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:
“After a pause at Ball’s Hill, the St. Anne’s of Concord voyageurs, not to say any prayer for the success of our voyage, but to gather the few berries which were still left on the hills, hanging by very slender threads, we weighed anchor again, and were soon out of sight of our native village. The land seemed to grow fairer as we withdrew from it.”
—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)