PARTICLES IN EDO GRAMMAR

Abstract

This study examines the nature of particles in Ẹdo language as a subcategorical part of the grammatical categories in the language. This study was necessitated by the need to properly account for the different units of grammatical categories in the language and their interactional patterns in sentences. The study employed lexical items collected from speakers of the language adjudged as relatively competent. The data on the grammatical categories employed for analysis in this work were collected primarily through personal communication and intuitive knowledge while others were extracted from secondary sources such as the recording of Ẹdo folktales used in communication like marriages and burial ceremonies as well as at bus parks. The recordings were carried out with the aid of a voice note recorder which many mobile phones now possess. These recordings were transcribed, translated and verified by competent native speakers before being subjected to the analysis. The present study employs the descriptive method of analysis in the treatment of the data collected. The study observed that particles manifest in two ways in the language, nominal and verbal as well as the ones that are used to mark tense or negation in the language.