Nafaanra

Spoken in

  • Niger - Congo Atlantic - Congo Volta - Congo Northern Volta - Congo Senufo

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Nic

Nfr

Nafaanra ( [ Nafaãra ], also: Nafaara ) is a Senufo language spoken in northwest Ghana on the border with Ivory Coast and east of Bondoukou of about 61,000 people ( GILLBT 2003).

The speakers call themselves Nafana, others call them Banda or Mfantera. Like other Senufo languages ​​is also Nafaanra a tone language. It is an offshoot of this group, whose next door neighbor the southern Tagwana - Djimini languages ​​200 km to the west, on the other side of the Comoé National parks are geographically.

  • 2.1 vowels
  • 2.2 consonants
  • 2.3 Ton
  • 3.1 personal pronouns
  • 3.2 Tense and aspect
  • 3.3 questions
  • 3.4 numbers
  • 3.5 color words
  • 6.1 Primary texts
  • 6.2 secondary texts

Geography and demography

Nafaanra bordered to the west by the Kulango languages ​​as well as to the Gur language Deg and the Kwa language Gonja in the north and east. However, the next eastern neighbor is the Mande language Ligbi (whose spokesman also called Banda ), interestingly, also an offshoot of his own family. Southeast and south of Nafaanra and Ligbi one finds the Akan language Abron (or Bron, Brong ).

The Nafana live in the Pacific Northwest region of Brong Ahafo in Ghana - which most of them in Sampa, the capital city of the Jaman North, and in Banda. According to Jordan ( 1980: A.5) there are two dialectal variants of Nafaanra: the Pantera of Banda and the Fantera of Sampa. Bendor - Samuel (1971 ) recognizes a 79% relationship between the two on the Swadesh list. The Banda dialect is considered to be central. The terms " Fantera " and " Pantera " come from other nations and are classified by the Nafana be pejorative.

The Nafana report that they are from the Ivory Coast, from a village called Kakala. According to Jordan (1978 ) said their oral history that some of their people are always staying still there and the place may never leave more when they return. They arrived after the Ligbi in Banda, which according to Stahl ( 2004) in the early 17th century from Begho ( bigu, Bighu ) came to this area.

Many Nafana are bilingual to some degree and speak Twi, the regional lingua franca. According to SIL, 50% of the population " everyday social tasks and limited requirements to meet in other areas," while 20% Twi " with sufficient structural accuracy [ speak ], and with their vocabulary effectively to very formal and informal conversations on practical, social and professional topics participate " can. The remaining 30% can each half either only very few lead discussions on family issues or do not speak Twi. 15-25% of Nafana are in Twi, but only 1-5% literate in Nafaanra.

According to Roger Blench Nafaanra is the second language of about 70 Dompo who live in the immediate neighborhood of Banda. Her native language was considered extinct until a field study of Blench 1998 proved the opposite.

Classification

Delafosse ( 1904:1915 ) mentioned as the first linguist the Nafaanra and called it " a very scattered Senufo tribe". Westermann arranged Nafaanra in his classification of West African languages ​​( 1970:56 ) also in a Senufo, based on the word list of Rapp ( 1933). This classification confirms Bendor - Samuel (1971 ), who. During its internal classification on the comparative word lists of Swadesh et al (1966 ) is based.

What is less clear, with which Senufo branch Nafaanra is most closely related. Bendor - Samuel is called a 60% relationship with Tenere ( a western Senari dialect), 59% with Central Senari ( the dialect that is spoken in the area of Korhogo ) and 43 % with non- Senufo languages ​​Mo ( Deg), Kabre ( Kabiye ) and Dogon. The relatively low values ​​of about 60 % indicate a more distant relationship. Mensah and Tchagbale (1983 ) found a factor of mutual intelligibility of 38 % with Tyebaara ( Senari ), which also indicates a distant relationship with this dialect. Manessy (1981 ) has a connection to the cautious Palaka ( Kpalaga ) placed during Mills (1984) proposes to connect to the south - Tagwana Djimini branch. The comparative analysis is not yet complete.

Phonetics

Vowels

Jordan ( 1980) presents seven oral and five nasal vowels. The nasal vowels are marked by an "n " after the vowel, as is the case in many West African orthographies. We distinguish long and short vowels. The vowel system is very similar to other Senufo languages. Just as the two northern Senufo languages ​​Supyire and Mamara it has only five nasal compared to seven oral vowels.

Consonants

The consonant system of Nafaanra similar to other Senufo languages. Nafaanra has only one palatal fricative ( / ç / ) and takes an intermediate position between the northern Senufo languages ​​( Mamara, Supyire ), which have both / ç / and the voiced variant / ʝ /, and the southern Senufo languages ( Karaboro, Senari, Djimini ), the ever possess no palatal fricative. The in Nafaanra corresponds to the glottal consonants, which occurs in most Senufo languages ​​, either as plosive / ʔ / ( Supyire, Senari, Karaboro ) or fricative / h / ( Mamara ).

The following table orthographic symbols are bracketed if they differ from the IPA symbols. Note in particular the use of ' j' for IPA [ ɟ ] and 'y' for IPA [j], as is common in African orthographies.

Sound

Nafaanra has, like the other Senufo languages ​​, three contrastive tones: high, medium and low. The sound is not usually marked in the orthography. Jordan ( 1980a, b ) presents the following examples:

  • Kúfɔ " sweet potato " ( high-low )
  • Dama " two Pesewas ( coins) " (medium )
  • Maña "rope" ( deep)

Jordan points out that the average sound sometimes is increasing that the high tone is sometimes reduced (so that it is realized lower than the previous high tone ) and that an increase is possible. The increasing feature of the middle tone possibly due to the fact that there are in other Senufo languages ​​( Sucite, Supyire ) two different mean tones. The reduction of the high tone is indicated by a superscript exclamation mark:

  • We! sɛ ( he go Futur ) " he will go "

In this particular example, the phenomenon is probably enhanced by the nasal prefix, which is found in several other constructions Futur Senufo languages. Supyire ( Carlson 1994:334 ) shows a similar phenomenon in the future tense constructions with a direct object. In general, the "down step", however, is more widespread than in Supyire and similar phenomena can be found in Palaka, Tagwana and Djimini ( Mills 1984: xvi).

For the " upstep " no correlate in other Senufo languages ​​is known. An example is the following imperative sentence:

  • Ki tɔ ( close it ) " closing it! "

Grammar

The syllable in Nafaanra consists of a vowel and up to three consonants. A nasal consonant can alone form a syllable ( " syllabic nasal "). As a basic syllable structure is thus obtained (C1) (C2 ) V ( C3) with a preference for CV and CVV. The position of C1 can get every consonant, and it / is not / r beginning of a word. In position C2 only vibrants ( / r /) or approximants can ( / w, l, j / ) and in position C3 appear only nasals ( / mn ɲ ŋ / ). In the latter case the whole syllable is nasalized.

The Senufo languages ​​have a noun class system, as it is typical of the Niger - Congo languages ​​. Belonging to a genus is indicated by suffixes on the noun. Pronouns, adjectives and copulas reflect the gender of the noun to which they refer. Although none of the sources for delivering Nafaanra details, it can be concluded from the short list of words in Jordan (1980), that the system is similar to that of the other Nafaanra Senufo languages.

The basic sentence structure in Nafaanra is SOV, as you can see in the following example:

  • Bibilɛ ná pé nya (boys past they see) " The boys saw them. "

Personal pronouns

Jordan ( 1980) presents the following list of pronouns with the comment. " Although the system of pronouns seems very simple, it is complicated by the fact that all the tenses are formed by a combination of pronouns and particles "

Tense and aspect

Tense and aspect are marked in two places in Nafaanra: of particles before the verb and the verb form. A distinction is past, immediate past and future tense as well as a progressive aspect ( continuative ). In a simple sentence results in the following order: • subject (negation ) • ( Tempus ) • ( aspect ) • If the verb Negationssuffix -n is present, no merger of preverbal particles takes place. Tense and aspect are also expressed by certain temporal adverbs and auxiliary verbs.

The past is expressed by the preverbal particle ná ( high tone in contrast to the continuative particles with low tone), the future tense by the particles wè. Simple sentences without particles express an immediate past. Sentences without aspect marker is interpreted as completive. (Examples to Jordan 1978:85-87 )

  • ? Kofi ná sɛ / i ( Kofi Verg. go - completive ) " Kofi went. " - past
  • Kofi wè sɛ ( Kofi Futur go - completive ) " Kofi will go. " - future tense
  • Sɛ Kofi ( Kofi go - completive ) " Kofi is just gone. " - immediate past (unmarked )

The continuative called continued or repetitive action and is indicated by the preverbal particles nà ( low tone ) and a change in the verb form. The verb sɛ " go " in the following example sentences appear in the progressive form you. If past experience and continuative simultaneously fuse the particles to NAA. In the immediate past, eliminating the continuative particles and the aspect is only displayed on the verb.

  • Kofi naa you (. Kofi Carb Cont go - Cont ) " Kofi was going to go. " - Progressive past
  • Kofi wè nà you ( Kofi Futur Cont go - Cont. ) " Kofi will go. " - Progressive Future
  • You Kofi ( Kofi go - Cont. ) " Kofi went straight. " - Progressive immediate past

After her behavior in marked for aspect sets, one can distinguish two classes of verbs. A group of two different forms (as in the example above, sets ), the other is not different in the aspect, and has the same form for both aspects. In the immediate past can lead to ambiguities because the continuative particle is omitted. Thus, the sentence can be interpreted warden Kofi blú follows:

  • Kofi blú / i ( Kofi swim - Cont. ) " Kofi floats. " - progressive immediate past
  • Blú Kofi ( Kofi swim - completive ) " Kofi is just swam. " - immediate past (unmarked )

Between pronominal subjects and preverbal particles gives rise to sizeable mergers. For example, merge ná ( past) and pé ( "they", plural) sɛ to prá or wè ( future) sɛ to Pie with pé.

Ask

Questions can be formed in Nafaanra in different ways. Simple yes / no questions are formed by adding rá at block end. Wh-questions are double-tagged - with a question word at the beginning of a sentence and a back end of the block. (Examples to Jordan 1980: NAF4 )

  • U pan rá ( he rá come ) "Is he here?"
  • NCI wra nya go? / i (which he Carb see back ) " What did he see? "

Pay

The following table shows the cardinal numbers according to Jordan ( 1980: D.1.4 ). As far as possible the sound scheme appears based on the list of Rapp ( 1933:66-67 ). For comparison, there are a few correlates of the Supyire ( Carlson 1994:169 ). The numbers six and nine are formed by the numbers one through four with the conjunction na to kɔɔ append ( "five" ). The same is true for the numbers 11-19 ( one to nine are with the conjunction mbɔ to the 10 hanged ).

For numbers greater than ten, the systems differ in Nafaanra and Supyire from each other. The multiplication of Fulo ( " twenty ") and the hitch of kɛ ( " ten " ) with the conjunction ná is used to form at 30 to 90 Surprisingly here There are major differences between Rapp ( 1933) and Jordan ( 1980). Rapp at 60, 70 and 80 of the ten used féle for labeling, the 60, 70 and 80 results in 6, 7 and 8. Rapp ( 1933) compares the numerals in Nafaanra for " three " ( táárɛ ) and "hundred" ( lafaa ) with eta and ke - lafa from the previously unclassified Ghanaian language Mpre. However, the eta similar to the Mpre the Kwa languages ​​( eg Brong ESA, Ga etɛ ), while for the Nafaanra form táárɛ relatives in other Senufo languages ​​found (eg Supyire tàànrè ). The lafaa ( hundred) of Nafaanra is a typical Kwa- Numeral and probably from one of the neighboring Kwa languages ​​borrowed (eg Dangme Lafa, Gonja Ki- Lafa, Ewe Alafa ). Rapp implication for relationship of Mpre and Nafaanra is therefore doubtful.

Sometimes there can be morphophonological alternations, eg the reduction of kúnɔ (five) to kɔɔ ( preserving the sound scheme ) and the exchange of lafaa to lafɛɛ in the hundreds.

Color words

The three basic color words in Nafaanra are wɔɔ ( "black" ) finge (" white " ) and ɲiɛ ( "red"). Reflected as with the adjectives in the Senufo languages ​​the shape of the color word the gender of the modified noun.

  • Wɔɔ - ki wɔ "It's black."
  • Finge - ki fninge "It is white. "
  • ɲiɛ - ki ɲina " It's red. "

Carlson ( 1994:154,710 n9, 10) identifies the related forms - ɲyɛ (red, warm colored) and Fyin ( white, light ) in Supyire. He is also noted that these adjectives fíníŋɛ with the verbs ( be white, be white) and ɲááŋá ( be red, blush ) related, in turn, causative forms of verbs extinct fini ( be white ) and ɲana ( be red).

Sample sentences

  • Mùùrà kà ní CAA mè GBU mè é nyìè tɛɛ mè KÍ Loo / i
  • Yɛngè nà KOMO ǹ DRA? / i
  • Ké BLE kà kpáhù wá
  • WRE ǹ nà pè Kuu
  • Ná múúrò MNA Kaa mà ná yo mà

Source: Jordan ( 1978:88-90 )

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