4 Verbal Derivation
4.2 Verbal extensions
4.2.8 Fossilized Passive
For Proto-Bantu, the passive extension has been reconstructed with two allo-morphs *-ʊ/-*ibʊ, the latter of which came to be used only with vowel-final bases (Schadeberg 2003a: 78). While the reflex of the longer passive extension is pro-ductive in Nyakyusa (§4.2.7), the short allomorph is only found in a relatively small number of lexicalized cases.14 These have in most cases undergone a se-mantic shift, as shown in the following examples.
(58) gogwa ‘dream; have vision’ <goga ‘kill; destroy’
komwa ‘sob’ <koma ‘hit’
logwa ‘copulate’ <loga ‘bewitch’
milwa ‘drown’ <mila ‘swallow; devour’
pondwa ‘fail to; miss’ <ponda ‘forge’
tolwa ‘be burdened, weak’ <tola ‘defeat’
Some of these fossilized passives are transitive:
(59) ibwa ‘forget (tr.)’ <iba ‘steal’
syʊkwa ‘miss sadly (tr.)’ <syʊka ‘be resurrected’
For some of these short passives, no underived base is available, but commu-tations can be found in most cases (60). With other verbs that appear from their shape to be fossilized passives, neither is attested and it may be questionable whether diachronically these verbs constitute passives at all (61). However, all of these verbs exceptilaamwa pattern together with fossilized passives in the formation of their perfective stems; see §6.4.2.2.
13This example created some amusement, as it also allows for a reading of the subject being the instrument, hence cannibalism.
14Schumann (1899: 36) observes for a number of stems that “[s]ome verbs are only formally passives, but also concerning formation of the perfect deviate from the regular passive form (deponentia)” (translated from the original German, BP). See Good (2007) for a discussion of deponency in Bantu.
(60) fukwa ‘be full beyond capacity’ cf.fukula ‘dig up’
sulwa ‘dare to, presume’ cf.sulula ‘pour’
keelwa ‘be plentiful’ no *keelaor commutations kunwa ‘be in great need’ no *kunaor commutations (61) ilaamwa ‘disregard, doubt’ no *(i)laamaattested
nyonywa ‘long for, desire’ no *nyonyaattested miimwa ‘crave, envy’ < *mìim‘sprinkle’?
The fossilized passive extension often co-occurs with the applicative (62). It is further apparent in a number of deverbal nouns (63).
(62) agɪlwa ‘diminish (by); lack’ <aga ‘diminish (tr.)’
kʊbɪlwa ‘suffer’ <kʊba ‘beat; ring’
lakɪlwa ‘choke (on)’ cf.ʊlʊlaka ‘great thirst’
tumukɪlwa ‘be(come) short on; late for’ cf.tumula ‘cut; come to decision’
ʊmɪlwa ‘be thirsty (for)’ <ʊma ‘dry; wither’
(63) ʊmfwalwa ‘clothing, dress’ <fwala ‘dress, wear’
iikolwa ‘shell’ <kola ‘grasp, hold’
ɪkɪsʊʊjwa ‘porridge from maize milk’ <sʊʊja ‘filter, strain’
ʊntʊmwa ‘slave, servant’ <tʊma ‘send’
When asked in elicitation to form true passives of fossilized passives, the lan-guage assistants replaced the fossilized extension (or what is treated as such) with the productive long passive extension:
(64) ibwa ‘forget’ >ibigwa ‘be forgotten’
milwa ‘drown’ >miligwa ‘be drowned at’ (loc subject) miimwa ‘crave, envy’ >miimigwa ‘be craved for’
ilaamwa ‘disregard, doubt’ >ilaamigwa ‘be disregarded, doubted’
However, this was felt to be an artificial device, and with some roots it creates ambiguity (65). Topicalization of the patient/theme through fronting (66) was suggested as more natural for such verb constructions.
(65) a. ɪngamu jangʊ jɪ-kw-ib-igw-a nagwe
1. ‘My name is being forgotten by him/her.’
2. ‘My name is being stolen by him/her.’ [ET]
b. ɪnjosi jɪ-kʊ-gog-igw-a nagwe 1. ‘A dream is dreamt by him/her.’
2. ‘A dream is killed by him/her.’ [ET]
4.2 Verbal extensions (66) a. ɪ-n-gamu
aug-9-name j-angʊ 9-poss.1sg
i-kʊ-j-iibw-a 1-prs-9-forget-fv
‘(As for) my name, s/he forgets it.’ [ET]
b. ɪ-n-josi aug-9-dream
i-kʊ-jɪ-gogw-a 1-prs-9-dream-fv
‘(As for) the dream, s/he dreams it.’ [ET]
4.2.9 Neuter
The neuter (also commonly calledstative) extension has the underlying shape -ɪk (allomorphs -ek, -ik; see §4.2.1). The neuter promotes the object of a transitive verb to the subject of a now intransitive verb, which is construed as potentially or factually experiencing a certain state. (67) gives some examples. Further re-search is needed to determine the productivity and the semantic and syntactic constraints on the use of the neuter.
(67) malɪka ‘finish (intr.), be finished’ <mala ‘finish (tr.)’
manyika ‘be known; be famous’ <manya ‘know’
nweka ‘be drinkable’ <nwa ‘drink’
oneka ‘gush; be spilled, scattered’ <ona ‘spill’
onangɪka ‘be(come) spoiled; perish’ <onanga ‘destroy’
ongeleka ‘increase (intr.)’ <ongela ‘increase (tr.)’
swɪlɪka ‘be(come) tame’ <swɪla ‘feed; rear; tame’
At least the following two verbs derived with the neuter extension have id-iosyncratic meanings:
(68) boneka ‘happen; also: appear, be seen’ <bona ‘see’
silɪka ‘faint’ <sila ‘protest by refusal (tr.)’
Unlike with the passive, the original agent or force of a neuter verb cannot be expressed:
(69) * ʊ-n-nyambala aug-1-man
i-kʊ-bon-ek-a 1-prs-see-neut-fv
(na=)a-ba-ndʊ (com=)aug-2-person (intended: ‘The man is seen by people.’)
(70) * ɪ-n-jʊni aug-10-bird
si-la 10-dist
si-kʊ-peeny-ek-a
10-prs-remove_feathers-neut-fv
(na=)a-ba-kiikʊlʊ (com=)aug-2-woman
(intended: ‘Those birds have their feathers plucked by women.’) (71) * ɪɪ-nyumba
(intended: ‘This house is being built by workers.’)
With one verb the combination of neuter and passive is attested:malɪkigwa
‘run out’ <mala‘finish (tr.)’.
4.2.10 Intensive
The intensive extension has the underlying shape -ɪlɪl(and allomorphs, see §4.2.1).
It denotes repetition, greater intensity and/or continuity. As the meaning of this extension is very much dependent on the semantics of the underlying verb as well as on the context, it is best illustrated with some examples from texts.
(72) a-lɪnkw-and-a
‘She started to cook [it] and spiced [it] very well.’ [Thieving woman]
(73) ba-kʊ-tuufiifye
‘They have praised you a lot, that you are a good person, but your thighs are too big [lit. have intensively surpassed size].’ [Hare and Hippo]
(74) bo
‘Just as she was very accustomed to do, Pakyindi’s wife went to meet with another man in Pakyindi’s cassava field.’ [Sokoni and Pakyindi]
4.2 Verbal extensions (75) ʊ-ne
aug-1sg
kʊ-my-angʊ 17-4-poss.1sg
kʊ-no 17-prox
n-gʊ-fum-a,
1sg-prs-come_from-fv n-dɪ 1sg-cop
malafyale.
chief(1) mu-n-geet-elel-e=po
2pl-1sg-look-ints-subj=part
panandɪ!
a_little
‘At my home where I come from I am a king. You should look at me a little!’ [Hare and Hippo]
With a number of verbs, the intensive gives an idiosyncratic reading:
(76) ambɪlɪla ‘receive; entertain guests’ <amba ‘hold out to receive’
bombelela ‘weed’ <bomba ‘work; do’
endelela ‘continue’ <enda ‘walk, travel’
keetelela ‘take care of; watch’ <keeta ‘watch’
kʊbɪlɪla ‘flap, fan’ <kʊba ‘beat; ring’
paatɪlɪla ‘prune’ <paata ‘way of harvesting’
tabɪlɪla ‘stammer’ <taba ‘extend; crawl’
A handful of verbs feature -ɪɪl/-eel(77). Where the underived root is available, a comparison of meaning suggests that these verbs feature lexicalized intensives where the first /l/ has dropped out.
(77) bʊʊkɪɪlwa ‘drown and be carried by water’ <bʊʊka ‘go’
boteela ‘be calm; be settled’ <bota ‘be calm’
eleela ‘float’
embeela ‘wander; prostitute’
obeela ‘rumble, scorn’
ogeela ‘swim’ <oga ‘bathe (intr.)’
tendeela ‘peep’
4.2.11 Separative
There are two separative extensions in Nyakyusa, one yielding transitive verbs (-ʊl) and one yielding intransitive ones (-ʊk). See §4.2.1 for morphophonological processes affecting the vowel quality of these extensions. Schadeberg (2003a: 78) characterizes the abstract semantic core of the separative as “movement out of some original position”. Other common labels in Bantu studies includereversive andinversive. Although the separative extensions are essentially unproductive, derived verbs are frequent in the lexicon. The following list gives some examples:
(78) baalʊla ‘widen (tr.)’ –baalʊka ‘bloss, expand’ <baala ‘thrive’
bulutula ‘shell corn’ –bulutuka ‘collapse’
fyogola ‘sprain’ –fyogoka ‘be(come) sprained’
hobola ‘free, relax’ –hoboka ‘be(come) happy’
kingʊla ‘uncover’ –kingʊka ‘be(come) uncovered’<kinga ‘cover’
lumbula ‘expand’ –lumbuka ‘stretch, expand’
pagʊla ‘force open’ –pagʊka ‘be(come) dislocated’
pɪndʊla ‘convert’ –pɪndʊka ‘repent’ <pɪnda ‘bend’
konyola ‘break; harvest’–konyoka ‘be(come) broken’
tonola ‘dab’ –tonoka ‘bounce’
kuupula ‘uproot’ –kuupuka ‘be uprooted’
As can be observed in (78), there is frequent commutation between the two sep-arative extensions. This is a strong tendency rather than an absolute rule. Other attested commutations are with the impositive (§4.2.14) and positional (§4.2.13) extensions. The separative extensions are also found in denominal derivations. If the underlying stem ends in a first degree vowel, this is elided and the separative extension surfaces with /u/ (i.e., the height feature is maintained).
(79) biibuka ‘be(come) bad, ugly’ <biibi ‘bad, ugly’
gangʊla ‘treat medically, heal’ <ʊn̩ganga ‘doctor; healer’
niinuka ‘decrease (intr.)’ <niini ‘little’
pimbʊka ‘be(come) short’ <pimba ‘short’
In a few verbs, two separative extensions are found. With the exception of sʊngʊlʊla(80), the separative intransitive follows the separative transitive (81).
(80) sʊngʊlʊla ‘dissolve’ cf.sʊngʊla ‘choose; sift’
(81) bululuka ‘scatter (intr.)’ cf.bulula ‘scatter (tr.)’
bunguluka ‘toss and turn’ < *búng ‘wrap up’
kololoka ‘slacken’ <kola ‘grasp, hold’
kunguluka ‘foretell, prophecy’ <kunga ‘pour out’
sololoka ‘descend; appear (spirit)’ <solola ‘prophecy’
sululuka ‘drip’ cf.sulula ‘pour’
4.2.12 Tentive
The tentive extension has the shape -at. It is not productive and relatively few verbs are found that contain this suffix. Schadeberg (2003a: 77) notes that the semantic core for this Bantu extension can be stated as “actively making firm
4.2 Verbal extensions contact”. This characterization holds for Nyakyusa in most cases, see the list in (82). No noticeable pattern of commutation is attested.
(82) finyatɪla ‘put close to’
fumbata ‘enclose in hands or mouth’
isunyata ‘brood; ponder’
kambatʊla ‘grip’
lalata ‘become paralytic’
pagata ‘put in lap, pull to chest; hold child’
4.2.13 Positional
The non-productive positional extension has the shape -am. A common semantic element of assuming a physical posture or position can be observed (Schadeberg 2003a: 75). All Nyakyusa verbs derived by means of the positional extension are inchoative. The positional appears not to be productive in Nyakyusa. The following list gives some representative examples.
(83) alama ‘settle at bottom; duck’
asama ‘gape’
batama ‘be(come) quiet, silent’
fugama ‘kneel’
kupama ‘lie on stomach’
egama ‘lean’
Some positional verbs have their transitive counterpart formed with the com-bination of the positional and impositive extensions (84), while others replace the positional with the impositive (85). In a few cases, both devices are attested without any apparent difference in meaning (86). Further commutations include the separative (§4.2.11) (87).
(84) Positional plus impositive:
bɪlamika ‘bend (tr.)’ <bɪlama ‘bend (intr.)’
gundamika ‘bend over/down’ <gundama ‘stoop, incline’
telamika ‘lower’ <telama ‘be(come) low’
(85) Commutation between positional and impositive:
batama ‘be(come) quiet, silent’ cf.batɪka ‘soothe’
pɪngama ‘turn sidewards (intr.)’ cf.pɪngɪka ‘set across’
(86) Commutation as well as additive derivation:
egama ‘lean (intr.)’ cf.egeka ‘lean (tr.)
>egamika ‘lean (tr.)’
sulama ‘bend’ cf.sulɪka ‘turn upside down’
>sulamika ‘turn upside down’
(87) Commutation between positional and separative:
alama ‘settle at bottom’ cf.alʊla ‘remove from top’
sulama ‘bend’ cf.suluka ‘descend’
gasama ‘open mouth in surprise’ cf.gasʊka ‘be astonished’
4.2.14 Impositive
The impositive has the underlying shape -ɪk. Allomorphs are -ek, -ik(see §4.2.1;
also note the exceptions below). It is thus homophonous to the neuter extension (§4.2.9). The core meaning of the impositive may be paraphrased as “to put (sth.) into some position” (Schadeberg 2003a: 73). The following list provides some examples.
(88) bambɪka ‘arrange in line’ <bamba ‘stand in line’
bɪɪka ‘put; store; calve’ < *bá ‘dwell; be; become’
jubɪka ‘dip, soak’
jumbɪka ‘praise’ <jumba ‘swell (river)’
olobeka ‘soak (tr.)’ <oloba ‘get wet’
fubɪka ‘soak (tr.)’
tegeka ’set a trap for’ <tega ‘trap; catch’
The impositive extension can be considered the transitive counterpart to the positional extension, with which a number of commutations are attested (see
§4.2.13). Other commutations include the separative (89). In one verb, the impos-itive is found as the transimpos-itive counterpart to the extensive; see §4.2.15.
(89) anika ‘set out to dry’ cf.anula ‘remove from drying’
baatɪka ‘arrange; fix’ cf.baatʊla ‘offload, unload’
bambɪka‘arrange’ cf.bambʊla ‘peel’
fyɪka ‘insert’ cf.fyʊla ‘remove’
lɪmbɪka ‘accumulate’ cf.lɪmbʊla ‘serve out; gather honey’
lʊndɪka ‘pile up’ cf.lʊndʊla ‘take cows out; divide’
sulɪka ‘turn upside down’ cf.sulula ‘pour’
4.2 Verbal extensions In a few cases, what appears to be the impositive extension is found with a first degree vowel /i/ that cannot be accounted for by any regularity:
(90) ɪmika ‘erect; bring to halt; respect’ <ɪma ‘stand (up), stop’
cf.ɪmɪla ‘preside’
ʊmika ‘dry (tr.)’ <ʊma ‘dry; wither’
binika ‘spoil, ruin, destroy’ <bina ‘fall sick’?
<bini ‘malicious’?
cf.binɪsya ‘make sick’
kitika ‘set up; stick into ground’
4.2.15 Extensive
The extensive extension has the shape -al. It is unproductive in Nyakyusa. There is no overarching semantic element for verbs derived with this extension. As observed by Schadeberg (2003a: 77), there is a certain tendency for it to occur with verbs denoting two semantic fields: being in a spread-out position (91) and debilitation or illness (92). Some verbs with miscellaneous meanings are given in (93). No reoccurring pattern of commutation is attested in the data.
(91) bagala ‘carry load on shoulder’
tʊʊgala ‘get seated, sit; live, inhabit; stay’
twala ‘carry load, bring’
(92) fulala ‘be(come) hurt, injured’
kalala ‘be(come) angry, annoyed’
katala ‘be(come) tired, exhausted’
kangala ‘be(come) old and worn’
lemala ‘be(come) crippled, disabled’
(93) angala ‘be well, feel fine; converse, talk, be in good company’
langala ‘glisten, glitter, shine’
niongala ‘be(come) bent, crooked, twisted’
syala ‘remain’
In two verbs, what seems to be a reduplicated extensive suffix was found. One of these has the combination of extensive plus impositive (§4.2.14) as its transitive counterpart:
(94) lambalala ‘lie down, sleep’ cf.lambalɪka ‘make lie down, put to bed’
tambalala ‘lie flat’