the syntax and semantics of adverbial clauses in tonga by edith sikota a dissertation submitted to

232 Pages·2017·1.72 MB·English

THE SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES IN TONGA

BY

EDITH SIKOTA

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AWARD OF
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTIC SCIENCE

THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA
LUSAKA, 2016
COPYRIGHT

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in any means; electronic
or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior permission in
writing from the owner.

© Edith Sikota

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DECLARATION

I, Edith Sikota, declare that this dissertation represents my own work, unless in parts
so acknowledged and that it has not been submitted for any scholarly work at the
University of Zambia or any other University.

Signed …………………….. Date ……………………….

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APPROVAL CERTIFICATE

This dissertation for Edith Sikota is approved as partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of Master of Arts in Linguistic Science (Taught) by the University of
Zambia.

Examiners’ Signatures:

1. …………………………………. Date …………………………………

2. …………………………………. Date …………………………………

3. …………………………………. Date …………………………………

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ABSTRACT

In Tonga of Zambia, there has not been a detailed account of the syntax and semantics
of adverbial clauses exploring the structure and the various meanings different
subtypes communicate. There is very little representation at syntax and semantics
levels of the analysis of adverbial clauses in Tonga. This study provides a detailed
account of the syntax and semantics of adverbial clauses in Tonga. It uses a
descriptive research design in the analysis of both the syntax and semantics of
adverbial clauses.

At syntactic level, the research has found that adverbial clause types are not limited to
a single order. The arrangement of constituents varies. Some clause types permit
argument fronting while others do not. Although temporal, purpose, conditional,
concessive, reason and place clauses can either be preposed or postposed, the
ordering of these clauses in Tonga seem to be highly motivated by a number of factors
such as the logical sequence of the events, complexity, focus, emphasis and the
conjunction and elements signalling the adverbial clauses. With tense sequence, the
study has shown that there is a general rule; the copy-rule by the adverbial clause of
tense of the main clause verb for most adverbial types. However, there is also a wide
range of tense sequences in clauses of reason, purpose, place, and condition. The
mood varies considerably, depending on the effect of the syntactic expression. There
are also conjunctions that govern particular moods. The study has also revealed that
very few adverbial clause subtypes in the language solely use syntactic means, a few
use both syntactic and morphological means while many adverbial clauses are
signalled by morphological means alone.

Under semantics, the study has established several types of adverbial clauses. The
study has revealed that there are several specific meanings expressed by various
semantic interpretations of adverbial clauses, guided by the subordinating
conjunctions and verb forms used. The study has also revealed that some conjunctions
are polyfunctional. Semantic analysis has used the principle of compositionality in
which the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its
constituent expressions and the rules used to combine them.
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DEDICATION

To my husband, Mr I.P. Habwanda; the children, Beenzu, Moobola, Ethel, Richard,
Kazela and Namausya; and all those that cherish linguistics and African languages. To
Mainza, I say, ‘May Your Soul Rest in Eternal Peace’.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank the Almighty God for seeing me through despite all the challenges that I
underwent during my study at the University of Zambia.

I thank most sincerely all the academic staff in the Department of Literature and
Languages at the University of Zambia for their guidance and concern towards the
organisation and completion of this dissertation. I thank all those that taught me,
especially in linguistics and African languages courses through to theoretical
linguistics. I thank Dr. S. Ngalande, Dr. M. W. Nkolola, Mr. B. L. Musonda and Mr.
F. Chisala for insipiring me in undertaking this course.

Many thanks go to my supervisor, Prof. V. M. Chanda, for closely guiding me in the
organisation of the research work. Without his guidance, this work would not be to
this standard. However, I shoulder all the errors and mistakes that may be present.

I have been humbled by the financial support that the National In-Service Teachers’
College (NISTCOL) Board rendered to me for my studies. Without this, it would not
have been possible for me to study under financial constraints. Special thanks go to
the then Principal, Dr. P. M. Muzumara for encouraging me and his concern about this
work. I also thank all the Chalimbana University members of staff.

I further give special thanks to my family members who felt neglected during the
moments that I isolated myself to concentrate on my work.

I do not forget to thank my fellow students, especially V. Hanchoko, H. Jimaima, A.
Nachilima, M. Muke, M. Moono and Y. Kapawa for encouraging me.

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I also thank the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) staff both of
Chalimbana and the University of Zambia for updating and repairing my computer
whenever there were dysfunctions.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT....................... ..................................................................................................................... i
DECLARATION............. ........................................................................................................................ ii
APPROVAL CERTIFICATE ................................................................................................................. iii
ABSTRACT........................ .................................................................................................................... iv
DEDICATION................... ...................................................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF TABLES... ............................................................................................................................. xiii
ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................................. xiv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 TONGA ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.1.1 The status of Tonga in Zambia .................................................................................... 2
1.1.2 The orthography ........................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES ............................................................................................... 4
1.2.1 The syntax of adverbial clauses ..................................................................................................... 5
1.2.2 The semantics of adverbial clauses ................................................................................................ 7
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................ 7
1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................... 7
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................... 8
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................. 8
1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION....................................................................... 9
1.8 SCOPE OF STUDY ................................................................................................... 10
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1.9 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY ................................................................................. 10
1.10 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 12
2.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 12
2.2 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES IN TONGA .......................................................................... 12
2.2.1 Temporal clauses .......................................................................................................... 13
2. 2.2 Purpose clauses ............................................................................................................... 17
2.3.3 Conditional clauses ......................................................................................................... 18
2.3 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES IN OTHER LANGUAGES ................................................. 22
2.3.1 Syntax ............................................................................................................................ 22
2.3.2 Semantics ........................................................................................................................ 25
2.4 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 28
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 30
3.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 30
3.2 Research design ............................................................................................................................. 30
3.3 Sample size and sampling technique ......................................................................................... 30
3.2 Data collection methods ................................................................................................. 31
3.3 Data collection procedure ............................................................................................... 32
3.4 Data analysis ............................................................................................................................. 33
3.5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 34
CHAPTER FOUR: SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 35
4.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 35
4.2 THE STRUCTURE OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES................................................................... 38
4.2.1 Arrangement of constituents within an adverbial clause ............................................ 39
4.2.2 Argument fronting in adverbial clauses ...................................................................... 40
4.2.3 Subjectless and verbless adverbial clauses ................................................................ 41
4.2.4 Government of subordinating conjunctions ............................................................... 42
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4.2.5 Sequence of tenses .................................................................................................... 43
4. 2.5.1 Sequence of tenses in temporal adverbial clauses ............................................................ 49
4. 2.5.2 Sequence of tenses in purpose adverbial clauses ............................................................... 50
4.2.5.3 Tense sequence in conditional clauses..................................................................... 51
4.2.5.4 Tense sequence in concessive clauses .................................................................... 52
4.2.5.5 Tense sequence in clauses of reason ....................................................................... 52
4.2.5.6 Tense sequence in clauses of result .......................................................................... 53
4.2.5.7 Tense sequence in clauses of manner ....................................................................... 54
4.2.5.8 Tense sequence in clauses of comparison ............................................................... 55
4.2.5.9 Tense sequence in clauses of place ........................................................................... 55
4.2.5.10 Tense sequence in comment clauses .................................................................................. 56
4.3 POSITION OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES .................................................................... 56
4. 3. 1 Position of temporal clauses ..................................................................................... 60
4.3.1.1 Temporal clauses signalled by conjunctions ........................................................... 62
4.3.1.2 Temporal clauses without subordinating conjunctions ............................................ 64
4.3.1.3 Temporal clauses signalled by tense and mood ...................................................... 70
4.3.1.4 Syntactic polarity in temporal clauses .................................................................... 71
4.3.2 Position of purpose clauses ........................................................................................ 72
4.3.2.1 Purpose clauses signalled by conjunctions ............................................................. 72
4.3.2.2 Purpose clauses without subordinating conjunctions ............................................. 73
4.3.2.3 Purpose clauses signalled by tense and mood ........................................................ 74
4.3.2.4 Syntactic polarity in purpose clauses ..................................................................... 75
4.3.3 Position of conditional clauses .................................................................................. 76
4.3.3.1 Conditional clauses signalled by conjunctions ........................................................ 76
4.3.3.2 Conditional clauses without subordinating conjunctions ....................................... 79
4.3.3.3 Conditional clauses signalled by tense and mood ................................................... 81
4.3.3.4 Syntactic polarity in conditional clauses ............................................................... 82
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