Tako or takwa la Katiba? A description of verb-to-noun derivation in Bantu languages: the case of Kiswahili
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Date
2022
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Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education
Abstract
This paper describes verb-to-noun derivation in Kiswahili, a process in
which nouns are formed from verbs. It places the derivational process
squarely on the question of whether it is ‘tako’ or ‘takwa’, with their
plural forms ‘matako’ or ‘matakwa’. The guiding question for this
description is “how come the verb ‘taka’ changes to ‘takwa’ as opposed to
‘tako’ while similar verbs change to nouns by -o suffixation?” Data were
collected through observation, document review, and interviews. The
findings justify the theoretical statement that derivation is less
productive. Hence, applying a particular rule too broadly to other entities
is relatively hard. In this view, derivation by -o suffixation, as well as by
other processes, is limited to some verbs. Since derivation is less
productive, Kiswahili has many verb-to-noun derivational processes as
presented in this paper under four categories, namely verb-to-noun
derivation Type 1 (suffixation of vowels -i, -o, -u, and -e), Type 2 (noun
class prefixes), Type 3 (infinitive ku-) and Type 4 (miscellaneous nouns).
Hence, the paper concludes that ‘tako la katiba’ with its plural ‘matako
ya katiba’ is inappropriate, whereas ‘takwa la katiba’ with its plural
‘matakwa ya katiba’ is appropriate in Kiswahili.
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Journal article
Keywords
Tako, Takwa, Verb-to-noun derivation, Kiswahili