NEGATING THE YORÙBÁ UNIVERSAL QUANTIFIER: A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS
This study is concerned with the negation of the Yorùbá universal quantifier within the framework of Jespersen’s tripartition of value. We begin with the discussion of negation in Yorùbá.
2. Negation in Yorùbá
The negative verb in Yorùbá is kò ‘not’. It has the following variants: kọ́, máa and kìí. Kò is a sentence negator. It can also be used to negate focused NP.
(1) Olú kò lọ
Olú NEG go
“Olú did not go”
(2) Olú ni kò Iọ
Olú FOC NEG go
“It was Olú who did not go”
Kọ́ is also used to negate sentences and NP’s but it differs from kò in that it always occurs in focused constructions and it always precedes the focus marker. Compare sentences (1) and (2) with (3) and (4).
(3) Olú kọ́ ni ó lọ
Olú NEG FOC he go
“Olú was not the who went”
(4) Olú lọ kọ́ ni
Olú go NEG FOC
“The point is that Olú did not go”
Máà is the imperative negator and it is also used to negate part of the verb phrase that follows it in a sentence.
(5) Máa lọ
NEG go
“Do not go”
(6) Olú lè máà lọ
Olú can/may NEG go
“Olú may not go”
Kìí is used to negate (i) a sentence (ii) an habitual aspect and (iii) a nominalized sentence. Examples are (7), (8) and (9) respectively.
(7) Kìí ṣ̣e Olú
NEG do Olú
“It is not Olú”
(8) Olú kìí lọ
Olú NEG go
“Olú does not often go”
(9) Kìí ṣe pé Olú lọ
NEG do say Olú go
“It is not that Olú went”
It should be noted here that more than one negative verb can be found in a sentence. Example:
(10) Kìí ṣe Olú ni kò lè máà ṣe é
NEG do Olú FOC NEG can NEG do it
“It is not Olú that cannot but do it”
3. Jespersen’s Tripartition of Value
Jespersen’s tripartition of value is based upon the two logical extremes and the intermediate state lying between them. The tripartition is set out as follows (Jespersen, 1924:324—325):
Next we have to consider some terms of paramount importance to the logician as well as to the linguist, namely the two absolute extremes ‘all’ and ‘nothing’ with the intermediate ‘something’. Let us call the two extremes A and C and the intermediate B. They are most naturally represented in a descending scale.
A everything, all, everybody (all girls, all the money)
B something, some, somebody (some girls, a girl, some money)
C nothing, none, nobody (no girls, no money)
Such items as “many”, “much”, “very”, “a few”, “a little”, “few” “little” and numerals are included in B.
For the negation of the A class where the universal quantifier belongs, Jespersen (1924:326) has this to say:
Here we have the general rule that if the negative word is placed first, it discards the absolute element; and the result is the intermediate term Not... A = B, ... If, on the other hand, the absolute element prevails, and the result is the contrary notion, (then) A... not = C.
Some of the examples used to justify his claim are the following:
They are not all of them fools (not...A = B)
The one (uncle) I was always going to write to and always didn’t (A...not = C)
On the A...not configuration, Horn (1978:139) notes that:
Jespersen observes correctly that the A...not configuration ... often has a different interpretation in natural language, if the A-term is a quantifier. Examples like
All that glitters is not gold
Thank Heaven, all scholars are not like this ...
abound, where A...not = B (or more correctly, A...not = not...A).
Jespersen attributed this phenomenon to “the result of two tendencies to place the subject first and to attract the negation to the verb” (1924:327), so that the negative which would logically precede the universal (Not all that glitters ...) is attracted instead to the unmarked nexal position.
Huddleston (1985:431) also states that the two interpretations available for constructions such as Jespersen’s A. ..not where A-term is a quantifier can be “distinguished prosodically” in English. In Yorùbá, both interpretations can be distinguished by focusing. Hetzron (1980:279) presents convincing arguments to show that both grammatical intonation and focus should be regarded as part of the sentence and therefore should be given their rightful place in grammar.
4. The Yorùbá Quantifiers
Ekundayo (1976) recognises three types of quantifiers in Yorùbá. The three types of quantifiers he recognises are the universal quantifier, gbogbo “all”, the absolute quantifier, mẹ́wàá “ten”, mẹ́jọ “eight”, etc., and the relative quantifier, púpọ̀ “many”, díẹ̀ “a few/few” (Ekundayo 1976: 59). The three quantifiers are distinguished from each other as follows:
(11) (i) Universal — identifies whole sets without indicating
exact numbers.
(ii) Absolute: — gives exact numbers of items quantified.
(iii) Relative — quantifies relative to unspecified sets.
Such quantifiers as méjèèjì “both”, mẹ́tẹ̀ẹ̀ta “all three”, etc., are classified under the universal quantifier but we shall not be concerned with them in this paper.
5. Explaining the Yorùbá Universal Quantifier Negation within Jespersen’s Tripartite System
Having identified the Yorùbá universal quantifier, we shall now analyse its negation within the framework of Jespersen’s tripartition of value. We shall take account of the following important factors in our analysis:
(12) (i) the properties of the quantifier
(ii) the position of the quantifier relative to the negative verb
(iii) the type of sentence in which the quantifier occurs i.e. whether it is focused or not. We shall be concerned with the following sentences:
(13) (i) Gbogbo wa ni ó lè lọ sí ilé
All we is he can go to home
“All of us can go home”
(ii) Gbogbo wa ni kò lè lọ sí ilé
All we is not can go to home
“All of us are unable to go home”
(iii) Gbogbo wa kọ́ ni ó lè lọ sí ilé
All we not is he can go to home
“Not all of us can go home”
(iv) Kìí ṣe gbogbo wa ni ó lè lọ sí ilé
Not do all we is he can go to home
“It is not all of us who can go home”
(v) Kò sí nínú wa tí ó lè lọ sí ilé
Not exist among us who can go to home
“None of us can go home”
(13) (i) is a focus sentence, that is, it is a sentence in which the universal quantifier is focused. In the sentence, it is the focused item, gbogbo wa “all we” that is negated in (13) (ii) in Jespersen’s A… not configuration. Compare (2) with (13) (ii) ((2) is reproduced as (14)).
(13) (ii) Gbogbo wa ni kò lè lọ sí ilé
All we is not can go to home
“All of us are unable to go home”
(14) Olú ni kò lọ
Olú FOC NEC go
“It was Olú who did not go”
The possibility of the negative verb being attracted to the verb base form in (13) (ii) is blocked by the presence of the focus marker. The only meaning available, therefore, is that of Jespersen’s A... not = C which is a complete denial of the universal quantifier by the negative verb.
Unlike (13) (ii), neither (13) (iii) nor (13) (iv) denies (13) (i). This is so because both are true if at least one of the people concerned goes home but, the way each of them fails to deny (13) (i) differs. It will be noted that the negative verb follows the universal quantifier in (13) (ii) and (13) (iii) and both have the configuration A...not. The question then is if (13) (ii) is a complete negation of (13) (i), why is (13) (iii) not?
The reason for this is that whereas (13) (ii) is the negation of (13) (i), (13) (iii) is the negation of another sentence. A close look at (13) (ii) and (13) (iii) shows that the focus marker, ni, occurs in different positions in the two sentences. Whereas the focus marker precedes the negative verb in (13) (ii), it follows the negative verb in (13) (iii). What this means is that whereas (13) (ii) negates (13) (i) where there is a focused universal quantifier, (13) (iii), in which the negative verb is focused, is the negation of (15).
(15) Gbogbo wa lè lọ sí ilé
All we can go to home
“All of us can go home”
If focus is taken, following Jackendoff (1972:225-230), as denoting “the information in the sentence that is assumed by the speaker not to be shared by him and the hearer”, then, one can say that “the presupposition (i.e.) ... the information in the sentence that is assumed by the speaker to be shared by him and the hearer” of sentences (13) (ii) and (13) (iii) differs. Another negation of (15) is (16). Whereas (16) allows for more than one type of interpretation i.e. (17) and (18); (13) (iii), in which the negative verb is “specified as new, within a contrastive sentence” (Chafe 1970: 229-230), allows for only (18) as its negation.
(16) Gbogbo wa kò lè lọ sí ilé
All we not can go to home
(i) “All of us cannot go home”
(ii) “Not all of us can go home”
(17) One/some/many of us can go home
(18) Not all of us can go home
As it is the negative verb that is focused in (13) (iii) and not the universal quantifier, Jespersen’s A...not configuration does not work well with it as it does with (13) (ii). Although the focus marker blocks verb attraction both in (13) (ii) and (13) (iii), the A...not configuration of (13) (iii) gives rise to only a B interpretation (one, some or many) in Jespersen’s tripartition. This interpretation contrasts with the observation of Jespersen in English where A...not should normally be a C and only by verb attraction can it be interpreted as B.
As for (13) (iv), it will be noted that the negative verb precedes the universal quantifier which indicates a not...A interpretation in Jespersen’s configuration. A not...A in Jespersen’s configuration always results in a B except “when the negative is attached prefixally or implied” (Horn 1978: 139). As there is neither a prefixal negative nor a negative by implication in (13) (iv), it is not surprising that the only interpretation available agrees with Jespersen’s not...A = B configuration i.e. “one/some/many of us can go home”.
(13) (v) is also a complete negation of (13) (i). This can be explained in terms of Jespersen’s scalar values. Jespersen’s scalar account for the use of not one for none, no and not one thing for nothing in languages such as Yorùbá. According to Jespersen (1949:81), “not four” does not mean
whatever is above or below 4 in scale but what is below 4 ...something between 4 and 0... ‘not everything’ means something between everything and nothing.
This is not to say that a ‘not’ followed by a numeral cannot be interpreted as more than. On this, Jespersen (1949:81) states that
when not + numeral is exceptionally to be taken as more than, the numeral has to be strongly stressed, and generally to be followed by a more exact indication: the hill is not two hundred feet high, but “three hundred”.
Jespersen (1949:81) concludes that this scalar hypothesis “explains how not one comes to be the natural expression in many languages for none, no and not one thing for nothing.
Ekundayo (1976:62) supports Jespersen’s view when he states that
Yoruba has no single word analogous to English none, nobody, nothing, etc., but it expresses the senses of such lexical items existentially. Thus, nobody is kò sí ẹnìkan (not exist person one); nothing is kò sí nǹkan (not exist thing-one) and none is kò sí (ọ̀kan) (not exist (one). The Yoruba word for zero i.e. òfo does not express the sense none and it cannot be used in partitive constructions… Thus, there is no òfo nínú wa (zero of us) analogous to kò sí nínú wa (none of us).
6. Conclusion
Research in language universals takes one of two methodological paths.
(19) (i) It can start with a full description of a particular language in order to form hypotheses about language universals or
(ii) It can examine a whole variety of languages and hypothesize from the data what the universal properties can be.
To a great extent, Jespersen approach is (19)(i). Although this work does not go very far (as it deals only with the negation of the Yoruba universal quantifier), it shows that Jespersen’s tripartite system pays off in insight into the semantics of Yorùbá quantifiers because four out of the five sentences examined in this work are duly accounted for by the system.
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[1] This paper was published as L.O. Adewole (1993), ‘Negating the Yorùbá Universal Quantifier: A Semantic Analysis’, Journal of Nigerian Languages and Literatures, 1:1-7.
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