Unravelling the Kirundi 'not'

Abstract

Kirundi has two principle ways of expressing negation: nti-/si- and ta-. One occurs before subject-marking in matrix clauses (primary/NEG1) and the other after subject-marking in embedded clauses or following A’-movement (secondary/NEG2) respectively. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the distinction between primary and secondary negation in Kirundi. I argue that the different contexts and positions for negation are due to left peripheral phenomena. More specifically, when C0 is filled in subordinate clauses and following A’-extraction, primary negation is blocked from occurring. In these cases, secondary negation surfaces instead. This analysis accounts for their complementary distributions.