hehe verb - okoa

Simile Okoa M.A. Linguistics University of Dar es Salaam

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Verbal inflection in Hehe Language by

Simile Okoa

Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics

Abstract

This paper deals with the basic inflectional properties of the verb in Hehe language. It is evidenced that Hehe has a complex

agglutinative system composed of eleven slots occupied by different affixes both inflectional and derivational. The inflectional

elements negation, subject markers, the object markers, tense, aspect, mood, and relative markers, reflexive are not all

necessarily present in a given verb form but exist in a fixed order. Among other things the paper offers a detailed description

of these inflectional affixes their function and behavior. Generally this paper provides a descriptive analysis of Hehe verb

Inflection as a contribution in the field of Bantu linguistics. This is because a lot has been done in Bantu languages concerning

verbal inflection but the way this phenomenon is manifested in individual languages is still not yet well known. The completion

of this study is therefore, a contribution to this undertaking.

1. Introduction

Hehe a Bantu is spoken in Iringa Region. Its speakers are scattered around Iringa town, Iringa rural, Kilolo

and Mufindi districts in South-central Tanzania. Being a Bantu language with an augment (preprefix) in its

nouns, the language is called ‘ikihehe’ (i= augment, ki-noun prefix and hehe- the root).The speakers are

therefore called ‘avahehe’. For the sake of consistency, this study adopts the name Hehe as used in most

existing literature about the language. Among speakers, there are phonetic, semantic and lexical

differences; such differences are more noticeable in especially the dialect spoken by other people living

around the Udzungwa Mountains: slight different in accent is also felt among speakers from Mufindi and

Iringa town, Kalenga and some places of Iringa rural.

Hehe language is classified in zone G60: Bena-Kinga group in which Hehe it is assigned as G62, other languages

in this group include Bena (G63), Sangu (G61), Wanji (G66), Kinga (G65), and Kisi (G67) (Guthrie (1970). Hehe

is close to Bena, and the two languages are sometimes treated as forming a dialect continuum (Priebusch, 1935).

This study, although it deals with all varieties, considers dialect spoken in Rural Iringa district and some

areas of the Lower lands of Kilolo district to be the central dialect because it is spoken around the

historical homeland of Hehe chiefs.


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Various scholars have written a lot on verbal morphology in Bantu languages. Nurse and Philippson

(2003), Mkanganwi (2002), Ngunga (2000), Dunham (2002). Many of these scholars made generalizations

on how verbal inflections operate particularly on G60: Bena-Kinga group where Hehe is classified as G62.

The amount of data examined in this group depends on the source, the author’s knowledge of how

language works, how much data is presented and the theoretical approach (Nurse 2003:90). So far, little

attention has been paid to in-depth investigation of individual languages in order to see how they behave.

Therefore, this study aims to provide a descriptive analysis of verbal inflection in Hehe, as an attempt to

contribute to the existing knowledge of Bantu inflectional morphology.

The study examines the ideal structure of the verb in Hehe, it also discusses the concept of inflection and

how it is encoded in Hehe. In order to achieve its objectives the researcher sets out to answer the following

question:

i. What are the inflectional properties of the verb in Hehe language?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Inflection and Derivation (Bantu General)

The verbal inflectional morphology in Bantu languages has been the subject of many previous

comparative and descriptive studies (Kiango 2000), Ngunga (2000), (Mchombo 2006), Nurse (2003).

Inflectional morphology deals with syntactically determined affixation processes while derivational

morphology is used to create new lexical items. However, in practice, there is always no unanimity in the

classification of processes as inflection or derivation. Scholars working on the same language may not

agree as to which processes are to be treated as inflectional and which ones are to be regarded as

derivational. Across languages, there can be even greater confusion. A process classified as inflectional in

one language may be analogous to the process regarded as derivation in another language (Katamba,

1993:205).

As an attempt to separate inflection from derivation, Anderson (1988:167) pointed out four kinds of

morphological properties that characterize inflection. These are: configuration properties, agreement

properties, inherent properties and phrasal properties. In configuration properties, the choice of a

particular inflection is determined by the place occupied by a word in a syntactic configuration, agreement

properties are determined by the characteristics of other words in the same construction, inherent

properties such as, the gender of the noun are accessed by agreement rules and phrasal properties


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belonging to an entire syntactic phrase, but they are morphologically realized in one of the words of that

phrase. Katamba (1993) went further; whether a particular process is viewed as derivational or inflectional,

it must be determined by the purely syntactic processes”.

Haspelmath, and Sims (2010:81-83), differentiate the two morphological processes (derivational and

inflection) by using the concept of inflection value and derivational meaning. Inflectional value often does not

have a clear identifiable meaning, but a syntactic function while a derivational meaning has change of

meaning and word category.

Booij (2005) views inflection as the morphological marking of properties on a lexeme resulting in a

number of forms for that lexeme, as a set of grammatical words. Inflectional dimensions are referred to

as morphosyntactic categories (e.g. nouns’ dimensions are numbered, gender and case) because they

may play a role in both morphology and syntax. And for each dimension or category, there is more than

one value. For example, number: singular and plural, gender: masculine, feminine and neuter, and so forth.

These values are referred as morphosyntactic features.

Furthermore, Spencer (2003:193) maintained that the nature of inflectional morphology is one of the

problematic areas of morphological theory and one on which there is perhaps more disagreement than

any other aspects. He adds that inflection is traditionally regarded as a change in grammatical or

morphosyntactic form of the word (or lexeme) as opposed to derivation which is the formation of new

lexemes from other lexemes. Therefore derivation typically changes the syntactic class membership of the

word, such as, adjective to noun, noun to verb, verb to adverb etc. while inflection does not change the

word class here. This argument seems to fit in the description of Indo European language better but not

really in Bantu languages (Hehe in particular). This is because in Bantu languages derivation may involve

only the semantic change and not necessarily the change of word category.

Kiango, (2000:138) explains that that inflection does not induce the change in grammatical category but

manifests different inflectional category, regular paradigms, semantic regularity and finally morphological

irregularity. Hehe languages inflections exhibit similar behaviors by most of its verbal constructions in

which what changes are inflectional categories, regular paradigms, especially intense and aspect system. In

that case inflection should therefore be understood as a morphological process just like derivation. But,

whereas derivation forms new words (lexemes) and/or new meaning, inflection does not; rather it encodes

only grammatical functions.

http://www.google.co.tz/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Martin+Haspelmath%22

http://www.google.co.tz/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Andrea+Sims%22


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2.2. Verbal inflection

Mkanganwi, (2002:175) in his explanation on verbal derivation in Shona argues that inflectional affixes

are those that mark such things as number, gender/class, tense, aspect and mood. While that is true with

Shona, Hehe language seem to have more element such as negation, subject makers, tense aspect and

mood, object markers.

Booij, (2005) identifies verbal inflection dimensions as tense, aspect, mood, and voice. He stated that

there are three important categories of inherent inflection of verb; tense, mood and aspect. Many

languages have overt marking for these categories, and in language description one usually finds a

description of the Tense-Mood-Aspect system (TAM). In addition there is the category voice (such as

active versus passive forms) that is sometimes considered as part of verbal inflection.

Another discussion that has to be addressed is the number of affixes that a verb may accomodate.

Languages differ significantly on the number of these affixes. Dunham (2002:2) for example identifies

that Langi a Bantu language from Kondoa region has up to seven verbal elements each one occupying its

own position in the slot system of the language.

Mkanganwi, (2002), also presents seven elements where he comments that suffixes are derivational, while

all inflectional affixes in Shona are prefixal and vice versa. While that is true with Shona and Langi, Kuria

has eighteen, (Cammenga 2004), Runyambo thirteen, (Rugemalira 2005), Rutara eight slots (Muzale 1998), and

Kiswahili has ten slots (Lindfors 2003). Generally there is variation across languages on the number of

elements in the slot system of the verbal elements; the same difference will be reflected in Hehe language.

2.3. Review of Verbal Morphology in Hehe

Studies that have been conducted about Hehe language exist in scarce; such studies are like, Crema (1987),

Syllable Structure in Kihehe (Odden1996), Mateene, et al (Eds.) (1979), Bena-Hehe-Grammatik. (Priebusch

1935), Tense and Aspect in Ikihehe (Mtavangu 2008) and Noun Classification in Kihehe, (Msigwa 2008). Of all

these studies none has made an in-depth analysis of the verb structure. Such gap of knowledge is a

compelling force for this study.

3. Methodology


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In this the study primary data was collected from twelve Hehe native speakers’ aged 25 to 40 years. A list

of Swahili sentences with various verbal constructions was presented to them to translate in Hehe. Also

the researcher used introspection because of the knowledge he has on the language. Moreover, the

researcher applied documentary review of the existing literatures about Hehe language. Data which were

collected from all these sources were analyzed to see what is really contained in the verbal structure in

terms of inflectional affixes, (their behavior and order) in the light of Bantu inflectional morphology.

3.1. Methods of Data analysis

Following the fact that this study will be analyzing a complex structure of the verbs which are agglutinative

in nature, this requires fragmentation methods by using hyphens, coding system and tabulation. All these

are used to simplify the interpretation of data and to avoid verbalism in data analysis.

4. Data analysis, Findings and Discussion

4.1. Verb Structure

From the data analyzed the verb form in Hehe seems to have a complex agglutinative system composed

of eleven slots occupied by different affixes both inflectional and derivational. These elements are not all

necessarily present in a given verb form, but always appear in a fixed order. Therefore the Hehe verbal

structure can be presented as follows:

Table 1 Verbal slots matrix

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11


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REL NEG SM NEG TAM OM/REF ROOT EXT PEF FV CLITICS

si- -tu- -ku- -mu- iuk a NEG SM Prs OM remember FV

‘we are not remembering him/her’

ve- si- va- -ka- -mu- -tof- -il- -e REL NEG SM P2 SM beat PEF

‘the one who did not beat him/her’

-u- -la- -va- -wop- -el- -a- -ga SM NEG OM tie APPL FV HAB

‘do not get used of tieying for them’

we- -mw- -a- -kwi- -mog- -el- -a REL SM Prs REF shave APPL FV

‘which you usually shave with’

a- -la- -va- -kin- -is- -a -ga SM NEG OM -play- CAUS FV HAB

‘he/she should not cause them to play’

si- A va- -hek- -it- -e NEG SM OM laugh PEF

‘he/she did not laugh at them’

The root constitutes the morphological and semantic core of the verb. It is the most basic form of the

verb to which affixes may be added. The structure constitutes two groups of verbal elements, the pre-root

elements and the post-root elements. In Hehe language both pre-root and post-root position may constitute

derivational or inflectional affixes. This study confines itself to whatever is inflectional that is found in the

morphology of the Hehe verb as per definition of inflection in the literature review. Basing on the verbal

structure given in Table1 above, Hehe verbal stem can be inflected for negation, subject of the verb, the object of

the verb, tense, aspect, mood, relative, reflexive all of which exists in a fixed order. These inflectional markers are

described here below.

4.2. Inflectional Morphology

4.2.1. Relative Inflection


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In Hehe language there is no distinction in relative marking depending on whether or not the object or

subject is relativized. The relative marker is the vowel {–e} in the pre-initial position of the verbal matrix

which is prefixed by the class prefix of a noun subjected to relativization. Consider the following examples:

i. u-munu ye-a-ly-e ‘the person who has eaten’

Ppx-person REL-SM-eat-FV

ii. umunu yet-u-ku-m-keme-la ‘the person who we are calling’

Ppx-person REL-SM-PROG-OM-call-FV

4.2.2. Negation inflection

The data analyzed shows that Hehe language has got a complex system of negation. There is a

morphological negation and lexical negation. Morphological negation is marked by using a prefix {si-}

which occupy slot 2 in the verbal template and {–la-} which is attached to the position immediately after

the subject marker in slot 4. Consider the following examples.

iii. Umwana si-i-ly-a ichakulya ‘the child is not eating food’ Child NEG-SM-eat-FV food

iv. Avana ve-si-vi-bit-a kusule si-va-faul-a-nda ‘children who don’t go to school won’t Children REL-NEG-SM-go-FV school NEG-SM-pass-FV.

v. Si-ndi-bit-a kunega ululenga nda! ‘I don’t go to fetch water’ NEG-SM-go-FV to fetch water

vi. Yuvetu Telesa si-a-ká-fw-i idaha ndaa. Our mother Theresia NEG-SM-P2-die-FV long time

vii. Milau si-wi-bit-a ‘tomorrow you are not going’ Tomorrow-NEG-SM-go-FV

viii. Avana wa-la-bit-a kumakabuli ‘children should not go to the cemetery’ Children SM-NEG-go-FV to the cemetery

ix. Ndi-la-nyw-a ululenga? ‘Should I not drink?’ SM-NEG-drink-FV water

The distribution of negative markers {si-} and {–la-} is morphologically determined. The verb takes a

negative marker {si-} after relative marker (iv) and before the SM in the indicative mood, interrogative

mood and command to show prohibition. On the other hand the verb takes {–la-} in the position

immediately after the SM interrogatives as in (viii), and imperative, or order. The REL and NEG

occupying initial slots may co-occur. The negative marker {si-} and {-la-} are multually exclusive, meaning

that when one of the marker occur the other one does not occur.


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Lexical negation in Hehe is expressed by a lexical verb lem-a-‘shindwa’ which express the idea of inability to,

not being able to, or, should not do. This verb is always formed by a SM, a verb stem and followed by a formative

{–ag-} and a vowel {–e} or {–a} which alternate depending on the mood. Consider the following

examples:

i. Umwana a-lemw-ag-e ukubita kunega ululenga ‘a child should not go to fetch water’ Child SM-NEG- Clitic-FV to go to fetch water

ii. Ndi-lemw-ag-e ukunywa nda? ‘Should I not drink? SM-NEG-Clitic-FV

Both morphological and lexical negation can be optionally accompanied by the word –nda! as a marker

for insisting the sense of negativity as it is the case for Kiswahili katu. (See examples above). While the

morphological markers of negation {si-} and {-la-} are mutually exclusive, the negative marker {la-} and

the lexeme {lem-a} are in complementally distribution.

4.2.3. Subject and Object Inflection

The subject and object inflectional markers encode person, number or class on the verb. The SM occupies

stot 3 while the OM occupies slot 6 (cf Table 1). In the indicative the subject is obligatory for all finite verb

forms. Subject and Object markers are identical with the Agreement Class Prefix (ACP) of the noun in all

class.


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For example:

x. Avahinza va-kin-it-e imangala ‘girls has danced mangala’ Girls SM-dance-PF-FV mangala

xi. Umwana a-ndi-tof-il-e ‘the child has beat me’ Child SM-OM-beat-PF-FV

xii. Umukwamisi a-ndi-s-il-e ‘the boy has insulted me’ Boy SM-OM-insult-PF-FV

xiii. Nene ndi-bit-a kuchanya ‘I am going to heaven’ I SM-go-FV to heaven

xiv. Veve u-ly-a pambele ‘you will eat later’ You SM-eat-FV later

4.2.4. Multiple Objects

Hehe is an OM1 language similar to Kiswahili, Xhosa and Chewa, (Nurse and Philippson 2003:124) and

Kagulu (Verlag 2000). Even if there will be more than one objects in the clause it allow maximally one

object marker inside the verb. Unlike Chaga, Haya, Rwanda, and Tswana which multiple objects may be

expressed by object markers (Nurse and Philippson 2003:124). It is always the case that the kind of object

which is marked in the verb is the indirect object. The animate object is what is coded on the verb if

several objects appear in the phrase.

4.2.5. kwi-/ki- reflexive and reciprocal

In the OM slot, the reflexive and reciprocal may occur.


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For example:

xv. U-mu-hinza a-kwi-bak-a mafuta “the girl is smearing herself with oil’ Ppx-1-girl SM1-REFL-smear-FV oil

xvi. A-va-hinza va-ki-bak-ite mafuta ‘girls smeared themselves with oil’ Ppx-2-girl SM-REFL-smear-PF oil

xvii. Avana va-kwi-tov-a ‘children are beating each other’ Children SM-REC-beat-FV

xviii. Avanafunzi va-kwi-nonel-a ‘students are kissing each other’ Students SM-REC-kiss-FV

The OM and REFL/REC are mutually exclusive.

4.2.3. Tense, Mood and Aspect (TAM) inflection

The other element in the slot system of the verb is the Tense, Mood and Aspect (TAM). Hehe possess

a rich TAM system that exhibits a great diversity of forms. Tense is the representation of the time that

contains an event. Aspect refers to how an event or action is to be viewed with respect to time, rather

than to its actual location in time. Tense and aspect encoding involves the combination of three main

components: inflection of verbs and tone. These may optionally be supported by the use of temporal

adverbials and periphrastic expressions with respect to discourse of conversation.

Tense

The findings show that Hehe language marks tense in verbs. Basically there are three tenses; present tense,

past tense and future tense which are further divided into subcategories. Thus in past tense there is far

past, middle past and recent past where as in future tense there is near future and far future respectively.

These are discussed here bellow as follows.

4.2.3.1. Far Past

Far past tense expresses the events that took place or occurred many years ago. This is marked by a

morpheme {a:} or {i} which is accompanied by the perfective morphemes {é-ílè–ítè/-,- ike-‘ise}.

Together with those morphological markers far past is usually associated with adverbs which express the

notion of far past and high tone in the perfective vowel. Consider the following examples

xix. Umamangu a:-lw-ík-e pa filo fya nzala My brother P1-born-PF-FV during famine season

xx. Imyaka jila tw-a:-pat-ít-e fyakulya fyolofu Those years SM-P1-get-PF-FV food plenty


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xxi. Pamtalo tw-a:-gus-ís-e hilo masebele Long ago SM-P1-sell-PF-FV very much maize

xxii. Pa wana tw-i-tof-íl-e hilo During child hood SM-P1-beat-PF-FV very much

xxiii. Mkwava a:-tem-íl-e iyinyi wunofu Mkwawa P1-rule-PF-FV kingdom nicely

4.2.3.2. Middle Past

The Middle past is the category in the past tense that describes that the event or action took place or

happened yesterday or a few days ago, away from the time of the speech. It is marked by a morpheme {–

ka:} or {–ki-} and sometimes by a high tone in the final vowel without an overt marking then

accompanied with the perfective maker as in the far past (optionally with an adverb). Consider the

following examples:

xxiv. Isusi nda-ká-chel-iw-e kubita kusule The day before yesterdays-P2-late-PF-FV to go to school

xxv. A-ká-kam-it-e lisiva igloo pamihye SM-P2-milk-PF-FV milk yesterday evening

xxvi. Va-kí-tof-il-e peviwene SM-P2-beat-PF-F V when they met

xxvii. Tu-ká-tem-it-e uwulaasi SM-P2-tape-PF-FV bamboo juice

xxviii. Yuvet Telesa si-a-ká-fw-i idaha ndaa. Our mother Theresia NEG-SM-P2-die-FV long time

xxix. Avagenzi va-hel-é Guests SM-left-FV

4.2.4. Present tense

There is no any distinctive morphological element which is used to mark present tense, instead, speakers

tend to use aspectual markers such as progressive {-kιι-}/{-i-} to refer to actions or events which occur

at present. This means that, present tense exists only by virtue of association with some aspects such as

progressive and retrospective forms. See examples below.

xxx. Tw-í-tov-a avayetu ‘we are hitting our friends’ SM-PROG-hit-FV our friends

xxxi. Tu-ku-mw-iwuk-a uyuvetu Telesa ‘we are remembering our Mother Theresa’ SM-PROG-OM-remember-FV our mother Theresa

xxxii. Tu-ku-ibat-a avana ‘we are catching children’ SM-Prs-catch-FV


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4.2.5. Future Tense

Hehe language divides future tense into the near future and far future.

4.2.5.1. Near future

Near future has no overt morphological marker. It is marked by a rising tone in the final vowel for short

verbs and rising tone of the root vowel in the multisyllabic verbs. In non-deictic expressions it is

accompanied by an adverbial. Consider the following examples.

xxxiii. Tubíta milawu We will go tomorrow

xxxiv. Ndilyá pambele I will eat later

xxxv. Ng’imbíla pendimuwene I will run when I see him

xxxvi. Avagenzi volofu vása pambele Many guests will come later

4.2.5.2. Far Future

The data examined so far indicates that there is slight different between far future and near future. One

of the main differences is the contextual use of statements expressing far future time and that expressing

near future. Far future will be in most cases marked by using the rising tone of the root vowel as in the

near future and adverbials of time that shows that the event will take place in the very remote future. i.e

kumwaka ‘next year’, Consider the following examples.

xxxvii. Ndi-mu-sindík-a kusule kumwaka ‘ I will send him/her to school next year’ SM- OM- send-FV to school next year

xxxviii. Inguluvi peyiwendite túsa kumwaka ‘God if wish we will come next year’

Both far future and near future may be expressed optionally by a pre-clitic {saa-}which does not fit in the pre-initial position of the verbal matrix.

xliv. Saa-ndi-mu-sindík-a kusule ‘ I will send him/her to school year’

Clitic-SM- OM- send-FV to school next year

xlv. Inguluvi peyiwendite saa-tú-s-a ‘God if wish we will come next year’ God if wish CLITIC-SM-come-FV

In Hehe language, tone plays a very great role as a grammatical aspect as it marks the contrast in various

tenses. Moreover temporal adverbial plays a very important role in expressing events in the future times.


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4.2.6. Aspect inflection

As already defined above, aspects are different representations of the time within the event. Nurse and

Philippson (2003) assert that aspects appear to be more basic than tense across Bantu. That is, the same

few aspect- categories occur constantly, with relatively little variation, while the tenses vary more. Even

when their morphological exponent is destroyed or recycled, aspects are often maintained in a new guise.

The data analyzed show that Hehe has five aspects: Progressive, Habitual, Perfective, Anterior, and Persisitive

4.2.6.1. Progressive:

In Hehe the progressive indicates a process which is ongoing at the time of the speech. It is often used to

signify that one is in the middle of doing something and therefore unable to respond to a demand. It is

found in all tenses with some changes in tone. Also the progressive aspect can be morphologically marked

by the morpheme {ku-}. Consider the following examples:

xlvi. Tu-ku-mw-iuk-a Teresa “we are remembering Teresa” SM-Prog-OM-remember-FV Teresa

4.2.6.2. Habitual

Habitual is an aspect which expresses actions that take place habitually or repeatedly. It does not refer to

any particular event, and is therefore not about any particular event-time. Consequently, it lacks one of

the crucial features of tense and gets its treatment as an imperfective aspect (Givón 2001:286). Habitual

in Hehe is marked by the morpheme {-aí-} for present and {-ag-} with its variant {-ig-} which change

with respect to past tense.

xlvii. Vana v-ai-tov-w-a kukaye

Children SM-HAB-beat -PASS- FVat home

‘children get beaten often at home’

xlviii. ingoma s -ai- kuv-w-a kusule

Drums SM-HAB-beat-PASS-FV

‘drums get beaten to school’

xlix. vana v-ai-tov-an-a-ga

Children SM-HAB-tov-RECPL-FV-HAB


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‘children do beat each other’

l. v-ai- hig-an-a-ga kwa balosi

SM-HAB-judge-REC-FV-HAB to the ten-cell leader

‘they do judge each other to the ten- cell leader’

4.2.6.3. The Perfective

Hehe marks perfective by the perfective morphemes such as {–ile/-ite/-e/-ise}. These forms are

realized differently depending on the type of verb. It is in this aspect where imbrications process finds its

highest expression. However this process will not be dealt with in this paper hence its discussion will

require a complete separate study. Consider the following examples:

li. umwana i-im-íte pamulyango The child stood at the door child SM-stand-PF at the door

lii. A-hudik-e inzagala he/she has tightened fire woods SM-tighten-PF firewood

liii. A-gus-ise amasebele he/she has old maize SM-sell-PF maize

liv. A-fw-e-ete ikilatu ‘he/she has worn shoes SM-wear-PF shoes

lv. A-s-íle igolo ‘He/she came yesterday’ SM-come-PF yesterday

4.2.6.4. Persisitive

In Hehe persistive is expressed by an auxiliary {‘pe:-}. Consider the examples:

lvi. pe: va-nywa ‘they are still drinking’ lvii. pe: a-vasa ‘s/he is still sleeping’

Table 4: the summary of Tense and Aspect Formatives in Hehe

Pre-Initial

In Pre-Root Formatives

Verbal Base

Final Final Temporal Adverbial

PreIn T/A

SM T/A 4 VB PF HAB

FV (-a/-

ɛ)

ADV

P3 tu -ø- - lim- -it- -e pamilau

SM P3 Cultivate PF FV morning

P2 tu- -ká- - lim- -it -e igloo

SM P2 Cultivate PF FV yesterday

P1 tu- -a- -lim- -it -e idaha


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SM P1 Cultivate PF FV long ago

Prs tu- -í-/-kú- -lim- -a

SM Prs Cultivate FV

F1 tu -ø- -lím- -a milao SM F1 Cultivate FV tomorrow

F2 tu -ø- -lím- -a kumwaka SM F1 Cultivate FV next year

Prog tu- -kú-, -i- -lim- -a

SM Prog Cultivate FV

Pf tu- -ø- -lim- -íte -e -

SM Cultivate PF FV

HAB tu- -ai- -lim- -ag -a kila siku

SM HAB Cultivate FV daily

Pe Persis tu -ø- -lim- -a -

Persis SM Cultivate FV

The sentences in table 4 above are listed below.

lviii. 1. tu-lím-ite ‘we have cultivated in the morning’ (Immediate past)

lix. 2. tu-ká-lim-ite igloo ‘we cultivated yesterday (Middle past)

lx. 3. tu-a-lim-ite idaha (tw-aa-lim-ite) ‘we had cultivated long time ago’ (far past)

lxi. 4. tu-ø-lím-a milao ‘we shall cultivate tomorrow’ (Future tense)

lxii. 5. tu-i-lim-a inodee ‘we are cultivating now’ (progressive aspect)

lxiii. 6. tu-ø-lim-íte ‘we have cultivated’ (perfective aspect)

lxiv. 7. tu-a-i-lim-ag-a kila siku ‘we frequently cultivate’ (habitual aspect)

lxv. 8. pe-tu-lim-a ‘we are still cultivating’ (persisitive aspect)

4.2.7. Mood inflection

Hehe language as many other Bantu languages may also inflect for mood that encodes the different senses

of the verb that reflect the attitude of the speaker. The following moods are admissible in Hehe language:

infinitive mood, the indicative mood, the imperative mood and the subjunctive mood

4.2.7.1. The infinitive mood

Mood expresses the action of the verb in an unlimited way and does not make a distinction of tense,

subject, number and person Kiango (2000:173). Hehe infinitive mood is inflected by the infinitive marker

{ku-}. Consider infinitive verbs like:


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lxvi. ku-kina ‘to play’ lxvii. ku-gima ‘to dig’ lxviii. ku-fyula ‘to sharpen’

4.2.7.2. The Indicative mood

Expresses statements and questions, they constitute the most common clause type in the language.

i. Umwana ahele kusule ‘the child has gone to school’ ii. Avana vabita kukaye milau ‘children will go home tomorrow’ iii. Nzusa lusiku ‘I will come one day’

4.2.7.3. The Imperative mood

Expresses order or command in both affirmative and negative sentences. The verbal form can allow the indication of number, person and the object. In Hehe language the final vowel for imperative mood is morphologically shown by {–e} for affirmative and {-a} for negative. Moreover the imperative consist of verbal stem with a vowel ---e in present tense and ---a in future tense. Consider the examples below:

lxix. Telek-e ‘cook’ lxx. m-tegul-e ‘you(pl.) take lxxi. Bit-e ‘go’ lxxii. u-ka-va- pel-e ‘go and give them’ lxxiii. Avana wa-la-bit-a kumakabuli ‘children should not go to the cemetery’ lxxiv. Lim-e! ‘cultivate’ lxxv. Bite ukavategul-e! ‘go and pick them’ lxxvi. U-ly-a! ‘you will

4.2.7.4. Subjunctive Mood

It is formed with SM or OM, the verb root and final vowel –a in future tense and –e in present For example

lxxvii. Lasima ndi-ly-a ‘I must eat (future)’ lxxviii. Lasima ndi-ly-e ‘I must eat (Present)’

Concluding remarks

This article has addressed different issues concerning the basics of verbal inflection in Hehe. The findings

indicate that the order of verbal inflectional affixes in the verb template is fixed. However this study has

confined itself to what is so basic about verbal inflection; further studies should be done on the in-depth

behavior of the described aspects of inflections in the languages. For example this study has revealed that


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tone plays a big role in marking tense (future tense) there for the tonal aspect here calls for further

research.

Moreover this study has analyzed one of the aspects of verbal morphology (inflection). Further studies

should be done on derivation in Hehe language that will help to see how the two morphological processes

operate.

References

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This paper was presented at the Students-Staff Seminars of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, University of Dar es Salaam on the 18th May 2012. I am grateful to participants for comments; specifically I would mention Prof. Rugemalira, Prof. Swilla, Prof. Saida Othman, Dr. Muzale and Dr. Upor. Meanwhile many thanks to Mr. Kanijo Ponsiano, John Philipo and Mpobela Lea whose comments contributed a lot in improving this article.

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