Ndok Aisô

Ndok Aisô [n̩ˈdok̚ ˈaj.sɞ]
Period	c. 0-250 YP
Spoken in	Lasomo
Total speakers	unknown
Writing system	adapted Ngauro script
Classification	Edastean  Ndok
Typology
Basic word order	SVO
Morphology	fusional
Alignment	Split-S
Credits
Created by	v1.0 by ghur; v2.0 by Dunomapuka & Cedh

Ndok Aisô [n̩ˈdok̚ ˈaj.sɞ] is a language descended from Ndak Ta and spoken by the Ndok people of Lasomo (native: Axôltseubeu). This language sketch is based on writings from the second half of the 13th Dynasty of Ngahêxôldod (c. 250 YP); the major differences between this and the other main dialects will be discussed briefly. While the southern variety described here was mostly extinct by 600 YP, being displaced principally by Adāta, varieties descended from the central and northern dialects were still being spoken at least a millennium beyond this.

History and context

Genealogy

• Proto-Macro-Edastean (c. -4000 YP)
  • Proto-Talo-Edastean (c. -2500 YP)
    • Edastean languages
      • Ndak Ta (c. -1900 YP)
        • Western Edastean
          • Adāta (c. 0-200 YP)
          • Ndok Aisô (c. 0-200 YP)
        • Eastern Edastean
          • Fáralo (c. 0-200 YP)
          • Naidda (c. 0-200 YP)
          • Buruya Nzaysa (c. 0-200 YP)
          • Komejech (c. 0-200 YP)
        • Qedik (c. 0-200 YP)
    • Andaggic languages
    • Talo languages
  • Xoronic languages

Dialects

While boasting a large number of speakers, Ndok Aisô was never standardized as a language in the manner of its sisters Adāta and Fáralo, and accordingly each region or city spoke its own distinctive dialect. While these varieties had already begun to diverge during the Meshi period around -1000 YP, the Ndok had always had a common cultural identity, and thus contact between the various groups of speakers was always maintained. Sound changes and grammatical innovations could therefore still spread from one dialect to the other, or even across the whole Ndok sphere, and often did so. The result was a dialect continuum characterized by numerous intersecting isoglosses, with much of the linguistic variation originating not from different sound changes per se, but from a slightly different order of changes or from regional differences in their precise conditions. All in all, the dialects varied a lot in the details, and some word forms were synchronically quite far from each other, but most words, and most importantly the morphosyntax, were still very similar across all dialects.

The following overview will briefly characterize five of the most important varieties.

• Western Ndok Aiŝo was spoken along the middle Aiwa, upriver from the Bwimbai confluence. The dialect of the city of Mofutêseu, about halfway between the Bwimbai and the lower Rathedān, was characterized by voicing of Ndak Ta *s to [z] in intervocalic positions, by retention of intervocalic [r], by deaffrication of *ts to [tʰ], by raising of *e to [i], and most importantly by three highly distinctive sound changes shared with the neighboring language Adāta: Fortification of epenthetic *j to [z] (as opposed to [ʔ] in all other Ndok Aisô dialects), lenition of prevocalic *ŋ *ŋʷ to [j w], and deletion of all non-final coda consonants leading to the introduction of phonemic vowel length. Lexically, this dialect exhibited a greater percentage of loanwords from Adāta, Late Gezoro, and Meshi, all languages spoken further up the Aiwa valley.

• Southern Ndok Aisô was spoken along the lower Aiwa, down from the Bwimbai confluence to the Milīr and further on towards Buruya. The prestige variety spoken in the splendid city of Ngahêxôldod, which forms the basis for this grammar sketch, belonged to this group. Among its unique features were the syllabification of postconsonantal *w into [ɞʔ], the development of a [w]-onglide in words beginning with an unstressed rounded mid vowel, the debuccalization of word-final *t *d to [ʔ], and the diphthongization of word-final *i *u to [ɛw ɔj].

• Central Ndok Aisô as spoken in the city of Oigop'oibauxeu on the lower Bwimbai was the other main prestige variety. It was characterized by nasal mutation of original liquids adjacent to a historically nasalized vowel, by rounded reflexes of *ɛ *a when adjacent to a former labiovelar consonant, by fortification of *w to [ɡ] not only intervocalically but also when preceded by a liquid, by a merger of coda *r into [l], by a merger of plosive + *r clusters into aspirated stops, and by rhotacism of original intervocalic *s.

• Northern Ndok Aisô was spoken in the middle Bwimbai valley, upriver from Oigop'oibauxeu. It shared many of the developments in Central, and even took some of them further (for instance, nasal mutation affected *w in addition to *r *l, and postconsonantal *w was fortified also after [s]), but it also exhibited some distinctive features of its own, such as a shift of Pre-Ndok *χ to a pharyngeal [ħ], which in turn induced a much more extensive lowering process on adjacent vowels than in other dialects, a merger of *ɛ *ɞ into a single lax vowel [ə], and monophthongization of the diphthongs *əj *əw to [i u] in closed syllables. Also, the aspirated stops of the other dialects were mostly pronounced as ejectives [p’ t’ k’] in Northern; some remote villages even had implosives [ɓ ɖ ɠ] (this is likely the most conservative variant, considering that this series of consonants mainly derives from Ndak Ta voiced prenasalized stops *mb *nd *ŋɡ). Lexically, the Northern dialect contained much fewer loans from languages of the Aiwa valley, having borrowed more words from Antagg and Western Tlaliolz instead.

• Eastern Ndok Aisô was spoken in the region around Lake Saukseuleu (local: Sôsauli) northeast of Ngahêxôldod. The characteristic features of this dialect included an ejective pronunciation of the fortis plosives, a retention of intervocalic [w], a phonemic distinction between unlenited [b d ɡ] and lenited [v r j] based on whether original *b *d *ɡ had been intervocalic or not, a diphthong shift due to which the other dialects' [ɛw aw aj ɔj] corresponded mostly to Eastern [aw ow ej aj], a shift of *ŋ to [ɲ] (shared with Buruya Nzaysa), and a shift of originally labiovelar consonants to labials in some positions (shared with Fáralo). Lexically, this dialect exhibited proportionally more loanwords from Fáralo, Buruya Nzaysa, and Eastern Tlaliolz.

The following sample words illustrate some of the major differences between the dialects:

gloss		Western			Southern			Central			Northern			Eastern			etymology
‘king’		dizeheu	[diˈze.hew]		dixêheu	[diˈʔɜː.hɛw]		dixêheu	[diˈʔɛː.χɛw]		dixahau	[diˈʔɑː.ħɑw]		dixayau	[diˈʔaː.jaw]		diàka
‘house, home’		wēloi	[ˈweː.loj]		wêbloi	[ˈwɜb.lɔj]		wôbloi	[ˈwɔb.lɔj]		wəbləi	[ˈwəb.ləj]		wêblai	[ˈwɛː.blaj]		wimlau
‘fish’		mpóisugeu	[m̩ˈpoj.su.ɣew]		mpóisôxeu	[m̩ˈpɔ:j.sɞ.ʔɛw]		mpoisau	[m̩ˈpɔ:j.saw]		mpiskau	[m̩ˈpis.kaw]		mpaifou	[m̩ˈpaj.fow]		mpaiswa
‘left-handed person’		soizuk'u	[sojˈzu.kʰu]		soisuk'oi	[sɔjˈsuː.kʰɔj]		soiruk'ô	[sɔjˈɾuː.kʰɔ]		səisuk'u	[səjˈsuː.k’u]		saisuk'u	[sajˈsuː.k’u]		saisunggu
‘religious feast’		gaisi	[ˈɡaj.si]		gaikseu	[ˈɡajk.sɛw]		goiksê	[ˈɡɔjk.sɛ]		giksi	[ˈɡik.si]		beiksi	[ˈbej.ksi]		bwaikti
‘leg’		būroi	[ˈbuː.roj]		boitroi	[ˈbɔjt.ɾɔj]		boit'oi	[ˈbɔːj.tʰɔj]		bəit'əi	[ˈbəːj.t’əj]		baigrei	[ˈbaj.ɡɾej]		baitrai
‘spear’		t'ilog	[tʰiˈloɡ]		tselog	[ʦeˈloɡ̚]		tsenog	[ʦeˈnoɡ̚]		tsenog	[ʦeˈnoɡ]		tsəlôg	[ʦəˈlɔɡ]		tselô
‘jewel, gemstone’		iēkeu	[ˈjeː.kew]		ngekeu	[ˈŋeː.kɛw]		ngelkeu	[ˈŋel.kɛw]		ngekəu	[ˈŋeː.kəw]		ñeigou	[ˈɲej.ɡow]		ngerko
‘heavy’		warob	[waˈrob]		maxob	[maˈʔoɓ]		môlgob	[mɔlˈɡob̚]		mogob	[moˈɣob]		magôb	[maˈɡɔb]		mwarwobm
‘blank; empty’		teuleb	[tewˈleb]		teulêb	[tɛwˈlɜɓ]		teunêb	[tɛwˈnɛb̚]		tunəb	[tuˈnəb]		taulêb	[tawˈlɛb]		*talim < Gez. taːliːm ‘bald’

Phonology

Phoneme inventory

Consonants

	labial	dental	alveolar	velar	glottal
unvoiced plosive	p	t	ʦ	k	ʔ
voiced plosive	b	d		ɡ
aspirated plosive	pʰ	tʰ		kʰ
fricative	f		s · z		h
nasal	m	n		ŋ
liquid		l	ɾ
glide				w

• /pʰ tʰ kʰ ʦ ʔ ɡ ŋ ɾ/ are written p' t' k' ts x g ng r.
• t or d also represent /ʔ/ word-finally; the spelling choice is etymological.
• Otherwise, all consonants are written as in IPA.
• /z/ does not occur in words inherited directly from Ndak Ta.
• In native words, /ɾ w/ appear only in word-initial position.

Vowels

	front	central	back
close	i		u
mid-close	e		o
mid-open	ɛ	ɞ
open		a

• The mid-open vowels /ɛ ɞ/ are written ê ô.
• All other vowels are written as in IPA.

Diphthongs

eu [ɛw]	oi [ɔj]
au [aw]	ai [aj]

Allophony

• The lax vowels denoted ê ô are extremely unstable phonetically; we mark them as /ɛ ɞ/ in accordance with the norm in Ngahêxôldod. The former may manifest as any of [ɛ ɛ̈ ɜ ə], the latter as [ɞ ɵ ɔ œ œ̈].
• /i u/ are laxed to [ɪ ʊ] in closed syllables.
• Intervocalic /b d ɡ/ become [β ð ɣ].
• Furthermore, the above rule may sometimes apply across word boundaries, though this is avoided in careful speech.
• All plosives in word-final position are unreleased (these being /p b k ɡ/, as all /t d/ have become /ʔ/). The voiced stops may even be implosivized.

Stress and phonotactics

• Syllables are of the structure (C)V(C). Clusters are limited to nasal + stop in initial position. Final clusters are not permitted; medial clusters are mostly unrestricted.
• Consonants in medial clusters must match in voicing. A single exception is the name Êtsdehad with an apparent /ʦd/ cluster, but [ʦd] only occurs as a spelling pronunciation in upper registers. The more common pronunciation is simply [ʦt].
• Syllabic nasals occur only before a homorganic stop in initial position.
• The glottal stop has phonemic status, and can occur in intervocalic or final position.
• Stress usually falls on the final syllable if it is closed; or on the penult, if the final syllable is open.
• Exceptions to the above come from insertion of epenthetic vowels and various borrowings. In these irregular cases the accented syllable is marked with an acute.
• Intonation of words is rather flat. The stressed syllable is pronounced at a slightly lower pitch. If the stressed syllable is open, it is lengthened noticeably.

Sound changes

Ndak Ta to Pre-Ndok (c. -1000 YP)

1. Final syllabic nasals as in mabm "mouth" are dropped. Word-medially, [bm dn ɡŋ] become geminate nasals [mm nn ŋŋ], and [pm tn tsn kŋ] become geminate voiceless stops [pp tt tts kk].
2. All vowels should henceforth be treated as phonemically nasalized before [m n ŋ ŋʷ], with occasional exceptions such as omo "mother" [o.mo] and likewise its derivative Latsomo. Nasal vowels were laxed in Ndak Ta, and the dialect that gave rise to Ndok Aisô had this feature, but it apparently lacked the rule that /a e i ai au/ were laxed in closed syllables.
3. Non-nasalized [a] raises to [æ], and [e] raises to [æj], before non-final [kʷ k ɡ].
4. Remaining [a] merges with [o] into [ɒ], and [ai au] merge to [ɒj]. Nasal vowels, and any vowels before [r], are unaffected. Any [au] followed by a vowel is treated as /a.wV/, with the [w] becoming an intervocalic consonant: Sau Ibli "Huyfárah" → *sɒwibli (later sagibleu).
5. Non-initial [m n ŋ] (exceptions follow) merge with [b d ɡ] and [ŋʷ] becomes [ɡʷ], but preceding vowels remain nasalized. [mb mbʷ nd ŋɡ] become geminate voiced stops [bb bbʷ dd ɡɡ]. But geminate nasals as in ammi "fly" simplify to single nasals without undergoing fortition to plosives. A preceding [r] blocks denasalization, perhaps via assimilation to a geminate nasal (mpurnim → *mpunnim → *mpunĩb). Word-medial nasals usually also fail to denasalize if the preceding syllable begins with a nasal or a plosive at the same place of articulation (ndenam → *ndẽnãb). [mp nt nʦ ŋk ŋkʷ] remain unaffected too.
6. Sporadically, there is a tendency for initial CV syllables to switch to VC, as in Latsomo → *ɒlʦɒbɒ, or Tsinakan → *ĩtsdækãd. This is occasionally attested with medial syllables, as in Ngkeladadn → *ŋkeɒldɒd.
7. Various cluster changes and simplifications:
   • [dɡ] → [ɡ]
   • [pt pts] → [ps]
   • [kt kts] → [ks]
   • [tp tk] → [sp sk]
   • [sm sr] → [sb sd] → [sp st]
   • [kp pk] → [kkʷ]
8. Around this time, stress shifts to the final syllable if it is closed, otherwise to the penultimate.
9. Vowel hiatus is broken up with an epenthetic glottal stop: *ŋkeɒldɒd → *ŋkeʔɒldɒd (this is a continuing synchronic phonological rule in the language).
10. Intervocalic [k ɡ ŋ] become [χ].
11. Voiceless geminates are simplified to single consonants.

The break between these two sections coincides with the period of major borrowing from Meshi.

Pre-Ndok to Ndok Aisô (c. 250 YP)

Southern dialect (Ngahêxôldod)

12. Common Ndok vowel developments:
    • [ɒ] breaks to [əw] in open syllables, except where this would create two pretonic [əw] syllables in a row. In stressed (that is, final) closed syllables, [ɒ] becomes [o], and in unstressed closed syllables it becomes a lax rounded phoneme reflected as [ɞ] in the modern dialect. Any [əww] simplifies to [əw], and thence to [aw]: mbwawe "push" → *mbwɒwe → *mbwawe (later nggage).
    • [æ] raises to [e], but if there is already an [e] in the next syllable, it becomes [a]. [æj] always becomes [aj].
13. Denasalization of nasal vowels:
    • [ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ ãi ãu] → [a ɛ ɛ o u aj aw].
14. Restructuring and loss of labiovelars:
    • [bʷ] backs to [ɡʷ] (and [mbʷ] to [ŋɡʷ]).
    • Intervocalic [w] fortifies to [ɡʷ].
    • Labiovelars become plain velars: [kʷ ɡʷ ŋʷ] → [k ɡ ŋ].
    • Postconsonantal [w] becomes syllabic, eventually ending up as [ɞʔ]: *mpɒiswəw "fish" → *mpɒisɞʔəw.
15. Consonant aspiration:
    • The geminate voiced stops [bb dd ɡɡ] shift to new fortis phonemes written p' t' k' and pronounced as aspirated stops [pʰ tʰ kʰ].
    • Aspirated stops [pʰ tʰ kʰ] become plain stops [p t k] when an adjacent stressed syllable also contains an aspirated stop.
16. Spirantization:
    • Non-initial [mp nt nʦ ŋk] become [f s s χ].
17. Debuccalization:
    • [r] becomes [ʔ] between vowels and word-finally, and is deleted entirely in non-final coda position.
18. Haplology:
    • When two consecutive syllables both begin with an intervocalic glottal stop [ʔ], the less accented one of these syllables is reduced to the offglide of a diphthong if possible, or else deleted entirely.
19. Vowel changes:
    • [əw ɒj] shift to [ɛw ɔj].
    • [e] is lowered to [ɛ] after [χ] (and sporadically before [χ]).
    • Word-final [i u] diphthongize to [iə uə], and later merge into [ɛw ɔj]. This change is blocked in monosyllabic words.
    • [ɛ] centralizes to [ɜ].
    • Any unstressed word-initial [o ɞ wo] become [wɞ].
20. Further consonant changes:
    • Intervocalic voiced stops lenite to fricatives: [b d ɡ] → [β ð ɣ].
    • Word-final [t] and [d] weaken to [ʔ]. Other final plosives tend to be unreleased.
    • [χ] becomes [h].

Other dialects

Central dialect (Oigop'oibauxeu)

12. Common Ndok vowel developments:
    • [ɒ] breaks to [əw] in open syllables, except where this would create two pretonic [əw] syllables in a row. In stressed (that is, final) closed syllables it becomes [o], and in unstressed closed syllables it becomes a lax rounded phoneme [ɞ]. Any [əww] simplifies to [əw], and thence to [aw]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • [æ] raises to [e], but if there is already an [e] in the next syllable, it becomes [a]. [æj] always becomes [aj]. (Shared with Northern & Southern, partly shared with all other dialects.)
13. Nasal mutation:
    • The geminate voiced stops [bb dd ɡɡ ɡɡʷ] become nasals [m n ŋ ŋʷ] between two nasalized vowels. (Shared with Western. This is effectively an exception to rule #5 above, which may indicate that Pre-Ndok exhibited some degree of fluctuation between prenasalized stops and voiced geminates for quite a long time.)
    • The liquids [r l] become [n] after a nasalized vowel, and also intervocalically before a nasalized vowel unless the vowel is followed by intervocalic [n]. (Shared with Northern.)
14. Denasalization of nasalized vowels:
    • [ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ ãj ãw] → [a ɛ ɛ o u aj aw]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
15. Restructuring and loss of labiovelars:
    • [bʷ bw pw] are backed to [ɡʷ ɡʷ kʷ] (and [mbʷ mbw mpw] to [ŋɡʷ ŋɡʷ ŋkʷ]). (Shared with Northern & Eastern, partly shared with all other dialects.)
    • Intervocalically and after one of [r l], [w] fortifies to [ɡʷ]. (Shared with Northern, partly shared with all other dialects.)
    • [a ɛ əw] become [o ɞ ɔw] adjacent to a labiovelar consonant or [w]. (Shared with Northern.)
    • Labiovelars become plain velars: [kʷ ɡʷ ŋʷ] → [k ɡ ŋ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • Postconsonantal [w] is deleted. (Shared with Northern & Eastern.)
16. Consonant aspiration:
    • The geminate voiced stops [bb dd ɡɡ] fortify to aspirated stops [pʰ tʰ kʰ]. (Shared with Western & Southern, and similar to all other dialects where the result is a glottalized series of ejectives instead.)
    • Clusters of a plosive followed by [r] merge with the respective aspirated stops. (Shared with Northern, where the resulting sounds are ejectives.)
    • Aspirated stops [pʰ tʰ kʰ] become plain stops [p t k] when an adjacent stressed syllable also contains an aspirated stop. (Shared with Western & Southern, and similar to dissimilative deglottalization in all other dialects.)
17. Sibilant lenition:
    • Intervocalic [s] becomes a voiced [z]. (Shared with Western.)
18. Spirantization:
    • Non-initial [mp nt nts ŋk] spirantize to [f s s χ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
19. Derhotacization:
    • Coda [r] merges into [l], except after a diphthong where it is deleted instead.
    • Intervocalic [r] is debuccalized to [ʔ]. (Shared with Northern, Southern & Eastern.)
20. Vowel changes:
    • [ɞ ɔw] shift to [ɔ aw]. (Shared with Northern.)
    • [əw ɒj] shift to [ɛw ɔj]. (Shared with Southern & Western.)
    • [e o] are lowered to [ɛ ɔ] when adjacent to [χ]. (Partly shared with all other dialects.)
    • Word-final [i u] are lowered to [ɪ ʊ], and thence to [ɛ ɔ]. This change is blocked in monosyllables. (Shared with Southern, where the resulting sounds are [ɛw ɔi].)
21. Further consonant changes:
    • [z] rhotacizes to [r].
    • Intervocalic voiced stops lenite to fricatives: [b d ɡ] → [β ð ɣ]. (Shared with Western, Southern & Eastern.)
    • Word-final plosives are unreleased. (Shared with Southern.)

Northern dialect (Bwimbai valley)

12. Common Ndok vowel developments:
    • [ɒ] breaks to [əw] in open syllables, except where this would create two pretonic [əw] syllables in a row. In stressed (that is, final) closed syllables it becomes [o], and in unstressed closed syllables it becomes a lax rounded phoneme [ɞ]. Any [əww] simplifies to [əw], and thence to [aw]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • [æ] raises to [e], but if there is already an [e] in the next syllable, it becomes [a]. [æj] always becomes [aj]. (Shared with Central & Southern, partly shared with all other dialects.)
13. Nasal mutation:
    • The liquids [r l] become [n] after a nasalized vowel, and also intervocalically before a nasalized vowel unless the vowel is followed by intervocalic [n]. (Shared with Central.)
    • [w] becomes [m] after a nasalized vowel, and also intervocalically before a nasalized vowel unless the vowel is followed by intervocalic [m].
14. Denasalization of nasalized vowels:
    • [ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ ãj ãw] → [a ɛ ɛ o u aj aw]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
15. Restructuring and loss of labiovelars:
    • [bʷ bw pw dw tw] are backed to [ɡʷ ɡʷ kʷ ɡʷ kʷ] (and [mbʷ mbw mpw ndw ntw] to [ŋɡʷ ŋɡʷ ŋkʷ ŋɡʷ ŋkʷ]). (Partly shared with all other dialects.)
    • Intervocalically and after one of [r l], [w] fortifies to [ɡʷ]. (Shared with Central, partly shared with all other dialects.)
    • [a ɛ əw] become [o ɞ ɔw] adjacent to a labiovelar consonant or [w]. (Shared with Central.)
    • [mw nw ŋʷ] all become [m]. Any remaining postconsonantal [w] is deleted. (Shared with Eastern, partly shared with Central.)
    • Labiovelars become plain velars: [kʷ ɡʷ ŋʷ] → [k ɡ ŋ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
16. Consonant glottalization:
    • The geminate voiced stops [bb dd ɡɡ] shift to a series of glottalized stops which are typically pronounced as ejectives [p’ t’ k’], but as implosives [ɓ ɖ ɠ] in the most remote upriver villages. (Shared with Eastern, and similar to all other dialects where the result is a series of aspirated stops instead.)
    • Clusters of a plosive followed by [r] merge with the respective glottalized stops. (Shared with Central, where the resulting sounds are aspirated stops.)
    • Ejective [p’ t’ k’] become plain stops [p t k] when an adjacent stressed syllable also contains an ejective. (Shared with Eastern, and similar to dissimilative deaspiration in all other dialects.)
17. Spirantization:
    • Non-initial [mp nt nts ŋk] spirantize to [f s s χ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
18. Debuccalization:
    • [r] becomes [ʔ] between vowels and word-finally, and is deleted entirely in non-final coda position. (Mostly shared with Central, Eastern & Southern.)
    • [χ] becomes a pharyngeal [ħ].
19. Vowel changes:
    • [ɛ ɞ] merge into a single [ə]. Along with this, [ɒj] shifts to [əj].
    • [ɔw] shifts to [aw]. (Shared with Central.)
    • [i e ə aj aw əj əw] become [ə a a a a e o] before [ħ], and [ə a a aj aw aj aw] after [ħ]. (Partly shared with Central, Western & Southern.)
    • Remaining [əj əw] are monophthongized to [i u] in closed syllables, in unstressed word-initial syllables, and before nasal consonants.

Eastern dialect (Lake Sôsauli)

12. Common Ndok vowel developments:
    • [ɒ] ] breaks to [əw] in open syllables, except where this would create two pretonic [əw] syllables in a row. In closed syllables it becomes [ɔ]. Any [əww] simplifies to [ɔw]. (Shared with all other dialects, except that there is no distinction between stressed and unstressed closed syllables, and that [əww] remains rounded.)
    • [æ æj] merge, becoming [aj] in open syllables and [ɛ] in closed syllables. (Partly shared with all other dialects.)
13. Nasal mutation:
    • [r] becomes [n] adjacent to a nasalized vowel. (Partly shared with Central & Northern.)
14. Denasalization of nasalized vowels:
    • [ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ ãj ãw] → [a ɛ ɛ ɔ u ej ow]. (Shared with all other dialects, except that nasalized diphthongs are raised somewhat and thus do not merge with the diphthongs before NT *r.)
15. Vowel changes:
    • [əw ɒj] shift to [aw aj].
    • [o] merges into [ɔ].
    • Unstressed [e] becomes [ɛ] word-initially, and [ə] elsewhere.
16. Restructuring of labiovelars (Part 1):
    • [bʷ bw pw dw tw sw] are backed to [ɡʷ ɡʷ kʷ ɡʷ kʷ χʷ] (and [mbʷ mbw mpw ndw ntw] to [ŋɡʷ ŋɡʷ ŋkʷ ŋɡʷ ŋkʷ]). (Partly shared with the other dialects to varying degrees.)
    • [w] fortifies to [gʷ] after the liquids [l r]. (Shared with Central & Northern. However, unlike all other dialects, intervocalic [w] remains unchanged.)
17. Consonant glottalization:
    • The geminate voiced stops [bb dd ɡɡ ɡɡʷ] shift to ejectives [p’ t’ k’ kʷ’]. (Shared with Northern, and similar to all other dialects where the result is a series of aspirated stops instead.)
18. Spirantization:
    • Non-initial [mp nt nts ŋk ŋkʷ] become [f s s χ χʷ]. (Shared with all other dialects, but apparently happens earlier.)
19. Restructuring and loss of labiovelars (Part 2):
    • The labiovelar plosives [kʷ ɡʷ ŋkʷ ŋɡʷ] become labials [p b mp mb] when followed by a front vowel, and plain velars [k ɡ ŋk ŋɡ] otherwise. The ejective [kʷ’] always becomes [k’], and the fricative [χʷ] always becomes [f]. (Where labialization is lost, the change is shared with all other dialects, but apparently happens later.)
    • [mw nw ŋʷ] all become [m]. Any remaining postconsonantal [w] is deleted. (Shared with Northern, partly shared with Central.)
20. Lenition of intervocalic voiced stops:
    • [b d ɡ] become [β ð ɣ] between vowels. (Shared with Central, Southern & Western, but apparently happens earlier.)
21. Cluster simplification and debuccalization of [r]:
    • [p t k] become voiced to [b d ɡ] adjacent to [r l]. The coronal clusters [dr dl] then dissimilate to [ɡr ɡl]. Plosives followed by a nasal are deleted.
    • [r] becomes [ʔ] between vowels, and is deleted entirely in coda position. (Shared with Central, Southern & Northern.)
    • Coda [ts] becomes [s].
22. Further consonant changes:
    • Ejective [p’ t’ k’] become plain stops [p t k] when an adjacent stressed syllable also contains an ejective. (Shared with Northern, and similar to dissimilative deaspiration in all other dialects.)
    • [χ] becomes [x].
    • [ŋ] shifts to [ɲ]. (However, [ŋ] remains before velar plosives, where it is now an allophone of /n/).
    • [x ɣ] merge when preceded by a diphthong, becoming [x] before stressed [i u], and zero otherwise, with the offglide of the diphthong becoming an intervocalic semivowel [j] or [w].
    • The voiced fricatives [β ð ɣ] shift to [v r j].
    • Intervocalic [j] tends to be deleted before unstressed front vowels, and intervocalic [w] tends to be deleted before unstressed back vowels, when the resulting vowel sequence can easily merge into one of the existing diphthongs [ej aj aw ow].
23. Further vowel changes:
    • [aj ej] become [e] when an adjacent stressed syllable contains a diphthong, and [aw ow] become [o] in the same environment.
    • [ej ow] become [e o] in closed syllables. Conversely, stressed [e] becomes [ej] in an open syllable.
    • [e o] are lowered to [ɛ ɔ] before voiceless consonants.

Western dialect (Middle Aiwa)

12. Exceptions to earlier sound changes:
    • Vowel hiatus is not resolved with a glottal stop (i.e. rule #9 is absent), but by inserting [j] after front vowels and [w] after back vowels.
    • Intervocalic [ŋ] from earlier geminate [ŋŋ] is preserved (i.e. rule #10 affects [k ɡ] only).
    • Voiceless geminates [pp tt kk kkʷ] are preserved (i.e. rule #11 is absent)
13. Common Ndok vowel developments:
    • [ɒ] breaks to [əw] in open syllables, except where this would create two pretonic [əw] syllables in a row. In stressed (that is, final) closed syllables it becomes [o], and in unstressed closed syllables it becomes a lax rounded phoneme [ɔ]. Any [əww] simplifies to [əw], and thence to [aw]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • [æ] raises to [ɛ], and [æj] becomes [aj]. (Shared with all other dialects, except that [æ] → [ɛ] happens without any exceptions here.)
14. Nasal mutation:
    • The voiced stops [b d ɡ ɡʷ] and their geminate counterparts [bb dd ɡɡ ɡɡʷ] become nasals [m n ŋ ŋʷ] (always singleton) between two nasalized vowels. (Partly shared with Central. This is effectively an exception to rule #5 above, which may indicate that Pre-Ndok exhibited some degree of fluctuation between nasals and voiced stops for quite a long time.)
15. Denasalization of nasalized vowels:
    • [ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ ãj ãw] → [a ɛ ɛ o u aj aw]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
16. Restructuring and loss of labiovelars:
    • [bʷ] is backed to [ɡʷ] (and [mbʷ] to [ŋɡʷ]). (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • [ŋ ŋʷ] become [j w]. (However, [ŋ] remains before velar plosives, where it is now an allophone of /n/).
    • Intervocalic [w j] fortify to [ɡʷ z]. ([w] → [ɡʷ] shared with Southern, Central & Northern; [j] → [z] shared with Adāta.)
    • Labiovelars become plain velars: [kʷ ɡʷ ŋʷ] → [k ɡ ŋ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • Along with this, [w] is deleted after [p b r l]. (Partly shared with Central & Northern.)
    • Any remaining postconsonantal [w] becomes a syllabic [uw]. (Shared with Southern, where the result is [ɞʔ] instead.)
17. Consonant aspiration:
    • The geminate voiced stops [bb dd ɡɡ] fortify to aspirated stops [pʰ tʰ kʰ]. The rare voiceless geminates [pp tt kk] also become [pʰ tʰ kʰ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
    • [ts] merges into [tʰ] before a vowel, and into [t] in coda position.
    • Aspirated stops [pʰ tʰ kʰ] become plain stops [p t k] when an adjacent stressed syllable also contains an aspirated stop. (Shared with all other dialects.)
18. Sibilant lenition:
    • Intervocalic [s] merges with [z]. (Shared with Central.)
19. Spirantization:
    • Non-initial [mp nt ŋk] spirantize to [f s χ]. (Shared with all other dialects.)
20. Vowel changes:
    • [əw ɒj] shift to [ɛw ɔj]. (Shared with Central & Southern.)
    • [e] is lowered to [ɛ] when adjacent to [χ]. (Shared with Central & Northern, partly shared with Southern.)
    • [e ɛ ɔ] raise to [i e o].
    • [ji wu] dissimilate to [je wo].
21. Coda deletion and vowel lengthening:
    • All non-final coda consonants are deleted with compensatory lengthening of a preceding monophthongal vowel. (Shared with Adāta.)
    • The diphthongs [aw ɛw] become long monophthongs [aː eː] when the next syllable contains a rounded vowel, and [aj ɔj] similarly become [aː oː] when the next syllable contains a front vowel. [ɛw ɔj] also become [eː oː] when the following syllable contains a diphthong.
    • [oː] dissimilates to [aː] when the next syllable contains one of [u uː], and to [uː] when the next syllable contains one of [o oː a aː].
22. Further consonant changes:
    • Intervocalic voiced stops lenite: [b d ɡ] → [β ð ɣ]. (Shared with Central, Southern & Eastern.)
    • [χ] becomes [h]. (Shared with Southern.)

Nouns

The antigenitive

While personal pronouns distinguish between nominative, accusative and genitive cases, nouns in Ndok Aisô are not marked for case. There is, however, the so-called antigenitive inflection, which marks a noun that is possessed or subordinately associated to another (and thus glossed as poss "possessed"): noun1.poss noun2 can be translated as "noun1 of noun2."

The antigenitive is marked by suffixing -a; or -xa after a vowel. Ultimately this morpheme derives from NT âk. It shifts the accent to the syllable directly preceding it.

• kehad bean → kehada a bean of...
• mpep breasts → mpepa breasts of...
• goideu rabbit → goideuxa the rabbit of...

Normally, -o- before a final consonant breaks to -eu-, and final -k -g weaken to -h-.

• mbop music → mbeupa music of...
• mudok dream → mudeuha dream of...
• daig mountain → daiha mountain of...

A few nouns ending in a voiced plosive change this to the corresponding nasal in the antigenitive, with preceding -i- -e- changing to -ê-, preceding -oi- changing to either -ai- or -au-, and some instances of -o- changing to -a-.

• mob mouth → mama mouth of...
• wed vegetable → wêna vegetable of...

When final -eu -oi descend from earlier -i -u, the vowel reverts to its monophthong form before the antigenitive marker.

• auseu river → ausixa river of...
• exiboi tyrant → exibuxa tyrant of...

The possessor occurs in its normal absolute form, following the possessed.

• mpepa met the woman's breasts
• tsisa idau the nobleman's dog

Do not translate English "of" too literally; this construction should not be used if the two nouns are in a purely appositive relationship.

• mos Ngahêxôldod the city of Akelodo (not *meusa Ngahêxôldod)

The antigenitive is also not used when the possessor is indicated with a genitive pronoun.

• woi ngufeu "my cat" (not *ngufeuxa woi)

If the possessed item is expressed by a complex construction which contains e.g. adjectives or prepositional phrases, the antigenitive marker acts like a clitic that attaches to the last word of the noun phrase (this is similar to the behaviour of English "-'s" in the construction "the Queen of England's hat", but the possessive relationship is the other way around).

• tsis laixeu a young dog → tsis laixixa idau the young dog of the nobleman
• ngufeu noi ndoi the cat on the tree → ngufeu noi ndoixa met the woman's cat on the tree

The plurals

Ndok Aisô distinguishes two plural forms on nouns. These are marked by prefixes, which we will separate from the root by a hyphen: na- marks the paucal plural (derived from NT namê "some"), and o- marks the general plural (derived from omba "many"). Generally, the former indicates between two and ten items, or emphasizes a less-than-expected number; the latter, which is semantically the less marked of the two, indicates more than about ten, or a more-than-expected number, or an unknown or indefinite quantity. Plural prefixes are not used in conjunction with cardinal numbers.

• na-pop men (a few)
• o-pop men (a crowd; or as a generalization)
• na-sêb sheep (a few; less than a flock)
• o-sêb sheep (a lot; the whole flock)
• na-Ndok Ndok people (some particular subset; a few of them)
• o-Ndok Ndok people (a large mass; or the entire population)

Some nouns indicating natural pairs, especially pairs of body parts, which would have been marked with the dual in Ndak Ta, are morphologically singular in Ndok Aisô, though they take dual possessive forms. The singular may also indicate one part of the pair, so this may be differentiated by saying "a single eye," "one eye," etc.

• oldoi eye; the eyes
• o-oldoi eyes (of various people)
• woi oldoi my eye
• woig oldoi my eyes (not *woig na-oldoi)

The plural prefixes never affect the word accent.

The consonant mutation

A process common enough in Ndok Aisô morphophonology, and whose most common application is in marking plurals, the consonant mutation changes initial voiceless prenasalized stops into fricatives with the addition of a prefix. In addition, initial /ɾ/ and most instances of initial /w/ undergo mutation to /ʔ g/.

• mp nt nts ngk → f s s h
• r w → x g

Thus:

• mpóisôxeu fish (sg) → na-fóisôxeu, o-fóisôxeu fish (pl)
• ntêga penis → na-sêga, o-sêga penises
• ntse vital fluids (of one person) → na-se, o-se vital fluids (of several, many)
• ngkaifoig aftereffect → na-haifoig, o-haifoig aftereffects
• runok priest → na-xunok, o-xunok priests
• wêbes friend → na-gêbes, o-gêbes friends

However, instances of /w/ originating from recent vowel breaking are dropped instead of being fortified:

• wôkrêbeu candle → na-ôkrêbeu, o-ôkrêbeu candles

Pronouns and determiners

Personal pronouns

Ndok Aisô has nominative, accusative and genitive personal pronouns, distinguishing singular, plural, and dual numbers. The nom and acc forms descend directly from Ndak Ta, while the genitives derive from demonstratives - near-me semantically shifting to "my," near-you to "your," and far-from-either to "his/her."

	1st person				2nd person				3rd person
	NOM	ACC	GEN		NOM	ACC	GEN		NOM	ACC	GEN
singular	i	ê	woi		deu	dog	ga		eu	a	tsi
dual	ig	is	woig		dog	dos	gag		og	os	tsig
plural	ik	is	woik		dok	dos	gak		ok	os	tsik

Numbers

	x	10x	ordinal
1	ke	reu	nege
2	ngi	ngixeu	luhix
3	wos	wosteu	lugos
4	bu	buxeu	lubux
5	doi	dauxeu	ludoix
6	ets	etsteu	luxets
7	mab	mabreu	lubab
8	sud	sudreu	lusud
9	nil	nixeu	ludil
10	reu	tsima	luxeux

The ordinal prefix descends from the NT definite lu-. All ordinal forms were stressed on the final syllable, and those ending in vowels came to be perceived as ending in a glottal stop. The word for "first" has been suppleted with an unrelated root, and "hundred" is borrowed from Meshi.

Higher numbers use the form ten od unit: reu od ke "eleven," dauxeu od mab "fifty-seven," etc.

Ndok Aisô numerals can be used both as quantifiers (i.e. attributed to a nominal head) or as nouns in their own right. If they are used as quantifiers, they come before their noun, which does not take any plural prefixes:

• sud sêb
  eight sheep
  eight sheep

• luxeux od wos dixêheuteu
  tenth and three dynasty
  the 13th Dynasty

Other quantifiers

Indefinite quantities are usually referred to only by plural prefixes. However, some special quantifiers exist, which are generally used with singular nouns. Most of them can be used with pluralized nouns as well; in that case, they often take on a partitive meaning.

ois	many, more; an exceptionally large number of
nga	a few; some of
ndog	a pair of; two out of
tsu	a single one; one out of
mi	no; none of
ege	every; each one of
egek	all; all of

Noun phrases quantified by ois and egek require plural inflection on verbs and adjectives, while the other quantifiers are accompanied by singular forms.

Like numbers, indefinite quantifiers are always the first element in their noun phrase.

• mi ngkoi
  no egg
  no eggs

• ois o-fêleu
  more PL-rain
  very much rain

• tsu na-kix
  single PC-goat
  one of these few goats

There are two quantifiers, not included in the table, which behave somewhat differently - mahêg and aihêg. These are fossilized dual forms of "nothing" and "everything" respectively, which correspond more or less to the English "neither" and "both". Nowadays they are not confined to dual quantities any longer, but can be used with any noun in the paucal plural, regardless of how many instances of that noun are actually being referred to. They cannot, however, be used with singular or plural nouns.

• aihêg na-huxeu
  both PC-book
  both books

In addition, both mahêg and aihêg can be used as pronouns, which is not possible with the other indefinite quantifiers.

Demonstratives

As Ndok Aisô has turned the original demonstratives into genitive pronouns, new demonstratives were created from locational adjectives and adverbs (tsuts < tsuts "near", mpeu < mpag "far" etc.). They are still very much akin to adjectives in that they share adjectivial case and number morphology, and may still be used adjectivially by placing them after the noun, although this is rarely seen. In fact, demonstratives and adjectives occupy exactly the same syntactic slots in a noun phrase, which has led scholars to posit that Ndok Aisô demonstratives are indeed just a special type of adjectives. The main difference seems to be that if a noun phrase contains both a demonstrative and a regular adjective, it is always the demonstrative which is placed before the noun, never the adjective. Also, demonstratives may only be placed after the noun if there is no other adjective in their NP. If demonstratives co-occur with a quantifier, the quantifier comes first.

Demonstratives exhibit only one degree of distance deixis (here vs. not here), but the location pointed to may be specified in a directional sense. There is also an indefinite demonstrative, which translates roughly as English "any".

Ndok Aisô demonstratives inflect for case and number like other adjectives (see here). All inflected forms are given in the table below. The citation form is the nominative singular, the second column lists acc.sg, nom.pl, and acc.pl (in that order). Most of the forms are regular; however, the suffixed forms of tsuts have been shortened via haplology of the unstressed first syllable, and the nom.sg of mpeu (earlier *mpɒ) was formed from the accusative by analogy.

nom.sg	morphology	meaning
tsuts	tsog, tsok, tsos	this
mpeu	mpag, mpek, mpos	that
oi	aug, oik, ois	any
gut	gutog, gutok, gutos	right
mboi	mbaig, mboik, mbois	left
nggoi	nggaig, nggoik, nggois	upper, back
aideu	aidag, aidek, aidos	lower, front

Examples:

• tsuts pop
  this man
  this man (nominative)

• mpos o-met
  that-ACC.PL PL-woman
  those women (accusative)

• gutok na-ndoi
  right-NOM.PL PC-tree
  the group of trees to the right

• nggoi nak
  back field
  the field uphill

A handful of other adjectives are occasionally also used in the role of a demonstrative; these include geu "other, next, subsequent", lade "previous", paikeu "last, final", and all ordinal numbers.

Correlative pronouns

The reanalysis of the NT demonstratives as genitive pronouns and the creation of plural prefixes from the quantifiers namê and omba led to a major reshaping of the set of correlative pronouns. About half the items in the table below are innovations, partly based on semi-transparent compounds (e.g. the entire "person" row consists of compound pronouns containing the root rud "man"), partly based on reinterpretation of existing grammatical morphemes (for instance, oi and the initial morphemes in auxud and agets derive from the NT indefinite article au, and the forms ndoxud, ndeuloi, ndeutsoi contain the NT discourse-referential article ndo).

	query	this	that	some	no	every
determiner	igeu	tsuts	mpeu	oi	mi	ege
thing	gegeu	waihê	tsihê	nap'e	mahê	aihê
person	igaxud	woixud, gaxud	ndoxud	auxud	mixud	egexud
place	igeuloi	woilul, galul	ndeuloi	nabloi	meuloi	egeloi
time	igeutsoi	oitsoi	ndeutsoi	nap'oi	meutsoi	egetsoi
way	ipeu		tsip	agets	mixets	egip
reason	ndugeu		tsêt'oi		mat'oi

The alternative forms for "this person" and "this place" remain transparently related to the first and second person genitive pronouns ("my man"/"your man" etc.), and are chosen according to the pragmatics of the speech act, with the second person variants gaxud and galul considered more polite. If in doubt as to which of the two would be more appropriate, it is seldom wrong to use the distantives ndoxud or ndeuloi instead.

The items in the "determiner" row are used as demonstratives or quantifiers, that is, they must be accompanied by a noun they qualify (although tsuts, mpeu, and oi may be nominalized like other adjectives, in which case they serve as syntactically identical alternatives to the more formal-sounding pronouns waihê, tsihê, and nap'e respectively). The items in the "thing" and "person" rows function like nouns, while all others can be used both nominally and adverbially.

Adjectives

Adjectives in Ndok Aisô agree with their head noun in number, and unlike the nouns themselves, they also inflect for case. Predicate adjectives and adjectives attributed to a noun in the antigenitive case use the accusative.

		singular			plural
		nom	acc		nom	acc
+	superlative ("most")	-êneu	-êt'eu		-êhadeu	-êtsadeu
	comparative ("more")	-êd	-êda		-êheu	-êtseu
positive		-Ø	-g		-k	-s
–	comparative ("less")	-oi	-uxa		-ukeu	-useu
	superlative ("least")	-uneu	-ut'eu		-ukadeu	-usadeu

All these endings attract the word stress to the syllable preceding their last consonant.

Adjective paradigms
cons₁ •  cons₂ •  nasal •  ai/au •  eu/a •  eu/i •  oi/u

pip "correct, proper" (consonantal)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	pipêneu	pipêt'eu		pipêhadeu	pipêtsadeu
+	pipêd	pipêda		pipêheu	pipêtseu
	pip	pipog		pipok	pipos
-	pipoi	pipuxa		pipukeu	pipuseu
--	pipuneu	piput'eu		pipukadeu	pipusadeu

ladog "good, desirable" (consonantal/eu)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	ladeuhêneu	ladeuhêt'eu		ladeuhêhadeu	ladeuhêtsadeu
+	ladeuhêd	ladeuhêda		ladeuhêheu	ladeuhêtseu
	ladog	ladeuhog		ladeuhok	ladeuhos
-	ladeuhoi	ladeuhuxa		ladeuhukeu	ladeuhuseu
--	ladeuhuneu	ladeuhut'eu		ladeuhukadeu	ladeuhusadeu

mod "sudden" (nasal)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	manêneu	manêt'eu		manêhadeu	manêtsadeu
+	manêd	manêda		manêheu	manêtseu
	mod	manog		manok	manos
-	manoi	manuxa		manukeu	manuseu
--	manuneu	manut'eu		manukadeu	manusadeu

poi "big, large" (ai/au)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	paineu	pait'eu		paihadeu	paitsadeu
+	paid	paida		paiheu	paitseu
	poi	paig		poik	pois
-	pau	pauxa		paukeu	pauseu
--	pauneu	paut'eu		paukadeu	pausadeu

ofeu "flat" (eu/a)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	ofaineu	ofait'eu		ofaihadeu	ofaitsadeu
+	ofaid	ofaida		ofaiheu	ofaitseu
	ofeu	ofag		ofek	ofos
-	ofau	ofauxa		ofaukeu	ofauseu
--	ofauneu	ofaut'eu		ofaukadeu	ofausadeu

ot'iseu "smart, clever, intelligent" (eu/i)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	ot'isêneu	ot'isêt'eu		ot'isêhadeu	ot'isêtsadeu
+	ot'isêd	ot'isêda		ot'isêheu	ot'isêtseu
	ot'iseu	ot'isêg		ot'isik	ot'isis
-	ot'isoi	ot'isuxa		ot'isukeu	ot'isuseu
--	ot'isuneu	ot'isut'eu		ot'isukadeu	ot'isusadeu

uk'oi "broken" (oi/u)

	singular			plural
	nom	acc		nom	acc
++	uk'êneu	uk'êt'eu		uk'êhadeu	uk'êtsadeu
+	uk'êd	uk'êda		uk'êheu	uk'êtseu
	uk'oi	uk'ug		uk'uk	uk'us
-	uk'uxoi	uk'uxa		uk'ukeu	uk'useu
--	uk'uneu	uk'ut'eu		uk'ukadeu	uk'usadeu

• If the citation form ends in a consonant, -o- is added before the overt positive endings.
• If the citation form ends in a vowel, this vowel is deleted before the addition of any comparative or superlative suffix. Exceptions are noted below.
• If the last consonant in the stem is one of /d t tʰ/, or an instance of /s/ that descends from NT nt, the comp.acc.sg ending dissimilates to -êna.
• Adjectives in -eu, descending from NT -a, change this to -a- in the accusative singular, to -e- in the nominative plural, and to -o- in the accusative plural. In the comparative and superlative forms, the stem vowel of such adjectives coalesces with -ê- into the diphthong -ai-, and with -oi and -u- into the diphthong -au-.
• Adjectives in -ai -au, and adjectives in -oi from NT -ai -au, also coalesce with -ê- into -ai-, and with -u- into -au-. The neg.comp.nom.sg ending becomes -auxoi. In the accusative singular, adjectives in -oi revert to the original -ai- or -au-.
• Adjectives in -oi from NT -u change this to -u- before all overt positive endings. The neg.comp.nom.sg ending becomes -uxoi.
• Adjectives in -eu from NT -o change this to -o- before all overt positive endings.
• Adjectives in -eu from NT -i change this to -ê- in the accusative singular, and to -i- before the other overt positive endings.
• Adjectives in -e (excepting recent borrowings) change this to -ê- in the accusative singular and to -ai- in the nominative plural.

Some adjectives additionally undergo changes in the stem:

• -o- before a final consonant normally breaks to -eu-.
• Final -k -g usually become -h- with all suffixes, with preceding e changing to ai.
• Some final -b -d -g change into -m- -n- -ng- when a suffix is added, with preceding i e changing to ê, preceding oi changing to either ai or au, and some instances of o changing to a.
• Adjectives whose citation form contains stressed -o- followed by a consonant cluster often change this to -ô- whenever the vowel becomes unaccented.

Examples:

• olgeu "sweet" < algo has an acc.pl wôlgos and a sup.nom.sg wôlgêneu.
• êp'eseu "fortunate" < imbenta has a nom.pl êp'esek, a comp.acc.sg êp'esaina, a sup.acc.sg êp'esait'eu, and a neg.comp.nom.pl êp'esaukeu.
• laixeu "young" < lairi has an acc.sg laixêg, an acc.pl laixis, and a neg.sup.nom.sg laixuneu.
• uk'oi "broken" < unggu has an acc.sg uk'ug, a comp.nom.sg uk'êd, and a neg.comp.nom.sg uk'uxoi.

Adjectives can be nominalized by simply using the nominative singular as a noun. Comparative morphology may be included; thus e.g. uk'oi "a broken thing"; êp'esaid "a more fortunate person". Nominalized adjectives pluralize by taking the standard plural prefixes for nouns.

Verbs

Due to its rather baroque history of sound changes, Ndok Aisô's verbal inflections are more complex than either those of Ndak Ta or any of its sister languages, though it lacks the auxiliary verb systems of the Eastern Edastean languages. Voice, tense, aspect, and number are marked with suffixes, whereas mood and polarity are marked with prefixes. The stem of the verb may or may not change with the addition of affixes on either side; therefore, verbs are best understood as belonging to various stem classes. These depend on both the initial and final vowel or consonant of the verb, and its etymological predecessor.

For ease of recognition, capital stem classes (i.e. those referring to the beginning of the verb stem) are designated with the letters A B C, and caudal stem classes (those referring to the end of the verb stem) are designated with roman numerals I-VI.

The citation form of verbs is the habitual singular indicative, which is generally the morphologically least marked form, and also doubles as an infinitive.

Mood and polarity

Ndok Aisô distinguishes eight verbal moods (indicative, imperative, obligative, permissive, admonitive, optative, dubitative, and conditional). The indicative is unmarked; all other moods are marked with prefixes. Many of these prefixes have different allomorphs for some or all of the three capital stem classes.

Negative polarity is generally marked by prefixing m- before vowels, a homoorganic nasal before mood prefixes beginning in a plosive, and meu- or ma- otherwise.

	positive				negative
	A	B	C		A	B	C
indicative	Ø-				m-	meu-	ma-
imperative	is-				mis-
obligative	ts-	tseu-	tso-		nts-	ntseu-	ntso-
permissive	g-	geu-	ga-		ngg-	nggeu-	ngga-
admonitive	ngix-	ngi-	ngê-		mah-	ma-
optative	tsêd-	tsê-			ntsêd-	ntsê-
dubitative	eul-	wôl-			meul-	môl-
conditional	pag-	pau-			mpag-	mpau-

It should be noted that imperative forms exist only in the habitual, passive nonpast, and middle nonpast.

Class A verbs

Mood & Polarity paradigms
(habitual aspect, singular)
Class A •  Class B •  Class C₁ •  Class C₂

uk'uteu "break" (Class A-I)

	positive	negative
indicative	uk'uteu	muk'uteu
imperative	isuk'uteu	misuk'uteu
obligative	tsuk'uteu	ntsuk'uteu
permissive	gauk'uteu	nggauk'uteu
admonitive	ngixuk'uteu	mahuk'uteu
optative	tsêduk'uteu	ntsêduk'uteu
dubitative	euluk'uteu	meuluk'uteu
conditional	paguk'uteu	mpaguk'uteu

dôstod "attack" (Class B-II)

	positive	negative
indicative	dôstod	meudôstod
imperative	istôstod	mistôstod
obligative	tseudôstod	ntseudôstod
permissive	geudôstod	nggeudôstod
admonitive	ngidôstod	mat'ôstod
optative	tsêt'ôstod	ntsêt'ôstod
dubitative	wôldôstod	môldôstod
conditional	paudôstod	mpaudôstod

ngket "wither" (Class C-II)

	positive	negative
indicative	ngket	mahet
imperative	isahet	misahet
obligative	tsohet	ntsohet
permissive	gahet	nggahet
admonitive	ngêhet	mahêhet
optative	tsêhet	ntsêhet
dubitative	eulahet	meulahet
conditional	pauhet	mpauhet

mêleu "read" (Class C-III)

	positive	negative
indicative	mêleu	mabêleu
imperative	ispêleu	mispêleu
obligative	tsobêleu	ntsobêleu
permissive	gabêleu	nggabêleu
admonitive	ngêbêleu	mamêleu
optative	tsêmêleu	ntsêmêleu
dubitative	wôlbêleu	môlbêleu
conditional	paubêleu	mpaubêleu

This class consists of verbs whose stem begins with a vowel or the combination wô- (which becomes either -o- or -ô- with the addition of a prefix). There are only two notable irregularities in this class. Firstly, in the permissive mood, stem-initial ê changes to -ai-, stem-initial i e change to -oi-, and stem-initial u o ô change to -au- -au- -a- when followed by /m n ŋ pʰ tʰ kʰ f/ and some instances of /b d g s h/, and to -oi- before other consonants. Secondly, in the optative mood, the prefix appears in the irregular allomorph tsên- if the stem-initial vowel is followed by one of /d t tʰ/ or an instance of /s/ that derives from NT nt.

Class B verbs

This class consists of verbs whose stem begins with any single consonant other than /m n ŋ ɾ w/, except for some verbs with initial /k g/ which belong into class C instead. In the imperative mood, stem-initial b d g devoice to -p- -t- -k-, with the additional complication that a few verbs starting with g (descending from NT bw) have an unexpected -p- in the imperative. In the optative mood and in the negative admonitive, verbs with a stem-initial plosive behave as if they had a nasal + stop cluster instead; see below for details. Also, verbs starting with s change this to -ts- in the optative and in the negative admonitive, and verbs starting with l take an extended negative admonitive prefix mag-.

Class C verbs

This class consists of verbs whose stem begins with a nasal, a nasal + stop cluster, /ɾ w/, or some instances of /k g/. They have in common that their initial consonants undergo mutation in almost all prefixed forms; however, the interactions are fairly complex:

• Verbs beginning with mp nt nts ngk change these to -f- -s- -s- -h- with all mood prefixes. This is the same type of alternation that is seen in plural nouns.
• Verbs beginning with mb nd ngg change these to -p'- -t'- -k'- with all mood prefixes.
• Both of the above groups select an extended prefix allomorph mahê- in the negative admonitive, and add an epenthetic -a- in the imperative and dubitative moods, extending those prefixes to (m)isa- and (m)eula- respectively.
• Verbs beginning with m n, and verbs beginning with ng from NT ngw, change these to -b- -d- -g- with most mood prefixes. In the imperative, these voiced stops then undergo devoicing to -p- -t- -k-. In the optative mood and in the negative admonitive, stem-initial nasals do not mutate. Note that the initial consonant of the irregular verb nod "go" mutates to -t- in the imperative (istod "go!"), but unexpectedly remains -n- with all other mood prefixes (e.g. obligative tsonod "must go").
• Verbs beginning with ng g k from NT plain velars ng g k change these to -h- with most mood prefixes. In the imperative the stem-initial consonant surfaces as -k- instead. In the optative mood and in the negative admonitive, ng does not change, while g k become -k'- -h- respectively.
• Verbs beginning with r w change these to -x- -g- when intervocalic (again, the same alternation as seen in nominal plurals). When preceded by a consonant (i.e. in the imperative and dubitative moods, and also in the optative mood and in the negative admonitive, which take the unexpected allomorphs (n)tsêd- and mag- respectively with these verbs), r does not change, and w is simply deleted.

Voice, tense, aspect, and number

Ndok Aisô verbs distinguish three voices (active, passive, and middle) and two numbers (singular & plural). In the active voice, the primary temporal distinction is aspect (habitual, perfective, and imperfective), although these categories are partly correlated with tense. There is also a specific form for the legendary past, not specified for aspect. In the passive and middle voices, aspect is not distinguished at all; instead, non-active verbs inflect for tense (past vs. nonpast).

All these inflectional categories are marked with a set of semi-fusional suffixes. The voice portion of the inflection is still clearly recognizable as a separate morpheme; however, as the temporal categories marked in the passive and middle do not line up nicely with the active voice, all suffixes will be given in a single table.

	singular	plural
habitual	-Ø	-t'eu
perfective	-d	-be
imperfective	-steu	-s
legendary past	-deu	-geu
passive nonpast	-l	-lad
passive past	-lasteu	-las
middle nonpast	-hêd	-hêdad
middle past	-hêdasteu	-hêdas

These endings are basically the same across all conjugational classes. However, the final vowel of the stem undergoes various changes according to stem class and inflectional form.

Class I verbs

Voice, Tense & Aspect paradigms
(indicative mood)
Class I •  Class II •  Class III •  Class IV •  Class V •  Class VI

ispeu "sew" (Class A-I)

	singular	plural
habitual	ispeu	ispat'eu
perfective	ispad	ispeube
imperfect	isposteu	ispos
legendary past	ispeudeu	ispageu
passive nonpast	ispol	ispeulad
passive past	ispeulasteu	ispeulas
middle nonpast	ispahêd	ispahêdad
middle past	ispahêdasteu	ispahêdas

ngêbot "remember" (Class C-II-eu)

	singular	plural
habitual	ngêbot	ngêbeutat'eu
perfective	ngêbeutad	ngêbeutabe
imperfect	ngêbeutasteu	ngêbeutas
legendary past	ngêbeutadeu	ngêbeutageu
passive nonpast	ngêbeutal	ngêbôtlad
passive past	ngêbôtlasteu	ngêbôtlas
middle nonpast	ngêbeutahêd	ngêbeutahêdad
middle past	ngêbeutahêdasteu	ngêbeutahêdas

daiheu "hate" (Class B-III)

	singular	plural
habitual	daiheu	daihêt'eu
perfective	daihêd	daihibe
imperfect	daihisteu	daihis
legendary past	daihideu	daihigeu
passive nonpast	daihil	daihilad
passive past	daihilasteu	daihilas
middle nonpast	daihihêd	daihihêdad
middle past	daihihêdasteu	daihihêdas

wuhoi "specify; to point to" (Class C-IV)

	singular	plural
habitual	wuhoi	wuhut'eu
perfective	wuhud	wuhube
imperfect	wuhusteu	wuhus
legendary past	wuhudeu	wuhugeu
passive nonpast	wuhul	wuhulad
passive past	wuhulasteu	wuhulas
middle nonpast	wuhuhêd	wuhuhêdad
middle past	wuhuhêdasteu	wuhuhêdas

peupoi "identify" (Class B-V-au)

	singular	plural
habitual	peupoi	peupaut'eu
perfective	peupaud	peupoibe
imperfect	peupoisteu	peupois
legendary past	peupoideu	peupoigeu
passive nonpast	peupoil	peupoilad
passive past	peupoilasteu	peupoilas
middle nonpast	peupoihêd	peupoihêdad
middle past	peupoihêdasteu	peupoihêdas

mê "walk" (Class C-VI)

	singular	plural
habitual	mê	mêt'eu
perfective	mêd	mêbe
imperfect	mêsteu	mês
legendary past	mêdeu	mêgeu
passive nonpast	mêl	mêlad
passive past	mêlasteu	mêlas
middle nonpast	mêhêd	mêhêdad
middle past	mêhêdasteu	mêhêdas

This class consists of verbs whose citation form ends in -eu, descending from NT -a or -o. The stem vowel is -a- in all forms of the middle voice and in the legendary past plural, and -o- in the passive nonpast singular and in the imperfective singular and plural. In the habitual plural and perfective singular, the vowel may be either -a- or -o- depending on etymology. In all other inflected forms, the stem vowel is -eu-.

Class II verbs

This class consists of verbs whose citation form ends in a consonant. The stem vowel is zero in the habitual singular and in the passive, except for the nonpast singular. In all other inflected forms, the stem vowel is -a-.

Class III verbs

This class consists of verbs whose citation form ends in -eu, and monosyllables with -i, descending from NT -i. The stem vowel is -eu- in the habitual singular (except for monosyllabic stems), -ê- in the habitual plural and perfective singular, and -i- in all other forms.

Class IV verbs

This class consists of verbs whose citation form ends in -oi, and monosyllables with -u, descending from NT -u. The stem vowel is -oi- in the habitual singular of polysyllabic stems, and -u- in all other inflected forms.

Class V verbs

This class consists of verbs whose citation form ends in -oi, descending from NT -ai or -au. The stem vowel is -ai- or -au- in the habitual plural and perfective singular depending on etymology, and -oi- in all other forms.

Class VI verbs

This class consists of verbs whose citation form ends in any other vowel or diphthong. Most recent borrowings ending in a vowel also belong in this class. The commonality among these is that the stem vowel does not change (with some exceptions, see below).

Further complications

There are several patterns of apparent irregularity not covered by the above classification system.

• Many verbs with -e, but not any borrowings from the last several centuries, change this to -ê- in the habitual plural and perfective singular, and to -ai- in the middle voice. Thus mese "meet" has perfective forms mesêd, mesebe and middle nonpast forms mesaihêd, mesaihêdad.
• Verbs with -o- followed by a consonant cluster often alternate between this and -ô- according to the word stress. Thus mostoi "run or fly extremely rapidly" (Class IV) has inflected forms mostoi, môstut'eu, môstud, môstube...
• A few Class II verbs ending in -o- + consonant change this to -eu- in most of the inflected forms, and to -ô- in the passive (except the singular nonpast). Thus nuhots "trade" has a hab.pl nuheutsat'eu and the passive nonpast forms nuheutsal, nuhôtslad.
• Class II verbs ending in -b usually have an irregular perfective plural in -p'e, e.g. beb "kill" > bep'e "we/you/they killed".
• Class II verbs ending in -k and some instances of -g in the citation form change this to -h- in any suffixed forms containing an overt stem vowel. Preceding e mutates to ai, and preceding o often mutates to e. Thus rêlek "ride" has inflected forms rêlaihat'eu, rêlaihad, rêlaihabe...
• Likewise, some Class II verbs ending in a voiced plosive change this to the corresponding nasal when a stem vowel is added, with preceding i e changing to ê, oi changing to either ai or au, and some instances of o changing to a. Thus sapob "start, begin" has inflected forms sapamat'eu, sapamad, sapamabe... The same verbs exhibit an overt stem vowel in the passive: sapamal, sapamalad...
• Class II verbs ending in -t -ts -s syncopate their stem vowel in the perfective plural and in all forms of the middle voice, giving the clusters -sp- (pfv.pl) and -sk- (middle voice). Thus lusit "try" has the pfv.pl lusispe and middle nonpast forms lusiskêd, lusiskêdad. Verbs ending in -s additionally syncopate their stem vowel also in the legendary past, thus sofis "conquer" has legendary past forms sofisteu, sofiskeu.
• A few verbs ending in -d syncopate their stem vowel in the middle voice only, resulting in the cluster -sk-. Thus kôksod "help, support" has the middle nonpast forms kôksôskêd, kôksôskêdad. Most verbs in -d do not exhibit this alternation though.
• Class II verbs ending in -l -x also syncopate their stem vowel in the perfective plural, in the legendary past, and in the middle voice, but the non-middle suffixes do not devoice, and the -x is deleted. In the passive voice, however, an overt stem vowel is always present. Thus esul "receive" and gêk'ox "honor, respect" have forms such as pfv.pl esulbe, gêk'obe; leg.sg esuldeu, gêk'odeu; pass.npst.pl esulalad, gêk'oxalad; and mid.npst.sg esulkêd, gêk'okêd.

With very few exceptions, all suffixed forms of a verb are predictable from the combination of habitual singular and plural. The hab.pl will therefore be given in the lexicon along with citation form and stem class label.

The copula

Ndok Aisô's copula is descended from the NT verb matn "know". It is a Class C-II verb exhibiting alternation between -o- -ô- -eu- for the stem vowel. The copula lacks both the legendary past and the middle voice, and it does not have an imperative mood either.

	singular	plural
habitual	mot	mot'eu
perfective	meutad	meutabe
imperfective	mosteu	meutas
passive nonpast	meutal	môtlad
passive past	môtlasteu	môtlas

Note the abbreviated forms of the hab.pl and ipfv.sg.

The proverb

Aside from the copula, Ndok Aisô has another semantically empty verb, the proverb su "do". It is mainly used to avoid repetition of full verb forms in coordinated clauses, but it also plays a role in several idiomatic constructions. It is a Class B-IV verb (descended from the NT proverb su) with suppletive forms in the passive and middle voices, which in turn belong to the classes C-VI (passive, from NT mpe "sit") and B-II (middle, from the NT reflexive copula kin).

	singular	plural
habitual	su	sut'eu
perfective	sud	sube
imperfective	susteu	sus
legendary past	sudeu	sageu
passive nonpast	mpe	mpêt'eu
passive past	mpesteu	mpes
middle nonpast	kêd	kêt'eu
middle past	kêdasteu	kêdas

Note the irregular formation of the legendary past plural.

Ergative verbs

A peculiarity of the Ndok Aisô verb system is its sizeable class of ergative verbs. These have in common that they take an object (normally, a semantic patient or experiencer) instead of a subject as their single argument when intransitive. Pronouns and adjectives used in noun phrases that serve as an argument of an ergative verb take the case form expected from their semantic role, so the object is marked with the accusative and the subject is marked with the nominative. Another way to phrase this, which is more consistent with the word order rules in Ndok Aisô, goes as follows: With ergative verbs, the subject takes the absolutive case (which is morphologically identical to the accusative), and the agent becomes an optional ergative object (with the ergative case morphologically identical to the nominative).
In glosses, the arguments of ergative verbs will be marked as ABS/ERG wherever there is overt case marking.

Typical ergative verbs denote e.g. perceptions (êdeu "see", dup'eu "smell", meulad "notice"), states that can be experienced (ndênab "live", sêb "be lucky", rugeuteu "be lazy"), or involuntary changes in state (êt'oi "fall", nots "die", oipeu "freeze"). However, not all verbs of these semantic categories are ergative, and there are some ergative verbs which do not fit the semantic pattern and must be memorized (e.g. tu "eat", or more appropriately, "be eaten", tsaig "wash", êk'eu "use").

In the standard "ergative voice", ergative verbs inflect exactly like normal accusative verbs in the active voice. However, ergative verbs do not have passive or middle forms. Instead, there is an antipassive, which looks like an inflected active verb which is cast in the antigenitive. In fact, the morphological marker -a (which becomes -xa after vowels) is of the same origin - the NT genitive preposition âk. Antipassive inflection reverts the roles of subject and object to those expected from normal accusative verbs. It is normally used intransitively, but it can also be applied to transitive sentences in order to emphasize the agent.

As an example, the full indicative inflection of tu "eat" is given below.

	ergative			antipassive
	singular	plural		singular	plural
habitual	tu	tut'eu		tuxa	tut'ixa
perfective	tud	tube		tuda	tubexa
imperfective	tusteu	tus		tustixa	tusa
legendary past	tudeu	tugeu		tudeuxa	tugeuxa

Note how the vowel in the habitual plural and imperfective singular endings changes to -i- before the antipassive suffix.

Ergative verbs can be grouped in the same inflectional classes as accusative verbs. The only major addition to the morphophonemic alternations that have been described above is that the habitual singular and imperfective plural in the antipassive paradigm always take the same stem as the perfective plural in the regular paradigm, e.g. oipeu "freeze" (Class A-III), whose pfv.pl is oipibe, has the antipassive forms hab.sg-antip oipixa, and ipfv.pl-antip oipisa.

Examples:

• Mpóisôxeu tu.
  fish eat[HAB.SG].
  The fish is eaten.

• Mpóisôxeu paig tu ngufeu ódôxeu.
  fish big-ABS.SG eat[HAB.SG] cat black[ERG.SG].
  The big fish is eaten by the black cat.

• Ngufeu tuxa mpóisôxeu.
  cat eat[HAB.SG]-ANTIP fish.
  The cat eats the fish.

Usage of verbal categories

The middle voice is often used for actions that have no specific agent:

• Gahêsahêdad egek o-ukêdoi gak.
  PERM-donate-MID.NPST all PL-request 2PL.GEN.
  All your requests will be granted. (lit. are allowed to grant themselves, with no agent specified)

Nominalized verb forms

The infinitive

The unmarked habitual singular form of Ndok Aisô verbs can also be used as an infinitive, a verbal noun which denotes the action of the verb in general. Verbs in infinitival usage are never marked for mood, tense, aspect, or number. However, a passive voice infinitive (morphologically identical to the passive nonpast singular with the suffix -l) and a middle voice infinitive (morphologically identical to the middle nonpast singular with the suffix -hêd) are available.

A fairly common use for infinitives is as the object of another verb, in situations where a full complement clause is not necessary because the described action is sufficiently general that the participants do not need to be explicitly mentioned.

• Ged woi rixabasteu hogeu.
  son 1SG.GEN learn-IPFV.SG write[INF]
  My son is learning how to write.

• O-ôldos gunos mafaihut'eu bebal.
  PL-soldier brave-ABS.PL NEG.ADM-fear-HAB.PL kill-INF.PASS
  Brave soldiers should not fear being killed.

The infinitive is also used in adjectivial predicates. As the following example shows, an object noun phrase may be added to the infinitive of transitive verbs:

• Oibog dugeu o-neheu.
  righteous-ACC.SG praise[INF] PL-god
  It is a virtue to praise the gods.

The gerund

The second type of nominalized verb form in Ndok Aisô is the gerund, which refers to a specific instance of the action. It is formed from the fully inflected verb by using the prefix lu- (l- before vowels), a relic of the NT definite article. It should be noted that this prefix behaves much like the nominal plural prefixes morphologically, triggering the same type of consonant mutation so that verb-initial mp nt nts ngk r w shift to f s s h x g. Accordingly, it is always written with a hyphen.

The gerund is often found as the object of a temporal preposition:

• Bisoi lu-tuda, tsêmoibaid ê.
  after GER-eat-PFV.SG-ANTIP OPT-sleep-PFV.SG 1SG.ABS
  After having eaten, I wanted to sleep.

Syntax

Noun phrase syntax

Ndok Aisô noun phrases are strongly head-initial. Only quantifiers, demonstratives, and genitive pronouns regularly precede the head noun; all other elements follow it (though single adjectives may be fronted in certain situations). The order of constituents is as follows:

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

(Quantifier)

-

(Demonstrative) (Genitive pronoun) (Adjective)

-

Noun

-

(Appositional noun)

-

(Adjectivial phrases)

-

(Genitive pronoun)

-

(Prepositional phrases)

-

(Possessive phrase)

-

(Relative clauses)

Simple noun phrases

The only obligatory element in a noun phrase is the head noun itself, which may be substituted by a pronoun.

• mpóisôxeu
  fish
  a fish

• o-pop
  PL-man
  some men

• ig
  1DU.NOM
  the two of us

Quantifiers, demonstratives, and genitive pronouns

The head noun may be preceded by up to two determiner elements. The first of these can only be a quantifier (which includes numerals), while the second slot is open to several different elements - most commonly a genitive pronoun or a demonstrative, or occasionally a single-word adjective.

• ngi heumaisa
  two cow
  two cows

• ga ngufeu
  2SG.GEN cat
  your cat

• tsuts met
  this woman
  this woman

• ois mpek o-loi
  more that-NOM.PL PL-bird
  those many birds

If several potential slot II elements are present in the same noun phrase, the demonstrative will appear in prenominal position, while adjectives and genitive pronouns will move after the noun. Noun phrases in which slot II is filled are always considered definite; however, NPs with slot II empty are not necessarily indefinite.

• mpeu tsis ódôxeu woi
  that dog black[NOM.SG] 1SG.GEN
  that black dog of mine

Genitive pronouns are also obligatorily moved into slot VI when the noun is the object of a preposition or the subject of an adjectivial predicate. In other circumstances, moving a genitive pronoun to post-nominal position is optional, with a semantic implication of backgrounding the possessive relationship or of making the head noun indefinite.

Appositional nouns

Appositional nouns have an essive relationship to the head noun; that is, they function as a doubled reference to the same referent, specifying the description given by the head noun. The most common application for this is with names (with the head noun supplying category or title), but most ordinary nouns and even nominalized adjectives can also be used as appositives. Appositional nouns are simply placed right after the head noun with no determiners or number prefixes of their own.

• mos Ngahêxôldod
  city Ngahêxôldod
  the city of Ngahêxôldod

• unoi Ngiged
  priest Ngiged
  Father Ngiged

• dixêheu exiboi
  king tyrant
  the king, who is a tyrant

Complex appositional elements are handled via prepositional phrases, normally with the essive preposition ru.

Adjectivial phrases

Adjectivial phrases consist of a single adjective which inflects for case and number of the head noun as well as for its own comparative status, optionally followed by an adverb which further modifies the adjective. Normally, adjectivial phrases follow their head. Several different adjectivial elements may occur after one another; if there are more than two of them, they are usually conjoined with the conjunction od "and".

• ngufeu ódôxeu
  cat black[NOM.SG]
  a black cat

• o-dixêheu mêgukeu
  PL-king mighty-NEG.COMP.NOM.PL
  less powerful kings

• ets wôltog od sêtêhog od ladeuhêda toidoi
  method new-ACC.SG and different-ACC.SG and desirable-COMP.ACC.SG somewhat
  a new, different and somewhat better method (acc.)

Single-word adjectives not modified by an adverb may also be fronted for emphasis. However, this construction is seen as strongly marked, and so it is mostly used to emphasize one of several qualities attributed to a single noun. It is not possible to front an adjective if the noun phrase contains a determiner or genitive pronoun, or if the head noun is the object of a preposition.

• ntixeu zan mêgeu
  good[NOM.SG] wine heavy[NOM.SG]
  the good (and strong) wine

• mêgeu zan ntixeu
  heavy[NOM.SG] wine good[NOM.SG]
  the strong (and good) wine

Prepositional phrases

Prepositional phrases are formed simply by putting a preposition in front of an otherwise normal noun phrase. The only major peculiarity is that neither adjectives nor genitive pronouns may appear before the head noun in prepositional phrases.

The most common prepositions are given below.

relational prepositions
êb	to, for (dative/benefactive)	< em "turn"
nte	with, by (instrumental)
kôxêd	with (comitative)
ub	made of
ru	as	< ru (hab.cop)
locative prepositions
noi	at, on, in
seu	from
at'eu	towards, into, onto
liteu	inside
besoi	near, next to	< *wêbesoi < wimès wau "neighbour to"
bêmoi	above, on top of	< *eubêmoi < ob imu "at head"
k'eulag	under	< *wôk'eulag < ob nggolang "at foot"
moldoi	in front of	< *wômoldoi < ob moldau "at front"
p'okeu	behind, beyond	< *wôp'ok'eu < ob bongga "at back"
ntots	all around
temporal prepositions
hoi	during	< *wôhoix < ob gau "on road"
maga	before	< *wômaga < ob mowâ "at dawn"
bisoi	after	< *eubisoi < ob iswau "at night"

The relational prepositions nte, kôxêd, ub, and ru govern the nominative case for their objects if they are part of a subject noun phrase. Otherwise, all objects of a preposition take the accusative case. Of course, case is only marked on pronouns, demonstratives, and adjectives.

• moldoi dog
  in.front.of 2SG.ACC
  in front of you

• bisoi iskod
  after storm
  after the storm

• seu noi meheu rafag êb axageu
  meat on table abundant-ACC.SG for dinner
  the meat on the festive dinner table

Possessive phrases

Possessive phrases consist of a full noun phrase referring to the possessor, preceded by the possessed noun phrase which is marked with the antigenitive enclitic =a. Possessive phrases are placed after all adjectives and prepositional phrases in a given noun phrase, but before any relative clauses. Possessive phrases cannot be headed by a pronoun (with pronominal possessors, a different construction is used), and demonstratives and adjectives accompanying the head noun of a possessive phrase always take the nominative case.

• lôlbuxa meboi
  guest=POSS merchant
  the merchant's guest

• tsis laixixa mpeu idau ixoha
  dog young=POSS that[NOM.SG] nobleman stupid[NOM.SG]
  the young dog of that stupid nobleman

When possessive phrases and prepositional phrases occur together, there is often some ambiguity whether the possessive phrase relates to the head of the matrix noun phrase or to the object of the preposition. Such situations are resolved by intonation - the possessed noun is pronounced with more emphasis and a higher pitch than the non-possessed noun.

• ngufeu noi ndoixa met
  [ ˈŋúː.fɛw nɔjn ˌdɔj.ʔa ˈméʔ ]
  cat at tree=POSS woman
  the woman's cat on the tree

• ngufeu noi ndoixa met
  [ ˌŋu.fɛw nɔjn ˈdɔ́ːj.ʔa ˌmeʔ ]
  cat at tree=POSS woman
  the cat on the woman's tree

Intonation is also used in order to disambiguate whom a following relative clause refers to: If it refers to the possessed, the last prosodic foot of the possessive phrase receives high pitch, and the relative clause starts with a pause and low pitch. If it refers to the possessor, there is no pause, and the pitch stays at a medium level, rising only for the verb of the relative clause.

• huxixa euseu, roba i aidoi.
  [ huˈʔiː.ʔa ˌʔɛ́w.sɛ́w | ˌrò.βà ʔi ˈʔaːj.ðɔj ]
  book=POSS lady, REL.ACC 1SG.NOM love[HAB.SG]
  the lady's book that I love

• huxixa euseu roba i aidoi.
  [ huˌʔi.ʔa ˈʔɛːw.sɛw ˌro.βa ʔi ˈʔáːj.ðɔj ]
  book=POSS lady REL.ACC 1SG.NOM love[HAB.SG]
  the book of the lady that I love

Complex noun phrases

The following is an example of a complex noun phrase containing a quantifier, a demonstrative, an appositional noun, an adjective modified by an adverb, a prepositional phrase, and a relative clause, which in turn contains another noun phrase with a genitive pronoun and an adjective.

• egek mpek o-funêb ixoha môxáugubek ntaik'oi seu Hoifaxa robeu tsik o-neheu patos badait'eu
  all that-NOM.PL PL-heathen stupid[N] serious-NOM.PL disturbingly from Hoifaxa REL.NOM 3PL.GEN PL-god false-ACC.PL worship-HAB.PL
  all those disturbingly serious heretics (which are fools) from Huyfárah who worship their false gods

Clause syntax

Word order

The basic word order in Ndok Aisô is SVO. Adverbial, temporal, or locative elements can be emphasized by being fronted to the beginning of the sentence; in that case, the core constituents are usually arranged in the order VSO. This reordering is mandatory if the fronted element is a single lexical adverb or a prepositional phrase, and optional if the fronted element is a subclause. In the latter situation, it is much more common with pronominal subjects than with full NP subjects. Only one fronted element per sentence is allowed.

Indirect objects, which normally take the form of a prepositional phrase introduced by the dative preposition êb, are usually placed immediately after the direct object.

• Unoi mêlêd huxeu.
  priest read-PFV.SG book.
  The priest read a book.

• Mag badois o-keldeu gaikseu.
  today worship-IPFV.PL PL-clergy feast.
  Today the clergy is celebrating a religious feast.

• Idau tseutsafeu zan êb o-lolboi tsi.
  nobleman OBL-give[HAB.SG] wine to PL-guest 3SG.GEN.
  A nobleman should give wine to his guests.

Intransitive sentences can take either SV or VS word order, the latter of which is considered more formal. However, adverbial or prepositional adjuncts cannot appear on the same side of the verb as the subject, thus a postposed adverb or prepositional phrase requires SV order, and a fronted adjunct requires VS order.

• Dên sêp'oxasteu.
  water boil-IPFV.SG.
  The water is boiling.

• Pôpsanadeu setsauk.
  hesitate-LEG.SG emperor.
  The emperor hesitated.

• A rugeutosteu boi.
  3SG.ABS be.lazy-IPFV.SG again.
  He is being lazy again.

Coordinate clauses

Clauses can be coordinated with a number of conjunctions, the most important of which are given in the table below.

The special object-gapping form of the conjunction is used whenever a shared object is omitted ("gapped") from one of the clauses. More commonly the object is omitted from the second clause, but it is also possible to omit objects from the first of two coordinated clauses for stylistic purposes. If a shared subject is gapped, the normal conjunctions are used. Verbs cannot be gapped; instead, the proverb su must be used.

regular	object-gapping
od	oga	and
dol	dolda	but
mi	mêt'a	or
beudeu	bot'a	either/or
lik	liha	neither/nor
nêd	nêt'a	if/then
guseu	gut'a	so, thus
êsaig	êsaik'a	in order to
mpoi	mpaga	because
rafêd	rafêt'a	instead
ngog	ngok'a	although, despite

In the examples below, underscores indicate where an element has been gapped. For clarity, the gapped element is repeated in brackets after the sentence.

• Deu leubopad ê, nêd i paudaiheu dog.
  2SG.NOM insult-PFV.SG 1SG.ACC, if/then 1SG.NOM COND-hate[HAB.SG] 2SG.ACC.
  If you insult me, I will hate you.

• I tsêfeupusteu, rafêd _ tsoxixabasteu. (i)
  1SG.NOM OPT-dance-IPFV.SG, instead _ OBL-learn-IPFV.SG.
  I would like to go dancing, but I have to study instead.

• Deu magêbot ga mudok, dolda i su woi _. (mudok)
  2SG.NOM NEG-remember[HAB.SG] 2SG.GEN dream, but.GAP 1SG.NOM do[HAB.SG] 1SG.GEN _.
  You don't remember your dream, but I remember mine.

The conjunctions od, dol, mi, beudeu, and lik can also be used to connect noun phrases.

• Deu geutot'e o-fóisôxeu mi o-loi ses.
  2SG PERM-take[HAB.SG] PL-fish or PL-bird farm.
  You can have fish or poultry.

In this usage, object-gapping conjunctions gap the head noun. Note how the gapped noun requires the verb to take plural marking, even though the only overt instance of the noun is in the singular.

• Pop wôt'iseu oga _ êp'eseu wôtspixaidat'eu. (pop)
  man smart[NOM.SG] and.GAP _ fortunate[NOM.SG] succeed-HAB.PL.
  Both the smart and the fortunate may be successful.

Complement clauses

Complement clauses, i.e. clauses used as an argument of the verb, are placed at the same position in the clause that a normal noun phrase would occupy. They take VSO word order, and they are introduced by a subordinating conjunction which indicates the syntactic role of the complement: roi for subjects of accusative verbs, agents of ergative verbs, and predicates, and rai for both direct and indirect objects of accusative verbs, and for subjects of ergative verbs.

• Eu aisôd rai aidoi eu ê.
  3SG.NOM say-PFV.SG SUB.ACC love[HAB.SG] 3SG.NOM 1SG.ACC.
  He said that he loves me.

• Roi rugeutat'eu o-aip'oi euba o-neheu.
  SUB.NOM be.lazy-HAB.PL PL-commoner anger[HAB.SG] PL-god.
  That people are lazy angers the gods.

Adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses, i.e. subclauses indicating manner or circumstance of the main clause, are introduced with the conjunction roits. They take SOV word order and are normally placed at the end of the clause. However, adverbial clauses can be fronted to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis; in this case their constituents are rearranged to SVO order.

• Êtsdehad mosteu dixêheu mêgag roits a wosteu od bu loid ndênabadeu.
  Êtsdehad COP-IPFV.SG king mighty-ACC.SG SUB.ADV 3SG.ABS thirty and four year reign-LEG.SG.
  Tsinakan was a mighty king, reigning for thirty-four years.

• Roits ok nalungugeu igêd, o-pop Ndok gok'oigeu dôstona Saxehêd.
  SUB.ADV 3PL.NOM be.in.formation-LEG.PL perfectly, PL-man Ndok resist-LEG.PL attack[INF]=POSS Saxehêd.
  Arranged in a strong formation, the Ndok soldiers resisted the attack of the Faraghin.

Temporal clauses

Temporal clauses, i.e. subclauses which indicate temporal relations between the main clause and something else, are formed parallel to adverbial clauses in that they also take SOV word order, which changes to SVO when fronted. The most common conjunctions for temporal clauses are given in the following table:

ngu	as, when
rap'e	during
mbêp'oi	while, in between
isleu	before
aseu	long before
nggaixit	until
ugeu	after

• Eu not'esteu tsi bots ngu ok a bep'e.
  3SG.NOM reach.for-IPFV.SG 3SG.GEN weapon when 3PL.NOM 3SG.ACC kill-PFV.PL.
  He was reaching for his sword when they killed him.

• Ugeu deu pôspudad a noiskoi, eutod i mos Ngahêxôldod.
  after 2SG.NOM leave-PFV.SG 3SG.ACC only, come-PFV.SG 1SG.NOM city Ngahêxôldod.
  I arrived at Ngahêxôldod only after you had left.

Relative clauses

Relative clauses, i.e. clauses modifying a noun, always occupy the last slot in the respective noun phrase. They are arranged in SOV word order (however, with the relativized noun normally being omitted). The introductory conjunction indicates the role of the relativized noun within the subclause: robeu for subjects, and roba for objects. If the relative clause contains an ergative verb, this assignment is reversed.

• I tsêmese euseu roba i aidoi.
  1SG.NOM OPT-meet[HAB.SG] lady REL.ACC 1SG.NOM love[HAB.SG].
  I want to meet the lady that I love.

• I tsêmese euseu robeu ê aidoi.
  1SG.NOM OPT-meet[HAB.SG] lady REL.NOM 1SG.ACC love[HAB.SG].
  I want to meet the lady that loves me.

Predicates

Ndok Aisô has three types of predicates: Static, dynamic (these two can be grouped as "verbal predicates"), and adjectivial. The static and dynamic variants are very similar, except that static predicates use the normal copula, while dynamic predicates use the "dynamic copula", i.e. the middle voice of the proverb su. Adjectivial predicates use a zero copula when static, and the dynamic copula when dynamic.

The following subtypes of predicates are possible:

Static:

• noun phrase > noun phrase
• noun phrase > prepositional phrase
• complement clause > noun phrase

Dynamic:

• noun phrase > noun phrase
• noun phrase > prepositional phrase

Adjectivial:

• adjective < noun phrase

For those constructions which are possible in both a static and a dynamic variant, static predicates describe a constant state (with aspect marking to indicate whether it is permanent or temporary), whereas dynamic predicates denote a change in quality. Both variants normally take SVO word order, but VSO if the subject is a pronoun.

• Ilkile mot meboi.
  Ilkile COP[HAB.SG] merchant.
  Ilkile is a merchant.

• Kêd i runok.
  DYN[MID.NPST.SG] 1SG.NOM priest.
  I am becoming a priest.

• O-bois meutas noi maisloi.
  PL-ox COP-IPFV.PL at pasture.
  The cattle are/were on the pasture.

• O-bois kêt'eu noi maisloi.
  PL-ox DYN.MID-NPST.PL at pasture.
  The cattle are on the pasture now (but they weren't there before).

Adjectivial predicates differ from verbal predicates in that they use a zero copula, and that the word order is reversed to OS: The predicated adjective, which takes the accusative case, comes first, and the subject of the predication comes second.

• Ixohas ok.
  stupid-ACC.PL 3PL.NOM.
  They (pl.) are stupid.
• Laixêg tsis woi.
  young-ACC.SG dog 1SG.GEN.
  My dog is young.

Dynamic adjectivial predicates are similar, but they include an overt clause-initial dynamic copula.

• Kêdasteu gahog met.
  DYN.MID-PST.SG angry-ACC.SG woman.
  The woman got angry.

Adjectivial predication includes general evaluative statements about types of actions. For this type of construction, the verb is nominalized to the infinitive.

• Ladeuhog mêleu.
  desirable-ACC.SG read[INF].
  Reading (in general) is good.

If a specific instance of an action is to be predicated to an adjective, however (e.g. for evaluation of the result), then verbal predication must be used. The action is described in a complement clause, and the adjective is used in a nominalized form, which is morphologically identical to the nominative singular of the adjective.

• Roi mêlêd deu huxeu mot ladog.
  SUB.NOM read-PFV.SG 2SG.NOM book COP[HAB.SG] desirable[N].
  That you have read the book is a good thing.

Questions

Ndok Aisô forms yes-no questions by placing a tag word such as ha "yes" or mip "no" at the end of an otherwise normal sentence, suggesting the expected answer.

• Dog mesaihêdad tsuxeu, ha?
  2DU.NOM meet-MID-NPST.PL tomorrow, yes?
  We're meeting tomorrow, aren't we?

• Deu môldôlbitad woi huxeu, mip?
  2SG.NOM NEG.DUB-bring-PFV.SG 1SG.GEN book, no?
  You don't happen to have brought my book, have you?

In order to let the listener choose between several options, multiple nominal or adverbial phrases can be used as tags, often connected with the conjunction mi "or".

• Deu tsêduhud, oitsoi mi ndeutsoi?
  2SG.NOM OPT-specify-PFV.SG, now or then?
  Will you decide now or later?

The easiest way to form open-ended questions is to simply replace the queried constituent with an appropriate interrogative pronoun without changing the order of clause constituents.

• Igaxud aisôd rai tseubebal dixêheu?
  who say-PFV.SG SUB.ACC OBL-kill-PASS.NPST.SG king?
  Who said that the king should be killed?

• Mpeu meboi noi tsog nuheutsasteu gegeu?
  that.NOM merchant at corner sell-IPFV.SG which.thing?
  What is that merchant on the corner selling?

The question word may also be topic-fronted to the beginning of the clause. In this case, the sentence is reordered to VSO. This strategy is also available for multiple-choice tag questions in order to specify what is being asked for.

• Ipeu nggagêd gesanô tsi heumaisa liteu woilul pêseu?
  how push-PFV.SG peasant 3SG.GEN cow inside this.place damn?
  How the hell did the peasant get his cow into here?

• Igeuloi seupub Ilkile, seu Êbloi mi seu Akôdaig?
  where originate[HAB.SG] Ilkile, from Êbloi or from Akôdaig?
  Where does Ilkile come from, Êbloi or Akôdaig?

Samples

The legend of Emperor Tsinakan

Main article: Tsinakan text

Êtsdehad, ru dixêheu mêgeu, od ru mekeuta Aitol od Ngadagoi, od ru dixêheuxa Axôkseuhod, wisoideu ngugoi:

Isleu i noi keutsa woi mege mpêd, egek lots tablik edeusas êb ê. O-lots noi kok wisoibe ngugoi: "Tsi mege meutad dixêheu mêgeu. Eu sofisad ois o-lots edeusos. Tsitsoi kêdad eu neheu. Dol rud robeu oitsoi noi keutsa tsi mege mpe, mot eu ineu."

Ngu i, ru mekeuta Aitol od Ngadagoi, noi keutsa woi mege mpêd, ngol isleu i nodad at'eu o-lots tablis robeu êb ê edeusas, i nodad at'eu o-gaiksixa Op'euseu. I badaid tsos, od nte tod woig dugêd i ngeubeu doitênog. Wisaid i: "Ngop'euseu, ru euseu doitêd, ru oigoixa o-tósôxoi! Mpek o-lots tablik robeu ê ru ineu wuhus, leubopabe ok ê ntsex! Ladeuhut'eu ngol waihê, Deusibauxeu: Sapamahêd rai ok dôstonas o-keuha ga lots doitênog! Isaidageupeu mpos o-funêb!"

Ngop'euseu bunad ukêdoi oibog seu mob woi. Eu tsoisaid ê, od tsafêd ndeulid êb aihêg na-itôxab od ntêt'eu woi. Hoi reu loid, sofisad i o-lots tablis robeu êb ê edeusas. Gut'a i ebrêd. I êxaspud ois o-ngeksis od o-bois od o-sêb, oga pilaid at'eu lots Axôkseuhod.

Interlinear gloss

Êtsdehad,

Êtsdehad

Êtsdehad

ru

ru

as

dixêheu

dixêheu

king

mêgeu,

mêgeu-Ø

mighty-NOM.SG

od

od

and

ru

ru

as

mekeuta

mekot=a

brother=POSS

Aitol

Aitol

Sun

od

od

and

Ngadagoi,

Ngadagoi

Moon

od

od

and

ru

ru

as

dixêheuxa

dixêheu=a

king=POSS

Axôkseuhod,

Axôkseuhod

Axôkseuhod

wisoideu

wisoi-deu

speak-LEG.SG

ngugoi:

ngugoi

thus

Êtsdehad, as the mighty king, and as the brother of Sun and Moon, and as the king of Axôkseuhod, spoke thus:

Isleu

isleu

before

i

i

1SG.NOM

noi

noi

on

keutsa

kots=a

throne=POSS

woi

woi

1SG.GEN

mege

mege

father

mpêd,

mpe-d

sit-PFV.SG

egek

egek

all

lots

lots

land

tablik

tableu-k

foreign-NOM.PL

edeusas

edos-s

act.hostile-IPFV.PL

êb

êb

to

ê.

ê

1SG.ACC

Before I sat on the throne of my father, all foreign lands were hostile to me.

O-lots

o-lots

PL-land

noi

noi

at

kok

kok

border

wisoibe

wisoi-be

speak-PFV.PL

ngugoi:

ngugoi

thus

The countries at the border spoke thus:

"Tsi

tsi

3SG-GEN

mege

mege

father

meutad

mot-d

COP-PFV.SG

dixêheu

dixêheu

king

mêgeu."

mêgeu-Ø

mighty-NOM.SG

"His father was a mighty king."

"Eu

eu

3SG.NOM

sofisad

sofis-d

conquer-PFV.SG

ois

ois

many

o-lots

o-lots

PL-land

edeusos."

edos-s

enemy-ACC.PL

"He conquered many enemy countries."

"Tsitsoi

tsitsoi

then

kêdad

kêd-d

DYN-PFV.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

neheu."

neheu

god

"Then he became a god."

"Dol

dol

but

rud

rud

man

robeu

robeu

REL.NOM

oitsoi

oitsoi

now

noi

noi

on

keutsa

kots=a

throne=POSS

tsi

tsi

3SG.GEN

mege

mege

father

mpe,

mpe-Ø

sit-HAB.SG

mot

mot-Ø

COP-HAB.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

ineu."

ineu

child

"But the man who now sits on the throne of his father, he is a child."

Ngu

ngu

when

i,

i

1SG.NOM

ru

ru

as

mekeuta

mekot=a

brother=POSS

Aitol

Aitol

Sun

od

od

and

Ngadagoi,

Ngadagoi

Moon

noi

noi

on

keutsa

kots=a

throne=POSS

woi

woi

1SG.GEN

mege

mege

father

mpêd,

mpe-d

sit-PFV.SG

ngol

ngol

indeed

isleu

isleu

before

i

i

1SG.NOM

nodad

nod-d

go-PFV.SG

at'eu

at'eu

to

o-lots

o-lots

PL-land

tablis

tableu-s

foreign-ACC.PL

robeu

robeu

REL.NOM

êb

êb

to

ê

ê

me

edeusas,

edos-s

act.hostile-IPFV.PL

i

i

1SG.NOM

nodad

nod-d

go-PFV.SG

at'eu

at'eu

to

o-gaiksixa

o-gaikseu=a

PL-feast=POSS

Op'euseu.

Op'euseu

Op'euseu

When I, as the brother of Sun and Moon, sat on the throne of my father, even before I went to the foreign countries that were hostile to me, I went to the feasts of Op'euseu.

I

i

1SG.NOM

badaid

badoi-d

celebrate-PFV.SG

tsos,

tsos

this.ACC.PL

od

od

and

nte

nte

with

tod

tod

hand

woig

woig

1DU.GEN

dugêd

dugeu-d

praise-PFV.SG

i

i

1SG.NOM

ngeubeu

nga=eubeu

HON=mother

doitênog.

doitêd-g

holy-ACC.SG

I celebrated those, and with my hands I praised the Divine Mother.

Wisaid

wisoi-d

speak-PFV.SG

i:

i

1SG.NOM

I said:

"Ngop'euseu,

nga=Op'euseu

HON=Op'euseu

ru

ru

as

euseu

euseu

lady

doitêd,

doitêd

holy[NOM.SG]

ru

ru

as

oigoixa

oigoi=a

divine.light=POSS

o-tósôxoi!"

o-tósôxoi

PL-star

"O great Op'euseu, as the Divine Lady, as the light of the stars!"

"Mpek

mpek

that.NOM.PL

o-lots

o-lots

PL-land

tablik

tableu-k

foreign-NOM.PL

robeu

robeu

REL.NOM

ê

ê

1SG.ACC

ru

ru

as

ineu

ineu

child

wuhus,

wuhoi-s

name-IPFV.PL

leubopabe

leubop-be

insult-PFV.PL

ok

ok

3PL.NOM

ê

ê

1SG.ACC

ntsex!"

ntsex

EMPH

"Those foreign countries that are calling me a child, they have insulted me!"

"Ladeuhut'eu

ladog-u-t'eu

desirable-NEG-SUP.ACC.SG

ngol

ngol

even

waihê,

waihê

this.thing

Deusibauxeu:"

Deusibauxeu

Great.Goddess

"But the worst thing is this, Queen of the Gods:"

"Sapamahêd

sapob-hêd

begin-MID.NPST.SG

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

ok

ok

3PL.NOM

dôstonas

dôstod-s

attack-IPFV.PL

o-keuha

o-kok=a

PL-border=POSS

ga

ga

2SG.GEN

lots

lots

land

doitênog!"

doitêd-g

holy-ACC.SG

"It has begun that they are attacking the borders of your holy land!"

"Isaidageupeu

is-aidageupeu

IMP-strike.down[HAB.SG]

mpos

mpos

that.ACC.PL

o-funêb!"

o-mpunêb

PL-heathen

"Strike down those heathens!"

Ngop'euseu

nga=Op'euseu

HON=Op'euseu

bunad

buneu-d

listen.to-PFV.SG

ukêdoi

ukêdoi

request

oibog

oibeu-g

faithful-ACC.SG

seu

seu

from

mob

mob

mouth

woi.

woi

1SG.GEN

The great Op'euseu listened to the faithful plea from my mouth.

Eu

eu

3SG.NOM

tsoisaid

tsoisoi-d

raise-PFV.SG

ê,

ê

1SG.ACC

od

od

and

tsafêd

tsafeu-d

give-PFV.SG

ndeulid

ndeulid

power

êb

êb

to

aihêg

aihêg

both

na-itôxab

na-itôxab

PC-arm

od

od

and

ntêt'eu

ntêt'eu

sword

woi.

woi

1SG.GEN

She raised me, and gave vigour to both my arm and sword.

Hoi

hoi

during

reu

reu

ten

loid,

loid

year

sofisad

sofis-d

conquer-PFV.SG

i

i

1SG.NOM

o-lots

o-lots

PL-land

tablis

tableu-s

foreign-ACC.PL

robeu

robeu

REL.NOM

êb

êb

to

ê

ê

1SG.ACC

edeusas.

edos-s

act.hostile-IPFV.PL

Within ten years, I conquered the foreign countries that acted hostile against me.

Gut'a

gut'a

thus.GAP

i

i

1SG.NOM

ebrêd.

ebreu-d

destroy-PFV.SG

Thus I destroyed them.

I

i

1SG.NOM

êxaspud

êxaspoi-d

capture-PFV.SG

ois

ois

many

o-ngeksis

o-ngeksis

PL-slave

od

od

and

o-bois

o-bois

PL-cattle

od

od

and

o-sêb,

o-sêb

PL-sheep

oga

oga

and.GAP

pilaid

piloi-d

send-PFV.SG

at'eu

at'eu

to

lots

lots

land

Axôkseuhod.

Axôkseuhod

Axôkseuhod

I captured many slaves and oxen and sheep, and sent them to the land of Axôkseuhod.

The Cursing of Sagibleu

Êto sapamadeu rai nalungutosteu eu tsi o-ôldos. Ru rulbeu robeu mos tsêmêkseu nggagideu eu o-nggaihade lamois at'eu o-peupeusa Ngahêxôldod; dôlbitadeu eu o-gahoip kelkis roba ólôxoi mos ngixêk'at'eu. O-pugeu upêlas, o-guxeu naneulas, o-êhêkoi lihêlas, o-êboi rehôldaklas retsêd o-mbosoi. O-pexos ait'os bôltageu bêmoi o-pexos ait'os, od sauk'exa o-ngguheuboi êt'ugeu at'eu o-xud oibos.

Guseu egek o-neheu sihêdageu Sagibleu nte mêgeu. "Sagibleu, deu edeusad êb Axôltseubeu: Ru rai pagedeusasteu deu êb Êtsdehad mot waihê!"

"Ga o-mos nubehis tsêk'eulait'eu nte eugoi! Ga o-kufas tsêmeugêt'eu ru tsot'eu! Ga o-têhagleu tsêdôspoilad êb wispeu! Ga o-bomeu tsêdôspoilad êb eulêd tsik! Ga o-got tsêdôspoilad êb ntaug tsik! Sagibleu, ga o-pop kudok tsêdistênat'eu tsik ndeulid; tsêdrugeutat'eu hoi aiteu ngeulaig! Tsuts tsêt'e rai nots Uksaux nte loltoi! Adois tsêmot'eu ga o-ageu; tsêhaidat'eu ngagôstad! Ga dixêkloi rafag, wôhob tsêk'age a! Gêngêg tsêngêp'eu êfeu noi o-nolô ga, od tsêk'ok'ait'eu o-goibreu od o-áibôxeu rai pagômod tsu pop ndeuloi! Noi o-auseu ga tsêdibladeu ngkeha! Paup'uxeu auxud ngugoi, ‘I tsêsupseuhêd noi Sagibleu!’, nêd eu ntsêdraidoi o-demita euloi wagaihog!"

Od moldoi o-neheu hoi mpeu aiteu ngol, kêdasteu eu tsip. Ngop'euseu ngidugil mpoi ebrilasteu Sagibleu!

Interlinear gloss

Êto

Êto

Etou

sapamadeu

sapob-deu

begin-LEG.SG

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

nalungutosteu

nalungoi-teu-steu

be.in.formation-CAUS-IPFV.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

tsi

tsi

3SG.GEN

o-ôldos.

o-wôldos

PL-soldier

Etou began to prepare his soldiers for battle.

Ru

ru

as

rulbeu

rulbeu

thief

robeu

robeu

REL.NOM

mos

mos

city

tsêmêkseu

tsê-mêkseu

OPT-loot[HAB.SG]

nggagideu

nggageu-deu

put-LEG.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

o-nggaihade

o-nggaihade

PL-ladder

lamois

lamoi-s

long-ACC.PL

at'eu

at'eu

onto

o-peupeusa

o-peupos=a

PL-city.wall=POSS

Ngahêxôldod;

Ngahêxôldod

Ngahêxôldod

Like a robber plundering the city, he set tall ladders to the walls of Ngahêxôldod;

dôlbitadeu

dôlbit-deu

bring-LEG.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

o-gahoip

o-gahoip

PL-axe

kelkis

kelkeu-s

fierce-ACC.PL

roba

roba

REL.ABS

ólôxoi

ólôxoi

against

mos

mos

city

ngixêk'at'eu.

ngi-êk'eu-t'eu

ADM-be.used-HAB.PL

he brought fierce axes that were to be used against the city.

O-pugeu

o-pugeu

PL-nose

upêlas,

upê-las

hit-PASS.PST.PL

o-guxeu

o-guxeu

PL-belly

naneulas,

naneu-las

cut-PASS.PST.PL

o-êhêkoi

o-êhêkoi

PL-body

lihêlas,

lihê-las

pile.up-PASS.PST.PL

o-êboi

o-êboi

PL-head

rehôldaklas

rehôldak-las

sow-PASS.PST.PL

retsêd

retsêd

like

o-mbosoi.

o-mbosoi

PL-seed

Noses were crushed, bowels were slashed, bodies were piled up, heads were sown like seeds.

O-pexos

o-pexos

PL-hero

ait'os

ait'eu-s

dead-ABS.PL

bôltageu

bolteu-deu

lay-LEG.PL

bêmoi

bêmoi

above

o-pexos

o-pexos

PL-hero

ait'os,

ait'eu-s

dead-ABS.PL

od

od

and

sauk'exa

sauk'e=a

blood=POSS

o-ngguheuboi

o-ngguheuboi

PL-traitor

êt'ugeu

êt'oi-geu

fall-LEG.PL

at'eu

at'eu

onto

o-xud

o-rud

PL-person

oibos.

oibeu-s

righteous-ACC.PL

Dead heroes were laid on top of dead heroes, and the blood of traitors fell upon honest men.

Guseu

guseu

thus

egek

egek

all

o-neheu

o-neheu

PL-god

sihêdageu

sihêdeu-geu

curse-LEG.PL

Sagibleu

Sagibleu

Sagibleu

nte

nte

with

mêgeu.

mêgeu

mighty[N]

Thus all the gods cursed Sagibleu severely.

"Sagibleu,

Sagibleu

Sagibleu

deu

deu

2SG.NOM

edeusad

edos-d

act.hostile-IPFV.SG

êb

êb

to

Axôltseubeu:"

Axôltseubeu

Axôltseubeu

"Sagibleu, you have pounced on Lasomo:"

"Ru

ru

as

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

pagedeusasteu

pau-edos-steu

COND-act.hostile-IPFV.SG

deu

deu

2SG.NOM

êb

êb

to

Êtsdehad

Êtsdehad

Êtsdehad

mot

mot

COP[HAB.SG]

waihê!"

waihê

this.thing

"It is as if you had pounced on Êtsdehad!"

"Ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-mos

o-mos

PL-city

nubehis

nubeheu-s

proud-ABS.PL

tsêk'eulait'eu

tsê-ngeulai-t'eu

OPT-be.filled-HAB.PL

nte

nte

with

eugoi!"

eugoi

mourn[INF]

"May your proud cities resound with mourning!"

"Ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-kufas

o-kufas

PL-heathen.temple

tsêmeugêt'eu

tsê-meuge-t'eu

OPT-crumble-HAB.PL

ru

ru

as

tsot'eu!"

tsot'eu

dust

"May your temples crumble to dust!"

"Ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-têhagleu

o-têhagleu

PL-brick

tsêdôspoilad

tsê-ospoi-lad

OPT-return-PASS.NPST.PL

êb

êb

to

wispeu!"

wispeu

mud

"May your bricks be returned to the earth!"

"Ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-bomeu

o-bomeu

PL-wheat

tsêdôspoilad

tsê-ospoi-lad

OPT-return-PASS.NPST.PL

êb

êb

to

eulêd

eulêd

furrow

tsik!"

tsik

3PL.GEN

"May your grain be returned to its furrow!"

"Ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-got

o-got

PL-wood

tsêdôspoilad

tsê-ospoi-lad

OPT-return-PASS.NPST.PL

êb

êb

to

ntaug

ntaug

forest

tsik!"

tsik

3PL.GEN

"May your timber be returned to its forest!"

"Sagibleu,

Sagibleu

Sagibleu

ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-pop

o-pop

PL-man

kudok

kud-k

tough-NOM.PL

tsêdistênat'eu

tsê-istêd-t'eu

OPT-lose-HAB.PL

tsik

tsik

3PL.GEN

ndeulid;

ndeulid

power

tsêdrugeutat'eu

tsê-rugeuteu-t'eu

OPT-be.lazy-HAB.PL

hoi

hoi

during

aiteu

aiteu

day

ngeulaig!"

ngeulai-g

full-ACC.SG

"Sagibleu, may your strong men be deprived of their strength; may they lay idle all day!"

"Tsuts

tsuts

this.NOM.SG

tsêt'e

tsê-nde

OPT-cause[HAB.SG]

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

nots

nots

die[HAB.SG]

Uksaux

Uksaux

Ussor

nte

nte

with

loltoi!"

loltoi

hunger

"May this make Ussor die from hunger!"

"Adois

adoi-s

hungry-ACC.PL

tsêmot'eu

tsê-mot-t'eu

OPT-COP-HAB.PL

ga

ga

2SG.GEN

o-ageu;

o-ageu

PL-citizen

tsêhaidat'eu

tsê-kaid-t'eu

OPT-chew-HAB.PL

ngagôstad!"

ngagôstad

leather

"May your citizens grow hungry; may they chew on leather!"

"Ga

ga

2SG.GEN

dixêkloi

dixêkloi

palace

rafag,

rafeu-g

luxurious-ACC.SG

wôhob

wôhob

misery

tsêk'age

tsê-nggage

OPT-strike[HAB.SG]

a!"

a

3SG.ACC

"Your luxurious palace, may misery strike it!"

"Gêngêg

gêngeu-g

high-ABS.SG

tsêngêp'eu

tsê-ngêp'eu

OPT-grow[HAB.SG]

êfeu

êfeu

grass

noi

noi

at

o-nolô

o-nolô

PL-road

ga,

ga

2SG.GEN

od

od

and

tsêk'ok'ait'eu

tsê-gok'oi-t'eu

OPT-prevent-HAB.PL

o-goibreu

o-goibreu

PL-ram

od

od

and

o-áibôxeu

o-áibôxeu

PL-snake

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

pagômod

pau-wômod

COND-travel[HAB.SG]

tsu

tsu

a.single

pop

pop

man

ndeuloi!"

ndeuloi

there

"May the grass grow long on your roads, and may rams and snakes let no-one travel on them!"

"Noi

noi

in

o-auseu

o-auseu

PL-river

ga

ga

2SG.GEN

tsêdibladeu

tsê-ibladeu

OPT-flow[HAB.SG]

ngkeha!"

ngkeha

brine

"May brine flow in your rivers!"

"Paup'uxeu

pau-mbuxeu

COND-decide[HAB.SG]

auxud

auxud

someone

ngugoi,

ngugoi

thus

‘I

i

1SG.NOM

tsêsupseuhêd

tsê-ntupseu-hêd

OPT-rest-MID.NPST.SG

noi

noi

in

Sagibleu!’,

Sagibleu

Sagibleu

nêd

nêd

if/then

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

ntsêdraidoi

m-tsê-raidoi

NEG-OPT-enjoy[HAB.SG]

o-demita

o-demit=a

PL-advantage=POSS

euloi

euloi

place

wagaihog!"

wagoik-g

calm-ACC.SG

"If someone decides, ‘I shall rest in Sagibleu!’, may he not enjoy the pleasures of a resting place!"

Od

od

and

moldoi

moldoi

in.front.of

o-neheu

o-neheu

PL-god

hoi

hoi

during

mpeu

mpeu

that

aiteu

aiteu

day

ngol,

ngol

indeed

kêdasteu

kêd-steu

DYN.MID-PST.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

tsip.

tsip

that.way

And before the gods on that very day, so it was.

Ngop'euseu

nga=Op'euseu

HON=Op'euseu

ngidugil

ngi-dugeu -l

ADM-praise-PASS.NPST.SG

mpoi

mpoi

because

ebrilasteu

ebreu-lasteu

destroy-PASS.PST.SG

Sagibleu!

Sagibleu

Sagibleu

Op'euseu be praised for the destruction of Sagibleu!

The angry horse

Mosteu maga o-aiteu rai lusitad gesanô mpe noi pahêxa neulox tsi. Dol akseu tôxadaud rai rêlaihad pop, rafêd ketstad oga pispêd a nte mêgeu. Ngu pop lusitad rote, kainabêd êheu od wôtskêp'ad êb a. Ngol dôstonad eu mpag tsohop'oi oga aidageupad ntsex! Roits eu akaksad oga nte nggol tsig wôtskêp'ad, akseu bebad gesanô.

Roits os êdeube waihê, kêhibe o-zat'an noi êheuloi od mihoibe.

Interlinear gloss

Mosteu

mot-steu

COP-IPFV.SG

maga

maga

before

o-aiteu

o-aiteu

PL-day

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

lusitad

lusit-d

try-PFV.SG

gesanô

gesanô

peasant

mpe

mpe

sit[INF]

noi

noi

on

pahêxa

pahê=a

back=POSS

neulox

neulox

workhorse

tsi.

tsi

3SG.GEN

Once upon a time, a peasant tried to sit on the back of his workhorse.

Dol

dol

but

akseu

akseu

horse

tôxadaud

tôxadoi-d

prevent-PFV.SG

rai

rai

SUB.ACC

rêlaihad

rêlek-d

ride-PFV.SG

pop,

pop

man

rafêd

rafêd

instead

ketstad

ketsteu-d

shake.off-PFV.SG

oga

oga

and.GAP

pispêd

pispeu-d

hurt-PFV.SG

a

a

3SG.ACC

nte

nte

with

mêgeu.

mêgeu

mighty[N]

But the horse did not let him ride; instead it shook him off and hurt him severely.

Ngu

ngu

when

pop

pop

man

lusitad

lusit-d

try-PFV.SG

rote,

rote

flee[INF]

kainabêd

kainabeu-d

scream-PFV.SG

êheu

êheu

animal

od

od

and

wôtskêp'ad

wôtskêp'eu-d

kick-PFV.SG

êb

êb

to

a.

a

3SG.ACC

When the man tried to run away, the animal screamed and kicked at him.

Ngol

ngol

indeed

dôstonad

dôstod-d

attack-PFV.SG

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

mpag

mpeu-g

that-ACC.SG

tsohop'oi

tsohop'oi

pitiable.person

oga

oga

and.GAP

aidageupad

aidageupeu-d

strike.down-PFV.SG

ntsex!

ntsex

EMPH

Indeed, it attacked that unfortunate person and struck him down!

Roits

roits

SUB.ADV

eu

eu

3SG.NOM

akaksad

akakseu-d

trample-PFV.SG

oga

oga

and.GAP

nte

nte

with

nggol

nggol

foot

tsig

tsig

3DU.GEN

wôtskêp'ad,

wôtskêp'eu-d

kick-PFV.SG,

akseu

akseu

horse

bebad

beb-d

kill-PFV.SG

gesanô.

gesanô

peasant

By trampling on him and kicking him with its feet, the horse killed the peasant.

Roits

roits

SUB.ADV

os

os

3PL.ABS

êdeube

êdeu-be

see-PFV.PL

waihê,

waihê

this.thing

kêhibe

kêheu-be

squeal-PFV.PL

o-zat'an

o-zat'an

PL-pig

noi

noi

in

êheuloi

êheuloi

stable

od

od

and

mihoibe.

mihoi-be

be.thankful-PFV.PL

On seeing this, the pigs in the stable squealed and rejoiced.

---

(Written on Mar 7, 2010 as part of Conlang Relay 17. The story has been translated from Elliott Lash's Silindion.)

See also

• Ndok
• Ndok Aisô/Lexicon