Open AccessThe control marker na ~ naw in Samba Leko, a language spoken in Cameroon – Nigeria
Author(s) -
Gwenaëlle Fabre
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
language in africa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2686-8946
DOI - 10.37892/2686-8946-2020-1-3-244-265
Subject(s) - linguistics , terminology , context (archaeology) , interpretation (philosophy) , term (time) , computer science , control (management) , history , artificial intelligence , physics , philosophy , archaeology , quantum mechanics
The term na ~ naw can only appear clause-finally in Samba Leko. Depending on the instance, it belongs to paradigms of either locative postpositions or expressive particles and must therefore be considered polyfunctional in the terminology of Robert (2003). na ~ naw is identified by speakers as identical in all its attestations and is always glossed as ‘in hand’. The interpretation of na ~ naw as an expression of control would need to be supported by further ethnolinguistic investigation but is still helpful for explaining its range of uses. The analysis of this term given in another paper is first summarized, and its implications in the wider context of Adamawa languages in general are then discussed.