Negation Patterns in West African Languages and Beyond (Typological Studies in Language) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9027206686 ISBN 13: 9789027206688

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2009

Synopsis

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 9027206686
• ISBN 13: 9789027206688
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Cyffer Norbert, Ebermann Erwin, Ziegelmeyer Georg