Jevon Heath
15 November 2012
Ling 240A – Jenks
Morphology Sketch of Sereer – Nouns
This is a sketch of the nominal morphology of Sereer, a Niger-Congo
language spoken in Senegal. Our consultant is El-Haji Malick Loum, a native
speaker of Sereer, fluent speaker of Wolof and French, and conversational
speaker of English. Sereer’s nominal morphology is characterized by: inflective
consonant mutations; lexically determined noun classes; augmentative and
diminutive noun classes; and abundant zero-derivational deverbal nouns.
1) Consonant Mutations
Multiple morphological alternations in Sereer are realized through a
process of consonant mutation, whereby the initial consonant of a stem is
mutated in a predictable way. There are two main patterns of consonant
mutation, shown in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 illustrates the Standard Consonant
Mutation pattern, which indicates plural number in nouns, adjectives, and
determiners. Table 2 illustrates the Prenasalized Consonant Mutation pattern,
which is used in various derivational nominalization processes, as well as
marking plural subject on verb stems. (Shading in both tables indicates
immutable consonants.) Both mutation patterns are between homorganic
segments, with the sole exception of the alveolar fricative s, which behaves like a
palatal segment when undergoing mutation (which it does not always do).
Table 1 – Standard Consonant Mutations
Source consonant class
fricative
prenasalized stop
voiced stop
voiced implosive
labial/alveolar approx.
voiceless stop
voiceless implosive
palatal/lateral approx.
nasal
Mutated consonant
voiceless stop
voiceless stop
voiceless stop
voiceless implosive
voiced stop
-
Labial
f>p
mb > p
b>p
ɓ>ƥ
w>b
p
ƥ
Alveolar Palatal
s* > c
nd > t
nj > c
d>t
j>c
ɗ>ƭ
ʄ>ƈ
r>t
t
c
ƭ
ƈ
m
l
n
y
ñ
Velar
ng > k
g>k
k
ŋ
Uvular
x>q
nq > q
Glottal
q
‘
The Standard Consonant Mutation (SCM) is most commonly realized by
consonants changing to homorganic voiceless stops. This is true for the fricatives
f and x (xomb ‘turtle’ > aqomb ‘turtles’), prenasalized stops (ndool ‘rabbit’ > tool
‘rabbits’), and voiced modal stops (odal ‘corpse’ > xatal ‘corpses’), as well as the
alveolar approximant r, which changes to t: ran > tan ‘white’. Voiced implosive
stops undergoing SCM become voiceless implosive stops: ɓaal > ƥaal ‘black’.
Finally, the labial approximant w becomes a voiced modal stop b: wil ‘hair’ > abil
‘hairs’. Other consonants – voiceless modal and implosive stops, palatal and
lateral approximants, and nasals – are unchanged by SCM. The alveolar fricative
s is unpredictably affected by SCM; its mutation is lexically determined, as seen
in Figure 1.
(1)
saate ‘village’ > caate ‘villages’
soxon ‘pile of millet husks’ > coxon ‘piles of millet husks’
soble’ ‘onion’ > soble’ ‘onions’
suk ‘boat’ > suk ‘boats’
The Prenasalized Consonant Mutation (PCM) is generally realized by consonants
changing to homorganic prenasalized stops. This is true for fricatives (famb
‘drum’ > ombamb ‘little drum’), voiced modal stops (gin ‘egg’ > ongin ‘little egg’),
voiceless modal stops other than glottal stops (teɓ > ndeɓ ‘small’), the alveolar
approximant r (ran > ndan ‘white’), and the labial approximant w (awida ‘he
turns’ > ambida ‘they turn’). Additionally, voiced implosive stops undergoing
PCM become voiceless implosive stops: ɓaal > ƥaal ‘black’. Note that voiced
implosive stops become voiceless implosives in both SCM and PCM.
Table 2 – Prenasalized Consonant Mutations
Source consonant class
fricative
voiced stop
voiceless stop
labial/alveolar approx.
voiced implosive
prenasalized stop
voiceless implosive
palatal/lateral approx.
nasal
Mutated consonant
prenasalized stop
prenasalized stop
prenasalized stop
prenasalized stop
voiceless implosive
-
Labial
f > mb
b > mb
p > mb
w > mb
ɓ>ƥ
mb
ƥ
Alveolar Palatal
s* > nj
d > nd
j > nj
t > nd
c > nj
r > nd
ɗ>ƭ
ʄ>ƈ
nd
nj
ƭ
ƈ
m
l
n
y
ñ
Velar
Uvular
x > nq
Glottal
g > ng
k > ng
q > nq
‘
ng
nq
ŋ
Prenasalized stops, voiceless implosives, nasals, palatal and lateral
approximants, and glottal stops are unchanged by PCM. While s is unpredictably
affected by SCM, it appears to indiscriminately undergo PCM: suk ‘boat’ > ganjuk
‘big boat’.
2) Noun Classes
Sereer nouns fall into fourteen noun classes, which indicate both number
and agreement with determiners and adjectives. Noun class markers are prefixed
to the stem, and in some cases will trigger mutation of the initial consonant of the
stem. Adjectives and determiners agree with the noun they modify; this
agreement is morphologically realized via concordant prefixes.
Most lexical nouns can occur in two numbers, singular and plural. There
are eight singular noun classes and six plural noun classes, which are listed in
Tables 3 and 4. Noun classes are lexically determined: while generalizations can
be made about the semantic content of certain noun classes, they are by no
means entirely predictable. In most cases, noun classes are named after the
concordant marking on corresponding determiners.
Table 3 – Singular noun classes
Class
ox
ol
l
f
n
al
ong
gal
N Prefix
o-S
oøøø-P
ao-P
ga-P/gi-P
Adj Prefix
ooøfa-P
ø-P
a-S
o-P
a-S
D Prefix
oxollfnalongal-
Semantic Generalization
humans
diminutives
augmentatives
In this table and Table 4, S indicates a conditioned SCM and P a conditioned
PCM on the initial consonant of the stem. The lack of an overt prefix is indicated
by ø.
The ong and gal classes consist entirely of derived nouns denoting
diminutive and augmentative characteristics, respectively: gin ‘egg’ > ongin ‘little
egg’, gangin ‘big egg’. Both classes condition PCM on the initial consonant of the
stem. The gal class has two possible nominal prefixes, which seem to be in free
variation; both occur with the same concordant marking on adjectives and
determiners, so are here considered to consist in the same noun class.
The ox class consists entirely of nouns denoting singular humans. Derived
nouns that fall into the ox class are perforce interpreted as being human: moxoñ
‘to crumble’ > omoomoxoñ ‘someone who crumbles’. With very few exceptions, all
lexical nouns denoting humans fall into this noun class. Exceptions are listed in
Figure 2:
(2)
mbir
simb
xaarit
yaay
ya’
‘wrestler’
‘false lion’
‘friend’
‘mother’
‘mother’
n class
l class
f class
n class
n class
The other five non-derived singular noun classes (ol, l, f, n, and al) have no
apparent semantic generalization covering their constituent nouns.
Table 4 – Plural noun classes
Class
w
ax
ak
k
fn
gak
N Prefix
øxa-S
a-S
ø-S
fo-P
ga-P
Adj Prefix
øxa-S
a-S
ø-S
fo-P
a-P
D Prefix
waxakknak-
Semantic Generalization
humans
diminutives
augmentatives
As with the singular ox class, the plural w class consists entirely of humans.
These two classes overlap without exception. Similarly, the fn and gak classes
overlap entirely with their singular diminutive and augmentative counterparts,
ong and gal respectively. As with the other singular noun classes, there are no
semantic generalizations that can be drawn for the ax, ak, and k plural classes.
Consonant mutation occurs on nouns and adjectives in all plural noun
classes except the w class. Interestingly, for humans it is the singular noun class
that conditions SCM: otew ‘woman’ > rew ‘women’.
With two exceptions, each singular noun class corresponds directly with a
single plural noun classes. These correspondences are shown in Table 5. The
exceptions are the al and ol classes. The ol exception consists of a single lexical
item: the singular noun ojaf ‘leg’ has as its plural acaf, which is in the ak class; all
other ol nouns have their plural counterparts in the ax class. Nouns in the al class
correspond with the k plural class if they begin with a prenasalized stop, and
with the ak class if they do not.
Table 5 – Noun class pairs
Class
ox-w
ol-ax
ol-ak*
l-ak
f-k
n-k
al-k
al-ak
ong-fn
gal-gak
Example
woman
butterfly
leg
turtle
friend
bull
lake
gorilla
woman (DIM)
woman (AUG)
Noun (sg.)
otew
ofiiɗ
ojaf
xomb
xaarit
nqoox
ambeel
akoong
ondew
gandew
Noun (pl.)
rew
xapiiɗ
acaf
aqomb
qaarit
qoox
peel
akoong
fondew
gandew
Due to the regularity of the al exception, the form of the plural is nearly always
predictable from the singular noun accompanied by a determiner. This is true for
all noun class pairs except the ox-w pair, where the plural form determines the
singular form. There are three exceptions to this predictability attested so far. The
first is the word ojaf, discussed above. The second is the word okiin ‘person’,
which in the plural is wiin. This w > k SCM alternation is otherwise unattested;
due to the frequency of the word, we may assume it is a special case. The third
attested exception is the word obuul ‘marble’, which is a French borrowing. The
plural form xabuul does not undergo SCM as expected for an ol-ax noun. If we
assume that the word was borrowed as a plural, given the propensity of marbles
to appear in groups, this non-alternation may be justified.
Some nouns can appear in two noun classes and select both applicable
concord markers for determiners and adjectives, as seen in Figure 3.
(3)
f~k
fañiik fandeɓ fe
pañiik teɓ ke
l ~ ak fañiik deɓ le
apañiik ateɓ ake
‘the small elephant’
‘the small elephants’
‘the small elephant’
‘the small elephants’
3) Deverbal Nominalization
There are two clear deverbal nominalization processes attested in Sereer. Both
appear to be entirely productive and can apply to any verb, although this is
presumably constrained by semantics to some extent. Agent nominalization
occurs through a reduplication process whereby the body of the first syllable is
reduplicated, and the vowel is lengthened if it was not already long.
(4)
fañ
faañ
yet
‘to refuse’
‘to dig clams’
‘to fly’
opaafañ
opaafaañ
yeeyet
oyeeyet
‘refuser, naysayer’
‘clam digger’
‘insect’
‘flying person’
ox class
ox class
n class
ox class
Agents nominalized in this way will almost always fall into the ox class (w class
for plurals), resulting in SCM on the initial consonant of the reduplicant. (The
sole attested exception is shown in Figure 4.) Alternate forms from our informant
indicate that the stem is susceptible to overapplication of SCM in some cases,
although this is dispreferred: faañ > opaapaañ.
Despite its membership in the entirely human ox class, it is possible to
give a reduplicated agent noun an inanimate referent: ambeel arefa omeemeleƈ ‘the
lake is a sparkler’. It is as yet unclear whether this construction carries an
anthropomorphic sense.
The second deverbal nominalization process has no overt morphological
reflex aside from the noun class prefix marker, if applicable. This zero derivation
appears totally productive, and gives a result or event reading to derived noun.
Examples are given in Figure 5.
(5)
Verb
fen
dug
ŋas
yaq
wet
‘to lie’
‘to tie’
‘to play’
‘to destroy’
‘to open’
Noun
ofen
dug
faŋas
yaq
abet
‘lie’
‘knot’
‘game’
‘destruction’
‘opening’
Class
ol
l
f
n
al
As can be seen, this zero derivation nominalization process can result in nouns in
all five of the classes that lack semantic restrictions. The resulting noun class is
thus far unpredictable; it does not appear to be conditioned by the phonology of
the verb stem or by the thematic role of the nominalization. Some polysemous
verbs can be nominalized into multiple noun classes, with different associated
meanings for each, as seen in Figure 6.
(6)
kim
‘to sing, to believe’
damir ‘to help each other’
akim ‘song’
ogim ‘belief’
damir ‘handle’
odamir ‘handle’
al class
ol class
f class
ol class
Zero-derived nouns can be events, results, and instruments, as seen in Figure 7.
(7)
ruus
jaw
jaw
‘to shave’
‘to cook’
‘to cook’
nduus ‘shaving knife’
instrument
njaw ‘cooked meal’
result
njaw ‘the act of cooking’ event
There are a series of nouns that are clearly derived from verbs, but it is unclear
whether they are formed from a verb stem with an applicative suffix, or whether
the suffix is itself deverbal. Examples are shown in Figure 8.
(8)
jaw
‘to cook’
jal
‘to work’
weʄ
‘to swim’
cawir
cawel
calir
calel
beʄir
‘cooking utensils’
‘ingredients’
‘tools of a trade’
‘a job, tasks’
‘swimming aids’
k class
k class
k class
k class
k class
The -ir suffix may be either a deverbal noun instrument suffix, or the reciprocal
verb suffix, which carries an instrument meaning when nominalized. The fact
that most attested nouns with this suffix only occur in the plural may be
evidence for the latter account, since the reciprocal reading requires more than
one referent. However, the -el suffix is also only attested on plural nouns. There
is an anticausative verbal suffix of the same shape, and this seems to be a clear
example of zero derivation of a complex verb stem. But the lack of attested
singular nouns with this suffix, which has no obvious plural connotation,
suggests that the seemingly obligatory plural marking of complex deverbal
nouns may not be conditioned by the meaning of the suffix itself.
4) Noun-Noun Derivation
A handful of noun roots appear in multiple noun classes with different, related
meanings. These are shown in Figure 9.
(9)
f
ox
l
n
xaarit ‘friend’
otew ‘woman’
ɓaak ‘baobab tree’
mbamb ‘tree sp.’
n
n
n
l
nqaarit
ndew
ƥaak
pamb
‘friendship’
‘womanhood’
‘baobab fruit’
‘fruit of tree sp.’
There are indications of derivational processes along semantic grounds, e.g.,
from a person to a quality of that person, and from a tree to its fruit. However,
neither of these processes is productive, and there are not enough examples to
generalize.
5) Miscellany
Sereer has a general tendency to avoid vowel contact, even across word
boundaries. In the event of consecutive vowels, the second vowel may be elided
in most circumstances. This includes initial vowels in noun class prefixes and
concord markers: oxum refu oɓox owooxu ole > oxum refu ɓox owooxu le ‘Which is
the barking dog?’