Kasena language

Last updated
Kasena
kasɩm
Region Ghana, Burkina Faso
Ethnicity Kassena
Native speakers
(250,000 cited 1998–2004) [1]
Niger–Congo?
Latin, Goulsse
Language codes
ISO 639-3 xsm
Glottolog kase1253
Kasena region zoomed in.png
The region in which the Kassena people live in Ghana and Burkina Faso

Kasena or Kassena (Kasem or Kassem) is the language of the Kassena ethnic group and is a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana and in Burkina Faso.

Contents

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Labio
dental 		Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Affricate voiceless t̠͡ʃ
voiced d̠͡ʒ
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v z
Approximant l j w
Trill r

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

Tone

Kasena has three tones, a high tone, a mid level tone and a low tone. Tonal changes either change the lexical meaning of a word or its grammatical function. [2]

Lexical

A

A

„I“

Á

Á

„You (PL)“

Grammatical

Wu

Wu

Negation

Wú

Wú

Futur

Grammar

Noun class system

There are five classes of nouns that can be identified in Kasena. These classes correspond to grammatical genders and are differentiated in terms of number, such that there are five classes for singular nouns and five classes for plural nouns. [2]

GenderSGPLGloss
1bubiəchild/children
2bɪnɪbɪnayear(s)
3naganɛfoot/feet
4piupweerumontain(s)
5bʊŋʊbʊmgoat(s)

Pronouns

Personal and possessive pronouns

There are two classes of personal pronouns. One class is referring to humans, whereas the other class is referring to non-human entities. The personal pronouns are also used as possessive pronouns, thus there is no special form for possessive pronouns in Kasena.

Human personal pronouns

PersonSGPLGloss
1stADíI/we
2ndNÁYou/you
3rdOBaHe/she/They

Non-human personal pronouns

ClassSGPL
IOBa
IIDɪYa
IIIKaSɪ
IVKʊTɪ
VKʊDɪ

Emphatic pronouns

PersonSGPLGloss
1stamʊdcbamMe/we
2ndnmʊabamYou/you
3rdwʊm/wʊntubam/bantʊHe/she/they

Reciprocal pronouns

Reciprocity is expressed by the pronoun daanɪ, which sometimes occurs as a prefix or suffix.

Ba

3PL

soe

like

daanɪ.

each.other

Ba soe daanɪ.

3PL like each.other

„They like each other.“ [2]

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexivity is expressed by a personal pronoun to which either tɪtɪ or katɪ ('-self')is added.

O

3SG

cɔgɪ

destroy

o

3SG

tɪtɪ.

self

O cɔgɪ o tɪtɪ.

3SG destroy 3SG self

„He destroys himself.“ [2]

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns are formed on the basis of the personal pronouns for non-human entities to which the suffix -lʊ is attached. [2]

ClassSGPL
Iwʊlʊbalʊ
IIdɪlʊyalʊ
IIIkalʊsɪlʊ
IVkʊlʊtɪlʊ
Vkʊlʊdɪlʊ

Indefinite pronouns

[2]
ClassNumberCertainSomeAny
ISGwʊdoŋ---wʊlʊ wʊlʊ
IPLbadonnəbadaarabalʊ balʊ
IISGdɪ doŋ---dɪlʊ dɪlʊ
IIPLyadonnəyadaarayalʊ yalʊ
IIISGkadoŋ---kalʊ kalʊ
IIIPLsɪdonnəsɪdaarasɪlʊ sɪlʊ
IVSGkudoŋ---kʊlʊ kʊlʊ
IVPLtɪdonnətɪdaaratɪlʊ tɪlʊ
VSGkudoŋ---kʊlʊ kʊlʊ
VPLdɪdonnədɪdaaradɪlʊ dɪlʊ

Demonstrative pronouns

[2]
ClassSGGlossPLGloss
Iwuntuthis/thatbantuthese/those
IIdɪntuthis/thatyantuthese/those
IIIkantuthis/thatsɪntuthese/those
IVkuntuthis/thattɪntuthese/those
Vkuntuthis/thatdɪntuthese/those

Interrogative pronouns

[2]
ClassSG who, what, whichPL who, what, whichHow much
Iwɔɔbrabagra
IIdɔɔyɔɔyagra
IIIkɔɔsɔɔsɪgra
IVkɔɔtɔɔtɪgra
Vkɔɔdɔɔdɪgra

Syntax

Word order

The Kasena language has a basic SVO word order.

Ada

Ada

diim

yesterday

toŋe.

work.PFV

Ada diim toŋe.

Ada yesterday work.PFV

„Ada worked yesterday.“ [3]

References

  1. ↑ Kasena at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Niggli, Urs; Niggli, Idda (2008). Grammaire élémentaire du kasim. Burkina Faso: Société Internationale de Linguistique.
  3. ↑ "The VP-periphery in Mabia languages | Kasem". The VP-periphery in Mabia languages. Retrieved 2023-02-17.


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