Pluractionality in Hausa

Pluractionality in Hausa
This dissertation addresses the semantics of pluractional verbs in Hausa. The
notion of pluractionality is discussed and delimited with respect to related phenomena
such as aspect. A detailed description of pluractionality in Hausa is
provided, presenting new data based on the author’s fieldwork. This description
lays the empirical groundwork for a theoretical analysis of pluractionality. The
interpretation of pluractional verbs in Hausa is viewed as the result of three
semi-independent meaning components: event plurality, the non-equivalence
condition constraining the process of event individuation, and additional conditions
on use following from the fact that Hausa pluractionals are ‘special’
plurals. These three components do not all have the same status, both with
respect to each other and across speakers. This accounts for some of the specific
properties of Hausa pluractionals, as well as for much of the extensive variation
in the use and interpretation of pluractionals among speakers of Hausa.
This thesis is of interest to both descriptive and theoretical linguists working on
Hausa, pluractionality, or plurality in general.