Udhihirikaji Wa Kanuni Ya Dahl Katika Lugha Ya Ekegusii

ABSTRACT

This study endeavored to investigate Dahl’s Law in reference with nouns, verbs and borrowed words in Ekegusii. The research intended to accomplish this by realizing the following three objectives; to explain Dahl‟s Law as revealed in Ekegusii, to illustrate how borrowed words in Ekegusii reveal Dahl‟s Law, to examine diachronic and synchronic versions of Ekegusii and their characteristics. The research was based on the Optimality Theory (OT) that was postulated by Prince and Smolensky (1993). The study was guided by the following tenets: Principle of universality (constraints are universal and universally present in every grammar), IDENT-10 (input and output must agree on voicing), VOICED-CODA (consonants must not be voiced in coda position) and lastly CONSTRAINT (the set of constraints out of which grammar can be constructed). The theory supposes that there are no language specific restrictions on the input. Every grammar can handle every possible input. Data that was used in this study was collected both in the library and in the field. Collected data was recorded and analyzed based on research objectives, questions and tenets of the theory. Research findings were presented descriptively in five chapters. The study found out that Dahl‟s Law can be manifested in Ekegusii language by the use of nouns, verbs and borrowed words. The findings of this study will be used as reference in the study of African languages.