CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Every language has a grammar of its own. The proper use of each language depends therefore on the mastery of its grammar. There is, therefore, a need to carry out research on every language to describe the grammar which native speakers have but are unaware.

This work provides the morphosyntactic structure of personal names in Meta. Meta is a grass field Bantu language spoken in the Momo Division of the North West Region of Cameroon. This chapter, therefore, introduces the work by preventing relevant information about the Metalanguage, those who speak it, and where it is spoken.

This chapter contains the general introduction, situating the language, Geographical location, historical situation, linguistic classification of the language, literature review, aims and objectives, scope of the work, theoretical framework, and conclusion.

1.1 Geographical Situation

Terikum (1988), Bible translation center Mbengwi and the survey department SIL international Bamenda hold that Meta forms a clan of 32 villages and more than 31 chiefdoms with administrative units at Mbengwi central sub-division.

Meta sits between latitude 6 and longitude 10 covering an area of about 59200sqkm and is bordered to the North by Oshie, Ngie to the South,  Bali to the West, Batibo to the South West, Mankon to the South East and Bafut and Mundum to the East and North East respectively.

Two main vegetation types exist in Meta; the tallish grass that comprises of the savanna region of Cameroon toward the North and South and the thick tall grass mixed with huge trees toward Nigeria, kai, Nguafon, and Zang – Tabi.

We also have valleys existing with flowing streams and rivers between hills that collect to form bigger streams and rivers the Manam and Juah rivers flowing at different points in the Muzama otherwise also known as Mezam.

1.2 Historical Situation

An investigation into the process of socialization (Tekum M.H 1988) holds that meta like other clans in the Momo Division relies on oral history since archaeological and written history was not made during the pre-colonial era, the Widikum migrated from Mamfe with the descendants of two brothers Lyirikum and Ogiekum who lived in Dudum near Widikum.

Quarrel on constant bases separated these brothers who went their separate ways with Lyirikums settling at Adegechung origin of the Ngie clan and ogiekum settling at Widikum they bore children who later formed the Moghamo, Menemo (Meta), and Oshie clans.

Their offsprings moved to guwing, bore more children and one of the them temboke moved to a place called Tadkon, North of Guwing in Batibo, while the three of his sons migrated North Westward and found the present-day Meta.

1.3 Linguistic Classification

Meta is a Momo language that falls under Western grass field and grassland Bantu Grimmes (1992) considers grass field of Grassland Bantu as a member of the Broad Bantu Family.

The Western grassfield languages include Ring, menchum, lower Mundani, and Momo, under Momo we have languages such as Ngwaw, Menka, Ngie Mundani, Arass, Njen, Ngembu, Meta, Ambele, Oshie, Kesam and Batibo.

Bantu is a subclass of Bantu – Congo which falls under Niger Congo Phylum one of the minor divisions of Niger Kordophanian. It is one of the four major language families of Africa alongside khoisan, Afro-Asiatic and Nilo Saharan (Guthrie 1948).

1.4 Aims and Objectives.

This work aim at analyzing the Morpho-syntactic structure of personal names, their meanings and their relevance of these names. Since it has been noticed that most of our parents do give names to their children without actually knowing their meaning of that names (names). They even go as far as combining words to form names without meaning of the resulting words (names).

As a result, a greater population of the younger generation doesn’t know the meaning of these names which they bear.

1.5 Literature Review

The growing interest in the meta language has caused a great deal of development the language though not exhausted. The language succeeded to get work on:

Spreda (1981) “the phonology of Meta” (Menemo) where he talks of phonology processes, syllabus, suprasegmentals including tones, vowel length stress and also segment.

Spreda Klaus (1986) “Tonologie de meta where a presentation of the tones system with chapter on the noun phrase, verb phrase and the interplay of verbs + Object.

Grey croasdal (1924) focused on the Meta clan, the people, their origin, and the ritual solution in the meta society.

Chibaka (1998) focused on the noun class system and also examines a “grammatical description of the language relative to parametric variation.´Chibaka (2006) grammatical description of meta.

1.6 Methodology.

As far as methodology is concerned, this makes use of primary and secondary data. The primary data consist of raw fact of the language gathered from the field. A bilingual approach was used in collecting the data. The words and phrases are in English, the informant who is 54 years old gives the equivalent in Meta.

The secondary data was collected with general literature. These data consist of works relevant to the topic. The data was collected by visiting libraries, linguistic centres, especially the library in the University of Buea.

Theoretical Framework

Linguists as well as scientists need a theoretical framework for testing hypothesis and giving accounts of observed phenomenon. Thus, data under this research will therefore be analyzed under the theoretical frame works.

1.8. Scope of Work

This work is divided into four chapters. Chapter one is an introductory survey of the work. It consists of the background information of the meta language, literature review, aims and objectives of the work, scope of the work.

In chapter two the morpho syntactic structure of the language is made known to the reader which will comprise of aspects of the lexical category of phrases, clauses and sentences.

Chapter three comprises of names that stand out as single words, their meaning and syllable structure. It also consists of names which are a combination of morphemes to form phrases.

Also, this work will not illustrate on the syllable structure of words in meta but rather of names only.

Also the socio linguistic significance of names in meta is not exploited in this work but rather the morpho- syntactic structure, and also names based on the circumstances of birth.  Finally chapter four consists of general conclusion.

1.9 Conclusion

In this chapter introduce work by providing background information of the Meta people and their language. It has laid the foundation of this work. It has laid the introductory notions such as the significance of study, geographically and historically, the linguistic classification of the language aims and objectives were also considered. This chapter ends by looking at the scope of work.