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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher qualify 6" x 9" triack and wfiite photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMf iOKAMBA PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Rosalind Ruth Roberts-Kohno, B.A., M.A. $ $ * * * The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor David Odden, Advisor Professor Elizabeth Hume Advisor Professor Keith Johnson Department of Linguistics UMI Number 9962448 Copyright 2000 by Roberts-Kohno, Rosalind Ruth All rights reserved. UMI* UMI Microform9962448 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and teaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Rosalind Ruth Roberts-Kohno 2000 ABSTRACT This dissertation describes and analyzes the phonology and morphology of the Bantu language Kikamba, spoken in Kenya. Kikamba data contributes to several theoretical issues, namely, empty segments and vowel hiatus, tone features, and the syntax-phonology interface. In order to show the theoretical significance of Kikamba in these areas, an explanation of the morphological and phonological systems is first provided. Kikamba marks agreement through prefixes added to stems in all word classes. I discuss the noun class system and the process of stem formation by which nouns are derived. For verbs, derivational and inflectional morphemes, subject and object prefixes, and paradigms which show the morphological and tonal structure of 20 tenses are presented. I also provide a thorough description of the processes of syllabification and vowel coalescence, which are crucial to understanding tonal behavior and vowel hiatus. Kikamba is a very convincing case of a language with an empty consonantal root node which is unspecified for features. This ‘empty C’ causes vowels which normally coalesce to remain distinct and syllabify into separate syllables. Moreover, this empty C surfaces as s. I, b, d, and g in specific contexts. While this empty C causes hiatus between vowels word-intemally, it deletes at the phrase level, allowing all vowel combinations to coalesce. ii Kikamba is a four-tone language in which the Super-High and Super-Low tone pattern together, thereby providing evidence that they share the tone feature [+extremej. Moreover, this feature is sensitive to syntactic structure. Specifically, this feature must surface at the right edge of a maximal projection (X-Max). In lexical tones, [+extreme] deletes when it is not at the right edge of X-Max, which affects both Super-High and Super-Low tones. In grammatical tones, only the Super-Low tone deletes, and Super- High remains, even if not at the right edge of X-Max. The phrasal Super-Low tone assigned to assertive verbs shifts to a following complement in order to arrive at the right edge of X-Max. Finally, it is shown that morphological agreement influences phrasing, and thus the behavior of the feature [^extreme], and that CP clauses are impermeable to the shift of phrasal Super-Low tone. ui Dedicated to my father, my mother, and my grandmother, Forrest Montgomery Roberts, Mary Patience Roberts, and Rosalind Roberts IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without the assistance and support of a great many people, this thesis would not be possible. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor David Odden. To say he is an excellent scholar does not begin to describe his commitment to his work, and his incredible gift for fieldwork and theoretical phonology. His insights and comments on countless drafts of my work during my career at OSU have sparked my interest, and encouraged me to be a better scholar. I am also greatly indebted to Beatrice Mulala, a wonderful and knowledgeable language informant, and a dear friend. Without her patience and generous sharing of her time over the last six years, I would not have been able to gather the data to complete this thesis. There are many others who I am indebted to. Elizabeth Hume and Keith Johnson have provided insights on my work from a non-Bantuist perspective and have also provided greatly appreciated encouragement. Thanks also go to Brian Joseph and Claudia Morettini for their time and support throughout my career at OSU. In addition to faculty and staff, I have benefited from discussions with many of my graduate student colleagues, including Mary Bradshaw, Nasiombe Mutonyi, Robert Poletto, Frederick Parkinson, and Jetmifer Muller. I feel lucky to have been a part of the Linguistics department at OSU. I also wish to thank Lee Bickmore, Larry Hyman, Kathleen Hubbard, and Ian Maddieson, among others, who have commented on my work at the Annual Conference on African Linguistics, as well as providing encouragement and inspiration. Other linguists who have helped and inspired me at important points in my education are Arthur Palacas and Zinny Bond. Thanks also go to my applied linguist colleagues in the Spoken English Program at OSU, including Susan Sarwark, Andi Sondrini, Kathy Coen, and Elizabeth Copley, for their support, kindness, and different perspective on linguistics. An important thanks goes to the OSU Child Care Center. The support of teachers, including Sarah, Gitti, Duaa, Denise, Cheryl, Tina, Branka, Susanti, Erica, Danielle, Amity, Kelly, Helen, Darlene, Paula, Kasey, Mariaime, Angie, and Josette, and friends, especially Elizabeth Allan and Brian Rahill, within this community allowed me to know my children were in good hands, so I could concentrate on my research. Other friends who have been supportive are Monica Crabtree-Reusser and her parents. Bill Kirschner, Dewi Tjakrawati, Ni Luh Puspitasari, Kathy McKinney, and Melanie Brooks. Finally, I wish to thank my family for their patience. My children Bridget! and Garrett have brought a profound happiness to my life, and have led me to look at things from an unconventional, or perhaps, unadult point of view. My husband Takeshi Kohno and his parents have been supportive in many ways so that I may complete this project. The research for this dissertation was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant # SBR-9421362, the Foreign Language and Area Studies Scholarship, and an OSU Critical Difference for Women research grant. I alone am responsible for any errors found within this text. vi VITA E d u c a t io n 1986 ..................................................... B.A. French, The University of Akron 1988 ..................................................... M.A. Linguistics, Ohio University 1991 ..................................................... M.A. Linguistics, The Ohio State University T e a c h in g E x p e r ie n c e 1986-1989 ...........................................Graduate Teaching Associate and Lecturer, Ohio University 1989-1996 ........................................... Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, The Ohio State University 1996-present ........................................ Academic Program Specialist, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS 1. Kikamba verb stem tonology. New Dimensions in African Linguistics and Languages, 89-106, (1999). 2. Empty root nodes in Kikamba: Conflicting evidence and theoretical implications. Language History and Linguistic Description in Africa, 185-194, (1998). 3. Kikamba verb stem tonology. The Ohio State University Working Papers in Linguistics, 48:211-227. (1996). vu 4. Vowel coalescence and hiatus in Kikamba. Theoretical Approaches to African Linguistics, 313-327, (1995). 5. A non-metrical theory of Sukuma tone. The Ohio State University Working Papers in Linguistics, 41:135-148. (1992). FIELDS OF STUDY M a jo r F ie ld : Linguistics M in o r F ield s : Descriptive Linguistics, Theoretical Phonology, Bantu Languages, Tone, Morphology, Phonetics v n i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract...................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................v