low-density language selection: kinyarwanda and malagasy

Low-density language selection: Kinyarwanda and Malagasy

Jason Baldridge

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

© 2010 Jason M Baldridge MURI Kickoff, October 2010

Low-density languages

2

Languages discussed in the proposal:

We propose to work on Kinyarwanda and Malagasy

Encompasses a wide range of typologically diverse, primarily African, languages.



Why Kinyarwanda and Malagasy

Two families, with many related languages:

Kinyarwanda: Niger-Congo / Bantu

Malagasy: Austronesian / Malayo-Polynesian

Both connected to Swahili (Kinyarwanda: genetic, Malagasy: uses Swahili loan words)

Both well studied in the linguistics literature: access to expertise and informants

Access to monolingual data.

Together, they cover all the major linguistic issues discussed in the proposal, namely morphology, word order, grammatical categories, voice systems, serial verbs, and more.

3



Kinyarwanda

Niger-Congo family, Bantu sub-family

Spoken in Rwanda (official language), Uganda, DR Congo.

Est. 7.5 million speakers in Rwanda, 20+ million overall

4



Kinyarwanda data sources in hand

Monolingual texts available online

Sites, e.g. www.izuba.org.rw

Kinyarwanda Wikipedia (111 articles)

Access to experts and native speakers through UT Austin

Extensive linguistics literature (especially Kimenyi 1980)

Kigali Memorial Centre

200 survivor testimonies of the Rwandan genocide: Kinyarwanda, English, and French

340 transcripts from Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines.

5


http://www.izuba.org.rw

http://www.izuba.org.rw


Human Rights Documentation Initiative http://www.lib.utexas.edu/hrdi/

6


http://www.lib.utexas.edu/hrdi/

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/hrdi/


Complex morphology

Concatenative morphology: word formation adds many affixes to verb roots to indicate subjects and objects and to mark agreement, tense, aspect, mood, and shifts in meaning.

7

kuba yagarutse byaanshiimiishijeThe fact that he returned made me happy.

ku-ba y-a-garuts-e by-aa-n-shiim-iish-ijeit-be he-PAST-return-ASPECT it-PAST-me-thank-CAUSE-ASPECTThe fact that he returned made me happy.



-iish-

Morphologically induced argument alternation

8

Some morphemes change the argument structure of verbs, e.g. causative -iish- and benefactive -ir-:

umugabo a-ra-andik-a ibaruwa n’i-ikaramuman he-TENSE-write-ASPECT letter with-penThe man is writing a letter with a pen.

umugabo a-ra-andik-iish-a ikaramu ibaruwaman he-TENSE-write-CAUSE-ASPECT pen letterThe man is writing a letter with a pen. (lit: The man is causing a pen to write a letter.)



Dependencies

9

umugabo a-ra-andik-a ibaruwa n’i-ikaramuman he-TENSE-write-ASPECT letter with-penThe man is writing a letter with a pen.

umugabo a-ra-andik-iish-a ikaramu ibaruwaman he-TENSE-write-CAUSE-ASPECT pen letterThe man is writing a letter with a pen.

AgentPatient

Instrument

Agent PatientInstrument



Grammatical categories

Kinyarwanda has 16 noun classes, which can be thought of as extensions of the idea of gender classification to a much wider set of distinctions, e.g. humans, animals, plants, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc.

Classes must agree for subjects and objects with verbs, and within noun phrases.

10

ibitabo bitatu bishya byaa Karoolibooks three new of CharlesThe three new books of Charles.

abagabo ba-riho ba-ra-som-amen they-are they-PRESENT-read-ASPECTThe men are reading.

Class 2

Class 8



Serial verbs

Kinyarwanda employs sequences of verbs that are not quite embedded and not quite conjoined; in series they lose their usual meaning and express tense, aspect and/or modality instead.

11

baari batuuye basaanzwe bajya bakuunda gupfa kuduhamagarathey-be they-dwell they-join they-go they-like to-die us-callThey usually at least called us.

Note: subject noun classes (cl 2, ba; 2nd person, mu) spread across verb sequences

musigaye múgeenda múheerako múdusubizayou-stay you-walk you-start you-us-answerNow you respond to us immediately.



Word-order freedom

Information structure can lead to different word orders: e.g. in noun phrases, the modifier that carries new information comes last.

12

ibitabo bitatu bishya byaa Karoolibooks three new of CharlesThe three new books of Charles.

ibitabo bitatu bishya byaa Karooliibitabo byaa Karooli bitatu bishyaibitabo byaa Karooli bishya bitatu

The parallel in English is intonation:

Which of Billʼs three books did John lose?Billʼs three NEW books.

Whose three new books did John lose?BILLʼs three new books.



Definiteness

Some arguments, such as subjects, datives and benefactives are always definite or generic: i.e., they are familiar to both hearer and speaker.

13

umwaana aralirachild he-is-cryingThe child is crying. (Not: A child is crying.)

Indefinites are introduced with the existential hari and a relative clause:

hari umwaana urirait-be child he-is-crying-RELCLAUSEA child is crying. (Lit:There is a child that is crying.)

Interestingly, the definiteness restriction makes it impossible to translate “a man gave the book to a girl” with a single sentence.



Malagasy

Austronesian family, Malayo-Polynesian sub-family

Relevant for many languages of the Philippines.

Spoken in Madagascar (official language).

Est. 20+ million speakers

14



Malagasy data sources in hand

Monolingual texts available online

Sites, e.g. http://www.lakroa.mg

Malagasy Wikipedia (2557 articles)

1865 translation of the Bible (http://www.madabibliq.org/)

Extensive linguistics literature

15


http://www.lakroa.mg

http://www.lakroa.mg


Voice alternations: morphology and argument structure

In Austronesian languages, verbal morphology indicates one of the arguments as the trigger, which fills a specified role.

The trigger argument appears on the right edge of the clause:

16

mamono akoho amin’ny antsy ny mpambolyAT-kill chicken with-Det knife Det farmerThe farmer kills chickens with the knife.

ActorTopic

vonoin’ ny mpamboly amin’ny antsy ny akohokill-TT Det farmer with-Det knife Det chickenThe farmer kills the chicken with the knife.

ThemeTopic

Amonoan’ ny mpamboly akoho ny antsykill-CT Det farmer chicken Det knifeThe farmer kills chickens with the knife.

CircumstantialTopic

m-aN-vono

vono-in

aN-vono-an



Actor Topic

Special properties of triggers (a.k.a subjects)

Specificity: there must be an entity to which they refer

Extraction: only triggers may be extracted (e.g. wh-questions and relativization)

17

mividy ny osy i SoaAT-buy Det goat Det SoaSoa is buying the goat.

iza no mividy ny osy ?who PART AT-buy Det goatWho is buying the goat?

*inona no mividy i Soa what PART AT-buy Det Soa(for: What is Soa buying?)

Theme Topicvidin’ i Soa ny osy TT-buy Det Soa Det goatSoa is buying the goat.

inona no vidin’ i Soawhat PART TT-buy Det SoaWhat is Soa buying?

actor?

theme?

}✖

theme?



Word order: reversal and emphasis

Some particles like dia and no shift the order of subject and predicate

dia: emphasizes truthfulness of the statement

no: excludes alternatives to the trigger

18

mpianatra i Kotostudent Det KotoKoto is a student

i Koto dia mpianatraDet Koto PART studentKoto really is a student

nianatra tany Amerika ahostudy in-Det America II studied in America.

tany Amerika aho no nianatrain-Det America I PART studyIt was there in America (not elsewhere) that I studied.

Note: the same restriction as extraction on triggers applies to this reordering.



Demonstrative doubling

Demonstratives are obligatorily doubled, surrounding the noun or noun phrase they modify.

19

ity boky itythis book thisthis book

ity boky malagasy itythis book malagasy thisthis Malagasy book



Morphology: reduplication (both Kinyarwanda & Malagasy)

Intensification (or diminuation)

Kinyarwanda: vuba “fast” -> vubavuba “very fast”

Malagasy: lavitra “far” -> lavidavitra -> “rather far”

Repeated action

Kinyarwanda: guhonda “to knock” -> guhondahonda “to knock repeatedly”

Malagasy: mandeha “to wander” -> mandehandeha “to wander all the time”

20


low-density language selection: kinyarwanda and malagasy

Documents