Silvester Ron Simango

Verb agreement and the syntax of ciNsenga relative clauses

Relativisation of a non-subject NP in ciNsenga (Bantu) results in the inversion of the subject and the appearance on the verb of a prefix which agrees with the relativised noun. Recent studies on Bantu relative constructions (for example, Demuth & Harford, 1999; Ngonyani, 1999; 2001) have shown that subject inversion results from the verb raising from I to C, and that this occurs only when the relative pronoun is a prosodic clitic and not a phonological word. When the relative pronoun has the status of a phonological word it blocks verb raising and thus subject inversion does not occur. In ciNsenga, however, subject inversion occurs despite the fact that the relative pronoun constitutes a phonological word. Drawing on the insights of Kayne (1994) this paper argues that the relative pronoun does not occupy the C position as is generally assumed, but that it occupies the head position of the moved DP, which itself occupies the Spec position of CP (which equates to Topic Phrase in the current study). This leaves the C position available for the inflected verb to move into.

Vowel hiatus resolution in ciNsenga: An Optimality Theory analysis

Abstract This article examines patterns of vowel hiatus resolution in ciNsenga, using Optimality Theory (OT). We present a formal analysis of the morphosyntatic and phonological contexts in which potential vowel hiatus occurs and the strategies that are utilised to resolve it. In this language, hiatus resolution is a function of whether V2 is an affix vowel, a nominal root initial vowel or a verbal stem initial vowel. The language has a complete ban on vowel hiatus in nominals. In verbs, it is prohibited when V2 is an affix vowel but is allowed when V2 is a verb stem-initial vowel. Thus, when V2 is a prefix or nominal stem-initial glide formation, secondary articulation and vowel elision are triggered to resolve hiatus. The main challenge is to account for the fact that in this language vowel hiatus is tolerated in one domain and is banned in another. Drawing on insights from OT we argue that, in ciNsenga, hiatus resolution is blocked when V2 is verb stem-initial because the morphoprosodic alignment constraint ALIGN (ROOTVERB, L,σ,L) outranks ONSET in the verbal domain.

Comparing vowel hiatus resolution in ciNsenga and chiShona: An Optimality Theory analysis

This article seeks to contribute to typology by presenting a formal comparative analysis of repair strategies used to resolve vowel hiatus in ciNsenga and chiShona. In these two languages, hiatus resolution is sensitive to phonology and morphosyntax such that hiatus resolution strategies apply differently depending on the phonological and morphosyntactic context. Across the prefix + noun stem boundary and within the Inflectional Stem, V 1 undergoes “resyllabification” (Myers 1987:222) in the form of glide formation, secondary articulation and elision. An interlinguistic difference occurs when V 2 is MacroStem-initial: in ciNsenga, hiatus resolution is blocked but in chiShona spreading is triggered. We follow Mudzingwa (2010) in proposing that resyllabification in chiShona is blocked at the Prosodic Stem edge by an alignment constraint (AlignL-PStem) that requires the left edge of a Prosodic Stem to align with the left edge of an onset-full syllable. We argue that resyllabification and glide epenthesis in ciNsenga are blocked when V 2 is MacroStem-initial because Align (root verb , l,σ,l) outranks Onset and AlignL-PStem. Crucially, this article demonstrates that whilst vowel hiatus resolution is categorical in chiShona, it is domain-specific in ciNsenga.

Subject marking, coordination and noun classes in ciNsenga

Abstract Subject marking on the Bantu verb seems to be a straightforward process in clauses with simple subject noun phrases (NP) as the verb only has to agree with a single NP. With conjoined NPs, on the other hand, subject-verb agreement is more complicated as there are three possibilities for such agreement: (i) agreement with both conjuncts (total agreement); (ii) agreement with one of the conjuncts (partial agreement); (iii) no agreement at all (default agreement). This study reveals that in ciNsenga partial agreement with conjoined NPs is not permitted; that total agreement and default agreement are determined by a combination of number, human, and gender features. Total agreement is possible only if the conjuncts denote nouns from the same plural class. Default agreement comes in two different forms: (i) if two conjuncts from different noun classes denote humans then agreement is with Class 2; (ii) if the conjuncts denote singular non-humans or they conflict in noun class then agreement is with Class 8. The study also reveals that default agreement for non-humans is restricted by word order, which suggests that agreement patterns are restricted by a combination of semantic and syntactic factors.

When English meets isiXhosa in the clause: An exploration into the grammar of code-switching 1

Abstract The phenomenon of code-switching accords linguists the opportunity to study the interaction between two distinct grammatical systems. The contact languages may have different specifications for corresponding lexical items; and a likely outcome of utilising two linguistic systems in the same speech event is the creation of a ‘new grammar’ in which some lexemes exhibit loss of certain abstract features. Using Myers-Scottons (1993b, 2002, inter alia) Matrix Language Frame and the 4-M model, this study examines naturally-occurring isiXhosa-English data, collected from Rhodes University students in Grahamstown. The study shows that in bilingual speech some English transitive verbs lose their typical subcategorisation features such that they have to be ‘retransitivised’ by isiXhosa affixes. The paper argues that code-switching data can provide insights into the nature of lexical entries across languages as well as the patterns of grammatical convergence which result from language contact.Abstract The phenomenon of code-switching accords linguists the opportunity to study the interaction between two distinct grammatical systems. The contact languages may have different specifications for corresponding lexical items; and a likely outcome of utilising two linguistic systems in the same speech event is the creation of a ‘new grammar’ in which some lexemes exhibit loss of certain abstract features. Using Myers-Scottons (1993b, 2002, inter alia) Matrix Language Frame and the 4-M model, this study examines naturally-occurring isiXhosa-English data, collected from Rhodes University students in Grahamstown. The study shows that in bilingual speech some English transitive verbs lose their typical subcategorisation features such that they have to be ‘retransitivised’ by isiXhosa affixes. The paper argues that code-switching data can provide insights into the nature of lexical entries across languages as well as the patterns of grammatical convergence which result from language contact.

An analysis of vowel harmony in ciNsenga and ciCewa: A comparative study

Abstract This article presents an analysis of vowel harmony that occurs in the verbal system of ciNsenga and ciCewa. In these languages the nature of suffix vowels is determined by the nature of the root: mid vowels trigger the vowel /ε/ on the suffixes, non-mid vowels, on the other hand, trigger the vowel /i/ on the suffixes. An examination of monosyllabic verbs which, by definition, have no root vowel, reveals interesting patterns between different Bantu languages: in some languages such verbs consistently select suffixes with the vowel /i/ whereas in other languages such verbs select suffixes with the vowel /ε/. Drawing on insights from Underspecification Theory (Archangeli, 1984, 1988; Archangeli & Pulleyblank, 1989, 1994) the article argues that a unified and coherent account of vowel harmony can be made for these languages by positing that the languages are parameterised with respect to the harmonic feature specified in their underlying representations and the concomitant default rule needed to derive the surface representations.

Causative disguised as stative: the affix -ik/-ek in ciCewa 1

Abstract Discussions of the suffix -ik/-ek, which attaches to the ciCewa verb stem, have generally focused on its valence-reducing properties (Mchombo, 1993, 2004; Dubinsky & Simango, 1996; Seidl & Dimitriadis, 2003). The affix, known as the stative, typically attaches to transitive verbs and has the effect of eliminating the underlying subject from the verbs argument structure and promoting the underlying object of the verb to the subject grammatical function. This article describes a less common variant of the suffix -ik/-ek in ciCewa which (i) typically attaches to intransitive verbs, and (ii) has the effect of increasing the verbs valence by one argument. This affix introduces an agentive argument into the verbs argument structure. It is argued that this transitive affix is a variant of the causative morpheme.

Comparing vowel hiatus resolution in ciNsenga and chiShona: An Optimality Theory analysis: A reply to Galen Sibanda

In our article (Kadenge and Simango 2014), we set out to present an Optimality Theory (henceforth OT) analysis of intralinguistic and interlinguistic variation of vowel hiatus resolution in ciNsenga and chiShona. We note the variation between ciNsenga and chiShona with respect to how vowel hiatus is resolved in the verbal domain – specifically when the verb stem is V-initial: ciNsenga tolerates hiatus in those contexts whereas chiShona repairs the hiatus through the insertion of a glide (spreading). We account for these facts by proposing that ALIGN (ROOTVERB, L,σ,L) outranks both ONSET and ALIGNL-PSTEM in ciNsenga whereas in chiShona ONSET and ALIGNL-PSTEM outrank ALIGN (ROOTVERB, L,σ,L). We argue that it is the difference in the ranking of these constraints that gives rise to this interlinguistic variation.

World Lexicon of Grammaticalization by Bernd Heine and Tania Kuteva

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Hardback ISBN 0 521 80339 X (£50.00), paperback ISBN 0 521 00597 3 (£18.99) xii + 387 pages (includes appendices and references) The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK e-mail: information@cambridge.org, www@cambridge.org Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2004, 22(1&2): 97–98