Syntactic Structure of Verb Serialisation in Bokyi
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines the syntactic structure of Verb Serialisation in the Bokyi language using Theta Theory as the analytic framework. The primary data were collected from proceedings of Boki village meetings at various locations, while the secondary data were collected from print and online materials on grammar to determine the structural elements of serial verb constructions in Bokyi. The study reveals that Bokyi exhibits both contiguous and non-contiguous verb serialisation based on intervening variables. It was also found that the symmetry in tense and aspect between verbs in serial verb constructions is not always present in Bokyi, based on the analysis of these features. The study notes that all the verbs in Serial Verb Constructions (SVCs) share the idea of negation. The analysis of the derivation of SVCs in Bokyi shows that they are derived from conjoined and embedded structures. It is discovered that most SVCs in Bokyi are non-contiguous because of intervening elements that stand between them. Instead of being a series of plain verbs, the construction is a series of verb phrases. In other words, the study found that Bokyi has less of serial verb constructions and more of serial verb phrases.
Institution: Nasarawa State University
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225582764