The Zulu Language
Fall 2005

John Goldsmith, Gretta Buthelezi

We will meet three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10:30 to 11:20). The Friday meetings will be language classes, based on Teach Yourself Zulu.

The purpose of this course:

This course will be an attempt to combine a lot of different activities that make up the working day of the linguist. There will be language learning: each Friday will be a language class, with instruction by Gretta Buthelezi, a native speaker of Zulu. We will learn about Zulu life and culture from her as well, and she will teach us to sing some songs in Zulu. At the same time, we will be reading linguistic literature on Zulu--both traditional descriptive grammars (and here Doke's is the classic grammar to consult) and contemporary syntactic theory that applies current formal syntactic theory to Zulu and, more broadly, to Bantu with the hope of better understanding our theory and better understanding Zulu. But unlike the usual situation that faces the theoretical linguist reading a paper about a non-European language, we will not have to simply accept the facts as they are given to us in the papers: we will be able to check the data, and go beyond the published data to better understand the phenomena being analyzed. I realize that much of the theory in the papers that we will read will be unfamiliar to most of us, but that too is part of the everyday life of the working linguist, and we'll do our best to understand the theory (theories) as we encounter them.

The grade will be based on:

Undergraduates: One third based on quizzes based on language-learning (Friday sessions, TYZ book); two third based on two papers (7 to 8 pages in length), one paper on nouns and noun phrases, the other on verbs and sentences. Each paper should be a concise description of the system (noun, verb) in Zulu, intended for linguists who know nothing about Zulu. Draft of one paper due Week 7, one in Week 8; final drafts due the first day of Exam Week.

Graduate students: A research paper.

Ethnologue: Languages of South Africa.

 

Songs: Thina simunye (by Gretta Buthelezi). Notes on Lizobuya and Unomathemba

Check out a very nice Zulu learning page at http://www.newt.clara.co.uk/isizulu/index.htm


Week 1

1.1.Introduction to the course: overview. A greeting or two in Zulu. Overview of the languages of Africa. Map of Africa.

Link to a beautiful Bantu languages map": very large! Maho's maps of theories of Bantu expansion. 1 2 These are from J. F. Maho. 1999. A comparative study of Bantu noun classes. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

Assignment for next class:

1.2 The Bantu languages: what properties define a Bantu language? The Bantu expansion; the Nguni family. Noun classes, and agreement. Guthrie classification of Bantu languages (map). Bantu linguistic studies.

Assignment for next class: Read TYZ (Teach Yourself Zulu) Chapter 1, "Greetings".

1.3 Language class 1: greetings.

Reading assignment for next week:


Week 2

2.1 Sounds of Zulu, and how it is spelled: consonants, vowels. Sounds from isiZulu.net.

2.2Language situation in South Africa. Guest class by Salikoko Mufwene.

For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 2: "Wena ungubani? Who are you?"

2.3 Language 2

Nkosi, Siza kuwe, by Gretta Buthelezi

Created /by Mark Dingemanse 23 september 2004, released under CC-by-2.0

This map is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Reading assignment for next week:


Week 3

Example sentences

3.1 Overview of Zulu syntax. Discuss Buell, Chapter 1; Bearth, pp. 121-130. Subject markers (SMs), Object Markers (OMs). Verbal extensions modifying argument structure. Word order and affix order.

3.2 Nouns: basic information. Noun classes: Noun class chart 1. Noun class chart 2.

For next class, please read TYZ Chapter 3.

3.3 Language 3

Reading assignment for next week:

  • Reread Syntax; by T. Bearth.

  • Doke, part of Chapter 10-- just pp. 124-134.
  • Also read Chapter 6 of Mutaka, but you can skim the details of the languages which are not Zulu or closely related.

  • Week 4

    4.1 Verbs: the basic factors. Today's notes from class.

     

    Verbs
    2 non-finite:
    infinitive
    imperative
    5 moods:
    indicative
    subjunctive
    participial
    potential
    contingent

     

    Implications:
    Simple
    ngiyathanda
    Progressive
    ngisathanda
    Exclusive
    sengithanda

     

    Aspect
    Indefinite
    ngihlala
    I sit
    Continuous
    ngiyahlala
    I am getting into sitting...
    Perfect (stative verbs)
    ngihlezi
    I am seated

     

    Time
    Remote past
    Recent past
    Present
    Immediate future
    Remote future

    4.2 Verbal agreement ("concord"): Subject, object markers and concord. Time permitting: perfect stem formation; perfect of semantically perfective verbs, perfect of other verbs. Morphophonology of perfect stem formation.

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 4:

    4.3 Language 4

    Reading assignment for next week:

    Doke Chapters 5-6, 7-8.


    Week 5

     

    5.1 Pronouns. Doke Chapter 5. Class notes from today.

    Type of pronoun
    Head
    absolute
    roughly: -na
    demonstrative
    very roughly: la + CV; la + CV + o; la + CV + ya:
    quantitative
    -nke, -dwa;
    qualitative
    empty noun head?

     

    .Tables of inflectional morphemes in paradigms.

    5.2 Things that "modify" or "qualify" a noun.

    These follow the head noun, and have a prefixal concord marker; but they have slightly different concord systems, phono-morphologically. How can we express naturally the syntactic generalization about realization of class/number concord?

     

    Type
    Concord system used
    Used with:
    adjectives
    a + very full nominal concord prefix; vowel coalescence.
    relative
    a + non-nasal concord prefix; vowel coalescence
    enumerative
    "conservative" prefix system
    -nye, -phi, -ni, -mbe
    possessive
    non-nasal prefix
    -o

     

     

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 6

    5.3 Language 5

    Reading assignment for next week:

    Week 6

    6.1 Are Subject Markers and Object Markers pronouns or not? Zulu equivalents of Chichewa Notes from class.

    6.2 Continuing the discussion of complex morpheme order and syntax. Discussion of Demuth and Gruber, first part of paper.

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 7: "Awugcwalise"

    6.3 Language 6

    Assignment for next week:

     


    Week 7

     

    7.1 Further discussion of status of Object Markers and Subject Markers

    7.2 Compound tenses. -- Notes on Kirundi poetry metrics (work with Jeanine Ntahirageza).

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 8:

    7.3 Language 7

    For next class: read TYZ Chapter 8.


    Week 8

    8.1 Relative clauses and questions. Notes from class.

    Also of interest on relative clauses and questions.

    For next class, please read Left dislocation in Zulu. Jochen Zeller. 2004 and handout on long/short forms in Zulu by Leston Buell, available on Chalk site.

    8.2 Long and short versions of verbs; focus. We will discuss Buell's "Zulu long and short verb forms: focus or constituency?"

    Other paper you might look at: Tom Güldemann "Present progressive vis-à-vis predication focus in Bantu" Studies in Language 2003, vol. 27(2) 323-60. Available on-line from U of Chicago computers.

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 9:

    8.3 Language 8

    Reading assignment for next week:

  • Doke Chapter. 20, just pages 311-325.
  • Ziervogel pp. 62-64. 127-132.
  • Agreement and inversion in Bantu relatives: typology and syntax. Brent Henderson
  •  


    Week 9 (Thanksgiving)

    9.1 Relative clauses and questions. Discussion of Demuth and Harford 1999.

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 11:

    9.2 Language 9

    Reading assignment for next week:

    The initial vowel of the noun in Zulu. P. M. S. von Staden. African Studies 32(3):163-181. 1973.


    Week 10

     

    10.1 Augment (preprefix).

    10.2 Final class: Zulu party? what do you think?

     


     

    Class
    Noun prefix
    Subject marker
    Object marker
    Adjectival concord:

    = a + augment + Noun Prefix

    Relative
    = a + augment + Subject Marker
    Enumerative
    = Pre-Nguni forms: no 1a/2a; no -n- in class 9/10.
    1 2
    mu
    ba
    u
    ba
    mu
    ba
    omu
    aba
    o
    aba
    mu
    ba
    1a 2a
    u
    o
    u
    ba
    mu
    ba
    omu
    aba
    o
    aba
    mu
    ba
    3 4
    mu
    mi
    u
    i
    wu
    yi
    omu
    emi
    o
    e
    mu
    mi
    5 6
    (l)i
    ma
    li
    a
    li
    wa
    eli
    ama
    eli
    a
    li
    ma
    7 8
    si
    zi
    si
    zi
    si
    zi
    esi
    ezin
    esi
    ezi
    si
    zi
    9 10
    in
    izin
    i
    zi
    yi
    zi
    en
    ezin
    e
    ezi
    i
    zi
    11
    (lu)
    lu
    lu
    olu
    olu
    lu
    14
    bu
    bu
    bu
    obu
    obu
    bu
    15
    ku
    ku
    ku
    oku
    oku
    ku

     

    Subject agreement and locative inversion:

    Nouns, class marking, and the augment

    Nurse, D. and G. Philippson (2003). The Bantu languages. London; New York: Routledge.

    J. F. Maho. 1999. A comparative study of Bantu noun classes. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Zulu links on the internet

    IsiZulu.net

    African languages.com (Zulu)

    Zulu English dictionary

    Web resources : (these are quite extraordinary!)

    1. Jouni Maho et al: Web resources for Bantu languages. (Note their larger page for all African languages).
    2. Bantu lexical reconstructions from Terveuren and Leiden (Bastin, Coupez, Mumba, and Schadeberg)
    3. Bantu online resources: by Jacky Maniacky.
    4. Bantu maps (CBOLD)
    5. A Survey Report for the Bantu Languages by Derek Nurse SIL International 2001

    http://www.mongabay.com/indigenous_ethnicities/languages/languages/Zulu.html

    Two nice pages with maps and brief discussion:

    Manitoba

    Washington University

    Chromosomal research

    Zulu proverbs: http://www.antiquarian.co.za/Zulu%20Proverbs.htm

    Remarks on a few "polyplural" classes in Bantu. Jouni Maho. Africa and Asia, No. 3. 2003. pp. 161-84.

    Bantu languages FAQ!

    Names of Bantu languages

    Alphabetical list of names


     

    Ideophones

    Kinyarwanda: Alexandre Kimenyi. Iconicity of ideophones in Kinyarwanda: Form, function, content and context.

    Reduplication

    Morphosyntactic correspondence in Bantu reduplication. Larry Hyman, Sharon Inkelas, and Galen Sibanda. 1998. ROA 437.

    Bukusu reduplication. Laura Jo Downing. In Trends in African Linguistics 5, ed. by C. Githiora, H. Littlefield, and V. Manfredi. Lawrenceville NJ: Africa World Press, 73-84.

    6.2

     

    8.1 Tone

    Rycroft, David. Nguni Tonal Typology and Common Bantu. Journal of African Languages.

    Cope, A. T. Zulu Tonal Morphology.

    8.2 Tone

    Clark, Mary M. 1988. An accentual analysis of the Zulu noun. In H. van der Hulst and N. Smith (eds.), Autosegmental Studies on Pitch Accent, pp. 51-79. Dordrecht: Foris.

    Clements, G. N. and John Goldsmith. 1984. Introduction to Autosegmental Studies in Bantu Tone.

    ** Cope, A.T. 1970. Zulu Tonal Morphology, Journal of African Linguistics, 9: 111-152.

    Downing, Laura. 1990. Local and metrical tone shift in Nguni. SAL 21, 261-317.

    Downing, Laura. 2001. How ambiguity of analysis motivates stem tone change in Durban Zulu.

    Khumalo, James. 1987. An autosegmental account of Zulu phonology. PhD dissertation, University of Witswatersrand.

    Laughren, Mary 1981. An Autosegmental Account of Tone in Zulu, in G.N. Clements, ed, Harvard Studies in Phonology, Vol. 2, distributed by Indiana University Linguistics Club: 218-310.

    Depression in Zulu: tonal effects of segmental features http://strazny.com/writing/depressor/toc.htm

    For next class, please read TYZ, Chapter 9: "Usebenzani James?"

    8.3 Language