Pronominal Subject Clitics in Igbo
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| Title | Pronominal Subject Clitics in Igbo |
| Authors | |
| Abstract | Pronominal elements in Igbo have been categorized into two types; the independent ones and the dependent, short, weak ones. Whereas the independent pronominal elements can occur both at the subject and object positions, the so-called dependent ones (which have also been analyzed as resumptive pronouns (Uwalaka, 1995)) are restricted to the subject position. This paper seeks to examine the dependent pronominal elements in Igbo and it has reanalyzed them as pronominal subject clitics (PSCs) based on certain syntactic evidence such as pronouns as second objects, pronouns in relation to prepositions, pronouns and enclitics, reflexive constructions (Nwaozuzu, 2007). Other syntactic evidence which strengthen our analysis of the dependent pronouns as PSCs are strict adjacency to a main or auxiliary verb, modification facts, topicalization, clefting, emphasis, coordination. Furthermore, based on evidence from Igbo causative construction, the PSCs have been analyzed as occupying pro-argument positions in the constructions where they appear. The paper therefore, concludes that the Igbo PSCs do not constitute prosodically autonomous lexical entities; rather they are phonologically deficient and dependent on adjacent lexical items. This study is based on a database including both actual and potential expressions, which standard Igbo speakers find to be in consistent with their language rules. The approach, which has been adopted for the analysis is purely descriptive. Igbo is the third largest indigenous language in Nigeria. It is spoken indigenously in the South-Eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. |
| Publisher | ACADEMY PUBLISHER |
| Date | 2012-02-01 |
| Source | Theory and Practice in Language Studies Vol 2, No 2 (2012) |
| Rights | Copyright © ACADEMY PUBLISHER - All Rights Reserved.To request permission, please check out URL: http://www.academypublisher.com/copyrightpermission.html. |