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A descriptive grammar of the Bassa-nge language presents a comprehensive
description of an endangered language spoken in Kogi State-Nigeria. The
language belongs to the Niger-Kordofanian phylum of the Kwa family. The
12,000 speakers of the language occupy the eastern side of the confluence
of the river Niger and Benue, though some of them still live on the side of
river Lokoja. The Grammar book has four chapters. The first chapter
discusses the geographical location of the language, historical origin and
settlement of the people and the classification of the language. The second
chapter treats the phonology of the language enumerating the consonant and
vowel systems.
The third chapter briefly discusses the nominal and verbal morphology of the
language while, the last chapter treats the syntax of the language, discussing
the structure of the nominal and verbal phrases, identifying all the possible
constituents that can occur in each of the phrases. These are supported with
tree diagram of the sentences analyzed as well as phrase structure rules.
The book’s authors, Mohammed Aminu Mu’azu, Jidda Hassan Juma’a and
Suleman Sokomba Tebu are graduates of General linguistics and Associate
Professors in the Department of Languages and Linguistics, University of
Maiduguri-Nigeria.
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