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This paper examines the syntactic and semantic expression of basic directional motion and its manner counterparts across the four language phyla of Africa. We sample languages from each phylum, concentrating on basic, non-deictic, directional motion and its counterpart in which motion, direction, and manner of motion occur simultaneously. Two primary findings emerge. Across Africa, basic directional motion tends to be verb-framed with respect to direction; it conflates the semantic components Motion+Direction in verbs equivalent to 'enter, circle, traverse'. Manner of motion, while maintaining this lexicalization pattern, syntactically registers a Motion+Direction verb and its linear order relative to a Manner verb through either of two primary strategies. Manner precedes Motion+ Direction when the two verbs are conveyed through serial verb sequences, verb compounding, or verb coordination. Manner follows Motion+Direction when the former is specified as a deranked verbal form, e.g., as a gerundive, or as part of a deranked clause, e.g., a subordinate clause.

Characteristic patterns for the lexicalization of motion in Tswana, a Southeastern Bantu language, are explored. Examination of constraints governing classes of verb roots referring to motion events reveals two of the typological patterns put forward by Talmy [1984] for the lexicalization of motion in natural language. The distinguishing feature of each pattern lies in the particular semantic elements incorporated in a main clause verb root. The fact of Motion and Manner/Cause are incorporated in the verb root when lexicalizing complex location-motion events. However, when lexicalizing complex motion events of a directional nature, as well as both locational- and directional- motion events of a less complex nature, the verb root incorporates the fact of Motion and the Path which a moving object takes.

Motion expressions in Emai, an Edoid language of Nigeria, are examined within the lexical typology of Talmy [1985]. Both directional and nondirectional motion structures involving the MANNER verb la 'to run' are analyzed, though only the former, syntactically expressed by verbs in continuous series, poses a particular problem for interpretation. Three hypotheses concerning the semantic composition of these serial verbs are considered and evaluated in terms of their distributional constraints. It is concluded that nondirectional motion can be lexicalized by either of two patterns [MOTION+MANNER] PATH or MOTION PATH ... MANNER, while directional motion allows only the single lexicalization pattern MANNER [MOTION+PATH]. Typologically, these reflect two of the incorporation patterns Talmy has identified as characteristic in languages of the world.