ASPECTS OF MIGILI MORPHOLOGY
IDOWU KINGSLEY OYESUNKANMI
07/15CB057
A LONG ESSAY SUBMITTED
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND
NIGERIAN LANGUAGES, FACULTY OF ARTS,
UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN.
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT
FOR THE AWARD OF A DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
ARTS (B.A. HONS) LINGUISTICS.
MAY, 2011.
CERTIFICATION
This project work titled “Aspects of Migili Morphology”, has been
read and approved as meeting the requirement for the award of the Degree,
Bachelor of Arts (B. A. HONS) of the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of
Arts, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
_______________________
___________________
MRS. B. E AROKOYO
DATE
Supervisor
________________________
___________________
PROF. A. S. ABDUSSALAM
DATE
Head of Department
_______________________
____________________
EXTERNAL EXAMINER
DATE
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DEDICATION
I thankfully dedicate this long essay to the almighty God, by whose
infinite mercy I am alive. Also, I cannot but thank my parents Mr and Mrs
Idowu for the love and care which they have shown me through their
support. May God bless you and enlarge your coast.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All glory and honour be unto God for if he had not been on my side, I
would have been a reputable failure.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to my amiable and understanding
supervisor, Mrs Arokoyo. I pray your children will always find favour in
Gods’ and mans’ sight.
I am also thankful to my informant, Mr Ayuba , for his help. May
God be with you wherever you are.
My deepest appreciation goes to my parents and siblings, for showing
me the love and care that I deserve. Ajiboye, Tinuoye and Oyedotun Idowu,
I love you all and will always do, till death do us part.
I will be an ingrate if I do not appreciate the support and help of my
friends Okun Wayne, Nappy buoy, Kenny Geezle , Drey,Bayarnni, D Blak,
Mayor, Pappaz, wale, Sleek Tee, my girlfriend Bukky, Seyi, Teju, Wunmi,
Halimat, Desola, Kanyin, Ganiyat, Bukunmi, Dipson, Kunle, Kolade, A.K,
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and all other important people that I cannot remember for one reason or
another. I pray God bless you all, till we meet again.
Lastly, I appreciate everyone whom no matter how small, has
contributed to my reputable success. May God remember you all in his
garden of blessings.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page……………..……..………………………………………..i
Certification…….……………………………………………………ii
Dedication…………..……………………………………………….iii
Acknowledgements….………………………………………………iv
Table of Contents………….…………………………………………vi
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0
General Introduction………………………………………………….1
1.1.
Historical Background………………………………………………..2
1.2
Socio – Linguistic Profile…………………………………………….4
1.2.1 Occupation……………………………………………………………4
1.2.2 Festival………………………………………………………………..5
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1.2.3 Religion……………………………………………………………….6
1.2.4 Marriage………………………………………………………………6
1.2.5 Mode of Dressing……………………………………………………..7
1.3
Genetic Classification………………………………………………...8
1.4
Scope of Study………………………………………………………..9
1.5
Organization of Study………………………………………………...9
1.6
Research Methodology……………………………………………...10
CHAPTER
TWO
2.0
Introduction………………………………………………………….13
2.1
Literature Review……………………………………………………13
2.2
Basic Phonological Concepts………………………………………..14
2.3
Sound Inventory……………………………………………………..15
2.3.0 Migili Vowel Sounds………………………………………………..15
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2.3.1 Migili Consonant Sounds…………………………………………..17
2.3.2 Sound Distribution…………………………………………………..19
2.3.3 Distribution of Migili Vowel Sounds………………………………..19
2.3.4 Distribution of Migili Consonant Sounds…………………………...21
2.4
Tone Inventory………………………………………………………25
2.4.0 Tone Combination…………………………………………………..27
2.5
Syllable Inventory…………………………………………………...29
2.6
Basic Morphological Concepts……………………………………...31
2.7
Morphemes…………………………………………………………..32
2.8
Types of Morphemes………………………………………………..33
2.8.0 Free Morphemes…………………………………………………….34
2.8.1 Bound Morphemes…………………………………………………..36
2.9
Structural Functions of Morphemes…………………………………38
2.10 Structural Positions of Morphemes………………………………….39
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2.11 Syntactic Functions of Morphemes………………………………….40
2.12 Language Typologies………………………………………………..42
2.12.0 Fusion Language………………………………………………...…43
2.12.0 Agglutinating Language…………………………………………...44
2.12.1 Isolating Language………………………………………………..44
CHAPTER
THREE
3.0
Introduction………………………………………………………… 45
3.1
Morphemes…………………………………………………………..45
3.2
Types of Morphemes………………………………………………..46
3.2.1
Free Morphemes…………………………………………………46
3.2.2
Bound Morphemes………………………………………………48
3.3
Functions of Morphemes………………………………………...51
3.3.1
Derivational Function of Morphemes……………………………52
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3.3.2
Inflectional Function of Morphemes…………………………….52
CHAPTER
FOUR
4.0
Introduction………………………………………………………54
4.1
Morphological Processes………………………………………...54
4.1.1
Affixation………………………………………………………..,55
4.1.2
Borrowing………………………………………………………..57
4.1.3
Compounding…………………………………………………….58
4.1.4
Reduplication…………………………………………………….59
4.1.5
Refashioning……………………………………………………..60
CHAPTER
FIVE
5.0
Introduction………………………………………………………61
5.1
Summary…………………………………………………………61
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5.2
Observations……………………………………………………..62
5.3
Conclusion……………………………………………………….63
5.4
Recommendations..……………………………………………...64
References……………………………………………………….66
CHAPTER ONE
1.0
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Language is the universal fabric that holds every individual of a
community together. An instrument, used by man for communication within
his environment, without which there would be no meaningful relationship
between the human world. Language can also be referred to as the medium
through which ideas, thoughts, and other forms of human communication
are expressed or carried out.
In the metal compartment where all possible, meaningful and acceptable
words are formed, there are certain rules that must be followed or certain
conditions met before any word can be viewed as acceptable in any
language. The branch of linguistics that studies the compatibility of such
combinations and proposes the rules for their formation is called
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MORPHOLOGY. The basic concept of this branch is the morpheme, the
smallest meaningful unit in grammar which may constitute a word or part of
a word.
Every language has its own set of morphological rules which are strictly
adhered to by members of its community. Such members , (Native speakers)
share a great deal of unconscious knowledge about their language which
helps in the acquisition of their first language with little or no formal
instructions. In connection to morphology, the Migili language has been
duely investigated with a view to finding/revealing the aspects of its
morphological set up.
The Migili people are a tribal group found in
Agyaragu local government, Lafia, Nasarawa State. The first chapter of this
research centers on areas such as the historical background of the Migili
people, their socio-cultural profile, occupation, religion, festival, mode of
dressing, marriage, genetic classification. Several other aspects will be
reviewed in the latter chapters of the project work.
1.1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MIGILI
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In an interview with the town chief (ZHE Migili) who is he
traditional ruler and an autocrat, two major facts were revealed. One of
them is the fact that the name of the language popularly known as Mijili is
incorrect rather it is formally known as Migili. The second fact duely noted
by him is that the Migili people are not part of the Hausa tribe as they have
been mistakenly identified by many.
The Migili tribe has a long history which dates back to the old Kwararafa
Kingdom in Taraba State. The Kwararafa kingdom comprised of different
ethnic groups such as Eggon, Algo, Idoma, and the Gomai. Each tribe took
turns in occupying leadership positions of the kingdom and a heir was
selected from the royal home of each ethic group. But things changed when
it was time for Akuka, a Migili descendant who was next in line to ascend
the throne . Akuka was plotted against hence he could not become the next
leader. This sparked up a lot of negative reactions from the Migili people as
well as some other tribes who viewed such an action as unjust, a way
through which they were deprived because of their small population.
Together with all members of the tribe, Akuka moved down to a place called
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Ukari where they settled down for a while and later moved to Agyaragu in
Lafia, Nasarawa State where they reside presently.
Today, the Migili people are known as settlers in Obi, Agyaragu local
government, Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. They can still be found in
other places such as Minna, Abuja, Kubadha in Kaduna, Zuba e.t.c.The
major population of about 18,000 people constitute about 96% of Obi
Agyaragu local government area.
1.2
SOCIO – CULTURAL PROFILE
The Migili language is rich in both its social and cultural aspects. Some
of these aspects are their festival, religion, marriage, occupation e.t.c
1.2.1 OCCUPATION
The Migili people are predominantly farmers. This occupation ranges
from young to old, male and female. They produce a lot of crops but their
major cash product is yam.
Yams are produced for transportation to
different parts of the country and they also engage in inter – village sales
with their neighbours who do not produce the types of crops that they do.
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Migili people also grow crop such as melon, beans, guinea corn, rice and
millet.
1.2.2 FESTIVAL
There are two major festival celebrated by the Migili. These festivals are
very important aspects of their culture as they expose their heritage and
ancestral endowments. First is the farming season in which every farmer
within the village premises is involved. During this farming season, they
move from one indigenes farm to another in large groups cultivating,
clearing and planting different types of crops for one another. After this has
been done, a date is set to celebrate the harvest of these crops and this leads
to the second festival which is the Odu festival.
The Odu festival is celebrated village – wide in Miligi. This is a period
of harvesting of crops, celebration of the harvest, exchange of pleasantries
and entertainment in the village square.
During the festival, the Odu
masquerade which represents their ancestral values is dressed in a colourful
attire with which it displays great dancing steps to the amusement and
applause of the villagers.
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Another festival that is celebrated in the village is the demise of an
elderly indigene. This is done with a type of dance called Abeni.
1.2.3 RELIGION
Before the arrival of the missionary, the Migili people were ardent
traditionalists. They worshipped their ancestors some of which are Odu and
Aleku.
They had separate seasons at which sacrifices were made and
worshipped them with dancing and entertainment. But things gradually
began to change after the missionaries arrived thus most of them were
converted to Christians, though a small population remain strictly traditional
worshippers while some are Muslims.
1.2.4 MARRIAGE
Marriage as an entity was approached from the early stages of childhood
amongst the Migili people. Before the Missionary arrived, intercultural
marriage was forbidden amongst them with serious consequences or
punishment allotted the violation of such law. Marriage between indigenes
was formally approached, by the father of the suitor, who informs the
mother of the admired girl of his intention. Once an agreement has been
xvi
reached, the first payment is made to confirm the betrothal of the female
child who continues to live with her parents until the due age has been
reached. The male child (suitor) then pays his first installment of her dowry
and engages in farming activities for his in-laws once every year. But today
the order of things have changed and marriage within and outside the tribe is
now by choice hence enhancing inter-cultural relationship.
1.2.5 MODE OF DRESSING
The Migili dressing mode displays their cultural heritage, though their
dressing is quite similar to that of the Hausa. Women wear short vests that
expose their belly and long skirts that cover their legs, then they adorn their
hands, forehead, lips and ankles with beads and bracelets. An interesting
feature about their dressing is the plaiting of hair by both male and female
indigenes. Though a bit of civilization has been introduced into their culture,
hence influencing their dressing, a typical Migili indigene would still appear
in colourful beads and bracelets.
xvii
1.3
GENETIC CLASSIFICATION
This is the arrangement of languages into their different categories
according to their relationship with other members of their category.
NIGER KORDOFANIAN
NIGER CONGO
Mande
KORDOFANIAN
Atlantic Congo
Atlantic
Ijoid
Volta Congo
Kru
Kwa
North Volta Congo
Akpe
Platoid
Defoid
Edoid
Nupoid
Benue Congo
Idomoid ukumoid
Igboid Cross river Bantoid
Tarokoid
Beremic
Southern
Yeskwa
Ayongie
Adunic
Koro
Alumic
Hyame
Ninzic
West
Jiju
xviii
East
Tyap
North
Irigwe
Koro Zuba
Koro Ija
Jijilic
Koro-Makamei
KORO MIGILI
koro Lafiya
Adapted from Roger Blench (2006)
1.4
SCOPE OF STUDY
As earlier mentioned, the purpose of the research project is to closely and
carefully examine the Migili language and hence, expose its morphological
aspects. Investigation would be carried out on the various morphological
processes attested by the language. Various steps, theories and methods
would be used and considered in the analysis and exemplification of the
morphemes and their processes.
Also, an accurate compilation of the
alphabet in the language has been carried out in order to justify the
compilation of the data and its analysis thereof.
1.5
ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY
This long essay has been divided into five different chapters, each
containing certain aspect of the research work. Below is a highlight of the
chapters and their contents;(i) Chapter one deals with general introduction
into the background of the study, the historical background and socio –
cultural profile;
xix
(ii)
Chapter two deals with literature review on the chosen aspect of the
research work;
(iii)
Chapter three deals with the presentation and analysis of data on the
chosen work;
(iv)
Chapter four centers on the processes involved in the branch of study;
(v)
Chapter five deals with summary of the work done, observation,
conclusion and recommendation of references.
1.6
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In the execution of this research, both the informant and introspective
methods/approach have been adopted for data collection. Two native
speakers have been approached, hence providing the researcher with
complete and accurate data from the Migili language.
Also, a
library/internet research has been adopted, serving as a guide on some
primary aspects of the research such as, the geographical location of the
language and its speakers, its genetic classification, its population size e.t.c.
xx
Below is a brief information about the two informants whose help was
sought;
Informant 1
(i)
Name: Ayuba Osibi Haruna
(ii)
Age: 40 years old
(c)
Occupation: Personal assistant to the chairman, local government
(iv)
Aspect: Data collection (400 wordlist)
Informant 2
(a)
Name: Dr Ayuba Agwadu Audu (JP)
(b)
Age: 62 years
(c)
Position: Village chief
(d)
Aspect: Historical Background and socio-cultural profile.
The Ibadan four hundred (400) wordlist served as the basis for data
analysis. In it comprises a list of words in English language for which
xxi
equivalent meaning has been substituted in Migili language.
A frame
technique has also been used in order to find out the use of words in into
sentence context. A series of sentences have also been translated from
English language Migili.
xxii
CHAPTER TWO
2.0
INTRODUCTION
The body of this entire chapter deals with literature review on the
phonological and morphological aspects of the Migili language. Although
the essay should be centered on the morphological aspect, there is need to
examine the phonology as well, the reason being that the language (Migili)
does not have a known written form, hence the need to get acquainted to it
by taking a phonological approach.
The second part of this chapter will revolve around the morphological
aspect. This goes a long way in providing an in-depth study of the word
structure and word combination processes of the study language.
2.1
LITERATURE REVIEW
It is important to examine some earlier linguistic enquiries that have
been made in the Migili language. This is because the earlier works that
have been done on the phonological and morphological aspects of the
xxiii
language may not be well documented and that is the major aim of this
chapter.
According to Stoffberg (1978: b), the Migili language has Nine (9)
phonemic vowels, seven (7) nasal vowels and twenty eight (28) consonants.
He further explained that MigiIi also has three major register tones and
numerous complex glide tones.
The realization of morphemes in Migili language is based on different
forms of phonological alternations.
These alternations are either by
prefixation, suffixation or tone change.
2.2
BASIC PHONOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
Phonology is only concerned with the study of sounds (vowels and
consonants) of a language. It is also the study of the systematic use of
sounds to portray the orthography of a language. Phonology is the sub-class
of linguistics that deals with the sound system of languages.Whereas
phonetics is concerned with the physical production of sounds, acoustic
xxiv
transmission and perception of sounds, phonology simply describes the way
that sounds function within a given language or across languages.
2.3
SOUND INVENTORY
This deals with the classification of the sounds in a language. Migili
uses a combination of both vowel and consonant sounds.
2.3.0
MIGILI VOWEL SOUNDS
Vowels are sounds that are produced without any form of obstruction
of air or stress in the vocal cards. There is always a free flow of air through
the vocal cords in vowel production. There are four parameters used in
describing vowel sounds. They include;
(i)
Position of the soft palate,
(ii)
Shape of the lips,
(iii)
Raising of the tongue,
xxv
(iv)
Tongue height.
There are nine (9) phonemic vowels and seven nasal vowels in Migili
language.
The oral vowels are; i, e, ɛ, ∂, a, ↄ, o, ʊ , u.
The nasal vowels are; ĩ, ẽ, ɛ,̃ ã, ↄ̃, õ, ũ.
2.3.0. (a)
Diagram Showing Migili Oral vowels.
Front
Central
Back
I
high
Mid high
Mid low
Low
ʊ
e
o
ɛ ∂ ↄ
o
a
xxvi
u
2.3.0 (b)
Chart Showing Migili Nasal Vowels
Front
Back
ʊ̃
ĩ
high
Mid high
Mid low
Low
2.3.1
Central
ẽ
õ
ɛ̃
o
ↄ̃
a
CONSONANT SOUNDS
According to Yusuf (1992: 13) “ Consonant sounds are produced
with the obstruction of airflow, partially or totally at some point”.
In phonetic terms, most consonants are sounds in whose production, the
airflow is obstructed or clogged at some point in the mouth, throat or larynx,
at least sufficiently to cause audible friction.
In relation to the definition given, the Migili language has been found
to have twenty eight consonants. The chart below will give a description of
those consonants.
xxvii
Bilabia
Plosive
p
Nasal
Labio
dental
Alveolar
b
t
d
m
Fricative
Alveo Palatal Velar Labio
Palatal
Velar
c
n
f
Affricate
v
~
s
z
ts
dz
Approxim
ant
j k g
kp gb
ŋ
h
ϊ
Vibrant
L
Stoffberg (1978b: 67) notes an example of the contrast between
long and short /l/ ;
/lí/ “ to sell “
/llí/ “wart hog”
Also there are instances of free variation between some of the consonants;
/l/ and /r/
/l/ and /n/
/s/ and /S/
xxviii
ŋm
∫ ʒ
y
Lateral
Glottal
w
/z/ and /З/
2.3.2
SOUND DISTRIBUTION
Sound distribution studies how sounds are combined and
distributed in a language to make meaningful words. Any sound can occur in
any position either initial, medial or final depending on the type of
combination processes which the language permits.
2.3.3
DISTRIBUTION OF MIGILI VOWEL SOUNDS
According to research, all Migili oral vowels can occur in either
word initial, medial or final positions. Here are a few examples to illustrate
further;
/i/
word initial- [íbe] ‘spear’
medial- [dzidzi] ‘bad’
final - [álí] ‘forest’
/u/
word initial-[ùva] ‘dog’
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medial-[dzárunↄ] ‘bird’
final-[dumu] ‘he goat’
/e/
word initial-[èjε] ‘no’
medial-[í∫énέrέ] ‘cloud’
final-[íswîle] ‘plaiting of hair’
/o/
word initial-[oji] ‘thief’
medial-[kokà] ‘masquerade’
final-[mónãso] ‘bush meat’
/ε/
word initial-[Èhε̃] ‘satisfaction’
medial-[ipεgã] ‘knowledge’
final-[drε] ‘to be sitting’
/ ↄ/
word initial-[ↄ̀kpa] ‘antelope’
medial-[∫ↄ̀nla] ‘sleep’
xxx
final-[dząrùnↄ] ‘bird’
/ a/
word initial-[ásò] ‘bush’
medial-[tàsò] ‘untie’
final-[ↄ̀kpa ] ‘antelope’
2.3.4 DISTRIBUTION OF MIGILI CONSONANT SOUND
Here are some examples of the distribution of Migili consonant
sounds.
/b/
word initial-[bέnε] ’to pull’
medial-[íbà] ‘fish’
/c/
word initial-[cε] ‘worship’
medial-[ácansòlò] ‘finger nail’
/d/
word initial-[drí] ‘to shake’
xxxi
medial-[kudunu] ’rubbish heap’
/f/
word initial-[flↄ̀] ‘wet’
medial-[kùfrↄ] ‘bark of tree’
/g/
initial-[gↄ̀] ‘catch’
medial-[áglo] ‘sorghum’
/gb/
initial-[gbètúmá] ‘messenger’
medial-[kúgbã] ‘thatch roof’
/h/
initial-[hár] ‘until’
medial-[Èhε] ‘satisfaction’
/k/
initial-[kúcↄ̀ ] ‘head’
xxxii
medial-[kúkũ] ‘bend down’
/kp/
medial-[ìkúkplá] ‘strength’
/l/
initial-[lí] ‘to sell’
media-[múlá ] ‘bitterness’
/m/
initial-[mɛ̀rε] ‘to learn’
media-[gbètúma] ‘messenger’
final-[ mbãm] ‘palm wine’
/n/
initial-[ńla] ‘sleep’
medial-[nònó] ‘become fat’
final-[má nyran] ‘marry wife’
/s/
xxxiii
initial-[sεrε] ‘deny’
medial-[tàsↄ̀] ‘untie’
/∫/
initial-[∫ↄ̀kↄ̀pá ] ‘rice’
medial-[gú∫o] ‘stool’
/t/
initial-[ta] ‘chew’
medial-[kíta] ‘skin’
/ts/
initial-[tsi] ‘harvest’
medial-[itsi] ‘nest’
/w/
initial-[wusↄ] ‘listen’
medial-[juwↄ] ‘hold’
/dz/
initial-[dzárunↄ] ‘bird’
medial-[adzá] ‘children’
xxxiv
2.4
TONE INVENTORY
Tone is referred to as the use of pitch in language to distinguish
between lexical and grammatical meaning i.e, to inflect words. All verbal
languages use pitch to express emotional, ideological or other human
features.
Migili is a tonal language and it uses the three major types of tone
extensively. The high tone is represented with a rising slant line (/), the low
tone is represented with a falling slant line (\), while the mid tone is usually
not marked in words. The Migili language also uses complex glide tones
such as low-high (v), high low (^) e t c. there are a few examples below to
illustrate better;
(1)
HIGH TONE
form
gloss
bέ
‘to come’
ká
‘that he’
kέ
‘to deny’
xxxv
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOW TONE
form
gloss
bÈ
‘to choose’
kà
‘to exceed’
nì
‘to bury’
MID TONE
bε
‘question participle’
ka
‘to guard’
nↄ
‘to write’
LOW-HIGH
bě
kă
(5)
‘two’
‘like’
HIGH-LOW
form
gloss
kpô
‘grow tall’
kpî
‘be short’
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2.4.0
TONE COMBINATION
Words can naturally possess the three major types of tone. This could
be the high, mid, or low tone. These three tones can be combined using
mono-syllabic,
Di-syllabic
or
Poly-syllabic
words.
The
complex
combination of these tones also gives an output known as contour tones. A
few examples of Migili tone combination are given below;
(1)
(2)
(3)
HIGH-HIGH
ásá
‘sorghum’
áwá
‘fear’
HIGH-LOW
ásò
‘bush’
ísà
‘day’
LOW-LOW
dùmù
‘goat’
jìjì ‘to tickle’
xxxvii
(4)
(5)
(6)
LOW-HIGH
lìyí
‘price’
nìmí
‘orange’
HIGH-LOW-MID
dzárùnↄ
‘bird’
ínùma
‘hunger’
LOW-HIGH-HIGH
rùpéné ‘pig’
gbètúmá ‘messenger’
The three major tones can be combined in several ways in any given
language.
xxxviii
2.5
SYLLABLE INVENTORY
Hyman (1975:189) defines syllable as “a peak of prominence which is
usually associated with the occurrence of one vowel or syllabic sonorant”.
He further explained that a closed syllable ends with a consonant while an
open syllable ends with a vowel.
Migili language exhibits a high number of open syllables but a fair
number of closed syllables. The reason is that, only the syllabic consonant
/n/ and /m/ are allowed to end words/occur in word final position thus
limiting the number or use of closed syllables in the language. Below are
examples of mono-syllabic, Di-syllabic and Poly-syllabic words in Migili
language.
(i)
Mono-syllabic words
[bɛ̀]
‘choose’
cv
[cε]
c v
‘worship’
[gↄ]
‘catch’
CV
xxxix
(ii)
Di-syllabic words
[m̀/bãm]
‘palm wine’
c cvc
[gù/so]
‘close’
cv cv
[kí/dʒì]
‘feather’
cv cv
[n/sí]
’tear’
c cv
(iii)
Poly-syllabic words
[∫ↄ/kↄ/pa]
‘Rice ’
cv cv cv
[Kↄ̀/ró/kↄ̀]
‘Cock’
cv cv cv
[ á/va/m/bu] ‘harmattan’
v cv c cv
[n/nↄ/sↄ/nↄ]
c cv cv cv
xl
2.6
BASIC MORPHOLOGY CONCEPTS
Morphology according to crystal (1990:225) is the branch of
linguistics which studies the structure or forms of words primarily through
the use of morphemes.
Lyons (1971:180-181) “Morphology is the study of forms, the field of
linguistics which studies word structure and word formation”. The term
morphology was Introduced into the area of language in the 19th century by a
scholar called Geothe. The term was first applied by Geothe to biology as
the study of ‘forms’ of living things.
The Morpheme is the basic concept of the term morphology.
Morphemes are the minimal unit of grammar, the unit of lower rank, out of
which words, the unit of a higher rank are composed (Lyons 1974:81).
According to Spencer (1991), “the domain of morphology in its study
encompases the possible arrangement of morphemes to form words”. He
further explains it as the relationship or reactions of several morphemes in
the process of word formation.This can be Illustrate thus;
xli
Morphemes
Morphology
Arrangement
2.7
MORPHEMES
Nida (1946:6) defines morphemes as “the minimal meaningful unit of
which a language is composed and may be part of a word or constitute a
word independently”. Equally in the tradition of American structural
linguistics established by Leonard Bloomfield (1993), “a Morpheme is
smallest unit of a language with meaning.”
Yusuf (1987; 1988) described morphemes as building blocks of words
in any language. He defines morphemes as the minimal meaningful unit of
grammatical analysis. From the definition above, we can deduce that
morphemes are characterized by certain features. First, a morpheme is seen
as the smallest broken down unit of grammar which makes meaning. Here
are some examples of morphemes selected from different languages.
xlii
2.8
word
gloss
language
Orí
lead
Yoruba
ilé
house
Yoruba
dàru
finish
kahugu
Òyi
thief
Igala
Múna
meat
Migili
dùmù
goat
Migili
kↄ̀rↄ́kↄ̀
cock
Migili
TYPES OF MORPHEMES
There are basically two types of morphemes. These are the free and
bound Morphemes .The distinction between both types of morphemes is
basically their nature and composition, structural position and structural
functions.
Lexical
Free
Morphemes
Functional
Bound
Derivational
Inflectional
xliii
2.8.0
FREE MORPHEMES
Oyebade (1992:58) defines a free morpheme as “a morphological unit
which can exist in isolation”.
It is a unit which is capable of standing or existing on its own without
being attached to any other linguistic unit. It is independent in terms of
meaning and form.
Free morphemes can occur as complete words; they are potential words
(Collinge 1990). Let us consider the following examples of free morphemes
in Migili language.
Word
Gloss
ágîtã
food
bɛ̌
two
ítuma
vagina
kíci
tree
kíta
skin
kísí
eye
dzá
child
xliv
gwàra
open
ígaba
Lion
jì
sting
múna
flesh
Each of the examples consist of only one morpheme that cannot be
further broken down or subdivided into any meaningful parts. Each has
independent existence and meaning.
Free morphemes fall into two categories;
(i)
The lexical category,
(ii)
The functional category.
The lexical category consists of the set of ordinary nouns, adjectives,
and verbs which carry the content or message in sentences. The lexical
morphemes (open class of words), are content words such as nouns, verbs
and objectives. They belong to the open class because we add new lexical
morphemes or affixes to them.
The other group of morphemes is called the functional morphemes.
This set consists of mainly functional grammatical words in the language
xlv
such as conjunctions, prepositions, articles and pronouns. They are described
as the closed class of words because we do not add any functional
morphemes or affixes to them. Here are a few examples;
2.8.1
Words
Gloss
ímε
I (singular)
íwↄ
you (singular)
íla
we (plural)
ìyi
they (plural)
BOUND MORPHEMES
Unlike
free
morphemes,
bound
morphemes
cannot
stand
independently. A bound morpheme is a type of morpheme that cannot occur
in isolation but can only be recognized when they are attached to other
bound or free morphemes (Oyebade, 1992:59). Bound morphemes do not
constitute independent words, hence they are called affixed. Affixes could
be inflectional or derivational in nature and are of three different types;
Prefixes, Suffixes and Infixes.
xlvi
Prefixes are attached to words at the initial positions, suffixes are
added at word final positions while infixes are attached in the word medial
positions.
Examples of affixes in English language include;
+
s
→ Books
(ii) sheep +
s
→ sheep
(iii) mis
+
lead
(iv) Dis
+ qualify + ed → disqualified
(i)
Book
→ mislead
Examples of affixes in Migili language include;
(i)
á
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
‘child’
Dzá
‘children’
+ dzá
kúpele
‘stone’
á + pele
‘stones’
dzárùnↄ
‘bird’
a + dzárunↄ
‘birds’
Gbolu
‘Elephant’
i
+
‘Elephants’
gbolu
xlvii
(v)
‘bone’
kuku
a
+
‘bones’
kú
The most commonly use form of affix in Migili language is the Prefix.
2.9
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONS OF MORPHEMES
Morphemes perform certain roles in the process of word formation.
Free morphemes perform the function of roots to which other free or bound
morphemes are attached. For example, the word ‘International’, has a root
word, ‘nation’. Some bound morphemes function as a form of negation
while others may function as agentive markers, changing the syntactic class
of a word. e.g engage → disengage → disengagement.
It is possible to have more than one root in a word. For instance, the
word “milkmaids” has the morphemes, ‘milk’ and ‘maid’ to which the
plural marker ‘s’ is added. The function of the root is not exclusive to free
morphemes alone as we may have a bound morphemes sometimes
combining with free morphemes to form new words.
xlviii
2.10
STRUCTURAL POSITION OF MORPHEMES
In the process of morpheme combination, It is important to
determine/acknowledge the positions of such combinable morphemes. Those
which are added before, in between, or after a root are called affixes. An
affix may occupy the structural position of a prefix in which case, it occurs
before the root word. It can also occupy the position of an infix, occurring in
between a word. An affix may also function as a suffix when it occurs after
the root word (Bloomfield 1933). Let us consider example from English
language:
(A)
(i)
iL
+
legal
(ii) Dis
+
courage
(iii) mis
+
understand
iL-, Dis- and mis- are all prefixes.
(B)
(i) Good
+
ness
(ii) Region
+
al
(iii) correct
+
ion
-ness, - al, - ion are all suffixes.
xlix
2.11
SYNTANTIC FUNCTIONS OF MORPHEMES
A morpheme may perform a derivational or inflectional function.
Morphemes performing derivational functions usually change the syntactic
class of a word. For example;
Verb
Noun
Ride
Rider
Teach
Teacher
Rape
Rapist
Noun
Adjective
Boy
Boy - ish
Affection
Affection - ate
Passion
Passion -ate
A derivational function may also be assumed by prefixes. This can be
observed using examples in Yoruba language;
Verb
Noun
Ró ‘ to sound’
ìró
‘ a sound’
Gé ‘ to cut’
ègé
‘ a segement’
Dé ‘to wear’
adé
‘a crown’
l
Migili morphemes also perform derivational functions through the use
of suprafix. A suprfix is a types of affixation that is represented by prosodic
features such as tone, stress, intonation e.t.c. some examples are;
Word
Gloss
ŃLa
‘sleep’
ŃLá
‘difficulty’
ní
‘to extinquish’
‘to bury’
nì
Morphemes which perform an inflectional function only provide
more syntactic information without changing the class of a word. Some
examples are given in Migili below;
(i) á
+
béré
=
pl
+
partner
=
(ii) á
+
dzá
pl
+
(iii) ì
+
partner
partners
=
ádzá
child
=
children
gbolu
=
lgbolu
li
pl
2.12
+
Elephant =
Elephants
LANGUAGE TYPOLOGIES
Languages are systematically grouped into structural components
based on phonology, grammar or vocabulary, rather than in terms of any real
or assumed historical relationship (crystal, 1987). The earliest typologies
however were based on morphology. (crystal 1987:293) recognized three
main linguistic types based on the way a language constructs its words. They
are;
1.
2.12.0
Fusion
2.
Agglutinative
3.
Isolating
FUSION LANGUAGE
Also known as inflecting or synthetic language, a fusion language is
one in which a word is made up of two or more morpheme that are not easily
recognizable. Fusion languages show grammatical relation by changing the
lii
internal structure of words, using inflectional ending which express several
grammatical meanings at once. Examples of such languages are Latin and
Greek.
2.12.1 AGGLUTINATING LANGUAGE
In an agglutinating language, words are built up of a sequence of units,
with each unit expressing a particular grammatical meaning in a clear one to
one way (crystal 1987:294). languages that attest this type of feature can
have a single word being built up by man morphemes which can be easily
separated into the meaning which each district morpheme expresses.
Examples are English and Turkish.
2.12.2
ISOLATING LANGUAGE
In a predominantly insolating language, each word is made up of one
morpheme which cannot be further broken down. Grammatical relationships
are shown through the use of word order. In this type of language, there are
inflections, i.e one word, one meaning. In Chinese for example, verbs are not
inflective for persons, number or tense neither are nouns inflected for
liii
number or gender. It is therefore difficult if not impossible to find prefixes
or suffixes in an isolating language.
Based on the language typologies that have been identified above, one
can therefore highlight the fact that Migili is both a fusion and agglutinating
language.
liv
CHAPTER THREE
3.0
INTRODUCTION
According to crystal, (1990:225), “morphology is the branch of
linguistics which studies the structure or forms of words primarily through
the use of morphemes”. The morpheme is the basic concept of the study of
rules guiding word formation. The basic aim of this chapter is to discuss
more intimately, the morphemes, its type and its functions. This will be done
using the Migili language in the following phases of the chapter.
3.1
MORPHEMES
Lyons (1994:81) defines morphemes as the minimal unit of
grammatical analysis, the units of lowest rank, out of which words, units of
higher ranks are composed. Also, Oyebade (1992:82) defines the
morphemes as the “minimal meaningful unit of grammatical analysis, which
may constitute a word or part of a word”. Here are a few examples of
morphemes in Migili;
Nimi
‘orange’
pa
‘hit’
lv
3.2
Ra
‘play’
trↄ́
‘cook’
tútrↄ
‘laugh’
TYPES OF MORPHEMES
Morphemes can be divided into two major types, these are the free
morphemes and the bound morphemes.
3.2.1
FREE MORPHEMES
Oyebade (1992:58) defines a free morpheme as a “morphological unit
which can exist in isolation”. It is also known as the root of a word.
A free morphene is independent both in meaning and from. It cannot be
subdivided into further meaningful parts. Free morphemes fall into the
categories, these are the lexical and functional morphemes (Hudson, 2000).
The first category consists of ordinary nouns, adjectives and verbs, the
category of words referred to as content words.
lvi
Examples of these lexical morphemes in Migili language are:
Words
Meaning
áklodzi
money
ásò
bush
bé
came
drí
shake
dzidzi
bad
nɛ̀nɛ̀
sweet
The group of free morphemes is called functional morphemes
function in the language such as conjunctions, prepositions, articles and
pronouns. We do not add new functional morphemes to this class of words
hence they are described as the “close class of words”. Here are a few
examples in Migili language.
lvii
Words
Meaning
ìmɛ̀
I
ìnↄ
He
inↄ
Him
la
We
ba
They
The set of words given as examples in both categories are indivisible. They
posses individual meaning and can also act as root forms for the addition of
other morphemes to produce new words.
3.2.2
BOUND MORPHEMES
A bound morpheme according to Yusuf (1992:83), “is a type of
morpheme which does not occur in isolation but can only be recognized
when added to other free or bound morphemes”. These morphemes have
definite meaning but do not have independent existence.
Bound morphemes are basically or three types:
lviii
(i)
Bound morphemes that occur before the root morphemes. These
are called prefixes.
(ii)
Bound morphemes that occur within the root morphemes. These are
infixes.
(iii)
Bound morphemes that occur after the root morphemes. These are
suffixes.
These three types of bound morphemes are called affixes because they
are attached as minor appendage to their partners as a way of modifying or
adjusting the systematic content of the free morphemes.
Example of bound morphemes in Migili language are the plural
formation prefixes [a-], [i-], [m-] and [n-] which occur before root words.
The prefixes [a-] and [i-] occur/appear before velars and labials. Here are a
few examples showing the outlined prefixes;
(i) [a-]
word
meaning
plural
dzá
child
ádzá
gbé
hunterágbé
lix
kídrî
housefly
ádrî
kisi
aye
álí
word
meaning
plural
dùmù
goat
ídùmù
ↄjέ
witch
ìjέ
odↄ́
horse
ìdↄ́
uνa
dog
ìva
gbolu
Elephant
igbolu
word
meaning
plural
[l-]
[m-]
[n-]
Ninyira wife
míninyira
ńnyɛ
person
mínyε
òca
uncle
múca
shá
husband
múshá
word
meaning
plural
lúkↄ́
war
ńkↄ́
lúnwↄ̀
voice
nwↄ́
lx
rúgↄ̀
mountain
ńgↄ̀
SUFFIXES
Very few cases of suffixation occur in Migili language nevertheless,
some example of suffixes are found below;
word
3.3
meaning
plural
gbo
fall
gbєrє
gu
wash
gùgra
FUNCTION OF MORPHEMES
Morphemes combine to form words. Root morphemes are the base
from which other words are derived. The root morphemes function as the
stem when other morphemes are added to it (Oyebade,1992). Thus a root
morpheme can be a stem and a stem can be a root. Nida (1946:99) state that
a morphemes can perform the following synthetic functions:
(i)
Derivational function,
lxi
(ii)
Inflectional function.
3.3.1
DERIVATIONAL FUNCTION
A morpheme performing a derivational function usually changes the
syntactic class of the lexical item to which it is attached. Thus, when
morphemes are combined and a new meaning is derived, the attached
morpheme has performed a derivational function. Miligi morphemes do not
perform derivational functions.
3.3.2
INFLECTIONAL FUNCTION
Oyebade (1992:88) state inflectional morphemes only provide more
syntactic information without changing the word class. This function of
morphemes gives additional information to the meaning of the root words.
Number, tense and gender are some of the inflectional functions of
morphemes. Examples of morphemes performing inflectional functions in
Migili language are given below:
lxii
Singular
Gloss
Plural
Gloss
Dzá
child
ádzá
children
Dzárúnↄ
bird
adzárúnↄ
birds
gbέ
hunter
ágbέ
hunters
gbolu
εlephant
igbolu
εlephants
kígì
feather
ájì
feathers
kínyí
tooth
ányí
teeth
kílí
rope
álí
ropes
kísí
εye
ásí
eyes
kítátrè
shoe
átátrè
shoes
lúnwo
voice
nwό
voice
mùkↄ̃
corpse
ìkↄ̃
corpses
múnasↄ̃
animal
ínasↄ̃
animals
músù
cat
ámúsù
cats
όcã
uncle
múcã
uncles
oyi
thief
áyi
thieves
lxiii
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter is a presentation and analysis of the basic
morphological processes that exist in Migili language. The analysis will
review these morphological processes with copious data from the Migili
language.
4.1
MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES
Morphological processes, otherwise known as word formation
processes are ways or methods through which words are formed in a
language (Quirk, et.al, 1972. Odebunmi, 2001). These processes include;
compounding, blending, clipping, reduplication, acronym, coinage/announce
formation, back formation, neologism and borrowing. Although not all these
morphological processes are attested in Migili language, the major ones
which were discovered would be discussed as follows:
lxiv
4.1.1
AFFIXATION
This is a morphological process by which bound morphemes are
added before within or after root /free morphemes. In other words, it is the
process of word formation either by prefixation, infixation or suffixation
(Bloomifield, 1993).Through this processes, lexical and grammatical
information is added to the sense of the root. An affix can be made up of a
letter, two, three or more, depending on the structure of the language. The
most common types of affixes are the prefix and suffix , while the most
common in Migili are the prefixes.
Examples of affixes in Migili are given below;
PREFIXES
a + Lémù
=
‘pl’
= oranges
orange
alémú
a + dzá
= ádzá
‘pl’
= children
í
child
+ dùmù
=
ídùmù
lxv
‘pl’
I
goat
=
goats
+ gbolu
=
igbolu
‘pl’
Elephant =
Elephants
n + lunwò
=
nwò
‘pl’
voice
=
voice
mú +
mrú
=
múmrú
‘pl’
mother
mothers
ń + rúgõ
= ńgõ
‘pl’
= mountains
mountain
mú + shá
= múshá
‘pl’
= husbands
husband
SUFFIXES
Gb + rε
= gbεrε
fall + pl
= falls
lxvi
4.1.2
Gu + rε
= gùgra
wash + pl
=washes
BORROWING
This morphological process involves taking lexical items from one
language and introducing it into another. Borrowing can be defined as the
introduction of single words or short idiomatic phrases from one language
into another (Gumperz, 1984). Borrowed words are known as loan words
which undergo changes in order to adapt to the phonological structure of the
borrower language. Like several other languages, Migili also borrows from
neighbouring languages. These include;
borrowed word
source language
gloss
Lѐmu
Hausa
orange
Marakanta
Hausa (makaranta)
school
gwãgwa
Hausa
head pad
kidíga
Hausa (bindiga)
gun
Iↄ́hↄ̀
Hausa
water leaf
lxvii
4.1.3
Baga
Nupe (bagadozhi)
salutation
sàprû
Hausa (salubu)
soap
shↄkↄpa
Hausa (shinkafa)
rice
Lafía
Arabic
peace
COMPOUNDING
Compounding involves the combination of two or more free
morphemes. According to Oyebade (1992:62), compounding is the putting
together of different lexical items to form new words. examples of this in
Migili language are given below:
Word Combination
Output
Yam + flour
=
Yamflour
ntre
=
fùléntrí
dro + kasha
=
drokishisha
tell
=
storyteller
grave + yard
=
graveyard
ízan
=
itsizan
black + board
=
blackboard
titre + kúpi
=
kúpitítre
fùlé
story
itsi
lxviii
4.1.4
REDUPLICATION
Reduplication is the process of repetition of a word or a part of a
word in order to generate a new word or meaning. Reduplicatives are forms
which are either partially or fully copied from the root and added before or
after the root (Olaoye 2002:77). Yusuf (1992:86) defines reduplication as a
process that involves copying the whole or part of a root as prefix or suffix.
There are two types of reduplication;
Total Reduplication: This process involves copying the whole
word from the root. Examples In Migili are :
word
Reduplicated form
Klↄ
klↄklↄ
‘big
strong
flo
floflo
slow
slowly
Partial reduplication: This process involves copying a part of the
root word and repeating it either as a prefix or suffix. Examples are;
word
Reduplication form
Quick
Quickly
lxix
4.1.5
pla
papla
swim
float
srwě
srwisrwě
day
daily
ísà
ísàsà
REFASHONING
In refashioning, a phrase or a word is named by its description.
Examples in Migili language;
/Kpàtì/
+
Box
/kpàtì/
box
/tere/ = /kpàtìmatere/
talk
+
= radio
mázá = kpàtìmázá
image = television
lxx
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter gives the summary and conclusion of previous ones.
It also includes observations and recommendations based on the researchers
findings.
5.1
SUMMARY
This study started with an introductory chapter that gives
information about the language of study (Migili), investigating the historical
background of the language, the speakers origin and settlement, their genetic
classification, socio-cultural profile, scope and organization of study, data
collection and data analysis.
In this essay, an attempt has been made to look into the
morphology (study of word formation rules) in Migili language. The work
started by giving definition of the term morphology, the concept of
morphemes and how they combine in the language to form new words. The
work comprehensively looks into the morpheme, its type and functions.
lxxi
The combination of morphemes as seen in this long essay, is
mediated by the morphological processes which includes affixation,
borrowing, reduplication, compounding and refashioning. The work also
covered some aspect of the Migili phonology looking into the sound
inventory, tone inventory and syllable structure of the language.
Finally, a detailed work was carried out on the morphological
processes in the Migili language using Migili examples.
5.2
OBSERVATIONS
At the end of the research, the following observations were made
and registered on word formation in Migili language:
(a)
It was observed that the language has more free morphemes than
bound morphemes,
(b)
(c)
That bound morphemes perform only inflectional functions,
Prefixes and suffixes are present in the language but are only used
to mark plural cases or as plural markers,
lxxii
(d)
It was also discovered that the language sometimes uses the same
orthography form to represent words with entirely different meanings.
example: drò → hare and drò → speak.
5.3
CONCLUSION
The focus of this study is to describe the word formation processes
in Migili language. We have achieved this through ample and copious data
to illustrate how each of these processes is attested in Migili language.
This also proves the fact that the morphological processes of affixation,
compounding, borrowing, reduplication and refashioning are quiet present
(though minimal) in the language.
In this essay, twenty eight consonants, nine oral vowels and seven
nasal vowels were discovered.
Conclusively as part of contrition to learning, this long essay
would be a useful guideline and reference book for future researchers,
textbook writers and teachers of Migili language.
lxxiii
5.4
RECOMMENDATIONS
The researcher presents the following recommendations upon
completing this research work;
(a)
Parents need to speak and teach their children the native language
so that they can achieve competence in their mother-tongue before they
encounter a second language,
(b)
The national language policy should recognize Migili language as
a subject to be taught in areas largely populated by the Migili people,
(c)
Native speakers of Migili language should be trained as teachers of
the language to encourage its development,
(d)
Linguists should make adequate research work on Migili language
so as to make materials such as dictionaries and textbooks available for
students, teachers and other researchers to learn more about the language,
(e)
The government should make mother-tongue teachers available in
schools. Provisions should also be made for some subjects to be taught in the
lxxiv
mother tongue of some regions as this will give students solid foundation on
the knowledge of their mother tongues.
lxxv
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Bamgbose, A (1963). A Study of the Structure and Word Classes in the
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Bloomfield, L (1933) Language. New York, Henny Holds and co
Collin N.E (ed.) (1990). An Encyclopedia of language. London and New
York: Rutledge.
Crystal, D (1990). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. London,
Blackwell.
Crystal, D (1987). The Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press.
Douglas, p (1987). The Worlds Major Languages. London British Library
Cataloguing.
Eka, D (1994). Element of Grammar and Mechanics of the English
Language. Oyo: Samuf (nig) ltd.
lxxvi
George, Y (1985) The Study of Language. Louisiana, Cambridge University
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