On how 'middle' plus 'associative/reciprocal' became 'passive' in the Bantu A70 languages

In this paper we show that the Bantu A70 languages did not preserve the passive morpheme inherited from Proto-Bantu (PB), but developed a new suffix. It is a morpheme that is compound in origin, consisting of two verbal derivation suffixes which still function independently in today's languages as a middle marker and an associative/reciprocal marker respectively, though with variable degrees of productivity. The genesis of a passive marker from the stacking of two pre-existing suffixes is a typologically rare evolution path, but it fits in with a wider Bantu phenomenon of double verb extensions which develop non-compositional meanings. Especially double extensions involving the Proto-Bantu associative/reciprocal marker *-an- tend to develop such idiosyncratic meanings. This suffix is also one of the constituents of the Bantu A70 passive marker Nevertheless, even within Bantu, the emergence of a productive passive marker from such double extension is unique. In this paper, we argue that the notion of co-participation may account for the rising of this passive meaning out of the stacking of the common Bantu associative/reciprocal suffix to a common Bantu middle suffix. The semantic development of this compound suffix fix (and its historical constituents) happened within the semantic continuum that links reciprocals, reflexives, middles and passives in many languages of the world, but did not necessarily follow the typologically common reflexive > reciprocal > middle > passive cline

Le connectif dans les langues bantu: analyses synchroniques et perspectives diachroniques

Doctorat en philosophie et lettresinfo:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

La dérivation causative dans les langues bantu du groupe A 70

The article describes the causative morphemes in four Bantu languages of group A 70 : Eton, Ewondo, Ntumu and Atsi. Synchronically, these languages have two causative morphemes : one short, consisting of a central vowel : / a / or / g /, and the other long, consisting of a central vowel and a lateral consonant : -VI- or -IV. Different diachronic hypotheses are presented to explain these forms. The most convincing explanation is the one that links these causative morphemes to morphemes reconstructed for Proto-Bantu. The short form would then be a reflex of the short causative morpheme *-i-, whereas the long form would be a reflex of the applicative suffix *-id-. Although these correspondences might appear to be rather exceptional on a phonological level, they are confirmed by similar evolutions in other morphemes. Finally, the existence of a semantic link between the applicative and the causative is not uncommon from a universal point of view.L'article décrit les morphèmes du causatif dans quatre langues du groupe bantu A 70 : eton, ewondo, ntumu et atsi. Synchroniquement, ces langues attestent deux morphemes causatifs : l'un bref, constitue d''une voyelle centrale / a / ou / g /, l'autre long, constitue d'une voyelle centrale et d'une consonne latérale -VI- ou -IV. Différentes hypothèses diachroniques sont avancées pour expliquer ces formes, les plus convaincantes étant qu''elles sont issues de morphèmes reconstruits en proto-bantu. La forme brève refléterait le causatif bref *-i-, tandis que la forme longue refleterait le suffixe applicatif *-id-. Si phonologiquement de telles correspondances peuvent paraitre étonnantes, elles sont toutefois confirmées par des évolutions similaires dans d'autres catégories grammaticales. Enfin, l'existence d'un lien sémantique entre le causatif et l'applicatif est loin d'être exceptionnelle à l'échelle universelle.Nzang Bie Yolande. La dérivation causative dans les langues bantu du groupe A 70. In: Africana Linguistica 14, 2008. pp. 85-107