International Journal of Language and Linguistics

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The Olusuba Noun Class System

Received: 21 June 2014    Accepted: 10 July 2014    Published: 10 September 2014
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Abstract

Noun classification is one of the prime markings of any Bantu language. It is characterized by the categorization of nouns into noun classes which often pair into singular and plural pairings. These classes are often marked with a numbering system. Suba language being a Bantu language has a noun class system typical of the other Bantu languages and because the language has hardly any evidence of a description of any aspect of its grammar this study seeks to describe this significant aspect of it, laying emphasis on the role of syntax in the morphological structure of the noun. The study took a qualitative approach with the descriptive research design. It was guided by the theory of distributed morphology introduced in 1993 by Morris Halle and Alec Marantz. The theory demonstrates the inter-relatedness between the various components of grammar (phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics). Data was collected in Mfangano Island, which is a homogeneous set up of Suba indigenous people. A sample of forty elders was purposively selected to provide the data. Focus group discussion and elicitation methods were used to collect a corpus of the Suba language which was recorded through audio taping and field notes. The recorded data was then analyzed using the item-and-arrangement approach of morphological structure analysis. This revealed that the classification of the Olusuba noun into a class is motivated by both the morpholosyntactic realization of the noun and the semantics of the noun.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11
Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 2, Issue 5, September 2014)
Page(s) 295-300
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Olusuba, Morphosyntax, Noun Classes, Proto-Bantu

References
[1] Austine, P. (ed.) (2003) Language documentation and Description. Vol. 1-6. London: Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project, School of Oriental and African Studies.
[2] Himmelmann, N. (1998) Documentary and descriptive linguistics. Linguistics, vol.36: 161-195. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[3] UNESCO (2007) Language Vitality and Endangerment http://portal.unesco.org./culture/en/ev.php-URL=9105
[4] Grimes, B. (2000) Ethnologue (fourteenth edition) Dallas Summer Institute of Linguistics.
[5] Halle, M. and Marantz, A. (1993) Distributed Morphology and the Pieces of Inflection: The View from Building 20 Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
[6] Ngonyani, D. (1996) The Morphosyntax of Applicatives: UCLA PhD Dessertation
[7] Ngugi Wa Thiongo, N. (2009) Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance Nairobi: Basic Books Press.
[8] Kibort, A. (2007) Towards a Typology of Grammatical Features Oxford: OUP.
[9] Meinhof, C. (1906) Comparative Grammar studies of the Bantu Languages
[10] Ayot, T. (1987) A History of the Luo of Western Kenya From A. D. 1960-1940: Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau.
[11] Matta, N. (2011) Okusoma Olusuba Kunyoowu no Omanyire Okusoma Olusuanya Nairobi: BTL.
[12] Ogone, J. (2008) Evaluating Language Revitalization in Kenya: the Contradictory Face and Rotland, F. & Okombo, D. (1986) The Suba of Kenya: A Case of Growing ethnicity with Receding Language Competence. In Afrikanistiche Arbeitspapiere (sept) pp 115Place of the Local Community Factor: Nordic Journal of African studies 17(4)
[13] Census Report (2010) Government of Kenya Census Report
Author Information
  • Department of Linguistics and Foreign Languages, School of Arts and Social Sciences: Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • Department of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: Egerton University, Kenya

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    Lilian Akoth Ochieng, Furaha Chai. (2014). The Olusuba Noun Class System. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(5), 295-300. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11

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    Lilian Akoth Ochieng; Furaha Chai. The Olusuba Noun Class System. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2014, 2(5), 295-300. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11

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    AMA Style

    Lilian Akoth Ochieng, Furaha Chai. The Olusuba Noun Class System. Int J Lang Linguist. 2014;2(5):295-300. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11,
      author = {Lilian Akoth Ochieng and Furaha Chai},
      title = {The Olusuba Noun Class System},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {295-300},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140205.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20140205.11},
      abstract = {Noun classification is one of the prime markings of any Bantu language. It is characterized by the categorization of nouns into noun classes which often pair into singular and plural pairings. These classes are often marked with a numbering system. Suba language being a Bantu language has a noun class system typical of the other Bantu languages and because the language has hardly any evidence of a description of any aspect of its grammar this study seeks to describe this significant aspect of it, laying emphasis on the role of syntax in the morphological structure of the noun. The study took a qualitative approach with the descriptive research design. It was guided by the theory of distributed morphology introduced in 1993 by Morris Halle and Alec Marantz. The theory demonstrates the inter-relatedness between the various components of grammar (phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics). Data was collected in Mfangano Island, which is a homogeneous set up of Suba indigenous people. A sample of forty elders was purposively selected to provide the data. Focus group discussion and elicitation methods were used to collect a corpus of the Suba language which was recorded through audio taping and field notes. The recorded data was then analyzed using the item-and-arrangement approach of morphological structure analysis. This revealed that the classification of the Olusuba noun into a class is motivated by both the morpholosyntactic realization of the noun and the semantics of the noun.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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