Deo Ngonyani
Biographic Data
| ID | 81181 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Deo Ngonyani |
| GIVEN NAMES | Deo |
| FAMILY NAME | Ngonyani |
| SIGNATURE | NGONYANI D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2034-3604 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 15 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The reciprocal -an in Ndendeule
This article describes the reciprocal -an and its morphosyntactic and semantics in Ndendeule, a Bantu language spoken in southern Tanzania. As in other languages, the reciprocal constructions in Ndendeule express several situations, including prototypical or mutual situations, chain, collective situations, melee, radial, and iterative situations. Most reciprocal constructions involve minimally two participants. Some of the reciprocal situations m…
The Subjunctive Mood in Giryama and Tanzanian Nyanja
This paper presents a study of the Subjunctive in the Bantu languages of Giryama in Kenya (E72a) and Nyanja in Tanzania (N201), and explores its distribution in the two languages. As in other Bantu languages, the Subjunctive is a morphological feature characterized by a verbal suffix -e, an obligatory subject marker, and the absence of tense. Syntactically, the Subjunctive appears in independent clauses, as well as dependent clauses with a certai…
Conditionals in Ndendeule
Ndendeule, a Bantu language spoken in southern Tanzania, has six conditional constructions identified by conditional markers. Construction I is marked by the subordinating conjunction anda ‘if,’ while Construction II is characterized by the conditional prefix nga- which appears on both the protasis and apodosis. The dependent -aka- in the if-clause marks Construction III. Construction IV is a negative conditional where the negative is marked in t…
Attract F and Verbal Morphology in Kiswahili
There are three relative clause constructions in Kiswahili characterized by the distribution of the relative marker. The relative marker appears as a suffix on the relative complementizer, an affix between tense marker and the stem, and a suffix on the verb. The article attempts to account for: (a) the three positions of the relative marker, and (b) the order of morphemes in the verb. Recent derivational accounts suggest that the three constructi…
The asymmetric nature of Bantu applicative constructions
Sentential Negation and Verb Movement in Bantu Languages
This paper explores a well-known asymmetry between negation marking main clauses and subordinate clauses in Bantu languages (Gilldemann 1999:551, Meeussen 1967:114). It is noted that pre-initial negation marking is usually restricted to main clauses, while post-initial marking is rarely restricted. Various studies have explored the diachronic origins of the various strategies. This paper focuses on how the strategies are constrained by clause str…
Evidence for head raising in Kiswahili relative clauses
The author presents evidence from Kiswahili supporting a head-raising analysis recently proposed in Kayne (1994) and Bianchi (1999), in which the relative clause is generated as a complement of the determiner. Three kinds of evidence are presented: (1) selectional relations between demonstratives and some relative clauses; (2) quantified noun phrase-pronoun binding, in which the bound pronoun appears inside the head of the relative clause while i…
Onomastic devices in Shaaban Robert's narratives
This paper examines the use of names in the narratives of Swahili's literary giant, Shaaban Robert. It explores the symbolic nature of the carefully selected or invented names as well as the use of names as a discursive strategy. Focusing on his allegorical trilogy of Kusadikika , Adili na Nduguze and Kufikirika , the paper reveals Shaaban's unparalleled linguistic exuberance as evidenced in the semantics and symbolism of names. A compendium of n…
Properties of applied objects in Kiswahili and Kindendeule
This paper examines objects which are licensed by the applicative affix in the Bantu languages of Kindendeule and Kiswahili. The data show that all verbs can take the applicative suffix deriving transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, and ditransitive verbs from transitive verbs. The applied objects can be interpreted as beneficiary, maleficiary, goal, instrument, reason, motive, ingredient, location, or theme. Only the agent role cannot be lic…
Language Shift and National Identity in Tanzania
No abstract
The asymmetric nature of Bantu applicative constructions
Evidence for head raising in Kiswahili relative clauses
The author presents evidence from Kiswahili supporting a head-raising analysis recently proposed in Kayne (1994) and Bianchi (1999), in which the relative clause is generated as a complement of the determiner. Three kinds of evidence are presented: (1) selectional relations between demonstratives and some relative clauses; (2) quantified noun phrase-pronoun binding, in which the bound pronoun appears inside the head of the relative clause while i…
Properties of applied objects in Kiswahili and Kindendeule
This paper examines objects which are licensed by the applicative affix in the Bantu languages of Kindendeule and Kiswahili. The data show that all verbs can take the applicative suffix deriving transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, and ditransitive verbs from transitive verbs. The applied objects can be interpreted as beneficiary, maleficiary, goal, instrument, reason, motive, ingredient, location, or theme. Only the agent role cannot be lic…
Onomastic devices in Shaaban Robert's narratives
This paper examines the use of names in the narratives of Swahili's literary giant, Shaaban Robert. It explores the symbolic nature of the carefully selected or invented names as well as the use of names as a discursive strategy. Focusing on his allegorical trilogy of Kusadikika , Adili na Nduguze and Kufikirika , the paper reveals Shaaban's unparalleled linguistic exuberance as evidenced in the semantics and symbolism of names. A compendium of n…
Language Shift and National Identity in Tanzania
No abstract
Language Shift and National Identity in Tanzania
No abstract
Properties of applied objects in Kiswahili and Kindendeule
This paper examines objects which are licensed by the applicative affix in the Bantu languages of Kindendeule and Kiswahili. The data show that all verbs can take the applicative suffix deriving transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, and ditransitive verbs from transitive verbs. The applied objects can be interpreted as beneficiary, maleficiary, goal, instrument, reason, motive, ingredient, location, or theme. Only the agent role cannot be lic…
Evidence for head raising in Kiswahili relative clauses
The author presents evidence from Kiswahili supporting a head-raising analysis recently proposed in Kayne (1994) and Bianchi (1999), in which the relative clause is generated as a complement of the determiner. Three kinds of evidence are presented: (1) selectional relations between demonstratives and some relative clauses; (2) quantified noun phrase-pronoun binding, in which the bound pronoun appears inside the head of the relative clause while i…
Onomastic devices in Shaaban Robert's narratives
This paper examines the use of names in the narratives of Swahili's literary giant, Shaaban Robert. It explores the symbolic nature of the carefully selected or invented names as well as the use of names as a discursive strategy. Focusing on his allegorical trilogy of Kusadikika , Adili na Nduguze and Kufikirika , the paper reveals Shaaban's unparalleled linguistic exuberance as evidenced in the semantics and symbolism of names. A compendium of n…
Sentential Negation and Verb Movement in Bantu Languages
This paper explores a well-known asymmetry between negation marking main clauses and subordinate clauses in Bantu languages (Gilldemann 1999:551, Meeussen 1967:114). It is noted that pre-initial negation marking is usually restricted to main clauses, while post-initial marking is rarely restricted. Various studies have explored the diachronic origins of the various strategies. This paper focuses on how the strategies are constrained by clause str…
Attract F and Verbal Morphology in Kiswahili
There are three relative clause constructions in Kiswahili characterized by the distribution of the relative marker. The relative marker appears as a suffix on the relative complementizer, an affix between tense marker and the stem, and a suffix on the verb. The article attempts to account for: (a) the three positions of the relative marker, and (b) the order of morphemes in the verb. Recent derivational accounts suggest that the three constructi…
The asymmetric nature of Bantu applicative constructions
Conditionals in Ndendeule
Ndendeule, a Bantu language spoken in southern Tanzania, has six conditional constructions identified by conditional markers. Construction I is marked by the subordinating conjunction anda ‘if,’ while Construction II is characterized by the conditional prefix nga- which appears on both the protasis and apodosis. The dependent -aka- in the if-clause marks Construction III. Construction IV is a negative conditional where the negative is marked in t…
The Subjunctive Mood in Giryama and Tanzanian Nyanja
This paper presents a study of the Subjunctive in the Bantu languages of Giryama in Kenya (E72a) and Nyanja in Tanzania (N201), and explores its distribution in the two languages. As in other Bantu languages, the Subjunctive is a morphological feature characterized by a verbal suffix -e, an obligatory subject marker, and the absence of tense. Syntactically, the Subjunctive appears in independent clauses, as well as dependent clauses with a certai…
The reciprocal -an in Ndendeule
This article describes the reciprocal -an and its morphosyntactic and semantics in Ndendeule, a Bantu language spoken in southern Tanzania. As in other languages, the reciprocal constructions in Ndendeule express several situations, including prototypical or mutual situations, chain, collective situations, melee, radial, and iterative situations. Most reciprocal constructions involve minimally two participants. Some of the reciprocal situations m…
Linguistics (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (8 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (6 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (6 works) · Bantu languages (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Verb (5 works) · Dependent clause (4 works)