“Narrating the nation”: Kenya’s past, present and future in the novels of Mwenda Mbatiah
Mikhail Gromov
Abstract
The article analyses the vision of Kenya’s recent history, its present and its foreseeable future as presented in several novels by Mwenda Mbatiah, one of the country’s leading writers of Swahili expression. In Mbatiah’s vision, Kenyan history appears as the “chain of heritage”, in which the mistakes and misdeeds of the past, such as the betrayal of the nation’s expectations in the early years of independence, have stipulated the emergence of the malfunctioning political and economic system in “Nyayo years”, which in its own turn may lead to an even more grim developments in the future. At the same time, the author offers a positive alternative, which he sees in the combined constructive effort of the people, - this, according to him, may even change the existing social structures for the better.
Key words
East African literature, Swahili literature, Swahili novel, Kenyan literature, Kenyan history, Mwenda Mbatiah
pp. 3–23
doi: 10.37892/2686-8946-2022-3-4-3-23
Une exploration des suffixes agentifs de la langue luganda
Enoch Sebuyungo
Résumé
Situé dans le cadre de l’approche « Lexicalisme faible », cet article examine le fonctionnement du luganda, langue bantoue de l’Afrique de l’est en ce qui concerne la formation des noms d’agent. A l’aide d’un corpus journalistique électronique tiré d’un quotidien en luganda, la présente étude analyse plus particulièrement la formation des déverbaux agentifs et les paradigmes morphologiques de suffixation qui lui sont associés. Les résultats démontrent, à la différence de l’analyse faite par Ferrari-Bridgers (2009), que le luganda possède des suffixes agentifs dominés par le suffixe -i.
Mots-clés
morphologie dérivationnelle, formation de mots, déverbaux agentifs, langues bantoues, luganda
pp. 24–57
doi: 10.37892/2686-8946-2022-3-4-24-57
An account of agentive suffixes in Luganda
Enoch Sebuyungo
Abstract
This article is situated within the theoretical context of Word-Formation and the Weak Lexicalism framework. It examines agent noun formation in Luganda, an East African Bantu language. Using an electronic journalistic corpus from a Luganda daily, this study specifically analyses the formation of de-verbal agent nouns and the corresponding morphological paradigms of suffixation. The results demonstrate in contrast with findings made by Ferrari-Bridgers (2009), thatmagentive suffixes exist in Luganda, dominated by the suffix -i.
Key words
derivational morphology, word formation, deverbal agent nouns, Bantu languages, Luganda
pp. 24–57
doi: 10.37892/2686-8946-2022-3-4-24-57
Dependent clauses and focus particle in Kakabe
Alexandra Vydrina †
Abstract
The paper deals with the syntax of focalization in Kakabe (Mokole < Western Mande). By default, the argument focus is marked by a specialized particle lè following the focused constituent which remains in situ. To mark the sentence focus, lè usually follows the subject. lè cannot appear inside adverbial and relative subordinate clauses, in infinitive constructions; it cannot follow most of adverbial expressions. At the same time, it can be hosted by adverbs and postpositional phrases of time, manner and place.
Key words
focalization, focus particle, external focalization, Kakabe language, Mande languages
pp. 58–73
doi: 10.37892/2686-8946-2022-3-4-58-73