Negation in nDrapa --A morphosyntactic description--

Abstract

This study describes the multiple-negation morphology in the Mätro dialect of the nDrapa language. nDrapa has six negative markers: three prefixes (mə- “NEG₁”, which shows vowel assimilation to the verb stem, ma- “NEG₂”, and <DIR>-a- “<DIR>.PROH”, that is, a directional prefix whose vowel is replaced with -a); two auxiliaries (ma “NEG₃” and thaɦgi3 “PROH”); and the negative copula verb (mɛ2 “COP.NEG”). I identified the prefix mə- “NEG₁” as the default negative marker since it exists in different types of clauses: a declarative main clause in the perfective or far future situation, an interrogative main clause, or a part of subordinate clauses. The prefix ma- “NEG₂” signifies the negative of an imperfective declarative main clause. The interrogative and subordinate clauses do not use ma- “NEG₂” even if the clause is in the imperfective. The prefix <DIR>-a “<DIR>. PROH” (the prohibitive form of a directional prefix) negates the imperative, optative, and hortative main clause and part of subordinate clauses. However, this morphology is less productive in the Mätro dialect. Instead, the auxiliary thaɦgi3 “PROH” may be used as a productive counterpart. The auxiliary thaɦgi3 “PROH” is used in the same situations as <DIR>-a “<DIR>.PROH”. The auxiliary ma “NEG₃” is less frequent but may indicate a negative of the main clause in both the imperfective and remote future contexts. The negative copula mɛ2 “COP.NEG” is used in a dubitative or uncertain situation, though simple negation in a copula sentence uses the prefix ma- “NEG₂”.