Toward a typology of directional motion for African languages

This paper examines the syntactic & semantic expression of basic directional motion & its manner counterparts across the four language phyla of Africa. We sample languages from each phylum, concentrating on basic, non-deictic, directional motion, & its counterpart in which motion, direction, & manner of motion occur simultaneously. Two primary findings emerge. Across Africa, basic directional motion tends to be verb-framed with respect to direction; it conflates the semantic components Motion + Direction in verbs equivalent to 'enter, circle, traverse'. Manner of motion, while maintaining this lexicalization pattern, syntactically registers a Motion + Direction verb & its linear order relative to a Manner verb through either of two primary strategies. Manner precedes Motion + Direction when the two verbs are conveyed through serial verb sequences, verb compounding, or verb coordination. Manner follows Motion + Direction when the former is specified as a deranked verbal form, eg, as a gerundive, or as part of a deranked clause, eg, a subordinate clause. 1 Table, 36 References. Adapted from the source document