SOAS Research Online

Abstract

For this analysis, the area of research was the verbal extensions of Shisa, a dialect of the Baluyia in Western Kenya. The hypothesis was two-fold; (1) There is operative a complete set of case functions in Shisa, a language having no surface case inflections, and (2) a semantic/surface-syntactic description which included the category of case would be adequate for providing the grammatical context for lexical entries. Sixty-one base verbs, as they occur in uniclause, initiating sentences (sentences which initiate conversation), were collected from informants and examined at seven levels of classification (which included number, kinds, and behavior of NP's with which a verb could be associated, plus the semantic features of animacy, inanimacy, number, and so on). The verbal extensions were then investigated according to pertinent criteria. The result; Four major types of contrastive clauses were identified; Descriptive, Agentive, Entailing, Stative, in all of which occur--co-existently--varying types of syntactic patterns and numerous semantic classifications of verbs (i.e. verbs associated with animate/inanimate, singular/plural, and so on, NP's). Altogether a set of eighteen case and ten compound-case functions operative within Shisa were identified. The grammatical component of each syntactic pattern was summarized in schematic form, and a set of symbols was arranged, providing for the indication of the grammatical context for each lexical entry. This thesis has made these contributions: (1) Fifteen verbal extensions were identified (only six were treated of in this analysis). (2) A set of eighteen case and ten compound-case functions was identified, (3) A means of identifying these case functions through observance of semantic and surface syntactic behavior, rather than by deep structure, was provided. (4) A degree of grammatical analysis adequate for the lexical entries of Shisa verbs and their extensions was attained. (5) It has provided a set of symbols for indicating the grammatical context of each lexical verb entry.