Variation in Subject-Verb Agreement Marking in Two Kibena Dialects: The Highland Dialect and the Lowland Dialect

Perida Mgecha

Abstract


Many traditional dialectologists tend to describe language dialects in favour of
phonological and lexical analysis. This paper is a comparative description of
variation in subject-verb agreement marking between two Kibena varieties: the
Highland Dialect (HD) and Lowland Dialect (LD). This study is guided by the
Bantu Divergence-Convergence Theory. The findings reveal that in both the
HD and the LD, subject prefixes obligatorily co-occur with all personal
pronouns and all noun classes. Unlike in HD, nouns denoting animals take
agreements from class 1/2 in LD. For coordinated subject noun phrase,
semantic and morphological criteria are used for subject-verb agreement
marking in HD. For LD, three strategies are employed: semantic, syntactic and
morphological criteria. The variation in agreement marking between the HD
and LD is contributed by geographical and historical factors, as well as
language contact. This analysis provides evidence that both HD and LD are
still varieties of Kibena.


Full Text:

 Subscribers Only

References


Chaula, E. H. Y. (2017). Properties of Word Categories in Kibena:

Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives. Unpublished PhD Thesis,

University of Dar es Salaam.

Berger, C. B., Glaser, E. & Seiler, G. (2010). Is a Syntactic

Dialectology Possible? Contributions from Swiss German.

Retrieved from

Perida Mgecha | 113

http://www.zora.uzh.ch/64838/1/Bucheli_Berger_et_al_Is_a_sy

ntactic dialectology_possible.pdf

Diercks, M., Meyer, L. & Paster, M. (2015). Agreement with

Conjoined Arguments in Kuria. Studies in African Linguistics,

(1): 27􀂲46.

Guthrie, M. (1948). The Classification of Bantu Languages. London:

Oxford University Press.

Guthrie, M. (1967􀂲1971). Comparative Bantu: An Introduction to the

Comparative Linguistics and Prehistory of Bantu Languages,

(Vol. 1􀂲4). Letchworth UK and Brookfield VT: Cregg

International.

Hans, M. M. (2014). Mchango wa Lahaja katika Kukuza na

Kuendeleza Kiswahili Sanifu: Hazina Fiche Iliyomo katika

Lahaja za Kiswahili za Zanzibar. Unpublished PhD Thesis,

University of Dar es Salaam.

Hinnebusch, T. J. (1999). Contact and Lexicostatistics in

Comparative Bantu Studies. In J. M. Hombert & L. M.

Hyman (eds.). Bantu Historical Linguistics: Theoretical and

Empirical Perspectives (Lecture Notes 99). Stanford: CSLI:

􀂲205.

Kanana, F. E. (2011). Meru Dialects: The Linguistic Evidence. Nordic

Journal of African Studies, 20(4): 300􀂲327.

Katamba, F. (2003). Bantu Nominal Morphology. In D. Nurse & G.

Philippson (eds.). The Bantu Languages. London: Routledge:

􀂲120.

Kipacha, A. (2003). Lahaja za Kiswahili. Dar es Salaam: The Open

University of Tanzania.

Languages of Tanzania Project. (2009). Atlasi ya Lugha za Tanzania.

Dar es Salaam: University of Dar es Salaam.

Lusekelo, A. (2013). DP-internal and V-external Agreement Patterns

in Bantu: Re-statement of the Facts on Eastern Bantu

Languages. Journal of Linguistics and Language in

Education, 7(1): 19􀂲47.

Maho, J. F. (2009). A Referential Classification of the Bantu

Languages. Retrieved from

goto.glocalnet.net/mahopapers/nuglonline.pdf

Marten, L. (2000). Agreement with Conjoined Noun Phrases in

Swahili. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere, 64 (Swahili Forum

VII): 75􀂲96.

Massamba, D. P. B. (2007). Kiswahili Origins and the Bantu

Divergence-Convergence Theory. Dar es Salaam: Taasisi ya

Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili.

| Variation in Subject-Verb Agreement Marking in Two Kibena Dialects

Massamba, D. P. B. (2018). Kiswahili Origins and the Bantu

Divergence-Convergence Theory. Internatinal Journal of

Bantu Linguistics, 1: 1􀂲24.

Matei, A. K. (2008). Darubini ya Sarufi: Ufafanuzi Kamili wa Sarufi

ya Kiswahili. Nairobi: Phoenix Publishers.

Mgecha, P. (2019). Classification of Kibena Dialects Using

Morphosyntactic Parameters. Unpublished PhD Thesis,

University of Dar es Salaam.

Mitchley, H. (2015). Agreement and Coordination in Xitsonga,

Sesotho and Isixhosa: An Optimality Theoretic Persipective.

Unpublished M.A. Thesis, Rhodes University.

Mitterhofer, B. (2013). Lessons from a Dialect Survey of Bena:

Analysing Wordlists. University of Leiden: SIL International.

Morrison, M. (2015). Dialect Variation in a Minority Language: The

Case of Bena. In R. Kramer, E. C. Zsiga & O. T. Boyer (eds.).

Selected Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference on

African Linguistics, 199-211. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla

Proceedings Project.

Mtenje, A. A. (2016). A Comparative Analysis of the Phonology and

Morpho-Syntax of Cisukwa, Cindali and Cilambya.

Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Cape Town.

Nurse, D. & G. Philippson. (2003). Towards a Historical

Classification of the Bantu Languages. In D. Nurse & G.

Philippson (eds.). The Bantu Languages. Richmond: Curzon:

􀂲181.

Nyagava, S. I. (2000). A History of the Bena to 1914. Iringa,

Tanzania: Iringa University.

Petzell, M. & Hammarström, H. (2013). Grammatical and Lexical

Comparison of the Greater Ruvu Bantu Languages. Nordic

Journal of African Studies, 22(3): 129􀂲157.

Riedel, K. (2010). Fipa: A First Look at Dialectal Variation and

Syntactic Variation. ZAS Papers in Linguistics. Retrieved

from https:www.researchgate.net/...228584451

Sibajene, A. (2013). A Dialectological Study of Tonga. Unpublished

M.A. Thesis, The University of Zambia.

Taji, J. & Mreta, A. (2014). Subject-Verb Agreement in Chiyao

Conjoined Noun Phrases. Journal of Linguistics and Language

in Education, 8(2): 78􀂲88.

Taji, J. (2017). The Morphosyntactic and Semantic Properties of

Grammatical Relations in Chiyao. Unpublished PhD Thesis,

University of Dar es Salaam.

Yoneda, N. (2010). Topical Hierarchy and Grammatical Agreement

in Matengo (N13). In K. Legere & K. Thornell (eds.). Bantu

Perida Mgecha | 115

Languages: Analyses, Description and Theory. Koln: Rudiger

Koppe Verlag.

Zeller, J. (2008). The Subject Marker in Bantu as an Antifocus

Marker. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, 38, 221􀂲254.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 [ISSN 0856-9965 (Print)]