Grammaticalization and Discourse use of Tense, Aspect, & Mode in Lugwere

Abstract

The object of this paper is to introduce the nature of tense, aspect, and mode (TAM) in Lugwere, a Bantu language spoken in Eastern Uganda. Basic emphasis is on the morpho syntax relevant to the encoding of TAM notions and their basic meanings. As a way of verifying the findings herein, the paper sources its illustrative material from four discourse genres (texts), the examples of which are given verbatim as in the texts except for the numbering. Where the feature under description is nonexistent in the texts, the paper uses individual grammatical strings formulated with native-speaker intuition, and given in a systematic numerical progression at times alongside the discourse examples. I am also aware that it is one thing to describe the internal structure of the grammar of a language and another thing to know when, and where in a discourse should one use a given form, and not another. Thus, I also review the distribution and role of TAM in discourse as a tool in establishing the motivation for the use of the TAM categories. In conclusion, observations of immediate linguistic value are made and further research proposed.