Verbal Extensions in Bantu : The case of Swahili and Nyamwezi

This short paper attempts to provide an introductory description of the phenomenon of verbal extensions in Bantu languages with special reference to Swahili and Nyamwezi (Kiswahili and Kinya’ngwezi). My definition of the term ‘verbal extension’ is wider than just consisting of the concept of ‘verbal derivation’, and it includes “all the post-radical or pre-final elements of a verbal stem” as tackled by Miehe (1989: 23). One of my colleagues, Ahrenberg (1982), has discussed at length the question of verbal derivation in Swahili, analysing both Ashton (1944) and Polome (1967). He also emphasises the tendency for derived verbs to develop special senses, but it is not within the scope of this brief paper to cover the wide field of idiomatic usage. The comparison of verbal extensions is made here between Swahili and