Gkeenberg 0 f the more recent attempts at the classification of african languages which followed the pioneer period of lepsius, muller, and cust, the one which has gained widest currency in this country, and therefore the one which. Uncovering symbiotic affinities and relationships in vocabulary, my interest has peaked. Abstract cuwabo is a bantu language, spoken by more than 800,000 people ine 2007 in the northeastern part of mozambique. This can be seen in the noun class system of sesotho, presented in table 2. Middle passage bantu languages slang black english africanamerican vernacular english play the dozens. Classes 6 and 10 are inherited as polyplural classes by most. It is numbered p34 in guthries classification, and thus belongs to the p30 makhuwa group. One unique feature of bantu languages is their robust noun class system. For example, proto bantu class 10 contains plurals of class 9 nouns and class 11 nouns, while class 6 contains plurals of class 5 nouns and class 15 nouns. It is probably the origin of rap and has its own origin in the.
The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the attributive noun classes, as well as their suffixal counterparts, firstly in bantu, and secondly in zulu. Bantu noun class systems in comparative and diachronic perspective scholars of bantu languages have long posited a common protobantu pb source from which modernday bantu languages have evolved. Each word must end in a vowel though in some mod ern dialects in eastern equatorial, west and south africa the ter minal vowel may be elided in rapid pronunciation, or be dropped, or absorbed in the terminal. Depending on how one counts, there are between 300 and 600 bantu languages, spoken in an area south of a line between cameroon in the west and kenya in the east.
Download the niger congo languages or read online books in pdf, epub, tuebl, and mobi format. A note on bantu extensions and syntactic word formation jochen zeller, university of kwazulunatal, durban. A noun class system is a grammatical system that some languages use to overtly categorize nouns. The investigation will be done with reference to aspects such as the following. The general issue on representing lexical information. Is lemon su cient for building multilingual ontologies for. A comparative analysis of runyankorerukiga and luganda. Bantu languages root, prefix, prefixes, vowel and language. Linguistic ties between ancient egyptian and bantu. Just as gender accord is required in many indoeuropean languages e. Introduction studies of the noun in bantu languages have traditionally concentrated on the morphology of the noun with its elaborate class system and the underlying semantic strands. Intensive chichewa pdf files a 1969 grammar published by likuni press of malawi distributed for noncommercial use only.
The main characteristic of changana are the noun classes which are common for all bantu languages. The various bantu languages have different numbers of noun classes. Bantu noun classes and the system of grammatical agreement the noun class systems presented in table 1. Congobrazzaville national languages online dictionary, bantu web site. Introduction studies of the noun in bantu languages have traditionally concentrated on the morphology of the noun with its elaborate class. A look at the grassfields borderland blasius achiritaboh university of buea, cameroon abstract as is well known, bantu nouns typically consist of a stem each with an overt or covert prefix arranged in classes of singular and plural pairs called genders. All nouns comprise a stem and one of a set of singular and plural. The classification of african languages by joseph h. Noun classes are similar in concept to grammatical gender in many european languages, as the noun class determines how other words are inflected in concordance with the. Starting from the monosyllabic, isolating tonal languages of the guinea coast as typical, meinhof disregards, or is unaware of, the numerous languages of the sudanese. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
African linguistics, bantu languages, tanzania, kwere, noun class, nominal class. One of the hallmark features of bantu languages 1 is a noun class system, a phenomenon in which singular and plural nouns are assigned to different noun classes, which then participate in a complex system of agreement or concord. Introduction verb stems in bantu languages may include a number of derivational suffixes called extensions that express various functions, such as causative, applicative, reciprocal or passive. Sesotho sa leboa english online northern sotho english dictionary pukuntsu ya sesotho sa leboa seisimane. West bantu includes zones h, j, k, l, r, parts of d and usually m. Postverbal subject in the nzadi relative clause larry m. In changana, each noun things, animals, abstracts etc. Noun classes article about noun classes by the free dictionary. Bantu words in american english terms you should know for week 11 part 02 are. African languages and linguistics n2 soas research online.
Pdf nigercongo noun class studies free download pdf. Noun classes are similar in concept to grammatical gender in many european languages, as the noun class determines how other words are inflected in concordance with the noun. These classes have been designated in various ways. You are probably familiar with the femininemasculine gender system in romance languages. The reflexes of the protobantu noun class prefixes of the form mu,mi, and ma are compared in 84 bantu languages. East bantu comprises languages of zones e, f, j, n, p and s. An analysis of noun classes in tikar, a benuecongo language spoken in west central cameroon, looks at patterns in the noun class system, concord system possessives, demonstratives, demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative pronouns, thirdperson pronouns, relative pronouns, copula, adjectivals, and numerals with an eye to determining whether tikar is a bantoid language or not. Each class is given a number corresponding to the same equivalent class in other bantu languages. Pdf noun class, gender, and the lexiconsyntaxmorphology. These noun prefixes have, for ease of analysis, been divided into classes with numbers by historical bantu linguists and represent an internationally accepted numbering system.
Although there are known principles for agreement in bantu languages, each language has a somewhat unique behavior that form restrictions to applying these principles. A note on bantu extensions and syntactic word formation. Protobantu class 17 noun prefix ku, but rather the reflex of kudi ou est lit. Zulu, for example, has nine pairs of singular and plural prefixes. A polyplural noun class is a plural class for more than one singular class. Reading a noun classes in the grassfields bantu borderland book is very important to learn a new language, because foreign languages use foreign words to help them speak and write. Pdf noun classes in sari, a beboid language wide bantu. Bantu languages are usually divided into west and east bantu. Acquisition of noun class systems in related bantu languages, in children. This is emblematic for all bantu languages that have between 10 and 23 noun classes, depending on the language. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Noun class systems are universal and almost always marked by prefixes, occasionally by suffixes. As the source of bantu languages is generally argued to be in southwest adamawa, new data on bantu and related languages is important to the. See swahili for the semantic motivations for an elaborate nounclass system.
One of the identifying characteristics of bantu languages is a system of noun classes. Bantu language noun classes form a basis for agreement marking. In the hypothetically reconstructed bantu parent language there are 23 noun classes. The noun class system classifies nouns into a number of noun classes, as signalled by prefixal morphemes also known as noun prefixes. The references are sorted into familiar subgroupings of nigercongo. Pdf this article presents a comparative study of noun class, gender, and lexiconsyntaxmorphology.
Bantu languages definition bantu languages are a subset of nigercongo languages mostly spoken in the center and south part of africa english oxford living dictionary, n. The system used in this book was devised by carl meinhof in his study of a. Meeussens protobantu reconstructions can be downloaded from following. A comparison of approaches to word class tagging in this sentence, three structural relationships can be identified. This shift explains aspects of changes in the siswati locative system. Bantu words in american english montclair state university. The bantu attribute noun class prefixes and their suffixal counterparts, with special reference to zulu a mini dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree magister artium. The name of the family of languages was coined by wilhelm bleek in 1857 in his manuscript entitled zulu legends, since it is a word in a large portion of these languages meaning people abantu a. I chose manjaku rather than the bantu languages usually adduced when it comes to noun. Agreement is a well studied phenomenon in bantu languages. Classes 6 and 10 are inherited as polyplural classes by most surviving bantu languages, but many languages have developed new polyplural classes that are not widely shared by other languages.
Question 3 structural overview of the african languages 31 up to 23 noun classes can be distingmshed for the bantu languages, some classes being productive and others nonproductive. Bantu languages may have as many as 21 different noun classes, though some have significantly fewer maho, 1999, katamba, 2003. Most bantu languages exhibit 15 or 16 noun classes, normally arranged into at least ten singularplural or individuatednonindividuated pairings some noun. However, there are languages, like semitic, slavic or bantu languages, that have nn without having an indefinite article.
Title accounting for the morphophonological alternations. Thus it is highly instructive to consider the status of bamileke noun classes. Tanzanian newspapers newspapers in bantu languages on the web. Bantu languages are hypothesized to have descended from one mother language, proto bantu. The niger congo languages download ebook pdf, epub.
This work is based on central cuwabo spoken in the district of quelimane. Dec 18, 2018 zulu nouns, like nouns in other bantu languages, are divided into noun classes. Classes 110 and 12 were paired, the first member of the pair was for singular nouns, the second for plural nouns. This book presents a very educative and very helpful meaning in everyday life. Bantu online resources, jacky maniacky, 7 july 2007, including list of bantu noun classes with reconstructed protobantu prefixes in french ehrets compilation of classifications by klieman, bastin, himself, and others pp 20409, ucla. Click download or read online button to get the niger congo languages book now.
The system of noun classes is probably the characteristic most widely found in nigercongo languages and best known to those interested in language phenomena. In many atlantic languages the initial consonant of the noun takes alternates according to the noun class prefix with which it occurs. Sharmans work is the first of its kind in showing that many of the seemingly hardtopronounce names and words in ancient egyptian have survived in. Guthrie, the classification of the bantu languages 1948, repr. Bantu definition, a member of any of several peoples forming a linguistically and in some respects culturally interrelated family in central and southern africa. The definition of the bantu cornes from a variety of sources, most. The niger congo languages download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. First, in many languages whenever a speaker produces a noun for a basiclevel object, he or she must also produce another element, typically called a classifer, that provides a more general level. The class 2 noun basemane boys governs the subject concord ba in the verb ba ka bala they may read 1, as well as the class prefix ba in the adjective bagolo big 2, and the demonstrative pronoun ba, preceding the adjective 3. Pluralizing nouns across agglutinating bantu languages acl. Swahili nouns are, like those in other bantu languages, noted for a system of semantically based classing, which affects not only nouns but also their modifiers adjectives, numbers, demonstratives and verbs. Nouns in bantu languages are made up of a prefix followed by a noun stem. Originally, bantu languages had over 20 noun categories. These languages are spoken in the equatorial forest, modern zambia and southwest africa.
In these languages, nn seem to occur as terms without numelements, the semantics of nonplural numeral nps implying that of an article. Swahili is one of many hundreds of languages in the bantu language family. Though the extent to which the system operates varies greatly, it is nonetheless found in some form in languages. In languages without inflectional noun classes, nouns may still be extensively. The reflexes of the proto bantu noun class prefixes of the form mu,mi, and ma are compared in 84 bantu languages. Boun classes in fefe in bantu languages the noun class membership of a specific noun is. Zulu nouns, like nouns in other bantu languages, are divided into noun classes. Classes 56 for objects that come in pairs or larger groups. Cuwabo is a bantu language, spoken by more than 800,000 people ine 2007 in the northeastern part of mozambique. To keep it simple, i have divided them into 9 groups. Noun classes article about noun classes by the free. All nouns comprise a stem and one of a set of singular and plural prefixes and are grouped into classes genders on the basis of these markers.
The nouns are divided in classes and numbered from 1 to 24, without 20, 21, 22, and 23 meeussen, 1967. Hyman abstract this paper addresses a curious condition on nonsubject relative clauses nsrcs in nzadi, a previously unstudied b. New developments in the classification of bantu languages and. Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmasters page for free fun content. What is a noun class sil glossary of linguistic terms.
All nouns are assigned to a noun class, where the number of noun classes varies between 12 and 20. Gender, in esahie, number, as a syntactic feature, triggers agreement. The bantu attribute noun class prefixes and their suffixal. Most words in a bantu sentence are marked by a prefix indicating the category to which. Studies in african linguistics 157 semantic reality of. Greenberg the classification of african languages 25 hamitic, nonsemitic languages north of the bantu line. Bantu language article about bantu language by the free. The internal classification of the bantu languages is problematic, but by and large the bantu languages can be subdivided in an eastern, a western and a northwestern group. Isizulu course work in the department of african languages at the university of pretoria by linkie mohlala supervisor. English to xhosa translation page a website that translated words and phrases to and from xhosa by martha r.
The concept of noun classes is similar, except while romance languages have 23 genders. In the northern caucasian languages noun classes can express the category of number and may be found in nouns and words with which they agree. New developments in the classification of bantu languages. Classes 34 for plants, trees and natural phenomena. There are over 20 noun classes, although most languages use fewer nurse and. Although noun classes are not easy to grasp they reveal the beauty and depth of the language like nothing else.
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