The evolution of the noun class system of Ngwi (West-Coastal Bantu, B861, DRC)

Abstract

In this paper we offer a first systematic account of the noun class system of Ngwi, a West-Coastal Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. First, we describe the synchronic system of noun class prefixes and the agreement patterns they trigger on constituents of the noun phrase and the verb. Second, we provide a diachronic analysis of the innovations the synchronic Ngwi noun class system underwent with respect to the noun class system reconstructed for the most recent common ancestor of all Narrow Bantu languages. Finally, we compare the morphological innovations found in the Ngwi noun class system with those identified in the noun class systems of other West-Coastal Bantu varieties and assess whether some of these could be diagnostic for internal classification within this western Bantu branch.

Labial-velar stops in Sakata (Bantu C34)

“…The variety of Bopaka-Pentana appears to be virtually identical to the North Boma variety documented byStappers (1986). Similarly, in the Eastern Ngwi spoken in Mangai(-4.02, 19.53) (Pacchiarotti & Bostoen 2021b), labialvelar stops are nowhere to be found. This is in sharp contrast with the Western Ngwi variety described by Kumpel Wossey (2001).…”