It’s time for a little bit about Tommo-So, for those interested. As I said before, it’s an SOV language, meaning the basic word order is Subject-Object-Verb. The phonemic inventory is pretty basic: stops /p, b, t, d, k, g/, nasals /m, n, ny, ng/ (for lack of IPA), only fricative is /s/, then we have /r, l, j, w/, and one sound that I’ve finally settled on classifying as a voiced palatal stop, but it’s slightly fricated. Somewhere between /dy/ and /gy/ and English orthography j. It’s a seven vowel system with an ATR distinction for the mid-vowels. Length and nasalization appear to be phonemic.
I’m still battling with the tonology, but some things have become clear. Adjectives, which follow a noun, erase the lexical tone of the noun, leaving it low toned. Numerals, however, do not. There are two ways to make compound nouns—either in a possessor construction, where the first noun, the possessor, erases the lexical tone of the second noun, the possessed, or a compound noun construction where the first noun loses its tone and the second retains it. For example, “bush duiker” is made up of the word for bush /òlú/ and the word for sheep /pédú/, but together it becomes /òlù pédú/. On the other hand, a kind of grasshopper whose scientific name is Acorypha glaucopsis is made up of the word for rain /àná/ and the word for grasshopper /kàká/, together yielding /àná kàkà/.
The verb tonology is even wackier. Verbs have lexical tone (all H or LH) but in most environments, the tone distinctions are neutralized or overridden by the tonal pattern associated with a particular suffix or tense. I still have to wade through that more to really figure it out.
Verb inflection and derivation is achieved mostly through suffixes, seemingly in the order Aspect-Tense-Negation-Agreement. The suffixes will also change the vocalism of the verb stem, though, so if the verb for “buy” is /EgE/ (E being open e), the past tense /be/ will change the second /E/ into a long /aa/. Again, these are just preliminary observations. I don’t pretend for an instant to have it figured out.
It’s an interesting language, though. A lot of intransitive verbs are achieved by a redundant-sounding system of verbal noun + verb, so you don’t just run, you “run a run” or you “sing a song” (more normal) or “think a thought”, like that.
So there are a few tidbits about Tommo-So. If anything else particularly fascinating comes up, I will be sure to share it.
About Me
- Laura
- I just graduated from Scripps College with a B.A. in linguistics. I'm on a Fulbright for the year in Mali working with the Dogon Languages Project to study and document the Tommo-So language. My home will be in Douentza and the village of Tedie (in the middle of nowhere), so grab a camel and come visit.
2 comments:
Pretty cool stuff!
So are there just H and L tones, then? I remember reading about some other Dogon language that has M as well.
And have you found any downsteps? (my personal fave) :)
Cool sandhi stuff. I remember Jeff talking about some similar effects like that, i.e., tone lowering. I think there's something like that in relatives, where maybe everything gets lowered but the head noun. Are there only two tone classes of verbs with verbs longer than one syllable, i.e., does each syllable potentially contrast H vs. L, or is the underlying contrast restricted to, e.g., only an edge of the stem? Sounds like fun!
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