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Atintono, S. A.
47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL47). University of California, Berkeley, USA March 23-26, 2016
Paper presented:
The semantic properties of separation verbs in Gurenε
Abstract
Atintono, S. A. (2015). The semantics and metaphorical extensions of temperature terms in Gurene. In Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm The Linguistics of Temperature. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Abstract
Temperature phenomenon are universal, and languages show diversity in the ways in which they express the experience of temperature
Adam, P. P & Haruna, A.I. (2015). Facts from Fiction, Myths from Reality, Widowhood Rites in an African Society: A Barbaric Tradition or a Consolidation of African Values?. Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities, 3,
Abstract
Abstract In many African societies, when a man dies and leaves his wife (or wives) behind, culture demands that the widow (or widows) undergoes certain traditional mourning rituals before and after the burial of her deceased spouse, after which she can be cleansed of the ghost spirit of her late husband. Therefore, the main essence of the rites is to break the spiritual relationship between the deceased husband and the surviving wife (or wives). Unfortunately, most studies on widowhood rites in Africa generally bemoan the so-called dehumanising treatment of widows, ranging from denial of basic human rights, to intense public display of sorrow. In this paper, we demonstrate - through a vivid description of how the widowhood rites are performed among the Dagbamba of northern Ghana - that contrary to what has been termed as barbaric practices against women, the widowhood rites were not instituted to devalue womanhood in Africa.
Abstract In many African societies, when a man dies and leaves his wife (or wives) behind, culture demands that the widow (or widows) undergoes certain traditional mourning rituals before and after the burial of her deceased spouse, after which she can be cleansed of the ghost spirit of her late husband. Therefore, the main essence of the rites is to break the spiritual relationship between the deceased husband and the surviving wife (or wives). Unfortunately, most studies on widowhood rites in Africa generally bemoan the so-called dehumanising treatment of widows, ranging from denial of basic human rights, to intense public display of sorrow. In this paper, we demonstrate - through a vivid description of how the widowhood rites are performed among the Dagbamba of northern Ghana - that contrary to what has been termed as barbaric practices against women, the widowhood rites were not instituted to devalue womanhood in Africa.
Akpanglo-Nartey, R., Kpodo, P. & Bisilki, A. (2016). CONSONANT ONSET AND TONE PATTERNS IN GA. Multidisciplinary International Journal, 2,
Abstract
A recent acoustic study of Ga tones indicates that Ga uses seven tone patterns to distinguish meaning in words and syllables. These tone patterns include High, Low, High High, High Low, Low Low, High High Low, High High High. This study investigates how different onsets affect the different tone patterns in Ga. In this research, we investigate how syllable onset of different voicing, place of articulation and manner of articulation affect the tone patterns of the Ga syllable. Data is collected from two native speakers who read sentences in a frame: “say… only”. F0 and duration of the syllables were analyzed using PRAAT. The results confirm earlier results from other studies that syllables with voiceless onset are likely to be longer and have a higher F0 than syllables with voiced onsets. In terms of places of articulation for the nasals, the tendency is that the palatal nasals have the lowest pitch contour for the L tone pattern followed by the alveolar and then the bilabial. For the H tone pattern, the alveolar has the highest pitch contour followed by the palatal and then the bilabial. Thus the paper suggests that any description of the tone patterns of language should include an investigation of the different onsets that a syllable can have. The study gives precise description of the tones of Ga and adds to the acoustic database of Ga language.
A recent acoustic study of Ga tones indicates that Ga uses seven tone patterns to distinguish meaning in words and syllables. These tone patterns include High, Low, High High, High Low, Low Low, High High Low, High High High. This study investigates how different onsets affect the different tone patterns in Ga. In this research, we investigate how syllable onset of different voicing, place of articulation and manner of articulation affect the tone patterns of the Ga syllable. Data is collected from two native speakers who read sentences in a frame: “say… only”. F0 and duration of the syllables were analyzed using PRAAT. The results confirm earlier results from other studies that syllables with voiceless onset are likely to be longer and have a higher F0 than syllables with voiced onsets. In terms of places of articulation for the nasals, the tendency is that the palatal nasals have the lowest pitch contour for the L tone pattern followed by the alveolar and then the bilabial. For the H tone pattern, the alveolar has the highest pitch contour followed by the palatal and then the bilabial. Thus the paper suggests that any description of the tone patterns of language should include an investigation of the different onsets that a syllable can have. The study gives precise description of the tones of Ga and adds to the acoustic database of Ga language.
Kpodo, P., (2015). Phonetics and Phonology: The Basics. Tema, Ghana: Wyse Print Supplies Ltd. . ISBN: 978-9988-2-2704-3
Abstract
Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology forms the basis for the study of language and Linguistics. Nevertheless, the study of Phonetics and Phonology is one of the courses that the students of language and Linguistics dread most. This book attempts to demystify the course thereby making it easy for the students to understand. This book introduces students to the fundamentals of linguistic phonetics and phonology. The book is divided into two parts. While the first part focuses on phonetics, the second part focuses on the fundamental principles of Phonology. The reader of this book will be introduced to the varying approaches in studying speech sounds. The book, however, only deals with articulatory phonetics (how sounds are produced). Phonetic labels such as place of articulation, manner of articulation, state of the glottis and phonation types used in describing speech sounds are painstakingly explained. The various speech sounds that are common to English and Ghanaian languages are discussed. The book further discusses some phonological concepts such as phonems, allophones, the syllable and phonlogical processes. It is my hope that every careful reader of this book should not have any difficulty comprehending what phonetics and phonology are all about.
Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology forms the basis for the study of language and Linguistics. Nevertheless, the study of Phonetics and Phonology is one of the courses that the students of language and Linguistics dread most. This book attempts to demystify the course thereby making it easy for the students to understand. This book introduces students to the fundamentals of linguistic phonetics and phonology. The book is divided into two parts. While the first part focuses on phonetics, the second part focuses on the fundamental principles of Phonology. The reader of this book will be introduced to the varying approaches in studying speech sounds. The book, however, only deals with articulatory phonetics (how sounds are produced). Phonetic labels such as place of articulation, manner of articulation, state of the glottis and phonation types used in describing speech sounds are painstakingly explained. The various speech sounds that are common to English and Ghanaian languages are discussed. The book further discusses some phonological concepts such as phonems, allophones, the syllable and phonlogical processes. It is my hope that every careful reader of this book should not have any difficulty comprehending what phonetics and phonology are all about.
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Abstract
Adomako, K. (2015). Final-nasal deletion in Akan (Asante Twi) reduplication. The Buckingham Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8,
Abstract
In this paper, I examine the phenomenon of reduplicant-nasal deletion observed in some reduplicative prefixes of Akan (a Niger-Congo, Kwa language). In the Akan phonology, nasals are among non-vowel sonorants that are permitted syllable or word-finally (Dolphyne 1988, Abakah 2005). However, it is observed that these nasals, particularly [m], are sometimes deleted in some reduplicants final position. In this paper, I show that verb bases of CVN or CVVN structures are of two different morphemic structures in the underlying representation; monomorphemic verb base and bimorphemic verb base. The latter structure, on which this paper focuses, has the composition: morpheme1 + morpheme 2. It is observed that while the former preserve their ‘final’ nasals in the reduplicants, the latter, on the other hand, lose them in their reduplicants. We analyse this phonological phenomenon as resulting from the language’s bid towards satisfying a high-ranking template satisfaction constraint (after McCarthy and Prince 1994) within the Optimality Theory framework.
In this paper, I examine the phenomenon of reduplicant-nasal deletion observed in some reduplicative prefixes of Akan (a Niger-Congo, Kwa language). In the Akan phonology, nasals are among non-vowel sonorants that are permitted syllable or word-finally (Dolphyne 1988, Abakah 2005). However, it is observed that these nasals, particularly [m], are sometimes deleted in some reduplicants final position. In this paper, I show that verb bases of CVN or CVVN structures are of two different morphemic structures in the underlying representation; monomorphemic verb base and bimorphemic verb base. The latter structure, on which this paper focuses, has the composition: morpheme1 + morpheme 2. It is observed that while the former preserve their ‘final’ nasals in the reduplicants, the latter, on the other hand, lose them in their reduplicants. We analyse this phonological phenomenon as resulting from the language’s bid towards satisfying a high-ranking template satisfaction constraint (after McCarthy and Prince 1994) within the Optimality Theory framework.
Adomako, K. (2015). Some phonological processes in an Akan linguistic game. Linguistik Online, 72,
Abstract
This paper examines some phonological processes observed in the Pig Latin; a linguistic game played in Akan, a Niger-Congo (Kwa) language. The Akan Pig Latin (henceforth APL), which is popularly known as Megesege is usually played among Akan youth. The purpose of this game varies from concealment to social identity establishment. This paper is a qualitative study of 200 stimuli of sentences in regular Akan constructions manipulated into the APL. The simple rule for playing the game is to syllabify an already existing word and to add a [CV] syllable to each of those segmented syllables. Through this manipulation of existing word, several phonological processes are observed including insertion, syllabification, palatalization etc. The paper presents a descriptive analysis of some of the processes and shows how the study of the APL can facilitate our understanding of the several phonological phenomena in Akan, even though it may display, in many parts, quite different patterns from what obtains in the regular Akan grammar.
This paper examines some phonological processes observed in the Pig Latin; a linguistic game played in Akan, a Niger-Congo (Kwa) language. The Akan Pig Latin (henceforth APL), which is popularly known as Megesege is usually played among Akan youth. The purpose of this game varies from concealment to social identity establishment. This paper is a qualitative study of 200 stimuli of sentences in regular Akan constructions manipulated into the APL. The simple rule for playing the game is to syllabify an already existing word and to add a [CV] syllable to each of those segmented syllables. Through this manipulation of existing word, several phonological processes are observed including insertion, syllabification, palatalization etc. The paper presents a descriptive analysis of some of the processes and shows how the study of the APL can facilitate our understanding of the several phonological phenomena in Akan, even though it may display, in many parts, quite different patterns from what obtains in the regular Akan grammar.
ADJEI, F, A. (2014). CHILDREN'S USE OF 'NYA' CONSTRUCTION IN EWE. THE JOURNAL OF WEST AFRICAN LANGUAGES, 41,
Abstract
Research on first Language (Li) has shown children to command many of the grammatical principles and rules governing their native language by the age of four. this paper examined the age at which Ewe-speaking children acquire 'nya' constructions. Three 'nya' forms can be identified in Ewe. they are the 'nya' verb 'come to know' and two auxiliaries/modals, a 'nya' certainty marker and a 'nya' VOICE marker both of which grammaticalised from the 'nya' verb.The 'nya' construction is said to be structurally analogous to passive construction in English. Data was drawn from 20 monolingual Ewe-speaking children at mean age of 2;5, 3;6, 4;4, 5,5; 6;4+ (4 participants per age group) and five adult speakers of Ewe. Results suggest that although the acquisition of the 'nya' main verb is at an early age of (2;6) and the children acquire the certainty function of the modal by the time they are five years, the 'nya' VOICE is hardly used by the Ewe children studied. the paper thus offers support for the maturation hypothesis that certain grammatical principles involving A-chain ormation are not initially available to the child but mature in due course.
Research on first Language (Li) has shown children to command many of the grammatical principles and rules governing their native language by the age of four. this paper examined the age at which Ewe-speaking children acquire 'nya' constructions. Three 'nya' forms can be identified in Ewe. they are the 'nya' verb 'come to know' and two auxiliaries/modals, a 'nya' certainty marker and a 'nya' VOICE marker both of which grammaticalised from the 'nya' verb.The 'nya' construction is said to be structurally analogous to passive construction in English. Data was drawn from 20 monolingual Ewe-speaking children at mean age of 2;5, 3;6, 4;4, 5,5; 6;4+ (4 participants per age group) and five adult speakers of Ewe. Results suggest that although the acquisition of the 'nya' main verb is at an early age of (2;6) and the children acquire the certainty function of the modal by the time they are five years, the 'nya' VOICE is hardly used by the Ewe children studied. the paper thus offers support for the maturation hypothesis that certain grammatical principles involving A-chain ormation are not initially available to the child but mature in due course.
Faculty of Ghanaian Languages EducationAug 04, 2015
Dankwa-Apawu, David & Williams, Rebecca & Acheampong, Bliss
LALICOM Codification, Standardisation and Communication: Linguistic and Literary perspectives on English and Indigenous Languages use in Anglophone West Africa. University of Education, Winneba 3rd-5th February, 2015
Paper presented:
Constructing identities through L2: Accents and attitudes among Ghanaian learners of English
Abstract
The objective of this on-going study is to investigate how second language learners of English in Ghana construct or reconstruct micro-social level identities through pronunciation (accent) and how this affects their attitudes towards learning the English language as a second language. Identity as an academic concept has attracted a lot of attention in sociolinguistics with many of these studies focusing on second/ foreign language learning in both migrant and non-native contexts. Although theories of identity in SLL are evolving, inconclusive and borrowings from post structuralists social theorists and sociolinguists (Block, 2010), various inquiries in this disciplines give overwhelming credence to language as a key construct in identity construction and reconstruction. However, in the attempt to discover the intricate value attitude towards accents on the identity trajectory, the present study adopts Krashen’s (1993) affective filter hypothesis and Norton’s (1997) investment theory as a framework for theoretical discussion. The study also recognizes the concept of the school as an important mediator in the construction of identity; therefore, respondents (mainly students) have been drawn from a selected university in Ghana. Using the verbal-guise technique, (McKenzie, 2006; Zhang, 2009) to uncover respondents’ attitudes as monolithic (fixed) or pluaralithic (fluid) (Jenkins, 2009) towards British accents, American accents and educated Ghanaian English accents, the study will also reveal respondents’ identities as affinities towards native English (British and American) or non-native English or functional (depending on context). Findings of the study would contribute to policy, pedagogy, further research and discourse in SLL.
The objective of this on-going study is to investigate how second language learners of English in Ghana construct or reconstruct micro-social level identities through pronunciation (accent) and how this affects their attitudes towards learning the English language as a second language. Identity as an academic concept has attracted a lot of attention in sociolinguistics with many of these studies focusing on second/ foreign language learning in both migrant and non-native contexts. Although theories of identity in SLL are evolving, inconclusive and borrowings from post structuralists social theorists and sociolinguists (Block, 2010), various inquiries in this disciplines give overwhelming credence to language as a key construct in identity construction and reconstruction. However, in the attempt to discover the intricate value attitude towards accents on the identity trajectory, the present study adopts Krashen’s (1993) affective filter hypothesis and Norton’s (1997) investment theory as a framework for theoretical discussion. The study also recognizes the concept of the school as an important mediator in the construction of identity; therefore, respondents (mainly students) have been drawn from a selected university in Ghana. Using the verbal-guise technique, (McKenzie, 2006; Zhang, 2009) to uncover respondents’ attitudes as monolithic (fixed) or pluaralithic (fluid) (Jenkins, 2009) towards British accents, American accents and educated Ghanaian English accents, the study will also reveal respondents’ identities as affinities towards native English (British and American) or non-native English or functional (depending on context). Findings of the study would contribute to policy, pedagogy, further research and discourse in SLL.
Faculty of Ghanaian Languages EducationJul 16, 2015
