ABSTRACT
The causative extension is an element that modifies the meaning of a verb, noun, or adjective to create a new verb stem that implies the notion of causation (e.g. “laugh” → “cause to laugh/make laugh”; “sad(ness)” → “sadden”; “short” → “shorten”). In Swahili, the causative extension mainly uses the suffix -ish-, which appears as -esh- after a mid-vowel /e,o/ within the verb base, due to the phenomenon of “vowel harmony” previously seen in 15.1.
