Re: CHAT: relative tense

Raymond A. Brown <raybrown@...> wrote;
[snip]
> For example, in Swahili
>
> Nilikisoma = I read /rEd/ it (i.e. the book) <-- ni [I] + li[past] + ki [it]
>
> Umeleta kitabu?  Have you brought a book?
> Umekileta kitabu?  Have you brought _the_ book [I wanted]?
>
That _kitabu_ "book" is a Semitic loan, isn't it?
Or does the first syllable ki- have anything to do
with the _ki_ for object "it"? I'm sure I've heard
of languages which mark nouns this way (not that
this is one of them, but maybe...) though that's
a bit too much marking.


--Pablo Flores

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