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Swahili has two existential constructions, one formed with a possessive copula and a locative subject marker (locative-possessive constructions), the other formed with a locative copula and a non-locative subject marker agreeing with the theme argument (locative-copula constructions). Both constructions can be used to express existence in a place o...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... constructions include locative concords used as subject marker like ku-in (5) and (7), while locative-copula constructions have a non- locative subject marker, but a locative copula such as -po in (6) and in (8), which is formally identical to the so-called referential concord used, for example, in relative clauses and anaphoric demonstrative pronouns, as will be discussed in more detail below. The position of these locative forms in the noun class system is given in the noun class overview in Table 1, where the locative classes (conventionally numbered as classes 16, 17, and 18) are highlighted in italics. While both existential constructions in Swahili involve locative agreement morphology, the difference in the specific locative morphol- ogy (locative subject concord vs. locative copula/referential concord) is correlated to a number of other differences between the two copula forms and the constructions in which they are found. ...
Context 2
... forms called 'concord' in Table 1 function as subject or object markers in inflected verb forms, such as the subject marker ku-in the verb form kulikuwa in (7), and in copula constructions such as kuna in (5). There are three locative classes in Swahili, approximately denoting proximity (class 16 pa-), distance (class 17 ku-) and inte- riority (class 18 m-). ...
Citations
... According to Shivachi et al. (2021), Swahili is an agglutinative language with polysemous features. For more details about the Swahili language structure, see Marten (2013), who explains that the Swahili language's metaphorical expressions differ from high-resource languages. ...
p>This study tests the new Swahili Lexicon (SWAHILILex.01 ) annotated by native Swahili speakers for polarity analysis using pre-tagged datasets. The testing is against existing methods for polarity analysis that use lexicon-based methods, pre-trained models with transformers, and supervised machine-learning tools. The metrics for overall classification performance were accuracy, recall, precision, and F1-Score. The performance of the new SWAHILILex.01 lexicon was similar to the results of supervised machine learning and outperformed other methods when classifying the regular Swahili dataset but underperformed when classifying the tweets dataset. These preliminary results emphasize the need for domain-based Lexicons or new techniques that account for the multidomain experience common in social media data. The future research plan will expand SWAHILILex.01 to include other Swahili dialectics, extend polarity levels that focus on the emotional context, and create a pre-trained model for Swahili sentiment analysis for multidomain sentiment analysis. </p
... According to Shivachi et al. (2021), Swahili is an agglutinative language with polysemous features. For more details about the Swahili language structure, see Marten (2013), who explains that the Swahili language's metaphorical expressions differ from high-resource languages. ...
p>This study tests the new Swahili Lexicon (SWAHILILex.01 ) annotated by native Swahili speakers for polarity analysis using pre-tagged datasets. The testing is against existing methods for polarity analysis that use lexicon-based methods, pre-trained models with transformers, and supervised machine-learning tools. The metrics for overall classification performance were accuracy, recall, precision, and F1-Score. The performance of the new SWAHILILex.01 lexicon was similar to the results of supervised machine learning and outperformed other methods when classifying the regular Swahili dataset but underperformed when classifying the tweets dataset. These preliminary results emphasize the need for domain-based Lexicons or new techniques that account for the multidomain experience common in social media data. The future research plan will expand SWAHILILex.01 to include other Swahili dialectics, extend polarity levels that focus on the emotional context, and create a pre-trained model for Swahili sentiment analysis for multidomain sentiment analysis. </p
... (4) Swahili G42d (Marten 2013: 61 for (4c), Bernander et al. Forthcoming(a) for (4a) and (4b)) a. ki-tabu 7-book ki-po sm7-cop meza=ni 9.table=loc 'the book is on the pé also e-zal-í sm.3sg.inam-cop-prs ...
... Unfortunately, it is often not clear whether the different expressions are in free variation or not. Marten (2013), who gives a detailed account of the two ELs attested in Swahili G42d concludes that they differ in syntactic structure and usage range. The non-dedicated strategy with a locative copula and agreeing inversion in (4b), i.e. 1.C.ii in Table 2, has a less rigid word order (non-inverted constructions are possible) and wider usage range than the strategy with the comitative copula and locative inversion (38), i.e. 2.A.i in Table 2. ...
This chapter proposes a Proto-Bantu reconstruction of existential constructions based on a convenience sample of 180 Bantu languages, which points towards "ex-istential locationals" (ELs) as a suitable base for comparison. ELs include inverse-locational predications as well as expressions of generic existence. We develop a detailed typology of ELs through a careful examination of the morphosyntactic variation which their building blocks display across Bantu. This typology clearly singles out two types of ELs with high frequencies and Bantu-wide distributions, which are reconstructable to at least node 5 in the phylogenetic tree of the Bantu family of Grollemund et al. (2015). Both display locative subject markers and "fig-ure inversion" in relation to plain locational constructions. The difference between the main types lies in the selection of the copula: either a locative or a comitative one. NorthWestern and Central-Western Bantu languages show few reflexes of the suggested reconstructions. Instead, they often have non-inverted ELs which are cross-linguistically uncommon or, less frequently, ELs involving expletive inversion. The non-dedicated EL can be considered a retention of the original structure or a (contact-induced) innovation. Our preference goes to the second hypothesis assuming that a severe reduction of (locative) noun classes and ensuing (locative) agreement triggered a more rigid word order and consequently non-inverted ELs or inverted expletive ELs exempt of locative marking.
... This is representative of almost all comitativeexistential constructions across Bantu. It should also be stressed that, although the "basic" meaning of na is comitative 'with', it is a polysemic element and, in those languages where it has developed an existential reading, it typically also functions as a "possessive copula" (Marten 2013, Gibson et al. 2018, thus resembling the much more widespread cross-linguistic strategy of forming existentials from possessive predicates (Creissels 2013). ...
Renewal of negation has received ample study in Bantu languages. Still, the relevant literature does not mention a cross-linguistically recurrent source of standard negation, i.e., the existential negator. The present paper aims to find out whether this gap in the literature is indicative of the absence of the Negative Existential Cycle (NEC) in Bantu languages. It presents a first account of the expression of negative existence in a geographically diverse sample of 93 Bantu languages. Bantu negative existential constructions are shown to display a high degree of formal variation within both dedicated and non-dedicated constructions. Although such variation is indicative of change, existential negators do not tend to induce changes at the same level as standard negation. The only clear cases of the spread of an ex-istential negator to the domain of standard negation in this study appear to be prompted by sustained language contact.
... Firstly, the subject marker of noun class 17 in the prototypical existential is of locative origin. In several other Bantu languages, such as Swahili, locative phrases have the ability to function as a subject, in agreement with one of the three locative noun classes (see Marten 2013). The locative noun class 17 is not productive any more in Xhosa, nor in other Southern Bantu languages, unlike many Bantu languages further to the north (Creissels 2011). ...
... STM refers to 'stem marker' inMarten (2013).8 A recent past such as in ndijonge results in an ongoing reading in this case, although -jonga 'look' is not a typical change-of-state verb (cf. ...
Bare nouns in languages without articles can be semantically ambiguous between definite and indefinite interpretations. It is here assumed that speakers of such languages can still signal to the hearer when they refer to unique and identifiable referents. This paper contributes to the long-standing cross-linguistic question of how bare nouns are interpreted and what means languages without articles have to disambiguate between definite and indefinite readings. This question is largely unexplored for Bantu languages. The answer is sought in the use of different word orders and morphosyntactic constructions, with a focus on the existential in this paper. In many languages of the world, there is a restriction on definites as pivots in existential constructions, serving as a motivation for exploring these constructions in Xhosa. Xhosa makes use of a non-verbal copula in prototypical existentials as well as predicate locatives, to express the existence or presence of a referent. The paper argues that the existential is used for inactive referents and the predicate locative for (semi-) active referents. The inactive referents of the existential are mainly indefinite referential or non-referential. The active referents of the predicate locative are referential indefinite or definite. There is no absolute definiteness effect in the existential. A further motivation for this study is the occurrence of this copula in a short and a long form, giving rise to four different structures. The paper reveals an unexpected analogy between the use of the short and long form and the use of the so called conjoint and disjoint forms in Xhosa tense-aspect paradigms.
... Non-verbal predication involves a variety of copula and existential constructions, including locative and possessive constructions (see, for example, Marten 2013, Gibson et al. 2019. While these constructions typically do not involve canonical objects, they can include complements which can be 'object'-marked. ...
There is a high degree of morphosyntactic microvariation with respect to the number and position of object markers found across Bantu languages. This paper examines variation in object marking in Swahili, against the backdrop of variation in object marking in Bantu more broadly. Verb forms in Standard Swahili are well-known to typically only permit one pre-stem object marker. However, here we show that there are isolated cases of post-verbal marking of objects from both a synchronic and diachronic perspective. The paper focuses on two case studies. Firstly, 'Old Swahili'-that is, the language of classical Swahili poetry-where examples of typologically unusual emphatic object marker doubling are found. Secondly, we show that post-verbal object marking is in fact also found in Standard (Modern) Swahili, namely in second person plural marking, in post-verbal locative markers and with non-verbal predication. However, we also show that the relationship between these forms, the Old Swahili paradigm of object marker doubling, and post-verbal object marking in Bantu more widely-in particular post-verbal plural addressee marking-is complex.
... However, TI can link infinitives if these are introduced by prepositions or prepositional phrases (11.c). 18 It can also link infinitives that are used in an adjectival function (i.e. as modifiers), being headed by the preposition ya (11.d 17 The latter behavior contrasts with the situation found in a number of Bantu languages where conjunctive coordinators linking nouns may also connect infinitives (Du Plessis 1978, Marten 2013, Creissels 2016, Oosthuysen 2016. 18 Since, in such cases, infinitives behave as vebral nouns, the presence of TI is consistent with its other uses as a nominal or prepositional linker in Kituba. ...
... This type of polysemywhere a conjunctive coordinator allows for comitative usesis widely attested in the Bantu family (cf. Du Plessis 1978, Botne 2003, Marten 2013:52, Creissels 2013. It should be noted that it is also common in non-Bantu African languages (Kilian-Hatz 1992:58) and other language phyla (Heine & Kuteva 2002:84-85). ...
... The presence of "conjunctive coordinators" in possessive constructions is widely attested across Bantu and African languages (Nurse 2008:143, 250-251, 288, Creissels et al 2008. Such patterns are, for instance, found in Swahili (Mkude 1996, Marten 2013 and Nguni languages (Oosthuysen 2016), as well as in several "simplified" contact varieties (Mufwene 2003). In total, there are 147 cases of the use of TI in the possessive domain, which constitutes 29.8%. ...
The present article analyzes the polysemy of the element ti in Kituba from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, by applying the framework of dynamic semantic maps and waves. The qualitative and quantitative corpus study, enhanced by evidence provided by Kituba native speakers, demonstrates the following: although ti spans most parts of the typological map of the polysemy of conjunctive coordinators, its center of prototypicality is located in the initial stage (comitative) and two intermediate stages (possessive and certain types of coordinate-hood) available along the grammaticalization pathway underlying the map. This suggests a semi-advanced grammaticalization profile for ti. The study also proposes certain changes in the typological map of the polysemy of conjunctive coordinators, postulating new components of the map (or grammaticalization stages), and alternative linking directions. Additionally, a possible manner of introducing quantitative data (related to prototypicality) to the qualitative map of polysemy is presented. The resulting model is argued to exhibit properties typical of complexity: structural intricacy, gradience, fuzziness, and multi-causality.
... A variant on this sort of existential construction is found in Swahili (Bantu; see Marten 2013 for recent discussion; see also Christie 1970). According to Marten, Swahili has an existential construction consisting of a locative copulan-po, -ko, or -mo 4 -and the pivot as the subject (as indicated by the presence of agreement morphology on the copula), but the locative phrase is only optionally expressed, as illustrated in 9. ...
Though the term “existential sentence’’ goes back at least as far as Jespersen (1924, p. 155) and is used in descriptions of many languages to refer to a designated construction, it is difficult to identify exactly what these constructions have in common crosslinguistically. Following McNally (2011, p. 1829), the term is used here to refer to sentence types that are “noncanonical,’’ whether due to some aspect of their syntax or the presence of a distinguished lexical item (e.g., Spanish hay) and that are “typically used to express a proposition about the existence or the presence of someone or something.’’ I discuss a representative sample of the different structural resources used to build existential sentences: distinguished existential predicates, on the one hand, and copular, possessive, and expletive or impersonal constructions, on the other. I then address the corresponding variation in the compositional semantics of existentials, as well as pragmatic or discourse functional variation. I contrast the variationist perspective with universalist approaches to existentials, such as that by Freeze (2001).Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Linguistics Volume 2 is January 14, 2016. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.
... 4 The argument that existentials derive from or are parallel to a locative or possessive source construction holds not only for Romance, but also for other languages (cf. Heine 1997, Creissels 2013and Lutz 2013. It must be clear that in this paper I do not use the expression 'source construction' strictly in a diachronic sense, and that I remain agnostic as to whether the similarity between existentials and locatives or possessives is a matter of linguistic change or simply synchronic overlapping. ...
The main goal of the present paper is twofold: on the one hand, to highlight the patterns of variation among the existential constructions found in Italo-Romance and Sardinian dialects; on the other, to examine the observed microvariation in a comparative perspective in order to identify common properties and general tendencies. Starting from a description of the variation concerning the primary components of existentials and depending on the copula selected, I show that, irrespective of the superficial morphosyntactic variation attested, all Italo-Romance existential constructions share a fundamental property: their distinguishing features can all be viewed as the reflex of the persistence of formal properties continuing or overlapping with a source construction. This construction is either the locative predication, when be is selected, or the possessive structure, when the existential copula is have. The pivot of the existential construction therefore shows properties typical of arguments, which are however subject to a high degree of instability and variation because it has been semantically reanalysed as the predicate of an abstract contextual domain serving as the argument of the existential proposition. This mismatch between the syntactic and the semantic characteristics of existential structures contributes to the microvariation encountered.
Expletive structures can be recognized by the presence of there at the beginning of the sentence. Previous studies claim that there is not present through merge operations at the numeration level, but it enters into the syntax structure at the interface level of the Logical Form through Expletive Insertion Rules (EIR). There is a claim that there is no subject-to-subject movement in the expletive structure because there is generated directly to the subject position [Spec,TP]. Therefore, this study aims to re-evaluate this view and present an analysis based on morphosyntactic feature research. The data used in this study was taken from a corpus of three selected online novels based on the highest number of readers. The data type selected is the expletive construction of there only. The selected data is analyzed through the Minimalist Program (Chomsky, 2015). Through the corpus, this study found two expletive structures that are rarely discussed, namely BE-post-Expl and V-post-Expl. In vP Shell analysis, this study found that there is actually generated at the [Spec,vP] position due to the feature checking requirements [uExpl] brought by the small v node. However, subject-to-subject movement occurs when there moves to the subject position [Spec,TP] due to the need to check the feature [uExpl] assumed to be brought by the Tense. This proves that there is not generated at the Logical Form interface level, but rather there is a merge operation at the numeration level in the computational system. Thus, this study contributes to the understanding of the expletive structure based on morphosyntactic feature research.
