V1Possession and postpositions
Vathe: possession and association in Mombasa Kutchi
Five speaker-supplied examples show vathe with person references, affirmative and negative possession, and an item associated with a person.
Read articleMadhaaf / Language research
Research on East African Kutchi.
These studies document Mombasa and Ethiopian Kutchi through recorded sentences, translations and preliminary grammatical analysis. Speaker-confirmed evidence is distinguished from interpretations that still need testing.
Latest language studies
Recent studies
Begin with the evidence
What does ke mark?
The particle ke occurs in several grammatical environments. This study compares recorded examples before proposing how its uses may be related.
Read the first studyBrowse the series
Browse the studies and follow highlighted Kutchi words to their contextual meanings and dictionary entries.
V101Case and argument structure
What does ke mark? Following a particle through Kutchi sentences
The uses of ke vary across object, recipient and experiencer constructions. This study compares the recorded forms and identifies questions that need further testing.
Read article
02Verb morphology
One action, many forms: agreement and time in Mombasa Kutchi
Eight verb paradigms suggest recurring distinctions in person, gender and number. Past forms and negative constructions also reveal unresolved patterns.
Read article
03Nouns and reference
From chokro to chokra: number, gender and distance
Plural nouns and descriptive words show variation by number, gender and grammatical context. The available evidence does not yet support a single plural rule.
Read article
04Desire and non-finite forms
Who wants what? Desire, experiencers and possible non-finite forms
Expressions for wanting a thing, wanting several things and wanting an action involve different recorded constructions.
Read article
05Syntax and connected speech
Beyond the simple sentence: questions, reasons and relative clauses
Attested questions, reasons, relative clauses and reordered sentence elements are compared without assuming that verbs must always occur last.
Read article
06Postpositions and possession
La and jo: Beneficiaries and possession in Mombasa Kutchi
A paired example distinguishes doing something for a person from handling property that belongs to that person.
Read article
07Negation and verb agreement
Negation in Mombasa Kutchi: Forms and constructions
The recorded forms natho, nathi, nathaa, na, nah and nai suggest interactions between negation, agreement, tense and clause type.
Read articleEvidence first, rules second.
The studies preserve alternatives that do not fit a single grammatical rule. Questions remain open where evidence is insufficient. The displayed issue dates are retrospective editorial dates; the pages first appeared online in October 2026.
Explore the grammar