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:
“All our Concord waters have two colors at least; one when viewed at a distance, and another, more proper, close at hand.... Walden is blue at one time and green at another, even from the same point of view. Lying between the earth and the heavens, it partakes of the color of both.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)