Aspect, Tense, and Time Shifts in Tikar

Journal ofAfrican Languages and Linguistics 2: 17-37 (1980)

Aspect, Tense, and Time Shifts in Tikar

ELLEN M. JACKSON

INTRODUCTION

This paper originated from a desire to identify and categorize the com-plex variety of particles and verbal affixes found in Tikar.1 The initialapproach taken was to apply traditional concepts of tense, aspect, andmode, which led to the immediate discovery that these labels did not co-incide with the natural syntactic groupings of verbal categories in Tikar.An inquiry into other Niger-Congo languages showed that while linguistsare generally agreed on the definitions of tense, aspect, and mode, muchshifting and overlapping of labels is found when the terms are actuallyapplied. In an attempt to avoid the prob lern, some linguists have suggestedthat traditional labels be put aside and that grammatical categories beidentified by their syntactic function. Welmers (1973: 344) formulatedhis "verbal constructions' with just such an intent.

The term Verbal construction' is thus designed to avoid the confusions and compli-cations inherent in distinguishing categories such äs tense, aspect, and mode. Someconstructions, to be sure, may have specific reference to time, such äs past; othersmay have specific reference to mode, such äs conditional. But the forms or construc-tions of Niger-Congo languages do not fall into neat sets with different types of mor-phological structure.

Something like Welmers' Verbal constructions' is needed to describe thegrammatical elements of the Tikar predicate. This is evident from the num-ber of verbal morphemes that are found in Opposition in a single clause,and the inability to label any one of these morphemes äs a category oftense, aspect or mode.

In this paper the predicates of simflar clause types are examined inorder to determine the morpheme categories that contrast in their syntac-

* An earlier version of this paper was presented at a seminar meeting of the LinguisticCirde of Yaounde", at the University of Cameroon, May, 1979. I am indebted toGabriel Seintchimi and to Jonas Tchiengouh for their patient instruction in thelanguage. I wish to thank Ursula Wiesemann for many hours spent in discussing thenotions of tense and aspect, and for her invaluable comments and suggestions thatwere incorporated into this paper. Brought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library

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tic function. Four such categories are found, each of which is assigned aletter to distinguish it from the others: Verbal Categories A, B,C, and D.In example (1), (a) illustrates a sentence wtth the four verbal categoriesrepresented; (b) shows the breakdown of morphemes in the predicateinto these categories.2

(1) a. fnven swzsä ti ßwum dunchief-assembled-again-people-yesterday'The chief assembled the people again yesterday.'

b. swo- -s- -a ti ßwum dunVerb Verbal Verbal Verbal Object VerbalRoot Cat. A Cat. B Cat. C Cat. D

Categories A, B, and C will be discussed in the following sections. Cate-gory D, which consists of grammatical elements usually recognized äsadverbs of scope and circumstance,3 will not be treated in this paper.

Before looking at the individual categories, however, two clarificationsneed to be made. One is that while four categories are contrastive in theTikar clause, not all are obligatory elements of the clause. Only CategoryB obligatorily accompanies the basic verb form. Second, to restrict thedata to a manageable size, only two major clause types are examined äs abasis for this study, namely, declarative clauses with active verbs. It isstill to be determined how the categories function in Stative, imperative,conditional, and other clause types.

l. VERBAL CATEGORY A (OERIVATIONAL AFFIXES')

Verbal Category A consists of the derivational affixes that can be com-bined wtth verb roots to form new stems. Four structural features arenoted. The first is that most of these forms are suffixes which directlyfollow the verb root. One exception is the nominalized verb, which con-sists of a homorganic nasal prefix — low tone in isolation — preceding theverb stem. As the function of this nominalizing prefix is different fromthe other affixes, it is here considered a subcategory of A requiring separ-ate study.

A second feature is that although all verb roots can be formed into newstems by the addition of one or more of the affixes, many combinationsare in fact unattested, eg. *shibsi 'to cause to sing' from the verb rootshib 'to sing', and the causative suffix -si.

A third feature is that derivation affixes have become fused with theverb root in many instances so that the stem is no longer separable intomeaningful units. The -ti suffix of ßazti to stick to', for example, is recog-nizable äs the physical change derivation, but the form *6& no longeroccurs by itself. Brought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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The fourth feature is that the derivation affixes have variant forms de-pending on the phonemic shape of the verb. The variants are determinedby the final phoneme, and in some cases, the medial vowel, of the verbroot.

The function of Verbal Category A is to qualify the action of the clausein relation to its participants. The affixes provide Information such äswhether the subject caused the action or was affected by the action,whether the action was moving away from him or toward him, etc. A listof the derivation affixes appears in (2):4

(2) a. -si causativeb. -ni subject äs patientc. -ti physical changed. -// complement äs patiente. -ka' repetitivef. -/- direction toward Speakerg. -o ' direction away from Speakerh. -eni group actioni. n- nominalized verb

1.1 Causative

The causative indicates that the subject is producing some effect onthe object, or is causing the object to act. The suffix has two variants:-si and -nzi.

(3) a. kwe 'cry' + -si = kwesi 'cause to cry'b. fo' *wash' + -si = ßzsi Vash (another person)'c. lan 'pass' + -nzi = lannzi 'accompany'd. hin 'go' + -nzi = kinnzi 'direct,make go'

1.2 Subject äs patient

When the verbal action reflects on the subject of the sentence, that is,when it describes the subject's physical or mental disposition, the subjectäs patient derivation is used. The suffix has two variants: -// and -ni?

(4) a. sw3 'b. dyic. lind. gwüm

'gather''put upright''cut''bury'

+ -//+ -ti+ -ni+ -ni

====

SW 3 Udyililinnigwumni

'assemble''stand straight''be cut''hide oneself

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1.3 Physical change

The physical change sufflx ndicates physical interaction between thesubject and object, or a transfrrmation of the subject or object to somenew state or location. The suffi: has two variants: -ti and -ndi.

(5) a. 60 'beat' + -tib. ywce' 'strike' + -tic. Kn 'cut' + -ndid. sen 'scoot' + -ndi

1.4 Complement äs patient

ßoti 'hit against so mething'ywceti 'tear apart'linndi 'cut apart'scnndi 'displace'

When the verbal action refects on the complement of the sentence,whether it be a direct or indire* object, and describes some effect on thatobject, the complement äs patent derivation is used. The affix has 7 vari-ants: -//, -ni, -mi, -bi, high tone zero sufflx (0), internal -e-.

(6) a. fo?'b.linc. gwumd. kaebe. cif . f eg. kpa'h. län

1.5 Repetitive

-U-ni-mi-bi

•9-e--e-

========

tazlilinnigwümmikaebbici/£

kpealean

'sew something''cut something''bury something''look for something''do something''give something''help someone''pass by something'

The repetitive derivation si;nifies that the subject of the sentence re-peats the same action a numbtr of times. Variants of the suffix are: -ka\-yga', -ä\ \ -na\ -mcn\ -fc5' n$\ -mo\ and -W. This derivation is alsoaccompanied by an interrnal vovel cliange of and ce to /.

(7) a. cib. länc. yilid. tce'e. ßcenf. laemg. te'h. lini. ^vviimj. fyceb

+ - f a i '- . '̂+ -<j'•̂ -ü"·*" -na'9+ -m(fl'+ -ö"-H -Tflj)'

+ vm^'+ ->tä'\

= c/W= lanyga '- yila'= tilä*= Binna '= limmä '= litt'= linno '= gwummo= fyibbo*

4do several things''pass several times''accept several times''sew several times''grasp several times''cover several times''speak several times''cut several times''bury several times''harvest several times'

i J



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1.6 Direction toward Speaker

If the Speaker uses himself äs point of reference and wishes to indicatethat the verbal action is moving in a direction toward himself, the affix -/-is added to the final vowel of the verb stem .6

(8) a. ßo + -i- = 6oi 'hit (this way)'b. lin + -/- = Hin 'cut (this way)'c. gwümmi + -/- = gwummii 'bury something (this way)'d . f e + -i- = 'give(here)'e. 6 + -/- = Bin 'arrive (here)'

1.7 Direction away from Speaker

If the verbal action moves away from the Speaker, the direction awayfrom the Speaker suffix is used. The derivation has four variants,-y, -no',-mo', and -bo'.

(9) a. ßo + -?' = 600' 'hit (that way)'b./s -i- -D' = /y 'give (there)'c. lin + -no' = linno' 'cut (that way)'d. gwüm + -mo' = gwummo' 'bury (there)'e. fyceb + -bo' = fycebbo' 'harvest (that way)'

1.8 Group action

The group action derivation signifies that the verbal action is being car-ried out by two or more subjects engaged in the same activity. The suffixhas 5 variants,-ew, - >n, -nem, -meni, and -beni.

(10) a. yili + -eni = yileni 'like,accept one another'b. 60 + - V i i = Boni 'hit together'c. lin ·*· -nem = linneni 'cut together'd. gwüm + -meni = gwummeni *bury together'e. fyceb + -beni = fycebbeni 'harvest together'

1.9 Cooccurrence of derivation affixes

Compound verb stems are found in Tikar when two or more derivedsuffixes are added to a single verb root.

(11) a. swon + -nzi causative + -o' direction away from Speaker= swonnzo' 'introduce there'Brought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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b. don + -nzi causative + -eni group action = donnzeni'leave behind'

c. WUT' + -ka' repetitive + -e- complement äs patient = wakea'keep coming from someplace'

d. hwen + ~no' repetitive + -/ direction toward Speaker= hwunnoi 'gather up this way'

Several restrictions äs to cooccurrence are noted, however. Of the eightaffixes listed in (2), -«', -ni, and -ti are mutually exclusive, äs are also-i, o' and -eni. The suffix -//, likewise, is not found cooccurring with-ni and -ti. -ka' may cooccur with any of the Suffixes. The cooccurrencepossibilities of Tikar verb stems are presented in Table l. The order ofSuffixes is shown by the vertical columns, and remains fixed in all in-st ances.

Table l. Cooccurrence of Derivation Affixes

causative

subject äspatient

physicalchange

-si-si-si-si-si-ni-ni-ni-ni-ti-ti-ti-ti

repetitive

-ka'-ka'

-ka'-ka'

-ka'-ka'

-ka'-ka'-ka'

complementäs patient

-li

-li

-li

-ü-li

direction towardSpeaker

direction awayfrom Speaker

group action

-i/-D'-eni-i/o'

-i/o'-eni-i/o'

-i/o'-eni

-i/o'-eni-i/o'-eni

2. VERBAL CATEGORY B CTENSE-ASPECT')

Verbal Category B is an obligatory element of the Tikar clause, äspreviously stated in the introduction. This feature, and other complexi-ties in form and function, distinguish it markedly from the other verbalcategories.



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With respect to form, the members of Category B have different mor-phological shapes; some are free, others are bound. The form differencehas a correlation in their syntactic positions: bound forms are sufflxedto the verb root or stem, äs in (12); free forms precede the verb äs in (13).Only one member of Category B is present in a single clause, and these areunderlined in the examples below :

(12) 6 fyonm 6e myithey-returned-i-Cat. B-behind-village'They returned back t o the village.'

(13) Cimi ta Ion kcebbiCimi-Cat. B-money-look for'Cimi is looking for employment.'

One bound form of Category B has been interpreted äs a zero suffix, il-lustrated in (14). This analysis was preferred over assigning a meaning tothe absence of any member of this category.

( 1 4) m w3 ' wj ' £ 6e ' The child goes back .'child-get up-i-Cat. B-behind

With respect to function, the members of Verbal Category B seem to bereadily identifiable with tense on the one hand, and with aspect on theother. A more thorough examination, however, reveals discrepancies thatlead to the conclusion that neither one nor the other of these notions iscompletely sufficient t o describe the semantic content of the forms. Thediscrepancies found in applying tense and aspect notions are discussed insections2.1 and 2.2.

2.1 Tense

In terms of tense, the members of Category B can be divided into thefollowing groupings: one removed past, four near pasts, three presents,one future, and one removed future. Table 2 illustrates the tense divisionof forms äs they appear with the verb root yen 'see'. Category B membersare underlined.

Table 2 serves the purpose of identifying the tenses that are usuallyassociated with verb s, but at the same time it fails to distinguish each ofthe Tikar morphemes individually. Two forms are identically labelled 'hesaw', another two 'he was seeing', and another two 'he sees'. It is evidentthat there is some further meaning component in the forms.

The indication of an additional component becomes clearer yet in sen-tences where the 'usual' tense, äs given above, does not reflect the actual



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Table 2. Tense Division of Verbal Category B

Removed Fast a yenne 'he had seen'

Near Fast

Present

Future

Removed Future

a yennia yennaä 6i yena Beyen

a yen__a yenmga ta yen

a ye yen

a ywime yen

'he saw''he saw''he was seeing''he was seeing'

'he sees''he sees''he is seeing'

'he will see'

'he will see'

meaning of the sentence. Mün limmä nun, translated by the 'usual' tense,means knew (near past) him'. But the actual meaning is *I know him',in the sense that came to know him in the past, and continue to knowhim now'. The sentence 6e mün ywime pyi, given the 'usual' tense, istranslated 'Before, I will fall'. It means, however, 'Before, I almost feil',or was going to fall but the action was not completed'. These examplessuggest that the missing meaning component has something to do withaspect.

2.2 Aspect

Aspect is broadly defined äs a grammatical category that describes akind of verbal action, especially with respect to the passage of time. It iscommon to speak of the progressive aspect, and its opposite, the punc-tiliar aspect; or of the accomplished aspect, and its opposite, the unac-complished aspect. For each of these it is usual for a single label to corre-spond to a particular form. Tikar Category B members can likewise beassigned aspectual notions, but the difference lies in that they are charac-terized by multiple semantic components. These include: (a) action thatis accomplished or action that is unaccomplished; (b) action that is inprogress or not in progress (progressive vs. punctiliar); (c) action with anongoing effect or without such an effect (resultative vs. terminated),7 and(d) action removed from the 'now' by intervening events, or action whereintervening events are not pertinent.

How the semantic components are combined in each Tikar form isgiven in Table 3. The forms of Verbal Category B are listed in the left-hand column. Each form is then identified äs to whether it is accomplished(+), or unaccomplished (-); progressive (+),or non-progressive (-); resulta-tive (+), or non-resultative (-); or removed (+). The barred sign (#) signifiesa semantic component not relevant to a particular form.Brought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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Table 3. Multiple Semantic Components of Category B

Form Accomplished Progressive Resultat! ve Removed

-me

-e

ywimE

ye

ßi

ta

6e

2.2.1. The unaccomplished, non-progressive, non-resultative morpheme-0 signifies action that is viewed äs punctiliar, but not äs yet completed.It has no ongoing effect on the subject of the clause, or the action thatfollows. In terms of tense, this aspect is usually equated with present, buta relative present that may be placed into the past or into the future.

(15) 6 shim mi yo' 'They dug pits.'t hey · dig- plural- pit

(16) floa dün__ ku' myi Teace came to the village.'peace-enter-also-village

2.2.2. The accomplished, non-progressive, non-resultative morpheme hasfour variants, -m, ~mi, -bi, and -/. It signifies action that has been com-pleted, action that is viewed äs punctiliar, and action that has no ongoingeffect on the subject of the clause, or on the subsequent action. Veryoften the subject has left the scene where the action took place. In termsof tense, this form is usually equated with past.

(17) a shibbi_ nshib 'She sang a song (but now is no longer singing).'she-sang-song

(18) mlib ye[ mwen 'The woman delivered the child.'woman-delivered-child

2.2.3. The unaccomplished, non-progressive, resultative morpheme -meBrought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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signifies action that is not äs yet completed, but seen äs punctiliar, andhaving an ongoing effect. In terms of tense, this form is usually equatedwithpresent.

(19) nswazb kwanme moan ndemphantom-come out-beside-field

phantom appears beside the field (with a continuing effect onthose who see it).'

(20) wü nji seayou-climb-trunk-palm tree'You climb the palm tree (and are at the top).'

2.2.4. The accomplished, non-progressive, resultative morpheme has fourvariants, -nä, -mä, -bä, and -a. It signifies action that hasbeen completed,is seen äs punctiliar, and has an ongoing effect. In terms of tense, this formis normally equated with past.

(21) münlimmanun know him' (accomplished in the pastI-knew-him and carried through to the present).

(22) a kenna ke Yaounde 'He went to Yaoundi (and is still there).'he-went-to-Yaoundo

225. The accomplished, removed morpheme also has four variants, -ne,-me, -be, and -e. It signifies an action that has taken place and other eventshave intervened between the time of completion and the present. In termsof tense, this form is usually equated with past.

(23) mbüpan ndo' 6e kwe ä yile nwi kpo ' nzwo 'youth-certain-was-there-he-like-drink-alcohol-much'There once was a youth who liked to drink alcohol too much.'

(24) a yenne ' li ihtwi' ä yile kän nci sheshe-saw-suffering-thus-because-she-wanted-not-do-work'She had suffered thus because she didn't want to work.'

2.2.6. The unaccomplished, removed morpheme ywime signifies actionthat has not taken place, tlhough it is (or was) expected t o occur. Otherevents are expected to taJcej place before the action, or have taken placesince the action was sup>pased to have occurred. The tense associatedwith this form is usually futuire.

(25) wu ye non ke wiu jwi/ng fyönnl?you-wül-stay-or-ycoui-w/ill-retiirn?%Wül you sta> or w/illiycou retum (after staying for awhile)?'



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(26) 6e mün ywime pyibefore-I-will-fall'Before, I almost feil (but the action was not completed).'

2.2.7. The unaccomplished, progressive, non-resultative morpheme yesignifies an action that is expected to take place. There is no ongoingeffect on the subject of the clause, nor on the actions that follow. Thetense normally associated with this form is future.

(27) 6wi' ye ji din 'We are going to eat without stopping.'we-will-eat-for nothing

(28) ä ye nön kwe rjgym le 'He will stay there threedays.'he-will-stay-there-day-three

2.2.8. The accomplished, progressive, non-resultative morpheme ßisignifies an action that is completed, but was in progress for a certaintime. The action has no ongoing effect. The tense usually associatedwith this form is past.

(29) myön ßi dyim dyimmi ke ndsmhis wife-was-cultivation-cultivating-at-field'His wife was cultivating in the field (but is no longer there).'

(30) ßwum ßi kän ywi kwepeople-were-not-death-cry'The people were not crying over the death.'

2.2.9. The unaccomplished, progressive, resultative morpheme ta signi-fies action that is in progress, not yet completed, and has an ongoingeffect. It also indicates action that is usual procedure, or a Statementof general truth. The tense is normally present.

(31) mvu ta nwi 'It is raining.'rain-is-raining

(32) 6wi' ta gwe 6 gc ' 'We plant corn with a stick.'we-are-corn-plant-with-wood

2.2.10. The accomplished, progressive, resultative morpheme ße signifiesaction that is completed, but was in progress for a certain time. The actionhas an ongoing effect on the subject of the clause, or the subsequent action.In terms of tense, this form is usually equated with past.

(33) ßw/' ße wi dwi ntwi' ßw€nwe-were-war-throw-because-childrenBrought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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'We were fighting because of our children' (and a description of thefight follows).

(34) Mindea t n çå hdika' de non ku' yonBandam-this-(focus)-since-was-stay-also-itThis Bandam is the same since it was founded.'

2.3 Thefunction of Verbal Category B in discourse

The complexity of Category B has been seen in its diversity of morpho-logical shapes and positioning in relation to the verb stem, and again inthe difficulty of satisfactorily defining it in terms of tense or aspect. Athird complexity deserves analysis, how the members function in grammat-ical units larger than the clause or simple sentence. Unlike the other verbalcategories, whose members remain invariable on any grammatical level,Category B members interrelate in a specific way in discourse. To discussthis interrelation in the most convenient way possible, it is easiest t orevert to time terminology and to refer to Category B forms by their'usuaT tense, s described in sec. 2.1. The phenomenon of interrelation,which is here referred to s time orientation shifts',8 is readily seen innarrative discourse.

The first independent clause in a discourse establishes the time of thenarrative events in relation to the speaker's real time. A narrative aboutpast events begins wtth the verb stem plus one of the past tense forms.A narrative about future events begins with a verb stem plus one of thefuture forms. After the initial sentence, the time orientation shifts andthe entire story is told in the present tense (verb stem plus one of theCategory B present tense forms), s if it were in actual progress.

(35) Time shift from past to present tense.mlib ndo' 6e kwe ÉÝ t i mwum çßíêçé.woman-certain-was-there-and-she-is-person-old

w ht k she 0 ÉÝ nun ÉÝ on i kånnenéothers-then-say-with-her-that-they-(focus)-goqgce'kazbbi. yinno '0 nun.wood-look for. she-refuse-(emphasis)

The free translation, given with 'usuaT tenses, is s follows:

There (once) was a woman and she is already old. The others sayto her that they go look for wood. She refuses.

In (35), the initial independent clause sets the action s taking place some-time in the past. The time orientation then shifts t o the story time, which



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becomes present tense. The woman is old. Others teil her to do somethingand she refuses.

(36) Time shift from future to present tense.kwan se 6wi' ywime kln Yaounde 6wi'ywime ywumtime-(focus)-we-wiU-go-Yaound^-we-will-things-fosea shikpon. 6wi' kc 0 nun.prepare-morning. we-put-(emphasis)

The free translation with 'usual' tenses follows:

When we will go to Yaoundd, we wül get our things ready in themorning. We put (them aside).

The first sentence sets the time of the trip to Yaoundo and the preparationof baggage äs a future event. Two future verbs are noted, the first belong-ing to a dependent clause that modifies the following independent clause.The time orientation shift takes place after the independent clause andsubsequent actions are related äs if they were actually taking place. Theverb 'put' is in the present tense.

Events that follow each other in chronological order in the narrativeare all in present tense. This succession is shown in a sample translatedfrom a Tikar story:

(37) She places the pot in the sun. She begins to wait. The sun shinesin (the pot). She closes the pot. She lifts it. She goes into her room.

When events do not follow in chronological sequence, äs for example,when they are told in reverse order, those events that precede the narrativetime are in past tense. Example (38), taken from another Tikar story,shows reverse order of events.

(38) His mother-in-law dies. Before, she suffered very much.

Events that will take place at a point future to the narrative time are infuture tense:

(39) Her thought teils her that the sun will shine in the pot . . .

Time orientation shifting is also found on grammatical levels betweenclause and discourse, namely, the episode and the complex sentence. Itsoccurrence on these levels results in the embedding of a second shift with-in the one that took place at the beginning of the narrative. Two examplesof embedded shifts are given in (40) and (41).Brought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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(40) mlib ndo' 6e kwe. . . mfoka' yon suku' nun she Qwoman-certain-was-there .. .thought-her-only-her-sayÉÝ nywo' ni ywime ku' cfwin kpon nun kå k nthat-sun-(focus)-wiU-also-shine-night-in-at-potnun ÉÝ nun9 t wo' a limmi 0 kan ÉÝ . ..in-and-she-is-warming she-knows-not-that .. .

'There was a woman . . . (first time shift). Her thought teils herthat the sun w l shine in the pot at night (second time shift) andshe is warming herseif (return to first shift). She does not knowthat ...'

The first shift takes place at the beginning of the discourse, and the storytime becomes present tense. The second shift takes place within a complexsentence; the present tense is projected to the time when the sun will beShilling. The action of the woman warming herseif is present with respectto the sun shining. The next sentence, however, returns to the time orien-tation of the main story events; the verb 'know' follows the verb 'teils' inchronological story time and is therefore present tense.

(41) nywo' sonde mun kenna k yÝm hwazsi kå Nyemboya.. .day-Sunday-I-went-uncle-my-greet-at-Nyemboya . . .6wi' fyonni 0 6e myi ntwi' 6e mun shd nunwe-return-back-village-because-before-I-said-him1å mun ye mun fyonni cfye 6e Kimmi. w/' 6åç ö myi ...that-I-wfll-I-return-today-back-Bankim we-arrive-village ...

'Sunday I went to greet my uncle in Nyemboya . . . (first timeshift). We return back because before, I said to him that (secondtime shift) I w l return today back to Bankim (return to first shift).We arrive in the village ...'

The first time shift is again at the beginning of the discourse, where theprevious Sunday's actions are now told s present happenings. The verb'return' follows the chronological sequence of the story. The verb 'said' ispast in relation to the story time. The second shift occurs within a com-plex sentence; the present is projected back to the point when T was inthe process of speaking, and the following verb 'return' becomes a futureevent. The final sentence in the example returns to the orientation of thefirst shift; the verb 'arrive' follows the verb 'return' in the chronologicalsequence of the story.



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2.4 Verbal Category B and serial verbs

Up to this point in the discussion, no explanation has been offered sto why the forms of Category B are of two morphological shapes: boundand free. It is interesting to note that this diversity is not uncommon toBantoid languages of Cameroon, and one Suggestion made is that the freeforms may have evolved historically from verbs.10 In Tikar there is evi-dence that the free members of Verbal Category B may be 'petrified'forms that once belonged to the restricted set of modal/aspectual/modify-ing verbs that occurred initially in serial constructions.11 These 'modal'verbs still function in the language, and include such members s tobegin',to finish', to be able', to fall', to add', to refuse', to come', to go',to go out', and to know'. The parallel between free Category B membersand 'modal' verbs becomes apparent in a comparison of clause type for-mulas. (Abbreviations: S (subject), V (verb), Vm ('modal' verb), 10 (in-direct object), 0 (direct object), Cat. A (Verbal Category A), Cat. B(Verbal Category B), Cat. C (Verbal Category C), and Cat. D (Verbal Cate-gory D).)

The clause type with the minimum verbal construction, verb root plusCat. B, can be lustrated by the formula: + S + [V + Cat. B] ± 10 ± 0.

(42)

(43)

In both examples above, the form of Cat. B. is bound, -a in the first sen-tence and -0 in the second. When a free Cat. B form is present it precedesthe verb and the formula becomes: + S + Cat. B ± 10 ± 0 + V.

(44) S Cat. B IO 0 V6å ta íÝçÝ' ãåççßthey are suffering seeing'They are suffering.'

(45) a ye wu swum-ndz' cihe will you thing-certain do'He will do something to you.'

A secondary clause type in Tikar is predicated by two verbs. The firstis one of a limited set that are here called modal verbs; the second maybe any verb. The formula of this clause type is: + S + [Vm + Cat. B] ± 10± O -i- [V ± Cat. A]

Snunshe6åthey

V -n Cat. Bfgave

cencatch

IO6wi'US

0Jifoodnunhim



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(46) S [V™ + Cat. B] 10 0 [V±Cat.A]mim kyin mgbö nwiI come beer drink

have come to drink beer.'(47) de kennte Bon gcBt kasbbi

they go them wood look for'They go to look for wood themselves.'

The modal verb occurs with the Category B member in this type of con-struction. In (46), it is -0; in (47), -me.

The modal verb may also be accompanied by a free Category B formin which case the clause formula is: + S + Cat. B ± 10 ± 0 + [Vm ± Cat. A]+ [V ± Cat. A]

(48) S Cat. B 10 0 [Vm ±Cat. A] [V ± Cat. A]ße ta 6on könndi Ionthey are them add call'They are calling them again.'

(49) a ye dwi' kyin simmeahe will us come trample

will come and trample us.'

It is significant that verbs with their bound Cat. B forms and the freeCategory B forms are found in the same positions in the clause. Of greaterimportance, however, is the fact that both undergo the same tone changeswhen they follow subjects belonging to different noun classes. Verbs witha low tone infinitive in Isolation become high tone after all noun classesexcept Noun Class l, and free Category B members that are low or risingtone also become high following those same classes. (Note that in the ex-amples, high tone is unmarked.)

(50) a. a woli kenhe (noun class 1) can go

b. fnbö woli kenantilope (noun class 3) can go

c. a ywime kenhe (noun class 1) will go

d. fnbö ywime kenantilope (noun class 3) will go

The initial syllable of both the verb woli and the Category B form ywimeremain low following the noun class l a. They become high following thenoun class 3 mbo. Brought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


33

Final evidence for a verbal origin of some Category B forms is the homo-phony between ßi and ße, and the accomplished, progressive forms of theactive verb 6 't o be'.

(51) a. ä ßi ndem 'He was in the field (and is no longer there).'he-was-field

b. a ßi ndcm fosi 'He was preparing the field (but no longer).'he-was-field - prepare

(52) a. ci ße mbyi nuntarsier-was-road-in'The tarsier was in the road (and is there).'

b. ci ße mbyi ndem fyonnitarsier-was-road-field-return'The tarsier was returning along the road from the field.'

The other Category B forms,>>vww£, ye, and /a, cannot be traced to anyexistent verbs.

3. VERBAL CATEGORY C (ADVERBIAL MODIFIERS*)

The third grammatical category that modifies the verbal action consistsof a group of morphologically free forms that directly follow Category Band precede the obligatory direct or indirect object. Up to three membersof Category C may appear in a single clause, and in such instances theorder is not fixed, although alterations may indicate a slight change ofmeaning.

In terms of function, Category C serves to qualify the verbal actionwith respect to the preceding or following verbal action. The most frequentforms are listed in (53).

(53) // 'again', h' 'contrary to expectation',12 ku' 'also', suku' 'just/only',/j' 'in contrast to', f e ' 'right now', seti 'first', pweti 'quickly',ki 'usually/often'.

3.1. The particle ti indicates an action that is a repetition or a continua-tion of a former action.

(54) mün kunndi ti sannzi explained again.'I-add-again-explain

(55) a wiz'ti ku'kemwum ykaemhe-went-again-also-beside-person-old'He went again from beside the eider.'



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3.2. b' indicates an action that takes place in spite of circumstances thatsuggest another action äs more likely to occur.

(56) mun ßennd h'I-arrived-contrary to expectation

have come (contrary to what was expected).'(57) aßib'S

it-was-contrary to expectation-thus'It was like that, contrary to expectation.'

3.3. ku' indicates an action that Supplements another action.

(58) ätaku'dyi 'He is Standing also.'he-is-also-standing

(59) wu ni ku' rjkyin 'You are also a foreigner.'you-are-also-foreigner

3.4. suku' indicates that no alternative actions are possible, or attempted.A single course of action is presented.

(60) 6 6e suku' mi ple saebbithey-were-only-plural-clothes-washing'They were just washing the clothes.'

(61) mun ye suku'yili will only agree.'I-will-only-agree

3.5. fö' indicates an action that is carried out in the contrary sense to aprevious one, or contrary to an intended action.

(62) wü fyi ' fyä 'jiyou-follow-in contrast to-with-hand-food'You follow to the right (in contrast to the intention to go left).'

(63) a she fo'6e 'He recrossed back.'he-cross-in contrast to-back

3.6. The particle f s ' indicates an action t o be done first, or right away,which will lead to or result in succeeding actions.

(64) ßyin lan f c ' mi cfweb ndz'you-outdo-right now-plural-man-certain'You've outdone certain men right now.'

(65) ruf web kpcem fe ' le 'The man ties the net at this time.'man-tied-right now-netBrought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


35

3. 7. The particle seti indicates an action that is first of a series of relatedactions.

(66) mwen t seti myin ye n/i twcebbichild-is-first-teeth-which-bottom-grow'A child grows his lower teeth first.'

(67) nun ni sc ti mun ji fåhe-is-first-me-food-give'It's him who first gave me food.'

3.8. pwiti indicates an action that requires little time to be completed.

(68) mun ye ku 'pwiti 6Ýç º will also arrive quickly.'I-will-also-quickly-arrive

(69) nun 6a pwiti kimmoa ¹â will not get well quickly.'he-not-quickly-get well

3.9. ki indicates an action that is habitual.

(70) 6å e ki çg(E 'peathey-were-usually-wood-sharpening4It was their custom t o sharpen the sticks.'

(71) 6å kyin ki wi dwi få kcemmi meanthey-come-often-war-throw-here-times-many'They came often to make war here.'

4. CONCLUSION

In view of the difficulty of defining the verbal particles and affixes inTikar in terms of traditional concepts of tense, aspect, and mode, verbalcategories were set up into which the various morphemes could be groupedaccording to contrastive form and function. Four such categories weregiven, three of which were considered in detail in this paper. It was foundthat there is an underlying semantic notion linking the members of each ofthe categories. Category A specifies action that relates in some way to theparticipants of the clause. Category B describes the kind of verbal actionin relation to time. Category C specifies action that relates in some way tothe context of actions.

Of the categories, Category B manifests the greatest complexity both inform and function. Not only are its members of two morphological shapeswith a corresponding difference in syntactic position in relation to theverb, but they also interrelate in higher grammatical units by undergoingtime orientation shifts. The parallels between the free forms of Category BBrought to you by | University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries 330 Memorial Library


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and verbs used in serial constructions also give support to the proposalthat the forms may have derived historically from verbs.

NOTES

1. Tikar is spoken by some 15,000-20,000 people in the west-central regionof Cameroon in the central and north-west provinces. It is classified äs 'BantokTby Richardson (1957) and äs belonging to the Bantoid group of Benue-Congo byWilliam so n (1971). The diakct firom which examples were taken for this paperis that spoken in Bankim, in the sub-division of Banyo. This paper is based onfield work done in Bankim from November 1974 to February 1977, and from July1978 to May 1979. Published material on the Tikar language is extremely limited todate. The most significant work is the monograph by Hagege (1969), in which hecompares a variety of phonological and grammatical features of Tikar with those ofMbum.2. Tikar is in a transition stage between two phonemic Systems, one involvingfewer contrastive vowels and more contrastive final consonants than the other.Transcription in this paper (a) reflects the language äs presently spoken, overlappingboth phonemic Systems; and (b) follows the Orthographie rules developed for thewriting of Cameroonian languages, and adopted by COLATI (Comite de langue tikar);see Jackson and Stanley (1977, 1978). Tones are marked äs follows: low O, risingO, falling ( A ) ; high tone is unmarked. Glottal stop is indicated by an apostrophe('). It only occurs finally; if anything is added to a word with a final glottal stop, theglottal stop is lost.3. Adverbs of scope are defined here äs those which identify the 4site' of theverbal action, and are obligatory to complete the meaning of the verb. The termoriginated with Haie, who called then both 'scope' and *site' (1973:8). Adverbs ofcircumstance are optional elements that predicate the clause.4. Hagege identifled 5 of these derivational affixes, of which he give s variantforms for the causative and repetitive. The list here is an attempt to give a completeinventory of the form and number of variants, and it is noted that the variants givenby Hagege differ significantly from those confirmed by my research.5. There is no phonetic difference between the li/ni variants of this derivationand the homophonous li/ni variants of the Complement äs patient derivation. Theparticipants and sentence order are sufficient to determine which derivation is indi-cated. For convenience in distinguishing between these derivations, -ni is used torefer to the Subject äs patient derivation while -li is used to refer to the Complementäs patient derivation.6. Note that äs a general rule, + V = V.7. Welmers (1973:351) calls a verbal action with ongoing effect 'completive'and verbal action without ongoing effect 'experientiaT. Houis (1967:202) calls theongoing effect 'resultatif' and action without effect ^erminatif'. Houis' terminologywas adopted in this paper.8. Time orientation shifting parallels what Grimes (1975:231) caUs 'displace-ment of time'.9. Two 3rd person Singular pronouns, a and nun, and two 3rd person pluralpronouns 6 and t>on, are found äs sentence subjects. Nun and 6on are also objectpronouns. A description of the Tikar pronoun System is found in Stanley (1979).10. Givon (1971:146) gives evidence of such links in Bantu languages. The mainpurpose of his article, however, is to suggest that Bantu suffixes m ig h t also have beenderived from verbs. Chia (1978) writes that tense and aspects in Köm, a Grasslandslanguage of West Cameroon, are verbs with *reduced morphobgical shapes'.11. Tikar serial verbs have probably derived from embedding; see George (19 75).12. This particle proved particularly hard to define because of its use in a widenumber of contexts. Hagege identified it äs an ad verb meaning 'entirely, at any price'(1969:33). The more common rendering, however, is 'contrary to,or in excess of,what one normally expects'.



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REFERENCES

Chia, E.N. 1978. Aspects äs verbs. Unpublished ms., University of Yaounde.George, I. 1975.Typology of verb serialization./. W. Afr. Lang. 10:78-97.Givon, T. 1971. On the verbal origin of the Bantu verb suffixes. Stud. Afr. Ling. 2:

145-63.Grünes, JE. 1975. The Thread ofDiscourse. The Hague: Mouton.Hagege,C. l969.Esquisse linguistiquedu tikar. Paris: SELAF.Hafe, A. 1973. Clause, Sentence, and Discourse Pattems in Selected Languages of

Nepal. Kathmandu: University Press.Houis, M. 1967. Aperqu sur les structuresgrammaticales des langues negro-africaines.

Lyon: Afrique et Langage.Jackson, E., and C. Stanley. 1977. Description phonologique du tikar. Yaounde:

SIL (Duplicated).. 1978. Lisons et ecrivons la langue tikar. Yaounde: SIL.

Richardson, I. 1957. Linguistic Survey of the Northern Bantu Borderland, vol. 2.London: Oxford University Press.

Stanley, C. 1979. Dialogue in Tikar narrative. Unpublished ms.Welmers, W.E. 1973. Afiican Language Structures. Berkeley: University of California

Press.Williamson, K. 1971. The Benue-Congo languages and Ijo. In Current Trends in

Linguistic s 7: Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. T. Sebeok et al., pp. 245-306. The Hague: Mouton.

Summer Institute of LinguisticsCameroon





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Aspect, Tense, and Time Shifts in Tikar