``Comparative analysis of negative constructions in standard Yorùbá and Egbá dialect

Abstract

This paper compares negative constructions in Standard Yorùbá (SY) and Ẹ̀gbá dialect (ẸD) using the Principles and Parameters theory as a theoretical framework. A major finding of this study is that while ‘má’ is attested as a negative marker in SY, it is attested as a progressive marker in ẸD. It is also found that, the negative marker ‘kò’ is the only negative marker in SY that has variants ‘kò’ and ‘ò’; but all negative markers in ẸD except ‘àì’ and ‘tì’ have variants. In terms of behaviour and features of these negative markers in different syntactic positions, a lot of differences exist between those that are attested in SY and ẸD, bringing about differences in their negative constructions. The paper concluded that, despite the fact that Ẹ̀gbá dialect is a dialect of Yorùbá, a lot of differences were seen in their negative constructions as a result of the differences in the syntactic positions and features of the negative markers attested in the two speech forms.