The locative system in Cuwabo and Makhuwa (P30 Bantu languages)

This article presents the locative morphosyntax of Cuwabo and Makhuwa (Bantu, North Mozambique), in a comparative perspective with a sample of other Bantu languages. The analysis is based on a number of parameters assessing the existence of the three historical locative affixes (classes 16 to 18) in both nominal and verbal morphology, the question of agreement in modified locative phrases, the existence of locative inversion constructions, the development of an expletive subject marker, etc. Through this comparative analysis, this paper has two main aims: first it provides evidence of morphosyntactic micro-variation among Cuwabo and Makhuwa, which are genetically related; second it shows how the two languages relate to the wider panorama of Bantu languages, by locating them along the continuum between typical locative systems (e.g. in Bemba, Kagulu) and reorganized locative systems (e.g. in Swati).