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The present article analyzes the polysemy of the element ti in Kituba from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, by applying the framework of dynamic semantic maps and waves. The qualitative and quantitative corpus study, enhanced by evidence provided by Kituba native speakers, demonstrates the following: although ti spans most parts of the typological map of the polysemy of conjunctive coordinators, its center of prototypicality is located in the initial stage (comitative) and two intermediate stages (possessive and certain types of coordinate-hood) available along the grammaticalization pathway underlying the map. This suggests a semi-advanced grammaticalization profile for ti. The study also proposes certain changes in the typological map of the polysemy of conjunctive coordinators, postulating new components of the map (or grammaticalization stages), and alternative linking directions. Additionally, a possible manner of introducing quantitative data (related to prototypicality) to the qualitative map of polysemy is presented. The resulting model is argued to exhibit properties typical of complexity: structural intricacy, gradience, fuzziness, and multi-causality.

The Bantu language Lugwere (Uganda, JE17) has what at first sight appears to be a typical three-way distinction in its demonstratives, with a proximal, medial, and distal series of demonstratives. Upon closer inspection, however, the second series in Lugwere can also be used for distal and anaphoric referents, whereas the third series has a more restricted use. We propose a better fitting semantic analysis in terms of the features [±proximal] and [±exterior], the latter referring to the status of a referent being inside or outside a certain perimeter, which is set by either the spatial environment of the conversation or the constantly updated discourse ground. This captures the semantic distinctions in the three series of demonstratives in Lugwere and provides an insight into the building blocks of demonstrative meaning.

This is a review of Bantu applicative constructions by Sara Pacchiarotti. CSLI Publications, Stanford California.

How languages solve the grammatical problem of agreeing with conjoined arguments is a well-known area of cross-linguistic variation. This paper describes these patterns for Kuria (Bantu, Kenya), documenting a pattern of agreement that has not been previously reported. We show the relevant patterns involving a range of noun classes, showing that human noun classes trigger different effects than non-human noun classes. We also demonstrate distinctions in the grammar between subject marking and object marking: whereas subject marking allows for resolved agreement forms, object marking does not. The paper also includes a brief survey of notable patterns in other Bantu languages to put Kuria in a relevant context.

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)1. IntroductionThis paper2 accounts for the numerous surface tonal melodies found on the verb in Babanki, a Grassfields Bantu language of northwestern Cameroon. An examination of the verb system reveals that, depending on the construction type, up to three tonal patterns may be found on both low and high tone verbs (See §3.3 where it is shown that Babanki verbs have two lexical tones: high and low). An underlying high tone may surface normally as high, but unexpectedly as low, or falling while underlying low tones surface as high, falling, but normally as low. For this reason the low tone verb can have a L(L), HL, or even H(H) surface melody while the high tone verbs can be L(H), HL, or H(H). Sometimes, a high tone can be downstepped while a low tone can undergo upstep. Accounting for these melodies in order to reconstruct the underlying forms is necessary for a proper understanding of Babanki verb tone in particular and the tonal system of Centre Ring Grassfields Bantu languages in general. This is so because most of the work on tone in Babanki has focused on the nominal system (Hyman 1979, 1980; Akumbu 2011). A treatment of verb tone will therefore provide a more complete picture of Babanki tone and also lay the groundwork for analyzing the tone systems of the other languages in the group. This paper demonstrates that five tone rules (Downstep, Tone Docking, High Tone Spread, Low Tone Spread, and Upstep) and one segmental rule (Schwa Insertion) are necessary to account for the apparently complex tonal system of Babanki verbs. The theoretical frameworks used in the analyses are Register Tier Theory (RTT) and Autosegmental Phonology (AP). This paper is structured as follows: An overview of RTT is given in §2 and the Babanki verb system is introduced in §3 while §4 contains a presentation of tense, aspect and mood. The phonological processes that are recurrent in the verb system are discussed in §5. An expansion of the discussion to verbal reduplication is found in §6, which is followed by a conclusion.2. An overview of register tier theoryRegister Tier Theory (RTT) (Inkelas 1987; Inkelas et al. 1987; Snider 1988, 1990, 1999; Akumbu 2011) recognizes the following autosegmental features and tiers: the register features h and l on a REGISTER TIER, the tonal features H and L on a TONAL TIER, a TONAL ROOT NODE TIER (TRN), and a TONE-BEARING UNIT TIER (TBU). These tiers are geometrically arranged according to the configuration in Figure 1 taken from Snider (1999: 23).The geometry in Figure 1 and the features in Figure 2 make it possible to specify up to four logically possible tonal distinctions, namely, a high tone on a high register, a high tone on a low register, a low tone on a high register, and a low tone on a low register. The register feature of any given TBU is specified in relation to that of the preceding register. The register of the initial TBU for its part is construed to be higher than or lower than the reference point that native speakers usually have in mind when beginning an utterance. Secondly, the tonal feature associated to any given TBU specifies whether the tone is low or high in relation to the current register. RTT is used in this paper to insightfully explain the tonal processes, given that within this theoretical model features on each tier can behave independently of one another.3. The verbIn this section the structure of the Babanki verb is shown. The section comprises a presentation of the verb root, verbal extensions, and tone groups, which are relevant to the discussion of verb tone in the language.3.1. Verb root. According to Akumbu & Fogwe (2012) only one-syllable roots are attested in Babanki except when there is verbal reduplication. The verb roots that appear to have two syllables always have a CV ending, which can be interpreted as an extension (see §3.2). Nevertheless, there are formal extensions that can be considered part of the root. …

Demonstratives are an important feature of many eastern Bantu narrative texts. In addition to a basic tracking use, in which demonstratives are used to refer to different participants in a narrative, at least four additional functions can be identified: specifying the activation status (activated vs. reactivated) of major participants; distinguishing participants with agent semantic roles from those with non-agent semantic roles; distinguishing different kinds of participants and different episodes; and marking key thematic developments. These functions are described for 10 eastern Bantu languages based on analyses of original (i.e. non-translated) narrative texts.

Partant de la définition proposée par (Doke, 1935) de l’idéophone comme représentation vivante d’une idée en sons, nous décrivons, dans cet article, les aspects phonologiques, morphologiques et syntaxiques des mots idéophoniques en Ebwela, langue bantu (C42), d’un peuple minoritaire habitant quelques villages dans le territoire de Lisala, au nord-ouest de la RD Congo. Nos analyses indiquent que l’idéophone, dans cette langue, n’appartient pas à une catégorie spécifique, pour la simple raison qu’il prend selon l’emploi des préfixes de classe et peut se réinterpréter en substantif, adjectif ou verbe.

Demuth and Harford (1999) contend that in Bantu relatives, the verb raises from I-C if the relative morpheme is a bound morpheme while the subject remains in spec-IP resulting in subject –verb inversion. Ikalanga, a Bantu language spoken in Botswana has no subject verb inversion in relatives although the relative morpheme appears to be a bound morpheme. This observation challenges the conclusion reached in Demuth and Harford (1999). This raises the question, What then is the structure of the relative clause in languages like Ikalanga and Luganda? This paper argues that Ikalanga relative clauses differ from other Bantu relative clauses in that the projection that houses the relative feature (RelP) projects below TP while in Bantu languages where subject verb inversion is observed such as Shona it projects higher than TP. Thus, the variation in the structures of Bantu relative clauses can be accounted for if we understand that there is a parametric variation in the position in which RelP projects; lower than TP or higher than TP.

Although facts about grammatical relations in many Bantu languages have been established since the early 1970s, there are still languages in this family which have not benefited from such studies. One of these is Ikalanga, spoken in Botswana and Zimbabwe. This paper examines the core grammatical relations of Ikalanga, exploring its typological status in terms of double object constructions. In prototypical ditransitive constructions, the Recipient NP has all of the properties of Direct Object, whereas the Theme NP has only some of those features. The conclusion is that Ikalanga is an intermediate language if object symmetricity is scalar. However, it is shown that in marked applicative constructions where the Benefactive is non-human and the Theme is human, there is reason to argue for 'split direct-objecthood', reflecting the impact of animacy in the assignment of direct objecthood.

The main object of research described in this paper is Rangi, a scarcely investigated Bantu language of Northern Central Tanzania. Rangi phonology and morphonology are briefly sketched, including a classification with regard to both Vowel Height Harmony and Advanced Tongue Root activity. The main body of the paper consists of a detailed description of Rangi derivational processes, which follows the pattern established in Maganga and Schadeberg's description of Nyamwezi, a closely related language. Both verbal derivation, which exclusively uses the extensional slot of the verb structure, and nominal derivation, which employs noun class prefixes and a few suffixes, are covered.

The vowel harmony systems of the Bantu A.60 languages of Cameroon provide an extraordinary wealth of uncommon properties not yet exploited by linguistic theory. In this paper, the author focuses on one variant of the Yambasa cluster, Gunu A.62a, as described by Ambadian [1990, 1991], Orwig [1989], Quilis et al [1990], and Robinson [1979, 1983]. An analysis of long-distance ATR and rounding harmonies in Gunu is presented in terms of the privative features ATR, Front, Round, and Open. Both the featural representations and their "direct mapping" onto outputs account for the derivational opacity as well as transparency of front vowels to Round harmony.

The paradigm of tense and aspect contrasts in Ruhaya, an eastern Bantu language, shows considerable regularity, indication of an ordered system of contrasts. The examination of what appear to be anomalies in the system of contrasts leads to a refinement in the analysis: to the recognition of a tense system that is organised in two stages, based on a model proposed by Gustave Guillaume. Aspectual contrasts are prioritized at the first stage, tense contrasts at the second. Compound forms, which are typically combinations of Stage 2 + Stage 1 (in that order), are complex representations that are marked for both tense and aspect.

This paper examines objects which are licensed by the applicative affix in the Bantu languages of Kindendeule and Kiswahili. The data show that all verbs can take the applicative suffix deriving transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, and ditransitive verbs from transitive verbs. The applied objects can be interpreted as beneficiary, maleficiary, goal, instrument, reason, motive, ingredient, location, or theme. Only the agent role cannot be licensed by the applicative suffix. On the basis of object order, object marking, passivization, reciprocalization and reflexivization, the objects are classified into: (a) the benefactive type, (b) instrumental type, and (c) locative type.

In Chichewa (Bantu, Malawi), there are three differences in fundamental frequency (£0) between questions and statements: (a) questions have a fmal rise, while statements have a final fall, (b) questions do not display the strong downdrift trend found in statements, and (c) questions are produced in a higher pitch range than statements. A quantitative model is proposed that captures these generalizations through a dependency of the bottom of the current pitch range on the boundary tone. It is argued that such a model accounts for the distinction between question and statement better than a model in which pitch range distinctions are encoded in the phonological representation.

Nouns in Chilungu, a Bantu language spoken in Zambia, exhibit more tonal distinctions synchronically than exist in many modern Bantu languages. There exists a five-way distinction in nouns with CVCV sterns and a four-way distinction in nouns with monosyllabic stems. We show that any synchronic analysis which assumes a two-way tonal distinction for each Tone Bearing Unit (e.g., H vs. L, or H vs. ¢) cannot predict the attested number of surface tonal patterns. We avoid this dilemma by proposing that the final mora of certain noun roots is extraprosodic. This assumption not only correctly predicts the attested surface patterns, but results in rules which are well-motivated both theoretically and typologically (in Bantu). We argue that lexical conditioning of extraprosodicity is a natural outgrowth of prosodic theory, parallel to the use of lexical stress and lexical accent.

In Shona (Bantu: Zimbabwe), the causative fonn of a verb is fonned in one of two ways: either with the suffix -is-/-es- or by changing the root final consonant to a corresponding coronal continuant. The author argues for an analysis in which both fonns are derived from a common underlying suffix /sl. The suffixal fonn is the result of an independently motivated process of epenthesis. The mutation, on the other hand, comes about by fusion of the /s/ with the preceding consonant. This fusion leads in some cases to feature combinations disallowed in Shona. The effects of mutation in these cases can be captured exploiting an active version of Kiparsky's Structure Preservation in tenns of "persistent rules".

Akoose has a comparatively complex verb morphology for a Bantu language. Underlying forms for the different morphemes making up the verb are proposed, as well as a set of segmental and tonal rules necessary to account for the surface forms. The derivation of certain verb forms is discussed. Verbs have three different forms: and the "dependent non-subject form". The contexts in which these are used are described. This is followed by an overview of the grammatical categories (tense, aspect, mood, negation) present in the verb and the combination of these categories in individual verb forms. Finally, meanings and usages of all verb forms are presented. the "free form", the "dependent subject form"

Verbs in Bondei, a Bantu language spoken in East Africa, have crossreferencing pronouns which agree in noun class with the subject and object of the clause. This paper will examine the distribution of the syntactic category object pronoun in four grammatical constructions: (a) basic affirmative declarative clauses; (b) relative clauses; (c) clefts; and (d) pseudo-clefts. In declarative and relative clauses, the presence of the object pronoun does not require a definite interpretation of the object noun; the absence of the object pronoun does not preclude a definite interpretation of the object noun. In both cleft and pseudo-cleft constructions, however, the object pronoun obligatorily functions to grammatically mark clef ted and pseudo-clef ted objects as definite. In the cleft constructions, the definiteness of the clef ted NP forces a contrastive interpretation. Thus, a judgement concerning the function of this grammatical construction with regard to contrastive function will be made on the basis of the distribution of the syntactic category object pronoun. possible to make the same judgment. Contrastive function is unambiguously signaled by the relative morphology on the verb of the pseudo-cleft. In this constuction, the object pronoun serves only to force a definite interpretation of the NP. In the pseudo-cleft constructions, it is not possible to make the same judgment. Contrastive function is unambiguously signaled by the relative morphology on the verb of the pseudo-cleft. In this constuction, the object pronoun serves only to force a definite interpretation of the NP.

Contrary to the view that in Bantu languages the two unmarked nominals following the verb in ditransitive constructions need not be distinguished because both possess the same object properties, this paper shows the necessity of making a distinction between the direct object and the indirect object relations. Evidence comes from SiSwati, the language of Swaziland, and the analysis of the data is cast in the Relational Grammar framework. The arguments presented refer to word order, object concord (or pronominal copy) and the interaction between object concord and some syntactic phenomena such as passivization, topicalization, relativization, and clefting. By distinguishing the direct object from the indirect object in Siswati, the grammar is able to provide a more natural account for a number of related double object constructions.

Tense is one of those verbal categories relatively unexplored in Bantu languages. In this study the author endeavors to differentiate and describe the temporal functions of those verbal prefixes directly or indirectly relevant to the expression of tense in Kinyarwanda. These morphemes are shown to constitute diverse semantic (temporal) systems-labeled vector and segmental-which, when juxtaposed, determine the particular tense of any verbal expression. Of particular significance, the analysis demonstrates that these morphemes do not, in all cases, have a unique, absolute meaning or function, but shift according to the semantic context in which they are used. 1.

In the eastern Bantu languages forms of the verb 'be', -ba and/or -I i , are commonly employed in complex constructions in which they take sentential{-like) complements. Though often considered to be semantically empty in these constructions, they are analyzed here as shifters, having both referential and indexical properties. As such they function to establish additional parameters to the temporal framework in which the narrated event is to be interpreted.

This paper addresses the general question of genetic vs. nongenetic language development, in the context of a structural and historical discussion of Ma'a (Mbugu), a language with Cushitic basic vocabulary that is spoken in Tanzania. The grammatical structure of Ma'a is compared to characteristic Cushitic and Bantu structures. The conclusion that emerges from this comparison is that Ma'a probably does not have enough Cushitic grammar to qualify as a Cushitic language in the full genetic sense; and if it does not, its origin must be nongenetic. The final section of the paper seeks to determine the particular route of nongenetic development that Ma'a has followed, using the direct evidence of published comments about its speakers' history and the indirect evidence of comparison with other languages whose origin is nongenetic or, like Ma'a, on the borderline between genetic and nongenetic.

A minority of the world's languages appear to have a series of dental (as opposed to alveolar) obstruents. Proto-Bantu does not have such a series, nor do most East African Bantu languages. By contrast, three Bantu languages in northeastern Kenya (the northern Swahili dialects, Pokomo, Elwana) have acquired such a series, which thus merits explanation. There are three mechanisms involved: sounds along with loan vocabulary, (b) a simple phonological shift whereby inherited alveolars moved one place to become dental, and (c) a more complicated shift whereby inherited (pre) palatals bypassed an intervening alveolar series to become dental, a process little reported in the literature. It is hypothesised that these forms of denta1isation took place under historical conditions of contact with neighboring Cushitic communities--not the larger Eastern Cushitic communities of today (Somali, Orma), but rather the ancestral forms of what are now remnant languages, (probably) Southern Cushitic Dahalo and (possible) Eastern Cushitic Aweera. (a) the borrowing of loan 1.