Examining the status of object markers in Rombo-Kiseri

Bibliographic Data

ID20253147
AuthorsAurelia Mallya (University of Dar es Salaam, corresponding author), Grace Benedict (University of Dar es Salaam)
Year2025
Volume12
Issue1
Publication date2025-12-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCogent Arts and Humanities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2331-1983 • E-ISSN: 2331-1983
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23311983.2025.2567507
OpenAlexW4415007604
LanguageEN
References cited18

This article examines the syntactic status of object marking in Rombo-Kiseri, a variety of a Bantu language, Rombo (E623), spoken in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. The article contributes to the documentation of main syntactic properties of object marking, and proposes that object markers in Rombo-Kiseri are best analysed as hybrid morphemes. The findings demonstrate that in Rombo-Kiseri, the co-occurrence of object markers with lexical object NPs is generally optional, but becomes obligatory when the noun phrase (NP) is a human proper name, indicating discourse-conditioned agreement. The language also permits multiple object marking, though in a fixed order, consistent with the hierarchical constraints reported across Bantu. Furthermore, locative object markers can independently license locative interpretations, showing pronominal-like property. Additionally, object markers are optional in neutral object relatives but occur freely in wh-questions. Generally, the evidence places Rombo-Kiseri in an intermediate position on the Bantu continuum. The language leans toward an agreement system while retaining pronominal-like properties in specific contexts. The study thus contributes to comparative evidence that Bantu object markers cannot be captured by a simple binary analysis, but are best understood as hybrid morphemes whose properties vary both within and across languages and constructions

Bantu languages · Clitic · Locative case · Morpheme · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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