West Ring (Grassfields Bantu)

Abstract This chapter describes salient structural aspects of the West Ring subgroup of Grassfields Bantu. While most grammatical domains will be outlined in a comparatively broad resolution, i.e. phonology, nominal morphology and syntax, pronouns, verbal morphosyntax, and adjectives, basically drawing on exemplifications from Isu and Aghem, the focus is placed on the following three phenomena, which are considered particularly salient and important, since they affect various levels of grammatical structure in a criss-crossing way: (a) lexical tone classes of nouns and their morphotonology, (b) morphologicization of information status across nominal and verbal grammar, (c) verbal serialization. Moreover, it appears that these features mark major trends of development which have come to contribute to the typological divergence of Ring from Narrow Bantu.