ASPECTS
OF
BURA
NEGATION
SALAWU, Oluwabukola Olaitan
07/15CB093
A LONG ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
LINGUISTICS AND NIGERIAN LANGUAGES,
FACULTY OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN.
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS.
B.A (HONS) LINGUISTICS
MAY,2011.
i
CERTIFICATION
This essay has been supervised, read and approved as meeting the
requirements of a degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Department of
Linguistics and Nigerian Languages of the faculty of Arts, University of
Ilorin, Nigeria.
……….……………………..
…... ………………………
Mr. J. O. Friday- Otun
Date
Project Supervisor
………………………………
………………………….
Prof. A. S. Abdussalam
Date
Head of Department
………………………………..
………………………...
External Examiner
Date
ii
DEDICATION
This research work is unreservedly dedicated to GOD, the only reason for
my existence and achievement, the pillar that holds my life.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My appreciation goes to GOD Almighty, who has been my source and
refuge. I dedicate the totality of my success to Him.
My invaluable gratitude goes to my inestimable jewel, Elder and
Deaconess Y.O. Salawu, for their sacrifice, love, spiritual, financial and
moral support, on the success of this work. May you live to eat the fruit of
your labour in Jesus name. Amen.
I will forever be grateful to my able supervisor Mr. J.O Friday-Otun, for his
advice patience and support to ensure the success of this project. My
profound gratitude also goes to all my lecturers, you are all wonderful.
Also, my unreserved appreciation goes to Mr. M.A. Adedokun for his love
and moral support. My gratitude also goes to Mr. and Mrs. OlugbengaAdebola Akiogbe, Mr. and Mrs. Ogundeji, Mr. and Mrs. S.O. Akintunde,
Doctor A.O. Adedokun, you are one in a million.
Also to my priceless brothers, Olanrewaju and Abimbola Salawu, you are
wonderful.
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My thanks also goes to RCCG Amazing Grace Parish, Ilorin, especially to
my Pastor and Mrs M.T. Omodanisi and the entire workers in the vineyard.
You are all amazingly wonderful.
A big “thank you” to all my friends and course mates, you are all great.
Also to my treasure, you are a precious gift.
v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
SVO
Subject-Verb-Object
NP
Noun Phrase
N’
N -bar
VP
Verb Phrase
PP
Prepositional Phrase
ADJP
Adjectival Phrase
IP
Inflectional Phrase
SPEC
Specifier
CP
Complimentizer
C
Compliment
I
Inflection
ADJ
Adjective
V’
V-Bar
DET
Determiner
PREP
Preposition
TNS
Tense
PRES
Present
CONJ
Conjunction
GB
Government and Binding Theory
NEGP
Negative Phrase
AGR
Agreement
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page………………………………………………………………….i
Certification………………………………………………………………ii
Dedication………………………………………………………………...iii
Acknowledgments..………………………………………………………iv
List of Symbols and Abbreviations………………………………………vi
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………vii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0
General Background……………………………………………….1
1.1
Historical Background of Bura…………………………………….2
1.2
Socio-Cultural Profile of Bura……………………………………..4
1.2.1 Marriage System…………………………………………………...4
1.2.2 Festival……………………………………………………………..5
1.2.3 Chieftaincy………………………………………………………….5
1.2.4 Religion…………………………………………………………….5
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1.2.5 Occupation……………………………………………………………6
1.2.6 Burial Rites…………………………………………………………..7
1.3
Genetic Classification of Bura…………………………………….…7
1.4
Scope and Organization of Study……………………………………8
1.5
Theoretical Framework………………………………………….......9
1.6
Data Collection and Analysis………………………………………10
1.7
Data Analysis……………………………………………………….11
1.8
Review of the Chosen Framework………………………………….11
1.8.1 X-Bar Theory……………………………………………………….14
1.8.2 Theta (θ) Theory……………………………………………………18
1.8.3 Case Theory…………………………………………………………20
1.8.4 Government Theory…………………………………………………22
1.8.5 Bounding Theory……………………………………………………22
1.8.6 Binding Theory……………………………………………………...25
1.8.7 Control Theory………………………………………………………27
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CHAPTER TWO
BASIC SYNTACTIC CONCEPTS
2.0
Introduction………………………………………………….…..….29
2.1
Basic Structure Concepts In Bura……………………………..….…29
2.2
Phrase Structure Rule………………………………………..……....29
2.2.1 Noun Phrase in Bura………………………………………….……..32
2.2.2 Verb Phrase in Bura…………………………………………………34
2.2.3 Prepositional in Bura………………………………………………..36
2.2.4 Adjectival Phrase in Bura…………………………………………...38
2.3
Lexical Categories in Bura………………………………………….41
2.3.1 Nouns………………………………………………………………..42
2.3.1.1
Proper Nouns…………………………………………………43
2.3.1.2
Common Nouns………………………………………………43
2.3.1.3
Concrete Nouns………………………………………………44
2.3.1.4
Abstract Nouns…………………………………………….....44
2.3.1.5
Collective Nouns……………………………………………..45
2.3.1.6
Countable Nouns……………………………………………..45
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2.3.1.7
Uncountable Nouns…………………………………………..46
2.3.2
Pronoun……………………………………………………….47
2.3.3
Verb.………………………………………………………….48
2.3.3.1
Transitive Verbs………………………………………………49
2.3.3.2
Intransitive Verbs…………………………………………….49
2.3.4
Adverbs……………………………………………………….50
2.3.5
Adjectives…………………………………………………….50
2.3.6
Prepositions …………………………………………………..51
2.3.7
Conjunctions………………………………………………….51
2.3.8
Interjections…………………………………………………..52
2.4
Basic Word Order in Bura…………………………………....52
2.5
Sentence Types In Bura………………………………………55
2.5.1
Simple Sentence………………………………………………55
2.5.2
Compound Sentence………………………………………….58
2.5.3
Complex Sentence……………………………………………59
2.6
Functional Classification of Sentences in Bura………………62
2.6.1
Declarative Sentence………………………………………..62
x
2.6.2
Imperative Sentence………………………………………....65
2.6.3
Interrogative Sentence……………………………………….65
2.6.4
Exclamatory Sentence………………………………………..66
CHAPTER THREE
NEGATION IN BURA
3.0
Introduction………………………………………….…….…70
3.1
Negation…………………………………………….………..70
3.1.1
Types of Negative Formation………………………………..71
3.1.2
Negation of Modal Auxiliaries………………………………74
3.1.2.1
Auxiliary Negation…………………………………………..75
3.1.2.2
Main Verb Negation………………………………………….75
3.1.2.3
Negation of Auxiliary “Do” ,“Have” and “Be”………………77
3.1.3
Negation of Commands………………………………………79
3.2
Negation in Bura……………………………………………...81
3.2.1
Negation of Markers in Bura…………………………………81
3.2.2
Sentence of Negation in Bura………………………..…........82
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3.2.3 Negation of Auxiliaries………………………………….…………..88
3.2.4 Imperative Sentence Negation…………………………….…….......91
3.2.5 Interrogative Sentence Negation………………………………........94
CHAPTER FOUR
TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES
4.0
Introduction………………………………………………………..100
4.1
Transformations……………………………………………………100
4.2
Negation and Focus Construction………………………………….104
4.2.1 Subject NP Focusing…………………………………………..…...109
4.2.2 Direct Object NP Focus………………………………………..…..112
4.2.3 Indirect Object NP Focus…………………………………….…....115
4.3
Negation and Relativization………………………………….…....118
4.4
Negation and Reflexivization……………………………………...123
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CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, OBSERVATION, CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES
5.0
Introduction…………………………………………..….…………128
5.1
Summary………………………………………………..………….128
5.2
Observation………………………………………………..……….129
5.3
Conclusion…………………………………………………..……..129
References………………………………………………….….…...131
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0.
General Background
This chapter introduces the language of study, the people speaking the
language and their geographical location. It introduces us to the background
of the speakers of the language which includes their culture and beliefs.
Also, a brief explanation of the scope of the study, Method of Data
Collection, Genetic Classification and the Theoretical framework used in
carrying out the research on the language are discussed.
xiii
This research is aimed at describing the Bura Negation. Bura is a
language Spoken in two (2) local government areas in Borno State. The two
local governments’ areas are Biu and Shani respectively. The Bura people
are about 250,000 in population.
1.1.
Historical Background
According to oral history, Bura speakers were believed to had their
origin from the Northern part of Nigeria in Borno State. The State shares
border with Niger Republic, Chad Republic and Cameroon Republic and
Common boundaries with Adamawa, Gombe and Yobe States.
The Bura lived north of Biu before being attacked by Yamta – ra –
wala around 16th Century. The few people Yemta brought with him
intermarried with the Bura and built up the Biu dynasty into a kingdom.
Those descended from Yemta’s group were called Pabir (Babur), this is why
Pabir and Bura differ considerably in culture and appearance.
Until today, the Pabir are the ruling class among the Bura, and all the
Bura villages pay tribute to the Emir of Biu. The Bura still resent the Pabir.
xiv
Apart from Bura they also speak Hausa, Chibok and Marghi and also
few of Fulflde. The Bura speakers are approximately over 250,000. The
Pabir and Bura are the major tribes in Biu and Shani Local Government
Areas of Borno State.
The Map of Bura Communities is shown below:
xv
1.2 Socio- cultural Profile
This center on the socio-cultural background of Bura people in terms
of their occupation, Religion, festivals and ceremonies. The following
information the socio-cultural profile of Bura people was collected through
oral source.
1.2.1 Marriage System
Bura has a way of marriage policy when a female child is born, a
suitor may propose by throwing a leafy branch of a certain tree into the
mother’s hut. If he is accepted, he gives gifts as the girl grows up. He works
xvi
on her father’s farm and makes Zana matting for them when she reaches
marriage able age, he organizes his friends to capture her and bring her to his
house. Then the remaining part of the bride price is settled, which is not a
insists amount and arrangements for the marriage ceremony are concluded.
Also, thing
that are normally given in the ceremony is basically
kolanut, salt and a white linen. The bride is usually expected to produce a
white cloth stained with the proof of her virginity and it may be displayed
with pride. Her parents will be ashamed if she is not a virgin.
As a sign of respect, a man does not eat with his parents-in –law.
1.2.2 Festivals
The only festival held in Bura is the maize harvest festival and is
performed before fresh corn can be eaten. Bura man who has lost a father or
mother selects three heads of corn, usually from his first fruits, dresses it
carefully and puts it on a tray which he sets by his head at night.
1.2.3 Chieftaincy
Originally the Bura had no central Government. Now the Emir of
Biu appoints the districts head (Ajia) who then approve the appointments of
xvii
the village heads (Lawans).Today both these titles belong to certain families.
The village heads appoint the ward heads (Bulamas) over small villages and
wards of larger ones. Anyone who has leadership ability can be chosen as a
Bulama.
1.2.4 Religion
The
Bura had their traditional religion before Islam came around
1920 and Christianity later came in the 1920’s. Today these three religions
can all be found among the Bura. The traditional religion is called Hyel or
Hyel- taku, but Naptu is a personal god who takes cares of individual. The
gods are represented by various objects such as water, stones, mountains or
forests. Most sacrifices to gods are made on Saturday, so it is a special day,
the chief priest is called Mythmaker Haptu
Christianity was introduced through the missionaries The proportion
of Christians is small compared to the entire population.
Despite the presence of churches in many towns and villages, lslam is
still the predominant religion among the Bura. A rough estimate of the
religious percentages is as follows: - Muslims 78% Christians 20% and
xviii
Traditional 20%. Many Christians are nominal and many are not free from
immorality.
1.2.5 Occupation
The main occupation of the bura people is farming. Minority of the
people are subsidized farmers, though commercial farming is also practiced.
The major crops are maize, guinea corn, groundnut and rice.
1.2.6 Burial Rites
Bura people celebrate death, when an old person dies, he or she is
buried on the second day when everyone has gathered in the evening. The
corpse of a chief is buried seated, but other people re laid flat on the floor of
the cavity. There is traditional dancing for seven days after the burial and if
the deceased was an important person, it lasts for 14days.
On one of the mourning days the Fulnchambwi dance is done. The
male dancers jump from the ground to the roof of the hut of the deceased
and back again until the roof is destroyed. After this the date is fixed for the
xix
last mourning or sadaka, which is held about six (6) months later, but usually
during the dry season.
1.3
Genetic Classification
This essence of a genetic classification of a language is to trace
the origin of the language and show it relationship with the other language.
Bura language belong to the Afro-Asiatic Family which is shown by
the family tree below
Africa
Niger
Kondofanian
Semitic
Egytian
Tera
Group
chibak
Cushitic
Omitic
Biu-Mandara
West-Chadic
Kotoko
Group
Kiba
Bura
Group
Mandara
Group
Higi
Group
Bura
(Pabir)
Khosian
Nilo-Sahara
Afro-Asiatic
Laba
xx
Berber
Chadi
c
East chadic
Masa
Matakam
Group
Mangi
Sukur
Group
Bata
Group
Putia
Source “Comrie, B. (ed) (1987)
1.4 Scope and Organization of the Body
The main objective of this project is to study in details the type of
negation strategies that exist in Bura language. Negation in Bura will be an
sentence negation, auxiliary negation, imperative negation and interrogation
negation. We shall also study in respect to transformation processes which
involve modifications of constituents.
This long easy is divided into five chapters, the first chapter is the
introduction chapter which contains the general introduction of the research
work, the historical background of the Bura people, social-cultural profile,
genetic classification, collection and analysis of data and the theoretical
framework employed.
Chapter Two presents a phonological review of Bura language and the
basic syntactic concepts like phrase structure rules, basic word order, lexical
categories and sentences types. Chapter Three is on the negation in Bura
xxi
language, while chapter four introduces us to transformational processes like
focus construction, relativization. Chapter five summarizes and concludes
the work.
1.5 Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework to be employed in this research is
Government and Binding theory (GB). GB theory is a model of grammar
propounded and developed by Noam Chomsky. This is done with the aim of
covering Universal Grammar (UG) that is, the system or principles,
conditions and rule that are elements or properties of all human languages.
In essence, negation as an aspect of syntax will be analyzed under the GB
theoretical framework.
1.6
Data Collection
The method of data collection is contact method or informant method.
We collected linguistic data for this study by making use of language
informants who are native speaker of Bura language. The data were
collected through the use of frame technique and the Ibadan word list of 400
basic items. Below are pieces of information about the informants.
xxii
1. NAME: Ezekiel Simon Shelai
SEX:
Male
AGE:39 years
OCCUPATION: Lecturing
NO OF YEARS SPENT IN BURA: 26years
OTHER LANGUAGE SPOKEN: English, Hausa and Chibok.
2. NAME: Mr. Bashir
SEX: Male
AGE:36 years
OCCUPATION: Civil Servant
NUMBER OF YEARS SPENT IN BURA: 21 years
OTHER LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English and Kanuri
1.7 Data Analysis
To ensure an efficient data analysis in this research, all data received are
accurately transcribed. The morphemes that made up the phrases and
xxiii
sentences are also carefully glossed. The data collected are worked upon
according to how the native speakers use it without imposing any extraneous
rules or norm of correctness.
1.8
Review of the Chosen Framework
The framework adopted in research is the Government and Binding
(GB) theory. This is the theory that captures the similarities which exists
between different categories of lexical phrases by assigning the same
structure to them rather than having different phrase structure rules for VPs,
NPs etc
Government and Binding theory deals with transformation. According
to Radford (1988:419), transformation is the rule that deal with the act of
changing the structure of one sentences to another structure through the
concept of movement known as move alpha (move-α). This theory (GB) was
developed to correct the lapses in Transformational Generative Grammar.
xxiv
Cook (1988: 66), the theory of Government and Binding is an
interlocking arrangement of principles and sub theories which interact in
many different ways.
The Modular Theory of Grammar.
X – BAR THEORY
DEEP STRUCTURE
MOVE – α
BOUNDING
CASE
THEORY
(Case filter)
SURFACE STRUCTURExxv
PROJECTION
PRINCIPLE
LEXICO
N
Ø – THEORY
(Ø CRITERION)
LOGICAL FORM
PHONETIC FORM
Sells (1985: 25) and cook (1988: 33).
In the diagram above, no part can be considered in isolation from the
rest. Government and Binding theory posit seven sub-theories of theory of
grammar. The structures generated at various levels are constrained by a set
of theories, which define the kind of relationship possible within a grammar.
These sub-theories of Government and Binding theory are given below:
i.
X- Bar Theory
ii.
Theta (θ) Theory
iii.
Case Theory
iv.
Binding Theory
v.
Bounding Theory
vi.
Control Theory
1.8.1 X-Bar Theory
xxvi
Lamidi (2000:150), X-Bar theory is based on the theory of
phrase structure. It defines the nature of the type of syntactic categories
available to any language. The central notion of x-bar theory is that each of
the major lexical categories (Noun, Verb, Preposition and Adverb) is the
head of a structure dominated by a phrasal node of the same category (Noun:
NP, Verb: VP, Preposition: PP and Adjective: AP). In essence, it defines
possible phrase structure configuration in language. The x- bar theory
projects from the ‘core projection’, level to the ‘maximal projection level’
which is called projection principle.
Chomsky (1981: 29), the representation at each syntactic level is
projected from the lexicon, in that they observe the sub- categorization
properties of lexical items. A lexical item projects from its zero bar level to
one (single) bar level, which is optional, them to double bar- level. The zero
bar-level is referred to as the intermediate projection level and the double
bar level is referred to as the maximal projection level. The illustration is
shown below:
Xll
Maximal projection level
xxvii
Xl
Intermediate projection level
Xo
Core projection level
Horrocks (1987: 99), x-bar theory tells us that lexical head (x) and its
complement form a constituent (xi) and that any specifier of this form with a
high level constituent (xii).
Xll
Xl
Spec
Xo
Complement
Another feature that makes generalization rule possible in x- bar
theory is the concept of head. The notion of head of a phrase is called the
principle of head parameter.
xxviii
The principle of head parameter specifies the order of elements in a
language. The basic assumption of head parameter is that sentences may be
broken into constituent phrase and structural grouping of words.
Lamidi (2000: 105), the head is the keyword in a phrase and the word
can be pre or post modified. In x- bar theory, the head of a phrase is very
important and the parameter that distinguished language that is incorporate
the head of the phrase to the right or left is known as head parameter i.e head
first.
X - Xo Complement
Xl
Xo
Complement
Or head last
X1 – Complement Xo
Xl
Xo
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Complement
In x-bar theory the lexical categories remain the basic symbol. The
phrases in which they are incorporated are shown by the addition of bars to
the original symbols. This is exemplified below.
“the man”
NP
Spec
N1
Det
N
the
man
m
(1991:493),
θ-theory
1.8.2 Theta (θ -) Theory
Kirsten
deals
with
the
function
relationship between a predicate and its arguments: a predicate is said to
assign theta role to each of its arguments. It is concerned with the
xxx
assignment of what Chomsky called ‘thematic roles’ such as agents, patient
(or theme), beneficiary etc. It is assumed that theta –roles are assigned to the
complement of lexical items as a lexical property. The NP complements
(direct object ) is assigned to the roles of patient the PP complement is
assigned to the role of locative while the subject NP or the sentences is
assigned to the agent role.
The main principle of θ- theory is the ‘θ-criterion’ which requires
each thematic role to be uniquely assigned i.e. each constituent denoting an
argument is assigned just one θ- role and each θ- role is assigned to just one
argument denoting constituent.
The thematic roles are the roles assigned to arguments. The common
theta roles are: Agent, patient, instruments and locative.
(a) Agent: - This is the performer or indicator of an action.
E.g. Olu kwàsá tsir
Olu (past) eat beans
‘Olu ate beans’.
xxxi
‘Olu’ is the performer of the action.
(b) Patient: - An entity who is affected by an action.
E.g. Mdana tsi kwi ni.
Man (past) kill goat the.
‘The man killed the goat’.
‘The goat’ is undergoing the action.
(c) Instrument: - It is an entity which occasions the happening of an
action.
E.g. Nene pwa bzir ni ka beltir ni.
Nene beat child with belt her.
‘Nene beat the child with her belt’.
‘Her belt’ serves as what Nene used to beat the child.
(d) Locative: - It refers to the places where an action takes place.
E.g.
Martha ku mori makarata.
Martha (past) goes to school.
‘Martha went to school’.
‘School’ here refers to a place’.
xxxii
1.8.3
Case Theory
Kirsten (1991:496), case theory regulates the distribution of
phonetically realized NPs by assigning abstract case to them. It deals with
the principle of case assignment to constituents. Chomsky assumed that all
NPs with lexical contents are assigned (abstract) case. Case is assigned by a
set of case of assigner to the governed.
Horrocks (1987), the basic idea is that case is assigned under
government i.e. the choice of case is determined by the governor in any
sentences. For instance, 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, NP subject is assigned nominative by INFL, verb
assigns accusative case to object of the verb while preposition assigns
oblique case to its object.
One of the most important principles of case theory is case filter
which states that any S- structure that contains an NP with lexical context
but no case is ungrammatical (Kirsten, 1991:407) formally represented case
filter as:
xxxiii
NP
+ LEXICAL
- CASE
1.8.4
Government Theory
This theory deals with the relationship between a head and its
complement. It is a syntactic relationship between a governor and the
element that it governs (Horrocks, 1987:104).Thus:
α govern β if and only if:
1.α and β mutually c – command each other.
2.α is a governor (e.g Noun, verb, preposition and adjective)
3.α governs β then governs the specifies of β. (Lamidi 2001:98)
The theory of government also defines the relationship in other sub –
theories of Government and Binding theory.
xxxiv
1.8.5 Bounding Theory
Kristen (1991:497), It is concerned with the way movement rule
(move – α) can be constrained. In essence, it is concerned with the
limitations to be placed on the displacement of constituents by the
transformation rule schema move – α. Generally speaking, movement rule
within GB theory is assumed to involve three things.
A. An extraction site
B. A Landing site
C. An intervening gap
Landing
site
Intervening gap
xxxv
Extraction site
Here, move- α is defined as move any constituent from anywhere to
land somewhere. The original position of alpha (d) before movement is
called an in-situ position ( Culicover, 1997:50). Thus,
X
α
Y
WHP
XP
In – situ position
The above diagram says move any element, which is represented with
(α), from its in-situ position regardless of variable X and Y to the left, right,
beginning or end of a phrase or sentence. The basic idea to be captured by
xxxvi
bounding theory is that no movement can be move an element too far.
Theoretically, move- α is always subject to subjacency condition, a
condition that specified that no movement can move an element over more
than one bounding node at a time. The illustration is shown below:
[S1 [S2 [S3 - α - - -]]]
1.8.6 Binding Theory
It is concerned with the relationship of NP participants in the
sentence. Horrocks (1987:105), state that, “it is concerned primarily with the
conditions under which NPs are interpreted as co-referencial with other NPs
in the same sentence”. As preliminary, there are three types of NPs which
are relevant to the Binding theory. Thus:
1. Anaphors
2. Pronominal
3. Re-expressions(Referential expressions)
xxxvii
The anaphors are NPs that cannot have independent reference such as
reflexive and reciprocal pronouns, pronominals are NPs that either refer
to individuals independently or co-refer to individual already named in a
given sentences and R-expression are NPs with lexical heads which
potentially refer to something (Culicover, 1997:35).
The locations of antecedents that count for Binding theory are defined in
three Binding principles, viz:
1. Principle A: Anaphors in (reflexives and reciprocals) must be bound
in their local domain (usually the sentence immediately around an
item).
2. Principle B: Prenominal must be free in their domain and a nonanaphoric pronoun must not be bond with its bonding domain.
3. Principle
C:
A
referring
expressions(R-expressions)
a
non-
pronominal; NPs) must not be bond at all, must be free.
The term, bound based on principle A simply refers to the conjunction of
C-command and co-indexing. Thus:
xxxviii
α binds β: if and only if:
1.
α co-commands β
2.
α and β are co-referential.(Horrocks `987:109)
In principle B, the terms ‘free’ simply mean ‘not bound at all’.
Principle C refers to elements such as names and other referential noun
phrases.
1.8.7 Control Theory
Control theory is the transformational analysis of sentences with verb
taking infinitival complements that have null subject understood coreferential with an NP in the main clause. Trask (1993 :62), defined control
as a module of grammar
that deals with the phenomenon of a VP
complement that has no overt subject consequently interpreted semantically
as having some determinant phrase (DP) appearing somewhere within the
sentences or an arbitrary (unspecified) DP that functions as its subject or
‘controller’. A non-overt subject DP of the infinitival clause is technically
represented within the GB frame work by a distinct “empty” category called
PRO.
xxxix
According to Riemsdijk and Williams (1986: 132), the abbreviation
PRO has been devised to stand for a phonetically null pronoun that occupies
the subject position of infinitives. Control theory can be exemplified with an
English sentence as follows:
(a)
Lanre promised Tolu that she goes
Lanre promised Tolu (PRO to go)
The PRO here is controlled by the subject NP
‘Lanre’ and the PRO have reduced ‘that’ she ‘to’.
(b)
Dupe wants that she leave.
Dupe wants (PRO to leave).
Dupe wants Shade to leave.
(The PRO here is also subject controlled).
xl
CHAPTER TWO
INTRODUCTION TO BURA SYNTAX
2.0.
Introduction
This chapter introduces us to the syntactic concepts of Bura language. It
focuses on syntactic issues like phrase structure rules lexical categories,
basic word order and sentences types.
2.1.
Basic Syntactic Concepts
The basic syntactic concepts we want to examine in this chapter are
phrase structure rules, lexical categories, basic word order and sentences
types in Bura language.
2.2.
Phrase Structure Rules in Bura Language
xli
According to Yusuf (1997:6) a phrase structure rule is a set of rules which
generate the constituent of a phrase or clausal category.
Lamidi (2000:66) refers to it as the rule of the base component which inserts
word into their logical positions in a structure.
Using the basic syntactic structures the noun phrase, verb phrase,
prepositional phrase and adjectival phrase in Bura language will be
examined. Employing the government and binding theory the phrase
structure rule of Bura can be exemplified using the scheme below:
CP
spec cl
Clc
IP
IP
spec I
Il
Tns Agr
VP
spec V
Vl
V (NP ) ( PP )
NP
Nl (spec)
Nl
N ( Det )
xlii
For instance in Bura language the above Ps rule can generate a sentences
like:
Sàlàkó Kwàsú ndúva
Sàlàkó eat food the.
‘Sàlàkó ate the food’.
The above sentence can be mapped into a phrase maker as shown below:
IP
I1
Spe
c
VP
I
NP
V1
Tns
Agr VP
(+pst)
N1
V
NP
N1
Spec
N
Det
N
xliii
Sàlàkó
Sàlàkó
kwàsú ndúva
eat food
ní
the
‘Sàlàkó ate the food’
2.2.1. Noun Phrase
According to Yusuf (1997:8) the noun phrase is the category that
codes the participants in the event or state described by the verb. The noun
phrase is headed by the noun or pronoun (when it will not be modified ). It is
by virtue of this headedness that the phrase is called noun.
The head of a phrase is the single that can stand for the whole construction
i.e the single lexical item that can replace the whole phrase.
Bura language operates the principle of head first i.e the head of the
sentence comes before other satellites.
Below are examples of noun phrase (NP) in Bura language.
xliv
Single NP
Gloss
[ndíαr]
‘Man’
[kíá]
‘child’
[kúgíl]
‛chief ‘
[kwí]
‛goat’
NP LEXICON AND SATELITES
1. kíá mdá-mùlà ní
child female the
‘the female child’
NP
NP
adj
p
NP
Adj
Det
NP
xlv
kíá
mdá-mùlà ní
child female the
‘The female child’
2. màkàrántà ni
school your
‘your school’.
NP
N1
Det
N
màkàrántà
school
ni
your
xlvi
‘Your school’
2.2.2. Verb Phrase
According to Yusuf (1997:21) verb phrase is traditionally called the
‘predicate’ because it has the sentences predication namely, the verb. The
verb is the head of the verb phrase (VP). It is the lexical category that tells us
what the participatory roles of the nominals are in the sentences i.e. the roles
of the AGENT, PATIENT, LOCATIVE and EXPERIENCER etc. The verb
will also indicate the role of such of nominal syntactically either as subjects
or objects. As the head of the VP, it is obligatorily present with or without its
satellites, verb satellites could be complements or adjuncts.
The formal notation for verb phrase is:
V (NP) (PP) (Sl)
VP
Below are examples of verb phrase in Bura language
Pàttà sikáfár ni
cook
rice
the
‘Cook the rice’
VP
V1
xlvii
V
NP
N1
N
2.
Det
Pàttà
sikáfár
cook
rice
‘Cook the rice’
thumtá ni nfúa ká àdá
ni
the
cut the tree with cutlass
‘Cut the tree with a cutlass’
VP
V1
Spec
V1
PP
V
NP
Spec
N1
Det
N
P1
Spe
c
P
NP
N1
N
xlviii
thumtá ni
cut the
nfúa
ká
tree
with
àdá
cutlass
‘Cut the three with cutlass’
2.2.3. Prepositional Phrase
Jowitt and Nnamonu (1985:228), observe that prepositions are
frequently used to in form idiomatic phrases which function as adverbial of
time, place or manner.The prepositional phrase is headed by a prepositional
which comes before a noun.
The phrase structure rule for prepositional phrase is:
PP
P (NP) (S1)
Below are examples of prepositional phrase in Bura language.
1. àkwà mↄ́ta ni
inside car the
‘Inside the car’
PP
P1
P
NP
xlix
N1
Det
́
mↄ́ta
àkwà
ni
inside car
the
‘Inside the car ’
2.
àtà tablír ni
on table the
‘On the table’
PP
P1
P
NP
N1
Det
N
l
àtà
tablír
ni
on
table
the
‘On the table’
2.2.4 Adjectival Phrase
An adjectival phrase as pointed out by Awolaja (2002:27), does the
work of an adjective. It usually qualifies or modifies a particular noun.
Lamidi (2002: 73) defines it as a phrase having an adjective as its
head and which can be pre-modified by adverbials
The rule for the adjectival phrase is:
ADJP
(ADVP) ADJ
The phrases given below are examples of adjectival phrases in Baru
language.
1. ldákú ssái
‘extremely beautiful’
AP
li
Al
ssái
‘Extremely
2. mbↄ́wá
beautiful’
mʃàr
house red
‘ red house’
AP
A1
NP
A
N1
=
=+
==
N
lii
mbↄ́wá
house
mʃàr
red
‘ Red house’
2.3
LEXICAL CATEGORIES IN BURA LANGUAGE
Lexical categories are what were referred to as the parts of speech in
classical grammar. The grouping of words in a language are based on
function. Technically speaking, a word does not belong to any class until it
is used in a particular context. This is because one word can perform more
than one function.
For convenience, however, word are traditionally grouped into eight parts
of speech ie the eight lexical categories are as follows (Yusuf 1997:45).
i.
Noun
ii.
Pronoun
iii.
Verb
liii
iv.
Adverb
v.
Preposition
vi.
Conjunction
vii.
Exclamation or Interjection
These eight lexical categories will be described in respect to Bura language.
2.3.1 NOUN
Darbyshire (1976:124), A noun is a lexeme which functions typically
as the head of nominal segment. Traditionally, a noun can be defined as a
part of speech that identifies people, places, objects, actions, qualities and
ideas. From the point of view of syntactic function, we can say that a noun is
a word functioning as the subject or object of a verb, as shown in the English
example below:
Shade ate rice
In the example, Shade is the subject while rice is the object.
There are different types of noun, they are;
i.
Proper noun
liv
ii.
Common noun
iii.
Concrete noun
iv.
Abstract noun
v.
Collective noun
vi.
Countable noun
vii.
Uncountable noun
2.3.1.1
Proper Noun
Proper noun specify people, places and thing. They denote one
particular thing. The following are examples in Bura;
i.
[gbí]
‘village’
ii.
[tàkù]
‘bush’
iii.
[sẽ]
‘name’
iv.
[kwí]
‘goat’
2.3.1.2
Common Noun
Common noun denotes general category of things i.e occupation or
trade names or names of animals.
lv
Examples of countable nouns in Bura are:
i.
[mↄ́ta]
‘car’
ii.
[tablìr]
‘table’
iii.
[kwá]
‘dog’
iv.
[tʃádim]
‘monkey’
2.3.1.3
Concrete Noun
Concrete nouns are nouns that can be seen, touched or measured.
Examples of concrete nouns in Bura are:
i.
[fwà]
‘tree’
ii.
[ńbà]
‘house’
iii.
[ʤâka]
‘axe’
iv.
[kúgwà]
‘calabash’
2.3.1.4
Abstract Noun
Abstract nouns refer to intangible things i.e things that cannot be seen
or touched. It has to do with feelings, emotions e.t.c
lvi
Examples of abstract noun in Bura are:
i.
[héní]
‘sleep’
ii.
[mí]
‘hunger’
iii.
[tívri]
‘fear’
iv
[sámbár]
wind’
2.3.1.5
Collective Nouns
Nouns in this class express many members of a group in one name.
They are also sometimes called ‘class nouns’
Examples of collective nouns in Bura are;
i.
[madãkìa]
‘children’
ii.
[susũ]
‘food’
iii.
[móbi]
‘animal’
iv.
[ʤì]
‘body’
2.3.1.6
Countable Noun
lvii
These are nouns that can be counted, that is, the determiner ‘a’ or ‘an’
can be used with it and plural marker can easily be added to their singular
forms.
Examples in Bura are:
i.
[ńbà]
‘house’
ii.
[lɛ̀mú]
‘orange’
iii.
[wuʧãpa]
‘hoe’
iv.
[ʃùgù]
‘bag’
v.
[pèlà]
‘stone’
2.3.1.7
Uncountable Noun
These are nouns that cannot be counted. They can not be qualified by
numerals or other qualifiers. They can also not take on be used in plural
markers or be used in plural form.
Examples of uncountable noun in Bura are;
i.
[màì]
‘oil’
ii.
[mánʃì]
‘blood’
lviii
iii.
[únà]
‘salt’
iv.
[ímí]
‘water’
v.
[káláò]
‘sand’
2.3.2
PRONOUN
According to Darbyshire (1967:137) A pronoun is a word which can
correlate with a noun or nominal segment. A pronoun refers to a word acting
for a noun, or that can be used instead of a noun.
Pronouns can be classified according to their use into the following types:
Singular
1st person
2nd person
Independent
I
Object
Me
Subject
I
Possessive
Mine
[ti]
[ti]
[ti]
You
You
You
Yours
[ga]
[ga]
[ga]
[ni]
lix
[na]
3rd person
He/she/it
[ta/a]
Singular
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
He/she/it
[ta]
Independent Object
He/she/it
His/hers/his
[ta/a]
[kir]
Subject
Possessive
We
Us
We
[iya]
[iya]
[iya]
You
You
You
Yours
[ga]
[ga]
[ga]
[ni]
Them
They
Theirs
They
2.3.3 VERB
lx
Ours
The word verb can be used as a general name for the head of verbal
groups. Verbs play an important role in a sentence by linking the action that
has taken place between the subject and object i.e the one that is taking an
action (Agent) and the receiver of an action (Patient).
Examples of verb in Bura language are:i.
[ʧí]
‘kill’
ii.
[sà]
‘drink’
iii.
[àh]
‘sing’
iv.
[bàsà]
‘dance’
v.
[smá]
‘eat’
We have two classes of verbs. They are:
i.
Transitive verb
ii.
Intransitive verb
2.3.3.1
Transitive Verb
Transitive verb is one that has an NP object (Yusuf, 1997:21). Examples of
transitive verbs in Bura language are:
i.
[nzukũkwà]
‘throw’
lxi
2.3.3.2
Intransitive Verb
Intransitive verb is one that has no object NP.
Examples in Bura language are:
i.
[kráà]
‘go’
ii.
[ǹʧàtsi]
‘sit’
2.3.4 ADVERBS
Adegbija (1987:103) describes an adverb as a word or group of words
that describes or add to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, another adverb
or a whole sentence.
Examples of adverb in Bura language are:
i.
[wáká]
‘small’
ii.
[lìgíbú]
‘heavy’
iii.
[mbil]
‘almost’
iv.
[taktar]
‘quickly’
lxii
2.3.5 ADJECTIVES
Adjectives belong to the part of speech whose members qualify nouns
(Adegbija, 1987:100).
Examples in Bura language are:
i.
[sábùl]
‘long’
ii.
[bilíƞ]
‘new’
iii.
[sↄ́sai]
‘beautiful’
iv.
[mámʒà]
‘red’
2.3.6
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions relates a noun to a verb in terms of location, direction,
state, condition, etc (Yusuf, 1997:97)
Examples in Bura language:
i.
[ámbↄ̀̀]
‘in’
ii.
[akwà]
‘inside’
iii.
[àtà]
‘under’
2.3.7
CONJUCTIONS
lxiii
A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases, clauses or
sentences (Adegbija, 1987:106). In Bura language, words that are commonly
used as conjunctions are:
i.
[kà]
‘and’
ii.
[amá]
‘but’
iii.
[ká]
‘with’
2.3.8 INTERJECTION
An interjection, according to Adegbija (1987:108), is a word that
expresses emotion.
Examples of interjections in Bura language are:
i.
[yayyi]
‘yeh!’
ii.
[tↄ́]
‘oh!’
2.4
BASIC WORD ORDER IN BURA LANGUAGE
lxiv
Ayodele (1999:51) describes basic word order as the permissible
sequence or arrangement of lexical items to form meaningful and
grammatical sentences in a language. The idea of basic word order stammed
from the fact that languages need to be classified on the basis of how
syntactic constituents, such as subject, verb and object, are structured in a
simple, declarative active basic sentence.
They are:
Subject – Verb – Object (SVO)
Subject – Object- Verb (SOV)
Object – Verb – Subject (OVS)
Verb – Subject- Object (VSO)
Verb – Object – Subject (VOS)
Object – Subject – Verb (OSV)
Bura language is an SVO language, that is, in Bura simple declarative
sentence, the subject comes first, followed by the verb and then the object.
This is shown in the sentences below
1.
S
ʧíkírí na
V
O
dila
ʧír
lxv
uncle my
sell
wine
‘My uncle sells beans’
2.
S
V
O
ndémàlà ni
dila
bùrùkùtù
woman the
sell
wine
‘The woman sells wine’
3.
S
V
O
Kúgil
ni sivi
ńbà
Chief
the came
home
‘The chief came home’
4.
S
V
Victoria
Victoria
O
kita
ni
bùlà
carried
the
pot
‘Victoria
carried
the
pot’
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Spec
Tns
VP
Agr
lxvi
Spec
Vl
[+ pres]
N
Det
V
NP
Nl
N
tsikiri
na
uncle
my
dila
sell
tsir
wine
‘My uncle sells beans’
2.5
SENTENCES TYPES IN BURA LANGUAGE
A sentence is the largest grammatical or syntactic unit unto which rules
apply (Adegbija, 1987:87). A sentence has also been described as a group of
words which make a statements, a command, expresses a wish, ask a
question, or make an exclamation (Yusuf, 1998:101). A grammatical
sentence must always contain atleast one finite or main verb.
As pointed out by (Yusuf, 1998:66), there is taxonomy of sentence
types, hence there are structural types and semantic types. The semantic
types include Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative and Exclamatory. Along
lxvii
the structural dimension, we have: simple, compound and complex
sentences.
Bura language has three types of sentences based on their structures.
These are simple, compound and complex sentences.
2.5.1 Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence that contains only one finite verb
(Adegbija 1987:87). It is made up of one NP subject and a predicate.
Below are examples of the simple sentences in Bura language:
1.
qúathi ni ʧé
thief
kúgíl
the kill
chief
‘The thief killed chief’
2.
Martha
kráà makarãta
Martha
go
school
‘Martha went to school’
3.
Ade
́
kↄ́si
Ade
eat
ni
súsṹ
the food
lxviii
‘Ade ate the food’
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Spec
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
Spec
[+ past]
N
Det
V
NP
Nl
lxix
N
qúathi
ʧé
ni
the
kill
kúgíl thief
chief
‘The thief killed the chief’
2.5.2 Compound Sentences
As pointed out by Yusuf (1997:61), a compound sentence is formed
when two or more simple sentences are conjoined by a co-ordinating
conjunction.
Below are examples of compound sentences in Bura language:
1.
́ súsũ ànta sá táfúntà
ndísar ni kↄ́si
man the eat food and he died
‘The man ate the food and he died’
2.
Tunji ʧí pwadù ká ni pópù
lxx
Tunji kill cook and the snake
‘Tunji killed and cooked the snake’
Ta síká ká wú ni
3.
he came and saw her
‘He came and he saw her’
IP
IP
Conj
Spec
I
I
NP
Nl
TNS
Il
Spec
VP
Agr V
Spec [+past]
I
NP
TNS
Nl
NP [+pst]
VP
Agr
Vl
Nl
Det
N
IP
N
lxxi
pron
V
ndísar
Man
ni
the
́
kↄ́si
eat
súsũ ànta sá
food and
he
táfúntà
died
‘The man ate the food and he died’
2.5.3 COMPLEX SENTENCE
According to Yusuf (1997:63), a complex sentence has a sentence
embedded in one of the phrasal categories VP or NP.
Traditionally, the complex sentence is described as the main clause
and a number of subordinate clauses.
Examples of complex sentences in Bura language are:
1.
ndísar ni na ʧí kwí ni a zí
man the who kill goat the here
‘The man who killed the goat is here’
2.
́ ti
kↄ́pú
masta ni kú jabwí
cup which bought I has broken
‘The cup which I bought has broken’.
lxxii
mdáshiní mtah tín ta
3.
hunter
suvi táfúntà
die when he arrive home
‘The hunter died when he got home’.
IP
Spec
I
NP
Nl
N
I
CP
Cl
Spec Spec
Det
TNS
C
Wh-
[+pst]
IP
Il
Spec
I
VP
lxxiii
VP
Vl
Agr
V
Adv
Tns
Agr V
[+past]
Ndísar
Man
ni na
ʧí
the who kill
NP
be
Nl
spec
N
Det
kwí
ni a
goat
the is
zí
there
‘The man who killed the goat is here’
2.6
FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES IN BURA
This section examines the functions that sentences perform in Bura
language. On the basis of this, Bura sentences can functionally be classified
as :
i.
Declarative
ii.
Imperative
iii.
Interrogative
iv.
Exclamatory
2.6.1 Declarative Sentence
lxxiv
Declarative sentences are statements. They normally assert the truth
and falsity of a thing. (Adedimeji and Alabi, 2003:55).
In Bura, their subjects precede their respective predicates.
Examples in Bura language include;
1.
Maraya táhír díka
Maraya like bird
‘Maraya likes birds’
2.
John kwású shinkafa
John eat rice
‘John ate rice’
3.
Tà ʧà bwál ni
he kick ball the
‘He kicked the ball’
lxxv
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
Spec
[+ pres]
N
V
NP
Nl
lxxvi
N
Maraya
táhír
díka
Maraya
like
bird
‘Maraya likes birds’
2.6.2 Imperative Sentence
This is used to express a command or make a request (Adedimeji and
Alabi, 2003:56). Examples in Bura language are:
1.
nʒínʒí
‘Sit down’
2.
sira
‘come’
3.
simtà kwába ni
bring money the
lxxvii
‘Bring the money’
IP
Il
Spec
I
VP
Spec
TNS
Vl
AGR
V
[+pres]
nʒínʒí
sit
lxxviii
‘sit down’
2.6.3 Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence is used to make an enquiring or ask
questions which demand some sort of response from the addresses.
However, it could be rhetorical (Adedimeji and Alabi 2003: 55)
1.
níní da mírí
that is what
‘what is that’?
2.
nní kárkádù
mádùni?
‘which book is that?’
3.
mbúru ákwá lúma ri?
we are going where
‘Where are we going?’
CP
Cl
C
Spec
IP
Il
Spec
I
VP
lxxix
wh-
NP
TNS
Agr
Nl
[+pres]
Vl
V
Pron
be
níní
that
da
is
mírí
what
‘what is that?’
2.6.4 Exclamatory Sentence
Exclamatory sentences express strong feelings of surprise (Adedimeji
and Alabi, 2003:54).
Examples in Bura language are:
1.
Hyelír
God
ka
is
dúna
power
‘God is great’
2.
mírí
‘what’
lxxx
3.
Hyelír na
God
my
‘My God’.
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns
VP
Vl
Agr
[+ pres]
N
V
lxxxi
NP
Nl
be
N
hyelír
ká
dúna
God
is
power
‘God is great’!
CHAPTER THREE
NEGATION IN BURA
3.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter will focus on negation. It will explain what negation is in
general terms. It will move further to apply negation to Bura language by
firstly showing the negation markers in Bura. It will also explain how
negation is marked in sentences like simple sentence imperative sentence
and interrogative sentences. It will also negate auxiliaries in the language.
lxxxii
3.1
NEGATION
According to Dawl (1949:80), negation is a means of converting a
sentence S1 to S2 such that S2 is false while S2 is true. Quirk and
Greenbaum (1973:183), described negation as a negative form, which may
be said to govern a non assertive form only if the latter is within the scope of
negation. This means that negation is realizable only when a positive form is
within scope of negation.
Radford (1988:88) defined negation as a transformational process
where a constituent is being modified by ‘not’. Negation can also be defined
as a process construction in grammatical and semantic analyses, which
typically expresses the contradiction of some or all of a sentence meaning.
Negation is a predication about the whole proposition that the proposition is
untrue. That can be shown in a sentence like “John didn’t leave” which is
logically equivalent to ‘It is not the case that John left” (Lyons 1977b:76).
3.1.1 Types Of Negation Formation
lxxxiii
We have different types of negation formation in English language.
One of these is formed by the verbal modifier ‘not’. The negation of a
simple sentence is accomplished by inserting the verbal modifier ‘not’ [n’t]
between the operator and the predication. This is shown in the examples
below:
1a
The wedding has succeeded
b.
The wedding has not succeeded.
2a.
They may win the election
b.
They may not win the election.
In the examples above, there is an item in each of the positive
sentences that can sense as operator when there is none, the auxiliary ‘do’ is
introduced and this like modal auxiliaries is followed by the bare infinitive.
1a
She plays with the doll everyday
b.
She does not play with the doll everyday.
2a
I took the book away.
lxxxiv
b.
I did not take the book away.
There are circumstances where it is possible to abbreviate the operator
by the use of contracted form enclitic to the subject. This is used in informal
speech or writing and usually only pronouns are used.
Here are two synonymous forms of negation that are possible;
1a
She isn’t crying.
b.
She’s not crying.
2a.
They aren’t going.
b.
They’re not going.
Another type of negation formation is the use of some words which
are negative in meaning, but not in appearance. These words are: seldom,
rarely, scarcely, hardly and barely. Those words have some similarities to
the ordinary negative items in that they are followed by non-assertive rather
than assertive form. For instance:
1.
I seldom get any sleep.
2.
I’ve argued with hardly anyone who disagrees with me.
lxxxv
When some of these words are in pre-subjective position, they can cause
subject operation in version.
For example:
(i)
Rarely does stealing pay so well as Mrs. Smith seems to think.
(ii)
Scarcely ever has the Governor suffered so much disgrace.
The examples above shows that there has been a subject operator
inversion, which implies that the subject has been shifted from its normal
position.
The use of negation prefixes such as in-, dis-, un-, are another forms
of negation in English language. These are also known as ‘AFFIXAL
NEGATION’. They are referred to as affixal negation because they are
usually attached to a word at its initial position in its positive form to
negate it.
Examples of these in English are (Culicover 1997:155)
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
Appear
Disappear
Advantage
Disadvantage
lxxxvi
Honest
Dishonest
Grateful
Ungrateful
Ability
Inability
Able
Unable
3.1.2 Negation of Modal Auxilliaries
The negation of modal auxiliaries requires vivid attention, in that the
scope of the negation may or may not include the meaning of the auxiliary
itself. Therefore, there is going to be a distinction between auxiliary negation
and main verb negation (Kirsten 1991:356).
3.1.2.1
Auxilliary Negation
The use of ‘may not’ (permission)
*
You may not go dancing (not allowed).
The use of cannot, can’t (in all senses)
*
You can’t be serious (not possible that you are serious).
*
She can’t drive a car (not able to).
The use of ‘need not’, ‘needn’t’.
lxxxvii
*
You needn’t pay that money (not obliged to).
*
She needn’t always come to my house (not necessary).
(Kirsten 1991:356).
3.1.2.2
Main Verb Negation
The use of ‘may not’ (possibility)
*
You may not bother to come if it’s sunny.
(it’s possible that you’ll not bother)
The use of ‘will not’, won’t (all senses)
*
Don’t worry I won’t come (I’m willing not to come).
*
He won’t do what he’s told (he insists am not doing).
The use of ‘must not’, mustn’t (obligation)
*
You mustn’t keep us all worried.
The use of ‘ought not’, oughtn’t (both sense)
*
You ought not to keep us waiting (obligation).
*
They ought not to be afraid (necessary)
lxxxviii
According to Kirsten (1991:356), there are certain auxiliaries (can and
need) that follow the pattern of auxiliary negation while others like ‘will’,
‘shall’ and ‘must’ follow that of main verb negation. ‘May’ belongs to the
former group in it’s permission sense but to the latter group in the sense of
possibility. ‘Mustn’t’ is not used at all in the necessity sense; instead we can
use can’t in the sense of impossibility.
3.1.2.3
Negation of Auxillaries ‘do’, ‘have’ and ‘be’
Negation of auxiliaries ‘do’, ‘have’ and ‘be’ also have forms through
which they can negated. The auxiliary ‘do’ has the following forms;
NON – NEGATIVE
NEGATIVE
Do
do not, didn’t
Does
does not, doesn’t
Did
did not, didn’t
The forms above can be illustrated thus;
1a.
She did it.
lxxxix
b.
She did not do it.
2a.
Tope goes to school.
b.
Tope doesn’t go to school.
The auxiliary ‘have’ has the following form
NON – NEGATIVE
NEGATIVE
Have
have not, haven’t
Has
has not, hasn’t
Had
had not, hadn’t
Having
not having.
Those forms can also be illustrated in the sentences below:
1a.
He has a book
b.
He hasn’t a book.
2a.
They have seen it.
b.
they haven’t seen it.
The auxiliary ‘be’ is unique among English verbs in that it has eight
different forms (Kirsten 1991:358)
PRESENT
xc
Non-Negative
1st person singular
be
Negative
am not
am
3rd person singular
is not, isn’t
is
2nd person
1st and 2nd person plural
are not, aren’t
are
PAST
Non-Negative
1st
and
3rd
person
Negative
was not, wasn’t
was
singular
1st, 2nd and 3rd person
were not, weren’t
were
plural
-ing form
being
-ed particle
been
xci
not being
3.1.3
Negation of Commands
Commands which can also be referred to as imperatives, can also be
negated. To negate 2nd and 3rd person imperatives, one simply adds and
initial ‘don’t’ replacing assertive with non –assertive forms where
necessarily. For instance;
1a.
Carry some chairs
b.
Don’t carry any chair
2a
Bring the book
b.
Don’t bring the book
3a
Kick the ball
b.
Don’t kick the ball
1st person imperatives can also have two possibilities
‘Let’s eat our food – Let’s not eat our food.
-Don’t let’s eat our food.
Furthermore, in negation, instead of the verb, another element may be
negated. The scope of negation is frequently different. A negative form may
xcii
be said to determine the occurrence of a non-assertive form only if the latter
is within ‘scope’ of negation.
For example, “Many people did not come’ does not mean the same as “Not
many people came”. When negative adjuncts are made, initial there is
inversion of subject and operator as seen in the example above.
In conclusion, it is impossible to have a negative statement without
the deep structure, which is believed to be a true statement. Negation makes
use of negative marker inserted to produce a meaning that is contrary to the
basic statement. In other words, negation is the act of denying a view at the
surface structure (Kirsten, 1991:359).
3.2
NEGATION IN BURA LANGUAGE
Negation is attested in statements in Bura language. This implies that
sentences in their deep structures can at the surface be negated. This is done
using certain negative markers.
3.2.1 Negative Markers in Bura
xciii
The term negative marker is regarded as the lexical item or items
which mark negation in language. Negative markers vary from one language
to another.
In Bura language, we have one negation marker, a statement can be
negated with the introduction of ‘wa’. In other words, ‘wa’ is a negative
marker in Bura.
3.2.2 Sentence Negation in Bura
Here, we shall treat sentence negation in Bura language using the
negative marker in the language.
According to what we have in the types of negative formation in
English language on the use of the verbal modifier ‘not’ as a negative
marker. Bura language also uses ‘wa’ as its negative marker to negate
certain sentences.
Below are examples of sentence negation in Bura
1a
ndémàlà ka
Woman can
námta
sabúl
make soap
xciv
‘A woman can make soap’.
b.
ndémàlà nàmta
sabúl ka wa
Woman make
soap can NEG
‘A woman cannot make soap’.
2a
Sandra a di kità tùhum
Sandra carry pot
‘Sandra carried the pot’
b.
Sandra di kitá tùhum wa
Sandra carry pot NEG
‘Sandra did not carry the pot’
3a.
ndísar tsi kwí ni
Man kill goat the
‘The man who killed the goat’.
b.
ndísar tsi kwí ni wa a
Man kill goat NEG
‘The man who did not killed the goat’.
xcv
Phrase-marked below are the basic and derived forms of the examples:
Basic structure
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns m
VP
Vl
Agr
N
V
NP
Nl
xcvi
N
ndémàlà
ka
namta
sabúl
woman
can
make
soap
‘A woman can make soap’.
Derived Structure:
IP
Il
Spec
I
Nl
Tns m
VP
Spec
N
Vl
Agr
Agr
Agr
Negp
Negl
xcvii
V
NP
Nl
Neg
ndémàlà
ka
woman
can
wa
NEG
N
nàmta
sabúl
make
soap
‘A woman cannot make soap’.
Basic Structure 2:
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns
VP
Vl
Agr
[+ pres]
N
V
NP
Nl
xcviii
N
kitá
sandra
Sandra
tunúm
carry
pot
‘Sandra carried the pot’
Derived structure 2:
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns
VP
Agrl
[+ pres] Agr
NegP
Vl
N
NP
Nl
Nl
N
xcix
V
N
sandra
wa
sandra
NEG
kitá
tuhúm
carry
pot
‘Sandra did not carried the pot’.
3.2.3 Negation of Auxilliaries
Auxiliaries have forms through which they can be negated. The
auxiliaries ‘can’, ‘may’, ‘have’ and ‘will’ can be negated in Bura language.
Below are the examples of auxiliary negation in Bura language.
1a.
Olu amzhi kwasa
Olu can
eat
tsír
beans
‘Olu can eat beans’.
b.
Olu amzhi wa
kwasa
Olu can (NEG) eat
tsír
beans
‘Olu cannot eat beans’.
c
2a.
ga ma múri kúlì.
you may go there.
‘You may go there’.
b.
ga ma
wa
múri kúlì.
You may (NEG) go there.
‘You may not go there’.
3a.
Tolu di kà pábi
Tolu have a shoe.
b.
Tolu dí
wa kà pábi
Tolu have (NEG) a shoe.
‘Tolu don’t have a shoe’.
Below is the phrase marking of the basic and derived from of examples.
IP
Il
Spec
NP
I
VP
ci
Nl
Tns m
Vl
Agr
N
V
NP
Nl
Olu
amzhi
Olu
can
‘Olu can eat beans’.
Derived structure:
N
tsír
beans
kwasa
eat
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Tns m
VP
Spec
Nl
N
Vl
Agr
Agr
Agr
Negp
V
NP
Negl
Nl
Neg
N
cii
Olu
Olu
wa
amzhi
can
(NEG)
kwasa
eat
tsír
beans
‘Olu cannot eat beans’.
3.2.4 Imperative Sentence Negation
Imperative sentence is a sentence that is used to express command. It
used to give an order.
Unlike the other statements in Bura where ‘wa’ is used to negated
them.
Below are the examples of imperative sentence negation in Bura:
1a.
kúga thi shén
Shout his name.
b.
adi wa kúga thi shén
do not shout his name.
ciii
‘don’t shout his name’
2a
wúri
‘go’
b.
adi wa mùri
do not go
‘don’t go’
Phase marked below are examples of the basic and derived structures.
Basic Form:
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns
VP
Agr
[+ pres]
Spec
N
Vl
V
civ
wúri
Ø
go
‘Go’
Derived Form:
IP
Il
Spec
NP
Nl
I
Tns
VP
Agrl
[+ pres] Agr
NegP
Vl
N
Negl
Neg
cv
V
Ø
adi
wa
do
NEG
muri
go
‘Don’t go’
3.2.5 Interrogative Sentence Negation
An interrogative sentence is used to make enquiry. It expresses
question in a grammatical construction.
Below are examples of interrogative sentence negation in Bura language.
1a
ànti
adi ga bàra
what do you want
‘What do you want’?
b.
ànti adi ya wa bára
what do you not want
‘What do you not want’?
cvi
2a.
ànti ga
di ńgata
what you did hear
‘What did you hear’?
b.
ànti ga adi wa ńgata
what do you not hear
‘What did you not hear’?
3a.
àmà
ti ya wúta gá
‘where will I see you’?
b.
àmà
ti ya wúta wa
gá
where will I see (NEG) you.
‘Where will I not see you’?
cvii
Phase marked below are the basic and derived structures.
Basic form:
CP
Cl
Spec
C
[+WH]
IP
Spec
I
NP
I
TNS
VP
Agr
cviii
Nl [+pres]
Vl
V
NP
Nl
N
N
ànti
ga
adi
bára
‘What do you want’?
Derived form:
CP
Cl
Spec
C
[+WH]
IP
Il
Spec
NP
I
TNS
Nl [+pres] Spec
VP
Agr
Agrl
cix
Vl
Negl
Agr
N
V
Neg
Nl
m
N
ànti
ya
àdi
wa
what
do
you
not want
bára
‘What do you not want’?
Basic Form 2:
CP
Cl
Spec
C
IP
Il
Spec
[+WH]
I
ànti
VP
Spec
Vl
[+pres]
PRO
V
adi
gá
ńgata
Tns
Agr
cx
NP
‘What do you hear?’.
Derived form:
CP
Cl
Spec
C
IP
Il
[+WH] Spec
NP
I
TNS
Nl
VP
Agr
[+pres]
Spec
cxi
Vl
Agr
NegP
V
Negl
N
Neg
ànti
ga
What do
adi
wa
ńgata
you
not
hear
‘What did you not hear?’.
CHAPTER FOUR
TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES
4.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter will examine transformational processes such as focus
construction, Reflexivization, and Relativization in relation to negation in
Bura language.
4.1
TRANSFORMATION
cxii
According to Bussman (1996: 490), transformational processes are
described as a formal operation which mediates between the deep structure
and the surface structure of sentences.
Radford (1988:401) described transformational processes where deep
structure and surface structure are interrelated by a set of movement rules.
Kimbal (1973:35) states that the theory of how transformations are
constructed and of the convention which governs their application in
transformational derivations in natural language.
Lamidi (2000:27) said transformations are devices used to change the
form of one linguistic structure to another form.
Yusuf (1992:138) defines transformations as the way we relate some
sentences to some other basic sentences, claiming that some sentences types
are formed or derived from the basic. An active sentence can be changed to
passive one or a simple declarative sentence to interrogative through the use
of transformations.
Transformations perform three major functions in a sentence
structure, they can be delete formatives which have earlier occurred at the
cxiii
deep structure of a sentence. They can involve substitution; a word replaces
another in the context of re-occurrence. They can move element from one
position to another in sentences.
Cook (1988:21) describes the principle of movement as a transformation
that has subsumed any separate, rules previously known as transformation.
Movement id a major syntactic process where an item is moved from its
original site to another site and the transformations that involve movement
are
Focusing,
Question
Formation,
Passivization,
Relativization,
Reflexivization, Affix-hopping and Pronominalization.
Radford (1988:419) emphasize that movement rule has important
consequences in the overall organization of the model grammars. Movement
presupposes that there are two different levels of syntactic structure such as
deep and surface structured. Deep structure serve as an input to the
movement rules and surface structures serve as the output of the rule.
Surface structure is generated from the deep structure by the application of
movement transformation called ‘movement alpha’.
cxiv
According to Cook (1988:31), transformation is represented in a tree
diagram known as the T-model as shown below:
D- Structure
Transformation
S – Structure
PF Component
LF Component
Move – alpha is applied to the deep structure of a basic sentence to
generate the derived form in the surface structure without changing the
meaning of the basic sentence. Elements in the deep structure move
anywhere to generate derivational sentence constrained by subjacency
principle.
Element could be moved either to the ‘Y’ variable or to the ‘X’
variable. When moved element goes to the left position, it is called left
gapping and when moved to the right position, it is called right gapping.
(Naegman, 1994)
cxv
X
Move
α
Y
Movement theory within the GB theory is assumed to involve three things.
These are
1.
Extraction site
2.
Landing site
3.
Interventing site
Extraction site explains the point where a constituent is moved from NP,
VP, WH, or INFL. Landing site explains where an element is positioned.
The movement could be either by adjunction or substitution. Interventing
gap explains the position that is left empty through the introduction of the
co-indexation (ti) co-referential (ei) items. (Yusuf 1997:128)
cxvi
According to Radford (1985:401), movement in move-alpha involves
moving an NP, VP, INFL and WH phrases. These phrases constitute the
types of movement in Government and Binding theory.
4.2
NEGATION AND FOCUS CONSTRUCTION
Stockwell (1977:157) considered focus as a way of introducing
special marking into the surface structure of the element or constituent that
is being focused.
Focusing rules introduce special marking into the surface structure to
set off some elements as new or important, they assign prominence to the
part of the message which the speaker wants to place in the fore ground and
they distress that part of the message which merely provides continuity or
which confirms the pre-suppositions that are shared.
Bura language attests focusing, the different constituents in its
sentences can at the surface structure receive a special marking in order to
focus any of those constituents.
cxvii
The focus marker in Bura is ‘anti’ in this research work, the focus
marker will be examined as it occurs within the subject NP and other
constituents of a sentence.
In focusing subject noun phrase of a sentence, the subject noun phrase
will maintain its natural syntactic position in a syntactic composition and the
focus particle will be inverted immediately after the subject they follow by
resumptive pronoun.
Bura language is an SVO language and as such, the subject NP occurs
sentence initially. Focusing can be achieved by inserting the focus marker in
between the subject NP and the verb could be seen in the Bura language. An
example of an ordinary sentence which is negated will be given below
before describing other aspects in this chapter.
Basic sentence
Adé mástá kákákù ká Bola
Ade buy
book
for Bola
‘Ade bought a book for Bola’.
cxviii
Negation Basic Sentence
Adé wá mástá kákákù ká Bola
Ade NEG buy book
for Bola
‘Ade did not buy book for Bola’.
Phrase marked below are the basic and negated sentence below:
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Tns
VP
Agr
V
NP
(+PAST)
Nl
Nl
PP
P
cxix
NP
N
Nl
N
N
Adé
mástá kákákù ká
Bola
Ade
buy book
Bola
for
‘Ade bought a book for Bola’
Negated Basic Sentence
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Tns
VP
Agr
Spec
Nl
V
NP
Agr
Agr
NegP
cxx
Nl
PP
P
Negl
N
NP
Nl
N
Neg
Adé
wá
Ade
NEG
N
mástá kákákù
‘Ade did not buy book for Bola’
4.2.1 Subject NP Focus and Negation
Ade ánti ni mástá kákákù ká
Ade Foc
buy
book
Bola
for Bola
‘It is Ade that bought a book for bola’
Negated Subject NP Focus
Ade ánti ni wá mástá kákákù ká Bola
Ade Foc
Neg buy book for Bola
‘It is not Ade that bought a book for Bola’.
cxxi
buy book
ká
for
Bola
Bola
Phrase marked below are the basic and derived form of the subject NP
focus examples shown:
Subject NP Focus
FP
Fl
Spec
IP
Il
foc
NP
Spec
I
Tns
VP
Agr
cxxii
Vl
NP
NP
Nl
Nl
V
Nl
PP
P
N
N
NP
Nl
N
N
Ade
Ade
ánti
mástá kákákù ká
ni
Foc
ni
buy book
Bola
for
Bola
‘It is Ade that bought a book for bola’
Negated Subject Np Focus
FP
Fl
Foc
Spec
IP
NP
NP
Il
spec
I
Tns
VP
Agr
V
Spec
Nl
Nl
NP
Agr
Agr
cxxiii
NegP
Nl
PP
P
N
Negl
N
N
Neg
Ade
ánti
Ade
Foc
wá
ni
mástá kákákù ká
‘It is not Ade that bought a book for Bola’.
4.2.2 Direct Object NP Focus and Negation
Below are examples of direct NP Focus in Bura language:
kákákù ánti Ade mástá ni ká Bola
book
foc Ade buy
for Bola
‘It is book that Ade bought for Bola’.
Negated Direct Object Focus:
kákákù ánti Ade wá mástá ni ká Bola
cxxiv
Nl
N
Neg buy
Basic Direct Object NP Focus
NP
book for
Bola
Bola
book
Foc Ade NEG buy
for Bola
‘It is not book that Ade bought for Bola’.
Phrase –marked below are the basic direct object NP focus and its negated
form:
Basic Direct Object NP Focus
FP
Fl
Spec
IP
Il
foc
NP
Spec
I
Tns
VP
Agr
NP (Pst)
cxxv
Vl
NP
Nl
Nl
V
Nl
PP
P
N
N
NP
Nl
N
N
kákákù
book
ánti
Ade
foc
Ade
mástá ni
buy
ká
Bola
for
Bola
‘It is a book that Ade bought for Bola’.
Negated Direct Object NP Focus
FP
Fl
Foc
Spec
IP
NP
NP
Il
spec
I
Tns
VP
Agr
V
Spec
Nl
Nl
NP
Agr
Agr
NegP
Nl
PP
P
cxxvi
NP
N
Negl
N
Nl
N
Neg
kákákù
ánti
book
Foc
wá mástá ni
Ade
Ade
NEG buy
N
ká
Bola
for Bola
‘It is not book that Ade bought for Bola’.
4.2.3 Indirect Subject NP Focus and Negation
In this construction, the indirect object NP is moved to the subject NP
position and leaves trace in its original position.
Below are examples of indirect object negation in Bura language.
Basic Indirect Object NP Focus
Bola ánti Ade mástá kákákù ká ni
Bola Foc Ade buy book for
‘It is Bola that Ade bought a book for’.
cxxvii
FP
Fl
Spec
IP
Il
foc
Spec
NP
I
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
NP
NP (Pst)
Nl
Nl
V
Nl
PP
P
N
N
N
cxxviii
NP
Nl
N
Bola
ánti
Ade
Bola
Foc
Ade
mástá kákákù ká
buy
ni
book for
‘It is Bola that Ade bought a book for’.
Negated Indirect Object NP Focus:
Bola ánti Ade wá
mástá kákákù ká ni
Bola Foc Ade NEG buy
book
for
‘It was not Bola that Ade bought a book for’.
Fp
Fl
Foc
Spec
IP
NP
NP
Il
spec
Tns
I
VP
Agr
V
cxxix
NP
Spec
Nl
Nl
Agr
Agr
Nl
NegP
PP
P
N
Negl
N
N
Neg
NP
Nl
N
Bola
ánti
Ade
wá
mástá kákákù ká
Bola
Foc
Ade
NEG buy
ni
book for
‘It was not Bola that Ade bought a book for’.
4.3
NEGATION AND RELATIVIZATION
Williams (1987:227) describes relativization as a process whereby
embedding sentence serve as a modifier that provide information about the
noun head to the left. They occur within the same phrase as the head that
they modify.
In summary relative clauses are sentence embedded in a surface
having as modifier of an NP, the embedded sentence having with it a WHpronominal replacement for a deep structure NP, which is in some sense
identical with the head noun.
cxxx
Bura language exhibits relativized sentences and examples are shown
below:
1.
Basic:Tope pwá bzír ní ká beitír ni
Tope beat child the with belt her
‘Tope beat the child with her belt’
REL: Tope wán pwá bzír ní ká beitír ni
Tope who beat child the with belt her
‘Tope who beat the child with her belt’
NEG: Tope wán wa
pwá bzír ní ká beitír ni
Tope who NEG beat child the with belt her
‘Tope who did not beat the child with her belt’
2.
Basic: ndìsár ni sà
m̀bàl
ka kùpù
Man the drink palmwine with cup
‘The man drank palmwine with a cup’
REL: ndìsár ni wàn sà
m̀bàl
ka kùpù a zi
Man the who drink palmwine with cup is here
‘The man who drank palmwine with a cup is here’
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NEG: ndìsár ni wàn wa
sà
m̀bàl
ka kùpù a zi
Man the who NEG drink palmwine with cup is here
‘The man who did not drank palmwine with a cup is here’
The example is phrase-marked below:
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Nl
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
NP
Nl
V
N
N
PP
Det
Pl
P
NP
Nl
N
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Det
Tope
pwá bzír ní
ká
beitír
ni
Tope
beat child the
with
belt
her
‘Tope beat the child with her belt’
Relativization
CP
Cl
Spec
C
IP
Spec
Rel
I
Tns
Agr
VP
NP
NP
Vl
Nl
Nl
V
NP
Nl
cxxxiii
PP
Det Pl
N
NP
N
N
P
Nl
Det
N
N
Tope
wán [ti]
pwá bzír
ní
ká
Tope
who
beat child the with
beitír
ni
belt
her
‘It was Tope who beat the child with her belt’
Negation
CP
Cl
Spec
C
IP
Spec
Rel
I
Tns
NP
NP [+prest]
Nl
Nl
Agr
spec Agr
VP
Vl
V
cxxxiv
NP
Nl
PP
N
Agr
NegP
Det
Pl
NP
N
N
P
Nl
Det
N
N
Tope
wán [ti]
Tope
who
wa pwá bzír ní
ká beitír
ni
NEG beat child the
with belt
her
‘It was Tope who did not beat the child with her belt’
4.4
NEGATION AND REFLEXIVIZATION
Reflexivization pronouns has the same referent with the subject NP in
the object position, this is indicated by co-indexation that is attaching
identical subscript letters called indices to the subject and object. As the
name implies, these pronouns reflects another nominal element of the
sentence usually the subject with which it is in co – referential relation.
In Government and Binding theory, reflexive pronouns are called
Anaphors. Anaphors are phrasal categories that require antecedent NPs.
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Below are examples of reflexivization in Bura language.
1.
Basic Sentence:
John tsá John
John hit John
‘John hit John’
Reflexivization Sentence
John tsá kírni
John hit himself
‘John hit himself’.
Negation
John wa
tsá kírmí
John NEG hit himself
‘John did not hit himself’.
2.
Basic
Tolu sí Tolu
Tolu kill Tolu
‘Tolu Killed Tolu’
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Reflexivization:
Tolu sí kírmí
Tolu kill herself
‘Tolu Killed herself’
Negation Sentence
Tolu wa
sí
kírní
Tolu NEG
kill herself
‘Tolu did not kill herself’
Basic Sentence
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
NP
Nl
(+PAST)
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Nl
V
N
John
tsá
John
John
hit
John
‘John hit John’
Reflexivised Sentence
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Tns
VP
Agr
Vl
NP
(+PAST)
Np
cxxxviii
Nl
Nl
V
N
N
John
tsá
kírni
John
hit
himself
‘John hit himself’
Negated Sentence
IP
Il
Spec
I
NP
Tns
VP
Agr
Spec
V
Agr
cxxxix
NP
Nl
Agr
Nl
NegP
V
N
NP
Negl
Nl
Neg
N
John
wa
tsá
kírmí
John
NEG
hit
himself
‘John did not hit himself’.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, OBSERVATION, CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES
5.0
INTRODUCTION
This chapter focuses on the brief summary of the research on the
‘Aspects of Negation’ in Bura. It also includes the observation and
conclusion.
cxl
5.1
SUMMARY
This research work has been able to analyze negation in Bura. It started with
an introductory aspect which includes the historical background of the
language and the geographical location of the speakers. Bura speakers are
from Biu Local Government Area of Bornu State, Nigeria. The genetic
classification of the language and other relevant information were given.
The second chapter focuses on the introduction to Bura syntax. It
focuses on syntactic concepts like phrase structure rules, lexical categories,
basic word order and sentence types.
The third chapter examines the focus of the project which is
‘Negation’. The negative marker in the language was given , which is ‘wa’.
This chapter also discussed sentence negation, auxiliary negation, imperative
negation and interrogative negation.
The fourth chapter discusses transformational process such as focus
construction, relativization and reflexivization in relation to negation in
Bura.
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The fifth chapter which is the concluding chapter gives the summary
and conclusion of other chapters contained in the research.
5.2
OBSERVATION
It was observed in the cause of this research that Bura language has
one negative marker ‘wa’, which marks negation statements in the language.
5.3
CONCLUSION
This research work has described aspects of negation in Bura
language. This research work looked at the historical background of the
people, a genetic, classification, socio-cultural profile and geographical
location. This research also looked critically into Bura language with a view
to analyzing and describing negation in the language using Government and
Binding theory.
It also identified the negative marker in Bura and how it is applied to
grammatical constructions to generate negative ones. The word order that is
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applicable in the language, the sentence types and the transformational
processes in Bura in relation to negation.
However, this research work does not exhaust all the possible analysis
of the processes of negation in the language. It is an effort to provide thye
basis for further studies on the language.
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York: Routledge Publishers.
cxliii
Chomsky, N. (1986). Knowledge of Language: It’s Nature, Origin and Use.
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Stockwell, R.P. (1977). Foundations of Syntactic Theory. U.S.A. Prentice:
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