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Komo Language[edit]
The Komo language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Komo people of Ethiopia, Sudan and Southern Sudan. It is a member of the Koman languages. The language is also referred to as Madiin, Koma, South Koma, Central Koma, Gokwom, and Hayahaya.[1] Many individuals from Komo are multilingual because they are in close proximity to Mao, Kwama, and Oromo speakers. Komo is closely related to Kwama, a language spoken by a group who live in the same region of Ethiopia and who also identify themselves as ethnically Komo. Some Komo and Kwama speakers recognize the distinction between the two languages and culture, whereas some people see it as one "ethnolinguistic" community.[2] The 2007 Ethiopian census makes no mention of Kwama, and for this reason its estimate of 8000 Komo speakers may be inaccurate. An older estimate from 1971 places the number of Komo speakers in Ethiopia at 1500.[3] The Komo language is greatly understudied, more information is being revealed as researchers are discovering more data about other languages within the Koman family.
History[edit]
Many individuals from Komo are multilingual because they are in close proximity to Mao, Kwama, and Oromo speakers. "Komo and Mao" were ethnically and linguistically ambiguous terms until they became the official terms used in the Asosa zone in Benishangul Gummuz.[4] Komo is closely related to Kwama, a language spoken by a group who live in the same region of Ethiopia and who also identify themselves as ethnically Komo. Some Komo and Kwama speakers recognize the distinction between the two languages and culture, whereas some people see it as one "ethnolinguistic" community.[5] Although Komo and Kwama are recognized under two different branches of Proto-Koman, there has been continuous debates and confusion over the ethnic identity of the two speech varieties.[6]
Grammar[edit]
The following is an overview of a grammar sketch of Komo. It is organized in a way that follows the structure of the language.
Nouns[edit]
A noun is referred to as a "zaga". A majority of nouns in the Komo language do not inherently express number. Most nouns have either a general singular or plural meaning.[7] For instance:
- dog(s)= kʼáw
- head(s)= k'up
Then there are certain nouns that are specifically either singular or plural:
- Man= yiba
- Girl= bamit
- People= giba
Komo nouns mainly distinguish gender in terms of masculine and feminine.
Number[edit]
The number in the Komo language correlates to the gender of the noun. As shown in the chart, singular nouns are preceded by an "a". The plural form of these nouns are in some cases preceded by "gu".
| Marker | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | a | a waga, a ton, kuman |
| plural | gu | gu waga, gu ton, gu kuman |
Noun phrases[edit]
The order of elements in a noun phrase goes as follows: noun--modifying expression--numeral--demonstrative. This order cannot be altered, especially because numerals should not come before modifying expressions. The following sentence gives an example of a complete noun phrase:
- gʉ giba bbissina a dish ba (these three strong men)
Adjectives[edit]
Adjectives in the Komo language, as known as modifying expressions, are descriptive words that can be added to further define the noun. The adjectives describe particular qualities, such as the look, shape, sound, taste, or size, of the noun. In the Komo language, the adjectives appear after the noun they modify and agree with the gender and number of the noun.[8]Below are a few examples of adjectives with the noun it modifies:
- paarsha basara- a beautiful horse
- she ppatana- a white tooth
- yi gwaz tʉlira- a tall boy
Pronouns[edit]
Pronouns are words or phrases that take the place of nouns. In the Komo language, there are eight different personal pronouns with four singular pronouns and four plural pronouns. The following chart displays the 8 personal pronouns [8]:
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| aka (payā) | I (ran) | ana/amʉn (payá, payan) | we (ran) |
| ay (payi) | you (ran) | ʉm (payim) | you (ran) |
| har/happ(payir, payipp) | he/she (ran) | hʉn (payin) | they (ran) |
The Komo language also uses possessive pronouns to show ownership. Typically in a sentence structure, the word "ba" comes between the possessed noun and possessor noun. This particular word indicates to the reader that a relationship between two nouns is being described.[8] For example:
- gubi ba bbamit (house of the woman)
- gʉ kura ba Asadik (Asadik's donkeys)
Verbs[edit]
In the Komo language, a verb or "kam yay" is the foundation or key basis in forming a proper sentence. A veb describes an action, state, process, event, or quality. In sentences, the verb agrees with the subjects. For example, a subject that is in the 1st person singular needs to have the verb follow in the 1st person singular.
The following chart displays a verb with markers for all the persons[9]:
| Aka unā pay | I will run. | Ana unà pay | We will run. |
| Ay ui pay | You will run. | Amun unam pay | We will run. |
| Har ur pay | He will run. | Um um pay | You will run. (pl) |
| Happ upp pay | She will run. | Hun un pay | They will run. |
Regarding verb structure of the Komo language, all finite lexical verbs meaning words that express action, must be structured alongside an Aspect-Directional (AD) suffix. The AD is followed by Bound Pronominal (BP) suffixes that classifies person, number, and gender
The following diagram displays a class diagram for segmental morphemes incorporating a Komo verb: [10]
| STEM | -AD | -BP (1) | -BP (2) | -BP (3) |
Morphology[edit]
The Komo language relies on Directional morphology. These directional morphemes attached to the verbs in a sentence structure are not typically used, but are common among Nilo-Saharan languages. These morphemes code a wide selection of functions beyond a direction of motion. AD morphemes help to code tense and direction of the motion like the words "towards" and "away". AD morphemes can also code the location as well.[7]
- sɔ̀kɔ́n ìp-ì-p' ìyyà ɪ́ma
- PROG drink.SG-AD1-3SG.F water there
- She is drinking water there. (She is there = at the water drinking place)
Bibliography[edit]
González-Ruibal, A., Fernández, V. M., & Martínez, V. M. F. (2007). Exhibiting cultures of contact: A museum for Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Culture Contact, Cultural Integration and Difference: A Case from Northern Mesopotamia, 61.
Jordan, L., Mohammed, H., & Davis, A. (2011). A Sociolinguistic Survey Report of the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo Speech Varieties of Western Ethiopia.
Küspert, K. C. (2015). The Mao and Komo languages in the Begi–Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, designations, distribution. Linguistic Discovery, 13(1), 1-63.
Leyew, Z. (2005). Gwama, a little-known endangered language of Ethiopia: A sketch of its grammar and lexicon.
Meckelburg, A. (2015). Slavery, Emacipation, and Memory: Exploratory notes on Western Ethiopia. The International Journal of African Historical Studies. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1732527418?accountid=13626
Otero, M. A. Topic and [Focus constructions] in Ethiopian Komo.
Otero, M. A. (2014). Notes from the Komo Language Discover Your Grammar Workshop. Addis Ababa: Benishangul-Gumuz Language Development and Multilingual Education Project.
Otero, M. (2015). Dual Number in Ethiopian Komo. Nilo-Saharan: Models and Descriptions. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
Otero, M. (2015). Nominal morphology and ‘topic’in Ethiopian Komo. Information Structure and Nilotic languages.
Otero, M. A. (2015). On some origin (s) of temporal grammatical material: Komo and Nivaĉle.
Yehualashet, T. (2005). Remarks on the phonology of Kwama/Komo (Nilo-Saharan). LISSAN, 141.
References[edit]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
e18was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Jordan, Linda (2011). "Sociolinguistic Survey report of Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo Speech Varieties of Western Ethiopia" (Document). p. 7.
{{cite document}}: Cite document requires|publisher=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|access-date=and|website=(help) - ^ Otero, Manuel A. "Dual Number in Ethiopian Komo." Nilo-Saharan: Models and Descriptions. By Angelika Mietzner and Anne Storch. Cologne: Rudiger Koppe Verlag, 2015. 123-34. Print.
- ^ Kuspert, Klaus-Christian (2015). "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi-Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, Distribution" (Document). p. 2.
{{cite document}}: Cite document requires|publisher=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|access-date=and|url=(help); Unknown parameter|website=ignored (help) - ^ Jordan, Linda (2011). "Sociolinguistic Survey report of Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo Speech Varieties of Western Ethiopia" (Document). p. 7.
{{cite document}}: Cite document requires|publisher=(help) - ^ Mohammed, Hussein; Jordan, Linda; Davis, Angela (2011). "A Sociolinguistic Survey Report of the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo Speech Varieties of Western Ethiopia" (Document). p. 6.
{{cite document}}: Cite document requires|publisher=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|access-date=,|website=, and|url=(help) - ^ a b Otero, M. (2015). Nominal morphology and ‘topic’in Ethiopian Komo. Information Structure and Nilotic languages. p. 3.
- ^ a b c Otero, M. A. (2014). Notes from the Komo Language Discover Your Grammar Workshop. Addis Ababa: Benishangul-Gumuz Language Development and Multilingual Education Project. p. 14.
- ^ Otero, M. A. (2014). Notes from the Komo Language Discover Your Grammar Workshop. Addis Ababa: Benishangul-Gumuz Language Development and Multilingual Education Project. p. 22.
- ^ Otero, M. (2015). Dual Number in Ethiopian Komo. Nilo-Saharan: Models and Descriptions. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. p. 124.