NEGATION IN KUTURMI LANGUAGE
BAMIDELE, Bukola Omolara
07/15CB049
A LONG ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS
AND NIGERIAN LANGUAGES, FACULTY OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF
ILORIN, ILORIN – NIGERIA.
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD
OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS B.A. (HONS.) IN LINGUISTICS
MAY, 2011.
CERTIFICATION
This project has been read and approved as meeting the requirements of
the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, Faculty of Arts, University
of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
_____________________________
DR. MICHAEL A. O. OYEBOLA
____________________
DATE
_____________________________
PROF. A. S. ABDUSSALAM
____________________
DATE
_____________________________
EXTERNAL EXAMINER
____________________
DATE
Project Supervisor
Head of Department
ii
DEDICATION
To God, the sufficiency of my life and the essence of my being.
And,
To my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Olorunfemi Julius Bamidele.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My profound gratitude goes to Jesus, my help in times of trouble when I
thought all hope was lost. Thank you Lord.
A great thank you to my parent, without you I will not be where I am
today, may God bless you and may you fully eat the fruit of your labour. Thanks
to my siblings Makinde, Ayo, and John, I love you all.
Busayo Bamidele, may God support you as you’ve always supported me,
thank you. So also thanks to Chief and Mrs. Bamidele, Mrs. Akeredolu and to all
Bamideles’ and Kudabos’, God bless you all.
Dr. Michael A. O. Oyebola, you are not just a supervisor, you are a Godsent father to me. Thank you so much sir. Thanks to all my lecturers; Prof.
Abdussalam, Dr. I.O. Sanusi, Mr. Friday Otun, Mrs. Abubakre, Mrs Arokoyo, Mr.
Aje, Mr. Rafiu, among others.
My gratitude goes to my friends and coursemates, Tokunbo, Bola, Tobilola,
Janet, Atinuke (Jericho), Dolapo, Akin, Mayowa, Tosin, Yomi (Pa Yomex) Akeem,
Ejigboye, John, Sunday and to all my roommates.
A very big thank you to Pastor Abu Sunday, and to all DLCF members
Unilorin Chapter (P.S).
iv
LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATION
S
-
Sentence
GB
-
Government and Binding
SPEC -
Specifier
XP
-
Maximal Projection
CP
-
Complementizer Phrase
IP
-
Inflectional Phrase
NP
-
Noun Phrase
VP
-
Verb Phrase
N
-
Noun
V
-
Verb
PP
-
Prepositional Phrase
P
-
Preposition
A
-
Adjective
ADJP -
Adjective Phrase
TNS -
Tense
CONJ -
Conjunction
M
Modal
-
v
D-S
-
Deep Structure
S-S
-
Surface Structure
AUX -
Auxiliary
AGR -
Agreement
Adv
-
Adverb
ASP
-
Aspect
DET -
Determiner
N’
-
N bar
V’
-
V bar
C’
-
C bar
Move 
Move alpha
_
X
-
X-bar
\
-
Low tone
-
-
Mid tone
/
-
High tone
INFL -
Inflection
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
i
Certification
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgements
iv
List of Symbols and Abbreviation
v
Table of Contents
vii
CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.0
Introduction
1
1.1
Historical Background/Geographical Location
1
1.2
Socio-Cultural Profile
3
1.2.1 Dressing
3
1.2.2 Tribal Marks
3
1.2.3 Religion
4
1.2.4 Occupation
4
1.2.5 Marriage System
5
1.3
Genetic Classification
6
1.4
Scope and Organization of the Study
7
1.5
Theoretical Framework
7
1.6
Data Collection
16
1.7
Data Analysis
17
CHAPTER TWO: INTRODUCTION TO SOUND INVENTORY
2.0
Introduction
18
2.1
Consonants Sounds
18
vii
2.2
Vowel Sounds
18
2.3
Nasalized Vowel Sounds
19
2.4
Basic Syntactic Concepts
21
2.4.1 Basic Word Order
21
The Sentence
24
2.5.1 Simple Sentence
25
2.5.2 Compound Sentence
25
2.5.3 Complex Sentence
26
Functional Classification of Sentence
27
2.6.1 Declarative Sentences
27
2.6.2 Imperative Sentences
27
2.6.3 Interrogative Sentence
28
2.6.4 Exclamatory Sentences
29
Phrase Structure Rule
29
2.7.1 Noun Phrase
32
2.7.2 Verb Phrase
33
2.7.3 Adjective Phrase
35
2.7.4 Prepositional Phrase
36
Lexical Categories
38
2.8.1 Noun
39
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.8.1.2
40
2.8.1.3 Concrete Nouns
41
2.8.1.4 Abstract Nouns
41
2.8.1.5 Collective and Compound Nouns
42
viii
2.9
2.8.1.6 Collective Nouns
42
2.8.1.7 Countable Noun
42
2.8.1.8 Uncountable Nouns
43
2.8.2 Pronouns
43
2.8.3 Verbs
43
2.8.4 Adverbs
44
2.8.5 Adjectives
45
2.8.6 Preposition
45
2.8.7 Conjunctions
45
2.8.8 Interjections
46
Basic Syntactic Concepts in Kuturmi Language
46
2.9.1 The Form
46
2.9.2 Sentence Types: Simple Sentence
47
2.9.2.1 Compound Sentence
48
2.9.2.2 Complex Sentence
48
2.10 Functional Classification of Sentence
49
2.10.1 Declarative Sentences
49
2.10.1.1 Imperative Sentences
49
2.10.1.2 Interrogative Sentences
50
2.10.1.3 Exclamatory Sentences
50
2.11 Phrase Structure Rule
51
2.11.1 Types of Phrases
53
2.11.1.1 Noun Phrase
53
2.11.1.2 Verb Phrase
54
ix
2.11.1.3 Adjective Phrase
56
2.11.1.4 Prepositional Phrase
57
2.12 Lexical Categories
58
2.12.1 The Noun
58
2.12.2 Pronouns
60
2.12.3 Verbs
60
2.12.4 Adjectives
60
2.12.5 Preposition
61
2.12.6 Conjunctions
61
2.12.7 Interjections
61
CHAPTER THREE: NEGATION IN KUTURMI LANGUAGE
3.0
Introduction
62
3.1
Negation Types
63
3.1.1 Negation of Modal Auxiliaries
67
3.2
3.1.1.1 Auxiliary Negation
68
3.1.1.2 Main Verb Negation
68
3.1.2 Negation of Auxiliaries ‘do’, ‘have’, and ‘be’
69
3.1.3 Negation of Commands
71
3.1.4 Constituent Negation
73
3.1.5 Meta Negation
75
Negation in Kuturmi Language
76
3.2.1 Types of Negation
77
3.2.1.1. Negation of Modal Auxiliary
78
3.2.2 Negation of Auxiliaries ‘do’, ‘have’, and ‘be’
80
x
3.2.3 Negation of Commands
82
3.2.4 Sentence Negation
83
3.2.4.1 Interrogative Sentence Negation
89
CHAPTER FOUR: TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES
4.0
Introduction
97
4.1
Transformations
97
4.2
Negation and Relativisation
98
4.3
Negation and Question Formation
102
4.3.1 Wh Question Formation
103
4.3.2 Yes/No Question
105
Conclusion
109
4.4
CHAPTER FIVE:
5.0
Introduction
110
5.1
Summary
110
5.2
Observation
111
5.3
Conclusion
111
References
113
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.0
INTRODUCTION
This research is aimed at describing an aspect of the syntax of Kuturmi
language, and to show the important peculiarities of the language.
xi
1.1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND/GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Kuturmi land is situated geographically between lat. 9.50 North and 100
South and Longitude 7.50 East and 8.00 West. The region lies to the Western
part of Kachia district headquarters. It is bounded by the river Gurara to the East
and to the North by Kadara tribe twelve (12) kilometers from Kachia town and it
occupies about eight thousand (8000) square kilometers (Tanko Kankana 2010).
According to Tanko there are two sources of the Kuturmi origin. One of
the traditional historical sources had it that the people of Kuturmi, formerly called
the Kutumbawa, hailed from Daura province in Katsina state. Bagauda led the
Kutumbawa people to capture Kano empire in the year 499 AD. Bagauda was
said to be the grandson of Bayajidda, the snake killer of Daura.
The second source puts it that the Kuturmi people migrated to their
present settlement from Kano city in 1807 AD as a result of the Jihad wars. This
history also revealed that the Kuturmi (Kutumba) race ruled Kano empire
between 14th – 18th centuries. The name Kutumba was coined from mortar
carving which was given to them by neighbours because that was their
occupation (the word mortar is Turmi in Hausa).
It was alleged that when Kano was overthrown in 1807 AD Kutumbawa
xii
people under the leadership of Bakutumbe fled to Kabo village to the West of
Kano city from where they migrated southwards in search of refuge, they passed
through Zaria to the north and Kauru to the south settled in a village called
Kallah, from Kallah they attacked and conquered Kujuru Kingdom. The Kuturmi
still in search of refuge moved further southward and settled at Iburu in Kufana
district from where they went further south and settled at their present site.
As a result of frequent wars and slave raids, the Kuturmi people have been
reduced to a small number. It was also alleged that during the fall of Kutumbawa
dynasty a group of the Kutumbawa were taken captive to Barao Empire and
another to lower Plateau close to the Lantang people. The Kurama people in Lere
local government and the Gwadara people in the lower Plateau state are linked
to Kutumbawa origin.
1.2
SOCIO-CULTURAL PROFILE
Socio-cultural profile refers the valued ethics/norms of a given set of
people in a given community in the way of life, behaviour, action and
performances etc. The Kuturmi people have a peculiar way of living which shows
in their dressings, tribal marks, religion, occupation and marriage.
1.2.1 DRESSING
xiii
Before the advent of Christianity, men dressed in animal skins and
Agwado, the animal skin was worn around the waist, the agwado is one piece of
dress made from cotton. It was worn by children and adolescents. The women
dressed in ‘ture’ a piece of cloth of about 1.5 meter long and two inches wide.
The young girls use leaves. The men now dress in simple dresses occasionally
using flowing gowns on festivals and on Sundays, the women wear wrappers and
blouses with hair tie to match after the advent of Christianity.
1.2.2TRIBALMARKS
The Kuturmi people are of a common identity with their longitudinal tribal
marks on the cheeks. This was a sign of wealth and common identity in the
olden days; though some still carry the mark today.
1.2.3 RELIGION
To Kuturmi people God is the creator and the controller of the universe
who has the final and absolute authority over his subject or creation. God is
known as ‘Unung’ i.e. Supreme Being. He is known to be the father of gods and
they see him as too holy to be approached. Thus, they created intermediaries of
which one is ‘okun’ (the ancestral spirits) and the shrine is called ‘ujenekwu’, the
chief priest is known as ‘ete-kwu’ who normally leads the people to perform
xiv
rituals.
Kuturmi people also believe in spirits known as ‘Ushari’ which live in
various places such as rivers, mountains, etc. and of various forms. As a result of
dominance of Christian religion, the belief in ancestral shrine has drastically
reduced: However, this is not to say some people do not still worship God in the
traditional way.
1.2.3 OCCUPATION
The major occupation of Kuturmi people is farming,in addition to mortar
carving and blacksmith work. Hunting and dishing are practiced on part time
basis. They grow crops such as millet, maize, rice, guinea corn, cocoyam, yam
etc.
1.2. 4 MARRIAGE SYSTEM
Marriage in the olden days is the responsibility of parents. They choose
wife for their male and husband for their female right from the day of birth. The
parent simply ties a rope around the leg of the baby indicating his or her
willingness to marry her to his or her son from that time. Gift items are sent to
the family of the lady and when they are ripe for marriage the dowry will be
paid. The dowry was usually a hen and a pot of local wine (burukutu). The
xv
culture has been replaced by the western method of marriage.
xvi
1.3
GENETIC CLASSIFICATION
AFRICA
Niger Kordofanian
Niger Congo
Kordofanian
West Atlantic
Kru
Kwa Mande
Plateau
Benue-Congo
Junkoid
Cross-River
Plateau 1 Plateau 2 Plateau 3 Plateau 4 Plateau 5 Plateau 6
Eloyi
Zaria Group
Kiro Subgroup Jaba
Kuturmi
Idon
Mande Subgroup Central Kadara Subgroup
Kadara
Doka
xvii
Ikulu
Kajuni
1.4
SCOPE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This study focuses on the aspect of negation of Kuturmi language. Chapter
one deals with the general introduction such as background to the study, history
of the language, sociolinguistics profile, genetic classification and theoretical
framework. Chapter two deals with the basic syntactic rules, lexical categories.
Chapter three entails focus on negation of Kuturmi language. Chapter four
contains the transformational process in Kuturmi language and chapter five deals
with the summary and conclusion.
1.5
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The framework adopted for this research work is the Government and
Binding (GB) theory which is also known as principles and parameter theory. This
is the theory which captures the similarities which exist between different
categories of lexical phrases by assigning the same structure to them rather than
having different phrase structure rules for NPs, VPs, etc.
According to Culicover (1997: 20), principles and parameters theory is a
variant of transformational generative grammar which assumes primarily for
reasons of uniformity that constituent of a sentence can move from one position
to another in conformity with certain principles. Radford (1988: 419) defines
xviii
transformation as the rule that deals with the act of changing the structure of
one sentence to another structure through the concept of movement know as
move-alpha (Move-).
Government and Binding theory postulates seven sub theories of the
theory of grammar. The structures generated at various levels are constrained by
a set of theories, which define the kind of relationships possible within a
grammar. The sub theories of Government and Binding theory are given below:
i.
X-bar theory
ii.
Theta theory
iii.
Case theory
iv.
Binding theory
v.
Bounding theory
vi.
Government theory
vii.
Control theory
_
1.5.1 X theory:
The core of this theory is the fact that phrasal constituents have ‘heads;
xix
upon which other elements of the constituent are dependent. The cover symbol
X stands for all variables such as the V(erb), N(oun), Adv(erb), P(reposition),
Adj(ective) etc. and the items involved in the sub categorization of those lexical
heads are mostly interpreted as semantic arguments. It is worthy to note that
some items are more closely bound of the head than others e.g.
Ada’s father is a pig
Here Ada is ultimately bound with father, to show that it is Ada’s and not
another.
It is generally assumed that items which are involved in subcategorization, are in most cases, interpreted as “arguments of the head”.
Therefore a schema of a N’ will be
xx
N’
Spec
N’
‘the boy’
N
the
boy
_
In X syntax the schemata thus is
_
X
X
Comp
Where the X variable is located at the left side of its complement.
X-bar theory projects from the core projection level to the maximal
projection level. This is illustrated below:
xxi
X”
Maximal projection

X’
Intermediate projection

X0
Core projection
1.5.2 Ө Theory
Ө theory is concerned with the assignment of what Chomsky termed
thematic roles to sentential constituents (Horrock 1987: 101). Here thematic
refers to semantic and the roles refers to the agent patient (or theme)
beneficiary etc. It is assumed that these are assigned to the complements of
lexical items as a lexical property for example.
Ada is eating the food on the table
NP
PP
Here the NP complement is assigned the role of patient or theme and the PP
complement the role of location. The verbs (or majority of verbs) Ө mark the
subject position of sentences containing them (Horrocks 1987: 102). Here
Horrocks explained that the verb is the backbone of the sentence, so if the verb
denotes a [–human] attribute then the subject will also have [–human] attribute.
xxii
Thus any constituent assigned Ө-role by definition denotes a predicate
argument.
The main principle of Ө-theory is the Ө-criterion which requires each
thematic role to be uniquely assigned; that is each constituent denoting an
argument is assigned just one role.
1.5.3 CASE THEORY
According to Horrocks, case theory deals with the principles of case
assignment to constituent. This case is an overt property only of prenominal NPs
in English we have (I/me, she/her, he/him/his, we/us, they/them/their) Chomsky
assumes that all NPs with lexical content are assigned case.
The basic idea is that case is under government theory. Before a case can
be assigned there must be a governor which assigns. This can be explained as
certain lexical heads have the power to assign case to their complement which
they govern. For example a PP which governs an NP complement will case mark
that constituent e.g.
xxiii
PP
Spec
Ф
P’
P
NP
Spec
N’
N
in
the
house
1.5.4 BINDING THEORY
It is concerned primarily with the conditions under which NPs are
interpreted as co-referential with other NPs in the same sentence (Horrock 1987:
108).NPs are assumed to fall into three categories:
1.
Anaphors
2.
Pronominals
3.
Referential expressions
xxiv
Anaphors are NPs whose reference is necessarily determined sentence
internally and which cannot have independent reference e.g. in English.
She cut herself with a knife.
Herself is referring back to she.
Prenominals are NPs that lack specific lexical content and have only the
features person, number, gender and case. Unlike anaphors they do not refer to
individuals independently or co-refer to individuals already named in the
sentence.
Re-expressions: these are noun phrases with lexical hands which
potentially refers to something e.g.
Ada says Adam should be promoted.
Thus the bounding theory would be concluded to involve NP argument. An
anaphor must be bound in its governing category. A pronominal must be free in
its governing category.
A referential expression must be free every where.
1.5.6 BOUNDING THEORY
xxv
This is concerned with the limitations to be placed on the displacement of
constituents by the transformational rule schema more  (Horrocks 1987: 128).
In essence the bounding theory constrains the movement of constituent i.e. it
constrains what is to be moved, from where it can be moved and to where it can
be moved, i.e. landing site.
1.5.7 CONTROL THEORY
This is concerned with the way infinite structures are constrained. It
focuses on an element called PRO (also called big pro to differentiate it with
PRO).
Pro is restricted to the subject position in non-finite clause.
‘I intended to leave
In the above example, there are reasons to believe that there is really a
subject to the clause ‘to leave’ but its subject is invisible. PRO appears only in the
subject position of non finite clause; it is not used in finite clauses and object
positions since there is no governor for the position.
1.5.8 GOVERNMENT THEORY
This deals with the relationship with the head and its complement i.e. the
xxvi
syntactic relationship between the governor and the elements it governs. This
can be explained as
 governs  if
1.
 and  mutually c-command each other
2.
 is a governor
3.
 governs , then governs the specifier of.
1.6
DATA COLLECTION
The method used in this research work for data collection is the direct
translation of Ibadan-400 word list from English to Kuturmi. The elicitation of the
data was done by interviewing language helpers accompanied by radio cassette
recording. Frame technique was also employed during the data collection.
Frame technique refers to the collection of sentences from language
helpers. This helps to determine the underlying form of a given word or
constituent as well as the possible morphological or syntactic structure in which
such a word or constituent can occur in the grammatical sentence.
Informant’s Data
Informant: Sunday, Dogo Danmadami
Occupation: Head teacher
xxvii
Age: 32 years
Religion:
Christianity
Language spoken apart from Kuturmi: English
Number of years spent in Kuturmi: from birth
1.7
DATA ANALYSIS
To ensure an efficient data analysis in this research, all the data collected
were carefully transcribed. There is an average of sixty (60) sentences
Simple sentence: ten sentences
Complex sentence: five sentences
Compound sentence: five sentences
Negative construction sentence: thirty sentences
Transformational construction sentence: ten sentences
Lexical categories and phrases were extracted from these sentences.
xxviii
CHAPTER TWO
2.0
INTRODUCTION TO SOUND INVENTORY
Sound inventory refers to the speech sounds attested in a particular
language, speech sounds are created by modifying the volume and direction of a
flow of air using various parts of the human respiratory system.
2.1
CONSONANTS SOUNDS
These are speech sounds produced when the speaker either stops or
severely constricts the airflow in the vocal tract. Akmajian et al (2008)
consonants in Kuturmi language.
/p/, /b/, /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ /kp/ /gb/ /f/ /v/ /s/ /z/ /w/ // /Ʒ/ /ʤ/ /n/ /m/ /ŋ/ /j/ /kw/
ts/ /kj/ /gw/
2.2
VOWEL SOUNDS
Vowels are produced with relatively open vocal tract which functions as a
resonating chamber. Akmajian et al (2008). Examples from Kuturmi language:
/i/, /a/, /e/, //, /u/, /ε/, /o/
2.3
NASALIZED VOWEL SOUNDS
/ũ/, /õ/, //, /ề/, /ῖ/,/ε/, /ã/
xxix
Stops
Fricate
Affricates
Nasals
Approximant
m
Trill
w
Pb
f v
Lateral
sz
ts
n
l
r
j
xxx
Palatalized
velar
Velar
kwgw
Kbgb
kj
kg
 з
t dз
ŋ
Glottal
Velarized
labio
Labio velar
td
Palatalized
Palaltal
Alveo
palatal
Alveo
Dental
Labiodental
Bilabial
Consonant Chart
h
Vowel Chart
Front
High
Central
i
Mid-high
Back
u
e
Mid-low
o

ε
Low
a
Nasalized Vowel Chart
Front
High
ῖ
Mid-high
Mid-low
Low
Central
Back
ũ
ề
õ

ε
ã
xxxi
2.4
BASIC SYNTACTIC CONCEPTS
Syntax can be defined as combination of words to make sentences in a
given language according to the rules of the particular language. It refers to the
arrangement of lexical categories in their structural position in conformity with
the acceptable rule of the language. Radford (1997)
Syntactic concepts refers to the:
a.
Sentence types
b.
Basic word order
c.
Phrase structure rules
d.
Lexical categories
2.4.1BASIC WORD ORDER
This deals with sentence structure, the relative order peculiar to the
language of study i.e. the subject, verb and object. This could be explained as
the permissible/systematic arrangement of words to form grammatical and
meaningful sentences in that language. According to Kristen (2003: 322), six
syntactic types have being identified to be employed.
Subject Verb Object
Subject Object Verb
SVO
SOV
xxxii
Object Verb Subject
OVS
Object Subject Verb
OSV
Verb Subject Object
VSO
Verb Object Subject
VOS
The major types of these typologies include: SVO, SOV, and VSO. Examples
from these languages include: Arabic, which attest to VSO.
V
S
O
1. Katala
Ahmad
Adik
Killed
Ahmad
Hen
‘Ahmad killed the hen’.
2. Jitu
minal
beith
am
home
Fatimah
ila-l-bayti
going
‘Am going home.’
3.Dhohabu
Entered
Fatimah
into the house
‘Fatimah entered into the house.’
xxxiii
Examples from Kanuri which attest to SOV:
S
O
V
kolo
da kalwono
Shola
ye
Shola
[Agr] pot
the break
‘Shola broke the pot’.
Examples from Batonu
S
O
V
Issa u
nim
Issa he
water [CM]
me
nora
drink
‘Issa drank water’
English language operates an SVO language sentence structure. This is in
a simple, declarative sentence but sometimes displaces its position in complex or
transformated sentences. Examples of SVO in English language:
S
V
O
1.
the girl
is
beautiful
2.
Akeem
ate
yam
3.
we
love
each other
xxxiv
4.
Cynthia
can
cook
2.5 THE SENTENCE
A group of words which expresses a complete meaning is a sentence.
According to Oxford Dictionary (7th ed.) it is a set of words expressing a
statement, a question or an order, usually containing a subject and a verb. A
sentence usually contains at least one finite verb a sentence can be classified
into three categories name: simple, compound and complex.
2.5.1 SIMPLE SENTENCE
A simple sentence contains are finite verb, its length could be as long as
three lines, it has a simple prediction i.e. a subject and predicate, the schema
could then be expressed as:
S

NP
INFL VP
The head of a sentence is usually the inflection projection and the tree
diagram would be headed by ‘IP’ which is equal to the sentence. Examples of
simple sentences in English language:
1. I slept during the meeting
2. Fatimah is not here
3. Ada can dance
xxxv
4. Zainab is singing
5. I am jumping
2.5.2 COMPOUND SENTENCE
It is made up of two or more co-ordinate simple sentences or main clauses
joined together by a coordinating conjunction e.g. like, and, but, nor, or etc. or
by a correlative conjunction e.g. either or, neither nor etc.
Examples from English:
1. Neither you nor John is attending the meeting.
2. It is either I sleep or I distort your study.
Examples from Hausa language:
1. Binta baa tana ama Ibrahim tana gidan
Binta not in
but Ibrahim in house
‘Binta is not in but Ibrahim is in the house.’
2. Aisha da
Ali ya tapi makaranta
Aisha and Ali has go school
‘Aisha and Ali have gone to school.’
Examples from kuturmi language:
1.
I
nechia
d’
ona
kokuma
xxxvi
imoro
be
I
can
return
home
or
sleep
there
‘I can go home or sleep there’
2.
O
lori-te
ama a
sini
he
frowns
but
laugh
she
‘he frowns but she smiles’
2.5.3 COMPLEX SENTENCE
The complex sentence contains two or more clauses. It contains one
independent clause and one or more dependent/subordinate clauses. The
independent clause is joined to the subordinate(s) clause(s) by subordinating
conjunctions e.g. because, while, despite etc. in English language examples of
complex sentence include:
1. Aisha is my friend though she’s very naughty and haughty
2. I love Shade because she’s darling
3. I will cut the grass while you kill the rat
2.6 FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCE
A sentence can also be classified according to the function they perform.
xxxvii
On this basis sentences can be classified as:
1.
Declarative
2.
Imperative
3.
Interrogative
4.
Exclamatory Sentences
2.6.1 DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
These are usually statement, assertion,and facts. Examples from English
language:
1. The earth is spherical.
2. The baby is a boy.
3. Noam Chomsky is a linguist.
4. I am very happy.
2.6.2 IMPERATIVE SENTENCES
This expresses a command, wish a prayer or request. Examples from
English language:
1. Will you get out of my office?
2. Can you kindly fill my bucket?
3. Please sit on the couch.
xxxviii
4. May God bless you.
2.6.3 INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE
These types of sentences ask questions or enquire. These questions could
be rhetorical. Examples from English language:
1. Can God answer prayer?
2. Where are going to?
3. Do you like bananas?
Other examples from Hausa language include:
1. Ina
za
ki
je?
Where are you go
‘Where are you going to?’
2. Mai
suna
ka?
What name
you
‘What is your name?’
Examples from Kuturmi language:
1.
su
ùwon ne
Aisha
xxxix
are
you
not
Aisha
‘Are you not Aisha?’
2.
ichi
su
why are
usahun
soro mura
younot
ing
eat
‘why are you not eating’
3.
si
Ibraheem
sáà
òd’
una
isn’t Ibraheem
not
at
house
‘Isn’t Ibraheem at home’
2.6.4 EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES
This expresses strong feelings. Examples:
1. I
am
very happy!
2. Oh my God!
3. Praise God, he is alive!
2.7 PHRASE STRUCTURE RULE
This means there are rules that mind structure of a phrase. These are
rules capturing the way native speakers acquire and use their language.
According to Horrocks (1987: 33), phrase structure rules are a set of rules which
generate structural description for sentences. They are also referred to as rexl
write rules which shows the constituent of a phrase i.e.
NP

(Det) N (PP)
The bracket is called parenthesis, it shows optional constituent which could be
present or not in a phrase.
Phrase structure rules can be applied to generate part of the structural
description of the sentence; ‘the boy is a goat’. In a mechanical fashion, its
structure can be represented by a labeled bracketing as in
S[NP[Det the]][N boy]][VP is] NP[Det a][N goat]] or in a free diagram
using X-bar theory;
xli
I
Spec
NP
Spec
I’
Tense
VP
N’
N
V’
present V’
V
NP
Spec
N’
N
the
boy
is
a
goat
The phrase structure is categorized into different phrase marking groups
depending on the head of the phrase. These are:
a.
Noun phrase
xlii
b.
Verb phrase
c.
Adjectival phrase
d.
Prepositional phrase
2.7.1 NOUN PHRASE
A noun phrase is typically made up of three elements; modifier, headword
and qualifier; these are referred to as satellites but the headword or is illustrated
technically as N’, the headword is either a noun or a pronoun, the head can
stand alone without altering the meaning. Examples of NP in English language:
A. my friend
B. big cow
Using the X-bar theory
NP
Spec
N’
My
N
Friend
xliii
NP
Spec
big
N’
N
Cow
There are also cases of single NPs English language such as:
Chief
House
Wind
2.7.2 VERB PHRASE
The verbs function as a predicator, vindications, processes and states. A
word that functions in this way is a verb when it occurs singly, but when it
occurs with two or more word it becomes a verb phrase not withstanding a
single – verb part of a sentence may be called a verb phrase.
A verb tells us the participatory roles of the nominal in the sentence. The
phrase structure rule schema is
xliv
VP

V
(NP) (PP) (S’)
Examples of verb phrase in English language
1. Sing the song
VP
Spec
Ф
V’
V
NP
Spec
The
Sing
N’
N
song
xlv
2.
Stand outside
VP
Spec
V’
Ф
V
Advp
Spec
Adv’
Ф
Adv
Stand
Outside
2.7.3 ADJECTIVE PHRASE
An adjectival phrase is headed by an adjective and it is headed by an
Adjective which modifies a noun or pronoun in a sentence.
The schema will then be
ADJP 
(ADVP)
For example:
ADJ.
Very happy
xlvi
Adjp
Spec
Adj’
Advp
Adj
Spec
Adv’
Adv
Ф
Very
Happy
2.7.4 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
A preposition is usually made up of preposition and a non phrase and
therefore has a structure similar to that of a noun phrase.
PP

PP
(NP(S’)
xlvii
Examples from English language
1. Beside the king
PP
Spec
Ф
P’
P
Beside
NP
Spec
N’
The
N
king
xlviii
2. During the meeting
PP
Spec
Ф
P’
P
During
NP
Spec
N’
The
N
Meeting
2.8 LEXICAL CATEGORIES
Lexical categories are the same as parts of speech in the diction of
traditional grammarians. Words are classified according to their functions as used
in the sentence. In essence, words are put into their respective classes according
to the function they perform in syntactic contexts. For example the word
‘swimming’ can be a noun, adjective, verb depending on how it is used.
xlix
Words are traditionally grouped into eight parts of speech or lexical
categories as follows (Yusuf, 1997: 45).
i.
Noun
ii.
Pronoun
iii.
Verb
iv.
Adverb
v.
Adjective
vi.
Preposition
vii.
Conjunction
viii.
Exclamation or interjection
2.8.1 NOUN
A noun is a word used to name or identify a person, animal, place or thing
which may include objects, qualities, actions, ideas or concepts. A noun names
anything.
For example in English language
1. Ram
2.Stone
3. House
4.Ilorin
5. Rope
6.Wind
l
Nouns function mainly as the subject of the sentence, the object or as
object of the preposition. For example:
1. My name is Aisha.
2. The book is under the table
Nouns can be classified into six categories
1.
Proper noun
2.
Common noun
3.
Concrete noun
4.
Abstract noun
5.
Collective noun
6.
Uncountable noun
2.8.1.2
PROPER NOUNS
These are (official) names of people, animals, races institution etc. Nouns
in this sub class do not have the full range determiners.
1. Ibrahim
2. Sheep
3. Village
2.8.1.3CONCRETE NOUNS
li
Denote tangible entities that can be seen or touched. These are things
which have physical manifestation examples from English language include:
1.
Calabash
2.
Basket
3.
Money
4.
Mortar
2.8.1.4ABSTRACT NOUNS
They express general terms, attributes, feelings, ideas or concepts.
Abstract nouns cannot be seen or touched but they are part of our existence.
1.
song
2.
fear
3.
laugh
4.
hunger
2.8.1.5COLLECTIVE AND COMPOUND NOUNS
Compound noun is a combination of noun(s) which may be separated by a
hyphen e.g.
Mother -in –law
lii
2.8.1.6 COLLECTIVE NOUNS
This refers to a group of persons or things as a whole.
2.8.1.7 COUNTABLE NOUN
These nouns are detectable in sentences where determiners precede
them. Common nouns which are countable, exhibit number destinction in term of
singular/plural forms e.g.
Child - Children
Friend- Friends
Animal- Animals
Fish- Fishes
Orange- Oranges
2.8.1.8 UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
There are expressible in terms of quantity, they cannot be qualified by
numerals or other qualifiers. They do not take plural markers or be used in plural
forms.
liii
1. Oil
4. Millet
2. Blood
5. Water
3. Palm wine
2.8.2 PRONOUNS
Pronouns are used instead of a noun, it performs same function as the
noun but unlike the noun it cannot take determiners.
Singular
1st
2nd
3rd
Plural
1st
2nd
3rd
Independent
I
Subject
I
Object
Me
Possessive
mine
You
he/she/it
We
you
he/she/it
we
You
him/her/it
Us
yours
his/hers/its
ours
You
They
you
they
You
them
yours
theirs
2.8.3 VERBS
These are words used to refer to various kinds of actions and states (Yule
1996). No person or individual can claim to have total control of a language
without being able to operate very well the verbal forms of the language. The
verb is the life-wire running through a whole sentence structure and without it a
sentence is lifeless. Examples:
1. Come
4. Clap
liv
2. Go
5. Sing
3. Sleep
2.8.4 ADVERBS
These words are used to provide more information about the actions and
events. Sometimes they are used with adjectives to modify the information about
things. It tells more about an adjective or another verb. For example:
suddenly
exceedingly
slowly
quietly
callously
briefly
carefully
extremely
2.8.5 ADJECTIVES
These are words used with nouns to provide more information about the
things referred to; they typically qualify nouns.
1. Tall 2. Big 3. Short 4. Old
lv
2.8.6 PREPOSITION
They are words used with nouns to provide additional information about
time, place, and other connections (Yule 1999). Preposition mark the relationship
between two notional word usually a noun or pronoun. Examples in English
language:
Beside
During
Before
2.8.7 CONJUNCTIONS
It is a word that joins words or groups of words together. It essentially
performs a linking function. Examples:
But
Or
lvi
2.8.8 INTERJECTIONS
These are words or groups of words used as exclamation to express
sudden or strong emotions.
1. Jesus!
2. God is great.
2.9
BASIC SYNTACTIC CONCEPTS IN KUTURMI LANGUAGE
2.9.1 THE FORM
This refers to the structure of the sentence. Kuturmi language attest to
SVO sentence structure.
1.
2.
S
V
O
enegei
ne
tine
girl
is
beauty
‘the girl
is
beautiful’
Akeem
mura
ikwu
Akeem
ate
yam
‘Akeem
ate
yam’
lvii
3.
4.
aru
we
etùo
we
love
each other
‘we
love
each other’
Cynthia
bujeni
ùmòrà
Cynthia
can
cook
‘Cynthia
can
cook’
2.9.2 SENTENCE TYPES: SIMPLE SENTENCE
1.
ímòri bàkwí
I sleep
utúnu
during
meeting
‘I slept during the meeting’
2.
Zainab
k’
otoote
Zainab
[cont mk]
singing
‘Zainab is singing song’
3.
otuwa -m
nè
Aisha
name my
is
Aisha
‘my name is Aisha’
lviii
2.9.2.1 COMPOUND SENTENCE
1.
I’
nechia
I
can
d’
ona
kokuma
return home
or
imoro
be
sleep
there
‘I can go home or sleep there’
2.
O
lori-te
ama a’
sini
he
frowns
but
laugh
she
‘he frowns but she smiles’
2.9.2.2 Complex Sentence
1.
Lydia ne
tine
ama nabra otoote
Lydia is
beauty but cannot sing
‘Lydia is beautiful but cannot sing’
2.
è
weh ìyen domi
ne
tine
he
like
is
beauty
her
because
‘he likes her because she’s beautiful’
3.
enegei
ne
tine
domi
ne
gban
girl
is
beauty
because
is
tall
‘the girl is beautiful because she’s tall’
lix
2.10 FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCE
2.10.1 DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
1.
Ibinta sáà
ne
egene
Binta not
is
girl
‘Binta is not a girl’
2.
aruiwo okàró
love ourselves
‘we love ourselves’
3.
orokrwu
na
gban
man
is
tall
‘the man is tall’
2.10.1.1 IMPERATIVE SENTENCES
1.
kusu
bèkía
‘toote
please
do not sing
‘please do not sing’
2.
beke damu ba
don’t worry not
‘don’t worry me’
lx
3.
pere ben
look here
‘look here’
2.10.1.2 INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
1.
su
uwon ne
aren’t you
Aisha
(GM) Aisha
‘are you not Aisha’
2.
si
Ibraheem
isn’t Ibraheem
sáà
od’una
not
at house
‘isn’t Ibraheem at home’
2.10.1.3EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES
1.
onung
mie
na
ben!
God
me
is
here
‘my God is here’
2.
íkwò ofo
am
fure!
very happy
‘I am very happy!’
lxi
2.11 PHRASE STRUCTURE RULE
The phrase structure rule is used to capture the sentence. For example:
Aku
ne
Shakira
She
is
Shakira
‘she is Shakira’
S[NP[N]VP[V]NP[N]] or it can also be illustrated in a tree diagram.
lxii
IP
Spec
I’
NP
TNS
VP
N’
Spec PRSNT
N
Ø
‘she is Shakira’
V’
V
Spec
NP
Ø
N’
Spec
N
Ø
Aku
ne
Shakira
She
is
Shakira
lxiii
2.11.1 TYPES OF PHRASES
2.11.1.1 NOUN PHRASE
ine
gigere
cow
small
‘small cow’
2.
takada
m’
book
my
‘my book’
Using tree diagram to illustrate this;
NP
N’
NP
Spec
N
N’
Spec
N
ine
gigere
takada
m
cow
small
book
my
‘small cow’
‘my book’
lxiv
These are cases of simple NPs in Kuturmi language such as:
1.
ogumo
‘king’
2.
ìkara
‘monkey’
3.
íkèrì
‘snail’
2.11.1.2VERB PHRASE
Examples of verb phrase in Kuturmi:
1.
Kyé
biko
ogumo
sit
beside
king
‘sit beside the king’
2.
pere upang
look there
‘look there’
3.
ura
ikwru
eat
yam
‘eat the yam’
lxv
VP
V’
V
Spec
NP
Ø
N’
Spec
N
Ø
Ura
ikwru
eat
yam
‘eat the yam’
lxvi
2.11.1.3 ADJECTIVE PHRASE
Example
ofo
fure
very happy
‘very happy’
Adjp
Spec
Adj’
AdvP
Spec
Adv’
Ø
Adv
Adj
ofo
fure
very
happy
Other examples are;
lxvii
‘very happy’
1.
2.
3.
kiko ‘big’
ìjíji
‘small’
ukóró ‘old’
2.11.1.4 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
Examples:
1.
biko
ògúmó
beside
king
‘beside the king’
PP
P’
P
Spec
NP
‘beside the king’
Ø
N’
Spec
N
Ø
biko ogumo
beside king
Other examples:
lxviii
2.
bakwi
utunu
during
meeting
‘during the meeting’
3.
kamie
yen
before
him
‘before him’
2.12 LEXICAL CATEGORIES
2.12.1 THE NOUN
Examples:
1.
ùna
‘house’
2.
ìtòrò ‘ram’
3.
uperi ‘moon’
4.
ìpé
‘leopard’
Nouns can be classified into six categories with example from Kuturmi.
1.
Proper noun. Examples
èvó
‘mosquito’
ushàshan
‘toad’
2.
Concrete noun. Examples
lxix
isoun
‘calabash’
ìkòró
‘basket’
ùfé
‘money’
uso
‘mortar’
3.
Abstract noun. Examples
irun
‘fear’
osina ‘laugh’
4.
Countable noun. Examples
ono
‘children’
orokwru
‘friends’
inama orumo
‘animal’
ugrom popoha
‘orange’
5.
Uncountable nouns. Examples
eyèn
‘oil’
eyíì
‘blood’
ùbámù
‘palm-wine’
idoro
‘millet’
2.12.2 PRONOUNS
lxx
Independen
Subjec
Objec
Possessiv
t
t
t
e
Imíé
imíé
imíé
imíéyon
2nd
ìwon
ìwon
ìwon
ìwonyó
3rd
Ekaba
ekaba
iyen
ineyoo
Plural
Aró
aró
aróiri
imaroyo
2nd
Ìwon
ìwon
ìwon
ìwonyó
3rd
Emo
ewó
omón
imúyón
Singula
r 1st
1st
2.12.3 VERBS
Examples:
1.
ba
‘come’
2.
kiong
‘go’
3.
imoro
‘sleep’
2.12.4 ADJECTIVES
gbon
‘tall’
lxxi
ekwekwi
‘shirt’
‘ukoro
‘old’
2.12.5 PREPOSITION
Examples:
biko ‘beside’
bako ‘during’
kamin ‘before’
2.12.6 CONJUNCTIONS
Examples:
ama
‘but’
kokuma
‘or’
kínní
‘and’
2.12.7 INTERJECTIONS
Examples:
1.
onungi
‘God’
2.
ekperi
mie!
father
me
‘my father’
lxxii
lxxiii
CHAPTER THREE
NEGATION IN KUTURMI LANGUAGE
3.0
INTRODUCTION
“All human systems of communication contain a representation of
negation. No animal communication system includes negative utterances, and
consequently none possesses a means for assigning truth value, for lying for
irony, or for copying with false or contradictory statements […]” (Hon. 2001:
xiii). That is, negation is a universal linguistic category. All languages have the
concept of negation. Even if the negative operator itself (e.g English not) is
excluded, the concept of negation is presupposed by many other elements. For
example verbs such as deny and refuse that take non-interrogative, clausal
complements and license negative polarity items (NPI, elements that require a
negative, or interrogative, context, such as at all, ever, and anything). Involve
negation of alternatives. The same holds for preposition such as without. (Ken
Ramsho, Christensen 2005).
Radford (1988: 88) defines negation as a transformational process where
a constituent is modified with ‘not’. This implies that a constituent is changed as
a result of the introduction of a constituent called ‘not’.
lxxiv
This could also be defined as the falsity of a fact, non-conformity with an
expression with the introduction of negative marker to express contradiction to
the meaning of the sentence.
Lyons (1977: 75) defined negation as; ‘a process of construction in
grammatical and semantic analysis, which typically expresses the contradiction of
some or all of a sentence meaning; this implies a falsity of a fact, or nonconformity with an expression with introduction of a negative marker to express.
3.1NEGATION TYPES
There are different types of negation in English language. One of these is
formed by the verbal modifier ‘not’. The negation of a simple sentence is
accomplished by inserting the verbal modifier ‘not’ between the operator and the
predication e.g.
1.(a) The girl is beautiful.
1.(b) The girl is not beautiful.
2.(a) We may climb the tree.
2.(b) We may not climb the tree.
In the examples above, there is a consistent that can serve as the operator
in the positive sentence. When there is none the modal auxiliary ‘do’ is
lxxv
introduced and like modal auxiliaries, it is followed by the bare infinitive.
1.(a) He sleeps outside everyday
1.(b) He does not sleep outside everyday
2.(a) I took the trash outside
2.(b) I did not take the trash outside.
There are circumstances of contracted form enclitic to the subject. This is used in
informal speech or writing and usually only pronouns are used. Examples of such
are:
1.(a) She is not reading
1.(b) She’s not reading
2.(a) they aren’t eating
2.(b) They’re not eating
3.(a) He won’t see us
3.(b) He’ll not miss seeing us.
Another type of negative formation is the use of some words that negative
in meaning but not in appearance. Examples are; seldom, barely, hardly,
scarcely, rarely. The words have similarities to the ordinary negative items in that
they are followed by non-assertive rather than assertive form. For instance:
lxxvi
1.
I hardly see him
2.
I seldom go home
When some of these words are in pre-subjective position, they can cause
subject-operator inversion e.g.
i.
Rarely does fighting pay so well as Dr. Adebola seems to think
ii.
Scarcely ever has the proprietor suffered so much a damage
The examples above show that there has been a subject operator
inversion i.e. the subject has been sifted from its normal position.
Verbs such as deny and refuse take non-interrogative clausal complements
and license negative polarity items e.g. at all, ever and anything involve negation
of alternatives. The same holds for preposition such as without. E.g.
a.
He denied that he knows her
 He claimed that he had not known her
b.
He refused to sleep
 He did not sleep
Counter-factives
and
irreahs
modality
negation:
a.
He pretends that he was sleeping
lxxvii
predicates
also
presuppose
 He is not sleeping
b.
I wish I had a car

I have no car
So also the conditioner complementizer ‘if’ presupposes that the condition
may or many not be true e.g.
If that is true then we are in money.

It may or may not be true
It also presupposes the fact that something can be wrong or right.
Stealing is wrong

Stealing is not right
Prefixes such as un-, dis-, in- are other forms of negation in English
language. These are known as affixal negation. Examples of these in English are;
Positive
Negative
Able
unable
Truth
untruth
Grateful
ungrateful
Ability
inability
Consistent
inconsistent
lxxviii
Honest
dishonest
Advantage
disadvantage
Loyalty
disloyalty
(Cullicover, 1997: 155).
3.1.1 NEGATION OF MODAL AUXILIARIES
In the negation of modal auxiliaries, the negation may or may not include
the meaning of the auxiliary itself. Therefore, there is going to be a distinction
between Auxiliary Negation and Main Verb Negation (Krusten 1991: 356).
3.1.1.1

Auxiliary Negation
The use of ‘may not’ (permission e.g. you may not climb the tree (not
allowed)

the use of cannot, can’t (in all senses) e.g. you can’t be serious (not
possible that you are serious)
She can’t drive a car (not able to)

The use of ‘need not’, needn’t e.g. you needn’t pay the money (not oblige
to) he needn’t always come to my house (not necessary).
(Kristen 1991: 356).
3.1.1.2 MAIN VERB NEGATION
lxxix
The use of ‘may not’ (possibility)
He may not bother to come if its sunny
(It’s possible that he’ll not bother)
The use of ‘will not’, won’t (all sense)
i.
don’t worry, I won’t come (I’m willing not to come)
ii.
she won’t do what she’s told (she insists on not doing)
The use of ‘must not’, musn’t (obligation)
iii.
you musn’t sleep all night
The use of ‘ought not’, oughn’t (both sense)
iv.
you ought not to eat all day (obligation)
v.
they ought not to be afraid (necessary)
According to Kirsten (1991: 356), there are certain auxiliaries (can and
need) that follow the pattern of auxiliary negation, while others, ‘will’, ‘shall’, and
‘must’ follow that of the main verb negation. ‘May’ belongs to the former group
in its permission sense, but to the latter group in the sense of possibility ‘musn’t’
is not at all in the necessity sense; instead, we can use can’t in the sense of
impossibility.
3.1.2 NEGATION OF AUXILIARIES ‘DO’, ‘HAVE’, AND ‘BE’
lxxx
Negation of auxiliaries ‘do’, have and ‘be’ also have forms through which
they can be negated. The auxiliary ‘do’ has the following forms:
Non Negative
Negative
Do
do not, don’t
Does
does not, doesn’t
Did
did not, didn’t
These form can be used in the following example
1a.
he did it
b.
he did not do it
2a.
Sandy sleeps at home
b.
Sandy doesn’t sleep at home
The auxiliary ‘have’ has the following forms;
Non-Negative
Negative
Have
have not, haven’t
Has
has not, hasn’t
Had
had not, hadn’t
Having
not having
Those forms can also be used as in the following sentences.
lxxxi
1a.
I am having aches all over
b.
I am not having aches all over
2a.
we have done it
b.
we have not done it
The auxiliary ‘be’ is unique among English verbs because it has eight forms
(Kirsten 1991: 358).
lxxxii
PRESENT
Non-
Negative
Negative
1st person
be
singular
am
3rd person singular
is
am not
is
not,
isn’t
1st person 2nd and 3rd personal
are
plural
are
not,
aren’t
PAST
Non-
Negative
Negative
1st and 3RD personal singular
was
was not,
wasn’t
1st, 2nd and 3rd personal plural
were
were not,
weren’t
lxxxiii
ing form
being
-ed participle
been
not being
3.1.3 NEGATION OF COMMANDS
Commands can also be referred to as imperatives and can be negated. To
negate the 2nd 3rd person imperatives, one simply adds an initial ‘don’t’, replacing
assertive with non-assertive forms where necessary. E.g. (Kirsten, 1991: 357).
1a.
carry that table
b.
don’t carry that table
2a.
bring the book
b.
don’t bring the book
So also, in negation, another element apart from the verb can be negated,
this makes the scope of negation frequently different; a negative form may only,
if the latter is within the ‘scope’ negation. For example, ‘many people did not
come’ does not mean the same as ‘not many people came’.
According to Ken Ramsho Christensen (2005) Ph.D. Thesis; he divided
Negation typologies into three types.
(a)
sentential negation
lxxxiv
(b)
constituent negation
(c)
meta negation

sentential negation: a negative sentence has the opposite truth value of
the corresponding sentence without negation: if X is true, then the negation of X
(-X) is necessarily false; and if X is false, the –X is necessarily true. For example:
I will not get it right (negative: -X)
I will get it right (positive: X)
Opposite truth values are necessary but not a sufficient condition on
sentential negation.
Negative sentences take positive tag-questions, such as will i? or negative
elliptic conjuncts, such as ‘and neither will you’ e.g.
1a.
I will not see the boy, will I? (Negative)
b.
*I will see the boy, will I? (Positive)
2a.
I will not see the boy, and neither will you (Negative)
b.
*I will see the boy, and neither will you (Positive)
It is to be noted here that such tags such as the example above are not
compatible with positive polarity.
3.1.4 CONSTITUENT NEGATION
lxxxv
Constituent negation has a narrow scope compared to that of sentential
negation. If scopes over an NP, an AdvP, as small clause or a NP. E.g.
a.
Will [not [NP too many questions]], this should work (NP)
b.
[not [advp long ago]], Akeem ate yam. (Advp)
c.
[not [sc making it in time]] is really embarrassing (small clause)
d.
I wshall [not [vp author a book]], but write an essay (VP)
Constituent negation fails all the tests that sentential negation passed, and
passes the ones sentential negation failed. A clause with constituent negation
does not have the opposite truth value of the corresponding clause without
negation. Constituent negation does not license negative tags, neither positive
tag-questions, this means that the negative operator clearly does not scope over
the clause e.g.
Not long ago, Damy ate yam, did he?
Not long ago, Damy ate yam, and neither did I
In contrast, constituent negation is compatible with positive tags. E.g.
a.
not long ago, Damy spoke English, didn’t he?
b.
not long ago, Damy spoke English, and so did I
Finally, constituent negation does not license NP is like negation with
lxxxvi
sentential scope e.g.
a.
*Not long ago, Arnold spoke English at all
b.
* Not long ago, Arnold spoke English in any way.
3.1.5 META NEGATION
This has a wider scope than the wide scope of sentential negation. It
selects a CP (which can either be declarative, interrogation etc.) e.g.
a.
Not [CP that it would make any sense]]
b.
Not [CP if I can climb it]]
c.
Not [PP in my precious life]]
Meta negation selects a subordinate clause. It passes the tests for
sentential negation and falls the tests for positive polarity. E.g. [not [CP that I
truth them]]
a.
I trust them (opposite truth value)
b.
…would i? (positive interrogative tag)
c.
…*wouldn’t I? (negative interrogative tag)
d.
… but neither do you. (Negative declarative tag)
e.
...*but so do you (Positive declarative tag)
f.
… in any way at all (Licenses NPI)
lxxxvii
Meta-negation cannot be a complement ‘clause, unlike the sentential
negation but it can only be a parenthetical adjunct. E.g.
a.
*he believed [not that he could trust them] (meta negation)
b.
he believed that he could not trust them (sentential negation)
3.2
NEGATION IN KUTURMI LANGUAGE
Kuturmi language attest to negation. This implies that sentence have their
deep structures which can be negated in the surface structure this can be done
using negative markers. These negative markers are the lexical items which
mark negation in a language. Negative markers in Kuturmi language include:
sáà
-
‘not’
óò
-
‘no’
ba
-
‘not’
For instance where these negators can be used is
óò
a
s’aà
róchòró-m bá
no
is
not
friend my
not
‘no he is not my friend’
lxxxviii
3.2.1TYPES OF NEGATION
There are different types of negation, one of such is the verbal modifier
‘not’. A simple sentence can be negated by inserting the verbal modifier ‘not’
examples of such instances from Kuturmi language include:
1a.
ibinta ene
ne
egene
Binta she
is
girl
‘Binta is a girl’
1b.
ibinta saa
né
egene
Binta not
is
girl
‘Binta is not a girl’
2a.
Ali
nà
àrópiá
mìe yén
Ali
is
brother
mine
‘Ali is my brother’
2b.
Ali
saa
aropia
mun
Ali
not
brother
my
‘Ali is not my brother’
There are circumstances where the operator is contracted in form of an
enclitic to the subject. Example of such occurrences are:
lxxxix
1a.
be
kia
tó
ote
do
not
sing song
‘do not sing’
1b.
beke to
ote
don’t sing song
‘do not sing song’
3.2.1.1 NEGATION OF MODAL AUXILIARY
This could be broadly divided into two:
1.
Auxiliary negation
2.
Main verb negation
AUXILIARY NEGATION
This may or may not include the meaning of the auxiliary itself in negating
the simple sentence for example;
1.
ba
sei
uwon piayo ba
no
may you
talk
not
‘you may not talk’
2.
u’neye
gbahun
you can’t
come
xc
‘you cannot come’
3.
ba
sei
uwon kia’
no
need you
go
ba
not
‘you need not go’
MAIN VERB NEGATION
This usually include the meaning of the auxiliary in negation. For example:
1.
u’ne
su
kiang ba
you not
must go
not
‘you must not go’
2.
u’ne
suke kiang ba
you not
might go
not
‘you might not go’
3.
ba
se
uwon kiang ba
not
ought you
go
not
‘you ought not to go’
xci
3.2.2 NEGATION OF AUXILIARIES ‘DO’, ‘HAVE’ AND ‘BE’
These auxiliaries have a form to which they can be negated for example
‘do’ has the following forms in Kuturmi language.
Non-negative
Negative
be
‘do’
bekia, bek’e ‘do not, don’t’
be
‘did’
s’e, s’u
‘didn’t’
These forms could be illustrated in the examples below:
1a.
be
wure mie
do
worry me
‘do worry me’
1b.
bekia
do
damu ba
not
worry me
‘do not worry me’
2a.
Akeem
mu
ra
ukwru
Akeem
(Ps.TMR)
eat
yam
‘Akeem ate yam’
2b.
Akeem
s’e
ra
Akeem
didn’t eat
ukwru
yam
xcii
‘Akeem didn’t eat yam’
The auxiliary ‘have’ has the following forms:
The auxiliary ‘be’ has the following forms in Kuturmi language. For
example:
A.
ikwo ‘am’ and
1a.
íkwò ofo
am
I’saa ‘am not’
fure
very happy
‘I am very happy’
1b.
I’saa
bidi
ofo
fure
am not
(AGR) very happy
‘I am not very happy’
B.
ne/na ‘is’
and
2a.
enege ne
tine
girl
beautiful
is
saa ne/a’saa or saa
‘the girl is beautiful’
2b.
enege saa ne
tine
girl
beautiful
not
is
‘the girl is not beautiful’
xciii
‘is not’
3a.
orokrwu
na
gban
man
is
tall
‘the man is tall’
3b.
orokrwu
saa
man not
tall
gban
‘the man is not tall’
3.2.3 NEGATION OF COMMANDS
Commands are words used to direct a particular action, they could also be
imperatives which plead for an action to be performed. Examples of negated
commands in Kuturmi language are:
1a.
pere upang
look there
‘look there’
1b.
beke pere upang
don’t look there
‘don’t look there’
2a.
kotó ote
sing song
xciv
‘sing the song’
2b.
kusu
bèkía ‘to
ote
please
do not sing song
‘please do not sing the song’
In the examples above, it can be noticed that don’t is added in initial
position to replace assertive and non-assertive forms.
Furthermore in negation, other element other than the verb may be
negated. The scope of negation is however frequently different.
3.2.4 SENTENCE NEGATION
A sentence can be defined as a group of word that expresses a complete
meaning. To negate a sentence is to falsify the assertion of the sentence, by the
use of a negative marker.
A simple sentence can therefore be negated by ‘saa’ in Kuturmi language
or ‘ba’.
Examples of positive and negative sentences:
1a.
Aisha ne
gban
Aisha is
tall
‘Aisha is tall’
xcv
1b.
Aisha saa
ne
gban
Aisha not
is
tall
‘Aisha is not tall’
2a.
egere
ne
fure
woman
is
happy
‘the woman is happy’
2b.
egere
saa
ne
fure
woman
not
is
happy
‘the woman is not happy’
Below are basic and derived form of the examples above:
xcvi
Basic structure
IP
Spec
I’
NP
N’’
N
‘Aisha is tall’
I
Spec TNS
ø
PRSNT
VP
AGR V’
V
Spec
NP
ø
N’
Spec
N
ø
Aisha
ne
gban
Aisha
is
tall
xcvii
Derived structure:
NegP
Spec
Neg’
NP
N’
Neg
Spec
IP
‘Aisha is not tall’
Spec
Ø
I’
I
VP
TNS
AGR V’
PRSNT
V
Spec
NP
Aisha
saa
ne
Aisha
not
is
N’
Spec
N
ø
gban
tall
xcviii
Basic structure
IP
Spec
I’
NP
N’’
N
‘the woman is happy’
I
Spec TNS
ø
PRSNT
VP
AGR V’
V
Spec
AdjP
ø
Adj’
Spec
Adj
ø
egere
ne
fure
woman
is
happy
xcix
Derived sentence
NegP
Spec
Neg’
NP
N’
Neg
Spec
IP
‘the woman is not happy’
Spec
Ø
I’
I
TNS
VP
AGR V’
Spec
V
NP
AdjP
Adj’
egere
saa
ne
woman
not
is
fure
happy
c
Spec
3.2.4.1 INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE NEGATION
An interrogative sentence is used to find out facts, which express the
question in a grammatical sentence.
Examples of interrogative sentence negation in Kuturmi language.
Basic/positive construction
1a.
iyá
na
who is
bèn
here
‘who is here’
1b.
iyá
asáà bèn
who isn’t here
‘who is not here’
2a.
ikíná ne
owon
which is
yours
‘which is yours’
2b.
ikíná ésáà owon
which isn’t yours
‘which is not yours’
3a.
ikímó ‘e
ben
ci
what AGR here
‘what is here’
3b.
ikímó e
sáà ben
what (AGR) not here
‘what is not here’
These sentences can be illustrated in a tree diagram.
cii
1a.
CP
Spec
C’
C
IP
Spec
Ø
I’
I
VP
TNS
V’
V
Spec
AdjP
Adj’
Adj
iya
na
ben
who
is
here
ciii
Ø
Spec
Ø
1b.
CP
Spec
C’
C
‘who isn’t here’
IP
Spec
Ø
I’
I
VP
TNS
V’
V
Spec
NegP
Neg’
Spec
Neg’ AdjP
Adj’
iya
‘a
saa
bèn
who
is
not
here
civ
Ø
Ø
2a.
CP
Spec
C’
C
‘which is yours’
IP
Spec
Ø
I’
I
VP
TNS
V’
V
ikíná
ne
which
is
Spec
NP
Ø
N’
Spec
P
ø
owon
yours
cv
2b.
CP
Spec
C’
C
‘which isn’t yours’
IP
Spec
Ø
I’
I
VP
TNS
V’
V
Spec
NegP
Neg’
Neg
Spec
NP
N’
P
ikíná
‘é
sáà
owon
which
is
not
yours
cvi
Ø
ø
3a.
CP
Spec
C’
C
‘what’s here’
IP
Spec
I’
Ø
I
TNS
VP
AGR V’
Spec
e
V
AdjP
Adj’
ø
Adj
ikímó
ben
what
here
cvii
Ø
Spec
Ø
CP
Spec
C’
C
‘what is not here’
IP
Spec
Ø
I’
I
VP
TNS AGR V’
V
Spec
NegP
Neg’ Spec
Neg
AdjP
Adj’
Adj
ikímó
e
sáà
ben
what
not
(AGR) here
cviii
CHAPTER FOUR
TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES
4.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter will examine transformational processes such as question
formation and relativisation in relation to negation in Kuturmi language.
4.1
TRANSFORMATIONS
According to Akmajian et al (2008), transformational rules consist of a
structural description of the input and the structural change that they effect.
According to Horrocks (1987: 44), transformational rule expresses the nature of
the relationship between deep structures and surface structures.
Radford (1988: 401) describes transformations as, the process where deep
structures and surface structures are interrelated by a set of movement rules.
Transformations perform three major functions in a sentence structure:
(a)
Deletion: they delete grammatical elements which occurred in
deep structure.
(b)
Substitution: they can replace a word with another in the same
logical environment.
(c)
Movement: it is a major syntactic process where an item is
cix
moved
from
its
original
site
to
another
site,
and
the
transformations that involve movement are focusing, question
formation, relativisation, and pronominalization (Yusuf, 1992:
138).
4.2
NEGATION AND RELATIVISATION
Agbedo (2000: 118) defines relativisation as a T-rule that turns a full-
fledged sentence into a subordinate clause (embedded sentence) such that it
becomes a modifier of an NP in the matrix sentence. Relativisaion as a
transformational process involve deletion.
Kuturmi language exhibit relativisation.
Example:
1.
BASIC
orokrwu
na
ekperi mei
man
is
father me
‘the man is my father’
REL: orokrwu
man
ise
na
who is
biben ekperi mei
here father me
‘the man who is here is my father’
cx
NEG: orokrwu
man
ise
na
who is
biben a’saa ekperi-m
ba
here isn’t
not
father my
‘the man who is here isn’t my father’
2.
BASIC:
anama
na
nwonyo
goat
is
yours
‘the goat is yours’
REL: anama
goat
sini
e
kperi na
that
AGR kill
is
nwonyo
yours
‘the goat that was killed is yours’
NEG: anama
goat
sini
e
kperi ásá
that
(AGR) kill
nwonyó
isn’t ours
‘the goat that was killed is not yours’
The above relativised structure is phrase marked below:
cxi
ba
not
IP
Spec
I’
NP
I
N’
Spec TNS AGR
N
Ø
PRSNT Ø
VP
V’
V
Spec
NP
N’
Ø
Spec
N
orokrwu
na
ekperi
mei
man
is
father
me
cxii
Relativisation
IP
Spec
NP
N’
C’
C
Spec Rel
IP
Spec
N
I’
I
VP
TNS
AGR V’
PRSNT
V
Spec
AdjP
Ø
Adj’
Spec
Adj
NP
N’
Spec
N
orokrwu
ise
na
biben ekperi
cxiii
mei
man
who
is
here father
me
Negation
IP
Spec
I’
NP
‘the man who is here isn’t my father’
CP
I’
N’
Spec C
Spec I
N
ø
ø TNS AGR V’
C
PRSNT
VP
V
Spec
AdjP
Ø
Adj’
NEG
Adj
Neg’ Spec
Neg
NP
N’
Spec Neg
orokrwu
ise
na
biben asaa ekperi mei ba
man
who
is
here isn’t father me
not
4.3 NEGATION AND QUESTION FORMATION
There are various types of question formation. It ranges from Yes/No
questions, ‘Wh’ questions, echo question etc. In Kuturmi language, it attest to
Yes/No and ‘Wh’ question formation.
cxiv
4.3.1 WH QUESTION FORMATION
These questions took their name from English language where the words
that introduce them mostly begin with the letter ‘wh’ e.g. who, what, where,
why, how etc. Examples of ‘Wh’ questions in Kuturmi in relation to negation:
1a.
iyá
na
who is
gban
tall
‘who is tall’
1b.
iya
na
who is
saa
gban
not
tall
‘who is not tall’
2a.
ikina ne
owon
which is
yours
‘which is yours’
2b.
ikina e saa owon
which isn’t yours
‘which is not yours’
3a.
niyen wo
na
aforum
how she
is
sister
cxv
‘how is she your sister’
3b.
niyen wo
asaa àfórúm
how she
isn’t
sister
‘how is she not your sister’
The above question is phrased-marked below:
CP
Spec
Wh
C’
C
IP
Spec
NP
‘who is tall’
I’
I
VP
TNS AGR
PRSNT
V’
V
Spec
AdjP
Adj’
Adj
Iya
na
gban
Who
is
tall
cxvi
Ø
CP
Spec
Wh
C’
C
IP
Spec
NP
‘who is not tall’
I’
I
VP
TNS AGR
PRSNT
V’
V
Spec
NegP
Neg’
Ø
Spec
AdjP ø
Adj’
Adj
Iya
na
saa
gban
Who
is
not
tall
4.3.2 YES/NO QUESTION
These are questions that needs a Yes or No as a reply to the question
asked. In English Yes or No questions are formed by inverting the first auxiliary
plus tense and the subject NP. Where there is no auxiliary other than tense, ‘DO’
cxvii
is introduced to the node, which is called the ‘do’ support.
Yes/No question can be defined according to Baker (1978) as a declarative
sentence containing one or more helping verbs, a question can optionally be
formed simply by moving the first helping verb to the
Examples from Kuturmi language:
1a.
si
Ibraheem
od’
una
is
Ibraheem
at
house
‘is Ibraheem at home’
1b.
si
Ibraheem
saa
od’
una
is
Ibraheem
not
at
house
‘is Ibraheem not at home’
Using a tree diagram to phrase mark this structure.
cxviii
CP
Spec
C’
ØC
IP
Spec
NP
N’
‘is Ibraheem at home’
I’
I
PP
Spec TNS AGR P’
Spec
Ø
N
si
is
PRSNT P
NP
N’
Spec
N
ø
Ibraheem
od’
una
Ibraheem
at
house
cxix
CP
Spec
C’
ØC
IP
Spec
NP
N’
‘is Ibraheem not at home’
I’
I
NegP
Spec TNS AGR Neg’
Spec
ø
N
PRSNT
Neg
PP
saa
P’
Spec
Ø
si
is
P
NP
Ibraheem
od’
una
Ibraheem
at
house
cxx
4.4
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, we were able to describe transformational process in
Kuturmi language, namely; question formation and relativisation in relation to
negation.
cxxi
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter summarizes the work, makes some observations and draws a
conclusion.
5.1
SUMMARY
This research work has been able to carry out a syntactic analysis of
negation in Kuturmi language. I commenced with the introduction to the
language which included historical background, its geographical location and its
genetic classification. It also included the literature review based on syntax.
The second chapter focused on description of the sound inventory of
Kuturmi language. It focused on syntactic concepts such as phrase structure
rules, lexical categories, basic word order and sentence types.
The third chapter examined the focus of this research work, ‘Negation’. It
highlighted the negative markers in the language. This chapter also discussed
sentence negation and interrogative negation.
The fourth chapter discussed transformational processes such as question
formation and relativisation in relation to negation in Kuturmi language.
The fifth chapter is the concluding chapter where the summary and final
cxxii
conclusion is done.
5.2
OBSERVATION
It is observed in the cause of this research that Kuturmi language attest to
double negation i.e.
Sáà
and
bà
It also marks gender
na
‘for male’
ne
‘for female’
This gender markers are sometimes attached to the negators in a
sentence by deleting their initial segment /n/ thus agglutinated to the negative
marker. Giving the structure such as: ‘asaa
5.3
CONCLUSION
This research work has described the aspects of negation in Kuturmi
language. The historical background, people genetic classification, socio-cultural
profile and geographical location was examined. The negative markers in
Kuturmi as well as how they function in relation to sentences, transformations
were examined.
However, this research work does not exhaust all the possible negation in
cxxiii
the language. It’s an effort to provide the basis for further research work on the
language.
cxxiv
REFERENCES
Agbedo, Chris (2000). General Linguistics: An Introductory Reader. Nsukka
Ace Resources Konsult.
Akmajian, Adrian et al (2008). Introduction to Language and Communication
(4th Edition). Delhi, India. Rajkamal Electric Press.
Alabi Victoria & Sola Babatunde Eds. (2005). Basic Communication Skills
Students of Science and Humanities. Ilorin. University of Ilorin
for
Press.
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