FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135  
136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   >>   >|  
regions had changed to the modern form of _Ha-_. In S.W. and N.W. Cameroon the initial _p_ of the 16th prefix reappears in two or three dialects; but elsewhere in North-West Bantu Africa and in the whole basin of the Congo, except the extreme south and south-east, the form _Pa-_ is never met with; it is _Va-_, _Wa-_, _Ha-_, _Fa-_, or _A-_. In the _Secuana_ group of dialects it is _Fa-_ or _Ha-_; in the Luyi language of Barotseland it assumes the very rare form of _Ba-_, while the first prefix is weakened to _A-_. The pronouns in Bantu are in most cases traceable to some such general forms as these:-- I, me, my .....................ngi, mi,[16] ngu. Thou, thee, thy................gwe, ku; -ko. He or she, him, her, his, &c...a-, ya-, wa- (nom.); also ngu- (which becomes yu-, ye-, wu-, hu-, u-); -mu (acc.); -ka, -kwe (poss.); there is also another form, ndi (nom. and poss.) in the Western Bantu sphere. We, us, our....................isu, swi-, tu-, ti-; -tu- (acc.); -itu (poss.). Ye, you, your..................inu, mu-, nyu-, nyi-, -ni; -nu, -mu- (acc.); -inu (poss.). They, them, their..............babo, ba-; -ba- (acc.); -babo (poss.). The Bantu verb consists of a practically unchangeable root which is employed as the second person singular of the imperative. To this root are prefixed and suffixed various particles. These are worn-down verbs which have become auxiliaries or they are reduced adverbs or prepositions. It is probable (with one exception) that the building up of the verbal root into moods and tenses has taken place independently in the principal groups of Bantu languages, the arrangement followed being probably founded on a fundamental system common to the original Bantu tongue. The exception alluded to may be a method of forming the preterite tense, which seems to be shared by a great number of widely-spread Bantu languages. This may be illustrated by the Zulu _tanda_, love, which changes to _tandile_, have loved, did love. This _-ile_ or _-ili_ may become in other forms _-idi_, _didi_, _-ire_, _-ine_, but is always referable back to some form like _-ili_
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135  
136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
languages
 

dialects

 

exception

 

prefix

 

prepositions

 
building
 
probable
 

reduced

 
adverbs
 

employed


person

 

singular

 
unchangeable
 

practically

 
consists
 

imperative

 
particles
 
verbal
 

prefixed

 

suffixed


auxiliaries

 

illustrated

 

tandile

 

spread

 

widely

 

shared

 

number

 

referable

 

preterite

 

principal


groups

 
arrangement
 

independently

 

tenses

 

tongue

 
alluded
 

method

 
forming
 

original

 
common

founded
 

fundamental

 
system
 
language
 

Barotseland

 

assumes

 
Secuana
 

traceable

 
general
 

pronouns