The Isizulu: a revised edition of a grammar of the Zulu language

Front matter

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THE ISIZTJLU:

A REVISED EDITION

Preface To The Second Edition

It was not without some surprise that the writer was asked, some two years ago, if he would revise his Zulu Grammar for a new Edition. Upon a little thought, being assured that a new Edition was needed, and being just then on the eve of completing other work of a similar character, he could but look upon this call as Divinely ordered, and consented the more readily to undertake the work as being in the line of studies in which he had been, for some years, specially interested.

Some parts of the first Edition have been abridged in the revision, as the Paradigm of the Verb ; some parts have been altered; in some places, new matter has been introduced. The whole of the third Section of the Introduction in the first Edition has been omitted in this, and its pages given to new matter having respect to the Extent, Relationship, and Character of the language. The Appendix of the former has been entirely displaced in this by matter of a somewhat comparative character. In this way the value of the Tenth Chapter in the body of the first Edition, though omitted in this, has been more than replaced from the fruits of more recent researches in widely separated parts of the great Bantu field.

There was some delay in putting this work into the hands of the printer, in the hope that the missionaries of the several different societies at work among the Zulus might agree upon some uniform method of writing the language of that people. But as yet no such agreement has been reached, though the importance

Vlll PKEFACE.

of it must continue to press itself, yet more and more, upon every Zulu scholar till tlie desired result shall be attained. The need of such agreement for the whole Bantu field cannot be denied. The lack of it is a matter of wide-spread and constantly increasing regret, and not less among all Bantu philologists than among all thoughtful, enterprising missionaries and missionary societies. The writer's preference for Lepsius' " Standard " and some of his reasons for that preference were given at some length in the first Edition of this work. Dr. Cust is very emphatic, and devotes a chapter to this subject in his "Modern Languages." Others feel and sjieak in the same way. The writer has before him a letter of recent date from one of the secretaries of a missionary society that has many laborers in the Kongo field, in which he voices the minds of the many, saying : "I have been deej^ly impressed, however, with the urgent need of all who are engaged in making translations in the languages of Central Africa agreeing upon some uniform method of orthography. Even our own missionaries do not agree in their practice." This general, much desired uniformity must surely come ; and the sooner all missionaries and mission societies, and scholars that have aught to do with Bantu languages, address themselves unitedly to the work of securing it, difficult as it may be, the better, sooner, easier will it be reached.

And now, in bringing these revisional labors to a close, I can but acknowledge the pleasure it has given me to be thus kindly invited, and, as I trust. Divinely directed, to engage in them, and so contribute, as I hope, to the greater intrinsic value of the work, as also to its affording more of help to those who are devoting their lives to the weal of the Zulu and other tribes of the Bantu race.

To my brethren in the Zulu field and in other parts of Africa, and to kind friends in Europe and America, who have given me words and means of aid and cheer, I hereby tender sincere thanks. Especially would I here make most grateful acknowledgment of obligations to Him who has so graciously continued to me the health and vigor needed to complete the work — begin and finish it, as I have endeavored to do, in His name, and now invoke upon it His blessing.

LEWIS GROUT.

COJSTTEE^TS.

Introduction

Sect. Page

I. On the Origin and Early Migrations of the Bantu Race xiv

II. Historical Notes concerning the Amazulu xvii

III. On the Extent, Kinship and Character of the Isizulu. xix

Nature and Division of Grammar 1

Chapter I. — Letters and Sounds of the Language. 2

Sect. 1. Alphabet . 2

Sect. 2. Division of the Letters 3

Sect. 8. Powers or Sounds of the Letters 4

A. Vowels - 4

1. Their number, origin, and value.. 4

2. Quantity or length and strength of the Vowels 6

3. Double Vowels and Diphthongs 7

4. Euphonic Vowel-changes 9

I. Contraction 9

II. Crasis 9

III. Apostrophe 10

IV. Commutation 11

V. Omission 12

B. Consonants 12

1. Their number and value . . . 12

2. Classification and Relationship of Consonants. 15

Table of Alphabetic Gradations 17

Scheme of Cognates _ 18

Table of Compatible Letters 19

3. Combinations of Consonants 20

4. Euphony and Consonantal Changes 22

5. Euphonic Letters 24

C. Clicks 26

The dental click 26

The palatal click 26

The lateral click... 26

Table of clicks _ 27

Chapter 11.— Syllables and Words : or the Union of Sounds and

the Division of Discourse. 28

Sect. 1. General Remarks 28

Sect. 2. Syllables 29

Sect. 3. Words 30

Sect. 4. Omission and Contraction of Syllables and Words. 31

Chapter III. — Ziduizing Foreign Words. 33 Chapter IY.— Accentuation. 34

Chapter Y. — Quantity of a Syllable. 36

Chapter VI. — Punctuation, Italics, and Capitals. 37

PART IL— ETYMOLOGY.

Chapter I. — Definitions and Classifications. 41

Sect. 1. Definitions and General Remarks 41

Sect. 2. Classification of Words 43

X CONTENTS.

Page

Chapter II.— The Noun or Substantive. 44

Sect. 1. Kinds of Nouns 44

I. Concrete Nouns _ 44

II. Abstract Nouns 45

Sect. 2. Formation of Nouns . .__ _ 45

I. Primitive Nouns 45

II. Derivative Nouns 45

A. Nouns derived from Nouns 45

B. Nouns derived from Adjectives 47

C. Nouns derived from Verbs 48

D. Nouns derived from other parts of Speech _ 50

III. Compound Nouns 50

Sect. 3. Nominal Incipients or Pref ormatives _ 51

Sect. 4. Classes and number of Nouns ._ 52

I. First class 52

II. Second class __ 53

III. Third class 53

IV. Fourth class 54

V. Fifth class __ 54

VI. Sixth class 54

VII. Seventh class _ _ ___ 54

VIII. Eighth class 55

Table of the classes of Nouns 56

Sect. 5. Irregular, Defective, and Redundant Nouns 56

Sect. 6. Gender of Nouns _ 57

Sect. 7. Cases of Nouns 58

I. The Nominative Case 59

II. TheGenitive Case 59

III. The Accusative Case _ 62

IV. The Locative Case 62

V. The Vocative Case _ . 65

Scheme of the declension of Nouns 66

Chapter 111.— Adjectives. 66

Sect. 1. Derivation of Adjecti^'es 67

A. From Nouns _ 67

B. From Adjectives 67

C. From Verbs 67

Sect. 2. Classes of Adjectives 68

Sect. 3. Inflection of Adjectives 68

A. As an Attributive 69

Table of Adjectives declined as Attributives 70

B. As a Predicate 70

Table of Adjectives declined as Predicates 71

Sect. 4. Numeral Adjectives ^ 73

A. Cardinal Numbers - 73

Table of Cardinal Numbers 75

B. Ordinal Numbers 76

C. Collective Numerals 76

Sect. 5. Indefinite Adjectives 77

Chapter TV .—Proyioims. 78

Sect. 1. Classification of Pronouns ._ 79

Sect. 2. A. Personal Pronouns 79

A. The Pref ormative Pronoun 81

B. The Simple Pronoun 82

C. The Conjunctive Pronoun... 83

D. The Definitive Pronoun 84

E. The Possessive Pronoun 85

F. The Reflective Pronoun 85

Table of Personal Pronouns - 86

CONTENTS. XI

Page

Sect. 3. B. Relative Pronouns 87

Table of Relative Pronouns 89

Sect. 4. C. Demonstrative Pronouns 90

Table of Demonstrative Pronouns 91

Sect. 5. D. Interrogative Pronouns 91

Chapter V. — Ve7^bs. 93

Sect. 1, Classification of Verbs 94

A. Regular and Irregular, Primitive, Derivative, and Com-

pound Verbs 94

I. Primitive Verbs 94

II. Derivative Verbs 94

A. Radical species 95

B. Relative species _ . _ _ 95

C. Causative species 96

D. Reciprocal species 96

E. Reflective species 97

F. Subjective species 97

G. Deponent species 97

H. Diminutive species 98

ComxDOund species _ _ 98

III. Compound Verbs 99

Sect. 8. Classification of Verbs (continued) 100

B. Principal and Auxiliary : Transitive and Intransitive ;

Active and Passive ; Defective and Idiomatic Verbs 100

A. Notional Verbs . 100

B. Relational Verbs 102

Idiomatic Verbs 108

Sect. 3. Properties of Verbs 108

A. On the Modes . - 108

I. The Infinitive Mode .. 109

II. The Indicative Mode 109

III. The Potential Mode .--. 110

IV. The Optative Mode Ill

V. The Imperative Mode 112

VI. The Subjunctive Mode 113

B. OntheTenses 114

A. General Remarks 114

B. The Number of Tenses .._ 116

c. Tenses of the several Modes 117

A. Tenses of the indicative mode 117

I. Present tense 117

II. Past tense 121

III. Future tense 127

IV. Present perfect tense 130

V. Past perfect tense 132

VI. Future perfect tense 134

B. Tenses of the potential mode 136

I. Present tense 136

II. Past tense... 137

III. Future tense 138

IV. Present perfect tense 138

V. Past perfect tense 139

VI. Future perfect tense 139

C. Tenses of the optative mode ,. 140

D. Tenses of the imperative mode 145

E. Tenses of the subjunctive mode 1 46

Sect. 4. Number and person 147

Sect. 5. Conjugation... . 147

Synoptic table of a Regular Verb 148

Sect. 6. Irregular Verbs 165

Sect. 7. Defective Verbs 169

Xll CONTENTS.

Page

Chapter Yl.— Adverbs. 170

I. Adverbs of Time 172

II. Adverbs of Place 172

III. Adverbs of Manner. _ 173

IV. Interrogative Adverbs 173

V. Numeral Adverbs ._. _. 174

VI. Various kinds of Adverbs _ 174

Table of Pronomino-Locative Adverbs _ 175

Chapter YII.—Prepositio7is. 176

Chapter YIII.— Conjunctions. 177

Chapter IX.— Interjections. 178

PAET III. -SYNTAX.

Chapter I. — Propositions and Sentences. 179

Sect. 1. Definitions and Remarks..- 179

Sect. 2. Simple Propositions 181

Sect. 3. Modified Subject 185

Sect. 4. Modified Predicate 186

Sect. 5. Variety of Combinations and Propositions 188

I. The Predicative combination 188

II. The Attributive combination 188

III. The Objective combination 188

Sect. 6. Compound Sentences 1 89

I. Co-ordinate Sentences _._ 189

II. Subordinate Sentences 191

III. Incidental members _ 193

Chapter 11.— Syntax of the Noun. 194

Sect. 1. The Nominative 194

Sect. 2. The Genitive 196

I. In respect to origin 196

II. In respect to ownership _. 197

III. In respect to designation .- 197

Genitive subjective and objective 199

Sect. 3. The Accusative 201

Sect. 4. The Locative 205

Sect. 5. The Vocative ._ 207

Chapter 111.— Syntax of the Adjective. 207

Sect. 1. Agreement of Adjectives 207

Sect. 2. Of Degrees, and Particular Words 213

Sect. 3. Numerals 218

Chapter lY.— Syntax of the Pronoun. 226

Sect. 1. Agreement . 226

Sect. 2. Personal Pronouns 230

A. The Pronoun used as a Substitute 230

B. The Pronoun used as a Complement 235

Sect. 3. Eelative Pronouns 240

Sect. 4. Demonstrative Pronouns 247

Sect. 5. Interrogative Pronouns 249

Chapter V. — Syntax of the Verb. 251

Sect. 1. Agreement, Combination, and Expansion 251

Sect. 2. Government of Verbs -255

Continuity of Verbs - 259

Sect. 3. Syntax of the Modes and Tenses. 261

I. Infinitive Mode 262

II. Indicative Mode 263

III. Potential Mode. 263

CONTENTS. Xlll

Page

IV. OptativeMode 264

V. Imperative Mode 265

VI. Subjunctive Mode 265

A. Present tense 268

B. Pasttense 268

C. Future tense 269

D. Present perfect tense _ 270

E. Past perfect tense 270

F. Future perfect tense 271

Sect. 4. Idiomatic Verbs, Forms, and Uses 272

Chapter VI. — Syntax of the Particle. 278

A. The Adverb 279

B. The Preposition 279

C. The Conjunction _ 280

D. The Interjection 280

Chapter VII. — Syntax of Sentences. 281

I. Co-ordinate Copulative Sentences 281

II. Co-ordinate Adversative Sentences _ _ _ 281

III. Co-ordinate Disjunctive Sentences 281

IV. Co-ordinate Causal Sentences _ . _ 282

V. Subordinate Substantive Sentences 282

VI. Subordinate Adjective Sentences - - 283

VII. Subordinate Adverbial Sentences 283

VIII. Incidental Sentences . . _ 284

Chapter yill.— Collocation of Words. 285