Author : Norbert Cyffer
Release : 2009
Genre : Language Arts & Disciplines
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 686/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Negation Patterns in West African Languages and Beyond by : Norbert Cyffer
Download or read book Negation Patterns in West African Languages and Beyond written by Norbert Cyffer. This book was released on 2009. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume deals with issues on negation patterns in languages of West Africa and the adjacent north and east. The first aim is to provide data on various aspects of negation in African languages. Although the topics addressed here reflect a great diversity of negation patterns, the following typological features have been identified to be prominent in our region: conflict or even incompatibility between negation and focus, use of other indirect means of negating non-indicative mood (covered under the term Prohibitive ), different negation patterns in different Tense-Aspect-Moods (e.g. Imperfective vs. Perfective), lack of negative indefinites, and disjunctive negative marking (often referred to as double negation ). The articles presented here show that areal factors have played a significant role in the development of negation strategies in the languages of West Africa and beyond. On the other hand genetic factors seem to be less prominent."