Syllabic and Tonal Patterns of Esan Serial Verb Constructions

Abstract

Contemporary treatments of the serial verb construction provide a broader base for identifying them. In light of these current approaches, this study identifies syllabic and tonal characteristics of symmetrical and asymmetrical types of serial verb constructions in the Esan language. These characteristics are identified on the basis of existing relevant empirical studies of the language. Data for the study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Serial verb constructions were extracted from manual recordings of utterances of Esan native speakers domiciled in some speech areas of the language. Data from previous works on Esan serial verb constructions were also examined. Identification of syllabic patterning followed simple existing linguistic practice while while that of tonal patterning was conducted in line with familiar autosegmental tenets. Findings show that these constructs may also be tri-syllabic in Esan and not only bi-syllabic, as claimed in earlier studies. Tonal patterns on some verbs in citation are altered when they co-occur as serial verbs. These changes affect both bi-syllabic and tri-syllabic serial verb constructions in declaratives, imperatives, and the habitual temporal aspect. The study improves on earlier efforts on the study of Esan serial verb constructions and complements identified basis for recognizing this structural type in the language. The study would enhance the documentation of Esan.