MORPHO-PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF LUKABARASI NOMINAL COMPOUNDS

Abstract

Most generalisations made on nominal compounding are based on western languages. In this study, we examine nominal compounding in Lukabarasi language of Western Kenya based on The Generative Morphological Theory by Bochner(1992) and The Lexical Morphological Theory proposed by Petesky (1979) and later elaborated by Kiparsky (1982). The study is guided by the following objectives, to; identify and categorize nominal compounds and their pragmatic functions in Lukabarasi, analyse the derivative aspects of Lukabarasi nominal compounds and determine the extent to which Lukabarasi nominal compounds can be analysed within the generative lexical approach. To achieve the objectives of the study, we adopt the descriptive research design which is a qualitative research paradigm. A combined method of elicitation (verbal and visual) and native speaker’s intuition are used to collect data. The snowballing technique, initiated with an initial group of respondents who were then asked to recommend additional participants, was employed to recruit a total of 10 participants. From a population of 174 compound nouns, 52 well-formed nominal compounds were selected for analysis based on specific criteria. Data for the study are collected through key informant interviews. The collected data was analyzed using a content analysis guide to identify and describe emerging themes. The findings reveal the following types of Lukabarasi nominal compounds: Noun+ Noun= nominal compounds, Noun+ verb= Nominal compounds and Verb+ Verb= nominal compounds. It is also established that the processes of acquiring compounds in Lukabarasi involve the following; prefix deletion, vowel duplication and nominalisation of verbs. The pragmatic process is where the two nominal meaning change to match with that of the prevailing environment. After combining the two lexical items in Lukabarasi, the compound noun derived has pragmatic functions which cannot be realized when analysed singly. Additionally, the nominal compound can serve the following pragmatic functions: metaphoric function, attitudinal function, identification function and classifying function. Lukabarasi has prefixes of singular and plural nouns. The singular prefixes include omu-, eshi- and eli- while the plural prefixes are ava-, efu- and ofu-. The study is significant because its analysis can provide insight to the morphological processes and pragmatic realisations in Lukabarasi as far as nominal compounds are concerned. The knowledge of nominal compounds in Lukabarasi will further add to the existing literature and studies done on the language.