Verb and Adverb Focus Construction in Idoma

Abstract

In the study of a language for development and preservation, all aspects of the language are important. Focus construction provide data for the analysis and typological classification of languages. There are no evidence of investigation of verb and adverb focus constructions in Idoma and therefore Idoma cannot be classified using this criterion. Focus construction is a syntactic transformation that is triggered by semantic emphasis. This paper explores focus construction of verbs and adverbs within the theoretical framework of the Movement Principle of the Principle and Parameters approach of syntactic analysis. Data was obtained through the use of questionnaires which required respondents to translate sentences to Idoma. The sentences were later analysed using clause types and tee diagrams. The study identified three types of verb focus movement in Idoma and each movement takes the verbal element from its position in the TP to SPEC position of the FocP. The focus operator in Idoma is ‘na’ and it comes immediately after the focused item. Focus construction is supported by a sentence final vocative ‘a’ in Idoma. Verb focus construction includes nominalisation of the verb through a morphophonemic process which affixes the doubled ‘oo’ to it. Adverb focus does not require any morphophonemic process. The study observed that tense is an important aspect of focus construction in Idoma and concludes that the documentation of verb and adverb focus construction promotes the development of curricular material for educational advancement of Idoma.