Nzadi is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "from Kwamuntu to Ilebo along the north side of the Kasai River in Bandundu Province." The number of speakers of Nzadi is not known, but is estimated to be in the thousands. The Nzadi language has three dialects, Ngiemba, Lensibun, and Ndzé Ntaa.
Phonology
Vowels Nzadi contains seven contrastive vowels, which can be either long or short. The table below shows all the vowel phonemes found in the language: Front Back Close Close-mid Open-mid Open
Consonants Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labial–velar Nasal Plosive voiceless voiced () () Affricate voiceless voiced Fricative voiceless voiced Approximant Trill
Tone Nzadi, like other Bantu languages, has two contrastive tone levels, high (H) and low (L), which can combine to form falling (HL), rising (LH), and rising-falling (LHL) contour tones. H: nwí 'bee' máán 'wine' L: bwɔ 'mushroom' bvuur 'load' HL: kît 'chair' wáàr 'dress!' LH: bvǐm 'theft' tàá 'father' LHL: dzǐˋ 'eye' mǎàn 'ground'
Tone in Nzadi conveys important lexical and grammatical information, and can be the only difference between different words and forms, as seen in the minimal quintuplet here: H: ŋkún 'that very one' L: okun 'to bury, plant' HL: ekûn 'firewood' LH: ikǔn 'trunk' LHL: kǔˋn 'bury! plant!"
General tone rules
Tone absorption When a contour tone is followed by another tone that begins with the same tone level as the end of the first, the first tone is simplified by dropping the final tone level. For example, a HL contour followed by a L tone will be simplified to H. Examples: /mbéè/ 'friend' mbéé mǐˋ 'my friend' mbéé tàá 'the father's friend'
Contour simplification Contour simplification is similar to tone absorption, but occurs when adjacent tone levels are different, as seen in the following possessive constructions: /mbwɔ̌m okáàr/ mbwɔm okáàr 'the woman's nose' /mbǔn mbéè/ mbun mbéè 'the friend's forehead' /ikɔ̌ŋ é ibaa/ ikɔŋ ibáà 'the man's spear' /ikɔ̌ŋ é mùùr/ ikɔŋ e múùr 'the person's spear'
Intonation Despite the functional load of tone in Nzadi, intonation can interact or interfere with lexical tones, particularly when a pause in the utterance is taken. In this case, a H boundary tone is inserted. Example: L-L mbum 'fruit' mbǔm, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a fruit I gave the child' L-LH mbǔm 'maggot' mbǔm, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a maggot I gave the child' L-HL mpúù 'rat' mpúù, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a rat I gave the child' L-H epúú 'cloth' epúú, mi ó pé mwǎàn 'a cloth I gave the child'
Syllable structure Unlike other Bantu languages, which favor polysyllabic word stems, Nzadi consists primarily of monosyllabic stems. Bisyllabic stems are also present, but they are primarily borrowings or reduplications. Examples màáŋgǔl 'mango' pɔtpɔ̂t 'mud' kamyɔ̂ 'car' (from French camion 'truck') All stems necessarily begin with a consonant, and monosyllabic stems take four possible structures: CV, CVC, CVV, or CVVC. In the case of bisyllabic stems, both syllables begin with a consonant, and long vowels never occur in the first syllable, and rarely in the second.
Phonological rules As a result of the systematic shortening of word stems, Nzadi words tend to have more vowel clusters than other Bantu languages, and in many cases adjusts one or more of the adjacent vowels by the following processes.
Vowel coalescence When two different vowels occur in succession, one of three things can happen, depending on several factors: Coalescence Process Occurs When (i) V1 deletes without affecting the length of V2 V1 + V2 → V2 V1 is a non-stem vowel (ii) V1 deletes with compensatory lengthening of V2 V1 + V2 → V2V2 V1 is a stem vowel (iii) The two vowels can be realized without modification V1 + V2 → V1V2 V1 and V2 meet when two lexical words occur in sequence
Vowel shortening In cases in which coalescence does not occur, a long vowel followed immediately by another vowel will shorten. Examples: ibaa + ikwɔ = iba ikwɔ esúú na o dzé iba ikwɔ 'the day that the man ate the banana' ibaa + esaa = iba esaa esúú na o dzé iba esaa 'the day that the man ate the food'
Vowel harmony Due to the historical word shortening from Proto-Bantu, Nzadi does not have the stem-level vowel harmony that many other Bantu languages do. However, one kind of harmony does present itself: /e-/ or /o-/ noun prefixes will harmonize to ɛ- or ɔ- if the stem has an identical /ɛ/ or /ɔ/ vowel.
Grammar Overview The basic constituent order in Nzadi is subject, verb, object, though variation is possible, with some constructions requiring a subject to be placed after the verb. Subject and object pronouns or noun phrases are not marked for case, and the verb does not agree with the subject, though if the object is a pronoun referring to a human, the verb or Tense-Aspect-Mood (TAM) marker may change form to agree with it. Nzadi is more isolating than most Bantu languages, and has largely lost the noun class agreement system present in most languages of the family.
Nouns and the noun phrase
Number marking Many nouns in Nzadi mark number via prefixes, taking different prefixes to contrast singular vs plural. While there are patterns, for many nouns, their plural prefix cannot be predicted from their singular prefix, and vice-versa. These prefixes generally consist of a vowel or a homorganic nasal consonant, though some nouns undergo changes to their root instead, such as muur, baar "person, persons". Some nouns cannot change form to mark number, and instead their number can be inferred from the forms of agreeing modifiers, or they may optionally be marked plural by the marker ba-
Pronouns Pronouns distinguish all three persons and two numbers, with third person pronouns also distinguishing between human and non-human referents. Reflexive pronouns are formed by suffixing -ŋ́gizyâ to the pronouns.
The genitive linker A genitive linker é may separate a possessed noun from a following possessor; whether it appears or not is lexically specified by the possessed noun, correlating with its historical noun class. Compound nouns are formed via the same means, and are not distinguishable from possession. The determiner na can fill the possessed slot, allowing a semantically headless possessive phrase like na e mî "mine/my one".
Postnominal modifiers Adjectives, determiners, and numerals and quantifiers all generally follow the noun in the noun phrase, and come after possessors if there is one. Most adjectives are invariant in form, though a few alter their prefix to agree with the number of the noun they modify. Demonstratives also agree with the number of the noun they modify, and distinguish between human and non-human in the plural, as well as making a three-way distance contrast; other determiners are invariant in form, and may be used to mark definiteness or indefiniteness, but are not required. Numerals and quantifiers do not agree with the head noun. Participles are derived from verbs with the prefix ŋga- and function as non-agreeing modifiers of nouns; the role of the noun in the event described by the verb is contextually determined.
Role marking While nouns are not case marked for subject or object, prepositions can be used to mark more peripheral semantic roles. The role of location or goal of movement can be marked by kó "to, at". To encode more specific locational meanings, the noun will be used as a possessor, possessing a relational noun like duu "sky, top, above" or osó "face, front", which will then be preceded by kó. The noun sâm "reason" is used to mark a noun as a beneficiary or purpose of an action; the noun is rendered as the possessor of sâm. Prepositions tí and yɛ can both generally be translated to English "with", and mark an instrument or accompanier; they are also used to coordinate noun phrases.
Verbs Verbs are typically preceded by a Tense-Aspect-Mood (TAM) marker, and undergo stem changes or tonal alternations to mark those grammatical categories alongside the TAM marker. Object agreement is also possible, which can appear on either the verb, or the TAM marker. Some verbs display fossilised remnants of earlier Bantu valency altering suffixes, but these suffixes are no longer used productively. Many verbs are not specified for transitivity, and can be used either with or without an object. Some verbal meanings are expressed as a lexicalised combination of a verb stem and a following noun, such as sá mbyɛ̌ (lit. put knife) "stab", a light verb construction.
Verbs form an infinitive, which has both nominal and verbal properties, through the prefix o-; the underlying lexical tone of a verb stem surfaces in the infinitive. It can be the subject of a copula clause, and take nominal modifiers, while also appearing in certain auxiliary verb constructions and subordinate clause types. Infinitives cannot be negated through normal means. To express the meaning of negation, instead an infinitive is preceded by the infinitive of a verb like saŋ "refrain".
Basic TAM marking Tense, aspect, and mood (TAM) inflection is primarily through a combination of a preverbal TAM marker, and changes to the verb stem. These are often tonal; verbs have an underlying lexical tone which surfaces in the infinitive or present perfect, but other TAM values will alter or override it. For example, the simple past tense is marked by the TAM marker ó, and a falling tone on the verb stem. Other values include the present perfect, or anterior, marked by â; two different present tenses, named after the forms of their TAM markers: the e-present is more habitual or uncertain, and assigns a falling tone to the verb stem, the a-present is more progressive or for certain events, while causing the raising of the stem tone. There is also a future tense, marked by a, stem reduplication, and tonal changes to the stem. One form functions as a hortative or jussive in main clauses, but a subjunctive in subordinate clauses, marked by e or ke and a falling tone on the verb stem; the former marker is used for a stronger command, while the latter is more of a suggestion, and is used more often in situations where the subjunctive is selected for by a subordinate clause. The imperative is marked by a rising tone on the verb stem, and the absence of a TAM marker, or subject pronoun.
Verbs display differing behaviour with regards to stem alternations. Some monosyllabic verb stems ending in a vowel must raise or front their vowel to e or i in the subjunctive, a-present, and past tense. For other verbs the change is optional in the past tense, while still required for the subjunctive and progressive, and for yet others, their stems are invariant in these contexts. This alternation is predictable based on the form of the verb root. Additionally, all verbs mark the future by reduplicating their initial consonant, with a vowel, usually i, inserted, along with tonal changes and a TAM marker.
Object agreement If there is a human object pronoun, the forms of the TAM markers or the verb optionally change to agree with it. A first-person singular object can cause a homorganic nasal to prefix to the verb stem, while a third-person singular human object pronoun is marked by a shift of the TAM marker's vowel to /o/, and a second-person singular, or any person plural human object pronoun causes a shift of the vowel to /e/. Vowel changes caused by object agreement can cause certain tense-aspect values to merge segmentally, though they can still be distinguished by the tone on both the TAM marker and the verb stem.
Negation