A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF YORUBA REDUPLICATION

ABSTRACT                                     

This research investigates the structure of reduplication in Yoruba language, which is a common feature in many languages. However, the way it occurs can differ depending on the language family. As Yoruba is a Niger Congo language with its own unique features, this study aims to investigate the nature of the repetition mechanism in Yoruba language using the Morphological Doubling Theory by Inkelas and Zoll (2005, 2007), which represents Yoruba reduplication as morphological doubling. The study focuses on common Yoruba words, particularly in the open categories of speech, and employs ethnographic fieldwork to collect data through interviews and observations with native Yoruba speakers in their natural environment. Additionally, corpus linguistics is used to analyze large collections of written or spoken language data. The findings indicate that reduplication is a common feature in Yoruba language, with two types of reduplication that have various semantic contributions, affecting the semantic value of words in Yoruba. The study concludes that reduplication in Yoruba is a case of morphological doubling, targeting the root and stem of a word, with total reduplication being the most common mode of reduplication. Furthermore, it is concluded that the Morphological Doubling Theory is applicable in the analysis and representation of reduplication in Yoruba. This paper contributes to the field of morphology, filling a gap in the existing body of knowledge on Yoruba language, and is necessary for language planning. The study’s findings are summarized in chapter 5, where it is concluded that Morphological Doubling Theory is an effective tool for analyzing reduplication in Yoruba.