Niger-Congo Research Articles

Personal experience narratives in three West African sign languages

Personal experience narratives in three West African sign languages

Impact of patrilocality on contrasting patterns of paternal and maternal heritage in Central-West Africa

Despite their ancient past and high diversity, African populations are the least represented in human population genetic studies. In this study, uniparental markers (mtDNA and Y chromosome) were used to investigate the impact of sociocultural factors on the genetic diversity and inter-ethnolinguistic gene flow in the three major Nigerian groups: Hausa (n = 89), Yoruba (n = 135) and Igbo (n = 134). The results show a distinct history from the maternal and paternal perspectives. The three Nigerian groups present a similar substrate for mtDNA, but not for the Y chromosome. The two Niger–Congo groups, Yoruba and Igbo, are paternally genetically correlated with populations from the same ethnolinguistic affiliation. Meanwhile, the Hausa is paternally closer to other Afro-Asiatic populations and presented a high diversity of lineages from across Africa. When expanding the analyses to other African populations, it is observed that language did not act as a major barrier to female-mediated gene flow and that the differentiation of paternal lineages is better correlated with linguistic than geographic distances. The results obtained demonstrate the impact of patrilocality, a common and well-established practice in populations from Central-West Africa, in the preservation of the patrilineage gene pool and in the affirmation of identity between groups.

A Contrastive Analysis of the Morphological and Syntactic Aspects of Urhobo and Ijaw Languages

The study undertakes a contrastive analysis of the morphological and syntactic aspects of Urhobo language and the Izon language, which are two indigenous languages spoken in the Niger Delta area in Nigeria. Contrastive analysis is used as the theory of preference to explore these languages, to show their similarity and points of divergence. The findings from the study attest to the similarity of these languages predictably as a result of their shared origin as they both are from the same Niger-Congo language family. There are cases of exact translations and linguistic interconnectedness between both languages in the morphological level. The study also confirms that there is noticeable difference in all levels of linguistics that makes both languages not mutually intelligible. The research’s implications include recommendations for language teaching and preservation as both languages are highly relevant for intercultural communication. The study also recommends that further research should be done in Nigeria’s indigenous languages as a way to respect and maintain unique linguistic identities. Scholars from different Nigerian languages should encourage the development and the growth of the indigenous languages to stop them from going into extinction. English language is the official language in Nigeria, it is the language of government, commerce, education, law, mass media and other areas of communication at the official level. The Nigerian language learner encounters so many problems in learning English. This paper reveals the importance of our indigenous languages.

Causative construction in Likpakpaanl (Konkomba)

This article is a contribution to the cross-linguistic discussion on causation. It proceeds on the note that causation is a significant notion, both cognitively and grammatically. I make a case that the Mabia (Gur) languages of West Africa are severely under-represented in the literature on causation. I then focus on causation in Likpakpaanl, an under-researched Mabia language spoken in Ghana and Togo in West Africa. I further present data from thirteen other related West African languages for comparative purposes. Broadly speaking, Likpakpaanl deploys all the traditional causation strategies- lexical, morphological, serialising and analytic. However, the use of nasals, especially vowel nasality as a causativisers is novel and uniquely places Likpakpaanl among its linguistic relatives. The Likpakpaanl analytic causative marker chà has a functional scope for both factitive and permissive causatives. In a sense, the source of the specialised analytic causative marker in Likpakpaanl diverges from the oft-cited cross-linguistic source of analytic causative markers. The Likpakpaanl biclausal causative is the balanced structure and, therefore, aligns well with the biclausal causative structure described for the West African linguistic area, contra the deraked structure of Indo-European languages. A thorough investigation of the constellation of causatives in Mabia promises new insights into causative typology.

Overt PRO in Gã

This paper presents data from Gã (Kwa, Niger-Congo language spoken in Ghana) that show that controlled subjects of non-finite predicates must be overt in this language. The presence of an overt pronominal subject in a non-finite embedded clause is surprising from the perspective of languages such as English and French, where such subjects must be covert (PRO). We provide evidence that the overt pronoun in Gã patterns with obligatorily controlled PRO (Hornstein 1999; Landau 2013) and argue for the minimal pronoun analysis of Kratzer (2009).

Typology of Constituent Focus in a West African Language: A Minimalist Analysis

Typology of Constituent Focus in a West African Language: A Minimalist Analysis

Shì as a Complementizer

In this article, it is argued that a purely functional and semantically bleached shì in Mandarin could in many contexts be best analyzed as a complementizer. As such, i t is comparable to English that and functions as an (optional) introducer of the clausal arguments. Our survey shows that the morpheme shì as a complementizer occurs after quite a number of clause introducing operators, for instance, epistemic modals, clausal adverbs, clausal conjunctions, and verbs taking clausal objects like psych verbs and speech act verbs. Like in some other languages, e.g., the West African language Twi and Dutch, the complementizer can merge with a preceding element and the two elements are turned into one frozen combination involving reanalysis and constituency rebracketing . We argue that Mandarin shì has gone through similar developments as complementizer in many frozen combinations such as shuōshì . As a piece of additional evidence, we find that in Gangou dialect, a Mandarin variant, shì can also take on a complementizer function. In the end, based on the fact that shì is used as a demonstrative pronoun in Pre Qin times, we argue that Mandarin indeed has complementizers from two different sources out of the five major sources across languages listed by Chappell (2017), i.e., shuō , the complementizer (as argued by many) originally from a verb of saying, and shì , originally a demonstrative.

Movement and interpretation of quantifiers in internally-headed relative clauses

This paper addresses the semantic typology of internally-headed relative clauses using a case study of two West African languages, Atchan (Kwa) and Bùlì (Gur). Both languages exhibit syntactically-similar relatives, involving overt movement of the head. However, quantifiers on the head are interpreted differently in the two languages. In Atchan, quantifiers on the relative-clause head take the entire relative clause as their restriction; in Bùlì, quantifiers on the head take only the head noun as their restriction. I propose that the former is interpreted via NP reconstruction and Trace Conversion, the latter via DP reconstruction. The empirical difference between these two languages motivates a revision to the typology developed by Grosu (2012), which tightly links head movement and the Atchan-like quantifier interpretation pattern. This work further supports a a modular view in which languages can adopt different strategies to interpret movement-involving structures.

Noun classes and their agreement in Ginyanga (Kwa)

This paper features an overview of the Ginyanga (< North Guang < Kwa) noun class system and agreement. Based on agreement, we define 8 noun classes, 3 of which are singular, and the others are plural. Classes are marked on the noun with prefixes. Agreement classes are further divided into nominal form subclasses that share the agreement paradigm but feature different noun prefixes. Singular/plural pairings and semantic correlates of each class are discussed, in particular, the role of the semantic parameter of animacy. Class-marking alternation is observed both in singular/plural pairings and derivational processes (diminutive formation), which is characteristic of active noun class systems. The following agreement contexts are reviewed: class agreement of cardinal numerals, demonstratives, subject-verb and pronominal agreement. Our study puts Ginyanga data into a micro-typological perspective, adds to the evidence of a rich class system that should have existed in Proto-Guang and contributes to the typology of noun classes in West African languages.

Le statut mono ou bi-phonématique des prénasales en Ulund

Monophonematic or Biphonematic Status of Prenasals in Ulund
 The manɟaku group is a linguistic group that so far includes 15 dialects: ucuur, uɟool, utufan, ubok, ubuj, ujang, uciban-ukan, usiis, uteer, useerar, ulëkës, ubo- mat, uñoob-utam, uyu and ulund. The ulund language of the manɟaku group is taken as a sample in this inquiry. Its speakers call each other the Balund. The latter are thought to be originated in Guinea Bissau, and their main area of concentration is in pəlund, from which the name of the language's speakers is derived. The Balund began migrating from Guinea Bissau to Senegal in colonial times, due to the abuse they suffered in Portuguese lands. They settled in the southern part of Senegal, notably in the Ziguinchor and Kolda regions. It should be noted that despite their distinguisehd Islamization, the Balund remain very attached to their language and are close to their ancient cults and traditions.Our knowledge of Ulund speech is fragmentary, focusing on specific aspects of the language such as the study of nominal classes, the study of the pronominal system, the study of the verb, etc. We note that there are no in- depth studies of the phonetic system, hence the motivation for the study of ulund complex consonants in this article. Consonants are articulations produced with a total or partial obstruction at any point in the vocal tract. Consonants are a highly heterogeneous set of sounds, both articulatory and acoustic. The type of constriction in the vocal tract distinguishes an occlusive consonant from a constrictive consonant. Occlusives are characterized by a silence resulting from the complete closure of the vocal tract (occlusion) at a well-defined point. The fricatives, among the constrictives, are characterized by aerodynamic frictional noises created by turbulent airflow at a point in the vocal tract, presenting a strong constriction at the place of articulation. The mi-nasals are combinations of oral consonants (occlusive or constrictive) + nasal consonants (consonant produced with the lowering of the soft palate).The question of the interpretation of prenasals in many languages, particularly African languages, has already been the subject of a multitude of analyses. This study, which is intended as a modest contribution, in no way claims to list all the specific features of the West Atlantic languages already studied. Our aim is rather to give an overview of what is already known in this field, focusing on the phonetic aspect, so that our young students, when describing a new language of the Niger Congo sub-group, are not obliged to invest a great deal of effort and time on questions which have already been dealt with and answered.

A Typological and Diachronic Analysis of Replication: Body-Part Reflexives in Romance-Lexifier Pidgins and Creoles

Abstract The fact that body-part reflexives (bpr s) are widespread in Romance-lexifier pidgin, creole and mixed (pcm) languages of the Atlantic area has usually been accounted for in terms of substratum influence from West African languages, in which such reflexives are common. However, this approach does not explain why bpr s are also frequently found in Romance-lexifier pcm languages like Zamboanga Chavacano and Malacca Creole, which lack a demonstrable African substrate, are spoken outside the Atlantic area and are in contact with languages that lack bpr s. Drawing on cross-linguistic as well as historical corpus data, this paper argues that the source of bpr s in these languages should be traced back to the late-medieval and early-Renaissance lexifiers. More specifically, it is proposed that speakers of Romance-lexifier pcm languages identified, recapitulated and replicated reflexive-like uses of words such as ‘body’ and ‘head’ in the lexifiers. A number of bridging contexts is argued to have fostered these processes.

A Comparative Study of Nominal Pronoun Marking Systems in Kordofanian Languages of the Niger-Congo Language Family

A Comparative Study of Nominal Pronoun Marking Systems in Kordofanian Languages of the Niger-Congo Language Family

Tima

Tima (ISO 639-3: tms) is a Niger-Congo language spoken by roughly 7,000 people in the Nuba mountains of Sudan, in north-eastern Africa, as well as in smaller communities in the bigger towns of Sudan such as Khartoum and Port Sudan. It is part of the Katla language group which includes the languages Katla and Julut as well as Tima, with Tima being the most distinct of the three. All three languages are regarded as endangered, mainly due to the spreading influence of Arabic in recent decades, but also due to greater speaker mobility. Broadly speaking, there is a decline in speaker fluency from older to younger speakers of Tima. The Tima people are not only exposed to Arabic as the lingua franca and official language of Sudan, but also to English and Kiswahili. These latter languages were introduced into the school system during the extremely difficult circumstances of the second civil war (1983–2005), when teachers from Kenya came to the Tima region (in addition, many Tima people went to Kenya for further education).1

Assessing the Phonological Processes in Akan Child Language

This paper seeks to examine the phonological processes embedded in the speech errors of child phonology in Akan, a Niger-Congo (Kwa) language. The study has become necessary because cross-linguistically, several works have been undertaken on child language acquisition but very little or no attention has been given to that of Akan. Most of these works on African languages have centered on the acquisition processes with little on the phonological processes underpinning child language. Therefore, this study bridges the gap by providing a discussion of some phonological processes that underline the acquisition of Akan children. In the course of the phonological development of the Akan child as part of language acquisition, these processes occur as phonological simplification strategies to resolve relatively challenging natural adult forms of Akan expressions. This is either due to an articulatory accident or a defect in the speech organ. It is against this backdrop that Fromkin (1973) opines that a slip of tongue is evidence of a phonological process in action. Hence, this paper concludes that the inadequacies in child language acquisition trigger various phonological processes such as vocalization, stopping, de-affrication, anteriorization, fronting, cluster reduction, reduplication as a phonological simplification strategy in the acquisition of Akan.

Review article: messages from (not so distant) relatives in the Nuba Mountains: on how (not) to reconstruct Proto-Bantu

Abstract The rich morphological systems and discourse-based syntactic structures of a range of modern Bantu languages have attracted the attention of many linguists. The present contribution takes articles in a volume on the reconstruction of Proto-Bantu grammar edited by Bostoen et al. (2022. On Reconstructing Proto-Bantu Grammar, Niger-Congo Comparative Studies 4. Berlin: Language Science Press. 808 pp. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7560553) as a basis, in order to address the origin of these grammatical properties. More specifically, historical as well as synchronic features of Bantu languages are compared with Tima, a related language spoken in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, and classified as a member of the Kordofanian family within Niger-Congo by Greenberg. Contrary to a popular view, it is claimed here that subject inversion and corresponding (extended) ergative alignment marking with transitive verbs is not only a property of Tima as a Niger-Congo language, but also of several Niger-Congo languages classified as Bantu. Tima consequently may perform a role similar to that of Tocharian in the history of Indo-European studies. The present contribution also raises methodological issues related to lexicon-based Bayesian phylogenetics as against Greenberg’s method of multilateral comparisons, and the historical-comparative method. In addition, it addresses the question of the extent to which the spread of typological features coincides with so-called “belts” postulated in the typological literature on African languages.

The Dynamics of the Past and Future Tense Expressions in Dagbani

This paper discusses the degree of remoteness in Dagbani, a Mabia (Gur) language of the Niger-Congo language family spoken in Northern Ghana. The degree of remoteness has been discussed in Dagbani (Olawsky1999; Bodomo 2001; Botne 2012; Bodomo 2018). According to the scholars mentioned above, the verbal particles; sa, di and daa mark degree of remoteness in Dagbani. However, these scholars have not discussed all the possible means degree of remoteness can be expressed in the language. The time adverbials, the proximity markers, yɛ̂n and yólí, and others are not looked at. This paper, therefore, moves a step further to discuss the possible remoteness distinctions that are part of the ways tense is expressed in Dagbani. The paper uses Comrie’s (1985) conceptualisation of tense in human language in the discussion. Comrie’s explanation of the phenomenon shows that in some languages, the degree of remoteness is expressed using the time adverbials and other particles. Eliciting data from eight people in Tamale and Yendi, and existing literature, I support my intuition as a native speaker to demonstrate that the time adverbials and other particles either than only daa, sa and di express degree of remoteness in both past and future tenses in Dagbani.

Rhythm pattern discovery in Niger-Congo story-telling

Description of interactive oral story-telling in West African Niger-Congo languages, “orature” in contrast to “literature”, has traditionally been firmly in the domain of anthropological linguistics. The discourse structures of narrator-responder interaction and call-response chanted interludes and their prosody are an open challenge to discourse analysts, linguists and phoneticians. Two orature examples from related Niger-Congo languages, recorded during fieldwork in Côte d'Ivoire, are analyzed from a macrostructural acoustic phonetic perspective in terms of realtime rhythms, and then compared with other related orature examples and examples of reading aloud. In this transdisciplinary methodology, long time domains of up to 5 min in duration and beyond are studied using long-term spectra and spectrograms of the amplitude modulation of speech. Long-distance timing regularities and their variation during story-telling exchanges are analyzed in detail and explained in terms of Rhythm Formant Theory (RFT), a further development of Speech Modulation Theory, and its associated methodology Rhythm Formant Analysis (RFA).

Preverbs: Their syntax and semantics in West Africa

Preverbs are positionally-delimited grammatical forms that remain understudied. We examine their semantic classes in West Benue Congo (WBC) and its minor language Emai, which until recently was undocumented. Preverb classes in Emai display a subset of semantic categories identified in Dixon (1991, 2006, 2010) and Nuyts (2001, 2005, 2006, 2016). There are eight semantic classes for 30 odd preverb forms. They are apportioned according to their qualitative or quantitative character. Preverbs do not include traditional auxiliary categories of aspect, tense, and modality, which exhibit distinct diachronic and synchronic character. Common to preverbs is their orientation to grammatical subject, rather than utterance speaker. Members of each class ascribe a property to clausal subject. Preliminary evidence suggests that preverbs of similar semantic character exist in other West African languages.

The impact of attentional centering on ergative marking in Tima

AbstractOne of the languages on the African continent which displays ergative features is Tima, a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. In this contribution, the impact of attentional centering – influenced by factors including the animacy of the participants, the identifiability of the agent, and the givenness of either A or P participant – on the choice of construction between AVO and OVAergis investigated. The research brought forth the following findings: token-identifiable human agents typically trigger an AVO constituent order; type-identifiable human agents typically trigger anOVAergconstituent order; the event described may or may not be decomposed into two sub-events; inanimate agents acting on human animates trigger a decomposition of the event into two sub-events: first, P is presented, and second, A is introduced as an ergative-marked participant following the verb. The information structural device of givenness interacts with the two parameters of agent-identifiability and animacy. A given agent always leads to an AVO construction. A given patient finds the speaker faced with the choice of opting for an AVO or anOVAergconstruction.

Anomalies in the Noun Class Systems of Niger-Congo: Towards a Typology of the Atypical

The paper focuses on minor noun classes and minor genders in Niger-Congo languages, which are usually regarded as anomalies in class systems. It takes into consideration data from 243 languages, and shows that such anomalies are most characteristic for quite specific meanings, namely those traditionally regarded as prototypical meanings of noun classes: ‘person’, ‘thing’, ‘foot’, ‘tree’, ‘eye’, ‘place’, etc. Thus, the particular patterns of class agreement observed, or particular correlations between singular and plural noun classes, often do not represent accidental exceptions, but are better thought of as a kind of marker of noun class paradigmatic semantics.