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Grammar of Etulo: A Niger-Congo (Idomoid) Language - cover image

Book Series

Copyright

Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

Published On

2025-10-20

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80511-597-7
Hardback978-1-80511-598-4
PDF978-1-80511-599-1
HTML978-1-80511-601-1
EPUB978-1-80511-600-4

Language

  • English

Print Length

296 pages (xxiv+272)

Dimensions

Paperback178 x 16 x 254 mm(7" x 0.63" x 10")
Hardback178 x 17 x 254 mm(7" x 0.67" x 10")

Weight

Paperback522g (18.41oz)
Hardback735g (25.93oz)

Media

Illustrations5
Tables28

Funding

  • The Philological Society

THEMA

  • CF
  • CFK
  • 2H
  • JH
  • 2HC

BISAC

  • LAN009000
  • LAN009010
  • LAN011000
  • LAN009060
  • SOC002010

Keywords

  • Etulo Language
  • Niger-Congo Languages
  • Idomoid Languages
  • African Linguistics
  • Linguistic Typology
  • Language Documentation

Grammar of Etulo

A Niger-Congo (Idomoid) Language

This work provides the first detailed linguistic description of the grammar of Etulo, a language spoken in Nigeria by a minority group in Benue and Taraba states. This description establishes Etulo as a tone language characterised by a predominant SVO word order, non-inflectional morphology, prominent aspectual values, obligatory complement verbs and verb serialization, among other features. This grammar also serves as a foundation for further description of the Etulo grammar and for the development of pedagogical materials needed in Etulo language teaching.

Within the Benue-Congo sub group of languages, Etulo is classified as an Idomoid language alongside seven other languages with which it shares striking linguistic similarities. These include Idoma, Igede, Yatye, Alago, Akweya, Akpa, and Eloyi, none of which has yet received a robust linguistic description in the form of a grammar. This work therefore serves as a reference work not only for Etulo, but also for other Idomoid languages yet to be described.

This volume will be of interest to researchers of African linguistics in general and Idomoid languages in particular, as well as Africanists, comparative linguists and language typologists more generally.

Additional Resources

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text for non-commercial purposes of the text providing attribution is made to the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Attribution should include the following information:

Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta, Grammar of Etulo: A Niger-Congo (Idomoid) Language. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2025, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0467

[audio]Audio Recording 1

A story of the king, the hare and other animals (Text 1) and What I did yesterday (Text 3). Featuring Mr. Ingyu Clement Agyo and Mr. Moro Akanya

[audio]Audio Recording 2

How we plant yams (Text 2) and What I do everyday (Text 4). Featuring Mr. Ingyu Clement Agyo and Mr. Moro Akanya

[document]EPUB Accessibility Report

Contents

1. General Introduction

(pp. 1–8)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

2. The Phonology of Etulo

(pp. 9–36)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

3. Morphological Processes

(pp. 37–50)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

4. Word Classes

(pp. 51–140)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

5. Aspects of Etulo Syntax

(pp. 141–188)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

6. Valency, Transitivity and Serialization

(pp. 189–222)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

7. Tense, Aspect and Modality

(pp. 223–242)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

8. General Conclusion

(pp. 243–244)
  • Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

Contributors

Chikelu I. Ezenwafor-Afuecheta

(author)
Department of Linguistics at Nnamdi Azikiwe University
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2440-6139
https://profile.unizik.edu.ng/nau3296

Dr. Chikelu Ihunanya Ezenwafor-Afuecheta is an African linguist interested in the areas of morphology and syntax, and the grammars of Igbo and Etulo languages. She earned her Ph.D from the Department of Linguistics, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa. She currently serves as a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.