Table Of ContentAN OUTLINEO FS ILOZI
GRAMMAR
6EOR6EF ORTUNE
SerieEr ditor: MUBANGAE .K ASHOKT
FirsPt ublishiend1 977b yt heì nslituftoer A f canS tudie(sn owth eI nstituotefE conomic
andS ocialResearUcnhi)v, etsoitíyZ ambiinaL arguagineZ anbiaG; rannaticel
Sketches.
Thise ditioinsp ublishbeydB ookwoPrldu blisherc
P0B ox3 2581L,u sakZa,a mbia.
2001
CopyrigOh Itn stituolefE conomaincd S ociaRl esear1ch9 77
AllÍightrse serveNd.o p arot fthisp ublicatimona yb er epÍoducsetdo,r eidn a rete val
systemor,t mnsmitteinda ,n yfomo rb ya nym eanesl ectronmice, chanical,
photocopyrinegco, rdionrgo therwisweil,h outht ep dopt ermissiooínth ep ublìsher.
tsBN9 9822 41 591
TypesettinbgyF ergaLni mitedL,u sakaZ,a mbia.
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FOREU,IORD
There has beena lack ofup to date descriptiveg rammalso fZambian languages
suitablef or uso,e ither ast eachingo r as leaming aids,a t all Ìevelso f úe Zambian
educations ystem.T his lack has been keenly felt by teache$ and leamersa like.
Mâny of the grâÌÌnnals that are available could be said to be inadequateo r
inappropriateú severarl cspectsT. heo ldesto nesw ere$ ,.itten at a time whenL atin
or Euopean languagesg enerally were consideredt o be the protot)?e of all
grâfimars, and úus they tendedt o be pattemedi n their anaÌìgementd, escription
and úe terminology employed on Latin-basedg ramrnaticaÌr ules. Others were
written in a stj,lea ndl anguagew hich presenteds eriousp roblemso fcomprehension
event o teachersI.n a good many casest,h e actual€x amples cited were unnâtuÌal,
forcedo r not in accordw ith accept€d usageA. t úe presentm omentm arÌyo fthese
worksh avel ongb eeno ut ofprint-
In oÌder to put in the handso fúe teachersa nd leamersg Ìaamatical descriptions
which reflectedm oren early the shlctual facts ofthefu laryuagq dudng 1970-
71, the Suvey of LanguageU se and LanguageT eachingin Zambiaa ttemptedt o
proüde comprehmsibleg ralÌúnaticald escriptionso f the sevenZambian
languageso frcially prescribedf or use in education,b roadcastinga trdl iteracy
programmesT. he authon who volunteeredo r werc approachedto wrìte tlìem
were specifically instructedt o employ a comprehensibles q,le andt o keep
techíical terminologyt o the absolutem inimum. The geneÌalr eaderw as cleaÍly
m miod. It is hopedt hat üth úe publishingn ow ofúe graÍnmaticalo utlineso f
iciBemb4 sil,ozi, ciNyanja and iciTongat he original intention ofFoviditrg
grammaticald esüiptions of appeâl
to â wide âudienceb, oú Ìay andp rofessionalw, ill haveb eena chieved.
As Òrigjnally conceived,s eveng rammatjcals ketchesÍ epresentingâ 11ú e seven
ofËcially approvedZ ambianl anguagesp, lus sketcheso f Town Bembaa nd Town
Tonga,w eret o haveb eenp ublisheda sP artO nei Ìì a proj€cted three-paÍ volume of
Languagei n Zambiâ, incorporatingt he findings ofthe ZambiaL anguag.S. ur,,,ey.
In the event, it was found necessâryin the interesto f ÍedÌrcing bulk and cost to
abandonth e original plân andt o arranget o publisht he sketchess eparatelyT. ndeed,
publìshìng them sepantely has the advantageo f making them âvailable in a
t
convenientl,e ssb ulky size$ ritablef oÌ boú teachera nds tudenth andling.
I
The Institute for AÊ:ican Studies (now the Institute of Economic and Social
Research),U nivelsiry of Zambiâ, published in 1977 Language in zambia:
GÌammatical Sketches,V olume1 , containìngg raÍÌÍÌÌatical sketcheso Í outli neso f
iciBembaa ndk iKaondeb y Michael Mânna ndJ L WÍight respectivelyp, lusa sketch
ofthe maìn characteristicso fTown Bembab y MubangaE Kashokì.T hep lan at the
time was to publish sìrbseqÌrentÌytw o follo\ì,-up voiumes: fiÌst, Volume 2, to
contains ketcheso fsiloá andL undaa ndL uvale ands econ4V olume3 , to contain
sketcheso f ciNyanjaa nd iciTonga.l n the eventt his plan was not adheredto . Only
onev olume was publishedi ì accordarcew ith the original plan andú is has been
out ofprint for somet ime now
It ìs in part for theser easonsth at it hasb eenc onsid€red necessaÍyto attendt o
theu nfinishedb üsinesisn ìtiateds omet wo decâdeasg o.A lso,â ndm ore
peÌlinently, úe needf or pedagogicâal ndr eferenceg raÍÌìmarso f Zambian
Èved. languagesc ontinuest o be keenly felt. The matteÌh asn ow beenm adem ore úgent
following úe recent( 1996) decisiono fthe ZambiâDG oveÌìnent to rcveÍ to úe
ling all the seven earÌierp olicyo f usingl ocaÌ( i.e.Z ambianl)a nguagepsl usE nglishâ sa mealiao f
i B€mba andT own inshìrcdonA. sn o$ re-arÍaÌgedi.n orderl o achiere whari . feltl o bea morel ogicâl
l€e-paÍ volumeo f arangemmt, toul graÌÌÌmatical sketcheso f iciBemba, sil-ozi, ciNyanja and
llaguage Survey. iciTongaÌ vill bep ubÌisheds epamtelyb eginningw ith the first volume containinga
lE hrlk and cost to gÉmmaticalo utÌineo f iciBemba.
qrarateÌy. Indeed,
a avaìlable in a Co-sponsorebdy the Institutef or Aftican Studies,( úe presentI nstituteo f
hdling. Economica ndS ociaRl esearcUh niversityo fzambia),t hem ainv olumeL anguag€
in Zâmbiâ,w asp ublisheidn 1978b y theI nremationaÌAfÍjcanÌnsrit(uItAel ) pâÌ1ly
i.mic and Social subsidisedb y tunds from rhe Ford Foundation.T he Institut€ gâtetully
irge ir Zambia: acknowledgetsh e pemissiong rantedb y the Foundâtiont,h e sponsorso f the
bes oroutlineso f langüàges uNeyo fwhich the matedalp ublishedh ereini s a partial outcome,t o have
l'tÌy, plusa sketch the sketchesp ublisheds eparatelyG. ratitudeis aÌsod ue to the authomo f the
li The plan at the sketchesfo í theiÌ co.tribution in a field in which muchr emâinst o bed one.
iÍ, Volume 2, to
rhe 3, to contâin f)lherâ cLnowledgemcanrlesd uel o Bookuo rldp ubìi"herf.o rp ublishtnrgh e
aâdheredt o. Only sketcheisn coÌlaboratiown ith theI nstitutet;o thee ditorso fLanguagei n
led this has been Zâmbiâ,S iraÌli Ohannesssiaann dM ubangaE Kashokif,o r carying out th€
buÌko fthe necessâriyn itial editoÍiawl ork; to Dr. TomC ormanw ho was
detailedto bringa generasl tylisticc onsjstenctyo úe sketchesa;n dt o úe
Íy to attendt o secretariaIln stìtute staff for prepâringt he tlpescript. Above all. the eventüal
nd more publicationo fthe sketcheso wesm üch to the ZambiaÌÌG overnmenti,n partìcülaÌ
ÍZaÍnbiúr the Ministry of Education,a ndt o the University ofzambia for their interesta nd
supporfa nd Íòr providing a condücivee nviÌorÌmenti n which
fruitful Ìesearchw ork could iake placed úing the life of the Surveyo f LanguageL s:
LangìrageT eâchingin Zambia.
MubatrgaEK âshoki
Professoor fAfÌicân Lànguages
INSTITUT[, OF ECONOMTCANDS OCIALRESEARCII
UNIVERSITYOFZÀMBIA
EDITOR
INTRODUCTION
I Use ad
The homeo f silozi is úe WestemP tovinceo fzambia, but it is far fiom beingt he
oÍly languages pokenú ere. TheÍe are three gÌoups of laüguagess pokenì n tho
provinceo fmuch longers tândingú an sil-ozi, namelyL uyânâ,T ongaa ndN koya.
Theseg roupso f languagesa rc spokeni n the east-centraal ndw est,i n the souúwest
ând souú, andi n the noúheasto fthe provincer espectively.S ilozi is the la[guage
ofthe centralp lain. Odginally a form of SouthemS otho,i t was brought iÌlto the
countryb y the Kololo conquerorsw ho, undeÍt heir chief, Sebitwaneo, veÍcamet he
Luyi in 1840.A s a Sothol angÌrageit mayh aveb eens omewhamt odifiedby thet ime
úe invadersr eachedth e Zambezio wing to their wandedngsa ndú eir contactsw ith
the peoples on their way whom they met or absorbed.T he Kololo we.e the
dominantt ribe in what is now the WestemP rovincef or three successivere igns,
those of theh chiefs Sebitwane,S ekeletua nd Mbololo, but in 1864, Sipopa, a
descendanot fthe old Luyi chiefs,r e-establishedh imself in power on the Barotse
floodplain.
In the rcstoútion, mosto fthe Kololo menw erek illed. They hadâ lreadyb eenÍ nüch
reducedi n numberb y fev€r aÍÌd civil strife. The women and chilalrenb ecaÌnet he
propertyo fthe Luyi chiefs,a ndi i musth aveb eend uet o their inÍ]uence,a ndt hdt of
úe âdmìnishativec hangeso fthe precedingt wenty_fivey ears,t hat the languageo f
the Kololo sun ived undert he nameo fsil-oá. Thoughm uchì nfluencedb y Luyaa4
it is still corectìy classifiedâ sa languageo fthe Sothog Íoup and is unde$toodi ú
neighbouringB otswana.
Sil-ozi is spokena lmoste xclüsivelyi n úe centoaBl arotsep lain to the north and
southo fMongu, and on either sideo f the Zambezit o a considerabled istance
inland. lt is also spokcn along the dver. in varying degrees,a ll the \ray to
Livingstone,w here it is the majn langlagc in use.Ì n âddition. silozi is
^f.ican
spokena s a linguâ lranca all over the Westernp rovjnce and is thc languôgco f
adminisÍation,c ducationa ndg cnclal communicationw hereE nglishi s notused.In
the 1990 Census of Population, Housing and the Lozispeúing
^grìcuhure
populâtion was cnumelôtcd under the "Barotse Group" (\lhich included thc
Nyengo. Lozi, Subiya,N kova and others).T hc group iotâlled 527,410,o fwhich
447.852 constitutedt hc numbel of speakerst ermed "Lozi" in thc ccnsus-A s a
lÌnguaf ranca,s iloziwas placcdi n fourdl positionb ehindi ciBemba.c iNyanjaa nd
iciTongâi n the I9il0 Censuso t'P opuìationa nd Housing.A decadel âtet the I990
Censuso fPopulation showedt he situationâ s remâìningl argelyu nchangedo, ncc
agajn silozi coming in Íourth place, thc applicables latisticsb eing 29.9 percent
(ìciBembà),I i peÌcent( iciTonga).7.8p ercent( ciNyanja)a nd 6.4 pcrccnt( siÌ-ozi)-
Ovcmli, to bc rcgardeda s of lhe greâtesrl elevâncei s the Íàct that u'ithin ZambÌa
siLoTi at presenti s counteda mongt he five major languagesa, long *,ith English.
iciBembâ.c iNyanjâandi ciTonga,w hich ares pokenp redonìinantÌyb y thc nâtional
popunüon.
UNITSO F SOUNDA ND UNTTSO F GMMMÂR
SpokenÌ anguages,likec oins.h âvc a twofold aspectândÌn âyb€ regârdeda, nalysed
and described from eìther side. They have t phanologk:al aspect àncl a
notphologiutl aspcci.F rom the phonologjcâl aspectw e find that silozi hâs â
certain inventory of sound units which a1c combined in ceftain regular and
Iecunentw ays.T he teÍn Lrseclbl rtheseunitso lsotndisthcphonena.
From the moryhoìogicala spectw e flnd that silozi is also a structureo l
"t-
glaÍÌmaticâl Ìmitsw hich area lsoc ombinedin ceftainw ays.T het elm usedf or these
grammaticaLl uìitsis the mo?lrerxe.
Under the heâdingP llONOZOGtsw e shall give a very condenseda ccoÌmto f the
phonemeo.l siLozia ndo flherrc ombinarioinnst oú e laÍgeur njlo fúe syìlable.
UndeÍ úeheadrJJgM ORPHOLOGFWos hall give a somevr'hamt ore extendedb. ut
still very condense4a ccoÌmto fthe classeso fmorphemei n silozi andt he way they
combinei nto largeru nitsw hich we shallc allgramm atìcalc onstt ctíons.
ACKNOItI .EDGEMEITÍS
In wdting this 'Outline" I have relied heavily on the works cited in the
Bibliogaphy, paÍiculârly on úe two morphologicals tudiesb y MÌ., now Dr., D.F.
Gowlett. The examplesc ited have been checkedw ith Mr. R. Sitali, a sil-ozi-
speakingi nfomant whoseh elp has beeni nvaluable.T he methodo f presentation
follows the constituents tÌucturem odel of analysisa ndd escription.f he treabneDt
of úe phonology is deficient in that tone and lengú of voweÌs have not been
âdequatelyt reated. Loüg and geminatev owels are spelt in the same way by
dÌÌplication ofúe samel etter, but length has beeni ndicatedo nly in the relative
prcfixes. The cÌrrrent orthogÌaphym arks nejther letrgih nor tone. In MÌ. D.F.
Gowlett's artìcles,I ,tel ectio oí Lozi Foltúalesa nd Riddtes,A íric.rn Studíes3, 0,
Nos. I and 2, long vowels w€rc maÍ_kedw ith a ÍÌÌacron.I inally I am gatefirl to
ProfessorM ubangaE . Kashokif or additionst o this Introductionw hich bring it up
to dâte.
Syltables in sil-ozi normally consist of a oo[soÍrtr|. or a m]lt(,nâtrt chsteÌ,
follolved by â vorel. Less oorÌunonly,s yllables may çonsist ofa vo\tr'ela lon€,
oÍ ofa nâld coBo|||nt alone.T heset hreet lpes ofsyllablem ayb e syÍnbolised
asf ollows:
(D Consonan+t vowel
ConsonarcÍtlu ster+ vovrel
(ii) Vowelâ lone
(iii) Nasala lone( only at tbeb egiúing ôÍ êndo fa
Eachs yllâblec âÍriesa unit of to.e andl engtb nornally by meanso f its nuolear
vowel.S yltabicn asacl onsonantsb.e ingÍ esonantslik e vowels.m ayc ârry toDe
andf eneÉi!l thea bsencoef a nuclear.vowel,
e.g. rrr-tu (person) (lt is syllabically CV-CV
,-r3 (whicho ne?) ( I)
m-me \mollÊr) (la) " - N-CV
VOUrElrt
ïhere are five vowêl phonemesi n silozi. Two are high, one beinS articulated
wiú the fÌont ofthe tongueh igh up.in the ftoÍt ofthe mouth, and the other wiú
the back of úe toncueh iú uo at the backo f the mouth.T he hrí is oronounced.
with spr€âd lips and the secondw ith round€d lips'These two vovels âre speh/ i/
'A numb€r iÍì brâck€ts aÊeÍ a word refers to the class of that nom. Noun clâss€s âIe
discuss€d orì pag€s l1-20.
'I
