Verbs of Motion in Nigerian Pidgin English: Manner, Direction, and Serial Verb Constructions
Main Article Content
Abstract
It has been noted by many scholars, especially of pidgin and creole linguistics, that many pidgin and creole languages contain constructions in which two verbs serve to describe a single event, i.e., within a single predicate. These constructions have come to be called serial verb constructions (SVCs). Their definition is not agreed upon by scholars, largely due to the fact that for every proposed means of defining what constitutes an SVC, there seem to be exceptions. For instance, while some scholars maintain that the two verbs in a serial verb construction share an object, there are examples of SVCs in which each verb has its own object (e.g. Muysken and Veenstra 1995: 295). Similarly, the degree to which the verbs (or the events which they describe) must be related, especially in terms of concurrence and therefore tense and aspect, is not agreed upon by scholars (e.g. Jansen et al. 1978, Law et al. 1992, Mufwene 1990, Muysken and Veenstra 1995). It is clear that previous descriptions and analyses of SVCs, which have been almost exclusively syntactic, have not accounted completely for the varying structures of SVCs. For this reason, it seems likely that a semantic approach might provide insight into the constraints on possible SVC structures in pidgins and creoles. In the following study, this possibility was investigated.
Downloads
Article Details
The Indiana University Linguistics Club Working Papers (the "Publisher") and Author(s) agree as follows.
1. Publication and Promotion: In consideration of the Publisher's agreement to publish the Work, Author hereby grants and assigns to Publisher the non-exclusive right to print, publish, reproduce, or distribute the Work throughout the world in all means of expression by any method known or hereafter developed, including electronic format. Author further grants Publisher the right to use Author's name in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials.
2. Copyright: Copyright of the Work remains in the Author's name.
3. Prior Publication and Attribution: Author agrees not to publish the Work in print form prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher. Author agrees to notify IULCWP before publishing the Work elsewhere.
4. Author Representations: The Author represents and warrants that the Work: (a) is the Author's original Work and that the Author has full power to enter into this Agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright or property of another; (c) contains no material that is obscene, libelous, or defamatory. Author shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss of expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.
5. Licensing and Reuse: Reuse of the published Work will be governed by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ). This lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the Work non-commercially; although new works must acknowledge the original IULCWP publication and be non-commercial, they do not have to be licensed on the same terms.