Morphophono-Logics of Interrogatives in Fulfulde Noun Classes

    Cite this article as: Aminu, A. (2023). Morphophono-Logics of Interrogatives in Fulfulde Noun Classes. Tasambo Journal of Language, Literature, and Culture, (2)1, 1-8. www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2023.v02i01.001.

    BY

    Abdulmalik Aminu (PhD)

    Department of African Languages and Cultures, 
    Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

    08138402892
    abdulmalik.aminu@gmail.com
    aaminu@abu.edu.ng

    Abstract

    Fulfulde language is classified under African languages, as a family member of Niger-Congo, under West Atlantic group. It has some family members such as Wolof, Serer, and Joola. (Greenberg 1963). It has six dialects across West Africa, which are: Fuuta Tooro, Fuuta Jaaloo, Masina, Sokoto and Western Niger, Central Northern Nigeria and Eastern Northern Nigeria, and Adamawa (Arnott 1972 p. 8). In Fulfulde language, nominal stems must be accompanied by a nominal class suffix (McIntosh 1984 p. 43) and agreement in noun affects both words and sentences in the language (Ahmed 2011 p. 27). The noun classes peculiar to Adamawa dialect of Fulfulde attach an interrogative –yee suffix to form an interrogative word. In order to answer the questions formed by attaching the –yee suffix, a modification of -yee to -yaa occurs in the process. The formations and the answers of the interrogatives follow some logical ordering from simplex to complex, which are discussed in this paper, and supported with examples. This paper is a descriptive linguistics research with a native intuition of the researcher, whom is a native to the Adamawa dialect, as a primary source of data. In conclusion, the paper found out that in Fulfulde dialect of Adamawa, all the noun classes form an interrogative word by adding -yee affix, and form an answer through ablaut of -yee to –yaa morphemes. Phonological processes such as assimilation, deletion and metathesis occur in the formation of the interrogatives. 

    Introduction

    On the basis of syntactic properties, of any grammar, for instance the grammar of English, sentences can be classifiebasedse on their functions into declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory (Aarts 2001 p. 58) or simply declarative and interrogative (Chomsky 2002 p. 90). The interrogative sentences are sentences that are normally used to ask questions. The questions asked may require an answer or may not as in the case of rhetorical questions. The questions that may require an answer can be either yes or no questions or wh questions. Wh parameter of variation determines whether wh expressions can be fronted or not. In simple wh question in English, the wh expression is moved to the beginning of a sentence while in Chinese, thewh-wordd remains in situ (Mairal and Gil 2006 p. 16). This paper discusses wh questions with regards to the morphemes and some grammatical elements that relate with noun classes in Fulfulde, in constructing the interrogative words in logical ordering. The paper is limited to ‘far demonstrative’ with a –ya suffix, in concordance with a –ye interrogative element.

    The interrogative words

    Functionally, interrogative words in Fulfulde language are any of the Fulfulde noun classes, some pronouns and a few adverbs that have –yee with high stress as a suffix (Arnott 1970). Arnott (1970 p. 135) stated that “In the case of far demonstratives and interrogatives, there is a second element in both the first and the second form, -a and –ya respectively in far demonstrative and –e and –ye respectively in interrogatives. Depending on the dialect of the language, there are between 25 and 28 noun classes. (Mukoshy 1991). There are 25 Fulfulde noun classes in the Adamawa dialect such asÉ“e, É—e, nge, ki, ngel, nde, É—i, ngo, ko, ngum, ndi, É—um, ngol, kol, kal, ndu, nga, ngu, o, ko, É—am, ngal, nga, ka, kon. Each of the class attaches a –yee suffix to form an interrogative word. For instance, the É“class attaches the –yee suffix to form É“eyee interrogative word in a sentence such as É“eyee on lamÉ—o leni? ‘Which people did the king send?’ ndeyee É“e ngari? ‘When did they come?’

    The noun classes

    Noun class is any classification of nouns according to semantic aspects such as animate, inanimate, neuter etc. (Trauth and Kazzazi 1998 p. 815). A group, category, collection or set of nouns sharing characteristics or attributes is what is referred to as their class. The class marker expresses the concept of the noun it belongs. According to Arnott (1970 p. 12), “The basis of the nominal system of Fula is a class system similar in kind to class systems found in many West African languages as well as in Bantu languages”. A noun (with the exception of pa proper noun and some abstract nouns) in Fulfulde must belong to a class and has to mark quantity. A noun can either be ordinary/normal, large, small, or tiny and depending on the dialect, there are between 25 and 28 classes in the language. (Mukoshy 1991). Although, Arnott (1979 p. 75) brought a general coverage of the meanings found in the various classesinn only 25 classes. In Fulfulde, there are bound-based morphs which are allomorphs of the classes. Examples of the bound-based morphs are as follows: -o/jo/wo/ko/É—o, -É“e/’en, -el/gel/lel/ngel/yel, - um/ngum/yum, -on/kon/lon/bon, -a/ga/la/wa/, -o/ko/ho/lo, -nde/de/re, -ndi/di/ri, -ndu/du/ru, -a/mba/ba/wa, -a/nga/ga/wa/ba, -ngal/ga/wal, -e/ngel/ge/ye, -i/ngi/gi/wi, -o/ngo/go/wo, - o/ngol/gol/wol, -u/ngu/gu/wu, -a/ka/ha, -kal/hal, -ki/hi, -o/ko/ho, -ol/kol/bol, - am/É—am/jam/ndam, -um/É—um/jum, -e/je/É—e/le/ye, -i/ji/É—i/li/’yi (Mukoshy 1991 p. 26). The classes in Fulfulde are divided into human and non-human class, augmentative class, diminutive class, pejorative class and neuter class. The human class consists of o and its plural É“e. The augmentative class is nga with its plural ko, the diminutive class is ngel with its plural kon, the pejorative class is ngum and the neuter class is É—um. The rest are the non-human classes with É—e and É—as their plurals (Aminu 2015 p. 61). It is required in Fulfulde to change the suffix of a noun according to its noun class to form its plural, however, not more than one class can be attached to a noun root in Fulfulde (Aminu 2016 p. 8). Also, it is difficult to get an inseparable word in Fulfulde because of the noun class system (Ahmed, 2011).

    In all the noun classes in Fulfulde, according to this paper, the –yee element can be affixed to any of them to form an interrogative word. Therefore, there are 14 logics presented on how to form interrogative words in the language and how to form their answers as ‘far demonstratives’ with –ya suffix as follows:

    Logic 1:

    #noun class# + -yee = interrogative word

    When –yee suffix is added to a noun class, an interrogative word is formed. The examples are in the following table:

    Table 1:

    s/n

    Noun class

    Interrogative suffix

    Interrogative word

    1

    O

    -yee

    mo[1]yee?

    2

    É“e

    -yee

    É“eyee?

    3

    É—e

    -yee

    É—eyee?

    4

    É—i

    -yee

    É—iyee?

    5

    Ki

    -yee

    kiyee,?

    6

    ngel

    -yee

    ngelyee?

    7

    nde

    -yee

    ndeyee?

    8

    nge

    -yee

    ngeyee?

    9

    Ka

    -yee

    kayee?

    10

    ngal

    -yee

    ngalyee?

    11

    É—am

    -yee

    É—amyee?

    12

    Kon

    -yee

    konyee?

    13

    Ko

    -yee

    koyee?

    14

    Ngu

    -yee

    nguyee?

    15

    Ndu

    -yee

    nduyee?

    16

    Nga

    -yee

    ngayee?

    17

    Kol

    -yee

    kolyee?

    18

    Kal

    -yee

    kalyee?

    19

    É—um

    -yee

    É—umyee?

    20

    ngol

    -yee

    ngolyee?

    21

    Ndi

    -yee

    ndiyee?

    22

    ngum

    -yee

    ngumyee?,

    23

    Ko

    -yee

    koyee?

    24

    Ngo

    -yee

    ngoyee?

     

    Logic 2:

    /y/ → Ø / [+son] - /ee/.

    Except in the case of konyee where /n/ → [ɲ] / - /y/ as in [koɲe] (bi-directional assimilation), the /y/ sound becomes deleted when it occurs inbetween sonorants /l,m,n/ and long vowel sound /ee/.

    Example 1:

             i.            ngelyee?  → ngelee?                                            

           ii.            ngumyee? → ngumee?

         iii.            É—umyee? → É—umee?

         iv.            ngolyee? → ngolee?

           v.            kolyee? → kolee?

         vi.            kalyee? → kalee?

       vii.            É—amyee? → É—amee?

     viii.            ngalyee? → ngalee?

         ix.            konyee? → koɲee? 

    Logic 3:

    #plural noun class# + -yee = plural interrogative word.

    Out of the noun classes, there are five plural classes which are: É“e, É—e, É—i, ko, and kon which form plural interrogative words. When the suffix –yee is added to the plural noun classes, plural interrogative words are formed.

    Example 2:

             i.            É“eyee? ‘who?, plural of o class’

           ii.            É—eyee? ‘what/which? plural of non-human class’

         iii.            É—iyee? ‘what/which?, plurl of non-human class’

         iv.            koyee? ‘what/which?, plual of nga class’

           v.            kone/koɲe? (*knee)‘what/which?, lural of ngel class’

    WH questions

    In other to mark interrogative words such as when, what, where, why, who and how, there are noun classes, ppronouns and other morphemes either free or bound that are involved.

    Logic 4:                                                      

    Xmorpheme ± -yee =5Ws and H

    A morpheme, free or bound, can be attached with the –yee suffix to form what, when, where, why, who and how interrogative words.

    Example 3:

             i.            ndeyee? ‘When’

           ii.            moyee? ‘Who’

         iii.            É—umee? ‘What’

         iv.            [2]ko nii? ‘Why’

           v.            toyee? ‘Where’

         vi.            noyee? ‘How’

    The no- and to- preceding yee are adverbs of manner and place respectively, mo is a third person pronoun of o class, É—um is a neuter class and nde is a class of ‘time’, among others.

    Logic 5:

    kofree morpheme ± word(s) = interrogative word

    The ko[3] is a free interrogative element which stands alone, and precedes a word or group of words to form an interrogative word.

    Example 4:

             i.            ko a tammi? ‘what do you expect

           ii.            ko a laarata? ‘what are you looking at?’

         iii.            ko siifi ma? ‘what scratched you?’

         iv.            ko waÉ—É“e doggataa? ‘why are they running?’

           v.            ko wa’i nii? ‘why is this way?’

         vi.            ko nii? ‘why?’

       vii.            ko? ‘is that?’

    The allomorphs of noun classes

    Each class in the classes mentioned has an allomorph that optionally proceeds the interrogative marker to ascertain its referent.

    Example 5:

    É“e → en, É—e → je, nge → he, ki → hi, ngel → yel, nde → re, É—i → ji, ngo → wo, ko → ho, ngum → um, ndi → ri, É—um → jum, ngol → wol, kol → hol, kal → hal, ndu → ru, nga → wa, ngu → wu, o/mo → jo/É—o, ko → ho, É—am → jam, ngal → wal, ka → ha, kon → hon.

    Logic 6:

     #noun class# + -yee (+allomorph) = interrogative referent.

    An allomorph is optionally attached, together with the –yee suffix to a noun class to form an interrogative referent.

    Table 2:

    s/n

    Noun class

    Interrogative suffix

    Allomorph

    Interrogative referent

    1

    o/mo

    -yee

    jo/É—o,

    moyeejo/moyeeÉ—o?

    2

    É“e

    -yee

    en

    É“eye’en?

    3

    É—e

    -yee

    je

    É—eyeeje?

    4

    É—i

    -yee

    ji

    É—iyeeji?

    5

    ki

    -yee

    hi

    kiyehi?

    6

    ngel

    -yee

    yel

    ngeleyel?

    7

    nde

    -yee

    re

    ndeyeere?

    8

    nge

    -yee

    he

    ngeyehe?

    9

    ka

    -yee

    ha

    kayeeha?

    10

    ngal

    -yee

    wal

    ngalewal?

    11

    É—am

    -yee

    jam

    É—ayeejam?

    12

    kon

    -yee

    hon

    koɲehon?

    13

    ko

    -yee

    ho

    koyeeho?

    14

    ngu

    -yee

    wu

    nguyewu?

    15

    ndu

    -yee

    ru

    nduyeeru?

    16

    nga

    -yee

    wa

    ngayewa?

    17

    kol

    -yee

    hol

    kolehol?

    18

    kal

    -yee

    hal

    kalehal?

    19

    É—um

    -yee

    jum

    É—umeejum?

    20

    ngol

    -yee

    wol

    ngolewol?

    21

    ndi

    -yee

    ri

    ndiyeeri?

    22

    ngum

    -yee

     um

    ngumeeyum?

    23

    ko

    -yee

    ho

    koyeho?

    24

    ngo

    -yee

    wo

    ngoyewo?

     

    Logic 7:

    #noun class# + -yaa = answer

    In other to answer the questions triggered by the –yee suffix attached to noun classes, in a logical chiasmthe us, -yaa suffix with low stress can be attached to any of the noun classes and answer the questions which demonstrate a far object.

     

    Table 3:

    s/n

    Noun class

    Interrogative suffix

    Interrogative word

    Suffix

    Answer

    1

    o

    -yee

    moyee?

    -yaa

    Oyaa

    2

    É“e

    -yee

    É“eyee?

    -yaa

    É“eyaa

    3

    É—e

    -yee

    É—eyee?

    -yaa

    É—eyaa

    4

    É—i

    -yee

    É—iyee?

    -yaa

    É—iyaa

    5

    ki

    -yee

    kiyee,?

    -yaa

    Kiyaa

    6

    ngel

    -yee

    ngelyee?

    -yaa

    ngelyaa

    7

    nde

    -yee

    ndeyee?

    -yaa

    ndeyaa

    8

    nge

    -yee

    ngeyee?

    -yaa

    ngeyaa

    9

    ka

    -yee

    kayee?

    -yaa

    Kayaa

    10

    ngal

    -yee

    ngalyee?

    -yaa

    ngalyaa

    11

    É—am

    -yee

    É—amyee?

    -yaa

    É—amyaa

    12

    kon

    -yee

    konyee?

    -yaa

    konyaa

    13

    ko

    -yee

    koyee?

    -yaa

    Koyaa

    14

    ngu

    -yee

    nguyee?

    -yaa

    nguyaa

    15

    ndu

    -yee

    nduyee?

    -yaa

    nduyaa

    16

    nga

    -yee

    ngayee?

    -yaa

    ngayaa

    17

    kol

    -yee

    kolyee?

    -yaa

    kolyaa

    18

    kal

    -yee

    kalyee?

    -yaa

    Kalyaa

    19

    É—um

    -yee

    É—umyee?

    -yaa

    É—umyaa

    20

    ngol

    -yee

    ngolyee?

    -yaa

    ngolyaa

    21

    ndi

    -yee

    ndiyee?

    -yaa

    ndiyaa

    22

    ngum

    -yee

    ngumyee?

    -yaa

    ngumyaa

    23

    ko

    -yee

    koyee?

    -yaa

    Koyaa

    24

    ngo

    -yee

    ngoyee?

    -yaa

    ngoyaa

     

    Logic 8:

    /y/ → Ø / [+son] - /aa/.

    Except in the case of konyaa where /n/ → [ɲ] / - /y/ as in [koɲaa], the /y/ sound becomes deleted when it occurs inbetween sonorants /l,m,n/ and long vowel sound /aa/.

    Example 6:

             i.            ngelyaa  → ngelaa                                               

           ii.            ngumyaa → ngumaa

         iii.            É—umyaa → É—umaa

         iv.            ngolyaa → ngolaa

           v.            kolyaa → kolaa

         vi.            kalyaa → kalaa

       vii.            É—amyaa → É—amaa

     viii.            ngalyaa → ngalaa

         ix.            konyaa → koɲaa 

    The five plural class interrogatives can have their answers as follows:

    Example 7:

             i.            É“eyee? → É“eyaa ‘who?, plural of o class’

           ii.            É—eyee? → É—eyaa ‘what/which?, plural of non-human class’

         iii.            É—iyee? → É—iyaa ‘what/which?, plural of non-human class’

         iv.            koyee? → koyaa ‘what/which?, plural of nga class’

           v.            koɲee? → koɲaa ‘what/which? plural of ngel class’

    In the interrogative answer, none of the allomorphs in the 24 classes mentioned proceeds to the suffix to ascertain its referent, as it occurs in the interrogative questions.

    Logic 9:

    Question    =   Answer

    noun class + -yee (+ allomorph) = noun class + -yaa

    In a general sense, a noun class in Fulfulde adds the –yee suffix to form an interrogative word, and adds an allomorph of the noun class after the suffix to form an interrogative word with a specific referent to its noun class. To answer the question asked, the a –yaa suffix is attached to a specific noun class in the environment of the interrogative –yee suffix.

    Table 4:

    s/n

    Noun class

    Interrogative word

    Interrogative word with referent

    Answer

    1

    o

    moyeejo?

    moyeejo/moyeeÉ—o?

    oyaa

    2

    É“e

    É“eyee?

    É“eye’en?

    É“eyaa

    3

    É—e

    É—eyee?

    É—eyeeje?

    É—eyaa

    4

    É—i

    É—iyee?

    É—iyeeji?

    É—iyaa

    5

    Ki

    kiyee?

    kiyehi?

    kiyaa

    6

    Ngel

    ngelee?

    ngeleyel?

    ngelaa

    7

    Nde

    ndeyee?

    ndeyeere?

    ndeyaa

    8

    Nge

    ngeyee?

    ngeyehe?

    ngeyaa

    9

    Ka

    kayee?

    kayeeha?

    kayaa

    10

    ngal

    ngalee?

    ngalewal?

    ngalaa

    11

    É—am

    É—ayee?

    É—ayeejam?

    É—amaa

    12

    Kon

    koɲee?

    koɲehon?

    koɲaa

    13

    Ko

    koyee?

    koyeeho?

    koyaa

    14

    Ngu

    nguyee?

    nguyewu?

    nguyaa

    15

    Ndu

    nduyee?

    nduyeeru?

    nduyaa

    16

    Nga

    ngayee?

    ngayewa?

    ngayaa

    17

    Kol

    kolee?

    kolehol?

    kolaa

    18

    Kal

    kalee?

    kalehal?

    kalaa

    19

    É—um

    É—umee?

                       É—umeejum?

    É—umaa

    20

    Ngol

    ngolee?

    ngolewol?

    ngolaa

    21

    Ndi

    ndiyee?

    ndiyeeri?

    ndiyaa

    22

    ngum

    ngumee?

    ngumeeyum?

    ngumaa

    23

    Ko

    koyee?

    koyeho?

    koyaa

    24

    ngo

    ngoyee?

    ngoyewo?

    ngoyaa

     

    In all the examples, the /y/ sound becomes deleted in-between sonorants /l, m, n/ and vowels /ee, aa/.

    Logic 10:

    /y/ → /Ø/ / [+son] - /ee, aa/

    In the cases of the absence of sonorants at the end of the classes, there is an ablaut of vowels –ee ↔ –aa to form yee ↔ yaa, as in nduyee? ↔ nduyaaÉ“eyee? ↔ É“eyaa, kiyee? ↔ kiyaa and so on. In the presence of sonorants, the /y/ sound is deleted and the vowels ablaut from –ee ↔ -aa, as in ngalee? ↔ ngalaaÉ—umee? ↔ É—umaa, koɲee? ↔ koɲaa.

    Logic 11:

    Class A ≠ Class B / -ee↔-aa

    None of the classes can switch to another, in class or allomorph, to answer a question. For instance, class A is not equal to class B when it occurs before the -ee or -aa vowels.

    Example 8:

    a)       i) É“eyee = É“eye’en = É“eyaa

            ≠

    ii) É“eyee ≠ É“eyeere ≠ ndeyaa

    b)      i) kiyee = kiyehi = kiyaa

    ii) kiyee ≠ ngoyehi ≠ nduyaa

    c)       i) ngolee = ngolewol = ngolaa

    ii) ngolee ≠ ngalewal ≠ nguyaa

    Logic 12:

    Plural class ≠ Singular class / -ee↔-aa

    Plural classes É“e, É—e, É—i, ko, and kon and their allomorphs cannot answer singular classes through the -ee and –aa ablaut.

    Example 9:

    Logic 13:

    Xclass + -yel + -yee = interrogative word.

    Except for the plural classes É“e, É—e, É—i, ko, kon, neuter class É—um, pejorative class ngum, and liquid class É—am, all other classes can affix yel allomorph of diminutive ngel class to form an interrogative word. However, a metathesis occurs in the process from yelyee to yeeyel. That is to say:

    y1e2l3y4e5e6 → y4e5e6y1e2l3

    Example 10:

             i.            Kiyelyee → Kiyeeyel?

           ii.            Ndeyelyee → Ndeyeeyel?

         iii.            Ngeyelyee → Ngeyeeyel?

         iv.            Ngayelyee → Ngaleeyel?

           v.            Nguyelyee → Nguyeeyel?

         vi.            Nduyelyee → Nduyeeyel?

       vii.            Koyelyee → Koleeyel?

     viii.            Kayelyee → Kaleeyel?

         ix.            Ngoyelyee → Ngoleeyel?

           x.            Ndiyelyee → Ndiyeeyel?

         xi.            Ngoyelyee → Ngoyeeyel?

    Logic 14:

    Xclass + Ø interrogative + -(y)el = interrogative word

    The interrogative –yee suffix disappears and leaves only the -yel suffix to serve the purpose. Thus, /y/ → Ø/[+son]-/ee/.

    Example 11:

       xii.            Kiyeyel → kiyel?

     xiii.            Ndeyeyel → ndeyel?

     xiv.            Ngeyeyel → ngeyel?

       xv.            Ngaleyel → ngalel?

     xvi.            Nguyeyel → nguyel?

    xvii.            Nduyeyel → nduyel?

    xviii.            Koleyel → kolel?

      xix.            Kaleyel → kalel?

        xx.            Ngoleyel → ngolel?

      xxi.            Ndiyeyel → ndiyel?

    xxii.            Ngoyeyel → ngoyel?

    All answer words of the above have –yaa as the usual suffix, with no indication of the diminutive yel suffix.

    Example 12:

             i.            Kiyel? → kiyaa

           ii.            Ndeyel? → ndeyaa

         iii.            Ngeyel? → ngeyaa

         iv.            Ngalel? → ngalaa

           v.            Nguyel? → nguyaa

         vi.            Nduyel? → nduyaa

       vii.            Kolel? → kolaa

     viii.            Kalel? → kalaa

         ix.            Ngolel? → ngolaa

           x.            Ndiyel? → ndiyaa

         xi.            Ngoyel? → ngoyaa

    Conclusion

    Structurally, interrogative words in Fulfulde language are any of the Fulfulde noun classes, some pronouns and a few adverbs that have –yee with high stress as a suffix. The noun class is any classification of nouns according to semantic aspects such as animate, inanimate, neuter etc. A group, category, collection or set of nouns sharing characteristics or attributes is what is referred to as their class. The class marker expresses the concept of the noun it belongs. The classes in Fulfulde are divided into human and non-human classes, augmentative class, diminutive class, pejorative class and neuter class. The formations and the answers of the interrogatives follow some logical ordering from simplex to complex. The paper found out that all the noun classes form an interrogative word by adding the -yee affix, and forming an answer through ablaut of -yee to –yaa morphemes. In other to mark interrogative words such as when, what, where, why, who and how, there are noun classes, pronouns, and other morphemes either free or bound that are involved such as in Logic 4:Xmorpheme ± -yee =5Ws and H. Phonological processes such as assimilation, deletion and metathesis occur in the formation of the interrogatives.

    In a general sense, a noun class in Fulfulde adds the –yee suffix to form an interrogative word, and adds an allomorph of the noun class after the suffix to form an interrogative word with a specific referent to its noun class. To answer the question asked, a –yaa suffix is attached to a specific noun class in the environment of the interrogative –yee suffix.

     References

    Ahmed, A, I (2011). Introduction to Fulfulde Syntax.LINCOM EUROPA, AcademicPublications.

    Aminu, A. (2015). Comparative Study of Hausa and Fulfulde Inflections. M.A Thesis. Zaria. Department of African Languages and Cultures, Ahmadu Bello University.

    Aminu, A. (2016). Comparative Study of Fulfulde and Swahili Noun Classes. Kano. 2nd International Conference on Fulfulde Studies. Centre for Research in Nigerian Languages and Folklore, Bayero University, Kano.

    Arnott, D.W. (1970). Nominal and Verbal Systems of Fula. Clarendon press, Oxford, England.

    Arnott, D.W. (1972). Some Aspects of the Study of Fula Dialect. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol 37 No.1. Cambridge University Press, England. pp. 8-18

    Aarts, B. (2001). English Syntax and Augmentation. New York. PALGRAVE.

    Chomsky, N. (2002). Syntactic Structures. Second edition. Berlin. Mouton de Gruyter

    Girei, A.U. (1999). A Comparative Analysis of Morphosyntactic Variations Between Adamawa and Gombe Dialects of Fulfulde. M.A Thesis, Department of Languages and Linguistics, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.

    Greenberg, J.H (1963). The Languages of Africa.Indiana University, Bloomington, Mouton,The Hague.

    McIntosh, M. (1984). Fulfulde Syntax and Verbal Morphology. St Edmundsbury Press Ltd.

    Mukoshy, I. (1991). Fulfulde Morphemes. In: Abba, I.A. Mukoshy, I. and Tahir, G. (Eds) Studies in Fulfulde Language, Literature and Culture, Proceedings of the 1st – 4th International Conferences on Fulfulde Language, Literature and Culture. Kano: Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University.

     

    Mairal, R and Gil, J. (2006). A First Look at Universals. In: Mairal, R and Gil, J (Eds), Linguistic Universals. New York. Cambridge University Press.

     

    Trauth, G. and Kazzazi, K. (1998 eds.). Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. New York. Routledge.



    [1] class in subjective appears mo in objective (Arnott 1970).

    [2] Ko nii is a short form of ko waÉ—i nii

    [3] Not to be confused with the ko borrowed from Hausa language.

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