Frafra consists of three principal dialects, Gurenɛ (also written Gurunɛ, Gudenne, Gurenne, Gudeni, Zuadeni), Nankani (Naane, Nankanse, Ninkare), and Boone.
[3] The Frafra language uses the letters of the Latin alphabet except for c, j, q, x, and with the addition of ɛ, ɩ, ŋ, ɔ, and ʋ.
Acute, grave, circumflex, caron, and macron are sometimes used in grammar books to indicate tone, but not in general-purpose texts.
This rule does not apply to compound words (e.g. tẽŋgãnnɛ "sacred land") or loanwards (e.g. maŋgo "mango") Nasals disappear when they go before /f/ Two voiced stops become their unvoiced form.
Remember that [ɾ] is the word-medial allophone of /d/ Vibrant consonants, also called taps, assimilate to a preceding lateral or nasal.
ÁtáŋáAtaŋawàFUTnyùdrinkkò'òmwaterlá.DEFÁtáŋá wà nyù kò'òm lá.Ataŋa FUT drink water DEF„Ataŋa will drink the water.“[8]ÁtáŋáAtaŋawáASPnyùdrinkkò'òmwaterlá.DEFÁtáŋá wá nyù kò'òm lá.Ataŋa ASP drink water DEF„Ataŋa definitely drank the water.“[8]Nouns in Gurunɛ have different "classes" with regard to plurals: naba > na'adõma yaaba > yaabdõma chief(s) ancestor(s) biki > bikidõma nõtɩ > nõtɩdõma sɛɛtɛ > sɛɛtɛdõma ballpoint pen(s) [French] nut(s) [English] shirt(s) [English] võogɔ > võorɔ wɔbgɔ > wɔbrɔ leaf > leaves elephant(s) zuugo > zuto head(s) sõŋɔ > sõnnɔ Tɩntɩŋɔ > Tɩntɩnnɔ mat(s) one of the Netherlands > The Netherlands (if the stem ends in /l/) zelle > zɛla egg(s) (if the stem ends in /m/ or /n/) dũnne > dũma gɩgnɛ > gɩgma kãnnɛ > kãna mã'anɛ > mã'ana yẽnnɛ > yẽna knee(s) lion(s) spear(s) piece(s) of okra tooth > teeth dĩire > dĩa gere > gɛa kũure > kũa loore > lɔa nõorɛ > nõa pʋʋrɛ > pʋa sore > sɔa sũure > sũa tʋbrɛ > tʋba forehead(s) thigh(s) hoe(s) vehicle(s) mouth(s) belly > bellies road(s) / trail(s) heart(s) ear(s) (if the stem ends in /r/) watɛ > wara watɛ > wara brick(s) cloud(s) (stem vowels change) mu'ufo > mũi naafɔ - niigi nifo > nini weefo/yeho > wiiri/yiri yoofo > yũuni rice grain > rice bovine(s) eye(s) horse(s) shea nut(s) zũfo > zũma fish(es) (mostly animals and diminutives) bʋtɩla > bʋtɩtɔ kɩɩla > kɩɩntɔ niila > niinto pɩɩla > pɩɩntɔ pugla > pugunto billy goat(s) guinea fowl(s) chick(s) lamb(s) girl(s) bo'obo / bɔ'a gift bĩ'isũm dãam dabeem dõndʋ'ʋrʋm gẽem ɩɩlʋm kaam ko'om kɔm kũm mẽelʋm nõŋlʋm nõtõorʋm tɩɩm valʋm yaarʋm yɛm zẽem zɩɩm zom breastmilk beer, alcohol fear urine sleep milk oil water hunger death dew love saliva medicine, remedy shame salt intelligence potash blood flour Source:[7] Only emphatic pronouns can appear in focus positions, whereas all other pronouns cannot appear in those positions.
BudaamanláDEFpɔkawomanláDEFnɔŋɛlovetaabaRECPmɛ.FOCBudaa lá pɔka lá nɔŋɛ taaba mɛ.man DEF woman DEF love RECP FOC„The man and the woman love each other.“[7]To form a reflexive pronoun in Gurenɛ the morphem -miŋa for singular or -misi for plural is attached to a particular personal pronoun.
Amaabutmami1SGdaaPSTgurihold.PSTnmiŋa.1SG.REFLAmaa mami daa guri nmiŋa.but 1SG PST hold.PST 1SG.REFL„But I restrained myself.“[7]Ba3PLkaNEGleagainŋmɛbeatbamisi.3PL.REFLBa ka le ŋmɛ bamisi.3PL NEG again beat 3PL.REFL„They will not beat themselves again.“[7]There are two relative pronouns, ti and n. The former relativizes subjects, while the latter is used to relativize objects.
Both pronouns are not sensitive to number or animacy, while this is the case in other Gur languages such as Dagbani for instance.
BudaamanláDEFnRELwa'amcomekalamheredeCOPlàFOCma1SGsɔ.fatherBudaa lá n wa'am kalam de là ma sɔ.man DEF REL come here COP FOC 1SG father„The man who came here is my father.“[7]BudaamanláDEFtiRELfu2SGnyɛseelàFOCdeCOPlàFOCɛma1SGsɔ.fatherBudaa lá ti fu nyɛ là de là ma sɔ.man DEF REL 2SG see FOC COP FOCɛ 1SG father„The man that you saw is my father.“[7]Interrogative pronouns can either occur sentence-initially or sentence-finally.
AniwhonFOCdieat.PFVdiafoodlá?DEFAni n di dia lá?who FOC eat.PFV food DEF„Who ate the food?“[7]SukuuschoolkɔmachildrenláDEFsiŋɛdolàFOCbɛ?whereSukuu kɔma lá siŋɛ là bɛ?school children DEF do FOC where„Where did the students go?“[7]Beniwhatdiafoodtithatba3PLkɔɔsasellda'a?marketBeni dia ti ba kɔɔsa da'a?what food that 3PL sell market„What food are they selling at the market?“[7]NaafucowláDEFdeCOPlàFOCalɛ?how.muchNaafu lá de là alɛ?cow DEF COP FOC how.much„How much is the price of the cow?“[7]Each demonstrative pronoun refers to a single noun class.
[7] N1SGwanFUTkulego.homebeere.tomorrowN wan kule beere.1SG FUT go.home tomorrow„I will go home tomorrow.“[7]DɔgetadoctorláDEFwanFUTluinjectma.1SGDɔgeta lá wan lu ma.doctor DEF FUT inject 1SG„The doctor will inject me.“[7]À3SGbogivema1SGligerimoneylá.DEFÀ bo ma ligeri lá.3SG give 1SG money DEF„S/he gave me the money.“[7]The verb phrase (VP) consists of pre- and postverbal particles surrounding the verb.
Preverbal particles encode aspect, tense, negation, and mood, such as imperative and conditional.
Time > Tense > Conditional > Aspectual > Future > Negation > Emphatic > Epistemic > Purpose > Verb > Tense > Focus/Affirmative/Completive/Directional[8] NɛrebapeopleláDEFzaamtext1yesterdaynyaa2thenkɔ'ɔm3justsirum4surelyta5in.orderiŋɛdoba'asum1certainlygaŋɛmoremɛ2.AFFNɛreba lá zaamtext1 nyaa2 kɔ'ɔm3 sirum4 ta5 iŋɛ ba'asum1 gaŋɛ mɛ2.people DEF yesterday then just surely in.order do certainly more AFF„The people yesterday certainly did more than what was just expected.“[8]There are a lot of particles in Gurenɛ, such that the total number is not fully clear.
[10] There are several ways of forming a question in Gurenɛ, but importantly the strict word order SVO is always to obey.
Again, a question word can only appear ex situ, if it replaces the subject or agent of the clause.