IGBO LANGUAGE STUDIES SERIES 6 (2015) 49 THE PROTOTYPICAL IGBO COPULA VERB Purity Ada Uchechukwu Department of Modern European Langauges, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Abstract This paper is based on Uchechukwu’s (2010) examination of the Igbo copula verbs. The effort here is a presentation of the features of the Igbo copula verb divested of much theoretical discussion. The approach adopted is purely descriptive. Three copula verbs of the language are identified: - bụ ́ and - dị́ and - nọ ̀ . The verbs are characterized on the basis of their functioning in varieties copulative sentences. The result is that the verb- bụ ́ , which functions in more varieties of copulative constructions than the other two, can be classified as the prototypical copula verb of the Igbo language. 1. Introduction The word ‘copula’ goes back to the Latin verb cōpulāre which means ‘to link’. It is in this sense of acting as a link that specific verbs of a language are described as ‘copula verbs’. The starting points for characterizing the nature of this linking function are two comprehensive English grammar books and their explanation of the typical copula verb of the English language. The books are Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik, (1985) and Huddleston and Pullum (2002). Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1171; p. 1174) identify the verb to be as the ‘principal’ copula verb of the English language. This identification is based on the syntactic and semantic features of the verb. Syntactically, the verb to be is described as appearing in a clause, in which it is accompanied by a predicative complement or a predication adjunct. The predicative complement can take the form of adjectival (1) or nominal complements (2): (1) Adjectival complement: The girl is restless. (2) Nominal complement: William is my friend. In (1) the copula verb (is) is followed by an adjective complement restless; while in (2) it is complemented by a nominal phrase, my friend. The predication adjunct refers to the fact that only to be permits adverbials as complements. In (3) below, the complementing adverbial is a space adjunct at the zoo, while the complementing adverbial in (4) is a time adjunct, at nine. Igbo Language Studies Series 6, Pages 49-64