The Syntax of Igbo Causatives
The Syntax of Igbo Causatives

Author: Ndubuisi Anyanwu

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2016-12-14

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 978543110X

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The Landmarks Series is a research and publications outfit funded by the Landmarks Research Foundation to publish recent outstanding doctoral dissertations on any aspect of Nigerian linguistics, languages, literatures and cultures. This study examines causatives in Igbo within the minimalist program. It identifies three types of causative: analytical, morphological and lexical. The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 is the general introduction, while Chapter 2 examines in some details the theory of causativity. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 focus on the analytical, morphological and lexical causative respectively.

African Languages from a Role and Reference Grammar Perspective
African Languages from a Role and Reference Grammar Perspective

Author: Jens Fleischhauer

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-05-08

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 3110795299

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The volume is a collection of papers which apply Role & Reference Grammar (RRG) to African languages. RRG is a functional theory of syntax which has been developed on the basis of two leading questions: First, how would a syntactic theory look like which starts from 'exotic' languages rather than English? Second, how can the interaction between syntax, semantics and pragmatics in different grammatical systems best modelled and explained? Although RRG took linguistic diversity serious from its very beginning, African languages have been underrepresented in the development of the theory. Given the sheer number African languages deserve a wider coverage in a syntactic theory which takes linguistic diversity seriously. The volume is intended to fill this gap and comprises a selection of papers which investigate different aspects related to the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface of different African languages. This includes: argument doubling and dislocation in iziZulu, complex referential phrases in Gĩkũyũ, serial verb constructions in Igbo, locative complements in Hausa and Zarma Chiine and focus constructions in Emai. The papers will extent the current RRG approach to new languages and phenomena.

Current Research in African Linguistics
Current Research in African Linguistics

Author: Oluseye Adesola

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2015-09-04

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 1443881422

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Current Research in African Linguistics recognizes and honors Ọladele Awobuluyi’s contributions to African linguistics. The contributors, an international group of scholars, represent four generations of African linguists who have been influenced by Awobuluyi’s work as a scholar and teacher. The papers are organized into three thematic sections, namely applied linguistics and sociolinguistics; phonology and morphology; and syntax and semantics and their interfaces. The wide range of topics investigated in this volume will enhance the reader’s understanding of current issues in the field of African linguistics today. Indeed, the book marks an important contribution to the expanding work on language documentation and comparative linguistics by presenting data and linguistic analysis from a number of different African languages.

Operators and Nucleus
Operators and Nucleus

Author: Pieter A. M. Seuren

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-06-03

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780521148207

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Dr Seuren's study deals with the problem of presenting an adequate model of grammatical description. The model he proposes conforms in its main outlines to the transformational generative grammar established by Chomsky, but differs in important respects. These mainly affect that part of Chomsky's syntactic component known as the 'base', which generates basic or 'deep' structures. In the model of the base proposed here two main constituents are distinguished for every deep structure representation of a sentence, vis-a-vis the operators and the nucleus. The deep structure of a sentence is thus seen to be very similar to the logical structure of a proposition. The arguments given in support of this analysis are based on mainly on considerations of simplicity and semantic adequacy.

Theoretical Approaches to African Linguistics
Theoretical Approaches to African Linguistics

Author: Akinbiyi Akinlabi

Publisher: Africa World Press

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 9780865434639

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The first of a new series devoted to the study of African linguistics, this study presents papers on a wide range of disciplines pertinent to the field that will be of interest to students and researchers. This first volume includes work on Niger Congo languages such as Yoruba and Igbo, and several Bantu languages.