ABSTRACT
Bantu languages display rich verbal agreement morphology comprising 16–18 noun classes that cross-reference the verb's core arguments (subject and primary object). As might be expected given such an elaborate system of noun classes, these languages exhibit properties of non-configurationality, but only partially. For example, (1a) illustrates the unmarked word order (SVO) in a transitive sentence in Chicheŵa (Mchombo 2003). 2 Here, the verb stem obligatorily inflects for the subject marker (SM) zi-, which agrees in the relevant φ-features with the subject NP njuchi ‘bees.’ The obligatory verbal agreement with the subject NP allows for relative freedom of word order, as illustrated in (1b). 3
SVO: Njûchi zi-ná-lúm-a alenje.
10.bee 10SM-PST-bite-INDIC 2.hunter
‘The bees bit the hunters.’
VOS: Zinálúma alenje njûchi.
[Chicheŵa]