Natively known as: Gakpi /ɡakpˈi/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
ga mo mangìse gbu mike mebe ga gbu ate gìchùse gagbe a tomùkù
Pronunciation: /ɡa mɔ maŋɪˈsɛ ɡbu miˈkɛ mɛˈbɛ ɡa ɡbu aˈtɛ ɡɪʧʊˈsɛ ɡaɡbˈɛ a tɔmʊˈkʊ/
Gakpi word order: and he stood his hat holding and his wet face turned to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d j k kp m n p s t w x ŋ ɡ ɡb ʃ ʦ ʧ θ/
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
|
ŋ |
| Stop |
p b |
|
t d |
|
|
k ɡ |
| Affricate |
|
|
ʦ |
ʧ |
|
|
| Fricative |
|
θ |
s |
ʃ |
|
x |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
|
j |
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Stop |
kp ɡb |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: /a i u ɔ ɛ ɪ ʊ/
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i |
u |
| Near-high |
ɪ |
ʊ |
| Low-mid |
ɛ |
ɔ |
| Low |
a |
|
Syllable structure: (C)V
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, j, k, kp, m, s, t, x, ɡ, ɡb, ʦ, ʧ, θ
Mid-word consonants: b, d, j, k, kp, m, n, p, s, t, w, x, ŋ, ɡ, ɡb, ʃ, ʦ, ʧ, θ
Word final consonants: N/A
Phonological changes (in order of application):
- S → Ø / #_F
- a → aː / _C#
- m → n / V_
- wa → o / #_
- w → Ø / _t
- b → u / _C
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| j |
y |
| x |
kh |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɔ |
o |
| ɛ |
e |
| ɡ |
g |
| ɡb |
gb |
| ɪ |
ì |
| ʃ |
sh |
| ʊ |
ù |
| ʦ |
ts |
| ʧ |
ch |
| θ |
th |
Grammar
Main word order: Object-Subject-Verb-Oblique. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into
The door Mary opened with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
Nouns have seven cases:
- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
- Dative is the recipeint of something: man gives ball to dog.
- Locative is the location of something: man goes to town.
- Ablative is movement away from something: man walks from town.
- Instrumental is the use of something: man writes with (using) pen.
| Nominative |
No affix
tekpa /tɛkpˈa/
doɡ (doinɡ the verb) |
| Accusative |
Suffix -ɡbʊ
tekpagbù /tɛkpaɡbˈʊ/
(verb done to) doɡ |
| Genitive |
Suffix -xi
tekpakhi /tɛkpaˈxi/
doɡʼs |
| Dative |
Suffix -ŋɛ
tekpange /tɛkpaˈŋɛ/
to (the/a) doɡ |
| Locative |
Suffix -ʦa
tekpatsa /tɛkpaˈʦa/
near/at/by (the/a) doɡ |
| Ablative |
Suffix -wi
tekpawi /tɛkpaˈwi/
from (the/a) doɡ |
| Instrumental |
Prefix xɪ-
khìtekpa /xɪtɛkpˈa/
with/usinɡ (the/a) doɡ |
Articles
Gakpi has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.
Pronouns
|
Nominative |
Accusative |
Genitive |
Dative |
Locative |
Ablative |
Instrumental |
| 1st singular |
che /ʧɛ/
I |
ti /ti/
me |
thì /θɪ/
mine |
a /a/
to me |
sì /sɪ/
at me |
khu /xu/
from me |
che /ʧɛ/
with/using me |
| 2nd singular |
sù /sʊ/
you (masc) |
yo /jɔ/
you |
tu /tu/
yours |
to /tɔ/
to you |
tha /θa/
at you |
thu /θu/
from you |
sì /sɪ/
with/using you |
| 3rd singular masc |
mo /mɔ/
he |
gù /ɡʊ/
him |
gbu /ɡbu/
his |
cho /ʧɔ/
to him |
de /dɛ/
at him |
kpe /kpɛ/
from him |
thù /θʊ/
with/using him |
| 3rd singular fem |
e /ɛ/
she |
kpo /kpɔ/
her |
gì /ɡɪ/
hers |
ga /ɡa/
to her |
thù /θʊ/
at her |
gbi /ɡbi/
from her |
ga /ɡa/
with/using her |
| 3rd singular neut |
ba /ba/
it |
ma /ma/
it |
te /tɛ/
its |
kì /kɪ/
to it |
ge /ɡɛ/
at it |
thì /θɪ/
from it |
gù /ɡʊ/
with/using it |
| 1st plural |
ke /kɛ/
we |
ye /jɛ/
us |
su /su/
ours |
tsi /ʦi/
to us |
si /si/
at us |
mu /mu/
from us |
sì /sɪ/
with/using us |
| 2nd plural |
kpe /kpɛ/
you all |
ka /ka/
you all |
khù /xʊ/
yours (pl) |
mi /mi/
to you all |
mu /mu/
at you all |
gì /ɡɪ/
from you all |
a /a/
with/using you all |
| 3rd plural masc |
me /mɛ/
they (masc) |
tsu /ʦu/
them (masc) |
kù /kʊ/
theirs (masc) |
gbi /ɡbi/
to them (masc) |
tso /ʦɔ/
at them (masc) |
tì /tɪ/
from them (masc) |
i /i/
with/using them (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem |
bù /bʊ/
they (fem) |
kpi /kpi/
them (fem) |
ku /ku/
theirs (fem) |
khì /xɪ/
to them (fem) |
ga /ɡa/
at them (fem) |
de /dɛ/
from them (fem) |
ma /ma/
with/using them (fem) |
| 3rd plural neut |
da /da/
they (neut) |
o /ɔ/
them (neut) |
i /i/
theirs (neut) |
yi /ji/
to them (neut) |
be /bɛ/
at them (neut) |
i /i/
from them (neut) |
o /ɔ/
with/using them (neut) |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
thì /θɪ/
my |
| 2nd singular |
tu /tu/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
gbu /ɡbu/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
gì /ɡɪ/
her |
| 3rd singular neut |
te /tɛ/
its |
| 1st plural |
su /su/
our |
| 2nd plural |
khù /xʊ/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc |
kù /kʊ/
their (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem |
ku /ku/
their (fem) |
| 3rd plural neut |
i /i/
their (neut) |
Verbs
|
Present |
Past |
Remote past |
Future |
| 1st singular |
Suffix -kɔ
banuko /banuˈkɔ/
(I) learn |
Prefix ɡa-
gabanu /ɡabaˈnu/
(I) learned |
Prefix mɛ-
mebanu /mɛbaˈnu/
(I) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Suffix -xi
banukhi /banuˈxi/
(I) will learn |
| 2nd singular |
Suffix -pa
banupa /banuˈpa/
(you) learn |
Prefix tu-
tubanu /tubaˈnu/
(you) learned |
Prefix kpɔ-
kpobanu /kpɔbaˈnu/
(you) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Suffix -dʊ
banudù /banuˈdʊ/
(you) will learn |
| 3rd singular masc |
Prefix xɪ-
khìbanu /xɪbaˈnu/
(he) learns |
Suffix -ɡbʊ
banugbù /banuɡbˈʊ/
(he) learned |
Suffix -nɛ
banune /banuˈnɛ/
(he) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Suffix -jɪ
banuyì /banuˈjɪ/
(he) will learn |
| 3rd singular fem |
Prefix ʦu-
tsubanu /ʦubaˈnu/
(she) learns |
Suffix -ŋɛ
banunge /banuˈŋɛ/
(she) learned |
Prefix ka-
kabanu /kabaˈnu/
(she) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Prefix ti-
tibanu /tibaˈnu/
(she) will learn |
| 3rd singular neut |
Prefix tɔ-
tobanu /tɔbaˈnu/
(it) learns |
Suffix -ʃi
banushi /banuˈʃi/
(it) learned |
Suffix -ɡa
banuga /banuˈɡa/
(it) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Suffix -mi
banumi /banuˈmi/
(it) will learn |
| 1st plural |
Suffix -wu
banuwu /banuˈwu/
(we) learn |
Suffix -dɪ
banudì /banuˈdɪ/
(we) learned |
Prefix ma-
mabanu /mabaˈnu/
(we) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Suffix -tɔ
banuto /banuˈtɔ/
(we) will learn |
| 2nd plural |
Suffix -kpu
banukpu /banukpˈu/
(you all) learn |
Prefix ʦi-
tsibanu /ʦibaˈnu/
(you all) learned |
Suffix -sa
banusa /banuˈsa/
(you all) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Prefix ʧɛ-
chebanu /ʧɛbaˈnu/
(you all) will learn |
| 3rd plural masc |
Suffix -ɡɛ
banuge /banuˈɡɛ/
(they) learn |
Suffix -ʃɔ
banusho /banuˈʃɔ/
(they) learned |
Suffix -mɪ
banumì /banuˈmɪ/
(they) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Prefix da-
dabanu /dabaˈnu/
(they) will learn |
| 3rd plural fem |
Prefix kɛ-
kebanu /kɛbaˈnu/
(they) learn |
Suffix -wi
banuwi /banuˈwi/
(they) learned |
Suffix -ni
banuni /banuˈni/
(they) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Prefix ba-
babanu /babaˈnu/
(they) will learn |
| 3rd plural neut |
Suffix -na
banuna /banuˈna/
(they) learn |
Prefix sɪ-
sìbanu /sɪbaˈnu/
(they) learned |
Suffix -θu
banuthu /banuˈθu/
(they) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Suffix -jʊ
banuyù /banuˈjʊ/
(they) will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speking, such as
I am learning.
Gakpi uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
| Progressive |
Particle before the verb: ka -
ka banu /ka baˈnu/
is learninɡ |
Habitual aspect
The ‘habitual’ aspect refers to actions that happen habitually, such as
I learn (something new every day), as opposed to actions that happen once (
I learned something).
Gakpi uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
| Habitual |
Particle before the verb: ka -
ka banu /ka baˈnu/
learns |
Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.
Gakpi uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect |
Suffix -na
banuna /banuˈna/
have learned |
Numbers
Gakpi has a base-10 number system:
1 - kì
2 - yi
3 - i
4 - thì
5 - ipa
6 - ini
7 - thùwo
8 - gbu
9 - tsitsa
10 - dane
11 - dane ga kì “ten and one”
100 - kì tine “one hundred”
101 - kì tine kì “one hundred one”
200 - yi tine
1000 - kì sibi “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Suffix -na
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ki
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -ɡbɪ
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix da-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -kpu
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Suffix -ɡbɪ
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix tɔ-
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Suffix -jʊ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -tɛ
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = Suffix -nɛ
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -ʃɔ
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -nɛ
Diminutive = Suffix -dɪ
Augmentative = Prefix kɪ-
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