The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages
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Here Referred to As Class 18A (See Hyman 1980:187)
WS1 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, here 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. -
A Case of Kibena to Kimaswitule in Njombe District, Tanzania
European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching ISSN: 2537 - 1754 ISSN-L: 2537 - 1754 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu doi: 10.5281/zenodo.496189 Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE CHANGE: A CASE OF KIBENA TO KIMASWITULE IN NJOMBE DISTRICT, TANZANIA Leopard Jacob Mwalongoi The Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchin City, Post Code 130024, Jilin, China Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine the Language change from Kibena to Kimaswitule, specifically the study ought to identify social factors of Language change from Kibena to Kimaswitule; also to explore the impact of language change to the society. The study was done in Njombe District. The targeted population was the youth; the middle age and the elders (men and women) from Njombe district, below 15 years were not included in this study since they had little knowledge on the language change and shift from Kibena to Kimaswitule. 50 respondents were included in the study. The study used qualitative and quantitative approaches. The purposive and random sampling were used, the researcher predominantly used snowball sampling method to have sample for the study. Data were collected through, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), structured interview, questionnaire, observation and checklist methods. Data were analysed by scrutinizing, sorted, classified, coded and organized according to objectives of the study. The findings showed that, participant, personal needs, influence of other languages and development of towns are social factors for language change and the research concluded that, changes of Kibena to Kimaswitule has endangered the indigenous education of Wabena because change in the society goes hand in hand with the changes of the norms and values as language embeds culture. -
Options for a National Culture Symbol of Cameroon: Can the Bamenda Grassfields Traditional Dress Fit?
EAS Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies Abbreviated Key Title: EAS J Humanit Cult Stud ISSN: 2663-0958 (Print) & ISSN: 2663-6743 (Online) Published By East African Scholars Publisher, Kenya Volume-2 | Issue-1| Jan-Feb-2020 | DOI: 10.36349/easjhcs.2020.v02i01.003 Research Article Options for a National Culture Symbol of Cameroon: Can the Bamenda Grassfields Traditional Dress Fit? Venantius Kum NGWOH Ph.D* Department of History Faculty of Arts University of Buea, Cameroon Abstract: The national symbols of Cameroon like flag, anthem, coat of arms and seal do not Article History in any way reveal her cultural background because of the political inclination of these signs. Received: 14.01.2020 In global sporting events and gatherings like World Cup and international conferences Accepted: 28.12.2020 respectively, participants who appear in traditional costume usually easily reveal their Published: 17.02.2020 nationalities. The Ghanaian Kente, Kenyan Kitenge, Nigerian Yoruba outfit, Moroccan Journal homepage: Djellaba or Indian Dhoti serve as national cultural insignia of their respective countries. The https://www.easpublisher.com/easjhcs reason why Cameroon is referred in tourist circles as a cultural mosaic is that she harbours numerous strands of culture including indigenous, Gaullist or Francophone and Anglo- Quick Response Code Saxon or Anglophone. Although aspects of indigenous culture, which have been grouped into four spheres, namely Fang-Beti, Grassfields, Sawa and Sudano-Sahelian, are dotted all over the country in multiple ways, Cameroon cannot still boast of a national culture emblem. The purpose of this article is to define the major components of a Cameroonian national culture and further identify which of them can be used as an acceptable domestic cultural device. -
1 Parameters of Morpho-Syntactic Variation
This paper appeared in: Transactions of the Philological Society Volume 105:3 (2007) 253–338. Please always use the published version for citation. PARAMETERS OF MORPHO-SYNTACTIC VARIATION IN BANTU* a b c By LUTZ MARTEN , NANCY C. KULA AND NHLANHLA THWALA a School of Oriental and African Studies, b University of Leiden and School of Oriental and African Studies, c University of the Witwatersrand and School of Oriental and African Studies ABSTRACT Bantu languages are fairly uniform in terms of broad typological parameters. However, they have been noted to display a high degree or more fine-grained morpho-syntactic micro-variation. In this paper we develop a systematic approach to the study of morpho-syntactic variation in Bantu by developing 19 parameters which serve as the basis for cross-linguistic comparison and which we use for comparing ten south-eastern Bantu languages. We address conceptual issues involved in studying morpho-syntax along parametric lines and show how the data we have can be used for the quantitative study of language comparison. Although the work reported is a case study in need of expansion, we will show that it nevertheless produces relevant results. 1. INTRODUCTION Early studies of morphological and syntactic linguistic variation were mostly aimed at providing broad parameters according to which the languages of the world differ. The classification of languages into ‘inflectional’, ‘agglutinating’, and ‘isolating’ morphological types, originating from the work of Humboldt (1836), is a well-known example of this approach. Subsequent studies in linguistic typology, e.g. work following Greenberg (1963), similarly tried to formulate variables which could be applied to any language and which would classify languages into a number of different types. -
5 Phonology Florian Lionnet and Larry M
5 Phonology Florian Lionnet and Larry M. Hyman 5.1. Introduction The historical relation between African and general phonology has been a mutu- ally beneficial one: the languages of the African continent provide some of the most interesting and, at times, unusual phonological phenomena, which have con- tributed to the development of phonology in quite central ways. This has been made possible by the careful descriptive work that has been done on African lan- guages, by linguists and non-linguists, and by Africanists and non-Africanists who have peeked in from time to time. Except for the click consonants of the Khoisan languages (which spill over onto some neighboring Bantu languages that have “borrowed” them), the phonological phenomena found in African languages are usually duplicated elsewhere on the globe, though not always in as concen- trated a fashion. The vast majority of African languages are tonal, and many also have vowel harmony (especially vowel height harmony and advanced tongue root [ATR] harmony). Not surprisingly, then, African languages have figured dispro- portionately in theoretical treatments of these two phenomena. On the other hand, if there is a phonological property where African languages are underrepresented, it would have to be stress systems – which rarely, if ever, achieve the complexity found in other (mostly non-tonal) languages. However, it should be noted that the languages of Africa have contributed significantly to virtually every other aspect of general phonology, and that the various developments of phonological theory have in turn often greatly contributed to a better understanding of the phonologies of African languages. Given the considerable diversity of the properties found in different parts of the continent, as well as in different genetic groups or areas, it will not be possible to provide a complete account of the phonological phenomena typically found in African languages, overviews of which are available in such works as Creissels (1994) and Clements (2000). -
The Inflectional Structure of Lubukusu Verbs Aggrey
i THE INFLECTIONAL STRUCTURE OF LUBUKUSU VERBS AGGREY WAFULA WATULO C50/NKU/CE/28191/2013 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS OF KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OCTOBER 2018 ii DECLARATION iii DEDICATION In memory of my dear late, mum Edith Nekoye, my late uncles Jeff Watulo and Fred Wenyaa for being my mentors. To my late grand mums Rosa and Rasoa who took good care of me after the demise of my mum. Lastly, to my dear wife Naomi who with unwavering support took good care of our lovely sons Ken and Mike while I was busy connecting dots during mid night and day time to make my writing scholarly. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT With a lot of humility, I appreciate our Almighty God for enriching me with sufficient grace and patience until this moment. I would not have travelled this long journey had it not been for God‟s mercy and guidance in all the activities I carried out in building my research work. My project has finally come to a success because of Dr. Nandelenga‟s dedication to read the many drafts I send to him. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Nandelenga‟s passionate guidance and advice during the time I was struggling to read and write my work. My profound gratitude goes to my linguistics MA lecturers whom I met during my course work. To Dr. Kirigia, Prof. Khasandi and Dr. Wathika thank you for taking me through course work. -
Southern Africa As a Phonological Area
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology/Linguistics "Speaking (of) Khoisan" A symposium reviewing African prehistory 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area Christfried Naumann & Hans-Jörg Bibiko [email protected] Quelle: Clements & Rialland ( 2008 : 37 ) Contents 1. Introduction 3-15 2. Procedure 16-19 3. Results: Kalahari Basin 20-28 4. Results: Southeastern Bantu 29-42 5. Results: Southern Africa 43-54 (6. Local and dependent features - excluded) 55-61 7. MDS and k-means 62-68 8. Summary 69 (9. Contact scenarios) 70-74 Acknowledgements 75 References 76-77 2 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Phonological similarities • large consonantal inventory (45 c.) • clicks • aspirated and ejective stops • dorsal affricate 3 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Phonological similarities • large consonantal inventory (50 c.) • clicks • aspirated, slack voiced, ejective and imploisve stops •(dorsal affricate) lateral obstruents • 4 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Phonological similarities • large consonantal inventory (68 c.) • (clicks) • aspirated, breathy and implosive stops • lateral obstruents 5 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Example: Distribution of ejectives/glottalized consonants Clements & Rialland (2008: 62) Maddieson (2013) 6 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa -
Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS): ISSN 2523-6725 (Online) February 2018 Vol
Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS): ISSN 2523-6725 (online) February 2018 Vol. 2, No. 2 Citation: Hokororo, J. I (2018). Re-thinking Linguistic Universals in Phonology- Evidence from Phonological Processes Affecting Vowels in Tanzanian Bantu.. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies. 2 (2), 2018: 46 – 62. Re-thinking Linguistic Universals in Phonology: Evidence from Phonological Processes Affecting Vowels in Tanzanian Bantu By Joseph Hokororo Ismail Abstract This study aimed at describing phonological process that operates in Bantu languages and the rule to account such processes in order to establish linguistic universality in phonology. Linguistic universal in phonology has been discussed in a number of works Massamba, (2010, 2011); Yule, (2014); Odden, 2005); Chomsky and Halle 1968) and Yule (2014), just to mention but few. In their discussions, the aspects of phonological processes affecting vowel sounds has been treated as if their independent phenomenon with no relation with universality of phonology. The study uses Auto-segmental phonology, as its theoretical frame work, aims discussing the phonological processes which affect sounds are true linguistic universal but what specific processes that affect particular Bantu language can be taken to a near linguistic universals, the aspects that were not given much the attention it deserves. In this study, phonological process namely glide formation, vowel coalescence and high vowel deletion will be discussed. The examples are drawn from 10 selected Bantu languages spoken in Tanzania. Key words: Nasalization, glide formation, coalescence, vowel deletion Citation Format Hokororo, J. I. (2018). Re-thinking Linguistic Universals in Phonology: Evidence from Phonological Processes Affecting Vowels in Tanzanian Bantu. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies: 2, 2, 46 – 62. -
The Subject Marker in Bantu As an Antifocus Marker*
Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, Vol. 38, 2008, 221-254 doi: 10.5774/38-0-31 The subject marker in Bantu as an antifocus marker* Jochen Zeller University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4041, South Africa [email protected] 1. Introduction In most Bantu languages, subject-verb agreement is expressed by prefixing a subject marker (SM) to the verb stem; the SM agrees with the noun class features of the preverbal subject. This is illustrated by the Zulu (Z.) example in (1):1 (1) Ikati li-ya-gul-a (Z.) cat5 SM5-DIS -be.sick-FV "The cat is sick" In this paper I suggest that a preverbal subject DP and the corresponding SM start out as one constituent in the derivation. I argue that the class 5 subject noun phrase ikati ("cat") and the class 5 SM li -, which is prefixed to the verb in (1), are initially part of the same phrase whose internal structure is depicted in (2): 222 Jochen Zeller (2) n*P n* DP li- D N i- kati In (2), the subject DP is the complement of the SM, which I analyse as a functional head with nominal properties. Following a proposal by Chomsky (2006), I label this head n*. I assume that in a sentence such as (1), the n*-head has moved out of the subject n*P and has incorporated into the functional head which hosts the verb. Therefore, the SM is attached to the verb stem and the verb shows overt agreement with the subject DP. The primary objective of this study is to show that the proposal illustrated in (2) offers a way to explain the lack of subject-verb agreement in subject-verb inversion constructions such as that in (3b). -
My Country South Africa: Celebrating Our National Symbols and Heritage
My Country SouthAfrica celebrating ournationalsynbols&heritage My Country South Africa celebrating our national symbols & heritage Department of Education Race and Values Sol Plaatje House 123 Schoeman Street Pretoria South Africa Tel: +27 (12) 312 5080 [email protected] updated 2ndedition Cover photos courtesy SA Tourism, Parliament of South Africa Parliament of South and Department of Education photos courtesyCover SA Tourism, updated 2nd edition My Country South Africa celebrating our national symbols & heritage 2nd edition ISBN: 1-77018-108-3 © Department of Education 2006-2008 All rights reserved. You may copy material from this publication for use in non-profit education programmes if you acknowledge the source. For use in publications, please obtain the written permission of the Department of Education Enquiries Directorate: Race and Values, Department of Education, Room 223, 123 Schoeman Street, Pretoria Tel: (012) 312-5080 Fax: (012) 326-1909 Email: [email protected] The Department of Education gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Royal Netherlands Embassy towards the development and distribution of this publication. Page 3 My Country South Africa /ÃÊ«ÕLV>ÌÊ}}ÌÃÊÌiÊÃÌÀV>ÊVÌiÝÌÊvÊi>VÊ>Ì> symbol - when and how it came into being and the protocols >ÀÕ`ÊÌiÊÃ}wV>ViÊ>`Ê«ÀÌ>ViÊvÊi>V°ÊÌÊiÝ«>Ã]ÊvÀÊ iÝ>«i]Êw, when and where the National Flag should be flown, hung or stored. It also outlines the protocols around the singing of the National Anthem. Schools should ensure that the official version of the National Anthem is sung in full. Learners and educators should be made aware of the appropriate behaviour involved in singing the Anthem. -
Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa
Quickworld Entity Report Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa Quickworld Factoid Name : Central Africa Status : Region of Africa Land Area : 7,215,000 sq km - 2,786,000 sq mi Political Entities Sovereign Countries (19) Angola Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo (DR) Congo (Republic) Equatorial Guinea Gabon Libya Malawi Niger Nigeria Rwanda South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia International Organizations Worldwide Organizations (3) Commonwealth of Nations La Francophonie United Nations Organization Continental Organizations (1) African Union Conflicts and Disputes Internal Conflicts and Secessions (1) Lybian Civil War Territorial Disputes (1) Sudan-South Sudan Border Disputes Languages Language Families (9) Bihari languages Central Sudanic languages Chadic languages English-based creoles and pidgins French-based creoles and pidgins Manobo languages Portuguese-based creoles and pidgins Prakrit languages Songhai languages © 2019 Quickworld Inc. Page 1 of 7 Quickworld Inc assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this document. The information contained in this document is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness. Quickworld Entity Report Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa Languages (485) Abar Acoli Adhola Aghem Ajumbu Aka Aka Akoose Akum Akwa Alur Amba language Ambele Amdang Áncá Assangori Atong language Awing Baali Babango Babanki Bada Bafaw-Balong Bafia Bakaka Bakoko Bakole Bala Balo Baloi Bambili-Bambui Bamukumbit -
Syntactic and Phonological Phrasing in Bemba Relatives
Syntactic and phonological phrasing in Bemba Relatives Lisa Cheng Leiden University Nancy C. Kula Leiden University (LUCL) Tone as a distinctive feature used to differentiate not only words but also clause types, is a characteristic feature of Bantu languages. In this paper we show that Bemba relatives can be marked with a low tone in place of a segmental relative marker. This low tone strategy of relativization, which imposes a restrictive reading of relatives, manifests a specific phonological phrasing that can be differentiated from that of non-restrictives. The paper shows that the resultant phonological phrasing favours a head-raising analysis of relativization. In this sense, phonology can be shown to inform syntactic analyses. 1 Introduction Relative clauses in Bantu have been a part of continued research dating back to Meeussen (1971). Various typologies and analyses that aim to capture the dependencies expressed in this clause type have been proposed (Givón 1972, Nsuka 1982, Walusimbi 1996). Despite the fact that there is overwhelming evidence of relative clauses formed by tone in various Bantu languages (Luganda, Kinyarwanda, Nsenga, Chichewa, Umbundu, Luba) hardly any analyses try to associate this fact to the syntactic analyses and generalisations proposed, but see Kamwangamalu (1988) for Luba. This paper investigates (syntactic) analyses of relative clauses in Bantu, with particular reference to Bemba, that take recourse to phonological phrasing. We begin by outlining the strategies for relative clause formation in Bemba in section 2 for both subject and object relatives. In section 3 we look at the limitations of the tonal marking strategy as opposed to relatives marked with segmental relative markers.