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The basic word order of Kanuri sentences is subject � object � verb. It is typologically unusual in simultaneously having postpositions and post-nominal modifiers � for example, "Bintu's pot" would be expressed as nje Bintu-be, "pot Bintu-of". Kanuri has three tones: high, low, and falling. It has an extensive system of consonant weakening (for example, sa- "they" + -buna "have eaten" > za-wuna "they have eaten". Traditionally a local lingua franca, its usage has declined in recent decades. Most first-language speakers speak Hausa or Arabic as a second language. |