with syllables and phenomena that occur within the domain
of the syllable. It is clear that syllables are partially defined by tone. But the tone
on a particular syllable may be changed. The rules that govern such changes are
best described as operating within phonological units larger than the syllable. I now
present some evidence for postulating the phonological word as a unit of tone-
pattern placement.
1) In a local word game (see Chapter 2, Section 3.2.2 above), a word like riwén
‘nose’ becomes wenrí , retaining the low-high pattern. Kúrāŋ become ráŋkū. If
this turns out to be a general pattern, it is strong evidence that there is a
phonological tier independent of the segmental string, in which tone patterns are
formulated. In other words, although, as we saw above, vowels tend to be the locus
of tone placement, tones as such are not necessarily associated with specific
vowels.
2) The number of tonal sequences in words is limited. Not all combinations of
pitches are allowed. In two-syllable words, for example, out of a possible 27
combinations of low, mid, and high, only seven occur, including the words with
glides: LL, LM, LH, HH, HM, HL, HF. This suggests a canonical set of
phonological word shapes based on tone.
3) The tonal contours of words do not follow a fixed set of pitches ‘low,’ ‘mid,’
and ‘high,’ but are set in terms of the pitch of the previous syllable in the word. For
example, the mid tone in acīn ‘medicine’ is a step up from low; the ‘mid’ tone in
kúrāŋ ‘crow’ is a step down from high. The two ‘mid’ tones are not identical.
What is the relationship, then, between syllable tone and word tone? Tone is a
defining feature of the syllable; hence we speak of ‘low-tone syllable, mid-tone
syllable, high-tone syllable, falling-tone syllable, etc. In terms of word building, the
sequence of tones and number of syllables seems to be a more prominent feature
than the CV-shape or sonority.41 So we can speak of a ‘high-high’ word, meaning
a word consisting of two high-tone syllables such as kákúm. More will be said on
this in the next chapter.
3.6.2 Phonological Phrases
In section five above we described certain tone-sequence rules in terms of
grammatical categories. Further research would hopefully enable us to posit a

41
This is perhaps shown by the fact that messages can be conveyed using flutes and
‘talking drums’ which depend completely on the tonal patterns of words and sentences.
60 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Three
phonological phrase within which these rules operate. This is an area that is open
for further exploration.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 61
CHAPTER FOUR. WORD CLASSES

4.1 Introduction
Word classes, ‘form classes,’ or ‘parts of speech,’ have been defined in many
ways.42 In traditional grammar, a noun is usually defined as a word that names ‘a
person, place, or thing.’ Generative grammar essentially defines the major lexical
categories in terms of syntax: a noun is the head of a NP, verb the head of VP and
an adjective the head of Adjective Phrase. Thompson and Hopper (1984) define
word classes in terms of discourse structure. Nouns not only name things and act as
the subjects of sentences; primarily they serve to manipulate participants in a
discourse. Thompson and Hopper set out all the discourse functions of nouns and
verbs and arrange them in degrees of ‘prototypicality,’ the most typical (and
universal) function of nouns being to introduce a participant for the first time.43
The system I adopt here is based on Frajzyngier (1987), who finds the basis for the
categories noun, verb, and adjective in their function as encodings of propositional
elements. In this view, a noun ‘denotes an object without any implications about
the relationship between it and any other object in the universe.’ An adjective
‘describes a state or a quality of some object in the universe.’ A verb ‘indicates a
state or an action.’ An important component of this view is that the categories
‘Adjective’ and ‘Verb’ carry implications, namely: ‘Adjective’ implies that there
are objects that possess the state or quality, and ‘Verb’ implies the existence of
objects that are involved in the state or action.
My main aim in this chapter is to establish the basic elements with which the house
of Kuteb grammar is built. One cannot talk of grammar without reference to lexical
categories, since, in my approach, syntactic structures are defined partly by
reference to the lexical categories that occur in them.
This chapter gives minimal criteria and illustrations for distinguishing various
lexical classes. Following chapters will go into the nature and role of nouns
(Chapter Five) and verbs (Chapter Seven) in more detail.

4.2 Major Word Classes: Nouns and Verbs

Not only do nouns and verbs together comprise the vast majority of Kuteb words,
but they are essentially open classes. That is to say, new items are constantly being

42
See Lyons (1977:424ff), Givon (1984:47ff), and Schachter, ‘Parts-of-Speech Systems’ in
Shopen (1985) for introductions to the topic.
43
Categorization based on prototypicality was pioneered by Eleanor Rosch (1976).
62 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
added to them. That is why they are considered ‘major’ in contrast to other classes
that have fewer members, and are more ‘closed.’
4.2.1 Nouns

4.2.1.1 Identifying features of Nouns (Noun Morphology)

The vast majority of nouns are readily identified in Kuteb by their structure, which
consists of a stem and a prefix (a-, ku-, ki-, ri-, etc.) as in the following (some
exceptions will be treated in Chapter Five):

ande ‘people’ kutúkū ‘tree’ kiciŋ ‘fly’ kákúm ‘horse’

risū ‘head’ riwén ‘nose’ ukwe ‘chief’ indag ‘cow’
44
The full set of prefixes is:
kú kí ká rí ú í á
ku ki ri u i a
These prefixes are remnants of a more complex system of noun prefixes in the
original Proto-Niger-Congo parent language. In that system, nouns of a particular
semantic category, e.g. animals, had one prefix. Body parts had a different prefix.
Further, each category might have a different prefix to mark the plural. Over the
centuries, the system has broken down, to the point where many languages have no
prefixes at all, some, like Kuteb, have a few; still others have developed suffixes.
The remarkable thing about the Taraba area languages is that examples of both
extremes exist right next to each other, as Kuteb has retained many prefixes
whereas Wapan prefixes are reduced to /a-/ and Diyin has suffixes and no prefixes.
(See Storch, ‘Where have all the Prefixes Gone?’) Indeed, the dialects of Kuteb
itself show both extremes, from preservation of many prefixes in Lumbu and
Lissam, to the loss of almost all in Bika.45 Oohum (Yikuben), the nearest neighbor
to Kuteb, after losing quite a few prefixes, has apparently gone on to multiply them
again in a different form. (Shimizu 1980a:Vol.1, 171ff).
Note also that the nouns above have at least two syllables. Three- and even four-
syllable nouns are found, whereas verbs are typically monosyllabic, with a few
two-syllable exceptions which, historically at least, are morphologically complex.

44
At one time I stated that there are nouns with prefixes ru and rú. I now believe those to
be conditioned variants of ri and rí. A new cross-dialectal study of the prefixes is urgently
needed.
45
See Shimizu (1980a: Vol.1 p. 132-176) for a comparison of noun class prefixes in Kuteb,
Oohum (Yikuben), and Jukun. For a general treatment of noun prefixes in Niger-Congo see
de Wolf (1971). See also Williamson’s chapter ‘Niger-Congo Overview,’ esp. pp. 31-40 in
Bendor-Samuel (1989).
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 63
Nouns typically occupy a position before the verb in a simple sentence, i.e. in the
frame [----- verb]: as in Upwen bá (The rain came). Sometimes a sentence will
have two nouns, in which case the second noun will occur after the verb.
N1 N2
Apurá ye mbawén
Apurá catch goat
Apurá caught a goat.

4.2.1.2 Functional Classes of Nouns

Chapter Five will treat Nouns at length. Here I will only make a broad
categorization into three groups on the basis of function:
4.2.1.2.1 Participant-designating Nouns
Nouns such as unde ‘person’, kákúm ‘horse’ or kutúkū ‘tree,’ often function to
introduce and track participants in narrative text. They typically occupy subject or
object positions in a sentence, and are often referred to in subsequent discourse by
pronouns.46 For example:

43) Ame núŋ ínjā-fu íré. Awū tá uwae ritúg.

I see brother-2s yesterday 3s be in market
I saw your brother yesterday. He was in the market.
4.2.1.2.2 Adverbial Nouns
Some nouns are used adverbially to designate the time, place, and manner of an
action. Examples of ‘adverbial nouns’:

46
In some languages one could add that nouns can be ‘possessed’ (i.e. they may be
modified by a possessive pronoun), but in Kuteb this is not a distinctive feature because
verbs can also take possessive pronouns (See Chapter 7 ‘Verb-focus Pronouns’).
64 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
íré ‘yesterday’ iké ‘here’
akwēn ‘there’ ítsū ‘day before yesterday’
akā ‘where?’ ise ‘outside’
uwae ‘inside’ kutē ‘long ago’
isim ‘behind’ ísīnn ‘when?’
rípátēn ‘in a prone position face up’
ribur ‘in a prone position face down’
ritsen ‘in an upright position’
akoŋ ‘with a foul smell’ (see 2.1.2.3 below for more examples)

The following adverbial nouns, which function in exactly the same way as the
above, are structurally anomalous, as they do not have the typical nominal prefix.

yáka ‘today’
tsōwēn ‘day after tomorrow’
tsōkutáŋ ‘three days hence’
yākūyā ‘four days hence’

A few examples that illustrate how adverbial nouns typically function:47

44) Awū rū bá íré.

3s move come yesterday
He came yesterday.

45) Afu tá akā?

2s be where?
Where are you?

46) Abā náe rípátēn.

3p lie sprawled-out
They lay sprawled out.

47
This description does not rule out these words functioning as subjects, objects, or
complements of sentences. One can say, for example, Yáka si usir tī tínyang ‘Today is a
good day.’
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 65

47) Awū tsi tāpípé.

3s stand crooked
He stood crooked.

48) Tī nwúnn ritsen!

1p arise standing
Let us arise!
The pro-nominal forms ahán ‘thus’ and atáŋ ‘there’ are included here:
49) Awū nde ahán.
3s do thus
He did thus.

50) Awū ka atáŋ.

3s go there
He went there.
4.2.1.2.3 Olfactory Terms
Included in ‘adverbial nouns’ are an unusual set of nouns indicating types of smell.
Although they may be more appropriately described in a dictionary, I include them
here because they represent a feature of the language that seems to be unusual.
Blench (1993) describes a similar phenomenon in Tarok. In fact, the verb in Tarok
preceding these smell terms is virtually identical to the Kuteb word nuŋ. The smell
terms typically occur after the verb nuŋ but can theoretically occur as the subject
of a sentence. The words collected so far are given with local speakers' reactions or
examples of items that produce the smell:
66 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
a. nuŋ akoŋ ‘to produce a bad smell’ (generally)
b. ... ashwáe ‘smell of fermented cassava, guinea corn sprouts’
c. ... aság ‘smell of fresh fish, raw dog meat’
d. ... ará/arwá ‘smell of rotten eggs’
e. ... kushiŋ ‘smell of soap or a dirty cloth’
f. ... kusīnn ‘smell of a cobra or musk shrew’
g. ... aŋham/kuŋham ‘smell of sour beer’
h. ... kuyaŋ/kupí ‘smell of smoked meat, perfume’
i. ... rika ‘smell of frying palm kernels’
j. ... aruwub ‘smell of rotting mushrooms’
k. ... icwu/kucwu ‘smell of day-old porridge or of a dead body’
l. ... rikpankwer ‘smell that causes discomfort’
m. ... kubyinkunn ‘smell of concentrated palm wine’
n. ... nyinyiŋ ‘a sharp, acidic smell’
It will be important to confirm these impressionistic ‘definitions’ with a wide
variety of speakers to see how much overlap there is in the examples given. This is
another case where the idea of ‘prototypicality’ may be useful.
4.2.1.2.4 Dummy Object Nouns
Anticipating the discussion of argument structure in Chapter Seven, I here propose
a category of nouns here which often act as an "object" of the verb but the resulting
combination is not semantically transitive. For example:
51) Awū tēr inyae.
3s run running
He ran.

52) Awū jwúb irá.

3s cry word
He cried.

53) Abā shaen ishaen.

3p argue argument
They argued.

While these nouns are not limited to this syntactic environment, they function in
this way typically. I cite them here because they form a sub-class of nouns we will
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 67
wish to refer to in later discussion. These nouns are typically abstract, inanimate,
and non-referential (that is, they do not track a participant in a narrative). A number
are cognate with the verbs they follow as in shaen ishaen ‘argue’ above. Many
allow for a real object along with the dummy object, as in the following:

54) Ame tōm wū atóm.

1s send 3s errand
I sent him on an errand.

This phenomenon is widespread in West Africa and rampant in the Taraba

languages. Storch (2000:48) states that in Jiba, Hone, and Wapan, ‘…every verb
has to be followed by a nominal or deverbal complement.’ Dictionaries and
grammars of other languages often give examples of "complex verbs" or "idioms"
that are usually comprised of a verb plus a nominal. Tiv, for example, has many
like the following.

suur ... ishima (lit. press... heart) ‘to comfort’

wa ... ikav (lit. put... judgment ‘to judge’
4.2.1.2.5 Numerals
Numerals will be treated in depth in Chapter Five Section 2.2.13. They are
mentioned here to highlight the fact that they are structured as nouns. In function
however, they are usually used in counting and as attributives after nouns. For
example:
unde kínzō ‘one person’
ande itsóŋ ‘five people’
indag rijwēr ‘ten cows’
asóg rikōm ‘twenty houses’
4.2.1.2.6 Verbal Nouns
Verbs may be converted to nouns by prefixing itī- or ití- which themselves are
presumably built from a prefix i- and the relativizer tī/tí (Mid tone tī occurs before
high stems and high tone tí before non-high stems). Examples:
68 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
itībá ‘coming’ itītsēn ‘being white’48
itīrū ‘going’ itīkób ‘being tall’
itípwen ‘counting’ itíshaen ‘disagreeing’
itímbye ‘building’ itísom ‘sitting’
Such words would be used in sentences like Itībá-fu nyaŋ tímambē ‘Your coming
is very good’ and Itīrū-wū ndembéb tī utōb ‘His going disturbed us.’
4.2.2 Verbs

4.2.2.1 Identifying Features

Morphologically, Kuteb verbs differ from nouns in having no prefixes. They are
typically monosyllabic, although some multisyllabic verbs occur, probably
compounded originally from simpler verbs.49 Examples of verbs:
nde ‘do’ bá ‘come’ fur ‘fold’
jáŋ ‘lick’ jāeb ‘buy’ kāen ‘roll’
kafe ‘turn’ cāefā ‘deceive’ munnáe ‘be plenty’
Syntactically, verbs characteristically occupy a position after the subject NP or
pronoun and before object nouns and pronouns, as in the following:
55) Ame núŋ fu.
1s see 2s
I see/saw you.

56) Afu jāeb mbakúnn a?

2s buy chicken Q
Did you buy a chicken?
Finally, verbs are unique in being able to affix verbal suffixes50 and to reduplicate,
as in the following examples (extensions are glossed here as SUF; reduplications,
as DUP).
Verbs with Verbal Suffixes:

48
Some stative verbs form an alternative nominal with the prefix ri-, e.g rikób ‘tallness,’
ritsen ‘whiteness.’
49
Some of these correspond to Shimizu’s ‘complex verbs’ in Jukun (Shimizu 1984:150).
50
Verb suffixes are morphemes that are not found independently of the main verb. It is
debatable whether they should be treated as suffixes or auxiliaries. For further discussion
see section 2.2.4 in this chapter and also chapter 9 under serial verb constructions.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 69
57) Awū báecī irá íkī.
3s write-SUF word another
He wrote something else/again.

58) Awū báefob irá.

3s write-SUF word
He is able to write.

59) Awū báefé irá yī.

3s write-SUF word REF
He finished writing it.

Verbs with Reduplication :

60) Awū kú bíbáe irá ajwó.
3s IMP DUP-write word arms
He is writing right now.

61) Awū kú jwújwóm ajwó.

3s IMP DUP-beg arms
He is begging right now.

62) Awū kú pípínn.

3s IMP DUP-fly
He is flying.

The function and distribution of reduplication remains to be investigated.

4.2.2.2 Problems in verb analysis

In terms of form, it is not always clear whether to categorize some items as
compound verbs (e.g. munnáe) or as verb-plus-suffix or as a sequence of verbs
(‘Serial Verb Construction’ See Chapter 8). Our rule of thumb is that if one or both
of the constituent stems does not occur elsewhere as an independent word, the verb
70 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
is complex. When both constituents occur elsewhere independently, the
combination will be called a ‘compound’ verb.
A second problem is that of defining ‘transitive.’ Most verbs can have multiple
senses, one of which may be transitive, another stative, and another intransitive.
Examples follow:

nde (tr) ‘to do’ Awū nde wánde. He did work.

nde (intr) ‘to happen’ Kíkīn nde. Something happened.
tsēn (st.) ‘to be white’ Kitub tsēn. Cotton is white.
tsēn (tr) ‘to whiten’ Awū tsēn m utōb. He made me happy.

The issue is whether ‘transitivity’ is inherent in particular verbs or is (as I advocate

for Kuteb) more appropriately taken as a feature of the sentence. It is almost
impossible to find verbs that cannot be followed by a nominal. That is to say, they
almost all appear to be grammatically ‘transitive’ even though the actions they
refer to are often not the type traditionally associated with ‘transitive’ verbs. More
examples will be given in Chapter Seven where transitive and intransitive
sentences are discussed.51

4.2.2.3 Functional Classes of verbs

I distinguish five categories of verbs, although I make no claim here that there are
only five. Further research is expected both to extend and to subcategorize the brief
taxonomy I present here. The five are Transitive, Equative, Locative-motion-
position, Stative, and Speech. Each is discussed and illustrated below.
4.2.2.3.1 ‘Transitive’ Verbs
These verbs typically take an animate subject and a nominal or pronominal object.
63) Anī ye unde tī riyíb wū a?
2p catch man REL theft REF Q
Did you catch the thief?

64) Eēn, atī ye wū.

Yes 1p find 3s
Yes, we caught him.

51
Shimizu (1980a:200).
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 71
Sometimes the object of the sentence is left implicit, as in the second sentence
below:
65) Anī tu ámbyī a?
2p find money Q
Did you find water?

66) Eēn, atī tu.

Yes, 1p find
Yes, we found some.
The second noun in a ‘transitive’ sentence may be abstract, as in:
67) Awū tēr inyae.
3s run run
He ran.

68) Awū kāb irá.

3s think word
He thought (about something).
A distinctive trait of ‘transitive’ sentences that they typically form gerundive
phrases as follows:
69) Awū mbye kusóg. kusóg tī mbye
3s build house house REL build
He built a house. house-building (gerundive phrase)

70) Awū ye iwág. iwág tī ye

3s catch fish fish REL catch
He caught a fish. fish-catching (gerundive phrase)

71) Awū tēr inyae. inyae tī tēr

3s run running running REL run
He ran. running (gerundive phrase)
The gerundive phrases are used as subjects or objects of sentences, as in:
72) Wánde-wū si iwág tī ye. < Awū ye iwág.
Work-3s be fish catching
His work is catching fish.
72 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four

73) Inyae tī tēr si urú anyīsū tínyīŋ.

running is game children small
Running is a game of small children.

74) Irá tī kāb-wū kō pāŋ-yī.

Thinking-his be much too-3s
He thinks too much.
It would be possible to set up subcategories of ‘transitive’ verbs based on the
semantics of the verbs and the ‘objects’ with which they occur. For example, the
following may occur without an object at all, or may have an abstract object or an
adverbial noun. Perhaps they should be called ‘pseudo-transitive.’
75) Awū cwū.
3s die.
She died.
Compare:
76) Awū cwū ricwú.
3s die death
She died.

77) Atī num pú tī.

1p tire PRF 1p
We are tired.
Compare:
78) Atī num ijwē.
1p tire body
We are tired.

79) Wánde-wū mam pú-yī.

His work finish PRF-3
His work is finished.
Compare:
80) Awū mam wánde-wū.
3s finish his work
He finished his work.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 73
These verbs could then be called ‘intransitive’ in comparison to the more obviously
transitive words like carry, catch, kill, eat, etc. However, in this work we will take
‘transitive’ in a purely grammatical sense: a verb that can take a noun or noun
phrase directly after it is ‘transitive.’
4.2.2.3.2 Equative
There is only one verb in this category, the copula si, illustrated in the following:
81) Apurá si urwán-m.
Apurá be friend-my
Apurá is my friend.

82) Ikén ne si kutkom.

thing this be stone
This thing is a stone.
The equative verb must have a second noun or noun phrase following it.52 It cannot
form the gerundive construction as in the case of ‘transitive’ verbs, nor can it co-
occur with the IMPERFECT marker kú. Examples:
83) Awū si urwán-m. *urwán-m tī si
3s be friend-1s friend-1s REL is
He is my friend. *my friend- being
Compare with:
84) Awū mbye kusóg. kusóg tī mbye
3s build house house REL build
He built a house. house-building (gerundive phrase)
Non-occurrence with IMPERFECT marker kú.:
*Awū kú si ukwe.
3s IMP be chief.
*He is being chief (?)
4.2.2.3.3 Locative/Motion/Position
These verbs are like those above in resisting the gerundive construction, but unlike
those above, they do not require a predicate nominal. Further, they often take
locative complements. Examples:

52
Section 3.2 below discusses the rare occurrence of adjectives after the equative verb.
74 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
85) Amamrá tsō yī ritúg Arúfū.
Amamra go-up PREP market Arufu
Amamra went up to Arufu market.

86) Awū rū kutúr tí íré.

3s go bush since yesterday
He went to the bush yesterday already.

87) Awū rū.

3s go
He went.

88) Atī tá uwae kutúr.

1p be located in wilderness
We are in the wilderness.

89) Abā náe ribén.

3p lie ground
They lay down.
Other verbs in this category are bá ‘come,’ nwúnn ‘rise up,’ sī ‘descend,’ tsō
‘ascend,’ and ka ‘reach.’ They are often used together in serial verb constructions
(Chapter 8).
4.2.2.3.4 Stative Verbs
This group of verbs typically expresses qualities such as color, size, amount,
physical dimensions. Like the equative and motion verbs, stative verbs do form
nominal verbal noun phrases (but see ‘Verbal Nouns’ in Section 2.1.2.6. Finally,
statives often occur with expressions of quantity (tímambē, ‘much,’ kō-yī bē, ‘not
much’) and with ideophones53 such as nwámime and pórírí.
90) Ande kō tímambē.
people aabe many plenty
There are plenty of people.

53
Ideophones are words of unusual phonological pattern that describe the action of the
verb. See Adverbs, below.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 75
91) Wúcī nyaŋ-yī bē.
food good-3s neg.
The food was not very good.

92) Awāen tumátur-fu byāen nwámime.

fruit tomato-2s red very-red
Your tomatoes are very, very red.

93) Atúpwá- wū tsēn pórírí.

cloth-1s white very white
His cloth was very very white.
Note that many stative verbs like tsēn and byāen have specific ideophones that
cannot go with other verbs:
*Awū rū nwámime.
2s move very red
*He went redly.

*Awū tsēn nwámime.

3s white very-red
*He was redly white.
Ideophones are discussed again under Section 3.1 below.
Some other common stative verbs are:54
tsēn ‘white’ byāg ‘hot’
byīr ‘black’ pyir ‘short’
nyaŋ ‘good’ byāen ‘red’
nyīŋ ‘thin’ rab ‘rare’
4.2.2.3.5 Speech Verbs
In this category I include a few verbs that are typically followed by a speech
complementizer and an embedded clause, as in the following:

54
More examples of stative verbs are given in Chapter 7, Section 2.1.
76 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
94) Awū rī bāa, awū nā kú bá.
3s say COMP 3s IS IMP come
He said he was coming.
The embedded clause often, but not always, has the reported speech marker (RS)
nā before the verb. Other examples:
95) Atī táŋ bāa, ā nā ú ndeya tī.
1p think COMP 3p IS FUT help 1s
We thought they would help us.

96) Á kú yāŋ akyáŋ bāa, ā nā wēn icwu.

3p IMP sing songs COMP 3p IS kill leopard
They’re singing that they killed a leopard.
Other speech verbs are kāb ‘think,’ pyí ‘refuse,’ cwé ‘agree’ and myae ‘plan.’

4.2.2.4 Does Kuteb have Verbal Extensions?

According to Erhard Voeltz (1977), Proto-Niger-Congo had a set of verbal suffixes
that have come to be called ‘verbal extensions.’ They modified the verb in general
ways. For example, there were suffixes indicating causation, benefaction,
reciprocity, reversal, repetition, direction towards a goal, etc. Voeltz (1977:24)
shows that while there are remnants of these suffixes in the Atlantic and Adamawa
Eastern families and in Bantu, ‘There are no traces of verb extensions in the
Jukunoid subgroup.’ This is of course a challenge to any one studying a language
of the Taraba area.
In hunting for evidence of the original affixes, we will be helped by three important
observations from Voeltz: First (1977:10), the affixes developed a range of
meanings within the descendant languages and even, sometimes, within a single
language, depending on the verbs to which they were attached and the objects
which followed them. Secondly, following Givón (1975), Voeltz says that it is
highly likely that these affixes developed from full verbs in an earlier stage of the
language. Thirdly, Voeltz suggests (1977:72ff) that when the suffixes disappeared
in many languages, these languages re-expressed the meanings using different
words (often involving serial verb constructions). He hypothesizes a cycle in which
a full verb gets reduced as it becomes ‘grammaticalized’ from two syllables to one,
and finally to a single consonant or vowel, at which point it may be replaced by a
new ‘paraphrastic’ form. What we see in the domain of Kuteb verb/modal
expressions may be some remnants of the original system and some other items
that may have already replaced the Proto NC forms completely.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 77
It will be seen in Chapter Eight that in Kuteb, as in many African languages, sets of
two or three verbs often occur in sequence. Often in such sets of verbs, one evolves
into a modal or adverb-like word, losing its usage as a full verb. In time the adverb-
like word becomes shortened and may even be found attached to the verb as an
affix. We list some morphemes here that could be taken as verbal suffixes in the
sense that no other morpheme comes between them and the verb. We recognize
that some of these items (e.g. tu ‘to find,’ fob ‘to reach’) could as well be taken as
a kind of adverb or ‘auxiliary verb’ and written separately, or even taken as verbs
with limited distribution.55 Further discussion on some of these words will be found
in Chapter Eight Section 3.3 and in Chapter Nine (Tense, Aspect, and Modality)
Section 3.3.
fob extensive, abilitative mbéb resulting in damage
tu abilitative yé extensive
fé extensive ra quickly, forcefully (?)
té commitative cī repetitive
cī resulting in closure kób habitual
tā resulting in separation ya assistive
na benefactive
Examples (the suffix is in italic face):

55
Some morphemes may have two senses, one of which is used when the morpheme is a
suffix and another, when it occurs independently.
78 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
Ndecī. ‘Do (it) again.’
Awū yera m ‘He took me forcefully.’
Abā rūfé yi Kano. ‘They went all the way to Kano.’
Atī ndetu wánde ‘We can do this work.’
yīne.
Awū báefob irá. ‘He is able to write.’
Anī kú bákób iké. ‘You (pl) are always coming here.’
Ame cwunncī ufu. ‘I closed the door.’
Atī burcī kutútoŋ. ‘We covered the pot.’
Awū táentā ukum ‘He split the stick.’
wū.
Ā kantā wúcī. ‘They divided the food.’
Ame kūrya wū ‘I helped her cook food.’
kirāen.
Ā ndeya m!56 ‘They helped me! (Lit. 3p do-help me)’
Ā ndena m wánde. ‘They did work for me.’
Atī tōna fu utoŋ. ‘We cooked soup for you.’
M kūnnjí wū irá. ‘I greeted him.’ (Lit. 1s call jí 3s word)
Tsijí m iké. ‘Wait for me here.’ (Lit. stand jí 1s here)
Utī-m ndembeb pú- ‘My spear spoiled.’ (Lit. spear-my do spoil
yī. PRF-1s)
Ndembéb-fu utōb bē. ‘Don’t be upset.’ (Lit. do-spoil-2s heart NEG)
Awū ka yé atáŋ. ‘He reached there.’
In speech, of course, it is impossible to distinguish spaces between words, and it is
often difficult if not impossible to distinguish what constitutes a word. Our
criterion here is that when a morpheme does not occur independently of the verb, it
is a suffix.
Some of these suffixes have wider applicability than others. Cī meaning ‘do again,’
can occur with virtually any action that can be repeated. Likewise -na ‘do for’ and
-ya ‘help’ are very productive. The cī meaning ‘resulting in closure’ occurs with a
limited selection of words, for example: cwunncī ‘close,’ njicī ‘bury-cover,’ burcī
‘close by covering,’ yīrcī ‘close by tying’. A ‘causative’ variation of cī is found in
the expression jāebcī ‘to sell,’ extended from jāeb ‘to buy,’ but it is important to

56
The suffix is yae in some other dialects, which may reflect the loss of a final consonant
(compare itā/itār/itāe ‘three’).
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 79
note that jāebcī is only used in an explicitly causative grammatical construction
‘take … sell’:
97) Ame sa keké-m jāebcī.
1s take bicycle sell
I sold my bicycle.
Now, as to whether any of these represent vestiges of the original system, it is
highly possible that cī (kyī in non-Lissam dialects) is related to the proposed
reconstruction (*ti/*si) for Proto Niger-Congo ‘iterative.’ The cī in jāebcī ‘to sell’
may be a remnant of one of the Causative extensions (*CI and *TI) Voeltz
reconstructs.
I also suspect the suffix ra to be a vestige of a Proto NC extension, possibly the
‘CONTACTIVE’ *TA. Likewise, the tā found in words like kantā, ‘divide,’
nyāŋtā, ‘break,’ yátā ‘leave,’ sáentā ‘free’ may be related to an earlier
CAUSATIVE suffix, although perhaps a closer source could be the morpheme tā
‘shoot, hit’ (but also used of a hen laying eggs). The case of -tā is unusual in that in
some contexts a noun can separate the supposed ‘suffix’ from its verb, as in:
98) Á sáen wū tā.
3s release 3s ?
They released him
Finally, the na of ndena and tōna is possibly related to the *DE ‘APPLIED’
extension proposed for Proto Niger-Congo. Note related meanings ‘benefactive’
and ‘directive’ and the phonological variants la, ni, and nde in some languages
(Voeltz p. 46). The Proto-Niger-Congo *NA ‘RECIPROCAL’ appears tempting,
but the meanings are quite different from ‘benefactive,’ and it is significant to note
that the reciprocal itself takes a quite different form (átsō) in current Kuteb.
Mention must be made of the morpheme jí, homophonous with jí in the words for
‘wait’ (somjí) and ‘greet’ (kūnnjí) above. Used with other words, it means ‘to
have ever done’ as in:
99) Ame wēn jí pú-m usom.
1s kill-ever IMP-1s babboon.
I once killed a babboon.
80 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
100) Awū ka jí-wū atáŋ usir íkī bē.
3s go-never-3s there day SPEC NEG
He has never gone there.

4.3 Minor Word Classes

Besides pronouns, to be discussed under Noun Phrases in Chapter Five, the minor
classes comprise adverbs and adjectives, which I describe below, and
prepositions, conjunctions, demonstratives, interjections. Particles, which are
bits and pieces of language used to mark things like negation, tense, aspect,
reported speech, etc. will be discussed in relevant places in the following chapters.
4.3.1 Adverbs
Here we include a small group of words that typically occur as part of a verb
phrase, and normally after an object NP or the goal of a motion sentence, as in:
101) Awū bá iké cwúcwo.
3s come here again
He came here again.

102) M tu-m awū kɁɁka bē.

1s find-1s 3s yet NEG
I haven’t found him yet.
These adverbs appear to be built by reduplication from the stems ka ‘to reach’ and
cwo (no known meaning).
103) Awū saŋ uwae kusóg tírī.
3s enter inside house then
Then they went into the house.
Ideophones, characterized by unusual phonology such as an extra-high tone,
optional reduplication or elongation, may be included here as a kind of adverb:
104) Awū caŋ skuuu.
He walked slowly.
105) Awū caŋ kūkūbēn.
He walked fast.
106) Awū cwāg nyīm.
He slept soundly.
107) Kútúpwá-wū tsēn pórírírí.
His cloth was very white.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 81
108) Awū cī wúcī-wū pitaŋ pitaŋ pitaŋ.
3s eat food-3s pick pick pick
He ate his food bit by bit.
A few adverbial constructions are made up from a high-tone tí plus a nominal or
verbal root:
tímambē ‘very’ (cf. mam ‘finish,’ bē ‘NEG’)
títawé ‘first’ (cf. uwé ‘front, face’)
tíkife ‘quickly’ (cf. fe ‘exchange’)
tínine ‘now’ (cf. ne ‘this’ )
Examples:
109) Afu bá-fu tíkife bē.
2s come-2s quickly NEG
You did not come quickly.

110) Wúcī ne nyaŋ tímambē.

food DEM good very
This food is really good.

111) Nde wánde-fu títawé.

do work-2s first
Do your work first.

112) Nde yī tínine.

do 3 now
Do it now!

113) Awū kú byīnn utaŋ ajwó.

3s IMP beat drum right-now
He is beating the drum right now.
4.3.2 Adjectives--an emerging category?
In Section 2.3.5 above one may note that many quality ideas such as color, size,
and physical dimension--expressed by adjectives in many languages--are expressed
by stative verbs in Kuteb. Some quality ideas are not expressed by stative verbs,
82 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
however, and I will present them here. I will try to show that they constitute a
separate form class. Secondly, I will show that even those quality concepts that are
expressed by stative verbs have alternative representations, derived by analogy,
that may be part of the proposed Adjective Class.

4.3.2.1 Formal Features of the Proposed Adjectival Category

The proposed ‘adjectives’ typically have two syllables, the first of which (tī or tí)
is almost certainly derived from the relativizer ‘tī’ which will be discussed under
nouns in the next chapter and later on under sentence structure. The rest of the
word is ‘bound’; it does not occur by itself, although it is likely that at one time
there were stative verbs with these forms. No words ever intervene between tī/tí
and the stem. These words can be subdivided into two groups according to pitch
pattern.57 One set begins with a high tone, the other with mid tone, as follows:
tīcí ‘old’ *cí
tīshé ‘new’ *shé
tínyīŋ ‘young’ *nyīŋ58
tíbī ‘bad’ *bī
tísīb ‘fresh/moist’ *sīb
The bound stems (cí, shé, nyīŋ, etc.) only occur with tī. One can say:
114) Iwág ne nyaŋ tímambe
fish DEM good very
This fish is very good.
but the following is not acceptable:
*Iwág ne sīb.
fish DEM fresh
This fish is fresh
Analogous to the proposed adjectives above are those that are based on existing
stative verb stems:
Adjective Verb

57
The tone rule here is that mid tone (tī) occurs before high stems and high tone (tí) before
non-high stems in noun phrases.
58
A homophone of this word occurs with a more specific meaning: ‘thin.’ Unde ne nyīng
‘This person is thin.’
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 83
tīwám ‘dry’ wám ‘be dry’
tífab ‘sour’ fab ‘be sour’
tītsēn59 ‘white’ tsēn ‘be white’
tínyaŋ ‘good’ nyaŋ ‘be good’

4.3.2.2 Distribution of the Proposed Adjectives

According to a typological study of adjectives by Bhat (1994), the most
prototypical function of adjectives, in languages that have them unequivocally, is
as nominal modifiers. Secondarily they serve in predicates. The following will
present how the proposed adjectives fulfill these functions in Kuteb.
4.3.2.2.1 Adjectives after Nouns
The ‘adjectives’ with bound stems are uncontroversial:
irá tīshé ‘new matter/word’
irím tísīb ‘fresh grass’
anyīsū tínyīŋ ‘young children’
The non-bound stems (those based on independently occurring stems like sāen ‘be
clean’) present a problem. In the case of high-tone stems, a structural ambiguity
arises between sequences of N + tī + Stative Verb and N + Adjective:
ibyē tī wám ibyē tīwám
meat REL dry (V) meat dry (Adj)
‘meat that is dry’ ‘dry meat’
One might think that these must mean exactly the same thing. But a semantic
distinction could arise even if the phonetic output is exactly the same. For example,
I suggest that there is already a difference between the following:
unde tībyāen ‘red person’ (= a European)
unde tī byāen ‘(any) person who is red’
In the case of low-tone verb stems, the polar tone rule appears to signal a difference
between the adjective and the relative clause. I have recorded the following:
irá tínyaŋ
word good ‘good news’ (N + Adjective)
irá tī nyaŋ tímambē
word REL good very ‘news that is very good’ (N + Rel. Clause)

59
Note that this word does not follow the tonal pattern of tísīb and tínyīng.
84 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
irá tī nyaŋ skeb mēmē
word REL good pass all ‘news that is the best’ (N + Rel. Clause)
Compare:
irá tī m fxēn
word REL 1s hear
‘the news that I heard’ (N + Relative Clause)
These phrases show that when the stem is used as a verb, the relater (tī) keeps its
basic mid tone. In the adjective form, however, it follows the noun phrase tone rule
that raises tī to tí. I take this as supporting evidence that tínyaŋ is an independent
word. The rule does not apply to a word like tīwám ‘dry’ but it may also be
considered an adjective by analogy, even though there is a verbal expression tī
wám that means ‘which is dry.’
4.3.2.2.2 Adjectives after COPULA
The sentence
115) Ubur-fu si tīshé a
hat-2s is new ?
Is your hat new?
illustrates the second most typical context of adjectives across languages, namely,
as predications (with or without a copula). In Kuteb, the copula is necessary. More
examples:
116) Ayī si tísīb.
3 be fresh
It is fresh.

117) Keké-m si tīshé.

Cycle-1s be new
My cycle is new.

118) Ayī si tībyāg.

3 be hot
It is hot.
The case of tībyāg raises a question: since byāg can occur independently as a
stative verb, what is the difference between a predicate with a stative verb and one
with COP + ADJ? That is, between columns A and B:
A B
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 85
119) Ayī si tībyāen. Ayī byāen.
It is red. It is red.

120) Ayī si tínyaŋ. Ayī nyaŋ.

It is good. It is good.
The two forms are both used, though the ones in column B are more common. I am
confident that further analysis of discourse function will answer the question and
perhaps shed light on the formation of adjectives in West African languages.60
4.3.2.2.3. Adjectives after tī (REL)
In what appears to be a secondary development, the proposed adjectives may occur
with a preceding tī.
tī tīcí ‘old’ from tīcí
tī tīshe ‘new’ from tīshé
tī tínyīŋ ‘young’ from tínyīŋ
tī tísīb ‘fresh/moist’ from tísīb
Examples in phrases:
N REL adjective
unde tī tínyaŋ ‘good person’
wúcī tī tībyāg ‘hot food’
ámbyī tī tījīm ‘cool water’
ikén tī tīshé ‘new thing’
irá tī tīkōŋ ‘false matter’
There seems to be no difference in meaning between the adjectives with and
without the additional tī. Every adjective so far discovered may be used with tī.
There is, however, dialect variation on the issue.61 One adjective tíbī ‘bad’) seems
to require the double ti. unde tītíbī ‘bad person.’

60
Bhat’s valuable study (Bhat 1994) is unfortunately lacking in data on the languages of
Africa, where quality ideas are predominantly expressed by stative verbs and the emergence
of adjectives is a controversial topic.
61
Informants from Bika, for example, preferred irá tínyang to the Lissam form irá tī
tínyang.
86 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
What seems to be happening here is that the emerging adjective class is being
lumped with nominal forms like riyāen "wideness," riwáe "tallness, " which form
phrases like:
kutúkū tī riwáe
tree REL tallness ‘tall tree’
faŋgó tī riyāen
road REL wideness ‘wide road’
umbae tī kitínyīŋ
child REL smallness ‘small child’
ibyē tī kutúr
animal REL bush ‘wild animal’
irá tī kubēntīn
word REL truth ‘true word’
The N+ti+Adj. construction, then (e.g.unde tī tínyaŋ, ‘person of good’), may be
built on these N+ti+N phrases by analogy:
kutúkū tī riwáe ‘tall tree’
faŋgó tī riyāen ‘long road’
unde tī tínyaŋ ‘good person’
wúcī tī tībyāg ‘hot food’
Comparison with Wapan (Shimizu 1980:158) suggests that the forms tíbī, tínyīŋ,
tísīb may be related to an original high-tone prefix of some kind.62
It is hoped that further research, especially on the discourse functions of these
variations, will lead to an answer to the question ‘What is the difference between
the forms with one tī and those with tītī ? Such research would need to include the
fact that the gerundive phrase discussed in the next chapter can also occur with the
double ‘ti.’

4.3.2.3 Conclusion of ‘adjective’ discussion

The identity of tījīm ‘cool’, tínyaŋ ‘good,’ and others like them as adjectives
hangs mostly on the legitimacy of a separate category of words like tīcí ‘old’, tīshé
‘new’ that have bound stems.
It will be interesting typologically to explore the various ways qualities are
expressed in Kuteb. We have observed above a few qualities which can only be
expressed as an adjective: tīcí, tísīb, etc. Others can be expressed either as
adjectives or as stative verbs: tīwám / wám, tínyaŋ/nyaŋ, tībyāg / byāg, etc. Still

62
Shimizu posits a set of 16 adjectives for Wapan, eight of them beginning with the prefix
ri- which he takes to be cognate with the Bantu noun class 5 prefix *LI.
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 87
others are normally expressed with a verb or with the relators /ti/ plus a noun: wáe
/tī riwáe ‘tall,’ pyir/tí kipyir ‘short,’ yāen/ tí riyāen ‘wide,’ kīm / tí rikīm ‘fat.’
Further research could explore why and how such forms have arisen, and whether
the complex constructions should be considered as words or as phrases.
4.3.3 Pronouns
Pronouns are words that, in discourse, stand in the place of nouns in referring to
participants in the narrative. In its simplest form the set of pronouns is as follows.
ame ‘I’ atī ‘we’
afu ‘you’ (sg) anī ‘you’ (pl)
awū ‘he/she/it’ abā ‘they’
ayī ‘it/they’
Modifications and functions of these basic forms are given in Chapter Five Section
3.0 and again in Chapter Ten Section 3.1.
4.3.4 Interjections
These words do not form part of a sentence. They stand alone in conversational
discourse, usually indicating emotional states of the speaker.
Examples:
ahóo ‘what do I care?’
ēēn ‘yes’
iyéē ‘no’
ée ‘emphatic no’
ágbó (surprise)
4.3.5 Particles: TAM markers and Determiners
Here we include markers of tense, aspect, and mood; and determiners, which are
little words that modify nouns and verbs.

4.3.5.1 Tense-Aspect-Mood Markers.

kú (imperfect action) pú (perfective action or state)
a (conditional action or state) ú (future action or state)
ā (hortative action)
These are described in detail in Chapter 9 under "Tense, aspect, mood."
88 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
4.3.5.2 Determiners
These words occur as components of noun phrases and are described further in
Chapter Six:
specifier: íkī ‘another one, a certain one’
referentials: wū, bā, yī ‘the one(s) referred to’
demonstratives: ne, né, ‘this, that, these, those’
4.3.6 Prepositions
There are two kinds of prepositions: those that are derived from nouns (mostly
referring to body parts), and those that are not.
Examples of noun-derived prepositions:
121) Kitú tá risū tébur.
calabash is head table
The calabash is on the table.

122) Awū tam isim kurug.

3s hide back granary
He hid behind the granary.
Others in this group are imbyí ‘bottom of,’ ijwē ‘against,’ uwae ‘inside,’ uwé ‘in
front of,’ and uwōg ‘at the place of.’ More examples are given in Chapter Six
Section Six.
The other prepositions are: yī (‘to’), which occurs optionally with locations,63 té
(‘with’) expressing accompaniment, and tí (‘with’) expressing instrumentality.
Examples:
123) Awū ru yi kutúr
3s go to bush
He went to the bush.

124) Ā som té m atáŋ.

3p sit with 1s there
They sat with me there.

63
As with kí in Jukun (Shimizu 1980b:243).
Chapter Four Kuteb Grammar 89
125) Atī byīnn wū tí ukum.
1p beat 3s with stick
We beat him with a stick.
It is possible that all of these prepositions are derived from verbs. Possible cognates
with yī in Wapan are yē (‘to go’) and kí (‘to’).
4.3.7 Conjunctions
In Chapter Eleven more will be said about complex sentences. Here it may be
useful to know that there are words and phrases that join clauses together, such as:
ámá ‘then’ icāen imí ‘because’
asití ‘if’ icāen tī ‘so that’
títī ‘since’ rē, ré ‘or’

4.4 Conclusion
We have tried in this chapter to set out a system of word classes for Kuteb on the
basis of how they are shaped phonologically, how they are used in sentences and
texts, and to a more limited extent, on meaning. We have distinguished two broad
categories: Major (including Verbs and Nouns) and Minor, including Adjectives,
Adverbs, Prepositions, Particles, and Conjunctions. Such a categorization is
inevitably rough but hopefully a useful tool to help those who want to talk about
the grammar of Kuteb. Words can find themselves in different categories, as in the
case of íré (‘yesterday’), which is a noun in form but an adverb in function
(hence, an ‘adverbial noun’). Likewise, uwae (‘inside’) and risū (‘head’) are nouns
in form but can be prepositions in function.
The important thing is not to force Kuteb words into English or Latin categories
that may be inappropriate.64 We have tried to avoid doing that, but as our
discussion of ‘transitivity’ indicates, we have not succeeded completely in avoiding
traditional terminology. One of the challenges for the future is to revise the above
taxonomy, carefully distinguishing the kinds of criteria that are being used,
whether structural (like the obligatory presence of an object word) or semantic
(like indicating transfer of energy to an object). With regard to the category VERB,
one proposal for such reorganization would be to say that ‘transitive verbs’ require
an object noun or pronoun, whereas ‘intransitive’ verbs may or may not have an
object. Thus ye ‘catch, hold’ would be transitive as it always takes an object
(explicitly or implicitly) whereas cwū ‘to die’ would be intransitive, as it may

64
Recognizing at the same time that there are universals with regard to word categories.
90 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Four
occur without an object or it may take ricwú as its object, the object being a
‘dummy’ Noun. Perhaps a better name for ‘intransitive’ then would be ‘Multi-
valent,’ that is they can take more than one associated Noun Phrase, in contrast to
the ‘Transitive’ verbs, which REQUIRE two Noun Phrases, a ‘subject’ and an
‘object.’
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 91
CHAPTER FIVE. THE NOUN PHRASE (1)

5.1 Introduction
This chapter and the next deal with Kuteb nouns, expansions of nouns, and noun
substitutes. Chapter Five treats simple and derived nouns, pronouns, numerals, and
nominalizations, all of which, in some sense, are ‘words.’ Chapter Six covers
several kinds of noun ‘phrases’ in the traditional sense of that word. It will be seen
that in Kuteb, as in many languages of the world, the distinction between ‘word’
and ‘phrase’ is not easily defined. In some cases, word-division decisions are
somewhat arbitrary.
Following recent linguistic conventions we include here simple nouns and
pronouns as ‘noun phrases,’ as in:
126) Ande ifaen rū ka byīnn wū tí riwén.
People two move go strike 3s PREP nose
Two people went and hit him on the nose.
where ande ifaen ‘two people’, wū ‘he’, and riwén ‘nose’ are all ‘noun phrases’
(NPs from here on) even though they are not all syntactically complex.

5.2 Simple Nominals

Structurally, nominals in Kuteb are of two kinds:
1) simple nouns, having the noun-class prefixes, and
2) derived nouns, which have been created by various morphological processes.
5.2.1 Simple Nouns
As mentioned above (Chapter 4), nouns are identifiable by their structure, which
consists typically of a single-syllable stem and a V- or CV- prefix. The stem tones
are, with rare exceptions, single syllables with high, mid, or low tone; the prefixes
are mostly low, with a limited number of high ones. Examples:
92 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
unde ‘person’ ande ‘people’
kutúkū ‘tree’ itúkū ‘trees’
kúrāŋ ‘crow’ árāŋ ‘crows’
kúkwām ‘banana’ ákwām ‘bananas’
ubāen ‘husband’ abāen ‘husbands’
kiciŋ ‘fly’ iciŋ ‘flies’
kínûŋ ‘bird’ ánûŋ ‘birds’
kákúm ‘horse(s)’ urwā ‘fire’
indag ‘cow(s)’ kitsínn ‘jealousy’
risū ‘head’ asū ‘heads’
rífēn ‘lie’ atsam ‘sweat’
ífúnn ‘foam’ íbyāen ‘termites’

5.2.1.1 The Noun Class System65

Kuteb nouns clearly show the remnants of the noun class system of Proto-Niger-
Congo. In that system, nouns were categorized according to their meanings and
marked by particular singular and plural prefixes. For example, nouns having to do
with people (E.g., person, chief, child, woman, etc.) were marked by /u-/ in the
singular and /ba-/ in the plural). Like many of the other Niger-Congo languages,
Kuteb has lost some of the prefixes and the categorizations they represent. Within
the Taraba group of languages, however, it is evident that Kuteb and Oohum
(Yukuben)66 have retained more of the old system than the others. (According to
Shimizu (1980a:105), Oohum simplified the system, and then elaborated it again
using vowel harmony and vowel length). Within Kuteb itself, some dialects have
lost more than others. E.g., the Lissam and Lumbu dialects seem to have retained
the most prefixes; Bika has lost most of the prefixes.

65
See Kay Williamson, ‘Niger Congo Overview’ in Bendor-Samuel 1989:31-40) for a clear
exposition of the Proto-Niger-Congo noun-class system and what has happened to it. An
older treatment is Welmers 1973:184-210. A proposal for the Proto-Benue-Congo noun
system can be found in deWolf (1971) which specifically deals with Kuteb on pp. 110-115.
More recently Shimizu (1980) and Storch (2000) give brief descriptions of the noun-class
system particularly in the Taraba languages.
66
Oohum is the people’s own name for the language called ‘Yukuben’ or ‘Yikuben’ by
outsiders.
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 93
The range of words in each group is illustrated below. Generally speaking, it may
be said that singular nouns beginning with ku-, kú- ri-, or u- will have a- in their
plurals. Those that have ki- or i- will have i- in the plural. In Welmers’ data
(apparently from Lissam) nouns with u- and i- always take i- in the plural whereas
ku-, ki-, and ri- take a-.
ku- words kú- words
kubunn ‘drum’ kúrāŋ ‘crow’
kubwa ‘ambush’ kúbyī ‘cloud’
kucwúr ‘lump’ kúkwām ‘banana’
kucīn ‘medicine’ kúbúbōŋ ‘bell’
kuci ‘egg’ Kúcícēb (a festival)
kunyā ‘armpit’ kúkwén ‘priest’
kusaŋ ‘year’ kúfōb ‘husk’
kutúkūn ‘tree’ kúshwōŋ ‘forest’

ki- words kí-words

kicáeb ‘sickness’ kícíka ‘basket’
kicwág ‘sleep’ kíkog ‘chest’
kikwār ‘gourd’ kíkwāe ‘dove’
kiser ‘metal’ kínzō ‘one’
kiskínn ‘morning’ kípyir ‘shortness’
kitsīnn ‘jealousy’ kísēn ‘tiny bird’
kirāen ‘fufu’ kíticwáe ‘bowl’
kinaŋ ‘scorpion’ kíyib ‘smallness’
kiyíku ‘this year’ kítsig (a game)
94 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
ri- words rí- words
ribam ‘nakedness’ rífēn ‘lie’
ribōm ‘strength’ rímāŋ ‘how?’
rijwen ‘coldness’ ríyāe ‘opportunity’
rikāen ‘trouble’ rípye ‘part’
rinwāen ‘salt’ rínyaŋwae ‘gift’
risāen ‘farm’ rícwinncī ‘end’
risū ‘head’ ríkōŋ ‘false’
ritúg ‘market’ ríbāe ‘spot’

u- words ú- words
ubāen ‘husband’ úcín ‘tale’
ufam ‘rainy season’ únde ‘work’
ufáŋ ‘farm’ úŋwu ‘mosquito’
ucin ‘guinea fowl’ úfúnn ‘foam’
ufunn ‘wind’ útug ‘taste’
ují ‘rope’ úŋā ‘jaw/temple’

i- words í- words
ibae ‘sack’ ísá ‘sand’
ice ‘boundary’ íte ‘father’
ibyē ‘meat, animal’ ínjā ‘brother’
icwu ‘leopard’ íré ‘yesterday’
ifaen ‘two’ ítsū ‘2 days ago’
ifēb ‘swordgrass’ ímunn ‘swimming’
inji ‘elephant’ ípúg ‘cudgel’
iyāg ‘bushcow’ ísóm ‘lice’
irá ‘word’ íŋwūnn ‘bedbugs’
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 95
a- words á- words
anyīŋ ‘blood’ ákwām ‘bananas’
ashinn ‘urine’ ámbyī ‘water’
afunn ‘pus’ ákoŋ ‘stalks’
ajwó ‘arms’ ámúmunn ‘leftovers’
abyíŋ ‘faeces’ ásáŋ ‘laterite’
afxen ‘legs’ ábyī ‘clouds’
ajwūg ‘blossoms’ átōm ‘messenger’
akoŋ ‘odor’ árāŋ ‘crows’
A number of words like the following appear to have prefixes ru- and rú-, but in
fact they are variants of the ri- and rí- sets conditioned by the presence of high back
vowels and/or velar consonants in the stem. It is possible that some speakers will
have reanalyzed these words as beginning with ru- even though the vowel is
predictable. More research is needed.
ribūŋ ‘waterhole’ ríwē ‘tsetse fly’
rikūb ‘roof’ ríkōŋ ‘untruth’
rikōm ‘corpse’ ríkwāe ‘shame’
rikwen ‘mountain’ rísū ‘locust bean’
riwén ‘nose’ rípwē ‘squirrel’
In addition to the above, a small group of nouns beginning with mba- may be
found:67
mbakúnn ‘chicken’ (pl. ikúnn)
mbapxú ‘dog’ (pl. ipxú)
mbapwa ‘maize’ (cf. pwa ‘to grind’)
mbawén ‘goat’ (pl. iwén)
Another small set of words begins with ká- :

67
The stop feature in /mb/ here is so light as to be almost indistinguishable from /m/. Hence
some have written these words as makúnn, mapxú, etc. It is possible that the mba- in
these words is derived from the noun umbae ‘child’ rather than from a Niger-Congo prefix.
96 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
kákúm ‘horse(s)’ kákon ‘stalk’
68
kácwīn ‘locust’ kácēm ‘Patas monkey’
kámtēn ‘Colobus káfára ‘sword’ (<H)
monkey’
Two words are recorded with a low-tone ka- prefix:
kayā ‘sister’69
kawa(?) ‘a lizard’
Odd nouns that do not fit any of these categories are:
Native Words
tsōwēn ‘two days hence’ cáŋsīn ‘hornbill’
tsōkutáŋ ‘three days hence’ kēntíbī ‘snake’
70
yáka ‘today’ kōkutā ‘hunting bow’
71
fangó ‘road’ wánde ‘work’72
tātu73 ‘hunter, hunting’ wúcī ‘food’
yākā ‘female child’ shiboŋ ‘soup leaves’
wúrā ‘roselle plant’ sapáŋ ‘pepper’
sánkwēn ‘wild yam’

Borrowed Words74
dúkū ‘cassava’ gbamísa ‘sickle’
góro ‘kolanut’ keké ‘bicycle’
mākārāntā ‘school’ táya ‘tire’
adúwa ‘prayers’ tíca ‘teacher’
lókacī ‘time’ fotó ‘picture’
Some three-syllable words that were possibly built from other words are:

68
One local speaker says this should be kikácwēn. So is another prefix being added on to
what appears to be the original prefix, or was the ki- prefix original?
69
mbiyá in Bika.
70
Bika: yínga, Rubur: nyíka.
71
fankó, fenkú in other dialects.
72
This alternates with únde, from nde ‘do.’
73
This comes from tā ‘shoot’ and tu ‘be able.’
74
These are a few of the scores of words of foreign origin that litter the lexical landscape in
everyday Kuteb speech. In some cases local equivalents are available but the adopted words
are more popular.
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 97
abítsē ‘fathers’ arībén ‘earth’
átúpwá ‘clothes’ itúkū ‘trees’
ásúwá ‘beads’ kurúkǔm ‘toad’
kusúru ‘wall’ kutápāen ‘cheek’
kiyíku ‘this year’ itumūm ‘lion’
kutúkūn ‘tree’ átítaen ‘stars’
kumbúkūnn ‘hill’ kutúpúg ‘pestle’
kurītén ‘python’ kútúkōg ‘kapok’
kútukūm ‘fool’ kurúfāe ‘a trap’
anyīsū ‘children’ kumbúru ‘a flute’
itsuku ‘a grass’ kicíka ‘basket’
kutútoŋ ‘pot’ ícinnsú ‘donkey’
The original Niger-Congo grammar had patterns of agreement such that numerals
and other modifiers had markers that matched to the noun class. Some languages
such as Tiv and Ndoro retain such patterns of agreement between nouns and
numerals or between nouns and demonstratives or possessives, but the only trace of
agreement left in Kuteb is in the pronouns (see below), in certain referentials (see
Chapter Six), and in the prefixes of certain derived nouns (see Section 2.2.6). In
view of the variation in prefixes among the dialects of Kuteb, it appears that the
simplification of the system is still in process.
DeWolf (1971:115) observed a general simplification in the Proto-Benue-Congo
prefix system. The PBC prefixes, he suggests, evolved as follows:
PBC prefixes *u- and *bu- merged to u- in Kuteb75
PBC prefixes *a-, *ba-, and *ma- merged to a-
PBC prefix *li- may have become ri-
PBC prefixes *í and *ì have merged to i-
PBC prefixes *ki-, *ka, and *ku, have been retained
The prefix-pairing that DeWolf proposes is as follows:
Singular classes marked by u-
and ri- form plurals beginning
with a-. Singular nouns with i-
and ki- form plurals with i-.

75
Oohum retains prefixes bu- and ba-.
98 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
Some nouns beginning with ku- may take a- in the plural, and others, i-.
In 1980 (1980a:132-176) Shimizu, on the basis of his own wordlists from two
dialects plus others from Welmers, Armstrong, and myself, set out to reconstruct
the proto-forms for Kuteb and Oohum (Yukuben) and how they evolved from the
Proto-Benue-Congo forms to the present. The most striking fact arising from this
analysis is the variation among the wordlists, three of which (Shimizu, Koops, and
Welmers) are from the Lissam dialect. The Bika list is quite unhelpful historically
as it represents an advanced stage of prefix loss. Armstrong’s list from Jenuwa is
useful as it suggests that many of Jenuwa’s i-/a- prefix pairs came from ki-/a- by
loss of the initial consonant.
Shimizu’s proposal, dealing as it does essentially with three dialects (Lissam, Bika,
Jenuwa), needs to be followed up by a study of all the dialects, in which a
consensus of three people from each dialect is used to establish the most likely
form from that dialect. At the same time, a dictionary of Kuteb will be essential as
it will establish singular-plural pairs for a large number of nouns in at least one
dialect.

5.2.1.2 Grammatical Classes of Nouns

As mentioned above, the original Niger-Congo concord system required markings
on adjectives, numerals, etc. that matched the class of the head noun. While Kuteb
nouns are not marked in that way, a set of referentials awū, ayī, abā (translated ‘the
one just referred to’)76 require a person to know into which of three groups a noun
will fit (see Chapter Nine). This may be a vestige of the original system. Further
study is needed to sort out precisely what the relevant qualities are (if any) for
membership in each group. For the present we suggest the following:
awū, wū ‘singular’
abā, bā ‘plural, human’
ayī, yī ‘mass, plural, abstract, inanimate, non-human’
The bā- class nouns invariably refer to (plural) humans, almost certainly a direct
link to the plural prefix/concord marker bā- reconstructed for proto-Niger-Congo
(See Williamson 1989:38). We present only the wū- and yī- class nouns. First those
referred to by wū /awū:

76
These may appear to be identical with the third-person pronouns, but their distribution is
different.
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 99
unde ‘person’ umbae ‘child’
inji ‘elephant’ ibyē ‘animal’
kitú ‘calabash’ uwōg ‘place’
kicáeb ‘sickness’ kusóg ‘house’
usāŋ ‘python’ uwáe ‘hole’
iyāg ‘bushcow’ rikaen ‘poison’
ribén ‘ground’ ríbyāen ‘locust’
Nouns referred to by yī/ayī :
asóg ‘huts’ awúm ‘corn’
kicáeb ‘sickness’ anyī ‘teeth’
ayéb ‘millet’ ijwē ‘body’
ayāen ‘kernels’ mbapwa ‘maize’
upae ‘penalty’ itúkū ‘trees’
irím ‘grass’ ákwa ‘a cult’
akūb ‘bones’ kirāen ‘food’
kuce ‘net’ apwā ‘skin’
arībén ‘lay’ kiskínn ‘morning’
ajwūg ‘flowers’ icwo ‘palmnuts’
use ‘dance’ ivyē ‘animals’
ivyē ‘meat’ urú ‘game’
iyāg ‘buffaloes’ icír ‘yam(s)’
itsab ‘acumen’ ikén ‘things’
ibēn ‘marriage’ ukōb ‘flute’
abāen ‘branches’ kindob ‘oil’
táriko (<H) ‘trap’ iwōg ‘honey’
acīn ‘medicine’ únde ‘work’
rikaen ‘poison’ anyīŋ ‘blood’
dúkū (<H) ‘cassava’ kupwā ‘skin’
irá ‘word’ karatū (<H) ‘reading’
It may be seen that the range of antecedents for ayī is wide, ranging from plurals to
uncountable objects to singulars. Note, however, that most of those that are
formally singular (having ku-, ki-, u-, ri- prefixes) are non-individuated nouns.
100 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
Furthermore, the categories of nouns that may be co-referential with awū and ayī
overlap slightly. Our texts include kicáeb ‘sickness,’ ámbyī ‘water,’ apxín ‘spirit/s,’
aser ‘money,’ and anyīŋ ‘blood’ with both awū and ayī as referential/anaphoric
markers. In general, however, it may be seen that the bulk of the nouns evoking ayī
are plurals, mass nouns, or abstracts. It is possible also that these examples, derived
from oral texts, may be challenged by some people after further consideration.

5.2.2 Derived Nouns

5.2.2.1 Proper Names:

Many proper nouns encode a complete proposition, such as:
Āpwende < ā pwen ande
3p count people
(a name given during a census)

Ācīriká < ā cī riká

3p eat war
(a name given during a conflict)

Āndeyatsō < ā ndeya átsō

3p help each other

Āpūnarimam < ā pū na Rimam

3p take give God
Some names do not have the initial a-, a feature that may be dialectal:
Fxēntírimam, Sapúru, Somtínde, Ndeyatī, Pūnarimam, are examples.
Some names begin with other nouns:
Awúmsikwe < awúm si ukwe
guineacorn is chief
Ikyisinde < ikyi si unde
masquerade is person
Rimamndeyatī < Rimam ndeya tī
God help us
Kurūtsi < kurū tsi
home stand (i.e. the lineage is established)
Ukwesatī < ukwe si atī
chief is us (i.e. the chieftaincy is in our
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 101
hands)

5.2.2.2 Nouns formed from Verb + Object Noun

A number of processes have been used for nominalization but are not currently
productive. For example, a small set of nouns is derived from the prefix rí- plus a
verb plus a noun stem or verb extension. The following words illustrate the
process:
ríturbyíŋ rí- + túr ‘push’ + (a)byíŋ ‘dung’ ‘dung beetle
rínyanwae rí-+ nyaŋ ‘good’ + (u)wae ‘inside’ ‘gift’
The tone on these nouns needs further study. Sometimes they sound like they begin
with a mid-tone, but it could be a lowered high. On the other hand they may have
an inherent mid tone that is raised by the polar tone rule. In the following
examples, not all the formative constituents can be identified:
rípocwú ‘biting fly’ (ricwú = ‘death,’ ‘ghost’)
rípobyáen ‘nightjar’ (abyáen = ‘breasts,’ ‘milk’)
ríkwérfé ‘corner’ (kwēr = ‘strike,’ ‘join’)
ríkamsínn ‘spider’ (kam = ‘squeeze’)
rífunntā ‘total’ (funn = ‘gather’)
ríkunntsīg ‘catfish’ (kunn = ‘shock’)
rícwēnbyín ‘hyena’ (abyíŋ = ‘dung’)
ríkantā ‘portion’ (kantā = ‘divide’)

Just one noun in my data has the above structure but a different prefix:
ushitoŋ ‘stirrer’ ( < shir = ‘pull’ utoŋ = ‘soup’)

5.2.2.3 Nouns of N + V structure:

I have only one case in this category so far (although there are some names with
this structure; see 2.1):
kujwójáŋ ‘reward’ (kujwó ‘arm’ + jáŋ ‘lick)

5.2.2.4 Nouns formed by reduplication

Some nominals of three syllables are derived via reduplication:
102 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
ábúbúnn ‘shells’ kúbúbōŋ ‘a bell’
mbútsutsu ‘coucal’ árírag ‘gum’
kucwucwub ‘owl’ kísísaen (kind of ant)
ásískir ‘tiny fish’ kúcíciŋ ‘finger’
Kúcícēb (a festival) apúpwen ‘sky’
kikukwe ‘a snake’ kútútūn ‘fig tree’
ámímyím ‘scars’ kiririm ‘worm’
ámúmunn ‘fragments’ caŋkonkón ‘instrument’

5.2.2.5 Nouns formed from the Associative Construction77

Some compounds are formed by the joining of two nouns (in which case the prefix
of the second is lost), or a noun plus a verb. In a number of cases, one or both of
the two nouns no longer occurs as a separate lexical item.
kupenjwín ‘windpipe’ (kupen= ?; ujwín = ‘voice’)
kutácwōŋ ‘a trap’ (kutá = ‘bow’; ucwōŋ = ?)
ísábūn ‘sand’ (ísá = ‘sand’; ribūn = ‘spring’)
akāenjag ‘area behind compound’
iwéntām ‘sheep’ (iwén = ‘sheep/goats’)
iwéntēn ‘goat’
kwerúbūn ‘dragonfly’ (ukwe= ‘chief’; ribūn = ‘spring’)
kikúnyaŋ ‘ring’
atútoŋ ‘pots’ (atú = ‘gourds’; utoŋ = ‘soup’)
kutsīnkén ‘paper’ (kutsīŋ = ‘leaf’; ikén = ‘thing’)

5.2.2.6 Nominalizations with Prefix + tī

A number of compounds are formed by nominalizing an attributive phrase
beginning with the relativizer tī. Insofar as I have been able to analyze it, the
prefixes are:78
u- for singular
a- for (human) plural

77
See Chapter Six (section 4.0) for a description of the syntax of the associative
construction.
78
Once again, the prefix tones here need careful examination. The initial tone sometimes
sounds like mid. It is possible that the underlying low tone is being raised in anticipation of
the following mid.
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 103
i- for abstracts/non-human plural
I introduce five different structures here before illustrating them one by one:
Prefix + tī + Verb
Prefix + tī + Adj
Prefix + tī + Noun
Prefix + tī + Verb + Noun
Prefix + tī + Sentence

Prefix + tī + Verb
itībá ‘coming’ itīmbúbsī ‘destruction’
itīsī ‘descending’ itípwen ‘counting’
itīrū ‘going’ itīkābye ‘thought’
itīrūyé ‘exit’(N) itíndeya ‘help’ (N)
itīkafe ‘turn’ (N) itīnwáŋrū ‘salvation’
Note that the prefix in every case here is i- and that these nouns will take the
pronoun yī/ayī. Whether there is a historical link here or not is a topic for further
investigation. It may also be observed that in place of the prefix i- some speakers
double the ti-. For example:
tītīcī ‘eating’
tītīŋgwā ‘drinking’
tītībá ‘coming’
Some examples of abstract nouns in context:
127) Itībá-fu pāŋ atáŋ.
coming-2s be enough there.
Your coming is appropriate.

128) Ā mūm kukwae tī itítsikunn-yī tá-yī bē.

3p dig hole REL stand-end-3s be-3s NEG
They dug a bottomless hole.

129) Itīcī tí itīŋwā tá-yī bē.

104 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
eating and drinking be-3s NEG
There was no eating and drinking.
Prefix + Adjective
In contrast to the abstracts above, these nouns refer to individual objects or people
bearing certain qualities. Examples:
utībyāen ‘the red one’ itībyāen ‘the red ones’79
utínyaŋ ‘the good one’ itínyaŋ ‘the good ones’
atīshé ‘the new ones’ atīcí ‘the old ones
Some concrete singular nouns also take a double-ti. Presumably they are based on
the double -ti adjectives that are described in Chapter Four. Examples:
Short form Long form
utībyāen ‘the red one’ utītībyāen
utínyīŋ ‘the younger one’ utītínyīŋ
utīshír ‘the male one’ utītīshír
itīyáe ‘the female ones’ utītīyáe
The word utītíbī ‘the bad one’ only occurs in the long form.
Another variety of derived noun uses the reduplicated form of the stative verb:
itīfífab ‘the sour ones’ utījījīm ‘the cool one’
utīrūrōb ‘the heavy one’ utītsītsēn ‘the white one’
utītútóm ‘the light one’ itībībyāg ‘the hot ones’

79
There is potential ambiguity between the inanimate plural concrete nouns and abstracts, as
both categories begin with i-. For example, itībyāen can mean ‘the red/ones’ or ‘redness’ as
in Itībyāen tumátur-wū si-yī tī tīrī bē. ‘The redness of his tomatoes is indescribable.’
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 105
Prefix + tī + Noun
utīriwáe ‘the tall one’ riwáe ‘tallness’
atīrikīm ‘the fat ones’ rikīm ‘fatness’
utīkípyir ‘the short one’ kípyir ‘shortness’
itīndá ‘the female ones’ undá ‘woman’
itīribōm ‘the strong one(s)’ ribōm ‘strength’
atīrikwen ‘the ones of the rikwen ‘mountain’
mountain’
utīrúmtísīb ‘the green one’ irúmtísīb ‘fresh grass’
utīkundebúkān ‘the yellow one’ kundebúkān ‘yellowness’
utīkucaŋ ‘the original one’ kucaŋ ‘beginning’
utīkíyib ‘the small one’ kíyib ‘smallness’

5.2.2.7 Nominalized clauses (prefix + tā+ S)

Short relative clauses are sometimes nominalized by prefixing the noun prefix plus
the nominalizer/relativizer tī. Although we write these constructions as separate
words, the prefixal element (atī, utī, itī) is bound to what follows. Examples:
130) Atī kú bá ne si aná-m.
REL IMP come DEM be POSS-1s
The ones (children) coming are mine.
Some speakers use atā /utā /itā as variants of atī /utī /itī (as they do also in normal
relative clauses). Probably this represents an elision of tī plus ā (third person
human plural pronoun) that has generalized to cover singular and plural cases.80
131) Utā mbér kufxen ú caŋ fob-wū bē.
REL break leg FUT walk reach-3s NEG
The one with the broken leg will not be able to walk.

132) Atā tsō kákúm ŋwáŋrū.

REL mount horse escape
Those who rode horses escaped.

80
The use of tā for tī seems to be limited to the Lissam dialect.
106 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
133) Itā wāmtág pú-yī, pū yī rū ka tēn urwā.
REL dry-all PERF-3 take 3 move go burn fire
Take the completely dry ones and burn them.

5.2.2.8 Nominalizations with Incorporated Object

Verb-Object sequences can be nominalized by reversing their order and inserting
the relator tī or tí , as follows:81
Awū ye iwág. iwág tí ye
3s catch fish fish REL catch
He caught a fish. ‘fishing’
Other common nominalizations:
irím tí sub
grass REL pull ‘grass-pulling’
rikúb tī shwú
roof REL thatch ‘thatching roofs’
mbakúnn tí shi
chicken REL tend ‘tending chickens’
ibyē tí fe
animal REL scare ‘animal scaring (from crops)’
Verbal noun phrases of this sort tend to express routine activities as is illustrated in
the title of a text on house-building:
únde ná kusóg tí mbye
work of house REL build
‘the work of house-building’
The text includes the following sentence:
134) Andá ú rū uwōg ákoŋ tī shā,
women FUT go place stalks REL seek

aróm má ú rū uwōg ifēb tí sib.

men also FUT go place grass REL pull
The women will go to look for (corn) stalks, and the men will go to
pull swordgrass.
Other examples:

81
High tone tí precedes low tone verbs. Mid tone tī is found elsewhere.
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 107
135 At kú fwā- umba kusen tí asú tī txún bē.
) ī tī e
1p IM warn child warnin RE insul RE insul NE
P -1p g L t L t G
We don’t scold a child with insults.
Compare:
136 Atī txún bā asú.
1p abuse 3p insult
We insulted them.

137) Afu mbakúnn skeb pú-fu ame tí ikén tī cī.

2s chicken pass PRF-2s 1s with thing REL eat
You, chicken, surpass me at eating.

5.2.2.9 Nominalized Possessive Pronouns

Although the pronouns proper are introduced in Chapter Four and further expanded
is Chapter Nine, I introduce one form of them here in their capacity as independent
nominals. These pronouns consist of a nominalizing prefix a-, the possessive
marker ná, and a shortened form of the pronoun:
aná-m ‘mine’ anátī ‘ours’
anáfu ‘yours’ anánī ‘yours’
anáwū ‘his’ anábā ‘theirs’
anáyī ‘its/theirs’
Examples in Sentences:
138) Aná-m kú bá tīnine ahán.
mine IMP come now thus
Mine (children) are just coming now.
108 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
139) Anáfu kób skeb anáwu.
yours tall pass his
Yours is/are taller than his.

5.2.2.10 Nominalized Possessive Nouns

The nominalized possessive construction also works with nouns (and noun
phrases), as in the examples below. As in the case of nominals beginning with ati,
uti, iti, the aná here is bound, even though we write it separately from what
follows.
140) Anáfu tá iké; aná Tití tá akā?
yours be here that-of Titi be where?
Here is yours; where is Titi’s?

141) Aser acīkunn skeb pú-yī aná mbapwa.

money beans pass PRF-3s that-of maize
The cost of beans is more than that of maize.

5.2.2.11 Nominalized Specifiers

The specifier íkīn in Kuteb is something like an article in English. It is usually
translated as ‘a certain...’ or as ‘another.’82 Three constructions are included here:
1) The unmarked nominalized specifier, 2) specifiers with u, i, a, and 3) the words
for ‘something, and ‘someplace.’
The Unmarked Nominalized specifier: íkīn
The specifier íkīn (íkī in other dialects) can stand alone as an independent nominal,
as in the following:
142) Awū tu kíkwab kínzō uwae kununn, ú rū ka
3s find hoe one in home SEQ move go

jāeb íkīn uwae ritúg.

buy another in market
He found one hoe at home, and went and bought another one in the market.

82
The specifier is nasalized [íkĩ] in Lissam but not elsewhere [íkī]. The Lissam version,
being more conservative, hints that the specifier may have grammaticalized from the word
ikén / ikín ‘thing.’
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 109
143) Ibyē tī nī wēn atáŋ si kó awū ámām,
animal REL 2p kill there be only 3s alone

rē, ré tī nī wēn cī íkīn fā cī?

or REL 2p kill again another together again
Was it only this one that you killed, or did you kill others?

144) Afu a bá fob wakúnunn afu ú sa

2s COND come reach home 2s FUT take

íkīn nwūnn sī kikwēr, ú nwūnn íkīn sī kitēn.

some pour down gourd, SEQ pour some down pot
When you reach home, you pour some into a gourd, and some into a pot.

145) Íkīn tá atáŋ, si Yakubu; íkīn tá atáŋ, si Bushi.

one be there be Yakubu another be there be Bushi
One of them was Yakubu, another was Bushi.

146) Ikīn tá atáŋ, ā kú kūnn rinyí-wū sīi kutá.

another be there, 3p IMP call name-3s COMP kutá
There is another (type of trap) they call ‘kuta.’
Specifiers with u, i, a
A related set of nominals consists of a prefix, the sound /r/, and the specifier-root
íkīn :
uríkīn ‘someone’/ ‘another person’
aríkīn ‘some people’/ ‘other people’
iríkīn ‘some thing(s)’/ ‘other things’
Examples:
147) Aríkīn kú jāeb ikén tī tīshé tīnine.
some people IMP buy thing/s new now
Some people are buying new things now.
110 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
148) Ī nyaŋ skeb tī fu shā iríkīn tī tínyaŋ.
3 good pass REL 2s seek another of good
It would be better for you to look for another one that is good.

149) Uríkīn rī té m bāa, …

a person say with 1s COMP
Someone told me that …
Other Independent Specifiers
Another set of words consists of certain very common nouns with the specifier
frozen onto them:
wúkīn ‘a certain place’ < uwōg íkīn
kíkīn ‘something’ < ikén íkīn
It is typical for specifiers (or articles) to lose their specifying function and become
part of the noun like this. Williamson (following Greenberg) describes the process
as a possible source of noun prefixes in Pre-Niger-Congo (Bendor-Samuel 1989 p.
32). In fact, Kuteb illustrates the process perfectly by the numerous cases in the
data where the live specifier is added to the fossilized forms:
150) Awū rū ka fob wúkīn íkīn.
3s move go reach certain place SPEC
He went along and reached a certain place.

151) Kíkin íkīn nde-yī ame bē.

something SPEC do-3 1s NEG
Nothing happened to me.
One even hears the phrase
wání kíkīn íkīn,
SPEC something SPEC a certain something
This begins with the specifier wani from Hausa (in its usual prenominal position
for Hausa) and ends with both the fossilized and ‘live’ specifiers following the
noun.
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 111
83
5.2.2.12 Nominalized Demonstrative
In this construction the prefix a- occurs with the descriptive demonstratives wūne,
yīne, bāne to form a nominal.
152) Awūne si aná ayē?
DEM be that-of who?
Whose is this one?

153) Atī tu ayīne uwae kusóg.

1p find DEM inside house
We found these (objects) in the house.

154) Ame som té abāne.

1s stay with DEM
I stayed with these (people).
The following example of the distal demonstrative standing alone is unusual:
155) Né si uwé-fu a?
DEM be face-2s Q
Is that really you?
The process by which compound words form from phrases is gradual, and, of
course, subject to fluctuation, as is the case of words in many languages, E.g.,
‘fencepost’ or ‘bloodtest’ in English, which can be debated as to whether they are
single words or not.

5.2.2.13 Numerals
The numbers, although formally comprised of single nouns and noun phrases, are
described here because together they form a single semantic field.

83
Demonstratives are discussed at greater length in Chapter Ten.
112 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
kínzō ‘one’ rijwē asūkínzō ‘eleven’
ifaen ‘two’ rijwē asūfaen ‘twelve’
itā ‘three’ rijwē asūtā ‘thirteen’
inje ‘four’ rijwē asūnje ‘fouteen’
itsóŋ ‘five’ rijwē asūtsóŋ ‘fifteen’
itsóŋnzō ‘six’ rijwē asūtsóŋnzō ‘sixteen’
itsóŋfaen ‘seven’ rijwē asūtsóŋfaen ‘seventeen’
itsóŋtā ‘eight’ riwē asūtsóŋtā ‘eighteen’
itsóŋnje ‘nine’ riwē asūtsóŋnje ‘ninteen’
rijwē ‘ten’ mae rikōm ‘twenty’
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 113
rikōm asūkínzō ‘twenty-one’
rikōm asūfaen ‘twenty-two’
etc,
rikōm mbé rijwē
or rijwētā (10 x 3) ‘thirty’
rijwētā asūkínzō ‘thirty-one’
rijwētā asūfaen ‘thirty-two’
etc.
mae ifaen / andefaen ‘forty’
ande faen asūkínzō ‘forty-one’
ande faen asūfaen ‘forty-two’
ande faen mbé rijwē ‘fifty’
ande faen mbé rijwē asūkínzō ‘fifty-one’
ande faen mbé rijwē asūfaen ‘fifty-two’
ande itā ‘sixty’
ande itā asūkínzō ‘sixty-one’
ande itā asūfaen ‘sixty-two’
ande itā mbé rijwē ‘seventy’
ande itā mbé rijwe asū kínzō ‘seventy-one’
ande inje ‘eighty’
ande inje asūkínzō ‘eighty-one’
ande inje mbé rijwē ‘ninety’
ande inje mbé rijwē asūkínzō ‘ninety-one’
ande itsóŋ ‘one hundred’
Note that the numbering system is based on five, with separate words for ‘ten’ and
‘twenty.’ The element asū in rijwē asūkínzō is written together with what follows
because it does not otherwise stand on its own as a word. There are inconsistencies
in the way the numerals are divided, and this is not the only way to write them. A
standard has not yet been set.
Some observations on the numerals.
The numbers 6-9 are obviously compounded from 5+1, 5+2, 5+3, 5+4. We write
them as single words because, like other compounded nouns, the second member
has lost its prefix and the stem is pronounced as two syllables. The third syllable of
114 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Five
itsóngfaen (seven) sometimes glides from high to low, which is also a common
phenomenon in compounds in which a low tone root follows as high one.
As is the case with other nouns that modify a head noun in a phrase, non-initial
numbers will often drop the prefix, e.g ande ifaen [andefaen] ‘two people,’ ande itā
> [ande tā] ‘three people,’ andá inje [andánje] ‘four women.’ However in many
cases, depending on the speed of utterance, the tone of the number’s prefix will
influence the tone of the previous stem, particularly if that stem ends with a vowel.
E.g., andá itsóŋ [andâtsóŋ] ‘five women.’ Here, as in the standard writing, the full
forms are written.
In the numbers from 11 to 19 the prefixes /a-/ and /k-/ of /asū/ and /kínzō/ are
dropped in rapid speech, yielding [rijwēsūínzō], [rijwēsūfaen], etc. Sometimes the
initial /ri-/ is dropped as well. The su of asū may also be influenced by the vowel of
ifaen, ita, inje, itsóŋ to become asī/sī (that is, rijwēsīfaen, rijwēsītā, etc.)
The word rikōm ‘twenty’ appears to be related to the word for ‘corpse.’84 The word
asū in numerals above ten is presumably related to risū ‘head.’
In some of the other dialects, the numerals 40, 60, 80, and 100 are mae ifaen ‘40’
mae itā ‘60’ mae inje ‘80’ and mae itsóŋ ‘100.’
Koelle (1854) records the word ‘three’ as itār, which indicates that the final
consonant has been lost by most speakers in the present generation. It is possible
that the stem vowel (ae) found in the Tsaensi, Tsaenskun, and Ticwo dialects is a
remnant of the final consonant loss. Likewise, the number ten is sometimes heard
with a final r (rijwēr) probably indicating an earlier form of the word.

5.3 Pronouns
Although the function and form of pronouns will be discussed in greater detail in
Chapter Nine, I introduce them here as exponents of the Noun Phrase. Three
semantic components are involved: the traditional ‘person,’ and ‘number,’ plus the
factor ‘human/non-human,’ the exact role of which I do not completely understand.
I set them out as parameters in the following diagram:

84
Note the similar use of adi ‘body’ in Jukun (Shimizu 1980:139).
Chapter Five Kuteb Grammar 115
singular plural non-human
1st p ame/me/m atī/tī
‘I,’ ‘me’ ‘we,’ ‘us’
2nd p afu/fu/u anī/nī
‘you’ (sg) ‘you’ (pl)
rd
3 p awū/wū/ū, abā/bā/ā ayī/yī/ī
‘he,’ ‘she,’ ‘him,’ ‘her’ ‘they,’ ‘them’ ‘it,’ ‘they,’ ‘them’
The distribution of the various forms is spelled out in Chapter Nine, Section 3.1.1.

5.4 Conclusion
We have examined here a number of the kinds of things that can encode an
argument in a proposition, that is to say roughly, words and phrases that can act as
a subject or predicate of a sentence. Nouns, Pronouns, Noun Phrases,
Demonstratives, Nominalized Possessives, and Nominalized Specifiers and
Pronouns are among them.
Further research is needed in the matter of noun prefixes, due to the fluctuation that
seems to prevail across dialects and even among speakers of a single dialect. A
large number of nouns need to be elicited from several different speakers to
determine a consensus. This will be useful not only in terms of standardizing the
language but also as a historical tool to help us know what went before.
116 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX. THE NOUN PHRASE (2)

6.1 Introduction
Having treated simple nominals and other words and constructions that behave like
nouns, I now turn to expansions of nouns into noun phrases. These phrases exhibit
a variety of structures, described under the following headings:
1. NP’s with determiners and qualifiers:
specifier: íkīn ‘a certain X, another X’
referentials: wū, bā, yī ‘the X referred to’
demonstratives: ne; né ‘this X, that X,’
quantifiers: mēmē, kínzō, ifaen ‘all Xs, one X, two Xs’
adjectives tīyāŋ, tībyāen ‘the big X, the red X,’
2. NP’s with relater tī / Adjectives:
N tī Num ‘the 2nd X’
N tī N ‘the … X’
N + Adj ‘the good X’
N tī S (relative clause) ‘the X that…’
3. NP’s with genitive ná and /΄/ (high tone):
N ' pn ‘my X’ N ná pn ‘my X’
N'N ‘John’s X’ N ná N ‘John’s X’
4. Co-ordinate Phrases:
N tí N (tí N) ‘X and Y (and Z)’
5. Appositives: N, N
The variety of structures instantiated by these phrases can be roughly diagrammed
as follows:

tī N/Adj/Num/Sentence
N ná N/pn
Adj DET
tí N (tí N...)
PREP N
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 117
6.2 NP’s with determiners
I consider here three types of words that we shall call ‘determiners,’ namely,
referentials (like ‘the one’), demonstratives (‘this, that’), and specifiers (‘a
certain’). Their subdivision and ordering can be diagrammed as follows:
(REF) (DEM)
DET =>
SPEC
When present in a Noun Phrase, they always come last, as in:
ande ifaen íkīn
people two SPEC ‘a certain two people’
ande tī uwé ne
people REL front DEM ‘these leaders’
kusóg acīn wū
hospital REF ‘the hospital referred to’
ande tī ricen bā ne
people REL stranger REF DEM ‘these strangers’
The determiners are:
the specifer íkīn 85
the referentials wū, bā, yī
the demonstrative ne
The words mēmē, and/or pátág ‘all’ may follow the demonstrative (ne):
ande tī askáb bā ne mēmē (pátág)
people of foolishness REF DEM all (all)
(absolutely) all of these foolish people
6.2.1 The specifier íkīn86
Translated ‘a certain,’ ‘some,’ ‘another,’ ‘other’ in English, this word is typically
used in text with three functions:
Function 1. Introducing a new character in a narrative or a new topic in a
conversation:

85
The word íkīn is íkī in most of the other dialects. It is possibly developed from the word
for ‘thing,’ ikín / ikén, although note the tone difference. Note also the word for ‘one’
kínzō, posssibly a compound of kín and *nzo.
86
The specifier can also stand alone as a nominal (see Chapter 5, Section 2.2.7 for details).
118 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
156) Úcín kisung-m cangcicang rū ka ye ukwe íkī.
tale hare-1s walk move go catch chief SPEC
My story is about a certain chief.
Without the specifier, this sentence would be construed as referring to the local
chief.
157) Ande íkī bá kú shā rifab-fu tīnene.
people some come IMP seek trail-2s now
Some people were looking for you just now.

158) Íré ame núng unde íkī uwae ritúg.

yesterday 1s see person SPEC in market
Yesterday I saw a (specific but unnamed) person in the market.
Compare the following:
159) ? Íré ame núng unde uwae ritúg.
yesterday 1s see person in market
*Yesterday I saw person in the market.
Sentence 4) is peculiar because one expects to see people in the market. It would
have been acceptable in the case of a more unusual object, as in:
160) Íré ame núng itumūm uwae ritúg.
yesterday 1s see lion in market
Yesterday I saw a lion in the market.
To add the specifier
to itumūm in 5) would be to individuate the referent, giving the impression that
another lion had been previously discussed or that the speaker is now going to
elaborate on this lion:
161) Íré ame núng itumūm íkī uwae ritúg.
yesterday 1s see lion SPEC in market
Yesterday I saw a (certain) lion in the market.
Function 2. Identifying one of several items
162) A kú kūnn imbô íkī bāa, Péta
3p IMP call chimp one COMP Peter
They called one of the chimpanzees ‘Peter.’ (others implied)

163) Báyé usir íkī tírī...

Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 119
come day SPEC then
Then one day...
Function 3. Contrasting a person or object with another focal person or object in
the immediate context:
164) Ayéb íkī kú nde isháen itā, ayéb íkī kú
millet some IMP do month three, millet other IMP

nde ishaen inje, yī kú bēn atáng.

do month four 3 IMP ripen there
Some millet takes three months, other millet takes four months to ripen.

165) Rinyí mbapxú-m íkī rī bāa, Birzémte.

Name dog-1s another say COMP Birzemte
The name of another one of my dogs is Birzemte.
This was spoken after one dog was named in the conversation.
166) Anī náe iké kutē rē, ré abítē-nī nwúnn
2p lie here before or fathers-2p rise

uwōg íkī rū bá náe iké ne?

place another move come lie here DEM
Did you live here long ago, or did your ancestors move here from
another place?
In the above sentence, uwōg íkīn is contrasted with iké ‘here.’
Function 4. With negative ( bē ) to mean ‘not any’
167) Irá-bā íkī tá-yī atáng bē.
matter-3p SPEC be-3 there NEG
It is none of their business.

168) Afu a mbé-fu undá íkī kíka bē, ...

2s COND receive-2s woman SPEC yet NEG
If you have not yet married (any woman)...
Contrast the latter sentence with:
120 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
169) Afu a mbé-fu undá kíka bē, ….
2s COND receive-2s woman yet NEG
If you have not yet gotten married...
6.2.2 Referentials: awū/wū, abā/bā ayī/yī
This set of three words is described in more detail in Chapter Ten on ‘referring
words.’ Briefly, these words refer to nominals that have been mentioned previously
in the discourse. They belong to the same referential system as the specifier, as
may be shown by the fact that the two do not co-occur in a phrase:
*unde íkī wū
man SPEC REF *the a certain man
*unde wū íkī
man REF SPEC *a certain the man
Examples:
170) Unde wū si ínjā-m.
person REF be brother-1s
The man referred to is my brother.

171) Andá bā kūrtu-bā kirāen bē.

women REF stir-ABIL-3p food NEG
The women referred to can’t make food.

172) Irúm yī tācī fangó.

grass REF block road
The grass referred to blocked the road.
The longer form of the referential is used when a possessive pronoun intervenes
between it and the head noun:
umbae-m awū ‘my son to whom someone referred’
awá-wū abā ‘his wives to whom someone referred’
87
indag-tī ayī ‘our cow/s to whom someone referred’
6.2.3 Demonstratives
The deictics ne ‘this’ and né ‘that,’ described in greater detail in Chapter Ten on
referring words, occur immediately following a simple noun, or after the head of a
complex noun phrase:88

87
The final vowel of the possessive pronoun in this position is always dropped: [awáwabā],
[indǎktayī]. See Chapter 3 Section 4 for phonological details.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 121
unde ne ‘this person’
anyīsū né ‘those children’
irá ne ‘this matter’
anyīsū tī undá ne ‘these girls’
urwán-fu né ‘that friend of yours’
ande inje ne ‘these four people’
kusóg acīn né ‘that hospital’
When the referential and demonstrative occur together, the referential always
comes last:89
kusóg wū ne ‘this house’
andá bā né ‘those women’
utong yī ne ‘this soup’
It is common in Lissam to hear the word ahán ‘thus’ after the demonstrative: The
addition of ahán does not appear to make any appreciable difference in meaning.
umbae ne ahán
child DEM thus ‘this child’
The referential and demonstrative occur together in such frequency that in the
standard orthography they are written as one word (wūne, bāne, yīne). This may
reflect an intuitive sense that the demonstrative and referential functions are fusing.
6.2.4 NPs with quantifiers
A qualifying numeral in a NP follows the noun directly, before a determiner:
ande ifaen ‘two people’
ande ifaen ne ‘these two people’
ande ifaen bā ‘the two people referred to’
itúkū rijwēr asūtsóngfaen yī ne ‘these 17 trees referred to’
As the latter phrase indicates, the numeral component is itself complex.
The words mēmē ‘all’ and pátág ‘emphatic all,’ when present, occur at the end:

88
Many Niger-Congo languages have a word like ne that occurs at the end of a noun phrase
(e.g. nde in Fula; ne/le in Mandinka). See Williamson 1989:33-34.
89
The forms wū ne, bā ne, and yī ne have nominal counterparts awū ne, abā ne, and ayī
ne which are described in Chapter 5, Section 2.2.9.
122 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
ande mēmē ‘all the people’
ande bā mēmē ‘all the people referred to’
ande bā ne mēmē ‘all these people referred to’
90
ande bā mēmē pátág ‘absolutely all the people referred to’
ande itsóngfaen bā ne mēmē ‘all seven of these people’
6.2.5 NPs with Adjectives
Adjectives as a word class were introduced in Chapter Four (Section 3.2). Here
they are seen as forming attributive phrases modifying a head. Examples of
adjective in NPs follow:
mbakúnn tībyīr
chicken black ‘black chicken’
undag tīshé
cow new ‘new cow’
iwág tísīb
fish fresh ‘fresh fish’

6.3 NPs with relator tī

The expressions in this section are marked by the presence of the relator tī (which
needs to be carefully distinguished from the very similar conjunction tí ‘and’). I
distinguish four general types here on the basis of the nature of the attributive
component:
those with a numeral as attributive component
those with a nominal attributive component
those with an adjectival attributive component
those with a sentence as attributive component
6.3.1 NPs with numeral attributive component
The following examples correspond to the ‘ordinal numbers’ in English:

90
The sentence final position of pátág suggests it could perhaps be considered an
ideophone rather than a quantifier. On ideophones see Chapter 4 Section 3.1.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 123
unde tī ifaen
person REL two ‘the second person’
kusang tī rijwē-sū-tā
year REL thirteen ‘the 13th year’
6.3.2 NPs with nominal attributive component
NPs with nominal attributive component are further discussed in 7.0)Many of these
phrases are built on a set of what could be called quality nouns, such as
kucáen ‘oldness’ riwáe ‘tallness’ rikīm ‘fatness’
kitínyīng ‘smallness’ rikpāg ‘hardness’ kuskáb ‘foolishness’
Examples:
undá tī kucáen ‘old woman’
umbae tī riwáe ‘tall child’
mbawén tī rikīm ‘fat sheep’
anyīsū tī kitínyīng ‘small children’
There are many other nouns, however, which may be used in an attributive
function. In the following, the words uróm ‘male,’ undá ‘female,’ kununn
‘home,’ kutúr ‘bush,’ uwé ‘front, face,’ rikwen ‘mountain,’ and Ikám ‘Ikam
town’ are used as attributives:
mbakúnn tī uróm ‘male chicken’
umbae tī undá ‘female child’
mbapxú tī kununn ‘house dog’
ibyē tī kutúr ‘bush animal/meat’
unde tī uwé ‘leader’ (person of front)
ande tī rikwen ‘mountain people’
kusóg acīn tī Ikám ‘Ikam hospital’
The independent (nominalized) possessives (described above in Ch. 5 Section
2.2.9) are sometimes used in this attributive construction as follows:
riwén tī anáwū
nose REL his ‘his own nose’
iwaen tī anábā
beds REL their ‘their beds’
124 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
icír tī aná Tíb91
yams REL of Tiv ‘Tiv yams’
6.3.3 NPs with Adjectival Component
As explained in Chapter Four (Section 3.2) the relater tī sometimes precedes
adjectives. Here they are seen as forming attributive phrases modifying a head.
Examples of adjectives in NPs follow:
mbakúnn tī tībyīr
chicken REL black ‘black chicken’
kákúm tī tībyāen
horse REL red ‘red horse’
ibyē tī tīwám
meat REL dry ‘dried meat’
irá tī tínyang
word REL good ‘good news’
It is important to note that the attributive construction joins NPs, not just nouns.
For example, note the structure of the following sentence:
kupwā kufxen-wū tī kujwó rícī
skin leg-3s REL arm eating
his right shoe
The NP kupwā kufxen-wū is the head of the larger construction, the attributive
being tī kujwó rícī. Likewise the phrase atútong ámbyī-bā tī tīshé mēmē ‘all
their new water pots’ (following) consists of a Possessive Phrase, an Adjectival
Phrase, and a quantifier, all forming a larger Noun Phrase:

91
Although we have this on tape, it is possible that it is something like a hesitation form or
a correction in the middle of the phrase.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 125

As in English, there are of course ambiguities in some phrases. For example:

umbae mbapkú wū ne
child dog REF DEM
‘this puppy,’ or, ‘the puppy of this dog’
That is, the determiners wū ne may refer to mbapkú ‘dog’ only or to the whole
phrase umbae mbapkú ‘child of dog.’
6.3.4 Nominals with Sentence as Attributive Element
Complex sentences (i.e., those with embedded or relative clauses) are treated in
Chapter Eleven, but I cite a few examples here just to indicate that the relative
clause can in fact serve as a component of the noun phrase. In the following the
relative clause is in italics:
173) Rédio tī awū jāeb iké ndembéb pú-wū.
radio REL 3s buy here spoil PRF-3s
The radio he bought here is spoiled.

174) Unde wū tī afu sa na wū aser re,

man REF REL 2s take give 3s money

afu núng rinyí-wū a?

2s know name-3s Q
The man you gave the money to, do you know his name?
126 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
175) Unde tī kú bá si Apurá.
man REL IMP come is Apura
The man who is coming is Apura.
Lissam speakers often use tā instead of tī in relative clauses. This may be due to
the influence of vowel elision before a third person plural pronoun ā, as in:
ande tī ā bá [ande tāā bá] > [ande tā bá]
people REL 3p come
‘people who came’
The effect of frequent use of sentences like this is to create the impression that tā is
an alternative to tī. From these plural cases the tā form may have spread to the
singulars. We now have many clear cases where the relativized noun is singular,
e.g., Rimam tā cāe m ‘God who made me,’ Rimam tā núng ‘God who knows.’

6.4 Nominals with ná and / ΄ / (genitive)

I treat here first the form of the genitive and the semantic relations between the
component NPs, particularly as contrastive with N+tī+N. Then we discuss the
possible evolution of prepositional phrases from the N ' N construction.
6.4.1 The form and meaning of the genitive
Genitives consist of a Head Noun followed by ná or / ΄ / (‘floating’ high tone)92
and an attributive noun or pronoun which limits or qualifies the head noun in some
way. The ná may be thought of as an emphatic genitive, and the tone-only one
being non-emphatic.
Phonologically, the high tone / ΄ / of the genitive ‘floats’ over to the previous
syllable, converting the tone of that syllable to a glide from low or mid to high. If
the previous syllable is already high, there is no audible evidence of the
connection. (For more examples see Chapter 3, Section 5.1.3).93
In terms of meaning, one may say that while the head noun may refer to a wide set
of objects, the attributive noun or pronoun narrows that set to a particular
individual. Thus, kusóg ‘house’ refers to all houses in the world, kusóg-m ‘my
house’ refers to one particular house, namely, the speaker’s, and kusóg Amamrá
refers to the one owned by (or inhabited by) one of several people named Amamra.
Likewise, kusóg kirāen ‘house of food’ refers to one of a set of houses that is used
for preparing food. In the following, the second nominal limits the set of objects

92
Tones are called ‘floating’ when they shift from one syllable to another under certain
conditions. What happens is that the vowels that normally carry the tone get dropped, but
the tone is retained and shifted to another syllable.
93
In the standard orthography (used here) the genitival tone is represented by a hyphen
before pronouns and is unmarked between nouns.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 127
referred to by the first nominal. (The particular semantic relationships represented
by this construction will be considered later).
ayíb kurúkum ‘eyes of toad’
awāen kupú ‘fruit of kupú tree’
acang urwā ‘smoke of fire’
ufu kusóg ‘door of house’
ikén ufu ‘thing of door’ (= key)
rinyí umbae ‘name of the child’
kicáeb rishwū ‘sickness of stomach’
aser isháen ‘money of month’ (= salary)
ufúg ujwāb-tī-ngwā ‘beer-drinking booth’
wánde unde tī uwé ‘work of person of front’ (=leader)

We can divide the large set of genitival constructions into four subgroups: First,
there are nominal and pronominal attributives in the second position. Crosscutting
those there are contrastive and non-contrastive genitives, marked by the presence
or absence of the contrastive marker ná:
contrastive non-contrastive
nominal kusóg ná Alí ‘Ali’s house’ kusóg Alí ‘Ali’s
attribute house’
pronominal kusóg náwū ‘his house’ kusóg-wū ‘his
attribute house’

In both sets, when the ná is absent, a high-tone link joins the two nouns. The high-
tone link may possibly have evolved from the particle ná. Such a progression is
reported in Jukun (i.e., the progressive weakening of bú to ú to [΄] (Shimizu
1980:54), although the fact that no intermediate form of ná such as á is found in
Kuteb is a counter-argument.
The full set of pronominal attributives (otherwise known as possessive pronouns) is
illustrated below with the noun ukwe ‘chief.’ As was explained earlier, the high
tone possessive link gets realized on the preceding syllable, forming mid-to-high
and low-to-high glides. (After high-tone syllables the link is ‘absorbed,’ so to
speak.). Following the standard orthography we represent the tone link by a
hyphen:
128 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six

Simple Genitive Contrastive Genitive

1st person
ukwe-m [ukwě m] ‘my chief,’ ukwe ná m ‘my chief’
ukwe-tī [ukwě tī] ‘our chief,’ ukwe nátī ‘our chief’
2nd person
ukwe-fu [ukwě fu] ‘your chief,’ ukwe náfu ‘your chief’
ukwe-ni [ukwě nī] ‘your chief,’ ukwe nánī ‘your (pl) chief’
3rd person
ukwe-wū [ukwě ‘his chief,’ ukwe ‘his chief ‘
wū] náwū
ukwe-bā [ukwě bā] ‘their chief,’ ukwe nábā ‘their chief’
ukwe-yī [ukwě yī] ‘its/their ukwe náyī ‘its/their chief’
chief,’
Referentials and demonstratives always follow the attributive noun in the above
constructions:
ukwe-m ne ‘this chief of mine’
awá ukwe bā ne ‘these wives of the chief’
anyīsū tī kununn mēmē ‘all of the children of the house’
irúm mbawén yī ne ‘this goat grass referred to’
kufur kisīm-wū ne ‘this knife handle of his’
iwén urwán-fu né ‘those goats of your friend’
In the genitive construction, as in the NP with tī, the head is often a phrase rather
than a single noun. Thus, complex constructions like the following frequently
occur:
uwáfub íya mbawándab wū ne
co-wife of mother of girl REF DEM
the girl's mother's co-wife

aser ukwe ná umbae Āmamrá

money of chief of child of Amamra
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 129
Amamra's child's tax94

ikén tī náe násárá íkīn

thing REL lie of European SPEC
a certain European bed

umbae Apurá tī ifaen

child of Apura REL two
Apura’s second child
6.4.2 Development of Prepositional Phrases from N ΄ N
Like many other African languages, Kuteb uses body part names to describe
positional relationships. The process by which body parts and other nouns
grammaticalized into spatial relationship markers or ‘prepositions’ is described as a
kind of metaphor by Heine and Reh (1984), who have studied this phenomenon in
West Africa for some time. For example, risū ‘head’ serves to specify the position
of something on top of something else, as in:
176) Ámbyī tá risū tébur.
water be head table
The water is on the table.
The words uwé ‘face,’ uwae ‘inside,’ isim ‘back,’ ijwē ‘body,’ are used similarly,
with the following positional meanings:
uwé ‘in front of’ isim ‘in back of’
uwae ‘inside of’ ijwē ‘into, against,’ ‘about’
imbyí ‘at bottom of’ unzu ‘at edge of’
Another locational expression, not a body part, but operating like one as an
independent noun in other contexts, is uwōg ‘place.’ Example:
177) Ā pū m rū yī uwōg polis.
3p take 1s go PREP place police
They took me to the police.
While the semantic shift from noun to preposition (‘head’ to ‘on’) may be obvious
from the use of phrases like:

94
Here the ná serves to separate three genitives by splitting into pairs four nouns that,
without the ná, would be difficult to process.
130 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
risū tébur ‘on the table’
risū irá yī ne ‘about this matter,’ or even
risū kufxen-m ‘about my foot,’
One may ask if the prepositional construction risū tébur is not perhaps structurally
different from a typical Noun + Noun construction like kusóg ukwe ‘house of
chief,’ or utī Míka ‘Mika's spear.’
One place to look for possible structural change accompanying the
‘delexicalization’ of these words would be in the genitival tone linkage between the
two words and in the prefix. Perhaps the ‘floating’ tone link disappears, leaving the
unmarked lexical item in its narrower prepositional sense. In the case of four of the
prepositions (risū ‘on,’ uwōg ‘at,’ ijwē, ‘against,’ and imbyí, ‘at the bottom of’) it
is difficult, if not impossible, to detect any loss of the tonal link because the mid
and high tone of the stems is so close to the high tone of the genitive link.
In the case of the low tone words isim ‘behind’ and uwae ‘inside,’ there may be
some evidence.
The tone link is more obvious in cases of paired low-tone nouns such as itu ukwe
[itǔkwe] ‘palms of chief’ or indag unde [indagúnde] ‘a person’s cow.’ (Note that
the high tone here shifts to the prefix of the second noun). The prepositions isim
‘behind’ and uwae ‘into’ are structurally similar to itu and indag. It appears that in
phrases with the preposition isim, e.g., isim kusóg ‘behind the house,’ the tonal
link has disappeared. In fact, one can contrast the following:
isǐm kusóg ‘the back (part) of the house’
isim kusóg ‘behind the house’
In the case of uwae ‘inside,’ similarly, the tone link has been eroded: the syllable
wae in uwae kutúr ‘in the bush,’ in normal speech, does not have a rising tone.
Furthermore, an additional phonological change is taking place. It is frequently
observed that in sequences of two low-tone nouns, the high tone of the genitive
link sometimes gets shifted to the prefix of the second noun.95 Thus:
uwae΄ kununn > uwae kúnunn ‘in the home’
In some dialects, the quality of the stem vowel in uwae is changed from /ae/ to /a/
and shortened in duration and the prefix on one or both of the nouns may be lost,
yielding a kind of wa- clitic or prefix on several words, which we have recorded as:

95
This is especially true if the tone on the second noun stem is low.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 131
wakúnunn/wǎnunn ‘home’ wakutúr / watúr ‘bush’
wakusóg /wasóg ‘house’ warisāen/wasāen ‘farm’
warúkōng /wǎkōng ‘farm’
Semantically, these forms appear to be identical to their non- wa- counterparts:96
178) Awū tá kununn. /Awū tá wakúnunn.
3s be at home
He is at home.

179) Awū rū kutúr. /Awū rū watúr.

3s go forest
He went to the forest.
One is tempted to treat as another mark of grammaticalization the tendency to drop
the prefix u- from the words uwōg and uwae, that is, to say that they are losing
their distinctively nominal form. However, as prefix erosion is a phenomenon
happening to all nouns (especially those with a vowel prefix only), it cannot be
considered evidence for the shift of uwae (N) to wae (prep).97 Whether or not the
proposed ‘prepositions’ develop a distinctive phonological shape, it is clear that
semantically their use is extended beyond its original body-part function to many
other analogous situations, and we will consider the preposition as qualifying for
entrance into the gallery of Kuteb word classes.
Examples of prepositions from text are:

6.4.2.1. Risū ‘on, over’ (from risū ‘head’)

180) Wū a putsáen risū ámbyī ne ahán …
3s if follow head water DEM thus
If it goes along on top of the water like this ...

96
Storch (1999:87) describes the innovation of ‘pseudo classes’ in Hone and Wapan that
have been formed from the word for ‘place’ in a parallel fashion to wa- here.
97
Our focus here is on the development of prepositions, but one may note the closely
related development of locative adverbs like uwae and isim as in Awū tá uwae. ‘He is
inside’ and Awū tá isim ‘He is behind.’
132 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
181) Uwá-wū tá risū kutam apúpwen.
wife-his be head kutam sky
His wife was up in a kutam tree.

182) Awū núng tī wū pwen rikwén risū ande-wū.

3s know REL 3s count judgment head people-his
He knows he has to make judgments over his people.

6.4.2.2 Uwae ‘in, into’ (from uwae ‘inside’)

183) Kurúkum jwunn sī uwae ámbyī.
toad fall down inside water
The toad fell into the water.

184) Icen pū átsō sáng uwae ibae.

g.fowl take recip enter inside sack
The guinea fowl went together into the sack.

185) Íya-me cwū uwae ná dūbū dāyā da darī tárā ...

mother-my die inside 1000 one and 100 nine
My mother died in 19...

186) Ā sa rū ka jāebcī uwae Ikám.

3p take go go sell inside Ikam
They sell them in Ikam.

6.4.2.3 Uwé ‘in front of’ (from uwé ‘face’)

187) Atī tsi uwé ukwe atáng áwa ifaen.
1p stand front chief there hour two
We stood there in front of the chief for two hours.

188) Ame som uwé kusóg-wū ú kú jí wū jí.

1s sit front house-his SEQ IMP wait 3s wait
I sat in front of his house and waited for him.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 133
189) M ú nde rímāng sa rikwén uwé ná ukwe bárā?
1s FUT do how take case front of chief Q
Why should I take the case to the chief?

190) Ikén tī ukwe tātu sa tsi uwé wū mēmē …

thing REL chief hunt take stand front 3s all
The thing the hunt-leader considers best of all...

6.4.2.4 Isim ‘behind’ (from isim ‘back’)

191) Mbakúnn tēr rū ka tam isim kurug.
chicken run go go hide back granery
The hen ran and hid behind the granary.

192) Isim asang itā ame kāfē rū bá iké.

back years three 1s return go come here
After three years I came back here.

193) Isim ná Gidion, m bá tucī umbae cwúcwo.

back of Gideon, 1s come find-again child again
After Gideon, I had another child.
Note the adverbial use of isim in adverbial clauses such as:
194) Isim tī abā pū kirāen bá...
back REL 3p take fufu come
After they brought the fufu...

195) Isim-yī tī Irá Rimam ka bá uwōg ná m...

back-its REL matter God go come place of 1s
After Christianity came to me...
134 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
6.4.2.5 Uwōg ‘at’ (from uwōg ‘place’)98
196) Ā pū wū rū uwōg apxín yī.
3p take 3s go place spirits REF
They took him to the spirits.

197) Tī ka uwōg itúkū m tí Larabā.

1p go place wood 1s and Laraba
We got to the wood-place, me and Laraba.

198) Ā kú fxēn uwōg kúkwén rikwen.

3p IMP hear place priest rikwen
They hear it from the mountain priest.
The grammaticalization of words like uwōg is still in progress, as shown by a
sentence like the following, in which the possessive ná is inserted, indicating that
uwōg is still being used in its more literal form:
199) Ā pū wū bá uwōg ná ukwe.
3p take him come place of chief
They took him to the chief (or ‘to the chief’s place’).

6.4.2.6 Ijwē ‘into, in, at’ (from ijwē ‘body’)

The meaning of ijwē as a preposition is considerably more difficult to define than
that of other prepositions. Consider the following examples:
200) Aróm sú yī ijwē icíka.
men carry it in baskets
The men carry it (guinea corn) in baskets.

201) Awū tūb atsáng ijwē ámbyī wū.

3s spit spit into water REF
He spat into the water.

202) Ā kú sa kisīm shēn ijwē anyīng wū.

3s IMP take knife wipe with blood REF
They smear the knife in/with the blood.

98
Some speakers drop the final velar in the word uwōg.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 135
203) Awū kú cī wū ikén ijwē anyī- wū bē.
3s IMP eat 3s thing with teeth-3s NEG
It (elephant) doesn’t eat with its teeth.

204) Ā txí ámbyī bá,

3p dip water come,

ú bá kú sī ijwē arībén yī ne.

SEQ come IMP put into adobe REF DEM
They dip water and come and pour it into the adobe.

205) Ā sa nwūnn sī ijwē gārwā.

3p take pour go-down into tin
They pour it (liquid) into a tin.

206) Ā ... sa sī kimú ijwē ibae.

3p take give potto inside sack
They ... gave it to Potto in a sack.

207) Awū sa rikaen fxēb tág pú-wū ijwē ibú wū ne.

3s take poison wipe all prf-3s body arrow REF DEM
He took poison and wiped it all over these arrow (tips).
Note that in the one case the knife is smeared ijwē blood, and in the other, the
poison is smeared ijwē the arrowhead.

6.4.2.7 Unzu ‘edge of’ (from unzu ‘mouth’)

208) Icwu somcī unzu kumūm wū.
leopard sit-guard mouth termite-mound REF
Leopard sat guarding the mouth of the termite mound.

209) Ande tī kú ye skeb iwág si ande

people REL IMP catch pass fish be people
The people who catch fish the most are those
136 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
tī kú náe unzu uyínn.
REL IMP lie mouth river
who live along the river.

6.4.2.8 Kutáŋpwā ‘between’

The etymological origin of this preposition is uncertain. It looks like it could
possibly come from kutáen (or kitáen) ‘top’ and kupwā ‘skin.’ It is also unusual
in that it sometimes functions as a temporal expression meaning ‘at the time’ and
even as a locative meaning ‘at the place.’ As a preposition it requires two nouns
separated by the word tí ‘and/with.’ For example:
210 Asití uré a tá kutáŋpwā-fu tí uwá-fu, …
If love COND be between-2s and wife-2s
If there is love between you aŋŋŋnd your wife, …

211 Ame tsi kutáŋpwā-wū tí mbapxú-wū.

1s stand between-3s and dog-3s
I stood between him and his dog.

6.4.2.9 Yī ‘To’
This is perhaps the only ‘proper’ preposition in that all the other ones are clearly
derived from body parts and could in a sense be considered nouns rather than
prepositions.99 Yī is not derivable from any other word as far as we know. It
optionally occurs after motion verbs, introducing the goal of the motion.
Awū rū yī kutúr.
3s go to bush
He went to the bush.

6.5 Co-ordinate Noun Phrases

Coordinate conjunction of nouns is accomplished by the conjunction tí between the
nouns. The normal pattern seems to require tí between each of the nouns in a
series, in contrast to English, which requires a conjunction only between the last
two, the rest being linked by intonation patterns. Examples:
aróm tí andá ‘men and women’
andá tí anyīsū ‘women and children’
afxen tí ajwó ‘legs and arms’

99
Quite likely, the preposition yī is derived from a verb or verbal suffix.
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 137
aróm tí anyīsū tí andá mēmē
men and children and women all
everybody--men and children and women

amenjā-wū tí ande tī tá ribén atáng

brothers-3s and men REL be ground there
his brothers and the men who are present

mbúkū tí icwu tí isá tí itumū

hyena and leopard and jackal and lion

6.6. Appositives
There are two constructions in which two nominals stand together without the
benefit of the possessive link or the relator tī. In one, the full pronoun precedes a
simple or complex NP. Examples:
anī andá
2p women ‘you women’
abā anyīsū ukwe
3p children chief ‘they the children of the chief’
atī Kutēb
1p Kuteb ‘we Kutebs’
ame Inji tī tá ne
1s elephant REL be DEM ‘I, Elephant here’
Note the following unusual case of an appositive in genitival position:100
utēn-tī Kutēb
land-1p Kuteb ‘the country of us Kutebs’
In the second appositive construction, a proper noun follows another nominal:
uyēb-m Burma
in-law-1s Burma ‘my in-law Burma’
unde tī uwé-tī Apurá
person front-1p Apura ‘our leader Apura’

100
It is possible that this was misheard and was actually supposed to be uten tī Kuteb ‘land
of Kuteb.’
138 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
A title like Ukwe Ali ‘Chief Ali’ may belong to this category but is perhaps better
considered a different class consisting of titles.

6.7 Discussion of the Noun Phrase

The Kuteb data raise some unanswered synchronic and diachronic issues regarding
Noun Phrases, such as:
1. What is the relationship between the third person pronouns (awū, abā, ayī) and
the ‘referentials’ (wū, bā, yī)?
2. What is the historical relationship between the conjunction tí, the relator tī, the
noun prefix itī/ití, and the preposition té ‘with’?
3. What is the difference between phrases with tī and phrases with ná?
While each of these topics could be discussed at some length, I want to focus
particularly on the last one, regarding the distribution of the two patterns N tī N
and N (ná) N. How does a person know which set of nouns takes which pattern?
For example, why do you say A but not B in the following sets?
A. aci (ná) mbakúnn ‘egg of chicken’
B. *aci tī mbakúnn
A. ínjā Amamra ‘Amamra's brother’
B. * ínjā tī Amamra
A. kufxen indag ‘cow's foot’
B. *kufxen tī indag
A. ubur ukwe ‘chief's hat’
B. *ubur tī ukwe
Likewise, phrases that typically take tī are unacceptable with ná .
A. unde tī kubēntī ‘truthful person’
B. *unde ná kubēntī
A. umbae tī ruwáe ‘tall child’
B. *umbae ná ruwáe

A. unde tī kununn ‘householder’

B. *unde ná kununn
Semantic analysis of these constructions reveals that there are distinctive
relationships between the nouns in each set. The ‘genitives’ (with ná or /΄/)
typically encode the following relationships:
1. N2 possesses or owns N1 (however that may be defined in the society):
Chapter Six Kuteb Grammar 139
kusóg Andeyabā ‘Andeyabā's house’
kíkwab-fu ‘your hoe’
2. N2 is socially or biologically related to N1:
umbae Fxēntí ‘Fxēntí’s child’
uwá Apurá ‘Apura’s wife’
abāen-nī ‘your husbands’
uyēb Tukúra ‘Tukura’s in-law’
3. N2 is part of N1:
kufur kisīm ‘handle of knife’
ucwō kufxen ‘ankle (of leg)’
ipāb kutúkū ‘root of tree’
ufu kusóg ‘door of house’
kukūb indag ‘bone of cow’
4. N1 is located in N2:
uwáe rikwen ‘cave in mountain’
kicáeb rishwū ‘stomach pain’
5. N1 is made from N2:
kirāen mbapwa ‘maize food’
kákúm aser ‘horse of iron’ (=bicycle)
The phrases with tī , on the oth’er hand, are of a more general nature. One may
note that tī is used not only with stative noun attributives but also with verbs
(forming adjectives) and sentences.
unde tī riwáe
man REL tallness ‘the tall man’
unde tī ifaen
man REL two ‘second man’
unde tī uwé
man REL front ‘leader’
unde tī bá iké
man RELcome here ‘the man who came here’
unde tī tíbī
man REL bad ‘bad man’
So the noun phrases with tī are seen to be of a general attributive nature.
140 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Six
It is possible that the genitive construction, given its statistically prominent use in
expressing ownership and social relationship, may have started with these
particular relationships and grown by metaphorical extension to include other, less
easily definable relationships, so that we now have expressions such as:
unzu Fulani ‘Fulani language’ (via ‘mouth’)
rinyí kutúkū ‘name of the tree’
usú utong ‘stuff for soup’
kusóg kirāen ‘house of food’ (kitchen)
aten ayíb ‘tears of eyes’
icāen imí ‘cause of what?’
ripye ande ‘half of the people’
ibae ayéb ‘bag of millet’
urāe Tíb ‘Tiv man’
ufūg hotêr ‘restaurant’ (‘booth of hotel’)
If both of these constructions are expanding their functions to include more and
more semantic relationships, it stands to reason that sooner or later their functions
will overlap at some point. That seems to be the case with the following:
anyīsū andá
children women ‘girls’
anyīsū tī andá
children REL women ‘girls’
The recent influence of other languages (Jukun and Hausa, in particular), should
not be discounted as a factor in the expansion of functions of the genitive. I have
the following in my otherwise Kuteb texts:
lókacī Krísmas (H) ‘Christmas time’
rumbú hátsí (H) ‘guinea corn granary’

6.8 Conclusion
This concludes our discussion of Noun Phrases in Kuteb. In this chapter and the
previous one we have covered the various forms of nouns (simple, compound, and
derived) and expansions of them using determiners, qualifiers, qualifying phrases.
We have also covered genitive (or possessive) noun phrases and coordinate phrases
and appositives. There may well be more structures that we have not included. If
so, we would like to hear about them.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 141
CHAPTER SEVEN. SIMPLE SENTENCE STRUCTURE

7.1 Introduction
In this chapter and the next I describe how verbs and nouns, noun phrases and noun
substitutes are assembled into the configurations we normally call sentences. The
terms "subject" and "object" will be discussed and illustrated.
We recognize a category of non-verbal sentences such as:
Ēēn. ‘Yes.’
Ahóō! ‘What do I care?’
Iyéē. ‘No.’
Rífēn-fu! ‘Liar!’
Súko-fu! ‘Greetings!’
As these are structurally simple (though statistically abundant in everyday speech),
I do not elaborate on them further in this work, focussing instead on sentences
defined in the more traditional sense as grammatical units containing one or more
verbs.
In delineating the broad outline of sentence structure, I follow Z. Frajzyngier in his
Grammar of Mupun (Frajzyngier 1993), which divides sentences into those that
express a simple proposition and those that express a complex proposition. The
latter will be dealt with briefly in Chapter Eleven. Simple sentences can be divided
into those having one verb and those having more than one verb but lacking
coordinating or subordinating devices (serial verb sentences; see Chapter 8).
Here I deal with the single-verb sentences, which can be subdivided according to
the number of arguments (basically Noun Phrases without prepositions) associated
with them. There are no zero-argument sentences in Kuteb equivalent to ‘It is
raining’ as in some other languages. Imperatives like Bá! ‘Come!’ are not
considered zero-argument sentences but rather cases in which the subject is deleted
in the surface structure.
7.1.1 Criteria for Categorization
The categorization of simple sentence types in any language is more problematical
than the non-linguist would imagine. As for Kuteb, anyone coming to it from a
traditional English or Latin grammar background will encounter three serious
problems. First, the language itself—its categories and rules--is built differently
from English and other European languages. Secondly, traditional grammarians
and linguists of various camps are divided with regard to the key issues of
transitivity and the definition of "subject" and "object," even in European
142 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
languages. Thirdly, verbs, like other words in all languages, typically have more
than one sense. A verb may have a "transitive" sense and an "intransitive" sense.
For example, in many African languages the word for ‘to do’ has another sense
‘happen,’ the first transitive, the second intransitive. Is it then one verb or two
verbs? To add to the confusion, ‘transitive’ sentences often leave an object
unexpressed, giving the appearance of intransitivity.
In traditional English grammar a mixture of syntactic and semantic features are
used to define "transitive." It is said, for example, that a transitive verb requires an
object (a syntactic criterion). It is also said that a transitive verb affects the object
in some way. In the sentence "John kicked the ball" there is "transfer" of energy
from John to the ball. This is a semantic criterion. As the distinction between
‘transitive’ and ‘intransitive’ does not fit well for Kuteb, our major divisions are
completely syntactic: one-argument, two-argument, three-argument, and four-
argument.101 Within that framework we use semantic terms like ‘equative’ and
‘stative.’
Our purpose here is to set out criteria for positing different basic sentence types.
The type of syntactic differences which I use for criteria are, first of all, obligatory
occurrence or non-occurrence of certain constituents; secondly, potential for
transformation; and thirdly, classes of words which may or may not occur in
particular syntactic positions. Kuteb does not have case suffixes to mark subject,
object, indirect object, etc. as European languages do.
What we propose here is but a rough sketch that needs extensive testing and
expansion. It is hoped, however, that it will be a reasonable platform on which
others may stand to probe further into the rich mine of Kuteb grammar.
7.1.2 Kinds of Propositions and Semantic Roles
Languages typically express at least three broad categories of human experience:
states, events, and actions. Within these categories, which in language may be
represented by "propositions," linguists recognize "cases" or "situational roles"
such as "agent," "patient," "dative," "locative," and "instrument." We will find it
helpful to make use of some or all of these concepts in this chapter.
7.1.3 Grammatical Roles: "Subject," and "Object"
The term "subject" has been defined in various ways. In transformational grammar,
it is the NP not dominated by VP. Comrie (1981) sees it as the coming together of
topic (a pragmatic or discourse term) and agent (a semantic term). Traditional

101
We use the word ‘argument’ here rather than ‘noun phrase’ because there are often noun
phrases in sentences that do not represent situational roles like actor, recipient of action, etc.
Adverbial elements and prepositional phrases, for example, are often expressed as noun
phrases but are not crucially tied to the action represented by the verb.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 143
grammar defines it as the term about which something is said. In
Functional/Cognitive linguistics ‘subject" and "object’ have to do with discourse-
level systems that involve the presentation of new versus old information, relative
salience of participants in narrative, issues of foreground versus background, and
the viewer's perspective on the situation. All of these are beyond the scope of this
study.
For our present purposes, the traditional view of "subject" as a grammatical unit at
clause level will suffice. We will take ‘subject’ simply as that NP in a simple
sentence that immediately precedes the verb (or verbs, in the case of serial
constructions). In terms of semantic (situational) roles, whatever the role of the first
NP in any sentence type (whether agent or patient), that role is represented in the
surface structure by the subject NP.
As for "object," there are three ordered NP positions in Kuteb sentences (aside
from positions filled by prepositional phrases). Each of these positions signals a
grammatical role or "slot" that I will illustrate in this chapter. In terms of the
sentence as representing a logical proposition, we call the elements that fill these
positions ‘arguments’ and their relationship is called "argument structure." The
verb and its arguments form the central core of a sentence. Other elements
expressing time, place, and manner form the periphery.
7.1.4 Prepositional Phrases
Word order is not the only way of indicating grammatical and/or semantic roles in
Kuteb. Another way is through the use of prepositions. Kuteb, like many other
languages, typically uses prepositional phrases to encode locative, temporal,
instrument, and other adjuncts to sentences. See Chapter 6, Section 2 for examples
of prepositional phrases.
7.1.5 Overview
1. One-NP Sentences: (Subject only)
Stative
Non-stative ("Intransitive")
2. Two-NP Sentences
Equative (Subject, Complement)
Locative/existential (Subject, Goal/Location)
Transitive (Subject, ‘Object’)
3. Three-NP Sentences (Subject, Object1, Instrument/Object2)
4. Four-NP Sentences (Subject, Object1, Instrument, Object2)
144 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
102
7.2 Sentences with one Argument
The following sentences are characterized by having verbs that allow only one NP
which we will call the "subject" and which always precedes the verb. There are two
categories, "stative" and "intransitive non-stative."
7.2.1 Stative
Stative sentences express qualities and are equivalent to sentences like "He
is tall" in English. The verbs in these sentences do not co-occur with
arguments other than the subject, or with prepositional phrases. The
subject, in terms of situational roles, is always an experiencer or ‘patient.’
Some problematic cases of stative verbs being followed by nominal
modifiers will be treated later.
In addition to the non-occurrence of object, stative sentences exhibit other
features that set them apart from locative, equative, and speech sentences
(to be discussed below) as follows:

7.2.1.1 Statives and Imperfect

Statives rarely, if ever, occur with the progressive marker; locatives often
do.
211) Ame kú rū yī Bíká. (locative sentence).
1s IMP go to Bika
I’m going to Bika.

212) Afu wáe.

2s tall
You are tall.
Ungrammatical:
213) *Afu kú wáe.
2s IMP tall
*You are talling.

102
Sometimes verbs that typically take a noun object leave that object unexpressed.
Sentences with such verbs are categorized as ‘two-NP sentences.’
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 145
214) Ame kú rū yī Bíká. (locative sentence).
1s IMP go to Bika
I’m going to Bika.
One may think of the progressive (imperfect) marker as being a kind of
"stativizing" device for verbs expressing actions and events. Since wáe and
verbs like it are already stative, they do not take the imperfect marker.
It may be observed, however, that the imperfect marker may occur with the
reduplicated form of a stative verb. Examples:
215) Kútúpwá ne byāen.
cloth DEM red
This cloth is red.

216) Ayī kú bībyāen.

3 IMP red
It is getting red.
The significance and distribution of the reduplicated forms needs further
research.
Note also that statives can occur with the perfective, indicating the
completion of a process:
217) Ayī byāen pú-yī.
3 red PRF-3
It has become red.

7.2.1.2 Statives and Locative Expressions

Locative verbs typically take locative NPs; statives do not:
218) Awū tá uwae ritúg. (Locative/existential verb)
3s be in market
He is in the market.
Ungrammatical:
219) *Awu byāen uwae ritúg.
3s red in market
He is red in the market.
146 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
7.2.1.3 Statives and Expressions of Degree
Statives are prone to taking the adverbial phrase tímambē ‘very much’ and
other constructions indicating degree, whereas other sentences typically
use adverbs or extensions that express frequency of occurrence of action.
220) Umbae ne wáe tímambē.
child DEM tall very
This child is very tall.
Unacceptable:
220b) *Awū rū yī Bíká tímambē.
3s go to Bika much for
*He goes to Bika much.
The normal way of saying the above is:
221) Awū kú rū kób yī Bíká.
3s IMP go HAB to Bika
He always goes to Bika.
One could also say
222) Awū kú rū yī Bíká kó kiyé tītínī.
3s IMP go to Bika even time every
He goes to Bika all the time.

223) Lemó-nī fab pāng-yī.

citrus-2p sour too-much-3
Your oranges are too sour.
One might add that statives frequently occur in a serial construction
involving the word skeb ‘surpass.’ For example:
224) Lemó-nī fab skeb pú-yī anátī.
citrus-2p sour pass PRF-2p ours
Your oranges are more sour than ours.
However, skeb can also occur with other kinds of verbs, so it is not a clear-
cut criterion for marking statives.

7.2.1.4 Statives and Ideophones

In many cases, stative verbs are modified by special words (ideophones);
other verbs are not.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 147
225) Kupwā rimēnn-bā byāen nwámeme.
skin body-3p red very (red).
Their skin was bright red.
Unacceptable:
225b) *Awū rū yī Bíká nwámeme.
3s go to Bika very red .
He went to Bika bright red.

226) Awū nyīng shaerrr!

3s thin very thin
He’s very thin.

227) Kútúpwá-wū tsēn pórírírírí.

cloth-his white very white`
His cloth is very white.

228) Ámbyī ú byāg kwāaaan tawé.

water FUT hot very hot first
The water will first get very hot.

229) Ikén wū jāen wurwur.

thing REF shine very shiny
The thing was very shiny.

7.2.1.5 Statives and Reflexives

Stative verbs cannot take a reflexive NP, which sets them apart from
transitives:
230) Awū ten ijwē-wu ifú. (reflexive)
3s do body-3s injury
He injured himself.
Unacceptable:
148 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
230b) *Awū bōm ijwē-wū.
3s strong body-3s
*He stronged himself.
Typical stative verbs are:
byāen ‘be red’ byīr ‘be black’
tsēn ‘be white’ nyīng ‘be thin’
kō ‘be much’ pāng ‘be enough’
pyir ‘be short’ nam ‘be soft’
wáe ‘be tall’ bir ‘be fast’
kim ‘be fat’ wur ‘be flat’
jang ‘be deep’ rwēn ‘be distant’
nyang ‘be good’ kób ‘be tall’
béb ‘be bad’ byāg ‘be hot’
jīm ‘be cool’ tom ‘be light’
jwom ‘be dark’ bōm ‘be strong’
jāen ‘be shiny’ gar ‘be round’
cáen ‘be old’ rab ‘be rare’
kyaen ‘be full’ jwom ‘be dark’
munn ‘be full’ kum ‘be cut off’
fab ‘be sour’ kwār ‘be crooked’
kpág ‘be hard’ yāen ‘be wide’
There are a few verbs that may be considered "borderline stative." For
example: mbwe ‘to be swollen or to swell up,’ ndub ‘to puff up or be
puffed up.’ Perhaps one could argue that these words have both a stative
and a non-stative sense.
Stative verbs may be nominalized by prefixing tī or itī, although the
construction is rare:
231) Itībyāen ná kútúpwá ne nyang uwae-m.
redness of cloth DEM good inside-1s
The redness of this cloth pleases me.
Stative sentences are negated (like all other Kuteb sentences) by putting a
possessive pronoun (co-referent with subject) after the verb and adding the
particle bē at the end (see more on negatives in Chapter Nine Section 6):
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 149
232) Kútúpwá ne tsēn- bē.
yī
cloth DEM white- NEG
3
This cloth is not white.

233) Awū kim-wū cwúcwo bē.

3s fat-3s again NEG
He's not fat any more.
Some problematic cases involving stative verbs will be discussed under
"Sentences with Two Arguments."
7.2.2 Non-stative One-Argument Sentences: Traditional ‘Intransitive’
Many sentences in Kuteb use a verb with non-stative meaning and no
unmarked NP following. For example:
234) Umbae-wū cwū.
child – 3s die
His child died.
However, as stated in the introduction to this section, a verb can have
different senses, one of which is "transitive" and another "intransitive."
One can say, for example, using a "transitive" form of the verb cwū:
235) Awū cwū ricwú.
3s die death
He died.
As this sentence has two NPs, it will be considered ‘transitive’ (See
Section 3.3). Although we have not yet discussed the concept of
transitivity, the following examples will show the "bivalent" nature of most
verbs, that is, their tendency to take one or two nouns. In each set, the first
is transitive, the second intransitive.103
235a) Atī nde ikén. (transitive)
1p do thing
We did something.

103
Shimizu (1980:202) deals with this phenomenon in Jukun by setting up ‘verb bases.’
150 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
235b) Kíkīn nde. (intransitive)
Something do
Something happened.
Other transitive/intransitive sentence pairs are:
26a) Ā kú kāen gārwā petrôl.
3p IMP roll drum petrol
They’re rolling petrol drums.

236b) Kíkīn kāen kú bá pāngmá bwel. 104.

s.thing roll IMP come like ball
Something came rolling like a ball.

237a) Ā kú cī ritúg.
3p IMP eat market
They’re having market.

237b) Ritúg kú cī atáng yáka.

market IMP eat there today
They’re having a market there today.

238a) Ā cwé irá-m.

3p agree word-1s
They agreed with me.

238b) Urwā kú cwé ubāen rikwen.

fire IMP agree side mountain
A fire is burning on the mountainside.

239a) Awū ngwā ujwāb.

3s drink beer
He drank beer.

104
The intransitive verb kāen in this case is part of a serial verb construction.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 151
239b) Ujwāb ngwā iké yáka
beer drink here today
Beer is being drunk here today.

240a) Ame mām pú-m wánde-m.

1s finish PRF1s work-1s
I finished my work.

240b) Wánde mām pú-yī.

Work finish PRF-3s
The work is finished.

241a) Awū sī kútúpwá-wū.

3s put-on cloth-3s
He put on his cloth.

241b) Awū sī yī ritúg.

3s go-down PREP market
He went to market.
Even stative verbs can have "transitive" counterparts as the following
show:
242a) Ibur-bā byāen.
hats-3p red
Their hats are red.

242b) Irá ne byāen ayíb.

matter DEM red eye
This matter is difficult.

243a) Awū jīm urwā.

3s cool fire
He put out the fire.
152 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
243b) Urwā jīm pú- yī.
fire cool PRF-3
The fire went out..

243c) Awū bōm utōb.

3s strong heart
He took courage.
Intransitive sentences differ from statives in that they can freely take the
imperfect marker kú as in the following:
244) Awū kú sī yī ritúg.
3s IMP go-down PREP market
He is going to market.

"Meteorological" Sentences

It is common in languages for experiences having to do with atmospheric

conditioins to be encoded as intransitives. It may be observed, however,
that in almost every case the verb has a "transitive" counterpart. Examples:
245a) Upwen tsa yáka.
rain rained today
It rained today.

245b) Upwen tsa m tí fangó.

rain rain 1s PREP road
I got rained on on the way.

246a) Usēn fam pú-wū.

dry-season arrive PRF-3s
Dry season has come.

246b) Íré atī cang cicang,

yest 1p walk walk
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 153
ucwē fam tī tí fangó
tomorrow/dawn arrive 1p PREP road
Yesterday we walked and walked, right through the night
(tomorrow met us on the road).
The following are sentences with intransitive verbs that do not have
transitive counterparts that I know of. Either no argument follows the verb,
or, if it does, it must be introduced by a preposition:
247) Atī fxāefā.
1p thank
We’re thankful.

248) Atī fxāefā té Rimam.

1p thank PREP God
We thank God.

249) Ame tángsom tīnine.

1s remember now
I remember now.

250) Atī tángsom té fu.

1p remember PREP 2s
We remember you.
Without the preposition these verbs are not accepted:105
251) *Atī fxāefā Rimam
1p thank God

105
The restriction here may be explained by the fact that the word tángsom is derived from
táng ‘think’ and som ‘sit.’ Som is a locative/motion verb that normally takes only locative
phrases after it. It is possible that fā has a similar restriction. We don’t know its etymology.
154 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
251b) *Atī tángsom fu.
1p remember 2s

7.3 Sentences with Two Arguments

This section includes sentences that have two NP’s or at least have the potential for
encoding two arguments.106 When both are present in a sentence, one occurs before
the verb (as in the one-argument sentences); the other occurs after the verb, in the
frame.
NP VERB NP
We distinguish equative and locative sentences from transitive ones. Transitives
form a gerundive phrase by inverting the verb and the object and inserting the
relativizer tī. Equative, locative, and motion sentences cannot be so inverted:
42) Awū ye iwág. => iwág tī ye
3s catch fish fish REL catch
He caught a fish. fish-catching

253) Awū tēr inyae. => inyae tī tēr

3s run run running REL
He ran. running
Compare the non-inversion of equative sentences,
254) Awū si ukwe. *ukwe tī si
3s be chief. chief REL be
He is chief His being chief
motion sentences,
255) Awū rū ritúg. => *ritúg tī rū
3s go market market REL go
He went to market. market-going
and locative sentences:
256) Awū tá kutúr => *kutúr tī tá
3s be bush bush REL be at
He is in the bush. bush-being-at
Equatives and Locative sentences are presented here with additional features that
contrast them with other sentence types and with each other.

106
There are situations when the object is left implicit, usually when it has been mentioned
in the previous sentence.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 155
7.3.1 Equative Sentences
The sentences in this group consist of a nominal, the verb si ‘to be’ followed by
another nominal, an adjective, or a possessive phrase.
257) Awū si kayā-m.
3s be sister-1s
She is my sister.
The equative verb (or ‘copula’) si cannot be nominalized.
*itīsi-wū ukwe.
being-3s chief his being chief.
Compare itībá-wū ‘his coming.’
The equative verb cannot stand alone without a following noun.107 The complement
is obligatory, a feature that sets the equative apart from the statives described
earlier.
*Awū si.
3s be He is.
Compare:
Awū rū.
3s go He went.
Awū byāen.
3s be-red He is red.

The equative verb does not reduplicate as many other verbs do, nor does it take
verbal extensions.108
Examples of modifying expressions occurring in the complement position are:
258) Mbapkú-m si tībyāen. (=Mbapkú-m byāen.)
dog-1s is red
My dog is red.

107
But see the possessive construction below.
108
In the sentence Awū si sí ukwe ‘He really is chief’ the apparent double verb is not
reduplication. Note the tone difference. Verbal extensions are discussed in Chapter 8
Section 3.
156 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
259) Unde ne si tīkípyir. (= Unde ne pyir.)
man DEM is short
This man is short.

The equative verb is used with a prepositional phrase té to indicate possession:109

260) Awū si té itsab.
3s be with cleverness
He is clever.

Equative sentences encode a variety of semantic notions that I have yet to explore
fully. Some of the patterns appearing so far are:
Person Plus Position/Title
261) Injā-wū si ukwe Bíká.
brother-3s is chief Bika
His brother is chief of Bika.

262) Apurá si unde tī uwé-tī.

Apura is person REL front-1s
Apura is our leader.
Position/Title Plus Person
263) Ukwe Ikám tīnine si Ali.
Chief Ikam now is Ali
The chief of Ikam now is Ali.
Object Plus Attributive
264) Kindob-fu si tī kujāeb a?
oil-2s is REL for-sale Q
Is your oil for sale?

265) Anáfu si tīshé.

109
Some other dialects express possession by using the existential verb tá with the
prepositional phrase. E.g. Awū tá té aser ‘He has money.’ In both cases there is a question
as to whether the verb plus té should be considered a single word, a verb plus a preposition,
or perhaps a serial verb construction. See Chapter 8 Section 3.8 for discussion.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 157
yours is new
Yours is new.

266) Aná kayā-m si tī rikīm.

That-of sister-1s is REL fat
My sister’s is fat.

267) Tása áwo si mwa mwa?

dish measure is how-much each
How much for a measureful?

268) Aser táya kiyé wū si pam pam.

money tire time REF is pound each
Tires cost a pound each then.
Object Plus Owner
269) Rikun tī yáka si aná áyē?
com-labor REL today is that of who?
Whose turn is it for communal labor today?

270) Inyi ne ahán si aná ínjā-m.

locust DEM thus is that of brother-1s
This locust bean tree is my brother’s.
Demonstrative Plus Object/Person/Possessive
271) Awūne si ítē-fu a?
DEM is father-2s Q
Is this your father?

272) Né si uwé-fu a?
DEM is face-2s Q
Is that your face? (Is it really you?)
158 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
273) Unde tī wēn wū si awūne.
person REL kill 3s is DEM
The person who killed him was this one.
Object Plus Generic Class
274) Utxong si ibyē tī kūkō.
Oryx is animal REL large
An oryx is a large animal.
The equative verb is also used in cleft sentences such as:
275) Ī si awū tī nde ikén ne.
3 be 3s REL do thing DEM
It is he who did this thing.
Any of the above can be made negative by placing a possessive pronoun after the
verb and adding bē at the end:
276) Awū si-wū ukwe Bíká bē.
3s is-3s chief Bika NEG
He is not the chief of Bika.

277) Aná-m si-yī tībyāen bē.

mine-1s is-3 red NEG
Mine is not red.

278) Ame si-m Rimam bē.

1s is-1s God NEG
I'm not God.

279) Ā si-bā ande tī iké bē.

3p is-3p people REL here NEG
They aren't local people.

280) Atī si-tī té aser bē.110

1p be-lp with money NEG

7
Some people keep the si and té together. See discussion in Chapter Eight Section 3.8
(‘Commitative SVC’)
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 159
We don't have money.
7.3.2 Sentences with Locative Verbs
Like the stative and equative sentences discussed above, these sentences do not
form the gerundive phrase, as do active sentences. Further, they are distinctive in
that they contain a set of verbs that are typically followed by a locative noun, noun
phrase, or prepositional phrase.
Note the failure of the gerundive transformation:
281) Awu rū Bíká. => *Bíká tī rū
3s go Bika => ‘Bika-going’
Compare:
282) Awū ye iwág. => iwág tī ye
3s catch fish ‘fish-catching’
Instead, motion verbs nominalize by prefixing itī- , as in:
itīrū-fu Bíká.
going-2s Bika ‘your going to Bika’
itīnwúnn-tī iké.
leaving-1p here ‘our leaving here’

I include three kinds of verbs under "motion verbs:"

The basic locative (or "existential") verb:
tá ‘to be at/in’
Motion Verbs:
rū ‘move,’ tsō ‘go up,’ sī ‘go down,’ bá ‘come,’ ka ‘go/reach’
Postural verbs:
som ‘sit,’ tsi ‘stand,’ náe ‘lie’

7.3.2.1 The basic locative verb (tá)

The basic locative tá has certain restrictions make it possible to differentiate the
basic locative verb from the motion verbs:
Locative and Obligatory Locative NP
The basic locative cannot occur without a locative or adverbial word of some sort
(except in the negative):
160 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
111
*Awū tá. ‘He is ....’
Compare:
Awū rū ‘He went.’ Awū som. ‘He sat/stayed.’
Negative:
283) Ámbyī tá-yī bē.
water is-3 NEG
There’s no water.
Locative and Animacy
Motion sentences typically require animate subjects; simple locative sentences may
take either animate or inanimate subjects:
284) Aser yī tá akā?
money REF be where?
Where is the money?

285) Apurá tá-wū iké bē.

Apura be-3s here NEG
Apura is not here.
Locative and Nominalization
Finally, the basic locative does not nominalize, as do the other locative verbs:
Acceptable:
itīrū-fu Bíká.
going-2s Bika ‘your going to Bika’
Unacceptable:
*itītá-fu iké.
being-2s here ‘your being here’
Examples of the simple locative verb from texts:

286) Kíkīn tá uwae kurug-fu.

something be inside granary-2s
There’s something in your granary.

111
To express the idea ‘he exists,’ the adverbial nominal is added: Awū tá atáng (‘He is
there’).
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 161
287) Unde tī kununn tá-wū iké bē a?
person REL house be-3s here NEG Q
Isn’t the man of the house here?

288) Irá íkīn tá-yī bē.

Matter some be-3s NEG
There’s no problem.

289) Súle tá re.

10k coin is DEM
Here’s 10 kobo.

290) M tá-m tīrū.

1s be-1s going
I’m leaving.

7.3.2.2 Sentences with Motion Verbs

As noted above, these sentences are distinguished from other sentences in their
contrastive nominalization patterns, and, within the category of locatives, they are
distinct from the simple locative by being nominalizable and by the possibility of
occurring without a locative argument. Further, motion verbs may optionally be
followed by the preposition yī.
Examples:112
291) Afu ka (yī) ufáng yáka a?
2s go (to) farm today Q
Did you go to/reach the farm today?

291b) Eēn, ame ka.

yes 1s go
Yes, I went.

112
For more on the use of yī see discussion on prepositions below.
162 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
292) Awū rū (yī) ritúg.
3s go (to) market
He went to the market.

293) Awū kú tsō (yī) kitáen rikwen.

3s IMP ascend top mountain
He goes up the mountain.

294) Atī ka-tī bē.

1p go-1p NEG
We did not go.

295) Ā sī pú-bā (yī) Ukān

3p go-down PRF-3p (to) Wukari
They have gone to Wukari.
Another verb in this category might be nwúnn ‘leave’ as in
296) Atī nwúnn Gbóko uwae isháen usīn.
1p leave Gboko in season dry
We left Gboko in dry season.

7.3.2.3 Sentences with verbs of Posture/Position

Sentences with Verbs expressing posture and position may be distinguished from
verbs of motion on the basis of their ability to co-occur with certain adverbial
nouns that qualify the position, as in the following:
297) Awū tsi ritsen.
3s stand upright
He stood/was standing.

298) Awū náe rípátēn.

3s lie on back
He lay on his back.
Unacceptable:
299) *Awū rū ritsen.
3s go upright
He went upright.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 163
300) *Awū rū rípátēn.
3s go on back
He went on his back.
Given the durative component of the meaning of postural verbs, one may ask how
they differ from statives. The following features of statives, mentioned earlier, are
relevant: statives resist the stativizing marker kú and expressions of location; they
attract ideophones and expressions of degree. Positional verbs have none of these
characteristics. They freely allow kú and are often found with locatives.
The positional verbs plus adverbial nominal formally resemble a transitive verb-
object sequence. They are different, however, in that they cannot take the
nominalization transformation:
301) Awu náe rípátēn.
3s lie on back
He lay on his back.
Unacceptable: *rípátēn tī náe ‘back-lying?’
Examples of positional verbs:
302) Atī som ribén.
1p sit ground
We sat down.

303) Awū kú náe ribén.

3s IMP lie ground
He is lying down.

304) M tsi imbyí kutúkū.

1s stand bottom tree
I stood at the base of a tree.

305) Awū som atáng ládi ifaen.

3s sit there week two
He stayed there 2 weeks.
164 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
306) Awū náe kusóg acīn.
3s lie house medicine
He’s in hospital.

307) Awū bāb uwae ayéb akwēn.

3s crouch in millet there
He’s crouching in the millet over there.

308) Atī kú ribén uwé sója.

3s kneel ground front soldier
We knelt in front of the soldier.
This verb seems to have another sense that may be something like that of the basic
locative:
309) Sáe kusóg tīyāng tī kú akwēn.113
look house big REL ? there
Look at that big house over there.
Other qualifying nominals (adverbial nominals) may occasionally be found in the
predicates of positional sentences. Examples:
3100) Ufu tsi ribwen.
door stand open
The door stood open.

101) Awū náe kicáeb.

3s lie sickness
He is ill.
Another possible positional verb, which occurs only with inanimate subjects is cwú
‘to lie down.’ Examples:
312) Ákōng cwú ribén atáng.
stalks lay ground there
There were stalks lying on the ground.

113
This verb may have something to do with the development of the imperfect aspect
marker kú.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 165
313) Ā pū yī cwú uwé ukwe.
3p take 3 lie front chief
They laid it in front of the chief.
7.3.3 Transitive sentences: introduction
Coming to the notion of transitivity now, we encounter two major differences from
what obtains in some other languages:
First, verbs do not require an explicit object. In English, the verb ‘drink’ in its usual
sense requires an object in sentences like the following, the object of sentence two
being ‘it’:
I gave him some water. He drank it.
In Kuteb, and many other African languages, it is natural to leave the object
implicit in this context:
314) Ame sa na wū ámbyī. Awū ngwā.
1s take give 3s water 3s drink
I gave him water. He drank it.
The object in the second sentence can be said to be "suppressed."
Secondly, almost all verbs can take a grammatical "object." However, in terms of
situational dynamics, the referent of the "object" is often not in any sense affected
by the action of the verb. In fact, many of these "objects" have no referent in the
real world. Storch (2000:48) makes a similar observation about verbs in Jibə.
Examples in Kuteb:
315) Awū cang icin.
3s walk walk
He walked.

316) Awū kwáen ukwáen.

3s cough cough
He coughed.
Other examples of verbs in Kuteb which occur with grammatical ‘objects’ are:
317) Anī pu unyāng a?
2s take breath Q
Did you rest?
166 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
318) Ati se ise.
1p dance dance
We danced.
In all of these cases, the verb and "object" can be transformed into a nominalization
such as unyāng tī pu ‘resting,’ ukwáen tī kwáen ‘coughing,’ icin tí cang
‘walking, journey,’ ise tí se ‘dancing.’
Thompson and Hopper (1980) have stated that transitivity is best thought of as a
semantic property which involves not simply verbs, but the whole relationship
between a verb and the arguments with which it occurs.
In this view, no strict division can be expected to exist between ‘transitive’ and
‘intransitive’ verbs or even sentences. Rather there is a scale of transitivity such
that a formally transitive sentence such as ‘Jim loves potatoes’ may have fewer
transitive features than a formally intransitive sentence such as ‘Susan left.’114
In the present work, we will use the term ‘transitive’ for those sentences that have
an immediately post-verbal noun phrase that is not a location or a complement.115
Any sentence in which the verb and its following NP can be nominalized will be
included. Many of our so-called "objects" in Kuteb are what Thompson and
Hopper call "non-individuated." That is, they are abstract, non-referential and
inanimate.
The ‘objects’ following typical English ‘transitive’ verbs are usually quite many in
number. For example, the sentence beginning ‘I saw…’ can have an unlimited
range of objects. By contrast, many Kuteb verbs have only one noun object. For
example cwū ‘to die’ can only take ricwú ‘death’; yāng ‘sing’ can only take acáng
‘song.’ Such verbs and sentences at the low end of the transitivity scale we may
well call "pseudo-transitive." The "objects" in some cases may be thought of as
"dummies" like the dummy subject in sentences like ‘It is raining.’
We may theorize that once a syntactic role like ‘object’ is set up, speakers apply it
to new situations that resemble the prototype in some way, even though in other
ways the new situation is quite different from the old.
The following sub-categories are not rigid, but serve to provide a way of discussing
the syntactic and semantic properties of sentences with invertable objects.
Prototypical transitive sentences:

114
In this case the potatoes have more effect on Jim than the other way around, and Susan
is more active in her situation than Jim is in his. Indeed, in many languages such as Tiv and
Mandinka, ‘Jim loves potatoes’ would be translated with ‘potatoes’ as subject and ‘Jim’ as
object.
115
The word ‘complement’ refers to the final NP in sentences like Apurá si urwán-m
‘Apura is my friend.’
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 167
319) Awū tā ukó.
3s shoot duiker
He shot a duiker.

320) Awū jwó keké-m.

3s wash bike-1s.
He washed my bicycle.
In the above sentences, the object is concrete, singular, countable, and referential.
‘Referential’ means that one could, for example, follow sentence 109 with amá ayī
tēr rū ‘but it ran away.’
One could add that these objects also are unrestricted in that dozens of nouns could
be substituted for ukó or keké. Other examples:
321) Atī pwa ayéb.
1p grind millet
We ground millet.

322) Ā ā ye mbakúnn tawé.

3p OBL catch chicken first
They must catch a chicken first.

323) Izé tu mbapxú wū akā?

Ize find dog REF where
Where did Ize find the dog?

324) Ande kú ye iwág usháen isīn.

people IMP catch fish season dry
People catch fish in the dry season.
By contrast, compare the following:

7.3.3.1 Restricted- object Transitive Sentences

We could also call these "dummy-object sentences," or "pseudo-transitive"
sentences.
168 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
325) Awu tēr inyae.
3s run running
He ran.

326) Awū yāng acáng.

3s sing songs
He sang.

327) Awū jwúb kijáen.

3s cry madness
He is mad.

328) Awū cang icin.

3s walk walk
He walked.

329) Awū tsō isíg.

3s go-up burp
He burped.

330) Awū kwāen ukwáen.

3s cough cough
He coughed.

331) Awū kú tōm ritóm.

3s IMP farm farming
He is farming.
Note that in these sentences the objects are, first of all, unaffected by the action.
Furthermore, they are abstract. No particular act of running or walking is described
but rather the general notion. They are also inanimate. Usually they are non-
referential. One cannot follow the sentence Awū tēr inyae (Lit. ‘he run running’)
with ayī bir tímambē ‘it was very fast.’ Finally, one may note the restricted nature
of these objects. The verb tsō in sentence 119) can take only isíg and two other
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 169
116
objects. Apart from icin ‘walking,’ the verb cang may occur only with the
following:
332) Awū cang tātu.
3s walk hunting
He went hunting.

333) Anī cang rikun yáka ne a?

2p walk com-labor today DEM Q
Did you go do communal labor today?

334) Awū si unde tī kú cang kutúr.

3s COP person REL IMP walk bush
He’s a hunter.

335) Atī kú cang yáwo ámām.

1p IMP walk wandering only
We’re just out walking. (yáwo < Hausa yawo ‘walk, stroll’)

336) Ā cang waázi.

3p walk preaching
They went out preaching.
Note the following examples of náe (‘to lie down’):
337) Awū náe ribén. (náe = verb of position)
3s lie ground
He lay down.

338) Awū náe iyag. (náe = "transitive" verb)

3s lie adultery
He committed adultery.

116
One can say Awū tsō ukúnn ‘He shouted’ (raised an alarm) and Awū tsō apwāfxen
(‘He put on shoes’).
170 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
339) Ribāng náe m kufken. (náe = "transitive" verb)
sore lies me leg
I have a sore on my leg.
One must always be ready for surprises, however. The verb kwáen ‘cough’ usually
takes ukwáen, but I have also heard kwáen anyīng ‘to cough blood.’ Compare
with shinn ashinn ‘to urinate’ and shinn anyīng ‘to urinate blood’ and nja abyíng
‘to defecate’ and nja anyīng ‘to pass stool with blood in it.’

7.3.3.2 Cognate-object Sentences

The phrase, kwáen ukwáen ‘cough a cough’ above is representative of a large
number of verbs with cognate nouns based on verbs that allow few, if any other
NPs to follow them.
340) Awū se ise.
3s dance dance
He danced.

341) Awū cwū ricwú.

3s die death
He died.

342) Awū som usom.

3s sit sitting
He sat/lived.

343) Awū bōm ribōm.

3s be-strong strength
He is strong.

344) Awū sēr risēr.

3s grow growth
He grew.

345) Awū cwág kicwág.

3s sleep sleep
He slept.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 171
346) Awū bun kubun.
3s groan groan
He groaned.

347) Awū bur ubur.

3s cover cover
He’s wearing a hat.

348) Awū yáe kuyáe.

3s sneeze sneeze.
He sneezed.
In the above cases the noun after the verb is a dummy, a position-holder. In other
cases it may be useful to think of the ‘object’ as modifying the verb, limiting its
meaning in particular ways. Looking at these sentences in this light they are not so
different from the sentences we described above which consisted of positional
verbs and adverbial nouns, for example:
349) Awū tsi ritsen.
He stood upright
He stood upright.
Again, the objects in the following define the meaning of the verb mbye ‘to build’:
350) Ā mbye kusóg.
3p build house
They built a house.

351) Andá kú mbye atútong.

women IMP build pots
Women make pots.
Consider how the object limits the verb tēr in the following:
352) Awū kú tēr inyae.
3s IMP run run
He is running.
172 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
353) Ā kú tēr mbapxú tī kijáen.
3p IMP run dog REL mad
They are fleeing a mad dog.

354) Awū tēr fu icāen ice-fu.

3s run 2s cause beard-2s
He ran away from you because of your beard.
The words inyae ‘activity of running’ and mbapxú tī kijáen ‘mad dog’ define the
possible interpretations of the verb tēr.

7.3.3.3 Defining Characteristics of Two-Argument Sentences

To summarize, while ‘transitive" and locative verbs both occur with a predicate
NP, they interact with the predicate NP in different ways. A ‘transitive’ verb
nominalizes with its object as follows:
355) Awū mbye kusóg. kusóg tī mbye
3s build house house REL build
He built a house. house-building

356) Atī pu unyāng. unyāng tí pu

1p take breath breath REL take
He rested. rest/holiday

357) Awū yāng acáng. acáng tī yāng

3s sing songs songs REL sing
He sang (songs). song-singing
Nominalizations of this kind are used in sentences like:
358) Wánde-wū si kusóg tí mbye.
work-3s is house-building
His work is building houses.

359) Awū núng irá iwág tī ye tímambē

3s know matter fish-catching much
He knows fishing very well.
Other verbs with predicate NPs cannot do this:
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 173
360) Awū ka Bíká.
3s go Bika
He went to Bika.

361) *Bíká tī ka.

Bika REL go ‘Bika – going’
Other common transitive nominalizations:
inyae tī tēr
running REL run ‘running’

icin tī cang
walking REL walk ‘walking’

irā tī núng
word REL know ‘knowledge’

ikén tī kwén
thing REL learn ‘learning’

mbapwa tī tso
maize REL plant ‘planting maize’

ritóm tī tóm
farming REL farm ‘farming’

rikwén tī pwen
judgment REL count ‘judgment/trial’
Reflexive sentences
The two-NP sentence is the normal template for expressing the notion of
‘reflexive.’ In these sentences the ‘object’ is the word ijwē ‘body’ plus a possessive
pronoun co-referential with the subject:
362) Awū sáe ijwē-wū uwae síníma.
3s look body-3s in cinema
He saw himself in the cinema.
174 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
Examples from texts:
363) Awū wēn ijwē-wū.
3s kill body-3s
He killed himself.

364) Ā kú kyāe ijwē-bā tsi kú jí ukwāb tíyāng.

3p IMP fix body-3p stand IMP wait feast big
They were preparing themselves for the big feast.

365) Maléka sī bá tsó ijwē-wū uwōg-m.

Angel descend come show body-3s place-1s
An angel came down and revealed himself to me.

366) Ā pū ítóng mbúb ijwē-bā.

3p take ashes dump body-3p
They dump ashes on themselves.
Verbs with Body-Part NP’s.
A number of ‘transitive’ sentences include a body-part ‘object.’ Some are stative;
others are non-stative intransitives. Examples:
367a) Awū tsēn utōb.
3s white heart
He is happy.

368a) Awū ndub ijwē.

3s swell-up body
He was proud.

369a) Awū fwēr ijwē .

3s shake body
He shook.

370) Awū ndembéb utōb.

3s spoil heart
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 175
He got unhappy.
These sentences are related to ones like the following that have exactly the same
meaning:117
157b) Utōb-wū tsēn.
heart-3s white
His heart is white.

158b) Ijwē-wū ndub.

body-3s swell-up
His body swelled.

159b) Ijwē-wū fwēr.

body-3s shake
His body shook.

370b) Uwae-wū ndembéb.

inside-3s spoil
His inside spoiled.
Semantically, it appears that a metonymical transfer has been made. In Awū tsēn
utōb (Lit. ‘he white heart’), for example, the whiteness of the heart is transferred to
the person himself, and the word for heart is relegated to a lower position, from
subject to object. It would be possible to analyse the first set of sentences as
statives or intransitives followed by an adverbial noun, along the lines of sentences
like
371) Awū náe rípátēn.
3s lie on-back
He lay on his back.
However, since they pass the transformation test, we have no syntactic grounds for
excluding them from the category "transitive." Note:
372) Awū tā ibyē => ibyē tī tā
3s shoot animal animal REL shoot ‘hunting’

117
Presumably they have different functions on the level of discourse pragmatics.
176 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven

373) Awū ndub risū => risū tī ndub

body REL swell head REL swell ‘being proud’
Other nominalizations:
utōb tī tsēn.
heart REL white ‘being happy’ 118

ijwē tī fwēr.
body REL shake ‘shivering’

utōb tī ndebéb.
heart REL spoil ‘being dismayed’
Other body-part ‘objects’ in sentences:
374) Awū bēn ayíb.
3s ripen eyes (ayíb tī bēn = ‘cleverness’)
He got clever.

375) Awū cén kufxen.

3s stub? foot (kufxen tī cén = ‘stumbling’)
He stumbled.

376) Awū caen rishwū.

3s fill stomach (rishwū tī caen = ‘pregnancy’)
She is pregnant.

377) Irá ne fur ayíb.

word DEM bend eyes (ayíb tī fur – ‘amazement’)
This matter is amazing.

378) Awū munn rishwū.

118
It may be observed that phrases like utōb tī tsēn can also be interpreted as a noun plus
an adjective formed from the stative verb tsēn. That is to say, the distinction between tsēn
(stative) and tsēn (transitive) is neutralized in the nominalization.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 177
3s swell stomach (rishwū tī munn = ‘stomach-swelling’)
His stomach swelled up.
As in the case of the earlier examples, it is reasonable to think of these predicates
as qualifying the verb by giving the domain in which the verb applies. Thus
sentence 374 could be interpreted something like ‘He is ripe with respect to eyes.’
Similarly,
379) Awū fwēr ijwē.
3s shake body
He shakes with respect to body.

380) Awū ndub ijwē.

3s swell body
He 's swollen in the body (He is proud).
These verbs not only nominalize like transitives but also occasionally pattern like
transitives in relativization, as may be seen in the following:
381a) Afu ye iwág.
2s catch fish
You caught a fish.

381b) Iwāg tī afu ye ne kim.

fish REL 2s catch DEM fat
This fish you caught is fat.

382a) Afu bōm risū.

2s. strong head
You are stubborn.

382b) Risū tī afu kú bōm ne ndebéb m utōb.

head REL 2s IMP strong DEM spoil 1s heart
This stubbornness of yours bothers me.

383a) Awū caen rishwū.

178 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
she full belly
She is pregnant.

383b) Rishwū tī awū caen ne ú sa na fu rikāen.

belly REL 3s fill DEM FUT take give 2s trouble
This pregnancy of hers will cause you trouble.
We have stated that the "objects" above express a kind of location or domain where
the quality is found. Some other cases can be thought of in the same way:
384) Awū nyang undá.
3a good woman
She's an ideal woman.

385) Awū bōm unde.

3s strong person
He's a strong man.

386) Ayī nyang útug.

3 good taste
It's tasty.
Other Qualifying-Object NP’s
Perhaps by extension from the body-part structure, some other nouns in object
position pattern in a similar verb-qualifiying paradigm. I have not had a chance to
determine if all of these nominalize like transitives:
In the following, the noun irá marks the verbs as being in the domain of speech.
387) Awū jwúb irá.
3s cry word irá tī jwúb = ‘crying,’ ‘cry’ (N)
He cried.

388) Awū rang irá.

3a ask word irá tī rang = ‘asking,’ ‘question’(N)
He asked a question.

389) Awū rī irá.

Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 179
3a speak word. irá tī rī = ‘speaking,’ ‘speech’
He talked.

390) Awū tāen irá.

3s shout word irá tī taen = ‘shouting’ ‘shout’(N)
He shouted.

391) Awū bím irá.

3s tangle word irá tī bím = ‘mixing/-ed up speech’
He speaks confusingly.

392) Awū bēn-wū irá unzu bē.

3s ripen-his word mouth NEG
He’s awkward in speaking.
The expression irá unzu (literally ‘word mouth’) is a noun phrase meaning
‘speech,’ and the sentence states in what respect the subject is not ‘ripe’ (seasoned,
mature).

7.3.3.4 Conclusion on Transitivity

I do not (yet) have formal syntactic criteria for distinguishing between the
structures involved in the wide range of sentences we are calling "transitive," e.g.
between the following:
393) Awū tā ibyē.
3s shoot animal
He shot an animal.

394) Awū bōm risū.

3s strong head
He is stubborn.
It is possible that further analysis of the verbs involved may yield a syntactic
correlate to some of the semantic categories we have set out above. One such
difference might be found in referentiality. In a normal discourse, the referent of
ibyē in the first sentence could become the subject of the next sentence:
180 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
395) Awū tā ibyē. Ayī byāen.
3s shoot animal 3 red
He shot an animal; it was red.
This does not work for the qualifying NP’s:
396) *Awū ndub risū. Ayī kim.
3s swell head 3 fat
*He head-swelled. It was fat.
Another approach here would be to organize sentences in terms of situational role:
Agent, Experiencer, Patient, Theme, Instrument, etc. It is hoped that studying
discourse patterns will also shed some light on the distribution of these types of
sentences.

7.4 Sentences with Three Arguments

These include the classical ‘ditransitive’ verbs with a ‘direct object’ and an
‘indirect object’ and others that include dummy objects. The order of the two post-
verbal arguments with respect to each other is important. For example, the reversal
of the order of the two post-verbal NP’s in the following is ungrammatical:
397a) Awu nda umbae-m kisīm.
he gave child-1s knife
He gave my child a knife.
Unacceptable:
397b) *Awu nda kisīm umbae-m.
3s give knife child-1s child-1s

398a) Ame rang wū irá.

1s ask 3s word
I asked him a question.
Unacceptable:
398b) Ame rang irá wū.119
1s ask word 3s

119
Note, however, the following sentence using the phonetically similar possessive pronoun
-wū:
Ame rang irá-wū (lit: I asked his word) ‘I asked about him.’
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 181
399a) Atī fā bā rinyí.
1p name 3p name
We named them.
Questionable:
399b) ?Atī fā rinyí bā.
1p name name 3p
The position immediately following the verb typically hosts a noun or pronoun that
encodes the ‘beneficiary’ or party affected by the action of the verb. The similarity
to ‘indirect object of the verb’ in English will readily be seen in the following
examples. Although noun objects appear in this position occasionally, pronouns are
more common. This correlates with a linguistic universal that Givón has observed,
namely, that if a sentence has two objects, one human and the other non-human,
the human one will normally come first.
The second post-verbal NP is typically an object in the traditional sense ("goal" in
some grammars) or an instrument. Thompson has noted (1980:29) that, in the light
of the fact that ‘indirect objects’ are often ‘prototypical’ objects, being definite and
animate, they should in fact be considered "direct objects" rather than what might
be called "accusative objects.’ I call them ‘benefactive’ here. Examples:
7.4.1 Subject + Benefactive +Goal
400) Ā nda Izé rinyanwae.
3p give Ize present
They gave Ize a present.

401) Ā ú nda wū ríkwāe tī wáe.

3p FUT give him shame REL feel
They’ll make him ashamed.

402) Awū kú pūtsán tī ipâm itā.

3s IMP follow 1p pound three
We owe him three pounds (six naira).120

120
This sentence indicates the strength of the naira in the late 1960s.
182 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
403) Ame ú pae nī náira ifaen.
1s FUT pay 2p naira two
I’ll pay you two naira.

404) M kú byīb Atápu ripāb náira ifaen.

1s IMP demand Atapu loan naira two
Atapu owes me two naira.

405) Ame tōm wū atóm.

1s sent 3s errand
I sent him on an errand.
7.4.2 Subject + Benefactive + Instrument
In the following sentences the three-argument structure encodes an instrument in
the final position. Note that English instrumental expressions, by contrast, require a
preposition ‘with’ before the instrumental noun.121
406) Ā byīnn wū kumbáb.
3p beat 3s whip
They whipped him.

407) Ā jwunn wū atxom.

3p throw 3s stones
They threw stones at him.

408) Mbawén ca wū ishen.

goat butt 3s horns
The goat butted him.
It may be that originally Kuteb required a preposition also, as is suggested by the
fact that alternatives using the preposition tí are also heard:
409) Ā byīnn wū tí kumbáb.
3p beat 3s with whip
They whipped him.

121
Except in cases like ‘they caned him,’ ‘they whipped him,’ and ‘they clubbed him,’ in
which the instrumental idea has been incorporated into the verb itself.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 183
410) Ā jwunn wū tí atxom.
3p threw 3s with stones
They threw stones at him.
It is likely that the difference between the two constructions is that the one with the
preposition involves conscious focus on the instrument, whereas in the one without
the preposition the speaker is thinking of the activity as a whole, particularly as a
routine use of the instrument in question.
In support of this hypothesis note that non-routine objects can be inserted more
easily in the prepositional structure than in the other one.
Expected collocations:
411) Ā byīnn wū (tí) kimbáb.
3p beat 3s with whip
They whipped him.
Unexpected collocation:
412a) Ā byīnn wū kújerā.
3p beat 3s chair ?
They chaired him.
Tolerable:
412b) Ā byīnn wū tí kújerā.
3p beat 3s with chair
They beat him with a chair.
Expected collocations:
413) Atī tēr bā (tí) uyī.
1p stap 3p with needle
We gave them injections.
Unexpected collocations:
414a) ?Atī tēr bā kúsa.
1p stab 3p nail
We nailed them? (We stabbed them with nails.)

414b) Atī tēr bā tí kúsa.

1p stab 3p with nail
We jabbed them with nails.
184 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
Expected collocations:
415) Anī jwunn me (tí) atxom.
2p throw 1s with stones
You threw stones at me.
Unexpected collocations:
416a) ?Anī jwunn me tása.
2p throw 1s dish
?You dished me. (You threw dishes at me.)

416b) Anī jwunn me tí tása.

2p throw 1s with dish
You threw a dish at me.
7.4.3 Subject + Benefactive + Body Part
417) Irá ne byāen m ayíb.
word DEM red 1s eyes
This matter troubles me.

418) Irá ne fur bā ayíb.

word DEM fold 3p eyes
This matter amazes them.

419) Awū tsi m utōb.

3s stand 1s heart
I’m always thinking of him.

210) Ijwú rū wū risū.

Gray-hair go 3s head
He's got grey hair.

211) Awū rū ijwú risū.

He go gray-hair head
He’s got grey hair.
Like the instrumentals above, these sentences have alternatives using the
preposition tí.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 185
421b) Awū tsi m tí utōb.
3s stand 1s with heart
I’m always thinking of him.

422) Awū byīnn me (tí) rishwū.

3s strike 1s with stomach.
He hit me in the stomach.

423) Awū pye m (tí) risū.

3s cut 1s with head
He cut me in the head.

424) Ribāng náe m (tí) kufken.

Sore lie 1s leg
I have a sore on my leg.
Given the fact that the second post-verbal NP encodes either instrument or body
part, one might predict ambiguity in the case of a body part that could be used as an
instrument, such as an arm or a leg. Such is indeed the case, as in the following:
425) Ame byīnn wū (tí) kufken.
1s beat 3s with foot
I hit him on the foot. / I kicked him.

426) Awū rug me (tí) kujwó.

3s punch 1s with arm
He hit me on the arm. / He hit me with his arm.
One could explain this ambiguity by saying that two separate sentences underlie
the surface structure. In the first the possessor of the object is "promoted" to the
first post-verbal slot, the ‘benefactive’ position:
Ame byīnn kufken -wū.
1s beat foot -his
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 => 1243 (Possessor Promotion Rule)
Ame byīnn wū kufken.
In the second, the instrumental phrase is shortened by dropping the preposition:
186 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
Ame byīnn wū tí kufken.
1s beat 3s with foot
1 2 3 4
1234 => 124 (Preposition Deletion Rule)
Ame byīnn wū kufken.
7.4.4 Other Three-argument Sentences
In these sentences the second argument is always a benefactive and the final NP
represents a variety of functions that have yet to be categorized. For lack of
specific term I call it a "dummy object" (see discussion on ‘transitivity’ in Section
3.3). The meaning of the object in these cases is often impossible to separate from
the meaning of the verb.
427) Ukwe fā wū kusen tímambē.
Chief ? 3s order much
The chief seriously ordered him.

428) Ame fan wū kibyāg.

1s scold? 3s heat
I reprimanded him.

429) Atī fā wū rinyí.

1p name 3s name
We named him.

430) Ā tēn wū ifú.

3p injury 3s injury
They injured him.

431) Ā txūn wū asú.

3p insult 3s insult
They insulted him.

432) Ā pwen tī rikwén.

3p count 1p judgment
They judged us.
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 187
433) Atī byīb bā akú.
1p demand 3p revenge
We took revenge on them.

434) Atī byīb bā irá.

1p demand 3p word
We interrogated them.

435) Awū byangcī anyīsū fangó.

3s block children road
He blocked the children’s way.

436) Ā nde wū forō.

3p do 3s punishment
They punished him.

437) A ceb wī kunyī.

3s broke 3s tooth
They broke his tooth.
Many of the cognate-object constructions also allow an additional argument to be
inserted, as in the following:
438) Ā fxīr wū afxīr.
3p ? 3s ?
They berated him (?).

439) Ā skaen wū icāen.

3p laugh 3s laugh
They laughed at him.
Many reflexive sentences fall into this category, since reflexive activities often
involve a second predicate argument. Examples:
440) Awū kú nda ijwē-wū rikāen.
3s IMP give body-3s trouble
He is giving himself trouble.
188 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
441) Ā nda ijwē-bā rinyanwae.
3p give body-3p gift
They gave themselves gifts.

442) Afu kú tēn ijwē-fu ifú.

2s IMP injure body-2p injury
You’re injuring yourself.

443) Istí rang ijwē-wū irá bāa, …

Isti ask body-3s word saying
Isti asked himself, ...
As in the case of two-argument sentences, the reciprocal marker átsō, which is
nominal in form and co-referential with the subject, stands in the benefactive
position, and one of the other three types of argument can follow: instrument, body
part, or dummy object.
444) Ā kú byīnn átsō kimbáb.
3p IMP beat RECIP whip
They are whipping each other. (BEN+INSTR)

445) Ā fan átsō kibyāg.

3p scold RECIP heat
They reprimanded each other. (BEN + DUMMY)

446) Ā kú ceb átsō kufxen.

3p IMP tread RECIP leg
They’re stepping on each other. (BEN + BP)

447) Ā cāeb átsō anyī.

3p destroy RECIP tooth
They knocked out each other’s teeth. (BEN + BP)
Chapter Seven Kuteb Grammar 189
448) Atī tēr átsō uyī.
1p stab RECIP needle
We gave each other injections. (BEN + INSTR)
Not all transitives can automatically insert an additional argument. In the
following, an additional argument must be preceded by the word na which may be
analysed as a serial verb or as a preposition (see Chapter 8).
449a) Ā yāng acáng.
3p sing songs
They sang songs.

449b) Ā yāng na tī acáng.

3p sing BEN 1p songs
They sang songs for us.

449c) *Ā yāng tī acáng.

3p sing 1p songs
They sang us songs.

7.5 Sentences with Four Arguments

Three arguments may follow the verb, although this is fairly rare, it being more
usual to introduce the final NP with the preposition tí. When three arguments
follow the verb, the order is:
BENEFACTIVE – INSTRUMENT - BODY PART
as in the following:
240a) Awū byīnn me kujwó risū.
3s hit 1s arm head
He hit me on the head with his hand.
As in the case of "possessor raising" above, the sentence may be thought of as a
double transform from:
240b) Awū byīnn risū -m tí kujwó-wū.
3s hit head -1s PREP arm-3s
He hit my head with his hand.
The possessor (-m) is shifted to post-verbal slot 2:
190 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Seven
240c) Awū byīnn me risū tí kujwó-wū.
3s beat 1s head PREP hand-3s
He me on the head with his hand.
Then the instrument, minus its preposition, goes to post-verbal slot 3:
240d) Awū byīnn me risū (tí) kujwó.
3s beat 1s head with hand
He beat me on the head with his hand.
Another example with optional preposition before the instrument:
241) Awū pye m adá (tí) risū.
3s cut 1s machete (on) head
He cut me on the head with a cutlass.
The following idiomatic expression does not seem to allow for the inclusion of the
preposition tí.
242) A kú céb wū ricinn uwae.
3p IMP break 3s ? inside
They’re waiting (hopefully) for him to die.
More natural examples of this construction are needed before conclusions can be
drawn about its inclusion as a valid type of argument structure. In particular, in
view of the alternation of body part NPs with the prepositional phrase using tí, we
need to study how such constructions contrast with locatives such as the following:
243) Awū pye m adá uwae risāen.
3s cut 1s machete in the farm
He cut me with a machete at the farm.

7.6 Conclusion
In this chapter we have presented the basic types of simple sentence that are found
in Kuteb, using a categorization based on the number of arguments in the sentences
rather than on the traditional categories transitive and intransitive, because the
traditional idea of transitivity does not fit Kuteb well as a structural category. Even
so, we cannot claim that this is the best way of doing things. An organization of
sentences in terms of semantic (situational) roles such as Agent, Patient, Theme,
Experiencer, etc. may prove to be more useful to the average student of Kuteb.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 191
CHAPTER EIGHT. SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS

8.1 Introduction
Chapter Seven introduced simple sentences--those that express a single
proposition--and the subcategory of them that contain a single verb. In this chapter
we deal with sentences which express a single proposition but which contain
multiple verbs. Known commonly as ‘serial verb constructions,’ these sentences
have been described over the past few decades122 in a substantial body of literature
covering languages in West Africa, Oceania, and Southeast Asia.123
The serial verb construction (SVC from here) consists, in most languages, of two
or more verbs in sequence without any coordinating or subordinating word. Givón
(1991:137) gives a simplified, cross-linguistic definition as follows: ‘An event/state
that one language codes as a simple clause with a single verb, is coded in another
language as a complex clause with two or more verbs.’ The following are examples
from Kalam (Givón 1988:15), Yatye (Stahlke, 1970), Lahu (Matisoff 1988:70) and
Yoruba (Stahlke 1970):
244) Bi-nak ak spet ominal dand sand-ip.
man-your DEF spade two carry leave-PRF
The man is carrying away two spades.

245) Amì awá òkìtì adyú òtsi.

I took machete cut tree
I cut the tree with a machete.

246) Na-hi ga qo’ chi to’ pi ve.

we had-to repeat lift out for them
We had to lift it out for them again.

122
As early as 1966, Pike analyzed SVCs in Kasem, Vagala, and Igede as a special level of
syntactic organization, the ‘clause cluster,’ which is formally neither a clause nor a sentence
but something else. The emphasis in the present work is on the fact that the SVC constitutes
a single proposition that can be negated (see next section), just like one-verb propositions.
123
See Lefebvre 1991 for a useful introduction to serial verb constructions.
192 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
247) Mo mú gbogbo àwon omodé lo Ekó.
I take all PL children go Lagos
I took all the children to Lagos.
I begin the description of Kuteb SVCs with diagnostic and supplementary
features, and then show how particular sets of verbs have apparently
clustered to form recurring lexical groupings. My intent throughout the chapter is
to demonstrate the unity of the SVC as a syntactic unit that encodes a single
semantic proposition.

8.2 Identification of Serial Verbs in Kuteb

As mentioned above, a serial verb construction consists of two or more verbs in
sequence without any coordinating or subordinating particle. Examples:
248) Rū ka sa ují bá!
move go take rope come
Go and fetch a rope!

249) Awū txí ámbyī munncī kutútong.

3s dip water fill pot
She filled the pot with water.

250) Abā rū ka som atáng ishaen ifaen.

3p move go sit there month two
They went and stayed there two months.

251) Atī rū ka jwunn wēn ukú wū.

1p move go throw kill crocodile REF
We took spears and killed the crocodile.
While absence of coordinating and subordinating markers is our primary diagnostic
for the SVC, other characteristics also hold true:
1. Negation sharing
2. Argument sharing
3. Sharing of auxiliaries
Let us examine each of these in turn.
8.2.1 Negation Sharing
A piece of evidence used routinely (Givón 1988) to show the unity of the SVC as a
grammatical construction is its behaviour under negation. It will be seen from the
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 193
examples below that the negative marker (possessive pronoun and particle bē)
covers the entire sequence of verbs. It is impossible (indeed, nonsensical) to negate
one of the verbs without the others. Examples:
252) Awū rū bá-wū bē.
3s move come-3s NEG
She did not come.

253) *Awū rū-wū bē bá.

3s move-3s NEG come
?She came but didn’t move.

254) Awū tēr ka wakúnunn.

3s run go home
She ran home.

255) Awū tēr ka-wū wakúnunn bē.

3s run go-3s Home NEG
She did not run home.
Why is this example not numbered and indented? If it is ungrammatical, what
about 10?
255b *Awū tēr-wū bē ka wakúnunn.
3s run-3s NEG go Home
?She went home and did not run.

256) Ame yēr wēn-me mbapxú-fu bē.

1s cut kill-1s dog-2s NEG
I did not butcher your dog.

256b *Ame yēr-me bē wēn mbapxú-fu.

1s cut-1s NEG kill dog-2s
I did not cut your dog and killed it.
194 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
257) Awū sa keké-m rū-wū yī ritúg bē.
3s take cycle-1s go-3s to market NEG
He did not take my bicycle to market.

257b *Awū sa-wū keké-m bē rū yī ritúg.

3s take-3s cycle-1s NEG go to market
He did not take my bicycle and went to the market.
8.2.2 Argument Sharing
In this section I show that the subject of verbs in SVCs must be shared but not
necessarily the objects.

8.2.2.1 Object Sharing

We have seen above how SVCs must share the subject argument. The object
argument is sometimes shared, sometimes not.

SVCs with Shared Object

261) Itumū sa ukwab kūb tírī.
Lion take Monkey eat then
Then Lion ate Monkey.

262) Awū yēr wēn mbakúnn.

3s cut kill chicken
He butchered a chicken.
The following is a case in which the object has been shifted into a topic position at
the front of the sentence. The normal object position would be between the two
verbs, as in example 18.
263) Góro, afu pū kan na bā.
Kola, 2s take divide to 3p
You shared kola nuts among them.
SVCs with Separate Objects
However, often the object is not shared, as in the following, where two separate
objects are expressed:
264) Awū sa adá pyē ukob wū.
3s take machete cut cobra REF
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 195
He slashed the cobra with a machete. (He took a machete and slashed the
cobra.)

265) Awū sa biríki mbye kusóg.

3s take brick build house
He built the house with bricks. (He took bricks and built a house.)

8.2.2.2 Subject Sharing

The negative criterion discussed above dovetails with the shared-subject
requirement in that negation is marked not only by the morpheme bē but also by a
possessive pronoun coreferent with the subject:
258) Awū bá-wū bē.
3s come-3s NEG
He did not come.
In an SVC there can only be one verb-focus pronoun (VFP) and it always occurs
after the last verb:
259) Awū sa mbawén bá-wū bē.
3s take goat come-3s NEG
He did not bring the goat.
Since there can only be one VFP, and it must be co-referent with the subject of
both verbs, it follows that it is impossible for a second verb to have a different
subject, even if it made any sense:
259b *Awū núng abā nwúnn-wū bē.
3s see 3p leave-3s NEG
for: ‘He did not see them leave.’
259c *Awū núng abā nwúnn-bā bē.
3s see 3p leave-3p NEG
for: ‘?He saw them not leave.’
It is the shared subject requirement that allows us to reject certain sentences in our
data from consideration as SVCs. The following, for example, was recorded as
marginally acceptable:
260) ?Atī tu Ali kú náe uwae kusóg.
1p find Ali IMP lie in house
We found Ali lying in the house.
196 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
Using the negative construction, we discover that it is impossible to have separate
subjects for the two verbs:
260b *Atī tu Ali kú náe-tī uwae kusóg bē.
1p find A. IMP lie-1p in house NEG
?We did not find Ali lying in the house.

260c *Atī tu Ali kú náe-wū uwae kusóg bē.

1p find A. IMP lie-3s in house NEG
?We found Ali not lying in the house.
Since the suspect sentences do not negate like normal SVCs, we conclude that, if
they are grammatical at all, they are not SVCs. In fact, they are sentences in which
the clause Ali kú náe uwae kusóg is acting as an object of the main verb tu.124 In
true SVCs, the single VFP can only be co-referent with one NP. Hence the subject
of the two verbs must be shared.
8.2.3 Sharing of Auxiliaries
The prototypical SVC shares a single set of tense, aspect, and modal words. This
further supports the idea that the sequence of actions is seen as a unit. While this is
a complex issue in that the interaction of particular verbs and auxiliaries is itself
complex, I present here some general patterns.

8.2.3.1 SVCs with Shared FUTURE Marker

The future marker (ú) precedes the first verb in a series, as follows:
266) Awū ú rū bá.
3s FUT move come
He will come
Unacceptable: *Awū rū ú bá. *Awū ú rū ú bá.

267) Anī ú yēr wēn mbakúnn tīne a?

2p FUT cut kill chicken now Q
Are you going to butcher the chicken now?

124
A more expected sentence would be Atī tu Ali awū kú náe uwae kusóg, the grammar
of which we do not cover in this work.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 197
268) Ame ú sa mbakúnn ne rū ka jaēbcī.
1s FUT take hen DEM move go sell
I’m going to sell this hen.

8.2.3.2 SVCs with shared imperfective marker

The imperfective marker kú preferably precedes the final verb in a string:
269) Awū rū kú bá.
3s move IMP come
He is coming.
Compare: *Awū kú rū bá.
270) Abā nwúnn kú rū.
3p arise IMP move
They were getting up and going.
Compare: *Abā kú nwúnn rū.
271) Awū txí ámbyī kú munncī kutútong125
3s dip water IMP fill pot
She’s filling the waterpot.
272) Abā tóm ritóm kú rū.
3p farm farm IMP move.
They went along farming.

270) Awū yēr kú wēn mbakúnn.

3s cut IMP kill chicken
They are slaughtering a chicken.
It is acceptable (though less usual) to mark the imperfective on both verbs, but
never on the first verb only:
271) Abā kú tóm ritóm kú rū.
3p IMP farm farm IMP move
They went along farming.

125
Awū txí ámbyī munn kú kyī kutútong is also possible, depending on whether the clitic
cī has frozen onto the verb or not. Speakers vary on this expression.
198 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
272) Awū kú yen itúku kú kyang.
3s IMP plant trees IMP walk
He walked along planting trees.
Preferred:
272b Awū yen itúkūn kú kyang.
3s plant trees IMP walk
He walked along planting trees.

273) Atī sī kutúkū kú bá.

1p descend tree IMP come
We were coming down from the tree.

8.2.3.3 SVCs with Shared PERFECTIVE Marker

An action seen as completed is marked by a perfective marker (pú) after the last
verb:
274) Awū rū bá pú-wū.
3s move come PRF-3s
He has come.
Unacceptable:
274b *Awū rū pú-wū bá.
3s move PRF-3s come
274c *Awū rū pú-wū bá pú-wū.
3s move PRF-3s come PRF-3s

275) Ame sa kíkwab bá pú-m.

1s take hoe come
I have brought the hoe.
Note that the perfective aspect marker reinforces the same-subject requirement for
SVCs since the VFP that follows the marker must be co-referent with the subject of
the first verb. This rules out:
275b *Awū jāe ánûng nwúnn pú-wū.
3s drive birds arise PRF-3s
?He has driven the birds and they left.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 199
275c *Awū jāe ánûng nwúnn pú-yī.
3s drive birds arise PRF-3
?He drove the birds and they have left.
There seems to be no limit to the number of verbs that can occur within the domain
of the perfective marker pú:126
276) Ame ka sa kíkwab bá pú-m.
1s go take hoe come PRF-1s
I went and brought a hoe.

277) Ame rū ka sa kíkwab bá pú-m.

1s go go take hoe come PRF-1s
I went and brought a hoe.

278) Ame tēr rū ka sa kíkwab bá pú-m.

1s run go go take hoe come PRF-1s
I ran and brought a hoe.

279) Ame tēr kāfē rū ka sa kíkwab bá pú-m.

1s run return go go take hoe come PRF-1s
I ran back and brought a hoe.

280) Ame sa kíkwab bá tóm tág pú-m ritóm.

1s take hoe come farm MAX PRF-s farming
I brought a hoe and have finished the farming.

8.2.3.5 SVCs with Shared INDIRECT SPEECH Marker

The indirect speech particle in an SVC typically precedes the first verb (or
tense/aspect marker if any), although cases of repeated reported speech markers are
occasionally found.

126
The sentences that follow are only intended to illustrate the extent of the domain of pú. I
do not discuss fused SVCs in the present work.
200 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
281a) Awū rī bāa, awū nā ú rū bá.
3s say COMP 3s RS FUT move come
He said he would come.

281b) ?Awū rī bāa, awū nā ú rū nā ú bá.

3s say COMP 3s RS FUT move RS FUT come
He said he would come. (Recorded but somewhat dubious).

282a) Awū rī bāa, awū nā yēr kú wēn mbakúnn.

3s say COMP 3s RS cut IMP kill chicken
He said he was slaughtering a chicken.

282b) ?Awū rī bāa, awū nā yēr nā kú wēn mbakunn.

3s say COMP 3s RS cut RS IMP kill chicken
He said he was slaughtering a chicken. (Accepted reluctantly.)

282c Aw ri bāa, aw nā kú yē nā kú wē mbakúnn

) u ū r n .
3s sa COM 3s R IM cut
R IM kill chicken
y P S P S P
He said he was slaughtering a chicken. (Accepted reluctantly.).

8.2.3.5 SVCs with Shared conditional Marker

In conditional sentences, the conditional marker precedes the first verb of the
string:
283) Afu a rū ka sáng atáng, ā ú ye fu.
2s IF move go enter there, 3p FUT catch 2s
If you go enter there, you will be caught.

284) Abā a sa ámbyī bá, ame ú nde simínti

3p IF take water come, 1s FUT make cement
If they bring water, I will make cement.

285) Abā a yēr kú wēn mbapxú-m, ame cwé-m bē.

3p IF cut IMP kill dog-1s 1s agree-1s NEG
If they are slaughtering my dog, I don’t agree.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 201

286) Anī a sa ámbyī bá pú nī, nī rī té m.

2p IF take water come PRF 2p 2p tell with 1s
If/when you have brought the water, tell me.

8.3 Some Serial Verb Constructions

In this section we consider some prototypical SVCs that can be posited as
contrastive structural units in Kuteb. These are chosen on the basis of statistical
prominence. More could be added. They are roughly categorized below on the
basis of the types and positions of the verbs that occur in them, and by their
function in discourse.
1. Motion
2. Motion-Action
3. Co-lexicalizing
4. Instrumental
5. Patientizing
6. Comparative
Givón (in Lefebvre 1991:138-139) gives a useful categorization in terms of
function that is slightly different from mine. He posits five categories:
a) Case-role marking
b) Verb co-lexicalization
c) Deictic-directional marking
d) Tense-aspect marking
e) Evidentiality and epistemic marking
I shall refer to Givón’s categories as I go along, taking them in a slightly different
order.

8.3.1 Motion SVC

This and the next one (motion-action) would fall under the deictic-directional
marking CVCs in Givón’s system. Four parameters define the expression of motion
in Kuteb:
1. verticality,
2. direction towards or away from the speaker (or other defined reference
point),
202 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
3. manner of motion, and
4. goal or completion of the action.
A simple motion is expressed either by rū ‘move levelly,’ tsō ‘move up, ascend,
climb,’ or sī ‘move down, descend.’ Examples:
287) Awū tsō yī wakúnunn.
3s ascend to home
He went (up) home.

288) Awū sī yī ufáng.

3s descend to farm
He went (down) to the farm.

289) Awū rū yī kutúr.

3s move to bush
He went to the wilderness.
Combinations like *rū sī, *tsō rū, and *sī rū are unacceptable.
If a speaker is focussing on the direction of motion vis-à-vis himself, he may
choose to say
290) Awū bá (iké).
3s come (here)
He came (here).
or
291) Awū ka kutúr.
3s go bush
He went to the bush.

The two sets of verbs are frequently joined in SVCs as follows:

tsō bá ‘ascend come’
rū bá ‘move come’
sī ka ‘descend go’
Examples:
292) Atī rū bá iké íré.
1p move come here yesterday
We came here yesterday.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 203
293) Ame tsō ka yī Múbi.
1s ascend go to Mubi
I went up to Mubi.
Compare the following unacceptable combinations:
*Awū bá tsō.
3s come ascend

*Awū ka tsō.
3s go ascend
Unacceptable:
*Awū bá rū.
3s come move
A locative noun may stand between the two verbs:127
294) Awū sī rikwen bá.
3s descend mountain come
He came down from the mountain.

295) Abā tsō uyínn bá.

3p ascend sea come
He came up from the sea.

296) Afu rū akā bá?

2s move where come
Where did you come from?
Verbs expressing a third parameter, manner of motion, necessarily precede the
other two sets.128 Some verbs of this set are:

127
Alternatively, these could be considered SVCs of the action-motion type (Section 3.2,
below), which includes sentences like: Awū tā ibyē bá ‘He-shot-animal-come,’ Awū
mbúb kusóg sī ‘He-break-house-come down.’
128
It may be observed that the verbs of motion cited here do not include the notions of
movement and direction, as do many English verbs of motion. E.g., English ‘He ran home’
cannot normally be expressed as *Awū tēr wakúnunn. The additional verb rū must be
included.
204 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
tēr run kyang walk
mbyáe jump kún crawl
nwúnn get up penn fly
Examples of combinations:
297) Awū tēr rū bá.
3s run move come
He came on the run.

298) Awū mbyae sī bá.

3s jumped descend come
He jumped down (towards speaker).

299) Awu nwúnn rū ka yī Gboko.

3s arise move go to Gboko
He got up and went to Gboko.
Other orders are not acceptable:
*Awū rū tēr bá.
3s move run come
*Awu sī mbyae ka.
3s descend jump go
Verbs from any set may be omitted, but the relative order is always maintained:
300) Awū tēr rū yī wakúnunn.
3s run move to home
He ran home.

301) Awū kyang bá pú-wū.

3s walk come PRF-3s
He has come (walking).

302) Awū kún kú ka yī uwōg íyā-wū.

3s crawl IMP move to place mother-3
He’s crawling towards his mother.
Finally a verb indicating the completion of the motion (fob ‘reach, arrive’) may be
added at the end of the sequence:
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 205
303) Awū tēr rū ka fob uwōg ínjā-wū.
3s run move go reach place brother-3s
He ran to his brother’s place.

304) Awū kún sī kumbúkunn bá fob wakúnunn.

3s crawl descend hill come reach home
He crawled down from the hill and home.
The motion verb kāfē ‘return’ manifests more than one possible ordering in respect
to the general motion verbs. In an analysis of 66 cases of kāfē, 27 occurred in
series. Of these, 24 occurred first in the motion SVC. The sequences *rū kāfē bá,
*sī kāfē ka, etc. are inadmissible.
Two patterns obtain with regard to kāfē and specific motion verbs tēr ‘run,’ kyang
‘walk,’ etc.:
305) Awū tēr kāfē rū bá.
3s run turn move come
He came back running.

306) Awū kāfē tēr rū bá.

3s turn run move come
He came back running.
Although there may be a slight difference between these two, it has not been
possible to determine what it is. The first of the above set seems slightly preferable.
We thus have four sets of motion verbs whose ordering is strictly controlled by
syntactic rules illustrated in the following:
307) Awū tēr kāfē rū bá.
3s run turn move come
He came running back.

308) Awū kyang kāfē sī ka.

3s walk turn desc. go
He went walking back down.
206 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
309) Awū mbyae kāfē tsō ka.
3s jump turn asc. go
He went jumping back up.
Examples of motion SVCs with aspect markers and negative:
310) Awū si rikwen bá pú-wū.
3s descend mountain come PRF-3s
He has come down from the mountain.

311) Awū mbyae sī kú bá.

3s jump descend IMP come
He is jumping down.

312) Awū ú kún tsō bá uwae kununn.

3s FUT crawl ascend come inside home
He will crawl back (up) home.

313) Awū tēr rū bá-wū bē.129

3s run move come-3s NEG
He did not come running.

8.3.2 Motion-Action SVC

Like those above, these would be considered ‘Deictic-directional Marking’ in
Givón’s system. It is important to note that in Kuteb actions are reported in strict
chronological order. Thus
314) Awū kūr kirāen bá.
she stir fufu come.
She prepared and brought fufu.
means that the person first prepared the fufu, then came with it toward the speaker.
The following, in contrast, indicates that the person first moved toward the speaker,
then prepared the fufu:
315) Awū bá kūr kirāen. 130
3s come stir fufu

129
It is unusual for a sentence with many verbs to be negated, even if it is a single
proposition. Negation usually operates on single verbs or at most a two-verb SVC.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 207
She came and made fufu.
Note that this sentence and the previous one can be negated as single
propositions:

315a) Awū kūr kiraēn bá-wū bē.

3s stir fufu come-3s NEG
She did not prepare food and bring it.

315b) Awū bá kūr-wū kiraēn bē.

3s come stir-3s fufu NEG.
She did not come and prepare food.
The SVCs involving a directional component are further elaborated below in the
order:
1. Direction-Action
2. Action-Directio8.

8.3.2.1 Direction-Action SVC

These SVCs consist of a motion verb plus another verb (typically non-equative,
non-stative, and non-locative). Functionally speaking, the motion verb(s) in these
constructions contribute a deictic or directional element to the action involved. In
terms of text structure, the motion verbs function as scene-changers, shifting the
locus of activity to a new site with respect to the speaker and/or the site of previous
activity.
Examples:
316) Awū ka wēn icwu.
3s go kill leopard
He went and killed a leopard.

317) Atī bá ngwā ámbyī.

1p come drink water
We came and drank water.
Such sequences are frequently but not necessarily preceded by the general motion
verb rū ‘move’:
208 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
318) Abā rū ka som Ikám.
3p move go sit Ikam
They went and stayed in Ikam.

319) Anī rū bá tu m iké.

2p move come find 1s here
You came and found me here.
Examples involving aspect/negative markers:
80) Atī bá kú txí ámbyī ámām.
1p come IMP dip water only
We’re only coming to dip water.

321) Anī ka būnn pú-nī awúm a?

2p go cut PRF-2p guinea corn Q
Have you gone and cut your guinea corn?

322) Abā ú bá funn Bíká iké.

3p FUT come meet Bika here
They will come and meet here in Bika.

8.3.2.2 Action-Direction SVC

Like the preceding SVC, this construction involves a directional component
consisting of rū ‘move,’ bá ‘come’ or ka ‘go.’ Examples:
323) Awū yen itúkū kú rū.
3s plant trees IMP go
He went along planting trees.

324) Kūr kirāen bá tí kife, íya!

stir fufu come quickly mother
Make and bring the food quickly, Mother!

325) Abā tā ibyē bá.

3p shoot animal come
They shot and brought an animal.
A subset of action-direction SVCs consists of those that have a ‘prehensive’ verb
(referring to holding things) in the first position:
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 209
326) Awū sa ámbyī bá.
3s take water come
He brought water.

327) Awū pū umbae-wū ka.

3s take child-3s go
He took his child. (= He went with his child.)

328) Awū ye rikae bá.

3s take axe come.
He brought an axe.
Note that the verbs cannot be reversed with the same meaning:
329) Awū bá sa ámbyī.
3s come take water
He came and took water.

330) Awū ka pū umbae-wū.

3s go take child-his
He went and took his child.
Examples with aspect markers and negative:
331) Awū tōm atóm kú rū.
3s farm farming IMP go
He went along farming.

332) Ame skam kuter bá pú-m.

1s carve mortar come PRF-1s
I have carved and brought a mortar.

333) Irá-fu ne ú shir kāng rikāen bá risū-fu.

word-2s FUT pull NEC trouble come head-2s
What you’ve done will surely bring you trouble.
210 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
334) Atī sa kutsīnkén-fu rū-tī yī itífunn bē.
1p take book-2s go-1p to meeting NEG
We did not take your book to the meeting.

8.3.3 Case-role Marking SVC8.

8.3.3.1 Patientizing SVC

In Kuteb, prehensive verbs mark the following noun as the patient of the following
verb. Examples:
335) Ā sa íya Atabibir kūb tírī.
3p take mother Atabibir eat then
Then they ate Atabibir’s mother.

336) Abā ye m byīnn.

3p take 1s beat
They beat me.

8.3.3.2 Instrumental SVC

Another construction based on the prehensive verbs is used to describe situations
involving an instrument. Like the ‘patientizing’ SVC above, this would be included
in Givón’s ‘case-role marking’ SVCs.
337) Awū sa utī jwunn ukó.
3s take spear throw duiker
He speared the duiker.

338) Awū sa kisīm yēr ibyē.

3s take knife cut meat
He cut the meat with a knife.
Note that these can be paraphrased using an instrumental preposition tí:
339) Awū jwunn ukó tí utī.
3s throw duiker spear
He threw a spear at the duiker.

340) Awū yēr ibyē tí kisīm.

3s cut meat knife
He cut the meat with a knife.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 211
Examples of instrumental SVC with aspect or negative markers:
341) Awū ú sa kisīm wēn mbakúnn.
3s FUT take knife kill chicken
He will kill the chicken with a knife.

342) Awū sa kisīm kú wēn mbakúnn.

3s take knife IMP kill chicken
He is killing the chicken with a knife.

343) Awū sa kisīm wēn pú-wū mbakúnn.

3s take knife kill PRF-3s chicken
He has killed the chicken with a knife.

8.3.3.3 Benefactive SVC

Benefactive action is expressed in Kuteb by a serial verb construction employing
the verb na ‘give’ before the benefactee. The status of the quasi-verb na is
debatable as will be seen in the discussion below.
344) Ame sa na wū kóbo.
1s take give 3s kobo
I gave him a kobo.

345) Awū jwó na m keké.

3s wash give 1s bike
He washed the bicycle for me.
Note that na cannot stand alone as an independent verb:131
*Awū na m kóbo.
3s give 1s kobo for: ‘He gave me a kobo.’
This limitation in distribution might incline us to interpret na as a preposition or a
benefactive-marking particle, or perhaps a verbal suffix indicating action directed
towards a beneficiary. However, from another perspective, na acts just like other
verbs in series. For example, the perfective marker pú always follows na, just as it
would another verb in series. Likewise, in the negative, the VFP follows na. If na

131
The verb na may be related historically to the verb nda ‘to give.’ Both verbs have the
same tone.
212 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
were taken as a preposition, the word pú and the VFP would separate the would-be
preposition from its object.
346) Ame sa na pú-m awū kóbo.
1s take PRF-1s 3s kobo
I have given him a kobo.

347) Ame sa na-m awū kóbo bē.

1s take -1s 3s kobo NEG
I did not give him a kobo.
Perhaps na is a verbal suffix then? Such an analysis is ruled out by the following
paraphrases, in which na is separated from the verb sa by the noun object:
348) Ame sa kóbo na wū.
1s take kobo 3s
I gave him a kobo.
Finally, it may be recalled that the imperfective marker always occurs before the
last verb in a series. So it patterns with the verb na:
349) Ame sa kóbo kú na wū.
1s take kobo IMP 3s
I am giving him a kobo.
Or
350) Ame sa kú na wū kóbo.
1s take IMP 3s kobo
Likewise, in negative and perfective sentences na operates like any other verb,
taking the relevant markers, including the verb-focus pronoun:
351) Ame sa kóbo na-m awū bē.
1s take kobo 1s 3s NEG
I did not give him a kobo.

352) Ame sa kóbo na pú-m awū.

1s take kobo PRF 1s 3s
I have already given him a kobo.
The aspect markers show that na must be treated as a verb. Though it cannot occur
by itself as a verb, it does functions as a normal verb in the SVC. I therefore call it
a ‘restricted’ verb.
This is not to say, however, that na will remain a verb forever. Grammaticalization
may push na in one direction or another until no verbal function is left. If, for
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 213
example, alternative A below should become favored over B, na would move
toward reinterpretation as a verbal suffix:
A. Ame sa na pú-m awū X.
1s take PRF-1s 3s X
I gave him/her X.

B. Ame sa X na pú-m awū.

1s take X PRF-1s 3s
I gave him/her X.
At the present time, both seem to be perfectly well accepted.
In the case of imperfective aspect, however, there does appear to be a shift. In the
following pattern, older people are inclined to use either A or B, while younger
people will accept C, a version which will give support to a prepositional status for
na:
A. Ame sa kú na wū kóbo.
1s take IMP 3s kobo
I am giving him a kobo.

B. Ame sa kóbo kú na wū.

1s take kobo IMP 3s

C. Ame kú sa kóbo na wū.

1s IMP take kobo 3s
Before discussing na further, I present another construction which offers the same
analytical problems8.

8.3.3.4 The Commitative SVC

This construction contains the verb té ‘to be with, accompany’ and operates exactly
like the benefactive verb na above.132
Example:

132
Like na, the verb té does not occur independently in a single-verb sentence. It may be
related historically to the verb tē ‘to dismiss’ and/or to the conjunction tí.
214 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
353) Awū rī irá té tī.
3s say word 1p
He spoke with us.
An alternative order for this sentence (Awū té tī rī irá ) reinforces its SVC status.
As in the case of na, the aspect markers and negative (Verb Focus Pronoun)
separate té from its object, ruling out an interpretation of té as preposition:
354) Ame rī té pú-m awū.
1s say PRF-1s 3s
I have already told him.

355) Ame ú rī té-m awū irá yīne bē.

1s FUT say -1s 3s word DEM NEG
I will not tell him about this matter.
Likewise, the imperfective marker kú separates té from the verb, just as it did with
ná:
356) Ame rī kú té wū tīnene.
1s say IMP 3s now
I am telling him just now.
Aside from its non-occurrence as an independent verb, there is some evidence that
té is evolving from verbal status to a more restricted function as a preposition. It is
my impression that younger people are favoring version (c) of the following set:
357a) Awū té tī rī irá yī.
3s 1p say word REF
He told us about it.

357b) Awū rī té tī irá yī.

3s say 1p word REF
He told us about it.

357c) Awū rī irá yī té tī.

3s say word REF 1p
He told us about it.
Likewise, version (b) of the following set may be gaining favor:
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 215
358a) Ame rī kú té wū irá-fu.
1s say IMP 3s word-2s
I am telling him your message.

358b) Ame kú rī té wū irá-fu.

1s IMP say 3s word-2s
I am telling him your message.

359a) Ame té wū nde mákántá tétsō. 133

1s 3s do school together
I went to school with him.

359b) Ame nde mákántá té wū.

1s do school 3s
I went to school with him.
In the case of the perfective, two competing structures are both acceptable, but
version b) is more frequent in texts:
360a) Ame som té pú-m awū.
1s stay PRF-1s 3s
I have already stayed with him.

360b) Ame som pú-m té wū.

1s stay PRF-1s 3s
I have already stayed with him.
Finally, in the case of negative, which involves the VFP after the last verb, though
the older SVC construction (a) is still in frequent use, a prepositional structure (b)
is gaining prominence:
361a) Ame som té-m awū bē.
1s stay 1s 3s NEG
I did not stay with him.

133
The word tétsō is apparently derived from the verb té plus the adverbial nominal átsō
‘reciprocally.’
216 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
361b) Ame som-me té wū bē.
1s stay 1s 3s NEG
I did not stay with him.

362a) Atī rī té-tī awū irá bē.

1p say -3s 3s word NEG
We did not speak to him.

362b) Atī rī-tī irá té wū bē.

1p say-1s word 3s NEG
We did not speak to him.
If my observations about frequency are correct, té plus its object may
grammaticalize into a prepositional phrase one day. The same could happen to na
‘give’ also888.

8.3.4 Comparative SVC

In these constructions a verb (usually but not exclusively stative) is followed by the
verb skeb ‘exceed.’ The construction is equivalent to the comparative form of
adjectives in English. Givón does not include this type in his 1991 study.
Examples:
363) Afu wáe skeb pú-fu ame.
2s tall pass PRF-2s 1s
You are taller than I am.

364) Umūn utīb tsēn skeb abyáen indag.

boll cotton white pass milk cow
Cotton bolls are whiter than cow’s milk.

365) Umbae Apurá tēr inyae skeb Ibí.

child Apura run run pass Ibi
Apura’s child ran faster than Ibi.

366) Ame tōm mbapwa kú skeb wū.

1s farm maize IMP pass 3s
I am farming maize more than he is.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 217
The first sentence above includes the perfective (pú), which carries with it the
pronoun referring back to the subject shared by both verbs. The negative is formed,
as usual, with the VFP and the negative marker bē:
367) Awū tēr inyae skeb-wū Ibí bē.
3s run run pass-3s Ibi NEG
He did not outrun Ibi.

368) Afu ú kīm skeb-fu ame bē.

2s FUT fat pass-2s 1s NEG
You will not be fatter than I am.

8.3.5 Colexicalizations
Kuteb has dozens of verb pairs in which one with a specific meaning is followed
by another with a general meaning. Some common pairs are:
yēr wēn cut kill slaughter
kūm wēn beat kill beat to death
súr wēn press kill squash to death
cín wēn squeeze kill strangle
txáe wēn trap kill kill by trapping
byīnn wēn hit kill kill by hitting
Examples in sentences:
369) Amamrá tā yēr wēn mbakúnn wū.
Amamra FOC cut kill chicken REF
It was Amamra who slaughtered the chicken.

370) Típa súr wēn agwagwá-m.

truck press kill duck-1s
A truck ran over my duck.
The structure may be summarized as ‘to do V2 by means of V1‘. In some cases the
resulting construction may be transitive, as in the above, or non-transitive, as in the
following:
218 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
371) Kitútong- pog mbúb.
wū
pot-3s burst spoil
Her pot burst open (and was ruined).

372) Pū ámbyī ne yāen mbúb.

take water DEM pour spoil
Dump out this water.

373) Kusóg-m tēn mbúb.

house-1s burn spoil
My house burned up.

374) Ibyē ne rwan mbúb.

meat DEM rot spoil
This meat is completely rotten.

375) Ā sa agōgō-m byīnn mbúb.

3p take watch-1s hit spoil.
They wrecked my watch by hitting it.
There are scores of such combinations in Kuteb, not all of them fitting into neat
specific-general paradigms like those above. A few other combinations are:
som jí sit wait kūnn jí call wait ‘greet’
tsi jí stand wait táng som think sit ‘remember’
A few involve stative verbs in the second position:
kyāe nyang fix be-good ‘repair’
jwó sāen wash be-clean ‘wash clean’
fén sāen sweep be-clean ‘sweep clean’
Examples with aspect markers and negative:
376) Abā kūm wēn-bā wū bē.
3p beat kill-3p 3s NEG
They did not beat him to death.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 219
377) Ámbyī yāen mbúb pū-yī.
Water pour spoil PRF-3
The water has spilled.
This brings us to the end of the SVC types discussed in this study. We do not give
examples of Givón’s ‘Tense-aspect marking’ SVCs. However, in Chapter Nine
(Tense, Aspect, and Modality), we discuss the possibility that the imperfective
marker kú and the perfective marker pú may have been derived from verbs in
sequence. Likewise, Givón’s ‘Evidentiality and epistemic marking’ may well have
a cognate in Kuteb, where the word nā ‘reported speech‘ could possibly be treated
as a restricted verb (see Chapter Nine).

8.4 Serial Verbs and the Sequential Conjunction

Although we do not discuss complex sentences (those expressing complex
propositions) in this chapter, it is necessary to describe one category of complex
sentences very briefly in order to get a more accurate picture of the SVC.
The word ú, sometimes reinforced by a preceding pause, may occur between verbs
to indicate two separate actions. Compare the following contrasting constructions:
378a) Awū kāfē, ú bá.
3s turn SEQ come
He turned and came.

378b) Awū kāfē bá.

3s turn come
He came back.

379a) Awū bá, ú sáe m.

3s come SEQ see 1s
He came and saw me.

379b) Awū bá sáe m.

3s come see 1s
He came to see me.
220 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
380a) Awū sa adá, ú pyē wū.
3s take cutlass, SEQ slash 3s
He took a cutlass and slashed him.

380b) Awū sa adá pyē wū.

3s take cutlass slash 3p
He slashed him with a cutlass.

381a) Abā sa ashwú kūb.

3s take nuts eat
They ate the nuts.

381b) Abā sa ashwú, ú kūb.

3p take nuts SEQ eat
They took some nuts and ate them.
According to informants, the difference is that the SVC (without ú) represents a set
of actions that occur together, in a bunch. When they are separated with ú, it shows
that there is probably a time gap between the two actions. In the case of
382a) Awū sa ámbyī, ú bá.
3s take water, SEQ come
for example, one informant says that the subject first takes the water, then, as a
separate action, comes toward the speaker. In the standard SVC sentence,
382b) Awū sa ámbyī bá.
3s take water come
however, ‘it is all one action.’ In other words, in terms of our categorization of
sentences in this chapter and the preceding one, the SVCs represent a single
proposition whereas the sentences with the sequential conjunction (ú) represent
multiple propositions.
In a few cases, SVCs do not convert to sequential constructions easily at all:
383) Awū yēr wēn mbakúnn.
3s cut kill hen
He butchered the hen.
Compare the unacceptable: *Awū yēr, ú wēn mbakúnn.
This sentence, if it means anything, would describe a situation in which a person
cuts something (not the chicken) and then kills the chicken.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 221
385) Awū byāen skeb ínjā-wū.
3s red pass brother-3s
He is redder than his brother.
Unacceptable: *Awū byāen, ú skeb ínjā-wū.
Here you have the unlikely assertion(s) that someone is red and that, in some
unrelated way, he is superior to his brother. In both of these cases the inseparability
of the verbs reflects that they are on their way to co-lexicalization.

8.5 Conclusion
The earlier part of this chapter focussed on demonstrating the existence and unity
of the SVC as a grammatical construction. The sharing of arguments, aspect
markers, and the negative marker were cited as evidence of the unity of the SVC as
a distinctive unit. A further piece of evidence in this regard is the contrast with the
sequential construction, which has the specific function of separating propositions.
A thorough study of the functions of the serial verb construction is beyond the
scope of this work. I hope that the above remarks and examples are enough to show
that the SVC is a functional unit in Kuteb, contrasting with one-verb simple
sentences on the one hand, and, at a more basic level, with complex sentences,
which encode multiple propositions, on the other (for which see Chapter Eleven).
222 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
CHAPTER NINE. TENSE, ASPECT, MOOD, NEGATION AND
QUESTIONS

9.1 Introduction
Tense, aspect, and mood (TAM from here) constitute a complex part of language in
which it is often difficult to isolate exact meaning(s).134 Intertwined with these
phenomena, particularlywith mood, are speech acts135 and negation.136
In this chapter I present the basics of Kuteb TAM and speech-act phenomena as a
starting point for further work. It is good to recognize at the start that at this stage
one can at best circumscribe the meaning in various ways and assign rough glosses
like ‘future,’ ‘perfect,’ etc., recognizing that markers will often signal combinations
of meanings and that the labels I use will probably not match the referents of those
labels in other languages. Although examples of negative sentences occur
throughout the previous chapters, I bring other examples together here so the
reader can see how negative works in a variety of sentence types.

9.2 Kuteb TAM markers

tense(only one is aspect mood
marked)
future actions or states perfective actions conditional actions and states
imperfective desired actions (hortative)
actions reported actions and states
unexpected (mirative) actions or
states
We will also include here a number of time-related morphemes that do not fit into
the above categories. They are:

134
See Bybee (1986) for a presentation of the inherent non-symmetrical nature of modal
and aspectual morphemes. Following Lyons (1977:687), Chung and Timberlake (Shopen
1985 Vol 3:203 ff), and Comrie (1976), I use a narrow definition of ‘tense’ in which the
tense marker is characterized as locating an event in time, whereas ‘aspect’ describes the
‘internal temporal structure of the event’ and ‘mood’ refers to the actuality of the event in
terms such as possibility, necessity, or desirability (Chung and Timberlake Vol 3:202).
135
For an outline of speech act phenomena in typological perspective, see Sadock and
Zwicky ‘Speech act distinctions in Syntax’ (Shopen 1985 Vol. 1) and Givón 1990 Vol.
2:779-824 ‘Non-declarative Speech-acts.’
136
For a typological study of Negation see J.R. Payne ‘Negation’ in Shopen (1985 Vol.
1:197-241).
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 223
repetitive ‘to do X again’ necessative ‘to do X necessarily’
maximal ‘to do X completely’ durative ‘to keep on doing X’
habitual ‘to do X habitually’ semelative ‘to have ever done X’
mirative ‘to do X surprisingly’
The following diagram illustrates roughly the position of the major TAM markers
with respect to the verb (RS=reported speech; IMP=imperfective; PRF=perfective;
HO=hortative; FUT=future; VFP=Verb-Focus Pronoun, NEG=negative).

FUT (ú)
RS (nā) IMP (kú) VERB PRF (pú) VFP NEG (bē)
HORT (ā)
Note that the future, hortative and imperfective markers precede the verb, while the
perfective marker follows. The CV structure of the imperfective and perfective
markers suggests that they have evolved from verbs, and their positions in the
clause reflect positional restrictions on what were probably once serial verb
constructions. The five non-aspectual markers listed above show evidence of recent
evolution from verbal status. Four follow the verb directly; one precedes the verb.
Co-occurrences of the above particles will be discussed below.
The verb-focus pronoun (VFP), at least in one of its functions, conveys an attitude
of the speaker towards the action, and thus acts semantically as a kind of modal.
Also included here is a brief description of imperative, since, even though it has no
overt morpheme to mark it, it involves certain changes in the verb and also follows
co-occurrence restrictions with respect to other elements in the verbal complex.
The phenomena of partial and complete verbal reduplication, which have
something to do with aspect and/or mood, are not covered here because but it is not
clear to me what exactly they convey.
In each case I deal with the formal features of the marker (assimilation, elision, and
tone sandhi) and then its meaning and syntactic behavior.
Two important facts stand out concerning the use of tense in Kuteb. First, like
many other African languages, and in contrast to some European languages, Kuteb
does not obligatorily mark tense (e.g. past, present, future). Many sentences carry a
naked verb unspecified as to the time the reported action takes place. Adverbial
nominals like íré ‘yesterday,’ ucwē ‘tomorrow,’ kuyākwēn ‘last year,’ kutē ‘long
ago,’ serve to orient the hearer to the temporal context. Secondly, what we here are
calling ‘future tense’ does not mark future time in an absolute sense but rather
marks whether the action referred to has not yet happened relative to the focal verb
224 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
in the immediate context, i.e., what Lyons calls the ‘zero-point of the deictic
context’ (1977:678); cf. ‘tense locus’ (Chung and Timberlake 1985:203). As
Comrie (1986:2) notes, the ‘zero point’ is usually the moment of speaking.
9.2.1 Tense: The Future Marker ú
Among the TAM markers, ú (‘FUT’) stands by itself in both form and function.
The perfective and imperfective markers both have a C-V shape and are probably
derived historically from verbs. The future marker is a single vowel, often realized
only by its tone.137 In some of the dialects it is impossible to isolate a segment
representing future, the high tone being the only bearer of the future meaning. It is
this high tone, and the preverbal position, that mark ú as possibly cognate with the
Jukun marker of future tense: á/bá (TJ, Jibu)/bí (Wukari), or related somehow to
the imperfective particle kú.
The function of ú is to signal to the hearer that the action or state encoded by the
following verb has not yet happened in relation to a given temporal point in the
mind of the speaker. It is thus a deictic category. As there is no other tense marker,
ú may be taken to stand in contrast with ‘non-future.’ Examples below will show
that future occasionally co-occurs with the aspect markers. That is, events marked
as perfective and imperfective may take place either in the future (relative to
another event) or the non-future.

9.2.1.1 Formal Features of Future

Future is marked with a high tone particle ú immediately preceding the verb. In
rapid speech this particle may be fused with the final vowel of a previous noun or
pronoun (see Chapter 3 for the phonological details). Examples:
386) Tī ú bá. [tīú bá]~ [tīí bá] ~[tūú bá]
1p FUT come
We will come.

387) Ā ú rū. [āá rū]

3p FUT go
They will go.

137
This does not rule out the possibility of its being derived from a verb. But if it is, the lack
of an initial consonant suggests that it was grammaticalized longer ago than other TAM
markers.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 225
388) Titī ú núng fu. [Titīí núŋ fu]
Titī FUT see 2s
Titi will see you.
Note that in examples two and three the vowel quality of the future marker may be
lost, but the tone of the particle displaces the tone on the noun or pronoun. This is
in accordance with general phonological rules in the language described in Chapter
Three.
A second feature of the future marker is the tone change that it induces in low-tone
verbs. After ú and before a pause, a low-tone verb will glide from high to low
(mid- and high-tone verbs remain unchanged):
389) Afu ú tu. [afú ú tû]
2s FUT find
You will find it.
When another word follows, the verb simply stays high, and the glide may be
realized on the stem of the noun:
390) Afu ú tu aser. [afúú tú ásêr]
2s FUT find money
You will find money.

391) Afu ú tu Audu. [afú ú tú áúdu]

2s FUT find Audu
You will find Audu.

9.2.1.2 Functions of ú (FUT)

The precise meaning of ú requires further study. That it indicates future (or at least
non-past) action is suggested by the fact that it cannot co-occur with the word íré
‘yesterday’ in a simple sentence:
392) *Awū ú bá íré.
3s FUT come yesterday
*You will come yesterday.
Note that the word ú does not indicate absolute future but rather future in relation
to something else. This is shown by the following (RS = Reported Speech):
393) Ítsū awū rī té m bāa
2 days ago 3s say with 1s COMP
226 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
awū nā ú bá íré.
3s RS FUT come yesterday
The day before yesterday he told me that he would come yesterday.

394) Íré awū rī té m bāa,

Yesterday 3s say with 1s COMP

awū nā ú bá yáka.
3s RS FUT come today
Yesterday he told me that he would come today.

Other examples:
395) Unde wū ú som fob-wū uwōg ne bē.
person REF FUT live able-3s place DEM NEG
The man will not be able to live in this place.

396) Tí kutē undufū íkī rī bāa, ande íkī nā ú

long ago elder SPEC say COMP people SPEC RS FUT

rū bá tī kupwā rimēnn-bā byāen

nwámem ahán.
e
move come REL skin body-3p red very thus
Long ago an old man said that some people would come who had bright red skin.

397) Ucwē afu ú si ukwe.

tomorrow 2S FUT be chief
Tomorrow you will be chief.

398) Kutsáb tī kú bá ame ú tá utēn nasárá.

week REL IMP come 1S FUT LOC land European
Next week I will be in Europe.
9.2.2 Aspect
As in the case of ‘future,’ it is important to remember that sentences do not
obligatorily mark aspect and that the completion or non-completion of an activity
or state is usually relative to some point specified in the context. There are two
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 227
aspectual markers in Kuteb: pú ‘perfective’ and kú ‘imperfective’ or ‘imperfect,’
and I describe them in that order.

9.2.2.1 Perfective Action Marker pú (‘PRF’)

In Kuteb unmarked verbs (apart from statives) in most cases can be taken as
referring to completed action, as is also the case in many African languages.
However, an action or state that is completed at the time of the speech, or, in some
cases, is to be completed at the time represented by some other verb in the context,
is marked by the word pú and followed by a verb-focus pronoun (identical to the
possessive pronoun) which agrees with the subject of the clause. See Section 3.3.6
below for more on the role of the possessive pronoun with verbs. The Jukun
equivalent of pú is mid-tone rā (Welmers 1968:51; Shimizu 1980b:263) but, in
contrast to Kuteb, it occurs after the object. Kona (Storch 2000:155) has low-tone
zə, which is probably cognate with the Jukun. Jibu has a perfective marker, hn/hm
(mid tone) that occurs, as in Kuteb, after the verb and before the direct object.
Another perfective marker in Jibu, sigh (low tone) can occur after the verb. It is
probably a newly grammaticalized verb. What Shimizu calls ‘perfect’ in Jukun
(1980b:256) is preverbal and appears to be semantically somewhat different from
what I am calling ‘perfective.’
Formal Features of ‘Perfective’
In requiring a verb-focus pronoun, pú acts like a verb, and this provides evidence
for the idea that pú is historically derived from a verb. There is no verb
homophonous with the perfective particle, but there are two that are close: pū
meaning ‘take’ and pu (low tone) meaning ‘fall.’ Semantically, there seems to be
more sense in the possibility of the word pū ‘take’ evolving into a perfective
marker than ‘fall’ (witness the grammatical use of ‘have’ in European languages).
This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the verb-focus pronoun changes a
mid-tone verb to a mid-high glide. In fast speech the glide becomes a high tone.
The Function of pú
I considered using the more self-evident term ‘completive’ rather than ‘perfective’
for pú. However, as Comrie notes (1976:16), they are not the same thing.
‘Completive’ tends to focus on the end of the action, whereas ‘perfective’ looks at
the whole action as a ‘blob.’ My feeling is that the latter characterizes pú more
closely. It carries the force of ‘already’ in English.
One clue to the meaning of pú comes from the fact that it cannot co-occur with the
imperfective in a simple sentence:
228 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
399) *Awū kú bá pú-wū.
3s IMP come PRF-3s
?He is coming already.
If kú indicates ongoing action, then pú, by default, indicates something other than
ongoing action. (But see examples 31 and 32 below.)
Of course it cannot occur with the negative, since something that has not happened
cannot logically be complete:

400) *Awū bá pú-wū bē.

3s come PRF-3s NEG
*He has not already come.

The co-occurrence of pú and the auxiliary kób ‘to do repeatedly’ is not found in
my data, and it is also doubtful to local speakers:

401) *Awū nde kób pú-wū ahán.

3s do REP PRF-3s thus
He has already done that repeatedly.

This also strengthens the argument that pú indicates perfective, since repeated
action is, in a sense, ‘imperfective.’
Finally, pú cannot occur with the reduplicated form of the verb, which (insofar as I
can determine at this point) indicates on-going activity.

402) *Awū bábá pú-wū.

3s coming PRF-3s
*??He has been coming.

Examples of the perfective, given with the unmarked (non-aspectual) equivalents

on the right, follow:
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 229
403) Atī bá pú-tī. Atī bá.
1p come PRF-1p 1p come
We have come. We came.

404) Andá kūr pú-bā kirāen. Andá kūr kirāen.

women make PRF-3p food women make food
The women have made food. The women made food.

405) Kútúpwá tsēn pú-wū. Kútúpwá tsēn.

cloth white PRF-3s cloth white
The cloth has become white. The cloth is white.

406) Tí tī ame sáŋ-me mákántá kíka bē,

since 1s enter-1s school yet NEG

íyā-m cwū pú-wū.

mother-1s die PRF-3s
Before I entered school, my mother had died.

The meaning of the above sentence would not be substantially different if it had
ended:
… íyā-m cwū.
… mother-1s die

The meaning of pú here seems to be a matter of emphasizing the relationship

between the events, as in English when one might say, ‘My mother had already
died.’ Another example:

407) Abítsē-tī sī rukwen bá pú-bā ítawé

fathers-1p descend mountain come PRF-3p before
230 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
Ukwe Alí rū bá náe ukwe.
Chief Ali move come lie chief
Our ancestors had already come down from the mountain before
Chief Ali became chief.

Example of perfective action in future:

408) Ame ú nde tág pú-m wánde ne

1s FUT do complete PRF-1s work DEM

títawé afu ú kafe bá.

before 2s FUT return come
I will finish this work before you come back.

In the following, note that the future marker occurs in the ‘before’ clause, and not
in the main clause:

409) M a kwáb-m kwáb bē,

1s COND try-1s try NEG,

tí tī ame ú ndetág-m mākāntā

before REL 1s FUT do-finish-1s school

afu si pú-fu unde tīyāŋ.

2s be PRF-2s person big
If I don’t hurry, even before I finish secondary school you will have
become an important man.

9.2.2.2 Ongoing Action: Imperfective (‘IMP’)

In form the imperfect marker kú has the C-V form of a verb and is likely to have
evolved from a verb, possibly the rare verb kú, which now means something like
‘be located.’ As an aspect marker, kú indicates an action or process that is still
going on at the time of the speech (or at the time of another action in the context).
Comrie (1987) takes ‘imperfective’ as inclusive of ‘progressive’ and ‘habitual,’
and it is for this reason that I have chosen ‘imperfective’ as a gloss for kú in Kuteb.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 231
The Jukun/Jibu equivalent rī/dī (Welmers 1948:50; Shimizu 1980b:253
‘potential/habitual’) likewise occurs just before the verb, but is not likely to be
cognate. Wukari Jukun has another pre-verbal particle nā that Shimizu
(1980b:252) calls ‘continuous’ and observes that nā and rī overlap somewhat in
meaning. Neither seems to be cognate with kú.138
Here are some examples, given along with unmarked equivalents on the right:

410) Ame kú bá. Ame bá.

1s IMP come 1s come
I am coming. I came.

411) Amamrá kú rī irá. Amamrá rī irá.

Amamra IMP say word Amamra say word
Amamra is speaking. Amamra spoke.

Continued action relative to main clause verb:

412) Kiyé tī ame ka atáng, andá kú kūr kirāen.

time REL 1s go there women IMP make food
When I got there, the women were making food.

413) Anyīsū kú nde urú ámām, mbapxú-fu bá kūb

children IMP do play only, dog-2s come bite

umbae ne tí kufxen.
child DEM PREP leg
The children were just playing, and your dog came and bit this child on the leg.

Examples of kú as habitual:

138
The Jukun nā from the verb nā ‘to lie down’ is cognate with Kuteb náe with the same
meaning.
232 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
414) Atī kú kūb-tī ashwág bē.
1p IMP eat-1p snails NEG
We do not eat snails.

415) Ikén tī atī kú tóm skeb iké si awúm.

thing REL 1p IMP farm pass here is guinea corn.
What we farm mostly here is guinea corn.

416) Tī kutē abítsē-tī kú tsō-bā apwā afxen bē;

before fathers-1p IMP wear-3p skin leg NEG

ā kú kyaŋ afxen ukáen ábín.

3p IMP walk legs bare only
Long ago our ancestors did not wear shoes; they just walked barefoot.

As was mentioned in the case of the perfective pú, the imperfective marker may
also be used along with the future marker, although this is rare in my texts, and is
extracted only with difficulty from my informant. Examples:

417) Ucwē tī abā ú kú tóm ritóm,139

tomorrow REL 1p FUT IMP farm farm

nī rū ka ri irá té bā.
2p move go say matter with 3p
Tomorrow when they are farming, go and talk to them.

418) Ucwē anī ú kú kūr kirāen asēn urwā,

tomorrow 2p FUT IMP make food place fire

139
One local speaker preferred the particle a in place of the future marker in this sentence,
and a low tone a (conditional) in the next one (30). Both were accepted, which may reflect
more the tolerance of the speakers than the nature of Kuteb grammar. Note that á is the
future marker in Jukun.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 233
atī ú bá ndeya nī.
1p FUT come help 2p
Tomorrow you will be making food over the fire; we will come and help you.

Co-occurrence of Perfective and Imperfective Aspects?

A structure that has yet to be explained is the following, where pú (retaining its
verbal heritage, perhaps), enters into a serial verb construction encoding the notion
of ‘to be about to’:

419) Awū kú bá kú pú-wū.

3s IMP come IMP PRF-3s
He is about to arrive. (He is already arriving?)

420) Ayī kú mbyir kú pú-yī umūŋ-fu.

3 IMP eat IMP PRF 3 flour-2s
It’s about to eat your flour. (It’s already eating your flour?)

9.2.2.3 Other Time-related Markers

It may be observed that the aspect markers above involve very general parameters
with respect to the temporal nature of events. Some other markers involve more
specific or more finely differentiated temporal components of events. As I will
suggest below, these markers may be historically related to certain verbs. It is also
significant that, while the major aspect markers discussed above are mutually
exclusive, it is common for one of them to co-occur with one of the aspect markers
presented below. As discussed in Chapter Four (Section 2.2.4), the categorization
of these morphemes awaits a more vigorous study of word classes. They could be
taken as verbal suffixes, as verbal auxiliaries, as restricted verbs in Serial Verb
Constructions (Chapter Eight Section 3.3) or even as adverbs. In this chapter we
focus on the function and/or meaning. The equivalent of these forms in Jukun is
discussed under ‘Auxiliary Verbs’ (Shimizu 1980b:218-229). Shimizu
distinguishes post-verbal and pre-verbal auxiliaries. It appears that while Kuteb
does have an example of a preverbal ‘auxiliary’ (tsikunn ‘to keep on doing X’) the
bulk of time-related markers in Kuteb are immediately post-verbal. I will not
attempt to draw parallels between the Kuteb and Jukun forms. Suffice it to say that
there is considerable overlap in the grammatical concepts in both languages (as
there is throughout the entire Niger-Congo family), but that specific cognates are
234 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
rare. A number of aspectual morphemes that are post-verbal in Kuteb have
equivalents in Jukun that are preverbal.
To Have Ever/Never Done X (EVER)
This aspect marker, which could be called ‘semelative’ may possibly be related to
the verb jí ‘to wait.’

421) Ame ka jí-m atáŋ bē.

1s go EVER-1s there NEG
I have never gone there.

422) Atī nde jí pú-tī wánde ne tíkucaŋ akwēn.

1p do EVER PRF-1p work DEM long-ago there
We had once done this work long before.

Note that jí cannot co-occur with the imperfective:

423 *Ame ka kú jí atáŋ.

1s go IMP EVER there
*I am once going there.

To Keep on Doing X (REIT)

The verb tsikunn ‘to last, stay’ has grammaticalized to encode the idea of ‘keeping
on doing’ an activity. It is always used together with the imperfective (kú):

423) Afu tsikunn kú nde tī irá.

2s REIT IMP do 1p matter
You keep on causing us trouble.

424) Abā tsikunn kú byīnn me kimbáb.

3p REIT IMP beat 1s whip
They kept on whipping me.

A variation on this has the relativizer tī preceding the verb phrase:

Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 235
425 Abā tsikunn tī kú byīnn me kimbáb.
3p REIT REL IMP beat 1s whip
They keep on whipping me.

Repetitive (REP)
The idea of one-time repetition of an action is signaled by the marker cī (kyī in
Standard Kuteb) after the verb. The adverb cwúcwo often co-occurs with cī but not
necessarily:
426) Ame ye cī icwūŋ íkī cwúcwo.
1s catch REP rat SPEC again
I caught another rat.

427) Atī bá cī uwōg-fu.

1p come REP place-2s
We came to you again.

428) Utsōg jwúb cī pú-wū irá cwúcwo.

hedgehog cry REP PRF-3s word again
The hedgehog has cried out again.

To Do X Completely (MAX)
The word tág (labelled ‘MAX’ in my glosses) immediately following the verb
indicates that the action is done to the fullest extent possible:

429) Abā ngwā tág ámbyī.

3p drink MAX water
They drank all the water.

430) Awū kwan tág pú-wū.

3s dirty MAX PRF-3s
He is completely dirty.
236 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
Another auxiliary (fé) seems to have almost the same function. It is quite possible
that the difference is something like that between ‘They finished drinking the
water’ and ‘They drank all the water.’ This would reflect the distinction Comrie
(1987) draws between ‘completive’ (which focuses on the end point of the action)
and ‘perfective’ (which looks at the whole action as a blob). Examples:

431) Abā ngwā fé ámbyī.

3p drink ? water
They finished drinking the water. (?)

432) Atī rū fé yī ukūnn inyīm akwēn.

1p go MAX to edge river there
We went right to the edge of the river.

Another word in the same range of meaning is the word mām ‘to complete.’ For
example;

433) Atī nde mām pú-tī wánde.

1p do finish PRF-1s work
We finished working.

It might appear that mām could be treated as another verbal extension. But as
mām can occur as the main verb of a sentence, we treat it as a full verb, and the
sentence above is considered as having a serial verb construction nde mām ‘do
finish.’

To Do X Repeatedly or habitually (HAB)

Reiterative action is expressed by the word kób immediately following the verb. It
often, but not necessarily, co-occurs with the imperfective marker kú:

434) Awū kú bá kób iké.

3s IMP come HAB here
He always comes here.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 237
To Do X Necessarily (NEC)
The epistemic mode is expressed by the word kāŋ, and in the words of Chung and
Timberlake (Shopen Vol. 3:242), apparently covers both necessity (the event
belongs to all alternative worlds) and possibility (the event belongs to at least one
possible world), although this needs to be explored further. Examples:

435) Awū nde kāŋ ahán.

3s do NEC thus
He had to do that.

436) Andá ú kūr kāŋ kirāen

Women FUT make NEC food.
The women will have to make food.
238 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
To Do X Unilaterally or Surprisingly (‘Mirative’)
The aspect-marking morphemes shown above are all similar in being verb-like,
occurring after the main verb of the sentence. Kuteb has another quite different
construction that in my opinion expresses the notion of ‘to act in a surprising or
unilateral way.’ Whether this should be taken as a verbal aspect, or rather as a
pragmatic device indicating surprise or disapproval on the part of speaker is a
subject for further debate. Similar constructions are used in Jukun (Shimizu
1980b:330-232; W. Evenhouse p.c.) and Migili (Stoffberg 1975). The concept of
unilateral or surprising action marked by a postverbal pronoun is widespread in
Africa but in my opinion has received little attention. Philip Noss (1995:326)
studies the concept in Biblical Hebrew, where it is occurs with the preposition l*-,
but cites examples from Gbaya and Sango (Ubangian), Chadic, and Swahili. What
I see as prevalent in West Africa is that the concept involves possession, and in
particular a possessive form of the pronoun co-referent with the subject. This is not
noted in the grammars of Welmers and Shimizu who call it the ‘recapitulating’ and
‘repeating’ pronoun, respectively, even though, as Shimizu points out, the tonal
pattern of the ‘possessive’ and ‘repeating’ pronouns is identical. In both Kuteb and
Jukun possession is represented by a high tone, which may ‘float’ before the
pronoun or cause the pronoun itself to shift to high tone. In Kuteb the ‘floating
tone’ influences the pitch of the preceding noun or verb stem. It is represented here
and in the standard orthography by a hyphen.
A further remarkable feature of the ‘possessed verb’ phenomenon in Kuteb is that
it has become obligatorily associated with completive aspect (see Section 3.1
above) and with negative (see Section 6.0 below). In Jukun it occurs obligatorily
only with the verb for ‘refuse.’ In Migili (Stoffberg p. 169ff) it occurs obligatorily
with some negatives and optionally with the completive marker.
A couple of examples of non-negative, non-perfective Verb-Focus Pronouns are
included here to give a rough idea of what is involved. Further examples are
available in Koops and Bendor-Samuel (1971).

437) Abā shaen-bā.

3p refuse-3p
They refused.

438) Afu nde rímāŋ ngwā-fu jwūmbae ná umbae wūne?

2s do how drink-2s kunu poss child DEM
Why did you drink this child’s kunu?
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 239
439) Ame tā unzu ipiŋ kínzō, amá ipiŋ ndebéb-wū.
1s shot mouth gun one, but gun spoil-3s
I got off one shot, but the gun jammed on me.

440) Kurūtsi tā, ú tēr rū ka núŋ,

Kurutsi shoot SEQ run move go see,

ashé, ī si-yī indag.

surprise 3 be-3 cow
Kurutsi shot once and ran to see, and, lo and behold, it was a cow!

Some languages use a filler noun meaning ‘thing’ to carry the possessive pronoun.
For example, in Hausa:

Ya tafi abinsa.
He went thing-his
He went off. /He left abruptly. /He went his way.

This construction is also used in Kuteb, but the verb is still ‘possessed’ by the
subject of the sentence. Example:

441 Awū rū-wū ikén-wū.

3s go-3s thing-3s
He went off. /He left abruptly. /He went his way.

Whether this represents a semantic borrowing from Hausa, or whether it is perhaps

a longer form of the Verb + Possessive Pronoun, and/or an inherited Niger-Congo-
wide idiom is a subject for further investigation.

Other Post-verbal Particles

Kuteb has a few other verbal suffixes or post-verbal particles having to do with
aspect. In the standard orthography these particles are written together with the
verb, on the grounds that nothing ever comes between the verb and the particle. On
240 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
the other hand, since the particles occur with many different verbs they act like a
separate word, and could be taken as a restricted verb, an adverb, or a particle.140
I list them here as fodder for further study:
tā ‘resulting in separation’ cī ‘resulting in closure’
Examples: Examples:
yá tā ‘leave’ njicī ‘bury’
kan tā ‘divide’ burcī ‘cover’
sáen tā ‘release’ cwunncī ‘close’
táen tā ‘split’ furcī ‘to be bent’

ra ‘do by force’?141 ya/yae ‘assist in X’

Examples: Examples:
shwēr ra ‘break off’ kūr ya ‘help prepare’
tūr ra ‘push’ nde ya ‘help do’
shir ra ‘pull’ ngwā ya ‘help drink’
ye ra ‘grab’ sú ya ‘help carry’

mbúb ‘resulting in waste’ mbéb ‘resulting in spoilage’

Examples: Examples:
yāen mbúb ‘pour out’ nde mbéb ‘ruin’
byīnn mbúb ‘break’ shir mbéb ‘ruin by pulling’
pog mbúb ‘smash’ kwan mbéb ‘ruin by soiling’
tēn mbúb ‘burn up’ rī mbéb ‘ruin by speaking’

How do we categorize these morphemes? One possibility is to consider them as

restricted verbs following the pattern of the verbs na ‘give’ and té ‘accompany’(see
Sections 3.3.3 Benefactive and 3.3.4 Comitative in Chapter Eight). For example tā
could be a restricted verb meaning ‘to separate,’ and cī could be considered a
restricted verb meaning ‘cover.’ It is interesting to note that tā acts a little like the
Hausa stativizer -tā with exactly the same tone, and like the Mandinka perfective
marker –tā, both suffixed to intransitive verbs. Whether the restricted use of tā is

140
Ansre (1963) proposes yet another term, ‘verbid,’ for some of these morphemes.
141
The morpheme ra may be cognate with Jukun re ‘do to all; intensive.’ See Shimizu
1980a: 226.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 241
related in some way to the full verb tā ‘to shoot’ or with aci ‘to lay eggs’ is a
question for further study. Arrows and eggs both separate from the creatures that
launch them.
9.2.3 Mood
In this section we explore the rudiments of some of the Kuteb expressions which
‘characterize the actuality of an event by comparing the event world(s) to a
reference world’ (Chung and Timberlake, 1985:III:241). We discuss Imperative,
Hortative, Reported Speech, and Conditional sentences.

9.2.3.1 Imperative
In the case of the singular, the imperative consists of dropping the subject pronoun:
442) Bá! ‘Come!’ Rū! ‘Go!’

In the case of second person plural, the signal of imperative is the dropping of the
a- prefix on the pronoun anī, and, in the case of low-tone verbs, a tone shift from
low to mid:
443) Nī bá!
You (pl) come!

444) Nī rū!
You (pl) go!

445) Nī som iké! [nī sôm iké]142

You (pl) sit here!
It may be seen that in the case of mid- and high-tone verbs an ambiguity is created
between indicative in medium-fast speech and the imperative, as the a-prefix is
dropped from both forms. Consider the sentence:

446) Nī bá.
2p come

This could mean either ‘you (pl) came’ or ‘you (pl) come!’

142
The falling tone on [sôm] ‘sit’ here represents falling from mid (the pitch of the
pronoun) to low.
242 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
The tone on nī bá is the same in all of the following:

447) Nī bá íré.
You came yesterday.

448) Nī bá ucwē!
Come tomorrow!

449) Nī bá yáka.
You came today.

450) Nī bá yáka!
Come today!
It may be, however, that the imperative has a rhythm correlate such that the speed
of uttering the imperative Nī bá! is faster than that of the declarative form. In
clarifying these, a local speaker slowed the non-imperative forms down and used
the full form of the pronoun: anī.

9.2.3.2 Hortative (‘HO’)

The hortative particle ā is used only with third-person subjects and conveys the
notion ‘let X do ...’ For example:
451) Awū ā bá.
3s HO come
Let him come.

452) Anyīsū ā som uwé akwēn.

children HO sit front there.
Let the children sit over there.
Compare the following unacceptable combinations:
*ame ā bá. Let me come.
*atī ā bá. Let us come.
As in the case of the conditional marker, there is elision with the final vowel of
noun and pronoun subjects, creating sets of pronoun-hortative combinations
according to the following pattern:
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 243
Slow Medium Fast
[awū ā bá] [wūā bá] [wā bá] ‘Let him come!’
[abā ā bá] [bāā bá] [āā bá] ‘Let them come!’
[ayī ā bá] [yīā bá] [yā bá] ‘Let it come!’
The third person plural fast speech set ([āā bá])is irregular in not having the C-V
pattern of the other pronouns. This is because the pronoun itself normally shortens
in fast speech from abā to ā. The conditional and future also follow this elision
pattern.
The hortative particle does not co-occur with future or perfective markers, a fact
that would seem to follow from the observation that if the action is being urged, it
must necessarily be in the future and cannot logically be already completed. I.e.,
the following do not occur:
453 *Awū ā ú bá.
3s HO FUT come
*Let him will come.

454 *Awū ā bá pú-wū.

3s HO come PRF-3s
*Let him has come.
Elicited combinations of hortative plus imperfective may or may not be fully
natural. No co-occurrences of hortative and imperfective were found in 150 pages
of unelicited text. However, Kuteb students speaking English sometimes use
combinations like ‘Let him be sitting,’ suggesting that this may be possible in
Kuteb. The following sentences were tolerated by one person and rejected by
another.
455) ?Awū ā kú bá.
3s HO IMP come
Let him be coming!

456) ?Awū ā kú tsō keké.

3s HO IMP mount cycle
Let him be riding the cycle!
244 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
457) ?Abā ā kú ngwā.
3s HO IMP drink
Let them be drinking!

458) ?Aróm ā kú tóm ritóm.

men HO IMP farm farming
Let the men be farming!

459) ?Anyīsū ā kú nde urú.

children HO IMP do game
Let the children be playing!
A periphrastic alternative to the hortative construction is yátā tī ... (‘Let ...’) as in
460) Yátā tī abā rī.
let REL 3p speak
Let them talk!
Sometimes both constructions are used together, and it does not seem to make any
difference in meaning. Examples:
461) Yátā tī awū ā bá!
leave REL 3s HO come
Let him come.
Other examples of the hortative:
46 Ande tī ricen ā sáŋ ufu ne!
2)
people guest HO enter door DEM
Let the guests enter this door!

463) Andá tí anyīsū ā ka-bā atáŋ bē!

women and children HO go-3p there NEG
Don’t let the women and children go there!

464) Awū ā si unde tīnyaŋ!

3s HO be person good
Let him be a good person!
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 245
465) Ayī ā si tī rikīm!
3 HO be fat
Let it be fat!

466) Ayī ā byāg!

3 HO hot
Let it be hot!

9.2.3.3 Reported Speech Sentences

The reported speech marker is introduced here before conditionals because it will
be seen that one type of conditional sentence makes use of the reported speech
marker. The particle nā ‘reported speech’ occurs as part of the verb complex in the
quotation clause of quotation sentences. For example:
467) Fxēntírimam rī bāa, awū nā ú kūr kirāen yáka.
Fxentirimam say comp 3s RS FUT prepare food today.
Fxentirimam said she is going to cook today.
Note, however, occasional sentences that imply a frame with a speech verb, such
as:
468) Awū nā kú bá.
3s RS IMP come
(Someone said) he is coming.

469) Abā nā ú rū-bā bē.

3p RS FUT go-3p NEG
(Someone said) they will not go.

9.2.3.4 Conditional Sentences

Two types of conditional sentences are often found in languages: an ordinary
conditional and a counterfactual conditional. Both occur in Kuteb.
Ordinary Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences typically have two clauses, a Main Clause and an ‘if’
(conditional) clause. In these sentences the action referred to in the main clause is
dependent on the conditions specified in the ‘if’ clause. The full range of use of this
construction needs to be explored. The simplest examples will be given here. The
246 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
crucial particle here is a low tone /a/ meaning ‘if.’ The equivalent in Jukun is mā in
the same position (Shimizu 1980b:258). Example:
470) Afu a bá, ame ú ndeya fu.
2s COND come 1s FUT help 2s
If you come I will help you.
Sometimes a longer form occurs, beginning with asití, which may have derived
from si ‘to be’ and the conjunction /tí/. The particle /a/ still occurs before the verb.
For example:
471) Asití me a bá, ame ú tu fu a?
IF 1s COND come, 1s FUT find 2s Q
If I come, will I find you?
The conditional marker may co-occur with the imperfective kú and with the
completive pú, but co-occurrences with future are rare.
Counterfactual Conditional Sentences
In these sentences a situation in the past or present is proposed that doesn’t actually
exist, and the speaker wants to say that if it had existed, such and such would have
happened. For example:
472) Á bāa, afu nā rī té m, ame ú ndeya fu.
CFC 2s RS say with 1s 1s FUT help 2s
If you had told me, I would have helped you.
Note that the quotation complementizer bāa introduces the conditional clause, and
that the indirect/reported speech marker precedes the verb. Note also that in the
main clause, the normal future marker is used.

9.3 Negative sentences

Many examples of negative sentences have been given above, but I present a set of
them here to show how the various types of sentence are negated. Basically,
negative is shown by the particle bē at the end of the sentence. It will be seen,
however, that the negative construction has incorporated the verb-focus pronoun
(see Section 3.3.7 ‘Unexpected or Unilateral Action’) to such an extent that it has
become an obligatory part of the construction. It would appear that negative action
is seen as inherently unexpected or unilateral. Jukun negatives (marked by final
mbá) also require the verb-focus pronoun (Welmers 1968:56; Shimizu 1980b:276);
in Migili only certain types of negative sentences require it. Examples of the
negative in stative, intransitive, equative, locative, motion, transitive, and
ditransitive sentences follow: Lufu marks negative with final tsú but apparently no
VFP.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 247
473) Kútúpwá ne tsēn-yī bē.
cloth DEM white-VFP NEG
This cloth is not white.

474) Atī cwū-tī bē

1p die-1s NEG
We did not die.

475) Awū si-wū ukwe bē.

3s is-3s chief NEG
He is not a/the chief.

476) Anī tá-nī uwae kusóg bē.

2p loc-2p inside house NEG
You are/were not in the house.

477) M bá-m iké bē.

1s come-1s here NEG
I didn’t come here.

478) Ā wēn-bā icwu bē.

3p kill-3p leopard NEG
They did not kill a leopard.

479) M nda-m awū wúcī bē.

1s give-1s 3s food NEG
I did not give him food.

480) Á jwunn-ba anī kutxom bē

3p throw-3p 2p stone NEG
They did not throw stones at you.
248 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
9.4 Questions
We very briefly introduce questions here, recognizing that they could well
comprise a chapter of their own. Kuteb has yes-no questions, content questions,
and other question forms that are less easy to characterize.
9.4.1 Yes-No Questions
This type of question is marked by a low-tone /a/ at the end of the sentence. For
example:
481) Afu kú bá a?
2s IMP come Q
Are you coming?

482) Abā kōb kutúpwá-m a?

3p sew cloth-1s Q
Did they sew my cloth?

483) Awū ka kutúr a?

3s reach bush Q
Did he go to the bush?
As explained in the section on phonology (Chapter Two, Section 2.1), when a final
stop precedes the question marker, it becomes a fricative.
484) Anī wēn indag a?
2p kill cow Q
Did you (pl) kill a/the cow?

485) Awūne si kukūb a?

this be bone Q
Is this a bone?
In negative yes/no questions the question morpheme tends to merge with the vowel
of the negative marker bē to form a low front vowel [æ]:
486) Afu ú rū-fu bē a? [afuúrūúfubæɁæ]
2s FUT go-2s NEG Q
Won’t you go?
9.4.2 Content Questions
The indicators of content questions are the interrogative pronouns áyē/ayē
(‘who?’), ímī/imī ‘what?’ and the adverbial nouns ísīnn ‘when?,’ akā ‘where?,’
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 249
rímāŋ ‘how?.’ Note that there are two forms for ‘who’ and ‘what’ depending on
where they occur in a sentence. The low-mid/high form generally occurs at the end
of a clause. For example:
487) Afu si ayē?
2s be who?
Who are you?

488) Awūne si imí

this is what?
What is this?
The other form occurs when the interrogative word begins the sentence:
489) Áyē tī bá?
who REL come
Who came?

490) Ímī tī afu kú shā?

When REL 2s IMP want
What do you want?
The form ísīnn ‘when?’ seems to retain its high-mid pattern in both fronted and
non-fronted position:
491) Ísīnn tī afu bá?
When REL 2s come
When did you come?

492) Afu bá ísīnn?

2s come when?
When did you come?
The form rímāŋ is not recorded in initial position, only following the verb:
493) Anī núŋye wū rímāŋ?
2p recognize 3s how
How did you recognize him?
The word rímāŋ is also used in a phrasal interrogative meaning ‘why?’ that has a
negative implication to it:
250 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
494) Awū nde rímāŋ pū atsīŋkén-m yāen-mbúb ahán?
3s do how take books-1s dump out thus
Why did he dump out my books like this?
Another way of saying the above is to use another phrasal interrogative, imi tī nde
at the beginning of the sentence. For example:
495) Ímī tī nde afu cī-fu kirāen bē?
What REL do 2s eat-2s food NEG
Why didn’t you eat?
Finally, there is the equivalent of a WHY Question that also makes use of imí and
the word for ‘because’:
496) Abā kum tī icāen imí?
3p beat 1p because what
Why did they beat us?
Example 102 can be reordered along the lines of 101 as follows:
497) Icāen imí tī abā kum tī?
because what REL 3p beat 1p
Why did they beat us?
9.4.3 Other Question Words
When a question is asked and the addressee does not respond, the questioner
repeats the question, adding úbā at the end.
498) Dawuda tá iké úbā?
Dawuda be here Q
I asked if Dawuda is here.
Sometimes úbā is used all by itself with the meaning ‘I asked a question and you
didn’t respond.’
The word úbā is also used when a person doesn’t understand the speaker and the
speaker wants to repeat or make a clarification. He/she will say: M nā úbā and the
addressee will say mm and then the speaker will repeat the statement. Another
sentence particle in this set is áné, which indicates that the speaker questions the
truth of the other person’s statement. Example:
Person A. Āŋamrá yíb adá-fu.
Anghamra steal cutlass-2s
Anghamra stole your cutlass.
Chapter Nine Kuteb Grammar 251
Person B. Āŋamrá yíb adá-m áné?
Anghamra steal cutlass-1s
Did Anghamra really steal my cutlass?
As with úbā, áné can occur by itself with the meaning ‘Is that true?’
Another question word is bírā, which is used when a question is misunderstood
and a third party repeats the question:
A. Afu jāeb iwág yī a?
2s buy fish REF Q
Did you buy the fish?
B. (No response or confused response)

C. Afu jāeb iwág yī bírā?

2s buy fish REF Q
(He said) did you buy the fish?
Three other sentence-final particles need to be mentioned. One, án, seems to
indicate something like ‘indeed.’ As it needs to be studied in the context of
conversational exchanges, we will leave its investigation for others. The second
one is roo, which in my texts seems to be used when a speaker is addressing a lot
of people and wanting them to do something. E.g.
499) Nī bá iké roo!
2p come here ?
You all come!
Finally, we have árō, the meaning of which I have not been able to define, and
gladly leave it to others to do so.

9.5 Conclusion
I have presented here the rudiments of the tense/aspect/modal system of Kuteb, as
well as some particles with pragmatic functions. In conclusion, I can only reiterate
that what I have set down here is but the nose of the hippopotamus. It is hoped that
further research by myself and others in years to come will correct and expand
these initial impressions. In particular, I look forward to some answers to several
questions in this area:
1. What is the range of function of the particle nā which we have glossed as
‘reported speech’?
252 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Nine
2. Are there any situations in which pú (perfective) can be used without the verb-
focus pronoun?
3. What are the functions of verbal reduplication and verbal reiteration, as in:
500) Awū pípyí.
3s refuse
He refused.

501) Ā wēn wū wēn.

3p kill 3s kill
They killed him.
4. What is the interaction between the habitual use of kú and the reiterative
auxiliary kób?
5. What is the meaning of the preverbal particle áa (falling tone), which I
occasionally hear (and which seems to involve future and/or conditional). E.g.:
502) Awū áa bá [awáà bá] ...
3s ? come
If he comes …
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 253
CHAPTER TEN. DEICTICS, PRONOUNS, AND ANAPHORA

10.1 Introduction
Pronouns and demonstratives were introduced briefly as lexical categories in
Chapter Four. In this chapter we will examine these words and other referring
expressions in Kuteb, briefly sketching the form and functions of deictics
(pronouns, spatial and temporal referring expressions, and demonstratives) and text
reference expressions, i.e., those that refer to other elements in a text.
The first division one needs to make in the Kuteb referential system is between
deictic reference, which involves reference to something in the real world, and
reference to elements of a text, which has traditionally been called anaphora.
Anaphora is explained in Section 3.0.

10.2 Deixis: Pronouns and Demonstratives

Deixis, according to Lyons (1977), refers to ‘the location and identification of
persons, objects, events, processes and activities being talked about, or referred to,
in relation to the spatio-temporal context...’ of the utterance. Pronouns, tense
markers, and demonstratives are typically the major grammatical categories that
express deixis. I present here the basic pronominal system of Kuteb, not only
because it is a critical component of the deictic reference system of Kuteb but also
because it is the source for several apparent grammaticalizations, which will form
the major part of the discussion to follow.
10.2.1 Pronouns
One of the common features of the pronouns in the Taraba languages is the tonal
pattern in the pronoun stems. First and second person tend to have low tone; all the
rest have mid tone.143 Storch (2000:41) states that the common pattern for subject
pronouns in Taraba and Plateau languages is mid tone in all the pronouns. A
careful study of all the languages in the area is needed to sort out which of the two
proposed patterns is indeed more common and how they are distributed.

10.2.1.1 Form of the pronouns

It is useful (and traditional) to present several sets of pronouns based on
grammatical function. So we present here Independent, Subject, Object, and
Possessive pronouns, recognizing that subject, object, and possessive forms are

143
See a comparative chart in Section 2.1.7 below.
254 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
phonological variants of the independent forms. What we have earlier called ‘verb-
focus pronouns’ are identical in form to the possessive pronouns.

10.2.1.2 Independent pronouns

In isolation the following set of full forms is used, as in a conversation like:
Áyē? ‘Who is it?’
Ame ‘It’s me.’
The complete set of full (independent) pronouns is as follows:
Singular Plural Unspecified
st
1 person ame atī
nd
2 person afu anī
3rd person awū abā ayī
In slow speech the full forms can occur in almost any position. However, normally,
phonological constraints work to create the subject, object, and possessive sets
presented below. It is worth noting that the Kpambai dialect uses abi for 2nd person
singular.

10.2.1.3 Subject pronouns

Before a verb in normal speech, the following set of shortened (subject) forms are
used:144
Singular Plural Unspecified
1st p. m tī
2nd p. u nī
3rd p. wū, ū ā yī, ī
Examples of subject pronouns:
503) M kú bá.
1s IMPF come
I’m coming.

504) U bá iké a?
2s come here ?
So you’ve come here!

144
In the standard orthography, the full forms of pronouns are used in subject position,
following the pattern of slow speech.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 255
505) Wū/Ū nwúnn íré.
3s leave yesterday
He left yesterday.

506) Tī fxāefā.
1p thank
We’re grateful.

507) Nī sáe iké.

2p look here
You (pl) look here!

508) Ā kú shā imí?

3s IMPF want what
What do they want?

509) Ī nyaŋ pú-yī.

3 good PRF-3
It’s/they’re good!

10.2.1.4 Object Pronouns

After transitive verbs, the prefix a- is dropped, leaving the set: me/m, fu, wū, tī, nī,
bā, yī. See Section 2.1.5 below for cases of the full form being used systematically
in object position.
Examples:
256 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
Ā tu me/m. [ā tu me/m] ‘They found me.’
Ā tu fu. [ā tu fu] ‘They found you (sg).’
Ā tu wū. [ā tu wū] ‘They found him/her/it.’
Ā tu tī. [ā tu tī] ‘They found us.’
Ā tu nī. [ā tu nī] ‘They found you (pl).’
Ā tu bā [ā tu bā] ‘They found them.’
Ā tu yī [ā tu yī] ‘They found it/them.’

10.2.1.5 Possessive and Verb Focus Pronouns

After nouns (i.e., in genitive constructions) and verbs (see below), a high tone
possessive or associative marker precedes the pronoun.145 This non-segmental
morpheme is typically joined to the tone on the previous syllable, as follows:
Noun + [ ΄ ] + Pronoun
ubur + ΄ + fu [ubǔrfu] ‘your hat’
utī + ΄ + fu [utīífu] ‘your spear’
kujwó + ΄ + fu [kujwóófu] ‘your arm’
The two high tones in the last example merge, so that the associative link as such is
not heard. This is true of all high-tone nouns followed by the pronoun. The
possessive link is represented in the official orthography by a hyphen. Note that the
form of the possessive pronoun in this analysis is virtually identical with the object
pronoun. It appears to me that in some other languages the tonal possessive link is
manifest in the form of a tonal change on the pronoun itself, making it necessary to
have a different set of pronouns.
The possessive pronouns with the associative marker also occur after verbs, where
they are called ‘verb-focus pronouns,’ or, more recently, ‘serial pronouns’ (See
Chapter Nine Section 3.1, 3.3.7 and 6.0). The following examples give the
morphemic, phonetic, and standard representations of the data:

145
An exception to this rule is the word unda, ‘daughter,’ which does not take the
associative link before a pronoun: /unda-fu/ is [undafu] rather than the expected [undǎfu].
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 257
morphemic phonetic orthographic

afu som ΄ fu [afusǒmfu] Afu som-fu. ‘You just sat.’

afu rū ΄ fu [afurūúfu] Afu rū-fu. ‘You went off.’
afu kwáb ΄ fu [afukwápfu] Afu kwáb-fu. ‘You really tried.’
Thus, three similar but grammatically contrasting sequences obtain, represented as
follows (VFP=Verb-Focus Pronoun):
N ΄ possessive pn: kuter-wū ‘his mortar’
V ΄ VFP: Awū tā-wū. ‘He (unilaterally) shot (something).’
V object pn: Awū tā wū. ‘He shot it/him/her.’
A shortened form of the pronoun consisting of the consonant occurs (m, f, w, t, n,
b), but can be considered a phonologically conditioned variant. See the next
section.

10.2.1.6 Verb-Focus Pronouns and Object Pronouns in Sequence

When a possessive or verb-focus pronoun precedes a direct object pronoun (e.g. in
negative and perfective sentences with direct objects), the final vowel of the first
pronoun is dropped, leaving a single consonant while the second takes the full
form. More examples are given in Chapter 2 Section 2.3.
510) Anī tu-nī abā bē. [anītǔnabā bē]
2p find-2p 3p NEG
You (pl) did not find them.

511) Anī tu pú-nī abā. [anītupúnabā]

2p find PRF-2p 3s
You (pl) have found them.

512) Ame tu-m awū bē. [ametǔmawūbē]

1s find-1s 3s NEG
I did not find him.

513) Ame tu pú-m awū. [ametupúmawū]

1s find PRF-1s
I have found him.
258 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
514) Awū tu-wū afu bē. [awūtǔwafubē]
3s find-3s 2s NEG
He did not find you.

515) Awū tu pú-wū afu. [awūtupúwafu]

3s find PRF-3s 2s
He has found you.

516) Ayī tu-yī ame bē. [ayītǔyamebē]

3 find-3 1s NEG
It/They did not find me.

517) Ayi tu pú-yī ame [ayītupúyame]

3 find PRF-3 1s
It/They have found me.
An example of a possessive pronoun in this context would be:
ande-wū itsóŋ [anděwitsóŋ]
people-3s five his five people
in which the vowel of wū is displaced by the first vowel /i/ of itsóŋ.

10.2.1.7 A Comparison of pronouns in Southern Taraba

Although the data in the following chart is rough, it shows the general tendency for
first and second singular pronouns in Taraba languages to have low tone, and the
remainder to have mid tone.
Kuteb Kapya Oohum Jukun Icen Bete Jibu Bibi Lufu
m/ame ami m m/âm āmē mba m mba m/mma
u/afu* avi ndu áu ābō owu wu owo u/āu
ū/awū awū ngī ákū āgē ozū kú ozū kū/ákū
tī/ atsī dī áī ājē dēdē í ī ī/áī
nī anī bī ánī ányē lēlē níŋ le? nī/ánī
bā abē bē ábē ábé b±bë dē bā ábā

Note again that the Kpambai dialect of Kuteb uses abi for second person singular.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 259
10.2.1.8 Pronouns: meaning
The pronouns of Kuteb encode ‘person’ and to some extent ‘number.’ In the third
person there is also a distinction between human and non-human, but this
distinction is not straightforward and will be the subject of a special discussion
below. The pronouns are presented here again for ease of reference:
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
singular ame ‘I, me’ afu ‘you’ awū ‘he, she, it’
plural atī ‘we, us’ anī ‘you’ abā ‘they, them’
sing./plur. ayī ‘it, they’
Note that ‘third person’ is a mixed bag: awū may have human or non-human
antecedents; abā may only have human antecedents; ayī may only have non-
human antecedents, and is not restricted as to singular or plural. Most antecedents
of ayī are inanimate, it is possible that originally the category included only
inanimate noun classes but has expanded to include nouns that have the /i/ prefix.
Chapter Five gave an extensive list of nouns to which yī has been found to refer. I
repeat just a few here to show the variety:
Clear Plurals referred to by pronoun yī:
asóg ‘huts’ anyī ‘teeth’
ayāen ‘kernels’ itúkū ‘trees’
akūb ‘bones’ abubunn ‘cowries’
Singular/Plural referred to by pronoun yī:
iyāg bushcow(s) iwōg honey/bees
iwág fish icwo palmnut(s)
icír yam(s) ifáen gazelle(s)
Other nouns referred to by pronoun yī:
260 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
ibyē ‘meat’ urú ‘game’
itsab ‘cleverness’ ikén ‘thing(s)’
ibēn ‘marriage’ tárko ‘trap’
kindob ‘oil’ rinyí ‘name’
acīn ‘medicine’ ijwē ‘body’
rikaen ‘poison’ anyīŋ ‘blood’
rógō ‘cassava’ irá ‘word’
karatū ‘reading’ únde ‘work’
kujīmshwur ‘peace’ use ‘dance’
awúm ‘guinea corn’ ayéb ‘millet’
mbapwa ‘maize’ irím ‘grass’
kirāen ‘food’ kucē ‘net’
upae ‘penalty’ ákwā ‘a cult’
It was shown in Chapter Five that the class of antecedents for ayī ranges from
plurals to uncountable objects, to singulars, and even overlaps slightly with nouns
in the awū group. Ayī is known to occur in situations where there is no specific
antecedent at all; thus it acts much like the dummy subject ‘it’ in English. For
example:
518) Ayī a si ahán ame ú kāfē-m yī uwōg itsē-m.
it is thus 1s FUT return-1s to place father-1s
if
If it is like that, I’ll just go back to my father.

519) Abā táŋ bāa, ayī nā si itsē-bā tā kú bá.

3p think COMP it RS is father REL IMP come
3p
They thought that it was their father who was coming.
10.2.2 Demonstratives, Spatial and Temporal Deictics
In addition to the person deictics sketched above, which distinguish the speaker,
the addressee, and third parties, and incorporate number of referents (singular or
plural) and humanness, Kuteb has spatial and temporal deictics and demonstratives.
As Anderson and Keenan point out (Shopen 1985:297), it is very common in the
world’s languages for the system of spatial demonstratives to be imported by
analogy into the temporal domain without any particular modification. In Kuteb,
this is also the case, as can be shown by the fact that ne is part of the word tīnine
‘now.’ We will concentrate here on the spatial set.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 261
10.2.2.1 Spatial Deictics and Demonstratives
The basic spatial deictics are the adverbial nouns iké ‘here’ and akwēn ‘there,’
which can stand alone as adjuncts in sentences. For example:
520) Rū bá iké!
move come here
Come here!

521) Tsi uwé akwēn!

stand front there
Stand there!
The proximal deictic/demonstrative ne is used in attributive position, as in:
unde ne kusóg ne uwōg ne
person DEM house DEM place DEM
The expression iké ‘here’ is equivalent to uwōg ne ‘this place.’ The latter is used
both as a deictic and an anaphor in text, whereas iké and akwēn refer strictly to the
physical world: iké is ‘a place close to speaker’ and akwēn is ‘a place distant from
speaker.’ Both are frequently modified by adverbial nominals such as uwae
‘inside,’ isim ‘behind,’ isī ‘downward,’ uwé ‘in front,’ most of which are derived
from the terms for body parts. Uwé akwēn ‘there in front’ is a frequent
combination.
Examples:
522) Anyīsū som iké, ande ndufū som uwé akwēn.
children sit here, people adult sit front there
The children sat here, and the adults sat over there.

523) Ye ibae awúm ne ka tsi isim kurug akwēn.

Take sack corn DEM go stand behind granary there
Put this sack of corn behind the granary.

524) Iké nyaŋ skeb pú-yī Lágos.

here good pass PRF-3 Lagos
This place is better than Lagos.
While iké and akwēn behave syntactically and morphologically as nouns, the
deictics ne and né are particles that modify nouns referring to items close to or
distant from the speaker. Examples:
262 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
525) Unde ne txūn m asú.
person DEM insult 1s insult
This person insulted me.

526) Utoŋ né nyaŋ uwae-m.

soup DEM good inside-1s
I love that soup.

527) Wēn mbakúnn ne tíritsen.

Kill chicken DEM right away
Kill this hen right away.
The words ne and né discussed above co-occur frequently with the referentials wū,
bā, yī (‘the one/ones referred to’). For example:
unde wū ne this man referred to
itúkūn yī ne these trees referred to
andá bā ne these people referred to
This happens so frequently that in the standard orthography they are written
together as though they are a sort of longer demonstrative:
Independent form Post-noun form
awūne ‘this one’ wūne ‘this’
awūné ‘that one’ wūné ‘that’
abāne ‘these (people)’ bāne ‘these’ (people)
abāné ‘those (people)’ bāné ‘those (people)
ayīne ‘this/these’ yīne ‘this/these’ (nonhuman)
ayīné ‘that/those’ yīné ‘that/those’ (nonhuman)
This seems to represent a coalescence of the referential and demonstrative
functions. The referentials, presumably, indicate objects that are in the immediate
consciousness of the speaker and hearer, whether through previous reference or
because of their physical proximity. Whether they should be written separately or
together is not easy to decide. No other morpheme ever comes between the two, so
they could be joined. But ne and né are used with a wider range of words than just
the referentials. In speech, of course, they are always together. In this book they are
written separately.
Examples of demonstratives:
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 263
528) Aser wū ne skeb pú-yī aná ayī né.
money REF DEM pass PRF-3 that of REF DEM
The price of this one is more than that of those.

529) Umbae wū ne kwáb tímambē.

child REF DEM try much
This child tried hard.

530) Ayī ne si irá tī skeb risū ukwe.

REF DEM is matter REL pass head chief
This is a matter that is too much for the chief.

531) Irá yī né ndebéb m utōb.

matter REF DEM spoil 1s heart
That matter upsets me.

532) Rī té abā ne tī ā nā kāfē bá ucwē.

speak with REF DEM that they RS return come tomorrow
Tell these (people) to come back tomorrow.

533) Ande bā ne kú shā imí?

People REF DEM IMP want what?
What do these people want?

534) Awū né si anáfu.

REF DEM is yours
That one is yours.

535) Ayī né ndebéb pú-yī.

That/those spoil PRF-3
Those are spoiled.
264 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
536) Abā né bá tí íré.
REF DEM come since yesterday.
Those (people) came already yesterday.

10.2.2.2 Temporal Deictics

As mentioned earlier, words used to fix the time of an utterance with respect to the
moment of speech are based on spatial reference. Thus tīnine ‘now’ may be
derived from the relator tī + a reduplicated form of ne ‘this.’ Other temporal words
are:
yáka146 ‘today’
íré ‘yesterday’
ítsū ‘day before yesterday’
ucwē ‘tomorrow’
tsōwēn ‘day after tomorrow’
tsōkatáŋ ‘three days hence’.
yákúyā ‘four days hence’
yíwūkan ‘five days hence’
yíwútén ‘six days hence’
ísīnn ‘when?’

10.3 Anaphora: the use of awū, abā, ayī in text

While the difference between deictic and anaphoric expressions is useful for some
words in Kuteb, it does not apply, at least synchronically, to the third person
pronouns and what we have called demonstratives. The set awū, abā, ayī as well
as ne and né, and combinations thereof, occur both as deictics and as intratextual
referring expressions. In this regard Kuteb resembles English and many other
languages (cf. Anderson and Keenan 1985:261).
Participants (including key objects) are introduced into Kuteb discourse in a variety
of ways, the discussion of which is beyond the scope of this study. Once
introduced, such participants are referred to by the appropriate pronoun (awū, abā,
or ayī), the referential (wū, bā, yī), the demonstrative (ne/né), or by a combination
(wū ne, bā ne, yī ne), or are ‘understood’ (zero anaphora). The choice of referring
device is governed primarily by factors having to do with prominence and newness
of information, a topic that we will not explore further here but simply illustrate
with some examples.

146
(Yínga, nyíka in other dialects).
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 265
A Kuteb discourse typically introduces participants with a generic name such as
unde ‘person’ or ibyē ‘animal’ and/or a specifier íkī ‘a certain.’ Examples:
537) Úcín kisuŋ- caŋ cicaŋ rū ka ye ukwe íkī.
m
tale hare- walk walk go go catch chief SPEC
1s
My story is about a certain chief.

538) Unde íkī tá atáŋ, rinyí-wū si Ápwende.

person SPEC be there name-3s is Apwende
There was a certain person by the name of Apwende.

539) Tī ame kú kyaŋ uwae kutúr ame tu ufúg íkī.

as 1s IMP walk in forest 1s meet hut SPEC
As I was walking along in the forest I found a hut.
Subsequent references to the named participant are often in the form of a pronoun
or the noun plus (a)wū, (a)bā, (a)yī.
540) Íré ame fxēn kucáŋ-fu tī afu yāŋ;
Yesterday 1s hear song-2s REL 2s sing

ayī nyaŋ tímambē.

3 good very
Yesterday I heard the song that you were singing; it was very nice.

541) Ame tu-me fangó tī m bá fxēn

1s find-1s road REL 1s come hear

acáŋ- tī fu yāŋ bē.

fu
songs REL 2s sing NEG
2s
I have not had a way to come and hear those songs of yours (again).
266 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
542) Afu a cwé irá, mamrācī kucáŋ-fu ayī cwúcwo.
2s COND agree word makeREP song-2s REF again
Please, sing that song of yours again.

543) Kukúnn tī uróm rī té kisuŋ bāsīi,

chicken REL male tell with hare COMP

abā nā rū ka tūnn iwōg.

3p RS move go dip honey
The cock told the hare they ought to go dip honey.

544) Abā rū ka kwēr imbyí kutúkū uwōg

3p move go reach bottom tree place

tī ā kú tūnn iwōg atáŋ.

REL 3p IMP dip honey there
They went to the bottom of the tree where people get honey.

545) Abā rū ka yé, iwōg yī tá apupwen.

3p move reach honey REF be up
When they arrived, the honey was up there.

546) Kimú som uwae kumūm kúm awū kínzō.

potto sit in mound only 3s one
Potto sat all by himself inside the (afore-mentioned) termite mound.

547) Icwu tí kisuŋ tsi ise.

leopard and hare stand outside
Leopard and Hare were on the outside.

548) Kisuŋ tēr inyae rū yáe pú-wū;

Hare run run go far PRF-3s

Icwu som cī unzu kumūm awū.

leopard sit-cover mouth mound REF
(Then) Hare ran away, and Leopard sat guarding the opening of the mound.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 267

549) Awū cēb ákoŋ iká.

3s cut stalks grass
He cuts the grass stalks.

550) Wū a cēbfé ákoŋ iká ne ahán rū bá yé,

3s if cut stalks grass DEM thus go come end

ū kú bá yīr tág yī.

3s IMP come tie MAX 3
When he has cut all these grass stalks completely, he comes and ties
them.

551) Wū a yīr tág pú-wū ayī,

3s if tie-MAX PRF-3s 3

ítawé wū mm bá kwēr urwā sī,

before 3s SEQ come strike fire down

ú sa ákoŋ yīne bae ye ijwē urwā yīne,

SEQ take stalks DEM light catch body fire DEM

ú sa sa kú unzu uwáe wū,

SEQ take take crouch mouth hole REF

kókwā unzu kuyínn wū.

or mouth hive REF
When he has tied them all up, he comes and makes a fire, and lights stalks
in the fire, and takes them to the mouth of the hole, or the opening of the
hive.
10.3.1 Spatial, Temporal, and Instrumental Anaphora
A previously mentioned location is referred to by the word atáŋ, ‘there,’ as in:
552) Ame rū yī ritúg. Tī m fob atáŋ ...
1s go to market REL 1s reach there
I went to market. When I got there...
268 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
The same word is used as an anaphor for temporal and instrumental expressions:
553) Ayéb íkī kú nde isháen itá, ayī kú bēn atáŋ.
millet SPEC IMP do month three 3 IMP ripen therein
Some millet ripens in three months.

554) Ikén ne, imí tī anī kú nde atáŋ?

thing DEM what REL 2p IMP do therewith
This thing, what do you do with it?
10.3.2 Discussion of Text Referring Expressions
In the above sentences, wū/yī, which we have included as ‘specifiers’ because they
narrow the list of possible antecedents, function much like the definite article in
English. While we do not have the space to discuss the exact conditions on the
occurrence of wū and yī here, we may point out that sometimes they may be useful
in clarifying antecedents in text. Examples:
555) Ame núŋ unde íkī uwae ritúg kiskínn ne.
1s see person SPEC in market morning DEM
I saw somebody in the market this morning.

556) Ame tí ínjā-m som kú ngwā ujwāb atáŋ.

1s and brother-1s sat IMP drink beer there
My brother and I were there drinking beer.

557) Ámá umbae ínjā-m rī té tī bāsīi,

Then child brother-1s tell ACC 1p COMP

557b unde wū nā si sója.

person REF RS be soldier
My brother’s child came and told us that the man was a soldier.

558 Atī raŋ wū bāa,

1p ask 3s COMP

awū nde rímāŋ ítawé mm núŋ bāa,

3s do how before SEQ know COMP,
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 269
unde wū nā si sója bárā.
person REF RS be soldier Q
We asked him how he knew that the man was a soldier.
Here, a subject pronoun wū in Sentence 557b could have been taken as a reference
to the child. To avoid the ambiguity, the speaker uses the noun unde wū. To use
the noun alone, however, would be ungrammatical. Note the acceptable and
unacceptable patterns:
559) Ame núŋ ibyē íkī uwae kutúr. Awū kób tímambē.
1s see animal SPEC in bush 3s tall very
I saw an animal in the bush. It was very tall.
The second sentence could have been:
Ibyē wū kób tímambē.
animal REF tall very
but not (in this context):
*Ibyē kób tímambē.
animal tall very
The last sentence would make no sense, or perhaps would suggest a new
participant or signal that a general reference to animals is being made. Another way
of looking at it is to think of wū as tying the two instances of ibyē together.
10.3.3 Link between PN, DEM, and SPEC
The identity in form between the personal pronouns and the specifiers awū, ayī,
abā clearly indicates a common source for these three grammatical functions. In
this regard, Kuteb is similar to the Indo-European languages, in the sense that in
the latter languages words that are now distinguished terminologically as the
definite article, the demonstrative pronouns, and the third-person pronouns are all
diachronically related (Lyons, 1977:646).

10.4 Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive construction in Kuteb uses the word ijwē ‘body’ plus a possessive
pronoun co-referential with the subject:
560) Awū raŋ ijwē-wū irá bāa,
3s ask body-3s word COMP
He asked himself …
270 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
561) Afu kú ten ijwē-fu ifú.
3s IMP injure body-2s injury
You are injuring yourself.

562) Anī kú nde na ijwē-nī rikāen ámām.

2p Imp do give body-2p trouble only
You are just making trouble for yourselves.

10.5 Independent Possessive Pronouns

Another derived pronoun series consists of the possessive set preceded by the
morpheme aná, as follows:
aná-m ‘mine’ anátī ‘ours’
anáfu ‘yours’ anánī ‘yours’
anáwū ‘his’ anábā ‘theirs’
anáyī ‘its/theirs’
These pronouns can stand alone as elements in a noun phrase, as in, for example:
563) Anyīsū-m tá iké, anáfu tá akā?
children-1s be here, yours be where?
My children are here; where are yours?

10.6 Conclusion
We have looked at the basic deictic and anaphoric words in Kuteb. It is hoped that
this brief survey will be useful to anyone wishing to make a deeper and wider
exploration of this area of the grammar, as well as those who want to compare the
Kuteb system with those of other languages.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 271
CHAPTER ELEVEN. COMPLEX SENTENCES

11.1 Introduction
Chapters Seven and Eight introduced sentences expressing single propositions. In
this chapter we present a very brief overview of sentences containing multiple
propositions. They consist of clauses joined by coordinating or subordinating
conjunctions. The list is not exhaustive; no argumentation is offered, and no
attempt is made to explore the variations and limitations of the structures given. It
is hoped that further research will refine and expand these traditional categories.
Included here are:
1. Relativized sentences
2. Sentences expressing speech and thought
3. Purpose sentences
4. Reason sentences
5. Conditional sentences
6. Counterfactual conditional sentences
7. Adversative sentences
8. Sequential sentences
9. Sentences with adverbial clauses
10. Sentences with nominal clauses

11.2 Sentence Types in Kuteb

11.2.1 Sentences with Relative Clauses

In traditional grammar these are called ‘complex’ sentences. They have a main
clause and a dependent or relative clause. The relative clause modifies one or
another noun phrase in the main clause. For example, in
564) Unde tī bá si ínjā-m.
person REL come be brother-1s
The person who came is my brother.
the main clause is
unde … si ínjā-m ‘the man … is my brother’
The relative clause tī bá ‘who came’ tells us something about the man. In this case
the subject Noun Phrase has the relative clause attached to it. In other cases it may
272 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
be the direct object NP or the Complement NP or a NP in an adverbial phrase
telling where or when the action of the verb took place. Note that in the relative
clause the subject is suppressed. Further examples:
Subject Relativized
565) Umbae tī ndebéb kisīm-fu nwúnn pú-wū.
child REL spoil knife-2s arise PRF-3s
The child who spoiled your knife has gone.

566) Irá tī anī rī íré txí.

word REL 2p speak yesterday different
What you said yesterday was different.
Object Relativized

567) Ā tsáb-bā ande tī kú shi ikén bē.

3p choose-3p people REL IMP herd thing NEG
They did not choose shepherds.

568) Anī cī pú-nī kirāen tī ame kūr na nī a?

2p eat PRF-2p food REL 1s make PREP 2p Q
Did you eat the food I made for you?

569) Awū núŋ-wū uwōg tī awū kú rū yī atáŋ bē.

3s know-3s place REL 3s IMP go PREP there NEG
He did not know where he was going.
Complement Relativized

570) Awūne si unde tī afu núŋ wū íré a?

DEM be person REL 2s see 3s yesterday Q
Is this the person you saw yesterday?

571) Amerika si uwōg tī ande tī rifúnn kú som atáŋ.

America is REL people rich wealth IMP live there
place
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 273
America is a place where rich people live.
Object of Preposition Relativized

572) Awū kú náe uwae kusóg tī tá uwé akwēn.

3s IMP lie inside house REL be front there
He sleeps in that house (that is) over there.

573) Isig sī bá risū kutúkū tī kíkwāe cāe ufug-wū atáŋ.

eagle descend on tree REL dove made nest-3s there
The eagle came down on the tree in which the dove had made its nest.
Topic Relativized

574) Indag tī nī wēn ne, anī nde imí tí ucín-wū?

cow REL 2p kill DEM, 2p do what PREP tail-3s
This cow you killed, what did you do with its tail?
Others (adverbial Noun Phrases relativized)
575) Kiyé tī afu bá, ame tá-m iké bē.
time REL 2s come 1s be-1s here NEG
When you came I was not here.

576) Atī tu bā uwōg tī afu rī té tī.

1p find 3p place REL 2s say PREP 1p
We found them where you told us.
11.2.2 Sentences expressing speech and thought (Verba Dicendi)
In these sentences the quotation (including mental speech) is introduced by the
complementizer bāa or bāsīi. Both direct and indirect speech are used, the latter
being marked by nā before the verb. Some dialects use nāa as a complementizer.
577) Awū rī bāa, awū ná ú wēn inji itsóŋ.
3s say COMP 3s IS FUT kill elephant five
He said he would kill five elephants.
274 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
578) Atī táŋ bāsīi, afu nā nwúnn pú-fu.
1p think COMP 2s IS arise PRF-2s
We thought you had already left.

579) Mbúkū raŋ Kisuŋ bāa, afu tá tí iké a?

hyena ask Hare COMP 2s be still here ?
Hyena asked Hare, ‘Are you still here?’
11.2.3 Purpose Sentences
These sentences are marked by the relativizer tī or ikyāen tī at the beginning of the
purpose clause:
580) Awū bá tī wū jāeb ikén ritúg.
3s come REL 3s buy thing market
He came to buy something in the market.

581) Ā kú tēb wū ikyāen tī ā tu aser ámām.

3p IMP praise 3s PURP REL 3p find money only
They’re just praising him for the money.

582) Ikén tī nde ame rī ahán si

thing REL do 1s speak thus be

ikyāen tī awū nā ye uré té bā.

REAS REL 3s RS catch love PREP 3p
The reason I said that was to make him like them.
11.2.4 Reason Sentences
The marker of reason clauses is ikyāen imí ‘because of what?’ as in the following:
583) Awū tsō rináe ikyāen imí ame txūn wū asú.
3s mount anger REASON what 1s insult 3s insult
He got angry because I insulted him.
Compare the question form:
584 Ikyāen imí tī afu byīnn wū kimbáb?
REASON what REL 2s beat 3s whip
Why did you whip him?
The expression ikyaen imi ‘why?’ follows the pattern of ísīnn ‘when,’ imí ‘what’
and akā ‘where,’ which have an alternative pattern of initial high tone when they
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 275
are used at the beginning of a sentence. The above sentence can alternatively begin
with íkyaen imí, which adds some kind of rhetorical force to the question.
11.2.5 Conditional Sentences
These sentences are marked by the particle /a/ before the verb. The longer form
asitī may precede the subject optionally:
585) (Asitī) awū a bá, ame ú rī té fu.
COND 3s COND come 1s FUT speak PREP 2s
If he comes, I’ll tell you.

586) (Asitī) icwūŋ a sáŋ atáŋ, ikén ne ú ye wū.

COND mouse if enter there thing DEM FUT catch 3s
If a mouse enters it, this thing will catch him.

587) (Asitī) afu a kú shā, ā ú yá yī tā.

COND 2s COND IMP want, 3p FUT leave 3 VX
If you wish, they will let it/them go.
11.2.6 Counterfactual Conditions
These sentences are marked by the word ábāa, which may possibly be derived from
ā ‘they’ + high tone (future?)+ bāa, the speech complementizer. It seems
sometimes that these sentences also involve an underlying high tone between the
pronoun and the verb that is realized as a tone change on the pronoun:
588) Ábāa awū nā cī, awū (awú?) tu kujwójáŋ íkī.
CCOND 3s RS come 3s find reward some
Had he won, he would have gotten a prize.

589) Ábāa ame nā núŋ ahán, ame (amé?) jāeb-m bē.

CCOND 1s RS know thus 1s buy-1s NEG
Had I known that, I wouldn’t have bought (it).
11.2.7 Adversative
These sentences have amá or amâ ‘but’ (from Hausa ammá ) between the two
clauses. Apparently, before the influence of Hausa, contrastive clauses were
originally simply juxtaposed, as in the second example.
276 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
590) Ā bá, amáa m núŋ-m abā bē.
3p come but 1s see-1s 3p NEG
They came but I did not see them.

591) Ā bá, m núŋ-m abā bē.

3p come 1s see-1s 3p NEG
They came but I didn’t see them.
Note that there is another conjunction ámá with a meaning like ‘then’ or ‘next’ but
it operates on the paragraph level.
11.2.8 Sequential
In contrast to serial verb constructions where a series of verbs is seen as a single
action, there are other cases where there are several actions with a single subject
(See more examples in Chapter 8, Section 4.0). In such cases the verbs may be
introduced with the particle ú.147 The following example is about a game called
‘Banza’ from a text on children’s games.
592) Bánzá si ují íkīn tī ā kú jwó wū siriri ahán
Banza is rope DET REL 3p IMPF braid 3s thin thus

ú ca wū ca, ú kwāe ísábūŋ tsi,

SEQ strike 3s strike, SEQ scoop sand stand

ú céb itúkūn ú rae yī rae fā átsō kujwó

, ,
SE brea stick, SE pee 3 pee togethe RECI hand
Q k Q l s l r P

ú sa ují wū ne ahán tam uwae ísá atáŋ.

SEQ take rope REF DEM thus hide in sand there.
Banza is a rope that they braid very thin, strike it, scoop up some sand,
break a stick, peel it together [with the rope?] and take the rope and hide it
in the sand.
Note that the verb phrases end with a pause before the next sequence marker.
Although the sequence is identical in form with the future marker, and both occur
immediately before a verb, it is distinct from the future marker in distribution, as it
always comes after a pause, whereas sentences with the future marker have no
break between the subject and the future.

147
Sometimes the sequential /ú/comes out as a bilabial nasal mm falling from high to low.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 277
11.2.9 Adverbial Clauses
These clauses typically modify verb phrases by giving the time or place or manner
in which the action of the main clause takes place.
593) Kiyé tī m kú rū yī Ukān, iyém saŋ risāen-
m.
time REL 1s IMPF go to Wukari, hippo enter farm-1s
When I was going to Wukari, a hippopotamus entered my farm.

594) Ā pū rū yī uwōg tī ukwe som atáŋ.

tī
3p take 1s go to place REL chief sit there.
They took us to the place where the chief was sitting/living.

595) Isim tī itsē-m cwū, m ngwā rikāen si- tītīrī bē.

yī
after REL father- die, 1s drink trouble be- speaking NEG
1s 3si
After my father died, I had unspeakable trouble.
11.2.10 Nominal Clauses
In the following sentences the relative clause acts as a complement in the main
clause.
596) Ame kú shā tī afu rū tīnine ahán.
1s IMPF want REL 2s go now thus
I want you to go right now.

597) Tī ā rū tí rináe ahán nyaŋ-yī uwae-m bē.

REL 3p go with anger thus good-3si inside-1s NEG
That they went angrily like that did not please me.

11.3 Conclusion
In this chapter we have presented a very brief overview of sentences containing
multiple propositions. Lest the naïve reader think that we have ‘covered the
territory’ of sentence structure, I hasten to add that many narrative texts have have
far more complicated sentences consisting of several clauses, fragments,
278 Kuteb Grammar Chapter Eleven
borrowings, and structures yet to be identified. The short text that follows is an
example.
598) Kutē ame si unde tī caŋ tātu.
long-ago 1s be person REL walk hunting
Long ago I was a hunter.

599) Bawé148 m kú tā-m anáme kutē

not-that* 1s IMPF shoot-1s mine before

tī kú yesú-m ibú kú tā
REL IMPF hold-1s arrows IMPF shoot

pāŋmá tī ā kú pū ibú
like REL 3p IMPF take arrows

ú cāe rikaen fā atáŋ kú tā bē.

SEQ make poison with there IMPF shoot NEG
It was not that I was doing my hunting then by taking arrows and shooting,
like (when) they take arrows and prepare and put poison on them.

600) Tātu name tī kucaŋ tī ame kú caŋ kutē,

hunting mine REL first REL 1s IMPF walk before

ī si itáriku149 tī m kú txáe itáriku.

3 be trap REL 1s IMPF trap trap
My hunting at the beginning that I was doing then, the tarko-
trap was what I was trapping with.

601) M a txáe itáriku txáe txáe,

1s COND trap trap trap trap,

m kú wēn ibyē sosé,

1s IMPF kill animal much

148
Bawé (from Hausa ba wai … ba)
149
itáriku (from Hausa tarko) refers here to a steel spring trap with jaws that snap shut
when the animal steps on the trigger.
Chapter Eleven Kuteb Grammar 279
si itáriku tī m kú txáe.
be trap REL 1s IMPF trap
If I trapped for a while, I would kill a lot of animals, it was the
tarko-trap that I was trapping with.
280 Kuteb Grammar References
References

Anderson, S. and E. Keenan. 1985. Deixis. In: Shopen, T. (ed.) Language Typology
and Syntactic Description. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vol. 3 pp.
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Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 285
Appendix 1. A Kuteb story: The Boy Who Refused to Marry

by Naboth Jatau, Sabon Gida Lissam

1. Úcín kisung m cang ci-cang rū ka ye umbae íkīn.

tale hare-1s walk walk go go catch child SPEC
My story is about a certain boy.
2. Umbae wū nyang tímambē.
child REF good very
The boy was very good-looking.
3. Awu rī bāa awū nā ú mbé-wū undá bē.
3s say COMP 3S IS FUT take-3s woman NEG
He said he would not marry.
4. Íyā-wū tī īte-wū rī bāsī,
mother-3s and father-3s say COMP
His mother and his father said that
5. awū nā mbé kāng undá, awū shaen-wū.
3s IS take necessary woman 3s refuse-3s
he had to marry, but he refused.
6. Ā rī bāa, awū a mbé-wū undá bē,
3p say COMP 3s COND take-3s woman NEG
They said that if he does not marry,
7. ayī nā nyang-yī bē.
3 IS good-3 NEG
it is not good.
8. Ā rī rī, rī, ayī skeb-yī risū tírī.
3p say say say 3 surpass-3 head then
They talked and talked, and it was finally too much.
9. Umbae wū cwé bāsīi, awū nā ú mbé undá tírī,
child REF agree COMP 3S IS FUT take woman then
Then boy said he would marry,
286 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
10. amá awū nā ú mbé-wu undá áhán ámén bē,
but 3s IS FUT take-3s woman thus only NEG
but he would not marry just anybody,
11. sé dé mbawándab tā a kūnn pú-wū rinyí-wū tí tawé.
unless girl REL if call PRF- 3s name-3s first
only a girl who first calls his name.
12. Awū nwúnn utēn atáng bāsīi,
3s arise land there COMP
He left that country saying
13. awū nā ú ka náe uwōg íkīn.
3s Is FUT go lie place SPEC
he would go stay in another place.
14. Uwōg wū tī wū ú ka náe atáng ne ahán,
place REF REL 3s FUT go lie there DEM thus
The place he went to,
15. awū tsikunn tī kú rī bāa,
3s REIT REL IMP say comp
he kept on saying,
16. mbawándab tā núng pú-wū rinyí-wū ú kūnn,
girl REL know PRF-3s name-3s SEQ call
the girl who knows his name and says it,
17. nā si mbawandab tī awū nā ú mbé
IS be girl REL 3s IS FUT marry
(she) is the girl he will marry.
18. Awū rū ahán ú ka sa kununn,
3s go thus SEQ go take home
So he went and made a home
19. ú sa mbye uwōg íkin, kusóg kwáno tī apupwen.
SEQ take build place SPEC house metal REL above
in another place—a metal-roofed two-story building.
20 Kusóg wū nyang tímambē.
house REF good very
The house was beautiful.
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 287
21. Umbae wū kú náe kununn wū.
child REF IMP lie home REF
The boy was living in the house.
22. Usir íkīn tírī, anyīsū andá inje,
day SPEC then children woman four
One day, four girls
23. nde wúcī tā ā nā pū rū kaá na wū atang.
make food REL 3p Is take go go give 3s there
made food to take to him there.
24. Abíya-bā pū na bā shinkāfā tī acīkunn,
mother-3p take give 3p rice and beans
Their mothers gave them rice and beans,
25. ú ye mbakúnn wēn na bā.
SEQ catch hen kill give 3p
and caught and killed hens for them.
26 Ā tō tág yī nyang ahán.
3p cook all 3 well thus
They cooked it all up very nicely.
27. Wúcī nyang, si-yī tītīrī bē.
food good is-3 speaking NEG
The food was unspeakably good.
28. Ā pū átúpwá cāe tág anyīsū bā.
3p take clothes fix all children REF
They took clothes and fixed up the girls.
29. Anyīsū ándab nyang pyás!
children girl good very
The girls were gorgeous.
30. Tírī, ā rī bāa ā nā rū-bā tírī.
Then 3p say COMP 3p is go-3p then
Then, they say they were leaving.
31. Ā ye icin rū ahááán ka fob atáng,
3p catch journey go thus go reach there
They started their journey and went on and on, and reached the place,
288 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
32. ú ka kwēr kujwó ufu kusóg.
SEQ go strike hand door house
and knocked on the door.
33. Umbae wū tá uwae kusóg, ú cwé irá.
child REF is in house SEQ answer word
They boy was at home, and answered.
34. Awū rī bāa, áyē bárā.
3s say COMP who? Q
He said, ‘Who is it?’
35. Ā rī bāa, nā si abā.
3p said COMP is be 3p
They said it was they.
36. Awū rī bāa ā nā sáng bá.
3s say COMP 3p is enter come
He said they should come in.
37. Ámá ā sáng ka yé uwae kusóg wū,
then 3p enter go altogether in house REF
Then they entered the house,
38. ú ka pū wúcī ne na umbae wū.
SEQ go take food DEM give child REF
and gave the food to the boy.
39. Umbae wū ci, ú cī mām wúcī,
child REF eat SEQ eat finish food
The boy ate, and finished eating the food,
40. ú bá tu bā.
SEQ come find 3p
and came and found them.
41. Ā som kú nde urú kú tsag akāen-bā.
3p sit IMP make game IMP tell troubles-3p
They sat and played and chatted.
42. Ā nde ikén ne ndende tírī,
3p do thing DEM do then
They were doing these things,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 289
43. usir tē kú pú-wū.
day sat IMP PRF-3s
the sun was about to go down.
44. Anyīsū andá bā rī té umbae wū bāsīi,
children woman REF say with boy REF COMP
The girls said to the boy,
45. ‘Atī kāfe rū-tī tírī bē
1p return go-1p then. NEG
‘We’re going back now, lest
46. atī a ka-tī kununn fife bē,
1p COND. go-1p home quickly NEG
if we don’t get home soon,
47. abíya-tī ú fwān irá.’
mother-1p FUT scold word
our mothers will scold us.’
48 Umbae wū rī bāa, ‘To, nī tsīra
child REF say COMP okay 2p stand
The boy said, ‘Okay, wait
49. tī m shā kíkīn na nī
PURP is seek thing give 2p
so I can find something for you
50. tī nī sa rū ka na abíyā-nī bárābē.’
REL 2p take go go give mothers-2p or-not
to take to your mothers, or else.’
51. Awū rū ka kwāen awāen itúkū tītínyang,
3s go go pluck fruits tree good
He went an plucked some very nice fruit,
52. ú pū bá sī bā ijwē kíce-bā.
SEQ take come drop 3p in dish-3p
and come and put them in their dishes for them.
53. Anyīsū ándab bā tē wū bāsīi,
children girl REF dismiss 3s COMP
The girls bade farewell saying
290 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
54. ā nā rū-bā tírī.
3p IS go-3p then
they were going.
55. Awū rī bá ā nā ka-bā nyanyang.
3s say comp 3p IS go-3p well-well
He said they should go well.
56. Abā cacang rū ka fob fangó.
3p walk-walk go go reach road
They walked along to the main road.
57. Ā sa awāen ikén ne ahán kú rū fangó.
3p take fruit thing DEM thus IMP go road
They took the fruit and were going along.
58. Ámá awāen itúkū mbawándab kínzō náe ise.
but fruit tree girl one lie outside
The fruit of one girl lay exposed.
59. Awū burcī nyang-wū ayī bē.
3s cover well-3s 3 NEG
she hadn’t covered it well.
60. Abā itā tī tsí tsí ne ahán bēn ayíb
3p three REL remain DEM thus ripen eyes

skeb pú-bā wū.

pass PRF-3p 2s
The other three girls were more clever than she.
61. Ā núngye awāen itúkū yī, ú rī basīi, ‘Kayā,
3p see fruit tree REF SEQ say COMP sister
They saw the fruit and said, ‘Sister,
62. afu pū ikén ne ahán kaaaa nde imí?
2s take thing DEM thus go do what
What are you going to do with these things?
63. Pū yī bá tī tī cī,
take 3 come PURP 1p eat
Bring them so we can eat,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 291
64. tī atī a cī mām pú-tī né,
PURP 1p COND eat finish PRF-1p DEM
and when we finish eating,
65. atī ú pū anátī bá tī tī cī yī ámá.
1p FUT take ours come PURP 1p eat 3 also
we’ll bring ours to eat too.’
66. Mbawádab wū núng-wū bē,
girl REF know-3s NEG
The girl did not know,
67. ú year anáwū na bā tírī.
SEQ take hers give 3p then
and gave her (fruit) to them.
68. Ā pū ikén yī pū cī mām fé.
3p take thing 3 take eat finish completely
They took (the fruit)and consumed them all.
69. Awū rī bāsīi, ‘Kayā-m,
3s say COMP sister-is
She said, ‘My sisters,
70. nī pū anánī bá tī tī Cī- tī tírī árō
2p take of-2p come PURP 1p eat-1p then ?
now bring yours so we can eat.’
71. Ā rī bāsīi, awū kú mam-wū irá-wū rímāng bárā?
3p say COMP 3s IMP create-3s word-3s how? Q
They asked, why is she creating a story?
72. Wū pū bá-wū bē, awū ú som-wū bē bárā?
3s take come-3s NEG 3s FUT sit-3s NEG Q
She did not bring any (fruit), so she should just sit there.
73. Ā nā ú pū anábā nā bá-bā bē.
3p IS FUT take theirs IS come-3p NEG
They said they would not give her any of theirs.
74. Mbawándab wū bwētág, ú tā aten ayíb bxab
girl REF be still, SEQ cry tears eye plenty
The girl kept quiet and started crying.
292 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
75. Ámá ā fxēn-bā irá tītīrū yī kununn.
Then 3p hear-3s word going to home
Then they started off for home.
76. Ā sisa rū ka fob kununn.
3p walk-walk go go reach home
They went along and reached home.
77. Anyīsū andá bā pū awáen itúkū nábā
children woman DEM take fruit tree their
The other girls took their fruit
78. rū ka na abíya-bā.
go go give mother-3p
to their mothers.
79. Abā kū ci kū shwam tétsō.
3p IMP eat IMP enjoy together
eating and enjoying themselves together.
80. Awūne má shānum ikén
This also lack thing
As for this one, there was nothing
81. tī wū nā ú sa na íya-wū.
REL 3s IS FUT take give mother-3s
for her to take to her mother.
82. Ucwōfam-yī tírī, ā rī bāa ā nā ú rū cī
next day-3 then 3p say COMP 3p IS FUT go REP
The next day, they said they would go back
83. tí uwōg umbae wū cwúcwo.
back place child REF again
to the boy’s place again.
84. Abíya anyīsū andá bā itā ne
mothers children women REF there DEM
The three girls’ mothers
85. cāe wúcī nyang skeb tī kucang
fix food good pass the first
prepared food even better then the first time,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 293
86. ú pū átúpwá tā nyang skeb tī kucang,
and take clothes REL good pass the first
and took clothes that were better then the first,
87. ú pū na anyisū.
SEQ take give children
and gave them to the girls.
88. Mbawándab ne rī té íya-wū bāsīi,
girl DEM say with mother-3s COMP
This girl said to her mother,
89. íya-wū nā pū na wū átúpwá tī wū nā rū,
mother-3s IS take give 3s clothes REL 3s IS go
her mother should give her clothes so she could go,
90. tí wúcī ámá.
and food also
and food too.
91. Íya-wū rī bāsīi,
mother-3s say COMP
Her mother said,
92. Afu tí mbawándab tī ukáen ra.
2s ? girl REL uselessness ?
‘You worthless girl!
93. Íré afu cāefā m.
yesterday 2s deceive 1s
Yesterday you deceived me,
94. M byīr ikén na fu,
1s collect thing give 2s
I gathered things for you,
95. afu pū rū ka tenji,
2s take go go destroy
you went off and destroyed them,
96. ú sa kíkīn íkīn bá na-fu ame bē.
2s take thing SPEC come give-2s 1s NEG
and brought me nothing.
294 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
97. Yáka ne ahán cwúcwo afu cāefā m bāsīi,
today DEM thus again 2s deceive 1s COMP
Now today again you’re deceiving me saying
98. wé ame nā byīr ikén na fu
1s IS collect thing give 2s
I’m supposed to collect things for you
99. tī fu nā sú rū cī cwúcwo
PURP 2s IS carry go REP again
so you can carry them again
100. tī fu pū ikén-m rū kaá tenji.
PURP 2s take things-1s go go-and destroy
and go off and destroy my things.
101. Ame ú pū kíkīn íkīn na-m afu bē.
1s FUT take thing SPEC give-1s 2s NEG
I will not give you anything.
102. Wándab wū tā aten ayíb bxab,
girl REF throw tear eyes plenty
The girl started crying
103. ú cīnum,
SEQ eat-tire
gave up trying,
104. ú rū ka kwāen awāen utongcáeb ubāen kupwe
SEQ go go pluck fruits okra side wall
went back and plucked some okra behind the house,
105. ú bá jwag yī tō urwā.
SEQ come heat 3 cook fire
and cooked it on the fire.
106. Isim-yī tī utong yī bén pú-yī,
after-3 REL soup REL ripen PRF-3
After the soup was hot,
107 awū sa kindob tí rinwāen tí akwen sī atáng
3s take oil and salt and potash down there
she put oil and salt and potash into it,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 295
108. ú ye yī tsi ribén, ú sa kutsúkwēr tō.
SEQ take 3 stand ground, SEQ take pot cook
and set it aside, and put the big pot on the fire.
109. Kutsúkwēr céb, awū kūr kirāen
pot boiled 3s stir fufu
When the pot boiled, she made fufu
110. ú pāen sī kíce, ú jwó ijwē-wū,
SEQ put down bowl, SEQ wash body-3s
and put it into a bowl, bathed,
111. ú pū átúpwá-wū tītīcí sī,
SEQ take clothes-3s old down
put on her old clothes,
112 ú yesú ú r tī w ka tu anyīsū andá bāne
. , ū ū á
SE carr SE g PUR 3s go fin childre wome DE
Q y Q o P d n n M
took the food and went to find the other girls,
113. tī ā nā pūtsáen átsō rū.
PURP 3p IS follow RECIP go
so they could go together.
114. Anyīsū andá bā, abā sáe-bā tí fangó tīrwēn,
children women REF 3p look-3p PREP road far
The other girls, they looked from a distance,
115. kú tūb atsáng bāsīi,
IMP spit saliva COMP
spitting and saying,
116. Cī! Afu kú bá tī fu ye tī ndebéb úbā?
! 2s IMP come PURP 2s catch 1p spoil Q
‘Hey! Are you coming to spoil us, is that it?
117. Putsaen-fu atī bē!
follow-2s 1p NEG
Don’t come with us!
296 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
118. Cang icin-fu kínzō rikāen-fu.’
walk journey-2s one aloneness-2s
Walk by yourself!’
119. Mbawándab wū cīnum, kú cang náwū tí isim tí isim,
girl REF tire IMP walk hers back back
The girl gave up and walked behind the rest of them,
120. abāne kú rū uwé,
DEM IMP go front
while the others were up ahead.
121. Ā rū ahááán ka fob uwae uyang wúkīn,
3p go thus go reach in stream place-SPEC
They went along and reached a certain stream.
122. undá kucáen kú kú jwó ijwē.
woman oldness bend down IMP wash body
where an old woman was bending over, bathing herself.
123. Awū rī té bā bāsīi,
3s say with 3p COMP
She said to them,
124. ‘Anyīsū-m, nī rū bá turra na m isim.’
children-1s 2p go come scrub-quick give 1s back
‘My children, come give me just a quick back-scrub.’
125. Ā rī bāsīi, ‘Kí! Afu undá kucáen ne,
3p say COMP ! 2s woman oldness DEM
They said, ‘Hey, you old woman,
126. afu kú rī-fu irá-fu rímāng?
2s IMP say-2s word-2s how?
why do you talk like that?
127. Afu núng-fu uwōg tī atī kú rū yī atáng bē a?
2s know-2s place REL 1p IMP go to there NEG Q
Don’t you know where we’re going?
128. Atī ú pū ajwó-tī ndebéb rimenn-fu
1p FUT put hands 1p spoil body 2s
Would we dirty our hands on your body
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 297
129. títawé mm kú rū yī ūwōg
first SEQ IMP go to place
before we go to the place
130. tī atī kú rū yī atáng úbā?
REL 1p IMP go to there Q
to where we’re going?
131. Atī ú nde fob-tī itso ikén yīne bē.’
1p FUT do reach-1p kind thing DEM NEG
We couldn’t do anything like that.’
132. Ā tub atsáng rū ka sī,
3p spit saliva go go go-down
They spit,
133. ú ye icin-bā, ú yafe undá wū,
SEQ take journey-3p SEQ pass woman REF
and resumed their journey passing by the woman
134. ú fxēn irá tīrū.
SEQ hear word of going
and went right on.
135. Undá wū rī bāa, ‘Anyīsū-m, nī ka-nī nyanyang!
woman REF say COMP children-1s, 2p go-2p well-well
The woman said, ‘My children, go well!
136. Anī a si-nī riyāen awúm,
2p COND be-2p kernel guinea corn
If (you think) you’re so beautiful,
137. nī ka-nī nyanyang án!
2p go-2p well-well ?
well, have a good time!’
138. Umbae tī undá wūne tírī, kú bá náwū isim.
child REL woman DEM then IMP come poss-3s back
This other girl was coming behind.
139. Awū rū ahán bá fob uwae uyāng atáng.
3s go thus come reach in stream there
She went along and came to the stream.
298 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
140. Undā wū tī kucáen wū kú tí uwae uyāng
woman REF REL oldness REF bend still in stream

atáng kú jwó ijwē.

there IMP wash body
The old woman was still there in the stream, bathing.

141. Awū rī bāsīi, ‘Yākā,

3s say COMP daughter
She said, ‘Daughter,
142. sī bá turra na m isim, bē a?’
descend come scrub-quick give 1s back NEG Q
come down and scrub my back a bit, won’t you?’
143. Mbawándab wū pū kirāen-wū ayīne tsika,
girl REF take food-3s DEM stand
The girl set down her food,
144. ú sī ahááán bá tu undá wū,
SEQ descend thus come find woman REF
went right down to the woman,
145. ú tur tág na undá kucáen wū isim,
SEQ scrub all give woman oldness REF back
and scrubbed her whole back
146. tí ijwē-wū mēmē, ú pāen tág wū risū.
with body-3s all SEQ plait all 3s head
and her whole body, and plaited her hair.
147. Tírī awū tē wū bāa,
then 3s dismiss 3s COMP
Then she bade farewell, saying,
148. ‘Íyā, m kú rū-m tírī.’
mother 1s IMP go 1s then
‘Mother, I’m going now.’
149. Undá wū rang wū bāsīi,
woman REF ask 3s say COMP
The woman asked her,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 299
150 ‘Yākā, afu kú rū yī akā?’
daughter 2s IMP go to where
‘Daughter, where are you going?’
151. Awū rī bāsīi,
3s say COMP
She said
152. awū nā kú rū yī kununn umbae íkīn
3s IS IMP go to home child SPEC
she was going to the house of a certain boy
153. tī nā kú akwēn ne
REL IS be down there DEM
which was over there,
154. tī nā rī bāsīi,
REL IS say COMP
who says,
155. mbawándab tī nā a kūnn pú-wū rinyí-wū ítawé
girl REL IS COND call PRF-3s name-3s before

156. awū nā ú mbé wándab wū.

3s IS FUT take girl REF
He will only marry the girl who first calls his name.
157 Né m kú rū atáng.’
DEM 1s IMP go there
That’s where I’m going.’
158. Undá tī kucáen wū rang wū bāsīi,
woman REL oldness REF ask 3s COMP
The old woman asked her,
159. ‘Yākā, fu núng pú-fu rinyí umbae wū a?’
daughter 2s know PRF-2s name child REF Q
‘Daughter, do you know the name of the boy?’
160. Awū rī bāsīi, ‘Iyéē.
3s say COMP no
She said, ‘No,
300 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
161. Ame núng-m rinyí umbae wū bē.’
1s know 1s name child REF NEG
I do not know the boy’s name.’
162. Undá tī kucáen rī bāsīi,
woman REL oldness speak COMP
The old woman said,
163. ‘Rinyí umbae wū si Shībang.
name child REF is Shibang
‘The name of the boy is Shibang.
164. Afu a ka pú-fu ne,
2s COND reach PRF-2s DEM
When you get there,
165. afu a kūnn wū bāa ‘Shibang’ né,
2s COND call 3s COMP Shibang DEM
if you call him ‘Shibang’
166. si rinyí umbae wū bárābē.’
is name child REF ?
it is his name.’
167. Mbawándab rī bāsīi, ‘Íyā, m fxāefā pú-m.’
girl say COMP mother 1s thank PRF-1s
The girl said, ‘Mother, thank you.’
168. Awū tae undá tī kucáen wū tsō uwae uyāng
3s lead woman REL oldness REF ascend in stream
She led the old woman up out of the stream,
169 tsō bá yī ukāense,
ascend come to bank
up onto the bank,
170. ú bá ye kirāen-wū ayīne sú,
SEQ come take fufu-3s DEM carry
come and took her food,
171. ú sa ahán rū ka fob anyīsū andá abā
SEQ take thus go go reach children woman REF
and went along until she reached the other girls,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 301
172. tī rū uwé rū ka som, ú té umbae wū som
REL go front go go sit, SEQ with boy REF sit
who had gone and were sitting with the boy,
173. kú nde urú-bā kú tsag akāen-bā tírī.
IMP do game-3p IMP tell troubles-3p then
playing and chatting.
174. Awū ka kwētsi ufu kusog atáng ú rī bāsīi,
3s go stand door house there SEQ say COMP
She went and stood at the door and said,
175 ‘Gáfára, ubāen-m Shībang! M bá pú-m!’
excuse husband-1s Shibang 1s come PRF-1s
Excuse me, my husband Shibang! I have come!
176. Umbae wū tsēn utōb!
child REF white heart
The boy was happy
177. Wū tēyá abāne tā uwae kusóg atáng
3s leave DEM in house there
He left these other girls in the room
178. ú bá wánye mbawándab wū ú rī bāsīi,
SEQ, come embrace girl REF SEQ say COMP
and came and embraced this girl, saying,
179 ‘Súko uwá-m! Súko! Né si uwé-fu a?’
hello wife-1s hello DEM be face-2s Q
Greetings, wife! Hello! Is that really you?’
180. Awū rī bāsīi, ‘Mm.’
3s say COMP yes
She said, ‘Yes.’
181. Tírī umbae wū sáng ka jāe rū yé tág
then child REF enter go drive go out all
Then the boy went in and drove all these others
abāne mēmē ūwae kusóg atáng, ú rī bāa,
DEM all in house there SEQ say COMP
out of the house and said
302 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
182. ā nā rū yī ise
3p IS go to outside
they should go out;
183. tī ā nā yá kusóg nā tā na uwá-wū.
PURP 3p IS leave house IS give wife-3s
they must leave the house for his wife.
184. Anyīsū andá bā cīnum, ú rū yé ise,
children woman REF eat-tire SEQ go out outside
The girls were defeated, went out,
185. ú tenpū ísān-bā kú rū yī kununn.
SEQ collect pots-3p IMP go to home
collected their pots and were going home.
186. Umbae wū sáng ka tu uwá-wū.
child REF enter go meet wife-3s
The boy went in and found his wife.
187. Ā som kú nde urú kú tsag akāen-bā.
3p sit IMP do game IMP tell troubles-3p
They sat and played and chatted.
188. Né tī ā rī bāsīi,
DEM REL 3p say COMP
That is why it is said that
189. kó unde a béb rímāng uwae utēnse iké,
even person COND bad how in world here
no matter how bad a person is here in this world,
190. afu nā sáerū-fu awū bē, icāen imí,
2s IS despise-2s 3s NEG because
do not despise him, because
191. afu si-fu Rimam-wū tī nā sa wū súnn ise bē.
2s be-2s God-3s REL IS take 3s appear world NEG
you aren’t his God who created him.
192. Anyīsū andá íkīn nā nde ahán
children woman SPEC IS do thus
Some girls did that,
Appendix 1 Kuteb Grammar 303
193. ú shānum tītínyang uwōg undá kucáen,
SEQ lack goodness place woman oldness
and failed to get a blessing from an old woman,
194. ú shānum má uróm mēme tī ā ú bāen.
SEQ lack also male all REL 3s FUT marry
and also failed to get husbands to marry.
195. Mbawándab tī abā kú txí wū txí,
girl REL 3p IMP despise 3p despise
A girl whom they despised,
196. tī bá tu itínyang uwōg undá kucáen,
it-is come find blessing place woman old
she it was who got a blessing from an old woman,
197 ú bá tu uróm tī awū ú bāen fā tí atáng,
SEQ come find man REL 3s FUT marry along- there
with
and got a man to marry as well,
198. icāen imí risū tī náe ribén náwū té undá kucáen
because head REL lie ground hers with woman oldness
because it was her obedience to the old woman
199. tī sa na undá kucáen kūnn rinyí umbae wū tsō.
REL put give woman oldness call name child REF up
that caused the old woman to reveal the boy’s name.
200 Ám aw r k kūn tímbwey tī umba wū kú shā.
. á ū ū a n ī e
then 3s g go call just like a child RE IM wan
o s F P t
And she went and called it just like the boy wanted.
201. Uwae umbae wū má nyang.
inside child REF also good
And the girl was happy.
202. Awū ka kāfe uwá umbae wū.
3s go become wife child REF
She become the boy’s wife.
304 Kuteb Grammar Appendix 1
203. Umbae wū má ka kāfe ubāen-wū tírī.
child REF also go become husband-3s then
And the boy became her husband
204. Úcín kisung-m tsikunn pú-yī.
tale hare-1s stand PRF-3
My tale ends