Derek Nurse

African languages : an introduction

List of maps Notes on contributors 1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Niger-Congo Kay Williamson and Roger Blench 3. Nilo-Saharan Lionel M. Bender 4. Afroasiatic Richard J. Hayward 5. Khoisan Tom Guldemann and Rainer Vossen 6. Phonology G. N. Clements 7. Morphology Gerrit J. Dimmendaal 8. Syntax John R. Watters 9. Typology Denis Creissels 10. Comparative linguistics Paul Newman 11. Language and history Christopher Ehret 12. Language and society H. Ekkehard Wolff References Index of authors Index of languages Index of subjects.

A linguistic geography of Africa

1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Is Africa a linguistic area? Bernd Heine and Zelealem Leyew 3. Africa as a phonological area Nick Clements and Annie Rialland 4. Africa as a morphosyntactic area Denis Creissels, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Christa Konig 5. The Macro-Sudan belt Tom Guldemann 6. The Tanzanian Rift Valley area Roland Kiessling, Maarten Mous and Derek Nurse 7. Ethiopia Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer 8. The marked-nominative languages of eastern Africa Christa Konig 9. Africas verb-final languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal.

A Linguistic Reconsideration of Swahili Origins

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Common tense-aspect markers in Bantu

Résumé We have two aims here. One is to provide an inventory and typological overview of the commonest pre-stem and suffixal tense-aspect markers across Bantu. We examine geographical distribution, phonological and tonal shape, and general semantic range. The other is to ask which of these might be assigned to Proto-Bantu, some 5000 years ago. We use a database of 100 languages, comprising 85 from all Guthries groups (A10, A20, etc) plus another 15 from his 15 zones. The most widespread pre-stem markers are: /a/, which comes in several tonal and vowel-length variations, representing ‘past’ in most languages and ‘non-past’ (possibly older focus (Nurse 2006)) in fewer languages; zero ‘general present’; /ka/ ‘itive, narrative, (far) past, (far) future’; /ki/ ‘persistive, participial’; /laa/ ‘future’ and /la/ ‘focus’. The first three certainly go back to Proto-Bantu, the status of the last three is less certain. The commonest suffixes are: /a/ ‘neutral’; /e/ ‘subjunctive’; /ile/ ‘perfect, past’; /ag/ ‘imperfective’; /i/ ‘positive near past’; a vowel copy suffix ‘positive near past’. The first five go back to Proto-Bantu, the sixth is innovation. We propose that /ile, i, the vowel copy suffix/ are connected. Finally, we mention four widespread but derived pre-stem markers.

History from Linguistics: The case of the Tana River

It is the purpose of this article to investigate certain aspects of the Pokomo (P) language, and thereby to present a more detailed picture of Pokomo history than is currently available. Pokomo is an ideal laboratory for comparative linguistics. Whereas much as been written about most adjacent peoples, such as Orma, Somali, Mijikenda (MK), and Swahili, little has been said on the Pokomo, or their neighbors, the Dahalo; virtually no archeological work has been done along the Tana river, while Pokomo (and Dahalo) traditions are scantily recorded.Further, the Tana represents more or less the extreme northeast border of the Bantu-speaking area, and it the meeting point for northern pastoralists and southern farmers. It is surrounded on all sides by speakers of Cushitic languages, from Ogaden Somali near Garissa, through Orma and Waata (all Eastern Cushitic), to Dahalo (Southern Cushitic) and Boni (Eastern Cushitic), on the Indian Ocean. At the same time, it is fairly remote from other Bantu-speaking groups. The nearest Kamba communities are nearly 100 miles as the crow flies to the west, across semi-desert, and the nearest sizeable Giriama settlement a similar distance south of Garsen across comparable terrain. The main Swahili communities of the Lamu Archipelago, north of the mouth of the river, have--at least today--little regular contact with the Pokomo. The relatively small Pokomo population--between 40,000 and 50,000--lives huddled along the banks of the Tana from Garissa in the north to the northern bank of the Indian Ocean estuary, a stretch of some 150 miles, although, if we exclude Malankote, the Pokomo territory is only some 100 miles long. They are primarily agricultural, although fishing and some hunting are also practiced.

A Linguistic Geography of Africa: List of figures

1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Is Africa a linguistic area? Bernd Heine and Zelealem Leyew 3. Africa as a phonological area Nick Clements and Annie Rialland 4. Africa as a morphosyntactic area Denis Creissels, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Christa Konig 5. The Macro-Sudan belt Tom Guldemann 6. The Tanzanian Rift Valley area Roland Kiessling, Maarten Mous and Derek Nurse 7. Ethiopia Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer 8. The marked-nominative languages of eastern Africa Christa Konig 9. Africas verb-final languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal.

A Linguistic Geography of Africa: Frontmatter

1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Is Africa a linguistic area? Bernd Heine and Zelealem Leyew 3. Africa as a phonological area Nick Clements and Annie Rialland 4. Africa as a morphosyntactic area Denis Creissels, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Christa Konig 5. The Macro-Sudan belt Tom Guldemann 6. The Tanzanian Rift Valley area Roland Kiessling, Maarten Mous and Derek Nurse 7. Ethiopia Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer 8. The marked-nominative languages of eastern Africa Christa Konig 9. Africas verb-final languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal.

A Linguistic Geography of Africa: Index

1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Is Africa a linguistic area? Bernd Heine and Zelealem Leyew 3. Africa as a phonological area Nick Clements and Annie Rialland 4. Africa as a morphosyntactic area Denis Creissels, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Christa Konig 5. The Macro-Sudan belt Tom Guldemann 6. The Tanzanian Rift Valley area Roland Kiessling, Maarten Mous and Derek Nurse 7. Ethiopia Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer 8. The marked-nominative languages of eastern Africa Christa Konig 9. Africas verb-final languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal.

A Linguistic Geography of Africa: List of tables

1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Is Africa a linguistic area? Bernd Heine and Zelealem Leyew 3. Africa as a phonological area Nick Clements and Annie Rialland 4. Africa as a morphosyntactic area Denis Creissels, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Christa Konig 5. The Macro-Sudan belt Tom Guldemann 6. The Tanzanian Rift Valley area Roland Kiessling, Maarten Mous and Derek Nurse 7. Ethiopia Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer 8. The marked-nominative languages of eastern Africa Christa Konig 9. Africas verb-final languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal.

A Linguistic Geography of Africa: Acknowledgments

1. Introduction Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse 2. Is Africa a linguistic area? Bernd Heine and Zelealem Leyew 3. Africa as a phonological area Nick Clements and Annie Rialland 4. Africa as a morphosyntactic area Denis Creissels, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Christa Konig 5. The Macro-Sudan belt Tom Guldemann 6. The Tanzanian Rift Valley area Roland Kiessling, Maarten Mous and Derek Nurse 7. Ethiopia Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer 8. The marked-nominative languages of eastern Africa Christa Konig 9. Africas verb-final languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal.