The Problem of Lexical Cohesion and Lexical Structure in Bantu Classes (Part 2)

The study discusses the relationship between lexical or word structur es, on one hand, and phrase structures and predication-sentences,on t he other in Kiswahili. It argues that within Bantu, there are limits to lexicality. This limit is called 'The Humpty-Dumpty Paradox of Lex icality'. The paradox says that: 1. a lexical item, formed by nominiz ation, functions as a word and may also function as an argument; 2.th e lexical item remains a word even when it break up under linguistic stress in the direction of its syntactic source; 3. break up of cohes ion is not a break up of lexicality; 4. Broken (syntactic) pieces of a nominized lexical word may be put together again if the linguistic stress factors which triggered the break up are removed. The paper co ncludes that nominized phrases and predication-sentences may retain s ubstantial elements of their morphological and syntactic properties, e. g. object agreement, etc. in Bantu grammar. The division between s yntax and morphology in modern grammars is, therefore, artificial.