Ho grammar 8173421293

Citation preview

HoGrammar

CeJttral Institute of Irtdian Languages Publication No. 525

CIIL Grammar Series

HOGRAMMAR Editor

N. JRamswami

Central Institute of Indian Languages, Manasagangotri, Mysore

111

Ho Grammar Edited by

N.Ramaswami First Published

January 20Q1. Pushya I Magha

© Cet~trol :iiestitute ofIn dian Lailguages, Mysore, 2007. This material m~y not be reproduced or transmitted, either in part or in full, in any form or by any rneans, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from:

Prof: Ud~1ya Narayana Singh Director Central Institute of Indian Languages Manasagangotri, Mysore --570 006, INDIA Phone : 009! I 082 J-2515820 (Director) Telex : 0846-268 em.. rN E-mail : [email protected] (Direct9r) bhash~@san,;:harnet. i n

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Published by I?rrnrr: QJdaya Narayana Si111gh, Director

Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore Printed by Mr. S.B. Biswas, Manager CIIL Printing Pr:ss, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570 006, India

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FORE\VORD Language distances in India ar.e great in both structure and function, i.e. in both grammar and use. Each family has numerous languages, and there are also many language types. At the same time, the linguistic landscape in India shows remarkable similarities due to areal pressure. While many lament about the lack of a single link language, each one of our major languages acts as binding force, and Mundari is one such language that acts as a binding forc.e among the Austric languages spoken in the large tract of Eastern India. In fact, this is also the reason as to why there has not been any breakdown in communication here. I have often thought that India's national average figures of bilingualism (in 1991, it was 19.44%- significantly higher than the averages of 1961 which was 9.7%) and trilingualism (1991: 7.26%) only showed that because of the pressures of societal bilingualism, individuals become natura11y bilingual, and they begin transporti~g features and structures of one language into another. A reality check may give us a greater number of both active and passive bilinguals. What it means is that large scale bilingualism makes the speakers of smaller languages to slowly shi'fi to other languages - especially if the other language is understood widely. This last possibility is definitely alarming, as it may eventually result in " giving up" of one's own speech variety. It will be interesting to study if that indeed is happening in the newly developed states and areas like Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, which are a haven for numerous smaller languages. These languages range between being branded as a dialect of a bigger entity to being an independent language, and · Ho presents one such case. The final picture in respect of the linguistic landscape of India will emerge only after a great deal of linguistic research - yet to be been done. At this point of time, we could only be tentative about the extent of linguistic plurality in a given linguistic space, because there are a large number of smaller and unclassified languages waiting to be described even in the Jharkhand-Chattisgarh-Bundelkhand region We are aware that different accounts give between 114 to a total of 216 to 401 languages in India, and none of these is based on a kind of survey done by Grierson. In this context, it is important to note that the Census reports talk about 'Rationalization of language labels', but so far the activity of rationalization has neither been based on dialect surveys nor on solid work in historicalcomparative linguistics. It has mostly based on the linguistic demography as it emerged from this gigantic activity of overall Census operations.

However, we are all otherwise aware that it is a huge linguistic net that is at work - with trends and influences running across language families and speech areas. It is, therefore, very important that some grammatical sketches like the one presented by N.Ramasamy here are brought to light, for the scholars and students in the field to make use of. The work should also be useful for the native scholars in Jharkhand, whose help in the preparation of the book was invaluable. Let me hope the work will be found to be contributing significantly in the area of Austric Studies, in which the expertise in India is dwindling as years pass by.,

Udaya Narayana Singh Director Mysore January 10, 2007

.CONTENTS page Nos 01.

Introduction

02.·

i

"' 19

Phonetic Description of Sounds

21

- 43

03.

Phonology Descriptio;ll

45

- 68

04.

Sandhi

69

.. 70

05.

Morphology

71

- 11 1

06.

\Vord Formation

113

- 122

07.

Syntax

123

. . 159

08.

Text

161

- 172

09.

Bibliography

173

-

174

1

Introduction

Ho means 'Man'. In other Munda languages, Horo is the word that refers to human beings. Ho also refers to the language here. Grierson calls it Ho Kaji - the language of the Hos. The word Kaji has many meanings, including word, speech, and language. Though the Hos claim to have originally migrated from Chota Nagpur, the native speech area of Ho is Singhbhum in Bihar. However, the speakers of Ho are also found in Orissa and West Bengal. In Orissa, the concentration of the Ho speakers is found in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts. According to 1971 census, the total number of speakers ofHo is 7, 51,389. As this language is spoken in both Bihar and ·o rissa, it is written in Devanagari and Oriya scripts in addition to Roman and Warcmg Kshiti writing system, created by the native speakers. Mundari, Bhumij and Ho are closely related languages. Mundari is one of the North Munda languages spoken in Bihar, whereas Bhumij which is claimed by some to be one of the dialects ofMundari is spoken in Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. Further, in my earlier studies, Bhumij has been shown to be a dialect of Mundari structurally (Rarnaswami: 1992). However, it is not possible to establish clearly whether Ho is also a dialect of Mundari as it has been claimed by some or whether it is an independent language. While Bhumij speakers accept their language as a dialect of Mundari, Ho speakers do not accept their language as a dialect of Mundari but they claim that their language is an independent language. Therefore, a detailed study of the language becomes necessary to tell whether Ho is a dialect of MWldari or an independent language from the structural point of view. As could be seen here, it has been demonstrated that there are phonetic/phonemic and morphological differences between Ho and Mundari. Further, from the lexical point of view, Hasada and Naguri dialects of Mundari are more closely related to one another than to Ho (Deeney: 1978). This introductory monograph tries to give some more differences to establish Ho as a language that is structurally different from Mundari. I hope the scholars ·in the field would find the materials and evidences presented here to be useful. In this

VII

2Hogrammar

connection attempt has been made to compare structures of Mundari, Bhumij and Ho. For this purpose, the following aspects namely sounds I Phonemes. pronouns, derivation tense a.nd aspect, word ordert coordination and degrees of ~omparison are taken into account as these aspects are available in all the three languages.

1. Vowels Mundari u

e

o

c

0 ()

Bhumij i i: I ee: e E

-

Ho u u: u u oo: 0

m Aoo:

aa: a

u u: u u oo:o

1 1: 1

I ee: e E

-

ID

aa: a

A

. It may be seen here that the sounds of Bhumij and Ho are closer than to Mundari sounds. Bhumij and Ho have both long and nasalized vowels which are not available in Mundari. However, long and nasalized vowels are available in Mundari at the phonetic level.

:::::: 0

0

@

3 3~

...

Mundtui (Osada: 1992)

pb

t

d

t

d

c j

k g

s m

n

n

f'i

'!

d

p b

t

phbh

fdh

.t d. fdh ..

(Ramaswami)

k g?

p b

cht m

n

r

w

t

.k g

d .,

?

' •'

s m

n

n

1'\

1 n.

r

Tl w

1

y

d

c J

s

l'.

t

'f!'gh

c;

1'\

1 r

Ho

Bhumu (Ramaswami : tm)

r· y

r• y

I...)

4 HoGrammar

It may be seen that the consonants of Mundari and Ho are closer than the sounds of Bhumij to these languages. Bhumij has aspirated consonants which are not found in Ho and Mundari. However, Mundari has ac;pirated consonants at the phonetic level (Sinha : 1975).

3. Clusters Mumdari does not have initial consonants clusters even in loan words. A very few medial three consonant clusters are available in Mundari but it has many word medial two consonant clusters. kadsom

'cotton'

cadlom

' tail'

jumbii

'miser'

da1lgfci

'boy'

Bhumij has two consonant clusters in all the places : word initial, word medial and word final. But the word final clusters are very few. This language has word medial three consonant clusters but they are less compared to word medial two consonant clusters. prilhim

'word'

srab)n

'name of month (July - August)'

ka:nta

'nail'

mudra

'to shave'

pamprai

' butterfly'

ka:nt

'wall'

Ho has word initial, word medial and word final two consonant clusters. Word medial two consonant clusters are more in number. This language has word medial three consonant clusters also. There are only four word fmal and three word initial two consonant clusters. gwari

'hymn'

skuI

'school'

putra

'nephew'

dudru

'hollow'

~rnbro?p

'orphan'

~tnlgll'i

' hillCK~k'

baba sitlf.

'straw'

Introduction S

4. Syllabic structure A phonological word in Mundari has a maximum of 3 syllables whereas Bhumij and Ho have 6 syllables. Mundari

eve - eve- ev ev- ev- eve v . v ~ eve

kumblll--il

'thief

tutukun

'cold'

aosan

'to bring about

an improvement' Bhumij

ev - eve - ev - ev - ev - ev ev - cv - eve - ev - ev - eve

' to bargain •

gona11kajilapa nare

h~~e

'to spin'

hanar

Ho CV- CV

~

ev- ev - ev · CV

'washing place'

lije Japajaga

S.Pronouns Pronouns of all the three languages are almost same except a small difference in the flrst person singular and third person singular: ai'Jl, a11 and aft in Bhumij, Ho and Mundari respectively and a?e in Bhumij and Ho and ay in Mundari.

Mundari

Bhumij

Ho

aft

ai'Jl

a'Jl

'I'

ala'Jl

alall

ala'Jl

'we (dual : incln)'

alill

ali'Jl

alill

'we (dual : excl.)'

abu

abu

abu

'we (inclu.)'

ale

ale

ale

'we (exclu.)'

am

am

am

'you (sq.)

aben

a ben

a ben

'you (dual.)

ape

ape

ape

'you (pl.)

ay

a?e

a?e

'he, she'

akill

akin

akin

'they (two)'

ako

ako

ako

'they (pl.)'

6HoGrammar

6. Interrogative pronouns:

Bhumij

Mundari

Ho

cana/cinalcimin

kana

cinal/ci ken a

'what'

okoe

okoi

okoi

'who'

cirntall/cimtu11

cimta11

cimiteTJ

'when'

cilika

kanarea

cmarea

v •

'why'

cimna11/cimnuTJ

cimin/ciminaTJ

cimin/cimiaTJ

'how many'

oko

okoa

okon

'which'

kore/okore,kote/okote

okoare

okonre

'where'

okoiya

okoia

'whose'

okoike

okoike

'whom'

There is no much difference in the interrogative pronouns of all the three languages, except the following: all the three languages have 3 different interrogative pronouns for 'why': cilikate, kanarea, and cinarea. Some interrogative pronouns are common between Mundari and Ho and some are common between Bhumji and ho,.

7. Derivations Mundari (Osada : 1992) Nouns are derived in Mundari by infixing-n-and by adding the possessive suffix -a? to the post positional phrase which has a verb and the instrumental post position -te as in dub 'to sit' du - nub 'a meeting' ol

'to write'

o-n- ol

'the writing'

teba?

'to arrive'

te-n- eba?

'arrival'

Bhumij (Ramaswami: 1992) Nouns are derived by prefixing the first syllable of a word, by adding the suffixes -nil?, -i? and -i as in

...

JOffi

'to eat

Jo- Jom

'eating'

sen

'walk'

se- sen

'walking'

ir

to cut'

ir- ni1?

'cutting' a

Introduction 7

marart

'big'

maran • i

'bigne.._~·

'(He) is eating'

jom -tan - i?

'one who is eating'

,.

jom - tan - a

Ho (Ramaswami: 1999) Nouns are derived by lengthening the vowel in the first syllable, by suffixing -ni?, -i, -e, -n, -an and infixing -n- as in

ir

' to cut'

i - ir

'cutting'

nei

'see'

ne- el

'seeing'

nu?

' to drink'

nu - nu?

'drinking'

goc?

'to kill'

goe?- ni

'killer'

kuculu

'narrow'

kuc.ulu- i

'narrowness'

munda

'rich'

munda- n

'richness•

mara'Jl

' great'

mar31l- an

'greatness'

sari

'time'

sa-n-ari

'truth'

Ho has 8 derivative prefixes/suffixes followed by Bhumij which has 4 derivative prefixes/suffixes/infixes and Mundari has only 2.

8. Case Bhumij

Mundari

Accusative case

Ho

-ki

- ke

- te, - ta?te

- te

- tea, - ta?tea

- ete

Dative ca'ie

- te

Ablative case

- te,

Locative case

- re

- re

- re

Associative case

- lo?

- lo

- lo?

Instrumental case

- te

- te

- te

Possessive case

- a?, - rea?,- ren

- a, - rea, - ren

- a, - rea

Benefactive case

na11gen

~ate

lage?t

All the three languages do not have separate case marker for nominative case. The case suffixes of Dative case, Locative case, Associative case, Instrumental case and Possessive case are shared mostly in all the three languages. One language has one case suffix to express a particular case relation whereas the other language has two suffixes. Mundari and Bhumij have two suffixes to express Ablative and Possessive case relation. Ho has two suffixes to express Possessive case relation but Mundari and Bhumij have three suffixes to express possessive case relation.

8 HoGrammar

Mundari (Osada : 1992) 1~

hatu - ta? - te bas hijug - a this village - to bus come - pred 'This bus will come to this village'.

2.

ofa? baar- te seno?- me house outside - from go- sq. 'Go away from the house'.

3.

ora? baar- ate - ko U!U11 - ja -11 -a house outside 3rd - pl. come - out - asp - intr - prcd 'They have come from outside the house'.

4.

parkom centan- re onbed 'Lie in the bed'.

5.

an - lo?

ne

giti?- me lie- 2 sg.

han - te- laJl

lsq. - with there to dual 'We went there together'.

sen-ke - n -a go asp - intr - pred.

6.

ne dam hake - te - pe rna? - ke - d- a this tree axe - by 3pl. cut - asp - tr - pred. 'You cut this wood with an axe'.

7.

an - a?

8.

diri - rea?/ra? stone - poss - house 'Tile house of stones'.

9.

ora- rcn bon house - poss child 'The child of the family/house'.

10.

'my'

ora

soma na11gen naki? - ii kirill -a - i? - a soma- purpose - comb- lsq. buy- 3 sq- pred. ' I wi ll buy the comb for Soma'.

Bhumij (Ramaswami : 1992) 11.

ako baba - ko ir - I - a they paddy - pt- cut - tense- cop 'They reaped the paddy'.

Introduction

12.

aill aill - a hatu - te I 1 - poss- village- to ' I go to my village'.

13.

seta horota-ke? te hi? - len -a dog - man to come-tense'The dog came to the man'.

14.

a?e gara-tea da?a au-l -a she river-from water bring-tense-cop ' She brought water from the river' .

15.

a?e somanam bakso -re do-led-a she gold box-case keep-tense-cop 'She kept the gold in the box'.

16.

a?a a?e-a su11gu:ti -lo seno-J an -a friend with go -tense-cop he his 'He went with his friend'.

17.

a?e hake- te daruta axe - case tree he 'He cut the tree with axe'.

18.

nia a?e-a boi • this his book ' This is his book

0

sen- a- ill go -Pt

•

0

.

ma?-1-a cut-tnse-cop

heke IS

19.

mara11 daru -rea da:ra big tree- poss branch 'The branch of the big tree'.

20.

hatu -ren ho-ko village-pass man-pl 'The people of the village'.

Ho (Ramaswami : 2006) 21.

a?e mido gundi-ke agu-ki-e he one cow-case bring-tense 'He brought one cow'.

22.

a11 gara-teiJ sen-a [ river-case-go-cop ' I go to the river'.

9

10 HoGrammar

23.

a?e buru- ete hifu- tan- a he forest case come - tense ' He comes from the forest'.

24.

a?e tebul-latar- re kiteb jogaw - ke4 - a he table under - case book keep tense ' He kept the book under the table'.

25.

a?e a?e - a datrom - to? hiJ~ -jan-e she her sickle with come - tense 'She came with her sickle'.

26.

a?e diri - te ~11ku rapu?t he stone - case nut break ' He broke the nut with stone'.

27.

a?e am- a misi ci ? she you - case sister Qu. ' Is she your sister?' .

28.

a?e a?e - a hoko - Iage?t goi? - yan - a he he - case people for die - tense - cop ·He died for his people'.

ked - a tense - cop

Tense and Aspect Mundari has two tenses: Past and non-past; Bhumij makes three way distinction but it has markers only for past and future and there is no separate marker for present; Ho makes the distinction between past and non-past but there is no separate marker · for non-past Mundari Past Tense

Present Tense Future Tense

ta - d, Ja - n, aka - d, le - n, le - d, ke - n. ke - d, a - n, a - d ta - n, ja - d,

0

Bhumij

I, k, jan

Ho

yan,

ke

ao·e? ••

' killino1:> '

do:ndo

'fool'

lo:ta ...

'frying pan'

[ 0: ] hi gher mid back rounded short nasal ized vowel, is

produced same as the vowel [o], except the nasalization. The velum is lowered so that the air will pass through the nasal passage.

Examples:. ho

'yes'

goa

'cattle shed '

gou

'wheat'

bor

'wh irlpool

[u] high back rounded short vowel, is produced as thi s: the back of the tongue is raised to the roof of the mouth al most closing the air passage. The tip of the tongue is retracted from the lower teeth . The lips are rounded. The soft palate is raised and the vocal cords vibrate.

Examples: u~e

'elbow'

usul

'height'

undu

'cave'

umb ul

'shade'

urmEI

' hand kerchief'

28 Ho Grammar

•'

dvdu .,..,.

'kabadi'

kvmbu

"dacoity'

gtJ1'lgU

4

bvllu

'thigh'

great grandfather'

[u:] high back rounded long vowel, is produced same as the vowel [u] except the lengdl.

Examples : usu:l

'high'

JU: r

v

'smooth'

pu:?u

'leaf cup'

su:ku ....,

' liking'

gu:l

•round'

kumbu:

'robbery'

[ii] high back round short nasalized vowel, is produced same as the vowel [u] except the nasalization. The velum is ·lowered so that the air will pass lhrough the nasal

passage.

Examples:

·ut kue'

'well'

gou

'wheat'

muy'u

'calr

[U] lower high back rounded short lax vowel, is produced same as the vowel [u] except

the height, that is lower high.

Examples : pvn

4

four'

b 1Jrt.t

'wild'

k ·utu

'greed'

~rA'fl

'song•

nvtumEn _.,..

~ramous'

susvnni1

•dancer'

;...

Phonetic Description of Soonds.. 29

2.2 Consonants: Bl

Dl

p

t

,.,p

AI

Ret

PI

Vel

Gl

.t

k

?

,.,t

. .,., t

.,k

b

d

d

.

g

d

d ,..,

d

.

g

f'\

n

.

VI:

Stops

Vd n

c."

VI Affricates :

v

J

Vd

s

Fricative: VI m

Nasal:

n

n

Lateral :

l

Flaps:

r

w

Semivowels :

Pl

Palatal

Vel

=

Velar

Gl

=

Glottal

Vl

=

Voiceless

Vd

=

Voiced

Dl

AI Ret

.

n

ft

f y

= = = = =

Bl

h

Bilabial Dental

Alveolar Retroflex

1l

30 Ho Grammar

Ho has 12 consonant sounds. Of these, 17 are stops: Of these L7 stop sounds, 8 are tense and the remaining 9 are lax stops. 9 stops sounds are voiceless and 8 are voked. There are two affricate sounds: one is voiceless, and the other is voiced. There are two fricatives and one lateral. There are 6 nasal consonant sounds. There are two tlaps: one is alveolar tlap und the other is retrofl.ex flap. There are two semi vowels. [:p] bilabial voiceless lax stop, is produced as this: the air is blocked completely by closing the lips. The air behind the closure is compressed due to the pressure from the lungs. When the lips are opened, the compressed air rushes out with an explosive noise. The vocal cords do not vibrate. The tongue and lips are lax.

Examples: a:slrpa:t

'blessing'

utdumpu

'camel hump'

pA.,ta

' leaf'

pljiJS.e

'science'

purll;?a

'vegetable'

hAp(Am

'ancestor'

ki\rsi\Ebe

'vice'

11\jArpa:Je

'downward'

gljllpi

'desert'

ci\mQUr

'pecu liar'

[!)J bilabial voiceless tense stop is produced same as the sound [p] except tense. The tongue and lips are tense and the duration is longer.

Examples:

UQUn

'four'

gApa

'tomorrow'

cAQAI

' hip'

SU QU

'shoulder'

rAQU?t

'to fol d'

lUQU?u

' f1our'

kAQi

'battle axe'

tUQi

'cap'

hApAnvrn

'girl (adult)'

11

Phonetic Description of Sounds 31

l t? ] bilabial voiced tense stop is produced same as the sound [b] except tense. The tongue and lips are tense. The duration is longer.

Examples: sE~a

'worship'

bA~a

'paddy'

rAt?All

'cold'

IA~Ar

' light'

bE~ A-{

'useful'

.

sQbQYu

'crowbar'

bAl,?Ata

'itch'

gA'fAsu~e

'bank of river'

[b] bilabial voiced lax stop, is produced same as the sound [P], except the voicing. The vocal cords vibrate.

Examples: lnu

'hill'

bQya

'brother'

'{

b!ljOr

'thunder '

biT)

'salt'

hAmbAl

' pregnant'

omnn ba:ba

'seedling'

pnrnbm ndi

'festival feeding'

gQnQT)blti

' bride price'

[ t] dental voiceless lax stop, is produced as this: the air is blocked completely by raising the tip of the tongue against upper teeth. When the tip of the tongue is removed from the upper teeth, the compressed air behind the closure due to pressure from the lungs rushes out with an ex·plosive noise. The vocal cords do not vibrate.The tongue and lips are lax.

Examples: tAli

'bag'

tis In

'today'

tmbu

'tent'

32 Ho Grammar

tEsAr

' third'

to:I

'bind'

hArta

'skin'

pAnti

'line'

dAtrOm

'sickle'

r

ratga:ri

'chariot'

mvsjlt

' mosque'

tense stop, is produced same as the sound [t] except tense. The [ ..,t] dental voiceless . tongue and bps are tense. otO'? ..,

'neck'

etATt

'grey'

a tift

'to graze'

kOto

' branch'

tAtAT}

'maternal uncle'

cAtnm .,

'umbrella'

"

"

·'l

f\

lfntnn J " . su ntEm

'care'

pAtAla

' lean'

gltll

'sand'

'cotton'

"

"

[dJ dental voiced lax stop, is produced same as the sound [t] except the voicing. The ~Ocal cords vibrate. The tongue and lips are lax. Examples:

dAru

'tree'

d·(..lfAT}

'song'

dAgi ,

'criminal'

dAma

'drum'

duT i

'swing'

dAyAkAte

'please'

""'

"

Phonetic Description of Sounds 33

dQrQmguru

'prophet'

dArumlstlri

'carpenter'

mEndo

'but'

hEnde

'black'

[Q] dental voiced tense stop, is produced same as the sound [d] except the tense. The vocal cords vibrate. The tongue and lips are tense. u pAgEs

'advice'

huge

'belt'

kAgAl

'banana'

bQge

'fast'

gAga

'donkey'

ba:ga:m

'groundnut'

bEgAgi

'enmity'

nlgE~Ana

'jaundice'

sAQQm

' horse'

[t] retroflex voiceless lax stop, is produced as this: the air is completely blocked by raising the tip of the tongue against hard palate. The tip of the tongue slightly curies back when it touches the hard palate. The compressed air behind the closure is released with an explosive noise when the tongue contact is removed. The soft palate is raised to block the entry of air into the nasal passage. The vocal cords do not vibrate. The tongue and lips are lax.

Examples: JUpi tundu

•

.

'cap' 'end' 'shallow'

tEmbe • tukutk • tumEii

'pot'

pAn_ti

' line'

.

.

...

'anxious'

bEnta

'turban'

pA.tka

'bolt'

guJimArci

'pepper'

34HoGmmmar

IU retroflex voiceless tense stop, is produced same as the sound ftl except the te nse. The tongue and lips are tense.

Example.o;:

pAJi kAJa

'she-goat'

mute

'nose'

hAJa

'winnowing pan'

kuju

'greed'

bAtudi ., ,

'catapult'

pljl~e

'science'

cQJOn

' lameness'

guJlm li

'around'

'ankle'

[ ~ J retroflex voic~d lax stop, is produced same as the sound [ t J except the voicing. The vocal cards are vibrating the tongue and lips are lax.

Examples: dOl

'drum'

dlrmi

'bamboo'

dQndo

.

•stupid'

dQl)ga

'boat'

dAku?t

'pond'

mlndi

..

'sheep'

gAI}qa

'toe'

mAndi

'cooked rice'

dAnde

' fine'

l c;f] retroflex voiced tense stop., is produced same as the sound [d"J, exct~pt the tense. The vocal cards are vibrating. The tongue and lips are tense. Examples: ml9o

'one'

gu9i

'one'

.

dudu .

'khabadi '

Phonetic Description c:4 Saunds 35

t ~da

'cotton' 'big' 'tender coconut' 'smell'

,,

'loud'

[ k ] velar voiceless lax stop, is produced as this: the air is completely blocked by raising tbe back of the tongue against soft palate. The compressed air due to the pressure from the lungs escapes with an explosive noise when the tongue contact is removed. The vocal cards do not vibrate. The tongue and lips are lax. Examp~s :

kAna

'blind'

kll v m

'nail'

k rrlle

'tiger'

Wl'o

'bud'

gilrlke

'owner'

kAtkAm

'crab'

kArkAru

'pumpkin'

cAm vk

'whip'

,.

mljlk

'magic'

[ ~~ ] velar voiceless tense stop, is produced same as the sound [k] except the tense. The tongue and lips are tense. Emmp~s :

kAki ..,

' maternal aunt'

CQJce

' frog'

sAkAm

'lear

kOknr

'owl'

bAku :1

'hook'

kAkAla

'noise'

hAklm

'judge'

klkiTi

'jackal'

q

n

•

n

t"'1

n ·

•

36 Ho Grammar

[ g ] velar voice tense stop, is produced same as the sound [k] except the voicing. The vocal cords are vibrating. The tongue and lips are lax. Examples: gA(a

'river'

gA~Aple'

kuihon- ko

'girls'

bh~- ko

'snakes·

jo--ko

•fruits'

daru - ko a.ko

a?e - ke · ko darom - e

i:hey

he case Pr.

'They will meet.

?..

meet- cop

him ~

ako kiteb .. ko idi - k:d - a

!hey book Pt

bring ~

tense - cop

'They had taken the book'

3

ako biiJ - ko go?e ki - e they snake - P! kill - t:~nsc · cop ' They killed the snal{e•

4,

kuni K uny ~mndi ~

~oHect

baba - ko paddy - Pt

irked.- a cut tenst: -- cop

ando a?~

and

she

ked-a tense - cop

'Kuny reaped the paddy and she collected

~11em '

baba-ko paddy- pi

Morophology

5.

kiteb-ko okona-ko-ci a11 kril]-ke always the case marker - re. The fl.dverh of marmer occurs without any addition of markers. :;. 2. 7. J Adred; of Time

a sa."'i kaji

word

Compound words are derived by the foLlowing ways : 1.

the combination of noun

+

noun

2.

t~1e

combination of noun

+

adjective

3.

the combination of noun

+

verb

4.

the combination of adjective

+

noun

5.

the combination of verb

+

noun

' possible, certain'

11 6 Ho Grammar

6.2.1. Noun + Noun Comnouuds ,.. Here the

dt~rived compound words ~tre nouns

ba

+

Flower

porob

:

·~

ha porch

'flower festival'

fesitvai

basian Morning

+

mandi food.

-~

baisam mandi

' break fasf

me?n eye

+

da:?a water

- -)

me?t da:?a

'tears'

buru mountain

+

seta dog

-·~

bUJ"J.SCta

'wild dog'

hoyo wind

+

gama ram

-·))>

hoyogama

' stonn'

lele

+

rasi Juice

lelerasi

' honey'

bo?o head

+

hasu pam

-)-

bo?ohasu

'head ache'

gara

+

sube bank

->

garasuhe

'river bank'

ca?lom tail

+

ipil star

-~1>

ca?lomipil

'comet'

buru mountain

+

bo~ga

-;.

burubonga

' mountain God'

hon child

+

somoi time

··+

b.on samoi

'childhood'

sadom horse

+

hon child

~

:;adamhon

'colt'

daru

+

hart..a skin

-~

daruh~rta

'bark'

+

sunum oil

- -)>

tudsunum

'nmsnu:d oil '

+

ba

~

kadalba

'banana flower'

bee

nver

God

tree turi

mustrad kadal banana

flnwer

Word Formation 11 7

H(~r.;:

also, the derived compound words are nouns :

merom

+

e9ga

goat

merom ~~ga

female

dada

+

haram

father dorea

'grand father '

old

+

japa near

doreajapa

'sea shore'

+

latar below

burulatar

'foot hill'

sea buru mountain

dada haram

6.2.3 Nmm +Verbs Compm:mds Here the derived compound w(m1s are verb :

nmrto.1

+

bai

--)>

murtubai

'to sculptor'

sajakriy

' to sell jewel'

to make

statue saj jewel

+

jota shoe

+

bai to make

jotabai

'to make shoe'

kaji word

+

raka?p to keep

kaj iraka?p

'to propose'

pirkel drama

+

ol to write

pirkel ol

' to write drama'

do~ga

+

calaw to sail

doyga calaw

'to sail boat'

akriv to sell

boat

6.2.40 Adjective +Noun Compounds Here the derived compound words are nouns.

koa

+

male

kui female

hon

kaohon

'male child'

kuihon

'female child'

child

+

hon child

118 Ho Grammar

h~

+

male

hon

~

ha(ahoo

'ma!e calf

-~

guJ;t~hon

'female calf

child

guQrk neg • do tense - cop 'Sh~ has not done the work'.

The VP has the illterrogative marker ci as in ~.

hatutan- a-c1 village tense · cop - Que 'Is it a village?'.

20.

nea it

21.

ni

ktllla. tan- a-

ci

it tiger tense cop -Que ' Is il a tiger'?'. 22.

a?e am- a apu he you father 'Is he your father?'.

-ci

tan- a tense - cop -Que

7. The VP in the complex sentence construction has an S as in the sentence shown below.

23.

a?e silibe go?e - ki -a erma sabin ho - ko adan- a he deer kill - tense - cop that all man - Pt know cop 'All the peOf>le know that he killed the deer' .

1be sentence bas the constituents such as NP enna and S.

129

110 JbGr:;.m.iter

8.

11~!·~

compound sentence has Ss and a coordinate conjuction as in

24.

bale ro~ jom- ke4- a 300o a11 ma4i - ll jom- kepe of in~rrog~vr~ !9t'St1~~ h; f~Jnn~~.'rl \vitli the help of interrogative p:r:noouns_ '"!'he ~yntac:·tk. furr.r;tionutz nf ili.e in:t~rrogative pronoun is the same i!!i abe interrogative se11teo.oo as the word whid! will he supplied by the answer i31l !the affmnative sentences. if the interrog2tivf. pro~onn is a.1 object noun phr~~ or an adverb of place or an adverb of time. then the word which will be supplied in the affmnative sentence will also be an object noun phrase, an 4adv1~rb of place and an adverb of time r-~pe.ctively. 1.

cilumt:.4 cina 'what ts

()IP!

tibject Noun Phrase

nutum you -case name wb&''Whatis your A1tame?·.

,......

'cikena am - a mttmu C\.m

~ina

I.

'II

]Offi-U

you what eat- cop '\Vhat do you eatT.

3.

am ~ina- m agu·ke4 .. a you what - Pt bring - tens·~: - cop ' What did you bring?'.

4.

2.

3.

am ~ina-m pai~-e you what- Pt work - cop ' What do you do?'.

timian, timin 'How many' is numeral adjective.

5.

cimian usul a?e era - ken- a how much tall he grow - tense - cop 'How tall has he grown?'.

6.

am- a cirnian siti- e men- a- ko- a • you - case how many child - be - Pt - cop 'How many children do you have'?' .

7.

basa am adan - a cimiall how many language you know - cop 'How many languages do you know?' .

cinarea 'why' is a post positional phrase

8.

6narea am seno- tan - a why you go- tense - cop 'Why are you going'?'.

·

t 50 Ho Grammar

4.

5.

6. -:., '

'

9.

cinarea am hfju- yan- a why you come ·· tense uCOp 'Why did you come?'.

10.

cinarea am- m gali - yan -a why you -Pt late -tense- cop 'Why did you come late?'.

Cimiter;

'when' is an adverb of time.

11.

cimite9 am burn - te - m seno awhen you mountain - case -Pt go - cop 'When do you got to the mountain?'

12.

cimite9 ale- le jom- e-a when we - Pt eat - :::op 'When do we eat?'.

13.

cimite9 am- m ute- yan -a when you - Pt getup - tense -cop ' When did you get up?'.

okoi 'who' is a noun phrase whose head noun is human. 14.

okoi ac;- lo hiju - e who I - case come ·· cop 'Who will come with me?'.

15.

a?edo okoi - tan- a he who- tense- cop 'Who is he?'

16.

okoi nea paiti - ked - a it work - tense - cop who 'Who did that work?'.

17.

erado okoi am- a who you - case wife 'Who is your wife?'.

18.

okoi am -a boya who you - case brother ' Who is your brother? '.

okoia 'whose' is object noun phrase. neado okoia oa it whose house ' Whose house is this'? ' .

Syntax lSI

20.

nen sadom

okoia - ni?

this horse

whose .. noun · sutTIX

l)i?do

okoia

•

sadom

this

whose horse ' Whose horse is this?'.

2 1.

nen ~wido this knife

olcoia

whose t wi ~ okoia this whose knife 'Whose knife is this?'. 22.

r,eado

okoia

plti mistake

this whose 'Whose mistake is this?•. 7.

o/coike 'whom' is object noiUI phrase 23.

am okoike- m you whom- Pt

nela- kecJ- a see- tense - cop

'Whom did you see?'.

8.

9.

24.

am okoike- m ndan ·a you whom - Pt know - cop ' Whom do you know?•.

25.

am okoike

neli - lage?t sanaTl - tan - a you whom see - tense want - tense- cop 'Whom are you willing to see?'.

okonre 'where' is an adverb of place.

26.

am okonre - m basan - tan - a live - tense- cop you where - Pt 'Where are you living?'.

27.

abu okonre - bu dube we where - Pt sit 'Where do we sit?'.

28.

okonre - ko- a am - a where - Pt - cop you - case 'Where are your children?'.

hon child

okon 'which'

29.

okon kiteb am- m nam - e- a which book you - Pt get - cop 'Which book will you get?'.

152 Ho Grammar

v

30.

okon bak""t! afii. JOm- a which fish yo!J eat - cop 'Which fish do ym1 eat? ' .

31.

okon - a bu.ru - te sene horado which - cop hill -case going way burn - te seno horado okon - a hill- case going way which - cop ' Which is the way to go to the hill?'.

7.10. Syntactic Derivations 7 .10.1. Pronominalization In Ho, in the process of pronominalization, pronouns are substituted for fully specified nouns or noun phrases. In some cases, anaphoric pronouns refer back to nouns or noun phrases in the senten ku ihon ~ke t;Hn ~ki -·a who girl ~occ hit -past ·'3.dded se ntenc!:!, tbc: relat!ve pronoun may he deleted optionally.

5.

D.a. ktteb okonaci book whid1

a11 krh't- ked --a ina gonal)an ··:.\ costl y ~cop £ buy· past - cop that 'The book which I bough:. is cm;tly'.

kiteb ;1'11 kri11 - ked ;.: ina gon.u1an -a 'The book that I oought i~ costly'. 6. The rciative clause function s as objective vv·Mich is a modifier ,,fa no un us below: 14.a. Sagar mi9o ho okoil.:i esu bude -gi - ;j Sagur one man who very oid -ter.st -cup ' Sagar is a man whu is very o ld' . 13.b.

14 .b.

l S.a

15.b.

Sagar mi9o esu hude 'Sagar is a very old man'.

~hown

ho

a?e mido kuihon okoici esu cchm she 0ne • girl who very beaut.iful 'She is a girl who is very beaut1ful'. a?e

mido

esu

cehra kuihon

·she is a ~ery beami fui girl'. 7. Adjective transformation mle applies when the relative clau~e reduction leaves behiud a single adjective as modifier of noun. Later. the oojccrive is moved tn the front of the noun.

16.a. rnm migo gup~ii akrir1~ki -e

ara -gi -a sell -past -cop which red ~tense -c9p t}konaci

Ram one cow 'Ram soid a cow which was red'.

(Relau ve c!au:;e reduction)

16.c.

rarn 'Ri.i.

'V

:on~

- ked - a

cat - past - cop

cJ .. ~ .. ~ '1>'J"l1e - c~'P P>V>l' .:'~~-.n .. i

,11' .. I"C , j\ • J

fl'l'!'"·''; ';, ,().f"

•:.hCV. ~ i'/'6t v

~: ~K~ilg.

and

;,.,

r.

J.a~

, ; ,...,,.

,.., .) ••

~.t.J1a.:, ·~ ~-...\ ~·

lu;:~;.ey

·wm ~~!Mt, ~nat song .in 1i1e

marriage·. 5.

soma,

su.ni

Soma,

Sunny

and

K.uny - Pt

tatk- Past- cop

'Soma, Sunny and Kunny ~-al kcd together' .

Jn t11e process of conjoi ning~ one of the two identical l\lPs may be dropped or

pronominalized.

6.a.

Kuni

baba-ko

ir- ke9 - a

al)qo Kuni and Kunny

Kuny paddy- Pt cnt ·· past -cop baba - ko- h!.H)~ kC ~he r.:m;dif~ou , the wealthy man removed his skin and sent him away. Mokore met his friend Sulwre while returning. Mokore told~~~ i.h{- :~ it1:; :; happenl:'-..d to him in his absence. Sukure told to Mokore that he will t-~!~