Role within narrative discourse of the different participant reference options

In the example below demonstratives shosho SRD + sho CRD are stacked together after the noun shinu: ‘this very same thing’: 09 Ákalimanya example of combined demonstratives after noun: 46a. Napanelo nangu O shinu shosho sho shiningunagwele namene Now I thing that.same that, it.pleased.me very Now all this was very good for me… In the following example, the demonstratives lolo SRD + ala PD ‘this very same’ stand independently: 05 Fisherman example of combined demonstratives standing independently 4. Kila liduva nae S kulya kwake madengo ake S avele lolo ala Every day he food his, work his was this.same this. So his daily work—and his daily food—were always the same. Below is an example of a demonstrative placed before the noun: aijá DD mwanagwe ‘that her childthat child of hers’. 07 Mother and child example of demonstrative placed before noun. 16a. Namwiu anímwambola aijá mwanagwe And.true she.saved.him that her.child And indeed she rescued her child… For the discourse features of these demonstratives see section 4.2.2.2 below.

4.2.2 Role within narrative discourse of the different participant reference options

4.2.2.1 Levels of explicit vs non-explicit marking in Makonde narrative Explicit marking of participants is where the participant is represented by a noun, pronoun, or demonstrative. Non-explicit marking is where the reference to the participant is either through subject concord marking or not present at all. The chart below shows that explicit participant marking of subjects in Makonde is not dependent on length of text, type of text, or any individual narrator. In addition, note that participants and props in non-subject position have not been included, although the explicit marking on these is much higher. In section 4.2.2.2 below it is argued that Makonde may have a higher level of explicit participant marking than some other Bantu languages; and this chart shows the ratios in four of the texts in this corpus in support of that argument. It is also important to note that this chart is only concerned with those situations where there is a choice as to whether to mark the subject or not. It is not permitted in Makonde to make the subject explicit in certain cases, and therefore, those situations would not be found in the chart: the two commonest of these are with subjunctives. And this holds true, even where the subjunctive is the only verb in the sentence see, for example, 07 Mother and child 05 and usually in default narrative ku- strings after the first verb see, for example, 03 Hyena and Pied Crow sentences 19–21 unless a new sentence is begun. The four texts in the chart below were recorded by four different narrators. Name of text Type of text No. of sentences Non-explicit marking including zero reference subject concord Explicit marking including pronouns and noun phrases 08 Archbishop true story 11 6 6 01 Horned Animals Folktale 18 2 19 05 Hyena and Pied Crow Folktale 27 13 13 09 Ákalimanya true story 48 32 44 Factors that affect the proportions of explicit vs non-explicit subject marking: • the length of the narrative per se does not seem to have a significant effect, but having long orientation and denouementconclusion sections does, as the levels of explicit marking in these is higher than in the body of the narrative, whereas it is lower than average in the peak episode. • speech introducers have a higher than average rate of zero marking in tight-knit conversations see section 7 reported speech so a text containing a great deal of conversation is likely to have a higher proportion of non-explicit marking. • it does not seem to be the case that folktales have higher levels of explicit marking than true stories. 4.2.2.2 When a participant maintained as subject is made explicit For some Bantu languages the statement holds true that, ‘If the subject hasn’t changed, it is NOT explicit’, 25 i.e., that participants are only made explicit when there is a switch of participant as subject. It has also been found that unless there is an element of contrast involved, the default marking for minor participants is non-explicit. 26 In Makonde it is the other way round: neither major nor minor participants are allowed to be non-explicit when there has been a switch of participant, except on rare occasions, but there are many occasions where the subject is made explicit despite there having been no switch of participant. The most common are: • beginning of episodes • sentences immediately following a speech made by the same participant • key information • parallel or highly marked structures • speech introducers which are not in tight-knit conversations Examples illustrating these are given below. 4.2.2.2.1 Beginning of episodes The example below is taken from the beginning of the second developmental episode in 01 Horned Animals DE2. Here Rabbit is explicitly referred to as nae shingula, a pronoun plus noun, although this follows both a soliloquy he makes and sentence 6 prior to the speech introducer where Rabbit is also the subject. 25 Nicolle, S. Bantu narrative course, section 9.1. 26 Nicolle, S. 2011, section 4.2. 01 Horned Animals explicit reference to Rabbit, subject of previous sentence, beginning of DE2 10a. Mwiu nae shingula ni kutwala upula aulá True he rabbit it.is to.take beeswax that And so Rabbit took some beeswax… In the example below at the beginning of the inciting episode of 05 Fisherman, the protagonist is referred to by the pronoun nae, although he was also the subject of the previous seven sentences. 05 Fisherman explicit reference to Fisherman, subject of previous sentences, beginning of inciting episode 8a. Napanelo muliduva limo nae àvele mwingalava yake Now on.day one he being in.boat his Then one day he was in his boat when… 4.2.2.2.2 Sentences immediately following a speech made by the same participant In 09 Ákalimanya 24a below, there is an explicit reference tuvanu ‘we-people’ to those who have just made the speech in 23d–e. 09 Ákalimanya explicit immediate post-speech reference to speaker 23d. tuke “we.should.go, 23e. inembo S tayali indiinjila mumwina watwimbile. elephant already it.entered in.trap of.we.dug. 24a. Tuvanu mwanda We.people journey … “Let’s go, the elephant’s already there in that trap we dug.” So we all set off… In 07 Mother and child below the explicit noun + demonstrative reference nkongwe aijá ‘that woman’ follows a speech by her, and precedes a key activity—running back for her endangered child. 07 Mother and child explicit immediate post-speech reference to speaker 8c. nangu S - mwanangu mene I - my.child no 8d. kudyanga nikapalele koko. to.be.better I.die there. 9a. Mwiu nkongwe aijá akatukuta True woman that she.ran … “What about my child? It’s better for me to go and die there with him.” She started running back again… 4.2.2.2.3 Key information Several of the examples above include significant information or activities. Another example is in clause 10d of 01 Horned Animals. Clause 10a has already been discussed above; however, in clause 10d, Rabbit is again explicitly referred to as nae ‘he’, although he has been maintained as the subject without a break since 10a. This is because 10d is giving key information: Rabbit goes off to gatecrash the horned animals’ feast. 01 Horned Animals explicit reference prior to key information 10d. nae kutwala mwanda he to.take journey …then off he went to the party. The example below in 05 Fisherman is particularly interesting because there is no possiblity that the explicit reference is to clarify any confusion. The reference is to the antagonist, the bird, who is referred to in 11a as shuni ‘bird’ and in the following clause 11b as shuni aijá ‘that bird’. This is because the bird’s action of coming down to start conversation with the fisherman is seen by the narrator as thematic. 05 Fisherman explicit reference prior to key information 11a. Shuni me kuleka vila Bird not left continue 11b. mpaka shuni aijá kushuluka naikala po paikele munu S until bird that came.down and.sat there where.sat person. The bird didn’t stop repeating this, until it came down and settled beside the fisherman. These key statements are also frequently found in the closing of episodes. In the example below the antagonist Hyena is referred to by name Litunu in two successive clauses. The second clause 1e is both the closing of the orientation section and also a key statement setting out the problem of Hyena being a carnivore, which is thematic in the narrative. 03 Hyena and Pied Crow explicit reference to Hyena in two successive clauses, closing orientation section 1c. kumwambambidyanga he.doubted.him 1d. Litunu a anammamena Hyena he.will.eat.him 1e. mwaa Litunu anáshulula namene. because Hyena eats.meat very. …he didn’t trust him—he thought that one day, since he was such a carnivore, Hyena would eat him up. a Examination of the pauses indicates that Litunu here is the subject of clause 1d rather than the object of 1c. Another example is given below of key information being given at the close of an episode, this time the third developmental episode. In 01 Horned Animals below, a prop, the wax horns used in Rabbit’s disguise, dimembe adilá, is repeated explicitly in two successive clauses; and they are the key on which the story turns. There are two additional points of note in this quote: the distal demonstrative in the noun phrase liduva alilá ‘that sun’ in the same clause has a different function, marking a prop whose existence can be assumed from general knowledge see section 4.2.2.5.3. We also see here an unusual example of where a default narrative ku- string can be interrupted by explicit subject marking, probably due to the unusually long adjunct at the end of 13a. 01 Horned Animals explicit reference to wax horns in two successive clauses, closing DE2 13a. Paanjenge kuudukila dimembe adilá kwanjanga kunyanganyuka mwaa wakuvina namene na liduva alilá When.began to.sweat horns those started to.melt because of.to.dance very and sun that 13b. dimembe adilá S kutwala kugwanga horns those then to.fall But when he began to sweat, the horns he’d made started to melt, because of all the dancing and the hot sun. And so the horns fell off, ruined. 4.2.2.2.4 Parallel or highly marked structures Highly marked structures often include explicit reference to maintained subjects as postposed noun phrases, with or without preposed objects. 01 Horned Animals 10a in 4.2.2.2.1 above is an example of explicit marking in a marked structure, a ‘ni’ cleft structure see section 6.3.3. Below in the same text, sentence 12, there is a chiastic structure, with explicit references to Rabbit both opening and closing the structure, nae ‘he’ and shingula ‘Rabbit’. 01 Horned Animals explicit references opening and closing a chiastic structure 12a. Nae kwinjilinneu kuvina He entered.immediately to.dance 12b. kuvina shingula S danced rabbit 12c. mpaka kuudukila. until to.sweat. So Rabbit joined straight in with the dancing; he danced until he sweated. In the example below the postposed explicit reference vene ‘they themselves’ maintains a parallelism with 6d, allowing vana ‘the children’, a preposed object in 6d, to continue to operate as the object of the verb kuvaleka ‘abandoned them’ in 6e as well. It also confirms key information, and brings DE1 to a close. 07 Mother and child explicit reference postposed in a parallel structure 6b. vanu avalá S pavaanjenge kutukutanga bai kutwa vana O kuvajanga popo people those when.they. began to.flee, so then children abandoned.them right.there, 6c. --- kuvaleka vene S left.them they.themselves 6d. --- kutukuta. fled. …the villagers began to flee and abandoned their children right there—the villagers left them behind and fled. In 05 Fisherman 3a–c below, there is a highly marked parallel structure with three clauses describing the uses of the three fish the fisherman catches each day. Although he is the subject of this and the preceding sentences, the fisherman is explicitly referred to in 3b with the exclusive focus pronoun mwene, postposed, in the middle of the parallel structure. 05 Fisherman explicit reference postposed in a parallel structure 3a. Yomba jumo IO akannipe udeni O Fish one he.would.pay.it debt, 3b. junji aju O akanniele mwene na ndyagwe S fish this he.would.eat.it the.same and his.wife 3c. junji aju IO akannipe mwene ingalava O other this he.would.pay.it the.owner boat. With one fish he would pay his debts, another fish he and his wife would eat, and the third he used to pay the owner of the boat. 4.2.2.3 The rare occasions where a subject is not made explicit despite a switch of participant Apart from speech introducers in closed conversations, it is very rare for a subject not to be made explicit when there is a switch of participant, but it does seem to be permitted where there can be absolutely no doubt as to the identity of the subject after the switch. Occasions when the identity of the subject after a switch of participant is clear without being made explicit include a subject undertaking an action in response to an order, and where the context itself constrains the participant reference. In the example below the protagonist is the subject of 22c and makes the speech in 22d, and the group of villagers is the subject of 23a. The switch of subject does not need to be made explicit as the villagers are carrying out the action that they have been told to do in 22d, an order which includes the vocative uti paludeya ‘everyone in the village’. Both the verbs in 22c and in 23a, in fact, are default narratives with zero reference marking. 09 Ákalimanya no explicit reference for switch of subject in 23a where subject is carrying out command 22c. kudo said, 22d. uti paludeya omba shitali ambi popa. “all at.village sound iron now here. 23a. Kwomba shitali Sounded iron, …announcing, “Sound the gong, everyone, right now” So the gong was sounded… An interesting example of where the subject is not made explicit despite a switch of participant is given below in 09 Ákalimanya 26. Here, the subject of clause 26b is not made explicit because of constraints in the context. In 26a the villagers are the subject of the verb kukanyalanga ‘all beat it’, and the elephant is the subject of the verb kuwa ‘died’ in the following clause 26b. Both of these are also default narratives with zero reference marking, like 22c–23a quoted above. There cannot be any doubt about the switch of participant, however, as the verb kuwa ‘to die’ is used only of animals, not of people. As the object nnembo ‘elephant’ is specified in 26a, it is clear that the verb kukanyalanga ‘to beat’ with the pluractional extension ang ‘allrepeatedly’ must refer to the villagers, whereas kuwa ‘to die’ must refer to the elephant. As is often the case, the non-explicitly marked subject was the object of the immediately preceding clause. 09 Ákalimanya no explicit reference for switch of subject where semantic considerations make it clear 26a. Kukanyalanga nnembo Beat.it elephant 26b. kuwa. died. We beat the elephant until it was dead. 4.2.2.4 The use of pronouns in narrative 4.2.2.4.1 The independent pronouns Technically, in narrative, it is possible to find the full range of first and third person pronouns in singular and plural: nangu ‘I’ and wetu ‘we’ in first-person accounts, and nae ‘heshe’ and vanavo ‘they’ in third- person accounts. In our text corpus we have two true stories in which the narrator was either a witness 08 Archbishop or an active participant 09 Ákalimanya. However, the latter has only two references to the narrator as nangu, once in the orientation and once in the conclusion; elsewhere in the narrative the village group to whom the narrator belongs and with whom he acts is almost invariably referred to as tuvanu ‘we-people’, with only one use of wetu. See 4.2.1.1 above for a description of personalized nouns. In 08 Archbishop, the narrator is a witness although not an active participant in the whole narrative, but references to him are limited to his introduction as nangu in sentence 01 of the orientation, and the object infix -ngu- in shangugwene ‘what I have seen’ in the final sentence of the whole narrative -a ‘topping and tailing’ device. It seems clear therefore that the first person pronouns are reserved for marked occasions, and avoided when there is an alternative such as tuvanu that can be used, downgrading the narrator’s own significance, and that the use of the first person pronoun draws attention to the narrator’s rôle, either as commentator, or as a witness of events. The third person singular pronoun nae is much more frequently used, but it is used very restrictively. Most texts have a significant number of uses of nae, but almost invariably referring only to the protagonist. The only two exceptions refer to the antagonist, in speech introducers. This may explain why the third person plural pronoun vanavo is rarely used. Although the majority of texts have a participant—either major or minor acting as a group—no text has more than one use of vanavo, and several have none at all. This may be because although the plural groups in the texts often function as the antagonist; for example: the villagers in 09 Ákalimanya, and the church women in 08 Archbishop, there are no texts where a group of people functions as the protagonist. 4.2.2.4.2 The exclusive focus pronoun mwene The exclusive focus pronoun mwene is not particularly unusual in Makonde narrative. It is not as common as the independent pronoun nae but appears at least once in all but the shortest texts, and frequently more often. Mwene is usually encountered in highly marked structures, frequently as a postposed subject or preposed object, often with a relative clause, and its function seems to be in terms of an emphatic restrictive focus; that is, this one personset of people, and no other, not because there is any doubt about the identity of the referent, but because the narrator wishes to give it a high level of emphasis. It tends to occur either at key points on the event-line, or in key statements in the denouementconclusion. In the following example from 01 Horned Animals, mwene is used, together with a noun and a relative clause to give extra emphasis to the re-introduction after a gap of the leader of the horned animals. This moment is highly signficant as once the latter sees through Rabbit’s disguise, below, he gives orders for Rabbit’s execution. 01 Horned Animals: use of mwene to highlight a key moment 14a. Napane nangolo mwene ave Now elder himself being 14b. ashamíle shikukulu aju who.had.called feast this 14c. kumwona saw.him Then the leader of the horned animals, the one who was giving the party, saw Rabbit… In 08 Archbishop below, the plural form vene is used as a preposed object with a relative clause in a marked construction in the final statement of the denouement. The occasion is where the unfortunate church women, who had gone prepared to give the visiting Archbishop a hero’s welcome, were given short shrift, and now ‘those very same ones who had made the preparations’ have to retire, publicly humiliated. 08 Archbishop use of vene to highlight a key statement 10b. kutwala vo vene vapanga - niénge O [AFTER VERB] kuvaida dyoni S kavili. then those same who.had.prepared it.came.to.them shame again. …and instead the women who’d been getting ready to do so were deeply embarrassed. In the example below, this time in the final statement of the conclusion, the first person singular form nimwene is used to confirm the status of the narrator as an eyewitness of all the events related to it. On this occasion it is backed up with a ‘ni’ construction in addition to a relative clause. 09 Ákalimanya use of nimwene to highlight narrrator’s status as witness of events 48a. Kanji ni ala maimyo But it.is this story 48b. angugwene nimwene that.I.saw I.myself But this is a true story: I saw it myself… 4.2.2.5 Rôle of demonstratives in Makonde discourse: general observations Before looking at the use in discourse of the individual demonstratives, there are some general observations that can be made about the use of demonstratives in Makonde narrative: • Although in speech demonstratives can stand alone, e.g., referring to a person as jojo jo ‘that very same one’, in narrative this is not the case. No demonstratives except locatives stand alone in narrative text. • There are far fewer demonstratives used in narrative than in speech. In one text, Hyena and Pied Crow, there were only two demonstratives in total. Usually the figure is higher, but nowhere near the level of speech. • There does not seem to be any correlation between the level of use of demonstratives and whether a narrative is a folkstory or a real-life account. • Each demonstrative has its own function, and we find that demonstrative combinations convey both functions at the same time. • Preposing of the demonstrative before the noun occurs, but is very rare; it is a focus marker. In this text corpus it occurs with the DD and the CRD. For the purposes of the descriptions below, locatives will not be taken into account. Their function within narrative is usually genuinely distance-oriented rather than having a discourse function; in Makonde spatial use of demonstratives is restricted to PD, DD, CRD and SRD. 4.2.2.5.1 Proximal demonstrative PD The proximal demonstrative in Makonde is most frequently used in the orientation section immediately after the introduction of a participant, and specifically in an existence-predication pair. In many of these cases, the PD occurs in a topic frame rather than as the subject of the sentence. PD in a topic frame also occurs at the end of narratives in the denouementconclusion. 05 Fisherman PD in topic frame in orientation section immediately following formulaic introduction 1a. Andípagwa munu S There.was person, 1b. munu aju madengo ake kuvele kwaka dyomba person this work his was to.hunt fish. Once upon a time there was a man whose job it was to go fishing. 07 Mother and child PD in topic frame in denouement 13a. Napane maimyo ala nangu nimwona Now story this, I I.see.her 13b. nkongwe aijá kuva nkongwe wantima mwiu woman that to.be woman of.heart true Now in this story, that woman showed herself to be truly courageous… Occasionally the PD can be used for a participant where an action on the event-line is being described. In the example below it refers to the protagonist, who is being reactivated after the group of villagers the antagonist has been centre-stage for 3–4 sentences. This reference is highlighted, not only by the use of aju PD, but also by the use of mwene see above. This is in order to highlight that, although all the villagers went to dig the elephant trap and all returned home to the village, it is only the protagonist Ákalimanya who goes back to check on whether or not an elephant has fallen in. 09 Ákalimanya PD used in highlighted reference to protagonist on event-line 20a. Mwene aju atenda Owner this is.doing Ákalimanya himself kept going back… The proximal demonstrative can also be used cataphorically, as in the example below where shinu ashi ‘this thing’ points forward to the explanation immediately following of how the protagonist’s downfall came about. 09 Ákalimanya PD used cataphorically 40a. Kanji shinu ashi shindyaneka do But thing this was.seen thus, 40b. mushu mwake mo [AFTER VERB] vininkodya vilwele vikumene namene S. future his that they.met.him illnesses great very. But as it turned out, later on he had a problem with serious illness. Occasionally the PD is used to highlight and contrast nouns seen in some way as forming part of a set; for example, below where the exact use of each of the three fish that a fisherman catches is detailed: 05 Fisherman PD used to highlight and contrast nouns forming part of a set 3a. Yomba jumo IO akannipe udeni O Fish one he.would.pay.it debt, 3b. junji aju O akanniele mwene na ndyagwe S fish this he.would.eat.it the.same and his.wife 3c. junji aju IO akannipe mwene ingalava O other this he.would.pay.it the.owner boat. With one fish he would pay his debts, another fish he and his wife would eat, and the third he used to pay the owner of the boat. 4.2.2.5.2 Referential demonstrative RD In more extended narratives the referential demonstrative has been observed to convey a sense of otherness, or a separation in terms of time, distance or ownership. However in the shorter texts comprising this text corpus, the referential demonstrative only occurs once. This data is inadequate for drawing any conclusions. 4.2.2.5.3 Distal demonstrative DD The distal demonstrative is the most frequently used demonstrative in Makonde narrative. Its main function is as a marker of saliency, usually for minor participants and props and but also less frequently for major participants. When used with major participants, it marks key developments in the narrative. In the example below, the distal demonstrative is used with the protagonist Rabbit in the peak episode, as he is taken away and executed. 01 Horned Animals DD used with protagonist marking key development in narrative 18b. kuntwala shingula aijá they.took.him rabbit that 18c. kuntanola they.killed.him …and Rabbit was taken away and killed… Below, a distal demonstrative marks the protagonist—the mother—as she runs back into the war zone to rescue the child who has been accidentally left behind in the enemy-occupied village. 07 Mother and child DD used with protagonist marking key development in narrative 9a. Mwiu nkongwe aijá akatukuta True woman that she.ran 9b. kuja kavili returned again She started running back again… The DD is also used for the first mention of props and locations which can be assumed to exist by both the narrator and the audience, either culture-specifically e.g., a house must have an open fire, or from general knowledge e.g., a rabbit once introduced can be assumed to have a head. 03 Hyena and Pied Crow DD used with first mention of prop that can be assumed to exist 8b. amu ndaikala pamoto apalá. this and.sat by.fire there. …and went all covered in seasoning and sat by the fire. 01 Horned Animals DD used to refer to the protagonist Rabbit’s head, which can be assumed to exist 10c. kutwala --- kulinamatidya mmuti amulá then to.stick on.head that …and stuck them on his head… 4.2.2.5.4 Continued reference demonstrative CRD In longer Makonde texts outside this text corpus, 27 the continued reference demonstrative CRD has been observed to act as the default anaphoric reference, giving the story cohesion by maintaining the reference to minor participants and props without special salience unpublished material. In this text corpus, with its shorter texts, the occurrence of the CRD is relatively rare. Where it has been obserbed elsewhere, however, its use supports this analysis. The majority of such occurrences can be found in locatives and in demonstrative combinations see below. The main use seems to be a reference back to a prop that has just been mentioned recently, maintaining coherence, without denoting any salience or even with a downgrading of salience. In the 05 Fisherman example below, the keys are the final element in the protagonist’s speech, 32b, and are then mentioned again immediately in the following sentence. The keys are marked with a CRD and are thus not given any salience; whereas the forbidden door that they open, is marked with a distal demonstrative in the following sentence 34 not shown. 05 Fisherman CRD used with prop denoting downgraded salience 32a. Nae kudo: He said: 32b. ata wako ngwinga myungulilo not you give.me keys. 33a. Nkongwe hanakamala Wife.his is.not.be.difficult 33b. kutwala myungulilo vyo took keys those 33c. kumupa gave.him. “Nonsense,” he insisted, “Just give me the keys.” His wife didn’t want to cause problems, so she got the keys and gave them to him. 27 Leach, M.B.: unpublished material. There is also an interesting use of CRD to convey a pejorative sense in 09 Ákalimanya. This seems to have carried over into the narrative from its use in speech, which may possibly be connected with the idea of a downgrading of salience. In this example, the protagonist has defrauded the villagers of their rightful share of the elephant they all killed. Thus, in several speeches by the villagers, CRD is used to describe the elephantelephant meat that he has wrongfully kept for himself see below and also 34b and 42b, where it is reduplicated: 09 Ákalimanya CRD used with prop to convey pejorative sense in speech 32c. bai tunnakele nae IO inyama yo O “ok let’s. leave.for.him he meat that, “Ok, let’s drop it and just leave his meat to him.” Then a few sentences later in 38b, the same pejorative use of an CRD is clearly conveyed in a narrative section: 09 Ákalimanya CRD used with prop to convey pejorative sense in narrative 38b. nae kuntwala nnembo wake jo he took.it elephant his that 38c. kunshulushanga sold.it.all …while he took that elephant of his and sold it… 4.2.2.5.5 Same reference demonstrative The same reference demonstrative, SRD, is a reduplicated CRD see the description above. In Kimwani, another northern Mozambican language Bantu G40, Sebastian Floor calls this the ‘confirmative demonstrative’ and notes that it ‘has to do with confirming or affirming the identity of a referent previously mentioned or known in the context’. 28 This also seems to be true in Makonde, although the SRD confirms identity as ‘the same’ without usually any presupposition of doubt on the part of the audience. A good example is in 05 Fisherman sentence 4 below, where the fisherman’s work has already been extensively described, and then this is confirmed with madengo ake avele lolo ala ‘his work was just exactly this’, an SRD + PD combination. 05 Fisherman 4. Kila liduva nae S kulya kwake madengo ake S avele lolo ala Every day he food his, work his was this.same this. So his daily work—and his daily food—were always the same. In this text corpus, the SRD only occurs once on its own, in a locative phrase 09 Ákalimanya 24d; all other examples are in combinations with either PD or CRD see below. 28 Floor, S.J. 1998 ‘Confirmative Demonstratives’. 4.2.2.5.6 Combinations of demonstratives In combinations of demonstratives, the second demonstrative complements or reinforces the sense of first. Although it has been claimed that almost all combinations of demonstratives are possible in Makonde, 29 in our text corpus, in narrative, the combinations are fairly limited. Either CRD or SRD is always used as one of the combination: if it is SRD, then it is always followed by either PD or CRD. The demonstrative combinations tend to cluster in the orientation and denouementconclusions of narratives. Combinations are used extensively for locatives, either as demonstratives only, or together with nouns, with the meaning ‘the same place already mentioned’: 09 Ákalimanya use of combined demonstratives CRD + DD in a locative phrase split around noun 47a. Aijá nangolo Ákalimanya S mpaka nelo ata po paludeya apalá hanapagwa shinu That old.one Ákalimanya until today even that at.village that he.is.not not, 47b. anditumuka he.went.away And to this very day, old Ákalimanya is no longer in that village; he went away… 09 Ákalimanya use of combined demonstratives SRD + CRD in a locative phrase 15b. [AFTER VERB] vakaida vanembo S if.they.come elephants 15c. vainjile momo mo they.should.enter in.same.place …elephants would come and fall into it… Another use of demonstrative combinations is in the orientation section, particularly in topic frames in existence-predication pairs, affirming the identity just given. This tends to be the SRD + PD combination; for PD on its own in existence-predication pairs see 4.2.2.5.1 above. In the example from 03 Horned Animals below, vovava is an elided version of vovo ava, SRD + PD. 03 Horned Animals use of combined demonstratives SRD + PD in topic frame 3. Napanelo vanyama vovava, nangolo wavanyama kwanjanga kulalika shikukulu. Now animals those.these elder of.animals began to.invite feast. Now the leader of those horned animals sent out invitations to a party. 5 Tense and aspect Narrative texts are normally told chronologically, the chronological sequence of events of which forms the foreground or event-line. Background material, in contrast, includes events out of sequence, such as a flashback or non-event-line material, such as scene-setting. Foreground and background are often distinguished, and signalled to the audience through the use of tense and aspect. 29 Mpalume, E.J., e Mandumbwe, M.A. 1991. In addition, the skilled handling of tense and aspect can link actions together, create tension, indicate to the audience which are the most significant events, and add vividness to a text. This section is a description of how tense and aspect is used in Makonde for discourse purposes, i.e., in what ways each verb structure contributes to the story. Apart from very brief descriptions, the structure of the different tenses is not discussed. For a study of how the different verb structures are formed and how they inter-relate within a coherent tense-aspect matrix see Leach MB 2010. 30

5.1 Description of the use of tense and aspect in Makonde narrative