In this article the semantic evolution of the modal verb -sóból-in Luganda is examined through the analysis of a diachronic corpus spanning the last 120 years. It is shown that the usage frequency of this verb increased exponentially between the early 20th century and the present, and that its use as a lexical verb has dramatically decreased during the same time span. The corpus data furthermore substantiate that its modal uses have been extended from the exclusive expression of dynamic possibility until the 1960s to deontic possibility. Methodologically, this is the first full-scale article within the young field of Bantu corpus linguistics in which a corpus-driven study is performed on a diachronic corpus. The approach is not only shown to be feasible, but the encouraging results will hopefully entice colleagues working on the Bantu languages to undertake the building and analysis of such diachronic corpora for linguistic purposes.

This article reports on the analysis of three major markers of necessity in Luganda, i.e. the modal auxiliaries -téekw-and -lina and the verbal prefix -andi-. On the basis a 4-million-word corpus it is argued that, overall, the auxiliary -téekw-is more established as a necessity marker, as it is involved in the expression of all necessity subcategories except participant-inherent dynamic necessity. The auxiliary -lina is less semantically diversified, expressing only participant-imposed, situational and deontic necessity, while the verbal prefix -andi-expresses only deontic necessity. A comparison of corpus data with data from older literature on Luganda further shows that the objective category of participant-inherent dynamic necessity, which is not associated with any of the three markers described, is perhaps expressed by less-grammaticalised forms. These forms are also, together with other grammaticalised forms that have increasingly become rare, assumed to be part of the devices that could have been responsible for expressing necessity in earlier stages of the language, given that the three markers described in this research have only begun to meaningfully express necessity since the second half of the 20th century. Introduction: The rationale for studying the necessity markers -téekw-, -lina and -andi-The understanding of necessity adopted in this article is that it is one of the two major sub-domains of modality, the other being possibility (Palmer 1986: 20; van der Auwera and Plungian 1998: 80; Kratzer 2012: 28). We use the typology proposed by Nuyts (2006, see also Nuyts 2016), in which three types of necessity are recognised. Dynamic necessity concerns 'the indication of a need or necessity for the first-argument participant' (Nuyts 2006: 3). If the needs or necessities are fully inherent to the first-argument participant or subject, it is referred to as participant-inherent dynamic necessity. If the necessity is determined by external circumstances, it is participant-imposed dynamic necessity, and for necessities/inevitabilities inherent in the situation described in the state of affairs, it is called situational dynamic necessity. Deontic necessity is generally defined as an assessment of the degree of moral acceptability of the state of affairs, while epistemic necessity is concerned with a high likelihood or probability that the state of affairs expressed in the clause applies in the world.In (older) Luganda dictionaries, grammars and handbooks, a number of forms with meanings associated with the concept of 'necessity' can be identified. These forms, some of which are auxiliaries or auxiliary-like verbs, include -téekw-'must, be obliged, be bound', -étaag-'need, require, want, desire, crave, long for', -gwán(ír)-'ought, be expedient, be necessary, be obligatory, must, be fitting, be suitable, behove', -sáan(ir)-'ought, be behoved' and -lina 'have' (see O'Flaherty 1892;

Abstract:In this article we explore the possibility of amalgamating the semasiological (i.e. alphabetical), onomasiological (i.e. conceptual) and visual approaches to dictionary compilation, here termed an alphaconceptual + (i.e. alphaconceptual 'plus') dictionary, using Luganda as a brief case study. Such a dictionary would combine the strong points of alphabetical and conceptual lexicography, with all entries also linked to relevant picture plates. In Section 1 we expound on the history of Luganda lexicography, highlighting the different types of dictionaries in the language since the early 1900s. Section 2 is an exposition of semasiological and onomasiological lexicography. In Sections 3 and 4 we study the actual dictionary market and scholarly lexicographic literature, in Africa and the rest of the world respectively. In Section 5 a case for language-independent alphaconceptual + lexicography is argued, and its proposed compilation approach is sketched out in Section 6, followed by the conclusion in Section 7.