relative particle (not indispensable);

the following pronoun which is closely linked up with it has low tone in the ipf. and high tone in the pf., e.g. n-ɔɽu‿ɛe [ ˩ ˥ \ ] who does;

n-ɔɽu‿ɛe [ ˥ ˥ \ ] who did;

in the plural, i can be used with the relative particle, e.g. ekita n-ibũ [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˥ ] many dogs (dogs that are numerous).

a particle conveying, together with a particular construction (auxiliary ya [ ˩ ]; tense-particle -a [ ˥ ]), the idea expressed by the English “instead of doing...”;

n-u-ayaɽu‿ɛe, ukelɛ fua [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˥ \ ˩ \ ˩ / ] instead of doing it you ran away.

Possibly the particle is identical with (e)n- 1, and the sentence a relative clause.

particle introducing a subjunctive (with a high or midtone pronoun);

ɔw-en-iɽu‿ɛe [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˦ (4-1) ] (wɛ [ / ]) he told me to do it.

(1) to give;

the verb has three other different forms embodying the objective pronouns of the singular, viz. mɛ [ ˥ ] (to give me), nuɛ, nwuɛ [ / ] (to give you), and nɛ [ \ ] (to give him), e.g. in ɔrhi-ɛɽe mɛ [ ˩ ˥ ˥ (4-1) ˥ ] he gave it me;

irhi-ɛɽe nwuɛ [ ˩ ˥ ˥ (4-1) / ] I gave it you;

irhi-ɛɽe nɛ [ ˩ ˩ ˩ / \ ] I am giving it him;

(2) also expresses that something is done for somebody: ɔɽu‿ɛe nɛ [ ˩ ˥ / (4-1) ] he did it for him;

n-ɔʋ̃a n-ima nwina na ɣiʋo [ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˥ \ ˩ / ] where is the man for whom we are working?;

cf. mɛ [ ˥ ], nɛ [ \ ], nwuɛ [ / ].

to tell;

to narrate (to somebody: ma [ / ]);

ɣɛna‿ɛ̃ ma ʋ̃ɛ-ɣ-iho n-ihɔ̃ [ ˥ ˦ ˩ ˩ ˥ / / ˦ ˩ ] don’t tell it me for I don’t want to hear (it).

n-erhuʋ̃u [ ˥ ˩ ˩ ] to bless (somebody: na [ ˥ ]);

occasionally the blessing is accompanied by the speaker taking his exwae [ ˥ ˩ ] and blowing over it in the direction of the man whom he blesses (curses are emphasised by touching one’s lips with the lips and then spitting);

ɔn-erhuʋ̃u nɛ [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˩ \ ] he blessed him.

n-inyɛ [ ˥ ˩ ] to gossip;

to defame;

ɣɛɣin-iny-oʋi‿ɛrɛe [ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˦ (3-1) ] don’t defame somebody else’s son!

in n-ema [ ˥ ˩ ] to tie the yam branches to the yam poles (ikpɛsi [ ˩ ˩ ˩ ] and ɛɣɛ [ ˩ ˥ ]) by means of ropes or creepers (ikã [ ˥ ˩ ] e.g.) in order to spread them out;

ɔy-ugbo n-odɛ ya n-ema [ ˩ ˥ ˩ \ ˩ / ˥ ˩ ] he went to the farm yesterday to (go and) tie the yam branches up;

cf. inema [ ˩ ˩ ˩ ];

v. ha‿ema [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ], vi-ab-ema [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ].

an auxiliary verb used in relative clauses when the relation is a temporal, causal, or local one: “when”;

“where”;

“therefore”;

ʋ-ɛɣɛ n-inare [ ˩ ˩ ˥ \ ˥ ] at the time when I came;

v. ya 2 [ ˥ ].

(1) attributive demonstrative pronoun: “this”;

preceded by a high tone, e.g. ɔʋ̃a na [ ˩ / ˩ ] this man.

(2) at the end of a sentence it means something like “now”, but perhaps it implies a notion of locality as well;

ukpɔ̃‿uxiɛ̃ na [ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] are you selling cloth now, i.e. as you are standing here;

with nia [ / ] instead of na, it would mean: are you selling now or not?

e.g. when the man addressed is fidgetting with the cloth;

cf. ɔna [ ˩ ˩ ];

v. ni [ / ].

(1) middle (?);

only in ɛd-ekɛ̃ n-aka [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] the day intermediate between two rest-days, i.e. the second day after each rest-day (ekɛ̃ [ ˩ ˥ ]);

perhaps it means, however, originally “the minor ekɛ̃.” (2) mild;

innocuous;

in amɛ n-aka [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] mild rain, and, perhaps, in ɛnyɛ n-aka [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] grass-snake;

cf. (e)ne [ \ ].

idiom. for n-ɔnya-ɽ̃ɛ̃ [ ˥ ˦ ˧ ] “his master”;

v. also aɽowa [ ˩ ˩ ˩ ];

enaɽ̃uɛ̃ ʋo [ ˩ \ / ‿ ˩ / ] where is your master?

(n-ɔnya ɽ̃uɛ̃ ʋo [ ˥ ˦ ˩ ‿ \ / ]);

cf. nya 1 [ / ].

all the time;

ke-n-aʋ̃-usĩ ɣade [ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˦ ˧ / ] “from all the time coming”: since all the time;

cf. (e)ne [ \ ], usĩ [ ˩ ˥ ].

a demonstrative element apparently to some extent equivalent to the English definite article;

it is always put in front of the noun qualified by it, but if the noun is followed by the name of a locality, the ne stands before this, e.g. Ɔxwahɛ n-ixuɛ̃ [ ˩ / ˩ \ ˩ ] “the Ɔxwahɛ of Ixuɛ̃”.

It occurs also in a reduplicated form: nene [ ˥ ˦ ] which probably is more emphatic, e.g. n-ɔʋ̃a [ ˥ (4-1) ] “the man (spoken of)”, nen-ɔʋ̃a [ ˥ ˦ (3-1) ] “that very man”.

If a noun is repeated with the ne placed between the two repetitions, the meaning of the noun is augmented by the notion “big”, or “real, main, principal”, e.g. imazɛ y-ɔʋ̃a n-ɔʋ̃a-ɽe, amaw-uwɛ [ ˥ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˥ / ˩ ˥ ˩ \ ˩ ] (wɛ [ / ]) I do not mind a big (i.e. important) man, how much less you;

inwina n-inwina‿inwina nɛ na [ ˩ ˩ ˩ \ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˥ / ˩ ] something like “this is a good job of work I did for him”.

When preceding nouns expressing time like ɛdɛ [ ˩ ˥ ] “day”, ɛɣɛ [ ˩ ˩ ] “time”, ukpo [ ˩ ˥ ] “year”, it conveys the idea of “ago”, e.g. n-ɛdɛ [ \ ˥ ] or [ ˥ ˦ ] “in the old time”, “in the old days”, as in ɛkpo n-ɛdɛ ot-uwa na‿iherh-ũkpɔ̃ [ ˥ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˩ ˥ / ˩ ˥ ˥ ˥ ˩ ] “in the old times your age-group did not yet wear cloth” (to a young boy);

further: n-ukpo [ \ ˩ ] “last year” (cf. ukpo na [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] or n-ukpo na “this year”), with the forms n-ɛkp-ia [ ˥ (4-1) ‿ / ] “two years ago”, lit. “three-years ago”, as the current year is included in the calculation, n-ɛkp-enɛ [ ˥ ˦ ˧ ] “three (lit. four) years ago”, n-ɛkp-isɛ̃ [ ˥ ˦ ˧ ] “four (lit. five) years ago”, etc.;

v. n-ɛv- [ ˥ ], ɛɣɛ [ ˩ ˩ ], ɛdɛ [ ˩ ˥ ], nodɛ [ \ ˩ ].

Finally, ne is often used in front of the ordinal numbers, e.g. in n-okao [ ˥ ˩ ] “the first”, n-ogieva [ ˥ ˩ ˩ ] “the second”, etc. which can also (without the exception of “the first”) occur preceded by ukp-, as e.g. in n-ukp-ogieha [ ˥ ˦ ˩ ˩ ] “the third”.

cf. na 3 [ ˥ ].

cf. na 2 [ ˥ ].

to defaecate;

ɛnɛ [ / \ ] he is constipated.

already;

often used after fo [ / ] “finished”, but also after other verbs;

ɔfo nɛ ɽa [ ˩ ˥ (4-1) ˩ ] is it already finished?

“he” and “it”, when followed by ʋo [ / ] “where is”;

cf. also lɛ [ ˩ ];

iɽ̃ɛ̃ [ ˩ ˩ ] is also used, but only of human beings, while nɛ is used of things mostly;

nɛ ʋo [ ˩ / ] where is it?

cf. na 1 [ ˥ ].

an element preceding the word ɛdɛ [ ˩ ˥ ] “day” combined with a numeral, or one of the nouns meaning a certain number of days;

it adds the idea of “ago”, cf. (e)ne [ ˩ \ ];

e.g. n-ɛv-usɛ̃ [ ˥ ˥ ˦ ] “five days ago” (including to-day, i.e. according to European calculation four days ago);

n-ɛv-ɛdɛhã [ ˥ ˥ / ˩ ] six (five) days ago;

n-ɛv-ɛdɛ-hĩɽ̃ɔ̃ [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] seven (six) days ago;

n-ɛv-ɛdɛ‿ɽuʋ̃aɽɛ̃ [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˥ ] eight (seven) days ago;

n-ɛv-uhuʋ̃uɽũ [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˩ ˥ ] nine (eight) days ago;

n-ɛv-ɛdɛ-gbe [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˥ ] ten (nine) days ago;

but without n-ɛv: uki ɔkpa [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˥ ] a month ago (also: in a month);

v. ɛɣɛ [ ˩ ˩ ].

(1) to capsize;

yaɣe ʋ-okɔ na ni [ / ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˥ ] look (how) the canoe is capsizing!

okɔ n-ɔni [ ˩ ˩ ˥ \ ] a capsized canoe.

(2) to upset a canoe;

to make it capsize;

uɽani‿okɔ na ɽa [ ˥ ˦ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˩ ] do you want to upset this canoe?

to give thanks for food given;

v. kada [ \ ˩ ] and bukpɛ [ ˥ ˩ ];

uni nɛ [ / ˥ (5-4) ] can you not thank him?

to decide, stipulate the amount of fees to be paid by members of a society;

n-ani mɛ ɔna xĩ [ ˥ ˥ ˦ ˩ ˩ ˥ ] lit. “what has been stipulated (as subscription) for me is this” (also m-ɔna [ (4-1) ˩ ]).

Also n-iɣo [ ˥ ˥ ], e.g. in iɽ̃ã n-iɣo mɛ zɛ [ ˥ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˦ ˩ ] they decided on a (certain amount of) money for me to pay.

(preceded by a high tone) demonstrative pronoun: “that”.

It occurs also in the form ɽ̃ĩ, which, however, is rejected by A.;

ɔʋ̃a ni [ ˩ / / ] that man.

It is also used after a relative sentence, e.g. ɔʋ̃a n-ɔre ni ɔse ʋ̃ɛ nɔ [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˥ / ˩ ˩ ˥ ˦ ] “that man who has come (or, ‘the man who has come there’?) is my friend”.

Further, it is used after other verbal forms: uxiã ni [ ˥ ˦ / ] someting like: “are you going over there?” or, “you over there, are you going?” cf. ɔni (ɔɽ̃ĩ) [ ˥ / ];

v. na [ ˩ ].

now;

uɣayo nia [ ˩ ˥ ˦ / ], uxiã niã [ ˥ ˦ / ] are you going now?

It is never used at the beginning of a sentence;

but v. ebã [ ˩ \ ].

to stretch;

ɔniɛɽ̃ɛ̃ [ ˩ / ˩ ] it is stretched;

ɔni-ɔ̃ɽ̃ɛ̃ [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] he is stretching it.

cf. ni 3 [ ˥ ].

cf. na 2 [ ˥ ].

yesterday (the n- is the “definite article”; cf. (e)ne [ \ ]).

to ask;

n-ɔta [ ˩ ˥ ] to ask a question;

in-ɔ̃ɽ-ɔta [ ˩ ˩ ˩ ˥ ] I am asking him a question;

in-ɔ̃ɽ-eʋ̃i [ ˩ ˩ ˩ \ ] I am asking him something (ɽ is not nasalised in the last sentence).

the other;

ɛʋo n-ekpa [ ˩ ˩ \ ˩ ] “the other countries”: abroad;

mu‿eʋ̃iɽebo n-ɔkpa mɛ [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˥ ˩ ˥ ] bring me the other plate!

cf. (e)ne [ \ ], ɔkpa [ ˥ ˥ ].

big;

erhã n-ɔxwa [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] a big tree;

idiom.: eʋ̃i n-exwa [ ˩ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] “the big things”: an Ɔba’s funeral;

iɽ̃ã n-exwa [ ˥ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] “the big ones”: the witches;

cf. (e)ne [ \ ].

dark (of the sky before rain; an old expression);

used with the verb bi [ ˥ ];

v. kãkaãkã [ ˥ ˥ ˥ ].