Abstract
This paper examines the various morpho-syntactic distributions of negation in sixteen Yoruba dialects and comes up with some interesting questions, observations and claims. Negation is contextualised in the dialects; it is marked by different elements within the word and within the sentence. Some of the NEG formatives examined are used to negate the indicative expressions, others are used in the imperative mood while some others are mainly used to negate the focus marker. Nearly all the NEG Morphemes examined precede the verb except ma/mo [+NEG] which may be used at the end of the VP. This work believes that within the scope of ai [+NEG], it is not a complex negative morpheme; the low-toned “a” is regarded as the negator in the syntax of Yoruba negation. Following Ouhalla (1999), this work takes the NEG to belong to a category known as the Negative Phrase. It functions as a syntactic Head which projects into a NegP. Here, NEG is taken as an independent category which projects its own X-bar structure NegP; it inhabits a borderline between functional and lexical projections. We observe that the differences between the morphemes of negation in these sixteen Yoruba dialects are of linguistic change. We also realise in this work that in as much as morphemes of negation in Yoruba dialects commute with the aspecto-modal marker of negative polarity, they can be placed in the position of the functional category Asp. In essence, negation in the sixteen Yoruba dialects commutes with the tense/aspecto-modal nuances. The various NEG morphemes of the Yoruba dialects discussed in this paper have shown that the verbo-aspectual negative polarity subsumes very much as a strong feature.
Highlights
Felix Abídèmí FábùnmiThis paper examines the various morpho-syntactic distributions of negation in sixteen Yorùbá dialects and comes up with some interesting questions, observations and claims
“It is a well established fact that linguistic innovations, and linguistic forms generally, are diffused geographically from one area to another
From the various morpho-syntactic distributions of negation in sixteen Yorùbá dialects indicated above, it is discovered that the morphemes of negation in the dialects occur at the level of preverbal position
Summary
This paper examines the various morpho-syntactic distributions of negation in sixteen Yorùbá dialects and comes up with some interesting questions, observations and claims. Following Ouhalla (1999), this work takes the NEG to belong to a category known as the Negative Phrase. It functions as a syntactic Head which projects into a NegP. We observe that the differences between the morphemes of negation in these sixteen Yorùbá dialects are of linguistic change. We realise in this work that in as much as morphemes of negation in Yorùbá dialects commute with the aspecto-modal marker of negative polarity, they can be placed in the position of the functional category Asp. In essence, negation in the sixteen Yorùbá dialects commutes with the tense/aspecto-modal nuances.
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