Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo

Lea Mpobela

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

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Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo

Lea Mpobela^*

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 13, Issue 6)

Received: 3 October 2025 Accepted: 22 October 2025 Published: 28 November 2025

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Abstract

This paper presents the names formed through associative -a in Runyambo. The formation of nouns in Bantu languages employ several strategies including the use of associative -a which differ in productivity in different languages. The paper looks at this process as a productive one especially in forming personal and place names in Runyambo. The paper is descriptive in nature with qualitative data presented through listing and morphological parsing. The names were collected from five native speakers; What’s app groups where lists of names (especially of people) are listed during different contributions; extraction from written materials and through elicitation techniques in the natural environment where the language is spoken. It was found that associative -a is very productive in the formation of names in Runyambo. It is used to associate an entity being named with the environment and its meaning. Being a dependent morpheme, it attaches to noun class agreement affixes to agree with the nouns it associates. In names, the associative -a ‘of’ occurs as a prefix as in class 9/10 nya- in a personal name Nyangoma ‘of drum’. The other forms include ka- class 12, cha- class 7, bhya- class 8, rwa- class 11, etc. Among which when used in personal names nya- is feminine, rwa, bhya and cha are masculine and ka is diminutive. Despite having morphological features, names in Runyanyo are meaningful and reflect the culture of the speakers.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 13, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
Page(s)	219-227
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Associative a-, Names, Morphological Features, Morpheme, Prefix

References

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APA Style

Mpobela, L. (2025). Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 13(6), 219-227. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

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ACS Style

Mpobela, L. Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2025, 13(6), 219-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

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AMA Style

Mpobela L. Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo. Int J Lang Linguist. 2025;13(6):219-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12,
  author = {Lea Mpobela},
  title = {Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {13},
  number = {6},
  pages = {219-227},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20251306.12},
  abstract = {This paper presents the names formed through associative -a in Runyambo. The formation of nouns in Bantu languages employ several strategies including the use of associative -a which differ in productivity in different languages. The paper looks at this process as a productive one especially in forming personal and place names in Runyambo. The paper is descriptive in nature with qualitative data presented through listing and morphological parsing. The names were collected from five native speakers; What’s app groups where lists of names (especially of people) are listed during different contributions; extraction from written materials and through elicitation techniques in the natural environment where the language is spoken. It was found that associative -a is very productive in the formation of names in Runyambo. It is used to associate an entity being named with the environment and its meaning. Being a dependent morpheme, it attaches to noun class agreement affixes to agree with the nouns it associates. In names, the associative -a ‘of’ occurs as a prefix as in class 9/10 nya- in a personal name Nyangoma ‘of drum’. The other forms include ka- class 12, cha- class 7, bhya- class 8, rwa- class 11, etc. Among which when used in personal names nya- is feminine, rwa, bhya and cha are masculine and ka is diminutive. Despite having morphological features, names in Runyanyo are meaningful and reflect the culture of the speakers.},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo
AU  - Lea Mpobela
Y1  - 2025/11/28
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 219
EP  - 227
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
AB  - This paper presents the names formed through associative -a in Runyambo. The formation of nouns in Bantu languages employ several strategies including the use of associative -a which differ in productivity in different languages. The paper looks at this process as a productive one especially in forming personal and place names in Runyambo. The paper is descriptive in nature with qualitative data presented through listing and morphological parsing. The names were collected from five native speakers; What’s app groups where lists of names (especially of people) are listed during different contributions; extraction from written materials and through elicitation techniques in the natural environment where the language is spoken. It was found that associative -a is very productive in the formation of names in Runyambo. It is used to associate an entity being named with the environment and its meaning. Being a dependent morpheme, it attaches to noun class agreement affixes to agree with the nouns it associates. In names, the associative -a ‘of’ occurs as a prefix as in class 9/10 nya- in a personal name Nyangoma ‘of drum’. The other forms include ka- class 12, cha- class 7, bhya- class 8, rwa- class 11, etc. Among which when used in personal names nya- is feminine, rwa, bhya and cha are masculine and ka is diminutive. Despite having morphological features, names in Runyanyo are meaningful and reflect the culture of the speakers.
VL  - 13
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Lea Mpobela

Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, Saint Augustine University of Tanzania, Mwanza, Tanzania

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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3695-1110

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APA Style

Mpobela, L. (2025). Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 13(6), 219-227. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

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ACS Style

Mpobela, L. Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2025, 13(6), 219-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

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AMA Style

Mpobela L. Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo. Int J Lang Linguist. 2025;13(6):219-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12,
  author = {Lea Mpobela},
  title = {Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {13},
  number = {6},
  pages = {219-227},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20251306.12},
  abstract = {This paper presents the names formed through associative -a in Runyambo. The formation of nouns in Bantu languages employ several strategies including the use of associative -a which differ in productivity in different languages. The paper looks at this process as a productive one especially in forming personal and place names in Runyambo. The paper is descriptive in nature with qualitative data presented through listing and morphological parsing. The names were collected from five native speakers; What’s app groups where lists of names (especially of people) are listed during different contributions; extraction from written materials and through elicitation techniques in the natural environment where the language is spoken. It was found that associative -a is very productive in the formation of names in Runyambo. It is used to associate an entity being named with the environment and its meaning. Being a dependent morpheme, it attaches to noun class agreement affixes to agree with the nouns it associates. In names, the associative -a ‘of’ occurs as a prefix as in class 9/10 nya- in a personal name Nyangoma ‘of drum’. The other forms include ka- class 12, cha- class 7, bhya- class 8, rwa- class 11, etc. Among which when used in personal names nya- is feminine, rwa, bhya and cha are masculine and ka is diminutive. Despite having morphological features, names in Runyanyo are meaningful and reflect the culture of the speakers.},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Associative -a as a Productive Affix in Names Formation in Runyambo
AU  - Lea Mpobela
Y1  - 2025/11/28
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 219
EP  - 227
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251306.12
AB  - This paper presents the names formed through associative -a in Runyambo. The formation of nouns in Bantu languages employ several strategies including the use of associative -a which differ in productivity in different languages. The paper looks at this process as a productive one especially in forming personal and place names in Runyambo. The paper is descriptive in nature with qualitative data presented through listing and morphological parsing. The names were collected from five native speakers; What’s app groups where lists of names (especially of people) are listed during different contributions; extraction from written materials and through elicitation techniques in the natural environment where the language is spoken. It was found that associative -a is very productive in the formation of names in Runyambo. It is used to associate an entity being named with the environment and its meaning. Being a dependent morpheme, it attaches to noun class agreement affixes to agree with the nouns it associates. In names, the associative -a ‘of’ occurs as a prefix as in class 9/10 nya- in a personal name Nyangoma ‘of drum’. The other forms include ka- class 12, cha- class 7, bhya- class 8, rwa- class 11, etc. Among which when used in personal names nya- is feminine, rwa, bhya and cha are masculine and ka is diminutive. Despite having morphological features, names in Runyanyo are meaningful and reflect the culture of the speakers.
VL  - 13
IS  - 6
ER  -

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