Difference between revisions of "Igala Grammar"

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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)<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). These divergent identities result from different historical interactions between these groups and the Igala people of the Kogi State (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)<ref name="ejeba" />.
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>


The Igala territory in Kogi State of Nigeria lies east of the state, and the people are in
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.  
nine Local Government Areas, out of the sixteen in the state. The Igala Local
Governments are Ankpa, Bassa, Dekina, Ibaji, Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ofu,
Olamaboro and Omala. (Ẹ̀jẹ̀bá 2016)<ref name="ejeba" />.


Spoken by approximately 2,000,000 people (Etu 1999 and Omachonu 2000), 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" />.


''' The Pear Story '''
''' The Pear Story '''
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|'''Fricative'''
|'''Fricative'''
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|f fʲ
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
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|}
|}


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'''
'''Vowels'''


According to Ejeba (2016), there are seven vowels in Igala. <ref name="ejeba" /><!-- ADD CITATIONS RAY --> 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;"
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==== Phonotactics ====
==== Syllable Structure ====


Syllables in Igala are in the form V, VC, or CVC. The maximal syllable in Igala is CVC.<ref name="ejeba" />  
Syllables in Igala are in the form V, VC, or CVC. The maximal syllable in Igala is CVC.<ref name="ejeba" />  


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


The majority of syllables in Igala contain a single vowel in the nucleus (V) or a consonant in
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/.
onset position and a vowel in the nucleus (CV). There are exceptions to these two structures which I will
discuss. First, Igala may allow for consonant clusters in onset position, but there are rules to the clusters
that are allowed. The clusters must take the shape of C + /j/ or C + /w/. There isn’t enough evidence to
determine if these consonants should be treated as labialized and palatalized consonants or as consonant
clusters. In speech, it is also the case that if there are two consecutive vowels, the first vowel will be
deleted and will become /j/ which would in turn create a consonant cluster.


Igala does not allow sequences of two vowels. In most cases, when there are two consecutive
==== Phonotactics ====
vowels, the first vowel is deleted and the second one stays. Some examples of this phenomenon include: /ì
m(a) ɛli lɛ́/ ‘He knows the song’, /ul(ɛ) ɛ̂lɛ̌/ ‘act of walking’, and /ú k(o) égbé ŋw(u) áɲèlà lɛ lɔ/ ‘I
gave grass to the horse’


=====Vowel Hiatus=====
====== 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:
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:
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(10) b'''i''' ɔ̌nà> [b'''ʲ'''ɔ̌nà] ‘open door’
(10) b'''i''' ɔ̌nà> [b'''ʲ'''ɔ̌nà] ‘open door’


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


=== Tone ===
=== Tone ===
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In Igala, tones are involved in morphological processes.
In Igala, tones are involved in morphological processes.


== Morphosyntax ==
== Morphosyntax ==


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


...
[[Main Page: Morphological Processes]]
 
=== Verbs & Verb Phrases ===
 
Verbs in Igala begin with a consonant.
 
==== Aspect ====
 
The morpheme ''a'' indicates imperfective aspect.
 
(1)
 
{| {{table}}
|ēlì
|lɛ̄
|ā
|tʃè
|mī
|ôlū
|-
|song
|DEF.DIST
|IPFV
|do
|1SG.OBJ
|sleep(N)
|-
|colspan="6"|‘The song is making me sleepy.’
|}
 
The morpheme ''na'' indicates that an action is in progress.
 
(2)
 
{| {{table}}
|ábʲá
|lɛ̄
|nǎ
|kò
|-
|dog
|DEF.DIST
|PROG
|bark
|-
|colspan="4"|‘The dog was barking.’
|}
 
The morpheme ''ɲa'' has a similar meaning to 'go' in English. The morpheme indicates that an event/action will occur in the future.
 
(3)
 
{| {{table}}
|ɛ̌
|ɲá
|kpɔ̄
|ɔnà
|lɛ́
|fɔ̄
|ɔ̀nâ
|-
|2SG.IPFV
|go
|break
|door
|DEF.DIST
|break
|tomorrow
|-
|colspan="7"|‘You will break the door tomorrow.’
|}


==== fV & mV ====
==== fV & mV ====
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====tʃɛ/tʃe====
====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.
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)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
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|now
|now
|-
|-
|colspan="7"|‘I heard that you have already come' (D:225).
|colspan="7"|‘I heard that you have already come.'
|}
|}
'''(2)'''


The morpheme ''tʃe'' is a copular element translated as do/does.
The morpheme ''tʃe'' is a copular element translated as do/does.
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|1SG.OBJ
|1SG.OBJ
|-
|-
|colspan="7"|‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do)' (D:193).
|colspan="7"|‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do).'
|}
|}


In certain cases ''tʃ(e)'' seems to note additional emphasis in a situation.  
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}}
{| {{table}}
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|?
|?
|-
|-
|colspan="9"|‘Are you not the one who ate the pear?’(D:?).
|colspan="9"|‘Are you not the one who ate the pear?’
|}
|}


==== Negation ====
==== 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.


==== Verbs ====
'''(1)'''
 
''Main page:'' [[Verbal Elements]]
 
Igala has multiple verb phrase constructions, such as serial verb constructions, split verbs, and cognate objects.
 
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.
 
===== Serial Verb Constructions =====
 
Below is an example of a serial verb construction in Igala.
 
(1)


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
|aladi
| i̋|| l ||ɛ́ŋwú || du: ||n̋
|kpa
|-
|adʒuwɛ
| 3SG.NEG ||  buy || thing || every|| NEG.SFP
|dʒɛ
|-
|-
|aladi
| ‘He didn't buy anything’
|kill
|chicken
|eats
|-
|-
|colspan="4"|Alali killed and ate the chicken (D:22).
|  
|}
|}


===== Cognate Objects =====
When there is A'-movement, negation surfaces as ''ma'' (example 3) before the verb but tone does not appear on the subject anymore.
 
A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognate_object 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.
 
Below is an example sentence with a cognate object in Igala.


(2)
'''(2)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
|u
| ɛ̋n(ɛ)|| ɛ̋ɛ̀|| lí
|l(e)
|t(i)
|ona
|dʒidʒi
|ɛrɛ
|-
|-
|1SG
| who ||2SG || see 
|walk(V)
|to
|path
|long
|trek
|-
|-
|colspan="6"|He walked a long walk (D:207).
| Who did you see?
|}
 
Alice Tremblay (2021) notes that cognate objects in Igala only occur with unergative verbs, and not with unaccusatives.
 
(3)
 
{| {{table}}
|ū
|r(a)
|úlɛ́
|-
|-
|1SG
|  
|run(V)
|}
|run(N)
|-
|colspan="3"|'I ran' (Tremblay 2021).
|}  


Tremblay (2021) writes that an important characteristic of cognate objects in Igala is their ability to be modified, including in relative clauses.
'''(3)'''
 
(4)


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
|ū
| ɛ̋n(ɛ) || ɛ̋ɛ̀ || má || ꜜlí || n̋
|t(a)
|ídő
|(u)jɔ̀
|-
|-
|1SG
| who || 2SG || NEG || see || SFP.NEG
|dance(V)
|dance(N)
|cheerful/joy
|-
|-
|colspan="4"|‘I danced a cheerful dance’ (Tremblay 2021).
| Who did you not see?
|}
|}


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


The split verb is a verb that sentence-finally appears as one word, however can be split so part of the verb appears earlier in the sentence.
'''(4)'''


Below is an example sentence containing a split verb in Igala.  
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.  


(5)
Qst: Which one does Peter’s wife know that Peter did not speak to?


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
|dorkas
| i̋dʒe̋nì || o1.5ŋʷū || ɔ̀jà || pítà || mà || kàkíní || pítà || má || k(a) || ɔ̀là || kp(ai) || o᷄ŋʷū || nî 
|kp
|-
|lɛ
| Jane || 3SG.STR || wife || Peter || know || C || Peter ||  NEG || speak || word || with || 3SG.STR || SFP.NEG
|ɔna
|fɔ
|-
|-
|Dorcas
| It is Jane(i) that Peter’s wife knows that Peter did not speak to (her(i)).  
|break
|door
|DEF.DIST
|break
|-
|-
|colspan="5"|Dorcas, break the door! (D:?).
|  
|}
|}


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In this example, ''ido ta'' alone means 'to dance,' while the additional of the morpheme ''e'' gives the nominal meaning 'dancing' to the word.
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)
'''(1)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
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<!-- I need to find a minimal pair to go with this one -->  
<!-- I need to find a minimal pair to go with this one -->  


(2)
'''(2)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
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====Reduplication====
====Reduplication====


(1)
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}}
{| {{table}}
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|-
|-
|colspan="10"|‘The young boy ran to school very 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.
===== 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).
|-
|}
|}


Line 552: Line 580:


Nouns in Igala begin with a vowel.
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.
In Igala, the morpheme ''àma'' pluralizes an animate noun. An example of noun pluralization in Igala is shown below.


(1)
'''(1)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
Line 571: Line 601:
|-
|-
|colspan="5"|‘I have goats’.
|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 ====
==== Determiners ====


In Igala, ''lɛ'' acts as a determiner. ''lɛ'' seems to have a similar meaning to English's 'the' or 'that.' ''lɛ'' is a definite article, not a demonstrative.
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''
An example of ''lɛ''


(1)
'''(2)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
Line 595: Line 666:
|}
|}


In Igala, ''ji'' is a definite article. ''ji'' is a definite article. It is a proximal (??)
In Igala, ''ji'' is a proximal definite article.


An example of ''ji''.
An example of ''ji''.


(2)
'''(3)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
Line 613: Line 684:
The determiner follows the head noun:
The determiner follows the head noun:


(3)
'''(4)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
Line 694: Line 765:
==== Possessives ====
==== Possessives ====


Possession is not morphologically marked (although may be marked tonally?).
Possession is not marked tonally. Possessives in Igala are marked by a tonal downstep.


==== Compounding ====
==== 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 ====
==== Multiplier Morpheme ====
Line 717: Line 808:
An example of ''mɛ'' with the meaning 'now.'
An example of ''mɛ'' with the meaning 'now.'


(1)
'''(1)'''


  {| {{table}}
  {| {{table}}
Line 733: Line 824:
An example of ''mɛ'' with the meaning 'already.'
An example of ''mɛ'' with the meaning 'already.'


(2)
'''(2)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
Line 761: Line 852:
An example of ''gɛ''.
An example of ''gɛ''.


(3)
'''(3)'''


{| {{table}}
{| {{table}}
Line 786: Line 877:


<!--talk about i-->
<!--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 />
<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 wā 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 lɛ 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)

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)

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

(3)

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?

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)

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 lɛ rulɛ ti itʃekbulu jè jè jè jè
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 má
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 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)

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)

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 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)

ɔnɛkɛlɛ lɛ nɛ 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 jī
church this
‘This church.’

The determiner follows the head noun:

(4)

ɔ̋nɛ́kɛ̄lɛ́ l(ɛ) a̋ 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 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)

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

An example of mɛ with the meaning 'already.'

(2)

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

gɛ

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

An example of gɛ.

(3)

a dabi ta ido gɛ
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 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)

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.
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