II. STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE
B. Phonology
i) Vowels
Front Central Back
High i ╮ u
High-mid e o
Mid ↔ Low a
ii) Consonants
Bilabia alveolar palatal velar glottal
Plosives p b t d c j k g
Nasals m n ╯ N
Fricatives s k h
Lateral l
Flap r
Continuant y
iii) Tone
A three- way contrast is found in the tonal system of Nyishi. The tones are rising tone, level tone and falling tone.
Glotalization and vowel length are also found in a few words. More studies are required to decide their phonemic status.
iv) Syllable
In Nyishi, the peak of the syllable is always a vowel. The onset and coda are optional. Monosyllabic words are very common.
Eg:- i ‘ bamboo shoot’ u ‘vegetable’
e ‘there’ ә ‘yes’
al ‘leg’ om ‘three’
ko ‘child’ kan ‘seven’
C. Morphology:
Nouns are classified on the basis of certain properties like size, shape, length and so on and the class identity are built into the grammar through classifiers. Nouns are distinguished for gender.
a) Noun- Structure of root, stem etc: ii) Inflectional categories: 1) Number
The number is marked either by specific numerals or by quantifiers or by plural words. Since Nyishi is a classifier language, classifiers occur with numeral adjectives.
Eg:- ╭ega ‘man’ ╭ega a ╭ i ‘two men’
nam ‘house’ nam nalap ‘many houses’
iki ‘dog’ iki ataŋe ‘dogs’
2) Gender
Those nouns that refer to biologically male are masculine and biologically female are feminine. The suffix pu/bu and ne are added to the final syllable of the word to derive masculine and feminine nouns that are exemplified below:
Common masculine feminine
poro ‘ fowl’ ropu ‘cock’ rone ‘hen’
sibiŋ ‘goat’ biŋ pu ‘he goat’ biŋne ‘she goat’
Another strategy used to distinguish gender is the use of the words nyega ‘male’ and nyeme ‘female’ as attributes.
ko ‘child’ ko ╭ ega ‘son’ ko ╭ iye ‘daughter’
There are nouns that are inherently either masculine or feminine
╭ega ‘man’ ╭ eme ‘woman’
iv) The Case System
Case markers are added to the noun/ noun phrase to manifest the case relations. The case markers are as follows:
Nominative unmarked
Accusative -am
Dative -am/-n
Locative -o
Instrumental/ Comitative -legeb
Ablative -gi/-ke
Genitive -ge
Nominative case:
The subject of a sentence is, normally, manifested in nominative that is unmarked. It indicates the agent or experiencer of an action.
Eg:- ikhi e pido. ‘(The) dog barks.’
ŋo sije is taŋtarin. ‘I shall drink water now.’
Accusative case:
The object of a sentence is manifested in the accusative and is marked by -am. It indicates the patient of an action.
Eg:- ŋo hisam natuŋpa. ‘I caught a cat.’
mi nam katune. ‘He saw you.’
Dative case:
The indirect object is manifested in the dative and is marked by –am. It indicates the recipient of an action.
Eg:- ŋo koam bopyaŋ pyagi jipa. ‘I gave the child a cap.’
ane koam aciŋhodo. ‘Mother is feeding the child.’
Locative case:
The locative case indicates the location of the referent either in time or space. The marker is –o. It occurs along with the deictic particle. The locative case marker is fused with the deictic particle and forms a single lexical item as illustrated below:
si + o i so
ŋo hatayan pol alo ╭ okum patayan. ‘We will celebrate ╭ okum in the coming month.’
no әjam udumso alito. ‘You put the clothes in the basket.’
There are a number of post-positions that express specific locations as follows:
╭ ikum ‘under’
koyum ‘back’
uraŋ ‘inside’
Ablative case:
The ablative case expresses the source or place of origin. The marker is -giu/-ke. It occurs along with the locative case marker.
Eg:- ŋo so sen sogi ahi punam. ‘ I plucked the fruits from this tree.’
naneŋe saŋe tiloke yulupa. ‘ The leaf fell down from the tree up there.’
mi pipam migi ajiŋ galoke renam.
‘She bought eggs from her friend.’
Instrumental/Comitative case:
The instrumental case denotes the instrument/ tool used for performing an action. The marker is legebe.
Eg:-
m saŋne ihe legebe panam. ‘He cut the tree with an axe.’
ŋo so aji legebe lipa. ‘I went with this friend.’
mi acinam adiŋŋam legebe dinam.
‘He ate rice with meat.’
Ablative case:
The ablative case indicates the goal or path of an action. The marker is - be.
Eg:- takam taro dokube aŋdo. ‘ Takam is going to the place of Taro.’
ŋo migabe pota napa. ‘ I got a book for him.’
Possessive case:
The possessive case is used to indicate possession. The marker is –ge.
Eg:- taroge hase dor ╭ i dodo. ‘Taro has two cats.’
ŋa ko iskul aŋnam. ‘My child went to school’.
b) Pronouns
Distinction between singular, dual and plural (more than two) is maintained in the pronominal system of Nyishi.
Person singular dual plural (more than two)
First ŋo ‘I’ ŋu╭ i ‘we (two)’ ŋulu ‘we (more than two)’
Second no ‘you’ nu ╭ i ‘you (two)’ nule ‘you (more than two)’
Third mi ‘he/she’ mu ╭ i ‘they (two)’ mulu ‘they (more than two)’
bi ‘he/she’ bu ╭ i ‘they (two)’ bulu ‘they(more than two)’
1. Demonstratives
si ‘this’ alo ‘that’
te ‘up there’ be ‘down there’
2. Interrogatives
hogu ‘what’ hidan ‘when’
hogolo ‘ which’ hogibe ‘why’
hogulo ‘where’ hiye ‘who’
c) Verb morphology:
Introduction
Like the other languages of Tani group, an overwhelming majority of the verbs in Nyishi are monosyllabic. A number of verb particles are used in Nyishi that are added to the verb root to modify the inherent semantic composition of the verb. The particle is fused together with the root to appear like a single lexical item. The verbs occur in the last position in a sentence. The predicate is not marked for person, number or gender.
The verb of Existence do/da
The verbs do and da are used to express the meaning of existence of something or someone in a specified location. The selection of either do or da is done in accordance with the posture of the referent at the time of speech act as perceived by the speaker. When a referent is perceived in a standing posture the verb do is used. Otherwise the verb da is selected.
╭ oru e saŋne aobue dadu. ‘There are tall trees in that forest.’ mi legebe iki aku dabadu. ‘There is a big dog with him.’ ambin dopare? ‘Is there rice?
The verb du is also used in affirmative constructions to affirm the action of the verb that is in progress at the time of speech act.
mihuge me dodo ? ‘What is he doing?’ mi e haduŋ du. ‘He is coming’ no ala duri? ‘Are you alright’? yubnam e agә gabe ale dune. ‘Sleeping is good for health.’ um, ŋo so done. ‘Yes, I was here.’ alo milәŋ ikh e puduŋ do. ‘Those dogs over there are barking.’ no sa taŋ dunare ? ‘Do you drink tea?’ ŋo iki nadu. ‘I am taking the dog.’
It is found that pa may be added to the verb do and the adjectives to express the meaning of existence, normally as a response to an enquiry.
so ambin dopare? ‘Is there rice?’ um, so ambin dopa. ‘Yes, there is rice.’ Constructions Expressing Possession
Constructions expressing possessions to mean ‘to have’ are also formed using do as verb of possession.
alo ╭ i e iki ako donam. ‘That man has a dog.’ so namsu ge haye a╭ i dodo. ‘This house has two entrances.’ The Causative
The causative constructions are formed adding mo to the verb.
Eg:- ko aciŋ dido. ‘The child is eating rice.’
ane koam aciŋ dimopa. ‘The mother is making the child eat the rice.
The imperative
Separate forms are used in imperative structures to indicate the proximity and non- proximity of the place of action of the speaker. The particle -to is added to the verb if the action indicated is performed at a location proximate to the speaker. Otherwise the particle -ta is added to the verb as imperative marker.
ә yapam mikato. ‘(You) open the door.’ roŋ obi hata. ‘(You) come to the field.’ no so dotu. ‘You stay here.’ no alo dota. ‘You stay there.’ no aro ╭ i hata/hatu. ‘You come tomorrow.’ The form -tu is used in question such as the following: ŋgo sam paturi ? ‘Shall I cut it?’ sar, ŋo uŋ raŋ haturi? ‘Sir, shall I come inside?’ The responses to such imperatives are as follows: um, sam ŋo ditun. ‘Yes, I ate it.’ um, sam ŋo patun. ‘Yes, I cut it. Negative imperative
Nyishi has two forms of commanding. The suffix -yo is added to the verb to express extortion and - mab for command.
no iusiam nayo. ‘You don’t take the firewood.’
no sam payo. ‘You don’t cut it.’
no iki bomab. ‘You don’t bring the dog.’
no әmab. ‘You don’t go.’
The affirmative responses to extortions are as follows:
um, ŋo sam param. ‘Yes, I will no cut it.’
um, ŋo sam biŋram. ‘Yes, I will not tell it.’
The affirmative responses to commands are as follows:
um, ŋo sam pajiram. ‘Yes, I will not cut it.’
um, biŋjiram. ‘Yes, I will not tell it.’
The Hortative
The hortative is formed by adding -tu to the verb followed by -jo.
ke, so dotujo. ‘Let us sit here.’
ke, sam patujo. . ‘Let us cut it.’
Another form of hortative is formed by adding the particle - ju as follows:
bule, se bo ╭ ataju. ‘Hello, let us bring the cow.’
bul, morobe eu ╭ a ╭ iju. ‘Hello, let us go to the forest.’
The Optative
The optative is formed by adding -mu
mim pamuto. ‘Let him cut.’
mim domuto. ‘Let him sit.’
The tense system
Distinct markers are used in Nyishi to mark non –proximal past, proximal- past, and future.
Non-proximal past
The period that is remote from the moment of speech act is expressed as non-proximal past. Non-proximal past tense markers are –tu and -tun. –tu occurs with third person and –tun with other persons.
ŋo moryu opo taŋtun. ‘I drank bear yesterday.’ ŋo nam iskul ho katun. ‘I saw you at the school.’ mi ritu. ‘He worked.’ The negative is formed adding ma . ŋo gyotuma. ‘I did not speak.’ ŋo opo tuntuma. ‘I did not drink beer.’ mi rituma. ‘He did not work.’ Proximate past
The period of time proximal to the moment of speech act is expressed in proximal past. It is indicated adding -pa or -pan.
ŋo sam dipa. ‘I ate it.’
mi nitiŋ haŋpa. ‘I told the story.’
An action that is just performed at the time of speech act is expressed adding –nam to the verb:
mi uci mәnam. ‘He made a basket.’
ŋo mige doku be әunam. ‘I went to the place of day.’
The negative is formed adding ma to the verb root.
ŋo sam dima. ‘I dot not eat it.’
mi nitiŋ haŋma. ‘I did not tell the story.’
Future
The markers -tari and -tarin denote the future tense. –tari is used with third person and –tarin with other persons.
mi huc mәtari. ‘He will make the basket.’
mi seb jitari. ‘He will give the Mithun.’
ŋo guraŋ natarin. ‘ I will take the trap.’
The Aspect
The Perfect
Perfect aspect is indicated by the marker -ku added to the verb stem.
ŋo sam napakuma. ‘I have not taken it.’
ŋo gyopakuma. ’I have not spoken.’
mi hapakuma. ‘He has notcome.’
The Progressive
The particle -duŋ followed by -do/-du denotes an action that is in progress.
mi huge miduŋdu? ‘What is he doing?’
mi hadu&331ma. ‘He is not coming.’
The Completive
The completive aspect is indicated by the marker - nya added to the verb.
ŋo nid am ha ╭ atun. ‘I have completed narrating the story.’
mi aching ŋam di╭ apan. ‘He has completed eating rice.’
The semi-completive
The semi-completive aspect is expressed by the marker -ŋo added to the verb.
mi opo jiŋonam. ‘He gave half of the beer.’
mi saŋnam nam paŋonam. ‘He cut half of the tree.’
mi potaŋgam poriŋonam. ‘He read half of the book.’
The Benefactive
The benefactive action is expressed by adding the particle - ji to the verb.
ŋo mi am әhi mjinam. ‘He made an axe for him.’
mi iri am nyi aku gabe menjinam. ‘He killed the pig for someone.’
The Habitual
The habitual aspect is indicated by the marker -ki added to the verb.
no opo taŋkidunere ? ‘Do you used to drink beer?’
no nad haŋkiduneare ? ‘Do you used to tell story?’
Verb particles
The forms that are added to the verb to modify its inherent semantic composition are discussed in this section. They are used to denote the attitude of the speaker, the role of the subject and so on.
ka.--- The particle ka is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed to test someone or something.
mi aciŋ dikanam ‘He tested the rice by eating.’ ŋo sam taŋkapan. ‘I tested it by drinking.’ kam. The particle kam is added to the verb to express uncertainty of performing the action. mi opo jikam rinepe. ‘He may give beer’ mi opo jikam rinepe. ‘He may not give beer.’ ki: The particle ki is added to the verb to indicate the habitual nature of the action. It precedes the tense marker. ŋo╭ orobe aŋkitun. ‘I go to forest.’ mi opo taŋkidu. ‘He drinks beer.’
kun/ku: The particle kun/ku is added to the verb to indicate the accomplishment of an action. i.e an action that has been contemplated has been performed in its entirety. - ku occurs with third person and - kun with other persons.
ŋo opo taŋpakun. ‘I have drunk beer.’ mi achiŋ dipaku. ‘He has eaten rice.’ kum: The particle kum is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed collectively/jointly. bule am ╭ ikumnam. ‘They did the work collectively’ bule dokumnam. ‘They sat together.’ kur/kar : The article kur/kar is added to the verb to indicate the reversal / redoing of an action. mi kakurnam/kakarnam. ‘He looked back.’ mi hakurnam/hakarnam. ‘He came back.’ ga: The particle /ga/ is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed by the doer without any inhibition. mi opo jiganam ‘He gave the beer without any inhibition’ mi opo kogaja ‘He demanded beer without inhibition. ŋam: The particle ŋam is added to the verb to indicate the appropriateness of the object of an action. si do ŋamjapa. ‘This is very good sitting.’ achin di ŋamdu. ‘Rice is good for eating.’ ca: The verb particle ca is added to the verb to indicate the upward motion while performing the action. mi binmcanam. ‘He talked moving upwards.’ mi opo jicanam. ‘He gave beer moving upwards.’ cin/ ciŋ: The particle cin/ciŋ is added to the verb to indicate that the doer is skilled in performing the action. mi bingcindo. ‘He has the mastery to talk.’ mi bonu ╭icindo. ‘He has the skill to do the work.’ co: The particle co is added to the verb to indicate that the doer of the
action is ahead of all others in performing the action. mi docopa. ‘He was ahead of others in sitting.’ ŋo aŋcopan. ‘I was ahead of others in going.’ ja: The particle ja is added to the verb to express the uncertainty of performing an action. mi opo koja tarin. ‘ He may demanded opo.’ mi aciŋ dija tarin. ‘He may eat rice.’ ji: The particle ji is added to the verb to indicate that the happening was anticipated. mi sam miji nam. ‘He made it as anticipated.’ mi sam kojinam. ‘He demanded it as anticipated.’ ji: The particle ji is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed as planned in advance. mi opo jijinam. ‘He gave beer as planned.’ mi sam bejinam. ‘He said it as planned.’ ╭a: The particle ╭a is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed all inclusively. ŋo bul∂m әcin ji ╭ atun. ‘I gave rice to all of them (without leaving anyone).’ mi milәŋ ikyam jo ╭apa. ‘He is holding all the dogs.’ ╭ә: The particle ╭ә is added to the verb to express that the doer of the action has the potential to perform the action. ŋo әliung jor╭ әdun, ‘I have the potential to lift the stone.’ mi iki am jo╭әtarin. ‘He has the potential to carry a dog.’ tum: The particle tum is added to the verb to express that the action is performed as a preventive measure. mi ŋam datumpan. ‘ He prevented me by standing.’ mi ŋam patumpan. ‘He prevented me by cutting (a tree).’ tum: The particle tum is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed as a demonstration. mi bonu ŋ itumnam. ‘He demonstrated how to do the work.’ ŋo mi am huci ╭ itumnam. ‘I demonstrated how to make a basket.’ dar: This particle dar is added to the verb to indicate that the action is performed to rectify/set right something. mi mәdarnam. ‘He did it to rectify/repair it.’ ŋo pәn midartun. ‘I repaired the pen.’ diŋ: The particle diŋ is added to the verb to express that the action is performed by the easiest method/route. m aŋdiŋnam. ‘He went by a short route.’ mi bediŋnam. ‘He told in an easy way,’ dum: The particle dum is added to the verb to indicate that the action is done deliberately. mi sam biŋdumnam. ‘He said it deliberately.’ mi sam ╭ idumnam. ‘He did it deliberately.’ naŋ : The particle naŋ is added to the verb to express the willingness of the doer to do the action. ŋo nara nanaŋpa. ‘He is willing to take the carrying bag.’ ŋo sam panaŋpa. ‘I am willing to cut it.’ pa: The particle pa is added to the verb to indicate that the doer is able to perform the action. ŋo sebe kapadu.n ‘I can see the mithun.’ mi aŋpanam. ‘He was able to go.’ bin/biŋ : The particle bin/biŋ is added to the verb to indicate that the doer of the
action is exceeding limits in doing the action. mi bebinpa/bebiŋpan. ‘He talked exceeding the expected limits.’ mi sam taŋbinpa. ‘He drank exceeding the permitted limits.’ bo: The particle bo is added to the verb to indicate that the motion of the doer of the action was on the horizontal plain. m sam nyibonam. ‘He did it moving on the same horizontal plain’ mi sam bebonam. ‘He said it moving on the same plain.’ min/miŋ : The particle min/miŋ after the verb to express that the doer of the action is performing it aimlessly. mi ә minnam. ‘He went aimlessly.’ mi sam komiŋnam. ‘He demanded it without any purpose.’ ya: The particle ya is added to the verb to indicate that the doer of the action is permitted to go ahead with his action. no ә yatiu. ‘You go ahead (I am coming).’ no doyatiu. ‘You sit (I shall join you).’ yum: The particle yum is added to the verb to indicate the accomplishment of an action. ŋo opo angyumtaykun. ‘I shall drink the beer completely.’ ŋo sam ╭ umitarin. ‘I shall do it completely.’ ram: The particle ram is added to the verb to indicate that the agent will refrain from the action. . ŋo haram. ‘I will not come.’ miu sam jiram. ‘I will not give it.’ li: The particle li is added to the verb to indicate that the doer is performing the action moving downwards.. mi binglinam. ‘He spoke moving downwards.’ mi sam ╭ ilinam. ‘He did it moving downwards.’ le: The particle le is added to the verb to indicate that something is taken inside by performing the action. sanam ‘to breath’ salenam ‘to inhale’ umnam ‘to rinse the mouth’ umlenam ‘to take water in to rinse the mouth’ si: The particle si is added to the verb to express that the action is performed secretly. mi sam ╭ isinam. ‘He did it secretly/in hiding.’ mi sam besinam. ‘He said it secretly.’ siri: The particle siri is added to the verb to indicate that knowledge is imparted through the action performed. taro rebya ╭ i mobu absirinam. ‘Taro imparted the skill of shooting to Rabya.’ rebya tarom nasosirinam. ‘Rabya imparted the knowledge of dancing to Taro.’ ha: The particle ha is added to the verb to indicate that something was sent out while performing the action. sanam ‘to breathe’ sahanam ‘to exhale’ umnam ‘to rinse mouth’ umhanam ‘to spit out from the mouth’ heye: The particle heye is added to the verb to indicate the probability of the action mi haheye. ‘He may come.’ mi juboheye ‘He may cross over by jumping.’ hya: The particle hya is added to the verb to indicate that the doer of the action was not successful in the action
because of wrong method employed. mi sam mehyanam. ‘He failed in killing it due to wrong method employed.’ mi nid hanhyanam. ‘He failed in narrating the story due to the wrong method.’
d) Adjectives:
2) Numerals
Both cardinal and ordinal numerals are found in Nyishi.
Cardinal numerals
akiŋ ‘one’ a╭ i ‘two’ om ‘three’ api ‘four’ aŋo ‘five’ akye ‘six’ kan ‘seven’ pin ‘eight’ kiya ‘nine’ aryaŋ ‘ten’
The numerals listed above indicate the sum of what is counted. When they are used as numeral adjectives, they occur with corresponding classifiers. The classifiers are prefixed to the numerals. When they occur with classifiers they undergo certain changes. Numeral for ‘one’ is not expressed overtly hence classifier alone stands for one. The truncated numerals are given below:
0 ‘one’ - ╭ i ‘two’
-om ‘three’ -pi ‘four’
-ŋo ‘five’ -kye ‘six’
kanu ‘seven’ pin ‘eight’
kiya ‘nine’ -ryaŋ ‘ten’
Higher numerals are formed conjoining aryaŋ ‘ten’ to respective unit numerals from one to ten. In the conjunct marker le is used for conjoining the two parts as shown below:
aryaŋ le akiŋ ‘eleven’
aryaŋ le a ╭ i ‘twelve’
aryaŋ le om ‘thirteen’
The multiples of ‘ten’ are formed by compounding aryaŋ ‘ten’ and a unit numeral. The word cam is infixed to express the relationship of multiplying aryaŋand the unit numeral. See the illustrations given below:
aryaŋ camŋ ‘twenty’ (10 x 2)
aryaŋ camom ‘thirty’ (10 x 3)
aryaŋ campi ‘forty’ (10 x 4)
aryaŋ camŋo ‘fifty’ (10 x 5)
aryaŋ camkye ‘sixty’ (10 x 6)
aryaŋ camkan ‘seventy’ (10 x 7)
aryaŋ campin ‘eighty’ (10 x8)
aryaŋ camkiya ‘ninety’ (10 x 9)
The numeral for ‘hundred’ is laŋ . Multiples of hundred are formed by prefixing laŋ to the unit numerals one to nine.
laŋ ╭i ‘200’ (100 x 2)
laŋom ‘300’ (100 x 3)
laŋpi ‘400’ (100 x 4)
laŋo ‘500 ‘ (100 x 5)
laŋke ‘600’ (100 x 6)
laŋkan ‘700’ (100 x 7)
laŋpin ‘800’ (100 x 8)
laŋkiya ‘900’ (100 x 9)
When a unitary numeral occurs with higher numerals, it takes the final position as shown below:
aryaŋ camom la akiŋ ‘31’
aryaŋ pin la a ╭ i ‘82’
laŋgi la akiŋ ‘101’
lani la cam la aliŋ ‘111’
The conjunct marker la is in free variation with le occurring before a unitary position.
aryaŋ le akiŋ ‘11’
laŋgi la cam le akiŋ ‘111’
Numerals for ‘1000’ and multiples of ‘1000’ are as follows:
jar ‘1000’ jar ╭ i ‘2000’
jarom ‘3000’ jarpi ‘4000’
jaro ‘5000’ jarke ‘6000’
arkanj ‘7000’ jarpin ‘8000’
jarkiya ‘9000’
Ordinal numerals
Ordinal numerals for first and second are otu. From second onwards they are formed by suffixing din to the respective cardinal numerals.
otu ‘first’ a ╭ idin ‘second’
omdin ‘third’ epidin ‘fourth’
aŋodin ‘fifth’
Distributive numeral
The distributive numerals are formed by adding sa to the cardinal numerals. The adjective marker gu is added after the distributive marker.
ŋu╭e pota te ╭ i sagu napan ‘we (two) got two books each’
pota tom sagu ‘three books each’
pota tepi sagu ‘four books each’
3) All-inclusive quantifier
All-inclusive quantifier is miulәge. It is an attribute that follows the head noun. The adjective marker is suffixed to it. bil milәge so hapan ‘all of them came here’ When the number is specified, all-inclusive construction is formed by reduplication of the numeral. The reduplicated numeral takes the case marker as shown below:
ŋo ik om omam natupan. ‘I caught all the three dogs.’
mi әli pәŋ pәŋ ogam nanam. ‘He took all the five stones’
Numeral adjectives
Numeral adjectives are formed adding gu/go to the cardinal numerals. The use of classifiers along with the cardinal numerals is obligatory to form adjectives. The numeral adjectives follow the noun and the case marker occurs at the noun phrase final position.
so ik daromgo dodo. ‘There are three dogs here.’ ŋa an ŋam bopyaŋ pyagu jipan. ‘My mother gave me a cap’
The fraction ‘half’ is indicated by kalyә/karyaŋ. When it is used as an adjective, it takes adjective marker gu.
The classifiers:
Nouns are classified on the basis of certain selected properties perceived by the Nyishi speakers. Like other languages of Tani group, the nouns in Nyishi are classified on the basis of certain properties like size, general form, shape, length, girth, and so on of the objects signified by the nouns. The classification is built into the grammar through the classifiers. The classifiers are prefixed to the truncated cardinal numerals. The adjective marker /deictic particle follow the numeral adjective. The case marker occurs at the final position of the deictic phrase.
Two categories of classifiers are found in Nyishi.
(1) Classificatory and (2) Specific.
Classificatory ones are those classifiers that indicate the class of the nouns whereas Specific classifiers occur only with specified nouns.
Classes of nouns
Classificatory
cir/car The classifier 'cir/car' indicates that the nouns referred are names of objects that are very small in size and spherical in shape.
tabe cargo ‘one bed bug’ әmbi ci i igo ‘two chilies’ ta: The classifier 'ta' expresses that the nouns referred are names of objects that are flat in shape and thin in size. pota tag ‘one paper’ ryudar taŋke ta ╭ igu ‘two rupee coins’
da: The classifier 'da' indicates that the nouns referred are names of solid objects that are cylindrical in shape and elongated in size.
rida dagu ‘one pillar’ raŋda daŋgo ‘five pillars’ dor/dar: The classifier 'dor/dar' indicates that the nouns referred are names of four legged animals. si dorgu ‘one cow’ se darŋo ‘five cows’ pi: The classifier 'pi' indicates that the nouns referred are objects that are globular in shape and small in size. tape pigu ‘one pumpkin’ ili pipgo ‘four round stones’ po: The classifier 'po' indicates that the nouns referred are small animals. kubu pogu ‘one rat’ taki po╭ i ‘two squirrels’ bar: The classifier 'bar' indicates the nouns referred to are round in shape. pol bargo ‘one moon/one month’ tal bar╭ igu ‘two traditional plates’ bor: The classifier 'bor' indicates that the nouns refer to objects that are flat in shape and smaller in size. oku boru ‘one leaf’ pota bor╭ igo ‘two sheets of paper’ (in a book) so: The classifier 'so' indicates that the nouns referred to are objects that are cylindrical in shape and slender in size oso so╭ igu ‘two ropes’ tabi sogu ‘one sugar cane’ rum: The classifier 'rum' indicates that the nouns referred to are names of objects that are made of cloth. euji rumgu ‘one cloth’
Specific classifier:
As mentioned earlier there is a set of specific classifiers in Nyishi. They are formed duplicating the final syllable of the respective nouns. A few of them are listed below.
nam nam╭ igo ‘two houses’ alo lo╭ igu ‘two days’ bopya pya╭ igu ‘two caps’ anyaŋ nya╭ igu ‘two years’ sepo po╭ igu ‘two log’ The Adjectives
There are only few descriptive true adjectives found in Nyishi. These adjectives are bound forms and occur with a classifier. The adjectives are given below:
-╭ o ‘small’ -ti ‘big’ -hue ‘old’ nam namti ‘big house’ oso so╮o ‘small rope’ tal bar hue ‘old plate’ bolo nam bene namte rara. ‘The house down there is big.’ alo iki eu darte rarapa. ‘That dog there is big.’
The descriptive adjectives are derived from predicate adjectives. The adjectives are derived adding -go/-bo to the predicate adjectives.
╭ i albo ‘good man’ iki kayabo ‘black dog’ alo saŋne ә ao koyopa. ‘Those trees overthere are very tall.’ so hase si kayabo/kayabogo. ‘This cap is black.’ alo ╭ i ә ale pare ? ‘Is that man good?’
Comparative of adjectives
The adjectives are compared by the use of the comparative verb ya.
taker ŋam ale yadu, ‘Taker is better than me,’
taker ŋam ale yapan. ‘Taker was better than me.’
The Quantifiers
There are a number of adjectives that are quantifiers. In the absence of plural marker, quantifiers express plurality as well.
atagu ‘a few’ mәgu ‘small quantity’ nam atagu ‘a few house’ nalab becap huc ‘plenty of baskets’ milәŋ huc ‘all the baskets’ alo ataŋe ‘those over there’ uc әjagi ‘many baskets’ isi әjagu ‘much water’ milәŋe ‘all’ әkam ‘no one’
D. Syntax:
1. Sentence types:
a) The Interrogatives:
Interrogative can be categorized into two.
Yes/no questions.
Wh-questions
b) Yes/no questions:
Yes/no questions are those questions for which the expected answer is either yes or no. Yes/no questions are formed in Nyishi adding yam /re/ri to the verb. The Yes/no question marker follow the tense marker.
so si lyocikijayam? ‘Is this really a knife?’
mi hadungdori? ‘Is he coming?
mi hatariri ? ‘Will he come?’
╭ oru alo sebesә dajayam ? ‘Are there animals in that forest?’
no ale siduri ? ‘Are you alright?’
Wh-questions
Wh-questions are those questions that are formed using interrogative pronouns like what, when, where, why, etc. The interrogative pronouns of Nyishi are hogu ‘what’, hidam ‘when’, hoglo ‘where’, hogibe ‘why’ and so on.
no hogu diudun? ‘What are you eating?’
‘When are you going?’
na ko milәŋe hoglo? ‘Where are your children?’
no hogibe e rimadunm? ‘Why did n’t you do the work?’
(h) iye ŋo legebe e hatarin? ‘Who will go with me?’
Tag questions
Tag questions are formed in Nyishi adding hebmare ii to the sentence final position.
mi aturmabu ╭ ima hebmare i? ‘He is not a weak man; is he?’
mi hakam bogu, hebmare i? ‘He is brave, isn’t he?
Answering yes/no questions
Yes/no questions are answered either by affirmative interjections followed by an affirmative statement or negative followed by a negative statement. The affirmative interjections are om, m, e and um.
om, nedoŋe hodo. ‘Yes, it is raining.’
um, mi hatari . ‘Yes, she/he will come.’
The negative marker is ma. So the negative markers follow the predicate as illustrated below:
ma, e iki ma. ‘No, that is not a dog.’
ma, mi hama. ‘No, he is not coming,
2. Internal structure of the sentence:
Introduction
The basic word order in a Nyishi sentence is-SOV
Subject - Object - Verb
Other orders can also be found in the language. However, the verb occurs as the last constituent of the sentence. A simple sentence consists of a subject and a predicate as shown below:
Subject:
The subject of a sentence is usually a noun or noun phrase. It normally occurs in the nominative case (see section 2.1) except in certain instances where the sentence has the examples given below: a possessive verb in the sense of ‘have’ where the subject occurs in the dative case. See
taroge hase dor╭ go dodo. ‘Taro has two cats.’
The subject of a sentence is an important structural element in Nyishi and plays a crucial role in many grammatical processes. As stated earlier, the subject occurs usually in the sentence initial position.
Predicate
The predicate of a sentence may consist of a noun phrase. Such sentence consists of two noun phrases : one appearing as the subject and the other as the predicate. Such sentences are called equational sentences.
mi bulu ŋa ajiŋ e. ‘They are my friends.’ mi ŋa ane. ‘She is my mother.’ mi na abu re ? ‘Is he your father?’ um,mi ŋa abu. ‘Yes, he is my father.’ ’
There may be sentences with predicate consisting of noun phrases and a verb as shown in the following diagram:
a) The Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is a phrase consisting of a noun or a pronoun and the other constituents that may or may not occur with a noun. See the following examples:
so ╭ i a╭ i si these two persons
A whole sentence also can occur as a relative/adjectival clause as in the following examples:
mi ╭ i ŋoi notubam kappa. ‘He saw the man who caught a fish.’ ŋo nam gomnubam kapan. ‘I saw the house that collapsed.’
b) The Verb Phrase
A verb phrase mainly consists of an optional noun phrase and a verb. The verb occurs in the sentence final position as the last constituent. A finite verb form consists mainly of the following.
Verb stem +verb particle + tense marker
Eg:- biŋganam
c) The adjective
There are a few pure adjectives that are used with classifiers.
nam namti ‘big house’
iki dar ╭ o ‘small dog’
domu doyam ‘cloudy’
Examples of noun phrase consisting of adjectives
so ╭ i albo. ‘This manis good.’
alo sa╭na ә atuŋ koyo pa. ‘That tree over there is very small.’
The Adjectival participle
Adjectives may be derived from verbs that can be called adjectival participles. See the following examples:
harine polo ‘Next month (The coming month)’
There are four categories of participle nouns that are frequently used in Nyishi. They are
Agent participle
Locative participle
Instrumental participle
Descriptive participle
Agent participle:
The agent participial nouns are derived from the verb and they stand for the doer of the action. The marker bo/bu is added to the verb to form agent participle.
natuŋbu ‘one who caught’
mәnebo ‘one who taught’
Locative participle:
The locative participial nouns are derived from the verb adding ku. They denote the place of action.
doku ‘place where one stays’
diku ‘place where one eats’
Instrumental participle
Instrumental participial noun is formed adding nene.
panenene ‘ the one that is used for cutting’
Descriptive participle
The descriptive participial nouns are formed by adding bo to the descriptive verbs
albogo ‘one who is good’
d) The Adverb
Adverbs, generally, precedes the verbs. They are formed adding be/ja to the descriptive verbs.
╭ ore ‘quick’ ╭ orebe ‘quickly’
Adverbs can be classified according to their meaning:
Adverbs of place
alo ‘there’ so ‘here’
telo ‘up there’ belo ‘down there’
Adverbs of manner
aceja ‘loudly’ koyjabe ‘more’
Numeral adverbs
lyikiŋ ‘once’ lyinyi ‘twice’
Time Expressions
al ‘day’ alo ‘ day’
aro ‘morning’ ayolepa ‘mid night’
aryum ‘evening’ sor komc ‘dawn’
aru kamci ‘day break’ ayu ‘night’
alo lepa ‘noon’ sol ‘today’
suyum ‘today evening’ soru ‘today morning’
soyu ‘tonight’ aru ‘tomorrow’
sije ‘now’ moryu ‘yesterday’
pol ‘month’ aŋ aŋ ‘year’
4. Negation
Sentences formed with nominal predicates are negated adding negative word ma.
mi ŋa ane ma. ‘She is not my mother.’
si ŋa nam ma. ‘This is not my house.’
mi almapa. ‘He is not well.’
Sentences formed with verbal predicates are negated by adding negative marker ma to the verb.
mi aŋ ma. ‘He did not go.’
mi bonu rituma ╭ i. ‘He did not do the work.’
Causativization
In the process of causativization, the subject of the non- causative is moved to the object position as shown in examples given below. The causative marker mo is added to the verb to derive causatives.
Eg:- ko aciŋ dido. ‘ The child is eating rice.’
ane koam aciŋ dimopa. ‘ The mother made the child eat rice.’
Interjection
The interjections found in Nyishi are om, m, um, kuju, bul.
om, ik e sido dopa. ‘Yes, dog is here.’
m, mi alpa. ‘Yes, he is fine.’
um, mi ╭ albogo. ‘Yes, he is a good man.
bul, so hato. ‘Hello, come here’
kuju, mitun bonyati taju. ‘Hello, let us bring the mithun.’
Imperative sentences
Imperative sentences function to make commands or requests of the person spoken to. Generally, second person pronouns are considered to be the subject of the imperative sentences and verbs are not marked for tense.
ŋo also dota ’You stay there’
ŋo sam payo ‘You don’t cut it’
Conditional clause:
goraŋ alap ge╭ lokam jarkam subaco.
‘If hoses have wings, they could have flown.’
Concessive:
ŋo moryu opo taŋdub maŋjakam, ŋo taŋkuma.
‘Though I thought of drinking beer yesterday, I did not drink’
Relative clause construction
Relative clauses are formed in Nyishi by the nominalization of the verb of the subordinate clause. The verb can be nominalized adding bo to the verb. See the examples given below:
mi ╭ i ŋoi notuŋbuam kapan. ‘He saw the man who caught the fish.’
The case relationship in a relative clause may have either nominative, accusative, dative, locative, commutative, instrumental or ablative as exemplified in the following:
ŋo nam gomnubam kapan.
‘I saw the house that collapsed.’
mi ajinŋe pip beyajinam dipan.
‘He ate the egg that his friend brought.’
ŋo bulu ahi jinebuam ╭ emam cendun.
‘I know the girl whom they gave the fruit’
mi ╭ i un banebuam un najipan.
‘He treated the man who got burns.’
ŋo buluge dodukube aŋpan.
‘I went to the place where they stayed’
Complement Construction
A complement construction is formed adding kele or hele at the end of the sentence followed by a verb of communication.
mi mian adin ditujake hele biŋnam.
‘He persuaded her to eat meat.’
bulu miam nugupayi haŋjam tin seretabe kili tokurkunam.
‘They reminded her to tell the story.’
Conjunction:
Conjunction is the process which conjoins two or more noun phrases or two or more sentences. The noun phrases are conjoined adding the marker la.
mi sehine akiŋ la sidum akiŋ natunam.
‘He caught a cow and a deer’
mi la mige ajiŋ bojorbeaŋnam.
‘He and his friend went to bazaar’
The sentences are conjoined using the marker ho.
‘ŋoi tugin kirtidu ho tugin cir╭ odu.
‘Some fish are big and some are small.’
mi eciŋ dinam ho mige ajiŋ opo tanam.
‘He ate rice and his friends drank beer.’
mi dinam mi kam ho yubi nam mimkam hinhindo.
‘He eats and sleeps much.’
Adverbial Clauses:
Sentences with adverbial clauses are not used frequently in Nyishi. Since Nyishi has not yet developed writing system. The use of complex and compound sentences are not common in everyday usage. The adverbial clause is formed adding tul or layil to the verb of the subordinate clause.
╭ oru gabu e sudumam kapatul sirumiŋ genam.
‘A hunter, having seen a deer, followed it.’
Other constructions:
nam ŋo doimukh aŋduŋdo ho katun.
‘I saw you while I was going to Doimukh’
ŋo nam class ho doduŋdu katun.
‘I saw you while you were in the class’
Adverbial Clauses of time:
bul, nam e tabe ho kalam haliŋpan.
‘As soon as the house collapsed, they came out of it.’
╭ iye haki kalam iki e pipan.
‘As soon as the man came, the dog barked.’
mi ŋgo aŋmadadu ∂copan.
‘She went before me.’
mino rimadabe bonam ricopan.
‘He did the work before you.’
ŋo miam hahanetul әtarin.
‘I shall go after he comes.’
Comparative Constructions
Comparative constructions are formed by using hebekalam or hebe as shown below:
mi mige abu biŋnam heb kalam biŋdu.
‘He talks like his father.’
There is another set of comparatives that are formed by adding comparative word yan as follows:
ik e hase ŋam darte yadu.
‘A dog is bigger than a cat.’
╭ ega ko ╭ em ko am ao yado.
‘The boy is taller than the girl.’
