Noun classes and plurality in Bantu languages

Main author: Marten, Lutz
Format: Book Chapters           
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id eprints-26347
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description Noun classes are a prominent grammatical feature of Bantu languages where typically each noun (or noun stem) is assigned to one of between fifteen and eighteen noun classes. Noun classes are often analysed as a form of nominal classification system and seen as belonging to the same domain as grammatical gender systems. Number in Bantu languages is mediated by the noun class system and the intricate interaction between noun class and number in Bantu has given rise to different theoretical analyses. The chapter focuses on three approaches to analysing grammatical number in Bantu languages—approaches based on an inflectional notion of number, those which analyse number as a derivational relation, and approaches adopting notions of polysemy and paradigms for analysing Bantu noun class systems.
author_additional Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia
author_additionalStr Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia
format Book Chapters
author Marten, Lutz
author_facet Marten, Lutz
authorStr Marten, Lutz
author_letter Marten, Lutz
title Noun classes and plurality in Bantu languages
publisher Oxford University Press
publishDate 2021
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26347/