The typology of tonal systems in the Kinande complex verb

Ngessimo M. Mutaka

Rutgers University and University of Yaounde 1.

 

0. Introduction

 

The status of auxiliary verbs in Bantu languages with a highly concatenative morphology has remained up till now a conundrum for linguistic theory. It is not always clear whether the auxiliary verb and the main verb form two maximal projections or a single maximal projection in a syntactic tree structure. Despite the fact that the structure of the simplex verb is relatively well understood, the unit called INFL (i.e. subject marker and tense-aspectual marker(s)) still poses problems, especially when the auxiliary is considered  part of this INFL. This paper seeks to provide a typology of tonal systems used in the auxiliary and in the INFL of the complex verb in Kinande,  a language of eastern DRC (former Zaire) in order to provide a phonological  argument that certain kinds of auxiliary should be considered as part of a higher syntactic unit that encodes the tense. It is shown that tonal processes that are assigned as suffixal tones in the simplex (i.e. non complex) verb typically surface in the auxiliary. At the same time, it is also shown that the auxiliary forms and the main verb constitute a single intonational phrase. The paper is organized as follows: §1 deals with the tonal processes in the tense-aspectual markers (TAM) of the simplex verb, §2 deals with the tones in the complex verb, and §3 is a summary of the processes in both the simplex and complex verbs followed by some concluding remarks abou the status of the auxiliary and the main verb.

 

However, before dealing with the tonal processes in the simplex verb, the structure of the verb, simplex and complex, is in order here. It is given in (1, 2).

 

Kinande is a typical Narrow Bantu language whose structure of the simplex verb typically consists of the following concatenative morphemes: SM-TAM-OM-Rt-Ext.- FV.

(The abbreviations are as follows: SM = subject marker, TAM = tense-aspect marker, OM = object marker, Rt = root, Ext = extension, FV = final vowel).

This structure is illustrated in the following Kinande form.

 

(1)       tu-náàmundisyaàtaàsyaya-ba-king-ul-ir-a

SM TAM                   OM Rt   Ext(s)FV

we                              them open

‘we will one more time open for them’

 

The verb may appear in a more complex form, that is, it may consist of the auxiliary followed by the main verb as illusrated in (2).

 

(2) The structure of the complex verb: auxiliary+ main verb.

tuà - lyaà - byaà    tuà - ka - gánda                  ‘we were going’

SM TM  be     SM TM  stem

          we         be       we        go

 

1. The tense-aspectual markers in the Kinande simplex verb

 

Because Kinande has numerous TAM morphemes, let me first give their positions in the INFL unit of the verb.

 

(3) Positions of the TM morphemes (Valinande 1984, Mutaka 1994)

1  2      3   4    5   6   7  8   9     10   11 12   13

a  nga  na  ma  bi  ri  e  ne  mu  ndi  ta  sya  ya

ka

ki

ø

 

Some morphemes have fixed H tones, others are toneless and others have a regular H tone that anticipates onto the preceding vowel and delinks from its sponsor. The typology of these TAMs is presented in (4).

 

(4) Types of tones in the TMs (Mutaka 1994)

 

Fixed tones                  Toneless                      Regular tones

ka                                na                                li (lya)

                                    ndi                               si (sya)

                                    si (sya)                        ta

                                    ya                                amaa

ne (nendi)                    ne (nendi)                    bi

abïùri                          li (limu)

                                    mu (limu)

 

1.1. The simplex verb with one TAM in the INFL unit.

Let us first examine the tense on single tense markers that appear in the simplex verb. The verb roots in (a,b) is toneless whereas the ones in (c,d) is H. An example with an OM is also given to show the changes that occurs when an OM is part of the expanded stem.

 

(5)a.    tw-a-humiraè   /tu-a-hum-ir-aC-aL/     we hit for (in the remote past)

            tw-a-mu-humira                                   we hit for him (remote)

tw-a-lusaàyaè                                      we took off our clothes

    b.     tw-aà-huàmiraè           /tu-a-hum-ir-aC-aHL/ we hit for (in the recent past)

            tw-a-muà-huàmiraè                             ‘we hit for him (recent past)

tw-aà-luàsaàyaè                                              we took off our clothes

   c.      tw-aà-tum-ïraè /tu-a-tum-ir-aC-aL/ we sent for (remote past)

          tw-a-mu-tumiraè                                    we sent for him (remote past)

   d.      tw-a-tum-ïùraà-aè /tu-a-tum-ir-aC-aHL/ we sent for (recent past)

            tw-aà-muà-tum-ïùraà-aè                                  we sent for him (recent past)

 

The TM -a- is underlyingly toneless. For a toneless verb root, no tone surfaces in the entire form as illustrated in (a) whereas a H surfaces on the root and pre-root vowel in the recent past tense as illustrated in (b). For a H tone verb root, a H surfaces on the TM -a- in a remote past tense just in case there is no OM in the form, otherwise, it surfaces with a L if there is an OM in the form. As for the recent past tense, the -a- surfaces with no tone if there is no OM in the stem, otherwise it surfaces with a H tone that anticipates from the OM. Notice that the suffixal HL assigned by the recent past tense surface in the stem as illustrated in (c,d). Consider also the following forms:

 

(6)       tu-kaà-gándaê /tu-ka-gánd-aC-a/         we are about to go

            tu-kaà-lusayaê                                                 we are taking off our clothes

 

The H on kaà is fixed. It neither anticipates to the preceding vowel nor delinks from its sponsor.

 

(7) a.   tuà-ki-gándaê /tu-ka-gánd-aC-a/          while we are still going

            tuà-ki-lusayaê                                      while we are still taking off our clothes

     b.    tuà-li-gándaê…                       if we had gone …

nyïù-ri-gándaà …        if I had gone …

nyïù-ri-lusayaà …       if I had taken of my clothes …

     c.    tuà-sya-gándaê            let us go one day

            tuà-sya-lusayaê                        let us go and take off our clothes

 

An examination of the forms in (6) indicates that the SM is toneless. The H on the SM in these forms in (7) must therefore originate from the TMs -ki-, -li-,
sya. The l/r alternation in (7b) is due to the quality of the round vowel that precedes. For an account, see Mutaka (1987). Consider the following forms:

 

(8) a.   tu-taà-gándaâaè                       let us go Informational imperative[1]

            tu-taà-lusyaâaè                        let us take off our clothes please

            tu-taà-humiraâaè          let us hit please

     b. tu-taà-tumaâaè                let us send

     c. erï-humïù:ra                   to hit for

            erïù-ta-humïù:ra          to merely hit for

            erinaàtahumïùr:ra        to just merely hit for

 

The H that surfaces on -ta- is presumably fixed like the one in -ka- although, underlyingly, it is associated to a H that anticipates onto the preceding vowel and delinks from its sponsor as illustrated in the forms in (c ). Notice that this
-ta- is part of a discontinuous morpheme ta … a. At this stage, it is not clear how the contour tone gets onto the prefinal vowel. Consider also the following forms:

 

(9) a.   ta-gándaâaè                 go please

            ta-lusyaâaè                  take off your clothes

            ta-humiraâaè                hit for please

     b.    taà-tumaâaè                 send please

 

The -ta- in this subjunctive form must be toneless as only the lexical H on the H tone verb surfaces on it as shown in (b). This -ta- is also part of the discontinuous morpheme ta…a as in the previous example.

 

(10)a.  tuà-ya-gáànd-árár-á     let us go in the very near future on purpose.

            tuà-yaà-luàsiriraàyá    let us go and take off our clothes on purpose

            tuà-yaà-huàm-ir-á        let us go and hit

     b.    tuà-ya-tuàmáê              let us go and send

            tuà-ya-tum-ïùráê                      let us go and send for

     c.    eri-ya-hum-ïù:ra          to go and hit.

 

The TM -ya- in these forms derives from the verb ári-ya-a ‘to go’. It presumably gets a suffixal H that surfaces on the vowel that precedes it as shown in the H tone verb root in (b). The subjunctive form assigns a suffixal HL in these forms. The suffixal H surfaces on the root and pre-root vowel of a toneless verb root as in (a) and on the penultimate and antepenultimate vowels of a H tone verb root as in (b). The lack of a H on -ya- in (10a) still needs an explanation that we do not have at this stage of our work. It is due to the irregularity of the verb ári-gánda ‘to go’. The fact that a H tone appears on the SM of forms in (a) indicates that the suffixal H both targets the root vowel and the TAM -ya- from which it anticipates. The TAM -ya- is toneless underlyingly as illustrated in (c ).

 

To summarize so far, the H on a single TM may be fixed as on -ka-, it may anticipate onto a preceding vowel and delink from its sponsor as on -ki-, and it may be a suffixal H that targets the TM as on -ya-. Concerning the imperative forms using the TAM -ya-, a suffixal H of the HL melody assigned by the tense targets both -ya- and the expected TBUs in the verb stem, that is, the first root vowel in a toneless verb root and the penultimate vowel in a H tone verb root.  This summary is made clearer in the following tableau with illustrative examples.

 

TAM in INFL

Stem

fixed H on -ka-

tu-kaà-

no special suffixal tone

humiraà-a

H  anticipates & delinks from sponsor

tuà-kina

no special suffixal tone

humiraà-a

suffixal HL targeting -ya-

tuà-yaà-

suffixal HL

huàmiráè

special status of -a- in a H tone verb:

 a in recent past w/t OM: e.g. tu-a-

 aà                    with OM: e.g. tu-aà-

suffixal HL

tum-ïùraà-aè

muà-tumïùraà-aè

special status of -a- in a H tone verb:

aà in remote past w/t OM: e.g. tu-aà-

a                      with OM e.g. tu-a

suffixal L

tumiraè

mu-tumiraè

regular H of -ta- becomes fixed in informational imperative: e.g. tu-taà-

a LHL melody on the FV

humiraâaè

 

1.2. The simplex verb with two TAMs in the INFL unit.

Let us now examine the tone on the TAM that consists of two morphemes, bearing in mind that, from a syntactic point of view, it is more likely that it is the TAM that is first in the sequence that is the tense marker.

 

(11)a.  tu-ama-gáànda if we leave

            tu-ama-hum-irïùr-a      if we hit on purpose

      b.   tu-aàmaê-gáànda         we are leaving

            tu-aàmaà-gánd-áráàr-a            we are leaving on purpose

 

Whereas the -ama- in (a) is toneless, the -ama- in (b) is presumably -amaa- and  is associated with a branching H. It is not clear whether this branching H is fixed on -ama- or is on -aa- of amaa and that it undergoes H tone anticipation followed by delinking of the rightmost branch. Consider the following form:

 

(12)     tu-asya-gánda  we came to leave (in the remote past)

 

In this form, a L tone of the remote past tense should presumably be posited on the final vowel of the verb. The two TAMs are therefore toneless. Consider also the following forms:

 

(13)a.  tu-aàya-gándaê                        we went there to leave  (Recent past)

            tu-aàya-humiriraê        we went to hit on purpose

      b. tu-aàyaà-tum-ir-aê         we went there to send

 

The H on -a- of -aya- is presumably the suffixal H of the recent past tense which is assigned onto -ya- which, as pointed out previously, is a verb that acts as a tense marker. Curiously enough, this suffixal H does not target the vowels in the stem. Notice that the falling tone on the FV is the result of a phrasal H and the intonational L. Consider also the following forms:

 

(14)a. tu-andi-humïù:ra                      we would hit for

            tu-andi-humira Maguà:lu         we would hit for Magulu

      b.   tu-aàndi-humïù:ra                    we would have hit for

            tu-aàndi-humira Maguà:lu       we would have hit for Magulu

 

Whereas no underlying tone should be posited in the TAMs in (a), it is not clear whether the H on aà of -andi- is the result of a H tone anticipation followed by delinking from the sponsor or if it is assigned onto -a- in these forms. What is certain is that forms in (b) express a recent past wereas those in (a) a remote past tense. The H in (b) can thus be equated to the H found in the recent past tense. In this case, it seems safer to say that it directly targets the vowel -a-. One possibility is that this tense marker -a- is stressed in these forms and thus attracts tone. Consider also the following forms:

 

(15)a. tu-lya-gándaê  /tu-li-a-gánd-aC-a/                   if we were to leave

      b.   tuà-lya-gándaê /tu-li-a-gánd-aC-a/                 we left

 

Assuming that -lya- derives from -li-a-, and that this -li- is the same as the one for which we posited an underlying H that anticipates and delink, we must assume that the lack of a H tone in the form expressing irrealis in (a) is the result of a rule or a constraint banning the surfacing of a H in such a form.

 

(16).    tu-kaàndi-gáànd-a        we will go

tu-kaàna-gándaê          we sometimes go

tu-kaàbi-gáànda           we left ( a short time ago)

tu-kaàta-gándaê           we are leaving (for now)

tu-kaàsya-gándaê         we will leave (one day)

tu-kaàya-gándaê          we are going to leave

 

These forms illustrate the fixed H on -ka-; in other words, the H on -ka- does not anticipate and delink from its sponsor. Consider also the following forms:

 

(17)a.  tu-kinaà-huàmiraè        we are still hitting for

      b.   tuà-kina-humiraê         while we are still hitting for

 

While the H on -naà- in (a) is the result of the suffixal H in this tense, the H on the SM in (b) presumably derives from -ki- which is part of a discontinuous morpheme ki-na- …a. However, since the SM of the form in (a) does not surface with a H that would anticipate from an underlying H on -ki-, it is possible that the H on the SM in (b) is morphologically assigned in this form.

 

(18).    tu-ándi-gáànda we would have left (in a remote past)

tu-áàndi-gáànda           we would have left (in a more recent past)

 

These forms are similar to those in (14). As they contrast a recent and remote past, it is plausible that the suffixal L tone of the remote past is responsible for the L tone in (a) and that the suffixal H of the recent past tense is also responsible for the H tone in (b). Consider the following form:

 

(19).    tu-náàmu-gáànda         we are leaving

 

The H on náà is presumably fixed, if we assume that it is the same morpheme that appears in a form like tu-náà buyira ‘we have nothing’ (literally: we are nothing).

 

To summarize, the tones that appear in a TAM that consists of two morphemes include the following tonological processes:

(a)  a H tone that remains fixed on a specific morpheme; e.g. náà of -náàmu-; kaà in kaàsya, kaàna, etc.

(b) a H tone that anticipates onto the preceding TBU and delinks from its sponsor; e.g. the H on the SM tuà- in tuà-kina-gándaê.

(c ) a suffixal H tone that is typically assigned by the recent past tense and which surfaces on the TBU that sponsors that particular tense marker; e.g. in tu-aàya-gándaê ‘we recently went to leave’

(d) a L tone that is typically assigned by a remote past tense and whose effect is a surface L tone onto the TAM; e.g. tu-ándi-gáànda            ‘we would have left’

 

Since the typology of tones in the forms with two TAMs is not very different from the one we encountered in the forms with a single TAM, I will only list the processes that do not figure in the previous tableau.

 

Tone in  INFL with 2 TAMs

Stem

suffixal H on -ya-

tu-aà-ya-

no special tone

humiriraê

Branching H in -ama- 

e.g. tu-aàmaà-

no special tone

humirïù:ra

Loss of branching H in -ama-  in an if-clause  e.g. tu-ama-

no special tone

humirïù:ra

 

In the following section, we not only describe the forms used as auxiliary but also point out the tones used in the auxiliary and the TAM in the verb.

 

2. The tones in the complex verb form.

 

As pointed out earlier, complex verb form  means a  form that consists of an auxiliary and the main verb as illustrated in the following examples.

 

(20)a.  tuà-lwáà tuà-kaà-lyaê              ‘we were eating’

            tu-naà-lwáà tuà-kaà-lyaê                     ‘we were indeed eating’

      b.   tuà-lwáà tuà-ka-huàma                        ‘we were hitting’

 

As illustrated in these forms, the complex verb consists of an auxiliary whose structure is SM-lwáà and the main verb whose structure is SM-TAM-Stem. Since the auxiliary verb derives from the verb ári-lu-a, which is a toneless verb root, we must assume that the H on the SM is the result of a suffixal H usually found in the recent past tense (cf. Mutaka 1994). It will be observed that the H on lwáà results from a postlexical H spreading from the initial TBU of the following word.

 

What is new in the main verb is that the fixed H on the TAM -ka- spreads onto the preceding vowel and delinks from its sponsor. This H thus behaves like a the H in a relative clause affirmative (Hyman, p.c.) in a form such as oyuà-ka-humaà-a ‘the one who is hitting’. Consider also the following forms:

 

(21)a.  tuà-lwáà ïù-tu-naà-muà-lyaê   ‘we were eating’        

            tu-naà-lwáà ïù-tu-naà-muà-lyaê          ‘we were indeed eating’

      b.   tu-naà-lwáà ïù-tu-naà-mu-huàma ‘we were indeed hitting’

 

These forms illustrate a second type of the use of the auxiliary -lwáà where the main verb starts with a complementizer ïù-. Presumably, the H on -naà- is fixed in the TAM of the main verb as -mu- has been observed to be underlyingly toneless in simplex verbs. Actually, this naà is the same as the morpheme -náà- used also in combination with -mu-, (e.g. tuà-lwáà ïù-tu-náàmu-huàma ‘we were hitting’). Consider also the following forms:

 

(22)a.  tuàlwáà ïù-tu-abïùrïù-ryaê                  ‘we had already eaten’

            nyïù-lwáà ïù-n-abïùrïù-ryaê   ‘I had already eaten’

            aà-lwáà ïù-n-abïùrïù-ryaê                   ‘he had already eaten.

      b. tuàlwáà ïù-tu-abïùrï-huàma       ‘we had already hit’

Presumably, the H on -bïù- in the main verb of this form is fixed.

 

(23)a.  tuàlwáà ïù-tu-naà-hakaàb-ïõùrá          ‘we were in the stated of being smeared’

      b.   tuàlwáà ïù-tu-naà-huàm-iõráè ‘we  had already hit’

 

Because the main verb uses the suffixal aspectual marker -iõrá, the H on the root vowel and the vowel that precedes it must be the result of a suffixal H assigned by the recent past tense. Consider also the following forms:

 

(24)a.  tuàlwáà ïù-móà-tu-a-n-aàmaà-hakaà:ba          ‘we had just semeared ourselves’

      b.   tuàlwáà ïù-móà-tu-a-n-aàmaà-humïùra           ‘we had just hit for’

tuàlwáà ïù-móà-tu-a-n-aàmaê-huàma  ‘we had just hit’

tuàlwáà ïù-móà-tu-a-n-aàmaà-humira Maguà:lu ‘we had just hit for Magulu’

 

The main verb in these forms uses a discontinuous TAM móà..a-na-amaa-. The H on -aàmaà- is presumably the branching H that was seen in the simplex verb onto this morpheme. Consider also the following forms:

 

(25)     nyïùà-lwáà w’árïù-ryaê          ‘we ought to eat’

baàà-lwáà b’árïù-ryaê            ‘we ought to eat’

            tuà-lwáà b’árïù-ryaê   ‘We ought to eat’

 

These forms show that the auxiliary -lwáà- may be followed by a main verb in the infinitive as shown by these examples. The consonant “w-/b-” in these forms is an agreement marker that refers to mundu “person” in the case of “w” and bandu ‘people’ in case of “b”.

 

To summarize, the auxiliary lwá takes a suffixal H that surfaces on the preceding vowel and the main verb contains tones that may be fixed as in the case of -aàmaà-, a H that anticipates onto a preceding vowel and delinks from its sponsor as in the morpheme -kaà-, -bïù-, and -naà-. In case the main verb has a complementizer -ïù-, this complementizer always surfaces with a H. One peculiarity about -ka- is that its fixed H is now regular in that it anticipates and delinks from its sponsor.

 

A brief comparison of the subjunctive form of the auxiliary lwáà (from the toneless verb root -lu- in eri-lu-a) with the subjunctive form of eri-hum-a which has a toneless verb root will help clarify the assignment of the suffixal H into these forms.

 

(26)a.  tuà-luãà-á [tuàlwá]                                          b.         tuà-huàm-á

            let us leave                                                                  let us hit

            nyi-naà-luãà-á [nyinaàlwá]                                         nyi-naà-huàm-á

            let me me come indeed                                                let me hit indeed         

         (cf. eri-luã-a ‘to leave’)                                                 (cf. eri-hum-a ‘to hit’)

 

As shown in these forms, the suffixal H surfaces onto the root vowel and the vowel that precedes it. Notice also that the auxiliary -lwá- may be used with an -iõrá suffixal aspectual marker as in the following example. Consider these forms:

 

(27).    moà-tu-aà-lwiõr  ïù-tu-aà-huàmiraè  /móà-tu-a-luã-iõrá/

   ‘we hit immediately’

*moà-tu-aà-lwiõrá  tu-aà-huàmiraè

 

When used in this tense, the form has to be followed by the complementizer ïù-.

This auxiliary -lwáà- can also be conjugated in other forms where it is preceded by aspectual markers as illustrated in the following forms.

 

(28)a.  tu-kaàndi-lw’ ïù-tu-aà-huàmi:raè ‘we will hit immediately’

      b.   tuà-lwe-ndi-lw’ ïù-tu- aà-huàmi:raè ‘we would hit immediately’

 

Finally, we would like to mention that -lwá- can be used as an aspectual marker in a non complex verb as illustrated below.

 

(29).    tu-naà-lwá-ndi-humïù:ra[2]        ‘we could hit for’

sïù-tuà-lwá-ndi-humïù:ra        ‘we would not hit for’

 

So far, we have seen the use of the auxiliary -lwáà-. Another auxiliary used in the complex verb is -bya- as illustrated in the following forms.

 

(30).a. tu-anataà-byaà tuà-ka-humïù:ra           ‘we were at least hitting for’

       b. tu-náàmundïù-byaà tuà-ka-huàma         ‘we will be hitting’

      c.   tu-náàmundi-humïù:ra                         ‘we will hit for’

            tu-náàmundïùta-humïù:ra                     ‘we will at least hit for’

 

As shown in these examples, both the auxiliary  -bya- “be” and the main verb
-humira ‘hit for’ take tense and aspectual markers. Because -bya- is a H tone root, the H that surfaces on the vowel which precedes it is the lexical H. As illustrated in (c ), -ta- is underlyingly associated to a H tone that anticipates and delinks from its sponsor. Like in the case of lwáà, the H on byaà  results from a postlexical H spreading from the preceding word as will be demonstrated later.

 

 (31)    tu-a-byaà ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra          ‘we were hitting for’ (in a recent past)

tu-anaà-byaà ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra     ‘we were indeed hitting for’

tu-anataà-byaà ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra ‘we were at least hitting for’ (Remote)

tu-endïù-byaà ïù-tu- naàmu-humïù:ra ‘we would be hitting for’       

tu-enáàndïù-byaà ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra          ‘we would be hitting for’

tu-náàmundïù-byaà ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra       ‘we will be hitting for’

 

As shown in these forms, the auxiliary -bya- may be followed by a main verb introduced by the complementizer ïù-  Notice that when the main verb is not introduced by the complementizer ïù- , the number of tense-aspectual markers it can have is restricted by the kinds of tense-aspectual markers used in the auxiliary. Consider the following examples:

 

(32)a. tu-kaàndisyaà-byaà       tuà-kaà-humïù:ra ‘we will be hitting for at that time’

                                                tw-a- humïù:ra ‘when we will hit for at that time’

                                                tw-ama-humïù:ra ‘if we hit for at that time’

                                                *tu-neàmu- humïù:ra 

                                                *tu-abïùrï- humïù:ra

                                                *móà-tu-anaàmaà- humïù:ra

     b. tu-kaàndisyaà-byaà         ïù-tu-neàmu-humïù:ra

  ‘we will be in the act of hitting for’

                                                ïù-tu-abïùrï- humïù:ra

   ‘we will have finished hitting for’

                                                ïù-móà-tu-anaàmaà-humïù:ra

   ‘we’ll just have finished hitting for’

 

The following paradigms show that the tense is mostly expressed by the auxiliary verb.

 

(33)a. tu-a-naà-byaà ïù-tu-naàmuà-lyaê                     (more recent)

      b.   tu-a-na-byaà ïù-tu-naàmuà-lyaê                       (more remote)

            ‘we were eating indeed’

 

(34)a.  tu-a-byaà ïù-tu-naàmuà-lyaê    (progressive, more recent)

      b.   tu-aà-byaà ïù-tu-naàmuà-lyaê              (more past)

            ‘we were eating’

 

(35)a.  tu-aà-byaà tuà-kaà-lyaê                       more past

      b.   tu-a-byaà tuà-kaà-lyaê                         more recent past

            ‘we were eating’

 

(36)a.  tu-endïù-byaà ïù-tu-naàmuà-lyaê         (more remote)

      b.   tu-eàndïù-byaà ïù-tu-naàmuà-lyaê       (more neutral with respect to tense)

            ‘we would be eating’

 

(37)a.  tu-enendïù-byaà tuà-kaà-lyaê (more remote)

      b.   tu-eneàndïù-byaà tuà-kaà-lyaê (more neutral with respect to tense)

            ‘we would be eating’

 

(38)a.  tu-a-naà-byaà tuà-kaà-lyaêê    (Recent past)

      b.   tu-a-na-byaà tuà-kaà-lyaêê      (Remote past)

            ‘we were eating indeed’

 

(39)a.  tu-a-naà-byaà tu-aà-lyaê                      (more recent past)

      b.   tu-a-na-byaà tu-aà-lyaê                       (remote)

            ‘whenever we ate’

 

(40)a. tu-anataà-byaà tuà-ka-humïù:ra (remote)

            tu-anaàtaà-byaà tuàka-humïù:ra (more recent past)

 

One crucial observation in these forms is that the suffixal H of the recent past tense seems to affect the TAM in the auxiliary whereas the suffixal L tone of the remote past tense affects the tone in the TAM of the auxiliary in the sense that a H tone on a TAM such as -na- or -ta- that would have anticipated does not. In the forms that express a remote past, the TAM surface with L as in (36a (on á of ándïù, 37a (on áná), 38b, 39b, ). In the case of the recent past tense, notice that the lexical H does not surface if the TM immediately precedes the root as in (35b) unless this morpheme is -na- as in (38a, 39a).

 

We would like to point out that it is mostly the auxiliary that encodes the various shades of tense. An examination of the following forms will make this clearer.

 

(41)a.  tu-kaàndïù-byaà tu-a-humïù:ra                        ‘when we hit for’

      b.   tu-kaàndïù-byaà           tuà-ka-humïù:ra           ‘we will be hitting for’

      c.   tu-kaàndïù-byaà           tu-aàbi-humïù:ra          ‘after we have hit for’

      d.   tu-kaàndïù-byaà           tu-anaàbi-humïù:ra      ‘just after we will have hit for’

      e.   tu-kaàndïù-byaà           tu-amaàta-humïù:ra     ‘if ever we hit for’

      f.    tu-kaàndïù-byaà           tu-ama- humïù:ra         ‘if ever we hit for’

      g.   tu-kaàndïù-byaà           ïù-tu-limu- humïù:ra    ‘we’ll be on the verge of  hitting for’

      h.   tu-kaàndïù-byaà           ïù-tu-náàmu- humïù:ra ‘we’ll be hitting for  at that time’

 

These examples show that, when the auxiliary is kept constant, and that the tense-apectual markers are changed in the main verb, various meanings that are not directly related to tense are revealed. It should be noticed that, in the main verb, the  fixed H of -ka- becomes regular in that its H now anticipates onto the preceding vowel and delinks from its sponsor as illustrated in (b). Also,  -ama- which is normally associated with a branching H loses its H and behaves as if it was completely toneless. In (e), the H on maà of -amaàta- originates from the H of -ta-.

 

So far we have been using the auxiliary -bya-. Notice that it can also be used in the past tense with the suffixal tense marker -iõrá as illustrated in the following examples.

 

(42).a. tu-a-báàráà tu-a-humïù:ra ‘when we hit for’               (recent past tense)

            tu-a-báàráà tu-ama-humïù:ra ‘if we decided to hit’

            tu-a-báàráà tuà-ka-humïù:ra ‘while we were hitting for’

      b.   tu-aà-báráà tu-a-humïù:ra ‘when we hit for’               (remote past tense)

tu-aà-báráà tu-ama-humïù:ra ‘if we decided to hit for’

tu-aà-báráà tuà-ka-humïù:ra ‘while we were hitting for’

 

The auxiliary -bárá’ here is in fact /bá-iõrá/[3] underlyingly. In the (a) forms, it is in the recent past tense whereas in the (b) forms, it is in the remote past tense. As shown in these examples,  it is the auxiliary -bárá- that carries the tense: remote or recent past tense. The main verb carries the aspectual markers that may modify the meaning of the complex verb in various ways, that is, meaning that is expressed in English with an if-clause, a when-clause, or a while-clause.

 

With respect to the tones in the auxiliary -bya- and -bárá-, notice that they always end with a high tone. Following a suggestion by Larry Hyman (personal communication), this H most probably originates from the following word. The following arguments can be proposed for justifying such a move.

 

First, the penultimate length which is the clue for the end of the intonational phrase in Kinande never appears after the auxiliary. It rather appears at the end of the main verb. In other words, the auxiliary and the main verb constitute one intonational phrase.

 

Secondly, we know that within a phonological phrase domain that consists of two words, (e.g. verb+object), a H on the initial of the second word anticipates onto the FV of the preceding word, knocking out a lexical Low tone as in the following examples:

 

(43)a.  móàtwaàlaàngiõráà Kaàtsu:va we saw Katsuva          (cf. móà-tu-aà-laàng-iõr-áè)

      b.   móàtwaàlaàngiõrá Maguà:lu   we saw Magulu

      c.   móàtwaàlaàngiõrá Kaàmba:lá             we saw Kambale

      d.   móàtwaàlaàngiráà Mbalá        we saw Mbale

 

In these forms, the verb has a suffixal Low tone on the final vowel. In (a), this L tone is knocked down by the H tone on the following word. In (b), nothing happens because the vowel on the following word has  no tone. The noun “Kaàmbale” in (c ) is an exception to this H tone spreading across the board presumably because ka- is actually a pre-prefix and that the prefix is N- (/ka-N-bale/)[4]. This noun has a floating H that surfaces on the final vowel of the verb as sown in (d).

 

Assuming that it is the H on the following word that anticipates onto the final vowel of the auxiliary, one problem remains, namely, how to explain the H tone when the following word does not start with a H tone. Following another suggestion of Larry Hyman, it is highly probable that, in Kinande, the subject marker and the augment have an underlying H tone that surfaces onto the preceding vowel. Consider the following examples in support of this proposal:

 

(44)a.  amagándaà n’ omuãlïõù:miõ if he goes with a (specific) farmer

      b.   amagenda na mul ïõù:miõ if he goes with a (non specific) farmer

 

The difference between the two sentences is that the word for farmer in (b) has no augment. And it is precisely the verb that precedes this form that has a FV which surfaces with a L tone.

 

As for the H on the subject marker, one piece of evidence for such a proposal is in a form like the following:

 

(45) mómóà-tu-naà-lya-humir-a Maguà:luà …           even if we hit magulu, …

 

The fact that the morpheme which precedes the subject marker is a repetition of the same syllable, one might rightly assume that  “mó” is toneless underlyingly and that it gets its H from the subject marker.

 

With these assumptions, we can now propose that the H on the FV of the auxiliary always originates from the main verb, whether this main verb starts with the complementizer ïù-, a subject marker, or an augment as in the following examples:

 

(46)     tuàlwáà ïù-tu-naà-mu-gáà:nda             we were (in the process of) leaving

tuàlwáà tuà-ka-gáà:nda                                   we were leaving

tuàlwáà b’árigáà:nda                           we’d better leave

            tu-anataà-byaà tu-ama-gáà:nda            whenever we had to leave

 

Apart from -lwá-, -bya-, and -bárá, the verb stem -sal-a meaning ‘vomit’ serves also as an auxiliary. But it does not express the idea of  “vomit” when used as an auxiliary.  The following forms illustrate its use in a non-past form:

 

(47).    tuà-lyaà-salaà tu-a-humïù:ra   (immediate past)

            ‘we finally hit for’

tu-a-saàlaà tu-a-humïù:ra        (recent past)

‘we finally hit for’

tu-aà-salaà tu-a-humïù:ra                    (remote past)

‘we finally hit for’

tu-endïùtaà-salaà tu-a-humïù:ra

‘we would be able to finally hit for’

tu-enendïùtaàsyaà-salaà tu-a-humïù:ra

‘we would have been able to finally hit for’

 

As illustrated in these forms, -sala- serves as an auxiliary and the main verb that follows it consists of SM-TM. Like in the previous auxiliary verbs, it is the one that carries the different shades of the tenses like the recent past or the remote past tenses. Like in the previous auxiliaries, its final vowel surfaces with a H tone that we identified as deriving from the following word. Unlike the previous auxiliaries, it is not followed by the complementizer ïù-. It may also be conjugated in the imperative and past tenses as illustrated below.

 

(48)a.  tu-saàláà tu-a-humi:raè                        ‘let us hit for finally’

      b.   tu-a-saàlïõùráà tu-a-humïù:ra  ‘we finally hit for’       (Recent past)

tu-aà-saliõráà tu-a-humïù:ra    ‘we finally hit for’       (Remote past)

móà-tu-a-saàlïõùráà tu-a-gáànda         ‘we finally hit for’       (recent past)

 

As for the forms in (b), the auxiliary -sal- is conjugated with the suffixal tense marker -iõrá. Like in the previous cases, the different shades of the tenses (recent past, remote past) are marked by the auxiliary verb and the final vowel also ends with a H that presumably originates from a floating H on the subject marker of the following word. Consider also the following examples.

 

(49)a.  tuàlyaàbyaà twaàsalaà tu-a- humïù:ra

            ‘when we finally hit for’

tu-naàlwándisyaàtaàsyaà-byaà tw-aà-salaà tw-a-ya-humïù:ra

‘whenever we will have the opportunity of hitting for one more time’

tu-náàmundisyaàtaàsyayaà-byaà tw-aà-salaà tw-a-ya-humïù:ra

‘when we’ll have, each time, in the far future, an opportunity to hit for’

    b. *twaàsalaà tuàlyaàbyaà tu-a-humïù:ra

    c. twabáàráà twaàsalaà tu-a-humïù:ra         ‘when we finally hit for’

        *twabáàráà twaàsaàlaà tu-a-humïù:ra

 

As illustrated in these forms, twaàsalaà is sandwiched between the first auxiliary and the main verb. In case it is also considered as an auxiliary, I would like to point out two details about its use: (a) if there are two auxiliaries in the verb, it cannot be in the first position; (b) its tones do not change as illustrated in (c) even if the first auxiliary is in the past tense for example. In fact, it has an adverbial meaning, something like “finally.”

 

Apart from these auxiliaries, that is -lwá, -bya, bárá, -sala, there are a few others that are monosyllabic and that do not look like verbs. They are   exemplified below:

 

(50)a.  sïù-tu-lïù tu-a-gáànda              ‘we have not left yet’

            sïù-mu-lïù mu-a-gáànda          ‘you have not left yet’

     b.    tuà-táà tu-a-gáànda                  ‘(as) we have not left’

            muà-táà            mu-a-gáànda                ‘(as) you have not left’

     c.    tu-náà tu-a-gáànda kweàhïû     ‘have we left really?”

mu-náà mu-a-gáànda kweàhïû ‘have you left really?”

 

As illustrated in (a,b), -li- and -tá- are used in the negative whereas -ná- is used in the interrogative, preferably with a question word such as kwáàhïû ‘really’.

Like all the auxiliaries we have discussed, they also carry a H tone which, as has been argued earlier, originates from the following word.

 

To summarize, the types of phonological processes that have been found in the complex verb are the following: (the type of process is given with an illustrative example that spans the two columns[5].)

 

Auxiliary

Main verb

suffixal HL related to the recent past

tuà-lwáàà

special status of -a-:  a in recent past

tu-a-byaà

no special tone

 ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra

 

ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra

Suffixal L related to the remote past

tu-ana-byaà

special status of -a-: aà in the remote

tu-aà-byaà

no special tone

 ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra

 

ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra

H on the FV resulting from a following word e.g. tu-aà-byaà

               tuà-lwáà

TBU of SM, Augment, complementiz.

tuà-ka-humïù:ra

b’ árihumïù:ra

ïù-tu-naàmu-humïù:ra

HTA from a specific morpheme

e.g. ta: tu-anaàtaà-byaà

fixed H of ka changes to regular

 tuà-ka-humïù:ra

failure of HTA related to remoteness

tu-ana-byaà

no special tone

tu-a-humïù:ra

fixed H of ka changes to regular

tuà-ka-humïù:ra

no special tone changes

tu-kaàndilw’

suffixal HL in main verb

ïù-tu-aà-huàmi:raè

fixed H on morphemes such as ka-

tu-kaàndïù-byaà

fixed H of ka becomes regular

tuà-ka-humïù:ra

branching H on ama deletes

tu-ama-humïù:ra

tu-amaàta-humïù:ra

no special tone, suffixal H of HL

tu-kaàndïùbyaà

tuà-lwáà

H on the complementizer ïù-

ïù-tu-abïùri-humïù:ra

ïù-tunaà-huàmi:ráè

suffixal H(L) in Aux à

móà-tu-aà-lwiráà

suffixal HL in main verb

ïù-tu-aà-huàmiraè

 

I would like also to mention that other verbs in Kinande also behave as auxiliaries and exhibit the same typological tonal processes as illustrated in the following examples:

 

(51)a.  tuà-soànd-iõ r’ ïù-tu-aà-huàm-a Maguà:lu

‘we would like to hit Magulu’ (cf. -sond- ‘want’)

            tu-n-aànzir’ ïù-tu- aà-huàm-a Maguà:lu          

‘we do like to hit Magulu’          (cf. -anz- ‘like’)

 

      b.   tu-ki-s ïõùg’ ïù-tu- aà-huàm-a Maguà:lu        

‘we are about to hit Magulu’(cf. -sïõùg- remain)

tu-sïõùg’ ïù-tu- aà-huàm-a Maguà:lu              

‘we are about to hit Magulu’(cf. -sïõùg- remain)

 

I have indicated between parentheses the verb roots of the forms that behave like auxiliaries. Notice that a suffixal HL must be posited in these forms even if they do not express a recent past tense. In the case of the verb -anz- and -sónd-, this is normal because they use the ending -iõrá that is associated with the suffixal HL. In the case of -siõg-, because it is a H tone verb and also because it is not preceded by an OM of any sort, the H tone simply does not show up.

 

Notice also that the main verb also carries the suffixal HL: the H surfaces on the root and preroot vowel and the L surfaces on the final vowel. I have added the name “Magulu” to show that the H on the penultimate vowel is not  phrasal. These verbs which behave like auxiliaries can also be used with the infinitive as illustrated below:

 

(52)     tu-naà-soànd-iõ r’ ári-gáà:nd-a          

‘we do want to go’ (cf. -sond- ‘want’)

            tu-n-aànzir’ ári-gáà:nda          

‘we do like to go’           (cf. -anz- ‘like’)

tu-sïõùg’ ári-gáà:nd-a            

‘it remains for us to go’ (cf. -siõg- remain)

 

The verbs árïù-báàr-a ‘to have the habit of’ and ári-bágáàr-a ‘to be used to’ are also used as auxiliaries, but they are followed by the main verb in the infinitive forms only as illustrated below.

 

(53)a.  tu-kaà-bár- árigáà:nda ‘we have the habit of leaving’

            tuà-bágár’ árigáà:nda ‘we are used to leaving’

 

      b. árïù-báà:ra ‘to have the habit of’

          ári-bágáà:r-a ‘to be used to’

 

The verb árïù-báàra, when used as an auxiliary, necessarily makes use of the TAM -ka- whereas ári-begáàr-a can be conjugated in a restricted number of  tenses as in the following examples:

 

(54)     tu-naà-báàgár’ árigáà:nda

 ‘we are used indeed to walking’

tu-naàlwándisya-bágár’ árigáà:nda

 ‘we would eventually get used to walking’

tu-angasyaà-bágár’ árigáànda kwáàhïû

             ‘can we still get used to walking, do you think?’

 

3. Concluding remarks

 

The typology of tones that have been uncovered in the forms discussed in this paper has been of two types: the types of tones that surface in the INFL of a simplex verb and those which surface in both the auxiliary and the INFL of the main verb. It has been pointed out that, in the simplex verb, the tones that appear in the INFL may be of the following type:

 

-fixed H tone

-regular H tone that anticipates and delinks from sponsor

-suffixal H of  the TAM -ya- which is actually a verb form.

-the TAM -a- has a special L tone in the recent past tense of a H tone verb root when there is no OM in the form and L when there is an OM in the form

-the TAM -a- has a special H tone in the remote past tense of a H tone verb root when there is no OM in the form and it surfaces with a L when there is an OM in the form.

-the branching H of -ama- deletes in an if-clause

 

In the stem, a suffixal HL is assigned by the recent past tense and a suffixal L is assigned by the remote past tense.

 

In the auxiliary, in addition to the types of the tones found in the INFL of the simplex verb, the following types of tones have also been uncovered:

 

-suffixal H in auxiliary using a recent past tense form

-deletion of H on some tense markers that would otherwise have a H that anticipates in simplex verb forms

 

In the main verb:

 

-the fixed H of -ka- sometimes becomes regular by anticipating and delinking from its sponsor.[6]

 

In addition, it has been shown that the FV of the auxiliary verb always surfaces with a H that derives from the TBU of the following word. Both the auxiliary and the main verb are in an intonational phrase as penultimate lengthening which is sometimes a test to know where the intonational phrase ends only appears in the main verb and never in the auxiliary.

 

References

 

Akinlabi, A. & N. Mutaka. 2001. Tone in the infinitive in Kinande: an OT analysis. Ms. To appear in Mutaka & Chumbow (eds.), Research mate in African linguistics: focus on Cameroon. Koeln: Rudiger Koppe Verlag.

Hyman, L. 1990. Boundary tonology and the prosodic hierarchy. In The Phonology-syntax Connection. Sharon Inkelas and Draga Zec (eds.) Chicago: CSLI, 109-125.

Mutaka,  M.N.  1988.  “The Status of Liquids in Kinande” in Current Approaches to African Linguistics, Foris 6, 83-89.

Mutaka, M. Ngessimo. 1994. The Lexical Tonology of Kinande. Munich: Lincom Europa.


[1] The imperative here could be called ‘informational” in that the speaker actually informs his interlocutor that he is now leaving. (See also the use of the term ‘informational in footnote 2, about the morphemes -limu-.)

[2] Probably the TAM -ndi- derives from N-ri-, where ri- is the class 5 prefix marker for verbs and N- is the class noun prefix. This form could be derived diachronically from : tu-na-lwá e-N-ri-humira.

[3] The verb -bya is probably /bá-a/ in the underlying representation. The mid front vowel devocalizes before -a to give the glide in -bya. In bárá, á+iõ coalesce into á, thus giving bá-árá à bárá.

[4] This suggestion is due to Larry Hyman (personal communication); I am grateful for bringing this fact to my attention.

[5] Notice that the different typological processes that appear in each column can be used as a basis for comparison with other types of tonological processes that appear in neighboring languages.

 

[6] Mark Baker (personal communication) has pointed out to me that -ka- and -a- must be special markers in Kinande as they are the ones that frequently appear in both the auxiliary and the main verb, and always in initial TAM position. This highly suggests that they may be tense markers. Alternatively, the word tense marker for -ka- may be a misnomer, that it is perhaps a mood marker, or something else.