The morphological structure of the Moro verb Sharon Rose

The morphological structure of the Moro verb
b. é-g-a-və́dað-á=u ŋəɾá
1SG.SM-CL-RTC-sweep-IPFV-LOC trash
I am sweeping trash from it (i.e. the room)
c. k-a-və́dað-á=já=u
SM.CL-RTC-sweep-IPFV-INST-LOC
he is sweeping with it from it
Like the object marker clitics that precede them, these clitics do not
participate in vowel harmony, except in a local fashion, for example, the
sequence á=u is realized ʌú. The clitic sequence also manifests its own tone
pattern: there is a H tone at the left edge and L tone at the end of the clitic
group. The L tone requirement forces realization of the H tone onto the
preceding vowel. If there is only one H toned object marker clitic, then the H
tone is maintained, suppressing the L tone, but if there are two, the second
object marker is low-toned: g-a-naʧ-ə́-ŋó ‘s/he gave it to him’ versus g-a-naʧə́-ńdə-ŋo
‘he gave him to us’.
8. Conclusion
In this article, the basic structure of the verb in the Thetogovela dialect of
Moro is presented. Moro has a large series of prefixes and suffixes, but these
can be divided into three distinct domains. The macrostem consists of the
root and several prefixes and suffixes, including an object marker. It is
characterized by a single H tone at the left edge when there are no specific
tonal melodies required by the aspect/mood/deixis system. The larger verb
stem includes the aspect/mood/deixis suffix and a series of prefixes to the
left of the macrostem. Those prefixes with H tone trigger downstep on an
adjacent H tone across the macrostem boundary, while H tone suffixes are
downstepped by an adjacent H tone at the right boundary of the macrostem.
The verb stem also constitutes the domain of vowel harmony. A clitic group
is attached at the right edge of the verb stem. The clitics are separate
phonologically from the rest of the verb stem as they do not participate in
vowel harmony, and initiate their own tonal complex. This outline illustrates
both the complexity of the Moro verb as well as the interplay between
phonological processes and morphological structure.
References
Blench, Roger. 2005. A dictionary of the Moro language of the Nuba Hills.
(available at http://www.rogerblench.info).
29