From verb to clitic and nominal suffix: the Somali -e, -o nouns

Abstract

In this paper, the authors argues that Somali nouns ending in -e and -o contain underlying suffixes developed from clitics which were reduced forms of the verb 'be'.

Qoraaga maqaalkani wuxuu qaadandhigayaa aragti sheegeysa in magacyada (guud) ee soomaaliyeed ee ku dhamaada -e iyo -o waxaa ku dhex qarsoon dibkabayaal oo asalkooda ka soo jeeda fal "ahaansho".

Nell'articolo, l'autrice illustra la teoria secondo cui i sostantivi somali che terminano in -e e -o contengono suffissi sottostanti sviluppatisi da clitici che erano a loro volta forme ridotte del verbo 'essere'.