here - 5th International Conference on Bantu Languages

Remarks on the nasal classes in Mungbam and Naki 

Mungbam and Naki are two non-Grassfields Bantoid languages spoken along the northwest 

frontier of the Grassfields area to the north of the Ring languages. Until recently, they were 

poorly described, but new data reveals them to show significant nasal noun class patterns, 

some of which do not appear to have been previously noted for Bantoid. The key patterns are: 

1. Like many other languages of their region (see Good et al. 2011), they make productive 

use of a mysterious diminutive plural prefix with a form like mu-, with associated 

concords in m, <strong>here</strong> referred to as Class 18a (see Hyman 1980:187). 

2. The five dialects of Mungbam show a level of variation in their nasal classes that one 

might normally expect of distinct languages. 

a. Two dialects show no evidence for nasals in Class 6. Two other dialects, Munken and 

Ngun, show a Class 6 prefix on nouns of form a- but nasal concords. In Munken Class 

6, this nasal is n, clearly distinct from an m associated with 6a; in Ngun, both 6 and 6a 

are associated with m concords. The Abar dialect shows a different pattern, with Class 

6 nasal concords in m and nasal prefixes on some Class 6 nouns. 

b. The Abar, Biya, and Ngun dialects show a Class 18a prefix with form mN-, rather than 

the more regionally common mu-. This reduction is presumably connected to 

perseveratory nasalization attested throughout the languages of the region with a 

diachronic pathway along the lines of mu- > mũ- > mN- perhaps providing a partial 

example for the development of Bantu Class 9/10. 

3. Naki shows nasals in Classes 6a, 18a, and an apparent Class 6, which has plural semantics 

and pairs with plurals of words that can be associated with Classes 3 and 5. Class 6 is 

formally coded by either no nominal class marker or an -ŋ suffix (not obviously archaic or 

innovative) on stems ending in a vowel and has concord forms in n, while Classes 6a and 

18a show m. The nasal classes are all unified, however, in showing back vowels in 

concord forms rather than front vowels, e.g., pronominals nú (Class 6) and mú (Class 18a) 

against wí (Class 3) and fí (Class 19). 

Taken together, these facts, if anything, make coming to a historical understanding of the 

nasal classes in Bantoid even more difficult than previously thought (Hyman 1980). For 

instance, the fact that some Mungbam dialects show nasal concords, but non-nasal noun 

prefixes, runs counter to a more general pattern w<strong>here</strong> mismatches involve non-nasal noun 

concords associated with nasal prefixes (Hyman 1980:193). Perhaps more striking is the 

presence of nasal Class 6 in Munken and Naki associated with n concords that are distinct 

from Class 6a concords in m, suggesting that the development of nasal Class 6 need not 

always be directly connected to a merger with Class 6a. 

More generally, the data from Mungbam suggests that the Greenberg-Crabb criterion may 

have been based on a false historical assumption that the development of nasal classes should 

somehow be construed as a rare historical event. The Mungbam dialects are probably not 

more than two hundred years old, but, nevertheless show striking differences in the presence 

of nasal classes, with recent language contact being the most plausible route through which 

this differentiation developed (Di Carlo 2011). If contact could cause such differentiation in 

Mungbam dialects, t<strong>here</strong> would seem to be little reason to believe it could not have resulted in 

similar effects numerous times in different languages as well. 

References 

Good, J., Lovegren, J., Mve, J. P., Tchiemouo, N. C., Voll, R., and Di Carlo, P. (2011). The languages of the 

Lower Fungom region of Cameroon: Grammatical overview. Africana Linguistica 17:101–164. 

Di Carlo, P. (2011). Lower Fungom linguistic diversity and its historical development: Proposals from a 

multidisciplinary perspective. Africana Linguistica 17:53–100. 

Hyman, L. M. (1980). Reflections on the nasal classes in Bantu. In Hyman, L. M (ed.), Noun classes in the 

Grassfields Bantu borderland, 179–210. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. 

WS1

Les classes nominales à nasales en proto-bantu dans le contexte de Niger-Congo 

Ce problème est formulé en détail dans l’appelle à communications et, précédemment, dans 

l’article largement connu de Larry Hyman (1980) qui écrit : 

Dans cette communication, j’analyse quelques données (principalement des données des 

langues atlantiques nord et sud) qui peuvent présenter un intérêt pour traiter les questions 

posées. 

Inventaire des classes nominales à nasales 

WS1 

Il semble admis par la majorité des chercheurs que la classe *ma- (6А), qui regroupe les noms 

de masses et de liquides sans corrélation de nombre et des noms à sémantique duelle peut être 

reconstruite en proto-Niger-Congo (main, jambe, probablement oreille, genou ainsi que lune, 

le trait duel étant lié dans ce dernier cas à la structure à deux phases du calendrier lunaire). 

Ainsi, nous aborderons la question de la nasalisation des marqueurs de classes dans les classes 

nominales proto-bantu 1, 3, 4, 9, 10 (excepté les sous-systèmes de classes locatives). 

Un des nos objectifs est, sur la base de données externes au bantu, de tenter d’élargir le 

groupe des classes à nasales à deux classes supplémentaires, en considérant deux autres 

classes possibles à un stade proto-bantu précoce. 

Premièrement, la classe potentielle N (2A) du pluriel de certains termes de parenté : la langue 

sud-atlantique sherbro présente une opposition (qui est loin d’être unique dans des langues 

Niger-Congo) avec, en face de la classe plurielle standard des humains *ba-/*be-/*а- (2), une 

classe de pluriel N- (groupes d’humains, collectifs) incluant notamment certains termes de 

parenté au pluriel. 

Deuxièmement, il s’agit de la classe *mu-. L. Hyman fournit du matériau bantu susceptible de 

permettre sa reconstruction, l’appelle conventionnellement classe «18», et la définit comme 

une classe pl. correspondant à la classe sg. des diminutifs 19 : 

Le matériau externe au bantu permet de considérer qu’en proto-Niger-Congo, il a peut-être 

existé une classe * mu- / Nu- , notamment pour les désignations du feu (probablement sans 

corrélation de nombre), peut-être, également pour fumée et moelle : dans une série de langues 

Niger-Congo, où sont conservés ses reflexes, le mot signifiant feu est singularia tantum, et 

dans d’autres pluralia tantum. En proto-bantu cette classe a probablement fusionné avec la 

classe 3.

En ce qui concerne le couple 9/10, les données Niger-Congo confirment clairement pour la 

classe 10 la reconstruction *si-, et ce, non seulement pour l’accord, mais également comme 

préfixe dans le nom lui-même. 

Quelques hypothèses expliquant la nasalisation des marqueurs de classe dans les noms 

en proto-bantu 

Les hypothèses les plus plausibles ont été détaillées par L. Hyman. Nous les examinons une 

nouvelle fois en apportant du matériau nouveau. 

1. Influence du pronom objet 3sg. *mù PB. D’après L.Hyman : 

Et plus loin: 

WS1 

“The most striking evidence that *mu- goes beyond NB comes from Fula. . Arnott (1970) indicates that the 

concord for the human singular class varies betxeen –o, -jo and -d’o. However, the form of the human subject and 

object pronoun is [mo], which also appears in interrogatives. It may not be too wild to speculate that *mu was a 

human pronoun ‘him/her’ in Proto-Niger-Congo and was independent of the noun class system. It may, in 

addition, have been “a fourth person” form… This m- would have been dropped before all prefixes except 

classes 1, 3, 4 and 6 (a) – and possibly 9/10, w<strong>here</strong> its presence before a stem-initial consonant would be caused 

its development into N-. The motivation for this distribution would be that classes 1, 3, 4 and 6 (a) had vowel 

prefixes and the syllabified onto this vowels to produce mu-, mi- and ma. …he simplest solution: an 

additional prefix was added to nouns with perhaps the function of definitizing them”. 

Tout d’abord, apportons de nouveaux éléments pour la comparaison de ce pronom PB 

en Niger-Congo. 

Dans les langues atlantiques il est signalé non seulement en fula, mais aussi en bijogo 

(mɔ-), également dans la fonction Objet (pour les humains), en sua (mo) – dans la 

fonction de Possessif et enfin en wolof (mu) – dans la fonction de Sujet. Ces données 

sont très fragmentées pour reconstruire *mu ou bien *mo pour 3sg. spécifique dans le 

proto-atlantique. Cette forme est absente dans les langues sud-atlantiques. D’après la 

base de données des marques personnelles dans les langues d’Afrique (Segerer, 2004- 

2010), la forme mo/mu 3sg. est largement représentée dans les langues Benue-Congo 

mais elle est presque introuvable dans les autres branches NC à l’exception des formes 

isolées dans 4 langues kwa et dans une seul langue gur :

c<strong>here</strong>pon (chrepong) Kwa m ɔ̀ 3s P 

gonja Kwa mò 3s TO 

nchumuru-banda Kwa m ʊ̀ 3s TO 

nchumuru-bejamso-grubi Kwa m ʊ̰̀ 3s TOP 

lyele Gur mɔ 3s O 

Il semble que nulle part en-dehors de bantu il ne soit possible d’identifier une 

corrélation entre l’existence dans le système du pronom 3sg à nasale et une structure 

nasale ou vocalique des réflexes des classes correspondantes. C'est-à-dire que, si l’on 

accepte le scenario proposé, il s’agit clairement d’une innovation bantu. 

2. Hyman discute comme source alternatif les lexèmes signifiant humain ou animal : 

Et plus loin : “According to the argument, ne- would have developed into N- and then spread to other nouns 

(and perhaps also to 9/10 w<strong>here</strong> agentives may have belonged”. 

Après examen des arguments pour et contre cette hypothèse, Hyman conclut qu’elle 

est « difficult to support with confidence » et « seems implausible ». 

Nous pensons toutefois que les arguments en faveur de cette hypothèse ne sont pas 

épuisés. 

Premièrement, notons que dans les langues sud-atlantiques, il semble que nous ayons 

affaire à un cas rare où un lexème signifiant humain est grammaticalisé et intégré dans 

un système des classes à modèle d’accord spécifique. De plus, la nouvelle classe 

singulier pour les humains comprend bien une consonne nasale. Dans le groupe sud 

des langues mel (kisi, sherbro), la forme nɔ ‘personne’ est peut-être empruntée aux 

langues mandé sud-ouest (nu). C’est justement en kisi et en sherbro qu’est apparue la 

nouvelle classe nɔ pour le singulier des humains, classe qui a progressivement 

remplacé dans cette fonction la proto-classe *o. 

On découvre un autre exemple intéressant en laal (une branche isolée de NC ?) dans 

laquelle, tout comme dans les langues sud-atlantiques, on relève le lexème no 

«homme, être humain». Pour cette langue, Pascal Boyeldieu (1982) mentionne une 

série d’oppositions de nombre qu’il analyse comme supplétives : 

Sg. 

nam / nɨm 

namy-/nɨmy 

nar / nɨr 

na:ra 

niini 

no 

nuruŋ 

Pl. 

wum 

wumañ 

yɨgər 

wura 

yinan 

muaŋ 

mari 

frère / soeur 

oncle maternel, neveu / nièce 

fils / fille 

homme (vir) 

femme, épouse 

personne 

jeune fille 

WS1

Pourtant, la segmentation morphématique de ces noms permet une autre interprétation : 

Sg. 

n-a/ɨ-m 

n-a/ɨ-my- 

n-a/ɨ-r 

n-a:-ra 

n-i:-ni 

no 

n-u-r-uŋ 

Pl. 

wu-m 

*wu-my-añ 

yɨ-gə-r 

wu-ra 

yi-n-an 

mu-aŋ 

ma-ri 

frère / sœur 

oncle maternel, neveu / nièce 

fils / fille 

homme (vir) 

femme, épouse 

personne 

jeune fille 

Ainsi, il est possible que dans la langue laal nous ayons affaire à une structure 

particulièrement intéressante, à savoir : 

sg. : person + gender marker + root 

pl. : class marker + root 

3) Nous examinerons également une autre voie possible de nasalisation des marqueurs de 

classe en question dans les langues proto-bantu. Dans un certain nombre de langues 

atlantiques on observe l’apparition d’un morphème spécifique pour marquer les classes 

d’hommes et d’animaux, aussi bien au singulier qu’au pluriel. Il peut s’agir par exemple d’un 

ton spécifique (tout comme en proto-bantu où le ton bas des marqueurs de classes 1 et 9 peut 

être légitimement considéré comme une marque des classes prototypiques d’êtres vivants) ou 

encore d’une consonne nasale (par exemple en limba, le suffixe *-ni que l’on retrouve dans 

les noms des humains et d’animaux). On examinera entre autre l’hypothèse suivante, fondée 

sur une des interprétations existantes de la sémantique prototypique des classes nominales 

(Pozdniakov 1993). En accord avec cette interprétation, la classe 3 inclut des noms d’objets 

non vivants, mais « actifs », c’est-à-dire d’objets de dimension et de forme variables – tout ce 

qui bouge, change sa forme et ses dimension: outre les noms d’arbres généralement signalés 

pour cette classe, on y trouve les noms des esprits et des génies, rivière, cheveu, cœur, queue, 

doigt, ombre, fumée et une série d’autres noms porteurs du trait « actif ». Si on admet cette 

interprétation, il devient possible d’envisager l’hypothèse (confirmée par les données des 

langues atlantiques) de l’existence au stade proto-bantu précoce d’un morphème spécifique (N 

homorganique réalisé m- devant u, c’est-à-dire dans les classes 1, 3, 4 - et n- devant i – c’està-dire 

dans les classes 9, 10 et peut-être 2А) pratiquement dans toutes les classes à trait 

« actif », à l’exception de la classe 2. 

Références : 

Boyeldieu, Pascal. Deux études laal (Moyen-Chari, Tchad). Berlin : Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1982. 

Hyman, Larry M. 1980b. Reflections on the nasal classes in Bantu. In Hyman (1980a), 179-210 // Hyman, Larry 

M. (ed.). 1980a. Noun classes in the Grassfields Bantu borderland. Southern California Occasional Papers in 

Linguistics 8. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. (http://gsil.scling.org/pubs/SCOPILS_6_7_8_9/Noun_classes_in_the_grassfields_bantu_borderland.pdf) 

Pozdniakov, Konstantin. 1993. Сравнительная грамматика атлантических языков. М., «Наука», 1993. 

(http://pozdniakov.free.fr) 

Segerer, Guillaume. Base de données «Les marques personnelles dans les langues africaines » 

(http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/Pronoms/) 

WS1

Mande evidence for nasal class prefixes 

WS1 

Valentin Vydrin 

INALCO – LLACAN, UMR 8135 CNRS 

vydrine@gmail.com 

0. In modern Mande languages, no noun prefixes are observed. However, t<strong>here</strong> are certain 

evidences in favor of the reconstruction of two nasal prefixes for Proto-Mande, *N1- and *N2-. 

1. The evidence for *N1-, a marker for elder kin names, is rather indirect: this prefix 

manifests itself mainly “negatively”, through exemption of such nouns from adjoining a regular 

article suffix in numerous Western Mande languages: Maninka, Koranko, Susu, Soninke. 

Besides, in Maninka such names seem to carry a prefixed low tone which can be a trace of an 

archaic segmental prefix. 

The nasal character of the Proto-Mande prefix can be tentatively postulated on the basis of 

the Southwestern Mande evidence. In three languages of this group (Mende, Loko, Bandi) elder 

kin names are exempt from the initial consonant alternation, otherwise quite regular 

phenomenon. Their initial consonant is invariably “strong” (unvoiced or voiced prensalized). 

With other words, a strong (unvoiced or voiced prenasalized) initial consonant appears as a result 

of fusion with another nasal morpheme coming back to the 3SG pronoun (easily reconstructable 

for the Proto-South-Western level), *Ǹ. By analogy, it can be assumed that the elder kin prefix 

was also a homorganic nasal, *Ǹ-. 

2. The evidence for *N2- is found in: 

– several varieties of the Manding branch (Bamana, Mandinka, Kagoro, Wasolon, some 

Ivoirean dialects) and Mokole (Kakabe) have more or less numerous nouns with initial 

prenasalized consonants, mainly plant and animal names, insects, names for smal and/or 

dangerous objects, uncountable and mass nouns. The nasal element of the prenasalized 

consonants carries usually a low tone; 

– in Southwestern Mande languages, a group of nouns is exempt from the initial consonant 

alternation, and their initial consonant are invariably “weak” (fricative or sonants). These nouns 

form semantic groups similar to those formed by the nouns with initial prenasalization in 

Manding; sometimes, their roots are also etymologically identical. The invariably weak initial 

consonants can be interpreted as an incompatibility of these nouns with the archaic article *Ǹ- in 

the Proto-Southwestern language; 

– in Susu and Soninke, this morpheme may have been reflected indirectly: t<strong>here</strong> is a number 

of nouns whose semantics is similar to that of prenasalized Manding nouns and who are exempt 

from adjoining a regular article-like suffix (otherwise rather obligatory). 

Both prefixes, *N1- and *N2-, seem to have been marked with the same low tone in the 

proto-language and to be in complementary distribution with an article marking all other nouns. 

Their interpretation as archaic noun class markers is not impossible (even if it cannot be yet 

regarded as sufficiently proved).

Nasal Noun Class Prefixes in Bantu: 

Considerations from Bantoid and Cross-River languages 

John R. Watters, SIL <strong>International</strong> john_watters@sil.org 

The purpose of this study is to answer the question: Is it possible that nasal noun 

class prefixes found in Bantu were neither inherited from Proto Niger-Congo (Miehe 1991) 

WS1 

nor innovated within Bantu (Hyman 1980), but were instead inherited from Proto Bantoid- 

Cross, Proto-Bantoid, or some level within Bantoid that preceded Bantu? 

To answer this question the study will first consider evidence from Bantoid 

languages relative to the nasal noun class prefixes, and then consider evidence from the 

Cross River languages. Hyman (1980) did consider evidence from some Bantoid languages 

outside Bantu in concluding that nasal noun prefixes were a Bantu innovation. The evidence 

that Hyman used will be revisited and expanded upon as much as possible. 

This study will also benefit from a more elaborate understanding of Bantoid than 

was available thirty years ago. This understanding comes from 1) recent lexicostatistical 

studies regarding the internal classification of Bantoid languages (Piron 1995, 1997, and 

Grollemund (2012), 2) the plausible proposal that the Bantoid languages form a unit with 

the Cross-River languages (Williamson and Blench 2000), and 3)the implications from a 

study of the distribution of tense-aspect systems within Bantoid languages (Watters 2012). 

Grollemund, Rebecca. 2012. Nouvelles approaches en classification: application aux langues 

bantu du nord-ouest. Thèse pour Docteur en Sciences du Langage, Université Lumière 

Lyon 2. 

Hyman, Larry M. 1980. Reflections on the nasal classes in Bantu. In Hyman (1980a), 179- 

210. 

Miehe, Gudrun. 1991. Die Präfixnasale im Benue-Congo und im Kwa. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. 

Piron, Pascale. 1995. Identification lexicostatistique des groupes bantoïdes stables. Journal 

of West African Languages 25.2:3-39. 

Piron, Pascale. 1997. Classification interne du groupe Bantoid. 3 vols. Munich, Newcastle: 

LINCOM Europa. 

Watters, John R. 2012. Towards the reconstruction of the tense-aspect-mood (TAM) system 

in early Bantoid, with particular attention to the category “tense”. Paper presented 

at the Proto Niger-Congo Congress, Paris, September 2012. 

Williamson, K. and R. Blench. 2000. Niger-Congo. In B. Heine and D. Nurse eds., African 

Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1-41

Can’t express ‘3 days ago’ anymore! Loss of P3 in Bemba 

Nancy C. Kula, University of Essex, nckula@essex.ac.uk 

Sharman (1956) describes Bemba as having 4 pasts and 3 future tenses as follows: P1 

for an immediate past; P2 for a past of today; P3 for a recent past of within a few days 

ago; and P4 for a remote past. The future is almost similarly symmetrical but lacks the 

equivalent of P3 and instead distinguishes an F1 for immediate future, F2 for a future 

of today and F3 for a future after today. This paper discusses the loss of P3 within this 

system. The table below shows the morphological markers including conjoint and 

disjoint forms w<strong>here</strong> relevant. 

TENSE CONJ DISJ CONJ/DISJ 

P1 -á- -a -áa- -a F1 -alaa- -a 

P2 -ácí- -a F2 -lée- -a/-lee- -a 

P3 

P4 

-á- 

-a- 

-ile 

-ile 

-álii- 

-alí- 

-a 

-ile 

F3 -ka- -a 

The Bemba tense system is currently undergoing a change that is resulting the loss of 

P3 which is now hardly used by speakers both in the Copperbelt and the Northern 

Provinces. P3 was used to refer to a past beyond today but less than a week ago i.e. a 

recent past beyond today. One notable fact about P3 is its similarity in morphological 

form with P4 with the only difference in the conjoint form being one of tone w<strong>here</strong>as 

the disjoint form also differs in its ending. One explanation for the loss of P3 is in this 

respect as the result of tonal neutralisation rendering P3 and P4 indistinct. With a 

high-toned verb and subject marker, for example, P3 and P4 are only distinguished by 

a downstep which with downdrift in P3 is further neutralised: P3: bá-á-lásh-ílé [2SM- 

P3-throw-P3] vs. P4: bá -á-!lásh-ílé [2SM-P4-throw-P4] for ‘they threw (at)’. 

Seen from the Botne (2012) cognitive perspective, the Bemba tense system 

can be analysed as having P1 and P2 (as well as F1 and F2) in the P-Domain with 

P3/P4 and F3 on different D-domains. This reasoning is motivated by the fact that P1 

and P2 both refer to a past of within today, parallel with F1 and F2 referring to futures 

within today. The time domain of today is contrasted with time after today. For the 

future this coincides with one form (F3) while for the past this coincides with two 

forms that are minimally distinct both in terms of form and function. Thus in usage it 

is noted that P4 can be used for all events after today and in this sense has begun to 

overlap with P3 with which it is adjacent in the same domain. This then creates a 

parallel representation with F3 which only has one form for after today. This provides 

an explanation for why P3 is being lost. Furthermore the disjoint form of P3 is also 

being partially lost, at least its tonal aspect so that an alternative P4 (disjoint) form is 

now also used: -alí- -a, i.e. with an -a ending. This means that while the specific 

function of P3 has been lost the forms of P4 have been expanded from two to three 

retaining the unique ending of the lost P3. P4 is thus now expressed by -a- -ile; -alí- - 

ile; and -alí- -a. These changes are clearly intertwined with the now phonologized 

conjoint-disjoint system and this paper will demonstrate that Botne’s (2012) model 

provides sufficient insight to capture the interaction between phonological change, 

paradigm uniformity and tense-aspect evolution in Bemba that explains the function 

merger seen between P3 and P4 with some form retention of P3. Although P1/P2 and 

F1/F2 reside on the same domain owing to their shared general time span (with 

adjacent time regions in the same domain) no merger is observed in these cases as 

their distribution in the model creates a parallelism between the pasts and futures. 

Sharman, J.C. 1956. The tabulation of tenses in Bantu languages (Bemba: Northern Rhodesia). Africa 

26: 29-46. 

WS2

Toward an understanding of TAM in Makaa verbal constructions 

ABSTRACT 

Makaa (A 83) is a Narrow Bantu language spoken in Cameroon, precisely in the upper 

Nyong Division of the Eastern region (Messamena, Abong-Mbang, Doume, Nguelemendouka 

subdivisions) and in the Center Region, in the Nyong and Mfoumou Division (Akonolinga 

and Endom). It counts four major dialects viz: Mbwanz, Bebend, Shikunda and Besep and it 

is spoken by about 110 000 people (Crystal 2010:476). 

The present paper attempts an in-depth examination of TAM in Makaa verbal 

constructions with the aim of elucidating curiosities I came across since 2004, year I started 

working on the subject language. 

Literature available on Makaa confined in Heath, T<strong>here</strong>sa (2003), Heath, Daniel 

(1991), Heath and Heath (1996, 1998, 2000); Hewson (2010) reveals that Makaa distinguishes 

five tenses, namely, distant past (P2) /á /; recent past (P1) /ámə̀/; present (Po) /ø/; near future 

F1) /é/ and distant future (F2) /bá/. However, following an intuition from Ibirahim (2007) 

and (2009), and relying on additional data, I suggest that instead of five tenses, Makaa counts 

seven tenses. Three past and three future tenses nicely symmetrical in addition to a present 

tense. Heath’s anterior aspect mə́ is included in my list of tenses as P1. Her P1 and P2 

becoming my (P2) and (P3) respectively. I propose an additional remote future (F3) /é bá/. 

Secondly, I further Teresa Heath’s (2003) and Daniel Heath’s (1991) analyses on 

Aspect and mood in Makaa. Relying on the analysis of some intriguing verbal constructions, I 

show that Makaa distinguishes at least seven aspects. Thus, In addition to the three-way 

aspectual distinction in Makaa as proposed by Heath and Heath, perfective (zero marked ø-), 

progressive (ŋgə̀), and habitual or iterative (d ̀); I propose the persistive ná, the anterior mú, 

the inceptive wál/zə̀, the completive ʃîn. Moreso, I show that Makaa makes use of three 

varieties of reduplication viz: partial reduplication, total reduplication and triplication to 

denote certain aspects namely: progressive and repetitive. 

WS2 

A study of mood in Makaa reveals that the progressive aspect and the habitual marker 

derive rather from the verbs d ́lə́ (to be used to) and ŋgə̀lə́ (to be in the process of) which 

context of occurrence is restricted nowadays to imperative constructions or infinitival clauses.

Temporal domains, temporal dimensionality, and narrative management in Yeyi and Nalu 

WS2 

Frank Seidel, University of Florida, frank.zidle@gmail.com 

Bantu languages, and many other African languages, are characterized by the use of a specialized marker to 

indicate narrative sequence. Grammarians employ variant terminology that ranges from narrative, consecutive, to 

sequential tense to describe these verb tenses. Carlson (1992) noticed the frequent correlation of this type of 

narrative morphology with simultaneous adoption for ‘subjunctive’, ‘injunctive’, ‘optative’ etc. functions. Several 

attempts at explaining this have been put forward from Carlson’s “reduction in finiteness” through Robert’s (1992, 

2010) subsumation under the concept of ‘aoriste’ or ‘null tense’ to Cover’s (2010) argumentation for a modal 

interpretation of narrative markers in Badiaranke. 

What is often not noticed is the flipside of this behavior in languages that employ this type of morphology. As an 

exception to this, Cover (2010:106ff) noticed that in Badiaranke, an Atlantic language of West Africa, morphology 

indicating perfective type semantics cannot be used in consecutive taxis. Similar phenomena were noticed in 

Yeyi (Bantu) and Nalu (Atlantic). In fact, relating events that are obviously in sequence with this type of 

morphology was perceived as inco<strong>here</strong>nt. While both languages exhibit temporal encoding that seems to be 

much easier to deal with using Botne and Kershner’s (2008) cognitive model rather than employing more 

traditional ways of looking at linguistic time, the fact that predicates marked by past (perfective) type morphology 

cannot be employed to indicate a sequence of events seems to escape ready explanation using this model. 

In the case of both Nalu and Yeyi it seems that the verb tenses are adopted in a ‘create and then elaborate’ 

pattern (cf. Dinsmore 1992). A past temporal domain is first created and then ‘filled in’ with events. In other 

words, t<strong>here</strong> is strong evidence that in Yeyi as well as Nalu a sequence of events is not construed as a set of 

clearly bounded sequential events but rather as a clearly bounded and ‘dimensionalized’ past temporal domain 

which contains events whose boundedness is left for the context to be determined. 

The temporal dimensionality contained in perfective semantics as discussed by Waugh and Monville Burston 

(1986) can deliver a variety of textual functions indicating foregrounded, (rarely) backgrounded, and sequential 

events. In the case of Nalu and Yeyi it precludes consecutivity in most situations and is used in complementary 

distribution with narrative tenses to create narrative ‘macro events’ similar but not congruent to what Wolfsohn 

(1982) calls events. It is in this way that they provide narrative structure. 

Some aspectual notions have been incorporated into Botne and Kershner’s model using the concept of tenor 

relationships, but little is said about the structure of the temporal spaces (or domains) created in the past. This 

paper is an attempt at incorporating Waugh and Monville Burston’s concept of temporal dimensionality into Botne 

and Kershner’s model using examples from Yeyi and Nalu. The aim <strong>here</strong> is to make this model more adaptable 

for the use of analyzing both temporal referential functions as well as textual functions of tense-aspect 

morphology. 

References: 

Botne, Robert & Tiffany L. Kershner. 2008. Tense and cognitive systems: on the organization of tense/aspect 

systems in Bantu languages and beyond. Cognitive Linguistics 19.145–218. 

Cover, Rebecca T. 2010. Aspect, Modality, and Tense in Badiaranke. (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of 

California, Berkeley). 

Dinsmore, John. 1991. Partitioned Representations. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Press. 

Robert, Stéphane. 1995. Aoristique et mode subordinatif: liens entre aspect et prédication. In: J. Bouscaren, J.-J. 

Franckel & S. Robert (eds), Langues et langage. Problèmes et raisonnement en linguistique (Mélanges offerts à 

Antoine Culioli). Linguistique Nouvelle. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France :373-389. 

Robert, Stéphane. 2010. Clause chaining and conjugations in Wolof. In: I. Bril (ed.), Clause hierarchy and Clause 

linking: the Syntax and pragmatics interface, (Studies in Language Companion Series 121). Amsterdam, New 

York: Benjamins:469–498. 

Waugh, Linda and Monique Monville Burston 1986. Aspect and discourse function: The French simple past in 

Newspaper Usage. Language, 62: 846-877. 

Wolfson, Nessa. 1982. The Conversational Historical Present in American English Narrative, (Topics in 

Sociolinguistics 1). Dordrecht: Reidel?Cinnamson, N.J.: Foris.

Persistence and Remoteness in the Bantu tense 

Silvester Ron Simango 

Rhodes University, South Africa 

Abstract 

Bantu languages are well known for the robustness of their tense systems, with some 

languages endowed with up to ten or more tenses – each tense presumably 

representing a specific area on the timeline. This paper explores the manner in 

which Bantu tenses encode degrees of remoteness and seeks to show that certain 

properties associated with Bantu tenses do not directly relate to degrees of 

remoteness. Consider, as a starting point the expression of a past situation in 

Babanki. In this language t<strong>here</strong> are no less than four ways of expressing the sense 

conveyed by the sentence in (1). 

(1) Maureen closed the door 

(a) mòrín ə̀ yì chíʔ ə̀-chʉ̀ ə̀ ø-ŋgə̀ŋ 

(b) mòrín ə̀ yî chíʔ ə̀-chʉ̀ ə̀ ø-ŋgə̀ŋ 

(c) mòrín ə̀ tə̀ chíʔ ə̀-chʉ̀ ə̀ ø-ŋgə̀ŋ 

(d) mòrín ə̀ tə̂ chíʔ ə̀-chʉ̀ ə̀ ø-ŋgə̀ŋ 

Gloss: Maureen SM PST close c3-mouth AM c9-house 

The choice between the four forms depends on (i) how far removed the event is 

situated from utterance time and (ii) whether at utterance time the door is (or is 

assumed to be) closed or is (or assumed to be) open. If the event occurred on the 

day of utterance then either (a) or (b) would be used. However, if the event 

occurred the day before utterance time then either (c) or (d) would be used. Now, if 

at utterance time, the door is (or is assumed to be) closed then either (a) or (c) 

would be used. However, if at utterance time the door is (or is assumed to be) open 

then either (b) or (d) would be used. Thus what look like four different tense forms 

only pick out two distinct temporal points, but this is coupled with assertions 

regarding whether or not the effects of the said events persist at the time of 

utterance. These differences in meaning have sometimes been mistaken to all 

represent different degrees of remoteness in the tense systems of Bantu languages. 

This paper seeks to demonstrate that the patterns observed <strong>here</strong> are widespread in 

Bantu: in addition to Babanki, data is drawn from Lubukusu, Limbum, ciNsenga, 

Chichewa, and isiXhosa. The paper also argues that t<strong>here</strong> is cross-linguistic 

variation within Bantu with respect to (i) the precision with which temporal 

boundaries are marked by means of tense and (ii) the degree of flexibility in the use 

of the various tenses. 

WS2

Impact of Late Holocene Palaeoclimatic Changes on the Bantu Expansion: 

A Multidisciplinary View 

Bernard Clist (Ghent University) 

Koen Bostoen (Ghent University) 

Charles Doumenge (CIRAD – Université de Montpellier 2) 

Jean-Marie Hombert (DDL-Université Lyon 2) 

Rebecca Grollemund (University of Reading) 

Joseph Koni Muluwa (Ghent University) 

Jean Maley (IRD – Université de Montpellier 2) 

Central-African vegetation history is characterized by important changes of forest cover and composition. Global climatic 

changes throughout the Pleistocene and the Holocene had a major impact on flora distribution in the tropics. During cold and 

dry periods, such as the Pleistocene glaciations, savanna vegetation types were predominant in the Central-African 

landscape (Colyn et al. 1991; Maley 1996). Climate-induced vegetation dynamics also had an important effect on prehistoric 

human settlement, migration and subsistence. Central-Africa is a key region for one of the major demographic events in 

African prehistory (Pakendorf et al. 2011), i.e. the so-called ‘Bantu Expansion’, which started not earlier than ca. 4000-5000 

BP from a homeland in the Nigerian-Cameroonian borderland (Blench 2006: 134, 136; Nurse and Philippson 2003: 164; 

Vansina 1995: 52). 

This rapid expansion of Bantu speech communities over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa has fascinated generations of 

scholars from a wide variety of disciplines. Linguists, archaeologists, palynologists, molecular anthropologists and many 

more have debated on the driving forces behind the Bantu Expansion. Two interconnected factors that have received 

relatively little attention in this debate – certainly compared to agriculture and iron production – are climate change and 

vegetation dynamics. 

WS3 

As argued by Schwartz (1992, 2003), Maley (2001) and Oslisly (2001), the opening of the rain forest in the course of the first 

millennium BC may have given a boost to the migration of Bantu-speaking farming, pottery-making and iron-producing 

populations into regions that had been more difficult to access until then. The situation is probably more complex than 

previously thought: it is only after a first expansion of villages without much influence from ongoing palaeoclimatic changes 

that the climate-induced emergence of more open landscapes, i.e. forest-savanna mosaics, may have facilitated the spread 

of iron smelting through Central Africa (e.g. Clist 2006). 

In this paper, we focus on the question whether these Late Holocene palaeoclimatic changes in western Central-Africa 

indeed had an impact on the Bantu Expansion, and we wish to do this from a multidisciplinary perspective. We wish to 

confront the results of earlier historical linguistic study on Bantu names for pioneer tree species (Bostoen et al. forthcoming ), 

with evidence provided by archaeology, palynology and phytogeography. 

References 

Blench, R. 2006. Archaeology, Language and the African Past. Lanham: Altamira Press. 

Bostoen, K., R. Grollemund and J. Koni Muluwa. forthcoming. Climate-induced Vegetation Dynamics and the Bantu 

Expansion: Evidence from Bantu Names for Pioneer Trees (Elaeis guineensis, Canarium schweinfurthii and Musanga 

cecropioides). submitted to CR Geoscience: 

Clist, B. 2006. Mais où se sont taillées nos pierres en Afrique Centrale entre 7.000 et 2.000 bp? In H.-P. Wotzka (ed), 

Grundlegungen. Beiträge zur europäischen und afrikanischen Archäologie für Manfred K.H. Eggert, 291-301. Tübingen : 

Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH and Co. KG. 

Colyn, M., A. Gautier-Hion and W. Verheyen. 1991. A re-appraisal of the palaeoenvironmental history in Central Africa: 

evidence for a major fluvial refuge in the Zaire Basin. Journal of Biogeography 18: 

Maley, J. 1996. The African rain forest – main characteristics of changes in vegetation and climate from the Upper 

Cretaceous to the Quaternary. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences 104: 31- 

73. 

Maley, J. 2001. The impact of arid phases on the African rain forest through geological history. In W. Weber, L.J.T. White, A. 

Vedder & L. Naughton-Treves (eds.), African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation. An Interdisciplinary Perspective, 

68-87. New Haven: Yale University Press. 

Nurse, D. and G. Philippson. 2003. Towards a historical classification of the Bantu languages. In D. Nurse & G. Philippson 

(eds.), The Bantu Languages, 164-181. London; New York: Routledge. 

Oslisly, R. 2001. The history of the human settlement in the middle Ogoué Valley Gabon. Implications for the environment. In 

W. Weber, L.J.T. White, A. Vedder & L. Naughton-Treves (eds.), African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation. An 

Interdisciplinary Perspective, 101-118. New Haven: Yale University Press.

WS3 

Pakendorf, B., K. Bostoen and C. de Filippo. 2011. Molecular Perspectives on the Bantu Expansion: A Synthesis. Language 

Dynamics and Change 1: 50-88. 

Schwartz, D. 1992. Assèchement climatique vers 3000 B.P. et expansion Bantu en Afrique centrale atlantique: quelques 

réflexion. Bulletin de la Societé Géologique de France 163: 353-361. 

Schwartz, D. 2003, Changements climatiques holocènes en Afrique centrale. In A.Froment & J. Guffroy (eds), Peuplements 

anciens et actuels de des forêts tropicales (= Actes du séminaire-atelier Orléans 15-16 octobre 1998): 157-168. Paris : 

IRD Editions, Collection Colloques et Séminaires.. 

Vansina, J. 1995. New Linguistic Evidence and the Bantu Expansion. Journal of African History 36: 173-195.

An abstract for WS3: New Interdisciplinary perspectives on Bantu Expansion 

Cultural phylogeography of the Bantu Expansion 

Thomas E. Currie 

Human Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Anthropology, UCL, UK 

t.currie@ucl.ac.uk 

WS3 

T<strong>here</strong> is disagreement about the routes taken by early populations speaking Bantu languages as they 

expanded to cover much of sub-Saharan Africa. Here I use lexical data and Bayesian phylogenetic 

methods to build trees showing the historical relationships between Bantu languages. We then explicitly 

map these trees onto geographical space in order to assess the most likely pathway of expansion and 

test between dispersal scenarios. The results clearly support a scenario in which groups first moved 

south through the rainforest from a homeland somew<strong>here</strong> near the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Emerging 

the other side one branch moved south and west. Another branch moved towards the Great Lakes, 

eventually giving rise to the monophyletic clade of East Bantu languages that inhabit East and South- 

Eastern Africa. These analyses highlight the benefits that computational methods can have in making 

assumptions about classification schemes explicit, and providing quantitative assessments of competing 

ideas. I will discuss the role that these spatially-explicit phylogenies can play in testing further specific 

hypotheses about Bantu prehistory, as well as the general ecological processes involved in the 

diversification of human populations in to distinct ethnolinguistic groups.

New Bayesian Bantu phylogeny 

Rebecca Grollemund 1 (r.b.grollemund@reading.ac.uk), Simon Branford 1 (s.j.branford@reading.ac.uk), 

Andrew Meade 1 (a.meade@reading.ac.uk), Mark Pagel 1 (m.pagel@reading.ac.uk) 

1 Evolutionary Biology Group, University of Reading 

During the past few years, several classifications of Bantu languages have been established involving 

different methods and leading in part to different results. The study conducted by Bastin, Coupez and 

Mann (1999), based on lexicostatistics and the study of 500 languages has divided the Bantu area 

into four groups: Bantu Mbam‐Bubi, North‐Western Bantu, Bantu Central‐Western and Bantu East‐ 

Southern. More recently, new sophisticated statistical methods adapted from the biological field 

have been used in linguistics to produce phylogenetic trees. Holden (2002), Holden and Gray (2006) 

and Rexová, Bastin, and Frynta (2006) have proposed classifications of Bantu languages based on 

phylogenetic methods (i.e. distance based methods, parsimony and Bayesian methods). However, 

these three classifications are all based on Bastin, Coupez and Mann’s (1999) data: use of the same 

languages and the same cognacy judgment (based on the principle of resemblance). 

The main objective of this study is to propose a new classification of Bantu languages. This work is 

based on the study of 200 words belonging to the basic vocabulary documented in 400 Bantu 

languages covering the entire Bantu‐speaking area (zones A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R and 

S). In order to establish our classification, we have identified for each word the cognate sets (the 

cognacy judgment was made by applying the comparative method). In order to infer our tree, we 

have used advanced computational phylogenetic methods. We applied to our data a likelihood 

model of lexical evolution (that allows different rates of evolution for the words studied) and 

Bayesian inference of phylogeny (using Markov chain Monte Carlo ‐MCMC) with a relaxed clock 

dating methods, which provides us with a topology and date estimates for all nodes. 

The new classification will be analysed and discuss during our presentation. In addition, the results 

will be interpreted in relation with the Bantu migration (proposal of new migration paths). 

References 

WS3 

Bastin, Y., Coupez, A. & Mann, M. 1999. Continuity and divergence in the Bantu languages: 

perspectives from a lexicostatistic study, Tervuren, Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale (MRAC), 

Annales, Série in‐8°, Sciences humaines 162, 225 pp. 

Grollemund, R. 2012. Nouvelles approches en classification: Application aux langues bantu du 

Nord‐Ouest. Thèse en Sciences du Langage, Université Lumière Lyon 2, 550 pp. 

Holden, C. J. 2002. Bantu language trees reflect the spread of farming across sub‐Saharan 

Africa: a maximum‐parsimony analysis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: 

Biological Sciences, 269:1493, pp. 793‐799. 

Holden, C. J. & Gray, R. D. 2006. Rapid radiation, borrowing and dialect continua in the Bantu 

languages. In: Forster, P. & Renfrew, C. (eds.) Phylogenetic Methods and the Prehistory of Languages. 

Cambridge: MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, pp. 19‐31 

Huelsenbeck, J. P., Ronquist, F., Nielsen, R. & Bollback, J. P. 2001. Bayesian inference of 

phylogeny and its impact on evolutionary biology. Science 294, pp. 2310‐2314. 

Rexová, K., Frynta, D. & Zrzavý, J. 2005. Cladistic analysis of languages: Indo‐European 

classification based on lexicostatistical data. Cladistics, 19:2, 120‐127 pp. 

Pagel, M., Atkinson, Q. D. & Meade, A. 2007. Frequency of word‐use predicts rates of lexical 

evolution throughout Indo‐European history. Nature, 449:7163, pp. 717‐720.

For WS 3 

Folk taxonomic categories and noun class allocation 

Karsten Legère 

Institut für Afrikawissenschaften, Universität Wien 

karsten.legere@univie.ac.at 

WS3 

The presentation discusses the categories applied in establishing folk taxonomic hierarchies in the 

plant kingdom and the latter’s morpho-syntactic reflection in selected Bantu languages from various 

zones. Own research data illustrates the situation in Guthrie’s G zone (e.g. Dowe, Swahili, Vidunda) 

as well as in zones K and R (Ndonga/Kwanyama, Kwangali, Lozi). Reference is also made to authors 

who contributed ethnobotanic information about categories traced in zone A, B and E. Some relevant 

aspects are sketched below: 

From a contemporary perspective the lexical equivalent of the unique beginner ‘PLANT’ being the 

most inclusive unit in the plant kingdom exists in some Bantu languages, but it is rarely understood in 

this capacity. Together with other lexical items (e.g. tree, bush/shrub, grass) the term ‘plant’ (i.e. often 

meaning something which is planted) is mainly found at the life form level that is in some sample 

languages further specified in habitat related sub-life forms (w<strong>here</strong> a monomial life form term is 

modified by e.g. an adnominal construction). The noun class allocation of a variety of life form terms 

is demonstrated with TREE being frequently identified in class 3/4. However, judging from languages 

like Kwangali and Vidunda, this singular/plural pairing has been replaced by alternate versions. This is 

also the case at the generics level which portrays, on the one hand, a noun class allocation similar to 

the life form term, as well as, on the other hand, much variation. In the case of TREE generics 

Kwangali includes class 7/8 (which has obviously become an alternative of class 3/10), 14/6, and even 

1a/2a. The modifications of the noun class allocation at the life form and generics levels or the lack of 

the unique beginner category are important issues that need to be further studied in zones other than 

those covered in the presentation, as well as from a Proto-Bantu perspective.

Remarques sur l’introduction du ‘lexique spécialisé’ dans quelques langues 

chasseurs-cueilleurs du domaine bantu 

WS3 

L‟objectif de cette étude est d‟examiner l‟introduction du „lexique spécialisé‟, dans les 

langues chasseurs-cueilleurs qui se situent dans la zone bantu (Afrique centrale). D‟après 

Bahuchet (2012), aucune famille linguistique „pygmée‟ n‟est attestée (“No Pygmy linguistic 

family exists”), dans ce sens que les langues de ces derniers sont toujours reliées à d‟autres 

langues, qui elles-mêmes sont parlées par des populations d‟agriculteurs. Deux familles de 

langues sont concernées : la famille Niger-Congo et la famille Nilo-Saharienne. Ce scénario 

linguistique semble être très différent de celui des chasseurs d‟Afrique orientale ou d‟Afrique 

australe. Ainsi, des études récentes ont mis en évidence que des langues comme le hadza, le 

sandawe, le kwadi ou le hoan constituent des isolats linguistiques (cf. Sands & Güldemann 

2008 ; Sands 2009). 

La présente étude repose sur l‟examen du „lexique spécialisé‟ de six groupes de chasseurscueilleurs 

qui, pour la plupart, parlent des langues bantu : Koya, Bongo, Baka, Aka, Gyeli (ou 

Kola), Twa. Elle s‟appuie sur les lexiques suivants : mammifères, oiseaux, reptiles, poissons, 

insectes, arbres, plantes comestibles, saisons et éléments, parenté. Les données ont été 

recueillies dans le cadre du projet CLHASS. 

L‟étude a mis en évidence la grande hétérogénéité du „lexique spécialisé‟ dans les langues 

chasseurs-cueilleurs d‟Afrique centrale. Elle montre aussi que la plupart des chasseurscueilleurs 

ont dû emprunter ces lexiques spécialisés à leurs voisins Bantu, y compris les 

termes de la flore et de la faune. Cependant, il n‟est pas exclu que certaines langues bantu ont 

pu de leur côté emprunter du lexique à certains chasseurs-cueilleurs, qui eux-mêmes parlaient 

peut-être des langues très différentes. Par ailleurs, elle confirme le lien entre les chasseurscueilleurs 

Aka (Bantu) et Baka (Oubanguiens). 

L‟hétérogénéité de la nomenclature suggère néanmoins que tous ces groupes de chasseurscueilleurs 

pourraient davantage se caractériser par leur diversité plutôt que par leur unité. 

Nos données linguistiques sont donc en concordance avec les données récentes obtenues aussi 

bien en anthropologie (Bahuchet 2012) qu‟en génétique des populations (Verdu & Destro- 

Bisol 2012). Elles permettent de mieux cerner l‟histoire du peuplement bantu.

WS3 

Oral or Poster in WorkShop 3: 

Genomes of western and eastern Pygmies reveal early admixture with 

expanding Bantus 

Etienne Patin 1 , Katie Siddle 1 , Hélène Quach 1 , Christine Harmant 1 , Guillaume Laval 1 , Noémie Becker 2 , 

Simon Gravel 3 , Béatrice Régnault 4 , Laure Lemée 4 , Jean-Marie Hombert 5 , Lolke Van der Veen 5 , Alain 

Froment 2 , Luis Barreiro 6 , Nathaniel J. Dominy 7 , George Perry 8 , Paul Verdu 2 , Evelyne Heyer 2 , Lluís 

Quintana-Murci 1 

1 Human Evolutionary Genetics, CNRS URA3012, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; 2 Ecoanthropology and 

Ethnobiology, CNRS/MNHN/Université P7 UMR 5145, Paris, France; 3 Department of Genetics, Stanford 

University, Stanford, USA; 4 Genotyping Platform, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; 5 Département de Dynamique 

du Langage, CNRS UMR 5596, Université Lumière-Lyon 2, Lyon, France; 6 Université de Montréal, Centre de 

recherche CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada; 7 Anthropology department, Dartmouth college, Hanover, 

USA; 8 Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA 

Hunter-gathering Pygmies and food-producing Bantu villagers have coexisted along the central 

African belt for hundreds of years. Their present-day complex relationships result from long-term 

socio-cultural and economic exchanges. The degree at which these interactions impacted the history of 

admixture of each population group remains nevertheless largely unknown. To shed new light on these 

neglected aspects of the early African history, we genotyped one million markers in the entire genome 

of a large sample of 327 individuals from eight Pygmy and non-Pygmy Bantu populations of both 

western and eastern Africa. Population structure analyses revealed a clear isolation between Pygmies 

and farmers, western and eastern Pygmies, and more surprisingly, between groups of eastern Pygmies. 

Despite strong isolation between hunter-gat<strong>here</strong>rs and farmers stemming from cultural taboos, our 

results clearly showed that genetic admixture has continuously occurred between the two 

communities. We estimated that historical gene flow started as early as 4,000 years ago, concomitant 

with the first Bantu expansions. Interestingly, the Pygmy populations who were first reached by 

expanding Bantu-speakers show today higher stature, and stronger social integration and levels of 

admixture with neighboring farmers, with respect to other Pygmy groups. Our study provides the first 

genetic evidence that farmers’ expansions in Africa did not lead to the endangerment of autochthonous 

hunter-gat<strong>here</strong>rs, but rather to the establishment of early genetic exchanges accompanying complex 

socio-cultural interactions.

The origin and genetic affiliation of P30 languages 

Gérard Philippson, INALCO, Paris _ gerard.philippson@ish-lyon.cnrs.fr 

Rozenn Guérois, DDL, Université Lyon 2 _ rozennguerois@hotmail.com 

Starting from the early 80's certain considerations (mainly phonological) led various 

researchers to posit some sort of relationship between Makhuwa and the S30 languages of 

Southern Africa (Moehlig 1981; Louw & Finlayson 1991, etc.). The most forceful proposal 

was put forward by T. Janson (1991-92), who examines in detail the phonological 

correspondences between the two sets of languages (particularly the exceptional 

development *mb, *nd, *ŋg > p, t, k) and concludes to their genetic relationship 1 . 

Strangely enough, Janson does not refer to Lobedu, although some data had been 

published by Tucker (1932). This language is particularly interesting since it shares with 

S30 languages the denasalization process, but not the devoicing (*mb, *nd, *ŋg > b, ɖ, g; 

see also Kotzé & Zerbian (2008) on the phonological system of Lobedu). 

Recent research conducted by one of us (R. Guérois) on the hitherto very poorly 

known Cwabo language of Mozambique has yielded a considerable amount of phonological 

data on the language and thus shown that beside sharing with Lobedu the denasalizationminus-devoicing 

evolution, it exhibits divergent reflexes of proto-Bantu items to a degree 

rarely encountered in other Bantu languages, apart from trade languages such as Lingala. 

We will thus endeavour to set out the tabular correspondences of Cwabo with the 

other Bantu languages of the wider region (Guthrie's zones N, P and S) and then to propose 

a hypothesis about the possible presence of a "Sotho-Makhuwa" group in Southern Central 

Africa, its interactions with neighbouring groups and its ultimate expansion to the various 

locations w<strong>here</strong> it is found today. The specific relationship of Cwabo with its neighbouring 

languages will be examined in terms of what is known of its history since the Portuguese 

conquest. 

References 

Janson, T. 1991/1992. Southern Bantu and Makua. SUGIA, 12/13: 63-106 

Kotzé, A.E. & S. Zerbian. 2008. On the trigger of palatalization in the Sotho languages. 

Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 29(1): 1-28 

Louw, J. A. & R. Finlayson. 1990. Southern Bantu origins as represented by Xhosa and 

Tswana. South African Journal of African Languages, 10, 4: 401-410 

Moehlig, W.J.G. 1981. Stratification in the history of the Bantu languages. SUGIA, 3: 251- 

316 

Tucker, A.N. 1932. Some little known dialects of SePedi, MSOS, 35 

1 

One could add the combination of the -ni locative suffix with a locative prefix (cl. 16, 17 or 18), which is 

unique to Makhuwa and S30 to the best of our knowledge. Cf. also Makxoa 'Westerners' in S30 languages. 

WS3 

1

Modelling Bantu dispersals: using spatial simulations to interpret a new radiocarbon database of 

early agricultural settlement in sub‐Saharan Africa. 

Thembi Russell 1 , Fabio Silva 2 and James Steele 1,2 

1 School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 

2050, South Africa 

2 Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31‐34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK. 

We report a new compilation of radiocarbon dates from sites associated with the expansion of 

farming societies in sub‐Saharan Africa. We use spatial statistics and simulation modelling to 

reconstruct routes and rates of spread. We derive a set of modelled population phylogenies for 

alternative dispersal scenarios, which can be compared to cultural and linguistic phylogenies 

reconstructed from other data sources. We illustrate the potential of this approach by comparing 

our modelled dispersal histories (estimated from radiocarbon dates) to published Bantu language 

phylogenies. 

WS3

Tracking the Bantu migrations in time and place 

Søren Wichmann (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, wichmann@eva.mpg.de) 

Rebecca Grollemund (Evolutionary Biology Group, University of Reading, r.b.grollemund@reading.ac.uk) 

In recent work by scholars associated with the Automated Similarity Judgment Program (ASJP), methods have been 

developed which allow for calculating dates for proto-languages with a margin of error of some ±29% (Holman et 

al. 2011), as well as for generating hypotheses about homelands of proto-languages (Wichmann et al. 2010). The 

input for these methods are measures of lexical similarity which are calculated from 40-item word lists through a 

version of the Levenshtein distance 

We are presently processing lexical data which will provide us with word lists of from 661of the 691 Bantoid 

languages listed in Ethnologue, to be analyzed for the presentation. Presently we have results based on 361 

languages. 

These preliminary data indicate a 5040 BP data for Bantoid and a 3693 BP date for Narrow Bantu. The speakers 

of the latter and their descendants appear to remain more-or-less in situ in the Nigeria-Cameroon border area for 

around a millennium after the break-up of Narrow Bantu, but then, during 2600-2000 BP, Bantu languages move 

rapidly and largely reach their current extent. Homelands during the period 3000-2000 BP are depicted on Fig. 1. 

Fig. 1. Homelands of proto-languages within Bantoid during 3000-2600 BP (black), 2600-2500 BP (gray), 2500- 

2250 BP (silver), 2250-2000 BP (white). 

WS3 

According to our results, the initial migrations out of the homeland happen during 2600-2500 BP. This nicely fits 

current hypotheses about the triggering effect of climatic changes around 2500 BP (Maley 2001, Bostoen et al. 

2012) 

Our current results also indicate an initial west-to-east migration, followed by successions of migration waves 

from west to south. In our presentation we will add more detail to these general results and discuss them in the light 

of extra-linguistic evidence for the timing of language spreads within the Bantu group. 

References 

Bostoen, K, Grollemund, R., Muluwa, J. (to appear). Climate-induced vegetation dynamics and the Bantu 

expansion: evidence from Bantu names for pioneer trees (Elaeis guineensis, Canarium schweinfurthii and Musanga 

cecropioides). CR Geoscience. 

Holman, E. W., Brown, C. H., Wichmann, S., Müller, A., Velupillai, V., Hammarström, H., Sauppe, S., Jung, H., 

Bakker, D. & Brown, P. 2011. Automated dating of the world’s language families based on lexical similarity. 

Current anthropology 52: 841-875. 

Maley, J. 2001. La destruction catastrophique des forêts d’Afrique centrale survenue il y a environ 2500 ans exerce 

encore une influence majeure sur la répartition actuelle des formations végétales. Systematics and Geography of 

Plants 71: 777-796. 

Wichmann, S., Muller, A. & Velupillai, V. 2010. Homelands of the world's language families: a quantitative 

approach. Diachronica, 27:2, pp. 247-276.

Tumaré Abiikwabé 1 

Exchange of Wisdom and Language between the Ikoma and the Datooga 

Lotta Aunio 

Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki 

lotta.aunio@helsinki.fi 

WS4 

Ikoma is a Lacustrine Bantu language (JE45) spoken in the Mara Region (Western Tanzania) by 

approximately 19,000 speakers. 2 Datooga is a Southern Nilotic language, spoken in Central Tanzania 

but also in the Mara Region close to w<strong>here</strong> Ikoma is spoken. 

The Ikoma and the Datooga have been in contact probably for a long time, practising exchange, 

intermarrying, and possibly even uniting in defending their region against other groups. In one of the 

Ikoma stories, the Maasai kill the son of the Datooga medicine man. The Datooga go to the Ikoma 

for help, and a Ikoma hero helps them to get a revenge, and, according to the story, to “finish the 

Maasai”. 

Ikoma shows several features that are not found in the other Bantu languages of the area, and thus an 

outside source is possible. For example, Ikoma has a complicated vowel harmony system 3 in which, 

for example, stem ATR features induce height harmony in noun class prefixes and verbal prefixes. 

On the other hand, +ATR feature is spread from +ATR suffixes to the verb stems. It is suggested 

already by Nurse & Rottland (1991: 175) 4 that the vowel harmony systems of E40 languages have 

been induced by a Southern Nilotic language, but this is not discussed in Higgins (2011). 

Ikoma nominal tone system has been discovered to be more pervasive than in the other Bantu 

languages of the area. This specifically applies to nouns that have three or more stem syllables: 

These longer nouns have, in addition to the expected tone classes (i.e. toneless or a H on one of the 

stem syllables), a tone class in which all the stem syllables are realized as H (called the “all H” 

pattern). Many of the nouns showing the “all H” pattern seem to be loan words from Datooga. Also, 

t<strong>here</strong> are more trisyllabic and longer nouns in Ikoma than in Bantu languages in general. 

In this paper I will discuss the contacts between the Ikoma and the Datooga and present possible 

influence of Datooga language on Ikoma prosodic systems. When borrowing words from Datooga 

have the Ikoma imitated the tonal patterns of Datooga words to such an extent that a new tonal class 

has been established in Ikoma? And could Datooga influence explain some of the peculiar features of 

Ikoma vowel harmony? 

1 ‘Let us finish the Maasai!’ 

2 Muzale, Henry R.T. and Josephat M. Rugemalira 2008. Researching and Documenting the Languages of Tanzania. 

Language Documentation & Conservation 2(1):68–108. 

3 Described in: Higgins, Holly Ann. 2011. Ikoma Vowel Harmony: Phonetics and phonology. MA thesis, Trinity 

Western University. 

4 Nurse, Derek & Franz Rottland 1991. Sonjo: Description, Classification, History. Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 

12/13: 171–289.

WS4 

Lexical and grammatical tone interactions in Cuwabo (P34) 

Rozenn Guérois, DDL, Université Lyon 2 _ rozennguerois@hotmail.com 

Gérard Philippson, INALCO, Paris _ gerard.philippson@ish-lyon.cnrs.fr 

It is a well-known fact that Guthrie’s “Zone P” languages generally lack contrastive lexical tone on 

verb radicals. Instead, grammatical tone is assigned on the basis of tense/aspect/mood to privileged 

positions in the stem (Kisseberth & Odden, 2003). For instance in the Enahara dialect of Makhuwa 

(Van der Wal, 2009), the following positions are targeted: M(acro)S(tem) 1 1 , MS 2, Penult, Final 

and none. These sites for grammatical tone docking are generally present even in Eastern Bantu 

languages with lexical verbal tone contrast - apart from MS1 which would otherwise interfere with 

lexical tone assignment 2 (cf. Kisseberth & Odden, 2003). 

The Cuwabo language (P34 in Guthrie’s classification), is to the best of our knowledge the only 

language in zones P and N 3 to have retained a lexical contrast on verb stems, as seen already in the 

infinitive olíma < CB *-dɩ̀m- ‘cultivate’ / órumá < CB *-dúm- ‘send’, w<strong>here</strong>as Makhuwa has the 

same pattern for both: olíma / orúma. 

However, alongside lexical tones, the Cuwabo verb stem also exhibits the same processes of 

grammatical tone assignment - including MS1 - as mentioned for Makhuwa. The interaction 

between these different tones gives rise to sometimes quite opaque situations. In case t<strong>here</strong> is no 

grammatical tone on the stem, the lexical tone of the H-toned radical emerges, but on the Penult: 

ɖáń#zugunuwéla ‘I was turning for (sb.)’ / ɖáń#roromeliha ‘I was promising (sb.)’. Whenever the 

grammatical tone docks on MS2, lexical tone contrasts are always neutralized 4 : kaɖi#zugúnúwelile 

‘I haven't turned for’ / kaɖi#rorómélihile ‘I haven't promised’. When stems with a L-toned radical 

appear with a H on MS1, however, the situation with H-toned radicals is much more opaque. If an 

OM is present, the lexical H clearly shifts to the penult, as seen above, but the syllable immediately 

preceding the OM is always H (doubling on the OM itself); compare L kaɖini#múlíbelela ‘I don't 

swear to him/her’ and H kaɖiní#múgabuléla ‘I don't rape him/her’. But if no OM is present, a Htone 

plateau extends from the H pre-stem to the penult: kaɖiní#gábúléla ‘I don't rape’. 

Now the genetic position of Cuwabo is by no means clear: its phonology, morphology and 

lexicon are partly Makhuwa-like and partly N40-N30-like (a case in point is 1sg. subject prefix ɖi- 

as seen above, with Makhuwa-like denasalization - but without devoicing -, applied to the 1sg. 

subject prefix *ndi- found in e.g. Makonde, Shona or the N40 languages, vs. Makhuwa ki- < *ŋgi.). 

We will argue that a clue to the complex nature of Cuwabo tone is found in its “mixed language” 

status, and we will try to clarify its real genetic relationship to Makhuwa. 

References 

HYMAN, L.M. & A. MTENJE. 1999. Non-etymological High tones in the Chichewa verb. Malawian 

Journal of Linguistics 1, p.121-156. 

KISSEBERTH Ch. & D. ODDEN. 2003. Tone. In Nurse & Philippson (eds.) The Bantu Languages, 

London: Routledge, p. 59-70. 

MEEUSSEN, A.E. 1959. Essai de grammaire rundi. Tervuren: MRAC. 

ODDEN, D. 2003. Rufiji-Ruvuma (N10, P10-20). In Nurse & Philippson (eds.) The Bantu 

Languages, London: Routledge, p.529-544. 

NURSE, D. 1988. The diachronic background to the language communities of Southwestern 

Tanzania. SUGIA, 9 : 15-115. 

VAN DER WAL, J. 2009. Word order and information structure in Makhuwa-Enahara. Ph.D. 

Thesis. Leiden University, LOT, Utrecht. 

1 The macro-stem is the verb stem + the OM if t<strong>here</strong> is one. 

2 Rundi (Meeussen 1959) exceptionally has a grammatical H assigned to MS1 in a few forms, almost all of which have 

the future marker -zóo (in case the marker is toneless -zoo-, no H appears). 

3 Guthrie’s N10 has been shown by Nurse (1988) to belong with P10 (“Rufiji-Ruvuma”, cf. Odden 2003) apart from 

N15 Tonga which belongs with N20. N20 and N40 languages are toneless, N30 languages have a lexical H/L contrast in 

verb radicals, which however exhibit no relationship to Common Bantu tones (Hyman & Mtenje, 1999). 

4 Note that tone doubling applies in Cuwabo, albeit with certain restrictions, detailed in our talk.

The influence of language contact on Bantu prosodic systems 

Laura J. Downing (Göteborg) & Maarten Mous (Leiden) 

Bantu languages have been in contact with non-Bantu (and Bantu) neighbors 

for centuries, and contact has clearly influenced aspects of the grammar of many 

Bantu languages. Theories of language contact assume a distinction between 

influence from a non-dominant source language in borrowing against influence from a 

dominant source language in situations of language shift. But this dichotomy does not 

make clear predictions for prosodic systems. Lexical borrowing with lexical tone can 

easily influence the complexity of the lexical prosodic system. For example, Salmons 

(1992: 56) has proposed that when tonal languages (like most Bantu languages are) 

come into contact with non-tonal languages, tone usually yields to stress, passing 

through a pitch-accent stage. This is the scenario proposed for Swahili, which is now 

a stress language, and was in intense contact with Omani Arabic, a stress language, at 

a formative stage.On the other hand, intonation is often mentioned as something we 

cannot switch off when speaking another language than our mother tongue. 

We investigate a number of contact situations and their outcomes in terms of 

tone/pitch accent, among them Chimwiini. We show that its accent system has been 

influenced by contact with Somali, and we critique the hypothesis (Philippson 1993) 

that its pitch-accent system is a stage on a path to the development of a stress accent 

system like the one found in Swahili. We conclude with a number of research 

questions and a research agenda in this underresearched domain. 

WS4

Martine Adda-Decker 1 , Martial Embanga Aborobongui 1, Annie Rialland 1 , & 

Lori Lamel 2 

annie.rialland@univ-paris3.fr, martine.adda-decker@univ-paris3.fr, 

aborobongui@yahoo.fr , lamel@limsi.fr 

1 Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie (CNRS/Sorbonne-Nouvelle, 2 LIMSI 

Embosi: automatic alignment with segments and words & phonological mining 

This contribution describes ongoing research on Mbochi, a Bantu C language spoken 

by more than 100000 native speakers in Congo-Brazzaville. 

A first oral corpus has been collected as read speech corresponding to 3 folktales. It 

has been transcribed by one of the co-authors, with tones and even floating 

consonants (in parenthesis). This corpus will be extended to radio broadcasts. In 

order to align the corpus automatically into words and phonemic segments, a speech 

automatic system developped for French (Gauvain & al. 2005) has been adapted to 

the Embosi phonetic and phonological characteristics. The acoustic models have 

been borrowed from French. A prononciation dictionary has been created from the 

words transcribed in the corpora and variants have been included in order to 

account for phonological processes, particularly elision at word junctions. Thus a 

word such as o yénga «to search for» has the following variants : o yenga, (o) yénga 

and oyéng(a) in the pronunciation dictionary. 

We performed an automatic study of the 584 vowel elision processes of the corpora. 

Vowel elisions are very frequent in Embosi, occurring almost whenever two vowels 

get into contact at word junctions. The accuracy of the automatic detections of the 

elision and of the word alignments was checked manually on the third of the corpus 

and reached a percentage of 92%. This type of automatic alignement improved the 

analysis of elisions, as it enabled a rapid tracking down of exceptions and helped 

defining rule application contexts on a large scale. 

The duration of the resulting vowel after an elision was measured also 

automatically. We expected to find a longer duration when a floating consonant 

separated the two vowels at the word junction (ex : (b)a-kondzi + (b)á-sɛr-I 

“Cl2.chiefs+Cl2.Past-say-Recent”-> akondzaásɛri “the chiefs said”, with a long a). 

The results confirmed only partly this hypothesis as a lengthening due to the elision 

of a vowel in a V (C) V context was found but was smaller than expected (mean: 

20ms). 

Thus, this communication presents an attempt at providing a segment and word 

automatic alignment to a Bantu language, based on the adaptation of a system 

designed for French and shows how it can be used for phonetic and phonological 

mining, selecting elisions as a case study. Meanwhile, this automatic alignment 

system provides an embryo of a speech recognition system in Embosi. 

GS

Morpho-phonology and metrical structure in Nata 

Andrei Anghelescu 

University of British Columbia 

andrei.anghelescu@alumni.ubc.ca 

This talk has two goals; first, I will provide an initial description of nominal tone in Nata, a Lacustrine 

Bantu language spoken in Tanzania. Second, I will relate morpho-prosodic categories below 

the word level to metrical units. Bantu languages have been argued to provide evidence for sublexical 

prosodic domains such as the prosodic stem and the prosodic root, which are constituents of the prosodic 

word (Inkelas, 1989). Likewise, metrical structure has been argued to play an important role in tonal 

phenomenon (Downing, 1990). Recent work on the phonology-syntax interface has argued that a default 

mapping of syntactic constituents to prosodic constituents is mediated by prosodic constraints (Selkirk, 

2011). I will argue that t<strong>here</strong> is a one-to-one mapping of morphological to phonological domains and 

that this mapping is subject to metrical constraints. I will focus on tone patterns in the nominal and verbal 

domains, demonstrating first that they are both sensitive to the same type of morpho-phonological 

boundaries and then that metrical structure interacts with tone mapping in the nominal domain. 

Take as illustration the example below. In the singular (1a, d) and plural (1b, e), high tone is realized 

on the root initial syllable. In the diminutive singular (1c, f), we can observe that high tone is no longer 

aligned with the left edge of the noun root, but instead falls on the third syllable of the word. 

(1) Nouns in the singular, plural and diminutive 1 

a. o-mo-téreBi ‘ladle’ 

PPF-C3-ladle 

b. e-me-téreBi ‘ladles’ 

PPF-C4-ladle 

c. /0-rii-teréBi ‘small ladle’ 

PPF-C5-ladle 

d. e-Ge-sóontSo ‘plate’ 

PPF-C7-plate 

e. e-Be-sóontSo ‘plates’ 

PPF-C8-plate 

f. /0-rii-soontSó ‘small plate’ 

PPF-C5-plate 

In most noun classes, the third syllable is identical to the left edge of the noun root; however, in noun 

classes without a preprefix (such as class 5), the third syllable does not coincide with any morphological 

boundary. I argue that the third syllable has no special status, but rather that in the default case it 

corresponds to the left edge of the root; additionally, a metrical constraint prevents high tone from being 

root initial when t<strong>here</strong> are less than two syllables preceding the root. 

The key theoretical implication is that the mapping of morphological to phonological domains is 

the same as the mapping between syntactic and phonological domains; importantly, both mappings are 

subject to prosodic constraints. 

References 

Downing, L. J. (1990). Local and metrical tone shift in Nguni. Studies in African Linguistics, 21(3):261– 

317. 

Inkelas, S. (1989). Prosodic Constituency in the Lexicon. PhD thesis, Stanford. 

Selkirk, E. (2011). The syntax-phonology interface. In Goldsmith, J., Riggle, J., and Yu, A. C. L., 

editors, The Handbook of Phonological Theory, chapter 14, pages 435–484. Blackwell Publishing, 

second edition. 

1 Examples are provided in IPA transcription. C# refers to the noun class, PPF the preprefix (sometimes known as augment). 

Class 5 contributes a diminutive interpretation to some nouns. 

1 

GS

Prosodic Phrasing in Copperbelt Bemba 

Lee Bickmore, University at Albany, l.bickmore@albany.edu 

Nancy C. Kula, University of Essex, nckula@essex.ac.uk 

This paper investigates the structure of prosodic phrases in Copperbelt Bemba with the goal of 

defining the mechanisms that determine these phrases (in particular, the phonological phase) and 

comparing them to those motivated in closely related languages. A number of syntactic 

configurations are investigated including verbal complementation and nominal modification. A 

number of phonological rules have been found to be sensitive to phrase boundaries in Copperbelt 

Bemba: (i) Unbounded High Spreading (ii) Inter-word H Spreading and (iii) Inter-word H Fusion. 

Of these, Unbounded Spreading, is the one which most clearly diagnoses phonological phrase 

boundaries. Specifically, the rightmost H in a word will undergo unbounded spreading if that word 

is phonological phrase-final, but will undergo bounded spreading if another word follows in the 

same p-phrase. 

Under this diagnostic, within the verbal domain a verb and its complement in V+Adv and 

V+Obj configurations phrase together in the same phonological phrase. However in cases w<strong>here</strong> an 

object marker is present on the verb in V+Object, the object begins a new phonological phrase. And 

if the NP after the verb is not an object, but rather a post-posed subject, then they are also members 

of distinct p-phrases. For multiple complementation in V+Obj+Adv and V+Obj+Obj structures, the 

verb and following object are part of one p-phrase, but the following word begins a new one. In a 

Subj+Verb configuration the two words are part of different p-phrases. 

In the nominal domain the nominal head plus the first following modifier phrase together 

and this pattern holds not only for adjectives, but also for associative phrases. However, in the case 

of a sequence of more that one modifier it is only the modifier immediately following the noun that 

phrases together with the noun. The phrasing of adjectives differs between those with and without 

the augment, with the former, which can also be regarded as reduced relatives, generally not 

phrasing with the nominal head. In cases w<strong>here</strong> more than one adjective is present, the first 

‘regular’ non-augmented adjective phrases with the noun while following adjectives, with the 

augment, must phrase independently. In conjunctive phrases, t<strong>here</strong> is a phonological phrase break 

between the first NP and the conjunction, while the conjunction phrases with the following NP. 

In terms of defining these phrases with respect to the syntax, we will show that, as has been 

claimed for a variety of other Bantu languages, phonological phrase boundaries (within both verbal 

and nominal constructions) are generally found at the right edges of maximal projections. 

While Copperbelt Bemba is quite similar to other related languages, such as Cilungu 

(Bickmore 1997), in how p-phrases are formed, it has several interesting properties which are not 

shared. First, the phrasal spreading properties of a H on a final or penultimate syllable are distinct 

from those on a pre-penultimate syllable. We will show that this is due to the fact that t<strong>here</strong> are 

word-level tonal rules which apply first (Kula & Bickmore forthcoming), which feed the phraselevel 

ones. Second, the other two phrase level processes mentioned above, Inter-Word Spreading 

and Inter-Word Fusion, are shown to operate between words of distinct p-phrases, w<strong>here</strong>as in, e.g. 

Cilungu, they would not. Finally, we show that the spreading properties of a H depend not only on 

its overall prosodic context, but also partially on its morphological status, e.g. whether it is an 

augment H versus a Root H. 

References: 

Bickmore, Lee. 2007. Cilungu Phonology. Stanford: Center for the Study of Language and 

Communication. 

Kula, Nancy & Lee Bickmore. Forthcoming. Ternary Spreading and the OCP in Copperbelt Bemba. 

Studies in African Linguistics. 

GS

Tense in Gyeli 

Nadine Borchardt, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin 

nadineborchardt@gmail.com 

Bantu languages typically have rich tense systems (Dahl 1985, Nurse 2008). For instance, the vast 

majority of Bantu languages make multiple time divisions in the past tense (Nurse 2008). A second 

common characteristic is that Bantu languages mark tense via inflectional morphology, often with 

corresponding tone changes especially in northwestern Bantu languages. This talk investigates 

Gyeli, an exception to both these characteristics. Gyeli is a Bantu A80 language spoken by 

“Pygmy” hunter-gat<strong>here</strong>rs in southern Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea whose tense system is 

remarkable for its minimality in terms of tense distinctions made and morphological material. The 

Gyeli system contrasts both with closely related/neighboring farmer languages, which have fuller 

tense systems, and with other known languages which have reduced tense systems, in that they are 

vehicular languages (Nurse 2008: 22). 

Language Situation: Gyeli is an endangered and under-described language that is currently being 

documented. Data used in this paper stem mainly from my own fieldwork since previously 

published literature on Gyeli (Renaud 1976) is very limited and does not consider the verbal system 

at all. The hunting and gathering Gyeli speakers are in close contact with various groups of Bantu 

farmers. Due to increasing sedentarization and adoption to a farming lifestyle, the Bagyeli are 

currently shifting to their neighboring farmer languages. 

Reduced Tense Distinctions: While the other (farmer) languages of the area usually display three 

distinctions for past tense and two for future, Gyeli only possesses three tenses altogether: present, 

past and future without any further distinctions as to temporal proximity (e.g. recent vs. far past). 

Also, the tense systems of neighboring languages (see Hyman (2003) for Basaa and Alexandre 

(1955) for Bulu) and of closely related languages (see Ngue Um (2002) for Mvoumbo, Heath 

(1991) for Makaa, and Beavon (1991) for Koozime) mark tense by inflectional morphemes while 

Gyeli expresses tense distinctions only tonally as illustrated in (1) through (3). 

(1) mɛ́ djìì (2) mɛ̀ djìí (3) mɛ́ɛ́ djíì 

1S.PRES open.PRES 1S.PST open.PST 1S.FUT open.FUT 

'I open' 'I opened' 'I will open' 

Expression of Tense: Gyeli verb roots are either mono- or bisyllabic and are preceded by subject 

pronouns. The marking of tense affects the tonal pattern of both the subject pronoun and the verb 

root. In my analysis within the autosegmental and metrical approach, I show that in the present 

tense a floating H tone attaches leftwards to the underlyingly L subject pronoun if the verb stem has 

an initial L tone as in (1). If the stem initial tone is H, the floating H attaches rightwards and does 

not surface. In the past tense, the last L mora of the verb stem receives a H tone as in (2). If the last 

mora of a bisyllabic verb stem is already H, the H spreads leftwards. Finally, in the future tense, 

another mora is added to the subject pronoun as shown in (3). This second mora receives its vowel 

and tone specifications from the first mora. At the same time, the verb stem usually takes a HL for 

monosyllabic and a H L tonal pattern for bisyllabic verb roots. 

Broader Outlook: While Nurse explains other reduced tense systems on the grounds that they are 

vehicular languages, this is not the case for Gyeli. Instead, I address the question whether 'Pygmy' 

languages are systematically different from farmer languages. The findings about the Gyeli tense 

system provide evidence in favor of this often informally made assumption and add important 

information to the scarce literature on this issue. 

References: Alexandre, P. 1955. Manuel élémentaire de langue bulu. CHEAM. Beavon, K. 1991. 

Koozime verbal structure. In Tense and Aspect in Eight Languages of Cameroon, SIL. Dahl, Ö. 1985. Tense 

and Aspect Systems. Blackwell. Heath, D. 1991. Tense and Aspect in Makaa. In Tense and Aspect in Eight 

Languages of Cameroon, SIL. Hyman, L. 2003. Basaa (A43). The Bantu languages, Routledge. Ngue Um, 

E. 2002. Morphologie verbale du mvoumbo, Université de Yaoundé I. Ngue Um, E. 2011. Sketch grammar 

GS

of Bakola. Unpublished Ms. Nurse, D. 2008. Tense and Aspect in Bantu, OUP. Renaud, P. 1976. Le Bajeli. 

Phonologie, morphologie nominale, ALCAM. 

GS

Power Talk: from royal Kongo words to royal Kongo origins 

Koen Bostoen 1 , Birgit Ricquier 2 , Gilles-Maurice de Schryver 1 

1KongoKing Research Group, Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University 

2KongoKing Research Group, Service of Linguistics, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren 

The history of the Kongo Kingdom is exceptionally well known from 1500 onwards, thanks to its early 

involvement in the Trans-Atlantic trade and its early introduction to literacy. At the same time, very little 

is known about the origins and early history of the Kingdom. Gaining new insights on the growth of the 

Kongo Kingdom through an interdisciplinary approach combing archaeology and historical linguistics 

is the central aim of the interuniversity KongoKing research group (UGent, ULB, RMCA; 

http://kongoking.org). Central in the historical linguistic research is the study of cultural vocabulary as 

a source for early Kongo history. In this paper we focus on Kongo words revolving around royal titles 

and insignia as attested in the historical sources from the 16th to the 20th century. Preliminary research 

on the blacksmith term and royal Kongo title ngangula has been especially rewarding in this respect. It 

not only testifies to the old Central-African symbolic association between leadership and iron working, 

the so-called ‘smith’s myth’ (de Maret 1985), but also allows to reopen the debate on the origins of the 

Kongo Kingdom. This debate was more or less closed when Vansina (1963) argued in a short account 

on Kongo origins that its founders had their origin north of the Congo river in the current-day Mayombe 

region, and not east of the Inkisi river, as a number of scholars, such as Ravenstein (1901) and van 

Wing (1959), had argued before. Diachronic phonological evidence points out that the royal Kongo title 

ngangula can only have its origin in Kongo languages spoken east of the Inkisi river, giving new 

credibility to the earlier hypothesis that Kongo kingship originated in a region known as Kongo dia 

Nlaza between the Inkisi and Kwango rivers (Thornton 2001). 

However, ever since Trier (1934) introduced the Saussurian principles of contrast and inclusion 

into semantics, it has been accepted that individual words only acquire meaning through contrast with 

other words belonging to the same semantic field. As a consequence, it is necessary to look at sets of 

semantically related words to understand lexical meaning, not simply at words in isolation (Lehrer 

1985). That is why we study the linguistic evidence with respect to the royal title ngangula in relation to 

other ‘royal Kongo vocabulary’ as found in the rich body of historical evidence on the Kongo Kingdom 

since the 16th century. 

References 

De Maret, P. 1985. The smith's myth and the origin of leadership in Central Africa. In R. Haaland & P. 

L. Shinnie (eds.), African iron working, ancient and traditional. Oslo; New York: Norwegian 

University Press; OUP. 

GS

Lehrer, A. 1985. The Influence of Semantic Fields on Semantic Change. In J. Fisiak (ed.), Historical 

Semantics, Historical Word formation, vol. 29 (Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs), 

283-96. Berlin-New York: Mouton Publishers. 

Ravenstein, E. G. (ed.) 1901. The strange adventures of Andrew Battell, of Leigh, in Angola and the 

adjoining regions. Reprinted from "Purchas his pilgrimes". London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society. 

Thornton, J. K. 2001. The origins and early history of the kingdom of Kongo, c.1350-1550. 

<strong>International</strong> Journal of African Historical Studies 34, 89-120. 

Trier, J. 1934. Das sprachliche Feld. In L. E. Schmidt (ed.), Zur Geschichte und Theorie des 

sprachlichen Feldes, 428-49. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftlichte Buchgesellschaft. 

Van Wing, J. 1959. Études Bakongo : sociologie, religion et magie. Brugge: Desclée De Brouwer. 

Vansina, J. 1963. Notes sur l'origine du royaume de Kongo. Journal of African History 4, 33-8. 

GS

Resultative, remoteness, and innovation in some Bantu T/A systems 

Robert Botne, Indiana University (botner@indiana.edu) 

Bantu language T/A systems often present challenging analytical conundrums, as is the case, for 

example, with languages in zones F and S, whose systems are representative of the kinds of contrasts 

found across the Bantu landscape. First, as can be observed in Table 1, several F and S languages 

resemble one another more than they do their geographical neighbors. Hence, for example, Sibhende and 

Ikalanga exhibit comparable Resultative, Hodiernal, and Remote past forms that differ from those for the 

languages in (b) and (c), just as Kimbugwe and Isizulu resemble each other more than their neighbors. 

Second, the dialects and languages in (b) exhibit a puzzling reversal of forms and temporal ranges (in 

bold outlined box), such that the Kondoa dialect of Kilangi resembles Kinyaturu more than it does the 

more closely related Mondo dialect. Yet, in Xironga and Isizulu, we find only one of the forms, but not 

the same one, in the two languages. Third, in the Kondoa dialect and Kinyaturu we find a non-continuous 

"split" of the -IRE forms, reflected as well in Ikalanga RSLT and REM, counter Comrie's (1985) 

proposal that a possible universal of tense systems is that "time reference of each tense is a continuity". 

Table 1. Tense/aspect forms in some zone F and S languages 

P4 - REM2 P3 - REM P2 - pre-HOD P1 - HOD RSLT 

a. F12 Sibhende -a-ká-B-a -a-B-a -Ø-B-ílé 

S16 Ikalanga -á-ká-B-a -á-B-a -Ø-B-ile 

-á-ka-B-a 

b. F33 Kilangi: Bolisa -a-B-áa -á-B-iré -a-B-ire 

Mondo -a-B-áa -a-B-á -á-B-iré -a-B-ire 

Kondoa -a-B-á -a-B-ire -a-B-á -a-B-ire 

F32 Kinyaturu -a-B-ié -á-B-aa -á-B-a -Ø-B-ie 

F34 Kimbugwe -áa-B-á -áa-B-íye -Ø-B-iyé 

c. S54 Xironga -a-B-ile -Ø-B-ile 

S42 Isizulu -áa-B-a -Ø-B-il2.e -Ø-B-il1.e 

Working within the dissociative domain temporal model proposed in Botne and Kershner (2008) and 

Botne (2010, 2012), I provide an explanation for why this striking variation occurs. In particular, the 

paper addresses several specific issues: (1) how a remote construction, such as that in Ikalanga (a), can 

become a resultative (a semantic path not mentioned by Bybee et al. 1994), contrasting this with the 

remote/resultative split in Kinyaturu (b), and why they are not counterexamples to Comrie's proposal; (2) 

why the similar REM -IRE forms in Kondoa and Kinyaturu are conceptually distinct; (3) why the 

identical REM2 forms in the Bolisa and Mondo dialects are conceptually distinct; and (4) why the HOD, 

pre-HOD, and REM forms in Kinyaturu and Kimbugwe are reversed. The analysis presumes an original 

contrast between a resultative -Ø-B-ILE construction and a perfect -A-B-A construction. Innovation that 

has led to the peculiar differences pointed out above finds an explanation and motivation in differences in 

time scales, time regions, and time scope. Thus, for example, Kondoa only superficially distinguishes 

four tenses, a consequence of a simple linear analysis. Rather, the -ire forms denote a Current Time 

Region, the -á forms a Distal Time Region, the remoteness distinction deriving from an implicit 

difference in time scales of use, days vs. years. 

Botne, R. 2010. “Perfective and perfects and pasts, oh my! On the semantics of -ile in Bantu.” Africana Linguistica 

16: 31-64. 

Botne, R. 2012. “Remoteness distinctions.” In The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect, R. Binnick (ed.), 

Oxford:OUP. Pp. 536-562. 

Botne, R. and T. Kershner. 2008. “Tense and cognitive space: On the organization of tense/aspect systems in Bantu 

languages and beyond.” Cognitive Linguistics 19,2: 145-218. 

Comrie, B. 1985. Tense. Cambridge: CUP. 

Bybee, J., R. Perkins, and W. Pagliuca. 1994. The Evolution of Grammar. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. 

GS

Negation and cartography in Tiriki 

Vicki Carstens University of Missouri carstensv@missouri.edu 

In Tiriki, negation is most often expressed in a morpheme mba or tawe at the 

right edge of the clause (see Marlo 2012, henceforth MM). Like right‐edge 

adverbs, mba/tawe permit some scopal ambiguities. This can be seen in the two 

interpretations available for mono‐clausal example (1), and bi‐clausal (2). 

(1) Múúndú y‐áá‐ny‐áánza mba/tawe 

1person3sgSA‐ASP‐1sgOA‐like NEG 

‘Somebody doesn’t like me’ OR 

‘Nobody likes me’ MM: (815) 

(2) A‐mányi Músásá a‐kúlí málwa mba/tawe 

3sgSA‐know 3sgSA buy‐PST 6beer NEG 

‘She knows that Musasa didn’t buy beer’ OR 

‘She doesn’t know that Musasa bought beer’ MM:(799) 

Disambiguation is possible through the use of an optional preverbal negator sh‐. 

(3) Sh‐a‐mányí Músásá a‐kúl‐í málwá mba. 

Neg‐3sgSA‐know 3sgSA‐buy‐PST 6beer NEG 

‘She doesn’t know that John bought beer’ (unamibiguous) MM:(799) 

An emphatic particle khú can appear post‐verbally in either positive or negative 

clauses. Curiously, a negative reading for khú seems available whether mba/tawe 

functions to negate the clause containing khú or a clause embedded under it. 

(4) a. M‐bool‐í khú a‐ts‐ííré b. M‐bool‐í khú a‐ts‐ííré mba 

1sgSA‐say‐PST KHU 3sgSA‐go‐PST 1sgSA‐said KHU 3sgSA‐go‐PST NEG 

‘I really did say he went’ ‘I never said he didn’t go’ MM: (797) 

The goal of this paper is to map Tiriki’s negative morphemes into clausal 

architecture. I will argue for the following conclusions: 

Mba/tawe are adverbs right‐adjoined at heights corresponding to their scopes. 

Shu‐ heads a functional category in the spine of the clause, but must be licensed 

by a c‐commanding mba/tawe (thus hierarchy and left‐right order do not have a 

universal mapping, contra Kayne 1994 and Cinque 1999). 

Khú has negative force whether it c‐commands or is c‐commanded by NEG. 

Unlike parasitic licensing (Den Dikken 2002) and secondary triggering (Horn 

1996) this suggest a bi‐directional feature‐checking Agree relation is at work 

across clause boundaries (Boskovic 2007). 

(5) [[NegP sh‐ [TP [PolarityP khú [vP SU [VP …]]]]] mba/tawe] Merge locations 

Lastly, the paper compares negation in Tiriki with better‐studied Indo‐European 

languages (Haegeman 1995; Zanuttini 1997) and explores some implications. 

References Boskovic, Z. 2007. On the locality of Move and Agree. LI 38:589‐644 den 

Dikken, M. 2006. Direct and parasitic polarity item licensing. JCGL 4:2. Cinque, G. 1999. 

Adverbs and Functional Heads. New York: Oxford. Haegeman, L.The Syntax of Negation. 

Cambridge UP. 1995. Horn, L. 1989. A Natural History of Negation.Kayne, R. 1994. The 

Antisymmetry of Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press. Marlo, M. 2012. Structure and Tone in 

Tiriki. Ms., University of Missouri. Zanuttini, R. 1997. Negation and Clausal Structure. 

Oxford. 

GS

Non-deletion of penultimate vowels and reduplication in Zulu 

Toni Cook, University of Pennsylvania, tonicook@gmail.com 

Penultimate lengthening in Zulu has been well-documented since Doke (1927), and it 

interacts with vowel-deletion in a range of contexts including the infinitival prefix úku-. In 

speech, the underlined vowel in uku- deletes in all cases except when preceding monosyllabic 

stems; if the second syllable of the infinitival prefix occurs in the penultimate position, the /u/ 

is pronounced, otherwise it deletes (underlying tone marked): 

(1) a. úku-fúnda → úk-fú:nda ‘to study’ 

b. úku-sébenza → úk-sébe:nz-a ‘to work’ 

c. úku-fa → úku:-fa ‘to die’ 

* uk-fa 

It is clear that the non-deletion of the uku- vowel in uku-fa is related to it occupying the 

penultimate position in the verb. Penultimate lengthening is assumed to be a late rule in Zulu 

morphophonology (Khumalo 1981), so the same should be true of the related process of 

vowel deletion that is shown in (1a-b). Another point arguing for vowel deletion as a late rule 

is that it creates consonant sequences that are not licit given Zulu phonotactics; Zulu is 

strictly (C)VCV, and does not permit underlying forms to contain any consonant clusters, 

such as the [k-f] or [k-s] that are the result of the deletion rule operating on the infinitival 

prefix. While it seems legitimate to classify deletion of the uku- vowel as a late rule just like 

the related process of penultimate lengthening, data from reduplication argues otherwise. 

New data show that certain morphemes to the left of the stem are permitted to 

reduplicate, one of these being uku- (t<strong>here</strong> is evidence that the uku- consists of 2 morphemes, 

u- and -ku though it is descriptively convenient to refer to it as a single constituent, the 

infinitival prefix). The reduplicant is a disyllabic constituent (CVCV) that is prefixed to the 

verb stem (Doke, Downing (2009)). The RED+base complex is bracketed, a ‘+’ separates the 

constituents: 

(2) a. úku-fúnda → úku-[fúnda+funda] → úk-[fúnda+fu:nda] 

b. úku-fa → ú-[ku-fá+ku-fa] → ú-[ku-fá+ku:-fa] 

* u-[k-fa+ku:-fa] 

In (2b) it is important that the non-deletion of the ku- vowel in the reduplicant (the lefthand 

constituent) cannot be explained through reference to vowel perseveration as a correlate of 

penultimate lengthening. In non-reduplicated forms, the non-deletion of ku- before 

monosyllabic stems can be explained by taking lengthened vowels to be stressed, and 

consequently resistant to deletion. However, the same is not true under reduplication since 

the lefthand ku- does not undergo lengthening. In derivational analyses reduplication is 

classified as an early rule for a variety of reasons, including sensitivity to morphological 

structure. 

Ordering reduplication prior to penultimate lengthening/non-deletion, ku- is copied to 

the reduplicant template before the late rules targeting the penult. This means that if the 

vowel in ku- is only preserved because of penultimate lengthening, its non-deletion in the 

reduplicant is unexpected. Treating reduplication as a copying operation only, the ku- in the 

reduplicant is simply a phonological string lacking any morphosyntactic status, and it is 

unrelated to the infinitival ku- whose vowel can delete in non-reduplicative contexts. 

References 

Doke, C.M. (1927) Textbook of Zulu Grammar. London: Longman. 

Downing, L. (2009) “Linear Disorder in Bantu Reduplication” Workshop on the Division of 

Labor between Morphology & Phonology, 4 th Meeting. Amsterdam: Meertens Instituut. 

GS

Khumalo, J.S.M. (1981) Zulu tonology, part 1. African Studies. 40: 53-130. 

GS

Preverbal focus strategies in Kikongo: a preliminary typology 

Jasper De Kind, Gilles-Maurice de Schryver & Koen Bostoen (KongoKing Research Group, Ghent University) 

As part of recently started PhD research on the expression of IS in Kikongo, dedicated fieldwork was carried out 

on focus strategies in a number of Kikongo varieties of the Lower Congo Province in the DRC (August-September 

2012). In contrast to eastern and southern Bantu languages, w<strong>here</strong> postverbal focusing strategies have been 

abundantly reported, Kikongo tends to focus arguments by moving them into the preverbal domain. Such is the 

case in other closely related western Bantu languages w<strong>here</strong> preverbal focusing strategies have recently been 

described (Bostoen & Mundeke 2012). In this paper, we aim to provide a typology of focus positions in the 

preverbal domain with special attention for micro-variation in IS strategies across the Kikongo dialect continuum. 

Preliminary research points out that both new information and contrastive argument focus happen preverbally. 

However, different kinds of arguments tend to be focused in different linear positions in the clause. Objects are 

focused in IBV position (1). 

(1) Ncyá cìlíílì nkhóngà? Ngùlùngù kàlíílì [Ciwoyo] 

ncya ci-li-ili N-konga N-gulungu ka-li-ili 

What PP7-eat-PFV NP9.hunter NP9.antelope SC1-eat-PFV 

‘What did the hunter eat?’ ‘He ate an antelope’ 

Peripheral arguments are also focused in the preverbal domain, but not necessarily IBV (2-3): 

(2) Bwé lìsòdádì kàlììlíílì ? Nzácì nzácì kalììlíílì [Ciwoyo] 

bwe li-sodadi ka-li-il-ili? Nzaci nzaci ka-li-il-ili. 

how NP5-soldier SC1-eat-APPL-PFV rapidly rapidly SC1-eat-APPL-PFV 

‘How did the soldier eat?’ ‘He ate rapidly.’ 

(3) Kà kyúmà àdììdíídì? Mù lótò àdììdíídì [Kisolongo] 

ka ki-uma a-di-id-idi? mu loto a-di-id-idi. 

with NP7-thing SC1-eat-APPL-PVF NP18 spoon SC1-eat-APPL-PVF 

‘With what did the woman eat?’ ‘She ate with a spoon.’ 

As is illustrated in the examples above, the focalization of peripheral arguments commonly involves 

applicativization, as was observed in other Bantu languages (Creissels 2004; De Kind & Bostoen 2012). 

Argument focus in the preverbal domain corresponds to predicate focus, w<strong>here</strong> by the focalized finite verb is 

preceded by its infinitive (4). 

(4) Sónìkà kákà bàsónìkénì [Kimbeko] 

Ø-sonik-a kaka ba-sonik-idi 

NP15-write-FN only SC2-write-PFV 

‘They only wrote (a rapport).’ 

References: 

Bostoen, K. & L. Mundeke. 2012. Subject marking, object-verb order and focus in Mbuun (Bantu, B87), Southern African 

Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 30:2, 139-154. 

Creissels D. 2004. Non-canonical applicatives and focalization in Tswana. Paper presented at Syntax of the World’s 

Languages, Leipzig. Available at: http://email.eva.mpg.de/~cschmidt/SWL1/handouts/Creissels.pdf [accessed 15 March 2012]. 

De Kind, J. & K. Bostoen. 2012. The Applicative in ciLubà Grammar and Discourse: A Semantic Goal Analysis. Southern 

African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 30:1, 101-124. 

GS

Nasal prefix evolution in Kikongo between the 17 th and 20 th century 

Jasper De Kind, Gilles-Maurice de Schryver & Koen Bostoen (KongoKing Research Group, Ghent University) 

Most present-day Kongo varieties have two sets of nasal prefixes, i.e. syllabic homorganic nasal prefixes of classes 1, 3, and 4 and nonsyllabic 

homorganic nasal prefixes of classes 9/10 and 1SG. The non-syllabic nasals are reflexes of prefixes reconstructed in Proto-Bantu 

with a NV structure: *mʊ̀- (1, 3) and *mɪ̀- (4). Homorganic syllabic prefixes of classes 1 and 3 (not of class 4) also exist in certain Sabaki 

Bantu languages, such as Mwani, but not in Standard Swahili (Nurse & Hinnebusch 1993: 525). The syllabicity of the nasal prefix of classes 

1, 3 and 4 is linked with morpho-phonological behaviour that deviates from that of the non-syllabic nasal prefixes of classes 9/10 and 1SG. 

Although they undergo regressive assimilation to the point of articulation of the following consonant, they do not exert progressive 

assimilation on it as class 9/10 and 1SG prefixes do in several ways: (a) aspiration of the following unvoiced stop, as in (1); (b) fortification of 

the following liquid, as in (2); and (c) triggering of the so-called ‘Kongo Rule’ when the following morpheme starts with a nasal, as in (3). 

(1) nkháfí zí ǹlúngù (Kimbata: KongoKing fieldwork data 2012) 

N-kafi zi N’-lungu 

NP10-paddle PP10 NP3-pirogue 

‘The paddles of the pirogue.’ 

(2) mèndrámbìlà lòsó ùnlámbìlà lòsó (Cilinji: KongoKing fieldwork data 2012) 

Ø‐me-N-lamb-il-a loso u-N’-lamb-il-a loso 

SC1-PVF-OC1SG-cook-APPL-FV NP11.rice SC1-OC1-cook-APPL-FV NP11.rice 

‘She cooked me some rice.’ ‘She cooks him some rice.’ 

(3) mbwèné mpfúmù mpfùmú kìmmwénè kò (Kimbata: KongoKing fieldwork data 2012) 

N-mon-ili N-fumu N-fumu ki-N’-mon-ili ko 

SC1SG-see-PFV NP9-chief NP9-chief NEG.SC1SG-OC1-see- PFV NEG 

‘I’ve seen the chief.’ ‘I haven’t seen the chief.’ (lit.: ‘The chief, I haven’t seen him’) 

This reduction of prefixes with a NV structure to syllabic nasals happens to be a recent development. In the 17 th century Vocabularium 

congense (Van Gheel 1652), the oldest Bantu dictionary (De Kind et al. 2012, Van Wing & Penders 1928), most Kisikongo nouns belonging 

to classes 1 and 3/4 still had direct reflexes of PB *mʊ̀- and *mɪ̀-, such as muquila/miquila in (4), even if some nouns were already noted 

with both the full and reduced prefix, such as mucanda/m’canda in (5). At this stage, the process of nasal reduction had only started. 

Moreover, the syllabic nasal prefix was not homorganic yet. A similar allomorphy is observed in the 18 th century Kikongo variety as spoken in 

Kakongo (Bleyenberg 2012). It is only in late 19 th century Kisikongo that all class 1 and 3/4 nouns have a syllabic nasal prefix, which is fully 

homorganic, as attested in the dictionary of Bentley (1887), cf. example (6). 

(4) cauda. a. cola. muquila. pl. mi&. (‘tail’) 

(5a) epistola. a. carta. mucanda. pl. mi&. (‘letter’) 

(5b) charta. a. papela. erā m'canda. (‘letter, paper’) 

(6) Letter, n., nkanda, 4 (“book”) (Bentley 1887: 128) 

In this paper, we discuss the different steps of this diachronic Kikongo process of prefix reduction, which is historically documented thanks to 

the existence of a unique sequence of language documents between the 17 th and 20 th century and which is part of a wider phenomenon of 

prefix reduction and loss (Bittremieux 1943-44). 

GS

References 

Bentley, W. H. 1887. Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo language as spoken at San Salvador, the Ancient Capital of the Old Kongo 

empire, West Africa. London: Baptist Missionary Society and Trübner & Co. 

Bittremieux, L. 1943-44. De spraakkundige prefixen en het wegvallen van sommige prefixen in het Kikongo. Aequatoria 6-7, 104-11, 1-13, 

81-88. 

Bleyenberg, E. 2012. Sound Change in Kikongo as spoken in 18th century Kakongo. BA thesis dissertation, University of Helsinki. 

De Kind, J., G.-M. De Schryver & K. Bostoen. 2012. Pushing back the origin of Bantu lexicography: the Vocabularium Congense of 1652, 

1928, 2012. Lexikos 22, 159-94. 

Nurse, D. & T. J. Hinnebusch. 1993. Swahili and Sabaki. A Linguistic History (with a Special Addendum by Gérard Philippson). Berkeley: 

University of California Press. 

Van Gheel, J. 1652. Vocabularium Latinum, Hispanicum, e Congense. Ad Usum Missionariorû transmittendorû ad Regni Congo Missiones. 

Ms. Rome: National Central Library, Fundo Minori 1896, MS Varia 274. 

Van Wing, J. & C. Penders. 1928. Le plus ancien dictionnaire bantu. Het oudste Bantu-Woordenboek. Vocabularium P. Georgii Gelensis. 

Louvain: J. Kuyl-Otto. 

GS

Lost, retained or reintroduced:nasals in Shangaci class 9 and 10 nouns 

Koti and Shangaci, Bantu languages spoken in the Nampula province of Mozambique, are the result of 

a contact situation involving a form of Swahili and a form of Makhuwa.One of the striking 

phonological features of Mozambican dialects of Makhuwais the replacement ofprenasalized voiced 

stops by voiceless stops (Kisseberth 2003). As a consequence, initial prenasalized consonants, which 

are abundant in classes 9 and 10 in closely related languages, are absent in Makhuwa. In Standard 

Swahili classes 9 and 10 nouns typically have prenasalization before voiced stops (although loanwords 

tend to complicate the picture). The first question addressed in this paper is what class 9 and 10 nouns 

look like in languages like Koti and Shangaci that result from a contact situation involving (a form of) 

both these languages. 

Koti shows a first possible outcome. It follows the Makhuwa example and loses all prenasalization in 

classes 9 and 10 (Schadeberg&Mucanheia 2000). Shangaci, on the other hand, shows a more 

complicated system. The language did not loseprenasalization word-internally and some words in 

classes 9 and 10 have a word-initial syllabic homorganic nasal. At first sight, t<strong>here</strong> could be a 

straightforward explanation for this pattern. Nouns that arguably have a Swahili origin (as in (1)) 

retained the nasal sound (which became syllabic) w<strong>here</strong>as nouns for which a Makhuwa origin can be 

presumeddo not havea word-initial syllabic nasal. However, Makhuwa cognates with an initial syllabic 

nasal (2) as well as Swahili cognates with an initial syllabic nasal w<strong>here</strong> Swahili does not have it (3) 

are puzzling. 

Swahili Shangaci Koti Makhuwa 

(1) ngalawa `ngaláawa kaláwa (ekaláwa) ‘sailing boat’ 

(2) (ngwena) `ngoónya konya ekonyá ‘crocodile’ 

(3) pete `mpeétthe peétthe (munela) ‘ring’ 

In this paper we discuss possible explanations and try to relate them to plausible contact scenarios. Is 

the variation in Shangaci due to the gradual spread of loss of prenasalization in its lexicon? Was the 

process slowed down because of the peripheral position of Shangaci in the area of the sound change 

and because of intense contact with Swahili. The apparent reintroduction of the nasal in (2) could then 

be a retention but what about (3)? Could the occurrence of nasals w<strong>here</strong> even Swahili lacks them be 

explained in terms of analogy or are they instances of ‘free nasalization’ (Dammann 1971). Another 

possibility is that we are looking at the wrong Swahili. A look at Comorian, which shows 

prenasalization w<strong>here</strong> Standard Swahili lacks is, is revealing in this respect (Rombi 1989). The fact 

that Koti and Makhuwa reacted so differently shows either that their contact situation was crucially 

different or that even very similar contact situations involving more or less the same ingredients may 

have different outcomes. 

Dammann, E. 1971. ZursogenanntenfreienNasalierung in Bantusprachen. In 

AfrikanischeSprachenundKulturen - EinQuerschnitt,Six V et al(eds). hamburg: Deutsche Inst. für 

Afrika-Forschung. 

Kisseberth, C.W. 2003. Makhuwa (P30). In The Bantu Languages, Nurse, D. and G. Philippson (eds). 

546-65. London & New York: Routledge. 

Rombi, M.-F. 1989. La nasalité en ngazija. Revue d’Ethnolinguistique (Cahiers du LACITO), 4: 59-81. 

GS

Schadeberg, T.C. and F.U. Mucanheia. 2000. Ekoti. The Maka or Swahili Language of Angoche. Köln: 

RüdigerKöppeVerlag. 

GS

Reciprocal/antipassive polysemy in Cilubà (Bantu, L31a) 

Sebastian Dom and Koen Bostoen 

Sebastian.Dom@UGent.be 

Koen.Bostoen@UGent.be 

Department of African Languages and Cultures, Ghent University 

The antipassive is a construction in which the object noun phrase of an active transitive verb becomes oblique 

or omitted and the verb is detransitivized through a grammatical operation (Polinsky 2008). It resembles the 

passive in that a core argument of a transitive verb has become implicit or oblique. The antipassive is generally 

associated with ergative languages treating the object of a transitive verb and the subject of an intransitive 

verb alike, in contrast to the subject of a transitive clause (Dixon 1994). Due to its strong association with 

ergative languages, the antipassive has largely gone under the radar of scholarly attention in Bantu languages. 

Such is the case for Cilubà (Bantu, L31a) spoken in the Kasai provinces of the DRC. In this paper, we provide 

evidence for the existence of constructions in Cilubà that can be considered antipassive. As shown in (1a), 

antipassive verbs involve the derivational suffix ‐angan‐. This verbal extension decreases the valence of the 

transitive base verb, ‐lwa, by deleting its patient object, e.g. mulwishì in (1b). 

(1) a Mù‐sàlaayì u‐di ù‐lu‐angan‐a mu ci‐alu cì‐à 

NP1‐soldier PP1‐AUX SM1‐fight‐ANTP‐FV NP18 NP7‐meeting place PP7‐CONN 

m‐vità … 

NP1‐war 

‘The soldier who fights (someone) on the battlefield …’ 

b. Mù‐sàlaayì u‐di ù‐lu‐a mu‐lwishì 

NP1‐soldier PP1‐AUX SM1‐fight‐FV NP1‐enemy 

‘The soldier who fights the enemy.’ 

The antipassive construction in Cilubà is used when the object is unknown or not important, often resulting in a 

general statement, and expresses a habitual aspect (Cooreman 1994). The object is still implicitly present and 

affected. However, the Endpoint of the action is not important but rather the action itself, which is intensified 

by the omission of the object. 

Prototypically the ‐angan‐ suffix is used as a reciprocal extension in Ciluba, as in (2). Like the antipassive, a 

reciprocal verb is intransitive by the derivative function of the suffix. 

(2) M‐bowà nè N‐gandù bà‐vwa ba‐eel‐èsh‐àngàn‐ e m‐patà. 

NP1‐buffalo CONJ NP1‐crocodile SM2‐AUX SM2‐to throw‐CAUS‐RECP‐FV NP4‐discussion 

‘The buffalo and the crocodile were having a discussion.’ (lit. ‘The buffalo and the crocodile were 

throwing a discussion at each other.’) 

In Cilubà, the reciprocal can be formed by various constructions in which the second participant is demoted 

from subject position to a comitative phrase (3a‐b). This demotion of the non‐action initiating and/or less 

salient participant does not necessarily affect subject agreement on the verb. The subject marker may remain 

plural as in (3a), thus signaling semantic agreement, or become singular as in (3b), thus expressing grammatical 

or mechanical agreement with the singular grammatical subject of the sentence. 

(3) a. Kàdi m‐fùmù ka‐bà‐èna mù‐à ku‐lekel‐angan‐a nì 

but NP1+‐chief NEG‐SM2‐AUX PP18‐CONN NP15‐leave‐RECP‐FV CONJ 

mu‐kàjì‐èndà to. 

NP1‐woman‐POSS1 NEG 

‘But the chief and his wife cannot leave each other.’ 

(lit. ‘But the chief they cannot leave each other with his wife.’) 

b. Ø‐shefù u‐a mu‐sòkò ù‐di ù‐mòn‐angan‐a nè 

NP1+‐chief PP1‐CONN NP1‐village SM1‐AUX SM1‐see‐RECP‐FV CONJ 

Ø‐Cyaba. 

NP1+‐Cyaba 

‘The chief of the village and Cyaba saw each other.’ (lit. ‘The chief of the village saw each 

other with Cyaba.’) 

GS

The final stage in this gradual downgrading the second participant is its deletion, thus resulting in an 

antipassive construction. The meaning thus is antipassive derived from the reciprocal meaning through a 

continuum of intermediate constructions with a comitative phrase, which are characterized by a gradual 

decrease in reciprocity, but with maintenance of the idea of plurality of participants. 

References 

COOREMAN, A. 1994. A Functional Typology of Antipassives. In Fox, B. and P.J. Hopper (eds.) Voice: Form and 

Function, 49‐88. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company. 

DIXON, R. M. W. 1994. Ergativity. Cambridge, UP. 

POLINSKY, M. 2008. Antipassive Constructions. In Martin Haspelmath, Matthew S. Dryer, David Gil & Bernard 

Comrie (eds.), The World Atlas of Linguage Structures Online. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library, Chapter 108. 

Available online at http://wals.info/chapter/108. 

GS

Les consonnes implosives dans les langues bantu de l’entre Congo-Ubangi: Résultat 

d’une évolution ou de contact avec les langues oubanguiennes voisines ? 

Jean-Pierre Donzo Bunza 1,2,3 et Koen Bostoen 1,2 

1 Ghent University (Belgium) 

2 Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) 

3 Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de la Gombe (RD Congo) 

Les consonnes implosives « sont produites par une expansion de la cavité bucco-pharyngale 

pendant l’occlusion, ce qui a pour effet de réduire la pression de l’air buccal et ainsi de 

compenser toute augmentation provoquée par le flux d’air traversant la glotte pendant la 

phase de voisement» (Clements, 2004 : 158). Et Clements et Rialland (2008 :57) indiquent 

que l’une des caractéristiques particulières aux langues africaines « especially ɓ and ɗ, are 

frequent in languages of the Sudanic belt, w<strong>here</strong> they are about twelve times commoner than 

elsew<strong>here</strong> in the world. Implosives occur even more frequently, it appears, in Cushitic and 

Omotic languages of the East zone, and are also found in Bantu languages of the South» 

(Clements, et al., 2008). En ce qui concerne spécialement le bantu, Madieson (Maddieson, 

2003 :28) déclare que « languages of the northwest, the eastern coastal area and the southeast 

often have a least one implosive, most frequently a bilabial, but implosives are generally 

absent in the languages of the Congo bassin and southwest ». Cette affirmation nous semble 

excessive du fait que les langues bantu localisées au nord-ouest de la République 

Démocratique du Congo présentent un système phonologique particulier distinct des langues 

bantu du Sud (Grégoire, 2003), notamment par la présence des labiovélaires et implosives. 

Notre étude consiste : 

1. Nous présentons la situation pour chaque langue à partir des données de terrain, le 

répertoire dans une dizaine des langues bantu décrites ou non se trouvant entre Congo- 

Ubangi et indiquer leurs correspondances au Proto-bantu. 

2. Entreprendre l’analyse des correspondances phonologiques de ces que nous regroupons en 

trois catégories : 

- les langues sans consonnes implosives (Mosangé) 

*b > b, ø 

*d > d, ø 

- les langues ayant des implosives /ɓ, ɗ/ fonctionnant comme allophones à leurs 

correspondantes explosives /b, d/ (Bolondó, Ebwela, Monyongo) 

*b > b ̴ ɓ 

*d > d ̴ ɗ 

- les langues dont les implosives ont le statut des phonèmes et disposant des paires minimales 

implosives/explosives (Libóbi, Lingɔmbɛ, Pagaɓete) 

*b > b *ɗ > d 

> ɓ > ɗ 

Exemples : 

Libóbi *bʊd > bo-ɓóli ‘briser’ 

*bʊd > bo-bóli ‘manquer’ 

Lingɔmbɛ Bobo *beede > ma-bɛ́lɛ ‘lait’ 

*beede > li-ɓɛ̂ ‘sein’ 

Pagaɓéte *jib > yib-ɛ́ye ‘voler’ 

GS

*jɩb > yiɓ-ɛ́ye ‘savoir’ 

3. Discuter de la double hypothèse : 

- les implosives sont issues de l’évolution phonologique régulière à partir du proto-bantu, 

peut-être suivant l’hypothèse fortis/lenis) de Stewart (1973) 

- les implosives sont des innovations récentes de ces langues, une création lexicale motivée 

par le symbolisme des sons ; 

- tout comme pour les labiovélaires dans ces langues (Bostoen& Donzo à paraître), le contact 

avec les langues oubanguiennes ayant les implosives et explosives dans leur système 

phonologique est à l’origine de l’évolution des consonnes (Janda, 2006) bantu en implosive et 

activant ainsi un processus de création lexicale à base d’implosives pour les nombreux mots 

n’étant pas d’origine proto-bantu. 

Travaux cités 

Bostoen, Koen et Donzo, Jean-Pierre. Language contact in the Congo-Ubangi confluence 

area and the origin of labial-velar stops in Lingombe (Bantu, C41, DRC). Diachronica 30, 4. 

(à paraître). 

Clements, G. N. 2004. Phonologie. [éd.] Bernd Heine et Derek Nurse. [trad.] Henry 

Tourneux et Jeanne Zerner. Les langues africaines. Paris : Karthala, 6 : 149-192. 

Clements, G.N. et Rialland, Annie. 2008. Africa as a phonological area. [éd.] Bernd Heine 

et Derek Nurse. A Linguistic geography of Africa. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, 

Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Delhi : Cambridge Universty Press. 

Grégoire, Claire. 2003. The Bantu languages of the forest. [éd.] Derek Nurse et Gérard 

Philippson. The Bantu languages. London ; New York : Routledge, 19 : 349-370. 

Janda, Richard D. 2006. "Phonologization" as the start of dephoneticization - or, On sound 

Change and its aftermath: Of extension, generalization, lexicalization, and morphologization. 

[éd.] Brian D. Joseph et Richard D. Janda. The Handbook historical linguistics. 2ème édition. 

Malden ; Oxford ; Carlton : Blackwell Publishing, 9 : 401-422. 

Joseph, Brian D. et Janda, Richard D., [éd.]. 2006. The Handbook of Historical linguistics. 

2ème édition. Malden ; Oxford ; Carlton : Blackwell publishing. 

Maddieson, Ian. 2003. The sounds of the Bantu languages. [éd.] Derek Nurse et Gérard 

Philippson. The Bantu languages. London ; New York : Routledge, 2, : 15-41. 

Stewart, J.M. 1973. The lenis stops of the Potou Lagoon languages and their significance for 

pre-Bantu reconstructions. [éd.] M.E. Kropp Dakubu. Research Review. Legon : Institute of 

African Studies. University of Ghana, 1-49. 

GS

On embedded questions in Tumbuka 

Laura Downing (Göteborg), Marleen van de Vate (CASTL) & Tonjes Veenstra (ZAS) 

laura.downing@sprak.gu.se/m.s.vandevate@gmail.com/veenstra@zas.gwz-berlin.de 

Karttunen (1977: 39) considers ‘indirect alternative and yes/no questions and single and multiple whquestions 

as belonging to the same syntactic category.’ In Tumbuka (Bantu; Malawi), however, two 

different syntactic constructions are used to form indirect questions, a, so-called, kuti-construction (1a) or a 

relative construction (1b): 

(1) a. Mwanakazi wa-ku-zizwa kuti Mary wa-ka-cita vici mayiro. 

1.woman 1SBJ-PRES-wonder that M 1SBJ-PST-do what 6.yesterday 

b. Mwanakazi wa-ku-zizwa ico Mary wa-ka-cita mayiro. 

1.woman 1SBJ-PRES-wonder 7.REL M 1SBJ-PST-do yesterday 

BOTH: ‘The woman wonders what Mary did yesterday.’ 

The kuti-construction essentially embeds a root question; the relative construction is not possible with root 

questions. This gives an apparent mismatch between the syntax and semantics of the relative construction. In 

this paper, we address two research questions raised by these constructions: (i) Is t<strong>here</strong> a difference in 

interpretation between the kuti-construction and the relative construction? (ii) Why can relative 

constructions be interpreted as embedded questions? 

Semantic approaches to embedded questions predict an asymmetry in the interpretation and distribution of 

these two constructions. To answer (i), we investigate two semantic distinctions that could potentially set 

apart the two embedded question strategies of Tumbuka: Extensional vs. Intensional distinction (in the sense 

of Groenendijk & Stokhof 1984), and Concealed Questions (Nathan 2005, Frana 2010). We predict that: (a) 

if the extensional/intensional split plays a role in Tumbuka, we expect that only intensional are able to 

embed the kuti-construction, and (b) if the relative construction corresponds to a concealed question than 

opinion verbs, inquisitive verbs, and verbs of relevance should not be able to embed the relative 

construction. Consequently, we expect to find a difference between the form of embedded questions 

following Tumbuka verbs like kumanya (=‘to know’) vs. kuzizwa (=‘to wonder’): the former should take the 

relative construction, while the latter should take the kuti-construction. These expectations are not borne out, 

however. Both kumanya and kuzizwa can take both relative constructions and kuti-constructions as 

embedded questions, as illustrated in (3-4) and (1a-b), respectively. 

(2) a. kuti-construction 

Musepuka wa-ka-manya kuti aŵo ŵa-ka-mu-pa vi-wangwa m-baani. 

1.boy 1SBJ-PST know that 2.REL 2SBJ-PST 1OBJ-give 8-present COP-2.who 

b. relative construction 

Musepuka wa-ka-ŵa-manya aŵo ŵa-ka-mu-pa vi-wangwa. 

1.boy 1SBJ-PST-2OBJ-know 2.REL 2SBJ-PST-1OBJ-give 8-presents 

BOTH: ‘The boy knew who gave him presents.’ 

To answer the second research question, we argue that it is the semantic selectional criteria of the 

embedding verb that forces a headless relative to be interpreted as an embedded question. Furthermore, we 

will demonstrate that the relative constructions are not headless relatives, but one with a covert pivot. The 

question word interpretation of this pivot is due it being in the scope of the question-embedding predicate, 

t<strong>here</strong>by turning the whole relative construction into an embedded question. 

Cross-linguistically, we show the same strategy occurs in Igbo, the only difference being that in this 

language the pivot is overt (Uwalaka 1991). Also in this case, the embedded constituent is not formally 

marked as a question, and the question semantics comes from the matrix predicate. 

References: Frana, Ilaria. 2010. Copular questions and concealed questions. Proceedings of Sinn und 

Bedeutung 14. Vienna. Groenendijk, Jeroen, & Martin Stokhof. 1984. Studies on the semantics of 

questions and the pragmatics of answers, , University of Amsterdam: PhD. Thesis. Karttunen, Lauri. 1977. 

Syntax and semantics of questions. Linguistics and Philosophy 1, 3-44. Nathan, Lance. 2005. Concealed 

questions: two new proposals. WCCFL 24, 290-298. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings. Uwalaka, 

Sr. M. Angela (1991) Wh-movement in Igbo. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 3, 185-209. 

GS

A comparison of narrative verb forms in Bena, Nyakyusa, Malila and Nyiha 

Helen Eaton, SIL <strong>International</strong>, helen_eaton@sil.org 

Many Bantu languages have one or more narrative verb forms which may be used to describe a 

series of events once a time framework is established. As noted by Nurse (2008: 120), most 

languages have only one narrative marker, but some languages have different narrative strategies 

for different time references. The variety in the formal properties of these narrative verb forms is 

an interesting area of investigation, as is the interaction of narrative verb forms with the 

establishing tenses in discourse. 

The research presented <strong>here</strong> compares the different narrative verb forms exhibited in four 

Bantu languages of south-western Tanzania: Bena (G63), Nyakyusa (M31), Malila (M24) and 

Nyiha (M23). Though geographically close, these languages exhibit striking differences in the 

formal properties of their narrative verb forms. The table below summarises the forms most 

commonly associated with narrating events in the near past and the far past: 

Near past Far past 

Bena -i-…-ág-a -i-…-ág-a 

Nyakyusa -lɨnkʉ-…-a -lɨnkʉ-…-a 

Malila ǎnza -a-…-a -kha-…-a 

Nyiha -ha-…-a -ha-…-a 

What is particularly interesting is how these verb forms compare with other formally 

similar, but functionally different, verb forms in the languages. The Nyakyusa form -lɨnkʉ-…-a, 

for example, can be compared with a progressive construction in Bena which consists of the 

copula –li, the class 18 locative mu and an infinitive verb. Thus the apparently similar underlying 

structure of a-lɨnkʉ-fík-a 3SG-NAR-arrive-FV ‘(and) he arrived’ in Nyakyusa and á-li mu-ku-fík-a 

3SG-be LOC18-15-arrive-FV ‘he is arriving’ in Bena is not reflected in a corresponding functional 

similarity. 

After comparing the formal properties of the narrative verb forms in the four languages, 

the paper discusses functional and distributional criteria, with reference to a corpus of natural 

texts, both oral and written. One clear difference between the languages, as shown in the table 

above, is that Malila has a different narrative verb form for the near past as for the far past. This is 

one of the few differences between the TAM systems of Malila and the neighbouring language 

Nyiha, which are otherwise extremely similar. 

When less frequently occurring narrative strategies are taken into consideration, further 

differences between the four languages emerge. Bena, for example, may choose not to use its 

usual narrative verb form to encode a particular event and instead highlight the event as a 

significant development in the event line by means of the conjunction néke plus the subjunctive 

verb form -ø-…e or -ø-…-ag-e. 

The study shows that Bena, Nyakyusa, Malila and Nyiha differ in interesting ways in 

relation to a number of functional and distributional questions. For example, is the narrative verb 

form only used for one degree of past (e.g. far past) or is it used for other pasts, or other moods 

(e.g. subjunctive) or tenses (e.g. future)? Does the narrative verb form always follow a different 

verb form which establishes the time framework? In longer stretches of discourse, does this 

establishing tense need to be repeated at the start of a new episode? When a narrative verb form is 

not used w<strong>here</strong> it might be expected, is the effect to highlight a significant event, or to express 

particular aspectual properties of an event? These criteria are a helpful start towards creating a 

typology of narrative verb forms in Bantu languages. 

GS

Abstract of proposed paper for Bantu5, Paris, 12 - 15 June, 2013 

Information structure constraints on Swahili word-order: A Dynamic Syntax analysis 

Discourse context 

Ty(e), Fo(Bibi') 

name deleted 

email address deleted 

As in other Bantu languages (e.g. Bearth 2003, Mchombo 2004), word-order within Swahili main 

clauses is structurally unrestricted, all six permutations of S, V and O being possible. The different 

orders are, however, restricted by pragmatic and information-structure constraints, each order being 

associated with particular arrangements of topic and focus. 

In this paper we develop an analysis of the context-dependence of Swahili word-order, based on data 

from question-answer pairs establishing either new information focus or contrastive focus. The 

analysis adopts the perspective of Dynamic Syntax (Cann et al. 2005), a theory which models the 

process of establishing semantic representations (modelled as semantic trees) from words in context 

on a left-to-right basis, and which is well suited to analysing the interaction between word-order, 

context and anaphoric expressions. 

We develop an explicit model of (the relevant partial) context by defining a representation of the 

discourse context as a set of discourse topics consisting of logical expressions of arbitrary type and 

then show how nominal and anaphoric expressions are mapped onto this context set in an 

incremental, left-to-right fashion. As the input string is parsed and new components added to the 

semantic tree, each component is tested to see if it is linked to a discourse topic as seen in the 

snapshot in (1). At the end of the parse, any unlinked node represents a focused component. 

(1) Snapshot of parsing Bibi 'grandmother' at the outset of parsing 

Bibi a-li-pik-a vi-azi 

1.grandmother SM1-PST-cook-FV 8-potato 

'Grandmother cooked potatoes' 

topic 

Ty(e), Fo(Bibi') 

?Ty(t) 

Ty(e), Fo(x), ◇ Ty(e→t), Fo(y) 

We show how from this perspective different generalisations about word-order and information 

structure in Swahili appear: 1) Topics are placed at the left edge of the clause, 2) foci are placed at the 

right edge of the clause, and 3) clauses without discourse topics have presentational focus. We also 

show how prosodic marking of focus interacts with information structure constraints on word-order: 

Focus can be marked exclusively by prosodic prominence but only with SVO word-order, providing 

evidence that this is the unmarked word-order in Swahili. 

We then extend the analysis to further data w<strong>here</strong> information structure at least partially determines 

word-order: 1) the order of objects in double-object constructions, 2) noun-demonstrative order, and 

3) subject inversion in relative clauses. 

The paper provides a detailed demonstration of the formal properties of how word-order in Swahili 

is determined by contextual factors and how these factors can be explained by an explicit 

formalisation of available discourse topics. Through this the paper contributes to the analysis of 

Swahili syntax as well as to our understanding of the interaction between syntax and pragmatics. 

Cann, R., R. Kempson & L. Marten, 2005. The Dynamics of Language: an introduction. Elsevier 

Academic Press, San Diego. 

Bearth, T. 2003. Syntax. In: Nurse, D. and G. Philippson 2003, eds. The Bantu Languages. Routledge, 

London: 121-142. 

Mchombo, S., 2004. The syntax of Chichewa. CUP, Cambridge. 

GS

Les processus vocalique en ɛmbɔ́sí (C25): Dialecte de mbondzi 

Dans le dialecte ɛmbɔ́sí (C25) parlé dans la sous préfecture de Boundji (environs 

25000 locuteurs d’après la SIL-Congo) en République du Congo Brazzaville, les 

voyelles sont soumises à plusieurs processus phonologiques. Ces processus 

concernent à la fois la compatibilité desdites voyelles à apparaitre ensemble 

connue sous le nom d’Harmonie vocalique et les différentes stratégies de 

résolution des suites vocaliques créées par la concaténation morphologiques. 

Cette communication sera structurée en deux parties. La première étudie le 

processus d’harmonie vocalique. Je commencerai par classifier les voyelles de ce 

dialecte en fonction de leurs traits phonologiques. J’indiquerai ensuite les 

combinaisons vocaliques qui ne sont pas attestées dans une racine, avant 

d’aborder la question de l’harmonie proprement dite. Celle-ci cherchera à 

déterminer, en fonction des différentes formes réalisées, le ou les trait(s) 

phonologique(s) qui opère(nt) dans ce processus. Le dialecte de mbondzi étant 

une langue agglutinante, nous montrerons que l’harmonie vocalique entre les 

voyelles de la racine et les voyelles périphériques à la racine est favorisée par les 

traits différents selon qu’il s’agit de l’harmonie entre les voyelles de la racine avec 

celle du préfixe de classe nominale ou entre les voyelles de la racine avec celle du 

suffixe. La deuxième partie concerne l’examen des différentes stratégies de 

résolution de suites vocaliques créées par la concaténation morphologique. Le 

dialecte de mbondzi en compte trois : la formation de glide, l’élision et la 

coalescence vocalique. Nous montrerons comment chaque stratégie qui 

concerne un type de suite vocalique précis émerge à une frontière morphologique 

bien déterminée. Nous mettrons enfin un accent particulier sur un épiphénomène 

très régulier à la frontière de deux phonologiques : l’Allongement Compensatoire 

(AC). Il est en partie favorisé par l’élision de la voyelle finale du premier mot 

phonologique, mais sa motivation parait être « la préservation de la forme ou du 

poids syllabique d’origine » (De Chene & Anderson 1979 :506) à la frontière où il 

émerge. 

GS

Automatic detection of copulatives in Northern Sotho corpora 

Gertrud Faaß, University of Hildesheim, Germany, gertrud.faass@uni-hildesheim.de 

Elsabé Taljard, University of Pretoria, South Africa, elsabe.taljard@up.ac.za 

The copulative in Northern Sotho occurs in many different forms, Prinsloo (2002:22) regards copulatives as 

„probably the most complicated grammatical system to master“. Traditional grammars distinguish between so-called 

identifying, descriptive and associative copulatives, which reflect static and dynamic forms and occur in several 

moods and tenses. Consider the following extract from the 48 categories currently distinguished in Table (1). The 

task of detecting copulatives in a corpus, even in one annotated with parts of speech, cannot be called trivial. 

copulative type mood tense polarity cl/pers/num example 

Stative Identifying Indicative present 

tense 

Stative Identifying Situative present 

tense 

Stative Identifying Situative present 

tense 

Stativ Identifying Situative past 

tense 

positive 3rd pers.sg. (monna) ke (morutiši) 

(man) is-3rd (teacher) 

‘(the man) is (a teacher)’ 

positive 3rd pers.sg. (ge monna) e CSNEUT le VCOP (morutiši N01 ) 

(as man) SUBJ-NEUT is-NEUT (teacher) 

‘(as the man) is (a teacher)’ 

negative 3rd pers.sg. (ge monna) e CSNEUT se VCOP_neg (morutiši) 

(as man) is-NEUT NEG (teacher) 

‘(as the man) is not (a teacher)’ 

positive 3rd pers.sg. e CSNEUT be VCOP e CSNEUT le VCOP (morutiši) 

SUBJ-NEUT is SUBJ-NEUT is (teacher) 

‘(someone) was (a teacher)’ 

Table (1) examples of Norhern Sotho copulatives 

In our project 1 , we pursue the development of electronic dictionaries (first, but not only) for the Sotho and Nguni 

languages of South Africa and we begin with Northern Sotho, as for this language, a ca. 5.5 million words corpus 

with parts of speech annotated exists (the Pretoria Sepedi Corpus (PSC, cf. De Schryver and Prinsloo (2000)) and 

Faaß et al (2009)). 

Linguists usually provide exhaustive descriptions of the Northern Sotho copulatives, e.g. from a linguistic 

perspective (Taljard (1999)), or from the perspective of computational processing (Faaß (2010). Electronic 

knowledge bases intended for the development of such e-dictionaries attempt to capture all possible forms, too, in 

order to provide the required information for different target users. E-dictionaries designed for beginners on the 

other hand should focus on the most common copulatives and their arguments to avoid confusion, t<strong>here</strong>fore, we 

need to know which of the copulatives to select for such user-groups. Here, frequencies of occurrence in corpora 

are taken as a basis for their inclusion. 

However, if we attempt to extract those data from corpora with the goal of detecting their frequencies of 

occurrence, we need to identify the morpho-syntactic patterns that these constellations fulfill and given the extent 

of these linguistic units, the question arises whether it is possible to define linguistic and distributional 2 patterns 

that not only match all the forms appearing in a corpus, but also identify their linguistic category correctly. The 

problem <strong>here</strong> is that linguistic categories such as identifying, descriptive and associative copulatives were mainly 

described on semantic and only partially on morpho-syntactic grounds (Lombard (1985)). 

In the presentation, an overview of existing linguistic descriptions of the Northern Sotho copulative will be given and 

we shall describe a methodology to semi-automatically extract copulatives out of the PSC. So far, we've developed 

queries that successfully identify and extract most of the identifying known copulative constellations (copula and 

their objects) for a further semi-automated processing. Currently, these queries are extended to other known 

constellations. We will present all of the distributional categories detected and the frequencies of occurrences of the 

copulatives found. Lastly, typical (=frequent) arguments that the copula appear with will be outlined. 

Bibliography 

De Schryver and Prinsloo (2000). G-M De Schryver & D.J. Prinsloo. The compilation of electronic corpora, with 

special reference to the African languages. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 18(1-4): 89- 

106. 

1 Scientific e-Lexicography for Africa SeLA, cf. http:/www.uni-hildesheim.de/iwist-cl/projects/sela/index.html 

2 Distribution is meant <strong>here</strong> as the contextual environment in which an item appears. 

GS

GS 

Faaß (2010). G. Faaß. A morphosyntactic description of Northern Sotho as a basis for an automated translation 

from Northern Sotho into English. PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd- 

10092010-134539/ 

Faaß et al. (2009). G. Faaß & U. Heid & E. Taljard & D.J. Prinsloo. Part-of-Speech tagging in Northern Sotho: 

disambiguating polysemous function words. Proceedings of the EACL2009 Workshop on Language Technologies for 

African Languages (AfLaT 2009), 38 - 45 

Lombard (1985). D.P. Lombard. 1985. Introduction to the Grammar of Northern Sotho. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik. 

Prinsloo (2002). D.J. Prinsloo. The Lemmatization of Copulatives in Northern Sotho. Lexikos 12: 21-43. 

Prinsloo and Heid (2006). D.J. Prinsloo & U. Heid. Creating Word Class tagged Corpora for Northern Sotho by 

Linguistically Informed Bootstrapping. Proceedings of the Lesser Used Languages and Computer Linguistics 

<strong>Conference</strong>. (79-116). Bolzano, Italy 27th-28th October 2005. 

Taljard (1999). E. Taljard. Die Kopulatief van Noord-Sotho: 'n Nuwe Perspektief. Unpublished D.Litt. Thesis. 

Pretoria: University of Pretoria.

Nominal licensing and nominal morphology: a Zulu case study 

It has long been noted that abstract case has a complicated relationship to overt case morphology in many casemarking 

languages (e.g. Andrews 1982, Sigurdsson 1989, Schütze 1997, Fanselow 2000; Woolford 2006, a.o.). In this 

talk I address the relationship between abstract case and case morphology in the Bantu language Zulu. While Bantu 

languages have been argued to lack case altogether (Harford Perez 1985; Ndayiragije 1999; Alsina 2001; Baker 2003; 

Carstens and Diercks to appear; Diercks to appear), I argue that Zulu has both a system of structural case licensing 

inside vPand a system of case-marking morphology. Specifically, I propose that we can understand case morphology in 

Zulu, and more broadly across languages, in terms of two parameters: [+/-intrinsic] (which captures whether structural 

licensing is required) and [+/-phi-projecting] (which captures whether case-marked nominals are accessible for 

agreement). These two parameters combine to yield the range of case morphology found in languages with better-studied 

case systems, like Icelandic, while also giving a fourth possibility—that of a “default” case marker—exemplified in Zulu. 

Mapping out this system in Zulu affords us a blueprint for future investigations of structural and morphological case in 

Bantu languages. I further argue that we can use this case system proposed for Zulu to understand the “tonal case” 

patterns described in Otji<strong>here</strong>ro by Kavari et al. (2012). 

Evidence for structural case in Zulu comes from the distribution of augmentlessnominals. Unlike nominals marked 

with an augment (pre-prefix) vowel (AUG), these nominals are restricted to vP-internal positions (Halpert 2012). In 

particular, augmentlessnominals must be the highest element inside vP, regardless of grammatical function or the way in 

which a nominal achieves that position, as with raising-to-object in (1b) or base-generated vP-internal subjects in (2). I 

argue that this distribution reflects structural case licensing in Zulu: augmentlessnominals must be case-licensed by a head 

that probes vP. Evidence from the conjoint/disjoint verbal alternation (cf. Buell 2005) independently suggests the need 

for such a probing head. 

(1) a. *a-ngi-funi [ukuthi muntu a-cule] (2) a. à-kù-phèk-ángà mùntù í-qándà 

NEG-1sg-want that 1person 1sjc-sing NEG-17s-cook-NEG.PST 1person AUG-5egg 

b. à-ngí-fúní mùntùi [ùkùthì ti á- cúlè ] “Nobody cooked the/an/any egg.” 

NEG-1sg-want 1person that 1sjc.sing b. *a-ku-phek-anga (u)-muntu qanda 

“I don‟t want anyone to sing.” NEG-17s-cook-NEG.PST (AUG)-1person 5egg 

Evidence for morphological case comes from the nominal prefix system in Zulu. I argue that the augment vowel is an 

intrinsic case marker that can license any nominal independent of structural configuration. When the augment is absent, 

as in the constructions above, structural case is required. We find similar distinctions in Zulu's oblique prefix system: 

certain oblique prefixes are in complementary distribution with the augment and can license any nominal, along the lines 

of in<strong>here</strong>nt case; others require an external means of licensing, like quirky-cased nominals (e.g. Woolford 2006). As with 

languages like Icelandic, Zulu exhibits a difference between oblique cases and non-oblique cases: only the non-oblique 

cases can co-occur with subject agreement. 

Implications: In this analysis, the augment vowel emerges as a new type of case -- one that can in<strong>here</strong>ntly license 

nominals in any structural position (while allowing them to serve as targets for agreement). This type of case fills a 

natural gap in case typology, providing evidence for a „default‟ licenser (contra, e.g., Schutze 2001). At the same time, 

while structural case in Zulu follows certain familiar cross-linguistic patterns, the structural configuration in which case is 

licensed is novel. Previous studies that have argued against case in Bantu have largely focused on the position in which 

nominative case is licensed cross-linguistically. In this talk, I show that while such a position indeed does not display case 

effects, vP-internal positions do. This research suggests, then, that it is worthwhile to re-examine the issue of case in 

other Bantu languages in terms of these novel licensing configurations. Recent work by Kavari et al. (2012) suggests that 

the case signature of Zulu occurs elsew<strong>here</strong> in the Bantu family. They show that in Otji<strong>here</strong>ro, nominalsare marked with 

one of several “tone cases.” Among these tonal patterns, they identify one (“complement case”) that appears only on the 

highest element in vP—just like Zulu augmentlessnominals—and another (“default case”) that can appear on nominals in 

any position—like augmented nominals in Zulu. Though Otji<strong>here</strong>ro, like Zulu, has an active augment morphology 

system, it appears that unlike Zulu, it does not implicate the augment in its case system and instead depends solely on 

tonal morphology. Comparing Zulu and Otji<strong>here</strong>ro thus not only provides additional support for the system of case 

proposed <strong>here</strong>, but gives us a sense of the type of variation that we will find in cases systems across the Bantu family. 

Selected references: Alsina2001. Is case another name for grammatical function? Evidence from object asymmetries.In Objects and 

other subjects.Andrews 1982. A note on the constituent structure of adverbials and auxiliaries.LI 13. 

Carstens&Diercksforthcoming.Parameterizing case and activity: Hyperraising in Bantu. Proceedings of NELS 40.Diercks2012. 

Parameterizing case: Evidence from Bantu. Syntax 15. Harford Perez 1985.Aspects of complementation in three Bantu languages. 

PhD thesis. Halpert 2012. Case, agreement, EPP, and information structure: a quadruple dissociation in Zulu. Proceedings of 

WCCFL29.Kavari, Marten, & van der Wal2012.Tone cases in Otji<strong>here</strong>ro: head-complement relations, linear order, and 

information structure. Africana Linguistica XVIII. Schu ̈ tze2001.On the nature of default case.Syntax 4. 

GS

Dislocation via movement in Zulu: evidence from raising-to-object 

Claire Halpert & Jochen Zeller 

University of Minnesota (USA) & University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) 

halpert@umn.edu & zeller@ukzn.ac.za 

In this talk we present novel evidence from the intersection of raising-to-object (RtO) and 

dislocation constructions in Zulu (Nguni; S 42) to argue that at least some dislocated CPs in Zulu 

originate in argument positions and dislocate via movement. This conclusion sheds light on our 

understanding of CP-extraposition and the nature of dislocated positions in Bantu more generally, 

providing counterevidence to claims that all dislocated elements in Bantu are base-generated in vPexternal 

adjunct positions (cf. e.g. Bresnan and Mchombo 1987; Baker 2003). 

Our argument proceeds in two parts: first, we establish, following Halpert (2012), that RtO in 

Zulu is A-movement to a vP-internal position. Second, we show that the raised DP can trigger 

object marking in the main clause, resulting in right dislocation of both the agreed-with DP and the 

CP from which it originated. In order to serve as the source for the raised argument, the CP must 

occupy an argument position in the main clause. We conclude that this CP must reach its dislocated 

position via movement – base generation is, in this case, not a possibility. 

Raising-to-object as A-movement: Zulu has several predicates that optionally allow RtO, 

including -funa “want” and -lindele “expect”. Raised objects precede the complementizer of the 

embedded CP (see (1)), a position generally unavailable to left-dislocated elements; furthermore, 

we show that RtO preserves idiomatic meanings, and creates new antecedents for binding – all 

indicators that A-movement has occurred. We also present evidence that the landing site of the 

raised DP is a vP-internal A-position: it follows the conjoint form of the verb (see e.g. Buell 2005), 

precedes low adverbs, and can be focused, questioned or augmentless (see Halpert 2012). 

CP-dislocation as movement: Perhaps the most striking objecthood property the raised DP 

displays is that it can be object-marked on the main verb, as shown in (2). When the raised object 

triggers object marking in the main clause, it still appears between the main verb and the embedded 

complementizer, but all syntactic diagnostics suggest that the raised DP is in fact in a dislocated 

position: it appears with the disjoint form of the verb and can no longer be focused, questioned, or 

appear without an augment. Based on evidence from the conjoint/disjoint alternation, the position of 

adverbs, and the behavior of certain complementizers that do not permit dislocation, we then argue 

that a CP that follows a dislocated object-marked DP must also be in a P-external position. From 

this we conclude that the CP in constructions like (2) must have moved from an argument position 

in the main clause to its dislocated position: since base-generated adjuncts are islands (Huang 1982, 

a.o.), a derivation in which RtO occurs from an already-dislocated CP would be ruled out. RtO must 

have taken place when the CP is still inside the P; only after RtO and dislocation of the derived 

object is the CP moved to a position in the right clausal periphery. Our result thus provides 

evidence against claims that dislocated arguments are always base-generated by showing that the 

extraposition of CP-arguments is an instance of movement (cf. Büring & Hartmann 1997). 

(1) Ngi-fún-á ú-Sípho [CP ukuthi á-sébénz-é é-sí-tolo sa-mi kúsasa]. 

1 st SG-want-FV 1a-1a.Sipho that 1a.SM-work-SUBJ LOC-7-store 7.POSS-1 st .SG tomorrow 

(2) Ngi-ya-m-fún-a]VP ú-Sípho [CP ukuthi á-sébénz-é é-sí-tolo sa-mi kúsasa]. 

1 st SG-DIS-1.OM-want-FV 1a-1a.Sipho that 1a.SM-work-SUBJ LOC-7-store 7.POSS-1 st .SG tomorrow 

'I want Sipho to work in my store tomorrow.' 

References 

Baker, M. 2003. Agreement, Dislocation, and Partial Configurationality. In: A. Carnie, H. Harley, and M. Willie, 

Formal approaches to function in grammar: in honor of Eloise Jelinek. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 107-132. 

Bresnan, J. & S. A. Mchombo. 1987. Topic, Pronoun, and Agreement in Chicheŵa. Language 63(4), 741-782. 

Buell, L. 2005. Issues in Zulu Verbal Morphosyntax. Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Los Angeles. 

Büring, D. & K. Hartmann. 1997. Doing the right thing. The Linguistic Review 14, 1-42. 

Halpert, C. 2012. Argument licensing and agreement in Zulu. Ph.D. thesis, MIT, Cambridge. 

Huang, J. 1982. Logical Relations in Chinese and the Theory of Grammar. Ph.D. thesis, MIT, Cambridge. 

GS

Bàsàa object left-dislocation, topicalization and the syntax-phonology mapping of intonation phrases 

Fatima Hamlaoui & Emmanuel-Moselly Makasso 

Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/ZAS 

fhaml044atgmail.com, makasso2atgmail.com 

In this talk, we concentrate on Topicalization in Bàsàa (A43, Cameroon). We show that Bàsàa is similar to 

languages like Mbuun (B87, Bostoen & Mundeke 2011) or Lango (Nilotic, Noonan & Bavin Woock, 1978) in that 

a certain type of passive sentences are expressed through object left-dislocation. What is particularly interesting is 

that Bàsàa also has both passive morphology (contrary to Mbuun and Lango) and non-passive left-dislocation. We 

discuss the syntax, prosody and information structure of these three types of sentences. 

Bàsàa is a Subject-Verb-Object language that displays the rich derivational verbal morphology typically 

found in Bantu languages. Passive is derived by means of suffixation of a verb extension. This is briefly illustrated 

in (1) and (2) (see Hyman 2003 for details). 

(1) tòlò à-nʤɛ.́ (2) tòlò à-nʤéßâ. 

mouse sm1-past1-eat mouse sm1-past1-eat-pass 

The mouse ate. The mouse was eaten. 

Whenever the verb displays passive morphology, the patient is realized as the subject and the agent is 

banned from being introduced as an oblique noun phrase. In other words, Bàsàa only displays agentless passive 

sentences. In order for both the agent and the patient to be expressed when the latter is the `locus of viewpoint' or 

`topic', one has to resort to the structure given in (3): an active sentence in which the object appears in clauseinitial 

position and a coreferential pronoun appears in the canonical object position, i.e. object left-dislocation. 

The functional passive strategy illustrated in (3) is similar to a canonical sentence in that it can be associated with 

an all-focus interpretation. 

(3) tòlò síŋgá ì-nʤɛ́ ɲɛ.́ 

mouse cat sm7-past1-eat it 

The mouse, the cat ate it. (= The mouse was eaten by the cat) 

We argue that: (i) the functional passive left-dislocation strategy is the result of a general dispreference 

against non-subject agents in Bàsàa and (ii) passive left-dislocated objects sit in a preverbal position within the 

inflectional domain of the clause, i.e. they are not `left-peripheral' topics. Additionally, we explore the possibility 

that what might ultimately distinguish Bàsàa from Bantu languages with passive subject/object reversal is the lack 

of verb movement above the position hosting the grammatical subject. 

Finally, we discuss the prosody of topicalization in Bàsàa. We show that both passive and non-passive 

dislocated objects phrase separately from the rest of the clause. This is briefly and partially illustrated in (4) and 

(5). Whenever a noun phrase containing « all » (final HL in isolation) phrases together with the consituent that 

follows – i.e. in subject position or in ditransitives -, « all » realizes a final H and the L tone triggers downstep on 

a following H. The failure of this phonological process to apply in left-dislocated phrases indicates that a prosodic 

break separates them from the following constituent. 

(4) ɓɔ̀ɔ̀ŋgɛ́-ɓɔ́-ɓásô sóɣól à-ǹtɛ́hɛ́ ɓɔ.̀ 

Children-them-all grand-father sm1-past1-see them 

All the children, the grand-father saw them. (= all the children were seen by the grand-father) 

(5) ɓɔ̀ɔ̀ŋgɛ́-ɓɔ́-ɓásô sóɣól à-jè màséé nì ɓɔ.̀ 

Children-them-all grand-father sm1-pres.be happy with them 

All the children, the grand-father is happy with them. 

We propose that a syntax-prosody mapping constraint based on the largest extended projection of the verb 

(Szendroi 2001) is the most straightforward way to account for the phrasing pattern observed in Bàsàa leftdislocation. 

Bostoen, K. & L. Mundeke. 2011. Passiveness and inversion in Mbuun (Bantu B87, RDC). Studies in Language 35(1): 

72-111.Hyman, L. 2003. Bàsàa (A43). In D. Nurse & G. Philippson (eds.), The Bantu Languages.Noonan, M. & E. 

Bavin Woock. 1978. The passive analog in Lango. Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics 

Society. 128-139.Szendroi, Kriszta. 2001. Focus and the syntax-phonology interface. Ph.D dissertation, UCL.Ura, 

Hiroyuki. 2000. Checking Theory and Grammatical Functions in Universal Grammar. Oxford University 

Press.Woolford, E. 1991. Two Subject Positions in Lango. Proceedings of the 17th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley 

GS

Subject marking in Bembe (David Iorio; Newcastle University; d.e.iorio@ncl.ac.uk) 

The phenomenon of subject marking in Bantu has so far defied a unified analysis, and is treated, 

depending on the language in question, as either pronominal agreement [2], grammatical agreement 

[4], or as being ambiguous between the two [1]. On the basis of the local complementary 

distribution between subject markers and lexical subjects, and the fact that preverbal subjects 

exclusively display A’-properties, I claim that subject marking in Bembe (D54) is pronominal. 

Consider (1) in which subject marking is grammatical with preverbal subjects in declaratives (a) 

and in object relatives without lexical subjects (b) but ungrammatical whenever a lexical subject is 

present in object relatives (c). 

(1) a. (Baana ) b-á-yak-a ngyoa. 

2child 2SM-T-kill-FV 9snake 

‘The/(*some) children killed a snake.’ 

b. Ngyoa ya-b-á-yak-á (*baana) 

9snake 9REL-2SM-T-kill-FV 2child 

‘The snake which they killed…’ 

c. Ngyoa ya-(*b)-a-yak-á baana 

9snake 9REL-2SM-T-kill-FV 2child 

‘The snake which the children killed… 

Expanding on previous proposals by [5] and [7], I claim that the facts in (1) are explained if subject 

markers are analysed as deficient pronominal clitics, i.e. arguments of the verb, which are generated 

as XP/X° in vP. The interpretable φ-features of φPs are attracted by strong φ-features on C and T 

under Agree and an additional TOP/REL-feature on C [4]. Due to their defective nature, φPs are able 

to incorporate directly into T, t<strong>here</strong>by precluding the need for spec,TP [7]. Since they are nonreferential, 

they receive a referential value by a lexical (or null) Aboutness-shift topic [3] in the CPdomain. 

Consider the derivations in (2). 

(2) a. [CP (baana) [TP [T b + á [AspP yak + a [vP φP [v yak [VP yak [DP ngyoa ]]]]]]]]. 

b. [CP ngyoa [C ya [TP [T b + á [AspP yak + á [vP φP [v yak [VP yak [DP ngyoa … 

c. [CP ngyoa [C ya [TP [T á [AspP yak +á [vP baana [v yak [VP yak [DP ngyoa … 

If subject markers are pronominal arguments, the local complementary distribution between subject 

markers and lexical subjects follows naturally. In addition, the absence of a spec,TP position, 

indicated by the A’-properties of preverbal subjects, correctly predicts that lexical subjects have to 

stay low in object relative clauses since they cannot incorporate. That other Bantu languages, in 

turn, allow preverbal lexical subjects in object relative clauses is explained by assuming that they 

feature an active spec,TP position, the presence of which is subject to parametric variation. 

[1] Bresnan, J. & S. Mchombo 1987. Topic, Pronoun and Agreement in Chicheŵa. Language 63: 

741–782. [2] Creissels, D. 2005. A Typology of Subject Marker and Object Marker Systems in 

African Languages. In: Voeltz, F.K.E. (ed.). Studies in African Linguistic Typology. Amsterdam: 

John Benjamins. 42–70. [3] Frascarelli, M. 2007. Subjects, Topics, and the Interpretation of 

Referential Pro. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 25: 691–734. [4] Henderson, B. 2011. 

Agreement, Locality, and OVS in Bantu. Lingua 121: 742–753. [5] Holmberg, A. 2010. Null 

Subject Parameters. In: Biberauer T. et al. (eds.). Parametric Variation: Null Subjects in Minimalist 

Theory. Cambridge: CUP. 88–124. [6] Julien, M. 2002. Syntactic Heads and Word Formation. 

Oxford: Oxford University Press. [7] Roberts, I. 2010 Agreement and Head Movement: Clitics, 

Incorporation, and Defective Goals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 

GS

The Causative-Instrumental Syncretism in Kinyarwanda 

Kyle Jerro, 

University of Texas at Austin 

jerrokyle@gmail.com 

Kinyarwanda (Rwanda) has a variety of means for encoding causation, including the morphological causative 

–ish in (1). Kimenyi (1980) notes that this causative is identical to the instrumental applicative, shown in (2). 1 

(1) Umu-gabo a-ra-ndik-ish-a umu-kobwa i-baruwa. 

cl1-man cl1-pres-write-caus-imp cl1-girl cl9-letter 

‘The man is making the girl write a letter.’ 

(2) Umu-kobwa a-ra-ndik-ish-a i-baruwa i-karamu. 

cl1-girl cl1-pres-write-inst-imp cl9-letter cl6-pen 

‘The girl is writing a letter with a pen.’ 

I will argue that this syncretism of causative and instrumental morphology follows from the shared semantic 

nature of causees and instruments, and I will treat both constructions as three-argument event schema in which 

t<strong>here</strong> is an intermediate argument upon which the causer/agent acts. The crucial distinction of interpretation, 

building on a proposal in Peterson (2007), is the animacy of the intermediate argument. This contrasts with 

Shibatani and Pardeshi’s (2001) explanation for the syncretism, which states that a syncretism between a 

causative and applicative should arise due to the causative’s sociative meaning—i.e. the high level of 

involvement of the agent in the caused action. 

I show that although sociative meaning can be encoded in the morphological causative, this is 

subsumed by a broader set of meanings that require direct causation, fitting with the typology of causative 

meanings proposed by Comrie (1985). This direct causative meaning follows from the fact that the –ish 

causative syntactically patterns as what is termed a “lexical” causative. I show this based on (1) the –ish 

causative’s inability to undergo operations that separate the causing and caused events (2) its lack of 

productivity with idiomatic verbal constructions—such as yasinze ikoti ‘hang the coat’ or ‘die’, and (3) the fact 

that the –ish causative can block other lexical causatives in the language. I present original field data for these 

different syntactic tests. 

This treatment of morphological causatives is problematic for theories of argument structure in the 

Minimalist Program (cf. Harley 1996;2008), because the theory does not provide a means for encoding 

morphological causatives as distinct from analytic causatives. I explicate the problems within this approach 

and provide a proposal in Lexical-Functional Grammar in which the morphological causative is treated as a 

morpholexical operation on the verb. 

In sum, I show that morphological causatives pattern with lexical causatives, which loosely fits into 

the typology of causative meanings proposed by Comrie (1985). This is problematic for Shibatani and 

Pardeshi’s (2001) account of the phenomena, which is centered on sociative causation. I propose instead that 

the causative and instrumental applicative are not separate syntactic operations, but one tri-valent argument 

frame. I then show that the argument structure facts of this kind of structure are problematic for the Minimalist 

Program’s treatment of morphological causatives, and present an alternative in LFG. 

References: 

Comrie, Bernard. 1985. “Causative verb formation and other verb-deriving morphology.” In T. Shopen, ed., 

Language Typology and Syntactic Description: Grammatical Categories and the Lexicon. Cambridge: 

Cambridge University Press. 

Harley, H. 1996. "Sase bizarre: the Japanese causative and structural case," In P. Koskinen, (ed.) Proceedings 

of the 1995 Canadian Linguistics Society meeting, University of Toronto Working Papers in 

Linguistics 

Harley, H. 2008. “On the causative construction,” In. S. Miyagawa and M. Saito, eds., Handbook of Japanese 

Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Kimenyi, Alexandre. 1980. A Relational Grammar of Kinyarwanda. Berkeley: University of California Press. 

Peterson, David. 2007. Applicative Constructions. Oxford: Oxford University Press 

Shibatani, Masayoshi and Prashant Pardeshi. 2001. “The causative continuum.” In M. Shibatani, ed., 

1 Kinyarwanda data are provided in standard Kinyarwanda orthography, with superimposed morphological segmentation. 

GS

The Grammar of Causation and Interpersonal Manipulation, pages 85-126. Amsterdam: John 

Benjamins. 

GS

The Mental Representation of Setswana Derived Nouns: An Experimental Investigation 

of Class 1 and 9 nominalisations 

Naledi Kgolo 1 & Sonja Eisenbeiss 1 

1. Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex, UK, nnkgol@essex.ac.uk 

Setswana class 1 and 9 nominalisations differ with respect to morphological transparency: 

Class 9 derivations are not readily segmentable into an obvious stem and affix in contrast to 

Class 1 derivations, which are transparently affixed with the prefix mo- and suffix -i 

indicating deverbal nouns: 

1. Class 1 nominalisations Class 9 nominalisations 

lèf-á → mo-lèf-ì lèf-á → tèf-ò 

pay-FV 1SG-pay-FV pay-FV 9SG-pay-FV 

‘pay-FV’ ‘payer’ ‘pay’ ‘payment’ 

As (1) demonstrates, Setswana has nominal derivations with clear morphological 

transparency (Class 1) as well as those with a more idiosyncratic pattern (Class 9). In 

addition, Setswana has ‘pseudo-derived nouns’, which look as if they were derived from a 

verb, but are in fact not morphologically or semantically related to a verb. For example: 

2. sál-à *→ mò-sád-ì gàb-à *→ kgáb-ò 

stationary-FV 1SG-woman-FV stationary-FV 9SG- large fire-FV 

‘stationary’ ‘woman’ ‘pull stomach in’ ‘large fire’ 

Further, t<strong>here</strong> are nominal forms that have orthographic overlap with certain verbs without 

any morphological or semantic relationship. For example: 

3. ròb-à *→ mo-rob-a bák-à *→ lò-bàk-à 

break-FV 3SG-fun-FV break-FV 5SG-reason-FV 

‘break’ ‘fun’ ‘learn a lesson’ ‘reason’ 

We used psycholinguistic methods to determine whether these nominalisations are 

memorised as whole units or whether morphological structure plays a role on the mental 

representation of transparent class 1 and the non-transparent class 9 nominalisations. Earlier 

studies found that regular forms memorised as whole-forms show word-form frequency 

effects, i.e. the more frequently speakers encounter a word form, the faster they recognise it 

as a word (Scarborough, Cortese & Scarborough, 1977). We found frequency effects for both 

classes of nominalisations in a visual lexical decision experiment with 83 participants, which 

suggest that stored complex word forms play a role in the processing of both noun classes 

under investigation. In another experiment, 53 participants were primed with the two noun 

classes (see (1)), pseudo-derived nouns (see (2)) and orthographically related nouns (see (3)) 

before making a lexical decision on the presented stimuli (Sonnenstuhl, Eisenbeiss & 

Clahsen, 1999). Results from this experiment show that prior presentation of a 

morphologically related prime-form (1) showed faster recognition times for both deverbative 

classes. Such priming effects did not occur for pseudo derivations (2) or for forms in the 

orthographic condition (3). This suggests that the verb stem involved in the deverbative is 

only pre-activated by a morphologically related verb, not by a verb with surface similarity. 

Taken together, results from both experiments suggest that stored word forms may play a role 

in morphological processing, but that morphological structure affects the processing of 

complex word forms independently of pure form overlap. 

References 

GS

Scarborough, D. L., Cortese, C., and Scarborough, H. S. 1977. Frequency and 

repetition effects in lexical memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: 

Human Perception and Performance, 3, 1–17. 

Sonnenstuhl-Henning, I., Eisenbeiss, S. and Clahsen, H. 1999. Morphological 

Priming in the German Mental Lexicon. Cognition 72.3, 203-236. 

GS

Tone in Two Elomwe Dialects in Zambezia Province (Mozambique) 

Charles W. Kisseberth (Tel-Aviv University) 

Rozenn Guérois (Dynamique du Langage, Université Lumière Lyon 2 

Within the broad group of speech varieties labeled “Emakhuwa”, t<strong>here</strong> are a number of varieties whose 

speakers self-identify their language as “Elomwe”. Elomwe speech varieties are spoken primarily in (southeast) 

Malawi and Zambezia Province in Mozambique. T<strong>here</strong> are no linguistic features that distinguish Elomwe varieties 

from Emakhuwa more generally (the only feature commonly cited, the use of affricates in place of the post-alveolar 

stops written as tt and tth, while largely confined to Elomwe is far from universal inside Elomwe). 

The present paper surveys the tone and tonal morphology of two dialects of Zambezian Elomwe: the dialect 

of Mugeba and the dialect of Ilê, and demonstrates that the tonal systems of these two dialects differ in the same 

ways that tone in Emakhuwa dialects in general differ. Furthermore, the paper will briefly examine some two dozen 

verb tenses and show that their segmental/tonal shapes reflect patterns found more generally in Emakhuwa. 

All dialects of Emakhuwa are characterized by a lack of lexical tone in the verb stem. Instead, a H tone is 

assigned to a particular mora (or moras) of the stem according to the verb tense in which the stem is embedded. A 

prefixal element may also be specified with a H tone in certain tenses. We will call these morphologicallyconditioned 

tones “primary” H tones. Tones are assigned to the stem according to the moraic count of the stem. 

Typically, a primary H tone is assigned to the first, second, third or final mora of the stem. The presence of an object 

prefix is relevant since in some cases it is the “ macro-stem” rather than the verb stem proper that is counted. T<strong>here</strong> 

may be difficulties with respect to the verb stem not having the required number of moras. Also, since many 

Emakhuwa varieties do not allow a primary H on a word-final mora, conflicts arise when the target of tone 

assignment is the final vowel of the word. We will illustrate all of these issues in Ilê and Mugeba. 

Emakhuwa dialects can be differentiated tonally into two broad groups: non-doubling and doubling 

dialects. The difference is simple. In some varieties, the primary H tones “double” onto the following mora (unless 

blocked by general principles). These are the “doubling” dialects (though it should be noted that in some doubling 

dialects t<strong>here</strong> may be situations in which the primary H tone does not actually surface). In non-doubling dialects, the 

primary H tone does not extend its influence onto a following mora under any condition. The Elomwe dialects that 

we have explored in Malawi are all of the non-doubling type. Our recent work in Zambezia , however, has revealed 

that t<strong>here</strong> are both non-doubling and doubling Elomwe varieties in this province. The dialect of Ilê is non-doubling, 

while Mugeba is doubling. 

In the case of non-doubling Emakhuwa dialects, t<strong>here</strong> is not much to be said about tone beyond the issue of 

tone assignment mentioned above. Doubling dialects do show some diversity in how tone doubling works. In this 

paper we will demonstrate in detail how the Mugeba dialect fits into the larger picture of tone doubling in 

Emakhuwa. This picture can be summarized as follows: 

With the exception of coastal dialects such as Enlai in Angoche, doubling always fails to affect a vowel at 

the end of the Intonational Phrase. Mugeba is an example of a dialect that obeys this constraint (e.g. [o-líma] ‘to 

cultivate’, but [o-límá…] in medial position). Note that in our transcriptions, we underline the vowel bearing a 

primary H tone. Again, with the exception of a few dialects such as Enlai, a primary H tone on the first mora of a 

long vowel does not double onto the second mora when the syllable is IP-penult. Mugeba, however,. does not obey 

this constraint. But it differs from Enlai in that although t<strong>here</strong> is doubling onto the second mora, the double on this 

mora has a falling character (e.g. [o-máâla] ‘to be quiet’, but [o-máála…] in medial position). Interestingly, the 

doubling in the two “mixed” languages based on Emakhuwa, Ekoti and Ecuwabo, show the same phonetics as 

Mugeba. When a primary H tone is located on the antepenult mora of the IP, three results may obtain: doubling may 

be blocked (e.g. in Imeetto and Esaaka); doubling may occur, resulting in a level H tone on the penult mora (e.g. in 

Ikorovere and Enlai); doubling occurs, but the doubled H has a falling character (e.g. in Imitthupi, Emwaazha, 

Eeratti, as well as the mixed languages Ekoti and Ecuwabo). In Mugeba, the third option is found: [o-lóvôla] ‘to 

carry’, but [o-lóvóla…] medially). In most Emakhuwa doubling varieties, when the doubled H tone appears 

immediately in front of a following primary H tone, the result is a span of H tones of the same height (e.g. as in 

Ikorovere, Imitthupi, Imeeto, Esaaka). In Mugeba, however, t<strong>here</strong> is a downstep that separates the doubled H and a 

following primary H tone (e.g.[o-rúkún!úsa] ‘to turn it over’). 

GS

Kirundi palatal glide strengthening: An acoustic study 

Alexei Kochetov 1 , Tomohiro Yokoyama 1 , and Myles Leitch 2 

1 University of Toronto, 2 Tyndale University College 

In Kirundi (Bantu), hetero-morphemic C + j clusters are subject to two processes: palatalization 

(coronalization) and palatal glide strengthening (Meeussen 1959), summarized in (1). The first 

process applies to velars, laryngeals, and /n/ regardless of the context, and to non-nasal coronals 

across morpheme boundaries. The output of the process involves single coronal segments, 

mainly sibilants. The second process applies to labials regardless of the context and to non-nasal 

coronals within a morpheme. The result is a complex segment or a sequence of two segments: 

the original (or fricated) consonant and a fricative- or stop-like palatal element that agrees with 

the consonant in voicing and nasality. The phonological status of the outputs of the second 

process is controversial, as researchers disagree whether they should be treated as complex (or 

secondarily articulated) segments or sequences of two segments (e.g. Broselow & Niyondagara 

1990; Maddieson 2003). Further, details of the phonetic realization of the palatal element are 

unclear, as t<strong>here</strong> is substantial variation in the transcription of the relevant data in the sources. 

For example, /bj/ in /j-a-ɾab-je/ ‘s/he looked’ was transcribed as ‘v z y’, ‘vdy’, and ‘v z g y ’ by 

Meeussen 1959, Broselow & Niyondagara 1990, and Ntihirageza 1993 respectively. 

(1) labial coronal dorsal laryngeal 

input pj bj mj tj dj sj zj ɾj n 

j 

kj ɡj hj 

output 1 (across morphemes) fɕ vʑ mɲ s z ʃ ʤ z/j ɲ ʦ ʣ ʃ 

output 2 (within morphemes) fɕ vʑ mɲ tc dɟ sc zɟ ɾɟ ɲ ʦ ʣ ʃ 

In this paper we present preliminary results of an acoustic study of Kirundi palatal glide 

strengthening in across- and within-root sequences of labials and coronals (highlighted in (1)) 

produced by a female speaker of Kirundi. The acoustic analysis involved an examination of 

spectral (centre of gravity of fricative noise or burst and F2 of the following vowel onset) and 

temporal characteristics of palatal elements, and their comparison to single fricatives, stops, and 

nasals in similar contexts. We further discuss implications of the results for formal analyses of 

the complex alternations in Kirundi, in the context of the typology of glide strengthening and 

palatalization in Bantu and cross-linguistically (Bhat 1978; Maddieson 2003; Bateman, 2010). 

References 

Bateman, Nicoleta. 2010. The change from labial to palatal as glide hardening. Linguistic 

Typology 14, 167–211. 

Bhat, D. N. S. 1978. A general study of palatalization. In Joseph Greenberg (ed.), Universals of 

language, Vol. 2: Phonology. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. 47–91. 

Broselow, E. & A. Niyondagara. 1990. Feature Geometry of Kirundi palatalization. Studies in 

the Linguistic Sciences 20. 1–20. 

Maddieson, Ian. 2003. The sounds of the Bantu languages, In Derek Nurse, Gérard Philippson 

The Bantu languages, Routledge, 15–41. 

Meeussen, A. E. 1959. Essai de grammaire rundi. Tervuren: Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale. 

GS

Ntihirageza, Jeanine. 1993. Kirundi palatalization process and sibilant harmony: Implications for 

Feature Geometry. M.A. thesis, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. 

GS

Demonstratives in Mozambican Ngoni 

Heidrun Kröger 

SIL Moçambique 

heidrun_kroeger@sil.org 

This paper presents data on the demonstratives of a hitherto unstudied 

Bantu language, Mozambican Ngoni (N.10). Ngoni has a person-oriented 

demonstrative system (Diessel 1999) with two additional factors that are 

morphologically distinguished: physical contact and visibility. Hence, the 

distinction is fivefold: near the speaker with physical contact / general near 

the speaker / near the hearer / far from both, but within view / general far. 

Apart from these forms t<strong>here</strong> is also a separate identificational proximal 

demonstrative, as well as emphatic forms. These forms are shortly 

introduced according to their semantic features, their morphological make-up 

and their position in the noun phrase. It is shown that while the main 

position of the demonstrative is phrase-finally, but remarkably, 

demonstratives can occur pre- and post-nominally as well, and may appear 

up to three times within the same noun phrase. 

As for the usage in discourse, two of the five basic demonstratives, the 

general distal and the medial are used endophorically in texts to indicate 

definiteness; the distal in the case of anaphoric reference, the medial in the 

case of associative anaphora, establishing relative clauses and other 

situations of definiteness in the immediate discourse. 

Diessel, Holger. 1999. Demonstratives. Form, Function and Grammaticalization. 

[Typological Studies in Language 42]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 

GS

Domain‐sensitivity in High Tone Spreading in two Xitsonga dialects 

Seunghun Lee (ZAS , Central Connecticut State Univ.) juliolee@gmail.com 

and Elisabeth Selkirk (University of Massachussetts Amherst ) selkirk@linguist.umass.edu 

Domain-related restrictions on H Tone Spread (HTS) in a dialect of Xitsonga that 

is spoken in Mozambique are described and analyzed in Kisseberth 1994 

(Xitsonga I), and reanalyzed in Selkirk 2011, who argues for a modular treatment 

of these domain‐related restrictions involving (a) a constraint‐based analysis of 

the formation of prosodic structure and (b) a constraint‐based analysis of the 

relation between prosodic structure and tone. Recent investigation by this 

paper’s authors of a variety of Xitsonga spoken in Limpopo province, South 

Africa (= Xitsonga II) provides support for this modular treatment. Xitsonga II 

and Xitsonga I arguably display the same organization of sentences into 

phonological phrases () and intonational phrases (). But, as will be seen in this 

paper, their grammars differ in the manner in which the right edge of restricts 

HTS, as specifiable in a theory of domain‐sensitivity in the constraints on HTS. 

In both varieties of Xitsonga, lexically headed syntactic phrases match up with 

surface phonological phrases () due to the S‐P constituency correspondence 

constraint Match(LexP,), except if the phrase contains of only a single prosodic 

word (), suggesting the ranking in Xitsonga of BinMin(,) >> Match LexP 

(Selkirk 2011), cf. (1ab) vs. (2ab) below. Moreover, the markedness constraint 

Strong Start (Selkirk 2011, Elfner 2012) forces the nonisomorphic prosodic 

grouping of verb and first object in (4), explainable if Match LexP >> Strong Start. 

Assuming this grammar of prosodic structure formation, in combination with a 

simple domain‐sensitive phonology w<strong>here</strong> HTS will be blocked when outranked 

by certain constraints on the tone‐prosodic structure relation, provides a 

satisfying analysis of the distribution of HTS in Xitsonga I, as illustrated in the 

representations in (1‐3): 

(1) a. CP[ V/TP[ V[ va H ‐a‐tisa]V NP[ N[xi‐hontlovila ]N ]NP ]V/TP ]CP 

b. ( ( ( v‐aH‐ ‐tisa) (xi‐hontlovii ‐Hla )) ) 

‘They are bringing a giant’ 

(2) a. CP[V/TP[ V[vaH ‐a‐susa]V NP[ N[n‐guluve [taH NP[ N[vonaH ]N ]NP]NP ]V/TP ]C 

b. ( ((vaH‐ ‐a‐susa ‐H) ( (n‐guluve) (!taH vo!naH) ) ) 

‘They are removing their pig (= a/the pig of theirs).’ 

(3) a. CP[V/TP[vaH ‐a‐xavela]V νP[NP[N[ xi‐phukuphuku] NP[N[ fole ]N]NP]νP]V/TP]CP 

b. ( (( ( vaH‐‐xavela) (xi‐phukuphu ‐H ku)) (foole) ) ) 

‘Theyarebuyingtobaccoforafool’ 

Embodying ‐domain‐edge sensitivity in constraints like NonFinality(H, ..) 

(Kisseberth 1994) and CrispEdgeR/L(H,..) (Ito & Mester 1999) permits a simple 

account of language‐particular differences in HTS of the sort attested in Xitsonga I and 

II. CrispEdgeL(H, ) prevents a multiply‐linked H from spanning a left ‐edge in (2) in 

both varieties. As for NonFinality, in both t<strong>here</strong> is no effect at the ‐level, as seen for 

Xitsonga I in the verb in (2). In Xitsonga I, NonFinality(H,) can block H from 

spreading to the last syllable of both the ‐final in (1) and the ‐medial in (3). In 

Xitsonga II, though, t<strong>here</strong> is no NonFinality on the medial in (3); instead H spreads 

up to the very edge of . Nonfinality(H,) will ensure that H spreads to only the penult 

in structures like (1), but it’s the ‐edge sensitive CrispEdgeR(H,) that must be 

responsible for the blocking of HTS thru the medial right ‐edge in (3) in Xitsonga II. 

GS

GS 

Semantic Classification of the Bantu Verbs and Tense/Aspect Selections: The Case of 

Abstract 

Lexical Verbal Semantics in Kiswahili 

Amani Lusekelo (Ph.D.) 

Dar es Salaam University College of Education, P. O. Box 2329 

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

alusekelo@duce.ac.tz OR amalumwa@yahoo.co.uk 

Different categories of verbal semantics are offered across Bantu languages. This presentation provides 

a case of Kiswahili verbal semantics with regard to two previous posits: dynamism of the situation 

encoded by the verb (i.e. onset, nucleus and coda) and T/A formatives surrounding each verb (Kershner 

2002; Botne et al. 2006; Seidel 2008). A third suggestion is offered and it surrounds the impacts on the 

speakers as emitted by the semantic properties of the verb in use. 

Basic findings reveal three major kinds of Kiswahili verbs [with sub-categorisations] (i) Stative (states) 

e.g. elewa ‘understand’ and jua ‘know’, (ii) Inchoatives (achievements) e.g. pona ‘heal’, chukia ‘hate’, 

(iii) Activity (duratives) e.g. kimbia ‘run’ and gonga ‘bounce’. 

Further basic findings show that in Kiswahili narratives the various types of verbs select some of the 

T/A related expressions, marking the onset and coda of the event/situation in question: (a) -anza ‘start, 

begin, commence’, (b) -endelea ‘continue, go on’ and (c) -isha ‘finish, end, complete’. It is the 

selections of these expressions that counts a lot in the classification of verbs per T/A. Thus, inchoatives 

like fika ‘arrive’ co-occur with -isha ‘finish’ but never with -anza ‘commence’ and -endelea ‘go on’ 

because inchoatives encode the coda of the event/situation. Durative verbs like lima ‘cultivate’ co-occur 

with -anza ‘commence’, -endelea ‘go on’, and -isha ‘complete’ as they encodes onset, continuation and 

coda of the situation. 

The new proposal to the classification of verbs focuses on the impact of the individual verbs as used in 

the narratives. Findings reveal three kinds of verbs: psychological, physical and both (double). Usually 

the psychological verbs have internal impacts either to the speaker or to the hearer hence they capture 

Stative and Inchoative verbs and their T/A selections. Physical verbs have external impacts either to the 

speaker or to the hearer and mostly include activity/durative verbs and their T/A selections. Several 

verbs have double impacts in the sense that they have psychological effects as well as physical impacts 

and these are achievement and stative verbs in Kiswahili. 

References 

Botne, R., H. Ochwada & M. Marlo). 2006. A grammatical sketch of the Lusaamia verb. Rüdiger. 

Botne, R. & Kershner, T.L. 2008. Tense and cognitive space: On the organization of tense/aspect 

systems in Bantu languages and beyond. Cognitive Linguistics 19/2: 145–218. 

Kershner, T.L. 2002. The verb in Chisukwa: Aspect, tense and time. Doctoral thesis. Indian University. 

Seidel, F. 2008. A Grammar of Yeyi. A Bantu language of Southern Africa. Rüdiger.

Tonal Processes in the Setswana Verb 

Problem: Creissels (1996 and subsequent work) offers description of the Setswana tonal system and an 

approach to its analysis. He correctly identifies several tonal processes in Setswana: the 2-syllable word-internal 

H-domain spread within words, 1-syllable annexation of a toneless syllable at the word boundary, and other 

processes related to H-domain formation. However, when dealing with the tonal morphology of the Setswana 

verb, his account runs into problems, as in some verb forms, instead of the expected word-internal 2-syllable 

spread, the H-tone spreads 1 syllable, 3 syllables, or fails to spread completely. Moreover, the process of Hdomain 

merge, which Creissels posits word-internally, sometimes fails to apply, triggering H-domain retraction 

instead. To account for these facts, Creissels is forced to make several stipulations. The most important of these 

is the stipulation of empty syllables in some forms. The position of the empty syllables within the 

morphological structure of the verb and the actual set of forms which contain them, seem arbitrary, and their 

placement at times depends on tonal values of surrounding morphemes – information which should not be 

available prior to the vocabulary insertion. 

Analysis: To avoid this and other stipulations made in Creissels' analysis, I propose that the Setswana verb has 

the following structure (the figure excludes Final Vowels, not all morphemes shown are compatible): 

1. CONJOINT FORM: [{(NEG1)-(SM-M)}-{(OM)-(V-ASP-T)}-{(NEG2)-(OM)-(V-ASP)}-{(OBJ)})] 

DISJOINT FORM: [{(NEG1)-(SM-M)}-(OM)-(V-ASP -T)}-{(NEG2)-(OM)-(V-ASP)}] 

Bold font = obligatory elements, Crossed-out font = unpronounced copies, [ = PhPhr boundary, { = PhWd boundaries, ( = MWd 

boundary, NEG = Negation, SM = Subject Marker, T = Tense, OM = Object Marker, V = Verb, M= Mood, ASP = aspect, OBJ = Object 

Crucially, the complex Neg-SM-M-T forms a single PhWd, while the verb in the vP forms another together with 

its proclitics and affixes. The verb undergoes V-to-T movement in tensed clauses and may surface either 

adjoined to T or in its base-generated position in vP due to the Setswana condition that the vP must contain 

heavy phonological material (Buell, 2005). When the verb is inserted in T (the so-called "conjoint" form of the 

verb), it forms a single PhWd (unless it contains a OM, which is a proclitic which always has a PhWd boundary 

before it). When the verb is inserted in the VP (a "disjoint" form), it consists of two PhWds. The placement of 

the PhWd-boundary is consistent with the proposals of the Inflectional stem/Macrostem division within the 

Bantu verb (Myers, 1998). The PhWd-boundary is responsible for many of the violations of 2-syllable H-tone 

spread rule observed by Creissels within the verb. For example, while in the conjoint perfect form of a toneless 

verb tsamae- the tone of the SM spreads 2 syllables (as is a characteristic word-internal spread: ba tsamayile, in 

the disjoint perfect form, the verb is inserted in the vP and the PhWd-boundary separates the vP. The tone of the 

SM annexes the first oneless syllable of the following PhWd but fails to spread further: ba tsamayile. Using this 

approach we are able to account for the tonal contour of practically all Setswana verb forms. 

Advantages of the analysis: The main advantage of the proposed analysis is that it allows to account for all 

facts which posed difficulty for Creissels, while making no special stipulations and relying solely on tonal 

mechanisms independently known to be active in Setswana and other closely related Bantu languages. For 

example, I propose that t<strong>here</strong> is a Meeussen's Rule (MR) operating within the MWds in Setswana which is 

blocked whenever 2nd of the two adjacent tones spreads beyond the MWd-boundary. This process is directly 

parallel to MR in Shona, which, although active at a different level of the Prosodic Hierarchy (PhWd), is 

blocked under similar conditions. 

Additional advantages of the analysis include the following: i) it is in line with the proposals of the Inflectional 

stem/Macrostem division within the Bantu verb, ii) it confirms V-to-T movement hypothesis in Bantu languages 

and its role in the conjoint/disjoint morphology; iii) it treats pre-stem elements (i.e. elements pro-cliticized onto 

the Macrostem (NEG2, OMs) in uniform manner. 

REFERENCES: Buell, L. 2005. Issues in Zulu Morphosyntax. Ph.D. Dissertation, UCLA. Creissels, D. 1996. Conjunctive and 

disjunctive verb forms in Setswana. South African Journal of African Languages 16 (4): 109-115. Myers, S.P. 1998. AUX in Bantu 

morphology and phonology. In: Theoretical aspects of Bantu tone, p. 231-264. Ed. by L. M. Hyman & C. W. Kisseberth. Lecture notes, 

#82. Stanford: Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI). 

GS

Participant Reference in Eastern Bantu Narrative Texts 

Steve Nicolle, SIL <strong>International</strong> and Africa <strong>International</strong> University, Nairobi 

steve_nicolle@sil.org 

Because they constitute a very large number of closely related languages, Bantu languages provide an 

excellent laboratory for fine-grained comparative linguistics analysis. Much comparative work has 

been conducted on core grammatical topics such as noun class prefixes, object marking, tense and 

aspect, and verbal suffixes, but t<strong>here</strong> are far fewer comparative studies concerned with linguistic 

features of longer stretches of discourse. 

This paper is concerned with the question of how participants are introduced, reactivated, and 

tracked throughout narrative texts in the following eleven languages: Fuliiru [flr] DJ63 (7 texts), 

Mulenge (dialect of Rwanda [kin]) DJ63 (18 texts), Digo [dig] E73 (7 texts), Jita [jit] EJ25 (10 texts), 

Kwaya [kya]) EJ251 (10 texts), Suba-Simbiti [ssc] EJ403 (8 texts), Kabwa [cwa] EJ405 (11 texts), 

Rangi (Langi) [lag] F33 (66 texts), Bena [bez] G63, (10 texts), Malila [mgq] M24 (14 texts), and 

Makonde [kde] P23 (8 texts). 

Three main strategies are found for introducing participants: a) using locative inversion, b) 

using an existential verb plus suffixed locative clitic with a post-verbal subject, and c) using an 

existential verb with a post-verbal subject. One language, Bena, has a mixed strategy in which a post- 

verbal subject is preceded by two existential verbs: one agreeing with the subject and the other with a 

locative subject marker. 

The languages in the survey also differ concerning how participants are referred to once they 

have been introduced. For example, t<strong>here</strong> is significant variation in the functions of different 

demonstratives. In most of the languages, distal demonstratives are used when a participant is 

reactivated after an absence, but in Rangi distal demonstratives tend to be used to continue the active 

status of a major participant. T<strong>here</strong> are also more subtle differences. In Makonde, distal demonstratives 

are markers of saliency for minor participants and props, but when referring to major participants, 

they mark key developments in the narrative. Similarly, in Fuliiru, distal demonstratives referring to 

major participants are used to indicate major developments in the narrative, but distal demonstratives 

in Digo refer to major participants and in particular protagonists regardless of whether t<strong>here</strong> is a major 

development. 

Referential (non-proximal) demonstratives are used to maintain reference to an active subject 

in Jita, Kabwa and Suba-Simbiti, but in Rangi they are used to reactivate a major participant after an 

absence, and in Bena they are used when the participant is inactive or has no specific role. In Digo, 

referential demonstratives are only found in the orientation section and occasionally in the 

denouement, w<strong>here</strong> they refer to major participants, but in Fuliiru referential demonstratives indicate 

regular developments in the narrative, and t<strong>here</strong>fore occur predominantly in developmental episodes. 

This variation, together with cross-linguistic differences in the use of independent pronominal 

forms and the conditions under which other noun phrases occur, is not discernible from most 

grammatical descriptions and elicited data. The comparative study of narrative texts t<strong>here</strong>fore opens 

up new avenues of comparative analysis. 

GS

Tons lexicaux et tons intonatifs en frontière intonative en kirundi : analyse de parole en 

situation de narration 

Gélase NIMBONA 

Institut Langage & Communication 

Centre de Recherche VALIBEL – Discours & Variation 

Université catholique de Louvain 

e-mail : gelase.nimbona@uclouvain.be 

Jusqu’à présent, l’aspect qui a attiré l’attention des linguistes dans la description de la 

prosodie du kirundi est le comportement tonal au niveau du mot (Meeussen 1959, Nkanira 

1984, Goldsmith & Sabimana 1986, etc.). La question centrale de notre communication est de 

savoir comment l’intonation s’articule avec les tons lexicaux. Ce processus d’interaction entre 

tons lexicaux et tons intonatifs peut être déterminé à partir de plusieurs paramètres. Nous 

partons de la règle dite de Meeussen pour mettre à l’épreuve les observations de cet auteur 

(1959), lequel a remarqué qu’ « en fin de phrase non définitive (sic) un ton bas final est 

souvent réalisé à un niveau plus haut, sans que cette élévation ait une valeur distinctive » et 

qu’ « en fin de phrase, un ton haut antérieur n’est réalisé que par la seule montée préparatoire 

de la voyelle précédente, la finale même étant (un peu plus) basse ». Ces observations 

suscitent en effet des questions plus profondes : quelle sera dans ces conditions la nature d’un 

ton lexical en finale d’énoncé lorsqu’il subit l’influence d’un ton intonatif bas final ? Ce ton 

peut-il être analysé comme ton haut, ton haut rabaissé ou simplement comme ton bas ? 

Dans cette contribution, nous nous concentrons sur les différents aspects qui peuvent 

influencer la nature du ton de frontière intonative pour établir l’inventaire des tons intonatifs 

en kirundi et déterminer leur nature. Nous ne partons pas d’une hypothèse préétablie, mais de 

l’analyse des données authentiques pour découvrir des principes qui gouvernent l’articulation 

de ces deux types de tons. Les données de cette étude sont constituées d’extraits de narrations 

produites par quatre locuteurs natifs du kirundi. Après la segmentation (semi-automatique) et 

l’alignement du signal de parole en phonèmes, en syllabes et en mots graphiques, notre 

approche consiste à évaluer la hauteur de chaque syllabe par rapport à celle de la syllabe 

précédente (en nous inspirant du modèle de Mertens 1987 pour le français). Cette méthode 

permet d’appréhender aisément les différents types de variation des registres de réalisation 

tonale. Les premiers résultats montrent que le ton de frontière est déterminé par la localisation 

du ton haut (lexical) dans le mot en frontière intonative (ou en fin d’énoncé). Ce ton varie 

selon que (i) les deux dernières syllabes comportent ou non un ton haut, (ii) que le ton haut se 

trouve sur la première ou la deuxième more de la pénultième syllabe, (iii) que le ton haut se 

réalise en même temps sur la première more de la pénultième et la dernière syllabe ou encore 

(iv) que ce mot est suivi d’une pause non finale. Contrairement à ce qu’on observe en fin 

d’énoncé, où le ton haut est neutralisé et se réalise au niveau infra-bas, le ton lexical ne 

disparaît pas à la suite de l’intonation mais change sa nature : tantôt il est abaissé tantôt il est 

relevé. Par conséquent, nous situons l’analyse des tons sur deux plans différents – lexical et 

postlexical. 

Enfin, notre approche permet non seulement de rendre compte de l’articulation des tons 

lexicaux et des tons intonatifs, mais surtout de mettre à l’épreuve les règles qui sous-tendent 

la variabilité et le déplacement tonal au niveau du mot. Les premières observations montrent 

par exemple que la règle dite de Meeussen s’applique même au niveau postlexical mais que la 

règle de Pullback (Goldsmith & Sabimana, 1986) n’est pas vérifiée. 

Références citées 

Meeussen, A.E. (1959). Essai de grammaire rundi. Musée royal du Congo belge, 1959 - 236 

pages 

GS

Goldsmith & Sabimana, S. (1986). The Kirundi verb. Ms., Indiana University, 1986- 

hum.uchicago.edu 

Nkanira, P. (1984). La valeur sémiologique et la position du ton dans les formes 

grammaticales du verbe en kirundi. In Lesage R. (dir), Systématique du Langage I. Equipe de 

recherche en psychomécanique di langage, Presses universitaires de Lill 

GS

LA TRANSITIVITÉ EN ATSI, UN DIALECTE DU FANG PARLÉ AU GABON 

Yolande Nzang-Bie 

& 

Pierre Ondo-Mebiame 

Université Omar Bongo 

yolnzang@yahoo.fr / pierreondo@yahoo.fr 

De façon générale, le marquage du groupe nominal objet par une marque casuelle ou 

une adposition est inconnu de la plupart des langues bantu, qui ont typiquement un 

phénomène d’indexation de l’objet sur le verbe, avec un conditionnement de la présence de 

l’indice objet qui varie de langue à langue (Amidu (2001), Bresnan & Moshi (1990), Creissels 

(2006), Duranti (1979), Hyman & Duranti (1982), Marantz (1993), van der Wal (2009), 

Beaudoin-L & al. : 2004). 

Notre propos vise à mettre en évidence les faits dans un groupe de langues où les 

processus syntaxiques sont peu abordés et assez mal connus. Il porte sur la transitivité dans le 

parler fang-atsi du Gabon. Dans cette langue, le complément d’objet est exprimé sans 

marquage particulier. Les contraintes syntaxiques liées à la présence des auxiliaires verbaux 

(marques du temps), à l’ordre des mots, de même qu’à la valeur sémantique des objets, 

déterminent la notion de transitivité. 

Nous tenterons de cerner la nature des différentes marques de temps qui provoquent le 

déplacement du pronom objet. Il s’agira de mettre en évidence les caractéristiques de codage 

des constructions transitives dans cette langue, où la transitivité d’un verbe n’est pas exprimée 

par un marqueur objet obligatoire, mais uniquement déterminée par un ordre syntaxique qui 

dépend de la présence d’auxiliaires verbaux, mais aussi du rôle sémantique des objets, et où la 

place de l’objet n’est pas influencée par la hiérarchisation ± animé, comme cela est observé 

dans de nombreuses langues bantu (Creissels (2006), Riedel (2009), Beaudoin-Lietz & al. 

(2004). 

1 

GS

Nominal Apposition in Shingazidja 

Kathleen M. O’Connor & Cédric Patin 

Université Lille 3 and UMR 8163 ‘Savoirs, Textes, Langage’ 

kathleen.oconnor@univ-lille3.fr, cedric.patin@gmail.com 

This paper investigates nominal apposition in Shingazidja, a Bantu language (G44a) spoken 

on Grande Comore (Comoros). Our paper has two main goals: (i) propose a descriptive analysis of the 

syntactic and prosodic properties of appositives constructions in a Bantu language – a topic that has to 

our knowledge never been addressed; (ii) show that these properties are similar to what has been found 

for other languages (O’Connor 2008 for English; Heringa 2011 for a variety of languages including 

German, Dutch, Romanian, etc.). 

We first define the properties of restrictive apposition (e.g. Quirk et al. 1994; henceforth RA), 

w<strong>here</strong> a restrictive nominal modifier and the noun it modifies together identify a single referent (ex: 

The poet Burns was born in 1759. (Burton-Roberts 1975: 391)). We show that RA in Shingazidja 

shares properties with RA in other languages, such as the fact that the two parts are not separated 

prosodically (Acuña-Fariña 1999; Huddleston & Pullum 2002; Quirk et al. 1994): in (1), the tone of 

the noun phrase Djumwá ‘Juma’ shifts to the restrictive appositive mleví ‘drunkard’, meaning that the 

two elements belong to the same Phonological Phrase. 

(1) ( Djumwa m-léví ) ɸ ( ha-ɾemé pah[a] ) ɸ 

Juma 1-drunkard 1past-hit 5.cat 

‘Juma ‘the drunkard’ hit a cat’ 

However, Shingazidja differs from previously studied languages, w<strong>here</strong> both the antecedent and the 

restrictive appositive must be definite (Burton-Roberts 1975; Lasersohn 1986): in (1), the modifier 

mleví ‘drunkard’ is not associated with an augment triggering the definite reading in the language. 

We then turn our attention to non-restrictive appositives (Quirk et al. 1994; henceforth NRA), 

which involve non-restrictive or extra information elements post-posed to a nominal antecedent, much 

like appositive relative clauses (A man, timid and hesitant, approached the official. (Quirk et al. 1994: 

1295)). NRA in Shingazidja also appears to share characteristics of English NRA with respect to the 

(in)definiteness of both antecedent and appositive, stacking, extraposition, quantifier binding, negative 

scope, etc. Prosodically, non-restrictive appositives phrase separately, but do not seem to constitute 

independent Intonational phrases, cf. claims about Catalan (Astruc 2005; Payà 2003), English (e.g. 

Bolinger 1989; Dehé 2009), French (Fagyal 2002; Mertens 2004) and Portuguese (Frota 2001). 

(2) ( Djumwá ) ɸ (§) ( ye=m-leví ) ɸ (§) ( ɗaɓá ) ɸ (§) ( ha-ɾemé paha ) 

Juma A1=1-drunkard 5.idiot 1past-hit 5.cat 

‘Juma, the drunkard, an idiot, hit a cat’ 

Our descriptive account is particularly relevant to the question of the syntactic link (or lack 

t<strong>here</strong>of) between a non-restrictive modifier and its host clause. Two approaches, Orphanage and 

Integration, are summarized, along with the arguments for each. The basic idea of Orphanage is that 

the appositive is syntactically generated separately from its antecedent and the two are later linked 

together only in discourse (radical orphanage) or in the syntax. In an Integration approach, the 

appositive and its antecedent are linked syntactically throughout the derivation. 

For Shingazidja, as is the case for other languages, the syntactic evidence concerning the link 

between the antecedent and the appositive is ambiguous between an Integrationist and an Orphanage 

analysis. Evidence for Orphanage comes from the failure of a quantifier in the host clause to bind a 

variable in the appositive, the fact that negation in the main clause does not negate the appositive, and 

the ability to extrapose the appositive. Support for Integration derives from the fact that the NRA 

adopts the class agreement of the initial element and that the augment clitic can attach to the 

antecedent, indications of a syntactic link between the antecedent and the appositive. We use these 

facts to propose an Integration approach that involves coordination of the antecedent and the 

appositive through a functional &:P projection, along the lines proposed in deVries (2002) for 

appositive relatives, adapted by O’Connor (2008) for appositives. 

GS

The impact of sociolinguistic factors on the usage of the pre-prefix in some G-languages 

Malin Petzell, University of Gothenburg, malin.petzell@african.gu.se 

Lotta Aunio, Helsinki University, Lotta.Aunio@helsinki.fi 

Kami (G36) is an under-described and endangered language in Tanzania. It is spoken by approximately 

5000 people according to the Languages of Tanzania project (2009), but we believe that t<strong>here</strong> are 

significantly fewer speakers left, and only a few hundred fluent speakers. Luguru (G35), on the other 

hand, is the major language in the region with slightly over 400,000 speakers (Languages of Tanzania 

Project 2009). 

The nouns in both languages can take 2 different sets of prefixes; the obligatory nominal class prefixes 

and the non-obligatory pre-prefixes 1 (PPs), see examples 0 and 0. In many G-languages, the PP is 

disappearing, see for instance Morrison (2011) and Petzell (2008). When it does occur, the usage varies 

widely from language to language, cf. de Blois (1970). 

1. ng’anda íla 2. ayo imunu 

ng’anda i- la a- yo i- munu 

house:9 9- DEM 1- DEM PP- 1- person:1/2 

‘that house’ (Kami) ‘this person’ (Luguru 2 ) 

In Luguru, the PP is more frequently used when the noun phrase is not in the scope of focus, i.e. it is used 

for given information, and “determined by the vague concept of presupposition” (Mkude 1974:108). It is 

more probable that a noun carries a pre-prefix the greater its referentiality and topicality is. 

In Kami, the PP is virtually non-existent, while in Luguru the usage is surprisingly enough increasing. In 

Luguru, the PP was used by mostly older speakers in the 1970s (Mkude 1974 and Mkude p.c.), while 

today (according to the authors’ recent field work), young people are using the PP more and more, and in 

contexts w<strong>here</strong> it used to be disallowed. These opposing standpoints ̶ hardly any PP-usage in Kami vs. 

increasing usage in Luguru ̶ are remarkable for such closely related languages. We propose that the 

wide-spread use in contemporary Luguru may have started out as some form of hypercorrection, but that 

the PP has now become grammaticalized as a topic marker (cf. Greenberg (1978)). The very slight usage 

in Kami can partly be explained by historical factors, but also the fact that t<strong>here</strong> is no PP in the 

dominating language Swahili. In the multilingual contact situation that characterizes the area, a vulnerable 

language like Kami is more prone to losing area specific features than Luguru. 

References 

de Blois, K. F. (1970). The augment in Bantu languages I: Africana linguistica IV: 85-165. 

Greenberg, J. H. (1978). How does a language acquire gender markers? I: Universals of human language. Vol. 3: 

word structure. Stanford University Press: 47-82. 

Languages of Tanzania Project (2009). Atlasi ya Lugha za Tanzania. Mradi wa Lugha za Tanzania, Chuo Kikuu cha 

Dar es Salaam. 

Mkude, D. J. (1974). A study of Kiluguru syntax with special reference to the transformational history of sentences 

with permuted subject and object. Series, University of London: 335. 

Morrison, M. (2011). A Reference Grammar of Bena. Series, Rice University. PhD thesis: 542. 

Petzell, M. (2008). The Kagulu language of Tanzania: grammar, texts and vocabulary. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. 

1 Also referred to as initial vowel or augment. 

2 T<strong>here</strong> is no tone marking in Luguru, see for instance Mkude 1974. 

GS

Congo River Crossroads Cuisine: A Blend of Western and Eastern Words 

Although Stanley called it “the Heart of Darkness”, the interior of Central Africa was buzzing with 

commercial activity long before the colonial epoch. The Congo River and its tributaries have acted as 

highways through the forest at least since the first Bantuphone peoples arrived in the region (Vansina 

1990: 43, 52, 101-102). By the end of the nineteenth century, an exchange system between peoples 

specialized in specific subsistence strategies was in place (Hunt 1999: 36), long-distance trade routes 

travelled upstream from the western side of the continent (Vansina 1962: 381), and the east of the 

current DRC, including the Lokele area, was controlled by “Zanzibari” slave traders (Hunt 1999: 41- 

42). 

Trade with neighbours and long-distance commercial partners left its marks on the culinary 

traditions along the Congo River. The culinary lexicon of languages like Lokele (C55), Kisoko (C52) 

and Songola (D24) contains clear evidence for this “melting pot”. The word for rice, for instance, is in 

these languages respectively ɓɔ̀ɔ̀ːŋgà, lòuːŋgà and mu.fu̧ nga, a noun with a widespread 

distribution in East-Bantu languages. However, in Mbuza (C36c), spoken only a stretch further to the 

west, the term lɔ́ːsɔ̀ is used, which has a regional loanword distribution in parts of West Bantu. The 

word for „winnowing basket‟ in Lokele and Kisoko, lvːŋgu, also has East-Bantu cognates. Lokele and 

Kisoko are West-Bantu languages and thus have many inherited West-Bantu culinary words. 

However, more recent loans from the west may be identified, e.g. the Kisoko word for „peanut‟ 

ŋgú ːɓà. Moreover, Songola, classified as East Bantu, also contains many West-Bantu words, e.g. the 

noun i̧.sángú for „maize‟ (cf. Bostoen 2006-2007). Finally, several culinary words have a wider 

regional distribution along the Congo River, e.g. Lokele mvtɛ̀ːkɛ́ and Kisoko mɔ́tɛ̀ːkɛ́ meaning 

„flour‟, and the „cassava‟ nouns ìsɔ̀ːŋgú (Lokele), sɔ̀ːŋgɔ̂ (Kisoko) and mo.songú̧ 

(Songola). 

The present paper will compare culinary vocabulary from languages spoken along the Congo River. 

The focus will be on languages for which fieldwork was carried out in 2010, especially Lokele and 

Kisoko, and on Songola data from the detailed culinary lexicon compiled by Ankei (1990). These data 

will be supplemented with words from dictionaries and glossaries concerning neighbouring and/or 

related languages. The comparative-linguistic analysis will lead to the identification of inherited 

ingredients and techniques, of routes along which culinary novelties were transported, and of local 

exchanges. It will be attempted to offer a chronology of culinary developments along the Congo River, 

and to integrate the results into the historical and linguistic context. 

References: 

Ankei, Takako. 1990. Cookbook of the Songola: an Anthropological Study on the Technology of Food 

Preparation among a Bantu-speaking People of the Zaïre Forest. African Study Monographs Suppl. 13. pp. 1- 

174. 

Bostoen, Koen. 2006-2007. Pearl millet in early Bantu speech communities in Central Africa: A reconsideration 

of the lexical evidence. Afrika und Übersee 89. pp. 183-213. 

Hunt, Nancy Rose. 1999. A Colonial Lexicon. Of Birth Ritual, Medicalization, and Mobility in the Congo. 

Durham: Duke University Press. 

Vansina, Jan. 1962. Long-Distance Trade-Routes in Central Africa. Journal of African History III. pp. 375-390. 

—. 1990. Paths in the Rainforest. Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa. Madison: 

University of Wisconsin Press. 

GS

Swahili coordinated infinitives 

Kristina Riedel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (kriedel@illinois.edu) & Mark 

de Vos, Rhodes University (m.devos@ru.ac.za) 

Swahili exhibits a construction w<strong>here</strong> tensed verb and an infinitival are coordinated, as in (1). 

This is an example of ‘unbalanced’ coordination, insofar as one verb is tensed and the other is 

not. 

(1) A-li-soma vitabu na ku-andika barua. 

SM1-PST-read 7book and INF-write 9letter 

‘S/he read books and wrote letters.’ 

(2) Watu wanane wa-me-uwawa na zaidi ya thelathini ku-jeruhiwa 

2people 2eight SM2-PERF-kill.PASS and more 9of thirty INF-injure.PASS 

‘Eight people died and more than thirty were injured’ 

Furthermore, the licensing of the (underlined) subject in the infinitival clause in (2) 

problematizes Case Theory because infinitival clauses do not assign nominative case. The 

construction is also puzzling because although it bears some characteristics of pseudocoordination 

(e.g. non- commutability of conjuncts and the coordinator plays a subordinative 

role) it also has properties reminiscent of true coordination (e.g. and can be substituted by or; 

the first verb does not play an aspectual role; the licensing of a subject in the embedded 

clause). 

Despite the theoretical questions this raises, the construction has not been adequately 

addressed in the literature. We argue that the conjuncts are at least coordinated TPs 

dominated by AgrP which licenses case-marked subjects in both conjuncts in ways similar to 

the licensing of parasitic gaps. Like English, Swahili does not license subjects in infinitival 

clauses unless the subject is case-marked by a case-assigning head such as a preposition. In 

the absence of such a head, the only possibility is that the subject of the infinitival must be 

case-marked from outside the coordinated infinitival clause. We adopt the standard 

assumptions that &P is categorially underspecified and that the label of &P reflects the labels 

of the coordinated categories themselves -- in this case TP. 

We conclude our discussion by comparing Swahili coordinated infinitives to similar 

constructions in languages like Turkish and Korean. 

GS

The closest relatives of Bende-Tongwe (F.10) 

Tim Roth, SIL <strong>International</strong> 

tim_roth@sil.org 

No consensus has been reached thus far regarding the genetic classification of the Bende and Tongwe [F.10] 

languages of western Tanzania, e.g. Nurse says that “it is not clear w<strong>here</strong> they…belong” (1999: 10). The 

Bende-Tongwe language area lies in geographical proximity to several possibilities for genetic affiliation. 

To the north lie the Interlacustrine languages [Zone J], to the south the Corridor languages [M], to the east 

the West Tanzania languages [F], and to the west languages from the Democratic Republic of the Congo 

[D]. Other neighboring languages to the east whose affiliation with Bende is also unclear are the recently 

discovered languages Gongwe and Rwila (see Abe 2011). 

Nurse claims that Bende and Tongwe “are quite different from the main West Tanzania languages in 

significant ways” and that “they do not belong <strong>here</strong> [West Tanzania]” (1999: 10). Nurse also treats Bende- 

Tongwe as peripheral to his (1988) study of the languages in southwestern Tanzania (59). Ehret (2009: 19) 

classifies Bende-Tongwe with Holoholo [D.28] and Buyu/Buyi [D.55], languages to the west of Bende- 

Tongwe in the DRC. 

Firstly, I establish that indeed Bende-Tongwe does not share immediate genetic affiliation with the Corridor 

or West Tanzania languages on the basis of lexical or phonological evidence. Secondly, I show that Bende- 

Tongwe relates to the Gongwe and Rwila languages in terms of Sprachbund convergence and not genetic 

relationship, using Abe’s (2011) research on Gongwe and personal research on Rwila. Thirdly, I evaluate 

Ehret’s (2009) proposal and conclude that Holoholo had a superstratum influence on Bende-Tongwe. The 

main evidences for such a relationship are the extinction of the East Holoholo language in Tanzania, as well 

as phonological evidence regarding Agent Noun Spirantization typology based on research from Bostoen 

(2008). Fourthly, I present primarily lexical and phonological evidence that Bende-Tongwe is most closely 

affiliated with Sumbwa [F.23] and to some extent Ha [DJ.66]. In sum, the linguistic evidence points toward 

the genetic roots of Bende-Tongwe within the Interlacustrine languages [J]. 

References 

Abe, Yuko. 2011. The Continuum of Languages in West Tanzania Bantu: A Case Study of Gongwe, Bende and Pimbwe. Hieda, 

Osamu, Christa König, and Hirosi Nakagawa (eds.), Geographical Typology and Linguistic Areas, with special reference 

to Africa, 177-188. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies/University of Cologne. 

Bostoen, Koen. 2008. Bantu spirantization: Morphologization, lexicalization and historical classification. Diachronica 25:3, 299– 

356. 

Ehret, Christopher. 2009. Bantu Subclassifications. PDF, Viewed on World Wide Web at 

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/ehret/kinship/BantuClassification%204-09.pdf 16 November 2012. 

Nurse, Derek. 1988. The diachronic background to the language communities of SW Tanzania. Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika, 

9: 15-115. 

Nurse, Derek. 1999. Towards a Historical Classification of East African Bantu Languages. In Hombert, Jean-Marie and Larry M. 

Hyman (eds.), Bantu Historical Linguistics: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives, 1-41. Stanford: CSLI. 

GS

Functions of Rhetorical Questions in Rangi (F.33) 

Oliver Stegen, SIL <strong>International</strong>, oliver_stegen@sil.org 

Abstract for 5 th <strong>International</strong> Bantu Language <strong>Conference</strong> at Paris, June 12-15, 2013 

The study described in this paper grew out of a particular concern in a project of translation and 

literature development for the Rangi language. It had been observed that the project’s Rangi 

translators, when encountering rhetorical questions (RQs) in the source text, often translated 

these as RQs into Rangi, claiming that RQs were both natural in Rangi and common in all 

contexts. To verify that claim, an investigation of RQs in the project corpus was undertaken 

which includes a primer, a story booklet, 71 texts collected during writer’s workshops in 

2005/2006, and 15 texts collected for a discourse workshop in 2010. 

A survey of the literature on RQs reveals a gap that should be filled: RQs are often defined 

only negatively as “question[s] for which the speaker does not request an answer from the 

addressee” (Hackstein 2004: 167), a definition w<strong>here</strong>by various functionally quite dissimilar 

phenomena are joined into a single category. Most existent typologies of RQs do not seem to 

comprehensively differentiate RQ functions. Correspondingly, studies of RQs in Bantu 

languages (e.g. Zerbian 2006) also do not sufficiently distinguish the functions of RQs. This 

paper aims to contribute both to a functional typology of RQs and to the application of such a 

typology to Bantu languages. 

In addition to a primary distinction between RQs with discourse functions and RQs with social 

functions (Hackstein 2004), all RQs in the Rangi corpus have been categorised with regard to 

medium, length and genre of the text in which they occur, speaker and addressee(s), and 

question form and question words used. 

RQs are indeed not an infrequent feature in Rangi; 37 of 106 texts contain at least one RQ. 

However, the functional range of RQs found in the corpus is not as broad as claimed by the 

Rangi translators in general. The absolute majority of RQs occurring in dialogue expresses 

rebuke (cf. example 1) w<strong>here</strong>as most RQs occurring in monologue express uncertainty or doubt 

(cf. example 2). 

1. sà tɕɛ́ ʊ̀lʊ́ːᵑgʊ́ɾî:ɾʲɛ̀ íbǎːⁿdɛ̀ ráːnɪ ́ 

for what 2sg:burn:PRF:CAUS 5:grasshopper 5:1sg:POSS 

‘Why have you burned my grasshopper?’ implying: You should not have burned it. 

2. kɔ̀ːnɪ ̀ sìːᵐbà jʊ̌ːdʑìɾɛ̀ ⁿdʊ̀ːsɛ́ tɕɛ́ 

when 9:lion 9:come:PRF 1sg:say:SBJV what 

‘When the lion comes what should I say?’ implying: I don’t know what to say. 

Apart from showing this typologically relevant distinction between RQs in dialogue and RQs in 

monologue, the paper also discusses the role of the speaker (e.g. narrator versus participant) 

and the role of genre (narrative versus hortatory). The paper concludes with an outline of 

distinguishing factors for a functional typology of RQs and with a summary which of the 

established categories occur specifically in Rangi. 

References 

Hackstein, O. 2004. Rhetorical questions and the grammaticalization of interrogative pronouns 

as conjunctions in Indo-European. In A.Hyllested, A.R. Jørgensen, J.H. Larsson & T. Olander 

(eds.). Per Aspera Ad Asteriscos. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft, 167-186. 

Zerbian, S. 2006. Questions in Northern Sotho. ZAS Papers in Linguistics 43: 257-280. 

GS

Vowels under pressure - spirants again? 

Eva-Marie Ström, University of Gothenburg, eva-marie.strom@african.gu.se 

The aim of this paper is to show that The Ndengeleko language (P10) is currently in the process of 

undergoing vowel reduction, simultaneously adding to its inventory of fricatives. These synchronic 

changes are taking place under pressure from the contact situation with Swahili. Swahili is becoming 

the de facto L1 for most young speakers. For the majority of children, Swahili is the only language. 

Within Bantu diachronic studies, a well-known historical sound change is spirantization, which 

typically goes hand in hand with vowel reduction from 7 > 5 (Schadeberg 1995), but not necessarily. 

In most affected Bantu languages spirantization has led to the addition of fricatives/affricates to the 

consonant inventory. Ndengeleko has also been affected by this historical sound change, but went 

further via h to ø in the relevant contexts (Hinnebusch 1981 ; Janson 2007). Compare Ndengeleko -uu 

‘ash’, with Proto-Bantu *-bú and Jita -fu (Downing 2007). The Ndengeleko language did not reduce 

its vowel system as a result of spirantization. It retains the 7 vowels which have also been 

reconstructed for Proto-Bantu. 

My fieldwork shows that Ndengeleko speakers in their thirties tend to level out the 7 vowels to a 5vowel 

system. In most cases, this leads to a lowering of the second-degree vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ to /e/ and 

/o/, respectively. The picture is still somewhat unclear, as the following phonetic chart illustrates: 

3000 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

Figure 1 F1 and F2 values of vowels for a female speaker, 29 yrs, in a sample of 175 tokens (the sample focusses on the front 

and back vowels). 

Speakers above the age of 50, however, make clear distinctions between the four high vowels. I 

propose that the difference between young and old speakers indicates that the vowel system of 

Ndengeleko is in the process of undergoing reduction to 5 vowel phonemes. Furthermore, t<strong>here</strong> are 

lexical items in the language which have not been affected by the historical spirantization and 

consonant loss, but include typical spirantizing contexts, like the consonant/vowel combinations pi and 

pu. Presumably, these lexical items have entered the language after spirantization and consonant loss 

took place. It is interesting to note that t<strong>here</strong> is allophonic variation [pi~fi] and [pu~fu] in such items: 

lipíiŋga/lifíiŋga ‘egg’ (cl.5). Moreover, for speakers who use [pi]/[pu], the stop is aspirated. In this 

paper I propose that a process similar to spirantization is affecting the language (again) and that this 

time, the vowel inventory will be reduced. 

Downing, Laura. 2007. Explaining the role of the morphological continuum. Africana Linguistica 13, pp 53-78. 

Hinnebusch, Thomas J. 1981. Northeast coastal Bantu. In: T. J. Hinnebusch, D. Nurse and M. J. Mould(eds.). 

Studies in the classification of Eastern Bantu languages, pp 21-125. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. 

Janson, Tore. 2007. Bantu spirantisation as an areal change. Africana Linguistica 13, pp 79-116. 

500 

200 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

900 

1000 

Series1 

GS

Schadeberg, Thilo C. 1995. Spirantization and the 7-to-5 vowel merger in Bantu. In: M. Dominicy and D. 

Demolin(eds.). Sound change, pp 73-84. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 

GS

Title: Reconstructing Proto-A80: Lexical reconstructions, Processes, Signs of contact. 

Category: Oral presentation (general session) OR Poster 

Topics: Historical and comparative linguistics (reconstruction, linguistic change), Bantu expansion, language 

contact 

The A80 (MAKAA-NJEM) group forms a language cluster which seems to hold a rather special position 

within northwestern/Forest Bantu. Geographically, its languages are spoken in the southern part of 

Cameroon and in the northern part of Equatorial Guinea, in a small region in the northwesternmost 

part of Congo-Brazzaville, in part of the western half of the Centrafrican Republic and also in some 

regions situated in northern Gabon. The currently available linguistic and anthropological data strongly 

suggest that the history of this language group and its individual language varieties must have been 

complex and quite eventful (migrations, contact, shift?). According to the most recent theory 

concerning the northwestern Bantu expansion (Grollemund 2012), the A80 group, as a sub-branch of 

Forest Bantu, split off from the other languages at a fairly early stage and its (food-producing) 

speakers penetrated the Equatorial Forest of the above-mentioned regions, most likely following the 

waterways, and finally settled down in the Forest. Archeology has shown that this environment was 

inhabited by small groups of hunter-gat<strong>here</strong>rs at the time, some of which can still be found <strong>here</strong> to 

date (e.g. Baka). T<strong>here</strong> is solid evidence from several major studies in Cultural anthropology, 

Population genetics, History (e.g. Klieman 1997) and Linguistics for longstanding contact and extensive 

exchange of various kinds between the two types of populations that comes in addition to the 

presumably incessant and complex history of interactions between the Bantu-speaking populations 

themselves. 

Some of the A80 languages have undergone rather uncommon phonological and/or morphological 

changes (cf. Cheucle 2012), such as glottalizations, palatalizations, labializations, prenasalization and 

emergence of semi-voiced stops, Umlaut, diphthongs, vowel reduction word-finally, mid tone and/or 

contour tones, etc. More often than usual, it proves to be difficult or even impossible to establish 

unambiguous links between the basic vocabulary of the various individual varieties and the currently 

available Proto-Bantu (PB) reconstructions. For these reasons, the reconstruction of Proto-A80 

„phonology, morphology, lexicon) and the study of the linguistic and extralinguistic processes which 

have contributed to the emergence of the present-day A80 varieties are crucial for our understanding 

of the linguistic, cultural and demographic history of this part of west-central Africa (filiation as well as 

contact-related phenomena and events). 

In this talk/poster, the authors will present the results of currently ongoing comparative research on 

this topic. They will briefly discuss each of the following issues: 

Proto-A80 phonological system (C, V, syllable, tone); 

Proto-A80 noun class system (and, if possible, other morphological traits); 

Concise overview of the group‟s newly available lexical reconstructions and their relative 

“depth”; 

Proportion of inherited characters (plesiomorphies) from PB vs. proportion of innovative 

characters (i.e. apomorphies): a short overview of shared or idiosyncratic linguistic changes; 

Possible origins of the innovations : transformation of inherited traits, internal innovations, 

borrowing (vertical or horizontal), language shift (via situations of advanced inegalitarian 

multilingualism); 

The group‟s internal structure as based on synapomorphies (shared innovations). 

References 

Cheucle M. (2012). Working towards Proto-A80, WOCAL, Buea, Cameroon, August 21 st 2012. 

Grollemund R. (2012). Nouvelles approches en classification : application aux langues bantu du Nord-Ouest. PhD 

Thesis: Université Lumière-Lyon 2. 

Klieman K. A. (1997). Hunters and farmers of the western equatorial rainforest: economy and society, 3000 B.C. to 

A.D. 1880. PhD Thesis: University of California Los Angeles. 

GS

Titre : BantU, bantI, bantA : les voyelles finales dans les langues du groupe kota-kele (B20). 

Approche comparative et écologique de parlers linguistiquement proches en situation de 

contact. 

Catégorie : présentation orale (session générale) OU poster 

Thématiques : contact de langues, plurilinguisme, linguistique historique et comparative 

Comment des parlers linguistiquement (très) similaires évoluent-ils et s’influencent-ils alors que 

leurs locuteurs entretiennent des relations d’échange intenses les uns avec les autres et que ces 

locuteurs sont amenés à les utiliser au quotidien dans un contexte de plurilinguisme généralisé ? 

Les auteurs de cette contribution tenteront d’apporter des éléments de réponse à cette question 

en s’appuyant sur une étude de cas : l’histoire complexe des voyelles finales des parlers du groupe 

B20. Ce dernier constitue un ensemble plutôt atypique dans le contexte du Gabon. Une étude 

approfondie de cet ensemble est actuellement en cours de réalisation (Mokrani, thèse de doctorat). 

Le B20 comprend une quinzaine de parlers structurelle-ment et génétiquement proches mais 

géographiquement souvent très dispersés. L’on rencontre des variétés B20 dans toutes les régions 

du Gabon à l’exception du sud-ouest, mais le plus grand nombre d’entre elles se trouvent 

concentrées dans la moitié est du pays, s’étendant du nord-est au sud. Certains voient dans cette 

distribution spatiale éclatée un indice de l’ancienneté de l’installation des locuteurs B20 dans la 

région. L’étude lexicostatistique de Bastin et Piron (1999) fait apparaître le groupe comme un 

ensemble flottant composé de deux sous-ensembles. D’autres travaux (Bastin et al. 1999, Alewijnse 

et al. 2007, Grollemund 2012) corroborent l’existence de deux, voire trois sous-groupes. 

L’éclatement spatial fait que les parlers se trouvent en contact permanent avec des variétés 

linguistiques d’autres groupes (B50 et B60 notamment). Dans plusieurs régions les locuteurs des 

parlers B20 entretiennent également des contacts réguliers et soutenus les uns avec les autres. 

L’étude de l’évolution des voyelles finales en B20 révèle une grande variabilité. Ces évolutions sont 

à situer dans un contexte géolinguistique d’affaiblissement de la voyelle finale. Chaque parler B20 

atteste, à des degrés variables, nombre de réalisations imprédictibles venant s’ajouter aux réflexes 

vocaliques réguliers. Cette situation confuse ne fait que s’amplifier du fait que des informateurs se 

réclamant d’une même variété mais venant de localités différentes livrent parfois des voyelles 

divergentes. Pris globalement, certaines variétés s’avèrent plus stables et donc moins sujettes à 

variation que d’autres. L’étude des réflexes vocaliques amène à distinguer entre développements 

internes aux parlers et développements externes. Les premiers, présents sous forme de tendances 

plus ou moins prononcées selon les parlers, s’expliquent notamment par des processus 

d’assimilation (propagation de traits vocaliques ([±arrière], etc.) et formation de diphtongues, 

contraintes sur les cooccurrences vocaliques, entourage consonantique, etc.). Les seconds ne 

peuvent s’expliquer que par des situations de contact intense et soutenu. 

L’écologie actuelle des parlers semble bien fournir tous les ingrédients pour l’élaboration de 

scénarios permettant de comprendre la complexité des évolutions : héritage linguistique, proximité 

structurelle, proximité spatiale (ou pas), plurilinguisme ambiant, prestige, fréquence d’utilisation 

des mots, nombre de locuteurs, degré de vitalité, absence de standardisation, contact soutenu, 

mobilité des individus et mélange des populations, stratégies matrimoniales et résidentielles, etc. Il 

est donc probable que la combinaison de tous ces facteurs, internes et externes, avec la similarité 

des formes, le contact régulier et le plurilinguisme en toute première position, a pu engendrer la 

situation actuelle. La connaissance et l’utilisation de formes (très) similaires en compétition directe 

peuvent finir par déconcerter les locuteurs plurilingues et les « embrouiller » quant à la « bonne » 

forme à utiliser. Les auteurs présenteront d’abord un aperçu des types d’évolutions phonologiques 

que ces parlers attestent ainsi qu’un synopsis des réflexes relevés (utilisation de cartes). Ils 

s’intéresseront ensuite aux divers facteurs ayant pu contribuer à la situation complexe actuelle et 

s’interrogeront sur les implications de cette situation pour les recherches sur la classification. 

Alewijnse B., Nerbonne J., Van der Veen L. & Manni F. (2007). A computational analysis of Gabon varieties. In 

Proceedings of the RANLP Workshop on Computational Phonology, Petya Osenova (ed.). Recent Advances in 

Natural Language Phonology conference, Borovetz 2007. 3-12. 

Bastin Y., Coupez A. & Mann M. (1999). Continuity and Divergence in the Bantu Languages: Perspectives from 

a Lexicostatistic Study. Tervuren: MRAC, Annales, Série in-8°, Sciences humaines 162. 

GS

Bastin Y. & Piron P. (1999). Classifications lexicostatistiques : bantou, bantou et bantoïde. De l’intérêt des 

‘groupes flottants’. In J-M. Hombert & L.M. Hyman, Bantu Historical Linguistics. Theoretical and Empirical 

Perspectives, 149-64. Stanford : CSLI Publications. 

Grollemund R. (2012). Nouvelles approches en classification : application aux langues bantu du Nord-Ouest. 

Thèse de doctorat soutenue le 17 septembre 2012 devant l’Université Lumière-Lyon 2. 

GS

Upstep in Mbugwe (F34) 

Vera Wilhelmsen, Uppsala University. E‐mail: vera.wilhelmsen@lingfil.uu.se 

Mbugwe (classified as F34, see Maho 2009) is a tonal Bantu language, with a high (H) tone and a low (L) 

default tone. On the surface, however, t<strong>here</strong> are more tone levels, due to phonological processes such 

as automatic downstep, a (super) low boundary tone, and upstep in certain contexts. Mbugwe also has 

H tone spread (HTS), in which a H tone spreads one mora to the right in most, but not all contexts. 

These phonological processes will be exemplified and the rules for when they apply will be given. 

Especially upstep will be investigated in detail, and an autosegmental analysis of the phenomenon will 

be given. 

T<strong>here</strong> are several different kinds of uptrends in Mbugwe. In some cases, when a H tone spreads 

one mora to the right, or t<strong>here</strong> are two consecutive H tones, underlyingly, the second mora is realized 

higher than the first mora. In both these cases it could be due to peak delay, however, w<strong>here</strong> the peak 

of the H tone is not reached until well into the next syllable or mora (see Myers 1999). In other cases, 

however, when t<strong>here</strong> are several adjacent H tones underlyingly, the last H tone is realized higher than 

the preceding ones, as in (1): The first mora of the verb root is upstepped, and then the H tone spreads 

one mora to the right. This mora is at the same height as the upstepped H. This is a clear example of 

upstep, and could not be due to peak delay. 

(1) vá-á-kó-ꜛ tómám-eyɛ 1 

SM3PL‐PST‐OM2PL‐serve‐HEST 2 

‘They served us (yesterday).’ 

The kind of upstep found in Mbugwe is similar to other kinds of upstep, w<strong>here</strong> a H is raised before a L 

tone, and specifically t<strong>here</strong> are similarities with Hyman’s 1992 analysis of Kirimi, which is classified as 

F32 (Maho 2009), and is quite close to Mbugwe geographically and perhaps genetically . In the paper we 

will investigate how this kind of upstep can be represented theoretically, foremost in an autosegmental 

analysis. One suggestion is a separate register tier, which may account for the upstep of certain H tones. 

(Hyman 1992; Snider 1990; Yip 2002). Given that upstep is rather unusual, at least compared with 

downstep, the presentation of new data and a suggestion for a theoretical account of the phenomenon 

will put the current theoretical assumptions and models to a test, and hopefully contribute to advance 

the field of tone studies in general and in Bantu languages specifically. 

Hyman, L.M. 1992. Register tones and tonal geometry. In The phonology of tone: the representation of 

tonal register, ed. by Harry van der Hulst and Keith L. Snider, p. 75‐108. Berlin: Mouton de 

Gruyter. 

Maho, J.F. 2009. NUGL online: The online version of the New Updated Guthrie List‐A referential 

classification of the Bantu languages. June 4, 2009. Online file: http://goto. glocalnet. 

net/mahopapers/nuglonline. pdf. 

Myers, S. 1999. Tone association and F0 timing in Chichewa. Studies in African Linguistics 28. 215‐239. 

Snider, K.L. 1990. Tonal upstep in Krachi: evidence for a register tier. Language 66.3, 453‐74. 

Yip, M.J.W. 2002. Tone. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. 

1 An acute accent indicates surface H tones, underlyingly H moras are underlined. Low tones are not marked. An 

upwards arrow marks upstep. Evidence that the first moras really are H and not L will be presented in the paper. 

2 Abbreviations used which are not from Leipzig Glossing rules: SM: subject marker, OM: object marker, HEST: 

hesternal tense. 

GS

“Strong Y-“ as an isogloss for Southern Bantu 

Jeffrey Wills, University of Zimbabwe, wills@ucu.edu.ua 

Two systems of conditioned obstruent changes are well-known and widespread 

in Eastern Savannah Bantu — the effects of spirantizing high vowels and of preceding 

nasals. But another important set of sound changes affected a smaller group of 

languages in Southern Bantu through the impact of the class 5 nominal prefix *(di)-į 

and the verbal prefix *jį- on following consonants. Hence, the difference between the 

reflexes of proto-Bantu *-kúmì ‘ten’ and the unconditioned outcomes of *k (in 

parentheses): N31 Cewa khúmi (k), P31 Makhuwa ni-khúmi ( ), S12 Zezuru gúmí (k), 

S21 Venda fúmí (h), S31 Tswana lesómé, S42 Zulu ishumi, S53 Tsonga khume. 

This general phenomenon is familiar: many of the relevant changes for 

individual languages are recorded in Guthrie’s lists under *yį- clusters, and recent 

attention has been given to the effects in individual languages, for example the 

detailed papers by Creissels and Schadeberg on Tswana and Makhuwa respectively. 

But problems remain and the general system has apparently not been re-examined 

since Eiselen presented the significant data for it in 1924. We offer an updated study of 

the range of the change, its consequences for language subgrouping, and improved 

reconstructions. 

First, the range of languages w<strong>here</strong> these changes take place is limited to 

Southern Bantu (with the exception of a few distant languages which are argued to 

have independent changes). This grouping is both areal and probably genetic (Ehret 

also forms this group based on innovations in lexical morphemes). Much of the 

evidence for this set of changes comes from irregular and fossilized forms, e.g. Chewa 

béle/maéle ‘breast(s)’, indicators of a common antique sound change rather than of 

areal borrowing. Before considering the special set of sound changes mentioned 

above, it is argued that the regular proto-So.Bantu reflex of non-nasalized PB*j is *y 

(not *z as Guthrie). 

Because changes to class 5 nouns are often leveled by analogy to class 6, 

many languages shows only vestiges of a sound change to initial consonants in those 

nouns. The changes are best preserved in the S10 (Shona group) and N30-40 

languages (Cewa, etc), from which data the general phonological pattern of the rule 

can be reconstructed. Particular attention is given to the effects on the proto-Bantu 

voiced obstruents. Fifteen verb stems in *jį- are also examined, as well as some 

reflexives, showing the same changes as in Class 5. 

The exact phonological path of the changes needs further clarification but it 

seems likely that, in many sandhi and word-internal contexts, *-i/į- became a glide that 

combined with the following consonant and apparently aspirated it. Accordingly, we 

argue that the source of the consonant changes is not a preceding ATR+ vowel per se, 

as is usually described, but rather a glide resulting from diphthongization of a high front 

vowel. Evidence for this comes from similar changes to C2 after a stem-internal 

diphthong, e.g. *bàįj- > Zezuru –veza, Kalanga -bezha, N. Sotho –bêtla (w<strong>here</strong>as 

unconditioned *j > y, ). Further evidence for a rule based on a glide rather than the 

ATR+ vowel comes from even a few examples with the ATR- front vowel. 

The effects of what might be called “strong y-” are similar to those caused by 

nasals in some languages (already observed by Bleek) and this has led some to 

suggest that į>n. But differing results from *n- and *y- in other languages argue for two 

different sound changes, the results of which then merged in some languages, with 

further leveling. This may address some of the proto-Bantu reconstruction doublets 

with a homorganic nasal infix, which seem to result from a preceding high front vowel. 

References: contributions by C. Ehret, D. Creissels, and Th. Schadeberg in J-M. 

Hombert & L. Hyman, Bantu Historical Linguistics: Theoretical and Empirical 

Perspectives (1999). 

GS

Asymmetries and Locality in Zulu right dislocation constructions 

Jochen Zeller, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa 

zeller@ukzn.ac.za 

With respect to object marking, Zulu (Nguni, S 42) counts as a symmetrical language (cf. Bresnan 

& Moshi 1990): either object NP of a ditransitive verb can be doubled by an object marker. The 

corresponding object NP must then exit the VP. (1a) shows right dislocation of the indirect object, 

in (1b), the direct object is dislocated. The unmarked object remains in the VP (see Cheng & 

Downing 2009; Adams 2010; Zeller 2012), and the verb is realised in the conjoint form: 

(1) a. U-John u-ba-nik-e i-mali]VP a-ba-ntwana. 

AUG-1a.John 1.SM-2.OM-give-PAST AUG-9.money AUG-2-child 

b. U-John u-yi-nik-e a-ba-ntwana]VP i-mali. 

AUG-1a.John 1.SM-9.OM-give-PAST AUG-2-child AUG-9.money 

'John gave the children the money.' 

Curiously, however, the symmetry shown in (1) breaks down in constructions such as (2a) and 

(2b), which express verum focus and display the disjoint verb form: 

(2) a. U-John u-ba-nik-il-e]VP i-mali a-ba-ntwana. 

AUG-1a.John 1.SM-2.OM-give-DIS-PAST AUG-9.money AUG-2-child 

'John did give the children the money.' 

b. *U-John u-yi-nik-il-e]VP a-ba-ntwana i-mali. 

AUG-1a.John 1.SM-9.OM-give-DIS-PAST AUG-2-child AUG-9.money 

Adams (2010) and Zeller (2012) argue that in (2), both object NPs are dislocated. In this case, 

only the indirect object can be object-marked; object marking of the direct object is excluded. 

In this paper I offer an analysis of "double dislocation" constructions such as (2a). I first 

provide additional empirical evidence from focus, NPI-licensing and word order that both NPs in 

these constructions are in fact dislocated, despite the occurrence of only one object marker. I then 

propose an analysis of the contrast between (1b) and (2b) which is based on the Probe-Goal 

system of Agree(ment) proposed in the Minimalist Program. In this system, Agree is constrained 

by Locality: a Probe always agrees with the closest Goal. I suggest that right-dislocation in Zulu is 

triggered by a VP-external low functional category F (cf. Buell 2008), which enters an Agreerelation 

with a potential Goal, a relation overtly expressed by object marking. I argue that 

potential Goals for dislocation are those NPs that have to be removed from the VP in order to 

allow focus to be expressed on VP-internal material (as in Cheng & Downing 2009). In simple 

dislocation constructions such as (1a) and (1b), only one of the VP-internal NPs counts as a 

potential Goal. When the direct object is a non-focus, it can t<strong>here</strong>fore be dislocated across the 

indirect object, because the latter does not count as an intervenor in terms of Locality. In contrast, 

verum focus implies that both object NPs are non-focus; consequently, both objects count as 

potential Goals. Locality t<strong>here</strong>fore dictates that the NP that first enters an Agree-relation with F 

must be the indirect object, which is closer to F, and dislocated first. Even though the direct object 

is subsequently dislocated as well, object marking is t<strong>here</strong>fore always with the "superior" indirect 

object. My analysis provides evidence that right dislocation in Zulu is a syntactic A-bar 

movement process that is triggered by an "antifocus feature" (cf. Ndayiragije 1999), even though 

the motivation for this movement may be prosodic, and related to the information structure. 

References 

Adams, N. 2010. The Zulu ditransitive verb phrase. PhD-thesis, The University of Chicago. 

Bresnan, J. and L. Moshi (1990). Object Asymmetries in Comparative Bantu Syntax. Linguistic Inquiry 21, 147-181. 

Buell, L. 2008. VP-Internal DPs and Right Dislocation in Zulu. Manuscript, University of Leiden. 

Cheng, L. & Downing, L.J. 2009. W<strong>here</strong>'s the Topic in Zulu? The Linguistic Review 26, 207-238. 

Ndayiragije, J., 1999. Checking Economy. Linguistic Inquiry 30, 399-444. 

Zeller, J. 2012. Object marking in isiZulu. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 30, 219-235. 

GS

Оbject indexation in Bantu: the competition of parameters (the case of Swahili and Kinyarwanda) 

Alexander Zheltov (St.Petersburg State Iniversity, Department of African Studies, ajujeltov@mail.ru 

Object indexation in Bantu have been attracting the interest of rather many linguists (see the list of 

literature). The Bantu languages demonstrate different strategies of object indexation which depend on 

such parameters as syntactic function, pragmatic status, position of NP in the animacy hierarchy (deictic 

hierarchy) The occurence and the order of object indexes can be explained by the combination of these 

factors. In the presentation these factors are analysed for constructions with 3-valency verbs. For Swahili 

only one object index is possible, while in Kinyarwanda the verb can include indexes for both Patient 

(Theme) and Recepient. Swahili in general prefers to use the position of verbal object index for 

Patient/Theme, but the influence of animacy (deictic) hierarchy can be observed in some examples: 

If patient/theme is animated/human the indexation is obligatory, otherwise – facultative (for –peleka «to 

send»): 

Ni-li-m-peleka mwanafunzi kwake. But * Ni-li-Ø-peleka mwanafunzi kwake. 

1SG-PAST-OBJ.HUM-send a student to him/her» 

Ni-li-ki-peleka kitabu kwake. = Ni-li-Ø-peleka kitabu kwake. 

1SG-PAST-OBJ.INAN-send a book to him 

If both the patient/theme and the addressee/recipient are pronouns verbal index points to the patient/theme 

(without applicative suffix): 

A-li-ni-onyesha kwako 

3SG-PAST-1SG.OBJ-show to you. 

However if the Recepient is 1 or 2 Sg and patient/theme is 3 Pl and is expressed by Demonstrative the 

indexation of Recepient is possible even without applicative suffix: 

A-li-ni-onyesha hao. 

3SG-PAST-1SG.OBJ-show those (people). 

So, for Swahili: if the rank of Recepient is substantially higher than that of patient/theme it can be indexed 

in the verb even without applicative suffix; if the rank is equal patient/theme is indexed. 

Hence, for Swahili: patient/theme > recipient, personal pronouns > nouns/demonstratives 

For Kinyrwanda absolutely different strategy is used the influence of animacy (deictic) hierarchy being 

much more important. Recepient occurs closer to the stem than Patient (Theme) when the hierarchical 

status of actants is equal, but animacy/deictic dimesion is more important than semantic role: 

A-za-ba-ny-ereka 

3SG-FUT-3PL.Recepient-2SG.Theme –show = 3SG-FUT-3PL.Theme-2SG.Recepient –show 

He will show you to them. = He will show them to you. 

It is the hierarchical status of pronouns that determines the order of verbal indexes, but not the semantic 

role. 

So, Bantu languages vary greatly in choosing strategies of object indexation for 3-valency verbs, but 

surface syntactic structures can not be adequately understood if to ignore the influence of animacy 

(deictic) hierarchy, though the degree of it is different. 

Literature 

Allan, Keith Anaphora, Cataphora, and Topic Focusing: Functions of the Object Prefix in Swahili. // Current Approaches to African 

Linguistics, Volume 1, Dordrecht – Cinnaminson, 1983, 323 –335. 

Hyman, Larry M., and Alessandro Duranti. 1982. On the object relation in Bantu. In Studies in transitivity, ed. S. A. Thompson and 

P. Hopper, 217–239. New York: Academic Press. 

Nicolle, Steve The Swahili Object Marker: Syntax, Semantics and Mythology. // Proceedings 2nd World Congress of African 

Linguistics, Leipzig, 1997, H.E.Wolff and O.Gensler (eds), 679-689. 

Nurse, Derek, and Gérard Philippson, ed. 2003. The Bantu languages. London: Routledge. 

Seidel, Amanda, and Alexis Dimitriadis. 1997. The discourse function of object marking in Swahili. In CLS 33: The Main Session, 

373–389. 

Zheltov, Alexander Object indexation in Bantu (Swahili and Kinyaruanda) // Papers on African Studies – 2009, St. Petersburg, 

2009, 174-181 (in Russian) 

GS

PS 

Anatomie et physiologie humaine dans les langues bantu: une réflexion sémantique 

Michela Araújo Ribeiro (Universidade Federal de Rondônia/Brasil) michelamar_2007@hotmail.com 

Jacky Maniacky ( Musée Real da África Central, Tervuren, Bélgica) jacky.maniacky@africamuseum.be 

Les parties du corps sont bien connues comme étant représentatives du vocabulaire de base d'une 

langue, peu perméables à l'emprunt, quoique sujettes à des variations pour diverses raisons telles que 

les tabous. C'est également un domaine particulièrement propice aux changements sémantiques, dont 

certains considérés comme universaux. Nous analysons ici quelques-unes des situations rencontrées 

en bantu (y compris pour ce qui est du vocabulaire physiologique) et parfois qualifiées de séries 

osculentes par Guthrie. 

Il existe des glissements de sens: 

mbombo cráneo A33b Kômbè (FERNANDEZ, 1951:230) 

mbombo testa H16 Kikongo (DA SILVA MAIA, 1994:609) 

imbombo ridge of the nose S42 Zulu (DOKO & VILAKAZI, 1949:82) 

Cela se traduit dans certains cas par une variation de l'amplitude sémantique: 

lwaála finger F31 Nilamba (YUKAWA, 1982:2) 

-yádá fingenail D25 Lega (BOTNE, 1994:56) 

Une autre source de variation lexicale vient du procédé de déverbativisation: 

-nwa drink M31 Nyakyusa (FELBERG, 1996:163) 

akanwa mouth M31 Nyakyusa (FELBERG, 1996:13) 

lendé to go, to walk A22 Bakweri (KAGAYA, 1992:117) 

mmendé leg, shin A22 Bakweri (KAGAYA, 1992:85) 

Enfin, nous rencontrons des cas de développement figuré: 

ngɔndɔ lune, menstruation C71 ɔtɛtɛla (HAGENDORENS, 1956: 199, 211) 

kwezi lune, menstruation L33 Kiluba (GILLIS, 1981: 308, 325) 

A l'aide d'une cartographie des réflexes des différentes situations sémantiques abordées, nous 

proposons chaque fois un scénario diachronique. 

Quelques références générales: 

Brown, Cecil H. & Witkowski, Stanley R. 1981. Figurative language in a universalist perspective. 

American Ethnologist 8: 596-615. 

Enfield, N.J.; Majid, A.; van Staden, M. 2006. Cross-linguistic categorization of the body: introduction. 

Language Sciences 28: 137-147. 

Guthrie, M. 1967-1970. Comparative Bantu. 4 vol. Gregg <strong>International</strong> Publishers Ltd. 

Homburger, L. 1929. Noms des parties du corps dans les langues négro-Africaines. Paris: Édouard 

Champion, 118 p.

Cross-linguistic uniformity in neutral agreement phenomena: 

evidence from Indo-European and Zulu 

Leston Chandler Buell, , University of Amsterdam and Leiden University 

Merijn de Dreu, , Leiden University 

In Indo-European languages, neuter gender has two types of uses. In Romance languages, it is only 

used for certain grammatical functions, a phenomenon referred to as ‘neutral agreement’ by Corbett 

(1991), while in other languages, such as Slavic and some Germanic languages, it is additionally used 

as a lexical gender assigned to many nouns. In these languages, the term ‘neuter’ is intuitive, because 

it stands in opposition to masculine and feminine genders, which are (to some extent) sex-based. In 

contrast, Bantu languages have elaborate noun class systems which are not rooted in sex, making the 

concept ‘neuter’ seem irrelevant. However, in this talk, we show that the exact same cluster of 

grammatical functions associated with neuter gender in Germanic and Romance is also associated 

with a single noun class in Zulu, namely the historically locative noun class 17. This claim is 

supported with data from both Zulu and a variety of European languages, especially Romance and 

Germanic. This concurrence of uses suggests that the set of phenomena associated with Corbett’s 

“neutral agreement” is cross-linguistically uniform and independent of the way of the lexicon is 

organized. In other words, it leads us to predict that in any given language the same range of 

grammatical functions will be associated with a single agreement class regards of the nature and 

number of its noun classes. 

The functions associated with neutral agreement (i.e., Indo-European neuter and Zulu class 

17) can be divided into three types. First, the “generic” uses involve referents lacking any specific 

class properties. These include real-world objects without discourse-established names (e.g., “this” 

in “What do you call this?”) and situations (e.g., “that” in “John didn’t come. Does that surprise 

you?”), as well as the de-adjectival construction in (1): 

(1) a. ôkû-hlé ngó-thândò [Zulu] 

17-beautiful about:DET-11.love 

b. het mooie aan liefde [Dutch] 

DET.N beautiful about love 

‘what is beautiful about love’ 

Second are the expletive uses found in a wide range of constructions in Zulu and European languages, 

including clauses with ‘seem’-like verbs, impersonal passives, various inversion constructions, and 

existential constructions. (We follow Buell (2012) in assuming that Zulu class 17 is not locative in 

nature.) Most surprising is the third type, which involves the subject of nominal predication. Neutral 

agreement can be used with a subject of nominal predication (and of no other type of predication) 

even when referring to a human, as shown in Zulu in (2): 

(2) Ú-Sîphò kw-â-kú-ngù-ḿngànè wéthù. 

DET-1Sipho 17SM-PST-17SM-COP-1friend 1our 

‘Sipho was our friend.’ 

The fact these grammatical functions cluster together cross-linguistically does not prevent the 

associated agreement class from also being used in additional, language-specific ways. For instance, 

neuter is used as a lexical class for nouns in German, but not in French, and Zulu arguably also has 

no class 17 nouns. Additionally, Zulu class 17 can be used as subject agreement for conjoined nouns 

of unlike classes, a usage unlike that of neuter in European languages. 

PS

High tone spreading in four Sotho-Tswana varieties 

Denis Creissels, CNRS–DDL, denis.creissels@univ-lyon2.fr 

This paper examines contrasts in the range of high tone spreading in four Sotho-Tswana varieties: 

Southern Sotho – Letele (1955), Köhler (1956), Letšeng (1995), Pedi (alias Northern Sotho) – 

Lombard (1976), Zerbian & Barnard (2009), the Ngwaketse dialect of Tswana – Creissels (1998), 

Creissels & al. (2007), and the Kgatla dialect of Tswana as spoken in Mochudi (Botswana) – author’s 

field notes. 

Southern Sotho, Pedi and Ngwaketse have in common that, with just one exception (the 

grammatical high tone found in some verb tenses, such as the conjoint form of the perfect), they only 

have local tone spreading. They differ in that, in Southern Sotho and Pedi, t<strong>here</strong> is no spreading at 

word boundaries, and local spreading never affects more than one syllable, w<strong>here</strong>as in Ngwaketse, 

the initial syllable of a word may be affected by the spreading of a high tone underlyingly belonging 

to the preceding word, and most word-internal spreading processes have a possible range of two 

syllables, as illustrated by the following example, in which the only underlying high tones are those 

associated to the first syllable of the verb stem -kótul- and to the second syllable of the noun stem 

-bɛlɛ́. 

(Southern Sotho) kɩ̀-kótúl-à mà-bɛ̀lɛ́ ‘I am harvesting sorghum.’ 

(Ngwaketse) kɩ̀-kótúl-á má-bɛ̀lɛ́ same meaning 

1SG-harvest-FV CL6-sorghum 

The Kgatla dialect of Tswana sharply contrasts with the other three varieties in that, in Kgatla, longdistance 

spreading is pervasive, as illustrated by the following example, in which the only underlying 

high tones are those associated to the first syllable of the verb stem -bófʊlʊl- and to the second 

syllable of the noun stem -qʰomʊ́). 

(Ngwaketse) kɩ̀-bófʊ́lʊ́l-ɛ̀l-à mʊ̀tʰìbì dì-qʰòmʊ́ ‘I am untying the cows for Mothibi’ 

(Kgatla) kɩ̀-bófʊ́lʊ́l-ɛ́l-á mʊ́tʰíbí dí-qʰòmʊ́ same meaning 

1SG-untie-APPL-FV Mothibi CL10-cow 

The paper aims mainly to analyze the long-distance spreading processes of Kgatla and their possible 

relationship with the local spreading processes of other Sotho-Tswana varieties. The observation of 

some limitations to high tone spreading are particularly significant in this repect. For example, in 

Kgatla, in the configuration illustrated by the following example, in which the underlying high tones 

are those of the subject marker bá- and of the first syllable of tsʰímʊ, the last syllable of the verb 

preceding a noun whose first syllable bears a H tone can be affected by the spreading of a preceding 

H tone if and only if the distance between the last syllable of the verb and the syllable to which the 

high tone underlyingly belongs does not exceed two syllables. 

(Kgatla) bá-lɩ́m-á tsʰímʊ̀ ‘They are ploughing the field.’ 

CL2-plough-FV [CL9]field 

References 

bá-tɬʰáχʊ́l-à tsʰímʊ̀ ‘They are weeding the field.’ 

CL2-weed-FV [CL9]field 

Creissels, D. 1998. ‘Expansion and retraction of high tone domains in Setswana’. In L.M. Hyman & 

C.W. Kisseberth (eds.) Theoretical aspects of Bantu tone. Stanford: CSLI Publications. 133-194. 

Creissels, D., A.M. Chebanne and H.W. Nkhwa. 1997. Tonal morphology of the Setswana verb. LINCOM 

Studies in African Linguistics. 

Letele, G.L., The Role of Tone in the Southern Sotho Language (Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor 

of Philosophy in the University of London), Lovedale Press 1955. 

Letšeng, M. 1995. ‘La structure tonale du verbe en sotho du sud’. Masters thesis. Grenoble: Université 

Stendhal. 

Köhler, O., ‘Das Tonsystem des Verbum im Südsotho’, Mitteilungen des Instituts für Orientforschung, 4, 

1956, pp. 435-474. 

Lombard D.P., Aspekte van Toon in Noord-Sotho, Thèse de doctorat, University of South Africa, 1976. 

Zerbian, S. and E. Barnard. 2009. ‘Realisations of a single high tone in Northern Sotho’. Southern 

African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 27(4). 357–379. 

PS

Sepitori: A Pretoria koiné language that could help revive interest in two Bantu 

languages in South Africa 

Thabo Ditsele; Student registered for Doctor Technologiae: Language Practice at Tshwane University of 

Technology (TUT), Pretoria, South Africa; ditsele@hotmail.com 

Purpose: 

The Dutch arrived in Pretoria (South Africa’s capital city) in 1855 and started to build a city. Labour was 

provided by the local Setswana speakers who were later joined by speakers of a mutually intelligible 

language, Sepedi; the latter came from Limpopo province. Setswana and Sepedi are Bantu languages 

(BLs) and predominant and/or significant in six out of nine South Africa’s provinces. 

The purpose of this poster is to present evidence that Sepitori (Pretoria Sotho) – a non-standard variety 

(NSV) that developed over time since 1855 – is not just a koiné, but a variety that has spread beyond 

Pretoria, and could be used to strengthen the standard varieties (SVs) of its substrate, Setswana and 

superstrate, Sepedi. This is against the worrying trend that the use of BLs is declining; one contributing 

factor being an increasing gap between the spoken and written varieties. 

Methods/Results: 

Sentences from recordings of first language Sepitori speakers are analysed alongside Setswana and 

Sepedi and w<strong>here</strong> warranted, against Afrikaans and English, which also influence(d) the koiné. English 

translations are given. 

Here is an example: (more sentences will be on the poster) 

Sepitori Ka mo itse dié man; o rata ho APARA setlhako se one. 

Setswana Ke a mo itse monna yo; o rata go rwala setlhako se le sengwe. 

Sepedi Ke a mo tseba monna yo; o rata go APARA seeta se le tee. 

English I know this man; he likes to wear one shoe. 

Consistent with being a koiné, Sepitori’s grammar reflects that of Setswana and Sepedi. Significant parts 

of speech are highlighted using bold (Setswana), underlining (Afrikaans), UPPERCASING (Sepedi) and 

italics (English). On the poster, a further detailed analysis is provided, particularly w<strong>here</strong> Sepitori follows 

either Setswana or Sepedi, and w<strong>here</strong> the latter two have marked differences. 

The poster shows a map of South Africa with: (1) the area w<strong>here</strong> the local Setswana speakers lived at 

before the Dutch arrived; (2) the route of the Dutch from Cape Town to Pretoria; (3) the route of Sepedi 

speakers from Limpopo to Pretoria; and (4) the current spread of Sepitori. 

Conclusion: 

The following are not disputed: (1) NSVs have and continue to influence SVs of BLs; and (2) the gap 

between the two varieties is so wide that people continue – at a worrying rate – to lose interest in studying 

SV of BLs. These developments have the potential to see the onset of language attrition in a few 

generations’ time. Comparatively, the gap between the two varieties of Germanic languages – English 

and Afrikaans – is much narrower. This is significant because the two are well developed and remain 

languages of prestige. Currently, language purists oppose suggestions that NSVs could and should be 

used to strengthen SVs of BLs, despite evidence that the use of the former is on the increase, while the 

latter is on a decrease. As a possible intervention to revive interest in BLs, NSVs should be used to 

narrow the gap between what people ordinarily speak, and what they are taught in formal settings – like it 

is the case with English and Afrikaans. Sepitori could and should be used to revive interest in its 

substrate, Setswana and superstrate, Sepedi. 

References: 

[1] ALEXANDER, N. 1989. [2] BICKERTON, D. 1991. [3] CALTEAUX, K. 1996. [4] FINLAYSON, R., 

CALTEAUX, K. & MYERS-SCOTTON, C. 1998. [5] SCHURING, G.K. 1985. [6] SIEGEL, J. 2005. [7] 

WEBB, V. 2010. [8] WEBB, V., LAFON, M. & PARE, P. 2010. 

PS

Modifications des courbes tonales en akwá de la chanson de Kingoli 

Par 

Guy-Roger Cyriac Gombé-Apondza, 

Université Marien Ngouabi de Brazzaville 

Comme son titre l’indique, le présent travail se propose d’analyser le fonctionnement des 

tonèmes en akwá chanté par Kingoli. 

Kingoli est un groupe tradi-moderne qui vit le jour dans les années 80. Il a la particularité 

d’avoir des chansons constituées d’éléments aussi bien phoniques que lexicaux de toutes les 

variétés dialectales de l’akwá (epéré, akwá mbangi, akwá bá ngo). 

L’akwá, quant à lui, est une langue bantu de la zone C classée successivement par Guthrie 

[1953 :154], Obenga [1973 : 58] et Bastin [1978 : 123] dans le groupe C20. Il est localisé au 

nord du Congo Brazzaville, dans le département de la Cuvette, précisément dans la souspréfecture 

de Makoua et ses environs. 

Comme la quasi-totalité des parlers du groupe C20 ( le mboxo, le ngaré, le koyo, l’ɛmbɔsi, le 

likwala et le likuba), l’akwá dispose de deux tonèmes : l’un haut et l’autre bas. 

Exemple : 

pí "calme"/pi "sombre". 

Ces tonèmes peuvent se rencontrer et créer la fusion au où ils seraient identiques ou des 

modulations qui peuvent être haut-bas ou bas-haut, au cas où ils seraient différents comme 

dans l’exemple ci-après : 

ikǎ "rivalité" 

mâ "maman". 

Il arrive, cependant, qu’il y ait des perturbations de courbes tonales sous l’influence de la 

mélodie. C’est dans ce contexte qu’un tonème haut peut être réalisé : 

- Bas (exemple : nga au lieu de ngá "moi") ; 75 occurrences 

- Bas-haut (exemple : wâ au lieu de wá "lui" 22 occurrences 

De même, sous l’effet de la mélodie, un tonème bas peut être réalisé : 

- Haut (exemple : móró au lieu de moro "personne") 80 occurences 

- Haut-bas (otémâ au lieu de otéma) 17 occurrences. 

De notre corpus, il ressort le constat selon lequel lorsqu’il est perturbé, le tonème bas est, 

dans bien des cas, remplacé par le tonème haut. 

PS

Malgré ces différents exemples, il y a, de manière générale, très peu d’exemples de 

perturbations tonales confirmant ainsi les propos de Louis-Jean Calvet [1981 : 28] selon 

lesquels "dans la rencontre entre musique et langue que constitue la chanson, la musique ne 

va pas à l’encontre de la langue". 

PS

Informational Prominence in Kol 

Bonnie Henson, SIL <strong>International</strong>, bonnie_henson@sil.org 

Informational prominence in Kol, a Narrow Bantu language of eastern Cameroon, has yet to 

be researched. This paper will explore cleft constructions, question formation, and other 

focus strategies, as well as their implications from comparative and diachronic perspectives. 

(Interestingly, while neighboring related languages mark focus via a specific marker ó, the 

evidence for a cognate morpheme in Kol is inconclusive.) 

A number of linguists since Schachter (1973) have noted that many languages exhibit similar 

morphosyntax in cleft constructions and relative clauses. Kol is an additional example of this 

cross-linguistic tendency, as can be seen by comparing the cleft in (1) with the relative clause 

in (2). Relative clauses in Kol are prototypically marked by a floating high (H) tone on the 

left boundary of the clause and the clitic =è on the right boundary. 

(1) kwàn bə́ ɲ=í bwɔ̀g=è. 

honey be+H he/she=PST1 harvest.honey= REL 

'It's honey he collected.' 

(2) bw-ân m=é jâmb bè-dób=è 

2-child H+ I-PST1 prepare 8-food=REL 

'The children that I prepared food for…." 

Question formation offers evidence that this formal similarity has led to a reanalysis of 

relative clause morphology as focus morphology. Synchronically, Kol has two possibilities 

for questions: the question word or phrase may remain in situ as in (3) or it may appear 

sentence-initially as in (4). However, if it appears sentence-initially, presumably in a focus 

position, the question exhibits relative clause morphosyntax. 

(3) w=ú bì jwó w-ô mbì ? 

you=PST1 trap 9OBJ 3-which 3.type 

'How did you catch it?' 

(4) w-ô mbì w=ú bì jw=é ? 

3-which 3.type H+you=PST1 trap 9OBJ=REL 

'How did you catch it?' 

A presumable further extension has made relative clause formation possible even when t<strong>here</strong> 

is no evidence of movement of the question word as shown in (5). 

(5) ncî gò nc=ê? 

who PROG come=REL 

'Who is coming?' 

References: 

Schachter, Paul. 1973. Focus and Relativization. Language 49 (1):19-46. 

PS

A la recherche des voyelles finales perdues en ruwund L53. 

Résumé 

Par KASOMBO TSHIBANDA Michaël 

Université de Lubumbashi 

E-mail : michelkasombo@gmail.com 

Cette communication montre que l’absence généralisée des voyelles finales en ruwund 

(ruund L53, langue bantu de la R.D.C.) ne remonte ni à l’ancêtre proche (protoruwund) ni à 

l’ancêtre lointain (protobantu). C’est le résultat d’une évolution de la langue originelle qui a 

perdu les voyelles finales comme en témoigne la langue moderne. Celle-ci se démarque tout 

au moins du protobantu dont les reconstructions signalent des voyelles finales. Les études 

antérieures ont toujours insisté sur l’absence des voyelles finales en ruwund sans jamais tenter 

de remonter le cours de l’histoire : Stappers, L. (1954), Vincke, J.L. (1966), N’landu, N. 

(1986), Nash, J.A. (1992-1994). Les évidences de voyelles finales dans la langue ruwund 

originelle transparaissent dans les données synchroniques à deux niveaux. Au niveau 

segmental, outre la voyelle a nettement perçue, des vestiges des voyelles i et u finales existent 

alors que e et o, parmi les cinq voyelles attestées, semblent exclues dans cette position dans la 

langue tant originelle que moderne. Exemples : 

(1) * kúdíà (*- dia) → kúdâ ‘’manger’’, soit le maintien de la voyelle finale originelle 

dans la langue moderne, après élision de i du radical verbal ; 

(2) * ŋéndì (*- gèndì) → ŋênj ‘’un étranger’’ (de kwend ‘’voyager’’), soit une perte de i 

finale après palatalisation de d) ; 

(3) * mpúkù (*- púkù-) → mpûkw ‘’rat’’, soit une dévocalisation de u finale, articulée 

aujourd’hui comme une semi-voyelle w. 

Au niveau suprasegmental, la récurrence d’un ton complexe descendant en syllabe finale 

fermée de mots est une preuve du déplacement vers la gauche d’un ton bas ayant perdu son 

support vocalique et récupéré sur la syllabe précédente où il fusionne avec le ton initial. Ce 

ton bas flottant est vestige d’une voyelle v finale effacée mais qu’on peut phonétiquement 

restaurer dans bon nombre de cas : 

(4) * díítámv4 (* - támà) → díítâm ‘’ la joue’’ 

Une démarche à la fois diachronique, basée sur des données synchroniques internes à la 

langue, et dialectologique, prenant en compte des variantes dialectales de la langue, permet de 

vérifier cette hypothèse et d’ouvrir une nouvelle perspective dans l’approche de la chute des 

voyelles finales dans les langues du monde. 

PS

Bantu grammatical description from an insider’s point of view 

IM Kosch 

Department of African Languages, University of South Africa 

koschim@unisa.ac.za 

This paper aims to take a critical look at the grammatical descriptions of Bantu languages 

from the time when these languages were first committed to writing, with particular 

reference to Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa). The 19 th century saw the emergence of 

a tradition of grammatical descriptions of the Bantu languages, mainly inaugurated by 

missionaries. Their groundbreaking work laid the foundation for future grammatical 

descriptions, but the question that needs to be answered is whether and to what extent 

their approaches have actually curtailed or promoted the grammatical description of these 

languages. T<strong>here</strong> are many indications that they tried to fit these languages into the 

descriptive mould of the European languages. The distinction of the grammatical 

category ‘case’ can be cited <strong>here</strong> as a short-lived attempt at making sense of the different 

usages of nouns in the nominative, genitive, dative or accusative case. It was soon 

realised that the distinction of cases was insignificant for the Bantu languages, as nouns 

are not marked inflectionally in a similar way as, for example, in German. This 

conceptual grid was evidently alien to the grammatical analysis of the Bantu languages. 

The Eurocentric understanding of certain categories and phenomena distorted or obscured 

the linguistic facts of the languages. Van Wyk (1968:105) calls them “sins of projection”, 

but he affirms that they are a universal problem in linguistic methodology and not a 

weakness exclusive to the study of Bantu grammar. 

Over time, the Bantu languages increasingly became objects of scientific analysis and it 

became clear that grammatical descriptions had to be done from an insider’s point of 

view to disperse some wrong perceptions. The paper intends to highlight some recent 

research findings that have led to a refinement of our understanding of certain 

phenomena. A case in point is the concept of pronominalisation. Pronouns are 

traditionally said to substitute nouns (or word groups). In the Bantu languages, however, 

pronominalisation is the result of the deletion of a noun (or word group) to which the 

pronoun refers. (Louwrens, 1981, 1985). Another example concerns the so-called 

‘imperfect tense morpheme’, which has erroneously been linked to ‘tense’. A study by 

Kosch (1988), however, demonstrates that it is actually a marker of discourse 

information, rather than a tense-marker. 

Kosch, IM. 1988. ‘Imperfect tense -a’ of Northern Sotho revisited. South African Journal 

of African Languages 8(1):1–6. 

Louwrens, LJ. 1981. ‘n Perspektief op Wilkes se delesiehipotese oor pronominalisasie in 

Bantoe. Studies in Bantoetale 8(1):36–57. 

Louwrens, LJ. 1985. Contrastiveness and the so-called absolute pronoun in Northern 

Sotho. South African Journal of African Languages 5(2):58–61. 

Van Wyk, EB. 1968. Die invloed van die Europease tale en die Europese linguistiese 

tradisie op die studie van die Bantoetale. In: Cronjé, G. (ed.), Kultuurbeïnvloeding 

tussen Blankes en Bantoe in Suid-Afrika. Pretoria: JL van Schaik Ltd. 

PS

NASALISATION DES VOYELLES EN MBOCHI (C25) 

Résumé 

Le travail de Nzete (1980) montre que les voyelles nasales sont attestées dans le parler mbochi de 

bokwele. On y trouve de parfaites paires minimales: asá “champs” / ãsá “cultivateurs”. Nous en avons 

aussi identifié dans le parler de bonyala. Notre étude se base sur un corpus de 410 mots recueillis dans 

14 parlers bantu des groupes C20 et C30. Ce corpus témoigne également de l’existence des voyelles 

nasalisées dans le parler de bonyala : ɔ̃kangá “racine”, ɔ̃ beesi, “preteur”, ãlóngó “sang”. 

Plusieurs études ont dégagé des universaux de la nasalisation des voyelles dans les langues du 

monde (Crothers 1978, Rhulen 1978, Maddieson 1984, Hombert 1986...). La présente étude se propose 

d’analyser le comportement des voyelles dans la langue mbochi en synchronie et d’étudier leur évolution 

diachronique. Elle se propose de donner une explication diachronique à l’existence des voyelles nasales 

dans ces deux parlers. Elle met en parallèle les 14 parlers pour démontrer que les voyelles nasales 

observées en mbochi sont le résultat d’une chute systématique de la consonne nasale du préfixe de classe. 

En mbochi les préfixes sont de formes CV-. Quand le thème auquel ils sont affixés commence par une 

consonne, ces consonnes préfixales tombent dans certains dialectes. Le parler moi et celui de bonyala 

(dans une moindre mesure) sont les seuls sur cette liste à conserver cette consonne. Quand il s’agit d’une 

nasale (classes 1, 3, 4 et 6), après sa chute, le trait [+nasal] se reassocie à la voyelle donnant lieu aux 

voyelles nasalisées dans les parlers de Bokwele et de Bonyala. 

Ce phénomène de réassociation ne s’applique que sur ces deux parlers. Dans le reste des parlers 

ces voyelles conservent leur trait [+oral]. La mise en paralèlle des mots des différents parlers nous 

permet de mieux observer cette évolution : 

moi bokwele boundji 

maloìngaì ~ ãlóngó ~ alóngó “sang” 

Quand le thème commence par une voyelle, le préfixe perd plutôt sa voyelle. Dans ce cas, même 

quand cette consonne est nasale, sa nasalité ne se propage pas sur la voyelle du thème. Cela nous amène à 

prouver entre autres qu’il n’y a pas propagation du trait [+nasal], donc pas d’assimilation regressive 

(Hyman 1972, Chen 1975) dans cette langue, mais plutôt refixation dudit trait de la gauche vers la droite, 

assimilation progressive (Hombert 1986). 

moi obaa bonyala boundji 

m-ína ~ m-ína ~ m-ína ~ mína “dents” 

PS

Typologie de la réduplication dans des langues bantu du Congo 

Abstract 

La réduplication a fait l’objet de plusieurs études sur les langues bantu (Odden & Odden 1985, 

1996; Kiyomi & Davis 1992; Mutaka & Hyman 1990 and Downing 1994, 1996, Laura Downing 1999 et 

2001). Très peu de travaux se sont intéressés à ce phénomène dans les langues bantu du Congo. 

La présente étude analyse les différents types de réduplications dans des langues bantu du 

Congo. Elle vise la proposition d’une ébauche de typologie des différents changements qui découlent 

de la réduplication. Il se base sur les dictionnaires mbochi-français (SIL-Congo 2001), beembefrançais 

(SIL-Congo 2010), le manuscrit du dictionnaire teke-français, lingala bien d’autres manuels 

d’écriture et de lecture en langues congolaises. 

Cette étude s’étend à la comparaison du phénomène de réduplication et ses conséquences dans 

les langues bantu des groupes C20, C30, H10 et B70. Elle décrit ce phénomène et ses répercussions sur 

le plan phonique, morphologique et sémantique. 

Elle montre que dans tous les cas, la réduplication est progressive, elle se fait de la gauche vers 

la droite. Dans les parlers C20 et C30, le ton haut est l’élément obligatoire de la réduplication, il se 

réalise sur le segment rédupliqué. Il s’agit là d’une contribution aux études existant sur l’implication 

du ton dans la réduplication (Myers & Carleton 1996, Mutaka & Hyman 1990, Walsh 1992…). 

Selon les langues, les éléments réduplicables sont : la première syllabe du mot (1 et 2), le 

thème (7) ou de tout le mot (6). Sur le plan sémantique, la réduplication de la syllabe entraîne 

généralement le sens « véritable… » (Intensif), celle du thème correspond au sens « faire sans 

méthode… » dans les parler H10 et C30, à « qui a subit… » dans les parlers C20, celle du mot renvoie à 

« véritable… » en B70, à « à la manière de… » en C20 et C30 et à « plusieurs fois… » La dérivation qui 

en résulte se fait de nom à nom (1, 2, 3), de nom à adverbe de manière (6 et 3), de verbe à adjectif (7), 

de verbe à nom (5 et 8) et d’adjectif simple à adjectif intensifié (10). 

1. Mbochi (C20) : moro “personne” > mó-moro “véritable personne” 

2. Beembe (H10): bɔ́ɔmɔ́ “peur” > mu-bɔ́ -bɔɔmɔ “véritable peureux” 

3. Teke (B70) : mbuuru “personne” > mbuuru-mbuuru “véritable personne” 

4. Beembe (H10): butsúku “matin” > butsúku- butsúku “matinalement” 

5. Beembe (H10): kudyaata “marcher” > ma-dyaata-dyaata “fait de marcher sans méthode” 

6. Mbochi (C20) : abɔ́ɔ “mains” > abɔ́ɔ- abɔ́ɔ “à l’unisson, ensemble” 

7. Mbochi (C20) : idima “s’éteindre”> idimá - dima “éteint” 

8. Lingala (C30) : koláta “porter” > bi-láta-láta “fait de porter sans méthode” 

9. Lingala (C30) : mabé “mauvais” > mabé- mabé “très mauvais” 

10. Mbochi (C20) : obé “mauvais” > obé- obé “très mauvais” 

PS

Abstract : Arguments for a Desemanticization of Verbs into Future Tense Markers in 

some Bantu Langauges 

According to Bybee (1994), desemanticiation theory begins with the observation that 

grammatical morphemes develop gradually out of lexical morphemes or combination of 

lexical morphemes. Thus, the source meaning of lexical morphemes determines the 

grammaticalization path that the grammatical morpheme will travel in its semantic 

development. Constructions involving movement verbs for example are found to be the 

sources of markers not only of future, but also of past and progressive. 

In this paper, we go beyong the listing of the grammatical morphemes which the verb « go » 

could evolve into to argue that future markers in some Bantu languages of Cameroon evolved 

from constructions which signal movement towards a goal which requires that the verb stem 

bears appropriate tense and directional marking. We go further to demonstrate that in these 

languages a lexical morpheme that often occurs in an environment in which a certain 

inference is made can come to be associated with that inference to such an extent that the 

inference becomes part of the explicit meaning of the grammatical morpheme. In this light, 

five verbs namely the verb “to go”, “to do”, “to sleep”, “to stay/remain”, and “to last” with the 

evolution of the language have gradually undergone the process of desemantization; that is in 

addition to their lexical meaning, they have received a grammatical function and have 

eventually developed into a grammatical morpheme. Based on the source determination 

hypothesis, we advocate that the development of future markers in these languages is 

characterized by the dynamic coevolution of meaning and form. 

References 

- Bybee, Joan L., Revere P., William P. (1994). The Evolution of Grammar: tense, aspect and 

modality in the languages of the world. The University of Chicago Press. U.S.A. 

- Pius Tamanji (2010). Variation Theory: Grammaticalization of African languages. Course 

taught to Master students. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, University of 

Yaounde I, Cameroon. 

PS

L’applicatif en kikongo véhiculaire (H10A) et en civili (H12): constructions, fonctions discursives et variation diatopique 

Par Guy N’DOULI (Université Libre de Bruxelles, ULB) 

gndouli@ulb.ac.be 

Le kikongo véhiculaire est un parler classifié par Maho en H10A . Il est pratiqué en République du Congo (Congo‐Brazzaville), en RD 

Congo et en Angola respectivement selon les glossonymes suivants: kituba / munukutuba; kikongo ya léta / monokotuba et 

kikongo. Le civili, fiote, fiot ou kivili est une langue bantoue vernaculaire classée en H12 par Guthrie. Des études descriptives 

menées sur ces deux langues ( Fehderau 1962, Lumwamu 1973), pour le kikongo véhiculaire; (Ndamba 1977), pour le civili, ont 

mentionné l’applicatif essentiellement comme morphème de dérivation. Le reflexe du suffixe applicatif Proto‐Bantu *‐ıd‐ 

(Meeussen, 1967), reconstruit en Proto‐Niger‐Congo (Voeltz, 1977), doit avoir plusieurs fonctions syntaxiques : bénéfactif > 

maléfactif > instrument > locatif > prépositionnel > directif > cause ou raison (Schadeberg 2003 : 74). En Angola, il est représenté 

par «‐il‐» ou «‐el‐». Mbiavanga (2008 : 337). Notre étude concerne les variantes kikongo véhiculaire de Pointe‐Noire, de Boma et 

du Bandundu tout autant que le civili de Pointe‐Noire. 

Objectifs : Cette recherche vise les objectifs ci‐après: 1) Déceler les différents rôles sémantiques qu’assigne l’extension à son 

objet. 2. Paramétrer les contextes de promotion d’un argument périphérique au statut d’objet 3) Esquisser une sous‐classification 

et établir une répartition spatiale des différentes variantes du kikongo‐véhiculaire aussi bien en fonction de la réalisation dudit 

morphème que de son emploi ; sachant que *el‐ reconstruit par Schadeberg (2003: 71‐89) n’est plus assez productif. 

Résultats préliminaires : 

Pour des raisons d’espace, nous présentons ici la construction du bénéfactif et les problématiques scientifiques soulevées. 

1) Bénéfactif (en kikongo véhiculaire de Pointe‐Noire « kituba » et en civili de Pointe‐Noire) 

(a) kituba (Pointe‐Noire) (b)kituba 

Lemvuk‐a samu na munu Lemvuk‐il‐a munu 

Pardonner‐FV pour de moi Pardonner‐APPL‐FV O1 

Pardonne‐moi. 

(c) civili (d)civili 

Lémvùk‐à mù cí‐bìlà cí‐áàmì Ndemvukila 

pardonner‐FV Pour 7‐compte 7‐POSS N‐lemvuk‐il‐a 

pardonner‐FV pour compte mon O1‐Pardonner‐APPL‐FV 

Pardonne‐moi. Pardonne‐moi 

(e) kituba (Pointe‐Noire) (f)kituba 

Mu‐ana me‐yidik‐a inzo samu na ndeke Mu‐ana me‐yidik‐il‐a ndeke inzo 

1‐enfant PRF‐fabriquer‐FV 9‐maison pour de 9‐oiseau 1‐enfant PRF‐fabriquer‐FV 9‐oiseau 9‐maison 

L’enfant a fabriqué un nid pour le compte de l’oiseau L’enfant a fabriqué un nid pour l’oiseau 

(g) civili 

Mú‐áànà ù‐à‐váng‐a lí‐áànzì mù cíbìlà cìnúnì 

1‐enfant PV1 –PRF‐fabriquer‐FV 5‐nid pour 5‐compte 5‐oiseau 

L’enfant a fabriqué un nid pour l’oiseau 

(h) civili 

Mú‐áànà ù‐à‐váng‐íl‐a núnì lí‐áànzì 

1‐enfant PV1 –PRF‐fabriquer‐APPL‐FV ø9a‐oiseau 5‐nid 

L’enfant a fabriqué un nid pour l’oiseau 

En 1(a+b) nous avons des énoncés à l’impératif. En kituba (1a) le pronom « munu » est relié au verbe par le biais de la locution 

prépositionnel « samu na », il fait fonction d’argument oblique ; alors qu’en 1b « munu » est promu au rang d’objet et, suit 

immédiatement le verbe (VO). Il se produit exactement la même chose en 1c où la locution prépositionnel « mù cíbìlà» fait le 

lien entre le verbe et l’argument périphérique « cíáàmì» qui, en 1d est promu au statut d’objet. Dans ce cas (impératif), l’accord du 

verbe se fait avec l’objet promu «N‐» antéposé au verbe (1d) (OV). Les constructions à deux objets (1e+f+g+h) observent la 

hiérarchie entre animé « ndeke », «núnì » et inanimé «lí‐áànzì », « inzo ». En 1e l’objet « inzo » suit immédiatement le verbe et 

l’argument oblique « ndeke » est rattaché au groupe verbal par la locution prépositionnel « samu na ». En 1g, « mù cíbìlà » établit 

le lien entre l’objet direct «lí‐áànzì » et l’argument oblique «núnì ». En (1f+h), les arguments obliques « ndeke » et «núnì » sont 

élevés au rang d’objet et précèdent immédiatement le verbe au détriment des objets «lí‐áànzì » et « inzo » qui sont placés après. 

Avec le changement des rôles syntaxiques, il se pose des problèmes également d’accords –que nous développerons lors de notre 

présentation. Les exemples tirés des variantes de Bandundu et de Boma seront confrontés à ceux‐ci pour déterminer les variations 

Résultats attendus et méthodologie 

À la suite de l’identification des constructions de l’applicatif, une étude plus fine aux niveaux morphosyntaxique et discursif est utile 

pour paramétrer les différents usages. Ainsi, chercherons‐nous à vérifier l’hypothèse suivante : « Les applicatifs […] permettent de 

promouvoir au statut d’objet un terme qui, en l’absence de dérivation applicative, pourrait figurer comme terme oblique » 

(Creissels 2006, Tome 2 : 73). Le corpus est constitué des contes que nous avons recueillis lors de nos premières missions de 

terrain, des transcriptions des journaux radio, de textes religieux (la bible en kituba), des conventions officielles scannées. 

Références bibliographiques 

1. Creissels D. 2006. Syntaxe générale, une introduction typologique 2 : la phrase, Lavoisier, Paris. 

2. Fehderau H. W. 1962. Descriptive grammar of kituba language, a dialectal survey. (P. C. Eds.) Leopoldville. 

3. Lumwamu F. 1985. Recherches sur la koine kongo. Paris: Thèse de Doctorat d’Etat, Université Paris IV Sorbonne. 

4. Matsinhe & Mbiavanga, 2008, A preliminary exploration of verbal affix ordering in kikongo, a Bantu language of Angola, 

Mortimer House, Language Matters 39 (2),PP. 332‐358, Routledge, London. 

5. Meeussen AE. 1967. Bantu grammatical reconstructions. Africana Linguistica 3: 79‐121. 

6. Ndamba J. 1977. Syntagme nominal et groupe nominal en vili. Paris : Université Paris III, Nouvelle Sorbonne. 

7. Schadeberg T. C., 2003, Derivation. IN N. Derek, & P. Gérard (Eds.), The Bantu Languagues (pp. 71‐89) London and New 

York: Routledge. 

8. Voeltz EFK. 1977. Focus in Aghem: A study of its formal correlates and typology. In Hyman LM (ed.) Aghem grammatical 

structure. Los Angeles: Department of Linguistics, University of Southern California, pp. 137‐197. 

PS

Noun class frequency across text genres in Bakola. What implication from a cultural 

linguistics point of view? 

(Emmanuel NGUE UM - University of Yaoundé I) 

Noun categorization seems to be one of the most appealing features across bantu languages 

from a descriptivist point of view. For this reason, it has also been one of the most explored 

aspects, both as a grammatical and as a semantic phenomenon. W<strong>here</strong>as the morphological 

features which underlie noun classification in Bantu languages are somehow a you-know-itwhen-you-see-it 

phenomenon, and thus subject very scarcely to any reputable controversy, the 

semantic face of noun classification is a question yet to receive a definitive answer (Contini 

Morava 1997, Katamba, 2003, Amidu, 2007). Many scholarly works have sought to uncover 

the “real” meaning behind noun classification ever since the early works on Bantu noun 

classification (Richardson, 1967; Deny and Creider, 1976), most of which are mostly 

grounded on qualitative and historical oriented methodologies, such as induction or the 

recovery of an ancestral system of noun classification which would expectedly yield a 

transparent meaningful system (Herbert, 1985). So far, only a few research works have 

addressed the issue drawing from quantitative analysis. One of such attempts is Contini 

Morava’s database of Swahili which comprises a compilation of existing dictionaries and 

discourse data. The purpose of this paper is to go beyond Morava’s attempt, by applying a 

quantitative approach to noun categorization in a Bantu language whose empirical resource 

will be a purely discourse data. More precisely, the research will address noun class frequency 

across text genres in Bakola, a Bantu A language spoken by hunter-gat<strong>here</strong>rs in the southern 

region of Cameroun. The relative frequency of noun class from one genre to another is 

expected, from a cultural linguistics perspective, to shed more light on how cognitive schemas 

and categories embedded in noun classification are related to the cultural life of the 

community. According to Palmer 1996, Palmer & Sharifan 2007, cultural linguistics draws on 

cognitive anthropology and cognitive linguistics to explore the relationship between language, 

culture, and conceptualization. The analysis will be based on an oral corpora collected within 

the framework of a documentation project. Fifteen hours of oral texts which have been 

transcribed phonetically will be added tagging on every single noun to allow for automatic 

scanning and extraction using ELAN. The statistics provided after an extraction process 

within a given genre will be the empirical basis for a culturally oriented analysis. 

References 

Amidu, A. A. Semantic Assignment Rules in Bantu Classes. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. 

Contini-Morava, E. (1997). “Noun Classification in Swahili: A cognitive-semantic analysis 

using a computer database in Herbet, R. K. African Linguistics at the Crossroads. Köln: 

Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, p. 599-628. 

Denny, J. P. & C. Creider (1976) “The semantic of noun classes in Proto Bantu”. Studies in 

African Linguistics, 7, p. 1-30. 

Herbert, R. K. (1985). Gender systems and semanticity: two ccase histories from Bantu. In 

Fisiak, J. (ed), Historical Semantics/Historical Word-Formation, p. 171-197. Berlin: 

Mouton de Gruyter. 

Katamba, F. (2003) “Bantu nominal morphology” in Nurse, D. And Philippson, G. The Bantu 

Languages. London: Routledge, p. 103-120. 

Palmer, G.B. (1996). Toward a Theory of Cultural Linguistics. Austin : University of Texas 

Press. 

Palmer, G.B. & Sharifian, F. (2007). “Applied Cultural Linguistics. An Emerging Paradigm”. 

In Sharifian, F. and Palmer, G.B (eds). Applied Cultural Linguistics, 1-14. 

Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 

Richardson, I. (1967). “Linguistic evolution and Bantu noun class systems. La classification 

nominale dans les langues Négro-Africaines, p. 373-390. Paris: CNRS. 

PS

Noun Phrase Structure in Shimwela 

Julius John Taji 

Department of Foreign Languages & Linguistics 

University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

juliustaji@gmail.com 

This paper employs the concept of word order to analyze the structure of noun phrases in 

Shimwela, a Bantu language spoken in Lindi region, Tanzania. The language is classified by 

Guthrie (1948) as P. 22 and is also referred to as Kimwera (Nyagali, 1990), or Mwera (Johnson 

1919; Guthrie, op. cit; LoT, 2009). Data for the paper were collected through questionnaires, 

focus group discussions, unstructured interviews and documentary reviews. The sample, which 

was deliberately selected, constituted four informants who were competent in Shimwela. The 

collected data were then analyzed by using a thematic analysis approach w<strong>here</strong>by major concepts 

of the study were obtained and described. 

The findings show that several elements may be stacked in a Shimwela NP. Some of these 

occupy fixed positions while others are flexible. Elements which occupy fixed positions include 

demonstratives, distributives, possessives, intensifiers, and interrogatives. The demonstratives 

and the distributives strictly occur at the pre-head position, while the possessives occur 

immediately after the head noun. Also, the intensifiers occur after the adjectives they intensify, 

while the interrogatives and parts of the demonstratives occur at the end of NP. Elements which 

are flexible include numerals, quantifiers, adjectives, relative constructions and associative 

constructions. These may exchange positions in the slot between the possessive and the 

demonstrative particle or interrogative. 

Finally, the findings reveal that t<strong>here</strong> is a limit in the stacking of dependents in a Shimwela NP. 

The highest limit of dependents in Shimwela NP is six but in ordinary speech the normal load 

seems to be four, with demonstratives and possessives appearing as the most frequently 

occurring dependents. 

PS

Parameterising Case: other evidence from Bantu 

Jenneke van der Wal, University of Cambridge 

Nouns in Bantu do not show any case marking like in German or Latin. However, having no mor‐ 

phological marking does not entail that Bantu languages do not have abstract Case at all. 

W<strong>here</strong>as Diercks (2012) explicitly proposes that Bantu languages do not have abstract Case fea‐ 

tures, I show in this presentation that Case surprisingly does play a role in some languages, 

t<strong>here</strong>by supporting the thesis that Case is parameterised. 

In his (2012) article ‘Parameterizing Case: evidence from Bantu’, Diercks shows that a uni‐ 

formly applying theory of abstract Case –a fundamental component of the Principles and Pa‐ 

rameters framework‐ is not supported by data from Bantu languages. He proposes that Case 

is subject to parameterisation: some languages have Case, and others do not. Specifically, 

“Bantu languages do not have uninterpretable Case features in their feature inventories”. 

Part of the evidence for this claim is found in locative inversion. When the verb agrees 

with a preverbal locative, like ‘(at) the river’ in (2), the question is how the postverbal subject 

(‘seven cows’) gets Case, assuming that agreement is linked to Case. Although several analyses 

have been proposed (e.g. Carstens 2005), the most straightforward analysis is that t<strong>here</strong> 

simply aren’t any uninterpretable Case features to be checked. 

(2) Pho muho‐ni pha‐tuluka ng'ombe sabaa za ku‐nona. 

16.DEM river‐LOC 16SM.PST‐emerge 10.cows seven of INF‐be.fat 

‘From the river emerged seven fat cows.’ Digo (Diercks 2012) 

However, in this presentation I present clear counterexamples to Diercks’ claim. If Case does 

play a role in the grammar, we expect verb agreement with the (nominative) subject irrespec‐ 

tive of its position in the sentence. This is exactly the case in languages with Agreeing Subject 

Inversion, w<strong>here</strong> the verb agrees with the post‐verbal subject (3). 

(3) Ju‐híkití Marî:a. 

1SM‐arrive.PERF 1.Maria 

‘Mariahascome’ Matengo (Yoneda 2011) 

Furthermore, we expect subjects of infinitival clauses to be ungrammatical, as new data in 

(4a) confirm. Instead, the “subject” must be object marked on the main clause verb (4b). 

(4) a. * ki‐m‐pheela namarokolo okhuma ‐OM 

1SG.SM‐PRES.CJ‐want 1.Hare 

‘I want Hare to leave’ 

INF.exit 

b. mwi‐ni‐m‐pheela namarokolo okhuma? +OM 

2PL.SM‐PRES.CJ‐1OM‐want 1.Hare INF.exit 

‘do you want Hare to leave?’ Makhuwa 

After presenting evidence that abstract Case plays a role in languages with Agreeing Subject 

Inversion, I will discuss the consequences for this parameterisation within the Bantu lan‐ 

guages. Building on Carstens (2005) and Baker (2008), I reassess the interaction between 

agreement, Case and position, showing that the languages with Agreeing Inversion do not 

form a uniform group either: agreement is linked to Case, but t<strong>here</strong> is interesting parametric 

variation with respect to the link between agreement and movement (Makhuwa vs Matengo). 

In sum, the sensitivity to Case may be unexpected from the perspective of Bantu lan‐ 

guages Diercks describes, but postulating a Case Parameter does predict such variation. 

Diercks, M. 2012. Parameterizing Case: Evidence from Bantu. Syntax 15:3. 

PS

Dialectal Variations in Limbum. 

Limbum as an Eastern Grass-fields Bantu language is made up of three significant dialects 

labeled as North, Central, and SouthLimbum. The differences between Limbum dialects are 

phonological. Although many languages are spoken in the area, the dialectal differences are 

due to influences from two neighboring languages. To the north, Limbum has been 

influenced by Mbembe w<strong>here</strong>as to the South, Limbum has been influenced by Lamnso. The 

central dialect which has been selected as the standard variety by Wimbum Literacy 

Association(WILA) has been more stable. In this paper, we will discuss the prosodic features 

that characterize the two dialects of North and the South Limbum. Special attention will be 

paid on the influence of Mbembe as it is a non-Bantu language. Since details of language 

prosody depend on phonology, it will be interesting to see that phonemically, we have 

switches between Mbembe and Limbum consonants and one vowel shift instead of syllable 

or vowel length. Since tones are on the vowels and the prosodic pitch doesn’t have to obscure 

the tones, how the consonant changes create a prosodic effect is the question that we will 

attempt to answer. 

In order to have a clear view of the dialectal differences between the two Limbumdialects 

that have resulted through the influence of neighboring languages, we will first of all show 

how the central and the northern dialects are phonemically similar when contrasted with the 

way the phonemes are realized in the South dialect. Further, we will contrast other phonemes 

of the three dialects in order to show the realizationMbembephonemes vis-à-vis central and 

south Limbum. 

The influence of Lamnso on south Limbum is characterized by fricativization, palatalization, 

labialization, nasalization of consonants and some vowel shifts:As far as fricativization is 

concerned, the affricate /tʃ/ as is with the central and Northdialect is realized as a fricative /ʃ/ 

in the South dialectas in the following: 

Central Dialect Northern Dialect Southern Dialect 

ncìi /ntʃì:/ ncìi /ntʃì:/ nshìi /nʃì:/ beads 

cu / tʃū/ cu / tʃū/ shu / ʃū/ sit 

cɛʼ / tʃɛ̀ʔ/ cɛʼ / tʃɛ̀ʔ/ shɛʼ / ʃɛ̀ʔ/ cloth 

ca / tʃá/ ca / tʃá/ sha / ʃá/ this 

It is with taking note of the fact that t<strong>here</strong> is neither a tone change, stress nor any influence of 

the fricatives on the following vowel. 

The only area w<strong>here</strong> t<strong>here</strong> is a remarkable change in the stress pattern is when /b/with 

followed by/ i/ is palatalized in Southern Limbum as can be seen in the following examples. 


bii / bī:/ bii / bī:/ jwii / ʤwī:/ dance 

rbì / ɾbì/ rbì / ɾbì/ rjwè / ɾʤwè/ cola nut 

As seen above, the bilabial is maintained through a change from /b/ to the semi-vowel /w/. 

Further investigations may be needed to see if Lamnso bilabials are realized with a 

combination of a palatal, semi-vowels in some environments w<strong>here</strong> / i/ is found. : 

PS

Another instance of palatlization can be seen in southern Limbum when the velar /g/ 

followed by /i/is relized as /dz/ as in the example below 


ŋgìʼ / ŋgìʔ/ ŋgìʼ / ŋgìʔ/ ndzɛ̀ʼ /ndzɛ̀ʔ/ pumpkin seeds 

In other instances, the /i/only triggers the insertion of the palatal fricative /z/as in: 


mdip / mdīp/ mdip / mdīp/ mdzɛp / mdzɛ̄ p/ water 

mbii / mbī:/ mbii / mbī:/ mbzee / mbzē:/ palm nuts 

It is also important to note that only the /i/in a monosyllabic word triggers this shift from 

velar to palatal phonemes. We can also see <strong>here</strong> that t<strong>here</strong> are vowel shifts from high to low. 

The fricative /z/ is a loan consonant as the Northern and Central Limbum do not make use of 

it anyw<strong>here</strong>. All the three dialects make use /ʒ/ which is realized orthographically as ʼzhʼ. 

With labialization, northern and central Limbum semi-vowel palatal /j/is realized in southern 

Limbum as a semi-vowel bilabial /w/ as in the examples that follow. 


fyɛp / fjɛ́p/ fyɛp / fjɛ́p/ shwɛp /ʃwɛ́p/ blow 

fyɛ̀pte / fjɛ̀ptē/ fyɛ̀pte / fjɛ̀ptē/ shwɛ̀pte/ʃwɛ́ptē/ deflate 

fyɛpshi / fjɛ́pʃī/ fyɛpshi / fjɛ́pʃī/ shwɛpsi/ʃwɛ́psī/ blow 

fyèni / fjèni/ fyèni / fjèni/ shwèni /ʃwɛ̀nī/ sell 

This bilabial realization of a palatal can only be seen when the palatal is preceded by labial 

fricative /f/. Franzen (1995) noticed that in the Southern Limbum, labialization takes place 

only in the case of palatalized /f/w<strong>here</strong>as in the case of palatalized /b/and /m/the palatal semivowel 

/j/is found, 

With nasalization, the palatal /ɲ/ is realized in Southern Limbum as the alveola /n/ as in the 

following: 


nyʉ̀ʉ / ɲɨ̀:/ nyùu / ɲù:/ nʉ̀ʉ / nɨ̀:/ sun 

nyʉʉ / ɲɨ̄:/ nyuu / ɲū:/ nʉ̀ʉ / nɨ̄:/ bees 

We notice <strong>here</strong> that the nasal is depalatalized in Southern Limbum w<strong>here</strong>as Northern and 

Central Limbum maintain the palatal nasal in all environments w<strong>here</strong> it is found. The vowel 

shift in Northern Limbumas canbe seen <strong>here</strong> is the single vowel difference between Southern 

and Northern Limbum. See more examples below. 

Phonemicdifferences between Northernand the Southern and Central Limbum can be seen 

through processes of glotalization,velarizationandlibialization. This takes place with many 

consonant. The only vowel shift is with the back high vowels from /ɨ/to /u/as we have 

observed above. 

PS

Labial /f/ can be glotalized in Northern Limbum as can be observed through the following: 

Northern Dialect Central Dialect Southern Dialect 

ha /há/ fa/fá/ fa/fa/ give 

àhaa /àhá:/ àfaa/àfá:/ àfaa/afa:/ in this are 

The alveolar fricative /s/can also be glotalzed as in 


hò /hɔ̀/ sò/sɔ̀/ sò/sɔ̀/ you and I 

hèʼni /hèʔnī/ sèʼni/sèʔni/ sèʼni/sèʔni/ now 

herna /héɾnā/ serna/séɾna/ serna/séɾna/ t<strong>here</strong> 

In situations w<strong>here</strong> we have the velar /ɣ/in Southern and Central Limbum, it is realized a the 

glottal /h/ as in the single examine below. 


àho /àhɔ̄ / àgho /àɣɔ̄ / àgho /àɣɔ̄ / with: 

The realization of this glottal as seen above seems to be intervocalic. At word initial position, 

the velar is maintained. 

Velarization takes place with Southern Limbum w<strong>here</strong> labial phonemes like /v/and /w/ as 

used in Southern and Central Limbum are realized in Southern Limbum with the use of the 

velar /ɣ/ as can be seen below. 


ghù /ɣù / vʉ̀ /vɨ̀ / vʉ̀/vɨ̀ / come 

ghup /ɣūp / vʉp /vɨ̄p / vʉp/vɨ̄p / bone 

ghèe /ɣè: / wèe /wè: / wèe/wè: / you 

wooghèe/wō:ɣè:/ woowèe/wō:wè:/ woowèe/wō:wè:/ them 

From these examples we can also conclude that the velarization process is limited to 

environments w<strong>here</strong>by the velar /ɣ/is followed by /u/and /e/vowel phonemes. 

Libializationin Northern Limbum takes place when the corresponding phoneme in the 

Southern and Central dialect is the palatal /j/as in the following: 


wuu /wu:/ yuu /ju:/ yuu /ju:/ thing 

It is not obvious that this is the general pattern with the labialization. We may say that this 

can only take place if the vowel is a back vowel and its tone is mid. This is because a word 

like yuu – buy which bears a high tone will be /jú:/ in all the dialects. 

Vowel difference between the Southern, Central and Northern Limbum as we have seen 

above can only be seen in the shift of the mid high vowel phoneme /ɨ/to high back /u/ as in. 

PS


ŋkuu 

tuʼ 

/ŋkú:/ 

/tūʔ/ 

ŋkʉʉ/ŋkɨ̀ ́:/ 

tʉʼ/tɨ̄ʔ/ 

ŋkʉʉ/ŋkɨ̀ ́:/ 

tʉʼ/tɨ̄ʔ/ night 

chief 

kù 

ŋgup 

/kù/ 

/ŋgū p/ 

kʉ̀ /kɨ̀/ 

ŋgʉp/ŋgɨ̄p/ 

kʉ̀/kɨ̀/ 

ŋgʉp/ŋgɨ̄p/ 

rope 

fowl 

The vowel shift does not depend on the preceding or following consonant. Northern Limbum 

seems to prefer a six vowel system instead the seven vowel system of the general Limbum 

alphabet. 

From the above, we can witness that the changes in the phonemes do not affect the tones or 

create a stress on the syllables. If any prosodic features are to be examined in the various 

dialects of Limbum, more will be seen in with Southern Limbum than with Northern Limbum 

which has been influenced by a non-Bantu language. This t<strong>here</strong>fore suggests that studying the 

prosodic effects on the Northern dialect can be focused on the question of the vicinity of the 

vowel phonemes as well as the tones. The sounds contrasted above are merely differ from 

each other by one articulatory feature. Moreover, any stress pattern will be examined under 

phonotactics like voicing or devoicing. Though the Northern dialect is not revealing anything 

about consonant borrowing, t<strong>here</strong> is the need to check is Mbembe from which it has derived 

its influence makes more use velar, palatal and glottal phonemes than labial phonemes. 

Southern Limbum makes use of borrowed consonants and clusters more than Northern 

Limbum which has borrowed from a non-phylum neighbor. This raises a question of whether 

the prosodic features can only be seen in the influence of a non-related language. In some one 

of the situations a long vowel has been seen in Southern Limbum as being realized by a semivowel. 

PS

A typology of Bantu subject inversion 

Contemporary research in comparative Bantu has highlighted the high degree of morphosyntactic 

microvariation in Bantu. While early work on the topic has typically focussed on one construction 

type and variation between two language groups (e.g. ‘symmetric’ vs. ‘asymmetric’ Bantu 

languages), recent work has shown the complexity of interrelated parameters of variation, and how 

these are instantiated in different languages – resulting in a large range of patterns and language 

groups. A well-known area of variation in Bantu are locative inversion constructions (Bresnan and 

Kanerva 1989 and much following work), w<strong>here</strong> different languages (e.g. Chichewa, Herero, 

Ndebele, or Sotho) show different morphosyntactic and thematic restrictions. However, we show 

that locative inversion constructions are just one type of inversion in Bantu: t<strong>here</strong> is a wider microtypology 

of subject inversion in Bantu which includes formal locative inversion (LI), semantic 

locative inversion (SLI), instrument inversion (II), subject-object reversal (SOR), default agreement 

inversion (DAI) and agreeing inversion (AI). The talk will develop such a typology and propose 

1. a set of descriptive parameters which describe the similarities and differences between the 

construction types in detail (Table 1), 

2. a comparison of selected Bantu languages which differ with respect to one or more of these 

parameters (Table 2), and 

3. a set of underlying structural properties which account for (some of) the variation observed. 

LI SLI II SOR DAI AI 

P1 Verb-logical subject order P P P P P P 

P2 Logical subject cannot be omitted P P P P P P 

P3 No object marker P P P P P P 

P4 Post-verbal/thetic focus P P P P P P 

P5 Prosodic marking P P P P P P 

P6 Locative grammatical subject P O O O O O 

P7 Locative subject agreement P O O O P O 

P8 Referential subject agreement P P P P O O 

P9 Thematic restrictions on topic P (LOC) P (LOC) P (INS) P (TH) O O 

Table 1: Parameters P1 to P9 for Bantu inversion constructions 

LI SLI II SOR DAI AI 

Dzamba (C32) P ? ? P ? ? 

Kagulu (G11) P ? ? P P P 

Swahili (G42) P P ? P P P 

Luyia (JE32) P P ? ? ? ? 

Chichewa (N31) P O ? O ? O 

Kimatuumbi (P13) O O O O O P 

Herero (R31) P O ? O P O 

Tswana (S40) O O ? O P O 

Zulu (S42) O P P O P O 

Table 2: Inversion constructions in nine Bantu languages 

The results from the comparison show the complex and detailed variation between different Bantu 

languages, but also highlight the problem that for many languages, complete data are not easily 

available (cf. ‘?’ in Table 2). However, based on our research so far, we propose that the variation 

encountered results from three underlying domains of differences related to nominal morphosyntax, 

verbal-functional morphosyntax, and verbal-thematic restrictions. In particular, variation results 

from: 1) The status of locative phrases as nominal or prepositional, 2) restrictions on the verbal 

licensing of arguments related to agreement and case, and 3) thematic restrictions on the predicates 

available in the inversion constructions. We will show that P1 to P5 characterise the constructions 

as inversion constructions (in distinction to, for example, passives), P6 reflects the status of locative 

phrases, P7-8 are related to different properties of subject licensing, and P9 reflects thematic 

restrictions. Overall, the talk shows how the interaction of underlying structural differences results 

in complex surface variation and in a fine-grained typology of different Bantu languages. 

Bresnan, Joan, and Jonni M. Kanerva. 1989. Chichewa locative inversion: a case study of factorization in grammar. 

Linguistic Inquiry 20 (1):1-50. 

Pl

here - 5th International Conference on Bantu Languages

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?