A Phonological Analysis of Passive Structures in Kisukuma

The current paper documents and examines the passive structure in Kisukuma, a Bantu language spoken in Tanzania. It provides a phonological analysis of the marker [-w-] as opposed to its variants, i.e. [-w-] and its absence [-Ø-]. The documented data is accounted for according to the principles of Chomsky and Halle (1968)’s rule-based derivational theory. In this paper, I show that Kisukuma does not allow three occurrences: (i) diphthong formation, (ii) gemination, and (iii) [+labial]^[+labial] combination. Although Chomsky and Halle (1968)’s rule-based derivational theory provides an accurate account for all the data, it fails to explain why the [+labial] sound, [-w-], is sometimes deleted, and it is in other times retained yet the final [+labial] consonant of the stem undergoes deletion instead.