The focus of this study is Lunyala, a Bantu language of western Kenya. The aim of the study is
to document Lunyala in terms of the phonological and morphological rules that operate within
its lexicon. In addition, the different tonal features of Lunyala form part of this study' s scope.
The opening chapter describes the Lunyala language in terms of the language group to which it
belongs, the geographical location where this language is spoken, and the people who speak the
language. The existence of two languages with the same name "Lunyala" is highlighted and
explained. Also provided is justification as to why Lunyala was chosen to be studied. The chapter
ends with a general overview of the language situation in Kenya.
The methodology, involving a statement of the target objectives, the procedures through which
the objectives will be achieved, sources of data, as well as any limitations faced by the study, are
presented in Chapter Two. Within Chapter Two is also a discussion of feature geometry, lexical
phonology and syllable theory, which form the theoretical underpinnings that the study has
adhered to.
Chapter Three considers the derivation ofLunyala sounds from Proto-Bantu sounds, the aim of
which is to bring into focus ways in which Lunyala might relate with/to other Bantu languages.
This discussion culminates in a phonemic inventory of Lunyala. Chapters Four and Five focus
on discussing the different processes affecting vowels and consonants, respectively, in Lunyala.
Processes to do with the syllable and syllabification are taken up in Chapter Six. Different
syllable types, together with illustrations of processes that affect these syllables to alter their
shapes, are also given. Ways in which Lunyala handles 'foreign' syllable types are also illustrated,
and the rules behind them listed.
The morphology of Lunyala is introduced in Chapter Seven, in which noun stems, noun classes,
nominal extensions and also some concordial relations are presented. Tone assignment on the
nominal elements is included.
As is characteristic with Bantu languages, Lunyala verbs, together with their accompanying
tones, constitute a large group of elements. As such, both Chapters Eight and Nine are devoted
to a discussion of verbs. The nature of the verb is considered to be a dominant element which causes Bantu morphology to be highly agglutinative. In these chapters the tonal aspects of
the verbs are examined from the radicals (or verb-roots) to the different tenses, with a view to
identifying any changes that arise when the verbs take different extensions.
The final chapter of this work is an evaluation focusing on how effectively the objectives listed
in Chapter Two were achieved. Suggestions for future research on Lunyala are also made.
