Mbugwe Discourse: Initial findings from a 2-week workshop

Mbugwe (Bantu F33) is an underdescribed language with published work limited to phonology, morphology and some observations regarding the syntax. Discourse features remain as yet unexamined. This presentation will present initial findings from a 2-week narrative discourse workshop, briefly addressing the topics of the overall structure, connectives, reporting speech, participant reference, changes in word order, and devices to background or highlight information. Much more work is needed to address these topics more fully, and areas which are considered to be particularly interesting for future research will be identified.

Note: This talk has not gone through a process of peer review, and findings should therefore be treated as preliminary and subject to change. Acknowledgement and citation: Poole, Lizzie. 2026. Mbugwe Discourse: Initial findings from a 2-week workshop. Talk given at The Rift Valley Network Webinar Series. 29/04/2026.