Clause Chaining in Kisukuma: a Role and Reference Grammar Approach

Abstract

This research sought to analyze the clause chaining features available in Kisukuma under the framework of Role and Reference Grammar, to investigate the clause linkage of clause chaining in Kisukuma and even more to interrogate how Role and Reference Grammar theory can be used to capture clause chaining in Kisukuma. Clause chaining has long been identified as narrative tense, consecutive tense, conjunctive participle or converbs. However, the current research challenges this description because it leads to a wrong approach where the problem is discussed at the word level and not the clausal level. It is demonstrated that clause chaining in Kisukuma has two markers that include the simultaneous marker - ki as well as the dependent marker - ka . These tense-aspect dependency markers in Kisukuma are events based in the post-nuclear direction and they always helps in the understanding of information in texts as foregrounded. This paper illustrates these points with data from twenty texts. The research also shows that all the three nexi types, that is coordination, subordination and cosubordination are available in Kisukuma but clause chaining can only be found in cosubordination. The paper argues that the Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) is inadequate in terms of analyzing features like the subject nominal, derivations as well as the clause linkage markers in Kisukuma cosubordination. The theory fails to show how clause chains are linked to the controlling clause in the LSC model. However, other features of the language are appropriately catered for compared to how the traditional grammar theories will