Re: Swahili, Saying, Telling and Applicatives

Chris Bates wrote:


> Since Swahili promotes obliques to direct object to handle datives, I'm
> surprised that there is an unrelated word for tell. I would have
> expected sema + applicative, although tell does look like it is formed
> in this way. Is there a verb amba? I actually have the Madan (I think)
> Swahili-English dictionary so I guess I can look it up.
My Kamusi ya Kiswahili Kirusi says:
-amba (poet., rare) to speak (usu. bad about sb);
    recip. -ambana; pas. -ambwa; dir. -ambia to tell, to inform;
dir.-recip. -ambiana; dir.-stat. -ambilika; double dir. -ambilia to talk
much

-- Yitzik