Conjunction in Bukusu

Abstract

Many languages of the world use different conjunctive morphemes for conjoining different categories. Some languages use the same morphemes for conjoining nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs while others use different morphemes for each category. This paper looks at how Bukusu conjoins noun phrases, verb phrases, adverb phrases and adjective phrases. The paper shows that Bukusu noun phrases can only be conjoined using one form, namely ne but that verbs can be conjoined via two forms which are ne and mala, the choice of which is determined by the tense of the verb. Like nouns, adverbs can only be conjoined through one form, mala. Adjectives however, can be conjoined through various forms including ne, lundi and mala.