Difference between revisions of "Igala Grammar"

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==Disclaimer==
This wiki is currently under construction. The information on this page stems from the research that began with the field methods class taught at the McGill Department of Linguistics in Winter 2021.
== Cultural Information ==
== Cultural Information ==


'''Add citations'''
<!-- Add citations -->
 
'''Background Information'''


Igala, known to the Igala people as “àbó ígálâ [àbóogálâ] in their language” is both an ethnic
Igala, known to the Igala people as “àbó ígálâ [àbóogálâ] in their language” is both an ethnic
nationality and language (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016:1). Certain cultural groups such as the Bassa people maintain an
nationality and language (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016:1)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>. Certain cultural groups such as the Bassa people maintain an Igala identity while other groups such as the Inoma or Ebu do not view themselves as Igala people (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016:2)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>. These divergent identities result from different historical interactions between these groups and the Igala people of the Kogi State (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>
Igala identity while other groups such as the Inoma or Ebu do not view themselves as Igala people (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá
 
2016:2). These divergent identities result from different historical interactions between these groups and
Spoken by approximately 1,600,020 people (Ethnologue), Igala is one of the nine main languages in Nigeria (Williamson 1990). The name Igala refers to the people as well as their language (Boston 1968, Williamson 1989b, Ukwedeh 1989 and Etu 1999). The Igala language belongs to the New Benue-Congo branch within the Niger-Congo phylum. It is coordinate with such languages as Yoruba, Itsekiri, Igbo, and Idoma. (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>.  Igala is distantly related to other Yoruboid languages.
the Igala people of the Kogi State (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016).
 


''' The Pear Story '''
''' The Pear Story '''
The Pear Story is a six-minute film that was produced at the University of California at Berkeley in 1975 and shown to speakers of a number of languages, who were asked to tell what happened in it. In the meantime it has been used in a variety of other studies across other languages. The goal has been to present cinematically a series of more or less natural events to multiple viewers, who are then asked to verbalize what they remember. (UCSB Linguistics) [https://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/research/pear-film].
A native (first language) speaker of Igala, recorded herself telling the pear story. The Winter 2021 Field Methods class, transcribed the story based on her recording [https://www.overleaf.com/project/60c12c68c8f9732b0e456898].
<!--Is there a way to link the PDF of the pear story LaTeX document @ Brandon -ray-->
<!-- Do we have some kind of link to the pear story/something we could put here -ray -->


== Phonology ==
== Phonology ==


The phonology of Igala consists of a mid sized inventory of consonants and vowels. Igala is a tonal language.  
The phonology of Igala consists of a mid sized inventory of consonants and vowels. Igala is a tonal language. (''Main page:'' [[Tone]])


=== Phonological Inventory ===
=== Phonological Inventory ===
Line 35: Line 47:
|-
|-
|'''Plosive'''
|'''Plosive'''
|p b  
|p b
|t d  
|t d  
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|k g
|k g
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|-
|-
|'''Nasal'''
|'''Nasal'''
|m
|m
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|n  
|n  
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
ŋʷ
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|-
|'''Fricative'''
|'''Fricative'''
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|f fʲ
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|h
|-
|'''Affricate'''
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|tʃ dʒ
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|-
|'''Approximant'''
|w
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|j
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|-
|'''Lateral Approximant'''
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|l lʲ
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
Line 61: Line 105:
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|h
|}
|}


'''Vowels'''
As shown above, Igala contains labialized plosives such as /gʷ/ and palatalized plosives such as /lʲ/.


According to Ejeba, there are seven vowels in Igala.
Igala additionally contains the co-articulated phonemes /kp/ 'voiceless labiovelar plosive' and /gb/ 'voiced labiovelar plosive'.


<!-- ADD CITATIONS RAY -->
'''Vowels'''


The vowels in Igala are given below.
According to Ejeba (2016), there are seven vowels in Igala. <ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref> The vowels in Igala are given below.


{| class="wikitable IPA" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 0 auto;"
{| class="wikitable IPA" cellpadding="4" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 0 auto;"
Line 96: Line 139:
|}
|}


==== Syllable Structure ====
Syllables in Igala are in the form V, VC, or CVC. The maximal syllable in Igala is CVC.<ref name="ejeba" />
The majority of syllables in Igala are open syllables of CV or V form.
There are distributional restrictions on where each syllable can appear. According to Ejeba (2016)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>, CVC form is limited to ideophones. CV can occur word-initially, word-medially, word-finally, or in isolated form  <ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>. V can occur in all cases except for word medially. Negation in Igala occurs as a syllabic nasal: /n/.


==== Phonotactics ====
==== Phonotactics ====


Syllables in Igala are in the form V, VC, or CVC. The maximal syllable in Igala is CVC.
====== Vowel Hiatus ======
 
From a preliminary overview of Igala, it appears that Igala does not tolerate vowels in hiatus. Resolution usually consists of the deletion of the initial vowel of the VV. Take for example, the following:


<!-- CITE EJEBA PAGE 29 -->
(1) ɹ'''ɔ''' ākʷū > [ɹākʷū] ‘cry a cry’ <br>
(2) r'''a''' ɔ́mɛ̀ > [rɔ́mɛ̀] ‘pay debt’ <br>
(3) k'''ɔ''' uɲi > [kuɲi] ‘build a house’ <br>
(4) kp'''ɛ''' útʃɛ̀ > [kpútʃɛ̀] ‘send message’ <br>
(5) w'''ɔ''' ɛ́dɔ̀ > [wɛ́dɔ̀] ‘get angry (lit. foam heart)’ <br>
(6) gb'''a''' ìlɛ́tà > [gbìlɛ́tà] ‘receive a letter’ <br>
(7) d'''u''' ēdʒū > [dēdʒū] ‘take eye (part of a SVC)’ <br>


There are distributional restrictions on where each syllable can appear. CVC can only occur in isolated form. CV can occur word-initially, word-medially, word-finally, or in isolated form. V can occur in all cases except for word medially.
Note: The deleted vowels are put in bold


The exception to this pattern of deletion is when the initial vowel of the sequence is ''i'', in which case the hiatus becomes diphthongized. In other words, the initial high front vowel becomes a glide and yields a jV string, as seen in the following:


''Vowel Hiatus''
(8) l'''i''' ɛ > [l'''ʲ'''ɛ] ‘see you’ <br>
(9) h'''i''' odʒe abatʃa > [h'''ʲ'''odʒabatʃa] 'cook cassava morsel' <br>
(10) b'''i''' ɔ̌nà> [b'''ʲ'''ɔ̌nà] ‘open door’


==== Tone ====
There are other instances where hiatus is not repaired such as between a subject and aspect marker.
 
=== Tone ===


''Main page:'' [[Tone]]
''Main page:'' [[Tone]]


== Morphology ==
There are four level tones (Low (à), Mid (ā), High (á), and Super High (a̋)) and two contour tones (Falling (ǎ) and Rising (â)).
 
In Igala, tones are involved in morphological processes.
 
== Morphosyntax ==
 
Igala is a dominantly isolating language. The main word order in Igala is SVO. However, in certain cases alternative word orders, such as SOV, may occur. For instance, in the presence of fV the word order is modified.  This morpheme appears to surface in the usual verb slot, while the matrix verb appears sentence-finally. See [[fV & mV]] for futher information.


Igala is a dominantly isolating language. Igala does not make use of derivational or inflectional affixation.
=== Morphological Processes ===


''Nominalization''
[[Main Page: Morphological Processes]]


==== fV & mV ====


''Reduplication''
''Main page:'' [[fV & mV]]


== Syntax ==
====tʃɛ/tʃe====


Igala is a largely head-initial language. The basic word order of Igala is SVO (subject verb object)
The morphemes ''tʃɛ'' and ''tʃe'' appear as verbal elements in Igala.  


=== Verb Phrases ===
''tʃɛ'' adds the meaning that something has already been done to a sentence.


''Main page:'' [[Verb Phrases]]
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|gbɔ̋
|kàkīnī
|ɛ̀
|tʃɛ̀
|wā
|mɛ̂
|-
|1SG
|hear
|C
|2SG
|already
|come
|now
|-
|colspan="7"|‘I heard that you have already come.'
|}
 
'''(2)'''
 
The morpheme ''tʃe'' is a copular element translated as do/does.
 
{| {{table}}
|ido
|e
|ta
|tʃe
|ɛŋʷu
|ɔla
|mi
|-
|dance(N)
|NMLZ
|dance(V)
|do
|thing
|body
|1SG.OBJ
|-
|colspan="7"|‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do).'
|}
 
In certain cases ''tʃ(e)'' seems to note additional emphasis in a situation. Often added to reinforce past tense with eventives and statives. It possibly takes a nominalized VP (tʃ+e VP).
 
'''(3)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|i
|tʃe
|uwɛ
|dʒɛ
|ɔda
|lɛ
|i
|n
|:
|-
|3SG.NEG
|do.EMPH
|2SG.STR
|eat
|pear
|DEF.DIST
|EMPH
|NEG.SFP
|?
|-
|colspan="9"|‘Are you not the one who ate the pear?’
|}
 
==== Negation ====
 
When a sentence is negated in Igala, the subject of the negation bears an super-high tone. Additionally, sentence-finally a syllabic nasal ''n'' 'NEG' occurs.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| i̋|| l ||ɛ́ŋwú || du: ||n̋
|-
| 3SG.NEG ||  buy || thing || every||  NEG.SFP
|-
| ‘He didn't buy anything’
|-
|
|}
 
When there is A'-movement, negation surfaces as ''ma'' (example 3) before the verb but tone does not appear on the subject anymore.
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ɛ̋n(ɛ)||  ɛ̋ɛ̀||  lí
|-
| who ||2SG || see 
|-
| Who did you see?
|-
|
|}
 
'''(3)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ɛ̋n(ɛ) || ɛ̋ɛ̀ || má || ꜜlí || n̋
|-
| who || 2SG || NEG || see || SFP.NEG
|-
| Who did you not see?
|}
 
When extracting from the embedded sentence, ma surfaces in and only in negated phrases. This is evidence for movement occurring in phases.
 
'''(4)'''
 
Context: Peter’s wife only knows that Peter did not talk to his ex-girlfriend named Jane, but Peter also did not speak to Mary.
 
Qst: Which one does Peter’s wife know that Peter did not speak to?
 
{| {{table}}
| i̋dʒe̋nì || o1.5ŋʷū || ɔ̀jà || pítà || mà || kàkíní || pítà || má || k(a) || ɔ̀là || kp(ai) || o᷄ŋʷū || nî 
|-
| Jane || 3SG.STR || wife || Peter || know || C || Peter ||  NEG || speak || word || with || 3SG.STR || SFP.NEG
|-
| It is Jane(i) that Peter’s wife knows that Peter did not speak to (her(i)).
|-
|
|}
 
==== Nominalization====
 
''Main page:'' [[Nominalization]]
 
In Igala, nominalization occurs with the addition either the morpheme ''ɛ/e'' or the morpheme ''a'', as shown in the examples below.
 
In this example, ''ido ta'' alone means 'to dance,' while the additional of the morpheme ''e'' gives the nominal meaning 'dancing' to the word.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|ido
|e
|ta
|tʃe
|ɛŋʷu
|ɔla
|mi
|-
|dance(N)
|NMLZ
|dance(V)
|do
|thing
|body
|1SG.OBJ
|-
|colspan="7"|‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do)' (D:193).
|}
<!-- I need to find a minimal pair to go with this one -->
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|n(ɛ)
|ɔ́bē
|álādì
|n(ɛ)
|ɔ́bē
|kp(a)
|ādʒūwɛ̄
|lɛ̀
|-
|NMLZ
|use
|alado
|use
|knife
|kill
|chicken
|DEF.DIST
|-
|colspan="9"|‘It was the use of knife that aladi used knife to kill the chicken’
|}
 
====Reduplication====
 
Often non animate nouns that may be reduplicated for plurality (Ejeba 2016)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| úwó
|-
| mountain
|-
| mountain
|}
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| úwó || úwó
|-
| mountain || mountain
|-
| mountains
|}
 
Full reduplication can be used derivationally in Igala to mark added intensity (Ejeba 2016)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>.
 
'''(3)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|imɔtɔ
|onɛkɛlɛ
|lɛ
|rulɛ
|ti
|itʃekbulu
|jè
|jè
|jè
|jè
|-
|young boy
|DEF.DIST
|run(V)
|run(N)
|to
|school
|slowly
|slowly
|slowly
|slowly
|-
|colspan="10"|‘The young boy ran to school very slowly'.
|}
 
=== Verbs & Verb Phrases ===
 
Verbs in Igala begin with a consonant.
 
==== Verbs ====


Igala has multiple verb phrase constructions, such as serial verb constructions, split verbs, and cognate objects.
Igala has multiple verb phrase constructions, such as serial verb constructions, split verbs, and cognate objects.


=== Noun Phrases ===
===== Verb Tense =====
 
Eventive verbs by default are interpreted as past tense (example 1). Stative verbs are by default interpreted as present tense (example 2). Other tenses are created with strategies other than tense marking, such as aspect.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ù || fɛ̄dɔ̄ ||          má
|-
| 1SG  ||  love||        3PL
|-
|  ‘I loved them.’
|}
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ì  || m(a) ||eli ||lɛ́
|-
| 3SG  ||  know||song||DEM.DIST
|-
| ‘He knows that song.’
|}
 
===== Serial Verb Constructions =====
 
The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_verb_construction serial verb construction], also known as (verb) serialization or verb stacking, is a syntactic phenomenon in which two or more verbs or verb phrases are strung together in a single clause.
 
There are multiple types of serial verb constructions in Igala. One that is clearly a serial verb construction such as '''example 1'''. Igala additionally has potential serial verb constructions such as '''example 2''' and '''example 3'''.
 
Below is an example of a serial verb construction in Igala that is clearly a serial verb construction, as all verbs share the object.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| aladi ||kpa ||adʒuwɛ ||dʒɛ
|-
| aladi ||kill ||chicken ||eats
|-
| Alali killed and ate the chicken.
|}
 
'''(1b)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| álādì || l(a) || ádʒūwɛ̄ || kpá || hì || dʒɛ̄
|-
| aladi || buy || chicken || kill || cook || eat
|-
| 'Aladi bought chicken, killed, cooked and ate [it]'.
|}
 
In the example below, unlike in a typical serial verb construction the object is not shared, the object goes only with the first verb.
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| álādì ||  k(o) || ɔ́tàkīdā || lɛ̄ || wà
|-
| Aladi || take.PL || book || DEF.DIST || come
|-
| 'Aladi brought the books.'
|-
|}
 
'''Example 3''' is an instrumental serial verb construction. The subject of the sentence is shared but the verbs do not necessarily share an object.
 
'''(3)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| álǎdì  || d(u) ||  ónà || lɛ̄ ||  kpɔ̄  || fɔ́
|-
| aladi || take.SG || door || DEF.DIST || break-  || -break
|-
| 'Aladi broke the door/Aladi took the door and broke it.'
|-
|}
 
===== Splitting Verbs =====
 
Verbs in Igala can be split in two parts with one part occurring before the object and one part occurring after the object. See [fV and the splitting verbs] for more details on how fV interacts with splitting verbs.
 
Below are example sentences containing split verbs in Igala.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ū || t͡ʃɛ̌ || kp(ɔ)||  ɔ̄nà || lɛ̄ || fɔ̄ || ɔ̄nàlɛ̀
|-
| 1SG || already || break || door || DEF.DIST ||  break || yesterday
|-
| ‘I broke that door yesterday.’
|}
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| Ǒtʃálā || k(ɔ) || ēlā || lɛ́ || da
|-
| Ochala || cut || meat || DEF.DIST || cut
|-
| ‘Ochala cut the meat’
|}
 
===== Cognate Objects =====
 
"In linguistics, a cognate object (or cognate accusative) is a verb's object that is etymologically related to the verb. More specifically, the verb is one that is ordinarily intransitive (lacking any object), and the cognate object is simply the verb's noun form" ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognate_object] ). In Igala, cognate objects are true arguments of their predicates.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ǒtʃálā || t(a) || īdó
|-
| Ochala || dance(V) ||  dance(N)
|-
| ‘Ochala danced (a dance).’
|}
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| álādì || r(a) || ūlɛ́
|-
| Aladi || run(V) || run(N)
|-
| Aladi ran (a run).
|-
|}
 
=== Nouns & Noun Phrases ===
 
Nouns in Igala begin with a vowel.
 
==== Pluralization ====


''Main page:'' [[Noun Phrases]]
In Igala, the morpheme ''àma'' pluralizes an animate noun. An example of noun pluralization in Igala is shown below.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|tʃě
|n(ɛ)
|ám(a)
|ēwú
|-
|1SG
|do
|have
|PL
|goat
|-
|colspan="5"|‘I have goats’.
|}
 
According to Ejeba (2016)<ref name="ejeba">Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.</ref>, the morpheme ''abo'' means 'the people of'. The morpheme ''abo'' is used to pluralized nouns that are human.
 
'''(2a)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|ìgbɛ̀lɛ́
|-
|young.woman
|-
|'Young woman'
|-
|}
 
'''(2b)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| àbó || ǐgbɛ̀lɛ́
|-
| PL || young.woman
|-
| 'Young women.'
|}
 
==== Determiners ====
 
Igala has indefinite and definite articles.
 
===== Indefinite Article =====
 
There are usually no indefinite articles in Igala. Optionally ''(o)ka'' 'one' an occur after a noun.
 
'''(1)'''
 
{| {{table}}
| ú lʲ a̅bʲà (o)kǎ n     
|-
| 1SG see dog one NEG
|-
| ‘I didn’t see one dog.’
|}
 
===== Definite Article =====
 
Definiteness is encoded in the morpheme ''lɛ''. ''lɛ'' seems to have a similar meaning to English's 'the' or 'that.' Definiteness is encoded in the morpheme ''lɛ''.
 
An example of ''lɛ''
 
'''(2)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|ɔnɛkɛlɛ
|lɛ
|nɛ
|imoto
|-
|man
|DEF.DIST
|drive
|car
|-
|colspan="4"|‘The man drove a car.’
|}
 
In Igala, ''ji'' is a proximal definite article.
 
An example of ''ji''.
 
'''(3)'''
 
{| {{table}}
|tʃɔ́tʃì
|jī
|-
|church
|this
|-
|colspan="2"|‘This church.’
|}


The determiner follows the head noun:
The determiner follows the head noun:


{|
'''(4)'''
|ɔ̋nɛ́kɛ̄lɛ́ || l(ɛ) || a̋ || f(a) || ītébùlù || lɛ́ || ī: ||
 
{| {{table}}
|ɔ̋nɛ́kɛ̄lɛ́
|l(ɛ)
|a̋
|f(a)
|ītébùlù
|lɛ́
|ī:
|-
|-
|man || DEF.DIST || IPFV || pull || table || DEF.DIST || Q.EMPH ||
|man
|DEF.DIST
|IPFV
|pull
|table
|DEF.DIST
|EMPH
|-
|-
|What || does || this || mean|| Zoe :) || || ||
|colspan="7"|What does this sentence mean?
|}
|}


==== Personal Pronouns ====


'''Possessives'''
The  citation  forms  of  Igala  personal  pronouns  are  on  initial  low  and  final  mid  tones 
for subjects/objects, and on initial rising and final mid tones for genitive pronouns. In
discourse  reference  however,  cliticized  forms  of  the  subject,  object  and  genitive 
pronouns  are  used.  The  genitive  pronouns  are  formed  from  the  sequence  of  the 
genitive clitic and any of the pronominal genitive clitics – ordered as genitive Clitic+ Pronominal genitive clitic combination. (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)<ref name="ejeba" />.


Possession is not morphologically marked (although may be marked tonally?).
{| class="wikitable"
|+Personal Pronouns
|-
|'''Person'''
|'''Number'''
|'''Personal Pronouns'''
|'''Gloss'''
|'''Subject Clitics'''
|'''Gloss'''
|'''Object Clitics'''
|'''Gloss'''
|-
|'''1st'''
|Singular, Plural
|omi, awa
|'I/me', 'we/us'
|u, a
|'I', 'we'
|mi, wa
|'me', 'us'
|-
|'''2nd'''
|Singular, Plural
|uwɛ, amɛ
|'you(sg)', 'you(pl)'
|ɛ, mɛ
|'you(sg)', 'you(pl)'
|ɛ, mɛ
|'you(sg)', 'you(pl)'
|-
|'''3rd'''
|Singular, Plural
|oŋʷu, ama
|'she/he/it/her/him', 'they/them'
|i, ma
|'she/he/it', 'they'
|U, ma
|'she/he/it'/'them'
|-
|'''Non-Person'''
|Non-Number
|~
|~
|V
|~
|~
|~
|}
 
==== Possessives ====
 
Possession is not marked tonally. Possessives in Igala are marked by a tonal downstep.
 
==== Compounding ====
 
There are two types of compounding in Igala noun+noun to create a compound noun and noun+adjective compounds. All words used in compounds have meaning independently.
 
'''(1)''' Noun + Noun Compounding
 
{| {{table}}
| ɔ̀là || ɔ́dʒɔ́
|-
| word || God
|-
| 'The Gospel'
|}
'''(2)''' Noun + Adjective Compounding
 
{| {{table}}
| ómi || òfòfo
|-
| water || ordinary
|-
| 'Ordinary water'
|}
 
==== Multiplier Morpheme ====
 
 
''Main page:'' [[Multiplier Morpheme]]


=== Adjectives and Adverbs ===
=== Adjectives and Adverbs ===
<!--add a broader description of adverbs and adjectives up here-->
The morphemes ''mɛ'' and ''gɛ'' in Igala pattern as adverbs.
'''mɛ'''
The morpheme ''mɛ'' patterns as an adverb meaning ''now'' or ''already'' depending on the context.
An example of ''mɛ'' with the meaning 'now.'
'''(1)'''
{| {{table}}
|ma
|wa
|mɛ
|-
|3PL
|come
|now
|-
|colspan="3"|‘They are now coming.’
|}
An example of ''mɛ'' with the meaning 'already.'
'''(2)'''
{| {{table}}
|gbɔ̋
|kàkīnī
|ɛ̀
|tʃɛ̀
|wā
|mɛ̂
|-
|1SG
|hear
|C
|2SG
|already
|come
|already
|-
|colspan="7"|‘I heard that you have already come.’
|}
'''gɛ'''
The morpheme ''gɛ'' patterns as an adverb in Igala meaning 'again.'
An example of ''gɛ''.
'''(3)'''
{| {{table}}
|a
|dabi
|ta
|ido
|gɛ
|-
|1PL
|turn.back
|dance(V)
|dance(N)
|again
|-
|colspan="5"|‘We danced again.’
|}


=== Sentence-Final Particles ===
=== Sentence-Final Particles ===
More information on Sentence-Final Particles: [[Sentence-Final Particles]]
===Focus and Topicalization===
<!--talk about i-->
==== Topicalization ====
In topic constructions, topicalized DP always comes before focused one Topic is marked by a following tʃe, which separates it from the following focus
'''(1)'''
{| {{table}}
| ùdʒɛ̄ŋʷū ||lɛ́ ||tʃ(e) ||òkʷɔ̄ ||mì ||ònòbȕlɛ̀ ||hȉ ||í
|-
| meal/food||DEF.DIST||AUX||grandparent ||1SG.POSS ||female ||cook||EMPH
|-
| “(What about the lamb curry?) [That dish]TOP was cooked by my grandmother.”
|}
==== Focus ====
Focused DP always appears sentence initially. Focused DP is optionally followed by a strong pronoun coindexed with the focused DP (in the above sentences this is òŋʷū). When there is a focused DP, the sentence must appear with an SFP i.
'''(2)'''
{| {{table}}
| i̋ î ||ōdʒ(i) ||[ɔ̄lɔ̀ ||ŋʷū]i ||òŋʷūi ||ì ||gʷù(gʷú) ||ì
|-
| No ||top ||[neck ||3SG.POSS]i ||3SG.STRi ||3SG ||sit(.sit) ||EMPH
|-
| “No, she’s sitting on his neck.”
|}


==References==
==References==
<references />

Latest revision as of 10:27, 10 March 2022

Disclaimer

This wiki is currently under construction. The information on this page stems from the research that began with the field methods class taught at the McGill Department of Linguistics in Winter 2021.

Cultural Information

Background Information

Igala, known to the Igala people as “àbó ígálâ [àbóogálâ] in their language” is both an ethnic nationality and language (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016:1)[1]. Certain cultural groups such as the Bassa people maintain an Igala identity while other groups such as the Inoma or Ebu do not view themselves as Igala people (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016:2)[1]. These divergent identities result from different historical interactions between these groups and the Igala people of the Kogi State (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)[1]

Spoken by approximately 1,600,020 people (Ethnologue), Igala is one of the nine main languages in Nigeria (Williamson 1990). The name Igala refers to the people as well as their language (Boston 1968, Williamson 1989b, Ukwedeh 1989 and Etu 1999). The Igala language belongs to the New Benue-Congo branch within the Niger-Congo phylum. It is coordinate with such languages as Yoruba, Itsekiri, Igbo, and Idoma. (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)[1]. Igala is distantly related to other Yoruboid languages.


The Pear Story

The Pear Story is a six-minute film that was produced at the University of California at Berkeley in 1975 and shown to speakers of a number of languages, who were asked to tell what happened in it. In the meantime it has been used in a variety of other studies across other languages. The goal has been to present cinematically a series of more or less natural events to multiple viewers, who are then asked to verbalize what they remember. (UCSB Linguistics) [1].

A native (first language) speaker of Igala, recorded herself telling the pear story. The Winter 2021 Field Methods class, transcribed the story based on her recording [2].

Phonology

The phonology of Igala consists of a mid sized inventory of consonants and vowels. Igala is a tonal language. (Main page: Tone)

Phonological Inventory

Consonants

The consonants in Igala are given below.

Igala Consonant Phonemes
  Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Co-articulated velar labial Glottal
Plosive p pʲ b bʲ t d       k kʷ g gʷ    
Nasal m mʲ   n   ɲ ŋ ŋʷ    
Fricative   f fʲ           h
Affricate       tʃ dʒ        
Approximant w   ɹ   j      
Lateral Approximant     l lʲ          

As shown above, Igala contains labialized plosives such as /gʷ/ and palatalized plosives such as /lʲ/.

Igala additionally contains the co-articulated phonemes /kp/ 'voiceless labiovelar plosive' and /gb/ 'voiced labiovelar plosive'.

Vowels

According to Ejeba (2016), there are seven vowels in Igala. [1] The vowels in Igala are given below.

Igala Vowel Phonemes
  Front Central Back
High i   u
Mid ɛ e   o ɔ
Low a    


Syllable Structure

Syllables in Igala are in the form V, VC, or CVC. The maximal syllable in Igala is CVC.[1]

The majority of syllables in Igala are open syllables of CV or V form.

There are distributional restrictions on where each syllable can appear. According to Ejeba (2016)[1], CVC form is limited to ideophones. CV can occur word-initially, word-medially, word-finally, or in isolated form [1]. V can occur in all cases except for word medially. Negation in Igala occurs as a syllabic nasal: /n/.

Phonotactics

Vowel Hiatus

From a preliminary overview of Igala, it appears that Igala does not tolerate vowels in hiatus. Resolution usually consists of the deletion of the initial vowel of the VV. Take for example, the following:

(1) ɹɔ ākʷū > [ɹākʷū] ‘cry a cry’
(2) ra ɔ́mɛ̀ > [rɔ́mɛ̀] ‘pay debt’
(3) kɔ uɲi > [kuɲi] ‘build a house’
(4) kpɛ útʃɛ̀ > [kpútʃɛ̀] ‘send message’
(5) wɔ ɛ́dɔ̀ > [wɛ́dɔ̀] ‘get angry (lit. foam heart)’
(6) gba ìlɛ́tà > [gbìlɛ́tà] ‘receive a letter’
(7) du ēdʒū > [dēdʒū] ‘take eye (part of a SVC)’

Note: The deleted vowels are put in bold

The exception to this pattern of deletion is when the initial vowel of the sequence is i, in which case the hiatus becomes diphthongized. In other words, the initial high front vowel becomes a glide and yields a jV string, as seen in the following:

(8) li ɛ > [lʲɛ] ‘see you’
(9) hi odʒe abatʃa > [hʲodʒabatʃa] 'cook cassava morsel'
(10) bi ɔ̌nà> [bʲɔ̌nà] ‘open door’

There are other instances where hiatus is not repaired such as between a subject and aspect marker.

Tone

Main page: Tone

There are four level tones (Low (à), Mid (ā), High (á), and Super High (a̋)) and two contour tones (Falling (ǎ) and Rising (â)).

In Igala, tones are involved in morphological processes.

Morphosyntax

Igala is a dominantly isolating language. The main word order in Igala is SVO. However, in certain cases alternative word orders, such as SOV, may occur. For instance, in the presence of fV the word order is modified. This morpheme appears to surface in the usual verb slot, while the matrix verb appears sentence-finally. See fV & mV for futher information.

Morphological Processes

Main Page: Morphological Processes

fV & mV

Main page: fV & mV

tʃɛ/tʃe

The morphemes tʃɛ and tʃe appear as verbal elements in Igala.

tʃɛ adds the meaning that something has already been done to a sentence.

(1)

ū gbɔ̋ kàkīnī ɛ̀ tʃɛ̀ mɛ̂
1SG hear C 2SG already come now
‘I heard that you have already come.'

(2)

The morpheme tʃe is a copular element translated as do/does.

ido e ta tʃe ɛŋʷu ɔla mi
dance(N) NMLZ dance(V) do thing body 1SG.OBJ
‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do).'

In certain cases tʃ(e) seems to note additional emphasis in a situation. Often added to reinforce past tense with eventives and statives. It possibly takes a nominalized VP (tʃ+e VP).

(3)

i tʃe uwɛ dʒɛ ɔda i n :
3SG.NEG do.EMPH 2SG.STR eat pear DEF.DIST EMPH NEG.SFP ?
‘Are you not the one who ate the pear?’

Negation

When a sentence is negated in Igala, the subject of the negation bears an super-high tone. Additionally, sentence-finally a syllabic nasal n 'NEG' occurs.

(1)

l ɛ́ŋwú du:
3SG.NEG buy thing every NEG.SFP
‘He didn't buy anything’

When there is A'-movement, negation surfaces as ma (example 3) before the verb but tone does not appear on the subject anymore.

(2)

ɛ̋n(ɛ) ɛ̋ɛ̀
who 2SG see
Who did you see?

(3)

ɛ̋n(ɛ) ɛ̋ɛ̀ ꜜlí
who 2SG NEG see SFP.NEG
Who did you not see?

When extracting from the embedded sentence, ma surfaces in and only in negated phrases. This is evidence for movement occurring in phases.

(4)

Context: Peter’s wife only knows that Peter did not talk to his ex-girlfriend named Jane, but Peter also did not speak to Mary.

Qst: Which one does Peter’s wife know that Peter did not speak to?

i̋dʒe̋nì o1.5ŋʷū ɔ̀jà pítà kàkíní pítà k(a) ɔ̀là kp(ai) o᷄ŋʷū
Jane 3SG.STR wife Peter know C Peter NEG speak word with 3SG.STR SFP.NEG
It is Jane(i) that Peter’s wife knows that Peter did not speak to (her(i)).

Nominalization

Main page: Nominalization

In Igala, nominalization occurs with the addition either the morpheme ɛ/e or the morpheme a, as shown in the examples below.

In this example, ido ta alone means 'to dance,' while the additional of the morpheme e gives the nominal meaning 'dancing' to the word.

(1)

ido e ta tʃe ɛŋʷu ɔla mi
dance(N) NMLZ dance(V) do thing body 1SG.OBJ
‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do)' (D:193).

(2)

é n(ɛ) ɔ́bē álādì n(ɛ) ɔ́bē kp(a) ādʒūwɛ̄ lɛ̀
NMLZ use alado use knife kill chicken DEF.DIST
‘It was the use of knife that aladi used knife to kill the chicken’

Reduplication

Often non animate nouns that may be reduplicated for plurality (Ejeba 2016)[1].

(1)

úwó
mountain
mountain

(2)

úwó úwó
mountain mountain
mountains

Full reduplication can be used derivationally in Igala to mark added intensity (Ejeba 2016)[1].

(3)

imɔtɔ onɛkɛlɛ rulɛ ti itʃekbulu
young boy DEF.DIST run(V) run(N) to school slowly slowly slowly slowly
‘The young boy ran to school very slowly'.

Verbs & Verb Phrases

Verbs in Igala begin with a consonant.

Verbs

Igala has multiple verb phrase constructions, such as serial verb constructions, split verbs, and cognate objects.

Verb Tense

Eventive verbs by default are interpreted as past tense (example 1). Stative verbs are by default interpreted as present tense (example 2). Other tenses are created with strategies other than tense marking, such as aspect.

(1)

ù fɛ̄dɔ̄
1SG love 3PL
‘I loved them.’

(2)

ì m(a) eli lɛ́
3SG know song DEM.DIST
‘He knows that song.’
Serial Verb Constructions

The serial verb construction, also known as (verb) serialization or verb stacking, is a syntactic phenomenon in which two or more verbs or verb phrases are strung together in a single clause.

There are multiple types of serial verb constructions in Igala. One that is clearly a serial verb construction such as example 1. Igala additionally has potential serial verb constructions such as example 2 and example 3.

Below is an example of a serial verb construction in Igala that is clearly a serial verb construction, as all verbs share the object.

(1)

aladi kpa adʒuwɛ dʒɛ
aladi kill chicken eats
Alali killed and ate the chicken.

(1b)

álādì l(a) ádʒūwɛ̄ kpá dʒɛ̄
aladi buy chicken kill cook eat
'Aladi bought chicken, killed, cooked and ate [it]'.

In the example below, unlike in a typical serial verb construction the object is not shared, the object goes only with the first verb.

(2)

álādì k(o) ɔ́tàkīdā lɛ̄
Aladi take.PL book DEF.DIST come
'Aladi brought the books.'

Example 3 is an instrumental serial verb construction. The subject of the sentence is shared but the verbs do not necessarily share an object.

(3)

álǎdì d(u) ónà lɛ̄ kpɔ̄ fɔ́
aladi take.SG door DEF.DIST break- -break
'Aladi broke the door/Aladi took the door and broke it.'
Splitting Verbs

Verbs in Igala can be split in two parts with one part occurring before the object and one part occurring after the object. See [fV and the splitting verbs] for more details on how fV interacts with splitting verbs.

Below are example sentences containing split verbs in Igala.

(1)

ū t͡ʃɛ̌ kp(ɔ) ɔ̄nà lɛ̄ fɔ̄ ɔ̄nàlɛ̀
1SG already break door DEF.DIST break yesterday
‘I broke that door yesterday.’

(2)

Ǒtʃálā k(ɔ) ēlā lɛ́ da
Ochala cut meat DEF.DIST cut
‘Ochala cut the meat’
Cognate Objects

"In linguistics, a cognate object (or cognate accusative) is a verb's object that is etymologically related to the verb. More specifically, the verb is one that is ordinarily intransitive (lacking any object), and the cognate object is simply the verb's noun form" ( [3] ). In Igala, cognate objects are true arguments of their predicates.

(1)

ǒtʃálā t(a) īdó
Ochala dance(V) dance(N)
‘Ochala danced (a dance).’

(2)

álādì r(a) ūlɛ́
Aladi run(V) run(N)
Aladi ran (a run).

Nouns & Noun Phrases

Nouns in Igala begin with a vowel.

Pluralization

In Igala, the morpheme àma pluralizes an animate noun. An example of noun pluralization in Igala is shown below.

(1)

ū tʃě n(ɛ) ám(a) ēwú
1SG do have PL goat
‘I have goats’.

According to Ejeba (2016)[1], the morpheme abo means 'the people of'. The morpheme abo is used to pluralized nouns that are human.

(2a)

ìgbɛ̀lɛ́
young.woman
'Young woman'

(2b)

àbó ǐgbɛ̀lɛ́
PL young.woman
'Young women.'

Determiners

Igala has indefinite and definite articles.

Indefinite Article

There are usually no indefinite articles in Igala. Optionally (o)ka 'one' an occur after a noun.

(1)

ú lʲ a̅bʲà (o)kǎ n
1SG see dog one NEG
‘I didn’t see one dog.’
Definite Article

Definiteness is encoded in the morpheme . seems to have a similar meaning to English's 'the' or 'that.' Definiteness is encoded in the morpheme .

An example of

(2)

ɔnɛkɛlɛ imoto
man DEF.DIST drive car
‘The man drove a car.’

In Igala, ji is a proximal definite article.

An example of ji.

(3)

tʃɔ́tʃì
church this
‘This church.’

The determiner follows the head noun:

(4)

ɔ̋nɛ́kɛ̄lɛ́ l(ɛ) f(a) ītébùlù lɛ́ ī:
man DEF.DIST IPFV pull table DEF.DIST EMPH
What does this sentence mean?

Personal Pronouns

The citation forms of Igala personal pronouns are on initial low and final mid tones for subjects/objects, and on initial rising and final mid tones for genitive pronouns. In discourse reference however, cliticized forms of the subject, object and genitive pronouns are used. The genitive pronouns are formed from the sequence of the genitive clitic and any of the pronominal genitive clitics – ordered as genitive Clitic+ Pronominal genitive clitic combination. (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)[1].

Personal Pronouns
Person Number Personal Pronouns Gloss Subject Clitics Gloss Object Clitics Gloss
1st Singular, Plural omi, awa 'I/me', 'we/us' u, a 'I', 'we' mi, wa 'me', 'us'
2nd Singular, Plural uwɛ, amɛ 'you(sg)', 'you(pl)' ɛ, mɛ 'you(sg)', 'you(pl)' ɛ, mɛ 'you(sg)', 'you(pl)'
3rd Singular, Plural oŋʷu, ama 'she/he/it/her/him', 'they/them' i, ma 'she/he/it', 'they' U, ma 'she/he/it'/'them'
Non-Person Non-Number ~ ~ V ~ ~ ~

Possessives

Possession is not marked tonally. Possessives in Igala are marked by a tonal downstep.

Compounding

There are two types of compounding in Igala noun+noun to create a compound noun and noun+adjective compounds. All words used in compounds have meaning independently.

(1) Noun + Noun Compounding

ɔ̀là ɔ́dʒɔ́
word God
'The Gospel'

(2) Noun + Adjective Compounding

ómi òfòfo
water ordinary
'Ordinary water'

Multiplier Morpheme

Main page: Multiplier Morpheme

Adjectives and Adverbs

The morphemes and in Igala pattern as adverbs.

The morpheme patterns as an adverb meaning now or already depending on the context.

An example of with the meaning 'now.'

(1)

ma wa
3PL come now
‘They are now coming.’

An example of with the meaning 'already.'

(2)

ū gbɔ̋ kàkīnī ɛ̀ tʃɛ̀ mɛ̂
1SG hear C 2SG already come already
‘I heard that you have already come.’

The morpheme patterns as an adverb in Igala meaning 'again.'

An example of .

(3)

a dabi ta ido
1PL turn.back dance(V) dance(N) again
‘We danced again.’

Sentence-Final Particles

More information on Sentence-Final Particles: Sentence-Final Particles

Focus and Topicalization

Topicalization

In topic constructions, topicalized DP always comes before focused one Topic is marked by a following tʃe, which separates it from the following focus

(1)

ùdʒɛ̄ŋʷū lɛ́ tʃ(e) òkʷɔ̄ ònòbȕlɛ̀ í
meal/food DEF.DIST AUX grandparent 1SG.POSS female cook EMPH
“(What about the lamb curry?) [That dish]TOP was cooked by my grandmother.”

Focus

Focused DP always appears sentence initially. Focused DP is optionally followed by a strong pronoun coindexed with the focused DP (in the above sentences this is òŋʷū). When there is a focused DP, the sentence must appear with an SFP i.

(2)

i̋ î ōdʒ(i) [ɔ̄lɔ̀ ŋʷū]i òŋʷūi ì gʷù(gʷú) ì
No top [neck 3SG.POSS]i 3SG.STRi 3SG sit(.sit) EMPH
“No, she’s sitting on his neck.”

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá, S. O. (2017). A grammar of Igala (Vol. 7). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.