Nuer

Introduction

The Nuer language is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia. Nuer is one of eastern and central Africa's most widely spoken languages. The Nuer tribe is one of the largest tribes in South Sudan.

The verb

The majority of Nuer verbs can be conjugated, as for example [maali] and [mallä].

There are 2 verbs which cannot be conjugated and one of them is [a]. Regardless of its subject, mood or aspect it has only this one form. [a] indicates temporary existence. Its exact translation (i.e. is, was etc.) depends on the time of the sentence.

Nuer has what are termed adjectival verbs, as for example the word [gɔaaɛ] -- it-is-good. This is a conjugated verb like [mal].

The Nuer verb is conjugated in 3 aspects:

1. The 1st aspect indicates action or state of being going on regardless of time
2. The 2nd aspect indicates momentary completed action or state; or action thought of as completed.
3. The 3rd aspect expresses future action or anticipated change of action.

The 1st Aspect of the verb is the only aspect in which the verb itself is ever conjugated.

Sample verb: maalä 'to be in peace'

	1st aspect	2nd aspect	3rd aspect
Sg.1	maalä	cä ~	bä ~
Sg.2	maali	ci ~	bi ~
Sg.3	maalɛ	cɛ ~	bɛ ~
Dual 1	malnɛ	ci ~	bi ~
Pl.1 Inclusive	malnɛ	ci ~	bi ~
Pl.1 Exclusive	malkɔ	ci ~	bi ~
Pl.2	malɛ	ci ~	bi ~
Pl.3	malkɛ	ci ~	bi ~

Verblist

• kɛ
• ɛ

External Links

• Pedagogical Grammar of Nuer