# Melo language

Melo (also known as Malo) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region in Ethiopia.

## Case

There are eight cases in Malo.
* Nominative
* Accusative
* Dative
* Genitive
* Instrumental
* Commutative
* Ablative

## Nominative case

Nominative case has <i> and <a> for masculine and feminine markers respectively.
However, if there is a vowel at the end of the noun, the masculine came marker<i> will change to <y>.
Examples,
| Nominative Noun | Nominative Case Marker | Verb | Perfect | Affirmative Marker |
| dura | -y | gup | -e | -z |
| sheep | sheep | jumped | jumped | jumped |
| The sheep jumped. |||||
| Nominative Noun | Nominative Case Marker | Verb | Perfect | Affirmative Marker |
| gemata | -y | ye? | -e | -z |
| ox | ox | came | came | came |
| The ox came. |||||
Nominative feminine case takes the marker <a> with definite marker <t>.
Examples,
| Nominative Noun | Definite Marker | Nominative Case Marker | Verb | Perfect | Affirmative Marker |
| kapa | -t | -a | pri | -e | -z |
| bird | bird | bird | fly | fly | fly |
| The bird fly ||||||
Proper nouns also take the nominative case marker <i> and <a>.
Examples,
| Proper Noun | Nominative Case Marker | Verb | Perfect | Affirmative Marker |
| Dayda | -y | miiz | -e | -z |
| Dayda(Name) | Dayda(Name) | laughed | laughed | laughed |
| Dayda laughed |||||

## Accusative case

The marker <-a> is for masculine nouns.
Example,
| Nominative Noun | Nominative Case Marker | Accusative Noun | Accusative Case Marker Masculine | Verb | Perfect | Affirmative Marker |
| as | -i | gamata | -a | ?ad | -e | -z |
| man | man | ox | ox | hit | hit | hit |
| The man hit the ox. |||||||
The maker <-o> is for feminine nouns. It is attached to the definite marker ‘t’.
Example,
| Nominative Noun | Nominative Case Marker | Accusative Noun | Definitive Marker | Accusative Feminine Marker | Verb | Perfect | Affirmative marker |
| gadara | -y | maha | -t | -o | be? | e | z |
| Hyena | Hyena | tiger | tiger | tiger | saw | saw | saw |
| The hyena saw the tiger. ||||||||
*Proper nouns are not inflected for the accusative case marker.

## Similarities Between Nominative and Accusative

Masculine Nominative and Accusative Case Markers stay the same for the plural nouns which are <i> and <a> respectively.
Nominative and Accusative Case Marker is always to be definite. Indefinite nouns do not take Nominative and Accusative Case.

## Dative case

Dative Case Markers are 
 and <as>.
Examples,
| Nominative | Nominative Case Marker | Accusative Noun | Accusative Cace Marker | Dative Noun | Dative Case Marker | Verb | Present Perfet | Affirmative case marker |
| tan | -i | gamata | -a | Ba?uno | -s | ?ing | -e | -z |
| I | I | ox | ox | Ba?uno | Ba?uno | gave | gave | gave |
| I gave the ox to Ba?uno. |||||||||

## Genitive case

Genitive Case uses two different ways to express.
1. Possessive Pronoun before Possessed Noun.
2. Third person possessive pronoun marker ‘pa’
1. Possessive pronoun:
| Possessive Pronouns | Gloss | Possessed Nouna | Gloss |
| ta | my | ta-kets | my house |
| nu | our | nu-kets | our house |
| ne | your | nu-kets | your house 2nd mas/fem |
| yi | your | yi-kets | your house 2nd |
| e | his | e-kets | his house |
| i | her | i-kets | her house |
| u | their | u-kets | their house |
Examples,
Deka afila – Deka’s cloth
Ta afila – my cloth
E afila – hi cloth
2. Here ‘pa’ refers to ownership. In third person possessive pronouns are replaced with pa.
| e | his | e-kets | his house |
| i | her | i-kets | her house |
| u | their | u-kets | their house |
Examples,
| Nominative Noun (As Pronoun) | Nominative Case Marker | Adding ‘pa’ | Possessed Noun | Definitive Marker | Accusative Marker | Verb | Perfective | Affirmative |
| i | -a | pa | inda | -t | -o | kad | -e | -z |
| she | she | her mother | her mother | her mother | her mother | loved | loved | loved |
| She loved her mother |||||||||
iz-a pa inda-t-o kad-e-z – She loved her mother.

## Instrumental case

Instrumental case markers are <r> and <ar>.
Examples,
| Nominal Noun | Nominal Case Marker | Nominal Case Marker | Pronoun (As Accusative Case) | Pronoun (As Accusative Case) | Accusative Marker | Accusative Marker | Instrumental Noun | Instrumental Noun | Instrumental Noun | Instrumental Case Marker | Instrumental Case Marker | Verb | Perfective | Perfective | Affirmative | Affirmative |
| na? | -y | -y | ez | ez | -a | -a | succ | succ | succ | -ar | -ar | ?ad | -e | -e | -z | -z |
| child | child | child | he | he | he | he | stone | stone | stone | stone | stone | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| The child hit him with a stone. |||||||||||||||||
| asa | asa | -y | -y | gamma | gamma | -a | -a | kawe | -r | -r | wood | wood | wood | -e | -e | -z |
| man | man | man | man | lion | lion | lion | lion | gun | gun | gun | killed | killed | killed | killed | killed | killed |
| The man killed the lion with a gun. |||||||||||||||||

## Commutative case

Commutative case markers are <r> and -<ar> with ‘wola’.
Here, the word ‘wola’ means together.
Examples,
| Nominative Noun | Genitive /Nominative Case Marker | Commutative Noun | Commutative Case Marker | Wola | Verb | Perfective | Affirmative |
| iza | pa | azin | -ar | wola | woy | -e | -z |
| she | his husband | his husband | his husband | together | slept | slept | slept |
| She slept with her husband together. ||||||||
| nu | | ise | -r | wola | m | -e | -z |
| | | brother | brother | together | ate | ate | ate |
| We ate with our brother together. ||||||||

## Ablative case

Ablative case markers are <p> and <ap>.
It depicts the place of departure and a source the noun comes from.
Examples,
| Nominative Noun | Definitive Marker | Nominative Case Marker | Ablative Case | Ablative Case Marker | Verb | Perfective | Affirmative |
| kassa | | -y | awasa | -p | ye? | -e | -z |
| Kassa | Kassa | Kassa | from Awasa | from Awasa | came | came | came |
| Kassa came from Awasa. ||||||||
| dees | -t | -a | dere | -p | ye | -e | -z |
| goat | goat | goat | from mountain | from mountain | came | came | came |
| The goat came from the mounta ||||||||