LSLT 23: Aspects of Reduplication in Languages of Cameroon and Senegal

Aspects of Reduplication in Languages of Cameroon and Senegal

Pius N. Tamanji & Gabriel M. Mba (eds.)
Université de Yaoundé I

The present volume contains a study of reduplication in a variety of African languages and from different analytical perspectives. In all, the volume brings together thirteen papers with data from 15 languages in Cameroon and 1 in Senegal. While some of the papers give new impetus to issues of reduplication, others reflect the broad perspective of studies on reduplication as practised today.

Six papers on Isu, Medumba, Bafut, Nweh and Bantu zone A languages analyse a variety of reduplication phenomena using fairly recent theoretical models including MDT, generative grammar and discourse analysis. Major issues covered include the widespread palatal infix in Grassfields Bantu, a nasal infix in lexical reduplication, sources and patterns of association of reduplication tones, reduplication as a syntactic phenomenon and the role of reduplication in discourse.

Seven other papers on Bambele, Ghomala’, Fe’fe’, Limbum, Saafi Saafi, Mengisa and Kenyang present an interesting array of data on reduplication and, in addition, reflect a broad perspective of studies on reduplication. The diversity of approaches adopted makes interesting reading and represent, as such, a first step that may ultimately lead to a more thorough understanding of reduplication in African languages.

Table of contents

Introduction

High vowel reduplication and infix genesis in Isu (West Ring)
Roland Kießling

Sources of tones and patterns of their assignment to reduplicated forms in Bafut
Ayu’nwi N. Neba

Morphological and Phonologically-induced Insertion in Word Reduplication and Syntactic Repetition in Grassfields Bantu
Constantine Kouankem

Reduplication, word categories and sentence structure in Bafut
Pius N. Tamanji

Productive and Non-productive reduplication patterns in Bantu Zone A (Northwest) languages
Gratien G. Atindogbé and Evelyn Fogwe Chibaka

Nweh Reduplication Patterns
Justina Atemajong Njika

Reduplication in Saafi-Saafi
Hillebrand Dijkstra

Modes and mechanisms of reduplication in Limbum
Gratiana Ndamsah

A morpho-syntactic account of reduplication in Béèmbéléè
Gabriel Delmon Djomeni

Notes on reduplication in Kenyang
Gabriel Mba

La Réduplication en ghómaàlaà’
Gabriel Mba

La reduplication en fe’efe’e
E. Sadembouo

Processus phonologiques et semantique de la reduplication en Beti-Fang : Le cas de la variante mengisa
Julia Ndibnu Messina Ethe

References

ISBN 9783862883059. LINCOM Studies in Language Typology 23. 201pp. 2012.