ABSTRACT
In Swahili, passive verbs are formed using the suffix -w- for most regular verb stems, and the suffix - iw-/-ew- for verb stems with certain peculiarities, such as monosyllabic stems, and stems ending in /l,w,y/ or with a vowel /i,e,u/. The form -ew- in particular is used depending on “vowel harmony”. Due to “vowel harmony”, a mid-vowel [e,o] in the initial syllable of the verb base triggers the use of a mid-vowel [e] in a neighboring verb extension, instead of the closed vowel /i/ (see vowel features in Figure 9.1). The example in (1b) illustrates the use of the regular passive marker -w-, while (2b) shows the use of the irregular marker -iw- with a verb stem ending in l-.
