A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF ATĨ AND ITS VARIANTS ATĨRĨRĨ AND ATĨRĨ AS COMPLEMENTISERS AND DISCOURSE MARKERS IN GĨKŨYŨ1

Abstract

Complementisers are important categories for linguistic theories in
description of syntactic structures. In generative grammar theories, the
complementiser phrase is an indispensable functional category. Gĩkũyũ, a
Bantu language of Kenya, has a ubiquitous complementiser, atĩ /ate/
‘that’, and its variants atĩrĩrĩ /aterere/ and atĩrĩ /atere/. This paper
demonstrates that besides having a complementiser function, atĩ is an
evidential and dubitative marker, a hearsay marker and a discourse filler.
It also has an echoic usage. Its related discourse particles, atĩrĩrĩ and atĩrĩ
are quotative markers; they have information-structuring and deictic
functions. This paper bases its analysis on Role and Reference Grammar.
It shows that investigating atĩ beyond its syntactic complementiser
function reveals a holistic view of its other functions and those of its
related particles. It also brings to light the interaction of linguistic
domains involved in its occurrence in Gĩkũyũ grammar