Aspectual Classes of Verbs in Nyamwezi ASPECTUAL CLASSES OF VERBS IN NYAMWEZI Ponsiano Sawaka Kanijo To my mother Margreth Nyamizi Bernard Doctoral dissertation in African Languages, University of Gothenburg October 25, 2019 Dissertation edition © 2019 Ponsiano Sawaka Kanijo Cover design: Thomas Ekholm Printed by GU Interntryckeri, University of Gothenburg, 2019 ISBN: 978-91-7833-652-4 (PRINT) ISBN: 978-91-7833-653-1 (PDF) Link to E-publication: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/60370 Distribution: Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Gothenburg, Box 200, SE-40530, Göteborg The picture of a mango tree on the cover represents the original name of Tabora region, an area where Nyamwezi is spoken. This area was originally called Unyanyembe (from the Nyamwezi word inyeembé ‘mango’) due to the huge ancient mango trees, which were grown by long-distance traders (Joynson-Hicks, 1998, p. 136). TITLE: Aspectual classes of Verbs in Nyamwezi AUTHOR: Ponsiano Sawaka Kanijo LANGUAGE: English DISTRIBUTION: Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Gothenburg, Box 200, SE_40530 Göteborg ISBN: 978-91-7833-652-4 (PRINT) ISBN: 978-91-7833-653-1 (PDF) http://hdl.handle.net/2077/60370 Abstract This dissertation deals with the classification of verbs in Nyamwezi, a Bantu language spoken in central-west Tanzania. The major aims of this study have been twofold: first, to classify Nyamwezi verbs into different aspectual classes, and second, to present a variety of tests that were used as evidence for a verb’s aspectual class membership. The data for the analysis and classification of verbs in this study were collected using a variety of fieldwork techniques mostly direct elicitation (sentence translation from questionnaires) and contextual elicitation (testing the acceptability of a construction based on a range of imaginary discourse contexts provided to the consultant). Other techniques that were used to collect data were informal or conversational interviews, back translation and digital recordings of oral narratives and conversations. In classifying verbs into aspectual classes, this study has adopted Botne and Kershner’s (2000) framework. This framework classifies verbs into aspectual classes based on three successive phases: ONSET (representing the phase leading up to the change), NUCLEUS (representing the change itself; it can also be represented as a lead-up phase if the verb lacks an onset) and CODA (representing the result state). In this framework, verbs are classified based on the number of phases they encode and on the semantic properties of the encoded phases, i.e., based on whether the phases are punctual/durative or dynamic/static. The phasal structures encoded by Nyamwezi aspectual classes are determined using various diagnostic tests. Some of these tests are based on checking the interpretational differences or co-occurrence restrictions of a given verb with either grammatical aspect constructions (grammatical aspect tests) or lexical items, such as -andya ‘start’, -oya ‘stop’, -mala ‘finish’ and hadoóhádó ‘slowly’ (lexical tests). Other tests are based on checking the interpretational differences or co-occurrence restrictions of the verb with tense markers and time adverbials (tense and time adverbial tests). Most of these tests give results that to a large extent are similar to those observed in other studies on aspectual classes in Bantu languages. Other tests give results which cannot be generalized to other Bantu languages. This is because these tests do not test exactly the same thing in all languages. The differences between aspectual classes shown by the diagnostic tests will hopefully have an implication for an overall typology of aspectual classes. KEYWORDS: Nyamwezi, aspectual class, phasal structure, diagnostic test Abstract in Swedish Denna avhandling behandlar klassificering av verbets aspekt i nyamwezi, ett bantuspråk som talas i den västra delen av centrala Tanzania. Avhandlingen har två syften: dels att dela in nyamweziverb i olika aspektklasser (aktionsarter), dels att diskutera och analysera de test som brukar användas för sådan verbklassificering. Vid insamling av språkexempel har olika fältmetoder använts, huvudsakligen olika slags elicitering av tal (som då spelats in) och skrift, både regelrätta översättningsövningar från swahili (det överregionala standardspråket i Tanzania) till nyamwezi och så kallad kontextuell elicitering; det senare innebär att intervjuaren ber informanten bedöma och eventuellt modifiera en konstruktion i en rad olika grammatiska sammanhang. Även återöversättning har tillämpats. Det innebär att informanter ombeds utgå ifrån meningar på nyamwezi (målspråket) och översätta dessa tillbaka till swahili. Excerpering har även förekommit löpande och på förekommen anledning i samband med informella intervjuer och möten med informanter. För att klassificera verbets aspekt har denna studie antagit Botne och Kershners (2000) ram. Detta ramverk klassificerar verb i aspektuella klasser baserade på tre på varandra följande faser i den betydelse som ett verb kan uttrycka: ONSET (fasen fram till förändringen), NUCLEUS (förändringsfasen) och CODA (tillståndet efter förändringen). I detta ramverk urskiljs olika verbklasser dels på basis av vilka faser de över huvud taget uttrycker, dels på basis av de semantiska egenskaperna inom en aktuell fas. Faserna kan exempelvis kategoriseras som punktliga eller durativa, och statiska eller dynamiska. För att ta reda på vilka faser verben i nyamwezi uttrycker och på vilket sätt fasuttrycken varierar sinsemellan används olika diagnostiska test. Testen syftar till att visa tolkningsskillnader och begränsningar när tempus- och aspektmarkörer eller fristående ord kombineras med olika verb. I praktiken genomförs detta genom att verifiera kompatibiliteten av verbet med 1) aspektmarkörer, 2) fristående aspektuella ord såsom andya ‘börja’, -oya ‘stanna’, -mala ‘sluta’ och hadoóhádó ‘långsamt’, och 3) tempusmarkörer i kombination med tidsadverbial. Många av de tester som använts ger resultat som i stor utsträckning liknar dem som observerats i andra studier av klassificeringen av verbets aspektklasser i bantuspråk. Andra tester ger emellertid resultat som inte kan generaliseras till andra bantuspråk. Det beror på att dessa test helt enkelt inte kan testa exakt samma sak på alla språk. Den omständigheten reser i sin tur den mer generella frågan hur man skulle kunna formulera en aspektklasstypologi för mänskliga språk. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this work would have been absolutely impossible without the help of loads of different people. I would first like to convey my sincerest gratitude to my talented and enthusiastic language consultants, Margreth Nyamizi, Michael Shija, Rozaria Mhindi, Lucia Kasanda and Lucia Mgaiwa, for their cooperation and the time they devoted to feeding me with information relevant to my study. Special thanks to Margreth Benard and Michael Shija for the time they took to write back to me when I sent them questions to ask for additional data. I know it was a challenge to judge some of the constructions included in the questionnaire and to find appropriate contexts where these constructions can be used. But they never gave up on doing this. They did all that they could to make sure that they got the job done. I thank them very much indeed. In addition, I would like to thank all my language consultants who I met during the first year of my PhD, while collecting information about Nyamwezi culture and history. They include Abdallah Mahmood Kisesa, Salum Mrisho, Abdallah Simba and Lukac Gabuliel. I thank them so much for their time, and also for providing me with information about other dialects of Nyamwezi. I would like to convey my deep-felt thanks to my main supervisor, Laura Downing, and my co-supervisors Malin Petzell and Thera Crane, for the patient guidance, great support, encouragement and kind advice they have provided throughout my time as a doctoral student. I have been extremely lucky to have supervisors who cared so much about my work and my health, and who responded to my questions and queries so promptly without limits. Many thanks to Laura Downing for coming to meet me at the airport the first time I arrived in Gothenburg. She spent so much time helping me to settle into university life and student life. I also thank her for the time she spent with me to prepare lessons for the Swahili course and organise the class. Thanks to Malin Petzell for being more than a supervisor during my PhD. She helped me in so many ways, including finding me a place to stay at the very last moment when I was about to come to Gothenburg and didn’t have a place to stay. I also thank her for inviting me to meet her family on various social occasions. This helped me a lot, especially at those times when I was stressed and frustrated with my work and needed to change my focus to clear my mind. Thanks to Thera Crane for agreeing to work with me as my co-supervisor, for sharing with me her new ideas about the topic of my study and for assisting me to solve the puzzles surrounding my work. I also thank Thera, Fleisch Axel, Lotta Aunio and Stephan Schulz for welcoming me to the University of Helsinki to conduct my study visit and for organizing my schedule during my stay in Helsinki. I wish to thank Elizabeth Coppock for working with me as my co-supervisor during the second year of my PhD. I also thank her for a wonderful course on lexical semantics. I learnt a lot about my area of study during this course. I would like to thank the committee members for my Slutseminarium, Benjamin Lyngfelt, Antoaneta Granberg and Eva-Marie Bloom Ström for reading the draft of my thesis and providing me with insightful comments and suggestions. Thanks to my fellow Africanists, Tove Rosendal, Morgan Nilsson, Rasmus Bernander, Lengson Ngwasi, and to our former and current directors of studies for African languages, Martin Nordeborg and Mikael Johansson, for their support and encouragement. I thank them all for appreciating every little contribution that I provided for the sustainability of our African program. Special thanks to Lengson Ngwasi for the great food and great company.