The Development and Grammaticalization of Copula Markers

Henok Wondimu recently got his MA degree in Linguistics from Addis Ababa University. His Book investigates the relations between a group of related morphemes in the Ometo subfamily of Omotic. These morphemes function as a copula in some Ometo languges, as a focus marker in others. Interestingly, the distribution of the functions in part crosscuts the genetic subgroups of Ometo, reflecting a partly areal distribution. Drawing on data from almost all the Ometo languages, the book represents the first study to present a comprehensive diachronic analysis for the markers. It argues in detail for a grammaticalization scenario according to the path Existential+ Agreement Locative copula Copula Focus This book will be of interest to Omotic specialists, to students of grammaticalization, and to linguists working on focus and copula. Prof. Orin Gensler

Autorentext
Henok wondimu graduated from Dilla College of Teachers Education and Health Science in 2005 in Bed. He got his MA degree in linguistics from Addis Ababa University Department of Linguistics and Philology in 2010. He is a promising young scholar with a great ambition of studying a historical and comparative aspect of Omotic languages.