Iterative-Reciprocal Polysemy in Logoori

Abstract

The affix -an in Logoori (Luhya, Bantu) is used to mark iterated events and reciprocal situations. I illustrate that this dual use reflects a single meaning: -an is an event-pluralizer which cumulatively pluralizes semantically monovalent events, a category which includes reciprocal events. The analysis predicts -an’s morpho-syntactic and semantic distribution. An outcome of the analysis is that reciprocity is emergent in Logoori, i.e., it is a result of putting together independently needed semantic processes (Heim et al., 1991). Finally, I discuss cross-linguistic variation in reciprocal “polysemy,” focusing in particular on cognate -an’s across Narrow Bantu languages.