# Inherited pronominal morphemes in Dogon

Fabian Zuk

► To cite this version:

Fabian Zuk. Inherited pronominal morphemes in Dogon. 56th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, May 2025, Minneapolis, United States. 2025. hal-05071498

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Submitted on 16 May 2025

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# Inherited pronominal morphemes in Dogon

Fabian Zuk, Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique, Paris

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

## Dogon languages

are spoken in the central Bandiagara region of Mali. Though they are heterogenous in their morphological marking of grammatical number and animacy, mounting evidence (Zuk accepted, Hantgan & Zuk 2025) demonstrates the genealogical affiliation of these languages.

**Task:** Demonstrate coherence of a portion of the pronominal system and propose a diachronic scenario from ancestor to daughter languages.

**Method:** Comparative Method:

-Identification of likely cognates

-Establishment of regular sound correspondences

-Identification of shared meaning/function

## Correspondence Sets

Identification of correspondences across presumed branches of the Dogon family.

<table><thead><tr><th>(1) *b</th><th>Gloss</th><th>Tommo So</th><th>Jamsay</th><th>Najamba</th><th>Yanda Dom</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>a.</td><td>'bury'</td><td>bòdò</td><td>bǒ:</td><td>bèzí</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>b.</td><td>'belly'</td><td>bèré</td><td>bèré</td><td>-</td><td>bèdè</td></tr><tr><td>c.</td><td>'navel'</td><td>bòŋgɔ-ý</td><td>-</td><td>bòŋgɔ:</td><td>bòŋɔ</td></tr><tr><td>d.</td><td>'intestines'</td><td>bìndú</td><td>-</td><td>bìndú</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>e.</td><td>'beard'</td><td>bě:</td><td>bèw kúró</td><td>bê:-ŋgò</td><td>bìyà-kùlà</td></tr><tr><td>f.</td><td>'chin'</td><td>bè-bě:</td><td>běw</td><td>-</td><td>bìyà</td></tr><tr><td>g.</td><td>'hiccup'</td><td>bègé</td><td>bègé</td><td>bègì</td><td>bègé</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>(2) *m</th><th>Gloss</th><th>Tommo So</th><th>Jamsay</th><th>Najamba</th><th>Yanda Dom</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>a.</td><td>'1Sg Pro'</td><td>mí</td><td>mí</td><td>mí</td><td>mí</td></tr><tr><td>b.</td><td>'resin'</td><td>móy</td><td>mǔn</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>c.</td><td>'laughter'</td><td>mómú</td><td>mów̃</td><td>màndú</td><td>màndù</td></tr><tr><td>d.</td><td>'raise livestock'</td><td>màŋá</td><td>màŋá</td><td>màngǐ</td><td>mǎŋ</td></tr><tr><td>e.</td><td>'semen'</td><td>mánǐ</td><td>-</td><td>mánǐ:</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>f.</td><td>'Mossi person'</td><td>mòɔsú</td><td>mùñú-n</td><td>mò:sí</td><td>mùzù</td></tr><tr><td>g.</td><td>'sew'</td><td>mèné</td><td>mìné ájárá</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>h.</td><td>'milk<sub>N</sub>'</td><td>ém</td><td>êm</td><td>émè:</td><td>émé</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>(3) *k</th><th>Gloss</th><th>Tommo So</th><th>Jamsay</th><th>Najamba</th><th>Yanda Dom</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>a.</td><td>'bone'</td><td>kìyé</td><td>cìřé</td><td>kìná-ŋgó</td><td>kìřà</td></tr><tr><td>b.</td><td>'liver'</td><td>kíndé</td><td>cénè</td><td>kéndà:</td><td>kíndá</td></tr><tr><td>c.</td><td>'hair'</td><td>kúló</td><td>kúró</td><td>kùlé-ŋgó</td><td>kùlà</td></tr><tr><td>d.</td><td>'new'</td><td>kàndá</td><td>kàná</td><td>kàndǎ:</td><td>kàndà</td></tr><tr><td>e.</td><td>'saddle'</td><td>kégéré</td><td>cícéré</td><td>-</td><td>cégéré</td></tr><tr><td>f.</td><td>'raise child'</td><td>kóé</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>kó</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>(4) *u</th><th>Gloss</th><th>Bankan Tey</th><th>Nanga</th><th>Tommo So</th><th>Jamsay</th><th>Yanda Dom</th><th>Mombo</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>a.</td><td>'2SG PRO'</td><td>ú</td><td>ú</td><td>ú</td><td>ú</td><td>ó</td><td>ó:</td></tr><tr><td>b.</td><td>'3SG ANIM PRO'</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>wó</td><td>wó</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>c.</td><td>'3SG INANIM PRO'</td><td>kú</td><td>kú</td><td>kó</td><td>kó</td><td>kó</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>d.</td><td>'head'</td><td>kû:</td><td>kû:</td><td>kú:</td><td>kú:ⁿ</td><td>kó:</td><td>kó:</td></tr><tr><td>e.</td><td>'person' pre-harmony</td><td>nù</td><td>nǔ:</td><td>*ńdɔ</td><td>*ńno</td><td>nò</td><td>ńdá</td></tr><tr><td>f.</td><td>'raise animal'</td><td>kúyé</td><td>kúyɔ</td><td>kóé</td><td>kɔ:</td><td>-</td><td>kwé:</td></tr><tr><td>g.</td><td>'boil'</td><td>úyó</td><td>úyó</td><td>-</td><td>ɔgɔ</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr></tbody></table>

Variation in synchronic function of inherited morphology **allows for the reconstruction of** animate and inanimate pronouns in **Proto-Dogon**

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>deictic center</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>

Infogiraffic 2024 CC0 1.0

## Survey of grammatical forms:

<table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>West</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Bunoge</td><td><strong>mɔ́</strong><br>Deictic demonstrative pronoun 'this' or 'that' which proceeds the noun (Heath 2017a, § 4.4.2) and is often accompanied by definite <em>nɔ́. mɔ́</em> is used both for animates and inanimates.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>North Plateau</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Najamba</td><td><strong>mó</strong><br>Animate near-distal demonstrative pronoun. Causes tone-dropping of a preceding noun.</td></tr><tr><td>Kindige</td><td><strong>-mó</strong><br>Definite article of animate singulars.</td></tr><tr><td>Dogul Dom</td><td><strong>mɔ́</strong><br>Animate near-distal demonstrative pronoun. Preliminary evidence suggests only functions with plural nouns.<br><em>mɔ́</em> is a logophor meaning it refers back to the attributor author of a quote and the subject of said quote.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Outliers</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Tebul Ure</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br>Deictic animate demonstrative pronoun mà-m 'he/she over there'.</td></tr><tr><td>Yanda Dom</td><td><strong>mù</strong><br>Animate plural marker, ex. <em>nà:-mù</em> 'cows'.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Nangan Block</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Nanga</td><td><strong>-ŋ</strong><br>Animate singular marker.</td></tr><tr><td>Ben Tey</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br>Animate singular marker, though note it is omitted when the noun is followed by an adjective or demonstrative pronoun, suggesting it occupies the same space as the pronoun.</td></tr><tr><td>Bankan Tey</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br><em>-mù</em> is a proximate animate deictic.<br>Animate singular marker.<br><em>-mù</em><br>Animate singular demonstrative pronoun.<br>e.g. <em>nà:-m</em> 'a cow' vs <em>nà: mù</em> 'this cow'.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Escarpment</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Tommo So</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br><em>-m</em> is found on human plurals.<br>Third singular personal pronoun 'he/she' wó acts as a deictic pronoun which refers to animate referents near the listener (kó is used for inanimate referents), it may also serve as a discourse-definite demonstrative 'that aforementioned' (cf. McPherson 2013, §5.4.2.1).</td></tr><tr><td>Donno So</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br>Donno So marks human plural in <em>-m</em>.</td></tr><tr><td>Yorno So</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br>Third person singular personal pronoun 'he/she'.<br>Yorno So marks human plural in <em>-m</em>.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Plains</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Jamsay</td><td><strong>-m</strong><br>Jamsay marks human plurals with <em>-m</em>.</td></tr><tr><td>Toro Tegu</td><td><strong>-mú</strong><br>Human plural marker, sometimes apocopates to <em>-m</em>. There is also a "free (nonsuffixal) plural marker <em>mà</em>: that may occur in any NP denoting non-singular entities (§6.6.1).</td></tr><tr><td>Togo Kan</td><td><strong>(-m)</strong><br>(-m) is found on the plural of a significant number of human referent nouns, but no longer appears to be synchronic. An explicit <em>bè</em> plural can be added to these nouns (see *bv').</td></tr><tr><td>Tomo Kan</td><td><strong>mu</strong><br>Demonstrative pronoun 'that'.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Further Data, animate plural pronoun

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /></figure>

*bV
(3RD PERSON)
PLURAL PRONOUN

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /></figure>

BONDU SO
bé
'ANIMATE 3PL PRO'

PENANGE
-bé
mbé 'us' literally derives from
mí 'I' + bé 'they' = us, and abé
'you.pl.' 'vous'

TOMMO SO
bé
'ANIMATE 3PL PRO'

TOMO KAN
bé
'ANIMATE 3PL PRO'

TOMO TEGU
bé
'ANIMATE 3PL PRO'

PENANGE
-bé
mbé 'us' literally derives from
mí 'I' + bé 'they' = us, and abé
'you.pl.' 'vous'

TOMMO SO
bé
'ANIMATE 3PL PRO'

BONDU SO
nè:¹
mó
NEAR-DISTAL DEM
milk,IMPRT

BONDU SO
nè:
-mó
DEF.AN.SG
milk,IMPRT

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /></figure>

## Conclusions

* Despite synchronic variation in meaning and form, two deictic pronouns with distinct animacy values can be reconstructed for Proto-Dogon.

These were unmarked for number.

* Distinct personal pronouns can be reconstructed for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person (animate) (cf. Zuk accepted) of which *bV* can be reconstructed for the 3rd person plural pronoun.

## Further Research

### Open questions:

1. Verify whether 3SG Animate wó in Escarpment & Plains varieties be straightforwardly derived from *mú* or whether we must reconstruct a separate proto-form.

2. Confirm suspicion that animate deictic *mú* and 3PL pronoun *bV* are cognate of Proto-Bantu human singulative class 1 *mu-* and human plurative class 2 *ba*.

3. Refine phonological conditioning of the final Back Vowel

## Ancestral State Reconstruction

The Dogon languages differ in semantically based noun-marking strategies and in the use of distinct ANIMATE and INANIMATE pronouns. The evidence points towards the existence of animacy distinctions in the Proto-Language, and which have collapsed in the "West" Dogon languages (cf. Zuk 2024).

### Diachronic Scenario

(5) a. Proto-Dogon
* **nàgá**
cow
'Vell cow!'

**émé**
milk,IMPRT

α

Proto-Dogon

mú
nàgá

cow
'That there be cow'

EXIST

b. North-Dogon
* **nà:**
cow
'NORTH-DISTAL DEM
'Vell cow, that (one) there'

mú
that-there

mú
milk,IMPRT

mú
milk,IMPRT

c. Bondu So
nè:¹
mó
NEAR-DISTAL DEM
cow
'Vell cow, that (one) there cow!'

mú
NEAR-DISTAL DEM

mú
milk,IMPRT

mú
milk,IMPRT

mú
milk this cow!'

mú
milk this cow!

d. Bondu So
nè:
cow.sg.
'NORTH-DISTAL DEM
'Vell cow, that (one) there cow!'

mú
NEAR-DISTAL DEM

mú
milk,IMPRT

mú
milk,IMPRT

mú
milk a (singular) cow!'

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

mú
milk a (singular) cow!

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /></figure>

Language, Langues et
Llacan
Cultures d'Afrique

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /></figure>

This research is funded by a European Research Council (ERC) grant: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (Horizon) grant n. 101045195.

<figure><img src="image_10.png" /></figure>

## References

Dyachkov, Vadim. *Under Review*. A Grammar of Tomo Kan Dogon (Institute of Linguistics RAS). UCL Press. **Hantgan**, Abbie & Fabian **Zuk**. 2025. Vowel Harmony in Dogon Verbal Stems. Presented at the 56th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, Minneapolis. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2008. A Grammar of Jamsay. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2009. A Grammar of Najamba Dogon (= Bondu So). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2014. A Grammar of Bankan Tey, Dogon of Walo [fragmentary grammar]. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2015b. A Grammar of Toro Tegu Tabi mountain dialect. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2015c. A Grammar of Togo Kan. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2016a. A Grammar of Dogul Dom. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2016b. A Grammar of Nanga. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2016c. A Grammar of Donno So. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2017a. A Grammar of Bunoge. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2017b. A Grammar of Yanda Dom. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2017c. A Grammar of Yorno So (Toro So subgroup of Dogon, Mali). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **Heath**, Jeffrey. 2023. A Grammar of Tebul Ure. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. **McPherson**, Laura. 2013. A Grammar of Tommo So. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. **Zuk**, Fabian. 2024. Towards an Internal Reconstruction of Noun-Class Markings in Proto-Dogon: Consequences for Language Phylogeny. In. Montreal. https://hal.science/hal-04577176. **Zuk**, Fabian. *Accepted*. Reconstructing Dogon Personal Pronouns. *Folia Linguistica Historica*.

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /></figure>

Dr. Fabian Zuk

LLACAN, CNRS (Paris)

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /></figure>

fabian.d.zuk@gmail.com