Research Article
Unaccusative Verbs in Runyambo: Burzio’s Generalization Approach
Leticia Cyprian*,
Lea Mpobela,
Eustard Tibategeza
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 3, June 2025
Pages:
118-127
Received:
1 March 2025
Accepted:
14 March 2025
Published:
9 May 2025
Abstract: The study focused on Unaccusative verbs in Runyambo, a Bantu language spoken in Kagera region in Tanzania. The study was specifically conducted at Katera village found at Kyerwa district in Kagera region. The study drew inspiration from Burzio’s Generalization Approach focusing on Intransitive Unaccusative verbs in Runyambo. It employed a qualitative research approach to explore complex data, to gain insight into people's experiences about unaccusative verbs in Runyambo. Snowball and purposive sampling techniques were used to select informants. In this study, the target population were all native speakers of Runyambo from whom the sample of 4 was selected to represent others to come up with information needed. Data collection methods included sentence questionnaires and extraction from written materials. The data were analyzed descriptively using thematic analysis and tree diagrams. Tree diagrams are typically used to express the phrase structure in all versions of Transformational Grammar (TG), and to show the relationship between the D- Structure and S-Structure of the sentence and all NPs movements at the S-Structure. The findings reveal that in Runyambo, there are intransitive verbs which have a status of unaccusative verbs. They are known as intransitive unaccusative verbs because they cannot assign external theta role as well as accusative case. They do not possess an external argument at D-S. Intransitive unaccusative verbs carry only internal argument at D-S. They have the same features presented by Burzio’s Generalization Approach in verbs 3. The researcher recommends more studies to be conducted on the other Bantu language and non-Bantu language.
Abstract: The study focused on Unaccusative verbs in Runyambo, a Bantu language spoken in Kagera region in Tanzania. The study was specifically conducted at Katera village found at Kyerwa district in Kagera region. The study drew inspiration from Burzio’s Generalization Approach focusing on Intransitive Unaccusative verbs in Runyambo. It employed a qualitati...
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Research Article
The Contextual Use of Central Determiners in Kinyarwanda: The Case of Possessives
Kiba Ngapoula*
,
Laure Masabo Umutesi
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 3, June 2025
Pages:
128-136
Received:
6 April 2025
Accepted:
17 April 2025
Published:
22 May 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.20251303.12
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Views:
Abstract: This scrutiny deals with the contextual interpretation of central determiners in Kinyarwanda, a Bantu language spoken in the Great Lakes region, specifically in the Republic of Rwanda. It particularly tackles the case of possessives. It demonstrates that the pragmatic analysis of possessives in Kinyarwanda can be conceived under the notions of reference, definiteness, deixis, implicature, presupposition, and speech act. It starts by showing how Kinyarwanda possessives are used to point out referred entities, including anaphoric and cataphoric relationships. It also attests to how possessives in this language, used in a given context, refer to definite entities known to both participants. The study also proves that Kinyarwanda possessives are used to express person, social and discourse deixis. Afterwards, the analysis illustrates the way entities, in a given context of communication, impose an extra meaning to Kinyarwanda possessives that goes beyond the literal one, with the violation of different maxims to express implicature. Furthermore, the notion of possessives in Kinyarwanda also denotes that participants in the interaction assume to share common background information about the possessor and the possessee. The research then indicates that Kinyarwanda possessives analysed under the speech act theory emphasise the concepts of locutionary act, illocutionary force and perlocutionary effect, taking into account felicity conditions. Finally, the work demonstrates that, through a cross-linguistic perspective, Kinyarwanda possessives attest similarities and dissimilarities with Embosi, another Bantu language spoken in the north of the Republic of Congo.
Abstract: This scrutiny deals with the contextual interpretation of central determiners in Kinyarwanda, a Bantu language spoken in the Great Lakes region, specifically in the Republic of Rwanda. It particularly tackles the case of possessives. It demonstrates that the pragmatic analysis of possessives in Kinyarwanda can be conceived under the notions of refe...
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