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The Genesis of Auxiliaries: A Semiotic Account
Alexandre Kimenyi
California State University at Sacramento
Abstract:
The study of the development of auxiliaries in Kinyarwanda helps us understand
the genesis of signs and structures in language and how they degenerate: grammaticization
or deiconization.
Essentially, the main argument developed in this essay is that indeed signs
and structures are first iconic but later on become symbolic (deiconization)
because of semiosis as predicted in Peirce's classification of signs.
The syntactic behavior of auxiliary verbs in different languages has been discussed
in linguistic literature but its dynamism and semantics has been neglected especially
in generative grammar. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the nature of
auxiliary verbs and make some hypotheses in their development in human languages.
The main focus will be on their genesis: how they are produced and how they
develop (production and dynamism). Kinyarwanda seems to be an ideal language
since it seems to have more auxiliaries than any other language that has been
described so far.
I. Auxiliaries in Kinyarwanda:
Auxiliaries in Kinyarwanda, like in other languages, carry the tense-aspect-modality
of the "main" verbs. They carry tenses of defective verbs, show moods
(indignation, uncertainty, doubt, impatience...) or indicate aspects of the
state, action or event such as inchoativity, iterativity, habituality, completion,
non-completion, ...). Formally, they can be classified in two types. Some have
their "main" verb in the infinitive form. Like the auxiliary verb,
the latter has a subject pronoun, a tense marker and an aspect morpheme. What
distinguishes auxiliary verbs from main verbs is that the former cannot occur
in the passive form and don't carry suffixes, either , such as instrumentals,
applicatives, locatives, associatives ... and cannot incorporate object pronouns.
As will be seen in all examples that are presented below, all auxiliaries have
corresponding regular verbs. There seems also to be some kind of semantic (metonymic)
association between the auxiliary and its corresponding regular verb, which
shows clearly that these auxiliaries developed from these regular verbs.
1. gupfá /-pfú-/
The auxiliary gupfá is always followed by an infinitive:
a. Ni-bá-pf-á gusúbiza n-z-iishiim-a
if-they-aux-asp to-answer I-fut-be happy-asp
'If they just answer, I will be happy.'
b. U-pf-é ku-mú-hamagar-a
you-aux-subj to-him-call asp
'Just call him.'
As examples show, this auxiliary shows the attitude of the speaker: a wish for
the occurrence of the event. Its closest translation is "at least."
As an independent verb, gupfá means "to die" and "to quarrel":
c.Y-a-pfúu-ye- umwáaka ushíze
he-pas-die-asp year which-ended
'He died last year.'
d.Uyu mugabo n'úmugoré ba-ra-pf-á ikí?
this man and woman they-pres-argue-asp what
'What are this man and woman arguing for?'
2. kumara /-mar-/
Kumara is also followed by an infinitive. It shows a new state or completion
of the action. It has a perfective aspect function:
a. Ba-maz-e gukíra
they-aux-asp to-be-rich
'They are rich now.'
b. Ní-mu-mar-á kugera yó u-záa-du-hamágar-e.
when-you-aux-asp to arrive there you-fut-us-call-subj
'When you get there, call us.'
By itself, kumara means "to finish."
c. Tw-aa-maz-e kuryá.
we-past-finish-asp to-eat
'We have finished eating.'
3. guhéerakó /-héer- +kó/
The closest translation of guhéerakó is 'right away.'
a. Ba-ra-héera-kó bá-du-hamagar-a.
they-t-aux they-us-call-asp
'They will call us right away.'
b. U-mu-bwiír-e a-heerékó a-zá.
you-him-tell-asp he-aux he-come
'Tell him to come right away.'
This verb never occurs by itself but it derives from guhéera which
lacks the post suffix -ko which means "to start with."
c. A-ra-héer-a kurí ibyo.
he-pres-start with-asp on that
'He is going to start with that.'
d. Tu-ra-héer-a aha.
we-pres-start with-asp here
'We start from here.'
4. kubóna /-bon-/
As an auxiliary, kubóna is a modality verb. It has the meaning of "then."
It is followed by an infinitive verb and acts as a linker between two logical
consecutive events.
a. Ní-tu-raangíz-a tu-ra-bón-a kugeenda.
when-we-finish-asp we-t-aux-asp to-go
'When we finish we will (then) go.'
b. N-áa-m-pamágar-a ni hó n-záa-bón-a kugeenda.
if-he-me-call-asp it-is when I-fut-aux-asp to-go
'If he calls me, I will (then) go.'
All sentences which have kubóna as an auxiliary are equivalent to the
parataxis constructions. In this case, the main verb carries the tense of the
auxiliary:
c. (1.) Ní-tu-raangíz-a tu-zaa-gend-a
when-we-aux-asp we-fut-go-asp
d. (2.) N-áa-m-pamágar-a ni hó n-záa-geend-a.
if-he-me-call-asp it-is when I-fut-go-asp
As an indenpendent verb, kubóna means "to see" and "to
think":
e. Tu-ra-bón-a néezá.
we-pres-see-asp-well
'We see very well.'
f. N-da-bón-a bá-ta-záa-za.
I-pres-think-asp they-not-fut-come
'I think they will not come.'
5. guhóra /-hor-/
The auxiliary guhóra has a continuous habitual meaning. Its "main"
verb occurs in the participial construction.
a. Mu-hor-a mú-kin-a.
you-aux-asp you-play-asp
'You are always working.'
b. Báno ba-hor-a b-íig-a.
these ones they-aux-asp they-study-asp
'These ones are always studying.'
When it occurs alone, guhóra means "to be at a place all the time":
c. Ba-hor-a inó.
they-be always-asp here
'They are always here.'
6. kumenya /-meny-/
Kumenya occurs in the subjunctive form with its main verb. It has a "reminding"
function.
a. Ba-meny-é ba-kor-é.
they-aux-subj they-work-subj
'They should (remember to) work.'
b. Mu-meny-é mu-kiing-é.
you-aux-subj you-close-subj
'You should (remember to) close.'
When it occurs alone kumenya means 'to know':
c. Ba-za-meny-a kó u-rí inó.
they-fut-know-asp that you-be here
'They will know that you are here.'
7. oya /oya/
Oya never occurs with the inifinitive marker ku-. Used by itself, the expression
oya means 'no.' As an auxiliary, it also denotes prohibition. Its main verb
occurs in the infinitive form.
a. Abáana b-ooy-é kuvúga.
children they aux-subj to-talk
'The children should not talk.'
b .Mw-ooy-é ku-geenda.
you-aux-subj to-go
'You should not go.'
This auxiliary occurs in a shorter form also, yielding:
c. nooyé -> noo/nee 'I shouldn't' twooyé -> twoo/twee'we
shouldn't'
wooyé -> woo/wee 'you shouldn't' mwooyé-> mwoo/mwee'you
shouldn't'
yooyé -> yoo/yee 's/he shouldn't' booyé -> boo/bee 'they
shouldn't'
Since it denotes prohibition, it always occurs in the subjunctive or imperative
form.
8. kuráara/kuramuka/kwíiriwa
kuráara, kuramuka and kwíirirwa mean 'to spend the night,' 'to
survive the night,' and 'to spend the day,' respectively, when they are not
auxiliaries as examples show:
a. Ba-ra-ráara háno.
they-t-spend night here
'They are spending the night here.'
b. Umurwáayi síi-n-zí kó a-ramúka.
sick not-I-know that he-survive night
'I don't know if the patient is going to survive the night.'
c. U-raa-za kwíirirwa hé?
you-t-come to spend-day where
'Where are you going to spend the day?'
When they are used with the postsuffix -hó, they convey meanings of greetings
and byes. In greetings, they take the recent past morpheme -a-, in the expressions
of goodbyes, they take near future morpheme -ra-:
d. 1. W-a-ramuts-e-hó? 'Good morning'
you-t-survive-asp-pts
2. W-iiriw-e-hó? 'Good afternoon'
you-spend day-asp-pts
e. 1. U-ra-ramuk-e-hó. 'Good night'
you-t-survive-subj-pts
2. U-r-iirirw-e-hó. 'Have a nice day'
you-t-spend day-subj-pts
Followed by verbs in the participial construction, these verbs indicate how
the evening, the morning and the afternoon were spent, respectively:
f. 1. Tw-aa-raa-ye dú-kor-a.
we-pst-spend night-asp we-work-asp
'We spent the night working.'
2. Tw-aa-ramuts-e dú-hamagar-a.
we-past-survive night we-call-asp
'We spent the morning calling.'
3. Tw-iiriw-e dú-som-a.
we-spend day-asp we-read-asp
'We spent the day reading.'
In some cases, they shift their meanings completely. When it occurs in the conditional
tense, kuramuka conveys the meaning of 'likelihood.' Its closest translation
would thus be 'if by any chance.'
g. N-áa-ramúk-a a-gú-hamaga-ye nt-uú-subiz-e.
if-he-aux-asp he-you-call-asp not-you-answer-subj
'If he happens to call you, don't answer.'
h. Bá-ramuts-e bá-gii-ye ntí-ba-a-garuk-a.
they-aux-asp- they-go-asp not-they-t-come back-asp
'If they left they would not come back.'
kwíirirwa acquires the meaning of 'try/attempt' when it occurs in the
negative form or when it is embedded in a clause whose main verb is in the negative.
i. Nti-mw-íirirw-e múu-za.
neg-you-aux-subj you-come
'Don't bother to come.'
j. Sii-n-zí kó b-iirírw-a bá-andik-a.
not-I-know that they-aux-asp they-write-asp
'I don't think if they'll bother to write.'
9. kugira /-gir-/
kugira is a modality verb: it shows the attitude of the speaker; his or her
impatience about the occurrence of the action. Its translation would be "finally."
a. N-izeey-e kó ba-gir-á ba-ka-geend-a.
I-hope-asp that they-aux-asp they-t-go-asp
'I hope that they are finally going to leave.'
b. Ni-mu-gir-é mu-ryaam-é.
you-aux-subj you-go to bed-subj
'You should (finally) (try to) go to bed.'
Its second function, as an auxiliary, is to show indignation on the part of
the speaker, if the main verb occurs in the infinitve form.
c. Ba-giz-e ku-táa-zá nó ku-tá-andík-a.
they-aux-asp to-not-come and to-not-write
'They didn't come nor write.'
d. W-a-giz-e gukúbita umwáana nó kutámugáburira.
you-past-aux-asp to-beat child and to-not him-feed
'You beat the child and you also didn't feed him.'
As an independent verb, it means 'to have' and 'to do':
e. Sii-n-zí kó a-gir-á imódoká.
not-I-know that he-have-asp car
'I don't know if he has a car.'
f. Uyu mukoóbwa a-gir-a néezá.
this girl she-do-asp well
'This girl is nice.'
10. kubúra /-búr-/
When it is followed by an infinitive verb, the auxiliary kubúra shows
an event which failed to materialize but could have benefited the agent or speaker.
a. Mw-aa-buz-e kuuza !
you-past-aux-asp to-come
'You should've come!'
b. Ba-bur-é ku-mú-tumir-a!
they-aux-asp to-him-invite-asp
'They should invite him!'
Most of the time it occurs in the hortative or exclamative mood. Used independently,
kubúra means 'to miss,' 'to fail,' or 'not to have':
c. N-a-buz-e igitabo cyaanjye.
I-pst-miss-asp book of-me
'I couldn't find my book.'
d. Tw-aa-buz-e umwaánya.
we-pst-miss-asp time
'We didn't have time.'
11. kwoongera /-onger-/
kwoongera indicates a repetitive event. It can be translated as 'again.'
a. Ba-r-oonger-a ba-hamágar-e.
they-t-aux-asp they-call-subj
'They are going to call again.'
b. N-d-oonger-a kw-aandika.
I-t-aux-asp to-write
'I am going to write again.'
Like other aspectual verbs (those which show whether the event is starting,
continuing, repeating, ending...) the main verb of kwoongera can occur in four
constructions namely the infinitive, the -ra- tense, the -ka- tense and the
subjunctive. The subjunctive form is used only if it occurs with past tenses.
If kwoongera is embedded then its 'main' verb takes the -ka- morpheme. The infinitive
form occurs with any tense of the auxiliary or any type of clause in which the
auxiliary occurs.
c. 1. Ba-r-oonger-a ba-hamágar-e/gu-hámagar-a
they-t-aux-asp they-call-subj/to-call
'They are going to call again.'
2. B-aár-oonge-ye ba-ra-hámagar-a/gu-hámagar-a
they-past-aux-asp they-ra-call-asp/to call-asp
'They called again.'
3. Y-a-vuz-e kó b-oongér-a ba-ga-hámagar-a/gu-hámagar-a
he-past-say-asp that they-aux-asp they-t-call-asp.to-call-asp
When it is not used as an auxiliary, kwoongera means 'to give again/more' or
to 'add.'
d. Y-oongey-e umugoré amafaraanga.
he-give again-asp woman money
'He gave more money to the woman.'
e. Ba-r-oonger-a ibiró.
they-add-asp weight
'They are gaining weight.'
12. kwíigera /-iger-/
kwíigera shows an event which took place or will take place for a short
time. It is mostly used in the negative form or the interrogative form. In future
tenses, it never occurs in the affirmative form.
a. Y-iigez-e guhámagara.
he-aux-asp to-call
'He called once.'
b. Sii-n-zí kó a-z-íiger-a a-hámagar-a.
not-i-know that he-fut-aux-asp he-call-asp
'I don't know if he will ever call.'
c. Nti-y-iigér-a ahámagara.
neg-he-aux-asp he-call
'He never calls.'
Independently used, it is found mostly in past tenses and means 'to have/possess.'
d. B-iígez-e ibiintu byiínshi mbere yó gukena.
they-have-asp things many before of to-become-poor
'They had a lot of things before getting poor.'
13. kujya /-gi-/
The auxiliary kujya when used with the imperfective aspect marker -a or -aga
with past tenses, shows iterativity. Its 'main' verb, occurs in the participal
mood.
a. Ba-jy-a ba-dú-hamagar-a.
they-aux-asp they-us-call-asp
'They call us sometimes.'
b. Tw-aá-jy-aga tú-bon-an-a.
we-past-aux-asp we-see-rec-asp
'We used to see each other.'
c. Mu-zaa-jy-a mú-tw-aandik-ir-a
you-fut-aux-asp you-us-write-to-asp
'You'll write us sometimes.'
With the perfective aspect marker -ye, it shows an event taking place very soon
(near future):
d. Ba-gii-ye gusúbiza.
they-aux-asp to-answer
'They are going to answer.'
e. N-gii-ye- gusoma iki gitabo.
I-aux-asp to-read this book
'I am going to read this book.'
As an ordinary verb kujya means 'to go.'
6. Ba-ra-jy-a kw-iishuúri.
they-t-aux-asp to school
'They are going to school.'
7. Tu-gii-ye kw-iisokó.
we-go-asp to market
'We are going to the market.'
14. kuuza /-z-/
kuuza has a near future meaning (event which will take place later in the day).
a. Abáana ba-raa-za kunanirwa.
children they-t-aux to-get tired
'The children are going to be tired.'
b. Mu-raa-za kwúumva.
you-t-aux to-undertand
'You're going to understand.'
Used by itself kuuza means 'to come.'
c. Ba-raa-za nóone.
they-t-come today
'They are coming today.'
d. Ba-shobora kuu-za.
they-can to-come
'They can come.'
15. kugeenda /-geend-/
The auxiliary kugeenda shows manner of progression or regression.
a. Ba-ra-geend-a b-íiy-ongeer-a.
they-t-aux-asp they-refl-increase-asp
'They are increasing in number.'
b. Mu-ra-geend-a mú-subir-a inyuma.
you-t-aux-asp you-go back-asp behind
'You're regressing.'
kugeenda as an independent verb means 'to walk' or 'to go/to leave.'
c. Uyu mwáana a-zi kugeenda.
this child he-know to-walk
'This child knows how to walk.'
d. Tu-zaa-gend-a ejó.
we-fut-leave-asp tomorrow
'We will leave tomorrow.'
15. guhita /-hit-/
guhíta has the same meaning and the same function as the auxiliary guhéerakó.
(3). It also means 'right away':
a. Ba-ra-hít-a bá-som-a.
they-t-aux-asp they-read-asp
'They are going to read right away.'
b. Mu-hit-é mú-kor-a.
you-aux-subj you-work-asp
'Work right away.'
As a regular verb, guhíta means 'to pass by':
c. N-daa-za guhíta ní mugórooba.
I-t-aux to-pass-by in evening
'I will pass by in the evening.'
It also means 'to stop raining.' But it developed from the former as a metaphor:
d. Imvúra ni yó i-gi-hit-á.
rain it-is time it-still-stop-asp
'The rain has just stopped.'
16. kuva aho /-vu- aho/kuhava /-ha-vu-
kuva aho/kuhava indicates a possibility in the future:
a. Mu-ra-va aho/mu-ra-ha-va mu-bi-meny-é.
you-t-aux you-it-know-asp
'You'll end up by understanding/knowing it.'
b. Sii-mu-vúg-iish-a a-ta-vá aho/a-ta-ha-vá a-n-túk-a.
not-him-say-caus-asp he-not-aux he-me-insult-asp
'I am not going to talk to him so that he doesn't insult me.'
As a main verb, kuva aho means 'to leave there'.
c. Va aho!
leave there
'Go away'.
17. kugeraho /-ger- +aho/
kugeraho has the same meaning and function as kuva aho (16). It also shows a
possibility or end result. Unlike kuva aho, however, it is also found in past
tenses.
a. Mu-zaa-gera aho mu-bi-meny-é.
you-fut-aux you-it-know-asp
'You will end up by understanding.'
b. Tw-aa-geze aho tu-ra-nanirw-a.
we-pst-aux we-t-get tired-asp
'We got tired in the end.'
As a main verb, kugera aho consists of the verb kugera 'to arrive' and the adverb
aho 'there.'
c. Ba-a-gez-e aho.
they-arrive-asp there
'They-t-arrived there.'
18. gusígara /-sigar-/
The auxiliary gusígara shows a new state. Its main verb also occurs in
the participal construction.
a. Unó mwáana a-siga-ye a-kúbagan-a.
this child he-aux-asp he-disturb-asp
'This child is now disturbing.'
b. Tu-ra-bón-a u-síga-ye u-zí ubwéenge.
we-t-se-asp you-aux-asp you-know knowledge
'We see that you are smart now.'
As a main verb it means 'to stay,' to remain':
c. Umugoré a-ra-sígar-a imuhirá.
woman she-t-stay-asp home
'The woman is staying home.'
d. Mw-aa-siga-ye hé?
you-pst-stay-asp where
'Where did you stay?'
18. kugumya /-gumy-/
kugumya shows a continuous or repetitive event:
a. Ba-ra-gumy-a ku-dú-hamagara/Ba-ra-gumya bá-du-hamagara
they-t-aux-asp to-us-call they-aux they-us-call
'They keep calling us.'
b. Y-a-gumy-e a-tw-áandik-ir-a/Yagumye ku-tw-aandikira
he-pst-aux-asp he-us-write-to-asp he-aux to-us-write
'He kept writing us.'
Its main verb can occur in the infinitive or participial construction as the
examples above show. By itself, it means "to keep in the same place."
19. kubá /-bá-/
The auxiliary kúba is first used to show a future event with the nuance
that it cannot take place before that specific time:
a. A-ra-bá a-zá. <---> A-raa-za.
he-t-aux he-come he-t-come
'He will be coming.' 'He will come.'
b. Ba-zaa-ba ba-gú-subiz-a. <--> Ba-zaa-gu-subiz-a.
they-fut-aux they-you-answer-asp they-fut-you-answer-asp
'They'll be answering you.' 'They will answer you.'
Secondly, it indicates a simultaneous habitual event. It is optionally followed
by the auxiliary -rihó (V).
c. Iyo n-gii-yé ba-ba (bá-rihó) bá-som-a.
when I-go-asp they-aux (they-aux) they-read-asp
'Whenever I go, they are always reading.'
d. Mu gitóondo mw-aa-ba-ga (mú-rihó) mú-kor-a.
in morning you-pst-aux-asp (you-aux) you-work-asp
'In the morning you were always working.'
In future tenses, it only shows a simultaneous event.
The auxiliary kubá is also used in irrealis conditional:
e. Tu-ba tw-áara-gíi-ye iyó ba-du-tumír-a.
we-aux we-pst-go-asp if they-us-invite-asp
'We could've gone if they invited us.'
f. Ba-ba b-áara-rwáa-ye iyó ba-bi-ry-á.
they-aux they-pst-be sick-asp if they-it-eat-asp
'They would've become sick if they had eaten it.'
The same irrealis conditional concept is also expressed by keeping the auxiliary
kubá in the infinitive form preceded by the auxiliary -ri (V). Thus (e)
and (f), above are equivalent to (g) and (h), respectively:
g. Tw-aá-ri kubá tw-áara-gíi-ye iyó ba-du-tumír-a.
we-pst-aux kuba we-pst-go-asp if they-us-invite-asp
h. B-aá-ri kubá b-áara-rwáa-ye iyó ba-bi-ry-á.
they-pst-aux kuba they-pst-be sick-asp if they-it-eat-asp
The same infinitve form of kubá is also found after 'modal' verbs -goomb-
'must,' -shobor- 'may' and -shaak- 'want' and the auxiliary -z- 'come'
i. Ba-goomb-a kubá bá-naniw-e.
they-must-asp aux they-be tired-asp
'They must be tired.'
j. Ba-shobor-a kubá bá-hamaga-ye.
they-may-asp aux they-call-asp
'They may have just called.'
k. Ba-shaak-a kubá bá-ruhuk-a.
they-want-asp kuba they-rest-asp
'They want to be resting.'
l. Ba-raa-z-a kubá báa-za
they-t-aux-asp aux they-come
'They will be coming'
As an independent verb, kubá has two meanings 'to live someplace,' and
'to be/exist.' With the latter meaning, it occurs in complementary distributions
with -ri, the latter for present and past tenses and the former for future tenses:
m.Tu-ba inó.
we-live here
'We live here.'
n. Tw-aá-ba-ga i Bulaayi.
we-pst-live-asp Europe
'We used to live in Europe.'
o. 1. N-zaa-ba umukiré.
I-fut-be rich
'I will be a rich person'
2. Tu-zaa-ba abáarimú.
we-fut-be teachers
'We will be teachers.'
r. 1. N-a-rí umukiré.
I-pst-be rich
'I was a rich man.'
2. Tw-aa-rí abáarimú.
we-pst-be teachers
'We were teachers.'
20. -ri-
The auxiliary -ri never occurs in the infinitive form. It has multiple uses.
It carries past tenses of defective verbs (-zi 'know,' -fite 'have,' ...). It
acts as the auxiliary of -rihó. It is used with an infinitive to show
some thing which could have happened (irrealis conditional), it shows a state
in the past. It is also used with a gerund.
a. Defective verbs:
Some verbs such as -zi, -fite, cannot carry both past and future tenses. -ri
carries their past tenses and kubá , the future tenses.
1. Tw-aá-ri dú-fite amafaraanga.<--->Tu-zaa-ba dúfite
we-pst-aux we-have money 'We will have'
'We had money.'
2. Si-n-a-rí n-zí izína ryé. <---->N-zaa-ba
n-zí
not-I-pst-aux I-know 'I will know.'
'I didn't know his name.'
b. State in the past:
Verbs which describe a state in the past take -ri as auxiliary and kubá
in future tenses:
1. N-a-rí n-dwáa-ye. <---> N-zaa-ba n-dwáa-ye.
I-pst-aux I-be sick-asp I-fut-aux I-be sick-asp
'I was sick.' 'I will be sick.'
2. B-aá-ri bá-naniw-e. <----> Ba-zaa-ba bá-naniw-e.
they-pst-aux they-be tired-asp 'They will be tired.'
'They were tired.'
c. Anterior past:
-ri is used to show an event which took place before another event in the past
(kuba is also used to show an event which will take place before another event
in the future).
1. Tw-aá-ri tw-áa-vug-an-ye na wé igihe u-hamágar-a.
we-pst-aux we-pst-say-ass-asp with him when you-call-asp
'We had talked to him when you called.'
2. Mw-aá-ri mw-áa-kóz-e ntí-mw-aa-heembw-a.
you-pst-aux you-pst-work-asp not-you-pst-get paid-asp
'You had worked but didn't get paid.'
d. Auxiliary of -rihó:
The auxiliary -rihó shows a progressive event . -ri acts optionally as
its auxiliary since -rihó can carry its own tenses but in the future
it has to take kubá obligatorily as its tense carrier.
1. Tw-aá-ri tu-rihó dú-kor-a. <--->Tw-aá-rihó
dú-kor-a
we-pst-aux we-aux we-work-asp
'We were working.'
2. Abáana b-aa-ri bá-rihó bá-kin-a.<--->B-aa-rihó
bá-kin-a
children they-pst aux they-play-asp they-pst-aux they-play
'The children were playing.'
e. Irrealis conditional:
-ri is used in past tenses followed by an infinitive to show an event which
could have taken place or would take place if the conditions were met:
1. N-a-rí kuu-za iyó u-m-bwiír-a.
I-pst-aux to-come if you-me-tell-asp
'I could have come if you had told me.'
2. Y-a-rí ku-raakara u-mú-tuts-e.
he-pst-aux to-be angry you-him-insult-asp
'He could have got angry if you insulted him.'
3. Tw-aá-ri ku-garuka ní mugórooba.
we-pst-aux to-come-back in evening
'We were going to come back this evening.'
4. Mw-aá-ri ku-zaa-geenda.
you-pst-aux to-fut-go
'You would go.'
f. Gerund:
The gerund is marked by the prefix bu- and the subjunctive ending -e. It shows
an event which will occur later in the day. -ri is thus used untensed.
1. Tu-rí bu-garúk-e bítiinze.
we-aux bu-come back-e later
'We will come back later.'
2. Mu-rí bu-kor-é ní-mugórooba.
you-aux bu-work-e in evening.
'You will be working in the evening.'
As an independent verb, -ri is a copular. It is used in equational sentences.
It is replaced by ni for the third person singular.
3. U-ri umugabo.
you-be man
'You are a man/brave.'
4. Só y-a-rí umugaanga.
father he-pst-be physician
'Your father was a physician.'
5. Ni umugabo.
be man
'He is a man.'
This copular -ri takes -ri also as its auxiliary for past tenses and kubá
for future tenses:
6. Keéra tw-aá-ri tú-ri abáalimú.
long time we-pst-aux we-be teachers
'We were teachers before.'
7. Ejó w-a-rí u-rí hanó.
Yesterday you-pst-aux you-be her
'Yesterday you were here.'
21. -rihó
Like -ri above, -rihó which developed from -ri with the addition of the
post suffix -hó, never occurs in the infinitve form, either. As a main
verb, -rihó means 'to be alive':
a. Sé a-rihó.
father he-is alive
'His father is alive.'
b. Y-a-vúuts-e bóose bá-ki-rihó.
he-pst-be born-asp all they-still-be alive
'He was born when they were all alive.'
As an auxiliary, it shows a progressive event:
c. U-rihó u-r-aandik-a.
you-aux you-t-write-asp
'You are writing.'
d. Tw-aa-rihó dú-kin-a.
we-pst-aux we-play-asp
'We are playing.'
As mentioned earlier, it takes kuba as its auxiliary for future tenses, and
-ri optionally for past tenses:
e. U-zaa-ba u-ríhó u-kín-a.
'You will be playing.'
f. Tw-aá-ri tu-ríhó tw-áandik-a.
we-pst-aux we-aux we-write-asp
'We were playing.'
22. -kúund-
-kúund an an independent verb means 'to love/like', as an auxiliary it
shows an eventuality or habituality
a. Ba-ra-mú-kuund-a.
they-t-him-like-asp
'They like him.'
b (i). Bi-kuund-a kumera gútyo.
it-aux-asp to-be like-that
'It happens that way.'
(ii). Ba-kuund-a ku-nyúr-a háno.
They-aux-asp to-pass-asp here'
'They pass here very often.
23. -riind-
As an ordinary verb, -riind- means 'to protect':
a. Imbwá i-ra-riind-a urugó.
dog subj-t-guard-asp compound-fence
'The dog protects the house.'
As an auxiliary, -riind- means 'to have to':
b. N-a-ríinz-e nó ku-mú-hagara
I-t-aux-asp even to-him/her-call
'I even had to call him/her'.
24 -baanz-
As an independent verb -baanz- means 'to start'. As an auxiliary, however, it
means 'first':
a. Ni wé w-a-baanj-é gu-hámagara.
be him he-t-start-asp to call
'It is he who started to call'.
b. A-baanz-é a-hamágar-e.
he-aux-asp he-call-subj.
'He should call first'.
25. -saangwa
The verb -saangw- , the passive form of -saang- means to be visited:
a. Abáana ba-ra-saang-a nyina imuhirá . 'The children will find
their mother home'
children they-t-find-asp mother home
b. A-ra-saang-w-a imuhirá. 'She will be found home'
s/he-t-find-psv-asp home
When it is followed by a verb, however, in the participial form, it shows a
habitual event or action:
1. A-saanz-w-e a-rwáar-agurik-a.
s/he-aux-psv-asp s/he-be sick-freq-asp
'S/he usually gets sick very often'
2. Ba-saanz-w-e bá-hamagar-a.
they-aux-psv-asp they-call-asp
'They usually call'
26. -túur-
The verb -túur- means 'to live somewhere' . When followed by another
verb in the participial form, it has the same function and meaning as -saangw-:
a. Du-tuu-ye inó.
we-live-asp here
b. Du-tuu-ye tú-ba-suur-a
we-aux-asp we-them-visit-asp
'We usually visit them'
II. The Nature of Auxiliary Verbs
All Kinyarwanda auxiliary verbs can be classified into four categories: verbs
of having and being; verbs of going and coming; verbs of starting and finishing
and verbs of living and dying.
A. Having and Being
As we noted kugira as an independent verb means 'to have' and 'to do.' kubúra
'to miss/fail' belongs to this category also since it is the opposite, semantically
speaking, of kugira. kubá and -ri , respectively, as observed appear
in complementary distributions and both mean the same. They are copulars and
are both translated as "be" when they are not auxiliaries.
B. Going and Coming
In this category, we find not only kujya 'to go' and kuuza 'to come' but a lot
of movement verbs such as kugeenda 'to walk/leave' , guhíta 'to pass
by,' kugera aho 'to arrive,' kuva aho 'to get there,' and guhóra 'to
stay in a location' and gusígara 'to stay/remain,' which although are
not movement verbs per se, but are felt indeed to belong to this category since
they express the opposite of motion.
Kirundi which is similar to Kinyarwanda uses the same movement verbs as auxiliaries
or their synonyms. Thus, gucá which in both languages means 'to pass'
has the same function as the Kinyarwanda auxiliary guhéerakó
(3): Tuzooca túgaruka. 'We will come back right away.'
C. Starting and Finishing
Starting and finishing are also cover terms for all aspectual verbs. We noted
that guhéerako 'to start with', kubaanza 'to start' and kumara 'to finish'
act as auxiliaries.
D. Living and Dying
-rihó as a main verb means 'to live' and gupfá means 'to die'
when it is used as a regular verb. In this category, we can add universal verbs
such as kumenya 'to know,' kubóna 'to see/think,' kwoongera 'to give
more.'
III. Auxiliaries in Universal Grammar
In Bantu languages, French and English, movement verbs equivalent to 'go'
and 'come' act as auxiliaries also. In both English and French, go shows an
event which is about to take place or in the future.
1. Je vais lire ce livre maintenant.
I go to-read this book now
'I am going to read this book now.'
2. Nous allons revenir l'année prochaine.
we go to-come-back art next year
'We're going to come back next year.'
3. Ils vont aller à l'école.
they go to-go to art school
'They are going to school.'
In French, venir 'come' with the preposition de acts as an auxiliary to show
completion of an event.
4. Ils viennent de téléphoner à leurs parents.
they come of telephone to their parents
'They have just called their parents.'
5. Elle vient de partir.
she comes of leave
'She has just left.'
6. Vous venez d'arriver, n'est-ce pas?
you come of arrive, isn't it
'You have just arrived, haven't you?'
Sortir de 'to come out' has the same meaning as venir de but it is less used.
Spears, A.K. (1982), has convincingly shown that come in American Black English
is an auxiliary verb indicating indignation.
Sentences like (7) and (8), show, he argues that in this case come is not clearly
a motion verb:
7. She come going in my room--didn't knock or nothing.
8. He come coming in here raising all kind of hell.
Movement verbs especially those which mean to go and to come act as auxiliaries
in different languages. But they also act as mental metaphors, in all languages:
(reach a point, come to the conclusion, come to realize...). The fact that they
act as tropes and auxiliaries is because they belong to the basic vocabulary
referring to movement in space. The mental movement is indeed a temporal movement.
If I say I am going to read, it is not only a shift of mind's activities, but
also what is going to be done in a moment.
Verbs of having and being and their antonyms act as auxiliaries in other Bantu
languages but also as we know in English and French and other Romance languages.
Complexes of 'be' être in French such as être en passe de, être
sur le point de, être près de... show near future and être
en train de, être à, être près à show the durative
or progressive aspect of the event. What is interesting about these verbs is
that they are either irregular or defective in many languages. This irregularity
might be due to the fact that they are the oldest words in all languages. Most
of the linguistic signs become polysemous and reduced phonetically as shown
by the Kinyarwanda kinship terms which act as swear words and exlamations and
have also been reduced phonetically.
In French, verbs equivalent to kubúra 'to miss' , namely faillir and
manquer de act as auxiliaries to show an event which was about to take place
or which almost materialized:
9. Il a failli mourir.
he has failed to-die
'He almost died.'
10. Il a manqué de tomber.
he has missed of to-fall
'He almost fell.'
It has been claimed, by many linguists Givón (1980) among others, that
in many languages the tense-aspect-modality morphemes derive from aspectual
verbs of the type of Kinyarwanda discussed here (finish-start-continue...).
If it is the case, they first start as auxiliaries and then are reduced phonetically
to become verbal affixes.
There is not enough information to claim that verbs of dying and living , as
in Kinyarwanda, are candidates for auxiliarihood in other languages as well.
It is important to note, however, that in English die and see shift their meanings
and act at the semantic level as auxiliaries even though at the formal level,
they keep their verbal status. In this case, die gets the meaning of 'look forward'
and see 'try.'
11. I am dying to see you again.
12. We will see to it that it doesn't happen again.
In Kirundi, the national language of Burundi, which is a dialect of Kinyarwanda,
the verb kwama 'to exist/be always,' acts as an auxiliary to show an event which
takes place for a long time, many times or all the time. Umunwa w'úmubéeshi
waama uréshwareshwa, 'The liar's mouth is always moving.' It is probably
from this verb that both Kinyarwanda and Kirundi verbal suffix -am developed:
gupfúkama 'to kneel'
gusútama 'to sit in an uncomfortable position'
kugarama 'to lie on the back'
kurárama 'to look in the sky'
gucúrama 'to lie upside down'
gutúrama 'to sit without thinking'
In Modern Tibetan also, (Scott, 1991), not only do all movement verbs 'to go',
'to come' ... function as auxiliaries but do "location" verbs such
as 'to stay' act as auxiliaries as well.
Formally speaking, auxiliary verbs in all languages are "main" verbs
and main verbs "subordinate" verbs. Auxiliary verbs can appear in
any mood or any tense but their main verbs are very much restricted. In Kinyarwanda,
for instance, main verbs occur only in either the participial or the infinitive
form. It was not the purpose of this essay to discuss the formal aspects of
auxiliary verbs, their syntactic behavior and their constraints, but rather
to examine their nature. We were only interested in their genesis and dynamism.
It was thus shown that auxiliaries develop from regular verbs but that these
verbs could be predicted because they belong to specific categories. Four of
these categories were identified as verbs of having and being, dying and living,
starting and finishing and going and coming. Even though these verbs could be
predicted, their specific functions could not.
What is interesting also is that in Kinyarwanda the same verbs create conjunctions
as the examples below show. As full discussion of this phenomenon is given in
Kimenyi (1983):
13. kumenya 'to know' --> umenya 'perhaps'
kubaanza 'to start' --> ubaanza 'perhaps'
kubá 'to be' --> kubá 'that'
kugira 'to have' --> kugira ngo 'so that'
kuva 'to come from'--> kuva 'from'
kugera/za 'to arrive' --> kugera 'to'
kubúra 'to miss' --> byíiburá 'at least'
níiburá 'at least'
gusiiba 'to be absent' --> usíibye kó 'except'
kureka ' to leave aside'--> keretse/uretse(ko)
'except'
kumara 'to finish' --> nyámará 'but'
--> máze 'then'
guhéera 'to start' --> guhéera 'from'
kwáanga 'to hate' --> cyáangwá 'or'...
Auxiliaries, then, are in a way like tropes. They develop from verbs which refer
to basic and universal states and activites. There is obviously a "meaning-transfer"
since the respective "signata" of the auxiliaries and their orginal
verbs are not the same. Auxiliaries belong to a third level, however, just like
the deverbal conjunctions shown above. Their semantic content is reduced to
that of tense-aspect-modality, whereas that of conjunctions is subordination
and coordination. In some cases, auxiliaries end up by becoming verbal affixes
as the Kinyarwanda future tense marker -za- which as an auxiliary verb shows
near future or the French future tense markers which come from avoir which also
functions as an auxiliary for past tenses. In a semiotic theory, this dynamism
and its directionaltiy are predictable.
IV. Polyclausal or monoclausal sentences?
The constituent structure of auxiliary verbs looks exactly like that of main
verbs. A finite verb can function as a complete sentence because a finite verb
has obligatorily to have a pronominal subject and an aspect marker.
(14)a. Arasoma /a-ra-som-a/ '(S)he is reading'.
he-t-read-asp
b. Baárahámagaye /ba-ára-hámagar-ye/ 'They called'.
they-t-call-asp
(15)a. Ba-a-ri bá-saanz-w-e bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-pf-a
ku-dú-hamagar-a.
they-t-be they-join-pass-asp they-go-asp they-like-asp to-die to-us-call-asp
aux1 aux2 aux3 aux4 aux5 V
b. Mu-siga-ye mú-geend-a mú-heerako mú-du-subiz-a.
you-stay-asp you-leave-asp you-start from you-us-answer-asp
aux1 aux2 aux3 V
15(a) has four finite verbs and two infinitives whereas in 15(b) all verbs are
finite. How, thus structurally, all these auxiliary verbs and main verbs should
be analyzed? Do both sentences contain four clauses or one single clause? The
right answer is that auxiliaires , it doesn't matter how many they are, governed
by a single main verb are in its domain and are thus part and parcel of the
same sctructure. Although they exhibit the characteristics of independent verbs
namely subject agreement, conjugation and aspect, they don't have the same freedom
a main verb has. Chief among them is that they cannot have a subject of their
own. Their subject marker is exactly identical to that of their main verb. They
cannot have an independent object either. Whereas the main verb can appear in
any mood or tense, auxiliaries are very much restricted. As noted earlier, their
man verb can only occur either in the infinitive form or the participial form.
In this sense, they behave exactly like French or English in which also the
main verb is either an infinitive or participial. Main verbs as pointed out
earlier also can incorporate object pronouns, carry both grammatical suffixes
such as applicative, causative, reciprocal, passive, ...or lexical such as frequentative,
repetitive, reversive, stative, but auxiliaires cannot. Auxiliaries as the label
implies and other syntactic and morphological properties indicate do not constitute
an independent verb phrase structure.
Auxiliaries don't only carry the tense-aspect-modality of the main verb. They
also carry the negation. What shows clearly that they are part of the main verb
is the fact that the negative marker which is realized as the preprefix nti-
main clauses but -ta- in subordinate clauses as well as the clitic -na- also
can float within the complex verb structure without any semantic effect as illustrated
by the following examplles.
16a. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a.
they-t-be they-live-asp they-go-asp they-like-asp to-call
'They usually call'
b.Nti-ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a.
c. Ba-a-ri bá-da-tuu-yé bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a.
d. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-ta-jy-á bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
e. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-da-kuund-á gu-hámagar-a.
e. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a ku-dá-hamágar-a.
17a. Ba-a-na-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
b. Ba-a-ri bá-na-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a.
c. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-na-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a.
d. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-na-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
e. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a ku-ná-hamagar-a.
The negative and the -na- clitic can be combined as 18 shows:
18a. Nti-ba-a-na-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
b. Ba-a-ri bá-ta-na-túu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
c. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-ta-na-jy-á bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
d. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-ta-na-kúund-a gu-hámagar-a
e. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a ku-tá-na-hámagar-a
The two clitics don't have to appear in the same auxiliary, however, as the
following examples show:
19a. Nti-ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a ku-ná-hamagar-a
b. Ba-a-ri bá-da-tuu-yé bá-na-jy-a bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
c. Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-ta-jy-á bá-na-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a
The clitic -na- can never, however, appear in a higher auxiliary than the negative.
20a. *Ba-a-na-ri bá-da-tuu-yé bá-jy-a bá-kuund-a
gu-hámagar-a.
b. *Ba-a-ri bá-na-tuu-ye bá-ta-jy-á bá-kuund-a gu-hámagar-a.
c. *Ba-a-ri bá-tuu-ye bá-na-jy-a bá-kuund-a ku-dá-hamagar-a
All these phenomena clearly show that these multiple auxiliairies appear in
one single clause and thus dominated by one single main verb.
V. Auxiliaries and Serialization
First it is revealing to note that when there are multiple auxiliaries in the
same verb phrase, that there is a constituent hierarchy or fixed word order.
Auxiliaries which denote "being" (essence) come first, those which
denote "location" such as "to exist, to reside, to stay..."(existence)
come second, those which denote "movement" or "change of state"
come third, "aspectual" auxiliaries follow, and "attitudinal"
auxiliaries precede the main verb.
14. a. Aba aríhó akóra
being1living2 V
he-lives he-exists he-works
"He is (usually) working (at that particular time)"
b. Yajyága akúunda guhámagara
movement1aspectual2 V
he-went he-liked to-call
"He used to call"
c. Basigaye bágeenda bíiyongeera
location1movement2 V
they-stay behind they-go/walk they-increase
"They are increasing in number now"
d. Baraaza kuuza kwúumva
movement1movement2 V
they-come to-come to-underdstand
"They are going to understand".
e. Baari bátuuye bájya báhamagara
being1 location2 movement3 V
they-were they-reside they-go they-call
"They usually called".
f. Baazé kubaanza gupfá kumúhamagara.
movement1 aspectual2 attitudinal3 V
they-come to-start to-die to-him-call
They should call him/her first.
This fixed multiple auxiliary word order can be respectively translated by
aspectual corresponding meanings of "existentiality", "inchoativity",
"iterativity", "progressivity", "resultativity"
or "completion" which in other languages are expressed by verbal or
independent morphemes.
All these redundancies which indicate segmentally and sequentially different
aspects of the verbal event or action as " a series of events, states or
actions" are so used for complete communication. The presupposition, -
shared information between speaker and hearer -, is not taken for granted. It
is only complex tenses such as the -raka- 'hortative tense', -racyáa-
'still tense', -ráa- 'not yet' tense...which don't allow these auxiliaries,
also because of grammaticization (auxiliary verbs becoming verbal affixes).
This analysis of viewing auxiliaries as a serial verb construction is only valid
in diachronic terms, however, since today's Kinyarwanda speakers don't see it
that way. These verbs as said in the beginning are used only as auxiliaries
for tense-aspect-modality purposes. But by looking at the meanings, we see that
initially they had a serial function. (1)
Because of its possession of multiple auxiliaries, Kinyarwanda is thus still
an iconic language compared to others.What we see is not the genesis of auxiliaries
but rather an old process which might undergo deiconization like other languages,
this being attested by the fact that these auxialiaries on the semantic level
have undergone a semantic-shift and are used metaphorically and on the formal
level by the fact that they have many syntactic and morphological constraints
and their respective main verbs can only occur in the infinitive form or in
the participial mood. Some of these auxiliaries have also been reduced phonetically,
one of the processes towards grammaticization.
Notes
1. This redundancy is mostly seen in greeting expressions which are formulated
by such obvious questions as "Uraaho?" (Are you there/are you alive?),
"waramutsehó?" (Did you survive the night), "wiiriwehó?"
(Did you survive the day?) which incidently are the same ones used as "existential"
auxiliaries.
References:
Givón, T. 1980. Understanding Grammar. New York: Academic Press.
Kimenyi, A. 1980 "A semiotic account of homonymy and polysemy" in
Semiotics in the 80's,
eds., Hersfeld, M. & M., Lenhart.
Kimenyi, A. "The verbal origin of Kinyarwanda conjunctions"
Paper read at the 14th Annual Conference of African Linguistics, Madison,
Wisconsin, 1983.
Peirce, C. 1931-1958. Collected Papers of Charles Peirce, eds.
Charles Hartshorne, et al., Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Scott, Delancy. 1991. "The origins of verb serialization in Modern Tibetan".
Studies in Language 15, 1: 1-23.
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