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THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF
BANTU GRAMMAR
 CSLI Lecture Notes No. 38

THEORETICAL
ASPECTS OF
BANTU
G
1

edited by
Sam A. Mchombo

CSLI Publications
Center for the Study of Language and Information
Stanford, California
 Copyright c 1993
CSLI Publications
Center for the Study of Language and Information
Leland Stanford Junior University
Printed in the United States
97 96 95 94 93 1e 2 3 4 5
CSLI/SRI International CSLI/Stanford CSLI/Xerox PARC
333 Ravenswood Avenue Ventura Hall 3333 Coyote Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025 Stanford, CA 94305 Palo Alto, CA 94304
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mchombo, Sam A.
Theoretical Aspects of Bantu Grammar / Sam A. Mchombo, editor
p. cm. – (CSLI lecture notes; no. 38)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 0-937073-73-3 (cloth)
ISBN: 0-937073-72-5 (pbk.)
1. Bantu languages—Grammar. I. Mchombo, Sam A., 1948- . II. Series.
PL8025.1.T54 1993
496’.39–dc20 93-29496
CIP
eISBN: 1-57586-816-4 (electronic)
CSLI Publications gratefully acknowledges a generous gift from Jill and
Donald Knuth in support of scholarly publishing that has made the
production of this book possible.
We gratefully acknowledge permission to publish “Object Asymmetries in
Comparative Bantu Syntax,” by Joan Bresnan and Lioba Moshi, which
originally appeared in Linguistic Inquiry, vol. 21, no. 2. Copyright c 1990
by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

CSLI was founded in 1983 by researchers from Stanford University, SRI

International, and Xerox PARC to further the research and development of
integrated theories of language, information, and computation. CSLI
headquarters and CSLI Publications are located on the campus of Stanford
University.
Contents

Contributors IX

Acknowledgements XI

Introduction 1
1 Object Asymmetries and the Chichewa Applicative
Construction 17
ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. McHOMBO
1 Introduction 17
2 The Structural-Syntactic Approach 18
3 The Thematic-Lexical Approach 24
4 Crucial Evidence 31
5 Conclusion 44
2 Object Asymmetries in Comparative Bantu
Syntax 47
JoAN BRESNAN AND LrosA MosHr
1 Typological Differences 50
2 Previous Theories 58
3 An Alternative Theory 69
4 The Parameter of Variation 75
5 Further Predicted Differences 82
6 Conclusion 86
3 The Applicative in Chishona and Lexical Mapping
Theory 93
CAROLYN HARFORD
1 The Applicative Construction in Chishona 94
2 Lexical-Functional Grammar Analysis of the Applicative
Construction 99

v
vi / CONTENTS

3 Other Uses of the Applicative 107

4 Conclusion 110
4 Implications of Asymmetries in Double Object
Constructions 113
ALEC MARANTZ
1 The C-Command Asymmetry 116
2 The Baker (1988a) Following Marantz (1982)
Asymmetry 121
3 The Bresnan and Moshi (this volume) Asymmetry 125
4 Movement Asymmetries Between Merger /Incorporation
and Raising/ Adjunction Structures 132
5 Some Recent Previous Accounts of Double Object
Constructions 137
6 Double Object Constructions as Complex Predicates 141
5 On Nominal Morphology and DP Structure 151
VICKI CARSTENS
1 The Noun Class Problem 152
2 Noun Class and Derivation 160
3 On Noun Phrase Structure 167
4 Conclusion 176
6 Reflexive and Reciprocal in Chichewa 181
SAM A. MCHOMBO
1 Introduction 181
2 On the Separability of Morphology from Syntax 183
3 Outline of the Basic Facts 184
4 The Verb Stem in Chichewa as a Prosodic Unit 188
5 Nominalization 189
6 Reduplication 190
7 Bare Imperatives 192
8 Semantic Asymmetries Between the Reflexive and the
Reciprocal 194
9 On Reflexive and Reciprocal Binding in Chichewa 198
10 On Distinguishing Between Morphology and Syntax 202
11 Concluding Remarks 203
7 The Augment in Luganda: Syntax or
Pragmatics? 209
LARRY M. HYMAN AND FRANCIS X. KATAMBA
1 Realization of the Augment in Luganda 210
2 Previous Accounts of the Augment 213
3 The Augment as Inflection 218
 CONTENTS / vii

4 The Proposal 223

5 Specific Constraints and Constructions 234
6 The Augment as Inflectional Morphology 243
8 Non-Augmented NPs in Kinande as Negative Polarity
Items 257
LJILJANA PROGOVAC
1 Introduction 257
2 The Distribution of the Augment 259
3 Bare NP-Forms in Kinande as A'-Anaphors 264
4 Some Residual Problems 267
5 Conclusion 269
Name Index 271
Language Index 275
Subject Index 277
Contributors

ALEX ALSINA is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Language

and Information at Stanford University. His research interests are in
argument structure and syntax.
JoAN BRESNAN is Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University. She
is interested in research in grammatical theory, syntactic typology and
universals, structure of Bantu and English, and formal architecture of
grammar.
VICKI CARSTENS is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Cornell Uni-
versity. She conducts research in comparative syntax and African lin-
guistics. Recently her work has focused on inflectional morphology and
phrase structure, with particular emphasis on agreement.
CAROLYN HARFORD is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Michigan
State University. She conducts research into topics relating to theoret-
ical syntax and morphology, and the syntax and morphology of Bantu
languages.
LARRY HYMAN is Professor of Linguistics at University of California at
Berkeley. His research interests are in the areas of phonological theory
and African languages, especially the study of prosodic phenomena,
and the interaction of phonology with other parts of the grammar.
FRANCIS KATAMBA is Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Lan-
caster, Lancaster, England. He has conducted research into phonolog-
ical theory and African languages.
ALEC MARANTZ is Associate Professor of Linguistics at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. His research centers around morphology, syn-
tax, universals, and language acquisition.

IX
X I CONTENTS

SAM McHOMBO is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at University of

California at Berkeley. He conducts research in the areas of syntactic
theory, semantics, morphology, and the structure of Bantu languages.
LIOBA MosHI is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University
of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She is interested in syntactic issues
in African languages, discourse and grammar, language gender and
culture, as well as language pedagogy.
LJILJANA PROGOVAC is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Wayne
State University in Detroit, Michigan. Her research lies in the areas
of syntax, semantics, and language acquisition, in particular negative
polarity, anaphora, and subjunctives.
Acknowledgements

This volume arose from a workshop on theoretical aspects of Bantu

grammar that was held at the University of California at Berkeley, on
November 10 and 11, 1989. I wish to express my sincere and profound
gratitude to the conference participants whose enthusiastic response
to the request for their participation in sharing their research findings
made the workshop a truly memorable occasion. The authors have
also been remarkably co-operative in getting the final versions of the
papers ready for publication. My thanks go to them and also to the
anonymous reviewers for their comments.
I am grateful to Larry Hyman for much needed behind-the-scenes
assistance that greatly contributed to the success of the workshop.
Thanks Larry.
The workshop would not have been possible without the generous
sponsorship of the Department of Linguistics, the African Studies Cen-
ter, the Division of Social Sciences, and the Graduate Division of the
University of California at Berkeley, for which I am truly thankful.
To Dikran Karagueuzian whose patience, nudging, and technical
assistance have been invaluable in getting this volume ready for publi-
cation, I only have one word to say-thanks. I also wish to express my
profound gratitude to Kathryn Henniss for her thorough and meticu-
lous proofreading of the manuscript and for designing the cover.
Thanks also to my children Sam, Sarah, and Sterling, for their
understanding, and to Atisunge and Chipo for trying to understand.
Finally, I wish to thank my wife Pamela for her patience during the
time the final details of this volume were being attended to and for her
understanding as various plans had to be postponed or rescheduled.
The paper by Joan Bresnan and Lioba Moshi, "Object asymmetries
in comparative Bantu syntax," which was presented at the workshop,
was previously published by Linguistic Inquiry. It appears here with
the kind permission of the publishers.

xi
Introduction

Central to the problems addressed within generative grammar are is-

sues relating to the characterization of grammatical functions, the
treatment of grammatical function changing, the treatment of de-
pendencies among linguistic elements within a sentence or discourse,
the trading relation between the various components of grammar, for
instance, among those of word structure, sentence structure, and dis-
course structure; between syntax and semantics (including pragmatics),
as well as the relation between syntax and phonology. Investigations
of these issues have resulted in the emergence of a number of gram-
matical theories which, whilst in agreement over the general issues, do
nonetheless diverge radically in their proposals for dealing with the
particulars of the questions indicated above. A concrete example may
serve to highlight the point. Within the theory of transformational
generative grammar and still maintained within the modern versions
of that theory, viz., within the principles and parameters framework,
Noam Chomsky has proposed to define grammatical functions in terms
of the dominance relations of the sentences. Within this framework the
geometry that characterizes the constituent structure of the sentence
equally represents the functional information. Grammatical function
changing has been dealt with in terms of operations on the geomet-
ric representations, such that one geometric representation is 'trans-
formed' into or 'mapped onto' another. This transformation is effected
by movement of constituents from one structural position to another.
In the formulation of the principles and parameters framework, some-
times referred to as the theory of government and binding (GB), the
movements are accounted for in terms of the application of the rule
schema 'Move-a' or 'Affect-a.'
Significantly, the same geometric representation is appealed to in
dealing with the assignment of such semantic roles as 'agent,' 'patient,'

Theoretical Aspects of Bantu Grammar.

Sam A. Mchombo.
Copyright © 1993, Leland Stanford Junior University.

1
2 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

'beneficiary,' etc., which are said to be assigned to the arguments by the

predicator under the structural relation of 'government.' The notion
of government is itself characterized in part in terms of the structural
notion of 'c-command.' This notion which is central to accounts of
anaphora is, in turn, determined by dominance relations. Linguistic
elements such as anaphors and pronominals, whose referential value is
determined by that of a nominal somewhere else within the construc-
tion, may not be referentially dependent on a nominal which is not
'superior' to them. The notion of superiority is captured in terms of
c-command. A single geometric representation is thus claimed to suf-
fice in encoding the various types of information that have to do with
constituent structure, functional structure, semantic role assignment,
as well as the resolution of anaphora. Grammatical function changing
is stated in terms of transformations of the geometric representations
into other configurations of the same kind. This seems to be the ethos
of that approach. In its recent formalization the independence of syn-
tax and morphology has come under increasing skepticism within this
theory given the proposals to treat morphology as a module of the
syntactic component ( cf. Baker 1988, Sproat 1985).
Different sets of proposals for dealing with the issues enumerated
above have given rise to alternative approaches to grammatical theory.
The theories of relational grammar (RG) and lexical functional gram-
mar (LFG) depart from the theory of GB at the minimum, in their pro-
posed treatment of grammatical functions as basic primitives. Gram-
matical function changing was thus dealt with in terms of 'instructions'
or rules that were function-dependent in that they explicitly mentioned
the changing of a specific grammatical function into another. For ex-
ample, the passive was stated in terms of an operation which converts
the OBJECT into SUBJECT. The semantic roles are represented in a dif-
ferent component and their association with the grammatical functions
is dealt with separately from the grammatical function changing. The
theory of LFG has been far more explicit in its statements concerning
the analyses of these issues. Within LFG it has been proposed to factor
out into separate components the different informational structures of
language. The theory of grammar must provide for the representations
of constituent structure, functional structure, semantic role structure,
and discourse structure. It must also provide for principled accounts
of the manner in which these informational structures interact. These
various informational structures are not all represented by the same
kind of configurations. They each involve a different set of vocabulary
and the relations among them are captured in terms of structural equiv-
alence rather than derivation. In its recent formulations, work in LFG
 INTRODUCTION I 3

has sought to advance a specific program for dealing with grammati-

cal function changing. Instead of positing rules that explicitly change
grammatical functions, it has been proposed to treat the phenomenon
as consisting in rules and principles that regulate the association of
semantic roles with the grammatical functions. Grammatical function
changing is, in effect, induced by morpholexical rules which alter ar-
gument structures and effect alternative realizations of the semantic
roles. This has been achieved in part by retreating from the position
that grammatical functions are primitives, in favor of treating them as
feature complexes. The rules and principles responsible for the link-
ing of the semantic roles with the grammatical functions comprise the
(sub)theory of lexical mapping. Within LFG anaphora has been han-
dled in terms of relations represented in the functional structure rather
than in the constituent structure.
Recent advances within these theories have been marked by research
based on Bantu languages, the largest language family of sub-Saharan
Africa. The contribution these languages have made to progress in lin-
guistic theory can not be overemphasized. Advances within phonolog-
ical theory have clearly demonstrated the inestimable value of African
languages. While the search for linguistic universals does assure contin-
ued interest in these languages from syntacticians, it is remarkable that
the languages have proved very valuable to current debates across the-
ories concerned with the treatment of issues central to syntax, and to
the nature of the relation between syntax and morphology. Given the
richness in morphology of Bantu languages, their interesting phonolog-
ical aspects, and the prospects they hold for studies of semantics, they
provide ideal case studies for a wide range of linguistic issues including
the relation between syntax and phonology, as well as between syn-
tax and morphology. The papers appearing in this volume highlight
the contribution Bantu languages are making to research into formal
linguistic theory.
The rationale of the workshop that gave rise to this volume was to
present detailed studies of phenomena in Bantu languages and their
proposed treatment within specific theoretical models. Every attempt
was made to achieve a balance between cross-linguistic and cross-
theoretical studies. To this end the conference participants were drawn
from different theoretical persuasions. The papers were also meant to
represent current perspectives on theoretical aspects of the different
grammatical models. It is these considerations that provide the unity
to the collection of the papers in this volume. Although the authors
freely selected topics of their research interests, the preponderance of
papers dealing with the applicative construction in Bantu is indicative
4 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

of the intrinsic interest of the applicative as a linguistic phenomenon

and attests to its relevance to work on grammatical theory.
Among the issues dealt with in the papers that appear here are
questions relating to grammatical function changing, the separability
of morphology from syntax, the theory of binding, as well as the inter-
action of morphology with aspects of phonology. Some of the specific
proposals advanced for dealing with these issues call for prefatory re-
marks.
It has been noted above that the theory of LFG has departed from
the treatment of grammatical functions as primitives and from the
recognition of 'grammatical function changing' processes as processes
that 'change' grammatical functions. In effect there is no such thing
as grammatical function changing within this theory. The theory of
lexical mapping is meant to adumbrate an approach that accounts for
the effects of grammatical function changing in terms of grammatical
function alternation. The grammatical functions are associated with
different semantic roles that are assigned to the arguments of a pred-
icator. This association is effected by rules and principles that do not
alter one grammatical function into another. Rather, the proposed
program builds on the theory of underspecification as extended to ac-
counts of unaccusativity by Levin (1988), and on the classification of
grammatical functions into governable and non-governable, as well as
semantically restricted and unrestricted by Bresnan (1982). The theory
refines these notions and attempts to characterize syntactic functions
in terms of feature complexes derived from the revised versions of these
notions. The theory also recognizes the need for such semantic roles
as agent, patient, beneficiary, goal, theme, experiencer, instrumental,
locative, etc., which are claimed to be hierarchically ordered. It is
noted further that grammatical functions differ in their ability to real-
ize the semantic roles. The subject and object functions appear to be
unrestricted in regard to what roles they can support. They may even
be nonthematic, as the following sentences illustrate:
( 1) It is snowing.
(2) I don't believe it that the recession has ended.
The italicized 'it' in the two expressions is not associated with any
semantic role. On the other hand, secondary objects as well as
oblique functions are normally restricted to realizing specific roles.
This suggested the characterization of the functions into those that
are 'not restricted' [-r], and those that are 'restricted' [+r]. The
SUBJ(ECT) and OBJ(ECT) functions are thus classified as [-r) while
the secondary OBJECT (oBJe) and OBL(IQUE) are classified as [+r).
 INTRODUCTION I 5

The theory also recognizes that predicators have arguments, to which

they assign the semantic or thematic roles indicated above. These the-
matic roles are ordered according to a universal hierarchy in which
the agent is the most prominent or the highest role. On the basis
of cross-linguistic tendencies in the syntactic realization of these the-
matic roles, it is hypothesized that some roles are excluded from as-
sociating with certain grammatical functions on the basis of aspects
of their intrinsic properties. For instance, the agent role is normally
realized as SUBJ or as OBL but rarely as OBJ or OBJe. This suggests
that the agent is classified as 'non-objective' [-o(bjective)] intrinsi-
cally. Other roles may thus be intrinsically classified as [+o(bjective)].
Combining these features into feature complexes yields the following
four way classification: [-r,-o] = SUBJ; [-r,+o] = OBJ; [+r,-o] =
OBL; [+r,+o) = OBJ 8 . With this apparatus the linking of thematic
roles with grammatical functions is cast in terms of assignments of
these features to the argument roles. This may be exemplified by the
following.
Consider the transitive predicator 'kick.' This has two arguments
in its argument structure, which are assigned the thematic roles of
agent and patient, ordered that way by the universal thematic hierar-
chy. On the basis of the intrinsic properties, the agent is classified as
[-o] and the patient [-r]. This is referred to as intrinsic classification
(IC). The theory also posits some default classificatory features (DC)
which are sensitive to the position of the role on the hierarchy. The
default classification (DC) rules assign the feature [-r) to the highest
role and [+r) to the remaining roles unless they have already been pre-
viously assigned the same feature with the opposite value. In other
words the default classification cannot change the features already as-
signed. The default classification would then assign the feature [-r] to
the agent role but the patient role does not get assigned [+r) because of
the previous assignment of [-r) to it. This assignment links the agent
with the SUBJ function. On the other hand, the patient, being [-r), is
underspecified and can get linked with either the SUBJ or the OBJ func-
tion, the functions that are unrestricted. Other principles are invoked
to block the association of the patient with the SUBJ function in this
case. The specific principle invoked here is that of argument-function
hi-uniqueness. This restricts the association of a thematic role to a
unique function and vice versa. This may be schematically represented
as follows:
6 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

kick ( agent, patient }

IC -o -r
DC -r

SUBJ OBJ
The other component of this theory pertains to the treatment of gram-
matical function changing processes such as passivization, causativiza-
tion, applicatives, etc. These processes are analyzed as morpholexical
operations which alter argument structure either by introducing a new
role into the structure or by eliminating or suppressing a role. The
question of what argument role is introduced or suppressed is specific
to the morpholexical rule. For instance, passivization suppresses the
topmost role, in this case, the agent, making it inaccessible to other
morpholexical processes. The suppression of the agent role means that
the only role that remains in the argument structure is the patient,
which then becomes the subject as a result of the application of yet
another principle of the theory. Specifically, the principle is the Sub-
ject condition, which requires of every well-formed lexical form that it
have a subject. Schematically,
kick ( agent patient )
IC -0 -r
Passive 0
DC
0 SUBJ

As this example illustrates, the passive does not change an object into
a subject. All it does is to suppress a particular role and the rules
and principles that regulate the linking of thematic roles to grammati-
cal functions associate the patient role with the subject function. The
theory of lexical mapping is the subtheory of the theory of LFG which
spells out the rules and principles that effect this association or linking.
Morpholexical operations are located within the domain of lexical map-
ping, itself constituting a separate information structure which has to
be eventually as&ociated to elements of the functional structure compo-
nent of that theory. It is within the functional structure that syntactic
binding is also resolved.
In Bantu languages the morphology associated with grammatical
function alternation (or changing) is encoded primarily in the verbal
suffixes or verbal extensions. This gives the verb stem, which consists
of the verb radical and the extensions, thereby giving the verb stem,
 INTRODUCTION I 7

which consists of the verb radical and the extensions, the unique status
of being the primary domain of morpholexical processes. In many
respects the morphology of the verb stem is delineable from the rest
of the verbal morphology in that the residual morphology participates
in the more syntactic functions such as agreement or tense/aspect, as
well as pronominal, marking. This raises the question of whether the
verb stem could provide part of the evidence for the demarcation of
lexical from the more syntactically relevant morphology. Indeed, this
is itself part of the larger inquiry into the relation between morphology
and syntax or the separability of the one from the other. The papers
in this book offer some views on this topic and, for the first time, some
of the original research papers that have pursued these original and
leading ideas are made readily accessible. The papers dealing with the
applicative highlight the range of problems that this construction poses
both for the description of the relevant facts and for the articulation of
grammatical theory. I will comment briefly on the chief thrust of the
papers in this book.
The papers by Alsina and Mchombo, Bresnan and Moshi, and Har-
ford all deal with the applicative construction in a number of Bantu
languages in terms of the theory of lexical mapping within the frame-
work of LFG. Significantly, within this model, grammatical function
alternation (or changing) does not involve movement of structural
constituents. These papers explore the mechanisms required for this
task and how they contribute toward the explanation of the variation
that the languages exhibit in their respective applicative constructions.
Bresnan and Moshi extend the ideas initially advanced in the work
of Alsina and Mchombo to treat the differences between the applica-
tives in Chichewa and Kichaga by appealing to a single parameter,
the Asymmetric Object Parameter. Studies of the same grammatical
construction as manifested in different but related languages provide a
good basis for both comparison and contrast and indicate in a particu-
larly poignant way what issues impact the formalization of the theory
of lexical mapping. The proposal to account for the differences in ap-
plicative constructions in different languages by appealing to a specific
parameter which is formulated in terms of the machinery of the theory
of lexical mapping goes some way toward the validation of the propos-
als of the theory. In all, these papers suggest a program for research
into both linguistic universals and comparative Bantu syntax.
The approach to grammatical function changing pursued within
the theory of LFG marks a departure from the standard treatment of
the phenomena within generative grammar. Traditionally, these have
been dealt with in terms of movement of constituents of the phrase
8 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

structure tree, especially the NP categories. In recent work within

GB, the proposal has been to move the head elements and get them
incorporated into other heads. This is most clearly spelled out in Baker
1988. Baker adopts the standard assumptions of the theory of GB that
sentences have an underlying D-structure level which represents pure
grammatical functions and where theta roles are assigned under the
structural relation of government. He adopts, further, the view that
universally, the same theta roles are assigned under the same structural
conditions across languages. This view is designated the Uniformity of
Theta Assignment Hypothesis (UTAH). In English the beneficiary role
is assigned to an NP that is governed by a preposition, as shown below:
(3) The secretary bought some pumpkins for the hippo.
To obtain the double object construction such as (4), below, the prepo-
sition is moved to be incorporated into the main verb.
(4) The secretary bought the hippo some pumpkins.
Although the V+P 'bought-for' expression comes out simply as 'bought'
in English, it is evident that the two are indeed different. In many
Bantu languages, the only realization of sentences equivalent to (3)
above, are of the form comparable to sentence (4), where the verb is
affixed with an applicative suffix. Thus in Chichewa, the sentence is
rendered as below, where the numbers indicate the noun class, SM
stands for subject marker, 'pst' is for past tense, and 'fv' is for final
vowel:
(5) Mlembi a-na-gul-ir-a mvuu maungu
!-secretary lSM-pst-buy-appl-fv 9-hippo 6-pumpkins.
The more analytic version comparable to sentence (3), in which there is
a prepositional phrase, is not possible. However, according to UTAH,
the beneficiary role is assigned under government by a prepositional
head. As such, the Chichewa sentence, and comparable constructions
in other Bantu languages, must derive from underlying D-structures
with PPs. The applicative suffix in effect is postulated to be the under-
lying preposition which gets incorporated via the rule schema 'Move-a'
into the matrix verb in part because it is a bound morpheme. Other
principles of the theory of GB come into play to determine the final
form of the resultant sentence. It is within such a general framework
that Marantz investigates the phenomenon of double object construc-
tion in Bantu. Extending the work on double object constructions
advanced by Baker (1988) and Larson (1988) in which such construc-
tions arise from incorporation or predicate composition, Marantz also
proposes to examine the asymmetries among verbal objects in terms
 INTRODUCTION I 9

of 'event structure.' Part of his proposal is to deal with double ob-

ject constructions as instances of complex predicates. The structure
associated with the applicative is motivated in terms of the mapping
between compositional semantics and the D-structure, and in terms of
various asymmetries between the object noun phrases. In double ob-
ject constructions the logical object c-commands the other object. The
morphological exponents of the morpholexical operation are dealt with
in terms of morphological merger, which, in some languages, occurs at
the D-structure and in others at the S-structure. The differences in
the level at which morphological merger occurs accounts for the facts
associated with the asymmetric object parameter proposed in the pre-
ceding papers. It should be noted that morphological merger provides
a way within this framework of doing affixation in the syntax while pre-
serving the projection principle. In effect, this shows how morphology
can be subsumed into the syntactic component.
The idea that morphological derivation is done within the syntactic
component, which thus makes the separation of morphology from syn-
tax problematic, if not utterly indefensible, becomes the major issue in
the contributions of Carstens and Mchombo. The idea was previously
articulated in precise terms in Baker's notion of the 'mirror principle.'
Baker noted that morphological concatenation in languages with ro-
bust morphology appeared to 'mirror' the order of syntactic derivation.
Such a correlation seemed to suggest that morphological derivation and
syntactic derivation were aspects of the same fundamental process. The
close fit between morphology and syntax was dubbed the 'mirror prin-
ciple' and it was argued that the fundamental process in question is
strictly syntactic. The extension of the applicability of Move-a to head
elements, incorporating them into other heads, merging morphological
material in the course of syntactic derivation, provided the theory of
GB with the machinery by which the morphological derivation could
be achieved using syntactic devices. The verbal extensions in Bantu
languages appear to support this move to the extent that the rest of
the theoretical apparatus of GB is acceptable. The correctness of this
view would license the conclusion that syntactic principles need not
discriminate between syntactic and morpholexical processes.
Carstens, adopting the principles and parameters framework, con-
ducts studies of the structure of Bantu nouns and argues that the noun
class prefixes found in Bantu nouns are to be analyzed as Determin-
ers. This analysis, arrived at independently, shares in its conceptual
outlook the proposals concerning the grammatical status of such pre-
fixes advanced in work by Myers (1987). Myers has argued that the
noun class prefixes and noun stems in Bantu are syntactic constructs
10 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

which happen to form a phonological word. They are not morpho-

logical elements which comprise a morphological word. As such, the
prefixes should participate in syntactic processes, and indeed they do.
It is accepted dogma in Bantu linguistics that noun class prefixes are
the locus of such syntactically relevant features as number and gender
which participate in grammatical agreement. This is exemplified by
the following data from Swahili:
(6) Kikombe ki-moja ki-li-anguka
7-cup 7SM-one 7SM-pst-fall
'One cup fell.'
(7) Vikombe vi-tatu vi-li-anguka
8-cups 8SM-three 8SM-pst-fall
'Three cups fell.'
The number in these sentences is reflected in the prefixes, which change
in the singular and plural forms. The numerals 7 and 8 indicate the
gender classes of the nouns. Such participation in what are demonstra-
bly syntactic processes must offer prima facie evidence of the syntactic
nature of the prefixes. Clearly if the constituents of the nouns in Bantu
languages are syntactic elements which combine into a word at the level
of phonology, it raises the legitimate question of whether there is any
need for an independent component of morphology required of gram-
matical theory that is indeed licensed by the linguistic facts. Carstens
pushes the analysis further. She claims that the number and gen-
der informational components, traditionally localized within the noun
class prefixes, are to be separated and located in different components.
She views the noun classes in Bantu as gender based, such that gen-
der is a lexical property of the stems. Number morphology, on the
other hand, is an exponent of a functional head that selects NP com-
plements. She fits number morphology into Determiner Phrase (DP)
structure, with the nominal stem as a selected complement in a syntac-
tic configuration. The noun stem is then raised to be adjoined to the
number determiner to form the noun. Again, the process is syntactic
and there is no evidence afforded for morphological structure that is
not syntactically motivated. Carstens proposal is a radical one and it
certainly calls for major revisions of the standard conceptions of the
analysis of nouns, and nominal structure in general, in Bantu linguis-
tics. Already, arguments against the Myers/Carstens positions have
been advanced. In recent work, Bresnan and Mchombo (1993) take
issue with the syntactic analysis of Bantu noun class prefixes, pointing
out that the predictions such an analysis makes fail to be borne out
and they are directly contradicted by the relevant facts. They argue
 INTRODUCTION I 11

that the facts are explained when the prefixes are analyzed as morpho-
logical elements which combine with the morphological stem to form a
morphological word. Carstens comments on some of their arguments
basing her comments on an earlier version of the paper in which Myers'
proposals were subjected to critical scrutiny. This is definitely an issue
that promises to develop into a topic of sustained controversy in Bantu
linguistics and in linguistic theory.
The question of the separability of morphology from syntax is pur-
sued further in the paper by Mchombo who investigates the binding
of the reflexive and the reciprocal in Chichewa and concludes that,
contrary to the popular treatment of these two as anaphors that are
sensitive to principles of syntactic binding, the data from Chichewa
and other Bantu languages strongly suggest that the reflexive and the
reciprocal are fundamentally different. A proper account of the facts
surrounding the reflexive and the reciprocal, and an account which
might explain the differences in the grammaticalization of these two
in Bantu languages becomes attainable when the distinction between
morphology and syntax is maintained.
It has been customary in linguistic research to subdivide NPs into
the following typological classification: (a) anaphors, (b) pronominals,
and, (c) referring expressions or r-expressions. Anaphors are the NPs
that are bound within an appropriately defined local domain. Within
GB the local domain has, in general, been characterized in terms of
a governor and a c-commanding antecedent. In LFG the domain is
characterized by making reference to f-command relations within a
complete nucleus. The NPs classified as anaphors have traditionally
been the reflexive and the reciprocal. Mchombo argues that the facts
about Chichewa and other Bantu languages show notable differences
between the reflexive and the reciprocal, difference that range from
their semantic interpretation, their sensitivity to and behavior under
different grammatical processes, to their overt grammaticalization. In
brief, while the reflexive is grammaticalized as a verb stem prefix, the
reciprocal is grammaticalized as a verbal suffix. The complementarity
in their structural positions is significant in that the reflexive occupies
the position identified as that of incorporated pronominal arguments
(see Bresnan and Mchombo 1987) whereas the reciprocal patterns with
the argument-structure changing morphology. It is thus argued that
the reciprocal is fundamentally different from the reflexive. The re-
ciprocal, but not the reflexive, falls within the domain of derivational
morphology and of the theory of lexical mapping; the reciprocal is not
sensitive to the principles of binding in the same way that the reflex-
ive is. Semantic differences between them offer further support for the
12 1 THEORETICAL AsPECTS oF BANTU GRAMMAR

claim that these two are different. In light of all this it comes as no
surprise that they are grammaticalized differently. The two should not
be treated as members of the same set. Mchombo argues that the
evidence points to nontrivial differences in the status of these two pro-
cesses in Chichewa. While the reflexive appears to be analyzable as
an argument that is bound to an antecedent subject to domain con-
straints typical of syntactic binding, the reciprocal is argued to be a
detransitivizing morpheme which derives reciprocal verbs. As such the
principles of bound anaphora do not apply equally to the two, and that
a more illuminating account of the facts concerning binding is one that
locates the two in different components of the grammar. The reflex-
ive participates in syntactic binding but the reciprocal is involved in
lexical derivation. The grammaticalization strategies of the language
lend further credence to this. The conclusion drawn from this is that
the observed differences seem to coincide with the distinction between
morphology and syntax. The principles of bound anaphora which ap-
ply to syntactic elements do not apply to the morphological component
as characterized by the domain of morpholexical operations. An illu-
minating account of the facts demand the formalization of a theory of
grammar that provides within its formal architecture for the separation
of these processes. The design principles of the theory of LFG provide
for such a distinction, hence it offers a framework for the explanation
of the facts. Naturally this question of the status of morphology within
linguistic theory and in the description of Bantu languages promises
to constitute the focus of attention in subsequent research. The is-
sues are part of what the contributions by Hyman and Katamba, and
by Progovac, concentrating on the augment in Luganda and Kinande
respectively, have to deal with.
The papers by Hyman and Katamba, and by Progovac, address the
question of the status of the augment found in the nominal morphol-
ogy in such languages as Luganda and Kinande. Hyman and Katamba
discuss the various realizations of the augment and provide arguments,
some of which are based on tonal evidence, for distinguishing a mor-
phosyntactic feature [±A] from the overt realization of the augment.
They conclude, following a very detailed investigation of the distri-
bution and characteristics of the augment, that it is an inflectional
category. However, when it comes to determining the factors that in-
fluence its usage, it turns out to be anything but simple. They argue,
as Progovac equally demonstrates in the next paper, that the aug-
mented nominal is the unmarked case, its morphological markedness
notwithstanding, and that it is the non-augmented nominal which is
marked in that its occurrence requires licensing by some kind of op-
 INTRODUCTION I 13

erator element. They argue that the non-augmented nominal in Lu-

ganda is licensed by one of the operators NEG (negative) and FOC
(focus), while the augmented nominals are self-licensing. While this
may give a seemingly syntactic account of the distribution of the aug-
mented and non-augmented nominals in Luganda, they observe that a
fuller account of the usage of the augment seems to require appeals to
non-syntactic factors as well. Such non-syntactic factors might be se-
mantic or pragmatic. Their account serves to open up, yet once again,
the perennial issue of the extent to which the study of grammatical
phenomena can be conducted independently of aspects of phonology,
meamng or usage.
Progovac argues that in Kinande, just like in Luganda, the pres-
ence or absence of the augment on a noun is sensitive to the presence of
certain operators. In a sense, the situation makes the non-augmented
nouns in Kinande as well as Luganda, assume the character of variables.
Progovac shows that the augmented nouns in Kinande are self-licensing
but the non-augmented nouns are licensed by such operators as nega-
tion, interrogation, conditional, etc. Such licensing makes the non-
augmented NPs behave somewhat like variables. Clearly, this raises
problems for the view that r-expressions are free, which has tradition-
ally been one of the basic principles of the theory of binding. Given
that non-augmented nouns are indeed r-expressions, their requirement
of a licensor runs foul of the principle that applies to such expressions.
How could the situation be explained? Progovac adopts the general-
ized binding framework of Aoun (1985, 1986) and argues that while
r-expressions are characterized as being A(rgument)-free (A-free), the
non-augmented nouns must indeed be treated like variables which is
to say that they are non-Argument (A')-bound. The obvious subclas-
sification of nouns that this analysis proposes raises questions that go
beyond the immediate objectives. In brief, how far can the classifica-
tion of nouns go as other phenomena get uncovered? Besides, given
that in most of the other Bantu languages the augment is no longer
present, why shouldn't its presence be the thing that requires licensing
rather than its absence? In other words, why doesn't the morpholog-
ical markedness that goes with the augment correlate with syntactic
markedness? Could all this have any implications for historical aspects
of Bantu nominal structure? Indeed if the augment is an inflectional
category, as Hyman and Katamba demonstrate, shouldn't its presence
be the thing that is licensed by other syntactic elements within the
construction? There are clearly many more questions that may arise
as the full impact of these conclusions unfolds.
This book offers fresh cross-theoretical perspectives on aspects of
14 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

Bantu grammar. The term 'grammar' was narrowly construed to cover

morphology and syntax. Naturally, given such a narrow construal of
the term, the book excludes by fiat issues pertaining to phonology and
semantics except insofar as they interact with or impinge on gram-
mar. This should not be interpreted as deriving from a lack of interest
in problems of semantics or phonology, or as suggesting that Bantu
languages have little to offer in those areas. On the contrary, Bantu
languages have been central to progress in phonological theory. The
analysis of tones, vowel harmony, etc., very common phonological char-
acteristic of Bantu languages, has been crucial to the articulation of
Autosegmental phonology. Further research into lexical phonology has
been well served by facts about Bantu languages ( cf. Mutaka 1990).
The emphasis on morphology and syntax that characterizes the con-
ception of grammar adopted in this book was dictated in part by ex-
pedience and in part by the conviction that accounts of the current
approaches to grammatical phenomena would inevitably provide fresh
perspectives on the question of how phonology and semantics interface
with grammar. While research into Bantu phonology has commanded
respectable scholastic attention, work on semantics that crucially in-
volves Bantu languages has barely gotten off the ground. It is our hope
that this book will serve as a source of renewed impetus for fresh and
sustained interest in those areas. Certainly most of the papers assem-
bled in this volume point to issues pertaining to phonological matters
that deserve serious investigation. There are also issues relating to
the relation between syntax and semantics that seem to have begun
to spawn research into aspects of the semantics of Bantu languages.
In fact it would seem that research into aspects of the semantics of
Bantu languages, spawned in part by work in this volume, is emerging.
Specifically, Mchombo's paper argues for the treatment of the recipro-
cal as a derivational morpheme that detransitivizes the verb and de-
rives reciprocal verbs. In this respect, the reciprocal in Chichewa lacks
the argument status that its counterpart in English has, which has the
distribution of an NP. Are there any semantic consequences to this vari-
able morphosyntactic realization of the reciprocals? In a recent paper
on reciprocity, Heim, Lasnik, and May (1991, henceforth HLM) pro-
pose to derive the semantics of the reciprocal in English from aspects
of its morphosyntax such that the 'each' part of the English reciprocal
'each other' is treated as a quantifier that moves at LF to have scope
over its variable, and the 'other' part is analyzed as the reciprocator.
Various aspects of the interpretation of reciprocal constructions reduce
to the results of the manipulations of the morphosyntactic structure
of the reciprocal. In a language like Chichewa, which in this respect
 INTRODUCTION I 15

is typical of Bantu linguistic structure, the morphosyntactic realiza-

tion of the reciprocal is radically different. If Mchombo's analysis of
the reciprocal as an intransitivizing morpheme is indeed correct, then
the characterization of the semantics of the reciprocal constructions
could not proceed along the lines proposed for English. Since the al-
gorithm for computing the semantics of the reciprocal in English a la
HLM is not straightforwardly applicable to Chichewa, it might be pre-
dicted that the reciprocal constructions in the two languages should
not have comparable semantics; yet they do. This raises the question
of how the semantics of the reciprocals relates to, or is recoverable
from, the morphosyntax of the reciprocal. These questions have been
taken up in recent work by Dalrymple, Mchombo, and Peters (1992).
These researchers are currently engaged in cross-linguistic studies of
the semantics and morphosyntax of reciprocals in English, Bantu, and
Japanese. The work is in its early stages but it is already shaping
into a line of inquiry that may constitute the focal point of emergent
research into aspects of the semantics of Bantu languages. Again, it
is research whose goals have been affected by or defined with reference
to material in this book. All this suggests that there is a definite need
for companion volumes to this work focusing on aspects of African
language semantics and pragmatics, phonology, and so on, bringing
together current perspectives on these issues, as well as follow-up work
on grammatical theory.
Sam A. Mchombo

References
Alsina, Alex. 1992. Predicate composition: a theory of syntactic function
alternations. Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University.
Aoun, Joseph. 1985. A grammar of anaphora. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT
Press.
Aoun, Joseph. 1986. Generalized Binding. Dordrecht: Foris.
Baker, Mark. 1988. Incorporation: A theory of grammatical function chang-
ing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bresnan, Joan. 1982. Control and complementation. Linguistic Inquiry
13:343-434.
Bresnan, Joan and Sam A. Mchombo. 1987. Topic, pronoun and agreement
in Chichewa. Language 63:741-82.
Bresnan, Joan and Sam A. Mchombo. In preparation. The Lexical Integrity
Principle: Evidence from Bantu. Manuscript, Stanford University and
University of California, Berkeley.
Chomsky, Noam. 1965. Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, Mass.:
The MIT Press.
16 I THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BANTU GRAMMAR

Dalrymple, Mary, Sam A. Mchombo, and Stanley Peters. 1992. Semantic

similarities and syntactic contrasts between Chichewa and English recip-
rocals. To appear in Linguistic Inquiry 25.1.
Harford, Carolyn. 1989. Locative inversion in Chishona. In J. Hutchinson
and V. Manfredi, eds., Current approaches to African linguistics 7:137-
44. Dordrecht: Foris.
Heim, Irene, Howard Lasnik, and Robert May. 1991. Reciprocity and plu-
rality. Linguistic Inquiry 22.1:63-101.
Larson, Richard K. 1988. On the double object construction. Linguistic
Inquiry 19:335-392.
Levin, Lori. 1988. Operations on lexical forms. Unaccusative rules in Ger-
manic languages. New York: Garland.
Mutaka, Ngessimo. 1990. The lexical tonology of Kinande. Doctoral disser-
tation, University of Southern California.
Myers, Scott P. 1987. Tone and the structure of words in Shona. Doctoral
dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Pulleyblank, Douglas. 1986. Tone in lexical phonology. Dordrecht: Reidel.
Sproat, Richard. 1985. On deriving the lexicon. Doctoral dissertation, MIT.
1

Object Asymmetries and the

Chichewa Applicative
Construction
ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. MCHOMBO

1 Introduction
There have been a number of studies devoted to subject-object asym-
metries in natural languages. These studies fall into two categories.
The prevalent approach has been one in which the asymmetries derive
from differences in structural representations ( cf. Baker 1988a, 1988b;
Chomsky 1981; Marantz 1984). In this approach the asymmetries are
a consequence of the fact that the subject is the only argument which
appears outside the VP. Another approach has been developed in which
the asymmetry derives from the relative positions of the arguments in
a hierarchy of thematic roles (cf. Kiparsky 1987, 1988).
Alongside subject-object asymmetries, it has been observed that
there are asymmetries among objects too. Again, the same approaches
have been extended to analyze these asymmetries. The applicative
construction in Bantu languages, such as Chichewa, is a source that
We are grateful to Joan Bresnan for her encouragement and advice at the different
stages of this paper. We also want to thank Mark Baker for his comments, and Jonni
Kanerva for helping with the tone markings in the Chichewa examples. Earlier
versions of this paper were presented at the 19th African Linguistics Conference in
Boston and at the Working Group on Argument Structure and Syntax at Stanford
University, 1988, whose audiences contributed with intelligent comments. Some of
the facts discussed in this paper are presented in Alsina and Mchombo 1990. This
work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant No.
BNS-8609642 and in part by the Center for the Study of Language and Information,
Stanford University. Alex Alsina wishes to acknowledge the support received from
the "La Caixa" Cooperative Fellowship Program.

Theoretical Aspects of Bantu Grammar.

Sam A. Mchombo.
Copyright © 1993, Leland Stanford Junior University.

17
18 I ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. MCHOMBO

manifests such object asymmetries. In this construction, the presence

of the applicative suffix -ir 1 on a verb allows a role which would be
expressed as an oblique, if at all, to be expressed as an object. (la)
and (lb) are examples of nonapplicative and applicative constructions
respectively: 2
(1) a. Chitsiru chi-na-gul-a mphatso
7-fool 7 S-PST-buy-FV 9-gift
'The fool bought a gift.'
b. Chitsiru chi-na-gul-ir-a atsikana mphatso.
7-fool 7 S-PST-buy-AP-FV 2-girls 9-gift
'The fool bought a gift for the girls.'
Baker tried to capture the object asymmetries in the Chichewa ap-
plicative construction in terms of differences in structural representa-
tions. We wish to offer an alternative account which ultimately traces
the different behaviors of objects to different positions in the thematic
hierarchy. 3 A number offacts will point to the superiority of the latter
approach.
We will first give an outline of Baker's theory and his account of the
differences between beneficiary and instrumental applicatives. Then,
our theory will be presented showing how it accounts for the same facts.
Finally, we will offer crucial evidence for evaluating the two approaches.

2 The Structural-Syntactic Approach

The attempt to provide an explanation for asymmetries among objects
in terms of different phrase structure configurations is perhaps best
represented in Baker 1988b. This author observes that the applied
1
The applicative morpheme has two allomorphs, -ir and -er, whose occurrence
is determined by vowel harmony (cf. Mtenje 1985, 1986). -ir will be used as the
citation form.
2
We adhere to Chichewa orthography with the addition of the following tone
markings: ' high, -rise, -fall,- long low, ''long high, and short low is unmarked.
Chichewa has eighteen noun classes, which are denoted by arabic numerals in our
glosses. Parentheses immediately preceded by * indicate it is ungrammatical to
omit the parenthesized material; parentheses without * indicate optionality of the
enclosed material. In such cases, tone markings correspond to the longer grammat-
ical structure. The following abbreviations are used:
S: subject AP: applicative
o: object PAS: passive
PR: present FV: final vowel
PST: past REL: relative
3
This proposal fits in with a tradition of studies in African languages which makes
use of different types of hierarchies (cf. Hawkinson and Hyman 1974, Kidima 1987,
Trithart 1979, etc.). However, we depart in many ways from the existing proposals.
 OBJECT ASYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CONSTRUCTION I 19

object in Chichewa behaves differently in important ways depending

on whether it is a beneficiary or an instrumental. He proposes to
make such differences follow from different D-structure representations
of the two types of arguments. The various principles of Government-
Binding (GB) theory, in which the analysis is presented, ensure that
the observed asymmetries are a consequence of the deeper differences
proposed, which, nevertheless, are not directly observable.
In this section, we shall give a brief outline of Baker's ( 1988b) anal-
ysis of the Chichewa applicatives, and we shall then show how this
analysis accounts for some important asymmetries between beneficiary
and instrumental applied objects.
2.1 Baker's (1988b) Theory
The basic elements of Baker's analysis of applicatives are Theta The-
ory, Case Theory, and the notion of Incorporation.
2.1.1 Theta Theory
Baker assumes that beneficiary and instrumental phrases are argu-
ments of the verb whose D-structure representations differ in that a
beneficiary is the NP complement of a preposition, from which it re-
ceives its 9-role, and an instrumental is an NP sister of the verb, and so
depends only on the verb for its 9-role. This is illustrated in (2). The
presence of instrumental prepositions, in nonapplicative constructions,
at S-structure, is attributed to the requirements of Case Theory.
(2) a. BENEFICIARY b. INSTRUMENTAL

VP VP

V
~
PP NP

~~
~
As (2a) shows, beneficiaries are assigned their 9-role indirectly, since
the verb 9-marks the PP and not the NP itself; in (2b) we see that the
instrumental is 9-marked directly by the verb.
2.1.2 Case Theory
One of the assumptions in GB is that overt NPs must receive abstract
Case in order for the structure to be grammatical. There are two
types of Case that NPs may receive: structural and inherent Case. It
is assumed that all verbs can assign inherent Case in Chichewa and
that only certain verbs (i.e., transitive verbs) can also assign structural
20 I ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. McHOMBO

Case. It follows that ditransitive verbs will assign structural Case to

one of their object NPs and inherent Case to the other.
However, there are differences between structural and inherent
Case: (1) inherent Case is assigned at D-structure and the Case as-
signer must 9-mark the relevant NP, and (2) structural Case is assigned
at S-structure and it requires adjacency of the relevant NP to the Case
assigner.
2.1.3 Incorporation
Incorporation is an instance of the transformation "Move-a" that
moves a word rather than a whole phrase, adjoining it to another
word. The possible movements (where the word comes from and where
it lands) are constrained by the Empty Category Principle (ECP) of
Chomsky (1981). What it amounts to is that the word must move from
the head position of a complement of a given verb to adjoin to that
verb, and so there can be no such movement out of the subject of the
verb, out of a more deeply embedded position within a complement or
out of an adjunct phrase.
2.2 Beneficiary-Instrumental Asymmetries
Given these assumptions and theoretical principles, Baker (1988b) can
account for some interesting asymmetries between beneficiary and in-
strumental applied arguments. These asymmetries concern the classi-
cal diagnostics for objecthood in the Bantu languages: (a) word order,
that is, the ability to follow the verb immediately; (b) object marking,
or, in other words, the possibility of being expressed by means of a
pronominal object prefix; and (c) passivization, that is, the ability to
become the subject when the verb acquires passive morphology. As we
shall see, Baker's analysis predicts a different behavior for the benefi-
ciary and for the instrumental applied arguments with respect to these
three phenomena. In fact, Baker (1988b) also wants to account for
some differences between these arguments with respect to extraction
(Wh-movement) and for certain asymmetries which are attributed to
the transitivity of the basic verb to which the applicative morpheme
attaches. However, a closer look at these facts reveals important weak-
nesses in Baker's analysis, and we shall therefore postpone the discus-
sion of the extraction facts and of the putative transitivity effects to
Sections 4.1 and 4.2.
2.2.1 Word Order
One of the most striking differences between beneficiary and instru-
mental applicatives has to do with the ability of either the applied
argument or the theme or patient (in structures with two objectlike
 OBJECT AsYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CoNSTRUCTION 1 21
arguments) to follow the verb immediately. The beneficiary object
must appear immediately after the verb:
(3) a. Chitslru chi-na-gul-ir-a atsikana mphatso.
7-fool 7 S-PST-buy-AP-FV 2-girls 9-gift
'The fool bought a gift for the girls.'
b. *Chitslru chi-na-gul-ir-a mphats6 atsikana.
7-fool 7 S-PST-buy-AP-FV 9-gift 2-girls
In instrumental applicatives, on the other hand, either the applied
instrumental or the patient or theme can be adjacent to the verb:
(4) a. Anyani a-ku-phwany-ir-a mwala dengu.
2-baboons 2S-PR-break-AP-Fv 3-stone 5-basket
'The baboons are breaking the basket with a stone.'
b. Anyani a-ku-phwany-ir-a dengu mwala.
2-baboons 2S-PR-break-AP-Fv 5-basket 3-stone
This contrast between beneficiary and instrumental applicatives is
accounted for in Baker's theory in the following way. Since beneficiaries
are D-structure prepositional phrases, they are not directly 9-marked
by the verb and cannot, then, be assigned inherent Case; consequently,
beneficiaries must receive structural Case, and, given the adjacency re-
quirement on structural Case, they must appear adjacent to the verb. 4
Therefore, (3b ), where the theme object appears between the verb and
the beneficiary, is ungrammatical because the beneficiary would fail to
receive Case. Instrumentals, however, are postulated to be identical to
patients and themes at D-structure: they are directly 9-marked by the
verb, and, can be assigned inherent Case. This means that, in an in-
strumental applicative, either the instrumental or the patient or theme
will receive structural Case, and, consequently, either will appear in the
4
An anonymous reviewer very appropriately asks "Why doesn't the null benefi-
ciary P Case-mark the beneficiary NP?" Baker (1988a, 1988b) proposes that traces,
lacking in lexical content, cannot assign Case. However, although this proposal
may account for why the beneficiary preposition doesn't assign Case to its object
NP at S-structure, where is it a trace, it does not rule out the possibility that the
beneficiary P might Case-mark its object at D-structure, where it is not a trace. To
our knowledge, no principle, either specific to Baker's theory or general to the GB
framework, would exclude this situation, in which the preposition assigns inherent
or semantic Case to its object at D-structure, even though it subsequently moves
leaving a trace in its place. Given this option, which is not discussed in Baker
1988b, entirely incorrect predictions are derived, since the beneficiary object, be-
ing inherently or semantically Case-marked, would have very different properties
from a structurally Case-marked object, which is what it is assumed to be in Baker
1988b.
22 I ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. MCHOMBO

immediate postverbal position, which accounts for the grammaticality

of both (4a) and (4b).
2.2.2 Object Marking
Beneficiary and instrumental applicatives differ with respect to whether
the applied argument or the patient or theme can be expressed by
means of a pronominal object prefix on the verb. (Notice that, when
an object prefix appears on a verb, the NP that the object prefix agrees
with is optional; in fact, following Bresnan and Mchombo ( 1987), it can
only appear as a topic outside the verb phrase. This is what is rep-
resented by enclosing the agreeing NPs in parentheses in the relevant
examples.) While, in beneficiary applicatives, only the applied argu-
ment can be expressed as an object marker, both the instrumental and
the patient or theme are potentially encoded by an object marker, as
we see in (5) and (6):
(5) a. Chitsiru chi-na-wa-gul-ir-a mphatso (atsikana).
7-fool 7 S-PST-2 0-buy-AP-FV 9-gift 2-girls
'The fool bought a gift for them (the girls).'
b. *Chitsiru chi-na-i-gul-ir-a atsikana (mphatso).
7-fool 7S-PST-90-buy-AP-FV 2-girls 9-gift
(6) a. Anyani a-ku-u-phwany-ir-a dengu (mwala).
2-baboons 2 s-PR-3 o-break-AP-FV 5-basket 3-stone
'The baboons are breaking the basket with it (the stone).'
b. Any ani a-ku-li-phwany-ir-a mwala ( dengu).
2-baboons 2 s-PR-5 o-break-AP-FV 3-stone 5-basket
'The baboons are breaking it (the basket) with the stone.'
Making the assumption that the object prefix is the manifestation
of the structural Case features of the verb, the different behavior of
beneficiary and instrumental applicatives with respect to object mark-
ing follows from the different Case requirements of beneficiary objects,
on the one hand, and of instrumentals, patients and themes, on the
other. Since a beneficiary NP must receive structural Case, and since
Chichewa verbs may assign at most one structural Case, only the ben-
eficiary may be expressed as an object prefix, as in (5a), and never the
patient or theme, as in ( 5b). In instrumental applicatives, either the
instrumental NP or the patient or theme NP may receive structural
Case; so, an object prefix may encode either of these arguments, as
in (6).
 OBJECT ASYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CONSTRUCTION I 23

2.2.3 Passivization
Given the standard GB assumption that passive morphology deprives a
verb of its ability to assign structural Case, Baker's theory also predicts
an asymmetry between beneficiary and instrumental applicatives with
respect to passivization. Since the beneficiary NP must receive struc-
tural Case, once the verb loses the ability to assign structural Case,
it cannot remain in the complement position of the verb, but must
move to the subject position, where it can receive structural Case from
infl. The passivized form of a beneficiary applicative can only have the
beneficiary as its subject, as we see in (7a), and never the patient or
theme, as illustrated in (7b ):
(7) a. Atsikana a-na-gul-ir-idw-a mphatso (ndi chitsiru)
2-gir!s 2 S-PST-buy-AP-PAS-FV 9-gift by 7-fool
'The girls were bought a gift (by the fool).'
b. *Mphatso i-na-gul-ir-idw-a atsikana (ndi chitsiru)
9-gift 9 S-PST-buy-AP-PAS-FV 2-girls by 7-fool
As for the passive form of instrumentals, Baker's theory predicts
two alternative syntactic realizations. Since either the instrumental
or the patient or theme can receive inherent Case, either of these two
arguments should be able to move to the subject position in a passive
structure in order to receive Case from !NFL. In fact, however, only
the instrumental can be the passive subject, as in (8a); the patient or
theme can never be the passive subject of an instrumental applicative,
as shown in (8b):
(8) a. Mwala u-ku-phwany-ir-idw-a dengu (ndi anyani).
3-stone 3 s-PR-break-AP-PAS-FV 5-basket by 2-baboons
'The stone is being used (by the baboons) to break the
basket.'
b. *Dengu li-ku-phwany-ir-idw-a mwala (ndi anyani).
5-basket 5 s-PR-break-AP-PAS-FV 3-stone by 2-baboons
As Baker (1988b, p. 386) points out, "the data only partially sup-
ports the theory in this domain." Although all of the structures ruled
out by the theory are ungrammatical, not all of the structures predicted
to be well-formed are grammatical. In effect, the ungrammaticality of
(8b) remains unexplained, and is left to further research. 5
5
It should be pointed out that Baker also takes into account reciprocal forms since
reciprocal morphology is like passive in that it deprives the verb of its Case assign-
ing properties. Here too, Baker's theory underdeterrnines the actual grammatical
forms: although instrumental applicatives are predicted to correspond to two syn-
tactic structures in the reciprocal voice, only one of them is grammatical-the one
24 I ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. MCHOMBO

3 The Thematic-Lexical Approach

In this section, we shall present a theory which provides a set of princi-
ples for mapping the argument structures of verbs onto (surface) gram-
matical functions, without the intermediacy of a "deep" level of gram-
matical functions. Once the basic elements of the theory are laid out,
it will be shown to explain the properties of the Chichewa applicative
construction. The asymmetries among objects observed in the preced-
ing section will follow not from differences in structural configuration
which are destroyed in the course of the derivation, but from the fact
that the mapping principles treat different thematic roles differently.
3.1 Lexical Mapping Theory
A basic assumption of the Lexical Mapping Theory 6 is that lexical
entries of predicators include a thematic structure with which alterna-
tive syntactic realizations are associated, showing the effects of pas-
sivization, causativization, and other morpholexical rules. The Lexical
Mapping Theory is a principled account of the relationship between
syntactic and thematic structures which consists of the following com-
ponents:
3.1.1 Ordering of Thematic Roles
Thematic roles are ordered within their argument structures accord-
ing to a universal hierarchy of thematic roles. The hypothesis is that
thematic roles are hierarchically related to each other in such a way
that, given any two roles in an argument structure, one will be more
prominent than the other. The thematic hierarchy (see Bresnan and
Kanerva 1989 and references cited there) is assumed to be as follows
(where 'X> Y' means 'X is hierarchically higher than Y'):
(9) ag > ben > gojexp > ins > ptjth > loc
The thematic role structures of individual lexical items will con-
tain a subset of these roles which will be ordered according to the
thematic hierarchy. The motivation for this hierarchy comes from dif-
ferent sources (patterns of idioms and lexicalized expressions, patterns
of noun incorporation, etc.), and is based on the assumption that the
lower roles in the hierarchy are semantically composed with the predi-
cator earlier than higher thematic roles.
in which the patient or theme is understood to be coreferential with the agent. As
observed by Trithart (1976, p. 16) and Baker (1988b, p. 387), pragmatic factors rule
out the interpretation in which the agent and the instrumental are coreferential.
6
Many ideas which have led to the present formulation of the theory can be found
in Levin 1987 and Bresnan and Kanerva 1989.
 OBJECT ASYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CONSTRUCTION I 25

3.1.2 Decomposition of Syntactic Functions

Syntactic functions are classified according to the features [±r] (the-
matically restricted or not) and [±o] (objective or not). Intuitively,
the restrictedness of a syntactic function refers to whether it can only
be linked to a specific set of thematic roles ([+r]) or whether it can be
associated with any thematic role ([-r]); objective ([+o]) functions are
those which are selected by transitive categories of predicators (Verb
and Preposition) and which cannot appear with intransitive categories.
Combining these two functional features with different assignments of
values, we get four different types of syntactic functions:
(10)
[=~ ] SUBJ [ ~: ] OBL9

[ ~~ ] OBJ [ ~~ ] OBJe

This classification allows us to make reference to natural classes of

syntactic functions:
(11) (-oj = SUBJ, OBLe (-rj = SUBJ, OBJ

[+oj = OBJ, OBJ9 (+rj = OBJe, OBL9

Note that the subscripted 9 with which we represent the restricted
functions oblique and restricted object is an abbreviatory convention
which stands for specific thematic roles (depending on the language):
so, for example, OBLag and OBL 90 are different syntactic functions
which can be abbreviated as OBLe, and similarly with functions like
OBJth and OBJin•.

3.1.3 Assignment of Functional Values

This functional underspecification allows different aspects of the argu-
ment structure to determine part of the mapping of thematic roles to
grammatical functions: one functional feature value is assigned on the
basis of the intrinsic properties of the thematic role, and another may
be assigned on the basis of its position relative to the other roles of the
predicator. We shall call the first type of assignment of functional val-
ues the intrinsic classification of thematic roles, and the second type
the default classification.
The intrinsic classification (IC) of a thematic role is sensitive to
whether it is an internal argument or not. The prototypical internal
arguments are the patient and the theme, but applied arguments, and
causees in direct causation are also internal.
26 / ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. McHOMBO

(12) Internal Argument IC

a. e b. e~go

I I
[-r] [+o]
All internal arguments can receive the IC [-r], shown in (12a).
This IC embodies the generalization that these roles alternate between
the unrestricted grammatical functions OBJ and SUBJ, typically the
former in active transitive sentences and the latter in passives and un-
accusatives. A subset of the internal arguments, those which are hier-
archically lower than the goal, are also eligible for the IC [+o] in (12b).
This intrinsic classification allows some of the internal arguments to be
encoded as OBJe.
There is evidence that Chi chew a has a constraint on the assignment
of the internal argument ICs such that only one of each (one intrinsic
[-r] and one intrinsic [+o]) can be assigned per argument structure.
This constraint accounts for several important facts of the syntax of
Chichewa, notably:
a. The fact that Chichewa verbs can take at most two objects.
b. The fact that passives cannot take object prefixes (see Section
3.2.2).
c. The properties of indefinite object deletion constructions (see
Section 4.2).
Although this IC constraint (restricting the assignment of the two
internal argument ICs to once for each argument structure) is very gen-
eral crosslinguistically, it is a parameter of variation across languages
(cf. Bresnan and Moshi, this volume).
Thematic roles that are not internal arguments are classified by the
"elsewhere" intrinsic classification:
(13) Elsewhere IC
e
I
[-o)
Thematic roles classified by this principle will alternate between
the nonobjective functions SUBJ and OBLe. The actual realization as
one or the other of these functions will depend on the default classi-
fications, which are sensitive to the hierarchical position of the role
in the argument structure. Once all thematic roles have been intrin-
sically classified, and all morpholexical operations (if any) have been
performed on the argument structure, the default classifications supply
 OBJECT ASYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CONSTRUCTION I 27

some of the unspecified functional values: the highest theta role (il) is
unrestricted ([-r]), and other roles are restricted ([+r]).
(14) Defaults
a. e b. e
I I
[-r] [+r]
These default principles express the fact that, in the unmarked case,
the highest thematic role is the subject, and other roles, if possible, are
restricted functions ( OBJe and OBLe ). Chichewa requires an additional
default principle which ensures that a theme or patient be mapped onto
an objective function in the presence of a higher objective argument,
as in (15). (The need for this default will become clear when discussing
passive forms of instrumental applicatives in Section 3.2.3.)
( 14) Defaults
c. <... e ptjth ... >
[+o] I
[+o]
Syntactic classifications are constrained by the principle of preserva-
tion of information: they cannot change existing features. So, a default
principle will fail to apply to a role which is already classified with the
opposite feature value to that which the default principle assigns.
3.1.4 Well-formedness Conditions
The fully specified lexical forms, which are the output of the lexical
mapping principles, have to satisfy the following well-formedness con-
ditions:
(15) (i) Subject Condition: every (verbal) lexical form must have a
subject; and
(ii) Function-Argument Biuniqueness: each expressed lexical
role is associated with a unique function, and conversely.
3.1.5 Morpholexical Operations
Morpholexical operations change some aspect of the argument struc-
ture, for example, by adding or suppressing a thematic role. The two
morpholexical processes we shall be concerned with in this paper are
Passive and Applicative.
The effect of the Passive is to suppress the highest thematic role of
a verb: 7
7
We can assume that a suppressed role (unless bound to another role, as in the
case of reciprocals) may be expressed by means of an optional adjunct, thematically
bound to the suppressed role.
28 /ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. McHOMBO

(16) Passive
9
I
0
The effect of the Applicative is to introduce a new internal ar-
gument into the argument structure of a verb. It thus allows a role
that would be expressed as an oblique, if at all, to be expressed as a
direct argument. The theta roles that the Applicative can affect in
this way are those which in many languages are expressed as obliques
(adpositional or semantically case-marked phrases) and which are of-
ten optional arguments of the verb: beneficiaries, goals, instrumentals,
etc. The notation 9appl is an abbreviation for- any of the theta roles
that an applied argument may bear.
(17) Applicative
0
~
< ... 9appl ... >
Since arguments introduced by this operation are internal arguments,
they are subject to the Internal Argument IC principle (12).
3.2 Beneficiary-Instrumental Asymmetries Revisited
The basic facts about beneficiary and instrumental applicatives in
Chi chew a, presented earlier, are accounted for by the Lexical Mapping
Theory.
3.2.1 Word Order
The fact that a theme object must follow a beneficiary object, but
needn't follow an instrumental object is a consequence of the different
ICs available to the different thematic roles, by principle (12). While
an applied beneficiary can only receive the [-r] IC, an applied instru-
mental, like a theme, being hierarchically lower than the goal, has the
[+o] IC option available, as well as the general [-r]. Consequently,
beneficiary applicatives have one single mapping of syntactic functions
to thematic roles:
(18) gul-ir 'buy for'
< ag ben th >
IC: -o -r +o
Defaults: -r +r
s S/0 Oe
W.F.: s 0 Oe
 OBJECT ASYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CONSTRUCTION I 29

while instrumental applicatives have two alternative mappings:

(19) phwany-ir 'break with'
a. < ag InS th > b. < ag InS th >
IC: -o -r +o -o +o -r
Defaults: -r +r -r +r +o
s S/0 Oe s Oe 0
W.F.: s 0 Oe s Oe 0
(18) shows that a beneficiary internal argument must be the unre-
stricted object of an active form, and that a cooccurring theme must
be a restricted object. It is commonly assumed in work on multiple
objects that the primary object, or unrestricted object in the present
theory, is adjacent to the verb (see Bresnan and Moshi, this volume).
Given this word order constraint, the beneficiary object, as the unre-
stricted object, will appear adjacent to the verb and will, therefore,
precede the restricted object-the theme object in (18). On the other
hand, we see in (19) that instrumental applicatives have two alternative
mappings-one in which the instrumental is an unrestricted object and
one in which it is a restricted object. A cooccurring theme alternates
between the same functions, complementarily. Therefore, by the word
order principle, either the instrumental object can precede the theme,
or VIce versa.
3.2.2 Object Marking
It is generally assumed in the literature on Bantu that only the pri-
mary object, or unrestricted object, may be represented by means of
an object prefix (see Bresnan, and Moshi this volume). Given this
assumption, it follows from the different mapping possibilities of bene-
ficiary and instrumental applicatives that only the applied argument in
the former, but either the applied argument or the theme in the latter
can be expressed as an object prefix. Since only the applied beneficiary
can be the unrestricted object, as we see in (18), that's the only the-
matic role that can be represented by an object prefix in a beneficiary
applicative. In instrumental applicatives, however, either the instru-
mental ( 19a) or a cooccurring theme ( 19b) can be the unrestricted
object; so, either can be replaced by an object prefix.
As a consequence of the IC constraint, once a form undergoes pas-
sivization, it cannot take an object prefix. This is exemplified by (20):
(20) a. Atsikana a-na-phik-ir-idw-a nyemba.
2-girls 2 S-PST-cook-AP-PAS-FV 10-beans
'The girls were cooked beans.'
30 I ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. MCHOMBO

b. *Atsikana a-na-zi-phik-ir-idw-a (nyemba).

2-girJs 2 S-PST-1 0 0-cook-AP-PAS-FV 10-beans
(20a) is a passive of a ditransitive verb, in which one of the internal
arguments-atsikana 'girls'-appears as the subject, and the other-
nyemba 'beans'-as an NP following the verb. The ungrammaticality
of (20b) shows that it is not possible to have an object prefix in a
passive verb, which indicates that the object nyemba in (20a) is not an
unrestricted object and, so, cannot be replaced by an object prefix.
3.2.3 Passivization
The asymmetries between these two types of applicatives disappear
when they undergo passivization. In spite of the fact that the different
ICs available to beneficiaries and to instrumentals and patient/themes
might lead us to expect one passive form for beneficiary applicatives
and two for instrumental applicatives, both types have only one passive
form-one in which the applied argument is the subject. This is to be
expected in the case of a beneficiary applicative, since only the applied
role receives an intrinsic classification that allows it to surface as a
subject: 8
(21) gul-ir 'buy for'
< ag ben th >
IC: -o -r +o
Passive: 0
Defaults: +r
s Oe
W.F.: s Oe
In instrumental applicatives, however, since either the instrumental
or the theme, if there is one, can receive the [-r] IC, we might expect it
to be possible for either role to surface as the passive subject. The fact
that only the instrumental can be the passive subject, as in (22a), is
a consequence of the existence of the special default rule (14c), which
ensures that a patient/theme must be an object (restricted or not) in
the presence of a higher objective argument. When a patient/theme in
an instrumental applicative is intrinsically [-r], by this default it can
only surface as an object. Since the instrumental is also objective, the
form has no subject when it undergoes passivization, and so is ruled
out by the well-formedness conditions, as we see in (22b ): 9
8
The subject default (14a) has no visible effect in passives, since the role it applies
to, the highest thematic role, has been suppressed by the passive rule.
9 0ne might argue, as pointed out by a reviewer, that default principle (14c) is
merely a formal statement of the fact that a theme cannot be the passive subject
 OBJECT AsYMMETRIES AND THE APPLICATIVE CoNSTRUCTION / 31

(22) phwany-ir 'break with'

a. < ag ms th > b.< ag ms th >
IC: -o -r +o -0 +o -r
Passive: 0 0
Defaults: +r +r +o
s 09 09 0
W.F.: s 09 *
4 Crucial Evidence
Although Baker's structural-syntactic approach and our thematic-
lexical approach account for the data presented so far to an appre-
ciably identical degree of explanatoriness, there are some other facts
concerning applicatives which will crucially distinguish between the
two theories in descriptive and explanatory adequacy. These sources
of crucial evidence are (a) extraction facts, (b) transitivity effects, and
(c) locative applicatives. Baker ( 1988b) interpreted the first two as
providing support for his proposed D-structure difference between ben-
eficiaries and instrumentals; a closer look at them will show not only
that they do not provide such support, but that they argue against
that proposal. Baker ( 1988b) didn't look at locative applicatives, but
when they are brought into the picture, they can be seen to behave in
a radically different way from what one is led to expect, given Baker's
assumptions about D-structure. All of these facts are explained in a
very simple and straightforward way by the Lexical Mapping Theory,
and thus constitute strong support for this theory.
4.1 Extraction Facts
One of the important asymmetries between beneficiary and instru-
mental applicatives that Baker (1988b) observed concerns how Wh-
movement affects the different objects of these constructions. While
extracting a patient or theme is possible both in a beneficiary applica-
tive (23a) and in an instrumental applicative (24a), there is a difference
in grammaticality in the extraction of their applied arguments.
(23) a. lyi ndi mphatso imene chitsiru chi-na-gul-ir-a
9-this be 9-gift 9-REL 7-fool 7 S-PST-buy-AP-FV
atsikana.
2-girls
'This is the gift that the fool bought for the girls.'
of an instrumental applicative. Rather than thinking of it as a language-particular
"glitch", we hope it will be reducible to some deeper principle of the organization
of language.
32 I ALEX ALSINA AND SAM A. MCHOMBO

b. *Awa ndi atsikana amene chitsiru chi-na-gul-ir-a

2-these be 2-girls 2-REL 7-fool 7S-PST-buy-AP-FV
mphatso.
9-gift
'These are the girls that the fool bought the gift for.'
(24) a. IIi ndi dengu limene anyani a-ku-phwany-ir-a
5-this be 5-basket 5-REL 2-baboons 2 s-PR-break-AP-FV
mwala.
3-stone
'This is the basket that the baboons are breaking with a
stone.'
b. Dwu ndi mwala umene anyani a-ku-phwany-ir-a
3-this be 3-stone 3-REL 2-baboons 2 s-PR-break-AP-FV
dengu.
5-basket
'This is the stone that the baboons are breaking the
basket with.'
These examples show that a beneficiary object cannot be extracted
(23b), while an instrumental can (24b). As Baker (1988b) correctly
noted, this contrast arises not only when the structure has another
objectlike argument, in addition to the applied argument, but also
when the applied object is the only objectlike argument of the verb.
Whatever the explanation for this contrast is, it cannot refer to the
fact that, for example, we cannot extract the first of two unmarked
NPs after the verb, since that would not account for the cases in which
the applied argument is the only NP after the verb.
Baker argues that we can use the different structure proposed
for beneficiaries, on the one hand, and for instrumentals and pa-
tients/themes, on the other, to capture the fact that the former cannot
be extracted, while the latter can. When a beneficiary is extracted
as a relative pronoun, a structure is created in which the trace of the
relative pronoun is the object of a null preposition, as shown in (25a);
this situation does not arise when what is extracted is an instrumen-
tal or a patient/theme, as schematized in (25b ), because there is no
preposition.
(25) a. (s• RELj ... V-AP; [PP t; tj] ... ]
b. [s, RELj ... V-AP tj ... ]
Taking up an existing proposal in the literature ( cf. Czepluch 1982),
Baker argues that the extraction of the beneficiary is blocked by a
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
A, with, as abachétta, with a wand or staffe, a fórza, with force, or
forcibly, a sufficiénza, with sufficience, or sufficiently.
Ab, vsed before, antiquo, espẻrto, etẻrno, by, from, of.
Abacáre, as Abbacáre.
Abacchiére, a caster of accounts.
Abachísta, idem.
Ábaco, as Ábbaco.
Abacináre, as Abbacináre.
Abacinaménto, as Abbacinaménto.
Abacchétta, with a wand or commanding staffe of auctoritie.
Abáculi, counting rundles, or counters.
Abáda, as Abbáda.
Abadáre, as Abbadáre.
Abadéssa, an Abbesse.
Abadía, an abbie.
Abadiále, abbot-like.
Abaiaménti, as Abbaiaménti.
Abaiáre, as Abbaiáre.
Abalroáre, as Balroáre.
Abampáre, as Abbampáre.
Abampóso, as Abbampóso.
Abandonáre, as Abbandonáre.
Abandóno, as Abbandóno.
Abantíquo, of old, of yore, in ancient time, from antiquity.
Abardósso, bare-backt, without a saddle.
Abaruffáre, to ruffle together, to bicker.
Abásso, below, beneath.
Abastánza, enough, sufficiently.
Abastáre, to suffice, to be enough.
Abáte, an abbot.
Abatéssa, an abbesse.
Abatía, an abbie.
Abattúta, orderlie, in proportion, as musitians keepe time.
Abauáre, to slauer, to driuell.
Ábba, a Syrian word, father, or dad.
Abbabáre, to astonish, to amaze, also to loiter about idely.
Abbacáre, to number or cast account, also to prie into or seeke out with
diligence.
Abbachiére, an arithmetician or caster of accounts.
Abbachísta, idem.
Abbacinaménto, a blinding, a dazeling, a glimmering, a blearing.
Abbacinánza, idem.
Abbacináre, to blinde, to dazle, to glimmer, to glimpse, to bleare, to dim.
Ábbaco, arithmeticke. Also a deske, a cabinet, or a casket. Also a court-
cupboord, or counting table. Also a chesse-boord, a paire of playing-
tables, also a quadrant, or base, or square of a pillar below, which may
serue to sit vpon. Also a merchants booke of accounts, a shop-booke, or
counter.
Abbáda, at a bay, at a stay, in delay, in hope, aloofe of; leasurely, with
expectation.
Abbadáre, to keepe at a bay or stay, or delay; also to delay, to demurre, to
prolong, to hold or put off; also to attend or wait on.
Abbadéssa, an abbesse, or Ladie of an abbie.
Abbadía, an abbie.
Abbagliággine, as Abbacinaménto.
Abbagliaménto, idem.
Abbagliáre, as Abbacináre.
Abbái, barkings, houlings, or bayings of a dog. Also malitious railings, idle
pratings, vaine brags, detractions, skoldings.
Abbáia, as Abbái.
Abbaiaménti, as Abbái.
Abbaiáre, to barke, to houle, to bay or quest as a dog, also by metaphor
to prate or speake, or brag idely, also to raile or detract, to skold at.
Abbaiatóre, a barker, a houler, a baier, or quester as a dog; also a pratler, a
boaster, a railer, a detractor, an idle speaker, a skolder.
Abbalordiménto, as Balordía.
Abbalordíre, dísco, díto, as Balordíre.
Abbambagiáre, to bumbast, also to stuffe or quilt with bumbasin or such
like.
Abbampáre, to flame, to flash, to blaze.
Abbampóso, flamie, blazing, flashie.
Abbandonáre, to abandon, to forsake, to leaue, to refuse, to cast off.
Abbandonatíssimo, vtterly abandoned, most forsaken, wholly forlorne.
Abbandóno, abandoning, refusall, leauing off, forsaking. Also at random, in
forsaken or vnregarded manner.
Abbarbagliaménto, as Abbacinaménto.
Abbarbagliáre, as Abbacináre.
Abbarbáglio, as Abbacinaménto.
Abbarbicáre, to take root, to clinch or twine about.
Abbardáre, to bard, to trap, or caparison a horse.
Abbáre, as Abbaiáre.
Abbarráre, to barre, to embarre, to baricado.
Abbaruffaménto, a bickering, or falling to blowes. Also a touzing or
ruffling. Also a singing, a scorching or smoking with fire.
Abbaruffáre, to cause or breed a quarrell, to set together by the eares;
also to touze or ruffle; also to singe, to scorche or smoke with fire.

Abbassaménto, an abasing, a depressing, a bringing low, an humbling.

Abbassáre, to abase, to depresse, to suppresse, to bring low, to stoope, to
decline, to bend downe, to descend, to humble, to submit, to prostrate,
to alay.
Abbasséuole, that may be abased, or brought low.
Abbastardiménto, a bastardizing, an adulterating, a degenerating.
Abbastardíre, dísco, díto, to bastardize, to degenerate, to adulterate.
Abbastionáre, to embastion, to entrench, to enskonce, to emblocke.
Abbastionéuole, that may be entrenched, enskonced, or emblocked.
Abbáte, an abbot.
Abbateggiáre, to play the abbot or lazie Churchman.
Abbatéssa, an abbesse.
Abbatiále, abbot-like, or belonging to an abbie.
Abbáttere, bátto, battéi, battúto, to abate, to beat, throw, or cast downe,
to depresse, to suppresse, to ouerthrow; also to meet, to light, to fall, to
come, or happen on, with, or vpon by chance, and casually.
Abbáttersi con qualcúno, to meet with some body by chance.
Abbattiménto, an abatement, an encounter, an assault, a fight, a combat,
an ouerthrow, a depressing; also a meeting with, or lighting vpon by
chance, also a chance, a hap or casualty.
Abbattitóre, an encounter, a combatant, an abater, an ouerthrower.
Abbatutaménte, met by chance, or casually, also ouerthrowingly.
Abbauáre, to slauer or driuell.
Abbegliaménti, as Abbigliaménti.
Abbegliáre, as Abbigliáre.
Abbẻlláre, as Abbẻllíre, also to sooth vp, or please ones mind.
Abbẻlliménto, an embellishment, a beautifying. Also painting that women
vse.
Abbẻllíre, lísco, líto, to embellish, to beautifie, to decke, to adorne, to
decore, to make faire.
Abbẻluardáre, to embulwarke, to fortifie, to enskonce.
Abbendáre, as Bendáre.
Abbentáre, to rest, to be quiet, to be glad, to reioice, to enioy.
Abbẻrfáre, to besprinkle, to spirt.
Abbẻrfatióne, a besprinkling, an asperging, a spirting.
Abbẻrgáre, as Albẻrgáre.
Abbẻrgo, as Albẻrgo.
Abbẻrsagliáre, as Bẻrsagliáre.
Abbestiáre, to embeast, or become beast.
Abbeueráre, to water cattell.
Abbeueratóio, a watring place, or trough for cattell.

Abbiadáto, prouendred, fed with oats.

Abbianchíre, chísco, chíto, to whiten, to blanch.
Abbicáre, to heape together as hay-cocks.
Abbiccáre, idem.
Abbicí, an a, b, c, booke for children to learne, an alphabet.
Abbiẻndo, hauing.
Abbiẻntáre, to enable, to make capable or fit for.
Abbiẻnte, able, capable.
Abbiẻttáre, to abiect, to reiect.
Abbiẻttióne, abiection, vilitie, basenesse of courage.
Abbiẻtto, abiect, base, vile.
Abbigiáre, to make or become gray.
Abbigliaménti, raiments, attires, apparrells, clothings, ornaments,
embellishments.
Abbigliáre, to array, to attire, to apparrell, to cloth, to adorne, to embellish,
to make red.
Abbisognáre, to need, or be needfull.
Abbisognáto, needed, brought or made needy.
Abbisógno, need or necessity.
Abbisognóso, needy, full of want.
Abbiosciággine, deiection, cowardise, faint-heartednesse.
Abbiosciáre, to deiect, to make or become faint hearted.
Abbiosciáto, deiected, made or become faint hearted.
Abbissáre, to engulphe, to sinke or throw downe as into hell, or deepe and
bottomlesse pit.
Abbísso, an abisse, a hell, a gulphe, a bottomlesse pit, a deepe, an infinit
gathering of water.
Abbitumáre, to bepitch, to ciment, or clam together.
Abboccaménto, a parly, an enteruiew, a meeting face to face, or mouth to
mouth, a speaking face to face. Also an en-mouthing.
Abboccáre, to parly or speake together, to come mouth to mouth, or face
to face. Also to enmouth, or put to the mouth.
Abboccatóio, the mouth of a limbecke or furnace.
Abboccatóre, a broker, a daies-man, one that brings men to speake
together.
Abbocconáre, to morsell, to mince, or shred in peeces.
Abbollíre, lísco, líto, to abolish, to abrogate, to disanull, to cancell.
Abbollitióne, an abolishing, an abrogation, a cancelling, a disanulling.
Abbominándo, abhominable, loathsome, detestable.
Abbominánza, abhomination, detestation, loathsomnesse.

Abbomináre, to abhor, to haue in abhomination, to loath, to detest.

Abbominatióne, idem.
Abbominéuole, as Abbominándo.
Abbomínio, as Abbominánza.
Abbominóso, as Abbominándo.
Abbonacciáre, to calme, to appease, to asswage, to quiet.
Abbonaménto, a making good, a ripening. Also an asswaging, a calming.
Abbonáre, idem; also to make good, or seasonable. Also to ripen.
Abbonéuole, that may be made good, or that may be calmed.
Abboniménto, as Abbonaménto.
Abboníre, nísco, níto, as Abbonáre.
Abbordáre, to goe neere the shore. Also to bond or grapple with a ship.
Abbórdo, a boording or grapling of ships.
Abborracciaménto, a stuffing, or quilting, a botching or clouting, a
bungling of any thing, a hudling vp. Also a mumbling or thicke speaking.
Also a being drunke.
Abborracciáre, as Abborráre; also to make or become drunke.
Abborraménto, as Abboracciaménto.
Abborráre, to stuffe or quilt, to botch, or bungle, to huddle vp; also to
mumble in speech, or speake faltringly.
Abbortáre, to be deliuered abortiuely, to cast vntimely, to be borne out of
time.
Abbortióne, an abort or vntimelie birth.
Abbortíre, tísco, títo, as Abbortáre.
Abbortíuo, abortiue, vnseasonable, monstrous, vntimely borne, out of
time.
Abbórto, idem.
Abbottare, to swell or become toad-like. Also to puffe vp with spite or
pride.
Abbottinaménto, a mutiny, an vprore, a disordering; also a boot-haling, or
booty.
Abbottinare, to mutiny, to praie, to rob, to spoile, to seduce, to goe a
freebooting.
Abbottinatóre, a mutinous or seditious man.
Abbozzaménto, a first, rough, or imperfect draught; also a swelling to a
bile or botch.
Abbozzáre, to rough-hew or cast any first draught, to bungle vp ill
fauouredly. Also to swell as a byle or botch.
Abbozzatóre, a rough, vnskilfull caster or drawer of any thing.
Abbozzatúra, as Abbozzaménto.
Abbózzo, as Abbozzaménto.
Abbracciaménti, embracements, claspings, collings, huggings.

Abbracciáre, to embrace, to claspe, to coll, to hug.

Abbracciáta, an embracing, an armefull.
Abbracciatóie, a kind of tongs, mullets, or pincers, that goldsmiths vse.
Abbráccii, as Abbracciaménti.
Abbragiáre, to set on fire, to glow, to burne to embers, to enkindle.
Abbreuiaménto, an abbreuiating.
Abbreuiáre, to abreuiate, to shorten, to abridge.
Abbreuiatióne, an abreuiation.
Abbreuiatúra, idem.
Abbrigliaménto, a brideling, a curbing, a snaffling.
Abbrigliáre, to bridle, to curbe, to snaffle.
Abbrigliatúra, idem.
Abbriuidáre, to benum or stiffen with cold.
Abbronzacchiáre, to sunne-burne, to tanne, to skorche, to singe, to skald,
to parch, to blast; also to haue the meat sticke to the pot, for want of
liquor.
Abbronzacchiáto, sunne-burnt, tanned, skorched, singed, skalded,
parched.
Abbronzáre, as Abbronzacchiáre.
Abbrugiáre, as Abrusciáre, to burne.
Abbruníre, nísco, níto, to burnish, to make or become browne, duskie, or
darke.
Abbruscáre, to ensowre; also to frowne or skoule; also to skorche or
singe.
Abbrusciáre, to burne, as Abrusciáre.
Abbrustáre, as Abbrustoláre.
Abbrustíre, tísco, títo, as Abbrustoláre.
Abbrustoláre, to burne, to singe, to tost, to skorche, to blast, to seare, to
parche.
Abbrutáre, to make or become brutish.
Abbruttáre, to foule, to defile, to pollute.
Abbuiáre, to darken, to obscure, to duskie.
Abbuíre, ísco, íto, as Abbuiáre.
Abbuoníre, nísco, níto, as Abbonáre.
Abburattáre, to bolt meale.
Abburattaménto, a boulting.
Abburattóio, a bolter.
Abdicáre, to forsake or renounce.
Abdicatióne, a renouncing or forsaking.
Abdómen, the outward part of the belly betweene the nauell and priuie
members, and couereth all the entrailes. Also the fat or sewet of a sow
that is found between the flanke, and body.
Abdúto, led, remooued or caried away. Also lawlesse, or exempt from
lawes.
Abecè, the A, B, C, or Criscrosse-row.
Abecedáre, to alphabet or abee-cee.
Abecedário, a teacher or learner of A, B, C. Also a horne-booke, or A-bee-
cee-booke.
Abedário, as Abecedário.

Abedáre, as Abecedáre.
A bẻll'ágio, at faire leasure, leasurely.
A bẻlla pósta, for the verie nonce, purposely, wittinglie, expreslie.
A bẻl stúdio, as A bẻlla pósta.
Abẻllíne, a kind of fill-birds, or small-nuts.
Abenchè, although, albeit.
A bendẻlle, with bendlets in armory.
Abentáre, as Abbentáre.
Abénto, vsed for Atténto.
Abẻrráre, to stray or wander vp and downe.
A bẻrtolótto, scotfree, without paiment, fidlers fare, meat, drinke and
mony.
Ab espẻrto, by experience, by proofe.
Abestóne, a kind of blackish stone.
Abẻte, the tree or wood called Firre.
Abẻto, idem.
Ab etẻrno, of yore, from all eternitie.
Abgiuráre, to abiure, to forsweare.
Abgiuratióne, an abiuring, or forswearing.
Abhorréuole, loathsome, to be abhorred.
Abhorriménto, abhorring, loathsomnesse.
Abhorríre, rísco, ríto, to abhorre, to loath.
Abiccáre, as Abbiccáre.
Abiẻttaménte, abiectly, basely, contemptibly, scornfully.
Abiẻttáre, to abiect, to dispise, to scorne, to outcast, to contemne.
Abiẻttióne, abiection, basenesse, scorne, contempt.
Abiẻtto, abiect, base, vile, outcast, scorned.
Abíga, Iuie, or ground frankinsense.
Abigáre, to twine or bind about, as Iuie.
Ábile, able, sufficient.
Abilità, ablenesse, abilitie.
Abilitáre, to enable.
Abilẻo, a kind of fine, soft, and best spunge.
Ab inítio, from the beginning.
A bisdósso, bare-backt, looke Caualcáre.
Abissáre, as Abbissáre.
Abísso, as Abbísso.
Abísto, a stone which being once heated keepes his heat eight daies.
Abitábile, enhabitable.
Abitácolo, an habitation, a dwelling.
Abitánte, a dweller, an enhabitant.
Abitánza, a dwelling, an inhabitation.
Abitáre, to dwell, to inhabit, to win.
Abitatióne, a dwelling, an habitation.
Abitatíuo, inhabiting, dwelling.
Abitẻllo, any kind of little weede or habit.
Ábito, as Hábito.
Abitúdine, as Habitúdine.

Abitúro, as Habitúro.
Ablatíuo, the Ablatiue case of taking away.
Abláto, caried away by force, or violently.
Abnegáre, to deny, to abiure.
Abnegatióne, a denying, an abiuring.
A bócca, by word of mouth, by mouth.
A bócca piéna, with full mouth.
A bócca baciáta, as easie as to kisse my mouth, that is to say with thanks.
Abócco, a kind of waight or coine.
Abolatíuo, looke vẻrme.
Abólla, a Senators habite, a furred garment vsed anciently by Kings and
Philosophers.
Abollíre, as Abbollíre.
Abollitióne, as Abbollitióne.
Abómba, is properly the place, where children playing hide themselues, as
at a play called king by your leaue. Some call it Gióstra prigioniéra: it is
also prouerbially vsed of them that in hard enterprises keepe their wits
 about them. It is also a mans home or dwelling. Also as we vse to say:
Home againe home againe, market is done. Also soked or laid in steepe.
Abombáre, to steepe or lay in soke, looke Abómba.
Abominándo, as Abbominándo.
Abominánza, as Abbominánza.
Abomináre, as Abbomináre.
Abominatióne, as Abbominatióne.
Abominéuole, as Abbominéuole.
Abomínio, as Abbomínio.
Abominóso, as Abbominóso.
Abonaménto, as Abbonaménto.
Abonáre, as Abbonáre.
Abondánte, abundant, plenteous.
Abondanteménte, abundantly, plenteously.
Abondánza, abundance, plenty, store.
Abondanziére, one that hath the charge to looke to the store of victualls in
a citty or campe, and to prouide plenty of prouision, a victualer.
Abondáre, to abound, to haue plenty.
Abondéuole, abundant, plentifull.
Abondóso, abundant, plenteous.
Abonéuole, that may be made good.
Abordáre, as Abbordáre.
Abórdo, as Abbórdo.
Aborráre, to stuffe or guilt. Also to abhorre.
Abortáre, as Abbortáre.
Abortíre, as Abbortáre.
Abortióne, as Abbortióne.
Abortíuo, as Abbortíuo.
Abosimáre, as Bosimáre.
Abotáre, to vowe or promise vnto.
A bótta, made like the back of a toad, as some breast plates be.
A bótta di fíco, look Tiráre a bótta di fico.
Abottinaménto, as Abbottinaménto.
Abottináre, as Abbottináre.
Abottíno, mutinously, a boot-haling, a freebooting.
Abozzaménto, as Abbozzaménto.
Abozzáre, as Abbozzáre.
Abozzatóre, as Abbozzatóre.
Abozzatúra, as Abbozzatúra.
A bráccia apẻrte, with open armes.
A bráccia quádre, with vnfolded armes.
A brága, with a breeche, as some pieces are.
Abráme, a fish called a breame.
A bráno, by piece-meale, by mamocks.
A bráno a bráno, idem.
Abrenúzzo, as Abronúntio.
A bríglia sciólta, in full speed, vnbrideledly.
Abriólo, a singing Canary bird.
Abristicáre, as Abbrustoláre.
A brócca. Nemíco a brócca, an enemy from the lance to the bodkin or
nailes point.
Abrocáre, to become hoarce. Also to snort.
Abrodiẻto, fine, delicate and sumptuous.
Abrogáre, as Abbollíre.
Abrogatióne, as Abbollitióne.
Abronúntia, hath beene vsed for a whirret on the eare, or any other
meanes to rid one away, as one would say, a casting of.
Abrostína, a kind of wild wine or grape.
Abrótano, the herb southernwood.
Abruciáre, as Abrusciáre.
Abruggiáre, to burne, as Abrusciáre.
A brúno, vestíto a brúno, clad in mourning or blacke.
Abrúsca, any wild wine or grape.
Abruscáre, to make sowre or sharpe. Also to seare, to parch, to scorch, to
singe.
Abrusciáre, to burne or consume with fire. Also to itch or smart.
Abrusciaménto, a burning.
Abrusciéuole, that may burne.
Abrustíre, as Abbrustoláre.
Abrutáre, as Abbrutáre.
Abruttaménte, abruptly, out of order, without preface or due course.
Abrútto, abrupt, disordered, out of course.
Absentáre, to absent.
Absénza, absence.
Absíde, the point wherein any planet is furthest from the earth.
Absíde supréma, the highest point of any planet.
Absíde ínfima, the lowest point of any planet.
Absínthio, the herbe wormewood. Also a kind of blackish stone.
Absinthíno, made, or tasting of wormewood.

Absíte, a kind of pretious stone.

Absoléto, out of vse, vtterly abolished.
Absólto, as Assólto.
Absóluere, as Assóluere.
Absolutióne, as Assolutióne.
Absolúto, as Assolúto.
Absóno, dissonant, vntuned.
Absórbere, sórbo, sorbéi, sorbúto, sórto, to swallow, or glut vp.
Absordità, absurdity, inconuenience.
Absórdo, absurd, inconuenient, against reason.
Abstenére, to abstaine.
Abstẻrgere, to cleanse or wipe away.
Abstẻrtíuo, scouring, cleansing, or wiping away.
Abstinẻnte, abstinent.
Abstinẻnza, abstinence.
Abstrárre, to abstract, or draw from.
Abstrattióne, abstraction.
Abstrúso, abstruse, secret, inward, darke to be vnderstood.
Absurdaménte, absurdly, vnorderly.
Absurdità, absurdity, inconuenience.
Absúrdo, absurd, against reason.
Abucciuólo, looke Innestáre.
A buóna derráta, good cheape, cheapefull.
A buóna lúna, in a luckie time of the moone, as we say in a good houre.
A buóna ragióne, vpon good reason, good reason why, rightfully.
A buón barátto, cheape, good cheape.
A buón cónto, in part of paiment, toward the reckoning.
A buón hóra, early, timely, betimes.
A buón hótta, idem.
A buón mercáto, cheape, good cheape.
Aburattáre, to belt or sift meale.
Abusáre, to abuse, to misorder.
Abuséuole, that may be abused.
Abusióne, abusion, misorder.
Abusiuaménte, abusiuely, misorderly.
Abusíuo, abusiue, improper.
Abúso, abuse, misorder.
Ab úso, from vse or custome.
Abuzzágo, a kind of buzzard, kite or puttocke.
A cáccia, a hunting, a hawking, a fowling, a chasing, a driuing.
Acácia, a shrub called the Egyptian thorne. Also a certaine iuice made of
apples and other things. Also a kind of thorny plant bearing great
timber.
Acadẻmia, an academie or vniuersitie where studies are professed.
Acadẻmiánte, of or pertaining to an vniuersitie, an academian.
Acadẻmico, academicall, a student in any vniuersity.
A cagióne, by occasion, because.
A calzóppo, skipping or hopping vpon one foot.
A cámbio, by exchange, mutually.
A cámmẻra locánda, in or at an hired chamber.

Acaníno, a casting bottle. Also an ewer.

Acáno, the sea-holy. Some take it for licorice.
Acantáuola, an instrument that Chirurgions vse to pull out bones with.
Acánte, the hearb grounswell. Also a dumb grashopper. Also the bird
Linnet or Siskin.
Acanthicéne, the thistle-masticke.
Acánthio, the brazell-tree or wood.
Acántica, a kind of gum or drug.
Acántida, as Acánte.
A cánto, neere, by, ioining or close vnto. Also the hearb Beare-foot,
Beares-breech, or Brank-ursin.
Acánzi, soldiers among the Turkes that only to get themselues honor goe
to the wars on their owne charges.
Acapnóne, a kind of hony gathered without smoke.
A cápo, to the head, or end, or conclusion.
A cápo chíno, with head bending, that is reuerently stooping or louting.
A cápo ẻrto, with an vpright head, or vndanted looke.
A cápo rítto, idem.
A capríccio, toyeshly, humorously.
Acaremónde, the root of Ossimirsine.
Acarionágrio, the hearb Ossimirsine.
Acárno, a sea fish hauing a great head and skales like gold.
A cáro, deer, acceptably, gladly, pleasing to ones mind. Also wild Mirtle or
Gow. Also a kind of little worme or mite.
Acaróne, a kind of Mirtle with indiuisible branches.
A cása, at home, home, in the house.
A casáccio, by ill or filthy chance.
A cáso, by chance, by fortune, by hap, casually.
Acáta. Acáte, an agath stone.
A catafáscio, in hudling or rumbling fashion.
Acatía, a kind of drug so called.
A caualcióni, stradling as men ride.
A caualliére, as topping ouer or mounted vpon. Looke Caualliére.
A cauállo, on horseback mounted vpon.
A cauállo a cauállo, in post-hast, a snatch and away. Also a certaine march
that trumpetters vse to sound in giuing a suddaine alarum.
A cáusa, because, by occasion.
A cáusa chè, because, that.
Ácca, the letter H.
Accadére, cádo, cáddi, cadúto, to befall, to happen.
Accadéuole, that may befall, or happen.
Accadútoo, befalne, hapned, chanced.
Accaffáre, as Acceffáre.

Accagionáre, as Occasionáre, to blame, to lay to ones charge, to impute.

Accagliáre, to crud or crudle.
Accaglióso, cruddy, full of cruds.
Accaláre, as Caláre.
Accaldáre, to heat, to warme.
Accalonniáre, as Calonniáre.
Accambiáre, to exchange, as Cambiáre.
Accambiatóre, as Cambiatóre.
Accampanáre, to frame as a bell.
Accampanáto, fashioned as a bell.
Accampáre, to encampe, to beleagre, to besiege. Also to place a cote vpon
any field or Skutcheon.
Accanalatúra, a chanfuring, a chaneling.
Accanáre, Accanáto, as Accaníre.
Accaneggiáre, to bait with dogs.
Accanẻlláre, to dresse with cinamond.
Accanẻlláre, to chamfure, to enchanell, to make gutter-wise.
Accaníre, nísco, níto, to make or become dogged, currish, churlish, cruell,
or remorcelesse, to enrage as a mad dog.
Accaníto, endogged, currish, enraged as a mad dog. Also set on by dogs.
Accannáre, to pricke or strike with canes, or reeds. Also to glut to the
throte.
Accanneggiáre, as Accannáre.
Accánto, a Goldfinch or Linnet as some take it.
Accantonáre, as Cantonáre.
Accantonáto, cornered, angled. Also cosened, cheated or left in a corner.
Accantoniére, as Cantoniére.
Accapacciáto, entangled in businesse, busied in mind and bodie.
Accapére, to cull, to chuse.
Accapestráre, as Capestráre.
Accapẻzzáre, to put in a maund or hutch.
Accaponáre, to capon, to geld, to lib, to splaie.
Accappáre, to snatch, to catch, or seaze vpon.
Accapparisonáre, to caparison a horse.
Accapparisonáto, caparisoned.
Accappiáre, to make in sliding knots. Also to entangle, to ensnare, to
entramell.
Accappiatúra, an entangling, an entrameling, an ensnaring.
Accappigliáre, to tug or touze by the haire, to bind vp a womans haire.
Also to ioine battell, to set together by the haires, to bind, to tie, to knit.
Accappucciáre, to grow round as a cabadge.
Accappucciáta lattúca, a hard cabidge letuce.
Accapricciársi, to take a mood or humor in ones head. Also to looke
staringlie, to be affrighted till ones haire stand for feare.

Accarezzaménto, any cherishing or cockering or making much of.

Accarezzáre, to cherish, to cocker, to make much of, to entertaine louingly.
Accarieráre, to teach a horse to cariere.
Accarnáre, to flesh, to incarnate, to entre a dog.
Accárno, as Acárno.
Accarpionáre, to souse or dresse fish with vinegre to bee eaten cold, to
marle fish.
Accartocciáre, to wrap or fold vp in coffins of paper.
Accasáre, to house, to build or store with houses, to ioine house to house,
to lodge, to harborough. Also to marry or allie house to house.
Accascáre, to befall, to happen.
Accasciáre, to crudle as cheese. Also to bruse, to squease or make flat.
Also to weare flat, to diminish, to bruise or squat in falling.
Accastiáre, as Accasciáre.
Accatta-bríghe, as Catta-bríghe.
Accattalíngua, a getter of the word, a purchaser of audience.
Accattaménti, borrowings, gettings, findings or shiftings.
Accattáre, to borrow, to get, to shift for, to acquire. Also to beg vp and
downe.
Accattáre in préstito, to get by borrowing.
Accattaráto, as Accattarróso.
Accattarróso, rheumatick, full of catarrhs.
Accattastáre, to pile or range orderly.
Accattatóre, a shifter, a getter, a borrower.
Accattatózzi, a begger of scraps.
Accátti, gettings, gaines, vailes, borowings, or shiftings for.
Accattítia, a kind of grose furmentie gurts.
Accaualláre, to set or mount on horse-back. Also to mount ordinance.
Accauigliáre, to stringe silke or giue it a glasse.
Accauigliatóre, a stringer of silke.
Accecaménto, a blinding.
Accecáre, to blind.
Accédere, cẻdo, cedéi, cedúto, to accede, to aproch or haue accesse vnto.
Also to assent vnto.
Acceffáre, to take by the snout. Also to busse or beake as a hog doth.
Accẻffo, a taking by the snout. Also a bussing of beake to beake.
Accégia, a moore hen.
Acceleránza, haste or quicke speed.
Acceleráre, to hasten, to make speed.
Acceleratióne, haste or quick speed.
Accencíre, císco, cíto, to reduce vnto tatters or rags. Accencíre úna dónna,
to thrum a wench.

Accẻndere, accẻndo, accési, accéso, to kindle, to enflame, to set on fire, to

light. Also to prouoke or egge-on. Also in Florence to curse, to banne, to
chafe, to sweare.
Accẻndéuole, that may be enkindled.
Accẻndiménto, an enkindling, a prouoking.
Acceneríre, rísco, ríto, to consume or burne to ashes or cinders, to
encinder.
Accennáre, to nod, to becken, to make a signe, to giue an inkling. Also by
some signe to glance at anie thing a far of by speech or action.
Accennaménto, a nod, a beck, an inkling. Also a signe or glancing at anie
thing.
Accẻnsióne, an enkindling, an enflaming.
Accẻnso, enflamed, enkindled. Also such a one as is appointed in the place
of a dead man.
Accẻntáre, to accent or giue the due sound to any letter or word.
Accẻnto, an accent or point ouer anie letter to giue it a due sound.
Accentuáre, as Accentáre.
Accerchiáre, to hoope or circle about. Also to encompasse round.
Accerchiéuole, compassable, that may be hooped.
Accẻrrimo, cruell, fell, moodie.
Accẻrtaménto, an assurance, a warrant.
Accẻrtánza, assurance, a warrant.
Accẻrtáre, to assure, to ascertaine, to warrant.
Accẻrtatióne, an assurance, a certificate.
Accẻrto, certes, certainlie.
Accẻruíre, vísco, víto, to heape or huddle together.
Accẻruo, a heape, a hudle, a round masse.
Accéso, enflamed, enkindled, set on fire.
Accẻssíbile, accessible, that accesse may be had vnto.
Accẻssióne, an accession, an eeking, an augmentation. Also as Accẻsso.
Accẻssíuo, accessiue, aproachable.
Accẻsso, accesse or aproach vnto. Also an encrease or flowing vnto. Also a
fit or accesse of an ague or any other sicknesse, a qualme. Also a
skonce.
Accẻssóre, accessarie or a consenter.
Accẻssoriaménte, accessiuelie, by his owne seeking.
Accẻssório, accessorie, consenting vnto.
Accẻttábile, acceptable.
Accẻttábolo, the pan or hollownesse wherein the huckle bone turneth. Also
a iuglers box. Also a certaine measure. Also a kind of musicall
instrument. Also a kind of plant.

Accẻttáre, to accept, to take.

Accẻttár l'inuíto, to accept an offer or inuitation, to see the vie at any
plaie.
Accẻttatióne, an acceptation.
Accẻttéuole, acceptable.
Accẻtteuolézza, acceptation.
Accẻttíssimo, most acceptable.
Accẻtto, accepted. Also acceptable, gratefull, in good worth.
Acchéggia, a moore hen.
Acchenẻa, a hackney or ambling nag.
Acchetáre, to quiet, to hush, to still, to appease, to calme.
Acchetatióne, a quieting, a hushing, a stilling, an appeasing, a calming.
Acchetéuole, that may be quieted, husht or calmed.
Acchiappáre, to catch by the buttocks. Also to take or ouertake or catch in
running.
Acchinẻa, a hackney or ambling nag.
Acchiocciáto, become lustie and strouting as a cackling hen about her
chickens.
Áccia, anie yarne to be wouen, any spinning, or statute yarne in skeanes.
Also a hatchet, an axe, a chip-axe, or chopping knife.
Acciaccáre, to stampe or punne in a morter, to hauock, to spoile or
destroie. Also to offer some affront or suddaine iniurie vpon ods and
aduantage.
Acciácco, a hauock, a spoile. Also an affront or iniurie offered vnto another
vpon anie ods and aduantage. Also a stamping or punning and brusing
in a morter.
Acciaffáre, to snatch or hooke away.
Acciáio, Acciále, steele.
Accialáre, to steele.
Acciále, anie kind of steele.
Accialíno, a steele to strike fire. Also the swiuell of a chaine.
Acciapináre, to miche, to shrug or sneake in some corner, and with
pouting lips to shew anger as an ape being beaten and grinning with his
teeth.
Acciáre, to reduce into skeanes as spinning yarne. Also to hatch or chop.
Acciárpa, botchinglie, bunglinglie.
Acciarpáre, to botch or bungle.
Accidẻntalità, casualtie, chance, hap.
Accidẻntále, accidentall, casuall.
Accidẻntalménte, by chance, accidentallie.
Accidẻnte, an accident, a chance, a hap. Also a fit of an ague or other
sicknesse.
Accidẻntário, accidentall, casuall.
Accídia, sloth, idlenesse, lazinesse.
Accidióso, slothfull, idle, lazie.
Acciẻcáre, to blind, to hoodwinke.
Acciẻcatúra, a blinding.
Acciẻffáre, as Acciuffáre.

Accigliáre, to seele a pigeons eies. Also to looke staringlie or musinglie.

Accimáre, to sheare clothes. Also to clip, to pare, to top or lop trees. Also
to trim, to dresse or pranke vp. Also to gird or prepare for something.
Accimatúra, as Cimatúra.
Accíngere, cíngo, cínsi, cínto, to gird about. Also to prepare to doe
something.
Accíno, a grape-stone, a kernell, a graine or seed of anie fruit. Also the
wheele of anie well wherein the chaine goes. Also a crane to draw vp