Otjiherero Grammar

Otjiherero Grammar is the grammar of the Herero language (Otjiherero), a Bantu language spoken primarily in Namibia. As a Bantu language, it includes several hallmarks of Bantu languages such as a large number of noun classes, and the use of subject concords.

Nouns

Otjiherero includes the standard six personal pronouns, twenty-one noun classes for general nouns, and three prepositions that can exhibit nominal properties.

General Nouns

Nearly every noun in Otjiherero belongs to a noun class. There are nine main noun classes, as well as one rare noun classes. Each of these noun classes has a subclass for singular nouns and plural nouns. Noun classes are critical to the speaking of proper Otjiherero, because each noun class has its own demonstrative, object pronoun, object concord, relative concords, possessive prefix, and pronoun.

A noun's noun class can be determined by the first few letters of the word. This prefix is known as a noun-class prefix, and the rest of the word is called the noun stem. A singular noun can be made plural by changing the noun-class prefix into the corresponding plural noun-class prefix in its noun class. Likewise, a plural noun can be made singular by changing the noun-class prefix into the corresponding singular noun-class prefix in its noun class. This differs greatly from English and many western languages, which typically pluralize words by changing the end sounds—for example, adding "s".

Some of the prefixes occur in multiple classes, such as omu and oma. Knowing which noun class that words with these prefixes belong to can often be guessed based on the type of word, but ultimately one must have the noun class of the word memorized.

Noun classes tend to have loose themes.[1] These are not strictly adhered to, and any type of word may find itself in nearly any noun class. The only noun class that strictly adheres to its theme would be the first class, as any noun in this class will refer to a person or people.

An exception to the two-subclass system occurs in the oo- subclass. This occurs because this subclass is the pluralization of nouns that do not have a noun-class prefix, which is an extremely rare occurrence. Examples of this include the pluralization of mama ("mom") into oomama, tate ("father") into ootate, or the pluralization of a name to refer to the person and those associated with them, such as Ukutura into ooUkutura. It is places as an alternative to ova, because it generally is used for people.[2]

As you can see, most noun-class prefixes begin with the letter "o", yet there is also a noun class with just "o" itself. This class encompasses all nouns that begin with "o" but don't have the noun-class prefix of any other noun class. Said differently, if a noun begins with "o", one must make sure it doesn't have a noun-class prefix from any of the other noun classes before concluding that the noun is in the "o" noun class.

Table of Noun Classes [2]

Noun Class Noun-Class Prefix Theme Example[3] English Translation
1. sing omu- people omuzandu boy
1. plur ova- people ovazandu boys
1. plur* oo- people ootate fathers
2. sing omu- trees omumborombonga Combretum Imberbe (a species of tree)
2. plur omi- trees omimborombonga Combretum Imberbes
3. sing e- (no strong theme) engongwa red wasp
3. plur oma- (no strong theme) omangongwa red wasps
4. sing otji- things otjivava wing
4. plur ovi- things ovivava wings
5. sing o- animals, loanwords ongombe cow
5. plur ozo- animals, loanwords ozongombe cows
6. sing oru- abstract orumwe mosquito
6. plur otu- abstract otumwe mosquitos
7. sing oka- small things okazandu small boy
7. plur ou- small things ouzandu small boys
8. sing oku- body parts okutwi ear
8. plur oma- body parts omatwi ears
9. sing ou- abstract ouye world
9. plur omau- abstract omauye worlds
10. sing oku- (no strong theme) okuiya thorn
10. plur omaku- (no strong theme) omakuiya thorns

One should note that Otjiherero has no articles, so one must determine concepts such as "the dog" as opposed to "a dog" by context.

Prepositional Pronouns

The prepositions pu, ku, and mu can sometimes be the subject of a sentence, and have their own subject concords similar to other noun classes. Therefore, it can be useful to think of them as the 11th, 12th and 13th noun classes. The division between pu and ku is sometimes blurrly, but some guidelines are included.

Prepositional Pronouns[2]

Noun Class Preposition Theme
11. pu at (especially, where speaker is currently)
12. ku at/to (especially, where speaker is not currently)
13. mu in

Personal Pronouns

Otjiherero personal pronouns are delineated into six pronouns based on person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and plurality (singular, plural). These divisions are equivalent to the six pronouns as seen in English and Romantic Languages. A comparison with an equivalent table in English is presented for the sake of clarity

Table of Personal Pronouns[2][3]

Person Singular Plural
1st Ami Eṱe
2nd Ove Eṋe
3rd Eye Ovo/Owo

Table of Personal Pronouns (English)

Singular Plural
I We
You You (all)
He/She They

Impersonal Pronouns

Each noun class has a corresponding pronoun. From the perspective of an English speaker, for general nouns all of these are equivalent to "it" for singular subjects, and "they" for plural subjects. For the prepositional noun classes, the pronouns are related to "here", "there", and "inside". Additionally, each class has demonstrative pronouns, comparable to "this/these one(s)", "that/those one(s)", and "that/those one(s) over there" in English.

Table of Impersonal Pronouns [2][3]

Noun Class Pronoun "this/these one(s)" "that/those one(s)" "that/those one(s) over there"
1s. omu eye ingwi ingo ingwina
1p. ova owo/ovo imba imbo imbena
1p*. oo owo/ovo imba imbo imbena
2s. omu owo imbwi imbwo imbwina
2p. omi ovyo imbi imbo/imbyo imbina
3s. e oro indi indo indina
3p. oma owo inga ingo ingena
4s. otji otjo ihi/itji iho/itjo ihina/itjina
4p. ovi ovyo imbi imbyo imbina
5s. o oyo indji indjo indjina
5p. ozo ozo inḓa inḓo inḓena
6s. oru orwo indwi indwo indwina
6p. otu otwo iswi/ihwi iswo/ihwo iswina/ihwina
7s. oka oko inga ingo ingena
7p. ou owo imbwi imbwo imbwina
8s. oku okwo ingwi ingo ingwina
8p. oma owo inga ingo ingena
9s. ou owo imbwi imbwo imbwina
9p. omau (?) ? ? ?
10s. oku okwo ingwi ingo ingwina
10p. omaku (?) ? ? ?
11. pu opo imba imbo imbena
12. ku oko ingwi ingo ingwina
13. mu omo imwi ? ?

Examples

Verbs

Like most languages, verbs in Otjiherero conjugate to denote tense, aspect, and modality. However, to know the correct tense, aspect, and modality of the sentence, one cannot simply look at the verb or the subject concord in isolation, but must look at the combination of the two. Unlike English, verbs do not conjugate differently for different subjects.

Regular verbs in Otjiherero have 3 main conjugations for tense

  1. The infinitive
  2. The verb stem of the infinitive
  3. A main alternative conjugation

Infinitive Conjugation

All verbs in their infinitive conjugation begin with oku- and end with the letter -a. Oku- is the verb prefix, and the rest of the verb is the verb stem.

Examples

Verbs can be used as nouns by simply treating them as nouns with the oku- noun-class prefix.

Example: Okutona kwoye eputi Your hitting is a problem

Verb Stem Conjugation

In some tenses, the verb will conjugate by simply dropping the verb prefix

Examples

Main Alternative Conjugation

All verbs have a main alternative conjugation. There are 4 possibilities for how these will be related to the verb stem. The alternative conjugation will either be

  1. identical to the verb stem.
  2. the -a of the verb stem becomes an -e
  3. the -a of the verb stem becomes the vowel from the preceding syllable (called "vowel harmonization")
  4. irregular

Examples

Other Conjugations

Other conjugations occur for location, voice, reflection, behalvatation, and causation.

Location

When an action occurs somewhere else, the directive particle ka is used. In non-command, non-infinitive cases, the verb will be in verb stem form with ka- used as a prefix[4]

Examples

When used in a command, ka- will again be a prefix to the verb stem, but the last letter of the verb stem changes to -e (regardless of whether or not this is the verb's main alternative conjugation)

Examples

When used in an infinitive, -ka- is an infix between the verb prefix and the verb stem

Examples

Passive Voice

Passive voice conjugations are formed by putting a -w- before the final -a of the verb stem (regardless of tense). Irregular verbs may use a form similar to their main alternative conjugation[4]

Examples

To specify an acting object, the passive particle i comes before the object

Examples

Reflection

When a subject does something to itself, one uses reflective particle ri to show this. This same effect is achieved in English by adding "-self/-selves" to the object, such as in "herself" or "themselves". One places the reflective particle exactly as one would place the directive particle (see "Location" above). In the case that a verb uses a reflective particle and a directive particle, the directive particle precedes the reflective particle. Unlike the directive particle, the reflective particle does not cause verbs to switch to verb stem form regardless of tense.[4]

Comparisons of Verbs Without and With Reflective Particles

Verb Reflective Verb
okukoha to wash okurikoha to wash oneself (to bathe)
okupura to ask okuripura to ask oneself (to think)
okuyandja to give okuriyandja to give oneself (to volunteer)
okumuna to see okurimuna to see oneself (to feel)
okunana to pull okurinana to pull oneself (to stretch, to walk around)

The reflective particle affects preceding concords and directive particles. If any of these parts of speech end with an -a, the -a will be changed to an -e.

Comparisons of Preceding Parts of Speech Without and With Reflective Particles

Without Reflective Particle With Reflective Particle
Tjiuri ma koho. Tjiuri is washing Tjiuri me rekoho. Tjiuri is bathing
Mba munu. I saw. Mbe rimunu navi. I felt bad.
Me kakoha. I will go wash. Me kerikoha. I will go bathe.
Twa kanana korukaasi. We went and pulled. Twe kerinana korukaasi. We went and walked around at the location.

Notice in the final example the reflective particle influenced both the subject concord and the directive particle.

Benefactive

When an action is being done for or on behalf of someone/something else, a benefactive suffix is sometimes used. There are four benefactive suffixes:

  1. -ena
  2. -era
  3. -ina
  4. -ira

The suffix used depends on the end of the verb stem being used. Namely

The benefactive suffix replaces the -a of the verb stem. In tenses where the main alternative verb form would be used, the final -a of the benefactive suffix becomes an -e (regardless of the final letter of the main alternative verb form for that verb).[4]

Examples

Causation

When a subject causes the object to do the action, a causatory suffix is added to the verb. The most common suffix is to replace the final -a of the verb witih -isa. However, verbs ending in -uka can sometimes change the -uka to -ura and achieve a similar effect.[4]

Comparisons of normal verbs and causatory verbs

Normal Verb Causatory Verbs
okuungura to work okuungurisa to cause to work (to use)
okukora to tell okukorisa to cause to tell (to greet)
okuhita to enter okuhitisa to cause to enter (to put in, insert)
okupita to go out okupitisa to cause to go out (to remove)
okuranda to buy okurandisa to cause to buy (to sell)
okuhakahana to hurry okuhakahanisa to cause to hurry (to rush)
okupenduka to wake up okupendura to wake someone else up

When forming passive voice with causatory verbs, an -iwa is added rather than a -wa

Examples

  1. ungurisiwa to be used
  2. hitisiwa to be made to enter

Subject Concords (and Tense Construction)

Unlike English, every verb (except when used as a command or infinitive) is preceded by a part of speech called a subject concord. Subject concords are similar to helping (auxiliary) verbs in English, except that they have no meaning without an accompanying verb, whereas helping verbs such as "was" could be used as a verb in certain sentences. Subject concords also inflect to denote tense, aspect, and modality, but unlike Otjiherero verbs, subject concords also inflect to show subject. Because very often the subject concord implies the subject with little or no ambiguity, nouns and pronouns of subjects are often left out in Otjiherero sentences.[4]

In discussing tenses, the concepts of "verb stem conjugation" and "main alternative conjugation" succinctly describe the conjugation of the verb in many cases. For more information on these terms, see the section on "Verbs" above. Also, since subject concords vary depending by subject, some notation from the "Nouns" section is also used.

Subject concords also carry the negation in Otjiherero sentences. In other words, verbs that "didn't happen" use a different subject concord. Note that some tenses exist only positively or negatively.

Positive Subject Concords[3]

Subject General Past Past Habitual Present Habitual Present Progressive / Near Future Indefinite Future
ami mba ee mbi me mee
ove wa oo u mo moo
eye wa aa u ma maa
eṱe twa aatu tu matu maatu
eṋe mwa aamu mu mamu maamu
owo/ovo va aave ve mave maave
1s. omu- wa aa u ma maa
1p. ova- va aave ve mave maave
1p. oo- va aave ve mave maave
2s. omu- wa aau u mau maau
2p. omi- vya aavi vi mavi maavi
3s. e- ra aari ri mari maari
3p. oma- ya aaye ye maye maaye
4s. otji- tja aatji tji matji maatji
4p. ovi- vya aavi vi mavi maavi
5s. o- ya aai i mai maai
5p. ozo- za aaze ze maze maaze
6s. oru- rwa aaru ru maru maaru
6p. otu- twa aatu tu matu maatu
7s. oka- ka aake ke make maake
7p. ou- wa aau u mau maau
8s. oku- kwa aaku ku maku maaku
8p. oma- ya aaye ye maye maaye
9s. ou- wa aau u mau maau
9p. omau- ? ? ? ? ?
10s. oku- kwa aaku ku maku maaku
10p. omaku- ? ? ? ? ?
11. pu pa aape pe mape maape
12. ku kwa aaku ku maku maaku
13. mu mwa aamu mu mamu maamu

Negative Subject Concords[4]

Subject Past Copulative Past Habitual Present Perfect Present Habitual Present Progressive / Near Future Indefinite Future
ami himba hee hi ya hi hi naku himee
ove kawa koo ko ya ko ko naku komoo/kamoo
eye ka kaa ke ya ka ke naku kanaa/kamaa
eṱe katwa kaatu katu ya katu katu naku kamaatu
eṋe kamwa kaamu kamu ya kamu kamu naku kamaamu
owo/ovo kava kaave kave ya kave kave naku kamaave
1s. omu- kawa kaa ke ya ka ke naku kanaa/kamaa
1p. ova- kava kaave kave ya kave kave naku kamaave
1p. oo- kava kaave kave ya kave kave naku kamaave
2s. omu- kawa kaau kau ya kau kau naku kamaau
2p. omi- kavya kaavi kavi ya kavi kavi naku kamaavi
3s. e- kara kaari kari ya kari kari naku kamaari
3p. oma- kaya kaaye kaye ya kaye kaye naku kamaaye
4s. otji- katja kaatji katji ya katji katji naku kamaatji
4p. ovi- kavya kaavi kavi ya kavi kavi naku kamaavi
5s. o- kaya kaai kai ya kai kai naku kamaai
5p. ozo- kaza kaaze kaze ya kaze kaze naku kamaaze
6s. oru- karwa kaaru karu ya karu karu naku kamaaru
6p. otu- katwa kaatu katu ya katu katu naku kamaatu
7s. oka- kaka kaake kake ya kake kake naku kamaake
7p. ou- kawa kaau kau ya kau kau naku kamaau
8s. oku- kakwa kaaku kaku ya kaku kaku naku kamaaku
8p. oma- kaya kaaye kaye ya kaye kaye naku kamaaye
9s. ou- kawa kaau kau ya kau kau naku kamaau
9p. omau- ? ? ? ? ? ?
10s. oku- kakwa kaaku kaku ya kaku kaku naku kamaaku
10p. omaku- ? ? ? ? ? ?
11. pu kapa kaape kape ya kape kape naku kamaape
12. ku kakwa kaaku kaku ya kaku kaku naku kamaaku
13. mu kamwa kaamu kamu ya kamu kamu naku kamaamu

Present and Future Tenses

Otjiherero has five tenses that occur in the present or future time frames. These are the

  1. Present Habitual Tense
  2. Copulative / Associative Tense
  3. Present Progressive / Near Future Tense
  4. Indefinite Future Tense
  5. Present Perfect Tense

Present Habitual Tense

The present habitual tense is used for actions that occur regularly, emphasizing the ongoing recurrence of the action rather than any occurrence in the present moment.[2][4]

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + present habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative present habitual subject concord + main alternative conjugation

Examples

Copulative / Associative Present Tense

Otjiherero includes two special words that have unique parts of speech: the copula, ri, and the associative, na. These correlate with the English verbs "to be" and "to have"/"to be with", respectively (but ri and na are not considered verbs).[4]

Regardless of whether these are used in present progressive situations or habitual situations, they always use the habitual subject concord when used in the present tense. This is similar to English, where "I am happy." and "I have a pencil." are much more common than "I'm being happy." and "I'm having a pencil.", even when used in a present progressive context.[4]

Ri finds its main uses in present tense when used to

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + habitual subject concord + ri + adverb OR preposition+location OR pi? ("where?")

Examples

Note that when used with the interrogative pi, the ri is sometimes omitted as a contraction

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative habitual subject concord + ri + adverb OR preposition+location

Examples

Na is generally used to show association or having. The associative usually prefixes onto the noun, almost always dropping the a if the noun beings with a vowel.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + habitual subject concord + (n(a)+noun)

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative habitual subject concord + (n(a)+noun)

Examples

Present Progressive / Near Future Tense

Verbs that are happening in the current moment are usually conjugated in this tense, though some verbs will be conjugated in the recent past tense. Also, verbs that will take place in the arbitrarily "near" future are conjugated in this tense.[4]

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + present progressive / near future subject concord + main alternative conjugation[2]

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative present progressive / near future subject concord U verb stem conjugation

Examples

Indefinite Future Tense

Actions that will take place in some indefinitely distant future are generally conjugated in this tense.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + indefinite future subject concord + main alternative conjugation[4]

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative indefinite future subject concord + main alternative conjugation

Examples

Present Perfect

This tense is only strictly defined for negations. It can be interpreted in English as "haven't/hasn't" or "still haven't/hasn't"[4]

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative present perfect subject concord + verb stem conjugation[4]

Examples

Past Tenses

In Otjiherero, the majority of tenses occur in the past. These include

  1. Recent Past
  2. Yesterday's/Completed Past
  3. Intermediately Distant Past
  4. Very Distant Past
  5. General Non-Recent Past
  6. Past Continuous
  7. Past Habitual
  8. Copulative / Associative Past

Recent Past

The recent past tense generally includes most verbs that were performed earlier in the same day.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + main alternative conjugation[2]

Examples

Unlike English, some verbs that are still presently occurring will still use the recent past tense. One can interpret this as a verb that captures an initiation or transition occurring at the beginning of the action, and that the action is grammatically understood to still be taking place if conjugated in the recent past tense; however, similar verbs will not always be conjugated in the same tense.[4]

Examples

yet some similar verbs are conjugated in the present progressive tense

There is no negation for this tense, as negations will either migrate into the present perfect or yesterday's / completed past tense.

Yesterday's / Completed Past

Verbs performed a day or a few days ago usually find themselves conjugated in this tense.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + verb stem conjugation with behalvatory suffix(!)[2]

(!) Some irregular verbs, such as okurya, will not use the verb stem conjugation. See the subsection on behalvatory suffixes for instructions on how to create this suffix.

Examples

Also, verbs that use the recent past conjugation to indicate that they are presently occurring will use yesterday's / completed past to show they are complete, even if they happened in the current day.

Examples

There is no negation for this tense, as negations for non-recent past will migrate to the "general non-recent past" tense.

Intermediately Distant Past

Actions not performed yesterday-ish yet not being emphasized as very distantly past will fall in this intermediate category.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + verb stem conjugation[2]

Examples

There is no negation for this tense, as negations for non-recent past will migrate to the "general non-recent past" tense.

Very Distant Past

This tense represents the greatest possible emphasis on happening long ago. The formation of this tense is exactly the same as that of yesterday's past, but the verbs will have an up-accent on the final vowel. There is no negation for this tense, as negations for non-recent past will migrate to the "general non-recent past" tense.[2]

General Non-Recent Past

This tense only exists in negation, and encompasses the negations of the "Yesterday's / Completed Past", "Intermediately Distant Past", and "Verb Distant Past" tenses.[4]

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation with behalvatory suffix(!)

(!) Some irregular verbs, such as okurya, will not use the verb stem conjugation. See the subsection on behalvatory suffixes for instructions on how to create this suffix.

Examples

Past Continuous

To emphasize the extended temporal nature of an action in the past, the past continuous tense is used. This would be the same as saying "I was playing." instead of "I played."

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + ri + (a- + the subject concord you'd use if you were doing the action right now. Thus usually the present progressive subject concord, but for some verbs this would be the general past subject concord.) + main alternative conjugation[4]

Examples

This tense is especially useful for saying that something happened while something else was happening.

Examples

For the 3rd person singular, certain contractions may be used.

The conjunction ngunda ("while") is also used in the past continuous tense.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + ngunda + (a- + the subject concord you'd use if you were doing the action right now. Thus usually the present progressive subject concord, but for some verbs this would be the general past subject concord.) + main alternative conjugation[4]

In other words, ngunda can replace the general past subject concord and the ri.

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + past copulative subject concord + ri + (a- + the subject concord you'd use if you were doing the action right now. Thus usually the present progressive subject concord, but for some verbs this would be the general past subject concord.) + main alternative conjugation[4]

Examples

Past Habitual

Actions that once took place habitually but are no longer taking place habitually fall into the past habitual tense. This can be compared to "used to" in English.

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + past habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation[4]

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative past habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation[4]

Examples

Copulative / Associative Past

To use the Otjiherero copula ri in the past tense, the copulative past conjugation is used (unless in the past habitual). This is required when

The following formula describes the formation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + ri + (noun OR (na/n-+noun))[4]

Examples

The following formula describes the negation of this tense: (optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative copulative past subject concord + ri + (noun OR (na/n-+noun))[4]

Examples

In the case of the copula ri in a past habitual tense, the conjugation proceeds in the habitual tense style.

Examples

Object Concords

Other than when used in possessive determiners, pronouns are rarely used as objects. Instead, Otjiherero speakers use object concords, which replace object pronouns with no change in meaning. Each personal pronoun and noun class has its own object concord

Object concords[4]

Personal Pronoun or Noun Class Object Concord
ami ndji
ove ku
eye mu
eṱe tu
eṋe mu
owo/ovo ve
1s. omu- mu
1p. ova- ve
1p. oo- ve
2s. omu- u
2p. omi- vi
3s. e- ri
3p. oma- ye
4s. otji- tji
4p. ovi- vi
5s. o- i
5p. ozo- ze
6s. oru- ru
6p. otu- tu
7s. oka- ke
7p. ou- u
8s. oku- ku
8p. oma- ye
9s. ou- u
9p. omau- ?
10s. oku- ku
10p. omaku- ?
11. pu pe
12. ku ku
13. mu mu

Note that these are the same as the present habitual subject concords for each noun class respectively, as well as some impersonal pronouns. The excepted noun class is class 1s, where the object concord corresponds with that of the third person singular personal pronoun, eye.

Unless involved in a sentence with a verb in the infinitive form, object concords situate themselves directly before the verb. When the verb is in the infinitive form, the object concord is infixed between the oku- and the verb stem. If a directive particle is also being used, the object concord is infixed between the directive particle and the verb stem.

An important grammatical consideration is that object concords are one of several grammatical pieces in Otjiherero that cause -as of preceding parts of speech to change into -es. They are able to affect subject concords, directive particles, and relative concords.

Examples

Note the ambiguity created in the third example by the inclusion of an object concord. It is possible that native speakers could determine the exact meaning of the sentence by the tone of me and mu. For non-native speakers or written Otjiherero, one can gain clarification by including pronouns.

Relative Concords

Relative concords cause a verb or verb phrase to act as an adjective. They are comparable to "that", "which", and "who" in English. They come after the subject and replace the subject concord of the verb phrase.

Basic Relative concords[2]

Subject Past Present Habitual Present Progressive / Near Future
ami ngu mba ngu mbi ngu me
ove ngu wa ngu u ngu mo
eye ngwa ngu ngu ma
eṱe mbu twa mbu tu mbu matu
eṋe mbu mwa mbu mu mbu mamu
owo/ovo mba mbe mbu mave
1s. omu- ngwa ngu ngu ma
1p. ova- mba mbe mbu mave
1p. oo- mba mbe mbu mave
2s. omu- mbwa mbu mbu mau
2p. omi- mbya mbi mbi mavi
3s. e- nda ndi ndi mari
3p. oma- nga nge ngu maye
4s. otji- tji tja tji tji tji matji
4p. ovi- mbya mbi mbi mavi
5s. o- ndja ndji ndji mai
5p. ozo- nḓa nḓe nḓu maze
6s. oru- ndwa ndu ndu maru
6p. otu- tu twa tu tu tu matu
7s. oka- ku ka ku ke ku make
7p. ou- mbwa mbu mbu mau
8s. oku- ku kwa ku ku ku maku
8p. oma- nga nge ngu maye
9s. ou- mbwa mbu mbu mau
9p. omau- ? ? ?
10s. oku- ku kwa ku ku ku maku
10p. omaku- ? ? ?
11. pu pu pa pu pu pu mape
12. ku ku kwa ku ku ku maku
13. mu mu mwa mu mu mu mamu

Basic

Basic relative concords come after the subject and replace the subject concord of the verb phrase. If there is a copula ri, associative na or both, they come after the relative concord.

Compare

Examples

Different Subject

If the subject of the action in the relative verb phrase is different from the original subject, the following formula is used:

[First word of the present progressive relative concord] + [tense-appropriate subject concord for the relative subject][4]

Compare

Examples

Negation

To negate in the present habitual, simply put the negatory particle ha after the habitual relative concord. The verb is conjugated in the main alternative form.[2]

To negate in the present progressive, simply replace the second word of the present progressive relative concord with hi naku-. The verb is conjugated in the verb stem form[2]

To negate with na or ri in the present, insert he between the habitual relative concord and the na or ri.[2]

Examples

Adjectives

Similar to Otjiherero nouns, all standard Otjiherero adjectives have a noun-class prefix and an adjective stem. Unlike nouns, adjectives do not have invariable prefixes that are essential to their identity as a word. Instead, adjectives simply inherit the noun-class prefix of the noun they are describing. Thus, since a part of an adjectives depends on the subject it's modifying, standard adjectives cannot be written without implying a subject (or at the most, a possible set of subjects). However, since the adjective stem remains the same regardless of subject, it is useful to use adjective stems as a way to record adjectives.[4]

Common Adjective Stems[4]

Adjective Stem English Counterpart
-wa good, beautiful
-vi bad, ugly
-nene big
-ṱiṱi small
-re tall
-supi short

Standard Adjectives

Standard adjectives usually come after nouns, and consist of a noun-class prefix and an adjective stem.[4]

Examples

Comparatives

Unlike English, adjectives themselves aren't declined to show comparison, such as "big" becoming "bigger". Instead, the preposition pu is added as a prefix to the noun which the initial noun is being compared to. Pu will almost always omit the u when prefixed to a noun beginning with a vowel, which most do. Exceptions include loanwords that are proper nouns.[4]

Examples

Superlatives

Superlatives can be formed in two ways. The first way is to double the last two syllables of the adjective stem, or in the case of single syllable adjective stems, simply double the adjective stem[4]

Examples

The other approach to superlatives is formed just like comparatives, except tjinene is added after the adjective, and a form of "all" placed after the compared group. While these may arguably be comparatives, the addition of tjinene indicates a unique form.[4]

Examples

Using Relative Concords

One may quickly notice that Otjiherero has very few adjectives compared to English. Similar to English relative concords are used to modify a noun when the adjective doesn't exist.[4]

Compare

Adverbs

Unlike many languages, Otjiherero does not have a formula for changing adjectives to adverbs. Compare this to English where many adjectives can become adverbs by adding "-ly".[4]

Selected Important Adverbs[4]

Otjiherero English
nawa well, nicely
navi badly, a lot
tjinene very much, a lot
kaṱiṱi a little, slowly
nambano now
uriri just

Extended Adverbs

For situations where a verb, adjective, or adverb must be modified in a way that no existing adverb allows, an extended adverb may be created by using the following formula

verb + a- + [subject concord and verb modifying the original verb][4]

This is comparable to "while" in English. Note that verbs normally use recent past subject concords to describe the present tense will use a recent past concord here as well. All other verbs will use present progressive subject concords.

Examples

Conjunctive Adverbs

One important conjunctive adverb in Otjiherero is nu, meaning "then" or "and then". If followed by a word that starts with a vowel, the nu is often dropped, and the n- added a prefix to the word. If followed by wa or we, the past subject concord for 3rd person singular personal nouns/pronouns, the u and w are dropped, and the words combine to na or ne[4]

Examples

Determiners

Otjiherero makes use of the following determiners:

Most notably omitted when compared to English are articles, which are compensated for by context or demonstratives

Demonstratives

In Otjiherero, each noun class has its own demonstratives, and the demonstrative corresponds to the noun class of the noun it refers to. Some noun classes have multiple demonstratives in use due to generational differences or regional differences, and these are represented in the table below by fields with multiple entries. The oru- and otu- classes specifically have a wide range of demonstratives in use, and not all possibilities are listed.

Demonstratives by Proximity and Nounclass[2]

Noun Class Near ("This") Further ("That") Even further ("That over there")
1s. omu- ngwi ngo ngwina
1p. ova- mba mbo mbena
1p. oo- mba mbo mbena
2s. omu- mbwi mbwo mbwina
2p. omi- mbi mbo/mbyo mbina
3s. e- ndi ndo ndina
3p. oma- nga ngo ngena
4s. otji- hi/tji ho/tjo hina/tjina
4p. ovi- mbi mbyo mbina
5s. o- ndji ndjo ndjina
5p. ozo- nḓa nḓo nḓena
6s. oru- ndwi ndwo ndwina
6p. otu- swi/hwi swo/hwo swina/hwina
7s. oka- nga ngo ngena
7p. ou- mbwi mbwo mbwina
8s. oku- ngwi ngo ngwina
8p. oma- nga ngo ngena
9s. ou- mbwi mbwo mbwina
9p. omau- ? ? ?
10s. oku- ngwi ngo ngwina
10p. omaku- ? ? ?
11. pu mba mbo mbena
12. ku ngwi ngo ngwina
13. mu mwi ? ?

Demonstratives can be positioned before or after their corresponding noun. When positioned after, they are used exactly as in the table above. When written before the noun, an i- is prefixed to the demonstrative.[4]

Examples

A common usage of demonstratives in Otjiherero involves placing them directly after a corresponding pronoun. This creates a new meaning, along the lines of "Here it is / There it is / There it is over there" or "It's this one here / It's that one there / It's that one over there"[4]

Examples

Demonstratives can stand alone as demonstrative pronouns. See the pronouns section above.

Possessives

Possessive determiners are composed of two parts: a possessive concord prefixed to a possessive suffix. Possessive concords correspond to the noun class of the noun being possessed, while the possessive suffix corresponds to the noun class of the possessor.

Possessive Concords (similar to "of")[3]

Noun Class Possessive Concord
1s. omu wa-
1p. ova va-
1p*. oo va-
2s. omu wa-
2p. omi vya-
3s. e ra-
3p. oma wa-
4s. otji tja-
4p. ovi vya-
5s. o ya-
5p. ozo za-
6s. oru rwa-
6p. otu twa-
7s. oka ka-
7p. ou wa-
8s. oku kwa-
8p. oma wa-
9s. ou wa-
9p. omau (?)
10s. oku kwa-
10p. omaku (?)

Exception: omuṱena (opposite-sex sibling) has an irregular possessive concord, using kwa- instead of wa-[4]

The possessive suffix can take four different forms, creating four different classes of possessive determiners

  1. Personal Pronoun Possessive Determiners
  2. Proper Noun Possessive Determiners
  3. Common Noun Possessive Determiners
  4. Impersonal Pronoun Possessive Determiners

Personal Pronoun Possessive Determiners

Personal pronoun possessive determiners are possessive determiners with a personal pronoun (or noun from the first noun class) doing the possessing. For these, the suffix is a personal possessive pronoun.[4]

Personal Possessive Suffixes[4]

Pronoun Personal Possessive Pronoun
ami -andje (mine)
ove -oye (yours)
eye -e (his/hers)
eṱe -etu (ours)
eṋe -eṋu (yours)
owo/ovo -awo (theirs)

The final a of the possessive concord is dropped when the possessive determiner is formed. Also note that possessors in the first noun class, omu/ova are treated as eye/ova respectively.

Examples

Proper Noun Possessive Determiners

When a proper noun is doing the possessing, the possessive concord is simply prefixed to the proper noun.[4] Two types of inflection are possible:

  1. If the proper noun has a noun class (example: Okahandja) the first letter of the proper noun is dropped
  2. If the proper noun does not have a noun class, no letters are dropped

Examples

Common Noun Possessive Determiners

When a common noun is doing the possessing, the -a of the possessive concord is dropped.[4]

Example

Impersonal Pronoun Possessive Determiners

When an impersonal pronoun is doing the possessing, the -o of the impersonal pronoun is dropped.[4]

Example

Quantifiers

Important quantifiers in Otjiherero include

1. tjiva some 2. -arwe other, another, different 3. -kwao another 4. o- -ngi many, most 5. a- -he all

Some

Tjiva expresses the idea of "some" in Otjiherero. Tjiva positions itself after the noun like a standard adjective, but does not inflect.[3]

Example

Other, another, different

-arwe expresses the idea of "other", "another" or "different" in Otjiherero. -arwe is prefixed with the possessive prefix of the noun it modifies, with the a- of the possessive prefix dropped. -arwe is similar to -kwao, but -arwe can be used to imply difference, where as -kwao almost always means "another".[4]

Examples

Another

-kwao expresses the idea of "another" in Otjiherero. It inflects as a standard adjective. -arwe is similar to -kwao, but -arwe can be used to imply difference, where as -kwao almost always means "another".[4]

-arwe and -kwao can be confusing for an English speaker because we often use "another" for two very different ideas. One use involves addition, while another involves replacement.

Compare

Many, most

o- -ngi expresses the idea of "many" (and sometimes "most") in Otjiherero. It does not inflect as a standard adjective; rather, the present habitual subject concord of the modified noun is infixed between the o- and the -ngi.[4]

Examples ovandu ovengi many people otumwe otungi many mosquitoes

All

a- -he expresses the idea of "all" in Otjiherero. It does not inflect as a standard adjective; rather, the present habitual subject concord of the modified noun is infixed between the a- and the -he.[4]

Examples ovandu avehe all people otumwe atuhe all mosquitoes aruhe always, usually (short for oruveze aruhe, "all of the time")

Cardinal Numbers

1 through 5

For numbers 1 through 5, cardinal numbers work like standard adjectives, except number stems are prefixed with the present habitual subject concord of the noun they modify instead of the noun-class prefix.[4]

English Otjiherero number stems
one -mwe
two -vari
three -tatu
four -ne
five -tano

The ozo- class inflects differently. Instead of being prefixed, the number stem stands alone. Moreover, number stems starting with v- change to mb- and number stems starting with t- change to nd-.[4]

The number 4 has a few irregular inflections

When using numbers in and of and themselves (not modifying anything), they are treated as if modifying a word in the ozo- class, except an i- is always prefixed (even beyond 5). For example, the first five numbers are imwe, imbari, indatu, ine, indano[4]

Examples

6 through 10

Numbers 6 through 10 do not inflect. Numbers 6 through 8 are simply 1 through 3 as if inflected for the ozo- noun class, with hambo- prefixed.[4]

English Otjiherero number
six hamboumwe
seven hambombari
eight hambondatu
nine muvyu
ten omurongo

Examples

11 through 19

Numbers 11 through 19 are simply formed through addition. For example, 15 would be "ten and five". Note that the number in the unit's place still inflects as it normally would if it stood alone.[4]

Examples

20 through 99

Numbers 20 through 99 are also formed through addition. Multiples of 10 are created by treating 10 as a noun, and modifying it with a number 1 through 9.[4]

Examples of multiples of 10

English Otjiherero number
twenty (two tens) omirongo vivari
thirty (three tens) omirongo vitatu
forty (four tens) omirongo vine
seventy (seven tens) omirongo hambondatu
ninety (nine tens) omirongo muvyu

Examples

100 and beyond

Numbers 100 and beyond are formed through addition, with each place value modified as a noun to create its multiples. Like English, place values of "thousand" and beyond are modified up to hundreds in order to create three places (example: thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands; millions, ten millions, hundred millions)[4]

English Otjiherero number
hundred esere
thousand eyovi
million engete
billion etao
uncountable (like infinity) ehavarwa

Examples

Ordinal Numbers

The following formula converts cardinal numbers to ordinal numbers

o + [present habitual concord of ordered noun] + tja + [number stem][4]

The exceptions are "first" and "last". These are constructed as standard adjectives, with -tenga as the adjective stem for "first", and -senina as the adjective stem for "last".

Examples

Other Important Prefixes and Particles

Negative Prefix

In Otjiherero, the prefix ka- can be used with nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the infinitive form. It functions similar to "not" or "it's not a". When being prefixes onto a work, the first vowel of the original word is dropped if it began with a vowel. There is no ambiguity with the directive prefix ka- because the directive prefix is only prefixed to verb stems, whereas the negative prefix will prefix to the beginning of the infinitive verb.[4]

Examples:

Negative Particle

Similar to the negative prefix, the negative particle ha adds negation. It can be thought of as similar to "Not" "Non-" "Un-" "In-". It is normally used as an infix in adjectives and their derivatives (placed between the noun-class prefix and the noun stem) or as a particle before verbs in sentences asking "why" or with relative concords.[4]

Compare:

  1. -kohoke clean
  2. oukohoke cleanliness
  3. -hakohoke unclean
  4. ouhakohoke uncleanliness

Examples:

Nominal Prefix

The nominal prefix o- can be added to words to make them more independent. Main uses occur with personal pronouns, personal and impersonal noun-class possessives, relative concords, and interrogatives. One can think of this in 2 ways.[4]

Compare:

  1. ozongombe zeṋe which cows (incomplete sentence)
  2. Ozongombe ozeṋe. Which cows are they? / The cows are which ones? (complete sentence)

Compare:

  1. uṋe who (incomplete sentence)
  2. Ouṋe? Who is it (complete sentence)

Compare:

  1. ekori raTate Father's hat (incomplete sentence)
  2. Ekori oraTate. It is Father's hat. (complete sentence)

Examples:

Copulative Particle

The copula in Otjiherero is ri. It functions similar to "be/is/am/are" in English, though it is not a verb. Common uses include identifying with adverbs, querying location, and specifying location. It also is used for identifying two nouns in the past, as seen in the "Copulative / Associative Past" above. Lastly, it comes up in the past continuous tense.[4]

Examples:

Associative Particle

The associative in Otjiherero is na. It functions similar to "have" in English, thought it is not a verb. It is generally prefixed to a following noun, and drops its a- if the following noun begins with a vowel.[4]

Examples:

Conjunctions

Non-Contrasting

The non-contrasting conjunction in Otjiherero is na, similar to "and" in English.

If the following word begins with a vowel, the u will often be dropped and the n- prefixed to the following word. Alternatively, sometimes the vowel of the following word is dropped, and the na- is prefixed to the word.[4]

Examples

Contrasting

The most fundamental contrasting conjunction is posi ya or posi ya kutja, meaning "but". Other forms include mara (loan word from Afrikaans); nungwari, which is more similar to "however"; and nangwari, which is similar to "however"/"actually".[4]

Examples

Alternative

The conjunction for alternative in Otjiherero is poo, meaning "or".[4]

Example

Consequential

The consequential conjunction in Otjiherero is okutja, meaning "so"/"therefore".[4]

Subordinating Conjunctions

Selected Important Subordinating Conjunctions[4]

Otjiherero English Example
mena rokutja, orondu, tjinga because Ami mbi kara mondjuwo mena rokutja hi nakutjiwa ovandu votjirongo. I stay in the house because I don't know the people of the town.
kutja that Me tjiwa kutja ovanatje va pindike. I know that the children are mad.
nanda, nanga, nangarire (kutja) even, even if, even though Ami me ya nangarire kutja we ndji tono. I'm coming even though you hit me.
tjinga when Tjinga mbe ya, mo ndji sutu. When I came, you paid me.
tji if/when Ove tji mo i kOkahandja, ndji twaerera. If/When you go to Okahandja, take me along.
ngaa, ngandu (tji) until [for verbs] Ami me kara mOtavi ngandu/ngaa tji mba pakwa. I'll live in Otavi until I am buried.
nga ku until [for nouns] Ami me kara mOtavi nga ku Otjitarazu. I'll live in Otavi until December.
ngunda while Jesus novahongewa ve ngunda amave piti moJeriko... While Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jeriko...
tjandje while, at that time, that was when Tjandje ponganda pa ri omukandi, ovandu ve ura While there was a party at the home, people filled it.

Correlative Conjunctions

Selected Important Correlative Conjunctions[4]

Otjiherero English Example
kutja—poo whether—or Kutja mo vanga poo ko nakuvanga. I stay in the house because I don't know the people of the town.

Prepositions

Otjiherero contains an assortment of prepositions, with pu, ku, and mu being the most important.

Selected Prepositions

Selected Prepositions[4]

Otjiherero English Example
kongotwe (y-) behind [at the behind (of)] Mbi ri kongotwe yoye. I am behind you.
kehi (y-) below [at the below (of)] Ombwa i ri kehi yohauto. The dog is under the car.
tjimuna/tjina like Mo munika tjimuna Petrus. You look like Petrus
otja as, like Wa haama otjomutengwa. He sat as a gentleman.
pendje na except, unlike Ovahongwa avehe ve nozondunge pendje na Petrus. All the learners are smart except Petrus.
tjinene especially Ovakambure vaNjdambi avehe mave mu minike, tjinene imba ovondjuwo yombara yokombandambanda. All the believers of God greet you, especially these of the house of the highest chief.
nokuhina-[noun], nokuhinaku-[verb] without Mba rarere nokuhinakurota. I slept without dreaming. Tjikuru ma tjiwa okurya onyama nokuhinomayo. Grandma knows how to eat meat without teeth.

Pu, Ku, and Mu

Pu, ku, and mu have special applications. Note that it is difficult to define the difference between pu and ku, and the provided definitions will not always hold.[4]

Special Prepositions

Otjiherero English Example
pu at (a place the speaker is currently at) Mbi ri ponganda. I am at home.
ku at (a place the speaker is currently not at), to Me i kOpuwo. I'm going to Opuwo.
mu in O hiti mondjuwo! Don't enter in the house!

What makes pu, ku, and mu special is that they can behave like quasi nouns. When used this way, they are able to have subject concords, demonstratives, relative concords, and conditional concords.

Prepositional Subject Concords[4]

Noun Class Past Present Habitual Present Progressive / Near Future
pu pa pe mape
ku kwa ku maku
mu mwa mu mamu

These create situations similar to "there are" or "here is" in English

Examples

Prepositional Demonstratives[4]

Noun Class This That That Over There
pu mba mbo mbena
ku ngwi ngo ngwina
mu mwi ? ?

Example

Prepositional Relative Concords[4]

Noun Class Past Present Habitual Present Progressive / Near Future
pu pu pa pu pu pu mape
ku ku kwa ku ku ku maku
mu mu mwa mu mu mu mamu

Example

Prepositional Conditional Concords[4]

Noun Class Positive Negative
pu atjapu katjapu
ku atjaku katjaku
mu atjamu katjamu

Example

Interrogatives

Otjiherero contains an assortment of interrogatives, with ongwaye (why) being the most unusual.

Selected Interrogatives

Selected Interrogatives [4]

Otjiherero English Example
pi where Anna u ri pi? Where is Ann?
vi how Pe ri vi? How is it?
ye/iye what, who Mo ungura ye? You are doing what?
ruṋe when Mo ya ruṋe? When are you coming?

Ongwaye

Ongwaye has two uses. The first is a stand-alone word asking "what?", which could mean, for example, "what did you say?" or "what are you laughing at?". The second use is to ask "why?" questions. In these circumstances, it will nearly always be paired with tji. If the subject noun or pronoun is included in the sentence, it will come between ongwaye and tji. These constructions vary greatly between a positive question and a negative question.[4]

Positive

Positive constructions simply begin the sentence with ongwaye and tji. Note that for the personal 3rd person, the recent past subject concord wa will combine with tji to form tja, and the habitual subject concord u will combine with tji to form tje.[4]

Examples

Negative

For negatives in the recent past, use the following formula:

ongwaye + [optional noun/pronoun] + tji + [habitual subject concord] + hi ya + [verb in "verb-stem" conjugation][4]

Example

For negatives in the non-recent past, use the following formula:

ongwaye + [optional noun/pronoun] + tji + [negative particle ha] + [verb in "yesterdays past" conjugation][4]

Example

For negatives in the habitual tense, use the following formula:

ongwaye + [optional noun/pronoun] + tji + [habitual subject concord] + [negative particle ha] + [verb in "main alternative" conjugation][4]

Example

For negatives in the present progressive tense, use the following formula:

ongwaye + [optional noun/pronoun] + tji + [habitual subject concord] + hi naku–[4]

Examples

Other Moods

As with all other languages, Otjiherero includes a variety of grammatical moods to express the speaker's attitude toward what they are saying.

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood of Otjiherero can be subdivided into three distinct subtypes. These would all be constructed with "if" in English, so English speakers often struggle to internalize and implement correctly these three types.

Factual Predictive

The factual and predictive conditional indicator in Otjiherero is tji. It functions as "if/when" in English. Whether it functions more strongly as an "if" or a "when" is determined through context. Sentences are constructed similarly to English, except that if a noun/pronoun is included in the conditional statement, tji will come directly after the noun and before the subject concord. Notice that negative forms will take the grammatical structure of "why" questions formed with the interrogative ongwaye + tji, as outlined above.[4]

Examples

Speculative

Speculative moods (speculating as to how things would be or would have been) are formed through a form of andakuzu and a conditional concord. As such, the speculated condition will always be in the past or present tense, though the consequence could be in any tense

Conditional Concords[4]

Subject Positive Negative
ami etje hetje
ove otjo kotjo
eye atja katja
eṱe atjatu katjatu
eṋe atjamu katjamu
owo/ovo atjave katjave
1s. omu- atja katja
1p. ova- atjave katjave
1p. oo- atjave katjave
2s. omu- atjau katjau
2p. omi- atjavi katjavi
3s. e- atjari katjari
3p. oma- atjaye katjaye
4s. otji- atjatji katjatji
4p. ovi- atjavi katjavi
5s. o- atjai katjai
5p. ozo- atjaze katjaze
6s. oru- atjaru katjaru
6p. otu- atjatu katjatu
7s. oka- atjake katjake
7p. ou- atjau katjau
8s. oku- atjaku katjaku
8p. oma- atjaye katjaye
9s. ou- atjau katjau
9p. omau- ? ?
10s. oku- atjaku katjaku
10p. omaku- ? ?
11. pu atjape katjape
12. ku atjaku katjaku
13. mu atjamu katjamu

Note that a less common, older style of positive conditional concords replaces the initial vowel with i-. For example, etje would be itje, otjo would be itjo, etc.

Examples

Also, be aware that sometimes andakuzu gets used two times, without the use of a conditional concord.

Worth noting is that the conditional concord does not change with tense. Thus, the tense of the consequence must be determined through context. The following examples, being spoken by a volunteer during Term 2, illustrate this. In these examples, one would not know the tense of the consequence unless it was previously established that the conversation took place in term 2.[4]

Dubitative

The dubitative mood indicates doubt. This mood is constructed by beginning the clause with ndovazu, ndaazu, ndeeri, or tjinangara. They are all nearly equivalent, with ndeeri sounding more childish, and tjinangara sounding more poetic.[4]

Examples

Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood in Otjiherero is used to compose phrases such as "let us", "let it", "may it", or "it should". The subjunctive mood is constructed by simply replacing the subject concord with a subjunctive concord. The verb uses a special conjugation, using the verb stem conjugation with the final -a replaced with -e.[4]

Subjunctive Concords

Subject Positive Negative
ami hi ?
ove ngo ?
eye nga ?
eṱe ngatu ngaatu
eṋe ngamu ngaamu
owo/ovo ngave ngaave
1s. omu- nga ?
1p. ova- ngave ngaave
1p. oo- ngave ngaave
2s. omu- ngau ngaau
2p. omi- ngavi ngaavi
3s. e- ngari ngaari
3p. oma- ngaye ngaaye
4s. otji- ngatji ngaatji
4p. ovi- ngavi ngaavi
5s. o- ngai ngaai
5p. ozo- ngaze ngaaze
6s. oru- ngaru ngaaru
6p. otu- ngatu ngaatu
7s. oka- ngake ngaake
7p. ou- ngau ngaau
8s. oku- ngaku ngaaku
8p. oma- ngaye ngaaye
9s. ou- ngau ngaau
9p. omau- ? ?
10s. oku- ngaku ngaaku
10p. omaku- ? ?
11. pu ngape ngaape
12. ku ngaku ngaaku
13. mu ngamu ngaamu

Note that the subjunctive for ami is used seemingly exclusively for questions. In these contexts, the meaning is similar to "can I?", "should I?" or "shall I?"

Examples

Absolute Negative

The absolute negative mood is similar to "never" or "ever" in English. There are two distinct formulas for the absolute negative mood

Negative habitual subject concord + na + pu + positive past subject concord[4]

Examples

The other formula goes as follows For personal pronouns or noun classes: Negative habitual subject concord+naa + positive past subject concord. For non-personal noun classes: kanaa + positive past subject concord

Examples

Intentional

The intentional mood is similar to "so that" or "in order to" in English. The intentional phrase follows a statement, question, or command to expand on the intent.

The formula for positive intentional sentences is as follows: [Statement, question, or command] + [positive intentional concord] + [verb in verb stem form, with final -a replaced with -e][4]

The formula for negative intentional sentences is as follows: [Statement, question, or command] + [negative intentional concord] + [negative particle ha] + [verb in verb main alternative form][4]

Intentional Concords

Subject Positive Negative
ami mbi e
ove u o
eye ma a
eṱe tu atu
eṋe mu amu
owo/ovo ve ave
1s. omu- ma a
1p. ova- ve ave
1p. oo- ve ave
2s. omu- u au
2p. omi- vi avi
3s. e- ri ari
3p. oma- ye aye
4s. otji- tji atji
4p. ovi- vi avi
5s. o- i ai
5p. ozo- ze aze
6s. oru- ru aru
6p. otu- tu atu
7s. oka- ke ake
7p. ou- u au
8s. oku- ku aku
8p. oma- ye aye
9s. ou- u au
9p. omau- ? ?
10s. oku- ku aku
10p. omaku- ? ?
11. pu pe ape
12. ku ku aku
13. mu mu amu

Note that, excepting 3rd person singular personal positive concords (eye and omu personal classes), the positive intentional concords are the same as their class's positive habitual subject concords. For all negative concords, the negative intentional concords are the same as their class's positive progressive subject concords, with the initial m- dropped.

Also note that kutja or kokutja can be inserted before the intentional concord for additional emphasis.

Examples

Subsequentory

When narrating a series of actions, sometimes the subsequentory mood is used instead of the standard tense. This is constructed by using the progressive concord without the m- for all verbs after the first.[4]

Examples

Other Grammatical Occurrences

Commonly Implied Nouns (through concords, adjectives, or determiners)

Often in Otjiherero a noun is omitted, implying that the noun class of the concord, adjective, or determiner is enough to make a reasonable assumption as to what the missing noun is. The following table gives the commonly implied word for come noun classes.

Commonly Implied Nouns[4]

Noun Class Commonly Implied Noun Example Context
1s. omu- omundu person omure tall person
1p. ova- ovandu people ovanahepero important people
2s. omu- omuinyo life Kauhandua Kauhandua (name of a person, with the meaning "life cannot be held on to")
3s. e- eyuva day, sun Ra toko. The sun has set.
4s. otji- otjiṋa thing otjinamuinyo living thing
4p. ovi- oviṋa things Avihe mbi mo vanga. Everything that you want.
5s. o- onganda home Me i koyetu I'm going to our home.
6s. oru- oruveze time, space, venue orure long time
6p. otu- otuveze times, spaces, venues tutatu three times

Constructing Nouns From Verbs

Many nouns in Otjiherero are similar to the verb they perform. An example in English would be the similarity between "jog" and "jogger". There are two main type of transitions

Verbs Brought Into the omu-, ova-, otji-, ovi-, or ou class

Typically, verbs brought into these noun classes replace the oku- of the infinitive verb with the noun-class prefix of the specified noun class. They also change their last letter from -a to -e. People go into the omu- and ova- noun classes, concrete objects tend to be placed in the otji-/ovi- classes, and more abstract nouns fall into the ou- class.[4]

Examples

Verbs Brought Into the oma- or o- class

Typically, verbs brought into these noun classes replace the oku- of the infinitive verb with the noun-class prefix of the specified noun class. They also change their last letter from -a to -ero, -iro, -eno or -ino. The suffix is determined by the same procedure as seen in "Yesterday's/Completed Past", except the last letter will be -o instead of -e. Also note that many transitions to the o- class will be effected by extra changes, as discussed in "Moving Words to the o- and ozo- Classes" below.[4]

Examples

Constructing Verbs From Adjectives

Although rare, some adjectives can become verbs by adding the oku- prefix and adding -para at the end.[4]

Examples

Constructing Adjectives From Verbs

A common occurrence, constructed by removing the noun-class prefix and changing the final -a to an -e.[4]

Examples

Moving Words to the o- and ozo- Classes

When a noun stem, verb stem, or adjective stem beginning with w-, t-, z-, k-, v-, p-, t-, y-, or tj- is used in the o- or ozo- noun class, the first letters of the stem will change[4]

Conversions for Stems in o- and ozo- Noun Classes[3][4]

Conversion Example Stem Non o-/ozo- Usage o-/ozo- usage
r => nd -re omuatje omure tall child ombo onde tall ostrich
w => mbw -wa okanatje okawa good child ozongombe ozombwa good cows
z => nḓ -zeu orukuṋe oruzeu heavy wood ondjaṱu onḓeu
k => ng -karo otjikaro attitude, lifestyle ongaro attitude, lifestyle
ṱ => nḓ -ṱiṱi okati okaṱiṱi small stick ongombo onḓiṱi small goat
v => mb -vi okanatje okavi ugly child ozondjise ozombi ugly hair
t => nd -tenga omundu omutenga first person ondjira ondenga first road
p => mb -pandjara okupandjara to get lost ombandjarero loss
y => ndj -yokiza okuyozika to respect ondjozikiro respect
tj => ndj -tjivisa okutjivisa to make known ozondjivisiro announcements

Also note that the reverse change can happen for words that originate from o- or ozo- noun class.

Examples

Checking For Knowledge/Understanding

There exists a short way to ask if someone knows about something. The formula is

[present habitual subject concord] + [object concord] + i[4]

Examples

Situations Where the -a of a Concord, Directive Prefix, or Noun Class Becomes an -e

Some grammatical situations cause the ending -a of a concord, directive prefix, or noun class to become -e. These situations are:[4]

  1. Reflexive particles, ri-
  2. Object concords
  3. The verbs okuya, okukuka, okukura, okuura, and okukuta. (Note that okukuta can mean "to satiate hunger" or "to fasten". When used as "to fasten", this discussion does not apply.)

Examples

References

  1. ↑ Nguaiko, Nduvaa (2011). The New Otjiherero Dictionary. Indiana, USA: AuthorHouse. p. 4. ISBN 146346066X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Booysen, Jacobus (1982). Otjiherero: ’n Volledige Grammatika met Oefeninge en Sleutels in Afrikaans. Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan. ISBN 9780868481364.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kamupingene, Theofellus (2006). Otjiherero: Woordeboek, Dictionary, Embo Rombambo. Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan. ISBN 0868481955.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 Bryner, Ann (2011). Otjiherero: Grammar Manual. Namibia.
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