Swahili Grammar and Workbook “Swahili Grammar and Workbook provides an in-depth, up-to-date student guide to modern Swahili grammar. The major aspects of Swahili grammar are explained clearly and illustrated with ample examples and exercises, and are arranged around distinct user-oriented grammar topics. The book fills an important gap in the Swahili linguistic literature and will be of great value to students of Swahili at different levels of proficiency.” Lutz Marten, SOAS, University of London, UK Swahili Grammar and Workbook provides a practical and comprehensive companion to Swahili grammar, filling in gaps left by other textbooks. Presenting the essentials of Swahili grammar in a highly accessible fashion, it reduces complex language topics to helpful rules and mnemonic aids, enabling maximum grammar retention and accurate usage. Grammar points are followed by multiple examples and exercises, allowing students to consolidate and practice their learning. No prior knowledge of linguistic terminology is required. Key features include: • Twenty-five language notes covering key topics such as: personal pronouns; the Swahili noun class system; special class combinations; the imperative, the subjunctive, and the conditional moods; the use of comparatives; the use of monosyllabic verbs; the passive form and various other forms of verb extensions; the relative clause; • clear, detailed, and jargon-free grammatical explanations supported by an assortment of helpful diagrams, figures, and tables and many relevant and up-to-date examples; • a wide range of communication-oriented exercises to reinforce learning and develop students’ ability to use Swahili actively; • audio files to support pronunciation practice, clearly linked to relevant sections of the book and available for free download at www.routledge.com/9781138808263 • four appendices, Swahili–English and English–Swahili vocabulary lists, a list of refer- ences and an index presented at the back of the book for easy access to information. Written by a highly experienced instructor, Swahili Grammar and Workbook will be an essential resource for all students and teachers of Swahili. It is suitable for use both as a companion reference text in language courses and as a standalone text in independent grammar classes. Fidèle Mpiranya is Lecturer in Swahili and African Linguistics at the University of Chicago, USA. This page intentionally left blank Swahili Grammar and Workbook Fidèle Mpiranya First published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Fidèle Mpiranya The right of Fidèle Mpiranya to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mpiranya, Fidèle, author. Swahili grammar and workbook / Fidèle Mpiranya. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Swahili language–Grammar. I. Title. PL8702.M624 2014 496.392–dc23 2014015471 ISBN: 978-1-138-80825-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-80826-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-75069-9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong To my daughter Mélyse, with love This page intentionally left blank Contents List of illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations and conventional signs xii Introduction 1 1 Swahili – key elements 3 2 Using basic vocabulary and markers 9 3 Personal pronouns 13 4 Swahili noun class system 19 5 Noun/adjective and pronoun agreement 29 6 The indicative mood and main verb tenses 40 7 Verb “be”/“have” in the main clause 50 8 Special class combinations and the reflexive pronoun 56 9 Prefix/stem contact rules vs. invariable adjectives/pronouns 61 10 Relative clauses and the use of reference pronouns 70 11 Imperative and subjunctive moods 83 12 Monosyllabic verb stems and the stem augment ku- 94 13 Auxiliary verbs and the expression of complex tenses 101 14 Expressing comparison 107 viii Contents 15 The passive form of the verb 110 16 Locative agreement and coordinated noun agreement 116 17 The conditional mood 127 18 The causative extension of the verb 133 19 Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verb extensions 142 20 Adverbs in a broad sense 151 21 Adjectives in a broad sense 163 22 Noun formation and augmentative/diminutive processes 174 23 Reduced forms and special uses of various pronouns 186 24 Subjunctive vs. infinitive/indicative in coordinated and subordinate clauses 191 25 Double object constructions and the use of “object markers” 202 Appendix A: Greetings and other polite expressions 215 Appendix B: Class agreements with all types of adjectives and pronouns 219 Appendix C: Clause connectors and other transition words 220 Appendix D: Use of verb tenses in Swahili proverbs 229 Vocabulary list 233 References 246 Index 248 List of illustrations Maps 1.1 Swahili-speaking regions in East and Central Africa 3 1.2 The Swahili Coast and neighboring places of the Indian Ocean Basin 4 Figures 1.1 Place of articulation for the Swahili sounds /j/ [ɟ] and /y/ 6 1.2 Place of articulation for the English sound /j/ [dʒ] and Swahili /nj/ [ndʒ] 6 1.3 Place of articulation for /gh/ and /g/ 7 1.4 Place and manner of articulation for /ng’/ [ŋ] vs. /ng/ [ŋg] 7 7.1 Distribution of locative reference pronouns in Swahili 51 9.1 Main phonetic features of Swahili vowels 61 Tables 1.1 Swahili consonants illustrated 5 2.1 Verb tenses markers in the indicative mood (affirmative form) 11 3.1 Swahili personal pronouns 13 3.2 Noun/possessive agreement in nouns for animates 16 3.3 Noun/possessive agreement in nouns for non-animates 16 4.1 Noun types and noun class assignment 22 4.2 Model sentences for Swahili noun classes 23 5.1 Noun/adjective prefixes vs. pronominal prefixes 29 5.2 Noun determiners according to their agreement prefixes (listed in Table 5.1) 30 5.3 The demonstrative pronouns in different classes 33 5.4 Harmony between the hV- segment and the vowel of the following class prefix 33 5.5 Normal word order within a noun group 36 6.1 The indicative tense markers in affirmative form 40 6.2 Tense markers of the indicative in negative form 42 7.1 Verb “be” in different tenses of the indicative mood 50 7.2 Present tense of locative verb “be” 51 7.3 Locative prepositions and corresponding forms of the locative verb “be” 52 7.4 Verb “have” in all tenses of the indicative mood (affirmative/negative) 54 8.1 Model sentences for the classes [mu-u/ma-ya] and [mu-u/n-zi] 56 9.1 The nominal prefix in class [n-i/n-zi] according to the following consonant or vowel 65 x List of illustrations 10.1 Reference pronouns/relative markers in different classes 70 10.2 Form and contextual restrictions on different relative clause patterns 74 10.3 The conjunction na “and/with” with the contrastive pronouns of first and second persons 79 11.1 Basic markers of the subjunctive 85 11.2 Imperative vs. subjunctive markers 85 11.3 “Polite” vs. “direct” imperative 91 12.1 Form of the tense/mood marker and absence of the stem augment ku- 96 16.1 Use of locative agreement patterns 116 16.2 The locative demonstrative pronoun in terms of proximity 119 16.3 Conjunction na with locative reference pronouns 119 19.1 Typical suffix combinations 148 21.1 Color terms using the pattern “conjunction -a + noun” 165 23.1 Contraction between possessive pronouns and personal relationship nouns 187 Acknowledgments Special thanks to Michael Pierson for editing an early version of my manuscript, and to Matthew Knisley for revising the final version. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my students, past and present, for their substantial feedback and suggestions about successive versions of this textbook. Comments from three anonymous reviewers also have helped in improv- ing the content and the form of this text, and I am very thankful for that. The data in this text are drawn from my own experience as a near-native speaker of Swahili. They have been double-checked by Innocent Basso, a native speaker born and raised in Tanga, Tanzania. Innocent also lent his voice for the audio materials provided online. I am very grateful to him for his important contributions. This book project would have been more difficult without the encouragement and the support of Larry Hyman, Salikoko Mufwene, Aimable Twagilimana, and Rachel Walker. I am thankful for their guidance and their friendship. Finally, I express my gratitude to Helle V. Goldman and Philip Carr for allowing me to reproduce a map and phonetic diagrams from their respective works. Many thanks also to Wiley-Blackwell, Philip Carr’s publisher. Maps and figures credits Map 1.1: Adapted from CIA. 2013. The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. Public domain. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ docs/contributor_copyright.html Map 1.2: Adapted from Goldman, Helle Valborg. 1996. “A Comparative Study of Swahili in Two Rural Communities in Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania”. Ph.D. thesis, New York University.