Pairwise Combinations of Swahili Applicative with other Verb Extensions

Abstract

This article addresses two questions on Swahili verb extensions: (a) What is the order of the extensions in relation to the applicative? (b) How can the order be accounted for? Data on the order of the extensions are obtained by searching the Helsinki Corpus of Swahili for applicative combinations with the causative, passive, reciprocal, reversive and stative. The results of the search for pairwise combinations with the applicative reveal the following: (a) The reversive appears before the applicative; (b) the applicative may appear before or after the causative and reciprocal; and (c) the stative must appear before the applicative. The findings are consistent with the Semantic Scope Hypothesis as they show the following: (a) A variable affix order that corresponds to different meanings and scopes, (b) the reversive and stative exhibit a narrower scope than the applicative, and (c) the passive, with its wider scope, always appears after the applicative.