Browsing by Author "Abubakari, H."

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Disambiguating the Information Structure Model of the Lexical Functional Framework
(2019-09-18) Abubakari, H.
This study aims at disambiguating the Information-Structure (I-structure) model in the analysis of focus constructions within the Lexical Functional Grammar Framework. It is observed that there are mismatches between the C-structure and the I-structure projections of focus constructions. This leads to instances of ambiguities in the interpretations of mostly contrastive focus constructions as opposed to information focus constructions. The I-structure is argued to be inadequately resourced to capture the different subtypes of focus constructions in Kusaal and most other African languages. In addressing this problem, the study provides alternative suggestions by building on the proposals of King (1996), Choi (1996), Butt (2014), and Abubakari (2018). It is suggested that an additional predicate attribute referred to as discourse type (DTYPE), with a value that subcategorizes subtypes of focus and topic notions be introduced in the I-structure. The study will be carried out using empirical data from the Kusaal language.
Exploring Euphemisms as Taboo Avoidance Strategies in the Mabia Languages
(Language Matters, 2023) Issah, S.; Abubakari, H.; Atintono, S.; Atibiri, S.
This article investigates the use of euphemisms in mitigating prohibited expressions in three Mabia (Gur) languages: Dagbani, Farefare (also known as Gurenɛ) and Kusaal. In the daily interactions of the Mabia people, they avoid using certain expressions, which are unmentionable in most contexts. These include the expressions for snakes and snakebite, sexual intercourse and genitalia, and death. The mention of the explicit terms for these expressions is face-threatening in Mabia society and can incur various forms of negative social consequences. Thus, instead of using these taboo expressions, speakers employ euphemisms as taboo-avoidance strategies; these euphemistic expressions oil social cohesion and indicate speakers’ communicative competence. The data used in this study were mainly gathered from primary sources. However, we augmented some of the primary data of Dagbani with some secondary sources drawn from N. A. Salifu’s (2012) PhD thesis. We employ politeness theory and ethnography of communication as analytical lenses
Framing of COVID-19 safety protocols in Kusaal musical health communication: Language and literary analysis
(Language & Communication, 2021) Abubakari, H.; Assem, I.S.; Amankwah, A.S.
This article examines how indigenous language and music are used to promote the education of the Kusaal-speaking communities within the Upper East Region of Ghana on the COVID-19 safety protocols. Using the framing theory, the study conceptualises how the music composer frames COVID-19 safety protocols in a very practical yet entertaining manner to evoke adherence by natives to the protocols through a local musical performance called googi. The singer who doubles as the composer employs several language, linguistic and literary techniques to communicate the major themes (COVID-19 protocols) of the song. Further, the music communicates hope and promise in the capacity of ancestral deities to step back into time during periods of catastrophe to alleviate the sufferings of their subjects. The paper is entirely qualitative; it deploys the parallel text approach in transliterating the song. This study is the first of its kind in Kusaal and in the Mabia languages of West Africa and it has the potential of contributing significantly to debates around the subject matter. Future studies could examine how other local languages could be adopted as edutainment tools in the fight against global pandemics.
Noun Class System of Kusaal
(Studies in African Linguistics, 2021) Abubakari, H.
It is common knowledge that noun classes in Mabia (Gur) languages are primarily characterized by stems and affixes. Common to all studies on nominal classification in Kusaal is the observation that nouns that exhibit common morphological properties also share identical semantic features. Though this is true to some extent, the generalization breeds a lot of leakages because classifications based on semantic field alone is unable to explain the inclusion of nouns that share identical morphological and phonological features but different semantic features. Thus, this problem questions the assumption that noun classification in Kusaal is dependent on common semantic properties or coherence shared by all nouns in a group. The semantic classification of nouns, in this study, is composed based on the assumption that speakers of Kusaal put together nouns that are connected by identical semantic features and others that are linked by pragmatic associations into networks that define concepts and aspects of their survival as human beings. It is further observed that nouns within such groups also go through identical phonological rules or constraints. Nouns in this paper are classified based on their morphological features which are closely knit to their semantic networks as well as phonological constraints. The framework of Lexical-Phonology is employed in analyzing the morphophonological components of the nominal classification system of the language.
Phasal Polarity Expressions in Kusaal
(Nordic Journal of African Studies, 2022) Abubakari, H.
In studies of African languages, Phasal Polarity (PhP) expressions – already, still, no longer, and not yet – have received little attention in the literature on the Mabia (Gur) languages of West Africa. This study aims to address that gap by investigating PhP expressions in Kusaal, a language spoken in Ghana. Previous research has established that while some languages have expressions for encoding all four PhP concepts, other languages have one, two, or three expres sions out of the four, while still other languages lack expressions for encoding all four concepts. The major aim of this study is to establish whether Kusaal has expressions for encoding all four concepts like English and Dutch, or lacks some expressions, like Albanian and Chechen, or even has no formal phasal polarity expressions, like Kalmyk. It will be observed that Kusaal has items for expressing all of the four PhP concepts identified in English: pʋ́ n ‘already’, kpɛ́ ŋ ‘still’, pʋ́ lɛ́ n ‘no longer’, and nán pʋ́ ‘not yet’. In fact, Kusaal has five PhP expressions for the four concepts, since the ‘still’ expression is coded with two morphemes. The availability of ex pressions for encoding PhP concepts in Kusaal makes it possible to add it to the majority of lan guages, which have all four PhP types; this further confirms the observation of van Baar (1997) that “If a language has a PhP expression which covers the areas of already and no longer, this language has at least one other PhP expression which covers the area of still and not yet”. Kusaal has expressions for already and no longer and goes further in having expressions for still and not yet. Though PhP expressions in Kusaal are not significantly distinct from general observations of the concept cross-linguistically, this study provides additional information on the topic from the Mabia (Gur) languages to which Kusaal belongs. The observations in this work can enhance the debate on this subject matter both descriptively and typologically.
A structural analysis of personal names in Kusaal
(Language Sciences, 2024) Abubakari, H.; Sandow, L.; Asitanga, S.A.
New names are created on daily bases but old names never change in form. Thus, names offer a window where the archaic linguistics structure of a language can be traced. This study explores the grammatical structure of personal names in Kusaal by focusing on their phonology, morphonology and syntax. Phonologically, the paper explores the phonotactics of personal names; morphologically, it discusses the various morphemes that constitute this category of names, and syntactically, it analyses the rules that underlie the con struction of personal names that are phrases, clauses and sentences. The meaning of personal names in Kusaal have been discussed extensively in previous studies for which reason minimal attention is dedicated to it in the current work. The findings show that personal names in Kusaal conform to almost all the structural rules of the language. They occupy specific positions in the noun phrase and in the sentence; they are neutral to syntactic features such as definiteness and plurality. Personal names also take prefixes and affixes and can be compound words. There are instances where insertions and deletions are observed in the compound formation of personal names in the language. The study uses the Basic Linguistics Theory for its descriptive analysis of personal names. Both pri mary and secondary data are used in this study