Kiswahili Verbs: A Lexicographical Challenge

Abstract

This article makes three significant claims about Kiswahili verbs. By investigating the verbal root pend- 'love' the article claims that the agglutinative nature of Bantu languages is at the core of the morphological fecundity of Kiswahili verbs. Evidenced both vertically and horizontally, the fecundity brings in, respectively, extensions and derivations. The article claims further that each of the extensions of the verb can, theoretically at least, participate in derivational processes. The second claim is that this fecundity triggers lexicographical problems of choice and semantic analysis. Specifically, the article underscores the need for selectivity of information to control the density of the dictionary entry. Yet, selectivity presupposes a thorough analysis of the morpho-syntactic behaviour of the verb in its many extended and derived forms. Indeed, such an analysis presupposes, in turn, an eclectic use of many linguistic theories. Bantu lexicography must be up front in making theoretically sound decisions. Finally, on the basis of linguistic theories, lexicogra-phy becomes a concretization of the mental lexicon claimed to be part of the competence of the native speaker.

Keywords: kiswahili, verbs, lexicography, lexicon, dictionary, inflec-tion, extension, derivation, causative, sound-meaning, root, citation