Abstract
This research provides a morpho-semantic account of noun derivation in Berom, a Benue-Congo language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, data were obtained from the Berom dictionary (with validation by four native speakers) with additional data elicited from two other native speakers. The analysis reveals that nouns are derived from verbs, adverbs, adjectives and other nouns in the language mostly via affixation (prefixation), with compounding and tone changes also playing dominant roles. Types of denominal nouns identified include diminutives which are formed via kè- prefixation, augmentatives via gwò- prefixation (with pejorative meanings), agentives via compounding, speaker nouns, ownership noun compounds and abstract nouns which are derived via nè- prefixation. The findings of the research indicate that nominalization in Berom involves an intricate interaction between morphology, semantics and tone, underscoring the language’s productive and typologically significant nominal derivation system.
Keywords: Berom, Nominalization, Morphological processes, Base form, Derived form
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i02.010
author/Almajir, T. S., & Rabi’u, B. M.
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 1(2) | November 2025 |
