Table Of ContentAspects of Eleme verbal
morphosyntax
A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester
for the degree of Ph.D. in the Faculty of Humanities.
2006
Oliver Richards Bond
School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures
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Contents
List of Maps...................................................................................................7
List of Figures................................................................................................7
List of Tables..................................................................................................8
Abstract........................................................................................................9
Declaration.................................................................................................10
Copyright statement..................................................................................10
Acknowledgements...................................................................................11
Abbreviations.............................................................................................14
Maps...........................................................................................................16
1. Introduction..............................................................................19
1.1 Overview..............................................................................................19
1.1.1 Organisation..................................................................................19
1.1.2 Field methodology........................................................................20
1.2 Eleme language and people................................................................21
1.2.1 Eleme population and society......................................................21
1.2.2 Genetic affiliation..........................................................................25
1.2.3 Previous linguistic description of Eleme.....................................29
2. Functionalist approaches to the verb....................................31
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................31
2.2 Traditional approaches to parts of speech.........................................32
2.3 A typological approach to parts of speech........................................34
2.3.1 Prototypicality...............................................................................34
2.3.2 Categoriality Hypothesis..............................................................35
2.3.3 A Universal Theory of Parts of Speech.......................................38
2.3.4 The predication of actions, objects and properties.....................45
2.4 Grammatical categories marked on the verb....................................49
2.5 Terminology.........................................................................................50
2.6 Summary..............................................................................................51
3. Phonological properties of the verb......................................53
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................53
3.2 Phonemes.............................................................................................53
3.2.1 Consonants....................................................................................54
3.2.2 Vowels............................................................................................59
3.3 Syllable structure.................................................................................60
3.4 Vowel harmony...................................................................................62
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3.5 Tone......................................................................................................66
3.5.1 Lexical tone....................................................................................67
3.5.2 Grammatical tone..........................................................................68
3.5.3 Tone and reduplication................................................................69
3.5.4 Elision, tone stability and incorporation.....................................72
3.6 Summary..............................................................................................78
4. Participant reference...............................................................79
4.1 Introduction.........................................................................................79
4.2 Grammatical relations.........................................................................80
4.3 Subject...................................................................................................83
4.3.1 Pronouns and agreement.............................................................84
4.3.2 Default subject affixes...................................................................88
4.3.3 Anterior-perfective prefixes.......................................................100
4.3.4 High tone subject prefixes..........................................................107
4.4 Object..................................................................................................111
4.4.1 Default object suffixes.................................................................111
4.4.2 Experiencer object suffixes.........................................................116
4.4.3 Double object constructions.......................................................118
4.5 Other types of participant reference................................................121
4.5.1 Reciprocals...................................................................................121
4.5.2 Logophors....................................................................................122
4.6. Asymmetries in person marking.....................................................123
4.7 Summary............................................................................................132
5. Logophoric reference............................................................135
5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................135
5.2 Interclausal coreference systems......................................................136
5.2.1 Canonical logophoric reference.................................................136
5.2.2 The syntax and semantics of logophoric reference..................139
5.2.3 Other systems of interclausal coreference................................149
5.2.3.1 Long-distance reflexives.......................................................................150
5.2.3.2 Switch-reference.....................................................................................151
5.3 Logophoric reference in the Ogonoid languages............................154
5.3.1 Logophoric reference in Gokana...............................................155
5.3.2 Logophoric reference in Kana....................................................159
5.4 Logophoric reference in Eleme.........................................................161
5.4.1 Matrix subject triggers................................................................161
5.4.2 Matrix object triggers..................................................................165
5.4.3 Logophoric targets......................................................................167
5.5 Summary............................................................................................171
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6. Aspect and tense....................................................................173
6.1 Introduction........................................................................................173
6.2 Panchronic approaches to morphosyntax.......................................174
6.3 Distinguishing aspect and tense.......................................................176
6.3.1 Tense............................................................................................176
6.3.2 Aspect...........................................................................................180
6.4 Imperfectivity.....................................................................................185
6.4.1 Habituals......................................................................................185
6.4.1.1 Habitual and generic.............................................................................186
6.4.1.2 Habitual-anterior...................................................................................189
6.4.1.3 Habituals in the Ogonoid languages..................................................192
6.4.2 Progressive and continuous.......................................................193
6.4.2.1 Morphosyntactic properties of the ka- morpheme...........................194
6.4.2.2 Distinguishing progressive and continuous aspects.......................196
6.4.2.3 Semantic properties of the ka- morpheme.........................................202
6.4.2.4 Distinguishing continuous and imperfective aspects.....................208
6.4.2.5 Progressives in the Ogonoid languages............................................210
6.5 Perfectivity.........................................................................................216
6.5.1 Default readings of unmarked verb forms...............................217
6.5.2 Distinguishing perfective aspect and past tense......................223
6.6 Anterior and anterior-perfective......................................................229
6.6.1 Anteriority...................................................................................230
6.6.2 Anterior-perfective......................................................................236
6.6.2.1 Anterior and resultative uses of the anterior-perfective................237
6.6.2.2 Confirmative uses of the anterior-perfective....................................240
6.6.2.3 Narrative uses of the anterior-perfective...........................................244
6.6.2.4 Anterior-perfectives, stativity and properties..................................245
6.6.2.5 Historical development of the anterior-perfective prefixes...........249
6.7 Aspect and futurity............................................................................253
6.7.1 Scheduled future.........................................................................254
6.7.2 Proximative..................................................................................255
6.7.3 Reduplicated future....................................................................261
6.8 Summary............................................................................................263
7. Locative verbs and valency...................................................265
7.1 Introduction........................................................................................265
7.2 Predications of location and existence.............................................266
7.2.1 Locative constructions................................................................266
7.2.2 Existential constructions.............................................................269
7.3 Valency and transitivity....................................................................272
7.4 Locative-applicative..........................................................................279
7.5 Morphosyntactic properties of =ru!"...................................................285
7.6 Locative-progressive constructions..................................................293
7.6.1 Semantics and structure of the locative-progressive...............293
7.6.2 Tense in the locative-progressive..............................................299
7.7 Locative-applicative and modality...................................................301
7.8 Other types of applicative morphology...........................................304
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7.8.1 Benefactives.................................................................................305
7.8.2 Instrumentals...............................................................................307
7.9 Summary............................................................................................308
8. Conclusion..............................................................................311
8.1 Overview............................................................................................311
8.2 Topics for future research.................................................................315
References.......................................................................................................317
Word count: 79846
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Maps
Map 1 Nigeria..................................................................................16
Map 2 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Rivers State, Nigeria........17
Figures
Figure 1.1 Classification of the Cross River languages
(based on Williamson and Blench 2000:33).............................26
Figure 1.2 Classification of the Ogonoid family
(based on Williamson and Blench 2000:33)..................................27
Figure 4.1 Relationship between type of agreement markers
and type of agreement (Siewierska 2004:126)..............................87
Figure 5.1 Hierarchies indicating the likelihood of logophoric
reference marking (Hyman and Comrie 1981:33)...................142
Figure 5.2 A hierarchy of logocentric verbs (Stirling 1993:259).................143
Figure 5.3 A hierarchy of logophoric licensers (Culy 2002:202)...............144
Figure 6.1 Comrie’s (1976:25) classification of aspectual oppositions......181
Figure 6.2 Representation of aspectual distinctions in the
Spanish past tense.................................................................182
Figure 6.3 Hypothetical developmental chain for markers of
progressive aspect (Bybee, Perkins and Pagliuca 1994:139)....184
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Tables
Table 2.1 Semantic properties of prototypical parts of speech
(Croft 2001:87)..........................................................................................39
Table 2.2 Overtly marked structural coding constructions for
parts of speech (Croft 2001:88).............................................................43
Table 3.1 Eleme consonant inventory...................................................................55
Table 3.2 Eleme vowel inventory..........................................................................59
Table 3.3 Vowel harmony sets in Eleme..............................................................63
Table 3.4 Tonal verb classes in Eleme..................................................................68
Table 4.1 Independent subject pronouns.............................................................84
Table 4.2 Default subject prefixes..........................................................................90
Table 4.3 Subject suffixes........................................................................................93
Table 4.4 Anterior-perfective subject prefixes..................................................101
Table 4.5 High tone subject prefixes...................................................................107
Table 4.6 Default object suffixes..........................................................................112
Table 4.7 Experiencer object suffixes..................................................................117
Table 5.1 Predicate types licensing logophoric domains in
32 languages (Culy 1994a:1086-9)......................................................145
Table 5.2 Predicate types licensing logophoric domains
(Culy 1994a, 2002).................................................................................146
Table 6.1 Continuous aspect prefixes.................................................................194
Table 6.2 Correlations between perfective/imperfective and
foregrounding/backgrounding (Hopper 1979:216).......................218
Table 6.3 Anterior-perfective subject prefixes..................................................233
Table 6.4 Hypothesised development of the
anterior-perfective subject prefixes...................................................250
Table 6.5 Proximative aspect prefixes................................................................256
Table 7.1 Grammatical and semantic valence of some
English clauses......................................................................................274
Table 7.2 Parameters of transitivity (Hopper and Thompson 1980:252).....275
Table 7.3 Types of argument reassignment..............................................279
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Abstract
The Eleme language of south-eastern Nigeria exhibits a complex system of
inflectional morphology. In this study, which is the first detailed investigation into
the morphosyntactic behaviour of verbal constructions in Eleme, a considerable
number of verbal paradigms expressing grammaticalized aspectual and modal
distinctions are identified. Particular attention is paid to grammatical and semantic
interaction between morphologically bound systems of participant reference and
morphosyntactic categories indicating the temporal properties of a situation.
Original data collected in Nigeria are discussed from a functional-typological
perspective and, where appropriate, comparison is made with data from related
languages. Synchronic facts evident in the fieldwork data are considered within a
larger framework of recognised typological behaviour and historical development.
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Declaration
No portion of the work referred to in this thesis has been submitted in support of an
application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or
other institute of learning.
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exploitation may take place is available from the Head of the Subject of
Linguistics and English Language.
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