7.3 Verb classes and irregular verbs 403optionally preserve the original stem-final V, so no «syllabification is needed:
word-final LoImpfP -t-ilwa or -t-dlwu depending on the dialect. A PerfP stem
-elwa- instead of -olwa- is also attested for A-grm and Gao: 3MaSg 0-elwa,
3MaPl elwas-n. Perhaps e for expected ο here reflects an idiosyncratic
dissimilation to the w.
The verbs in (400) are of the α/u subtype, and show
imperfective melody including final u.
(400) -UC(C)D- Stems with
'believe' 'fall'
-urdu- -udi>a. perfective system
PerfP -orda- -oda-
Reslt -ordd- -oda-
PerfN -orda- -oda-b. short imperfective system
Shlmpf -Irdu- -ldu-
Imprt Irdu Iduc. long imperfective system
LoImpfP -t-irdu-, -riddu- -t-idu-
LoImpfN -t-lrdu-, -raddu- -t-idu-
Prohib -t-lrdu-,τ -rsddu- ι -t-ldu-d. nominalization
VblN t-orda t-udi-t-tThese verbs have <H> melody in the short as well as long imperfectives,
suggesting that the stem-final imperfective u is lexical. Note the alternative
long imperfectives for 'believe', one with -t- prefix (-t-iPQu-) and the other
with medial geminate (LoImpfP -PiQQu-). The latter can be generated if we
perform a pre-ablaut reconfiguration from -uPQi> to -PvQu- and then allow
the regular long imperfective ablaut components to go to work.
The other -uPQu- verb known to me with a stem paradigm almost identical
to that of 'believe' in (400) is -urmu- 'be stuck'. In addition to LoImpfP
-t-lrmu- varying with -rimmu-, which parallel the LoImpfP variants for
'believe', -urrnu- also has a third LoImpfP variant /-t-irmi-/, realized
prevocalically as -t-irm- and word-finally as (T-ka) -t-iram after
«syllabification. The T-ka VblN iramm (T-ka) also shows «syllabification,
which in VblN's is accompanied (in T-ka) by both Epenthetic-Vowel
Accentuation (70) and Stem-Final Gemination (71) (§3.3.2). For A-grm I
recorded a feminine VblN t-armi-t-t.