Negativization in Bassa Language

Bassa language is classified as belonging to Kainji family under the sub-phylum Western-Kainji known as Rubasa (Basa Benue) (Croizier, and Blench, 1992:32). This paper discusses three basic strategies used in negativizing sentence structures, two of which attach to the verb stem as negative operators whereas the third operator is a particle which is not necessarily an affix. The general negative marker –shìò is commonly used to negate an affirmative clause, tà- also attaches to verb stem to negate an imperative clause, and tà particle is used to negate perfective structures. All of these operators negate affirmative expressions and not only the verbs in questions but the whole clause. Where a perfective marker applies in a perfective tense, it precludes the attachment of the general negative marker; consequently the functions of both perfection and negation are fused in the particle tà.