NOUN CLASS SYSTEM IN NAWURI

ABSTRACT

This study provides an overview of the Noun Class System of Nawuri; one of the Guang languages which is a closely related group of languages, spoken largely in Ghana, Cote d‟Ivoire, Togo and Benin. The study presents the analyses of nouns into classes in Nawuri. It examines the various mechanisms and motivationg factor for Nawuri nominal classification. The study further looks at the patterns of inflection and derivation in Nawuri. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary data were collected through interviews, self-generated and recordings of spontaneous speech, daily conversations, folktales and songs in Nawuri. The secondary data were collected from Nawuri books. The study shows that Nawuri nouns can be derived from other lexical word classes such as verbs, adjectives and other nouns. It also shows that Nawuri Noun Class employs a mix of phonological and morphological assignment criteria to divide Nawuri nouns into twelve classes based on the similarity of both the singular and the plural affixes. The study showed that Nawuri has eight singular prefixes, ten plural prefixes and one plural suffix. It was established that the motivation for noun classification in Nawuri is mainly morpho-phonological. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to studies on the typology of noun classification.