A Comparative Study of Hausa and Ngamo Personal Names Formation

Citation: Salisu Garba KARGI PhD & Hassan Usman GADAKA (2021). A Comparative Study of Hausa and Ngamo Personal Names Formation. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. 9, Issue 1. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HAUSA AND NGAMO PERSONAL NAMES FORMATION

Salisu Garba KARGI PhD

Hassan Usman GADAKA

Abstract

It is universal for a human to have a name in Hausa and Ngamo tradition. However, naming conventions are strongly influenced by culture. The naming system of a community before it made contact with foreign cultures is its traditional naming system. The paper is mainly concerned with the modifications in Hausa and Ngamo personal names with the aim to demonstrate their similarities and differences. Unstructured interview observation techniques are used for data collection for the study. The theory of contrastive analysis is used as a framework. The finding of this paper reveals that Hausa and Ngamo share a similar method of suppletion, clipping, zero derivation and hypocorism in terms of personal names formation. The languages in the other hand differ in tone modification and in the forms of clipping and hypocorism. A few notes on phonology and orthography are noted for understanding of this morphological unit. In conclusion, Hausa and Ngamo languages share a major ways of personal names formation being that the languages are sister languages belongs to the Hausa-Gwandara and Bole-Tangale groups of the West Chadic A of Afroasiatic Phylum respectively.

1.0 Introduction

Hausa refers to both the people and the language[1]. They are chiefly located in the Sahelian areas of northern Nigeria and south eastern Niger Republic with significant numbers also living in parts of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’ Voire, Chad and Sudan. Predominantly, Hausa communities are scattered throughout West Africa and on Hajj route across the Sahara Desert especially around town of Agadez. A few Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Accra, Kumasi and Cotonou as well as to parts of North Africa like Libya (Newman, 2000, p.1).

Ngamo is one of the five languages of the Chadic family indigenous to Yobe Sate, the others being Bade, Bole, Xuwai, Karekare, Maga and Ngizim (Newman 1977, p.7)[2]. Ngamo is spoken in the area to the south and west of Potiskum, the largest city in the state. There are two major dialects of Ngamo, the Gudi dialect and the Yaya dialect. The dialects are different from each other in phonology, morphology and lexical structure that they border on being separate languages, but there is fair mutual intelligibility, which justifies grouping them as dialects of one language. There are also two minor dialects, Dotto dialect and Janga dialect which are nearly similar to Gudi dialect (Gashinge, Janga-xole & Goge 2000, p.iii).

 The researcher, being speakers of Hausa and Ngamo Languages has intuition and knowledge of the two languages. Besides, other sources of data such as personal observations, going through school registers, and listening to a radio program titled Rabin Sa’ar Ngamo on Yobe Broadcasting Corporation Damaturu. The materials used in this research came largely from Hausa personal names and their meanings adopted from Madauci et al (1968), Yahaya (1978), Alhassan et al (1982), Kontagora (1997), Newman (2000), Abbas (2012). The researcher collected two hundred (200) names from the above mentioned references. The research respondents were asked to provide their equivalents in Ngamo.

 However, interviews with Hausa native speakers were carried out to verify the correctness and appropriateness of the data gathered from the above mentioned Hausa published and unpublished materials on personal names. The researcher also used text books journals, dissertations, internet facilities and thesis on Hausa, Ngamo and other language studies on either morphology or personal names to obtain data. Also tape recorder and handset facilities were used to record interviews and discussions as material source of data for the study. The researcher used unstructured interview as a method of data collection for the research. Questions were presented to the respondents in an informal and relaxed atmosphere, where some valid and significant data about Hausa and Ngamo personal names were gathered. Such questions were presented to the respondents in a face-to-face encounter.

 The interview was done in two different categories, depending on age of the respondents. Twenty (20) respondents (each of Hausa and Ngamo) within the age category of 18-50 years provided data about nicknames, joking names, guy names, hypocoristic formation, patronyms, teknonyms etc. moreover, thirty (30) respondents (each of the two languages) within age category of 50 years and above, providing data about short formation, surnames, titles, clan names, ethnonyms, toponyms etc.

SETTLEMENTS	MALE		FEMALE		TOTAL
	18-50	50-above	18-50	50-above
Kargi	2	3	2	3	10
Garbas	2	3	2	3	10
Damau	2	3	2	3	10
Haskiya	2	3	2	3	10
Anchau	2	3	2	3	10
TOTAL	10	15	10	15	50

 The population of this study comprised of all Ngamo native speakers of southern Yobe State and northern Gombe State of north-eastern Nigeria. It also comprised Hausa native speakers across northern Nigeria. Being that it will not be possible to have the responses of the entire population, it has become necessary to select a sample population from the general population for their representation. Therefore, the researcher used fifty (50) native speakers of Hausa and Ngamo Language each in the area of study as research respondents. See the tables below:

TABLE 1: DISTRIBUTION OF HAUSA RESPONDENTS

TABLE 2: DISTRIBUTION OF NGAMO RESPONDENTS

SETTLEMENTS	MALE		FEMALE		TOTAL
	18-50	50-above	18-50	50-above
Gadaka	2	3	2	3	10
Bana Khaji	2	3	2	3	10
Janga-Xole	2	3	2	3	10
Baba Nana	2	3	2	3	10
Bana Gamji	2	3	2	3	10
TOTAL	10	15	10	15	50

The researcher gathered two hundred (200) personal names in Hausa and Ngamo Language each from the total of (50/50) one hundred respondents. Out of those respondents, 70% was used for our data analysis while the remaining 30% was used to check the validity of data choice. The lottery method was introduced in the selection of used respondents that provided the data. It ensures every individual the same choice of being chosen. In order to give this research a required coverage, some places were visited by the researcher. These include the towns of Kargi, Garbas, Damau, Haskiya and Anchau in Zazzau Emirate, Kaduna State.

However, the researcher also visited the town and village of Gadaka, Bana Khaji, Janga, Bana Dauya, Bana Gamji and some other villages around to cover Gudi, Janga, Dotto, and Yaya dialects of Ngamo. These trips to above mentioned places have given the researcher the opportunity to conduct an interview with both Hausa and Ngamo natives on the personal naming system of their respective languages. The major aims were to verify the correctness of the data gathered and to collect required data for the research. The analysis for this research was done based on the morphological feature. Whereas various areas of similarities and differences identified were itemized and numbered for the purpose of easy understanding of the research result.

The current trend in languages and linguistics is to study the minority languages or to compare with the majority ones. Therefore, the researcher feels that it is important to demonstrate the similarities and differences with regards to Hausa and Ngamo personal names formation and to provide valuable information to research development especially to the research on Ngamo morphology being one of the languages of northern Nigeria which has not received much research attention. The theory of contrastive analysis is used as a framework which is concerned with the systematic study of a pair of languages with a view to identifying their structural differences and similarities.

2.0 Modification

 The data collected from the field reveals that modification is a major morphological process which deals with alternation of some sounds or all sounds in a word. This phenomenon is observed to operate in both the two languages as enumerated under 2.1 and 2.2 respectively[3].

2.1 Modification in Hausa Personal Names

 This process is observed to operate in Hausa personal names formation. Five different types of the process are observed in Hausa personal names namely: suppletion, tonal modification, clipping, zero derivation, and hypocorism as enumerated below:

2.1.1 Suppletion

 Suppletion or total modification is one of the morphological processes which the base word does not show any morphological similarity with the inflected form. In this research, we identify some Hausa personal names with such characteristics as exemplified in (1a–c) below:

Example 1:

Base		Inflected Form
a. Tankò(m)	→	Duudù(f) ‘a child born after succession of many opposite sex’
b. Lukuti(m)	→	Vaakutu(f) ‘a child born with loose and big body’
c. Sarki(m)	→	Kilìshi(f) ‘a child born during a turban ceremony of an emir’

2.1.2 Tonal Change

This is a process which is concerned with the change of tone pattern in the derivation of some personal names. Masculine name is regarded as the base form of its feminine counterpart. This can be presented below in example (2a–b):

Example 2:

Base		Derived Form
a. Bàaba  ‘father	→	Baabà ‘mother’
b. Yàaya  ‘elder sister’	→	Yaayà ‘elder brother’

2.1.3 Clipping

 This is a way of word coinage by shortening the base while still retaining the same meaning and still being a member of the same form. In the process of the study of Hausa personal names, the researcher identified more cases of back clipping under two forms of shortening processes. Newman (2000, p.341) observed these phenomena as short forms in Hausa personal names.

 2.1.3.1 Back-Clipping I

 This is a type of clipping in Hausa personal names which involves the dropping of –atu suffix from the base form[4] as can be seen in example (3a–f) below:

Example 3:

Base		Short Variant
a. Aa‘ìshatù	→	Aa’ìsha
b. Ruqàyyatù	→	Ruqàyya
c. Amìinatù	→	Amìinaa
d. Faaxìmatù	→	Faaxìmaa
e. Saaratù	→	Saarai
f. Hànnatù	→	Hànne

2.1.3.2 Back-Clipping II

 This is another type of clipping in Hausa personal names which involves the dropping of final vowel -ù from the base form[5]as exemplified below in (4a–j):

Example 4:

Base		Short Variant
a. Ὰbdùlsàlaamù	→	Ὰbdùlsàlâm
b. Ὰbdùrràhàmaanù	→	Ὰbdùrràhàmân
c. Ὰmiinù	→	Ὰmîn
d. Fàaruuqù	→	Fàarûq
e. Hàbiibù	→	Hàbîb
f. Kàbiirù	→	Kàbîr
g. Sàgiirù	→	Sàgîr
h. Ùsùmaanù	→	Ùsùmân
i. Naasirù	→	Naasìr
j. Yuusufù	→	Yuusùf

2.1.4 Zero Derivation

 Zero derivation is a process which derived name does not delete, subtract or reduplicate part of base name but rather changes the morphological class of base name to another without changing its form. The masculine names are considered as the base form of their feminine counterparts as exemplified below in (5a–i):

Example 5:

Base		Derived Form	Gloss
a. Agòolà	→	Agòolà	‘stepchild’
b. Ὰuta	→	Ὰuta	‘a youngest child of the family’
c. Kurma	→	Kurma	‘deaf’
d. Gàmbo	→	Gàmbo	‘a child born after twins’
e. Ὰudi	→	Ὰudi	‘a child born after the death of his/her father’
f. Kyaùta	→	Kyaùta	‘a child whose pregnancy was conceived after his or her parents lost hope of getting a child due to old age’
g. Màirìiga	→	Màirìiga	‘a child born wrapped up in the placenta’
h. Cindò	→	Cindò	‘a child born with six fingers’
i. Shàanoonò	→	Shàanoonò	‘a child born at the same time with a new calf’

2.1.5 Hypocorism

 This is another morphological process which is concerned with word manufacturing. This is common among male and female adolescents and school age children. It is used to block the communication channel between adolescents and the elderly people. This informal pattern of language usually takes different forms from time to time and place to place.

2.1.5.1 One Syllable Affix

 This hypocoristic formation involves the use of voiced bilabial plosive /b/ sound with a vowel the same as in preceding syllable with a polar tone. The consonant /b/ geminates where the preceding syllable is closed. The second consonant of the closed syllable moved as second consonant of the second formed syllable. This is presented in example (6a–g):

Example 6:

Base		Hypocoristic Form	Gloss
a. Gòoshi	→	Goobòoshi	‘a male or female personal name’
b. Leekò	→	Leebèeko	‘a male personal name’
c. Yèlwa	→	Yebbèlwa	‘ a male or female personal name’
d. Cìiwaake	→	Ciibìiwaabàake	‘a male personal name’
e. Gàrkuwa	→	Gabbàrkubùwa	‘a male personal name’
f. Ὶndo	→	Ibbìndo	‘a female personal name’
g. Dòogarà	→	Doobòogabàra	‘a male personal name’

2.1.5.2 Two Syllables Affix

 In this hypocoristic formation, two syllables are added to every syllable of the base word. It involves the use of CVCV -wala affix with H H tone pattern. This can be exemplified below in (7a–e):

 

Example 7:

Base		Hypocoristic Form	Gloss
a. Shàakallo	→	Shaawalakalwalaloowala	‘a male personal name’
b. Cikà	→	Ciiwalakaawala	‘a male personal name’
c. Kyàuta	→	Kyauwalataawala	‘ a male or female personal name’
d. Magàaji	→	Maawalagaawalajiwala	‘a male personal name’
e. Muusaa	→	Muuwalasaawala	‘a male personal name’

2.2 Modification in Ngamo Personal Name

Based on the data collected from the field it has been observed that this phenomenon do occur in Ngamo personal names formation. Four different types operate in Ngamo personal names namely: suppletion, clipping, zero derivation and hypocorism.

2.2.1 Suppletion

 This is a morphological process in which the masculine does not show any morphological similarity with its inflected famine form as presented below in example (8a–e):

Example 8:

Base		Inflected Form
a. Kuurè  ‘a beloved son of the family’	→	Bùkku ‘a beloved daughter of the family’
b. Gabàakau  ‘a male child born after succession of many female children’	→	Jàajai ‘a female child born after succession of many male children’
c. Ὰkuyà  ‘a male child born after the  death of his/her father’	→	Gunhu ‘a female child born after the  death of his/her father’
d. Tinjà  ‘prince’	→	Gìmsi ‘princess’
e. Joojì  ‘chairman’	→	Magara ‘woman leader’

2.2.2 Clipping

 This shortening process happens in Ngamo personal names through the addition of prefix baa- to a male name and prefix daa- to a female name which implies elderliness of the name bearer. It also happens as a result of partial reduplication at the final syllable of the regular name.

These two processes of addition of morpheme to the regular names are responsible for making the names heavy, whereas clipping is used for the simplification of name heaviness. This is done through two forms of clipping:

2.2.2.1 Back-Clipping I

 This is to simplify the heaviness of some names as a result of addition of prefix baa- (m) or daa- (f) to Ngamo personal names. The general process is the drop of first and second syllables of the regular name to form a short variant. It may not necessarily be a syllable that can be dropped; it may include a vowel alone to form a short variant of the regular name.[6] This phenomenon is shown below in example (9a–d):

Example 9:

Base	Regular Name		Short Variant	Gloss
a. Bàaba	Bàabaabà	→	Bàa’â	‘grandfather’
b. Ὰbàrè	Baa’àbàre	→	Baarè	‘elderly man call Abare
c. Tùutu	Daatùutu	→	Dâttu	‘elderly woman call Tutu
d. Xèeko	Daaxèeko	→	Dáàko	‘elderly woman call Xeko

  2.2.2.2 Back-Clipping II

 This is to simplify the heaviness of some names as a result of partial reduplication. This morphological process is used to form a diminutive variant of the base form. It refers to the mother’s, father’s or any relative’s namesakes which involves the repetition of final syllable of a name appearing with a long vowel and low tone. Therefore, the process of clipping is used to ease the addition.[7] This is presented in example (10a–d) below:

Example 10:

Base	Regular Name		Short Variant	Gloss
a. Dàada	Dàadaadà	→	Dàádà	‘a namesake to the mother’
b. Bàaba	Bàabaabà	→	Bàábà	‘a namesake to the father’
c. Nàana	Nàanaanà	→	Nàánà	‘a namesake to grandmother’
d. Kàaka	Kàakaakà	→	Kàákà	‘a namesake to grandfather’

2.2.2.3 Islamic Names Clipping

This is another way of Ngamo personal names clipping. It involves the use of clipping of adopted Islamic names. This shows the present existence of clipping among Ngamo people especially in their personal naming system[8]as exemplified in (11a–h)[9]:

 

 

Example 11:

Base DERIVED FORM	Adopted Form		Short Variant	Gloss
a. Zainàb	Zèenabù	→	Aabù	‘female personal name’
b. Aa’ìshatù	Haa’ìshatù	→	Shatù	‘female personal name’
c. Aa’ìshatù	Haa’ìshatù	→	Haa’ì	‘female personal name’
d. Ὰbuubakàr	Hàbuubukàr	→	Bukàr	‘male personal name’
e. Ὰbuubakàr	Hàbuubukàr	→	Hàbu	‘male personal name’
f. Ahmàd	Ὰamadù	→	Madù	‘male personal name’
g. Habiibà	Hàbiibà	→	Hàbi	‘female personal name’
h. Habiibà	Hàbiibà	→	Biibà	‘female personal name’

2.2.3 Zero Derivation

 This is a process which does not change the form of base name but rather changes the morphological class of Ngamo personal names. Here also the researcher considers the masculine name as base form of its feminine counterpart. This is presented below in example (12a–d):

Example 12:

Base		Derived Form	Gloss
a. Gùmbà	→	Gùmbà	‘a child born wrapped in the placenta’
b. Gyaayè	→	Gyaayè	‘a child whose pregnancy was conceived without his or her mother having menstruation after previous weaning’
c. Yàyyu	→	Yàyyu	‘a child born with small body’
d. Dìmzà	→	Dìmzà	‘a child delivered from leg i.e. breach presentation’.

2.2.4 Hypocorism

 This is a process of morphological formation among the young Ngamo men and women. It involves the use of hypocoristic suffix-kxi to the end of every word.[10] This is presented below in example (13a–f):

Example 13:

Base		Hypocoristic Form	Gloss
a. Mà’ì	→	Mà’ìkxì	‘a male personal name’
b. Dàlà	→	Dàlàkxì	‘a male personal name’
c. Yèllà	→	Yèllakxì	‘a female personal name’
d. Mazàm	→	Màzamùkxì	‘a male personal name’
e. Ajàm	→	Ὰjàmùkxì	‘a male personal name’
f. Saalè	→	Sàalèkxì	‘a male personal name’

3.0 Discussion

Hausa and Ngamo share similar method of suppletion where the base names do not show any morphological resemblance to the inflected names as in Duudù (f) and Tankò (m) ‘child born after succession of many opposite sex’ in Hausa as well as Bùkku(f) →Kuurè (m) ‘a beloved child of the family’ in Ngamo. It is also observed that the two languages used the same techniques in clipping personal names. Here the personal name becomes short while retaining the same meaning of the base name as in Aa’ìshatù →Aa’ìsha, Ὰmiinù →Ὰmîn in Hausa and Daaxèeko →Dáàko, Dàadaadà →Dàádà among others in Ngamo. It is also observed that the two languages share similar way in marking zero derivational process where the feminine names derived from the masculine counterpart having the same phonetic feature as in Agòolà (f) →Agòolà (m) ‘step child’ in Hausa and Gyaayè (f)→Gyaayè (m) ‘a child whose pregnancy was conceived without his or her mother having menstruation after previous weaning’ in Ngamo. Hausa and Ngamo also share similar ways of using hypocorism as a morphological device of name manufacturing. For instance, Gòoshi →Goobòoshi‘a male or female personal name’ or Cikà →Ciiwalakawala in Hausa and Yèllà →Yellakxi ‘female personal name’ in Ngamo.

Tone change/modification is a factor that indicates morphological difference in Hausa and Ngamo personal names formation. It is observed that Hausa uses tone change as one of the morphological tools of personal names formation. For instance, Yàaya ‘elder sister’ →Yaayà ‘elder brother’, which is apparently impossible in Ngamo personal names formation. Another difference under modification of Hausa and Ngamo personal names is clipping. Hausa make use of clipping as a tool for coining the base names to form their short variants with the same meaning as in Aa’ìshatù →Aa’ìsha, Àbdùlsàlaamù →Àbdùlsàlâm but this case is quite different in Ngamo personal names formation. It is observed that Ngamo uses two ways of clipping the base names. Firstly, Ngamo clipped its personal through back clipping as in Baa’àbàrè →Baarè, Daaxèeko→Dáàko, Dàadaadà →Dàádà. Secondly, the way Ngamo clipped its personal names is through the use of back/front clipping. This is common with its adopted Islamic names as in Habiibà →Hàbii (back-clipping) or Biibà (front clipping). Another modification process that shows morphological differences in the formation of Hausa and Ngamo personal names is the use of Hypocorism. Hausa uses hypocoristic affix after first or the first and second syllable of the base name cf. Gòoshi →Goobòoshi or Cikà →Ciwalakawala. This case is however quite different in Ngamo where the hypocoristic affix once is used only at the end position of the base name to indicate variants as in Mà’ì →Mà’ikxi.

4.0 Conclusion

Our discussion demonstrated that Hausa an Ngamo languages shared a similar forms of suppletiom, clipping, and zero derivation being that the two languages in question are sister languages belongs to the Hausa-Gwandara and Bole-Tangale groups of the West Chadic A of Afroasiatic Phylum respectively. It can be clearly seen from our discussion of findings presented that word coinage by shortening the base which still retaining the same meaning and still being a member of the form used as a tool for the modification of personal names in Hausa and Ngamo languages.

 References

Abbas, N.I. (2012). Nahawun sunayen Hausawa. [M.A. Dissertation], Department of Nigeria Language. Usman Xanfodio University Sokoto.

Alhassan, H. Kafin-Hausa, M. Zarruq R. M. (1982). Zaman Hausawa. Islamic Publication Bureau

Bargery, G.P. (1934). A Hausa – English dictionary and English Hausa – Vocabulary. Oxford University Press.

Gashinge, I.A. Goge, U. M. Janga Dole, J. A. (2004). Ngamo – English – Hausa dictionary. Schuh, R.G. (ed.) Yobe Lanague Research Project. Ajami Press.

Greenberg, J. H. (1950). Studies in African linguistic classification. IV Himito-Semitic. Southwest Journal of Anthropology, 6:47-63.

Jaggar, P.J. (2001). Hausa. John Benjamins. 

Jungraithmayr, H. and Shimizu, K. (1981). Chadic lexical roots. Vol.2: Tentative

Kontagora, I.S.S. (1997). Tasirin zamani da halinsa kan sunayen Hausawa. A Paper Presented at Faculty Conference, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto-Nigeria.

Lukas, J. (1936). The linguistic situation in the Lake Chad area in Central Africa. Africa, 9:332-349.

Madauci, I. Isa, Y. & Daura B. (1968). Hausa customs. Northern Nigerian Publishing Company.

Newman, P. (2000). The Hausa language: An encyclopedic reference grammar. Yale University Press.

Newman, P. (1977). Chadic classification and reconstructions. Afroasiatic Linguistics 5(I): 1 – 42. 

Newman, P. and Ma, R. (1966). Comparative Chad phonology and lexicon. Journal of African Languages. Recnstruction, Grading and Distribution. Marburger-Studien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde, Serie A, Afrika, 26. Dietrich Reimer Reimer.

Robinson, C. H. (1897). Hausa grammar (with exercises), readings and vocabularies and specimens of Hausa script. Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner. 

Taylor, F. W. (1923). A practical Hausa grammar. Clarendon Press.

Wolff, H. E. (1993). Referenzgrammatik des Hausa. Hamburger Beiträge zur Afrikanistik, Band 2. Hamburg: LIT Verlag.

Yahaya I. Y. (1978). Sunayen Hausawa na gargajiya. Seminar paper presented at the Centre for the study of the Nigerian Languages. Bayero University, Kano.

 

 

 

 

---

[1] Hausa is widely used as a ligua franca in West Africa. A world 11^th most spoken language with an estimated 150 million speakers. See http://www.gistmania.com/talk/topic,353020.0.html. It is one of the most comprehensive and authoritative documented language in Africa. See Robinson (1897), Taylor (1923), Bargery (1934), Wolff (1993), Newman (2000) and Jagger (2001).

[2] Generally accepted classification of the Chadic language apart frome Lukas (1936), Greenberg (1950), Newman and Ma (1966) and Jungraithmayr and Shimizu (1981). 

[3] Citations are in the standard orthography developed for Ngamo and based on that of Hausa, plus tone marking and vowel length: low tone (è); high tone left unmarked (e); falling tone (ê); rising tone (ě); long vowel marked with double of it (ee); while short vowel marked with single of it.

[4]It can be observed that the short variants of the above names retained the vowel /a/ but undergo lengthening except the short variants Saarai and Hànnee which replaced the vowel /a/ with diphthong /ai/ and long mid front vowel /ee/ respectively.

[5]It is important to note that low tone of dropped vowel shifted back to the preceding syllable to form a falling tone where the result would be (L) (L) (L) L F on the short variants. As a result of this morphological process, the final syllable becomes closed i.e. CVC. Therefore, the long vowels /aa/, /ii/, and /uu/ automatically shorten to /a/, /i/ and /u/ respectively. This process also simplifies the tone to H L instead of H F as in the case of Naasìr and Yuusùf short variants.

[6]What we observed in set of example 32 is that the process deletes the long high back vowel /uu/ of the mid syllable of regular name Daatùutu. Therefore, the first opened heavy syllable becomes closed. The long low vowel /aa/ automatically shortens to /a/.

[7]In the above sub-category of names, we note that the final syllable of the base form is dropped. Its high tone (retained) is shifted back to the proceeding syllable with low tone (already) to form a raising tone.

[8]In this examples we note that both back and front clipping are used in a single name differently as in the case of Hàbii (back clipping) and Biibà (front clipping) adopted from Habiibà.

[9]It is also important to note some phonological features that occur in Ngamo adopted form from the base in this set of example. There is a case of monophthongization of [ai] → [ee] vowel sound in Zainàb →Zèenabù. There is also deglottalization of [?]→ [h] consonant sound in? aa?ìshatù and ?àbuubakàr→ Haa?ìshatù and Hàbuubukàr respectively. There is vowel (front) assimilation of [a] → [u] vowel sound in? àbuubakàr →Hàbuubukàr. There is also a case of syllable simplification of closed→ opened syllable while retaining its heaviness in? ahmàd→? àamadù

[10]We observed that the suffixal first consonant closed the base word final syllable. A short back high vowel /u/ is added to a word with closed final syllable plus hypocoristic suffix as in the case of Mazàm and Ajàm base form.