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Conclusion
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In this chapter, we have attempted to show what Runyakitara stands for and why its various dialects are considered as mere variations of one homogenous language. After the introduction, we presented the different sounds of Runyakitara in the four sub-systems and indicated the various free and conditional variants attested. As much as possible, we used common examples for all the dialects. Once we had made a phonetic study of the sounds, we proceeded to expose the phonemes that are present in each sub-system, the main criterion being the determination of distinctive features that can be found through minimal pairs. This was not done in detail but enough examples were given to show that the sounds that were considered as phonemes were contrastive. We then proposed two phonological sub-systems and an overall system based on the totality of phonemes identified. It is hoped that a further study of these sounds will lay more emphasis on their acoustic nature, on the supra-segmental features, and on the phonological processes such as assimilation, deletion, fortition, lenition and insertion that may exist in this language.
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References
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Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2003). An introduction to language (7th Edn.). Boston: Thomson Wadsworth. Ndoleriire, O. (1992). Aspects of Runyakitara Segmental Phonology. Makerere Papers in Language and Linguistics, 1(2), 24-63. Kaji, S. (2007). A Rutooro vocabulary. Research Inst. for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Kaji, S. (2015). A Rutooro vocabulary. Kyoto: Shoukadoh. Taylor, C. (1959). Runyankore-Rukiga-English and English-Runyankore-Rukiga Dictionary. Nairobi: The Eagle Press, East African Literature Bureau. Taylor, C. (1978). A teachers' handbook of Runyankore-Rukiga orthography. Kampala: Uganda Literature Bureau. Tucker, A. N. (1964). System of tone-making African languages. Bulletin of Oriental and African Studies, XXIII(3), 611. Vachek, J. (2008). Prague School of Linguistics. In Encyclopaedia of the linguistic sciences: Issues and theories.
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Morphology
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The term 'morphology' has been generally used in science specifically in biology where it denotes the study of the forms of plants and animals. It was first used for linguistic purposes in 1859 by the German linguist August Schleicher (Salmon, 2000) to refer to the study of the form of words. In present-day linguistics, the term 'morphology' refers to the study of the internal structure of words and of the systematic form-meaning correspondences between words (Booij, 2012). Morphology is an essential subfield of linguistics. According to Hamawand (2011), morphology generally aims to describe the structures of words and patterns of word formation in a language. Specifically, it aims to: (i) pin down the principles for relating the form and meaning of morphological expressions, (ii) explain how the morphological units are integrated and the resulting formations interpreted, and (iii) show how morphological units are organized in the lexicon in terms of similarity and contrast. The study of morphology uncovers the lexical resources of language, helps speakers to acquire the skills of using them creatively and, consequently, express their thoughts and emotions with fluency.
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Morphological Typology
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Languages of the world have been classified using various criteria, one of which is morphology; that is, based on their language structure. Linguistics has traditionally classified world languages based on their structure into four broad categories according to Spencer (1991): isolating, agglutinating, inflectional/fusion and polysynthetic languages. Isolating/analytic languages are languages with limited morphological processes except for compounding. Here, separate grammatical concepts tend to be conveyed by separate words and not by morphological processes. In other words, it is a language in which almost every word consists of a single morpheme. Languages such as Chinese, Vietnamese are regarded as isolating languages. Agglutinating languages are languages with many morpheme-based words and each morpheme corresponds to a single lexical meaning or grammatical function. It has been noted that most Bantu languages, including Runyakitara group, are agglutinative. Inflectional/fusion languages refer to languages where words change form because of all sorts of grammatical categories such as tense, mood, agreement, etc. Polysynthetic languages - language in which words tend to consist of several morphemes. Polysynthetic languages have a high morpheme to word ratio. Classifying languages in this manner has been criticized as inconsistent and useless. The inconsistency is such that no language has been found to exist in one category exclusively. For example, English can have isolating, inflectional and agglutinating features. Secondly, the classification is considered useless because there is nothing interesting that comes out as a result of classifying languages this way. This classification, however, is still referred to and forms a basis for understanding languages' structural behaviour. In addition, there is no better typology that has been suggested that challenges the existing one.
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Morphological Typology and Runyakitara Morphology
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Runyakitara has isolating features where a word expresses meaning without being split further, for example, words such as eego (yes) ngaaha (no) and busha (nothing) in Runyankore-Rukiga exhibit features of isolating morphology. Agglutination is the main morphological type of Runyakitara. Words consist of many morphemes, each adding meaning or grammatical function to a word; for example, the Runyankore-Rukiga form tukundane agglutinates as follows: 2pp-love-vf-rec-subjunctive (Let us love one another) tu,a,n tu,a,n and e e have been added to the verb root kund, each adding a meaning or grammatical function to the main verb root. Runyakitara also has features of fusion or can also find itself in inflectional categories. Take an example of the noun, omuntu (person). Mu serves two functions: it is a class marker for the People Class and it marks number, which is singular. Therefore, omuntu inflects for both class and number.
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What is a morpheme?
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According to Bloomfield, the father of structural linguistics (Bloomfield, 1933, pp. 161-168), a morpheme can be decribed as a minimal meaningful element of a word. The word, muhe (give him/her) in Runyankore-Rukiga, has three morphemes: mu mu, the subject pronoun "him/her", and h h, the verb root of "give", and e e is a verb end marking subjunctive. The three units making up the word form mu−h−e mu−h−e are explained in detail: a) each unit is meaningful; b) the units cannot further be sub-divided, thus indicating that they are the smallest; c) each of these units contributes meaning or grammatical function to a word. One of the facts about morphemes is that they have a physical (phonological and phonetic) form and also a meaning or function within the grammatical system (Spencer, 1991). A physical form of a morpheme is a morph or a word segment that represents a morpheme in sound and writing. Writing, for example, the word okusindika (to push), is represented by four morphs: o-ku-sindik-a, each representing a morpheme. A common example is the English past tense spelled as '-ed'. It has various morphs: It is realised as [t] after the voiceless [p] of 'jump' (cf. 'jumped'), as [d] after the voiced [l] of 'repel' (cf. 'repelled'), and as [əd] after the voiceless [t] of 'root' or the voiced [d] of 'wed' (cf. 'rooted' and 'wedded'). The various morphs mentioned here represent one morpheme called past tense. The different realisations or alternative forms of a single morpheme are called allomorphs. Allomorphs in Runyakitara are well elaborated by a causative morpheme that is realised as es in ku-reeb-es-a, or make to see; is in ku-kwat-is-a, to (make to catch/touch); y y in ku-ham-y-a, to (make firm). The appearance of one morph over another, in this case, is determined by voicing and the place of articulation of the final consonant of the verb stem.
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Identifying morphemes and morphs
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Morphemes are identified according to their nature/type:
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Free morphemes
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A free morpheme is a linguistic unit that can stand on its own and serve as a morpheme and a word. A free morpheme is also called unbound morpheme because no other morphemes are attached. Examples: The above are free morphemes which act as words as well. In each one of the above words, it is difficult to discern more than a single meaning. Such words are said to be monomorphic words.
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Bound morphemes
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Consider the following words from Runyoro-Rutooro and learn how morphemes can be identified: In the above words, one might find more than one morpheme, hence, meaning for example: o-mu-saija: o - represents the initial vowel, which is capable of assuming specific functions in a sentence; mu mu is the class prefix for humans as well as marking singular; saija is the root for man. In omulimi, the final - i i is to be considered as a different morph because it serves to nominalise the action of the verb kulima. The verb ku-lim-a changes into a noun o-mu-lim-i through a derivational process. We will meet derivation in the following sections. In okulindirra: We could also examine the following sentences: i) Titumumanyire. We don't know him. ii) Akatusangaho. He found us there. These can be broken down as follows: ti-tu-mu-many-ire a-ka-tu-sang-a-ho In (i), morphemes and morphs are: In the second example, the morphemes and morphs are: As can be seen from the above, bound morphemes do not have complete meanings but some "segment" of meanings. The mere fact that −a −a at the end of a verb can help in distinguishing azina, "he sings," from azine, "let him sing," shows that −a −a is a different morph from −e −e, the former expressing an indicative (or declarative) and the latter a subjunctive or an indirect order. In a language that is familiar, and more especially in a language that is unfamiliar, one proceeds by partial comparisons of word segments. Let us examine them in Runyoro-Rutooro: In examining the above word forms one can come to some conclusions. For instance, simply by working at the translations, one can suppose that -zin- or -zina seems to have the meaning of sing or to sing! This is because this segment is recurrent in all the examples and there is always sing in the translation. On the other hand, ku ku - means the infinitive to. In order to confirm this, one can look for examples from other verbs such as: With these examples, one could provisionally conclude that ku ku - stands for the infinitive. The sound n n - stands for the 1st person singular. One can compare the following verbs. In the above cases, there is always the presence of n n - with the translation of l l. One can therefore conclude that n n - is l.ka l.ka - stands for the distant past as opposed to −li −li-,- which works like the distant future whereas raa (or ra) is the near future. By comparing segments such as: One provisionally confirms that -li-, -raa- and -ka- are morphs for the distant future, near future, and distant past, respectively. Morphemes are described as having different types according to the place they occupy in a word or segment, the role they play and the forms they take.
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Roots and Affixes
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Runyakitara, like other Bantu languages, is classified as an agglutinating language, where a word is capable of having one root with several affixes attached to it and assuming different functions. In the following words in Runyankore-Rukiga, roots and affixes are illustrated: In the above examples, we can obtain the following roots:
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Inflectional and Derivational Affixes in Runyakitara
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Affixes are characterised either as inflectional or derivational. a) Inflectional Affixes: They are those which refer to aspects of grammar such as person, gender, number, tense, aspect, mood and are often called grammatical categories. are all inflectional affixes expressing person ( a− a− ), tense ( −ka− −ka− ), person ( tu− tu− ) and mood ( −a −a ). In the word o-ku-gum-is-ir-iz-a, o- and -ku- are inflectional affixes expressing the infinitive. On the other hand, -is-, -ir-, -iz- are not inflectional affixes but verb extensions. −a −a could be said to be inflectional because it also participates in expressing the infinitive mood. b) Derivational Affixes: These may modify the meaning of a word but do not refer to the grammatical categories talked about above. They may or may not change the class of a word, e.g. from noun to verb or from adjective to noun, etc. When derivational affixes change the class of words, we have instances when a verb can become a noun as indicated below: Here, the suffix −i −i is a derivational affix, which changes a verb into a noun. Other examples could be: okwombeka to build From the verb okwombeka, we can derive the following nouns: The above examples demonstrate that we can derive different nouns from the verb okwombeka. The final vowel of the verb, which is the suffix −a −a, becomes −i −i when the derived noun is an agent or doer of action. The derived nouns are assigned Class 1 and 2; that is, noun classes for human. The final −a −a becomes −o −o when the derived noun is an instrument or a place, as shown by the Runyankore-Rukiga examples below: Instrument: okukondoora (to sweep): ekikondoozo (broom) (typically Rk) Place: okushima (to learn/study): e-i-shom-er-o (a school - a place where people receive education) okuriisa (to graze): e−i e−i-riis-iz-,-o (a grazing place) Derived nouns with semantic meaning of place or location are assigned Class 5 and 6 , while the instruments are typically placed in Classes 7 and 8 (see Noun Class on p.71). Nouns derived from verbs are termed deverbal nouns. A deverbal noun can take the final vowel as −a,i−,o,−e −a,i−,o,−e depending on the meaning to be encoded. The process of deriving nouns from verbs is called nominalisation.
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Derived proper names
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A big percentage of family names among Banyankore-Bakiga are derived from verbs; and most of these names have a religious undertone. The process of deriving proper names is more complicated and involves pronominal forms. Take the example of the verb okukunda, to love. A number of proper names can be derived by adding or changing the pronominal forms: Rukundo (ru-kund-o) Love Kukundakwe (ku-kund-a-ku-e) His love Atukunda (a-tu-kund-a) He loves us (habitual) Naatukunda (ni-a-tu-kund-a) He loves us Tumukunde (tu-mu-kund-e) Let us love Him Nankunda (ni-a-n-kund-a) He loves me Ankunda (a-n-kund-a) He (always) loves me 8. Mukundane (mu-kund-a-n-e) Love one another Such names are usually given according to the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child (Karwemera, 1994). Most of these names are unisex. Such names are quite common among some cultures in Bantu-speaking communities, although not all. Luganda, for instance does not use such names. Among the Banyakitara, especially Banyankore and Bakiga, such names became common with the spread of Christianity because they became more inclined to accepting religious beliefs (Muranga, 1990). On the other hand, there are nouns that are derived from adjectives. The process of deriving nouns from adjectives is called adjectivisation. It is possible to derive nouns from adjectives as the following examples from Runyankore-Rukiga indicate: Notice that all the nouns derived from adjectives fall in Class 14 (see the discussion on Noun Classes). European languages have more striking examples of inflectional and derivational affixes. In English, deceived [disi:vd] is broken up as: [di-si:v-d] de-ceiv-ed in which case de- is a derivational morpheme expressing the "opposite" while -ed is an inflectional morpheme that expresses the past tense.
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Morphemes and Allomorphs
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Allomorphs are to morphemes as allophones are to phonemes. An allomorph represents a certain manifestation of a morpheme in determined conditions. For instance, some Runyakitara verbs show certain modifications in their roots in specific circumstances, for example ( Rn/Rt Rn/Rt ): When the above verbs are followed by the perfective -ire or the near past -irege, the roots change as follows:
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Nominal Morphology in Runyakitara
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Runyakitara, like other Bantu languages, has an intricate noun system. According to Demuth (2000), Noun Classes are grammatical elements rather than independent lexical items. Noun Classes are determined by the grammatical number (singular or plural) semantics (animate or inanimate) and arbitrary (Katamba, 2003; Eikenvald, 2006). In Runyakitara, we can add that where a class has no prefix to determine the grammatical number, the concord serves a basis for determining its class. Runyakitara nouns can be broken down into three major parts, namely: initial vowel, noun class prefix, and noun root. Examples are: o-mu-ntu (a person) o-mu-ti (a tree) a-ba-ana (children) e−n−te e−n−te (cow) e e-ki-tooke (bananas) e e-i-tungo/i-tungo (wealth)
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Initial Vowel
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Nouns in Runyakitara usually have an initial vowel. There are three main initial vowels, namely: a− as in a−ba−ntue− as in e−ki−tookeo− as in o−mu−ntu a− as in a−ba−ntu e− as in e−ki−tooke o− as in o−mu−ntu There are certain rules that govern the occurrence of the initial vowel. i) If the Noun Class prefix has the vowel −a −a, e.g.: ba,ma ba,ma, the initial vowel will be a a. Thus: a a-ma-ta (milk) abakazi (women). ii) The initial vowel will be −e −e - if the noun class prefix has /−/ /−/ or /i/ /i/ e.g.: e e-ki-tooke, a banana bunch, e−n−te e−n−te, a cow, e−n e−n-taama, a sheep. The initial vowel will be /o/ if the Noun Class prefix has /u/. Examples are omuntu, a person, and ghuta, bow.
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Runyakitara Noun Classes
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The Noun Class system used in this analysis has borrowed a lot from Katamba (2003) and Taylor (1985). Katamba (2003) provides a detailed comparative analysis of different classification systems, singling out the Bleek-Meinhof system, and its revisions, as standard. This has provided important insights for the analysis of Runyakitara. To cater for the needs of Runyakitara, Taylor (1985) details a classification system of its nouns, describing 17 classes, but with few or limited sub-classes. Katushemererwe & Hanneforth (2010) devised a Noun Class system for Runyankore-Rukiga based on Katamba (2003) and Taylor (1985) classification systems. The system we describe below ( Ry/Rk Ry/Rk ) is an enhancement of the previous classification systems and has been devised for the specific needs of Runyakitara.
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Trees and Plants
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There are nouns in this class which will not change number, i.e. they remain in plural form and are marked by 4 a in the table e.g. e-mi-gyend-ere (the way of moving), e-mi-reeb-ere (way of seeing). Class 5 (RI/LI): This class is marked by -ri/li- prefix. Belonging to this class are hard, flat objects, some parts of human anatomy, natural objects, mass nouns, abstract nouns and names depicting time, weather or seasons. a) Parts of Human Anatomy
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- Mass Nouns
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Abstract Nouns a-ma-ani strength a-ma-gezi/amagyezi a-ma-rara (Rn/Rt) (Rn/Rt) pride a-ma-iru intense desire; craving for a-ma-kuru news a-ma-hano miracles It should be noted that when used with borrowed words, sometimes -ri-/-ili- disappears in the singular but -ma- is maintained in the plural. This also happens in other classes we will meet in the sections to follow: Class 7 (KI): This is a class commonly known as the things/objects class and animals. It mainly consists of animate and inanimate but also abstract objects as exemplified below: A category of nouns in this class that will not change its number, that is, will have a singular class prefix and will not change to plural includes abstract nouns. Examples: Feelings and other abstract nouns Class 8 (BI): A class marked by a class prefix -bi-, a plural form of -ki-. It includes nouns in Class 7, which change into plural plus nouns that do not change into singular. Examples are listed below: Nouns which belong to this class and do not change from plural to singular are exemplified below: Class 9/10 (N Class): This class could rightly be called the animal class as it covers most animal names. The n n - prefix usually represents both singular and plural. This class also covers nouns from other languages. Examples include: a) Animals b) Abstract nouns c) Nominalized verbs emphasizing the way an action is carried out These are usually abstract in nature as can be seen below: d) Someone doing something as a habit or a profession These nouns are usually derived from verbs as can be seen below: e) Names of cows and bananas Many names of bananas and cows (the female that have given birth) are found in this class as can be seen in the examples below from Runyoro-Rutooro:
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f) Foreign nouns
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Many nouns borrowed from other languages are found in this class. Some have only the initial vowel e e-, while others have neither the initial vowel nor the class prefix as can be seen below:
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Morpho-phonological Rule
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When n n precedes h,n h,n changes to m m and h h changes to p p. This eventually becomes a nasal compound e.g. e-n-hunu, changes to e-m-punu. Also, when n n precedes b b, it changes into m m, e.g. e-n-bwa changes to e-m-bwa. Class 11 (RU): This class is marked by -ru- in singular and covers several general things. The plural is class 10 marker -n-. Examples are: a) Insects b) Household Items c) Names of languages Note that there is normally no plural for a specific language.
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d) Names of bulls and he-goats
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These examples are from Runyoro-Rutooro:
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Wa and Nya Noun Prefixes
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This is a special type of pre-prefixing in Runyakitara. Wa- is prefixed to animals and birds in class 6 . This is used mostly in folk tales for personification. When personification is used, the nouns are like those in the class 1&2 1&2, although the nouns maintain their original noun class prefixes; for example: For example, Wante aine ihembe. Mr. Cow has a horn. Nya- is used with the Class 1 and 2 especially when the speaker does not want to reveal the name of the person she is talking about, for example:
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Aspects of the Nominalisation Process
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There are cases when a Runyakitara verb functions like a noun involving some morphophonological transformation. This can be seen when a verb at the infinitive, that is, beginning with the prefix ku ku-, has its final vowel −a −a transformed into another vowel, like in the examples below: The nominalising vowel suffixes are usually i i - as in o-mu-koz-i "a worker", or -o as in o-mu-kor-o "function". This vowel can also be −e −e as in o-ku-jund-a "to rote", or can remain -a like in e-n-gend-a "way of walking". It can also be −u −u in o-muf-u "dead person" from o-ku-fa "to die". We also note that it is not only the vowel suffix that can bring it about by a change in class prefix such as: From ku ku - to n−n n−n or ki ki-bi or mu−ba mu−ba etc, as in: In the above cases, the infinitive class prefix ku ku - has been transformed into class ki ki-bi or n−n n−n, a process which has brought about nominalisation. It is also worth noting that when the nominalisation suffix is vowel i i-, this sometimes brings about a modification in the verb root. This usually happens when the verb root ends with t t, d,∫,3 d,∫,3 or r r, as in the examples below for Runyankore-Rukiga. In the above examples, t t transforms into s,∫ s,∫ transforms into s s while d,3 d,3 and r r are transformed into z z. Normally, other verbs whose roots do not end with the consonants mentioned above, do not undergo any transformation, as in the following examples in Runyoro-Rutooro. The above is simply indicative of the morphological processes that occur when nominalization takes takes place. A more detailed study of this phenomenon will be undertaken later.
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The Morphology of the Pronoun in Runyakitara
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In traditional grammar, a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. A pronoun can do all what a noun can do; for instance, it can be a subject, a direct object, an indirect object etc. Pronouns are used mainly to keep nouns from being repeated or when nouns are not clearly known. In Runyakitara, pronouns are categorized as follows:
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Personal Pronouns
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In the grammatical sense, a personal pronoun is a pronoun that is associated primarily with a particular person. In Runyakitara, personal pronouns can further be sub-divided into: (i) Independent pronouns, and (ii) Dependent pronouns. a) Independent Personal Pronouns: The personal pronouns are usually used for emphasis and can stand independently. They may function both as subjects and objects in a sentence. They include: Examples, as subjects: Nyowe ndwaire I am sick Nibanywa naitwe They are drinking with us b) Dependent Personal Pronouns: These pronouns cannot stand independently as those in a) above. They are not meaningful in their own respect. They must be attached to a verb. Each noun class has its own pronouns. Here, we shall look at the pronouns for the class 1&2 1&2. Example
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Other types of pronouns in Runyakitara
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(1) Demonstrative pronouns: These pronouns point out someone or something. For instance, (Ry/Rk): a) Maama ampaire ekikopo eki my mother gave me this cup b) Ninkunda eki I like this eki in (a) above is a demonstrative adjective, while in (b) is a demonstrative pronoun. Demonstrative pronouns in Runyankore-Rukiga are indicated in the table below: The sentences below could illustrate the table above: i) Ziriya zaanywa, kwonka ezi tizaanywa. (Those have drunk, but these have not.) ii) Ago nigoosya, kwonka aga gahozire. (That is hot, but this one is cold.) iii) Ebi bite aho haza biri obireete. (Put these there, and bring those here.) It should be noted that where a class is followed by (pl) or "plural', e.g. 2 (pl), the English translation should not be 'this' but 'those' or 'those here', 'those there' and 'those 'far' as the case may be. Ori and oriya tend to be used interchangeably among Banyankore-Bakiga with Banyankore tending to use 'ori' than 'oriya' to mean 'that far'. Class 14 (tu) can either be a plural (otukazi - tiny little women) or collective (otutaka - a tiny amount of soil). In the first case, 'these' or 'those' will be used while in the second case 'this' or 'that' will be used. What has been said in the previous paragraph also applies to the Runyoro-Rutooro examples below. In Runyoro-Rutooro the corresponding demonstrative pronouns would be the following:
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Noun Class
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(4) Cardinal Pronouns: These are cardinal numbers that can serve in the place of nouns as stand-alone pronouns. In Runyakitara, counting is done as follows:
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The Morphology of the Adjective
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An adjective is a word which qualifies a noun by describing its size, colour, shape etc. Although there is no universally adopted definition of an adjective, it is agreed that they are modifiers, qualifiers, and describers of nouns. Adjectives explain more about words (nouns and pronouns) by answering questions such as what kind, which one, and how many. In Bantu languages, adjectives have been labelled as 'true' adjectives, and adjectives which function in the place of other word categories especially pronouns. In this book, we have instead borrowed from Segerer (2008) the term primary adjectives as the appropriate term in relation to what we are referring to. A classical feature of the primary adjectives in Bantu languages is that they follow a noun they qualify (Segerer, 2008). A typical primary adjective in Runyakitara consists of three morphological elements. The first morpheme is the optional Initial Vowel, which, when available, has some syntactic function(s) to the noun/whole sentence. Next, is the nominal agreement prefix which is the same as the nominal class prefix of the noun. The third element is the adjective root, which contains the basic meaning of the adjective. This is exemplified as follows: From the above example, the adjective o-mu-rungi, which qualifies omwana has three segments as: o- initial vowel (IV) mu- class marker rungi-adjective root 'good' Some of the primary adjective roots in Runyakitara include: Note that these adjectives can be used to describe nouns from any noun class where applicable. The adjective concords for the above adjectives are the same as the noun class prefixes for instance: omushaija (man) muhango (big) abashaija bahango, (big men) omuserukare omudoma (the stupid soldier) An adjective can qualify (describe) two nouns belonging to the same noun class by using the plural prefix for that noun class. Examples are: Omuhyo gunu na guli mi-kooto (Rn/Rt) This knife and that one are big. Ekitabo eki na kiri ni bi-hango (Ry/Rk) This book and that one are big. However, if the nouns belong to different noun classes, then the bi-is used. For example: Enjoka n'ekikyere birwaine The snake and the frog fought. (N-class) (KI-class) (BI- prefix) Primary adjectives in Runyakitara can also stand independently and serve as nouns as follows: Omurungi tabura kamogo Even the beautiful one may have a 'scar' Omukye yaija wenka The small one has come alone Omumafu akunda okurya The lazy one enjoys eating The primary adjectives will be opposed to secondary adjectives. A good number of linguists are not convinced that this category should be called adjectives. These are in effect pronouns but which can also be considered as adjectives when they appear with a noun. For purposes of convenience, we shall consider them as secondary adjectives. The following are considered as secondary adjectives in this book: i) Demonstrative adjectives ii) Interrogative adjectives iii) Possessive adjectives iv) Cardinal adjectives v) Ordinal adjectives vi) Indefinite adjectives.
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Cardinal numbers as Adjectives in Runyakitara
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In most language descriptions, cardinal numbers are treated separately from adjectives. However, in other cases, as pointed out by Segerer (2008), some of the cardinal numerals show exactly the same morphological and syntactical features as the adjectives. In Runyakitara, Cardinal numerals describe the number of a noun as in the following cases: The Runyankore-Rukiga ombi'- ombi' meaning 'both' can also be used as an adjective of number. For example: abaana ba-ombi both children (children both) It is important to note that numerals can also be used independently, that is, on their own, and in this case, they serve as nouns as illustrated in the following example: Itaano yangye yaaza hi? Where is my five? Egi ni mukaaga This is six Igana ryangye rikuzire My herd/hundred is old
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Ordinal numbers as adjectives in Runyakitara
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Ordinal numbers which serve as adjectives show the order of the nouns being described. In Runyakitara, the ordinal adjective is introduced by the particle composed of an initial vowel, the subject pronoun of the noun in question and a possessive marker -a. Examples include: abantu abaamukaaga (people in the 6th 6 th position) Initial vowel Noun prefix Possessive a- ba- a- particle. abasaija abaikumi nababiri (Class 2) embuzi ezaamusanju (class 10) ekisembo ekyakabiri (class 7) Therefore, for any noun to be described as an ordinal number, it will have to be introduced by the possessive particle as described above.
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Demonstratives as Adjectives in Runyakitara
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These are adjectives that point at the person or thing to separate it from the others. In Runyoro-Rutooro, there are three main positions described, namely: this near and touchable that near but visible that far, visible or invisible. Examples
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Possessives as adjectives in Runyakitara
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These are words that describe ownership of something. The ownership they describe is that of a noun, therefore, they are possessive adjectives. In classes 1 and 2 (people class) they are as follows: For class 1&2 1&2, the possessive adjective takes the subject pronoun for the noun possessed. For example: ekitabu ki-ange my book etaara ya-itu our lantern/lamp Possession for the other noun classes is also marked in a similar manner. Examples are: omukira gw'ente The cow's tail otwino tw'embeba The rat's nice teeth obumanzi bw'enkoko The hen's bravery Note that the possessive marker is initially a a - (see paragraph 1 above) which is preceded by the subject pronoun of the noun that is possessed by somebody or something. The possessive marker contains the subject pronoun and the possessive marker. Example are: omukira gu-a-ente gua ente ⟶a⟶ ⟶a⟶ gu-ente ⟶ ⟶ gw'ente
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Indefinite pronouns as adjectives in Runyakitara
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These are the kind of adjectives that describe a noun without giving full information about it. They include the following: Examples Abantu abandi Other people 2. Omuntu ondi Another person 3. Ente endiijo Another cow 4. Boona ka baije Let all of them come 5. Ka baije bonka Let them come with nobody else 6. Abantu ni baingi omu nsi There are many people in the world 7. Buri omwe naashabwa kuha omushoro Everybody is asked to pay tax 8. Abagenyi baizirege bake The visitors have come in few numbers
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Interrogatives as Adjectives in Runyakitara
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Interrogative adjectives are added to a noun about which more information is sought. They include: Examples are: Kintu ki? Omwegyesa oha? Which thing? Which teacher? Abakazi baingahi? How many women? Purezidenti wa Uganda n'oha? Who is the President of Uganda? Eiguru ririmu enyonyoozi zingahi? How many stars are in the sky?
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Conclusion
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This chapter has shed light on the general concepts pertaining to morphology. It went on to examine the noun and those other parts of speech that are usually associated with the noun, namely, the pronoun and the adjective. Runyakitara has an elaborate noun classification system worth noting, but a simple noun structure. A simple nominal morphology centres on the fact that the majority of the nouns in Runyakitara constitute only three morphemes: the pre-prefix, the prefix, and the root. A noun suffix occurs as a nominaliser from derivation processes. A pronoun, which stands in the place of a noun, too, has a simple structure but a detailed categorisation sysyem. A simple structure in a sense that it occurs as a single morpheme, either free or bound. Detailed categorisation relates to the fact that pronouns are either personal or impersonal. Personal pronouns are classified as independent and dependent. Each noun class in Runyakitara has its own dependent pronoun either functioning as a subject or object when in combination with verbs. The next chapter will essentially deal with the verb and those other parts of speech closely related to the verb.
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References
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Bloomfield, L. (1933). Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Booij, G. (2012). The grammar of words: An introduction to linguistic morphology. London: Oxford University Press. Demuth, K. (2000). Bantu noun class systems: Loan word and acquisition evidence of semantic productivity. In G. Senft, & S. C. Levinson (Eds.). Systems of nominal classification (Vol. 4) (pp. 270-292). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Eikenvald, A. Y. (2006). Classifiers and noun classes: Semantics. In K. Brown (Ed.). encyclopedia of language and linguistics (Vol. 1) (pp. 463-471). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Hamawand, Z. (2011). Morphology in English: Word formation in cognitive grammar. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. Karwemera, F. (1994). Emicwe n'emigyenzo y'Abakiga. Kampala: Fountain Publishers Ltd. Katamba, F. (Ed.) (2003). Morphology: Critical concepts in linguistics. London, UK: Routledge. Katushemererwe, F. & Hanneforth, T. (2010). Finite state methods in morphological analysis of Runyakitara verbs. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 19(1), 1-22. Muranga, M. J. K. (1990). Pessimistic nomenclature in South West Uganda. Makerere Papers in Languages and Linguistics, 1, 64-87. Rubongoya, L. T. (1999). A modern Runyoro-Rutooro grammar. Cologne: Rudiger Koppe Verlag. Rugemalira, J. (2007). The structure of the Bantu noun phrase. SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics, 15, 135-148. Salmon, G. (2000). Generative morphology. London, UK: Oxford University Press. Segerer, G. (2008). Closed adjective classes and primary adjectives in African languages. Retrieved from: https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00255943. Spencer, A. (1991). Morphological theory: An introduction to word structure in generative grammar. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Taylor, C. (1985). Croom descriptive drammars: Nkore-Kiga. London: Croom Helm.
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Footnotes
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1 1 A stem can be simply defined as an extended root. In Runyakitara, when the verb final −a −a is added to the root as on -zin- "sing", it becomes a stem: zina. ↩
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Introduction
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This study will analyse tense and aspect as they relate to the Runyakitara language. In this particular study, the concept of tense and aspect as they relate to Runyakitara (Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga) will have the following meaning: Tense: the action of the verb seen at a given moment in time. Aspect: the internal nature of an action, i.e. the action seen at its beginning, at its end, as on-going, as completed, etc. In other words, the way the action is perceived. Guillaume (1970) defines aspect as the time of a process seen from its internal developments. Aspect as a concept could also refer to the inherent nature of an action within the verb as a lexeme. For instance, the action in the Runyakitara verb kuzina (to dance) is perceived by its own nature as having a certain duration. On the other hand, in the Runyakitara verb kunaga (to drop) one does not see this inherent duration in the action. Furthermore, in both tense and aspect, adverbs or adverbial phrases can be used to express different tenses (moments in time) or aspects (the way the action is perceived). For instance, in the Runyakitara sentence akaija ijo (he came yesterday or the day before yesterday) the moment in time is not only expressed by the tense marker ka ka but also by the adverb ijo (yesterday or the day before yesterday). In the same way, in the sentence nitubaza mpora (we are talking slowly) the way the action is perceived can be seen in the tense/aspect marker ni, the verb lexeme baza (talk), since talking always takes time, as well as the adverb mpora (slowly). In the present study, it is important to point out that tense and aspect will be analysed as they are expressed through their markers or morphemes, for example: ni - present, progressive, ka ka - far past, et cetera.
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Theoretical Approaches
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This study does not pretend to propound any new theory for the analysis of tense and aspect in Runyakitara. The main thrust will be the identification of morphemes or markers that can be said to express tense, aspect of both. Those morphemes normally appear in three contexts, namely: In a simple verb form, for example: ni-tu-zin-a we are dancing Where ni ni - present progressive tu-1st person plural, subject zin-verb 'dance' a a - verb final In a compound verb form, for example: tu - ka-ba ni-tu-zin-a we were dancing Where −ka− −ka− for past ba ba-auxiliary verb (to be) zin-main verb (dance) The other morphemes remain the same 3) In a simple verb form containing several markers expressing tense, aspect, negation and other concepts, for example: ni-tu-ki-a-zin-a (we are still dancing) Where −ki−a −ki−a indicates an action or process still going on 4) In a compound verb form where the main verb is like in No. 3 above, for example: tu-ka-ba ni-tu-ki-a-zin-a (we were still dancing) The approach will mainly consist of identifying the contexts in which the tense and aspect markers occur as well as the different combinations possible among these different markers, especially as far as compound verb forms are concerned. The other step in the analysis will consist in determining the roles or functions that those different markers have. The study falls therefore in the well-known areas of distributional and functional approaches.
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The Verb in Runyakitara
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The simplest form of the Runyakitara verb is in the imperative, for example: One notes that the simplest verb form is made up of the verb root and the verb final −a −a. The next form in simplicity is the infinitive, for example: A very complex verb form in Runyakitara could be something of the type below in Runyoro-Rutooro version: ti-tu-ka-ba-teer-a-ho-ga We have never beaten them at all 2 2 Where: A very complex and compound verb form could be: tu-ka-ba tu-ta-ka-ba-teer-a-ho-ga We had never beaten them at all Where everything remains the same as in the previous example except that the action is put in the past by the presence of the far past tense −ka −ka - and the auxiliary −ba −ba (to be). Furthermore, the negation marker shifts from first to second position and instead of ti ti - it is transformed into the allomorph -ta-. As indicated earlier, the tense and aspect markers will be examined as they appear in simple verb forms, in compound verb forms, in simple verb forms consisting of more than one tense/aspect marker or other markers (sometimes called complex verb forms) and in compound complex 'verb forms'.
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Markers in the Simple Verb Forms
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The tense/aspect markers in simple verb forms are sometimes the same and sometimes different in Runyoro-Rutooro and in Runyankore-Rukiga. A few of them are specific to Rukiga on the one hand and to Runyoro on the other.
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Tense Markers in Ry-Rk
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ka - far past 1 rya far future
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Examples in Ry-Rk
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tu−ka−mu−siim−a tu−ka−mu−siim−a We thanked him we fear him verb final past thank tu−rya−mu−reeb−a tu−rya−mu−reeb−a We shall see him we far him verb final future see (in the distant future) The following should be noted: Runyoro-Rutooro has four pure tenses while Runyankore-Rukiga has two. The far past -ka- in Runyoro-Rutooro refers to an action which took place approximately from 24 hours onwards in the past. In Runyankore-Rukiga it is from 48 hours onwards in the past. The main criterion for determining a pure tense marker is its capacity to combine with aspect markers or with itself. More will be said about this when we talk about compound verb forms.
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Tense/Aspect Markers
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There are markers which express both tense and aspect more or less in the same environment. They will again be given in Runyoro-Rutooro and in Runyankore-Rukiga.
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Runyoro-Rutooro
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Runyakitara Language Studies: A Guide for Advanced Learners and Teachers of Runyakitara ∅ ∅ - present, habitual Runyankore-Rukiga Examples in Runyoro-Rutooro progressive 'We are going to read/we are going to school' a - genz - ire ku - som - a he V perf. inf V final 'He has gone to read/to school' Examples in Runyankore-Rukiga ni - tu - gyend - a ku - shom - a present we V. final inf. V final progressive We are going to read/to school. We often/usually go to school. ba - aa - ri - a they perfect verb final ba iz ire they V recent past o - bu - ro They have eaten millet. iv cl millet nyomwebazyo They came yesterday. yesterday One notes here that the perfect -ire in Runyoro-Rutooro corresponds to the recent past - ire in Runyankore-Rukiga. However, - ire is not only a tense in Runyankore-Rukiga. Just as in RunyoroRutooro, it can express what we may call the 'stative aspect' i.e. being in a certain state, for example: As we shall see in compound verb forms, -ire has the capacity to combine with itself, one form expressing tense and the other aspect, for example: Runyoro-Rutooro 'He had come' (no too long ago, some minutes ago). Runyankore-Rukiga 'He had come yesterday'. Special mention should be made here of the aspect/tense maker −a−∼−aa −a−∼−aa-. It has several functions as indicated below: As an immediate past in Runyoro-Rutooro: a−ba−ojoba−a−hik−a a−ba−ojoba−a−hik−a iv cl boys pron imm. arrive of subj past As perfect or perfective in Runyankore-Rukiga a−ba− a−ba− shaija ba−a−ij−a ba−a−ij−a iv cl man pron perf come vf subj As something on the verge of happening, something imminent, in both Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga The tree is going to hit you/is on the verge of hitting you! (So, be careful!) 4. As a past narrative in both Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga. This will be explained further at the end of this chapter.
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Runyoro
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−ku− −ku− present, progressive
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Rukiga
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−ra− −ra− present, progressive Whereas in Runyankore and in Rutooro, almost everybody uses ni ni - as the present progressive, for example: ni -mu - kor - a - ki What are you doing? present you V final what progressive Most Rukiga speakers would say: mu−ra−kor−a−ki What are you doing? you present V final What progressive mu−ra−kor−a−ki What are you doing? you present V final What progressive and most Runyoro speakers would say: mu−ku−kor−a−ki What are you doing? you present V final what progressive mu−ku−kor−a−ki What are you doing? you present V final what progressive
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The Habitual in Runyakitara
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For most speakers in Runyoro-Rutooro, the habitual is expressed by the ∅ ∅ morpheme, as in the following examples: Ruhanga a−∅ a−∅-gonz - a aba-ntu be God loves his people. God he love cl people his a a - ba - ana ba - ∅ ∅ hurr - aa - ba -zaire Children obey parents. iv cl child they obey final iv cl parent However, in some instances, Rutooro speakers use ni ni - and Runyoro speakers −ku −ku - to express the habitual, for example: ni - tu - som - a mu siniya We go to secondary school. present we read final in Senior progressive Secondary The above sentence would mostly be heard among Rutooro speakers while Runyoro speakers would say: tu - ku - som - a mu siniya We go to Secondary School. We present read final in Senior Prog. Secondary On the other hand, Runyankore-Rukiga speakers seem to rarely use the ∅ ∅ morpheme to mark the habitual. Rather the present progressive ni ni - for Runyankore and -ra- for Rukiga are used, as in the following examples. Nyamuhanga ni - a -kund - a a-ba -ntu be God present he V final iv cl people his 'God loves his people'. The above sentence would mostly be heard in Runyankore while in Rukiga, one would most often hear: Nyamuhanga a - ra -kund - a a-ba -ntu be God loves his people. God he present. V final iv cl people his
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Aspects and Tenses in Compound Verb Forms
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As alluded to earlier, it is the capacity of tense and aspect morphemes to combine in compound verb forms that we have used to determine what qualifies to be a tense, an aspect, or both. A typical compound verb form in Runyakitara is presented as follows: subj. pron. + ts + ba subj. pron. + asp. + mv + vf As in the following examples in Runyoro-Rutooro. In Runyankore-Rukiga, one could have:
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Combination of Tenses and Aspects
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In Runyakitara compound verb forms, the following phenomena occur: Tenses always combine with aspects, the tense appearing with the auxiliary verb while the aspect appears with the main verb (Ndoleriire, 1980). Tenses can never combine with tenses; for example, the far past -ka- appearing both with the main verb and in the auxiliary verb. An aspect morpheme can combine with another aspect morpheme, since generally speaking, all aspect morphemes also express some tense. For example, in Runyankore-Rukiga -ire expresses both the recent past and the stative. In Rutooro and Runyankore, ni ni - expresses both the present and the progressive. In that case, the aspect marker that appears with the auxiliary verb essentially expresses tense while the one which appears with the main verb generally expresses aspect. Before giving examples to illustrate the above four points, let us recapitulate the tense and aspect morphemes talked about earlier: According to the table above the tense forms can never combine among themselves or with each other, e.g. −ka−+−li−,−irege+−raa− −ka−+−li−,−irege+−raa− or even −-rya- +−rya−. or even −-rya- +−rya−. On the other hand, the aspects can combine with tenses or with themselves. One example below will explain the above: −ka−+ −ka−+ -ire Rn/Rt:ba - ka - ba ba-genz-ire They had gone. pron. ts aux pron. mv perf subj. far be subj. go If we removed the auxiliary verb form, we would remain with: ba-genz-ire They have gone. The function of the auxiliary verb form, which also contains the far past tense, is to situate the perfect -ire in the far past. 2) -ire + -aa- Runyankore-Rukiga ba - ba- ire ba - aa -mar- a pron. aux. recent pron. perf. mv vf subj. be. past subj finish "They had finished (in the recent past). If I only said: ba - a - mar - a It should mean: "They have finished". (As I speak) 3) -irege + ni- Runyoro-Rutooro mu - ba - irege ni - mu - kor - a pron. aux. near past pres. pron. mv vf subj. prog. subj. work you "You were working" (in the near past). 4) - ire + - ire Runyankore-Rukiga a−ba−irea−rwa−ire a−ba−irea−rwa−ire pron. aux. recent pron. mv st (stative) subj. past subj. to be S/he sick 'S/he was sick'. If we remove the first ire appearing with the auxiliary −ba −ba and remain with a a rwa-ire, the meaning would be: S/he is sick. 5) −li+−a− −li+−a− Runyoro-Rutooro mu-li-ba mu -a- hik- a-yo pron. far aux. pron. immed. mv vf loc. subj. fut. be subj. perf. reach there you (pl.) you (pl.) You will have just reached there (any time after 24 hours) In summary, the following combinations are possible in Runyakitara Runyoro-Rutooro
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Time Adverbials and Subordinate Clauses of Time
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In order to bring out clearly the context in which a compound form occurs, it is important to point out that it often requires the overt or covert presence of a time adverbial or a subordinate clause of time to situate it. For instance, in the Runyoro-Rutooro sentence: The question that one would ask would be: 'when'. To have the full meaning of the sentence, one might have to say: At that hour, I had already eaten. One could also use a subordinate clause, as follows (Runyoro-Rutooro): When you arrive, we shall have finished.
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Tense and Aspect in 'Complex' Forms
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We saw earlier that simple forms are those that contain one tense or aspect marker, for example: Tukabura We got lost Nitumanya We know (R/Rt) We also saw that a compound form contains an auxiliary ba ba to which is attached a tense and the main verb whose form comprises the aspect, for example: Tukaba tubuzire We had got lost Tuliba nitumanya We shall be knowing (R/Rt) Complex forms on the other hand tend to look like simple forms, in the sense that they comprise a simple verb, what one would call the main verb. However, as opposed to the simple form, the complex form is characterized by several tense/aspect markers which combine to bring out one meaning. The final product is sometimes difficult to characterize as a tense or an aspect as it most often also incorporates mode and sometimes negation. The following complex markers can be enumerated. As said earlier, the above forms portray different notions which include mode (-aa-ku...ire, -kaa----ire), aspect (ti---ki---ire, ni---ki---a---), (-a---aa----ire, - a−−−−ga a−−−−ga ) and tense ( −a−−aa−ga− −a−−aa−ga − ). These forms, taken as morphemes, are what one could partly call discontinuous morphemes. Taken in isolation, the different forms could mean something else but brought together, they convey a different meaning. For instance, in -aa-ku---ire, -aa---- alone could express the immediate perfective, −ku −ku - the infinite ire the [perfective] ( Rn/Rt) Rn/Rt). But when they are brought together, they express the conditional (or hypothetical mode) in Runyoro-Rutooro. Let us have some examples to illustrate how the above complex forms work in real sentences: (i) -aa-ku------ire mwakugenzire (mu-a-ku-genz-ire) you should go (now) bakubatiire (ba-a-ku-ba-ti-ire) (Rn/Rt) they should beat you (now) (ii) ti--ka----ire tibakaizire (ti-ba-ka-iz-ire) they have not yet come (iii) --kaa------- ire tukaamusiimire [tu-kaa-mu-siim-ire] (Ry/Rk) we should thank him (now) (iv) ni--ki-(a)----- nibakyalinda [ni-ba-ki-a-lind-a] (Rn/Rt) they are still waiting nitukishoma [ni-tu-ki-shom-a] (Ry/Rk) we are still at School (v) ti--ka----ga timukazinaga [ti-mu-ka-zin-a-ga] you have never danced (vi) -a-----ga baaraaraga mu mazina [ba-a-raar-a-ga] they used to spend the night dancing (vii) -aa-----ire naakozire [n-aa-koz-ire] I have worked enough -a-----ire Obu namurozire yairuka When I saw him, he ran away (R/Rt) Ku naamureebire yairuka When I saw him, he ran away (R/Rk) We note that the Runyankore-Rukiga form -aa----ire could have the following meanings: (1) Enough - n-aa-ri-ire pron. vp subj. eat 'I have eaten enough' (2) Recent and far past in subordinate clauses (example given in vii - When I saw him, he ran away). (3) The present perfect Very often, where the Runyoro-Rutooro speakers use -ire, RunyankoreRukiga speakers use -aa--ire as in Runyoro-Rutooro, for example: tu−li tu−li-ire 'we have eaten' Runyankore-Rukiga (i) tu-aa-ri-ire 'we have eaten' or. (ii) tu-aa-ri-a 'we have eaten' Further study should be undertaken whether Runyankore-Rukiga speakers use -aa-ire in (i) and -aa- in (ii) interchangeably or whether there are some nuances of meaning. (viii) raa----ga Oraazaaraga nosaalirwa. You will always give birth in pain (Rn/Rt) o-raa-zaar-a-ga ni-o-saal-ir-w-a (ix) -raa--------e This form is common in Runyankore-Rukiga both in subordinate and principal clauses in relative, conditional and temporal clauses, among others. Let us look at these examples: a) Relative: Abaraashashure [a-ba-raa-shashur-e], nibo [ni-bo] baraarye [ba-raa-rie] (Ry/Rk) Those who pay will be the ones to eat. b) Conditional: Ku oraamureebe, [ku o-raa-mu-reeb-e] omusiime [o-mu-siim-e] If you see him, thank him. c) Temporal: Ku baraije [ku ba-raa-ij-e], nitubaakiira [ni-tu-ba-akiir-a]. When they come, we will welcome them. d) Noobu oraakore [na-obu o-raa-kor-e], toraaheze [ti-o-raa-hez-e] Even if you work, you won't finish.
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Compound Forms Derived from Complex Forms
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Since complex forms sometimes have an element of tense or aspect, they can also be found in compound forms whereby an aspect is situated in time or a tense puts an aspect at a given point in time. Let us recall, for instance, that: n-aa-ku-genz-ire means 'I should go' now. This means the hypothetical form is situated in the present. And that: ni-tu-ki-a-gend-a means 'We are still going' In here the concept of aspect is very dominant, that is: an action still going on. There is, however, also a notion of tense - now. That is why, some of the above complex forms can sometimes function as tense whereas some can function as aspect, when they combine in compound forms. Let us give below a summary of what has been said: Chart 9:
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The Narrative
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−a∼aa− −a∼aa− and the 'imperative' −e −e We have decided to discuss these two forms separately because they do not fall in any of the categories of forms discussed above. These are forms which do not occur on the normal simple indicative and affirmative sentence. They usually occur in special types of sentences as we shall see below:
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a) The Narrative
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−a−∼aa− −a−∼aa− Let us remember that −a−∼aa− −a−∼aa− has already been presented as a marker that has several functions/meanings. We saw that it can express an action that has just taken place and in the case of Runyankore/Rukiga especially, the perfective aspect (where it operates in free variation with -aa----ire) and the near past (where in RunyoroRutooro one would find -ire or -irege). Apart from the above −a −a - in Runyoro-Rutooro or −aa −aa - in Runyankore-Rukiga can also function as a conditional variant of −ka −ka-, the far past. Whereas −ka −ka - is used in past events that may occur in isolation, a−∼aa a−∼aa is used where there is a succession of past events. For example: Omukama akaswera The king got married. Ebisoro bikabura The animals got lost. Amasomero gakatandika ira (Ru/Rt) (Ru/Rt) The schools opened a long time ago. Omwana waitu akazaahira mu mahanga. Our child got lost abroad. But: Abagyenyi bakaija, twabashemererwa twabakunira. (Ry/Rk) The guests came, we welcomed them warmly and we entertained them. Ku omwana yaatureebire, yairuka. (Ry/Rk) When the child saw us, he ran away. Omufumu akatandika kugamba, yaagamba ebintu bingi, yaatuhana, yaatuha obwengye. The doctor started talking; he said a lot of things, he advised us and gave us direction. (Ry/Rk) The examples in Runyoro-Rutooro portray single events while those in Runyankore-Rukiga show a succession of events. As can be seen, the event that follows another is usually expressed by using the form −a −a - rather than −ka −ka - or −aa− −aa− ire in the case of subordinate clauses. This rule applies both in Runyoro-Rutooro and in Runyankole/Rukiga; that is, a single past event is expressed by −ka −ka - while events following each other are expressed by −a−∼aa −a−∼aa. Note, however, that the first event is usually expressed by −ka −ka - and the subsequent ones by −aa−∼a− −aa−∼a−, as shown in this example in Runyoro-Rutooro. Hakaimuka omusaija, yaswera omukazi, baazaara abaana bingi, abaana baatandika kukura, baitu aho enjara yagwa nyingi. 'There was once a man; he got married to a woman, they got children, the children started growing up; but then a great famine came'. In the above example, the first is expressed by using the form −ka −ka - while the subsequent ones are expressed by −a− −a−. On the other hand, in complex sentences, the first past event is expressed by - −aa−∼−− −aa−∼−− ire ∼−a−−− ∼−a−−− ire and the next one by −a−∼−aa− −a−∼−aa− or −ka− −ka−. For eample: Obu nasingire, mukansiima. (Rn/Rt) When I succeeded, you congratulated me. Obu naasingire, mwansiima. (Ry/Rk) When I succeeded you congratulated me. Ku twamuteire, yaarira. (Rn/Rt) When we beat him, he wept. Ku twamuteire, akarira. (Ry/Rk) When we beat him, he wept.
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b) The "imperative" -e.
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The term "imperative" is put in inverted commas because the form -e expresses more than the imperative. The true imperative in Runyakitara is the absence of any marker, including the absence of the prominal marker. For example: The only marker one can talk of is the −a −a that is usually found at the end of a verb (verb final). What we may call the indirect order, however, is expressed by −e −e which replaces −a −a. The form −e −e is also used as a request or a polite order. In this case, intonation also has a role to play, for example: Otuhe ebyolulya byaitu bya hati (o-tu-h-e) (Rn/Rt) Give us our daily bread! The form −e −e can also be used in negative forms whereas in the affirmative the verb final is usually −a −a, for example: The examples above indicate that it is difficult to categorize −e −e as a tense or an aspect. It may be considered in the category of mode whereby it may express indirect order, desire, request, prayer, et cetera. It is also used in negative forms.
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Summary of Temporal Adverbials or Time Indicators
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Most tenses in Runyakitara sentences need a time indicator for an event or an action to be contextualised. Such indicators or temporal adverbials fall in three categories, that is, those situated in the present, those in the past and those in the future. The table below will highlight the most common temporal adverbials as expressed in the four major dialects of Runyakitara.
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Simple Forms
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i) Pure tenses −ka− −ka− far past -irege recent past -raa- near future -li - far future -rya- far future example dialect tukazina Ry/Rk Ry/Rk and Rn/Rt Rn/Rt tuzinirege Rn/Rt Rn/Rt turaazina Rn/Rt Rn/Rt tulizina Rn/Rt Rn/Rt turyazina Ry/Rk Ry/Rk ii) Tenses and Aspects
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Adverbs
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Adverbs in Runyakitara are words that describe a verb, an adjective or a whole sentence. There are adverbs of time, place, frequency, manner, negation, affirmative adverbs, emphatic/enclitic adverbs and interrogative adverbs.
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Adverbs of Time
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These are adverbs that show the time of an action and answer the question `when?' Examples include:
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Adverbs of Frequency
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These are words which answer the question `how often?' (kaingahi/kangahi?). Examples are:
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Adverbs of Place
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These are words which answer the question 'where?' Examples:
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Adverbs of Manner
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These are words which show how an action has been done. They answer the question `How?' (-ta?). Examples are:
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Adverbs of Negation
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These are words which show negation. Examples:
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Affirmative Adverbs
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These are adverbs of agreement. They include:
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Emphatic Adverbs
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These emphasise the state of something. Examples:
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Interrogative Adverbs
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These are questions that inquire about the time, place, manner, frequency, etc. Examples include:
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Conclusion
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In this chapter, the major characteristics of the verb have been presented. Emphasis, however has been on tense and aspect in Runyakitara, an area which is quite complex and which requires more research. The next chapter will introduce us to syntax; how morphemes and words combine to make sentences.
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References
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Guillaume, G. (1970). Temps et verbe: théorie des aspects, des modes, et des temps: suivi de L'architectonique du temps dans les langues classiques. H. Champion. Ndoleriire, O. K. (1980). Essai de recherche en linguistique contrastive sur les systmes verbaux Rutooro-Francais. (Unpublished PhD Dissertation. Paris: Sorbonne Nouvelle University.) Neveu, F. (2004). Dictionnaire des sciences de langage. Paris: Armand Colin. Nurse, D. (2008). Aspect and tense in Bantu languages. In D. Nurse, & G. Philippson (Eds.). (2008). The Bantu languages. London: Oxford University Press. Rubongoya, L. J. (1999). A modern Runyoro-Rutooro grammar. Cologne: Rudiger Koppe Verlag.
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Footnotes
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2 The aspect of verbal extensions or verbal derivatives will be handled in another study (c.f. Rubongoyo, 1999, p. 187-205). ↩
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What is Syntax?
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A simple definition of syntax, as Fromkin and his co-authors (2003) explain, could be summed up as the rules that govern words to form phrases and sentences. A sentence will be described in the subsequent paragraphs but we can take the phrase to be something as big or bigger than a word but normally smaller than a sentence. A phrase is usually centred on a key word category, like a noun, a verb, an adverb or an adjective. Thus, we have noun phrases whose key words are a noun, verb phrases whose key word is a verb or adjectival phrases whose key word is an adjective. In English, for instance the good boy is a noun phrase, very dirty is and adjectival phrase, plays rugby is a verb phrase and to the forest is a prepositional phrase. In that regard, Brown and Miller (2002) citing Lyons, talk of the sentence as having a certain sort of unity, being grammatically complete, capable of standing on its own, independent of context and having a degree of semantic independence.
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Sentence in General
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It is not easy to find a satisfactory definition for the term 'Sentence'. Lyons (1968) defines sentence as "A grammatical unit between the constituent parts of which distributional limitations and dependencies can be established, but which can be put into no distribution class". On the other hand, traditional grammar emphasises the semantic aspect of the sentence. The sentence is supposed to be a group of words or a chain of words with a complete meaning. In written language it is said that, apart from complete meaning, a sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. This type of definition has met with a lot of opposition from different linguists and grammarians. For instance, it is not clear where a 'complete meaning' starts and where it ends. If in English for instance, a sentence like: 'The father loves his children' is said to have a complete meaning, one may ask whether a sequence like: 'The father loves his children; he is right', or 'And the father who loves his children', or even, 'The father's love for his children', have complete meaning or not. In different contexts, all the above could be said to be sentences. In some cases, a sentence can be made of only one word, such as: 'Fantastic!' Or of a semi-paragraph, like in: 'The father who loves his children for the sake of parental duty and the one who loves them from the sentimental point of view are all parents with something for and against their approach in either case; in effect, each one has something that could be of great importance to the child both from the psychological and from the social point of view, the age of the child notwithstanding.' Because of this kind of disparity in what may be regarded as a sentence, some linguists have preferred describing a sentence in terms of its different attributes which include: Possession of a certain coherence between the words that constitute it. Possession of a certain internal autonomy, such that it can in most cases stand on its own. Possession of certain types of intonation patterns, either rising and falling, or falling, or falling and rising, or rising, etc. Possession of a certain type of pause both at its beginning and at its end. Possession of a certain internal structure. Possession of a certain meaning. It is the sum total of all the above which would normally determine what a sentence is. Some grammarians have summarised the above by saying that a sentence should be characterised by a certain structure and should be able to mean something at least for the native speaker. A correct internal structure should make the sentence grammatical and acceptable meaning should make it semantic. A sentence has got different degrees of grammaticality just as it has varying degrees of being semantic. This depends on the degree of language competence on the part of the speaker and on the social milieu where the language is spoken. For instance, a sentence like 'I ain't got nothing' could be said to be grammatical in some social environments but not in others. In the same manner, a sequence like, 'I beheld the weeping trees that hid behind the friendly rocks', could be quite semantic for some enlightened poet. It is the level of grammaticality and that of semanticism which together determine whether a sentence is acceptable in a language or not, that is: a sentence must have both an acceptable structure and an acceptable meaning.
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Sentence in Runyakitara
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If determining what a sentence is, at least in European languages, may not be very easy, it seems to be even harder for Bantu languages such as Runyakitara. Bantu languages are normally classified as agglutinative languages or at least that they tend towards agglutination. This means that these languages have a tendency in sentence formation of having a central element, usually a root, to which several affixes (prefixes, infixes and suffixes) are attached as bound morphemes. The result is often a full sentence made up of what appears in normal circumstances to be one word. This process is mostly attested in cases of pronominalisation. Compare, for instance, the following two sentences in Runyoro-Rutooro: a−ba−anaba−ngeba−li−ire a−ba−anaba−ngeba−li−ire iv cl RT cl pr cl RT pf the children may have eaten. e-bi-tooke o-mu sahaani za-itu iv pr RT iv iv cl RT cl pr the banana in the plates our My children have eaten the bananas in our plates. This fairly long sentence can be pronominalized as follows: ba-bi - ri - ri - ire - mu They have eaten them there. cl cl RT Ext pf loc subj. obj. they them eat in One can note that although the process of pronominalisation has also occurred in the English translation, the latter has five words while the former has one (that is, babiriiriremu). Apart from the above special characteristic in determining the Runyakitara (or Bantu) sentences, the above points risen for the sentence in general can also be applied to the Runyakitara sentence. For instance, a sentence in Runyakitara can also be made up of a simple word - morpheme such as: Ego (yes), just as it can be made up of a full paragraph.
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The Basic Components of a Runyakitara Sentence
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Just as in many other languages, in Runyakitara, the sentence is normally made up of at least a noun and a verb. For example: Omwana akazaana omupiira. The child played football. child played football The child played football. Note that in the above sentence the two indispensable elements are, Omwana akazaana (The child played). Although the noun omupiira is also important if we want to have all the basic information, its deletion is not as essential as if we deleted any of the other two words. Compare: [1] Omwana akazaana. [1] The child played. [2] Omwana omupiira. [2] The child football. [3] Akazaana omupiira. [3] He played football. The first sequence in [1] is quite acceptable although we are not told what the child played. The second sequence in [2] looks unacceptable. The third sequence is quite acceptable especially as the noun "Omwana" (child) reappears in the verb as pronoun as is usually the case in Bantu languages. Otherwise, if this pronominalisation did not take place, the sequence no. [3] would also be very wanting because of the lack of the noun subject. As things stand in Runyakitara, sequences [1] and [3] are quite acceptable while [2] is not. Generally speaking, the basic complete sentence would have the following components in Runyakitara: a subject and a predicate, or what could also be called a noun phrase and a verb phrase, as in the following sentence: omukazi akateera omwana. woman beat child The woman beat the child. In this sentence there are two basic components: Omukazi (Woman) the subject of a sentence and; akateera omwana (she beat the child); which may be called the predicate or the verb phrase. The verb phrase here is made up of two major elements, the verb and an object which is a noun (omwana - child). On a tree diagram such a sentence could be summarily represented as follows: In transformational grammar, such a sentence is arrived at after applying different transformational rules. As was said earlier, the above sentence can undergo some pronominalisation processes such that the whole sentence appears in one word usually called a verbal in Bantu linguistics: a-ka-mu-teer-a S/he beat him. she past obj. beat vf She beat him. Such a sentence can also be represented as follows on a tree diagram:
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Akamuteera
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This sentence is also arrived at after different transformational rules, for instance the "flip - flop" rule which transfers the pronoun object mu mu from the final position to the position immediately before the verb. The examples given above have illustrated the basic components in a sentence, which may not always be the same. The following Runyoro-Rutooro sentences all comprise basic elements: [1] Omwana akaija. [2] Omwana akabyama. [3] Omwana akateera embuzi. [4] Omwana akajima abakazi. [5] Omwana akaruga omu musiri. The child came. The child slept. The child beat the goat. The child insulted the women. The child came from the garden. [6] Omwana akazaanira omu musiri. [7] Omwana yali murungi. [8] Omwana yali mudoma. [9] Omwana yali mu musiri. [10] Omwana yali ha nju. [11] Omwana akata omwigo mu nju. [12] Omwana akarabya ente mu muhanda. [13] Omwana akaha omwojo oburo. [14] Omwana akagurra nyina orugoye. The child played in the garden. The child was good. The child was stupid. The child was in the garden. The child was at the house. The child put the walking stick in the house. The child made the cows go through the path. The child gave millet to the boy. The child bought a cloth for his mother. What is being shown in all the above sentences is that each one of them contains just the basic components. Each one of them cannot be reduced any further without affecting the grammaticality or the basic meaning of the sentence. For instance, in [1] and [2] nothing can be removed. The verbs kwija (to come) and kubyama (to sleep) are usually called intransitive verbs and do not therefore need an object. They are, so to say, self-sufficient. In [3] and [4] the verbs kuteera (to beat) and kujuma (to insult) are transitive and need therefore to be accompanied by an object. If one said: Omwana akateera or omwana akajima (The child beat or he child insulted) one feels that there is something missing. On the other hand, in sentence [5] and [6] no component can be deleted either. The verbs kuruga (to come from) and kuzaanira (to play in) need an object, often known as an indirect object, because such an object is introduced by a preposition. Such verbs are called indirect transitive verbs. This is because a verb like kuruga (to come from) requires an object preceded by a preposition indicating place, in this case (o)mu., likewise, the verb kuzaanira (to play in) is a derived verb and the derivational affix -ir- requires that the object be preceded by a preposition indicating place, that is, (o) mu mu (in). Sentence [7] and [8] contain what is known as copula verbs, in this case the verb kuba'to be' under the li form. This type of verb is necessarily followed by another component to complete it, that can be called a complement. In [7] and [8] this component is an adjective but it can also be a prepositional phrase as in [9] and [10]. In sentences 11 and 12, the verbs in akata "he put, he placed and akarabya (he made something go through somewhere), prepositional phrases are needed, i.e. mu nju (in the house) and mu muhanda (through the path). In sentences 13 and 14 the verbs in akaha (he gave) and akagurra (he bought for) require both a direct and an indirect object, sometimes called primary and secondary objects respectively. In summary, it can be said that, in a simplified manner the basic components which we can also call constituents in a Runyakitara sentence are as follows: [1]
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NP+V
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[2]
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NP+V+NP [3]
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NP+V+Adj NP+V+Adj. [4]
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The modalities of a sentence or sentence modifiers
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All sentences fall into several major categories sometimes called modalities. Some of these modalities are mutually exclusive and they are called the primary modalities while others are not mutually exclusive and can either appear with the primary modalities or can cumulate with themselves. The primary modalities of a sentence are: Assertive (or declarative) Interrogative Imperative The secondary modalities are: negative/affirmative passive/active emphatic (including exclamation) The following examples illustrate the above ( Rn/Rt Rn/Rt ): [1] Omukazi naatema emiti. [1] The woman is cutting trees. [2] Omukazi naatema emiti? [2] Is the woman cutting trees? [3] Omukazi ateme emiti! [3] Let the woman cut trees! The above three sentences show that a sentence cannot at the same time be assertive [1], interrogative [2] and imperative [3]. There is therefore mutual exclusiveness between the three modalities. Compare the above with the sentences below ( Rn/Rt Rn/Rt ): [1] Omukazi tarukutema omuti. [1] The woman is not cutting the tree. [2] Omukazi tarukutema omuti? [2] Isn't the woman cutting the tree? [3] Omuti nigutemwa omukazi. [3] The tree is being cut by the woman. [4] Omuti nigutemwa omukazi? [4] Is the tree being cut by the woman? [5] Omuti ogu otagutema! [5] Don't cut that tree! [6] Tarukugutema omukazi omuti. [6] The woman is not cutting the tree. Sentence [1] above shows a combination of assertive and negative modalities. In [2] there are both interrogative and negative modalities. In [3] we have both assertion and passive. In [4] there is passive and interrogation. In [5] we have an imperative sentence which is also negative. In [6] there is assertion, negation and emphasis. Other combinations are also possible as long as the three primary modalities do not combine, for example: Gutatemwa omuti ogu! Let it not be cut, that tree! The above sentence can be said to have the imperative as its primary modality, with passive, negative and emphasis as the secondary modalities.
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Types of Sentences
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In Runyakitara the major types of sentences can be said to be the following: [a] Complete and incomplete sentences. [b] Simple and complex sentences.
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[a] Complete and incomplete sentences
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A sentence is said to be complete when it provides all the basic information needed and fulfils the basic structure. Compare the following sentences in Runyankore-Rukiga: [1] Omwishiki yaagyenda. [2] Omushaija naahiiga omu kibira. [3] Embwa ekaboigorera omu kibuga. [4] Mugyenzi wangye aryagura motoka omuri Kampala. [5] Yaateeka ebyokurya omu nyungu. The girl has left. The man is hunting in the forest. The dog barked in the town. My friend will buy a car in Kampala. She has cooked food in the pot. All the above sentences are complete sentences because they appear to provide all the basic information required. Their structure is also acceptable in Runyakitara language. Sentences [1] and [3] can be said to be basic sentences because they contain only the necessary information as described earlier. Sentences [2], [4] and [5] are complete sentences but they are not basic. For instance, in [2] it is not necessary to know that the man is hunting in the forest (omu kibira). In the same manner, in [5] the information omu nyungu (in the pot) is not essential. Thus, complete sentences may be basic or non-basic. On the other hand, the sentences below in Runyoro-Rutooro cannot be said to be complete. [1] Kwigama enjura mu rufunjo. [2] Ebya ncwera nyaatire kunu. [3] Omukama ayatucungwire. [4] Amalya mabi. [5] Enganikyo otasemerire kufeerwa. Looking for shelter in a swamp. (Literally) Things of 'Give me a piece of millet which I can eat in my corner without sauce' - i.e.: Someone who has no courage to assert himself. The Lord who saved us. Poor eating. The stories that you should not miss. All the above sequences can be considered as sentences in different contexts. For instance, No. [1] is a saying, relating to someone who looks for help where help cannot be got. No. [2] is another saying as explained above. No. [3] can be considered as a sentence in a context like: Katuramye Mukama waitu! Omukama ayaatucungwire. Let us adore our Lord! The Lord that saved us. But even in this form the sentence is not complete. In No. [5] we see a sequence which is not a complete sentence.
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What is a Complete Sentence?
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Such a sentence should have a structure as described earlier in basic components of a sentence. It is the sentence of the type: NP+VNP+V+PPNP+V+Adj.
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NP+V+PP
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NP+V+Adj. In any sentence, the presence of a noun subject and a verb or its equivalent is usually essential. For instance, in No. [5] above (that is, Enganikyo otasemeriire kufeerwa, The stories that you should not miss), we do have a sentence with a verb kufeerwa (to miss). It can be a sentence in a context like this one: Enganikyo zaawe zisome. Enganikyo otasemerire kufeerwa. (Read your stories! The stories that you should not miss). In the latter sentence, the verb kufeerwa belongs to a relative clause that is not independent. The verb kufeerwa is therefore not the core of a complete sentence. To have a complete sentence, one would need to have a structure like: Noosoma enganikyo zaawe ezi otasemerire kufeerwa. You are reading your stories that you should not miss. In the above sentence the verb kusoma (to read) in noosoma (you are reading) acts as the core verb of the sentence where noosoma enganikyo zaawe (you are reading your stories) is the principal clause while ezi otasemiriire kufeerwa is the subordinate clause (see section on Complex Sentences). Note that a sentence can be incomplete and yet contain more than the basic components. Compare the following in Runyankore-Rukiga: [1] Eminyeeto yaabura. The youth are lost. [2] Eminyeeto yaakora emirimo mirungi. The youth have done good work. [3] Omushaija orikora emirimo omuri Mbarara. The man who will do the jobs in Mbarara. [1] and [2] above are complete sentences that also consist only of basic components, that is, NP + V. However, sentence No. [3] is an incomplete sentence without any principle clause, and yet it contains more than the basic components. In the first place, a complex sentence would be a structure like: Omushaija orikora emirimo omuri Mbarara akunda abaana. The man who will do the jobs in Mbarara, loves children. But then, even the incomplete sentence: Omushaija orikora emirimo omuri Mbarara is not a basic sentence because it has the structure NP
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+V+NP+PP
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+V+NP+PP (omuri Mbarara) which is not an essential component of that incomplete sentence. In other words, the verb kukora (to do) in orikora emirimo does not need the PP omuri Mbarara - in Mbarara.
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Simple and Complex Sentences
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A simple sentence is centred around a single core, usually a verb, while a complex sentence is centered around more than one core (Fromkin et al., 2003). A simple sentence is made up of one clause while a complex sentence, which Brown and Miller (2002, p. 146) explain as "those sentences that can be analysed as consisting of a number of simple sentences" is made of two or more clauses. Let us study the sentences below in Runyoro-Rutooro. Examples: (1) Banywani bange boojo. (2) Petero ali mu Kanisa. (3) Mwijukuru wa nyinazaara akairukira mu bibira bya Buganda. (4) Obwisiki bwa nseeri hali bwikara nibunyetereza. (5) Omwana arukuhurra tabura. (6) Omukazi narra kandi n'omwana narra. (7) Nkugambiire ogende omwa Kaija. (8) Nitusaba omuntu onu agaruke. (9) Kakuba twamurozire tiyaakugenzire. (10) Noobu araija taina eki araakora. (11) Omusuma akairuka nkooku akaba atakairukaga. My friends are boys. Peter is in the Church. The grandchild of his (her) mother-in-law fled into the forests of Buganda. The small girls on the other hill continue calling me. A child who obeys is always noticeable. The woman is crying and the child is crying. I told you to go to Kaija. We are asking for this person to come back. If we had seen him, he would not have left. Even if he comes, he won't be able to do anything (he will have nothing to do). The thief ran like he had never run before. Sentence No. (1) above is a simple sentence. The verb here is represented by ∅ ∅ although it is understood to be the copula verb (to be) under the form ni. Moreover, this ni ni is found in the Runyankore-Rukiga equivalent where the above sentence would be written as: Banywani bangye n'aboojo. My friends are boys. In Kiswahili, we have: Ndugu zangu ni wavulana. My friends are boys. However, in Luganda, the Runyoro-Rutooro structure would re-appear: Emikwano gyange balenzi. My friends are boys. Sentence No. [1] is therefore a simple sentence of the
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VP+V+NP
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VP+V+NP structure. Sentence No. [2] is also a simple sentence. Its core verb is again the copula kuba under the form li li. Its structure is of the type
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N+V+PP.
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Sentence No. [3] is another simple sentence. This is despite the fact that it is the longest out of the ten sentences given. However, it has one core verb. Its structure is in fact of the type
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NP+V+PP
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NP+V+PP. Under a simplified tree diagram representation, it would appear as follows: Mwijukuru wa nyinazaara akairukira mu bibira bya Buganda. The grand-son of his mother-in-law fled to the forests of Buganda. What we have in the above sentence therefore is an expanded noun phrase and an even more expanded verb phrase but the sentence remains a simple sentence. It is the same thing in sentence No.[4] where the noun phrase is expanded, consisting of a noun (obwisiki - small girls) and a noun expansion (bwa nseeri hali - on the other hill); the verb phrase is made up of two verbs - one is kwikara - to remain, to continue - which serves as an auxiliary verb, to the main verb - kwetereza (to call incessantly) i.e. bwikara nibunyetereza - (they continue calling me) - or (they all the time call out for me). Sentence [5] is the first complex sentence where two clauses with two core verbs are clearly noticeable. The first clause, known as the subordinate clause, is Omwana arukuhurra (the child who obeys) - it can be seen that this clause, as a sentence, needs to be completed. It is the other clause, tabura (literally: he is never lost / he is always noticeable) - which gives to the sentence its full meaning. The second clause is called the principal clause and tends to have more autonomy than the subordinate clause. In the above sentence 'The child who obeys' is less autonomous than 'he is always noticeable.' Sentence No. [6] is another complex sentence. It is made up of two clauses more or less of equal value. These clauses are linked by a process of compounding or conjoining. The clause Omukazi narra 'the woman is weeping', has as many chances of standing on its own as the clause omwana narra 'the child is weeping'. The joining word is kandi 'and' which normally belongs neither to the first nor to the second clause. Sentence No. [7] is also a complex sentence. The first, clause is Nkugambiire 'I have told you', the second is ogende mwa Kaija 'you go to Kaija's' or 'I have told you to go to Kaija's.' Both clauses have got core verbs, in the first one kugamba 'to tell' and in the second kugenda 'to go'. It can be said that the clause nkugambiire has less autonomy than ogende mwa kaija - but this will be discussed more in detail in the subsequent sections of this chapter. In sentence No.[8] there are two clauses: nitusaba 'we are asking' which is completed by the second clause - omuntu onu agaruke 'let this person come back' - in other words: 'We are asking for this person to come back' - If we use the literal translation: 'We are asking, let this person come back' - it can be seen that the first clause seems to have less autonomy than the second. Sentence No. [9] is also made up of two clauses: kakuba twamurozire 'if we had seen him' and tiyaakugenzire 'he could not have left' - In this sentence, kakuba twamurozire clearly has less autonomy than tiyaakugenzire. Sentence No. [10] seems to be a particularly interesting one. It is made up of three clauses. The first one is Noobu araija 'even if he comes' - The second is taina 'he doesn't have' and the third is eki araakora 'anything that he can do' - that is: Even if he comes, he won't be able to do anything. This kind of sentence would be made up of a subordinate clause - noobu araija and a principal clause - taina eki araakora - And in this principal clause, another subordinate clause is embedded - eki araakora. Sentence No. [11] is also a complex sentence made up of two clauses: Omusuma akairuka (the thief ran) - is the principal clause - While - nkooku akaba atakairukaga (as he had never run) - is the subordinate clause. The first clause Omusuma akairuka seems to have more autonomy than nkooku akaba atakairukaga.
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Sentences and Clauses
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In traditional grammar, a sentence is made up of a clause. A sentence may be made up of a clause or more than one clause (Kroegger, 2004). Each clause is made up of the basic components of a sentence as exposed earlier. We usually say that a clause has a core verb, apart from a noun subject - at least in most cases. For instance, in: Omuti nigugwa mu kibira. The tree is falling in the forest. There is Omuti (the tree) - the noun phrase subject - nigugwa (it is falling) the verb phrase containing the core verb and mu kibira (in the forest) - a prepositional phrase which can also be called an adjunct to the sentence. The above sentence has one core verb and therefore is a single clause making up one simple sentence. On the other hand, a sentence like: Omuti nigugwa mbere guroleriire. The tree is falling where it is facing. There are two clauses making up one sentence. The principal clause is: Omuti nigugwa (The tree is falling). While the subordinate clause is - mbere guroleriire (where it is facing). It can therefore, be said that every sentence is made up of at least one clause. It can, however, be made of two, three, or even more clauses. Some modern linguists do not make a distinction between sentence and clause. To them, every clause is a sentence, except that some sentences are embedded into others. For instance, in a sentence in Runyoro-Rutooro like: Omwana ou orozirege nyenkya The child whom you saw this morning arugire nambere tutaaha came from where we have been. The following sentences can be identified: [1] Omwana arugire the child has come/came [2] ou orozirege nyenkya whom you saw this morning [3] nambere tutaaha from where we have been It would be said that two sentences [2] and [3] are embedded in sentence No. [1]. What is important to note, however, is that whether these sequences are called clauses or sentences, what is important to note is that they do not all have the same order of importance. They exist in a certain hierarchical order, some being more necessary than others. In normal circumstances, the principal clause or the sentences in which other sentences are embedded, has more capacity of functioning alone than the subordinate clause or the embedded sentence. For instance, in Runyankore-Rukiga: Kuri noomuteera nooreeba If you beat him you will see The subordinate - kuri noomuteera has less chances of standing on its own feet than nooreeba which would mean literally 'you are seeing' - the latter can function as a complete sentence. In the same manner, in a sentence in Runyankore-Rukiga like: Omuti ogwagwa noogwangye The tree that has just fallen is mine The principal clause - noogwangye can be isolated and can stand on its own. On the other hand, Omuti ogwagwa 'the tree that has fallen' needs something to complete it. This does not mean that every principal clause has the capacity to function autonomously. There are those for instance which are embedded in the main verb of the principal clause or which are a compulsory component of that verb. In such cases, they function as a complement of the main verb and since the main verb cannot function satisfactorily without this clause one cannot say that the principal clause where the main verb occurs is autonomous; for example: Noogira oti araagaruka? Do you think he will come? In the above sentence in Runyoro-Rutooro - noogira - is the principal sentence and cannot be complete without the subordinate sentence - oti araagaruka. The verb kugira (to think) in the principal clause is a transitive verb which needs an object. In this case it is the subordinate clause which functions as the object, in other words the subordinate clause acts as the NP of a VP.
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Verbal and Non-Verbal Sentences
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Some linguists consider the verb to be the core or centre of a sentence, at least most of the time. It is usually a verb which is fully conjugated and the essential part of the VP of a sentence. The two sentences below illustrate the point: Omushaija naakora ebirungi. Omushaija naakunda kukora. The man is doing good things. The man likes to work. The verb kukora (to work) in the first sentence is considered as being the head of the VP of the sentence. Some linguists would say that it is the core of the sentence. However, in the second sentence kukora (to work) is a secondary part of the VP whose head is kukunda (to like) and plays here the role of the object of the verb. In the second sentence it is the verb kukunda (to like) and not kukora (to work) as in the first sentence, which would be considered as the core of the sentence. The two sentences above are called verbal sentences, the first having kukora and the second kukunda as the main verb (core verb). There are sentences, however, which do not have such core verbs. They may be called non-verbal sentences, for example: [1] Akati karungi [2] Ihali ringi [3] Ekiro kibi [4] Empisi y'owaanyu [5] Ekigambo kirungi [6] Buculeezi bwa ntaama [7] Obusingye bwa Mukama [8] Obusuma bwa Kampala [9] Petero mutabani wa Kiiza? [10] Abaana b'omusaija ogu! [1] A good stick [2] Too much jealousy [3] A bad day [4] A hyena from your village [5] A good word [6] The sheep's quietness [7] The peace of the Lord [8] Kampala theft [9] Peter the son of Kiiza? [10] The children of that man! The sentences above can be considered as incomplete sentences. Their full meaning is obtained from the context. The first six Runyoro-Rutooro sentences are proverbs. Sometimes one does not need to say the whole proverb. Uttering part of the proverb may give it more impact, or may arouse the attention of the hearer even more. Intonation plays an important role here. It is the intonation that indicates clearly that the sentence is not completed but that the full meaning is expected to be understood. Sometimes, the hearer does complete the second part of the proverb, and the sentence is complete. The six proverbs can be completed as follows: [1] Akati karungi, otema noota ha rugo rwawe. [2] Ihali ringi lihemesa ekituuro. [3] Ekiro kibi kiita embwa kitaho omuntu. [4] Empisi y'owaanyu ekulya neekukumakuma. [5] Ekigambo kirungi kikaraaza empisi ha rugo. [6] Buculeezi bwa ntaama tibugitanga kujuga. A good stick is always for your fence. Too much jealousy makes you laugh at a grave. A bad day witnesses the death of a dog and a person. A hyena from your village eats you while covering you. A good word made the hyena spend the whole night at the fence. The silence of the sheep does not prevent it from bleating. The last four sentences are drawn from different contexts. No. [7] (RunyankoreRukiga) could be uttered at an encounter between two "saved" people or Pentecostals, i.e. as a form of greeting. The full sentence would be: Obusingye bwa Mukama bube naiwe! The peace of the Lord be with you! Sentence No. [8] (Runyoro-Rutooro) is an exclamatory sentence. Obusuma bwa Kampala! Theft in Kampala! Could mean: Obusuma bwa Kampala buhinguraine! There is too much theft in Kampala! Sentence No. [9] (Rn/Rt ) is a question, that needed clarification on what had been said earlier. The previous sentence could have been: Genda oramukye Petero! Go and greet Peter! The full question would have been: Ndamukye Petero mutabani wa Kiiza? Do I greet Peter the son of Kiiza? In sentence No. [10] (Rn/Rt) we have again an exclamatory type of sentence. Abaana b'omushaija ogu! Children of that man! Could mean: Abaana b'omusaija ogu bakasarra! Children of that man are terrible! Note that just as in the first six sentences, intonation plays a major role in the last four sentences. What could often have been said in words is expressed by a certain type of intonation.
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Thematic and Predicative Sentences
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Incomplete sentences (often non-verbal) are often categorised according to whether they represent a theme or a predicate. As explained by Fromkin et al. (2003), a theme is that which we talk about. On the other hand, a predicate is what we say about the theme. In a Runyoro-Rutooro sentence like: Ekitooke kigwire. The banana has fallen. The theme is the 'banana' and the predicate is that 'it has fallen.' In a Runyoro-Rutooro sentence like: Abasigazi abarungi nitubeetaaga (The young men good we need them.) We need the good young men. The theme is: 'the good young men' The predicate is: 'we need them' Many of the non-verbal and many of the incomplete sentences either express a theme or a predicate, as in the following Runyankore-Rukiga sentences: [1] Obusingye bwa mukama. [1] The peace of the Lord. [2] Abaana b'omushaija ogwo. [2] The children of that man. [3] Okukunda bazigu baitu. [3] To love our enemies. [4] Batabani ba Mwesigwa? [4] The sons of Mwesigwa? Sentence No. [1] could be said to be thematic. We are talking about peace. The predicate is what is not overtly expressed, namely that the peace is to be bestowed upon someone. Sentence No. [2] is also thematic. We are talking about the children of a certain man. What is said about them is not overtly expressed. It could be that the children of the man are naughty, nasty or horrible or that they have broken into a shop. All that would be the predicate of the sentence. Sentence No. [3] could be said to be a predicative sentence according to the context. There could have been a previous interrogative sentence of the type. Omukama atwegyesa ki? What does the Lord teach us? And the answer to such a question would be: Okukunda abazigu baitu. To love our enemies. The theme is therefore the Lord, and the predicate that he teaches us to love our enemies. The fourth sentence could be either a predicative or a thematic sentence. If the full sentence would be like: Abaana ba Mwesigwa nibo baija? Is it Mwesigwa's children who have come? Then it is thematic. On the other hand, in a sentence like: Waateera abaana ba Mwesigwa? You have beaten Mwesigwa's children? Then it is predicative.
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Compounding and Embedding: Complex and Compound Sentences
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Complex sentences are usually made up of two types of clauses. There are clauses which are joined together in a sentence in such a way that none of them seems to be more important than the other. Furthermore, each one of them can most of the time stand on its own feet as an independent sentence. In that case we talk of conjoining or compounding. Such clauses constitute what is usually known as compound sentences. On the other hand, some sentences are made up of clauses which do not have equal importance. Some clauses seem to be more important: They seem to have more capacity to stand on their own. In that case we talk of embedded sentences or subordinate clauses for those which seem to be less important than others and principal clauses for those which appear to be more important. Let us look at the following Runyoro-Rutooro sentences: (1) Abaana barwaire kandi nyinabo azaire. The children are sick and their mother has given birth. (2) Nyowe nimbagonza baitu inywe timurikungonza. (3) Araija rundi taije? (4) Omusaija akahika ha saaha ikumi, yaturamukya, kandi yatusiima. I like you but you don't like me Will he come or will he not come? The man arrived at 4:00 p.m., greeted us and thanked us. (5) Bakasanga enju ekingire, baayegarukirayo. (6) Olindeka nkooku wansangire. (7) Akahunirra muno obu baamugambiire eki. (8) Noobu arairuka oraamusanga. (9) Katunihire tuti byona biraahikirra. (10) Naayesunga kandi kunu taine bazaire be. They found the house closed and went back. You will leave me as you found me. He was very surprised when he was told that. Even if he runs you will find him. Let us hope all will go well. He is naughty whereas he does not have parents. In the above examples, the first five sentences are said to be compound sentences. The clauses in each one of them are linked together by conjoining. It is usually said that the linking word belongs to none of the linked clauses. It simply helps to link one clause to another. For instance, in sentence [1] we have two clauses: Abaana barwaire The children are sick k a n d i nyinabo azaire their mother has given birth. In this sentence kandi belongs neither to the first nor to the second clause. It can also be said that each one of the two clauses can stand on its own and function independently from the other. Thus, the clause: abaana barwaire (the children are sick) does not need nyinabo azaire (their mother has given birth) to have a satisfactory meaning. Sentence No. [4] has three clauses. The first is linked to the second by a process of juxtaposition, i.e. one element joined to another without any overt mark. Thus, Omusaija akahika ha saaha ikumi - is joined to - yaturamukya - by a simple comma. In spoken language, this comma is replaced by a brief pause -. The third clause is linked to the second one by an overt mark; i.e., the conjunction kandi "and" - This latter case is the usual process of what we call coordination. There are therefore two processes in compounding: Juxtaposition, when no overt mark is used to link two elements of equal importance. Coordination, when an overt mark is used to link elements of equal importance. We may note that sentence No. [5] is made up of two clauses linked together by a process of juxtaposition only. Another important aspect regarding conjoining in Runyakitara is that the clauses that are conjoined do not always strictly have equal importance. For clauses which indicate a sequence of events, in the past, usually the first clause has the -ka- tense marker while the subsequent ones usually have the −a −a - marker, as in sentence [4] above. One may also note that the first clause with the −ka −ka - marker tends to have more autonomy than the subsequent clauses with the −a −a - marker. Thus in sentence [4] while the first clause; omusaija akahika ha saaha ikumi "the man arrived at 4:00p.m 4:00p.m." can stand alone, it is not quite the same thing with the second clause: yaturamukya "he greeted us" probably because the -a- marker in the second clause indicates that another action has already taken place, and that the present action is a subsequent one. When one says: yaturamukya" the literal translation would be 'and he greeted us.' One can say that in Runyakitara, juxtaposition, which often introduces a different marker for the past, tends also to introduce a certain degree of subordination, in the sense that the subsequent action seems to be dependent on the previous action. This usually happens when the actions are more than two. When, on the other hand the actions are only two, the -ka- past tense marker is usually used in both cases. In that case, the dependency aspect tends to disappear - for example: Akatusiima kandi naitwe tukamusiima. He thanked us and we also thanked him. Note, however, that the usage of −a −a - in the second event is still acceptable. Akatusima kandi naitwe twamusiima. He thanked us and we thanked him also. From sentence No. [6] to sentence No. [10] each one of the sentences is usually called a complex sentence made up of more than one clause. The clauses are linked together by a process of subordination or embedding, by which one clause usually has more importance and is normally capable of having more autonomy than the other clause. In sentence No. [6] for instance, the principal clause is olindeka "you will leave me" - Which is capable of being autonomous. The subordinate clause is: Nkooku wansangire "as you found me.' The subordinating marker - nkooku, "as" is supposed to be part of the clause, and the clause clearly appears less autonomous than the principal clause. It can be represented as follows: olindeka you will leave me nkooku wansangire as you found me In sentence No. [7] the principal clause: Akahunirra muno - is capable of having more autonomy than the subordinate: Obu baamugambiire eki. "When they told him that" In sentence No. [8] Noobu arairuka "Even if he runs" appears clearly subordinated to araamusanga "you will find him". The same remarks apply to sentences No. [9] and No. [10]. What is important to note, however, is that principal clauses, despite their capacity to function autonomously, still need the subordinate clauses to express the full information of a given sentence. Furthermore, even in compound sentences, conjoined or coordinated clauses, (including those joined by juxtaposition) do not enjoy full autonomy from each other. They often have the capacity to function autonomously, but in the sentences where they occur, they need each other to express the full meaning of a sentence.
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The Simple Sentence
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As we saw earlier, a simple sentence is one which is made up of a single clause. We saw earlier the basic structure of a simple sentence. We shall here examine the func- tions or functional relations that can be assumed by the different elements or components of a simple sentence in Runyakitara. In the first place we have to distinguish between the normal sentence and what is known as the verbal in Bantu linguistics as in the following Runyoro-Rutooro examples: (1) Amata gali omu kikopo. (2) Garumu. (3) Enjangu ekataahira mu kihuru. (4) Ekataahiramu. (5) Omukazi akatwekera iba ebbaruha Kampala. (6) Akagimutwekerayo. (7) Enkende etembere ha muti. (8) Etembereho. The milk is in the cup. It is there. The cat entered into the hole. It entered there. The woman sent a letter to her husband in Kampala. She sent it to him there. The monkey has climbed on a tree. It has climbed there. The above are typical examples of simple sentences. The process of agglutination brought about by pronominalisation is very clear in sentences (2), (4), (6) and (8). One notices also the striking difference in English and in Runyakitara. Sentence (6) for instance is a one-word sentence in Runyakitara but has six words in English. The sentences above have the NP + VP; where VP consists of Aux + V + PP. Sentences (5) and (6) are slightly different because their structure is NP + VP + PP, although the PP consists of another PP, by that we mean that: We put the prepositions owa and mu mu (to) and (in) as deep structures which do not appear in our sentence in the surface structure. What the sentence could have been in (5) is as follows: Omukazi akatwek(er)a owa iba ebbaruha mu Kampala. The preposition owa (to) is replaced by the verbal derivative er (in brackets) and the preposition mu mu (in) before Kampala is more or less redundant in Runyoro-Rutooro, unless one wants to emphasise the fact that the husband was in Kampala.
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The Functions or Functional Relations in a Simple Sentence
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The major functions in a Runyakitara sentence are those of Subject, Verb, Object, Complement and Agent. These are terms of classical traditional grammar but which appear convenient for our purposes.
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Subject and Predicate
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Some traditional grammarians divide a sentence into two major functions; the subject and the predicate. For instance, in: Omwana maazanira omu musiri. The child is playing in the garden. Omwana is the subject; maazanira mu musiri is the predicate. Let us examine the Runyankore-Rukiga sentences below: In: Omwana akunda abazaive be munonga. The child loves his parents a lot. Omwana is subject; akunda abazaive be munonga is the predicate. In: Omwana ari omu musiri. The child is in the garden. Omwana is the subject; ari omu musiri is the predicate. In: Omwana naatuteganisa buri kaire. The child is disturbing us all the time. Omwana is the subject; naatuteganisa buri kaire is predicate. From this point of view, the term predicate seems to correspond to VP or VP + PP in transformational grammar. The subject remains what is traditionally known as the doer of 'the action' or as
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NP
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1 , in Runyakitara that means the NP that comes before the core verb.
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The Object
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The object is usually the element that comes after the verb and which is intimately linked to the verb in such a way that without it the verb lacks something essential. Compare these four sentences ( Ry/Rk Ry/Rk ): (1) Omushaija agwejegyeire. The man is asleep. (2) Omushaija naakunda abaana. The man loves children. (3) Omushaija naakunda abaana munonga. The man loves children a lot. (4) Omushaija agwejegyereire omu kitanda. The man is asleep in bed. In sentence (1), there is no object because the verb does not need one. In sentence (2), the verb kukunda (to love) needs an object hence the presence of abaana (children). In sentence (3), the verb kukunda (to love) still needs the object, abaana (children). Then something extra is added munonga (a lot). This last element is not necessary for the full expression of the verb. That is why munonga (a lot) can be deleted without radically modifying the meaning of the sentence or rendering the sentence non-grammatical. For instance, sentence (2) without munonga is quite acceptable. On the other hand, if in sentence (3) naakunda was removed to leave: Omushaija abaana munonga. One would feel that something fundamental is lacking. In sentence (4) omu kitanda (in bed), is not considered as essential either, because it is absent in sentence (1) and yet that sentence is quite correct. As we saw earlier, an object can be direct, if it comes directly after the verb or indirect, if it is separated from the verb by a preposition or its equivalent. For instance, in: Omushaija wangye naarya oburo. My man is eating millet. Oburo (millet) is direct object. But in: Omushaija wangye naaruga omu kibira. My man is coming from the forest. Kibira is indirect object because it is introduced by the preposition omu which separates it from the verb. Note the difference between a sentence like: Omushaija wangye naaruga omu kibira. My man is coming from the forest. and: Omushaija wangye agwejegyeire omu kibira. My man is asleep in the forest. In the first case, omu kibira will be considered as the object of the verb kuruga 'to come from' because of being closely linked to it. On the other hand, in the second sentence, omu kibira is not considered as an object of the verb kugwejegyera, but rather as an adverbial complement with very loose links with the verb. Some linguists make a distinction between a verb complement, i.e. an element closely linked to the verb or an object of the verb, and a sentence complement, i.e. an element which is only loosely linked to the verb and can be considered as belonging to the sentence as a whole rather than to the verb. In the two sentences above the relationship between omu kibira 'in the forest' and the verb can be shown as follows on a tree diagram. Omushaija wangye naaruga omu kibira. My man is coming from the forest. The second sentence could be illustrated as follows: In the first example, the PP is a complement of the verb or a constituent of the verb while in the second example, PP is a complement or constituent of the sentence.
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The Complement
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Traditionally, the complement is defined as that which completes something else, particularly the subject. For example: Omwana wangye ni murungi. My child is good. murungi - is considered as the complement of the subject omwana wangye. Abashaija bari ha kashozi. The men are on a (small) hill. In the above sentence the PP (prep + kashozi) is considered a complement of the subject abashaija (the men). The term complement, however, can also be used to mean anything that comes to complete the verb, the sentence or any other part of the sentence. In this case, we can talk of a noun complement as in: Omushaija ni murungi. The man is nice. or a verb complement as: Omushaija naaza kushoma. The man is going to pray. or a sentence complement as in: Omushaija naashomera omu kereziya. The man is praying in church.
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The Verb
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The verb itself, though a part of speech, is considered as a function by some grammarians particularly when it acts as the core or node of the sentence. Thus, in the Runyankore-Rukiga sentence: Omwana naakunda kuzaana. The child likes playing. The verb kukunda (to like) will be considered as having the function of verb while the verb kuzaana "to play" will have the function of object or complement of the verb. In the same manner, in the sentence: Tukamureeba naazaana. We saw him playing. The verb kureeba (to see) functions as the core of the sentence with the function of verb, while the verb kuzaana (to play) will function as the complement of the object pronoun mu mu (him).
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The Agent
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In traditional grammar, the function of agent is reserved for NPs in passive sentences that would otherwise have the function of subject. For example: Omukazi naateera omwana The woman is beating the child Subject Verb Object. Omwana naateerwa omukazi The child is being beaten by the woman Subject Verb Agent.
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Types of Clauses
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We have seen earlier that traditional grammar makes a distinction between different types of subordinate clauses basing on both formal but particularly semantic criteria. We shall now make a rapid analysis of some of these clauses. Those we shall examine are: i) The complement clauses; and ii) The relatives.
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Subsets and Splits
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