Abstract
AbstractThe close cross-linguistic relation between the domains of space and time has been well described. The frequent emergence of Tense-Aspect-Mood (TAM) markers from deictic motion verbs in particular, has also been extensively detailed in the literature. This paper focusses on the less well-known link between associated motion, a category of functional morphemes expressing (deictic) motion events, and TAM, in a language contact situation. Specifically, it provides a synchronic and diachronic description of three associated motion prefixes,joo-,tóó-andkoo-, found in the Tanzanian Bantu language Rangi, spoken in an area of high linguistic diversity. It proposes that the prefixjoo-encodes movement towards a deictic centre,tóó-encodes movement towards a goal which is not the deictic centre, andkoo-encodes movement away from a deictic centre. It further contends that whiletóó-andkoo-have maintained a purely deictic function,joo-has grammaticalised to assume an additional function whereby it encodes future tense, possibly aided by the absence of a dedicated future tense marker in the language. This three-way morphological encoding of spatial relations on the verb form is not a common characteristic of East African Bantu languages. However, this paper proposes that the system in Rangi can be accounted for on the basis of cross-linguistically widely attested pathways of grammatical change.
Highlights
Bantu languages are known for their complex verbal morphology
This paper has provided an account of three deictic motion prefixes in the Tanzanian Bantu language Rangi
The Tanzanian Bantu language Rangi has a dedicated system for the encoding of motion and direction events which involves the prefixes tóó, joo- and koo- which appear in the verbal complex
Summary
Bantu languages are known for their complex verbal morphology. Numerous studies have focussed on the form and relatedness of the tense-aspect markers encoded in Bantu verb templates, as well as the frequency of the occurrence of various morphological forms across the language family (see, amongst others, Nurse (2003), Nurse and Philippson (2006), Botne and Kershner (2008)). Joo-, tóó- and koo-, the primary function of which is to locate the event encoded by the verb they attach to with respect to a deictic anchor. Joo-, tóó- and koo encode motion events in addition to deictic direction. This can be seen in the examples below. It is used to indicate that the action or event described by the verb is preceded by the motion of a figure towards the deictic centre, which is generally the speaker or the addressee This can be seen in the following examples. 5.forest-LOC ‘And that man of God sent people they went-called him there in the forest’
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