within this Kwa group because of existing lexical and phonological commonalities between the two languages. Armstrong (1953), commenting on Igala says” Igala is about as closely related to Yoruba as German is to English and as close to Idoma as English is to Latin”. But, Igala today is a distinct languagesystem following the long period of separation from Yoruba.

Following the 1984 National Seminar on Igala language and its fallout, Igala has been a language like any other language in the world, capable of international intelligibility and social acceptability. One thing to note about similarities on linguistic features with other language communities is that they are not always accidental but as a result of common ancestor.

Although several earlier authors, researchers and scholars in African linguistics such as Armstrong (1955) and Silverstein (1973) have referred to Igala as a dialect of Yoruba, the status of Igala as a language distinct from, although closely related to Yoruba,is a widely accepted one. The most recent genetic classification of Igala is contained in Akinkugbe (1976 and 1978), in Maiyanga (2002).In this two works, cited in Adaji (2008), Igala is classified as one of the two co-ordinate branches of proto-Yoruboid (the common ancestral language of present day Igala, Itsekiri and Yoruba). The other branch of protoYoruboid is proto-Yoruba-Itsekiri (the common ancestral language of present day Ishekiri and Yoruba). Below is a diagrammatic presentation of this classification in Akinkugbe as cited in Maiyanga(2002: 4).

 FIG 1

Fig.1 above shows that there was a time in the past when Igala, Itsekiri and Yoruba were one proto-Yoruboid.  Using this evidence, Akinkugbe (1976 and 1978) is of the opinion that Igala is neither a dialect of Yoruba nor a language resulting from the fusion of Yoruba and Idoma as claimed by Silverstein.Rather, it shares a”common ancestor” with Yoruba.In her words, “… this common ancestor is neither Yoruba nor Igala but what we have labelled here as proto –Yoruba-Itsekiri –Igala (PYIG).  The evidence  suggest further, that presumably, Igala separated from  the  group  before  the split  of Yoruba into  the present day Yoruba dialects considering the extent of linguistic divergence found between  Igala, on  one hand, and the rest of Yoruba dialects on  the other”.

After the Igala split, the rest of the group remained as one proto-Yoruba-Itsekiri.Later, this group further split into two-an Itsekiribranch, which has given rise to the present day Itsekiri and a proto- Yoruba branch which later gave rise to present day Yoruba dialects. From the diagram, it is clear that Yoruba and Itsekiri are linguistically more closely related than either Yoruba and Igala or Itsekiriand Igala. This is because Igala separated from the ancestral language group much earlier and remained isolated from it, while the rest of the group still kept together for a much longer period.

Yoruboid, the name given to the genetic group comprising Igala, Itsekiri and Yoruba, is only a sub-branch of a larger group called “Kwa”.Other languages believed by contemporary historians to belong to the “Kwa” group are the modern Igbo, Yoruba, Edoid (the Edo languages) Idoma, Ebira, Volta-Potou, Ha-Adangne, Ewe, Niger-Kaduna (e.g. Nupe and Gode) Ijaw and many other ethnic groups in present day Nigeria. Kwa is,inturn a sub- branch of a larger language family called Niger-Congo of the Niger-kordo fanian group. This, according Greenberg‟s classification of languages as cited in Adaji

(2008), is diagrammatically represented below:

Fig 2  GREENBERG’S CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES

According to Petyt (1980:11), “dialects are different forms of the same language”. Looking at it from this point of  view, a dialect can be seen as a variety of a language spoken in one area in which features of grammar and vocabulary as well as aspects of pronunciation are slightly different from other varieties of the same language. He also explains that using a language may necessarily involves using one of its dialects.

            Also trying to define dialects, Gregersen (1977:13) says

In formal usage, a dialect is usually taken to mean merely a variety or subdivision of a language…. Mutually intelligible dialects constitute a language. Dialects do not necessarily exhibit clear-cut boundaries but tend to manage imperceptibly.

This definition uses the criterion of mutual intelligibility and not necessarily clear-cut boundaries. However, the level or degree of intelligibility that will classify the dialects as belonging to the same language is yet to be determined. He also observes that the required degree of intelligibility has never been agreed upon and would undoubtedly be dependent on subjective judgment. In addition to these, Pie in Oluikpe (1979:3), sees dialect as:-

A specific branch or form of a language spoken in a given geographical area differing sufficiently from  the official standard or literary form of the language in one or all levels of the language (pronunciation,  grammar, vocabulary and idiomatic use of words) to be viewed as a distinct entity, yet not sufficiently different from dialects of the language to be regarded as a separate language”

This definition views dialect from the point of linguistic deviation from one another in terms of the phonology, syntax and lexis of the language.Basedon this and other definitions earlier mentioned, it is clear that Igala has dialects. This is in line with resolution 7(seven) after the 1984 National Seminar on Igala language which states that:

The geographically central dialectto be used as the base for developing the standardorthography of the language. (the one spoken around Anyigba, Egume, Ejule, up to Ugwolawo without border line influence).   This implicitly agrees that the dialects that exist in Igala language are mostly due to borderland influence. Although no known study has been conducted on the dialects of Igala, we can, by, impressionistic judgment classify them asfollows: Ogwugwu, Ibaji, Ankpa, Ete, Dekina, Anyigba/Egwume, Ife, Ogwuma and Odolu/Akpanya dialects.  Onoja (1984) presents a wordlist of Ogwugwu dialect ranging from general issues, names of crops and food items to domestic animals. This means that in spite of the impact other languages have on the Igala spoken in Ogwugwu, the dialect has a major degree of originality of the standard Igala. A few items noted by Onoja (op cit)  cited in Maiyanga

(2002), are as follows:

General Issues

The other dialects mentioned above have their uniqueness to be dialects of Igala. It should be noted, however, that dialectal differences are mostly at the lexical level.

            The Tone

Like most languages of the world, Igala is a tone language. In all tone languages, changes in the pitch of the voice affect meanings of utterances. It is against the system in which languages use consonants and vowels to build morphemes which are  in turn, joinedtogether to form words. For example, the English word “me” is made up of a nasal consonant followed by a high vowel.  If we change the consonant to  “b”, we would get a different word “be”, and if we change the vowel to a low vowels we would also get a different word „ma‟.

In tone languages, pitch patterns are used to build morphemes in the same way consonants and vowels are used. One of the well  known  of these languages is Chinese in which the syllable „ma‟, when pronounced, could either mean “to scold, hemp” “mother” or “horse” depending on the pitch pattern.  In a nutshell, in all tone languages, including Igala, a substitution of one tone for another on a particular word could change the lexical meaning of the word. Igala language is not an exception. For example, the word ‟Oko‟ could mean money, husband, shipor boat or millipede depending of the pitch pattern used by a speaker.

To a native speaker of Igala, tonal indication is as important as the consonants and vowels. Many of our words are distinguishable only by tone. The language is so tonal in nature that it bears a great burden of lexical, morphological and syntactic information. In Igala, tone levels are conveniently divided into three: high mid low or acute and, middle or grave as classified by Etu in his unpublished grammar work on Igala language. In Igala lexicon, therefore, there are differences in meaning in the pronunciation of some lexicon items when tone-marked. For example:-

4. 

               1            Oko-Parrot                   3.        edo-monkey   

                        Oko-farm                                            edo-axe

                             Okoo-Pig                                    edo-bossom/chest, briefly

                             Ooko-hienia                                                                           

               2.         Omu-voice                   4.        oko-money

                        Omu-salt                                             oko-husband                                   

                        Omu-flour                                           okoo-boat

               5.         ona-Road/way                         6.         olu-sun

                        ona-tomorrow                                     olu-sleep

                        ona- dream

                        Ona-greeting for Muslims     

               7.          Odu-name                              8.         Ewo-town                                                          

                        oodu-master/Lord ewo-season

                           odu- night                                           ewo-goat

9.  adu- load 10. Ubi-placenta   adu-slave                 ubi-spitting snake (cobra)

                                                                                    ubi-back                                                

11.  abo- people/handle of a 

                             hoe and axeAbo- a type                                   

                        of tree/masquerade uniform 

12.  ogba-fence   13.  Uno-palm kernel   ogba-tall/front    uno-miracle  oogba-funeral dance    

14.        owo-broom                            15.       owe- harmattan owo-hand                                            owe-communal farming                       owo-

                             multitude                                                                      

                               owo-muslim prayer                16.     la-shave/stray

                                                                                    la- to buy

17        du-take                                    18             kpa-kill/fetch              du-darken                                              kpa-ripe

                        du-win/conquer, overcome

19. ko-full/build   20.   ama-curse   ko-write    ama-they(3rd person pronoun)   ko- refuse      ama-clay

                                                                                     ama-but

               21.       akpa-maize

                        akpa-muslim

                         akpa-grass hopper                 akpa-sky/cloud                     akpa-hard dead wood.

As important as the tone marking is, thisresearcher is of the view that not many persons will want to write Igala if this is to be strictly adhered to as it makes writing difficult.

Also suggested is that future writing in Igala should be done as it is in the available literatures that are not tone marked but meanings of words are reading deduced from the context. In addition, the researcher observes that after all, the English language does not have all these tone marks yet people learn and understand it. The researcher  further states that in as much as tone marking makes utterances to be clear, unambiguous, emphatic and easily understood, the inability to tone mark, according to Armstrong (1986:108) is likely due to the fact that:

Most writers are unable to cope with the complete uses of tone in the language.Most writers believe that the language can be written and understood without thecumbersome tones and accents. It is believed that the native speaker‟s knowledge of correct pronunciation and spelling can eliminate the need to use tone marking in writing the language.

Igala and Other Languages in Contact

As earlier pointed out, Igala had had a lot of contact with many other linguistic groups. This experience naturally left certain imprints on the language, tradition and culture of the Igala people.  It is also because of this „close contact‟ with other Nigerian Languages that Sofunke (1990:47) suggests that Igalabe known as „Nigerian‟ and taken as a national language because:

It indicates strong linguistic and or cultural links with three major ethnic zones in Nigeria. Shelton (1971), for instance, has highlighted the historical phenomenon represented by the Igala language community. As a result of the contact between the Hausa of Zazzau and the Igala people as well as between the Igala people and the Igbo of Nsukka, the Igala language community has been a cultural melting pot. One fact which gives Igala an edge over Idoma, for instance, is that while Idoma is confined to the Otukpo area of Benue state, Igala extends to three states of the federation i.e. Benue, Bendel, Anambra.

The strategic location of this linguistic group has enhanced  their linguistic influence, collaboration or borrowing from other neighboring linguistic groups .A case in point is the fact that  some words borrowed from Hausa are gradually becoming  the Igala words  or have extended the meaning of some. For example:

5

Also, the contact with English language has influenced Igala that there are at present no Igala word for messenger, labourer, school and cinema. These words are calledimachoja, ilebula, ichekpulu and ichelema respectively 

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Igala language has really attracted the attention of various scholars following attempts in the past and present to documents, develop modernize and standardize the language.

The first published account of the Igala language was in Rev. John Clarkes specimens of dialects in 1848. Writing of the language continue throughout that century, the last century and even into the new millennium. For instance, 1935, W.T.A Philpot published a text entitled „A short story of Igala‟. In the same vein Prof. R.A Armstrong in 1951 presented a paper titled “Igala: A preliminary report with word list at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. In 1965, he published A Comparative word lists of Igala and Yoruba. Two American peace corps volunteers; Mr. Ray Silverstein and Mr.

Edward Fresco did phonological studies of Igala language, and Silverstein  (1973) in  particular, wrote a Ph.D thesis on “Igala Historical Phonology” at the University of California, Loss Angles (Armstrong and Miachi, 1986). 

Recently, some native linguist conducted some researches on certain aspect of Igala language (Maiyanga, 2002, Omachonu, 2000, 2001,2003 and 2007, Atadoga, 2007, Adaji, 2008, Ejeba, 2008, Ahmad, 2009, Ikani, 2004 and  Andrew - Ogidi , 2015). In spite of these developments, the study of Igala language still needs to be taken more seriously for fear of the language   going into extinction. More worrisome is the fact that, of the three languages classified as Yoruboid group of languages, Igala is the least described. 

This present researcher in tends to do a Contrastive Syntactic Study of the Main Sentence Structures of English and Igala with a view to ascertaining areas of  differences and similarities between the two as a step towards development contemporary Igala grammar      

1.3       Research Questions

In investigating the Igala sentence structure, the following questions are formulated to serve as guide:

1)             What are the syntactic elements thatare found in Igala sentence structure?

2)             To what extent do structural elements of the simple sentence differ in English and

Igala?   

3)             How are compound sentences formed in Igala? 

4)             What elements are needed to describe the complex sentence in English and  Igala?

1.4       Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to analyse linguistic expressions and describe the different syntactic structures of the main sentences in English and Igala. In doing this, attempts will be made to achieve the following objectives:

i)        To identify and analyse the elements of English and Igala sentences structure ii)   To Identify and analyse the extent to which English and Igala simple sentence  structures differ syntactically.

iii)      To identify and analyse the compound sentence structure in English and Igala iv)         To identify and analysis the elements needed to describe the complex sentences in

English and Igala.

1.5        Purpose of the Study

According to Halliday (1985:ii), ”there is no such thing as a „complete account of the  grammar of a language, because  the study of a language is inexhaustible”. For this study therefore, the purpose is to analyze the main sentence structures of English and Igala. In doing this, the researcher intents to use the theory of descriptive grammar to discuss the simple, compound and complex sentences of the two languages.

It should be noted that this is merely a preliminary attempt at the description of Igala main sentences as more research effort should be exacted by scholars for a full description of Igala syntax.

1.6        Significance of the Study

This study investigates the sentence components of  English and Igala and analyses their structures bringing to the fore the dominant sentencepatterns  in the two languages. The study, therefore, is significant because as major language in Nigeria after Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo an in-depth researchinto its structure is necessary to enable other members of the society know its characteristic features as it is believed that studying a language unlocks the secrets  of its rich cultural heritage, technological ingenuity and uniqueness. Also, studying a language brings about the development of the written form which makes possible the presentation of the people‟s history, ethics, philosophy, heroic deeds, exploits, the myths and legends.  

Chiweike and Chika (2006) have referred to any language without a developed written form as “spoken language which leaves no archaeology and it is not worth remembering: for when a language dies which has never been written, it is as if it has never existed”.

Also worthy of mentionis the Igala elite‟s clamos that the language be introduced as a medium of instruction in early primary education in Igala land not only in compliance with the National Policy on education (2004) but to heighten the socio –linguistic consciousness of the Igala language. In a nut-shell, this study is significant because it will:

1.              ProvideIgala speakers some information about the structure of the sentence in their own language.

2.              Also it is  believed that the study will serve as a base for other scholars who will want to study other aspects of the language  or conduct further  investigation on  the structure of sentences in Igala.

3.              And linguists in general will find the study of interest as it will serve as pathway to tackling other areas of studies in the language.

1.7       Scope and Delimitation

This study is syntactic description of the sentence, avoiding the semantic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic descriptions which are also important structures of language study.

It is therefore limited to the analysis of the structural classes of sentence in English and Igala.The functional classes such as commands,exclamations, responses and such other utterances that may be considered as semantically complete sentences  but regarded as syntactically incomplete are not investigated. 

In short, it is the analyses of the structure of English and Igala simple sentences, describing   how sentences are compounded in English and Igala and also looking at the

Buyers has the right to create dispute within seven (7) days of purchase for 100% refund request when you experience issue with the file received. 

Dispute can only be created when you receive a corrupt file, a wrong file or irregularities in the table of contents and content of the file you received. 

ProjectShelve.com shall either provide the appropriate file within 48hrs or send refund excluding your bank transaction charges. Term and Conditions are applied.

Buyers are expected to confirm that the material you are paying for is available on our website ProjectShelve.com and you have selected the right material, you have also gone through the preliminary pages and it interests you before payment. DO NOT MAKE BANK PAYMENT IF YOUR TOPIC IS NOT ON THE WEBSITE.

In case of payment for a material not available on ProjectShelve.com, the management of ProjectShelve.com has the right to keep your money until you send a topic that is available on our website within 48 hours.

You cannot change topic after receiving material of the topic you ordered and paid for.