SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The present research is the study of the Igbo verbs in general, and the Achi dialect in particular. It concentrates on the forms suid meanings of the verbs. It, therefore, makes original contributions to the linguistic study of the language from end to end, but especially in the areas of lexical and syntactic differences between the Achi dialect and the Onicha and Owere dialects, the semantic and serial classification of the infinitives and their uses, the five auxiliaries (Most works on Igbo have hitherto recognised only ga and na as the auxiliaries of the language. It is only Professor Carnochan (1966) who added ji to ga and na), the lexical structure in which is studied the polysemic and homonymous nature of the verbs on one hand, and the synonyms and antonyms on the other. The study comprises an introduction and seven chapters. The introduction sets out the peculiarities of the dialect from lexical, syntactic and semantic view points, and indicates that tone is a significant feature of the Igbo language. Chapter I provides an insight into the morphology of the verb, roots and the affixes, and the serialisation of the suffixes. Chapter II studies the finite and non-finite verb forms and meanings. It embodies the uses of the infinitives, the distributional convergence and divergence between the infinitives and the gerunds, and the tonal differences between them. Chapter III studies the auxiliaries and their uses, and shows that they can be used as full verbs. Chapter IV deals with the verbs in terms of mood and tense in positive and negative sentences and paradigms. Chapter V discusses the verb phrase in simple and complex sentences, and in special registers including idioms and "depejorativization". Chapter VI deals with the lexical structure of the verbs exemplified by polysemy and homonymy; and Chapter VII continues semantic relations in terms of synonymy and antonymy.