Difference between revisions of "The Structure of the Bantu Noun Phrase"
(2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
|corpus = [http://typecraft.org/tc2wiki/Special:TypeCraft/Editor/1882 The Structure of the Bantu Noun Phrase] | |corpus = [http://typecraft.org/tc2wiki/Special:TypeCraft/Editor/1882 The Structure of the Bantu Noun Phrase] | ||
|annotator= [http://typecraft.org/tc2wiki/User:Samuel_Namugala Samuel Namugala]}} | |annotator= [http://typecraft.org/tc2wiki/User:Samuel_Namugala Samuel Namugala]}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | By:[[User:Samuel_Namugala | Samuel Namugala]] | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
Line 25: | Line 27: | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
===Summary=== | ===Summary=== | ||
− | + | This article discusses the syntax of the noun phrase in several Bantu languages by examining the syntax of the noun and its dependent elements through addressing the following questions: | |
− | + | • What elements can modify the Bantu noun and in what order? | |
− | + | ||
− | • | + | • Which elements can co-occur and/or recur in the modification structure and what criteria are relevant in characterizing the dependents of the noun? |
− | • | + | • Is there a saturation point in the modification structure? |
− | + | <br> | |
+ | It points out that it’s possible to stack two determiners; a possessive and a demonstrative (consider example 2.b in the table). It’s also possible to stack two or more adjectives in many languages (see 3.a and 3.b). The author claims that nominal dependents in Bantu are post-head with a frequent exception and that in several languages possessives are fixed immediately after the head noun. Other elements follow the possessives with considerably a free ordering (see 16.b). Conclusively, with the exception of demonstratives, possessives and relative clauses, all other elements in the noun phrase are considerably mobile. | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
− | + | The suggested order of elements is; pre-determiner, noun, determiner, modifier, post-modifier. However, there’s considerable variation in the ordering of items in the modifier position (no such freedom in other positions). | |
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
− | However, | + | |
<br> | <br> | ||
===Glossed texts in the article=== | ===Glossed texts in the article=== | ||
− | The following are glossed examples extracted from the article. | + | The following are glossed examples as extracted from the article. The link to their glosses by the annotator is [http://typecraft.org/tc2wiki/Special:TypeCraft/Editor/1882] |
{|class = "wikitable" | {|class = "wikitable" | ||
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|'''LANGUAGE''' | |'''LANGUAGE''' |
Latest revision as of 19:22, 23 May 2012
The Structure of the Bantu Noun Phrase | |
---|---|
Type | Article |
Author(s) | Josephat M. Rugemalira |
Journal | SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics |
Publication date | 2007 |
Pages | 135-148 |
Volume | Vol.15 |
Country | Tanzania University of Dar es Salaam jmruge@uccmail.co.tz |
Annotator | Samuel Namugala |
Corpus Link | The Structure of the Bantu Noun Phrase |
Subject(s) | Linguistics, Syntax |
By: Samuel Namugala
Contents
General Information
This article belongs to the TC Category Interlinear Glossed Text from Linguistic Research.
In this category we collect TCwiki pages that feature Interlinear Glossed Text (IGT) from linguistic publications.
IGT are normally demarcated through indenting, numbering and a space above and under the example. One line of text is followed by one line of glosses and a line with free translation completes the pattern. IGTs from linguistic publications are of particular interest, since they represent a unique alignment of language data and linguistic theory. Example sentences from seminal articles are not rarely quoted in linguistic publications for decades which is another good reason why they need our attention.
In an effort to make IGT more accessible to linguistic research, we try to extract original IGT from linguistic publications and in same cases we provide additional linguistic glosses through a subsequent layer of annotation using the TypeCraft Glosser. In this way we hope to contribute to the re-usability of this data.
On each of the our pages that feature IGT from secondary sources, we also provide a short annotated bibliography, sometimes combined with a list of key-terms which can help to gain a perspective on the research questions raised in the original article. The 'Infobox' may contain further information about the linguistic framework used in the original article, as well as additional classifications of the phenomena treated, whenever that is possible.
Keywords
- Bantu languages
- Noun phrase
- Elements
- Modifiers
- Interrogative words
Summary
This article discusses the syntax of the noun phrase in several Bantu languages by examining the syntax of the noun and its dependent elements through addressing the following questions:
• What elements can modify the Bantu noun and in what order?
• Which elements can co-occur and/or recur in the modification structure and what criteria are relevant in characterizing the dependents of the noun?
• Is there a saturation point in the modification structure?
It points out that it’s possible to stack two determiners; a possessive and a demonstrative (consider example 2.b in the table). It’s also possible to stack two or more adjectives in many languages (see 3.a and 3.b). The author claims that nominal dependents in Bantu are post-head with a frequent exception and that in several languages possessives are fixed immediately after the head noun. Other elements follow the possessives with considerably a free ordering (see 16.b). Conclusively, with the exception of demonstratives, possessives and relative clauses, all other elements in the noun phrase are considerably mobile.
The suggested order of elements is; pre-determiner, noun, determiner, modifier, post-modifier. However, there’s considerable variation in the ordering of items in the modifier position (no such freedom in other positions).
Glossed texts in the article
The following are glossed examples as extracted from the article. The link to their glosses by the annotator is [1]
LANGUAGE | TEXT | TEXT IN ENGLISH |
Swahili | 2.b)kitabu changu kile
book mine that |
(that book of mine) |
Swahili | 3.b)kitabu kipya kizuri
book new nice |
(a nice new book) |
Swahili | 4.)vitabu vingi sana
books many very |
(books are very many) |
Swahili | 6.) kila mtu
each person |
(each person) |
Swahili | 13.a)mtu wangu yule
person mine that |
(that person of mine) |
Sukuma | 22.b)abhanu bhatano bhose abho abhane
people five all those my |
(all those five people of mine) |
Safwa | 20.a)bhala abhantu bhani bhasanu
those people my five |
(those five people of mine) |
Safwa | 20.a)abhantu bhani bhasanu bhala
people my five those |
(those five people of mine) |
Mashami | 3.a)kitabu kasha kidodori
book red good |
(a good red book) |
Ha | 16.b)abhantu bhanje bhaya bhataanu bhasole
people my those five good |
(those five good people of mine) |
Related Articles
Mark Van de Velde (University of Leuven/FWO). The order of noun and demonstrative in Bantu. Available online at http://llacan.vjf.cnrs.fr/pers/vandevelde/files/pdfs/The-order-of-noun-and-demonstrative-in-Bantu.pdf Accessed on 2012-05-22.