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Lesson 8Historical spelling

Noun Class X

SUBSTANTIVO CL. X

Rule §16

Kimbundu has no verb 'to have'; kala ('to be') followed by the conjunction ni ('with') is used instead — e.g. ngala ni poko, literally 'I am with a knife', means 'I have a knife'.

Chatelain’s original wording (1889)

Em kimbundu não ha equivalente do verbo ter. Faz as vezes d'este o verbo-kala, estar, seguido da conjuncção ni = com. Ex.: ngala ni poko = tenho uma faca = estou com uma faca.

Rule §17

Class X (diminutives) takes ka— in the singular and tu— in the plural. The diminutive plural often keeps the base noun's own class plural-prefix: cl. IX bases always drop it, cl. I/III bases drop it only sometimes, all other classes always keep it; whenever the class prefix disappears in the diminutive singular it also disappears in the plural, e.g. kahatu/tuhatu (from kamuhatu), and kaulungu can contract to kolungu (a+u=o). Nicknames formed with ka- instead pluralize like proper names, by prefixing a- to the singular.

Chatelain’s original wording (1889)

A cl. X tem no sing. o pref. ka— e no pl. o pref. tu—. Comprehende esta cl. todos os nomes diminutivos. Estes formam-se, prefixando ka— ao nome que se quer diminuir. A formação do pl. dos diminutivos apresenta alguma difficuldade, porque deixa subsistir em muitos casos o pref. plur. da classe do nome diminuido, como se vê nos exemplos. Note-se: 1) que na cl. IX sempre se omitte o seu pref. pl., 2) que nas cl. I e III o seu pref. sing. e pl. se elimina algumas vezes ao passo que nas outras cl. sempre se conserva. Cada vez, porém, que o pref. da classe desapparece na formação do diminutivo sing. tambem não apparece no pl. Ex.: kahatu pl. tuhatu (de kamuhatu). Kaulungu pode contrahir-se em kolungu (a+u=o). As alcunhas formadas com o pref. ka-, v. g. kamuezu, formam o pl. como os nomes proprios, prefixando a- ao sing.

The pattern

Class X diminutive nouns (ka— sing. / tu— pl.), grouped by the noun class of the underived base word. The diminutive form itself is uniformly cl. X (per the heading); the roman numeral in parens on each row marks the base noun's own class, which §17 explains matters for how the diminutive plural is formed (cl. IX bases always drop their own pl. prefix; cl. I/III bases drop it only sometimes; all other classes always keep it).

SingularPlural
kahojilittle liontuhojilittle lions
ka'nzolittle housetu'nzolittle houses
kamalittle thingtumalittle things
kakimalittle thingresolved to the same gloss. kakima appears to be a variant/alternate diminutive form of the same base noun — text does not clarify the relationship, see uncertaintiestuimalittle thingsresolved to the same gloss
kamubikalittle slavetuabikalittle slaves
kam'bundulittle Black persontuambundulittle Black people
kahatugirlprinted gloss carries no explicit 'little' qualifier though kahatu is a cl. X diminutive of a cl. I base; §17 later cites this same pair (kahatu pl. tuhatu, de kamuhatu) to illustrate prefix-drop, confirming the base is kamuhatu not a bare 'hatu'tuhatugirls

The pattern

Periphrastic 'to have': kimbundu has no verb 'ter', so kala ('to be') + the conjunction ni ('with') is used instead (explained in §16 below). Table gives the full person paradigm of the resulting locution.

PersonForm
1sgeme ngala niI have
2sgeie uala nithou hast
3sgmuene uala nihe has
1pletu tuala niwe have
2plenu nuala niyou have
3plene ala nithey have

Exercises

Translate each sentence, using the pattern and the words above.

  1. 1Enu nuala ni tuabika?
  2. 2Etu tuala ni tu'nzo.
  3. 3Katula o kama.
  4. 4Eme ngala ni kakinda.
  5. 5O akongo ala ni mauta ni jipoko.
  6. 6Eie uala ni kuria?
  7. 7Muene uala ni uhaxi.
  8. 8Eme ngala ni mutue ni xingu ni maku ni inama.
  9. 9Texienu o tu'mbua.
  10. 10Soneka kamukanda pal'etu.
  11. 11Sumbenu kakuria pala o tuana.
  12. 12Etu tuala ni kamona.
  13. 13Ixana o ka'mbua.

Now meet the words

Browse every dictionary entry in the class this lesson explains.

Class Xka-/tu-

Héli Chatelain, Grammatica Elementar do Kimbundu ou Lingua de Angola (1888-1889), printed page 8. 15 transcription notes.