Functional Categories in Igbo

Functional Categories in Igbo
Author: Obiamalu, Greg Orji
Publisher: M & J Grand Orbit Communications
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2016-02-22
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9783352717

This study discusses functional categories in Igbo within Noam Chomsky’s Minimalist Program (MP). Chapter 1 includes the introduction of the concept of functional categories and why they take central place in the study of syntax, as well as an overview of the Minimalist Program (MP). Chapter 2 discusses some historical antecedents to MP. It further discusses the economy principles of the MP as well as the place of functional categories within the overall conceptions of the MP model. Chapter 3 discusses five functional categories: Agreement, Tense, Aspect, Negation and Determiner. In chapter 4, the Igbo functional categories within the verbal domain: Tense, Aspect and Negation are discussed. Chapter 5 is an application of the theoretical issues raised in Chapter 2 to the analysis of the functional categories discussed in Chapter 3. One interesting issue discussed in Chapter 5 is the role of tone in realising some of the functional categories in Igbo. Chapter 6 discusses the functional categories within the nominal domain with much emphasis on the determiner. A revised version of the author’s doctoral thesis, some of the conclusions are revolutionary, relevant to debates in the linguistic theory and in Igbo studies in particular, as well as serving as an introduction to MP.

Affixation and Auxiliaries in Igbo

Affixation and Auxiliaries in Igbo
Author: Chinwe Onumajuru
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2015-12-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9785421546

This study focusses on affixation and auxiliaries in Igbo, drawing on data mainly from Onicha (Onitsha) Igbo. It identifies prefixes, suffixes, interfixes, circumfixes, super/suprafixes, extensional suffixes and auxiliaries in the variety of Igbo studied. The work is presented in two sections: Section 1 discusses affixation, while Section 2 is focused on auxiliary verbs. Section 1 contains five chapters. Chapter 1 is a general introduction that provides some background information regarding O? ni?cha [make sure this word is correct i.e. represented in the spelling of the language, and not just Onicha] Igbo and the speakers of the lect. Chapter 2 an overview of affixation as an important word formation process in world languages. Chapter 3 is the morpho-syntactic analysis of inflectional affixes. Chapter 4 discusses the morphosyntactic characteristics of derivational affixes, while Chapter 5 is concerned with the morpho-syntactic as well as the semantic charateristics of verbal extensions in Igbo. Section 2 is a sole chapter which discusses in a systematic manner the different types of auxiliary verbs, their uses and the effect of their co-occurrence with perfective verb forms.

Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles

Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles
Author: Claire Lefebvre
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2015-07-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027268258

This book is about the functional categories of three Caribbean creoles: Saramaccan, Haitian Creole and Papiamentu with two specific goals. The first one is to evaluate the respective contribution of the source languages to the functional categories of these three creoles. The second is to evaluate the degree of similarity/dissimilarity of the functional categories across these creoles. This study is cast within the relabeling-based account of creole genesis. Several lexical items discussed in this book may fulfill more than one grammatical function thus raising the issue of multifuctionality. No such in-depth comparative work of these three creoles with their source languages and of the three creoles among themselves is available elsewhere in the literature. This book is addressed to linguists (including Master and PhD students) interested in syntactic categories and more specifically in functional categories, to creolists and to researchers interested in language contact.

Studies in Nigerian Linguistics

Studies in Nigerian Linguistics
Author: Ndimele, Ozo-mekuri
Publisher: M & J Grand Orbit Communications
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2016-09-13
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9785416461

Studies in Nigerian Linguistics is a compilation of research papers on topical issues in Nigerian languages and linguistics covering three main areas of research, viz.: Language and Society, Applied Linguistics and Formal Linguistics. The papers in this volume are sectioned as such, even though there are bits of overlapping, especially for some of the papers contained in the first and second sections. The first fifteen (15) papers focus on the major theme of Language and Society in Nigeria. Many of the papers in this section address some peculiar sociolinguistic issues that affect the nation, including the nagging and lingering problem regarding the “language question” for the Nigerian nation even after five decades of the attainment of “Political Independence”, language and national development and language varieties. Section 2 contains papers in Applied Linguistics in its narrow and extended senses. There are papers on language teaching and learning, interference and intraference phenomena, language engineering (with focus on codification), communication disorders, and much more. The third section contains sixteen (16) papers in the core areas of linguistics, including phonology, morphology and syntax of Nigerian languages. Some of the papers address aspects of the phonological and morphosyntactic processes of deletion, affixation, cliticisation, causativisation, complementation, serialisation, agreement, and much more. The phrasal structure and pronominal systems of some languages were also discussed.

Four Decades in the Study of Nigerian Languages and Linguistics

Four Decades in the Study of Nigerian Languages and Linguistics
Author: Ndimele, Ozo-mekuri
Publisher: M & J Grand Orbit Communications
Total Pages: 935
Release: 2019-03-31
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9785644006

This volume is produced in commemoration of the official retirement of Professor Kay Williamson from the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The contributing essayists cover five main generations of Nigerian linguists. The collection is divided into six sections: Language, history and Society; Applied Linguistics and Orthography Design; Gender and Communication Studies; Stylistics and Literature; Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis and Translation; and Formal Linguistics. Some of the contributors include: Ayo Bamgbose, Okon Essie, Ben Elugbe, P.A. Nwachukwu, E.N. Emenanjo, P. Anagbogu, Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche, O.M. Ndimele, O.G. Harry, Levi Igwe, C.U. Omego, O. Ojukwu, A.U. Weje, O.N. Anyanwu and A. Idafuro.

ICT, Globalisation and the Study of Languages and Linguistics in Africa

ICT, Globalisation and the Study of Languages and Linguistics in Africa
Author: Ozo-mekuri Ndimele
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2016-12-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9785416488

This book contains papers which focus on the twin subjects of globalisation and information/communication technologies (ICTs). They express either fear or optimism regarding their effects on the survival of indigenous cultures, languages and literature. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested to learn more about the role of globalisation in the erosion of cultural as well as linguistic diversity, and the impact of ICTs in the development of indigenous languages in Africa.

Readings on Religion and Culture in Africa

Readings on Religion and Culture in Africa
Author: Ejizu, Chris I.
Publisher: M & J Grand Orbit Communications
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2016-09-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9785420868

This is a book of reading on religion and culture in Africa comprising ten papers by experts in religion and cultural matters and an introductory note by the editor himself. Covered in the volume are papers covering: the impact of secularisation and urbanisation on a most cherished socio-cultural practice of the extended family system of the Isoko people in Nigeria; the traditional medical practices in Urhobo with particular focus on the use of local herbs to treat ailments; the socioreligious as well as the political significance of Obiri (family hall) in Ikwerreland; the rationale behind the use of the concept ‘Dunamis’ in the Gospel According to Staint Mark. Although his paper does not focus on African (traditional) religion, its inclusion here is based purely on the theological significance of the concept of ‘Dunamis’; the extent to which evil spirits and mysterious forces have influenced the religion and culture of the Urhobo people of Nigeria; the significance of festivals in the traditional African society; John Wesley’s innovations in Christendom and their implications for Africa; the recent unprecedented upsurge in the assumed use of religious powers to cast out evil spirits as well as for prayer healing among Muslims in Nigeria; the culture of alienation, anxiety and violence, drawing inspiration from the Fall Story of Genesis 3; and the widowhood practices of some areas in Nigeria.

The House of Skulls

The House of Skulls
Author: Ejituwu, Nkparom C.
Publisher: M & J Grand Orbit Communications
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2016-10-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 978542085X

This is a study of the House of Skulls, one of the lost cultures of the Niger Delta. The House of Skulls was a European label for a house built by some Niger Delta communities with the skulls of their enemies killed in war. The case is used to argue that barbarism is not endemic to African Culture, but rather part of the primitive instinct of man and the House of Skulls, as evidence of human sacrifice, and headhunting in the Niger Delta and its hinterland in pre-colonial times was not worse than some of the practices, both African and European, which have been documented. In doing so the study provides fresh insights into the history of one of the lost cultures of the Niger Delta; a culture much modified in contemporary times.

The Oxford Handbook of Language Prosody

The Oxford Handbook of Language Prosody
Author: Carlos Gussenhoven
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 957
Release: 2021-01-07
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0198832230

This handbook presents detailed accounts of current research in all aspects of language prosody, written by leading experts from different disciplines. The volume's comprehensive coverage and multidisciplinary approach will make it an invaluable resource for all researchers, students, and practitioners interested in prosody.

Intercultural Communication and Public Policy

Intercultural Communication and Public Policy
Author: Ngozi Iheanacho
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2016-07-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9785431142

As there are different races and people in the world, so there are different cultures - meaning that cultural diversity is inevitable. Through human contact and association cultures meet. In such meetings every individual and culture projects itself as worthy, and should be held in high esteem. In today's world it is not encouraging to be ethnocentric - always taking action or inactions that crystallize and project a feeling of one's own culture or racial superiority. Such attitude obstructs meaningful interaction, human relations, tolerance and co-operation. Conversely, the skill and ability to tolerate and communicate effectively with people from diverse cultures is a social activity which begins from thought to behaviour, in both spoken and non-spoken versions. The book contains 19 essays, structured into five parts.