Exploration of the Semantic Difference between the Two Negative Markers lw- and (-)si(-) in Swahili

When dealing with negation, grammars of Standard Swahili generally present three basic negative markers, ha-, (-)si(-), and -to-. For two of these three markers, ha- and -si-, grammars describe their distribution, but explanations of their difference in meaning are either not provided or often unsatisfactory. The difference between ha- and -si- in form, position and function has led to the hypothesis, which will be explored in this paper, that both negative markers differ in meaning

Parameters of Morphosyntactic Variation in Bantu

Bantu languages are fairly uniform in terms of broad typological parameters. However, they have been noted to display a high degree of more fine-grained morphosyntactic micro-variation. In this paper we develop a systematic approach to the study of morphosyntactic variation in Bantu by developing nineteen parameters which serve as the basis for cross-linguistic comparison and which we use for comparing ten southeastern Bantu languages. We address conceptual issues involved in studying morphosyntax 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. © The authors 2007

Movement from the double object construction is not fully symmetrical

A movement asymmetry arises in some languages that are otherwise symmetrical for both A- and A-bar movement in the double object construction (DOC), including Norwegian, North-West British English, and a range of Bantu languages including Zulu and Lubukusu: a Theme object can be A-bar-moved out of a Recipient (Goal) passive, but not vice versa. Our explanation of this asymmetry is based on phase theory, more specifically a stricter version of the Phase Interpretability Condition proposed by Chomsky (2001). The effect is that, in a Theme passive, a Recipient object destined for the C-domain gets trapped within the lower V-related phase by movement of the Theme. The same effect is observed in Italian, a language in which only Theme passives are possible. Moreover, a similar effect is also found in some Bantu languages in connection with object marking/agreement: object agreement with the Theme in a Recipient passive is possible, but not vice versa. We show that this, too, can be understood within the theory that we articulate

Aspects of certain intransitivizing postbases and of a transitivizing postbase in Labrador Inuttut

This study concerns itself with certain intransitivizing postbases and a transitivizing postbase in Labrador Inuttut, a dialect of Inuktitut currently spoken mostly in five settlements of the Labrador coast. A verb classification is provided, according to the possible combinations of the postbases under investigation with verbal stems. The verbs are selected from a dictionary of the Labrador dialect produced by Inuit: "Labrador Inuit Uqausingit"; all forms of the classification are elicited by consulting five native speakers. -- Aspects of intransitivizers and issues related to transitivity in some grammars of other Eastern Dialects of Inuktitut are presented. -- For Labrador Inuttut, the intransitivizing post bases and the transitivizing one are distinguished from other homonymous postbases, and their phonological form is established. The postbase analysis is followed by the verbal stem classification. This classification provides distributional patterns with respect to the co-occurrence of the postbases with verbal stems. It is observed that morphological categories show a tendency to coincide with major semantic categories of verbal stems

Formatives of tense, aspect, mood and negation in the verbal construction of standard Swahili

The study analyzes formatives which express the categories of tense, aspect, mood and negation (polarity) in the verbal construction of Standard Swahili (KiSwahili), a Bantu language belonging to the Sabaki group (G42). The formatives explored are the three negative markers ha-, -si- and -to-; tense/aspect/mood markers of the prefixal TAM position; the infinitive; the habitual marker; and finals -i, -e and -a. First analyzed individually, the sets of formatives are then discussed in relation to one another. The analysis is conducted from a morpho-semantic point of view within the theoretical framework of sign theory; specifically, Guillaumian theory is applied to the analysis of tense and aspect using the model of chronogenetic staging. -- Standard Swahili, unlike many Bantu languages, has only one position, position 4, where tense and aspect are expressed. The formatives of that position are discussed individually, contrasting their semantics and co-occurrence patterns with other formatives of the same position in simple and compound verb forms. The study shows that tense is only marked once, and that there are three aspectual distinctions in affirmative forms, which include the formative -ki- 'potential', whose analysis provides an explanation of its many contextual meanings. The analysis also includes formatives of the prefixal position to the verb root that do not express tense or aspect (for example, the formative -ka- ’consecutive’ and the hypothetical formatives -nge- and -ngali-). Application of Guillaumian theory to the data of tense and aspect in Swahili leads to a differentiation into three chronogenetic stages. -- Other sets of formatives are discussed: all three finals are distinguished by mood, and the negative markers, normally differentiated by their syntactic patterning, are here differentiated in meaning and function, according to their co-occurrence patterns with formatives of position 4 and finals. The negative formative -si-, one of the two major markers, expresses descriptive negation, and ha- expresses negation of the whole representation or the failure of the event over its temporal specification. -- While the categories of negation in Standard Swahili are typical of distinctions in Bantu languages, fewer distinctions are made in the tense/aspect system than in many other Bantu languages