Abstract:
Tense, aspect and mood playa crucial 'role in grammar and discourse of a
language. This study focuses on the distribution of tense and aspect in Lunyole grammar
and narrative discourse. Lunyole is one of those languages that highly grammaticalize the
parameter of time. The language has a three tense system subdivided into eight distinct
tenses and six aspectual categories. In this work, I give a detailed discussion of these
tenses and aspect categories and how they function in the grammar and discourse of
Lunyole.
Since this work is the first detailed study of this subject, I hope it will provide a
foundation for those who will do further linguistic study of the Lunyole language in
future. I also hope it will go a long way in helping the Lunyole Bible Translation and
Literacy team understand the nuances of the tense/aspect system as it affects translation
and literacy work.
