Setswana nouns

Morphologically the basic form (lemma) of a noun comprises of a class prefix and a root, for example mo- and nna- in monna ‘man’. Class prefixes are inflectional morphemes that indicate class and number. As the noun class prefixes are paired, they are often referred to as gender number prefixes (Katamba, 2003: 103; Kosch, 2006: 90). Setswana nouns are thus characterised by a grammatical gender, also referred to as class gender. They do not indicate sex gender.

Setswana nouns do not have a pre-prefix as some other Bantu languages such as the Nguni languages isiXhosa and isiZulu have. Syntactically the class prefixes of the noun classes are the basis of an extensive system of grammatical agreement (concord) in Setswana (Lombard et al., 1985: 54; Katamba, 2003: 111). Agreement between a noun and the main verb in a Setswana sentence is expressed by affixes such as the subject and object agreement morphemes which are prefixed to the verb root. Agreement is also prevalent in noun modifier constructions such as:

Nouns in Bantu languages are typically grouped together in noun classes. Noun class systems are a strong areal feature in Africa where noun classification has always occupied a central place in Bantu linguistics (Katamba, 2003: 103). Setswana is a Bantu language categorised in the South-Eastern Zone of Bantu languages where it appears in group S30 in Guthries’ 1971 classification. Maho (2003: 649) presents an updated version of Guthries’s referential system. Setswana retains its position as number S31 in group S30, the Sotho-Tswana group. Setswana nouns are also grouped together in 20 methodically numbered groups according to their class prefixes. Class prefixes are mono-morphemic with a consonant vowel (CV) shape. Noun classes have a semantic connotation (Cole, 1975: 68-105; Krüger, 2006: 57-98; Katamba, 2003: 114). Nouns therefore belong to a class based on the form of their class prefix and to a lesser extent due to their meaning Berg (2018: 189).

To conclude the following general comments on Setswana noun classes are relevant:

1. Nouns can overall be categorised into 3 groups, non-infinitive nouns (classes 1 to 14), infinitive nouns (class 15) and locative nouns (classes 16 - 20).
2. Noun classes 1 to 14 consist of singular-plural pairs – grouped together as classes 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, and 9 and 10. Odd numbers indicate the singular and even numbers the plural. Note that Cole (1955: 69) and Setshedi (1980: 25-53) classify singular and plural forms of a noun in a single class, thus in their classification classes 1 and 2 are class 1 (the mo-ba- class) resulting in only 9 classes all together.
3. Nouns in class 11 are singular and their plural forms conform to class 10.
4. Classes 12 and 13 are not found in Setswana. They occur in only one language in the Sotho group viz. Lozi (Gowlett, 2003: 620). Since these nouns were essentially diminutive, they disappeared when the language introduced the diminutive suffix -ana, -nyana. There are some residues of the class 12 prefix in a few insect and reptile nouns with the form kga- (low tone) i.e., kgatutswe ‘lizard’.
5. The nouns in class 14 are singular but their plural forms conform to class 6.
6. Classes 1 and 2 each have a sub class, viz. classes 1a and 2a. Nouns in class 1a are singular and their plural counterparts appear in class 2a.
7. Classes 15 to 20 do not denote singular or plural.
8. Class 15 contains infinitive nouns.
9. Classes 16 to 20 are the locative classes (Krüger, 2006: 92–98). Berg (2018: 2) distinguishes classes 19 and 20, which are referred to by some scholars as classes X and Y or as the ga- and n- locative classes (Poulos & Louwrens, 1994: 47).

In this section a brief exposition of the lexicon per class is given. Limited reference is made of morpho-phonological variants that appear in selected classes.

Noun classes 1 (mo- singular) and 2 (ba- plural)

The prefix mo- occurs in the majority of nouns. The class prefix ba- is the norm class prefix for class 2, the plural class prefix for class 1 (Cole, 1975: 69-72; Krüger, 2006: 57-58; Setshedi 1980: 28).

Note that Cole (1955: 69) and Setshedi (1980: 25-53) classify singular and plural forms of a noun in a single class, thus in their classification classes 1 and 2 are class 1 (the mo-ba- class) resulting in only 9 classes all together. The prefix mo- is the base form of class 1 from which derivations are made.

Noun class 1a (-singular) and 2a (bo- plural)

Nouns belonging to class 1a (-) have no prefix. The prefix bo- of class 2a is the plural for nouns of class 1a. Nouns of class 1a are classified as members of class 1 as they generate the same agreement morphemes as class 1 mo-, e.g., subject and object morphemes respectively.

Class 1a includes nouns denoting personal names, surnames, kinship terms and personifications:

Animal and plant names used as personifications occur in this class:

The prefix bô- can indicate distributive as well as associative plurality, e.g., bômmê ‘mothers’ or ‘mother and company’.

Noun classes 3 (mo- singular) and 4 (me- plural)

The class 3 prefix mo- is the norm class prefix indicating singular while the class 4 prefix me- indicates plural:

Krüger (2006: 60) indicates that “the variant prefix m- occurs before roots originally commencing in /b/, which, after /o/ (of mo-) is deleted, becomes nasalised to /m/ by /m/. It also occurs in deverbatives, derived from verbs commencing in /b/.”:

The variant class prefix ngw- occurs before a few original roots that commenced in vowels:

Both these examples take class 10 (di-) as plural, thus:

The class 4 prefix me- has no variants:

In instances where the variant class 3 prefix m- appears it takes the regular class 4 plural by substituting m- with the full prefix mo-, and then replacing it with me-:

Noun classes 5 (le-) and 6 (ma-)

The class 5 prefix le- has no variants (Cole, 1975: 69-72; Krüger, 2006: 61-65, Setshedi, 1980: 30-32):

In the eastern regions of the Setswana area there is a tendency for nouns of class 11 (lo-) to be absorbed into class 5 (le-) (Cole, 1975: 91; Krüger, 2006: 62). Consequently, some nouns can occur in both classes:

Some commonly used nouns in this class sometimes appear without the class prefix:

The class 6 ma- prefix is the plural for the class 5 prefix le-. The prefix ma- is the conventional class prefix:

The variant class prefix is m- and it occurs in nouns:

Several nouns in class 6 do not seem to have a singular form. Cole (1975: 81-82) divides them into four groups, viz:

Singular forms of nouns may be from noun classes other than noun class 5. This plural form is also referred to as a mass plural.

Nouns with temporal significance indicating time or seasons mainly function as temporal adverbials.

Some nouns of class 11 (lo-) that have been absorbed into class 5 (le-) also take the plural prefix di(n) of class 10:

Noun classes 7 (se-) and 8 (di)

The class 7 singular class prefix is se-. This class prefix has no morpho-phonological variants (Cole, 1975: 69-72; Krüger, 2006; 57-58; Setshedi, 1980: 32-33):

The class prefix di- of noun class 8 has no morpho-phonological variants. The class 8 prefix has to be distinguished from the class 10 prefix di(n)- as it does not include traces of the nasal:

Noun classes 9 (n-) and 10 (di(n)-)

Krüger (2006: 68) indicates that the class prefix n-“is characterized by an original prefix *ne- that has assimilated with the root of the noun due to the phonological processes of (a) elision of /e/ and (b) the plosivation of the initial consonant (a fricative only) of the root by the nasal /n/. In this process /n/ is deleted before original (not derived) polysyllabic roots but is retained before monosyllabic roots even if their number of syllables is increased through suffixation of morphemes. In the latter cases the nasal /n/ occurs as a homorganic nasal viz. it is influenced phonetically by the initial phoneme of the root represented as a homorganic nasal <m>, <n>, <ng>, <ny>.” Cole (1975: 86-90) and Setshedi (1980: 33-35) treat these classes as class 5 n-, din-.

n- before alveolar sounds:

With bilabial nasal m-:

With velar nasal n-:

With pre-palatal nasal n:

The class prefix n- assimilated with the root where the original root commenced with a vowel:

The prefix does not occur before original polysyllabic nouns. However, the diachronic plosivation (occlusivation) caused by the nasal is retained, implying that the prefix is hypothetically present:

The class 10 prefix di(n)- is essentially a compound of the plural prefix di- combined with the class 9 prefix n- (singular). Plural formation in this class is thus reached by adding the class 10 prefix to the singular morpheme and not by replacing it as is customary in the other classes. The singular form is not a root in this instance but a stem:

Noun classes 11 (lo-) and 10 (di(n)-)

The prefix of class 11 lo- does not have variants. As most of the members of this class have been absorbed into class 5 le- it contains a small number of nouns. Note that the class 5 prefix could also be a free variation le-/lo-.

Class 11 nouns take the class 10 di(n) compound prefix when plurals are formed. The nasal causes plosivation (occlusivation) of the initial consonant of the root if it is a fricative. The nasal is retained before monosyllabic roots even if the latter is extended by suffixes. It is deleted before polysyllabic roots.

• Monosyllabic roots:

• Polysyllabic roots:

If the initial phoneme of the root is not a fricative, then no phonological changes occur. Only fricatives can be plosivated (occlusivated):

Noun classes 14 bo- and 6 ma-

The prefix bo- is the norm singular class prefix. Cole (1975: 93-96) and Setshedi (1980: 36) treat these classes as class 7 bo-, ma- (Krüger, 2006: 72-73). Variant prefixes and dialectal variants are not discussed here (Further reading Krüger 2006: 72).

The plural of class 14 nouns is formed by substituting the bo- prefix of class 14 with the class 6 prefix ma-:

As a consequence of their abstract and collective significance many class 14 nouns have only a singular form:

Krüger (2006: 73) indicates that a number of roots of nouns in class 14 bo- are sometimes used as adjectival roots. Agreement with the antecedent (the noun that is qualified) is a feature of such phrases, in this case (bo)golo:

Noun class 15 (go-)

The infinitive forms of verbs are included in this noun class. These nouns do not signify singular or plural as the verbal roots that are used in this class cannot be pluralised. Cole (1975: 96-97) and Setshedi (1980: 36-37) treat the infinitive class as class 8, Krüger (2006: 94-96). Morphologically the structure of infinitive nouns contains a class prefix go-, a verbal root and an ending -a:

Note that the class prefix is written disjunctively in this class and not conjoined to the root as it is done in the other noun classes. Note that this is an orthographic convention, other Bantu languages write it conjunctively.

Infinitive nouns have valence for locative and diminutive suffixes Morphologically, semantically and functionally, infinitives display both nominal and verbal characteristics and for that reason, the infinitive class is treated separately as a special nominal category. (Krüger, 2006: 93; Berg, 2018: 51):

Noun classes 16 to 20

The nouns in noun classes 16 to 20 have a common semantic value of location in uninflected form and are referred to as the locative class nouns. They are to be distinguished from nouns in the non-infinitive classes inflected with the locative suffix referred to as locativised nouns. Noun classes 16 to 20 are commonly referred to as the locative classes and are marked by the prefixes fa-, go-, mo-, ga- and /-/. They are handled and described as a cluster because of common morphological, semantic, and syntactic characteristics. Morphologically they consist of a class prefix followed by a root, are not marked for singularity or plurality and rarely take suffixes (Krüger, 2006: 92-98; Cole, 1975: 97-99). Valentionally they are commonly used as adverbs. Class 19 ga- is an obsolete or archaic class according to Krüger (2006: 97). The ga- noun class is numbered as noun class 19 in line with Berg (2018: 189) and Krüger (2006: 98). For Northern Sotho (Sepedi) Lombard et al. (1985: 50) refers to this class as class X while Poulos and Louwrens (1994: 47) do not allocate a number to it. According to Krüger (2005: 97) noun class 20 in- is also an obsolete or archaic class and includes just a few members. These nouns use a single subject agreement morpheme go-.

Locative classes:

• Class 16 fa-:
  Example 105

  fatshe

  on the ground, down

  Example 106

  felô

  place, locality

• Class 17 go-:
  Example 107

  godimo

  above, on top, upwards

  Example 108

  golô

  place, affair, matter

• Class 18 mo-:
  Example 109

  morago

  after, afterwards, behind, at the back

  Example 110

  motlha

  date, era, period of time, on the occasion

  Example 111

  moseja

  side/boundary/bank of a river, overseas

  Example 112

  mmôgô

  together

• Class 19 ga-:
  Example 113

  gare

  in between, in the middle, among

  Example 114

  gae

  at home, home

  Example 115

  gaufi

  nearby, near

• Class 20 *in- or *n-:
  Example 116

  kgakala

  far, far away

  Example 117

  ntlê

  outside, except/besides

  Example 118

  pèlè

  ahead, in front

  Example 119

  pélé

  first, formerly, before

  Example 120

  têng

  inside, there

  Example 121

  tlase

  below, underneath

  Example 122

  thokô

  side, on the side

The locative class nouns of noun classes 16 to 20 are also sometimes used as stems in lexical counterparts in other classes. The lexical counterpart does however differ with respect to the characteristics of nouns in the locative classes:

Two types of Setswana noun roots can be distinguished, viz. primary and secondary roots.

Primary (original) nominal roots

Primary roots are also referred to as original roots as they do not originate from other word classes or from other languages:

Secondary nominal roots

Secondary noun roots originate from other word classes or from other languages. They adapt to nominal morphology and perform the functions of nouns. Deverbatives are common in Setswana, thus resulting in many verbal roots as secondary nominal roots. Nouns are also derived from pronouns, ideophones and interjections and roots that have been adopted from other languages.

Verbal roots

The verbal root -kwal- may be used in nouns in different classes:

Ideophonic roots

A small number of nouns have ideophonic roots such as -fii and -tsubu.

Roots adopted from other languages

Stems with adopted roots are referred to as adoptives but they may also be referred to as loan words or foreign acquisitions (Cole 1975: 123). These nouns have been adapted to conform to the phonological and morphological structure of Setswana. Cole indicates that the majority of adoptives are nouns and that most of them tend to be in noun class 9 (with the plural in noun class 10).

The following adoptives are adapted fully to the morphological structure of Setswana as they include singular and a plural prefixes (Krüger, 2006: 75).

The following adoptives are autonomous words which do not include morphological adaptations but only phonological adaptations in the singular. The plural prefix is evident.

Cole (1955: 125) also gives an exposition of adapted proper names.

A non-infinitive noun has valence for four suffixes; the diminutive, the locative and in a smaller number of instances the feminitive and augmentative suffix (Krüger, 2006: 73-92).

The diminutive

While the majority of Bantu languages use a prefix to form diminutive nouns, the Sotho group of languages which includes Setswana uses suffixes (Cole, 1975: 105). The diminutive suffixes -ana and -nyana and their variants are used to inflect the diminutive form of Setswana nouns. (Krüger, 2006: 74-87; Cole, 1975: 105-110). This is a feature in Southern Bantu where Nguni and some Shona languages also have the suffix -ana, -anyana. Adding the diminutive suffixes -ana or -anyana to nouns usually causes phonological changes in the final syllable of the noun. Adding the suffix -nyana however does not cause phonological changes except in nouns ending in -ng. Note that the -a in tsela is elided when -ana is suffixed while it remains when -nyana is added.

Cole (1955: 105) indicates that diminutive forms of nouns signify:

• small size or quantity of inanimate things (-ana or -nyana)
• small size of animals (usually -nyana)
• young or immature animals (usually -ana)
• derogation or disparagement (-ana or -nyana but more commonly -nyana)

The ability of nouns to take a diminutive suffix depends on whether they can semantically be changed to diminutives.

The locative

The morpheme -(i)ng is the locative suffix in Setswana. When suffixed to nouns it adds the following values to the inherent meaning of the noun:

• Physical or abstract locality:
  Example 129

  dithaba

  di- thaba

  NPre10-mountain

  the mountains

  Example 130

  kwa dithabeng

  kwa di- thaba -(i)ng

  LocPartkwa NPre10- mountain -LocSuf

  at the mountains

• Time:
  Example 131

  mô kgwêding (ê e tlang)

  during (next/the coming) month

  Example 132

  mô bosigong (bôo)

  during (that) night

  Example 133

  mô marigêng

  during winter

• State (condition):
  Example 134

  mô maemong (ao)

  (in) that situation/case/state/condition

When nouns are inflected with the locative suffix they are referred to as a locativised nouns (Krüger, 2006: 89) or locative nouns (Berg, 2018: 49). This is done in order to distinguish locativised nouns from nouns which appear in the locative noun classes (noun classes 16-20) which are referred to as locative class nouns.

Locativised nouns are often used in adverbial constructions which may be the reason why Cole (1975: 342) refers to the locative suffix as an adverbial suffix. Lombard et al.(1985: 73) on the other hand, regards locativised nouns as a subcategory of the noun. Krüger (2006: 89) treats locativised nouns as inflected nouns and gives the following example:

“A locativized noun such as ntlong ‘in/to/from/out of the house, at home’ < ntlo ‘house’ specifies the venue for an action.”

• The locative suffix does not occur with the following nouns (Krüger, 2006: 92):
  Example 141

  Sefatlhane

  Zeerust

  Example 142

  Gaborone

  Example 143

  Jwaneng

  Example 144

  Madikwe

  Marico

  Example 145

  Huhudi

  Vryburg

• Proper names and personifications:
  Example 146

  Ke eme fa go Katlegô.

  I am standing at/near Katlegô.

  Example 147

  Mmytla a botsa Khudu.

  Hare then asked tortoise.

• Nouns indicating terms of kinship:
  Example 148

  Ke dutse fa go rremogolo.

  I am sitting at/near grandfather.

• Nouns indicating compass directions:
  Example 149

  borwa

  south

  Example 150

  bokone

  north

  Example 151

  botlhabatsatsi

  east

  Example 152

  bophirima (tsatsi)

  west

• Nouns expressing time:
  Example 153

  bogologolo

  long ago

  Example 154

  bosigo

  night, at night, during the night

  Example 155

  bosigogare

  midnight, at midnight

  Example 156

  mantsiboa/maitseboa/mantsiboya

  during late afternoon

  Example 157

  motshegare

  at midday, in daylight

A number of nouns expressing time occur as complement of the temporal particle ka which conveys meanings such as by, in, at, during or per (Berg, 201: 96; Poulos & Louwrens, 1994: 329).

The feminative and the augmentative

In a number of cases the suffix -gadi can have a meaning associated with the feminine, the marriage institution or opposite sex when suffixed to the roots (Krüger, 2006: 73-74; Cole, 1975: 110):

In very rare occasions the suffix -gadi is used with augmentative significance (Cole, 1975: 110–111):

The place name Kgalagadi may also be derived with this suffix where it indicates a vast area:

Setswana nouns can be classified into subcategories based on morphological, syntactic and semantic similarities and variances and these subcategories are presented in the diagram below. The focal categories in the classification being non-infinitives, infinitives and locatives, the same categories that emerged in the grouping of the noun classes. Subsequent categories to the ones above apply to the syntactic functions and valentional features of nouns.

The diagram of Krüger (2006: 102) is presented in a slightly amended format.

[click image to enlarge]

The prefix seka-

This prefix is not common with Setswana nouns but is included here as a nominal prefix. It precedes the class prefix of the noun it is used with and does not replace it. Setswana nouns do not have pre-prefixes Katamba (2003: 107). Cole (1975: 111) indicates that the prefix seka- is used with some nouns to express the semantic value of:

• ‘Something like...’
• ‘Something resembling...’
• ‘Having the characteristics of...’

Morphologically it consists of the class 7 prefix se- followed by -ka“which is identical to that which occurs in the relative stems -kae, -kana and -kalo, and in the adverbial formative jaaka-” Cole (1975: 111). Valentionally nouns with this prefix have a qualificative (modifying) function as seen in the last example above.

Nouns derived from verbs (Deverbative nouns)

A deverbative noun is a noun that is derived from an infinitive verb. Krüger treats the forming of deverbatives as “word class interchange”, however a much more detailed description is given in these texts. Deverbation is accomplished by conforming the verb to the structure of a noun by substituting the infinitive prefix go- ‘to’ with a noun class prefix and, concomitantly the ending -a of the infinitive is substituted with a deverbative suffix -i or -. In some deverbative nouns the suffix -a is kept and a limited number of nouns take the suffixes -u and -e. (Further reading: Cole, 1955: 113-116; Krüger, 2006: 110-123; Krüger, 2013: 115-117). The root is kept. The deverbative noun lekwalô (a letter, a text) is formed from the infinitive verb go kwala ‘to write’. The infinitive prefix go- is replaced with the class prefix le-, the root -kwal- is retained and the deverbative suffix -ô replaces the verbal ending -a:

Nouns derived from pronouns

Nouns of noun class 14 may be derived by placing the bo- prefix of class 14 before pronouns to indicate abstract concepts as is customary in this class (Cole, 1975: 111). The personal pronouns of the first, second and third person/class one is applicable in this instance:

Quantitative pronouns are also sometimes used as roots to form nouns. Inclusive quantitative pronoun:

A few nouns are formed using the noun class 1 prefix with the possessive particle ga (Berg, 2018: 111; Cole, 1975: 161; Krüger, 2013: 111) and personal pronouns (Cole, 1975: 112):

Nouns derived from adjectival noun roots

Based on their morphological composition adjectives are considered a subcategory of the noun in Setswana. They are classified as so-called describing nouns based on their use as adjectives in translation. Posthumus (2000: 148–158) discusses the morphological and valentional features of Zulu adjectives. There are two types of adjectives viz. ordinary (unchanging – they are complete independent words) and changeable adjectives (Berg, 2018: 50; Krüger, 2013: 127–136). Some of the changeable adjective roots may take the noun prefixes of noun classes 1 or 14 to derive nouns with mainly an abstract connotation (Cole, 1975: 112):

Nouns derived from locative class nouns

A limited number of non-infinitive nouns are derived from locative class nouns. They tend to have an abstract connotation (Cole, 1975: 116):

Nouns derived from ideophones and interjections

Only a few Setswana nouns are derived from ideophones (Cole, 1975: 117):

Cole (1975: 117) indicates that the names of several birds are onomatopoeic in that they imitate the call of the bird:

Compound nouns

Compounds are grammatical units that involve two or more lexical roots. They tend to function as a single word grammatically even though they may contain forms that otherwise function as independent words (Dimmendaal, 2000: 167). Cole (1975: 117) indicates that Setswana compound nouns may consist of reduplicated forms or of nouns preceded or followed by another word. A more detailed discussion of compounds is available in Krüger (2006: 43 & 57-98), Cole (1975: 117 – 123) and Pretorius, L. et al. 2008. Reduplicated nouns may be formed through a complete or partial duplication of a root or stem (Krüger, 2006: 43):

Nouns are often reduplicated to indicate the intensification of the idea that is transferred:

The class prefix of the second noun is often deleted in noun plus noun compounds:

A selection of compound nouns is formed from underlying phrases or word groups. Pretorius L. et al., (2008: 5-8) mention the following:

• Possessive groups:
  Example 197

  ditsela tsa nko

  roads/passages of the nose

  Example 198

  (the possessive particle is elided)

  ditselanko

  nasal passages

• Infinitive groups:
  Example 199

  go epa pitso

  to convene a meeting

  Example 200

  moepapitso

  convenor

• Adjective relative groups:
  Example 201

  monna yo mogolo

  the man that is big

  Example 202

  monnamogolo

  old man

• Verbal relative groups:
  Example 203

  leotwana le le gogang

  a wheel that pulls

  Example 204

  leotwanakgogi

  a pulley

• Associative groups:
  Example 205

  go lema le go rua

  to plough and to keep (animals)

  Example 206

  temothuo

  agriculture

• Miscellaneous groups:

  The identification of the underlying members of the group are not apparent while in some cases it seems that the compound may be the result of a contracted form of juxtaposed words.

  Example 207

  Aferika borwa

  Africa South

  Example 208

  Aferikaborwa

  South Afrika

It is important to note that the prefixes of both members of compounds such as these where the first member agrees with the second change in the formation of the plural:

Compounds are also formed from phrases where the noun is qualified with a possessive particle phrase. A trace of the possessive particle is left in the compound:

In a smaller number of cases compounds are formed from verb plus adverb combinations:

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