Languages of West Africa: description and comparative analysis

The project is supported by RSCF, grant no. № 17-78-20071, 2017–2020

The primary goal of the project is to compile cross-linguistically oriented descriptions of West African languages. In the course of doing that, we pursue comparative research of some specific linguistic features of the area. The members of our team are researchers of language with various backgrounds and scientific interests. Some of us have been conducting fieldwork in Africa for more than 10 years already.

The majority of languages in focus either haven’t been described yet (as for Kla-Dan) or have only non-professional descriptions – i.e., missionaries’ grammars or grammar sketches (Tomo-Kan and Akebu). Some had been targeted by professional linguists, but left with only sketchy descriptions (Kpelle). Moreover, sociolinguistic features of some languages of the area require more detailed research of specific lects (Pular Futa-Jallon as a part of Pulaar-Fulfulde dialect continuum).

Our research issues:

  • segmental phonetics
  • typology of tonal systems
  • morphosyntax of class and person-number agreement
  • syntax and semantics of attributive words
  • verb morphosyntax (lability, valency-changing derivation, verbal plurality)
  • dialect studies
  • syntax of complex verb constructions
  • proto-language reconstructions
  • compiling dictionaries

Team


Andrey Shluinsky
(head of the project)
Vadim Dyachkov
 
Tatiana Khanenkova (till 2019)
 

Maria Konoshenko
 
Maria Kosogorova
 
Nadezhda Makeeva
 

Victoria Pozdniakova
Maria Sapozhnikova
Galina Sim 

Our fieldtrip teams also included: Ekaterina Aplonova, Vladimir Dobrovolskii, Tatiana Mamonova, Alexandr Riaposov, Dasha Shavarina.

Languages

Currently we are describing:

  • Kla-Dan (< Mande; Nadezhda Makeeva)

  • Tomo-Kan (< Dogon; Vadim Dyachkov, Alexandr Riaposov)

  • Kpelle (< Mande; Maria Konoshenko)

  • Pular Futa-Jallon (< Atlantic; Maria Kosogorova, Tatiana Khanenkova)

  • Jogo (< Mande; Maria Sapozhnikova)

     

  • Natioro (< Gur; Vadim Dyachkov)

  • Ndoe (Balep) (< Bantoid; Galina Sim)
     

  • Kono (< Mande; Maria Konoshenko, Vladimir Dobrovolskii)

  • Ginyanga (< Kwa; Andrey Shluinsky, Victoria Pozdniakova, Ekaterina Aplonova, Tatiana Mamonova)

We are compiling descriptions of Kla-Dan, Tomo-Kan, Kpelle, Akebu and Pular Futa-Jallon and collecting and analyzing data of Jogo, Natioro, Ndoe, Kono and Ginyanga.

Fieldtrips

(including ones financed or co-fininaced from related projects)

  • September – November 2017: Burkina Faso, Tomo-Kan (Vadim Dyachkov)
  • January 2018: Guinea, Kpelle (Maria Konoshenko)
  • January – February 2018: Côte d’Ivoir and Ghana, Jogo (Maria Sapozhnikova)
  • January – February 2018: Nigeria, Ndoe (Galina Sim)
  • June – July 2018: Guinea, Kpelle (Maria Konoshenko)
  • October – November 2018: Burkina Faso, Tomo-Kan, Natioro (Vadim Dyachkov, Aleksandr Riaposov)
  • January – February 2019: Guinea, Kpelle, Kono (Maria Konoshenko, Vladimir Dobrovolsky), Pular (Tatiana Khanenkova)
  • January – February 2019: Côte d’Ivoir, Jogo (Maria Sapozhnikova)
  • January – February 2019: Togo, Akebu (Andrey Shluinsky, Nadezhda Makeeva, Dasha Shavarina), Ginyanga (Ekaterina Aplonova, Tatiana Mamonova, Victoria Pozdniakova)
  • February – March 2019: Burkina Faso, Tomo-Kan, Natioro (Vadim Dyachkov)

Events

As part of the project, a bimonthly workshop is held at the Department of African Languages of the Institute of Linguistics, RAS, where we discuss our research agenda and findings. We invite colleagues who are interested in West African languages to join us.
To receive information about our meetings, please contact us via email at ashl at iling-ran.ru.

Publications

  • Dyachkov, Vadim. Dead"ektivnye glagoly v jazyke tomo-kan: škaly prilagatel'nyx i aspekt [Deadjectival verbs in the Tomo Kan language: Adjectival scalarity and verbal aspect]. Acta Linguistica Petropolitana (Trudy Instituta lingvističeskix issledovanij RАN), XIII(2). St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2017. P. 529–559.
  • Konoshenko, Maria. Word-level Replacive Tonal Patterns in Mande Nominal Constructions: On Christopher Green’s Binary Typology. Mandenkan 59. 2018. P. 109–120.
  • Konoshenko, Maria. Tone in Yongning Na: Lexical tones and morphotonology (review). Language documentation and conservation. Vol.12. 2018. P. 47–52.
  • Konoshenko, Maria; Shavarina, Dasha. A microtypological survey of noun classes in Kwa. Journal of African languages and linguistics. 2019. 40(1). P. 1-40.
  • Kosogorova, Maria. Imperativnye konstrukcii v gvinejskom jazyke pular [Imperative constructions in Guinean Pular]. In: Problemy jazyka: Sbornik naučnyx statej po materialam Pjatoj konferencii-školy “Problemy jazyka: Vzgljad molodyx učenyx”. Moscow, 2017. P. 176–184.
  • Kosogorova, Maria. Fonetičeskaya obuslovlennost' morfologičeskogo nulja v pular futa-džallona [The phonetic basis of morphological zero in Pular]. In: Kul'turno-yazykovye protsessy v Аfrike. Moscow, 2017. P. 64-71.
  • Kosogorova, Maria. Grammatikalizatsiya adlogov v gvinejskom pular [Grammaticalization of adpositions in Pular]. In: Jazyki Stran Dal'nego Vostoka, Jugo-Vostočnoj Аzii i Zapadnoj Аfriki: materialy XIII Meždunarodnoj naučnoj konferencii. St. Petersburg: Izdatel'stvo TSSO, 2018. V. 13. P. 134–142.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda. Conjonctions de taxis en kla-dan. Mandenkan 58. 2017. P. 47–67.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda. Marques rétrospectives en kla-dan. Mandenkan 60. 2018. P. 123–147.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda. Prilagatelʹnye i kvalitativnye glagoly v jazyke akebu [Adjectives and qualitative verbs in Akebu]. Vestnik SPbGU. Serija 13 «Vostokovedenie. Afrikanistika». 2018. Vol. 10. Issue. 1. P. 14–31.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda. Taksisnye sojuzy v jazyke kla-dan [Taxis conjunctions in the Kla-Dan language]. In: Afrikanskij sbornik – 2017. St. Petersburg: MAÈ RAN, 2017. P. 393–414.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda. Konstrukcii buduščego vremeni v jazykax dan [Future tense verbal constructions in the Dan languages]. In: Problemy jazyka Sbornik naučnyx statej po materialam Pjatoj konferencii-školy “Problemy jazyka: vzgljad molodyh učenyx”. Moscow, 2017. P. 228–241.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda. Topikalizaciya v jazyke kla-dan [Topicalization in Kla-Dan]. In: Problemy jazyka. Sbornik naučnyx statej po materialam Šestoj konferencii-školy “Problemy jazyka: vzgljad molodyx uchenyx”. Moscow: IJAz RАN, 2018. P. 130–144.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda; Shluinsky, Andrey. Noun classes and class agreement in Akebu. Journal of West African languages 45(1). 2018. P. 1–26.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda; Shluinsky, Andrey. Аdlogi v yazyke akebu [Adpositions in Akebu]. In: Jazyki Stran Dal'nego Vostoka, Jugo-Vostočnoj Аzii i Zapadnoj Аfriki: materialy XIII Meždunarodnoj naučnoj konferencii. St. Petersburg: Izdatel'stvo TSSO, 2018. P. 194-202.
  • Makeeva, Nadezhda; Shluinsky, Andrey. Faktativ v jazyke akebu [Factative in Akebu]. In: Malye jazyki v bol'shoj lingvistike. Sbornik trudov konferencii 2017. Moscow: Buki Vedi, 2018. P. 119–124.
  • Shluinsky, Andrey. Serial'nye glagol'nye konstrukcii v jazyke akebu [Serial verb constructions in Akebu]. Tipologija morfosintaksičeskix parametrov. 1(1). 2018. P. 151-171.