Classes 1 and 2: humans

Gender 1/2 (prefixes mu-/wa-) is the ideal gateway into the noun-class system. Three reasons:

• It contains exclusively human beings (clean semantics)
• Its prefixes are very regular
• It introduces an important mechanism: the definite pre-prefix (functional equivalent of « the »)

A Bantu feature absent in swahili but very present in shikomori: the definite pre-prefix. An extra syllable placed before the prefix to express definiteness (English « the »).

For classes 1 and 2, the definite pre-prefix is *u-*:

• muzungu — a European (indefinite)
• *u*muzungu — the European (definite)
• wazungu — Europeans (indefinite)
• *u*wazungu — the Europeans (definite)

In practice, mostly seen in formal writing and literary prose. In everyday speech, often dropped.

The word fundi (« master, teacher, craftsman ») is semantically human. You'd expect a 1/2 pattern:

• mufundi / wafundi ❌

But fundi actually follows the class 5/6 pattern by historical convention:

• fundi / mafundi ✅

Why? Probably an old layer of the language. A frozen irregularity to memorise. Languages have their exceptions, like English « foot » → « feet ».

Ahmed-Chamanga offers another analysis: fundi belongs to a subclass 1a, humans without a prefix (fundi, shemedji, shofera, bweni), whose plural is in class 6: mafundi, mazemedji, mazofera, mabweni (1992, pp. 19-20). Both analyses describe the same forms.

The word for « person » is the emblematic example of dialect variation in class 1/2:

• shiNgazidja: mndru (prefix m- + root -ndru)
• shiNdzuani: muntru or mntru
• shiMaore: mutru

Plurals follow: wandru / wantru / watru. The root stays consistent across dialects — only the inserted vowel varies. The dr (Ng) ↔ tr (Nz, Ma) rule from M1.6 applies along the way.

Lesson 3.4 explores classes 3 and 4 — trees, objects, body parts. The prefixes are similar to 1/2 in the singular (mu-/mw-) but different in the plural (mi- instead of wa-). Watch out.