Gamo-Gofa-Dawro language

Gamo-Gofa-Dawro is an

(Reference page 21/22). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language

Morphology

Noun plural

The morphology of plural making in Gamo is very straightforward and uniform.

Masculine plurals is marked by means of a suffix (-t) affixed to the oblique case form. The oblique is also the base for the suffixation of definiteness marking.

Examples:

absolutive singular                                 singular oblique                     absolutive plural

kaná (dog)                                                   kaná                                       kanatá

addé (man)                                                   addé                                        addetá

yóó (thing)                                                   yóó                                         yóotá

apúntsi (tear)                                               apúntsa                                    apúntsata

Feminine plurals lexical feminine nouns take a suffix (-int) to form their plurals. This is affixed not to the singular oblique however, but rather to the absolutive;

examples;

singular absolutive                   plural absolutive            nominative           oblique

miččó (sister)                            miččointa                      miččóinti             miččointa

(Reference page 81). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Adjectives

By comparison with certain other languages of Ethiopia, Gamo has a large vocabulary of adjectives. Like nominals, adjectives fall into declension classes, and although, being adjectives, they do not inflect for nominative case and there is no agreement within the phrase for number or definiteness, the declensional differences relating to oblique case marking do appear in U-declension adjectives when they function attributively.

The correlation between which particular TV an adjective has and its membership of a declension class appears to hold exactly as in nouns; thus, adjectives having a TV-o are always S-declension, adjective having a TV-i are always U-declension, while those having the TVs-a and -e are distributed between the two declensions, although almost all are S-declension.

Example;

absolutive                             oblique                        declension                          gloss

  hó'o                                       hó'o                          S-declension                         hot

  páč'e                                     páč'e                          S-declension          incomplete, not full

č'áač'a                                   č'áač'a                        S-declension                       fried, roasted

bóottsi                                  bóottsa                       U-declension                       white

góošši                                    góošša                        U-declension                        mad

kaušé                                    kaušá                          U-declension                    light-in weight

    (Reference page 150) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Adjective and noun agreement

In the definite noun phrases where the noun is modified by an adjective the definite marker does not shift to the adjective, but remains on the noun

Example:

1 - Gita mittsai kundides

    big.Obl tree.M-Def fall.pf-3M

    The big tree fell down

2 - Boottsa miizati haik'k'ida

    white.Obl cow.pl-Def.Nom die.pf-3pl

    The white cows died

    (Reference page 151<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>)

Adverbs

Adverbial notion however, can be expressed in a wide variety of ways. In terms of syntactic constructions the two most frequent means of expressing adverbial notions are postpositional phrases and converbial clauses.

A number of verb lexemes contain some intrinsic reference to temporal or spatial features. Thus,

Examples:

1 - gam’-‘~k’am’-‘ ‘be(come)/last a long time’

2 - giddotsiss-‘ ‘stay late’

3 - na’at-‘ ‘act childishly’

4 - minétt- ‘act bravely’

5 - miizat- ‘behave naively

6 - godat-‘ ‘behave in a masterly way

Other more examples

1 – K’uma katso wontara oikkadus

    Lunch cook-VNO dawn Obl+Pp(-ra) start.Pf-3F

    She started cooking lunch very early in the morning

2 – Zilaittsape oikkidi isti k’otara kiitetettes

    Last-year.obl+Pp(-ppe) begin.pfCvb.3PlPronNom secret.Obl+Pp(-ra)send-a-message-to-one-another.Impf-3Pl

    Since last year they have been corresponding secretly.

  (Reference page 300) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Postpositions

Gamo has very few postpositions; my analysis recognizes just six;

(-n), (-s), (-ppe), (-kko), (-ra) and (-u).

Phonologically, these are fairly minimal and in all cases their phonological structure obliges them to occur as attachments to other words.

There are however, instances where a postposition attaches to other clitic elements, such as to the inclusivity marker (-kka) or to the hypotheticality marker (-kko).

Example

1 - Awokkonka demmakad

    locIntPron + UniE+pp(-n)+incl find.impf-2sg-Neg

  You won't find (it) anywhere at all

2 - Banga buuts'an keettse kammadis

    barley.obi straw.obl+pp(-n)house cover.pf-Sg

    I thatched a house with barley straw

The range of senses for the postposition (-s) may not appear to be quite so extensive but perhaps this is because English itself uses the preposition "for" so widely

Example;

1 - Ne butaletappe taas dičča

    2SgDet puppy.pl-Def+pp(-ppe) 1SgDetJN-Obl+pp(-s) rear.Impt-2Sg

    Bring up one of your puppies for me

    (Reference page 155) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Pronouns

Personal pronouns have long and short forms, but while, for most of them, the short form can clearly be identified with the leftmost portion of the long form, in the 3rd  person singular pronouns the short form consists of the rightmost portion of the long form.

Example:

(Reference page 99) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Negation of verb

Negation in all subordinate clauses employs the simple-base with (-onta), which is also the form that functions in converbial negation. Since this form shows no agreement with its clause subject, the 'same subject': 'changed subject' marking which distinguishes converbial from subordinate clauses is neutralized. This situation is apparent in sentences (a - c). In other cases a subordinate clause status is made clearer periphrastically by the addition of the perfect or imperfect forms of the inherently negative verb (-agg).

Exemples:

a.   Na'ita č'oo-gissonta haasa'oi hanenna

  child.Pl-Def cause-to-shut-up.SubNeg have-a-conversation.infO.Nom be-possible.ImpF-3M-Neg

  Without (someone) making the children shut up, it's not possible to have a conversation

b.  Iza zore siyo itts' onta muumi godoltsida

  3FPron advice hear-VNO refuse.SubNeg remain-silent.3Pl cause-a-disaster.pf-3pl

  Remaining silent (at the time) when she would not have refused to listen to advice, they allowed her to get into a real disaster

c.  Ta šammonta aggi-šin uyees!

  1SgDet]N buy.SubNeg fail.1.ImpfSub-DS drink.Impf-3M

  He drinks when I don't buy it!

  (Reference page 266) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Numerals

In Gamo language counting forms are in general identical to the citation (absolutive) forms except in the case of issinno ‘one’ where a variant form ista may be employed.

The forms denoting multiples of ten are based on tamma, which is preceded by the appropriate cardinal numeral in its pre-nominal oblique case form

Examples

1000    kúma

(Reference page 141) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language>

Notes

External links

Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Dawro.

• World Atlas of Language Structures information on Gamo

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