Incorporation as a nominal attribute strategy in Akebu

Abstract

This paper presents an account of nominal attribute incorporation in Akebu, a Kwa language spoken in Togo. The regular way of encoding quality attributes is by placing stems of an adjective or of a quality verb between the stem of the noun and its noun class suffix. Other verbs can also be incorporated into a noun. After providing the necessary background on Akebu, the paper addresses phonological, morphological and syntactic features of incorporated complexes, as well as alternative constructions and structures that differ from attribute incorporation. While the phonological and morphological evidence for the wordhood of Akebu incorporated complexes is rather ambiguous, it is clear that syntactically incorporated stems are not full-fledged attribute constituents and have very limited syntactic possibilities. Akebu data thus elucidates the phenomenon of incorporation, illustrating the interrelation of morphological and syntactic issues of incorporation, as well as the complexity of attribute incorporation, as opposed to noun incorporation, which is the type most widely discussed.