The Morphosemantics of Complex Numbers

Abstract

This paper discusses the morphology and semantics of numeral expressions in Ẹdo – a language spoken in Nigeria. Previous studies outlined the mathematical principles which underlie the numeral system of this language. However, those studies have long lists of numeral expressions; usually, these studies spread the lists of expressions across different volumes of a textbook. The present study was, therefore, designed to find more concise ways of describing the numeral system of the language. This is significant because the study attempts to capture the same generalisations using inferences from linguistics. Its findings can be applied in translation practice and the development of materials for language teaching and learning. The research used both descriptive and theory-based analyses. Descriptive analyses rely on theory-neutral terms commonly employed in language studies. The theoretical framework adopted was the Principle of Compositionality. This principle implies that the relation between form and meaning is not arbitrary. It states that the meanings of complex words come from their structure, as well as a combination of the lexical and grammatical meanings of constituents in such words. Data was collected through interviews, participant observation, and content analyses of existing studies. The analysis revealed that the language derives complex numerals via compounding and desentencialisation. Compounding is a morphological process that combines two free word forms to create a new word; the output word may/may not have the same meaning as the input forms. Desentencialisation is a process that joins all the words in a sentence. The proposition remains the same, but the constituents in the sentence lose their independent status and function as one word. In terms of their semantics, the data showed the meanings of complex numerals are composed of the meanings of their constituents. This study contributes to linguistic theory as the analysis affirms the precepts of semantic composition and its usefulness in morphosemantic analyses. Although the principle behind meaning composition has been widely criticised, this study finds it is correct. The principle applies when there is a direct relationship between complex words and the meaning of their constituent parts.