20

Supyire1 (Senufo, Gur)

Sarah Rose/Christa Beaudoin-Lietz

20.1 General
This chapter discusses Supyire, a member of the Northern branch of the Senufo language group 2.
Estimates of speakers of Senufo languages vary from around 1.5 million to well over 2 million,
in Cte D‟Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso. Senufo can be divided into different branches, the
northern one, to which Supyire belongs (also Sicit and Marmara), the central (e.g., Cebaara and
Syenara) and the southern one. The Senufo languages are geographically contiguous with Mande
languages and share several features with them3.
The Supyire are said to number between 350,000 (SIL 2007) and 621,000 (the
Joshuaproject); they are located in southeastern Mali in the region of Sikasso. Published sources
on Supyire are very few: we rely on Carlson‟s recently published grammar (1994). Carlson‟s
grammar is based on functional-typological theory. The spelling is phonemic and follows the
cited grammar in its conventions, which in turn follows standard conventions according to the
Direction Nationale d’Alphabtisation Fonctionelle et de Linguistique Applique4:

Map source: Bethany World Prayer Center

1 This chapter was written in collaboration with Christa Beaudoin-Lietz.

2 Abbreviations used in this chapter refer to terms used in Carlson‟s grammar and include: IP „intransitive prefix‟;
FP „future prefix‟ (see §20.3.1 for details); ND „non declarative‟; REM(P) „remote (past)‟; REC(P) „recent (past)‟;
SC „serial connector‟; SSC „subjunctive serial connector‟; EXCL („exclamative particle‟); INDEF („indefinite
pronoun or determiner‟).
3 For example, the type of word order in which one argument (direct object) precedes the verb while others (the
indirect object, etc.) follow the verb. Not only is lexical borrowing from Mande languages heavy, there is evidence
for syntactic and typological influence as well. Carlson (1994:2) notes evidence of grammatical constructions
borrowed from Bambara, as well as typological influence: Supyire is predominately SOV (as are Mande languages),
rather than the more typical SVO (as in NC in general).
4 Generally IPA, to be noted y = [j], j = [], c = [], zh = [], sh = [], h = []. In spelling, a nasalized vowel is
indicated by an „n‟ after the vowel, [r] = flap variant of /d/ medially before unstressed vowel, but written as r. /g/,
when flapped before unstressed vowel, = [R].

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 Supyire has seven oral (/ i, e, , a, u, o,  /) and five nasalized (/ ĩ, ̃ , ã, ũ, ̃ /) vowels5. All
vowels may be either short or long (indicated by doubling the vowel in orthography). Vowel
harmony (which works from left to right) with unstressed vowels is pervasive, though certain
morphemes do not harmonize (e.g. the definite noun suffix).
Supyire is a tone language of high complexity. There are four phonemic tones: high (),
low (  ), and two mid tones-- strong mid (Ms) and weak mid (Mw). The mid tones are unmarked
in spelling. The symbol (ˆ) indicates a sequence of two tones: HL (as in the morpheme n that
marks “Recent Past”). Floating tones also exist (see examples under Negation). Tonal rules can
apply across several (closely syntactically-linked) items in the sentence (e.g., DO and V).
There are no closed syllables in Supyire: syllable structure is CV or CVV. A few words,
for example some pronouns, can consist of a V-initial syllable. Verb roots may have the
following shapes: CV, CVV, CVCV, CVVCV, or CVCVCV. Most lexical roots are stressed on
the first syllable. Affixes, clitics, and most other grammatical morphemes do not have stress by
themselves, but many acquire stress in compounds. Most verbs are di- or tri-syllabic with stress
on the initial syllable (Carlson 1994:32). Supyire has a noun-class system, marked on the noun at
suffix (as in Kisi and Fula).

20.2 Word Order

Word order is S AUX DO V O(ther)6 (see examples in (15)). Sentences without AUX occur as in
(1) with a copula, though most verb phrases contain at least one AUX, and several AUXs can co-
occur.

(1) mi y y ni

1s be 2p mother.DEF
„I am your mother.‟ (1994:238)

In (1) the copula is followed by a predicate nominal; the element following the verb, if present,
could also consist of a postpositional phrase (e.g. dative, locative) or adverb. The schema does
not mean to imply that elements cannot occur before the S. For example, focused constructions,
heavily stressed, occur at the beginning of the sentence (see also §20.6.3). The following is such
an example of an affirmative declarative simple sentence:

(2) sig e u a kr

bush.DEF to 3s PFT go
„It is to the bush that 3s has gone.‟ (1994:468).

For a declarative sentence (without serial verbs or complement clauses), the basic word order
seems to be:

5 There are four nasal consonants which Carlson treats as phonemic. He says “they are not as well established as
some others.” Vowels are automatically nasalized following nasals (not written).
6 Other items could include (indirect) objects and adverbs, in that order if co-occurring.

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(3) S NEG7 AUX DO prefix-V-suffix Other NEG

Not all categories co-occur; this is meant as a general template. Comments and examples are
provided in the following:

S: As stated above, items can occur before S, as in example (2).

NEG: Generally the copula that is glossed as NEG is at the left boundary of the verb phrase.
However, the persistive AUX translating as „still‟ (with imperfective V) or „again‟ (with perfect)
or „no longer‟ can occur before the element glossed as NEG as in (4). (The full verb phrase is
indicated by square brackets). See also the examples in §20.7.

(4) w [sh y a bwn] li n m

INDEF [AUX NEG PFT hit ] it on NEG
„One did not again touch it.‟8

In many tense/aspect forms, the initial NEG at AUX can also be indicated by a floating tone,
occurring with AUXs with high tone. The negative occurring with the future AUX illustrates this
pattern (see examples in §20.7). The negative generally occurs before the PRG or the PFT or one
of the copulas (see examples under Negation). The NEG morpheme at the end of the clause is
obligatory.

AUX: Several aspectual AUXs can co-occur as the following examples show, depending on the
type of AUX. The tense auxiliaries n „Recent Past‟ (P1) and n „Remote Past‟ (P2) combine with
either the base form of the verb or the perfective form. Combinations of copula verbs with AUXs
can create lengthy VPs (see §20.8). Clauses with m/pyi in (6) and (7) could be analyzed as
clauses with serial verbs. Carlson describes the verb pyi „do, make, become‟ as “an auxiliary in
the making”; its exact function needs more investigation: it could be seen as a „shifter‟, as it
moves the time frame back a step. Alternatively, given its meaning, it could be emphasizing the
„process‟ involved. Notice that the maximum number of verbal morphemes appears to be four.

(5) kwi sh na s m -p

die.DEF again PRG FUT FP-come
„Death will come again...‟ (1994:346)

(6) fya  pyi  mp sanmp j

python.DEF PFT do>AUX PFT those rest.DEF swallow
„The python had swallowed the rest of them [chickens]‟. (1994:342)

(7) pira  pyi na mvyi bl-l

3p.EMPH PFT do>AUX PRG tigernut.beds.DEF gather-IPFV
„They were harvesting the tigernut beds.‟ (1994:354)

7 What is glossed as NEG is the copula y „be‟, which is used with PFT or PRG as an indicator of negation early
in the sentence.
8 The main verb „hit‟ has the meaning of „touch‟ in a sentence without DO as the one above.

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DO: This position is important in the VP structure: marking is required on the verb in most
cases when the DO position is not filled (for details see §20.3). Marking on the verb also obtains
when the DO has moved, i.e. fronted to focus position at the beginning of the sentence, as in the
following set of examples (where zero symbol [  ] indicates original position of moved object):

(8) pi na kuru pke pyi ‘bogo’

3p PRG this.EMPH drum.DEF call bogo
„They call this drum “bogo”.‟ (1994:469)

(9) kuru pke pi y na  m-pyi ‘bogo’9

this.EMPH drum.DEF 3p be PRG IP.call bogo
„It is this drum which they call “bogo”.‟ (1994:469).

V: Many verbs can be used transitively or intransitively, whereby a change in meaning

might result (see example (4) and footnote (9)).

Other: The label covers a variety of items, for example objects and adverbs, in that order when
co-occurring.

20.3 Verb Structure

The verb template is as follows:

(10) Prefix-root-suffix

20.3.1 Prefix
In initial position, only two prefixes may occur: in Carlson‟s terminology IP and FP. The IP
(„intransitive prefix‟) is used if the verb is not immediately preceded by its direct object (applies
to transitive verbs also). It is a phonologically conditioned toneless nasal, occurring only on
verbs with a voiceless stop (p, t, k and ). Otherwise, there is no form.
The FP („future prefix‟), a low-weak MID nasal, is used only with an AUX with future
time reference (such as the AUX s), and/or irrealis modality, and is not phonologically
conditioned. Its segmental support disappears in transitive clauses with direct objects. Low tone
remains. The FP survives as tone only where the DO precedes the V. Thus future time reference
is doubly marked. These prefixes mark information concerning the preceding DO position on the
verb: “[IP] is required by most tense-aspect auxiliaries when they immediately precede the verb”
(1994:127). With the TA markers for perfect and Recent Past, the verbs do not require a prefix.
Examples of the FP verb prefix follow (see (9) above for the IP prefix):

(11) ku s m-b
it FUT FP-kill
„It will be killed.‟ 10 (1994:129)

9 When the tense-aspect is present-progressive, the copula (y in this example) is inserted before the aspect. With
other aspects in the affirmative this marking is not required.

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(12) m s mu bwn11
1s FUT.FP 2s hit
„I‟m going to hit you.‟ (1994:129)

20.3.2 Root
As indicated above, the verbal root may have the following shapes: CV, CVV, CVCV, CVVCV,
or CVCVCV. If the root has no prefix, one may assume that there will be a perfect or Recent
Past auxiliary (see examples (2), (4), (6) and (7)).

20.3.3 Suffixes
There are three possible suffixes: imperfective, causative, plural/intensive. The last, which is
marked by –lV, may be termed a “pluractional”, as it indicates that the same action is performed
more than once (by the same actor or different actors). It is not productive -- nor is the causative,
which is marked by -gV, with a great deal of morphophonemic irregularity and applying only to
a small group of verbs (about 20). The imperfective, marked by -li and several allomorphs (-ni, -
re, -ge) and changes in tone, is productive. Examples follow:

(13) base fg „grab‟ imperfective fg-li „grabbing‟

cyr „be small‟ cyr-g „being small‟
yige „take out‟ yg „taking out‟

20.4 Tense, Aspect, Mood (see also §20.6)

Supyire has both tense and aspect. There are two past tenses, both expressed as independent
lexical items. There is only one future. All futures, the potential and the subjunctive appear with
the „future prefix‟. In the TAM category, the basic aspectual distinction is one of perfective, the
unmarked category, and the imperfective, the latter (as above) morphologically marked by
suffixation on the verb. In addition to suffixation, TAM distinctions are achieved by AUXs and
serial verb constructions. The present is not marked.
Besides the imperfective, the TAM morphemes are the following (using mostly Carlson‟s
labels). The information in brackets indicates whether a prefix is required on the verb under
certain conditions, and whether the form can co-occur with the perfective, i.e. the basic root, or
the imperfective form of the verb. All are exemplified below:

n Remote Past (P2) [IP; PFV]

n Recent Past (P1) [;PFV]
na Progressive [IP;IPFV]
mha Habitual [IP;PFV/IPFV]
 Perfect [;PFV]
sh Persistive [IP;PFV] („still, again, no longer, not yet‟)
s Future [FP;PFV]

10The translation in English shows a passive that is not morphologically evident in the original form.
11 Pronouns in declaratives: 1s m. 1p wu. 2s mu, 2p y (used as pronouns and determiners).

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 c12 Future [FP;PFV] (no apparent meaning difference)
k Potential [FP;PFV]
b/b Remote [IP;PFV]
s Narrative/Sequential [IP;PFV]
k/(a)h Conditional [IP;PFV]
s Subjunctive [IP;PFV]
a Imperfective Subjunctive [FP;IPFV]
k/h Negative Subjunctive [FP;PFV]
ta Imperfective Imperative [IP;IPFV]

Examples:

(14) a Imperative (mood) [PFV]

nt kyare kwn

this meat.DEF cut.PFV
„Cut this meat!‟ (a small amount of meat to cut)

b Imperative (mood) [IPFV]

ta nt kyare kwn13

IMP.IPFV this meat.DEF cut.IPFV
„Cut this meat!‟ (a lot of meat to cut)

(15) Progressive (aspect) [IPFV] (ongoing action with present time reference, or iterative, or
on occasion separate events but the “ongoingness” is stressed, also habitual, and, in some
cases, Future)

a u na dfinim b-l
she14 PRG potash evaporate-IPFV
„She is evaporating potash.‟ (1994:312)

b u na pinke bwn
he PRG drum.DEF hit.IPFV
„He is beating the drum.‟ (1994:312)

(16) a Habitual (aspect) [PFV] (a series of habitual events occurring together, generic)

12 Carlson sees no clear meaning difference between the two future markers, though s is far more common
(1994:335).
13 When the root is CV, the [l] of the Imperfective -li is elided; the suffix vowel, if it is [-front], assimilates
(1994:133).
14 Rather than saying 3s, we have kept the gloss as presented in Carlson, where the gloss gave only he or she;
cultural information included would be lost by using numerals.

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 mu mha yr, ma  fyi taana a kwl
2s HAB rise and.NARR rock.DEF line.up SC circle
„You get up and place the stones round in a circle.‟ (1994:317)

This form is occasionally used to introduce formal narratives in the first clause. This “Formal
Past” usage is perhaps similar to “Once upon a time”…

b Habitual (aspect) [IPFV] (showing duration, simultaneity)

tire mha l-n cen 

3p.EMPH HAB put-IPFV calabash.DEF in
„…they are put in the calabash‟(1994:317)

(17) Remote Past (tense)

u n m-p moti shw  pa

3s P2 IP-come motorcycle.DEF buy it come
„He finally bought a motorcycle and brought it.‟ (1994:332)

(18) Recent Past (tense) (generally earlier the same day or emotionally closer)

a m n mu pyi d y

1s P1 2s tell how Q
„What did I tell you (earlier today)?‟ (1994:333)

b u n pa
3s P1 come
„3s came earlier today.‟(1994:340)

(19) Perfect (prototypical perfect)

mu a p
2s PFT be.fat
„You are fat/you have gotten fat.‟ (1994:340)

(20) Persistives („still, again, longer, not yet‟)

a u sh na ly
3s still PRG eat.IPFV
„3s is still eating.‟

b mu sh  pa
2s again PFT come
„You have come again.‟

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(21) Future

a pi sí  b
3p FUT FP.him kill
„They will kill him.‟

b pi s b mu bwn
3p FUT.FP remote 2s hit
„They will beat you tomorrow (*today).‟ (1994:336)

c mu c kapii c kuru cnk e

2s FUT.FP act.bad know that (EMPH) day.DEF in
„You will know (i.e. experience) a bad deed on that day.‟ (1994:336)

d m c m-p mu w

1s FUT FP-come 2s look
„I‟ll come see you.‟ (1994:335)

e u g  -j n-tri m

3s POT FP-be.able FP-grind NEG
„She wouldn‟t be able to grind.‟

In sum, we find Supyire to have both tense (Remote Past, Recent Past, Future) and aspect
(PFV, IPFV (HAB, PRG), PFT, etc.).

20.5 Serial verbs

Lengthy serial verb constructions (with three or four verbs) are not uncommon though “the most
frequent serial constructions have two verbs” (1994:289). Certain aspects are expressed by serial
verbs, exemplified in the following four types of constructions, of which the inceptive is the
most common (48% of all serials are of this type):

(22) Inceptive („come/go‟) construction.

a …m p a znt bwn

…and come PRG hyena hit.IPFV
…„and [the bush people] began [past from initial clause] to beat Hyena‟

b u a s a bynhr knhe na
3s PFT go PRG approach.IPFV village.DEF at
„3s was getting near‟ (lit: „went and was approaching‟)
(Sa, a reduced form of shya „go‟, cannot occur by itself.)

(23) Future serial construction

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 u g  -j n-tri m
she POT FP-be.able FP-grind NEG
„She wouldn‟t be able to grind.‟ (1994:291)

(24) Subjunctive serial construction

mu ah  b ly  kw ma 

2s CND eventual eat SC finish you.non-decl SBJ

n wyri wl  kn nh

my.non.decl money.DEF take.out SSC give here
„When you finally finish eating, you must take out my money and give it here‟.
(1994:292)

(25) Realis serial construction (occurs with a variety of tense-aspects with past time reference,
with habitual and conditional).

k pi  y  mr bag ttomp e

and 3p NAR jump SC cling house.DEF rafters.DEF to
„They jumped and clung to the rafters.‟

20.6 Other categories

20.6.1 Voice
There is no morphological passive construction in Supyire. A passive interpretation depends on
the thematic role of the NP in subject position and the aktionsart of the verb. Carlson translates
intransitive sentences where S has the thematic role of the patient as passives, based on use and
function (see example (11)).

20.6.2 Mood
The imperative has both a perfective and an imperfective form (see examples in (14)). The
subjunctive also shows the distinction of perfective (s) and imperfective (a) and what Carlson
calls the “zero subjunctive”. The “zero subjunctive” is found, for example, in sentences such as
the following, which is considered more polite than the “bare” imperative:

(26) a ma taha na fy e

2.ND follow my.ND footprints in
„Follow me (lit. follow in my tracks), please!‟

b ma a ma
2.ND SBJ.IPFV come.IPFV
„Come, please!‟

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For prohibitive sentences, the negative subjunctive (k) is used. In the following example, one of
the allomorphs, h, appears:

(27) ma h m-bwn li n m

2.ND PROHIB FP-touch it on NEG
„Don‟t touch it!‟

The subjunctive is also used in complement clauses:

(28) mi  yaa m  -kr Sukwoo na

1s PFT must 1s SBJ IP.go Sikasso at
„I must go to Sikasso.‟ (1994:421)

The conditional (auxiliary) is k [IP.PFV]: (1994:375, but see 570ff)

(29) ti k m-p -k

tea.DEF CND IP-come IP-boil
„When the tea comes to a boil….‟

20.6.3 Focus
Supyire marks two main types of focus: contrastive and “marked topic” focus. Both are indicated
by moving the focused noun phrase from its ordinary place to initial position in the sentence.
Carlson mentions both “strong” and “weak” focus. Here, we discuss only the more common
“strong” type.
Three elements mark an affirmative focused construction: fronting, heavy intonational
stress and a slight pause before the rest of the utterance (30a); in the negative, a copula or “quasi-
copula” appears as in (30b, where b „it is not‟ fulfils this function):

(30) a sig e u a kr

bush.DEF to 3s PFT go
„It is to the bush that 3s has gone.‟ (1994:468).

b sig e b u a kr m

bush.DEF to AUX 3s PFT go NEG
„It isn‟t to the bush that 3s has gone.‟ (1994:468).

Carlson indicates (1994:469) that the clause that follows the preposed focused item
receives no special marking except in one instance: if the aspect is present progressive (with the
AUX na), the copula y appears before the auxiliary:

(26) n mu  m y na yu

with you with 1s be PRG speak.IPFV
„It is with you that I am speaking‟

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Encoding of a focused direct object is by preposing and the use of the IP prefix (which indicates
that the object has been moved from its “typical” position) (32b).

(27) a unfocused direct object

pi na kuru pke pyi ‘bogo’

3p PRG this.EMPH drum.DEF call bogo
„They call this drum “bogo”.‟ (1994:469)

b focused direct object

kuru pke pi y na  m-pyi ‘bogo’

this.EMPH drum.DEF 3p be PRG IP.call bogo
„It is this drum which they call “bogo”.‟ (1994:469).

Adverbs of time, place and manner may be focused:

(33) wan mi  na vnyi ta

there 1s PFT 1s cloth.DEF find
„It was there that I found my clothes.‟ (1994:472)

Apparently, it is not possible in Supyire to focus the verb per se by clefting. Rather, verbal focus
is achieved by the use of an exclamatory particle d placed after the verb:

(34) u a kr d

3s PFT go EXCL
„S/he has left!‟

20.6.4 Relatives
Relative clauses in Supyire are all of the “restrictive” type. The most common method for
indicating a relative clause is by preposing it to the main clause. In this sense, Relatives are
similar to focus constructions. They differ, however, in that they are “embedded”, in that they
follow the pre-posed noun they modify, and must be followed by a clause-final relative marker
k (or g):

(35) yaag ka a  b k mu a kr c

thing.DEF it PFT 3s kill REL 2s PFT it.EMPH know
„You know the thing that killed him.‟ (lit: „The thing it has killed him, you know it.‟)

Coreferentiality is signalled both by a definite pronoun in the main clause and the use of an
emphatic pronoun (here, uru):

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(36) pcw u y n mu  ke uru s -kw
girl.DEF 3s be with 2s with REL 3s.EMPH FUT FP-die
„The girl who is with you will die.‟ (lit: „The girl she be with you she will die.‟
(1994:489)

20.7 Negation
Negation is marked with an obligatory clause-final negative particle and in most tenses and
aspects marking also takes place in the AUX position. The main clause-final marker is m, with
m or m “principally used in questions” (1994:377). The negative politeness marker is m.
The two major negative markers that occur in AUX position can be a segmental element
ye (examples (37) and (38), or a floating low tone which occurs to the left of the AUX and
docks onto it (examples (39-44). The markers are tense-aspect specific and some types of tense
and aspect do not take these markers. In narratives/sequentials negation does not occur, and
conditionals demand a very complex structure to express negation (not listed above). Some
examples follow:

(37) m ye  yaaga ta m

1s NEG PFT thing get NEG
„I didn‟t get a thing.‟(1994:379)

(38) wu ye na jn  m

1p NEG PRG jinn see.IPFV NEG
„We don‟t see (a) jinn.‟ (1994:379)

Low tone is used with auxiliaries that express TA marking and are high-toned without negation,
such as future markers s, c, Remote Past n, Recent Past n, „still, yet‟ sh, ‘be here‟ nh,
„be there‟ w:

(39) yi s  -j r jyile m

3p NEG.FUT FP-be.able it.EMPH cross NEG
„They (the bush cows) won‟t be able to cross it (the river).‟ (1994:381)

(40) wri sijri n fynna 

Wara.DEF celebration.DEF NEG.P2 cancel NEG.Q
„Wasn‟t the celebration of the Wara cancelled?‟15

(41) u n p m
3s NEG.P1 come NEG
„He didn‟t come (earlier today).‟

15 See Carlson (1994:726) for cultural information concerning the “Wara”.

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(42) w sh s  n 
1p NEG.yet go SC arrive NEG.Q
„Haven‟t we arrived yet?‟

(43) m sh ye  na  jwo m

1s still NEG PFT agree SC say NEG
„I didn‟t any longer try (agree) to speak.‟

(44) u nh  nh m

3s NEG.be.here here NEG
„3s isn‟t here.‟ (1994:382)

There is no marking at all with certain auxiliaries: HAB (mha), what Carlson calls Potential
(k), and Past (mpyi). Clauses with these markers contain presupposed information.

20.8 Auxiliaries
20.8.1 ‘Be’ auxiliaries
There are five verbs which are used as copulas, two of which have other functions. According to
Carlson, all of these verbs are highly grammaticalized as AUXs. They are ye „be‟, pyi/mpyi
„do, belong‟, used in the non-present forms, sii (emphatic) from the verb meaning „begin‟, nh
„be here‟, and w „be there‟. Only the progressive auxiliary can be used with ye. Mpyi is used
to indicate past, while pyi is also used in other tense-aspects. Examples:

(45) kuru b na ye kn-bwh

that .EMPH even PRG be village.big
„That even is a big village.‟

(46) ku s m-py w  silege

it FUT FP.be us to shame
„It will be a shameful thing for us.‟

(47) ksh a s ya-pege d

war PFT be.EMPH thing-bad EXCL
„War is a really bad thing!‟

The last two copulas include deictic information for nh (see (44)). Their use with predicate
nominals is relatively rare.

20.8.2 Other TAM auxiliaries

Most of the auxiliaries that mark various tense, aspect and mood categories have transparent
etymologies, many from verbs. These include inceptive aspect marker pa, from the verb pa „to
come‟, habitual AUX mha, from a verb mhn „to go around in circles‟, future marker c
from a productive verb c „to want‟ and future AUX s, a reduced form of shya „to go‟.

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Progressive AUX na is related to the preposition na „at‟ or „on‟; Persistive sh is identical to an
adverb meaning „still‟, „not yet‟.

References
Carlson, Robert. 1994. A grammar of Supyire. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

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