SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Igbo, African & Chinese Studies

CONTRIBUTORS:

Egonu N. Grace
Mbah B. M

ABSTRACT:

This study examines the cognitive semantic analysis of the stative aspect of the Igbo verb ‘má’. The problem the researcher sets out to solve in this study is the lack of sufficient empirical studies on Igbo stative verbs and specifically on the stative aspect of the Igbo verb ‘má’. The researcher sets out to find out the stative aspect of the Igbo verb má. The objectives of the study are : to find out the features of the stative verb ‘má’ in Igbo; to determine the meanings of the stative aspect of the Igbo verb ‘má’, to identify the types of verbal complexes that can be formed from ‘má’ , and to ascertain the argument structures that emanate from ‘má’ ; to find out how the Igbo verbal complexes can be analysed using the image schemata from ‘má’; to discover the extent the linguistic domains of ‘má’ correlate among themselves. The study uses Johnson’s (1987) image schema approach as the theoretical framework. Using this framework, the data were classified using argument structures, core or literal meaning and non-core or metaphorical meaning. The data were organised in sets following the conceptual structures of metaphor. All the Igbo verbal complexes of‘má’ were juxtaposed with the ones got from the secondary sources and analysed. Apart from relying on the few extant studies in the language of study, the researcher also collected data by elicitation as well as insights in linguistics. The researcher discovered that her má and those of former linguists in Igbo are homophonous. The researcher finds out the features of the stative verb ‘má’ to be morphological and semantic and morphosyntactic as well. She discovers that má occurs in imperatives and progressives not always. She discovers types of stative verbs as quality, experiential, psychological,(psyche verbs)cognition, etc. All the image schemata are not implicated on the analysis of the meaning domain of the Igbo verb complex. The verbal complexes are classified into the simple, compound and complex categories. The analysis of the data is based on the use of the cognitive semantic model of image schema / analogical mapping. There are contributions of the image schemata in the underlying structure of the stative aspect of the Igbo verb ‘má’. Such image schemata combinations are: containment, path, force, counterforce, response, animal schema, sensory schema, colour schema, sense, measure schema and a combination of two or more image schemata. There is a mapping of the abstract meaning of the ‘má’ verbal complexes onto the concrete in that the concrete is derived from the abstract. From the simple and compound verb complexes, the researcher discovers that the linguistic domains of ‘má’ correlate among themselves with the image schemas in the argument sense. Other meanings of the complements are identified such as reverence, medicine, knowledge, understanding, feeling, emotion, wealth, sexuality, intelligence, leadership, creativity, taste, intention, sound, smell emission, health, poverty, sicknesses, deterioration, location etc. Some ‘má’ verbal complex categories have two nouns as arguments V(NPNP), some have two nouns and a prepositional phrase as arguments V(NPNPPP), some three nouns as arguments V(NPNPNP), and some subcategorise one noun and one subordinate clause V(NPS1) or two nouns and one subordinate clause as arguments V(NPNPS1), double compound verbs with two nouns 2(V(NPNP)) and a double compound verb with one prepositional phrase 2(V(NPNPPP)) as their argument structures. The highest numbers of arguments discovered in the analysis of ‘má’ Igbo stative verb are three arguments. The study has a number of implications for Igbo and for general linguistics. The study recommends that cognitive semantic approach be adopted in further studies of Igbo verbs particularly in the stative aspect of ‘má’ verb root and in linguistics generally.