Lamnsoʹʹ verbal extensions: An overview

Apart from work on verb tone patterns (Grebe and Grebe’s, 1975) and transitivity alternations (Yuka, forthcoming), the verbal structure in Lamnsoʹ is virtually unstudied. The Lamnsoʹ verbal system, unlike its noun class system does not readily lend itself to a straightforward analysis. Verbs exhibit an intricate morphology with verbal extensions that can occur with a wide range of radicals. Each combination derives a distinct semantic interpretation. A cursory look at these extensions seems to require a good understanding of verb argument structure and event distribution for adequate interpretation. As a preliminary study, this paper investigates the morpho-semantic denotation of Lamnsoʹ verbal extensions. It illustrates basic changes that apply to the meaning of verbal stems when a given extension is attached. In doing this, verbal extensions that increase the argument structure of verbs are distinguished from those that alter aspect. This paper thus focuses on the contribution of verb meaning and extension meaning to event meaning.