Vol. 26 No. 4 (2017): Nordic Journal of African Studies
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Patterns and Developments in the Marking of Diminutives in Bantu

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  • Hannah Gibson,
  • Rozenn Guerois,
  • Lutz Marten
Nordic Journal of African Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53228/njas.v26i4.80

Published 2017-12-31

How to Cite

Gibson, H., Guerois, R., & Marten, L. (2017). Patterns and Developments in the Marking of Diminutives in Bantu. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 26(4), 40. https://doi.org/10.53228/njas.v26i4.80

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of diminutives in the Bantu language family, with an emphasis on the role of the noun class system in diminutive formation. It charts different processes of language change which have shaped the present-day situation, as well as highlighting instances in which language contact has played a role in the development of diminutive systems. It also addresses semantic and pragmatic processes underlying the change and variation in Bantu diminutives. The comparison is based on a cross-Bantu typology, examining a sample of 48 languages distributed across the linguistic region.

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