Linguistics Properties of Adjectives in Iraqw

Abstract

The main focus of this study was to investigate linguistic items representing adjectives in Iraqw, a southern Cushitic language spoken in Manyara region and in some parts of the Arusha region. The study was conducted in Babati district council, specifically in Daredakati and Gajal villages. Sentence questionnaires were used as the main method of data collection, complemented by extraction from written materials and elicitation methods that included Iraqw narrations and songs. This study was qualitative, guided by the prototype theory proposed by Elianor Rosch in (1970s) and involved five respondents who are native speakers of Iraqw and competent in Kiswahili. Adjectives are classified based on their prototypicality. This study employed three criteria for word categorization: semantic, morphological, and syntactic. The researchers found only 44 prototype adjectives, 10 derived from adjectives and nouns, 11 flexible adjectives, 10 cardinal numbers, four quantifiers, and two represented by nouns, and concluded that Iraqw adjectives form an independent word category.