EBONYI JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE
EJLLS Publication
EJLLS| Title: | Edo Numeral System: Word-Formation and Meaning |
| Author(s): | Perpetual Usenbo |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to describe how morphological processes relate to semantic interpretation in Edo numerals. Previous studies have outlined the mathematical principles which underlie the numeral system of this language. Using primary data from an ongoing study on pronominalization, and content analyses of existent studies, this paper identified two concatenative derivational processes: compounding and desentencialization. The analyses showed complex numeral expressions build on the meanings of their components. The paper explained this relation between word-form and meaning using the semantic principle of compositionality, as known as Frege’s conjecture. This principle states that the meanings of complex expressions come from their syntactic structure, as well as a combination of the lexical and grammatical meanings of constituents in such expressions. The importance of this paper’s finding is the possibility of utilising a few rules to specify the entire set of number-names in Edo. This is relevant to the development of materials for teaching the language. The study also contributes to linguistic theory as the analyses affirm the precepts of semantic composition and prove the usefulness of this principle in morpho-semantic analyses. |
| Keywords: | Compositionality, Compounding, Desentencialization, Edo, Numerals |
