Lexicalization of Akan Diminutives: Form, Meaning and Motivation (original) (raw)

Lexicalization of Akan Diminutives

Linguistik Online

This paper examines transparent and non-transparent diminutive forms in Akan and the range of meanings associated with each group, as presented in Appah/Amfo (2011). It takes the discussion of Akan diminutives a step further by showing that some of the meanings communicated by transparent diminutive forms are dependent on the context, including the semantic properties of the base to which the diminutive morpheme is attached. In addition, it demonstrates that even though the non-transparent diminutive forms communicate diminu-tive meanings and contain what appears to be the Akan diminutive morpheme, synchronical-ly they are formally unanalyzable since the putative diminutive morpheme cannot be deline-ated from the base. Also, it is argued that these forms have come from a lexicalization pro-cess that resulted in the reanalysis of the base+diminutive morpheme as a single unanalyza-ble unit. It is observed that the process of lexicalization could have been facilitated by a number of fa...

Lexicalization of Akan diminutive forms: Accounting for the Motivation

Diminution in Akan may be expressed by the use of what is generally described as a diminutive suffix, -ba/-wa (Dolphyne (1988), Appah and Amfo (forthc.)), as exemplified in (1). (1) a. a-ponkye-ba b. dan-wa c. a-sekam-ba d. a-de-wa SG-goat-DIM house-DIM PL-knife-DIM SG-thing-DIM ‘kid’ ‘cottage’ ‘penknife’ ‘trifle’ A careful look at diminutive forms involving the so-called diminutive suffix reveals that such diminutive forms can generally be put in two main groups: A and B (Appah and Amfo, forthc.). For the forms in group A, exemplified in (1), the suffix can be delineated from the base, and the base will be an identifiable lexical item in the language. The suffixed word thus denotes a diminutive form of the concept denoted by the base. On the other hand, there are a number of words containing the form -wa/-ba which cannot be split into an identifiable word in the language and a suffix. In spite of this, such words still do communicate various diminutive meanings as shown in (2) below. (2) a. kakraba ‘small’ b. kurukuruwa 'smallish', c. abasiriwa ‘middle-aged woman’ d. dwodworba 'smallish' The purpose of this paper is to investigate the semantic and pragmatic characteristics of the two groups. The words which can be found in group B tend to communicate more central diminutive meanings such as small and feminine, whereas those in group A cover a fuller range of diminutive meanings including small, feminine, young, affection, admiration, non-serious, and insignificant. Two things are of interest here. First, we consider the forms in group B to have lexicalized and we examine the motivation for the lexicalization. Second, we posit, following Jurafsky (1996), that the range of meanings communicated by diminutives (typically exemplified by diminutive forms from group A) range from core/concrete meanings such as small, feminine, young to more evaluative meanings like insignificant and affection and are generally motivated by inferences made during on-line interpretation. The dependence of the meanings of these diminutives on the context, including the semantic properties of the bases they are attached to is critical in determining the communicated meanings of these diminutive forms. Finally we observe the limited productivity of the diminutive marker -ba/-wa in the formation of new words in synchronic Akan.

The Morphopragmatics of the Diminutive Morpheme (-ba /-wa ) in Akan

The present paper is concerned with the diminutive morpheme -w a/-ba in Akan. It examines the form, the origin and the various meanings associated with diminutive forms in the language. We attribute the origin of the diminutive to the lexical word for ‘child/offspring’ ɔba, basing our argument on language internal evidence as well as cross-linguistic generalizations. The identified meanings of the Akan diminutive are as follows: small, young/offspring, feminine, member, insignificant/nonserious, affection/admiration and contempt/disdain. Having identified the basic meaning of the diminutive as ‘small’, Jurafsky’s [1996] Radial Category theory provides us with a basis to adequately account for the various meanings; drawing a link, through metaphors and inferences, between the diachronic and the synchronic meanings.

The Morphopragmatics of the Diminutive Morpheme (-ba/-wa

Lexis, 2011

The present paper is concerned with the diminutive morpheme-/-in Akan. It examines the form, the origin and the various meanings associated with diminutive forms in the language. We attribute the origin of the diminutive to the lexical word for 'child/offspring' ba, basing our argument on language internal evidence as well as cross-linguistic generalizations. The identified meanings of the Akan diminutive are as follows: small, young/offspring, feminine, member, insignificant/nonserious, affection/admiration and contempt/disdain. Having identified the basic meaning of the diminutive as 'small', Jurafsky's [1996] Radial Category theory provides us with a basis to adequately account for the various meanings; drawing a link, through metaphors and inferences, between the diachronic and the synchronic meanings.

Introduction: Diminutives across languages, theoretical frameworks and linguistic domains

Manova, Stela, Laura Grestenberger & Katharina Korecky-Kröll (eds.). 2023. Diminutives across languages, theoretical frameworks and linguistic domains. Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM] 380. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton., 2023

[This is the introductory chapter to Manova, Stela, Laura Grestenberger & Katharina Korecky-Kröll (eds.). 2023. Diminutives across languages, theoretical frameworks and linguistic domains. Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM] 380. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.] Although cross-linguistically the prototypical meaning of diminutives seems clear and easy to define, namely the expression of smallness, and diminutive formations, as a rule, exhibit overt markers, diminutive morphology itself presents a number of challenges to both linguistic descriptions and theoretical analyses. Diminutive(-related) meanings and forms have consequently received much attention in the literature (see the overview in Grandi & Körtvelyessy 2015). Some authors have even claimed that it is impossible to account for the peculiarities of diminutives with the regular mechanisms of grammar and that an additional component is needed: In generative morphology, Scalise (1986) labels this component evaluative morphology; in Natural Morphology, Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi (1994) term it morphopragmatics; in syntax(-based theories of morphology), the preferred label seems to be expressive morphology (Steriopolo 2009) or just expressives (for size and attitude) in the Principles and Parameters framework, see Steriopolo (2016); in the Cartographic Syntax diminutives are placed in the so-called extended nominal projection (with augmentative, pejorative, diminutive, and endearing heads), Cinque (2015); still others identify a complex functional affix (serving as both a head and a modifier), Gouskova and Bobaljik (2022) in a Distributed Morphology framework. Does linguistic theory need special mechanisms and tools to account for diminutives cross-linguistically? Or is everything a matter of method (Jurafsky 1996)? Do diminutive affixes have a domain of their own in the word form and should they be treated separately from all other affixes? The goal of the volume is to answer these and related questions based on empirical evidence from a wide variety of languages.

Diminutives as heads or specifiers: the mapping between syntax and phonology

is article provides evidence for an analysis where the properties of lexical exponents are determined by the position they occupy in the structure and the con guration they establish with other items. It is argued that cross-linguistically and inter-linguistically, an item that can be introduced as a head or as a speci er displays syntactic, semantic and phonological properties that can be fully accounted for in the con guration. e study concentrates on the case of diminutives in Spanish, German and Czech. We show, through di erent tests, that diminutives can be introduced as heads, in which case they form a Command Unit with the noun or adjective with which they combine, and can therefore change the semantic and grammatical properties of that base and phonologically integrate with it. In other cases they are introduced as speci er, so that when phrasal movement of the base takes place they belong to di erent Command Units; in such cases they do not select for the base, they do not change its semantic or grammatical properties and they are not phonologically integrated with it. We argue that this account is superior to an analysis that uses any procedure where single lexical items are associated with sets of arbitrarily related properties.

Morphosemantics of Diminutive Morphemes in C’LELA

2018

DOI: 10.21276/sjahss.2017.5.12.23 Abstract: This paper deals with the diminutives in C‟lela. It examines the morphosemantic features of diminutive morphemes (–wa) and (–i‟) in C‟lela. The paper discusses the form and the various meaning associated with diminutives in the language. The information for this research was gathered from unstructured interviews with native informants. Other set of data was sourced from the extant literature on diminutives. The paper explores the basic meaning as well as the evaluative meaning of diminutives in C‟lela. The study finds that, like in many other languages, C‟lela diminutives primarily express the notion of smallness of size, shape and space, young, female and sometimes, used with negative connotations such as despise, insignificant or emaciation. The study shows that diminutives forms in C‟lela can be identified by a regular morphological formation involving the (wa-) and (i’-) prefixes in most cases attached to the underlying base words that...