Serialization patterns in Shona verbal morphology

Abstract

Shona is a Central Bantu language that has been classified as an SVO language (Comrie 1981). As with other Bantu languages, however, Shona has SOV characteristics reflected in its morphology. This is not surprising since morphology often reflects earlier word order patterns and Proto-Bantu has been reconstructed as SOV (Givón 1975). This paper focusses on Shona verbal morphology, particularly on the serialization of [valence] [aspect] [tense].