10 Is there an Adjective Class in Wolof? 253(51) (a) nit ku ragal ki
person REL ADj:fearful DBF
"The fearful person
(b) nit ki ragal gaynde
person REL:DEF ADj:fearful lion
"The person who is fearful of lions'
(c) nit ki ragal
(d) nit ku ragal gaynde ki
(52) (a) paa bu mar hi
old man REL ADj:thirsty DBF
"The thirsty old man
(b) paa hi mar attaaya
old man REL:DEF ADj:thirsty tea
'the old man who is thirsty for tea'
(c) paa hi mar
(d) paa bu{ mar attaaya^ bif
Extended adjectives also include those that take adverbs or adverbial phrases as
shown in (53) or ideophonic intensifies as shown in (54).
(53) (a) tank bu metti hi
leg REL ADj:hurt DBF
'the leg that hurts'
(b) tank hi metti tool
leg REL:DEF ADj:hurt very
'the leg that hurts a lot'
(c) *tank hi metti
(d) ?tank bu metti lool hi^6
(54) (a) bant bu deger hi
wood REL ADj:solid DBF
'the solid wood'
(b) bant hi deger kerjrj
wood REL:DEF ADj:solid IDEO
'the very solid wood'
(c) *bant hi deger
(d) ?bant bu deger kerjrj hi^7
(^5) This phrase is grammatical if attaaya and hi are coindexed so as to mean 'An old man who is
thirsty for the tea.'
(^6) Many Wolof speakers find this phrase acceptable, others do not.
(^7) Again, there are different grammaticality readings on this phrase. Njie (1982) gives similar ex-
amples from Gambian Wolof where the ideophone comes phrase finally, after the definite marker, so
that this NP would be rendered as bant bu deger hi ker/r/.