Bernander, Rasmus and Devos, Maud and Gibson, Hannah (2022) The negative existential cycle in Bantu. In: The Negative Existential Cycle from a historical-comparative perspective. Research on Comparative Grammar 1 (99). Language Science Press, Berlin, pp. 59-113. ISBN 978-3-96110-339-3. Official URL: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/307
Bernander, Rasmus and Devos, Maud and Gibson, Hannah (2022) The negative existential cycle in Bantu. In: The Negative Existential Cycle from a historical-comparative perspective. Research on Comparative Grammar 1 (99). Language Science Press, Berlin, pp. 59-113. ISBN 978-3-96110-339-3. Official URL: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/307
Bernander, Rasmus and Devos, Maud and Gibson, Hannah (2022) The negative existential cycle in Bantu. In: The Negative Existential Cycle from a historical-comparative perspective. Research on Comparative Grammar 1 (99). Language Science Press, Berlin, pp. 59-113. ISBN 978-3-96110-339-3. Official URL: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/307
Abstract
Renewal of negation has received ample study in Bantu languages. Still, the relevant literature does not mention a cross-linguistically recurrent source of standard negation, i.e., the existential negator. The present paper aims to find out whether this gap in the literature is indicative of the absence of the Negative Existential Cycle (NEC) in Bantu languages. It presents a first account of the expression of negative existence in a geographically diverse sample of 93 Bantu languages. Bantu negative existential constructions are shown to display a high degree of formal variation both within dedicated and non-dedicated constructions. Although such variation is indicative of change, existential negators do not tend to induce changes at the same level as standard negation. The only clear cases of the spread of an existential negator to the domain of standard negation in this study appear to be prompted by sustained language contact.
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Bantu languages; language change; morphology; negation |
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Language and Linguistics, Department of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 01 Feb 2023 17:14 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2024 19:56 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/27759 |
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