Vol. 35 No. 1 (2026): NJAS Special Issue: Auxiliary Verb Constructions in Bantu Languages
Special Issue: Auxiliary Verb Constructions in Bantu

Auxiliaries and Analyticity in Northwestern Bantu

PDF
Elisabeth Kerr
Ghent University

Published 2026-03-31

Keywords

  • Northwestern Bantu,
  • analyticity/syntheticity,
  • wordhood,
  • morphosyntax,
  • verbs

Copyright (c) 2026 Elisabeth Kerr

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Auxiliaries and Analyticity in Northwestern Bantu. (2026). Nordic Journal of African Studies, 35(1), 7–42. https://doi.org/10.53228/e7ym0958

Abstract

Northwestern Bantu (NWB) languages differ from Eastern/Southwestern Bantu languages in that their verb forms are more often analytic, with pre-stem inflectional material appearing in a complex that may be unbound from the main verb. This has resulted in NWB languages being described as having Aux V word order, where ‘Aux’ stands for ‘auxiliary’. At the same time, some verb forms are analysed as synthetic, and authors vary widely in their use of terminology and their orthographic representation of pre-stem material, even for the same language. In this paper, I first review the different terminology used for NWB predicates, highlighting the corresponding variation in wordhood analyses. I then review the structure of the pre-stem ‘auxiliary’ complexes. First, I discuss the internal structure of NWB pre-stem complexes, with regard to the order of elements. Secondly, I discuss the external structure of these complexes, reviewing diagnostics for considering them as independent from the main verb (analytic) or as bound to it (synthetic). The results show variation in the degree of separation between the pre-stem material and the lexical verb across NWB Bantu languages and constructions, consistent with them being in intermediate stages of a recurrent diachronic change between analytic and synthetic verbal predication.

PDF

References

  1. Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y., and R. M. W. Dixon. 2002. “Introduction.” In Areal Diffusion and Genetic Inheritance: Problems in Comparative Linguistics, edited by Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald and R. M. W. Dixon, 1–26. Oxford University Press.
  2. Anderson, Gregory D. S. 2006. Auxiliary Verb Constructions. Oxford University Press.
  3. Anderson, Gregory D. S. 2016. “STAMP Morphs in the Macro-Sudan Belt.” In Diversity in African Languages, edited by Doris L. Payne, Sara Pacchiarotti, and Mokaya Bosire, 513–539. Language Science Press.
  4. Anderson, Gregory D. S. 2025a. “STAMP Morphs, Prefix Conjugations and Multiverb Predicates in the Chadic Languages.” Afrika Und Übersee 98: 1–40.
  5. Anderson, Gregory D. S. 2025b. “Were There STAMP Morphs in Earlier Stages of Niger-Congo?” In Areas, Families, and Pools Aplenty: A Festschrift for Tom Güldemann, edited by Ines Fiedler and Lee J. Pratchett, 259–276. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
  6. Arkadiev, Peter M. 2020. “Morphology in Typology: Historical Retrospect, State of the Art, and Prospects”. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics, edited by Mark Aronoff. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.626
  7. Auderset, Sandra, Caroline de Becker, Gladys Camacho Rios, Eric W. Campbell, Javier Carol, Minella Duzerol, Patience Epps, et al. 2024. “Constituency and Convergence in the Americas – Results and Discussion.” In Constituency and Convergence in the Americas, edited by Adam J. R. Tallman, Sandra Auderset, and Hiroto Uchihara, 735–777. Language Science Press.
  8. Bancel, Pierre. 1991. “The Three-Way Vowel Harmony in Nen.” Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 17 (2): 3–14.
  9. Bearth, Thomas. 1995. “Nominal Periphrasis and the Origins of the Predicative Marker in Mande Languages – an Alternative View.” Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 41: 89–117.
  10. Beavon, Keith H. 1983. “A Phonology of Konzime.” Africana Linguistica 9: 109–136.
  11. Beavon, Keith H. 1991. “Kɔɔzime Verbal System”. In Tense and Aspect in Eight Languages of Cameroon, edited by Stephen C. Anderson and Bernard Comrie, 47–103. SIL International Publications in Linguistics 99. Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington.
  12. Bébiné, Adriel. 2019. “Description Phonologique et Morphosyntaxique Du Nuasúɛ (Langue Bantu A62A).” PhD thesis, Université Yaoundé I.
  13. Bickel, Balthasar, Kristine A. Hildebrandt, and René Schiering. 2009. “The Distribution of Phonological Domains: A Probabilistic Typology.” In Phonological Domains: Universals and Deviations, by Janet Grijzenhout and Kabak Baris, 47–75. De Gruyter Mouton.
  14. Bostoen, Koen. To appear. “Bantu Historical Morphology.” In The Oxford Handbook of Historical Morphology, edited by Peter M. Arkadiev and Franz Rainer. Oxford University Press.
  15. Bostoen, Koen, Gilles-Maurice de Schryver, Rozenn Guérois, and Sara Pacchiarotti, eds. 2022. On Reconstructing Proto-Bantu Grammar. Language Science Press.
  16. Boyd, Virginia Lee. 2015. “The Phonological Systems of the Mbam Languages of Cameroon with a Focus on Vowels and Vowel Harmony.” PhD thesis, Leiden University.
  17. Brown, Braden. 2021. “Constructing the Verb: The Morphological Expression of Temporal Categories in Iyasa.” PhD thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo.
  18. Comrie, Bernard. 1989. Language Universals and Linguistic Typology. 2nd edn. University of Chicago Press.
  19. Creissels, Denis. 2005. “S-O-V-X Constituent Order and Constituent Order Alternations in West African Languages.” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 31 (2).
  20. Creissels, Denis. 2006. “A Typology of Subject and Object Markers in African Languages.” In Studies in African Linguistic Typology, edited by F. K. Erhard Voeltz, 43–70. John Benjamins.
  21. Croft, William. 2003. Typology and Universals. 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press.
  22. Dihenou Djahappi, Justine. 2021. “Phonologie, Morphologie, Syntaxe et Revitalisation de La Langue Àtɔ̀mb.” PhD thesis, Université Yaoundé I.
  23. Dom, Sebastian, Leora Bar-el, Ponsiano Sawaka Kanijo, and Malin Petzell. 2021. “Questionnaire on Noncausal-Causal Verb Pairs (Based on Haspelmath 1993:97).” https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5217242.
  24. Dugast, Idelette. 1971. Grammaire Du Tunen. Éd. Klincksieck.
  25. Dugast, Idelette. 1975. Contes, Proverbes et Devinettes Des Banen: Sud-Ouest Du Cameroun. Société d’études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France.
  26. Festen, Bradley D. 2008. “Verbal Tone in Mpyemo.” MA thesis, University of North Dakota.
  27. Friesen, Dan T. 2002. “Oroko Orthography Development: Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Factors.” MA thesis, University of North Dakota.
  28. Gensler, Orin D. 1994. “On Reconstructing the Syntagm S-Aux-O-V-Other to Proto-Niger-Congo.” Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: Special Session on Historical Issues in African Linguistics, 1–20.
  29. Gensler, Orin D. 1997. “Grammaticalization, Typology, and Niger-Congo Word Order: Progress on a Still-Unsolved Problem [Review of Claudi 1993].” Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 18: 57–93.
  30. Gensler, Orin D., and Tom Güldemann. 2003. “S-Aux-O-V-Other in Africa: Typological and Areal Perspective.” Handout presented at the Workshop on Distributed Predicative Syntax (S P O V X), 4th World Congress of African Linguistics (WOCAL4), Rutgers University, June 21, 2003.
  31. Good, Jeff. 2012. “How to Become a ‘Kwa’ Noun.” Morphology 22: 293–335.
  32. Grimm, Nadine. 2021. A Grammar of Gyeli. Language Science Press.
  33. Grimm, Nadine. 2022. “Exponence and the Functional Load of Grammatical Tone in Gyeli.” Phonology 39 (3): 473–501.
  34. Grimm, Nadine. 2025a. “Tonal Forms of STAMP Morphemes in Northwestern Bantu.” In Areas, Families, and Pools Aplenty: A Festschrift for Tom Güldemann, edited by Ines Fiedler and Lee J. Pratchett, 237–256. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
  35. Grimm, Nadine. 2025b. “Towards Reconstructing Grammatical Tone in the Northwestern Bantu Verb Phrase.” Diachronica 42 (3): 324–356.
  36. Grollemund, Rebecca, Simon Branford, Koen Bostoen, Andrew Meade, Chris Venditti, and Mark Pagel. 2015. “Bantu Expansion Shows That Habitat Alters the Route and Pace of Human Dispersals.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 (43): 43.
  37. Guarisma, Gladys. 2003. “Kpāʔ (A53)”. In The Bantu Languages, edited by Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson, 307–334. Routledge.
  38. Güldemann, Tom. 2003. “Grammaticalization.” The Bantu Languages, edited by Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson, 182–194. Routledge.
  39. Güldemann, Tom. 2008. “The Macro-Sudan Belt: Towards Identifying a Linguistic Area in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa.” In A Linguistic Geography of Africa, edited by Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse, 182–184. Cambridge University Press.
  40. Güldemann, Tom. 2011. “Proto-Bantu and Proto-Niger-Congo: Macro-Areal Typology and Linguistic Reconstruction”. In Geographical Typology and Linguistic Areas, with Special Reference to Africa, edited by Osamu Hieda, Christa König, and Hiroshi Nakagawa, 109–141. John Benjamins.
  41. Güldemann, Tom. 2018. “Areal linguistics beyond contact, and linguistic areas of Afrabia”. In The Languages and Linguistics of Africa, edited by Hans Henrich Hoch, 448–545. Mouton de Gruyter.
  42. Güldemann, Tom. 2022. “Predicate and Argument Indexing in Early Bantu”. In On Reconstructing Proto-Bantu Grammar, edited by Koen Bostoen, Gilles-Maurice de Schryver, Rozenn Guérois, and Sara Pacchiarotti, 389–424. Language Science Press.
  43. Gunnink, Hilde. 2022. A Grammar of Fwe. Language Science Press.
  44. Hamlaoui, Fatima, and Emmanuel-Moselly Makasso. 2019. “Downstep and Recursive Phonological Phrasing in Bàsàá (Bantu A43).” In Theory and Description in African Linguistics: Selected Papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, edited by Emily Clem, Peter Jenks, and Hannah Sande, 155–175. Language Science Press.
  45. Haspelmath, Martin. 2011. “The Indeterminacy of Word Segmentation and the Nature of Morphology and Syntax.” Folia Linguistica 45 (1): 31–80.
  46. Haspelmath, Martin. 2015. “Defining vs. Diagnosing Linguistic Categories: A Case Study of Clitic Phenomena.” In How Categorical Are Categories? New Approaches to the Old Questions of Noun, Verb, and Adjective, edited by Joanna Blasczcak, Dorota Klimek-Jankowska, and Krzysztof Migdalski, 273–304. De Gruyter.
  47. Haspelmath, Martin. 2018. “Revisiting the Anasynthetic Spiral.” In Grammaticalization from a Typological Perspective, edited by Heiko Narrog and Bernd Heine, 97–115. Oxford University Press.
  48. Heath, Teresa. 2003. “Makaa (A83).” In The Bantu Languages, edited by Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson, 335–348. Routledge.
  49. Hedinger, Robert. 2008. A Grammar of Akoose: A Northwest Bantu Language. SIL International and The University of Texas at Arlington Publications in Linguistics 143. SIL International.
  50. Heine, Bernd, and Mechthild Reh. 1984. Grammaticalization and Reanalysis in African Languages. Buske.
  51. Hyman, Larry M. 1998. “Positional Prominence and the “Prosodic Trough” in Yaka.” Phonology 15: 41–75.
  52. Hyman, Larry M. 2003. “Basaá (A43).” In The Bantu Languages, edited by Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson, 257–282. Routledge.
  53. Hyman, Larry M. 2004. “How to Become a ‘Kwa’ Verb”. Journal of West African Languages 30: 89–108.
  54. Hyman, Larry M. 2011. “The Macro-Sudan Belt and Niger-Congo Reconstruction.” Language Dynamics and Change 1: 3–49.
  55. Hyman, Larry M., Nicholas Rolle, Hannah Sande, Emily Clem, Peter Jenks, Florian Lionnet, John Merrill, et al. 2019. “Niger-Congo Linguistic Features and Typology.” In The Cambridge Handbook of African Linguistics, edited by Ekkehard Wolff, 191–245. Cambridge University Press.
  56. Ibirahim, Njoya. 2021. “Aspects of Negation in Makaa (A83).” Afrika Und Übersee 94: 39–79.
  57. Ittmann, Johannes. 1978. Grammaire Du Duala. Collège Libermann.
  58. Julien, Marit. 2002. Syntactic Heads and Word Formation. Oxford University Press.
  59. Kerr, Elisabeth J. 2024a. “Item ‘Recordings and Database on Tunen Syntax and Information Structure’ in Collection ‘Bantu Syntax and Information Structure (BaSIS)’”. The Language Archive. https://hdl.handle.net/1839/2c42e129-6032-4950-9e7a-7f0bde1596ae (accessed October 31, 2025).
  60. Kerr, Elisabeth J. 2024b. “On OV and VO at the Bantu/Bantoid Borderlands”. In ACAL in SoCAL: Selected Papers from the 53rd Annual Conference on African Linguistics, edited by Yaqian Huang Nina Hagen Kaldhol, Jun Jie Lim, Sharon Rose, and Anthony Struthers-Young, 297–345. Language Science Press.
  61. Kerr, Elisabeth J. 2024c. “Tunen Syntax and Information Structure”. PhD thesis, Leiden University.
  62. Kerr, Elisabeth J. 2025. “The Expression of Information Structure in Tunen.” In The Expression of Information Structure in Bantu, edited by Jenneke Van der Wal, 53–122. Language Science Press.
  63. Koni Muluwa, Joseph, and Koen Bostoen. 2019. “Nsong B85d.” In The Bantu Languages, 2nd edn., edited by Mark L. O. Van de Velde, Koen Bostoen, Derek Nurse, and Gérard Philippson, 414–448. Routledge.
  64. Kuperus, Julianna. 1985. “The Londo Word: Its Phonological and Morphological Structure”. PhD thesis, Leiden University.
  65. Ledgeway, Adam. 2012. From Latin to Romance: Morphosyntactic Typology & Change. Oxford University Press.
  66. Lionnet, Florian, and Larry M. Hyman. 2018. “Current Issues in African Phonology.” In The Languages and Linguistics of Africa, edited by Tom Güldemann, 602–708. De Gruyter.
  67. Maho, Jouni F. 2003. “A Classification of the Bantu Languages: An Update of Guthrie’s Referential System.” In The Bantu Languages, edited by Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson, 635–651. Routledge.
  68. Maho, Jouni Filip. 2009. “NUGL Online: The Online Version of the New Updated Guthrie List, a Referential Classification of the Bantu Languages.” Available online: https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/35125_Bantu-New-updated-Guthrie-List.pdf (accessed February 9, 2026).
  69. Makasso, Emmanuel-Moselly. 2023. A Descriptive Grammar of Basaa (A.43): A Bantu Language of Cameroon. Rüdiger Köppe.
  70. Makasso, Emmanuel-Moselly, Fatima Hamlaoui, and Seunghun J. Lee. 2016. “Aspects of the Intonational Phonology of Bàsàá.” In Intonation in African Tone Languages, edited by Laura J. Downing and Annie Rialland, 167–193. De Gruyter Mouton.
  71. Marten, Lutz. 2020. “Bantu and Bantoid.”´ In The Oxford Handbook of African Languages, edited by Rainer Vossen and Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, 205–219. Oxford University Press.
  72. McCarthy, John J. 1982. “Prosodic Structure and Expletive Infixation”. Language 58 (3): 574–590.
  73. Mchombo, Sam. 2004. The Syntax of Chichewa. Cambridge University Press.
  74. Meeussen, Achille Emile. 1967. “Bantu Grammatical Reconstructions.” Africana Linguistica 3 (1): 79–121.
  75. Moroz, George. 2017. “lingtypology: easy mapping for Linguistic Typology”. https://cran.r-project.org/package=lingtypology.
  76. Mous, Maarten. 1997. “The Position of the Object in Tunen.” In Object Positions in Benue-Kwa, edited by Rose-Marie Déchaine and Victor Manfredi, 123–137. Holland Academic Graphics.
  77. Mous, Maarten. 2003. “Nen (A44).” In The Bantu Languages, edited by Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson, 283–306. Routledge.
  78. Mous, Maarten. 2005. “The Innovative Character of Object-Verb Word Order in Nen (Bantu A44, Cameroon).” Studies in African Comparative Linguistics with Special Focus on Bantu and Mande, edited by Koen Bostoen and Jacky Maniacky, 411–424. Tervuren: MRAC.
  79. Mous, Maarten. 2014. “TAM-Full Object-Verb Order in the Mbam Languages of Cameroon.” Proceedings of the Workshop BantuSynPhonIS: Preverbal Domain(s), Zentrum Für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Berlin 57: 72–94.
  80. Mous, Maarten. 2022. “Tone and the Verbal Systems of Nyokon.” Journal of West African Languages 49 (2): 1–33.
  81. Musada, Augustin. 1996. “Elements de Description Du Tuki (Langue Bantoue Du Cameroun A 61).” Licencié Spécial en Linguistique Africaine, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
  82. Myers, Scott. 1990. Tone and the Structure of Words in Shona. Garland.
  83. Myers, Scott. 1995. “The Phonological Word in Shona.” In Bantu Phonology and Morphology, edited by Francis Katamba, 69–92. LINCOM.
  84. Njantcho Kouagang, Elisabeth. 2018. “A Grammar of Kwakum.” PhD thesis, INALCO.
  85. Njantcho Kouagang, Elisabeth, and Mark L. O. Van de Velde. 2019. “Kwakum A91.” In The Bantu Languages, 2nd edn., edited by Koen Bostoen, Derek Nurse, and Gérard Philippson, 383–413. Routledge.
  86. Nurse, Derek. 2008. Tense and Aspect in Bantu. Oxford University Press.
  87. Nzang-Bie, Yolande. 1989. “Elements de Description Du M̀mǎlá: Langue Bantu de Zone A.” Licencié Spécial en Linguistique Africaine, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
  88. Odden, David, and Lee Bickmore. 2014. “Melodic Tone in Bantu: Overview.” Africana Linguistica 20: 3–13.
  89. Paulian, Christiane. 1975. Le Kukuya, Langue Teke Du Congo: Phonologie, Classes Nominales. Vols 49–50. Société d’Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France.
  90. Philippson, Gérard. 2022. “Proto-Bantu *k and *g in the Mbam Languages: A Problem in Classification.” Language in Africa 3 (2): 239–258.
  91. Polak, Louise. 1986. “Les Infixes (‘Préfixes Objets’) Du Bantou et Leur Reconstruction”. Africana Linguistica 10: 365–421.
  92. Redden, James E. 1979. A Descriptive Grammar of Ewondo. Occasional Papers on Linguistics 4. Department of Linguistics, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
  93. Rekanga, Jean-Paul. 1989. “Essai de Grammaire Gunu (Langue Bantoue Du Cameroun A 62).” Licencié Spécial en Linguistique Africaine, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
  94. Rolle, Nicholas. 2022. “Unpacking Portmanteaux: Non-Linear Morphology in the Ebira STAMP System.” Studies in African Linguistics 51 (1): 140–179.
  95. Rolle, Nicholas, Matthew Faytak, and Florian Lionnet. 2017. “The Distribution of Advanced Tongue Root Harmony and Interior Vowels in the Macro-Sudan Belt.” Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America 2 (10): 1–15.
  96. Sande, Hannah, Nico Baier, and Peter Jenks. 2019. “The Syntactic Diversity of SAuxOV in West Africa.” In Theory and Description in African Linguistics: Selected Papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, edited by Peter Jenks, Emily Clem, and Hannah Sande, 667–701. Language Science Press.
  97. Satre, Scott Alan, Jacquis K. Welaze, Joseph-Alain B. Batouan, Samuel Bete, and A. Flore Sebineni. 2008. “Précis d’orthographe Pour La Langue Tunen.” Association Camerounaise pour la Traduction de la Bible et l’Alphabétisation (CABTAL). https://www.silcam.org/fr/resources/archives/47827 (accessed February 9, 2026).
  98. Schadeberg, Thilo, and Koen Bostoen. 2019. “Word Formation.” In The Bantu Languages, 2nd edn., edited by Mark L. O. Van de Velde, Koen Bostoen, Derek Nurse, and Gérard Philippson, 172–203. Routledge.
  99. Schiering, René, Balthasar Bickel, and Kristine A. Hildebrandt. 2010. “The Prosodic Word Is Not Universal, but Emergent.” Journal of Linguistics 46 (3): 657–709.
  100. von Schlegel, A. W. 1818. Observations Sur La Langue et La Littérature Pronvençales. Librairie Grecque-latine-allemande.
  101. von Schlegel, F. 1808. Über Die Sprache Und Weisheit Der Indier. Mohr und Zimmmer.
  102. Stanley, Carol. 1997. Description Morpho-Syntaxique de La Langue Tikar (Parlée Au Cameroun). Societe Internationale de Linguistique (SIL).
  103. Tallman, Adam J. R. 2020. “Beyond Grammatical and Phonological Words.” Language and Linguistics Compass 14 (2): e12364.
  104. Tallman, Adam J. R. 2021. “Constituency and Coincidence in Chácobo (Pano).” Studies in Language 45 (2): 321–383.
  105. Tallman, Adam J. R., Sandra Auderset, and Hiroto Uchihara, eds. 2024. Consituency and Convergence in the Americas. Language Science Press.
  106. Taylor, Carrie. 1999. “Pronouns in Nomaande.” Unpublished ms. Yaoundé, Cameroon: SIL Cameroon.
  107. Thornell, Christina. 2003. “Data on the Verb Phrase in the Mpiemo Language.” Africa & Asia 3: 91–122.
  108. Van de Velde, Mark L. O. 2008. A Grammar of Eton. Walter de Gruyter.
  109. Van de Velde, Mark L. O., and Dmitry Idiatov. 2025. “The Trapped-in-Univerbation Hypothesis for Bantu Object Prefixes.” In Areas, Families, and Pools Aplenty: A Festschrift for Tom Güldemann, edited by Ines Fiedler and Lee J. Pratchett, 181–194. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
  110. Voll, Rebecca. 2017. “A Grammar of Mundabli: A Bantoid (Yemne-Kimbi) Language of Cameroon.” PhD thesis, Leiden University.
  111. Wilkendorf, Patricia. 1986. “The Marking of Tense in Nomaántɛ́.” Journal of West African Languages 16 (1): 63–74.
  112. Wilkendorf, Patricia. 2001. Sketch Grammar of Nomaánde: Sections 1-4. Unpublished ms. Yaoundé: SIL Cameroon. https://www.silcam.org/resources/archives/47933 (accessed February 9, 2026).
  113. Zingler, Tim. 2020. “Wordhood Issues: Typology and Grammaticalization.” PhD thesis, University of New Mexico.
  114. Zingler, Tim. 2024. “Expletive Insertion: A Morphological Approach.” English Language & Linguistics 28 (1): 23–42.