The Phonetic Manifestation of -ile Suffix across Bantu Languages: The Case of Nyasa-Tanganyika Corridor

Abstract

This paper investigates the phonetic manifestation of -ile suffix across threeselected Bantu languages forming the Nyasa-Tanganyika corridor. The study isguided by the Theory of Utterance selection whose underlying thesis vests onthe assumption that speakers subconsciously change linguistic forms towardssimplified ones. Data were collected from written texts, narrative stories andinterviews. The findings indicate that three phonetic forms of the suffix whichare -ite, -ile and -ie exist across these languages. In Ndali the suffix manifestsitself into -ite and -ile under varying conditions. It is also indicated that thesuffix acquires irregular phonetic shape as a result of its suffixation toirregular verbs which are defined differently across the languages underinvestigation.