SIL International Publications

The Verbal Piece in Ebira

Author(s):
Adive, John R
Description: 

To the author, who is a mother tongue speaker, the verbal piece of Ebira, a Nigerian language, is the most complex unit in the language--phonologically and grammatically. Thus, this part of the Ebira grammar is the focus of the author's description in this book.

Table of Contents: 

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Symbols

1. Introduction

1.1 The Ebira People and the Ebira Language
1.2 The Language Name
1.3 Neighboring Languages
1.4 Language Family Affiliation
1.5 Literature Survey
1.6 The Present Study
1.7 The Theoretical Basis of the Study

2. Phonology

2.1 The Syllable Structure
2.2 The Vowel Phonemes
2.3 Vowel Harmony
2.4 Syllabic Nasals
2.5 The Consonant Phonemes
2.6 Tone

3. Syntactic Junctures

3.1 Vowel Elision
3.2 Labial Syllable Prosody
3.3 Palatal Syllable Prosody
3.4 Tone Changes
3.5 High Tone as a Syntactic Juncture Feature

4. The Verbal Piece: Phrase Rank

4.1 The Verbal Piece
4.2 The Grammatical Hierarchy
4.3 The Verbal Phrase
4.4 Tense Figure
4.5 Mood
4.6 Negative Polarity
4.7 Dependent Clauses
4.8 Pluralization

5. The Verbal Piece: Clause Rank

5.1 The Clause
5.2 Transitive Clause
5.3 Ditransitive Clause
5.4 Semitransitive Clause
5.5 Intransitive Clause
5.6 Stative Clause
5.7 Equative Clause
5.8 Copula Clause
5.9 The Pronoun System in the Clause
5.10 Interrogation and Interrogative Words in the Clause

6. The Verbal Piece: Serial Verb Constructions

6.1 The Serial Verb Construction
6.2 Syntactic Characteristics of Serial Verb Constructions in Kwa Languages
6.3 The Verbal Status of Serial Verbs
6.4 Types of Serial Verb Constructions in Ebira
6.5 Auxiliary Verbs

7. Analyzed Text

Appendices

A. A Chart of Monosyllabic Verbs
B. A List of Monosyllabic Verbs
C. Sample Spectrograms

Bibliography

Series Volume: 
85
Issue Date: 
1989
Extent: 
xii, 164 pages
ISBN 13: 
978-0883120378
Subject: 
Verbs
ISBN 10: 
0883120372
Size: 
6 × 9 × 0.37 in
Weight: 
0.6 lb
Field: 
Country: 
Nigeria
Subject Languages: 
Content Language: