Dime language

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Free variation

Dime undergoes phonological processes when speaking and one of them is free variation. Free variation is a phenomenon of two or more sounds or forms appearing in the same environment without a change in meaning and without being considered as wrong by a native speaker of Dime.

h and ʔ are free variation word initially in some lexemes.

ʔˈalfe and halfe Knife

ʔˈaʁe and haʁe wood, knife

ʔààke and hààke to pick up

ʔaay and haay grass

yízí and hízí to run

yín or ʔín you (obj.)

Gemination

Dime has a lot of consonant gemination, which mostly occurs in the middle and final position of words, which distinguishes the meaning of lexemes.

túmú (deep) - túmmú (stomach)

ʔoloχ (quick) - ʔolloχ (slowly)

ʔane (hand) - ʔanne (wild life)

Syllable structure

Dime has both closed and open syllables as well as super-heavy syllables. Most consonants can occur in the middle and at the end of the word.

Dime also has consonant clusters, which are mostly made up of only two members.

At the end of the word:

gušš nails

físt sneeze

tálk borrow

sáánk floor

túss pillar

In the middle of the word:

dámpe tobacco

básumb fearful

gázde boundry

bedze out

Morphology and Syntax

Definiteness

A definite noun is one which refers to a specific entity. Morphologically, Dime distinguishes definite from indefinite nouns. Definiteness is marked by the suffix -is.

ʔ́ehé a house - ʔ́éh-is the house

nîts a child - nîts-is the child

ʔiyýi a person - ʔiyýs-is the person

ʔámzi gúdúm-ind-is the tall woman

woman tall -F-DEF

gúdúm-ub gǒst-is the tall man

tall            man DEF

In the last example, there is a modifier in the noun phrase; the definite marker is suffixed to the modifier.

The definite marker -is may optionally be changed to -iz when followed by a voiced consonant.

ʔéh-is the house

gášš-is the road

ʔámz-iz the woman

zúùb-iz the red one

Number

Nouns and noun phrases make a distinction between singular and plural. Singular is morphologically unmarked, whereas plural is marked by the suffix -af. That a head noun is plural can be inferred from the morpheme -id, which is suffixed to a modifier.

ʔéh-áf-is   the houses

house-PL-DEF

dər-áf-is    the goats

goat-PL-DEF

guur-af-is   the crocodiles

crocodile - PL-DEF

Pronouns

Below is a table of Dime Pronouns

References