Sandhi under the spotlight*

Abstract

The term sandhi is not frequently encountered in discussions of morphophonemic modifications in the traditional grammars of the Bantu languages. It is a term which, even in linguistic research outside of the Bantu language family, has carefully been avoided in some cases and in others found to have varied applications. This article attempts to gain some clarity on the meaning and origin of the term sandhi, to determine general principles which underlie sandhi modifications and to consider issues which cannot be ignored when it comes to the application of the term to the Bantu languages. The discussion is mainly based on examples from Northern Sotho.