Serial Verb constructions1 in Igbo: A critical assessment
Keywords:
serial construction, minimalism, object raising, object deletion, negationAbstract
The study investigates the phenomenon of verb serialisation in the Igbo language using transformational generative grammar approach (TGG) and a minimalist framework of analysis. The reason for the frameworks is that the TGG was the forerunner to minimalism and that some concepts are better explained using TGG. The study seeks to ascertain whether the Igbo language qualifies to be classified as SVC language. The data for the study are taken from the existing literature in books and journals. The study is of the opinion that the Igbo language operates SVCs phenomena like other African languages but in a slight different way. Some SVCs in Igbo incorporate NPs covertly which are discovered using the concept of Empty Category Principle (ECP) [e] which co-indexes the first NPs with all other NPs in the sentence and some others have disjointed NPs. The study reviews other works on these phenomena from varieties of many African languages including those that have been written by other Igbo scholars in order to find the convergence and divergence inherent in these studies. The study discovers that there is no general consensus even among the Igbo scholars. Based on the comparative nature of the study, it discovers that the Igbo language qualifies to be classified as an SVC language unlike the classifications made by some scholars notably Okorji & Mbagwu (2008) that the Igbo language does not qualify to be so described. The study discovers that the Igbo language has many SVCs phenomena like object sharing and deletion; the multiple covert object NP in the deep structure and peculiar SVC negation. Deep structures are relevant in TGG to account for hidden meanings and that is why it is incorporated in this study.
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