Multiple choice – Verbal nouns in Baïnounk Gubëeher

1. Multiple choice – Verbal nouns in BaïnounkGubëeher

2. Talk structure • The language • Verbal nouns at a glance • Classification of verbs with gender morphology • NC prefixes in Baïnounk • Theoretical questions • NV-distinction • Transitivity • Syntactic Properties and Distribution of VNs • Parameters of verb classification (Syntactic, Semantic) • Further research: areal aspects

3. The language

4. Detailed map, Bainouk

5. Dakar Genetic affiliation: Niger Congo -Atlantic -Northern branch -East Senegal Guinea -Nyun Baïnounklanguages BainoukGubëeher DJIBONKER/JIBËEHER (+Diaspora: Dakar Ziguinchor) Speakers: ca. 1500 homeland diaspora

6. The Ñun & Baïnounk languages

7. Verbal Nouns (VN) in Gubëeher at a glance

8. NC prefixes and VN formation • Excluded: • Vocalic (a-,i-, u-) • Diminutive (ko-, ño-, ho- ) and Augmentative (da-, din-) • extremely rare (pi-, hu-) can combine with all but 13/328 underived stems. bu- attested as verbal noun formants (VNF) not attested as VNF a-

9. derived verbs, stative verbs and recognisable loans have not been taken into account! 214/328 underived verb stems have been recorded so far only with VNF bu-, 114/328 with any of the other VNFs.

10. Overview VNs and research questions Different stems, different NC markers: Same stem, different markers: What triggers the choice of a specific VNF?

11. Previous Research VNs • VN derivation with multiple NC-markers is an areal feature observable in all Joola (Bayot, Fogny, Banjal, Jirer cf. Sagna 2008) all Bainounk (incl. Kobiana/Kasanga cf. Doneux 1990) and all Manjaku (incl. Mancagne, Pepel) languages • In many Casamance languages two NC marker are dominant, while many others can also occur: • no analysis so far • tendency to distinguish more verbal VNs (infinitives) and more nominal VNs (action nouns) • consensus that there is no neat distinction between variants/types of VNs

12. Problem • Variation inter and intra-speaker • Some speakers make more and subtler distinctions than others • No standardisation • VNs hard to elicit and low frequency in corpus • sophisticated methodology required because of context sensitive parameters • list-effect • ideas about “correctness” interfere • Limited data about argument structure, verb classes and syntax available For some verbs there seem to be no hard and fast rules that are valid for all speakers and all contexts, but clearly tendencies.

13. Syntactic Properties of VNs

14. Transitivity itr. (Subject) Spro-V tr. (Subject) Spro-Verb-Opro/anim (Object) pronominal NP (Alex) a-ceem-i 3S-sleep-Asp ‘(Alex) slept’ Alex a-wuul-i Asaña Alex 3S-see-Asp O ‘Alex saw Asaña’ a-wuul-em 3S-see-3SOanim ‘S/he saw him/her animate object Rich morphology to increase or decrease valency: jaax ‘eat’ 2-place underived jaax-um ‘eat with’ 3-place Applicative jaax-ëla ‘have a meal’ 1-place obectdeletion Alex a-wuul-i koloŋ Alex 3S-see-Asp well ‘Alex saw the well.’ a-wuul-i 3S-see-Asp ‘S/he saw it.’ inanimate object Inanimate objects cannot be suffixed to the verb as pronouns. only nominally or it is not mentioned.

15. Nominal and verbal properties Nominal properties Verbal properties derivation sin-wuul-ay NC-see-Rec ‘to see each other’ head of predication keeps part of the argument structure (objects) • NC marker, sg.pl. bu-saat NC-pass ‘to pass/passing’’ • modifiers bu-nobunbumbu NC-tie Dem:NC ‘This tieing up’ • S and O position bu-rukkaku-no bun-doŋ NC-drink Con NC-wine good-3SNeg ‘Drinking palmwine is not good.’ • possessive Suffixes bu-lodin-kenem NC-greet-3SPoss ‘greeting her’ • min hë-dëek • 1Plex NC-go • ‘We are going.’

16. Encoding of participants in Nominalisations Obliques bu-ceemka *a fuŋku NC-sleep Con Prep room ‘sleeping in a room’ a-ceem-i *(a) fuŋku 3S-sleep-Asp *Prep room ‘s/he slept in a room’ ku-waxa ha aŋga di-raax NC-play Con with NC-sand ‘playing with sand’ ha/ka not only encodes core participants but all kind of complements: locative, adverbial, comitative etc.

17. Predicative use of VN Use of verbal nouns in Gubëeher (me) bu-ruxkaba-rux 1S NC-drink Con NC-water ‘I am drinking water. (Answer to the question: What are you doing?)’ In raising constructions a-leer-i bu-dom 3S-difficult-Asp NC-swallow ‘It is difficult to swallow’ a-bun bu-noox 3S-good NC-sit ‘It is good for sitting’ Complement of verb Periphrasticcontructions tëpurtëpur, gaŋ-kan-t-i hë-dëek morning morning 3Pl:Foc-Aux-Dir-Asp NC-go ‘It’s early in the morning that they come.’

18. Syntactic Parameters of VNF assignment

19. Verbal derivation and VNF I: Derived transitives with bu- Some derivations increasing valencyalways take VNF bu- even though the underived stem takes an other VNF!

20. Verbal derivation and VNF II:Derived intransitives with gu-, (bi-, ba-) The majority of derivations in -a (middle, reflexive) –ula/ëla (Distributive) and other valency reducing derivations trigger the use of VNF gu-, some bi- or ba-

21. Verbal derivation and VNF III: Derived reciprokes with sin- There seems to be a semantic connection between reciproke derivation, reciproke relationships (be siblings, friends, cowifes etc.) and threadlike objects (thread, cotton thread, iron thread) which are allderived with sin-

22. Verbs which exclude bu- gu-dolia ‘fish with a rod’ gu-mamaxun ‘stutter’ gu-mantant ‘crosseyed’ hë-dil ‘fart’ gu-hosox ‘cough’ gu-saw ‘hunt’ gu-rëej ‘defecate’ gu-ŋuñ ‘return’ gu-cigia ‘dream’ gu-jëdda ‘lie’ ku-waan ‘lie’ ku-waxa ‘play’ ka-lim ‘rain’ For these verbs all four informants agree that they are not compatible with bu-. All of these are intransitive.

23. Transitivity variations I The common form is bë-ñëej. bu-ñëej is accepted by two of four speakers only. bë-ñëejgi-rad-i NC-do:laundry 1SFoc-Aux-Asp ‘I am doing laundry’ BUT: *bu-ñëejgi-rad-i NC-do:laundry 1SFoc-Aux-Asp The bu-form is only admitted when a complement attached with ka bu-ñëej ha hajah NC-do:laundry Con clothes ‘wash clothes’

24. Transitivity variations II The common form is sin-cem. bu-cem is accepted by one of four speakers only i-dësin-cem 1S-go NC-sleep ‘I go to sleep’ *i-dëbu-cem 1S-go NC-sleep ‘I go to sleep’ BUT: The bu-form is only admitted when a complement attached with ka bu-cɛnkabu-depgu-maŋ-i NC-sleep Con NC-bed FOC:2S-want-Asp ‘You want to sleep in a/the bed’ COMPARE: i-cem-i abu-dep 1Sg-sleep-Asp Prep ‘I slept in a/the bed’

25. bu- VNs • more productive • more predictable • inflection? • less nounlike • more transitive • Non-bu VN • lessproductive • less predictable • derivation • more nounlike • less transitive If there is a choice between more than one VNF it is always the “non-bu- VN” which is ambiguous between full noun interpretation and a Nonfinite VN reading

26. Semantic Parameters of VNF assignment

27. Changes in ontological domain

28. Semantic fields 9out of 11 ja- VNs are directly related to agricultural activities.

29. Pluractionality: Multiplicity of Participants or Action. ja- and ba- , two collective plural NC prefixes on nouns seem to keep convey pluractionality wen used in VN formation. Both host many agricultural activities, which are often done collectively and involve plurality of actions, ba- also some other collectively performed activities: bë-yin ‘sing’ ba-ñaŋ ‘dance’ bë-dëeka‘play (game)’ ba-toot ‘sort rice’ cf.bu-toot ‘pick up’ ba-doox ‘transport (goods, rice) cf. bu-doox ‘carry’ Speakers have commented on the ba- forms of some verbs, such as ‘to sing’ as “the plural” of the alternative forminbu- and claimed that it is used when many peope sing, as opposed to just one.

30. Qualities and Properties In the Comparative construction with the verb lum ‘surpass’ all verbs require the VNF ba-: a-lum-emba-jaax(bu-jaax ‘eat’) 3S-surpass-3SO NC-eat ‘SHe eats more than him/her.’ a-lumi-emba- jir(hë-jir‘run’) 3S-surpass-3SO NC-run ‘SHe runs faster than him/her’ a-lum-i ba- li 3S-surpass-Asp NC-good ‘It is better’

31. Hypothesis: object deletion vssuppresion

32. Further research • areal aspects of verb classification and VNs

33. Summary • Transitivity • Pluractionality • Cultural relevant semantic fields (fish, agriculture) • Future/present? • 1. vs. other ?

34. Doneux’ hypothesis • Action nouns have taken place of Infinitives in Kobiana

35. Nominalisation in Gubeeher

36. Loan verbs Class ka- is rather rare for nouns in Gubëeher, but one of the dominant VNF in some Joola languages Gubëeher is in contact with (Fogny, Jirer, Kaasa, Banjal). VNFbu- and ka-accomodate most loans from French and Wolof: • ka-jang (< Wolof: jang) ‘read, learn’ • ka-jaay (<Wolof: jaay) ‘sell’ • bu-pentire/ka-pentire(< French peinturer ‘paint’) • bu-komase (< French commencer ‘begin’) But: Verbs presumably loaned from Joola languages – or are at least cognates – can also be found in other noun classes: • ja-mbal ‘catch fish’ • ba-caam ‘pay’

37. What is in a root? Roots are very flexible in terms of NC allocation and also in terms of word classes: [ex] It is unclear whether lexical category/gender is stored in the root or if the root has to be considered underspecified and that NC/syntactic category is assigned by insertion into a syntactic frame A direction of derivation is difficult to establish, because of the lack of historical data

38. Nominal and verbal properties Nominal properties Verbal properties derivation/Person,number i-wuul-ay-hurux-o 1Plinc-see-Rec-Fut-1Plinc ‘We will see eachother’ head of predication argument structure gëegën i-wuul-i u-ñaŋ-kum yesterday 1S-see-Asp NC-friend-1Poss ‘Yesterday I saw my friend’ i-wuul-emgëegën 1S-see-3SO yesterday ‘I saw him yesterday’ gëegën a-wuul-a yesterday 3S-see-Pass ‘He was seen yesterday’ • NC marker, sg.pl. bu-koor/i-koor NC-village/NC-village ‘village/villages’ • modifiers bu-koorbu-bun bumbu NC-village Agr-good Dem:NC ‘This nice village’ • S and O position • possessive Suffixes bu-koo’-kum NC-village-1SPoss ‘my village’

39. Theoretical questions

40. Qualities I

41. Qualities II In the Comparative construction with the verb lum ‘surpass’ all verbs require the VNF ba-: a-lum-i ba-li 3S-surpass-Asp NC-good ‘It is better’ a-lumi-emba-jir(hë-jir‘run’) 3S-surpass-3SO NC-run ‘SHe runs faster than him/her’ a-lum-emba-jaax(bu-jaax ‘eat’) 3S-surpass-3SO NC-eat ‘SHe eats more than him/her.’

42. Subject Object status Subject: stands before the verb can be focused with in- is deleted in passive phrase triggers agreement Non-Subject: focused with g- ka in nominalisations encoded with suffixes on the verb [animate objects] becomes subject of passiv phrase can be relativised

43. Periphrastic Aux rad: ba-doxha ja-lihan gi-rad-i NC-carry Con NC-wood 1SFoc-Aux-Asp ‘I amcarryingwood.’ Aux kan: tëpurtëpur, gaŋ-kan-t-i hë-dëek morning morning 3Pl:Foc-Aux-Dir-Asp NC-go ‘It’s early in the morning that they come.’ LOC: innoŋja-naaf LOC:3S NC-work ‘He/she is doing agriculture.’ be: gu-roŋ u-dikaan-i iŋ-gu-t-i bu-jakagu-gu-in be-3SNeg NC-woman-PossFocS-be-Dir-Asp Con NC-Red-song ‘It is not his wife who starts this song.’

44. Predicative use of VN (me) bu-rukkaba-rux 1S NC-drink Con NC-water ‘I am drinking water. (Answer to the question: What are you doing?)’ The VNs can be used with or without a personal pronoun (if the referent is clear) to express a present progressive or an action that is about to take place • min hë-dëek • 1Plex NC-go • ‘We are going.’

45. In raising constructions a-leer-i bu-dom 3S-difficult-Asp NC-swallow ‘It is difficult to swallow’ a-bun bu-noox 3S-good NC-sit ‘It is good for sitting’

46. Subject with Adj

47. Periphrastic Aux rad: ba-doxha ja-lihan gi-rad-i NC-carry Con NC-wood 1SFoc-Aux-Asp ‘I amcarryingwood.’ Aux kan: tëpurtëpur, gaŋ-kan-t-i hë-dëek morning morning 3Pl:Foc-Aux-Dir-Asp NC-go ‘It’s early in the morning that they come.’ LOC: innoŋja-naaf LOC:3S NC-work ‘He/she is doing agriculture.’ be: gu-roŋ u-dikaan-i iŋ-gu-t-i bu-jakagu-gu-in be-3SNeg NC-woman-PossFocS-be-Dir-Asp Con NC-Red-song ‘It is not his wife who starts this song.’

48. Complement of verb

49. Purposive Without conjunction: i-dëekbi-nigka tele 1S-go NC-watch Con television ‘I go watchtelevision.’ With conjunction: an-nigəbən-əŋ ə-gini a-la-tː-a-nɛmata ha bu-hɔf 3Sg-look:at animal-Pl Agr-Rel 3S-take-Dir-ne Conj Con NC-kill ‘They are looking at the animals which have been brought, for the sake of killing them.’

50. Focusing? bu-nobunbumbooŋ,jëbën NC-tieAgr:Dem NC-pagne ‘This tieing up isdonewithpieces of cloth’ bʊ-huppbumbooŋ, ni a-gob-ah, u-guni ë-gu-t-i bu-dëek, a-ñoŋ-ot ho-xunohoho ‘Concerningthispouring [of palmwine], sinceeverybodycollectedwine, tosewho come bring a little bit of wine.’