A Comparative Study of the Functions of Compounding in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba Languages

Abstract

Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba are the three major indigenous languages in Nigeria. They are part of the most widely spoken languages in Africa. Compounding is a very productive morphological process in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. We want to show in this paper, the crucial role of the process of compounding in the lexicon of the three languages. In doing this, we survey how compounding enriches the languages and enhances communication in terms of the expression of new concepts and ideas. We also show that the functional relationship between the phonology and the morphology of the languages contribute to the word formation process. This study also justifies that most African languages have internal capabilities for lexical expansion and do not always borrow words from other languages. The theoretical orientation of the study is situated in descriptive linguistics. Our conclusion is that compounding is a universal process of language development that is found across languages, although it manifests varying features. We therefore suggest that more indigenous Nigerian languages should be study and use in order to explore the various language development processes that will enable them to meet the present challenges of information technology.