1. Introduction
This paper demonstrates how head nouns agree with their markers in Kimbeere relative clauses. The article is organized as follows: In Section 2, we show how agreement between the relative marker and each of the sixteen Kimbeere noun classes occurs. In Section 3, we compare the morphology of Kimbeere “-rĩa” relatives with “-ĩngĩ” relatives and other Bantu languages forms. Sections 4 and 5 contain the findings of this study and conclusion respectively.
2. Morphological Analysis
Kinyua (2010) demonstrated how several morphemes can be realized in one Kimwimbi verb. Refer to (1) in which “Ba” is an agreement morpheme, “rĩ” is a tense morpheme, “mũ” is object marker, “ring” is the root, “ĩr” is a morpheme meaning applicative and “a” is the final vowel.
(1) Barĩmũringĩra.
Ba- rĩ- mũ- ring- ĩr- a.
AM TM OM Root Appl- FV
“They are calling him”
Kinyua’s study was relevant in that it helped the researcher to single out morphemes marking subjects, objects, relatives, tenses and the verb root. In Kimbeere relative clauses, the relative marker “rĩa” is preceded by an agreement marker (AM) which agrees in class and number with the head noun in a systematic way. Consider examples (2a-c) below.
(2) a) Iratũ irĩa
8.Shoes 8.which
b) Gĩkombe kĩrĩa
7.Cup 7.which
c) Ĩtumbĩ rĩrĩa
5.Egg 5.which
It is evident that the noun “iratũ” (shoes) which is in noun class 8 agrees with the prefix “i” in “irĩa” (which), which is also in noun class 8 because they refer to the same entity, “iratũ” (shoes). Similarly, “gĩkombe” agrees with “kĩ” in “kĩrĩa” (which) all in noun class 7; and “ĩtumbĩ” and “rĩ” in “ĩtumbĩ rĩrĩa” (egg which) all in noun class 5 agree in class and number. This consistency in pattern is noticed in all the relative clauses discussed in this study.
Gitonga (2014), in his study titled “Upatanishi Katika Sentensi ya Kichuka” (Agreement in Kichuka Sentence), demonstrated that there is agreement in noun phrases and verb phrases within a sentence. Structure (3) exemplifies this.
(3) Maembe matano matagũrwa
Maembe ma-tano ma-ta- gũr- w- a.
6.mangoes 6-five 6-NEG buy- PASS-FV
Maembe matano hayakununuliwa (Kiswahili).
Mangoes five they were not bought.
“Five mangoes were not bought”
Evidently “ma-” in “maembe” (object) agrees with “ma-” in “matano” (number/quantifier) and “ma-” in “matagũrwa” (object marker + Verb). This agreement is necessary in the formation of Kimbeere relative clauses.
The noun agreement marker for class 1 and 2 isũand a as in “mũndũ ũrĩa-andũ arĩa” (person who-people who); class 3 and 4 is ũ and ĩ as in “mũtĩ ũrĩa-mĩtĩ ĩrĩa” (tree which-trees which); class 5 and 6 is rĩ and ma as in “ĩgemberĩrĩa-magembe marĩa” (mango which-mangoes which); class 7 and 8 is kĩ and i as in “gĩciko kĩrĩa-iciko irĩa” (spoon which-spoons which); class 9 and 10 isĩ and i as in “mbũriĩrĩa-mbũri irĩa” (goat which-goats which); class 11 and 12 is rũ and ka as in “rũkũ rũrĩa-karamu karĩa” (piece of wood which-pen which); class 13 and 14 is tũ and ũ as in “tũramu tũrĩa-ũũkĩ ũrĩa” (pens which-honey which); class 15 and 16 is kũ and ba as in “kũndũ kũrĩa-bandũ barĩa” (place which-places which). Table 1 summarizes agreement between nouns and the morphemes representing them in Kimbeere “-rĩa” relative clauses.
From Table 1, we gather that the relative marker agrees with the head noun of the relative clause. This agreement issystematic and consistent in all the noun classes listed. For example in “mũtĩ ũ-rĩa” (tree which), the noun “mũtĩ” which is in noun class 3 and in singular agrees with the agreement morpheme “ũ-” in “ũrĩa” which is also in noun class 3 singular. The plural of “mũtĩ ũ-rĩa” is “mĩtĩ ĩ-rĩa” (trees which). The noun “mĩtĩ” and “ĩ-”in “ĩrĩa” agree in class and number
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Table 1. Kimbeere noun class agreement.
since they are in noun class 4 and in plural as labeled in the table. It is worth noting that in the majority of cases, the agreement marker attached to the relative marker resembles the class prefix. For example in “a-ndũ a-rĩa” (people who) “a” in “andũ” resembles “a” in “arĩa”. The same can be said of “rũ-rigi rũ-rĩa” (string which), “tũnya tũrĩa” (little gourds which), “kĩondo kĩrĩa” (basket which), “kũgũrũkũrĩa” (leg which), “ũcũrũ ũrĩa” (porridge which) and “bandũ-barĩa” (place which). Consider the examples in sentences (4) to (21).
(4) Mũndũ ũrĩa twatiga ndukarĩ nĩ mwirũ.
Mũndũ ũ-rĩa tũ- a-tig- a nduka-rĩ nĩ mw-
1.person-1-REL-1sg- PST-leave-FV 9.shop- in FOC 1-
irũ
black
“The person we have left in the shop is dark”
(5) Andũ arĩa aaria nĩ akeni.
Andũ a-rĩa a- aria nĩ a- keni
2.people 2-REL 2- talkative FOC 2- happy
“People who are talkative are happy”
(6) Thiĩ ũteme mũtĩ ũrĩa mũmũ.
Thiĩ ũ- teme mũtĩ ũ-rĩa m- ũmũ
Go 2sg- cut 3.tree 3-REL 3- dry
“You go cut the tree which is dry”
(7) Mĩtĩ ĩrĩa mĩraca nĩ mĩrũngarũ.
Mĩtĩ ĩ-rĩa mĩ- raca nĩ mĩ- rũngarũ
4.trees 4-REL 4- long FOC 4- straight
“The trees which are tall are straight”
(8) Nĩ warĩmĩra ĩrigũ rĩrĩa rĩkubĩ?
Nĩ w- a- rĩm- ĩr- a ĩrigũ rĩ-rĩa rĩ-kubĩ
FOC 1sg- PST- weed- Compl FV 5.banana 5-REL 5-short
“He/she has weeded for the short banana stem”
(9) Marigũ marĩa marathi tĩ mega ma kũrĩa.
Marigũ ma-rĩa ma-rathi tĩ ma-ega ma kũrĩa
6.bananas 6-REL 6-semi ripe NEG 6-good 6 to eat
“Bananas which are semi-ripe are not good for eating”
(10) Kĩondo kĩrĩa gĩtune kĩrĩ na gĩko.
Kĩondo kĩ-rĩa gĩ- tune k-ĩrĩ na gĩko
7.basket 7-REL 7- red 7-has with dirt
The basket which is red has dirt
“The red basket is dirty”
(11) Ciondo irĩa ciabĩbirue ciarĩ ciake.
Ciondo i-rĩa ci- a- bĩb-ir w- e ci-arĩ
8.baskets 8-REL 8- PSt- burn-Compl PASS-FV 8-AUX
ci-ake
8-POSS
“The baskets which were burnt were his/hers”
(12) Mũthũngũ nũragũrire ngitĩ ĩrĩa mbaganu.
Mũthũngũ nĩ- ũ-ra- gũr-ir- e ngitĩ ĩ-rĩa mb-aganu
1.white personFOC-1-PST-buy-Compl-FV 9.dog 9-REL 9-fierce
“The white man/woman bought the dog which is fierce”
(13) Ngitĩ irĩa ngũrũ itirĩ magego.
Ngitĩ i-rĩa ng- ũrũ i- t- irĩ magego
10.dogs 10-REL 10- old 10- NEG-have 6.teeth
“Dogs which are old don’t have teeth”
(14) Tũkagũra rũrigi rũrĩa rũcerũ.
Tũ ka- gũr- a rũrigi rũ-rĩa rũ-cerũ
1pl FUT- buy- FV 11.string 11-REL 11-white
We will buy the string which is white
“We will buy the white string”
(15) Kabiũ karĩa kaũgĩ mũno karĩ kũ?
Kabiũ ka-rĩa ka-ũgĩ mũno ka-rĩ kũ
12.knife 12-REL 12-sharp very 12-AUX where
The knife which is sharp very is where?
“Where is the knife which is very sharp?”
(16) Tũcungi tũrĩa twerũ nĩ twabĩa.
Tũcungi tũ-rĩa tũ-erũ nĩ tũ- a- bĩa
13.sieves 13-REL 13-new FOC 13- PST - burn
“The sieves which are new have burnt”
(17) Ũcũrũ ũrĩa mwega nĩ wa mũbĩa.
Ũcũrũ ũ-rĩa mũ-ega nĩ wa mũbĩa
14.porridge 14-REL 14-good FOC for 3.sorghum
The porridge which is good is for sorghum
“Sorghum flour porridge is better”
(18) Nĩnona kũgũrũ kũrĩa Wanja araunĩkire.
Nĩ- na- ona kũgũrũ kũ-rĩa Wanja a-ra- unĩk-ir- e
FOC- AUX- see 15.leg 15-REL 3sg 3-PST- break-PERF-FV
“I have seen the leg which Wanja broke”
(19) Kũtheka kũrĩa John athekaga tĩ kwega.
Kũtheka kũ-rĩa John a- thek-ag- a tĩ
15A.To laugh 15A-REL 3sg 3- laugh-HAB- FV NEG
kũ-ega
15A-good
To laugh which John laughs is not good
“The laughing which John laughs is not good”
(20) Kũndũ kũrĩa kũrĩ mĩtĩ nĩ kũthaka.
Kũndũ kũ-rĩa kũ-rĩ mĩtĩ nĩ kũ- thaka
15B.place 15B-REL 15B-has 4.miti FOC 15B- beautiful
“A place which has trees is beautiful”
(21) Bandũ barĩa batheru nĩ bathambie.
Bandũ ba-rĩa ba-theru nĩ ba- thambie
16.place 16-REL 16-clean FOC 16- cleaned
“The place which is clean is washed”
Worth noting is the uniformity in the form of the relative morpheme “-rĩa”. It is the same from noun class 1 to noun class 16. Variations occur only in the noun agreement markers which are dictated by the noun class in question. For example in noun classes 2, 6, 7, and 14, the noun agreement markers are “a-”, “ma-” “kĩ-” and “ũ-” respectively. These noun agreement markers agree with the nouns “andũ” (person), “marĩĩtwa” (names), “kĩondo” (basket) and “ũcũrũ” (porridge) in that order.
The agreement in Table 1 closely resembles what Ntarangwi (2015) came up with for Gitigania, a Kimeru dialect. In her study, Ntarangwi analyzes subject and object agreement markers as in (22) for noun classes 1 and 2.
(22) NC Prefix Example SM OM
1 m- Mwana a- -mũ-
Child 1
2 a- Ageni ba- ba-
Visitors 2
In (22) for class 1, the subject marker is “a” while the object marker is “-mũ-”. Sentence (23) shows an example of Gitigania sentences used with subject and object markers.
(23) Carol akamĩkĩra mĩtĩ mbolea
Carol a ka mĩ ĩkĩra mĩtĩ mbolea
Carol 1 SM 1 FUT OM 4 add trees 4 manure 9
“Carol will add manure to the trees”
In (23), the subject Carol agrees in class and number with the subject marker “a-”. They are all in Class 1 singular. Similarly, the object “mĩtĩ” in class 4 agrees with the object marker “mĩ” that is also in noun class 4.
3. Comparison of “-Ĩngĩ” and Other Relative Clause Types
The morphology of the Kimbeeere restrictive, appositive, direct, indirect, headless/free and tenseless relative clauses is similar in that the relative marker is “-rĩa” for all of them. In “-ĩngĩ” relative clauses the relative marker is “-ĩngĩ”. In both cases, this relative marker agrees in number and class with the head noun of the relative clause in question. Structures (24) & (25) give a morphological analysis of other types and “-ĩngĩ” type of Kimbeere relative clauses respectively. For both examples, tense is conveyed by a combination of an empty tense morpheme (O) and the perfective (-ir-) morpheme.
(24) Ngaari ĩrĩa tũonire ĩrakuiĩte nyaki.
Ngaari ĩ- rĩa Otũ- on-ir- e ĩ-ra- ku-
9.Vehicle 9.OM RM O1pl see-Compl FV om9-PST-carry
ĩĩt- e nyaki
PERF-FV 10.grass
“The vehicle which we saw was carrying grass”
(25) Ngaari ĩĩngĩ tũonire ĩrakuĩite nyaki.
Ngaari ĩ ĩngĩ Otũ on-ir e ĩ-ra- ku-
9.Vehicle 9.OM RM O1pl see-Compl FV om9- PST-
carry
ĩĩt- e nyaki
PERF-FV 10.grass
“Another vehicle we saw was carryinggrass”
Apparently examples (24) and (25) share form with the exception of the relative markers. “-rĩa” and “-ĩngĩ”. In “ngaari ĩĩngĩ” (another vehicle) and “ngaari ĩrĩa” (vehicle which), “ngaari” (vehicle) which is in class 9 of the noun category agrees with the object marker “ĩ-” in “ĩ-ĩngĩ” (another) and “ĩ-rĩa” (which). However, in the literal sense the two sentences differ in meaning considering that “ngaari ĩrĩa” (vehicle which) refers to a certain vehicle that “we saw” and which was carrying grass. On the other hand, “ngaari ĩĩngĩ” (another vehicle) seems to expresses a situation in which the speaker had seen a vehicle before the one mentioned in current speech, in other words the vehicle spoken about is an additional one. Ideally, a speaker would talk of “ngaari ĩĩngĩ” even when they have not seen a vehicle previously so that “ngaari ĩrĩa” and “ngaari ĩĩngĩ” may not necessarily mean different things.
Generally for “-ĩngĩ” relative clauses there is a systematic agreement between noun classes and agreement markers attached to “-ĩngĩ”. For class 1 and 2 the agreement marker is wĩ and eas in “mũndũ wĩĩngĩ-andũ eengĩ” (person another-people others); for class 3 and 4 is wĩ and ĩ as in “mũtĩ wĩĩngĩ-mĩtĩ ĩĩngĩ” (tree another-trees others); for class 5 and 6 is rĩ and me as in “ĩtumbĩ rĩĩngĩ-matumbĩ meengĩ”; for class 7 and 8 iskĩand ci as in “kĩratũ kĩĩngĩiratũ ciĩngĩ” (shoe another-shoes others); for class 9 and 10 is ĩ and ci as in “ngũkũ ĩĩngĩ-ngũkũ ciĩngĩ” (chicken another-chickens others); for class 11 and 12 is rwĩ and keas in “rũũngũ rwĩĩngĩ-kameme keengĩ” (vine another-radio another); for class 13 and 14 is twĩ and wĩ as in “tũmeme twĩĩngĩ-ũũkĩ wĩĩngĩ” (radios others-honey another); for class 15 and 16 is kwĩ and be as in “kũndũ kwĩĩngĩ-bandũ beengĩ” (places others-place another). These agreement patterns for “-ĩngĩ” relatives are summarized in Table 2.
From Table 2 we find that for “-ĩngĩ” relatives, the relative morpheme is also uniform just like in “-rĩa” relatives save for a few which inflect to agree with the final vowel of the noun agreement marker. For example in noun class 6 we have “marĩĩtwa me-engĩ” (names others). The “-e” in “me-” influences the formation of the relative marker for agreement’s sake. Therefore instead of saying “marĩĩtwa ma-ĩngĩ” the vowel sounds /a/ and /i/ combine to form /e/ hence “me-engĩ”. This phenomenon is what Mgullu (1999) calls “mvutano wa irabu” (vowel attraction). In Kiswahili, says Mgullu, vowel attraction occurs mostly between vowel /a/, a low vowel and /i/, which is a high vowel. This attraction gives rise to the vowel sound /ε/ which is in between vowel /a/ and vowel /i/. Consider the Kiswahili examples in (26) & (27) for illustration. A similar scenario is exhibited in noun classes 12 as in “kanya ke-engĩ” (gourd another) and 16 as in “bandũ be-engĩ” (place another).
(26) ma+ingi mengi
(27) wa+ ingi wengi
(Mgullu, 1999)
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Table 2. Kimbeere “-Ĩngĩ” noun classes agreement.
Just like in other types of Kimbeere relative clauses, agreement between the relativized noun and the agreement marker attached to the relative morpheme is observable in “-ĩngĩ” relative clauses. For instance in (28) “kaana” (child) which is in noun class 12 agrees with “ke-” in “ke-engĩ” (another) which is also in class 12. See sentential examples for the 16 noun classes in (29) to (45).
(28) Kaana keengĩ nethĩre kanitharĩ nĩ karaũrire.
Kaana keengĩ Ona- ĩth ĩr e kanitha rĩ
12.Child 12.REL-O1sg find Appl FV 12.church Prep
nĩ ka- ra- ũr- ir- e
FOC om12 PST lost Compl FV
Child another I foundchurch in got lost
“Another child I found in church got lost”
(29) Mũndũ wĩĩngĩ ũrarĩ cukuru nĩ namwona.
Mũndũ wĩ-ĩngĩ ũ-rarĩ cukuru nĩ na- mũ- ona
1.person 1-REL 1-was school FOC PERF om1- see
Person another who was in school I have see
“I have seen another person who was in school”
(30) Nĩmwacemania na andũ eengĩ maracarua nĩ athigari?
Nĩ mũ- a-cemania na andũ e-engĩ ma- ra-
FOC 2pl- have-meet with 2.people 2-REL om2- be
carua- nĩ athigari
search by 2.police
You have met with people othe being searched for by police
“Have you met other people who are being searched for by the police?”
(31) Mũtĩ wĩĩngĩ tũrenda gũtema nĩ mwariĩ.
Mũtĩ wĩ-ĩngĩtũ- ra-enda gũtema nĩ mũ- ariĩ
3.tree 3-REL 1pl- pres-want to cut FOC om3- wide
Tree another we want to cut is wide
“Another tree we want to cut is wide”
(32) Ngakũonia mĩtĩ ĩĩngĩ ũkabanda.
Ng- a kũ- onia mĩtĩ ĩ-ĩngĩ ũ- ka- banda
1sg- FUT 2sg- show 4.trees 4-REL sm2- FUT- plant
I will show you tree others you will plant
“I will show you other trees you will plant”
(33) Ĩbuku rĩĩngĩ nĩrathoma nĩ rĩnene.
Ĩbuku rĩ-ĩngĩ nĩ- ra- thoma nĩ rĩ-nene
5.book 5-REL sm1- pres- read is om5-big
Book another I am reading is big
“Another book I am reading is big”
(34) Mabati meengĩ Kariuki aratuma namo nĩ marotu.
Mabati me-engĩ Kariuki a-ra- tuma na-mo
6.iron sheets 6-REL 3Kariuki sm3-pres-build with-6
nĩ ma- rotu
FOC 6- rusty
Iron sheets others Kariuki is building with are rusty
“Other iron sheets Kariuki is building with are rusty”
(35) Kĩratũ kĩĩngĩ kĩratetwe njĩrarĩ nĩ kĩaũ?
Kĩratũ kĩ-ĩngĩ kĩ- ra- tetwe njĩra-rĩ nĩ kĩ- aũ
7.shoe 7-REL 7- PST- thrown way-in is 7- whose
Shoe another had been thrown on the way is whose
“Whose is another shoe which had been thrown on the way”
(36) Ngaari ĩĩngĩ Mike aratwara tĩ yake.
Ngaari ĩ-ĩngĩ Mike a- ra- twara tĩ y-ake
9.vehicle 9-REL 3Mike sm3- pres- drive NEG 9-POSS
Vehicle another Mike is driving not his
“Another vehicle Mike is driving is not his”
(37) Ngaari ciĩngĩ ciakĩrĩra aba nĩ cia kambeni.
Ngaari ci-ĩngĩ ci-a- kĩrĩra aba nĩ ci-a
10.vehicles 10-REL 10-have- pass by here FOC 10-for
kambeni
campaign
Vehicle others they have passed here are for campaign
“Other campaign vehicles have passed by”
(38) Rũkũ rwĩĩngĩ waoca tĩ rũũmũ.
Rũkũ rwĩ-ĩngĩ w- a- oca tĩ rũ-ũmũ
11.firewood 11-REL 2sg- pres pick NEG om11-dry
Firewood another you have pick is not dry
“Another firewood you have picked is not dry”
(39) Ũkangũrĩra karamu keengĩ gatune.
Ũ- ka- n- gũr- ĩr- a karamu ke-engĩ
You- FUT- om1- buy- Appl- FV 12.pen 12-REL
ga-tune
12-red
You buy for me pen another red
“You will buy another red pen for me”
(40) Tũramu twĩĩngĩ twaarĩ tũũru nĩ twoneka.
Tũramu twĩ-ĩngĩ tũ-arĩ tũ-ũru nĩ tũ-a oneka
13.pens 13-REL 13-were 13-lost FOC 13-have-find
Pens others they were lost they are found
“Other pens which had got lost have been found”
(41) Ũcũrũ wĩĩngĩ Ndegi arugĩĩte nĩ mũrũrũ.
Ũcũrũ wĩ-ĩngĩ Ndegi a- rug- ĩĩt- e nĩ
14.porridge 14-REL 3Ndegi sm3- cook-PERF- FV FOC
mũ-rũrũ
14-bitter
Porridge another Ndegi has cooked is bitter.
“Another porridge Ndegi has cooked is bitter”
(42) Kũgũrũ kwĩĩngĩ kwa mbũri kuunĩku gũkobwa.
Kũgũrũ kwĩ-ĩngĩ kwa mbũri ku-unĩku gũ-kaobwa
15.leg 15-REL of 9.goat 15-broken 15-FUT-tied
Leg another of goat it broken it will be tied
“Another goat’s broken limb will be bound”
(43) Gũtuĩka kwĩĩngĩ Njeru atuĩkaga nĩ gwa kũthekania.
Gũtuĩka kwĩ-ĩngĩ Njeru a- tuĩk -ag- a nĩ-gũ-
15A.to dance 15A-REL 3Njeru sm3- dance-HAB- FV FOC-15A-
a kũ-thekania
for 15-laughable
To dance another Njeru dances is laughable
“Another dancing Njeru does is laughable”
(44) Kũndũ kwĩĩngĩ tũrarĩ tũkathiĩ rũciũ nĩ twatĩrua.
Kũndũ kwĩ-ĩngĩ tũ-rarĩ tũ- ka-thiĩ rũciũ nĩ
15B.place 15B-REL 1pl-were-1pl- FUT-go-tomorrow FOC
tũ- a tĩrua
1pl- have been stopped
Place another we were to go tomorrow we have been stopped
“We have been stopped from going to another place we were to go tomorrow”
(45) Kamĩtĩ nĩyonire bandũ beengĩ ba gũcemania.
Kamĩtĩ nĩ- ĩ- on- ir-e bandũ be-engĩ
9.committee FOC-7- see-Compl-FV 16.place 16-REL
ba gũ-cemania
for to-meet
The committee found place another for to meet
“The committee found another place to meet”
4. Summary of Research Findings
The study found out that:
· All the other types of Kimbeere relative clauses have “-rĩa” as the relative marker except “-ĩngĩ” relatives that have “-ĩngĩ” as the relative marker.
· The relative markers “-rĩa” and “-ĩngĩ” are attached to the head noun markers and they agree in number and class in a systematic manner.
5. Conclusion
In this paper, we have provided the morphology of Kimbeere “-rĩa” relatives (those that have “-rĩa” as the relative marker) and “-ĩngĩ” relatives (those that use “-ĩngĩ” as the relative marker) and demonstrated that these relative markers agree with the head noun.