Predication in African Languages Edited by James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Essegbey, James, editor.

Aboh, Enoch O., editor.

Series:

Studies in Language Companion Series 0165-7763 235

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Afro-Asiatic languages.

Other African languages.

Semantics.

Syntax.

Theoretical linguistics.

Local Subjects:

Afro-Asiatic languages.

Other African languages.

Semantics.

Syntax.

Theoretical linguistics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 344 pages )

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2024

Summary:

This book discusses patterns of predication and their grammatical and semantic implications in a variety of African languages. It covers several prominent topics about predication in the languages, including locative predication, expressions of tense, aspect, and mood in relation to verbal complexes and verb serialisation, verb semantics, and nominalization of predicates. The chapters take inspiration from Felix Ameka's approach to the study of language according to which the main task of a linguist is to collaborate with language users to understand communicative practices in different contexts and to uncover how these practices impact grammatical and semantic aspects of the language. Accordingly, the descriptions and analyses in this book serve to understand language variation in different ecologies, rather than to impose pre-established descriptive frames on less described languages. Together, the chapters in the book represent a bird's eye view of predication strategies in various African languages and can therefore serve as readings for both introductory and advanced level courses on predication from a typological or comparative perspective. Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction / James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh

Chapter 1. Linguistic fieldwork as team science / Rebecca Defina, Mark Dingemanse and Saskia van Putten

Chapter 2. Locative expressions and their semantic extensions in Tima / Gerrit J. Dimmendaal and Gertrud Schneider-Blum

Chapter 3. A comparative study of the basic locative construction in Gurenɛ, Asante-Twi, and Tongugbe / Samuel Awinkene Atintono, Dorothy Agyepong and Promise Kpoglu

Chapter 4. Adposition classes in Tafi and Sɛlɛɛ / Mercy Bobuafor and Yvonne Agbetsoamedo

Chapter 5. Moving from verbs to prepositions in Gbe / Enoch O. Aboh, Felix K. Ameka and James Essegbey

Chapter 6. Lost siblings / Kofi Yakpo

Chapter 7. The eventive functional sequence / Ryan J.S. Kotowski, Enoch O. Aboh and Jan Don

Chapter 8. Reduced complements / Abdul-Razak Sulemana

Chapter 9. Caused accompanied motion in a direction / Birgit Hellwig

Chapter 10. From injecting to planting / James Essegbey

Chapter 11. Constructions with verbal nouns in Iraqw / Maarten Mous and Chrispina Alphonce

Chapter 12. Remarks on nominalised adjectives in Gã / Sampson Korsah

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Other Format:

Hardbound version:

ISBN:

9789027247018

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.