Diminutive Noun Class in Bantu Languages: Is Kiswahili Deviant?
Journal of Education, Humanities & Science (JEHS),
Vol. 11 No. 3 (2022): ndomba
Abstract
Noun class prefixes ki-/vi- and ka-/tu- found in Bantu diminutives are widespread despite
claims that these affixes are missing in Kiswahili. This study was qualitative, employing
data from Kiswahili native speakers, selected literary works of art written in Kiswahili by
Kiswahili speakers, and Kiswahili chat messages from WhatsApp forums of Kiswahili
speakers. The study reveals that Kiswahili speakers use ka- and tu- affixes in addition to ki-
/vi- to form diminutives. These affixes may attach to noun stems as in ka-toto/tu-toto ‘tiny
child/tiny children’; or may attach to prefixed stems as pre-prefixes as in ki-m-nazi
‘small/short coconut tree’ and vi-mi-nazi ‘small/short coconut trees. The study findings also
reveal that the noun class prefixes trigger agreement on modifiers and verb complexes
regardless of their forms as prefixes or pre-prefixes as observed in ki-toto ki-moja ki-zuri
‘one pretty little girl’; or in ka-dada ka-na-miliki-gari ‘pretty little girl owning a car’ where
the ki- and ka- on the subject noun stems (-toto and -dada) re-surface as subject markers
(SMs) on the modifiers -moja ‘one’ and -zuri ‘pretty’; and on the verb complex -na-miliki
‘owning’. These facts provide strong support for arguing that Kiswahili projects special
diminutive affixes in class 12/13 that triggers agreement on other modifiers.
Keywords
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- Abdulaziz, M. H. 1971. Tanzania National Language Policy and the Rise of Swahili Political Culture.
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References
Abdulaziz, M. H. 1971. Tanzania National Language Policy and the Rise of Swahili Political Culture.
In W. H. Whiteley (Ed.), Language Use and Social Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ashton, E. O. 1947. Swahili Grammar. London: Longman Group Limited.
Carstens, V. 1991. TheMorphology and Syntax of Determiner Phrases in Kiswahili. PhD dissertation, Los
Angels, University of California.
Carstens, V. 1993. on Nominal Morphology and Dp Structure. In S. A. Mchombo (Ed.), Theoretical
Aspects of Bantu Grammar (Pp. 151–180). Stanford: CSLI Publishers.
Carstens, V. 2008. The Structure of DPs: DP in Bantu and Romance. In C. De Cat & D. Catherine
(Eds.),TheBantu-Romance Connection: A Comparative Investigation of Verbal Agreement, DPs and
Information Structure Volume 131) (Pp. 131–166). Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V.
Claudi, U. 1997. Some Thoughts on the Origin of Of Gender Marking, or Wings Were Not Developed
for Flying. In R. Herbert (Ed.), African Linguistics at the Crossroads: Papers from Kwaluseni (Pp. 63–
. Cologne: Koppe.
Contini-Morava, E. 1999. Noun Class as Number in Swahili. In E. Contini-Morava & Y. Tobin (Eds.),
Between Grammars and the Lexicon (Pp. 3–29). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Corbett, G. 1991. Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press