This book focuses on different clause-level constructions involving reflexes of the Proto-Bantu multifunctional applicative *-ɪd. These constructions, widespread across the Bantu family, show that applicative morphology is not always syntactically valence-increasing. It performs many non-syntactic functions which are often not addressed in the relevant literature.
Besides comparative data from the entire Bantu domain, this
work includes a first-ever historical case study of lexicalized, valence-neutral
applicative constructions in the southern Bantu language Tswana. Sara
Pacchiarotti shows that several non-syntactic functions of applicative
morphology in Bantu have parallels in genealogically unrelated and
geographically distant language families. Such often-overlooked cross-linguistic
data represent a serious challenge for most current operational definitions of
applicative morphology, inside and outside of Bantu, as being ontologically a
morphosyntactic valence-increasing device.
Sara Pacchiarotti is currently a postdoctoral researcher in historical linguistics within the BantuFirst project (2018-2022) at the UGent Centre for Bantu Studies, Ghent University, Belgium. She obtained a PhD in linguistics from the University of Oregon in 2017. Besides Mòòré (Niger-Congo, Burkina Faso), Tswana (Niger-Congo, Botswana) and West-Coastal Bantu (Niger-Congo, DRC), she has also worked on the morphosyntax of Bribri (Chibchan, Costa Rica).
May 2020
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Data Challenges to Applicative Definitions
- 3 Preliminaries to Bantu *-ɪd Applicative Constructions
- 4 Structure of Bantu *-ɪd Applicative Construction Types
- 5 Functions of Bantu *-ɪd Applicative Construction Types
- 6 Pseudoapplicative Constructions in Tswana
- 7 Historical Origin(s) and Function(s) of the PB Applicative *-ɪd
- 8 Conclusions
- Appendix A: Abbreviations
- Appendix B: Selected Tswana Pseudoapplicative Stems
- References
- Language Index
- Subject Index