Midob Table of Contents

Table of contents

Description 13

0. Introduction 13

0.1. The name 13

0.2. The location of the Midob 13

0.3. The Midob tribe 14

0.4. Dialects and Subgroups of the Midob 14

0.5. The place of Midob in Greater Nubian 14

0.6. The history of research on the Midob language 16

0.7. Methods, scope and aim of this study 17

1 . Phonol ogy 18

1.1. The consonants 18

1.2. Consonants in Arabic loans 20

1.3. Vowel s 21

1.4. Diphthongs 22

2 . Tonol ogy 22

2.1 Minimal pairs 23

2.2. Lexical and grammatical tones 23

2.3. Tonal contractions 24

2.4. Tonal patterns 24

2.5. Grammatical tonal change 24

2.6. Syntactical tone 25

3. Nouns ; 25

3.1. Substantives 25

3.1.1. Original substantives 25

3.1.2. Derived substantives 26

3.1.2.1. Substantives derived from verbs 26

3.1.2.2. Substantives formed from another substantive 26

3.1.2.3. Substantives derived from adjectives 27

3.1.3. The pi ural 27

3.1.4. Singularization 28

3.1.5. The cases 28

3.1.5.1. Subject case 28

3.1.5.2. Connective/genetive 28

3.1.5.3. Object case 29

3.2. Adjectives 29

3.2.1. Primary adjectives 30

3.2.2. Derived adjectives 30

3.2.2.1. Adjectives derived from adjectives 30

3.2.2.2. Adjectives derived from nouns 30

3.2.2.3. Adjectives derived from adverbs 31

3.3. Relations 31

3.4. Names 31

3.4.1. Midob names 31

3.4.1.1. Tribal names 31

3.4.1.2. Names of events 32

3.4.1.3. Place names 32

3.4.1.4 Personal names 32

3.4.1.5. Nicknames 32

3.4.1.6. Midobized Arabic personal names 32

3.4.2. Arabic names 32

3.4.2.1. Tribal names 33

3.4.2.2. Place names 33

3.4.2.3. Personal names 33

3.5. Numbers 33

3.5.1. The cardinal numbers 33

3.5.2. Ordinals 35

3.5.3. Other expressions for quantities 36

4, Pronouns * 36

4.1. Personal pronouns 36

4.1.1. Subject case 36

4.1.2. Connective case (Genetive) 37

4.1.3. Object case 37

4.1.3.1. Short form 37

4.1.3.2. Form ending in -k 37

4.1.3.3. Long form ending in -ye/(-y^n) 37

4.2. Demonstrative pronouns 38

4.2.1 Basic demonstratives 38

4.2.2. Adverbial expressions derived from the demonstratives 38

4.2.2.1. Adverbial expressions derived from n6n 38

4.2.2.2. Adverbial expressions derived from ^n 38

4.2.2.3. Adverbial expressions derived from ikin 39

4.2.2.4. Adverbial expressions derived from dan 39

4.2.2.5. Adverbial expressions derived from other

demonstratives 39

4.2.3. an as a formative for ordinals 39

4.2.4. ^n as a formative of possessive pronouns 39

4.2.5. an as a frame for clauses with subjunctive 40

4.2.6. ^n as a formative for other lexemes: 40

4.3. Interrogative pronouns 40

4.3.1, Interrogative pronouns without a predicative element 40

4.3.2 Interrogative pronouns containing a predicative element 41

4.4. The reflexive pronoun 41

4.5. The reciprocal pronoun 42

4.6. Indefinite pronouns 42

5. Postpositions 42

5.1. Postpositions referring to locality 42

5.2. Postpositions referring to time 43

5.3. Postpositions expressing modality 43

5.4. Combinations of postpositions 44

5.5. A prepositional expression 44

6. The verb 44

6.1 . General verbal structure 44

6.2. The tenses 44

6.3. The tone of the verb 45

6.3.1. Low: 45

6.3.2. High-Low: 45

6.3.3. Low-High: 45

6.4. The structure of the verb stem 45

6.5. The epentetic vowel 46

6.6. The verb endings (suffixes) 46

6.6.1 The indicative 46

6.6.1.1. Continuous indicative 47

6.6.1.2 Perfect indicative 47

6.6.1.3. Intentional indicative 47

6.6.2. The subjunctive 47

6.6.2.1. Continuous subjunctive 47

6.6.2.2. Perfect subjunctive 47

6.6.3. The question forms 47

6.6.3.1. Question 1 continuous 47

6.6.3.2. Question 1 perfect 47

6.6.3.3. Question 2 continuous 47

6.6.3.4. Question 2 perfect 47

6.7, The development of the verbal suffixes reconstructed 48

10

6.8. Verbal exte.(:ii,i^i;i^< 49

6.9. Internal verbal modifications 51

6.9.1. Modifications to express plurality 51

6.9.1.1. -ii-/-ii- • 51

6.9.1.2. Reduplications 52

6.9.1.3. -id- 52

6.9.1.4. Devoicing of a consonant in the stem 52

6.9.1.5. -6r- 52

6.9.1.6. -c- 52

6.9.1.7. Plural only (plurale tantum) verbs 53

6.9.2. Modifications to differentiate

Transitivity/Intransitivity 53

6.9.3. Reflexivity 53

6.9.4 Stative forms 54

6.9.5, Causative forms 54

6.9.6 Appl 1 cat i ve forms 54

6.9.6.1. -n- 54

6.9.6.2. -fnt- 55

6.9.7 Totality 55

6.9.8, The notion of passive 55

6.10. Arabic loans made verbs {-tir) 56

6.11. The verb: to give 56

6.12. The verb: to have 56

6.13. The verb: to be 57

6.14. Ideophonic verbs 57

6.15. Question verbs 57

6.16. Specialized verbs 58

6.17. Other verb forms 58

6.17.1. Connectives 58

11

6.17.2. Infinitive 58

6.17.3. Verbal nouns 58

6.17.4. Imperatives 58

6.18. Special verbal expressions 59

7. Adverbs 59

7.1. Adverbs of time 59

7.2. Adverbs of pi ace 60

7.3. Adverbs of mode 60

7.4. Adverbial expressions 60

8. Ideophones 61

8.1. Ideophones describing natural events 61

8.2. Ideophones describing sounds of animals 61

8.2.1. Sounds made with the vocal chords 61

8.2.2. Sounds made with other parts of the body 61

8.3. Ideophones describing sounds of humans 61

8.3.1. Sounds made with the vocal chords (voices) 61

8.3.2. Sounds/actions made with other parts of the body 62

8.3.3. Ideophones describing states of mind 62

8.4. Ideophones describing sounds of objects 62

9. Conjunctions 62

9.1. -(r)6..,-(r)eedi 'and' 62

9.2. -yo -yd 'and' 62

9.3. -k6n.,.-k6n 'and' 63

9.4. -iny^n. . .-fny^n (with negation) : 'neither - nor' 63

9.5. -anyen. ..-anyen (with negation): 'neither - nor' 63

9.6. -inin ksdndkdn. . .-anfn kadndkdn 'whether - or' 63

9.7. -k6ke 'when, if 63

9.8. ogon/okon (focus) 63

12

Text Documentation 64

Narrations 64

Sentences 66

Midob - Engl i sh Vocabul ary 75

English - Midob Vocabulary 144

Abbreviations 166

Bibl iography 167

ROLAND WERNER

TIDN-AAL: a study OF MIDOB

(Darfur-Nubian)

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme

Werner, Roland:

Tidn-aal: a study of Midob : (Darfur-Nubian) / Roland Werner.
- Berlin : Reimer, 1993

(Sprache und Oralitat in Afrika ; Bd. 17)

ISBN 3-496-02507-7
NE:GT

Gedruckt mit Unterstiitzung der
Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft

© 1993 bv Dietrich Reimer Verlag
Dr. Friecirich Kaufmann
Unter den Eichen 57
1000 Berlin 45

Umschlaggestaltung; Thomas Rode, Frankfurt am Main

Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Printed in Germany

ISBN 3-496-02507-7

1993

DIETRICH REIMER VERLAG BERLIN