num_pages: 317
description: The 16 papers in this volume are revised versions of papers presented at the conference; they represent the state of the art in various subfields of African linguistics into which the book is (1) morphosyntax, (2) semantics, (3) phonology, and (4) language contact. The last part covers topics such as code-switching and mixing, pidginization/creolization, and language planning.The papers in Part Morphosyntax focus particularly on the verb and verb phrase in a variety of Niger-Congo languages, discussing several aspects of the verb morphology. The specific languages discussed include Kinande, Kilega, Kinyarwanda (Larry Hyman) , Kikongo-Kituba (M. Ngalasso) , Duala (E. Bilao) , Yoruba (S.A. Lawal) , Ewe (A.S. Allen) , and Gbaya 'Bodoe (P. Roulon-Doko) . The papers in Part Semantics discuss foundational questions regarding the proper/common noun distinction in two geographically very distant African languages, Gborbo Krahn (Janet Bing) in the west and Luo (Ben G. Blount) in the east, which follow yet very similar principles. And, despite differences in the titles, the papers on Kivunjo (Lioba Moshi) and Emai (Schaefer and Egbokhare) address the question of the semantic basis for assigning property concepts to different lexical categories. There are two papers in Part Phonology , which are mostly on the prosodic features of Chiyao (Al Mtenje) and Manding (J. Tourville) . In Part Language Contact, Eyamba Bokamba 's and C. Meyers-Scotton 's papers discuss speech variation and mostly formal constraints associated with them, while Helma Pasch compares segmental features of Sango and Yakoma in the Central African Republic to determine whether the former is a creole. Edmun Richmond focuses on the choice of national official language in sub-Saharan Africa. Except for Pasch all of them cover several languages and geographical areas.
language: English
title: Topics in African Linguistics: Papers from the XXI Annual Conference on African Linguistics, University of Georgia, April 1990
titlecomplete: Topics in African Linguistics: Papers from the XXI Annual Conference on African Linguistics, University of Georgia, April 1990 (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory)
publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company