@ -556,27 +556,38 @@ The singulative suffixes *-NV, -ʧV,* and *-V* (where *V* is a front vowel) can
The principal overview of noun morphology in West Nilotic is presented by Storch. Western Nilotic also has an emergent classifier system, described in some detail in Storch but omitted here. **Table 28** summarizes the affixes of West Nilotic:
@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ The *‑(i)gir*-extension occurs on intransitive and transitive verb stems. It i
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| (63) | *ɛɛʃ=ɛ*[^80] | “belch” | *ɛɛʃ=ɛ-gir* |“cause or allow to belch, play with food and drink” |
| (64) | *ulli* | “kindle” | *ull-igir* | “cause or allow to kindle” |
| (65) | *jamm=ɛ* | “come together, assemble” | |*jamm=ɛ-gir* | “cause or allow to come together, assemble” |
| (65) | *jamm=ɛ* | “come together, assemble” | *jamm=ɛ-gir* | “cause or allow to come together, assemble” |
[^80]: *ɛɛʃ* belongs to the class of onomatopoeia or ideophones. They are not used as free forms but are turned into verbs by means of the clitic verb *ɛ* “say,” cf. Armbruster, *Dongolese Nubian: A Grammar*, §§2870–2877.
@ -804,11 +804,11 @@ While the preceding Nobiin and Andaandi examples illustrate the grammaticalizati
{{<gloss"(109)">}}
{r} **Nobiin**
{r} ay ed-a kiir > ay ed-kiir [ekkiir] “I bring it,” lit. “I take it and come”
{r} *ay ed-a kiir > ay ed-kiir* [ekkiir] “I bring it,” lit. “I take it and come”
{{</gloss>}}
{{<gloss"(110)">}}
{r} ay ed-a juur > ay ed-juur [ejjuur] “I take it along,” lit. “I take it and go”
{r} *ay ed-a juur > ay ed-juur* [ejjuur] “I take it along,” lit. “I take it and go”
{{</gloss>}}
@ -992,7 +992,7 @@ Massenbach, Armbruster, Werner, and Abdel-Hafiz represent the biverbal applicati
{r} “May you [pl]({sc}) present her/him/them (or have her/him/them presented) with a large meal”
{r} “May you [pl]({sc}) present her/him/them (or have her/him/them presented) with a large meal.”
{{</gloss>}}
The prefixed elements *pVsV-* or *yi-,* which obviously have a causative value but are not yet fully understood, have been studied above in [4.3](#iii3). The element *-x(e)* in the singular, *-bx(e)* in the plural, is a verbal number marker that has been analysed in section [3.3](#ii3). As the funerary benedictions are basically prayers to the gods, imperative or optative in the 2nd person plural are expected. The verbal TAM ending here is *-k-te* or *-ke-te* with a plural suffix *-k(e).* The singular TAM ending is *-te,* as seen in examples (19), (29)–(31), each of which contains a prayer to a single god. Cross-linguistically, the singular imperative is generally a simple verbal stem, e.g., English *see!,* Latin *vide!,* and Middle Egyptian *m3!* This is also true for the living NES languages: Nobiin *nàl!,* Midob *kóod!,* etc.[^84] For this reason, the verbal form with ending *-te,* which is used in the royal blessings and funerary benedictions, must be regarded as an optative rather than an imperative. However, an optional particle *-se,* which is added to the verbal compound in several funerary inscriptions,[^85] has an Old Nubian parallel in the command marker -ⲥⲟ or -ⲥⲱ.[^x35] Be it related or borrowed, this particle shows the semantic proximity of the Meroitic optative with the Old Nubian imperative.
