shiKomoriNLP 🧠🇰🇲
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shiKomoriNLP is an initiative dedicated to gathering, organizing and sharing resources for the Shikomori language. • 12 items • Updated • 1
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Shinzwani Basics | Basic Greetings/Leave Takings | Like in any language, there are various types of greetings. In general, we believe it is better not to learn greetings from a book as so often the intonation or "music of the language" is significant for greetings. Greetings and leavetakings are also often accompanied by gestures that can be important for communicating... |
Shinzwani Basics | Numbers | Numbers in Shinzwani are a mix of the Bantu and Arabic number systems. If you already know your numbers in either Swahili or Arabic, you will be able to recognize how they are mixed.
<div class="joplin-table-wrapper"><table><tbody><tr><th><ol><li>Hata/Kapvu</li><li>Moja/Montsi</li><li>Mbili</li><li>Ntraru</li><li>Nne<... |
Shinzwani Basics | Money | One of the first key questions for shopping in Anjouan is asking the price. In Shinzwani, the question is:
_Kisaje?_ (the most common) OR _Riali ngapvi?_
[image]But then the challenge really begins, because you have to be able to understand the answer! In Comoros, the currency is the Comorian Franc (CF or KMF). When ... |
Shinzwani Basics | Question Words | | **_Ntrini?_** | What? |
| --- | --- |
| **Ɗ_eni?_** | Who? |
| **_Hapvi?_** | Where? |
| **_Lini?_** | When? |
| **_Lera ntrini?_** | What time? |
| **_Jeje?_** | How? |
| **_Mana ntrini?_** | Why? |
These question words are most often placed at the end of the sentence in Shinzwani.
Tip: When you are first beginnin... |
Shinzwani Basics | Pronunciation Tips | We aren't taking the time to fully explain the pronunciation of Shinzwani, partially because we believe that you should learn pronunciation from islanders, not from a book, and partially because we don't have the linguistic training to do it well. We encourage you to record islanders saying phrases so you can practice ... |
Shinzwani Basics | Power Phrases | Power Phrases are the phrases that allow you to learn more language. You may not be able to understand what you are saying, but these phrases will unlock the door to more language, especially vocabulary. This book does not try to teach vocabulary, but these phrases will allow you to learn vocabulary from your neighbors... |
Shinzwani Basics | To be/To have (Hu-ka) | In Shinzwani the infinitive of the verb "to be" is hu-ka (or hu-kaya). This verb is usually used to express states of being or locations. Like many other languages the verb "to be" is irregular in the present.
| | **TO BE- Present Tense** | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| | **Positive** | **Negative** |
| Wami (I)... |
Shinzwani Basics | "There is…" (Pvwa) | "There is.." is a common expression in Shinzwani and very helpful for the beginner. We recommend beginners memorize the present tense right away and come back to the other forms as you have need for them.
| | **Positive** | **Negative** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Present** | Pvwa<br><br>_(There is)_ | Kapvwasi/ Kap... |
Shinzwani Basics | Comparisons | Comparisons are expressed in Shinzwani by using the word _rahana_ (perhaps written as two words, _raha na_). Some even add a second "na" (_rahana na_). Where in English we often add an -er to the end of an adjective, in Shinzwani the adjective does not change and instead the adjective is followed by the word _rahana_ a... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Introduction to Shinzwani Verbs | You can dissect a conjugated Shinzwani verb into various components. The most important is the verb stem. We'll use the simple verb "to do" as an example. The infinitive is hu-fanya (the infinitive form always has hu or u at the beginning). The verb stem is -fanya.
In general to conjugate verbs in Shinzwani, you will ... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Present Continuous | The present continuous is the tense that expresses an unfinished present action.
**Present Continuous Infix: -si- or -ku-**
(In the Mutsamudu area they use -si-, but in the Domoni area we're told that ku- is used.)
For present continuous you have the subject prefix + si/ku + verb stem. Since we are based in Mutsamud... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Simple Future | The next tense follows the same simple pattern:
Verb = subject prefix + tense infix + verb stem
So it will look just like the present continuous except that the tense infix will change.
**Simple Future Infix: -TSO-**
| Ni + tso + fanya | **Nitsofanya** | _I will do_ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| U + tso + fanya | **Utsof... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Simple Past | The simple past expresses a completed past action. It is an irregular verb tense that doesn't follow the normal pattern.
Here's how the simple past positive is irregular:
- The simple past does not have a tense infix that identifies the tense. In the positive there is no required infix at all.
- The positive 1st pers... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Simple Present (Habitual) | The simple present describes actions that happen on a regular or habitual basis. For example, things that you do everyday or every week.
The simple present does not follow the normal pattern for forming a verb. It is formed using the subject pronouns with the infinitive of the verb.
**Simple Present = Subject Pronoun... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Imperative (Commands) | This is the tense for giving commands. There are just two positive forms, depending on if you are commanding one person or many people. For the singular, you just use the verb stem by itself.
For the plural (y'all), the prefix (Na-) is added to the normal second person plural prefix (m-/mu-) making a new prefix of Nam... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Imperfect (Past Continuous) | The imperfect tense is an important tense for story-telling. In English we use past tense of the verb "to be" with a present participle (verb with -ing) to communicate this tense. So whereas the simple past is, "I ate", the imperfect is, "I was eating."
The imperfect infix is -ako- (some people like to think of it as ... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Past Perfect | The past perfect tense is used to describe actions that were fully completed in the past. In Shinzwani, this is a
composite tense using the **To be Prefix Past Perfect Example** verb"to be" (see lesson **_1.7- To be/To have (Hu-ka)_**). TSIKA TSI- Tsika tsifanya (_I had done)_
UKA U- Uka ufanya _(You had done)_ In th... |
Basic Verb Tenses | Soft Commands | In Shinzwani there is a soft command form that is less forceful than the normal command. In English we can soften commands by making them questions so they sound more like suggestions and are therefore more polite.
So for example, in English, instead of telling someone "Go!", we might say, "Why don't you go?"
In Shin... |
Noun Classes | Introduction to Noun Classes | Shinzwani (as a Bantu language) contains a system of noun classes. Every noun in the language belongs to a group or class. Anything that modifies or refers to a noun will change depending on the group/class of that noun. For example, look at the following simple phrases:
| Ligari lini la djema. | "This car is good." |... |
Noun Classes | Object Infixes | English expresses its object pronouns using distinct words: me, her/him, you, us, y'all, them and it. In Shinzwani, object pronouns as expressed using object infixes which are inserted into the verb. See **_2.1- Introduction to Shinzwani Verbs_** to learn about how the conjugated verb is formed.
There is a different i... |
Noun Classes | Articles | There is no indefinite article in Shinzwani ("a" in English) but the definite article ("the") does exist for each noun class. The article is written as a prefix attached to the noun (as seen in the examples below).
The omission of the definite article gives the indefinite meaning. mwana a child umwana the child
Noun ... |
Noun Classes | Demonstratives | There are two sets of demonstratives in English: this/these and that/those. In Shinzwani there are three sets. The near demonstrative (this/these) ends in -ni or -nu. The far demonstrative (that/those) ends in -le. The middle demonstrative is used to refer to an unseen objects or abstract concepts previously mentioned ... |
Noun Classes | Adjectives/Numbers | Any description of a noun has to agree with the noun class-this is true for adjectives and numbers.
There are a handful of invariable adjectives and numbers that are the same for all noun classes. Some examples are the adjective _muhimu_ ("important") and the numbers: _sita, saba, shendra_ and _kumi_. But otherwise th... |
Noun Classes | Possessives | There are two ways to communicate possession of an object. The first way is by connecting an object with the possessor (the person's name if it is a person) using the Shinzwani equivalent of "of". These same connectors can also be combined with the appropriate possessive pronoun suffixes to communicate possession.
Exa... |
Noun Classes | Verb Conjugations | Now we will look at using the different noun classes as the subject of sentences. The first two classes are review from **_Chapter 2: Basic Verb Tenses_**.
| **NC** | **How many?** |
| --- | --- |
| 2 | wangapvi? |
| 4 | mingapvi? |
| 6 | yangapvi? |
| 8 | zingapvi? |
| 10 | ngapvi? |
| 16 | pvwangapvi? |
T... |
Noun Classes | How many? (-ngapvi?) | In Shinzwani, the question word for asking "how many?" is noun class specific.
The root is -ngapvi. (For the rest of the question words, see lesson **_1.4- Question Words_** and lesson **_3.9- Which one? (-pvi?)_**)
The construction takes the expected noun class prefixes and will change with whatever object is being ... |
Noun Classes | Which One? (-pvi?) | In Shinzwani, the question word for asking "which one?" is noun class specific. The root is -pvi. For the rest of the question words, see lesson **_1.4- Question Words_** and the previous lesson **_3.8- How many? (-ngapvi?)_**.
The construction takes the expected noun class prefixes.
| **NC** | **Object Suffix** |
| ... |
Noun Classes | All of Them, Any of Them (-ontsi) | There is an adjective in Shinzwani that can be translated either "all of them",
"any of them", "whichever", or "whoever" (depending on the context). The root of this adjective is -ontsi and it will match with whichever noun class it is used. Knowing the intended meaning will usually be obvious from context.
Uwana won... |
Noun Classes | Presentative ("Here it is!") | In Shinzwani, there is a special phrase for saying: "Here it is!" It is used for both objects and people and will change with the different noun classes. In general this is formed with the prefix tsa- followed by the pronoun.
In 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> person there are only the singular and plural forms:
| ... |
Noun Classes | Locative Suffixes (-ni & -juu) | There are two suffixes that can be added to nouns to make them "locational". Once these suffixes are added the noun will no longer be in its original noun class but will be part of the locational noun classes 17 (singular) and 18 (plural). See lesson **_3.1- Introduction to Noun Classes_**.
The first is -**NI**. Your ... |
Noun Classes | Second Object Suffix | In lesson **_3.2- Object Infixes_** we learned about how object pronouns are communicated in Shinzwani using infixes. Only one object infix is allowed at a time, but a few verbs can take more than one object. In this case, the second object can be expressed with an object suffix. This suffix is noun class specific.
Re... |
Verb Families | Introduction to Verb Families | Various verbs can be derived from a single root verb. These verbs form a family of verbs with a common root meaning. By learning how to form and recognize the different members of the verb families, you will quickly multiply your verb vocabulary. The few Shinzwani dictionaries in existence will usually list all the der... |
Verb Families | Prepositional | The first member of the verb families that we will look at is the prepositional form. In English, this derivative is usually formed with a connecting preposition. In Shinzwani, the verb itself is changed to make it prepositional. These verbs generally take an object infix (see lesson **_3.2- Object Infixes_**).
FORMIN... |
Verb Families | Causative | The next derivative is the causative. Most of the time, the causative expresses the idea of causing or making an action happen. There are fewer clear cut rules for forming the causative, but there are patterns. In general an "s", "sh" or "z/dz" is added to the end of the verb.
- Many verbs will end with -dza or -za in... |
Verb Families | Reciprocal | The reciprocal derivative refers to an action done reciprocally, or done "to one another". It is formed by adding an "-ana" suffix to the end of the verb. This usually does not require a change to the rest of the verb. While often not listed in dictionaries, it is often easily formed for any action that people can conc... |
Verb Families | Stative | The stative derivative refers to the state of being. It can sometimes be similar in meaning to the passive but without indicating how it got into that state.
While other verbs can have a stative meaning, the classic stative form ends in -ha. Most often this form is used in the simple past tense to refer to the current... |
Verb Families | Passive | The passive derivative of the verb is used to describe action done to the subject by someone/something else. For example: "_I was hit by him"_ is an example of a passive statement. In Shinzwani, passive verbs end in -wa and are formed in different ways. Here are some basic patterns: (though there are sure to be excepti... |
Verb Infixes | Introduction to Verb Infixes | Please see lesson **_2.1- Introduction to Shinzwani Verbs_** to get an overview of how verbs are formed in Shinzwani. Infixes play a major role in this language. There are the tense infixes that help mark what tense is being used. There are also object infixes (see lesson **_3.2-Object infixes_**) that communicate both... |
Verb Infixes | Reflexive Infix (-dji-) | This first verb infix makes the meaning of the verb reflexive, that means the action is being done by the subject, to the subject. You simply add the infix, **\-dji-**.
Tsisomesa. I taught.
Tsidjisomesa. I taught myself.
Asirema. He is hitting.
Asidjirema. He is hitting himself.
Note: In order to use the -dji- inf... |
Verb Infixes | Ever/Never Infix (-paro-) | The -**paro**\- infix gives the sense of having done something at least one time. In English this is usually translated as "ever" (in the positive) or "never" (in the negative). It is most consistently used with the past relative form (see **_lesson 8.2- Simple Past Relatives_**), but we have heard it used with other t... |
Verb Infixes | Other Verb Infixes (-jo-, -mo-, -lo-, -ndro, -ondro) | | **Verb Infix** | **Meaning** | **When Used** | **Example** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **\-jo-** | "coming to"/<br><br>"about to" | With present continuous and imperfect tenses | _Asijofanya_<br><br>He is coming to do |
| **\-hi-** | "if/when" | Known as conditional infix\* | Ahija….<br><br>If/when he comes… |
| **... |
Subjunctive | Introduction to Subjunctive | The subjunctive can be used to express desire, suggestion, purpose, obligation, preference, indirect commands and reported speech. The subjunctive is most often used in conjunction with another verb or connector, but on certain occasions it can be used by itself.
In the following lessons we will look at some of the co... |
Subjunctive | Expressing Purpose with Subjunctive | Subjunctive can be used in phrases to express the purpose or intention behind an action. Often this is expressed using the conjunction "_ile pare" ("ile"_ and _"pare"_ are also used). All of these can be translated "in order that" or "so that". This conjunction can also sometimes be omitted with the same implied meanin... |
Subjunctive | Expressing Advice with Subjunctive | Subjunctive is very useful in giving advice. Using the subjunctive alone gives the sense of "should" or "shouldn't". But there are also two other words that (like "ile") must be followed by a verb in the subjunctive. These words are _borwa_ and _hairi_. These can both be translated as "It is better/good…"
| Examples: ... |
Subjunctive | "Let's…" (NA + Subjunctive) | This conjugation in Shinzwani doesn't have a clear parallel in English. Some of the forms are frequently used, but it is hard to find a simple translation to give to all its forms. We have labeled this lesson "Let's…" after it's most frequent form (the 1st person plural).
This tense is used to express a wish, desire, ... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Introduction to Two-Verb Phrases | It is very common to have an initial verb (V1) followed by a second verb (V2) in a single phrase or sentence. In Shinzwani, often the first verb will dictate what form the second verb takes.
When the two verbs have the same subject, generally the choice is between the second verb being in the infinitive or in the subj... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Hu-endra + V2 | When islanders ask you, "Usendra hapvi?", you can answer with a location or an activity. For an activity, you will use hu-endra with a second verb giving the sense that you are moving toward doing something.
The second verb takes a unique form. The prefix has an "a" infix and the verb will end with -e.
| **V2 after h... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Hu-tsaha + Subjunctive | One of the most common two verb constructions is with hu-tsaha (to want). If the verb "hu-tsaha" is followed by a second verb then that second verb must be in subjunctive. This is true whether there is a shared subject for both verbs or there are different subjects.
In Shinzwani, they prefer to use hu-tsaha in the con... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Hu-lazimu + Subjunctive | Another common V1 in two-verb constructions is _hu-lazimu_. But _hu-lazimu_ is different in that it is conjugated impersonally, communicating the sense of "must" or "It is necessary…" .
Ilazimu nilawe. _I must leave_.
Ilazimu usibambe. _You must not touch._
To communicate something that is applicable in the present,... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Hu-ambia + V2 | The Shinzwani verb -ambia (to tell) is often followed by a second verb. There are two different constructions.
REPORTED SPEECH
If you are merely reporting information someone has told you then you can use the verb hu-ambia often with the connector amba (used like the English word "that") followed by normal conjugatio... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Hu-jua + V2 | Often we translate _hu-jua_ simply as "to know" but depending on the context it will have the sense of "to be able to/to know how to".
TO KNOW HOW
When using _hu-jua_ to express "to know how to do something", the second verb will be in the infinitive form.
Wami ujua upiha. _I know how to cook._
Kasijua usoma. _He d... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Other Two-Verb Constructions | Here is a summary chart of some of the verbs that are often followed by a second verb.
| **V1** | **V2 Form** | **Expresses** | **V1 Tenses Used** | **Example** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| hu-ambia | subjunctive | indirect command | various | Tsimwambia afanye. |
| hu-ambia | w/ "amba" | reported speech | vari... |
Two-Verb Phrases | Negative Two Verb Phrases | There are several two-verb constructions where the second verb (V2) is subjunctive. The negative sense for these constructions can sometimes be expressed in two ways.
The first way is to make the second verb (V2) negative, using the negative subjunctive by adding the -si- infix. See lesson **_6.1- Introduction to Subj... |
Relatives | Introduction to Relatives | Relatives are a common part of language. A relative is a verb that describes a noun. In English, we create relatives by connecting a verb with the words "who", "whom", "which", "where", or "that". (Examples: The man **_who_** ate the apple, the dog **_that_** barked yesterday, the restaurant **_where_** I waited, the b... |
Relatives | Simple Past Relatives | We'll begin by looking at how we form the simple past relative. Both the positive and negative is formed by adding an "a" to the subject prefix. This gives the following complete prefixes:
| **Positive Simple Past Relative** | | **Negative Simple Past Relative** | |
| --- | | --- | | --- | --- |
| **Pr... |
Relatives | Imperfect Relative | The relative imperfect is identical to the normal form of the imperfect (see lesson **_2.7- Imperfect (Past Continuous)_**).
| **Positive Imperfect Relative** | | **Negative Imperfect Relative** | |
| --- | | --- | | --- | --- |
| **Prefix** | **Example** | **Prefix** | **Example** |
| **NAKO-** | nako... |
Relatives | Present Relatives | The relative in the present is used in the same contexts as the past relatives. It is formed with the normal subject prefixes and with the addition of "o" at the end of the verb. The "o" does not replace the normal ending, it is added to it. So most verbs in Shinzwani will end in -ao in the present relative (because mo... |
Relatives | Future Relatives | The future relative is very similar to the present relative. Again the "o" is added to the end of the verb. The only difference is that the future tense marker -tso- is placed after the subject prefix.
The negative future relative is identical to the normal negative future tense. Again the relative form is accented a ... |
Relatives | "To be"/"to have" Relatives | **"To Be":** "To be" is an irregular verb in the present relative.There is the added infix of -li- combining with the -o ending to give an -lio ending.
| | **Singular** | **Plural** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **1<sup>st</sup> person** | nilio | rilio |
| **2<sup>nd</sup> person** | ulio | mulio |
| **3<sup>rd</sup> p... |
Relatives | Relatives in "When…" phrases | A common construction that uses relatives is phrases that begin with _wakati_ which is _when/while_ in English. You may possibly hear _pvo_ or _sa_ used in the place of wakati, but these are less common. These phrases are used all the time in storytelling as they allow you to set the scene. "When I was little," "while ... |
Relatives | Relatives in Questions | Two more constructions that use relatives are "who" and "why" questions (questions with ɗ_eni_ and _mana ntrini_).
| Apiha ishahula ɗeni? | | _Who cooked the food?_ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mana ntrini wafanyao hazi? | | _Why are they working?_ |
| Watsohusomesao ɗeni? | | _Who all will teach you?_ |
| Mana... |
Relatives | Relatives & Emphasis with ɗe | The little word "ɗe" (sometimes spelled _nde_) is often used to add emphasis or for giving descriptions. Here are three constructions using ɗ_e_, but there are more! Any verb that follows ɗ_e_ will be a relative.
**"...the one who/that…"**
Wawe ɗe wahiba izintru. You are the one that stole the things.
Wami ɗe nafany... |
Conditional Phrases | Introduction to Conditional Statements | Conditional statements are statements that have a condition or an "if" placed on them. Sometimes we talk about them as "if-then" statements.
Listed below are the different types of conditional statements that we have in English. This can help us understand and categorize the different constructions in Shinzwani.
Ther... |
Conditional Phrases | Simple Conditional Phrases with Nahika | We will start with a common way of expressing simple conditional phrases (otherwise type 1 phrases, see previous lesson to learn about the different types of conditional phrases). This uses the Shinzwani word _nahika,_ which means "if". The if-phrase will have _nahika_ followed by a verb in the simple past. The meaning... |
Conditional Phrases | Conditional Phrases with -hi | Another way to express these simple (type 1) conditional statements is using the verb infix -hi-. This construction can be used to express the same ideas as using _nahika_.
There is one difference with the -hi- infix. The possibility of the if-phrase is so strong that it can be seen as more of an eventuality ("when" r... |
Conditional Phrases | Conditional Phrases with Present Conditional Tense | Now we will look at the conditional phrases that use the present conditional tense. These are the statements in English where we would use the word "would" or type 2 conditional phrases (see lesson **_9.1- Introduction to Conditional Statements_**).
In Shinzwani, the present conditional tense is formed with the subjec... |
Conditional Phrases | Conditional Phrases with Past Conditional Tense | The past conditional expresses a conditional thought that is completely in the past (type 3 conditional statements, see lesson **_9.1- Introduction to Conditional Statements_**). For example, if I said, "I would come…" (present conditional) then the idea is that I would come now or sometime in the future. But if I say,... |
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