Tumbuka grammar describes the main grammatical features of the Tumbuka language (also known as ChiTumbuka), a Bantu language spoken primarily in Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. [1] [2] The Tumbuka grammar is typical for Bantu languages, bearing all the hallmarks of this language family. These include agglutinativity, extensive inflection for person (both subject and object), a rich array of noun classes, tense and aspect, as well as a subject–verb–object word order. [1]
Tumbuka, like other Bantu languages, has a system of noun classes that govern agreement (concord) on adjectives, verbs, pronouns, and other modifiers. [1] Nouns take prefixes such as m-, ma-, ci-, and vi-, and modifiers agree with the noun’s class. Pluralisation usually involves changing the noun prefix: for instance, class 1 singular m- pluralises to ŵa-, and class 7 ci- to class 8 vi-. [1] [3]
Personal pronouns can be expressed but are often omitted, since the verb carries a subject-prefix agreeing with the subject noun or pronoun. [4]
The 3rd person singular prefix may appear as a- in some dialects rather than wa-.
Every finite verb in Tumbuka carries a subject prefix, sometimes an object marker, and a tense–aspect marker.
Each verb takes a prefix marking the subject’s noun class or person, e.g. ciŵinda ci-ka-koma nkhalamu (“the hunter killed a lion”).
An optional object marker precedes the verb root and agrees with the object’s noun class, e.g. Pokani wa(yi)gula galimoto (“Pokani has bought a car”).
Tumbuka expresses tense and aspect through verbal affixes [5] rather than tone. [6] [7] [8]
| Tense | Marker | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | ku- | ku-luta | “to go” |
| Present simple | -ku- | wa-ku-luta | “he/she goes” or “is going” |
| Present perfect | -a- | w-a-luta | “he/she has gone” |
| Remote past | -ka- | wa-ka-luta | “he/she went (some time ago)” |
| Near future | -enge | wa-luta-enge | “he/she will go (today)” |
| Remote future continuous | -zamu-…-anga | wa-zamu-luta-anga | “he/she will be going (tomorrow or later)” |
Negation is expressed by particles such as yayi or chara, typically following the verb: [1]
A special negative perfect form adds -nda-…-e:
The basic word order is subject–verb–object (SVO), although variation occurs for focus or topicalisation. [9] Verbs, adjectives, and relative clauses agree with their head nouns in noun class. [9] Compound tenses and auxiliary constructions also occur, e.g. wakaŵa kuti wafumapo (“he had just left”). [9]
Although primarily a grammatical description, prosody interacts with morphosyntax. [10] Studies show that Tumbuka lacks lexical tone contrasts; instead, a phrasal high-tone (stress-like) system applies. [10] The penultimate vowel is lengthened and bears high tone in isolation. [10]
Tumbuka uses a Latin-based alphabet. Its orthography was standardised in the early 1940s in Malawi. [11]
The 3rd person singular prefix may be a- instead of wa- in the Karonga dialect; the plural may appear as wa- rather than ŵa-.
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