Afaan Oromo - Chapter 9: Jussive

Narrative
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  1. About this sound play Guyyuma guyyaatti daabboo waan dhadhaa hedddu hin qabne; akayi, ruzza yookin paasta dhiheessaa jaha hanga kudha tokko nyaadhu. Fakkeenyaaf, ganama matajaboo, guyya sandwich galgala immoo ruzza duwwa nyaadhu.
  2. About this sound play Ija mukkatti fi kuduraa dhiheessaa shan nyaadhu. Fakkenyaaf, cuunfaa birtukaanii dhugi, salaaxaa nyaadhu, galgala immoo dinnichaa affeelama fi ija wayinii nyaadhu.
  3. About this sound play Guyyaatti yoo xinnaate bishaan burcuqqo saddeet dhuuggi.
  4. About this sound play Foon diimaa kan baay'ee cooma hin qabne isaa akaa hanqaaqoo yookiin qurxummii nyaadhu.
  5. About this sound play Waan sa'a kan dhadhaa yartuu qabu kan akka aanaan raafamaa fi itittuu filadhu.
  6. About this sound play Nyaata waan mi'aawaa fi dhugaatii alkoolii hin baay'isiin.
  7. About this sound play Guyyaa hunda sosocho'a godhi. Dirree keessa adeemi, yookiin sirba bu'i, taphadhu.
  8. About this sound play Nyaata kolestrol hin qabne fi, zayitii waan sa'a fi kan cooma horii irra hojjatamu mana zayitii kuduraa filadhu.
The Imperative
The 2nd person jussive, better known as the imperative, is used for issuing commands. In Oromo, there are two forms for the imperative, the singular (ati) and the plural/polite (isin). For all verbs except -chuu verbs, the pattern for forming imperatives is as follows:
Formation of Imperatives
AffirmativeNegative
suffixprefixsuffix
ati-ihin-in
isin-ahin-ina
For -chuu verbs, where the verb stem is the infinitive minus the -chuu ending, the imperatives are formed as follows:
Imperatives for -chuu verbs
AffirmativeNegative
suffixprefixsuffix
ati-dhuhin-tin
isin-dhahin-tina

Examples:
EnglishAtiIsin
sittaa'itaa'a
don't sithin taa'inhin taa'ina
eatnyaadhunyaadha
don't eathin nyaatinhin nyaatina
godeemideema
don't gohin deemin    hin deemina
givekennikenna
don't givehin kenninhin kennina

Exceptions
The main exception is “come” (“to come” – dhufuu) which is koottukootta (not dhufidhufa) in the affirmative. The negative imperative (“don't come”) follows the standard pattern, hin dhufinhin dhufina. The imperative “go” can also bebeenubeena in addition to the regular forms deemideema.

“Please”
The standard word for “please” is maaloo, though in conversation this is used mostly for making requests and as a response, as in “yes, please”. Adaraa (“in the name of”) is also sometimes used as “please” in this context. For imperatives and other jussive forms, mee is most commonly used.
Examples:
Koottu mee” — “come here, please”
Mee waa'ee obbolaawwan kee natti himi” — “Please tell me about your brothers”
Mee nama sun gaafadhu” — “Please ask that person”
Mee suuta dubbadhu” — “Please speak slowly/slower”
Mee irra naa deebi'i” — “Please repeat for me”
Mee guddisii dubbadhu” — “Please speak loudly/louder”
More Indirect Objects: The Dative
The dative case is used to indicated recipients and benefactors, where in English we would use “to” or “for”. The dative may be formed by one of the following methods:
  1. For nouns that end in a short vowel (in their dictionary form), the vowel will be lengthened and, optionally, an -f suffix added. “Give it to the boy” can thus be expressed as “isa ilmaa kenni” or “isa ilmaaf kenni”.
  2. For nouns ending in a long vowel, either -f or -dhaa(f) suffixes may be attached. “It's good for eating” can be expressed as “nyaachuuf gaarii dha”, “nyaachuudhaa gaarii dha”, or “nyaachuudhaaf gaarii dha
  3. For nouns ending in a consonant, the suffix -iif will be attached. For example, “give it to Jim” would be “isa Jimiif kenni”.
The dative forms for the personal pronouns are given below.
Subject Pronouns        Dative Pronouns
Ianito/for menaa, naaf
wenutito/for usnuu, nuuf
youatito/for yousii, siif
you (pl.)isinto/for you (pl.)    isinii, isiniif
he, itinnito/for him, itisaa, isaaf
sheisheento/for herishee, isheef
theyisaanto/for themisaanii, isaaniif

The locative -tti suffix can sometimes be used in a dative-like manner. For instance, “tell him” would be “isatti jedhi” [lit. “say at him”] rather than “isaaf jedhi” [lit. “say for him”].
Double Imperatives
Where English would use an adverb to modify an imperative, Oromo most often uses two imperatives in a row, with the first modifying the second. The first imperative is given a long final vowel.
Examples:
“Speak loadly/loader” — “Guddisii dubbadhu” (sg.) or “Guddisaa dubbadha” (plu./pol.)
“Run faster” — “Baay'isii fiigi” (sg.) or “Baay'isaa fiiga” (plu./pol.)
“Work harder” — “Cimsii hojjadhu” (sg.) or “Cimsaa hojjadha” (plu./pol.)
The adverbal imperatives are almost always causatives (discussed in Chapter 16). Guddisuu is “to make big”, baay'isuu is “to make many/much”, and cimsuu is “to make strong”.
To express a sequence of commands, imperatives are simply put together. For example, “go (and) eat” is deemi nyaadhu(no elongation of the final vowel on the first imperative).
The Jussive Forms
The 1st and 3rd person jussive forms express suggestions, translated roughly as the English “let”. The jussive forms would thus be “let me”, “let us”, “let him”, etc. The jussive forms use the preverb haa and attach a suffix to the verb stem.
Formation of the Jussive
Prefix    SuffixSuffix (for -chuu verbs)
anihaa-u-dhu
nutihaa-nu-nnu
innihaa-u-tu
isheen    haa-tu-ttu
isaanhaa-anu/ani/an    -tanu/tani/tan

Examples:
haa ta'u — okay [lit. “let it be”]
haa nyaannu — “let's eat”
inni haa deemu — “let him go”
si haa gargaaru — “Let me help you”
For irregular verbs, the verb stem changes just as it does in the present and past tenses. The example of taa'uu (“to sit”) is given below.
OromoEnglish
ani haa taa'ulet me sit
inni haa taa'ulet him sit
(nuti) haa teenyulet us sit
(isheen) haa teessu    let her sit
(isaan) haa taa'anulet them sit
Note that only the regular stem is used in imperatives, even for irregular verbs (e.g., the imperative “sit” is taa'i/taa'a, notteessi/teessa which mean “she sits”/“you sit” as declaratives).
The 1st person jussive, while understood, is not common, especially in the singular. It is more common to use the present-future tense, as in “ofi koon of barsiisa” (“I will introduce myself”) rather than “ofi koon haa of barsiisu” (“let me introduce myself”), or “achitti wal agarra” (“we will meet there”) rather than “achitti wal haa agarru” (“let's meet there”).
In a question, the jussive works like the English “shall”, as in “haa deemnu?” for “shall we go?”.
Other Forms of Requests
Other than using imperative or jussive forms, it is often polite to use the infinitive with danda'uu (“to be able, possible”). Forms using the subordinate tense and if-then clauses (“could you…”, “would you…”, “I would appreciate it if…”) are discussed in Chapter 17.
Examples:
“Can you lend it to me, please” — “Isa naa ergisuu dandeessa, maaloo?”
“Can you (pl.) please help me?” — “Maaloo, naa gargaaruu dandeessu?”
“Can I open a window?” — “Foddaa banuu danda'a?”

Responding to Commands and Suggestions
The receiver of a command or suggestion has a variety of ways to accept or refuse.
Some Common Responses
Okaytole, haa ta'u
Suresirritti, dhuguma
Of coursedhugaadhuma
All right, finebayeessa
Sorrydhiifama, nan gadda
Sorry, I can't    dhiifama hin danda'u
It's possibledanda'ama
It's not possiblehin danda'amu
I don't have timeyeroo hin qabu
“I can't, I have to go”Hin danda'u, deemuun qaba
“Another time. Now I must go”    Yeroo biraa. Amma deemuutu narra jira.
“No, I need to go”Lakki, deemuun barbaada
Expressing Needs
The last three examples above show excuses by expressing needs. There are a number of ways of doing this. The four main ways are:
Method 1: <infinative> + <present tense qabuu>, as in “xumuruu qabti” for “she has to finish”.
Method 2: <infinative> + <present tense barbaaduu>, as in “nyaachuu barbaanna” for “we need to eat” (also means “we want to eat”)
Method 3: <acc. pers. pronoun> + barbaachisa, as in “birciqqoo isa barbaachisa”, which literally means “a glass is necessary for him”. For plural needs, barbaachisu is used to mean “are needed/necessary”, as in “birciqqooleen isaani barbaachisu” (“glasses are necessary for them”).
Method 4: <infinative>+tu + <acc. pers. pronoun>+rra + jira. This construction works like the English “must” or “should”, as is “barachuutu sirra jira” for “you should/must learn” [lit. “it's on you to learn”].
Chpater Vocabulary
jedhi/jedha
bye (informal) [lit. “speak”]
of eeggadhu/eeggadha
be careful
daabboo
bread
dhadhaa
butter
waan dhadhaa hedddu hin qabne
low-fat
akayi
cereal
ruzza
rice
dhiheessaa
serving
fakkeenyaaf
“for example”
matajaboo
oatmeal
duwwaa
blank, empty, plain
ija mukka, fuduraa
fruit
kuduraa
vegetable
cuunfaa
juice
birtukaanii
Orange (color and fruit)
dhuguu
to drink
dhugaatii
drink, beverage
salaaxaa
salad
dinnichaa
potato
affeelama
boiled
ija wayinii
grape
yoo xinnaate
“at least”
burcuqqo
glass, cup
foon
meat
cooma
fat
isaa akaa
“such as”
hanqaaqoo
chicken
qurxummii
fish
sa'a
cow
yartuu
few, small amount
aanaan
milk
aanaan raafamaa
skim milk
itittuu
yogurt
filachuu
to choose
mi'aawaa
sweet
baay'isuu
to make many
socho'uu
moving, active
godhuu
to do
dirree
field
adeemuu
to walk
sirba bu'uu
to dance
taphachuu
to play
zayitii
oil
cooma horii
animal fat

Source: Wikibooks

1 comment:

  1. Baayyee jaalladheera! Garuu qubee eeguu fooyyeffadhu!

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