Aspects of Akan Verbal Semantics

E. Kweku Osam; Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon; Esther Serwaah Afreh; Dorothy Pokua Agyepong; Reginald Akuoko Duah; Emma Sarah Eshun

Authors

E. Kweku Osam University of Ghana
Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon University of Ghana
Esther Serwaah Afreh Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
Dorothy Pokua Agyepong University of Ghana https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1039-6892
Reginald Akuoko Duah University of Ghana https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1329-9411
Emma Sarah Eshun University of Education, Winneba

Keywords:

pain sensation, primary and secondary pain predicates, semantics, causatives, event structure, Akan, separation events, PEEL verbs, causative/inchoative alternation, Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach, Asante-Twi, locative construction, posture verbs, topological relations, Figure, Ground, Mfantse, perception, cognitive linguistics, vision, sensory perception signals, emergence, serial verb construction nominalisation, semantic integration, lexicalisation

Abstract

The papers in this volume focus on aspects of the semantics of verbs in Akan. The subject matter reflects some of the changing trends in Akan linguistic research.

Author Biographies

E. Kweku Osam, University of Ghana

E. Kweku Osam is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon. His research has focused on the syntax and semantics of Akan and other Kwa languages in Ghana. Crucial among his research is his work on serial verb constructions, grammatical relations, and the semantics and argument structure of Akan verbs.

Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon, University of Ghana

Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon is an Associate Professor and Head of the Language, Literature and Drama Section of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. His research interests include Serial Verb Construction Nominalization (SVCN), body part expressions, historical and comparative linguistics, onomastics/anthroponymy, sbAyt nt Kmtyw (Studies of Black People), and wsTnw Kmtyw (Black Liberation).

Esther Serwaah Afreh, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Esther Serwaah Afreh is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. She holds a PhD from the University of Ghana, Legon. Her research has been in syntax, semantics and in cognitive semantics. She has been pursuing her interest in Akan conceptual metaphors.

Dorothy Pokua Agyepong, University of Ghana

Dorothy Pokua Agyepong is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana. She holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Her research interests include semantics and pragmatics of lexical items in African languages, syntax, gestures, and the sociolinguistics of urban youth (contact) languages.

Reginald Akuoko Duah, University of Ghana

Reginald Akuoko Duah is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon. His research focuses on comparative-typological syntax of causative constructions, semantic modelling of event structure of serial verb constructions, information structure phenomena such as focus, and the syntax and semantics of definiteness in African languages.

Emma Sarah Eshun, University of Education, Winneba

Emma Sarah Eshun is a Senior lecturer in the Department of Basic Education at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. Her research interests include language teaching and learning (both L1 and L2), language policy and planning, as well as a focus on syntax, cognitive semantics, and sociolinguistics. She has special interest in the structure of Mfantse. She holds a PhD from the University of Ghana, Legon.

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Aspects of Akan Verbal Semantics

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E. Kweku Osam, University of Ghana

Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon, University of Ghana

Esther Serwaah Afreh, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Dorothy Pokua Agyepong, University of Ghana

Reginald Akuoko Duah, University of Ghana

Emma Sarah Eshun, University of Education, Winneba

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