Melo language


Melo is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region in Ethiopia.

Case

There are eight cases in Malo.
  1. Nominative
  2. Accusative
  3. Dative
  4. Genitive
  5. Instrumental
  6. Commutative
  7. Ablative

Nominative case

Nominative case has and for masculine and feminine markers respectively.
However, if there is a vowel at the end of the noun, the masculine came marker will change to .
Examples,
Nominative feminine case takes the marker with definite marker .
Examples,
Proper nouns also take the nominative case marker and .
''Examples,''

Accusative case

The marker <-a> is for masculine nouns.
Example,
The maker <-o> is for feminine nouns. It is attached to the definite marker ‘t’.
Example,
*Proper nouns are not inflected for the accusative case marker.

Similarities Between Nominative and Accusative

Masculine Nominative and Accusative Case Markers stay the same for the plural nouns which are and respectively.
Nominative and Accusative Case Marker is always to be definite. Indefinite nouns do not take Nominative and Accusative Case.

Dative case

Dative Case Markers are and .
Examples,

Genitive case

Genitive Case uses two different ways to express.
1.      Possessive Pronoun before Possessed Noun.
2.      Third person possessive pronoun marker ‘pa’
1.      Possessive pronoun:
Possessive PronounsGlossPossessed NounaGloss
tamyta-ketsmy house
nuournu-ketsour house
neyournu-ketsyour house 2nd mas/fem
yiyouryi-ketsyour house 2nd
ehise-ketshis house
iheri-ketsher house
utheiru-ketstheir house

Examples,
Deka afila – Deka's cloth
Ta afila – my cloth
E afila – his cloth
2.      Here ‘pa’ refers to ownership. In third person possessive pronouns are replaced with pa.
ehise-ketshis house
iheri-ketsher house
utheiru-ketstheir house

Examples,
iz-a pa inda-t-o kad-e-z – She loved her mother.

Instrumental case

Instrumental case markers are and .
Examples,

Commutative case

Commutative case markers are and - with ‘wola’.
Here, the word ‘wola’ means together.
Examples,

Ablative case

Ablative case markers are

and .
It depicts the place of departure and a source the noun comes from.
Examples''','''