4 Verbal Derivation
4.2 Verbal extensions
4.2.1 Morphophonology of verbal extensions
4.2.1.2 High vowel raising
Two further and related processes affect the quality of vowels in verbal exten-sions. What both have in common is the raising of the second degree vowels /ɪ, ʊ/ to the first degree /i, u/. First, the underlying vowels of verbal extensions are raised to first degree vowels when following the palatal nasal,2as illustrated in (6) with the applicative (-ɪl), neuter (-ɪk), causative2(-ɪsi) and the separative (-ʊl/-ʊk) extensions.
(6) manyila (°many-ɪl-a) ‘learn’ <manya‘know’
manyika (°many-ɪk-a) ‘be known’
manyisya (°many-ɪsi-a) ‘teach’
kanyisya (°kany-ɪsi-a) ‘fill up, stuff’ <kanya ‘tread on’
tuunyila (°tuuny-ɪl-a) ‘throw at’ <tuunya ‘throw’
tuunyuka (°tuuny-ʊk-a) ‘fall (from)’
kinyula (°kiny-ʊl-a) ‘disencourage’ <kinya ‘hit’
This rule does not apply when the vowel in question is affected by vowel height harmony (7). Also, only the directly adjacent vowel is subject to high vowel raising (8).
(7) toonyesya ‘cause to fall or drip’ <toonya ‘drip, ooze’
keenyesya ‘insult, shout at’ <keenya ‘insult’
konyola ‘break, wreck; harvest corn’ < *kóny ‘fold, bend, twist’
konyoka ‘break (intr.)’
(8) manyilɪla ‘know (much)’ <manya ‘know’
pinyilɪla ‘tie up, bind repeatedly’ <pinya ‘bind; detain; fix’
kenyulɪla ‘add too much; oversalt’
2This seems to be the expression of a more general constraint against stem-internal /*nyɪ, nyʊ/, cf. also nominal stems likeunyu‘salt’ < PB*jɪ́nyʊ̀.
4.2 Verbal extensions The underlying second degree vowels /ɪ, ʊ/ of verbal extensions are also real-ized as first degree /i, u/ when they follow a sequence of low vowel /a/ plus the coronal or bilabial nasals /n/ or /m/. Examples are given in (9) for the extensions in question when following the reciprocal and positional extensions, while (10) illustrates this for root-final sequences.3
(9) komanila (°kom-an-ɪl-a) ‘fight for’ <koma ‘hit’
swiganika (°swig-an-ɪk-a) ‘wonder (much)’ <swiga ‘wonder’
sulamika (°sulam-ɪk-a) ‘turn upside down’ <sulama ‘bend, droop’
batamisya (°batam-ɪsi-a) ‘silence, caress’ <batama ‘be silent’
(10) ganila (°gan-ɪl-a) ‘love + appl’ <gana ‘love’
ganisya (°gan-ɪsi-a) ‘cause to love’
kaanika (°kaan-ɪk-a) ‘dispute’ <kaana ‘refuse’
kaanila (°kaan-ɪl-a) ‘refuse’
kaanisya (°kaan-ɪsi-a) ‘forbid’
kamila (°kam-ɪl-a) ‘milk + appl’ <kama ‘milk, squeeze’
kamula (°kam-ʊl-a) ‘squeeze out’
lamula (°lam-ʊl-a) ‘stop fight; judge’ *dàm-ʊd ‘settle dispute’
saamila (°saam-ɪl-a) ‘move + appl’ <saama ‘move, migrate’
saamisya (°saam-ɪsi-a) ‘transfer; displace’
Again, only the directly adjacent vowel undergoes raising:
(11) fwanikɪsya (°fwan-ɪkɪsi-a) ‘compare’ <fwana ‘resemble’
kaanilɪla (°kaan-ɪlɪl-a) ‘refuse +intns’ <kaana ‘refuse’
saamikɪsya (°saam-ɪkɪsi-a) ‘transfer; exile to’ <saama ‘move, migrate’
saamilɪla (°saam-ɪlɪl-a) ‘migrate + intns’
sanukɪla (°sanuk-ɪl-a) ‘turn to’ <sanuka ‘alter’
amulɪsya (°amul-ɪsi-a) ‘make answer’ <amula ‘answer’
The examples in (12) show that other /aC/ sequences do not induce raising of the second degree vowels.4The examples in (13) show that other /VN/ sequences likewise do not induce high vowel raising (but see above on the effects of the palatal nasal, and below on the sequence /mu/).
3Again, this seems to be the expression of a more general phonotactic constraint: Regardless of syntactic class, no stem containing /an, am/ followed by a second degree vowel is attested in the data.
4A few combinations are not attested in the data: /aŋɪ, afɪ, afu/. The lack of the first is due to the scarcity of the velar nasal, while the lack of the other two stems from the fact that the bilabial fricative /f/ has its main diachronic source in sequences of Proto-Bantu plosives followed by a first degree vowel.
(12) /ap, at, ak/ /amb, and, aŋg/
paapɪla ‘give birth + appl’ bambɪka ‘arrange in line’
tapʊka ‘separate’ sambʊka ‘rebel’
ʊbatɪla ‘embrace’ andɪsya ‘establish; repeat’
latʊla ‘rip’ andʊla ‘change; convert’
pakɪla ‘load + appl’ nangɪsya ‘show’
sakʊka ‘reappear’ pangʊla ‘dismantle’
/aβ̞, al, aɟ, aɰ/ /as, ah/
laabɪla ‘get up early; be early’ lasɪla ‘stab + appl’
abʊla ‘release; open’ pasʊka ‘burst’
malɪka ‘(be) finish(ed) (intr.)’ hahɪla ‘propose + appl’
saalʊka ‘be(come) unravelled’ /aŋ/
baajɪka ‘kick + appl’ kang’ʊla ‘remove stopper’
tajʊka ‘break up (intr.)’
bagɪla ‘be able; suit’
pagʊka ‘fall apart’
(13) /V̸=a{n, m}/
pɪmɪla ‘measure + appl’
inɪsya ‘dirty (tr.)’
inʊla ‘lift’
timɪla ‘rain + appl’
ʊmɪla ‘dry + appl’
A formalized account of the rules of high vowel raising is given in (14, 15).
(14) { ɪ
ʊ →
{ i
u /ny (15)
{ ɪ
ʊ →
{ i
u /a{n, m}
Lastly, in a few stems the sequence /mu/ is found in contexts where it cannot be accounted for by the above rules (16). This seems to be the expression of a general phonotactic constraint against /mʊ/.5 While the latter sequence may be the outcome of vowel coalescence between the vowel of a prefix and a vowel-initial stem (§2.2.1.4), no stem or affix containing it is attested.6
5This kind of constraint against certain CV sequences may be more widespread in Bantu. Bennet
& Lee (2015) describe in detail how the sequence /li/ is strongly dispreferred in Tsonga S53.
6Note that this constraint alone cannot explain the raising of the front vowel /ɪ/ after /a{m, n}/, nor can it explain the raising of /ʊ/ after /an/, as /mɪ, nɪ, nʊ/ are licensed stem-internal syllables.
4.2 Verbal extensions (16) lendemuka ‘crack’
nyenyemusya ‘excite’
telemuka ‘slip’ < *tèdɪmʊk syelemuka ‘slip’ < *tɪ̀edɪmʊk tyemula ‘sneeze’ < *tɪ́emʊd tyesemula ‘sneeze’
4.2.2 Causative 1
The verbal suffix -iserves to derive causative verbs. Before turning to a closer examination of its function, some formal aspects require discussion.
Synchronically speaking, the vowel of this extension is not directly observable;
instead it surfaces as the glide /y/. It is interpreted as -ibecause of the morpho-phonological changes it induces, which in diachronical terms go back to a first degree front vowel. Lingual plosives and approximants preceding this causative suffix are spirantized to /s/, while their labial counterparts change to /f/. This rule, which constitutes a typical case of Bantu spirantization (see Bostoen 2008), is given (17) and illustrated in (18).
(17) Spirantization triggered by causative -i a. { t, l, j, k, g }→s/ i
b. { p, b }→f/ i
(18) bosya ‘cause to rot’ <bola ‘rot’
sesya ‘make laugh’ <seka ‘laugh’
osya ‘bathe (tr.); baptize’ <oga ‘bathe (intr.)’
pyʊfya ‘warm, heat up’ <pyʊpa ‘get warm’
sofya ‘loose; mislead’ <soba ‘be lost; be wrong’
When prenasalized plosives are spirantized, the preceding vowel becomes long (19).7 The causative -ifollowed by passive -igwsurfaces with a short vowel; see p. 94 in §4.2.7.
(19) kɪɪsya ‘make pass, pass through; allow’ <kɪnda ‘pass’
joosya ‘elope with girl; lose’ <jonga ‘run away’
When serving as a typical causative, this extension increases the valency of the verb by one. It introduces an agent that causes the act of the underlying verb
7This can be analyzed either as retention of the compensatory lengthening triggered by the NC cluster or as subsequent deletion of the word-internal non-syllabic nasal plus compensatory lengthening, cf. the first person singular object prefix (§3.3.2.1).
and demotes the original subject to an object. The following examples illustrate this.
(20) elʊsya ‘clean, rinse’ <elʊka ‘become white, clean’
fulasya ‘hurt (tr.)’ <fulala ‘(be)come hurt’
isʊsya ‘fill’ <isʊla ‘(be)come full’
sumusya ‘make stand up, get up’ <sumuka ‘get up, depart’
kusya ‘blow away’ <kula ‘blow (intr.), drift’
Causative -ihas developed idiosyncratic readings with a number of verbs, but it is no longer productive in the present-day language. These issues are dealt with in more detail in §4.2.4.
4.2.3 Causative 2
The extension -ɪsi (allomorphs -esi, -isi, see §4.2.1,) serves to derive causative verbs. -ɪsi is the only causative extension used with monosyllabic verbs and verbs ending in the palatal nasal (21a). It is also the only productive causative in Nyakyusa; see §4.2.4 for discussion.
(21) a. Causatives of monosyllabic verbs:
gwa ‘fall’ >gwɪsya ‘overturn, throw down’
lwa ‘fight’ >lwɪsya ‘cause to fight’
nwa ‘drink’ >nwesya ‘make drink, water’
lya ‘eat’ >lɪɪsya ‘feed’
sya ‘grind’ >syesya ‘make grind’
b. Causatives of bases ending in -ny:
manya ‘know’ >manyisya ‘teach’
pinya ‘bind; detain; fix‘ >pinyisya ‘make bind’
kuunya ‘push, bump’ >kuunyisya ‘make push, bump’
The suffix -ɪsimay be analysed as consisting of two morphemes -ɪs-i. In combi-nation with the reciprocal/associative it often surfaces as -ɪs-an-i; see also §4.3.1.
Also note that any causative followed by the passive -igwsurfaces with a short vowel; see p. 94 in §4.2.7.
(22) lwɪsania ‘make fight each other’ <lwa ‘fight’
sobesania ‘loose each other’ <soba ‘be lost’
Causative2-ɪsiincreases the valency of the verb by one, introducing an agent-causer and demoting the original subject to an object. See (25–27) in §4.2.4 for
4.2 Verbal extensions numerous examples. Causative2can further be used to add an intensive, evalua-tive meaning without changing the verb’s argument structure (23, 24). Such an intensifying use of the causative has also been reported for neighbouring Ndali (Botne 2003a: 73f) and other Bantu languages such as Chewa N20 (Anonymous 1969: 78f), Bemba M42 (van Sambeek 1955: 83–92) and Kalanga S16 (Mathang-wane 2001: 397). For a typological perspective see Kittilä (2009).
(23) i-kʊ-mmw-amul-ɪsy-a 1-prs-1-answer-caus-fv
‘1. S/he makes him/her answer.’
‘2. S/he answered him/her snottily.’ [ET]
(24) i-kʊ-ba-hah-ɪsy-a
1-prs-2-persuade-caus-fv
a-ba-kiikʊlʊ aug-2-woman
‘He goes around proposing to women.’ [ET]