Object marking in Bantu

Abstract The status of object markers in Bantu languages has been the subject of debate since the seminal work of Joan Besnan and Sam Mchombo which treated object markers as nominal elements. Since then, an alternative view has emerged, analysing Bantu object marking as a reflex of agreement. However, much new data has become available in the decade since, including detailed studies of languages like Zulu and Bukusu as well as comparative work. Advances have also been made in describing and analysing related areas of morphosyntax and agreement processes in Bantu languages more generally. This chapter offers a synthesis of this work and its implications on the analysis of object marking in Bantu, concluding in a favour of a general agreement analysis for requiring dislocation with agreement in some Bantu languages