The Semantics of Kó-̣Negative Constructions in Yoruba
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2020-09
Authors
Ilọri, J.F.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Abstract
The presumption in relevant literature is that kó ̣ is a nominal constituent
negation marker in Yoruba. This position is problematic in two ways:
first, it runs contrary to the generally known concept of negation as a
denial of a proposition; and second, insights from the syntax-cum-
semantic structure of kó ̣-negation constructions show that the scope of
kó ̣ in that particular context is not just the focused constituent that
linearly precedes it, but the totality of the focus construction that serves
as its subcategorized complement. This paper investigates the semantics
of kó-̣ negation constructions in Yoruba via their entailments and
presuppositions to examine what they teach about the overall logical
interpretations of such constructions. Findings show that the kó-̣
construction type embeds, entails, and presupposes not just the focused
item but a simple proposition from which the focused item was extracted.
The paper, therefore, concludes that what is negated in Yoruba kó ̣-
negative constructions is not just the focused item but the entire
proposition from which the focused item is extracted.
Description
Scholarly article
Keywords
Citation
Ilori, J. F. 2020 ‘The Semantics of Kó-̣Negative Constructions in Yoruba’ Nigerian Journal of the Humanities 25, 34-44, Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria