Componential Analysis of ‘Gbá’ Verbal Complex and Its Relevance in Second Language Teaching

Abstract

This work examines the componential analysis of the gbá verbal complex in Igbo. It investigates the complex verb gbá in order to find out the basic components of the verb in Igbo thereby arriving at its lexical meaning. The paper adopts the theory of componential analysis for the analysis of data. The data used for the study were elicited through informal interview and the researchers’ intuitive knowledge as native speakers. The study found out that ‘gbá’ is a verb of movement or motion which results into change of position. This is applicable to all the words that bear the verb root. The distinguishing features that exist among them are equally observed. It is found out that different meanings associated with the word bearing the verb root ‘gbá’ is based on the verb that selects the complement thus the word gbá-égwú means ‘dance’, gbá mgbá ‘wrestle’ and gbá oso ‘run’. It will bring clarity among the meanings of lexemes in the same semantic domain. These findings will be beneficial to curriculum designers by giving them the insight on areas to stress more in teaching second language learners and for documentation.