Abstract This paper re-evaluates hypotheses about the agreement behaviour of nouns using plural suffixes in the Baïnounk languages (Niger Congo/ Atlantic/ North Atlantic). Although these languages dispose of a large and complex prefixing noun class systems which are involved in expressing number distinctions, a subgroup of nouns uses a suffix for pluralisation. It is shown here that plural-suffixing nouns do not engage in the typologically rare process of phonological agreement copying as has been claimed previously. Instead, they are prefixed nouns, triggering alliterative agreement. Several scenarios about the origin and further development of the plural suffixes are presented. Synchronic data suggest that plural suffixes are older than the split of Nyun-Buy languages from a common ancestor. It is highly unlikely that it is borrowed from Mandinka, a regionally influential lingua franca which does not have noun classes. Instead, it seems plausible that plural suffixes have arisen through internal processes in which animacy and collective semantics have played a role. Potential candidates for a source morpheme for the plural suffix include a plural morpheme from the verbal domain or alternatively an associative plural. The role and impact of language contact and large scale borrowing on the extent of plural suffixation in the various Baïnounk languages is discussed.
{"title":"Suffixed plurals in Baïnonk languages: Agreement patterns and diachronic development","authors":"A. Cobbinah","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0007","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper re-evaluates hypotheses about the agreement behaviour of nouns using plural suffixes in the Baïnounk languages (Niger Congo/ Atlantic/ North Atlantic). Although these languages dispose of a large and complex prefixing noun class systems which are involved in expressing number distinctions, a subgroup of nouns uses a suffix for pluralisation. It is shown here that plural-suffixing nouns do not engage in the typologically rare process of phonological agreement copying as has been claimed previously. Instead, they are prefixed nouns, triggering alliterative agreement. Several scenarios about the origin and further development of the plural suffixes are presented. Synchronic data suggest that plural suffixes are older than the split of Nyun-Buy languages from a common ancestor. It is highly unlikely that it is borrowed from Mandinka, a regionally influential lingua franca which does not have noun classes. Instead, it seems plausible that plural suffixes have arisen through internal processes in which animacy and collective semantics have played a role. Potential candidates for a source morpheme for the plural suffix include a plural morpheme from the verbal domain or alternatively an associative plural. The role and impact of language contact and large scale borrowing on the extent of plural suffixation in the various Baïnounk languages is discussed.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47498521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The goal of this paper is to present newly collected data of Djibouti Somali and show how it offers insight into the architecture of nouns. Djibouti Somali, like Standard Somali, is characterized by the presence of inflectional classes. Building on my own fieldwork material, I discuss both the empirical statements and the theoretical implications that emerge from the observation of three aspects of noun inflection: (1) pluralization strategies, (2) the position of pitch accent with respect to gender and (3) the opposition between Absolutive and Nominative case. In particular, the fact that Djibouti Somali uses mainly two suffixes to pluralize nouns, leads us to the hypothesis that the inflectional system of this variety consists of only two inflectional types. Basic non-derived nouns belong to what I call type A, whereas suffixed nouns belong to type B. This dichotomy is confirmed by the behavior of pitch accent with respect to both gender and syntactic case. Finally, I propose that the distinction between type A and type B can be accounted for, in the context of a formal analysis, by postulating the existence of a contrast between null vs. overt nominalizer.
{"title":"Pluralization, feminization and pitch accent in Djibouti Somali nouns","authors":"Nicola Lampitelli","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The goal of this paper is to present newly collected data of Djibouti Somali and show how it offers insight into the architecture of nouns. Djibouti Somali, like Standard Somali, is characterized by the presence of inflectional classes. Building on my own fieldwork material, I discuss both the empirical statements and the theoretical implications that emerge from the observation of three aspects of noun inflection: (1) pluralization strategies, (2) the position of pitch accent with respect to gender and (3) the opposition between Absolutive and Nominative case. In particular, the fact that Djibouti Somali uses mainly two suffixes to pluralize nouns, leads us to the hypothesis that the inflectional system of this variety consists of only two inflectional types. Basic non-derived nouns belong to what I call type A, whereas suffixed nouns belong to type B. This dichotomy is confirmed by the behavior of pitch accent with respect to both gender and syntactic case. Finally, I propose that the distinction between type A and type B can be accounted for, in the context of a formal analysis, by postulating the existence of a contrast between null vs. overt nominalizer.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42895201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cécile, Lux: Le tetserret, langue berbère du Niger. Description phonétique, phonologique et morphologique, dans une perspective comparative","authors":"Hannah S. Sarvasy","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45324543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In Dinka, a predominantly monosyllabic and highly fusional Western Nilotic language, vowel quality alternation in the root plays a major and systematic role in the morphology of verbs, together with alternations in vowel length, voice quality, and tone. Earlier work has shown that in the inflection of simple, i.e., underived, transitive verbs, the vowel quality alternation conforms to a vowel height gradation system with three vowel grades. The present article shows that this vowel gradation system is also operative in the morphology of derived verbs with a transitive root, but with certain modifications. These include a different distribution of the vowel grades and interaction with a shift in voice quality, to breathy voice.
{"title":"Vowel quality alternation in Dinka verb derivation: The Agar variety","authors":"Torben Andersen","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In Dinka, a predominantly monosyllabic and highly fusional Western Nilotic language, vowel quality alternation in the root plays a major and systematic role in the morphology of verbs, together with alternations in vowel length, voice quality, and tone. Earlier work has shown that in the inflection of simple, i.e., underived, transitive verbs, the vowel quality alternation conforms to a vowel height gradation system with three vowel grades. The present article shows that this vowel gradation system is also operative in the morphology of derived verbs with a transitive root, but with certain modifications. These include a different distribution of the vowel grades and interaction with a shift in voice quality, to breathy voice.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45170447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In Nuer, a Western Nilotic language, a productive process of vowel mutation lowers certain vowels in the plural forms of reduplicated adjectives, while others remain unaltered. Sometimes, lowering is accompanied by diphthongization. This short paper asks what determines which vowels should lower, which should also undergo diphthongization and which should remain unaltered. The phenomenon is analyzed within Element Theory in which vocalic expressions are decomposed into a head element and a dependent element. A pre-specified, Semitic-type template is proposed alongside a constraint on Head Preservation. These two tools derive the entire set of attested and unattested mutations. It is then shown that the analysis can pave the way for a better understanding of other, similar vowel mutation processes in Nuer.
{"title":"How low can you go? A note on vowel mutation in Nuer","authors":"N. Faust","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In Nuer, a Western Nilotic language, a productive process of vowel mutation lowers certain vowels in the plural forms of reduplicated adjectives, while others remain unaltered. Sometimes, lowering is accompanied by diphthongization. This short paper asks what determines which vowels should lower, which should also undergo diphthongization and which should remain unaltered. The phenomenon is analyzed within Element Theory in which vocalic expressions are decomposed into a head element and a dependent element. A pre-specified, Semitic-type template is proposed alongside a constraint on Head Preservation. These two tools derive the entire set of attested and unattested mutations. It is then shown that the analysis can pave the way for a better understanding of other, similar vowel mutation processes in Nuer.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43727716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Over the past several decades there has been recurrent skeptism concerning cyclic derivations in phonology, one of the most central tenets of traditional generative and lexical phonology and morphology. In this paper I draw on original data from Lulamogi, a previously almost unstudied Bantu language of Uganda, to show that the most insightful analysis of some rather unusual vowel length alternations requires either cyclicity or global reference to internal morphological structure, specifically the difference between stem vs. prefix V+V sequences. After documenting the vowel length properties in some detail I consider several analyses, opting for a stratal account which neatly mirrors the traditional Bantu stem, word, and phrasal domains.
{"title":"Prefixal vowel length in Lulamogi: A stratal account","authors":"Larry M. Hyman","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Over the past several decades there has been recurrent skeptism concerning cyclic derivations in phonology, one of the most central tenets of traditional generative and lexical phonology and morphology. In this paper I draw on original data from Lulamogi, a previously almost unstudied Bantu language of Uganda, to show that the most insightful analysis of some rather unusual vowel length alternations requires either cyclicity or global reference to internal morphological structure, specifically the difference between stem vs. prefix V+V sequences. After documenting the vowel length properties in some detail I consider several analyses, opting for a stratal account which neatly mirrors the traditional Bantu stem, word, and phrasal domains.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49618590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The following is a continuation of our comprehensive list of recently published books and monographs on African languages and linguistics. Prices are given where available. This list serves as an acknowledgement of receipt of review copies of the items marked (R). Copies of book reviews printed in the journal are automatically sent to the publishers. There can be no guarantee, however, that all works received will in fact be reviewed. Authors who would like to review a particular book or would like to be considered in general as potential reviewers are encouraged to write to the editor indicating their areal and topical fields of interest. [Saskia van Putten]
以下是我们最近出版的关于非洲语言和语言学的书籍和专著的综合清单的延续。价格在可用的地方给出。此列表作为收到标有(R)的项目评论副本的确认。期刊上发表的书评副本将自动发送给出版商。然而，不能保证所有收到的作品都会被审查。如果作者想要评论某本书，或者想要被认为是潜在的评论者，我们鼓励他们写信给编辑，说明他们感兴趣的领域和主题领域。[Saskia van Putten]
{"title":"Recent publications in African Linguistics","authors":"S. van Putten","doi":"10.1515/jall-2017-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2017-0006","url":null,"abstract":"The following is a continuation of our comprehensive list of recently published books and monographs on African languages and linguistics. Prices are given where available. This list serves as an acknowledgement of receipt of review copies of the items marked (R). Copies of book reviews printed in the journal are automatically sent to the publishers. There can be no guarantee, however, that all works received will in fact be reviewed. Authors who would like to review a particular book or would like to be considered in general as potential reviewers are encouraged to write to the editor indicating their areal and topical fields of interest. [Saskia van Putten]","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2017-0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66829917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This paper offers a descriptive analysis of the morphology of transitive verbs in Shilluk. Shilluk is a language in which stem-internal changes, many of them suprasegmental in nature, play an important role in the morphology, alongside affixal markers. In particular, tone, vowel length, Advanced Tongue Root (ATR), vowel height, and the stem-final consonant are involved in the morphological marking of a range inflections, expressing tense-aspect-modality, valency changes, agreement, and focus. The paper lays out the inflectional marking of these operations, for each of seven classes that can be distinguished among transitive verbs. In this way, the study extends our understanding of stem-internal morphology and its development in West Nilotic languages.
{"title":"The morphology of Shilluk transitive verbs","authors":"B. Remijsen, Cynthia L. Miller-Naudé, L. Gilley","doi":"10.1515/jall-2016-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2016-0010","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper offers a descriptive analysis of the morphology of transitive verbs in Shilluk. Shilluk is a language in which stem-internal changes, many of them suprasegmental in nature, play an important role in the morphology, alongside affixal markers. In particular, tone, vowel length, Advanced Tongue Root (ATR), vowel height, and the stem-final consonant are involved in the morphological marking of a range inflections, expressing tense-aspect-modality, valency changes, agreement, and focus. The paper lays out the inflectional marking of these operations, for each of seven classes that can be distinguished among transitive verbs. In this way, the study extends our understanding of stem-internal morphology and its development in West Nilotic languages.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2016-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2016-0010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66829660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The Hausa word hárshèe means both ‘language’ and ‘tongue’. Language names (glossonyms) are formed with a suffix -áncíi. Names of peoples (ethnonyms) are formed with a prefix bà- in the singular and a suffix -áawáa in the plural. In this paper, we present an overview of functionally parallel expressions in other Chadic languages. We find that most Chadic languages use the word for ‘mouth’, not ‘tongue’, to mean ‘language’, and that language names are formed by a tightly-knit phrase or compound ‘mouth-of X’ rather than by means of a derivational suffix. We propose that the Hausa ethnonymic prefix bà- is a reflex of the widespread Chadic root for ‘mouth’ (*bV), having undergone a semantic development from ‘language-of X’ to ‘person-of X’. We note that the original root is still preserved in the Hausa word bàakíi ’mouth’, which contains an old West Chadic nominal suffix *-kV that would have been dropped in inalienable possession and compounds. We also propose that -áawáa, the modern-day suppletive plural of the ethnonymic prefix bà-, was originally a distinct derivational suffix indicating a community of people with common characteristics, and, further, that the -áncíi suffix now used to denote language names originally had a semantically broader meaning, connoting such qualities as style, mannerisms, and speech peculiarities.
{"title":"Hausa language names and ethnonyms","authors":"P. Newman, R. Schuh","doi":"10.1515/jall-2016-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2016-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Hausa word hárshèe means both ‘language’ and ‘tongue’. Language names (glossonyms) are formed with a suffix -áncíi. Names of peoples (ethnonyms) are formed with a prefix bà- in the singular and a suffix -áawáa in the plural. In this paper, we present an overview of functionally parallel expressions in other Chadic languages. We find that most Chadic languages use the word for ‘mouth’, not ‘tongue’, to mean ‘language’, and that language names are formed by a tightly-knit phrase or compound ‘mouth-of X’ rather than by means of a derivational suffix. We propose that the Hausa ethnonymic prefix bà- is a reflex of the widespread Chadic root for ‘mouth’ (*bV), having undergone a semantic development from ‘language-of X’ to ‘person-of X’. We note that the original root is still preserved in the Hausa word bàakíi ’mouth’, which contains an old West Chadic nominal suffix *-kV that would have been dropped in inalienable possession and compounds. We also propose that -áawáa, the modern-day suppletive plural of the ethnonymic prefix bà-, was originally a distinct derivational suffix indicating a community of people with common characteristics, and, further, that the -áncíi suffix now used to denote language names originally had a semantically broader meaning, connoting such qualities as style, mannerisms, and speech peculiarities.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2016-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2016-0009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66829649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In this paper, we propose a reassessment of Wolof noun morphology and morphosyntax. Wolof is usually said to possess a total of 10 noun classes (8 for the singular, 2 for the plural), marked today exclusively on agreement targets. We provide evidence that two more plural noun classes must be recognized, which have so far been misinterpreted as “collective” rather than plural: the evidence we provide is morphosyntactic (from verb agreement) as well as morphological (from class-related asymmetries in the paradigm of the indefinite article). As for method, the main thrust of the paper consists in showing that an accurate analysis of the Wolof data must make use of the three distinct notions “noun class”, “inflectional class” and “agreement class” (or gender). Under the analysis defended here, Wolof turns out to have a fairly complex gender system, featuring 17 distinct gender values. Our analysis – and especially the discussion of Wolof so-called “collectives” – also bears on the general theoretical issue of how to establish the values of the number category.
{"title":"Noun classes and grammatical gender in Wolof","authors":"C. Babou, M. Loporcaro","doi":"10.1515/jall-2016-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2016-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this paper, we propose a reassessment of Wolof noun morphology and morphosyntax. Wolof is usually said to possess a total of 10 noun classes (8 for the singular, 2 for the plural), marked today exclusively on agreement targets. We provide evidence that two more plural noun classes must be recognized, which have so far been misinterpreted as “collective” rather than plural: the evidence we provide is morphosyntactic (from verb agreement) as well as morphological (from class-related asymmetries in the paradigm of the indefinite article). As for method, the main thrust of the paper consists in showing that an accurate analysis of the Wolof data must make use of the three distinct notions “noun class”, “inflectional class” and “agreement class” (or gender). Under the analysis defended here, Wolof turns out to have a fairly complex gender system, featuring 17 distinct gender values. Our analysis – and especially the discussion of Wolof so-called “collectives” – also bears on the general theoretical issue of how to establish the values of the number category.","PeriodicalId":43215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Languages and Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2016-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/jall-2016-0001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66829330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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