A Reference Grammar of Mbay

Reference Grammar of Mbay provides a solid introduction to the grammar of Mbay, a Sara Language of the Central-Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan. The initial chapters provide a description of segmental phonology, including a justification for the writing system used in both the grammar and in the Dictionary of Mbay. Inflectional morphology and word formation are then treated, together with any associated phonological change. The last three chapters deal with Mbay syntax. The grammatical descriptions are accompanied by hundreds of examples, and in most cases both a word-for-word translation and a more colloquial translation are included.

This second edition of the reference grammar contains few substantive changes. Conclusions regarding tone simplification have been modified based on an analysis of recordings made on the topic, and the description of the phonetic quality of the neutralized vowel has also been revised. Some statistics regarding the distribution of tone patterns have been added to the end of chapter one. A large number of other minor revisions and additions have been made, and in many areas new explanatory details and examples have been provided. The most significant change in this edition has been the addition of a large number of morpheme-by-morpheme English translations for illustrative sentences where only a colloquial translation had been available in the first edition.