Similar observations can be made with different templates. In a different semantic area, the contrast between *miŋ* 'closing eyes' and *mɒŋ/muŋ* 'darkness' can also be attributed to the quality of the vowel, the front one referring to a more delimited space. It has not yet been investigated whether the vowel quality has identical entailments in ideophones that do not appear to participate in a consonant template.

Additionally, special attention has been given to ideophones without monovocality, as they are formally marked. A preliminary study looked at ideophones with a back-front or front-back disharmony, with 8 and 10 items each. One could propose that these ideophones express some irregularity, or a fast change of state. However, the directionality of the change of vowel quality is not obviously significant. Both back-front and front-back combinations depict for example 'opening eyes' (*tuni*, *miwog*) and 'swallowing' (*sõ?ẽsõ?ẽ*, *petog*).

### 8.4.3. Consonants

Table 18 lists a number of consonant-meaning associations that seem to be frequent in ideophones above chance, given the frequency within the list of ideophones of both the phoneme in that position and the meaning. Needless to say, these are frequent rather than universal associations.

<table><caption>**Table 18.** Consonants in ideophones and phonosemantics.</caption><thead><tr><th>consonant distribution</th><th>semantics</th><th>example</th><th>gloss of example</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>initial /s/</td><td>liquid</td><td>sokoess*</td><td>walking in mud</td></tr><tr><td>initial /h/</td><td>mouth</td><td>hī</td><td>showing teeth</td></tr><tr><td>initial /p/</td><td>hand</td><td>pog</td><td>hitting</td></tr><tr><td>initial /p/</td><td>air</td><td>pur</td><td>farting</td></tr><tr><td>initial /w/</td><td>soft ground</td><td>worog*</td><td>feeling a gap in the ground</td></tr><tr><td>initial nasal</td><td>vision</td><td>niŋ</td><td>winking</td></tr><tr><td>initial /k/</td><td>cutting and separating</td><td>kir</td><td>go off</td></tr><tr><td>initial voiceless plosive</td><td>contact by impact</td><td>pag</td><td>hitting</td></tr><tr><td>final velar /g/ or /ŋ/</td><td>ingestion</td><td>kirog</td><td>swallowing voraciously</td></tr><tr><td>final palatal /ess/ or /n̩/</td><td>liquid or soft ground</td><td>soess*</td><td>entering water</td></tr><tr><td>final /g/</td><td>hand</td><td>kirig</td><td>tying with the hand</td></tr><tr><td>final /ŋ/</td><td>liquid or gaseous ground</td><td>mirimimi*</td><td>liquid dripping softly</td></tr></tbody></table>

I will simply illustrate some of these associations with two contrastive pairs. Examples (75) and (76) both end in /n̩/ and evoke a liquid participant and some gaseous ground, and the initial consonant substitution fits the association of initial nasals with ideophones within the semantic domain of vision. As for (77) and (78), they both
Similar observations can be made with different templates. In a different semantic area, the contrast between *miŋ* 'closing eyes' and *mɒŋ/muŋ* 'darkness' can also be attributed to the quality of the vowel, the front one referring to a more delimited space. It has not yet been investigated whether the vowel quality has identical entailments in ideophones that do not appear to participate in a consonant template.

Additionally, special attention has been given to ideophones without monovocality, as they are formally marked. A preliminary study looked at ideophones with a back-front or front-back disharmony, with 8 and 10 items each. One could propose that these ideophones express some irregularity, or a fast change of state. However, the directionality of the change of vowel quality is not obviously significant. Both back-front and front-back combinations depict for example 'opening eyes' (*tuni*, *miwog*) and 'swallowing' (*sõʔɛ́sõʔɛ́*, *petog*).

### 8.4.3. Consonants

Table 18 lists a number of consonant-meaning associations that seem to be frequent in ideophones above chance, given the frequency within the list of ideophones of both the phoneme in that position and the meaning. Needless to say, these are frequent rather than universal associations.

<table><caption>**Table 18.** Consonants in ideophones and phonosemantics.</caption><thead><tr><td>consonant distribution</td><td>semantics</td><td>example</td><td>gloss of example</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>initial /s/</td><td>liquid</td><td>sokoč*</td><td>walking in mud</td></tr><tr><td>initial /h/</td><td>mouth</td><td>hī</td><td>showing teeth</td></tr><tr><td>initial /p/</td><td>hand</td><td>pog</td><td>hitting</td></tr><tr><td>initial /p/</td><td>air</td><td>pur</td><td>farting</td></tr><tr><td>initial /w/</td><td>soft ground</td><td>worog*</td><td>feeling a gap in the ground</td></tr><tr><td>initial nasal</td><td>vision</td><td>niŋ</td><td>winking</td></tr><tr><td>initial /k/</td><td>cutting and separating</td><td>kir</td><td>go off</td></tr><tr><td>initial voiceless plosive</td><td>contact by impact</td><td>pag</td><td>hitting</td></tr><tr><td>final velar /g/ or /ŋ/</td><td>ingestion</td><td>kirog</td><td>swallowing voraciously</td></tr><tr><td>final palatal /č/ or /n/</td><td>liquid or soft ground</td><td>soč*</td><td>entering water</td></tr><tr><td>final /g/</td><td>hand</td><td>kirig</td><td>tying with the hand</td></tr><tr><td>final /ŋ/</td><td>liquid or gaseous ground</td><td>mirimimi*</td><td>liquid dripping softly</td></tr></tbody></table>

I will simply illustrate some of these associations with two contrastive pairs. Examples (75) and (76) both end in /n/ and evoke a liquid participant and some gaseous ground, and the initial consonant substitution fits the association of initial nasals with ideophones within the semantic domain of vision. As for (77) and (78), they both
depict a body motion with some body parts going down to the ground, but in (78) ending in /dʒ/ the ground is liquid.

(75) *tujn*
‘water pouring’

(76) *muŋ*
‘invisible’

(77) *turug*
‘stepping down’

(78) *turud*
‘fists hitting water’ (a local manifestation of pleasure)

## 9. Discussion

This paper has presented a comprehensive description of the ideophones of Teko, through a systematic comparison with nouns and verbs, at various levels of analysis. The first goal was to evaluate how marginal or central ideophones are within the Teko grammar, and the second goal was to determine whether and how they could be identified as forming a word class. Table 19 summarizes the findings per level of analysis (first column) with regard to whether and how ideophones are regular within the language (second column), or marginal (third column), and how they differ from the major lexical classes of nouns and verbs (fourth column).

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>regular</th><th>marginal</th><th>different than nouns or verbs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>frequency in the lexicon<br>(1.3)</td><td>yes<br>(5 to 8% of roots)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>frequency in speech<br>(1.3)</td><td>yes<br>(4% of words)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>phonemic inventory<br>(2.2)</td><td>yes<br>(29 phonemes in common)</td><td>yes<br>(two sounds)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>phonotactics<br>(2.3)</td><td>yes<br>(same restrictions in general)</td><td>yes<br>(final /h/ in two items)</td><td>different frequencies of distribution</td></tr><tr><td>nasality<br>(2.4)</td><td>yes<br>(mostly regular)</td><td>yes<br>(a few irregularities)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
depict a body motion with some body parts going down to the ground, but in (78) ending in /dʒ/ the ground is liquid.

(75) *tujn*
‘water pouring’

(76) *muŋ*
‘invisible’

(77) *turug*
‘stepping down’

(78) *turudz*
‘fists hitting water’ (a local manifestation of pleasure)

## 9. Discussion

This paper has presented a comprehensive description of the ideophones of Teko, through a systematic comparison with nouns and verbs, at various levels of analysis. The first goal was to evaluate how marginal or central ideophones are within the Teko grammar, and the second goal was to determine whether and how they could be identified as forming a word class. Table 19 summarizes the findings per level of analysis (first column) with regard to whether and how ideophones are regular within the language (second column), or marginal (third column), and how they differ from the major lexical classes of nouns and verbs (fourth column).

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>regular</th><th>marginal</th><th>different than nouns or verbs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>frequency in the lexicon<br>(1.3)</td><td>yes<br>(5 to 8% of roots)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>frequency in speech<br>(1.3)</td><td>yes<br>(4% of words)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>phonemic inventory<br>(2.2)</td><td>yes<br>(29 phonemes in common)</td><td>yes<br>(two sounds)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>phonotactics<br>(2.3)</td><td>yes<br>(same restrictions in general)</td><td>yes<br>(final /h/ in two items)</td><td>different frequencies of distribution</td></tr><tr><td>nasality<br>(2.4)</td><td>yes<br>(mostly regular)</td><td>yes<br>(a few irregularities)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><caption>**Table 19.** Integration of ideophones in the Teko language.</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>regular</th><th>marginal</th><th>different than nouns or verbs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>root structure<br>(3.2)</td><td>yes<br>(same syllable structures)</td><td>yes<br>(two potential exceptions)</td><td>different distribution<br>of structures</td></tr><tr><td>stress (4.2)</td><td></td><td>yes<br>(some special stress patterns)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>prosody (4.3 to 4.5)</td><td></td><td>partially<br>(salient mean vowel duration, pitch and intensity)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>expressive use of prosody<br>(4.3 to 4.5)</td><td>yes<br>(found with other word classes)</td><td></td><td>to be investigated</td></tr><tr><td>morphology<br>(5.2)</td><td>yes<br>(absence also found in other types of root)</td><td></td><td>no bound<br>morphology</td></tr><tr><td>duplication<br>(5.3)</td><td>yes<br>(also on verbs)</td><td></td><td>different patterns<br>than on verbs</td></tr><tr><td>word-class changing derivation (5.4)</td><td>yes</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>syntax<br>(6)</td><td>yes<br>(integrated constructions)</td><td>yes<br>(independent constructions)</td><td>different types of syntactic integration</td></tr><tr><td>sentence types<br>(7.1)</td><td>yes</td><td></td><td>mostly in declarative sentences</td></tr><tr><td>discourse genre<br>(7.2)</td><td>yes</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>series<br>(7.3)</td><td></td><td>yes<br>(series of more than two items)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>semantics<br>(8)</td><td>yes<br>(comparable to that of verbs)</td><td>yes<br>(depicts rather than refers)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>phonosemantics<br>(8.4)</td><td></td><td>yes<br>(some)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><caption>**Table 19.** Integration of ideophones in the Teko language.</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>regular</th><th>marginal</th><th>different than nouns or verbs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>root structure<br>(3.2)</td><td>yes<br>(same syllable structures)</td><td>yes<br>(two potential exceptions)</td><td>different distribution<br>of structures</td></tr><tr><td>stress (4.2)</td><td></td><td>yes<br>(some special stress patterns)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>prosody (4.3 to 4.5)</td><td></td><td>partially<br>(salient mean vowel duration, pitch and intensity)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>expressive use of prosody<br>(4.3 to 4.5)</td><td>yes<br>(found with other word classes)</td><td></td><td>to be investigated</td></tr><tr><td>morphology<br>(5.2)</td><td>yes<br>(absence also found in other types of root)</td><td></td><td>no bound<br>morphology</td></tr><tr><td>duplication<br>(5.3)</td><td>yes<br>(also on verbs)</td><td></td><td>different patterns<br>than on verbs</td></tr><tr><td>word-class changing derivation (5.4)</td><td>yes</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>syntax<br>(6)</td><td>yes<br>(integrated constructions)</td><td>yes<br>(independent constructions)</td><td>different types of syntactic integration</td></tr><tr><td>sentence types<br>(7.1)</td><td>yes</td><td></td><td>mostly in declarative sentences</td></tr><tr><td>discourse genre<br>(7.2)</td><td>yes</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>series<br>(7.3)</td><td></td><td>yes<br>(series of more than two items)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>semantics<br>(8)</td><td>yes<br>(comparable to that of verbs)</td><td>yes<br>(depicts rather than refers)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>phonosemantics<br>(8.4)</td><td></td><td>yes<br>(some)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
The detailed presentation of Teko ideophones developed in this paper and summarized in Table 19 shows that they are in fact rather well integrated in the lexicon, i.e. they are not outside of grammar, contrary to the outdated exotic view of ideophones (see also Newman 2001). Basically, only stress, prosody and their phonosemantics set them aside from the rest of the Teko lexicon. This paper also finds that the “exotism” of ideophones is limited. Particular facts in that direction listed in the third column are often restricted to a few items, i.e. a small minority of the ideophone class. Beside the stress patterns that definitively mark some of the ideophones as categorically different from the rest of the lexicon, the other major particularities of ideophones are not categorical: their prosody is discrete, and their phonosemantics is difficult to evaluate. The one major characteristic of ideophones that is fundamental to them is their depictive power. Depiction in ideophones has generally been approached through multimodal studies (Kita 1997; Reiter 2011; Dingemanse & Akita 2017). Unfortunately, the dataset used for this particular study does not allow us to study gestures, due to the absence of video recording. The marking of depiction in Teko ideophones has been investigated in detail from two of Akita (2021)'s perspectives: the foregrounding strategy (phonological distribution, root structure, word-level prosody) and the framing strategy (syntactic construction, pauses).

Finally, and most importantly for this special issue, this paper has also shown that Teko ideophones show regularities that call for them to be considered a distinct word category. Most of these features are statistical rather than categorical, except the absence of bound morphology, which seems to be their most straightforward formal defining criterium. My personal ordered list of tests used in methodologically identifying ideophones is as follows:

i) identification of the word as a non-verb through absence of morphology

ii) identification of the word as a non-noun on the basis of translation (either absence of translation in the text translation or “translation” with a full sentence, or an example (in elicitation), rather than by a simple word)

iii) identification of the word as an ideophone if the item in question is found in constructions where ideophones are found (with their special position)

iv) decision confirmed by expressive prosody when present (or if present in a different token of the item)

v) confirmation by a consultant familiar with the metalinguistic terminology, if possible.
The detailed presentation of Teko ideophones developed in this paper and summarized in Table 19 shows that they are in fact rather well integrated in the lexicon, i.e. they are not outside of grammar, contrary to the outdated exotic view of ideophones (see also Newman 2001). Basically, only stress, prosody and their phonosemantics set them aside from the rest of the Teko lexicon. This paper also finds that the “exotism” of ideophones is limited. Particular facts in that direction listed in the third column are often restricted to a few items, i.e. a small minority of the ideophone class. Beside the stress patterns that definitively mark some of the ideophones as categorically different from the rest of the lexicon, the other major particularities of ideophones are not categorical: their prosody is discrete, and their phonosemantics is difficult to evaluate. The one major characteristic of ideophones that is fundamental to them is their depictive power. Depiction in ideophones has generally been approached through multimodal studies (Kita 1997; Reiter 2011; Dingemanse & Akita 2017). Unfortunately, the dataset used for this particular study does not allow us to study gestures, due to the absence of video recording. The marking of depiction in Teko ideophones has been investigated in detail from two of Akita (2021)'s perspectives: the foregrounding strategy (phonological distribution, root structure, word-level prosody) and the framing strategy (syntactic construction, pauses).

Finally, and most importantly for this special issue, this paper has also shown that Teko ideophones show regularities that call for them to be considered a distinct word category. Most of these features are statistical rather than categorical, except the absence of bound morphology, which seems to be their most straightforward formal defining criterium. My personal ordered list of tests used in methodologically identifying ideophones is as follows:

i) identification of the word as a non-verb through absence of morphology

ii) identification of the word as a non-noun on the basis of translation (either absence of translation in the text translation or “translation” with a full sentence, or an example (in elicitation), rather than by a simple word)

iii) identification of the word as an ideophone if the item in question is found in constructions where ideophones are found (with their special position)

iv) decision confirmed by expressive prosody when present (or if present in a different token of the item)

v) confirmation by a consultant familiar with the metalinguistic terminology, if possible.
Returning to the central idea that ideophones depict rather than refer, this fact results from the accumulation of small or large differences with respect to the rest of the lexicon. This makes the ideophones in Teko an obvious category of the language, immediately accessible to both native and non-native speakers.

## Acknowledgments

I would first like to warmly thanks students and trainees for their collaboration on the databases: Mao-Line Fillon, Kenza van den Heuvel, Yana Akvilina and Viviane Ribes. I address special thanks to Jennifer Krzonowski for precious help with Praat scripts and statistics. I would also like to thank Elsa Oréal and Jean-Luc Chevillard for coordinating a research project of the CNRS Fédération de Typologie et Universaux called *Vers une typologie des parties du discours mineures: onomatopées, idéophones, interjections* (2002-2005), as well as Aimée Lahaussois and Yvonne Treis for putting together a workshop on *Ideophones and interjections* at the Annual meeting of the SLE in 2019, later joined by Julie Marsault as editors of the current special issue. This paper has also benefited from the remarks and suggestions of two anonymous reviewers, which I sincerely thank here. Last but not least, I send my deepest gratitude to the Teko speakers who have allowed me to investigate their language two decades ago, and especially to Jammes Panapuy with his instant grasping of the concept of ideophones. I also want to thank Alexis Michaud for having shared his recordings with me long ago.

## Abbreviations

1INCL = 1st inclusive

ASSERT = assertive

CAUS = causative

CL = classifier

CONCES = concessive

CONT = continuative

CONTR = contrast

DEM = demonstrative

DESID = desiderative

DIM = diminutive

EXCL = exclamative

FOC = focus

FUT = future

IDEO = ideophone

IMP = imperative

INTER = interrogative

INTENS = intensive

MID = middle

NEG = negation

PL = plural

PL.S = plural of subject

POSTP = postposition

PRO = pronoun

PURP = purpose

RECP = reciprocal

RED = reduplication

REF = referential

REL = relativizer

RELN = relational

SG = singular

TOP_SW = topic-switch
Returning to the central idea that ideophones depict rather than refer, this fact results from the accumulation of small or large differences with respect to the rest of the lexicon. This makes the ideophones in Teko an obvious category of the language, immediately accessible to both native and non-native speakers.

## Acknowledgments

I would first like to warmly thanks students and trainees for their collaboration on the databases: Mao-Line Fillon, Kenza van den Heuvel, Yana Akvilina and Viviane Ribes. I address special thanks to Jennifer Krzonowski for precious help with Praat scripts and statistics. I would also like to thank Elsa Oréal and Jean-Luc Chevillard for coordinating a research project of the CNRS Fédération de Typologie et Universaux called *Vers une typologie des parties du discours mineures: onomatopées, idéophones, interjections* (2002-2005), as well as Aimée Lahaussois and Yvonne Treis for putting together a workshop on *Ideophones and interjections* at the Annual meeting of the SLE in 2019, later joined by Julie Marsault as editors of the current special issue. This paper has also benefited from the remarks and suggestions of two anonymous reviewers, which I sincerely thank here. Last but not least, I send my deepest gratitude to the Teko speakers who have allowed me to investigate their language two decades ago, and especially to Jammes Panapuy with his instant grasping of the concept of ideophones. I also want to thank Alexis Michaud for having shared his recordings with me long ago.

## Abbreviations

1INCL = 1st inclusive

ASSERT = assertive

CAUS = causative

CL = classifier

CONCES = concessive

CONT = continuative

CONTR = contrast

DEM = demonstrative

DESID = desiderative

DIM = diminutive

EXCL = exclamative

FOC = focus

FUT = future

IDEO = ideophone

IMP = imperative

INTER = interrogative

INTENS = intensive

MID = middle

NEG = negation

PL = plural

PL.S = plural of subject

POSTP = postposition

PRO = pronoun

PURP = purpose

RECP = reciprocal

RED = reduplication

REF = referential

REL = relativizer

RELN = relational

SG = singular

TOP_SW = topic-switch
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Akita, Kimi & Imai, Mutsumi & Saji, Noburo & Kantartzis, Katerina & Kita, Sotaro. 2013. Mimetic Vowel Harmony. In Frellesvig, Bjarke & Sells, Peter (eds.), *Japanese/Korean Linguistics*, vol. 20, 115–129. Stanford: CSLI Publications.

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Association Solidarité Guyane. 2000. *Euro en Guyane. Langue amérindienne: Teko. Direction des relations avec les Publics et de la Communication du Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie.*

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Boersma, Paul & Weenink, David. 2023. *Praat: doing phonetics by computer* [*Computer program*]. Version 6.3.11. (http://www.praat.org)

Cachine, Jean-Marc & Couchili, Lucie & Maurel, Didier & Monerville, Eddy & Panapuy, Jammes. 2020. *Kaleta teko 'awu panaïtsï 'awu ipope ma'ë - dictionnaire teko - français*. (https://corporan.huma-num.fr/Lexiques/dicoTeko.html)

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Dhoorre, Cabdulqaadir Salaad & Tosco, Mauro. 1998. Somali Ideophones. *Journal of African Cultural Studies* 11(2). 125–156.

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Mayer, Mercer. 1969. *Frog, where are you?* (Dial Books for Young Readers). New York: Penguin.

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Mihas, Elena. 2012. Ideophones in Alto Perené (Arawak) from Eastern Peru. *Studies in Language* 36(2). 300–344. (doi:10.1075/sl.36.2.04mih)

Navet, Eric. 1994. Introduction. In Couchili, Ti'iwan & Maurel, Didier (eds.), *Contes des Indiens émérillon*, 1–11. Paris: Conseil International de la Langue Française.

Newman, Paul. 2001. Are ideophones really as weird and extra-systematic as linguists make them out to be? In Voeltz, F. K. & Kilian-Hatz, C. (eds.), *Ideophones*, 251–258. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Nuckolls, Janis B. 1996. *Sounds like life: sound-symbolic grammar, performance, and cognition in Pastaza Quechua* (Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics 2). New York: Oxford University Press.

Nuckolls, Janis B. 1999. The Case for Sound Symbolism. *Annual Review of Anthropology* 28. 225–252.

Nuckolls, Janis B. 2021. Ideophones in Pastaza Quechua. tsl.44.22nuc. (https://benjamins.com/catalog/tsl.44.22nuc) (Accessed October 12, 2021)

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Rose, Françoise. 2009. A hierarchical indexation system: the example of Emerillon (Teko). In Epps, Patience & Arkhipov, Alexander (eds.), *New Challenges in Typology. Transcending the Borders and Refining the Distinctions* (Trends in Linguistics), 63-83. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

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Rose, Françoise & Vanhove, Martine. 2007. Discours rapporté direct et prosodie en émérillon et en bedja. Nantes. (Presented at the Colloque CerLiCO Grammaire et Prosodie, Nantes)
Renault-Lescure, Odile & Grenand, Françoise & Navet, Eric. 1987. *Contes amérindiens de Guyane* (Collection Fleuve et Flamme). Paris: Conseil International de la Langue Française.

Rodrigues, Aryon. 1984. Relações internas na família linguística Tupí-Guaraní. *Revista de antropologia* 27-28. 33-53.

Rose, Françoise. 2002. My hammock = I have a hammock. Possessed nouns constituting possessive clauses in Emérillon (Tupi-Guarani). In Cabral, Ana Suelly & Rodrigues, Aryon (eds.), *Línguas Indígenas Brasileiras. Fonologia, Gramática e História. Atas do I Encontro Internacional do GTLI da ANPOLL*, vol. 1, 392-402. Belem, Brésil: CNPQ & Universidade federal do Para.

Rose, Françoise. 2003. *Morphosyntaxe de l'émérillon. Une langue tupi-guarani de Guyane française*. Doctoral dissertation, Université Lumière Lyon II.

Rose, Françoise. 2005. Reduplication in Tupi-Guarani languages: going into opposite directions. In Hurch, Bernhard (ed.), *Studies on Reduplication* (Empirical Approaches to Language Typology 28), 351-368. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Rose, Françoise. 2007. Action répétitive et action répétée : aspect et pluralité verbale dans la réduplication en émérillon. *Faits de Langues* 29 (La réduplication). 125-143. (Ed. Bibliothèque Faits de Langues)

Rose, Françoise. 2008. A typological overview of Emerillon, a Tupi-Guarani language from French Guiana. *Linguistic Typology* 12(3). 431-460.

Rose, Françoise. 2009. A hierarchical indexation system: the example of Emerillon (Teko). In Epps, Patience & Arkhipov, Alexander (eds.), *New Challenges in Typology. Transcending the Borders and Refining the Distinctions* (Trends in Linguistics), 63-83. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Rose, Françoise. 2011. *Grammaire de l'émérillon teko, une langue tupi-guarani de Guyane française* (Langues et Sociétés d'Amérique Traditionnelle 10). Louvain: Peeters.

Rose, Françoise. 2018. *Teko lexical and textual Toolbox database*.

Rose, Françoise. 2023. Word classes in Mawetí-Guaraní languages. *The Oxford Handbook of Word Classes* (Oxford Handbooks). Oxford University Press.

Rose, Françoise & Vanhove, Martine. 2007. Discours rapporté direct et prosodie en émérillon et en bedja. Nantes. (Presented at the Colloque CerLiCO Grammaire et Prosodie, Nantes)
Samarin, William. 2001. Testing hypotheses about African ideophones. In Voeltz, F. K. & Kilian-Hatz, C. (eds.), *Ideophones*, 321–337. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Smoll, Laetitia I. 2014. *Me:RuRu, Foku, and tSitowiS: An analysis of ideophones in Katuena (Tunayana)*. Master Thesis, Universiteit Leiden.

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CONTACT

francoise.rose@univ-lyon2.fr
Samarin, William. 2001. Testing hypotheses about African ideophones. In Voeltz, F. K. & Kilian-Hatz, C. (eds.), *Ideophones*, 321–337. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Smoll, Laetitia I. 2014. *Me:RuRu, Foku, and tSitowiS: An analysis of ideophones in Katuena (Tunayana)*. Master Thesis, Universiteit Leiden.

Talmy, Leonard. 2000. *Toward a cognitive semantics*. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Tufvesson, Sylvia. 2011. Analogy-making in the Semai Sensory World. *The Senses and Society* 6(1). 86–95. (doi:10.2752/174589311X12893982233876)

van der Hulst, Harry & van de Weijer, Jeroen. 2011. Vowel harmony. In Goldsmith, John A. (ed.), *The Handbook of Phonological Theory*, 495–534. John Wiley & Sons.

CONTACT

francoise.rose@univ-lyon2.fr
# Ideophones in Kambaata (Cushitic):
Grammar, meaning and use

YVONNE TREIS

CNRS, UMR 8135 LANGAGE, LANGUES ET CULTURES D'AFRIQUE (LLACAN)

Submitted: 31/01/2023 Revised version: 23/08/2023

Accepted: 04/11/2023 Published: 12/06/2024

<figure><img src="image_19.png" /></figure>

Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (The authors remain the copyright holders and grant third parties the right to use, reproduce, and share the article).

## Abstract

In the literature on Cushitic languages, ideophones have often only been treated in a cursory manner. A little explored problem of the synchronic analysis concerns their word class status: do they constitute a word class on their own, or should they be subsumed under another word class and if so, under which one? The study of Kambaata ideophones presented here shows that there are valid arguments both for analyzing them as a separate word class and as a subclass of verbs. Based on a language-internal definition of the ideophone word class, features of its phonology, phonotactics and stress marking are discussed. The section on morphosyntax shows in which syntactic functions ideophones are used, clarifies the status of their support verbs ('say' and 'do') and considers the argument structure of ideophones. The section on ideophone-related word formation investigates which derivational processes take ideophonic inputs, describes the functions of reduplication and illustrates the significance of compounding and conversion for the formation of ideophones. The discussion of the semantics of ideophones is followed by preliminary information about the frequency of ideophones across text types. Finally, the use of 'say' as a quotative verb in reported speech constructions is explored, and it becomes clear that the line between ideophone constructions with 'say' and reported interjections is not always easy to draw.

**Keywords:** Cushitic; ideophone; interjection; word class; stress.
# Ideophones in Kambaata (Cushitic):
Grammar, meaning and use

YVONNE TREIS

CNRS, UMR 8135 LANGAGE, LANGUES ET CULTURES D'AFRIQUE (LLACAN)

Submitted: 31/01/2023 Revised version: 23/08/2023

Accepted: 04/11/2023 Published: 12/06/2024

<figure><img src="image_19.png" /></figure>

Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (The authors remain the copyright holders and grant third parties the right to use, reproduce, and share the article).

## Abstract

In the literature on Cushitic languages, ideophones have often only been treated in a cursory manner. A little explored problem of the synchronic analysis concerns their word class status: do they constitute a word class on their own, or should they be subsumed under another word class and if so, under which one? The study of Kambaata ideophones presented here shows that there are valid arguments both for analyzing them as a separate word class and as a subclass of verbs. Based on a language-internal definition of the ideophone word class, features of its phonology, phonotactics and stress marking are discussed. The section on morphosyntax shows in which syntactic functions ideophones are used, clarifies the status of their support verbs ('say' and 'do') and considers the argument structure of ideophones. The section on ideophone-related word formation investigates which derivational processes take ideophonic inputs, describes the functions of reduplication and illustrates the significance of compounding and conversion for the formation of ideophones. The discussion of the semantics of ideophones is followed by preliminary information about the frequency of ideophones across text types. Finally, the use of 'say' as a quotative verb in reported speech constructions is explored, and it becomes clear that the line between ideophone constructions with 'say' and reported interjections is not always easy to draw.

**Keywords:** Cushitic; ideophone; interjection; word class; stress.
# 1. Introduction

Kambaata (Highland East Cushitic, ktb; Glottolog code: kamb1316; endonym: Kambaatissata) is a morphologically rich language, which requires all nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives to be inflected (Treis 2023a). It therefore catches the eye that two major word classes are morphologically invariant: ideophones, e.g. xóqq ‘rise’, in (1) in combination with the verb y- ‘say’, and interjections, e.g. hashshú ‘yay, great, congratulations’ and ekkú ‘okay’ in (2148).

(1) **Mexx-é** afuu'll-itóo ma'nn-éechch xóqq=y-itán
single-MULT sit_down-3F.PFV.REL place-F.ABL rise.IDEO=say-3F.PFV.CVB
qax-ée wól-i-s óos-ut me'-ú=rr-a-ndo
extent-M.DAT other-F.NOM-DEF children-F.NOM how many-M.ACC=NMZ4-M.ACC-Q
hujat-táa'u
work-3F.IPFV

'How many (tasks) do the other children work before she stands up once from the place where she is sitting?' (Field notes 2015, DWD)

(2) **Hashshú**, góon-ch-u-ta, abb-íshsh
yay.INTJ males-SGV-F.PRED-F.COP2 exceed-CAUS1.1SG.PFV.CVB
galaxx-áan-ke.

thank-1SG.IPFV-2SG.OBJ

Y-itoontí=r-a gu'mm-á<n>ka ekkú!
say-2SG.PFV.REL=NMZ4-M.ACC all-M.ACC<EMP> okay.INTJ

'Yay, you are a hero! I thank you very much. Okay to all what you said.' (SMS exchange 2019, BN)

In the literature on Cushitic languages, ideophones (as well as interjections) have so far only been treated in a cursory manner and their importance has (potentially) been underestimated. Tosco hypothesizes that ideophones "are not so common in Gawwada (gwd) (nor generally in Cushitic) as they are in many other African languages" (2006: 887). Mous's detailed overview chapter of Cushitic dedicates only half a page to ideophones (2012: 381–382); interjections are not discussed at all. To
# 1. Introduction

Kambaata (Highland East Cushitic, ktb; Glottolog code: kamb1316; endonym: Kambaatissata) is a morphologically rich language, which requires all nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives to be inflected (Treis 2023a). It therefore catches the eye that two major word classes are morphologically invariant: ideophones, e.g. xóqq ‘rise’, in (1) in combination with the verb y- ‘say’, and interjections, e.g. hashshú ‘yay, great, congratulations’ and ekkú ‘okay’ in (2148).

(1) **Mexx-é** afuu'll-itóo ma'nn-éechch xóqq=y-itán
single-MULT sit_down-3F.PFV.REL place-F.ABL rise.IDEO=say-3F.PFV.CVB
qax-ée wól-i-s óos-ut me'-ú=rr-a-ndo
extent-M.DAT other-F.NOM-DEF children-F.NOM how many-M.ACC=NMZ4-M.ACC-Q
hujat-táa'u
work-3F.IPFV

'How many (tasks) do the other children work before she stands up once from the place where she is sitting?' (Field notes 2015, DWD)

(2) **Hashshú**, góon-ch-u-ta, abb-íshsh
yay.INTJ males-SGV-F.PRED-F.COP2 exceed-CAUS1.1SG.PFV.CVB
galaxx-áan-ke.

thank-1SG.IPFV-2SG.OBJ

Y-itoontí=r-a gu'mm-á<n>ka ekkú!
say-2SG.PFV.REL=NMZ4-M.ACC all-M.ACC<EMP> okay.INTJ

'Yay, you are a hero! I thank you very much. Okay to all what you said.' (SMS exchange 2019, BN)

In the literature on Cushitic languages, ideophones (as well as interjections) have so far only been treated in a cursory manner and their importance has (potentially) been underestimated. Tosco hypothesizes that ideophones "are not so common in Gawwada (gwd) (nor generally in Cushitic) as they are in many other African languages" (2006: 887). Mous's detailed overview chapter of Cushitic dedicates only half a page to ideophones (2012: 381–382); interjections are not discussed at all. To
date, there are only few detailed studies on ideophones in individual languages, the most notable exceptions are Cabdulqaadir & Tosco (1998) on Somali (som) and Tosco (2006) on Gawwada, both languages of study belonging to the Lowland East Cushitic branch. In addition, three qualifying works from Addis Ababa University deal with ideophones in Cushitic languages (Amina 2013; Girum 2013; Desalegn 2020). While ideophones are underrepresented in descriptive and documentary works, so-called "descriptive compounds", i.e. complex predicates whose semantic core is a non-inflecting coverb (e.g. an ideophone) followed by an inflecting, semantically bleached light verb (often 'say' and 'do'), have attracted the attention of areal linguists, who trace their distribution across Northeastern Africa, and historical linguists, who see them as the source construction for new verb inflections across Afroasiatic (see, for instance, Cohen et al. 2002; Güldemann 2005).

An important, little explored problem of the synchronic analysis of ideophones in
Cushitic concerns their word class status: do they constitute a word class on their
own, or can they be subsumed under another word class and if so, which one? For
Tosco, ideophones in Cushitic languages are “undoubtedly [...] nominal in
character” (2006: 887; see also Cabdulqaadir & Tosco 1998 on the nominal nature
of Somali ideophones). The detailed study of Kambaata ideophones presented here
significantly expands an earlier study of onomatopoeic ideophones (Treis & Deginet
2024). The present paper argues that ideophones could either be analyzed as a
separate open word class or as a subclass of verbs. After a general introduction into
the grammar of the language (§2), the core of this paper (§3) aims at characterizing
ideophones from different angles. First, the defining criteria for the word class are
established (§3.1), then features of its phonology, phonotactics and stress marking
are discussed (§3.2). The section on morphosyntax (§3.3) shows in which syntactic
functions ideophones are used, clarifies the status of their support verbs (enclitic or
independent) and their variant forms, and looks at the argument structure of
ideophones. The next section (§3.4) delves into ideophone-related word formation,
investigates which derivational processes take ideophonic inputs, shows for which
functions ideophones are morphologically reduplicated and illustrates the
significance of compounding and conversion for the formation of ideophones. §3.5
date, there are only few detailed studies on ideophones in individual languages, the
most notable exceptions are Cabdulqaadir & Tosco (1998) on Somali (som) and
Tosco (2006) on Gawwada, both languages of study belonging to the Lowland East
Cushitic branch. In addition, three qualifying works from Addis Ababa University
deal with ideophones in Cushitic languages (Amina 2013; Girum 2013; Desalegn
2020). While ideophones are underrepresented in descriptive and documentary
works, so-called "descriptive compounds", i.e. complex predicates whose semantic
core is a non-inflecting coverb (e.g. an ideophone) followed by an inflecting,
semantically bleached light verb (often 'say' and 'do'), have attracted the attention
of areal linguists, who trace their distribution across Northeastern Africa, and
historical linguists, who see them as the source construction for new verb inflections
across Afroasiatic (see, for instance, Cohen et al. 2002; Güldemann 2005).

An important, little explored problem of the synchronic analysis of ideophones in
Cushitic concerns their word class status: do they constitute a word class on their
own, or can they be subsumed under another word class and if so, which one? For
Tosco, ideophones in Cushitic languages are “undoubtedly [...] nominal in
character” (2006: 887; see also Cabdulqaadir & Tosco 1998 on the nominal nature
of Somali ideophones). The detailed study of Kambaata ideophones presented here
significantly expands an earlier study of onomatopoeic ideophones (Treis & Deginet
2024). The present paper argues that ideophones could either be analyzed as a
separate open word class or as a subclass of verbs. After a general introduction into
the grammar of the language (§2), the core of this paper (§3) aims at characterizing
ideophones from different angles. First, the defining criteria for the word class are
established (§3.1), then features of its phonology, phonotactics and stress marking
are discussed (§3.2). The section on morphosyntax (§3.3) shows in which syntactic
functions ideophones are used, clarifies the status of their support verbs (enclitic or
independent) and their variant forms, and looks at the argument structure of
ideophones. The next section (§3.4) delves into ideophone-related word formation,
investigates which derivational processes take ideophonic inputs, shows for which
functions ideophones are morphologically reduplicated and illustrates the
significance of compounding and conversion for the formation of ideophones. §3.5
is dedicated to the semantics of ideophones, while §3.6 provides preliminary
information on the frequency of ideophones across text types and compares the size
of the word classes of verbs and ideophones. §4 looks at the grammar of reported
speech and other uses of ‘say’. The section highlights, among others, that it is not
always possible to draw a line between ideophones and reported interjections. The
final discussion in §5 weighs up the pros and cons of considering ideophones as a
word class on a par with the major word classes of nouns, adjectives and verbs, or of
subsuming verbs and ideophones as subclasses under a joint word class. The final
section also addresses to what extent the Kambaata ideophones fit the comparative
concept of ideophones proposed by Mark Dingemanse.

The description presented here is based on data from my field notes<fnref n="1" /> and
transcribed recordings, local Kambaata publications and the extensive lexical
documentation in Alemu’s (2016) Kambaata-Amharic-English dictionary. If not
indicated otherwise, all ideophones presented in this paper are attested in more
than one source. Data taken from Alemu (2016) has all been checked with a native
speaker and the translations corrected or refined.<fnref n="2" /> Recorded field data is marked by
the initials of the recorded speaker, the date of recording and the file number (e.g.
AN2016-02-19_001). All data cited from local Kambaata publications has been
segmented, stress-marked, glossed and translated by me. Wherever possible and
relevant, complementary information about ideophones in related languages is
given.

## 2. Background on Kambaata

Kambaata is a Highland East Cushitic language spoken in southwestern Ethiopia by at least 600,000 speakers, according to the latest census (Central Statistical Agency

<footnote n="1">¹ The field notes 2021-2023 were collected remotely or in person with native speakers in Germany.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Desalegn (2020) is a thesis on Kambaata ideophones, which is partly based on Alemu (2016). I was not (yet) able to confirm many of the new ideophones provided in the appendix (2020: 135–138), which is possibly related to the fact that the author and most of his consultants come from the Shiinshichcho area, while my consultants are from around Duuraame, Daambooyya and Hangacca.</footnote>
is dedicated to the semantics of ideophones, while §3.6 provides preliminary
information on the frequency of ideophones across text types and compares the size
of the word classes of verbs and ideophones. §4 looks at the grammar of reported
speech and other uses of ‘say’. The section highlights, among others, that it is not
always possible to draw a line between ideophones and reported interjections. The
final discussion in §5 weighs up the pros and cons of considering ideophones as a
word class on a par with the major word classes of nouns, adjectives and verbs, or of
subsuming verbs and ideophones as subclasses under a joint word class. The final
section also addresses to what extent the Kambaata ideophones fit the comparative
concept of ideophones proposed by Mark Dingemanse.

The description presented here is based on data from my field notes<fnref n="1" /> and
transcribed recordings, local Kambaata publications and the extensive lexical
documentation in Alemu's (2016) Kambaata-Amharic-English dictionary. If not
indicated otherwise, all ideophones presented in this paper are attested in more
than one source. Data taken from Alemu (2016) has all been checked with a native
speaker and the translations corrected or refined.<fnref n="2" /> Recorded field data is marked by
the initials of the recorded speaker, the date of recording and the file number (e.g.
AN2016-02-19_001). All data cited from local Kambaata publications has been
segmented, stress-marked, glossed and translated by me. Wherever possible and
relevant, complementary information about ideophones in related languages is
given.

## 2. Background on Kambaata

Kambaata is a Highland East Cushitic language spoken in southwestern Ethiopia by at least 600,000 speakers, according to the latest census (Central Statistical Agency

<footnote n="1">¹ The field notes 2021-2023 were collected remotely or in person with native speakers in Germany.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Desalegn (2020) is a thesis on Kambaata ideophones, which is partly based on Alemu (2016). I was not (yet) able to confirm many of the new ideophones provided in the appendix (2020: 135–138), which is possibly related to the fact that the author and most of his consultants come from the Shiinshichcho area, while my consultants are from around Duuraame, Daambooyya and Hangacca.</footnote>
nominal, adjectival or verbal root is bound and never uttered in isolation.
Pronominal roots are often not isolatable due to fusion or suppletion.

Of the five word classes with morphologically invariant members, three are very
small. The word class of conjunctions contains only two members: *té* ‘or’ for the
disjunction of noun phrases and *bagáan* ‘but’, a contrastive clause conjunction.
Instead, Kambaata makes use of subordinating and coordinating suffixes. There is
also a small word class of discourse particles with members such as *ammóo*
‘however, furthermore’ (contrast, addition), *áchche* ‘then’ (consequence), *áda* ‘oh!, I
see’ (surprise, understanding) and *éman* ‘congratulations!’.<fnref n="5" /> The third negligibly
small word class are adverbs, encompassing *léelan* ‘slowly’, *dángo* ‘unexpectedly’ and
*bïnin* ‘separately’. In the place of adverbs, Kambaata uses nouns and adjectives
marked for adverbial cases or converbs in adverbial function. The two remaining
invariant word classes, ideophones and interjections, have a large number of
members. Ideophones are at the core of this paper, whereas features of interjections
are here treated only insofar as they are relevant for the description of ideophones
(in §4).

3. Features of ideophones

**3.1. <u>Language-internal definition and terminological choices</u>**

Ideophones are defined in Kambaata as an open word class of morphologically
invariant lexemes that require the support verbs y- ‘say’ in intransitive clauses and
a’- ‘do’ in transitive clauses to be inflected and syntactically integrated into an
utterance. Ideophones differ from the equally invariant interjections in that they do
not constitute an utterance on their own. In rare contexts, which are elliptic and
belong to the domain of artistic speech, ideophones are attested in independent use.
This is, for instance, seen in a riddle from Desalegn (2020: 111), here presented in

<footnote n="5">⁵ The list of discourse particles is possibly incomplete. For the use of éman and áda, see (23) and (53).</footnote>
nominal, adjectival or verbal root is bound and never uttered in isolation.
Pronominal roots are often not isolatable due to fusion or suppletion.

Of the five word classes with morphologically invariant members, three are very
small. The word class of conjunctions contains only two members: *té* ‘or’ for the
disjunction of noun phrases and *bagáan* ‘but’, a contrastive clause conjunction.
Instead, Kambaata makes use of subordinating and coordinating suffixes. There is
also a small word class of discourse particles with members such as *ammóo*
‘however, furthermore’ (contrast, addition), *áchche* ‘then’ (consequence), *áda* ‘oh!, I
see’ (surprise, understanding) and *éman* ‘congratulations!’.<fnref n="5" /> The third negligibly
small word class are adverbs, encompassing *léelan* ‘slowly’, *dángo* ‘unexpectedly’ and
*bïnin* ‘separately’. In the place of adverbs, Kambaata uses nouns and adjectives
marked for adverbial cases or converbs in adverbial function. The two remaining
invariant word classes, ideophones and interjections, have a large number of
members. Ideophones are at the core of this paper, whereas features of interjections
are here treated only insofar as they are relevant for the description of ideophones
(in §4).

3. Features of ideophones

**3.1. <u>Language-internal definition and terminological choices</u>**

Ideophones are defined in Kambaata as an open word class of morphologically
invariant lexemes that require the support verbs y- ‘say’ in intransitive clauses and
a’- ‘do’ in transitive clauses to be inflected and syntactically integrated into an
utterance. Ideophones differ from the equally invariant interjections in that they do
not constitute an utterance on their own. In rare contexts, which are elliptic and
belong to the domain of artistic speech, ideophones are attested in independent use.
This is, for instance, seen in a riddle from Desalegn (2020: 111), here presented in

<footnote n="5">⁵ The list of discourse particles is possibly incomplete. For the use of éman and áda, see (23) and (53).</footnote>
(3).<fnref n="6" /> See also verse 7 in the song *Haate Haate Haate* in Treis (2012), which ends in an ideophone without a support verb.

(3) **Cuph-á** **dúbb,** **can-á** **wíqq**
pestle-M.ACC pound.IDEO leather bag-M.ACC tie tightly.IDEO
(Riddle) ‘A pestle – to pound, a leather bag (filled with air) – to tie up tightly.’
(Desalegn 2020: 111; transcription, glossing and translation adapted; solution
of the riddle provided by YYZ: cinú ‘excrements’)

Ideophones principally combine with two different support verbs (4)-(5) (see §3.3.4 for exceptions).<sup>7</sup> The support verb y- ‘say’ is used in intransitive contexts, the support verb a'- ‘do’ in transitive contexts. As ideophone support, y- ‘say’ varies freely with ih- ‘become’, and a'- ‘do’ with ass- ‘do’ (§3.3.3); the alternatives are, however, less commonly used. As argued in §3.3.2, the support verbs are enclitic to the ideophones. All support verbs are still used as regular verbs in isolation, where they have retained their full lexical meaning (§4). The full reduplication of ideophones, as in (5), is frequent (§3.4.3).

(4) **bínn** = y- ‘be dispersed, be scattered’
**bínn** = a’- ‘disperse (s.th.), scatter (s.th.)’ – see (41) for its use in an example

(5) *dúbb* = y- / *dúbb*~*dúbb* = y- ‘produce the *dúbb*(~*dúbb*)*dúbb* sound (of feet, flail, load hitting the ground, pestle hitting the wooden mortar), be pounded’

*dúbb* = a'- / *dúbb*~*dúbb* = a'- ‘cause to produce the *dúbb*(~*dúbb*)*dúbb* sound; pound; thresh’

The term “support verb” used here is equivalent to the more common term “light verb” found in the literature on complex predicates. The construction in which a

<footnote n="6">⁶ Girum (2013: 52–53) also reports about the independent use of ideophones in Sidaama (sid) riddles.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ For reasons of space, in all the data tables below, ideophones are presented with only one possible support verb, often the one that is most commonly attested in my database. However, if not indicated otherwise (as in §3.3.4), these ideophones can usually also combine with the transitive or intransitive counterpart.</footnote>
(3).<fnref n="6" /> See also verse 7 in the song *Haate Haate Haate* in Treis (2012), which ends in an ideophone without a support verb.

(3) **Cuph-á** **dúbb,** **can-á** **wíqq**
pestle-M.ACC pound.IDEO leather bag-M.ACC tie tightly.IDEO
(Riddle) ‘A pestle – to pound, a leather bag (filled with air) – to tie up tightly.’
(Desalegn 2020: 111; transcription, glossing and translation adapted; solution
of the riddle provided by YYZ: cinú ‘excrements’)

Ideophones principally combine with two different support verbs (4)-(5) (see §3.3.4 for exceptions).<sup>7</sup> The support verb y- ‘say’ is used in intransitive contexts, the support verb a'- ‘do’ in transitive contexts. As ideophone support, y- ‘say’ varies freely with ih- ‘become’, and a'- ‘do’ with ass- ‘do’ (§3.3.3); the alternatives are, however, less commonly used. As argued in §3.3.2, the support verbs are enclitic to the ideophones. All support verbs are still used as regular verbs in isolation, where they have retained their full lexical meaning (§4). The full reduplication of ideophones, as in (5), is frequent (§3.4.3).

(4) **bínn** = y- ‘be dispersed, be scattered’
**bínn** = a’- ‘disperse (s.th.), scatter (s.th.)’ – see (41) for its use in an example

(5) *dúbb* = y- / *dúbb*~*dúbb* = y- ‘produce the *dúbb*(~*dúbb*)*dúbb* sound (of feet, flail, load hitting the ground, pestle hitting the wooden mortar), be pounded’

*dúbb* = a'- / *dúbb*~*dúbb* = a'- ‘cause to produce the *dúbb*(~*dúbb*)*dúbb* sound; pound; thresh’

The term “support verb” used here is equivalent to the more common term “light verb” found in the literature on complex predicates. The construction in which a

<footnote n="6">⁶ Girum (2013: 52–53) also reports about the independent use of ideophones in Sidaama (sid) riddles.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ For reasons of space, in all the data tables below, ideophones are presented with only one possible support verb, often the one that is most commonly attested in my database. However, if not indicated otherwise (as in §3.3.4), these ideophones can usually also combine with the transitive or intransitive counterpart.</footnote>
non-inflecting ideophone (or another coverb) is combined with a support verb is referred to in the literature on languages of Northeast Africa by a variety of terms, among them “compound verb”, “composite verb” and “descriptive compound”,<fnref n="8" /> and considered an areal feature of the languages of the Ethiopian Linguistic Area or Northeast Africa (Leslau 1945: 72; Ferguson 1976: 71–72; Zaborski 1991: 125; Appleyard 2001: 1–2; Güldemann 2005). For Kambaata, I first speak of “ideophone-support constructions”, before arguing in §5 that “periphrastic verb” could be a possible alternative.

**3.2. The phonology, phonotactics and stress marking of ideophones**

When compared to lexemes of other word classes, ideophonic lexemes do not have a particularly unusual phonology. The vast majority are phonologically inconspicuous. Only a handful contain phonemes that are elsewhere marginal (Treis & Deginet 2024), such as nasal vowels, e.g. *háá=y-* ‘gape (of mouth, abyss, deep hole)’ and the geminate glottal stop, e.g. *mé”a=y-* ‘bleat (of goat)’. The geminate glottal stop is, however, also found in interjections, e.g. *há”a* ‘yuck’, and the nasal vowels are attested in the noun *hāy-í* ‘front leg of cattle’ and in several interjections, e.g. *í* ‘take what I have in my hand’ and *áá* ‘yes’. The onomatopoeic ideophones *nyáu=y-* ‘meow (of cat)’, *wúh=y-* ‘bark (of dog)’ and *buhhú=y-* ‘cough, make a coughing sound’ are the only lexemes known to contain a palatal nasal,<fnref n="9" /> a word-final glottal fricative and a geminate glottal fricative, respectively. At first view, the frequency of certain phonemes in ideophones is not significantly different from that in lexemes of other word classes, but this question needs to be studied quantitatively.

<footnote n="8">⁸ Some languages in Northeast Africa have productive processes by which non-inflecting forms are derived from verbal lexemes. These constructions with a verb-based coverb are pragmatically marked when compared to simple verbs; see the “intersubjective modal functions” reported for Afar (aar) by Cohen et al. (2002: 247) or the attenuating/intensifying function of deverbal coverbs in Amharic (Meyer this volume). In this context, “descriptive” serves as a cover term for “pragmatically marked”.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ Alemu (2016: 755) transcribes ‘meow’ with an alveolar nasal as *naawu*.</footnote>
non-inflecting ideophone (or another coverb) is combined with a support verb is referred to in the literature on languages of Northeast Africa by a variety of terms, among them “compound verb”, “composite verb” and “descriptive compound”,<fnref n="8" /> and considered an areal feature of the languages of the Ethiopian Linguistic Area or Northeast Africa (Leslau 1945: 72; Ferguson 1976: 71–72; Zaborski 1991: 125; Appleyard 2001: 1–2; Güldemann 2005). For Kambaata, I first speak of “ideophone-support constructions”, before arguing in §5 that “periphrastic verb” could be a possible alternative.

**3.2. The phonology, phonotactics and stress marking of ideophones**

When compared to lexemes of other word classes, ideophonic lexemes do not have a particularly unusual phonology. The vast majority are phonologically inconspicuous. Only a handful contain phonemes that are elsewhere marginal (Treis & Deginet 2024), such as nasal vowels, e.g. *háá=y-* ‘gape (of mouth, abyss, deep hole)’ and the geminate glottal stop, e.g. *mé”a=y-* ‘bleat (of goat)’. The geminate glottal stop is, however, also found in interjections, e.g. *há”a* ‘yuck’, and the nasal vowels are attested in the noun *hāy-í* ‘front leg of cattle’ and in several interjections, e.g. *í* ‘take what I have in my hand’ and *áá* ‘yes’. The onomatopoeic ideophones *nyáu=y-* ‘meow (of cat)’, *wúh=y-* ‘bark (of dog)’ and *buhhú=y-* ‘cough, make a coughing sound’ are the only lexemes known to contain a palatal nasal,<fnref n="9" /> a word-final glottal fricative and a geminate glottal fricative, respectively. At first view, the frequency of certain phonemes in ideophones is not significantly different from that in lexemes of other word classes, but this question needs to be studied quantitatively.

<footnote n="8">⁸ Some languages in Northeast Africa have productive processes by which non-inflecting forms are derived from verbal lexemes. These constructions with a verb-based coverb are pragmatically marked when compared to simple verbs; see the “intersubjective modal functions” reported for Afar (aar) by Cohen et al. (2002: 247) or the attenuating/intensifying function of deverbal coverbs in Amharic (Meyer this volume). In this context, “descriptive” serves as a cover term for “pragmatically marked”.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ Alemu (2016: 755) transcribes ‘meow’ with an alveolar nasal as *naawu*.</footnote>
Regarding phonotactics, the typical Kambaata ideophone is monosyllabic, less commonly disyllabic, and ends in a geminate consonant or consonant cluster;<fnref n="10" /> see selected examples in Table 1.<fnref n="11" />

<table><caption>**Table 1:** Ideophones illustrating the most common phonotactic structures.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Monosyllabic in CC#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>kú'nn = a'-</td><td>'tip (s.th.) out'</td></tr><tr><td>qóss = y-</td><td>'squat, sit on one's heels, sit down (of dog, cat)'</td></tr><tr><td>shóott = y-</td><td>'get up abruptly'</td></tr><tr><td>wíll = y-</td><td>'sneak away, disappear (from s.o.'s view)'</td></tr><tr><td>xéephph = y-</td><td>'be about to do'</td></tr><tr><td>zágg = y-</td><td>'fall flat to the ground (e.g. after heavy beating, when fainting)'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Disyllabic in CC#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>canqárr = y-</td><td>'cling (to s.o./s.th.), hold on (to s.o./s.th.)'</td></tr><tr><td>fitíkk = a'-</td><td>'untie (s.th.)'</td></tr><tr><td>fokkótt = y-</td><td>'bow (down), take a bow'</td></tr><tr><td>habább = y-</td><td>'burn (vi) with a sudden and high flame (e.g. of dry leaves)'</td></tr><tr><td>hokkóbb = y-</td><td>'stand on the hind legs and lean the front legs against (e.g. a tree)'</td></tr><tr><td>qomfó'll = y-</td><td>'get a dent, be dented'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Other phonotactic structures are not excluded, albeit less common (Table 2).<fnref n="12" /> Some ideophones end in a single consonant or a long or short vowel. If an ideophone is vowel-final, it is more likely to be disyllabic than monosyllabic.

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ Crass (2005: 226–227) reports the same phonotactic preference for K'abeena (alw) ideophones.</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ Recall from §2 that certain consonants are represented by digraphs in the official orthography, e.g. <ph> /p’/ and <phph> /p’:/, and that glottal stop-sonorant clusters are represented by trigraphs, e.g. <’nn> /?n/. The enclitic support verbs in this and the following tables are y- ‘say’ and a’- ‘do’.</footnote>

<footnote n="12">¹² Only tendencies can here be described. Due to the large number of ideophones attested in the Kambaata sources (§3.6), many hundreds still need to be checked in the field.</footnote>
Regarding phonotactics, the typical Kambaata ideophone is monosyllabic, less commonly disyllabic, and ends in a geminate consonant or consonant cluster;<fnref n="10" /> see selected examples in Table 1.<fnref n="11" />

<table><caption>**Table 1:** Ideophones illustrating the most common phonotactic structures.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Monosyllabic in CC#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>kú'nn = a'-</td><td>'tip (s.th.) out'</td></tr><tr><td>qóss = y-</td><td>'squat, sit on one's heels, sit down (of dog, cat)'</td></tr><tr><td>shóott = y-</td><td>'get up abruptly'</td></tr><tr><td>wíll = y-</td><td>'sneak away, disappear (from s.o.'s view)'</td></tr><tr><td>xéephph = y-</td><td>'be about to do'</td></tr><tr><td>zágg = y-</td><td>'fall flat to the ground (e.g. after heavy beating, when fainting)'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Disyllabic in CC#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>canqárr = y-</td><td>'cling (to s.o./s.th.), hold on (to s.o./s.th.)'</td></tr><tr><td>fitíkk = a'-</td><td>'untie (s.th.)'</td></tr><tr><td>fokkótt = y-</td><td>'bow (down), take a bow'</td></tr><tr><td>habább = y-</td><td>'burn (vi) with a sudden and high flame (e.g. of dry leaves)'</td></tr><tr><td>hokkóbb = y-</td><td>'stand on the hind legs and lean the front legs against (e.g. a tree)'</td></tr><tr><td>qomfó'll = y-</td><td>'get a dent, be dented'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Other phonotactic structures are not excluded, albeit less common (Table 2).<fnref n="12" /> Some ideophones end in a single consonant or a long or short vowel. If an ideophone is vowel-final, it is more likely to be disyllabic than monosyllabic.

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ Crass (2005: 226–227) reports the same phonotactic preference for K'abeena (alw) ideophones.</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ Recall from §2 that certain consonants are represented by digraphs in the official orthography, e.g. <ph> /p’/ and <phph> /p’:/, and that glottal stop-sonorant clusters are represented by trigraphs, e.g. <’nn> /?n/. The enclitic support verbs in this and the following tables are y- ‘say’ and a’- ‘do’.</footnote>

<footnote n="12">¹² Only tendencies can here be described. Due to the large number of ideophones attested in the Kambaata sources (§3.6), many hundreds still need to be checked in the field.</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 2:** Ideophones illustrating less common phonotactic structures.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Monosyllabic in C#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>fúq = y-</td><td>'gush out, spill out'</td></tr><tr><td>húf = y-</td><td>'boil over (of liquid in cooking pot), rise through fermentation'</td></tr><tr><td>láph = y-</td><td>'lie down a bit (e.g. of people taking a nap)'</td></tr><tr><td>shíq = y-</td><td>'move over, scoot over'</td></tr><tr><td>túk = y-</td><td>'walk behind each other in a large group'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Monosyllabic in V(V)#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>tú = y-</td><td>'spit'</td></tr><tr><td>fúu = a'-</td><td>'blow (of strong wind)'</td></tr><tr><td>táa = a'-</td><td>'shoot (a gun)'</td></tr><tr><td>wóo = y-</td><td>'wail'</td></tr><tr><td>úu = y-</td><td>'say mm-hmm, give sign of attentive listening, backchannel'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Disyllabic in C#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>chalál = y-</td><td>'float'</td></tr><tr><td>hagág = y-</td><td>'strut about'</td></tr><tr><td>hambúq = a'-</td><td>'down (a drink), finish (a drink) in one go'</td></tr><tr><td>shígíg = a'-</td><td>'shock, disgust, revolt (s.o.)'</td></tr><tr><td>xambáq = a'-</td><td>'stick, attach (s.th.)'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Disyllabic in V(V)#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>culú = a'-</td><td>'please (s.o.), seem beautiful (to s.o.)'</td></tr><tr><td>forgó = y-</td><td>'move a bit away, keep one's distance'</td></tr><tr><td>hamúu = a'-</td><td>'drive (s.o.) insane, make (s.o.) lose their mind'</td></tr><tr><td>kachá = y-<sup>13</sup></td><td>'argue, thrash out a problem'</td></tr><tr><td>rejé = y-</td><td>'become calm'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Trisyllabic ideophones (Table 3) are considerably less frequent than disyllabic ones.<sup>14</sup>

<footnote n="13"><sup>13</sup> This ideophone was incorrectly given as an example with penultimate stress in Treis (2008: 87).</footnote>

<footnote n="14"><sup>14</sup> Desalegn (2020: 55–56) reports about simplex ideophones with more than three syllables. However, in the examples given, the support verb *a’*- ‘do’ is erroneously included in the syllable count, e.g. *munxulúqq = a’* - ‘remove completely’ (*munt’úluk’k’a?* in his writing) is considered to have four syllables.</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 2:** Ideophones illustrating less common phonotactic structures.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Monosyllabic in C#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>fúq = y-</td><td>'gush out, spill out'</td></tr><tr><td>húf = y-</td><td>'boil over (of liquid in cooking pot), rise through fermentation'</td></tr><tr><td>láph = y-</td><td>'lie down a bit (e.g. of people taking a nap)'</td></tr><tr><td>shíq = y-</td><td>'move over, scoot over'</td></tr><tr><td>túk = y-</td><td>'walk behind each other in a large group'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Monosyllabic in V(V)#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>tú = y-</td><td>'spit'</td></tr><tr><td>fúu = a'-</td><td>'blow (of strong wind)'</td></tr><tr><td>táa = a'-</td><td>'shoot (a gun)'</td></tr><tr><td>wóo = y-</td><td>'wail'</td></tr><tr><td>úu = y-</td><td>'say mm-hmm, give sign of attentive listening, backchannel'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Disyllabic in C#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>chalál = y-</td><td>'float'</td></tr><tr><td>hagág = y-</td><td>'strut about'</td></tr><tr><td>hambúq = a'-</td><td>'down (a drink), finish (a drink) in one go'</td></tr><tr><td>shígíg = a'-</td><td>'shock, disgust, revolt (s.o.)'</td></tr><tr><td>xambáq = a'-</td><td>'stick, attach (s.th.)'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Disyllabic in V(V)#</strong></td></tr><tr><td>culú = a'-</td><td>'please (s.o.), seem beautiful (to s.o.)'</td></tr><tr><td>forgó = y-</td><td>'move a bit away, keep one's distance'</td></tr><tr><td>hamúu = a'-</td><td>'drive (s.o.) insane, make (s.o.) lose their mind'</td></tr><tr><td>kachá = y-<sup>13</sup></td><td>'argue, thrash out a problem'</td></tr><tr><td>rejé = y-</td><td>'become calm'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Trisyllabic ideophones (Table 3) are considerably less frequent than disyllabic ones.<sup>14</sup>

<footnote n="13"><sup>13</sup> This ideophone was incorrectly given as an example with penultimate stress in Treis (2008: 87).</footnote>

<footnote n="14"><sup>14</sup> Desalegn (2020: 55–56) reports about simplex ideophones with more than three syllables. However, in the examples given, the support verb *a’*- ‘do’ is erroneously included in the syllable count, e.g. *munxulúqq = a’* - ‘remove completely’ (*munt’úluk’k’a?* in his writing) is considered to have four syllables.</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 3:** Trisyllabic ideophones.</caption><thead><tr><td>Ideophone</td><td>English</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>biciríqq = y-</td><td>'make a U-turn'</td></tr><tr><td>bitikínn = a'-</td><td>'discard (e.g. an idea)'</td></tr><tr><td>budulúmm = y-</td><td>'struggle, try hard'</td></tr><tr><td>buxurúqq = y-</td><td>'come out suddenly, pop out'</td></tr><tr><td>chachachá = y-</td><td>'be sufficiently fermented (of beer)'</td></tr><tr><td>kushurúmm = a'-</td><td>'crunch, eat (s.th. hard) noisily'</td></tr><tr><td>menxeléqq = a'-</td><td>'open completely/widely, uncover, disclose'</td></tr><tr><td>munxulúqq = a'-</td><td>'remove completely'</td></tr><tr><td>ororó = a'-</td><td>'soothe (a crying child) with a lullaby and rocking'</td></tr><tr><td>tililí = y-</td><td>'ring (of telephone)'</td></tr></tbody></table>

In the vast majority of cases, the vowels across multisyllabic ideophones are identical; see most examples in the lower halves of Table 1 and 2 as well as in Table 3. Among trisyllabic ideophones, exceptions to this rule are especially hard to come by; but see *haburútt* = y- 'wilt (of plants); become meagre, get a gaunt face (due to disease)'.

Phonotactically, ideophones differ little (if at all) from other roots in the language. Most verb roots, for instance, also have one or two vowels as nucleus (e.g. *laq* - 'head (towards a place)', *zuug* - 'scrape; tan', *iill* - 'arrive'; *dagud* - 'run', *fikkaan* - 'have many descendants', *sangaagg* - 'lean back one's head'), while roots with three vowel nuclei (e.g. *foroffiit* - 'steam') are infrequent. Verbs roots also tend to have identical vowel nuclei if they are multisyllabic; this tendency seems, however, less pronounced than in the case of ideophones.

Kambaata is a language with phonemic stress whose position in a word is predominantly grammatically determined. The bound verbal, adjectival and (pro)nominal roots are undetermined for stress, but all inflectional morphemes are realized segmentally by a suffix and suprasegmentally by a specific stress position. Thus the stress patterns of word forms of the inflecting word classes are determined by their inflectional morphology. Kambaata has many systematic stress minimal pairs; see, for instance, the difference between accusative -ú vs. nominative -u in nouns of the masculine declension M3: *bóos-u* (M.NOM) vs. *boos-ú* (M.ACC) 'large clay pot'. In contrast, in the non-inflecting word classes of ideophones and interjections, the position of the stressed syllable is lexically determined and unpredictable, i.e. it
<table><caption>**Table 3:** Trisyllabic ideophones.</caption><thead><tr><td>Ideophone</td><td>English</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>biciríqq = y-</td><td>'make a U-turn'</td></tr><tr><td>bitikínn = a'-</td><td>'discard (e.g. an idea)'</td></tr><tr><td>budulúmm = y-</td><td>'struggle, try hard'</td></tr><tr><td>buxurúqq = y-</td><td>'come out suddenly, pop out'</td></tr><tr><td>chachachá = y-</td><td>'be sufficiently fermented (of beer)'</td></tr><tr><td>kushurúmm = a'-</td><td>'crunch, eat (s.th. hard) noisily'</td></tr><tr><td>menxeléqq = a'-</td><td>'open completely/widely, uncover, disclose'</td></tr><tr><td>munxulúqq = a'-</td><td>'remove completely'</td></tr><tr><td>ororó = a'-</td><td>'soothe (a crying child) with a lullaby and rocking'</td></tr><tr><td>tililí = y-</td><td>'ring (of telephone)'</td></tr></tbody></table>

In the vast majority of cases, the vowels across multisyllabic ideophones are identical; see most examples in the lower halves of Table 1 and 2 as well as in Table 3. Among trisyllabic ideophones, exceptions to this rule are especially hard to come by; but see *haburútt* = y- 'wilt (of plants); become meagre, get a gaunt face (due to disease)'.

Phonotactically, ideophones differ little (if at all) from other roots in the language. Most verb roots, for instance, also have one or two vowels as nucleus (e.g. *laq* - 'head (towards a place)’, *zuug* - 'scrape; tan', *iill* - 'arrive'; *dagud* - 'run', *fikkaan* - 'have many descendants', *sangaagg* - 'lean back one’s head'), while roots with three vowel nuclei (e.g. *foroffiit* - 'steam') are infrequent. Verbs roots also tend to have identical vowel nuclei if they are multisyllabic; this tendency seems, however, less pronounced than in the case of ideophones.

Kambaata is a language with phonemic stress whose position in a word is predominantly grammatically determined. The bound verbal, adjectival and (pro)nominal roots are undetermined for stress, but all inflectional morphemes are realized segmentally by a suffix and suprasegmentally by a specific stress position. Thus the stress patterns of word forms of the inflecting word classes are determined by their inflectional morphology. Kambaata has many systematic stress minimal pairs; see, for instance, the difference between accusative -ú vs. nominative -u in nouns of the masculine declension M3: *bóos-u* (M.NOM) vs. *boos-ú* (M.ACC) 'large clay pot'. In contrast, in the non-inflecting word classes of ideophones and interjections, the position of the stressed syllable is lexically determined and unpredictable, i.e. it
has to be noted in the dictionary.<fnref n="15" /> Overall, ultimate stress is far more frequent on ideophones (see most examples in this article) than penultimate stress (Table 4). Trisyllabic ideophones with antepenultimate stress ('σσσ') are not attested.

<table><caption>**Table 4:** Ideophones with penultimate stress ((σ)'σσ).</caption><thead><tr><td>Ideophone</td><td>English</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>báá'a=y-</td><td>'bleat (of sheep)'</td></tr><tr><td>bíira=y-</td><td>'forgive (esp. in a reconciliation ceremony)'</td></tr><tr><td>cá'a=a'-</td><td>'clear, remove, clean completely'</td></tr><tr><td>dú"u-dú"u=y-</td><td>'beat (of heart)'</td></tr><tr><td>háá"ã=y-</td><td>'hee-haw, bray (of donkey)'</td></tr><tr><td>hánda=y-</td><td>'become thankful, grateful, content; become gratifying'</td></tr><tr><td>hó"a=a'-</td><td>'cause to vomit'</td></tr><tr><td>ilíli=y-</td><td>'ululate'</td></tr><tr><td>jába=y-</td><td>'bless (before pouring coffee)'</td></tr><tr><td>mé"a=y-</td><td>'bleat (of goat)'</td></tr><tr><td>qúuxo=y-</td><td>'do deliberately, willfully, on purpose, according to a plan'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Every simplex ideophone has one prominent (stressed) syllable. Stress thus helps distinguish between ideophones that have two (or more) identical syllables, i.e. which are lexically reduplicative, from ideophones that are morphologically reduplicated. The former have one stressed syllable, e.g. *tatá=y-* 'fall suddenly and heavily (of rain)', while the latter are stressed on each reduplicant, e.g. *cíl~cíl=y-* 'become shiny (with oil, lotion)' and *káf~káf=y-* 'put oneself in danger'. For information on the stress marking of the support verbs, see §3.3.3.

Ideophones display a higher degree of phonological variation across speakers than lexemes of other word classes (a similar observation is made for Sidaama ideophones in Girum 2013: 34). Variation affects vowel quality (e.g. *CaCaC ~ CuCuC*), the mode of articulation of consonants (e.g. *ph /p'/ ~ b, q /k'/ ~ g, c /tʃ/ ~ sh /ʃ/), and even syllable structure (e.g. *CVCC ~ CVCCí*), as a perusal of the available sources and my experience in work with different speakers show; see Table 5 for illustrative examples. Deciding which form of an ideophone to provide

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ Unfortunately, the stress of ideophones and interjections is not marked in Alemu (2016). Desalegn (2020: 61) erroneously states that ideophones are accented on the “second syllable”; irrespective of whether this is to be interpreted as second syllable from the left or right, the statement is falsified by my data and even by the data that he himself presents in the thesis.</footnote>
has to be noted in the dictionary.<fnref n="15" /> Overall, ultimate stress is far more frequent on ideophones (see most examples in this article) than penultimate stress (Table 4). Trisyllabic ideophones with antepenultimate stress (ˈσσσ) are not attested.

<table><caption>**Table 4:** Ideophones with penultimate stress ((σ)ˈσσ).</caption><thead><tr><td>Ideophone</td><td>English</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>báa'a=y-</td><td>'bleat (of sheep)'</td></tr><tr><td>bíira=y-</td><td>'forgive (esp. in a reconciliation ceremony)'</td></tr><tr><td>cá'a=a'-</td><td>'clear, remove, clean completely'</td></tr><tr><td>dú"u-dú"u=y-</td><td>'beat (of heart)'</td></tr><tr><td>háá"ã=y-</td><td>'hee-haw, bray (of donkey)'</td></tr><tr><td>hánda=y-</td><td>'become thankful, grateful, content; become gratifying'</td></tr><tr><td>hó"a=a'-</td><td>'cause to vomit'</td></tr><tr><td>ilíli=y-</td><td>'ululate'</td></tr><tr><td>jába=y-</td><td>'bless (before pouring coffee)'</td></tr><tr><td>mé"a=y-</td><td>'bleat (of goat)'</td></tr><tr><td>qúuxo=y-</td><td>'do deliberately, willfully, on purpose, according to a plan'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Every simplex ideophone has one prominent (stressed) syllable. Stress thus helps distinguish between ideophones that have two (or more) identical syllables, i.e. which are lexically reduplicative, from ideophones that are morphologically reduplicated. The former have one stressed syllable, e.g. *tatá=y-* 'fall suddenly and heavily (of rain)', while the latter are stressed on each reduplicant, e.g. *cíl~cíl=y-* 'become shiny (with oil, lotion)' and *káf~káf=y-* 'put oneself in danger'. For information on the stress marking of the support verbs, see §3.3.3.

Ideophones display a higher degree of phonological variation across speakers than lexemes of other word classes (a similar observation is made for Sidaama ideophones in Girum 2013: 34). Variation affects vowel quality (e.g. *CaCaC* ~ *CuCuC*), the mode of articulation of consonants (e.g. *ph /p'/ ~ b, q /k'/ ~ g, c /tʃ/ ~ sh /ʃ/) and even syllable structure (e.g. *CVCC* ~ *CVCCí*), as a perusal of the available sources and my experience in work with different speakers show; see Table 5 for illustrative examples. Deciding which form of an ideophone to provide

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ Unfortunately, the stress of ideophones and interjections is not marked in Alemu (2016). Desalegn (2020: 61) erroneously states that ideophones are accented on the “second syllable”; irrespective of whether this is to be interpreted as second syllable from the left or right, the statement is falsified by my data and even by the data that he himself presents in the thesis.</footnote>
in a wordlist is, therefore, considerably more challenging than for lexemes of other
word classes.

<table><caption>**Table 5:** Illustrative examples of variation in the pronunciation of ideophones
(V1/V2 = pronunciation variants).</caption><thead><tr><th>Variant 1</th><th>Variant 2</th><th>English</th><th>Sources</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>bárr=y-</td><td>búrr=y-</td><td>'fly'</td><td>V1: TD2016-02-11_001 /<br>V2: assistant<sup>16</sup></td></tr><tr><td>birxí~birxí=y-</td><td>bírx~bírx=y-</td><td>'twist, wriggle about<br>(e.g. to free oneself)'</td><td>V1: Frog Story DWD,<br>Kambaata Education<br>Bureau (1989: 7.125) /<br>V2: Alemu (2016: 136)</td></tr><tr><td>bolóng~bolóng=a'<br>-</td><td>bolónq~bolónq=a'-</td><td>'move one's eyes<br>(up/down, left/right)'</td><td>V1: TD2016-02-11_001, see<br>160 / V2: assistant</td></tr><tr><td>chílk~chílk=y-</td><td>chilkí~chilkí=y-<br>kilchí~kilchí=y-</td><td>'clink (of keys, coins,<br>small bells on a horse's<br>neck)'</td><td>V1 + V2 + V3: Treis &<br>Deginet (2024)</td></tr><tr><td>hokkóbb=y-</td><td>hochchóbb=y-</td><td>'stand on the hind legs<br>and lean the front legs<br>against s.th.'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>493)</td></tr><tr><td>kirúr=a'-</td><td>kurúr=a'-</td><td>'rotate'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>596)</td></tr><tr><td>kuukú=y-</td><td>guugú=y-</td><td>'coo (of dove)'</td><td>Treis & Deginet (2024)</td></tr><tr><td>lácc=y-</td><td>láshsh=y-</td><td>'go slowly, slow down<br>(vi)'</td><td>V1 + V2: field notes and<br>different written sources</td></tr><tr><td>ríph~ríph=y-</td><td>ríbb~ríbb=y-</td><td>'move slightly back<br>and forth, up and<br>down, in waves'</td><td>V1: Kambaata Education<br>Bureau (1989: 4.51) / V2:<br>Alemu (2016: 870)</td></tr><tr><td>qacác=a'-</td><td>qucúc=a'-</td><td>'crunch (e.g. roasted<br>grain, bones)'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>789, 851)</td></tr><tr><td>qu'mmí=eecc-</td><td>qú'mm=eecc-</td><td>'bring together (for<br>one's benefit)'</td><td>V1: AN2016-02-19_001, see<br>168 / V2: assistant</td></tr><tr><td>qúrc=a'-</td><td>gúrc=a'-</td><td>'swallow'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>404)</td></tr><tr><td>shóott=y-</td><td>shokótt=y-</td><td>'get up abruptly'</td><td>V1 + V2: Kambaata<br>Education Bureau (1989:<br>8.22; 6.125)</td></tr></tbody></table>

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ “Assistant” stands for the native speaker who assisted in the transcription of a recording and who pointed out discrepancies between their and the recorded speaker’s pronunciation.</footnote>
in a wordlist is, therefore, considerably more challenging than for lexemes of other
word classes.

<table><caption>**Table 5:** Illustrative examples of variation in the pronunciation of ideophones
(V1/V2 = pronunciation variants).</caption><thead><tr><th>Variant 1</th><th>Variant 2</th><th>English</th><th>Sources</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>bárr=y-</td><td>búrr=y-</td><td>'fly'</td><td>V1: TD2016-02-11_001 /<br>V2: assistant<sup>16</sup></td></tr><tr><td>birxí~birxí=y-</td><td>bírx~bírx=y-</td><td>'twist, wriggle about<br>(e.g. to free oneself)'</td><td>V1: Frog Story DWD,<br>Kambaata Education<br>Bureau (1989: 7.125) /<br>V2: Alemu (2016: 136)</td></tr><tr><td>bolóng~bolóng=a'</td><td>bolónq~bolónq=a'-</td><td>'move one's eyes<br>(up/down, left/right)'</td><td>V1: TD2016-02-11_001, see<br>160 / V2: assistant</td></tr><tr><td>chílk~chílk=y-</td><td>chilkí~chilkí=y-<br>kilchí~kilchí=y-</td><td>'clink (of keys, coins,<br>small bells on a horse's<br>neck)'</td><td>V1 + V2 + V3: Treis &<br>Deginet (2024)</td></tr><tr><td>hokkóbb=y-</td><td>hochchóbb=y-</td><td>'stand on the hind legs<br>and lean the front legs<br>against s.th.'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>493)</td></tr><tr><td>kirúr=a'-</td><td>kurúr=a'-</td><td>'rotate'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>596)</td></tr><tr><td>kuukú=y-</td><td>guugú=y-</td><td>'coo (of dove)'</td><td>Treis & Deginet (2024)</td></tr><tr><td>lácc=y-</td><td>láshsh=y-</td><td>'go slowly, slow down<br>(vi)'</td><td>V1 + V2: field notes and<br>different written sources</td></tr><tr><td>ríph~ríph=y-</td><td>ríbb~ríbb=y-</td><td>'move slightly back<br>and forth, up and<br>down, in waves'</td><td>V1: Kambaata Education<br>Bureau (1989: 4.51) / V2:<br>Alemu (2016: 870)</td></tr><tr><td>qacác=a'-</td><td>qucúc=a'-</td><td>'crunch (e.g. roasted<br>grain, bones)'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>789, 851)</td></tr><tr><td>qu'mmí=eecc-</td><td>qú'mm=eecc-</td><td>'bring together (for<br>one's benefit)'</td><td>V1: AN2016-02-19_001, see<br>168 / V2: assistant</td></tr><tr><td>qúrc=a'-</td><td>gúrc=a'-</td><td>'swallow'</td><td>V1 + V2: Alemu (2016:<br>404)</td></tr><tr><td>shóott=y-</td><td>shokótt=y-</td><td>'get up abruptly'</td><td>V1 + V2: Kambaata<br>Education Bureau (1989:<br>8.22; 6.125)</td></tr></tbody></table>

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ “Assistant” stands for the native speaker who assisted in the transcription of a recording and who pointed out discrepancies between their and the recorded speaker’s pronunciation.</footnote>
### 3.3. The morphosyntax of ideophones

#### 3.3.1. Syntactic functions of ideophones

With the support of ‘say’ and ‘do’, ideophones can be used in any syntactic context where verbs are used in Kambaata.<fnref n="17" /> In (6), the last ideophone is a declarative main clause verb, while the preceding ideophones are converbs. In (7), the ideophone serves as a non-declarative, benedictive main clause verb.

(6) **Míkk.míll** = y-itu'nnáachch **címm** = y-ít
budge.IDEO = say-3F.NEG4.CVB shrink.IDEO = say-3F.PFV.CVB
afuu'll-ít, ill-í-se al-í, muggeenn-á,
sit_down-3F.PFV.CVB eye-F.ACC-3F.POSS up-M.ACC down-M.ACC
gur-á[ta], makk-íta **bolóng**~**bolóng** = at-táa',
left-F.ACC right-F.ACC RED~move_one's_eyes.IDEO = do-3F.IPFV
tah-íchch-u waal-anó = g-a zug-gán
flies-SGV-M.NOM come-3F.IPFV.REL = SIM-M.ACC lie_in_ambush-3F.PFV.CVB
(Speaking about a chameleon:) ‘It (lit. she) sat (there) stock-still, shrunk, (and
only) moved its eyes up, down, to the left, to the right, (while) lying in
ambush for a fly.’ (TD2016-02-11_001)

(7) **Maaráam-it** xumm-íin **gulub-í-kk**
Mary-F.NOM peace-M.ICP knee-F.ACC-2SG.POSS
**címm** = át-to-he
bring_together.IDEO = do-3F.BDV-2SG.OBJ
(Blessing for a woman who has just given birth:) ‘May Mary bring your knees
(i.e. here: pelvis) together (again) in peace!’ (EK2016-02-23_002)

Ideophones can also be used as final constituents in relative clauses and relative-based adverbial clauses (8). In (9), the support verb enables the ideophone to be used as a case-inflected verbal noun complement of *hoog-* ‘not do’.

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ There is one known exception to this rule: the ideophone *qúuxo* = y- ‘do deliberately, willfully, on purpose, according to a plan’ is only used in adverbial function and therein inflected as a converb.</footnote>
### 3.3. The morphosyntax of ideophones

#### 3.3.1. Syntactic functions of ideophones

With the support of ‘say’ and ‘do’, ideophones can be used in any syntactic context where verbs are used in Kambaata.<fnref n="17" /> In (6), the last ideophone is a declarative main clause verb, while the preceding ideophones are converbs. In (7), the ideophone serves as a non-declarative, benedictive main clause verb.

(6) **Míkk.míll** = y-itu'nnáachch **címm** = y-ít
budge.IDEO = say-3F.NEG4.CVB shrink.IDEO = say-3F.PFV.CVB
afuu'll-ít, ill-í-se al-í, muggeenn-á,
sit_down-3F.PFV.CVB eye-F.ACC-3F.POSS up-M.ACC down-M.ACC
gur-á[ta], makk-íta **bolóng**~**bolóng** = at-táa',
left-F.ACC right-F.ACC RED~move_one's_eyes.IDEO = do-3F.IPFV
tah-íchch-u waal-anó = g-a zug-gán
flies-SGV-M.NOM come-3F.IPFV.REL = SIM-M.ACC lie_in_ambush-3F.PFV.CVB
(Speaking about a chameleon:) ‘It (lit. she) sat (there) stock-still, shrunk, (and
only) moved its eyes up, down, to the left, to the right, (while) lying in
ambush for a fly.’ (TD2016-02-11_001)

(7) **Maaráam-it** xumm-íin **gulub-í-kk**
Mary-F.NOM peace-M.ICP knee-F.ACC-2SG.POSS
**címm** = át-to-he
bring_together.IDEO = do-3F.BDV-2SG.OBJ
(Blessing for a woman who has just given birth:) ‘May Mary bring your knees
(i.e. here: pelvis) together (again) in peace!’ (EK2016-02-23_002)

Ideophones can also be used as final constituents in relative clauses and relative-based adverbial clauses (8). In (9), the support verb enables the ideophone to be used as a case-inflected verbal noun complement of *hoog-* ‘not do’.

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ There is one known exception to this rule: the ideophone *qúuxo* = y- ‘do deliberately, willfully, on purpose, according to a plan’ is only used in adverbial function and therein inflected as a converb.</footnote>
(8) (...) **resh-á**
    **corpse-M.ACC**
    **iddir-í**
    **funeralassociation-M.GEN**
    **tú'mm**
    **rise.IDEO**
    **do-3HON.PFV.REL**
    **azzaz-eenáyyoomma**
    **coffee-M.ACC**
    **order-3HON.PROG**
    **xóqq**
    **a'-eemmá**
    **g-a<n>ka**
    **SIM-M.ACC<EMP>**

'(...) as soon as the corpse has been picked up, one orders the funeral association's coffee.' (EK2016-02-23_003)

(9) **Giir-áta**
    **danáam-o**
    **gga**
    **fire-F.ACC**
    **good-M.OBL**
    **SIM-M.OBL**
    **narrow_down.IDEO**
    **do-M.ACC**
    **hóog-gi-yan**
    **mát-oa**
    **rr-áan**
    **aphph-íti-yan**
    **not_do-2SG.PFV.CVB-DS**
    **one-M.OBL**
    **NMZ4-M.LOC**
    **seize.MID-3F.PFV.CVB-DS**
    **bu<m>bókkoomm!**
    **burn<1PL>APPR**

'If you don't narrow down the fire properly (to the small spot in the center of the fire-place), (the fire) might light something, and we might burn.' (Field notes 2006, DWD)

### 3.3.2. The morphosyntactic status of the support verbs

Y- 'say' and a'- 'do' are not limited to the ideophone-supporting function but also used on their own. For the independent use of y- 'say', see §4; for a'- 'do', see (10) (for the stem alternation a'- ~ at- 'do' see §3.3.3).

(10) **M-á**
    **at-táyyoont?**
    **what-M.ACC**
    **do-2SG.PROG**
    **'What are you doing?'** (Geetaahun 2002: 178)

It is difficult to decide on the morphosyntactic status of 'say' and 'do', as ideophones and support verbs always immediately follow each other, no other constituents can intervene, and no morpheme can be suffixed to the ideophone or prefixed to the support verb.<fnref n="18" /> I analyze y- 'say' and a'- 'do' as enclitic to the ideophones, and I mark the juncture with an equal sign. The support verbs are definitely not completely dependent on the ideophones (i.e. not suffixal), but they are not fully

<footnote n="18">¹⁸ This is different from Sidaama, where, according to Kawachi (2007: 175), constituents can intervene between ideophones and support verbs.</footnote>
independent words either. They retain their independent stress marking when
inflected (§3.3.3) but tend to be reduced segmentally. The root consonant of y- ‘say’
is often hardly audible in non-careful speech. Regarding [?]a’- ‘do’, the expected
initial glottal stop, a phonetically determined boundary marker of vowel-initial
words, is only realized in careful speech, e.g. xóqq=a’-ú ‘to raise’ is usually
pronounced [‘t’ok’:a’?u] rather than [‘t’ok’?:a’?u] ‘raise’.<fnref n="19" /> The ambiguous status of
the support verb is also reflected in written Kambaata texts, where one of the most
common sources of inconsistency is their representation as (in)dependent elements.
Some authors generally write both support verbs as separate (e.g. Alemu 2016;
Alamu & Alamaayyo 2017), others attach ‘do’ but are undecided about ‘say’ (e.g.
Geetaahun 2002; Kambaata and Hadiyya Translation Project Hosaina 2005), still
others write ‘say’ as separate but are undecided about ‘do’ (Desalegn 2020). All this
indicates that native speakers are not sure about the support verbs’ status either;
compare (11) and (12) from the same text.

(11) (...) *baʼanch-áan* <*luqqitoot>* lúqq=y-ítoot-i
argument-F.LOC enter... quickly. IDEO = say-2SG.NEG2-2SG.IMP

'(...) don't enter quickly into an argument.' (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 7.25)

(12) (...) <**calba yitu'nnaan**> calbá=y-itu'nnáan
waver. IDEO = say-2SG.NEG4.CVB

'(...) without (you) wavering.' (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 7.25)

The frozen middle suffix -a', e.g. in buqq(-)a'- 'uproot' (Treis 2022: 23), may easily
be mistaken as the a'- 'do' support verb and vice versa. Even though they are
segmentally identical in non-careful speech, they differ in the morphophonological
processes and the stress patterns they bring about (13)-(14) when inflected.

<footnote n="19">¹⁹ Crass (2005: 228) mentions that ideophone and support verb often fuse into one phonological word in K'abeena. Since he does not analyze K'abeena stress in much detail, it is unclear whether there is a suprasegmental difference between regular verbs and ideophone-support constructions. The support verb 'say' is reduced and fused with the ideophone in Libido (liq), but it is consistently indicated in the transcription by Crass (n.d.: 30). For Alaaba, Schneider-Blum (2007: 277) reports about difficulties to tease regular verbs and ideophones apart.</footnote>
independent words either. They retain their independent stress marking when
inflected (§3.3.3) but tend to be reduced segmentally. The root consonant of y- ‘say’
is often hardly audible in non-careful speech. Regarding [?]a’- ‘do’, the expected
initial glottal stop, a phonetically determined boundary marker of vowel-initial
words, is only realized in careful speech, e.g. xóqq=a’-ú ‘to raise’ is usually
pronounced [‘t’ok’:a’?u] rather than [‘t’ok’:?a’?u] ‘raise’.<fnref n="19" /> The ambiguous status of
the support verb is also reflected in written Kambaata texts, where one of the most
common sources of inconsistency is their representation as (in)dependent elements.
Some authors generally write both support verbs as separate (e.g. Alemu 2016;
Alamu & Alamaayyo 2017), others attach ‘do’ but are undecided about ‘say’ (e.g.
Geetaahun 2002; Kambaata and Hadiyya Translation Project Hosaina 2005), still
others write ‘say’ as separate but are undecided about ‘do’ (Desalegn 2020). All this
indicates that native speakers are not sure about the support verbs’ status either;
compare (11) and (12) from the same text.

(11) (...) *ba'anch-áan* <*luqqitoot*> *lúqq* = y-ítoot-i
argument-F.LOC enter... quickly. IDEO = say-2SG.NEG2-2SG.IMP

'(...) don't enter quickly into an argument.' (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 7.25)

(12) (...) <**calba yitu'nnaan**> **calbá**=y-itu'nnáan
waver.**IDEO** = say-2SG.NEG4.CVB

'(...) without (you) wavering.' (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 7.25)

The frozen middle suffix -a', e.g. in buqq(-)a'- 'uproot' (Treis 2022: 23), may easily
be mistaken as the a'- 'do' support verb and vice versa. Even though they are
segmentally identical in non-careful speech, they differ in the morphophonological
processes and the stress patterns they bring about (13)-(14) when inflected.

<footnote n="19">¹⁹ Crass (2005: 228) mentions that ideophone and support verb often fuse into one phonological word in K'abeena. Since he does not analyze K'abeena stress in much detail, it is unclear whether there is a suprasegmental difference between regular verbs and ideophone-support constructions. The support verb ‘say’ is reduced and fused with the ideophone in Libido (liq), but it is consistently indicated in the transcription by Crass (n.d.: 30). For Alaaba, Schneider-Blum (2007: 277) reports about difficulties to tease regular verbs and ideophones apart.</footnote>
(13) **tákk** = *a’-* ‘simply drop’ (IDEO)

3M.PRF = 3M.PFV: tákk = *a’-ée’u*

3F.PRF / 3F.PFV: tákk = át-tee’u / tákk = at-tóo’u

(14) buqq(-)a’- ‘uproot’ (VERB)

3M.PRF / 3M.PFV: buqq(-)á’-ee’u / buqq(-)á’-o

3F.PRF / 3F.PFV: buqq(-)á’-ee’u / buqq(-)a’-óo’u

### 3.3.3. The variants and the inflectional potential of the support verbs

The verbs *y-‘say’* and *a’-‘do’* are the most frequent but not the only possible support verbs for ideophones. In intransitive contexts, the verb *ih-‘become’* is sometimes attested where *y-‘say’* would be expected. It is unknown when *ih-* is preferred over *y-*, e.g. with *sá’mm=y-* ~ *sá’mm=ih-‘become quiet’*, *xúnn=y-* ~ *xúnn=ih-‘smoke, fume’* or color ideophones, as in (15)-(16); when asked, consultants are fine with either support verb.<fnref n="20" />

(15) Íchchi-yan hangaar-eemmá má’nn-it
eat.3M.PFV.CVB-DS scratch-3HON.PFV.REL place-F.NOM
búishsh = ík-k<fnref n="21" /> xid-ú
red.IDEO = become-3F.PFV.CVB hurt-M.ACC

(From a dictionary definition) ‘of a spot where it itched (and) that one scratched[:.] to become red and hurt.’ (Alemu 2016: 126)

(16) Qachch-ó áaz-u gambáll = *y-án* qax-ée
beehive-F.GEN interior-M.NOM black.IDEO = say-3M.IPFV.CVB extent-M.DAT
barg-í barg-í akkis-áamm
add-1SG.PFV.CVB add-1SG.PFV.CVB smoke.CAUS1-1SG.IPFV

‘Until the interior of the beehive has become black, I continue smoking it.’
(AYZ2021-06-25_006)

<footnote n="20">²⁰ See also the use of *ih-‘become’* with *xóphph* ‘jump’ in (17), an ideophone that usually combines with *y-‘say’* in my data. Speaker TH uses *ih-‘become’* more frequently than other speakers.</footnote>

<footnote n="21">²¹ *Ík-k* is the result of a regular morphophonological assimilation process: *h+t > kk*.</footnote>
(13) **tákk** = *a’-* ‘simply drop’ (IDEO)

3M.PRF = 3M.PFV: tákk = *a’-ée’u*

3F.PRF / 3F.PFV: tákk = át-tee’u / tákk = at-tóo’u

(14) buqq(-)a’- ‘uproot’ (VERB)

3M.PRF / 3M.PFV: buqq(-)á’-ee’u / buqq(-)á’-o

3F.PRF / 3F.PFV: buqq(-)á’-ee’u / buqq(-)a’-óo’u

### 3.3.3. The variants and the inflectional potential of the support verbs

The verbs *y-‘say’* and *a’-‘do’* are the most frequent but not the only possible support verbs for ideophones. In intransitive contexts, the verb *ih-‘become’* is sometimes attested where *y-‘say’* would be expected. It is unknown when *ih-* is preferred over *y-*, e.g. with *sá’mm=y-* ~ *sá’mm=ih-‘become quiet’*, *xúnn=y-* ~ *xúnn=ih-‘smoke, fume’* or color ideophones, as in (15)-(16); when asked, consultants are fine with either support verb.<fnref n="20" />

(15) Íchchi-yan hangaar-eemmá má’nn-it
eat.3M.PFV.CVB-DS scratch-3HON.PFV.REL place-F.NOM
búshsh = ík-k<fnref n="21" /> xid-ú
red.IDEO = become-3F.PFV.CVB hurt-M.ACC

(From a dictionary definition) ‘of a spot where it itched (and) that one scratched[:.] to become red and hurt.’ (Alemu 2016: 126)

(16) Qachch-ó áaz-u gambáll = y-án qax-ée
beehive-F.GEN interior-M.NOM black.IDEO = say-3M.IPFV.CVB extent-M.DAT
barg-í barg-í akkis-áamm
add-1SG.PFV.CVB add-1SG.PFV.CVB smoke.CAUS1-1SG.IPFV

‘Until the interior of the beehive has become black, I continue smoking it.’
(AYZ2021-06-25_006)

<footnote n="20">²⁰ See also the use of *ih-‘become’* with *xóphph* ‘jump’ in (17), an ideophone that usually combines with *y-‘say’* in my data. Speaker TH uses *ih-‘become’* more frequently than other speakers.</footnote>

<footnote n="21">²¹ *Ík-k* is the result of a regular morphophonological assimilation process: *h+t > kk*.</footnote>
A rare alternative intransitive support verb is *eeh-*; no independent use is attested or elicitable, but (historically) it might have been the base of the causative verb *ees-‘do’, a rare variant of *ass-‘do*’ (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 125).

(17) (...) *qo’rr-í*

gird-3M.PFV.CVB

*xóphph = íkk*

jump.IDEO = become.3M.PFV.CVB

*xóqq = eekk-ó-o<fnref n="22" />*

rise.IDEO = ?-3M.PFV.REL-CIRC

*had-áta*

outside-F.ACC

*maskoot-í*

window-M.GEN

*láqq (...)*

head_towards.3M.PFV.CVB

‘(...) when he had gotten ready and stood (up there), he jumped out from the window (...).’ (Frog Story 2007, TH)

In transitive contexts, the short verb *a’-‘do’* is in free variation with the heavier verb *ass-‘do’*; see (164) and (34). The verbs are entirely synonymous, but *a’-* is much more frequent with ideophones and *ass-* much more frequent elsewhere.

(18) *Kank-á<n>ka*

this_much-M.ACC < EMP >

*osal-siis-áyyoo-’nne = r-u*

laugh-CAUS2-3M.PROG-2PL.OBJ = NMZ4-M.NOM

*shínn~shínn = ass-í*

RED~laugh_heartily.IDEO = do-3M.PFV.CVB

*m-áha-a-n?*

what-M.PRED-M.COP2-Q

‘What makes you (PL) laugh so heartily?’ (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 4.34)

The morphophonology and stress patterns of the support verb *a’-‘do’* are unlike that of any other verb with a root-final glottal stop, as the comparison of the perfect and perfective paradigms in Table 6 show. If we focus on the shaded 3M and 3F forms, we see that the 3M forms of *a’-‘do’* follow the model of *ga’-‘call’. In contrast, the 3F forms of *a’-‘do’* are unlike that of the two other verbs: Their stress patterns are similar to that of *ossa’-‘lie down’, but we observe neither the *t*-deletion of the 3F markers -tóo’u/’-tee’u (3F.PFV/3F.PRF) that is characteristic of verbs like *ossa’-‘lie down’, nor the insertion of an epenthetic vowel before the 3F markers -tóo’u/’-tee’u (3F.PFV/3F.PRF) that is characteristic of *ga’-‘call’.

<footnote n="22">²² The stem of the support verb *eeh-* is here realized as *eekk-*, because stem-final *h* undergoes gemination and fortition in certain forms of the perfect(ive) due to a regular morphophonological process.</footnote>
A rare alternative intransitive support verb is *eeh-*; no independent use is attested or elicitable, but (historically) it might have been the base of the causative verb *ees-‘do’, a rare variant of *ass-‘do*’ (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 125).

(17) (...) *qo’rr-í*

gird-3M.PFV.CVB

*xóphph = íkk*

jump.IDEO = become.3M.PFV.CVB

*xóqq = eekk-ó-o<fnref n="22" />*

rise.IDEO = ?-3M.PFV.REL-CIRC

*had-áta*

outside-F.ACC

*maskoot-í*

window-M.GEN

*láqq (...)*

head_towards.3M.PFV.CVB

‘(...) when he had gotten ready and stood (up there), he jumped out from the window (...).’ (Frog Story 2007, TH)

In transitive contexts, the short verb *a’-‘do’* is in free variation with the heavier verb *ass-‘do’*; see (164) and (34). The verbs are entirely synonymous, but *a’-* is much more frequent with ideophones and *ass-* much more frequent elsewhere.

(18) *Kank-á<n>ka*

this_much-M.ACC < EMP >

*osal-siis-áyyoo-’nne = r-u*

laugh-CAUS2-3M.PROG-2PL.OBJ = NMZ4-M.NOM

*shínn~shínn = ass-í*

RED~laugh_heartily.IDEO = do-3M.PFV.CVB

*m-áha-a-n?*

what-M.PRED-M.COP2-Q

‘What makes you (PL) laugh so heartily?’ (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 4.34)

The morphophonology and stress patterns of the support verb *a’-‘do’* are unlike that of any other verb with a root-final glottal stop, as the comparison of the perfect and perfective paradigms in Table 6 show. If we focus on the shaded 3M and 3F forms, we see that the 3M forms of *a’-‘do’* follow the model of *ga’-‘call’. In contrast, the 3F forms of *a’-‘do’* are unlike that of the two other verbs: Their stress patterns are similar to that of *ossa’-‘lie down’, but we observe neither the *t*-deletion of the 3F markers -tóo’u/’-tee’u (3F.PFV/3F.PRF) that is characteristic of verbs like *ossa’-‘lie down’, nor the insertion of an epenthetic vowel before the 3F markers -tóo’u/’-tee’u (3F.PFV/3F.PRF) that is characteristic of *ga’-‘call’.

<footnote n="22">²² The stem of the support verb *eeh-* is here realized as *eekk-*, because stem-final *h* undergoes gemination and fortition in certain forms of the perfect(ive) due to a regular morphophonological process.</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 6:** Comparison of verbs with a root-final glottal stop (*ossa*- 'lie down' is representative of all verbs with a frozen middle marker -a').</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th colspan="2">a'- 'do'</th><th colspan="2">ossa'- 'lie down'</th><th colspan="2">ga'- 'call'</th></tr><tr><th></th><th>PFV</th><th>PRF</th><th>PFV</th><th>PRF</th><th>PFV</th><th>PRF</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>1SG</th><td>a'-éemm</td><td>a'-éemm</td><td>ossa'-óomm</td><td>ossá'-eemm</td><td>ga'-éemm</td><td>ga'-éemm</td></tr><tr><th>2SG</th><td>at-tóont</td><td>át-teent</td><td>ossa'-óont</td><td>ossá'-eent</td><td>ga'-itóont</td><td>ga'-íteent</td></tr><tr><th>3M</th><td>a'-ée'u</td><td>a'-ée'u</td><td>ossá'-o</td><td>ossá'-ee'u</td><td>ga'-ée'u</td><td>ga'-ée'u</td></tr><tr><th>3F</th><td>at-tóo'u</td><td>át-tee'u</td><td>ossa'-óo'u</td><td>ossá'-ee'u</td><td>ga'-itóo'u</td><td>ga'-ítee'u</td></tr><tr><th>3HON</th><td>a'-éemma</td><td>a'-éemmaa'u</td><td>ossa'-éemma</td><td>ossa'-éemmaa'u</td><td>ga'-éemma</td><td>ga'-éemmaa'u</td></tr><tr><th>1PL</th><td>a'-nnóomm</td><td>a'-nnéemm</td><td>ossa'-nnóomm</td><td>ossá'-nneemm</td><td>ga'-inóomm</td><td>ga'-íneemm</td></tr><tr><th>2PL</th><td>at-téenta</td><td>at-téentaa'u</td><td>ossa'-éenta</td><td>ossa'-éentaa'u</td><td>ga'-itéenta</td><td>ga'-itéentaa'u</td></tr></tbody></table>

The literature on Highland East Cushitic languages reports the use of 'say' and 'do' as support verbs in all languages (Table 7).

<table><caption>**Table 7:** Cognate support verbs for ideophones in Highland East Cushitic.</caption><thead><tr><th>Language</th><th colspan="2">Support verbs</th><th>Source</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Kambaata</td><td>y- 'say' ~<br>ih- 'become'</td><td>a'- ~ ass- 'do'</td><td>(own data)</td></tr><tr><td>K'abeena</td><td>y- 'say'</td><td>a'- ~ ass- 'do'</td><td>(Crass 2005: 226)</td></tr><tr><td>Alaaba</td><td>(y)- 'say'</td><td>a'- ~ ass- 'do'</td><td>(Schneider-Blum 2007: 277–278; 304–305)</td></tr><tr><td>Hadiyya</td><td>(y-) 'say'</td><td>a'- [ < *'do'?]</td><td>(Hudson 1976: 273; Tadesse 2015: 346)<sup>23</sup></td></tr><tr><td>Libido</td><td>(y-) 'say'</td><td>aa'- 'receive' [?]<sup>24</sup></td><td>(Crass n.d.: 30)</td></tr><tr><td>Sidaama</td><td>y- 'say'</td><td>ass- 'do'</td><td>(Kawachi 2007: 174–179; Girum 2013: 44–45)</td></tr><tr><td>Gedeo<sup>25</sup></td><td>hiyy- 'say'</td><td>ass- 'do'</td><td>(Eyob 2015: §4.1.3.1)</td></tr><tr><td>Burji<sup>26</sup></td><td>iy- 'say'</td><td>iss- 'do'</td><td>(Tesfaye 2015: 198–200)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Whereas all Cushitic languages employ 'say' in intransitive contexts, the choice of the support verb in transitive contexts varies quite a bit. In Lowland East Cushitic,

<footnote n="23">23 Tadesse (2015) does not provide any information on the support verbs of ideophones (or any other information on this word class). The data in his appendix shows, however, that potentially ideophonic transitive lexemes have a recurring -a(a)'-element, e.g. *witt'*- 'gather' (vi) – *witt'a'*- 'collect'; see also the noun *witt'ite* 'meeting', which very likely contains the deideophonic nominalizer -it (§3.4.2). According to Hudson (1976: 273), the root consonant of 'say' is “omitted ordinarily” in Hadiyya, which might explain that is not written by Tadesse (cf. the situation in Libido and Alaaba). See also Hadiyya *huf*- 'boil (vi)' – *hufa'*- 'boil (vt)' and *hinc'*- 'approach; become close (vi)' – *hinc-a'*- 'present (vt)' in Hudson (1989: 282).</footnote>

<footnote n="24">24 I am not convinced that the support verb *aa'*- used in transitive contexts in Libido goes back to 'accept, receive', as claimed by Crass (n.d.: 30). Morphophonologically, it behaves like *a'*- in K'abeena and Alaaba, and it might (historically) originate from a 'do'-verb in Libido, too.</footnote>

<footnote n="25">25 Gedeo: drs.</footnote>

<footnote n="26">26 Burjii: bji.</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 6:** Comparison of verbs with a root-final glottal stop (*ossa*- 'lie down' is representative of all verbs with a frozen middle marker -a').</caption><thead><tr><th rowspan="2"></th><th colspan="2">a'- 'do'</th><th colspan="2">ossa'- 'lie down'</th><th colspan="2">ga'- 'call'</th></tr><tr><th>PFV</th><th>PRF</th><th>PFV</th><th>PRF</th><th>PFV</th><th>PRF</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1SG</td><td>a'-éemm</td><td>a'-éemm</td><td>ossa'-óomm</td><td>ossá'-eemm</td><td>ga'-éemm</td><td>ga'-éemm</td></tr><tr><td>2SG</td><td>at-tóont</td><td>át-teent</td><td>ossa'-óont</td><td>ossá'-eent</td><td>ga'-itóont</td><td>ga'-íteent</td></tr><tr><td>3M</td><td>a'-ée'u</td><td>a'-ée'u</td><td>ossá'-o</td><td>ossá'-ee'u</td><td>ga'-ée'u</td><td>ga'-ée'u</td></tr><tr><td>3F</td><td>at-tóó'u</td><td>át-tee'u</td><td>ossa'-óó'u</td><td>ossá'-ee'u</td><td>ga'-itóó'u</td><td>ga'-ítee'u</td></tr><tr><td>3HON</td><td>a'-éemma</td><td>a'-éemmaa'u</td><td>ossa'-éemma</td><td>ossa'-éemmaa'u</td><td>ga'-éemma</td><td>ga'-éemmaa'u</td></tr><tr><td>1PL</td><td>a'-nnóomm</td><td>a'-nnéemm</td><td>ossa'-nnóomm</td><td>ossá'-nneemm</td><td>ga'-inóomm</td><td>ga'-íneemm</td></tr><tr><td>2PL</td><td>at-téenta</td><td>at-téentaa'u</td><td>ossa'-éenta</td><td>ossa'-éentaa'u</td><td>ga'-itéenta</td><td>ga'-itéentaa'u</td></tr></tbody></table>

The literature on Highland East Cushitic languages reports the use of 'say' and 'do' as support verbs in all languages (Table 7).

<table><caption>**Table 7:** Cognate support verbs for ideophones in Highland East Cushitic.</caption><thead><tr><th>Language</th><th colspan="2">Support verbs</th><th>Source</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Kambaata</td><td>y- 'say' ~<br>ih- 'become'</td><td>a'- ~ ass- 'do'</td><td>(own data)</td></tr><tr><td>K'abeena</td><td>y- 'say'</td><td>a'- ~ ass- 'do'</td><td>(Crass 2005: 226)</td></tr><tr><td>Alaaba</td><td>(y)- 'say'</td><td>a'- ~ ass- 'do'</td><td>(Schneider-Blum 2007: 277–278; 304–305)</td></tr><tr><td>Hadiyya</td><td>(y-) 'say'</td><td>a'- [ < *'do'?]</td><td>(Hudson 1976: 273; Tadesse 2015: 346)<sup>23</sup></td></tr><tr><td>Libido</td><td>(y-) 'say'</td><td>aa'- 'receive' [?]<sup>24</sup></td><td>(Crass n.d.: 30)</td></tr><tr><td>Sidaama</td><td>y- 'say'</td><td>ass- 'do'</td><td>(Kawachi 2007: 174–179; Girum 2013: 44–45)</td></tr><tr><td>Gedeo<sup>25</sup></td><td>hiyy- 'say'</td><td>ass- 'do'</td><td>(Eyob 2015: §4.1.3.1)</td></tr><tr><td>Burji<sup>26</sup></td><td>iy- 'say'</td><td>iss- 'do'</td><td>(Tesfaye 2015: 198–200)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Whereas all Cushitic languages employ 'say' in intransitive contexts, the choice of the support verb in transitive contexts varies quite a bit. In Lowland East Cushitic,

<footnote n="23">23 Tadesse (2015) does not provide any information on the support verbs of ideophones (or any other information on this word class). The data in his appendix shows, however, that potentially ideophonic transitive lexemes have a recurring -a(a)'-element, e.g. *witt'*- 'gather' (vi) – *witt'a'*- 'collect'; see also the noun *witt'ite* 'meeting', which very likely contains the deideophonic nominalizer -it (§3.4.2). According to Hudson (1976: 273), the root consonant of 'say' is “omitted ordinarily” in Hadiyya, which might explain that is not written by Tadesse (cf. the situation in Libido and Alaaba). See also Hadiyya *huf*- 'boil (vi)' – *hufa'*- 'boil (vt)' and *hinc'*- 'approach; become close (vi)' – *hinc-a'*- 'present (vt)' in Hudson (1989: 282).</footnote>

<footnote n="24">24 I am not convinced that the support verb *aa'*- used in transitive contexts in Libido goes back to 'accept, receive', as claimed by Crass (n.d.: 30). Morphophonologically, it behaves like *a'*- in K'abeena and Alaaba, and it might (historically) originate from a 'do'-verb in Libido, too.</footnote>

<footnote n="25">25 Gedeo: drs.</footnote>

<footnote n="26">26 Burjii: bji.</footnote>
'say' pairs with 'do' in Oromo (orm) and Saho (ssy) (Amina 2013: 41–45; Banti & Vergari 2005), with 'cause to say' in Konso (kxc) and Gawwada (Ongaye 2013: 247; Tosco 2006: 888), with 'give' in Somali (Cabdulqaadir & Tosco 1998: 129) and with 'put' in Afar (Cohen et al. 2002: 228; Hassan Kamil 2015: 392–394). For the Central Cushitic language Xamtanga (xan), Darmon argues that the support verbs originate from 'say' and 'cause to say' (2015: 293–294). Similarly, in Beja (bej) (Vanhove 2017: 111–112, 147), 'say' and 'cause to say' accompany ideophones (or onomatopoeia). In the South Cushitic languages Iraqw (irk) and Alagwa (wbj), only 'say' is used with ideophones (Mous 1993: 228–229; 2016: 202–205).

Amharic (Ethiosemitic), the Ethiopian lingua franca and most important second language of Kambaata speakers, employs 'say' and 'do' as support verbs for ideophones (Meyer this volume).

### 3.3.4. The argument structure of ideophones

Most ideophones occur in a 'say'/'do'-pair. When native speakers are consulted, even ideophones that are only attested with 'say' in the data usually also permit – given an appropriate context – a combination with 'do' and vice versa. If both support verbs are permitted, 'say' is used in intransitive contexts, 'do' in transitive contexts. Semantically, one could characterize ideophones with 'say' as expressing non-causal events and ideophones with 'do' as expressing causal events. Paired ideophones allow the 'do'-member to take an accusative object – see the accusative objects of ideophones in (7)-(9) – and to be passivized. The passive of 'do' is functionally equivalent to 'say' in ideophone-support constructions (19)-(20).

(19) Kú xáh-u bóoc = y-ée = da
A_DEM1.M.NOM thing-M.NOM clarify.IDEO = say-3M.PFV.REL = COND
xúm-a-a
good-M.PRED-M.COP2
'It's good (/better) if this issue is clarified.' (Field notes 2023, DWD)

(20) Kú xáh-u bóoc = ass-amm-ó = da (~ bóoc = a'-amm-ó = da)
A_DEM1.M.NOM thing-M.NOM clarify.IDEO = do-PASS-3M.PFV.REL = COND
xúm-a-a
good-M.PRED-M.COP2
'It's good (/better) if this issue is clarified.' (Field notes 2023, DWD)
'say' pairs with 'do' in Oromo (orm) and Saho (ssy) (Amina 2013: 41–45; Banti & Vergari 2005), with 'cause to say' in Konso (kxc) and Gawwada (Ongaye 2013: 247; Tosco 2006: 888), with 'give' in Somali (Cabdulqaadir & Tosco 1998: 129) and with 'put' in Afar (Cohen et al. 2002: 228; Hassan Kamil 2015: 392–394). For the Central Cushitic language Xamtanga (xan), Darmon argues that the support verbs originate from 'say' and 'cause to say' (2015: 293–294). Similarly, in Beja (bej) (Vanhove 2017: 111–112, 147), 'say' and 'cause to say' accompany ideophones (or onomatopoeia). In the South Cushitic languages Iraqw (irk) and Alagwa (wbj), only 'say' is used with ideophones (Mous 1993: 228–229; 2016: 202–205).

Amharic (Ethiosemitic), the Ethiopian lingua franca and most important second language of Kambaata speakers, employs 'say' and 'do' as support verbs for ideophones (Meyer this volume).

### 3.3.4. The argument structure of ideophones

Most ideophones occur in a 'say'/'do'-pair. When native speakers are consulted, even ideophones that are only attested with 'say' in the data usually also permit – given an appropriate context – a combination with 'do' and vice versa. If both support verbs are permitted, 'say' is used in intransitive contexts, 'do' in transitive contexts. Semantically, one could characterize ideophones with 'say' as expressing non-causal events and ideophones with 'do' as expressing causal events. Paired ideophones allow the 'do'-member to take an accusative object – see the accusative objects of ideophones in (7)-(9) – and to be passivized. The passive of 'do' is functionally equivalent to 'say' in ideophone-support constructions (19)-(20).

(19) Kú xáh-u bóoc = y-ée = da
A_DEM1.M.NOM thing-M.NOM clarify.IDEO = say-3M.PFV.REL = COND
xúm-a-a
good-M.PRED-M.COP2
'It's good (/better) if this issue is clarified.' (Field notes 2023, DWD)

(20) Kú xáh-u bóoc = ass-amm-ó = da (~ bóoc = a'-amm-ó = da)
A_DEM1.M.NOM thing-M.NOM clarify.IDEO = do-PASS-3M.PFV.REL = COND
xúm-a-a
good-M.PRED-M.COP2
'It's good (/better) if this issue is clarified.' (Field notes 2023, DWD)
One rarely comes across ideophones for which one of the support verbs is ruled out (unpaired ideophones). See, however, onomatopoeic ideophones for animal cries (Treis & Deginet 2024), e.g. *kutáakk* = y- ‘(of chicken) produce a sound which warns others of a predator’, which do generally not permit ‘do’. Support with ‘do’ was also ruled out for *hánda* = y- ‘be thankful, grateful, content’, *bíira* = y- ‘forgive’ and *qúuxo* = y- ‘do deliberately, willfully, on purpose, according to a plan’.<fnref n="27" /> There is reason to assume that these three ideophones (and possibly others) are not intransitive, in spite of them combining with ‘say’. The evidence is most conclusive for *bíira* = y- ‘forgive’. In (167), the patient whose sin the agent forgives is the direct object of the ideophone; see the accusative marking of *nées* ‘us’. Through the passivization of ‘say’, the patient becomes the subject in (22).

(21) *Magán-o*, *nées* **bíira** = y-í-nne
God-M.OBL 1PL.ACC forgive.IDEO = say-2SG.IMP-1PL.OBJ
‘God, forgive us (our sins)!’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

(22) **Bíira** = y-am-ámm<fnref n="28" /> fanqáll tees-ú-u
forgive.IDEO = say-PASS-PASS.3M.PFV.CVB return.3M.PFV.CVB now-M.OBL-ADD
ba’-íshsh-o
go.bad-CAUS1-3M.PFV
‘He was forgiven, (but then) he made a mistake again.’ (Field notes 2023, DWD)

Examples such as (167)-(22) show that the use of ‘say’ as a support verb is not sufficient proof that an ideophone is intransitive. While some ideophones lack a ‘do’-counterpart, the opposite configuration is also possible. In the semantic field of experiencer verbs, the use of ‘say’ is often not attested, sometimes explicitly excluded through negative evidence; see, e.g., *culú* = a’- ‘please (s.o.)’, *qúl*~*qúl* = a’- ‘make (s.o.) feel nostalgic, cause a longing feeling (in s.o.)’, *láf*~*láf* = a’- ‘make (s.o.) feel nauseous’, which take the stimulus as the subject and the experiencer as the direct object. Regarding their argument structure, ideophones thus seem to fall into (at least) four types:

<footnote n="27">²⁷ *Hánda* is not only an ideophone but also an interjection (§4.1), but the independent (interjectional) use of *bíira* and *qúuxo* was ruled out.</footnote>

<footnote n="28">²⁸ Note that y- ‘say’ forms an irregular passive with -am-am (PASS-PASS), rather than simple -am (PASS).</footnote>
One rarely comes across ideophones for which one of the support verbs is ruled out (unpaired ideophones). See, however, onomatopoeic ideophones for animal cries (Treis & Deginet 2024), e.g. *kutáakk* = y- ‘(of chicken) produce a sound which warns others of a predator’, which do generally not permit ‘do’. Support with ‘do’ was also ruled out for *hánda* = y- ‘be thankful, grateful, content’, *bíira* = y- ‘forgive’ and *qúuxo* = y- ‘do deliberately, willfully, on purpose, according to a plan’.<fnref n="27" /> There is reason to assume that these three ideophones (and possibly others) are not intransitive, in spite of them combining with ‘say’. The evidence is most conclusive for *bíira* = y- ‘forgive’. In (167), the patient whose sin the agent forgives is the direct object of the ideophone; see the accusative marking of *nées* ‘us’. Through the passivization of ‘say’, the patient becomes the subject in (22).

(21) *Magán-o*, *nées* **bíira** = y-í-nne
God-M.OBL 1PL.ACC forgive.IDEO = say-2SG.IMP-1PL.OBJ
‘God, forgive us (our sins)!’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

(22) **Bíira** = y-am-ámm<fnref n="28" /> fanqáll tees-ú-u
forgive.IDEO = say-PASS-PASS.3M.PFV.CVB return.3M.PFV.CVB now-M.OBL-ADD
ba’-íshsh-o
go.bad-CAUS1-3M.PFV
‘He was forgiven, (but then) he made a mistake again.’ (Field notes 2023, DWD)

Examples such as (167)-(22) show that the use of ‘say’ as a support verb is not sufficient proof that an ideophone is intransitive. While some ideophones lack a ‘do’-counterpart, the opposite configuration is also possible. In the semantic field of experiencer verbs, the use of ‘say’ is often not attested, sometimes explicitly excluded through negative evidence; see, e.g., *culú* = a’- ‘please (s.o.)’, *qúl*~*qúl* = a’- ‘make (s.o.) feel nostalgic, cause a longing feeling (in s.o.)’, *láf*~*láf* = a’- ‘make (s.o.) feel nauseous’, which take the stimulus as the subject and the experiencer as the direct object. Regarding their argument structure, ideophones thus seem to fall into (at least) four types:

<footnote n="27">²⁷ *Hánda* is not only an ideophone but also an interjection (§4.1), but the independent (interjectional) use of *bíira* and *qúuxo* was ruled out.</footnote>

<footnote n="28">²⁸ Note that y- ‘say’ forms an irregular passive with -am-am (PASS-PASS), rather than simple -am (PASS).</footnote>
* Type 1: Paired ideophone (most common): intransitive ideophone with ‘say’, transitive counterpart with ‘do’, e.g. *bóoc=y-* ‘be clarified’ – *bóoc=a’-* ‘clarify’; ‘do’-support passivizable.

* Type 2: Unpaired ideophones:

* Type 2a: intransitive ideophone with ‘say’, no transitive counterpart with ‘do’, e.g. onomatopoeic ideophones for animal cries such as *búu=y-* ‘buzz (of bee)’ and bodily sounds such as *dú”u-dú”u=y-* ‘beat (of heart)’;

* Type 2b: transitive ideophone with ‘say’, no counterpart with ‘do’, e.g. *bíra=y-* ‘forgive’; ‘say’-support passivizable;

* Type 2c: transitive ideophone with ‘do’, no counterpart with ‘say’, e.g. experiencer verbs such as *culú=a’-* ‘please (s.o.)’.

The support verbs ‘say’ and ‘do’ can undergo middle derivation with -’/-aqq and the reciprocal derivation with -am-/-aqq-am- (Treis 2023b); see, e.g., the reciprocal forms *forgó~forgó=y-aqq-am-* ‘keep a distance from each other’, *gurgú=y-aqq-am-* ‘quarrel with each other’ and *háaf=y-aqq-am-* ‘forgive each other’ in Alamu (2022: 89, 152, 293; translation mine). The support verb *a’-* ‘do’ forms an irregular middle form *eecc-* ‘do for oneself’ (*a’-aqq-), as in (168)-(24) from two different speakers.<fnref n="29" />

(23) Éman xumm-íin gulub-í-kk
congratulations.INTJ peace-M.ICP knee-F.ACC-2SG.POSS
qu’mmí=eecc-ít
bring_together.IDEO=do.MID-2SG.PFV.CVB
(Addressed to new mother:) ‘Congratulations, you have brought your knees together again in peace!’ (AN2016-02-19_001)

(24) Ma’nn-íta xább=eecc-inim-bá’a y-éen (...)
place-F.ACC prepare.IDEO=do.MID-1PL.NIPFV-NEG1 say-3HON.PFV.CVB
‘One says, “we have not (yet) prepared the place (for our benefit)”, (...).’
(EK2016-02-23_003)

<footnote n="29">²⁹ The middle *eecc-* ‘do for oneself is based on a free variant of the ‘do’ verb, namely *ees*-, cf. paragraph before (17).</footnote>
* Type 1: Paired ideophone (most common): intransitive ideophone with ‘say’, transitive counterpart with ‘do’, e.g. *bóoc=y-* ‘be clarified’ – *bóoc=a’-* ‘clarify’; ‘do’-support passivizable.

* Type 2: Unpaired ideophones:

* Type 2a: intransitive ideophone with ‘say’, no transitive counterpart with ‘do’, e.g. onomatopoeic ideophones for animal cries such as *búu=y-* ‘buzz (of bee)’ and bodily sounds such as *dú”u-dú”u=y-* ‘beat (of heart)’;

* Type 2b: transitive ideophone with ‘say’, no counterpart with ‘do’, e.g. *bíra=y-* ‘forgive’; ‘say’-support passivizable;

* Type 2c: transitive ideophone with ‘do’, no counterpart with ‘say’, e.g. experiencer verbs such as *culú=a’-* ‘please (s.o.)’.

The support verbs ‘say’ and ‘do’ can undergo middle derivation with -’/-aqq and the reciprocal derivation with -am-/-aqq-am- (Treis 2023b); see, e.g., the reciprocal forms *forgó~forgó=y-aqq-am-* ‘keep a distance from each other’, *gurgú=y-aqq-am-* ‘quarrel with each other’ and *háaf=y-aqq-am-* ‘forgive each other’ in Alamu (2022: 89, 152, 293; translation mine). The support verb *a’-* ‘do’ forms an irregular middle form *eecc-* ‘do for oneself’ (*a’-aqq-), as in (168)-(24) from two different speakers.<fnref n="29" />

(23) Éman xumm-íin gulub-í-kk
congratulations.INTJ peace-M.ICP knee-F.ACC-2SG.POSS
qu’mmí=eecc-ít
bring_together.IDEO=do.MID-2SG.PFV.CVB

(Addressed to new mother:) ‘Congratulations, you have brought your knees together again in peace!’ (AN2016-02-19_001)

(24) Ma’nn-íta xább=eecc-inim-bá’a y-éen (...)
place-F.ACC prepare.IDEO=do.MID-1PL.NIPFV-NEG1 say-3HON.PFV.CVB

‘One says, “we have not (yet) prepared the place (for our benefit)”, (...).’
(EK2016-02-23_003)

<footnote n="29">²⁹ The middle *eecc-* ‘do for oneself is based on a free variant of the ‘do’ verb, namely *ees*-, cf. paragraph before (17).</footnote>
Finally, there remains the question of the syntactic relation between the ideophone and the support verb. In his analysis of Gawwada, Tosco considers the ideophones “direct objects” of the verb ‘say’ and ‘make say’ (2006: 890). For Kambaata, there is no evidence that ideophones are direct objects of their accompanying support verbs: they cannot be pronominalized or be passivized upon, and they are not accusative-marked – which are all obligatory features of a Kambaata direct object.

### 3.4. The morphology of ideophones

This section analyzes word formation processes that take ideophones as inputs and/or produce them as outputs. The first subsections deal with two semi-productive derivational processes for deideophonic resultative adjectives (§3.4.1) and action nouns (§3.4.2). I then move on to two processes that have both ideophonic inputs and outputs, namely reduplication (§3.4.3) and compounding (§3.4.4). The last sub-section (§3.4.5) discusses the rather marginal examples of ideophones that are derived through conversion from adjectives and pronouns.

#### 3.4.1. Deideophonic adjectivization

Resultative adjectives are derived from ideophones by -eem, e.g. xóqq=y- ‘rise’ > xoqq-eem-á(ta) ‘raised, elevated, at higher altitude’ and hiríkk=y- ‘be lowered, bend over, stoop’ > hirikk-eem-á(ta) ‘lower(ed), at lower altitude’, as seen in (25).

(25) Lág-u xoqq-éem-ata ma’nn-éechch
river-M.NOM rise.IDEO-RES-F.OBL place-F.ABL
hirikk-eem-á=bb-a zaaz-anó-o
be_lowered.IDEO-RES-M.ACC=PLC-M.ACC flow-3M.IPFV.REL-NMZ1.M.ACC
ikk-ó=biiha (...) become-3M.PFV.REL=REAS2

‘Because rivers flow from a higher/elevated place towards a lower place (...).’
(Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 8.71)

The resultative derivation is exclusive to ideophones, and no non-ideophonic inputs are attested. The resultative adjectives belong to A1, the largest adjectival declension;
Finally, there remains the question of the syntactic relation between the ideophone and the support verb. In his analysis of Gawwada, Tosco considers the ideophones “direct objects” of the verb ‘say’ and ‘make say’ (2006: 890). For Kambaata, there is no evidence that ideophones are direct objects of their accompanying support verbs: they cannot be pronominalized or be passivized upon, and they are not accusative-marked – which are all obligatory features of a Kambaata direct object.

**3.4. The morphology of ideophones**

This section analyzes word formation processes that take ideophones as inputs and/or produce them as outputs. The first subsections deal with two semi-productive derivational processes for deideophonic resultative adjectives (§3.4.1) and action nouns (§3.4.2). I then move on to two processes that have both ideophonic inputs and outputs, namely reduplication (§3.4.3) and compounding (§3.4.4). The last sub-section (§3.4.5) discusses the rather marginal examples of ideophones that are derived through conversion from adjectives and pronouns.

**3.4.1. Deideophonic adjectivization**

Resultative adjectives are derived from ideophones by -eem, e.g. xóqq=y- ‘rise’ > xoqq-eem-á(ta) ‘raised, elevated, at higher altitude’ and hiríkk=y- ‘be lowered, bend over, stoop’ > hirikk-eem-á(ta) ‘lower(ed), at lower altitude’, as seen in (25).

(25) Lág-u xoqq-éem-ata ma’nn-éechch
river-M.NOM rise.IDEO-RES-F.OBL place-F.ABL
hirikk-eem-á=bb-a zaaz-anó-o
be_lowered.IDEO-RES-M.ACC=PLC-M.ACC flow-3M.IPFV.REL-NMZ1.M.ACC
ikk-ó=biiha (...) 
become-3M.PFV.REL=REAS2

‘Because rivers flow from a higher/elevated place towards a lower place (...).’
(Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 8.71)

The resultative derivation is exclusive to ideophones, and no non-ideophonic inputs are attested. The resultative adjectives belong to A1, the largest adjectival declension;
consequently, their citation (= accusative) form ends in -á in the masculine and -áta in the feminine gender. Table 8 complements a list given in Treis (2008: 283–284).

<table><caption>**Table 8:** Deidephonic adjectives.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Adjective</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>qubúbb = y-</td><td>'become round, circular, ball-shaped'</td><td>qububb-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'round, circular, ball-shaped'</td></tr><tr><td>cagágg = y-</td><td>'become unwell, indisposed, a bit ill'</td><td>cagagg-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'unwell, indisposed, a bit ill'</td></tr><tr><td>síww = y-</td><td>'become thin (e.g. of body, voice)'</td><td>siww-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'thin (e.g. of body, voice)'</td></tr><tr><td>cerérr = y-</td><td>'trickle, flow in a trickle'</td><td>cererr-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'trickling (e.g. of a jet of water); thin, elongated stretch (of land)'</td></tr><tr><td>géxx = y-</td><td>'go straight, go directly, stand straight'</td><td>gexx-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'straight, linear, direct'</td></tr><tr><td>lácc = y-</td><td>'go slowly, slow down (vi)'</td><td>lacc-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'slow (e.g. in walking, working)'</td></tr><tr><td>salákk = y-</td><td>'become quiet, calm (of a place), attentive'</td><td>salakk-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'calm, quiet, attentive'</td></tr><tr><td>wikkíkk = y-</td><td>'cling (to s.th.), not be dissuaded (from s.th.)'</td><td>wikkikk-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'stubborn, obdurate'</td></tr><tr><td>qú'mm = y-</td><td>'be brought together/closer to each other; gather (vi)'</td><td>qu'mm-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'narrow, constricted (e.g. opening of a pot)'</td></tr><tr><td>(lúf~)lúf = y-</td><td>'become soft, malleable, fluffy'</td><td>luf~luf-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'soft, malleable, fluffy (e.g. a mattress)'</td></tr><tr><td>(qáf~)qáf = y-</td><td>'become restless, hyperactive, irrepressible'</td><td>qaf~qaf-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'restless, hyperactive, irrepressible'</td></tr><tr><td>qól~qól = y-</td><td>'do too hastily, distractedly; meddle, interfere'</td><td>qol~qol-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'distracted, too hasty; meddling, interfering'</td></tr></tbody></table>
consequently, their citation (= accusative) form ends in -á in the masculine and -áta in the feminine gender. Table 8 complements a list given in Treis (2008: 283–284).

<table><caption>**Table 8:** Deidephonic adjectives.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Adjective</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>qubúbb = y-</td><td>'become round, circular, ball-shaped'</td><td>qububb-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'round, circular, ball-shaped'</td></tr><tr><td>cagágg = y-</td><td>'become unwell, indisposed, a bit ill'</td><td>cagagg-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'unwell, indisposed, a bit ill'</td></tr><tr><td>síww = y-</td><td>'become thin (e.g. of body, voice)'</td><td>siww-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'thin (e.g. of body, voice)'</td></tr><tr><td>cerérr = y-</td><td>'trickle, flow in a trickle'</td><td>cererr-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'trickling (e.g. of a jet of water); thin, elongated stretch (of land)'</td></tr><tr><td>géxx = y-</td><td>'go straight, go directly, stand straight'</td><td>gexx-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'straight, linear, direct'</td></tr><tr><td>lácc = y-</td><td>'go slowly, slow down (vi)'</td><td>lacc-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'slow (e.g. in walking, working)'</td></tr><tr><td>salákk = y-</td><td>'become quiet, calm (of a place), attentive'</td><td>salakk-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'calm, quiet, attentive'</td></tr><tr><td>wikkíkk = y-</td><td>'cling (to s.th.), not be dissuaded (from s.th.)'</td><td>wikkikk-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'stubborn, obdurate'</td></tr><tr><td>qú'mm = y-</td><td>'be brought together/closer to each other; gather (vi)'</td><td>qu'mm-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'narrow, constricted (e.g. opening of a pot)'</td></tr><tr><td>(lúf~)lúf = y-</td><td>'become soft, malleable, fluffy'</td><td>luf~luf-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'soft, malleable, fluffy (e.g. a mattress)'</td></tr><tr><td>(qáf~)qáf = y-</td><td>'become restless, hyperactive, irrepressible'</td><td>qaf~qaf-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'restless, hyperactive, irrepressible'</td></tr><tr><td>qól~qól = y-</td><td>'do too hastily, distractedly; meddle, interfere'</td><td>qol~qol-eem-á(ta)</td><td>'distracted, too hasty; meddling, interfering'</td></tr></tbody></table>
The resultative derivation takes simplex and reduplicated ideophones as input, as the last three lines of Table 7 and the second derived adjective in (26) illustrate.

(26) *laal-ú-s*          *qububb-eem-áan*          *[fushsh-anó]*
fruit-F.ACC-3M.POSS      become round.IDEO-RES-F.ICP  come out.CAUS1-3M.IPFV.REL
*fatil-á*               *wez-eennó*              *luf~luf-eem-á*
thread-M.ACC             make-3HON.IPFV.REL       RED~become soft.IDEO-RES-M.ACC
*hallaam-í*            *algod-ahá-a*
soft interior of plant-M.GEN plant-M.ACC-ADD
*hallaam-u-sí-i*
soft interior of plant-M.ACC-3M.POSS-ADD
(Monolingual definition of *fuuttá* ‘(i.) cotton plant, (ii.) cotton’:) ‘[denotes] [i.] a plant that produces ball-shaped fruits/flowers [and] whose soft material is used for making threads and [ii.] the soft material itself.’ (Alemu 2016: 331 [corrected by DWD 2023])

### 3.4.2. Deideophonic nominalization

Action nouns are derived from ideophones by -it(t), e.g. *xóqq=y* ‘rise’ > *xoqq-itt-á*
‘height, elevation’, *sáww=y* ‘think’ > *saww-itt-á* ‘thought, idea, (neolog.) sentence’;
see also *xáphph=y* ‘gather (vi)’ > *xaphph-itt-á* ‘gathering, assembly’, as in the
neologism *xaphph-itt-í min-í* ‘synagogue (lit. house of assembly)’ of the Bible
(Kambaata and Hadiyya Translation Project Hosaina 2005). If the ideophone ends in
a short vowel, this vowel is dropped, e.g. *gambá=y* ‘come across, encounter by
chance/suddenly’ > *gamb-itt-á* ‘chance encounter’; after a long vowel, an epenthetic
h is inserted, e.g. *múu=y* ‘howl (of hyena)’ > *muu-h-itt-á* ‘time when hyenas howl
at night’. Only one known -it(t)-derived noun is not based on an ideophone: *dang-itt-
á* ‘unexpected event’ (28) is derived from one of the very few adverbs that the
language has, namely *dángo* ‘unexpectedly’. All -it(t)-derived nouns belong to the
masculine declension M1, ending in -á in their citation (= accusative) form.<fnref n="30" /> The
use of deideophonic action nouns is illustrated in (27)-(28).

<footnote n="30">³⁰ The two allomorphs -itt and -it are probably dialectal variants. In Alemu (2016), most deideophonic nouns have -it, while my consultants from the Duuraame area consistently use -itt. In Kambaata's close relative K'abeena, the deideophonic nominalizer is -it, too; it is, however, marked</footnote>
The resultative derivation takes simplex and reduplicated ideophones as input, as the last three lines of Table 7 and the second derived adjective in (26) illustrate.

(26) *laal-ú-s*          *qububb-eem-áan*          *[fushsh-anó]*
fruit-F.ACC-3M.POSS      become round.IDEO-RES-F.ICP  come out.CAUS1-3M.IPFV.REL
*fatil-á*               *wez-eennó*              *luf~luf-eem-á*
thread-M.ACC             make-3HON.IPFV.REL       RED~become soft.IDEO-RES-M.ACC
*hallaam-í*            *algod-ahá-a*
soft interior of plant-M.GEN plant-M.ACC-ADD
*hallaam-u-sí-i*
soft interior of plant-M.ACC-3M.POSS-ADD
(Monolingual definition of *fuuttá* ‘(i.) cotton plant, (ii.) cotton’:) ‘[denotes] [i.] a plant that produces ball-shaped fruits/flowers [and] whose soft material is used for making threads and [ii.] the soft material itself.’ (Alemu 2016: 331 [corrected by DWD 2023])

### 3.4.2. Deideophonic nominalization

Action nouns are derived from ideophones by -it(t), e.g. *xóqq=y* ‘rise’ > *xoqq-itt-á*
‘height, elevation’, *sáww=y* ‘think’ > *saww-itt-á* ‘thought, idea, (neolog.) sentence’;
see also *xáphph=y* ‘gather (vi)’ > *xaphph-itt-á* ‘gathering, assembly’, as in the
neologism *xaphph-itt-í min-í* ‘synagogue (lit. house of assembly)’ of the Bible
(Kambaata and Hadiyya Translation Project Hosaina 2005). If the ideophone ends in
a short vowel, this vowel is dropped, e.g. *gambá=y* ‘come across, encounter by
chance/suddenly’ > *gamb-itt-á* ‘chance encounter’; after a long vowel, an epenthetic
h is inserted, e.g. *múu=y* ‘howl (of hyena)’ > *muu-h-itt-á* ‘time when hyenas howl
at night’. Only one known -it(t)-derived noun is not based on an ideophone: *dang-itt-
á* ‘unexpected event’ (28) is derived from one of the very few adverbs that the
language has, namely *dángo* ‘unexpectedly’. All -it(t)-derived nouns belong to the
masculine declension M1, ending in -á in their citation (= accusative) form.<fnref n="30" /> The
use of deideophonic action nouns is illustrated in (27)-(28).

<footnote n="30">³⁰ The two allomorphs -itt and -it are probably dialectal variants. In Alemu (2016), most deideophonic nouns have -it, while my consultants from the Duuraame area consistently use -itt. In Kambaata's close relative K'abeena, the deideophonic nominalizer is -it, too; it is, however, marked</footnote>
(27) Caam-á-’i shobb-itt-á usúrr dagujj-óomm
shoes-M.ACC-1SG.POSS tie_loosely-ACT-M.ACC tie.1SG.PFV.CVB run-1SG.PFV
‘I tied my shoes loosely/quickly and ran off.’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

(28) Tah-íchch-u dang-ítt-a waall-ó j-eechch-úta
flies-SGV-M.NOM unexpectedly-ACT-M.OBL come-3M.PFV.REL time-SGV-F.ACC
qeraa’rr-utá-a xámm = át-t af-fáa
long-F.ACC-ADD stick.IDEO = do-3F.PFV.CVB seize-3F.IPFV.REL
arrab-i-sé-e mexx-é tokkós-s
tongue-F.ACC-3F.POSS-ADD single-MULT shoot-3F.PFV.CVB
fush-sh-ít = ke’éechch xámm = át-t
go_out-CAUS1-3F.PFV.CVB = SEQ stick.IDEO = do-3F.PFV.CVB
qúrc = at-táa’, tah-íchch-ú
swallow.IDEO = do-3F.IPFV flies-SGV-M.ACC

‘When a fly comes unexpectedly, it (= the chameleon (F)) shoots out, at once, its long (tongue) and sticky, seizing tongue, makes (it) stick (to the tongue) and swallows (it), the fly.’ (TD2016-02-11_001)

The examples in Table 9 complement a list presented in Treis (2008: 157–158).<fnref n="31" />

<table><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Noun</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>báqq = y-</td><td>‘wake up’</td><td>baqq-itt-á</td><td>‘dawn, daybreak’<fnref n="32" /></td></tr><tr><td>bóoc = a’-</td><td>‘give a hint, give some indication, clarification’</td><td>booc-itt-á</td><td>‘hint, indication, clarification’</td></tr><tr><td>cagágg = y-</td><td>‘become unwell, indisposed, a bit ill’</td><td>cagagg-itt-á</td><td>‘being unwell, indisposition, being a bit ill’</td></tr><tr><td>háff = y-</td><td>‘pass, be perceived (of a faint smell)’</td><td>haff-itt-á</td><td>‘whiff, faint passing smell’</td></tr></tbody></table>

by -i in the citation form and thus grouped into a different declension than in Kambaata (Crass 2005: 84, 233).

<footnote n="31">³¹ The -it(t)-derivation also takes reduplicated ideophonic inputs, as seen in *riph~riph-itt-á* (possibly): ‘up and down/wave movement’ in Kambaata Education Bureau (1989: 4.51). Unfortunately, the translation of the noun could not be verified and is, therefore, not included in the table.</footnote>

<footnote n="32">³² In Treis (2008: 157), the derived noun was translated as ‘waking up’; this translation was not confirmed and is here corrected.</footnote>
(27) Caam-á-’i shobb-itt-á usúrr dagujj-óomm
shoes-M.ACC-1SG.POSS tie_loosely-ACT-M.ACC tie.1SG.PFV.CVB run-1SG.PFV
‘I tied my shoes loosely/quickly and ran off.’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

(28) Tah-íchch-u dang-ítt-a waall-ó j-eechch-úta
flies-SGV-M.NOM unexpectedly-ACT-M.OBL come-3M.PFV.REL time-SGV-F.ACC
qeraa’rr-utá-a xámm = át-t af-fáa
long-F.ACC-ADD stick.IDEO = do-3F.PFV.CVB seize-3F.IPFV.REL
arrab-i-sé-e mexx-é tokkós-s
tongue-F.ACC-3F.POSS-ADD single-MULT shoot-3F.PFV.CVB
fush-sh-ít = ke’éechch xámm = át-t
go_out-CAUS1-3F.PFV.CVB = SEQ stick.IDEO = do-3F.PFV.CVB
qúrc = at-táa’, tah-íchch-ú
swallow.IDEO = do-3F.IPFV flies-SGV-M.ACC

‘When a fly comes unexpectedly, it (= the chameleon (F)) shoots out, at once, its long (tongue) and sticky, seizing tongue, makes (it) stick (to the tongue) and swallows (it), the fly.’ (TD2016-02-11_001)

The examples in Table 9 complement a list presented in Treis (2008: 157–158).<fnref n="31" />

<table><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Noun</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>báqq = y-</td><td>‘wake up’</td><td>baqq-itt-á</td><td>‘dawn, daybreak’<fnref n="32" /></td></tr><tr><td>bóoc = a’-</td><td>‘give a hint, give some indication, clarification’</td><td>booc-itt-á</td><td>‘hint, indication, clarification’</td></tr><tr><td>cagágg = y-</td><td>‘become unwell, indisposed, a bit ill’</td><td>cagagg-itt-á</td><td>‘being unwell, indisposition, being a bit ill’</td></tr><tr><td>háff = y-</td><td>‘pass, be perceived (of a faint smell)’</td><td>haff-itt-á</td><td>‘whiff, faint passing smell’</td></tr></tbody></table>

by -i in the citation form and thus grouped into a different declension than in Kambaata (Crass 2005: 84, 233).

<footnote n="31">³¹ The -it(t)-derivation also takes reduplicated ideophonic inputs, as seen in *riph~riph-itt-á* (possibly): ‘up and down/wave movement’ in Kambaata Education Bureau (1989: 4.51). Unfortunately, the translation of the noun could not be verified and is, therefore, not included in the table.</footnote>

<footnote n="32">³² In Treis (2008: 157), the derived noun was translated as ‘waking up’; this translation was not confirmed and is here corrected.</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 9:** Deideophonic nouns.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Noun</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>hazámm = a'-</td><td>'make (s.o.) doze off, make (s.o.) snooze briefly (esp. old people)'</td><td>hazamm-itt-á</td><td>'doze, snooze'</td></tr><tr><td>hánda = y-</td><td>'become thankful, grateful, content; become gratifying'</td><td>hand-itt-á</td><td>'thanks, gratitude, contentment'</td></tr><tr><td>híqq = a'-</td><td>'cause to hiccup'</td><td>hiqq-itt-á</td><td>'hiccups'</td></tr><tr><td>hó"a = a'-</td><td>'cause to vomit'</td><td>ho"-itt-á</td><td>'vomiting'</td></tr><tr><td>múgg = a'-</td><td>'lower; cause to have diarrhea'</td><td>mugg-itt-á</td><td>'diarrhea'</td></tr><tr><td>qú'mm = y-</td><td>'be brought together/closer to each other; gather (vi)'</td><td>qu'mm-itt-á</td><td>'collection; meeting, assembly, session'</td></tr><tr><td>shóbb = y-</td><td>'be loosely tied'</td><td>shobb-itt-á</td><td>'loose tie'</td></tr><tr><td>silímm = a'-</td><td>'cause to take a nap, cause to have a short/interrupted sleep'</td><td>silimm-itt-á</td><td>'nap, short/interrupted sleep'</td></tr><tr><td>xéff~xéff = y-</td><td>'have small spots, dots'</td><td>xeff-itt-á</td><td>'spot, dot'</td></tr><tr><td>yák~yák = a'-</td><td>'do haphazardly, do too quickly and carelessly, struggle to do'</td><td>yak~yak-itt-á</td><td>'haphazard, too quick and careless manner'</td></tr><tr><td>zammamm = a'-</td><td>'cause to doze off, cause to be half asleep'</td><td>zammamm-itt-á</td><td>'doze, half-sleep'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Apart from the two semi-productive deideophonic processes discussed above, there are a small number of nouns and verbs which are otherwise derived from ideophones. Among them are nouns derived by -eenn, e.g. *bizz-eenn-á* 'up(wards), North' < *bízz=y-* 'rise'; *mugg-eenn-á* 'down(wards), South' (used in (6)) < *múgg=y-* 'descend (vi)'; *cererr-eenn-á* 'trickle, rivulet, small rest of a drink' < *cerérr=y-* 'trickle'; *ilill-eenn-á* 'ululation' < *ilíli=y-* 'ululate' and *tilill-eenn-á* 'telephone' < *tililí=y-* 'ring'. However, unlike the -it(t)-derivation, the non-productive -eenn-derivation is not restricted to ideophonic inputs (Treis 2008: 165).

Finally, Treis & Deginet (2024: ex. 11) report a handful of verbs derived from onomatopoeic ideophones, e.g. *kaakk-ees-* 'cackle (of hen which is about to lay an egg)', based on the ideophone *káakk=y-* with the same meaning (see two similar examples from K'abeena in Crass 2005: 148). Most inputs of the semi-productive -ees-derivation in Kambaata are nouns (Treis 2022: 24).
<table><caption>**Table 9:** Deideophonic nouns.</caption><thead><tr><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Noun</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>hazámm = a'-</td><td>'make (s.o.) doze off, make (s.o.) snooze briefly (esp. old people)'</td><td>hazamm-itt-á</td><td>'doze, snooze'</td></tr><tr><td>hánda = y-</td><td>'become thankful, grateful, content; become gratifying'</td><td>hand-itt-á</td><td>'thanks, gratitude, contentment'</td></tr><tr><td>híqq = a'-</td><td>'cause to hiccup'</td><td>hiqq-itt-á</td><td>'hiccups'</td></tr><tr><td>hó''a = a'-</td><td>'cause to vomit'</td><td>ho''-itt-á</td><td>'vomiting'</td></tr><tr><td>múgg = a'-</td><td>'lower; cause to have diarrhea'</td><td>mugg-itt-á</td><td>'diarrhea'</td></tr><tr><td>qú'mm = y-</td><td>'be brought together/closer to each other; gather (vi)'</td><td>qu'mm-itt-á</td><td>'collection; meeting, assembly, session'</td></tr><tr><td>shóbb = y-</td><td>'be loosely tied'</td><td>shobb-itt-á</td><td>'loose tie'</td></tr><tr><td>silímm = a'-</td><td>'cause to take a nap, cause to have a short/interrupted sleep'</td><td>silimm-itt-á</td><td>'nap, short/interrupted sleep'</td></tr><tr><td>xéff~xéff = y-</td><td>'have small spots, dots'</td><td>xeff-itt-á</td><td>'spot, dot'</td></tr><tr><td>yák~yák = a'-</td><td>'do haphazardly, do too quickly and carelessly, struggle to do'</td><td>yak~yak-itt-á</td><td>'haphazard, too quick and careless manner'</td></tr><tr><td>zammamm = a'-</td><td>'cause to doze off, cause to be half asleep'</td><td>zammamm-itt-á</td><td>'doze, half-sleep'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Apart from the two semi-productive deideophonic processes discussed above, there are a small number of nouns and verbs which are otherwise derived from ideophones. Among them are nouns derived by -eenn, e.g. *bizz-eenn-á* 'up(wards), North' < *bízz=y-* 'rise'; *mugg-eenn-á* 'down(wards), South' (used in (6)) < *múgg=y-* 'descend (vi)'; *cererr-eenn-á* 'trickle, rivulet, small rest of a drink' < *cerérr=y-* 'trickle'; *ilill-eenn-á* 'ululation' < *ilíli=y-* 'ululate' and *tilill-eenn-á* 'telephone' < *tililí=y-* 'ring'. However, unlike the -it(t)-derivation, the non-productive -eenn-derivation is not restricted to ideophonic inputs (Treis 2008: 165).

Finally, Treis & Deginet (2024: ex. 11) report a handful of verbs derived from onomatopoeic ideophones, e.g. *kaakk-ees-* 'cackle (of hen which is about to lay an egg)', based on the ideophone *káakk=y-* with the same meaning (see two similar examples from K'abeena in Crass 2005: 148). Most inputs of the semi-productive -ees-derivation in Kambaata are nouns (Treis 2022: 24).
### 3.4.3. Reduplicated ideophones

Two types of reduplicated ideophones can be differentiated: (a) lexically and (b) morphologically reduplicated ideophones. Kambaata has a morphological process of *partial* pre-reduplication, e.g. for generating reciprocal pronouns on the basis of simple personal pronouns (Treis 2008: 357–360) and for generating distributive numerals on the basis of cardinal numerals (Treis 2017: 352–355). However, partial reduplication is not attested in the domain of ideophones if we exclude the rare examples where the first and second CV are seemingly identical by chance, e.g. *qoqombó* = a’- ‘munch (e.g. roasted grain)’ (Alemu 2016: 843). Of the two types postulated above, type (a), which includes examples like the ones given in Table 10, does not concern us further in this section. This section only treats ideophones of type (b), i.e. ideophones that are also attested in a non-reduplicated form or whose stress pattern (§3.2) indicates that they are based on a simplex form.

<table><caption>**Table 10:** Lexically reduplicated ideophones.</caption><thead><tr><td>Ideophone</td><td>English</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>chachachá=y-</td><td>‘become sufficiently fermented’</td></tr><tr><td>didí=y-</td><td>‘tumble down a slope (of stones)’</td></tr><tr><td>hîhîhî=y-</td><td>‘laugh, make a laughing sound’</td></tr><tr><td>tililí=y-</td><td>‘ring, make a ringing sound’</td></tr><tr><td>xixí=y-</td><td>‘crackle when being roasted on the fire (of small seeds)’</td></tr><tr><td>xaxá=y-</td><td>‘crackle when being roasted on the fire (of big seeds)’</td></tr></tbody></table>

The full reduplication of ideophones is often observed in natural data, as seen in (29)-(30); also recall *bolóng*~*bolóng* = a’- ‘move one’s eyes (up/down, left/right)’ in (6).

(29) Xéem-u

da’ll-í

type_of_laxative-M.NOM

do_soon-3M.PFV.CVB

hurbú~hurbú = a’-í

fúsh-sh-o-he

RED~grumble.IDEO = do-3M.PFV.CVB

go_out-CAUS1-3M.BDV-2SG.OBJ

(Blessing for a boy who has been administered a laxative before his
circumcision) ‘May the laxative (extracted from the flowers of Hagenia
abyssinica) make you(r belly) grumble soon and bring out (the tapeworm) for
you.’ (AN2016-02-19_001)
### 3.4.3. Reduplicated ideophones

Two types of reduplicated ideophones can be differentiated: (a) lexically and (b) morphologically reduplicated ideophones. Kambaata has a morphological process of *partial* pre-reduplication, e.g. for generating reciprocal pronouns on the basis of simple personal pronouns (Treis 2008: 357–360) and for generating distributive numerals on the basis of cardinal numerals (Treis 2017: 352–355). However, partial reduplication is not attested in the domain of ideophones if we exclude the rare examples where the first and second CV are seemingly identical by chance, e.g. *qoqombó* = a’- ‘munch (e.g. roasted grain)’ (Alemu 2016: 843). Of the two types postulated above, type (a), which includes examples like the ones given in Table 10, does not concern us further in this section. This section only treats ideophones of type (b), i.e. ideophones that are also attested in a non-reduplicated form or whose stress pattern (§3.2) indicates that they are based on a simplex form.

<table><caption>**Table 10:** Lexically reduplicated ideophones.</caption><thead><tr><td>Ideophone</td><td>English</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>chachachá=y-</td><td>‘become sufficiently fermented’</td></tr><tr><td>didí=y-</td><td>‘tumble down a slope (of stones)’</td></tr><tr><td>hîhîhî=y-</td><td>‘laugh, make a laughing sound’</td></tr><tr><td>tililí=y-</td><td>‘ring, make a ringing sound’</td></tr><tr><td>xixí=y-</td><td>‘crackle when being roasted on the fire (of small seeds)’</td></tr><tr><td>xaxá=y-</td><td>‘crackle when being roasted on the fire (of big seeds)’</td></tr></tbody></table>

The full reduplication of ideophones is often observed in natural data, as seen in (29)-(30); also recall *bolóng*~*bolóng* = a’- ‘move one’s eyes (up/down, left/right)’ in (6).

(29) Xéem-u

da’ll-í

type_of_laxative-M.NOM

do_soon-3M.PFV.CVB

hurbú~hurbú = a’-í

fúsh-sh-o-he

RED~grumble.IDEO = do-3M.PFV.CVB

go_out-CAUS1-3M.BDV-2SG.OBJ

(Blessing for a boy who has been administered a laxative before his
circumcision) ‘May the laxative (extracted from the flowers of Hagenia
abyssinica) make you(r belly) grumble soon and bring out (the tapeworm) for
you.’ (AN2016-02-19_001)
<table><tr><td>(30)</td><td>Min-í</td><td>aaz-éen</td><td>abb-ís-s</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>house-M.GEN</td><td>interior-M.LOC</td><td>exceed-CAUS1-3F.PFV.CVB</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>haww-is-sáa</td><td>oos-úta</td><td>kóo</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>trouble-CAUS1-3F.IPFV.REL</td><td>children-F.ACC</td><td>2SG.VOC</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>qáf~qáf=y-itáyyoont,</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>RED~become_hyperactive.IDEO</td><td>=say-2SG.PROG</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>qáff=y-í</td><td></td><td>át, qánx-i</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>be_chopped_in...pieces.IDEO</td><td>=say-2SG.IMP</td><td>2SG.NOM break_off-2SG.IMP</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>át!</td><td>hittig-úta</td><td>y-eenán hoolam-íta</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>2SG.NOM</td><td>like_this-F.ACC</td><td>say-3HON.IPFV.CVB much-F.ACC</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>j-eechch-úta</td><td>xeleel-éenno</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>time-SGV-F.ACC</td><td>curse-3HON.IPFV</td><td></td></tr></table>

‘To children who cause trouble in the house, one says, “Hey, are you being hyperactive? May you be chopped in pieces! May you break off!”, (and) curses (them) like this.’ (AN2016-02-19_003)

The reduplication of verbal constituents is much less common, but used to highlight that an event occurs continuously or repeatedly for a period of time (31). For this purpose, the inflected form is repeated; see the perfective converbs in (31) and (16).

<table><tr><td>(31)</td><td>(...)</td><td>tees-ú-u</td><td>káan</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>now-M.OBL-ADD</td><td>P_DEM1.M.ACC</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>hóogg</strong></td><td><strong>=ké'</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>look_for.3M.PFV.CVB</td><td>become_tired.3M.PFV.CVB=SEQ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>bar-í, qaxarr-ó</td><td>bar-í kul-í márr-ee'</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>day-M.ACC</td><td>appointment[.AMH]-F.GEN day-M.ACC tell-M.DAT go-3M.PRF</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>'(...)</td><td>and again he looked looked looked looked looked for this (tree), got tired and went (to the father-in-law) to tell (him) on the day, on the appointed day (about the tree).'</td></tr></table>

The function of ideophone reduplication is often hard to grasp. For the ideophone (lúf~)lúf=y- ‘become soft, malleable, fluffy’, of which the reduplicated realization seems to be the default (and occurs as entry in Alemu 2016: 663), a non-reduplicated realization was considered possible by a consulted native speaker but
<table><tr><td>(30)</td><td>Min-í</td><td>aaz-éen</td><td>abb-ís-s</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>house-M.GEN</td><td>interior-M.LOC</td><td>exceed-CAUS1-3F.PFV.CVB</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>haww-is-sáa</td><td>oos-úta</td><td>kóo</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>trouble-CAUS1-3F.IPFV.REL</td><td>children-F.ACC</td><td>2SG.VOC</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>qáf~qáf=y-itáyyoont,</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>RED~become_hyperactive.IDEO</td><td>=say-2SG.PROG</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>qáff=y-í</td><td>át,</td><td>qánx-i</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>be_chopped_in...pieces.IDEO</td><td>=say-2SG.IMP</td><td>2SG.NOM break_off-2SG.IMP</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>át!</td><td>hittig-úta</td><td>y-eenán hoolam-íta</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>2SG.NOM</td><td>like_this-F.ACC</td><td>say-3HON.IPFV.CVB much-F.ACC</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>j-eechch-úta</td><td>xeleel-éenno</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>time-SGV-F.ACC</td><td>curse-3HON.IPFV</td><td></td></tr></table>

‘To children who cause trouble in the house, one says, “Hey, are you being hyperactive? May you be chopped in pieces! May you break off!”, (and) curses (them) like this.’ (AN2016-02-19_003)

The reduplication of verbal constituents is much less common, but used to highlight that an event occurs continuously or repeatedly for a period of time (31). For this purpose, the inflected form is repeated; see the perfective converbs in (31) and (16).

<table><tr><td>(31)</td><td>(...)</td><td>tees-ú-u</td><td>káan</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>now-M.OBL-ADD</td><td>P_DEM1.M.ACC</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td><td><strong>háshsh</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td><strong>hóogg</strong></td><td><strong>=ké'</strong></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>look_for.3M.PFV.CVB</td><td>become_tired.3M.PFV.CVB=SEQ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>bar-í,</td><td>qaxarr-ó bar-í kul-í márr-ee'</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>day-M.ACC</td><td>appointment[.AMH]-F.GEN day-M.ACC tell-M.DAT go-3M.PRF</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>'(...)</td><td>and again he looked looked looked looked looked for this (tree), got tired and went (to the father-in-law) to tell (him) on the day, on the appointed day (about the tree).' (EK2016-02-12_003)</td></tr></table>

The function of ideophone reduplication is often hard to grasp. For the ideophone (lúf~)lúf=y- ‘become soft, malleable, fluffy’, of which the reduplicated realization seems to be the default (and occurs as entry in Alemu 2016: 663), a non-reduplicated realization was considered possible by a consulted native speaker but
synonymous to the reduplicated form. A similar judgment was, for instance, made with respect to (haráxx~)haráxx=y- 'stride, walk with quick, long steps' in (32), where the reduplicated form was considered to be replaceable by a simplex form (here the entry in Alemu 2016: 450 is the simplex form).

(32) **Haráxx~haráxx**=y-itán már-i, hawwarr-ókkoo-he
RED~stride.IDEO=say-2SG.IPFV.CVB go-2SG.IMP become dark-3M.APPR-2SG.OBJ
'Walk fast(er) or it might become dark on us!' (Field notes 2022, DWD)

<table><caption>**Table 11:** Reduplicated ideophones</caption><thead><tr><th>#</th><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>bárk~bárk=y-*</td><td>'flap (of wings)'</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>béxx~béxx=y-</td><td>'show up, start to come out (of plural subject)'</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>birxí~birxí=y-</td><td>'writhe, twist, wriggle about (e.g. to free oneself)'</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>bolóng~bolóng=a'-♦</td><td>'move one's eyes (up/down, left/right)'</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>chílk~chílk=y-</td><td>'clink, jingle (of keys, coins, small bells on a horse's neck)'</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>cóphph~cóphph=y-</td><td>'drip (e.g. of leaky water-tap)'</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>dúbb~dúbb=a'-</td><td>'pound (coffee leaves)'</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>farcá~farcá=a'-♦</td><td>'crumble, break up (sticky product, e.g. fermented tobacco, enset food)'</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>forgó~forgó=y-</td><td>'move a bit away from each other, keep a distance from each other, leave some space (e.g. so as not to bump into one another) (of plural subject)'</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>gíphph~gíphph=y</td><td>'stop briefly, pause (when walking or talking) (of plural subject)'</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>haráxx~haráxx=y-</td><td>'stride, walk with quick, long steps'</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>hurbú~hurbú=a'-*</td><td>'make (the belly) grumble'</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>láf~láf=a'-</td><td>'make (s.o.) feel nauseous'</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>óorin~óorin=y-*</td><td>'encourage a child to take a laxative; abet, goad, prompt (s.o.) repeatedly'</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>qúl~qúl=a'-</td><td>'make (s.o.) feel nostalgic, cause a longing feeling (in s.o.) (e.g. of person or home that is missed)'</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>qulcú~qulcú=y-♦</td><td>'slosh back and forth (of water in a container when carried)'</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>qumbú~qumbú=a'-*</td><td>'drum, make (a drum) sound'</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>shínn~shínn=y-</td><td>'laugh heartily (of plural subject/continuously)'</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>xéff~xéff=y-*</td><td>'have/be covered by small spots, dots'</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>yák~yák=a'-</td><td>'do haphazardly, do too quickly and carelessly, struggle to do'</td></tr></tbody></table>

(*only attested as reduplicated in my data and in Alemu 2016; ♦only attested as reduplicated in my data, not attested in Alemu 2016; rest: attested as simplex and as reduplicated).
synonymous to the reduplicated form. A similar judgment was, for instance, made with respect to (haráxx~)haráxx=y- 'stride, walk with quick, long steps' in (32), where the reduplicated form was considered to be replaceable by a simplex form (here the entry in Alemu 2016: 450 is the simplex form).

(32) **Haráxx~haráxx**=y-itán már-i, hawwarr-ókkoo-he
RED~stride.IDEO=say-2SG.IPFV.CVB go-2SG.IMP become dark-3M.APPR-2SG.OBJ
'Walk fast(er) or it might become dark on us!' (Field notes 2022, DWD)

<table><caption>**Table 11:** Reduplicated ideophones</caption><thead><tr><th>#</th><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>bárk~bárk=y-*</td><td>'flap (of wings)'</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>béxx~béxx=y-</td><td>'show up, start to come out (of plural subject)'</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>birxí~birxí=y-</td><td>'writhe, twist, wriggle about (e.g. to free oneself)'</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>bolóng~bolóng=a'-♦</td><td>'move one's eyes (up/down, left/right)'</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>chílk~chílk=y-</td><td>'clink, jingle (of keys, coins, small bells on a horse's neck)'</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>cóphph~cóphph=y-</td><td>'drip (e.g. of leaky water-tap)'</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>dúbb~dúbb=a'-</td><td>'pound (coffee leaves)'</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>farcá~farcá=a'-♦</td><td>'crumble, break up (sticky product, e.g. fermented tobacco, enset food)'</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>forgó~forgó=y-</td><td>'move a bit away from each other, keep a distance from each other, leave some space (e.g. so as not to bump into one another) (of plural subject)'</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>gíphph~gíphph=y</td><td>'stop briefly, pause (when walking or talking) (of plural subject)'</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>haráxx~haráxx=y-</td><td>'stride, walk with quick, long steps'</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>hurbú~hurbú=a'-*</td><td>'make (the belly) grumble'</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>láf~láf=a'-</td><td>'make (s.o.) feel nauseous'</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>óorin~óorin=y-*</td><td>'encourage a child to take a laxative; abet, goad, prompt (s.o.) repeatedly'</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>qúl~qúl=a'-</td><td>'make (s.o.) feel nostalgic, cause a longing feeling (in s.o.) (e.g. of person or home that is missed)'</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>qulcú~qulcú=y-♦</td><td>'slosh back and forth (of water in a container when carried)'</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>qumbú~qumbú=a'-*</td><td>'drum, make (a drum) sound'</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>shínn~shínn=y-</td><td>'laugh heartily (of plural subject/continuously)'</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>xéff~xéff=y-*</td><td>'have/be covered by small spots, dots'</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>yák~yák=a'-</td><td>'do haphazardly, do too quickly and carelessly, struggle to do'</td></tr></tbody></table>

(*only attested as reduplicated in my data and in Alemu 2016; ♦only attested as reduplicated in my data, not attested in Alemu 2016; rest: attested as simplex and as reduplicated).
In most cases, however, the reduplication of ideophones seems to be triggered by
the iterative nature of the event that they express. Iterativity can be inherent in the
event, as in #1 ‘flap’, #14 ‘abet, goad, prompt repeatedly’ and #17 ‘drum’ in Table
11, which are (probably) always reduplicated. For other ideophones, an iterative
realization of the event is very common; see cóphph=y- expressing a single dripping
event (one drop) vs. the reduplicated cóphph~cóphph=y- (#6 in Table 11)
expressing a repeated dripping event (multiple drops), e.g. of a leaky water-tap.

A slightly different meaning, a subtype of event plurality, is reflected in (33),
where the reduplicated ideophone expresses repeated (possibly cautious) attempts
to do something. According to a consultant, the reduplicated ideophone in (33) is
(near) synonymous with the iterative/attenuative-derived ideophone in (34).

(33) (...) *iséta da'll-ít*
3F.ACC do_soon-3F.PFV.CVB RED~rise = do-3F.IPFV.REL

*mateemínn-it* *yoo-ba'í = dda (...)*

*shortage_of_manpower-F.NOM exist.3-NEG1.REL = COND*

'(...) if there is no shortage of manpower (in the household) that makes her (=
the new mother) soon try to rise up (again from childbed, in order to work)
(...).' (EK2016-02-23_002)

(34) Mann-í bác-u huj-ée xóqq=ass-ans-áno-se
people-M.GEN shortage-M.NOM work-3F.DAT rise.IDEO=do-ITER-3M.IPFV-3F.OBJ
'The shortage of man(power) makes her gradually rise up for work (again).' (Field notes 2023, DWD)

Apart from event plurality (iterativity), reduplication also serves to express
participant plurality;<fnref n="33" /> see #2 ‘show up’, #9 ‘keep a distance’, #10 ‘pause’ and #18
‘laugh heartily’ in Table 11, whose reduplicated forms are attested with plural
subjects. The use of the simplex and reduplicated forms of ideophone #9 is
illustrated in (35)-(36).

<footnote n="33">³³ In the literature on related languages, ideophone reduplication is said to express repeated events, events expressed by plural subjects and prolonged (continuous) events (see Amina 2013: 36–37 on Oromo; Crass 2005: 292–293 on K’abeena; Girum 2013: 70 on Sidaama; Eyob 2015: §9.3 on Gedeo).</footnote>
In most cases, however, the reduplication of ideophones seems to be triggered by
the iterative nature of the event that they express. Iterativity can be inherent in the
event, as in #1 ‘flap’, #14 ‘abet, goad, prompt repeatedly’ and #17 ‘drum’ in Table
11, which are (probably) always reduplicated. For other ideophones, an iterative
realization of the event is very common; see cóphph=y- expressing a single dripping
event (one drop) vs. the reduplicated cóphph~cóphph=y- (#6 in Table 11)
expressing a repeated dripping event (multiple drops), e.g. of a leaky water-tap.

A slightly different meaning, a subtype of event plurality, is reflected in (33),
where the reduplicated ideophone expresses repeated (possibly cautious) attempts
to do something. According to a consultant, the reduplicated ideophone in (33) is
(near) synonymous with the iterative/attenuative-derived ideophone in (34).

(33) (...) *iséta da'll-ít*
3F.ACC do_soon-3F.PFV.CVB RED~rise = do-3F.IPFV.REL

*mateemínn-it* *yoo-ba'í = dda (...)*

*shortage_of_manpower-F.NOM exist.3-NEG1.REL = COND*

‘(...) if there is no shortage of manpower (in the household) that makes her (= the new mother) soon try to rise up (again from childbed, in order to work) (...)’ (EK2016-02-23_002)

(34) *Mann-í* *bác-u* *huj-ée* *xóqq = ass-ans-áno-se*
*people-M.GEN shortage-M.NOM work-3F.DAT rise.IDEO = do-ITER-3M.IPFV-3F.OBJ*
‘The shortage of man(power) makes her gradually rise up for work (again).’
(Field notes 2023, DWD)

Apart from event plurality (iterativity), reduplication also serves to express
participant plurality;<fnref n="33" /> see #2 ‘show up’, #9 ‘keep a distance’, #10 ‘pause’ and #18
‘laugh heartily’ in Table 11, whose reduplicated forms are attested with plural
subjects. The use of the simplex and reduplicated forms of ideophone #9 is
illustrated in (35)-(36).

<footnote n="33">³³ In the literature on related languages, ideophone reduplication is said to express repeated events, events expressed by plural subjects and prolonged (continuous) events (see Amina 2013: 36–37 on Oromo; Crass 2005: 292–293 on K’abeena; Girum 2013: 70 on Sidaama; Eyob 2015: §9.3 on Gedeo).</footnote>
(35) Qah-ú<n>ka zakk-ú **forgó**=y-ít
small-M.ACC<EMP> behind-M.ACC move_away.IDEO = say-2SG.PFV.CVB
úurr-i
stand-2SG.IMP

(Possible context: Command addressed to a person who has crossed the yellow line) ‘Move back a little bit and stand (there)!’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

(36) Gomb-aqq-an-téenoochch-iyye, **forgó~forgó**=y-itéen
bump-MID-PASS-2PL.NEG2-2PL.IMP RED~move_away.IDEO = say-2PL.PFV.CVB
uurr-iyyé
stand-2PL.IMP

(Possible context: command addressed to a crowd) ‘Please, do not bump into each other, keep your distance/stand a bit away from each other!’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

3.4.4. Compound ideophones

In my fieldwork data and in written sources, there is a small number of bipartite
ideophones which result from compounding. Overall, compounding is not a very
productive word formation process in Kambaata, the most frequent compound type are
numeral-plus-noun compounds (Treis 2017: 349–351), whereas, for instance, noun-noun
compounds like *min-ann-á* (house-father-M.ACC) ‘head of the household’ and noun-verb
compounds like *oz-gal-á* (dinner-spend_the_night-M.ACC) ‘something to eat for dinner’ are
rare. Even more exceptional are verb-verb compounds; the only attested verbally
inflecting example, *birs-awwa’nn-(aqq-)am-* (precede.CAUS1-follow.MID-(MID-)PASS) ‘follow
one another’, is possibly a recent calque from Amharic.

The use of a compound ideophone is shown in (37); see (40) for another example.

(37) Tá wotar-ch-úta aass-ííha tí hárr-it
A_DEM1.F.ACC foal-SGV-F.ACC give-M.DAT A_DEM1.F.NOM donkeys-F.NOM
**shambá.qambá**=y-itáni-yan wotár-ch-u-s
bustle_around_in_joyful_expectation-3F.IPFV.CVB-DS foal-SGV-F.NOM-DEF
káar-t (...) firíix-x ir-íichch
become_suspicious-3F.PFV.CVB gallop-3F.PFV.CVB land-M.ABL
ba'-óo'u
disappear-3F.PFV
(35) Qah-ú<n>ka zakk-ú **forgó**=y-ít
small-M.ACC<EMP> behind-M.ACC move_away.IDEO = say-2SG.PFV.CVB
úurr-i
stand-2SG.IMP

(Possible context: Command addressed to a person who has crossed the yellow line) ‘Move back a little bit and stand (there)!’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

(36) Gomb-aqq-an-téenoochch-iyye, **forgó~forgó**=y-itéen
bump-MID-PASS-2PL.NEG2-2PL.IMP RED~move_away.IDEO = say-2PL.PFV.CVB
uurr-iyyé
stand-2PL.IMP

(Possible context: command addressed to a crowd) ‘Please, do not bump into each other, keep your distance/stand a bit away from each other!’ (Field notes 2022, DWD)

3.4.4. Compound ideophones

In my fieldwork data and in written sources, there is a small number of bipartite
ideophones which result from compounding. Overall, compounding is not a very
productive word formation process in Kambaata, the most frequent compound type are
numeral-plus-noun compounds (Treis 2017: 349–351), whereas, for instance, noun-noun
compounds like *min-ann-á* (house-father-*M.ACC*) ‘head of the household’ and noun-verb
compounds like *oz-gal-á* (dinner-spend-*the-night-*M.ACC*) ‘something to eat for dinner’ are
rare. Even more exceptional are verb-verb compounds; the only attested verbally
inflecting example, *birs-awwa’nn-(aqq-)am-* (precede-*CAUS1-follow.*MID-((MID-))PASS*) ‘follow
one another’, is possibly a recent calque from Amharic.

The use of a compound ideophone is shown in (37); see (40) for another example.

(37) Tá wotar-ch-úta aass-ííha tí hárr-it
A_DEM1.F.ACC foal-SGV-F.ACC give-M.DAT A_DEM1.F.NOM donkeys-F.NOM
**shambá.qambá**=y-itáni-yan wotár-ch-u-s
bustle_around_in_joyful_expectation-3F.IPFV.CVB-DS foal-SGV-F.NOM-DEF
káar-t (...) firíix-x ir-íichch
become_suspicious-3F.PFV.CVB gallop-3F.PFV.CVB land-M.ABL
ba’-óo’u
disappear-3F.PFV
‘When the donkeys were bustling around in joyful expectation to hand the foal over (to the hyenas), the foal became suspicious, (...) galloped away and disappeared from the face of the earth.’ (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 4.34)

Table 12 lists some compound ideophones from Alemu (2016) that are confirmed by at least one other source.<fnref n="34" />

<table><caption>Table 12: Compound ideophones.</caption><thead><tr><th>#</th><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Origin</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>bízz-múgg = a'-</td><td>'make have the stomach flu; make vomit and make have diarrhea'</td><td>bízz = a'- 'raise; make vomit' +<br>múgg = a'- 'lower; cause to have diarrhea'</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>fógg-xóqq = y-</td><td>'be busy (especially of a host who needs to prepare and serve food, entertain the guests etc.)'</td><td>fógg = y- 'bend over/down' +<br>xóqq = y- 'rise'</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>kimbíll-biciríqq = y-</td><td>'tumble, turn over [?]'</td><td>kimbíll = y- / biciríqq = y- 'return back, swerve suddenly'</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>míkk-míll = y-</td><td>'budge, move a bit (lit. and fig.)' - especially used in negative contexts: not move even a bit; see (6)</td><td>míkk = y- (meaning synonymous to compound); independent use and meaning of 2<sup>nd</sup> part not confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>qashá-qombó = y-</td><td>'snap, respond impatiently, irritably, brusquely (and thus socially inappropriately)'</td><td>qashá = y- (meaning synonymous to compound); independent use and meaning of 2<sup>nd</sup> part not confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>shambá-qambá = y-</td><td>'bustle around, be busy preparing (in joyful expectation)'</td><td>independent use and meaning of parts not confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>shóott-gáff = y-</td><td>'be emotionally moved, agitated, fidget (because of anger, worries)'</td><td>shóott = y- 'get up abruptly' +<br>gáff = y- 'sit down for a little while'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Based on the meanings of their parts, Desalegn (2020: 68) proposes to categorize Kambaata compound ideophones into combinations of synonyms (e.g. #3 in Table

<footnote n="34">³⁴ Ideophone compounding is also reported for K'abeena (Crass 2005: 233) and Sidaama (Girum 2013: 46).</footnote>
‘When the donkeys were bustling around in joyful expectation to hand the foal over (to the hyenas), the foal became suspicious, (...) galloped away and disappeared from the face of the earth.’ (Kambaata Education Bureau 1989: 4.34)

Table 12 lists some compound ideophones from Alemu (2016) that are confirmed by at least one other source.<fnref n="34" />

<table><caption>Table 12: Compound ideophones.</caption><thead><tr><th>#</th><th>Ideophone</th><th>English</th><th>Origin</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>bízz-múgg = a'-</td><td>'make have the stomach flu; make vomit and make have diarrhea'</td><td>bízz = a'- 'raise; make vomit' +<br>múgg = a'- 'lower; cause to have diarrhea'</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>fógg-xóqq = y-</td><td>'be busy (especially of a host who needs to prepare and serve food, entertain the guests etc.)'</td><td>fógg = y- 'bend over/down' +<br>xóqq = y- 'rise'</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>kimbíll-biciríqq = y-</td><td>'tumble, turn over [?]'</td><td>kimbíll = y- / biciríqq = y- 'return back, swerve suddenly'</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>míkk-míll = y-</td><td>'budge, move a bit (lit. and fig.)' - especially used in negative contexts: not move even a bit; see (6)</td><td>míkk = y- (meaning synonymous to compound); independent use and meaning of 2<sup>nd</sup> part not confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>qashá-qombó = y-</td><td>'snap, respond impatiently, irritably, brusquely (and thus socially inappropriately)'</td><td>qashá = y- (meaning synonymous to compound); independent use and meaning of 2<sup>nd</sup> part not confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>shambá-qambá = y-</td><td>'bustle around, be busy preparing (in joyful expectation)'</td><td>independent use and meaning of parts not confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>shóott-gáff = y-</td><td>'be emotionally moved, agitated, fidget (because of anger, worries)'</td><td>shóott = y- 'get up abruptly' +<br>gáff = y- 'sit down for a little while'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Based on the meanings of their parts, Desalegn (2020: 68) proposes to categorize Kambaata compound ideophones into combinations of synonyms (e.g. #3 in Table

<footnote n="34">³⁴ Ideophone compounding is also reported for K'abeena (Crass 2005: 233) and Sidaama (Girum 2013: 46).</footnote>
12), combinations of antonyms (e.g. #1 in Table 12) and combinations of an ideophone with a semantically empty counterpart (e.g. #5 in Table 12).<fnref n="35" />

Alternatively, the compounds could be classified according to whether their meaning is predictable. Compound #1 in Table 12 has a transparent origin and expresses the meanings of its parts. In contrast, the examples in #2 and #7 show that the meaning is not necessarily compositional: the concept of busyness (#2) is rendered as a combination of (repeated) bending over and rising up again; the concept of being agitated (#7) is expressed as a combination of (repeated) getting up abruptly and sitting down briefly. As far as semantic idiosyncrasies are concerned, ideophonic compounds are not different from other lexicalized compounds in the language.

### 3.4.5. Ideophone formation by conversion

Most Kambaata property concepts (apart from colors) can be expressed by adjectives and inchoative-stative verbs of the same root, e.g. *danq-á(ta)* 'deaf' – *danq-* 'become deaf, *itis-á(ta)*' 'expensive' – *itis-*** 'become expensive', *qug-á(ta)* 'raw' – *qug-*** 'become raw'. There is no conclusive evidence making it possible to decide whether adjectives are derived (through conversion) from inchoative-stative verbs or vice versa, or whether property lexemes should be assumed to be undetermined for word class.<fnref n="36" /> A similar conversion relation can be observed between color adjectives and ideophones (and not verbs). Color ideophones come in intransitive/transitive pairs, e.g. *gamball-á(ta)* 'black' and *gambáll=y*- 'become black' / *gambáll=a'-* 'blacken', *wojj-ú(ta)* 'white' and *wójj=y*- 'become white' / *wójj=a'-* 'whiten'; for the use of color ideophones in context see (15)-(16). Here again, we can ask whether color adjectives are derived from ideophones or vice versa. This time, there seems to be an argument in favor of the direction being adjective > ideophone. Unlike other ideophones, color ideophones cannot be the input of the adjectivizing derivation by *-eem* (§3.4.1) or of the nominalizing derivation by *-it(t)* (§3.4.2). Instead, color nouns are derived from the adjective by the productive deadjectival nominalizer *-im*, see *gamball-á(ta)* 'black' – *gamball-*im-áta 'blackness', just like *qug-á(ta)* 'raw' – *qug-*

<footnote n="35">³⁵ In K'abeena, Crass (2005: 293–294) considers examples such as #4 and #6 in Table 12 to be “echo word” formations, in which the second part of the compound does not have a meaning on its own but simply “echoes” the first part phonologically, i.e. produces a (near) copy.</footnote>

<footnote n="36">³⁶ Recall that adjectives are cited in their accusative case form, i.e. the endings -á(ta), -ú(ta) etc. of cited adjectives are inflectional, not derivational morphemes.</footnote>
12), combinations of antonyms (e.g. #1 in Table 12) and combinations of an ideophone with a semantically empty counterpart (e.g. #5 in Table 12).<fnref n="35" />

Alternatively, the compounds could be classified according to whether their meaning is predictable. Compound #1 in Table 12 has a transparent origin and expresses the meanings of its parts. In contrast, the examples in #2 and #7 show that the meaning is not necessarily compositional: the concept of busyness (#2) is rendered as a combination of (repeated) bending over and rising up again; the concept of being agitated (#7) is expressed as a combination of (repeated) getting up abruptly and sitting down briefly. As far as semantic idiosyncrasies are concerned, ideophonic compounds are not different from other lexicalized compounds in the language.

### 3.4.5. Ideophone formation by conversion

Most Kambaata property concepts (apart from colors) can be expressed by adjectives and inchoative-stative verbs of the same root, e.g. *danq-á(ta)* 'deaf' – *danq-* 'become deaf, *itis-á(ta)*' 'expensive' – *itis-*** 'become expensive', *qug-á(ta)* 'raw' – *qug-*** 'become raw'. There is no conclusive evidence making it possible to decide whether adjectives are derived (through conversion) from inchoative-stative verbs or vice versa, or whether property lexemes should be assumed to be undetermined for word class.<fnref n="36" /> A similar conversion relation can be observed between color adjectives and ideophones (and not verbs). Color ideophones come in intransitive/transitive pairs, e.g. *gamball-á(ta)* 'black' and *gambáll=y*- 'become black' / *gambáll=a'-* 'blacken', *wojj-ú(ta)* 'white' and *wójj=y*- 'become white' / *wójj=a'-* 'whiten'; for the use of color ideophones in context see (15)-(16). Here again, we can ask whether color adjectives are derived from ideophones or vice versa. This time, there seems to be an argument in favor of the direction being adjective > ideophone. Unlike other ideophones, color ideophones cannot be the input of the adjectivizing derivation by *-eem* (§3.4.1) or of the nominalizing derivation by *-it(t)* (§3.4.2). Instead, color nouns are derived from the adjective by the productive deadjectival nominalizer *-im*, see *gamball-á(ta)* 'black' – *gamball-im-áta* 'blackness', just like *qug-á(ta)* 'raw' – *qug-*

<footnote n="35">³⁵ In K'abeena, Crass (2005: 293–294) considers examples such as #4 and #6 in Table 12 to be “echo word” formations, in which the second part of the compound does not have a meaning on its own but simply “echoes” the first part phonologically, i.e. produces a (near) copy.</footnote>

<footnote n="36">³⁶ Recall that adjectives are cited in their accusative case form, i.e. the endings -á(ta), -ú(ta) etc. of cited adjectives are inflectional, not derivational morphemes.</footnote>
**im-áta** ‘rawness’, which leads me to assume that the color adjective is the base and the ideophone derived.

We also find two ideophones that share a root with a pronoun. The manner demonstratives *hitt-íta* (F) ‘like this’ and *hatt-íta* (F) ‘how’ (Treis 2019) have two corresponding ideophonic demonstrative pairs, *hítt* = y- ‘do like this’ / *hítt* = a’- ‘do (s.th.) like this’ and *hátt* = y- ‘become how, turn out where’ / *hátt* = a’- ‘do how, do what (to s.th.)’. The transitive members of the pairs are seen in (38)-(39); see (53) for *hítt* = ih-.

(38) (...) *xit-á* ang-áan **hítt**=a'-éen
soot-M.ACC hand-F.ICP do_like_this.IDEO=do-3HON.IPFV.CVB
*usur-éen*=*ké*' (...) 
*tie-3HON.IPFV.CVB*=SEQ

‘(...), like this [GESTURE], one ties the (bunch of grass with the) soot with the hand and then (...).’ (EK2016-02-23_002)

(39) Xon-é buud-á-s **hátt**=at-tóo-la?
aforementioned-F.GEN horn-M.ACC-DEF do_how.IDEO=do-3F.PFV-MIT
‘What did she do with (i.e. where has she put) that horn?’ (TD2016-02-11_001)

Finally, one ideophone, *lamúbb* = y- ‘fall into two parts’ (40), is based on the stem of the denumeral noun *lam-ú* = *bb-a* (two-M.ACC = PLC-M.ACC) ‘into two parts’, a combination of the numeral *lam-ú* ‘two’ (M.ACC) and the place nominalizer = *b(b)* (Treis 2008: 243–247). Here it is undisputable that the ideophone is derived (through conversion) from the denumeral and not vice versa.

(40) (...) *hiliq-óon* *háam-u-s*
shock-M.LOC chest-F.NOM-3M.POSS
*fíiqq-táaqq*=y-ít
be_ripped_apart.IDEO-be_ripped_apart.IDEO=say-3F.PFV.CVB
*boq-u-sí-i* *áaz-u* *qixx-ú*
head-F.NOM-3M.POSS-ADD *interior-M.NOM* equal-M.ACC
*lamúbb*=y-ít<fnref n="37" /> *farshá*=y-itóo-s
*fall_into_two_parts*=say-3F.PFV.CVB *break_apart.IDEO*=say-3F.PFV-3M.OBJ

<footnote n="37">³⁷ The ideophonic form is here phonetically realized as *lamúbb*=*ít*, with the y of the ‘say’-verb omitted, but the independent stress on the support verb is retained.</footnote>
**im-áta** ‘rawness’, which leads me to assume that the color adjective is the base and the ideophone derived.

We also find two ideophones that share a root with a pronoun. The manner demonstratives *hitt-íta* (F) ‘like this’ and *hatt-íta* (F) ‘how’ (Treis 2019) have two corresponding ideophonic demonstrative pairs, *hítt* = y- ‘do like this’ / *hítt* = a’- ‘do (s.th.) like this’ and *hátt* = y- ‘become how, turn out where’ / *hátt* = a’- ‘do how, do what (to s.th.)’. The transitive members of the pairs are seen in (38)-(39); see (53) for *hítt* = ih-.

(38) (...) *xit-á* ang-áan **hítt**=a'-éen
soot-M.ACC hand-F.ICP do_like_this.IDEO=do-3HON.IPFV.CVB
*usur-éen*=*ké*' (...)  
tie-3HON.IPFV.CVB=SEQ

‘(...), like this [GESTURE], one ties the (bunch of grass with the) soot with the hand and then (...).’ (EK2016-02-23_002)

(39) Xon-é buud-á-s **hátt**=at-tóo-la?
aforementioned-F.GEN horn-M.ACC-DEF do_how.IDEO=do-3F.PFV-MIT
‘What did she do with (i.e. where has she put) that horn?’ (TD2016-02-11_001)

Finally, one ideophone, *lamúbb* = y- ‘fall into two parts’ (40), is based on the stem of the denumeral noun *lam-ú* = *bb-a* (two-M.ACC = PLC-M.ACC) ‘into two parts’, a combination of the numeral *lam-ú* ‘two’ (M.ACC) and the place nominalizer = *b(b)* (Treis 2008: 243–247). Here it is undisputable that the ideophone is derived (through conversion) from the denumeral and not vice versa.

(40) (...) *hiliq-óon* *háam-u-s*
shock-M.LOC chest-F.NOM-3M.POSS
*fíiqq-táaqq* = y-ít
be_ripped_apart.IDEO-be_ripped_apart.IDEO = say-3F.PFV.CVB
*boq-u-sí-i* *áaz-u* *qixx-ú*
head-F.NOM-3M.POSS-ADD interior-M.NOM equal-M.ACC
*lamúbb* = y-ít<fnref n="37" /> *farshá* = y-itóo-s
fall_into_two_parts = say-3F.PFV.CVB break_apart.IDEO = say-3F.PFV-3M.OBJ

<footnote n="37">³⁷ The ideophonic form is here phonetically realized as *lamúbb* = *ít*, with the y of the ‘say’-verb omitted, but the independent stress on the support verb is retained.</footnote>