Reflexive-Reciprocal Syncretism in Eastern Bantu Languages of Tanzania

Distribution and Origins

Bibliographic Data

ID5900640
AuthorsAron Zahran (Ghent University, corresponding author), Sebastian Dom (0000-0003-2937-261X, Ghent University)
Year2024
Volume9
Issue11
Pages347
Publication date2024-11-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguages (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages9110347
OpenAlexW4404190143
LanguageEN
References cited29

This paper presents an overview of the distribution of reflexive-reciprocal syncretism in Eastern Bantu languages spoken in Tanzania. Most Bantu languages encode reflexive and reciprocal constructions by means of two distinct verbal affixes. However, the Tanzanian Eastern Bantu languages under study have developed reflexive-reciprocal syncretism, in which the originally reflexive prefix has developed into a polyfunctional morpheme coding both reflexive and reciprocal constructions, to the detriment of the original reciprocal suffix. In a sample of 79 languages, reflexive-reciprocal syncretism is attested in 27 neighboring languages, thus constituting a clear areal feature. We propose that reflexive-reciprocal syncretism is not a language-internal innovation but was rather adopted from neighboring non-Bantu languages and subsequently spread out to its current distribution. We locate the heart of this contact-induced spread in the Tanzanian Rift Valley, a convergence zone in north-central Tanzania where languages from multiple African language families are spoken and have been in contact for an extensive period

Bantu languages · Distribution (mathematics · Ethnology · Geography · Linguistics · Reciprocal · Reflexivity · Sociology · Syncretism (linguistics · Tanzania · Anthropology · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy

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