MORPHOSEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF YORUBA ADJECTIVES

This study is an attempt to carry out a morphosemantic analysis of Yoruba adjectives. The aim of the study is to examine the morphosemantic features of adjectives in Yoruba. The study relied on utterances gathered from primary sources. The data sample comprises forty (40) adjectives which were divided into various categories. The data was collected from four (4) native speakers who live in Lagos State where the language is indigenous. The speakers were 3 women and 1 man. The informants were selected based on the differences in age range, sex, place of early childhood and level of formal education. The collection procedures engaged informants in different forms of interaction such as interviews and storytellings. The theoretical framework employed for the research is the Construction Grammar (C×G) theory framework developed by Filmore, Kay, Michaelis and Sag (1988). The findings revealed three things which are: there are morphemes that make up adjectives in Yoruba, there are meanings attached to the morphemes, and lastly, there are various semantic functions of adjectives within the language. The study concludes that Yoruba adjectives are composed of various morphemes, such as prefixes, root words, and reduplications. These morphemes combine to form adjectives in different patterns. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of Yoruba adjectives underlying how morphemes constitutes the adjectives, the meanings attached to the morphemes and the semantic functions of adjectives within the language. Further research in this area can continue to explore the intricate nature of adjectives and their significance within the broader linguistic landscape of Yoruba and other Nigerian languages.