The Syntax of Object Marking in Sambaa A comparative Bantu perspective The research reported here was conducted in the context of the project “Word order and morphological marking in Bantu” (360-70-170) led by Prof. Dr. L. L. Cheng and Prof. Dr. T. C. Schadeberg, funded by the Dutch organisation for scientific Research (NWO). Published by LOT phone: +31 30 253 6006 Janskerkhof 13 fax: +31 30 253 6000 3512 JK Utrecht e-mail: [email protected] the Netherlands http://www.lotschool.nl/ Cover illustration: Daladala on the road to Lushoto by Kristina Riedel ISBN: 978-90-78328-96-4 NUR: 616 Copyright c 2009 Kristina Riedel. All rights reserved. The Syntax of Object Marking in Sambaa A comparative Bantu perspective Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 10 december 2009 klokke 16.15 uur door Kristina Riedel geboren te Berlijn, Duitsland in 1980 Promotores: Prof. dr. L. L. Cheng Prof. dr. T. C. Schadeberg Co-promotor: Dr. L. C. Buell Commissieleden: Prof. dr. K. Demuth (Brown University) Prof. dr. M. P. G. M. Mous Dr. L. Marten (SOAS) Dr.C.J.W.Zwart(RUG) Contents Contents v List of Tables ix List of Figures ix Acknowledgements xi Notes on Glossing xiii Abbreviations xv 1 Introduction 1 1.1Thetopicofthisthesis......................... 2 1.2ObjectmarkingacrossBantu...................... 3 1.3Conceptsandterminology....................... 6 1.4 Languages discussed . ......................... 8 1.4.1 Datacollection......................... 9 1.5 Theoretical background ......................... 10 1.6Overviewofthethesis......................... 11 2 Notes on Sambaa 13 2.1 Classificationandgeographiclocation................. 13 2.2Literature................................ 16 2.3GrammaticalnotesonSambaa..................... 17 2.3.1 Phonology . ......................... 17 2.3.2 Morphosyntax ......................... 20 2.3.3 Subjectandobjectmarking................... 26 2.3.4 Wordorder........................... 27 2.3.5 Tense-aspectmarkingandsyntax............... 28 Conjointanddisjointverbs................... 31 2.3.6 Relativeclauses......................... 35 vi 3 Object marking in Bantu 41 3.1 The agreement/pronoun distinction . ................. 41 3.2Obligatoryobjectmarking....................... 44 3.2.1 ObligatoryobjectmarkinginSambaaandSwahili...... 44 3.2.2 Definiteness and specificity................... 48 3.3ObjectmarkinganddislocationacrossBantu............. 53 3.3.1 Bresnan and Mchombo (1987) ................. 55 3.3.2 Local doubling ......................... 59 Co-occurrence and multiple object markers .......... 60 The conjoint/disjoint alternation and object marking . 63 VP boundary tones and object marking . .......... 65 Wordorderandobjectmarking................ 66 Conclusions........................... 66 3.3.3 Against the right-dislocation analysis for Haya . 67 3.3.4 Conclusions........................... 74 3.4 Variation in object morphosyntax across Bantu . .......... 74 3.4.1 Duranti’s topicality hierarchy ................. 74 3.4.2 Multiple object markers . ................. 75 3.4.3 Asymmetry........................... 78 3.4.4 Baker (2008) on Sambaa and Haya . .......... 84 3.5Conclusion............................... 89 4 The syntax of object marking 91 4.1 Julien (2002) on Bantu verb syntax . ................. 92 4.2ThesyntaxofAgree........................... 95 4.3ObjectmarkingandSambaasyntax.................. 98 4.3.1 Subjectagreement....................... 99 4.3.2 Objectagreement........................ 101 4.3.3 Double object constructions . ................. 104 4.3.4 Locativeobjectmarking.................... 109 4.3.5 Feature structure and obligatory object marking . 115 4.3.6 Agreementandcase...................... 117 4.4 Object agreement in other Bantu languages . .......... 123 4.4.1 Hayaobjectmarking...................... 123 4.4.2 Swahili............................. 131 4.5Conclusions............................... 133 5 The Person Case Constraint in Bantu 135 5.1ThePersonCaseConstraint....................... 136 5.2PCCeffectsinHayaandSambaa.................... 139 5.3PCCeffectsandthesyntaxofagreement................ 142 5.4ThePCCandobjectmarkingacrossBantu............... 145 5.5Conclusions............................... 152 vii 6 Object marking in wh-environments 153 6.1 Object marking in wh-environments.................. 155 6.1.1 Wh-questions.......................... 155 6.1.2 Sambaahumanobjects..................... 158 6.1.3 Objectmarkinginrelativeclauses............... 159 6.1.4 Object marking in wh-clefts.................. 161 6.2Structuralimplications......................... 162 6.2.1 Conjoint/disjoint forms in wh-questions............ 162 6.2.2 The Immediate After the Verb (IAV) Position . ...... 163 6.2.3 Wordordereffects....................... 164 6.2.4 EvidenceforastructuralIAV................. 167 6.2.5 Representing the IAV position in syntax . .......... 170 Conclusions........................... 172 6.2.6 Sambaarelativeclausestructure................ 172 6.3QuestionsandrelativeclausesinHaya................. 180 6.3.1 Structure............................ 181 6.3.2 Objectmarking......................... 183 6.3.3 Definiteness and specificity................... 186 6.4Conclusions............................... 187 7 Object marking and coordination 189 7.1Coordinationagreement......................... 192 7.2Objectmarkingincoordinatestructures................ 193 7.3Subjectmarkingincoordinatestructures................ 197 7.4Comparingpre-andpostverbalcoordinateNPs............ 198 7.5Coordinationandobligatoryagreement................ 199 7.6CoordinationinHaya.......................... 201 7.7Swahilicoordinatestructures...................... 203 7.8Conclusions............................... 207 8 Conclusions and issues for further research 209 8.1Conclusions............................... 209 8.2Areasforfurtherresearch........................ 212 References 215 Index 229 Samenvatting 231 Muhtasari 235 Curriculum Vitae 239 List of Tables 2.1ConsonantInventoryofSambaa.................... 18 2.2 IPA equivalents of orthographic symbols used in this thesis ...... 18 2.3SambaaNounClasses.......................... 21 2.4VerbalExtensions............................ 24 2.5SambaaTense-AspectMarkers..................... 29 2.6ConjointandDisjointFormsinSambaa................ 33 2.7SambaaRelativeMarkers........................ 36 3.1 Categories which trigger obligatory object marking per language . 53 3.2SummaryofBaker’stests........................ 89 7.1AgreementwithconjointNPs...................... 199 List of Figures 1.1 Location of Bantu languages discussed ................. 9 2.1 Sambaa and neighbouring languages . ................. 15 Acknowledgements There is a Sambaa saying which goes: Hekuna muima ushenao bontokeo. which loosely translates to say that no matter how high a mountain is, one will even- tually reach its peak. I here want to thank some of the people without whom the long, steep ascent would have been all but impossible. First of all, thanks to my teammates/supervisors in the project “Word order and morphological marking in Bantu”: Leston C. Buell, Lisa Cheng, Thilo Schadeberg and Jenneke van der Wal. LUCL was a great place for working towards a PhD dealing with theoretical syn- tax, African languages and finally field linguistics. I thank all the members and guests of the institute for creating such a stimulating research environment at Leiden Uni- versity, particularly: Azeb Amha, Felix Ameka, Boban Arsenijevic,´ Sandra Barasa, Birgit Bexten, Camelia Constantinescu, Maud Devos, Tolemariam Fufa, Margarita Gulian, Stella Gryllia, Melanie Jouitteau, Anne-Christie Hellenthal, Pepijn Hendricks, Maarten Kossmann, František Kratochvíl, Nana Kusuma, Mercy Lamptey, Frank Landsbergen, Boya Li, Aníko Lipták, Maarten Mous, Peter Muriungi, Victoria Nyst, Ongaye Oda, Hilke Reckmann, Milan Rezac, Johan Rooryck, Martin Salzmann, Erik Schoorlemmer, Joanna Sio, Katerinaˇ Soucková,ˇ Sander Steeman, Assimakis Tseronis, Luis Vicente, Rebecca Voll, Mark de Vos and Leo Wong; as well as the participants of the Fieldwork Forum, the Generals Meeting and various reading and study groups over the years. For all the practical and administrative support I received at LUCL, I wish to thank Barbara Floris, Gea Hakker, Jeroen van der Weijer and Margreet Verra; as well as Jos Pacilly for his help with the recording equipment. A number of linguists have contributed to this work in one way or the other. I particularly want to thank: Enoch Aboh, Katherine Demuth, Alexis Dimitriadis, Ruth Kempson, Nancy Kula, Lutz Marten, Yukiko Morimoto, Gerardo Fernández-Salgueiro xii and Jan-Wouter Zwart. Special thanks to Ridder Samson (my first Swahili teacher) and Lutz Marten without whom I might never have become a linguist. The final parts of this thesis were completed at ZAS (Centre for General Linguis- tics). Since starting my position there, I have been fortunate to work with and around: Laura Downing, Tonjes Veenstra, Muhsina Alleesaib and Stephanie Solt, amongst many others. Ihavebenefitted greatly from presenting my work at a number of workshops and conferences, including the meetings of the SOAS-ZAS-Leiden Bantu Network, Bantu 1, Bantu 2, ACAL 39, ACAL 40 and the Movement and Word Order in Bantu conference. Thanks to the audiences of these meetings. I am grateful to the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COS- TECH) who have granted me a number