African Language and Culture 2S 3600-7-AF4-JKA2S
The course offers an introduction to the knowledge of the Swahili language history and its dialects and focuses on the description of the Swahili grammar in regard to phonology and morphology. The contents of the course include the following topics discussed from the perspective of a theoretical analysis:
• History of the Swahili people and language
• Genetic classification and dialectal diversity of Swahili
• Inventory and distribution of phonemes and allophones
• Syllable structure in the native lexicon and in loanwords
• Prosodic word (“minimality” principle) and accent
• Morphophonological processes (prefixal, suffixal, vowel harmony)
• Structure of nominal root and nominal categories
• Productivity of nominal classes
• Derivation of nouns from verbal bases
• Structure of verbal root and verbal extensions
• Verbal extensions: their combinations and frequency
• Pronouns, ideophones and other grammatical categories
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
After completing the class the student performs a phonological and morphological analysis of the Swahili language and is capable of distinguishing its dialects.
Assessment criteria
A written examination comprising a test and an essay referring to the material presented during lectures.
Bibliography
Amidu, A. A. 1995. „Kiswahili: People, language, literature and lingua franca”. Nordic Journal of African Studies 4/1: 104-125.
Ashton, E. O. 1970 [1944]. Swahili Grammar. London: Longman.
Barrett-Keach, C. 1986. „World internal evidence from Swahili for Aux/Infl.” Linguistic Inquiry 3: 559-569.
Batibo, H. M. i F. Rottland. 1992. „The minimality condition in Swahili word forms”. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 29: 89-110.
Bertoncini-Zúbková, E. 1987. Kiswahili kwa furaha. Corso di lingua swahili, parte prima – grammatica e testi litterari. Napoli.
Blommaert, J. 2005. „Situating linguistic rights: English and Swahili in Tanzania revisited”. Journal of Sociolinguistics 9/3: 390-417.
Guthrie, M. 1967-1971. Comparative Bantu, vol.1-4. London: Gregg.
Loogman, A. 1965. Swahili Grammar and Syntax. Louvain.
Massamba, D. P. B. 1987. „The effect of language modernization on the phonological system of the Kiswahili language”. Kiswahili 54/1-2: 142-151.
Nurse, D. i Th. Hinnebusch. 1993. Swahili and Sabaki: A Linguistic History. Berkley: University of California Press.
Nurse, D. i Th. Spear. 1985. The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society, 800-1500. Philadelphia: University of Pensylvannia Press.
Ohly, R., I. Kraska-Szlenk i Z. Podobińska. 1998. Język suahili. Warszawa: Dialog.
Piłaszewicz, S. i E. Rzewuski. 2004. Wstęp do afrykanistyki (rozdział 8 ). Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Polomé, E. C. 1967. Swahili Language Handbook. Washington: CAL.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: