Table Of ContentComparative Bantu
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS
AND PREHISTORY OF THE BANTU LANGUAGES
by MALCOLM GUTHRIE
Professor of Bantu Languages in the University of London
I
GREGG PRESS LTD
1967
COMPARATIVE BANTU
PART I
Volume 1: The Comparative Linguistics of the Bantu Languages
Volume 2: An Outline of Bantu Prehistory
An Inventory of the Bantu Languages
Excursuses: Extraneous Items and Features
Bantuisms in Non-Bantu Languages
Earlier Comparative Studies
Indexes to Parts 1 & 2
PART II
Volumes 3 &4: A Catalogue of Common Bantu with Commentary
Copyright © 1967 by Malcolm Guthrie
Published 1967 by Gregg Press Ltd, 1 Westmead, Farnborough, Hants, England
Designed and produced by Design for Print Ltd, London SW1
PART I, VOLUME I
THE COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS OF THE BANTU LANGUAGES
Preface 9
1 Introduction u
2 Comparative Bantu Methodology 15
3 The Compilation of Common Bantu 25
4 The Construction of Starred Forms 43
5 Sound-shifts and Source-patterns 55
6 The Codification and Analysis of Common Bantu 81
7 Osculant Comparative Series 111
Preface
It was about 1940 that the investigations which led to this present work were begun. At that
time all that was envisaged was a relatively modest introduction to the comparative study of
the Bantu languages, in which would be incorporated some of the new material I was in the
process of collecting. As the work progressed it became clear that much more was involved than
had been foreseen. What began as a work of limited scope gradually developed into a study of
all the main aspects of comparative Bantu linguistics, and ultimately led to the formulation of
a series of hypotheses about Bantu origins. Such is the nature and extent of the field, however,
that in spite of the size to which it has grown, the work does no more than lay the foundation
for what must be an ever-expanding subject, which explains the retention of the term 'intro-
duction' in the sub-title.
It is quite certain that this project would never have been completed without the generous
research facilities made available to me by the School of Oriental and African Studies of the
University of London, in the form both of research visits to Africa and of work with speakers of
various Bantu languages in London. It is also clear to me that it would have been difficult,
if not impossible, to bring a work of this kind to a successful conclusion in a different environ-
ment. The fact that academic administration has constantly eroded the time available for this
work has inevitably meant a progressive delay in completing it. This disadvantage has neverthe-
less been offset by that freedom from any kind of pressure to produce the finished article, so
characteristic of British university life, which has provided the right atmosphere for protracted
and sometimes tedious investigations. On the other hand, the intellectual stimulation of working
alongside colleagues in the largest university department of African language studies in exist-
ence has been a vital factor in the progress of my investigations. It is also worth putting on
record that as a result of having to give courses on Comparative Bantu at intervals through the
years I gained many new insights into various aspects of the study. It would no doubt surprise
some of my former students to know how indebted I am to them for their questions, which often
suggested to me a new line of treatment for some problem that had arisen.
Finally I would like to express my gratitude to my secretaries through the years for their
patience and cheerfulness in typing and retyping what must surely have been one of the most
difficult of manuscripts to prepare for the press.
University of London, 1967 MALCOLM GUTHRIE
C H A P T ER 1
Introduction
11.01 There are several reasons why the Bantu languages have a cer- position of the different Bantu languages is fairly easy to define, and
tain importance in the field of comparative linguistics, and these fall in consequence it is quite feasible to investigate the topology of the
mainly under three heads. In the first place these languages are pe- family at various levels as an integral part of the comparative study.
culiarly suitable for this kind of study, from the point of view both of
their geographical distribution and of their overall characteristics. 11.33 The final and perhaps the most cogent reason why the Bantu
Then also the grammatical structure of this family of languages is rela- languages are of value for comparative linguistic studies in general is
tively simple to deal with, since it is quite practicable to abstract from the fact that comparative study in this field can actually be carried
different languages features of various kinds common to each of them. out in such a way as to achieve results that are reasonably coherent.
Finally there are certain things connected with the way a compara- This means that there is ample opportunity not only for the develop-
tive method can be applied that are of special interest in themselves. ment of an extensive comparative technique, but also for the use of
various devices in the setting out both of the conclusions obtained by
11.11 One important consideration for a study such as this is the its use and of the data on which it is based.
wealth of available data, since there are over 300 distinct languages
in the Bantu family. It is true that the amount of reliable information 11.34 What has been said in this section might give the impression
about some of these languages is still very meagre, nevertheless an that there had been no previous work in this field, which is of course
increasing number of important studies are becoming accessible. In far from the case. As, however, this study is based on a method that is
addition to these, research facilities that have been available to me in different from those used previously, it seemed clearer not to include
both Africa and London have augmented considerably the quantity of references to earlier work in the text, but to devote an excursus at the
trustworthy data serving as the basis for this present work. end of the second volume of this part to an outline of the development
of the comparative study of the Bantu languages.
11.12 From the point of view of their interrelationships also, the Bantu
languages provide an interesting field for a study in comparative lin- TRANSCRIPTION OF DATA
guistics. There are well defined types of language within the family, 12.01 In the course of this study data will be taken from a large number
but at the same time it is almost impossible to place linguistic bound- of languages, so some decision has to be reached on a number of
aries around groups of languages without the introduction of some questions of transcription. As will become apparent during the work,
arbitrary principles. Here and there a well defined linguistic frontier a precise method of representing the various sound-patterns is highly
seems to occur between adjacent languages, but over much of the area desirable. This means in the first place that in all the items from any
closeness of linguistic relationship can be directly correlated with geo- given language there should be complete consistency in the way sounds
graphical proximity. are transcribed. Since it is an integral part of the study to compare
data taken from different languages, it is even more desirable that as
11.21 It is a characteristic of the Bantu languages that their word- far as practicable a given character should always be used to represent
building processes are mainly agglutinative. As a result of this a comparable sounds, in whatever language they occur. A further point
method of analysis based on fragmentation can be applied to them. that has to be taken into account is that in order to facilitate the task
The possible subjects of comparison from language to language include of comparison each item of data has to be shown in a way that repro-
therefore not only true isolates, but also elements that are mere duces as accurately as possible its actual pronunciation. The use of
abstractions. Consequently there is an opportunity to undertake any phonemic or other systematic transcription based on a phono-
comparative study between given languages at more than one level. logical analysis is precluded by the nature of the study, since it would
complicate rather than simplify the investigation.
11.22 The development of this study is also facilitated by the fact that
one of the essential criteria of a Bantu language is a particular kind 12.02 One result of this state of affairs is that, as a wide range of
of system of grammatical agreement, which itself also proves to be sounds has to be catered for, a somewhat complicated system of tran-
amenable to the application of the comparative method. scription is required. In general, characters are used as in the I.P.A.
alphabet, although one or two have different values from those in the
11.23 Comparative study has to pay great regard to the patterns of I.P.A. system. A number of additional signs have been introduced to
sounds, or 'shapes' as they will be termed, of which every item of data provide for the great variety of sounds encountered. For these reasons
is made up. It is fairly simple to handle the shapes of the data from it is necessary to describe in some detail how the data are transcribed.
most Bantu languages since each item can usually be regarded as con-
sisting of a number of interrelated features such as consonant and vowel Vowel sounds
qualities, vowel quantity, tone &c. These can be abstracted, singly or 12.11 In all there are fifteen different peripheral vowel sounds that
in combination, and a comparative technique applied to them. need to be distinguished, although it is uncommon for items from a
given language to contain more than seven distinct vowel sounds. By
11.31 Another important characteristic of the languages of this family using the appropriate selection of the fifteen characters it is possible
as a field for comparative study is that for all practical purposes none to provide an adequate transcription for each language, and at the
of them has any recorded history. This means that in fact all the data same time to indicate the similarities or differences in their vowel
to be investigated are strictly comparable in the sense that they are sounds. In the following plan of the vowel characters used in this work,
taken from languages that are or have been actually spoken in the the figures for the eight cardinal vowels are given to enable these
present era. There is therefore no chance that a mixture of historical particular qualities to be identified.
and comparative methods might be used. 1 i V 8
i u
11.32 One useful feature of the data used in investigations of this kind i B
is that all the items belong to languages whose geographical position 2 <? 9 7
is definable. Each item of data therefore can be considered to have the e o
same location as the language from which it is taken. This means that 3 s D 6
the spatial distribution of the data can be the subject of a special study, 5 3
which will be termed linguistic 'topology'. Fortunately the relative 4 ae a ao 5
•COMPARATIVE BANTU
12.12 It will be noted that ae is used for Cardinal 4, instead of a, 12.24 Certain consonants occur aspirated, and this is consistently
because the intermediate sound is so very common that it has to indicated by h following the appropriate character. Among the aspi-
be represented by a simple character. The new symbol ao is used for rated consonants occurring in the data are
Cardinal 5 to maintain the symmetry of the characters. ph, mh, th, sh, Jh, nh, kh, gh
12.13 In a few cases centralized vowels occur, and these are transcribed 12.31 In addition to the sounds already listed there are others that are
by the following devices: represented by the use of special diacritics. Thus apart from the frica-
3 a 'neutral' vowel tive sounds for which the special symbols 0 and d are used, a sound
? a closer variety of a with a dental articulation is distinguished by means of a cedilla, and
e a centralized variety of e the following are the cases where it is used:
i a centralized variety of j $ a voiceless dental plosive
e a centralized variety of e $ a voiced dental plosive
? a central vowel with constriction of the pharynx and friction of J a dental variety of '1'
the epiglottis ij a dental nasal
l a very close central vowel y a dental semivowel
o a centralized variety of o
5 a centralized variety of d 12.32 Another special diacritic is like a circumflex accent placed
ae a centralized and rounded variety of e below a character. This indicates a type of labio-dental articulation
0 a centralized and rounded variety of e with lip-rounding, that is very common in some Bantu languages,
ii a centralized and rounded variety of j (I.P.A. y) involving the top teeth and the inside of the protruded lower lip. The
8 a centralized variety of y simplest occurrence of this is in fricative sounds, where the friction
Nasal vowels are distinguished by a tilde, as j, e &c. takes place at this point instead of between the top teeth and the edge
of the bottom lip. There is also a rather uncommon nasal consonant
Consonant and semivowel sounds with this articulation. The three characters used for these sounds then
12.21 In a number of respects the selection of the characters for the are
transcription of these sounds has been determined by convenience, |, y and in
although in most cases an I.P.A. symbol is used where there is one.
The following list includes all the special characters used, the corres- Other fricatives that are suitably represented by the use of this diacritic
ponding I.P.A. symbol where different being shown in parentheses. are certain 'whistling sounds', which are sibilants with additional fric-
6 a voiced bilabial implosive tion at this point, e.g.
$ a voiceless bilabial fricative ('Africa' script f) § and ?
P a voiced bilabial fricative ('Africa' script u)
w an unrounded bilabial semivowel Further sounds of this kind are semivowels of the 'w' type in which
w a labio-dental semivowel there is lip rounding, but the main constriction is between the top
e a voiceless dental fricative teeth and the inside of the lower lip. Related to this semivowel is one
6 a voiced dental fricative that is stricdy speaking a neutral vowel with nasality and a partial
d a voiced alveolar implosive closure between the top teeth and the lower lip. The three symbols
! a voiceless palato-alveolar fricative used are therefore
3 a voiced palato-alveolar fricative w, w and 5
c a voiceless palatal plosive
i a voiced palatal plosive (I.P.A. j) More commonly there are sounds with double articulation in which
j an imploded variety of j the second part is comparable with the sound represented as f, as in
9 a voiceless palatal fricative tf, cf and kf
9 a voiced palatal fricative
ny a palatal nasal (I.P.A. ji) 12.33 The other diacritics that are occasionally used are a tilde to
y a palatal semivowel (I.P.A. j) represent a nasalized semivowel, and a line underneath to distinguish
w a rounded palatal semivowel (I.P.A. q) a nasal consonant where there is imperfect closure and friction, as
I a voiced lateral fricative1 w a nasal w
X a trilled lingual 'r' (usually one-tap) y a nasal y
r a flapped lingual 'r' (I.P.A. t) m a fricative m
X a voiceless velar fricative n a fricative n
y a voiced velar fricative
a velar nasal 12.34 The two characters § and z are used to distinguish whistling
V a voiced uvular fricative fricatives that have no lip friction. These also occur in the digraphs
k a voiceless uvular fricative pi and bz.
N a uvular nasal
fi a voiced glottal fricative 12.35 An ejective articulation is indicated by placing the symbol for
J a glottal stop (I.P.A. a glottal stop after the consonant character, e.g.
pJ an ejective voiceless bilabial plosive
12.22 Digraphs are used in some cases to represent particular types of ts' an ejective voiceless alveolar affricate
sounds. Thus affricates are transcribed by the use of the two appro-
priate symbols, e.g. 12.36 When a plosive consonant is not released in final position this
eg a voiceless palatal affricate feature is shown by the symbol '. Thus k1 represents a voiceless velar
j? a voiced palatal affricate sound similar to k but with no release.
12.23 Less common voiceless consonants are represented by h before Other features
the symbol used for the corresponding voiced sounds, as 12.41 In a precise transcription it is often necessary to indicate dura-
hm a voiceless bilabial nasal tion. For vowels this is done by using a doubled character for a long
hn a voiceless alveolar nasal
hny a voiceless palatal nasal 1 As a component of a consonant cluster that also contains nd, this
hg a voiceless velar nasal sound can be unambiguously transcribed as 1, thus ndl = ndlj.
hi2 a voiceless T (I.P.A. i) 2 The h of this digraph is omitted when preceded by t to represent a
llr a vnirplpsc trill prl nr nnp.tnn *r' comDosite sound that occurs in languages of Group S.30. Thus tl = ti.
•COMPARATIVE BANTU
vowel where the length is a significant feature, except in a few cases 13.22 Two other fricative sounds that occur in the names of a few
where this is impracticable, and then the sign : is used. In some items languages are spelt with special characters. These are
where a vowel is pronounced long but its length is not distinctive, this §, § = e, & jj = j
is indicated by the use of a macron, e.g.
aa Or a: an a with distinctive length 13.23 In the case of the different 'r' sounds, no attempt is made to
a an a with non-distinctive length distinguish one from the other in the names of languages, thus
R> r = r, E, B
There is one special case of potential vowel length that is indicated by
means of a raised dot before an initial consonant. Thus although a 13.24 The only cases where a character used in a name in this work
word beginning with -s is indistinguishable initially from a similar has a totally different value from what it has in the system of transcrip-
word beginning with s, vowels that are short before s are always long tion described above are in Xhosa S.41 and Gcereku K.33a, where
before -s. X and Gc represent click consonants. This exception is allowed in
order to avoid introducing an unfamiliar symbol into the spelling of a
12.42 Duration in consonants is indicated in two ways. A long initial well known name, and arises from the use of c, q and x for click con-
nasal consonant in junction with another consonant is distinguished sonants in a number of the languages in the southern part of the field.
by a macron, but all other long consonants are represented by a doub-
led character, e.g. CATEGORIES OF LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION
mb a long m followed by b
tt a long t 14.01 Before comparative study can successfully be undertaken, it
must be possible to establish that what is compared is in fact linguisti-
The doubling of the consonant in mbb and ndd does not simply serve cally comparable. This means that it is necessary to have available
to indicate extra length but also represents a kind of flapped or tapped some method of establishing parallel linguistic categories from lan-
sound. guage to language. For this purpose there is no need to consider the
whole range of such categories, since the only ones relevant to our
12.43 An initial or final character in parentheses indicates a sound study are those which contain items of data that appear to be amen-
that is heard only when respectively preceded or followed by some able to comparison.
other sound, or in very deliberate speech.
14.11 In order to give some validity to the main categories that are
12.44 For the great majority of the data it would have been desirable used it would be desirable to show how they have been obtained, but
to include tone in the transcription, but in not a few cases it would be to do this would involve at least an outline of the structural analysis
difficult to decide whether to show the actual tone-pattern used in a of the various languages involved. In a work of this kind the exigencies
given context or the distinctive value of the tones. Furthermore, since of space make it impracticable to include much in the direction of
the most practicable way of indicating tones involves placing accents analytical description, consequently all that can be done is to list the
on vowel characters, the consistent use of tone-marks would give rise linguistic categories that are used in the course of the work, with a
to serious typographical difficulties. For these reasons tones will be brief definition or description of each of them. As each of the cate-
marked only when it is the tones themselves that are under discussion, gories is widely used throughout succeeding chapters, no attempt is
and for this purpose the following scheme will be used. The accents made here to illustrate any of them in detail, but in a few cases exam-
are placed on an a to enable them to be easily identified. ples are given in footnotes to be found at the end of this chapter. For
a a tone at the common lower level the benefit of readers accustomed to a more traditional approach to
a a high level tone language study, any 'part of speech' which frequently corresponds
roughly to the category in question is shown in square brackets.
NOMENCLATURE OF LANGUAGES
14.12 It must be emphasized that the following list of definitions is not
13.01 In order to have an unambiguous way of referring to the lan- intended as a glossary of grammatical terms. It is given as a guide to
guages from which the data are taken, the system used will be that the reader so that reference can be made to these particular categories
developed in my Classification of the Bantu Languages. This involves a set without any further definition. This means among other things that
of index numbers consisting of a letter and two figures which can be the list is not complete, since there are other categories which do not
used with or without a name for any given language. Further informa- figure in a comparative study of this kind.
tion has led to a number of modifications of the classified list chiefly in
Zones A and B, while Zones S and T have been combined into a single (1) Concord prefix A concord prefix (frequently termed simply'prefix')
Zone S. The full revised classified list is given at the beginning of is any prefixed element that serves to operate the system of grammati-
I Part II. cal agreement that is characteristic of every Bantu language. When
!
any particular prefix is quoted, it is always followed by a hyphen.
j 13.02 Although an index number completely identifies any language,
\ in Part I for the convenience of the reader the name is also given on (2) Class Each distinct type of agreement is termed a class. The num-
! the first mention of any language in any section. For reasons of econ- ber of classes varies from language to language, but is rarely fewer
! omy of space, however, the index number alone is used to refer to a than ten or more than eighteen. A generalized class prefix is quoted
1 language that has just been mentioned. Whenever items of data are without a hyphen.1
i quoted, each item has to be identified by indicating the language in
| which it occurs. Here also, in order to avoid complicating the text, the (3) Dependent prefix When there is a series of items differentiated only
| index number is normally used by itself without the name of the by an alternation in the concord prefix, and this series can contain
: language. an item from each of the classes, then the prefixes in such items are
termed 'dependent'. An element that alternates in this way through-
13.21 The name used to designate each language is, as far as possible, out a regular type of series is termed 'commutable'.
| that used by the speakers of the language, and these names are spelt
I with a slightly simplified form of the transcription described in the (4) Independent prefix When a series of items with commutable prefixes
preceding section. The main problem arises from the use of initial cannot contain an item from each of the classes, but includes a limited
[ capital letters in language names, since there are no upper case equiva- number of classes only, then the prefixes in such items are termed
| lents of most of the special characters. As a practical device therefore 'independent'.2 In most languages there is one type of independent
certain common fricative sounds are represented by means of a line prefix only, but several types of dependent prefix.3
placed under the symbol for the corresponding stop. In language names
this is done consistently in both upper and lower cases, thus (5) Independent nominal Any item with an independent prefix is called
P = B, b = (3, G, g = v an 'independent nominal', and such items cannot be quoted without
COMPARATIVE BA NTI
the relevant prefix or prefixes. Although this device always enables class. The thin vertical line is inserted merely to throw the prefixes
an independent nominal to be identified, it does so without attempting into relief and is of no orthographic significance.
a definition of 'nominal'. This is satisfactory only within the strictly
limited purpose of this study. [Noun, Substantive] dependent prefix series independent prefix series
m|zito 'heavy one' m|toro 'truant'
(6) Dependent nominal Any item with a dependent prefix that has a wa|zito 'heavy ones' wa|toro 'truants'
• grammatical behaviour comparable to that of an independent nominal kilzito 'heavy one' u|toro 'truancy'
is called a 'dependent nominal'. Since such items can occur in any vi|zito 'heavy ones'
class, they are suitably quoted without any concord prefix. [Adjective, n|zito 'heavy one'
Numferal, Demonstrative &c.] &c.
(7) Stem That part of a nominal which remains after the removal of 3 In Swahili for example there is also the following series of items
any concord prefix is termed the 'stem'. This means that it is the stem with a dependent prefix, and the items respectively belong to the same
of dependent nominals that is quoted, and this in common with other classes as those in footnote 2. The difference in the type of prefix is
stems is always preceded by a hyphen. A stem can also be defined as clearly seen in the first and fifth items.
the common feature in a series of nominals with commutable prefixes.4 u|le 'that one'
wa|le 'those'
(8) Augment Any element other than a concord prefix that stands kille 'that one'
before a stem is termed an 'augment'.5 vijle 'those'
i|le 'that one'
(9) Verbal This category is not easy to define in a way universally &c.
applicable to any Bantu language. In general verbals may be defined
as items with a dependent prefix which are distinguished by the pres- 4 The stems of the Swahili items given in footnotes 2 and 3 are there-
ence of several other recognizable types of element, such as those fore respectively -zito, -toro and -le. It is the first and last of these
which are dealt with in definitions 10, 11 and 13. A full definition of only that can be quoted as items, since they occur in series with de-
verbals has to take account of behaviour in context, and this is too pendent prefixes.
complicated to deal with here. [Verb]
5 The following series of independent nominals from Swahili will
(10) Radical All verbals have an irreducible core termed a 'radical'. serve to illustrate occurrences of an augment; the stem of each of
The number of radicals usually runs into thousands. When a radical these items is -ti, while the concord prefix is the element in front of
is quoted it is both preceded and followed by a hyphen.6 the vertical line. There is therefore an augment -u- in the fourth item,
and -ji- in the last two.
(11) Extended radical, Extension Radicals are of many different sizes, and m|ti 'tree'
some of the longer ones fall into regular types of series characterized mi|ti 'trees'
by an alternation of elements at the end of the radical. Radicals u|ti 'part of tree'
containing such elements are said to be 'extended', and the elements nyuti 'parts of tree'
themselves are termed 'extensions'.7 Radicals of the general pattern ji|ti 'big tree'
CVC are termed 'simplex', while those longer radicals that cannot be ma|jiti 'big trees'
analysed into a simplex radical and an extension or extensions are ki|jiti 'small tree'
termed 'complex'. As many complex radicals are very similar in their
make-up to extended simplex radicals, that part of a complex radical 6 This is illustrated in the following three Swahili verbals each of
that corresponds to the simplex part of an extended radical is termed which contains a similar radical -imb-. This radical is the only ele-
the 'radical element', and the rest is termed an 'extension element'. ment common to them all.
nitaimba 'I shall sing'
(12) Tense sign, Suffix Commutable series of elements occurring jointly hatuimbi 'we do not sing'
before and after the radical, or simply in the latter position, are siimbeni 'don't sing'
termed 'tense signs'. That part of a tense sign that occurs finally is
known as a 'suffix'. This definition means that among the tense signs 7 The following series of four Swahili items consists of extended radi-
will be found elements characteristic of forms known as 'conditional' cals, each attributable to the same simplex -som- 'read'. For clarity
or 'subjunctive' in conventional grammatical description. The term an extra hyphen is inserted before the extension in each case.
'tense' therefore is not limited to a reference to time.8 -som-w- 'be read'
-som-ek- 'be readable'
(13) Base A radical, whether extended or not, together with a suffix -som-e- 'read to'
is termed a base. It is the fact that a verbal base contains a commutable -som-ej- 'cause to read'
suffix that distinguishes it from a nominal stem in most cases. In the
case of languages that have no verbal suffixes, base and radical are A radical such as -pote- 'lose' is complex, since there is no correspond-
coextensive and both are quoted with an initial hyphen only.9 ing simplex, the radical element being -pot- and the extension element
-e-.
14.13 There are certain other minor categories that have to be used,
and these are defined whenever the need to refer to them arises. 8 An example of the Bemba M.42 tense signs -ali- -ile, -ka- -a and -e
is provided in the following items, where hyphens have been inserted
NOTES to show these elements more clearly.
a-ali-lip-ile 'he paid (long ago)'
1 Whenever reference is made to a class prefix apart from any partic- a-ka-lip-a 'he will pay'
ular item in which it occurs, this means that the prefix is generalized. a-lip-e 'let him pay'
Thus for example there is a prefix ki- in the Swahili G.42 item kisu
'knife', but many other items also contain a similar prefix. Each of 9 The bases of the Bemba items in footnote 8 are -lipile, -lipa, and
these particular occurrences may then be grouped together into a -lipe respectively. In the case of some extended radicals the base is
generalization and referred to as 'the ki prefix'. important, especially where suffix and radical cannot be disentangled.
This may occur in Bemba, as in the first of the three following bases
2 The difference between dependent and independent prefixes is il- which are comparable with the three just given, but contain another
lustrated in these two series of items from Swahili, where the use of radical, -koj- 'light a fire', -koseje, -koja, -koje.
&c. indicates that in the complete series there is one item from each
14
C H A P T ER 2
Comparative Bantu Methodology
21.01 At this point it is necessary to state in general terms the kind language in which the item occurs. The shape is represented by the
of results which it is hoped to achieve by the comparative study of the three characters used in the spelling, which is a conventional way of
Bantu languages. In brief these consist of two sets of conclusions: some representing a recognizable pattern of sounds. The assignable meaning
about the probable origins of the family, and others about the affinities is shown by means of the English 'to winnow'. In this way the item
of its various members. Before considering what has to be done to of data in question is adequately identified for the purposes of com-
reach any such conclusions, however, we must bear in mind what parative study.
was said in 11.31 about the contemporary nature of the available data.
This important fact means that our study will necessarily differ in 21.22 Of the three elements in the description of an item it is only the
many respects from somewhat similar ones undertaken in other fields assignable meaning that gives rise to any difficulty. For our present
where information about earlier states of some of the languages is purpose nevertheless, we must have some operable definition, and in
available from historical records. Since there is no significant historical general the assignable meaning of any item is ascertained by applying
evidence about previous stages in the development of any of the Bantu the method of 'substitution'. This involves taking a sample in which
languages, or about any origin to which they may be attributed, the one of the constituent units is the item in question, and comparing it
use of the term 'history' in this connection is ruled out. In its place it with another sample from the same language that is identical in every
is necessary to speak exclusively of 'prehistory'. respect except that another unit occurs instead of the one being con-
sidered. Any difference in the meaning can then be correlated with
21.02 Some of the differences between historical and prehistorical the substitution of the units. If this is done with a number of different
linguistic study are important and must be clearly understood. Wher- kinds of samples and the correlation proves to be a regular feature,
ever historical records exist for any of the languages being investigated, then a meaning can be assigned to each of the units, including the
it is possible in each of such cases to state categorically that certain item of data being investigated. As this assignable meaning has to be
features of the present-day language are descended from known fea- expressed in English, in the form of a gloss, it is necessarily an
tures in an earlier state of the language. Moreover, it may sometimes approximation in most cases, and this imposes on the description a
be possible to compare the processes of development in one language limitation that must always be borne in mind.
with those in another. In this way a great deal can be discovered about
linguistic origins and affinities without making use of inferences. In 21.23 Any comparisons that are to be made therefore have to be based
prehistorical study, on the other hand, every statement about the on items of data of the kind just described. The simplest of these makes
probable development of a given language is in the realm of inference, use of the fact that items from different languages sometimes resemble
and therefore cannot be used as the basis for further conclusions. If the one another in certain respects but differ in other respects. If then
results of any investigation into prehistory are to have a real value, those that show some similarity are put together, it is possible to
each separate conclusion must rest on evidence that can be verified compare them by considering the ways in which they are dissimilar to
in the data. This means that linguistic prehistory, even when it con- each other. In principle there is no reason why mere resemblance
sists of a number of interwoven hypotheses, can never have an inde- between the features of items should not be used as a basis for compari-
pendent validity, since each separate hypothesis must be directly based son, provided that some way of controlling the degree of resemblance
on specific data. can be found. In practice however, it is more satisfactory to insist at
this stage that items to be compared shall all display some given
21.03 From these considerations it follows that the comparative study feature.
of the Bantu languages falls into two distinct parts. First of all the data
have to be selected and collated in such a way as to be suitable for 21.24 The actual operation just referred to is termed a 'simple com-
prehistorical investigation. Then when this has been completed, but parison', and this is carried out in two stages. First of all a 'list' of
not before, theories about prehistory can be formulated on the basis items with some common feature, which may be called a 'connector',
of the organized data. This chapter will therefore be concerned with is made. The second stage then consists in an analysis of the differences
the development of a technique along these lines. in the items composing the list. As each item consist of shape and
assignable meaning, the most direct way of constructing the list of a
21.11 The conclusion reached in the preceding paragraph means that simple comparison is to use one or other of these features as the
we have to begin our comparative study by organizing the available connector, and then compare the items in the list by noting the way
data. This immediately gives rise to a very great initial problem due they differ with respect to the other feature. Thus by starting from an
to the immense quantity and variety of the data involved in the Bantu item such as Yao P.21: -pet- 'to winnow', a simple comparison with
family. For a technique to be suitable for the purpose it must be items in other languages could be made in one of two ways, according
potentially adequate to deal with many thousands of items of vocabulary as it is shape or meaning that is the common feature used to connect
and of features of grammatical structure in each of over 300 languages. the items.
Although in practice the data may be drawn from certain typical
languages only, even then there is still a vast array of facts to be 21.25 If shape is used as the connecting feature, then the meanings of
collated if an adequate basis is to be provided for the study of the the various items can be compared, as for example in this list:
prehistory of the family. Yao P.21: -pet- 'to winnow'
Bemba M.42: -pet- 'to bend'
21.21 First of all we must consider the nature of the data to be com- Lozi K.21: -pet- 'to achieve'
pared. Each item of data is a complex consisting of two different ZezuruS.12: -pet- 'to pay tax'
components: shape and meaning. Consequently to describe an item
and establish its identity it is necessary to state three things: (a) the 21.26 A difficulty that is not immediately apparent is that although
language in which the item occurs, (b) the shape of the item, (c) the the items in this list appear to have a common shape, this is of no
meaning that can be assigned to the item. Here is a random example, value unless it is possible to group them together into a generalized
as an illustration: shape that can be referred to apart from each particular occurrence.
This however cannot be done, since the value of the sounds in each
Yao P.21: -pet- 'to winnow' item is determined by their place within the sound system of the
particular language, and these systems vary from language to language.
The name Yao, or the index number P.21, adequately indicates the
15
COMPARATIVE BA NTI
In fac t the apparent similarity between the shapes of the four items 21.44 We now examine these lists to see if the association shows up
just given is not a valid basis for connecting them in this way. any new fact with respect to the associating pattern Ji, and our
attention is directed to the comparable patterns in different items in
21.31 If on the other hand we use meaning as the common feature, each list. In particular we note that the initial patterns of the first
the situation is different. Here generalization is possible, as is demon- three items in lists C and D are the same. Whenever reference is made
strated by the fact that a translation can be used to represent the to patterns taken from the same part of two or more items in a list,
meaning in each case. Consequently if an item with a given assign- they will be termed a 'set', and quoted with strokes between them.
able meaning is taken from each of a number of languages, they can The significant fact for our present purpose is that there is an identical
be made into a list in which their meaning is a real connector. Thus set M.42/G.42/B.83 Ji/zi/dj in lists C and D. Any set of patterns that
for example, taking the meaning expressed by the English 'to winnow', is repeated in different lists in this way will be termed 'recurrent',
we may construct a list of the following kind, consisting of items with and this term will also be applied to the individual patterns in a
just this assignable meaning. It is then possible to complete the simple recurrent set. Consequendy according to the particular emphasis
comparison by considering the ways in which the shapes of the items required we shall speak of a 'recurrent set of patterns' or a 'set of
differ. recurrent patterns'.
'to winnow'
Yao P.21 -pet- 21.45 Although there is only the one clearly recurrent set of patterns
Makua P.31: -ver- in the five lists just given, there are a number of vague similarities
Bemba M.42: -el- between the shapes of items in one or other of the lists, such as be-
tween the second and fourth items of list B, and between the first and
21.32 Simple comparisons of this kind with a given meaning as a third or the second and fourth items of list E. Taken by themselves,
connector are easy to make, but every such comparison is an isolated however, similarities of this kind are disconnected observations and not
operation. The next stage then is concerned with finding a way to systematic in any way. This means that they are something quite
group the lists of simple comparisons into an organized body of data. different from the recurrent set of three patterns in lists C and D.
Further progress can nevertheless be achieved by associating other
21.41 In 21.03 it is noted that comparative Bantu study falls into simple comparisons, especially if account is taken of the similarities in
two distinct sections, and that conclusions about the prehistory of the the shape of items already used in associated lists.
family are confined to the second section. This means that precautions
have to be taken to ensure that speculations shall not be introduced 21.51 To illustrate this further step we shall take the second and
into the first section where the data are being selected and assorted. fourth items in list E above, and proceed to look in other languages
On the other hand the organizing of the data in the first section of our for an item meaning 'to dig' that is somewhat similar in shape to these
study is undertaken expressly in preparation for the prehistorical inves- two. Such an item is Giryama E.72a -tsimb- 'to dig', and conse-
tigations of the second section. Consequently the immediate problem quently these three items can form the simple comparison given below
is concerned with systematizing the available data to the greatest as list X. The next stage involves taking other items from Swahili that
possible degree without the aid of theories. This is a result that can contain the pattern tji to see if by starting from any of them it is
be achieved only by making use of what is implicit in the data them- possible to make another list that will display the same set of patterns
selves. In effect then we have first to determine, and then to display, as list X. We find that using the Swahili item -tjind3- 'to butcher'
what there is that is systematic in the relationships of the various items does indeed achieve this result, which is set out as list Y. From these
of data. The first step towards this result is provided by the use of what associated lists therefore the set of patterns tji/si/tsi appears to be
may be termed 'associated comparisons'. recurrent.
X Y
21.42 By definition the only type of simple comparison that is avail- 'to dig' 'to butcher'
able is based on a list of items each taken from a different language, Swahili G.42: -tjimb- -tjind3-
a given generalized meaning being used as a connector for the list. Sykyma F.21: -simb- -sinz-
If therefore it is possible to find a way of correlating an item in one Giryama E.72a: -tsimb- -tsinz-
such list with an item in one or more other lists, this would provide a
way of associating the lists in question. It is however with respect to 21.52 The special nature of the sets of recurrent patterns found in
their shape only that individual items in different lists can be corre- associated lists must be carefully noted. Thus the Swahili pattern tji
lated, since the assignable meaning of any item in a list is also a occurs in a number of other items, as for example -tjin- 'to be too
characteristic of every other item in the list. In practice a correlation late'. This particular item however cannot be incorporated into any
of this kind can be achieved by choosing from a given language items associated list in which its initial pattern tji is part of a recurrent set.
whose shapes have a certain feature in common, and then using each of This means that although in Swahili there is nothing to distinguish
these in turn as the starting-point of a new simple comparison. If then the pattern tji in the three items -tjimb- 'to dig', -tjind3- 'to butcher',
the items in each list are from the same languages, it can immediately -tjin- 'to be too late', from the angle of the associated lists the first
be seen whether or not the association of the lists has disclosed any two cases are different from the third, since in them there is a conco-
thing systematic in the relationship of the items of which the lists are mitant occurrence of the patterns si and tsi respectively in the corres-
composed. ponding Sykyma and Giryama items. For our present purpose there-
fore the item in Swahili -tjin- 'to be too late' is of no value.
21.43 As an illustration of an associated comparison five items will be
taken from Bemba M.42, each commencing with the pattern -Ji-. 21.53 Whenever the association of simple comparisons reveals the kind
They are A: -Jit- 'to buy', B: -Jin- 'to pinch', C: -Jim- 'to become of systematic fact that is present in the recurrent sets of patterns, it is
extinguished', D: -Jiik- 'to bury', E: -Jim- 'to dig'. Each of these possible to use such lists to investigate the way the patterns vary from
items is then used as the head of a simple comparison which contains language to language. This can be done because in an associated
items from the same four other languages in each case. This provides comparison of this kind we can be certain that we are dealing with
five associated lists consisting of five items each. regular occurrences and not with isolated features.
A B C D E 21.61 It is plain that the possibility of constructing associated lists in
'to buy' 'to 'to b. ex- 'to bury' 'to dig' which recurrent sets are displayed will depend very much on the
pinch' tinguished' languages chosen in each case. For example there are not many
Bemba M.42: -Jit- -Jin- -Jim- -Jiik- -Jim- languages other than Giryama E.72a from which a third item for
Swahili1 G.42: -nunu- -finy- -zim- -zik- -tjimb- lists X and Y could have been taken so as to give a recurrent set of
Mfinu B.83: -syym- -pyer- -djm- -dju: -osjm-
Sykyma F.21: -gul- -vjny- -djjm- -d3}ikh- -simb- 1 All the items quoted in Volume 1 as being from Swahili G.42 are
Soth<? S.33: -r'ek1- -ts5jp>- -t'jm- -p5at>- -cp'- in fact from the dialect Unguja G.42d.
16
