Ch 3: Grammatical Notes in Lexico-grammatical categoriality and Sherbro (Sierra Leone) noun classes (original) (raw)
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Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 1992
Book Reviews lection of papers emerged from a working conference on Amazonian Languages held at the University of Oregon in 1987, attended by North American, Brazilian, and British linguists. Although some of the papers take an explicitly historicalcomparative focus, others are concerned with particular issues in individual languages. Yet because these always seem to refer to the comparativists' concerns with universals and the differences between syntactic and historical processes, the book has an unusually strong coherence. The two general papers (by Doris Payne, David Payne, Derbyshire and Doris Payne; Jensen, Dooley, and Wise), which are concerned with exploring problems emerging from preliminary attempts to specify general morphological characteristics of South American languages, and the specific discussions of individual languages, are especially interesting for their examination of practical problems in analysis. The authors examine a variety of current theories for their value in helping to solve these problems. Included is discussion of the differences between clitics and particles (Dooley); derivations of noun classification systems (Derbyshire and Doris Payne; Barnes on Tuyuca); noun incorporation (Weir on Nadeb); word formation (Dietrich on Chiriguano and Guarayo); ergativity, nominativity, and transitivity (Francetto on Kuikuro; Thomas Payne on Panare); scope, grammatical rule, and discourse pragmatic control (Dooley; Hoff on Carib); and cognitive processing issues (Lowe on Nambikuara). The South American language data often suggest interesting revisions to these theories. Terence Kaufman's paper "Language History in South America: What We Know and How to Know More" includes an assessment of the (very weak) foundation for Greenberg's recent classification of South American languages. At the same time Kaufman uses, as the basis of a plan of his own, Greenberg's central idea: "compare a rather large standard set of basic vocabulary and grammatical morphemes in all the languages of a particular area in order to catalog similarities in sound and meaning and generate hypotheses about genetic relatedness" (p. 17). Following this, Kaufman describes procedures for the comparative method, including the formulation and evaluation of phonological, lexical, and grammatical reconstructions, that show just how dedicated one must be to do such work-a life's work, as he says. The kind of detailed information on languages needed for making any well-founded statements about genetic affiliation is elaborate indeed, which makes basic data-gathering particularly urgent.
2019
This article examines the syllable structure in Fròʔò, a dialect of Tagbana spoken in Côte d'Ivoire. In our analysis, the underlying syllable structure in Fròʔò is limited to C(C)V and V. Other surface syllable shapes, such as CVC, are the result of synchronic morphophonological processes. These processes include the formation of surface complex onsets through vowel deletion, the simplification of underlying complex onsets through liquid deletion, and the merger of bisyllabic CVCV sequences into monosyllables (CVC and CV). Evidence of these phonological process can also be found in loanwords, where syllable repairs take place. 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò Table 3: Overview of the nominal classes of Fròʔò and their class markers Class markers (CM) Examples of nouns of each class Class 1 (sg. of gender 1) hō−lō wótìɔ1 several CM, including ∅ elephant−cm1 python Class 2 (pl. of gender 1) hō−bēlē wótìɔ−hélé CM: [-hele], [-bele],-lV elephants−cm2 pythons−cm2 Class 3 (sg. of gender 2) lāː−lā kpē−lē CM: [-lV] belly−cm3 knife−cm3 Class 4 (pl. of gender 2) lā−ʔālā kpē−gēlē CM: [-ʔVlV,-gele] bellies−cm4 knives−cm4 Class 5 (sg. of gender 3) jē−gē āfɔ−ŋɔC M: [-gV]/[-ŋV]/[-ʔV] or ∅ month−cm5 newthing−cm5 Class 6 (pl. of gender 3) jēː−rē āfɔ:−rɔC M: [-rV] months−cm6 newthings−cm6 Class 7 (sg. of gender 4) ɲũ−mũ wɛ−bɛC M: [-mV] water−cm7 foliage−cm7 (4) [a]/[ã] in word-initial position a. ā.jlē-ʔè mirror-cm5 'mirror' b. ā.wrē-ʔē something itchy-cm5 'something itchy' c. à.plè3 'shade' d. ã.gù1 'traditional dance' e. ã.gō-lò mount-cm3 'mount' Word-medially, all vowels can be a nucleus, see two examples in (5), each of which contains a CM consisting only of a vowel. (5) Vowel at hiatus position a. pì-ɔc hild-cm1 'child' b. kā.fū-ō sweat-cm5 'sweat' 5 Yranahan Traoré & Caroline Féry Word-initially, before all vowels other than [a], [h] or another consonant is needed; see (6) for words starting with [h]. In loanwords starting with a vowel, [h] is inserted word-initially, see §5. (6) [h] initial words a. hēːrē 'to press' b. hɔʔɔ' to cook' c. hòʔó 'to stoop' d. hɛ̰ 'where' e. hí-ʔí feather-cm5 'feather' f. hú-ʔú thorn-cm5 'thorn' Syllables consisting of a nasal only are the subject of §2.4 2.2 CV syllable: onset + nucleus All consonants can occupy the word-initial onset position except for the glottal stop [ʔ] and [r], both of which do not occur in this position. In (7), monosyllabic words are used for illustration. (7) a. pũ1 'dog' b. bā7 'this' c. tō1 'father' d. díː 'so, that' e. cã' to fall' f. ɉɛ' to wake up' g. kā 'to break' h. gũ1 'tortoise' i. kpē 'to take' j. gbò1 'gnat' k. fã' to build' l. sɛ' produce' m. hɛ' where' n. mĩ' I, me' o. nũ̀1 'ox' p. ɲĩ 'to fill' q. ŋã' this one' r. jō 'to say' s. wī 'him' 6 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò Vowel lengthening is triggered by a following liquid, [r] or [l], as shown in (8). Liquids at the beginning of word final syllables often are the initial consonant of a class marker, but not always. The examples in (8) have a heteromorphemic liquid, except for (8f), in which the last syllable is part of the lexical root. (8) a. lōː-rō mango-cm6 'mangoes' b. kāː-lā problem-cm3' 'problem' c. pĩː-rĩt am-tam-cm6 'tam-tams' d. pũː-lũd og-cm2 'dogs' e. pìː-lì child-cm2 'children' f. ɉàː.rà1 'lion' Not all vowels lengthen before a liquid, as shown in (9). This happens when the vowel follows [ʔ]. In this case, it is deleted or pronounced as a short and weak vowel (see §3.2 for vowel deletion). Thus, the sequence [ʔVrV] blocks lengthening of the vowel following [r]. (9) a. fīʔī.rí 'to frighten' b. híʔí.rí 'to shiver' c. ɲɔʔɔ.rɔ' to move' d. hùʔù.rú 'to spin' Words initial complex onsets are illustrated in (11). (11) Complex word-initial onsets i. [pl]: plɔ.ʔɔb amboo-cm5 'bamboo' ii. [pr]: prò6 'chip' iii. [bl]: blɔ' plowed' iv. [br]: bré.ʔé 'to boil' v. [tr]: trá.ʔá 'to stick up' vi. [dr]: drè.ʔè shift-cm5 'shirt' vii. [cl]: clɛ.mũẁ oman-cm7 'womanhood' viii. [cr]: crɛ.ʔɛ' to expand' ix. [ɉl]: ɉlì.ʔí 'wise' x. [ɉr]: ɉrɛ.ʔɛ' to fly' xi. [kl]: klã.ʔãs eat-cm5 'seat' xii. [kr]: krɔ.ʔɔ car-cm5 'car' xiii. [km]: kmɔ' to beat' xiv. [gm]: gmɔ' beaten' xv. [gl]: glē.ʔè tamis-cm5 'tamise' xvi. [gr]: grā̰ 'dirty' 8 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò xvii. [kpl]: kplɛ.ʔɛf ormer-cm5 'former' xviii. [kpr]: kprā.ʔā sugar cane-cm5 'sugar cane' xix. [gbl]: gblɛːr 'beginning' xx. [gbr]: gbrè.ʔè 'unripe' xxi. [fl]: flĩ.ʔĩ furuncle-cm5 'furuncle' xxii. [fr]: frɔ.ʔɔ' to scrub' xxiii. [sr]: srɛ.ʔɛṕ rayer-cm5 'prayer' xxiv. [hl]: hlã-ʔãl eg-cm5 'leg' xxv. [hr]: hrō6 meal 'meals' xxvi. [ml]: mlã-ʔãfi ght-cm5 'fight' xxvii. [mr]: mrũ̀.ʔũc orosol-cm5 'corosol' xxviii. [nr]: nrɛr oot-cm6 'roots' xxix. [ɲl] ɲlɔ.ʔɔ' to write' xxx. [ɲr]: ɲrã.ʔã' to hook' xxxi. [ŋl]: ŋlɔ-ʔɔd ream-cm5 'dream' xxxii. [ŋr]: ŋrɔ.ʔɔ 'to push' xxxiii. [wl]: wlɛ-ʔɛd ay-cm5 xxxiv. [wr]: wrē.ʔē 'short' xxxv. [jl]: jlɛ.mɛc lean-cm7 'cleanliness' xxxvi. [jr]: jrā.ʔā thing-cm5 'thing' Only [k] and [g] can form an initial complex onset with [m], but the segment clusters [km] and [gm] are only attested in a few words. Herault & Mlanhoro (1973) analyze them as the nasal counterparts of [kp] and [gb] when the following vowel is nasal, see examples in (12). In other words, in their analysis [km] and [gm] are allophones of underlying /kp/ and /gb/. An alternative explanation is that the vowel following [km] and [gm] is subject to nasal harmony. That explains why the following vowel is always nasal. In fact, [kp] and [gb] can be followed by a nasal vowel, and this distributional fact speaks against the allophonic nature of [km] and [gm], see the examples in (12). Word-medial complex onsets are listed in (14). 9 Yranahan Traoré & Caroline Féry (12) a. kmɔ 'to hit' b. kmã-ʔã' nice' c. kmɔ.ʔɔ-lɔfi replace-cm3 'fireplace' d. lā.gmã.mũb elly-kind-cm7 'kindness' (13) a. kpɛ-mũd aylight-cm7 'daylight' b. kpãdàː-là funeral yard-cm3 'funeral yard' c. lāgbã-mũ anger-cm7 'anger' (14) Word-medial complex onsets i. [pl]: tī.plɔ-ʔɔḡ round-cm5 'ground' ii. [pr]: tì.prì-ʔì fresh-cm5 'freshness' iii. [bl]: à.blò-ʔò peanut-cm5 'peanut' iv. [br]: à.brà.ʔà 'to bargain' v. [tr]: kpà.trō-ʔō whip-cm5 'whip' vi. [dr]: kā.fĩ.n.drī-ʔī umbilical cord-cm5 'umbilical cord' vii. [cl]: kā.clē-ʔē bone-cm5 'bone' viii. [ɉl]: n.ɉlé.ʔè wall-cm5 'wall' ix. [ɉr]: kɔ.ɉrɛ.lɛḿ angoose-cm3 'mangoose' x. [kl]: tì.klɔ̰ .ʔɔ̰ 'long' xi. [kr]: kā.krā.ʔ junk-cm5 'junk' xii. [km]: a.kmɔː-rɔs trike-cm6 'the strikes' xiii. [gm]: la.gmã-m(ũ̀) belly-kind-cm7 'kindness' xiv. [gl]: hã.glā.ʔà bow-cm5 'bow' 10 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò xv. [gr]: bà.grà-ʔà hoe-cm5 'hoe' xvi. [gbl]: kã.gblò-ʔò cudgel-cm5 'cudgel' xvii. [gbr] ā.gbrē.ʔē unripe-cm5 'unripe' xviii. [fl]: tū.flɛ-ʔɛw ind-cm5
This paper uses an autosegmental approach to explain tonal processes in the simple verb phrase of Kabiye (Gur, Eastern Gurunsi). It begins by cataloguing verbs into three tone classes, based on the tone of the imperative, the inflected form closest to the underlying form of the root. Then it explains the tonal derivations of the three main inflected forms (i.e. imperfective-present, imperfective past, perfective). Firstly, it shows that adding a L tone prefix triggers a spreading rule. Secondly, it shows that TAM suffixes are underlyingly toneless and receive their tone by means of a dissimilation rule. Thirdly, it demonstrates the existence of floating TAM prefixes, and explore their effect on L tone spreading.
Arusha Working Papers in African Linguistics, Vol. 4
2022
Alege is one of the undescribed languages that belong to the Bendi language family spoken in Cross River State, Nigeria, West Africa. This study examines the vowel system of the language. Data for this work was gathered primarily through a series of fieldwork carried out between 2016 and 2019. The descriptive approach is employed in providing both phonetic and phonemic analyses of the data. For the analysis and interpretation of the phonetic data, the study utilizes the Praat software. We also exploit the classical phonemic parameters of contrast and distribution in determining the phonemic status of vowels in the language. Findings from the study show that Alege has twenty-eight phonetic vowels and nine oral phonemic vowels /i ɪ e ɛ ɑ ɔ o ʊ u/. Eight of the nine vowel phonemes, except for /o/, have nasalized counterparts that are restricted to word-final position in their distribution. Vowel length is not contrastive but is phonetic in certain environments. Phonemically, instances of perceived long vowels are analyzed as cases of sequences of identical short vowels. One defining quality of the vowel system of most Niger-Congo languages is vowel harmony that is based on the Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) feature. Interestingly, Alege language which is classified under the Benue-Congo group does not show any form (total or partial) of vowel harmony.
2013
Adjectives in Basaá [ɓasaá] (Bantu, A43: Cameroon) are morphologically nominal: they possess inherent noun class and distinguish singular and plural (Dimmendaal 1988, Hyman 2003). Additionally, adjectives in Basaá function as the head of their noun phrase, in a sense to be made precise below. This challenges the standard assumption that noun phrases or DPs are projected (or headed) by nouns. This paper provides an analysis of adjectives in Basaá which takes seriously the categorical status of Basaá adjectives as nouns, but proposes that these adjectives are syntactic predicates of the noun they modify, moving to their position as nominal heads by Predicate Inversion. The status of adjectives as nominal heads can be seen in the example below, in which the adjective occurs in the position of the head noun and controls concord on its dependents, including the phrase containing the noun it modifies (Hyman 2003):
Word Categories in African Languages the Case of Ideophones in Swahili
Despite the fact that ideophones represent a group of words with distinct features which have specific sensory-oriented functions, previous classification of ideophones in Bantu languages had not treated this group of lexical entries equally thus creating a linguistic gap in the various grammars. This work discusses representations and usages of ideophones in Swahili with focus on the manifestations of spoken texts in written texts, ideophonic representation of reality and not just imitation of sounds, and orthographic representations of ideophones. The intention is to establish ideophone as an independent word category in the language. I argued from findings that ideophones, as an independent open word category in Swahili, is not strictly distinct from other word categories phonologically but typically on morphological and syntactical parameters. Also, I showed that the ideophones in the language are both onomatopoeic and lexical (symbolic). Syntactically, they function to modify adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Pragmatically, they involve final vowel lengthening as well as extended reduplications to signal the magnitude of the features they describe or modify.