On The Syntax of Reflexives in Yoruba Atoyebi Utrecht
On The Syntax of Reflexives in Yoruba Atoyebi Utrecht
On The Syntax of Reflexives in Yoruba Atoyebi Utrecht
1. Introduction
Yoruba is a West Benue-Congo language (Williamson and Blench 2000), spoken mainly
in the South-West region of Nigeria by an estimated 30 million speakers who speak the
language as first language (Bamgbose 2008). In this presentation, we are interested in
examining the syntax of reflexives in Yoruba. The study of reflexives is not novel to
Yoruba (Awoyale 1986, Ajiboye 2005, Ajiboye and Armoskaite 2005, Lawal 2006, and
an online questionnaire filled in by Ades3ola 2008). This present study contributes to
available knowledge by undertaking a descriptive approach to the understanding of the
most important properties of reflexives, and their distributions in Yoruba.
1
The 1st person singular unemphatic subject pronoun also has the variant forms: n and mi. However, the
variants are restricted in their distribution. For instance, mi can only occur as the subject of a negative
clause, at least in standard Yoruba.
Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
Simple2 intransitive verbs in Yoruba include: jòkòó SIT (down), hon SCREAM, kú
DIE, yí ROLL, rì SINK, gbe BE DRY, hó BOIL and subú FALL (down).
(2)
(a) Adé jòkòó (b) omo náà hon
Ade sit child DEF scream
‘Ade sat (down).’ ‘The child screamed.’
With respect to Yoruba verbs and their valency classes, it is important to state
that verbs with null subject do not exist in Yoruba. In fact, meteorological verbs such as
RAIN and SHINE (referring to the sun), require the presence of a preverbal subject
which must be a full NP (cf. 3a, b). Although it is also possible to replace the full NP
with a subject pronoun as in (4a, b), it is important to note that the subject pronoun is
not a dummy subject. The constructions in (4) are only possible if both speaker and
listener have a foreknowledge of the NP referents; otherwise, the statement will have an
incomplete sense, as the listener will still seek a clarification of the NP represented by
the subject pronouns.
(3)
(a) òjò # rò (b) oòrùn # ràn
rain PROG rain sun PROG shine
‘It is raining.’ ‘It is sunny. / The sun is shining.’
(4)
(a) ó # rò (b) ó # ràn
3SG.S PROG raining 3SG.S PROG shinning
‘It is raining.’ ‘It is sunny.’
2
Monomorphemic intransitive verbs which are in contrast with their complex bimorphemic counterparts
which consists of a V+ an inherent N complement: korin SING, rérìín LAUGH, wúkó COUGH, etc.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
However, this is not to claim that the language entirely lacks verbs which take a
dummy subject. In fact, a small set of verbs in the language are known to take dummy
subjects. They include the following: rè BE ILL, ye ‘to suppose/ to be fitting’ or in the
expression of something which “ought to be”; and marginally, the verb ‘to have’ ní,
which when used in certain discourse (e.g., in a folktale) can take a dummy subject. The
dummy subject is always identical with the 3rd person singular unemphatic subject
pronoun.
(5) ó re ìyá-àgbà
it sick mother-elder
‘Grandmother is ill.’
(6) ó ye kí a bòwò fún àwon òbíi wa
it ought that we respect give PL parent.POSS 1PL.POSS
‘We ought to respect our parents./‘We are supposed to respect our parents ’
(7) ó ní ojó kan, ìjàpá àti òbo lo kí oba
it have day INDEF Tortoise and Monkey go greet King
ní ààfin
PREP palace
(Lit. ‘It have one day, Tortoise and Monkey went to greet the king at the
palace.’)
‘One day, Tortoise and Monkey visited the King at the palace.’
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
In (8a-c), the subject NP of the first clause can be coreferenced with the
pronominal object of the second clause. But such relationship is not possible if the
object of the second clause is a reflexive pronoun. The intended meaning is lost (cf. 9,
11). A reflexive must occur in the same clause as its antecedent.
In (11) below, the subject of the first clause is coreferenced with the subject of
the second clause, while the object of the first clause is coreferenced with the object of
the second clause.
However, if the intended meaning is: “Ade saw Mary, and she greeted him”,
then the subject of the first clause can only be coreferenced with a full NP subject in the
second clause (12a), and not with a pronominal (12b).
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
reflexive occurs in a typical possessive frame because the final vowel of ara is always
lengthened to express possession, hence, araa3 X.
Table 2
1st person singular araà mi 1st person plural araa wa
2 person singular
nd
araà re 2 person plural
nd
araa yín
3 person singular
rd
araa rè 3 person plural
rd
araa won
3
Sometimes in written Yoruba, some people tend to ignore the possessive marker, they simply write ara X.
However, one must know that the possessive vowel is not in any way redundant.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
Within the reciprocal, the language also does not distinguish between a dual,
and other multiple referents.
4
This article which is identical with the 3rd person plural emphatic pronoun in the language is used to
express the plural number in relation to the noun which it modifies. Note that, it can also combine with the
definite article in a noun phrase. E.g. àwon akékòó náà
PL student DEF ‘The students’
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
(20b) mo we araà mi
1SG.Si bathe body.POSS 1SG.POSSi
‘I bathe myself.’
However, with grooming verbs like SHAVE and CUT (of ones hair), and the
body-care verb DRESS (of one’s self), the argument frame is different. It involves the use
of the benefactive preposition fún, which is used to introduce a recipient object, in this
case, a reflexive.
The point to note in (21a-d) is that the language makes use of the preposition
fún in the examples to differentiate between a construction which has a reflexive
meaning, and one which has the normal possessive meaning (cf. 22a, b).
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
Note, not all verbs of grooming and body-care can be used in this manner.
(23e) *Adé tójú
Ade care
‘Ade cared.’
However, with experiencer verbs like dàmú ‘to worry’, banújé ‘be sad’ and pebi
‘be hungry’, the argument frame is different. It has the structure: <NP V NPref ní-NP>
or <NP V NPref ní-NP V>. These experiencer verbs are complex bipartite or tripartite
verbs. The reflexive occurs as the object of the first half of the verb, while the nominal
half of the verb functions as the object of the multipurpose preposition ní.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
5
Usually pronounced as l’ámùú in spoken Yoruba, whereby the nasal segment [n] changes to [l]
before a vowel, with the exception of [i]. Also, the [i] of ní is dropped in the process. However,
in formal/written Yoruba, it is always written as ní, irrespective of the prevailing phonological
environment.
6
An alternate construction for (25b) is:
Adé fi ebi pa araa rè
Ade take hunger kill body.POSS 3SG.POSS
‘Ade made himself to be hungry.’
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
If the reflexives in (27a, b) are replaced by a pronominal, i.e., the 3PL.O, the
meaning of the construction will be different. The sentence will have two possible
interpretations; one meaning includes the subject, while the second excludes it.
However, the phenomenon described in (27 and 28) above, is only peculiar with
the 3 person plural object pronoun.
rd
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Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
Verbs in the third group include verbs of mental transfer: so ‘tell’, sàpèjúwèé ‘to
describe’ and fihàn ‘to show/ to reveal’.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
In the non-appositive usage (i.e., 36), the reading is ambiguous. Two meanings
are possible, namely, the non-benefactive meaning: ‘The king cut the palm tree by
himself (i.e., unassisted)’, and the benefactive sense: ‘The king cut the palm tree for
himself (i.e., for his own benefit).’ Native speakers normally separate the benefactive
meaning from the non-benefactive by simply making each morpheme of the intensifier
salient, (cf. 37). The sentence can only be read as “The king cut the palm tree for
himself.”
7
Ajiboye and Armoskaite (2005:3) claim that this type of construction is ungrammatical in Yoruba, even
though it is grammatical in English. On the other hand, they accept that (42a) is grammatical. However,
there is no justifiable syntactic grounds why (42b) should not be grammatical.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
As shown in (37), under the benefactive sense, the so-called intensifier can
change to a reflexive meaning.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
With epithets, in whatever way one looks at it, even when a somewhat positive
attribute, e.g., “Your rich self” as in (40), is attributed to a person, the true sense of the
phrase is always negative.
Honorific pronouns in Yoruba involve only the 2nd person plural and the 3rd
person plural. Honorific interpretation is more obvious in a construction if the
antecedent is a full NP, and not a pronominal. However, this is only possible with the
3rd person.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
The general idea is that if the antecedent is pronominal, it must agree in number
with the reflexive. However, the interpretation may also be ambiguous because the
intended meaning may be singular.
(45a) Adé ní ó ti dé
Adei say heij PERF come
‘Ade said he has arrived.’
(45b) Adé ní òhún ti dé
Adei say hei PERF come
‘Ade said he has arrived.’
Logophoric pronouns are restricted to the third person singular and plural. Their
forms are identical with the emphatic pronoun forms: òhun and àwon respectively. Even
though it is possible to use the emphatic pronoun forms of other person forms in
parallel examples such as (46a, b), such use is redundant, only for emphasis. It is not as
syntactically distinctive as in a true logophoric expression.
(46a) a ní a ti dé
wei say wei PERF come
‘We said we have arrived.’
(46b) a ní àwá ti dé
wei say wei PERF come
‘We said we have arrived.’
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
In (47a, b), any of the NPs, Màríà and Adé on the one hand, and Bola/Ade and
3PL.O on the other hand can be coreferenced with the reflexive in the examples; and all
have a reflexive meaning.
The question is: how does the language resolve an ambiguity such as this?
The ambiguity can be resolved by the use of a relevant 3rd person logophoric pronoun,
combining with the emphatic particle tìká, plus the preposition ní, and the reflexive.
This is pronounced on the surface as tìkáláraREF.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
In order to be able to track the NP referent in the examples, with the intended
meanings such as: “Maria found a book in front of Maria”, and “They light a fire in their
own front” respectively, a reflexive must be used (cf. 51, 52).
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
Yoruba does not have a dedicated word for the singular “EVERY”. What the
language does in order to reference a singular subject in relation to a quantifier is to
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
make use of the reduplicated form of the adnominal numeral kan ‘one’, realized as
kòòkan (Lit. ‘one-one’), to modify the noun which it follows:
We note also that the negative marker (k)ò in (61) is not redundant; hence, (62)
is not acceptable.
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
The story is the same if the verb in the embedded clause is a verb of transfer,
which is normally a three-argument verb such as: rà ‘buy’ dìbò ‘vote’ and fún ‘give’.
But if the subject of the main clause is the one in focus, it must be coreferenced
with a logophoric pronoun (65a, b).
8
The sentence must not be confused with:
enì kòòkan (k)ò dá araa rè ní èbi
person each.one NEG assign body.POSS 3SG.POSSi PREP fault
‘Each one / person did not blame himself.’
9
Also the quotative marker
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
Also, like in the complement-taking predicate type, when the subject of the main
clause is in focus, it must be coreferenced with a logophoric pronoun (cf. 67).
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
On the other hand, the object of the main clause, which is also the subject of the
embedded clause, must be coreferenced with a reflexive (cf. 70a, b).
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Joseph D. Atoyebi Workshop on Universals and Typology of Reflexives
Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
16. Remarks
Due to the fact that the lexical source of the reflexive pronoun in Yoruba is contained in
the expression of a body part, and expressed within a possessive frame. The possessive
attribute of the reflexives gives rise to ambiguous interpretation in some constructions.
It should be stated that speakers sometimes rely on speech context in order to be able to
correctly judge whether a statement has a reflexive meaning or a possessive one. Apart
from speech context, sometimes also, speakers may rely on their knowledge of lexical
restrictions on verbs in the language, to determine whether they are dealing with a
reflexive or a possessive pronoun. Such restrictions have to do with animacy. For
example, verbs like rí ‘see’, so ‘tell’ and sàpèjúwèé ‘to describe’, can select aninmate and
inanimate referents. Hence, both a reflexive and a possessive meaning can be obtained
from a construction involving any of the verbs.
On the other hand, verbs like: gbèjà ‘to defend’, dìbò ‘to vote’, and fún ‘to give’,
can only select animate referents.
A study such as this may want to include a grouping of verbs under their
respective semantic classes.
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Universiteit Utrecht, 24th – 28th August 2011
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