Manenguba languages

The various Manenguba dialects differ slightly in their phonology. For example, in several, the original sound /f/ has become /h/, while in others it remains /f/.[23] The Akoose dialect may be taken as representative of the languages as a whole. It has the following consonants:[24]

/c/ is written as "j" in Hedinger et al. (1981), but as "ch" in Hedinger (ed) (2016).

The glottal stop is written as " ' ". It is found only at the end of words.

/b/ is usually the implosive /ɓ/ except before /i u w/. The spelling "mb" is generally pronounced /mɓ/ with implosive /ɓ/. However, in class 9 nouns "mb" is /ᵐb/ with non-implosive /b/.[25]

The prenasalised sounds /ⁿd, ⁿz, ᵑɡ/ also occur in class 9/10 words. The prenasalised sibilant /ⁿz/ was originally a palatal stop /ᶮɟ/.[26] This stop is still preserved in Mkaa' and Belon, but has become /ⁿz/ in Akoose and most of the other Manenguba languages.[27]

/j/ is written as "y" and /ɲ/ is written as "ny". In some of the Manenguba dialects, /ɲ/ has become /j/ ("y"); for example, Akoose nyoŋ = Mwaneka yuŋ "hair".[28]

At the beginning of a word, certain consonants can be combined with /w/, as in

• /bw hw kw mw nw pw sw/

Some can be combined with /j/ (here written "y") making the following palatalised consonants:

• /cy dy hy ly my ny py sy ty/

It is also common for consonants to be preceded by a syllabic nasal at the beginning of a word, producing combinations such as

• /mb mm nn nh ŋk nl ns nt/

A preceding nasal can be combined with a following /w/ or /y/ as in:

• /mbw mmw mpw nkw ngw nsw/
• /ncy ndy nly nsy nty nzy/

/g/ and /ŋ/ cannot usually begin a word, except in the sound /ᵑɡ/ (written "ng").

Word internally combinations such as /gt lk ln ŋn ŋs/ are found.

Words can end in a vowel or in /b d g n m ŋ l w y '/.

In Akoose there are eight vowels (though these are believed to derive from seven vowels in the proto-language):[29]

• /i e ɛ a ɔ o u ɘ/

All the vowels can be both long or short,[24] although some dialects lack a distinction between some of the long vowels.[30]

In Hedinger (2016), the long vowels are written double: "ii ee ɛɛ aa ɔɔ oo uu ɘɘ".

The Manenguba languages are tonal. All the languages have a very similar tonal system.[31] There are high tones (H), low tones (L), and contour tones (rising and falling). These are written á, a, ă, and â respectively, or in long vowels áá, aa, aá, and áa.[32] Syllabic m and n can sometimes carry a tone, for example Akoose ḿmem "my" (classes 3, 4, 6), ńhal "speckled mouse-bird".

The tones display downdrift; that is, in a sequence H L H, the second H is slightly lower than the first. In some words there is also downstep in which in a sequence H H, the second H is slightly lower than the first, probably because historically an intervening L syllable was absorbed or dropped. A downstepped H is written ā in Hedinger (2016). In a long vowel, H and downstepped H can make a contour tone, for example Akɔ́ɔ̄sē "Akoose language".[32]

Tones distinguish one word from another; for example, in Akoose, -láán "three" has a high tone, -niin "four" has a low tone, and -táan "five" has a falling tone. Tones also have a grammatical function in verbs; for example, in Akoose, the word for "he has thrown" is apimé in a main clause, but ápímé, with a high tone, in some kinds of dependent clause.[33][34]

As in other Bantu languages, nouns in the Manenguba languages are divided into different classes. Typically nouns belong to classes 1 to 10, but there are also some nouns in classes 13, 14, and 19. Singular and plural classes are paired together to make "genders". Classes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 13 are generally plurals of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 19 respectively, but other pairings are found. Some nouns have no singular-plural distinction and occur in only one class.[33][35]

The class of a noun can often be judged from its prefix. The prefix may differ depending on whether the root starts with a consonant or a vowel; for example, in Akoose, class 5 starts with a- for a consonant stem, but d(y)- for a vowel stem. Nouns with the suffix -ɛ in Akoose belong to classes 1/2, whatever the prefix.

The following examples of nouns come from Akoose:[33]

Gender 1/2

• nchîb, bechîb = thief, thieves
• mod, bad = person, people

Gender 3/4

• nchém, nchém = bat(s)
• ntyə́g, ntyə́g = box(es)

Gender 5/6

• abad, mebad = cloth(s)
• dúu, múu = nose(s)

Gender 7/8

• echem, e’chem = tongue(s)
• chyaá, byaá = leaf, leaves

Gender 7/6

• ekuu, mekuu = leg(s)
• ehɔ́b, mehɔ́b = voice(es)

Gender 9/10

• káb, káb = antelope(s)
• nyǎd, nyǎd = forest buffalo(s)

Gender 14/6

• eʼmii, memii = finger(s)
• bwɛl, mɛl = tree(s)

Gender 19/13

• hyǒn, lǒn = firewood
• hyɛn, lɛn = mushroom(s)

As with other Bantu languages, adjectives, pronouns, numerals 1 to 5, demonstratives, verbs, and the associative marker (in Akoose a/á/é) "of"[36] must all agree with the class of the noun they refer to, by the use of the appropriate prefixes. For example, the Akoose word băn "children" is in class 2, which uses the concord be or bé, making a sentence such as:

• á-bé băn bé-bɛ bé-dyâg "those (á-bé) two (bé-bɛ) children (băn) are eating (bé-dyâg)"[37]

The associative marker is a particle (in Akoose a/á/é) which joins together two nouns to make a noun phrase or compound noun. This particle agrees in class with the first of the two nouns. The following examples are from Akoose:[38]

• aláá á mbɔ́té "clothes iron" (class 5)
• meláá mé mbɔ́té "clothes irons" (class 6)
• ntyə́g ḿ mbɔ́té "clothes box" (class 3)

In Mwaneka, on the other hand, the particle is omitted, but, except following a noun of class 1 or class 9, generally leaves a trace in the form of a high tone. This high tone sometimes affects the first of the two nouns, and sometimes the second:[39]

• ekwɛ́m múl "bottle of oil" (cf. mǔl "oil")
• băl ojíw "thieves" (cf. bal "people")

A locative marker which resembles a class 5 prefix but with a high tone can be prefixed to nouns of any class. In this case concordial markers change to take the concords of class 5.[40] An example from Akoose is:

• ndáb e-bóó "the house is good" (class 9)
• á-ndáb á-bóó "in the house it is good" (class 5)

Verbal roots are divided into two classes, bearing high and low tone respectively, e.g. Akoose bom "meet" (low tone), wɔ́g "wash" (high tone).[33] The root can be extended by one of a number of verbal extensions. For example, from the root bom "meet" can be derived bomɛn "meet with", bomed "arrange", bomtɛn "join together" and so on.

Except in the Imperative mood, the verb always has a prefix. In Akoose, the infinitive has the prefix a- or â-: âbom "to meet", âwɔ́g (or awɔ́g) "to wash"; this takes concords of class 5 nouns.[40] Finite forms of the verb have a prefix indicating the person "I, you (sg), he/she, we, you (pl), they" or agreeing with the noun-class of the subject. In addition, Akoose has a prefix de- meaning "we two (i.e. you and I)".

Akoose also has a logophoric verbal prefix mə́- "he/she/you" used in indirect speech in sentences such as the following:

• adogté mə́ áte aá mə́ə̄bɛ́ mbɔ́té "he lied that he would give him a robe"[41]

The use of mə́- rather than a- makes it clear that the second "he" refers to the speaker, not another person.[42]

In the present indicative mood, the prefixes for "I, you (sg), he/she", "we two", and the class 1 and class 9 prefixes, all have a low tone, but all the others have a high tone.[33]

Every finite verb has two forms, one used in main clauses and the other in certain types of dependent clause.[43] The dependent form is used in temporal clauses ("at that time when he did the work..."), relative clauses ("the work which the man did"), clefts ("it was yesterday he did the work"), and certain types of question ("who is it that you saw?"), which are expressed as a type of relative clause. However, when the head noun is the subject of the relative clause (e.g. "the man who did the work"), the independent form of the verb is used. The dependent form of the verb differs from the independent form in that it always has a high tone on the prefix, and it also usually has a high-toned suffix -ɛ́ or -nɛ́ as well, depending on the tense.

Negative verbs are expressed by adding a high-toned suffix, usually -á (Mwaneka) or -ɛ́ (Akoose). Before the verb stem there is usually an infix as well, which varies according to the tense. In the subjunctive and imperative, the negative suffix is -ká (Mwaneka).[44]

Auxiliary verbs are very common in Manenguba languages; Akoose has about 70 such verbs.[33][45] These express meanings such as "he is in the process of (doing)", "he was the first (to do)", "he has finished (doing)", "he was quick (to do)", "he is accustomed (to do)" and so on, which in other languages might be expressed by adverbs such as "at present", "first", "already", "quickly", or "always". Auxiliary verbs are followed by the infinitive. The following example is from Akoose:[46]

• asébpé apɛ hɛ́n "he was first to arrive here" / "he got here first"