# Konkomba language

Konkomba is a Gurma language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso.

## Geography

Konkomba is spoken in Ghana (Northern Region, Volta Region, Brong Ahafo Region, Eastern Region and Accra), and Togo (Savanes Region, Kara Region and Plateaux Region). Smaller numbers can also found in Burkina Faso.

## Dialects and literature

The Konkomba language, known natively as Likpakpaanl, is spoken by the Konkomba people, who are also known as the Bikpakpaam. The Konkomba language has several dialects, including, but not limited to, Lichaboil, Ligbeln, Likoonli, Limonkpeln and Linafeel.
The dialects of Konkomba emerged because different families and groups settled together and adopted unique pronunciation and vocabulary patterns, forming what could be called uniform dialect groupings. For example, "map geek" in (in the Lichabol dialect), "may LAK Iya" (in the Limonkpeln dialect), and "many men" (in the Likoon dialect) all mean "I don't like that". This type of variation can be heard in Likpakpaanl, depending on the geographic area or what clan is dominant in a particular settlement. However, Lichaboil dialect is the written variety. Other Bikpakpaam dialects classifications include Linankpel (Nankpantiib), Likpalil (Bikpalib), Linandeln (Binandim), Lisagmaln (Sagmantiib), and Linalol (Binalob).
A reasonable amount of Likpakpaanl literature exists. This literature includes primers for teaching, a dictionary, storybooks, and folk tales. There is also a full translation of the Bible in Likpakpaanl, created through the work of GILLBT and GIL, Mary Steele, and RILADEP (formerly KOLADEP, Konkomba Literacy and Development Project). Work on the Likpakpaanl Bible translation was started by Mary Steele in 1962 when she arrived to work with the Wycliffe Bible Translators.

## Classification

Konkomba is a Gur language. It is related to the Bimoba language spoken by the Bimoba people of Ghana, to the Moba language spoken by the Moba people of Togo and Burkina Faso, and to the Bassari language spoken by the Bassari people of Togo and Ghana. It is part of the Gurma subgroup, which also includes several other languages such as Gourmanche and Miyobe.

## Orthography
### Alphabet
#### Capital letters

A, B, (C), CH, D, E, F, G, GB, I, J, K, KP, L, M, N, NY, Ŋ, ŊM, O, Ɔ, P, R, S, T, U, W, Y.

##### Lower-case letters

a, b, (c), ch, d, e, f, g, gb, i, j, k, kp, l, m, n, ny, ŋ, ŋm, o, ɔ, p, r, s, t, u, w, y.
The orthography follows that used in the literature currently in print in Likpakpaanl. Under the current convention, long and short vowels are distinguished by the use of single and double letters respectively. (e.g. a, aa). Tone is not marked, but where two words contrast only in tone and the context is unlikely to indicate a distinction in meaning, an "h" is added after the vowel in one of the words (e.g. upii – woman, upiih – sheep).
Certain variations that may occur in the a given speaker's speech. For example, sometimes a speaker may use the /r/ sound and sometimes the /l/ sound. Also, there may be variations between one speaker and another within the same village (e.g. some use the plural tiib and some teeb). This is, however, at the phonological level and does not affect semantic interpretation.
The letter c outside the digraph ch is listed by GILLBT's Likpakpaani Dictionary, but not in other sources.

## Phonology
### Consonants

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k | k͡p |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ɡ | ɡ͡b |
| Fricative | Fricative | f | s | | | |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | l | j | | |
| Trill | Trill | | r | | | |

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | ɪ iː | | ʊ uː |
| Close-mid | e eː | | o oː |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | | ɔ ɔː |
| Open | æ | a aː | |
Nasalization among vowel sounds is also heard when preceding nasal consonants.

## Grammar
### Lexical Tone

Differences in tone can change the lexical function of a particular word. In contrast to many other Gur languages, Likpakpaanl tones have no grammatical function.
úpíí
úpíí
„woman.“
úpìì
úpìì
„Sheep.“

### Grammatical Tone

There are two-level tones; low (⸜) and high (⸝), which are used to distinguish between perfective and habitual aspects. The tones do not change regardless of the person specification of the noun or a pronoun.
N
1SG
dàà
buy.PFV
lòòr.
car
N dàà lòòr.
1SG buy.PFV car
„I have bought a car.“
Bì
3PL
chèè
harvest.PFV
ì-mùùl.
NC-rice
Bì chèè ì-mùùl.
3PL harvest.PFV NC-rice
„They harvested rice.“
N
1SG
dáá
buy.HAB
lòòr-tiib
car-PL
N dáá lòòr-tiib
1SG buy.HAB car-PL
„I buy cars regularly.“
Bì
3PL
chéé
harvest.HAB
ì-mùùl.
NC-rice
Bì chéé ì-mùùl.
3PL harvest.HAB NC-rice
„They harvest rice regularly.“

### Noun Class System

| Noun Class | Singular | Plural | SG Suffix | PL Suffix/Circumfix | Glossing |
| 1/2 | u-ja | Bi-ja-b | u- | bi...-b | man |
| 3/4 | n-lan | i-lan | n- | i- | song |
| 5/6 | li-kuu-l | ŋi-ku | li- | ŋi- | hoe |
| 14/*ci | Bu-su-b | i-su-i | bu-...-b | i-...-i | tree |
| 12/21 | ki-saa-k | ti-saa-r | ki-...-k | n-...-m | knife |
| 20 | --- | --- | tiwan-kaan | --- | generic reference |
| 22/12 | n-yaa-n | --- | n-...-n | --- | salt |

### Pronouns
#### Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns can either occur preverbally or postvebally. In both cases, there is an additional distinction in the third person with regard to animacy.
Preverbal
Preverbal personal pronouns are used as subjects. Which form for the first person pronoun is used, depends on the phonology of the following word.
| Person | Singular | Plural | Gloss |
| 1st | m/n | tì | I/we |
| 2nd | à | nì | you/you all |
| 3rd [+human] | ù | bì | he/she/they |
| 3rd [-human] | ù | ì | it/they |
Postverbal
Postverbal personal pronouns are used as objects.
| Person | Singular | Plural | Gloss |
| 1st | mì | tì | I/we |
| 2nd | sì | nì | you/you all |
| 3rd [+human] | ù | bì | he/she/they |
| 3rd [-human] | ù | ì | it/they |

#### Emphatic Pronouns

Emphatic pronouns are formed by a personal pronoun and an additional suffix. This suffix is in singular -ìn or -mà, whereas in the plural the suffix is -mì or -mà.
| Person | Singular | Plural | Gloss |
| 1st | mìn | tìmì | I/we |
| 2nd | sìn | nìmì | you/you all |
| 3rd [+human] | ùmà | bìmà | he/she/they |
| 3rd [-human] | nìma | ìma | it/they |

#### Reciprocal Pronouns

There is only one reciprocal pronoun tͻb in Likpakpaanl.
Bὶ
3PL
fè
PST
mànn
visit
tͻb
RECP
fènnà.
yesterday
Bὶ fè mànn tͻb fènnà.
3PL PST visit RECP yesterday
„They visited each other yesterday."

#### Reflexive Pronouns

Rflexive pronouns are formed by the personal pronouns, to which the suffix -bà ('self') is attached to.
| Personal Pronoun | Suffix | Reflexive Pronoun | Gloss |
| m/n | -bà | m-bà/n-bà | myself |
| à | -bà | à-bà | yourself |
| ù | -bà | ù-bà | himself/herself |
| tì | -bà | tì-bà | ourselves |
| bì | -bà | bì-bà | yourselves |
| ì | -bà | ì-bà | themselves [+human] |
| nì | -bà | nì-bà | themselves [-human] |

#### Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns in Likpakpaanl have the same morphological form than the preverbal personal pronouns. In special contexts, the prefix -aa can be attached to the possessum in order to emphasize the relation between the possessor and the possessum.
N
1SG
do.
house
N do.
1SG house
„My house.“
N’àà-do.
1SG-POSS-house
N’àà-do.
1SG-POSS-house
„My house.“

#### Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are dependent on the prefix of the noun that indicates its noun class. The relative pronoun is thus a reflection of the noun class and functions as a resumptive pronoun.
Ù-bò
NC-child
ù
REL
dàà
buy
lòòr
car
nà.
REL.DET
Ù-bò ù dàà lòòr nà.
NC-child REL buy car REL.DET
„The child who bought a car.“
John
John
dàà
buy
ì-gbéér
NC-pig
ì
REL
dɔ
lie
dòò
here
nà.
REL.DET
John dàà ì-gbéér ì dɔ dòò nà.
John buy NC-pig REL lie here REL.DET
„John bought pigs (that) are lying here.“

#### Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are formed by the noun class prefix of the particular noun and the suffix -mìnà. Likpakpaanl makes a distinction between proximal and distal demonstratives.
| Demonstrative Pronoun | Singular | Plural | Gloss |
| Proximal | ùmìnà | ìmìnà | this/that |
| | nìmìnà | tìmìnà | this/that |
| | kìmìnà | mùmìnà | this/that |
| Distal | ùè | íè | these/those |
| | nìè | nìè | these/those |
| | kìè | mùè | these/those |

## Syntax
### Word Order

Likpakpaanl is a Subject–verb–object language.
Adam
Adam
fé
HEST.PST
tun
work
fénna.
yesterday
Adam fé tun fénna.
Adam HEST.PST work yesterday
„Adam worked yesterday.“
Adam
Adam
fé
HEST.PST
k​ɔr
slaughter
uk​ɔla
fowl
fénna.
yesterday
Adam fé k​ɔr uk​ɔla fénna.
Adam HEST.PST slaughter fowl yesterday
„Adam slaughtered fowl yesterday.“
Konja
Konja
mèè
beg.PST
Sam
Sam
lè
FOC
ki-gban
NC-book
din.
today
Konja mèè Sam lè ki-gban din.
Konja beg.PST Sam FOC NC-book today
„Konja begged a booked from Sam.“

### Verb Phrase

The VP consists of the main verb and preverbal particles encoding Tense, Aspect and Mood.

#### Preverbal Particles

Aspectual Particles
There is a distinction between perfective and imperfective aspect. The perfective is not explicitly marked, while the imperfective is expressed by the particle -bì.
Adelina
Adelina
ŋàr
sweep
bù-sùb
NC-tree
tààb.
under
Adelina ŋàr bù-sùb tààb.
Adelina sweep NC-tree under
„Adelina swept under the tree.“
Adelina
Adelina
bì
IPFV
ŋàr
sweep
bù-sùb
NC-tree
tààb.
under
Adelina bì ŋàr bù-sùb tààb.
Adelina IPFV sweep NC-tree under
„Adelina is sweeping under the tree.“
Tense Particles
There are five distinct tense forms that are morphologically realized by an individual particle. Likpakpaanl marks immediate past (bà), remote past (nàn), hesternal past (fè), future (gà) and negative future (ààn). The particles for the particular tense form also immediately precede the verb.
Naajo
Naajo
bà
PST
kùùr
weed
kì-sààk
NC-farm
gbààn.
DEF
Naajo bà kùùr kì-sààk gbààn.
Naajo PST weed NC-farm DEF
„Naajo weeded the farm.“
Naajo
Naajo
nàn
PST
kùùr
weed
kì-sààk
NC-farm
gbààn.
DEF
Naajo nàn kùùr kì-sààk gbààn.
Naajo PST weed NC-farm DEF
„Naajo weeded the farm.“
Naajo
Naajo
fè
HEST.PST
kùùr
weed
kì-sààk
NC-farm
gbààn.
DEF
Naajo fè kùùr kì-sààk gbààn.
Naajo HEST.PST weed NC-farm DEF
„Naajo weeded the farm.“
Naajo
Naajo
gà
FUT
kùùr
weed
kì-sààk
NC-farm
gbààn.
DEF
Naajo gà kùùr kì-sààk gbààn.
Naajo FUT weed NC-farm DEF
„Naajo will weed the farm.“
Naajo
Naajo
ààn
NEG.FUT
kùùr
weed
kì-sààk
NC-farm
gbààn.
DEF
Naajo ààn kùùr kì-sààk gbààn.
Naajo NEG.FUT weed NC-farm DEF
„Naajo will not weed the farm.“

#### Verb

Main verbs in Likpakpaanl do not morphologically inflect, therefore there is no grammatical agreement.

### Questions

There are different options how to form a question. The question word can either occur clause-initially, which is also referred to as ex situ, or it can stay in situ, meaning that it occurs at the end of the clause. Moreover, a question can also be embedded in a subordinated clause and a question can also have more than one question word.
Ba
what
lè
FOC
Konja
Konja
mèè?
beg.PST
Ba lè Konja mèè?
what FOC Konja beg.PST
„What did Konja beg for?“
Konja
Konja
mèè
beg.PST
​ŋmà
who
ki-gban?
NC-book
Konja mèè ​ŋmà ki-gban?
Konja beg.PST who NC-book
„Who did Konja beg a book from?“
Ama
Ama
bae
ask.PST
ke
COMP
bà
what
John
John
k​ɔr.
slaughter.PFV
Ama bae ke bà John k​ɔr.
Ama ask.PST COMP what John slaughter.PFV
„Ama asked what John slaughtered.“
Bà
what
lè
FOC
Konja
Konja
mèè
beg.PST
​ŋmà?
who
Bà lè Konja mèè ​ŋmà?
what FOC Konja beg.PST who
„What did Konja beg from whom?“

## Sample text in Likpakpaanl

The following is a sample portion of the Holy Bible translated into Likpakpaanl, along with the corresponding passage in English:
   "Yesu aah kan kinipaak ngbaan na, le u jon ligongoln paab, le ki kal. Le waadidiliib kuun u chee. Le u waar umɔb ki bui bi ke: 'Binib bi nyi ke bi ye bigiim Uwumbɔr wɔb na, waanyoor bi bi pu. Bima le yeh Uwumbɔr aanaan. Binib bi kpa mpombiin baatunwanbir pu na, Uwumbɔr aanyoor bi bi pu; u ga sɔŋ bisui. Binib bi sunn bibaa taab na, Uwumbɔr aanyoor bi bi pu. Bima le ga li yeh dulnyaa wee. Binib bi aanimbil man ke bi li ye bininyaam na, Uwumbɔr aanyoor bi bi pu. Binimbil ga gbiin. Binib bi kpa linimbaasaln na, Uwumbɔr aanyoor bi bi pu. U mu ga san bi kinimbaak. Binib bi dii Uwumbɔr ni bisui mɔmɔk na, waanyoor bi bi pu. Bima le ga kan uma Uwumbɔr. Binib bi par kijaak na, Uwumbɔr aanyoor bi bi pu. U ga len ke bi ye waabim. Binib bi ji falaa Uwumbɔr aasan aadiim pu na, waanyoor bi bi pu. Bima le yeh uma Uwumbɔr aanaan.'"
   "And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"