Noun Phrase Structure in Kihangaza

126 Pages·2010·0.726 MB·English

by  Nelius Rwebangira Neckemiah

NOUN PHRASE STRUCTURE IN KIHANGAZA

Nelius Rwebangira Neckemiah

Master of Arts (Linguistics) Dissertation
University of Dar es Salaam
November, 2010
NOUN PHRASE STRUCTURE IN KIHANGAZA

By
Nelius Rwebangira Neckemiah

A Dissertation Submitted in (Partial) Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts (Linguistics) of the University of Dar es Salaam

University of Dar es Salaam
November, 2010
i

CERTIFICATION

The undersigned certifies that he has read and hereby recommends for acceptance by
the University of Dar es Salaam the dissertation entitled: Noun Phrase Structure in
Kihangaza, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
(Linguistics) of the University of Dar es Salaam.

…… ………………………………………………..
Prof. Y.M. Kihore
(Supervisor)

………………………………
Date
ii

DECLARATION
AND
COPYRIGHT

I, Nelius Rwebangira Neckemiah, declare that this dissertation is my own original
work and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other
University for a similar or any other degree award.

…………………………………
Signature

………………………………….
Date

This dissertation is copyright material protected under the Berne Convention, the
Copyright Act 1999 and other International and national enactments, in that behalf, on
intellectual property. It may not be reproduced by any means, in full or in part, except
for short extracts in fair dealings, for research or private study, critical scholarly
review or discourse with an acknowledgement, without the written permission of the
Director, Postgraduate Studies on behalf of both the author and the University of Dar
es Salaam.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who, in one way or the other,
helped make this work a success. Their combined comments and criticisms helped
greatly in shaping it.

First of all, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor Prof. Y.M Kihore for his good
guidance when I was carrying out my work. His enthusiastic supervision enabled me
to accomplish much. In the same way, I wish to extend my distinguished thanks to
Prof. D.J.Mkude whose contribution and the time he devoted to my work cannot be
measured. Furthermore, I would like to thank my colleagues at the Dar es Salaam
University College of Education for their constructive ideas. I would, therefore, wish
many thanks to go to Manyasa Jonace, Cosmas Constantine and other colleagues
whose names are not mentioned here.

I also owe many thanks to the languages of Tanzania (LoT) Project for its remarkable
financial aid without which the pursuance of my MA. Linguistics and the writing of
my dissertation would not be a reality. This financial aid made all this possible.

I am also very grateful to all my respondents whose contribution cannot be
disregarded. Their willingness to provide me with information is highly treasured.
Finally, I am grateful to my dear wife, Placidia Justace Wamala for her moral and
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psychological support. She assiduously encouraged me whenever I felt tired.
Moreover, she took care of our beloved children, Nicas and Nixon.
v

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my beloved father Neckemiah Fundi and my deceased
mother Melensiana, for their long time parental care and guidance without which my
work would not be a success.
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ABSTRACT

This study focuses on the description of the noun phrase structure (henceforth NP) in
Kihangaza using the X-bar theory which is a component of the Phrase Structure
Grammar. It aims at providing a precise identification of the category NP in this
language, establishing the criteria for categorising elements that can become its
dependents, showing the extent to which the noun can be projected as well as
examining the features of the NP that contribute to new knowledge.

In terms of research methodology, the data was collected through questionnaire,
interviews, text analysis, free conversations and story telling. As regards the analysis
of the data, the morphosyntactic approach is taken aboard in order to achieve the
intended objectives of the study. In this approach, the Kihangaza nouns and other
elements, some of which operate as noun dependents, were morphologically and
syntactically analysed in order to shed light on the morpho-syntactic relations that the
noun head has with its dependents.

Findings from the study reveal that members of word classes in Kihangaza NP and
other Bantu languages can best be determined based on Bantu inflection. It is further
revealed that based on this criterion, the dependents of the head noun in the NP may be
clustered into 2 categories, namely: pronominals and adjectives.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Certification……………………………………………………………………………i
Declaration and Copyright…………………………………………………………….ii
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….iii
Dedication………………………………………………………………………………v
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...vi
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………..vii
List of Tables……………………………………………………….............................xii
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………..xiii
List of Abbreviations and Symbols…………………………………………………..xiv
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………..xvii

CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background Information on the Language and its Speakers………………………1
1.1 Background to the Problem………………………………………………………..5
1.2 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………….6
1.3 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………….6
1.4 The Significance of the Study……………………………………………………..7
1.5 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………...7
1.6 Scope of the Study………………………………………………………................8
1.7 Plan of the Study………………………………………………………..................8
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1.8 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………8

CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction…………………………………………………..…………………...10
2.1 Literature Review …...............................................................................................10
2.1.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………….…10
2.1.2 The Realisation of the Category NP in Various Languages ……………….….10
2.2 Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………………….17
2.2.1 General Overview of the Category Noun Phrase ……………………………...17
2.2.2 Theoretical Realisation of the Category NP……………………………….…..18

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………....30
3.1 Location of the Study Area………………………………………………………30
3.2 Research Design………………………………………………………………….31
3.3 Sampling Size and Identification of Respondents…………………………….....31
3.4 Methods of Data Collection……………………………………………………...32
3.5 Data Analysis Procedures……………………………………………………......33
3.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..33