Unravelling the Complexity of Cinyanja Compound Words: A Distributed Morphology Approach
Keywords:
Compound Words, Distributed Morphology, Noun Class Prefix, Cinyanja
Abstract
Compound words are found in most languages and play an essential role in the lexicon of the majority of languages because they reflect the interface between morphology, phonology, syntax and semantics. The present study seeks to provide a broader analysis of Cinyanja Verb-Noun (VN) compound words with a non-derived noun in the nominal position based on Distributed Morphology framework provided by Halle and Marantz (1993). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to show the intricate processes involved in the formation and interpretation of compound words. The data used in this study were mainly collected from secondary sources, which included written sources in Cinyanja. The findings of the study arising from the syntactic analysis of the compound words provide insights on the insertion of the noun class prefix in the derivational process. Furthermore, using Distributed Morphology in the interpretation of lexicalised meaning, the findings provide insights on the complexities and creativity involved in the construction of compound words in Cinyanja.References
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2. Carstens, V. (2008). DP in Bantu and Romance. In K. Demuth & C. De Cat (Eds.), The Bantu-Romance connection (pp. 131–166). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
3. Embick, D., & Noyer, R. (2007). Distributed morphology and the syntax/morphology interface. In G. Ramchand & C. Reiss (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Interfaces (pp. 289–324). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4. Fuchs, Z., & Van de Wal, J. (2018). Nominal syntax in Bantu languages: How far can we get with gender on n? Talk presented at Stanford Smircle.
5. Guthrie, M. (1967). Variations in the range of classes in the Bantu language. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique.
6. Halle, M., & Marantz, A. (1993). Distributed morphology and the pieces of inflection. In K. Halle & S. J. Keyser (Eds.), A view from Building 20: Essays in linguistics in honour of Sylvain Bromberger (pp. 111–176). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
7. Haspelmath, M., & Sims, A. D. (2010). Understanding morphology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8. Harley, H. (2009). Compounding in distributed morphology. In R. Lieber & P. Štekauer (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Compounding (pp. 129–144). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
9. Harley, H. (2014). On the identity of roots. Theoretical Linguistics, 40, 225–276.
10. Harley, H., & Noyer, R. (1999). Distributed morphology. Glot International, 4(4), 3–9.
11. Lieber, R. (2009c). IE, Germanic: English. In R. Lieber & P. Štekauer (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Compounding (pp. 357–369). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
12. Marantz, A. (1997). No Escape from Syntax: Don’t Try Morphological Analysis in the Privacy of Your Own Lexicon. UPenn Working Papers in Linguistics, 4, 201–225.
13. Njobvu, N. (2020a). Two Types of Phrasal Compounds in Cinyanja (PhD thesis). University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.
14. Njobvu, N. (2020b). VN Phrasal Compounds in Cinyanja. Journal of Law and Social Sciences, 3(1), 68–80.
15. Paas, S. (2016). Oxford Chichewa–English / English–Chichewa Dictionary. Cape Town: Oxford University Press ORBIS (Pty) Limited.
16. Paas, S. (2005). English Chichewa–Chinyanja Dictionary. Malawi: A.G.L.C. Press.
17. Paas, S. (2013). Chichewa/Chinyanja–English Dictionary. Blantyre: Christian Literature Action in Malawi.
18. Padrosa-Trias, S. (2010). Complex Word-Formation and the Morphology–Syntax Interface (PhD thesis). Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona.
19. Ralli, A. (2010). “Compounding Versus Derivation.” In Scalise, S. & Vogel, I. (Eds.), Cross-Disciplinary Issues in Compounding (pp. 57–76). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.
20. Sproat, R. (1985). On Deriving the Lexicon (PhD thesis). MIT, Cambridge
Published
2025-01-10
How to Cite
Njobvu, N. and Mambwe, K. (2025) “Unravelling the Complexity of Cinyanja Compound Words: A Distributed Morphology Approach”, Journal of Law and Social Sciences, 6(2), pp. 26-38. doi: https://doi.org/10.53974/unza.jlss.6.2.1299.
Section
Articles