A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OE ADVERBIALS IN ENGLISH AND IGBO LANGUAGES

Adverbs and adverbials are highly adaptive expressions. They arise in a variety of environments from which they lake on certain characteristic features. This makes them a very flexible means of natural language. The term adverb refers to a specific word class or lexical category and therefore contrasts with other word classes. Adverbial however, refers to a specific function within a sentence and therefore contrast with other syntactic functions such as subject, object, and predicate. Adverbials are traditionally conceived of as being those elements that serve to specify further the circumstances of the verbal or sentential referent. They are restricted to a set of semantically limited usages, prototypically specifying time, place, or manner. The study specifically contrasts adverbials in Igbo and English and highlights the patterns and usage of adverbials in Igbo and English languages. Introspective method, unstructured interview and some personal one on one chat with the native speakers of Igbo are the methods used. The analysis of the data is based on the various levels of adverbials such as; simple, compound, adverbial phrase, clause, forms and type are contrasted in the two languages. Sufficient examples are given on adverbials and contrasted in Igbo and English respectively. Adverbial paradigms in Igbo have shown that there are morphological processes. The main method of forming majority of derivational adverbs is by reduplication and negative marker of which new adverbs are created from adjectives. Forming open class adverbs from adjectives in Igbo is however unstable. It is also noticed in Igbo that some adverbs are formed without the addition of prefix or suffix unlike in English, yet, exhibit the minor and major method of adverbial formation. Suffixation, spittoon as well as embedding are used in Igbo for the formation of compound adverbials. Many simple adverbs in Igbo denote position and direction. Adverbial clauses in Igbo have various means of expressing locative, temporal and indeed all kinds of other circumstantial information. The clause can be regarded as having the function of adjunct in sentence; though in this case it is a matter of embedding one clause in another clause. The study however confirms that adverbs exist in Igbo language as in English but with structural differences. It shows that adverbs are not given adequate attention by Igbo linguists. This gives the impression that Igbo adverbs are not many. The analysis also proved that adverbs have not been adequately discussed because very few words function as adverbs. Other reasons include neglect on the part of Igbo language authors and inability of people to identify adverb. The structural pattern of Igbo adverbs could be ideophonic expression, prepositional phrases. The prepositional phrases and noun phrases are used to supplement the fewness of Igbo adverbs. This research is expected to fill the existing vacuum in the study of Igbo syntax, add to linguistic research findings and, therefore stimulates further research of similar or wider dimensions in related fields in order to facilitate better and more productive language learning.