Making it clearer: Elaboration strategies in Gĩkũyũ, a Bantu language
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Date
2022
Authors
Wakarindi, Peter Maina
Mwangi, Phyllis
Njoroge, Martin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Jozac Publishers
Abstract
Typically, spontaneous language comprises sequences of logically joined clauses. Studies have
revealed that such structures contribute to fluency in speech or writing as they reduce the use of simple
structures. Simple structures have been found to make texts more disjointed. The combined clauses, which
Systemic Functional linguistics calls clause complexes, are fundamentally held together by two forms of logicosemantic
relations: expansion and projection. These relations are achieved through different strategies, among
them conjunctive resources. An individual’s knowledge of conjunctive patterns of a language, and logicosemantic
relations by extension, influences one’s selection of conjunctive resources. This article aims at
exploring the logico-semantic relation of elaboration, a mode of expansion, in Gĩkũyũ clause complexes. Its
data, Gĩkũyũ clause complexes, were purposively sampled majorly from spoken and written sources. The
findings reveal different categories of paratactic and hypotactic elaboration in Gĩkũyũ. The different categories
were found to employ varied elaboration strategies such as overt conjunctive expressions that mark certain
relations, acting as linkers and binders in the clause complexes. The strategies are significant in promoting
communicative competence as they have previously been noted to contribute to cohesion in Gĩkũyũ texts.
Description
Keywords
Clause Complexes, Elaboration Strategies, Gĩkũyũ, Hypotaxis, Parataxis