ÌṢỌ̀LÁ ON ISSUES IN YORÙBÁ LANGUAGE
ÌṢỌ̀LÁ ON ISSUES IN YORÙBÁ LANGUAGE
Credit: Prof L. O. Adewole
Yoruba for academic purpose
INTRODUCTION[1]
There are many unresolved issues in
the analysis of the structure of Yorùbá Language. Some of these are the
problems of the relative and focus constructions, the verb infinitive
phrase, the high tone syllable, and the status of the particle ti. In this chapter, we shall take another look at the last issue using the data taken from Akínwùmí Ìṣọ̀lá’s second novel, Ogún Ọmọdé (see the Appendix for a comprehensive list of items derived with the particle ti by the author).
THE DATA
The data is taken from Ìṣọ̀lá’s Ogún Ọmọdé because
(i) The work is aptly worded and well organized
(ii) It depicts not only real characters but also reflects real life experiences in a traditional Yorùbá setting.
(iii) It adequately represents the standard dialect. The dialectal variation is minimal, and most junctural syllables are indicated.
(iv) It
adequately captures the speech of the native speakers. For instance,
Rowlands’ claims that in the speech of a native speaker he recorded,
“the use of yóò ‘will’ is much more limited in speech than its variants, ó/è/á… in most written texts, which are heavily influenced by the Bible translation, the opposite is the case" (1). In Ìṣọ̀lá’s Ogún Ọmọdé, the use of yóò "will" is limited than its variants.
PREVIOUS ANALYSES
The particle ti
was analyzed as a noun by Awóbùlúyì ("Essentials” 21). Owólabí has
convincingly shown that Awóbùlúyì’s analysis of the item was
inappropriate. Owólabí then goes on to show that the particle is a
genitive (82). According to him,
the particle ti is not a noun but a
genitive. With the genitive con¬struction containing it, being the
emphatic counterpart of the one that does not (71).
Oyèláràn takes up Owólabí and tries to show that the particle ti is not a genitive marker but a derivational morpheme used to derive a noun from a noun as in ti + èmi, which becomes tèmi and ti + ilé which becomes tilé.
IN SUPPORT OF OYÈLÁRÀN
Function
Examples taken from Ìṣọ̀lá’s Ogún Ọmọdé
go a long way to support the claim of Oyèláràn. As earlier stated by
Awóbùlúyì that any "word functioning as the subject of a verb or the
object of a verb or preposition in a grammatical sentence in the
language is a noun" ("Essentials" 7). Ìṣọ̀lá, in Ogún Ọmọdé, uses the derivatives from ti and a noun as a subject of a verb in (1), object of a verb in (2) and object of a preposition in (3) below:
(1) Telèdàá làṣẹ (144, line 6)
The Creator is endowed with authority
(2) Èyí kò jọ tẹ̀ẹ̀kan (89, line 20)
This does not resemble the previous one
(3) Gángan ni ìlù Olóòlù ní tirẹ̀ (112, line 12)
Gángan drum is the drum used by the Olóòlù masquerade
Awóbùlúyì ("Essentials" 38) states further that a noun can also serve as a genitival qualifier. An example of this is:
(4) A fẹ́ lọ gun táwàa ti Bower (104, line 7-8)
We want to go and climb Bower’s tower
In addition, Awóbùlúyì ("Essentials"
35-40) also states that a noun can be qualified by a relative clause as
in (5) or a topical qualifier as in (6) below:
(5) Ti ọdún tí a ń wí yìí náà tán ( 1 20, line 5)
That of that year also came to an end
(6) Tiwa ló ti ti àwọn Iyìọlá (7, line 1 3)
Ours is by the side of Iyìọlá’s
It should be noted in (4), as
claimed by Awóbùlúyì, that when "a genitival qualifier begins with a
consonantal sound... the last sound of the noun immediately preceding
the qualifier is automatically ‘lengthened’ on a mid tone" ("Essentials"
40). In (4), táwà "tower" becomes táwàa "tower" before the genitival qualifier, ti Bower "that of Bower"
A Clitic or an Inflectional Morpheme?
The lengthened vowel mentioned by
Awóbùlúyì ("Essentials") reminds one of the "emphatic counterpart"
mentioned in Owólabí (71). By the "emphatic counterpart," Owólabí means
that the particle ti is the
emphatic counterpart of the lengthened vowel in (4). What Owólabí is
saying is that, instead of (4), we can have (7) where the lengthened
vowel is a genitive marker but without emphasis:
(7) A fẹ́ lọ gun táwàa Bower
We want to go and climb Bower’s tower.
If the particle ti
and the lengthened vowel are genitive markers, then, we can classify
them either as inflections or clitics. This is so because of the views
of the following scholars that:
(8) (a)
A genitive is a "case form in some inflected languages indicating such
relationships as possession or source" (Hartmann and Stork 94).
(b) An inflected language is a "type
of language in which grammatical relationships are shown by inflexion"
(Hartmann and Stork 111-112).
(c) Inflection is the process or
result of adding affixes to the base or root of a word to determine and
limit its grammatical significance... in English, the plural morpheme-s,
e.g. hat/hats, dog/dogs; the possessive -"s, e.g. boy’s/boys" (Hartmann
and Stork 112).
(9) Thus
the construction marked by the clitic-’s in English (Daddy’s book or
the man next door’s book) is also described as genitive (Mathews 145).
Following (8a) and (8c), if we regard the particle ti
and the lengthened vowel as inflectional morphemes, there will be
problems. First, Yorùbá is not an inflected language as described in
(8b). Yorùbá is an isolating language where "each grammatical category
is represented by a separate word" (Mathews 188). Second, even if we
treat the particle and the lengthened vowel as exceptions to the rules
and classify them as inflectional morphemes, there will still be the
issue of the inflectional parsimony principle. The principle states
that,
two inflections cannot be
functionally identical unless they are in complementary
distribution...[that is], where one selects a given formative to realise
a certain morphosyntactic property or properties (e.g. gender, number,
tense, aspect, [case], etc.), that selection precludes the selection of
other formatives which realise the same morpheme(s) [brackets, ours]
(Katamba 218).
If we regard the particle ti
and the lengthened vowel as inflectional morphemes, then, example (4)
should not be grammatical because it should have broken the inflectional
parsimony principle which requires the particle ti
and the lengthened vowel not to co-occur but to be in complementary
distribution. To speakers of the language, example (4) is grammatical.
If this is so, it means that the particle and the lengthened vowel
cannot be classified as inflectional morphemes.
Another option, following (9), is to
classify the particle and the lengthened vowel as clitics. This also
has a problem. Klavan notes that co-occurrence can be used as a
diagnostic of synchronic relationship between a clitic and its strong
form (70). According to him, a clitic and its strong form do not
co-occur. If we apply Klavan’s claim to example (4), we will see that it
would be wrong to classify the particle ti
and the lengthened vowel as clitics because the two items co-occur and
the sentence is grammatical. We still come to the same conclusion when
room is given for Klavan’s claim that clitics do co-occur with
corresponding strong forms in dislocated structures (87). A pause
between the particle and the lengthened vowel will make the sentence
ungrammatical as shown in (10).
(10) * A fẹ́ lọ gun táwàa, ti Bower
We are going to climb Bower’s, tower
UNRESOLVED ISSUES
From the discussion in section 4 above, it may look as if the examples in Ìṣọ̀lá’s Ogún Ọmọdé fully support the claim made by Oyèláràn that the particle ti
is a derivational morpheme. That this may not necessarily be so becomes
clear if one applies the principle of generality which states that,
a semantic notion is more likely to
be expressed using an inflectional morpheme [as in the use of the
genitive ‘s’ in English] if it has a non-specific (meaning) which allows
it to be applicable to a wide range of stem’s. Conversely, a semantic
notion is more likely to be expressed using a derivational morpheme
[such as the use of ti in Yorùbá] if it has a rather specific meaning (Katamba, 216) [brackets ours]
Ìṣọ̀lá, in Ogún Ọmọdé, shows quite clearly that there is not much difference between the use of the genitive "s" and the particle ti
when the principle of generality is applied. Examples (11) and (12)
below show that the items are used to express non-specific notions:
(11)
(i) possessive genitive: Felix’s car
(ii) subjective genitive: the Queen’s arrival
(iii) objective genitive: The city’s destruction
(iv) genitive of origin: Shakespeare’s play (Brinton 108).
The particle ti
(12)
(i) that of x (Abrahan, 640)
Tẹlẹ́dàá Làṣẹ (Ogún Ọmọdé, 144, line 6)
Authority belongs to the Creator
(ii) ní ti as regard "x" (Abraham, 641)
Ní ti Àkànní, ó lè ṣiṣẹ́ bí akúra (Ogún Ọmọdé 78, line 26)
As regards Àkànní, he can work like a man who is sexually impotent
(iii) ti + the emphatic personal-pronouns ( x èmi, ìwọ) produces
forms meaning "mine," "yours," etc.)
Wọ́n bu tèmi fún mi (Ogún Ọmọdé 89, line 22)
They broke it and gave me mine
(iv) used in the same way as àti
ó ń bọ̀ tìbínútìbínú (Ogún Ọmọdé 3, line 11)
He is coming back angrily
Examples in (11) and (12) show the non-specificity notions of the genitive "s" and the particle ti because the former is used in four different types of ways in (11) and the latter, in four different ways in (12).
It looks, however, that Oyèláràn is
aware of these types of examples and seems to be saying that the
principle of generality may be culturally determined because he compared
the particle ti with the derivational morpheme, oní which also expresses non-specific notions as in (13) and concludes that they perform the same types of function.
(13)
(i) oníbàtà - shoemaker, cobbler, owner of shoe (Abraham 98)
(ii) oníbodè - gatekeeper of town, custom officer (Abraham 110)
(iii) akàn - crab; alákàn (oní akàn) - crab (Abraham 45)
(iv) oníbòtí - malt seller, owner of malt (Abraham 115)
(v) idẹ - brass; onídẹ - made of brass (Abraham 272)
Despite the comparison given between oní and ti by Oyèláràn, further examples from Ogún Ọmọdé
show that there are still problems. It has been shown in the literature
that multiple affixation of different affixes is permitted in the
derivation of a word (Katamba 53). I think this is what Ìṣọ̀lá is
trying to show in Ogún ọmọdé with the word highlighted in (14) below:
(14) Àwọn onítọ̀hún ni kò burú (117, line 29)
His own people said it was OK
Onítọ̀hún in (14) is formed first through the prefixation of ti to ọ̀hún (over there) to give us tọ̀hún (that over there) and the prefixation of oní to tọ̀hún to give us onítọ̀hún
(that person). The word in bold in (14) is, therefore, grammatical as
far as multiple affixation is concerned. But then, "where several
prefixes or suffixes occur in a word, their place in the sequence is
normally rigidly fixed" (Katamba 113). The word in bold in (14) above
tends to indicate that the particle ti is nearer to the root than the derivational morpheme, oní. However, example (15) below shows that the order of the two morphemes in a word is not rigidly fixed:
(15) tonítọ̀hún (that which is related to that person) is the
combination of ti+oní+ti+ọ̀hún.
Note that we can still go further to derive (16):
(16) onítonítọ̀hún (oní+ti+oní+ti+ọ̀húin)
(the owner of that which is related to that person)
This shows that the re-attaching of each of the two morphemes again and again is permitted.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing, it is clear that the last word has still not been said about the particle ti
despite Oyèláràn’s claim to the contrary. Data from only one
publication of Ìṣọ̀lá has been used for our analysis in this work. A
look at other publications of his, especially his plays and poetry, may
throw more light at the grammatical status of the particle ti.
Bibliography
Abraham, R. C. Dictionary of Modern Yorùbá. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958.
Awóbùlúyì, Oladele. Essentials of Yorùbá Grammar. Ibadan: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Awóbùlúyì, Oladele. "Studies in the
Syntax of the Standard Yorùbá Verb.", Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation,
Columbia University, 1967.
Brinton, L. J. The Structure of Modern English: A Linguistic Introduction. Amsterdam: John Benjamin Publishing Company, 2000.
Chalker, S and E. Weiner. Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. Oxford: Oxford Uni-versity Press, 1994.
Cipollone, N., S. H. Keiser, and S.
Vasishth. Language Files; Materials for an Introduc-tion to Language and
Linguistics. Columbus; Ohio State University Press, 1994.
Crystal, David. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985.
Crystal, David. A Dictionary of Language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Hartmann, R. R. K. and F. C. Stork. Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. London: Applied Science Publishers Ltd, 1976.
Ìṣọ̀lá, Akínwùmí. Ogún Ọmọdé. Ibadan: University Press Plc, 1990.
Katamba, Francis. Morphology. New York: St Martins Press, 1993.
Klavan, J. L. "Approaches to a Universal Theory of Clitics.", Ph.D. Dissertation, Univer¬sity of London, 1980.
Mathews, Peter. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Napoli, D. J. Linguistics: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Owólabí, Kola. "Noun-Noun
Construction in Yorùbá: A Syntactic and Semantic Analysis.", Ph.D.
Dissertation, University of Ibadan, 1976.
Oyèláràn, Olasope. O. "Ọ̀nà kan ò
Wọjà: Mofọ́lọ́jì Yorùbá", Paper Presented at a Seminar at the
Department of African Languages and Literatures, Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife, 1982.
Quirk, R. and S. Greenbaum. A University Grammar of English. London: Longman Group Limited, 1973.
Rowlands, E. “Types of Word Junctions in Yorùbá”, Bulletin of the School of the Oriental and African Studies 16.11, (1954): 376-388.
APPENDIX
Data taken from Ogún Ọmọdé
(Items derived with the particle ti are in bold)
Group 1: A derivative from ti and a noun used as an object of a preposition:
------- lyìọlạ́ kò níkùn tààrà ní tirẹ̀ (1, line 3)
As for lyìọlá, his stomach does not protrude.
------ Ní ọ̀ṣọ̀ọ̀ṣẹ̀ ni a ń ṣẹ́gi lọ sílé ìwé. Àwọn olùkọ́ á pín in, wọn a
máa fi dáná ní tiwọn (67, line 3)
We fetch fire-wood to the school every week. The teachers will divide
it to kindle a fire for cooking.
Ní ti Àkànní, ó lè ṣiṣẹ́ bí akúra (78, line 26)
As regards Akanni, he can work like a man who is sexually impotent.
Ní ti Dọlápọ̀, ọ̀rọ̀ sísọ lorò. Ẹnu kì í ro ó. (78, line 16)
As for Dolapo, too much talking is his problem. He is never tired.
Wọ́n kan gba owó àti sìgá ni. Wọ́n bá padà ní tiwọn (95, line 6)
They just collected some money and cigarettes. They then went back.
Gángan ni ìlù Olóòlù ní tirẹ̀ (112, line 12)
As for Oloolu, his drum is the gángan drum.
Ìyá àgbà kò kírun ní tirẹ̀ (113, line 6)
As for the grandmother, she never recites the Islamic five daily prayers.
Group 2: ti used like the derivational morpheme, àti, as in àtọmọdé-àtàgbà (both young and old)
Ó ń bọ̀ tìbínú-tìbínú (3, line 11)
He was coming back angrily.
Ó sì fi tagbára-tagbára jù ú mọ́lẹ̀ (8, line 4)
He threw them on the ground forcefully.
Alábaun náà ń kọrin tàánútàánú (23, line 1)
The tortoise was singing regretfully.
Group 3: ti used as (Awóbùlúyì ‘Essentials’ 38)’ s genitive qualifier
Ilé tiwa ló ti àwọn Iyìọlá (7, line 13)
Our house is beside Iyìọlá’s.
Ijọ́ tí èèdè àìyedè bá wà Iáàrin àwọn olùkọ́ ni inú tiwa máa ń dùn
(p. 68, line 13)
We are always happy whenever there is a misunderstanding between the teachers.
Òun ni yóò fẹ́rẹ̀ ṣẹ́ igi tàwa méjèèjì tán (78, line 2)
He is the one who would almost collect all the fire wood for the two of us.
Bí ó bá ti ṣe tirẹ̀, a tún bọ́ sórí ti ẹlòmíràn (78, line 23)
After completing his, he will move over to that of another person.
Ìwé tèmi a máa rírí (79, line 7)
My book is always dirty.
Dokun gbènì lórí tirẹ̀ (92, line 7)
More was added to that of Dokun.
A fẹ́ lọ gun tàwàa ti Bower (104, line 7-8)
We wanted to go and climb Bower’s tower.
Eégún tọ̀hún dúró sí etí afárá Kúdẹtì (107line 18).
The other masquerader stood near the bridge at Kudeti.
Oníbàtá ti eégún kejì náà ń kì í (108, line 7).
The bàtá drummer of the second masquerader also was praising him.
Oyin bẹ̀rẹ̀ síí ta eégún tọ̀hún àti àwọn ènìyàn rẹ̀ (108, line 25)
The other masquerader and his people were being stung by bees.
Lẹ́yìn tirẹ̀, eégún kan kò tún níí jáde mọ́ (112, line 10)
After him, no other masquerader will come out again.
Yóò rí ọ̀kan nínú ti àwọn (112, line 12)
He will see one of theirs.
Ibi tí ó bá rí ló ń ju ẹsẹ̀ tirẹ̀ sí (105, line 9)
He throws his own leg just anywhere.
Group 4: A derivation from ti and a noun occurring immediately after a focus marker
Ajá ló bẹ òun ní iṣu rù, àárù lásán ni tòun - (23, line 25-26)
It was the dog who asked for assistance in carrying the yams; he was just assisting in carrying them.
Igun mẹ́rin nìlú ń ní, mẹ́rìndínlógún ni t’Ìbàdàn (102, line 31 and 103, line 1)
A town usually has four corners, Ibadan has sixteen.
Arísáyà ní mímú ni tòun (123, line 18-21).
Arisaya said his should be drunk.
Group 5: A derivative of ti and a noun used as the object of a verb
Ó níláti wáá sọ tẹnu rẹ̀ níwájú òun dandan ni (24, line 1)
He should come and say all that he knows in front of him by force.
Ohun tí ó tún fà á tí gbogbo wọn fi ń ṣe tèmi ni pé èmi náà ni ohun tí mo ń ṣe fún wọn (78, line 9)
The reason why they all liked me was that there were things I usually did for them.
------ A dákẹ́-má-fọhùn, a ò mọ tẹni tó ń ṣe (78, line 7)
He who refuses to talk, nobody knows on whose side he is.
------ Bí ó bá ti ṣe tiẹ̀ tán, a tún bọ́ sórí ti ẹlòmíràn (78, line 28).
After completing his, he will move over to that of another person.
------ Èyí kò jọ tẹ̀ẹ̀kan (89, line 20)
This is not like the previous one.
------ Wọ́n bu tèmi fún mi (89, line 22)
They broke it and gave me mine.
------ Atọ́kun náà á so tiẹ̀ mọ́ra (105, line 19)
The escort will also tie his own round his body.
------ Ó ní kí wọn mú ewé wọn dáadáa kí àwọn tó bá ti sọ tiwọn nù lọọ já òmíràn (107, line 21)
He said they should hold their leaves very well and that those who have misplaced their own should go and pluck other leaves.
------ Àwọn ìbọ̀sẹ̀ náà kàn jọ tiwọn ni (11 6, line 24)
The stockings only resemble theirs.
------ Ó tẹjú mọ́ fìlà yìí ó sì rí i pé ó jọ tòun (1 17, line 8)
He looked at the cap very well and saw that it resembled his.
------ A pàdé eégún mìíràn. …. ó dàgbà ju tiwa lọ dàadàa (117, line 16)
We met another masquerade. …. he was by far older than ours.
------ Èrò tún pọ̀ lẹ́yìn rẹ̀ ju tiwa lọ (117, line 16)
There were many more people following him than ours.
------- Mo bẹ̀rù tíṣà ju ti Ṣàngó lọ (47, line 8)
I feared a teacher more than I feared Sango
Group 6: ti as a derivational morpheme
------ Onítọ̀hún náà ń bọ̀ pẹ̀lú àwọn ènìyàn rẹ̀ (108, line 16)
The others were also coming with their people.
---- Àwọn onítọ̀hún ní kò burú (117, line 29)
The other ones said it was OK.
Group 7: A derivative of ti and a noun used as the head of an NP
------ Alẹ́ ò lè lẹ́ kọ́mọ ejò má rìn. Tọmọ eku ni ó le (108, line 14)
No matter how late, a snake can move around, only a baby rat has problems,
------ Títán leégún ọdún, ọmọ alágbàá yóò ràkàrà, tí ọdún tí à ń wí yìí náà tán (120, line 4-5)
No matter the duration of an egúngún
festival, the festivities would end and the son of egúngún chief priest
would buy bean cake with which he would eat èkọ (pap); the festival of
the year we were talking about was the same.
Group 8: A noun and a derivative of ti and a noun are coordinated.
Oògùn yìí wà fún gbogbo kòkòrò ara àti torí (122, line 18)
This medicine is useful for infections on the body and the head.
[1] This paper was published as L.O. Adewole (2008), ‘Ìṣọ̀lá on Issues in the Yorùbá Language’, Emerging Perspectives on Akínwùmí Ìṣọ̀lá, edited by Akintunde Akinyemi and Toyin Falola, pp. 177-188. Trenton: Africa World Press, Inc
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