Difference between revisions of "Sereer Grammar"

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* [[Class presentation and assignments]]
  
* [[Class presentation and assignments]]
−
Upload completed PDFs of class presentations and class assignments here.
 +
PDFs of class presentations and class assignments here, including final papers.
   
 
* [[Code toolbox]]
  
* [[Code toolbox]]
 
Find code here to make things (tables, interlinear glosses) on the Wiki.
  
Find code here to make things (tables, interlinear glosses) on the Wiki.
   
  +
* [[Sereer-Siin vocabulary]]
−
===To Do===
  
  +
A list of lexical items with French and English translations, from Fal (1980), to be checked against Sereer Saloum and possibly to flesh out minimal pairs
−  
−
*[[Phonological Alternations]]
  
−
:*[[Phonological Alternations#Verbal mutation|Verb consonant mutations]]
  
−
* Nouns
  
−
* Verbs
  
−
:* subject paradigms
  
−
:* object markers
  
−
:* tense/aspect marking
  
−
:* voice
  
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* Adjectives
  
−
* etc.
  
   
 
=Phonology=
  
=Phonology=
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The phonology of Sereer is characterized by a large inventory of consonants, particularly stops, and a vowel length distinction. The surface form of these segments is fairly predictable, due in part to the relatively rigid [[phonotactics]] of Sereer. Sereer is a [[stress]] language.
  
The phonology of Sereer is characterized by a large inventory of consonants, particularly stops, and a vowel length distinction. The surface form of these segments is fairly predictable, due in part to the relatively rigid [[phonotactics]] of Sereer. Sereer is a [[stress]] language.
   
  +
A list of minimal pairs can be found [[Minimal Pair List|here]].
−
''Main article:'' [[Phonological Inventory]]
  
   
 
==Phonological Inventory==
  
==Phonological Inventory==
  +
''Main page:'' [[Phonological Inventory]]
   
 
=== Consonants ===
  
=== Consonants ===
   
  +
Sereer's consonant inventory makes use of some combinations of parameters that are unusual cross-linguistically, including contrastive voicing in both egressive and ingressive stops. Sereer also has multiple uvular phonemes, a rarity for sub-Saharan Africa. The unusually large size of the consonant inventory is largely due to its 21 phonemically distinct oral stops.
−
The consonant inventory of Sereer Saalum is given below. Working orthography for a given symbol is indicated in parentheses following a symbol if the orthography differs from the IPA.
  
−  
−
<span style="color:#FF0000"> Some discussion of the notable properties of this inventory should be provided. </span>
  
   
  +
The consonant inventory of Sereer Saalum is given below. Working orthography for a given symbol is indicated in parentheses following a symbol if the orthography differs from the IPA.
   
 
{| class="wikitable IPA" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 0 auto;"
  
{| class="wikitable IPA" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 0 auto;"
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|-
  
|-
 
! &nbsp;
  
! &nbsp;
−
| ''V'less''
 +
| ''Voiceless''
 
| '''p'''
  
| '''p'''
 
| '''t'''
  
| '''t'''
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|-
  
|-
 
| &nbsp;
  
| &nbsp;
−
| ''Voi.''
 +
| ''Voiced''
 
| '''b'''
  
| '''b'''
 
| '''d'''
  
| '''d'''
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|-
  
|-
 
| '''Stops'''
  
| '''Stops'''
−
| ''Impl.''
 +
| ''Implosive''
 
| '''ɓ'''
  
| '''ɓ'''
 
| '''ɗ'''
  
| '''ɗ'''
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|-
  
|-
 
| &nbsp;
  
| &nbsp;
−
| ''V'less Impl.''
 +
| ''Voiceless Implosive''
 
| '''ƥ'''
  
| '''ƥ'''
 
| '''ƭ'''
  
| '''ƭ'''
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|-
  
|-
 
| &nbsp;
  
| &nbsp;
−
| ''Prenas.''
 +
| ''Prenasalized''
 
| '''ᵐb''' (mb)
  
| '''ᵐb''' (mb)
 
| '''ⁿd''' (nd)
  
| '''ⁿd''' (nd)
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Vowels after implosive consonants are sometimes creaky; this is not contrastive.
  
Vowels after implosive consonants are sometimes creaky; this is not contrastive.
−  
−
<span style="color:#FF0000"> Vowel hiatus, perhaps on an attached page? </span>
  
   
 
==Phonotactics==
  
==Phonotactics==
   
  +
''Main page'': [[Phonotactics]]
−
Maximal syllable structure is CVC. The syllable template more broadly seems to be (C)V(V)(C), with an optional onset and coda, and the option of short or long vowels completely independent of these. Any C may appear in the onset, and so far it appears that any C may appear in the coda.
 
  +
  +
The Sereer syllable template is CV(C). All stems must have a consonantal onset, and codas are optional. The nucleus of a syllable is nearly always a short or long vowel; the only exception is syllabic m=, which is an allomorph of um=, the strong first person singular agreement marker.
  +
  +
Vowel length distinctions are never affected by onset or coda consonants. Any C may appear in the onset or coda of a syllable. There are no onset or coda clusters, except very rarely in loan words. All consonant clusters that do occur in Sereer are formed across a syllable boundary.
  +
  +
===Vowel hiatus===
   
  +
Vowels are not allowed in hiatus in Sereer, except perhaps in a few borrowed words (e.g. ''metrais'' machine gun. It can be argued that word-internally, glottal stop or glide insertion operates in order to resolve hiatus (e.g. ''fi'aam'', or ''fiyaam'' "I do", but not *''fiaam''), but these consonants might also be analyzed as underlying. When two vowels are in contact across word boundaries, one deletes, generally the second. In slow or careful speech, the vowel may be saved by glottal stop insertion, but not in all cases.
−
For more on this topic, see [[Phonotactics]].
  
   
 
==Stress==
  
==Stress==
   
  +
''Main page'': [[Stress]]
−
Serer makes use of stress. Stress is largely assigned metrically, with a preference for left-anchored iambs (if V-shaped prefixes are taken to be part of the noun's phonological word) or right-anchored trochees (if they are not). Some irregularities, especially concerning the frequent noun plural agreement prefix xa-, are yet to be worked out.
  
  +
  +
Sereer exhibits non-contrastive stress. Stress is largely assigned metrically, with a preference for left-anchored iambs (if V-shaped prefixes are taken to be part of the noun's phonological word), or right-anchored trochees (if they are not). While vowel length affects stress assignment, coda consonants do not contribute to syllable weight or affect stress.
   
 
=Morphology=
  
=Morphology=
   
  +
Sereer is a highly synthetic language, especially with regard to verbs, which may take numerous derivational and inflectional suffixes. Typically, both nouns and verbs only take a single prefix. Typologically notable aspects of Sereer morphology include mutation of stem-initial consonants, extensive verb derivational affixing, and numerous distinct reduplicative processes.
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<span style="color:#FF0000"> All of the sections below here eventually need some basic text. The text in the sections should be roughly equivalent to what would be the introduction to this section in the grammar.</span>
  
   
 
==Morphophonological Processes==
  
==Morphophonological Processes==
   
−
===Consonant mutation===
 +
===Consonant Mutation===
  +
''Main page:'' [[Phonological Alternations|Consonant mutation]]
   
−
Sereer has three distinct patterns of consonant mutation, which occur in different contexts throughout the language. All three processes affect the initial consonant of a stem in largely predictable ways. These processes are detailed in the page on [[Phonological Alternations|phonological alternations]].
 +
Sereer exhibits a system of consonant mutation by which the initial consonant of a stem can alternate. There are three "grades" of consonants, and each is triggered by specific morphological environments.
   
  +
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
−
===[[Reduplication]]===
  
  +
|-
  +
| Unmutated (I) || p || t || c || k || q || b || d || j || g || f || s || x || w || r || ɓ || ɗ || ƴ || m || n || ñ || ŋ || l || y || ʔ
  +
|-
  +
| Fortition (II) || p || t || c || k || q || p || t || c || k || p || c/s || q || b || t || ƥ || ƭ || ƈ || m || n || ñ || ŋ || l || y || ʔ
  +
|-
  +
| Nasal (III) || p/mb || t/nd || c/nj || k/ng || q/nq || mb || nd || nj || ng || mb || nj/s || nq || mb || nd || ƥ || ƭ || ƈ || m || n || ñ || ŋ || l || y || ʔ
  +
|-
  +
|}
   
  +
Each noun class requires a specific mutation grade by default, and verbal subject number agreement conditions different mutation grades (unmutated for singular, nasal for plural).
−
Reduplication is prevalent in Sereer, occurring in verbs, nouns, and prepositions in three different structures. [[Reduplication#Stative verbs|Bare stative verbs]] can be fully reduplicated at the end of sentences: ''ambeel ale axooɗa '''xooɗ''''' 'The lake is deep'. [[Deverbal nominalization#Deverbal agentive nouns|Agentive nouns]] are derived from verb stems through partial reduplication of the stem: ''xoox'' 'cultivate' > ''o'''qoo'''xoox'' 'farmer'. [[Reduplication#Prepositions|Locative prepositions]] can be reduplicated to indicate precision: ''pam'' 'next to' > '''''pam e''' pam'' 'right next to'.
  
   
  +
===Reduplication===
−
===Vowel hiatus (word internal)===
  
  +
''Main page:'' [[Reduplication]]
   
  +
Reduplication is prevalent in Sereer, occurring in verbs, nouns, and prepositions in three different structures. [[Reduplication#Stative verbs|Bare stative verbs]] can be fully reduplicated at the end of sentences: ''ambeel ale axooɗa '''xooɗ''''' 'The lake is deep'. [[Deverbal nominalization#Deverbal agentive nouns|Agentive nouns]] are derived from verb stems through partial reduplication of the stem: ''xoox'' 'cultivate' > ''o'''qoo'''xoox'' 'farmer'. [[Reduplication#Prepositions|Locative prepositions]] can be reduplicated to indicate precision: ''pam'' 'next to' > '''''pam e''' pam'' 'right next to'.
−
(text)
  
   
 
==Nominal Morphology==
  
==Nominal Morphology==
   
−
Sereer nouns fall into nine [[Nominal Morphology|noun classes]], which indicate both number and agreement with determiners and adjectives. Noun class markers are prefixed to the stem, and in some cases will trigger [[Phonological Alternations#Standard nominal mutation|mutation]] of the initial consonant of the stem. Adjectives agree with the noun they modify; this agreement is morphologically realized via concordant prefixes.
+
Sereer nouns fall into fourteen [[Nominal Morphology|noun classes]] (nine distinct patterns of singular-plural alternation), which indicate both number and agreement with determiners and adjectives. Noun class markers are prefixed to the stem, and in some cases will trigger [[Phonological Alternations#Standard nominal mutation|mutation]] of the initial consonant of the stem. Adjectives agree with the noun they modify; this agreement is morphologically realized via concordant prefixes.
   
 
'''Example:'''
  
'''Example:'''
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:‘three small black pigs'
  
:‘three small black pigs'
   
−
===[[Nominal Morphology|Noun classes]]===
 +
===Noun classes===
  +
''Main page:'' [[Nominal Morphology|Noun classes]]
  +
  +
There are eight distinct morphological patterns for singular nouns and six for plural nouns. Four of these patterns (two singular and two plural) are exclusively devoted to two noun classes, consisting of reflexes of productive augmentative and diminutive derivational processes (the ''gak/gal'' and ''ong/fn'' noun classes, respectively). Two of these patterns are exclusively devoted to the ''ox/w'' noun class, which consists entirely of nouns denoting humans. The other eight patterns combine in a non-corresponding fashion in six further noun classes.
   
  +
There are some semantic correlated observed in controller genders, that is, in statistically frequent singular-plural groupings. These semantic similarities tend to stem from salient shape similarities amongst class members, and also seem to have historically traceable groupings. For instance, the n/k class contains all religious and theological terminology.
−
There are eight distinct patterns for singular nouns and six for plural nouns. Four of these patterns (two singular and two plural) are exclusively devoted to two noun classes, consisting of reflexes of productive augmentative and diminutive derivational processes (the ''gak/gal'' and ''ong/fn'' noun classes, respectively). Two of these paterns are exclusively devoted to the ''ox/w'' noun class, which consists entirely of nouns denoting humans. The other eight patterns combine in a non-corresponding fashion in six further noun classes, which have no obvious semantic basis in modern Sereer.
  
   
 
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
  
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
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| '''ox/w''' || ''o-'''''t'''ew || ''ox''e || woman || ''Ø-'''''r'''ew || ''w''e
  
| '''ox/w''' || ''o-'''''t'''ew || ''ox''e || woman || ''Ø-'''''r'''ew || ''w''e
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''ol/ax''' || ''o-'''''f'''iiɗ || ''ol''e || butterfly || ''xa-'''''p'''iiɗ || ''ax''e
 +
| '''ol/ax''' || ''o-'''''f'''iɗ || ''ol''e || butterfly || ''xa-'''''p'''iɗ || ''ax''e
 
|-
  
|-
 
| '''l/ak''' || ''Ø-'''''x'''omb || ''l''e || turtle || ''a-'''''q'''omb || ''ak''e
  
| '''l/ak''' || ''Ø-'''''x'''omb || ''l''e || turtle || ''a-'''''q'''omb || ''ak''e
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| '''al/ak''' || ''a-'''''k'''oong || ''al''e || monkey || ''a-'''''k'''oong || ''ak''e
  
| '''al/ak''' || ''a-'''''k'''oong || ''al''e || monkey || ''a-'''''k'''oong || ''ak''e
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''ong/fn''' || ''o-'''''nd'''ew || ''ong''e || woman [DIM] || ''fo-'''''nd'''ew || ''n''e
 +
| '''ong/ax''' || ''o-'''''nq'''ool || ''ong''e || moon || ''xa-'''''q'''ool || ''ax''e
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''gal/gak''' || ''ga-'''''nd'''ew <br> ''gi-'''''nd'''ew || ''al''e || woman [AUG] || ''ga-'''''nd'''ew || ''ak''e
 +
| '''ong/fn''' || ''o-'''''nd'''ew || ''ong''e || woman <small>(DIM)</small> || ''fo-'''''nd'''ew || ''n''e
  +
|-
  +
| '''gal/gak''' || ''ga-'''''nd'''ew <br> ''gi-'''''nd'''ew || ''al''e || woman <small>(AUG)</small> || ''ga-'''''nd'''ew || ''ak''e
 
|-
  
|-
 
|}
  
|}
   
−
All ''al/k'' nouns have an initial prenasalized consonant; all ''al/ak'' nouns do not. Because of this, the plural form of any regular noun is predictable from the definite singular form. See [[Nominal Morphology#Irregular nouns]] for more information.
 +
All ''al/k'' nouns have an initial prenasalized consonant; all ''al/ak'' nouns do not. Because of this, the plural form of any regular noun is predictable from the definite singular form. See [[Nominal Morphology#Irregular nouns|irregular nouns]] for more information.
  +
  +
===Nominalization===
  +
  +
Sereer has multiple [[Deverbal nominalization|deverbal nominalization]] processes. [[Deverbal nominalization#Deverbal agentive nouns|Agent nominalization]] is a [[Reduplication|reduplicative]] process whereby the body of the first syllable of the verb stem is reduplicated: ''lay'' 'talk' > ''o'''laa'''lay'' 'one who talks a lot'. Other deverbal nominalizations, including [[Deverbal nominalization#Eventive nouns|event]] and [[Deverbal nominalization#Instrumental nouns|instrument]] nominalization, are zero-derivational processes; the verb stem is treated as a noun stem, with a noun class prefix added as with all other nouns in Sereer. The resulting noun class of these deverbal nouns is as of yet unpredictable.
   
  +
===Noun-Noun Derivation===
−
===[[Deverbal nominalization|Nominalization]]===
  
   
  +
Noun-noun derivation can be accomplished in Sereer by changing the noun class of a noun. Two noun class pairs - [[Nominal Morphology#Augmentative and Diminutive Classes (gal/gak and ong/fn)|augmentatives and diminutives]] - are almost exclusively populated in this fashion. The augmentative and diminutive derivation processes are highly productive. There are also a few noun-noun pairs that indicate derivational processes to other noun classes; however, these are unpredictable and unproductive. See [[Related Nouns]] for more information.
−
Sereer has multiple deverbal nominalization processes. [[Deverbal nominalization#Deverbal agentive nouns|Agent nominalization]] is a [[Reduplication|reduplicative]] process whereby the body of the first syllable of the verb stem is reduplicated: ''lay'' 'talk' > ''o'''laa'''lay'' 'one who talks a lot'. Other deverbal nominalizations, including [[Deverbal nominalization#Eventive nouns|event]] and [[Deverbal nominalization#Instrumental nouns|instrument]] nominalization, are zero-derivational processes, consisting of the addition of a noun class prefix to a verb stem.
  
   
 
===Parts of the Noun Phrase===
  
===Parts of the Noun Phrase===
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==Verbal Morphology==
  
==Verbal Morphology==
   
  +
Sereer contains a rich inventory of verbal morphology, both inflectional and derivational.
−
Sereer inflectional morphology includes affixes, proclitics, and auxilliary verbs. Subject agreement is obligatory on verbs, and is usually preverbal. Object marking is not obligatory, and the pronominal forms appear as postverbal clitics. Either tense or aspect must be marked on verbs that are not in citation form, but not both. Aspect can be marked using suffixes, proclitics, and auxiliary verb, or combinations of the three.
 
   
−
[[Inflectional Verbal Morphology]]
 +
===Inflectional Verbal Morphology===
  +
''Main page:'' [[Inflectional Verbal Morphology]]
   
  +
Verbs in Sereer are inflected for person and number agreement, negation, tense and aspect, and a number of other categories. Sereer also makes use of a number of auxiliary constructions. Inflectional morphemes are strictly ordered as follows:
−
===Subject Marking===
  
   
  +
{| style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #000" cellpadding="4"
−
Sereer verbs agree with subject; the following table shows the basic subject marking paradigm, which occurs when no pre-verbal morphology is present:
  
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
  
−
|+ Basic subject marking:
 
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !! Gloss !! Sereer
 
 
|-
  
|-
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
| 1SG || -m || 1PL || i-[mut]
  
  +
Auxiliary
−
|-
  
  +
|
−
| 2SG || -' || 2PL || nu-[mut]
  
−
|-
  
−
| 3SG || a- || 3PL || a-[mut]
  
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
   
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
Singular and plural forms for first, second, and third person are all distinguished from each other. The only distinguishing characteristic between singular and plural third person, however, is the [[Inflectional Verbal Morphology#Stem-initial consonant mutation|stem-initial consonant mutation]] of the verb stem. Initial consonant mutation occurs with all plural subjects.
 
  +
Subject clitic
  +
|
   
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
The paradigm above is one of many: type of subject agreement is conditioned (at least) by clause type, [[Negation|negation]], focus, and presence or absence of auxiliaries. Most subject agreement morphemes within these paradigms are prefixes. Regardless of subject agreement type, all plural subjects trigger verb stem-initial consonant mutation.
 
  +
ROOT
−  
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
When the preverbal aspect marker xe/we is present, a different subject marking paradigm occurs:
  
  +
Extensions
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
 +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Tense
−
|+ Subject marking with xe/we:
 
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !! Gloss !! Sereer
 
  +
Past imperfect
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Conditional "if"
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Negation
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Finiteness
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Object
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Subject
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
Relativization
 
|-
  
|-
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
| || -xe || || -we
 
  +
-xe <br>
−
|-
  
  +
xan, fat, bar <br>
−
| 1SG || me- || 1PL || in-
  
  +
kaa <br>
−
|-
  
  +
naa
−
| 2SG || we- || 2PL || nuun-
  
−
|-
 +
|
−
| 3SG || a- || 3PL || a-
  
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
   
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
With the auxiliary verb ''xan'', or special preverbal clitic "kan", subject marking always occurs immediately before the verb stem:
  
  +
(i)n, (u)m, i<br>
  +
o, nu<br>
  +
a, te, de
  +
|
   
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
 +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
|+ Subject marking with ''xan'' or ''kan'':
 
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !! Gloss !! Sereer
 
−
|-
  
−
| 1SG || -m || 1PL || i-[mut]
  
−
|-
  
−
| 2SG || o- || 2PL || nu-[mut]
  
−
|-
  
−
| 3SG || a- || 3PL || a-[mut]
  
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
   
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
===Tense and aspect===
  
  +
[[Derivational Verbal Morphology|many]]
−  
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
Matrix verbs are obligatorily marked for either tense or aspect in Sereer, and are often marked for both. The three tense markers are suffixes:
  
  +
-', -k
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
 +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
-eeg
−
|+ Typical subject marking:
 
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !!
 
  +
-ang
−
|-
  
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
| Simple past || -'a
  
  +
-ee(r), -ir, -(i)i
−
|-
  
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
−
| Proximal || -aa
  
  +
-a <br>
−
|-
  
  +
-u <br>
−
| Progressive past || -eega
  
  +
-e, -el, -eel <br>
−
|-
  
  +
-aa
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
-aam/-xam <br>
  +
-(o)ng <br>
  +
-(i)n
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
-(u)m <br>
  +
-(o)
  +
| style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px"|
  +
-(ii)(n)a
 
|}
  
|}
   
  +
===Derivational Verbal Morphology===
−
The suffix ''-aa'' is glossed as proximal tense. It marks events that happened temporally close to the speech act, which includes the present or recent past. Events outside of the recent past-present time frame cannot be marked with ''-aa''. The future aspect when marked with ''xan'', however, can take ''-aa'' marking to indicate future progressive.
  
−  
−
The auxiliary verb ''xan'' can also appear by itself without any suffix aspect marking, and is glossed as the simple future.
 
−  
−
Another auxiliary, ''kan'', behaves similarly to ''xan'' with regards to subject marking and position relative to the verb, but whose semantic applications are quite different. So far, the best gloss of ''kan'' is as a marker of predicate focus.
 
−  
−
The proclitic progressive aspect marker ''xe/we'' must occur with either proximal tense or progressive past tense. With proximal tense ''-aa'', ''xe/we'' is glossed as present progressive, and is past progressive with ''-eega''. ''xe/we'' has special person marking; see the section on subject marking.
  
−  
−
For paradigms of tense and aspect inflection, see [[Tense (and aspect) Paradigm Table|example verb paradigms]].
  
−  
−
==Object marking==
  
−  
−
Sereer object marking varies based on how the subject is marked (which in turn varies based on tense/aspect marking). When there is no pre-verbal morphology and the subject is 3s or plural, the 'basic' subject marking appears, which can the following objects:
  
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
  
−
|+ Basic object marking:
 
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !! Gloss !! Sereer
 
−
|-
  
−
| 1SG || =xam || 1PL || ='in
 
−
|-
  
−
| 2SG || =ng || 2P || =nuun
 
−
|-
  
−
| 3SG || =n || 3P || =den
 
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
−  
−
When there is basic subject marking, and the subject is 1s or 2s (which are post-verbal suffixes), the singular object marking changes:
  
−  
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
  
−
|+ Objects of a 1s subject:
 
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !! Gloss !! Sereer
 
−
|-
  
−
| 2SG || =xong || 2P || =nuun
 
−
|-
  
−
| 3SG || =num || 3P || =den
 
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
  
−
|+ Objects of a 2s subject:
 
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !! Gloss !! Sereer
 
−
|-
  
−
| 1SG || =xamo || 1PL || ='in
 
−
|-
  
−
| 3SG || =no' || 3P || =den
 
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
−  
−  
−
Pronominal [[Object marking|objects]] are marked by enclitics. These are in complementary distribution with full nominal objects.
 
−  
−  
−
Things that we need to talk about (--[[User:Nico|Nico]] 07:56, 30 November 2012 (UTC))
  
−  
−
*Suffixes or clitics?
 
−
*Status of the singular vs. pl
  
−
*Movement of the object markers from one verb to another
  
−
*-xong vs. -ong, -xam vs. -um/-am, etc.
  
−  
−
===Derivational morphology===
  
 
''Main page:'' [[Derivational Verbal Morphology]]
  
''Main page:'' [[Derivational Verbal Morphology]]
   
−
Derivational morphology of Sereer verbs is almost entirely suffixing. Verbal derivational affixes can be used to form other verbs, adjectives, or nouns:
 +
Derivational morphology of Sereer verbs is almost entirely suffixing and is mostly concatenative. Derivational affixes can be used on a verb to form other verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Some verb to verb derivational morphology produces valency-changing operations (applicative, causative, etc.). Many verbal derivational suffixes are of the form -V(V)C and, if the vowel is short and non-low, can be contracted to -C in contexts where illegal CCC clusters will not be created.
   
  +
Reduplication is used to create agentive nouns, and various other deverbal nouns are formed with the attachment of noun class prefixal agreement morphology and concomitant consonantal mutations.
−
'''Takes verb, makes verb:'''
  
−
* -ir, a reciprocal suffix
  
−
* -in, a causative suffix (e.g. gɛf "to break, explode (intr.)" --> gɛfin "break it"). Allomorphs -an or -n occur when co-occurring with person marking, and sometimes when another suffix precedes (e.g. xum 'to tie', xum-ir 'to tie RECP', xum-r-'''an''' 'to tie to each other' (061)
  
−
* -it, a reversive suffix
  
−
* -an, an applicative. Licenses an additional argument, a beneficiary
  
−
* -it, an instrumental applicative. Licenses an additional argument, an instrument.
  
−
* -ik, which indicates directed motion in doing a verb X ("to go do X")
  
−
* -oox, which seems to be stativizing or anti-causative. Its derived forms are somewhat less semantically consistent than the others.
  
−
* -and, a causative/transitivizing suffix
  
−
* -loox/-noox, a suffix of possibly causative meaning that has mutiple allomorphs (or is actually more than one suffix)
  
−
* -noor, a causative suffix (possibly more than one suffix fused together?)
  
   
  +
= Syntax =
−
'''Takes verb, makes adjective:'''
  
−
* -u , a suffix that takes a verb and turns it into an adjective (e.g. saɗik "to be strong, tough" -> saɗku "strong, tough"; may "to be many" -> mayu "many")
  
−
* -na, seemingly equivalent with -u but agreeing with presence of an "article" on a noun
  
   
  +
The basic word order of Sereer is S-V-O.
−
'''Takes verb, makes noun:'''
  
−
* -ir, a suffix that makes instrument-type nouns from verb stems (e.g. βɛʄ "to swim" --> bɛʄir "thing used to swim")
  
−
* RED-, prefixing partial reduplication: makes a noun from a verb "X" meaning "one who (habitually) X"
  
−
* NC- + mutation(s), forms a deverbal noun.
  
   
  +
Sereer is mostly head initial/final, evidence from auxiliaries, relatives, adpositions, etc.
−
===Negation===
  
−  
−
Verbal [[Negation|negation]] is expressed by negative allomorphs of the tense suffixes. The table lists the negative allomorphs for each tense:
  
−  
−  
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black;"
  
−
|+ Tense marking- negative:
  
−
! Gloss !! Sereer !!
 
−
|-
  
−
| Simple negated past || -'i
  
−
|-
  
−
| Negated proximal || -ii
  
−
|-
  
−
| Negated progressive past || -eegi
  
−
|-
  
−
|Negated future || -ki
  
−
|-
  
−
|}
  
−  
−
= Syntax =
  
−  
−
* Basic order is S-V-O, etc.
  
−
* Sereer is mostly head initial/final, evidence from auxiliaries, relatives, adpositions, etc.
  
   
 
[[main clause word order and pronominalization]]
  
[[main clause word order and pronominalization]]
Line 461: Line 388:
   
 
==Verb phrases==
  
==Verb phrases==
  +
''Main page:'' [[Verb Phrases]]
   
  +
Verb phrases (VP's) in Sereer consist of a verb optionally modified by any or all of the following components: any number of adverbs, a noun phrase, or a prepositional phrase. These components are ordered as follows:
−
In a simple transitive clause, the object follows the verb in the verb phrase.
 
−  
−
(needs)
  
−
* How are ditransitives ordered?
  
−
* How are applicative arguments ordered?
  
−
* Where do adverbs and other modifiers occur relative to verbal arguments?
  
   
  +
1) Verb
−
[[Serialization]]
  
  +
<br>
  +
2) Adverb / Noun Phrase / Prepositional Phrase
   
  +
Not enough studies of constituent order in discourse have been conducted to allow generalizations regarding the sensitivity of Sereer to pragmatic principles in constituent ordering, although pragmatic factors influence constituent order to some degree.
−
[[Valence patterns and alignment]]
  
   
 
==Noun phrases==
  
==Noun phrases==
−
''Main article:'' [[Noun Phrases]]
 +
''Main page:'' [[Noun Phrases]]
   
 
Noun phrases (NPs) in Sereer consist of a noun optionally modified by any or all of the following components: any number of adjectives, a single determiner, a prepositional phrase, a relative clause, and a possessive NP. These components are ordered as follows:
  
Noun phrases (NPs) in Sereer consist of a noun optionally modified by any or all of the following components: any number of adjectives, a single determiner, a prepositional phrase, a relative clause, and a possessive NP. These components are ordered as follows:
Line 485: Line 410:
   
 
Adjectives and determiners agree in noun class with the head of the NP.
  
Adjectives and determiners agree in noun class with the head of the NP.
−  
−  
−
[[Compounds]] Should this actually be called "compounds"? These seem more like using measure words to quantify amounts of mass nouns. [[User:Faytak|Faytak]] 18:42, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
  
   
 
==Adjectives and Adverbs==
  
==Adjectives and Adverbs==
Line 493: Line 415:
 
===Adjectives===
  
===Adjectives===
   
  +
<i>Main page:</i> [[Adjectives]]
−
Sereer uses a handful of predicational and modificational patterns to put across properties and attributes of nominals, but does not have a dedicated adjectival word class. (Please see the section on [[Nominal Modifiers]] above for more details on noun class agreement). Some more prototypical adjectival morphologies include the suffix -u and a nominalizing construction involving the relative pronoun na. This section will outline all of the observed nominal modification strategies.
  
   
  +
Adjectives in Sereer follow the noun they they modify, and agree with the noun in noun class. There is a very small closed class of true adjective roots, but any verb stem can be make an adjective through the use of the suffix ''-u.''
−
There does not seem to be any ordering constraints on the logical ordering of adjectives. That is, “the delicious sour fruit” is just as natural and acceptable as “the sour delicious fruit”. The only constraint is that the adjective or adjectives remain post-nominal. There is also an intermixing of modification strategies when multiple modifications occur (see section below on [[Adjective Ordering]]).
 
   
  +
===Adverbs===
−
Because physical and psychological qualities - such as visual and physical attributes (color, size, texture), emotional states, and other such descriptors usually put across by use of adjectives in some languages - are expressed by use of stative verbs in Sereer, much of the discussion about Sereer adjectives will entail a discussion of verb syntax, particularly copular predication.
  
   
  +
<i>Main page:</i> [[Adverbs]]
−
[[Modification Strategies]]: This section outlines all the ways in which Sereer can syntactically and morphologically modify nouns, including -u adjectives, relativizing na-adjectives. There is also a general discussion about true adjectives as opposed to stative verb modification, and a section on notable coherent subclasses showing uniform morpho-syntactic patterns.
  
   
  +
== Adpositions ==
−
[[Predication Strategies]]: This section details modification at the clausal level, particularly with respect to the several kinds of predicational copular clauses.
  
  +
''Main page'': [[Adpositions]]
   
  +
Adpositions serve to license adjucts to a verb phrase. Sereer exhibits only prepositions, which are mostly morphological free elements. Prepositions most often license location adjuncts, as seen in example <glr id="dog.house"/>. Additionally, prepositions can license extra nominal adjuncts as seen in <glr id="with.knife"/>.
−
[[Adjective Ordering]]: This section discusses the ordering constraints (or lack thereof) when multiple modifiers layer on a noun.
 
   
−
[[Degrees of Comparison]]: This section outlines comparative, superlative, and positive relations between two nouns.
  
   
  +
<gl id="dog.house" fontsize=12>
−
[[Possessives with Adjectives]]: This section illustrates the interesting interaction between modification morphology and the possessive suffix.
  
  +
oɓox axe kam mbine
  +
\gll oɓox a= xe kam mbine
  +
dog 3= COP in house.DET
  +
\trans A dog is in the house. (274)
  +
</gl>
   
  +
<gl id="with.knife" fontsize=12>
−
[[Numerals]]
  
  +
Jegaan aɗegta oƥaak ole fo japil
  +
\gll Jegaan a= ɗeg -it -a oƥaak ole fo japil
  +
Jegaan 3= cut -INSTR -DV rope DET with knife
  +
\trans Jegaan cut the rope with the knife. (234)
  +
</gl>
   
−
===Adverbs===
  
−  
−
[[Adverbs]]
  
−  
−
== Adpositions ==
  
−
Adpositions serve to mark a semantic relationship between adjacent noun phrases in a sentence. Sereer exhibits exclusively prepositions, which are morphologically free particles.
  
   
  +
There are relatively few prepositions in Sereer, but there are also a number of locational verbs, which indicate position or motion of arguments. These verbs are discussed with the prepositions, since they are the only way to indicate common locational relationships between arguments.
−
[[Adpositions]]
  
   
 
==Negation==
  
==Negation==
  +
''Main page'': [[Negation]]
   
−
Negation is marked by a suffix on the verb. We have not yet found any negator that functions as a separate word. The exact form of negation is conditioned by voice, tense, and (maybe?) clause type.
+
Negation is marked by a suffix on the verb, as seen in <glr id="did.not.sit"/>. We have not yet found any negator that functions as a separate word. The exact form of negation is conditioned by voice, tense, and (maybe?) clause type.
   
−
[[Negation]]
  
   
  +
<gl id="did.not.sit" fontsize=12>
−
==WH- and Focus Fronting==
  
  +
Ami moof'ee pam nden ne
−
Sereer has grammaticalized focus marking, which involves fronting of the focused element and (often) specific verbal morphology: a verbal suffix '''-u''' co-occurs with this fronting in nearly all cases; this can perhaps be analyzed as a marker for the extracted argument. Fronting of an argument or constituent and extraction morphology on the verb is also characteristic of [[Questions#WH_Questions|wh-questions]]. Examples are given below, and will be elaborated upon eventually.
  
  +
\gll Ami moof -' -ee pam nden ne
  +
Ami sit -PST -NEG next.to oven
  +
\trans Ami didn't sit next to the stove. (274)
  +
</gl>
   
  +
==Focus and Extraction==
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="1"
  
  +
''Main page'': [[Extraction or Focus]]
−
| align="left" | '''a buga [o gar]. '''
  
−
|-
  
−
{| cellpadding="1"
  
−
| align="left" | a= || align="left" | bug || align="left" | -a || align="left" | o= || align="left" | gar
 
−
|-
  
−
| align="left" | 3SG || align="left" | want || align="left" | NPT || align="left" | 2SG || align="left" | come
 
−
|}
  
−
|-
  
−
| align="left" | He wants you to come. (151)
  
−
|-
 
−
|}
  
   
  +
Sereer has grammaticalized focus marking, which involves fronting of the focused element and (often) specific verbal morphology. An example is below: (1) has no focus while (2) has focus on the object '''Yande''':
−
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="1"
  
−
| align="left" | '''[o gar] a bugu.'''
 
−
|-
  
−
{| cellpadding="1"
  
−
| align="left" | o= || align="left" | gar || align="left" | a= || align="left" | bug || align="left" | -u
 
−
|-
  
−
| align="left" | 2SG || align="left" | come|| align="left" | 3SG || align="left" | want || align="left" | EXTR.ARG
 
−
|}
  
−
|-
  
−
| align="left" | He wants you to come. (151)
  
−
|-
 
−
|}
  
   
  +
<gl fontsize=11>
−
Note that [[Reduplication|reduplication]] of predicates cannot occur when subject extraction is marked: '''qaarit ke a laaɓiira (laaɓiir)''' 'the friends are generous' but '''qaarit qum laaɓiiru (*laaɓiir)?''', 'which friends are generous?' (115)
  
  +
anafa Yande
  +
\gll a= naf-a Yande
  +
3sg.sbj hit-fv Yande
  +
\trans He hit Yande.
  +
</gl>
   
  +
<gl fontsize=11>
  +
Yande anafu
  +
\gll Yande a= naf-u
  +
Yande 3sg.sbj hit-foc
  +
\trans It's Yande he hit. (165)
  +
</gl>
   
  +
In (2), the object '''Yande''' has been fronted to indicate focus on that object, and the morphology on the verb has changed. Instead fo the final vowel being '''-a''', it is '''-u'''. Such constructions sometimes also appear in [[Questions#WH_Questions|wh-questions]], as seen below:
−
[[Extraction or Focus]]
  
   
  +
<gl fontsize=11>
−
''We should think about the way we want to structure the discussion of focus marking, wh-questions, and clefts ('''X ref [clause]'''), since they seem to be so tightly tied together. I'm just not sure how to do it right now.''--[[User:Nico|Nico]] 07:54, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
  
  +
xar ajawu
−
:Do we have a distinction between "focus" (non-WH-fronting) and "clefts"? I didn't think there was any difference. I agree that cleft and WH structures are both fronted in the same way, though, and that we should merge discussion of those things under one heading, at the expense of some of the content I might have put in [[Questions]]. I will move things around shortly if there's agreement. [[User:Faytak|Faytak]] 15:50, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
  
  +
\gll xar a= jaw-u
−
:: What I mean is that we've got the kind of focus structure in the examples above, where you get fronting and -u/focus morphology on the verb, and then you've got '''Jegan refu oxe okoor oxe anafna''' 'Jegan is the one the man hit'. Both can be used in wh-question formation: '''an jaw'eeru ñaamel ke?''' 'Who didn't cook the food' vs. '''an refu oxe jaweerna ñaamel ke?''' 'Who is it that didn't cook the food.' So although he translates regular constituent focus as clefts in English, I don't know if we should structurally treat the front + -u forms as clefts. The constructions with refu really do look like clefts to me. Both are used in question formation and you can do the refu cleft thing on regular non-wh constituents, so we should figure out how to integrate that observation here.--[[User:Nico|Nico]] 18:00, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
  
  +
what 3sg.sbj cook-foc
  +
\trans What did he cook?
  +
</gl>
   
  +
In (3), the same marking is used on the verb as in (2), but this time the fronted constituent is a wh-question word. Since both focus and wh-question formation are usually analyzed as involving some kind of extraction or movement on the focus/wh-constituent, this special morphology can be analyzed as ''extraction marking''. For a more detailed discussion of the issues at hand, click [[Extraction_or_Focus|here]].
−
: Whenever possible, try to keep 'constructionally related' data together. So everything that gets the same -u suffix on the verb should go in the same section. So it seems that both wh-questions and these focus constructions (however they are best characterized) should go in this section. The X ref RC constructions Nico mentioned probably would go better in the copular clause section, since they seem to be copular clauses (i.e. pseudoclefts). relative clauses should be their own section as well, whether in noun phrases or sentential embedding. jenks 23:35, 12 December 2012 (UTC)
  
   
 
==Mood and Utterance Type==
  
==Mood and Utterance Type==
   
  +
Non-declarative mood in Sereer is introduced through the use of clause-initial (preverbal) uninflected "particles" to mark hortative and prohibitive moods along with polar questions. Fronted WH-constituencies mark WH- questions, and the fronted content appears in the same zone as the preverbal particles. [[Extraction or Focus|Extraction marking]] also appears on the verb in the case of WH-questions.
−
As one might expect, different moods and clause types in Sereer correspond to different syntax. Mood is frequently marked with TAM suffixes, but a zone in the left periphery of the clause also hosts particles that express different moods. Numerous other utterance types are cued by pragmatics and have reduced or no inflectional morphology. Sereer exhibits WH-fronting when forming WH- and WH-constituent questions.
  
   
−
[[Imperatives and Hortatives]]
 +
[[Imperatives and Procedurals]]
−  
−
[[Procedurals]]
  
   
 
[[Questions]]
  
[[Questions]]
   
 
==Subordination==
  
==Subordination==
−
Subordinate clauses in Sereer are largely identical to main clauses in both their syntax and their morphology. When the word order of a subordinate clause differs from the main clause S-V-O order (see [[Main_Page#Syntax | Syntax]]), it is generally due to focus or extraction. it is common to see seemingly non-canonical word orders in [[Relative Clauses | relative clauses]] in particular, because they are externally headed, which sometimes causes direct objects, indirect objects, or certain obliques to appear in positions which appear clause-initial. Verbs in relative clauses also involve slightly different morphology than verbs in main clauses. This is likely related to the fact that relative clauses appear to be nominalizations in Sereer. Adverbial clauses sometimes make use of the verbal suffix -aŋga which indicates that the verb in the subordinate [[Adverbial Clauses | adverbial clause]] occurs simultaneously or immediately before the action of the main verb. [[Complement Clauses | Complement clauses]] generally involve the simple juxtaposition of two clauses. The unmarked order appears to be the main clause followed by the subordinate clause, but inversion of this order is possible, as well. Some types of complement clauses require the use of the complementizer ye (or me, for the first person singular), in other types it appears to be optional, and in other cases its use is ungrammatical.
  
   
−
There are several types of clausal subordination in Sereer:
 +
Sereer has a variety of subordination strategies. These are:
  +
  +
* Finite complement clauses preceded by one of the complementizers '''(y)ee''' or '''ndax''' (which derives embedded polar questions and may also occur in matrix polar questions).
  +
* Finite adverbial clauses which involve a variety of adverbial complement clauses.
  +
* Conditional/sequential clauses which involve the verbal suffix '''-ang'''.
  +
* Non-finite (perhaps 'infinitival') clauses with the non-finite marker '''o'''.
  +
* Relative clauses which involve the relative suffix '''-na''' and a relative determiner.
  +
* Free relative clauses which may function as complement or adverbial clauses. These involve the relative suffix '''-na''' and a limited set of relative determiner.
   
 
*[[Relative Clauses]]
  
*[[Relative Clauses]]
  +
Relative clauses in Sereer are externally headed with the head coming before the relativized clause. Clauses are relativized by suffixing ‘’’-na’’’ to the verb . It appears that any noun in Sereer can head a relative clause, regardless of its syntactic position within that clause.
   
 
*[[Complement Clauses]]
  
*[[Complement Clauses]]

Latest revision as of 12:29, 28 September 2013

This is the Wiki page for research on the Saalum (or Saloum) dialect of Sereer, as conducted by the 2012-2013 Graduate Field Methods class in the UC Berkeley Department of Linguistics.

Sereer is a language of the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo languages spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in The Gambia. It is the principal language of the Sereer people. Some documentation of Sereer exists; however, most existing documentation is for the significantly different Siin dialect (MacLaughlin 1994, 2000, 2005).

Morphosyntactically, Sereer is largely head-initial, suffixing, and agglutinative (especially in the case of derivational verbal morphology). A clause's tense, aspect, person-number agreement, and negation are most frequently expressed in polyexponent verbal suffixes, although prefixing or procliticizing of person-number agreement sometimes occurs. The language is notable for its extensive noun class concord and its system of consonant mutations, the latter of which is exploited in the language's numerous processes of nonconcatenative inflectional and derivational morphology. Sereer also makes use of an unusually large number of stop consonants, including areally unusual uvulars and an extremely rare series of phonemic voiceless implosive stops.

Ancillary pages

List monomorphemic lexical items and associated information here.

Upload recordings and annotations here.

Backup and download the FLEx files here.

This is where wordlists for individual elicitation sessions can be uploaded and checked to avoid redundant work.

PDFs of class presentations and class assignments here, including final papers.

Find code here to make things (tables, interlinear glosses) on the Wiki.

A list of lexical items with French and English translations, from Fal (1980), to be checked against Sereer Saloum and possibly to flesh out minimal pairs

Phonology

The phonology of Sereer is characterized by a large inventory of consonants, particularly stops, and a vowel length distinction. The surface form of these segments is fairly predictable, due in part to the relatively rigid phonotactics of Sereer. Sereer is a stress language.

A list of minimal pairs can be found here.

Phonological Inventory

Main page: Phonological Inventory

Consonants

Sereer's consonant inventory makes use of some combinations of parameters that are unusual cross-linguistically, including contrastive voicing in both egressive and ingressive stops. Sereer also has multiple uvular phonemes, a rarity for sub-Saharan Africa. The unusually large size of the consonant inventory is largely due to its 21 phonemically distinct oral stops.

The consonant inventory of Sereer Saalum is given below. Working orthography for a given symbol is indicated in parentheses following a symbol if the orthography differs from the IPA.

Sereer Saalum Consonant Phonemes
    Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
  Voiceless p t c k q ʔ (')
  Voiced b d ɟ (j) g    
Stops Implosive ɓ ɗ ʄ      
  Voiceless Implosive ƥ ƭ ƈ      
  Prenasalized ᵐb (mb) ⁿd (nd) ᶮɟ (nj) ᵑg (ng) ᶰɢ (nq)  
Nasal   m n ɲ (ñ) ŋ    
Fricative   f s     χ (x)  
Tap/Trill     r        
Liquid     l        
Glide   w   j (y)      

Additional information about the realization of these consonants as well as minimal pairs can be found in the more detailed description of the Phonological Inventory. Spectrograms and Audio Samples of Consonants are also available.

Vowels

The vowel inventory of Sereer Saalum is given below. Vowel length is contrastive; all vowels have long versions.

Sereer Saalum Vowel Phonemes
  Front Central Back
High i ii   u uu
Mid e ee   o oo
Low   a aa    

Vowels after implosive consonants are sometimes creaky; this is not contrastive.

Phonotactics

Main page: Phonotactics

The Sereer syllable template is CV(C). All stems must have a consonantal onset, and codas are optional. The nucleus of a syllable is nearly always a short or long vowel; the only exception is syllabic m=, which is an allomorph of um=, the strong first person singular agreement marker.

Vowel length distinctions are never affected by onset or coda consonants. Any C may appear in the onset or coda of a syllable. There are no onset or coda clusters, except very rarely in loan words. All consonant clusters that do occur in Sereer are formed across a syllable boundary.

Vowel hiatus

Vowels are not allowed in hiatus in Sereer, except perhaps in a few borrowed words (e.g. metrais machine gun. It can be argued that word-internally, glottal stop or glide insertion operates in order to resolve hiatus (e.g. fi'aam, or fiyaam "I do", but not *fiaam), but these consonants might also be analyzed as underlying. When two vowels are in contact across word boundaries, one deletes, generally the second. In slow or careful speech, the vowel may be saved by glottal stop insertion, but not in all cases.

Stress

Main page: Stress

Sereer exhibits non-contrastive stress. Stress is largely assigned metrically, with a preference for left-anchored iambs (if V-shaped prefixes are taken to be part of the noun's phonological word), or right-anchored trochees (if they are not). While vowel length affects stress assignment, coda consonants do not contribute to syllable weight or affect stress.

Morphology

Sereer is a highly synthetic language, especially with regard to verbs, which may take numerous derivational and inflectional suffixes. Typically, both nouns and verbs only take a single prefix. Typologically notable aspects of Sereer morphology include mutation of stem-initial consonants, extensive verb derivational affixing, and numerous distinct reduplicative processes.

Morphophonological Processes

Consonant Mutation

Main page: Consonant mutation

Sereer exhibits a system of consonant mutation by which the initial consonant of a stem can alternate. There are three "grades" of consonants, and each is triggered by specific morphological environments.

Unmutated (I) p t c k q b d j g f s x w r ɓ ɗ ƴ m n ñ ŋ l y ʔ
Fortition (II) p t c k q p t c k p c/s q b t ƥ ƭ ƈ m n ñ ŋ l y ʔ
Nasal (III) p/mb t/nd c/nj k/ng q/nq mb nd nj ng mb nj/s nq mb nd ƥ ƭ ƈ m n ñ ŋ l y ʔ

Each noun class requires a specific mutation grade by default, and verbal subject number agreement conditions different mutation grades (unmutated for singular, nasal for plural).

Reduplication

Main page: Reduplication

Reduplication is prevalent in Sereer, occurring in verbs, nouns, and prepositions in three different structures. Bare stative verbs can be fully reduplicated at the end of sentences: ambeel ale axooɗa xooɗ 'The lake is deep'. Agentive nouns are derived from verb stems through partial reduplication of the stem: xoox 'cultivate' > oqooxoox 'farmer'. Locative prepositions can be reduplicated to indicate precision: pam 'next to' > pam e pam 'right next to'.

Nominal Morphology

Sereer nouns fall into fourteen noun classes (nine distinct patterns of singular-plural alternation), which indicate both number and agreement with determiners and adjectives. Noun class markers are prefixed to the stem, and in some cases will trigger mutation of the initial consonant of the stem. Adjectives agree with the noun they modify; this agreement is morphologically realized via concordant prefixes.

Example:

a-tuul a-tadak a-ƥaal ak-e
(ak-pig ak-three ak-black ak-DET.prox)
‘three small black pigs'

Noun classes

Main page: Noun classes

There are eight distinct morphological patterns for singular nouns and six for plural nouns. Four of these patterns (two singular and two plural) are exclusively devoted to two noun classes, consisting of reflexes of productive augmentative and diminutive derivational processes (the gak/gal and ong/fn noun classes, respectively). Two of these patterns are exclusively devoted to the ox/w noun class, which consists entirely of nouns denoting humans. The other eight patterns combine in a non-corresponding fashion in six further noun classes.

There are some semantic correlated observed in controller genders, that is, in statistically frequent singular-plural groupings. These semantic similarities tend to stem from salient shape similarities amongst class members, and also seem to have historically traceable groupings. For instance, the n/k class contains all religious and theological terminology.

Noun class examples
Class Example Det. English Plural Det.
ox/w o-tew oxe woman Ø-rew we
ol/ax o-fiɗ ole butterfly xa-piɗ axe
l/ak Ø-xomb le turtle a-qomb ake
f/k Ø-xaarit fe friend Ø-qaarit ke
n/k Ø-nqoox ne bull Ø-qoox ke
al/k a-mbeel ale lake Ø-peel ke
al/ak a-koong ale monkey a-koong ake
ong/ax o-nqool onge moon xa-qool axe
ong/fn o-ndew onge woman (DIM) fo-ndew ne
gal/gak ga-ndew
gi-ndew		 ale woman (AUG) ga-ndew ake

All al/k nouns have an initial prenasalized consonant; all al/ak nouns do not. Because of this, the plural form of any regular noun is predictable from the definite singular form. See irregular nouns for more information.

Nominalization

Sereer has multiple deverbal nominalization processes. Agent nominalization is a reduplicative process whereby the body of the first syllable of the verb stem is reduplicated: lay 'talk' > olaalay 'one who talks a lot'. Other deverbal nominalizations, including event and instrument nominalization, are zero-derivational processes; the verb stem is treated as a noun stem, with a noun class prefix added as with all other nouns in Sereer. The resulting noun class of these deverbal nouns is as of yet unpredictable.

Noun-Noun Derivation

Noun-noun derivation can be accomplished in Sereer by changing the noun class of a noun. Two noun class pairs - augmentatives and diminutives - are almost exclusively populated in this fashion. The augmentative and diminutive derivation processes are highly productive. There are also a few noun-noun pairs that indicate derivational processes to other noun classes; however, these are unpredictable and unproductive. See Related Nouns for more information.

Parts of the Noun Phrase

Nominal Modifiers

Numerals

Possessives with Adjectives

Determiners and Demonstratives

Quantifiers

Verbal Morphology

Sereer contains a rich inventory of verbal morphology, both inflectional and derivational.

Inflectional Verbal Morphology

Main page: Inflectional Verbal Morphology

Verbs in Sereer are inflected for person and number agreement, negation, tense and aspect, and a number of other categories. Sereer also makes use of a number of auxiliary constructions. Inflectional morphemes are strictly ordered as follows:

Auxiliary

Subject clitic

ROOT

Extensions

Tense

Past imperfect

Conditional "if"

Negation

Finiteness

Object

Subject

Relativization

-xe
xan, fat, bar
kaa
naa

(i)n, (u)m, i
o, nu
a, te, de

many

-', -k

-eeg

-ang

-ee(r), -ir, -(i)i

-a
-u
-e, -el, -eel
-aa

-aam/-xam
-(o)ng
-(i)n

-(u)m
-(o)

-(ii)(n)a

Derivational Verbal Morphology

Main page: Derivational Verbal Morphology

Derivational morphology of Sereer verbs is almost entirely suffixing and is mostly concatenative. Derivational affixes can be used on a verb to form other verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Some verb to verb derivational morphology produces valency-changing operations (applicative, causative, etc.). Many verbal derivational suffixes are of the form -V(V)C and, if the vowel is short and non-low, can be contracted to -C in contexts where illegal CCC clusters will not be created.

Reduplication is used to create agentive nouns, and various other deverbal nouns are formed with the attachment of noun class prefixal agreement morphology and concomitant consonantal mutations.

Syntax

The basic word order of Sereer is S-V-O.

Sereer is mostly head initial/final, evidence from auxiliaries, relatives, adpositions, etc.

main clause word order and pronominalization

  • many of these data should be included in the following section

Verb phrases

Main page: Verb Phrases

Verb phrases (VP's) in Sereer consist of a verb optionally modified by any or all of the following components: any number of adverbs, a noun phrase, or a prepositional phrase. These components are ordered as follows:

1) Verb
2) Adverb / Noun Phrase / Prepositional Phrase

Not enough studies of constituent order in discourse have been conducted to allow generalizations regarding the sensitivity of Sereer to pragmatic principles in constituent ordering, although pragmatic factors influence constituent order to some degree.

Noun phrases

Main page: Noun Phrases

Noun phrases (NPs) in Sereer consist of a noun optionally modified by any or all of the following components: any number of adjectives, a single determiner, a prepositional phrase, a relative clause, and a possessive NP. These components are ordered as follows:

1) Noun
2) Adjectives (in any order)
3) Determiner
4) PP and/or Relative clause (in either order)
5) Possessive NP

Adjectives and determiners agree in noun class with the head of the NP.

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives

Main page: Adjectives

Adjectives in Sereer follow the noun they they modify, and agree with the noun in noun class. There is a very small closed class of true adjective roots, but any verb stem can be make an adjective through the use of the suffix -u.

Adverbs

Main page: Adverbs

Adpositions

Main page: Adpositions

Adpositions serve to license adjucts to a verb phrase. Sereer exhibits only prepositions, which are mostly morphological free elements. Prepositions most often license location adjuncts, as seen in example <glr id="dog.house"/>. Additionally, prepositions can license extra nominal adjuncts as seen in <glr id="with.knife"/>.


<gl id="dog.house" fontsize=12> oɓox axe kam mbine \gll oɓox a= xe kam mbine dog 3= COP in house.DET \trans A dog is in the house. (274) </gl>

<gl id="with.knife" fontsize=12> Jegaan aɗegta oƥaak ole fo japil \gll Jegaan a= ɗeg -it -a oƥaak ole fo japil Jegaan 3= cut -INSTR -DV rope DET with knife \trans Jegaan cut the rope with the knife. (234) </gl>


There are relatively few prepositions in Sereer, but there are also a number of locational verbs, which indicate position or motion of arguments. These verbs are discussed with the prepositions, since they are the only way to indicate common locational relationships between arguments.

Negation

Main page: Negation

Negation is marked by a suffix on the verb, as seen in <glr id="did.not.sit"/>. We have not yet found any negator that functions as a separate word. The exact form of negation is conditioned by voice, tense, and (maybe?) clause type.


<gl id="did.not.sit" fontsize=12> Ami moof'ee pam nden ne \gll Ami moof -' -ee pam nden ne Ami sit -PST -NEG next.to oven \trans Ami didn't sit next to the stove. (274) </gl>

Focus and Extraction

Main page: Extraction or Focus

Sereer has grammaticalized focus marking, which involves fronting of the focused element and (often) specific verbal morphology. An example is below: (1) has no focus while (2) has focus on the object Yande:

<gl fontsize=11> anafa Yande \gll a= naf-a Yande 3sg.sbj hit-fv Yande \trans He hit Yande. </gl>

<gl fontsize=11> Yande anafu \gll Yande a= naf-u Yande 3sg.sbj hit-foc \trans It's Yande he hit. (165) </gl>

In (2), the object Yande has been fronted to indicate focus on that object, and the morphology on the verb has changed. Instead fo the final vowel being -a, it is -u. Such constructions sometimes also appear in wh-questions, as seen below:

<gl fontsize=11> xar ajawu \gll xar a= jaw-u what 3sg.sbj cook-foc \trans What did he cook? </gl>

In (3), the same marking is used on the verb as in (2), but this time the fronted constituent is a wh-question word. Since both focus and wh-question formation are usually analyzed as involving some kind of extraction or movement on the focus/wh-constituent, this special morphology can be analyzed as extraction marking. For a more detailed discussion of the issues at hand, click here.

Mood and Utterance Type

Non-declarative mood in Sereer is introduced through the use of clause-initial (preverbal) uninflected "particles" to mark hortative and prohibitive moods along with polar questions. Fronted WH-constituencies mark WH- questions, and the fronted content appears in the same zone as the preverbal particles. Extraction marking also appears on the verb in the case of WH-questions.

Imperatives and Procedurals

Questions

Subordination

Sereer has a variety of subordination strategies. These are:

  • Finite complement clauses preceded by one of the complementizers (y)ee or ndax (which derives embedded polar questions and may also occur in matrix polar questions).
  • Finite adverbial clauses which involve a variety of adverbial complement clauses.
  • Conditional/sequential clauses which involve the verbal suffix -ang.
  • Non-finite (perhaps 'infinitival') clauses with the non-finite marker o.
  • Relative clauses which involve the relative suffix -na and a relative determiner.
  • Free relative clauses which may function as complement or adverbial clauses. These involve the relative suffix -na and a limited set of relative determiner.

Relative clauses in Sereer are externally headed with the head coming before the relativized clause. Clauses are relativized by suffixing ‘’’-na’’’ to the verb . It appears that any noun in Sereer can head a relative clause, regardless of its syntactic position within that clause.

Texts

File:121011G 067 Sereer time anecdote.wav

File:Sereer 121010I MR millet text.wav

File:Sereer 121010I MR millet text.TextGrid

Other Pages

- MediaWiki Handbook - Bari grammar (old main page) - Recordings and transcriptions (Bari) - Bari lexicon

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