Article Per Year (5 Year)
p-Index From 2021 - 2026
0.444
P-Index
This Author published in this journals
All Journal LINGUAL: Journal of Language and Culture Rainbow : Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies
OLANREWAJU, Emmanuel Omoniyi
Unknown Affiliation
Arts Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Other

Published : 2 Documents Claim Missing Document
Claim Missing Document
Check
Articles

Found 2 Documents
Search

 1 
Question Nouns and Clause-Typing in Yoruba OLANREWAJU, Emmanuel Omoniyi
Lingual Journal of Language and Culture Vol 16 No 2 (2023): Lingual: Journal of Language and Culture
Publisher : English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.24843/LJLC.2023.v16.i02.p04

Abstract

Interrogative sentences are deployed to perform speech acts of asking questions or making requests. Interestingly, the syntax of interrogatives in Yorùbá has attracted the attention of many researchers in the language (Ìl??rí, 2010: ?lá?rewájú & Táíwò, 2020: ?lá?rewájú 2022). However, the correct feature specification and syntactic behaviour of question nouns (hence, QNs) are yet to be given adequate attention. Some of the extant works in the language equate QNs in Yorùbá with wh-phrases of English and some other Indo-European languages, This paper, within the confines of the Chomsky’s Minimalist Program, discusses the two existing views on how constituent interrogatives involving QNs are clause-typed (the traditional opinion hypothesizing that QNs are the question makers in constituent interrogatives while the other position holds the views that an abstract question morpheme clause-types a sentence as a constituent question). This paper lays some claims to support the traditional position that a clause is typed a constituent question by the transfer of the question force [QF] on a QN to the Inter0 through specifier and head agreement. Primary and secondary data were collected and subjected to syntactic analysis. QNs in the language are ta ‘who’ and kí ‘what’, èló ‘how much’, mélòó ‘how many’ and so on. Polysyllabic QNs are derivational in the language. Yorùbá content word questions, relative clauses, adverbials and so on are not signalled in wh-encripts unlike English. The language operates different functional heads to clause-type them.
Copula and Focus Marker in Central Yorùbá Dialects Ọláńrewájú, Emmanuel Ọmọniyì
Rainbow : Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies Vol. 13 No. 1 (2024): April 2024
Publisher : Universitas Negeri Semarang

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.15294/rainbow.v13i1.2846

Abstract

This paper investigated the morpho-syntactic distribution of ‘’ni’’ in Central Yorùbá (hence, CY) dialect. Primary and secondary data were collected on CY dialects (Ifẹ̀, Ìjẹ̀ṣà, Èkìtì and Mọ̀bà) and subjected to syntactic analysis. Noam Chomsky’s Minimalist Program (MP) of generative grammar was adopted.  Two allomorphs of ni identified are: li and ri. The dialects operate ‘’ni’’, ‘’li’’ and ‘’ri’’ as focus markers. These also have their variants that perform predicate function. These are referred to as copula in this paper. Both copula and focus markers are in complementary distribution. ‘’Ni’’ and ‘’li’’ are in free variation in Èkitì and Mọ́bà unlike Ifẹ̀ and Ìjẹ̀ṣa where they are in complementary distribution. Mọ̀bà dialect operates both the focus marker ‘’ri’’ and its copula variant ‘’ri’’ while other CY dialects operate ‘’ri’’ only as a copula. A focus marker is optionally dropped when used with some question nouns (QNs) in the dialects. Three syntactic distributions identified with ‘’ni’’ and its variants are: focused interrogatives, focus constructions and copula constructions. CY dialects exhibit some common features with respect to how both focus markers and copula are operated.
Co-Authors