Annotating Tumbuka
by Jean Chavula
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One of the challenges in glossing a Bantu language is the representation of the verb and its affixes. Bantu languages are agglutinating, and a verb in Tumbuka can be preceded by several prefixes, and it can be followed by several suffixes. Suffixes can be followed by end-clitics, such as -só meaning 'again' or po which is a locative. One way of representing verb affixation is through the use of verb schemata where the verb root is accompanied by slots (SLT) each of which hosts one or several affixes of a specific grammatical type.
| SUBJ.M | TA1 | (MOD) | (OM),(REFL) | ROOT | (EXT) | (TA2) | FV | (Clitic) |
| SLT1 | SLT2 | SLT3 | SLT4 | SLT5 | SLT6 | SLT7 | SLT8 |
Note that only the subject marker (expressing noun class agreement) a tense/aspect marker, both preceding the root
and a final vowel are obligatory, all other verb extensions are optional. The subject marker has a dual functional status; in case of
a realised subject it functions as an agreement marker,otherwise as an incorporated pronominal argument (see (Bresnan and Mchombo 1986, 1987)
.
| Slot | Suffix | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subject agreement or Subject pro-form | ||
| 2 | Tense & Aspect | ||
| 3 | Modality | ||
| 4 | Object marker, Reflexive marker | ||
| 5 | Extension (Derivation) | ||
| 6 | Tense & Aspect | ||
| 7 | Final Vowel (Mood) | ||
| 8 | Clitics |