By
H. A. Agamalafiya
© 2011
(A proposal for writing the Tsureshe language)
Table of Content:
Aims and objectives
Appreciation and Dedication
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Vowels of the Tsureshe Language
Chapter 2 The Consonants of the Tsureshe Languages
Chapter 3 The Tsureshe Alphabet
Chapter 4 Noun classes
Chapter 5 Nouns
Chapter 6 Pronouns
Chapter 7 Adjectives
Chapter 8 Tone/pitch
Chapter 9 Counting in Tsureshe Language
Chapter 10 Sample text
About the writer (author)
Ai ms and objectives
1. To stress the importance of the Tsureshe language and to develop it for the benefit of all its speakers.
2. To unite the Reshe people in using one spelling system and thus to encourage the writing of new books for all Reshe people.
3. To develop a writing system that will help Reshe people who can already read Hausa and English to be able to read Tsureshe language without difficulty.
4. To develop a writing system that is simple enough for Reshe children to learn. And so encourage them to write and read books written in the language.
5. To enable strangers and foreigners to learn to speak and read the Tsureshe language easily.
Forward
Language is the medium through which people express their culture and culture is the identity of the people.
It is therefore very important that people should love, respect, protect and develop their languages.
It is in this context that I congratulate Mr. H. A. Agamalafiya for writing this book “A Sketch of the Tsureshe Grammar”
Tsureshe (Gunganci) is one of the main languages spoken in Yauri Emirate to the extent that anybody coming from Yawuri is automatically regarded as “Bagunge” by outsiders. Therefore this important language, indeed all the languages spoken in this Emirate should not be allowed to die
I therefore challenge speakers of other languages to emulate Mr. Agamalafiya in producing books in their language.
Once more I congratulate Mr. H. A. Agamalafiya for a job well done.
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
DR. MUHAMMAD ZAYYANU ABDULLAHI (CON)
Emir of Yauri
APPRECIATION/DEDICATION
Introduction
In this booklet, the writer is making recommendations to the Reshe people and those who can put in input into the development of this language. Your comments and recommendations are highly welcome. Thanks for your help to standardized the writing system of the Tsureshe Language.
About the People
The Reshe people live in Kebbi and Niger states of Nigeria. They are the people that the Hausas called Reshewa, before the 1900. They live primarily in and around Yelwa town (known today as Yauri) an important port on the East of the Niger River in Kebbi state. The people can be found around Yauri and Borgu Emirates areas. Their ancient city, Birnin Yauri or Ireshe ubinä, (in the language) is about five miles East of Yelwa.
Historically, the Reshes are called Reshewa by the Hausas before the coming of the legendary Hausa Queen Amina who changed the name to Yaurawa to commemorate her visit to their land. The name was later changed to Gungawa by the Hausas to identify them with the place they lived then (Gungawa means island people). The Hausas still call them Gungawa, but they call themselves Bareshe (pl) and Ureshe (sg). The root word is Reshe, the people are Bareshe and the language is Tsureshe. When they talk of the land in general they say Ireshe, which means “Reshe land.” That is why the city used to be called Ireshe Ubina̱ “(the) city of the Reshes,” which is now known as Birnin Yauri.
The name Yauri is the name of the first Emir of Yauri.
There are Reshe people’s settlements throughout Yauri, N’gaski, and Shanga L.G.As of Kebbi state, and also in Agwara and Borgu L.G.A.s of Niger state.
The major occupation of the Reshe people is farming, Cattle rearing and fishing. The major cash crops are Rice, corn and millet and g/corn
Chapter 1
The vowels of the Tsureshe language
Basic vowels
The Tsureshe language has eight vowels. Five of these vowels are written in the same way as they are in Hausa and English.
These are: a, e, i, o and u
These five vowels are pronounced in the same way as they are pronounced in Hausa and English. They are illustrated below:
a kana “to fence”
uka “take”
ata “to like/love”
e weta “to return something”
ena “waves”
rema “mountain”
i anini “eye”
rikiki “hat”
o alo “seed”
yo “raise”
nona “climb”
u unu “mouth”
ritugu “forhead”
yumu “hare”
Excicise 1
Write the meanning of the following words in English. This is to allow you practice the vowels taught above.
Tsurehe English
1. hina ________________
2. nana ________________
3. hipepa _______________
4. ucina ________________
5. ukulu ________________
Write the following words into Tsureshe.
English Tsureshe
1. rain _______________
2. come _______________
3. forhead _______________
4. mouth _______________
5. eye _______________
The other vowels
Tsureshe has three additional vowels sounds which Hausa do not have. They are however, important and significant in the Tsureshe language. I recommend that the /ɨ/ be written as a̱, this differenciate it from the rest of the vowels.
a̱ = /ɨ/
a̱ ba̱bi “children”
ula̱la̱ “to cover something”
uba̱la̱ka̱ri “youth”
compared with
a pala “wait”
ama “call”
yama “see”
e̱ = /ɛ/
e̱ ma’e̱ “thanks”
ame̱ “I”
arime̱ “play”
o̱ = /ɔ/
o̱ amo̱ “grand parent”
ano̱ “you (pl)”
no̱ “go”
Long vowels
There are some words in the Tsureshe language that have long vowel sounds. I recommend that in these words the vowel letter should be written doubled. Here are some examples of words with long vowels:
aa taama “eat”
kaana “come back”
aana “count”
Compare with:
a kana “to fence”
ita “yesterday”
ii niina̱ “cooking”
wiihi “thief”
hiciica “it stings“”
Compared with:
i wini “he is the one”
hicicca “scorpion”
I believe that writing long vowels as double letters will help people to read the language more easily. It will also help Reshe children and also foreigners who are learning Tsureshe to pronounce these words correctly.
Chapter 2
The consonants of the Tsureshe language
The Tsureshe language has 19 consonant sounds and most of them are written in the same way as in Hausa or English. There are a few consonant sounds that are written with two letters, for example, ‘sh’. This letter combination is a single consonant sound.
Here are some examples of each basic consonant:
b ba̱bi “children”
ububa “leaf”
aba “goods”
c hicica “scorpion”
cibini “sheat”
hicibe “middle”
d duka “touch”
uda̱rinka̱mi “old person”
udanga “stick”
g higagaja “alligator”
ugana “Hausa person”
gaama “sweep”
h hina “cow”
hitiriwi “evening”
hibwa “dog”
j hijakya “donkey”
hijima “spear”
ujiji “termite hill”
k ka̱ka̱̱ “pour”
ukaaka “garden”
tsukuna̱bu “okro”
l loba “plant, to”
alo “seed”
umululu “shade”
m ma̱ma̱ “water”
ruma “ax”
uma “beat”
n naana “come”
unu “mouth”
anini “eyes”
p bipa̱ “ask”
pepa “blow”
hipepa “goat”
r ruma “ax”
rima “store house”
ritugu “forehead”
s saaba “write”
suna̱ “remove”
sh rishita̱ “head”
ushiga “herd”
shishi “mud”
t tààmá “eat”
útita̱ “pot”
átà “to love”
w wá “drink”
wáka “hid”
úwà “house”
y yúmú “hares”
yǒ “raise up”
yòma “monkeys”
z hizula̱ka̱mi “squirrel”
uzubi “termite hills”
ma̱zumi “soap”
Consonant combinations with “w” and “y”
There are some consonants that go with w in Tsureshe, these are call consonant clusters. I will give few examples in this write up:
bw, kw, tw, hw, by, py, hy, ky. Here are some examples:
bw ubwa “herbalist”
hibwa “dog”
ibwe “dream”
kw kwa “take/receive”
ukwan “marsh”
tw twa “join”
ntwe “to taste”
hw hwa “pour, into”
úhwalo “diarrhoea”
hy hyoma “monkey”
hyumu “hare”
py ápyà “home”
pyá “to give”
Chapter 3
The Tsureshe alphabet
3.1. Summary
The following chart shows the new orthography, which was initially developed by P. G. Harris and tentatively approved by the Tsureshe language promotion committee and the participants at the workshop held at COBAS (College of Basic and Advance Studies) Yauri on the 1st of May 2004.
This chart moves the orthography from an IPA alphabet to an orthography, which can be easily reproduced, on a standard typewriter, except for the tone marks.
3.2. THE TSURESHE ALPHABET
Phonetic Script Orthography System Key Words
a a, A ábàsá (onion)
ǝ a̱, A̱ ãníní (eyes)
b b, B bãbì (children)
bw bw, Bw híbwà (dog)
by by, By byà (to dispise)
t c, C cínã (hairs)
d d, D dálánzó (eight)
d w dw, Dw undo (person)
dy dy, Dy dya (here)
e e, E éma (mountains)
ɛ e̱, E̱ ámé̱
g g, G gámà (to sweep)
gb gb, Gb ágbãnã (g/nut)
g w gw, Gw agwami (bowleg)
gy gy, Gy ágyamo (chick)
h h, H híná (cow)
h w hw, Hw úhwàló (diarrhoea)
hy hy, Hy hyóma (monkey)
i i, I ínò (calabash)
d j, J híjímá (arrow)
k k, K ríkíkí (hat)
kp kp, Kp kpálá (near)
k w kw, Kw kwá (take/receive)
ky ky, Ky kyàlá (keep quit)
l l, L lámùlá (to stir)
lw lw, Lw nlwe (mating)
m m, M mə́mə̀ (water)
*mw mw, Mw ?? “still thinking if it exist?”
n n, N náánà (to come)
o o, O yòmá (monkeys)
ɔ o̱, O̱ atso̱ (we)
p p, P hípáná (cat)
p w pw, Pw ápwá (bush)
py py, Py ápyà (home)
r, R rúma (axe)
w rw, Rw nrwe (going towards North)
y ry, Ry ryámá (food)
s s, S sába (to write)
s w sw, Sw swálá (to join)
t t, T tétá (to sit)
t w tw, Tw átwa (ear)
t y ty, Ty tyama (push)
ts ts, Ts tsáná (soup)
ts w tsw, Tsw atswa (k.o. a game)
u u, U únú (mouth)
w w, W wírú (moon)
y y, Y yèkìtá (fingers)
z z, Z zà’é (to plough)
z w zw, Zw azwari (glutton)
’ me’é (milk)
(tone) ã ápwá (bush)
(tone) â byà (to dispise)
Chapter 4
NOUN CLASSES
Preface: A Noun Class System
Tsureshe uses a noun class system. The noun is preceded by a class marker, (CM + Nroot).
There are 6 classes. 4 of these clearly have semantic motivation: humans, animals, and body parts. Body parts may or may not be a separate class. The other 3 noun classes seem to be arbitrary. Class 6 also has semantic identity: Mass nouns such as liquid like water or a powder like flour. This 6th class has no singular/plural distinction (the first letter may be the class marker) form whereas the other classes have the singular and plural.
4.1.1. Class 1, (Human)
Singular Plural
[u] [b]
uwobi bawobi “orphan (s)”
ubi babi “child (ren)”
waaca baaca “lover (s)”
4.1.2. Class 2, (Animals and borrowed words)
The animal class is marked by an initial “hi” in the singular and “i” in the plural form
singular plural
[hi] [i]
hibwa ibwa “dog” (s)
hyumu yumu “hare” (s)
hikohi ikohi “scup”(s)”
4.1.3. Class 3 (Body parts)
Parts of the body, for example:
Singular Plural
[u] [a]
ukumu (sg) akumu (pl) “knee (s)”
ukana (sg) akana (pl) “leg (s)”
utwa (sg) atwa (pl) “ear (s)”
Note: There are no known noun root in this class (3) that start with a vowel.
4.1.4. Class 4
Singular Plural
[u] [c][ts]
waaka tsaaka “hole (s)”
wurya tsurya “g/corn”
wina cina “tail (s)”
Singular Plural
[u] []
waapa aapa “mat” “mats”
wuyan “air/wind”
Only two example is found for now.
Singular Plural
[] [c][ts]
ububu tsububu “beard (s)”
ubina̱ tsubina̱ “city (s)”
uluku tsuluku “hole (s)”
4.1.5. Class 5
Singular Plural
[ri] [a]
rinini anini “eye (s)”
rishita̱ ashita̱ “head (s)”
*This those not fit here, but works only with this as of this time of study I will leave it here. We do not expect palatalization before an /e/.
4.1.6. Class 6 Mass Nouns
Singular/Plural
[m]
ma̱ma̱ “water”
ma̱nca “oil”
me̱’e̱n “milk”
musa “flour”
ma̱zumi “soap”
ma’an “salt”
The uncountable/mass nouns shows no difference in the singular and plural, possibly the m is the marker. The proof for this may be because of the m marker following the verb for example; Ma̱ma̱ na ma̱ nuhi “the water is finished.”
Chapter 5
NOUNS
INTRODUCTION
Nouns in the Tsureshe language occur with a class marker (CM) before the noun. Each class has both a singular and plural marker except for class 6, which includes the uncountable and mass nouns. In writing Tsureshe, the class marker will be written joined to the noun without separation.
Example:
morphemes
u- tarya = utarya
cm “stone”
tsu- tarya tsutarya
“stones”
ma̱ma̱ ma̱ma̱
“water”
5.2.1. Participles (Verbal Nouns)
Adding a prefix n to the verb root forms a participle. A great number of nouns are formed from a verb root. The changes below are not just on the addition of the n, but there are other internal changes going on. The last consonant is changed in the past and continuous aspect as seen in the examples.
huta “Beg”
N huca Garba “I beg Garba”
I beg Garba
nhuca
-ing.beg
“Begging”
Lahata “Sleep”
Hu lahaca “You slept”
You(sg) slept
nlaho
-ing.sleep
“Sleeping”
Chapter 6
PRONOUNS
One thing to note in the use of the pronouns is that they do not differentiate sex. For example: U no̱ la̱ ukwan, can mean either “She went to the marsh” or “He went to the marsh.” Wu ni. Can be “She is the one.” or “He is the one.” They do, however, differentiate between singular and plural, and in third person between human, animal, and inanimate. This can be seen in the charts below.
6.1. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Stand alone pronouns.
These pronouns can form single word sentences in response to interrogatives.
Singular Plural
First ame̱ atso̱
Second aho̱ ano̱
Third Human úwòndò bá̱wò̱ndò̱
Animal híwò̱ndò̱ íwò̱ndò̱
Inanimate lá̱wò̱ndò̱ lá̱wò̱ndò̱
These pronouns are used for emphasis. For example, when you are talking to someone and the person asks, wo hi la nwopici ya? Whom are you talking to then you will say, aho̱ you. These can both be used in as objects or subject pronouns.
Aho̱ ta̱ ame ci nno̱ mmena rigiri.
you and I we.will go tns.travel together
You and I will be travelling together.
6.2. Subject Pronouns
Number Gender Singular Plural
First ǹ/m̀/ǹg tsù
Second hù nù
Third Human ù bà̱
Animal hì ì
Inanimate là̱ là̱
6.2.1. Present-Habitual
Note: The same subject pronouns are used for negative sentences, as will be seen in the negation chapter.
Singular Plural
First ma tsa
Second ha na
Third Human wa ba
Animal hya ya
Inanimate la̱ la̱
e.g. Ma ci nno̱.
I want incomp.go
I want to go.
Wa nsno̱ ka̱ta. Ba̱ nno̱
He.fut go not they.will go
He will not go. They will go.
6.2.2. Future and Present Progressive
Singular Plural
First mí cí
Second hí ní
Third Human wû á̱bà̱
Animal dá̱hì yí’ì
Inanimate á̱là̱ á̱là̱
Future and present progressive use the same set of pronouns. The only difference is in the present progressive la̱ is added after the pronoun.
Mí lá̱ ńnó̱
I.am prog. marker going
I am going (progressive)
Mí ńnó̱
I.will.be going
I will go
yí’ì lá̱ ńtàmé̱
they are (animals) prog. marker eating
they are eating
The pronoun n in the first person singular is completely changed in the present tense to ma, and to mi in present progressive and future.
Note also that the pronoun marker n is the same as the future marker. That is one of the reasons why the pronoun is separated from the verb; this goes the same with the future tense marker. For example; N no̱ I went and nno̱ going. The markers for tense will be written separate since people read meaning in a sentence and not words. For example;
Hina na dahi la̱ nno̱ la̱ apya
Cow the it in going in house
The cow is going home.
Undo na wû ni la̱ ntuhi la̱ ukulu
man the s/he is in entering in room
The man is entering into the room.
The third person personal pronouns agreed with the noun classes third person singular and plural.
Although the tense markers are n/m are part of the verb, when written near a particle, the n/m is cliticizes to the particle or the preposition before it. See the example above – … la̱n tuhi should be, la̱ ntuhi, since n is functions in tuhi and not in la̱. However the consonant is phonologically attaches to the word before it and not the one following it. As seen in the example above. So in the orthography it will be written as above, but when the verb is in isolation and in participle form it will be attached to it. This is done to ease reading and learning as well.
6.1.2. Chart of Direct Object and Indirect Object Pronouns
Object pronouns
The object pronouns in Tsureshe show concord with the noun they refer to.
u sari o̱
he cut it
[where ‘it’ refers to úcèn ‘tree’]
u sari tso̱
he cut them
[where ‘them’ refers to tsúcèn ‘trees’]
u sari he̱
he cut it
[where ‘it’ refers to híná ‘cow’]
u sari e̱
he cut them
[where ‘them’ refers to íná ‘cows’]
u sari ne
he cut it
[where ‘it’ refers to úndó̱ ‘person’]
u sari ba
he cut them
[where ‘them’ refers to bípà ‘people’]
u sari la
he cut it
[where ‘it’ refers to something unknown or despised]
has no morphological plural
u sami me̱
he called me
u sami tso̱
he called us
Singular Plural
First me̱ tso̱
Second hon no̱
Third Human ne ba
Animal he̱ he̱
Inanimate la la
6.1.3. Emphatic Pronouns
These pronouns are used for emphasis. For example, when you are talking to someone and the person asks, wo hi nla nwopici ya? “Whom are you talking to” then you will say, aho̱ “you.” These can both be used in as objects or subject pronouns.
Singular Plural
First ame̱ atso̱
Second aho̱ ano̱
Third Human úwòndò bá̱wò̱ndò̱
Animal híwò̱ndò̱ íwò̱ndò̱
Inanimate lá̱wò̱ndò̱ lá̱wò̱ndò̱
Aho̱ ta̱ ame̱ ci nno̱ mmena rigiri.
“You and I will be traveling together.”
6.1.4. Possessive Pronouns
The possessive pronouns do not necessarily correlate with the nouns classes. The possessive pronouns have common consonants, but all carry different vowels.
The possessive pronouns are categorized into three major sets. These sets of possessives are based on the noun class.
Mu ulo̱ uwapo u twa.
“My friend’s house burned.”
Umu wunta rimono la̱ wu urika ukwan.
“The hare has a work in his fiancé’s marsh.”
Set A markers is used with noun classes class 1, 4, and 6.
Singular Plural
First mu tsu
Second hu nu
Third Human wu abu
Animal dahi yi i
Inanimate a̱la̱ a̱la̱
Here are two examples of these kinds of the pronouns.
Tsa̱ atsuma an.
“It is our farms/They are our farms.”
Wa̱ akana atwa.
“His legs burned.”
Set B goes with class 3 of the nouns class system.
Singular Plural
First ma̱ tsa̱
Second ha̱ na̱
Third Human wa̱ a̱ba̱
Animal dahi yi i
Inanimate a̱la̱ a̱la̱
Class C of the possessive pronouns refers to animals, parts of the body and things and are used with noun classes 2 & 5.
Mi hibwa hi wi ita
“My dog died yesterday”
Tsu kumi hitalukwa ribode̱.
“We killed our chicken today”
Singular Plural
First mi ci
Second hi ni
Third Human wi abi
Animal dahi yi i
Inanimate a̱la̱ a̱la̱
6.1.5. Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are not heard as separate words in the spoken language, but actually they are distinct from the pronouns, since the pronouns are not bound in the language. Rule: The entire pronoun will be written as independent word, but in reading or speaking they may be heard as together with the reflexive pronoun.
N no̱ ta̱ mumpapa.
“I went by myself.”
Hata̱ ba̱ no̱ ta̱ abumpapa la.
“They have to go by themselves.”
They will be said together as: mumpapa “myself” in the spoken language, but in the written form it will be mu mpapa. To make the reflexive possessive the word mpapa is added after the possessive pronoun.
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST múmpapa tsúmpapa
SECOND húmpapa númpapa
THIRD wúmpapa ábúmpapa
dáhímpapa yímpapa
á̱lá̱mpapa á̱lá̱mpapa
6.1.6. Relative Pronouns
SINGULAR PLURAL
class 1 a. uwo he who ba̱wo they who
class 2 b. hiwo it which iwo they which
class 3 c. awo it which tsuwo they which
class 4 e. uwo he which tsuwo they which
class 5 d. riwo it which awo they which
class 6 f. ma̱wo it which ma̱wo it which
unspecified g. la̱wo it which la̱wo it which
The rule for the relative marker is CM + RelPro (CM+ wo). The relative pronouns are in concord with the noun classes. The rule is the class marker plus the relative pronoun as seen in the examples below. The na is always used for more emphasis on the thing that is been talked about in the sentence. In the example below, the na is referring to the children and not the market.
The language uses the relative pronoun to modify head nouns. The relative pronoun uses the marker na, which is also the definite particle or emphasizer. The marker appears after the relative clause. Relative clauses always follow the noun they modify.
The prefixes of the relative pronouns are the noun class markers.
The root of the relative pronoun is -wo. Below are some examples of the above relative pronouns.
Ba̱ca [ba̱wo ba̱ nane ita na] bu ca ta̱ ame̱.
“The visitors, who came yesterday, went out with me.”
Hina [hi wo hi no̱ la̱ apwa na] hi kane̱.
“The cow which went to the bush came back.”
NOTE: a. This relative pronoun refers to humans: class 1.
e.g. Ba̱bi ba̱ wo ba̱ no̱ acika na.
“The children who went to the market.”
Ba̱bi ba̱wo la̱ no̱ acika na – future tense
b. refers to animals: class 2.
e.g hina hiwo—: cow which—
hina hiwo la̱ntuhi la̱ ukaka na – The that is entering the garden
c. refers to inanimates and places: class 3.
e.g abu a wo— town which—
aba a wo —– goods which….
d. refers to inanimates and parts of the body: class 4.
e.g. wupa̱ u wo— the bone which—
tsukuba tsu wo— the chairs which—
e. refers to parts of the body and time: class 5.
e.g riwe ri wo— day which–
rinini ri wo— the eye which—
riwe riwo nnane̱ na – The day which I will come
f. refers to inanimates or uncountables: class 6.
e.g ma’an ma̱ wo– the salt which—
ma̱ma̱ ma̱ wo— the water which—
g. refers to inanimates: unspecified N class
e.g. riba la̱ wo— the thing which—
riba lawo la nreci ne̱ nnaanane la —
“what will delay his coming”
6.1.7. Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstrative pronouns are neutral in regards to number (singular and plural). The concept of the singular and plural is communicated by the class markers of the nouns that are being talked about and not by the demonstrative itself.
CM+dena “this/these” CM+dana “that/those” CM+dipina “that one” (close at hand) CM+bane “a certain/another” The demonstrative pronouns also go according to the noun classes, as with the personal pronouns. They follow the noun they modify.
undo u dena
“This person”
bipa ba dana
“Those people”
Hina hi dipina
“That cow”
6.1.8. Reciprocal Pronouns
There are two main suffixes attached to the verb root to form the reciprocal pronouns. They are hini and hine̱. For example, if you are saying that we are helping each other you say,
Ci la̱ mpicihini. = “We are helping each other.”
The verb root for the said sentence is pita̱ the cila̱ is “We are” mpici stands for “Helping.” The hini is used for first person plural. The second one is hine, which is used for second and third persons. For example, ba̱ wamuhine̱ “They followed each other.” The change at the end of the words hini and hine̱ is due to some phonological reasons and the type of verb used. The reader will determine the differences used without difficulty.
6.1.9. Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstrative pronouns are neutral in regards to number (singular and plural). Number is shown by the preceding class markers.
demonstratives
Reshe Gloss
dena this/these
dana that/those
dipina that one (close at hand)
The demonstrative pronouns follow the noun they modify. Examples are as follows;
undo u dena
person he this
This person
bipa
ba dana
people they that
Those people
Hina hi dipina
cow it that nearby
That cow
Rule: CM +N # CM + DemPro
-bane̱ ‘a certain/another’ prefixes the concordial class marker’
undo ubane̱
person another/certain
A certain man
U no̱ cibu tsubane̱
He go town cm.another
He went to [another] town(s).
6.1.10. Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns, ‘someone’, ‘some people’ are used to express the notion of passive in Tsureshe.
Ba̱ pya me̱ mpasa
Someone gave me gift
I was given a gift
Bu me̱ ba
Some people beat them
They were beaten
Chapter 7
Adjectives
7.1 Concordial Adjectives
Primary adjectives show concord with the noun they modify. However, they are relatively few, since complex nouns often bear much of the descriptive load (eg. ukampita̱ old person). Colours and numbers are included within concordial adjectives. Possessive pronouns precede the noun, but adjectives follow the noun they are modifying and usually take a class marker.
The noun phrase can be expressed;
PP N (Adj)* (Quantifier) (Determiner)
where * indicates the possibility of more than one adjectival modifier.
Examples;
Minta̱ abasa aka̱mi eta tari
I.have onion big.ones red many
I have many big red onions.
U wi la̱ hikohi hiba̱ha̱ kpen na
He drank in cm.cup cm.full very the
He drinks from the very full cup
7.1.1 Concordial adjectives
Concordial adjectives follow the nouns they qualify and replicate the prefix of the noun.
Formula: CM + N # CM + Adj.
-lahàmé̱ slim
Urika na ulahame̱
cm.girl Det slim
the girl is slim
-tétàta narrow
Ucina na uteta o.
cm.road emph. squeeze it
The road is narrow
-pátà wide
Wa ma ucina upata na
you follow cm.road cm.wide det
Follow the wide road
Chapter 8
Tone (pitch)
Tone is the pitch of the voice in words. In Tsureshe, the pitch can be either high, mid or low.
There are words in Tsureshe that have the same consonant and vowel sounds but are distinguished only by their tone. Often the context of the words will make the meaning clear. However, where there is ambiguity, a tone mark can help the reader to know which word is intended.
I recommend that the less frequent high tone be marked when it is needed to distinguish between similar words. Here are some examples:
úpétá “medicine”
úpètá “local magi”
kùmà “cut”
kúmà “remain”
áátá “paddle, to”
áátà “love, to”
Chapter 9
Counting in Tsureshe language
Tsureshe English Hausa
1 tsúnne̱ one ɗaya
2 rìsa̱ two biyu
3 tàtso̱ three uku
4 náshen four huɗu
5 ton five biya
6 tenzo̱ six shida
7 tà̱nsa̱n seven bakwai
8 dálanzo̱ eight takwas
9 tanashén nine tara
10 úpwa ten goma
11 úpwa beta tsúnne̱ eleven goma sha ɗaya
12 úpwa beta rìsa̱ twelve goma sha biyu
13 úpwa beta tàtso̱ thirteen goma sha uku
14 úpwa beta nashen fourteen goma sha fuɗu
15 úpwa citon fifteen goma sha biyar
16 úpwa beta tenzo̱ sixteen goma sha shidda
17 úpwa beta tà̱nsa̱n seventeen goma sha baƙwai
18 úpwa beta dálanzo̱ eighteen goma sha taƙwas
19 úpwa beta ta̱nashén nineteen goma sha tara
20 álá̱sa̱ twenty ashirin
21 álá̱sa̱ beta tsúnne̱ twenty one ashirin da ɗaya
22 álá̱sa̱ beta rísa̱ twenty two ashirin da biyu
30 á̱là̱tátsà̱ thirty talatin
40 á̱là̱nàshén forty araba’in
50 á̱là̱ton fifty hamsin
60 á̱là̱tenzo̱ sixty sittin
70 á̱là̱ta̱nsa̱n seventy saba’in
80 á̱là̱dálanzwo eighty tamanin
90 á̱là̱tanshen ninety tasa’in
100 rína̱ku hundred ɗari
1000 rína̱ku ríbí upwa thousand dubu
10,000 rína̱ku úpwa ríbí upwa ten thousand dubu goma
Chapter 10
HIGBANN TA̱ HIKYAHA.
Riwe̱ ribani ri ga dena. Higban ye hi weri hikyaha, “Tsu mini ikaho nlakirikya.” Hikyaha hi we, “Hinla̱ arime̱ ga, pa̱ hi nshitoni mi ya? Higban ka̱sa̱ hi we, hiwandu dahi nshitone̱. Ye ba pya riwe̱ ta̱ asa.
Ata̱ riwe̱ na ri lani la, ye higban hi no̱ hyaca dahi yiji. Hi weeri ba to, ribode̱ tsinta̱ alakirika̱ ta̱ ikyaha. Hi we dahi nmatsuni me̱, ami ka̱sa̱ N we, wa nshitoni ka̱ta. Ye i pume̱ a̱shita̱, i we to, ritola̱wo ci N mini la a̱la̱; sasane̱ ibeta kun ta̱ tsu pe e̱ la̱ ucina, hyan-hyan. Hari ta̱ tsu lami la̱ ribi riwo nu pya rito̱ na. Aho̱ shibi ta̱ hu no̱ hu tekune̱ ikaho̱ ta̱ kyaha. Ye hi weeri ba ye ni me̱ kyaha u we, “Gban, hi ni pa̱ ya?” U wo la̱ icimi na aata̱ u toni ka̱ta. Aho̱ uwo la̱ icu na ta̱ hu we, “Mi nde̱ ne̱ icu icu.” Puna̱ i ci N mini.
Ba ye asa a lani gara. Igban ye i no̱ ijera la̱ ucina. Hi wo la̱ nlakirikya ta̱ Hikyaha na ye hi no̱ hi tekurini ikaho̱ ta̱ Kyaha. Ata̱ kyaha hi yi hya tsuni higban hyan la, ye hi we, “Gban hi ni pa̱ ya?” Hi ma gban hi kwe̱ utakwa dari hyan la̱ wi icu. “Mi nde̱ ne̱ icu icu. Ye Kyaha u pirya u kubi ikaho̱. U lami hyan ye u pirya u bipa̱ ni. “Gban hi ni pa̱ ya?” Ye wi ma la̱ wi icu mi nde̱ ne icu icu. Kyaha ye u we, uwandu Gban be undo rira̱ wuni ya? Ashe icimi in, N nena mi ni gara?
Puna̱ i wa pya ikaho̱, hari u rohe̱ u guri ikaho. Ye u ceni la̱ ucen sa̱ riwo. Gban shibi wu ni pi la̱ a̱malo wu ni la̱ nwamane. Kyaha u napi Gban awayo ka̱ta.
About the Author
The writer, H. A. Agamalafiya, was born in Pisabu, about 8KM south of Yauri. He was born to the family of Baba Rikubu Zaure Agamalafiya and the late Mama MaiYelwa Agamalafiya in 1967. The writer started attending Pisabu Primary School at his own initiative at the age of 10 in December 1977. He started his secondary school at Abarshi Secondary and completed in Government Secondary School, Yelwa–Yauri, in 1987.
After the writer’s completion of his secondary school, he attended UMCA Theological College in Ilorin where he received his Certificate in Religious Education and Diploma in Theology and graduated in 1994. In 1996, he went to Jos for an Introductory Course in Applied Linguistics for a few months and obtained his certificate in Applied Linguistics. Since then, he became interested in developing his language, Tsureshe (Gunganci). He was able to write a book entitled Takardan Koyon Baƙaƙen Tsureshe (An Alphabet book in Tsureshe), Tsureshe Ikesa (An alphabet chart) and Jagoran Rubutu da Karatun Harshen Tsureshe (Transitional primer).
In 1998, he had an opportunity to travel to Nairobi, Kenya for his B. A. in Bible and Linguistics (majoring in Linguistics). After his graduation, he returned to Nigeria with the aim of developing his language (the language of his heart).
The writer is currently undergoing.
The author hopes to further develop this grammar sketch and eventually have it published.
For your comments and inputs, write to:
Tsureshe Language Project,
P. O. Box, 360,
Yelwa – Yauri,
Kebbi Sate
e-mail: aagamalafiya@gmail.com.
or Call: 0803-819-7736
© December 2010
Inviting your comments and suggestions!
