World Physical

Gender
systems of Africa
Annemarie Verkerk & Francesca Di Garbo

Max Planck InsNtute for the Stockholm University
Science of Human History

33. Deutscher Orientalistentag
18-22 September 2017, FSU Jena
Defining grammaNcal gender
GrammaNcal gender is the nominal classificaNon strategy that is
manifested through agreement paQerns.

German example:
“die erschrockene Maus platschte durch den benachbarten
Teich” (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland):

die erschrockene Maus

ART.F.NOM frightened.F.SG.NOM mouse.F.NOM
platschte durch
splash.PST.3SG through
den benachbarten Teich
ART.M.NOM neighbouring.M.SG.NOM lake.M.NOM
‘The startled mouse splashed through the neighbouring lake.’
Aikhenvald (2003: 78)
Geographical distribuNon of gender
Number of genders
white: no grammaNcal gender
colors: 2, 3, 4 grammaNcal genders
black: 5 or more grammaNcal genders CorbeQ (2013) WALS map
The diachrony of gender systems
Gender systems are a long-lived grammaNcal
phenomenon: once they develop, they tend to last.
v  Indo-European languages: Armenian is the only branch of
the family in which grammaNcal gender has been
completely lost (Dahl 2004: 199)
v  “The best-known grammaNcal feature of the Niger-Congo
languages is undoubtedly their system of noun
classificaNon which, in a well-preserved, reduced or
purely vesNgial form, can be traced in every branch of
the family, and hence must be reconstructed for proto-
Niger-Congo.” (Williamson 1989)
Gender systems are mature phenomena (Dahl 2004).
v  they have long and non-trivial paQerns of
grammaNcalizaNon;
v  they presuppose inflecNonal morphology.
source: Wikipedia,
several users
source: Wikipedia,
several users
source: Wikipedia,
several users
x
Kambaata (CushiNc) (Treis 2008: 128, as cited in Di Garbo 2014: 73)

órb-u barcum-íichch aaz-íin afuu’ll-itée’u
𝓍órb-u
ball-F chair-M.ABL interior-M.ICP sit-3F.PFV
‘The ball is [lit. ‘is sijng’] under the chair.’
source: Wikipedia,
several users
x
Heine (1982: 203)

Nama (Khoe-Kwadi) (Hagman 1977: 153, as cited by Di Garbo 2014: 71)

aḿ-I ke ‘a |úrú-ǹ há-ń t k’o-’ao
𝓍aḿ-I
lion-3.M.SG DECL COP animal-3.C.PL all-3.C.PL of rule-man
‘The lion is the king of all beasts.’
source: Wikipedia,
several users
source: Wikipedia,
several users
Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
06.A BANTOID 16.A Tula-Waja 15.A (Central) Gur
06.B CROSS-RIVER 16.B Logunda 15.B Kulangoic
06.C KAINJI-PLATOID 16.C Bena-Mboi 15.C Miyobe
06.D Igboid 16.D Bikwin-Jen 15.D Tiefo
06.E Idomoid 16.E Samba-Duru 15.E Viemo
06.F Nupoid 16.F Mumuyoc 15.F Tusian
06.G Edoid 16.G Maya 15.G Samuic
06.H Akpes 16.H Kebi-Benue 15.H Senufo
Kordofanian
06.I Ukaan 16.I Kimic 18.A Heibanic
06.J Oko 16.J Buaic 18.B Talodic
06.K Owon-Arigidi 16.K Day 18.C Lafofa
06.L Ayere-Ahan 16.L Baa~Kwa 18.D Rashadic
06.M Yoruboid 16.M Nyingwom~Kam 19 Katlaic
06.N Gbe 16.N Fali 09.A (Narrow) Kru
Ubangi
06.O GHANA-TOGO MOUNTAIN 17.A Gbayaic 10 Pere
06.P Potou-Akanic 17.B Zandic 13 Dogon
06.Q Ga-Dangme 17.C Mbaic 14 Bangime
06.R LAGOON 17.D Mundu-Baka 8 Ijoid
06.S Ega 17.E Ngbandic 09.B Siamou
07 DAKOID 17.F Bandaic 12 Mande
AtalanNc
11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.E Sua
11.F Nalu Niger-Kordofanian language groups,
11.G Rio Nunez Güldemann (forthcoming)
Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
Kordofanian
Ubangi
AtalanNc

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.E Sua Niger-Kordofanian language groups,
11.F Nalu
Leke (C14, zmx), Vanhoudt (1987: 143)

ma-ɲá^ má-nɛnɛ ma-bɛ ma-do ma-we-i
CL6-buffalo CL6-grand CL6-two CL6-those CL6-die-PST.IMPFV
‘Those two grand buffalos are dead.’
source: Wikipedia,
several users
Lika (D201, lik), AugusAn (2010: 18; 26-27)

gender marking on nouns:
mu-tu mu-dingi
CL1-person CL1-great
‘a great person’

ø-nganga ya yi-saa x
CL9-Nme CONN.9 CL9-three
‘the third Nme’

subject agreement on verbs is animacy-based:
animate nouns: a- (SG); bá- (PL)
inanimate nouns: a- (SG); a- (PL)

source: Wikipedia,
several users
Kako (A93, kkj), Ernst (1992: 36)

animacy-based marking on nouns and demonstraNves:
ma-ŋgo ɓa-ka c ɗɔkɔ na.
AN.PL-cochon AN.PL-DEM NEG grandir NEG
‘Ces cochons ne sont pas grands.’

mɛ-kandɛ ma-ka x ma lòlò.
INAN.PL-habits INAN.PL-DEM déjà brûlé
‘Ces habits sont brûlé.’

animacy-based agreement on:
modifiers (adjecNves, demonstraNves, numerals,
quanNfiers, geniNves, quesNon words, relaNvizers, and
possessive pronouns) – not on predicates
source: Wikipedia,
several users
Correlates of restructuring in Bantu gender stems
5
0
-5
Adawama-Ubangi
Nilo-Saharan
non-Bantu NC
1A
1B
-10
scale approx 1:15,000,000 no data

to do
0 200 400 km radically restructured
uninhabited or disputed
10 15 20 25 30
Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
Kordofanian
Ubangi
AtalanNc

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.E
11.F
Sua
Nalu
Niger-Kordofanian language groups,
x
Creissels (2014: 4)
source: Wikipedia,
several users
Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
Kordofanian
Ubangi
AtalanNc

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.F Nalu
Boyeldieu (1988: 183)
Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
Kordofanian
Ubangi
AtalanNc

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.E
11.F
Sua
Nalu
Niger-Kordofanian language groups,
x
source: Wikipedia,
Heine (1982: 209)
several users
Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
Kordofanian
Ubangi
AtalanNc

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.F Nalu
x
Heine (1982: 208)

Gur
Adamawa
Benue-Kwa
Kordofanian
Ubangi
AtalanNc

11.B Mel
11.C Gola
11.D Limba
11.F Nalu
x
On Chakali, Gur:
“It is generally assumed in the literature that “noun class, or gender, is a
property of nouns” and that “it can be reliably detected only by looking at
those words with which the nouns enter into an agreement
relaNon” (Aronoff & Fudeman, 2005: 173). On one hand the reader will
observe in the following secAons that Chakali does organise the nouns
into classes but that none of the suffixes are reflected on other parts of
speech, the type of (degree of) alliteraAon widely found in other Niger-
Congo languages. Moreover, humanness is shared across several
agreement domains. Yet humanness is not a criterion for the nouns’
classificaNon into sg-pl pairs. The reflecAon of noun classes onto other
parts of speech is not observable in Chakali, nevertheless the language
does have gender agreement.” Brindle (2009: 84-85)
source: Wikipedia,
several users
FuncNons (?) of grammaNcal gender
Following Kilarski (2013):
-  expansion of the nominal lexicon (for example Bantu acNon
nominalizaNon);
-  reference construal (manipulable gender assignment, for
example Bantu diminuNves/augmentaNves);
-  reference tracking and reference management
-  error checking device (Dahl 2004)
-  linguisNc ‘male nipple’, historical baggage/junk (McWorther
2007; Trudgill 1999)
FuncNons (?) of grammaNcal gender
…what about: marking of group affiliaNon that can only be
learned by young enough humans...?

This potenNal funcNon can shed light on the restructuring or

even loss of gender systems:
v  animacy-based agreement and parNal restructuring in languages of wider
communicaNon (Kinshasa Lingala, other creolized varieNes);
v  potenNal substrate effects in radically restructured Bantu languages

But it does not tell the whole story:

v  linguisNc reasons for restructuring include phonological mergers, etc.;
v  the emergence of animacy-based disNncNons in gender systems responds
to a learning bias, and increases learnability (Nelson et al. 2017)

Thank you for your aQenNon!
Gender systems of Africa

Annemarie Verkerk & Francesca Di Garbo
Max Planck InsNtute for the Stockholm University
Science of Human History

33. Deutscher Orientalistentag

18-22 September 2017, FSU Jena
References

Aikhenvald, Alexandra. (2003). Classifiers: A typology of noun categorizaôn devices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
AugusNn, MaryAnne. (2010). Selected features of syntax and informaôn structure in Lika (Bantu D.20). (M.A.), Graduate InsNtute of Applied LinguisNcs,
Dallas, Texas.
Brindle, Jonathan Allen. 2009. On the idenNficaNon of noun class and gender systems in Chakali. In Masangu Matondo, Fiona McLaughlin, & Eric Potsdam
(eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference on African Linguis^cs: Linguis^c Theory and African Language Documentaôn, 84-94. Somerville,
MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Boyeldieu, Pascal. 1988. PrésentaNon sommaire du groupe boua (tchad) (Adamawa 13 de J.H. Greenberg). In Daniel Barreteau & Henry Tourneux (eds.), Le
Milieu et les Hommes: Recherches compara^ves et historiques dans la bassin du lac Tchad. Actes du 2ème colloque Méga-Tchad ORSTOM BONDY, le 3 et 4
octobre 1985, 275-286. Paris: ORSTOM.
Creissels, Denis. 2014. AtlanNc noun class systems: A typological approach. In Aicha Belkadi, Kakia Chatsiou, & Kirsty Rowan (eds.), Proceedings of
Conference on Language Documentaôn and Linguis^c Theory 4. London: SOAS.
CorbeQ, Greville G. 2013. Number of genders. In MaQhew S. Dryer & MarNn Haspelmath (eds.), The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max
Planck InsNtute for EvoluNonary Anthropology.
Dahl, Östen. (2004). The growth and maintenance of linguis^c complexity. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Di Garbo, Francesca. (2014). Gender and its interacôn with number and evalua^ve morphology: An intra- and intergenealogical typological survey of
Africa. PhD thesis, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
Ernst, Urs. (1992). Esquisse Gramma^cale du Kakɔ. Yaoundé: Société InternaNonale de LinguisNque.
Güldemann, Tom. (forthcoming). The languages and linguis^cs of Africa. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Hagman, Roy S. 1977. Nama HoQentot grammar. Bloomington: Indiana University.
Heine, Bernd. 1982. African noun class systems. In Hansjakob Seiler & ChrisNan Lehmann (eds.), Apprehension, das sprachlich Erfassen von Gegenständen,
Teil I: Bereich und Ordnung der Phänomene, 189-216. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
Kilarski, Marcin. (2013). Nominal classificaôn: A history of its study from the classical period to the present. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
McWhorter, John. 2007. Language interrupted: Signs of non-naNve acquisiNon in standard language grammars. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nelson, Diane, Simon Kirby & Virve-Anneli Vihman. 2017. Emergence of animacy disNncNons based on cogniNve biases: An iterated learning experiment.
Paper presented at the 14th InternaNonal CogniNve LinguisNcs Conference. 10-14 July, 2017 Tartu, Estonia.
Treis, Yvonne. 2008. A grammar of Kambaata. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.
Trudgill, Peter. 1999. Language contact and the funcNon of linguisNc gender. Poznan ́ Studies in Contemporary LinguisNcs 35. 133–152.
Vanhoudt, Beje. (1987). Éléments de descripôn du Leke, Langue Bantoue de Zone C. Tervuren: Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika.
Williamson, Kay. 1989. Niger-Congo overview. In John Bendor-Samuel & Rhonda L. Hartell (eds.), The Niger-Congo languages: A classificaôn and
descripôn of Africa's largest language family, 3-45. Lanham: University Press of America.

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Gender

Annemarie Verkerk & Francesca Di Garbo

die erschrockene Maus

Kambaata (CushiNc) (Treis 2008: 128, as cited in Di Garbo 2014: 73)

Heine (1982: 203)

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

scale approx 1:15,000,000 no data

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

Heine (1982: 208)

11.A (CORE) ATLANTIC 17.G Ndogoic

This potenNal funcNon can shed light on the restructuring or

But it does not tell the whole story:

Gender systems of Africa

33. Deutscher Orientalistentag

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