# Dagbani language

Dagbani (or Dagbane), also known as Dagbanli or Dagbanle, is a Gur language spoken in Ghana and Northern Togo. Its native speakers are estimated around 1,170,000. Dagbani is the most widely spoken language in northern Ghana, specifically among the tribes that fall under the authority of the King of Dagbon, known as the Yaa-Naa. Dagbon is a traditional kingdom situated in northern Ghana, and the Yaa-Naa is the paramount chief or king who governs over the various tribes and communities within the Dagbon kingdom.
Dagbani is closely related to and mutually intelligible with Mampruli, Nabit, Talni, Kamara, Kantosi, and Hanga, also spoken in Northern, North East, Upper East, and Savannah Regions. It is also similar to the other members of the same subgroup spoken in other regions, including Dagaare and Wali, spoken in Upper West Region of Ghana, along with Frafra and Kusaal, spoken in the Upper East Region of the country.
In Togo, Dagbani is spoken in the Savanes Region on the border with Ghana.

## Dialects

Dagbani has a major dialect split between Eastern Dagbani (Nayahali), centred on the traditional capital town of Yendi (Naya), and Western Dagbani (Tomosili), centred on the administrative capital of the Northern Region, Tamale. The dialects are, however, mutually intelligible, and mainly consist of different root vowels in some lexemes, and different forms or pronunciations of some nouns, particularly those referring to local flora. The words Dagbani and Dagbanli given above for the name of the language are respectively the Eastern and Western dialect forms of the name, but the Dagbani Orthography Committee resolved that “It was decided that in the spelling system <Dagbani> is used to refer to the ... Language, and <Dagbanli> ... to the life and culture”; in the spoken language, each dialect uses its form of the name for both functions.

## Phonology
### Vowels

Dagbani has eleven phonemic vowels – six short vowels and five long vowels:
| | Front | Central | Back |
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | | o |
| Low | | a | |
| | Front | Central | Back |
| High | iː | | uː |
| Mid | eː | | oː |
| Low | | aː | |
Olawsky (1999) puts the schwa (ə) in place of /ɨ/, unlike other researchers on the language who use the higher articulated /ɨ/. Allophonic variation based on tongue-root advancement is well attested for 4 of these vowels: [i] ~ [ɪ]/[ə], [e] ~ [ɛ], [u] ~ [ʊ] and [o] ~ [ɔ].

### Consonants

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial-velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | |
| Stop/ Affricate | Voiceless | p | t | (t͡ʃ) | k | k͡p | (ʔ) |
| Stop/ Affricate | Voiced | b | d | (d͡ʒ) | ɡ | ɡ͡b | |
| Fricative | Voiceless | f | s | (ʃ) | x | | (h) |
| Fricative | Voiced | v | z | (ʒ) | | | |
| Lateral | Lateral | | l | | | | |
| Sonorant | Sonorant | | (ɾ) | j | | w | |
* [x] mainly occurs phonemically among other Western dialects.
* /s/ debuccalizes as a glottal [h] when in intervocalic position. /ɡ/ debuccalizes as a glottal stop [ʔ] post-vocalic position.
* Sounds /k, ɡ, s, z/ are realized as [t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, ʃ, ʒ] when preceding front vowels.
* /d/ can be heard as [ɾ] when in post-vocalic positions.

### Tone

Dagbani is a tonal language in which pitch is used to distinguish words, as in gballi [ɡbálːɪ́] (high-high) 'grave' vs. gballi [ɡbálːɪ̀] (high-low) 'zana mat'. The tone system of Dagbani is characterised by two level tones and downstep (a lowering effect occurring between sequences of the same phonemic tone).

## Orthography

Dagbani is written in a Latin alphabet with the addition of the apostrophe, the letters ɛ, ɣ, ŋ, ɔ, and ʒ, and the digraphs ch, gb, kp, ŋm, sh and ny. The literacy rate used to be only 2–3%. This percentage is expected to rise as Dagbani is now a compulsory subject in primary and junior secondary school all over Dagbon. The orthography currently used (Orthography Committee /d(1998)) represents a number of allophonic distinctions. Tone is not marked.
| a | b | ch | d | e | ɛ | f | g | gb | ɣ | h | i | j | k | kp | l | m | n | ny | ŋ | ŋm | o | ɔ | p | r | s | sh | t | u | w | y | z | ʒ | ’ |

## Grammar

Dagbani is agglutinative, but with some fusion of affixes. The constituent order in Dagbani sentences is usually agent–verb–object.

### Lexicon

There is insight into a historical stage of the language in the papers of Rudolf Fisch, reflecting data collected during his missionary work in the German Togoland colony in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, especially the lexical list, though there is also some grammatical information and sample texts. A more modern glossary was published in 1934 by a southern Ghanaian officer of the colonial government, E. Foster Tamakloe, in 1934, with a revised edition by British officer Harold Blair. Various editors added to the wordlist and a more complete publication was produced in 2003 by a Dagomba scholar, Ibrahim Mahama. According to the linguist Salifu Nantogma Alhassan, there is evidence to suggest that there are gender-related double standards in the Dagbani language with "more labels that trivialise females than males". Meanwhile, the data was electronically compiled by John Miller Chernoff and Roger Blench (whose version is published online), and converted into a database by Tony Naden, on the basis of which a full-featured dictionary is ongoing and can be viewed online.

### Noun class system

| Noun class | Example (SG) | Example (PL) | SG suffix | PL suffix | Gloss |
| 1 | tIb-li | tIb-a | -li | -a | ear |
| 2 | paG-a | paG-ba | -a | -ba | woman |
| 3 | gab-ga | gab-si | -ga | -si | rope |
| 4 | wab-gu | wab-ri | -gu | -ri | elephant |
| 5 | kur-gu | kur-a | -gu | -a | old |
| 6 | ko-m/kom- | ko-ma/kom-a | -m/ | -ma/-a | water |

### Pronouns

Each set of personal pronouns in Dagbani is distinguished regarding person, number and animacy. Besides the distinction between singular and plural, there is an additional distinction between [+/- animate] in the 3rd person. Moreover, Dagbani distinguishes between emphatic and non-emphatic pronouns and there are no gender distinctions. While there is no morphological differentiation between grammatical cases, pronouns can occur in different forms according to whether they appear pre- or postverbally.

#### Non-emphatic pronouns
##### Preverbal

Preverbal pronouns serve as subjects of a verb and are all monosyllabic.
| Person | SG | PL |
| 1 | n | ti |
| 2 | a | yi |
| 3 [+animate] | o | bɛ |
| 3 [-animate] | di | di, ŋa |

##### Postverbal

Postverbal pronouns usually denote objects.
| Person | SG | PL |
| 1 | ma | ti |
| 2 | a | ya |
| 3 [+animate] | o | ba |
| 3 [-animate] | li | li, ŋa |
Given the fact that preverbal and postverbal pronouns do not denote two complementary sets, one could refer to them as unmarked or specifically marked for postverbal occurrence.
| Person | SG | | | PL | | |
| | Unmarked | | Marked | Unmarked | | Marked |
| 1 | n | | ma | | ti | |
| 2 | | a | | yi | | ya |
| 3 [+animate] | | o | | bɛ | | ba |
| 3 [-animate] | di | | li | di | (ŋa) | li |

#### Emphatic pronouns

Emphatic pronouns in Dagbani serve as regular pronouns in that they can stand in isolation, preverbally or postverbally.
| Person | SG | PL |
| 1 | mani | tinima |
| 2 | nyini | yinima |
| 3 [+animate] | ŋuni, ŋuna | bɛna, bana |
| 3 [-animate] | dini, dina | ŋana |

#### Reciprocal pronouns

Reciprocals are formed by the addition of the word taba after the verb.
Ti
1PL
ŋmaai
cut
taba.
each-other
Ti ŋmaai taba.
1PL cut each-other
„We cut each other.“

#### Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are formed by the suffix -maŋa, which is attached to the non-emphatic preverbal pronoun.
O
3SG
ŋmaagi
cut
o-maŋa.
3SG-REFL
O ŋmaagi o-maŋa.
3SG cut 3SG-REFL
„He cuts himself.“
The affix maŋa can also occur as an emphatic pronoun after nouns.
O
3SG
zo
friend
maŋa.
REFL
O zo maŋa.
3SG friend REFL
„His friend himself.“

#### Possessive pronouns

The possessive pronouns in Dagbani exactly correspond to the preverbal non-emphatic pronouns, which always proceed the possessed constituent.
O
3SG
yili.
house
O yili.
3SG house
„His house.“

#### Relative pronouns

In Dagbani the relative pronouns are ŋʊn ("who") and ni ("which").
Bi-so
child
ŋʊn
REL
zu
steal.PFV
baa
dog
la
DET
tʃaŋ-ja.
go-PFV
Bi-so ŋʊn zu baa la tʃaŋ-ja.
child REL steal.PFV dog DET go-PFV
„The child who stole the dog is gone.“
Ti
1PL
ɲa
see.PFV
bi-so
child
ŋʊn
REL
zu
steal.PFV
baa
dog
la.
DET
Ti ɲa bi-so ŋʊn zu baa la.
1PL see.PFV child REL steal.PFV dog DET
„We saw the child who stole the dog.“
The relative pronouns in Dagbani are not obligatory present and can also be absent depending on the context, as the following example illustrates.
Azima
Azima
kaagi
visit.PFV
ji-li
house
ʃɛli
pro
ni
REL
da
buy.PFV
la.
DET
Azima kaagi ji-li ʃɛli ni da la.
Azima visit.PFV house pro REL buy.PFV DET
„Azima visited the house which I bought.“
Azima
Azima
kaagi
visit.PFV
ji-li
house
la.
DET
Azima kaagi ji-li la.
Azima visit.PFV house DET
„Azima visited the house which I bought.“
Relative pronouns in Dagbani can also be complex in its nature, such that they consist of two elements, an indefinite pronoun and an emphatic pronoun.
Bi-a
child
so
pro
ŋʊn
REL
zu
steal.PFV
baa
dog
la
DET
tʃaŋ-ja.
go.PFV
Bi-a so ŋʊn zu baa la tʃaŋ-ja.
child pro REL steal.PFV dog DET go.PFV
„The child who stole the dog is gone.“
Su-a
Knife
ʃɛli
pro
din
REL
pa
be
teebʊlʊ
table.SG
zʊʔʊ
head
maa
DET
kabiya.
break.PFV
Su-a ʃɛli din pa teebʊlʊ zʊʔʊ maa kabiya.
Knife pro REL be table.SG head DET break.PFV
„The knife which was on the table is broken.“

#### Interrogative pronouns

Source:
Interrogative pronouns in Dagbani make a distinction between human and non-human.
| Dagbani | English |
| bòn / bà | what |
| ŋùní | who |
| bòzùɤù | why |
| yà | where |
| díní | which |
| álá | how much |
| bòndàlì | when |
| sáhá díní | when |
| wùlà | how |
Additionally, interrogative pronouns inflect for number, but not all of them. Those inflecting for number belong to the semantic categories [ +THING], [ +SELECTION], [ +PERSON].
| Semantic Category | SG | PL | Gloss |
| [+PERSON] | ŋùní | bànímà | who/whom |
| [+SELECTION] | dìní | dìnnímà | which |
| [+THING] | bò | bònímà | what |

#### Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Dagbani make a morphological difference between the singular and plural form. The demonstrative pronoun ŋɔ moves to the specifier of the functional NumP and if Num is plural, then the plural morphem -nímá attaches to the demonstrative pronoun. If Num is singular, there is a zero morphem, such that the demonstrative pronoun does not differ in its morphological form.
| Demonstrative Pronoun | SG | PL | Gloss |
| Proximal | ŋɔ | ŋɔnímá | this/these |
| Distal | ŋɔ há | ŋɔnímá há | that/those |

#### Indefinite pronouns

Dagbani distinguishes not only between singular and plural for indefinite pronouns, but also between [+/-animate]. Therefore, there are two pairs of indefinite pronouns. Indefinites are basically used in the same way as adjectives, as their morphological form is similar to that of nouns and adjectives. In order to express an indefinite like "something" the inanimate singular form is combined with the noun bini ("thing").
| | SG | PL | Gloss |
| [+animate] | <so> | <shɛba> | somebody |
| [-animate] | <shɛli> | <shɛŋa> | something |

## Syntax
### Word order

Dagbani has a rigid SVO word order. In the canonical sentence structure, the verb precedes the direct and indirect object as well as adverbials. The clause structure exhibits varying functional elements projecting various functional phrasal categories including tense, aspect, negation, mood and the conjoint/disjoint paradigm.
Dawuni
Dawuni
kú-r-í
kill-IPFV-CONJ
sòònsí
rabbits
máá.
DEF
Dawuni kú-r-í sòònsí máá.
Dawuni kill-IPFV-CONJ rabbits DEF
„Dawuni kills the rabbits.
Páɣà
woman
máá
DET
tí
give.PFV
bíhí
children
nyùlí
yam
zùŋò.
today
Páɣà máá tí bíhí nyùlí zùŋò.
woman DET give.PFV children yam today
„The woman has given the children yam today.

### Verb phrase

The VP in Dagbani consists of a preverbal particle encoding tense, aspect and mood, the main verb, and a postverbal particle which marks focus.

#### Preverbal particles
##### Major particles

| Tense, aspect, modal particles | Dagbani |
| today (also once upon a time) | də |
| one day away | sa |
| two or more days away | daa |
| habitual | yi |
| still, not yet | na |
| actually | siri |
| once again, as usual | yaa |
| suddenly, just | dii |
| non-future negative | bə |
| future affix | nə |
| future negative | ku |
| imperative subjunctive negative | de |
| again | lah |

#### Main verb

Each verb in Dagbani has two forms, a perfective and an imperfective form with very few exceptions. In general, the perfective form is the unmarked form, whereas the imperfective form corresponds to the progressive form, or in other words it refers to an action, which is still in progress. The perfective is nearly syncretic with the infinitive, which in turn has an /n-/-prefix. The imperfective is formed by the suffix /-di/.
The inflectional system in Dagbani is relatively poor as compared to other languages. There is no grammatical agreement, since number and person are not marked. Tense is marked only under certain constraints. Basically, Dagbani makes a distinction between future and non-future, however the main distinction does not concern Tense, but Aspect and occurs between perfective and imperfective.

#### Postverbal particles

The postverbal particle la marks presentational focus, rather than contrastive focus. In comparison to the postverbal particle in Dagaare, the function of this Dagbani particle is also not yet fully investigated. There are native speakers, who consider the particle to indicate that what is expressed to the hearer is not shared knowledge. Issah (2013) on the other hand argues that the presence of la asserts new information, while its absence indicates old information.
Napari
Napari
da-Ø
buy.PFV
la
FOC
loori.
lorry
Napari da-Ø la loori.
Napari buy.PFV FOC lorry
„Napari has bought a lorry.“
Napari
Napari
da-Ø
buy.PFV
loori.
lorry
Napari da-Ø loori.
Napari buy.PFV lorry
„Napari has bought a lorry.“

#### Conjoint / disjoint markers

| | Conjoint | Disjoint |
| Imperfective | Ò3SGnyú-r-ídrink-IPFV-CONJkóm.waterÒ nyú-r-í kóm.3SG drink-IPFV-CONJ water„He is drinking water.“ | Ò3SGnyú-r-á.drink-IPFV-CONJÒ nyú-r-á.3SG drink-IPFV-CONJ„He is drinking.“ |
| Perfective | Ò3SGnyú-Ødrink.PFV-CONJkóm.waterÒ nyú-Ø kóm.3SG drink.PFV-CONJ water„He drank water.“ | Ò3SGnyú-yá.drink.PFV-CONJÒ nyú-yá.3SG drink.PFV-CONJ„He drank.“ |

### Questions

In Dagbani, the question word can either appear in situ or ex situ.

#### Ex situ

| Dagbani | Question words |
| Bɔ | what |
| Dini | which |
| Ya | where |
| Wula | how |
| ŋuni | who |
| ŋun | whose |
| Bɔ zuɤu | why |
The basic word order in Dagbani questions is SVO, such that the question word is fronted and followed by the focus marker ka. This is the unmarked form and accepted by many native speakers as "natural".
Ya
where
ka
FOC
a
2SG
chana?
go.IPFV
Ya ka a chana?
where FOC 2SG go.IPFV
„Where did you go to?“
Bɔ
what
ka
FOC
a
2SG
bɔra?
want.IPFV
Bɔ ka a bɔra?
what FOC 2SG want.IPFV
„What did you want?“

#### In situ

Yes-/No-question in Dagbani are formed by the disjunction bee ('or'), which either conjoints two propositions or which occurs sentence-finally to indicate that the sentence with SVO order is actually a question.
A
2SG
ni
FUT
kana
come
bee
or
a
2SG
ku
NEG.FUT
kana?
come
A ni kana bee a ku kana?
2SG FUT come or 2SG NEG.FUT come
„Will you come or will you not come?“
A
2SG
ni
FUT
kana
come
bee?
or
A ni kana bee?
2SG FUT come or
„Will you come or not?“
In addition to Yes-/No-questions, the question word can also occur in sentence-final position. This might correspond to echo questions.
Napari
Napari
dá
buy.PFV
bò?
what
Napari dá bò?
Napari buy.PFV what
„Napari bought what?“
Napari
Napari
dá
buy.PFV
búá.
goat
Napari dá búá.
Napari buy.PFV goat
„Napari bought a goat.“

## Dagbani language scholars

* Fusheini Hudu
* Knut Olawsky
* Roger Blench
* Tony Naden
* Samuel Alhassan Issah