The properties of adverbs and adverbial expressions in Runyambo

Abstract

This article identifies and classifies adverbs in Runyambo, a Bantu language spoken in north-west Tanzania. Runyambo is classified as E21. This article aims at discussing the morphology, syntax and semantics of adverbs and adverbial expressions ranging from the most to the least prototypical members of this group. Adverbs in this language are heterogeneous in nature. They are found in a range of forms and structures which make them reveal various morphological behaviours. Their morphological behaviour is not predictable, hence the prototype theory is used to characterise them in Runyambo. Members of this category range from most prototypes of the category to least prototypes to the words which perform the functions of adverbs but fall into different categories.