The development of the encoding of deictic motion in the Bantu language Rangi: grammaticalisation and change

Gibson, Hannah; Belkadi, Aicha

Abstract

The 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- and koo- , found in the Tanzanian Bantu language Rangi, spoken in an area of high linguistic diversity. It proposes that the prefix joo- encodes movement towards a deictic centre, tóó- encodes movement towards a goal which is not the deictic centre, and koo- encodes movement away from a deictic centre. It further contends that while tóó- and koo- 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.

Lugha mbalimbali zinaonyesha uhusiano wa karibu wa kiisimu katika kuwasilisha dhana za nafasi na wakati. Wanazuoni wengi wameeleza kwamba viambishi vya wakati, njeo na hali vimetokana na vitenzi, hasa vitenzi vya mwendo. Makala hii inachunguza uhusiano uliopo baina ya ‘mwendo shirikishi’, viambishi tegemezi vya mwendo vinavyohusisha nafasi, na wakati, njeo na hali katika muktadha wa mwingiliano wa lugha mbalimbali. Uhusiano huu haujulikani sana kutokana na kutofanyiwa utafiti wa kutosha. Makala imejikita katika kuelezea viambishi awali vitatu vya mwendo shirikishi katika lugha ya Kibantu ya Tanzania inayoitwa Kirangi, ambavyo ni joo-, tóó na koo- kwa kuzingatia mtazamo wa kihistoria na wa kisasa. Kirangi kinazumgumzwa katika eneo lenye mwingiliano wa lugha mbalimbali. Katika makala hii tunapendekeza kwamba joo- inaonyesha mwendo kuelekea katika kituo, tóó- inaonyesha mwendo ambao hauelekei katika kituo, na koo- inaonyesha mwendo unaotoka katika kituo. Aidha, tunapendekeza kwamba tóó- na koo- zimebaki na matumizi ya kimahali tu, lakini joo- imepewa matumizi ya ziada ya kuonyesha wakati ujao, hali ambayo pengine imesababishwa na ukosefu wa njia ya kimofolojia ya kuonyesha wakati ujao katika lugha ya Kirangi. Mfumo huu wa kuwa na njia tatu za kimofolojia za kuonyesha uhusiano wa nafasi si mfumo wa kawaida katika lugha za kibantu za Afrika ya Mashariki. Hata hivyo, makala hii inapendekeza kwamba mbinu hii inayotumika katika lugha ya Kirangi inaweza kuelezewa kwa kuzingatia mabadiliko ya kisarufi ambayo yamekuwa yakitokea katika lugha mbalimbali ulimwenguni.

Citation

Gibson, H., & Belkadi, A. (2022). The development of the encoding of deictic motion in the Bantu language Rangi: grammaticalisation and change. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 42(2), 191-222. https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2021-2024

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 15, 2022
• Publication Date: Mar 15, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 21, 2022
• Journal: Journal of African Languages and Linguistics
• Print ISSN: 0167-6164
• Electronic ISSN: 1613-3811
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 191-222
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jall-2021-2024
• Keywords: associated motion; Bantu languages; deixis; grammaticalisation; language change; Rangi
• Publisher URL: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jall-2021-2024/html