hal-05144509 The Trapped-in-Univerbation hypothesis for Bantu object prefixes

This paper critically evaluates the idea put forward in the literature that Bantu object prefixes are reflexes of object pronouns that used to be placed in between an auxiliary and a main verb, pointing out a number of facts that challenge this hypothesis, including the mutual ordering of multiple object markers and of object markers and infinitive markers. It calls for methodological rigor if arguments from areal typology are used in grammatical reconstruction and makes a novel proposal for the most likely structure of Proto-Bantu verb forms.