Unravelling the Complexity of Cinyanja Compound Words: A Distributed Morphology Approach

Abstract

Compound words are found in most languages and play an essential role in the lexicon of the majority of languages because they reflect the interface between morphology, phonology, syntax and semantics. The present study seeks to provide a broader analysis of Cinyanja Verb-Noun (VN) compound words with a non-derived noun in the nominal position based on Distributed Morphology framework provided by Halle and Marantz (1993). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to show the intricate processes involved in the formation and interpretation of compound words. The data used in this study were mainly collected from secondary sources, which included written sources in Cinyanja. The findings of the study arising from the syntactic analysis of the compound words provide insights on the insertion of the noun class prefix in the derivational process. Furthermore, using Distributed Morphology in the interpretation of lexicalised meaning, the findings provide insights on the complexities and creativity involved in the construction of compound words in Cinyanja.