The Syntax of Head-Marked Phrases and Head-Marking Morphemes in Lunyore

Abstract

A language is head-marking if the grammatical marks showing agreement tend to be placed on the heads of phrases. Lunyore like many bantu languages is agglutinating and therefore has a rich and complex morphology. The complexity is more evident in head-marking morphology. This study examines the syntax and morphology of head-marking to establish how agreement is achieved in Lunyore phrases, a dialect of Luluhyia language. The key objective is to examine the syntax of head-marked phrases and to analyze head-marking morphemes. The types of head-marked phrases include; applicatives, locatives, passives, causatives, reciprocals and instrumentals. Descriptive research design was adopted and the target population was people of Emuhaya sub county in Vihiga county. Purposive sampling technique was applied to gather head-marked phrases from churches and baraza sessions. Secondary sources of data include written texts in Lunyore hymn book and the Bible. The research instruments included conversations, written texts from Lunyore, participant and non-participant observations until saturation stage was attained. Data was analyzed through description and structural form. It was found out that each head-marked phrase had prefixes that attach to the stem. Head-marking morphemes licensed agreement in Lunyore head-marked phrases. The study therefore recommends that further research should be done on head-marking using comparative approach in bantu languages. Chomsky’s minimalist theory was relevant in the analysis of head-marked phrases and head-marking morphemes.