Noun classes and plurality in Bantu languages

Marten, Lutz

Abstract

Noun classes are a prominent grammatical feature of Bantu languages where typically each noun (or noun stem) is assigned to one of between fifteen and eighteen noun classes. Noun classes are often analysed as a form of nominal classification system and seen as belonging to the same domain as grammatical gender systems. Number in Bantu languages is mediated by the noun class system and the intricate interaction between noun class and number in Bantu has given rise to different theoretical analyses. The chapter focuses on three approaches to analysing grammatical number in Bantu languages—approaches based on an inflectional notion of number, those which analyse number as a derivational relation, and approaches adopting notions of polysemy and paradigms for analysing Bantu noun class systems.

Citation

Marten, L. (2021). Noun classes and plurality in Bantu languages. In P. Cabredo Hofherr, & J. Doetjes (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number (539-557). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198795858.013.26

• Acceptance Date: Aug 7, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 6, 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 29, 2021
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 539-557
• Book Title: The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number
• ISBN: 9780198795858
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198795858.013.26
• Keywords: noun class systems, inflection, derivation, agreement, paradigm, nominal classification, polysemy, individuation, Bantu, Swahili