Phrasal movement inside Bantu verbs : deriving affix scope and order in Kîîtharaka

This thesis tries to determine the principles that govern affix ordering in Kîîtharaka, an SVO Bantu language spoken in Kenya. The thesis starts by determining the base hierarchy of affixes by using semantic scope. Thus if an affix A scopes over an affix B, A asymmetrically c-commands B in the phrasal structure configuration. The thesis then tries to investigate how the affixes in the base hierarchy are re-ordered to produce the surface string. It is shown that in order to get the surface string, a constituent containing the verb root undergoes phrasal movement past an affix in a mixture of cyclic and roll-up movement. This movement mechanism, which I refer to as dragging movement, is shown to be strikingly similar to the mechanism that derives the typological variation in the ordering of demonstrative, numeral and adjective in the extended projection of the noun (Cinque 2005). The thesis therefore shows that the ordering of the affixes in the extended projection of the verb phrase in Kîîtharaka and the ordering of modifiers in the extended projection of the noun phrase fall under the same generalization

Wh-questions in Kitharaka

Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Arts, 2003

Strategies Used For Persuasion in Kimuthambi

Persuasion is inherent in everyday communication and is very important in relationships, leadership, peace building and success in virtually every area of livelihood. This study’s main goal is to provide an analysis of persuasion in Kimuthambi. The objective of the study is to identify and discuss strategies used for persuasion in Kimuthambi. The study is guided by the relevance theory by Sperber and Wilson. It utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research designs and is carried out in Muthambi Division, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The population includes all the Kimuthambi communicative events. The researcher purposively sampled ten real life communicative events conducted in Kimuthambi which involved forteen speakers. Data was collected using a digital audio recorder and an observation schedule. The recorder captured conversations in Kimuthambi in the selected communicative events and the observation schedule was used to record the contextual information. The researcher transcribed utterances from the data collected that utilizes stragetegies used for persuasion. The transcribed utterances are one hundred and thirty six. Then guided by the communicative principle of relevance, the researcher identifies and discusses eighty four utterances used for persuasion in Kimuthambi. The study establishes that persuasion in Kimuthambi is mainly through the use of logical appeals, emotional appeals and sensationalism. This study enhances the analysis of Kimuthambi as a language variety and adds to the existing knowledge on strategies of persuasion in various languages of the world. In addition it enriches knowledge on the tenets of the relevance theory.Thus it contributes to crosslinguistic studies from the perspective of a unique cultural orientation. Key words: Persuasion, Kimuthambi, Strategies, Relevanc

Typology of Kimbeere Relative Clauses in Kimbeere

In this paper we explore the typology of Kimbeere- a Kenya Bantu language. The paper demonstrates that like in other languages, Kimbere has different types of relative clauses namely restrictive, non-restrictive, direct, indirect, appositive, headless among other. Kimbere also has a type of relative clause called ingi relative. The paper is descriptive and contributes typological data which is crucial for drawing principles and parameters in natural language. Key Words: Relative clause, direct, indirect, headless, restrictive, typology DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/62-09 Publication date: November 30th 201

The union spell-out principle

This paper argues that grammar has a union spell-out principle that dictates that contiguous heads be spelled out by a single morpheme or phrase if there exists a morpheme or phrase in the lexicon with a collection of the features of the contiguous head

The union spell-out principle

This paper argues that grammar has a union spell-out principle that dictates that contiguous heads be spelled out by a single morpheme or phrase if there exists a morpheme or phrase in the lexicon with a collection of the features of the contiguous head

Phrasal movement inside Bantu verbs : deriving affix scope and order in Kîîtharaka

This thesis tries to determine the principles that govern affix ordering in Kîîtharaka, an SVO Bantu language spoken in Kenya. The thesis starts by determining the base hierarchy of affixes by using semantic scope. Thus if an affix A scopes over an affix B, A asymmetrically c-commands B in the phrasal structure configuration. The thesis then tries to investigate how the affixes in the base hierarchy are re-ordered to produce the surface string. It is shown that in order to get the surface string, a constituent containing the verb root undergoes phrasal movement past an affix in a mixture of cyclic and roll-up movement. This movement mechanism, which I refer to as dragging movement, is shown to be strikingly similar to the mechanism that derives the typological variation in the ordering of demonstrative, numeral and adjective in the extended projection of the noun (Cinque 2005). The thesis therefore shows that the ordering of the affixes in the extended projection of the verb phrase in Kîîtharaka and the ordering of modifiers in the extended projection of the noun phrase fall under the same generalization

Position of Wh-Words in Kipsigis Wh-Questions

The wh-parameter determines whether the wh-expression can be fronted or not. Studies on a number of languages among them English, Shona, Kiitharaka and Chinese have revealed that different languages use different ways to form wh-questions. This paper examines the positions a wh-phrase can occupy in Kipsigis, a southern Nilotic language. A descriptive research design was adopted and a structure generation exercise was used to elicit data from ten competent native speakers of Kipsigis. Data was analysed within the context of the minimalist program developed by Chomsky. The analysis revealed that Kipsigis wh-words can be found in their canonical position, a position termed in-situ. The wh-words can also be moved to the front of the matrix clause. This movement is triggered by a strong focus feature manifested by a focus marker which is always attached to the verb. The wh-words can undergo partial wh-movement where the wh-phrase moves to a position lower than its relevant position. The study also established that adjuncts remain in-situ except for the wh-phrase ‘why’ which can be fronted in addition to being found in-situ. This study contributes towards the understanding of universal and parametric linguistic features in syntactic theory

Kiitharaka Event and Result Nominals

This paper explores the subject of event and results nominals and finds that the two can easily be distinguished in Kîîtharaka. Kîîtharaka event nominals are in form of infinitive construction while result nominals are ordinary nouns. The paper argues that there is a parametric variation between these nominals in English and Kîîtharaka. While English event nominals disallow modification by indefinite determiners but allow definite determiners, Kîîtharaka counterparts disallow modification by any form of determiners. Keywords:  Kîîtharaka, nominals. DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/57-04 Publication date:June 30th 201