This book presents a description of Konso, a Cushitic language spoken by about 250,000 speakers in South-West Ethiopia. It presents analyses of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language.... Show moreThis book presents a description of Konso, a Cushitic language spoken by about 250,000 speakers in South-West Ethiopia. It presents analyses of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language. Aspects of pragmatics including greetings and leave-taking expressions, interjections and ideophones as well as the link between naming of week days and how these relate to the distribution ofbig markets in the Konso area are discussed. A sample of two texts and a list of singular-plural pairs of nouns with their corresponding gender values is included.The data underlying the analyses are based on the author’s native speaker intuition and fieldwork in Konso area where other native speakers are consulted.Konso phonology is characterised by having a full set of labial, alveolar, palatal and uvular implosives but no ejectives which contrasts with what is observed in geographically and some genetically related languages. The language has a rich morphology as evidenced in its nominal and verbal inflection. The work accounts the intricate link between gender and number marking in nominals,it explicates variation in number- and person-marking in affirmative and negative verb paradigms and presents analyses of nominal and verbal derivation.Various clause-linking strategies and the way these relate to person markingof the subject are examined. Word order in simple as well as complex clausesis discussed.A Grammar of Konso is of interest to specialists in Cushitic and Afroasiatic languages for historical-comparative purposes. It will be a valuable source for typological comparison and for testing theoretical claims Show less
