Number in Venda is expressed through Noun Classes which are either singular or plural (this excludes those Noun Classes which are locatives or infinitives). For example:
(1) mu-tukana vha-tukana
NC1-boy NC2-boy
'boy' 'boys' (Poulos 14)
(2) O/ - khotsi vho-khotsi
NC1a-father NC2b-father
'father' 'fathers' (Poulos 17)
(3) (no singular) ma-fhi
NC6-milk
'milk' (Poulos 173)
(4) O/-vivho (no plural)
NC5-jealousy
'jealousy' (Poulos 29)
In (1) we see that NC2 is the plural counterpart of NC1. They are essentially the same class but one is singular and one is plural. NC prefixes could be considered "portmanteau" affixes which carry both the meaning of NC and number. Singular forms not infrequently apper as a null prefix, whether as in (2) where NC1a is always a null prefix, or as in (4) where the prefix for NC5 is "li-" but does not appear with this stem. Plural forms generally appear with prefixes, although there are some exceptions (see below). The collective noun "mafhi" ('milk') appears with the the plural NC prefix "ma-". Other examples of collective nouns with a plural NC prefix (and which do not have singulars) are:
(5) ma-lofha 'blood'
ma-zwifhi 'lies'
ma-di 'water' (ZWM 20, 33)
The abstract noun in (4) appears with a singular NC prefix (although this is unexpressed) but does not have a plural counterpart. Some other abstracts which appear with singular prefixes and which have no plural counterparts are:
(6) tshi-pengo 'madness'
tshi-vhi 'sin'
tshi-fhinga 'time' (Poulos 35)
Some collective nouns have corresponding plurals, but the meaning of the plural is applied to the class:
(7) vhu-alwa ma-halwa
NC14-beer NC6-beer
'beer' 'kinds of beer' (ZWM 33)
(8) O/-buto ma-buto
NC5-bundle of clothes NC6-bundle of clothes
'bundle of clothes' 'bundles of clothes' (Poulos 32)
Whether a NC prefix appears or not, every noun is a member of a NC, and every NC is either singular or plural (except for the locatives and infinitives). Not all nouns have counterparts in a singular or plural class, however, as seen above.
VERBS
Correspondingly, singular and plural arguments (subjects and objects) are cross referenced on the verb with Subject Concords and Object Concords.
(9) Tshi-mange tshi do nwa mafhi
NC7-cat SC7 FUT drink NC6-fhi
'The cat will drink the milk.' (Poulos 173)
(10) Mu-sidzana u a dzi hwala tswielo
NC3-girl SC3 PT OC10 carry NC10-broom (plural of NC11)
'The girl carries the brooms.' (ZWM 32)
(11) Vhu-nyunyu vhu dina vha-thu
NC14-mosquito SC14 bother NC2-person
'Mosquitoes bother people.' (ZWM32)
(12) Ndi a mu funa mu-tukana
SC1PS PT OC3 know NC3-boy
'I know him, the boy.'
In (9) and (10) the singular subjects are reflected in the SCs which correspond with NCs that reflect singularity ("tshi" and "u") while in (11) the SC ("vhu") corresponds to a NC which reflects plurality (NC14 is sometimes the plural for NC11).
We also see number reflected in the OCs. In (10) the OC "dzi" corresponds with the plural NC10 while in (12) the OC "mu" corresponds with the singular NC3.
A noun could have a null prefix, which would not indicate its NC and therefore its number, but if it is a Subject, it will be reflected in the SC which is never null.
(13) O/-kholomo i khou fula
NC5-cow SC5 CT graze
'The cow is grazing.'
(14) O/-kholomo dzi khou fula
NC6-cow SC6 CT graze
'The cattle are grazing.' (Poulos 41)
In (13) and (14) the overt indicator of number is in the SC, not the NC prefix which is null in both these cases. This is also true when the the subject reference or the object reference are not overt:
Coordinate subjects and objects are treated as plurals; there are conventions for which plural should be used when nouns from different Noun Classes are combined:
(15) M-mbwa na tshi-mange zwi khou tamba
NC9-dog and NC7-cat SC8 CT play
'The dog and the cat are playing.'
(16) Nd-o zwi lisa
1PS-PC OC8 feed
'I have fed them (dog-NC9 and cat-NC7)
Number is reflected in all the concords, including the the Adjective Concord (AC), Possessive Concord (PC), and the Relative Concord (RC).
(18) lu-fhanga lu-swa
NC11-knife AC11-new
'a new knife' (Poulos 128)
(19) vha-na vha-mu-sadzi
NC2-child PC2-NC1-woman
'the children of the woman' (Poulos 129)
(20) vha-tukana vha-gudaho
NC2-boy RC2-study
'the boys who study' (Poulos 142)
PRONOUNS
Venda has "absolute pronouns" (independent morphemes) which correspond with each Noun Class and also to first and second person, singular and plural. The absolute pronouns for first and second person are suppletive:
singular plural
(21) 1st person nne rine
2nd person iwe inwi (Poulos 95)
First and second person pronouns have corresponding Subject, Object, Possessive, Adjective, and Relative Concords as do the other Noun Classes. They also have possessive stems which reflect person and number.
The absolute pronouns for the Noun Classes combine a Subject Concord with a pronominal root and suffix, SC + o + ne, much as the other concords (e.g. Possessive Concord) are derived. These all reflect singularity or plurality.
DEMONSTRATIVES
Venda has a very complex system of demonstratives, with up to 16 different shades of meaning from very close to the speaker to very far away. There are four basic categories, however, and for each category there is a demonstrative which corresponds to each of the 18 Noun Classes, and which is derived from a combination of the SC and an affix, or some kind of Vowel Duplication. For instance:
(22) mu-thu uy-u
NC1-thing DSII-SC1
'this person'
(23) vha-na a-vho
NC2-child DSIII-SC2
'those children'
In (22) the "Demonstrative Stem" for the nearby (but not the closest) demonstrative is affixed to the SC for NC1, which reflects the number (singular) of the modified noun. In (23) the "Demonstrative Stem" is affixed to the SC for NC2 (and also changes the final vowel of SC2) which reflects the number (plural) of the modified noun.
NUMERALS
Numerals in Venda pattern much as adjectives. There are stems for numbers one through five (Venda numbers are based on groups of five). The Adjectival Concord corresponding to the modified noun is prefixed to the numerical stem; the singular concord is prefixed to "-thithi" ('one') and the plural concord is prefixed to all the numbers greater than one.
(24) mu-tukana mu-thihi
NC1-boy AC1-one
'one boy'
(25) vha-thu vha-tanu na vha-na
NC2-thing AC2-five and AC2-four
"nine people" (lit. "five and four people) (ZWM 143)
NUMBER AND MARKEDNESS IN VENDA
Generally, the singular form is morphemicall realized and the plural form is morphemically realized. However, not infrequently the singular form has a null morpheme (NC1a - see (2) above) or optionally has a null orpheme (see 4, 8, 13 above). However, the plural form almost always has nonzero morpheme (with some exceptions, such as in (14) above). We see this pattern in the imperative where the singular is has a zero morpheme and the plural has a nonzero morpheme:
(26) Shuma!
work
'Work!'
(27) Shuma-ni!
work-PL
'Work!'
We see syncretism in the plural form. Although there are distinct classes for every Noun Class in the singular, a number of classes share a "collapsed" plural form. For instance, NC6 is the plural form for NC5, some NC14, some NC20 and some NC21. Also, NC10 is the plural form for NC9 and many in NC11. We also see that NC8 is the plural form for NC7 and some NC20.
The above patterns suggest that although both singular and plural forms have a nonzero morpheme, the plural form is more marked than the singular (greater number of nonzero morphemes, evidence of syncretism). This is not an unusual pattern in the world's languages, and along with almost no evidence* of more marked forms (dual, trial, paucal), this seems to indicate that in regard to number, Venda is not a highly marked language.
*Noun Class 5 shows evidence of once referring to one of a pair (one eye, one shoulder, etc.) but is not really a "dual number"
Abbreviations:
NC - Noun Class (NC1 = Noun Class 1)
SC - Subject Concord
OC - Object Concord
PC - Possessive Concord
AC - Adjective Concord
RL Relative Concord
PL - Plural
DS - Demonstrative Stem
1PS - 1st Person Singular
PC - Perfective Completive
CT - Continuous Tense
FUT - Future
O/ - Null suffix
Citings
Poulos, George. 1990 A Linguistic Analysis of Venda. Pretoria: Via Afrika Limited.
Ziervogel, D., P.J. Wentzel, and T.N. Makuya 1981. A Handbook of the Venda Language. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
(I have used the abbreviation "ZWM" for "Ziervogel, Wentzel, and Makuya.")
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Revised April 2, 1999