Information structure and agreement: Subjects and subject agreement in Swahili and Herero

Marten, Lutz

doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2010.11.005

Cited by 13 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Bresnan and Mchombo 1987) -projects a locally unfixed node (Cann et al 2005, Marten 2011). The analysis of the Swahili subject marker as projecting a locally unfixed node is related to its status as a clitic and in this regard it can be considered analogous to the analysis of Romance clitics developed in Cann et al (2005).…”

Section: (5)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation and Grammaticalisation in Bantu Complex Verbal Constructions: The Dynamics of Information Growth in Swahili, Rangi and SiSwati

Gibson¹,

Marten²

2016

Approaches to Complex Predicates

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Many Bantu languages have a system of complex verbal constructions, where several verbal forms combine to describe a single event. Typically, these consist of an auxiliary and a main verb, and often tense-aspect marking and subject agreement is found on both forms. In this paper we develop a parsing-based, Dynamic Syntax analysis of complex verbal constructions in three Bantu languages -Swahili, Rangi and siSwati -and show how concepts of structural underspecification, accumulation of information and contextual update can be harnessed to explain the use of several verbal forms for the building of one semantic structure. At the heart of the analysis is the idea that structure established early in the parse can be 're-built' from subsequent lexical input as long as incrementality and information growth are respected. This correctly predicts the accumulation of tense-aspect information and the fact that multiple subject markers have to be interpreted identically, while maintaining a uniform pronominal analysis of Bantu subject markers. From a comparative perspective, we show that complex verbal constructions result from processes of grammaticalisation, and, especially with reference to the extensive auxiliary system of siSwati, we sketch different processes of lexical change underlying the stages of the grammaticalisation process.

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Section: (5)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation and Grammaticalisation in Bantu Complex Verbal Constructions: The Dynamics of Information Growth in Swahili, Rangi and SiSwati

Gibson¹,

Marten²

2016

Approaches to Complex Predicates

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“…It is often claimed that subject markers in most Bantu languages can function as a (incorporated) pronoun/cliticwith DPs being dislocated topics, or as an agreement marker -the DP being the true argument of the verb, i.e. the grammatical subject (Bresnan and Mchombo 1987, Demuth and Johnson 1989, Morimoto 2000, van der Wal 2008, Marten 2011.…”

Section: Agreement Parameter and Pronominal Status Of Subject Markermentioning

confidence: 99%

A typology of Bantu subject inversion

Marten¹,

Wal²

2014

Self Cite

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This study charts variation in subject inversion constructions in Bantu languages. It distinguishes between seven types of inversion constructions: formal locative inversion, semantic locative inversion, instrument inversion, patient inversion, (clausal) complement inversion, default agreement inversion and agreeing inversion. Based on a set of nine surface variables, a matrix of inversion constructions is developed which identifies characteristics of the set of constructions overall as well as of each individual construction type. The distribution of the different inversion constructions is documented with reference to a sample of 46 Bantu languages, from which geographical and typological generalisations are drawn. For example, languages with instrument inversion or with patient inversion always have locative inversion (but not vice versa), or if a language has at least one inversion construction, it always has at least either default agreement inversion or agreeing inversion. Finally, underlying parameters potentially accounting for the variation are discussed, such as the status of preverbal locatives as DP or PP, the agreement parameter and the syntactic and thematic restrictions on the preverbal element.

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“…This has been extensively studied in Bantu linguistics, both for individual languages and comparatively (e.g. Bresnan and Kanerva 1989;Demuth 1990;Demuth and Mmusi 1997;Marten 2006;Zerbian 2006;Buell 2007;Marten 2011;Creissels 2011;Zeller 2013;Marten and van der Wal 2014). The core inversion constructions are recognised through certain diagnostics, to be presented in section 3.3, and have in common that the post-verbal subject is non-topical.…”

Section: Inverted Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What the Giant Tells Us About Agreeing Post-Verbal Subjects in Xhosa

Ström

2017

SPILPLUS

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Constructions with the subject following the verb are a widely studied topic in Bantu linguistics. One such construction, in which the subject is dislocated, is considered not as core subject inversion, but generally as an afterthought construction. This study takes a spoken text, in this case a narrative, as its point of departure to examine this kind of construction more carefully in terms of its function and morphosyntactic structure in Xhosa, a Bantu language of South Africa. The paper shows that such agreeing post-verbal subject constructions are used to re-activate semi-active concepts that have been mentioned previously in the narrative. They reintroduce a concept which then becomes the topic of the current sentence and of subsequent phrases, in which the subject is often pronominalized. It is also shown that the expected penultimate lengthening, one of the diagnostics used to differentiate core inversion from constructions with a dislocated subject, is often not present. The function of the construction and other morphosyntactic diagnostics point to the subject being dislocated, however. Furthermore, it is argued, based on a few examples from the narrative and follow-up grammaticality judgements, that there is agreeing inversion in Xhosa, with the subject in the immediately-after-verb position. This inversion construction has not previously been attested in Xhosa and further research is needed in order to corroborate the results. The appendix presents the recorded, transcribed, glossed and translated narrative on which the analysis is based.

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Information structure and agreement: Subjects and subject agreement in Swahili and Herero

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

Variation and Grammaticalisation in Bantu Complex Verbal Constructions: The Dynamics of Information Growth in Swahili, Rangi and SiSwati

Variation and Grammaticalisation in Bantu Complex Verbal Constructions: The Dynamics of Information Growth in Swahili, Rangi and SiSwati

A typology of Bantu subject inversion

What the Giant Tells Us About Agreeing Post-Verbal Subjects in Xhosa

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