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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGOII
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II
mil
III
111
III
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3 1822 00806 6664
HANDBOOK
KESO
LANGUAGE
UNIVERSITY OF CAl
i
twV
3 1822
00806 6664
PL
THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
SAN DIKSQ
'
^
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA
A HANDBOOKOF THE
ATESO LANGUAGE
A HANDBOOKOF THE
ATESO LANGUAGEB^
THEA.L.
VEN.
ARCHDEACON
KITCHING,
M.A.
author of "an outline grammar of the gang language" "on the backwaters of ths Nile"
SOCIETY lOR I'KOMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGELONDON: NORTHUMBERLAN'r) AVENCE,W.C.
I9I5
INTRODUCTIONThe Ateso dialect is spoken by a tribe ot" some 300,000 people living between Lake Kioga and Mt. Elgon in the Eastern Province of the Uganda Protectorate. The Teso are a cheerful, industrious people, amenable to control and eminently teachable. Although now for some six years only in close contact with civilization, the tribe has made phenomenally rapid progTess in the arts of peace the cultivation of cotton and labour on the construction of metalled roads has provided even the poorest peasants with abundant cash, and European articles, from cigarettes to bicycles, are in eager demand. Yet the name of this tribe does not appear, so far as the wTiter is aware, in any of the works on the peoples of the Uganda Protectorate. The Teso appear to belong to the same Nilotic gi-oup as the Nandi, Turkana and Karamojo The tribes, and the language has affinities with Masai. dialect is given by Sir H. H. Johnston, in his work The Uganda Protectorate, as Elgumi, a name which the Rev. W. Crabtree suggests has been applied to the tribe by the Masai {En game the nose) owing to the frecpient occurrence of the velar nasal ng. It is, however, doubtful if the sound in question is associated by natives with nasal utterance it is more probable that the word is the Masai Ilkume, one of their names for the Turkana tribe, who speak a dialect nearly resembling Ateso. A comparison between Ateso and the Turkana and Karamojo dialects is afforded by the following list of common;
=
;
words
^
English.
VI
INTRODUCTIONEnglish.
Vlll
INTRODUCTIONNumerals
5.
INTRODUCTIONIn these ng represents wj hard (as inloii(/er),
IX
while
/((/'
is
employed to denotesound )tg {ng hard
irg
soft (as in singer).is
As the hard ngis
does not occur in Ateso only one symbolsoft (velar nasal)
required
;
the
one phonetically, not compound is really ngg), and should therefore be represented Accordingly w' was in phonetic writing by a single symbol. adopted as the closest approximation to the Bantu ng\ The author regrets the necessity for abandoning the phonography of many authorities, but he was concerned solely with the consideration of what would best represent the spoken sounds to the Teso people, for whom his work is done, even at the cost of extra trouble to European philologists.
The author wishes to acknowdedge his indebtedness to the Rev. W. Crabtree, late of the C.M.S. Uganda Mission, for the use of his vocabularies of the Ateso dialect. He is also indebted to the members of the Mill Hill Roman Catholic IMission at Ngora for suggestions on the grammar of the language, and to Mr. C. W. Hattersley for permission to adopt his work entitled Lugaiida P/imse Book as a basis for theconversational chapters at the end of this book.
A HANDBOOK OF THE
ATESO LANGUAGEThe Alphabet.the The Ateso alphabet consists of twenty -three letters English consonants /, q, v, x, z, are not used, while n and h' The vowels are pronounced much as in Italian. are added. The approximate pronunciation of the letters is as follows;
a as a in fat her, not as inh,,
man
.
.
aparauebela apecelo
bendcJiair
,,
dotvn,, ,, ,,
adaketapeseaperit
maketether(father,
never as
in gender
.
egiluthali
hair been ,, evident,,
ekilyokit akipicjakait
jolt keep,, ,, ,, ,, ,,
apakietelepat
lane
mend nowonionsinger,
amaranait elwana akonen, akaiinever as in stronger.
kan'ina, n"61, kitin'
gone,,
boneglory
aiboko etogoaladot alupot
,, ,,
painrent
,,,,
akwarealosit11
sack
12t
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEas,, t
in tool.
etaget.
MIV
00 moon, never as in dutij
amutonoawaraga eyapye
,,
wy
y
went yard
Ateso vowels combine to make two diphthongsai asoi,,
i
in hite
adakaialadoi
oy alloy
Other vowels found occurring together are not diphthongs, but are pronounced separatelyibotei
aujo apolou
contains four syllables three ,, ,, four ,, ,,,,
adeodeoTransliteration.
five
,,
In?
transliterating
words boriowed from
other languages'p is
used for / and,,
aipiiga for the
Luganda,,
okufttga
s
z
emesa
,,
emezais
The nasalization common in Bantu dialects dropped eniusango becomes anusayd.
usually
Thus also by a combination of both these processes, the Luganda twiinza (jigger) becomes ejmsa in Ateso.
SUBSTANTIVES.Ateso substantives are divided into two main classes1.
2.
Masculine nouns, having the initial vowel e in the singular and i in the plural. Feminine nouns, having the initial vowel a in bothsingular
and
plural.
Beside these there are two smaller classes.'1
A
4.
few nouns, mostly denoting relaJ:ionships, having the vowel o in the singular and irregular plural. The diminutive forms of nouns in the other classes.initial
1 and 2 may be subdivided according to the ways forming the plural. Any noun in Class 1 denoting a person or animal may also be used in Class 2 by changing the initial
Classes
of
vowel,
e. g.
emerekek, a ram eblesit, a servantof the
amerekek, a eice ablesit, a maidservant
Some feminine nouns denote a weakermasculine equivalent,a bigtreee.
g.
1.
or smaller individual
ekitoi,
akitoi,
a piece of wood
ikitor, trees
akitor, firewood
ClassThere are eleven subdivisions1.
in the
masculine
class.
Nouns denoting
persons,
formed from verbs by the
addition to the root of the verb of e- or tka- in the case of strong verbs, and chc- in the case of weak verbs. These have the singular termination -an and plural -ah
ekamr^jau eken'alan ekelipan
a hunter
ikamejakiken'alak ikelipak-k,
a liar a beggar
The followingekurye
also
have plural termiiuitiona coward a blind man
but are
irregular in formation
ikuryesik
emudukl
imudukyok
142.-6t,
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE
Nouns with singular terminating and plural in -ai, -ei, -oi
in
-a,
-at,
-c,
-et,
-o,
ekojoerlkot
an arrowacliai)i
ikojoiirikoi
etomeedita ebotet3.
an elephanta basket a devicein
itomeiiditai
ibotei
Nouns with singular terminatingijo
p
or a vowel
and
plural in
or
syoa rat a moon, month
em inelap edia4.
imiryoilapyo idiasyo-oi,-1
a herb
Nouns with
plural -or
singular termination -ok, -6n\
and
ekin'okekicolon'
ekitwl5.
a dog a stool a shrub
in'okworikicolon'or
ikitwor-n,-k,
Nouns withekeretekisil
singular in
-/,
-u\
-/,
-r,
which add
-a in the plural
ekurukekiriton
a gourd a command a crow a scorpion
ikeretaikisila
ikurukuikiritona
Some add
-na or -ina to a singular in -m or -oa papyrus mat a cerval cat
ejani
ijanuna
ekwaro
ikwaroaa
Some nounsecokat
in -ai or -at
drop the
final letter
esaniai
a rirer a seedin-it
isanui
icoka-it,
Nouns endingeslgiiait
or -ait drop
some
in -anisigiia
drop
-n-
a cowrie shell a buffalo a man a
ekosohwauekilyokit
ikosobwaikilyok
Emtisogait
Mnsoga
Imusoga
A HANDBOOK OF THK ATESO LANGUAGE6.
l5
Nouns withchange theeroto
singular in
-?',
-o, -u, -it, -ot,
-In or
final syllable to -in
or -m, which
add
ebu
ekwameblesit
a road a hycena a uintl a servant
irotiu
ibwin
ikwaminiblesm
Some
in -6t,
or -et change the final syllable to -on, -eni
-t
ekadon'ot edokolet7.
a hell a monkeyin-7^, -6t,
ikadon'onidokoleni-ut,
Nouns with singularesirut
which drop theisiru
final
ekaiiumit ecopot
a mosquito a grain of semsem j)upil of the eye-?,-7^-,
ikaiiumi icopo-fi
8. Nouns with singular termination or change to -('
which add
-o
en'atun ebokoriteputiri
a
lion
a finger a wart hog
in'atuno ibokoroiputiro-unij
Some
in -o,
-7,
add -no or
in -ut
change to
eryagoepiri
etolut
a bag a pole a pelican
iryagonoipirino
itoluno
Similarly
esyep
emoru9.
a side a hillin -e or -et
isyepiuo
imorunowhich make pluralimaase imarein -e
Nouns with singularemaase emaret
a locust a bean
Also
ekiya10.
a charm, medicinein-e,-et,-'/,
ikeyeplural in -ya
Other nounsere
-s,
-t,
make
ekusejoket ekirore
a a a a
village
irerya
needlespirit
name
ikusya ijokya ikhorya
1611.
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE
A
few nouns add -on to the singularebuiietoii
a crevasse a kite
iburionitorion
any
There are a number of nouns which cannot be brought into of the above classes
etwo emelekuelon'oru
ekumeekweter
emwatununi
a drinking gourd a hoe a lumj) a nostril a dwarf a twinplural form, such assntallpox
itwol
imelekesilon'oras
ikumesikweteras
imwatukunamesof diseases
Some nouns have no
and a few abstract nounsekodoi
epuru eban'anutepu'yanut
measlesfoihf cleverness
Note.- It will be observed that the above classification of substantives is more or less arbitrary, and of little assistance Owing to the extreme in studying the formation of plurals. irregularity of Ateso in this respect it seems impossible to do more than group the substantives together in some such way as the above and memorize the forms individually.
Class
2.
The feminine1.
class has eight sub-divisions.in a vowel, except-/,
Nouns endingakale atibo ukulu
which addakalei atiboi
I
for the
plural-
a spoon a howl
an ostrich-~tt,
akului
iSome with singular inakit abilot abf'yet2.
-Ct,
-6t,
make
])lural in -i
an,
ear
akiabiloi
a jiute an egg//,
abeyl
Nouns
in n' or
iiuikiiig plural in -or
atapin' ateinisu
a guinea fowl a drum
-
atapin 'or atenusor
A3.
HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEin-i,
17-c
Nouns with singularakacerit
-u,
-It,
andin a
plural in
aof
star
akacere
4.
A
large
number
nouns endinga debt a iving a crocodile
consonant add -a
to form the plural
apesen
apescna
abebenukakiiian'
abebenukaakiiian'a
Others in
-at, -ait,
drop
-t
or
-it
asowaagerata
asowatageratait
a piece of iron a comb
Some nouns addthe -t
-na to the singular, those in -ut dropping
atenut agola5.
a branch a cor>ierin-?,
atenunaagolana-nl,
Nouns endingakoli
-o,
add
ending
in n' or -n
add
akun'
a cup a kneein-6t,
akolino akun'ino
Some nounsajulot6.
-ut,
akakut
merely drop the -t akaku a haiUtonea featherajulo-d,
Nouns endingan'ololo
in -an,
-I,
-It,
or chaiige the final syllable to -in
add
-7h to the singular
akanaisinit
a lake an arma abraceletJuit
aif ololln
akauinaisinin
amaduli7.
amadulin
Some nouns ending-ia or sia
add
in a consonant,
and a few
in -a or -i
adeka aparan8.
a disease a daya final-t
adekesia aparasiato -n
Some nouns changeatitibat
atitiban
acocorot
a heel a partridge
acocoron
nouns have no plural form, such as abstract nouns and a few others, e. g. ajakanut, a kingdom abelt, truthof feminine
A number
18
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEOthers have no singular, chiefly those denoting liquidsakipl, water
awokot, blood
The1.
following must also be included in Class 2
Infinitives used as abstract substantives
akialama, joyakerit, reverence2.
alosit,
journey
-ut
Abstract nouns formed from verbs with the terminationto be
asyana,
gracious
asyanut, grace
amuno,3.
to trust
amunonut,place,
covfideiice
Nouns denoting-7s.
formed from
infinitives
with the
affix
akilon", to bathe
akilon'is, bathroom
akiboyi,
to sit
akwana,4.
to be
sharp
akiboyls, a place akwanis, edge
Nouns denoting theakidoka,akirap,to
iiifinitives
instrument used, with the termination -et or -ait
formed
from
climb
to cover
adoket, a ladder arapetait, a lidof the masculine
5.
Imported words not denoting personsarupiya, a rupee
genderabaluwa, aletter
last
five classes the two first have no plural forms, the three follow the formation of the main classes given above. So in Class 3 we have plurals in -syo
Of these
akipoyls
a kitchen
and
in Class 4 plural foinis in -a
akipoylsyo
adoket arupiyana
a ladder
and in Class 5 plurals in -na
adoketa
ru])ees.
ClassThis Class contains a small
3.
numberokilen,
of nouns,
nearly
all
denoting relationships okoku, sononaci, brother, cousin
husband
otataylt, grandson
ocen, nephew
dion, pasture
A
HANDBOOK OF THK ATESO LANGUAGEiuitial o
19
There are also irregular forms without the^aivd, father
toto, tnolher
papa, ancestor
kiuaci, sister, cousineja,
mamayi, uncle
aunt
The
plural forms are irregular, as followsiklleni,
iidwe, so)isikliiaoau. brothers
itatayl,
husbands grandsons
icenion, nephews
fathers lupapa, ancestors lumamayi, imcleshipaita,,
orona, pastures lukatoto, mothers
akiuacan, sisters lukeja, aunts
The adjectival and other agreements are the samefor Class1,
as those except for words denoting female relations, which2.
follow Class
Class
4.
This class contains the diminutive forms of nouns in the other classes. The noun ibore (a thing) may also be included, as it is most commonly used in the diminutive form, though it may also be employed in the feminine abore
ibore, a thing ikoku, a child
iboro, things
iidwe, children
So tooekinok. dog anayit, a blade of grass amoru, a stoneikin'ok,iiia,
puppy
iveeds
imoru, a pebble
The Generic Plural.
Many nouns have a second form of the plural the ordinary form is used to denote specific individuals, the secondary form indicates the entire class of objects mentioned.;
Singular.
Specific Plural.
Generic Plural.
akwapu, koidetuan, personibore, thing
akwapin, count rgitun'a, people
akwapislnei, the world itun'asinei, nutnkindiborosinei, creation
iboro. things
20
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEDerogative Forms.
Bya
little,
the insertion of -dio- after the initial vowel the sense of a small quantity is given.little
adiokinetikusi, aidiobore,(f. the
a
hit
of your oil of a thing
adverbslittle little
nediokasilon. anediocici,
waytimep. 40.
a
and the verbal forms on
CASE.case,
Ateso nouns but some have a locative form.for the(a)
most part do not possess more than oneThis
is
made
By
dropping the
initial
vowel.
aparan, a day akware, a night etogo, a house akuju, the sky{b)
paran, by day kware, by night togo, in the house kuju, abore, in the sky
o or ko, the
the initial vowel of masculine nouns to former generally with verbs denoting motion, the latter mostly stativeejai
By changing
komesa,
it
is
on
the table
koloma olugudo, go(c)
out into the high road.
By
prefixing k to feminine nounssat in the kitchen.
eboyoto kakipoyls, they
Nouns of (6) formation often add the after the locative prefix ko-, never after okotometaokc, withinhis heart.
preposition
to
ma
The Possessive case is formed in Ateso by Genitive Case. the use of the preposition ka = of; the noun of the possessor always follows that of the tiling possessed
Okoku ka Elohim,or
the
Son of God
more definitely cteiepat Ifika Kmusutrnt,
the
European's boy.
ADJECTIVES.language,
no true adjectives in the Ateso place being supplied by verbs in relative form. They are made by the addition to the 'present tense of the verb of one of the relative pronouns Ic-, loka-, in the masculine class, ne-, )iaka-, in the feminine, i/i-nl- in the diminutive. Some of the commonest of these adjectives are as followsStrictly speaking there aretlieir
Sing.
Plur.
English.strongshortlight
legogon'
luegogon'
lewuryanalebenen leronolepololedlt
luewuryaka luebenenaklueroko luepolok luedlsyak lueren"ak
badgreat
smallredu'hite
lerenan
lokakwananlokitetet
lukakwan'aklukitetak
newbig,
lokapolon letyonolokawojaiilerl
lukapolok luetyoko lukawojakiuerlete
important
difficult
long, fall
crooked
Similarly we haveFeiii.
Diittin.
nerononedit
yenironoyenidit
nakapolon nakawojan
yenlkapolon yenikawojanin
and
so forth
There are one or two formednouns.lokilyoklthiale
a similar manner from
naberu
fenude21
22
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE
The forms compounded with the relatives le-, ne-, correspond generally to the English indefinite article, while the loka-, naka- forms correspond to the definite article, e. g.
Mam
akoto imelekes lumojon", koseonu lukagogon'.
/ do not want old hoes, pick out the strong ones.
Kotwana akiten' nedit Was it a small cow thatSomerelative as
?
Mam, nakapolon/
nakiryonon.
died
No,
the big black one.
adjectives are formed from transitive verbs with the above and the termination -at or -et.cloth for tying, ba)idage;from akiyen,totie
egoye lokiyenetekiya lokiloset ekiya lomatat akiboyis nekiyen'et ibore yenltubet
medicine for washing, lotion medicine for dri)iking a resting-placea thing to cut with
Adjectives always follow the noun (jualified, as in the phrases given above. Sometimes another noun may follow the adjective, limiting its application to the main subject, e. g.~ejakait lepolo asyanut
a
rerg gracious chief,
literally
a chief great as to his grace.
itun"a Iwedisyak akiyuwuni men of Utile faith elephants irith long tru)iks itomeyi luewojak ikumos
of the masculine gender, the letter n of the feminine,
always characteristic whether at the beginning oi' end of a word. So we have already seen the adjectival jjrefixes commence with I in the masculine and n in the feminine, and it will be noted that the demonstrative pronouns n'ol, n'ini, nul, n'un, are characterized by the same The diminutive class has its distinctive letters at the end. prefix ye)d in the singular, but in tlio plui-al always follows the agreements for the masculine.ItIx'I
may
noted heie that the letter
is
Numerals. Ateso possesses numerals up to 100, but after that is obliged to borrow foreign words. The numbers up to five are the basis of the whole system of notatioii, six being five and one, seven five and Iwo, and so foitli.
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGECardinals.
23
Masc.1.
Fein.
Dim.yenidiopetas masc.
ediopetiaieiinii
2.
3.4.
adiopet aaie auni
5. 6.7.
iun'won ikan ikankape ikaukaareikafikauni
aun'wouakafi
8. 9.
akankape akankaare akankauniakaiikauirwon
ikankaiin'won
10. itonioii
atomonkapeatomoii kape
11. itonion
20. akaisareyi
30. akaisauni
and so on through the tens, the same in all classes. The intermediate numbers take the gender agreementsthe units
in
Masc.33. akaisauni 64.
Fern.
ka huini akaisakankape ka hiuu'won
akaisauni ka nuuni akaisakaiikape ka
luiun'
wonakaisakankauni ka uadope ka lodope akwatat 200. akaisatomon aare, or akwata81. akaisakaiikauni
100. akaisatomon, or
aare
For one thousand and onwards words have been borrowed from Luganda1000. elukumi 2000. ilukumln iare.
Aboveeasiest to
this there are
no forms in common use, but the adopt are perhaps the following
10,000. arita, a translation of the Luganda word omutwalo, a load of shells, which in the days before the introduction of coinage numbered 10,00(^). the Luganda 100,000. akasiripu, a transliteration of
akasiriru.
Beyond
this
it is
at present impossible to count in Ateso.
24
A
HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEOrdinals.
3Iasc.1st
Fein.
Dimyenisodit yenikiaret
losodit
2nd lokiaret3rd lokhvuniet4tli
nasodit nakiaret
lokwononet
nakiwuniet nakwon'onet
venikiwuniet
10th lokitomonet lokakaisareyi 35th lokakaisauni ka lukafi 39th nakakaisauni ka nukan kaun'won20tli
and so
forth in all classes.
Adrerhial.Oi(ce, atipet.
Twice, akatenak aare
and so on. This form is not, however, used very frequently; a much more common usage is to employ the word irwana. abu kobu irwana aare kosubu kAvan'ini irwana akanIn the samehe came twice do this five times.
way(/ didit)
irwana ipu irwana ai ?
many
times.it)
How many
times {did you do
/
Interrogative Adjectives.
Like other adjectives these follow the noun
(|ualified.
Masc.enoina, irhichPI, inoika?
Frill.
aiioina
imwasayi, hoiv manyor
/
anoika aniwasayi
iniwayi
amwayiirhich sheep hare you brouyht ? for how many rupees do yousell
iyau enHMckek enoina ( igela arupivana aniwavi
^
it?
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEComparison.
25
for the comparative and superlative degrees, and these must be expressed by paraphrases. The comparative degree is usually indicated by the ase of the verb akitelekarlt to surpass.
There are no separate forms
=
ekakin'ok etelekarit lokoni
mi/ dofj
is hi(/(/er tJuDi
yours
Or
in relative
constructionthis coir is the bigger
akiten'
na
n'es netelekarit
=
The sui)erlative mav be indicated bv the addition alletogo n'ol n'es letelekarit keretliat
of kcre
house
is
the
biggest of
(dl
Or merely by appositionibore yenlclcl hai?
yenicici
whichis
is
the stnaUest ?
this
bo yen
the sinaUest
It will be noted that when an adjective is in simple apposition in English, in Ateso the adjective becomes a verb in direct construction, the relative prefix dro piping off and the
copula being omitted.
erono ayep ewuryaka iphino
the
axe
is
had
the poles are short
But the definite form of the adjective is used in apposition, generally with the copula n'es, Jces, when in English the adjective is preceded by the definite article.etun'anan elo n'es lokapolonakitor nu kes nukalan'iriokthis
man
is the
headman.
these trees are the heavy ones.
VEEBS.The verb is the most important part of speech in the Ateso language, supplying many deficiencies in other parts of speech at the same time it is both complicated and irregular in its conjugation. The forms given here appear to be those in most general use, but there is much local variation of usage, and it is difficult to obtain any general consensus of opinion as to the relative correctness of some formations. There are seven different classes of verbs, which are dealt with separately below, as well as a number of irregular and defective verbs. Apart from their classification according to conjugation, verbs are also divided into strong and weak this division is not according to termination, both strong and weak verbs being included in the various classes. Strong verbs take;
1.
a- as the prefix of the infinitive.^
2.
3.
4.
pronoun in the first and third ])ersons singular and the third persoii plural. ko- as prefix of the imperative, La- in first person of the subjunctive. eka- as prefix of the veibal noun denoting agent.a- as personal
Weak1.
verbs
take
aki- or ai- as prefix of the infinitive.first and third persons as above. imperative prefix, ke- in subjunctive. eke- or eki- as prefix of verbal noun.e-
2. 3.
as pronou)! in
ki- as
4.
So
inJ.
the strong verb furaioslt, injitiitire.
lo (/o
we have
2.
alot,
lie /la.s (joiie.!
3. 4.
kolot
(JO !
kaloto,
let
us
(jo.
r-kalotan, n f/oer, irarcller.'
With
II
few
(xc('j)1 inns,
mostly
inniiosylliil ic roots.
20
A HANDBOOK OF TUV. ATESO LAXCUAGEIntlie1.
27
weak verb
for fo agreeiiijiuilive.
we have
akiyiiwuni,
2. 3.4.
eyuwunit, he agrees. kiyu agree ! keyuwutu, lei us agree. ekeyuwunan, a believer, one who agrees.!
In
all
inflexions of tense, etc.,
verbs are classified apart
from the division into strong and weak, only pronominal and other prefixes being afltected by that division.
Moods and
Tenses.
There are five moods, each containing one tense, with the exception of the Indicative which has six main tenses.Indicative.1.
2.
3.
4.5.6.
Present Indefinite, efiakuni, / bring back. Present Imperfect, enakunit, / am bringing back. Future, eiiakimi nat or Iwaru, I slmll bring back. Perfect, eiiaku, / have brought back. Past, abu kiiiaku, / brought back. Past Imperfect, abala eiiakuni, / teas bringing back.
many verbs the two present tenses are identical, and in the future requires an adverb, nat for near time, livaru or molo for time more or less distant.Inall
Infinitive.
Imperative. Subjunctive, Conditional.
akiiiakuui or ainakuni, lo bring back. kiiiaku, bring back. See also p. 37. keiiaku, that I may bring back. Past Tense, tikiiiaku, / should have brou{)ht hack.
Conjugations.1.
Conjugation 1 includes all verbs having the termination -uni in the infinitive and present indicative singular. Those which denote motion imply that the motion is in the direction of the speaker.
28
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEStrong.
Weak.akiyuwuni,aikamuiii.to arjree
alomuni, to come in or out ayauni, to bririffaafiuni, to see
to to
catch hold of
akinakuui,akiituni, to
bring hack
alimuni,Indicative
to tell
remember
Mood.I bring back.kinakuniiilakunete
Present tense.
Future.
/ shall bring back.
enakuniiiiakuni
enakunfiiat orhvaru,etc., as Pi'esent.
enakuniPresent Imperfect.
enakunete/
am
bringing hack.
enakunit inakuuit enakunitPerfect.
kiuakunit inakunite enakunite
/ have brought back.
Weak.
Strong.
enaku
Past.
/ brought back.
abu
kifiaku
apotu kinakutu
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEConditional Mood.
29
tikinaku tikinaku tikinaku
tikinaku tikinakututikiiiakutu
Sometively,
and then the termination indicative are as followsPerfect,
transitive verbs in this class can be used intransiof the perfect and past
Past.
adaun kodaun
pi.
adaunos kodaunos
The imperative follows the past
tense.
There are also some intransitive forms in -uni of verbs in Class 5, which follow this conjugation.elelebata, they filled, but elelebunos, (hey are full ecanicanete, they spoil, l)ut ecanucanunos, they are spoilt
Conjugation
2.
This class contains verbs having the termination -ari in the infinitive and present indicative singular. Those which denote motion imply that the motion is in the direction away from the speaker, the opposite of verbs in Class 1.Strong.
alomari,
to
go in or out
apari, to stray
an 'ari,
to
open
30Past.
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO tANGUAGE/ went out.
abu koloniaPast Imperfect.abala alomariibala ilomari
apotu kolomasi/ was going out.
Same
in all persons.
abala alomariImperative Mood.
kibala kilomari ibalasi ilomarite abalasi alomarite
Go
out.
kolomaSubjunctive Mood.
kolomasi
That I
may
go out.
kaloma koloma kolomaConditional Mood.
kalomasi kolomasi kolomasiI should have gone out.
tikoloma
tikolomasi
Same3.
in all persons.
Conjugation
Class 3 contains verbs having the termination -ori in the If motion is implied infinitive and present indicative singular. it is in the direction away from the speaker, as in Class 2, e. g. abon'ori to go back (abon'uni, to come back).Strong.
A HANDBOOK OFPast.
THP:
ATESO LANGUAGE
31
/ touched.
abu kotiroPast Imperfect,abala atiroriImperative Mood.kotiro
apotu/ was
kotiro.si
Same
in all persons.
touchiiiff.
kibala kitirori,
etc.,
as above.
Touch.kotirosi
Subjunctive Mood.katiro kotiro kotiro
That I
may
touch.
katirosi
kotirosi kotirosi
Conditional Mood.tikotiro
I should have touched.tikotirosi
Same4.
in all persons.
Conjugation
This includes all verbs ending in -ini, mostly the preSee further on positional forms of verbs in other classes.p. 41.
Strong.aosikini, tolet
Weak.ainevini, to leave
go
agolokini, to shut
up
akiyapakini,
to
go gently
Indicative
Mood./tell.
Present Tense.aliniokini
Future.
/ shall
tell.
ilimokini aliniokini
kilimokini ilimokinete alimokineteI
aliniokini nat or hvaru,etc.,
as Present.
Present Imperfect.(often wanting)
nm
telling.
Perfect.aliniokiilinioki
/ have told.
termination -it, -ito as in conjugation 3Past./ told.
kilimoki ilimokis
alimoki
alimokis
abu kolimukiPast Imperfect.
aputu
kulinioki.s
Same
in all persons.
/ was telling.etc., as in
abala kolimukiui,
other conjugations
32
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAG-ETell.
Imperative Mood.
kolimokiSubjunctive Mood.
kolimokis
That I may
tell.
kalimoki kolimoki kolimokiConditional Mood.
kalimokis kolimokis kolimokis/ should hacetold.
tikolimoki
tikolimokis
Same
in all persons.
The xerh aineyini (to leave) differs in some tenses from this conjugation. The perfect is eiie; plural, eneyis ; past and imperative, hine, hineyis.Conjugation5.
The verbs
of this conjugation
mostly have roots ending in
a consonant, to which -i is added in the present indicative when the final consonant of the root is -t, it changes to s in the present indicative, e. g. akimat (to drink), amasi (I drink). There are a few verbs also which have a final vowel in the infinitive, viz. those which have roots ending in -r, e.g. akeri(to run).
Strong.
Weak.
run akimat, drinkakeri,
ainom,akillp,
strike
aswam, workask for
aisub, do
Indicatice
Mood.Future.etc.,
I shall drink.as Present.
amasi nat or Iwaru,
J'leseiit
Imperfect.
No
separate forms.
ta
Same
in all persons.etc.
Past Imperfect.
1
was drinking, abala amasi,
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEImperative Mood.
3;j
Drink.
komatSuhjunctive Mood.
koniata
That I
inaij
drink.
kamatkoniat
kamata komatakoniata/ should have drunk.
komatConditional Mood.
tikomat
tikomata SameConjugation6.
in all persons.
This class contains verbs which in the present describe a process and in the past or perfect the state which is the result of that process they provide, in the relative form, the The present tense adjectives previously explained on p. 21. ends in -ori, -ari, usually preceded by the letter -n,-, which changes in the plural to -k-. The verb atwanare (to die) is peculiar in having a plural form of the infinitive, atwakare, probably a survival of many such forms, though it appears to be the only one now in use. It is employed when the subject of the main verb is in the plural, e. g.;
ekotosi atwakare
they are likely to die.
Some
of the verbs in this class are
apolori, to
grow
big
making thelokapolon
adjective, lepolo,adjective, lewoja, adjective, lekono,
awojari,
to
lengthen
making thelokawojan
akonori,
to
ripento gel
making thelokakononshort
awuryanari,Indicative
making the adjective, lukewuryaka (plur.)
Mood.
34Past.
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGE/ died.
abu kotwanaPast Imperfect.Imperative Mood.
apotu kotwaka
Same
in all persons.
/ was dying, abala atwani, etc.Die.
kotwanaSubjunctive Mood.
kotwaka
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGESubjunctive Mood.
35
That I
may
heat.
kebun'akibun'a kibun'aConditional Mood.
kebun'atakibun'ata kibun'ataI should have beaten.
tikebun'a
tikebun'ata
Same
in all persons.
Verbs in -oyi make the plural of the perfect, etc., in -oto Akiye (to sow) has koeyata in the imperative instead of -ata. plural, while akiye (to sing) makes koeyoto.
NOTES ON THE MOODS AND TENSES.FerfectIndicative.
tense in Conjunctioneroko, erin'a
1 is
The secondary form usually employed
in
-na
in
this
after the
adverb
eroko eyauna
he has not yet brought
it.
This formation is also found in Conjugation 4. Past Indicative. The auxiliary abu, apotu, is frequently omitted sometimes it appears to give the force of a pluperfect;
tense.
This tense suffers modification in terminationrelative phrases.
when used
in
A. After a relative pronoun the forms in use areConj.1.
S.
kenakunikeiiakunete
Conj,
5.
S.
komasikomasete
PI.
PI.
Conj.
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGETheaction,
37
A
forms are also employed to indicate continuous past
e. g.-
kicoraki abon'uni kolosi
/ told him
to
come hack, and he kept going
on.
The B forms appearrelative pronoun,e.
g.
in
an adjectival phrase without a
eon' ibore atwaria / have nothing to wipe it with. lit., There is not to me a thing which impes.
emame
Imperative Mood. When a command is given which is not to be carried out immediately or which involves continuous action, the terminations of the Present Indicative may be employed, the usual Imperative prefix being retained.e.
g.
kinakutu ekameleku, bring backkinakunete ekameleku, bring you take it).
but
my hoe back my hoe
{whenever
Subjtnwtice. In deliberative queries the subjunctive is not used but the Present Indicative, as in English the futuretense.e.
g.
enakuni
?
shall I bring
it
backis
?
Negatives.
The usual negative
verb
;
in
the Conditionalalosi, /
Moodti
it
whicli precedes the follows the prefix ii:
mam,
mam
do not go
mam kaloto,gone.
/ should not have
In the Imperative the negative is formed by prefixing When it is to the forms given in the conjugation. desired to express an absolute or continuous prohibition the Imperative prefix ki- or ko- is omitted and the repetitive aflBLx -nene is added.siri-
sirikoara ekin'ok siriarenene
do not
kill the
dogkill
thou shalt not
In the subjunctive mood the negative mam is not used, but the auxiliary verb aineyini to leave off, not to do:
kineyi aibirori kineyis atwakare
that Ithat
you
may not fall may not die
38
A HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEPassive Voice.
In Ateso verbs this voice is defective; there are a few regular passive forms, others have to be supplied by the reversal of the clause, the subject of the passive verb becoming the object of an active one. In Classes 1-4 the final -i of the infinitive Infinitive. active is changed to -io, and in Class 5 -io is added to the final consonantapedori, to he able awuri, to bear aisub, to do
apedorio, to be possible awurio, to be bornaisubio, to be doneis
Indicative. The same termination -io present and future, singular and plural in
employedpersons
in the
all
nen'adakinio ikaru luipuIn the perfect -o or -noluen'alao'
laid
up for many yearsfinal
is
added to thethose
vowel
who have been deceived
eyeneno ekeki
the door is fastened
As a general rule the reversal of the clause is preferred, or the substitution of impersonal forms in the third personplirral.
So for
he was beaten
we have kinomai, they beat him.
Objective Forms.
the object of a verb is a personal pronoun, the separable forms of the pronouns are very commonly used, and always when emphasis is to be laid on the pronoun. The prefix of the past tense, however, may be varied to express a v ^^ pronominal object, as follows When the subject is / and the object is thee, you or them, or when the subject is he and the object me, the prefix is ka for strong verbs and ke for weak verbs. The prefix is ki in the following cases
When
When,, .,'
subject,,,. ,.
is
,,
,,
thou and object me, him or us he us or you ,, thee w^ me you me, us they
A
HANDBOOK OF THE ATESO LANGUAGEis
39
When the subject the termination -aiClasse.(J.
is
they and the object thee, him or you, added in the case of verbs of the 5th'
^ftxkibun'ai?
tc^..(
Recommended