범주지위의 비대칭과 주변성; 와힐리어의 {pa-, ku-, mu-} 부류를 중심으로

Abstract

It is well known that those in structural and Chomskyan linguistics have had an inclination to describe the structure of language in an elegant and simple but complete way without taking irregularities and variation into consideration. According to what they presuppose, human language is a rigid and unchangeable code of system endowed with discrete categories. Swahili(popularly known as Kiswahili) noun class system is regarded as the core of grammar in the sense that nouns are systematically grouped into 15 classes and that these nouns have three different types of concord system: adjectival, pronominal and verbal concord respectively. In this paper, however, I try to show the opposite aspect of the system, namely the asymmetric and marginal nature of pa-,ku-,mu--class which denotes three different conceptual types of space in Swahili. In terms of the number of words belonging to this class(commonly termed as place class), the only word classified into this class is mahali 'place', which could be viewed as idiosyncratic and anomalous compared to other classes. This kind of imparity of paradigm with its membership can be characterized as asymmetrical and marginal in a remarkable contrast to the effort to understand the system as a symmetric and balanced whole. This kind of asymmetry and unbalance in the system is observed also at the level of noun phrase and that of clause as well. The constraint on the adjectival agreement in the case of locative noun(N+ni), for example, seems to be complicated to explain, unless we characterize it just as an irregularity. If we proceed to observe the level of clause, the status of noun phrase as a subject marker differs gradually according to the differential units of its form; mahali, N+ni, proper noun, demonstrative/adverb and zero/null morpheme. This phenomenon can be characterized as a kind of weakening of NP-status as a subject marker. When the head noun in NP, or NP posited as a subject marker is not used any more because of its untypicality as 'nounness', the noun-modifiers like determiners lose its original categorial status as demonstratives and are thus altered into other parts of speech such as adverbs(hapa, pengine 'here, perhaps') or prepositions(kwa, kwenye 'for, with') in newly contextualized situations. What can be observed in this alteration is that categorial changes take place after certain phases of ambiguous stage. In sum, what I attempt to ascertain is the fact that the categories as well as system are not a fixed, or a given one, but can be created at any time in utterances, and be also changed in accordance with the need of speakers in a given context. This kind of nature of grammar seems to engender a sort of asymmetry and marginality in pa-,ku-,mu- class of Swahili, which is concomitant with idiosyncratic and anomalous constructions.