Wuu idin siiyey – He gave (it) to you (pl.).
Naturally in all these sentences the logical accent is placed on the predicate. When the sentence particle is used it cannot turn the object into the rheme even with the help of the emphatic pronouns (see 0.3.7), which in the role of objects are obligatorily supplemented with short objective pronouns (with the exception of pronouns of the 3rd person singular and plural), and therefore are not necessary elements of the verbal constructions. However, the pronouns isaga, iyada and iyaga help to differentiate the objects of the 3rd person masculine and feminine singular from the 3rd person plural:[9]
(26) Aniga wuu i arkay – He saw me;
Aniga wuu i siiyey – He gave (it) to me;
(27) Adiga wuu ku arkay – He saw you (sing.);
Adiga wuu ku siiyey – He gave (it) to you (sing.);
(28) Isaga wuu arkay – He saw him;
Isaga wuu siiyey – He gave (it) to him;
(29) Iyada wuu arkay – He saw her;
Iyada wuu siiyey – He gave (it) to her;
(30) Annaga wuu na arkay – He saw us (excl.);
Annaga wuu na siiyey – He gave (it) to us (excl.);
(31) Innaga wuu ina arkay – He saw us (incl.);
Innaga wuu ina siiyey – He gave (it) to us (incl.);
(32) Idinka wuu idin arkay – He saw you (pl.);
Idinka wuu idin siiyey – He gave (it) to you (pl.).
(33) Iyaga wuu arkay – He saw them;
Iyaga wuu siiyey – He gave (it) to them.
In the words of Lamberti (1983, p.106), in such syntactical structures “...it is difficult to draw the hearer's attention to an element of the sentence other than the verb. If its object pronoun has disappeared, as is the case for the 3rd person in Somali, then it is impossible.” Therefore the Maxaad-tiri and some other dialects needed “a device which would allow them to draw the hearer's attention, if necessary, to a part of the sentence expressed within the verbal complex by the pronoun ø ” (ibid., p.107). The SP baa and its variants have become such a tool.
Without disputing what has been said about the short objective pronouns of the 3rd person and of the emphatic pronouns which make up for their absence, I have to note, however, that this is equally true in regard to all other pronouns which play the role of objects. As has been shown above, in waa structures it is also not possible to make any of them the rheme.
It is true that Zorc and Issa (1990, p.79) give an example where the question Yaa macallinka arkay? (Who saw the teacher?) is followed by the answer Aniga waan arkay (It was I who saw); Adiga waad aragtay (It was you who saw) etc., that is with the logical accent on the word (in this case the object, expressed by an emphatic pronoun) which is followed by the SP waa (not baa) with the corresponding short subjective pronouns. This, however, contradicts my own observations of the speech performance of Somalis and published accounts by other researchers into the Somali syntax. It seems that the natural answer to the question Yaa macallinka arkay? would be Anigaa (aniga + baa) arkay (It was I who saw); Adigaa (adiga + baa) arkay (It was you who saw) etc.
So the problem is settled by the SP baa (in this case in combination with the subjective pronouns, the rules of usage of which are given in detail in the chapters relating to each of the sentence particles) supplemented by emphatic pronouns:
(34) Aniga buu i arkay – He saw me;
Aniga buu i siiyey – He gave (it) to me;
(35) Adiga buu ku arkay – He saw you (sing.);
Adiga buu ku siiyey – He gave (it) to you (sing.);
(36) Isaga buu arkay – He saw him;
Isaga buu siiyey – He gave (it) to him;
(37) Iyada buu arkay – He saw her;
Iyada buu siiyey – He gave (it) to her;
(38) Annaga buu na arkay – He saw us (excl.);
Annaga buu na siiyey – He gave (it) to us (excl.);
(39) Innaga buu ina arkay – He saw us (incl.);
Innaga buu ina siiyey – He gave (it) to us (incl.);
(40) Idinka buu idin arkay – He saw you (pl.);
Idinka buu idin siiyey – He gave (it) to you (pl.).
(41) Iyaga buu arkay – He saw them;
Iyaga buu siiyey – He gave (it) to them.
It is obvious that the hypothesis connecting the origin of the SP baa with the lack of the short subjective pronouns of the 3rd person singular in the majority of Somali dialects needs additional argumentation.