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UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
 
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES 
 
 
A COGNITIVE SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTION AND 
COGNITION EXPRESSIONS IN AKAN 
BY 
 
EMMA SARAH ESHUN 
 
10552252 
 
 
THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, 
LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR 
THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN LINGUISTICS 
DEGREE 
 
 
 
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS 
 
 
 
JULY 2020
 
 
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DECLARATION 
I do hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and 
has not been presented either in whole or in part for another degree elsewhere. 
References to other sources of information used in this work have been duly 
acknowledged. 
  
 
EMMA SARAH ESHUN     November 15, 2021 
(Candidate)       Date 
  
         November 15, 2021 
PROF. E. KWEKU OSAM                Date                 
(Principal Supervisor) 
 
      November 15, 2021 
 PROF. NANA ABA APPIAH-AMFO   Date 
(Co- Supervisor)                                          
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        DEDICATION 
This thesis is dedicated to God Almighty, 
My Parents: 
Frank C. Moses & Theresa Adjei, 
My husband: 
Jacob Emmanuel Eshun 
& 
My children:  
Kweku Badu, Kweku Nketsia, Adjoa Kwansema and Kodwo Painstir. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I would like to first and foremost thank Almighty God for being the source of my 
strength throughout my academic life. His faithfulness has seen me through to the 
successful completion of this thesis.   
I am most grateful to my principal supervisor, Professor E. Kweku Osam, in 
the Department of Linguistics, for his expertise towards the success of this thesis. 
His constructive comments and knowledge on the topic and Akan especially, gave 
me better understanding on the issues discussed. His persistent checks in making 
sure that every issue is well-discussed improved the work tremendously. He was not 
only a supervisor, but a counsellor, a father, a role model and a teacher. Prof. Osam, 
God bless you for your guidance.  
My thanks also go to my co-supervisor, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo 
for her valuable comments and suggestions which helped improve the quality of the 
thesis. I am indebted to the Professors, graduate students and staff of the Linguistics 
Department and I thank all of them. Special thanks go to Professor Kofi K. Saah, 
Professor Kofi Agyekum, Dr. Grace Diabah, Dr. Evershed Kwasi Amuzu, Dr. James 
Saanchi, Dr. Clement Appah, Dr. Reginald Duah, Dr. Seth Ofori, Dr. Akanlig-Pare, 
and Dr. Mercy Bobuafor for their encouragement and varied support. 
A word of special thanks go to Professor Samuel Obeng Gyasi and Professor 
Ronald Schaefer, who contributed to my academic life, I am exceedingly grateful to 
them.  
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My sincere thanks and appreciation go to my employers, University of Education, 
Winneba, for making it possible for me to study at the University of Ghana. Without 
their financial support I would not have been able to make it. 
I am very grateful to the trained native-speaker consultants: Teacher Kodwo, 
Ama, Boahen and Abena who assisted in the collection of the data for this study. I 
am thankful to the native speakers who shared their invaluable knowledge of the 
language with me during the data collection process. I say God bless you all.  
I made many friends among my graduate student colleagues, especially the 
School of Languages graduate students, some of whom made the graduate journey 
enjoyable for me. I would like to thank Patience Obeng, Patricia Amarteifio, 
Victoria Owusu Ansah, Winifred Otu, Anthony Klidza, Levina N. Abunya, 
Philomina Mintah, Beatrice Bruku, Mavis Gardner, Kwesi Adomako and Abigail 
Ayiglo Kuwornu, for their camaraderie, support and care. 
My brothers Rev. Emmanuel Kobina Moses, Eugene and Roland deserve my 
gratitude for their encouragement during this journey. Their constant prayers and 
care towards my family made my absence from home easier to bear.  
I am extremely grateful to Evangelist Ebenezer Koomson, Evangelist Brown 
Boateng, Pastor Robert Yankey, Rev. Kweku Badu and all the Prayer Warriors – 
Josephine, Rose, Mr. Amoh, Comfort, Adelaide, Thompson and Very Rev. & Mrs. 
Bassaw for their prayer support towards my PhD journey. 
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Mama Agatha Akonor-Mills has been my constant source of inspiration and support 
during my PhD programme. She did all the proof reading for me, Mama, 
Onyankopon nhyiraa wo pii.  
Finally, I would like to thank the five very special people in my life without 
whose support I could not have come this far: my husband Jacob, and my children, 
Kweku Badu, Kweku Nketsia, Adjoa Kwansema and Kodwo Paintsir, for allowing 
me to be an ‘absentee’ wife and mother for five years without complaining. Their 
love, encouragement, support and prayers have sustained me through this long and 
tedious journey. Jacob my husband, I am deeply indebted to you for your patience, 
love and the reassurances when the going got tough. God richly bless you. To all 
the people mentioned above and all others too numerous to mention, I say: me da 
hom ase pii, many, many thanks. 
To God be the glory, great things He has done!!! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ABSTRACT 
This study examines linguistic expressions in Mfantse (Akan) that relate to the basic 
senses of the body such as seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing and touching. For each 
sense modality, both the literal and metaphorical expressions were investigated. It 
adopts the cognitive linguistics approach. Data were gathered from forty native 
speakers of Mfantse (Central region) in a variety of interview formats and elicitation 
from stimuli.  The data gathered confirmed the empirical validity arrived at in the 
conclusions of the study. 
A significant finding of the study is that the perceptive verbs (PVs) do not 
only display physiological roles but also demonstrate diverse extended meanings 
depending on the context in which they occur. The study illustrates that hwέ (look) 
involves a durative process. On the other hand, hú (see) is a visual activity that 
occurs ‘on the spot’ or instantaneously. Sometimes hú can be durative where the 
visual line is directed towards compassion. Hwέ is volitional while hú is both 
volitional and non-volitional. These two PVs are classified as: intra-psychological 
(self-philosophies) and social-psychological experiences (interdependency).  
The findings from the gustatory expressions show six primary taste 
sensations in Akan: sweet/pleasant, salty, sour, bitter, congealing, and a 
semantically derived form, táblábáá (lacking taste; bland), in contrast to the five 
taste forms in English. The study also revealed that from the ethno-cultural 
background, dɛ́ẃ ‘sweet/pleasant’ can be described as a pleasant taste that includes: 
+/- sugariness, and non-food related experiences. Also, Mfantse (Akan) expresses 
different forms of specific perceived sour taste as: kàẁ, fèm̀ and yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ. Further, 
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all the taste expressions revealed metaphorical expressions: Pleasant– gentle/good 
speech, enough money, sexual enjoyment, flattery and pampering. Bland – improper 
dressing. Sour– regret, disappointment, bad body odour. Bitter – offensive talk, 
difficulties in life, excessive judgment, and stinginess. Salty – dishonest.  
Results also show that Mfantse (Akan) profiles different semantic ways of 
representing and interpreting basic and extended meanings of olfactory, auditory 
and tactile sensory information. The olfactory sense revealed that m̀fáŕ/ǹká ‘scent’ 
may be understood to conflate good, bad, fragrant, stench and disapproving concepts 
in portraying odours. Also, the semantics of ǹká ‘scent’ demonstrates that there are 
few occurrences where ǹká ‘scent’ does not have a negative connotation. Perhaps 
the non-negative connotation can be explained in the context where the concept of 
ǹká ‘scent’ needs to be modified with positive adjectives. For extreme odours, 
Mfantse (Akan) identified specific terms: sùòǹǹ, kòóò, káńkáń, hùǹtùǹǹ and 
sùkùsùkù to describe them. Also, bɔ̀ǹ ‘bad odour’ exhibits: bad human body odour, 
lack of intellectual competencies and general bad odours. The term húáḿ indicate 
good odours. Additionally, the olfactory experience of hùà ‘to sniff/smell’ coded 
the sense of relaxation, satisfaction, love of, and to detect preference of the odour of 
an entity. Metaphorical resource show that olfactory experiences in Mfantse 
indicate: húáḿ ‘good odour’; ‘good mouth talk’ – ‘good/eloquent speech’; bɔ̀ǹ ‘bad 
odour’; ‘bad mouth talk’ – loud-mouthed or offensive speech; ‘bad breath/bad smell 
in the nose’– hostility, unfriendliness; ‘self-matter smells’– bad character. The study 
identifies two auditory terms: tsè ‘hear’ and tsíè ‘listen’. Semantically, meanings 
from these two verbs are contextually different, but they have similar syntactic 
structures in terms of the arguments they select. Extended meanings of the auditory 
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sense display the following: tsìètsíèè ‘to investigate’, tsíè ‘give a hearing’ (legal 
context), tsíè no ‘agree’/‘permit’; tsíè nó àsò pá mù: ‘listen without prejudice’, tsíè 
/tsè… àsέḿ ‘obedience’, tsíé…ànó ‘act on hearsay’; à-tsè â ńńtséè: ‘pretence’ and 
tsè àsó mú: ‘listen to the right information’. Further, the tactile sense employed serial 
verb construction; kà…hwέ; súóm…hwέ; and míá…hwέ (touch). These 
constructions engage the hand for examining physical experiences as well as 
expressing feelings regarding metaphorical expressions such as comforting, 
subduing, pleasing, loving, stimulating, intimacy and painful expressions.  
Importantly, the Mfantse data make a contribution towards the concept of 
perception and cognition predicates normally moving in pairs as state and non-state 
pairs in Akan. Thus, for the state, we have concrete/non-metaphorical uses and 
abstract/metaphorical uses for the non-state roles. These play a major role in the 
range of semantic/pragmatic interpretations that allow for these. It is expected that 
comparable research will spring up from closely related dialects and in other 
Ghanaian languages, the Kwa language family as well as African languages in 
general to bring out similarities and differences in the linguistic analysis of these 
sensory modalities. 
 
 
 
 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
DECLARATION ............................................................................................................ i 
DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. ii 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iii 
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ vi 
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... ix 
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... xiv 
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... xv 
LIST OF APPENDICES .............................................................................................. xvi 
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... xvii 
CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................... 1 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 
1.1 Background of the Study ..................................................................................... 1 
1.2 Rationale .................................................................................................................... 3 
1.3 Objectives of the Study .............................................................................................. 5 
1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 5 
1.5 General Background Knowledge of the Akan Language ............................................ 6 
1.5.1 The Language and People of Akan ...................................................................... 8 
1.5.1.1 Brief History of the Mfantses .......................................................... 12 
1.5.1.2 The Mfantse Dialects Group ............................................................ 13 
1.6 The Linguistic Features of Akan ............................................................................... 16 
1.6.1 Some Phonological Features of Akan ............................................................... 16 
1.6.2 Akan Consonants .............................................................................................. 20 
1.6.3 Tones in Akan .................................................................................................... 22 
1.7 The Syntax and Morphology of Akan ....................................................................... 24 
1.7.1 Tense/Aspect Prefixes (TAM) ........................................................................... 29 
1.8 Contributions to Knowledge .................................................................................... 34 
1.9 The Methodology .................................................................................................... 35 
1.9.1 Research Design ................................................................................................ 36 
1.9.2 The Sociolinguistic Status of the Research Districts (Sites) .............................. 36 
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1.9.3 Data Collection Procedure ................................................................................ 38 
1.9.3.1 Data Elicitation ................................................................................ 44 
1.9.3.2 Processing the Data.......................................................................... 47 
1.9.3.3 Representation of Text Examples in the Thesis .............................. 48 
1.10 Ethical Consideration ............................................................................................. 48 
1.11 The Structure of the Study..................................................................................... 49 
CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................ 51 
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................ 51 
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 51 
2.2 Cognitive Linguistics ................................................................................................. 51 
2.3 Commitments of Cognitive Linguistics .................................................................... 57 
2.3.1 Generalisation Commitment ............................................................................ 57 
2.3.2 Cognitive Commitment ..................................................................................... 59 
2.4 Branches of Cognitive Linguistics ............................................................................. 61 
2.4.1 Cognitive Grammar ........................................................................................... 62 
2.4.2 Cognitive Semantics .......................................................................................... 67 
2.4.2.1 Conceptual Structure is Embodied .................................................. 69 
2.4.2.2 Semantic Structure is Conceptual Structure .................................... 74 
2.4.2.3 Meaning Representation is Encyclopaedic ...................................... 74 
2.4.2.4 Meaning Construction is Conceptualisation .................................... 75 
2.5 Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 77 
2.5.1 The Concept of Perception and Cognition ........................................................ 77 
2.5.2 The Senses, Perception and Language Use ...................................................... 83 
2.5.3 Semantic Meanings of Perception Expressions ................................................ 85 
2.5.3.1 The Semantic Meanings of the Five Basic Senses .......................... 85 
2.5.3.1.1 Experience Verbs ................................................................................ 86 
2.5.3.1.2 Active Perception Verbs ..................................................................... 88 
2.5.3.1.3 The Stimulus Subject Verbs ................................................................ 91 
2.5.4 Non-Prototypical Meanings of Perception Expressions ................................... 95 
2.5.5 Is there a Linguistic Universal Hierarchy of the Senses? .................................. 97 
2.5.6 Vision .............................................................................................................. 100 
2.5.7 Hearing ............................................................................................................ 104 
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2.5.8 Touch .............................................................................................................. 105 
2.5.9 Smell ............................................................................................................... 107 
2.5.10 Taste ............................................................................................................. 110 
2.6 Summary ................................................................................................................ 111 
CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................... 114 
THE SEMANTICS OF THE PERCEPTION VERBS Hwέ and Hú .................................. 114 
3.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 114 
3.1 The Basic Meanings of the Perceptive Verbs Hwέ and Hú .................................... 117 
3.1.1 The Experiencer and Activity Notions of Perceptive Verbs (Hwέ / Hú) .......... 123 
3.1.2 The Stimulus Notion of the Perceptive Verb Hwὲ in Akan ............................. 126 
3.2 The Physical Extended Meanings of the Perceptive Verbs Hwέ /Hú ..................... 127 
3.2.1 Intra Psychological Domain ............................................................................ 128 
3.2.2 Social Psychological Domain ........................................................................... 132 
3.3 Metaphorical Extensions of the Perceptive Verbs (Hwέ and Hú) in Akan ............. 151 
3.3.1 Relation of Vision to Idiomatic Expressions .................................................... 161 
3.4 Summary ................................................................................................................ 171 
CHAPTER FOUR ..................................................................................................... 174 
THE SEMANTICS OF TASTE  (GUSTATORY) EXPRESSIONS ..................................... 174 
4.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 174 
4.1 Taste Perception .................................................................................................... 174 
4.2 Categories of Taste in Akan ................................................................................... 176 
4.2.1 The Physiological Functions of Taste in Akan ................................................. 178 
4.2.1.1 Dὲẁ – Pleasant Taste in Akan ...................................................................... 178 
4.2.1.2    Dὲẁ – Pleasant Taste + Sugary .................................................. 179 
4.2.1.3    Dὲẁ –Non-Sugary Pleasant Taste .............................................. 182 
4.2.1.4 The Stimulus Notion of Determining Good Taste ......................... 183 
4.2.2 Extended Meanings of Dὲẁ - Pleasant Taste .................................................. 186 
4.2.2.1 Dὲẁ - Pleasant Taste Perceived through Emotions or Bodily 
Feelings. ..................................................................................................... 186 
4.2.2.2 Dὲẁ - Pleasant Taste Perceived through the Pleasure in Participating 
in Activities. ............................................................................................... 189 
4.2.3 Salty Taste ....................................................................................................... 191 
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4.2.4 Sour Taste ....................................................................................................... 193 
4.2.5 Bitter Taste ..................................................................................................... 198 
4.2.6 Insipid/Bland Taste ......................................................................................... 199 
4.2.7 Congealing Taste ............................................................................................. 201 
4.3 Metaphorical Extensions of Taste Expressions in Akan ......................................... 202 
4.3.1 Pleasant Taste Metaphors in Akan ................................................................. 202 
4.3.2 Metaphors of Bitterness in Akan .................................................................... 211 
4.3.3 Metaphors of Sourness ................................................................................... 216 
4.3.4 Metaphor of Blandness .................................................................................. 218 
4.4 Summary ................................................................................................................ 218 
CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................... 221 
THE SEMANTICS OF OLFACTORY, AUDITORY AND TACTILE EXPRESSIONS .......... 221 
5.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 221 
5.1 Smell/Odour (Olfactory) Expressions in Akan ....................................................... 222 
5.1.1 Basic Expressions of Smell in Akan – Physical Notions ................................... 223 
5.1.2 Extended Meanings of the Olfaction Senses in Akan ..................................... 244 
5.2 Auditory (Hearing/Listening) Perception in Akan .................................................. 248 
5.2.1 The Physical Experience of the Auditory Sense .............................................. 248 
5.2.2 Extended Meanings of the Auditory Senses ................................................... 252 
5.3 Perceptions of Tactile/Haptic (Touch) Expressions in Akan .................................. 260 
5.3.1 The Sense of Touch ......................................................................................... 261 
5.3.2 The Basic Notion of Touch in Akan ................................................................. 263 
5.3.2.1 Physiological Experiences of the Tactile Sense ............................ 265 
5.3.3 Metaphorical Experiences of the Tactile Sense. ............................................. 268 
5.4 Summary ................................................................................................................ 272 
CHAPTER SIX ......................................................................................................... 274 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................ 274 
6.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 274 
6.1 Summary of Findings ............................................................................................. 275 
6.1.2 Findings of the Semantics of Taste (Gustatory) Expressions .......................... 277 
6.1.3 Findings of the Semantics of Olfactory, Auditory and Tactile Expressions .... 279 
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6.2 Projections for Future Research /Theoretical Implications ............................. 283 
6.3 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................................. 284 
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 320 
6.1.1 Findings of the Semantics of Perceptive Verbs Hwέ and Hú .......................... 275 
 
 
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LIST OF TABLES 
 
Table 1.1 Dialects of Akan and the Number of Speakers....................................... 10 
Table 1.2 Akan Oral Vowels with Examples ......................................................... 19 
Table 1.3 The Consonant Chart of Akan ................................................................ 21 
Table 1.4 A Table Representing the List of the Consultants………………………41 
Table 2.1   The Basic Perception Verbs in English ................................................ 93 
Table 2.2 Extended Meanings of Vision .............................................................. 102 
Table 2.3   Metaphorical Meanings in Smell Perception ..................................... 108 
 
  
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LIST OF FIGURES 
Figure 1.1 Language Map of Ghana ......................................................................... 7 
Figure 1.2 Dialect Distribution of Akan Group in Ghana………………..……….....12 
Figure 1.3 The Mfantse Dialects Distribution in the Central Region of Ghana. .... 15 
Figure 2.1 Subfields of Cognitive Linguistics ........................................................ 62 
Figure 2.2 Instantiation Schema ............................................................................. 65 
 
  
  
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LIST OF APPENDICES 
APPENDIX I – INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ....................................................... 285 
APPENDIX II – SAMPLE TEXT WITH GLOSSES .......................................... 291 
APPENDIX III – ETHICAL APPROVAL .......................................................... 314 
APPENDIX IV – CONSENT FORM .................................................................. 315 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 
1  First person     
2  Second person     
3  Third person   
ABAK SP Abakrampa Speaker 
 
ADJT SP Adjumako Takyiman Speaker 
 AMPJ SP Ampia Adjumako Speaker 
ASB SP Asebu Speaker 
ATA SP Atakorase Speaker 
CAUS  Causative 
CCM  Conditional clausal marker 
CL PART Clausal particle 
COMP  Complementizer  
COMPL Completive  
COND  Conditional  
CONJ  Conjunction 
CONS  Consecutive  
CP  Complementizer Phrase  
COP  Copula  
DCM  Dependent Clause Marker 
DEF  Definite  
DEM  Demonstrative 
DW  Dwendama Speaker  
FOC  Focus marker  
FUT  Future  
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HAB  Habitual  
IMP  Imperative 
INAN  Inanimate  
INDEF Indefinite 
INT  Intensifier 
KY SP  Kyakor Speaker    
LOC  Locative 
NEG  Negative 
NOM  Nominalizer  
NP  Noun phrase  
OBJ  Object  
OPT  Optative  
PART  Particle   
PERF  Perfect 
PL  Plural 
POSS  Possessive   
PROG  Progressive  
REDUP Reduplication 
REL  Relative marker  
REFL  Reflexive   
SG  Singular  
SUBJ  Subject  
SBJV  Subjunctive   
TOP  Topic 
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CHAPTER ONE 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
 
1.1 Background of the Study  
The study examines linguistic expressions in Akan (Kwa-Niger Congo) that refer to 
sensations derived from the various senses of the body such as tasting, seeing, 
touching, smelling and hearing. It demonstrates how the perceptual experiences are 
conceptualised or grounded in our cognitive abilities. 
The sensory signals of the body play very important role in information 
delivery. This is because the human sense organs encode different meaningful 
expressions as the organs interact with the physical world. Again, the senses process 
the evidence in our mental faculties and later redirect them through our perceptual 
experiences. They are also seen as the basic channels through which we perceive 
and communicate issues of the things in the world; in terms of our understanding 
towards what we perceive and the impressions these thoughts create in us 
(Aikhenvald 2013). These senses help facilitate our decision-making process in the 
direction of choices we make of things around us. So, our perception towards things 
we see, taste, touch and hear are all enriched by the information the related senses 
produce. In support of this argument, Goldberg et al. (2006a:4917) explain that 
“auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile and visual semantic processing has been 
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shown to activate regions of the brain responsible for the encoding of the 
corresponding precepts.” 
These sensory signals are broadly classified under the term Perception and 
Cognition (henceforth P/C) (Rhee 2001; Levin 1993). Perception and Cognition 
expressions discuss sensations, intentions and thought. Also, they provide evidence 
of human understanding of the world since human experiences are linked to issues 
of the world according to Rhee (2001). The principal feature of this class of 
expressions is their relationship with the human state of mind which codes 
information in the physical world as well as provides evidence of human 
understanding. On the contrary, languages differ in their expressions of thought 
(mind). Thus, structures of different languages determine the cognitive capabilities 
of how people view the world. For example, people see differently and their 
reactions [may be] as a result of what were in their minds, their psychological 
orientations, cultural values and their overall experiences with the environment.  
According to Nordquist (2017:1) mental-state verbs which are also 
inherently seen as cognitive verbs are associated with verb meanings that are related 
to “understanding, discovering, planning or deciding”. This domain of events 
illustrates examples of mental state verbs in English. Examples include know, think, 
learn, understand, perceive, feel, guess, see, recognize, notice, want, wish, hope, 
decide, expect, prefer, remember, forget, imagine, and believe. He distinguishes 
such cognitive verbs from perception verbs by arguing that the latter express 
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physical knowledge of senses such as see, watch, look, hear, listen, feel, and taste. 
These verbs capture signals in the nervous system which affect the physical sense 
organs. Thus, perception verbs represent internal conditions of feelings, beliefs and 
opinions. 
Some of the examples of perception and cognition expressions in Akan that 
can be examined in the domain of mental-state events include hwɛ́ ‘look’, hú ‘see’, 
ká...hwɛ́ ‘taste’, hùà/ hùà hwɛ́ ‘smell’, tsè (ǹká) ‘feel’ / ‘smell/scent’, tsé ‘feel’, 
mìá..hwɛ́ ‘touch’, etc. These are the basic forms of the examples of the mental-state 
verbs in the language. Apart from these basic ones, there are other forms that the 
language also realises. These and the other forms will be discussed in chapters 3-5.  
 
1.2 Rationale 
Language serves as a vehicle for expressing human thoughts, feelings and emotions. 
This is because language influences to some extent the way we think and view the 
world. 
Current debate in the linguistic literature regarding language and thought is 
the fact that languages differ in how they express the basic senses such as vision, 
taste, smell, touch, and hearing (Aikhenvald & Storch 2013). To them, languages 
have different ways of constructing perceptive and cognitive meanings; some 
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languages like to construct cognitive meaning using visual labels while others view 
cognitive expressions in terms of auditory perception labels. The literature confirms 
that sensory perception displays different meanings among different cultures (Majid 
et al. 2018; Majid & Levinson 2011).  
Some contemporary linguists also (Van Putten 2020; Majid et al. 2018; 
Majid & Levinson 2011) support the assertion that diverse cultures portray diverse 
sensory evidence by indicating that different environments, cultures and experiences 
are contributing issues to the diverse sensory information that we experience.  For 
instance, Van Putten (2020:2) points out that “Sensory perception is used in many 
different ways depending on cultural practices, life styles and the environment in 
which people live”. Thus, the way of life of people and their experiences reveals 
what kind of sensory information they express.  
These discussions show that there is a gap in the literature of how cultures 
assign meanings to the basic senses of the body. Since there are variations in the 
linguistic interpretations of meanings of the basic senses of the body among cultures 
and their values, this study seeks to examine the linguistic expressions of perception 
and cognition in the Mfantse dialect (Akan) in relation to how the language ascribes 
meanings to these basic senses of the body as they interact with the world. 
The study also contributes to finding how perception and cognition are 
expressed in Akan (Mfantse) by focusing on the linguistic expressions that encode 
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the five basic senses. It goes on to find out how perception and cognition influence 
each other in relation to the cultural preferences that are realised for the various 
senses. 
Further, it explores the various discourses and meanings these P/C 
expressions display in the language.  
 
1.3 Objectives of the Study 
The goal of this study is to contribute to the current discussion on cross-linguistic 
research on perception and cognition expressions. The specific objectives of the 
study are:  
(1) To document the perception and cognition expressions in the Mfantse dialect 
of Akan. 
(2) To examine the relationship that exists between perception and cognition 
expressions in the Mfantse dialect of Akan.  
(3) To examine the semantic features associated with Mfantse perception and 
cognition expressions. 
1.4 Research Questions 
In line with the study objectives, the study addresses the following research 
questions: 
(1) What are the various perception and cognition expressions present in Akan? 
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(2) What are the various relationships that exist between perception and 
cognition expressions in the Mfantse dialect of Akan? 
(3) What are the semantic features of Mfantse perception and cognition 
expressions? 
 
1.5 General Background Knowledge of the Akan Language 
This section discusses the background information (the language and the people and 
a sketch grammar) of Akan and the sociolinguistic milieu of the study communities.  
Ghana is a multilingual country with many Ghanaian languages. Figure 1.1 
language shows the distribution of languages in Ghana.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Figure 1.1 Language Map of Ghana 
 
Fig. 1.1 Language Map of Ghana – Ethnologue Online, Lewis (2009). 
A careful look at the language map shows that almost half of the population 
of Ghana speak Akan and it is the largest ethnic group as well. The map also 
illustrates all the various Ghanaian languages and the various regions where these 
languages are spoken in Ghana. The colours indicate the language families and the 
numbering specifies places where these languages are spoken while the parentheses 
stipulate the number of times (if mentioned more than once) a language’s number 
appears on the map. On the map, the Akan speaking area is represented by the light 
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green colour and numbered 32. Places where Akan is spoken are also represented 
by the same colour. As mentioned earlier, it can be realised on the map that Akan is 
the most spoken language in Ghana. The study area (Mfantse speaking zone) is 
located with the red bordered square and so in this thesis, all data are drawn from 
only the study zone. 
 
1.5.1 The Language and People of Akan 
Akan is a Kwa (Niger-Congo) language spoken in Ghana in West Africa. The Akan 
language represents the people called Akans who speak the various dialects of the 
Akan language as their native language (Dolphyne 1988).  
According to Ethnologue online, Akan is the largest language group in 
Ghana and most widely spoken indigenous language consisting of Akuapem, 
Asante, Mfantse, Bono, Wasa, Agona, Breman, Akyem, Gomoa, Kwahu, Denkyira, 
Assin, and Akwamu. The 2010 national population census confirms this and points 
out that 49.10% of the Ghanaian population are Akans. This percentage shows that 
Akan is the most widely spoken language in Ghana. Among the dialects of Akan, 
only three (Akuapem, Mfantse, and Asante) have gained literary status and are used 
in schools. These three dialects are studied from the lower primary of education 
through to the university level. At the lower primary level of education, the language 
is used as a medium of instruction while it is taught as a subject at the upper primary, 
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junior high school (JHS), senior high school (SHS) and offered as a course at the 
Colleges of Education and university level. According to Osam (2004) there have 
been various programmes (Bachelor, Masters and Doctoral) in the study of Akan in 
the University of Ghana, Linguistics Department that have existed for over fifty-six 
years (56). Akan is also taught in other universities such as University of Education, 
Winneba, University of Science and Technology and University of Cape Coast. 
Also, a number of radio and television stations broadcast news and other 
programmes in Akan. According to Agyekum (2012) the Akan language is the 
leading language in most media (radio and TV) and political discourses. Some radio 
stations such as Peace FM, Adom FM, Nhyira FM, Onua FM, Asɛmpa FM, Radio 
Peace and Radio Windy Bay as well as television stations including UTV, TV 
Africa, Atinka TV, Angel TV, Western TV and Adom TV present their programmes 
in the Akan language. Furthermore, the language is used for trading and religious 
purposes in some areas in the Greater Accra region as a second language. According 
to Osam (2004) the dialects of Akan are spoken in regions such as Eastern, Central, 
Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, Western and some areas in the Volta region of Ghana as well 
as Côte d’Ivoire. Dolphyne (1988) mentions also that the Anyi (Aowin), Baule, 
Sehwi, Nzema and Ahanta in the Western part of Ghana and the Efutu/Awutu, 
Anum-Kyerepong-Larteh— all Guan languages from the Southern and Eastern part 
of Ghana— also speak Akan as their second language, though not all the inhabitants 
speak Akan. Dolphyne (1988) points out that all the dialects of Akan have a number 
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of shared vocabularies. Looking at the most important role Akan plays in national 
activities it can be emphasised that Akan is the fastest growing language in Ghana. 
In view of this Osam (2004:3) indicates that “even though no official declaration 
has been made, Akan is growing in its influence as a potential national language, 
especially since people who speak other languages sometimes use it as a lingua 
franca”. A summary of the dialects of Akan and its speakers is illustrated in Table 
1.2 below: 
Table 1.1 Dialects of Akan and their Number of Speakers 
Dialects Number of speakers 
Agona 85,900  
Ahafo 626,000  
 
Akuapem 3,820,000 
Asante 142,000  
 
Assin 124,000  
 
Dankyira 2,730,000  
 
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Fante 443,000  
 
Kwawu, and others  15,400 
Total users:  9,309,200 
As L1 users 8,309,200  
As L2 users 1,000,000 
                                                                     Ethnologue (2013 UNSD).                 
The dialects of Akan are in two major groups— Mfantse and Twi. In terms of 
speakers, Twi is considered the largest sub-group because of the number of users. It 
is also the most researched dialect of Akan in the literature. The Twi dialects are the 
Asante, Akyem, Kwahus, Bono, Wassa and the Akuapem as shown in Table 1.2 
above. The map of Akan dialects, figure 1.2 below, describes the various dialect 
distribution of the Akan group in Ghana.  
 
 
 
 
 
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Figure 1.2 Dialect Distribution of the Akan Group in Ghana 
     
                     Fig. 1.2 Map of Akan Dialects in Ghana 
1.5.1.1 Brief History of the Mfantses  
According to Crayner (1989) the Mfantses migrated from Takyiman in the current 
Bono East Region. As the Akans moved, the various groups separated to settle at 
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places where they could get shelter and peace. This act became the origin of the 
name of the half who got separated, “Fa-atsew” meaning ‘half has separated’, 
known in present day as Mfantsefo or ‘Bɔrbɔr Mfantse’. Through the migration, the 
‘Bɔrbɔr Mfantse’ was led by three (3) great warriors known as Oburmankoma, 
Ɔdapagyan and Ɔson (The Eagle, the Whale and the Elephant, respectively). These 
warriors were represented by these symbols; eagle, whale and elephant signifying 
that on the land, in the air and in the sea they were the mighty warriors. ‘Bɔrbɔr 
Mfantse’ first settled at Kwaaman and finally settled at Mankesim and others later 
settled at Enyan. As the population grew, the Mfantse groups spread towards the 
coast and into the hinterland.  
 
1.5.1.2 The Mfantse Dialects Group 
The Mfantse dialect which this study focuses on is originally known as Mfantse and 
its speakers called Mfantsefo for plural and Mfantsenyi for its singular form. In 
present-day this dialect is also called Fantse/Fante, however, the study uses the 
original name Mfantse. This distinct group has many sub-dialects. However, 
researchers classify these sub-dialects differently. For instance, Dolphyne and 
Dakubu (1988) classify Mfantse group as follows: Agona, Gomoa, Anomabo, and 
Abura. Abakah (2003:9) divides the Mfantse dialects into five main sub-dialects: 
“Iguae, Boka, Anee, Agona and Breman”. Osam’s, (2004) sub-divisions for the 
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Mfantse sub-dialects group are Gomoa, Ekumfi, Nkusukum, Iguae, Breman and 
Agona. Ajumako, Enyan, Essiam dialects are also considered part of the Mfantse 
dialects. Some researchers also classify ‘Bɔrbɔr Mfantse’ as the prototypical 
Mfantse dialect because it is studied and learnt in schools. Examples of these 
Mfantse sub-dialects can be identified in towns like Mankesim, Saltpond, 
Kormantse, Abandze, Anomabo, Egyaa and Biriwa. Figure 1.3 illustrates the 
Mfantse dialects distribution in the Central Region of Ghana. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Figure 1.3 The Mfantse Dialects Distribution in the Central Region of Ghana. 
 
               Fig. 1.3 Mfantse Dialects Distribution in the Central Region. 
 
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1.6 The Linguistic Features of Akan 
In this section I will discuss some aspects of the linguistic features of Akan such as 
phonology (tones, vowels and consonants), and syntax (tense and aspect, and 
pronominal systems). 
 
1.6.1 Some Phonological Features of Akan 
The phonological structure of the Akan language is made up of vowels and 
consonants. In the Akan orthography there are seven oral vowels / i, ɛ, e, a, ɔ, о, u/ 
and fifteen consonants/ b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w, y/. However, nine (9) oral 
vowels / i, ɪ, ɛ, e, a, ʋ, ɔ, о, u/ and eighteen (18) consonants are realised according 
to the tongue properties. There is also a tenth vowel /æ/ which is a variant of the 
vowel /a/ (Dolphyne 1988). According to Dolphyne, this vowel normally appears 
before syllables with the vowel /i/ and / u/ in Akuapem and Asante dialects. In 
Mfantse, the vowel /e/ normally plays this role. Examples are illustrated below:   
                1.    Asante                     /ᴂ̀ní/                            ‘eyes’                 
                        Akuapem             /pᴂt̀ ú/                            ‘owl’           
                        Mfantse              èdz̀bàń     /æ̀dzìbàń/       ‘food’ 
Another thing worth mentioning about vowels in Akan is the vowel harmony 
principles. Osam (1993) mentions that vowels that can occur in prefix position can 
be combined on the basis of harmonisation principles to form what is referred to in 
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phonology as vowel harmony. The nine vowels according to Dolphyne (1988) can 
be grouped into two vowel harmony sets (+ATR and –ATR) depending on the 
position of the tongue root harmony. Set 1 vowels consist of these vowel set /i, e, o, 
u, æ/ produced with advanced tongue root (+ATR) while set 2, comprises these 
vowels /ɪ, ɛ, a, ɔ, ʋ/ produced with unadvanced tongue root (-ATR).  In this 
harmonisation principle only vowels from the same set can occur in a word 
(Dolphyne 1988). For example, 
             ATR Harmony 
2a        èkùtú            ‘orange’ 
            èhí                ‘provoking’ 
՝ɔhɔ́hʋ́          ‘stranger/foreigner’ 
՝ɔkrá             ‘the soul’ 
nyì̀m̀dzèé     ‘knowledge/wisdom’    
                                                 
  2b.         má                   àbὲǹkwàń                     
               1SGPOSS        palm-nut.soup                         
              ‘My palm-nut soup.’  
In addition to the vowel harmony, Mfantse verbal forms accept rounding harmony 
and this normally occurs with the first person pronoun prefix, and the tense/aspect 
prefixes with the exception of the perfect in the dialect. In this rounding harmony, 
vowels described as rounded and unrounded occur in verbal prefixes which also 
have verb stems being rounded vowels or unrounded vowels (Osam 2004; Dolphyne 
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1988). Dolphyne explains that the rounding harmony can also occur in the 1st and 
3rd person possessive pronouns. She spells out that these verbal affixes could be 
pronounced in four different ways. For instance, 1st person singular pronominal 
prefix me, the progressive prefix re and the ingressive prefix kɔ can have the 
following four pronunciations in the dialect as shown below: 
3a.   me  - / me, mi, mo, mu / 
       re   - / re, ri, ro, ru / 
       kɔ   - / ko, kɔ, ke, kɛ / 
 
Rounding Harmony 
 3b.  mú                  n՜dúŕ                        
  1SG POSS      medicine 
‘My medicine.’ 
Furthermore, among the nine oral vowels, five (5) can be nasalised as follows; /ĩ, ɪ, ̃
ã, ũ, ʋ̃/. Nasalisation is a contrastive feature in Akan. Thus, these nasal vowels make 
lexical distinctions and they have contrast with their oral counterparts when they 
appear after voiceless consonants (Manyah 2011). Examples are illustrated below: 
                   4a.  /fa/ — ‘to take’ 
(b)  /fã/ — ‘half’ 
(c)  /su/ — ‘nature’ 
(d)  /sũ/ — ‘to weep’ 
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The data in examples (4a) to (4d) show distinction between words. In these words, 
a nasal vowel and an oral vowel bring about a meaning change, such that the absence 
of the nasal feature on the vowel gives a different meaning. Thus, the nasalised 
vowels are phonemic in nature and bring a change in meaning in identical words.   
In addition to nasalisation, the vowel /o/ can also be nasalised in Mfantse as 
shown in the word, mũõ ‘to be bad’. A chart with examples of the Akan oral vowels 
is presented in Table 1.2 below: 
Table 1.2 Akan Oral Vowels with Examples 
Vowels  Description Examples 
I High Front Advanced siw ‘pound’ 
ɪ High Front Unadvanced tse /tsɪ/hear’ ‘  
e Mid-High Front Advanced edur ‘medicine’ 
ɛ Mid-Low Front Unadvanced pɛ ‘like’ 
a Low Central Unadvanced abowa ‘animal’  
æ Low Central Advanced Patu/pætu/ ‘pretend’ 
ɔ Mid-Low Back Unadvanced ɔwɔ ‘snake’ 
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o Mid-High Back Advanced owu ‘death’ 
ʋ High Back Unadvanced tow /tʋw/ ‘throw’  
u High Back Advanced bu ‘break’  
                                                                                                  Osam (2004: 4) 
 
1.6.2 Akan Consonants  
In the phonetic description of Akan consonants, eighteen (18) consonants are 
identified according to their place and manner of articulation, though thirty-four (34) 
consonants are represented in the Akan orthography, characterised by sixteen (16) 
letters of the alphabet (Dolphyne 1988). Some consonants can be described as 
voiced and others as voiceless depending on how the vocal cord vibrates when the 
sound is produced. An example of the inventory of the Akan consonants chart with 
the phonetic transcription is shown in Table 1.3 below: 
 
 
 
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Table 1.3 The Consonant Chart of Akan 
 Bilabial Labia- Alveolar Palatal Velar glottal  
dental  
Plosive p     b  t    d  k       g      
kw gw  
Affricate   ts   dz ky [tɕ]   
gy [ʥ] 
tw [tɕɥ] 
dw [ʥɥ] 
Nasal m  n ny  [ɲ] Ŋ  
nw [ɲɥ] nw [ɳw] 
Lateral   l    
Trill   r     
Fricative  f s hy  [ɕ]  h 
hw [ɕɥ]  
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Approxima   r y    
nt/glide 
w  
                                                                                                (Dolphyne 1988:29) 
The generalisations Dolphyne makes about voicing on the Akan consonants chart 
are that fricative sounds are voiceless and have no voiced counterparts. Conversely, 
all the plosive and affricate voiceless sounds have their voiced counterparts. Also, 
the glides (approximants), the nasals, the lateral and the trill display only voiced 
feature. Another mention was that the palatal sound, alveo-palatal, velar and glottal 
consonants show labialised and non-labialised counterparts as in hy: hw and k: kw. 
 
1.6.3 Tones in Akan 
Kwa languages including Akan are known to be tonal languages. This is because 
mostly, pitch variations determine meanings of words. The high (the ACUTE:ˊ) and 
the low (the GRAVE: ̀ ) tones are the two basic tones in Akan. The tones are 
normally marked on vowels and on syllabic consonants. These tones can play both 
grammatical and lexical roles in the language (Dolphyne 1988; Osam 2004). 
Lexically, the tones contrast meanings of words bearing the same segment. The unit 
of syllable that marks or carries the tone is known as ‘Tone Bearing Unit (TBU). 
The following examples illustrate tone marking on words in Akan: 
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 5a. kɛ̀ǹtέń      ‘basket’                kɛ̀ǹtɛ̀ǹ    ‘dominate / take-over’ 
            5b.       wín          ‘leak’                    wín  ‘shade’ 
At the sentence level we can say kyɛ́ǹsè nó wìǹ ‘the saucepan leaks’ or wίń wɔ̀ dáń 
nó        ékyìr̀ ‘shade can be found at the back of the house’. Kɛ̀ǹtέń nó sì póń nó dò 
‘the basket is on the table’ and Esi kɛ́ńtɛ̀ǹ ǹdzɛ́ḿbá dò ‘Esi assumes control over 
things’. These are illustrated in 6a - 6d below: 
6a.    Kyɛ́ǹsè        nó          wìǹ 
         saucepan   DEF       leak.HAB 
        ‘The saucepan leaks.’  
 
6b.  Wίń       wɔ̀        dáń        nó        ékyìr̀ 
       shade   LOC      house    DEF     back 
       ‘Shade can be found at the back of the house.’ 
 
6c. Kɛ̀ǹtέń    nó           sì     póń      nó      dò      
      basket     DEF       fix    table    DEF   on 
     ‘The basket is on the table.’ 
 
6d.  Esi    kɛ́ńtɛ̀ǹ                    ǹdzɛ́ḿbá       dò 
       Esi     take-over.HAB     PL.thing    on 
      ‘Esi assumes control over things.’ 
 
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Grammatically, the tone bearing unit distinguishes meaning in relation to tense and 
aspect markings. Examples are shown in 7 below:   
  7a.                 ó -hù 
  3SG SUB.see.HAB 
  ‘She/he sees.’ 
 
   7b.               ò-hú-ù                                   nò 
            3SG SUB.think.COMPL     DEF 
                       ‘She/he saw him/her.’  
In example (7) tones have been used to distinguish tense. In (7a), the low tone was 
used to indicate the habitual form of the verb while in (7b) it marked the past form 
of the verb. So, apart from the vowels and consonants which make up words, the 
meaning of a word can also be determined by the use of tone.  
 
1.7 The Syntax and Morphology of Akan 
This section discusses the morphology and syntax of Akan verbal classes. The 
structure of words in Akan is made up of stems or roots and affixes (prefixes and 
suffixes). The syllable structure of the words is taken into consideration in word 
formation in Akan. Dolphyne (1988) mentions that in the formation of a new word 
in Akan, a single stem or two or more stems (compound) can be combined; or it can 
be formed through reduplication (repetition of stems). Appah (2009) also mentions 
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that in Akan a word may be formed by merging two or more bases (roots or stems). 
This type of word formation is the most common means of forming words in Akan 
(Abakah 2015; Osam et al. 2013; Adomako 2012). Besides, Akan verbs also have 
verbal affixes such as subject marker prefixes, tense aspect affixes, mood prefixes, 
motional prefixes and negation prefix— they go along with (Osam 2004; Saah 2002; 
Dolphyne 1988). In congruence with this concept, Dolphyne (1988) makes it clear 
that verbal affixes also agree in vowel harmony with the vowels of the root words 
which they attach themselves to. In this study, we discuss the three major types of 
verbal affixes (Dolphyne 1988) in the language: subject-prefixes, tense/aspect 
affixes and the negative prefixes. I illustrate examples of subject marker prefixes 
from Osam (2004: 7) and Dolphyne (1988: 87) below:    
                                       Subject Markers (Prefixes) in Akan 
     Subject Prefix                      Persons                                           Citation Form       
8.            me-                             1st person singular (1SG)                              me 
wo-, e-/ i / (Fa)          2nd person singular (2SG)                              wo/ɔwo 
               ɔ-                                3rd person singular (3SG)                               ɔno 
                ɛ                                 impersonal (As. Ak.)                                       ɛno                              
              (Inanimate – As. Ak. and some Mfantse dialect) 
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                 yɛ-                             1st person plural (1PLU)                  hɛn (Fa.) /yɛn 
                  mo-, wɔ- (Fa.)          2nd person plural (2PLU)               mo / hom (Fa) 
                  wɔ-, yɛ- (As.)  3rd person plural (3PLU) wɔn/hɔn (Fa)/wɔɔnom                                                                                 
As indicated earlier, these prefixes agree with the root word (nouns) in person and 
in number as illustrated in (9) below:  
 9a. ɔ̀-bɔ́-kɔ́                       skúùl ̀      
                  3SG.SUBJ-FUT-go   school 
                  ‘S/he will go to school.’ 
 
           9b. wò-dzí-ì                             èdzìbàń       nó  
                 2PL SUBJ-eat-COMPL    food            DEF 
                ‘They ate the food.’  
In example (9) the subjects’ prefixes agree in person and in number with their 
subject nouns, though these nouns are covertly expressed. 
According to Osam (2004) in sentence construction in Akan, where there is 
a lexical noun subject, no pronominal marker is attached to the verb. He also 
mentions that there are some situations in the language, especially in Bono and in 
Mfantse where lexical nouns occur in the sentence; but we still find the subject 
pronoun occurring with the verb.  Examples are indicated in (10) below: 
 
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        10a.  Mààmé      nó       ò-bù                                  m̀pànyìm̀fó          
     woman     DEF     3SG SUBJ-respect.HAB     PL.elder 
                ‘The woman respects the elderly.’ 
 
       10b. Àbòfrá    nó       ɔ́-sòm̀                                       yíé. 
               child       DEF   3SG SUBJ-do.HAB serve         well      
             ‘The child serves well/ renders good services.’    
Examples above show that though there are lexical nouns mààmé ‘woman’ and 
àbòfrá ‘child’ occurring at the subject position, the subject-prefixes for the third 
person singular also occur in the sentences. It is also clear in the language that there 
are different subject prefixes for non-animate and animate entities. In the Twi 
dialects, for instance, the subject prefix /ɛ-/ is used for non-animate entities whereas 
the prefix /ɔ-/ is used for both animate and inanimate entities in the Mfantse dialect 
(Osam 2004). Illustrations are shown in (11) below: 
11a.    hàbáń   nó      bɛ́-hyèẁ      (Mfantse) 
       bush     DEF   FUT-burn 
                                  ‘The bush will burn.’  
  
             11b.       ɔ̀-bέ-hyèẁ 
                                    3SG SUB FUT-burn 
     ‘It will burn.’ 
 
 
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  11c.    Esi    bɔ́-kɔ́          skùúl ̀      
                                   Esi   FUT-go      school 
                                   ‘Esi will go to school.’ 
 
                       11d.    ɔ̀-bɔ́-kɔ́                      skùúl̀                                    
                                   3SG SUBJ-FUT-go   school 
                                 ‘S/he will go to school.’ 
  
           11e.   èwíémú       b-ɛ́-té                       (Twi) 
                                 sky            FUT-tear 
                     ‘The sky will clear up.’ 
 
                       11f.     ɛ̀-b-ɛ́-té 
                                   3INAN SUBJ-FUT-tear 
                                   ‘It will clear up.’  
The examples above display the same morphological form of subject-prefix /ɔ-/ in 
the Mfantse dialect for both animate and inanimate entities as shown in examples 
(11 a-d), while the subject prefix /ɛ-/ is used for only non-animate entities èwíémú 
‘the sky’ in the Twi dialect in examples (11f).  
 
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1.7.1 Tense/Aspect Prefixes (TAM) 
Another morphological feature in Akan that expresses time duration is the 
Tense/Aspect affixes. Though in the literature many studies such as Osam (1994; 
2004; 2008); Dolphyne (1987; 1988) have been conducted on Tense/Aspect to 
confirm their presence in the language, Osam (2008) argues that Akan be considered 
largely as an aspectual language with two distinct tense distributions, the future and 
the non-future. Subsequently, he lists the following as the tense aspects for Akan; 
Future tense (FUT) and Completive (COMPL), Perfect (PERF), Progressive 
(PROG), and Habitual (HAB) aspects. These aspectual properties are going to be 
marked in on the examples in this study.  
In Akan the future is morphologically marked by the prefix bὲ - while the 
non-future is not marked (Osam 2004). The future tense, according to Duah (2013), 
also marks diverse denotations in different contexts in the language. Thus, the future 
tense can mark events that happen after the time of speaking; it also marks intentions 
of the speaker; the future prefix also expresses ability when combined with the verb 
tùm ‘be able’ (Osam 2004). Illustrations of the future are shown in the examples 
below: 
12a. Abena     bɛ́-kyéẁ     náḿ  
Abena    FUT-fry       fish 
‘Abena will fry fish.’   
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   12b.      Kofi   bé-dzídzí  
                Kofi   FUT-eat  
               ‘Kofi will eat.’ 
 
 
   12c.      wɔ̀-bɔ́-kɔ́                           Ǹkràǹ 
               2PLU  SUB-FUT-go        Accra 
              ‘They will go to Accra.’ 
  
 
    12d.     wò-bó-túm̀                      à-mà   dó 
                3PLU SUB-FUT-able    CONS-lift up 
               ‘They can lift it up.’ 
 
In examples (12a) & (12b), the events of frying and eating are perceived as taking 
place after the time of speaking. In example (12c), the future is expressing intentions 
to travel to Accra while in (12d); it is used as a modal, expressing ability or 
possibility of being able to do something. 
The progressive in Akan is marked by the prefix /re-/. This prefix has 
different phonetic realisations in sentence constructions in the language. For 
instance, the progressive prefix in Mfantse is realised phonetically in four different 
ways; ro-, re-, ri-, and ru-. These pronunciations are as a result of the rounding 
harmony processes in the dialect (Osam 2004; Dolphyne 1988). Progressive is also 
realised by the lengthening of the final vowel of the verb (Dolphyne 1988; Osam 
1994).  
The past tense is referred to as completive by Osam (2008; 2004) albeit the 
general reference is past tense. His argument is that the basic role of the past tense 
marker is to show the completeness of an action in general. In view of that the 
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completive mark will not be compatible with the progressive (i.e. the imperfective 
aspects). Osam (2004) explains further that, to correct this past imperfective action, 
Akan uses the conjunction (discourse particle) nά (Twi), nnά ‘then’ to correct it so 
that the progressive can now be accepted to occur with the past as indicated in (13). 
13. Kyèrɛ̀kyérɛ̀nyί         nó             bâ-é                        nό          nnà              
Kyèrέkyèrέnyί        DEF          come-COMPL       when      then 
m̀bòfrá  nó            rù-sùá                ádzé 
 PL.Child DEF         PROG.learn     something 
            ‘When the teacher came, the children were learning.’ 
We notice in example (13) that it is possible to have the past tense marker co-
occurring with the progressive. This combination is possible with the conjunction 
nnὰ ‘then’ co-joining the clauses. This combination can also occur in English and is 
grammatical where the verb ‘to be’ can co-occur with the progressive as exemplified 
in 14 below: 
14.  Joyce was dancing.    
The past tense in Akan is marked in two ways in the affirmative: first if the 
verb stem ends in a vowel and it is followed by a direct object, the final vowel of 
the verb stem is lengthened. When the verb ends with a consonant and it is followed 
by a direct object or adverbial, the final consonant is also lengthened. Secondly, 
where the verb occurs at the clause final position, the completive is marked by the 
suffixes /-i/ or /-e/ and should be marked with low tone. Again, the completive suffix 
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agrees with the immediate vowel of the verb in + or – ATR. Instances are shown in 
(15) below: 
15a.     Kwansema      kú-ù                  àkókɔ́        nó 
 Kwansema      kill.COMPL.    chicken     DEF 
 ‘Kwansema slaughtered the chicken.’ 
 
15b.     Kwansema     púw-ẁ                     Abena 
 Kwansema     frighten.COMPL.   Abena 
 ‘Kwansema frightened Abena.’ 
 
15c.     Ama     sà- àè 
Ama     dance.COMPL.          
‘Ama danced.’ 
In addition to the uses of these vowels /i/ or /ı/ in the completive sense, it is observed 
that the suffix /-yɛ/ can also be used in the Asante dialect to express completive 
(Dolphyne 1988). This position has been countered by Ofori (2018) that there is 
never a past marker in Asante and that the extra-vowel before /-yɛ/ then is an 
emphatic unit. An instance is shown in (16): 
16.       Ama     pìráá -yɛ̀ 
Ama     wound.COMPL. 
‘Ama was wounded.’ 
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The perfective in Akan is marked by the prefix /à/. This perfect prefix /à/ agrees 
with the vowel of the verb stem in terms of ATR harmony as demonstrated in (17) 
below: 
17a.     Esi  á-tɔ̀ǹ           né         táḿ 
Esi      PERF.sell    POSS   cloth. 
‘Esi has sold her cloth.’ 
 
17b.     Esi       é-bù                 né        táḿ     nó      ánò 
Esi      PERF.fold      POSS    cloth   DEF   mouth 
‘Esi has hemmed her cloth.’ 
In Akan not all tense aspect markings are marked by affixes. Just like the 
continuative, the habitual is marked by tones on the verb stem. The habitual also 
expresses present time in the language although Akan does not mark present tense 
morphologically. An example is illustrated in 18 below: 
18.            Esi   hù   àdzé 
                 Esi  see/HAB. something 
                 ‘Esi sees.’ 
Negation in Akan is marked by the homorganic nasal prefix and it is said on a low 
tone. For example, the past negative form is marked by the prefix vowel /à/ said on 
a low tone and followed by the negative morpheme as indicated in example (19).  
 
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19. Amponsa       à-mm̀-bá                      fíé 
  Amponsa      COMPL-NEG-come     home 
 ‘Amponsa did not come home.’   
In Akan, the perfect morpheme in the negative occurs as a suffix but the negative 
morpheme appears as a prefix said on a high tone. An example is shown in (20).  
20. Amponsa      mḿ-báà                          fíé 
  Amponsa      NEG-come-PERF           home 
 ‘Amponsa hasn’t come home.’  
With the negative habitual morpheme, there is no tonal variation (Osam 2004).  
Consider example (21) below: 
21. Amponsa       mm̀bá                              fíé. 
  Amponsa      NEG-come/HAB            home 
 ‘Amponsa doesn’t come home.’ 
 
 
1.8 Contributions to Knowledge 
Documenting expressions of perception and cognition in a language is key 
to contributing knowledge to the inventory of perception and cognition research in 
relation to sensory experience. This is because it is one of the basic issues in the 
sensory organs which help in illustrating issues in the cognitive domain, the basic 
tools for understanding things in the world. Again, by documenting expressions of 
perception and cognition in the Mfantse dialect of Akan, this will serve as a resource 
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for the development of other cognitive topics in the language and other African 
languages.  
This is a novel study that provides descriptions of perceptive and cognitive 
expressions that are used in the Mfantse dialect of Akan. Thus, findings in this area 
are indispensable because the descriptions presented in this thesis have not been 
extensively explored in earlier research done on perception in Akan.  
The findings of this study will also serve as a motivation for cross-linguistic 
studies on perception and cognition among Ghanaian languages in particular, Kwa 
languages and African languages in general.  
Again, the study will also inform the debates about the hierarchy of the 
senses in languages. It will also expose cultural preferences that are realised from 
the various senses in languages. The study will also add up to the existing literature 
on perception and cognition for further references of research in this area. Thus, it 
will be an educational material for students and researchers. 
 Finally, it bridges the gap in research done on perception and cognition since 
the findings help uncover the linguistic structures of sensory information in the 
language. 
 
1.9 The Methodology 
The findings of this thesis were basically grounded on the data collected from 
Mfantse speaking communities selected in some Municipalities and districts in the 
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Central Region of Ghana. This section discusses the research design, sociolinguistic 
status of the districts sampled for data collection, data collection procedure, data 
elicitation process, processing the data, tools for data collection, and representation 
of text examples in the thesis. 
 
1.9.1 Research Design  
This is a qualitative descriptive study. It adopts the linguistic fieldwork approach. 
This approach is appropriate because it allows the researcher to carefully investigate 
language through direct contact (one-on-one conversation, direct observation with 
participants (Chelliah & de Reuse 2011; Foley 2002) to establish how people 
describe perception and cognition concepts and what resources there are in the 
language.  
 
1.9.2 The Sociolinguistic Status of the Research Districts (Sites)  
The study focused on all the Akan districts and Municipalities in the Central Region 
of Ghana. However, the target population were Mfantse speaking communities and 
the accessible population were based on four Mfantse speaking communities whose 
dialects have not had major contact with other languages. The four districts were 
Mfantseman Municipal Assembly, Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam District, Gomoa East 
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District and Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District. These sampled communities 
helped convey the variations of meanings and other linguistic expressions of 
perception and cognition in the language. Brief background information of each 
selected district is described as follows. 
The Mfantseman district can be found along the Atlantic coastline of the 
Central Region of Ghana constituting an area of 300 square kilometres. Mfantseman 
is bounded on the west by the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District, on the North-
East by Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District, on the east by Ekumfi District and on the 
south by the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean). The Mfantseman district, according 
to the 2010 population and housing census, carries the largest population 
(2,201,863) of the Central Region. 
The Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District district has three traditional areas 
constituting the Ajumakos, Essiams and the Enyans (AEE). Ajumako is the capital 
town of this district. The district is bounded on the west by the Assins, the south by 
Mfantseman District, on the east by Gomoa District and on the north-west by 
Asikuma (www.statsghana.gov.gh).  
The Gomoa East District is one of the three (3) districts in Gomoa. “It was 
carved out of the then Gomoa District in 2008 by the Legislative Instrument 1883 
and became operational on 29th February 2008” (2010 PHC: 1). It occupies an area 
of 539.69 square kilometres. It is noted from the Population and Housing Census 
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report that the Gomoa East District is located in the south-eastern part of the Central 
Region. It is bordered to the north-east by Agona East District, south west by Gomoa 
West, east by Awutu Senya and Ga south in the Greater Accra Region and to the 
south by Effutu. The Atlantic Ocean borders the south-eastern part of the district. 
(www.statsghana.gov.gh).   
The Abura Asebu Kwamankɛse District (AAKD) according to the 2010 
Population and Housing Census (PHC) was created from the then Mfantseman 
Municipal Council in 1988 and was officially established by the Legislative 
Instrument L.1. 1381. Abura Dunkwa is its capital town with a total population of 
about 117,185 representing 5.3% of the total population of the Central Region. It is 
bounded on the north by Assin South District, on the east by Mfantseman Municipal, 
on the south-east by a 5km stretch of the Gulf of Guinea, on the south by Cape Coast 
Metropolitan and on the west by Twifo-Heman-Lower Denkyira District. 
(www.statsghana.gov.gh).  
 
1.9.3 Data Collection Procedure 
Mfantse native-speaking participants were engaged in semi-structured interviews 
and direct observation of procedural events. Video recordings were purposively 
done to capture various scenes as well as complement ideas of concepts raised 
during the interview sessions.  
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The population of the study comprised all Akan (Mfantse) districts and 
municipalities in the Central Region of Ghana, which is the focus study area. The 
Central Region is made up of 20 districts (i.e. one (1) metropolitan, six (6) municipal 
and thirteen (13) ordinary districts. Since the focus was on the Mfantse dialect alone, 
a probability sampling technique was used to select four Mfantse districts and 40 
speakers for data collection. The four districts were Mfantseman Municipal 
Assembly, Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam District, Gomoa East District and Abura-Asebu-
Kwamankese District. The study was conducted in these Mfantse communities 
because they are known to have variations of dialectal significance which will help 
unearth the various expressions of perception and cognition in the language. Also, 
two towns each were sampled for dialectal variation purposes. These areas have not 
had much language contact and therefore helped in providing rich information for 
the research. These towns include Kyakor and Dwendaama (Mfantseman 
Municipal), Ampiah-Ajumako and Atakorase (Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam District), 
Nyanyano and Ojobi (Gomoa East District), Asebu and Abakrampa (Abura-Asebu-
Kwamankese District).  
Five (5) native-speakers from each town were purposively sampled for 
interviews. These summed up to the total of 40 participants sampled. The 40 
participants that were sampled for data collection were aged 20 and 60 years who 
have lived in the communities for not less than 10 years. Various background 
searches for inclusion of a participant in the study were considered. Thus, criteria 
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such as knowledge of language (language competence), gender, (both male and 
female) educated and non-educated were considered in the selection procedure.  
In order to check for language competence, interviews with participants’ 
knowledge on language showed that they have not had lots of language contact with 
other languages and have lived in the communities over 10 years. Other members 
in the community also confirmed participants’ language vitality. This criterion was 
carefully chosen in relation to Bowern’s (2008:131) assertion that “the ideal 
consultant is a native speaker of the language under study… who has no speech 
impediments, [and] are fluent storytellers, and like thinking about and being creative 
with language. They [also] have very clear articulation and infinite patience”. 
With the issue of gender, the literature attests (Bowen 2008) that females are 
more stationed in their communities (especially in areas where men tend to travel to 
cities for work but women don’t) than male and this makes their languages reliable, 
but because there should be balancing in ideas, both male and females need to be 
considered in the selection of language consultant (Bowern 2008). In view of this, 
this study considered gender issues in the selection of participants for data 
collection. The criteria on educated and uneducated were also considered because 
while the uneducated participants helped in providing the form of the language, the 
educated facilitated in the decision making of clarifying the correct and non-correct 
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form of the data (Bowern 2008). All participants who satisfied these criteria were 
selected to be part of the study. 
  Participation in this research was voluntary, so only consenting participants 
were allowed in the study after the objectives had been explained to them. Those 
who agreed to participate in the study were made to sign a consent form (see 
Appendix IV). However, participants who satisfied the requirements but did not 
wish to take part in the study were excluded. A brief information about the total 
number of respondents is provided in table 1.4. 
Table 1.4 A Table Representing the List of the Consultants 
Identity Name Age Sex Town Occupation 
1. AA Araba 50 Female Abakrampah  Food vendor  
Ahenma 
2. AA Aba 48 Female Abakrampah Fish monger  
Apietua 
3. UA Uncle 50 Male Abakrampah Head of a clan 
Kojo 
4. EF Ekua 52 Female Abakrampah Palm oil processor 
Fenyiwa 
5. AF Araba 49 Female Abakrampah Fish monger 
Fowaa 
6. KO Kojo 54 Male Attakurase Linguist 
Osidu 
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7. KT Kojo 52 Male Attakurase hunter 
Takyi 
8. MS  Maame 39 Female Attakurase Gari processor 
Sekyiwa 
9. UG Uncle 39 Male Attakurase Farmer 
Goman 
10. EB Esi 51 Female Asebu Fish monger 
Benyiwa 
11. EA Ekua 60 Female Asebu Palm oil processor 
Akyerewa 
12. SA Sister 45 Female  Ampia- Gari processor 
Ama  Ajumako 
13. AA Aunty 52   Ampia- Kenkey processor 
Asarewa Female Ajumako 
14. UA Uncle 59  Male  Ampia-  
Okaa Ajumako 
Hunter 
15. UO Uncle 58 Male Ampia- Word caver 
Osam Ajumako 
16. AB Aunty B 57 Female Ampia- Oil Processor 
Ajumako 
17. KA Kwame 51 Male Dwendama Hunter  
Ayirifa 
18. AB Aunty 65 Female Dwendama Oil Processor and kenkey 
Mansa processor 
19. AZ Adjoa 33 Female Dwendama Trader 
Zenabu 
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20. KT Kofi 60 Male Dwendama Farmer 
Tetteh 
21. EN Esi Nana 29 Female Asebu Oil Processor 
22. KA Kweku 58 Male Kyakor Farmer 
Akunor 
23. EM Esi 60 Female Kyakor Soap processor 
Mbrowa 
24. OT Opanyin 63 Male Kyakor Goldsmith  
Tawiah 
25. OA Opanyin 55 Male Dwendama Weaver/linguist  
Akim 
26. SO Sister 58 Female Asebu Kenkey processor 
Obo 
27. OK Opanyin 59 Male Asebu Farmer 
Kofi 
28. UK Uncle 48 Male Attakurase Blacksmith 
Kodwo 
29. AA Aunty 59 Female Kyakor Kenkey processor 
Ama 
30. AE Aba 40 Female Kyakor Orange farmer 
Esoun 
31. TA Teacher 35 Male ojobi Teacher 
Atta 
32. GA Gifty 29 Female Ojobi  Teacher 
Ackon 
33. NO Nana Obo 36 Male  Ojobi  Mechanics  
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34. US Uncle 45 Male Ojobi  Driver 
Sam 
35. AA Aunty 47 Female  Ojobi  House wife 
Ansaba 
36. AO Aba Odur 38 Female  Nyanyano  Fish monger 
37. KN Kwesi 46 Male  Nyanyano Fisherman 
Nyarko 
38. PK Papa 51 Male  Nyanyano Teacher  
Kuma 
39. PE Papa 31 Male Nyanyano Electrician 
Ephraim  
40. AD Adwoa 39 Female  Nyanyano Nurse  
Dede 
Bondze 
 
1.9.3.1 Data Elicitation 
In the elicitation process, both the controlled and the spontaneous methods were 
used. The spontaneous method of elicitation helped participants to speak freely 
about concepts relating to perception and cognition in Akan (Mfantse) while the 
controlled method of elicitation was done through the use of a semi-structured 
interview procedure. This line of conversation was guided by the researcher. Both 
audio and video recordings were used in the elicitation process. The sentences in the 
interview schedule were confirmed with the consultants (native speakers) in the 
communities and other Akan (Mfantse) language researchers who speak and 
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understand the language. This was done to establish face validity of the questions 
before being used. The content validity of the instrument was also cross-checked 
with language experts. Their comments were carefully considered before 
administering the questions. Data collected was analysed using content analysis.  
On the field, four trained consultants were guided to engage participants in 
both spontaneous and controlled elicitation processes involving procedural activities 
such as food processing, production of body ornaments, preparation of favourite 
food and cloth weaving. They were also asked to describe people they admire, their 
likes and dislikes. This process is supported by Levinson et al. (2007) who mention 
that it is important to evaluate how people talk when assessing or describing 
procedural events. In view of that further interview questions (as a means of 
probing) and discussions followed after the narration. 
 Background information of participants such as: age, number of years 
participants have stayed in the community and educational background were 
considered before the interview began. During the interview sessions, participants 
were asked some questions as follows: (1) List all the taste, smell, hear, touch and 
vision terms you can identify. (2) In what contexts or circumstances (E.g. funeral 
rites, marriage rites, marriage experiences etc.) are these terms used and whether all 
people use the terms in the same way and in all situations or there are differences? 
(3) Describe your favourite meal, how is palm oil prepared, how do you prepare 
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kenkey etc. These questions were written in English however, they were elicited in 
the Mfantse dialect. 
I adapted the questions in the Field Manual of Max Planck Institute for 
Psycholinguistics (MPI) Language and Cognition Volume 141 (Kendrick & Majid 
2011) and modified them to suit the situation on the ground. This was designed to 
facilitate narration and elicitation of natural speech on a wide range of topics such 
as funeral rites, marriage rites, marriage experiences, and encountering problems 
(assessing emotions, feelings, thinking etc.) Others include food processing, 
description of objects (sugar, salt, drinks, spray etc.), description of symptoms of 
diseases and preparation of different dishes. This is found in the interview questions 
in Appendix I. 
 
 
1 ‘The Language and Cognition Field Manuals and Stimulus Materials’ 
http://fieldmanuals.mpi.nl. This site contains materials for field elicitation of 
semantics and the field collection of verbal behaviour. These are unique resources 
that have been compiled over twenty years of investigation of under-studied 
languages by the former Language and Cognition department at the Max Planck 
Institute for Psycholinguistics. 
 
 
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1.9.3.2 Processing the Data  
A total of forty (40) recordings, constituting a time period of 02hrs: 45mins: 27ss of 
audio files were collected as well as some video recordings. In processing the data, 
recordings were transcribed with the help of some of the trained language 
consultants for purposes of clarity and were later saved on a laptop. Various themes 
that emerged in relation to the purpose of the study as well as the relevant literature 
were identified and coded. The transcribed data was then labelled. In the description 
of the labelled comments from the participants or direct relevant quotes from the 
data, the abbreviated form of the name of the town and the speaker’s number in the 
recording process were used to code the data illustrated in the thesis for anonymity 
purposes.  The coding system shows where the data was collected and who provided 
it. Also, the coded data helped show the practicality of data usage in the analysis.  
For example, KYSP2 means, data was provided from the second speaker from 
Kyakor town. Sample texts with glosses which reflect the topic of the study can be 
found in Appendix II of the thesis. 
The findings of the research were validated by sending the feedback to the 
participants and other language experts who took part in the study for confirmation 
purposes. I made sure all comments and sentences emerged from the data and 
evidences were firmly grounded in the findings without any influence by the 
researcher. 
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1.9.3.3 Representation of Text Examples in the Thesis 
The recorded data was transcribed and analysed using the Leipzig Glossing Rules 
which has three levels of representation; the phonemic transcription of the 
utterances, interlinear morphemic glossing and the free translation in English as in 
(22) below: 
22. Esi         hú -ǹ                         m̀-bówá        nó. 
      Esi         see-COMPL             PL.animal   DEF 
     ‘Esi saw the animals.’ 
 
 
1.10 Ethical Consideration 
According to Berg (2007), researchers in Social Sciences owe professional ethical 
obligations to the human subject and the real world they collect data from in order 
to honour and ensure confidentiality made to them. This means that ethical issues 
are critical to research since it holds the integrity in research activities; for this 
reason, researchers cannot overlook issues of ethics (Bell & Bryman 2007). 
Following these arguments and the University of Ghana’s Policy on Ethics, I 
ensured that ethical considerations were followed in the course of the research. This 
was done by seeking approval from the University of Ghana Research Ethics 
Committee for the Humanities before gathering data for the study. The certified 
protocol number is ECH 150/17-18. The approved letter can be found in Appendix 
III of the thesis. 
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Also, as part of ensuring confidentiality of the data recordings, the data will 
be accessible to only the principal investigator and the trained research assistants. 
Transcribed data have been placed on a special project computer with codes which 
are accessible to only the principal investigator. Special codes have been placed on 
the files in a folder on the special computer.  Data has also been stored on several 
external hard drives, pen drives and CDs for back up purposes. Data will be kept 
confidential for about two to five years and will not be released to a second or a third 
party for any reason whatsoever.  
 
1.11 The Structure of the Study 
The study is structured into six chapters. Chapter one discusses the introductory 
information about the study. It provides the general background issues such as the 
objectives and research questions of the study. It continues to look at the general 
background knowledge of the Akan language and also the sociolinguistic status of 
the research districts. It also presents some of the previous linguistic features of 
Akan which includes some phonological and morpho-syntactic issues that are 
significant for proper understanding of some of the topics in this thesis. It shows the 
methodological approach from which data was gathered and also the ethical 
consideration for carrying out the study.  
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Chapter two is dedicated to the theoretical underpinnings that guide the 
study. It also reviews the literature on perception and cognition expressions and 
discusses the various contributions on the topic in the literature. The cognitive 
linguistics framework is also discussed in this chapter.  
Chapter three is concerned with the semantics of the perception verbs (hwε 
and hu) and the various constructions and meanings that characterised this domain. 
The vision sense is classified as the universal and most preferred sense; this chapter 
examines the diverse meanings of vision and find out whether there are or not some 
semantic bases for this or there are different explanations to that. It goes on to find 
out whether or not Akan conforms to this universality of the hierarchy of perception.  
In chapter four, the semantics of taste (gustatory) expressions is examined. 
The chapter shows the various arguments taste categories select. The physiological 
and metaphorical extensions are also discussed.  
Chapter five is dedicated to the semantics of olfactory, auditory and tactile 
expressions.  
Chapter six draws conclusions, presents the summary of findings of the 
study and recommends projections for future research. 
 
 
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CHAPTER TWO 
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 
 
2.1 Introduction 
This chapter discusses the theoretical framework that guides the study and a review 
of related literature on the subject. Section 2.1 discusses the cognitive linguistic 
(henceforth CL) framework. Section 2.2 reviews current scholarly literature on the 
various aspects of perception and cognition and their contributions to this study.  
 
2.2 Cognitive Linguistics  
One of the emergent approaches in linguistic inquiry is cognitive linguistics (CL). 
Studies into cognitive linguistics began in the 1970s (Evans and Green 2006; Croft 
& Cruse 2004). According to Janda (2010) CL traces its root from Eleanor Rosch, 
a cognitive psychologist’s work on human categorization. This study examines the 
intellectual capability of the human mind in relation to how objects are classified 
into different categories. Apart from Rosch’s work, other studies in cognitive 
science, especially cognitive psychology and brain sciences, contributed to the 
emergence of cognitive linguistics. During the same period that CL began, linguists 
such as George Lakoff, John R. Ross, Paul Postal and James McCawley had also 
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begun the generative semantics programme. This programme had its basis from 
transformational generative grammar but it was not in conformism to Chomsky’s 
notion on generative grammar though some ideas (analysing language stressing on 
‘semantic deep structure’ that is linked to ‘surface structure by transformation’) in 
the generative semantics were from Chomsky’s 1965 book Aspects of the Theory 
of Syntax (Bagha 2011). The underlying concept that aligned generative semantics 
was that it did not analyse syntax separately from semantics; it always incorporated 
ideas of syntax into semantics and pragmatics. According to Bagha (2011), because 
lots of controversies arose against the programme, its ideas were later integrated into 
cognitive linguistics. These studies challenged cognitive linguists who were 
interested in the study of language and the mind, to develop this theory to analyse 
language issues that relate to the human mind. Their main aim was to have a broad 
scope of theory that can be used to investigate language issues related to cognitive 
activities. Consequently, cognitive linguistics was seen as an interdisciplinary 
approach to examine language and mental experiences in a holistic way. In support 
of this idea, this is what Geeraerts & Cuyckens (2007:3) had to say “throughout this 
theoretical and ‘‘sociological’’ introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, we will 
emphasize that Cognitive Linguistics is not a single theory of language, but rather a 
cluster of broadly compatible approaches.” 
Today, it is one of the fastest growing approaches to analysing linguistic data 
due to increasing acceptance of the approach in empirical studies relating to 
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cognitive events. Some of the leading cognitive linguists who promoted this 
movement include George Lakoff (1991), Ronald Langacker (1987), Leonard 
Talmy (2000), and Gilles Fauconnier (2006). Though these linguists work in 
different areas of cognitive linguistics, they all come to the realisation that meaning 
is central to linguistics inquiry. 
Cognitive linguistics (CL) focuses on the relationship between language use 
and the mind, as well as the relationship between socio-physical experiences and the 
world. Evans & Green (2006) noted that cognitive linguistics differs from other 
approaches to the study of language because its central objective emphasises the 
human mind in relation to language use. Evans (2007) makes a similar observation 
and points out that CL looks at the connection between the mind and how language 
is used in the world around us.  
Dirven (2005) notes that CL deals with linguistic phenomena which relate 
to mental activities and human experiences; interaction of the body with the 
environment, opinions of people, understanding, feelings and other sensory 
activities. He continues that CL looks at language as part of human cognition which 
has constant interaction with other cognitive abilities. Cognitive linguistics therefore 
provides a broad scope of ideas that allows speakers to express their thought or 
perspective to communicate specific meaning to their hearers and also help bring 
clarity in linguistic knowledge and every day experiences. It extends its inquiry to 
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pragmatic use of language, demonstrating that as we study language, we illustrate 
the practicality of its usage. Supporting the above claim, Fauconnier (2006) 
comments that:  
Cognitive linguistics recognizes that the study of language is the study of 
language use and that when we engage in any language activity, we draw 
unconsciously on vast cognitive and cultural resources, call up models and 
frames, set up multiple connections, coordinate large arrays of information, 
and engage in creative mappings, transfers, and elaborations (2006:1)  
Cognitive linguistics also seeks to address the issue of meaning as embodiment, 
where the human body is considered to provide meaningful expressions as the body 
interacts with the mind and the world (Neagu 2013). Two notions relate to 
embodiment— metaphor and metonymy. These two notions play major roles in 
cognitive linguistics research. Metaphor reveals the inherent conceptual meanings 
about a basic concept; it maps one idea onto another. It also means understanding a 
concept in terms of a different concept. Metonymy, on the other hand, depicts how 
one notion is used in place of the other. 
In addition to the above discussions, Langacker (1987) looks at CL as the 
interconnectedness that exists between various philosophies and the structure of 
language. His notion reveals that CL seeks to incorporate various analyses of 
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linguistic structures including cognitive semantics and functional syntax. To him, 
meaning is a cognitive phenomenon and must eventually be analysed as such.  
Furthermore, the approach seeks to provide answers to some of the 
inadequacies of the Chomskyan approach to analysing language. Major linguistic 
investigations concentrated on syntax. Thus, issues concerning grammar were 
central in most linguistic analyses. The generative approach investigated syntactic 
structures of language in terms of discrete mathematical symbols. These symbols 
related to only abstract frames without paying attention to what these frames mean 
and what they portray to the physical world. Again, the symbols were based on 
formulation of rules to examine syntactic properties, neglecting meaning of mental 
experiences (how the human mind organises, synthesises and uses language on the 
basis of psychological prowess) in language studies. The gap between meaning and 
language structure, that is, cognitive abilities, is what CL seeks to fill. 
In the broad range of approaches to cognitive linguistics, though the idea of 
conceptual meaning is vital to language studies, it also allows linguistic structures 
to reflect conceptual meaning structure (Ansah 2011). Ansah’s comment shows that 
conceptual meaning and linguistic structures work hand in hand. It again shows that 
cognitive linguistic analysis goes beyond linguistic structures where grammatical 
structures are analysed as disconnected properties from meaning. Instead it looks in 
detail at all meanings relating to cognitive functions, bearing in mind experiences in 
the world.  
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Jacobsen (2012), in agreement with this statement, mentions that cognitive 
linguistics approaches the study of language from the perspective of the cognition 
domain. That is, language learning is rooted in the overall cognitive abilities of 
humans.  This theory moves away from the abstract analysis of language structure 
to a more pragmatic analysis of the human mind. Arguing from this point one can 
say that the underlying tenet of cognitive linguistics is that:  
Cognitive linguistics rejects the claim that the human mind is organized into 
distinct ‘encapsulated’ modules of knowledge, one of which is language, and 
that these modules serve to digest raw sensory input in such a way that it can 
then be processed by the central cognitive systems (involving deduction, 
reasoning, memory and so on). [It continues] to reject the claim that there is 
a distinct language module which asserts that linguistic structures and 
organization are markedly distinct from other aspects of cognition (Evans 
and Green 2006:41). 
It can be noted from the above discussions that cognitive linguistics operates on the 
holistic analysis of language where logical, coherent and meaningful ideas are 
expressed. And so Talmy (2000) sums the idea about cognitive linguistics as a large 
framework of approaches that help analyse language relating to cognitive structures. 
 
 
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2.3 Commitments of Cognitive Linguistics 
There are two commitments that set cognitive linguistics apart from other 
approaches to investigating linguistic data. These commitments are Generalisation 
Commitment and Cognitive Commitment (Lakoff 1991).  
 
2.3.1 Generalisation Commitment 
Generalisation commitment is a guiding ideology that supports the broad scope of 
all areas of language (Lakoff 1990). This commitment searches for all possible 
generalisations that can be made about the different language components (syntax, 
semantics, phonology, morphology, pragmatics etc.) in language studies (Evans & 
Green 2006). It addresses what is common and standard for language analysis. It 
analyses the various aspects of meanings from the cognitive domains as a holistic 
approach rather than treating them as discrete elements (Lakoff 1990). According 
to Lakoff the generalisation commitment allows for a range of meanings as far as 
the linguistic data can exhibit to bring about rich ideas that language can reveal 
through thought. Supporting this assertion, Evans (2012) comments that: 
Generalisation commitment represents a commitment to openly 
investigating how the various aspects of linguistic knowledge emerge from 
a common set of human cognitive abilities upon which they draw, rather than 
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assuming that they are produced in an encapsulated module of the mind, 
consisting of distinct knowledge types of subsystems (2012:3).  
Generalisation commitment also helps to identify what is common among aspects 
of language and the generalisations that can be used to analyse the communication 
competence, understanding and experiences of the world. 
From the standpoint of generalisation commitment, there should be 
generalisations that should characterise the various grammatical structures in the 
language. For instance, there should be generalisations about semantic approaches 
to linguistic data and competencies that can help unearth the conceptual abilities of 
the human mind. This and other generalisations should help analyse other forms of 
linguistic notions (Lakoff 1991). 
Lakoff’s statement reveals general understanding of how various aspects of 
language learning develop from a collective set of guidelines from a cognitive point 
of view. This commitment digresses from the formal approach (generative 
grammar) which claims that a component of language should be seen as a distinct 
element from the other divisions in linguistics and therefore should be analysed 
independently.  This argument is reiterated by Evans & Green (2006): 
Generative grammar (developed by Chomsky) usually argues that areas such 
as Syntax; Semantics and Phonology concern significantly different kinds of 
structuring principles operating over different kinds of primitives. For 
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instance, a syntax ‘module’ is an area in the mind concerned with structuring 
words into sentences, whereas a phonology ‘module’ is concerned with 
structuring sounds into patterns permitted by the rules of any given language, 
and by human language in general (Evans & Green 2006:28). 
Cognitive linguists uphold the view that various areas in language studies must 
ideally not be treated as discrete unit but in holistic way where all related ideas that 
arise from these areas must be analysed together. The argument is that concepts have 
united resemblance in terms of their philosophical underpinnings; thus, these 
concepts must have mutually dependent relationship. Hence, not a single member 
should be independent in its own right. For example, in analysing cognitive 
activities there should be a connection between the conceptual ideas and  
grammatical structures. We cannot do away with grammatical contents that might 
arise in the analysis process of linguistic data nor can we treat cognitive activities 
separately from grammatical structures. There will be common issues that will be 
associated with them and must be addressed as such.  
 
2.3.2 Cognitive Commitment 
Cognitive commitment discusses how the human mind operates at the level of 
language and the various interpretations it gives to reality around us. This 
commitment points out that the varied meanings that language activates will not in 
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any way be the same for all people because meanings are expressed differently by 
people through their own psychological experiences. It helps provide meaning to 
what exists in the brain as well as what is in the world outside.   
As part of cognitive commitment principles, Evans (2012) outlines a number of 
concrete effects that cognitive commitment exhibits. 
(a) Firstly, linguistic theories cannot include structures or processes that 
violate what is known about human cognition. For example, if sequential 
derivation of syntactic structures violates time constraints provided by 
actual human language processing, then it must be jettisoned. 
(b) Secondly, models that employ established cognitive properties to explain 
language phenomena are more parsimonious than those that are built from 
a priori simplicity metrics (such as Chomskyan elegance— the view that 
a theoretical model should eschew redundancy of representation in favour 
of parsimony as a matter of principle, regardless as to whether such is 
supported by the empirical facts).  
(c) Finally, the cognitive linguistic researcher is charged with establishing 
convergent evidence for the cognitive reality of components of any model 
proposed— whether or not this research is conducted by the cognitive 
linguist (Evans 2012:2). 
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These commitments allow researchers to examine language from broader 
perspectives, taking into consideration the standard generalisations and cognitive 
commitments about the nature of language and how the brain works as we interact 
with the world.  
 
 
2.4 Branches of Cognitive Linguistics  
Cognitive linguistics approach to language study has two major divisions— 
cognitive grammar and cognitive semantics (Evans & Green 2006).  It is clear from 
the literature that meaning and linguistic structures complement each other; none is 
independent in its own right. Thus, meaning and structure are entwined to explain 
linguistic ideas as well as describe the various components, none of which is void 
of meaning. Though some linguists, notably Langacker, have extended the notion 
of cognitive linguistics to cover phonology, these two main subfields of cognitive 
linguistics are what this study is built on. The two main subfields of cognitive 
linguistics are diagrammatically shown below: 
 
 
 
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Figure 2.1 Subfields of Cognitive Linguistics 
 
Cognitive Linguistics 
 The study of a language in a way that is compatible with what is known about 
the human mind, treating language as reflecting and revealing the mind. 
  
 Cognitive Semantics Cognitive approaches to Grammar 
The study of the relationship between The study of the symbolic linguistic  
 
experience, embodied cognition and units that comprise language 
language  
  
 
Adapted from (Evans & Green 2006:50)                       
 
The model explains the  relationship between the outside world domains which is 
co-opted into how the brain works with respect to knowledge of meaning embodied 
 
in language learning. 
 
 
 
2.4.1 Cognitive Gramm ar 
Cognitive grammar is  a model which describes conceptual knowledge as image 
schemas or concepts that relate to our mental capabilities. The term was known 
 
originally as ‘space grammar’ developed by Langacker (1982). It is also seen as one 
 
of the cognitive approaches to the analysis of linguistic structures in relation to 
 
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semantic representations and thus connecting meaning with conceptual 
representations. 
This model does not look at the term ‘grammar’ as just a constituent of 
language which discusses construction of sentences. Rather, it considers grammar 
in a broader sense to refer to the holistic approach which integrates meaning and 
structure as one unit. The model also supports the generalisation commitment in 
cognitive linguistics in the sense that it embodies all the possible generalisations that 
describe all the grammatical structures in language. Cognitive grammar assumes 
that it is not possible to investigate linguistic structures without making reference to 
the sensory experiences in the world (Evans et al. 2007). There is interdependency 
activity that allows for cognitive practices and grammatical interaction.   Supporting 
this claim, Langacker (1986) points out that:  
Cognitive grammar assumes that language is neither self-contained nor 
describable without essential reference to cognitive processing [and that] 
grammatical structures do not constitute an autonomous formal system or 
level of representation. They are claimed instead to be inherently symbolic, 
providing for the structuring and conventional symbolization of conceptual 
content. […] [Thus,] it is ultimately as pointless to analyze grammatical units 
without reference to their semantic value; [it is the same as] writing a 
dictionary which omits the meanings of its lexical items (1986:1). 
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Langacker’s (1986) comments above show that cognitive grammar goes beyond the 
formal approach of analysing the internal structures of language independently 
without considering meaning. That is, it deviates from the traditional system of 
analysing grammar in terms of ‘words and rules.’ Cognitive grammar integrates 
meaning in the exploration of grammatical structures. Thus, grammatical structures 
and semantic values are very significant in the investigation of language. They are 
indispensable modules that cannot be separated.  He says this to support the fact that 
grammar and meaning are critical in linguistic analysis; Langacker (2013) argues 
that  
…grammar is meaningful. This is so in two respects. For one thing, the 
elements of grammar—like vocabulary items—have meanings in their own 
right. Additionally, grammar allows us to construct and symbolize the more 
elaborate meanings of complex expressions (like phrases, clauses, and 
sentences). It is thus an essential aspect of the conceptual apparatus through 
which we apprehend and engage the world. And instead of being a distinct 
and self-contained cognitive system, grammar is not only an integral part of 
cognition but also a key to understanding it (2013: 13). 
This relationship is what Langacker calls ‘network model’ (Langacker 2002), while 
Evans (2007) sees this intertwining relationship as an organised network. 
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Furthermore, cognitive linguists relate cognitive grammar to symbols where 
there is no difference between syntax and the lexicon. Evans & Green (2006) see 
this as ‘symbolic’ (symbols that contain the linguistic units involving grammatical 
structures) (cf. Langacker 1987; 2001; 2008; 2013-- symbolic assemblies). This is 
because the symbols contain the linguistic units involving grammatical structures, 
sounds, morphemes and meanings that exist in the real world which are illustrated 
in our conceptual experiences. For example, the word see can be represented as a 
symbolic unit that consists of two sound segments [s] and [i:]. These segments are 
represented as phonological units in the language structure. The word see can also 
have TENSE represented as saw. The past morpheme ‘–ed’ represents the 
grammatical units in the symbolic unit – saw. This development is associated with 
patterns called ‘instantiation’ (Langacker 2000); that is, a specific instance of usage 
in the language. The examples show that phonological rules as well as grammatical 
rules can be seen as symbolic units that can represent meanings in the language 
structure as well as the world around us. This specific instance of use corresponds 
to schemas. An example of instantiation of a schema adapted from Langacker (1998: 
2) is illustrated below: 
Figure 2.2 Instantiation Schema 
 
L U 
A B 
 
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                An instantiation of a schema from Langacker 1998:2   
In Langacker’s (1998) explanation of the diagram above, the box labelled L, 
exemplifies the pool of ideas or collection of expressions while the circle labelled 
U, shows how these expressions are used. The box labelled A in the depository unit 
indicates the standardised unit or the laid-down rules that govern the standard usage 
and structure of the language. For example, in Akan, subject NPs precede verbs and 
adjectives come after the item they modify as illustrated below: 
1a. ↄ́-kɔ̀                                ǹsú 
3SG.SUBJ.go-HAB      water 
‘S/he fetches water.’ 
 
 
1b.     àtàŕ      fúfúẃ 
          Dress    white 
         ‘White dress.’ 
In example (1a), the third person singular subject pronoun ɔ ‘s/he’ is put together 
with the verb kɔ̀ ‘go’ in the construction while in b, the adjective fúfúẃ ‘white’ comes 
after the noun head àtàr̀ ‘dress’. This is the standard usage in Akan.  
The circle labelled B therefore selects from A some of the expressions, 
words, and concepts in the unit to illustrate the standard usage. This kind of 
relationship is indicated by the arrow which illustrates that B instantiates schema A. 
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Thus, B can be seen as an example of A. Here meaning is crucial because within the 
cognitive grammar model, grammatical unit emanates as a result of language use. 
 
2.4.2 Cognitive Semantics  
Cognitive linguists have argued that knowledge of the world is best investigated 
through language use. Cognitive semantics as the other subfield of cognitive 
linguistics focuses on meaning. Yet, it differs from the formal approach to semantics 
(that pays attention to the use of symbols) in the sense that its fundamental focus is 
on conceptual and world experiences in analysing linguistic data. Tamly (2000) 
looks at language as wholly conceptual and thus refers to semantics as conceptual 
structures of a language in relation to how humans think. Hence, Tamly (2000) sees 
semantics as intrinsically cognitive, in that meaning is independent of the mind.  
Langacker (2008) argues that since meanings reside in the minds of users who 
construct and understand the expressions, it is best for them to properly interpret 
experiences in the world. 
This assertion is also reiterated in Kuznetsow’s (2015) notion of cognitive 
semantics; he observes that cognitive semantics is about the “…relationship of 
words to thoughts but it is also about relationship of words to other human concerns. 
[Thus, it is] about the relationship of words of reality: the way that speakers commit 
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themselves to a shared understanding of truth, and the way their thought are 
anchored to things and situations in the world” (2015:308).  The statement shows 
that meanings of words are epitomised in the minds of the speakers as concept which 
reflect in their understanding of things around them as they use language. 
Again, these explanations above portray that meaning resides in the human 
mental faculty which is in constant relationship with the various aspects of the body 
and the physical environment which our bodies interact with (Evans et al. 2007).  
Langacker (2008) supporting this statement indicates that speakers who really 
understand and use the language value its importance in relation to the cognitive 
experiences. Per the cognitivists notion, for someone to be interested in a particular 
language s/he must understand the practical usage of it in terms of how members of 
a community give judgemental interpretations of their experiences.  
In cognitive semantics, understanding a language is basically part of the whole 
cognitive activities of humans and that grammar reveals the linguistic forms that are 
evident in the world (Janda 2010). Accordingly, the structures of grammar (the 
arrangement of ideas) are explained through the use of language. These two units 
are seen as an integrated module that helps in analysing structures and meanings in 
cognitive semantics. In order to understand and give interpretations to linguistic 
structures, it is important that the abstract symbols (grammar) interact with the 
cognitive properties to unearth the various meanings in the world (Langacker 2008). 
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As a major branch of cognitive linguistics, it can be deduced from the 
statements above that cognitive semantics does not accept the traditional way of 
analysing linguistic structures in discrete forms — morphology, syntax, pragmatics, 
phonology and phonetics. In view of that, these discrete structures are to be 
examined in integrated way. There are four guiding principles that characterise 
cognitive semantics (Evans et al. 2007). Each of these principles is discussed below: 
The four guiding principles of cognitive semantics are as follows: 
(i) Conceptual structure is embodied (the ‘embodied cognition thesis’) 
(ii) Semantic structure is conceptual structure. 
(iii) Meaning representation is encyclopaedic. 
(iv) Meaning construction is conceptualisation. 
 
2.4.2.1 Conceptual Structure is Embodied 
The first  principle of cognitive semantics, the thesis of embodied cognition, 
generally discusses how the body permeates our perceptual activities of the world. 
The way we behave, think and understand things around us reveals the way our 
bodies are structured and how they interact with the physical world as we move 
about. 
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Lakoff & Johnson (1999) state that the mind is characteristically seen as an 
embodied symbol which reveals knowledge of experiences in the world as the body 
interacts with the environment. Thus, the ability of the individual to reason and 
exhibit intellectual skills originates from the sensory experiences of the individual. 
In view of this, Lakoff & Johnson (2003) point out that language is considered an 
exceptionally embodied action. Juřík (2015) affirms that the effect of embodiment 
on human thought is very significant in life experiences. That is, the study of 
language focuses on the body-mind relationship where the various parts of the body 
relate to the psychological orientations of the individual (physical and psychological 
relationship).  
Thompson (2012) confirms that cognition is influenced by bodily 
experiences via the brain. In the field of cognitive linguistics, this notion is described 
as ‘embodied cognition’ or ‘embodied hypothesis’ — how the body impacts the 
mind. For example, the photoreceptors of human beings are different from animals. 
While animals can have between 2-4 colour photoreceptors to distinguish colours, 
humans have only one embodiment — the eye — to discriminate colour.  
In addition, Fauconnier (2003) states that the structure of the human body 
influences the way humans use language to describe themsleves and things around 
them. That is, the human body controls the mental capabilities in resolving issues in 
the real world. For example, how the body experiences an object closer to it might 
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be different from how it experiences one farther apart from it. In this principle, 
perception relies heavily on bodily experiences and how the body reacts to these 
experiences. Embodied congition, therefore, concludes that, since embodied 
experiences of every individual differ, so do our conceptual abilities.  
Two issues are key to this thesis: (i) cognition determines the experiences that 
come out by the interaction of the body and the mind and (ii) the sensory organs that 
communicate these experiences (meanings) are deeply rooted in the psychological 
make-up of the individuals themselves (Evans 2012). So the nature of embodiment 
can reflect the background experienecs the brain displays. This relationship is what 
is characterised in cognitive linguistics as ‘meaning is embodied-semantics’.  
The embodied cognition is also connected to the conceptual or cognitive 
metaphor which helps us to conceptualise abstract concepts comprising ‘ideas’, 
‘love’, ‘life’, ‘journey’ etc. and relate them to our bodily experience and experiences 
of our social life. Lakoff & Johnson (2003) point out that conceptual metaphor 
shapes the way we think and reason in terms of real life experiences, thus they call 
this relationship experientialism or experiential realism (Lakoff & Johnson 2003). 
Thus, metaphor is about time, space, moving or controlling objects-- the core 
elements of embodiedment. This is because metaphors are prevalent in everyday life 
experiences. 
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1. Cognitive metaphors also help to understand one concept in relation to 
another idea. It is a transfer of meaning of one concept unto the other; this also 
reflects our cognitive experiences. So cognitivists put this relation into mapping, 
where a concrete concept – Source domain (that arises from everyday life 
experiences) is mapped unto a target domain (abstract ideas). For example, in 
analysing the metaphor. TIME IS MONEY, we get to understand that ‘time’ in this 
expression is related to money. We can actually waste or save time; we can gain 
from or lose its benefit. If we really plan our time well and use it appropriately, we 
achieve our goal or set target which in the long run can earn us money. In 
consequence, it illustrates that ‘time’ well spent is more fulfilling or gratifying than 
‘time’ wasted; which reflects the characteristics of money. So, time is quantified in 
relation to the features of money.  We can imagine people who don’t value and use 
time profitably, just as people who don’t value and use money well, what will their 
bahavoiurs and lives be? This is related to the fact that generally, time is seen as a 
treasured package. This is what it means for this metaphorical expression: TIME IS 
MONEY. Thus, Money is concrete; its benefits are palpable so we expand this 
notion to the abstract domain of ‘time’. 
2. These two concepts are different kinds of entities but we regard ‘time’ in terms 
of money. So when we think of TIME, we spend, steal, save, waste, invest wisely 
or poorly just as we do to MONEY. Here, the basic idea of money is understood as 
the concrete domain while time is considered as the abstract domain. Thus, the 
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chracteristics of the concept in the source domain – MONEY is transferred to the 
target  domain TIME. We can have a similar example in Akan since metaphors are 
also pervasive in Akan; ɔbra yε kõ ‘LIFE IS WAR’. In this metaphor, life is 
associated with war, in that we can lose life or win (gain our lives). Thus, the natural 
life in general is a matter of battle; if we live it well, we gain and vice versa. So, we 
need to plan strategies, defend and secure our own lives; where we feel insecure and 
indefensible to win the battle, we have to either leave the present situation or device 
new line of attack to make life easier for us to win.  
All activities in connection with life are geared towards the concept of battling 
or war although we don’t engage in physical battle, the various events in life tell it 
all. It is in this sense that Life is argued to be War. Thus, the metaphor, ɔbra yε kõ 
‘LIFE IS WAR’. 
In this discussion, the conceptual  similarities of ‘Time’ and ‘Money’ and 
‘Life’ and ‘War’ are revealed. In metaphorical expressions (transfer), this relation 
is called systematicity – an equivalence system where ideas act in similar ways 
(Lakoff & Johnson 2003).  
 
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2.4.2.2 Semantic Structure is Conceptual Structure 
This is the second principle in cognitive semantics. The semantic structure principle 
breaks meanings into smaller units within the conceptual structure. It shows that the 
discrete units that make up language can be linked with these smaller meanings in 
the conceptual structure. This is because the units in the language system interrelate 
with each other and reflect the relationship these smaller meanings have with the 
conceptual structure. Also, it points out that meanings reside in the minds of the 
speakers. These reasons allow cognitive semanticists to link semantic structure to 
conceptual structure. Evans & Green (2006) indicate that semantic structure is 
incorporated in conceptual structure. This shows how people understand 
morphemes, sounds, words and sentences, and interpret them by providing correct 
explanations to reflect the meanings of these units in the language system. These 
smaller units become sub-units within the conceptual domain. So semantic structure 
implies conceptual structure. 
 
2.4.2.3 Meaning Representation is Encyclopaedic 
The principle claims that the various denotations that a word exhibits relate to the 
varied experiences that exist in the world. The knowledge that these denotations 
unveil do not exist independently but are understood to have their references to the 
information in the encyclopaedia to which they connect (Evans 2012). For example 
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the word ‘bachelor’ has different contextual meanings than when it is identified in 
isolation, as illustrated below: 
2. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in English Education from University of Education  
3. Mr. Amponsah, my uncle, has remained a bachelor, even at age 50.  
The noun ‘bachelor’ in example (2), relates to a first degree from a university 
or other academic institutions while ‘bachelor’ in example (3), refers to a man who 
is not, and has never been married.  
This indicates that meanings are better explained in context than in isolation. 
Full meanings of words are best obtained or described in the background knowledge 
experiences of the person as represented in context (Langacker 1987). It is with this 
notion that cognitive semanticists claim that meaning representation is 
encyclopaedic. 
 
2.4.2.4 Meaning Construction is Conceptualisation 
We have already come to realise that meanings are best identified in context and are 
related to meanings that have connection with them in the encyclopaedia. This 
principle (the fourth in the guiding principles of cognitive semantics) means that 
language helps to bring meaning in discourses. This activity helps in selecting 
meaningful words presented in dictionaries to fit into a particular discourse. 
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Whatever we conceptualise in a discourse can relate to meanings to have connection 
with them in the lexicon. According to Evans (2012) linguistic meanings rely 
heavily on our conceptual understanding of things. That is, our intellectual abilities 
contribute to the various meanings we have. 
In relation to this  meaning construction, Fauconnier & Tunner (2003) look 
at it as an account of contextual relations between ideas. They refer to this relation 
as Projection Mappings where the aspect of concept from a source domain is 
projected onto another conceptual domain, the target domain. This projection 
relation is similar to the notion of conceptual metaphor where a source domain is 
mapped onto a target domain dicussed in section 2.4.2.1. 
These discussions point to the main reason why cognitive semanticists 
connect meaning construction to conceptualisation.  
From the discussion, it is clear that cognitive linguistics is the more 
appropraite approach for analysing sensory modalities. Since, congnitive linguistics 
has lots of tenets, this study employed the cognitive semantics approach for the 
analyses of the data. The justification being that its tenets such as conceptualisation, 
embodiment and metaphor which Talmy (2000) highlight, which this study heavily 
relied on, helped provided deeper insight into the literary and metaphorical 
meanings of the expressions of perception and cognition in Akan. The nature of the 
approach which also allows for interdiscisciplinary and inter-theoretical analysis of 
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data helped in providing a broad range of linguistic expressions relating to the senses 
of the body in Akan. 
 
2.5 Literature Review  
Perception and cognition have been widely studied in Psychology, Philosophy, 
Anthropology and Cognitive Sciences. Some of the linguistic research done on 
perception and cognition verbs is mostly cross-linguistic in nature. Many 
researchers (e.g. Viberg 1984; Sweester 1990; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999; Evans & 
Wilkins 2000; Tacca 2010; Majid et al. 2018; Majid & Levinson 2011; Imre 2012; 
Aikhenvald & Storch 2013; Levinson & Majid 2014; Firestone & Scholl 2016; 
Sydhagen 2017) have looked at these expressions in different areas of linguistics in 
languages in Northern Continental Europe such as Belgium, Holland, Germany; 
North America, South America and Australia; and also in African and Oceanian 
languages.  
 
2.5.1 The Concept of Perception and Cognition  
Perception and cognition interact in many ways. Though they represent different 
mental experiences, they overlap in information distribution. There are numerous 
arguments in various researches on whether or not cognitive concepts penetrate 
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perception. These philosophical arguments about cognition and perception have 
been highly debated in the literature.  
According to Prinz (2002) every thought of a human being represents images 
of what exists in the mind (perceptual symbols). He clarifies that since perception is 
the most essential foundation of which mental images are built, ideas or knowledge 
that we have are principally the reduplicated forms of perceptual symbols. In view 
of this, he claims that cognition is characteristically perceptual and that our cognitive 
practices are deeply rooted in our perceptual experiences. Noting very well that all 
viewers (percipients) are not the same, the dissimilarities that will arise in terms of 
perception will reflect not only on the different mind-world activities, but also on 
the diverse ways in which the events enter into our cognition. Perception and 
cognition expressions, thus, express how people interact with the world in terms of 
the various judgments they give through the understanding, intuition, recognition 
and psychological orientation they have about events they perceive (Usoniene 
2002). 
In line with this, Frith (2007) argues that percipient or viewers might exhibit 
different background experiences and expectations; these variations may affect how 
they perceive things as well as exhibit knowledge of what they think about. He 
indicates that, we go through either good or bad experiences in various aspects of 
life, which later are revealed in our understanding of the world. How people behave 
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the way they behave, think the way they think and perceive the way they perceive 
are all because of how they have positioned their minds and how they interact with 
the physical world due to past experiences. This means that reaction and action we 
receive presently from the environment are by nature due to historical philosophies 
that might have arisen in relation to happenstances from the physical world. This 
even affects how we look at things and pronounce judgment on issues relating to 
our understanding of events we come across with. Frith continues to debate, 
however, that it is not always that we experience these phenomena in the world. 
Nonetheless, the brain can also create images of various kinds of sensations which 
may affect the way we think, behave and perceive things.  
To add to the above considerations, Schacter et al. (2009) make clear that in the 
event of perceiving, it is the brain that processes several sensations into meaningful 
ideas. Thus, the sense organs receive the information and transfer it to the brain, 
where the brain processes it through the identification of objects, organisation of 
concepts and understanding of thought. It can be deduced from the discussions that 
there is information sharing between the sense organs and thought which are 
exposed in our perception and knowledge distribution. This interpretation is 
associated with Tacca (2010), who points out that perception information guides our 
decisions and actions and shapes our beliefs; just as in the same way our knowledge 
influences the way we perceive the world.  
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This knowledge becomes the fundamental source for cognitive information 
which further influences perceptual practices. This kind of influence shows that 
cognitive practices depend on perceptual evidence. That is, what you think of relies 
heavily on your experiences on what you have seen or heard or know of. So, the 
perceivers’ attitude towards a particular event and/or their expectations emanates 
from their intellectual background experiences (interest, motives, social setting, 
social relationship, time, proximity etc.). As De Vries (2013:133) rightly points out, 
perception expressions are “mental response to the perceived event”. Thus, speakers 
use expressions of perception when they want to express internal conditions of 
feelings, beliefs, and opinions about events. They do that through mental response 
– understanding, interpretations and inferences. 
In a contrasting idea, Aikhenvald & Storch (2013) assert that the connection 
that exists between sensory perception and cognitive development appears to be 
distinct in relation to the various cultures they occur in. They associate these senses: 
hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling with cognition. Thus, cognition deals with 
cognitive practices such as understanding, thinking, perceiving and problem 
solving. Our sense organs therefore encode different meaningful expressions as the 
organs interact with the physical world. Speakers of language have ways of 
expressing sensory perceptions such as sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and 
also “have varied ways in which they express feelings, assumptions and inferences” 
(p.1). 
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In a similar view, Firestone & Scholl (2016) argue that cognition and perception 
are basically distinct in nature. Their argument was based on the premise that there 
is no one way the mind operates, in that, the mind has several parts which operate 
in diverse ways such that seeing shapes works differently than planning a trip. In 
the same way, understanding a novel, moving objects, memorising poems or 
expressing our emotions towards something either negative or positive, all work 
differently. Thus, emphasising that the distinct nature of perception and cognition 
are clear in the numerous visual delusions we have and the conflicting evidence 
perception and cognition convey about the world. This is seen in their statement 
“…. there may be no better way to truly feel the distinction between perception and 
cognition for yourself than to visually experience the world in a way you know it 
not to be” (2016:4).  
In order to fully understand the account of perception and cognition, Sydhagen 
(2017) clarifies that though there is a thin line between perception and cognition 
relationship, basically, they function differently in our mental life. This evidence, 
notwithstanding, it is very challenging to draw a clear-cut line between perception 
and cognition. He points out that a lot of evidence shows that “all kinds of cognitive 
state, including beliefs, purposes, and emotions, systematically interact in intricate 
ways in generating perceptual representations” (2017:3). He states that some 
linguists even doubt whether there is factual dissimilarity at all. This points to the 
reality that there are no precise views in distinguishing between perception and 
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cognition since perception varies from person to person.  For example, in perceiving, 
a pink ball may seem red to someone else or a rectangular shape can be seen as 
square by different people. This illusion of our vision can sometimes become a 
harmful behaviour than others and can create problems in understanding things 
around us. He again explains that:  
…. cognition is meant to capture, roughly, the capacity of thought. Thinking 
is unlike perceiving in that it does not essentially involve, and is not limited 
to, the here and there now. [For example, we] can think of things that 
happened years ago, even before [we] were born, [we] can wish for future 
things, [and] imagine things that have never, or will never, exist, and so on. 
[Thus,] cognition centrally involves reasoning, evaluation, knowledge, 
belief, memory, decision making and problem solving. Very roughly 
speaking, one could say that, as usually understood, while perception is the 
process of acquiring new information; cognition makes use of already 
existing information in its operations (2017:4). 
The current debates show that cognition is fed by perception and that they are not 
seen as multi-directional phenomenon.  
 
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2.5.2 The Senses, Perception and Language Use 
Diverse meanings and concepts have been explored in relation to language, senses 
and cognition. Research indicates that the idea of embodiment (one of the tenets in 
cognitive linguistics) demonstrates that meaning resides in human bodies and 
perception. This is communicated in our everyday interaction with the physical 
world (Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999).  This shows that meanings are not the same; 
different thoughts illustrate different meanings. In human existence, human beings 
express their thoughts and experiences in diverse meaningful ways. For example, 
the taste of hot pepper can be described by scientists as a perception which is 
facilitated by pain receptor.  
On the other hand, taste can be expressed in different contexts by linguists as 
expressing a sensation of flavour, savour, and appetite perceived when the mouth 
and throat come into contact with a substance. This implies that the various 
relationships (physical, social and cultural) that exist between the sensual paradigms 
have great significant influence on the conceptual experiences (Evans & Green 
2006). In other words, the sense, perception, and language interaction account for 
the conceptual experiences in the world. This view is evident in Schacter et al. 
(2009:2) who point out also that, “the mind is the private inner experience of 
perceptions, thoughts, memories and feelings.” These reflections are communicated 
through our bodily senses which come to bear in our language use. Thus, language 
allows us to organise our thoughts and help give judgmental inferences that are 
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established by experiences. This means that we need not disregard the importance 
of language when we are talking about sensory issues. The indication is that, the 
sensory organs play major roles in sending and processing information (language 
issues) based on their interactions with the environment (Majid and Levinson 2011). 
The issue of culture is another major concern when we talk about senses, 
perception and language use. Every culture has its values associated with each sense 
and a kind of lenses they use to look into or measure each particular sense in terms 
of language usage. Aikhenvald & Storch (2013) indicate that sensual information 
interacts strongly with the cultural practices of members of a community as they use 
their language. Thus, concepts of a particular sense in a particular language differ 
from one language to the other. 
Also, there are culturally specific meanings to the various senses. They buttress 
their point with the following examples; in Kapsiki of Cameroon, the sense of smell 
is associated with blacksmiths. This is because as a group, they are connected with 
the smell of a ‘totemic animal’ so whenever smell is mentioned, the idea of 
blacksmiths comes in mind first, before it can be connected with anything else. 
Similarly, in the culture of the people of East Sepik (found in Papua New Guinea), 
it is a taboo for a woman to catch a glimpse and listen to the magic flutes. So, in that 
culture, women are forbidden to see and hear the sound of the ‘magic flute’ (the 
magical sound which functions as the spirit of protection and spiritual 
communications). Hence, the sense of seeing and hearing with their values attached 
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to this flute, are very critical in that community. It is clear from these examples that 
there are cultural dichotomies in relation to the various senses Kapsiki and East 
Sepik community members come into contact with.  
Also, the phenomenal character i.e. what-it-is-like proposed by Sydhagen 
(2017) shows that what-it-is-like to touch, or hear something is totally different from 
what it is like to smell something. Thus, meanings emanate from our mental 
construal of the things around us and these meanings are demonstrated through the 
various sense organs. It can be concluded that what someone has seen, felt, believes 
in and understands, is what they express views of.  
 
2.5.3 Semantic Meanings of Perception Expressions  
2.5.3.1 The Semantic Meanings of the Five Basic Senses 
It is clear in our day-to-day interactions with the world that numerous meanings that 
are communicated are done through the senses. The senses process the evidence in 
our mental faculties and later redirect them through our perceptual experiences. 
These experiences are eminent in the broad category of perception. The class of 
‘perception’ refers to the verb class representing see, look, listen, sound, smell, 
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touch, feel and taste as well as the semantic field2 (vision, hearing, touch, smell and 
taste) which is further sub-classed into three groups in relation to the semantic role 
their subject plays (Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999).  These three groups are: 
2.5.3.1.1 Experience Verbs 
In the category, the subject does not willfully control the actions or the events. The 
experience of perceiving comes as involuntary act and therefore demonstrates a 
‘state or inchoative’ realisation. Other names given to this first group by different 
authors include ‘experience’ (Viberg 1984:123), and ‘stative with experiencer 
subject’ (Lehrer 1990: 223). Examples are illustrated in the sentences below: 
     4a. Esi saw the animals. 
b. Esi heard the voices. 
c. Esi felt a stone under her foot. 
d. Esi smelled perfume in the room. 
e. Esi tasted pepper in the food. 
In the examples above, the subject, Esi, has no control over the actions performed 
by the following sense organs: eye, ear, skin, nose and the mouth. Thus, the subject 
 
1. Semantic field is a lexical set of semantically related items, or a set of group of 
words which relate to each other in semantic way or have related meaning. These 
groups of words share similar properties and discuss common subject matter (Boran 
2018). 
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may or may not have control over the activities of perceiving. Examples can be 
demonstrated in Akan: 
5. Esi         hú-ǹ                         m̀-bówá        nó. 
            Esi         see-COMPL             PL.animal   DEF 
           ‘Esi saw the animals.’ 
 
6. Esi      tsé  - ѐ                      ǹdzé             nó 
       Esi      hear-COMPL             voice           DEF 
      ‘Esi  heard the voice.’  
 
7. Esi    tsé  - ѐ                dɛ̂              né                        náń    é-sì            bóbá     dò. 
             Esi    hear-COMPL    COMP.      3SGPOSS. SUBJ.  leg    PERF.step  stone    on 
           ‘Esi  felt she had stepped on a stone.’ 
 
 
8. Esi     tsé  - ѐ              ѐdùhúáḿ      ńkà      wɔ̀     dáń         nó             mú. 
        Esi     hear-COMPL   perfume      scent     be      house     DEF         inside 
       ‘Esi smelled perfume in the room.’ 
 
9. Esi     tsé  - ѐ           mùòkó      wɔ̀        ѐdzìbàń     nó       mú. 
       Esi      hear-COMPL  pepper      be       edziban     DEF   inside 
          ‘Esi tasted pepper in the food.’ 
 
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2.5.3.1.2 Active Perception Verbs 
According to Viberg (1984) this class of verbs represents situations where 
perceptual activities are deliberately ordered by human agents, the converse of the 
first class. This second sub-class is seen to be the ‘active perception verbs’ 
(Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999); or ‘active experiencer subject’ (Lehrer 1990:223) or 
‘active’ verbs. Instances are shown in here: 
10 a. Esi looked at the choir. 
b. Esi listened to the choir. 
c. Esi felt the cloth (to find out its texture). 
d. Esi smelled the perfume (to see if she could use it). 
e. Esi tasted the food (to see if she could eat it). 
In these examples, different lexical items are used to express the ‘active activity’ of 
the perception verbs that fall under this group.  This concept occurs in Akan too 
where hwέ ‘look’, tsíè ‘listen’, húà ‘smell’ and kà hwέ ‘taste’ are used to express 
controlled activity of the perception verbs. Gisborne (1996) points out that to strike 
the differences in the two groups ‘a deliberate test’ is needed to identify the 
controlled (active) and the uncontrolled (stative) perceptions. He proposes the use 
of the ‘deliberately adverb’ occurring with perception verbs. He is of the view that 
perception verbs that can occur with this adverb are seen to be ‘agentive’ and 
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therefore can be addressed as ‘active experiencers’ whereas those that cannot occur 
with the ‘deliberately adverb’ are realised as ‘involuntary perception’. So, group one 
cannot occur with the ‘deliberately adverb’ while the second group can occur with 
the ‘deliberately adverb’. Examples are presented below: 
11 a. Esi was deliberately looking at the man 
    b. *Esi deliberately sees the man. 
    c. Even though her father has warned her about that boy, Esi deliberately goes to 
see him whenever she goes to the market. 
In the above example, since the perception verb look can occur with the adverb 
deliberately, it is considered an ‘active perception verb’ and for that reason 
recognised as ‘agentive verb’. In example (11b), it is not possible for the perception 
verb see to accept the adverb deliberately in its structure (hence, the verb is 
considered as an ‘experience verb’), I think it depends on which meaning of see is 
being expressed in the sentence. For instance, in example (11c), the adverb 
deliberately co-occurs with the active verb see and makes the sentence meaningful. 
So, the test can be subject to which kind of sense we want to express. Based on that, 
we can select which kind of verb will best fit the sentence structure and not rely 
solely on the adverb deliberately test. This is tested in Akan as shown in the 
examples below:  
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12a. Esi hyέ-ὲ   dá  árá               kɔ̀    hwέ- ὲ                  pàpá    nó       ényím̀ 
        Esi deliberately-COMPL   go   look.COMPL         man     DEF   face 
       ‘Esi deliberately went and looked at the man’s face.’ 
 
    b. Esi   hyὲ    dá árá                            hwὲ                nò 
        Esi   deliberately.HAB                    look.HAB      3SG.OBJ 
       ‘Esi deliberately looks at him/her.’ 
 
    c. ↄ́-hyὲ           dá árá                                  kↄ́                hú       nó 
        3SG.SUBJ.deliberately                          go.HAB       see      3SG.OBJ 
       ‘He/she deliberately goes to see him.’ 
 
     d. Esi hyὲ dá árá                 kɔ́-   hú              pàpá  nó    m̀béŕ bíárá     â                                          
          Esi deliberately.HAB    go     see.HAB   man  DEF  whenever     COMP   
         ɔ́-bɔ́kɔ ́                  gúámù  
        3SG.OBJ.FUT.go  market 
        ‘Esi deliberately goes to visit the man secretly anytime she goes to the market.’  
 
      e. * ↄ́-hyὲ           dá árá                       hù                àbòwà        nò 
3SG.SUBJ.deliberately               see.HAB      animal        3SG.OBJ 
‘He/she deliberately sees the animal’ 
f.* ↄ́-hyὲ           dá árá                       hù                àdzé 
            3SG.SUBJ.deliberately              see.HAB      something   
           ‘He/she deliberately sees something’ 
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In Akan the two verbs hwέ and hú that express see were used to test for the deliberate 
adverb test. In all the examples in (12a-f), the Agent functions as the Active 
Experiencer subjects. Though we notice in (12a-d), that the deliberate test passes, in 
(12e & f) the deliberate test fails. This is because in (12a-d), the perceptual 
experiences are deliberately ordered by the Agents. Thus, the Agents control the 
perceptual events. On the other hand, the deliberate test as occurs in (12e & f), 
renders the sentence ungrammatical because the collocation of the visual verb hú 
‘see’ in relation with the objects appears as if the events happen in involuntary 
action. Again, the Agents’ act in using the deliberate actions in those contexts was 
unacceptable in the language. Since the deliberates test fails in involuntary perpetual 
experience, it can be said of example (12e & f) that the sentences are ungrammatical 
in the case of the deliberate test in Akan. In the case of hú in example (12c & d) the 
motion verb kɔ́ ‘go’ should always apply when there is the deliberate adverb in the 
construction, without that, it renders the sentence ungrammatical. 
 
2.5.3.1.3 The Stimulus Subject Verbs 
Verbs in the third group have their subjects acting as the motivators in the perceptual 
activities. Their major role is to influence the activities. The stimulus subject verbs 
are referred to as the ‘flip verbs’ or ‘stimulus subject’ (Lehrer 1990:223), or ‘the 
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copulative’ by Viberg (1984:123) and ‘percept’ by Gisborne (1996:1). Their 
subjects act as the stimulus of perception. Illustrations are indicated in example (13). 
13a. Esi looked joyous. 
    b. Esi sounded happy. 
    c. The material felt rough. 
     d. Esi smelled good/ of the perfume. 
      e. The meal tasted good / of the spices. 
(These examples were adapted from Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999:43-45). 
In these examples the subject Esi plays a stimulation role in the perception activities; 
look, sound, feel, smell and taste. The subject becomes the promoter or the persuader 
in the perceptual activities. We present an example in Akan below: 
      14. Ńnà     Esi     n’ényí             ágyѐ 
            That     Esi    POSS.eye      receive 
           ‘Esi sounded/looked happy.’ 
In example (14) the percipient finds the theme entity, (the object) in a happy mood. 
This perceptual experience the object demonstrates (happiness) might have been 
influenced by a stimulus. The effect the causal event (functioning as motivation) 
carries unto the object is what the percipient observes (happiness) from the theme 
entity, the object. 
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 The explanations of the three sub-classes of the semantic field of the basic 
perception verbs in English are represented in Table 2.1 below: 
  Table 2.1   The Basic Perception Verbs in English 
SENSE EXPERIENCE/ ACTIVITY PERCEPT/ 
MODALITY 
PASSIVE COPULATIVE 
VISION See Look Look 
HEARING Hear Listen Sound 
TOUCH Feel/Touch Touch/Feel Feel  
SMELL Smell  Smell/Sniff Smell 
TASTE Taste Taste Taste 
The table of the basic perception verbs in English was adapted from Ibarretxe-
Antuñano (1999:45). 
Following Viberg (1984), Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999:45) explains that there 
are three categories of basic perception verbs in English. These are the Experience 
(passive), Activity and Percept (copulative). In the table 1, the first column 
represents the general sensory concepts of the five components of the semantic field 
of perception verbs in English. The second column denotes the first category, 
Experience, of the basic perception verbs; this category discusses the 
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‘uncontrollable state’ which shows that the subject of the stimulus often plays the 
role of passive observer of the perception activity. These are observed as the ‘stative 
with experiencer subject’ (Lehrer 1990:223). In this construction, the perceiver or 
the experiencer functions as the subject. In the view of Blendea (2015:92), 
“membership to the group of passive verbs such as see, hear, feel, smell and taste is 
based on some common characteristics such as the idea of non-intentional 
perception and that of different means of obtaining the sensorial information (via 
humans’ inherent and uncontrolled properties: vision, hearing, touch, smell and 
taste)”. The third column exemplifies the Activity category that is, the second 
category. This refers to the controlled group where the subject plays agentive role 
in the perception process. This group focuses attention on voluntary actions to 
achieve results of the perceived activity. Blendea (2015) points out a common trait 
‘in order to perceive’ which reflects this group’s activity. So, we can have voluntary 
actions: ‘in order to see, in order to hear, in order to find out what flavour it has, etc. 
(2015:92). The fourth column displays the third category, the Percept (copulative) 
or the phenomenon-based, as Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999:45) puts it. This group 
indicates that the subject itself functions as the stimulant in the perception process. 
It can also be noted from the table that the perception verb hear is the only one 
which has different lexical verbs to represent the different senses’ perceptions in the 
other categories in the table, the rest have no distinctions of such nature. According 
to Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) the three sub-classes discussed above represent the 
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prototypical (the ideal or the primary sense) meanings that perception verbs in 
English reveal.  
 
2.5.4 Non-Prototypical Meanings of Perception Expressions  
The non-prototypical meanings are considered semantic extensions or the extended 
meanings that the perception and cognition expressions can convey. They can be 
seen as physical or metaphorical (Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999). Most of the extended 
meanings are also polysemous in nature. These semantic extensions add up to the 
central meanings perception expressions provide. 
 The physical meanings, according to Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999), represent the 
fundamental or the basic meanings of the perception expression. The activity of the 
perceiver involves direct contact with the perceived object. She describes the 
physical meanings as prototypical, the typical member of a category, or the ideal 
concept that the senses depict.  
Neagu (2013) points out that there are many ways in which the activity of 
perception is illustrated; some of the activities express concrete entities, while others 
express cognitive activities such as thinking, reasoning, understanding etc. These 
cognitive activities can also sometimes exhibit metaphorical concepts. Aikhenvald 
and Storch (2013) add that each of the perception senses has some distinctive 
meaning extensions which reveal metaphorical experiences. 
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Naigles (2000) also observes that mental-state verbs are considered 
‘notoriously’ polysemous. This is because perception verbs, one of the domains of 
mental-state verbs, demonstrate how events in the world create varied information 
of related senses. This helps unearth the extended meanings of the various senses of 
the body. The inference here is that in a language, a word can have many related 
senses or meanings which sometimes are considered as a challenging notion in 
language studies. It is important that good analysis is rendered to such words in 
order to bring clarity in terms of their usage. For instance, Lien (2005) attempts a 
cognitive account of polysemy of three verbs of visual perception in Taiwanese, 
Southern Min. Findings in his analysis show that visual perception is an 
indispensable means by which people cope with the world. His semantic text frame 
was based on the use of the eye and the syntactic test on the imperative and the 
progressive form with the use of the eye — ‘see’. It was clear in his discussions that 
the use of the eye can indicate event interpretation, process, controlling, volitional 
and social interpretations. However, where cognitive sense links perception sense is 
where the use of the eye expresses recognition, determination, classification and 
judgment.  
In the Akan, perception verbs are indeed polysemous in nature. Agyekum 
(2001) points out that “there are instances where the metaphorical expressions are 
derived from the use of the verbs or nouns denoting the organs of perception 
themselves or both” (2001:150). He relates this argument to the fact that the mind 
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is seen as a body metaphor (cf. Neagu 2012; Sweester 1990). He again explains that 
the connection between ‘physical and mental world’ results in the differences in 
meanings. This issue is what this study would want to pursue. 
 
2.5.5 Is there a Linguistic Universal Hierarchy of the Senses? 
It has been noted in the literature that the visual sense is the most important and the 
preferred sense of all the senses of the body. In fact, the assumption has been 
established, especially in Western beliefs that vision and auditory senses are 
permissible in perception than taste and smell serving as the channel of information 
delivery. “This predicts that humans ought to be better at communicating about sight 
and hearing than the other senses, and decades of work based on English and related 
languages certainly suggest this is true” (Majid et al. 2018: 1).  
In view of this, a universal hierarchy proposed by Viberg (1984) in relation to 
evaluating which sense is the most preferred, placed sight (SEE) on top of the 
hierarchy. His argument was based on the fact that if a verb exhibits a basic meaning 
to a sense modality to the left direction of the hierarchy (which is the highest level) 
and can again express extended meanings to some or all of the other senses to the 
right direction (the lower level) on the hierarchy, then that sense is the most 
preferred one. This was clear in his statement in the interpretation of the hierarchy 
as follows “a verb having a basic meaning belonging to a sense modality higher to 
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the left in the hierarchy can get an extended meaning that covers some (or all) of the 
sense modalities lower in the hierarchy” (Viberg 1984:136-137). The hierarchy is 
illustrated below: 
 Sight > Hearing > Touch > Smell/Taste 
This hierarchy represents the “linguistic universal according to which verbs for 
higher sensory modalities may extend to lower modalities, but not the other way 
round” (Brenzinger and Fehn 2013:169).  
Viberg explains further that the universality was postulated on the basis of a 
typological study conducted on perception verbs in 53 languages. Since the vision 
perception SEE tested on 53 languages exhibited the characteristics of the hierarchy, 
it is considered the most preferred sense followed by the other senses. The hierarchy 
shows that, TASTE sense is the least preferred. Further research has shown that the 
sense hierarchy is not universal or rigid; cultural factors may play a role in the 
expression of cognition and perception and may affect the position of a sense item 
on the hierarchy. Brenzinger and Fehn (2013) argue that the universality notion of 
the hierarchy of senses does not hold true across language and cultures because in 
some languages like Khwe-llAni, Ts’ixa and other Khoeid languages (formerly 
Central Khoisan languages), TASTE is the most central sense in the sensory 
perception which relates to the basic meaning of perceiving food, the act of food 
consumption—the most highly commendable activity in those communities.  
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It can be argued that Viberg’s (1984) hierarchy does not always hold true for 
all languages. This means that languages can demonstrate diverse hierarchical 
structures in relation to cultural values associated to that sense modality. Thus, the 
more value members of a community place on a particular sense, the more 
prominent that sense is. The more a society has a close relationship with that 
particular sense, the more its members use its vocabulary and other related words 
associated with that sense.  
In support of this topical argument, works like Evans & Wilkins (2000); 
Levinson & Majid (2014); Majid & Levinson (2011); Majid & Kruspe (2018) and 
Majid et al. (2018) all confirm the cultural variations.  For instance, Majid et al. 
(2018:1) endorsed the role of culture in determining which sense is the most likely 
to occupy the topmost position on the hierarchy by asking this question “How well 
does [the hierarchy] reflect the diversity of languages and communities worldwide?” 
They conducted further research on whether there is a universal hierarchy of the 
senses. This was tested on all the five basic senses and data was elicited in 20 diverse 
languages, including 3 unrelated sign languages across languages in the world. 
Findings show that: 
…. languages differ fundamentally in which sensory domains they 
linguistically code systematically, and how they do so. The tendency for 
better coding in some domains can be explained in part by cultural 
preoccupations (2018:1). 
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It is clear from these discussions that although languages seem free to elaborate 
specific sensory domains, the surprise is that no single hierarchy of the senses 
imposes itself upon language. So, this study proposes that a preferred sense on the 
hierarchy should be what society greatly values, in terms of its usage and beliefs 
attached to it.   
Gunnarsdóttir (2013) mention that, five perception fields: vision, hearing, 
touch, taste and smell are the keys in studying perception expressions. These 
perception fields are associated with senses such as see, look, hear, and feel.  These 
five perception fields are discussed below. 
2.5.6 Vision   
Vision is one of the suggested senses which is seen as the most accessible sense and 
the most preferred though not always so across languages. In the domain of mental-
state-expressions, especially among the five basic senses of the human body, it has 
been established in the literature that normally, vision is the most researched area in 
the study of perception and cognition (Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999). Vision is 
classified as the sense which has a vast array of meaning extensions apart from its 
core function. For instance, Aikhenvald & Storch (2013) show that in Warekena of 
Xié a North Arawak language from North West Amazonia, the lexical verb — eda 
represents ‘seeing’ and ‘looking’ at the same time ‘hearing’ and ‘listening’. This 
means that apart from the basic function of eda signifying ‘seeing’ it can further 
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express auditory perception — an extended meaning. They explain also that the 
various meanings of the verb eda syntactically demonstrate ambitransitiveness in a 
construction. Thus, the verb may or may not require a direct object in its structure. 
In a similar case the verb — nhaa is used to express ‘see’, ‘look’, ‘hear’, and 
‘think’ in Guugu, Yimidhirr, an Australian language (Aikhenvald & Storch 2013). 
In Luwo, the verb ‘see’ can also mean ‘hear’ and ‘obey’ (Storch 2013). 
Akan demonstrates a similar situation where the verb hunu ‘to see’ illustrates 
polysemous semantic extensions such as ‘find out’, ‘consult’, ‘discover’, ‘discern’, 
‘notice’, ‘understand’, ‘know’, ‘realise’, ‘experience’, and ‘familiarise with’ 
(Agyekum 2005).  
Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) classified the main extended meanings of physical 
vision (see and look) into three major categories; (i) the intellectual or mental 
activity group, (ii) the social relationship group and (iii) assurance or reliability 
groups. She added another pragmatic value of the visual perception which does not 
fall into the three main categories. That is ‘to witness’ and ‘to refer to’. These 
groupings have related meanings to vision; these are listed in Table 2.2. 
 
 
 
 
 
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Table 2.2 Extended Meanings of Vision 
THE INTELLECTUAL THE SOCIAL ASSURANCE OR 
OR MENTAL RELATIONSHIP RELIABILITY 
ACTIVITY GROUP GROUP GROUP 
to understand to meet to ascertain 
to foresee to pay a visit to find out 
to visualise to receive to make sure 
to consider to get on badly to take care 
to revise to go out with  
to imagine to accompany 
to regard to escort 
to meditate 
 
 Other meaning extensions that can relate to the active form of see — watch 
include: observe, examine, scrutinise, study, survey, search, seek, escort and scan; 
other related meanings of the passive (stative) form of see are notice, spot, discern.  
The current study would show various discourse analyses of these three 
groupings in relation to the relationship between the semantics and syntax of visual 
perception in Akan. The visual sense in Mfantse dialect of Akan discloses 
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intellectual, intra-psychological and social psychological meanings. These are clear 
in both the physical and extended discussions. 
Evans & Wilkins (2000) point out three research traditions that relate to 
perception verbs. These are: (i) Viberg’s (1984) typological study of lexical studies 
of the verbs of perception (ii) Sweester’s (1990) cognitive linguistic approach to 
visual perception as the basic sensory source that can reveal various extensions of 
meanings; from the primary meaning through to the metaphorical senses (iii) 
Anthropology of the senses — emphasises  
(a) the value cultures place on the various senses and the varied meanings they 
assign to the sense. 
(b) how cultures demonstrate the pragmatic use of these senses in different 
discourses and   
(c) how cultures ascribe symbolic patterns to the senses and the reasons 
assigned to it. 
These values are critically looked at as the visual senses as discussed in chapter three 
(3). It examines how members in Akan communities use the visual sense in diverse 
discourses and the various motives assigned to the context in which these visual 
senses are used. 
In the earlier discussions on the linguistic hierarchy of the basic senses, it 
was also clear that both Viberg’s (1984) and Sweetser’s (1990) traditions have been 
debunked by the issue of cultural variations as a determinant for semantic 
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extensions. Though each of these researchers developed their own methodology, 
one central idea shared by all is that meaning is so fundamental to language learning 
and that it must be given a prime attention of study.  
 
2.5.7 Hearing  
‘Hear’ and ‘listen’ are the two main verbs in English that are analysed in the domain 
of ‘hear’ sense. Akan has a similar example tsé ‘hear’ and tséì ‘listen’. ‘Hearing’ 
refers to a non-controlled (uncontrolled) activity and ‘listening’ designates a 
controlled event (De Vries 2013). According to Brenzinger & Fehn (2013) hearing 
is used to express Activity and Experience expressions.  
According to Aikhenvald & Storch (2013) hearing can also be associated 
with the concept of ‘understanding’, ‘knowing’ and remembering in Indo-European 
language.  
In a similar analysis by De Vries (2013), ‘hear’ in Korowai, a West Papuan 
language, can be marked as ‘know’ when the “referent of the object of the verb is 
an audible entity that can be perceived with the ears... [he mentions again that] when 
the perfective (daibo ‘to have heard’) is used in the sense ‘to know’ the object 
always refers to explanations, to mean that people heard” (De Vries 2013:128). 
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 One extended meaning of ‘hear’ found in a cross-linguistic study (in Spanish, 
English and Basque) by Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) is ‘to heed, to pay attention’. 
This extended meaning has two explanations (i) the speaker demands attention from 
the hearer, the speaker does not only demand attention, but also that (ii) the hearer 
does what he is telling him to do. In this situation ‘hearing’ means ‘to obey’.  Again, 
‘hear’ can also mean ‘to be told’, ‘to be informed’ and ‘to understand’. Basque also 
exhibits two more extended meanings of ‘hear’ — ‘to be educated’ and ‘to have an 
agreement’. She elaborates that the interpersonal relationship that exists in this 
sensory domain causes the semantic shift in the events process: 
 hear       heed     obey. 
 
2.5.8 Touch   
The meaning of touch according to Brenzinger & Fehn (2013) seem to be the hardest 
to describe but since ‘hold’ denotes the state in which we can find an activity more 
than experience, the action of touching is basically limited to physical activity. The 
Experience of physical contact can either be done through direct contact or a feeling 
which is seen as controlled tactile experience and perceiving through uncontrolled 
tactile experience. An example is bodily touch and other objects. The experience of 
touch ‘to feel’ also denotes two views: ‘feeling by direct contact’ and ‘perceiving 
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without direct contact’ (Jakobi & El-Guzuuli 2013). The form of the latter 
experience deals with sensation of a close feeling of danger.  
 The issue of ‘feel of’ and ‘feel for’ relating to touch as in ‘perceive by touch’ 
has been long proven. Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) confirms this by clarifying that a 
related meaning of touch ‘feel’ relates to the field of emotions. She lists the 
following as other extended semantic meanings for touch:  
 – ‘to partake of food or drink’ 
– ‘to affect’ 
– ‘to reach’ 
– ‘to deal with’ 
– ‘to ask for a loan’ 
– ‘to consider,  
– ‘to weigh’  
– ‘to correspond’ 
– ‘to persuade’,  
– ‘to stimulate’  
– ‘to be a relative’ 
Touch to AFFECT causes physical change i.e. abstract change reflects physical 
change. Another meaning she mentions that relates to touch is ‘to reach’ – for 
example, he touched the high point in his career / he has reached the peak of his 
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career. This means that there is an aimed point to be reached or signifies the final 
point of something or reaching a destination, or the time to pay has come (Spanish) 
or attaining a dream target.  
 
2.5.9 Smell  
The phenomenon of smell is also known as olfactory. According to Majid & Kruspe 
(2018) in the literature, not much attention is given to or placed on the olfaction 
domain. Also, the smell sense is identified as the human sense that cannot exhibit 
much extended meanings including metaphorical concepts (Viberg (1984); 
Sweester (1990); Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999). These arguments, I think, should be 
measured according to language specifics and not to be generalised for all 
languages. This is in line with Viberg’s (1984) comment that, his typological study 
on verbs of perception conducted on 53 languages did not fairly represent languages 
in the world; thus, his data overrepresented European languages while languages 
from the North and South America as well as Oceania were highly underrepresented. 
Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) lists one physical extended meaning of smell i.e. ‘to 
trail something’ and a number of metaphorical meanings in English, Basque and 
Spanish. The metaphorical meanings in the three languages are illustrated in Table 
2.3. 
 
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Table 2.3   Metaphorical Meanings in Smell Perception 
Metaphorical meanings English  Basque Spanish 
‘to suspect’ ✓  ✓  ✓  
‘to guess’, ‘to sense’ ✓  ✓  ✓  
‘to investigate’ ✓  ✓  ✓  
‘to disdain’, ‘to show contempt’ ✓    
‘to corrupt’  ✓   
‘to prophesy’  ✓   
‘to go unnoticed’  ✓   
    Extended meanings in smell in English, Basque and Spanish (1999:82). 
 
Storch (2013) observes that smell terms in Luwo (a Western Nilotic language of 
South Sudan, spoken in Waw) form a word class by themselves. Also, the smell 
sense can relate to cognitive experiences such as ‘know’. 
A more recent study by Kövecses (2018) states that the smell sense is seen as 
an equally important perceptual concept just as others reflect in the sense modality. 
He defines the smell sense as “a sensation, a property, a faculty, and an act” (p.6) 
that can exhibit both active and passive roles. He explains that the ‘passive’ form 
displays the element – an ‘origin’ or ‘the cause’. The origin or the cause of the smell 
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functions as the source which is the smell itself. The active element on the other 
hand is the originator of the smell, or the object possessing the smell capacity.  
Majid & Kruspe (2018) also point out, however, that though these differences 
are there in the olfaction domain, evidence in the literature suggests that ‘odours’ 
are the most ineffable among other related senses in this domain, the most 
recognised in hunter-gathering communities. For example, an experiment was 
conducted between a hunter-gatherer Semaq Beri and Sweden-horticulturalist 
Semelai. Results showed that the hunter-gatherer Semaq Beri, showed ease in 
naming odours and colours than Semelai who demonstrated lower codability for 
smells than colours. This shows that the differences in linguistic expressions of 
substances depend largely on the interaction community members have with the 
environment they find themselves in. Majid & Levinson (2011) acknowledging this 
fact, assert that our cultural backgrounds reflect our sensory perception, in that, the 
environment in which members of a community find themselves will determine the 
value they have for the various senses. For example, the perspective of coastal 
communities towards the human sense will differ largely from the communities 
found in the hinterland due to the kind of settings they have. Thus, the perception of 
a fisherman towards the smell of a fish will be different from the perception of a 
hunter’s smell of an animal; the kind of smell that an animal in a bush will emit will 
be different from that of fish from the sea. 
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Majid & Kruspe (2018) mention again that the smell term p ɂus in Jahai 
language can display different qualities of odours. Examples include: odours we 
experience from abandoned homes— mouldy or musty, odours we experience from 
foliage decomposition, and from foods that have gone stale.  
 
2.5.10 Taste  
Taste distinguishes the various forms of flavours and preferences people have 
towards the food they eat or a liking for something. The association between the 
choices for a specific taste displays the perception people have towards the food 
they eat or a liking for something. The literature points out that ‘taste’ relates to 
many of the senses; while some link ‘taste’ ‘to touch’ others associate it with the 
onomatopoeic sound ‘to knock’. Other senses related to ‘taste’ were ‘flavour’, ‘to 
have a distinctive flavour or taste’, ‘sense of smell’ and ‘taste of something’ 
(Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999). The observation made from these discussions is that 
there was no agreement whether to accept or challenge the basic meaning of ‘taste’. 
Some of the extended meanings that taste verbs have are: 
  — ‘to experience something’:   
(a) He has tasted the frustration of defeat.          
(b) He tasted of the life of the rich. (Neagu 2013) 
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Brenzinger & Fehn (2013) indicate that ‘taste’ has fundamental meaning which 
means ‘to perceive’. They list taste terms as, ‘sour/ rough’, ‘nice/sweet’, ‘bitter’, 
‘hot’, and ‘tasteless’.    
 Neagu (2013) describes ‘taste’ as one of the human senses that can generally be 
linked to the likes and dislikes of people in relation to how it matches their taste. 
Personal likes and dislikes such as preference for clothing, music, and friends. 
‘Taste’ thus can be linked to the personal idiosyncratic frame of mind of the 
perceiver.  
Highlighting the discussions above, it is clear that, it is sometimes difficult for 
languages to code the various domains of the human senses; for it does happen as 
their study proved in the various experiments they carried out (Majid & Levinson 
2011). However, cultural values are imperative. Akan examples will be examined 
with regards to the coded meanings that these sense phenomena demonstrate in the 
language and whether or not Akan lacks coded expressions to describe any of the 
senses.  
 
2.6 Summary  
This chapter has looked at the theoretical framework which underpins the study and 
the literature review. The theory showed that linguistic data should be analysed in 
holistic way taking cognizance of the fact that meaning resides in human 
embodiment. Its two basic commitments (generalization and cognitive 
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commitments) allow language to be examined in broader perspective considering 
its vast meanings as well as their structures. It also measures language in relation to 
their metaphorical roles. Since cognitive linguistics is about language use and the 
mind (sensory system) and its interaction with the body (the human body), the 
environment and the physical world, it is imperative to adopt a theoretical 
framework like cognitive linguistics approach to language study, to help account for 
the literal and extended meanings of perception and cognition expressions in Akan. 
As a result, this theory is meant to serve as the backdrop against which this thesis is 
written, since the treatment of expressions of perceptions and congnition in Akan 
discussed in this study is driven by the parameters of cognitive linguistics 
explanations mentioned above. 
The literature review touched on the concept of perception and cognition. It 
came to light that lots of controversies have been surrounding the concept of 
perception and cognition; whether perception penetrates cognition or vice versa. 
However, recent literature points out that, perception influences cognition and they 
interact in many ways; though they represent different mental experiences, they 
overlap in information distribution. 
Also, the argument claiming that vision is on top of the sense hierarchy 
was debunked by the fact that if a sense should be rated high, then this must be 
determined by cultural preference of the members of a community; whichever 
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sense community members plays particular interest on becomes the highest on the 
sense hierarchy. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER THREE 
THE SEMANTICS OF THE 
PERCEPTION VERBS Hwέ and Hú 
3.0 Introduction 
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a systematic account of the different 
perceptive domains the two basic verbs hwέ ‘look’/’watch’ and hú ‘see’ in Akan 
express. It goes on to explore the diverse usages of both the basic and the extended 
meanings the perceptive verbs demonstrate in the language.  
The chapter is in three sections: Section 3.1 discusses the basic meanings of the 
perceptive verbs in Akan. It also looks at their morphosyntactic behaviours in the 
visual process. Section 3.2 looks at the physical extended meanings. These are 
discussed under the various domains such as intra psychological domain (one 
entity), and social psychological domain (between two entities or several entities). 
Section 3.3 discusses the metaphorical extensions of the perceptive verbs in the 
language. 
 Perceptive verbs (PV) hwέ and hú in Akan are generally connected with visual 
perception. One of the most important qualities of the perceptive verbs is that as the 
brain receives stimulus, it processes it to reveal the experience of seeing physically. 
Thus, what is captured in our mental faculty is now exposed in reality. From this 
standpoint, perception is activated.   
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Abu-Jarad (2008) articulates that for one to see clearly, the percipients of the 
action should be very observant or vigilant of the things around them so as to give 
accurate explanations to the things they perceive. This is because on what account 
could we report on things we have not seen; how do we report accurately? 
Nonetheless, there are situations we can ‘look’ without seeing, which we can report 
on. An example is illustrated in (1) below: 
1. Mò  hwɛ́-è  nàásó m-è-ǹǹ-hú 
 
1SG.SUBJ look-COMPL but 1SG.SUBJ-PERF-NEG-see 
‘I tried looking at it but I couldn’t see it.’ 
Even so, the ability to see comes in different forms— seeing with the mind’s eye 
(conceptualisation) or seeing by getting into physical contact with objects (physical 
evidence) or seeing through other senses of the body (often labelled in the literature 
as ‘cross-modal perception’ (Winter 2019); or inter-field (Aikhenvald & Storch 
2013).  
Kubota (2016: 17) argues that visual perception can be seen as “an act of 
obtaining any kind of concept and or knowledge that is visually obtainable about 
some object of the external-physical and the internal-mental world”.  Thus, in the 
act of perceiving, we are not just getting information from the environment as a 
camera captures evidence through its lenses but we also become involved in 
cognitive activities such as trying to understand and interpret what we have seen 
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through our visual senses or our sensory modalities3. This buttresses the earlier 
submission by Abu-Jarad (2008) that critical examination of visual concepts is 
imperative. More so, the perceiver should exhibit sufficient knowledge in the act of 
seeing/perceiving to bring clarity in the process of conceptualisation (Roque et al. 
2018).  
As the literature on visual perception shows (Viberg 1984; Sweester 1990; 
Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999; Klemfuss et al. 2002; Dresner 2005; Aikhenvald & 
Storch 2013; Brenzinger & Fehn 2013; Coco & Keller 2014) vision is one of the 
most researched areas in the study of perception and cognition, especially in the 
domain of mental-state-expression. In view of this, it has been considered to be the 
sense which exhibits the most meaning extensions to reflect cognition apart from its 
primary role of demonstrating physical ‘seeing’. The phenomenon of the vision verb 
exhibiting varied meanings is demonstrable in many languages. Some of the 
languages include Yimidhirr, an Australian language (Aikhenvald & Storch 2013), 
Luwo, a Western Nilotic language of South Sudan (Storch 2013) and Warekena of 
Xié a North Arawak language from North West Amazonia (Aikhenvald & Storch 
2013). In these languages, the visual verb ‘see’ can further express ‘think’, ‘hear’, 
‘obey’ and ‘listen’. Kubota (2016:118) supports this by indicating that the verb ‘see’ 
is used to indicate “a wide variety of human perceptive and cognitive activities 
 
3 “Sense or sensory modality is used to refer to a subtype of perceptual experience 
that is associated with dedicated sensory organ and its own cognitive machinery in 
the brain” (Winter 2019: 11). 
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which involve mental aspects”. We examine perceptive verbs in the Mfantse dialect 
of Akan in the section that follows to find out the various basic usages and other 
pragmatic meanings these expressions reveal in the language.  
 
 
3.1 The Basic Meanings of the Perceptive Verbs Hwέ and Hú 
The parts of the body that regulate the activity of sight are the eye and the brain 
(Lien 2005). So in the literature, the ‘eye’, supported by the brain, is seen as the 
window through which physical and conceptual events are processed. Lien (2005) 
makes clear that visual perception is a way by which humans cope with the world 
around them due to their visual experiences with the world. 
Considering physical or the basic meanings of perceptive verbs, Lien (2005) 
comments that in terms of the physical activity of vision, the eye (the sensory organ) 
connects to the perceiver and the object of focus (the perceived object). In this 
activity, the sensory organ must categorically point to an object (purpose). Basically, 
for someone to complete a visual experience or cycle, there should be evidence of 
something where the percipient can have visual association with (getting into 
contact with or to be in touch with an object). This means that perceptive verbs can 
be described primarily as transitive verbs where an obligatory object is required. But 
then, this object can either be overtly or covertly expressed. The constructions can 
sometimes also occur with locative expressions.  
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In the Mfantse dialect of Akan there are two basic perceptive verbs; hwέ 
‘look’/watch’ and hú ‘see’.  
Hwέ ‘look’/’watch’ involves the process to identify the relevant object in a 
scene; it is a conscious (deliberate action) look which helps to ascertain something 
in the real world. This is in relation to the view that the several eye responses that 
emanate from the sensory organ communicate detailed information of experiences 
in the world. The process of the visual activity (time frame) depends on the events. 
However, the visual stint involved in hwέ ‘look’/ ‘watch’ is that of a longer one.  
Kubota (2016) calls this situation, ‘Durative’ because the action of sight is done 
within a time frame. Hú ‘see’, on the other hand, is seen as a natural and 
instantaneous occurrence. Thus, in the process of the visual activity, objects are 
captured on the spot. This process is called ‘Inceptive’ (Kubota 2016), where the 
visual activity occurs in a very short time and is done instantly. However, in some 
cases, it is possible to use hú ‘see’ to perform visual activity that entails a longer 
period of time in the language where the visual line is directed towards activity of 
caring. Hwέ ‘look’/ ‘watch’ is more volitional while hú ‘see’ can play both volitional 
and non-volitional roles. It is clear with the CPVs that if the visual process hinges 
on our natural senses then non-volitional occurrence happens.  
Deconstructing these verbs in their natural Mfantse experiences, hwέ ‘look’/ 
‘watch’ and hú ‘see’ can exhibit diverse interpretations depending on the context in 
which they occur. In the basic clause structure of  PVs there is always an Experiencer 
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(who functions as the percipient and grammatical subject) and a stimulus (the 
object). This show a simple transitive construction where the grammatical subject 
functions as Experiencer at one point in time, and at other times, the Experiencer is 
perceived as Agent. Where the grammatical subject plays the role of an Experiencer 
as Agent (Agentive Experiencer), it is required of the Agent to have motivating drive 
in the process of the visual event.  
Occasionally, in the predication slot of their constructions, these PVs co-occur 
with complementizer dέ, ‘that’ and causative verb mà ‘to cause’.  However, when 
the PV – hú ‘see’ is immediately followed by the causative verb mà in the predicate 
slot, it renders the sentence ungrammatical. So, for purposes of grammaticality, 
there should be a direct object (direct objects immediately occupying the post-verbal 
position are called recipient NPs, Osam 2000) which should immediately follow the 
PV – hú ‘see’ before the causative verb. An illustration of the simple structure is 
shown below:  
Experiencer                  Verb of Perception  
 Subject                                                                       Stimulus    
                                       Hwέ ‘look’/’watch’              (OBJ   NP) 
                                                                                    (CP - dέ , mà    OBJ) 
                                       Hú   ‘see’                             (OBJ   NP) 
                                                                                    (CP - dέ, OBJ mà) 
                                                                                    (CP -       *ma   OBJ) 
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Some instances of hwέ ‘look’/ ‘watch’ and hú ‘see’ are shown below. The 
explanation to the coding of the examples from the data is provided on the list of 
abbreviation at page xxiv. 
2a. Mú-hù   àdzé   
      1SG.SUBJ-see/HAB thing 
     ‘I (can) see.’ (ADJT SP 1) 
   
2b. Mú-hù   hɔ̀ǹ  
      1SG.SUBJ-see/HAB 3PL.OBJ 
      ‘I can see them.’ (ADJT SP 1) 
 
3a. Kofi hú-ù  dɛ̂  Ama  ré-sàẁ 
      Kofi see-COMPL COMP  Ama   PROG-dance 
      ‘Kofi saw that Ama was dancing.’  
 
3b. Kofi hwέ- ɛ̀  dɛ̂   hͻ́ń  nyìnárá  é-dzí-dzí 
      Kofi look-COMPL COMP  3PL.SUBJ all  PERF-eat-REDUP 
      ‘Kofi ensured that they had all eaten.’ 
 
3c. Kofi hwέ- ɛ̀  mà4   Ama yέ-ɛ̀  èdwúmá nó 
 
4 According to Osam (2007; 1998) in addition to the complementizer dε, Akan has 
another complementizer that results from grammaticalization of a causative verb ma 
'make, cause, & give’. He explains that “the status of ma as a complementizer is not 
uniform across the dialects of the language [however], in Fante, ma functions as a 
complementizer” (2007: 112). He indicates that the behaviour of ma in Fante 
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      Kofi look-COMPL COMP  Ama do-COMPL work  DEF 
    ‘Kofi ensured that Ama did the work.’ 
 
3d. *Kofi hú-ù  mà   Ama yέ-ɛ̀          èdwúmá  nó 
        Kofi see-COMPL COMP  Ama do-COMPL  work  DEF 
        Intended meaning: ‘Kofi ensured that Ama did the work.’ 
 
3e. Kofi hú-ú  Ebo mà   ɔ̀-bòá-á   
     Kofi see-COMPL Ebo COMP  3SG.SUBJ-help-COMPL 
     nó 
     3SG.OBJ 
    ‘Kofi saw Ebo and helped him.’ 
 
Examples (2a) & (2b) describe instances of the general ability to see or the natural 
occurrence of seeing. Thus, hú should generally have direct object either overtly or 
covertly expressed. These constructions are examples of transitive constructions 
where the overt subject animate NPs controls the visual experience. The percipients 
(the subject) demonstrate an experience where objects (the stimulus) in the real 
 
functions the same way as complementizer that introduces subordinate clauses in 
complement constructions. Ma in (3c) is an example of a complementizer.  
  
 
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world are visibly exposed through the conscious activity of seeing. Example (2a) 
could also mean that the percipient is pointing to the fact that he/she is able to see. 
In example (3a), the subject functions as the percipient in the visual activity. 
This visual event occurs in a non-volitional way. In the construction, the CPV, hú 
‘see’ co-occurs with the complementizer dέ ‘that’ in the clause.  
In (3b) & (c), the subjects NPs have the ability to control the events in the 
visual process. In (3b), the grammatical subject takes responsibility of making sure 
that the objects are well fed. In (3c), the subject NP (Kofi) takes supervisory role to 
ensure that the object (Ama) performs the work. With (3d), the PV – hú ‘see’ has 
the causative verb mà immediately following it before the direct object rendering 
the sentence ungrammatical in the language. On the contrary, we see the 
grammaticality in (3e) as the PV - hú ‘see’ co-occurs with the recipient NP, the 
direct object (Ebo) immediately following it before the causative verb mà. All these 
visual events occurred in a volitional environment and go beyond just physical 
seeing. 
Confirming this in a recent study, Kubota (2016) observes that physical 
visual perception is an experience where an object in an environment is consciously 
exposed through the action of seeing. The object perceived is always a tangible 
element to which attention can be drawn. It illustrates the power of the perceiver’s 
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visual lens and the direction of his focus. We look at examples of the Experiencer 
and Activity notions of perceptual events in the section that follows. 
 
3.1.1 The Experiencer and Activity Notions of Perceptive Verbs (Hwέ / Hú) 
The Experiencer notion on perceptive expressions indicates that there is a direct 
physical contact between the perceiver and the perceived object (Kubota 2016; 
Jakobi & El- Guzuuli 2013; Agyekum 2005). When this happens, the perceiver or 
the perceiving entity takes the semantic role of Experiencer in relation to the 
Source/Phenomenon – i.e. the perceived object. In the process of the visual 
perception, the grammatical subject (NP1) functions as the Experiencer of the 
activity when the eye (the sensory organ) connects to the object of focus (the 
perceived object), that is the NP2. Below are some examples: 
     4a. Ì-túm̀   hwὲ  ͻ̀báá   â nó  hó 
          2SG.SUBJ-able  look/HAB woman REL 3SG.POSS self 
          yὲ fɛ́ẃ  nà à5-wáŕ  nó 
          be beautiful CONJ CONS-marry 3SG.OBJ 
         ‘You can admire a beautiful lady and then marry her.’ (ABAK SP 3) 
 
5 The consecutive marker (CONS) ‘à’ as expressed in example (4a) is “secondary to 
the progressive aspect and the future tense in the context of serial constructions, and 
sometimes even in conjoined structure. Even though the vowel of the consecutive 
aspect is the same as the vowel of the perfect, the two vowels differ in tone. The 
perfect prefix has a high tone but the consecutive is a low tone /à/” (Osam 2004:16; 
Osam 1994:76; Dolphyne (1987). 
 
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   4b.  Mó-hwɛ́- ὲ   m̀fònyíń nó nyìnárá 
          1SG.SUBJ-look-COMPL picture  DEF all 
         ‘I looked at all the pictures.’ 
 
   5a.      Esi hú-ù  sìkà-m̀fútú  
              Esi see-COMPL gold-dust 
             ‘Esi saw gold dust.’ 
 
  5b.  Bɔ̀dɔ́ḿ nó hú-ù  èwí nó 
         dog DEF see-COMPL thief DEF 
        ‘The dog saw the thief.’ 
In example (4a), both the grammatical subjects NP1 and the perceived objects NP2 
are animate [+ human] entities. The subject, in example (4a) draws attention to what 
visual information he perceives from the targeted object and directs his visual line 
to it, pointing to a specific area (the field of vision – beauty of a woman) where his 
interest is. In (4b), there is an overt subject (the perceiver) and object (the source or 
the targeted phenomenon). In both (4a & b), there are deliberate actions going on 
where the perceivers, who visually receive the input of the actions, function as the 
Experiencer though there is active perception role occurring. This is what (Lehrer 
1990:223) calls ‘active experiencer subject’ whose attention is directed to the direct 
object. The movement of the action is a volitional act and an achievement event; we 
find a durative process where attention is fixed on the source from the beginning of 
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the action till the end, a continuous activity. This means that visual activity 
perception can occur in Akan without the use of the deliberate test as proposed by 
Gisborne (1996).  
We proposed in chapter two where a deliberate test was confirmed that, the 
deliberate test is subject to which kind of meaning the perceptive verb is used in 
context or the percipients want to express. This will lead to which kind of verb will 
best fit the sentence structure and not rely solely on the adverb deliberately test.  
In example (5), the verb hú is playing both roles of volitional and non-
volitional activity. Thus, in (5a) the subject is either making conscious effort in 
searching for the treasure, the direct object [inanimate entity—gold dust] or she just 
chanced on it (discovered it—non-volitional). Here, the subject is functioning as 
either Experiencer or Active Experiencer subject.  In (5b), the verb hú represents 
both volitional and non-volitional acts. It may happen that the subject NP, the dog 
per chance (may be looking around) saw the perceived object (the thief) or it 
searched for the thief, and found him. The visual line of the perceiver was that of a 
direct contact in fulfilling the identification process of specifying who the object 
was. The perceiver then functions as Active Experiencer of the action.  
 
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3.1.2 The Stimulus Notion of the Perceptive Verb Hwὲ in Akan  
There is a third dimension of the visual event. This is called the copulative (Viberg 
1984:123), stimulus/the flip (Lehrer 1990:223) or percept (Gisborne 1996:1). In this, 
the subject is presented as a motivator in the perceptual activities. The visual 
perception verb hwέ only occurs in stimulus construction. Example (6) illustrates 
the stimulus of perception. 
6. Yὲ-dzè   gyá nà yɛ́-dzé   hwé-hwɛ́ 
1PL.SUBJ-do-take fire FOC 1PL.SUBJ-do-take look-REDUP 
 
àbówá nó 
animal DEF 
‘We use fire to look for the animal.’ (AMPJ SP 4) 
 
In example (6), we see a complex sentence where the use of gyá (fire) represents the 
stimulation instrument in search of the àbówá ‘animal’. The subject NP, which 
functions as the Agent in the process of the visual activity stimulates the action of 
seeking (hunt) for the perceived object. The activity is a volitional act where the 
Agent seeks and pursues feral animals. This normally happens in hunting (of 
animals) experiences and in the process one of the strategies of the forager to get 
meat is to use fire as a stimulus which serves as impulsions to the feral animals to 
come out of their huts. This stimulation process helps the hunters get meat.  
 
 
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3.2 The Physical Extended Meanings of the Perceptive Verbs Hwέ /Hú 
This section discusses the extended meanings of the visual perception expressions 
in the language. It explores the various domains in which these verbs occur and the 
various arguments each verb selects in each domain.  
According to Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) and other researchers such as 
Agyekum (2005) and Aikhenvald & Storch (2013), extended meanings which are 
also considered semantic extensions (non-prototypical meanings) may be physical 
or metaphorical. But this section focuses on the physical extended aspect. Section 
3.3 discusses the metaphorical extensions.  
Most of the extended meanings are also polysemous. The physical extended 
meanings may sometimes represent cognitive and concrete actions. With the 
concrete events, the eye is used to signify social relationships while the cognitive 
meaning indicates mental or intellectual occurrences such as understanding, 
recognition, judgment and clarifications.  
Roque et al. (2018) also observe that sight verbs demonstrate a lot of extended 
meanings, pointing out that knowledge based experiences are the most prominent in 
the study of visual perceptions. These semantic extensions add up to the principal 
meanings perceptive verbs provide. Hwέ and hú in general, describe basic events of 
vision. However, they are different in terms of their occurrences in sentence 
structures, the frequency at which they occur, the different domains they occur in, 
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the various words they occur with and the various meanings they exhibit is 
important. Both activities of hwέ and hú can extend to other cognitive activities in 
that seeing can be done in the mind i.e. seeing in the mind’s eye. The discussion that 
follows is grouped into two domains; intra psychological domain (one entity) and 
social psychological domain (involving two entities or more entities). 
 
3.2.1 Intra Psychological Domain 
Perceptive verbs in the Mfantse dialect of Akan exhibit intra psychological 
experiences where the percipients communicate their own perceptual ideas without 
engaging any other entity. The focus of the percipients’ visual line is directed 
towards their internal thoughts, perceptions, beliefs or ideas. This domain usually 
deals with expressing ideas in the frame of one’s mind. It is normally done to satisfy 
the percipients’ curiosity about something, encouraging themselves about a 
condition, expressing one’s beliefs and opinions about something, and their 
convictions about something. It normally illustrates the self-philosophies of the 
individual (the percipient). In intra-psychological communication, it is not 
obligatory on the part of the percipients to provide feedback to oneself. Some of the 
illustrations are shown below: 
7. Mò-rò-hwè-hwέ   àdzé  bí  
1SG.SUBJ-PROG-look-REDUP something INDEF  
è-dzí 
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CONS-eat 
     ‘I am looking for something to eat.’ 
   
8. Mò-rò-hwè-hwέ   m’-ákɔ́ńdɔ́dzé 
 
1SG.SUBJ-PROG-look-REDUP 1SG.POSS-delicasy 
   
‘I am looking for a delicacy of mine.’ 
 
9. M-ê-hù   àsέḿ  nó  mú  
      1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see  issue  3SG.POSS inside 
 
     ‘I have found the truth in the matter.’ 
 
10. M-ê-hù   èdwúmá nó ényí dó  
      
1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see  job  DEF eye on 
 
     ‘I have become skilled enough on the job.’ 
  
  
In examples (7-10) the percipients’ visual line concerns satisfying their curiosity 
about something. In (7) and (8), the percipients focus their visual lines on their 
desires that will bring them enjoyment or satisfaction and therefore communicate 
their intentions. For instance, the percipient uses the sensory visual domain to 
express a desire of searching for something to eat in example (7), while in (8); the 
sensory visual domain is used to search for the heart’s desire of the percipient. In 
(9), the visual concerns were that of understanding the issue better. In (10), the 
percipients share their internal beliefs or opinions about an inner ability. That is, 
they have now figured out what the work is about, though this does not make them 
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experts. The visual capabilities of the percipients are directed to the issue of self-
confidence.  
Another intra psychological event points to visual direction indicating notions 
such as investigating, examining, discovering, and inspecting. These activities move 
towards achieving a purpose. These circumstances move farther away from just 
seeing with the eye. Some of the visual perceptions that can be expressed in purpose-
driven domains are illustrated below: 
11. Èbùróẃ â wɔ́-dzé   yὲ dɔ̀kóń  nó,             
      maize REL 3PL.SUBJ-take do kenkey  DCM    
      mó-hwὲ  nò  yíé ànà m-à-fɔ́ẃ 
      1SG.SUBJ-look 3SG.OBJ well before 1SG.SUBJ-PERF-wet 
    ‘I examine the maize I use to prepare kenkey very well before soaking it in 
 water.’ (KYSP1) 
 
12. Mè-dzè  m’-ényíwá  nà mé-dzé    
      1SG.SUBJ-use 1SG.POSS-eye FOC 1SG.SUBJ-use   
       hwɛ̀   dɛ̂  èbùróẃ nó  ó-tú 
       look/HAB COMP  maize  3SG.OBJ 3SG.SUBJ-rise 
      ‘I use my eyes to ascertain whether the maize can rise.’ (KYSP 1) 
Semantically, the overt subject in example (11), the percipient has the will power to 
critically examine or inspect the value of the theme entity i.e. the perceived object 
(maize) using the eye. The use of the adverb yíé ‘well’ in the construction, allows 
her to give a perceptual judgment about the perceived object (maize) being inspected 
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or examined. In example (12), the eye is used to determine the quality of the object 
(whether that kind of maize increases in quantities when it is moulded into dough) 
before it is used. Though it is well known that we see with the eye, here, the eye has 
been given prominence (of being more significant) in examining the object. That is 
why the eye is explicitly mentioned. The percipient [animate + human] in this 
construction has experience in the kenkey processing business so she can use the 
physical eye to find out which type of maize, the perceived object [inanimate 
object], can increase in size when soaked in water in terms of its texture.  
Further, in intra-psychological domain, the percipient’s visual information in 
predicting the occurrence of events is imperative. Certain reasoning and signs they 
envisage become satisfactory evidence about a perceived event. An example is 
illustrated in example (13) below: 
13. Mó   hwὲ  wímù  â6 ǹsú bɔ́-tɔ́ 
      1SG.SUBJ  see/HAB atmosphere CCM rain FUT-fall 
      ‘A look at the weather indicates an imminent rainfall.’ 
 
 
6 This particle ‘â’ in example (13) appears to be performing a different function from 
the relative clause maker and the interrogative particle. The role of this â appears in 
conditional sentences. In Akan the conditional clause is marked by two 
discontinuous elements: Sɛ ….. â. The sɛ is optional but the ‘â’ is obligatory. Thus, 
there cannot be a conditional clause without ‘â’. So, I gloss this as conditional 
clausal marker (CCM). Sentences like (13) with or without ‘sɛ’ are common in 
Akan.  
  
 
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The percipient in example (13) uses their visual experience about the weather; signs 
or indicators such as gathered clouds, heavy winds and others that show signs of 
rain to perceive or visualise rainfall. These pieces of visual evidence allow the 
perceiver to give judgement about the perceived event.  
The visual experience can also be used to express diligence in terms of 
monitoring event in intra-psychological events. An example is shown in (14) below: 
14. ɔ́-hwὲ    kàkŕá â á-ká  nó   
3SG.SUBJ-look/HAB  little REL PERF-leave 3SG.OBJ 
 
yíé  
well 
 
‘S/he takes good care of whatever is left.’ (ATASP 3) 
 
 
 In example (14), the percipient is seen as a character who becomes very 
conscientious in his/her activities towards the perceived object. He/she protects, 
preserves, cares for, monitors, observes and acts meticulously in the direction of the 
theme entity (the perceived object).  
 
3.2.2 Social Psychological Domain 
This type of perceptive activity involves physical vision that is associated with 
interpersonal relationships or face-to-face interactions between two or more entities. 
The primary intention of this visual activity is ‘to meet’, and the form of meeting 
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may mean paying someone visits, having an appointment or going for consultation. 
This means that the social psychological role of perceptive events is phenomenal in 
cognitive linguistic research. The social relationship generally selects [+human] 
argument for both the grammatical subject and objects. The following are some of 
the examples: 
15. Mó-kɔ̀   kɔ́-hwέ nò  wɔ̀ àyàrs̀ábéá 
1SG.SUBJ-go  go-look/HAB 3SG.OBJ at hospital 
 
hɔ́ 
there 
 ‘I pay him/her a visit at the hospital.’ (ATASP 3) 
 
 
    16. Yè-kó-hú  à-sɔ́fó  nó mà  wɔ́    
         1PL.SUBJ-go-see PL-pastor DEF COMP  3PL.SUBJ   
         bɔ̀       m̀páá mà hὲǹ  
         strike  prayer give 1PL.OBJ 
        ‘We go and consult the pastors to pray for us.’(ATASP 3) 
 
17. ɔ̀-kɔ́-hwέ-ὲ   n’-ékyìr̀  kwáń 
     3SG.SUBJ-go-look-COMPL 3SG.POSS-back road 
    ‘S/he saw him/her off.’ (KYSP 4) 
 
18. Egya Kweku pέ-ὲ  bìríbí  kò-hú-ù              
      Egya Kweku seek-COMPL something go-see-COMPL  
     èdwúmá mù pànyíń  nó 
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      work inside boss  DEF 
     ‘Egya Kweku looked for something (in the form of a gift) and went to see the
 boss of the company with it.’ (KYSP 4) 
 
In example (15), hwɛ́ ‘look’- to visit (paying someone a visit or going to see 
someone) does not only mean visually perceiving the object with one’s eyes but also 
engaging in a personal interaction. Both participants might have earlier intimate 
relationship. Though there is a particular word in the language to mean to visit – srà 
‘to visit’, the context in (15) also explains the concept of visitation and so hwɛ́ 
‘look’- to visit can be allied to the perception of visitation. The sick who is being 
visited functions as the Recipient of the visual activity. The one who pays the visit 
functions as the Instigator of the action.  In the instance of visitation, the ‘Active 
Experiencer subject’ finds out how someone is doing regarding his/her health and 
general life activities. These contexts accept the motion verb kɔ ‘go’ in its 
construction for grammaticality purposes as illustrated in examples (15) & (16). 
Examples (16) & (18) give further explanations of social relationship in terms of 
seeking help in all areas of life including health issues, financial support, education, 
advice, counselling and accomplishment of an assignment. 
In example (16), the perceived object, pastor, occupies the superior status who 
offers help to the percipient, the subject, in terms of rendering prayer (for 
pacification or something else they requested for). We see a similar situation in 
example (18) where the domain of attention of the visual line of the percipient is 
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directed to a superior object (the boss) pointing to a specific need— ‘seeking help’ 
for job placement or some form of help. This idea though not explicitly stated, could 
be analysed as contextual information. This construction illustrates a stimulus 
activity where there is stimulation in the form of incentive from the percipient to the 
perceived object. The percipient perceives that through that stimulation the 
perceived object in question will offer them the assistance they need. In both 
examples (16) & (18) the target idea of ‘seeking help’ selects [+human] entities. 
These findings have also been proven cross linguistically in earlier works (see 
Roque et al. 2018; Agyekum 2018; Aikhenvald & Storch 2013; Evans & Wilkins 
2000, Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999). 
Sometimes the perceptive verb hwɛ́ ‘look’ is used to express the event of 
escorting or accompanying someone; the interlocutors may not necessarily be 
superior and subordinate, they could be co-equals as well. We see this in example 
(17), where another form of relational experience is expressed. There is no indicator 
of their status whether they are co-equals or superior verses subordinate. So the 
implication may be they are either superior or subordinate, or they are co-equals. 
According to Lien (2005), some of the consultation may be in the form: client verses 
lawyer, student verses teacher and patient verses doctor. There is always a mutual 
understanding or already known establishment of contact experiences with the 
speaker who is directing the subject (percipient) to the superordinate (direct object 
who can offer assistance. In this condition, the visual line is directed to issues of 
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dependency. This event entails volitional activity and may happen within a 
particular time frame. 
Another social relationship that perceptive verb hwɛ́ ‘look’ expresses is the 
notion of caring and monitoring. In this group, the physical sight is connected to 
power or influence of supremacy over the perceived object. The visual activity 
which takes the form of keeping under control are normally associated with events 
such as watching over, monitoring, caring, looking after and nurturing. The 
perceiver exercises authority over the perceived object. Here, the relationship is that 
of dependability, trustworthiness, show of love and concern. The visual attention of 
the percipient to the object is profiled superior-subordinate relationship, where the 
one with power (percipient) has the ability to correct the subordinate (the object) in 
the case where there is imbalance in the actions. Sometimes the object applies 
defensive mechanisms which can result in insecurity. In another situation where the 
visual line is directed towards love, caring and showing concern in the relationship, 
dependability and trustworthiness are significant. The visual action becomes a 
volitional event and can select features like [+/- animate] entities. Instances of this 
construction are shown below: 
19a. Hwὲ  àbòfŕá  nó dò yíé 
  
  look/IMP child  DEF on well 
 
‘Take good care of the baby.’ 
 
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       19b. Hwὲ  fíé  hɔ́ yíé 
              look/IMP household there well 
 ‘Take good care of the household.’ 
 
      20.   Àśɔŕ  nó só hwὲ  à-bɔ̀bɔ̀fó/e-hia-fo 
                church DEF also see/HAB PL-needy/ NOM-need-PL 
            ‘The church also takes care of the needy.’ (ABAK SP3) 
In (19), the speakers are entrusting the baby and the house into the care of a trusted 
person thereby empowering the percipients to exercise responsibility in taking care 
of the baby and also keep the house well. Though the percipients are not overtly 
expressed, it is understood that in (19a), both the percipient and the perceived 
objects are [+ human] entities while in (19b), we have [+ human, - inanimate] 
entities. The percipient is associated with the location (house) where their visual line 
is to be directed. There are situations where we can have a feature like NP1 
[inanimate] and NP2 [+ human] as shown in example (20). In (20), the church takes 
anthropomorphic behaviour and functions as Active Experiencer subject (an 
animate entity) which takes responsibility and much concern in monitoring and 
taking care of the poor in the church. Social-emotional skills7 can be developed in 
 
7 Social-emotional skills include skills, knowledge and attitudes that are essential 
for proper maintenance of good emotional attitude and behaviours that are needed 
for positive relationship.  
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examples (19a) and (20) in the kind of context of relationship that can co-exist 
between the perceiver and the perceived object.  
It can be noted that both perceptive verbs hwέ and hú can express the notion 
of social relationship which deals with love, trustworthiness and dependability. This 
time the psychological experience is directed to the issue of affection (emotional 
experience). In this group, the percipient’s visual direction is focused on activities 
of love or the visual line is directed to power of love towards the perceived object. 
The volitional events centre on both the mental and the physical actions. The relation 
selects features like [+human] entities only. Illustrations are shown below: 
 21. M-ê-hù   ɔ̀báá  bí  é-síé 
                  1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see woman INDEF PERF-hide 
                  ‘I have mottled a particular woman I would like to marry/ I am courting
        a woman to marry.’(Lit.: I have a certain woman in mind) (ATA SP 2)    
 
22. Mú-hú-ù   Ama nó mò-dɔ́-ɔ̀    
      ISG.SUBJ-see-COMPL Ama DCM 1SG.SUBJ-love-COMPL 
      nò 
      3SG.OBJ 
     ‘I fell in love with Ama when I saw her.’ 
 
23 Ɔ̀báá nó mó-hwὲ  nò  kàkŕá,    
     woman DEF 1SG.SUBJ-See 3SG.OBJ for a while  
   
     ná  yὲ-á-kɛ̀-yɛ̀   nó  hó gyáá;   
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     CONJ 3PL.SUBJ-CONS-go-do 3SG.POSS self talk.to  
  
          mè-kyèrɛ́  y-é-kó-hú   ègyá nó 
 
   1SG.SUBJ-show 1PL.SUBJ-CONS-go-see father DEF 
 
 ‘I study the lady for a while then we go and talk it over with the father.’ 
 (ATA SP 2) 
 
   24.   Ɔ̀báá     dzé     í-bó-hú                     dɛ̂          ɔ̀-á-yὲ     
                      
           woman TOP  2SG.SUBJ-FUT-see  COMP  3SG.SUBJ-PERF-do   
          
          bŕá   nó ńnà  ̀ɔ-dzè   nyíńsɛ́ń  
 
                menstruation DEF then 3SG.SUBJ-hold pregnancy 
 
 
     náḿ  
                walk    
               ‘As for a woman, before you become aware of her menarche, she would      
     already be pregnant.’ (ATA SP 2)  
 
 
     25.  Sὲ é-ró-wàŕ   â  ɔ̀-ẁɔ  dɛ̂          
            when 2SG.SUBJ-PROG-marry CCM  3SG.SUBJ-be COMP   
            é-hwé-hwɛ́   òbí  â è-nyé     
            2SG.SUBJ-REDUP-look someone REL 2SG.SUBJ-be.with   
            nó                 nàm̀ à, wó  hó bɔ́-tɔ́    
            3SG.OBJ     walk CCM 2SG.POSS self FUT-dropdown  
            wó. 
            2SG.OBJ 
‘When you decide to marry, look for a partner you will feel comfortable 
with.’(ATA SP 3) 
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In examples (21) to (25), the use of hwέ ‘look ‘and hú ‘see’ refers to a friendship or 
a kind of social relationship which can lead to intimacy or marriage relationship. In 
these constructions, events that lead to amorous relationships are established 
between the perceivers and the perceived objects. In this kind of relationship, 
perception precedes the physical encounter (one on one).  
In example (21), the use of hú ‘see’ may have two interpretations: physical and 
metaphorical. In the case of the physical experience, hú ‘see’ may express setting 
eyes on her physical beauty attracted his attention to express love – that is, love at 
first sight or the perceiver met the perceived object sometime back whom he had 
planned to marry (metaphorical). At this time, he (the percipient) is certain to marry 
the person, because the process of the visual intentions has gone on over a period of 
time. 
In example (22), the visual event is not about physical seeing, it is implied that 
the perceiver has intentions of entering into marital relationship with the perceived 
object (may be they are in their courtship stage). In view of that the perceiver 
observes the actions of the perceived object and studies her as well. The perceptive 
verb hwέ ‘look’ is directed to the way of life of the perceived object such as 
character, behaviour, and other things he deems good for marriage. When the degree 
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of visual attention to the object in question is attained, then the mission of perceptual 
drive is completed.  
The perceptive verb hwέ ‘look’ in example (23) is used as observation 
mechanism. Thus, the visual sense is used in checking every conduct, behaviour, 
dressing and all other things the percipient deem worth satisfying of a woman before 
her hand is asked in marriage. Here, because the percipient has purposed to critically 
study (volitional durative event) and observe the woman, he makes sure to do 
thorough checks on the perceived object (the woman). This look may include 
physical looks and beyond physical looks such as expression of emotions, social 
interaction, and psychological uprightness about the woman (perceived object) he 
wants to marry. There is a human to human interaction here. 
In the context of example (24), the subject is expressing his views, 
demonstrating his mental ability over the issue of most girls in relation to their 
attitude towards menstruation and their sexual life. The visual line of the percipient 
is fixed on his understanding (mental actions) towards the object in question.  
In example (22) & (25), the percipient uses the eye as an outlet for searching for 
what his heart desires (the perceived object). His comment about marriage is that 
before one marries, there is the need to look for a woman with whom one can 
associate well for the rest of one’s life; and the perceptive verb hwέ helps in deciding 
that. To achieve his dreams, the eye must do several searches; thus, a repeated action 
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of watching the perceived object within a time frame to observe and assess all the 
qualities through the mind’s eye, (eye and the mind work concurrently) before the 
purpose will be accomplished. The eye then becomes a decision making tool for the 
purposes of achieving a goal. The activity goes through durative and volitional 
process. 
In addition to the earlier discussions, the perceptive verbs in Akan can also 
exhibit other semantic projections relating to the notion of diagnosing, searching, 
investigating, inspecting, identifying and expecting. The perceptive verb hwέ ‘look’ 
normally demonstrates these understandings. In the context of these understandings, 
the verb can appear either in a reduplicated form or in its basic form. Examples (26 
– 28) illustrate some of the reduplicated concepts of the usage of the perceptive verb 
hwέ ‘look’. 
26. Dátsèr ̀  nó hwè-hwέ yáŕbá  nó nó  
       
doctor  DEF REDUP-look desease DEF 3SG.POSS  
 
mú  àǹsáànà ͻ̀-à-mà    èdúŕ 
           inside  before  3SG.SUBJ-CONS-give medicine 
 
         ‘The doctor first does the diagnosis of the disease before he administers 
  medication.’ 
 
 
     
27. Hwè-hwὲ  m̀brὲ àdzé nó wɔ́ nó  
 
REDUP-look/IMP where thing DEF at DCM 
 
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           ‘Look for where the item is.’ 
 
      28. Àsέḿ nó hwè-hwὲ  mú ádzé 
            matter DEF REDUP-look/IMP inside thing 
           ‘Investigate the case/matter properly.’ 
The use of the reduplicated verb hwέ ‘look’ as expressed in examples (26) to (28) 
denotes seeing several times. That is, repeated purposeful looking. The indication 
here is that when the brain receives the visual stimulus it processes it in the mind 
and its effect is realised through the repeated event of the visual activities. Thus, 
visual sensory organ, the eye, undergoes several checks in the visual process. These 
actions are done in a volitional durative manner. In example (26), for instance, the 
reduplicated form of the perceptive verb hwèhwέ ‘look, look’ describes the 
technique (diagnosis) doctors (the percipient) use. That is, the continuous probing 
activities of scientific investigation in a particular disease using the visual stimulus. 
In example (27) & (28), the repeated actions of the activity of seeing are done for 
purposes of searching and investigating, respectively. The concept of investigating 
then becomes the metaphorical extension of searching. For instance, in (28), the 
reduplication of the verb explains the semantic meaning ‘many watching or seeing 
or looking’ into the matter through exploration. 
The other examples are illustrated in examples (29- 31). In these contexts, the 
perceptive verbs appear in their basic form. 
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29. Mà yέ-ń8-hwέ  ènyíḿ kàkŕá 
let 1PL.SUBJ.OPT-look face little 
           ‘Let’s give ourselves some time / wait patiently for a while.’ (ADJT SP 5) 
 
30. Mensah kɔ̀-hwέ-ɛ̀  dε̂   èdwúmá nó  
      Mensah go-look-COMPL COMP  work  DEF 
      é-dzì  mú 
      PERF-eat  whole 
      ‘Mensah went to inspect whether the work has been perfectly done.’ 
 
31. Yέ-hwὲ   dwùmá â  yé-rí-dzí                                   
     1PL.SUBJ-see/HAB work  REL  1PL.SUBJ-PROG-eat    
     nà  yέ-dzé    bɔ̀  m̀páá 
    CONJ 1PL.SUBJ-take/HAB  play/HAB prayer 
  ‘We base our prayer on the programme.’ (ADJT SP 5). 
 
In example (29), the percipient’s visual line is directed towards the notion of 
anticipation. The collocation expression of hwέ ènyíḿ accounts for the concept of 
anticipation. The percipient engages the perceived object’s attention by directing 
 
8 In example (29) the construction is another form of imperative construction which 
Osam (2004) names as optative. According to Osam (2004:18) the optative 
“involves the presence of a subject marker and a high tone homorganic nasal prefix 
on the verb and it is used when commands are directed at plural addressees. So, I 
gloss this OPT “optative marker” as seen in example (29). 
 
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their visual line to the future (waiting for a while). The visual experience focuses on 
expectancy, or exercises of bated breath; it is a volitional process which goes 
through durative development by both the percipient and the perceived object. In 
this context hwέ selects [+human] feature for both the subject and the object.  
In (30), the visual line of the percipient is directed towards the activity of 
inspection. The visual sensory activities include examination/scrutiny/evaluation or 
checks and balances. The use of the perceptive verb hwέ selects [+human] feature 
for the subject and [-human] feature for the object. The visual experience is 
volitional; however, the time frame for the visual activity may be either durative 
(over long period) or inceptive (over a short period – immediate perception is done 
indicating direct witness of the activity) depending on the percipient’s intent.  
With example (31), the visual sensory activity is geared towards a particular 
programme or occasion before a correlated activity is performed. This example has 
more cultural connotations, thus in Akan every occasion goes with its particular 
prayer. In this context, hwέ has been used as a pointer or check to a particular 
occasion before its correlated activity (prayer) is performed. Again, we can propose 
that the CPV hwέ ‘look’ relates to the idea of estimation or evaluation. This meaning 
relates to the conjoined ideas in the construction. 
In this context the perceptive verb hwέ also selects [+ human] feature for the 
subject and [- human] feature for the object (activity). The visual expertise of the 
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percipient is realised only when a particular occasion occurs; the corresponding 
activity is connected to the percipient’s visual line which is performed over a short 
period of time (inceptive) in a skilful way.  
A similar example relates to when a perceptual experience of a circumstance 
that surrounds a particular activity connotes the present state of that experience. An 
example is shown in (32) below: 
32. Ńtsí yέ-hwὲ   mú â, ɔ̀máń nó yὲ   
      so  1PL.SUBJ-look/HAB  inside CCM town DEF be  
      Tàkyí dzé ńtsí nà  yέ-frέ   nó   
      Takyi own so CONJ  1PL.SUBJ-call/HAB 3SG.OBJ 
      Tàkyímàn 
      Takyiman. 
     ‘So, we realised that the town is for Takyi that is why we call it  Takyiman.’ 
 (ADJT SP 5) 
 
In example (32), the percipients’ visual experiences towards the state of affairs of 
certain situations compelled them to associate a particular name with the perceived 
situation. The sensory organ was used to probe further details or deeper 
understanding of the state of that activity which led to the association of the name. 
This condition might have gone through durative and volitional processes and 
selects [+human] entity for the subject position and [inanimate] entity for the 
perceived occurrence. 
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According to Van Putten (2020) visual verbs can express inferences or what she 
calls ‘indirect perception’ where the percipients infer meaning from a context based 
on the evidence they have. This notion is also realised in Akan. In the case of Akan, 
the perceived object’s responses to a percipient’s answer in an interrogative 
construction exhibit this notion. An example is illustrated in (33) below: 
33. É-hwɛ̀   m̀brὲ̀ wíádzé  á-yέ  yí â,     
                 
2SG.SUBJ-look/HAB how  world  PERF-be DEM CCM  
 
     í-hù   nὸ  dέń? 
 
     2SG.SUBJ-see/HAB 3SG.OBJ how 
 
   ‘What do you think about how the world is today?’ 
 
The example in (33) is an interrogative question where the percipient (the subject) 
is seeking information from the perceived object about what is happening in the 
world. The sensory visual activity is used to investigate issues concerning what is 
happening around them (the society or the country or what is happening globally). 
So the visual skills centre on the mental interactions to achieve a target goal. In this 
context both the perceptive verbs hwέ and hú co-occur in the construction. Both 
verbs hwέ and hú are used to seek clarification about a certain situation or condition. 
The verbs are used to inquire for information. The evidence of understanding as 
established in the perceived object’s visual experience will allow him/her to provide 
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inferences of meanings to the percipient based on the earlier context the percipient 
portrayed. 
Furthermore, with social psychological domain, vision can be used to measure 
duration of time where a particular event can be celebrated. This is normally 
associated with traditional and some religious festivals. With this type of 
communication, the percipients use the visual perception as a means to calculate or 
measure a certain duration or period for an event. The distance between that event 
and another is derived from knowledge gained through vision. An example is 
illustrated in (34) below: 
34.  Yέ-hwέ   ǹ-dá        nó       nà         yέ-dzé                 hyὲ      
              1PL.SUBJ-see/HAB  PL-day   DEF    CONJ   1PL.SUBJ-take  fix       
   àfáhyέ  dá nó 
      festival  day   DEF 
             ‘We use the calendar to calculate the date for the festival.’ (ADJT SP3) 
In example (34), the visual information the percipient has in relation to the occasion 
to be celebrated is very significant. The factors, signals and other relevant evidence 
needed to be seen are deduced from the percipient’s visual faculty. When these 
visual signs become evident, then the perceived event is considered to be due to be 
celebrated. The sensory visual experience then becomes an indicator or a decision 
making tool in confirmation of a perceived event. 
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The perceptive verb hwέ may also play the role of an indicator or pointer of an 
individual’s behaviour. An example is shown in (35) below: 
35. Hwέ  dzà  ɔ́-ré-kyérέ 
 
look/IMP thing.REL 3SG.SUBJ-PROG-show 
  
‘Just look at what s/he is doing.’  
 
 Semantically, the subject in (35) is covertly expressed; the perceiver uses their 
perceptual experience to draw the attention of the perceived object’s behaviour or 
actions to order. From the speaker’s point of view (the percipient), the subject’s 
action is seen to be in contrast to what the speaker (the percipient) expects. Thus, 
the subject’s action deviates from the norm. With this, the percipient draws the 
attention of the perceived object to his/her rightful role. The visual information 
derived from the verb hwέ has been that of an indicator or pointer which the 
percipient points out. Both the percipient and the perceived object are + human 
arguments.  
Sometimes, in social psychological context, the perceptive verb can be used to 
express the idea of reflections and taking critical look about something. Some 
examples are displayed below: 
36.  Hwέ  ná hù  dɛ̂ 
   
look/HAB CONJ see/HAB COMP   
 
ͻ̀-ré-ǹǹ-gyìná   
 
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3SG.SUBJ-PROG-NEG-stand 
 
‘Note that it will not stand.’ 
 
 
37. Í-hù  àdzé  â  hwὲ  nò             
2SG.SUBJ-see something CCM  see/HAB 3SG.OBJ 
 
yíé 
            well 
          ‘Be careful about things/take a good look about things.’ 
In example (36), the perceptive verbs hwέ and hú are connected to the issue of 
introspection. The percipient entreats the perceived object to think through the issue 
by doing self-examination about it using the visual mechanism. The semantic 
connotation of this expression is that, the perceiver cannot identify in his/her visual 
capacity or sense to identify any good things from the perceived object’s 
experiences. In example (37), the visual verbs are used to sound caution to the 
percipient or notify them to take a good look of things around them. Equally, the 
cognitive perceptive verb hwέ can be used to sound a caution. An example is shown 
in (38) below: 
38. Hwὲ  yíé 
look/IMP well 
 
           ‘Be careful.’ 
In (38), the percipient is covertly expressed, but the inference here shows that the 
percipient is sounding a caution to the perceived object. It can also mean giving 
warning to the perceived object. The visual activity is connected to signs of warning 
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or cautioning. The social relationship between the percipient and the perceived 
object might be superior versus subordinate or the relationship may depend on other 
danger looming around whom the warning or cautioning shall be sounded to. The 
percipient and perceived object have [+ human] features.  
 
3.3 Metaphorical Extensions of the Perceptive Verbs (Hwέ and Hú) in Akan 
This section looks at the metaphorical extensions of the perceptive verbs hwέ and 
hú in Akan. The discussion that follows focuses on the primary metaphors of the 
perceptive verbs hwέ and hú in the language. 
Winter (2019:28) observes that metaphors are one of the “versatile strategies 
for conveying perceptual meaning as well as enriching sensory vocabularies”. He 
further explains that speakers normally use their knowledge in perception to 
describe other conceptual meaning. That is, they display extensions of meanings 
rather than the basic meanings.  
Lakoff & Johnson (2003:4) also define metaphors as “our ordinary conceptual 
system, in terms of which we both think and act; [and that whatever we think and 
act] is fundamentally metaphorical in nature… [if] our conceptual system is largely 
metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every 
day is very much a matter of metaphor”. Understanding this, we can say that 
metaphor is a thoughtful way of understanding one thing in terms of another 
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experience. As our senses visualise things in the real world, they capture so many 
things that are understood to be found to be embedded in our mental system. That 
is, what exactly is seen or perceived in the mind’s eye, is what is correlated with the 
notion of metaphor. In view of that, Lakoff and Johnson explain that “metaphor is 
not just a matter of language… [but] human thought processes are largely 
metaphorical” (2003:6). In support of this argument, Lakoff and Johnson (2003) 
point out that metaphor are seen to be pervasive in human life endeavours where the 
sense of one concept of meaning is transferred unto the other. It can generally be 
claimed that metaphors embody various meanings in average language usage. 
  For this reason, cognitive metaphors help us to understand one concept in 
relation to another idea. These meanings go beyond the basic or literal meanings the 
verbs express. So cognitivists put this relation into mapping, where a concrete 
concept – Source domain (that arises from everyday life experiences) is mapped 
unto a Target domain (abstract ideas – unperceivable and intangible entities we 
cannot see physically). Instances of metaphors, mappings from one abstract domain 
to another are also linked to the concept of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT).  
According to Saeed (2016:371), “an important characteristic of cognitive 
semantics is the central role in thought and language assigned to metaphor. Lakoff 
and his colleagues (e.g. Lakoff and Johnson 2003, 1999, Lakoff 1987, Lakoff and 
Turner 1989) proposed an approached termed Conceptual Metaphor Theory 
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(CMT)”. The opinion of these pioneers in CMT is that, among the numerous ways 
we understand and talk about the reality that surrounds the world, human beings 
tend to use metaphors more often than they think and generally, they use it 
instinctively.  
Lakoff and Johnson (2003) also expressed that conceptual metaphors are shaped 
in relation to our cultural and social experiences; consequently, they may differ 
across cultures. In support of this view, Kovecses (2005) argues that conceptual 
metaphors account for ‘cultural variations’ within a given culture. However, for this 
to be identified there are many factors such as communicative issues, the various 
situations in which these issues are discussed and the context in which the ideas are 
expressed, all, might contribute to these cultural differences in the use of CMT.  
The above assertions indicate that conceptual metaphors are inherent concepts in 
the human mind. For instance, what we think about the world around us and our 
interpersonal relationships with the world are all related to how we view the world. 
The experiences which are revealed through our thought may be mapped unto other 
experiences (metaphors) we exhibit. Thus, conceptual metaphor is the key to 
unlocking the conceptual experiences of the individual. 
In Ibarretxe-Antuñano’s (2019:2) view our senses do not only serve as 
conduit for communicating only physical information about the world but also make 
available essential evidence of things we cannot physically point to (abstract ideas). 
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In relation to this, she explains CMT as mappings of two distinct conceptual 
domains-- the Source and the Target— and mention that in CMT, “the same target 
domain can be conceptualised in terms of different types of source domains. Thus, 
it can be noted that meanings in our cognitive faculty are grounded by our 
experiences. Some examples of metaphors from Lakoff & Johnson (2003:4) are 
illustrated as follows:  
             Source ----------------Target  
39a.       war                          Argument 
39b.       war                          Life   
39c.       money                    Time   
In example (39) the conceptual domains from which we draw the metaphor is the 
Source – war and money and the conceptual domains interpreted is the Target – life, 
argument and time. So, argument, life and time are understood (are conceptualised) 
in terms of war and money.   
We illustrate some examples of metaphors of perceptive verbs of hwέ and hú in 
the Mfantse dialect of Akan below: 
 
40a. Èhùbídá  ńtsí nà àbówá ásèrẁá  gyè    
       experience that CONJ animal sparrow collect/HAB  
       né                 bá  ágór â, ó-yì     
       3SG.POSS child  play CCM 3SG.SUBJ-pick/HAB   
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       n’-ényí  tò  ǹkyɛ́ń 
       3SG.POSS-eye  put/HAB side 
      ‘It is out of caution that when the sparrow plays with the child it looks
 elsewhere.’  
 
40b. É-dzé   bͻ́-hwέ óbí  né  bá   
        2SG.SUBJ-take/HAB FUT-look someone 3SG.POSS child   
        dzé     fá   tͻ̀  àkókͻ́  nyὲǹ   
        DCM  pick/HAB  buy/HAB chicken rear/HAB 
        nò  
        3SG.OBJ 
        ‘It is better to rear a hen than to nurture someone else’s child.’(ATAK SP4) 
 
40c. Hwɛ̀  dó mà mè  ǹǹ-yέ  dɛ̂   
        look/IMP  on give 1SG.OBJ NEG-be COMP  
        wó-árá 
        2SG.REFL 
       ‘It is better to take good care of your own things than allowing someone to do 
 so.’ 
 
40d. Hwɛ̀  pété  né  ń-tɛ̀kyèrέ mú 
        look/IMP  vulture  3SG.POSS PL-feather inside 
       ‘To use ways and means to uncover the truth.’(Lit.: Look inside the feathers of 
 the vulture) 
 
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In (40a), the concept of hú ‘see’ is extended to the concept of ‘cautiousness’ – a 
careful act. Also, the cautiousness idea in the visual event hú is teased out from the 
context in relation to some occurrences that might have happened previously- bí dá 
‘some before’. This relationship is illustrating both semantic and pragmatic features. 
Again, the example in (40a) is conceptualised to mean that the sparrow is extremely 
vigilant and alert. It does that because it is assumed that it has experienced some 
visual dangers previously and this time, it has become very observant even when it 
plays with its child so that no such danger befalls it again. This means that being 
vigilant can be conceptualised as an activity of seeing.  
In example (40b), the concept of hwέ ‘look’ is mapped unto the idea of 
making investment through nurturing someone (somebody’s child). The context in 
(40b) literally means, in Akan culture, it is normal for a person (a Benefactor-- 
whether a couple, a single parent or benevolent person who wills in the community) 
to nurture someone’s child (Beneficiary). It is expected that this investment yields 
good development and in turn, the beneficiaries be appreciative of this kind gesture 
(hwέ - nurture) shown them. However, if it turns out that these Beneficiaries 
demonstrate discourteous behaviours towards their Benefactors who have taken care 
of them in such a way that, there is then a feeling of resentment on the part of the 
Benefactors, this statement (in 40b) is uttered. Sometimes, so many meanings can 
be deduced from this behaviour but the common expression heard in the language 
is the (40b) making contrast judgment of the beneficiaries behaviour to the activities 
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of rearing a fowl. The implication is that, it is not even worth it in nurturing (hwέ) 
someone’s child but it will be more beneficial to use the resources to rear a fowl 
because in the end you will gain more profit from your produce. This perception is 
conceptualised in Akan culture to mean one good turn deserves another. This 
concept of becoming kind through nurturing is mapped unto the concept of hwέ 
‘look’. So, in the context, the collocation of the phrases ‘hwέ  óbí  né  bá dzé’ in 
relation to ‘fá tͻ ̀àkókͻ́ nyὲǹ nò’ brings out the meaning of this context in Akan 
culture. 
In example (40c) the idea of hwέ ‘look’ is conceptualised in relation to not 
taking good care of something that belongs to someone well in their absence as the 
owner will do. The conceptualisation in (40c) can be associated to some factors that 
might be obvious for that attitude. In Akan, if people are found not demonstrating 
the good behaviour in taking good care of someone else’s property, they might 
ascribe it so many issues as wastefulness, carelessness or even having evil 
intentions. These concepts are mapped unto the activity of looking (a look which 
does not portray efficiency or productivity).  
In (40d), the perception of the subject is made clear — a behaviour that is 
perceived to connote a good attitude in looking for the truth about something. The 
activity of being a good investigator or having a private eye is conceptualised as 
looking.  
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The perceptive verbs can also express the metaphorical notion of ‘vigilance’ and 
taking precautions or cautiousness. In this expression the emphasis is on the 
perceived object who is being cautioned to use the eye to watch critically the events 
around him. Also, the percipient takes precautions due to some visual experiences 
they have encountered. An example like (41a) will generate the metaphorical 
expression in (41b). 
41a. É-yὲ   dέń yὲ ǹ-hwѐhwὲ-mú    
  2SG.SUBJ-do how be NOM-REDUP-look-inside   
 
béŕ â á-tsѐ  dɛ̂ wó  kúń   
when REL   PERF-hear COMP2SG.POSS husband 
  
  é-hù   ɔ̀báá  fófóŕ 
 
 2SG.SUBJ-see woman new  
  
            ‘How do you investigate your husband when you hear that he is dating  
  another woman?’ 
 
41b. Mѐ-dzѐ  m’-ényíwá  bↄ́ -tó  fámù   
        1SG.SUBJ-take 1SG.POSS-eye FUT-put down  
        à-hwέ   
        CONS-look 
 ‘I will monitor things closely.’ (DW SP 5) 
 
In example (41a), the speaker would want to inquire from the percipient how she 
reacts (using the visual sense to investigate) when she hears that the husband is 
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dating another woman. Here, the PV hwέ ‘look’ undergoes repeated (reduplication) 
purposeful looks in the visual process. The verb has been nominalized as 
ǹhwѐhwὲmú ‘investigation’ (by the nominalization prefix /n/) in the visual process. 
So, the collocation of the nominalized verb ǹhwѐhwὲ and the postposition word mú 
‘inside’ brings out the clear meaning of the act of looking (investigation). In this 
context the meaning of the visual sense is more on the nominalized word. The 
second visual sense hú ‘see’ marks tense. Also, there is an interfield activity in this 
context where the visual sense (the eye) and the auditory sense (the ear) perceptions 
are combined in identifying a perceived problem.  
The notion of hwέ ‘look’ in (41b) is extended to the concept of ‘vigilance’ 
where a careful watch (being very observant in watching, checking all possible risks 
that might arise) is done. The percipient embarks on security responsibilities that 
demand long hours of vigilance such as monitoring and observing. This means that 
the activity of becoming vigilant can be conceptualised as hwέ ‘to look’. In the 
conceptualisation process, the percipient does intensive observation over a period 
of time to achieve the target event. Thus, the percipient performs the visual event 
(looking) with a specific purpose and aim or target. 
Another example that illustrates the metaphorical notion of taking precautions 
or becoming cautious is shown in (42).  
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42.     Ònyíḿpá bɔ́-hwέ yíé nó9 ná ὸfìr ̀                     
    man  FUT-see well DCM CONJ emanate/HAB    
 
          dzà  ó-é-hú. 
    thing 3SG.SUBJ-PERF-see 
  
   ‘People become cautious due to experiences they have encountered.’  
 
 
Example (42) has the two perceptive verbs occurring in the construction. These two 
PVs go beyond physical activity of seeing. While the visual activity of hwέ ‘watch’/ 
‘look’ in (42) is conceptualised as being careful or becoming cautious (the 
cautiousness idea arises because the PV co-occurs with the adverb yíé ‘well’) in 
daily life. The PV – hú ‘see’ is conceptualised as experiences one has encountered 
before. These experiences relating to the visual sense hú might have been bitter 
events or certain happenstances that have made them (the percipients) become 
cautious in life. The conceptualised information—experiences is mapped unto the 
visual activity of hú. This experience is what the percipient focuses on as the prime 
 
9 The no in example (42) marks the end of a dependent clause; that’s why it’s better 
to call it the Dependent Clause Marker (DCM). Also, Fretheim & Amfo (2008:360; 
Amfo 2007) argues that “a dependent clause followed by no [has three functions]; 
it can (a) impose a temporal constraint on the main clause proposition [as shown in 
example (42)], (b) mark a relative clause in a syntactic construction where the overt 
head noun is outside the scope of no, [and can] (c) mark one of the propositions in 
a substitutive (‘instead of ’) constructions where the future tense prefix bε indicates 
that the state of affairs described in the no-marked clause is unfulfilled”. 
 
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to exhibit the event of taking precaution. So, the event of taking precautions is 
aligned to the visual activity of hwέ ‘watch’ / ‘look’. 
 
3.3.1 Relation of Vision to Idiomatic Expressions  
The metaphorical meanings of visual perception can be extended to form idiomatic 
expressions; a structure where the literal meaning of vision is not directed to the 
individual words that form the idiom; rather, the meaning is derived from the entire 
idiom.  In Akan, this extension of meanings of these idiomatic expressions may 
come in different forms such as, by the addition of postposition or an NP or adverb 
of degree and intensity to the visual experience (Agyekum 2005). Mostly in these 
constructions, the sensory visual organ, the eye, is used to form the idioms. In an 
earlier study by Gibbs & O’Brien (1990), it was argued that idioms have conceptual 
undertones and that what is considered as idioms can potentially be analysed as 
metaphors (but not dead metaphors). They express this in the following lines:  
People have strong conventional images for many idioms and that 
the regularity in people’s knowledge of their images for idioms is 
due to the conceptual metaphors motivating the figurative meanings 
of idioms. [Thus,] conventional images and knowledge associated 
with idioms are constrained by the conceptual metaphors. [In view 
of that] idioms are not “dead” metaphors with their meanings being 
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arbitrarily determined. Rather, the meanings of many idioms are 
motivated by speakers’ tacit knowledge of the conceptual metaphors 
underlying the meanings of these figurative phrases (1990:35). 
It can be understood from the above statement that idiomatic expressions are 
influenced by our conceptual skills and abilities; for these underlying motivations 
inform the meanings of the idioms. Kazemi et al. (2013:38) support this and point 
out that “conceptual metaphor underlies the comprehension of idioms”. That is, 
meanings that idioms portray are constantly influenced by our conceptual 
experiences.  
In Akan, it is possible to use the visual sensory organ which displays visual 
experiences to demonstrate idiomatic concept of ‘courage’, ‘respect’, ‘disrespect’ 
and the ‘inability to identify nice and beautiful things’. Examples are shown in (43 
– 47) below: 
43. N’- ényíwá  yὲ dzѐǹ  
   
3SG.POSS-eye be hard 
 
‘S/he is courageous.’(Lit.: His/her eyes are strong) 
 
44. N’-ényíwá  s̀ɔ àdzé  
3SG.POSS-eye light thing 
  
‘S/he is respectful/content.’(Lit.: His/her eyes light/brighten up things) 
 
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45. N’- ényíwá  m̀m̀-bú  nò  dwέ 
  
3SG.POSS-eye NEG-break 3SG.OBJ once 
 
 ‘S/he is disrespectful.’ (Lit.: His/her eye does not blink) 
 
46. ɔ̀-á-tótó    n’-ényíwá  á-wé 
  
3SG.SUBJ-PERF-bake-REDUP 3SG.POSS-eye PERF-chew 
 ‘S/he is disrespectful.’(Lit.: He/she has grilled their eyes and eaten them) 
 
47. N’-ényíwá  dò m̀-bówá é-wú  
       
3SG.POSS-eye on PL-animal PERF-die 
 
            ‘S/he does not know what is nice / beautiful /can’t discern what is beautiful 
 or nice.’(Lit.: His/her eyes animals die) 
 
In examples (43 to 47), the visual sensory organ, the eye, which is the source domain 
is mapped unto the target domains – strong (courageous) in (43), glittering objects 
(respect/ satisfaction) in (44) and being blunt in speech, behaviour and attitude in 
(45), disrespectful attitude in (45) and (46) and not able to identify beautiful or nice 
things in (47).  
The percipient in (43) conceptualises the issue of bravery in relation to the 
visual organ, the eye. Thus, the eye (the source domain that displays visual 
experiences) of the perceived object presents courageous issues (the target domain). 
In this context, the eye goes beyond physical seeing to present cognitive knowledge 
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that is recognised as courageous. Thus, being courageous is attributed to having 
strong visual organ.   
In (44), the percipient conceptualises shiny, bright object or object that 
glitters relative to the visual organ. So, the connotation of the meaning of respect is 
equated to these sparkling objects; that aspect of the body (eye) or behaviour that 
reveals actions of sparkling. In another context, the same expression may connote 
that s/he is satisfied with whatever they have. That is the idea of satisfaction can 
also be conceptualised as conduct that reveals glittering actions. When this situation 
happens, the concept of showing gratification is associated with the visual organ 
(the eye) that sparkles. In the negative context, where the person does not 
demonstrate respectful conduct, examples (45) and (46) are used to describe the 
percipients.  
In (46) the context is not about the perceived object roasting his/her eyes to 
chew but the roasting of the eye is conceptualised as disrespectful attitude. The 
perceived object is seen to be blunt in speech and in behaviour. Thus, the concept 
of being unmannerly is mapped unto the idea of roasted eye in Akan. 
In example (47), the visual sensory organ, the eye (what is on the eye) which 
is the source domain, is conceptualised as being dead (the target domain). That is, 
there is no life in the visual field of the perceiver – the target domain. The semantic 
connotation of this expression is that, the perceiver cannot identify in his visual 
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capacity good things or beautiful things; thus, the sense to identify beautiful/nice 
things or good things. It can be expressed literally as onyim dza a ɔyε fεw, ‘he can’t 
identify beautiful things’. The inability of the eye to recognise beautiful things is 
conceptualised as dead eyes— no life. The example is (47) is realised as an 
euphemistic expression. 
In Akan, in a context where there are several phenomenal happenings in the 
environment and there is the need to pay much attention to them, the visual organ is 
used to communicate that. Also, the visual organ can be used to express the 
perception of humble behaviour about a percipient. Instances are demonstrated 
below: 
48a. Fà  w’-ényíwá  tò fámú     
              take/IMP 2SG.POSS-eye put down 
  
 ‘Be watchful.’(Lit.: Take your eye put down) 
 
 
      48b Fà  w’-ényíwá  tò hɔ́   
 take/IMP 2SG.POSS-eye put there 
  
‘Be observant.’(Lit.: Take your eye put there) 
 
 
48c. Kà  w’-ényíwá  fámú     
 drive/IMP 2SG.POSS-eye down 
 
‘Be humble or humble yourself /slow down in life.’(Lit.: Drive your eye 
down) 
 
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The activities of the visual organ in example (48) function as the source domain and 
the conceptualised ideas derived from the sensory organs play the role of the target 
domain. The constructions in (48a-c) show that there have been some happenings 
that are on-going, and the percipients are drawing the attention of the perceived 
objects to that effect. The visual sensory organ, the eye as the source domain is 
mapped unto the relationship of the ground (a human attribute of humility). The 
percipients conceptualise this in their mind that the perceived objects need to be 
more vigilant in a humble manner as indicated in (48a), or become observant in 
relation to what is going on around them as expressed in (48b) and/or live a humble 
life shown in (48c). These events are all related to the Target domain. Thus, the 
concepts of being vigilant and demonstrating humility are conceptualised as 
lowering of the eye, ‘putting the eyes down’ and ‘touching the ground with the eye’, 
respectively. Taking notice through the eye, the percipients encourage the objects to 
move a step further in their assessment of information by being more vigilant. The 
percipients emphasise that the perceived objects in (48a & b) become watchful of 
the present development of the perceived scenes around them. To make things 
clearer to the objects in (48c), the percipient cautions the object to come down in 
terms of actions and in deeds. This expression is mostly characterised with superior 
verses subordinate relationship where the superior has much experience to advise 
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the subordinate (the perceived objects) or bring them to order. All these 
constructions demonstrate intransitivity.  
Another dimension of the idiomatic expressions is where perception is 
directed to the purpose of directionality. In Akan, these idiomatic expressions are 
formed with post-positions to express concept of monitoring, dependability and 
uprightness. In these contexts, the visual organ is used to express these concepts. 
According to Kubota (2016) the use of sight verb + preposition in English may as 
well indicate direction. This directionality displays continuous movement and 
uninterrupted events. She cites the following examples as directions: ‘look ahead’, 
‘look around’, ‘look about’, ‘look ahead’, ‘look beyond’, ‘look to’, ‘look towards’, 
‘look forward (to)’ and look back. Some instances which use the visual organ are 
illustrated in (49) below:  
49a. M’-ényíwá  dzì  w’-ékyìr̀            -          
  1SG.POSS-eye eat/HAB 2SG.POSS-back 
 
‘I am following you closely.’(Lit.: My eyes eat your back) 
 
 
49b. Òbíárá n’-ényíwá  dà  wó  dó 
  everyone 3SG.POSS-eye lie.on/HAB 2SG.SUBJ on 
 
 ‘Everyone looks up to you.’ (Lit.: Everyone’s eyes lie on you) 
 
 
49c. Ò-bír-ìì    n’-ényíwá  dó         
  3SG.SUBJ-darken-COMPL 3SG.POSS-eye on 
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  ‘S/he tricked the person.’ (Lit.: He/she obscures his/her eyes) 
  
From example (49a-c), the sensory organ, ényí ‘eye’ is playing the role of the source 
domain while the concepts of close monitoring, dependability and being tricky are 
mapped unto the target domain. In (49a), the eye does not walk; however, the eye is 
being mapped with taking steps or walking – following closely (the target domain). 
The concept of walking is conceptualised as movement of the eye that closely 
monitors someone who is likely to prosper in future (using the eye to follow his 
back). A person whom all the family have entrusted their hope to is being monitored 
with the eye so that that dream comes to pass. 
In (49b), the eye does not lie prostrate, however, the eye is being mapped 
with the idea of lying prostrate – a straight focused event (the target domain). 
Semantically, the meaning of dependability on the part of the perceived object is 
aligned to uprightness of the eye. Consequently, the conceptualisation of 
dependability is connected to fixity of the eye. 
 In example (49c), the visual sense organ (source domain) was likened to 
darkness. The darkness on the eye or a blurred vision (that it, not seeing properly on 
an issue and thereby getting disorganised as to what to do) is mapped unto the 
concept of confusion (the target domain). Thus, in this context, the notion of 
confusion is conceptualised as the event of using dubious means to deceive someone 
(putting someone’s eye into total darkness’ using tricks). These tricks distorted the 
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mental vision of the targeted object such that, s/he couldn’t make things clear in 
thought. 
The perceptive verbs hwέ and hú are also used to express idiomatic 
expressions which take on post-positions. These expressions express the idea of 
focusing on the future, expectancy, forgiveness, understanding and discovering the 
truth. Example (50 –51) demonstrate some of these ideas.  
50a. Dwéń  hwɛ̀  káń 
       think/HAB look/HAB forward 
     ‘Think of the future.’(Lit.: Thinking through the future) 
 
50b. Mà yɛ́-ń-hwɛ́  ènyíḿ kàkŕá 
        let 1PL.SUBJ-OPT-see face little 
       ‘Let us wait for while.’(Lit.: Let us look face a while) 
 
50c. Hwɛ̀  sòr ̀ ná fà  mó  bͻ́ń  
        look/IMP  up CONJ take/HAB 1SG.POSS sin  
        kyɛ̀  mè 
       give/HAB  1SG.OBJ 
      ‘For God’s sake forgive me.’(Lit.: Look up and forgive me my sins) 
 
50d. M-ê-hù   dó 
       1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see on 
       ‘I have understood it.’(Lit.: I have seen on) 
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51a. M-ê-hù   àsέḿ nó ѐkyìr ̀  
 1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see matter DEF back  
‘I have come to discover the truth or detected the main fact of the matter.’(Lit.:  
I have seen the back of the matter) 
 
51b. Ò-é-hù   né  bŕá ánó 
       3SG.SUBJ-PERF-see 3SG.POSS life mouth 
       ‘S/he has lived life to the fullest.’(ATAK SP1) 
 
The context in example (50a) shows that, the concept of looking into the future, 
looking forward (the source domain) is mapped unto the idea of thoughtfulness 
(Target domain). Thus, having thoughtful idea is conceptualised as focusing on the 
future; thus, a look into the future (looking forward). In the same way for (50b), the 
concept of expectancy is conceptualised as the visual activity of looking forward.  
With (50c) the sense of forgiveness is conceptualised as looking up to God or 
looking up to the sky, whereas in (50d), the idea of understanding is conceptualised 
as seeing the top of it/ seeing the top of something.  
Example (51a) demonstrates that knowledge of a perceivable event has been 
revealed ‘hú ‘hù ѐkyìr̀’ literally, ‘see back’. The targeted domain (information) has 
been detected by the percipient through the use of the source domain- hú ‘to see’. 
The conceptualised visual activity (hú) of identifying the truth or discovering the 
truth is mapped unto the continuous search of the evidence thereby subjecting the 
visual line to a durative process to reach the target domain (finding the truth). In that 
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exploration, the proposed task was finally accomplished where the truth was 
exposed.  
In (51b), the use of the source domain- hú ‘to see’ (life’s mouth) is mapped 
unto the idea of fruitfulness – having a fruitful life. That is, abstract knowledge of 
fruitfulness – the target domain. In the human body part, it is the mouth that controls 
food that enters the human system. This process helps the body’s systems to give 
good health to the body. In the same way, having a productive life is conceptualised 
as directing one’s visual line to a perceivable life activity that enhances good vision 
to achieve their target domain (the end – the fulfilment of life).  
 
3.4 Summary  
The purpose of this chapter has been to provide a systematic account of the two 
perceptive verbs; hwέ and hú and the various meanings they exhibit in Akan (the 
physical and the extended meanings). It also looked at the domains where diverse 
usages of these cognitive perceptive verbs occur.  
Hwέ displays an achievement role of the visual activity and involves durative 
process but depending on the events or occurrence. On the other hand, hú is seen as 
a natural and instantaneous occurrence; a visual activity described as ‘on the spot’. 
In some situations, hú can take durative function where the visual line is directed 
towards activity of monitoring and caring. Hwέ is more volitional while hú can 
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display both volitional and non-volitional roles. These two perceptive verbs were 
classified under two domains, intra and social psychological experiences. The intra 
psychological experiences captured visual notions connected to self-philosophies 
such as personal opinions/beliefs, principles and values while social psychological 
visual experience describes the notions involving purpose, assurance, examining, 
and interdependency. 
The perceptive verbs also exhibit polysemous notions. These are summarised 
below: 
Hwέ - to check or monitor, to examine, to observe, to focus, to expect 
someone/something, to be a caretaker, to be careful, to be wary of, to visualise, to 
copy, to concentrate, to stare at, to insult, to nurture (watching over or keeping under 
control), to discover, to accompany, to admire, to interpret, to make sure, to 
investigate, to depend, to consult, love and concern, friendship, way of life, attitude, 
seeking for heart’s desire, diagnosing, searching, and expectation, inference of 
meaning, measure of duration of time, indicates time perception, reflections, 
preference, critical look, courage, vigilance and respect.   
Hú – to consult, to check on, to envisage, to foresee, to experience, to be 
enlightened, to be abreast with time, to get to know the truth, to identify, to 
understand, to know, to sleep with or have sexual intercourse, to imagine, to find 
out, to ascertain, to assess, to realise, to identify, to imagine, to discover, to discern, 
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to learn, to notice, to familiarise, to distinguish, to know the secret, to be clever, to 
empathise and many more.  
It was noted that Gisborne’s (1996) proposal of the deliberate text to test the 
role of the percipient as Experiencer in English visual perception has been shown 
not to be in conformity with that in Akan (Mfantse dialect). That is, in Akan the role 
of the Experiencer does not wholly depend on the deliberate text. It was observed 
that the use of these two visual verbs can be done interchangeably depending on 
which arguments they select and where the visual line is directed to.  
Finally, it has been shown that the activity of hwέ can sometimes be a response 
to the visual activity of hú. That is, hwέ discusses more of the visual activities that 
do more probing while hú performs the activity of providing results to some of the 
activities of hwέ. For instance, in a visual activity where the perceptive verb hwέ 
exhibits the notion of ‘searching’, the resulting activity will lead to identifying (find 
out) a particular entity or what is being searched for. It can be concluded that the 
activities of cognitive perceptive verbs hwέ and hú are interrelated in terms of usage.  
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER FOUR 
THE SEMANTICS OF TASTE  
(GUSTATORY) EXPRESSIONS 
 
4.0 Introduction  
This chapter analyses the semantic properties of taste expressions in Akan. Among 
the meanings conveyed by these expressions are sweetness, saltiness, sourness, 
bitterness, blandness and congealness. Each will be examined for its prototypical 
and extended meaning along with its associated syntax.  
The chapter is organised as follows: Section 4.1 addresses the basic senses or 
the physiological functions of the taste categories in Akan, as well as the argument 
they select. Section 4.2 analyses the metaphorical meanings of the taste categories 
in varied context in the language. Section 4.3 is the summary of the chapter. 
 
4.1 Taste Perception 
The association among the choices for a specific taste displays the perception people 
have towards the food they eat or the liking they have for something. Thus, the 
ability to perceive taste is actually about the issue of predilections. Brenzinger & 
Fehn (2013) point out that the fundamental meaning of taste is ‘to perceive’ while 
Neagu (2013) describes taste as one of the human senses that can generally be linked 
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to the likes and dislikes of people in relation to what matches their taste. In the view 
of Gasimli (2016: 303) “the sense of taste has a special place among the empirical 
feelings and plays an important role in the body's reactions to foreign stimuli, and 
has great emotional and psychological significance for human beings”. This means 
that the sensation of feelings towards taste modulation is imperative in human life. 
He points out that most of the taste expressions are normally classified in the 
literature as ‘adjectives of taste’, ‘gustative adjectives’, and ‘gustatory adjectives’. 
There are five basic taste categories in English: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and 
umami (the umami taste category is normally associated with the Japanese). These 
taste categories can also be known as gustatory expressions. The last category of 
taste, Umami, was named recently in 2002 (though it was discovered as far back as 
1908) by scientists who conducted research into food flavours. This kind of taste 
was very difficult to describe; it exhibits very delicious flavour in non-sweet, sour, 
bitter, or salty way. It is clear in the discussions that food and taste are culture 
specific. It is noted that within the scheme of taste descriptions in Akan, what is 
being described as Umami in Japanese may not exist.  
Akan taste categories go beyond the five taste categories in English. The section 
that follows discusses the various taste categories in Akan. 
 
 
 
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4.2 Categories of Taste in Akan 
In detecting taste, it is the taste buds that help in its proof of the various taste groups. 
The taste buds are identified as the taste organs that help in recognising the taste. 
Different taste buds recognise different taste categories.  
In the view of Hayes (2018), the main human device that perceives or 
measures taste of food has two pathways: the mouth and the throat. These taste 
receptors first come into physical contact (touch) with the object being perceived. 
The brain manipulates the receptors and sends the signals through the receptors, and 
then a judgement is given. The core function of these pathways has to do with the 
establishment of a feeling of a particular kind of flavour when they get into contact 
with something, especially food. These core receptor organs, the mouth (tongue) 
and throat, illustrate the varied taste experiences. The human tongue may at least 
experience five flavours in the mouth.  
The verb that represents the notion of ‘to taste’ in Akan is the expression 
ká...hwɛ́. This expression combines the notion of two senses ká ‘to touch/feel’ and 
hwɛ́ ‘to see’. Literally, meaning ‘touch and see how it looks like’, more specifically, 
to examine something. According to Agyekum (2018), whenever two objects come 
into contact with each other, the notion of ká is used. So in expressing taste, we have 
objects (food, edibles and non-edibles) coming into contact with the mouth, the 
throat and the tongue. That is why we have the expression ká...hwɛ́. In Akan, 
expressing taste goes beyond the experience in the mouth; emotional feelings, 
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bodily experiences and engaging in events demonstrate the notion of taste. The basic 
word tsé ‘to perceive’ can also be used to express the notion of taste. These 
expressions are normally used to examine the different types or categories of taste 
(relating to only edible or consumable entities). Apart from these expressions that 
occur in the language, adjectives can also be used to distinguish the major categories 
of taste expressions in Akan.  
The taste categories in Akan are six with variants; these are illustrated below:  
              Categories of Taste in Akan                                       Gloss 
dɛ́ẃ, dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́, fénéḿfénéḿ                                          ‘Pleasant’ 
ǹkyèǹ, ǹkyèńkyéń                                                          ‘Salty’  
kàẁ, fèm̀, yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ, bìsììẁ                                          ‘Sour’/ ‘Astringent’                                                                               
wèǹ, wèéwééwéń                                                           ‘Bitter’                                                                                  
táblábáá/tóbúrógyáńń                                                     ‘Insipid/bland’ 
dà ànómú                                                                        ‘Congealing’                                       
Akan identifies two more tastes groups in addition to the four (sweet, sour, bitter 
and salty) English establishes. Accordingly, this study captured six taste categories 
in Akan. These six categories have various meanings; the basic function and the 
extended meanings.  
Viberg (1984) proposes three concepts that can be used to analyse perceptional 
terms: the concept of Activity, Experience and Stative. Taste categories will be 
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analysed in relation to these three concepts. The section that follows discusses the 
physiological functions of taste in Akan. 
 
4.2.1 The Physiological Functions of Taste in Akan 
The physiological aspect of taste deals with the basic role of taste which is generally 
described as perception through the mouth— the natural way in identifying the 
preference of flavours of foods in the mouth. The section that follows discusses the 
various taste flavours in Akan beginning with the pleasant taste.  
 
 4.2.1.1 Dὲẁ – Pleasant Taste in Akan 
 The dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ taste expressions have various meanings-- the basic function, 
and the extended meanings or the metaphorical meanings. The usage of dὲẁ 
‘pleasant’ can be grouped into three (3) broad areas: (1) what is perceived through 
the mouth and the tongue, (2) what is perceived through emotions or inner bodily 
feelings, (3) what is perceived through the pleasure in participating in activities. 
The core function of dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ taste has to do with the expression of 
feelings for a preference of sweet and pleasant flavours perceived in the mouth, on 
the tongue and in the throat when it comes into contact with edible entities. The core 
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receptor organs, the mouth, throat and the tongue, illustrate the sweet and pleasant 
taste experiences.  
 
4.2.1.2    Dὲẁ – Pleasant Taste + Sugary  
This section discusses one of the meanings of dὲẁ, the sugary type. The taste 
category dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ is generally associated with edible entities and select only 
animate argument as the percipient of the taste. In its general use, dὲẁ is inherently 
expressed as the concept of pleasant taste. The sweet taste is naturally realised by 
the taste receptors because the taste is inherently in the objects. Examples of such 
objects include ésíkyìré ‘sugar’, èwó ‘honey’, àhwér ‘sugar cane’, àbrɔ̀bέ 
‘pineapple’(very ripped) etc. The expressions used to describe these sweet objects 
are; dὲẁ, (other variants of dὲẁ - dɛ̀ὲdέẁ, dɛ̀dὲὲdέẁ), dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́, fénéḿfénéḿ (these 
two specifically represent extremely sugary taste), and sometimes the use of phrase 
like ésíkyìré wɔ̀ mú ‘there is much sugar’. Examples are illustrated in (1) and (2) 
below: 
1. Ésíkyìré yὲ  dὲẁ  
 
sugar  be  sweet 
 
‘Sugar is sweet.’ (ADJAMPSP1) 
 
 
 
 
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2. Èwó  yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
honey  be  sweet 
 
           ‘Honey is sweet.’ (ADJAMPSP1) 
In examples (1) and (2) sugar and honey are sweet by nature and their sugary state 
does not change. The percipient’s experiences of ascertaining the sweet taste can be 
described in various degrees of perception. Thus it depends on the percipient’s sense 
of reaction towards the perceived object; so we can say that the perception of taste 
is relative to the perceiver. In examples (1) and (2), the sweet taste was perceived 
through the receptor’s mouth, tongue and throat. The NPs sugar and honey serve as 
pleasant sweeteners in foods and drinks. Sugar and honey by their nature are 
considered sweet and for that reason their sugary content will always be maintained. 
However, it can be noted that sugar cannot be the only determinant to measure sweet 
taste. This is due to the fact that taste preference varies from person to person. 
In the case of fruits or crops which naturally have sugary content and for that 
matter are considered to have sweet taste such as àhwér ‘sugar cane’, àbòrɔ̀bέ 
‘pineapple’, brɔ̀sóẁ ‘pawpaw’ and màngó, they are pleasant to taste. Even this 
preference in taste will vary from percipient to percipient, in that each percipient’s 
orientation towards the choice of these fruits might differ. Some psychological 
alignment might not allow them to identify these fruits as sweet or some might also 
specify the level of the sweetness in these fruit as either excessive or even moderate.  
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In some context, where the reactant or the percipient of the stimulus wants to 
confirm extremely sweet pleasant taste, the other forms of dὲẁ such as dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́, 
and fénéḿfénéḿ, are used. Some plants that can be described as such are: 
synsepalum dulcificum or miraculous berry— àtàwá /àtàábá, and Spondias 
mombin/yellow mombin/hog plum, i.e. sweet-scented fruit— àsàáwá, fruit juice, 
chocolate, milk and other drinks that have extremely sugary taste. Below are some 
examples. 
3. Ǹsá nó yὲ  dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́  
drink DEF be  sweet 
 
‘The drink tastes very sweet.’ (ABAK SP 2) 
 
 
4.  Àtàábá nó mù yὲ  fénéḿfénéḿ 
 
 fruit  DEF inside be  sweet 
 
‘The fruit is extremely sweet.’ = (àtáábá ‘miraculous berry’- Synsepalum 
dulcificum) (ATASP 3) 
 
The taste dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́, and fénéḿfénéḿ represent the state in which we can find the 
drink and the fruit as illustrated in examples (3) and (4). These two specifically 
represent sugary taste. In some situations, dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́ can be used to represent 
enormously sugary taste experience. Sometimes, a phrase like ésíkyìré wɔ̀ mú ‘there 
is much sugar’ can be used to describe objects that have sugary substances. 
 
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4.2.1.3    Dὲẁ –Non-Sugary Pleasant Taste 
In some instances, dέẁ ‘pleasant’ taste can be identified without necessarily having 
sugary substances, though associated with food-related objects. These are described 
as non-sugary dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ experiences. The pleasantness is determined by the 
percipient’s own psychological orientations and what they examine as pleasant in 
the foods. Examples are illustrated in (5 – 7) below: 
5. Èdzìbàń nó yὲ  dὲẁ 
food  DEF be  tasty 
 
‘The food is tasty.’ (ADJAMPSP1) 
 
 
6. Ǹkwáń  nó yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
soup  DEF be  tasty 
 
 ‘The soup is tasty.’ (ADJAMPSP1) 
 
 
7. Èdzìbàń nó né  ńká  yὲ  hùàm̀;                  
 
food  DEF 3SG.POSS aroma  be  pleasant 
   
ɔ̀-bέ-yέ  dὲẁ 
 
3SG.SUBJ-FUT-be tasty  
 
‘The aroma of the food is pleasant; it must be tasty.’ (ADJAMPSP1) 
 
 
In the above examples, the Experiencer is always animate [+ human] who possesses 
the ability to reveal the taste. In (5) and (6), the experiencer is covertly expressed. 
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The taster or the Experiencer exhibits mental realisation of pleasantness relative to 
so many factors they may consider in judging the taste of the food— maybe the 
ingredients used or how the person prepared it. Where the food is very delicious, the 
reduplicated form dɛ́έdέέέdέẃ of the taste category dɛ́ẃ is used to express that. 
 In (7), the percipient makes a prediction on how the food will taste good based 
on the smell they identify. This time, the aroma becomes a factor in judging how a 
food will taste good. Thus, the sense of smell can be said to have influence on our 
taste practices. The satisfaction perceivers get in smelling good aroma of foods can 
help identify taste in foods. This idea is supported by Djordjevic et al. (2004:199) 
who mention that “odour-specific effect on taste perception is an authentic 
perceptual phenomenon… [thus] the notion that odour-induced changes in taste 
perception are mediated centrally”. This shows that odour signals impact on our 
taste descriptions.  
 
4.2.1.4 The Stimulus Notion of Determining Good Taste 
A stimulant like salt10 also plays a major role in determining tastes of food. Without 
it the food is not seen to be tasty. Below is an example: 
 
10Salt is salty (where there is too much salt), sea is salty and lagoon is salty; the taste of sea and 
lagoon was used to describe salt because salt is prepared from these two waters.  In view of this, salt 
does not lose its taste like sugar does.  
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8. Mè –dzè  ǹkyéń tò èdzìbàń mù â,   
    1SG.SUBJ-take salt put food  inside CCM   
    mé-tsè  né  dέẃ, sὲ  ǹkyéń ǹǹyí mú  
    1SG.SUBJ-hear 3SG.POSS taste COND  salt NEG inside   
    â  mè-ǹǹ-tsé                                né                 dέẃ     
    CCM 1SG.SUBJ-NEG-hear   3SG.POSS   taste 
    ‘When I add salt to (my) food, I feel its good taste, but when there is no salt in
 it, I don’t get its  good taste.’ (ABAK SP2) 
In example (8), the percipient is suggesting that in cooked foods it is the addition of 
salt that gives taste to food. In this situation the stimulant becomes the indicator for 
identification of good taste. Even in sugar-based foods where it is supposed to taste 
sweet, some percipients would still require the presence of salt as a stimulant to 
measure the taste in the food. This is expressed in the example (9) below: 
9. Ésíkyìré yὲ  dὲẁ  dàdà  nà    
sugar  be  sweet  already CONJ    
      
sὲ  m-à-m̀m̀-fá    ǹkyéń     
COND  ISG.SUBJ-PERF-NEG-take  salt     
 
à-ǹǹ-ká  hó wɔ̀    édzìbàń mù à  
  
PERF-NEG-add self at          food  inside CCM   
 
ɔ̀-ǹǹ-yɛ́  dὲẁ 
3SG.SUBJ-NEG-be  tasty. 
 
‘Sugar is already sweet but if I don’t add salt to it, it will not give it the good 
taste that it should have.’ (ABAK SP 2)  
 
 
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In example (9), though salt is salty and sugar is sweet, the percipient indicates that 
the stimulant, the salt, makes food tasty. This is a clear evidence that dὲẁ as used in 
example (9) is not necessarily about sweetness. 
Another situation is salted fish, mɔ̀mɔ̀é. It has varieties depending on the 
processes it undergoes during the curing (salt preservation). Examples include— 
kàkó, kóóbí, súpà, àtsèǹkwáń, ɔ̀hyéé, frófósí, ɔ̀tsè mú â ɔ̀dà mú (all these are kinds 
of salted fish and are described as salty). It plays the role of a stimulant in cooked 
foods, especially stews prepared with palm oil. Though the salted (cured) fish has 
unpleasant scent (it does have bad scent or bad odour) in adding it to stews, it gives 
it a good taste. It also has appetising flavour that gives the percipient the urge to eat 
that stew. An example is shown in (10) below: 
10. Mɔ̀mɔ̀é bɔ̀ǹ   nàásò ɔ̀-mà   édzìbàń  
 
            salted.fish smell.bad  but 3SG.SUBJ-give food 
yὲ  dὲẁ 
            be  tasty 
     ‘Salted fish smells bad, yet, it gives food a good taste.’ (KYSP4) 
In example (10), the salt as a stimulant was used to change the nature and taste of 
the fish— mɔ̀mɔ̀é. Mɔ̀mɔ̀é ‘salted fish’ displays the nature of a fish that is salted. 
This makes the fish taste salty because a lot of salt is added to it. When this is done 
it gives the fish an unpleasant scent, a kind of smell but it still gives satisfying taste 
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to such stews. This happens in most Ghanaian cultures where mɔ̀mɔ̀é is added to 
most palm oil related dishes. However, it is only fish and beef that can be salted to 
give taste to stews and soups respectively. Also, pork (pig meat) can also be salted 
into bacon or ham. Poultry and other animal meat can actually be salted in principle 
but they are not in our context (Akan). In a divergent, since socio-cultural 
backgrounds differ it is likely that poultry products may be salted in certain cultures 
which needs further probing. 
 
4.2.2 Extended Meanings of Dὲẁ - Pleasant Taste 
4.2.2.1 Dὲẁ - Pleasant Taste Perceived through Emotions or Bodily Feelings.  
The second major function of dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ taste is achieved through emotions. In 
these constructions, the grammatical subject though selects animate argument 
[+human] as the percipient of the taste; however, the objects that are being perceived 
can be both inanimate and animate entities. The results observed in this second 
category are mostly that of satisfaction experience. Here are some examples:  
11. M̀frà̀má nó yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
 air  DEF be  pleasant 
‘The air is so refreshing.’ (KYSP 4) 
 
 
 
 
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12. Ǹsú nó yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
water DEF be  pleasant 
 
‘The water is refreshing.’ (KYSP 4) 
 
 
13. Àwàŕ  yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
marriage be  pleasant 
 
‘Marriage is sweet.’ (ABAK SP 2) 
 
 
14. Nyíḿpá yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
human being be  pleasant 
 
‘Human beings are so sweet (to live with).’ (ABAK SP 2) 
 
15. Né  twέ  yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
3SG.POSS vagina  be  sweet 
 
‘Her vagina is sweet.’ (KYSP 1) 
  
In (11) - (15), the grammatical subjects select [+ human] entities as the percipients 
but then the perceived objects vary. In examples (11), (12), & (13) the objects being 
perceived are inanimate entities but in (14) & (15) the perceived object is [+ human, 
+ animate] entity.  
In experiencing the m̀fr̀ámá, ‘air’, in (11), the perceiver gets comfort from enjoying 
the air. The whole human body experiences the physical actions of the air. The 
blowing of the air becomes the source from which the percipients perceive joy or 
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the feelings they get from the activities of the perceived object. The experience is 
so pleasant that they associate or represent it with sweet taste - m̀fr̀ámá nó yὲ dὲẁ. 
In (12), the refreshing experience the percipient gets from drinking the water 
or bathing enables him/her to describe the experience as pleasant. The refreshing 
experience may be associated with many factors that emanate from the brain – 
people associate chilled water drunk in warm weather as satisfying, or quenching 
one’s thirst with water; which also portrays a refreshing experience. Again, when 
people take a cool bath in a warm afternoon, the experience they get also allows 
them to say ǹsú nó yὲ dὲẁ. This experience could also be in the context of 
swimming. The joy and refreshing moments the water provides give pleasures; these 
experiences are described as pleasant and enjoyable.  
Examples (13) and (14) engage percipients in direct contact activities. Thus, 
there is face to face personal interaction between the speakers. The subjects and the 
objects happen to have intimate relations. The objects being perceived in both 
examples too have social connotations. Mutual understanding, direct contact 
activities, and other relational factors come into play. When that happens the 
situation or the experiences obtained from the relationship is seen to be pleasant – 
perfect understanding, care, protection, sexual satisfaction, good interpersonal 
relationships, good communication skills, financial satisfaction and so on. When 
either parties or percipients are well satisfied with these factors and many more, then 
they can equate the experiences of the state of marriage and the relationship the 
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perceived objects give as pleasant or enjoyable or satisfactory. This gives the 
percipients the joy to describe the state they find themselves in as pleasant. It is more 
of emotive feelings. This type of experience is more of human relationship [+ human 
+ animate].  
In example (15), the object being perceived is the human sexual organ. If the 
percipient is a male and gets satisfaction from the sex act, he can mention the name 
of the perceived object, the female organ, to be pleasant. On the other hand, if the 
percipient, the female, enjoys sexual satisfaction in a sex act she can label the male 
sex organ to be a pleasant entity. The body organs that are used to perceive the taste 
are the kɔ́tsè and twέ ‘penis’ and ‘vagina’, respectively. In (15) the contact 
experience and the satisfaction the reactant gets from the sex act allowed him to 
express the joy he had from the female sex organ (the vagina) , literally, as pleasant 
experience. Other examples include ǹdwóḿ nó yέ dὲẁ the song is melodious’. 
  
4.2.2.2 Dὲẁ - Pleasant Taste Perceived through the Pleasure in Participating in 
Activities.  
With the third major function of dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ taste, the percipients (the 
grammatical subjects) are always [+ human] entities but the objects are inanimate 
(some are anthropomorphic in nature) entities. The taste experience demonstrated 
in this third category is typically that of satisfaction and joyful experiences in terms 
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of inner fulfillment the percipients get. Here, there is direct involvement of the 
subject and the way they participate in or how the activity is carried out to their 
satisfaction gives them the joy in expressing inner satisfaction towards it. Here are 
some examples:  
16. Àsɔ́ŕ  yέ-ɛ̀  dὲẁ 
church  be-COMPL pleasant 
 
‘Church was exciting.’ (ABAK SP 3)  
 
17. Ḿ-búùkùú á-kèǹ-káń   yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
PL.book NOM-REDUP-read  be  pleasant 
 
‘Reading is pleasant.’ (ATASP 3) 
 
18. Àkwáńtú yὲ  dὲẁ 
 
travelling be  pleasant 
 
‘Travelling is interesting.’ (ATASP 2) 
 
In examples (16-18) above, the perceivers get themselves involved in the activities. 
There is no physical direct contact with the perceived object. However, their 
involvement in the activities or how the activities are carried out, determines the joy 
of it; a pleasant experience and a beneficial one to the percipient. 
In example (16) for instance, the joy that the perceiver gets in attending 
church may be due to so many factors such as the preaching of the word, the 
scripture readings, the drumming aspect, number of people who attended the church 
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and other factors the percipient may use to measure the joy that he/she had in 
attending church that day. These factors enable them to remark that attending church 
is enjoyable, joyous or interesting equating it to the pleasant taste, a metaphorical 
notion 
 In (17) and (18), the joy or satisfactions they get from reading books and 
the passion they get from travelling allow them to express their joy towards the 
activities. Other things we can associate this kind of taste with are ànànsèsέm ‘story 
telling’, skúúl ‘school’, fìé ‘living in a house’, ǹdá ‘sleep’, sìká ‘money, àsáẃ 
‘dance’ and àgóŕ ‘play activities’ – football, lùdù, àmpé, etc. 
 
4.2.3 Salty Taste  
An edible entity that tastes salty would have excessive salt. Again, the perception of 
this taste is user perspective. Though it was understood earlier that salt can be used 
as stimulant in perceiving pleasant taste in foods, it was also realised that salt can 
be used to cure fish (stinking fish) which also adds flavour to food prepared with 
palm oils. In the case of curing fish, a lot of salt is used to do that and that helps in 
the treatment but when salt becomes excessive in foods it makes the food salty. In 
Akan (Mfantse) this is expressed as nkyèǹ or nkyèńkyèǹ (reduplicated form). Even 
this, the kind of expression of taste is relative to the perceiver. 
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19. Ǹkwáń  nó yὲ  ǹkyèǹ 
soup  DEF be  salt 
 
‘The soup is salty.’ (ATASP 2) 
 
The taste as expressed in example (19) shows that the salt was used in excess in the 
food. This condition does not give comfort to the percipients when that sensation is 
felt. In the very extreme case of the expression of salty taste, the reduplicated form 
is used. Again, this taste expression might be idiosyncratic to the perceivers. This 
may apply to all the taste expressions in the language. An example is illustrated 
below: 
           Basic form                       reduplication                 re-reduplication 
20. ǹkyèǹ  ‘salty’                  ǹkyèńkyéń                    ǹkyèńkyéńńkyéń  
 
In example (20), if there is excessive salt in a food, it can be described as salty. This 
description is expressed through the use of the reduplication of the root word ǹkyèǹ 
‘salty’ as indicated in (20) above. Depending on the percipient’s taste bud, the 
expression of excess use of salty may be either extremely salty to one percipient 
(ǹkyèńkyéń) or exceptionally salty (ǹkyèńkyèǹǹkyèń) to another. It can be inferred 
from these discussions that the taste is on the tongue of the taster who perceives the 
taste. It is noted that in the expression of these taste the noun ǹkyèǹ is reduplicated 
into an adjective. Osam (1999) goes along this tangent of reduplicating nouns to 
form adjectives, suggesting how widespread this is. 
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4.2.4 Sour Taste  
We can also have situations where the food can taste sour; kàẁ, fèm̀, and yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ. 
These are the sour expressions used in Akan to illustrate sour taste. Each of these 
examples is used in the language depending on which referent is being described. 
That is, the referent determines the kind of sour type identified. These referents 
could be described to have circumstantial taste in relation to the taste the referents 
exhibit. They can also demonstrate both transitive and intransitive constructions. 
Syntactically, these sour terms can co-occur with [+ human] and inanimate 
entities as grammatical subjects and objects. Semantically, percipients involved in 
the perceptual events are principally human referents. These properties will be 
addressed in the individual sour terms as the discussions go on.                                                    
Kàẁ ‘sour - astringent’, mostly, relates to foods which are prepared from 
maize/corn dough. This dough goes through days of fermentation before it is used. 
In Akan, foods that ferment are described as kàẁ ‘sour’; so, the sourness comes with 
the fermented process and this taste reflects in both the cooked and uncooked 
products. Examples of foods that can be associated with this sour taste include; 
báǹkú/ètséẃ, Gà kenkey, Mfantse dɔ́kóǹ, ‘cooked corn dough in different forms’, 
and m̀bɔ̀ŕ kókó ‘maize porridge’. Apart from the fermented characteristics, some 
citrus fruits can also be described as having kàẁ ‘sour’ taste. Some examples include 
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èkùtú ‘orange’ and àǹkàmá ‘lemon/lime’. Some illustrations of kàẁ ‘sour’ are 
shown below: 
21a. M̀bɔ̀ŕ  nó kàẁ 
 corn dough DEF sour 
 
‘The corn dough tastes sour.’ (ADJAMP SP2) 
 
     21b. Mfantse-dͻ́kóń nó kàẁ m’-ádàdàẁ  mú 
             Mfantse-kenkey DEF sour 1SG.POSS-jawbones inside 
           ‘The Mfantse kenkey tastes sour in my jawbones.’ (ADJAMP SP2) 
 
In (21), the sour expression kàẁ ‘sour’ selects for its arguments m̀bɔ̀ŕ ‘corn dough’ 
(uncooked) and dͻ́kóń (cooked). The percipients [+ human referents] perceive the 
corn dough and dͻ́kóń (the perceived objects) to exhibit fermented taste. This, they 
describe as kàẁ ‘sour’, an astringent kind of feeling in the mouth. The construction 
in (21a) demonstrates intransitive constructions while (21b) illustrates transitive 
construction. 
Fèm̀ ‘sour’ is another sour term used to describe sour taste in Akan. It 
involves a type of sour taste that sets the teeth on edge. It is associated with foods 
that contain high acidic content. This acidic content normally exhibits such sour 
taste that sets the teeth on edge when eaten. Foods that exhibit acidic taste include 
èkùtú ‘orange’, àǹkàmá ‘lemon/lime’ and àdásémáábá ‘African star fruit’ 
(chrysophyllum albidum commonly known as white apple). 
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      22a. Èkùtú  nó fèm̀   sé  
 
  orange DEF sour   teeth 
 
‘The orange sets teeth on edge.’ (DWSP 2) 
 
 
       22b. Né                   sé        fém- èè                  béŕ       â           
               3SG.POSS.     teeth   sour-COMPL  time    REL  
 
             ͻ́-nóm̀-m̀   àǹkàmá nó 
             3SG.SUBJ-drink-COMPL lemon  DEF  
            ‘His/her teeth were set on edge when he/she drank the lemon.’ 
 
In the context of (22), the sour taste is identified through acidic content. All the sour 
sensations in (22) set the percipients’ teeth on edge because the sourness is related 
to the level of acidity in the orange and the lemon.  
In some context, some of the acidic/citrus fruits can be described using 
terms; kàẁ, fèm̀, and bìsììẁ. Such acidic fruits include; àbrɔ̀bέ ‘pineapple’, ékùtú 
‘orange’, and àdásémáábá ‘African star fruit’ (chrysophyllum albidum commonly 
known as white apple). Some examples are shown below: 
   23a. Èkùtú nó kàẁ 
 
          orange DEF sour 
 
         ‘The orange tastes sour.’ (DWSP 2) 
 
    23b. Àdásémáábá  no à-fèm̀   mé  sé        
           African.star.fruit DEF PERF-sour  1SG.POSS teeth  
           nó  mú kàẁ dódòẁ, á-mà   
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           3SG.POSS       inside sour really  PERF-CAUS   
            ḿ’-énúḿ  á-yɛ̀  bìsììẁ 
           3SG.POSS-mouth PERF-be sour 
          ‘The African star fruit has set my teeth on edge; it is really sour and has 
  made my mouth sour.’ 
The different sour taste terms co-occur in the complex construction in example (23). 
The percipients identify the sour taste sensations of the perceived objects to be 
displaying the following sour tastes; kàẁ, fèm̀ and bìsììẁ. The taste condition being 
shown in (23) is not a pleasant one. Thus, the percipients perception could be that 
of an unwarranted one. In some situations where there is excessive acidic content, 
the percipients at this point cannot withstand the kind of sour taste (astringent) in 
the mouth the object of perception exhibit. These two constructions demonstrate 
both intransitive and transitive structures respectively.  
The sour taste yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ ‘sour’ depicts pungent (that relates to a very strong 
and sharp taste) taste sensation. Thus, the object releases strong sharp taste normally 
described as unpleasant. In view of these foods that exhibit this kind of taste are 
described as yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ ‘sour – pungent’. This taste is associated with so many foods 
such as stews, excessive salt in foods and some acidic foods. Some examples are 
illustrated in (24). 
24a. Tòmáńtsèsè frͻ̀̀wèé  nó  mù túḿ yɛ̀  
        tomato  stew  3SG.POSS inside ability be 
        yèrɛ̀ẁyèrɛ̀ẁ 
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        sour 
                   ‘A tomato stew could taste sour– pungent.’ 
 
           24b. Àǹkàmá  nó  mú yέ yèrɛ̀ẁyèrɛ̀ẁ 
 
                   lime/lemon 3SG.POSS inside be sour 
 
                  ‘The lime tastes sour – pungent.’ (KYA SP 2) 
 
The yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ taste exhibited in (24a) and (24b) do not have the same predictable 
substance though they have the same taste sensation descriptions. In (24a) the 
predictable factors in measuring the yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ ‘sour’ taste might be due to excessive 
additives or spices added to the stew that might cause that taste. If the percipients 
notice such substances, they might describe the taste as yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ. In (24b) the 
acidic substance allows some percipients to describe the lime as exhibiting 
yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ taste. 
It could be noted from the discussions that the sour taste experiences 
percipients perceived from objects are based on properties that perceived object 
exhibit. These predictable substances the perceived objects display may be critical 
from percipient to percipient and the judgement on each sour taste type may be 
based on the percipient’s taste buds experience.  
 
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4.2.5 Bitter Taste 
Some edible entities can exhibit bitter taste – wèǹ. Some green plants that are edible, 
traditional plant medicines and some fruits are normally associated with bitter taste 
in the language. Examples are illustrated here.  
25. Ábóódéè  èdúŕ  nó yὲ  wèǹ 
 
      neem.tree  medicine DEF be  bitter 
 
     ‘The neem tree medicine tastes bitter.’ (Neem tree - Azadirachta indica)
 (ATASP 4) 
 
 
26. Bɔ̀wéń àhàbáń  yὲ  wèǹ 
 
bitter leave  be  bitter 
 
     ‘Bitter leaf is bitter.’ (ATASP 4) 
 
 
27. Bèsé yὲ  wèǹ 
      kola.nut be  bitter 
     ‘Kola nut is bitter.’ (ATASP 4) 
In the language, plant medicines or majority of traditional medicines prepared from 
plants, some foods and other orthodox drugs are perceived to have bitter taste. Some 
examples are shown in examples (25) to (27). All the objects being perceived in 
examples (25) to (27) are by nature bitter so there is no way they can taste differently 
apart from their original bitter taste. However, in some foods, some seasonings that 
are added to the food can cause the food to taste bitter. In the very extreme case of 
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a particular bitter taste, the reduplicated form is used. Examples are illustrated 
below:                   
                Basic form                       reduplication               re-reduplication 
28.     wèǹ      ‘bitter’                 wèéwéń                       wèéwééwéń    
 
In example (28), if there is excess expression of bitterness of an entity, it can be 
described as wèéwéń or wèéwééwéń. This taste is expressed through reduplication 
of the root word wèǹ ‘bitter’; indicating the great bitter nature of the entity. The 
variations that come with this taste experience depend on percipients’ taste buds and 
their orientation towards bitter taste. How one expresses extreme bitter taste will 
definitely be different from another percipient. That is, what might be bitter with 
one percipient will not be bitter for the other. So the expression of extremely bitter 
to one percipient (wèéwéń) or unusually bitter (wèéwééwéń) varies. This 
manifestation of taste varies from percipient to percipient in terms of their 
perception towards their preference to bitter taste. 
 
4.2.6 Insipid/Bland Taste 
Akan has additional taste form; that is, táblábáá ‘bland’ which means a taste devoid 
of any taste. That is, this taste neither shows sweet, bitter, salty, pleasant, nor sour 
taste. For instance, when there is absence of salt, pepper and other seasonings in a 
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cooked food, we describe that kind of taste as táblábáá, just tasteless. An example 
is shown below: 
29.     Ǹkwáń  nó yὲ        táblábáá 
 
           soup  DEF be       bland 
 
          ‘The soup is tasteless.’ (ASB SP 2) 
 
 
30. M̀fàǹtsè-dͻ́kóń yὲ táblábáá 
     Mfantse-kenkey be bland 
    ‘Mfantse kenkey is tasteless.’ (ASB SP 2) 
 
In (29) and (30), the taste form táblábáá as used in the constructions shows that the 
soup and the kenkey exhibit tasteless perception. The percipients describe this taste 
as bland or tasteless. Consequently, the percipients in these constructions anticipated 
to identify some additives or substance to be present in the food. Especially, the 
percipients expected to recognise a good blend of salt and sugar in liquid foods 
(porridges); in soups and in solid foods may be salt and pepper or certain additives. 
However, since these additives were not present, they considered the food to exhibit 
bland taste. It should be realised that different kinds of foods taste differently as well 
as the various additives that are added. This depends largely on the percipient’s 
mental processing.  
 
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4.2.7 Congealing Taste 
Another taste form that Akan realises is the taste expressing congelation – dà énúm. 
This taste is normally associated with oily foods. When the ingredients used in 
preparing the oils get spoilt before they are used, the finished product of the oil tends 
to exhibit the congealing taste. Thus, the state of palm-oil congealing in the mouth 
while eating sauce prepared with it (it is heavy on the tongue). 
An example is shown in (31) below: 
31. Ngó  nó dà  ènúḿ 
     
palm oil DEF lie  mouth 
          ‘The palm oil congeals in the mouth.’ (AMADJ SP 2) 
 
In example (31) the percipient is indicating that the palm oil congeals in the mouth. 
This means as they tasted the oil, this congealing feeling was perceived. As 
explained earlier, this perception can be aligned to the fact that the nuts used in 
preparing the food were spoilt and not fresh and that this affected the resultant 
product, the oil, which exhibits this kind of taste. The taste is normally experienced 
when the stew or the food is cold unlike in its warm state.  Other oils kept for long 
duration develop such congealing taste.  
 
 
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4.3 Metaphorical Extensions of Taste Expressions in Akan 
Gibbs et al. (2004) observe that metaphors are grounded in embodied experiences 
and they display the line of our thought. This shows that there is a connection 
between the embodied world and our understanding of things in the world.  
Agyekum (2005:147) also points out that metaphors are “conceptually 
grounded on “physical and mental experiences.” Thus, in every aspect of human life 
in terms of feelings, state of mind, beliefs and practices, metaphorical contributions 
are central.  
Taste expressions can also demonstrate metaphorical meanings in Akan. These 
metaphors can be grouped under the five taste categories as well. Just as we saw a 
wider coverage of meanings in the physiological and extended meanings of pleasant 
taste, the same reflects the metaphorical meanings. Some of the taste metaphors are 
associated with the body parts such as ànò/ènúḿ ‘mouth’, tsíŕ ‘head’, àsèn/sìsí 
‘waist’, yáḿ (yafun) ‘stomach’, and hó ‘the body itself’ 
The sections that follow discuss some examples of metaphorical expressions of 
the sub-categories of taste. We begin with pleasant taste metaphors. 
 
4.3.1 Pleasant Taste Metaphors in Akan  
In this section, we illustrate some metaphorical concepts that relate to usage of 
pleasant taste in Akan. Metaphorical extensions of pleasant taste may connote 
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flattering, pleasant feelings, persuasion, passing stool often, character traits, sexual 
stimulation and having lots of money.   We show some examples below:  
32. Né  tsíŕ mù yὲ nò  dὲẁ  
           3SG.POSS head inside be 3SG.OBJ pleasant 
          ‘S/he is pampered.’ (ABSP 4) 
 
33. N’-énúḿ   ásɛ́ḿ yὲ dὲẁ  
            3SG.POSS-mouth  speech be pleasant 
           ‘S/he speaks well.’ (ABSP 3) 
 
34. Nó   hó yὲ nò dὲẁ  
      3SG.POSS self be DEF pleasant 
     ‘S/he is easily aroused sexually.’ (ATASP 3) 
All the examples in (32–34) discuss pleasant taste in relation to socio-physical and 
mental experiences. These examples demonstrate the bodily states in which we find 
the objects in question. Each example codes different meaning through different 
body part (32) head, (33) mouth and (34) the body itself. Some of the examples may 
express character traits or personal behaviours and emotional experiences of the 
perceived objects. These traits may connote either positive or negative 
idiosyncrasies of the person in relation to the cultural values members of Akan 
community have placed on behaviours in general. The connotations come about due 
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to the “cognitive realizations of using the body as a concrete entity to comment on 
emotions, physical states and abstract notions” (Agyekum 2018: 253). 
 The percipient identifies the perceived object in (32) as someone who wants 
attention or seeks out care. This human trait occurs with younger people seeking 
attention from older people; this may typically be that case but certainly not 
exclusive. Sometimes these perceived objects needed to be provided some upkeep 
that comes in so many forms depending on the events, situations and the people 
involved. So, behaviours that can be described as ‘head inside sweet’ — pampered 
vary from person to person and that can be contextual.  According to Agyekum 
(2018), the locative marker mù ‘inside’ in the construction shows that the experience 
that happens or goes on in the head is an imperceptible event and for that matter 
connects to our biological and psychological orientations — pleasant (the concrete 
domain). No one sees what goes on in the head, making the person feel good 
(pleasant) about his/her attitude. The ‘pleasantness’ is demonstrated in the 
behaviours (the concrete experiences) they put up which unearth the abstract events 
that go on in the head. The abstract event is then mapped unto the behaviours they 
exhibit which perceivers can identify to be an attitude of pampering.  
The locative marker indicates that there is a place in the head of the perceived 
object that displays pleasant things like pleasure, self-satisfaction, enjoyment of 
material things and many more which makes them feel better than other people. 
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 The expression in example (33) may be seen to also express either positive or 
negative senses. In Akan, utterances are assessed in line with cultural values. So 
whatever values society places on a particular utterance renders it either positive or 
negative. The context in (33) may either mean the speaker speaks fluently, sounds 
flattering or speaks softly and gently. These expressions are subject to the 
percipient’s psychological orientation towards what he/she hears. The percipient’s 
mental construal will determine what kind of message the object is portraying by 
assessing it to be positive or negative. In (33), the concept of pleasantness, the 
abstract event and the source domain is connected to how the perceived object 
speaks or utterances that they utter ásὲm ‘speech’ — the concrete event. That is, the 
manner in which the speech is expressed exhibits the pleasantness; the how and the 
context in which the speech is expressed may connote the various semantic 
expressions of flattering, bragging or speaking gently. 
Example (34) is a character trait expression which depicts negative character of 
the person in the context of values of the Akan culture, as agreed or rejected by 
members of the community. According to Agyekum (2018: 248-249) the word ho 
‘self’ in Akan refers to “the entire body- bodily state (that is, the personality, 
behaviour, emotion, social and mental realisations”.) He explains that Akans 
sometimes use ho ‘self’ to express some abstract and emotive concepts in the 
language. Also, ho ‘self’ can be used to demonstrate varied conceptual meanings in 
relation to the body. So in example (34), there is a correlation between pleasantness 
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and the entire body ho ‘self’. The abstract notion of pleasantness (source domain) is 
mapped onto the entire body which connotes sexual likeness in the Akan. Another 
version of the expression in (34) is illustrated in (35) below: 
35. N’-áséń  mù yὲ nò dὲẁ  
           3SG.POSS-waist inside be DEF pleasant 
           ‘S/he likes sex.’ 
 
 
Example (35) is expressing euphemism—idiomatic expression where the 
experience demonstrated by the perceived object is likened to sex). It is a character 
trait behaviour used to describe such participants. The experiencer demonstrates 
some sexual behavioural characteristics which allow percipients to describe them 
so. The inference of their behaviour is what is equated to sex. The perceiver finds 
the perceived objects to be associated with someone who happens to enjoy sex a lot 
due to some experiences they exhibit. Their emotional feelings towards sex are 
connected to their enjoyment in doing it habitually (pleasantness). The sexual 
emotional feelings or experience in the waist—ásén mù (pleasantness — source 
domain), the abstract activity which we cannot see physically stimulates the 
perceived object to go in for sex — the target experience. The pleasantness is aligned 
to the waist since the sexual activity is connected to that body part. The abstract 
event is then mapped unto the behaviours they exhibit which perceivers can identify 
to be sexually active.  
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In another context when the perfective marker is added to the verb of the same 
expression as shown in example (36), the context changes from the notion of ‘self-
loved’ to the notion of someone who has gotten enough money on them. 
36. Nó   hó á-yὲ  dὲẁ  
      3SG.POSS self PERF-be pleasant 
    ‘S/he has money on them.’  
 
In example (36), the taste expression is referring to having enough money. The 
percipient is identified to having lots of money; the concept of money and 
pleasantness are different but the idea about what money can do is regarded in terms 
of pleasantness.  Thus, when we think of enjoyment, joy, love, and power associated 
with pleasantness we can also think of money conveying the same impressions. 
Here, the basic idea of having money is  embedded in the expression hò àyὲ dὲw 
‘self becoming pleasant’. Thus, having money gives access to a lot of pleasurable 
activities. The abstract meaning of pleasantness is understood in relation to a 
concrete domain of having money. Thus, the chracteristics of the concept in the 
source domain—pleasantness is transferred to the target  domain— money.  
Another notion of pleasantness is linked to the notion of passing stool frequently 
(diarrhoea) and lies. Examples are illustrated in (37) & (38) below: 
37. Né   sìsì mú á-yὲ  nò dɔ́kɔ́dɔ́kɔ́ 
  
3SG.POSS waist inside PERF-be DEF sugary 
 
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‘S/he has been passing stool frequently.’ (Lit.: His/Her waist inside has become 
sweet) (ATAK SP 2) 
 
 
38. Né   tὲkyèrɛ̀má yὲ fénéḿfénéḿ 
 
      3SG.POSS tongue  be pleasant  
 
     ‘S/he is a liar.’ (Lit.: His/Her tongue is sweet) 
 
In (37), sweetness, the abstract notion —source domain is associated with a disease 
— diarrhoea (the target domain). In Akan, the activity leading to the condition 
(diarrhoea) of passing frequent stool is connected to sweetness in the waist. When 
the perceived object experiences the sense or feeling of wanting to pass stool in 
recurring manner, especially associated with children who pass continuous stool 
containing mucus, then the situation is described as sweetness in the pelvic bones. 
This sensation or the feeling to pass stool in recurring manner is referred to as 
sweet—the source domain and the target domain is the resulting experience of the 
passing of the frequent stool.  
In example (38), the taste expression fénéḿfénéḿ ‘extremely sweet taste’ is 
referring to making a fallacious or incorrect statement; also, creating false 
impression. The perceived objects have the intent to deceive their listeners. Relating 
to extremely sweet taste fénéḿfénéḿ, the percipient identifies the perceived object’s 
message to be extremely sweet to believe; an exaggerated statement, a hyperbole, 
in terms of pleasantness.  Thus, when we think of fallacious, incorrect statement and 
creating false impression associated with extremely sweet taste we can also think of 
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lies conveying the same impressions. Here, the basic idea of having lies is  
embedded in the expression tὲkyèrέmá yὲ fénéḿfénéḿ ‘tongue becoming extremely 
sweet’. The abstract meaning of extremely sweet taste is understood in relation to a 
concrete domain of lies — creating false impression. Thus, the chracteristics of the 
concept in the Source domain— extremely sweet taste is transferred to the target  
domain— lies. 
Sometime in a context where percipients want to indicate that perceptual 
views do not taste sweet, the negative marker in Akan n/nn is used to indicate that. 
Consequently, in the metaphorical sense, when we have such expressions the 
negative marker is attached to the taste expressions to convey the meanings. We 
illustrate some examples below: 
39. Né   ńkɔ̀m̀bɔ̀dzí ǹǹ-yέ  dὲẁ 
 
3SG.POSS conversation NEG-be pleasant 
 
      ‘Conversing with him/her is not interesting.’ 
       (ATAK SP 2) 
 
The expression in (39) refers to behaviour or attitudinal activity. The source event, 
pleasant is mapped unto the perceived object’s way of conversing— that is the target 
domain. The abstract notion of pleasantness is associated with the manner in which 
the perceived object talks or converses; the aesthetic style which was expected from 
the talk was missing, rendering the event unexciting. The missing artistic style is 
what is equated to the unexciting conversation. Thus, the expression né ńkɔ̀m̀bɔ̀ dzí 
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ǹǹyέ dὲẁ literally could mean that the perceived object’s conversation is bland or 
not tasteful; that is the conversation is not pleasurable. Other examples are shown 
in (40) below:  
40a Àsɛ́ḿ â í-rí-dzí    yí ɔ̀-ǹǹ-yɛ́   
      matter REL 2SG.SUBJ-PROG-eat  DEM 3SG.SUBJ-NEG-be 
      dɛ̀ẁ 
      pleasant 
     ‘The way you are presenting the case is just not good.’ 
 
40b. Àsɛ́ḿ â é-ré-ká    yí á-tó  mú   
         matter REL 2SG.SUBJ-PROG-say DEM PERF-put inside 
         ńkyéń  
         salt. 
        ‘What you are saying is exaggerated.’ (Lit.: You’ve added salt to what you 
  are saying) 
The context in (40a) is relative and can be interpreted in so many ways. However, 
the basic meaning of this construction is that the perceived object is seen to be at 
fault in whatsoever he/she is doing. The percipient identifies the perceived object’s 
utterances as not encouraging; that which lacks good flavour to satisfy the heart. 
Also, the percipient’s interpretation of the perceived object’s behavior will 
determine the meaning that should be ascribed to the context. 
In (40b), the percipient identifies the perceived objects to be exaggerating 
on the issue they are presenting. Thus, the perceptive recognises that the objects 
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might not be presenting exact information they are supposed to – thereby giving 
inaccurate evidence. 
In example (40a) & (40b), the taste expressions are referring to concept of 
unfairness and inaccurate evidence, respectively. The concept of unfairness and 
inaccurate presentation are regarded in terms of taste relations; not pleasant and 
excessive salt conveying the same impressions. Here, the basic idea of showing 
unfairness (which can damage social interpersonal relationships) and presenting 
inaccurate issues are  embedded in the expression ͻ̀ǹǹyὲ dὲẁ ‘it is not pleasant’ and 
à-tò mú ǹkyèǹ, ‘putting in lots of salt’. The abstract meanings of not pleasant and 
excessive salt are understood in relation to a concrete domain of unfairness and 
illustrating inaccurate issues.  
 
4.3.2 Metaphors of Bitterness in Akan 
In expressing metaphors of bitterness in Akan, bitter taste expressions are used to 
describe arguments that refer to painful, hateful, distasteful, mocking, derisive, 
cynical, and intolerable flavours. Percipients may relate metaphors of bitterness to 
speeches that are described as ‘sharp-tongued’ comments. That is, the taste 
experience or sensations associated with the meanings of these words cannot display 
sweet, sour, salty or bland flavours. Thus, the notion of bitterness (which are hard 
to bear when taking them or have intense sensations which are difficult to stand) — 
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the source domain is transferred to metaphors of bitterness to reflect the target 
domain experience. Something hateful, distasteful, mocking, derisive, cynical, 
intolerable and unpleasant is hard to bear or very painful. Sometimes it can lead to 
struggle, aggression, jealousy, antagonism and hatred when the notion expressed 
relates to [+human] entities are all mapped of metaphors of bitterness. 
In Akan some taste expressions can reveal metaphors of bitterness experiences. 
These bitter metaphors are seen to connote negative events or unpleasant 
behaviours. Some of the bitter metaphors are associated with the body parts such as 
ànó ‘mouth’ and yám (yafun) ‘stomach’, while others are connected to other events 
in the world. An example is illustrated in (41) below: 
41. Né  yámù   yὲ wèǹ  
3SG.POSS stomach.inside be bitter 
 
           ‘S/he is stingy.’ (ATAK SP 2) 
 
According to Agyekum (2018:287), the activities of the stomach manifest 
realisations that are connected to the heart, womb, mind and chest. These 
realisations are revealed in the various bodily experiences. He also explains that 
Akans believe that “sicknesses, emotions, compassion and human values are 
believed to emanate from the stomach.” These sentient experiences are exposed in 
the metaphors. In some cases the ‘stomach is described as the CONTAINER FOR 
THE HEART’ (that is, issues relating to emotions). For example, in (41), the 
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stomach yámù ‘the stomach’ contains bitter experiences such as mean, ungenerous, 
grudges, hatred, harshness and the like. Thus the percipient identifies the perceived 
object to be demonstrating bitter experiences from the stomach which is not of a 
kind one. The bitter experience is connected to the event that does not depict 
kindness. So the source experience of bitterness is mapped unto the experiences 
he/she exhibit from the stomach. What the heart releases into the stomach is what 
the perceived object shows. Consequently, the bitter experience is not that pleasant; 
it connotes negative impressions. Agyekum (2018:293) confirms this in Twi, 
another dialect of Akan which uses the word “ayamuɔnwono” to refer to wicked-
heartedness or cruelty, thus “BITTER STOMACH IS STINGINESS”. This idea is 
also confirmed in Mfantse where someone can be described as being stingy — 
àyámúwén ‘bitter stomach’. 
Another way of expressing metaphors of bitterness is through the use of ànó 
‘the mouth’. The mouth represents the active experiencer object in taste activities as 
well as in communication. It is one of the active parts of the body that can 
demonstrate both good and undesirable experiences of the world. Mouth metaphors 
are prevalent in Akan and examples are illustrated in (42a-c) below: 
42a. N’-ánò   yὲ wèǹ 
       3SG.POSS-mouth  be bitter 
      ‘S/he is foulmouthed.’ 
 
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42b. N’-ánò   kásá ǹn-yὲ  dὲẁ 
        3SG.POSS-mouth  speech NEG-be pleasant 
 ‘S/he is foulmouthed.’ 
 
42c.  N’-ánò  kásá yὲ dὲẁ 
        3SG.POSS-mouth  speech be pleasant 
        ‘S/he speaks well.’ 
All the examples in (42a) and (42b) are associated with bitter experiences; the 
mouth is seen to carry issues that concern pain. That is, the source experience of 
bitterness is linked to the utterance of the perceived object which carries pain. 
In (42a), the perceived object conceptualises thought which is always seen to be 
that which discourages, disheartens, demoralises and is crushing. The bitter 
experience is mapped unto these behaviours which the perceived object 
demonstrates. Every speech he/she utters is not a good one but a bitter one. In a 
context where the percipients do not want to portray the bitter situation bluntly, 
they use the negative form to express the same bitter sentiments. This is 
demonstrated in (42b); the negative marker still explains the bitter notion. So the 
expression ǹǹyὲ dὲẁ denotes unpleasant expression. The perceived object does 
not speak kind words that soothe or which are tasteful. The utterance is seen not 
to be sweet; it could be bitter, blunt, or other negative forms. In the same way 
the bitter or negative experience which is the source domain is mapped unto 
these behaviours which the perceived object demonstrates; the target domain. 
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However, if the percipients want to mention that the perceived object speaks 
very well it can also be expressed using the mouth metaphor as shown in 
example (42c). An example of this was also discussed under sweet taste 
metaphor.  
In extreme bitter experiences the reduplicated form of the verb wèǹ ‘bitter’ 
is used. Examples are illustrated in (43) & (44). 
44. Ɔ̀brà́ nyé  nó  è-dzì  nò 
   
life be.with 3SG.OBJ PERF-eat 3SG.OBJ 
  
wèé-wéé-wéń  
 
REDUP-REDUP-bitter  
  
           ‘Life has not been kind to him/her.’ 
 
43. Àbáń               ḿbrà́     nyé  nó  é-dzì 
        
government    law       be.with 3SG.OBJ PERF-eat  
 
nò     wèé-wéé-wéń  
 
3SG.OBJ REDUP-REDUP-bitter   
 
           ‘The law has dealt with him/her ruthlessly.’ 
Examples (43) and (44) demonstrate metaphors of bitterness in which the 
experiences reveal perilous situations; this is indicated by the use of the reduplicated 
form of the verb wèǹ ‘bitter’ into wèéwééwéń; indicating the intensity of the bitter 
circumstances/conditions/ situations the perceived object has gone through. That is, 
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the situation illustrates the intensity of bitter experience the perceived object has 
been involved in. In (43), the use of the reduplicated verb wèéwééwéń displays life’s 
difficulties the perceived object has gone through. The conceptualisation of the 
notion of bitterness wèéwééwéń (the source domain) is compared with difficulties 
in life (i.e. the target domain). Thus, the notion of bitterness is mapped unto life’s 
difficulties which recur in life as threatening issues which normally lead the 
perceived object in that condition to feel bitter. In (44), the bitter expression 
wèéwééwéń shows how the law of the country has punished the perceived object 
unduly and unfairly. The connotation of wèéwééwéń means the percipient expected 
a kind of pleasant treatment from the law. However, judgment that was given 
portrayed extreme penalty. In the same way, the notion of wèéwééwéń was 
transferred unto the judgment that was given and described as bitter experience. So 
we can describe this metaphor as BITTERNESS is 
Excessive/Difficult/Offensive/Intensive etc. The next section discusses sour 
metaphor expressions in Akan. 
 
4.3.3 Metaphors of Sourness 
Another taste metaphor is a metaphor that expresses sourness. Sour taste expressions 
are used to refer to events that denote sense of regret, disappointment, shocking, 
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awful and distress. These metaphors are not really predominant in the language. 
Some examples are illustrated in (45) & (46) below: 
44. Mé  sè á-fèm̀  wɔ̀ àsέḿ nó  hó 
1SG.POSS teeth PERF.sour at issue 3SG.POSS self 
 
‘I am astonished about the matter.’ 
 
45. Nó  -hó kàẁ pápá 
3SG.POSS self sour well 
 
‘S/he stinks.’ 
In example (45), having sour teeth (se afem) experience or sensation connotes signs 
of regret, disappointment or unexpected behaviour, or a surprise. The surprise could 
be positive or negative; in this case it is a negative surprise. Thus, the notion of 
sour— the source domain is transferred to the condition that was unexpected— the 
target domain experience. Something unexpected becomes surprising or puzzling. 
It can sometimes lead to a failure or disillusionment.  In (46), however, the 
metaphor of sourness refers to extremely awful body odour on the part of the 
perceived object. The percipient perceives sour taste kaw ‘sour’ to depict extremely 
bad body odour. The notion of sour taste is now transferred to bad scent; that is a 
bad body odour which is so heightened, intensified or so sharp. 
 
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4.3.4 Metaphor of Blandness 
Evidence from the language also points out that there can be metaphors of blandness 
and this normally connects with dressing and not edible entities. If someone’s 
dressing tastes bland it means he/she has not dressed properly or well. An example 
is shown below: 
47. Esi n’-áhòsìèsíé  á-yὲ  táblábáá ńdέ 
 
Esi 3SG.POSS-dressing PERF-be bland  today 
 
           ‘Esi is not well-dressed today.’ 
 
The expression of blandness is compared to improper dressing in example (47). The 
source notion of bland taste is linked to the target idea of inappropriate dressing. 
That is, perceived object missed certain things in her dressing. 
 
4.4 Summary   
The chapter sought to investigate expressions of taste in Akan and the various 
meanings they exhibit in the language. It is found that taste expressions in Akan can 
demonstrate physiological and extended meanings. Findings also showed that there 
are five taste categories in English (sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami). However, 
Akan realizes six taste categories, in contrast to English where there are five. It was 
noted that the pleasant and sour taste have variants of their taste forms. Again, it was 
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realised that all the perceptual concepts - Activity, Experiencer, and Stative, that 
Viberg (1984) mentioned are proven in Akan. 
It was also found that from the ethno-cultural perspective of Akan, dɛ̀ẁ is a 
type of pleasant taste that comprises +/- sugary entities, non-food related 
experiences and has wider usage than all other taste forms. The expression dɛ̀ẁ can 
select an animate argument [+/-human] as the percipient of the taste but the 
perceived objects being perceived can be either inanimate entities or animate [+/- 
human – bodily feelings].  
Unlike in English where sweet flavours relate to sugary entities, in Akan, 
pleasant taste dɛ̀ẁ has a wide range of usage. This usage can be grouped into three 
broad areas: (1) pleasant taste perceived through the mouth, (2) pleasant taste 
perceived through emotions or inner bodily feelings and (3) pleasant taste perceived 
through the pleasure in participating in activities. These events govern the 
perceiver’s choice of usage in the expression of pleasant taste. It can also be 
established that dɛ̀ẁ ‘pleasant’ taste is a polysemy which illustrates various related 
meanings. A polysemy reveals all the related senses of a word; these connected 
meanings revolved round the main sense of the word dɛ̀ẁ ‘pleasant’ in diverse 
discourses. The different domains or contexts in which the related meanings were 
realised demonstrate the sense of the core meaning. 
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Another observation is that the notion of taste conveys evaluative impression 
or perceptual judgments about things in the world. This was proven in all the taste 
expressions illustrated in the discussions. These evaluative impressions result from 
the perspective of the percipients’ voluntary act because the perceiver has to 
purposefully perform the taste activity in order to give the satiating feelings he/she 
evaluated.  
The chapter also noted that the negative connotation of taste can be 
associated with the concept of lack of properties. But the meaning of the negative 
concept is derived from the perceptual angle of perception. 
 Also, this chapter confirms Brenzinger & Fehn’s (2013) assertion in the 
literature that ‘taste’ has fundamental meaning which means ‘to perceive’ which 
points to terms as, ‘sour/ rough’, ‘nice/sweet’, ‘bitter’, ‘hot’, and ‘tasteless.’ Some 
of these notions were realised in the metaphorical expressions of the taste 
expressions in Akan. These evaluative notions are culture specific as authors such 
as Majid & Levinson (2011) and Majid et al. (2018) pointed out in their studies. 
 Finally, expressing taste, thus, can be linked to the personal idiosyncratic 
frame of mind of the perceiver. Therefore, it is recommended that issues concerning 
sensory signals of taste must not be downplayed because it explicates people’s 
experiences, their cognitive understanding and or the various preferences they have 
towards things in the world.  
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CHAPTER FIVE 
THE SEMANTICS OF OLFACTORY, AUDITORY AND 
TACTILE EXPRESSIONS 
5.0 Introduction 
This chapter explores the semantic properties of olfactory (smell), auditory (hear) 
and tactile (touch) expressions in Akan. In Akan, the notions of smell, hear and 
touch have a core meaning expressed from the basic word tsè ‘to perceive’. 
However, these senses profile different semantic functions of the verb tsè ‘to 
perceive’ in the language though their syntactic structures may be the same. Other 
lexical verbs and adjectives in Akan are also used to express sensory notions of 
smell, hear and touch. Each will be examined for its prototypical and extended 
meanings.  
This chapter is structured into three sections: section 5.1 discusses smell 
(olfactory) expressions in Akan. It examines the semantic interpretations of smell 
expressions in the language. Sections 5.2 and 5.3 talk about how hearing (auditory) 
and touch (tactile) perceptions are expressed in the language. It also looks at their 
diverse usages in the language. 
 
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5.1 Smell/Odour (Olfactory) Expressions in Akan 
This section discusses smell (Olfactory) expressions in Akan. In the literature, the 
concept of smell is also known as olfactory. Majid & Kruspe (2018) point out that 
with issues relating to sensory perceptions, little attention has been given to the 
olfaction domain. It has also been argued that the smell sense cannot exhibit much 
extended meanings including metaphorical concepts (Viberg 1984; Sweester 1990). 
Conversely, a study conducted by Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) showed that though 
the sense modality of smell has not developed much like the sense of vision, it has 
been proved that sense of smell can demonstrate a number of extended meanings 
(Ibarretxe-Antuñano, 1999). She points to the fact that, though there is only one 
physical extended meaning of smell i.e. ‘to trail something’, shown in the three 
languages; English, Basque and Spanish, a number of metaphorical meanings have 
been established in these three languages (English, Basque and Spanish). These 
arguments may be true for some languages but it may prove otherwise in other 
languages. It is imperative then to relate these discussions to language specifics and 
not to be generalised for all languages.  
In view of that, a more recent study by Kövecses (2018) shows that olfaction is 
similarly significant in sensory perception just as other senses reveal and it has rich 
information in English. So, it is important to study smell sense the same way we 
study the other senses.  
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5.1.1 Basic Expressions of Smell in Akan – Physical Notions 
Considering the conceptualisation of smell in Akan, Agyekum (2018) indicates that 
Akan uses the verb hùà or tè….ǹká to represents the notion of ‘smell/snuffle’. He 
explains that in expressing hùà ‘smell’ or tè …. ǹká ‘snuffle’, an external stimulus 
reaches the brain through the nose and the nose reveals the kind of smell that was 
emitted. Herz (2001:1) explains this as follows: 
“Odours are volatile molecules; they float in the air. When we breathe, air 
enters the nostrils and is swept upward into the nasal passages, where odour 
molecules settle on a mucous membrane called the olfactory epithelia. The 
olfactory epithelia contain olfactory sensory neurons, small nerve cells 
covered with cilia that protrude into the mucus that coats the nasal 
epithelium. These cilia, which are actually the dendrites of olfactory 
neurons, have odorant receptors on their tips…..From the olfactory bulbs, 
sensory information is routed to the primary olfactory cortex, part of a brain 
area called the piriform cortex that is connected to the limbic system, where 
brain structures responsible for emotion are found” (Herz 2001:1). 
It is through the processes outlined above by Herz (2001) that percipients learn to 
distinguish different odours they come into contact with. 
In the Mfantse dialect of Akan there are basic terms used to denote smell. 
These are shown below:  
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Basic Categories of Smell in Akan                 Gloss                                                     
ǹká   …………………………….. scent 
m̀fáŕ   ……………………………  scent, (stale) 
ỳì /tù ǹká    .……………………..  to emit a bad or a good scent 
tsè ǹká       …………………….    to perceive a scent 
tù/yì húá       ..……………………to emit a good smell 
húáḿ           …………………….   to emit a good scent 
bɔ́ń              ………………………to stink 
nyàǹ           …………………....     nauseating (bad) 
nyìnyà      ………………………   putrid (getting to the  
                  spoiling stage) 
                              hùà   ………………………........   smell/sniff       
These terms are normally used to express physical concepts relating to scent in 
general. Some of them can demonstrate good scent; others represent bad odours, 
while some can be used to represent both good and bad scent depending on the 
context in which they are used. Ǹká and m̀fáŕ ́are described as generic terms used to 
describe scent in general found in the air. Nyàǹ and nyìnyà can illustrate nauseating 
effect because the two can exhibit an outcome which could lead to vomiting. 
Relating to this, Floyd et al. (2018:8) point out that two major ways that languages 
describe olfactory experience are (i) by use of ‘words that refer to events of 
perceiving and emitting odours (ii) by using words that refer to the qualities of 
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odours’. Thus, olfactory experiences can be realised through perception about the 
perceived object or can be done through active sniffing of the object. These 
descriptions are demonstrated in the examples that are discussed in this section. 
The concept of smell— ǹká ‘scent’, yì /tù ǹká ‘to emits scent’, tsè ǹká ‘can 
perceive smell’, and wɔ̀ ǹkà ‘has/emits scent’ relates to odours from both recognised 
and unknown objects that perceivers passively perceive in the environment whether 
a good one or a bad one. The percipients can go further to explain this kind of scent 
by using either intensifier άńkásá ‘very’, or positive adjectives pa ‘good’ or bɔ́ń 
‘bad smell’ and adverbs pápá ‘a lot’, yíé ‘well’ to explain further the kind of scent 
they are experiencing. The auditory events perceivers experience are acts of 
perception without any volitional role; it comes naturally.  
Ǹká is seen as one of the cover terms used to describe general scent in the 
language but the contextual (linguistic and extra linguistic features in the 
construction) events could constrain a positive reading or a negative reading (bad 
scent) or even neutral interpretations. Syntactically, ǹká can co-occur with both 
animate [+/- human] and inanimate entities to function as grammatical subjects. 
Semantically, percipients involved in the perceptual events are principally human 
referents, though some non-human animate entities have a sense of smell.  Similarly, 
the precepts could be both animate and inanimate objects.  
As noted earlier, ǹká ‘scent’ is seen as neutral and can exhibit positive or 
negative scents. This normally depends on the item being described. That is, the 
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referent determines the kind of scent that will be emitted whether good or bad.  For 
instance; if ǹká ‘scent’ is used to describe a human referent in a construction, the 
olfactory perception that is revealed always has negative connotation (bad odour) 
more especially if there is no modifier attached to the olfactory concept ǹká ‘scent’ 
to distinguish which kind of smell being perceived whether good or bad. Also, when 
ǹká ‘scent’ is used to describe non-human animate entities, the general perception 
assigned them is also a negative connotation (bad odour). And when the concept of 
ǹká ‘scent’ is connected to inanimate referents, the olfactory perception is based on 
contextual experience to determine the scent. Thus, to identify the kind of smell 
about the entities - good, bad or neutral depends on the percipients’ psychological 
orientation perceiving the scent. These notions are evidenced in the examples below: 
1.  Àbòfŕá  nó nó  hó wͻ̀ ǹká  
 
child  DEF 3SG.POSS self be scent 
 
‘The child smells.’ (ABASP 2) 
 
2. Àbówáfúń nó né  ńká bɔ̀ǹ  árá yíé 
 
carcass  DEF 3SG.POSS scent smell.bad very well 
‘The carcass of the animal smells very badly.’ (ABASP 2) 
 
     3a. Èdzìbàń nó né  ńká  yὲ hùàm̀ 
          food  DEF 3SG.POSS aroma  be pleasant  
         ‘The aroma of the food is pleasant.’ (ADJAMPSP1) 
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      3b. Mɔ̀mɔ̀é né  ǹkà fà  wó  hwéń   
 
            salted.fish 3SG.POSS scent pass/HAB 2SG.POSS nose  
       
           mù â ɔ̀-bɔ́-dɔ̀  wó  kɔ́ń 
 
            inside CCM 3SG.SUBJ-FUT-love 2SG.POSS neck 
 
            ‘When you smell the scent of the stinking fish you would wish to taste it.’ 
 (ABSP1) 
4. Ì-túm̀   gyìná  nàḿ né  ńká dò  
          2SG.SUBJ-able  stand/HAB fish 3SG.POSS scent on 
 
          kyèrɛ́  dɛ̂  à-bèǹ  ànáá  
 
  show/HAB COMP  PERF-cook or   
 
        ɔ̀-ré-hyèẁ 
 
3SG.SUBJ-PROG-burn  
‘You can rely on the scent of the fish to tell whether it is cooked or it is 
 burning.’ (ABSP 2) 
 
All the examples in (1) to (4) demonstrate involuntary olfactory acts of perception 
in which percipients naturally experience without any volitional action. In all these 
constructions, the referents involved determine which scents to expect. In Akan, the 
sense connected to ǹká ‘scent’ in example (1), connotes bad and unpleasant scent 
(that which is associated with the body). In this context ǹká ‘scent’ relates to [+ 
human] entity. In this construction, since there was no modifier attached to the 
olfactory term to confirm the particular scent (good/bad) we are describing, then, as 
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generally accepted in the language, the scent or odour that is emitted from the body 
of the child (a human referent) is seen to be that of a bad one. So, the concept of ǹká 
here is perceived to be negative as is usually perceived in the language. 
In example (2), the idea of bad smell is also recognised, though the referent is 
non-human animate entity, the olfactory perception that is normally associated with 
animal carcass is negative (bad odour).  
The impulse for good scent in (3a) is that, this time there is a modifier (a positive 
adjective) hùàm̀‘good/pleasant’ attached to the concept of ǹká scent’. This modifier 
connotes good aroma (scent) which appeals to the percipient’s interest in liking the 
scent associated with the food. The same sentiment (preference for love of 
something) is also portrayed in example (3b). Thus, scent of the stinking fish in food 
revitalises the memory by whetting the appetite for its eating.  
The notion of ǹká ‘scent’ can sometimes refer to a condition where the scent of 
something can be used to measure its state. For instance, in example (4), the kind of 
smell which the smoked fish produces, can be the basis to measure whether the fish 
is well cooked or is getting burnt.  
Again, the notion of ǹká ‘scent’ can also depict a very strong odour (unusual or 
unwarranted) which may disorient the percipient who perceives it so. An example 
is illustrated in (5). 
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     5. Èdúŕ  nó né  ńká yὲ  dzèǹ 
         medicine DEF 3SG.POSS scent be  strong 
        ‘The scent of the medicine is pungent.’ 
In (5) the concept of smell, ǹká ‘scent’ describes a condition which the percipient 
perceived to be an unusual one. In this context, the percipient at this point cannot 
withstand the kind of odour the object of perception èdúr ‘medicine’ emits. It is an 
unusual odour which the percipient cannot bear or stand. The odour ǹká dzèǹ ‘strong 
scent’ which emanates from the object of perception is what disorients the 
percipients. This is an odour that is not normal (not preferred) in the mental 
inclination or frame of mind of the percipients. So, the percipients may find this an 
unpleasant odour. This condition may affect the emotional feelings (signs of 
discomfort) of the percipients. Sometimes, these unwarranted odours may trigger 
allergic reaction in some percipients. Supporting this, Kadohisa (2013:1) states that 
“odours can influence psychological and physiological states … and can arouse 
emotions which can lead to the recall of emotional memories”. It can be noted that, 
ǹká ‘scent’ may be understood to conflate the concepts of good, bad, fragrance, 
stench and disapproving ideas in portraying smells (odours).  
We notice from the discussion of the semantics of ǹká ‘scent’ that even 
though there are few instances where ǹká ‘scent’ does not have a negative 
connotation, in most cases it does, and perhaps the non-negative connotation can be 
explained in context. That is where we have to modify ǹká ‘scent’ with positive 
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adjectives to get the positive connotation but we do not necessarily need a negative 
modifier to get a negative connotation. Perhaps its neutral use is connected with 
food. 
The concept of yi ̀ ǹká ‘emits smell’ naturally connotes negative scent (bad 
odour) whether the referents associated to it is animate or inanimate. Again, 
modifiers attached to the concept yi ̀ ǹká will show which olfactory perception (good 
or bad) is being communicated. Some examples are illustrated in (6-8): 
6. Àbòfŕá  nó n’-ámáádzé  yì ǹká  
 
child  DEF 3SG.POSS-armpit emit scent. 
‘The child’s armpit smells.’ (ABASP 2) 
 
7. Ǹsú yí yì ǹká  
 
water DEM emit scent 
 
‘This water has odour.’ (DW SP 5) 
 
8a.  Ǹhyíréń yí yì ǹkà pá   
       flower  DEM emit scent good  
‘This flower has good scent.’ (ABASP 2)   
 
 8b. Ǹhyíréń yí yὲ  hùàm̀        
       flower  DEM be  good.scent 
‘This flower smells good.’ (ABASP 2)   
     
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The notion of yì ǹká ‘emits smell’ as expressed in example (6) connotes negative 
(bad odour). It is noted that, the odour that comes from the child’s armpit àbòfrá nó 
n’ámáádzé ‘the armpit of the child’ is not a good one. This indication might be due 
to many factors that might have accounted for that; excessive sweat, he/she might 
have not taken their bath, dirty clothes among others. 
In example (7), the referent of yì ǹká ‘emits odour’ is ǹsú ‘water’. Naturally, 
water does not smell bad or does not have any scent. However, if the water in (7) is 
being referred to as emitting smell - yì ǹká ‘emits odour’ then it means certain 
impurities or entities might have gotten into contact with the water and have caused 
it to smell bad. Yì ǹká here gain carries the negative implications of bad smell. Also, 
when bottled water and sachet water are kept for a very long period, they are seen 
to emit scent. Even when chemicals used in preserving water are perceived to be in 
excess, water is described to emit scent. This latter experience may be critical from 
percipient to percipient and the judgement may be based on the percipient’s 
psychological experience.  
The expression for good scent in (8a) is that, this time there is a positive modifier 
pá ‘good’ attached to the notion yì ǹká ‘emits scent’. This modifier connotes good 
smell which in my view allures the percipient to the object. It can be indicated here 
that since there are different kinds of flowers with their varied scents, it is imperative 
to indicate the kind of scent a particular flower has with a modifier. Without the 
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modifier, the flower can be described as having neutral (depending on the 
percipient’s inclination towards odours) scent because not all flowers emit good 
scents. 
Also, the notion of hùàm̀‘good scent’ can be used instead of the use of the 
positive adjective pá ‘good’ to express how good a scent is as illustrated in (8b).  
This concept suggests a preferred scent which gives comfort to the percipients and 
their liking for the object being perceived.  
The olfaction concept of tù ǹká ‘to perceive good/bad smell’ characteristically 
exhibits two concepts; positive and negative perceptions.  
When tù ǹká occurs with cooked foods especially those that are being prepared, 
tù ǹká specifies good smell (good aroma). On the other hand, in physical events, 
when tù ǹká occurs with animate entities the perception perceived is inferred to be 
negative. However, when tù ǹká co-occurs with human referent to express 
metaphorical concept, the perception created is that of positive impression. (the 
metaphorical examples will be discussed under extended meanings in section 5.1.3). 
Some examples of tù ǹká are illustrated in (9 – 11). 
9. Ǹkwáń  nó é-tù  ǹká  
 
soup  DEF PERF-fly scent 
 
‘The soup has aroma.’ (ABASP 2) 
 
 
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10. Ǹtàŕ  nó nó  mù tù ǹkà pá 
 
PL.dress DEF 3SG.POSS inside fly scent good 
 
‘The clothes smell good.’ 
 
 
11. Nó  -hó ńká é-tú   
           
3SG.POSS self scent PERF-fly  
 
‘The bad scent on him/her has evaded the air.’ 
 
In Akan, the sense connected to tù ǹká ‘to perceive good smell’ in example (9), 
connotes good scent (that which displays good aroma). In food preparation, for 
instance, when the food is well prepared and, in the process, good aroma emanates 
from it, it can be expressed as such. This can result in food memories on the part of 
the percipient. In example (10) tù ǹká occurs with a positive adjective pá ‘good’ to 
describe the inanimate entity ǹtàŕ ‘clothes’. The percipient’s positive perception 
about the objects means that he/she has good inclination towards that scent. In 
example (11), the olfactory idea of hó ǹká é-tú is displaying negative concept – bad 
odour. That is, when tù ǹká is associated with human body – ‘self’ as it was 
demonstrated with yì ǹká, the concept of tù ǹká as it occurs with the human referent 
conceivably reflects negative odour. So, in example (11) the body is seen to emit 
bad odour. 
Tsè ǹká ‘can perceive smell’, can be said to relate to both identifiable and 
unidentified scents that come from the environment. The expression normally re-
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counts a percipient’s experiences in relation to some kind of odour he or she 
perceives. An example is shown below. 
12. Mé-tsè    ǹká bí  wɔ̀ há 
 
1SG.SUBJ-hear  scent INDEF at here 
 
‘I perceive a certain scent around here.’ 
 
In example (12) the percipient perceives a certain odour in the atmosphere which he 
or she cannot determine. Through inquiries h/she might be able to describe the kind 
of scent. Here, his/her mental disposition relating to the odour will help specify the 
kind of odour whether it is a good or bad scent.  
Tú húà/húáḿ  ‘good odour’ is normally associated with good scents that 
emanate from flowers, perfumes in clothing or on the body, foods and objects that 
give out good scent. These are illustrated in (13) to (16). 
13. Mɔ̀mɔ̀é  mà  frɔ̀̀wèé  yɛ̀  hùàm̀ 
       salted.fish  CAUS  stew  be  good.scent 
      ‘Salted fish gives stew good aroma.’ (ABSP2) 
 
14.  N’-átáŕ  mù ǹká yɛ̀  hùàm̀ 
 
 3SG.POSS-dress inside scent be  good.scent 
 
       ‘His/Her dress smells good.’ (ABSP2) 
 
 
 
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 15. Nó  -hó yɛ̀  hùàm̀ 
 
       3SG.POSS self be  good.scent 
 
      ‘S/he smells good.’ (ABSP2) 
 
 
16. Ǹhyíréń yí yὲ  hùàm̀ 
 
      flower DEM be  good.scent 
     ‘This flower smells good.’ (ABASP 2) 
  
       
The concept of húáḿ ‘good scent’ as expressed in examples (13) to (16) connotes 
positive (good scent).  This concept suggests a preferred scent for the percipients 
and their liking for the object being perceived. 
In (13), for example, the use of the stimulant mɔ̀mɔ̀é ‘stinking fish’ made the 
stew produce a good smell in the percipient’s acuity.  
In (14) and (15), the perfume used and good personal hygiene practiced may 
have contributed to the experience of good smell in the dress as well as on the body. 
With example (16), this concept of húáḿ ‘good scent’ suggests a preferred scent 
which gives comfort to the percipients. Thus, the flower emits good scent which in 
my view allures the percipient to the object. 
 Examples (13) to (16) point to affirmative expressions of a favourable scent 
which the percipients seem to have delight in its use. 
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M̀fáŕ ‘scent - stale’ which is also another cover term to express scent in Mfantse 
can also be used to describe odour that emanates from damp clothing that has been 
kept in bags for longer periods and rooms closed for very long time without good 
ventilation. Keeping clothes that are not well dried can also generate such scent. 
This kind of odour does not emit a good scent and a welcoming one. It is normally 
associated with the notion of stuffiness or mustiness. An example is illustrated in 
(17) below: 
́
17. Dáń nó mù á-gyè  m̀fáŕ́́        
      room DEF inside PERF-take stale/stuffy    
    ‘The room has become stale.’ 
 
In (17), the notion of smell m̀fáŕ ‘stale’ has been used to indicate that the room has 
been kept for very long time without being used and there is no proper ventilation, 
thereby making it stuffy. As this situation occurs, the scent that emanates from the 
room is that of staleness. Consequently, the concept of staleness cannot be 
associated with food, animals and human odours; though m̀fáŕ can be used to 
describe other things in the environment in the language. 
Nyàǹ ‘nauseous’ is used to describe nauseous scent. There might be varied 
circumstances that might cause percipients to feel nauseous. For example, odours 
relating to entities like blood, sea foods (fresh fish), and the sea itself might cause 
percipients to feel nauseous.  Also, on occasion when some people don’t keep proper 
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personal hygiene, they also discharge this kind of nyàǹ ‘‘nauseous’. Occasionally, 
people can feel nauseous without necessarily relating to sea foods, blood and body 
odours but may be due to their mental disposition to certain scents they may not be 
comfortable with. This nauseous scent is also perceived not to be a pleasant scent. 
Sometimes, this scent can cause percipients to nauseate or feel sick depending on 
their mental disposition in relation to how they react to scent. Some examples are 
shown in (18) and (19).         
18 Nó   -hó yὲ  nyàǹ  áńkásá   
     3SG.POSS  self be  nauseous very  
    ‘S/he has a nauseating body odour.’ (ABSP1) 
 
19. Náḿ yὲ  nyàǹ 
      fish be  nauseous  
     ‘Fish emits nauseous scent.’ (ABSP1) 
 
 
In example (18) and (19), nauseous is associated with the human body odour and 
scent from fish. In this context, the perceivers observe that the perceived objects 
emit odour that can make you nauseous.  
Another similar odour which demonstrates nauseating effect in Akan is nyìnyà 
‘putrid’. This concept is linked to stews, soups and cooked food in general when 
they are not preserved well, especially when they are not well heated and are not 
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preserved in fridges. This odour makes it difficult for the soups or the stews to be 
eaten at that stage. It demonstrates that the object is getting to the spoiling stage; it 
has not gotten spoilt yet. It means the perceived object is in the process of going 
bad. Thus, the level of spoilage will determine the nauseous odour in relation to the 
percipient’s orientation towards the putrid state of the food. When that state is 
recognized, the notion of nyìnyà ‘putrid’ is used to describe such states. An 
illustration is indicated in (20) below:  
20. Ǹkwáń nyìnyá  sὲ  à-ǹǹ-ká                   
     soup get.bad COND  PERF-NEG-drive   
     nò  hyéẃ   â 
     3SG.OBJ heat    CCM 
    ‘Soup becomes nauseous when it is not heated.’ 
In (20) this is the state in which we find most soups if they are not well heated, we 
find them going bad. The Akans measure this state as one that can be treated to be 
used again, and there are so many ways this can be done. Most commonly used 
entity to treat this situation is by the use of charcoal or little ash and applying strong 
heat. When that is done that nyìnyà ‘putrid’ scent will be dispelled and the food can 
be eaten again. When perceivers sometimes measure nyìnyà ‘putrid’ odour in foods 
to be excessive, they might consider that state bad and may avoid its eaten the food. 
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Occasionally, some modifiers are used to describe the extent of bad smell being 
emitted from the perceived object. In Mfantse, some of these modifiers are listed 
below: 
Modifiers to Describe Intensity of Bad Smell           Gloss 
bɔ̀ǹ                                                                       bad smell                  
sùòǹǹ                                                                   fetid                                                                                       
káńkáń                                                                 stink                                           
sùkùsùkù                                                              putrid 
kòóò                                                                     bad smell 
     hùǹtùǹǹ                                                                 foul smell   
     
These modifiers are used depending on the referent they occur with. They show the 
extent of very bad and extreme odours (unbearable) associated with objects that 
smell bad. When perceivers observe that some objects emit excruciatingly bad 
odours these modifiers are used to describe the state.   
The modifier (adjective) bɔ̀ǹ ‘bad odour’ can be conceptualised in different 
ways to depict varied bad scents depending on the context. It can be used alone in 
context to indicate bad scent as shown in (21a) or sometimes other intensifiers like 
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áńkásá ‘very’ and adverbs such as pápá ‘a lot’, yíé ‘well’ can co-occur with this 
modifier bɔ̀ǹ ‘bad odour’ to express the intensity of the bad scent, shown in (21b). 
21a. Àdzé yí bɔ̀ǹ 
       thing DEM smell.bad 
       ‘This thing smells bad.’ 
 
21b. Àdzé yí bɔ̀ǹ  áńkásá 
        thing DEM smell.bad very 
      ‘This thing smells very bad.’ 
 
On the other hand, these modifiers sùòǹǹ, kòóò, káńkáń, hùǹtùǹǹ and sùkùsùkù only 
depict very extreme bad odours. They also co-occur with bɔ̀ǹ to express the same 
concept of extremely bad odours. Some of these modifiers can be reduplicated to 
express further the great intensity of the bad odour which the object releases. All 
these modifiers normally demonstrate the state of the objects being perceived and 
can be associated with both animate and inanimate entities as grammatical objects 
that emit the odours (the olfaction experience). Examples are shown in (22). 
22a. Àbówá nó nó  hó bɔ̀ǹ  káńkááńkáń 
       animal DEF 3SG.POSS self smell.bad stink.REDUP 
      ‘The animal stinks very badly.’ 
 
 
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22b. Èdzìbàń nó bɔ̀ǹ  kànkáánkáń 
        food  DEF smell.bad stink.REDUP 
      ‘The food stinks very badly.’ 
 
      22c. Àbòwá nó á-bɔ̀ǹ   sùòǹǹ 
       animal DEF PERF-stink  very.bad.odour 
      ‘The animal stinks.’ 
 
  22d. Ǹká sùòǹǹ   wɔ̀ dáń yí nó  mù  
    scent very.bad.odour be room DEM 3SG.POSS inside 
          há 
          here 
   ‘This room smells very bad/ This room has a very bad smell.’  
   
 All the odorous products in (22a-d) can co-occur with the modifiers; kànkáánkáń 
and sùòǹǹ. The modifiers show the degree of deterioration of the objects and their 
associated odour they emit. Sometimes, the constructions can make grammatical 
meaning without the modifiers. 
Hùà ‘sniff/smell’ is the active or conscious (voluntary) way perceivers 
experience odours in the environment. This notion is normally expressed when the 
perceiver consciously wants to make effort to be sure of the scent of an object or in 
identifying the kind of scent (odour) the object emits. It is a wilful process to check 
the certainty of scent (odours) of an entity. Sometimes, the conscious activity is done 
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for relaxation, satisfaction, love of and to detect preference of the odour of an entity. 
It selects animate argument as grammatical subjects. Examples are show in (23) 
below: 
23a. Mààmé nó húà-à  ǹkú  nó 
        woman DEF sniff-COMPL shea butter DEF 
        ‘The woman smelled the shea butter.’ 
 
23b. Bɔ̀dɔ́ḿ nó hùà-húà-à   Pàpá nó    
        dog  DEF sniff-REDUP-COMPL man 3SG.POSS 
        -hó    
    self 
  ‘The dog sniffed the man.’ (ABSP3) 
 
 
        23c. Mú  húà-à   nó  -hó nó,   
             
    1SG.SUBJ smell-COMPL 3SG.POSS self DCM   
          
    ńnà  nó  -hó ńká yɛ̀  hùàm̀   
    then  3SG.POSS self odour be  good.scent 
 
    pápá 
                well 
 
  “When I smelled him/her, I realised s/he smells good.’ (ABSP3) 
          
                                                                                   
            23d. Mù  hùá  ǹhyíréń nó à              
                    1SG.SUBJ smell/HAB flowers DEF CCM  
 
                   né                   ńká  mà  m’-ényí     
        3SG.POSS     scent CAUS  1SG.SUBJ.POSS-eye  
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                   gyè 
                   happy 
     
                   ‘When I smell the flower, its fragrance gives me pleasure.’ (ABSP3)  
 
All the examples in (23a-d) describe how the percipients made conscious effort 
towards the objects they perceive. In (23a), the woman smelled the shea butter for 
purposes best known to her. May be it was to check or be sure of the exact scent; 
whether it smells good or otherwise. Her olfaction experience towards the object 
might give her the opportunity to give the precise judgement on the object being 
perceived. In (23b), the dog did series of checks through the use of the reduplicated 
verb hùàhúà; that is, sniffing’ several times on the man. It did so by making sure 
who that person was, or it wants to be sure whether the man is a familiar person. In 
(23c), there was a confirmation of identifying a good scent from someone. So, there 
was double-checking activity to be certain. In (23d), the percipients observe that the 
fragrance that flower emits gives them joy. It can be noted that consciousness in 
smelling a particular object helps in the proper identification of its nature. Thus, 
becoming aware of a particular scent through familiarity may either attract or repel 
someone (percipients). 
Generally, the perception of smell might differ from one percipient to another. 
This is because establishing a particular scent will be subjective to individual 
idiosyncratic experiences in relation to their perceptual understanding towards 
smell/odour. Also, the frame of mind of a percipient might contributes to how they 
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react towards various odours they encounter in the environment. The concept of 
smell can display the idea of experiencer, active and source; these are discussed in 
the section that follows. 
 
5.1.2 Extended Meanings of the Olfaction Senses in Akan  
The sense of smell in Akan does not only reveal physical meanings but also 
illustrates metaphorical meanings, although they are not many. The few that are 
identified are discussed in (24 & 25) below:  
      24a.   Àbòfŕá nó à-bɔ̀ǹ  sùòǹǹ  
          child` DEF PERF- stink very.bad.odour 
 
          ‘The child is daft.’  
 
       24b. Àbòfŕá nó á-bɔ̀ǹ  kòóò  
         child  DEF PERF- stink very.bad.odour 
 
         ‘The child is daft.’  
 
25a. N’-énúḿ   ásɛ́ḿ  bɔ̀ǹ 
       3SG.POSS-mouth  matter  smell.bad 
       ‘S/he does not know how to speak well.’(Lit.: his/her mouth matter bad) 
 
 
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25b. Nó   hwéń  mú  bɔ̀ǹ   
           3SG.POSS  nose  inside  smell.bad 
        nò 
     3SG.OBJ  
         ‘S/he is haughty.’ (Lit.:  His /her nose inside smells to him/her)          
The notion of bad odour exhibited in example (24a & b) is linked to the notion of 
low intelligence. For that reason, the percipient perceives the child to lack 
intellectual skills. This shows that the problem of low intelligence can be 
conceptualised as bad odour. The modifiers sùòǹǹ and kòóò in the constructions are 
meant for emphasis.  
 In (25a), the notion of bɔ̀ǹ ‘bad odour’ is extended to the concept of ‘trash 
talking’ – belligerent offensive speech. Example (25a) means that the words of the 
perceived object stink. This means that offensive or unpleasant words can be 
conceptualised as bad odour. In example (25b), the notion of bad odour relating to 
degeneration is mapped unto a bad smell in the nose. This literally means the 
perceived object has bad breath or has bad smell in the nose. This perception is 
conceptualised in Akan to mean sense of hostility. The concept of unfriendliness 
and haughtiness are mapped unto the concept of bad odour.   
26a.Nó  súbáń  é-tù  ǹká 
      3SG.POSS character PERF-fly scent 
     ‘His/her behaviour (bad/good) is well known.’(Lit.: his/her character fly 
  scent) 
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26b. Adoma ǹkà á-táhyè bèébíárá 
        Adoma scent PERF-spread everywhere 
        ‘Adoma has become famous.’  
    26c. Nó  -hó ásɛ́ḿ bɔ̀ǹ 
            3SG.POSS self matter smell.bad 
           ‘S/he has a bad attitude or behaviour.’ (Lit.: Matter about him/her badly) 
 
 
In example (26a & b), the concept of ǹkà ‘scent’ is conceptualised in relation to 
character and fame. Just as we explained early on, the notion of ǹkà ‘scent’ could 
be positive or negative. In (26a), the conceptualization is that which can be 
associated with either bad or good character while in (26b), it refers to fame. In 
Akan, if people have fame and demonstrate good behaviour, they ascribe it to good 
odour. So, becoming famous is mapped unto the idea of emitting good scent. On the 
other hand, if a debauched character is portrayed as shown (26c), it is conceptualised 
to emit bad odour. So, in (26a), the percipients had to indicate through their 
perceptual experiences which kind of odour is the percipient’s character portraying 
(Is it a behaviour that defines a good one or a bad one?). In (26b), the perception of 
the subject is made clear – a behaviour that is perceived to connote a good scent. 
Also, if someone is seen to be a wicked and dishonest person as shown in example 
(26c), the behaviour is conceptualised to emit bad odour. 
27. N’-ánò   kásá  yὲ  hùàm̀ 
      3SG.POSS-mouth talk  be  good scent 
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      ‘S/he is eloquent/well-spoken.’ (Lit.: His/Her mouth talk smells good) 
In example (27) the concept of hùàm̀ ‘good odour’ in Akan, is extended to the 
perception of ‘good mouth talk’ – good speech or eloquent speech. The example in 
(27) is conceptualised to mean that the speech of the speaker has good flavour or 
has good odour which implies that the subject knows how to speak well. It can also 
mean that the message is interesting. So, in Akan, good speech or an eloquent speech 
is conceptualised as good scent/odour. In effect the good scent/odour (that is the 
effective way of conveying thought) complements the speech of the subject.  
28. Esi é-nyínyá n’-ényím̀ 
Esi PERF-frown 3SG.POSS-face 
‘Esi has frowned.’ 
In (28), the scent of putrid is linked to frowning, so the behavior of frowning is 
conceptualized as putrid scent, something which is undesirable. 
Some of these constructions discussed in (24- 28) can accept direct objects 
while others cannot. For instance, in examples (24-27) all the constructions have no 
direct objects making them intransitive constructions. However, (28) has direct 
objects, producing transitive construction.  
 
 
 
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5.2 Auditory (Hearing/Listening) Perception in Akan  
This section discusses hear/listen (auditory) expressions in Akan. It explores their 
semantic interpretations in the language as well.  
5.2.1 The Physical Experience of the Auditory Sense 
The two main verbs in English analysed in auditory sensory domain are ‘hear’ and 
‘listen’. Akan (Mfantse) has a similar case in point where these two basic verbs in 
the language; tsè ‘hear’ and tsíè ‘listen’ are discussed in the auditory sensory 
domain.  
‘Hearing’ refers to a non-controlled (uncontrolled) conceptual activity of 
detecting sounds; and ‘listening’ designates a controlled event of perceptible means 
of identifying a sound (De Vries 2013). With the activity of tsè ‘hearing’, the 
percipient does not consciously make effort in the auditory sense event. With the 
controlled activity of tsíè ‘listen’, the event requires conscious activity in the 
auditory experience. I will argue that the controlled activity in the auditory sense 
may be described as a two-way experience. For instance, the percipient (the listener) 
can activate the auditory event of listening by him/herself through a conscious act 
or may experience the auditory event unconsciously in the environment.  
 Semantically, meanings derived from these two verbs; tsè ‘hearing’ and tsíé 
‘listen’ differ in terms of the context in which they occur. But the two verbs exhibit 
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auditory sense through the ear receptor. Syntactically, these two verbs may have 
similar syntactic structures in terms of the arguments they select. Thus, tsè and tsíè 
co-occur with only animate [+ human] entity as the percipient as well as the 
grammatical subjects, but the perceived objects could be both animate and inanimate 
objects. In terms of semantics, the percipient involved in the perceptual events of 
the audition is principally a human referent. Sometimes some non-human animate 
entities also hear and can respond to stimulus around them. These properties are 
evidenced in the examples discussed in this section. We illustrate some examples 
below: 
29. Yɛ̀-á-tsè   dɛ̂  Èdwúmákó nà   
1PL.SUBJ-PERF-hear COMP  Edwumako CONJ 
    
nó  ńkwàá   dò hà, Édwúmákó Tàkyímàǹ    
3SG.POSS  suburb  LOC here, Edwumako Takyiman  
 
            nà wɔ́-bɔ̀    àkwáń  á ɔ́-yɛ̀    
CONJ 3PL.SUBJ-play  PL.road CCM 3SG.SUBJ-be   
dɛ́ẃ 
pleasant  
  
‘We have heard that the Edwumako Takyiman festival celebration is the 
most interesting among the Edwumako towns.’ (ADAM SP 2) 
 
 
30. Yé-tsíè-è   Édwúmákó Tàkyímàǹ hó  
   1PL.SUBJ-hear-COMPL Edwumako Takyiman self  
àbákɔ́sέḿ 
               history 
  ‘We listened to the history of Edwumako Takyiman.’ (ADAMP SP 2) 
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Examples (29 & 30) demonstrate concepts of the auditory experiences in Akan. In 
(29), the notion of auditory sense tsè ‘hear’ could describe both uncontrolled and 
controlled experiences. In one situation, the context may mean that the Experiencers 
heard in passing that the festival celebration of Édwúmákó Tàkyímàǹ is interesting 
or they were reliably informed that the celebration of the Édwúmákó Tàkyímàǹ 
festival is interesting. In the latter discussion, the controlled activity (the listening 
event) is covertly conveyed. In (30) the Experiencers consciously made practical 
effort to perform the auditory sense activity by listening to what was said about the 
history of Édwúmákó Tàkyímàǹ. These explanations show that the perception 
experience involved with tsè and tsíè are marked with +/- volitional acts. 
 In another argument, Agyekum (2002) mentions that in Akan (Twi), tè 
‘hearing’ shows “a passive act on the part of the Experiencer, while tie ‘listen’ 
specifies that an agent is making a deliberate or intentional effort to perceive 
something” (2002:104). For example: ‘mè-tè-è dwòm nò’. This example reflects a 
passive act on the part of the Experiencer. It is clear in Mfantse that the verb tsé 
‘hearing’ not only can it demonstrate passive act, but also can allow the percipient 
to perform the active role of making intentional act of perceiving something. But I 
believe this might be true for the Twi dialects as well. Instances are shown in the 
examples below: 
 
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31. Wíádzé yí mù dzé, àsòtsèé  bèbrè̀è  nà   
   
world DEM inside DCM hearsay many  CONJ     
     yɛ́-tsé 
    1PL.SUBJ-hear 
  ‘We hear a lot of rumours in this world.’ (Lit.: In this world there are so   
many hearsays we hear) (AB SP 2) 
 
        32. Kyɛ̀ǹ  w’-ásó   nà  è-bέ-tsé  
              tune.in 2SG.POSS-ear CONJ  2SG.SUBJ-FUT-hear 
             ‘Be attentive and you will hear (what I am saying).’ (ASB SP 3) 
        33. Brɛ̀̀  w’-ásó         àdzè mà   
 
              bring  2SG.POSS-ear lower give  
             mè,                 nà  tsié       
             1SG.OBJ CONJ  listen 
             ‘Listen closely.’ (ASB SP 3) 
Example (31) illustrates both controlled and uncontrolled activities of auditory 
experiences. Thus, the auditory activity of alertness in (31) comes unconsciously to 
the experiencers as speakers hinted. The experiencers receive the auditory event 
(tsè) in an unconscious manner. Or the Experiencers have been listening (tsíé) to 
issues going on in the world with a conscious effort.  
 In example (32) the percipient impels the grammatical subject to pay 
attention to what is being said. This signal indicates that the subject might not be 
paying attention or does not hear properly due to certain factors that might have 
been a barrier in the listening process. That is, if the subject gives listening ear to 
what is said, he or she will hear well. In the same way, in example (33), the 
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percipient encourages the subject to be attentive or listen with rapt attention so that 
they can listen well. In this construction, the lowering of the ear is linked with 
attentiveness. 
 Another point is that the two verbs can co-occur in the same construction. An 
example is illustrated in (34) below: 
34.  Tsíé  nà  à-tsè 
 
 listen  CONJ  2SG.SBJV-hear 
 
     ‘Pay attention so you can hear well.’ 
 
In example (34) the auditory events go beyond the physical listening to illustrate 
deeper meanings. That is, the two auditory senses express controlled notions where 
the Experiencer is made to make a purposeful listening so they can hear well and 
also to understand well, and possibly take some lessons from there. 
The auditory senses can also demonstrate other extended meanings in the 
language. The section that follows discusses the extended notions of auditory senses. 
 
5.2.2 Extended Meanings of the Auditory Senses 
Auditory verbs are also noted to have cognition-related meanings. Supporting this 
claim, Aikhenvald & Storch (2013) observe that auditory perception (hearing) can 
be associated with cognitive processes of ‘understanding’, ‘knowing’ and 
remembering in Indo-European languages. De Vries (2013:127) who conducted a 
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similar study remark that a West Papuan language, Korowai relates auditory sense 
‘hear’ to a cognition-related meaning ‘know’ when the “referent of the object of the 
verb is an audible entity that can be perceived with the ears”. The overlap between 
hearing and cognition that arises in the context of comprehending language is 
widespread (see also Vanhove 2008; Aikhenvald & Storch 2013), and such uses 
have indeed been suggested as important bridging context to cognition meanings in 
relation to auditory terms in different cultures (Evans & Wilkins 2000). Evans & 
Wilkins (2000) indicate two extended meanings of the verb hear as to 'obey' 
(Danish) or 'to attend to' (Swedish).  
 Also, one extended meaning of ‘hear’ found in a cross-linguistic study (in 
Spanish, English and Basque) by Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) is ‘to heed, to pay 
attention’. This extended meaning has two explanations (i) the speaker demands 
attention from the hearer, (ii) the speaker does not only demand attention, but also 
that the hearer does what he is telling him to do. She also equates this auditory 
process of ‘hearing’ to ‘obedience’, ‘to be told’, ‘to be informed’ and ‘to 
understand’. In Basque, two more extended meanings of ‘hear ‘were identified, that 
is, ‘to be educated’ and ‘to have an agreement’. Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999) 
elaborates that the interpersonal connection that exists between the hearer and the 
listener in this sensory domain causes the semantic shift in the events process as 
illustrated below: 
         35.        hear       heed     obey. 
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 According to Agyekum (2012) in the Twi dialects of Akan, a similar notion 
of auditory perception indicating cognitive processes is possible, where the verb tè 
‘hear’ demonstrates other extended meanings such as ‘understand’, ‘comply’, 
‘agree’, ‘pay heed to’, and ‘obey’ (abide).  He explained that for instance, before the 
meaning of ‘to understand’ is derived, the verb tè ‘hear’ is combined with the 
preposition àsèɛ̀ ‘under’. He illustrates an instance in context in the example below:  
36. –tè + àsèɛ̀ ‘hear under’                              ‘to understand’ 
Thus, one has to move from the surface to the deep level to grip the base of the 
message for clarification.   
This cognition related notion of auditory sense is also realised in the Mfantse 
dialect of Akan where the verb tsè ‘to hear’ + àsè ‘under’ plays the same roles as 
indicated by Agyekum (2012) and functions in similar ways to the English 
expression ‘to understand’. This meaning is illustrated in context with example (37) 
below: 
37.       Àkàsààkásá  bà  ná hóḿ  wɔ̀     
misunderstanding  come/HAB CONJ 2PL.SUBJ have  
 
hóḿ  hó ńtsèàsèé  â,  òyé 
2PL.POSS  self understanding  CCM  good 
‘Sometimes there is misunderstanding, and it would be good if you 
understood each other.’ (ABAK SP 2) 
Other auditory extended meanings realised in Akan include ‘to investigate’, ‘to give 
a hearing’ (in the legal context), ‘to agree’, ‘to permit’, ‘to listen without prejudice’, 
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‘obedience’, ‘to act on hearsay’, ‘pretence’, and ‘paying attention (listening) to get 
the right information’.  Some of the notions are expressed in the examples below: 
38. À-pòrísì-fó nó tsìè-tsíè-è   ǹ-sέḿ  nó     
     PL.Police.PL DEF hear.REDUP-COMPL PL-matter DEF   
           mù      hú- ù  dε̂  ɔ̀-yɛ̀   nòkwáŕ 
     inside   see-COMPL COMP  3SG.SUBJ-be  truth 
         ‘The police delved into the issues and realised it was the truth.’ (AMP SP 4) 
 
39.  Wɔ̀  péè-ǹ   dó dε ̂     
2PL.SUBJ agree-COMPL on COMP   
             wò-bé   tsíè nò  wɔ̀ àhèm̀fíé hɔ́ 
 2PL.SUBJ-FUT listen 3SG.OBJ at palace  there 
            ‘They agreed to give him/her a hearing to the issue at the palace.’ 
 
        40a. Mè  tsíè  nò 
         1SG.SUBJ listen/HAB 3SG.OBJ 
        ‘I listen to him/her’/I permit him/her.’ 
 
  40b. Ò-tsíè  nó  àsò pá mù 
          3SG.SUBJ-listen 3SG.OBJ ear good inside 
          ‘S/he listens without prejudice.’ 
In example (38), the use of the reduplication of the auditory sense tsíè ‘to listen’ 
shows that the process of the auditory activity was done in a recurring manner by 
listening to or investigating the issue. The listening was done a number of times 
before the conclusions were drawn in the case under investigation (the object of the 
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auditory perception). So, in (38), the grammatical subject Àpòrísì-fó ‘the Police’ 
illustrated the controlled auditory event. 
In example (39), tsíè ‘to listen’ has been used to refer to legal context; ‘to 
give a hearing to’ to an issue in the law court. According to Sato (2016) auditory 
sense that refers to action discusses a process that is consciously controlled by a 
human agent.  In (39), the hearers; the chief and his elders in the Ghanaian traditional 
court become the grammatical subject of the controlled auditory event.  
In example (40a), the meanings need to be contextualised, thus, the meaning 
component is crucial. The use of the auditory sense in (40a) reveals multiple 
meanings; (i) the meaning can refer to the idea of consenting to the object by giving 
permission on some grounds and (ii) the subject listened attentively. The auditory 
term tsíè ‘to listen’ in (40a) could be described as playing the role of homophony. 
In example (40b), the act of auditory perception was not that of a physical listening. 
There was an emotional aspect attached to the event. In the process of carrying out 
the event, the subject created the environment for the person (object) to know that 
someone is listening to him/her. This context carries some amount of empathy. 
Other contexts in which the two auditory verbs occur are illustrated below. 
All the examples in (41) have imprint on the mind of the percipients.  
41a. Á-tsè  ḿpó â, ńń-tsé-è 
        PERF-hear even CCM NEG-hear-COMPL 
       ‘Pretend you have not heard.’ 
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41b. Esi tsíè  nè  mààmé  ásέḿ 
  Esi listen/HAB 3SG.POSS mother  issue 
 ‘Esi is obedient to her parent.’     
 
41c. N’-ásó  tsè  àsέḿ 
       3SG.POSS-ear hear/HAB word 
        ‘S/he is obedient.’ 
 
 
41d.   Ò-tsíè   ǹkòrɔ̀fó ánò 
          3SG.SUBJ-listen people  mouth 
          ‘S/he acts on hearsays.’ 
All the examples in (41) demonstrate that the listeners act depending on what they 
hear/listen to. In (41a), the auditory experience is related to the event of pretence. 
As established earlier, the concept of listening is done for purposes of capturing 
information in the environment. Nonetheless, in the context of (41a), the listener is 
to pretend not to have heard what information they had through listening. 
In (41b), the auditory experience expresses the meaning of obedience. Thus, 
the concept of obedience (referring to submission, compliance, respect, duty and 
meekness) is mapped unto the idea of listening. 
In (41c) the auditory event is allied to the concept of loyalty (following 
instructions through listening). So, the attitude of being loyal or faithful can be 
associated to the concept of listening.  
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The auditory experience in (41d), show that the listener (the subject) does 
not verify information they acquire through listening and eventually act. The 
percipient always acts on hearsays; thus, he/she does not figure out things for 
him/herself.  
Apart from the extended meanings auditory sense can also demonstrate 
other figurative meanings. Some examples are shown below:   
42.  W’-ásówá  mù ǹǹ-dá  hɔ́ â,                  
       2SG.POSS-ear inside NEG-sleep there CCM    
        ɛ̀-ré-ǹǹ-tsé   ásé 
        2SG.SUBJ-PROG-NEG-hear under                            
       ‘If you are not an attentive listener, you will not understand.’ (AB SP 4) 
  
43.  È-bέ-tsé   w’-ásó   mù 
      2SG.SUBJ-FUT-hear 2SG.POSS-ear inside      
       ‘You will hear the real details.’ (AB SP 4) 
 
44a. N’-ásówá  mù yɛ̀ dzèǹ, ǹtsí ɔ̀-ǹǹ-tsé                                      
       3SG.POSS-ear inside be strong so 3SG.SUBJ-NEG-hear 
       ásέḿ  
       issue 
      ‘S/he has a hearing impairment, so s/he cannot hear.’(AB SP 4) 
 
44b. N’-ásó  ǹǹ-tsé   àsέḿ 
 
        3SG.POSS-ear NEG-hear/HAB issue 
 
        ‘S/he is stubborn or disobedient.’ (AB SP 4) 
 
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We realised that the general role of auditory signals is to mark the ability to hear. In 
examples (42) to (44) reference is made to the auditory organ, the ear. It is clear that 
the role of the ear is to transmit sounds to the brain through the parts of the ear; the 
outer, the middle and the inner. Looking at the examples in (42) to (44), it can be 
noted that the examples are not referring to any physical problems associated with 
the various parts of the ear but relating to deeper meaning of having clear mind to 
listen.  
In example (42), the percipient is drawing attention to the fact that if 
someone is not intelligent enough, whatever is being said will be difficult for 
him/her to understand. Thus, the attitude of not being wise or being intelligent can 
be linked to inability to comprehend something. However, in (43), the percipient 
emphasizes on the fact that one listens well in the ears to hear well. Thus, ‘hearing 
inside the ear’ connotes the extended meaning of ‘to hear the unexpected’, 
‘surprise’, ‘first-hand information’ or ‘the truth or the details’. Not just listening for 
listening sake but getting the details or the reality of the story. Example (44) can 
points to two meanings (i) (44a) indicate difficulty in hearing; a defect in the ear 
which prevents the listener to hear well and (ii) (44b) points towards an attitude of 
stubbornness. The percipient is seen to refuse to act on instructions and obey rules. 
This behaviour of disobedience is linked to the idea of not hearing well. 
 
 
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5.3 Perceptions of Tactile/Haptic (Touch) Expressions in Akan   
This section discusses the basic concept of the sense of touch in Akan. Similar to all 
other senses discussed earlier, the sense of touch also enables percipients to gather 
evidence about people, their emotions, feelings and the characteristics of other 
objects they come into contact with. The two main concepts identified with the sense 
of touch are tactile and haptic sensations. Ariza & Santís-Chaves (2016) distinguish 
between these two concepts (haptic & tactile) in touch sense. They show that the 
term haptic refers to the broad notion of touch which indicates all forms of activities 
involving touch or identifying objects through the process of touch. This includes 
coercive touch, emotional touch, painful touch, touch of love, taps, vibrations and 
many more. Thus, haptic is used to refer to all activities that relate to touch. On the 
other hand, tactile refers to all kinds of responses that result from the touch 
experiences. These received reactions are realised either on the skin (the body) or as 
emotional sensation.  
Pramudya & Seo (2019:3) make clear the difference between haptic and 
tactile concept of touch. They explain that  
…. the ‘haptic system’ helps us to perceive external stimuli through the sense 
of touch. Haptic sensations perceived through somatosensory receptors are 
categorized into two types: tactile sensation and kinesthetic sensation (or 
proprioceptive sensation). Tactile sensation, typically associated with the 
sensation of pressure, orientation, curvature, texture, thermal properties, 
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puncture, and vibration, is perceived primarily through stimulation of the 
skin where mechanoreceptors and thermo receptors are located. Kinesthetic 
sensation, associated with body position and movement, is perceived 
through stimulation to the Kinesthetic receptors located in the muscles, joint 
and tendons (Pramudya & Seo 2019:3). 
 
5.3.1 The Sense of Touch 
Gardner (2010) describes the sense of touch as a coming together of two physical 
entities. She points out that the experience of the body contact is observed in the 
conscious mind. She mentions that some of the touch involves vigorous movement 
such as stroking, scraping, tapping or pressing. These touches may either express 
physical or emotional feelings depending on the nature of the touch and the receptors 
involved. 
In support of Gardner’s assertion above, Jakobi & El-Guzuuli (2013) mention 
that the sense of touch could be done by directs contact which could express both 
physical and emotional sensations. They explained further that the tactile experience 
could be experienced through uncontrolled tactile event which demonstrates 
expression of feelings. This means that the sense of touch can allow percipients to 
identify how something looks like or is (the texture—rough, smooth, hard, soft, cold, 
hot etc.). Again, the sense of touch could also allow percipients to express their 
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emotions or feelings through the close contact experiences. The sense of touch that 
expresses emotions could communicate friendship, warmth, love, and care which 
may further lead into enjoyment we experience from close contact interactions. 
According to Jenkins & Lumpkin (2017:4078) “what sets touch apart from other 
senses is its intimacy activity, as it requires direct contact with skin, the sensory 
organ of tactile sensation”. That is the emotive knowledge the entire body discloses.  
The literature attests that the skin as the main organ of the sense of touch acts 
as the engine that provides the brain a wealth of evidence about things we feel and 
touch. Supporting this claim, Federico (2017:1) mentions that “the sense of touch is 
a distributed system, with multi-sensory receptors embedded throughout the entirety 
of the human body”. Thus, the whole human body can experience the sensations of 
the sense of touch. A 2019 Science Report (Home Science Tools) (2019:1) also 
states that “the skins ‘sense of touch’ is what gives our brains a wealth of 
information about the natural environment, including temperature, humidity, and air 
pressure”. The report also indicates that the skin is controlled by large nerves and 
touch receptors known as somatosensory system. This system becomes accountable 
for all touch sensations we encounter.  There are three types of touch receptors on 
the skin; (1) mechanoreceptors interpret touch sensations that reveal texture, 
pressure and vibration. (2) Thermoreceptors interpret touch sensations that connect 
to temperature (hot and cold) and (3) Pain receptors (nociceptors) reveal sensation 
of pain to the body. The report again points out that apart from these three receptors 
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there are also over 3 million pain receptors and other touch receptors found in the 
skin muscle bonds. All these receptors together help us identify the different touch 
experiences percipients encounter. The next section discusses the basic notions of 
touch in Akan.  
 
5.3.2 The Basic Notion of Touch in Akan  
In the Mfantse dialect of Akan, though the core meaning of touch can be expressed 
from the basic word tsè ‘to perceive’, there are also other verbs which appear in 
serial to illustrate the sense of touch. Such examples include kà……hwέ ‘touch and 
see’, sùóḿ….hwέ ‘touch and see’ and mìá….hwɛ́ ‘press  to see’ - ‘to touch’. These 
serial verb structures allow three semantic roles; the Instigator, the Source and the 
End. At one point, the percipient becomes the grammatical subject who functions as 
the Instigator of the action. At another time, the Instigator may not be the 
grammatical subject or the percipient but an external force from elsewhere; this 
could be a tangible or an intangible force. The Source is the object that is touched 
or felt while the End is the result.  
In Akan, the simple meaning allied to these serial verbs (kà……hwέ, sùóḿ….. 
hwέ and mìá..hwɛ́) does not only relate to physical seeing but more of intellectual 
assessment – to find out. Floyd et al. (2018) in support of this discussion point out 
that the sense of touch literally means ‘hold-grasp-see’. In these touch experiences 
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there are direct contact (close touch) activities between the Instigator and the Source. 
The two entities could sometimes function as percipients at one point in time where 
both entities are [+ human] and the expression of the sense of touch relates to 
manifestation of touch of love or other emotional feelings. In this situation, both 
entities involved become Experiencers as well. At other times, though the Instigator 
and the Source are + human referents, the subject plays the role of percipient whiles 
the object, the Source. In some circumstances too the percipients can have + human 
referent while the source could be both [- human] and [inanimate] entities or other 
exterior forces. Various meanings that can be associated with these touches could 
be ‘to check’, ‘to feel someone/something’, ‘to find out how something is’ ‘to 
caress’, etc., when such contacts occur, the Instigator involved function as the 
percipient in the experience (physical) in the interaction. Some of the examples are 
indicated in (45- 48). 
One thing worth mentioning is that any physical part of the body can be used to 
express the sense of touch but the hand becomes the most obligatory body part that 
is used frequently to express the sense of touch. Supporting the notion that the hand 
plays a major role in tactile activities, Gardner (2010:1) indicates that “touch allows 
us to recognize objects held in the hand, and use them as tools”.  
 
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5.3.2.1 Physiological Experiences of the Tactile Sense  
The touch experience involving kà……hwέ, sùóḿ….. hwέ and mìá..hwɛ́) ‘to touch’ 
could be both physical and emotional encounters. Some physical examples of these 
touch events in Akan can reveal textures like wíkyíréé ‘hard rough’, krékréẃ 
‘coarse’, mòtòò ‘smooth’, àbònàbòn ‘scally’, krékòòẁ ‘hard’ and 
pὲkyὲpὲkyὲ/bὲtὲbὲtὲ ‘very soft’. All the activities involved in kà……hwέ, sùóḿ….. 
hwέ and mìá..hwɛ́) ‘to touch’ are performed in a controlled, conscious manner. Some 
examples are illustrated below: 
45. Dátsèr̀ nó ká-à   àbòfŕá  nó        
      datser DEF touch-COMPL child  3SG.POSS      
      hó  hwέ-ɛ̀  dɛ̂  à-dͻ̀  â 
     self  see-COMPL COMP  PERF-hot CCM 
    ‘The doctor felt the body of the child to find out whether it was warm.’ 
 
46.  Mè  -dzè  mé  ńsá ká-à                          
       1SG.SUBJ take/HAB 1SG.POSS hand touch-COMPL  
 
        bèá â ɔ́-yὲ   mè  yáẃ nó 
        place REL 3SG.SUBJ-be  1SG.OBJ pain DCM 
 
       ‘I touched where I feel the pains.’ 
 
            47. Wɔ̀   -míá-míà-à   hɔ̀ń  hó      
                  3PL.SUBJ  massage-REDUP-COMPL 3PL.POSS self  
             
                   hwɛ́-ὲ  dɛ̂  hɔ̀ń  ényí bέ-gyé          
                   see-COMPL COMP  3PL.POSS eye FUT-take 
                   â 
       CCM 
                 ‘They caressed each other to find out whether they will be happy. 
 
            48. Ama súò-ò   náḿ nó mù hwέ-ɛ́        
                  Ama touch-COMPL fish DEF hold see-COMPL 
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                  nó       ńna 11   á-yὲ  bὲtὲbὲtὲ  
      DCM   CL PART.  PERF-be soft-REDUP 
 
                ‘When Ama touched the fish to check it, it was very soft.’ (ABAK SP 5) 
 
All examples in (45- 48) engage three participants; the Instigator, the Source and 
the End. In example (45), the Instigator is the doctor who felt the body of the child 
by touching parts of the body to be sure of the temperature of the child. The child is 
the Source (object) whose body was examined and the End becomes the result the 
doctor got. In this context, the Instigator and the Source are both [+ human] entities 
but the activity is not done to establish emotional feelings. The Instigator becomes 
the percipient in the activity. This act of touching is performed in a conscious effort.  
In example (46), when the percipient (the subject) touched the Source (the 
leg), he/she noticed some pains on the part where he/she touched. The Instigator is 
unknown; that which might have caused the pain. The pain the percipient feels 
represents the End of the action. The feelings might have been experienced either in 
a conscious or unconscious manner. 
 
11“Nna’ seems to be the variant of ‘ná’ in Mfantse. Saah (nd: 12) refers to this marker 
‘na/nna’ as formative /particle. According to Saah “the absence of preverbal particles or 
auxiliary verbs does not prevent the language from forming complex tenses”. As Osam 
(2004:13) correctly indicates, “the language uses a periphrastic means as well as the 
discourse context” to achieve this objective. It involves the use of the pre-clausal particle 
ná. Also, ‘nna’ is not the normal conjunction, as we find in example (48) the use of ‘ńnà’ 
links the initial tense of the earlier clause to the other clause that followed in the complex 
sentence. It is in view of this that I gloss ‘nna’ in (48) as clausal particle (CL PART.) 
 
 
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In (47), the Instigators double up as the Experiencers and percipients. The 
bodies of both Instigators function as the Sources of the action of caressing. The 
result they both experience is the End. Here, it is observed that both Instigators are 
[+ human] entities and the activities of their touching experience are done for 
purposes of love. Their physical activities result in emotional feelings (the End). 
In (48), the investigation was done in a conscious way as the fish (the source) 
was examined by Ama, the Instigator who also functions as the percipient. The 
percipient’s perception came out that, the fish appeared very soft. In this context, 
the texture of the fish was examined and identified as very soft, which is the End. 
We notice in the discussions above that the principal purpose of these tactile 
events is to get into contact with objects to examine their physical characteristics. 
These activities go beyond physical examination to express feelings and emotions 
through touch. This form of touching may mean expressing comfort, subduing, 
pleasing, loving, stimulating, reaching, intimate relationship and other painful 
expressions. These findings have also been proven cross linguistically in earlier 
works (Agyekum 2018; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999).  
The next section that follows discusses metaphorical experience of the tactile 
sense. 
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5.3.3 Metaphorical Experiences of the Tactile Sense. 
In this section, we demonstrate some metaphorical concepts that relate to the sense 
of touch in Akan. Metaphorical extensions of touch may connote chaste, sexual 
desires, painful impressions taking possessions etc. Some examples are displayed 
below:  
49a. Àbòfŕá nó kà  n’ényím̀  sì  àbéŕ  
       child DEF touch/HAB 3SG.POSS-face together time 
       bíárá 
       always 
     ‘The child always frowns.’ 
 
49b. Ǹdwóḿ nó ká-à   n’ákòmá 
        music DEF touch-COMPL 3SG.POSS-heart 
      ‘The music touched his/her heart.’ 
 
49c. Bànyìm̀bá nó kà –à   n’ánò                 
       boy  DEF touch-COMPL 3SG.POSS-mouth  
       èdúŕ          wú-ì 
      medicine death-COMPL        
     ‘The boy poisoned himself to death.’ (DWEN SP 5) 
 
49d. Pápá â ɔ́-yέ-ɛ̀    mé  nó   
        good REL 3SG.SUBJ -do-COMPL 1SG.OBJ DCM   
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        á-ká               m’-ákòmá 
        PERF-touch  1SG.POSS-heart 
        ‘S/he has touched my heart with his /her kindnesses.’  
 
Examples (49) are emotional touch experiences of anger, joy, death and pleasing, 
respectively. The sensational feelings expressed in example (49a) connote 
psychological experience of anger, displeasure, unhappiness or displeasure. The 
expression of anger demonstrated on the face of the child is mapped unto the concept 
of touch (frowning). The act is controlled activity that is illustrated by the percipient. 
 In (49b), the music with its accompanied lyrics and messages moved the 
heart (an emotional feeling) of the percipient and therefore aligned this experience 
to the act of touch. This kind of sensation the percipient experience is an 
uncontrolled touch that demonstrates ‘love for’ or ‘liking towards’ or ‘affection for’ 
music.  
(49c) is a controlled event where the Experiencer touched his mouth with a 
tangible object (poisonous medication) that caused his death (not all poisoning result 
in death). The touch of the poisonous medicine served as a stimulant or instigator in 
the touch process causing the end result, death. 
In (49d), the percipient makes reference to the impact an action of 
benevolence on his/her emotions. This action of kind-heartedness plays the role of 
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an instigator which creates a good impression on the mind of the percipient as well 
as on the heart.  The mind of thoughtfulness sinks into the heart and therefore aligned 
this experience to the act of touch, a kind of gratitude, but an emotional feeling.  
50. Esi  n’-ényí   ká  fámù 
      Esi  3SG.POSS-eye touch/HAB ground 
     ‘Esi is humble.’ 
The notion of touch in example (50) connotes humility. That is, literally explained 
as the face of the percipient touches the ground. The concept of humility is mapped 
unto the touch on the ground relating it to the concept of soberness, carefulness, and 
humility as expressed in the context. 
51 Pàpá nó dzè  nó  -hó ká-à                           
     man DEF take/HAB 3SG.POSS self touch-COMPL   
     bàsìàbá nó 
     girl  DEF 
  ‘The man had sexual intercourse with the girl.’ (Lit.: The man’s body touched the 
 girl) 
 
The notion touch in (51) could be two-fold; the first intention could connote normal 
body touch experiences and secondly the notion of sexual contact. The sense of 
touch is a physical, controlled and emotional experience on the part of the 
Experiencer (the percipient- the grammatical subject). In this context the object 
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becomes the patient. The notion of sexual interaction is mapped on the concept of 
touch where touch is conceptualised as sexual contact.   
52. Òhìá néménémé á-ká  èbùsùá  nó       
      poverty abject  PERF-touch family  DEF    
     ‘The family lives in abject poverty.’ 
In example (52), an uncontrolled intangible force (poverty) is seen to have touched 
the family. This touch is emotionally and physically experienced by the object that 
is affected. The object functions as the Experiencer in this unrestrained event. We 
realised that the notion of abject poverty is mapped unto the inadequate needs of the 
family. Therefore, the inadequate needs conceptualised as abject poverty is 
understood as touch experience. 
53. Yàŕbá à-ká  àbówá  nó 
      disease PERF-touch animal  DEF 
      ‘A disease has attacked the animal.’ 
In example (53), the concept of touch connotes afflictions or diseases. This context 
shows that the source (the body of the animal) is afflicted by an external force 
(disease) which is the instigator. So, the instigator, the uncontrolled force (the 
disease) has come into direct contact (touches) with the body of the animal. The 
touch is physically realised on the body of the animal and the end could be the 
feeling of unwellness (the effect of the disease) or other signs the animal exhibits. 
The disease that comes into contact with the body is conceptualised as touch. 
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54. É-tòẁ   édúŕ  bɔ́ń â bí kà                    
     2SG.SUBJ-throw  medicine bad CCM some touch/HAB 
     w’ánò 
     2SG.POSS-mouth 
      ‘When you hatch an evil plan, you are likely to become a victim too.’ (DW 
  SP4) 
In example (54), the activity of practicing mis-deeds plays the role of instigator 
leading to receiving its punishment. The patient in this event becomes the 
Experiencer (being touched) of the punishment. Thus, the punishment one receives 
from his or her bad deeds is connected to the concept of experience of touch. The 
conceptualisation of getting a punishment as a result of demonstrating bad deeds is 
linked to the concept of touch. 
 
5.4 Summary 
This chapter sought to discuss the semantics of olfactory, auditory and tactile senses. 
It was clear from the discussions that though these senses derive their core meanings 
from the basic word tse ‘to perceive’, they illustrate varied semantic meanings. Akan 
provides other ways of representing and interpreting basic and extended meanings 
of olfactory, auditory and tactile sensory information.  
Generally, it was also revealed that all events that characterize these senses 
(olfactory, auditory and tactile) come in uncontrolled and controlled ways. Findings 
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also show that while animate entities could function as grammatical subject in 
constructions of olfactory and auditory sense experiences, both animate human 
entities and inanimate entities (‘yàŕbá’ &, òhìá) function as the grammatical subject 
in tactile constructions.  
It was also observed that while olfactory and auditory allows two semantic 
participants; the percipient and the object in their constructions, the tactile sense 
engages three semantic participants; the Instigator, the Source and the End.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER SIX   
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS  
6.0 Introduction  
This thesis examines linguistic expressions in Akan that describe the various senses 
of the body such as tasting, seeing, touching, smelling and hearing. It adopts the 
cognitive linguistics approach which helps to explain how these senses capture our 
cognitive experiences as they relate with things in the world. Principally, this thesis 
sought to achieve the following objectives: 
(1) Provide an exhaustive inventory of cognition and perception expressions in 
the Mfantse dialect of Akan. 
(2) Analyze the formal and semantic properties of cognition and perception 
expressions in Mfantse. 
(3) Examine the role of context (structural and social context) in the construction 
and interpretation of perception and cognition meanings cross-linguistically 
and also cross-culturally. 
These objectives have been addressed in the preceding chapters.  
The expressions that communicate things we see, touch, smell, taste, and hear are 
what this thesis discusses under the concept of Perception and Cognition.  
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 This final chapter provides the summary of the findings of the study and the 
conclusions drawn. The chapter is made up of three sections: Section 6.1 discusses 
the summaries of the findings of the study. Section 6.2 looks at the theoretical 
implications of the study and projections for future research, while Section 6.3 
presents the concluding remarks. 
 
6.1 Summary of Findings 
In examining the five sensory signals of the body under the broad heading 
Perception and Cognition and their usage in Akan, one thing that becomes evident 
in the discussions is that the two phenomena (perception and cognition) integrate 
ideas to bring clarity in conceptual experiences. That is, they interlink ideas to 
unearth diverse meanings relating to the five senses (sight, touch, smell, taste, and 
hear) which serve as the basic channel to experiences in the world. 
 
6.1.1 Findings of the Semantics of Perceptive Verbs Hwέ and Hú 
In discussing the semantics of the perceptive verbs hwέ ́́ and hú in Akan, various 
constructions and meanings that characterise this domain are examined. The 
discussions infer that hwέ ‘look’ and hú ‘see’ hinge on the ability to recognise the 
relevant entities in the real world through either a conscious (deliberate action) or 
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unconscious (spontaneous effect) means. This helps to identify the several eye 
responses (detailed information of experiences in the world) that emanate from the 
sensory organ.   
The semantics of these two verbs show that activity of sight can either 
happen instantaneously or over a period of time and the events can be volitional or 
non-volitional. The results indicate that perceptive verbs in Akan can exhibit other 
extended meanings relating to intra-psychological and socio-psychological views. 
The intra-psychological experiences capture visual notions connected to self-
philosophies such as personal opinions/beliefs, principles and values while social- 
psychological visual experiences describe the notion of interdependency. Below are 
illustrations of some of the extended meanings of the perceptive verbs:  
Hwέ - to visit, to nurture, to monitor, to examine, to observe, to take care, to 
study, to search, to decide, to investigate, to wait patiently, to look for something to 
eat, to desire for, to ascertain, to measure, to take precaution and to take good care 
of.   
Hú – to seek help, to love (love at first sight), to consult, to foresee, to 
experience, to be enlightened, to figure out, to be abreast with time, to get to know 
the truth, to identify, to understand, to know, to sleep with or have sexual 
intercourse, to find out, to discover, to discern, to notice, to familiarise, and to 
distinguish. 
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  These extended meanings which sometimes also connect directly to 
metaphors and other idiomatic expressions are described as secondary elements to 
the core meanings of the perceptive verbs in Akan.  
The two perceptive verbs obligatorily require objects in their constructions, 
making most of the constructions a transitive one.  
 
6.1.2 Findings of the Semantics of Taste (Gustatory) Expressions 
In the discussion of the semantic properties of taste (gustatory) expressions in Akan, 
the following findings emerge.  
Akan realises six primary taste sensations in the language dὲẁ 
‘pleasantness’, ǹkyèǹ, ‘saltiness’, kàẁ, fèm̀, and yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ ‘sourness’, wèǹ, 
‘bitterness’, dà ànómú ‘congealing’, and táblábáá ‘blandness’. 
 From the ethno-cultural background, the taste category, dὲẁ ‘pleasant’ can 
be described as a type of pleasant taste that includes +/- sugary entities, and non-
food related experiences and exhibits varied extended semantic meanings than the 
other taste forms. The expression dὲẁ, can select an animate argument [+/-human] 
as the percipient of the taste but the perceived objects can be inanimate or animate 
[+/- human bodily feelings]. 
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The study shows that Akan has different forms of expressing sour taste— 
kàẁ, fèm̀, and yèrɛ̀yèrɛ̀ẁ ‘sour’. These sour expressions are used in the language 
depending on which referent is being described. The taste sense, táblábáá ‘bland’, 
does not depict: sweet, bitter, sour, or salty taste. 
The finding is that, the kind of expression of taste in salty taste is relative to 
the perceiver. Thus, depending on the percipient’s taste bud, the expression of 
excess use of salt may be either extremely salty to one percipient (ǹkyèńkyéń) or 
exceptionally salty (ǹkyèńkyéńńkyéń) to another. 
Also the variations that come with bitter taste experience depend on 
percipients’ orientation towards bitter taste. How one percipient expresses extreme 
bitter taste will definitely be different from another percipient. 
Apart from the physiological roles, majority of the meanings that taste 
expressions reveal are metaphorical, especially with regard to dέw ‘pleasant’ taste. 
The different domains or contexts in which the related meanings are realised 
demonstrate the core meaning of the sense. A summary of metaphorical meanings 
of taste are as follows: pleasantness– gentle speech, speaks well, having enough 
money, sexual enjoyment, flattering and bragging; blandness – improper dressing; 
sourness – regret, disappointment; bitterness – offensive, difficulties in life, 
excessive judgment and stinginess; saltiness – dishonesty, not sweet and not 
interesting. 
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The general observation from this section is that the choices for a specific 
taste display the perception people have for liking something. Taste thus is linked 
to the personal idiosyncratic frame of mind of the perceiver as well as their cultural 
background. 
 
6.1.3 Findings of the Semantics of Olfactory, Auditory and Tactile Expressions 
A detailed evaluation of the olfactory, auditory, and tactile notions in Akan shows 
that these three senses derive their core meanings from the basic word tsè ‘to 
perceive’. However, the language also displays other ways of representing and 
interpreting basic and extended meanings of olfactory, auditory and tactile sensory 
information.  
Generally, in the domain of smell, the following terms ǹká ‘scent’, m̀fáŕ 
‘scent’ (stale), yì /tù ǹká ‘to emit a bad or a good scent’ tsè ǹká ‘to perceive a scent’, 
tù/yì húá ‘to emit a good smell’, húáḿ ‘to emit a good scent’, bɔ́ń ‘to stink’, nyàǹ 
‘nauseating’ (bad), nyìnyà ‘putrid’ (decaying), hùà ‘smell/sniff” describe the 
various perceptions of smell in Akan. M̀fáŕ/Ǹká ‘scent’ may be understood to 
conflate the concepts of good, bad, fragrant, stench and disapproving concepts in 
portraying smells (odours) in Akan. Findings also show that the semantics of ǹká 
‘scent’ demonstrate that though there are few occurrences where ǹká ‘scent’ does 
not have a negative connotation, in most cases it does, and perhaps the non-negative 
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connotation can be explained in a context where the concept of ǹká ‘scent’ needs to 
be modified with positive adjectives to get the positive connotation. Perhaps its 
neutral use is connected with food. While bɔ̀ǹ becomes the general basic term 
assigned to bad odours, nnyàǹ represents nauseous state and nyìnyá for putrid smell 
which also portray kinds of bad odours. On the other hand, where the odours are in 
extreme state Akan (Mfantse) uses these terms: sùòǹǹ, kòóò, káńkáń, hùǹtùǹǹ and 
sùkùsùkù to specify that. 
Conceptualising the state of bɔ̀ǹ, this study illustrates that bɔ̀ǹ can display 
the concept of bad human body odour, lack of intellectual competencies and overall 
bad odour. However, in the state of good odours, the term húáḿ is used. The results 
also reveal that the olfactory experience of hùà ‘to sniff/smell’ is for relaxation, 
satisfaction, love and detection of preference of the odour of an entity.  
This section also shows extended meanings of olfactory experiences in the 
language; a summary of which is as follows: húáḿ ‘good odour’: ‘good mouth talk’  
‘good speech’ or ‘an eloquent speech’; bɔ̀ǹ ‘bad odour’: ‘bad mouth-talk’ – loud-
mouthed or offensive speech; ‘bad breath/bad smell in the nose’ hostility, 
unfriendliness; ‘self-matter smells’ bad character or behaviour. Ǹká ‘scent’ 
(positive/negative) ‘good or bad character’.  
The auditory discussions show that Akan identifies two auditory terms: tsè 
‘hear’ and tsíè ‘listen’. Semantically, meanings derived from these two verbs, tsè 
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‘hear’ and tsíè ‘listen’ differ in terms of the context in which they occur. However, 
the two verbs have similar syntactic structures in terms of the arguments they select. 
They co-occur with only animate [+ human] entity as the percipient as well as the 
grammatical subjects, where the perceived objects can be both animate and 
inanimate objects, though some non-human animate entities also hear and can 
respond to stimulus around them. The two verbs, tsè ‘hear’ and tsíè ‘listen’ can also 
demonstrate both controlled and uncontrolled events (i.e. the perception experience 
involved with tsè and tsíè are marked with +/- volitional acts). 
The findings also indicate that the auditory sense can reveal other extended 
meanings as follows: tsìètsíèè ‘to investigate’, tsíè ‘to give a hearing’ (in the legal 
context), tsíè no ‘to agree’/‘to permit’, tsíè nó àsò pá mù: ‘to listen without 
prejudice’, tsíè /tsè… àsέḿ ‘obedience’, tsíé … ànó ‘to act on hearsay’, à-tsè â 
ńńtséè: ‘pretence’ and tsè àsó mú: ‘listening to the right information’. 
The discussion on tactile sensation shows that Akan has these expressions to 
demonstrate the sense of touch in the language: kà…hwέ, súóḿ…hwέ and míá… 
hwέ ‘touch’. The expressions of touch involve the hand as the most obligatory body 
part. The observation here is that the serial verbs kà…hwέ, súóḿ… hwέ and míá…. 
hwέ ‘touch’ deal with direct physical or close contact between two entities to 
examine physical characteristics. These activities go beyond physical examination 
to express feelings and emotions through touching. Activities performed using these 
expressions are done in a controlled, conscious manner. Findings show that the 
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activities involving these touchings express comfort, subduing, pleasing, loving, 
stimulating, reaching, intimate relationship and painful expressions. 
This section also makes clear that apart from the physical meanings of touch, 
the touch sense can demonstrate other extended meanings as the following 
exemplify: n’ényí ká fámù ‘he’s humble’; Òhìá á-ká èbùsùá nó ‘poverty has gripped 
the family’.  
This study also finds that while olfactory, auditory, cognitive perceptive 
expressions and gustatory expressions allow two semantic participants, the 
percipient and object, in their constructions, the tactile sense engages three semantic 
roles – the Instigator, the Source and the End.  
Further, it is clear from the discussions in this study that, the nature of the 
various events illustrated by the various sensory signals is such that all events can 
be demonstrated in controlled as well as uncontrolled manner. The events can also 
happen instantaneously or over a period of time. 
Again, it has been shown that, percipients involved in the perceptual events 
in olfactory and auditory senses as well as in gustatory sense are principally animate 
[+/- human] referents and can also function as grammatical subjects in their 
constructions. However, only animate human entities function as the grammatical 
subject and percipient in tactile constructions. With perceptive expressions both 
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animate [+/- human] and inanimate entities are permitted to fill the Experiencer 
(subject position) slot of constructions associated with these sensory signals. 
 
6.2 Projections for Future Research /Theoretical Implications 
It would be interesting to have further research done in other African languages to 
find out how the hierarchy turns out. Further research can be conducted to find out 
whether or not Kwa languages exhibit the same or diverse hierarchical information 
relating to Perception and Cognition expressions. 
The study establishes that in Akan (Mfantse), the sense of taste demonstrates 
basic and numerous extended meanings in natural discourses as this is contested in 
earlier linguistic literature to be the least preferred in terms of the meanings it 
exhibits. It is therefore imperative that further research is carried out in other Kwa 
languages in order to make a generalisation on the sense of taste. Further, research 
can be carried out in other Kwa languages to find out whether there are other 
adjectives to distinguish taste categories before generalization can be made. 
Ten basic smell terms and six modifiers were established with the auditory 
sense. This observation needs to be probed further in other African languages in 
order to draw characteristic conclusions.  
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This study also shows that touch is the least mentioned sense in perception and 
cognition domain in Mfantse. This observation needs to be probed further in other 
African languages in order to draw characteristic conclusions. 
It may be of interest that this notion of a sense revealing several senses seems to 
be universal among some African languages as the literature attests.  Further studies 
can be conducted in other African languages, especially in Kwa languages, to find 
out whether the notion of one sense modality exhibiting other sense modalities 
pertains in those languages before authentic generalisations can be made.  
 
6.3 Concluding Remarks  
The differences in linguistic expressions of sensory imageries depend largely on 
how community members interact with the environment they find themselves in.  
 This thesis is thus, one of the novel studies on perception and cognition in Akan 
(Mfantse) analysed from the cognitive linguistic view. It is imperative to also note 
that the data source in this study is native speakers who use the language in their 
everyday life experiences.  
Research in perception and cognition is very important since the various 
concepts about the sensory signal help in understanding cognitive and perceptual 
issues of things in the world. The findings of this study will help preserve the 
language and also help uncover the linguistic structures of sensory information in 
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the language. This study will also add to the existing literature on perception and 
cognition for further references of research in this area.  
In addition, this study records a lot of metaphorical ideas which will benefit 
linguists by way of sharpening their language skills as they use these metaphors.  
Evaluation on the proposal that advanced a single general hierarchy guiding 
the cross-linguistic coding of sense modalities show that the principle on the 
hierarchy has been challenged on several front and does not hold true for all 
languages. In view of that this thesis proposes that a preferred sense on a hierarchy 
should be what society values in terms of its usage and beliefs attached to it. 
Finally, the Mfantse data make a connection between the findings and the 
theoretical/conceptual positions as well as the literature by establishing that the 
concept of perception and cognition normally move in pairs as state and non-state 
pairs in Akan. The state refers to the concrete/non-metaphorical uses while the non-
state roles are expressed abstractly/metaphorically. These pairs play a major role in 
the syntactic and semantic contexts of perception and cognition meanings cross-
linguistically and cross-culturally. It is also established in this study that the sense 
modalities in Mfantse employ lexical items such as verbs and adjectives in 
expressing the various senses. Basically, all the sense modalities in Mfantse have 
verbal forms as a principal coding lexical item for expressing perception and 
cognition. Nevertheless, adjectives were central to linguistic expressions for 
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gustatory and olfactory senses. Also, the sensate objects which encode the various 
sense modalities come as nominals. In some constructions of the senses, adverbs are 
used for emphatic purposes. These findings vary cross-culturally and cross-
linguistically as noted in the literature (Majid et al. 2018; Majid & Kruspe 2018; 
Levinson & Majid 2014; Aikhenvald & Storch 2013; Majid & Levinson 2011; 
Evans & Wilkins 2000). However, one notable finding which Mfantse (Akan) finds, 
and for that matter makes it a shared feature among languages reviewed, is the 
concept of one sense modality functioning as a principal coding strategy for other 
senses. In the case of this study, the verb tse ‘to perceive/ hear’ was identified to 
encode other senses such as taste, touch, hear, and smell. It is expected that 
comparable research will spring up from closely related dialects in other Ghanaian 
languages, the Kwa language family, as well as African languages in general to 
bring out similarities and differences in the linguistic analysis of these sensory 
modalities. 
 
 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX I – INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 
 
Smell 
List all the smell terms in the language.  In what contexts or circumstances are these 
terms used? 
What are some of the things that smell? Can you mention them and describe them 
as well? 
How do you distinguish between the different kinds of smell in the environment and 
among people? 
What kind of scent or smell do you pay attention to and which ones do you try to 
avoid? 
Which scent or smell are you uncomfortable to be associated with? 
 
Taste  
List all the taste terms in the language. For example, for sweet, sour, salty, bitter etc. 
How do you distinguish between these different types of taste forms? 
Tell us the taste of sugar, honey, salt, lime, food, soup, drinks, fruits etc and their 
behaviour as we taste them. 
What are the differences in taste of these objects earlier mentioned? 
Apart from these items described what other items or objects can we associate taste 
to? 
Tell us how you prepare your favourite meal, different dishes and other food 
processing. 
What are your likes and dislikes? 
What are some of the things we associate taste to? 
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Hearing 
Can you hear? If you can hear what are some of the things you hear around you and 
listen to? 
What kind of information do you hear and listen to? 
What are some of the different stories, music and messages do you listen and hear?  
What sound do you love hearing and listen to? 
How do you listen?  
Do you have good listening skills? 
What do you hear at various times of the day? (e.g. what do you hear in the morning, 
afternoon and in the evening, etc?  
What do you hear that reminds you of something, or something you like or enjoy?  
Apart from humans do we have other objects that also use their ears in some other 
way? 
What do other people listen to? 
 
Sight 
How do we use our sense of sight? Can you see? If you see what are some of the 
things you see around you? 
What do you see at various times of the day? (e.g. what do you see in the morning, 
afternoon and in the evening, what about the weather etc?  
What do you see that reminds you of something, or someone’s behaviour?  
What do you see in the environment? Can you describe some of the things you see? 
What is different each time you look at your environment?  
Mention some of the things you use your eyes to do? 
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Apart from humans do we have other objects that also use their eyes in some other 
way? 
 
Touch  
How do we feel and observe the human body and other objects around us?  
What are the terminologies used to describe items we feel with our hands and in 
what contexts or circumstances are these terms used? 
How do we describe the various textures that we have? 
What other descriptions do we give to sense of touch? 
 
General questions 
Can you share with us some of the Akan proverbs you know and more especially 
that relates to the senses? 
Tell us about steps you take when you want to marry. 
Narrate how you go for hunting and the process of searching for the animals. 
Narrate some of the food processing you know. How do you celebrate your 
festivals? 
Tell us about a story. 
How do you take care of your things, things around you and that of others? 
How do you take care of close contact and friends? 
Can you describe the kind of relationship that exist between you and your partner? 
How do people care for others? e.g. doctors, relatives, partners, churches etc 
How do you look for jobs? 
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Narrate how the following activities are performed: funeral rites, marriage rites, 
marriage experiences, and encountering problems (assessing emotions, feelings, 
thinking etc.) 
Give description of symptoms of diseases and how medications are administered.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX II – SAMPLE TEXTS WITH GLOSSES 
Sample texts that form part of the data  
Vision 
- Me  yε nyimpa yi dze mu  hu             
1SG.SUBJ      be human  DEF   TOP 1SG.SUBJ see 
adze   
something 
‘The fact that I am a human being, I can see things.’ 
 
- Mu  hu  hɔn  a wɔ e-twa 
1SG.SUBJ      see/HAB         3PL.OBJ REL be  PERF-surround 
  
mo  ho e-hyia  yi 
1SG.SUBJ self PERF-round DEM 
‘I see all those who have surrounded me.’   
 
- Me-nn-hyɛ-ε-da-ara    mu-nn-hu-u    
1SG.SUBJ-NEG- order-COMPL-day-INT      1SG.SUBJ-NEG-see-PERF 
  
obi  a wͻ-dze  aton  a-wo    
someone  REL 2SG.OBJ-take blacksmith PERF-birth   
no  gyedɛ  o-sua   ana. 
3SG.OBJ       unless                3SG.SUBJ-learn before 
‘I have not taken critical look at someone who has been born with the gift 
of being a blacksmith unless he/she learns on apprenticeship.’ 
 
- Awar  dze, i-tum   hwε  ͻbaa   
marriage TOP 2SG.SUBJ-able look/HAB woman  
            a no  ho yε fɛw  na a-war   
            REL 3SG.POSS self be beautiful CONJ CONS-marry 
 no 
 3SG.OBJ 
             ‘For marriage, you can admire a beautiful lady and then marry her.’ 
 
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-   Oh, m-e-hu    ɔbaa  bi    
               oh, 1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see  woman INDEF  
   e-sie             a mo-bɔ-war   no 
               PERF-hide REL 1SG.SUBJ-FUT-marry 3SG.OBJ 
        ‘Oh, I have mottled a particular woman I would like to marry.’ 
 
- Mber bi  wɔ hɔ a,   i-bo-hu  dɛ                       
       time INDEF be there CCM 2SG.SUBJ-FUT-see  COMP    
          
ɔbaa  a-yε  bra  no nna   
  
            woman PERF-be menstruation DEF then   
 
       ɔ-dze   nyinsɛn nam, ntsi ɔbaa  no  
             3SG.SUBJ-hold pregnancy walk so, woman DEF 
 
             mo-hwε  no  kakra  na 
 1SG.SUBJ-see 3SG.OBJ for a while CONJ   
   
yε-a-kɛ-yɛ   no  ho gyaa;   
1PL.SUBJ-CONS-go-do 3SG.POSS self talk.to 
 
      me-kyerɛ  y-e-ko-hu   egya no. Ntsi  
    
1SG.SUBJ-show 1PL.SUBJ-CONS-go-see father DEF so 
 
sε e-ro-war   a  ɔ-wɔ  dɛ          
            when 2SG.SUBJ-PROG-marry CCM  3SG.SUBJ-be COMP   
            e-hwe-hwɛ   obi  a e-nye     
            2SG.SUBJ-look-REDUP someone REL 2SG.SUBJ-be.with   
             no               nam a wo  ho bɔ-tɔ    
3SG.OBJ    walk CCM    2SG.POSS self FUT-dropdown 
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             wo 
 2SG.OBJ 
‘Sometimes, as for a woman, before you become aware of her menarche, she 
would already be pregnant. So, I study the lady for a while then we go and 
talk it over with the   father. So, when you decide to marry, look for 
a partner you will feel comfortable with.’ 
- Sε yε-kɔ    ha a, yε-dze    
when 3PL.SUBJ-go/HAB   hunt CCM 1PL.SUBJ-do-take/HAB 
gya na yɛ-dze   hwe-hwɛ abowa no 
fire FOC 1PL.SUBJ-do-take look-REDUP animal DEF 
            ‘When we go for hunting, we use fire to look for the animal.’ 
- Oh dɔkon  edwuma no m-e-hu    
   
oh kenkey  job  DEF 1SG.SUBJ-PERF-see  
 
n’-enyi   do, ntsi, eburow a    
3SG.POSS-eye on so dɔkon  REL  
 
wɔ-dze    yε dɔkon  no  
3PL.SUBJ-take/HAB  do  kenkey  DCM  
     
mo-hwε   no  yie ana  
1SG.SUBJ-look/HAB  3SG.OBJ well before   
       m-a-fɔw. 
            1SG.SUBJ-PERF-wet 
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‘Oh, for the kenkey job, I have become skilled enough on the job. So, I 
examine the maize I use to prepare kenkey very well before soaking it in 
water.’ 
 
- M-a-yε  edwuma no a-kyεr  ntsi,  
1SG.SUBJ-PERF-do job  DEF PERF-long so,  
 
             me-dze               m’-enyiwa  na    
1SG.SUBJ-take/HAB  1SG.POSS-eye FOC  
me-dze   hwɛ  dɛ  eburow  
1SG.SUBJ-take/HAB  look/HAB COMP   maize   
no  o-tu  ana m-a-fɔw 
3SG.OBJ 3SG-rise before 1SG.SUBJ-PERF-wet 
             ‘I have done this job for long so I use my eyes to ascertain whether the 
 maize can rise before soaking it in water.’ 
 
- Sε obi  yar a  mo-kɔ    
when someone sick CCM  1SG.SUBJ-go/HAB    
 
kɔ-hwε no  wɔ ayaresabea hɔ. 
go-look/HAB 3SG.OBJ at hospital there 
 ‘When someone is sick I pay him/her a visit at the hospital.’ 
 
- Sε o-du   beebi  a,          ye-ko-hu   
when 3SG.SUBJ-reach certain.time CCM 1PL.SUBJ-go-see  
  
a-sɔfo  no ma  wɔ-bɔ    mpaa              
PL-pastor DEF COMP  3PL.SUBJ-strike/HAB prayer  
 ma  hεn  
give/HAB 1PL.OBJ 
            ‘At certain time we go and consult the pastors to pray for us.’  
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- Asɔr  no  so  hwε   a-bɔbɔfo     anaa  e-hia-fo 
church DEF also see/HAB PL-needy CONJ NOM-need-PL 
‘The church also takes care of the needy and the poor.’  
 
- Yε-hwε  dwuma a  ye-ri-dzi                                   
1PL.SUBJ-see/HAB work  REL  1PL.SUBJ-PROG-eat    
     na yε-dze   bɔ  mpaa   wɔ afahyε    
    CONJ 1PL.SUBJ-take/HAB strike/HAB prayer  at festival 
            da no  
 day DEF   
   ‘We base our prayer on the programme during the time of the festival.’ 
 
- Ntsi yε-hwε    mu a, ɔman no yε        
so 1PL.SUBJ-look/HAB  inside CCM town DEF be  
  
            Takyi dze ntsi na  yε-frε   no  
            Takyi own so CONJ  1PL.SUBJ-call/HAB 3SG.OBJ 
 
Takyiman 
 Takyiman 
‘So, we realised that the town is for Takyi that is why we call it Takyiman’. 
 
- Yε-hwε   n-da       no        na                     
1PL.SUBJ-see/HAB  PL-day   DEF     CONJ    
yε-dze                 hyε     afahyε  da no ansaana  
    1PL.SUBJ-take  fix      festival  day   DEF before  
 yε-a-hyε   ase 
 1PL.SUBJ-PERF-fix  begin.    
             ‘We use the calendar to calculate the date for the festival before 
 commence.’ 
 
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Abεbu   dze beberee, bi yε: 
Proverb  FOC many  some be 
‘There are many proverbs, some are:  
- Èhubida ntsi na abowa aserwa  gyegye                   
            experience that CONJ animal sparrow collect.REDUP/HAB  
            ne  ba agor a, o-yi      
            3SG.POSS child play CCM 3SG.SUBJ-pick/HAB   
            n’-enyi   to  nkyɛn 
           3SG.POSS-eye  put/HAB side 
            ‘It is out of caution that when the sparrow plays with the child it looks 
 elsewhere.’  
 
- E-dze   bͻ-hwε obi  ne  ba   
            2SG.SUBJ-take/HAB FUT-look someone 3SG.POSS child   
            dze fa  tͻ  akokͻ  nyεn   
            DCM   pick/HAB buy/HAB chicken rear/HAB 
            no 
 3SG.OBJ 
            ‘It is better to rear a hen than to nurture someone else’s child.’ 
 
-  Hwɛ  do ma me  nn-yε  dɛ               
look/IMP on give 1SG.OBJ NEG-be COMP 
 
wo-ara 
2SG.REFL 
            ‘It is better to take good care of your own things than allowing someone to 
  do so.’ 
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- Hwɛ  pete  ne  n-tɛkyerε mu 
            look/IMP vulture  3SG.POSS PL-feather inside 
            ‘Use every possible means to uncover the truth.’ 
 
Taste 
- Mu-hu   dε  esikyire yε  dεw  
 
1SG.SUBJ-see/HAB COMP  sugar  be  sweet 
 
‘I find that sugar is sweet.’ 
 
Ndzεmba a o-bo-tum   a-yε  dεw    
PL.thing REL 3SG.SUBJ-FUT-able  PERF-be         tasty   
anaa  fenemfenem anaa dɔkɔdɔkɔ dɔɔso ntsi ye-tum     
or sweet  or sweet  many so PL.SUBJ-able   
ka  dε 
say/HAB COMP 
‘Things that can be tasty are many, so we can say that:’  
- Nsa yi yε  dɔkɔdɔkɔ  
drink DEF be  sweet 
 
‘The drink tastes very sweet.’ 
 
 
- Ataaba  no mu yε  fenemfenem 
 
fruit  DEF inside be  sweet 
 
            ‘The fruit is extremely sweet.’ (ataaba ‘miraculous berry’) 
 
 
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- Nsu no yε  dεw 
water DEF be  pleasant 
 
‘The water is refreshing.’ 
 
- Ewo  yε  dεw 
honey  be  sweet 
 
           ‘Honey is sweet.’ 
 
- Mframa no yε  dεw 
 air  DEF be  pleasant 
‘The air is so refreshing.’ 
 
- Awar  yε  dεw 
marriage be  pleasant 
 
‘Marriage is sweet.’ 
 
- Mu-tum  ka  dε  me  yer  
1SG.SUBJ-able say/HAB COMP  1SG.POSS wife  
ne  twε  yε dεw, ah fa bi 
3SG.POSS vagina  be sweet ah take some 
 
yε serew. 
be laugh. 
           ‘I will be able to say that my wife’s vagina is sweet, ah just laugh over it.’ 
 
- Edziban so yε  dεw 
food  also be  tasty 
 
     ‘Food is also tasty.’ 
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- Nkwan  so yε  dεw 
soup  also be  tasty 
 
‘Soup is also tasty.’ 
- Nkwan  no bi tum yε nkyen sε   
soup  DEF some able be salt COND   
salt dɔɔso wɔ mu a 
            nkyen many be inside CCM 
‘Some soup becomes salty if there is too much salt in it.’ 
 
- Me –dze  nkyen to edziban mu a,   
    1SG.SUBJ-take/HAB salt put food  inside CCM   
     me-tse         ne  dεw, sε  nkyen nnyi   
     1SG.SUBJ-hear     3SG.POSS taste COND  salt NEG  
     mu a  me-nn-tse                               ne                 dεw    
     inside CCM 1SG.SUBJ-NEG-hear/HAB  3SG.POSS    taste 
‘When I add salt to my food, I feel its good taste, but when there is no salt 
 in it, I don’t get its good taste.’ 
 
- Esikyire yε  dεw  dada  na 
   
sugar  be  sweet  already CONJ        
sε      m-a-mm-fa    nkyen    
             COND ISG.SUBJ-PERF-NEG-take  salt    
a-nn-ka  ho wɔ edziban mu a   
             PERF-NEG-add self at  food  inside CCM   
         
ɔ-nn-yɛ  dεw 
3SG.SUBJ-NEG-be tasty 
‘Sugar is already sweet but if I don’t add salt to it, it will not give it the good 
taste that it should have.’ 
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- Sε edziban no ne  nka fa wo    
when  food  DEF 3SG.POSS aroma pass 2SG.POSS  
    
hwen mu a           ɔ-bε-yε  wo  dεw 
 
nose inside CCM 3SG.SUBJ-FUT-be 2SG.OBJ tasty  
 
‘When you smell the aroma of the food it will water your mouth.’ 
 
- Mɔmɔe bɔn   naaso ɔ-ma                
salted.fish smell.bad  but 3SG.SUBJ-give/HAB 
  
edziban yε  dεw 
food  be  tasty 
     ‘Salted fish smells bad, yet, it gives food a good taste.’ 
 
- Bɔwen   ahaban  yε wen 
bitter  leave  be bitter 
 
‘Bitter leaf is bitter.’   
- Bese  yε  wen 
       kola.nut be  bitter 
      ‘Kola nut is bitter.’ 
 
 
- Abode  edur  so yε wen 
neem.tree medicine also be bitter 
 
‘The neem tree medicine tastes bitter.’ 
 
 
 
 
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- Ngo  dze ɔ-da  enum 
Palm oil TOP 3SG.SUBJ-lie mouth 
‘For palm oil it congeals in the mouth.’  
- Mbɔr  so kaw 
       corn dough also  sour 
       ‘Corn dough also tastes sour.’ 
 
- Mfantse-dͻkon dze o-tum   kaw   
Mfantse-kenkey TOP 3SG.SUBJ-able sour 
  
m’-adadaw  mu 
            1SG.POSS-jawbones inside 
            ‘For Mfantse kenkey it tastes sour in my jawbones.’ 
 
- Ekutu dze ɔ-fem    se o-tum 
   
orange TOP 3SG.SUBJ-sour/HAB  teeth, 3SG.SUBJ-able 
 
so kaw  
 
also sour  
‘For orange it sets teeth on edge, it can also be sour too.’ 
 
 
- Ankama dze  no  mu yε yerɛwyerɛw 
            lime/lemon TOP   3SG.POSS inside be sour 
 
            ‘For lime, it tastes sour – pungent.’ 
 
Bε  no bi so wɔ a ɔ-kasa    
Proverb DEF     some also be REL 3SG.SUBJ-speak/HAB  
fa ‘taste’ ho 
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pass taste self 
‘Some of the proverbs also describe taste.’ 
- N’-ano   yε wen 
3SG.POSS-mouth be bitter 
‘S/he is foulmouthed.’ 
 
- Aban               mbra    nye  no  e-dzi   
government    law       be.with 3SG.OBJ PERF-eat  
 
no        wee-wee-wen 
 
3SG.OBJ bitter-REDUP-REDUP 
   
           ‘The law has dealt with him/her ruthlessly.’ 
 
- Ɔbra nye  no  e-dzi  no   
life be.with 3SG.OBJ PERF-eat 3SG.OBJ 
  
wee-wee-wen  
 
bitter-REDUP-REDUP  
‘Life has not been kind to him/her.’ 
 
 
- Ne  yamu   yε wen 
3SG.POSS stomach.inside be bitter 
 
           ‘S/he is stingy.’ 
 
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- Ne   sisi mu a-yε  no dɔkɔdɔkɔ 
   
3SG.POSS  waist inside PERF-be DEF sugary 
 
‘S/he has been passing stool frequently.’ 
 
- Ne  tsir mu yε no  dεw  
           3SG.POSS head inside be 3SG.OBJ pleasant 
           ‘S/he is pampered.’ 
 
- No   ho yε no dεw  
       3SG.POSS  self be DEF pleasant 
      ‘S/he is easily aroused sexually.’ 
 
- N’-enum   asɛm yε dεw  
            3SG.POSS-mouth  speech be pleasant 
           ‘S/he speaks well.’ 
 
  Smell 
- Sɛ me-tse    dɛ  adze bɔn    
when 1SG.SUBJ-hear/HAB  COMP  thing smell.bad 
  
a  mo  hwe-hwɛ  beebi a ɔ-wɔ 
CCM 1SG.SUBJ look-REDUP  where REL 3SG.OBJ-be 
‘When I realised that that something smells I search for where it is.’ 
 
- Sε adze  bɔn  a kwan a  
when something smell.bad CCM way REL 
   
me-fa    do hu  nye  dɛ 
  
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1SG.SUBJ-pass/HAB  on see/HAB be  COMP 
  
nsaman  fi  mu  ba 
PL.maggot come/HAB inside  come/HAB 
‘If something smells what I use to observe is that maggot comes out of it.’ 
   
 
- Sɛ abowa  bi  bɔn  a o-yi  
   
when animal  INDEF smell.bad CCM 3SG.SUBJ-
emit/HAB 
 
nka suonn   wɔ mfikyiri hɔ   
      scent very.bad.odour at backyard there. 
 ‘When an animal smells, it emits bad smell at the backyard.’ 
  
- Abowafun dze ne  nka bɔn  ara yie 
 
carcass  TOP 3SG.POSS scent smell.bad very well 
‘The carcass of the animal smells very badly.’ 
 
- Sɛ biribi  bɔn  wɔ mpata mu a  
when something smell.bad at area inside CCM  
ɔ-bɔ-bɔn   dɛ  mɔmɔe. 
3SG.SUBJ-FUT-smell COMP  stinking.fish  
            ‘When something smells in the environment, it will smell like a stinking 
 fish.’ 
 
- I-tum   gyina  nam ne  nka do 
2SG.SUBJ-able stand/HAB fish 3SG.POSS scent on 
 
kyerɛ  dɛ  a-ben  anaa  
 
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show/HAB COMP  PERF-cook or  
ɔ-re-hyew 
3SG.SUBJ-PROG-burn  
‘You can rely on the scent of the fish to tell whether it is cooked or it is 
burning.’ 
 
- Nam no bi  so ne  nka bɔn  
  
fish DEF INDEF also 3SG.POSS scent smell.bad  
  
ntsi  ɔ-kyerɛ   dɛ  nam no  
so  3SG.SUBJ-point/HAB COMP  fish DEF  
a-sɛe. 
PERF-spoil 
      ‘Some of the fish can smell bad, when that happens then it means the fish 
 has got spoilt.’ 
 
- Nam so yε  nyan 
fish also be  nauseous  
‘Fish also emits nauseous scent.’ 
 
- I-bo-hu  dɛ  nam no nka a-ba   
2SG.SUBJ-FUT-see COMP  fish DEF scent PERF-come  
mu ntsi  ɔ-nn-yɛ  dɛw 
inside so  3SG.SUBJ-NEG-be sweet 
‘You will realise that there is scent in the fish so it does not make the fish 
tasty.’ 
 
Dɛm ndzɛmba yi nyinara so ye-tum   dze  
DET PL.thing DEM all  also 1PL.SUBJ-able take  
 
bɔn,  kankaankan,  suonn,   koo,    
smell.bad  stink.REDUP,  very.bad.odour very.bad.odour 
 
sukusuku, anaa huntuun gyina  hͻ ma 
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putrid  or foul.smell stand/HAB there give/HAB 
   
hͻn,  ntsi ye-tum   ka  dɛ 
3PL.OBJ  so 1PL.SUBJ-able say/HAB COMP  
 ‘All these things can be associated with modifers that describe bad smell, so we 
can say that’ 
 
- Abowa  no  -ho bɔn  kankaankan 
animal  3SG.POSS self smell.bad stink.REDUP 
‘The animal stinks very badly.’ 
- Edziban no bɔn  kankaankan 
food  DEF smell.bad stink.REDUP 
‘The food stinks very badly.’ 
- Abowa  no a-bɔn  suonn 
       animal DEF PERF-stink very.bad.odour 
      ‘The animal stinks.’ 
- Nyimpa no no  ho bɔn  kankaankan 
human being DEF 3SG.POSS self smell.bad stink.REDUP 
‘The person smells badly.’ 
- No   -ho yε  nyan  ankasa   
3SG.POSS  self be  nauseous very  
      ‘S/he has a nauseating body odour.’ 
 
- Nam no bɔn  kankaankan 
fish DEF smell.bad stink.REDUP 
‘The fish smells badly.’  
 
- No  ho a-bɔn  suonn 
3SG.POSS self PERF-stink very.bad.odour 
‘S/he smells bad.’ 
 
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- Abɔfra  no a-bɔn   suon   anaa  
child  DEF PERF-smell.bad very.bad.odour or 
 
kooo 
            very.bad.odour 
      ‘The child is daft.’ 
 
Ye-tum so ka  dɛ  nsu yi yi   
1PL-able also say/HAB COMP  water DEM emit/HAB 
nka 
scent 
‘We can also that this water emits scent.’ 
- Abofra  no n’-amaadze  yi  nka 
 
child  DEF 3SG.POSS-armpit emit/HAB scent. 
‘The child’s armpit smells.’ 
- Nsu yi yi nka  
 
water DEM emit scent 
      ‘This water has odour.’ 
- Nhyiren yi yi nka pa  
       flower  DEM emit scent good  
‘This flower has good scent.’ 
 
- Nhyiren yi yε  huam        
       flower  DEM be  good.scent 
‘This flower smells good.’ 
    
- Ye-tum  so ka  dɛ    
1PL.SUBJ-able also say/HAB COMP   
      
            n’-atar   mu  nka yɛ huam  anna  
  
 3SG.POSS-dress inside  scent be good.scent or 
  
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             no  ho nka yɛ huam  anaa  
 3SG.POSS self scent be  good.scent or  
  
  no  ho nka yε ahomka, anaa    
 
              3SG.POSS self scent be nice  or    
 
  so  n’atar   mu tu  nka pa  
  also  3SG.POSS-dress  inside fly/HAB scent good. 
    
            ‘We can also say that s/he has good scent or s/he smells good or s/he has 
 nice scent.’ 
- N’-enum   asɛm  bɔn 
 3SG.POSS-mouth  matter  smell.bad 
‘S/he does not know how to speak well.’ 
- No   hwen  mu  bɔn  
3SG.POSS  nose  inside  smell.bad 
no 
3SG.OBJ 
‘S/he is haughty.’         
- Nyimpa so ho yε nyan  ntsi ye-tum  
  
human being also self be nauseous so 1PL.SUBJ-able 
  
ka  dε  no  ho a-yε   
  
say/HAB COMP  3SG.POSS self PERF-be 
nyan  ankasa 
nauseous very  
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‘Human being can also emit nauseous scent so we can say that s/he has a 
nauseating body odour.’  
 
 
Hear 
- Hεn  mpataa ha yi mu dze yɛ-a-tse 
1PL.SUBJ area  here DEM inside TOP 1PL.SUBJ-PERF-hear
  
dɛ  Edwumao na   no  nkwaa    do ha,  
COMP  Edwumako CONJ  3SG.POSS suburb   LOC here,  
Edwumako Takyiman na wɔ-bɔ   akwan                          
Edwumako Takyiman CONJ 3PL.SUBJ-play PL.road  
a ɔ-yɛ   dɛw 
CCM 3SG.SUBJ-be  pleasant  
‘In our area here, we have heard that the Edwumako Takyiman festival 
 celebration is the most interesting among the Edwumako towns.’ 
 
- Oh, ye-tsie   Edwumako Takyiman ho  
   oh, 1PL.SUBJ-hear/HAB Edwumako Takyiman self  
   abakɔsεm paa 
               history often 
   ‘Oh, we often listen to the history of Edwumako Takyiman.’ 
 
- Nn-yε  ɔno  nko, wiadze  yi mu dze, 
NEG-be 3SG.OBJ alone world  DEF inside TOP 
asotsee  bebree  na  yɛ-tse 
hearsay many  CONJ   1PL.SUBJ-hear/HAB 
‘Not only that but we hear a lot of rumours in this world.’ 
 
- Sε i-kyɛn   w’-aso   a               
when   2SG.SUBJ-tune.in 2SG.POSS-ear CCM 
 
e-bε-tse  
            2SG.SUBJ-FUT-hear 
            ‘When you become attentive you will hear what is going on.’ 
- Sε e-tse    dɛ  wo   
when 2SG.SUBJ-hear/HAB  COMP  2SG.POSS   
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kun  a-fa  ɔbaa  anaa     
husband PERF-take woman or  
ɔ-a-bɔ    ɔbaa  bi   
3SG.SUBJ-PERF-strike woman INDEF  
enyinkam a e-bε-yε  dεn? 
face.mark CCM 2SG.SUBJ-FUT-do what 
‘If you hear that your husband is dating another woman, what will you do?’ 
 
- Me-dze  m’aso   bɔ-to  famu  
1SG.SUBJ-use 1SG.POSS-ear FUT-put down   
na  m’-e-tsie   mu 
CONJ  1SG.SUBJ-PERF-listen inside 
‘I will listen attentively about it.’ 
 
- Obi  so bo-tum  e-yi  me  aso  
someone also FUT-able PERF-pick 1SG.SUBJ ear 
tsir  
head 
‘Someone can also inform me or bring me information.’ 
  
- Sε i-kyɛn   w’-aso   a   
when 2SG.SUBJ-tune.in 2SG.POSS-ear CCM 
e-bε-tse   na mbom w’-asowa  mu  
            2SG.SUBJ-FUT-hear   CONJ also 2SG.POSS-ear inside  
nn-da  hɔ a, ɛ-re-nn-tse,     ntsi  
NEG-sleep there CCM 2SG.SUBJ-PROG-NEG-hear , so 
akasaakasa  ba  na  hom  wɔ  
misunderstanding  come/HAB CONJ  2PL.SUBJ have                             
hom  ho ntseasee  a,  oye     
2PL.POSS self understanding  CCM  good 
      ‘When you become attentive you will hear but if you are not an attentive 
  listener, you will not hear, so, when sometimes there is misunderstanding 
  and you understand each other, it is good.’ 
 
 
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Touch 
- Nam no bi wɔ hɔ a ɔ-yε    
fish DEF some be there REL 3SG.SUBJ-be   
abonabon ntsi yε-twerɛtwerɛw  ho na  
scally  so 1PL.SUBJ-scrape.REDUP self  CONJ 
 
            bi so no  ho yɛ wirekyiree na 
some also 3SG.POSS self be hard.rough CONJ  
 
bi so ho yɛ tor 
some also self be slimy 
‘Some of the fish have scales and need to be descaled, some have hard 
rough skin and some also have smooth body.’  
 
- Nam no bi so tum yɛ pɛkyɛɛ, ɔno  
fish DEF some also able be very.soft 3SG.POSS  
no  na ɔ-kyerɛ   dɛ  a-sɛe 
DCM CONJ 3SG.SUBJ-point/HAB COMP  PERF-spoil 
‘Some of the fish also becomes very soft; this shows that it is spoilt.’ 
  
- Ama suo-o   nam no mu hwε-ɛ  no      
           Ama touch-COMPL fish DEF inside see-COMPL DCM    
            nna   a-yε  bεtεbεtε 
            CL PART.  PERF-be soft-REDUP 
            ‘When Ama touched the fish to check it, it was very soft.’ 
 
- Sε dɔkon  ben   a me-dze   
when kenkey  cook-COMPL  CCM 1SG.SUBJ-use 
me  nsa ka hwɛ  anaa   
1SG.SUBJ hand touch see/HAB or 
mi-mia    hwɛ  dε   
1SG.SUBJ-press/HAB see/HAB COMP  
a-ben  a  
PERF-cook CCM  
‘When kenkey is cooked I touch it or press it to check whether it is 
cooked.’ 
 
 
 
 
 
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- Sɛ me  pɛ dɛ  mu-hu    
when   1SG.SUBJ like COMP  1SG.SUBJ-see/HAB  
 
dɛ  abɛ  a-ben  a mi-mia   
     
COMPL palm.nut PERF-cook CCM 1SG.SUBJ-press/HAB
   
hwɛ  dɛ  a-gow  a    
see/HAB COMP  PERF-soft CCM  
‘If I want to check that palm nut is cooked I press hard to find out whether 
it is soft.’ 
 
- Sɛ mo-kɔ   asopetse a datser  no  
when  1SG.SUBJ-go  hospital CCM doctor  DEF  
  
ka  abofra  no  ho hwε  dɛ   
touch/HAB child  3SG.POSS self see/HAB COMP 
  
a-dͻ  a   
PERF-hot CCM 
 ‘When I go to the hospital, the doctor feels the body of the child to find 
 out whether it is warm.’ 
 
- Me-dze   me  nsa ka-a                          
1SG.SUBJ-take/HAB  1SG.POSS hand touch-COMPL  
 
 bea a ɔ-yε   me  yaw no 
 place REL 3SG.SUBJ-be  1SG.OBJ pain DCM 
 ‘I touched where I feel the pains.’ 
 
Bε  no bi so wɔ hɔ a    
Proverb DEF     some also be there REL  
ɔ-kasa    fa nsuom  ho 
3SG.SUBJ-speak/HAB pass  touch  self 
‘Some of the proverbs also describe touching.’ 
 
 
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- E-tow    edur  bɔn a bi ka                    
       2SG.SUBJ-throw/HAB medicine bad CCM some
 touch/HAB 
      w’ano 
      2SG.POSS-mouth 
       ‘When you hatch an evil plan, you are likely to become a victim too.’ 
 
- Banyimba no ka –a   n’ano                   
boy  DEF touch-COMPL 3SG.POSS-mouth 
edur  wu-i    
medicine death-COMPL        
  ‘The boy poisoned himself to death.’ 
 
 
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APPENDIX III – ETHICAL APPROVAL
 
 
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APPENDIX IV – CONSENT FORM 
 
              UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
Official Use only 
Protocol number 
   
Ethics Committee for Humanities (ECH) 
 
PROTOCOL CONSENT FORM  
 
 
Section A- BACKGROUND 
INFORMATION 
 
Title of Study: EE”EXPRESSIONS OF PERCEPTION AND COGNITION IN AKAN” 
  
 
Principal EMMA SARAH ESHUN 
Investigator: 
 
Certified Protocol ECH 150 -17-18 
Number 
 
Section B– CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN 
RESEARCH 
 
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RESEARCH 
The study examines verbal expressions that represent relationship between the 
various sensory signals of the mind and the core beliefs in human thought that enable 
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one to give justification to the various experiences in the world. These verbal 
expressions are allied to the broad group classified under the term Perception and 
Cognition verbs. This cluster of verbal expressions discusses emotions, intentions, 
and thought. The principal feature of this class of expressions is their relationship 
with the human state of mind which code information in the physical world as well 
as provides evidence of human understanding. Languages differ in their expressions 
of thought (mind). Thus, structures of different languages determine the cognitive 
capabilities of how people view the world. For example, people see differently and 
the implications of their reactions towards what they perceive may arise as a result 
of what was in their minds. Exploring Akan perception and cognition expressions, 
this study gives an account of the relationship between the various sensory signals 
of the mind such as see, hear, smell, taste and touch and the core beliefs in human 
thought that enable them to give explanation to the various experiences in the world.  
This study adopts descriptive linguistic fieldwork design. This design is appropriate 
because it will allow the researcher to carefully investigate language through direct 
contact (one-on-one conversation, direct observation with participants to establish 
how people describe perception and cognition concepts and what resources there are 
in the language. Mfantse native-speaking participants will be engaged in semi-
structured interviews and direct observation of procedural events. Video recordings 
will be purposively done to capture various scenes as well as complement ideas of 
concepts raised during the interview sessions. a probability sampling technique will 
be used to select the sample size in the Central Region for the study. Four Mfantse 
speaking districts i.e. Mfantseman Municipal Assembly, Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam 
district, Gomoa East district and Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese district will be 
purposively sampled for data collection. The study will be conducted in these 
Mfantse communities because they are known to have variation of dialectal 
significance which will help unearth the various expressions of perception and 
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cognition in the language. Two towns in each district whose dialects have not had a 
lot of contact with other speakers will be conveniently sampled for dialectal 
variation purposes. These towns include Kyakor, Dwendaama, Ampiah-Ajumako, 
Atakorase, Nyanyano, Ojobi, Asebu and Abakrampa. Five (5) bona fide native-
speakers from each town will be randomly sampled for interviews. In all, a total of 
40 participants will be sampled for the study. The 40 participants that will be 
sampled for data collection will involve ages 20 and above who have lived in the 
communities not less than 10 years. Various background searches such as 
knowledge of language and education will be considered in the selection procedure.  
Benefits/Risks of the study 
The study will help reveal the various meanings and events structure of perception 
and cognition expressions in Mfantse and later serve as reference material for those 
who would want to study the language. There are no conceivable risks associated 
with this study but only that participants would have to spend some of their time to 
be interviewed. Apart from the money for their time spent individuals will not 
benefit directly but in the long run their dialect will be generally improved upon. 
Confidentiality  
Only consented participants will be allowed in the study after the objectives have 
been explained. Recordings of data will be accessible to only the principal 
investigator and trained research assistants. Transcribed data will be placed on a 
special project computer with codes which will be accessible to only the principal 
investigator. Special codes will be placed on the files in a folder on the special 
computer.  Data will be kept confidential for about two - five years and will not be 
released to a second or a third party for whatsoever reason.  
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Compensation  
Participants who will be involved in the study will be remunerated GHS 20 per day. 
This remuneration is just a token for compensating participants for their time spent. 
However, those who do not offer to take part in the study will in no way be given 
any remuneration. 
Withdrawal from Study 
Participation in this research is voluntary, so one may choose to participate or not at 
any time. You will not be penalized should you decide to withdraw from the study. 
Again, if you think some form of information that will be recorded will not be 
appropriate to you, attention should be drawn so that it will not be recorded or 
deleted if already recorded.   
Contact for Additional Information  
If you have any concerns or questions about this study, please contact Emma 
Sarah Eshun at eseshun@st.ug.edu.gh or 0209341491 
OR 
The Administrator of the Ethics Committee for Humanities, ISSER, University 
of Ghana at ech@isser.edu.gh/ech@ug.edu.gh or 00233-303933-866.  
Section C- PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT 
 
"I have read or have had someone read all of the above, asked questions, received 
answers regarding participation in this study, and am willing to give consent for me, 
my child/ward to participate in this study. I will not have waived any of my rights by 
signing this consent form. Upon signing this consent form, I will receive a copy for my 
personal records." 
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_______________________________________________ 
Name of Participant                                                         13TH APRIL, 2018 
_______________________    Date 
Signature or mark of Participant    Date   
__________________________  
If participant  cannot read  and or understand the form themselves, a witness must 
sign here:  
I was present while the benefits, risks and procedures were read to the volunteer. All 
questions were answered and the volunteer has agreed to take part in the research.  
_________________________________________________ 
Name of witness 
________________________________________________    
Signature of witness  / Mark     Date 
____________________________ 
I certify that the nature and purpose, the potential benefits, and possible risks associated 
with participating in this research have been explained to the above individual.  
__________________________________________________  
Name of Person who Obtained Consent 
___________________________________________     
Signature of Person Who Obtained Consent    Date 
 
 
  
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