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Abstract: The analysis presented in this paper provides a development of the idea that subject agreement markers in Bantu can be analysed as pronouns. With reference to Swahili and Herero, it is shown that the interpretation of subject markers is dependent on the context in which they are found and that it is, similar to ordinary pronouns, constrained by locality, directionality and class features. The relevant context includes both the wider, pragmatic context as well as the relation between overt subject and agreeing subject marker, and thus includes word-order variation between subject–verb and verb–subject structures. Lexical restrictions on the interpretation of subject markers interact with different ways in which logical subjects can be syntactically related to the verb, expressing different information structure relations such as topic and focus. By employing the Dynamic Syntax notion of incremental growth of semantic representations, a formal analysis is developed which shows how the interaction between context, word-order and lexical information from agreement markers results in the step-by-step development of the context-specific interpretation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite exhibiting a high degree of uniformity, Bantu languages display a surprising amount of variation in extraction contexts, particularly with regard to agreement patterns. This paper examines this variation, focusing first on Bantu OVS relatives and topicalization structures in which the raised operator triggers morphological subject agreement on the verb. After critiquing accounts by and others, this paper proposes an analysis of OVS structures in which the establishment of agreement relations is delayed until the end of the derivation. I then take this account of OVS as the basis for discussing variation in the agreement properties of operator constructions across Bantu languages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In many Bantu languages, not only the grammatical agreement of verbs, but also SVO word order, has a role in establishing grammatical relations. In Matengo, however, the main function of word order is to code information structure, rather than grammatical relations. This paper discusses the possible positioning of each element within sentences in Matengo, and shows that word order is largely determined by information structure, especially topicality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]