Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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Event nominalizations in Iraqw, a Cushitic language spoken in Tanzania, have a number of interesting properties. Particularly, they do not license arguments; instead, thematically related nominals...Show moreEvent nominalizations in Iraqw, a Cushitic language spoken in Tanzania, have a number of interesting properties. Particularly, they do not license arguments; instead, thematically related nominals may occur as possessors, or as arguments of the main clause. This thesis, based partially on new data gathered during fieldwork in Tanzania, provides an overview of the morphosyntactic properties of event nominals in Iraqw, as well as an analysis of their internal structure and the syntactic status of their arguments, using the framework of Distributed Morphology.Show less
The Taita Hills in Southern Kenya are a culturally and linguistically interesting location. Previous linguistic research has shown that even though only Bantu languages are spoken in the area,...Show moreThe Taita Hills in Southern Kenya are a culturally and linguistically interesting location. Previous linguistic research has shown that even though only Bantu languages are spoken in the area, there might have been Southern Cushitic habitation in the past. Taita Bantu words that resemble Cushitic words might be loanwords that were borrowed in a past period of language contact. This idea of extinct Southern Cushitic languages in the Taita Hills was proposed by Christopher Ehret and Derek Nurse in 1981. This thesis aims to critically review their article “The Taita Cushites”. Several tables with proposed Southern Cushitic loanwords in the Taita Bantu languages are included in the article. By reviewing 41 of these proposed loanwords, the accuracy of the article’s conclusions will be tested. New data is available on the Southern Cushitic and Bantu languages of East Africa that was not present yet in 1981. Using this data, new insights in the existence of the Taita Cushitic language(s) could be gained.Show less
