Direct object clitic pronouns in Ketama/Senhaja Berber (Northwestern Morocco)

Abstract

This paper discusses direct object (DO) clitic pronouns in Ketama Berber (northwestern Morocco). Ketama Berber is usually regarded as a variety of Senhaja Berber. All Senhaja Berber varieties are poorly documented. Ketama is the most western of them, and most divergent linguistically. The paper is based on fieldwork data collected by the author in Ketama/Senhaja villages between 2013 and 2016. It focuses on Ketama Berber, while providing comparisons with other Senhaja Berber varieties, as well as with Ghomara and Tarifit. After a general introduction to Ketama Berber and its independent pronouns (Section 1), its DO clitic pronouns are discussed (Section 2). There are two main series of clitic pronouns: postverbal and preverbal. Clitic pronouns in Ketama have allomorphs depending on phonetic and syntactic conditions. The special forms of Ketama pronouns and their origins are explained. The last section summarizes the study and draws some conclusions.