Morphological marking for syntactic relations in Ruhaya

This study presents the morphological marking patterns in Ruhaya, a Bantu language spoken in Kagera region in Tanzania. The study is based on the variety of Kihendangabo spoken in Bugabo rural District. The study addresses the following issues: first, it identifies morphological marking patterns in Ruhaya. Second, it analyses the linguistic environment in which the morphological marking takes place. Third, it presents the functions of morphological marking. The study uses the concept of dependence as the guiding framework. The study used primary and secondary data, which were analysed to determine morphological markers with regard to their type, order, functions, and syntactic environment in which they occur. The study identifies four morphological marking patterns in Ruhaya. These are: head, dependent, internal and connective marking. In terms of functions, morphological marking is identified as a morph syntactic mechanism, which plays various syntactic roles such as identifying grammatical relations, expanding verb valence and also used as a word forming strategy. In operation, morphology marking is sensitive to the principle of economy, which limits the number of possible alternatives in syntactic operations where one would suffice. The study is organized into five chapters. Chapter One introduces the study in details. Chapter Two deals with the concept of morphological marking while Chapter Three focuses on morphological marking patterns in Ruhaya. Chapter Four analyses the functions of morphological marking in Ruhaya and Chapter Five subsumes a conclusion and recommendations.