A Grammar of Mombo Songho Dialect

pronouns in most of the cases. This is also the case of the 3PL possessor and the 3PLsubject prefix used in non-subject focus forms. The 3PL suffix -yV doesn’t have obviouscognates among pronominal stems.Preposed possessor pronominals require a tonal change in the possessed noun (see§ 6.2.2.1 for details). Those are all segmentally identical to subject prefixes, except for1PL possessor, which is mí: instead of underspecified syllabic nasal N-. However, evenbeing identical segmentally, subject pronouns differ phonologically from preposedpossessor pronominals. An epenthetic y or ɲ (depending on whether the stem has anasalized consonant) is inserted between a subject (but not possessor) prefix and thestem:(xx.a) égé‘He/ she came’(xx.b) úná‘(a) goatń-y-égè‘I came’ǹ-ùná‘my goat’In postposed possessor pronouns, a tonal change on the preceding possessed nounis audible only with lexically {HL} nouns. See § 6.1.2.2 for details.Apparently postposed possessor pronouns diachronically represent a combinationof preposed possessor pronominals with noun yɛ́: ‘thing’ (ǹ- +yɛ́: =>*nyɛ̂: > ɲɛ̂:; à-+yɛ́: => áyɛ̀:…). See § 6.2 for details.These pronouns can also be used absolutely, in particular, in predicativeconstructions. See § 6.1.24.4.2 Personal pronouns as complements of adpositionsMombo has only three ‘true’ adpositions, two postpositions bɛĺɛ́: ‘since, startingfrom’ and kyⁿɛ̂: ‘all the way to’, and one preposition pá: ‘till (certain point)’. All theeare not combined with personal pronouns, and select one of locative pronouns aspronominal complements. (See §. 4.4.2.1)CHECK adposition semanticsSome spatial relationships, such as ‘inside’ (of something), ‘under’, ‘on’ etc., areexpressed by postposition-like elements, that have emerged from the nouns denotingdifferent body parts with nasal object maker -wⁿ or locative marker -nda. Cf. kó: ‘head’and dèbù kó-ndá ‘on the house’. Here a former possessor débù serves as a complementof the postpositon.When an intended complement is a personal pronoun, it is expressed by apreposed possessor pronominal attached to the postposition:(xxx) ká:wɛ́ à-kó-ẁⁿ ò dá:ⁿgrasshopper 2SG-head-OBJ LOC sit.ST‘There is a grasshopper (sitting) on you’43