A historical-comparative study of the noun class systems in the Kasai- Ngounie (Extended) languages (Bantu B50-70, B81-84) Wordcount: 41198 Flore Bollaert Student number: 01406829 Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Koen Bostoen, Dr. Sara Pacchiarotti A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in African Studies Academic year: 2018 - 2019 Acknowledgements To say it with a good old metaphor: the making of this dissertation was a wild ride. While some people made it even wilder, others prevented me from going too far astray. Heartfelt thank you’s go out to the following bunch of people in particular. My supervisor, Koen Bostoen. I can say without a doubt that if weren’t for you, the process of writing this dissertation would not have been this hard. I also would not have been able to put even one word to paper, so there’s that. Thank you for being so meticulous when reading preliminary drafts, for always being reading to offer advice and, most of all, for believing in me. My second supervisor, Sara Pacchiarotti. I thank my lucky stars that you arrived at Ghent University when you did. After our first meeting back in January 2018, I thought to myself: “She will be the reason I finish this thesis.” Today I can say that indeed, you are. You pushed me to always do better, but most of all to always believe in myself. Thank you as well for meticulously reading preliminary drafts. Thank you for the chats, the hugs, the coffees, the never-ending positivity and support. (Also for the maps and figures, which have made this dissertation look approximately twenty-six times more professional.) The people I met during my fieldwork who made it a memorable experience. Thank you especially to Jude for welcoming me into Kinshasa and making sure my time in the DRC went as smoothly as possible, to Isidore for coming with me to Bankana and helping me wherever he could, and to Joseph for being so eager to share his knowledge on his mother tongue Bwala. My friends. I don’t know why I do the things I do, but thank you for loving me and supporting me regardless. Malaika, who was right there with me during the seemingly never-ending hours in the library and who saved me from insanity one too many times. We made it. My parents. I don’t think any of us had an inkling I would be where I am today when I first enrolled at Ghent University five years ago to do African Studies, of all things. But look at me now. I’ve learned and I’ve grown and none of it would have been possible if it weren’t for you. Thank you for being a steady presence in my life and a constant source of support. Thank you. iii Table of contents Table of contents ................................................................................................................................... iv List of tables ......................................................................................................................................... vii List of figures ........................................................................................................................................ vii List of maps .......................................................................................................................................... vii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Classification........................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Geolinguistic situation ............................................................................................................ 8 1.3 Sociolinguistic situation ........................................................................................................ 13 1.4 Earlier research and motivation for current research ........................................................... 15 1.5 The collecting and processing of data ................................................................................... 16 1.6 Abbreviations........................................................................................................................ 18 2 Bantu noun class systems ............................................................................................................. 21 2.1 The form and structure of nouns .......................................................................................... 21 2.2 What are noun class systems? ............................................................................................... 21 2.3 From Proto-Bantu to present-day Bantu languages............................................................... 32 3 Bwala ............................................................................................................................................ 34 3.1 A sketch of the synchronic phonology of Bwala ................................................................... 34 3.2 A synchronic analysis of the Bwala noun class system ......................................................... 36 3.3 Evolution from PB to Bwala.................................................................................................. 60 3.3.1 Retentions ..................................................................................................................... 61 3.3.2 Innovations ................................................................................................................... 62 4 The noun class systems of B50-80 languages ............................................................................... 64 4.1 The noun class systems in B50.............................................................................................. 64 4.1.1 Duma (B51) .................................................................................................................. 64 4.1.2 Nzebi (B52) ................................................................................................................... 75 4.1.3 Tsaangi (B53) ................................................................................................................ 84 4.1.4 B50: A historical-comparative summary ....................................................................... 94 iv 4.2 The noun class systems in B60.............................................................................................. 95 4.2.1 Mpini (B601) ................................................................................................................ 95 4.2.2 Mbaama (B62) ............................................................................................................ 102 4.2.3 B60: A historical-comparative summary ..................................................................... 108 4.3 The noun class systems in B70............................................................................................ 109 4.3.1 Ngungwel (B72a) ........................................................................................................ 109 4.3.2 Kukwa (B77a) ............................................................................................................. 117 4.3.3 B70: A historical-comparative summary ..................................................................... 126 4.4 The noun class systems in B80............................................................................................ 127 4.4.1 Tiene (B81) ................................................................................................................. 127 4.4.2 North Boma (B82) ....................................................................................................... 137 4.4.3 B80: A historical-comparative summary ..................................................................... 145 4.5 A historical-comparative analysis of noun class systems in B50-80 languages ................... 146 6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 143 7 References .................................................................................................................................. 145 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................ 149 A Word list: Bwala – English ...................................................................................................... 149 B Identification sheet language consultant ................................................................................ 157 v List of tables Table 1 - Abbreviations and their definitions ....................................................................................... 19 Table 2 - Additional abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 20 Table 3 - Reconstructions of the Proto-Bantu noun class system .......................................................... 26 Table 4 - A selection of concords in Swahili ......................................................................................... 32 Table 5 - Bwala consonant system ........................................................................................................ 35 Table 6 - Bwala noun class prefixes (NP), agreement prefixes (NCP, PP and PS) and connectives (CON) ..................................................................................................................................................