Possible origins of the possessive particle -ka- in Zulu

Abstract

The aim of this article is to trace some of the possible origins of the possessive particle -ka- in Zulu, which occurs when the possessor noun is a noun of class 1 a. Research done so far on the nature of -ka--, does not provide conclusive evidence on the exact origins of this particle. Nevertheless, several postulations regarding the origins of -ka- have been made, such as the possibility that -ka- is a contracted form of the locative class possessive concord kwa-; or that -ka- originates from a class prefix. These hypotheses are critically evaluated, and arguments are put forward for yet another hypothesis, namely that -ka- possibly developed from a lexical item by means of a process of semantic broadening. It is further demonstrated that the process of grammaticalization also plays a role in the postulated derivation of this particle.