Light verb constructions vs. preverbal verbs in Looma

International audience When dealing with light verb constructions (LVCs) in a particular language, one of the most intriguing problems is the status of nouns forming part of them. Do they differ from “normal” NPs, and if so, in what exactly? The data collected during my fieldwork with the speakers of Woi-Bhalaga, a Guinean dialect of Looma (South-Western < Mande < Niger-Congo) spoken in the region around Macenta, the prefectural capital of Guinean Looma, show that nominal elements used in LVCs are of an intermediate nature between “true” NPs and preverbs. In the paper I compare two types of verb-formation — preverbalization and LVC formation — with emphasis on the properties of nominal constituents of the derivates.