THE YIWOM NOUN PHRASE
OLORUNOJE KAZEEM
07/15CB082
MAY, 2011
1
THE YIWOM NOUN PHRASE
OLORUNOJE KAZEEM
07/15CB082
MAY, 2011
2
THE YIWOM NOUN PHRASE
BY
OLORUNOJE KAZEEM
07/15CB082
A LONG ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
LINGUISTICS AND NIGERIAN LANGUAGE, FACULTY OF ARTS,
UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, ILORIN, KWARA STATE, IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF ARTS (HONS.) IN LINGUISTICS.
JUNE, 2011
3
CHAPTER ONE
1.0
INTRODUCTION
It is a general fact that no one can dispute that language is central
to all communities of human beings. It is also important for the regulation
of every community
The main focus of this research is to shed more light on how noun
phrase is found in yiwom language. Therefore, the first chapter of this
research focuses on the historical of yiwom language, genetic
classification, the scope and organization of the study analysis, the
theoretical framework, data collection, data analysis, and also the review
of the chosen framework which is government and binding theory.
This branch of linguistics is concerned with how words are
combined to form phrases and sentences in a rule governed manner.
1.1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The yiwom speaking people are also known as Garkawa, Gerkachi
and Gerka and Gurka. Heil yiwom is what they call their town but the
fulanis call them Gerkawa. it is a unit in the South East corner of the
present milkang Local Government Area and is bounded in the North and
4
East by the Langtang section of yergam, South East by the way of
Dampar South by Inshar and West by the Lalin section of montol.
The yiwom people have been in their present home for upwards of
two hundred years. The pitop came to the area first and provide itself a
stockaded town at a place called Hakbap. The Rohta followed second and
settled in kiel-hiel at Rohta-Hills, North of Hielyoum. Other families arrived
in large detachments one after the other and took refuge at Kiel-Hiel.
Rohta rock was fortified and was capable of withstanding siege,
As at the middle of nineteenth century, the families came from their
hills to live in their present homes. The former at Rohta , the later at pitop.
According to legends preserved by both sections, their ancestors
sprang from the ground. The Rotha maintain that they are from river
Guinan in the hills, while the paptop said that theirs emerged from the
earth.
The word “Youm” in the Youm dialect means “leaves”. The analogy
being: as trees grows out of the ground, so their ancestors came into
being. The name “Gerkawa” was given to them by the Fulani/Hausa
traders owing to their military prowess and stubbornness. The name was
derived from “Gagararru” which in the course of time become “Gerka” and
“Bergarka” and finally Gerkawa.
5
Legend points to the fact that all the families mentioned and who
call themselves yiwom or Gerkawa were of Jukun stock that migrated after
the breakup of kwararrafa empire (West of Bunkudi) and wandered until
the settle down in Gerkawa town.
1.2
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
The home of the yioum speaker is situated in the south east of the
present milkang local government area formerly at Shendam and
Langtang.
It is found in co-ordinates 90000 North and 9035 East and 90 North
and 9.5830 East. It covers an area of approximately 139 Km 2 with 285.3
square meter
Its time zone is WAT (UTCH). In the year 2000, an estimated
14,100 people spoke the language primarily in Plateau state.
1.3
SOCIO CULTURE PROFILE
The yiwom people have homogenous cultural values especially in
respect of Occupation, Religion, Marriage, Mode of dressing, Mode of
leadership, festival and of course circumcision.
6
Before talking on their socio cultural profile, one thing that I must
say is that Yiwom is a Chadic language of the Afro-Asiatic family spoken
by Gerkawa people of Plateau state, Nigeria. The yiwom people have
several clans such as Rohta, Killah, Balbro, Pitop, Talim, Lahlil, Pensong,
Gwar-Gimgim, Bal’Nlah, Longkrom and wai clan. Each clan has its own
priest (Bankumkrom).
1.3.1 RELIGION
They practice all kinds of religion including Christianity, Islamic and
Animism. Children are first taught how to use their mother tongue to pray
and later will now teach them Goemai and Jukun.
Anything that contradict their belief in the religion will be dealt with
severally for example, crime, stealing, and adultery are punishable offence
in their religions. Also, in formers days, a person abused of witch craft is
burnt alive. So as a result of hot believe in what their religion teaches them
this make people within their locality to fear them to the extent that any
battle they embark in through their beliefs in their religion was conquered.
7
1.3.2 OCCUPATION
The major occupation of the yiwom people are animal husbandry
and trading. Their farm product include: yam, cassava , maize and guinea
corn. Farm is rooted in their cultural ethnics as the farmers purify
themselves and abstain from immoral behaviour before planting or else
what they have planted will not germinate
1.3.3 MARRIAGE
In Gerkawa custom, there are 3 modes of conducting their
marriage ceremony. They are:
a.
Marriage by System of Exchange: In this case, the wife and
offsprings virtually becomes the properly of the husband but with
the passage of time, such things have been erased from their
culture.
b.
By Payment of Small Customary Bride Price: Under the small
bride price system, It was easy for a woman to change her husband
before the sixth month of their marriage.
c.
Cousin Marriage: This is referred to as the best form of marriage
in the sense that they keep wealth within the family. The second
and the most important reason is that divorce is not permissible and
8
therefore any marriage done will be permanent. The person that coordinate the marriage programme is called “Nwo” which means
“the person sent by God”. And what they called God
in their
language is Na’an”.
1.3.4 BURIAL
In yiwom community, if someone dies, women will gather in the
house of the deceased while men will go on arranging and preparing how
to buy the casket they will use to bury that person.
Notably, the burial grounds are always in a spherical shaped form
like a well. It is only on the mortal that the dead is being washed believing
that the mortal is blessed because if is used in the process of their food.
As men are carrying the corpse to the grave, the women will be preparing
food. A goat will be slaughtered in a standing position and the skin will be
used to cover the dead. If the deceased is a female, some of her jewelries
will be buried with her. The food cooked during their burial ceremonies are
called gyana-Nfirika.
9
1.3.5 MODE OF LEADERSHIP
Governance among the yiwom people is anchored on a council of
elders including a head of chiefs and a youth in the community, making
communication easy. The council of elders does the same in the
community.
1.4
GENETIC CLASSIFICATION
According to Greenberg (1966:8) says African language belongs
to various families and there are four main groups namely : Niger
Kodofanian, Nilo Sahara, Afro-Asiatic and Khiosan.
The yiwom language is a chadic language of the Afro-asiatic
language family.
Languages are classified like what I have explained above and
they are also genetically related just like humans beings.
Yiwom language is spoken among the Gerkawa people of plateau
state of Nigeria and the speakers were estimated in the year 2000 to be
14,100 in number.
10
Daigram
11
1.5
SCOPE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY.
The general overview of this research work discuses noun phrase
in yiwom language. This research is divided into five chapter.
The first chapter is the introduction which include the historical
background, socio-cultural profile, the scope of organization of the study
as well theoretical frame work, the data collection, data Analysis and
finally brief review of the chosen framework.
The second chapter shall focus on literature review, the basic
phonological and syntactic concept such as phrase structure rules: lexical
categories, basic word order and the sentence type.
The third chapter will focus on the main aspect of the study, which
is Noun phrase, that is, the nature of noun phrase and the processes that
are attested in the language.
The fourth chapter will examine the transformational process such
as focus construction, relativization and passivization while we will see the
last chapter which is chapter 5 presenting a brief summary of the whole
research findings and conclusion and recommendation based on such
findings.
12
1.6
DATA COLLECTION
This research is made possible through the multilingual
helper. However, the Ibadan 400 word list of basic items and some
sentences construction are use to extract necessary information from
language speakers. The method of collection was through direct
translation of English to Yiwom language
However,
multilingual
approach
was
used
because
the
informants, who are native speaker of Yiwom speaks more than two
languages which includes: English, Foron and Yiwom language.
Mr. Michael Trumbek and his wife, Mrs. Grace Trumbek are my
language helpers they are both teachers in Khilafilor Nursery and Primary
School. I also went to CAPRO research office and I was given a book
titled CAPRO indeed. An ethnic survey in Yiwom language in Plateau
State. I was also given a linguistic seminar and the institute of linguistics
University of Ibadan, Jos computer written by Shimizu, Kiyoshi (1975)
1.7
DATA ANALYSIS
In order to have accurate analysis for this research, Ibadan 400
word list with an equivalent meaning in Yiwom language was used.
13
Also, the frame techniques used in this research is forming of
sentences in English and translating the sentences to Yiwom language
with the assistance of an informant. This enables me to determine the
actual underlying form of a word constituent and possible syntactic
classes to which each word belongs to in Yiwom language
1.8
REVIEW OF THE CHOSEN FRAMEWORK
For this research to achieve the set of goals, the theory to be
adopted is government and binding theory in the analysis of the noun
phrase in Yiwom language.
Now, government are binding theory (GB) will be used in the
analysis of noun phrase in Yiwom language. This theory is a modular
posits multiple levels of Representation related by the transformational
rule (move alpha)
However, it is more advanced theory of universal drama (Sanusi,
1991;19-21)
Sanusi (1996), explains again that GB theory greatly eliminate
proliferation of transformational rules, like passive , affix hopping, verb
number agreement, question formation, equip-NP-Deletion, raising
14
permutation, insertion e.t.c. Government are binding theory operates
through the modules of grammar like government , case, theta and X-Bar.
1.8.1 SUB-THEORIES OF GOVERNMENT AND BINDING
THEORY
Horrocks (1987, 100) states that, the core grammar of
a
given
language is derived from the interaction of Sub-theories of universal
grammar. These sub-theories are inter-related that each of them can
account for grammaticality and ungrammaticality of any sentences. These
sub-theories are:
1)
X-bar theory
2)
Case theory
3)
Government theory
4)
Theta theory
There are still others like:
1)
Bounding theory
2)
Control theory
But I will be talking on the first four theories. The above listed sub-
theories
are
ungrammatically
represented
interrelationship among them.
15
below
to
show
the
1.8.1.1
X-bar Theory
D Struc ture
The Project Principle
Lexicon
Bounding Theory
Case Theory Movement
O Theory
OCriterion
S- Structure
Pf Com ponent
Left Component
Adopted from Cook (1988:33)
16
X-BAR THEORY
Based on appropriate analysis for the research work, X Bar is the
theory to be adopted for comprehensive analysis.
Cook (1988:94) explains that, X-bar Syntax reveals large number
of idiosyncratic ‘rule’ with general principles, it captures properties of all
phrases not just those of a certain types and it bases the syntax on lexical
categories that links with entries in the lexicon
Webelbum (1995:18) explains that, X-bar theory is the central
module of the principle and parameter approach in syntax
The X-bar theory brings out what is common in the structure of
phrase. A phrase in X-bar syntax always contain at least a head as well
as others constituents (cook 1988:94).
The head of projection is zero projection (X). heads are terminal
modes, they dominate words X-bar theory distinguished two level of
projection compliment combines with X to form X” (X-X,);YP adjust
combine with X projection (X-X, YP). The specified combines with the
topmost X’ to form the maximum projection (XP Spec; X’)
17
XP
X1
X
XP
XP
Spec
Core (which is recursive)
Component
X
18
Due to the fact that X-bar brings out, what is common in the structure, Xbar theory will be the applicable to be used in the analysis of Yiwom noun
phrase
1.8.1.2
THETA (θ)THEORY
This centers on assigning ‘thematic’ roles to sentential constituents.
The Greek letter ‘theta’ is a form of shortening for thematic
According to Chomsky, thematic roles means “to what have been
referred to as semantic roles in the proceeding sections, roles such as
agent, patient (or theme), beneficiary e.t.c. These are assumed to be
assigned to the complements of lexical items as a lexical property.
Horrock, G (1993;102) uses the entry for put as an example and
explains that the NP complement is assigned to the complement is
assigned the role of location. It is also assumed that the majority of verbs
‘θ mark’ the subject position of sentences containing theme.
Thus, the subject NP of a sentence containing put is assigned the
agent role. A predicate argument is denoted by any constituent assigned a
θ-role by definition.
The main principle of θ-theory is the θ-criterion which its
requirements in the unique assignment of each thematic role, this
19
indicates that each constituent denoting an argument is assigned just θrole and each θ-role is assigned for just one argument denoting
constituent.
1.8.1.3
CASE-THEORY
This deals with the principles of case assignment to constituents.
Kirsten (1991; 496) explains that case theory regulates the distribution of
phonetically realized NPs by assigning abstract case to them.
According to Horrocks, G (1993103), the basic idea is that case is
assigned under government; the choice of case is determined by the
governor in any given example. Government is a traditional notion which
involves the delimitation of the sphere of influence of a particular category
with respect to adjacent categories.
A lexical head X may be said to govern its sisters in X-bar, and
certain lexical heads also have the power to case-mark certain of their
complements.
Thus, inflection assigns nomative case to subject NP, verb assign
accusative case to object NP, while preposition assigns oblique case to its
object.
20
One of most important principles of case theory is that case filter,
which states that any s-structure that contains in NP with lexical content
but no case is ungrammatical.
Kirsten
(1991;
407)
formally
represented
case
filter
as
NP
+ LEXIC A LL
-C A SE
1.8.1.4
GOVERNMENT THEORY
This deals with the syntactic relationship between the governor i.e.
the head, and the governed i.e. its complement
Government theory also defines the relationship in other subtheories of government and binding theory.
With respects to government theory, α governs β
if and only if:
1. α and β naturally c-command each other
2. α is a governor (e.g. noun, verb, preposition, adjective)
3. α governs β
, then governs the specified of β
21
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter will review various works done on Noun phrase,
and briefly the sound inventory of Yiwom Language, and also the
basic syntactic concepts, such as phrase structure rules, lexical
categories, basic word order and the sentence types in Yiwom
Language.
2.1
BRIEF PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF YIWOM
LANGUAGE
Saeed (2006:3) defines phonology as the study of what sounds a
language has and how those sounds combine to form words. Oyebade
(1998:2) also defines phonology as the scientific study of arbitrary, vocal
symbols used in human speech and the patterns into which to produce
intelligent, meaningful utterances.
Also, some parameters are considered in describing a sound.
These parameters are:
22
a.
The place of articulation
b.
The manner of articulation
c.
The state of the glottis
2.1.1 CONSONANT SOUNDS IN YIWON LANGUAGE
Collinge (1990:14) noted that consonant sounds may be produced
at practically any place between the lips and the vocal cords or folds.
Yiwom language has (30) Consonant Sounds while their vowels are seven
in number and they have 5 nasalized vowels.
Following the IPA chart, i.e. international phonetic association
chart, the present Consonant Sounds used by yiwom people will be
arranged in the chart form. In the next page, the place of articulation are
shown in the cross top of the chart, starting from the most forward
articulation (bilabial) and going towards the sounds made in the back of
the mouth (glottis).
The manners of articulation are shown on the vertical axis of the
chart. By convention, the voice voiceless distribution is shown by putting
the voiceless sounds to the left of the voiced symbol in the consonant
chart.
23
The Consonant Chart of Yiwom Language
Labio
Alveolar
dental
Stop
P
Nasal
b
m
friction
Palato
Palatal
alveolar
t
mJ
n
f v
s
K g
e
Affricative
ts
t
lateral
l
Labio
labialoed
velar
d
z
Kp gb Kw gw
x
h
d
Approximent
j
Trill
Velar
w
r
2.1.2 DESCRIPTION OF CONSONANT SOUNDS IN YIWOM
LANGUAGE
Stop: stops are consonants sound made by a complete obstruction of the
airflow and a sudden release of the relevant articulators. Examples are p;
b,t,d,k,g,kp,gb,kw ,gw,
[p]
Voiceless bilabial stop. As in
Word initial
:
Pani ‘know’
24
glottal
Bilabial
Word medial
:
sheptau bow (weapon)’
Word final
:
kirep ‘fish’
[b]
Voiced bilabial stop. As in
Word initial
:
bam ‘ear’
Word medial
:
lubak ‘saliva’
Word final
:
[b] is not seen at the word final position in this
language.
[t]
Voiceless alveolar stop. As in
Word intial
:
tuwotik ‘hair (head)’
Word medial
:
mutonk ‘wine’
Word final
:
wot ‘breast (female)
[d]
Voiced alveolar stop. As in
Word initial
:
dink ‘nose’
Word medial
:
ada ‘matches’
Word final
:
[d] is not seen at all word final position in this
language
[k]
Voiceless velar stop. As in
Word initial
:
kir ‘fear’
Word medial
:
kirkwa ‘groundnut’
Word final
:
tik ‘body’
25
[g]
Voiced velar stop. As in
Word initial
:
gwat ‘crab’
Word medial
:
tikgiem ‘wall (of house)’
Word final
:
ding ‘charcoal’
[kp]
voiceless labio-velar stop. As in
Word initial
:
[kp] is not seen in word-initial position in this
language (yiwom)
Word medial
:
pakpiyin ‘door (way)’
Word final
:
[kp] is not seen at the word-final position is this
language (yiwom).
[gb]
voiced labio-velar stop. As in
Word initial
:
gbeyak ‘vomit’
Word medial
:
tongbo ‘say (direct speech)’
Word final
:
[gb] is not seen at the word-final position in this
language (yiwom)
[kw]
voiceless labialized velar stop. As in
26
Word intial
:
kwando ‘basket’
Word medial
:
kirkwa ‘groundunt’
Word final
:
[kw] is not seen at the word final position in
yiwom language.
[gw]
voiced labialized velar stop. As in
Word initial
:
gwal ‘crab’
Word medial
:
gugwal ‘duck’
Word final
:
[gw] is not seen at the word final position in
yiwom language.
Nasal
This is a consonant sound in which the air escapes only
through the nose e.g. m,m ‫ף‬,‫ף‬w, and n and all nasal sounds
J
are voiced.
[m] bilabial nasal. As in
Word initial
:
muat ‘woman’
Word medial
:
yimta ‘axe’
Word final
:
shem ‘blood’
27
m
J ] labio-dental nasal. As in
Word initial
:
[m
J ] is not seen at the initial position in yiwom
[
in language
Word medial
:
krumkamut ‘corpse’
Word final
:
[m
J ] is not seen at the word final position in
yiwom language
[n] alveolar nasal. As in
Word initial
:
nan ‘God’
Word medial
:
yangwal ‘arm’
Word final
:
pakpiyin ‘door (way)’
[ ŋ ] velar nasal. As in
Word initial
:
nguluk ‘vulture’
Word medial
:
mangworg ‘sing’
Word final
:
krong ‘crocodile’
[ ŋw] labialized nasal. As in
Word initial
:
[ŋw] is not seen at the word initial position in
:
yangwal ‘arm’
yiwom language.
Word medial
28
Word final
:
[ŋw] is not seen in the word final position in
yiwom language.
Fricative
This is a type of consonant made by forcing air through a narrow
gap so that a hissing noise is generated e.g. f,v,s,z,∫,χ, ‫ﻻ‬, h.
[f] Voiceless labio-dental fricative. As in
Word initial
:
frim ‘knee’
Word medial
:
afit ‘beard’
Word final
:
[f] is not seen at the word final position in
yiwom language.
[v] Voiced labio-dental fricative. As in
Word initial
:
vuruk ‘grass’
Word medial
:
yakvuk ‘bush’
Word final
:
[v] is not seen in the final position in yiwom
language
[s] Voiceless alveolar fricative. As in
Word initial
:
sim ‘skin’
Word medial
:
klumshep ‘bark (of tree)’
Word final
:
rhes ‘bone’
29
[z] Voiced alveolar fricative. As in
Word initial
:
zing ‘story’
Word medial
:
lengzer ‘pin (thread)’
Word final
:
[z] is not seen in the word final position in
yiwom language
[∫] voiceless plato-alveolar fricative. As in
Word initial
:
sheptau ‘bow (weapon)’
Word medial
:
mashi ‘spear (war)’
Word final
:
[∫] is not seen in the word final position in
yiwom language
[X] Voiceless velar fricative. As in
Word initial position
:
Hais ‘teeth’
Word medial position
:
ponkleis ‘faeces’
Word final position
:
[x] is not seen in the word final position
is yiwom language
[‫( ]ﻻ‬Voiced) velar fricative. As in
Word initial position
:
Gham ‘medicine’
Word medial position
:
tanghill ‘sit (down)’
30
Word final position
:
[‫ ]ﻻ‬is not seen in the word final position
is yiwom language
[h] (Voiced) glottal fricative
Word initial position
:
hak ‘belly (external)’
Word medial position
:
hae-ne ‘heart’
Word final position
:
[h] is not seen in the word final position
yiwom language
Affricate
According to wasiu (2004:36), affricates are produced when the
flow of air is totally obstructed by the articulators (palate + alveolar) is
slowly released.
[ts] Voiceless alveolar affricate. As in
Word initial position
:
tsenle ‘jump’
Word medial position
:
[ts] is not seen at the word initial position
in Yiwom language
Word final position
:
[ts] is not seen at the word final position
in Yiwom language
[t∫] Voiceless patato – alveolar affricate. As in word initial position. Chinge
‘kite’
31
Word medial position :
[t∫] is not seen at the word-medial position in
yiwom language.
Word final position
: [t∫] is not seen in the word final position in
yiwom language
[d ](Voiced palato alveolar affricate. As in
Word initial position
:
juji ‘rubish heap’
Word medial position
:
rijiya ‘well’
Word final position
:
(d ) is not seen in the word final position
Yiwom language
LATERAL
A lateral consonant is a type of consonant where there is
obstruction to the passage of air in the center (mid line) of the air passage
and the air flow to the side of the obstruction.
(l) voiced alveolar lateral. As in
Word final position :
liyavuk ‘animal’
Word medial position
:
Word initial position :
‘kel knife’
yilkwa ‘maize
32
Approximant
This is a phonetic term of comparatively recent origin to donate a
consonant which makes very little obstruction of the air flow.
(j) voiced palatal approximant. As in
Word final position
:
yit ‘eye’
Word medial position
:
yakpiyin ‘room’
Word initial position :
(j) is not seen in the word
Position in Yiwom language.
{w} voice labio velar approximate. As in
Word initial position :
wot ’beast’ (female)
Word medial position
:
position
:
tuwoki ‘hair’ ‘(head) word final word final
{w) is not seen in the word position in yiwom Yiwom
language
Trill
This is a speech sound produced by the rapid vibration of one of
the vocal organs.
[r] (Voiced): Alveolar trill. As in
Word initial position
:
rogo ‘cassava’
Word medial position
:
mermukuat ‘ reply’
33
kyianshir ‘tie rope’
word final position :
2.1.3 VOWEL SOUNDS IN YIWOM LANGUAGE
According to Ashby (1995:22) explains that vowels are voiced
sounds in which the mouth relatively open, allowing air to flow out freely.
The vowels may be described along with the parameters below:
a) The height of the tongue
b) The roundness of the tongue
c) The state of the glottis
Yiwom language has seven vowels. Five of these vowels are written in
the same way as they are in Hausa and English: these are a,e,I,o,u. while
the remaining are ε and ‫ כֿ‬. Finally, vowels are not often seen at word
initial position in Yiwom language but they are always seen word medially
and word finally
Oral Vowel Chart
I
U
O
e
E
a
34
Nasal Vowel Chart
I
U
O
Eε
a
[i] Front high unrounded vowels. As in word initial position: [i] is not seen
at the word initial position in Yiwom language.
Word medial position
Word final position :
sim ‘skin’
:
seni ‘cotton’
{u} high back unrounded vowels. as in
Word initial position :
[u] is not seen at the word initial position in
yiwom language
Word medial position:
giaum ‘chin’
word final position :
dahu ‘darkness’
{e} mid-high front unrounded vowel As in
35
Word initial position
:
[e] is not seen at the word initial
position in Yiwom language
Word medial position
:
hae-ne ‘heart’
word final position
:
hae ‘neck’
[o] mid high back rounded vowel. As in
Word initial position
:
[o] is not seen at the word initial
position in Yiwom language
wot ‘breast’ (female)
Word medial position
:
word final position :
suro ‘okro’
(a) low back unrounded vowel. As in
Word initial position
:
abab ‘thing’
Word medial position
:
babap ‘hawk’
Word final position
:
damisa ‘leopard’
[ε] mid-low front unrounded vowel as in.
Word initial position
:
[ε] is not seen at the word initial position
in yiwom language
Word media position
:
Dell ‘cock’
Word final position
:
telle ‘greet (salute)’
36
[‫ ]כ‬Mid-low back unrounded vowel. As in
Word final position
:
[‫ ]כ‬is not seen at the word initial
in Yiwom language
Word medial position
:
mutonk ‘wine’
Word initial position
:
duomo. Wait (desire)’
2.2
TONE SYSTEM
Tones are pitch variations that affect meaning of a word. The
meaning of a word depends on its tones in the tonal languages. However,
all languages
also use intonation, which is the use of pitch variation to
convey syntactic information but the pattern are super imposed on the
tone. Lade forged (19975:252). Clark and Yallop (1990:289) states that,
tone is a features of the lexicon being described in terms of prescribed
pitches, for syllables or sequences of pitches for morphemes of words.
Basically, there are two types of tone. There are:
(i)
Contour tone
(ii)
Register tone
37
I. Contour tone: it is used where the distinguishing features of tones are
shifts in pitch (that is, the pitch is of contour), such as rising, falling
dipping e.t.c
II. Register tone: it is used or seen where the distinguishing features is the
relative difference between pitches such as high, mid or low, rather than
in shapes.
Yiwom language operates register tone and this type of tone can be
classified into three namely: mid tone, high tone, low tone. In yiwom
language, low tone is marked by the symbol [\] over the vowel: high tone is
marked by the symbol [/] over the vowel and the mid tone is not marked.
A few examples on how tones function in yiwom language includes.
High tone
Pam ‘ear’
Kum ‘navel’
Mid tone
Mil ‘vagina’
Sim ‘skin’
Low tone
Hak ‘stomach (internal)’
Yit ‘eye’
38
High-high tone
Tikgeim ‘wall [of house]
Kuwot ‘word’
Low-mid tone
Darke ‘star’
Wiya ‘hard’
2.3
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE IN YIWOM LANGUAGE
Several attempts have been made by the profound linguist and
grammarians to define the term; syllable, part of which is: Hyman
[1975;188]noted that a syllable consists of two important parameters
called the ’onset’ and the rhyme. The rhyme could be further divided into
2 segments which are the peak and the coda as shown below:
39
Syllable
Rhyme
Onset
Peak
Coda
Hyman states further that in a cvc syllable structure the first ‘c’ stands for
the onset, the ‘v’ is the peak while the last ‘c’ is the coda Hyman said that
it is not all syllables that have the onset and soda but every syllable has a
peak or nucleus. There are closed and open syllables. An open syllable
ends with a vowel while a closed syllable is checkmated by a consonant.
Yiwom language is said to make use of both the open and closed
syllable system. Examoles of open syllable in yiwom language are:
I. Duba ‘doctor [native]
II. Wiya ‘hard’
40
Examples of closed syllable in yiwom language are:
I. Madap ‘guest’ (stranger)
II. Matam ‘friend’
A syllable can either be mono, bi, and tri syllable. Examples are:
monosyllabic words in Yiwom languages which are:
I. Mi ‘one’
II. Yin ‘bad’
III. Dahu ‘darkness’
Tri-syllabic words in yiwom language. Examples are:
I. Pekuwa ‘night’
II. Kiyeba ‘Learn’
2.4
LEXICAL CATEGORIES IN YIWOM LANGUAGE
In grammar, lexical categories (word classes, lexical classes or part
sof speech) are types of word (the word ‘lexical’ means “relating to the
vocabulary of a language”). There are many different lexical categories but
the most common one are the following
41
2.4.1 NOUN
According to Huddleston, R & Pulum, G.K [2002], says that a noun
is a kind of word (part of speech) that is usually the name of a person,
place, thing, quality, or idea in English and nouns can be singular or plural.
Examples of Noun in Yiwom language includes:
Lala ‘boy’
Jarep ‘girl’
Khok ‘stone
Babanya ‘goat’
Shep ‘tree’ e.t.c
TYPES OF NOUN
1. common nouns: These are nouns that are name persons, things and
places e.g.
kel
‘knife’
shir
‘rope’
Tuwa ‘shoe’
loek
‘house’
42
2. Proper Nouns: These are nouns that are name of persons and places
e.g.
moekat
‘musa’
pekangkamu ‘Abuja’
pekankmu fear ‘plateau’
3. Concrete Nouns: These are nouns that are names of non-living things
e.g.
peboedakpe ‘table’
bujupe
‘pencil’
petong
‘chair’
4. Abstract Nouns: These are nouns that are names of what one can not
see or touch e.g.
dempe
‘love’
boenma
‘anger’
nyiangg
‘hatred’
5. Countable Nouns: These are nouns that are name of things that we
can count e.g.
kamfoan
‘spoon’
43
bieyilpe
‘board’
tuwa
‘shoe’
6. Uncountable Nouns: These are nouns that are name of things that we
can not count or number e.g.
Han
‘water’
Hame
‘milk’
Kaen
‘salt’
2.4.2 VERBS
Verbs are words that usually tells us about an action or a state and
these verbs are the main part of the sentence. Examples of verbs in
yiwom language are:
Tuk
‘kiu’
Naa
‘see’
Mangwong
‘sing’
Damklank
‘fight’
Kuntun
‘climb’ e.t.c.
TYPES OF VERB
(I)
Transitive Verb
(II)
Intransitive Verb
44
(I)
Transitive Verb:- This is a type of verb that can be followed
by an object e.g
(II)
Tani
‘drink’
Soni
‘eat’
Leng
‘Swallow’
Khaet
‘bite’ etc
Intransitive Verb:- This is a type of Verb that can not be
followed by an object e.g.
Diendien
‘urinate’
Ponhist
‘defecate’
Mut
‘die’
2.4.3 ADJECTIVES
These are words that qualify a noun or a noun phrase. Examples
from Yiwom language are:
Deodeong
‘beautiful’
Rett
‘handsome’
Yogor
‘mad’
Fir
‘tall’
Koep
‘short’
45
We also have some other type of adjective but one out of them is
demonstrative adjective. Examples from Yiwom language are:
Nani
‘that’
Mu’op
‘those’
Ni
‘this’
Mu’op
‘these’
2.4.4 PREPOSITION
In grammar, a preposition is a part of speech that introduces a
prepositional phase, For example; in the sentence “that cat sleeps on the
sofa”, the word “on” is a preposition, introducing the prepositional phrase
“on the sofa” example of preposition in yiwom language are:
Goedap
‘on’
Doegoen
‘in’
Goepegoeme
‘with’
Woegoen
‘from’
Fukep
‘By’
Poet
‘to’
Boedoer
‘under’
46
2.4.5 ADVERB
An adverb, according to cinque, Gugliemo, (1999). Is a part of
speech that modifies any part of speech or other verbs other than a noun.
It modifies verbs, adjectives etc. It answer question such as how? In what
way? When? Where? etc. and it is always ends with –iy, -er, and –and –
est. Examples of adverbs in yiwom language are:
Doeda’ar
‘yesterday’
Lele
‘slowly’
Loek
‘gently’
Katkot
‘if’
Badly
‘bisdogol’
2.4.6 CONJUCTION
This is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences,
phrases or clause together. Examples of conjuction in yiwom language
are:
Goe
‘and’
Foelpe
‘but’
Ko
‘or’
47
According to lamidi (2000:98), each phrase is named ater its lexical
category as the head of that phrase, the head is obligatory while other
constituents are optional.
Lexical categories are invariably having head that are linked to
lexical entires.the type of head that are phrase are liked with lexical with
lexical entires. The type of head in lexical are related to word classes. The
four lexical phrase used in X-bar syntax are: noun phrase (NP): ver phrase
(VP), adjectival phrase and propositional phrase(PP). Each of these
consists of appropriate head N,V,A,P that is a lexical category
corresponds with one of the four major word class in the lexicon.
2.5
PHRASE STRUCTURE RULE.
Phrase structure rules are rules that describe what a grammatical
sentence in language look like. Yussuf (1997:6) defines phrase structure
rule as a rewrite expansion rule which displays the content of a phrase or
a sentence.
Horrocks, (1987:31) defined phrase structure rule as simple forward
device for representing the distribution of phrase with sentence. It is
essential at this point to talk about none phrase which is the topic despite
the fact that more will be said on it in chapter three but before talking on
48
noun phrase, I will like to list set of rules and these set of rules indicates
that all categories on the left are dominating all the categories on the right
side
Cp
-
spec Ci
Ci
-
C
IP
-
spec Ii
Ii
-
I
VP
I
-
Tns
Agr
VP
-
Spec Vi
Vi
-
V(NP) (PP) (ADVP)
NP
-
spec NI (ADJP) (PP) (Si)
IP
ADJP -
spec Ai
Ai
-
Adj N
PP
-
spec Pi
Pi
-
P
NP
Now it is also essential before going to talk a little bit on
noun phrase which is the topic of the project, and before. I will begin to
illustrate those phrases with diagrams which are called tree diagram (
phrase marker), I must first say something on phrase markers. Accoding
to Lamidi(2000:33) phrase markers are also called tree diagram. Like
49
other methods of an analysis, they break down a structure into their major
constituent, which are further broken down into smaller constituents, until
the analysis gets to the terminal modes or strings. This in yiwom language
can be exemplified by using the government and bindin theory.
2.5.1 NOUN PHRASE
According to Sanford (1979:30), a noun phrase is made up of a
noun and its modifier. According to collinge also in (1990:215:, describes
noun phrase as one of the important constituents of grammatical structure
based on the multiple function. Noun phrase is the element of a sentence
which can function as subject, object and complement. These are
examples of NP in yiwom language.
I. Tist
babanya
Det
goat
The
goat
II. Bang
ko
Father
det
Our
father
50
NP
NII
Spe
c
De
t
N
tist
‘The
goat’
Babany
a
goat
the
NP
Spec
N
N
Bang
Father
‘Our father’
51
I
Det
Ko
Our
After taking a little bit on Noun phrase, I will now be talking the
phrases one after the other and I will be illustrating them with tree
diagram just as I have done in the Noun phrase
2.5.2 VERB PHRASE
The verb is the head of the verb phrase (VP) It is this lexical category
that tells us what the participatory role of the nominals are in the
sentence, such as AGENT, PATIENT, LOCATIVE, EXPERIENCE,
etc. the verb will also indicate the role of such nominal, syntactically.
Either as subject or as object. Stockwell (1977:40) stated that, verb
phrase is a cluster of words in surface strings of which the nuclei’s are
verbs. Examples of verb phrase in yiwom language:
(i)
Tuk la
Kill
Cow
‘kill a cow
(ii)
Naa Tist
See
Man
‘See the man
52
(iii)
damlank
liyavuk
Fight
animal
‘Fight the animal’
(i)
VP
VI
Spec
V
NP
N
‘Kill a cow
Tuk
Kill
La
Cow
53
(ii)
VP
VI
Spec
V
NP
NI
‘See the man’
Naa
See
N
Tist
man
VP
(iii)
VI
Spec
V
NP
NI
‘fight the animal’
Damlank
Fight
N
liyavuk
animal
54
ADJECTIVAL PHRASE
William (2009:114) says adjectival phrase have an adjective and a
modifier indicating degree or intensity
Adegbija, (1998:135) defined an adjectival phrase as a phrase that
modifies a noun or a pronoun. Examples of adjectival phrase in yiwom
language are:
(i)
AP
I
Spec
A
NP
I
N
I
N
I
Lala
son
Adj
doendieng
handsome
fufir
tall
‘Tall handsome boy’
55
(ii)
AP
NP
I
I
N
I
N
I
Lala
son
Adjp
I
Adj
Adj
Koep Koep
Short
‘Short mad boy’
56
Avogor
Mad
2.5.3 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
Randoiph (1985:63) opens that prepositional phrase consists of a
preposition followed prepositional complement which is normally a noun
phrase. Examples of prepositional phrases in yiwom language are:
I. Goe der
On road
‘on the road’
iii.
fukep yakvuk
by bush
‘by the bush’
iv.
Yoe
Kasuwa
From Market
‘From the Market’
57
(i)
PP
Spec
P1
NP
P
N
Goe
‘On The Road ’
N
On
Der
Road
(ii)
PP
Spec
PI
P
NP
NI
Funkep
N
By
Yakvuk
Bush
‘By The Bush’
58
(iii)
PP
P1
Spec
NP
P
N
N1
Yoe
‘From The Market’ From
2.6
Kasuwa
Market
BASIC WORD ORDER
According to Crystal (1985:389), the term ‘word order’ is somewhat
ambigious, for it can refer to the order of words in a phrase, and to the
order of multi-word units within a sentence. Crystal gave the linguistic
description to word order and described his order as the sentential
arrangement of words in sentence. He identifies six posibilitied of word
order namely; SVO, SVO, VOS, VOS, OSV, OVS, of these, over 75% of
the world’s language uses svo (as in English and Hausa) or SVO (as in
Japanese, Arabic and Korean). A further 10-15% uses VSO (e.g welsh
and Togan). A few other language (e.g. Jamamad, Apurina) seem to be
59
OSV. But there are some variabilities in the data that has been collected
so far, with both ovs and osv being used by some languages.
This clearly means that there are six different possible from of basic
word order in human languages. They are.
Subject
Verb
Object
(SVO)
Subject
Object
Verb
(SOV)
Object
Subject
Verb
(OSV)
Object
Verb
Subject
(OVS)
Verb
Subject
Object
(VSO)
Verb
Object
Subject
(VOS)
Yiwom language operates svo i.e. subject verb object word order
pattern. The subject occupies that initial position indicating the first
referent in the sentence while verb is the element that assigns functional
roles to the subject and object in a contraction. The object comes after the
verb that assigns role to both of them. Examples to illustrate this are
shown below:
i.
Audu
Yer
Bakat
Audu
is
Around
S
V
O
60
ii.
iii.
Salisu
Yer
Buwa
Min
Salisu
is
Father
My
‘Salusu
is
My
Father
S
V
O
Ahmadu
Mua
Tuwa
Ahmadu
Buy
Shoe
Ahmadu
Bought
S
V
a Shoe
O
IP
II
Spec
(i)
NP
I
VP
NI
N
Agr
Tns
[pres]
VI
Spec
Audu
Audu
V
Advp
Adv1
Yer
is
‘Audu is Around’
61
Adv
Bakat
Around
(ii)
IP
Spec
I1
I
Tns
[pres]
VP
Agr
Spec
V1
Salisu
Salisu
V
NP
Yer
Is
N1
N
‘Salisu is my father’ Buwa
Father
62
Dat
Min
My
IP
I1
Spec
NP
1
N
VP
I
N
Ahmadu
Ahmadu
1
Agr V
Tns
[pres]
V
Mua
Buy
‘Ahmadu bought a shoe’
2.7
NP
1
N
Tuwa
Shoe
SENTENCE TYPE
Traditionally, grammarians define a sentence in such terms as ‘the
complete of a single thought’. Modern studies avoid this emphasis,
because of the difficulties involved in saving what ‘thoughts’ are some
traditional grammar give a logical definition to the sentences (Crystal
1993:94-98).
The most common approach that a sentence has a ‘subject’ (The
topic) and a predicate (what is being said about the topic).
63
Sentence is described by classical grammarian as a group of
words, which makes a statement, a command, expresses a wish, asks a
question or makes an exclamation. Some traditional grammarians
classified sentence into three diferrent types namely: simple, compound
and complex sentence.
2.7.1 SIMPLE SENTENCE
Olasehinde (1997:55) said that simple sentence contains only one
subject and one predicate or one main clause.
Adegbija, (1998:113) also said that simple sentence has one
independent clause. Example of simple sentence in yiwom language are:
i.
ii.
Michael
Shim
Football
Michael
Love
Football
Micheal
Loves Football
Bola
Anuyim
Giwa
Bola
Fear
Elephant
Bola
Feared
Elephant
64
(i)
IP
1
I
Spec
VP
I
Tns
[pres]
Agr
Spec
V1
V
NP
(ii)
1
N
Michael
Michael
N
‘Michael Loves Football’
Shim
Love
Football
Football
IP
I1
Spec
NP
I 65
VP
N1
N
Tns
[pres]
Agr
V1
Spec
Bola
Bola
V
NP
2.7 THE COMPOUND SENTENCE
66
Adebija (1998:113) said that comprises sentence of two or more
independent or main clause and no subordinate or dependent clauses.
Ogunsawo, (1999: 209) also said that compound sentence contains two
main clauses linked by a coordinating conjunction.
Examples of compound sentence in yiwom language are:
i.
ii.
bala
bel
Bala
moenlep
e
biyil
come and take
the
pen
Bala
came andtook
the pen
lala
wal moen
tak
doegoel
Son
cry and
shout voice
‘A boy cried and shouted’
IP
(i)
conj
IP
IP
Moen
And
Spec
Spec
I1
I
VP
I1
I
VP
1
V
Agrthe pen’
‘Bala cameTnsand took
V
Bala
Bel
Come67
Tns
1
Agr V
Lep
Take
V
Det
E
The
N
Biyil
Pen
i.
2.7.2 THE COMPLEX SENTENCE
Adegbija (1998:113) explains that the complex sentence consists of
one independent or main clause and one or more sub-ordinate or
dependent clauses. Complex sentence are those sentence that can be
analyzed as consisting of a number of simple sentences with WHstructures such as consisting of a number of simple sentence with
structures such as who, which, what, and where
68
Examples of complex sentence in yiwom language are:
a. Philip yer
e
tist
e
tuk
e
wak
Philip is
the
man
who
kill
the
snake
Philip is
the
man
who
killed the
snake
yer
e
anet
e
Moses
is
the
person
who
write the letter
Moses
is
the
person
who
wrote the letter
b. Moses
69
jekman e Kafumung
(i)
IP
CI
I1
Spec
NP
VP
I
N1
N
Philip
Philip
Tns
Agr
Spec
V
1
NP
V
N1
Spec
CP
N
Spec
Yer
Is
CI
WH
Tist
Man
E
The
C
IP
E
Who
Spec
V
1
&
VP
I
1
V
Tns
Agr
N1
V
Tuk
Kill
Det
E
The
70
Wak
Snake
i.
Moses
yer
e
anet
e
jekaman
e
kamfung
Moses
is
the
person
who
write the
letter
Moses
is
the
person
who
wrote the
letter
IP
(ii)
I1
Spec
NP
N1
VP
I
N
Moses Tns
Moses
Agr Spec
V
1
NP
V
N1
Spec
CP
N
Spec
Yer
Is
CI
WH
Anet
Person
E
The
C
IP
E
Who
Spec
V
1
&
VP
I
V1
Tns
Agr
NP
V
JekMen
Write
71
Spec
N1
E
The
N
Kamfung
Letter
CHAPTER THREE
THE YIWOM NOUN PHRASE
3.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter focused on the noun phrase of yiwom language. It
attempts to investigate the various structures of noun phrase, as well as
the position of the noun within the phrase in relation to its satellites. Also,
the chapter examines how noun phrase can be modified by certain
constituents, including its functional roles in the language.
3.1
THE NOUN PHRASE
Noun and its satellites from what we call a noun phrase (NP) (Yusuf
1992:112). Thus, Stockwell (1977:55) defines Noun phrase as a cluster of
words in surface strings at which the nucleus is noun.
The noun phrase is usually abbreviated as NP. Also Yusuf (1997:8)
says that, Noun phrase is the category that codes the participant in the
event or state described by the verb. The NP is headed by the Noun of
Pronoun. It is by virtue of this headedness that the phrase is called Noun
phrase. It is called a noun phrase because the word which heads it is
typically a noun (Collins, 1990:215). The Noun phrase is optionally
accompanied by a set of modifiers. On this premise, Yusuf (1998:34)
72
submits that, the noun phrase can contain indefinitely any number of
satellites. However, whatever it may contain, it has to have a noun head,
noted technically as N0 or Plan N.
3.1.1 NOUN PHRASE AND THE HEAD PARAMETER
The concepts known as “head parameter” is used specify the order
of elements in a language (Cook 1988: 7)., This is language universal.
Chomsky (1970) suggested that the position of heads could be
specified once for the entire phrase in a given language. Rather than a
long list of individual rules specifying the position of the heads in each
phrase type, a single generalization suffices: ‘heads are last in the phrase’
or ‘heads are first in the phrase’.
Therefore, in line with the ‘head parameter’, yiwom language falls
under the category of language in which the head of its noun phrase come
first before any other constituents within the phrase. In other words, in
yiwom language, heads is the first element in the phrase and it appears on
the left of the phrase followed by other constituents which could be
determines, adjectival phrase, prepositional phrase and sentential
components.
73
3.2
THE STRUCTURE AND MODIFICATION OF NOUN
PHRASE IN YIWOM LANGUAGE.
Structurally, nouns always come first in yiwom noun phrase, and
the satellites of the noun follow the noun in the NP. As said earlier, the
satellite could be determiners, prepositional phrase, adjectival phrase e.t.c
which serve as its optional modifier or complements. The structural forms
that an NP can take in yiwom language can be formally illustrated below:
NP
Spec N1
N1
[Pron N] (Ap, (PP), (S1), (Conj),(Det).
Also, there are instances in Yiwom Language, whereby two NPs
are joined together by the conjunction ‘and’. Thus, we have the structure.
NP
NP (Conj) NP
The above structural forms of NP on yiwom in relation to its
modification by the optional constituents are exemplified below:
74
3.2.1 NOUN PHRASE AS A SINGLE NOUN HEAD
i.e.
NP
N. Examples are:
a. Adamu (name of person)
b. Kasuwa ‘Market’
c. Tist ‘Man’
(a)
NP
NI
Spec
N
Adamu
(b)
NP
NI
Spec
N
Kasuwa
Market
75
(c)
NP
NI
Spec
N
Tist
Man
3.2.2 NOUN PHRASE AS A PRONOUN
i.e. NP
Pron. Example are:
a. Ka ‘I’
b. Ka ‘You’
c. Ayong ‘We’
(a)
NP
NI
Spec
pron
Ka
I
76
(b)
NP
NI
Spec
pron
Ka
You
(c)
NP
NI
Spec
pron
Ayong
We
77
3.2.3 Modification of NP by Determiners
i.e. NP
N (Det). Examples are
a. lala nani
b. boy that
c. ‘that boy’
(a)
NP
NI
Spec
N
Det
Lala
boy
Nani
That
‘That boy’
78
b. Bang Ko
Father Our
‘Our Father’
NP
NI
Spec
N
Det
Bang
Father
Ko
Our
‘Our father’
79
C. Jarep Tist
Girl the
‘The girl’
NP
NI
Spec
N
Det
Jarep
Girl
tist
The
‘The girl’
80
3.2.4 Modification of NP by Adjectival Phrase
i.e. NP
N (AP) Examples are:
a. Jarep doedong
Girl beautiful
‘Beautiful girl’
NP
NI
Spec
N
AP
adjI
Jarep
Girl
adj
doedong
beautiful
‘Beautiful Girl’
81
b. Shep Feer
Tree tall
‘Tall tree’
NP
NI
Spec
N
AP
adjI
shep
Tree
adj
Feer
Tall
‘Tall tree’
82
c. lala
Boy
‘Short
koepkoep
yohur
Short
mad
Mad
boy’
NP
NI
Spec
AP
N
adjI
N
Lala
Boy
adj
adj
koepkoep
Short
yogor
Mad
‘Short mad boy’
3.2.5 Modification of NP By Preposition Phrase
83
N1 (PP) examples are:
i.e. NP
a. Tist
Man
fukep
der
by
road
‘a man by the road’
NP
NI
Spec
NI
PP
N
PI
P
tist
man
Fukep
by
NP
NI
N
der
road
‘a man by the road’
84
b. Wushepe
Teacher
goepe
biyilpe
with
pencil
‘The teacher with pencil’
NP
NI
Spec
NI
PP
N
PI
Wushepe
teacher
P
NP
goepe
with
NI
N
biyilpe
pencil
‘The teacher with the pencil’
85
c. Tuwa
Shoe
goe
dakpe
on
table
‘The shoe on the table’
NP
NI
Spec
NI
PP
N
PI
P
NP
goe
on
NI
Tuwa
Shoe
N
dakpe
table
‘The shoe on the table’
86
3.2.6 Modification of NP by Complementizer Phrase
The complementizer phrase is embedded inside the NP, and it is
usually introduced by a complementizer wil which stands for which, where
and who.
The structure of this type of NP is NP
a. Latoeng wu
fruit
which
daam
spoil
‘A fruit which spoilt’
b. Pe
wu ka wat
Place where I go
‘The place where I went’
c. Muat
Wu
Woman who
Mut
die
‘The woman who died’
87
N1 (CP) Example are:
(a)
NP
Spec
N1
N1
CP
N
Spec
Latoeng
fruit
C1
Wh -
C
Wu
Which
Ø
IP
Spec
I1
VP
V1
Tns
Agr
V
Spoil
‘A fruit which spoilt’
88
NP
b)
Spec
CP
N
C1
Spec
Pe
Place
wh
Wu
Where
C
IP
I1
Spec
NP
N1
Pron
Tns
VP
I
V1
Agr
V
Ka
‘The Place Where I Went’ I
89
Wat
(c)
NP
Spec
CP
N
C1
Spec
Muat
wh
Wu
C
IP
I1
Spec
NP
N1
Pron
Tns
VP
I
V1
Agr
V
Ka
I
90
Mut
3.2.7 NPs Joined by the Conjunction “and”
i.e. NP
NP (Conj) NP. Example are:
a. Adamu goe musa
Adamu and musa
‘Adamu and Musa’
NP
Conj
NP
NP
goe
and
N1
N1
N
N
Adamu
Musa
91
b. Jarep e goe lala
girl the and boy
‘The girl and the boy’
NP
Conj
NP
NP
goe
and
N1
N1
N
Det
Jarep
Girl
E
The
N
‘The Girl and The Boy’
92
Lala
Boy
c. Pirinya goe yimta
hoe and axe
‘hoe and axe’
NP
Conj
NP
NP
goe
and
N1
N1
N
Pirinya
Hoe
N
Yimta
Axe
93
3.3
FUNCTIONS OF NOUN PHRASE IN YIWOM LANGUAGE
The noun phrase is one of the important constituents of
grammatical structure based on its multiple factions (Collins, 1990:215).
In yiwom language, language noun phrase is the element of a
sentence which can perform the fallowing functions:
a. Subject of the predicate
b. Apposition of subject
c. Direct object of the verb
d. Indirect object of the verb
e. Object of preposition
3.3.1 NP As Subject of the Predicate
This is when an NP functions as the age it of an action in a
sentence. Examples are:
a. Nma nae
mother my
labelem mot
greet
her
bangluk
husband
‘ my mother greeted her husband’
In the above sentence, the NP ‘Nma nae’ is functioning as the
subject of the sentence.
94
IP
Spec
II
NP
I
Spec
NI
N
Tns
VP
Agr V
NP
Det
Det
NI
N
Nma
noe
Mother
my
‘My mother greeted her husband
95
labelem
Mot
bangluk
greet
her
husband
b.
Tist bel
geopang
Man come Home
‘The man came home’
The NP ‘tist’ functions as the subject of the sentence
IP
Spec
II
NP
I
VP
NI
Tns
VI
Agr Spec
N
V
NP
tist
NI
man
bel
come
‘The man come home’
96
N
goepang
home
C.
Yitmanikamot Noe Har Doegoel
Sister my shout voice
‘My sister is shouting’
IP
Spec
II
NP
I
VP
NI
Tns
N
VI
Agr Spec
Det
V
Yitmanikamot
Sister
noe
my
NP
NI
har
Shout
N
doegoel
Voice
‘My sister is shouting’
97
3.3.2 Noun Phrase as Apposition of Subject
This is a function performed by an NP when the NP immediately
follows a subject noun phrase, such that the following NP is referring to its
antecedent (i.e. that same subject NP before it). Examples in yiwom
language are given below:
a. Mr Sanni Wubishepe Noe Bishe Doegoelsara
Mr Sanni teacher my teach English
‘Mr Sanni, my teacher Taught me English’
In the above sentence, the NP ‘Wubishepe Noe’ which. Stands for
my teacher is functioning as the apposition of the preceeding subject NP
‘Mr Sanni’. That is, it is referring to it.
98
IP
Spec
NP
II
NP
N
NI
I
Det Tns
noe
wubishepe my
N
VP
VI
Agr Spec
V
teacher
NP
NI
N
Mr. sanni
bishe
Mr. sanni
teach
doegoelsara
English
99
(b) Sule Lala Doedoeng Tuk Muss
Sule Boy Handome Kill Cat
‘Sule the Handsome boy, Kill the Cat’
In the above sentences, the NP ‘Lala’ doedoeng is functioning as
the apposition of the preceding subject NP.
IP
Spec
NP
II
NP
NI
I
Tns
VP
VI
Agr Spec
NI
N
AP
adj
N
V
NP
i
NI
adj
N
Sule
Lala
Doedoeng
tuk
Sule
boy
Handsome
kill
Muss
Cate
‘Sule, the handsome boy, killed a cat’
100
c. Muen
King
tist
man
bansi
big
tat
kick
ball
ball
‘The king, a big man, kicked the ball’
The NP ‘tist bansi’ in the above sentence is the apposition of the
subject NP ‘muen’ which stands for king.
101
IP
Spec
NP
II
NP
I
NI
Tns
VP
VI
Agr Spec
NI
N
AP
adj
N
V
NP
i
NI
adj
N
Muen
tist
King
man
bansi
big
Tat
kick
ball
ball
‘the king, a big man, kicked the ball’
102
3.3.3 Noun Phrase as a Direct Object of the Verb
Examples of NPs which receive the action in a sentence in yiwom
language are given below:
a. Wale
Wale
gong
babanya
Chase
goat
‘Wale Chase a goat’
The NP ‘babanya’ in the above sentences is functioning as the
direct object which receives the action from the verb ‘gong’ meaning
Chase.
a’nas
b. Ka
I
slap
muat
woman
‘I slapped the woman
In the above sentence the NP ’Muat’ functions as the direct object
of the verb ‘a’ nas.
c. Kist
He
‘He
tani
ham
drink water
drink
water’
103
The NP ‘Ham’ which means ‘water in the sentence above is
functioning as the direct object which receives the action.
(a)
IP
Spec
II
I
VP
NP
Tns
VI
Agr Spec
NI
V
NP
NI
N
N
Wale
going
Wale
chase
‘Wale chased a goat’
104
babanya
goat
(b)
IP
Spec
II
I
VP
NP
Tns
NI
VI
Agr Spec
V
NP
NI
pron
N
‘a na s
Ka
I
Slap
‘I slapped the woman ’
105
muat
woman
IP
Spec
II
I
VP
NP
Tns
NI
VI
Agr Spec
V
NP
NI
N
N
Kist
tani
He
drink
‘He drank water’
106
ham
water
3.3.4 Noun Phrase as An Indirect Object of the Verb
Examples are:
a. Wubishepe bishe an doegoelsara
Teach teach me English
‘The teacher taught me English’
In the above senmtence, the NP ‘doegoelsara’ is used as an indirect
object of the Verb ‘teach’
107
IP
Spec
II
I
VP
NP
Tns
VI
Agr Spec
NI
V
N
Wubishepe
bishe
Teacher
teach
‘the teacher taught me English ’
108
NP
NI
NI
pron
N
an
doegoelsara
me
English
b. Alko sel Audu biyilpe
They give Audu pencil
‘They gave Audu a pencil’
109
IP
Spec
II
I
VP
NP
Tns
VI
Agr Spec
NI
V
pron
Alko
Sel
They
give
‘They gave Audu a pencil ’
110
NP
NI
NI
N
N
Audu
biyilpe
Audu
Pencil
c. Muen Noe Dakrum Larep Pit
Mother My Call Girl Money
‘My mother called the girl a monkey’
The NP ‘Pit’ is the indirect object of the verb
111
IP
Spec
II
I
NP
NI
Tns
VP
VI
Agr Spec
Det
NP
V
N
Muen noe
Mother My
dakrum
NI
NP
call
NI
NI
larep
N
girl
Pit
Monkey
‘my mother called the girl a monkey ’
112
3.3.5 Noun Phrase As An Object of Preposition
Examples are:
a. Kist duni goe shepwus
He sleep on wood
‘He slept on the wood’
In the sentence above, the NP ‘shepwus’ which means. ‘wood’ is
functioning as the object of the position ‘on’
113
IP
Spec
II
I
NP
Tns
VP
VI
Agr Spec
PP
V
PI
NI
pron
P
NP
duni
goe
NI
sleep
on
N
Shepwus
Kist
wood
He
‘He slept on the wood ’
114
Larep Yilpe Goe Biyilpe diyeng
Girl write with pen long
‘The girl wrote with a long pen’
In the sentence above, the underlined NP ‘Biyilpe diyeng’ functions as
the object of preposition ‘Goe’ which stands for with.
115
IP
Spec
II
I
NP
Tns
VP
VI
Agr Spec
PP
V
PI
NI
NP
P
N
yilpe
goe
write
with
NI
AP
N
Adj1
larep
biyilpe
girl
pen
Adj
diyeng
long
‘The girl wrote with a long pen’
116
b. Lateef sel ada poet tist yin
Leteef give matchet to man bad
‘Lateef gave the matchet to the bad man’
In the sentence above, the underlined noun phrase tist yin which
means ‘bad man’ has been used as object of the preposition ‘to’.
117
IP
Spec
II
I
NP Tns
VP
Agr Spec
VI
V
NI
NP
NI
N
N
PP
PI
P
Lateef
sel
NP
ada Poet
NI
N
AP
tist
adjI
adjI
‘Lateeef gave the matched to the bad man’
118
bad
CHAPTER FOUR
TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES IN YIWOM LANGUAGE
4.0
Introduction
This chapter focuses on some transformational or syntactic
processes attended in yiwom language. These traditional processes are
focus construction, relativization and question formation. How they are
applied on the deep structures of sentences to map them into surface
structures shall be exemplified in the language.
4.1
Transformational Processes
Baker (1978:59) claims that the transformational framework
employs phrase structure rules to generate simple structures, and then
employs a second set of rules, known as transformational rules to carry
out the changes leading to the more complex structures. In a similar vein,
Chomsky (1965) asserts that the phrase structure rules (and lexicon)
generate the deep structures of sentences and that the rules of the
transformational components of the syntax map these into surface
structures. Thus, each sentence has both a deep structure and surface
structure representation. Changing the structure of one sentence to
119
another is called transformation. Transformation performs a lot of
operations like deletion, permutation, adjunction, copying e.t.c. (Yusuf,
1992:36). Also, Radford (1988:401) sees transformations as the process
whereby the deep and surface structures are interrelated by a set of
movement rules. It is a device used to change the form of one linguistic
structure to another (Lamidi 2008:28).
Movement is the principal function that is played by virtually all the
transformational process in human languages. This fact was buttressed by
Cook (1988:121) when he says that, the general principle of movement
has subsumed many separate rules previously known as transformations.
This means that what is involved in all the transformational processes is
the movement rule which involves moving a constituent from its original
position to another position. Cook (1988:34) states that movement is the
relationship between two levels: the deep and surface structures. He
presented a representational format of how the deep structure is
converted into surface structure by transformational processes below:
D
Structure
Movement
S - structure
PF Component 120 LF Component
According to Yule (1996:102), “deep structure is an abstract level
of structural representation in which all the elements determining structural
interpretation are represented”. Likewise, Haegman (1994:304) opines
that the deep structure encodes the lexical categories of the constituents
of the sentence, and that it represents the basic argument relations in the
sentence. At the deep structure, all the elements in the sentence are in
their original logical position. It is the level from which the surface structure
would be derived by applying one or more operations to it. On the other
hand, surface structures result from applying one or more operations to
the underlying structures (Wakker and Haegman, 1985). It reflects the
more superficial properties of the sentences (Haegman, 1994:305). At the
surface level of syntactic representation, the elements in the sentence are
no longer in their logical positions but have been displaced by the
application of some transformational processes. This implies that the
surface structure is derived from the deep structure by transformational
processes, but it must contain approximately the same meaning as the
deep structure, even though it may represent a departure from a normal
word order (Baker, 1978). When transformations take place, there are
usually two distinct sites: extraction site and landing site. The extraction
site is the site where the moved constituent appears originally in
121
underlying structure, while the landing site is the new position into which
the
constituent
has been
moved.
The
above
discussion about
transformational processes shall be exemplified in yiwom language by
considering focus construction, relative clause construction and question
formation (WH – questions and YES/NO questions).
4.1.1 Focus Construction in Yiwom Language
Focus construction is a transformational process which involves the
movement of constituents in order to focus on a particular phrase, perhaps
in order to emphasize it, or else to contrast it with other parts of the clause
(Tallerman, 2005). He says further that in many languages, focused
phrases move to a clauses –initial position.
Along a similar perspective, Stock well (1977:157) defines focus as
a way of introducing special marking into the surface structure of the
element or constituent that is being focused. Yusuf (1989:57) therefore
concludes that, focusing is a land of emphasis that is syntactically marked
through
a
movement
transformation.
In
yiwom
language,
focus
construction is syntactically formed by moving the part of the sentence
(usually an NP) to be emphasized from its original logical position in the
deep structure to a more prominent position at the initial slot of the derived
122
sentence, and the focused NP will be immediately followed by a special
focus marker. The special focus marker in yiwom is ‘din’. In yiwom
language, there are subject NP focusing, direct object NP focusing as well
as indirect object NP focusing. These shall be illustrated with examples as
follows:
4.1.1.1 Subject NP Focusing
The subject NP is focused in yiwom language by maintaining its
natural syntactic position and it will be immediately by the focus marker
‘din’ Examples are.
a. Ibrahim soni liyavuk
Basic sentence
Ibrahim eat animal
‘Ibrahim ate meat’
123
IP
Spec
ll
NP
l
Nl
Tns
VP
Agr Spec
Vl
N
Ibrahim
Ibrahim
V
NP
Soni
Nl
eat
N
Liyavuk
animal
Ibrahim ate meat
124
b.
Ibrahim din soni liyavuk
Derived sentence.
Ibrahim FM eat animal
‘It was Ibrahim that ate meat’
IP
Spec
NP
Fl
IP
F
Nl
Spec
ll
N
VP
l
Ibrahim
Ibrahim
Din
FM
Agr Spec
Tns
Vl
V
NP
Sont
Nl
eat
N
Liyavuk
animal
‘It was Ibrahim that ate meat’
125
2 (a) Kudirat salba dam mu’ op
Basic sentence
Kudirat wash plate many
‘Kudirat washed many plates’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
l
VP
Nl
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
N
V
Kudirat
Kudirat
Saiba
NP
Nl
Spec
N
Det
Da
Muop
wash
plate many
‘Kudirat washed many plates’
126
(b)
Kudirat din saiba da muop
Derived sentence
Kudirat FM wash plate many
‘It was Kudirat that washed many plates’
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
Nl
IP
Spec
ll
N
VP
l
Kudirat
Din
FM
Agr Spec
Tns
Vl
V
NP
Salba Nl
wash
N
Spec
Da
Muop
Det
plate many
‘It was Kudirat that washed many plates’
127
3(a) Lala naa jarep nani
Basic sentence
Boy see girl that
‘The boy saw that girl’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Agr Spec
Tns
Vl
N
NP
V
Lala
boy
Naa
Nl
Spec
N
Det
Jarep
Nani
that
see
girl
‘The boy saw that girl’.
128
(b)
Lala din naa jarep nani
Derived sentence
Boy FM see girl that
‘It was the boy that saw the girl’
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
Nl
IP
Spec
ll
N
l
Lala
Din
boy
FM
VP
Agr Spec
Tns
Vl
V
NP
Naa Nl
see
N
‘It was the boy that saw the girl’
129
Spec
Det
Jarep
Nani
girl
that
4.1.1.2 Direct Object NP focusing
The direct object NP focusing in Yiwom language involves moving
an object NP from the front of the verb to the initial position such that it is
followed by the focus marker. Examples:
1 (a) Ka tuk muss
Basic sentence
I kill cat
‘I killed a cat’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr
Vl
Pron
Ka
I
V
NP
Tuk
kill
Nl
N
Muss
cat
‘I killed a cat’
130
(b)
Muss din ka tuk
Derived sentence
Cat FM I kill
‘It was cat that I killed'
FP
Fl
Spec
NP
F
IP
Nl
Spec
ll
N
Muss
Din
NP
Nl
Tns
Pron
l
VP
Agr
Vl
V
Ka
Tuk
‘It was cat that I killed’
131
2 (a) hat khaet lala
Basic sentence
dog bite boy
‘The dog bites the boy’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Agr Spec
Tns
Vl
N
V
NP
Hat
Nl
dog
N
Khaet
Bite
Lala
boy
‘The dog bites the boy’
132
(b)
Lala din hat khaet
Derived sentence
Boy FM dog bite
‘It was the boy that the dog bit’
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
IP
Nl
ll
Spec
N
NP
Hat
dog
Din
Nl
FM
Tns
l
VP
Agr
Spec
Vl
N
V
Hat
dog
‘It was the boy that the dog bit’
133
Khaet
bite
3 (a) Bang noe rap birap
Basic sentence
Father my drive car
‘My father drove a car
IP
Spec
NP
Nl
Spec Tns
N
Det
ll
VP
l
Agr Spec
V
Bang
Vl
NP
Nae
Nl
my
Rap
drive
N
Birap
car
‘My father drove a car’
134
(b)
Birap din bang noe rap
Derived sentence
Car FM father my drive
‘It was car that my father drove’
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
IP
Nl
Spec
ll
N
NP
Birap
Din
car
FM
Nl
Spec
N
Det
Bang Noe
father My
‘It was a car that my father drove’
135
VP
l
Tns
Agr
Vl
V
Rap
drive
4.1.1.3 Indirect Object NP Focusing
In your language, an object NP of a preposition is moved from its
original in the deep structure initial position and the focus marker will
follow it immediately. Examples of this syntactic phenomenon are provided
below:
(1) (a) Kist gap liyavuk shi kel
Basic sentence.
He cut animal with knife
‘He cut the meat with a knife’.
(b) Kel din kist gap liyavuk
Derived sentence.
Knife FM he cut animal
‘It was a knife that he used to cut the meat’.
136
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
Pron
PP
Vl
Kist
he
V
NP
Spec
Nl
Gap
cut
Pl
P
N
Liyavuk
animal
NP
Nl
Shi
with
N
Kel
knife
‘He cut the meat with a knife’
137
(b)
Derived sentence.
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
Nl
IP
Spec
ll
Kel
NP
knife
Din
VP
l
Nl
Tns
FM
Vl
Agr Spec
Pron
Kist
he
V
NP
Gap
Nl
cut
N
‘It was a knife that he used to cut the meat’
138
Liyavuk
animal
2 (a) Abdul naa an goepe bishe
Basic sentence
Abdul see me in school
‘Abdul saw me in the school’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
N
PP
Vl
Abdul
Abdul
NP
V
Nl
Naa
see
Spec
Pl
P
Pron
An
me
‘Abdul saw me in the school’.
139
NP
Nl
Goepe
in
N
Bishe
school
2 (b) Bishe din Abdul naa an
Derived sentence
School FM Abdul see me
‘It was in the school that Abdul saw me’
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
Nl
IP
Spec
ll
N
NP
Bishe
Din
school
FM
Nl
l
Tns
VP
Vl
Agr Spec
N
Abdul
Abdul
V
NP
Gap
Nl
cut
Pron
‘It was in the school that Abdul saw me’.
140
An
me
3 (a) Jarep bel goe kasuwa
Basic sentence
Girl come from market
‘The girl came from the market
IP
Spec
l
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr
Vl
PP
V
Pl
N
Jarep
P
girl
NP
Nl
Bel
come
Goe
from
N
Kasuwa
market
‘The girl came from the market’
141
(b)
Kasuwa din jarep bel
Market FM girl come
‘It was from the market that girl came’
FP
Spec
NP
Fl
F
Nl
IP
Spec
ll
N
NP
Kasuwa
Din
market
FM
Nl
l
Tns
VP
Agr
N
Vl
V
Jarep
girl
Bel
come
‘It was from the market that the girl came’
142
4.1.2 RELATIVIZATION IN YIWOM LANGUAGES
Relativization is the transformational process which deals with the
construction of relative clauses. According to Tallerman (2005:228),
“relative clause is a type of embedded clause which modifies (i.e says
something about) a head noun in the matrix clause”. He stresses further
that, relative clause constructions always contain a head noun and a
restricting relative clause that modifies it. In his own view, stockwell
(1977:59) claims that relative clause is a sentence embedded into a noun
phrase and marked in some way as sub-ordinate to the particular noun for
which charity of reference is sought. Likewise, Lamidi (2008:138) submits
that relative clause in front of its NP antecedent in a matrix clause.
Relative clauses are usually introduced, in. English, mainly by WH –
relative pronouns such as who, whom, when, which, where etc. In Yiwom
language, the relative marker which stands for all the WH – relative
pronouns is wu. Additionally, it should be noted that various positions in a
noun phrase can be relativized, and these are subject NP relativization
and object NP relativization which are exemplified below:
143
4.1.2.1 SUBJECT NP RELATIVIZATION.
In relativization of a subject NP in Yiwom language, a relative
clause beginning with a relative pronoun is inserted after the subject NP in
the matrix or main clause in order to modify it Examples of this are cited
below:
1 (a) Tist mut
Man die
‘The man died’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr
N
Vl
V
Tist
Mut
die
man
‘The man died’
144
(b)
Tist wil mangwong wong mut
Derived sentence
Man who sing song die
‘The man who sang a song died’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
CP
Nl
N
Tist
man
Spec
Tns
Agr
Vl
V
Cl
WH - C
Wil
who
VP
l
IP
Spec
l
Tns
Mut
die
ll
VP
Agr Vl
NP
V
Nl
Mangwong
Sing
‘The man who sang a song died’
145
N
Wong
song
2 (a) Mur wawul nkie
Basic sentence
Thief bring egg
‘The thief brought the egg
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
N
V
Mur
thief
NP
Nl
Wawul
bring
N
Nkie
egg
‘The thief brought the egg’
146
(b)
Mur wil wawul nkie bel
Derived sentence
Thief who bring egg come
‘The thief who bought the egg came’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
CP
Nl
N
Spec
Tns
Agr
Vl
V
Cl
WH - C
Wil
who
VP
l
IP
Spec
l
Tns
Bel
come
ll
VP
Agr Vl
NP
V
Nl
Wawul
bring
‘The thief who brought the egg came’
147
N
Nkie
egg
3 (a) Kirep ni bagani
Basic sentence
Fish is big
‘The fish is big
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
N
Kirep
Fish
Agr
Vl
V
Adjp
Be
Adji
Ni
Adj
is
Bagani
big
‘The fish is big’
148
3 (b) Kirep wu soni ni bagani
Derived sentence
Fish which eat is big
‘The fish which I ate is big’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
CP
Nl
N
Kirep
fish
VP
l
Tns
IP
C
WH - Spec
Wu
who
ll
l
Tns
VP
Agr
Agr
Vl
V
Adjp
Be
Adji
Ni
Adj
is
Bagani
big
Vl
V
Sont
eat
‘The fish which I ate was big’
149
4.1.2.2 Object NP Relativization
An object is relativized in Yiwom language by introducing a relative
clause after it so as to modify or say something about it. Examples are:
1 (a) Bello yong basonu
Bello cook food
‘Bello cooked the food’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
N
Bello
Bello
V
NP
Yong
cook
Nl
N
Basonu
food
‘Bello cooked the food’
150
(b)
Basonu wu bello yong ni nua
Food which bello cook is hot
‘The food which bello cooked was hot.
IP
Spec
ll
NP
N
Tns
CP
N
Cl
Spec
WHBasonu
Wil
food
Which
VP
l
IP
C
N
Tns
bello
Vl
V
Adjp
Be
Adji
Ni
Adj
is
Spec
NP
Agr
Nua
hot
ll
l
VP
Vl
Agr
V
Yang
cook
‘The food which bello cooked was hot’
151
2 (a) moe naa tist
Basic sentence
They see man
‘They saw the man’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
Pron
Moe
they
V
NP
Naa
see
Nl
N
Tist
man
‘They saw the man’
152
(b)
Tist wil moe ya bel
Derived sentence
Man whom they see will come
‘The man whom they saw will come’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
l
Nl
Tns
AgrSpec
CP
N
WHWil
whom
Vl
V
Cl
Spec
Tist
man
VP
IP
C
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
l
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
Pron
V
Moe
they
Naa
see
‘The man whom they saw will come’
153
Ya
will
Bel
come
3 (a) Ka wat goe pe’eh nani
I
Basic sentence
go to place that
‘I went to that place’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
VP
l
Nl
Tns
Agr
Vl
Pron
Vl
PP
Ka
I
V
Pl
Wat
go
P
NP
Goe
to
Nl
N
Pe’eh
place
Spec
Det
Nani
that
‘I went to that place’
154
3 (b) Pe’eh nani wu ka wat ni jong
Derived sentence
Place that where I go is far
‘The place I went was far’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
CP
Nl
N
VP
l
Cl
Spec
Pe’eh WHplace
Tns
IP
C
Spec
Wil
where
NP
Nl
VP
Vl
Agr
Pron
V
Ka
I
Wat
go
‘The place where went was far’
155
Vl
Vl
Adjp
V
Adji
Be
ll
l
Tns
Agr
Ni
is
Adj
Jong
far
4.1.3 Question Formation in Yiwom Language
Every human language has a peculiar medium of using a word,
phrase
sentence to seek information from an
entity;
and
this
transformational process is known as question formation. In Yiwom
language, question can be formed in two major ways: by WH-question and
by YES/No questions
4.1.3.1 WH- Questions in Yiwom Language
According to Tallerman (2005:217), “Wh-questions and so called
because they begin with a WH-word”. He maintains further that, the
phrase about which we are asking a question is first replaced by a suitable
wh-word or phrase. Then, that wh-word or phrase moves to a special
clause-initial position, leaving behind it a gap in the clause structure. One
common way of forming wh-questions cross-linguistically is to move a whexpression to a special clause-initial position (Talllerman, 2005:221). This
is attested in Yiwom language and exemplified as follows:
156
1 (a) Shola a soem noe
Basic sentence.
Shoal is name my
‘Shola is my name'
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
VP
l
Tns
N
Shola
Shola
Agr
Vl
V
Be
A
is
‘Shola is my name’
157
NP
Nl
Spec
N
Det
Soem
name
Noe
my
(b)
Ame a soem noe?
Derived sentence
What is name my
‘What is my name?
CP
Spec
WH-
Cl
C
Ame
what
IP
Spec
ll
l
Tns
VP
Vl
Agr
V
Be
A
is
NP
Nl
Spec
N
Det
Soem
name
‘What is my name?’
158
Noe
my
2 (a) Nhoe a loek noe
Basic sentence
This is house my
‘This is my house’
CP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
l
Tns
Pron
Nhoe
This
VP
Agr
Vl
V
NP
Be
Nl
A
is
N
Loek
house
Spec
Det
Noe
my
‘This is my house’
159
(b)
Ane a loek noe?
Derived sentence
Where is house my
‘Where is my house’
CP
Cl
Spec
WH-
IP
C
Ane
where
Spec
ll
VP
l
Tns
Agr
Vl
V
NP
Be
Nl
A
is
N
Loek
house
160
‘Where is my house?’
Spec
Det
Noe
my
3 (a) jarep dipmabe bàbànyà
Girl
sell
Basic sentence
goat
‘The girl sold a goat’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
l
Tns
N
VP
Agr
V
Jarep
girl
Vl
NP
Nl
Dipmable
sell
N
Babanya
gost
‘The girl sold a goat’.
161
Awuda dipmabe bàbànyà
Derived sentence
Who sell goat
‘Who sold a goat’
IP
Spec
WH-
ll
IP
C
Awuda
who
Spec
ll
VP
l
Tns
Vl
Agr
V
Dipmabe
NP
Nl
N
Babanya
‘Who sold a good?’
162
4.1.3.2 YES/NO Questions in Yiwom.
Yes/No questions are called so for the obvious reason that one
expects an answer such as ‘YES’ OR ‘NO’ (Haegman, 1994). In human
languages, YES/NO questions are derived through two major processes
which are: Subject – Autiliary inversion and the introduction of a ‘Do support’ (Yusuf, 1992). In Yiwom language, YES/NO questions, otherwise
known as polar questions, are formed by inserting the special question
marker at the end of a basic sentence and then, enclosing it with a
question mark. The special question marker for YES/NO questions in
Yiwom is ha. Examples are given below:
1 (a) Ga chin balang nani
Basic sentence
I can work that
‘I can do that work’
163
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
l
Tns
VP
Vl
Agr
Pron
V
NP
Ga
I
Chin
can
‘I can do that work’
1 (b) Ga chin balang nani ha?
I can work that QM
‘Can I do that work?’
164
Nl
Spec
N
Det
Balang
work
Nani
that
CP
Cl
Spec
IP
C
ll
Spec
NP
Nl
l
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
Pron
NP
V
Ga
I
Nl
Chin
can N
Ha
QM
Spec
Det
Balang Nani
work
that
165
2 (a) Emnoegoen noe a har doegoel
Sister
Basic sentence
my is shout voice
‘My sister is shouting’
CP
Cl
Spec
IP
C
ll
Spec
NP
Nl
l
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
Pron
NP
V
Ga
I
Nl
Chin
can N
‘My sister is shouting’
Ha
QM
Spec
Det
Balang Nani
work
that
166
(a)
Emnoegoen noe a har doegel ha?
Derived sentence
Sister my is shout voice QM
‘Is my sister shouting’
CP
Cl
C
Spec
IP
Spec
ll
NP
Nl
Spec
N
Det
VP
l
Tns
Agr Spec
Vl
NP
V
Emnoegoen Noe
my
sister
A
is
Nl
Har
shout
N
Doegoel
voice
‘Is my sister shouting?’
167
Ha
QM
3 (a) Namat goe dik tist
Basic sentence
Wife will marry man
‘A wife will marry a man’
IP
Spec
ll
NP
VP
l
Nl
Tns
Agr Spec
N
Vl
V
Namat
Nl
N
Goe
will
Dik
marry
‘A wife will marry a man’
(b)
NP
Namat goe dik tist ha?
Wife will marry man QM
‘Will a wife marry a man’
168
Tist
man
CP
Cl
Spec
IP
C
Spec
NP
Nl Tns
ll
l
VP
Agr Spec
Vl
N
V
Namat
wife
Goe
will
Dik
marry
NP
Nl
N
Tist
man
‘Will a wife marry a man’
169
Ha
QM
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0
Introduction
This chapter gives a brief summary of all the syntactic features
examined in this long essay. Additionally, it concludes the whole work and
provides appropriate recommendations.
5.1
Summary
Using the theoretical framework of government and binding (GB)
theory, this long essay has presented the syntactic analysis of Yiwom
noun phrase. The Historical Background and the socio-cultural profile of
the language and its speakers were examined, in which we established
that the language is spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria, with the number of
the speakers put at 10,000. Also, the Genetic classification reveals that
Yiwom belongs to the Niger Congo Phylum; and the chosen theoretical
framework was reviewed in the first chapter. In chapter two, we discussed
some basic phonological concepts such as sound, tonal and syllable
inventories in Yiwom language. From this, it was pointed out that the
language attests twenty seven (27) consonants, eight (8) oral vowels and
170
eight nasal vowels. In addition to this, certain syntactic concepts were
addressed in the languages which were: phrase structures rules; lexical
and phrase categories; basic word order; and sentence types. Thus, we
discovered and established that the subject, verb and object (SVO) basic
word order pattern is attested in the language. The analysis of Yiwom
noun phrase was carried out in the third chapter. We investigate the
various syntactic structures of noun phrase in the language, including its
functions in Yiwom language. Additionally, it was established that the noun
in noun phrase can be present with or without its satellites; and it was
discovered that the noun comes first, before other constituents in its
structure.
Chapter four focused on the transformational process operating in
Yiwom language. These processes are focus constructing, relativization
and question. The last chapter gave a brief summary of the research
findings, concluded the work and provided possible recommendations.
171
5.2
Conclusion
The focus of this research project is on the noun phrase of Yiwom
language. It has been observed that in the structure of noun phrase in
Yiwom language, the headword which is the noun appears on the left side
before the attachment of other possible satellite. Also, the noun phrase
performs the functions of subjects, direct object and indirect object of the
sentence. In addition to this, it has been established that syntactic
processes which include focus construction, relativization and question
formation operate on the deep structure of sentences to convert them to
surface structures.
5.3
Recommendations
Since the long essay has only addressed the syntactic aspect of
yiwom language, we are of the opinion on the further researches on
phonology, morphology etc should also be carried out in the language.
Furthermore the present analysis should not be considered as exhaustive
enough, instead, more researchers should continue on the syntax of the
language in order to bring out more interesting linguistic facts. On this
premise, this long essay is a starting point and therefore a valid source of
reference for further linguistic research in Yiwom language.
172
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