Chapter ##

EQUATIONAL AND IDENTIFICATIONAL SENTENCES

ole, like other Chadic languages, does not have a copular verb. Copular sentences with nouns, adjectives, or other descriptive predicates simply juxtapose subject and predicate. Nouns or adjectives that have formal morphological plurals must agree in number with the subject. As in other sentence types, the normal way to question or focus a subject is to place it in sentence final position, with an obligatory clefting particle , ye, preceding the subject. Questioned predicates remain in situ. Numbers and names, which are semantically distinct from descriptive predicates and which have distinct syntactic properties in many lanuages, use the same syntax in Bole as do copular sentences with nouns or other descriptive words as predicates. 1. Equational Sentences with Nominal Predicates 1.1. Affirmative equational statements. Equational sentences juxtapose the subject and the predicate with no additional marking. First and second person subjects require the general subject clitics (##), which condition Low Tone Raising (LTR##).1 Pronominal third person subjects use the independent pronouns (##). Neither nominal nor pronominal third person subjects condition LTR on the predicate First and second persons optionally may use an independent pronoun together with the clitic, with no apparent difference in meaning from the sentence without the independent pronoun. Utterances with first or second person independent pronouns alone are interpreted as appositional phrases, e.g. ina Apno I, a Hausa person. The examples in the paradigm below mean X am/is/are a Hausa person ~ are Hausa people (Apno, Apnawi Hausa person, people) 1 2m 2f 3m 3f Singular (ina) n Apno (kai) ka Apino (sh) shi Apno ishi Apno ita Apno Plural (mimmu) mu Apnawi ma\" Apinawi mate Apnawi

Tjja\ni Apno Bamoi an Pikka Leng ani Pikka mate anm Pkka anm Pkka mi&y&ya]n Naje\riya
1

Tijjani is a Hausa person Bamoi is a Bole man Lengi is a Bole woman they are Bole people Boles are people of Nigeria

Ka Ap no you (m) are a Hausa person (cf. table below) without LTR is acceptable, but the strongly preferred variant in the Fika dialect has LTR.

Bamoi Ma\}lummu temshi dabba kushi rewe la ga ampani

Bamoi is our teacher a sheep is an animal a baobab is a useful tree (...[is] a tree that has use)

1.2. Negative equational statements. Negative equational sentences add the general negative marker sa to the end of the sentence. Tjja\ni Apno sa n Apno sa ka Apno sa Tijjani is not a Hausa person I am not a Hausa person you (m) are not a Hausa person

1.3. Equational questions and answers 1.3.1. Questioning and focusing the subject of equational sentences. Questioning the subject of an equational sentence can use the standard postposing strategy for questiong and focusing subjects (##), i.e. the subject comes at the end of the sentence preceded by the clefting particle ye] ( ye when not phrase final).2 Alternatively, a subject question may use the in situ strategy (##), with the subject in initial position but still with the clefting particle at the end. The pseudo-cleft strategy (##) for questioning subjects is not available in equational sentences, i.e. *an Moi Pkk ye l? who is the Emir of Fika? is not grammatical. A possible way to answer an equational sentence with a questioned subject is simply to state the word that answers the question, as in English, Who is the Emir of Fika? , (answer) Moi Abari. If the answer is a full sentence, the preferred answer type focuses the word answering the question with the postposing strategy, placing the answering word at the end of the sentence after the clefting particle. Q: Moi Pkka n concone\ ye lo@ Lo Moi Pkka n concone\ ye]@
Emir Fika of today CP who who Emir Fika of today CP

A: Moi Pkka n concone\ ye Moi Abar. Q: Asbit ye solu A: Asbit ye solu]-n yalla@ Solu petla ye].
3

Who is the current Moi Fika? MOI ABARI is the current Moi Fika.

yalla asbit ye]@ Which building is the hospital? THE WHITE BUILDING is the hospital.

hospital CP building which

building which hospital CP

hospital CP building-L white

PRM

Q: Moi Bunje ye lo@ Lo Moi Bunje ye]@ Bamoi o\ Madu@

leader youth CP who who leader youth CP Bamoi or Madu

A: Moi

Who is Youth Leader? Bamoi or Madu? Bunje yeBamoi, saya Madu sa. BAMOI is the Youth Leader, not Madu.
CPBamoi but Madu not

leader youth
2

In verbal sentences with questioned or focused subjects, use of ye] is not obligatory, but in equational sentences, it is obligatory since it serves as a cue that what follows is the subject, not the predicate. 3 The first ye is the clefting particle, showing that what follows is the subject. The second ye] is the Previous Reference Marker (##), showing definiteness of the subject, solu]n petla. Without the overt PRM, the sentence would be interpreted as a neutral equational statement meaning ,The (ye = PRM) hospital is a white building.

Q: Moi Bunje ye lo@ Lo Moi Bunje ye]@ Kai o\ ish@ Who is Youth Leader? You or him? A: Moi Bunje ye ina, saya ishi sa. *I* am the Youth Leader, not him. 1.3.2. Questioning and focusing the predicate of equational sentences. A question about the predicate of an equational sentence uses in situ Subject + Question Word order. It is ungrammatical to place the question word in sentence initial position. 4 Eme\ lo@ *Lo eme@ Kua ye le@ *Le kua ye]@ Who is this? What is a pot?

In questions that ask for simple identification of the questioned predicate, the most natural answer adds the particle j it is , which puts some emphasis on the answer, though it is possible to answer simply with the identifying word (see more below on identficational sentences). Where the answer contains both subject and predicate, the answer takes the normal Subject-Predicate order of equational sentences. It is possible to add j after the predicate in such responses. Q> Eme\ le@ A> Eme\ takarda. Q> Maine\ le@ A> Maine\ kunshe Leng. Q> Eme\ lo@ A> Bamoi j. ~ Bamoi. Q> Oshe\ lo@ A> Leng j. ~ Leng. Q> Maine\ ml lo@ A> Da\nde]m makaranta j. What is this? This is paper. What are these? These are Lengis pots. Who is this (m)? Its Bamoi. Who is this (f)? Its Lengi. Who (plural) are these [people]? Theyre school children.

Q: Kai ka lo@ Who are you (m)? 5 A: N Gimba (j). ~ Ina Gimba. ~ Ina n Gimba. Im Gimba.
4

In English, one is sometimes not sure whether an equational question is asking about the subject or the predicate. Syntactically the two are identical in the present tense since English always places question words at the beginning of the sentence. On semantic grounds, a question like, Who is leader of the youth? must be questioning the subjectone is asking who a certain property is predicated of, whereas, Who is this? seems to be questioning the predicateone is singling out an individual and presumably wants to know about a property that characterizes that individual. The distinction in what is being questioned is clear in English in a sentence with an auxiliary, where subject-auxiliary inversion takes place when a non-subject is questioned, e.g. Who could this be? (questioned non-subject) vs. Who could be the leader of the youth? (questioned subject). In Bole, the syntax usually makes it clear what is being questioned. 5 Note that an answer to a questioned predicate can directly juxtapose a first person independent pronoun and the predicate, a structure that we noted above is not acceptable as a simple equational declarative statement.

Q: Sh shi lo@ A: Ina l Leng. ~ Ina Leng. Q: Ma\" ml lo@ A: Mimmu j. A: (Mimmu) mu pukarawa (j). Q: Ishi l? A: Ishi Moi Bunje. Q: Ita l? A: Ita Moi Guma\ya. Q: Mte ml l? A: Mate pukarawa. Q: Bamoi l? A: Bamoi ma\}lum. Q: Kai ka are memu yalla@ A: Ina n am Pikka. Q: Sh shi ani a]u@ A: Ina n ani Pikka.

Who are you (f)? Im Lengi. Who are you (pl.)? Its us. Were students. Who is he? He is Leader of the Youth. Who is she? She is the Leader of the Female Youth. Who are they? They are students. Who is Bamoi? Bamoi is a teacher. What kind of person are you (m)? I am a Bole. What is your (f) origin? (You are a person-of where?) Im a Bole woman. or Im a woman of Fika.

Alternative questions such as the following call for answers with focused predicates. The answers have the same structure as neutral identificational sentences. Q: Tjja\ni Apno o\ (ishi) zan@ A: Ishi Apno, saya ishi zan sa. Q: Kai ka Apno o\ ka zan@ A: Ina n Apno, saya n zan sa. 2. Identificational sentences Bole expresses identificational sentences such as its a knife, theyre students, its me with a noun or independent pronoun alone with no overt subject. An identificational question comprising just a question word may consist of the question word with or without the question particle w. A question asking for identity of a noun generally ends in the question particle o\. The answer to an identificational sentence may end with the emphasis particle j. Q> Lo@ ~ Lo wa@ A> Ina j. A: Bamoi j. Who is it? Its me. Its Bamoi. Is Tijjani a Hausa or a Kanuri? Hes a Hausa, its not the case that hes a Kanuri. Are you a Hausa or are you a Kanuri? Im a Hausa, its not the case that Im a Kanuri.

Q> Le@ ~ Le wa@ A> adi (j). Q: Bamoi o\@ A: O&o\, ish. A: A|&a, ishi sa. Q: Ishi o\@ ~ Ishn o\@6 A: O&o\, ish. ~ O&o\, ishn. A: A|&a, ishi sa. ~ A|&a, ishn sa. Q: Ita o\@ A: O&o\, ita.

What is it? Its a knife. Is it Bamoi? Yes, its him. No, its not Bamoi. Is it him? Yes, its him. No, its not him. Is it her? Yes, its her.

3. Adjectival and other Descriptive Predicates 3.1. Affirmative statements with adjectival predicates. Several categories of descriptive words can be predicated of subjects. These include at least adjectives (##), ideophonic adjectives (##), and statives derived from verbs (##). Examples here will focus on adjectives, but they apply equally to these other categories. Like equational sentences, sentences with adjectival predicates simply juxtapose subject and predicate. First and second person subjects use subject pronoun clitics (##), which condition Low Tone Raising (LTR) on the predicate adjective. Third person pronominal subjects use the independent pronouns, which, like nominal subjects, do not condition LTR of the predicate adjective. Some adjectives have plural forms (##). Plural subjects require morphologically plural adjectives if they exist. The paradigm shows the adjective ole small, olle (plural) with all the pronoun subjects, as well as singular masculine and feminine nouns (showing that there is no gender agreement) and a plural noun. 1 2m 2f 3m 3f Singular n ole (kai) ka ole (sh) shi ole ishi ole ita ole Plural (mimmu) mu olle ma\" olle mate olle

lawo ole lawo mondu ole da\nde olle kula eme\ sokkitok

the boy is small the girl is small the children are small this (eme\) calabash is light-weight (skktk = ideophonic adjective)

The variants with i s h n (final -n and invariable L tone), are translated as Hausa sh n, a form indicating previous reference. Only the third masculine singular independent pronoun has a variant with final - n, i.e. *tn her or *inn me do not exist.
6

sheken kewen

his foot is swollen (kewe-n = stative from kawa\ swell)

For nouns that have no morphological plural, the adjective can be the indicator of semantic plurality of the noun. za\wa gara za\wa garre the stick is long the sticks are long

For adjectives which have no morphological plural, the noun can show semantic plurality. gam petla temshi petla temka petla the ram is white the ewe is white the sheep are white

In sentences where neither the subject nor the predicate have morphological plural forms, the only way to know number is from context. tajiya petla the cap is white or the caps are white

Speakers sometimes add cap all to give a sense of plurality, e.g. tajiya cap petla, but a sentence like this, too, is not unambiguousit could mean all the caps are white, but it could also mean the cap is completely white. 3.2. Negative adjectival statements. Negative adjectival predicates add the general negative marker sa to the end of the sentence. gam petla sa da\nde olle sa the ram is not white the children are not small

Intensifying adverbs and ideophones may accompany adjectives in adjectival predicates. If an adjectival predicate with an intensifier is negated, the negative marker follows the entire predicate. Placement of the intensifier after the negative in a sentence like Bamoi is very tall , if it yields any interpretation at all, would have to mean something like ??Bamoi greatly fails at being tall. Bamoi garar rankata Bamoi garar rankata sa *@Bamoi garan sa rankata cf. Bamoi gara kala rankata sa atampa dai shit atampa dai shit sa *atampa dai sa shit temshi petla pok temshi petla pok sa Bamoi is very tall Bamoi is not very tall Bamoi is tall, but not very much so the cloth is bright red the cloth is not bright red the ewe is snow white the ewe is not snow white

3.3. Questions and answers in adjectival sentences 3.3.1. Questioning and focusing the subject of adjectival sentences. Questioning the subject of an adjectival sentence uses either the postposing strategy or the in situ strategy (##cf. 1.3.1). In either case, the clefting particle y ( ye if not phrase final) follows the predicate. The pseudo-clefting strategy (##) is not available for adjectival predicates, i.e. *an gran (ye) l? who is tall? (the one who is tall [is] who?) is ungrammatical: Q: Garan ye lo@ Lo garan ye]@ Bamoi o\ Madu@ Who is tall? Bamoi or Madu? A: Garan ye Bamoi, saya Madu sa. Bamoi is tall, not Madu. Q> Petla ye yalla@ Yalla petla ye]@ Gam o\ temshi@ Which one is white? The ram or the ewe? A: Petla ye temshi, saya gam sa. The EWE is white, not the ram. 3.3.2. Questioning and focusing the predicate of adjectival sentences. One can question the predicate using tn how?. As is normal in non-subject questions, the questioned predicate is in situ at the end of the sentence. The clefting particle ye may precede tn. Q: Gamko ye tan@ A: Gamno (ye) petla. Q: Kai ka tan@ A: Ina n gara. What is your ram like? My ram is WHITE. What are you like? I am TALL.

A special case of questioning adjectival predicates would appear to be standard greeting phrases meaning, Hows ? These have ngo or tn invariably in sentence initial position, appearing to go against the normal in situ strategy for questioned non-subjects. However, these may not actually be questions involving adjectival predicates, since the standard answers are not in the form Noun + Adjective. Q: Ngo gatto@ ~ Tan gatto@ A: Ga gatto sa. Q: Ngo ruta@ ~ Tar ruta@ A: Ruta mu konn. cf. Q: Ruta ye tan@ A: Ruta ye ja]u. Hows the tiredness? Theres no tiredness. Hows the work? As for the work we are at [on] it. Whats the work like? The work is tough.

The question word ngo must always be sentence initial. Placing the question word tn at the end of the sentence without the focus particle ye likewise results in an ungrammatical sentence. *ruta (ye) ngo@ *ruta tan@

4. Number predicates Number predicates juxtapose the subject and predicate just as with equational and adjectival predicates. Sentences with number predicates differ from the other types in that they do not take pronominal subjects. If the semantic subject is a pronoun, the subject noun phrase has ko- head as its head. Q: Kok-ku monou@ How many of you are there? There are four of us. How many of them are there? There are seven of them. How many children do you have? How many school children are there? There are fourteen children.
head-your(pl) how many

A: Kommu poo. Q: Kossu monou@ A: Kossu ba\wulo. Q: Da\ndeko monou@ Q> Da\nde]m makaranta monou@ A: Da\nde ye dr po\ro. 5. Name Predicates

Although a sentence like, My name is John, looks superficially like an equational sentence, it is semantically distinct from, My teacher is John. In the latter, a property is predicated of teacher , viz. that of being a person identified as John . In the former sentence, John is not a property of name . Rather, name is a variable, whose value in this case is filled by John . In some Chadic languages, this semantic difference is reflected in different syntactic structures for true equational sentences as opposed to sentences with a name predicates. For example, Hausa asks the question, What is your name? as yaya sunanka?, literally, How is your name? , and name sentences in Hausa cannot use the stabilizer ne/ce, which is almost always present in normal copular sentences. In Ngizim, the quotative conjunction ma introduces a name predicate whereas regular copular sentences simply juxtapose subject and predicate as in Bole. In Bole, however, name sentences do have the form of equational sentences with sun name as subject and l what? or the name itself as predicate. Adding the quotative conjunction n (##) creates a sentence which is marginal and, in any case, would not be an inquiry or statement about someones name, i.e. ?*sunko n l? would mean something like, What do they say your name is? Q: Sunko le@ A: Sunno Bamoi. Q: Sunshi le@ A: Sunno Leng. Q: Sun ma\}lumku le@ A: Sunn Madu. Sunn Bamoi sa. What is your (m) name? My name is Bamoi. What is your (f) name? My name is Lengi. What is your teachers name? His name is Madu. His name is not Bamoi.

One can focus the name as follows:

Bamoi ye sunn. Leng ye sunno. Bamoi ye sunn sa.

BAMOI is his name. LENGI is my name. His name is not BAMOI.

These sentences are interpreted as putting focus on the name. That is, it appears that the name, which is the grammatical predicate, has been fronted for focus. Structurally, however, these sentences have the form normally used for focus of the SUBJECT, sunn. That is, the grammatical subject is sentence final, preceded by the focus particle ye (see 1.3.1, ##). The sentence would be ungrammatical without the focus particle, i.e. *Bamoi sunn sa.7

There are structural parallels with Hausa. Hausa name sentences do not permit the stabilizer ne/ ce, e.g. s unans a Tanko (*ne) his name is Tanko. However, if the name is focused, it is sentence initial and the stabilizer must follow it, e.g. Tanko ne sunansa his name is TANKO.