Concord
Swahili phrases agree with nouns in a system of concord, though if the noun refers to a human, they accord with noun classes 1 & 2 regardless of noun class. Verbs agree with the noun class of their subjects and objects; adjectives, prepositions, and demonstratives agree with the noun class of their nouns. In Standard Swahili (Kiswahili sanifu) which was based on the dialect spoken in Zanzibar the system is rather complex; however, it is drastically simplified in many local variants where Swahili is not the native language, such as in Nairobi.
In places where Standard Swahili is not commonly used, concord reflects only animacy. Human subjects and objects trigger a-, wa- and m-, wa- in verbal concord, while non-human subjects and objects—of whatever class—trigger i-, zi-, and infinitive verbs vary between standard ku- and reduced i-. ("Of" is animate wa and inanimate ya, za.) In Standard Swahili, human subjects and objects of whatever class trigger animacy concord in a-, wa- and m-, wa-, while non-human subjects and objects trigger a variety of gender-concord prefixes.
| NC | Semantic field |
Noun -C, -V |
Subj. | Obj | -a | Adjective -C, -i, -e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | person | m-, mw- | a- | m- | wa | m-, mwi-, mwe- |
| 2 | people | wa-, w- | wa- | wa- | wa | wa-, we-, we- |
| 3 | tree | m- | u- | wa | m-, mwi-, mwe- | |
| 4 | trees | mi- | i- | ya | mi-, mi-, mye- | |
| 5 | group, AUG | ji-/Ø, j- | li- | la | ji-/Ø, ji-, je- | |
| 6 | groups, AUG | ma- | ya- | ya | ma-, mi-, me- | |
| 7 | tool, DIM | ki-, ch- | ki- | cha | ki-, ki-, che- | |
| 8 | tools, DIM | vi-, vy- | vi- | vya | vi-, vi-, vye- | |
| 9 | animals, 'other', loanwords |
N- | i- | ya | N-, nyi-, nye- | |
| 10 | zi- | za | ||||
| 11 | extension | u-, w-/uw- | u- | wa | m-, mwi-, mwe- | |
| 10 | (plural of 11) | N- | zi- | za | N-, nyi-, nye- | |
| 14 | abstraction | u-, w-/uw- | u- | wa | m-, mwi-, mwe- or u-, wi-, we- |
|
| 15 | infinitives | ku-, kw- | ku- | kwa- | ku-, kwi-, kwe- | |
| 16 | position | -ni, mahali | pa- | pa | pa-, pi-, pe- | |
| 17 | direction, around | -ni | ku- | kwa | ku-, kwi-, kwe- | |
| 18 | within, along | -ni | mu- | mwa | mu-, mwi-, mwe- | |
Read more about this topic: Swahili Language
Famous quotes containing the word concord:
“I aspire to be acquainted with wiser men than this our Concord soil has produced, whose names are hardly known here.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“We were hospitably entertained in Concord, New Hampshire, which we persisted in calling New Concord, as we had been wont, to distinguish it from our native town, from which we had been told that it was named and in part originally settled. This would have been the proper place to conclude our voyage, uniting Concord with Concord by these meandering rivers, but our boat was moored some miles below its port.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)