ASPECTS OF UNEME MORPHOLOGY
BY
ORIOWO OLUMIDE AYOTOMIDE
07/15CB086
A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF
ARTS, B.A DEGREE.
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND NIGERIAN
LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN,
ILORIN, NIGERIA
MAY, 2011
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that this project was carried out by ORIOWO
OLUMIDE AYOTOMIDE under the Supervision of Prof A.S Abdussalam
and has been read and approved as meeting part of the requirements for the
award of Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree of university of Ilorin, Ilorin
Nigeria.
Prof A.S Abdussalam
Date
Project Supervisor
Prof A.S Abdussalam
Date
H.O.D linguistics Department
External Examiner
Date
DEDICATION
This project is dedicated to the Almighty God for His mercies,
unconditional love, kindness and Care for me and most especially for my
parents MR and MRS O.A ORIOWO.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I give glory to the Almighty God for giving me the strength and
endurance to complete this work, in spite of all odds. I am grateful to my
parents MR and MRS O.A ORIOWO for their financial and spiritual
assistance towards the completion of this work. I am also grateful to my
supervisor Prof A.S Abdussalam for his priceless assistance, valuable
suggestions at various stages of this work and most of all, his inexpressible
tolerance with me. The direct and indirect contribution to the success of this
work, by other members of the academic and non academic staff of the
Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, are also highly
appreciated.
A special thanks also goes to my course mates, Sowunmi
Oyindamola, Ajagunna Gideon, Aderibigbe Adeola (Snowhite), Anyadike
Precious, Adeyemi Billy, Osunsanya Olutayo (HOD mi) Olasupo Abimbola,
Williams Oluwatobiloba and most especially to my best friend Aboderin
Johnmark Akinwale for his psychological and moral assistance during the
course of this work.
Also I am grateful to my grandparents Chief and Mrs. J.A ORIOWO who
saw me through the program with encouragement, moral and financial
support. To my Aunty, Mrs. Kenny Ajibola I say a big thank you for your
support and encouragement through out my studies.
This section will be incomplete if I fail to mention the immense
contribution of my parents MR and MRS O.A ORIOWO and my brothers,
ORIOWO OLUDAMILOLA and AKINBIYI OLUWAPAMILERIN who
held forth for me and endured with me while I was away for this work.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
‘/olumaiti/
LIST OF LANGUAGE TREES, AND CHARTS
i.
Uneme Genetic Tree.
12
ii.
Uneme Consonant Chart
24
iii.
Uneme Oral Vowel Chart
44
iv.
Uneme Nasal Vowel Chart
92
‘
LIST OF SYMBOLS
SYMBOLS
[
]
/
/
MEANING
-
Phonetic Representation
-
Phonemic Representation
-
Rewrite Rule
High Tone
[
/
]
-
[
\
]
-
Low Tone
+
-
Morpheme Boundary
( )
-
Parenthesis
C
-
Consonant
V
-
Vowels
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
i
Certification
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgement
iv
List of Language Trees and Chart
vi
List of Symbols
vii
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
INTRODUCTION
1
1.0 General Background of Uneme
1
1.1Historical Background
3
1.2Socio-cultural profile
7
1.3Genetic Classification
11
1.4Scope and Organization of the study
13
1.5Theoretical Frame Work
14
1.5.1 Item And Arrangement
15
1.5.2 Analysis And synthesis
16
1.6Data collection
20
1.7Data analysis
21
CHAPTER TWO
BASIC PHONOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
2.0 Introduction
22
2.1 Basic phonological concepts
22
2.2 Sound inventory of Uneme
23
2.2.1 Distribution of consonants in Uneme
25
2.2.2 Vowel segments in Uneme
42
2.2.3 Distribution of Vowels in Uneme
46
2.3 Uneme Tone Inventory
56
2.3.1 Distribution of Tones in Uneme
57
2.4 Syllable Structure
58
2.4.1 Syllable Structure Rule
60
2.5 Basic Morphological concept
63
2.5.1 Morphemes
63
2.5.2 Types of Morpheme
64
2.6 Language Typology
73
2.6.1 Isolating Language
75
2.6.2 Inflectional and Fusional Language
76
CHAPTER THREE
MORPHOLOGY OF UNEME
3.0Introduction
78
3.1Morphemes
79
3.2 Morpheme types
79
3.2.1 Root Morpheme
80
3.2.2 Bound Morpheme
81
3.3 Parts of speech
82
3.3.1 The Noun
82
3.3.2 Verbs
87
3.3.3 Adjectives
89
3.3.4 Preposition
89
3.3.5 Pronouns
91
3.4 Tense
94
3.5 Numeral Formation
95
3.5.1 Cardinals
95
3.5.2 Ordinals
96
3.6 Concord
97
CHAPTER FOUR
MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES
4.0 Introduction
99
4.1Affixation
100
4.1.1 Prefixation
101
4.1.2 Suffixation
102
4.2 Borrowing
103
4.2.1 Borrowing in Uneme
103
4.3 Compounding
105
4.4 Reduplication
106
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES
5.0 Introduction
108
5.1Summary
108
5.2 Conclusion
110
5.3 Reference
111
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0
GENERAL BACKGROUND
This long essay deals with the study of Morphology in Uneme. i.e the
study of how words are formed in Uneme language.
The speakers of Uneme are found in Edo state. The language speakers can
also be found in Okene area of Kogi State. The other names for the people
are Uneme Ineme and Ileme.
According to the informant, it was believed that the name Uneme was
derived from Oba Eweka’s first child who happened to be a female named
INE-EMI meaning “it is not forbidden to have a female as ones first child”
whom is believed to be the mother ancestor of the people.
According to Hakeem (2003: 279), Edo State is found in the mid-western
part of Nigeria. The Uneme people inhabit a number of villages in the
northern and south-eastern part of Kukuruku division. The speakers of
Uneme are found in the northern part of Edo state which is located between
latitudes 6⁰ 45 N - 7⁰ 35 N and longitudes 5⁰ 55 E, 6⁰ 45 E. Akoko Edo is
bounded in the North by the present Kwara state and parts of the present
Kogi state, in the north-west by the present Ondo state in the south-east by
both Etsako west and Etsako north in the south-west by Owan.
Etsako local government central is located in the heart of Etsako land. It is
bounded in the west by the Etsako West Local Government, in the east by
Etsako East Local Government in the north by Okene and in the south by
Esan territory.
Also according to Aigbokhaleode (1991:8), Uneme North consists of
the following communities Uneme Akpama, Uneme Nekhua, Uneme
Ekpedo Uneme Erhurun and Uneme Aki-Osu. While Uneme in the south are
Uneme Uzanu Uneme Imiava, Uneme Anegbette, Uneme Udochi Uneme
Oghomezie andUneme Ukpekho. This chapter being the introductory
chapter will be discussing the historical background of the speakers, the
geographical location, the people, Genetic classification, etc.
1.1 HISORICAL BACKGROUND
According to my informant the Uneme people originated from Ile-ife
in Osun state. There was a time the Benin’s did not want the natives to rule
them so they sent a message to Oduduwa the ruler of Ile-ife appealing to him
to send one of his sons to be their ruler. The request was granted and Prince
Oranmiyan in the company of his friend Ogundare was sent to Benin. In
Benin, Oranmiyan got married to Esimonde who bore him a son named
Prince Eweka.
Oranmiyan continued ruling the Benins until the period that he discovered
that the Benins were difficult to rule. When Oranmiyan found out that they
were difficult to rule; he returned to Ile ife leaving Ogundare and Prince
Eweka who later became heir to the throne with the title Oba Eweka 1 of
Benin.
Ogundare, Oranmiyan’s friend also got married to a Benin woman
who gave birth to a child named Ogun. Ogun also got married and gave birth
to a son named Ogunola. Prince Eweka also became matured and got
married and gave birth to a beautiful girl as the first child named INI-EMI,
whom has been mentioned earlier to be the mother ancestor of the Uneme
people. It was from her name the Uneme people got the name Uneme from.
Ogundare’s great grandson Ogunola then got married to INE-EMI who now
gave birth to the descendants of Uneme people.
The Uneme people are immigrants from Benin. They left Benin
because of the problem that arose as a result of chieftaincy rift between two
brothers in the royal house of Benin kingdom, which led to a war that was so
tense that everybody started fleeing.
The main Uneme speakers are the Anegbette, Uzanu, Udochi, and
Ologua. According to the Informant, we were told that these people that
spoke Uneme all came from the same father and mother before they broke
up into different communities that spoke Uneme. Each community now
developed into a larger community which now lived as towns. These towns
as mentioned earlier are Uzanu, Anegbette, Udochi and Ologua.
These four brothers migrated from Benin because of the war between
the two brothers that wanted to become king in Benin. The four brothers
settled in a place called Ugbebu. As these four brothers who formed an
independent community grew bigger, there arose a quarrel between two of
the brothers Anegbette and Uzanu. As a result of this quarrel, the Uzanu had
to move to Etsako East and Anegbette to Etsako Central. The war continued
for a longer period and Uzanu was having the upper hand and along the line
one of the Anegbette said they should send him to Bida to the Nupe people
for assistance. The request was granted and the man eventually left, but
since there were no vehicles at that time he had to go by foot.
Later on the war at home was settled, meanwhile the man spent years
trying to learn the Nupe language, he got married and had children before he
was known and allowed to meet the Oba of Nupe. On getting to the king of
Nupe, he explained the reason why He was there to see Him. He told the
king that some people are fighting his own people (kinsmen) and they
needed the assistance of the Nupe warriors in their own war. As said earlier
the people at home had settled the war and were no longer fighting, by the
time he got home with the Nupe warriors, there was no war to fight. They
went to meet Oriola who is the head of the Anegbette then. Oriola said the
Uzanu and Anegbette are now friends and can not kill each other again
(Oriola is the ceremonial president and the Olotu is the prime minister ) and
that there was no need for war again, but the warriors that were brought will
not want to go back without anything. process the Nupe warriors told the
Anegbette to divide their land into two and the half be given In the to them
and that Anegbette should retain the other half, but Oriola refused and said it
was not possible, to him the only thing he can do is to release them to go
into battle with the Uzanu, but the Uzanu were not ready for war because
they were not expecting any war. The invaders came and invaded Uzanu, the
invaders were almost prevailing before their king (uzanu) who is known as
“Iyema” decided that Uzanu should flee from the portion, so the Uzanu fled
and left. Before they could know it the whole Etsako was affected by the
invaders and they all fled to different places that’s is why we have the
Anegbette where they are now and Uzanu were they are .
1.2 Sociocultural profile
The following could be observed among the Uneme. The language
Uneme is used as a
means of communication in the market and it is also
used in teaching in primary schools.
i.
Culture:
The Uneme people are united by common traditions of origin. Their
traditional craft as smith in their dialects and in other social and
cultural features. They are well known for blacksmithing, casting of
bronze, ornament, selling and manufacturing of war weapons used for
security purposes. In addition to these occupations the southern
Uneme engaged in fishing and trading in the Niger creeks while the
northern Uneme engage in farming and oil palm production.
The peoples favorite food is pounded yam called ema with melon
soup called
usomhikpigba. Their best native attire for women is
blouse and wrapper while the men dress in buba and sokoto.
ii.
The people:
The people indulge in traditional and religious practices such as
sacrifice to ancestors and initiation of boys and girls into manhood
and womanhood respectively. They believe in supreme being whom
they call “osanobular” meaning God the creator. It is believed that the
supreme being cannot be communicated with directly, except through
the ancestors who act as link between the supreme being and the
people. It is also believed that the Almighty God hears and answers
prayer through ones ancestors.
iii.
Occupation:
The people of Uneme engage themselves in craft works like
blacksmithing, casting of bronze and ornament, selling and production
of weapons. They also engage in farming and trading and they also
engage in oil palm production and selling of iron implement.
iv.
FESTIVAL:
The Uneme people come together to celebrate so many festivals, such
as ogun festival Ukpekinimi festival, New yam festival and ukpekema
festival.
Ogun festival is the festival of the god of iron while ukpekinimi is the
festival of masquerades which is celebrated twenty one days before
the new yam festival. The celebration comes up between the month of
July and September of every year. Since they are predominantly
farmers, this festival precedes the incoming of the new yam. During
the celebration, they use the old yam for the celebration after which
they are now free to eat the new yam.
The Uneme people also have the burial festival which involves
performing a second burial ceremony for their parents most especially
the father. This ceremony can happen after so many years that the
person had died. If you have not done the second burial of your father
you can not attain any title. In the burial you must gather the elders
together for the ceremony. This burial is done kindred by kindred
every year and you will give the elders some certain amount of
money. According to the informant other kindred’s can also attend the
second burial ceremony, and they will be served food but will not
share out of the money and other things offerd to the elders during the
burial. The second burial ceremony is called “orintomi”
v.
MARRIAGE:
The Uneme people believe that every man must marry a virgin. When
a man marries a new bride and is a virgin the man will mark the teeth
by breaking part of the front teeth. Anybody that sees her will know
that she is married. This tradition of teeth breaking is called Etsako;
that is where the Uneme Local Government name was derived.
During the marriage of the virgin, the girl dresses naked and
beads of different kinds are used to cover the girls private parts,
Ashids which are gotten from the bush are used to decorate her and a
reddish substance called Ume is used to decorate her and brighten her
up and with a lot of bead on her head like the Benin people.
1.3 GENETIC CLASSIFICATION
This is a systematic way of grouping language that share something in
common into the same family.
According to Ruhelen (1991:4-5), a genetic classification is a sub
grouping of all relevant languages into Genetic nodes. A genetic node is a
group of languages each of which is closely related to others in that group
than to any language outside the group.
The Uneme language is grouped with the languages in the Benue
Congo where we later end up having Edo and Ghotuo.
Fig 1.1
Africa
Afro - Asratic
West - Atlantic
Niger Congo
Nile Saharan
Mande
Gur
Kru
kwa
D
D
D
D
Khoisan
Adamawa
Eastern
Benue congo
ngo
Fig 1.1 A chart showing genetic classification of Uneme. Adapted from
www.Ethnologue.com
1.4 Scope and organization of the study
This research focuses on the aspects of Uneme Morphology. It
attempts to discus the arrangement or combination of words to form
sentences in Uneme language. This description will also focus on some of
the peculiar features of the language.
The work constitutes five chapters. Chapter one deals with the
introductory aspects of the study, that is the sociolinguistic profile, genetic
classification scope and organization of the study and the theoretical frame
work adopted. The second chapter centers on the basic morphological
concepts such as morphemes and its type and Language typology. However
considering the significance of phonology to grammatical analysis, a brief
description of the phonology of the language is carried out in order to
establish the segmental phonemes, the tone inventory and syllable structure
in Uneme language.
The third chapter focuses on the discussion of various free and bound
morphemes and their function in the language, while the fourth chapter is
devoted to the description of observable Morphological processes employed
to form words in the language. The fifth chapter which is the last chapter
rounds up the study by providing the summary, recommendation and
conclusion of the study.
[
1.5Theoretical Frame work
Morphology is a major field of Linguistics which deals with the
internal structure of words in a language. There are various theoretical frame
works to the study of Morphology which different scholars have been able to
use in analyzing morphology. As we all know that languages are different
from one another, the internal structure of language can not be seen in the
same line. This is why the theories for analyzing morphology are different.
Here we are to look at the various theoretical frameworks and look at the
one that will be suitable for our analysis. The following are the theoretical
framework of morphology.
1.5.1 ITEM AND ARRANGEMENT, ITEM AND PROCESS.
Hockett (1954) distinguished between two approaches to morphology
which he referred to as item and arrangement and item and process. Both are
associated with the American structuralist linguistics codified by Bloomfield
(1933). The two approaches represent two distinct points of view. Item and
arrangement proceed from a picture of each language as a set of elements
and the patterns which these elements occur. The item and process picture
gives no independent status to the items which arise instead through the
construction of the patterns.
Item and arrangement grew out of the structuralist which deals with
word analysis, and in particular, with techniques for breaking word down
into their morphemes which are items. It deals with the order of structure
while item and process has to do with a morphology approach in which
complex words result from separation of processes on simpler words. It
deals with how rules are employed in analyzing morphemes. Everything that
we can express and analyse under item and arrangement can also be
analysed under item and process.
1.5.2 ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS
According to (Eugene Nidas 1949) Analysis and synthesis are two
complementary approaches to morphology, both are needed by linguist for
their morphological analysis.
He says the analytic approach has to do with breaking words down and its
usually associated with American structuralist linguists. There were good
reasons for these linguists dealing with languages they had never
encountered before and also there was no written grammar of these
languages to guide them. Whichever languages we are studying we need an
analytical method that will be independent of the structures we are
examining. This is true when dealing with unfamiliar languages.
While the synthesis approach on the other hand is associated with theory
than methodology; it involves the theory of construction. The analytic
principle can also be known as the principle of morphemic identification.
Principle 1
Forms with the same meaning are instances of the same morpheme. This
means that elements that have the same form and the same meaning.
For example in English language.
i.
Break – Breaks
ii.
Take - Takes
iii.
Chalk – chalks
From the above examples we can see the use of ‘s’ which signifies single
morpheme.
Principle 2
Forms with the same meaning but different sound shapes may be instances
of the same morpheme if their distribution does not overlap. For example,
the regular plural marker in English has several allomorphs – voiceless
alveolar fricative /s/, voiced alveolar fricative /z/, schwa plus voiced alveolar
fricative /iz/, syllabic alveolar nasal /n/, and schwa/Ø/
i.
Seat
/s/
ii.
Blade /z/
iii.
Pray /iz/
iv.
Ox
v.
Dish /Ø/
/n/
Principle 3
Not all morphemes are segmental. This means that not all morphemes can
be segmented and be pronounced on their own. They are dependent on other
morphemes for their realization.
i.
Run – ran
ii.
Steal – stole
iii.
Drink – drank
Principle 4
A morpheme may have zero as one of its allomorph provided it has a non –
zero allomorph. These are morphemes that have zero plural form and the
zero plural is an allomorph of the usual plural /z/. This is an analytic
procedure, not theoretical point.
For example.
i.
Geese – Goose
ii.
Man – Men
iii.
Feet – Foot
Principle 5
Homophone form are identifiable as the same or different morphemes on the
basis of distinctly different meaning with related meaning. For example
i.
Bank : a river side
ii.
Bank: where money was kept.
Principle 6
A morpheme isolatable if it occurs in
i.
In isolation
ii.
In multiple combinations in at least one of which the unit with which
it is combined occurs is in isolation or in other combinations.
iii.
In a single combination provided the element with which it is
combined occurs is in isolation or in other combination with unique
constitutions.
The above mentioned theoretical frame work will be used in analyzing our
data.
1.6 Data collection
The method employed for data collection is the bilingual elicitation
approach, involving English and Uneme. The data were elicited with the use
of the Ibadan 400 word list which consists of basic list of single words.
Apart from the 400 word list, phrases and sentences in English were
translated to Uneme by the Uneme native speaker. The data collected were
subjected to analysis, and oral interview was conducted in English and
answers were given in Uneme by the informant. The answers to these
questions were used in the morphological analysis of Uneme.
Below are some pieces of information about the informant used in this
research.
Name: - Pastor Patrick Asekhame
Age: - 54 years
Religion: - Christianity
Marital status: - Married.
Other Languages spoken: - Uneme, English
Local Govt: -
Etsako East
The informant is a native speaker of Uneme language and he has lived there
for about 23 years He speaks Uneme and English fluently.
1.7
Data analysis
In this research work the data was collected from the informant both
in written and in recording on an audio cassette.
The informant used his fluency in the language. His fluency and competence
formed the basis of my choice of him as my informant.
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The aim of this chapter is to discuss the phonological and
morphological concepts in Uneme language. The basic phonological, total
system and syllable structure of words which are found in Uneme
language, will be discussed first. Secondly the investigation of basic
morphology concept that is found in the language will be brought into
focus.
2.1 Basic phonological concept
Phonology is a branch of Linguistics that studies system and sound
patterns in a language.
It is the study of sound pattern and how speech sounds structure are
studied with their functions
In the language and how they are used in conveying meaning in the
language.
2.2 Sound inventory of Uneme.
Every natural language has its own inventory which has to do with the
nature and type of sounds in terms of their phonetic properties in a
language. Sounds in a language can be classified into consonant and
vowels. The sound inventory used in Uneme is identified below
Uneme attests thirty (30) phonemic consonants used in conveying
meaning of words.
They are;
P, b, t, d, k, g, kp, gb, m, n, r, f, v, ð, s, z,
h, ts, t∫ , dЗ, gw, mh, gbh, kw, w, j, l,
∫, γ, x,
Fig1.2
Bilabial
Labio
Dental
Alveolar
dental
Stop
p
Palato
Palatal
Velar
alveolar
b
t
d
k
Labial
Labialized
velar
velar
g kp gb
kw
Glottal
gw
gbh
Nasal
M
N
Trill
mh
R
Fricatve
f
v
ð
s
z
Affricat
∫
Ts
x
t∫
dЗ
e
Approx
imant
J
Lateral
l
W
γ
h
2.2.2 Distribution of Consonants in Uneme
It is observed that in Uneme language, consonants mainly occur at
word medial position, and in some instances they occur at word initial
position but they do not occur at word final position.
The following are the distribution of Uneme consonants i.e. the
description of each sound and their examples in Uneme language.
1. /p/
Voiceless Bilabial stop
Word initial position
/p/ has no initial occurrence
Word medial position
(i) [‫כ‬piá]
‘matchet’
2. /b/ Voiced Bilabial stop
Word initial position
/b/ has no word initial
Word medial position
(i) [ómóbétsùdé]
‘heart’
(ii) [óbò]
‘hand’
(iii) [ébè]
‘leaf’
3. /t/ Voiceless alveolar stop
Word initial position
/t/ does not occur at word initial
Word medial position
(i) [etú]
‘hair (head)’
(ii) [otoi]
‘ground’
(iii) [ítòhmì]
‘hot (as fire)’
4 /d/ : Voiced Alveolar stop
Word Initial position
[digwà]
‘kneel’
Word Medial position
(i) [údilè]
‘needle’
(ii) [ódodè]
‘road’
(iii) [édò]
‘river’
5. /k/ Voiceless velar stop
Word initial position
[kùnifàme]
‘urinate’
Word medial position
(i) [ikiemhi]
‘call (summon)’
(ii) [ikomhi]
‘sow’
(iii) [ikokomhi]
‘gather’
5. /g/ Voiceless velar stop
Word initial position
/g/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
(i) [ògòbo:]
‘left’
(ii) [ákogá]
‘bat’
(iii) [ogie]
‘king’
7. /kp/: Voiceless Labio velar stop
Word initial position
/kp/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
(i) [ukpeve]
‘penis’
(ii) [obokpa]
‘maize’
(iii) [ùkpómò]
‘seed’
8. /gb/ : Voiced Labio-velar stop
Word initial position
(i) [gbixilo]
‘dance’
Word medial position
(i) [ìgbé:]
‘ten’
(ii) [ùgbórùò]
‘eleven’
(iii) [ìgbé:và]
‘twelve’
9 /gbh/
Word initial position
/gbh/
does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
(i) [ogbholiva]
‘forty’
(ii) [egbholétsà]
‘sixty’
(iii) [egbholetsa ìgbé]
‘seventy’
10. /kw/ : Voiceless labialized velar shop
Word initial position
/kw/ does not occur initially
Word medial position
(i) [okwamhì]
‘heavy’
(ii) [ikwílìmhì]
‘bite’
11. /gw/ : Voiced labialized velar stop
Word initial position
/gw/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
(i) [ugwógwea]
‘stick’
(ii) [egwúe]
‘hoe’
(iii) [ágwà]
‘dog’
12. /m/: bilabial nasal
Word initial position
(i) [ìsómì]
‘charcoal’
(ii) [ùkpómò]
‘seed’
(iii) [omi:]
‘well
13. /mh/ bilabial nasal
Word initial position
/mh/ does not occur at word initial position
Word mean position
(i) [emhi]
‘thing’
(ii) [єnamhi]
‘animal’
(iii) [ijamhi]
‘lie(s)’
14. /n/: Alveolar nasal
Word initial position
(i) [nìsó]
‘defecate’
(ii) [nogwesue]
‘sleep’
(iii) [najid]
‘rinse (clothes)’
Word medial position
(i) [ìnánòmì]
‘lick’
(ii) [inomi]
‘run’
(iii) [inemhi]
‘know’
15. /r/ Alveolar Trill
Word initial position
/r/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
(i) [ékòròè]
‘thigh’
(ii) [єgboro]
‘mud’
(iii) [єrùò]
‘rat’
16. /f/: Voiceless Labio dental Fricative
Word initial position
(i) [fixili]
‘turn round (intr)’
(ii) [fiegbedєnєgbe]
‘return (intr)
Word medial position
(i) [afє]
‘rope/gown/smook(man’s)
(ii) [éfìà]
‘shoe’
(iii) [úfìohì]
‘room’
17. /V/ : Voiced Labio-dental fricative
Word initial position
(i) [vhaze]
‘come’
Word medial position
(i) [evhose]
‘dream’
(ii) [eviemi]
‘weep(ing)’
(iii) [iviemhi]
‘weep’
18. /ð/: Voiced inter-dental fricative
Word initial position
(i) [ðexatoi]
‘follow’
(ii) [ðobosoi]
‘Touch(with hand)’
Word medial position
(i) [iðara]
‘untie’
(ii) [óbeðà]
‘right (side)’
(iii) [eðuanu]
‘rainy season’
19. /S/ : Voiceless Alveolar fricative
Word initial position
(i) [Seloi]
‘climb’
(ii) [Suijolo]
‘sing’
Word medial position
(i) [axuso]
‘abuse’
(ii) [isomi]
‘hear’
(iii) [isєnє]
‘go’
20. /Z/: Voiced Alveolar Fricative
Word initial position
/z/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
(i) [uze]
‘axe’
(ii) [òzuamè]
‘in-law’
(iii) [ózhè]
‘guest/stranger’
21. /∫/ voiceless palato-alveolar fricative
Word initial position
/∫/ does not occur word initially.
Word medial position
[i∫emi]
‘Short (ofsticle)’
[i∫omi]
‘Charcoal’
[i∫omàh]
‘Louse’
22. /x/ voiceless velar fricative
Word initial position
i.[xèza]
‘pass by’
noipisoprlaidomrdrow
r [gbixil‫]כ‬
‘dance’
ii.[ixil‫]כ‬
‘play(game)’
iii. ]áxùs‫]כ‬
‘abuse’
23. /γ/: voiced velar fricative
Word initial position
/ γ / does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
i. [aγasti]
‘horse’
ii. [aliγe]
‘buffalo’
iii. [‫כ‬γena]
‘God’
24. /h/: glottal fricative.
Word initial position
/h/ does not occur at word initial position.
Word medial position
i. [éhĩ]
‘charcoal’
ii. [éhò]
‘smoke’
iii.[ufi‫כ‬hi]
‘room’
25. /ts/: voiceless palato alveolar affricate
Word initial position
i. [ts‫כ‬i]
‘pierce’
word medial position
ii. [útsomhì]
‘head’
iii. [itsǔe]
‘nose’
iv. [εtsεi]
‘saliva’
26. /t∫/: voiceless palatal affricate
Word initial position
/ t∫/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
i. [at∫iè]
‘pepper’
ii. [úkpát∫εt∫έ]
‘star’
iii. [iðot∫emi]
‘burn’
27. /dЗ/: voiced palatal affricate
Word initial position
/dЗ/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial position
i
[igwidЗab‫]כ‬
28. /j/ palatal approximant
Word initial position
‘arm’
i. [jeze]
‘arrive’
ii. [jereze]
‘remember’
iii. [jeria]
‘forget’
Word medial position
i. [ĩjélémì]
‘dwell’
ii. [ijamhi]
‘stink’
iii. [ĕjèì]
‘breast’
29. /w/: velar approximant.
Word initial position
/w/ does not occur at word initial position
Word medial
i. [iwumhmi]
‘hold’
ii. [owah]
‘sheep’
iii.[iwenamhi]
‘learn’
30. /l/ alveolar lateral.
Word initial position
i. [l‫כ‬:to]
‘sit (down)’
ii. [lovho]
‘enter’
Word medial position
i.[imil‫כ‬:]
‘swallow’
ii. [seloi]
‘climb’
iii.[suijolo]
‘sing’
iv. [ijolo]
‘song’
2.2.2 Vowel segment of Uneme
According to Roach (1998), vowels are sounds produced when there
is no obstruction in the flow of air as it passes from the tongue to the lips.
Yusuf (1999:29) also defines vowel as sounds produced with very little
obstruction to the air passage in the vocal tract. None of the articulators
come close enough to the air flow.
Vowels usually constitute the core on the nucleus of the nucleus of the
syllable. They are described along the following parameters.
The part of the tongue used (i.e. front, central, back); The height of the
tongue (i.e. high, mid, low,).
The roundness of the lips (i.e. round, unround); Vowels are also
classified based on the position of the velum.
Thus:
- Oral vowels
- Nasal vowels
Oral vowels
They sounds are produced with the air passing from the larynx
through the oral cavity. While the nasal vowels are produced with the velum
lowered so that the air escapes through both the nose and the mouth.
Vowels can also be classified based on the length, which deals with the time
it takes to produce a particular vowel. Thus we have long vowels and short
vowels.
Uneme language attests seven (7) oral vowels and three (3) long vowels.
They are
- Oral vowels
/i, e, ε, a, i‫כ‬, o, u /
- Long vowels
/a: e: ‫כ‬:/
Uneme language also attests five(5) nasal vowels. They are
Nasal vowel
/ã, ĕ, ε, ĩ, ‫כֿ‬/
Uneme oral vowel chart
Fig 2.1
FRONT
High
Mid-tone
Mid low
low
CENTRAL
BACK
i
u
e
o
ε
‫פ‬:
a
a:
Fig2.2
Uneme Nasal Vowel Chart
FRONT
High
BACK
ĩ
Mid high
ê
Mid low
ε
Low
CENTRAL
‫כֿ‬
ã
2.2.4 Distribution of Uneme vowels.
Just like the consonants, vowel sound can also occur in all or any of
the possible environment of occurrence in a word. For instance a vowel can
begin a word ( i.e initial position). A vowel can also occur medially or at the
end of a word.
In Uneme language all vowel sound can occur in word initial position,
word medial position and word final position. The distribution of Uneme
vowel is given below:
1. /i/Front high unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[ ítùà:gbà]
‘beard’
ii.
[ígwídзàb]
‘arm’
iii.
[is‫כ‬i]
‘feaces’
Word medial position
i.
[áhi:lì]
‘oil’
ii.
[údilè]
‘needle’
iii.
[ebiki]
‘darkness’
Word final position
i.
[útsomì:]
‘head’
ii.
[ónèmì:]
‘tongue’
iii.
[Ebiki:]
‘darkness’
2. /e/ front mid-high unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[éða]
‘firewood’
ii.
[esei]
‘fish’
iii.
[éfìà]
‘shoe’
Word medial position
i.
[àkèré]
‘toad’
ii.
[‫כ‬ðena]
‘God’
iii.
[ìgbélènè]
‘fourteen’
Word final position
i.
[îgbelitsè]
‘fifteen’
ii.
[ìgbélènè]
‘fourteen’
iii.
[Egb‫כ‬ilénè]
‘eighty’
3. /e:/ Long front mid-high unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i) [é:tsà]
‘six’
Word medial position
i) [ìgbé:và]
‘twelve’
4. /E/ Front mid-low unrounded vowel.
Word initial position
i.
[Éhaì]
‘neck’
ii.
[ÉkÉì]
‘belly’
iii.
[EtsEi]
‘saliva’
Word medial position
i.
[úkpÈlòì]
‘eye’
ii.
[ónÈmì]
‘tongue’
iii.
[atsÉlÈ]
‘tobacco’
Word final position
i.
[ífamÈ]
‘urine’
ii.
[íhÈ]
‘fat’
iii.
[atsÉlÈ]
‘tobacco’
5 /a/ central low unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[ak‫כ‬i]
‘teeth’
ii.
[ahili]
‘oil’
iii.
[afE]
‘rope’
Word medial position
i.
[émàlè]
‘food’
ii.
[‫כ‬kazè]
‘guinea corn’
iii.
[ìsagwuÈ]
‘groundnut’
word final position
i.
[agba]
‘chin’
ii.
[‫כ‬b‫כ‬ikpa]
‘maize]
iii.
[Ekpa]
‘bag’
6 /a:/ long central low unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[a:fai]
‘sand’
Word final position
i.
[‫כ‬kpda:]
‘one’
ii.
[eva:]
‘two’
7 /‫כ‬:/ Long back mid-low rounded vowel
Word initial position.
i.
[‫כ‬:mé]
‘bad’
Word medial position
i.
[l‫כ‬i:to]
‘sit’
word final position
i.
[ixaw‫כ‬i:]
‘okra’
ii.
[‫כ‬gòb‫כ‬i:]
‘left’
8 /‫כ‬i/ back mid-low rounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[‫כ‬m‫כ‬ibetsùdé]
‘heart’
ii.
[‫כ‬kd]
‘millet’
iii.
[‫כ‬kdzè]
‘guinea corn’
Word medial position
i.
[‫כ‬m‫כ‬betsùdé]
‘heart’
ii.
[‫כ‬b‫כ‬ikpa]
‘maize’
iii.
[ih‫כ‬mì]
‘charcoal’
Word final position
i.
[ak‫כ‬i]
‘teeth’
ii.
[ux‫כ‬i]
‘navel’
iii.
[ob‫כ‬i]
‘hand’
9 /o/ back mid-high rounded vowel.
Word initial position
i.
[ónÈmì]
‘tongue’
ii.
[ófiégbè]
‘skin’
iii.
[ovia]
‘yam’
Word medial position
i.
[útsomi]
‘head’
ii.
[ékòròÈ]
‘high’
iii.
[ijolo]
‘song’
Word final position
i.
[ãjò]
‘palmwine’
ii.
[ukpeko]
‘village’
iii.
[údò]
‘stone’
10 /u/ back high rounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[únù]
‘mouth’
ii.
[úx‫כ‬i]
‘navel’
iii.
[uke]
‘back’
Word medial position
i.
[itua:gbd]
‘beard’
ii.
[‫כ‬m‫כ‬betsùdé]
‘heart’
iii.
[únúmˆi]
‘grass’
Word final position
i.
[ukpagù]
‘tail’
ii.
[Ehù]
‘tortoise’
iii.
[ifeleunu]
‘taste’
11 /ĩ/ Nasalised front high unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[ĩjo]
‘mother’
ii.
[ĩjcðcmì]
‘(be) rotten
iii.
[ĩjelmì]
‘dwell’
/ ĩ / does not occur medially and finally
12 /ĕ/: Nasalised front mid-high unrounded vowel
Word initial position
i.
[ĕjèì]
‘beast’
/ ĕ/ does not occur medially and finally
13/Ĕ/: Nasalized mid-low unrounded vowel
i) [ Ĕje]
‘snake’
14 /ã/ Nasalized low unrounded vowel
i[ãjò]
‘wine/beer’
iiãjodì]
‘palmwine’
15 /‫כֿ‬/ Nasalized back rounded vowel
I [‫כֿ‬jE]
‘crocodile’
2.3 Uneme Tone Inventory.
According to Pike (1957:3), “some languages that have lexically
significant contractive, but relative pitch on each syllable are said to be tone
languages. Tone can therefore be defined as a system of pitch change,
centered around the nucleus. A tone language is a language in which both
composition of the same morphemes can be lexically contrasted in a given
phonological environment. (Welmers1959:2).
However Uneme has three level tones known as low tone marked by a grave
accent [\], a high tone marked by an acute tone [/] and a mid tone [-] which
is left unmarked.
2.3.1 Distribution of Uneme tones
1. High Tone [/]
i.
[únúmhì]
‘bush’
ii.
[ γena]
‘God’
iii.
[etú]
‘hair’
2 Low tone [\]
i.
[inì]
‘elephant
ii.
[isomàh]
‘louse’
iii.
[òkòkòrò]
‘kite’
3 Mid-tone [-]
i.
[jE]
‘crocodile’
ii.
[‫כ‬tsa]
‘person’
iii.
[eðà]
‘father’
Tones are combined in various ways in Uneme language as in the following
examples:
i.
HL
[únù]
‘mouth’
ii.
MH
[etú]
‘hair’
iii.
MM
[ak‫]כ‬
‘teeth’
iv.
LHL
[ùkátSù]
‘spear’
v.
LH
[ìgbé]
‘ten’
2.4 Syllable structure
A syllable consist of the peak of prominence in a word which is
associated with the occurrence of one vowel or a syllable consonant that
represents the most primitive in all languages (Hyman 1975:189)
However a syllable consists of phonological units that have larger utterance
with constraints of a given language and with distinctive features which are
phonemes with concentrated sequence. It consist of three phonetic parts
which are the onset is usually at the peck or nucleus and coda onset is
usually at the beginning of a syllable the peck is the nucleus of the syllable
while the coda is the closing segment of a syllable usually a consonant.
This can be illustrated by a diagram
Fig2.3
SYLLABLE
ONSET
RHYME
PEAK
CODA
2.4.1 SYLLABLE STRUCTURE RULE
This is the rule that states the possible sequence or segment in a syllable.
We have the following syllable structures in Uneme
1 VCV
Sequence of vowel consonant vowel
i.
[etú]
‘hair’
ii.
[únù]
‘mouth’
iii.
[ak]
‘teeth’
iv.
[agba]
‘chin’
2 VCVCV
Sequence of vowel consonant vowel consonant vowel
i.
[ónÈmhì]
‘tongue’
ii.
[útsomhì]
‘head’
iii.
[Énamhì]
‘meat’
3 VC VC VC V (sequence of vowel consonant vowel consonant vowel
consonant vowel)
i.
[ùgwógwðà]
‘stick’
ii.
[ufufoða]
‘back of the tree’
iii.
[mmtsè]
‘male’
4 V (vowel structure)
i.
[ù]
‘you’ – second person singular subject
ii.
[è]
‘they’ – third person plural
iii.
[È]
‘me’ - second person singular object
5 CV (consonant vowel structure)
i.
[mì]
‘I’ – first person singular subject
ii.
[bà]
‘plait
iii.
[f‫]כֿ‬
‘wet’
6 VCVVCV (vowel consonant vowel vowel consonant vowel)
i.
[íxuègbè]
‘put on cloth’
ii.
[ibicmi]
‘gave birth’
7 CVCV (consonant vowel consonant vowel)
i.
[xèzá]
‘pass by’
ii.
[dìga]
‘kneel’
iii.
[jèzé]
‘arrive’
There are various types of syllable in the language. They are:
1 Disyllabic
i.
[etú]
‘hair(head)’
ii.
[únù]
‘mouth’
iii.
[étsc]
‘ear’
2 Tri syllabic
i.
[ífàmÈ]
‘urine’
ii.
[émàlè]
‘food’
iii.
[otsami]
‘soup/sauce’
3 Quat-syllable
i.
[ùgwógwoðà]
‘stick’
ii.
[àðáxètsé]
‘cooking’
iii.
[ìgbélètsà]
‘thirteen’
2.5 Basic morphological concepts
Morphology is a branch of Linguistics which studies the word
formation rules of a language.
Radford (1997:1) views Morphology as the formation and interpretation of
word. It also defines the system of categories and rule involved in word
formation and interpretation.
2.5.1 Morphemes
The morpheme is a fundamental unit in the study of word formation.
The morphemes can be defined as the minimal meaningful unit of
grammatical analysis. Gleason (1974:11) defines morphemes as “typically
composed of one of several phonemes”.
In Linguistics, a morphemes is the smallest component of a word or
other linguistic unit that has semantic meaning. The term is used as part of
the branch of Linguistics known as Morphology. A morpheme is composed
by phonemes.
2.5.2 Types of morphemes
Morphemes are basically classified into
1. Free morphemes
2. Bound morpheme
[
1. Free morpheme
Free morpheme is a morphological unit which can exist in isolation. It acts
as root (or stem).
Example of free morpheme in Uneme language
i.
[Êje]
‘snake’
ii.
[òkú]
‘sea’
iii.
[esei]
‘fish’
They are morphemes that can exist on its own and they occur in isolation.
They are independent in form and meaning.
We have two types of free morpheme;
a. Lexical morpheme
b. Functional morpheme
Lexical morphemes
Lexical morphemes, according to Yule (1997:76), are sets of ordinary
noun, adjectives and verbs which we think of as the word which carries the
content of the message we convey. Lexical morphemes have consistent
meanings beyond whatever grammatical information they also carry.
Examples in Uneme.
i.
[inì]
‘elephant’
ii.
[ih‫פ‬mi]
‘drink’
iii.
[ózì]
‘crab’
Functional morphemes
Functional morphemes are regarded as closed morphemes. They
consist of functional words such as conjunctions, preposition, articles and
pronoun.
Examples of functional morphemes in Uneme are
1) Articles
[‫פ‬n‫ ]פ‬i.
The
/‫פ‬n‫פ פ‬m‫פ‬m‫פ‬sε/
/‫פ‬n‫פ‬m‫פ‬m‫פ‬sε/
The
boy
ii.
/‫פ‬n‫ כ‬èbe/
/‫פ‬nèbe/
The book
iii.
/‫פ‬n‫ פ‬uvεhε/
/‫פ‬nùvεhε/
The knife
iv.
/‫פ‬n‫פ פ‬pia/
/‫פ‬n‫פ‬pia/
The matchet
v.
/‫פ‬in‫ פ‬iiiúlì/
/‫פ‬núlì/
The rope
2) Preposition
i.
[ùzòmòi]
-
On
/uzomoi ìtébùlù/
on
table
On the table
ii.
[ufioi]
-
Under
/ufio
i‫פ‬hd/
under
tree
Under the tree.
iii.
[kè] /kè
For
yakubu/
for yakubu
iv.
/eke/ - In
/eke Ekpa/
In bag
In the bag
3) Conjuction
i.
[yii] /ade
ade
And
yii
olu/
and
olu
2. Bound morpheme
In Morphology, a bound morpheme is a morpheme that only appears
as part of a larger word. Bound morpheme can not exist independently, they
are parasite in nature, they depend on their host for survival. They are
basically refered to as affixes.
Affixes under bound morpheme are classified into two, namely;
- Derivational morpheme
- Inflectional morphemes
Derivational morphemes:
They morphemes which produce new lexemes from a base
(Baver1988:12). Sari (1988:82) says that derivational morphemes are bound
morphemes which derive new words by either changing the meaning or the
part of speech or both.
(Yule 1997:76) states that derivation is accomplished by means of a large
member of small bits which is called affixes. Affixes are divided into four
(4) namely.
a. prefix
b. infix
c. suffix
d. suprafix
Uneme language attests only prefix and suffix.
PREFIX: It is a process whereby some affixes are added to the beginning of a word.
Examples in Uneme
[e w e]
‘goat’
[ĩ j w e]
‘she goat’
[è v a:]
‘two’
[‫כ‬z è v a:]
‘second’
SUFFIX: It is a process whereby affixes are added to the back of a word.
Examples in Uneme are
i. [ìgbè]
[Igbè: va]
ii. [ìgbè]
[igbèlitse]
‘ten’
‘Twelve’
‘Ten’
‘Fifteen’
iii. [egbh‫כּ‬lénè]
[egbh‫כּ‬leneigbe]
‘Eighty’
‘Ninety’
INFLECTIONAL MORPHEME
Inflectional morphemes are bound morphemes that alter grammatical
state of the root or stem. They do not carry any meaning on their own, as is
the nature of bound morphemes, but serve as a critical function in inflected
languages.
Inflectional morphemes according to Yule (1997: 72) are not used to form
new words, rather to indicate aspect of grammatical functions of a word.
They can be used to show if a word is singular or plural, if it is past, present
or continuous tense.
Examples in Uneme
/‫כ‬i /
i.
[
‫כ‬
Continuous tense maker
ii.
[
‫כ‬
Continuous tense maker
+ nje]
+
cook
[‫ כֿ‬je]
cooking
+
le]
[‫ כ‬le]
+
eat
eating
2.6LANGUAGE TYPOLOGY
According to Green berg (1974: 54-55), language typology is based
on the assumption that the ways in which word differ to one another are not
entirely random, but shows various types of dependence among these
properties of language.
Linguistic typology is a subfield of linguistics that studies and
classifies language according to their structural features. Its aim is to
describe and explain the common properties and structural diversity of the
world’s languages.
Before the advent of the concept of language typology, the
classification of language was largely genetic i.e. based on the development
of a language from older source language.
Languages can be classified or categorized structurally into
i. Agglutinating
ii. Isolating language
iii. Inflectional or fusionals
Uneme language is an incorporating language. It has isolating features
and inflectional features. We can therefore classify Uneme as an isolating
language as well as inflectional language.
[
2.6.1 Isolating language
Isolating language is a language typology which is also known as
analytic language. It defines a language with a low morpheme per word
ratio. In the extreme case of isolating language words are composed of a
single morpheme.
An isolating morpheme can thus be defined as a language that has one to one
correspondence between word and morpheme.
According to Pike (1966 : 134 ) isolating language is used to refer to a
language where each word typically express a distinct idea, capable of
inflectional or formal variations, variations are determined by word order
and separate participants. Thus the sentence consists of strings of formally
independent words.
Examples of Isolating features in Uneme are
i.
I
I
eat
lo
rice
sikappa
I ate rice
ii.
Audu
vádè
Audu
eating
Audu is eating
iii.
‫כּ‬
li
sikappa
He eat
rice
He ate rice
iv.
Olu
Olu
ji:
hammed
and hammed
2.6.2 INFLECTIONAL LANGUAGE
It is a type of Language distinguished from agglutinative Languages
by its tendency to overlay many morphemes in a way that can be difficult to
segment.
The word inflectional is derived from the Latin word ‘inflrctere/inflection’
which means to bind after or modify.
According to (Mc Arther, 1996:472) Inflectional Language is a
Linguistic term used to describe a Language whereby words take various
forms most commonly by alternation of an ending, to show grammatical
role. A language can therefore be regarded as inflectional when morpheme
in the language are represented as affixes, but one in which it is difficult to
assign morpheme precisely to different part of the affixes.
Examples of Inflectional Languages
1.
2
[vhaze]
come
[‫כ‬vhaze]
coming
[nje]
cook
[‫כֿ‬je]
cooking
3
[sélé]
climb
[‫כ‬selemhi]
climbing
CHAPTER THREE
3.0
INTRODUCTION
Morphology is the science and the study of the smallest meaningful
units of a language and their formation into words. Morphology is the branch
of Linguistics that studies word formation rules of Language (crystal 1980:
60). In furtherance of foregoing definition Yusuf in Tinuoye (2000: 67) posits
that morpheme is the smallest meaningful grammatical unit that cannot be
further broken down without destroying the meaning or drastically altering it
beyond recognition along meaning dimension. Thus a morpheme can not be
further broken down.
Tomori (1977: 16), defines morpheme as the minimal linguistic
element that carries
Grammatical or semantic meaning that is now further divided into
smaller grammatical competence. Since morpheme is the basic concept of
morphology. The focus of this chapter is to investigate this concept in
Uneme language with recourse to ideas expressed in languages of the world,
such as word class, gender, number, cardinal, possession, reflective and to
determine the occurrence of free and bound morphemes in Uneme language.
3.1
MORPHEMES
Fromkin and Rodman (1988: 2) states that a morpheme is the minimal
linguistic sign, a grammatical unit that is an arbitrary union of sound and
meaning components. Sometimes morpheme are strung together to form a
word.
3.2
MORPHEME TYPES
Yusuf (1999: 83) states that a free morpheme is a morphological unit
which can exist independently or in isolation. It is also known as root
morpheme.
A stem morpheme is that part of a word that is in existence before an
inflection affix is added.
i.
ii.
[‫כ‬n‫ ]כ‬+ [ragbofid]
[‫כ‬n‫כ‬ragbofid]
Owner of orange
orange seller
[‫כ‬n‫ ]כ‬+ [rematede]
[‫כ‬n‫כ‬rematede]
Owner + food
‘food seller’
3.2.1 Root Morpheme
Root morpheme is a reductive core of a word with absolutely
nothing else attached to it. It is a part that is always present. The root
morpheme constitutes a word (free morpheme) by it self, and it can
stand alone as a single word.
Examples of root morpheme in Uneme language are given below.
i.
[útsomì]
‘head’
ii.
[ak‫]כ‬
‘teeth’
iii.
[‫כ‬b‫]כ‬
‘hand’
iv.
3.2.2 Bound Morphemes in Uneme
Bound morphemes are morphemes which cannot normally stand
alone, but are typically attached to basic morpheme. Yusuf (1999:83) states
that a bound morpheme does not occur in isolation, but can only be
meaningful when joined to other morphemes. Bound morphemes can occur
before a host morpheme, these are called prefix and suffix respectively. The
prefix is the morpheme that occurs before the host and the suffix occurs after
the host.
Below are Examples of Bound morphemes in Uneme
[‫כ‬-]
continuous tense marker
i.
[‫כ‬lé]
‘eating’
ii.
[‫כ‬gé]
‘laughing’
iii.
[‫כ‬sene]
‘going’
3.3 PART OF SPEECH IN UNEME
The term part of speech refers to how different words in a sentence
carry meaning. Yusuf (1992: 45), states that word in a natural speech
situation are said to belong to different parts of speech in distribution.
Traditional grammarian identified eight part of speech basing their analysis
on Greek and Latin.
Adedimeji and Alabi (2003: 47), posits that those eight classes are
categorized as content or contrast word and grammatical words, content
word are also known as lexical words, which are namely Noun, Verb,
Adverb and Adjective. The grammatical words are Pronoun, Preposition,
Conjunction and Interjection.
3.3.1 THE NOUN
Nouns are words used to name a person, animal, place, things and
abstract idea. According to (James D Williams and Lawrence Erlbaum 1999)
Nouns are labels we use to classify the world and our experience in it. It was
seen by functional grammarians as a word which can function as subject,
object of the verb or preposition. Noun in Uneme can be classified into the
following
a)
animate noun
b)
inanimate noun
c)
masculine noun
d)
feminine noun
e)
concrete noun
f)
abstract noun
a)
ANIMATE NOUN
This is a noun which refers to living things.
Examples of Animate Nouns are
b)
I. [aγatsi]
‘horse’
II. [owah]
‘sheep’
III. [ènáh]
‘cow’
IV. [‫כּ‬knpah]
‘cock’
INANIMATE NOUN
This is a noun that names general things and concepts that are not living
Examples are
I. [űdilέ]
c)
‘needle’
II. [éfià]
‘shoe’
III. [eknpa]
‘bag’
IV. [ixj]
‘mat’
MASCULINE NOUN
This are nouns that have to do with male beings either humans or animal
Examples of Masculine Noun in Uneme are
I.
[ukpevei]
‘penis’
II.
[‫כ‬m‫כ‬tsè]
‘man’
[‫כ‬m‫כ‬m‫כ‬tsè]
‘male’
III.
d)
FEMININE NOUN
Feminine nouns are nouns that have to do with female beings either humans
or animals
Examples of Feminine Noun in Uneme are
I.
[‫כ‬knpòsò]
‘woman’
II.
[‫כ‬tsàmhi]
‘female’
[‫כ‬m‫כ‬kpòsò]
‘daughter’
III.
e)
CONCRETE NOUN
According to Alabi (2005: 24) concrete nouns are things which have
physical manifestation. They can be seen or touched.
Examples in Uneme are
I. [űdilέ]
‘needle’
II. [ovha]
‘house’
III. [έgwűέ]
f)
‘hoe’
ABSTRACT NOUNS
Adedimeji and Alabi (2003: 48), see abstract nouns as nouns that relate to
ideas, feelings, emotions, and concepts.
Examples in Uneme are
[nogwesue]
‘sleep’
[ofe]
‘fear’
III.
[evhose]
‘dream’
IV.
[ostamhaine]
‘thirst’
I.
II.
3.3.2 VERBS
Verbs are words used to express actions, event and processes. Adegbijiba,
(1987: 65) states that any word functioning as the predicator in a
grammatical or an acceptable structure of the language is a verb. The main
function of a verb in a sentence is to make a statement about the subject of
the sentence.
Examples of Verbs in Uneme are
[ogwe]
‘Sleep’
[akãja]
‘Work’
[ijamhi]
‘Lies(s)’
[ofe]
‘Fear’
[idomi]
‘Jump’
Verbs can further be classified into two types these are
i.)
Transitive verb
ii.)
Intransitive verb
1) Transitive verb
Yusuf (1997: 21) states that a transitive verb is one that has a noun
phrase (NP) objective. These are verbs that compulsorily take objects if
they must make complete sense. Examples of these verbs in Uneme
language are given as follows.
i. Yemi
lo
vhia
Yemi eat
yam
Yemi ate yam
ii. Ade
Ade
gbe
ve
killed goat
Ade killed a goat
From the above, Yemi and Ade are the doers of the action while [ovhia]
‘yam’ and [eve] ‘goat’ are the receivers of the action.
3.3.3 ADJECTIVE
According to Awobuluyi (1978: 34) any word or grammatical
combination of words which qualifies a noun is an adjective. Adjectives
are words used to qualify nouns (Adegbija 1989:58). Thus adjectives are
used to amplify the meaning of a noun.
Examples of Adjective in Uneme areS
i.)
[‫כ‬kwàmhi]
‘heavy’
ii.)
[ómimhè]
‘good’
iii.)
[‫כ‬:me]
‘bad’
iv.)
[whaimhi]
‘red’
3.3.4 PREPOSITION
Preposition is a word or a group of word used before a noun or
a noun phrase (NP). Prepositions relate a noun to a verb in terms of
location, direction, states, condition, etc. Preposition shows the
relationship between two independent objects.
Examples of preposition in Uneme language includes
i).
[uxomoi]
‘on’
ii).
[ufioi]
‘under’
iii).
[kè]
‘for’
iv).
[eke]
‘in’
Some Prepositional phrase in Uneme are
i).
/kè
yakubu/
‘For yakubu’
ii).
/uzomoi
On
itébulu/
table
On the table
iii)
/eke
In
Ekpa/
bag
In the bag
3.3.5 PRONOUN
The main function of pronoun is to substitute a noun, especially when the
noun has already been mentioned (Alabi, 2005). Pronouns can function as an
object of a verb in a sentence. The table shows the different forms of
pronoun in Uneme.
Singular
Independent
Subject
Object
object
1st
I / mi
I / mi
Me/ mhe
Mine / ikèmhe
2nd
You /u
You / u
You /έ
You / ikέ
3rd
He / she / ‫כ‬li
He / she /‫ כ‬ar
Him / her / ‫כ‬lĩ
Him / her /
ik‫כ‬le
1.
POSSESION
There are sets of pronouns that are used to express possession. They occur in
subject, complement and adjunct positions.
The following are verbs that show possession in Uneme.
I. [ikèmh£]
‘mine’
II. [‫כ‬li]
‘he’
III. [‫כ‬lί]
‘she’
IV. [ikamhwa]
‘our
IN PHRASE
i. ‫כ‬li
Her
ebe
book
ii. ‫כ‬li
He
iii. ‫כ‬li
He
egei
laughs
le
eat
He ate
2
RELATIVE PRONOUN
They are pronouns that are used in place of noun and pronoun. They can
substitute directly for noun or pronoun when used in a sentence.
Example of Relative Pronoun
i. [digélé]
‘when’
ii. [ma]
‘what’
IN SENTENCE
i. Digélé gé audu othe sene gombe
When did audu to
go gombe
When did audu go to gombe
ii. ma
gé Andrew lui
What did Andrew Do?
3.4TENSES
In Uneme only the continuous tenses is present. They do not have past
tense.
/‫כ‬-/ continuous tense maker
i.
ii.
[le]
‘eat’
[‫כ‬lé]
‘Eating’
[vade]
‘come’
[‫כ‬vade]
‘Coming’
3.5
NUMERAL FORMATION
Numeral formation deals with the process in which numbers are formed in a
language. Numerals are divided into ordinals and cardinals.
3.5.1 CARDINALS
Cardinals tells us “how many”. They are also known as counting numbers
because they show quantity.
Cardinals in Uneme are:
i. [‫כֿ‬knpa]
‘one’
ii. [eva]
‘two’
iii. [etsa]
‘three’
iv. [ene]
‘four’
v. [itse]
‘five
vi. [e:tsa]
‘six’
vii. [itsilo]
‘seven’
viii. [enhἑi]
‘eight’
ix. [itsi:]
‘nine’
x. [ignbe]
‘ten’
3.5.2 ORDINALS
They are numbers, which are formed from cardinals, and they take on the
characters of the cardinal subsequently.
Ordinals in Uneme are:
i.
[‫כ‬zi‫כ‬ze]
‘first’
ii.
[‫כ‬zeva]
‘second’
iii.
[‫כ‬zesa]
‘third’
iv.
[‫כ‬zesa]
‘fourth’
v.
[‫כ‬xise]
‘fifth’
vi.
[‫כ‬ze:sa]
‘sixth’
vii.
[‫כ‬zizi‫]כ‬
‘seventh’
viii.
[‫כ‬zene:i]
‘eighth’
ix.
[‫כ‬zisich]
‘ninth’
x.
‘tenth’
[‫כ‬zignbe]
3.6 CONCORD
According to Welmers (1973: 159) grammatical agreement is
found between nouns and their modifiers.
Concord simply means agreement. In Uneme singular and plural
demonstrative pronoun and nouns agree in number.
Examples
i.
ii.
kpà xi
Bag
is
kpà
xi
Bags
iii.
‫כ‬nà
are
this
ènà
=
kpàx‫כ‬ná
=
This is a bag
kpàxéná
=
these =
These are bags
kpà
xi
‫כ‬nhì
=
kpà‫כ‬nhì
Bag
is
that
=
That is a bag
iv.
kpà
Bag
xi
is
ènhì
those
=
=
kpàxénhí
those are bags
These examples show that the vowel prefix of the noun and demonstratives
change as they move from the level of singularity to plurality denoting
agreement between them.
CHAPTER FOUR
MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES
4.0
Introduction
Languages make use of varieties of operations or processes that can
change the structure of a word, either by adding some elements to it or by
making an internal change in order to express a new meaning or to make a
grammatical contrast such as past versus non past, singular versus plural,
feminine versus masculine, subject versus object, nouns versus verbs, etc (O
Grady and Gazsman, (1987:142).
Therefore, morphological processes refer to a means of changing a stem to
adjust its meaning to fit its syntactic and communicational context.
There are various ways by which words of a particular language can be
formed. Therefore the main focus of this chapter is to show how words are
formed in Uneme language and the type of word formation rules that are
obtainable in the language. Uneme attests four morphological processes,
which are
Affixation
Borrowing
Compounding
Reduplication
4.1 AFFIXATION
Affixation is derived from the word affix. An affix is a bound morpheme
attached to a free morpheme. Therefore, affixation is a morphological
process whereby new words are formed by the addition of an affix (bound
morpheme) to a root or stem (free morpheme).
A root morpheme is the core or the heart of a word to which an affix
is attached while a stem is that part of a root to which the last morpheme is
structurally added. In English language for example the word, ‘dancers’ is
made up of a root, a stem and an affix. The root is ‘dance’; the stem is
‘dancer’, to which /-s/ is affixed. Affixations observed in Uneme are
i.
Prefixation
ii.
Suffixation
4.1.1 Prefixation
As the name implies Prefixation is derived from the word prefix. A
prefix is an affix that comes before a root or stem.
According to Adedimeji (2005: 7), prefix is a bound morpheme that
comes before the base or the root. Prefix changes the meaning of the word;
they are added because of the information carried by the morphemes added
to such words to derive a new word in Uneme the following are examples of
prefix.
i.
‫כ‬
+
waze
= [‫ כ‬waze]
Come
ii.
iii.
‫כ‬
‫כ‬
= coming
i+iiiiiiiiiiiiiiLe
=
[‫כ‬le]
Eat
=
eating
+
nye
= [‫ כ‬jé]
Cook
= cooking
4.1.2 Suffixation
As the name implies suffixation is derived from the word suffix and they are
affixes that are added after a stem or a root morpheme.
i.
ìgbé
ten
ii.
iii.
li
+
èvá
=
[ìgbélévàà]
two
twelve
ìgbé
li
étsà
=
[ìgbélétsà]
ten
+
three
=
thirteen
ìgbé
li
énè
=
[ìgbélénè]
ten
+
four
=
fourteen
4.2 Borrowing
This morphological process involves taking items from one language to
another. Borrowed words are known as loan words, which are made to adapt
to the phonological structure, more or less of the recipients language.
(Tomori 1977:31).
For example in English language, there are many borrowed words from so
many languages, like Restaurant from French, Piano from Italian, Zebra
from Bantu and Mosquito from Spanish.
4.2.1 Borrowing in Uneme language
Uneme borrowed words from English
ENGLISH
i.
[sleit]
UNEME
GLOSS
[ÍsletÌ]
Slate
ii.
[greis]
[ÍgresÌ]
Grace
iii.
[teibl]
[ÍtébÙlÙ]
Table
Uneme borrowed words from Yoruba
YORUBA
UNEME
i.
[kÈÈkÉ]
[ÌkÈkÊ]
ii.
[ògÈdÈ]
iii.
[ológbò]
[ògÈdÈ]
[ánògbo]
GLOSS
Bicycle
plantain/banana
Cat
The above examples prove that some words borrowed from English
language to Uneme permits consonant clustering while the words
borrowed from Yoruba does not. In addition both Uneme and Yoruba do
not have close syllables.
4.3 Compounding
According to (Tomori 1977:27), compounding is a morphological process,
which involves the combination of two or more separate words to produce a
single form. Hyphen may or may not be placed between the two words to be
combined.
In other words compounding simply deals with the formation of words
through the combination of two separate words.
Example of compounding in Uneme
i.
ii.
iii.
Ókò
+
okwi
=
Ókòkwi
Vehicle
+
Sky
=
aeroplane
evhi
+
óuhà
=
goat
+
house
=
goat house
idágù
+
edo
=
idágùedo
duck
+
river
=
Riverduck
4.4 REDUPLICATION
óuhàkevhi
Reduplication refers to the linguistic study with the central point of
duplicating copying or repetition as the basis of all definitions.
O’ Grady and Guzman (1981: 43) states that another common
morphological process in certain languages (but not English) is
reduplication, which duplicates all parts of the base to which it applies to
mark a grammatical or semantic contrast.
Reduplication is a morphological process whereby there is repetition of
a redial element or part of it and it usually occurs at the beginning of a word,
occasionally within the word (Pei 1966: 202). Reduplication can take place
to the left of the root as prefix, to the right as a suffix, or inside the root as an
infix. Reduplication may be complete or partial. It is complete if the entire
word is repeated or copied to form another. It is partial when all the words
are not copied.
Reduplication in Uneme
Below
are
examples
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiii‫כ‬s‫ כ‬mi
ii
of
reduplication
‫כ‬s‫כ‬
‫כ‬rsrs‫כ‬s‫כ‬
dlrap +
dlrap
parldpwlid
ĩjĩ
ĩjĩ
ĩjĩjɔ
Mother + mother
CHAPTER FIVE
in
Grandmother
Uneme
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND REFERNCE
5.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter summarizes the study so far and gives conclusion.
5.1 SUMMARY
This write up deals with the morphology of Uneme language of Edo State.
The long essay contains five chapters. Chapter one accounted for the
General background and history of the Uneme people. It observed that the
people are located in the northern part of Edo state. The sociolinguistic
profile of the Uneme people reveals their culture, marriage and religious
practices. Uneme Language is a member of Niger Congo phylum. In this
same chapter, the literature on morphology was also reviewed to present the
theoretical frame work of the project.
Chapter two deals with phonological system of Uneme and it shows that
their words mostly begins with vowel sounds and also end with a vowel
sound except in some cases where some words begin with consonants and
end in vowels. The language makes use of three tone levels and they are
high, low and mid. The language attests syllable structure like cv, v etc. In
this same chapter we discussed the concept of morphology which includes
the morpheme, types of morpheme, language typology of which Uneme is
an isolating and inflectional language.
Chapter three explained the morphology of Uneme and it was revealed that
Uneme language has free and bound morphemes. In this chapter, we were
able to discuss the part of speech like nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, etc.
We also talked about tense and it was observed that Uneme attest only the
continuous tense and does not attest past tense. This chapter also helped us
in knowing the cardinal and ordinal numbers in Uneme.
Chapter four examined the morphological processes that are attested in
Uneme language. They are affixation, borrowing, compounding and
reduplication.
Chapter five, which is the concluding and final chapter, contains the
summary, recommendation and conclusion.
5.2
CONCLUSION
This write up has been able to focus on the morphology of Uneme language,
bringing out the various morphological processes in the language. It is
therefore hoped that the research work will provide a spring board to other
prospective researchers to begin further study on the language.
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