Lesson 16
This lesson continues with the Personal Pronoun.
- Dä̲muɔɔr a ni̲? La̲ri̲ ɛ ɤä̲.
Where is your brother? Tell it to me.
- Cä̲ jɛ naŋ rɛy cëŋ min wa̲̩r. man go̲o̲rɛ jɛ. Cɛ kɔ cɔl min wa̲r. Kɛ ɤöö go̲o̲rɛ jɛ. Ɣä̲n cä̲ jɛ naŋ. Cä̲ jɛ ka̲m man. Man ci̲ lɔcdɛ tɛɛth.
I took him to the village last night. his mother wants him she called us last night because she wants him. I took him. I gave him to his mother. His mother her heart is happy.
SYNTAX
- The personal pronoun occurs in the subjective, objective and locative cases. The subjective case you have learned.
The objective and locative are the same form. The objective occurs as a) object of the verb, both direct and indirect
and b) as object of the prepositions [kä̲], [kɛ], and [ɛ]. It occurs in the locative case in the same environments as do nouns.
THE PERSONAL PRONOUN
Objective and Locative Cases
| Singular |
Plural |
|
|
| ɤä̲ |
-- |
me |
us |
-- |
kɔn (in) |
| ji̲ |
-- |
you |
us |
-- |
kɔ(ex) |
| jɛ |
-- |
him
her
it |
you |
-- |
yɛ |
| them |
-- |
kɛ |
Note: In the 2nd ad 3rd singular the consonants j- are often dropped shortening the words to [i̲] and [ɛ]. This situation
occurs following the assimilated verb particle, following the subject of the verb or following the verb. Instances
will be given below.
EXAMPLES
Direct Object of the Verb
| 1st Aspect: |
[Ɣä̲n göörä̲ ji̲.] |
-- |
I want you. |
| 2nd Aspect: |
Cä̲ jɛ go̲r. |
-- |
I wanted it. |
| |
Cä̲ ɛ go̲r. |
-- |
I wanted it. |
| |
Ci̲ ɤä̲n ɛ go̲r. |
-- |
I wanted it [E. Nuer] |
| 3rd Aspect: |
Bɛ kɛ lua̲k. |
-- |
He will help them. |
In the Emphatic position of word order the object occurs as follows:
| 1st Aspect: |
Wu̲t ɛmɔ go̲o̲rɛ ni̲ ji̲. |
-- |
That man want you. |
| 2nd Aspect: |
Wu̲t ɛm1 cɛ go̲r ni̲ ji̲. |
-- |
That man wanted you. |
| 3rd Aspect: |
Wu̲t ɛmɔ bɛ go̲r ni̲ ji̲. |
-- |
That man will want you. |
Indirect Object of the Verb
| 1st Aspect: |
Ɣä̲n la̲rä̲ jɛ ji̲. |
-- |
I am telling it to you. |
| 2nd Aspect: |
Cä̲ jɛ la̲r i̲. |
-- |
I told it to you. |
| |
Wu̲t ɛmɔ cɛ duɔ̲ɔ̲r ɛmɔ ka̲m ɤä̲. |
-- |
That man gave that thing to me. |
| |
Note: This word order may be switched. e.g. |
| |
Wu̲t ɛmɔ cɛ ɤä̲ ka̲m duɔ̲ɔ̲r ɛmɔ.
| --
| That man gave me that thing.
|
| 3rd Aspect:
| Bi̲ ɤä̲n ɛ nöŋ yɛ i̲ru̲u̲n.
| --
| I will bring it to you tomorrow. (E. Nuer)
|
Direct Object of the Preposition
Cä̲ wä̲ kä̲kɛ. -- I went to them.
Ba̲a̲ kɛ kɛ kɛɛl. -- I came together with them.
Note: The preposition [ɛ] takes the pronoun in the nominative case.
Locative
[Yio̲w a kɛ.] -- The money is with/at them. i.e. They have the money.
[Duɔ̲ɔ̲r ïndan a ni̲? Jɛn a ji̲! ] -- Where is the thing of a little while ago? It is with/at you! i.e. you have it.
Prepositions -- Nuer has 3 proper prepositions. They are [kɛ], [kä̲], and [ɛ]. Their major contribution is to function with the
verbs in prepositional phrases with nouns, pronouns and verbal nouns as their objects.
Meanings:
- [kɛ] basically means "with", i.e. in accompaniment with a person (however, it is more common to say, for example,
I and he went than to say I went with him), or in collaboration with a person, or in close connection with some thing.
- Cä̲ wa̲ kɛ jɛ. I went with him.
- Cä̲ wä̲ ruac kɛ jɛ. I went to talk with him.
- Ta̲a̲ kɛ la̲t kɛ duɔ̲ɔ̲r ɛmɔ. I have work with that thing.
[kɛ] is always lo tone.
- [kä̲] basically means "to" or "from" depending largely on the verb which is used. Since Nuer verbs often indicate
direction to or from, the preposition is subject to the verb meaning.
- Cɛ wä̲ kä̲ Malakal. He went to Malakal.
- Cɛ bɛ̲n kä̲ Malakal. He came from Malakal.
[kä̲] is always hi tone.
- [ɛ] basically means "by" i.e. the agent of some action.
- Nɛmɛ caa jɛ la̲t ɛ wu̲t ɛmɔ. This was done by that man.
Occurrences:
[kɛ] occurs in the following environments:
- With the verb showing agency or accompaniment.
- Cä̲ lä̲t kɛ jɛ. I worked with (by means of) it.
- Bä̲ lä̲t kɛ wu̲t ɛmɔ. I will work with that man.
- With all intransitive verbs to complete their meaning.
- Bä̲ piɛ̲th kɛ bɛl. I will plant dura. Literally I will plant with dura (in preference to anything else).
- Ta̲a̲ kɛ gat. I have a child. Literally, I exist with a child.
- With the verb [nyɔk] "to repeat" in a phrase with a verbal noun to indicate the action which is or is not to be repeated.
- Cä̲ jɛ nyɔk kɛ piɛ̲th. I repeated it with planting.
- i.e. I planted it again.
[kɛ̲] occurs in the following environments:
- With verbs if movement to or from.
- With the transitive verb [jak] "to cause" in a phrase with the verb stem (2nd Aspect) indicating what was
caused. (The phrase takes the place of an English infinitive.)
- Cä̲ jɛ jak kä̲ wä̲. I caused him to go.
- With the adjectival verb in the 1st Aspect to indicate comparison.
- Li̲t ni̲ nɛmɛ kä̲ nɛmɔ. This is bigger than that.
- Literally, bigs this from (in relation to) that.
[ɛ] occurs in the following environments:
- With Passive verbs to indicate the agent of the action (and not infrequently in sentences with Active
voice verbs).
- Baa jɛ la̲t ɛ wu̲t ɛmɔ. It will be done by that man.
- Caa jɛ la̲t ɛ ɤä̲n. It was done by me.
