The augment, also called the pre-prefix or just initial vowel, is a
morpheme
A morpheme is any of the smallest meaningful constituents within a linguistic expression and particularly within a word. Many words are themselves standalone morphemes, while other words contain multiple morphemes; in linguistic terminology, this ...
that is prefixed to the
noun class
In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some ...
prefix of nouns in certain
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
.
Shape
The augment originates in the
Proto-Bantu pronominal prefix, which is usually identical to the subject prefix of verbs. In some contemporary languages, such as
Masaba, this shape has remained more or less unaltered. In others, the augment has been reduced to a simple vowel, often the vowel of the following noun class prefix (e.g. in
Zulu ''umu-'', ''ama-''), or a lowered variety (
Luganda
Ganda or Luganda ( ; ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 5.56 million Ganda people, Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda, includ ...
''omu-''). Where the noun class prefix normally has a low tone, the augment has a high tone.
The following table gives an overview of the shape of the augment in various languages:
[The Bantu languages, edited by Derek Nurse & Gérard Philippson, section 7.4]
The Tekela
Nguni languages have the augment only in some noun classes, but with a relatively predictable distribution:
[The Bantu languages, edited by Derek Nurse & Gérard Philippson, section 30.4.1]
* Swazi has the augment when the noun class prefix begins with a
nasal consonant
In phonetics, a nasal, also called a nasal occlusive or nasal stop in contrast with an oral stop or nasalized consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast majo ...
(class 1/3 ''umu-'', 4 ''imi-'', 6 ''ema-'', 9 ''in-'').
*
Phuthi has the augment where the vowel of the noun class prefix is ''a'' (class 2 ''eba-'', 6 ''ema-'').
*
Lala has an unusual distribution which depends on the structure of the noun stem itself:
** In class 1 and 3, the augment is present when the noun has the shape CV (''munu'' "person", but derived diminutive ''unwana'').
** In class 2, it is present with any noun beginning with a consonant (''abanu'' "people", but ''boni'' "sinners").
** In class 9, it is present on all nouns.
Function
The augment appears to have neither only one function in the languages that have it or even the same function in all languages. In earlier works, it was often compared to a definite article, but its range of use is wider than that.
In Ganda, the augment may indicate definiteness, specificity or focus, but its presence or absence may also depend on syntactic factors.
It is present in simple declarative sentences:
But it is absent when a noun follows a negative verb:
In Zulu, the augment is normally present, but it is dropped in cases like the following:
* In
vocatives.
* After
demonstrative
Demonstratives (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) are words, such as ''this'' and ''that'', used to indicate which entities are being referred to and to distinguish those entities from others. They are typically deictic, their meaning ...
s.
* After a negative verb, with an indefinite meaning ("any" as opposed to "the").
References
{{reflist
Bantu languages