A micro-parametric approach to focus marking ní in Kilimanjaro Bantu languages

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses the proclitic ní in Kilimanjaro Bantu, which is diachronically regarded as having developed from a copula and synchronically as having morphosyntactic continuity with it. The study provides an account of specific realizations of ní in two of the Kilimanjaro Bantu varieties, Rombo-Mkuu and Uru, which have not yet been reported in the literature, and then develops a typological overview of its variation across Kilimanjaro Bantu, based on micro-parameters designated for capturing its phonological and morphosyntactic variability. These attempts are intended to be a preparatory step for an integrated explanation of this element and an empirical contribution for much wider typological discussions across Bantu on focus marking types and negation types.

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