A Grammar of Mombo Songho Dialect

ɛ̀mbɛ̀dúlúmá ‘corn’ ɛ̀mbɛ̀dúlúmá-gè can mean both ‘large amount of corn’ and ‘differentvarieties of corn’.The PL marker is also attested in approximative reading ‘X and similar things’, asin the following textual example:(xxx) dèbù kyɛ̂: báŋgúmbà ámáná kán-nɛ́house.L P.3PL near god made.PFV-NSFthat’.èjè wé: káfɛ́-gè súlá: b-yénà kwâ:Dogon child coffee-PL sale.PRG be-NSF.3SG PTC‘Near their house, made by God a Dogon (person) sold coffee and things like4.2.1.2 Associative plural marker yà:{more examples needed}Associative plural meaning is expressed by particle yà:. The resulting combination ‘Xyà:’, where X stands for a NP (a noun or a pronoun in particular), has a reading ‘X andthose with him/her’.(xxx) Séidù yà:‘Seidu and people with him’In my text examples only proper names appear in this construction. Commonnouns are elicitable only if followed adjective, demonstrative, or definite marker.(xxx) dà:ná bâ: yà: ég-yèhunter DEF ASS.PL come-PL.PFV‘The hunter and his people came’(xxx) dà:nà nɛ̂: yà: ég-yèhunter.L this ASS.PL come-PL.PFV‘This hunter and his people came’(xxx) dà:nà kánú yà: ég-yèhunter.L old ASS.PL come-PL.PFV‘(The) old hunter came.(xxx) *dà:ná yà: ég-yèSuch a distribution suggests the existence of a referential restriction on the head nounin NP’s with associative plural. Apparently, the noun must not be generic. It seems that25