What is finiteness in Dagaare?

Abstract

Although the notion of finiteness has been much debated from different theoretical perspectives, little is known beyond Indo-European languages. The present study examines finiteness in the Lobr dialect of Dagaare (Niger-Congo: Mabia) from a systemic functional typological point of view. The study contributes to debates on whether finiteness is a discrete system or a cline. The study first distinguishes between semantic and grammatical finiteness. The analysis then show that Dagaare has a grammaticalised binary system of finiteness in the verbal group, encoded by four kinds of finiteness markers: (i) tense-mood-polarity, (ii) modality, (iii) habitual tense, and (iv) remoteness particles. Also, the Dagaare verbal group embodies disassociated systems of tense, comprising futurity, habituality, and remoteness and choices from each of these systems result in multiple Finite elements in the verbal group. On the other hand, clausal finiteness in Dagaare is a semantic cline that depends on the system of freedom. Specifically, a clause is finite or less finite depending on whether it combines a finite verbal group with clause final negotiation or information focus. The article provides finer criteria for distinguishing between semantic and grammatical finiteness that can be used for the description and typology of finiteness across languages.