Morphosyntax of Tonga Nicknames
- March 20, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: IJRISS, Language and Literature
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue III, March 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
Morphosyntax of Tonga Nicknames
Khama Hang’ombe
Department of African Languages and Literature, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
Abstract: – Many studies on nicknames of people have focussed on the social functions that these names perform. The structure of these names, particularly in Tonga, has not received adequate attention. Thus, little is known about the relationship between the structure of nicknames and their semantics. In this article, we analyse Tonga nicknames structurally, and demonstrate that their structure contribute significantly or at least has influence on their meaning. The paper specifically focuses on the morphology and syntax of Tonga nicknames. We adopt a diachronic perspective in the analysis and argue that Tonga nicknames are coined by bringing together different types of morphemes and word categories. The study argues that in order to appreciate the semantic import of Tonga nicknames, an appreciation of their morphosyntax is needed.
Key words: Morphosyntax, Tonga personal nicknames, Morpheme, Word categories
List of Abbreviations
AdjS. Adjectival stem
CL – Class
GEN – Genitive
N- Noun
NM- Nominal marker
NS – Noun stem
Poss. – Possessee
Prep.- Preposition
I. INTRODUCTION
Many studies on personal nicknames focus on either the social functions or cultural functions of these names (cf Hang’ombe & Siantumbu, 2018; Guma, 2001; Mashiri 1999, 2004; and McDowell, 1981). As far as we can tell, the morphosyntactic aspects of Tonga personal nicknames and how such aspects enhance the semantic aspect of these names have received little scholarly attention. The available study which analyses the grammar of Tonga nicknames is Hang’ombe (2015), which concentrates on the morphology of nicknames and argues that it enhances the meaning of the names. This study leaves out the syntactic aspect yet both the morphological and syntactical aspects contribute to the semantic import of the names. A cursory look at Tonga nicknames shows that these names are formed by combining different lexical items that can be analysed morphosyntactically.
