THE MORPHOSEMANTICS OF –NI AND –FOƆ NOUNS IN AKAN BY GRACE AFUA DANKWAA DJAN (10246100) This Thesis/Dissertation is submitted to the University of Ghana, Legon in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of MPHIL IN LINGUISTICS Degree APRIL 2022 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i DECLARATION I, Grace Afua Dankwaa Djan declare that except for references to works which have been duly cited, this thesis is a result of my original research, under the supervision of Professor Clement Kwamina Insaidoo Appah and Dr. Seth Antwi Ofori, and that it has neither in whole nor in part been presented for another degree elsewhere. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii DEDICATION To A Faithful God, Thank You To Alfred, Daniel, Jael and Gabriel, my siblings To Benjamin and Cecilia, my Parents To all who are overwhelmed in any endeavor and are pushed to the wall to give up. This is to You! BE KIND TO YOURSELF, Keep Pushing, It will pay off University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The writing of this thesis was a lonely exploit, yet, many people brightened this course with their help and moral support. It is therefore expedient to thank all such people. My never-ending gratitude goes to the Almighty God for seeing me through the writing of this thesis. For His ever-sure protection, guidance and provision throughout the period. For how far He has brought me, I am eternally grateful. I would like to exceptionally thank my esteemed supervisors, Professor Clement K.I. Appah and Dr. Seth Ofori for their expert counsel, patience and hope in me. Prof Appah, right from the onset of this thesis have been there for me every step of the way. Your adept guidance, attentive mentorship and feedback cannot go unmentioned. I am grateful for everything. To Dr. Seth A. Ofori, I appreciate you coming on board to be my supervisor at the ‘11th hour’ of April 2022. Your invaluable inputs, guidance, patience and encouragement is worth mentioning and I say God bless you Sir for everything and for not giving up on me. Special thanks to Prof. Nana Aba Amfo-Appiah, whom I began this journey with in the 2014/15 academic year. Thanks for being a role model to some of us Prof. Exclusive thanks go to the faculty of the Linguistics Department. You all played significant parts in the completion of this work. Thank you all for the words of encouragement, and warm smiles in the corridors of the department. They edged me on! To the Staff of the department, particularly Aunt Agartha, Afua, Uncle Albert and Christiana I say thank you for being nice and gentle with me and also for your encouragement. I fondly acknowledge and appreciate Dr. Obed Nii Broohm for being there for me all these times right from undergraduate University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv level. I also want to appreciate the MPhil Part II and I students. It was fun working with all of you around. You made this thesis writing a lot easier than it was. Also, thanks to my course mates: Genevieve, Faustina, Emmanuel, Mawutor, Gifty, Anastasia, Aziz, and David, Serwaa and Ruth. To my muses, Eugenia S. Cobbina, Selina Ansah, Jones, Michael O.F. Ribeiro, Percy O. Adams, Randy K.A. Nkansah, Fiifi and Araba Biney, Kofi Dotse, you have been such great support systems. I appreciate and love you all very much, thank you! Finally, a heart-felt ‘gratitude’ is due my wonderful family for the love, support and encouragement given me in this period. To my dad and mum; Kofi and Cecilia (Abena Dodua), I say God bless you for the financial support given me among other things, in the writing of this thesis. Abena Dodua, thank you for your daily check -up. I appreciate you ‘worrying’ your poor head over me, your constant daily prayers and the listening ear you gave me even when you did not have the slightest idea of all the ‘jargons’ and terms I was talking about. To my adorable siblings, Alfred, Daniel, Jael and Gabriel, I love you all dearly. Thank you for believing in me when I did not. The subtle responsibility of a role model (that is being a big sister) given me is a rather difficult one. But you all made it easy; even coming this far. This is not the limit! There is no limit! Soar higher until you can soar no more. To all who played diverse roles whose names I could not mention, I say Onyame nhyira mo nyinaa bebree. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v ABSTRACT This study aimed to establish the principles that motivate the formation of –ni and –fo nouns in Akan, as an alternative to previous accounts on the subject. Our primary objective was to examine the contributions –ni, -fo, prefixes and other key morphological units (i.e., bases) make, both structurally and semantically/functionally, towards the formation of –ni and –fo nouns in Akan, assuming principles of Lieber’s (2004) Lexical Semantic Model, which is decompositional in its approach to lexical analysis. From the current study, a base performs one of two functions in a morphological context. That is, it either denotes a collective (i.e., social) attribute, or an individual (human) attribute. -ni strictly references a member of a collective social unit. The morpheme –fo has two basic functional uses depending on the morphological context as indicated below. (a) When -fo is augmented on nominal and adjectival bases, it presents them as collective social attributes; and in this usage presents its (i.e., -fo’s) referents as members of the collectivity that these attributes connote in the real world. (b) -fo is attached to a verbal base to qualify it (i.e., the verbal attribute) as an individual human/personal attribute. Number (i.e., singularity and plurality) here is signaled by prefixes, ↄ- for the singular noun and a- for the plural. Where a verbal base has additionally achieved a collective reference, the singular is either realized with a -fo final, or a -ni final, and there is a single, lexically ambiguous plural form for the two singular forms. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ...................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ xi LIST OF MAPS .................................................................................................. xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................... xiii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................... 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 An Ethno-linguistic Description of Akan ..................................................... 2 1.2.1 Ethnographic account of Akan ............................................................... 2 1.2.2 Akan speech sounds. .............................................................................. 4 1.2.3 Tone in Akan .......................................................................................... 8 1.3 Study Background-Affixation in Akan ......................................................... 9 1.3.1 Akan Nominal Prefixes ........................................................................ 10 1.3.2 Akan Nominal Suffixes ........................................................................ 13 1.4 Problem Statement ...................................................................................... 15 1.5 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 16 1.6 Objectives of the study ............................................................................... 17 1.7 Significance of study .................................................................................. 17 1.8 Research Methodology ............................................................................... 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii 1.8.1 Presentation of Data ............................................................................. 18 1.9 Organization of the work. ........................................................................... 19 1.10 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 20 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................ 21 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............. 21 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 21 2.2 Literature Review: A review of the literature on ni and fo(ɔ) in Akan grammar ............................................................................................................ 22 2.3 Literature Review: Nominalization ............................................................ 29 2.3.1 Types/Strategies of Nominalization ..................................................... 30 2.3.1.1Grammatical Nominalization ............................................................. 31 2.3.1.2 Lexical Nominalization ............................................................. 32 2.3.1.2.1 Action Nominalization ................................................................... 33 2.3.1.2.2 Participant Nominalization ............................................................ 34 2.3.1.2.2.1 Agent(tive) Nominalization ........................................................ 34 2.3.1.2.2.2 Patient Nominalization ................................................................ 38 2.2.1.2.3 Instrument nominalization ............................................................. 38 2.3.1.2.4 Location Nominalization................................................................ 39 2.4 Theoretical Frameworks ............................................................................. 40 2.4.1 Derivation and Inflection ..................................................................... 40 2.4.1.1 Composition of inflectional and derivational forms ................... 42 2.4.1.2 Properties of inflection and derivation ....................................... 43 2.4.2 Morphology and Lexical Semantics .................................................... 44 2.4.2.1 Tenets of Lieber’s (2004) Lexical Semantic Model. ........................ 45 2.5 Chapter Conclusion .................................................................................... 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................... 49 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF NI AND FO NOMINAL DERIVATIVES 49 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 49 3.2 Prefixation in derived ni and fo nouns. ....................................................... 50 3.3 Nominal bases of -ni and -fo derivatives .................................................... 55 3.3.1 Concrete noun-bases of -ni and -foↄ derivatives .................................. 56 3.3.2 Abstract noun-bases of -ni and -foↄ derivatives................................... 60 3.3.3 State noun-bases of -ni and -fo derivatives .......................................... 69 3.3.4 Place noun-bases of -ni and -foↄ derivatives ....................................... 72 3.4 Verbal bases of ni and fo derivatives .......................................................... 76 3.4.1 Simple verb bases of ni and fo derivatives .......................................... 76 3.4.2 Complex verb bases of ni and fo derivatives ....................................... 80 3.4.2.1 Ni and fo derivatives with Noun-Verb compound bases ............ 80 3.4.2.2 Ni and fo derivatives with Verb-Verb compound bases ............. 85 3.4.2.2.1 Ni and fo derivatives with reduplicated Verb compound bases..... 88 3.5 -Ni and -Fo derivatives from Adjectival bases ........................................... 89 3.6 Conclusion on ni and fo derivatives in Akan .............................................. 90 3.7 Chapter conclusion ..................................................................................... 94 CHAPTER FOUR .............................................................................................. 96 A SEMANTIC /FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF –NI AND - FOↃ DERIVATIVES IN AKAN ................................................................................ 96 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 96 4.2 Attributive analysis of bases of –ni and –fo derivatives ............................. 97 4.3 Semantic/functional contribution of affixes to nominal derivatives. ....... 103 4.3.1 -Ni when added to an attribute (X) .................................................... 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ix 4.3.2 a- and –fo when added to an attribute (X) ......................................... 106 4.3.3 ↄ- and –fo when added to an attribute (X) ......................................... 107 4.4 The Inflectional and Derivational Status of –N iand -Fo ......................... 109 4.4.1 Inflectional and Derivational Properties of –Ni and -Foↄ .................. 109 4.4.1.1 Syntactic Relevance ........................................................................ 110 4.4.1.2 Obligatoriness ................................................................................. 112 4.4.1.3 Change of Syntactic Category ........................................................ 113 4.4.1.4 Order of Morphemes ................................................................ 116 4.4.1.5 Abstractness .............................................................................. 118 4.5 Chapter summary ...................................................................................... 118 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................. 120 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................. 120 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 120 5.2 Summary of Chapters ............................................................................... 121 5.3 Contribution to Knowledge ...................................................................... 124 5.4 Recommendations for future studies. ....................................................... 125 5.5 Chapter conclusion. .................................................................................. 126 REFERENCES ................................................................................................. 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh x LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Akan Oral and long vowels in words ....................................................... 6 Table 2: Akan nasal vowels in words ..................................................................... 7 Table 3: Nominal Prefixing in Akan (Kambon 2002:42) .................................... 11 Table 4: Nominal Suffixing in Akan (Kambon 2002:42) .................................... 14 Table 5: Examples of ni and fo derivatives .......................................................... 19 Table 6: The properties of inflection and derivation ............................................ 44 Table 7: -Ni and -Fo derivatives .......................................................................... 52 Table 8: -Ni and -Fo derivatives from adjectival bases ....................................... 89 Table 9: The distribution of affixes in -ni and -fo derivatives with nominal bases in Akan ................................................................................................................. 91 Table 10: The distribution of affixes in -ni and -fo derivatives with verbal bases in Akan ................................................................................................................. 92 Table 11: The distribution of affixes in -ni and -fo derivatives with adjectival bases in Akan ....................................................................................................... 93 Table 12: General information on the distribution of affixes on bases of -ni and - fo derivatives ........................................................................................................ 94 Table 13: -Ni and –fo when added to an attribute (X) ........................................ 105 Table 14: [ↄ-] and fo when added to an attribute (X) ......................................... 108 Table 15. Class changing Examples of –Ni/-Foↄ ............................................... 115 Table 16. Summary of Findings about –Ni/-Foↄ in study .................................. 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Akan Vowel Chart (Dolphyne 2006:7) ................................................... 5 Figure 2: The Akan Consonant Chart .................................................................... 8 Figure 3: sub divisions of morphology. ............................................................... 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xii LIST OF MAPS Map 1: The Administrative Map of Ghana 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1 First Person 2 Second Person DEF Definite determiner N Noun NEG Negative Nom Nominal NP Noun Phrase PERF Perfect Aspect PRF Prefix PL Plural POSS Possessive PROG Progressive REL Relative SG Singular University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction This research examines the morpho-semantic properties of two forms, namely ni /ni/ and fo /fʊ/, in Akan grammar. The following are other manifestations of the two forms in the three literary dialects of Akan – namely Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi and Fante. In the Fante dialect, ni exists as nyi [ɲi]; and fo /fʊ/ is realized as foɔ [fʊɔ] in Asante (i.e., but as fo [fʊ] in the Akuapem and Fante dialects). The forms ni /ni/ and fo /fʊ/ are considered as the basic/underlying forms in the current study since the ny [ɲ] sound of nyi as in Fante is derived through /n/ palatalization before the front vowel /i/; and the final ɔ of [fʊɔ] as in Asante is a derived feature of nouns in Asante (see Ofori 2019). Therefore, whatever the observation is (and therefore is said) about ni and fo holds true for these three literary dialects of Akan. Data is integrated and analyzed with a theoretical model of derivational semantics: Morphology and Lexical Semantics (Leiber 2004). In particular, the goal of this study is to provide an in-depth study of the range of distributions of the forms ni and fo morphologically and syntactically and the range of functions associated with these distributions. The study also focuses on defining the constituent structures of the range of ni and fo nouns to determine the constraints on their functional distributions in Akan grammar. Also, the study explores the semantic contributions the bases University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 (i.e., the units that ni and fo combine with to forms nouns) make to the overall meaning of derived noun forms. The present chapter is the general introduction of the study. In section 1.2, an ethno-linguistics description of Akan is presented. 1.3, I discuss the study background in relation to affixation in Akan. The statement of problem that is the research gap I seek to fill is looked at in section 1.4. In sections 1.5, 16, 1.7, and 1.8, the research questions guiding the study, the objectives of the study, and significance of study are presented and the research methodology is given respectively. The organization of the study is presented in section 1.9. The conclusion of chapter is presented in section 1.10 1.2 An Ethno-linguistic Description of Akan In this section, we look at the ethnography and some linguistic features of Akan to provide us with some basic background to the language under study. 1.2.1 Ethnographic account of Akan The name Akan, refers to both an ethnic group and the language spoken by this group. Hitherto the 2018 Ghanaian new regions referendum, the people called Akans were found in five out of the then ten administrative regions of Ghana. Currently, they are found in eight (8) out of the sixteen (16) administrative regions of Ghana, namely Ashanti, Bono East, Bono, Ahafo, Western North, Western, Central and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 Eastern regions as shown in (figure 1) below. They represent 14.630 million out of the total population of 30.8 million Ghanaians, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census report. According to Dolphyne (2006: xi), the name Akan has been used to refer to the language, whose dialects include Asante, Fante, Akuapem, Sefwi, Agona, Akyem, Wasa, Kwahu, Bono etc. since the 1950’s; the time when the need for a unified orthography for the varieties of this language was acknowledged. Three of these dialects have since attained literary status- Fanate, Akuapem and Asante. Akan is the most widely spoken and used indigenous language in Ghana. The language is now spoken by about 47.5% of Ghanaians as a first language, and as a second language by a good percentage of the remainder as it is an important language for trade in most parts of the regions, especially the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The language is also spoken in some parts of the Ivory Coast. It is classified under the Kwa sub-group of languages of the Niger-Congo family of languages. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 Figure 1 is the map of Ghana Map 1: The Administrative Map of Ghana showing Akan occupied Regions 1.2.2 Akan speech sounds. Akan vowel sounds have three distributions. The first are the oral vowels which involve all the air in the production coming through the mouth. They are represented in the orthography by seven vowel letters: / i e ɛ a ↄ o u/ as seen in figure one. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 Figure 1: Akan Vowel Chart (Dolphyne 2006:7) The second are the long vowels, which are produced same as the oral vowels and are represented in the orthography by doubling the vowel letters as in /ii ee ɛɛ aa ↄↄ oo uu/. The vowel sounds are largely described in terms of the shape of the tongue and the lips when the vowel is being produced. Table 1 illustrates the Akan oral and long vowels in words. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 Table 1: Akan Oral and long vowels in words Vowel Word Translation i Siw plug a hole e Sew Sharpen ɛ sɛw Spread out ↄ sↄw Catch a Saw Dance o Dwo Cool down u Suw Be worn out/decay a: Daa Everyday ↄ: kↄↄ Red i: Dii Ate ɛ: fɛɛfɛ Pretty u: Atuu Hug o: Apoo Cheating e: Hwee Empty The third are the nasalized vowels, produced with the air coming out of both the mouth and nose. The nasal vowels bring about differences in the meanings of words that may be identical hence they are phonemic. They are five in number- / ĩ ĕ ã õ ũ/. Although vowel nasality is not indicated in Akan orthography, nasality of vowels is indicated by /~/ above the vowel letter in transcription. Table 2 illustrates Akan nasalized vowels in words. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 Table 2: Akan nasal vowels in words Nasal vowels Words Gloss Non- nasals words Translation Ĩ f ĩ ‘dirt’ I fi ‘go out’ Ĕ s ĕ ‘teeth’ E se ‘sharpen’ Ã k ã ‘say’ A ka ‘bite’ Õ t õ ‘bake’ O to ‘throw’ Ũ h ũ ‘see’ U hu ‘blow’ Akan has an inventory of thirty-four consonants, which are represented in the orthography by sixteen letters of the alphabet, (Dolphyne ibid: 26). The consonants are described generally in terms of their place of articulation, manner of articulation, presence or absence of voicing and secondary articulation. Figure 2 shows the consonant chart of Akan. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 Figure 2: The Akan Consonant Chart 1.2.3 Tone in Akan Tone is a critical feature to the meaning of a word in Akan. According to Dolphyne (ibid: 52), “Akan is a tone language, which means that the meaning of a word in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 Akan depends not only on the vowels and consonants of which the word is made, but also on the relative pitch on which each syllable of the word is pronounced’.” This adds a distinct aspect to the importance of vowels, consonants and syllables of the language. There are two basic tones in Akan- high tone [ˊ] and low tone [ˋ]. The syllable is the tone- bearing unit in Akan, which is constituted of V, CV and V. Therefore, the presence of a low or high tone on similar seeming syllables will result in different words due to the difference in tones on the syllables. Example (1) below shows the differences in the meaning of some identical words, relative to tone. 1. a. pápá ‘good’ pàpá ‘father’ pàpà fan b. dá ‘day’ dà ‘never’ 1.3 Study Background-Affixation in Akan Linguists employ different strategies to create new words from existing ones in languages. Plag (2004) recognizes that English makes use of affixation, non- affixation and compounding among other word formation strategies in creating new words. By putting together smaller units called morphemes, he identifies that morphologically complex words are formed. For example, employer is derived from employ by attaching the affix -er to the base. Like English, Akan is endowed with a variety of complex morphological processes. Affixation, compounding and reduplication have received appreciable University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 scholarly attention (cf. Chistaller 1875; Dolphyne 1988: Osam 1993, 1994; Bodomo and Marfo 2002; Kamboon 2002; Appah 2003; Adomako 2012; Ansah 2021). To better appreciate –ni/- foↄ derivatives, we will discuss Akan affixation. Dolphyne 2006 asserts that the structure of Akan word is the stem(s), root(s) and affixes. Discussing the general formation of words in Asante and Fante, Christaller (1875:17) remarks that “[a]ll words, concerning their form and origin are either primitives, or derivative, or compound”; describing primitives as the simple stems by which derivatives are formed by the accruement of prefixes, suffixes and reduplication. He gives examples of some prefixes he terms ‘nominal prefixes’ (a-, e-, o-, m-, am-) found in nouns, adjectives and numerals) and nominal suffixes’ (-e, -i, -ee, -ie,) which he describes as palatal suffixes. The other suffixes he mentions are -ma, -wa, - ni, -fo. In what follows in 1.3.1.1 and 1.3.2., we discuss the nominal prefixes and suffixes. 1.3.1 Akan Nominal Prefixes In Akan, nominal prefixes are either vowels or homorganic nasals (Dolphyne 1988, Osam 1993, 1994; Appah 2003; Adomako 2012) whose form is usually determined by the vowel of the stem. In Table 3, Kambon (2002) presents the Akan nominal prefixes spelling out the functions of a particular prefix, (whether singular or plural), the form of the prefix, the base it attaches to and examples of nominals derived from these prefixes. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 Table 3: Nominal Prefixing in Akan (Kambon 2002:42) Function Affix Attaches to Examples Singular Ø Nouns gyata [dzata] ‘lion’, kurow [kurow] ‘towns’ Singular ↄ, o Nouns (usu. Humans) o-hu [o-hu] ‘fear’, ↄpanyin [ↄ-panin] ‘elder’ Singular/Plural a, æ Nouns a-gya [æ-dza] ‘father’, a-bofra [a-bofra] ‘child’, a-gyata [æ-dzata] ‘lions’ Singular ɛ, e Nouns e-kuw [ekuw] ‘group’, ɛna [ɛ-na] ‘mother’ Plural m, n Nouns (usu. Liquids) mbogya [m-bogya] ‘blood’, n-su [n-su], ‘water’, m-panyin-fo [m-panin-fo] ‘elders’ Singular/Plural am, an Nouns am-pan [am-pan] ‘bat’, an-kaa [an-kaa] ‘orange’ Appah (2003) after listing the nominal prefixes as (ɛ-, e-, ↄ-, o-, i-, a-) notes that all the prefixes mark singular nouns and form their plural with /a-/, except those that have /a-/ and /i-/ as a singular marker which take a homorganic nasal as a plural marker as seen in example one (1a-f) below. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 1. Singular Plural a. a-boa m-boa SG-animal PL-animal ‘an animal’ ‘animals’ b. i-dua n-dua SG- tree PL-tree ‘a tree’ ‘trees’ c. ɛ-dan a-dan SG-building PL-building ‘a building’ ‘buildings’ d. o-honin (As) a-honin (As) SG-idol PL-idol ‘an idol/a smaller god’ ‘idols/smaller gods’ e. e-dziban (Fa) n-dziban (Fa) SG-food PL-food ‘food’ ‘foods’ f. ↄ-bↄfo a-bↄfo SG-angel PL-angel ‘an angel’ ‘angels’ (Appah 2003:8-9) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 It is worth noting that these prefixes are nominalizing affixes (Dolphyne 1988; Appah 2003) and it is important we discuss them, as they have direct bearing on the derivation of -ni/-foↄ nouns as we see in Table 4 below. 1.3.2 Akan Nominal Suffixes “Akan nouns have suffixes which are, for the most part, derivational” (Appah 2003:9). Regarding the suffixes in Asante like –o in owu-o ‘death’ and in -ɛ in ade-ɛ ‘thing’ and -ↄ in -foↄ etc. Appah (ibid) notes that, for these suffixes, the meaning of the word remains the same with those dialects that do not have them. In Table 4, we present nominal suffixing in Akan; their function, type of affix, the word class they attach to and some examples, as presented by Kambon (2002). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 Table 4: Nominal Suffixing in Akan (Kambon 2002:42) Function Affix Attaches to Examples Singular Ø Nouns ɛ-kↄm [ɛ-kↄm] ‘hunger’, sika [sika] ‘money’ Singular -ni Human Nouns o-sua-ni [o-suiæ-ni] ‘student’, o-sika-ni [o-sikæ-ni] ‘rich person’ Singular/ Plural - fo(ↄ) Human Nouns ↄ-nokwa-fo [ↄ-nokwa-fo] ‘truthful person’, a-bibi-fo [æ-bibi-fo] ‘Africans’ Plural -nom Nouns nana-nom [nanæ-nom] ‘ancestors’, nua-nom [nuiæ-nom] ‘cousins’ Diminutives -wa Nouns Asante-wa [asante-wa] ‘female Asante’, a- barima-wa [a-barima-wa] ‘young male’ Noun formation -e Verbs, nouns m-frafra-e [m-frafra-e] ‘mixture’, owigyina-e [ouiʥina-e] ‘noon’ Noun formation -i Verbs, nouns mmubu-i [mmubu-i] ‘paralysis’, apue-i [æpɥie-i] ‘east’ In addition to the nominal suffixes mentioned in Table 4, Dolphyne (1988) and Appah (2003) capture the nominal suffix /-ba/ as part of the diminutives. Adding to Kambon’s description of the plural nominal suffix /-nom/, Appah (ibid:11) asserts that it is used to pluralize kingship nouns. Of essence to the current study, as has University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 already been established, are the singular nominal suffix /-ni/ and its plural counterpart /-foↄ/. Appah notes that /-foↄ/ occurs together with certain prefixes to mark plurality in the stems they attach to 1.4 Problem Statement The forms ni and fo have received extensive scholarly attention in the Akan literature (Christaller 1875; Dolphyne 1988; Osam 1994). Christaller (1875) talks about the forms ni and fo under the sub topic derivatives, prefixes, suffixes, and reduplication of formation of words in general in Akan. He describes ni and fo as personal suffixes under the category of nominal suffixes. He mentions that the personal suffixes ni is used only in the singular and fo is used in the both singular and plural of derivatives. Generally, the structural analysis involved in the formation of ni and fo derivatives are not given. The consequences are that the formal structural features of ni and fo nouns are yet to be described. Dolphyne (1988:84) classifies ni and fo under nominal affixes in Akan and labels fo in two sets; agentive suffix and plural suffix (usually occurring with a plural prefix). Dolphyne (ibid), recounts concerning the form ni that, the advance vowel in the form harmonizes with the vowel in the preceding syllable to an advanced quality. She labels the form ni as a suffix as well. Discussing the trends in double marking, Osam (1994) glosses the form ni as ‘one who’ and asserts that, ni must have started University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 out as a derivational morpheme, deriving a noun from the verbs, but now, its use goes beyond derivational limits. Again, he mentions that, ni has the function of marking singular nouns, with its plural as fo. However, the semantic role of the bases of the forms that ni and fo bring to the overall meaning of the derived simplex and complex nouns are not considered. Again, the syntactic and morphosyntactic approaches involved in the formation of complex ni and fo nouns are not researched. There is therefore the need to study the occurrence of ni and fo nouns to ascertain the formation of their structure, the semantic contributions of the bases as well as the forms they take in the derived simple or complex nouns. 1.5 Research Questions This study seeks to address the following questions. 1. What are the morphological and syntactic properties of ni and fo simplex and complex nouns in Akan grammar. 2. What are the semantic contributions of the bases and the bound -ni and -foɔ morphemes to derived simplex and complex nouns in Akan grammar? 3. What functional roles do ni and fo play in derived simplex and complex noun outputs in Akan? University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 1.6 Objectives of the study This work is guided by the following objectives: 1. To identify the morphological and syntactic properties of ni and fo in simplex and complex nouns in the Akan grammar. 2. To identify the semantic contributions of bases and the bound –ni and –fo morphemes to derived nouns in Akan. 3. Identify the functional roles that -ni and -fo play in the derived noun outputs in Akan. 1.7 Significance of study This work aims at filling the gap in the literature pertaining to: ● The morphological and syntactic properties of ni and fo simple and complex nouns in Akan. ● The semantic contributions the bases and the bound –ni and fo morphemes make to derived nouns in the grammar of Akan. 1.8 Research Methodology The data for this work is primarily from secondary sources; the Akan dictionaries, word list and related literature on the topic. Christaller’s (1933) Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Twi) and the Akan Dictionary [2006] produced by the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana provides a University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 rich database of an extensive range of words and their meanings for the careful selection, classification and examination of the various types of the derived nouns. The Asante-Twi Bible also serves as a rich go to source of these morphemes. This source of data was chosen because of the large amount of data it contains and its accessibility. Secondly, selected Akan radio programs, especially morning shows (Adom FM, Peace FM and Oman FM) were listened to and recorded. The morning shows were selected because of their interactive nature and the use of the Akan language in its current form. As studio panelists and callers shared their view on trending topics, some of the target nouns were realized. The target words were extracted and transcribed for analysis. This second (primary) source of data serves as a complement to the list of words I got from the written sources and documents. Also, attention was given to everyday interactive conversations with people at church, social gatherings and some social media platforms, mainly WhatsApp status to identify and extract the instances where these derived nouns were used and the various meanings given them for further analysis. 1.8.1 Presentation of Data Data for the study is presented with standard interpretation. The data is presented with Akan orthography and their respective English glosses which help with University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 understanding. I present the bases with their English glosses, then the derived noun with its translation. Consider for example, the presentation in Table 5 below: Table 5: Examples of ni and fo derivatives Base Gloss Derived noun Gloss Sika ‘money’ Osikani ‘a rich person ↄhene ‘a chief’ Ahemfo ‘chiefs’ Boa ‘to help’ ↄboafo ‘helper’ Akan ‘an ethnic group’ Akani ‘a native of Akan In the examples, the base represents the form to which ni and fo is attached. The derived nouns are given in their full word form with their interpretation. 1.9 Organization of the work. The thesis is divided into five (5) chapters. Chapter one (1) is the introductory chapter; the ethnolinguistic description of Akan is given. The problem statement, research questions guiding the study, objectives and significance of study, as well as the research methodology are also discussed concluding with the organization of chapters of the thesis. Chapter two (2) reviews relevant literature and expounds on the theoretical model of the study. To ensure that the objectives of the study are met, chapter three (3) analyzes the morphological strategies involved in the formation of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 ni and fo simple and complex nouns. Chapter four (4) discusses the semantic contributions of the bases as well as the bound and free ni and fo morphemes make to the derived simplex and complex nouns in Akan. Chapter five (5) provides the general findings, conclusion of the thesis and recommendations for future studies. 1.10 Conclusion In the current chapter, 1 have discussed the background of the study, and the need for the study, presenting the origin of -ni and -foɔ and their unique inflectional and derivational properties thus far, which is important to the study. Again in this chapter, the research questions guiding the study, objectives of study, study background which discusses affixation in Akan, statement of problem as well as the significance of the study were all captured. Lastly, the chapter covered the data and methodology of study as well as the overall organization of the thesis. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Introduction This chapter focuses on the literature and theories that have relevance to the objectives and scope of this research. On the literature, I review the existing positions on -ni and -fo(ɔ) by Akan linguists (2.1), and some viewpoints on nominalization as a linguistic notion and process (2.2), as background to this study. The sections on theoretical framework (2.3) focus on the following. A literature review with the subtitle: ‘Derivation and Inflection’ (2.3.1) presents the linguistic definitions of the two concepts and lays out the relevant morphological procedures based on which a form may be characterized as either derivational or inflectional. The existing works on -ni and -fo(ɔ) in Akan did not consider the bigger literature on derivation and inflection, and did not also subject the different uses of the two forms to the relevant derivational/inflectional testing. That is, they simply employed the two concepts in their functional/semantic definitions of these forms without any testing. Therefore, a review of the literature on the two concepts, and the choice to submit the two forms to derivational and inflectional testing in the current study to determine which of the two functions is applicable to which form in which morphological domain is in order. Subsection (2.3.2) outlines the basic tenets of the model of Morphology and Lexical Semantics (MLS) (Lieber, 2004), a theory University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 devoted to the study of how the meaning of complex forms are derived from those of constituent forms. Section 2.4 concludes the chapter. 2.2 Literature Review: A review of the literature on ni and fo(ɔ) in Akan grammar The distributions and functions/semantics of ni and foɔ have been explored by the following Akan linguists (Christaller 1875; Balmer and Grant 1929; Dolphyne 1988; Osam 1994; Appah 2003, 2006; Abakah 2000, 2004; Ofori 2016). This section reviews some of the existing formal and semantic/functional positions on ni and fo(ɔ). The presentation here will provide some context for the current study, and will help in my analysis and reanalysis on the structure, semantics and functions of ni and fo(ɔ) in Akan grammar. Abakah (2000) describes -ni and -foɔ as suffixal bound particles; and indicates that the suffix -ni was originally (i.e., not currently) an independent noun. According to Christaller (1875), -ni as a suffix was derived from the noun o-ni-pa meaning ‘person’. Dolphyne (1988: 84) writes that it was derived from the noun oni ‘person’, while Balmer and Grant (1929:34) posit enyi, ‘eye’ – Fante dialect (i.e., ani in the Twi dialects of Akan) as its origin. This is because the eye is a distinctive feature of a person. Thus, nyi derives from the first syllable of the form nyimpa which means ‘person’. The form o-ni and o-nipa is one and the same noun both University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 meaning ‘a person or human being’. Again, both nyimpa and o-nipa mean ‘person’ as observed already. The difference in form is dialectal. Christaller (1875) also glosses -fo(ɔ) as ‘persons’ in the Dictionary of the Asante and Fante language. Balmer and Grant (1929:34) make reference to -fo(ɔ) as being putatively connected with the form fow, which is suggestive of abundance, many etc. The suffix -fo(ɔ), according to Abakah (2004:286), derives from ɔfu(ɔ) ‘persons’. In the current study fo(ɔ) is not only a bound form, but also a free nominal morpheme in the Akan language. The form -ni is also treated as a free morpheme in some areas of Akan grammar by the current study. Some semantic/functional positions on -ni and -fo(ɔ): According to Christaller, -ni and -foɔ ‘person(s)’ form personal nouns from the stems they are suffixed to; for example, ohia-ni ‘a poor man’ is a combination of the stem ohia ‘poverty’ and -ni; ɔtam-fo ‘an enemy’, underlyingly consists of tan ‘to hate’ and -fo. He outlines the various strategies by which number is marked in Akan. They are: (i) by prefixing of a-, e.g ɔhene ‘king’ to a-hene ‘kings’. (ii) by reduplication and prefixing a-, e.g. ɛtɔw ‘lump’ to atɔwatɔw[PL] (iii) by prefixing a nasal (m- n-, ŋ-) e.g. ɛda ‘days’ to nna[PL] (iv) by suffixing -fo and changing the prefix e.g. afɛ ‘comrade’ to mfɛ-fo[PL] and, in the event where the stem ends with -ni, it is substituted by -fo in the plural e.g. ohia- ni ‘a poor man’ to a-hia-foɔ[Pl] (v) by suffixing -nom and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 (vi) by suffixing -ma and -wa e.g. ɛna ‘mother’ to ɛna-nom[PL] and ɔyare ‘sickness’ to nyarewa[PL] Balmer and Grant (1929) note, concerning -nyi and -fo(ɔ) that, nouns ending with these suffixes are descriptive of a person (e.g., ɔfari-nyi ‘fisherman’). They further assert that -nyi is a singular marker of Akan which is substituted by -fo in the plural. They mention that -nyi derives personal nouns from towns. e.g. Oguaa ‘Cape Coast’ → Oguaa-nyi ‘a Cape Coast person’, Oguaa-fo[PL]. They identify and group nouns having -fo as their singular as being vocational nouns from adjectives or verbs. For example, the words in (1a-c) are vocational or occupations requiring some skills. 1 Noun Gloss a. onu-fo ‘fisherman’ b. ɔtom-fo ‘blacksmith’ c. ɔsɔ-fo ‘priest’ (Balmer and Grant 1929: 35) In the current study, number – i.e., merely specifying an item as singular or plural - is not the primary reason for attaching either nyi/ni or -fo(ɔ) after some linguistic item in Akan. Balmer and grant (1929) further give instances where -nyi and -fo co-occur in some singular personal nouns such as in (2) below. They explained that -fo as used in the forms below, is underlyingly fow ‘to climb’, ‘to go up’. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25 2 a. ɔkwa-fo-nyi ‘one who goes up into the mountains-bushman’ b. ɔpo-fo-nyi ‘one who goes up on the sea- fisherman’(Balmer and Grant 1929: 35) I take a different stance on Balmer and Grant’s (1929) semantic analysis on -fo in the nouns above in the current study. Fo as used in the forms above is fo(ɔ), which is the form in analysis in the current study. Dolphyne (1988:84) asserts that, -foɔ is a plural suffix which usually occurs with a plural prefix. This implies that, -foɔ functions as a number marker. E.g. ɔpanyin ‘elder’ to mpanyim-foɔ[PL]. Discussing the Akan noun class system, Osam (1994) argues that the system is becoming plural-oriented. His basis is that there are now more nouns with plural marking than there are with singular markings. He maintains that synchronically Akan speakers themselves are not conscious of the singular prefix anymore because the singular prefixes are being co-lexicalized with the noun system. This makes the language appear to be developing a new classification of nouns along the lines of the plural marking system. He makes a case with specific reference to the human nouns as having a trend towards double plural marking. That is, some human nouns are marked for plural by the use of the old prefix as well as by certain suffixes. This is illustrated in (3) below. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 3. Singular Plural Gloss a. bata-nyi a-bata-fo ‘traders’ gyedzi-nyi e-gyedzi-fo ‘believers’ b. ɔ-bayi-fo a-bayi-fo ‘witches’ o-kua-nyi a-kua-fo ‘farmers’ o-tum-fo a-tum-fo ‘mighty men’ c. ɔ-saman n-saman-(fo) ‘ghosts’ a-bɔnsam ‘m-bɔnsam-(fo) ‘devils/evil doer’ He explains that the suffix -nyi/-ni which means ‘one who…’ must have been realized as a derivational morpheme, deriving a noun from verbs but now goes beyond the derivational limits and now functions as a singular marker, with -fo as its plural counterpart as seen in (3a). He describes -fo in (3b) as being a plural marker yet it is being reanalyzed as both the singular and plural marker of the nouns. According to Osam, in (3c), the function of -fo unlike its function in (3a & b) is optional. His claim is that, there is a possibility that with these words, the presence of -fo as a plural marker is a new phenomenon. Missing from Osam’s (1994) account is a linear glossing justifying the verbalness of the forms to which fo is attached. Not every item mentioned as a verb in the above data is indeed a verb. For example, the base word bata is not a verb; the verb is tu bata ‘to embark on a trip’, and yet tu being the main verbal item of the pair is completely omitted from the derived noun; University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 also, it is not clear whether bɔnsam is also a verb; and the form in Twi is ɔb(r)onsam ‘devil’; whereas the plural is ab(r)osamfo(ɔ). Appah (2003) describes -ni and -foɔ as occurring together with certain prefixes to mark singularity or plurality in the stems they are attached to. Appah (2003) notes that by their suffixation to the base word, citizenship/nationality, identificational and agentive nouns are derived (Appah 2003; 200). In the current study, we establish the basic meanings of ni and fo(ɔ) and explore the different formal distributions of these forms to establish a more definite functional and/or semantic properties of these forms in Akan grammar. We argue that identification is the basic function of every noun; therefore, it is in no way a unique semantic property of only -ni and -fo(ɔ) derivatives in Akan. Also, derivatives with the -ni morpheme in Akan are not agentive – an agentive -ni derivative will be ungrammatical in Akan grammar. Appah’s semantic analysis of -ni and -fo(ɔ) derivatives is not exhaustive. There are forms like ɔbatanyi/abatafo (Osam 1994), ɔdefo/adefo, which are neither agentive nor citizenship/nationality personal nouns. This study aims to provide an exhaustive semantic/functional account which takes care of the forms ɔbatanyi/abatafo (Osam 1994), ɔdefo/adefo “well-to-do” and several others that the existing semantic positions have not (i.e., like immediate forms), and cannot handle. The following paragraph is in response to Abakah’s analysis of -ni and -fo(ɔ) as particles. Crystal (1992: 291) defines a particle as “[a]n invariable item with a University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 grammatical function.” He goes further to say this, “[t]he term is especially used for a form which does not readily fit into a standard classification of parts of speech.” If Crystal’s definition of a particle is true, then -ni and -fo(ɔ) as used in Akan are not particles based on Christaller’s (1933) dictionary definitions of ni and foɔ in Akan below, and also based on the following evidence from “personal communication” with Seth Antwi Ofori. According to Ofori (P.C), the forms, -ni and -foɔ are free forms in synchronic Akan where they function as full NP, as in the examples below. (4a.) Use of ni as head of a relativized-NP Yɛ-a-hu oni a ɔ-fa-a sika no. We-PERF-see person REL s/he-take-PAST money DEF “We have found/seen the person who took/stole the money.” (This sentence in rapid speech comes to be realized as: Yɛahu nea [nɪa] ɔfaa sika no. That is, [oni + a] merge to derive nea [nɪa]. Below also is a full-NP usage of -fo(ɔ) with the nominal prefix a- (i.e., afo(ɔ) ‘members’). (4b) Wo afo(ɔ) [w’afoɔ] rekɔ. 2SG comrades PROG-go ‘Your comrades/colleagues/friends are going (i.e., are on their way).’ (Seth Antwi Ofori, personal communication, 11th April, 2022) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 In the sentence above, -foɔ as a full-NP is realized as afo(ɔ) (i.e., a possessed- NP) in a possessive construction with wo ‘your’ (the possessor). That is, ni and fo have independent usage where they function as full-NP with their nominal prefixes, ɔ- (realized phonetically as [o] due to [+ATR] harmony) for ni, with a- as the nominal prefix for fo(ɔ). From the examples above as offered to me Ofori in a “personal communication”, it is too early to use the term particle for -ni and -fo(ɔ) in Akan. Functionally, ni and fo(ɔ) are nouns, which are added after other items of the language irrespective of their class membership to derive the ni and fo(ɔ) type of human nouns. 2.3 Literature Review: Nominalization This section reviews relevant literature on nominalization. Works on nominalization examine what it is, its types, as well as the strategies for expressing it. The concept of nominalization has been extensively studied by linguists (Crystal 1987; Matthew 1997; Tallerman 1998; Givon 2001; Payne 1997; Comrie and Thompson 2007; Koptjevskaja-Tamm 2006). Crystal (1987: 426) defines nominalization as “a process of forming a noun from another word class, e.g. red to redness”. Matthew (1997) defines it as “any process by which either a noun or a syntactic unit functioning as a noun phrase is derived from any kind of unit”. Tallerman (1998:78) defines nominalization as “… making something into a noun; specifically, the process of turning a verb into a noun”. Comrie and Thompson (2007: 334), also defines University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 nominalization as “turning something into a noun”. In addition to the definition of Comrie and Thompson (ibid), Koptjevskaja-Tamm (2006: 652) extends the definition to include the “corresponding processes or operations and to their results. According to Haspelmath (2002), the term covers a broad range of transpositional phenomena, where transpositional, in turn, refers to word class changing operations. I take an inclusive view of nominalization as most of the authors have mentioned. From the various definitions given above, we will add that, the term nominalization is a derivational process by which lexical and syntactic items are transposed from one word class including nouns and phrases/clauses to the class of nouns. This suggests that we may distinguish different types of nominalization and their concomitant strategies. In the next section, we discuss the types and strategies of nominalization. 2.3.1 Types/Strategies of Nominalization There are two main types of nominalizations identified in the literature. They are (i) Grammatical nominalization and (ii) Lexical nominalization. These two types are discussed in sections 2.3.1.1 and 2.3.1.2 respectively. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 2.3.1.1 Grammatical Nominalization Grammatical nominalization is discussed in the literature widely (Payne 1997; Givon 2001; Comrie and Thompson 2007). Givon (2001), in discussing the noun phrases derived by nominalization, posits that syntactic complexity in NP’s may be best characterized as a product of nominalization. This means that one of the intricacies in sentence constructions is as a result of nominalization. He defines nominalization as “the process by which a finite verbal clause – either complete or a subject-less verb phrase – is converted into a noun phrase” (Givon 2001:24). This definition thus supports the notion of nominalization as a grammatical rather than a lexical process. According to Givon, a verbal clause is nominalized when it occupies a prototypical nominal position or function; that is subject, direct object, indirect object or a nominal predicate within another clause. This syntactic complexity of NP’s arising from the strategy of nominalization reflects the structure of their source verbal clause. Therefore, within the nominalized NP, the former assumes the syntactic role of the head noun, while the other clausal elements (subjects, objects, verbal complements etc.) assume the role of modifiers. Givon argues that nominalization in this sense is best described in terms of syntactic adjustment from the finite verbal clause original to the nominal NP. He outlines the major components of such adjustments as follows: ● verbs becoming a head noun University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 ● Verbs acquiring nominalizing morphology ● Verbal loss of tense-aspect-modal morphology ● Loss of pronominal agreement morphology ● Subject or object acquiring genitive case-marking ● Addition of determiners ● Conversion of adverbs into adjectives. Example (5) illustrates a finite verbal clause (5a) being nominalized (5b). 5a. She knew mathematics. b. Her good knowledge of mathematics. 2.3.1.2 Lexical Nominalization The second type of nominalization we will discuss is lexical nominalization (Comrie and Thompson 2007; Payne 1997). Payne (1997:223), in his seminal work on describing morphosyntax, defines nominalization as “the operation of allowing a verb to function as a noun”. He gives the formula of this process as follows: 6. V→ [V] N or V→ N According to Payne, there are a number of ways by which a noun may be related to a verb, including (i) referring to the agent of the action described by the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 verb, (ii) referring to the result of the action described by the verb, etc. He asserts that languages employ diverse nominalization strategies in the nominalization process and these strategies differ functionally according to the resulting noun’s semantic relationship to the original verb. In the next subsections, we discuss the strategies identified by Payne (1997). 2.3.1.2.1 Action Nominalization Payne (1997: 223) identifies action nominalization as one of the strategies of lexical nominalization. He defines action nominalization as the action, usually in the abstract, which is expressed by the verb root. It is formulated as (7) 7. V→N ACTION designated by V What follows are examples of action nominal in (7). 7a. That was a significant breakthrough. He has hangup b. Walking is good. I am looking for employment < employ> He worked in construction (Payne 1997: 224) c. gnaya → wo-gnaye ‘to deceive’ ‘deception’ (Comrie and Thompson 2007:335) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 Example (7a) shows the process in English where a verb plus a preposition is used to form the lexical nominalization. Example (7b) shows the lexical nominalization process where morphological strategy is employed, where we see a change in form from verb to noun. (7c) shows the analytic strategy where a particle is used to show lexical nominalization in Lakohota, a Sioux language of South Dakota. 2.3.1.2.2 Participant Nominalization Participant nominalization is a verb-based nominalization process that results in a noun that refers to one of the participants in the action designated by the verb root. Payne (1997) gave the formula for this process as (8) 8. V → N PARTICIPANT of V Payne asserts that this participant nominalization strategy often derives different functionaries. He identified two main functionally different participant nominalizations: (i) those that refer to the agent of the action of the verb (ii) those that refer to the patient of the action of the verb. 2.3.1.2.2.1 Agent(tive) Nominalization Comrie and Thompson (2007) and Payne (1997) make particular reference to this nominalization strategy. Comrie and Thompson (2007:335) refer to nouns derived University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 35 from this process as agentive and refer to the process as action/state nominalization. Payne (1997:226), on his part, states that “[a] nominalization that refers to the agent of the nominalized verb is an agent nominalization”. The formula for this derivation is as shown in (9) 9. V→ N AGENT of V Examples of nouns formed through this process in English and Akan are given in (10). 10. a. pickpocket (Payne 1997: 226) b. kyerɛkyerɛ-foɔ ‘a teacher/ someone who teaches’ (Appah 2003: 73) Plungian (2000) makes known the derivational and inflectional status of agentive nouns in Dogon, a group of about twenty related though often not mutually intelligible dialects spoken in a remote South-West part of Mali, in West Africa. As observed, the morphological problem for Dogon is the problem of wordhood in that it has several dimensions and implies, among others, that there are large intermediate zones with no clear-cut boundaries both between affixes and clitics and between inflectional and derivational markers. Plungian asserts that, in Dogon, agentive nouns are usually obtained by means of a word-final marker -nԑ which is neither called a non‘suffix’ nor ‘clictic’, and this is applicable to a limited number of nouns and adjectives but not verbs. To a University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 36 large extent, it could be considered as the nominalizing deverbal marker. The term ‘agentive’, according to Plungian, seems justified because the general meaning of the derived nouns is ‘a person who...’, but he observes that there are some semantic peculiarities of this form depending on the lexical class of the element of departure. The present study will, as a matter of importance, probe more into this sense of ‘agentive’ nouns since the suffixation of the morphemes -ni and -foɔ to the base forms, among others, ‘agentive’ nouns in the Akan language. For instance, kua ‘farming’ ~ o-kua-ni ‘farmer’ that is ‘a person who does the action connoted by the base kua ‘farming’. Further details of the semantic peculiarities arising from the functions of the suffixes and the nouns they form will be discussed in chapter four. Returning to ‘Agentive Nouns in Dogon’, Plungian shows some denominal and deadjectival uses of the nԑ marker in examples (11) and (12) below 11. Denominal nԑ nouns a. ɔgɔ ‘power’ ~ ɔgɔ.nԑ ‘hogon, religious leader’ b. ɔgɔy ‘wealth’ ~ ɔgɔy.nԑ ‘rich man’ c. kɔnnɔ ‘enmity’ ~ kɔnnu.nԑ ‘enemy’ d. antolou ‘hunting’ ~ antolu.nԑ ‘hunter’ e. gũy ‘theft’ ~ gũy.nԑ ‘thief’ 12. Deadjectival nԑ nouns a. dɔgɔ ‘belonging to the Dogon race’ ~ dɔgɔ.nԑ ‘ Dogon person’ b. pulɔ ‘belonging to the Fulani race’ ~ pulɔ.nԑ ‘Pullo, Fullani person’ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 37 c. dԑgu ‘poor’ ~ dԑgu.nԑ ‘poor person’ d. pԑԑy ‘old’ ~ pԑԑ.nԑ ~ old person’ (Plungian 2000: 180-181) From the examples (11 & 12), it can be seen that the main sources of the nԑ- derivations are nouns and adjectives which denote properties. Consequently, the derivatives relate to a person who has, or is characterized by the corresponding property. Plungian further discusses the properties of nԑ and identifies that all nԑ-forms have common properties. He adds that some of these properties can be said to be nominal and others verbal. First, from the syntactic point of view, they behave like nouns because they are the syntactic heads of the nominal phrases and consequently, they can be modified by attributes and postpositions. Secondly, all the nԑ-forms can take a suffixal plural marker. In conclusion, nԑ is an affix which behaves like a clitic, and a derivational marker which behaves like an inflectional one. Except for behaving like a clitic, the suffixes -ni and -foↄ seem to have similar derivational and inflectional properties as nɛ in Dogon. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 38 2.3.1.2.2.2 Patient Nominalization Patient nominalization refers to the patient of the nominalized verb. It is formulated as (13) 13. V→ N PATIENT of V The data in example (14) below show how English derives patient nouns from verbs via the suffixes -ee. Thus -ee is a patient nominalizer. 14. He is a new employee A retiree Patient nominals express the meaning that the referent noun will be affected by the event or activity designated by the base. 2.2.1.2.3 Instrument nominalization This is a process of forming a noun from a verb in which the noun so formed refers to the instrument used to execute the act designated by the base. These nouns are habitually identical to agent nominalization. The formula for instrument nominalization is given in (15). 15. V → N INSTRUMENT of V University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 39 Example in English is given in where the verbs are suffixed with -er to be instrument nominalization. 15a. “coffee grinder, can opener” (Payne 1997: 228) 2.3.1.2.4 Location Nominalization This is the process of nominalization that results in the formation of nouns that refer to some entity associated with the verb root; often referring to a location where the activity denoted by the verb takes place. This is illustrated in (16). 16 a. kumarr-vik b. ner-vik burn-NOM eat-NOM ‘fire place’ ‘restaurant/ eating place’Appah 2003:76 It will be realized in the analysis of -ni and -foɔ nouns that, their meanings are recognised as a result of these strategies. The relevance of this sections above is to give a background to some of the nominalization strategies employed in deriving - ni and –foɔ nouns. I will account for the class distribution of these strategies and semantics. The location nominalization will be modified to account for the meaning of -ni and – foɔ nouns from locative nouns. We will refer to this class of nouns as nationality nouns. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 40 2.4 Theoretical Frameworks The aim of this study is to ascertain the functional/semantic contribution(s) of ni and foɔ in their varied morphological and syntactic uses in Akan grammar. Under this section, I set out to describe the theoretical framework that underpins this current study. Subsection (2.4.1) provides the relevant background for determining the functional statuses of -ni and -fo(ɔ) in -ni and -fo(ɔ) noun derivatives; we achieve this objective by submitting the different uses of -ni and -fo(ɔ) in noun derivatives to derivational and inflectional testing as formulated by Haspelmath and Sims (2010). Subsection (2.4.2) outlines the basic tenets of the Morphology and Lexical Semantics (MLS) framework as proposed by Lieber (2004). Note that the various linguistic processes that underlie nominalization as reviewed in (2.2) are equally important morpho-semantic procedures to be employed in addition to positions here; we combine principles from these three areas of morphological analysis to give a formalized, and also a more determinate, account of the functions and semantics of the different uses of ni and fo(ɔ) in Akan grammar. 2.4.1 Derivation and Inflection As we have observed in section 2.2 above, two main morphological themes run across in the discussion of the functions of ni and fo. These are derivation and inflection. According to Haspelmath & Sims (2010:18) inflection and derivation are the two rather different kinds of morphological relationship among words for which University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 41 two technical terms are commonly used (inflectional morphology and derivational morphology). The concept of derivation and inflection have been widely studied across languages (Booij 2000; Stump 2001; Plag 2003: Haspelmath 2002; Haspelmath & Sims 2010; Aronoff & Fudeman 2011). Though it is not easy to find clear cut criteria for the differences between derivation and inflection, Dixon (2010:142) points out that “[i]n the description of many languages, recognition of a distinction between inflectional and derivational processes is a useful analytic tool”. This has given rise to many linguists to identify the concepts in their languages and make distinctions of the two processes where it applies. Haspelmath (2002), illustrates the sub divisions of morphology in Figure 3 below and this enables us to identify the positions of inflection and derivation in morphology. Morphological relationships Inflection word formation (word-form formation) Derivation compounding paradigms (word families) e.g. live, lives, living… e.g. logic, logician firewood island, islands (Haspelmath 2002:16) Figure 3: sub divisions of morphology. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 42 In figure 3 above, a traditional distinction is made between inflection, on the one hand, and derivation and compounding as part of word-formation, on the other hand. According to Booij (2006), inflection deals with the different forms of a word. For example, the English words ‘walk’, ‘walks’, ‘walked’ and ‘walking’ are considered different word forms of the lexeme ‘WALK’. Derivation on the other hand deals with the creation of new lexemes. For example, the noun ‘walker’, is not considered a form of the lexeme ‘WALK’, rather a different lexeme with different meaning and a different lexical category that is a noun. The major distinction between inflection and derivation is the creation of different word forms, and the creation of different words respectively. Inflectional morphemes encode grammatical categories such as ‘plurals’ in workers, ‘person’ in works, ‘tense’ in picked or ‘case’ in John’s. 2.4.1.1 Composition of inflectional and derivational forms Plag (2003) details the composition of derived inflectional or derivational forms. The processes of inflection and derivation derive complex words. For instance, the word ‘walks’ is made up of walk and –s, ‘walker’ from walk and –er and so on. The term used to describe these forms are complex words (that is, the process of putting together smaller elements to form larger words to form more complex meaning). Complex words can be decomposed into their smallest meaningful parts called morphemes. Morphemes can be free or bound. Free morphemes occur alone with University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 43 their specific meaning, whereas bound morphemes attach to some other morphemes. The cover term used to describe bound morphemes is AFFIXES and they are named depending on their position relative to the morpheme they attach to- that is the root, stem or base, because they are the central meaningful element of a word. Pertaining to the base of a word, it is the element where morphological operations apply. When an affix occurs before the base of a word, it is called the prefix, and when it occurs after the base of a word, it is called the suffix. In the current study, we refer to the forms, which ni and fo attaches to as the base. Generally, through the application of a morphological process of affixation, which is the attachment of an affix (prefix, suffix etc) to a base word, both inflectional and derivational results can be realized. To be able to appreciate the inflectional and derivational properties of ni and fo, we shall look at some of the properties of inflection and derivation in general (Haspelmath &Sims 2010; Booij 2006; Plag 2003) 2.4.1.2 Properties of inflection and derivation In this section, we shall look at the distinct properties of inflection and derivation as seen in some of the literature (Haspelmath and Sims 2010; Plag 2003; Bauer 2004; Booij 2000, 2006). Following Plag (2003:17), we summarize the properties of inflection and derivation in the English language in Table 6 below. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 44 Table 6: The properties of inflection and derivation Inflection Derivation Encodes grammatical categories Encodes lexical meaning Is syntactically relevant Is not syntactically relevant Occurs outside all derivation Can occur inside derivation Does not change part of speech Often changes the part of speech Is rarely semantically opaque It is often semantically opaque It is fully productive It is often restricted in productivity Always suffixational (in English) It is not restricted to suffixation 2.4.2 Morphology and Lexical Semantics We employ a framework of lexical semantics which assumes a connection between form and meaning, and is able to isolate the meaning of affixes together with the meaning of simple and complex words for such analysis. This work thus relies on a descriptive framework which is derivation friendly (cf. Lieber 2004). The theory, as expounded in Lieber’s (2004) “Morphology and lexical semantics (MLS) explores the meanings of morphemes and how they combine to form a system of lexical- semantic account that is disintegrated and allows for a smaller number of basic meaning, as such …, these basic meanings are suitable as the smallest parts of the meanings of complex words (see Melloni 2007). The theory explores “the meanings of morphemes and how they combine to form the meaning of complex word, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 45 including derived words, compounds and words formed by conversion” (Lieber 2004:i), building on the premise that (as opposed to words) a systematic way of describing the semantics of word formation is lacking in the traditional generative morphology (Lieber 2004:2). MLS postulates that the meaning of complex words is compositional: as long as morphemes are associated with meaning, that is, the principal idea is that though there may be few exceptions, the meaning of complex words can be derived through the make-up of the meaning of basic constituents. This model, therefore, set out to develop and justify a framework in which questions about the meaning of word- formation processes with respect to polysemy, multiple affixation, zero-derivation and semantic mismatch concerns are addressed. These concerns are related, in that, they all form a larger question of how the meanings of complex words are characterized. I discuss the basic tenets of the framework below. 2.4.2.1 Tenets of Lieber’s (2004) Lexical Semantic Model. Some basic principles of MLS, which are adopted and adapted to guide the study on the morphosemantics of the Akan affixes -ni and -foɔ are given below: ● The model is decompositional in its approach to lexical analysis. This model allows us to view derived –ni and –fo nouns as consisting of several distinctive properties. That is, as “… made up of some relatively small number of primitives or atoms of meaning which qualify to be the right ‘grain University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 46 size’ to allow us to talk about the meaning of simplex/complex words (Lieber 2004). For instance, (17) below illustrates in Akan, the meaning of the complex word odiadeni ‘one who inherits (something)/an heir’; through the make-up of the meaning of its basic constituents: 17. o-di-ade-ni NOM-eat-thing- person ‘one who inherits (something)/ an heir’ In (17) above, we see evidence of the compositionality of the complex word odiadeni in Akan as postulated in MLS. ● The theory considers lexical semantic representation as being made up of two parts: the semantic/grammatical (Skeleton) representation and the semantic/Pragmatic (Body) representation. The skeleton is the decompositional part of the representation and it is hierarchically arranged into functions and arguments. It is less amenable to change and contains aspects of the semantic component which have consequences for the morphosyntax of the item. The body on the other hand is encyclopedic and holistic because it expresses the perceptual and cultural knowledge associated with the lexical item. The body is only partially formalizable. ● The theory asserts that “the sorts of polysemy we find in the simplex lexicon should also be found in derived words” (Lieber 2004:11). Here the multiplicity of meanings expressed by complex lexemes are expressed in the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 47 same terms as in simplex lexemes. This implies two different explanations in the model of which this study assumes: i. That each affix has a single skeleton, with a very extensive and conceptual meaning, and the varied meanings come as a result of the composition with different bases. ii. That affixes are naturally polysemous and they take multiple skeletons. iii. 2.5 Chapter Conclusion This chapter looked at the literature on the Akan language and theories that have relevance to the objectives and scope of this research. The study extensively looked at the available literature on the language and theoretical framework. For instance, nominalization, a linguistic notion and process, was thoroughly discussed looking at the types; namely Lexical and Grammatical Nominalisation and how this current work contributes to its body of knowledge. In addition, the literature on ‘Derivation and Inflection’ was also analyzed. The relevant morphological procedures which characterize a morpheme as either derivational or inflectional and their distinguishing properties were likewise discussed. It was further raised that the existing works on -ni and -fo(ɔ) in Akan did not consider the wider literature on derivation and inflection, and also never subjected University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 48 the different uses of the two forms to the relevant derivational/inflectional testing; only employing the two concepts in their functional/semantic definitions without any testing. This gap will be attended to in the subsequent chapters. In conclusion, the MLS theory by Lieber (2004), is used in the current work to study how the meaning of complex forms are derived from those of constituent forms and how -ni and -fo(ɔ) bring about meaning in the Akan language. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 49 CHAPTER THREE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF NI AND FO NOMINAL DERIVATIVES 3.1 Introduction In this chapter, we examine the morphological and syntactic properties of ni and fo nouns in Akan. We discuss the strategies involved in the formation of ni and fo nouns and establish the formal constraints on the distribution of ni, fo and prefixes in the formation of ni and fo nominal derivatives. To allow us describe or analyze the distribution (strategies) of the formation of -ni/-fo derivatives in this chapter, in consonance with Leiber’s (2004) ‘skeleton’ concept, (which is the foundation of what we know about the primitives (morphemes)), each derived -ni/-fo noun will be decomposed into its relatively small number of primitives or atoms. Accordingly, we are able to distinctively identify the primitives that make up a -ni/-fo derivative as (1) a prefix, (2) a base (noun, verb or adjective) and (3) a suffix (-ni/-fo). In section (3.2), we discuss prefixation of ni and fo nouns, which leads us to discuss the bases of ni and fo nouns, specifically nominal bases in section (3.3), verbal bases in section (3.4) and adjectival bases in section (3.5). We then discuss the conclusion on -ni/fo derivates in Akan (3.6) and then chapter summary in (3.7) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 50 3.2 Prefixation in derived ni and fo nouns. In this section, we discuss prefixation in ni and fo nouns. The process of derivation refers to the formation of new words through the morphological operation, affixation, which is the attachment of a morpheme, either bound or free to a base. In this regard, prefixation which is a type of affixation strategy, is the process where an element, in this case a morpheme, (which is the smallest linguistic unit with meaning), attaches to a base, root or stem at the left-hand side of the base or occurs before the base. This morpheme that occurs before the base is referred to as the prefix. Generally, ni and fo derivatives have an internal morphological structure as shown in (1) where ‘X’ is the base to which either ni or fo is attached to derive a noun. This is exemplified in (2a-c). (1) [[X]-ni/fo]N (2) a. sukuu-ni school- person ‘a student’ b. bambↄ-fo security- person ‘a security guard’ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 51 c. America-ni America-person ‘An American’ The examples in (2a-c) exemplify the general internal structure of ni and fo nouns as given in (1). We observe a linear glossing of derived ni and fo nouns where, the form ni attaches to sukuu ‘school’ to derive sukuuni ‘a student’ in (2a); the form fo attaches to bambↄ ‘security’ to derive bambↄfo ‘a security guard’ (2b); and in (2c), ni attaches to America to derive Americani [amɛrɪkæni] ‘American’. All the three examples in (2a-c) have no overt prefix (i.e., have a null or zero prefix). Where a prefix is overtly marked, it is attached immediately before the base of the derived noun as represented in (3) below by ‘Y’. (3) [Y]PREFIX [[X]BASE-ni/fo]N In Table 7 below, we present examples of prefixes for ni and fo nouns. There are three distinct prefixes in the table below. They are: {ɔ-} (mid rounded unadvanced vowel) with its advanced counterpart [o-]; and {a-}, the low vowel. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 52 Table 7: -Ni and -Fo derivatives Singular Plural Derivatives English gloss Derivatives English gloss a. ↄ-kↄm-fo ‘fetish priest’ a-kↄm-foↄ ‘fetish priests’ b. ↄ-dansi-ni ‘builder’ a-dansi-foↄ ‘builders’ c. ↄ-manfra-ni ‘sojourner’ a-manfra-foↄ ‘sojourners’ d. ↄ-kyerɛkyerɛ-foↄ ~ ↄ-kyerɛkyerɛ-ni ‘teacher’ a-kyerɛkyerɛ-fof ‘teachers’ e. o-dimafoↄ ‘advocate’ a-dima-foↄ ‘advocates’ f. o-dunsi-ni ‘herbalist’ a-dunsi-foↄ ‘herbalists’ g. o-bibi-ni ‘an African’ a-bibi-foↄ ‘Africans’ h. o-sukuu-ni ‘students’ a-sukuu-foↄ ‘Students’ i. o-hiani ‘poor person’ a-hiafoↄ ‘poor people’ j. a-namusi-ni ‘representative’ a-namusi-foↄ ‘Representatives’ k. nkyenetↄn-foↄ ~ nkyenetↄn-ni ‘salt seller’ nkyenetↄn-foↄ ‘salt sellers’ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 53 The prefixes [ↄ-] and [o-] form the singular form of the ni and fo derivatives which are on the left side of the table, while identified on the right side of the table is the prefix [a-] which forms the plurals of the singular ni and fo derivatives on the left. We can observe the forms in (a), ↄkↄmfo ‘fetish priest’ on one hand and akↄmfo[PL] ‘fetish priests’ and in (g), obibini ‘an African’ and abibifo[PL] ‘Africans’. We thus modify the structure presented in (3) above to accommodate the prefixes as seen in (4), where ‘Y’ is a prefix. (4) [Y]Nom PRF [[X]-ni/fo]N The prefixes [ↄ-], [o-] and [a-] falls under the category of nominal prefixes (which are prefixes found in nouns, adjectives and numerals, Christaller (1875); Dolphyne (2006:82)). Therefore, ‘Y’ in (4) is identified as a nominal prefix (Nom PRF). Akan operates advanced tongue root [ATR] harmony (Dolphyne 1988). Prefixes in ni and fo nouns like every word in Akan, submit to this vowel harmony process. Accordingly, from Table 7 above, we observe from the derivatives on the right hand of the table that the vowels in the bases of the -ni and -fo derivatives select the same ATR quality as the prefix of the derivative. The vowels in the stems of examples (a-d) are all realized with a retracted tongue, suggesting that, the prefix to be selected will be produced in same manner, thus, [ↄ-], which is produced with a retracted tongue root is selected. For instance, since the vowel in the stem kↄm, in (a) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 54 is realized with a retracted tongue root ([-ATR]), it selects [ↄ-] as prefix, which is also realized with a retracted tongue root to derive ↄkↄmfo ‘fetish priest’. In examples (e-j) in Table 7 above, it can be realized that all the vowels in the base of the ni and fo noun forms are realized with an advanced tongue root. This means that the prefix to be selected will also be produced as [o-] in harmony with the immediate vowel of the base in the feature advanced (i.e., [+ATR]). For example, the vowel /i/ in the stem dima, (e) being realized with an advanced tongue root ([+ATR]), selects [o-] which is also realized with an advanced tongue root, as prefix to derive odimafo ‘advocate’. In like manner, dunsini selects [o-] as prefix to derive odunsini ‘herbalist’. The prefixes [ↄ] and [o] can thus be described as allomorphs of the same morpheme {ɔ-}, being realized differently due to the ATR specification of the vowel in the stems immediately before it. Again, from Table 7 one above, we can observe the phenomenon of ATR in the examples on the right hand of the table. In deriving the plurals of the singular derivatives on the left, the prefix is changed to a- and the suffix to -fo in cases where the singular of that form is -ni. The ATR quality of the base of the derivative predicts the ATR quality of the plural prefix as well. Therefore, the plural form of ↄkↄmfo, selects the vowel [a] as prefix and derived as akↄmfo ‘fetish priests’ since the vowel in the base is produced with a retracted tongue root. When the immediate vowel of the base is advanced, the prefix [æ] is preferred in harmony with the base vowel as in: (f) adunsifo [ædunsifʊ] ‘herbalists.’ In the orthography of Akan, [æ-] is written as University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 55 a-. The forms [a-] and [æ-] are allomorphs of the same morpheme {a-} but are realized differently due to the ATR quality of the base to which they are attached. 3.3 Nominal bases of -ni and -fo derivatives In this section, we discuss the noun bases to which -ni and -fo are attached. Nouns are labels of different things which include animate objects (persons and animals), inanimate objects, places (geographic locations and parts of space in general), time, quantities, qualities, states and conditions of the mind and body (Christaller 1875). In addition, nouns may mean any member of a class of words that typically can be combined with determiners, to serve as the subject of a verb, can be interpreted as singular or plural, can be replaced with a pronoun and can refer to an entity, quality, state, action, or concept. Building on the schema given in (4), we represent the internal structure of noun-based -ni and -fo derivatives as in (5), where ‘Y’ is the prefix of the derived word; ‘X’ is the base, which is identified as a noun [X]N, to which -ni or -fo is attached to derive a noun. (5) [Y]Nom PRF [[X]N -ni/fo]N The following noun-base types can be identified in Akan: concrete noun- bases (3.3.1), abstract noun-bases (3.3.2), state noun-bases (3.3.3), and place noun- bases (3.3.4). We take each of the nouns and discuss them in the sections that follow. Sentences are given under each subsection to show the ‘nounness’ of these items. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 56 3.3.1 Concrete noun-bases of -ni and -foↄ derivatives Nouns denoting material or physical objects are termed as concrete nouns. Concrete nouns in consideration here are: sika ‘money’, (e)tu(o) ‘gun’, ade ‘thing/wealth’ and ekuru ‘sore’. Below in (6) are sentences and linear gloss illustration in which these items (italicized) function as nouns of their sentences, appearing in object and subject positions of the sentences. (6) (a) Papa no wↄ sika. man DEF have money ‘The man has money.’ (b) ↄbarima no kura tuo. Male DEF hold/deal-in gun ‘The man is a possessor of gun.’ (c) ↄbea no wↄ ade Female DEF have ‘thing/wealth’ ‘The woman has wealth.’ (d) Ekuru a-tu abofra no. Sore PERF-infect child DEF ‘Sore has infected the child.’ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 57 In each of the above sentences, there are two nouns, the noun which becomes our base denotes some property, with the other noun as the possessor of that property. In the data below, these nouns are employed as bases of –ni and -foↄ derivatives. The singular/plural output forms of the resultant nouns are: osikani/asikafoↄ (as in 7); otufo/atufo (as in 8); ↄdefo/adefo (as in 9); and okufo/akufo (in 10). (7) (a) Base: Sika ‘money’ (b) (b-i) Singular: Osikani ‘a rich person’ (b-ii) Input: o- sika -ni Nom PRF- money -person (c) (c-i) Plural: asikafoↄ ‘rich people/persons’ (c-ii) Input: a- sika -foↄ Nom PRF- money -person (8) (a) Base: Otu(o) ‘gun’ (b) (b-i) Singular: otufo ‘a musketeer’ (b-ii) Input: o- tu -fo Nom PRF- gun -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 58 (c) (c-i) Plural: atufo ‘musketeers’ (c-ii) Input: a- tu -fo Nom PRF- gun -person (9) (a) Base: ade ‘thing' (b) (b-i) Singular: ↄdefo ‘a wealthy person’ (b-ii) Input: ↄ- de -fo Nom PRF- thing -person (c) (c-i) Plural: adefo ‘wealthy persons’ (c-ii) Input: a- de -fo Nom PRF- thing -person (10) (a) Base: ekuru ‘a sore’ (b) (b-i) Singular: okufo ‘a person with sores’ (b-ii) Input: ↄ- ku -fo Nom PRF- sore -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 59 (c) (c-i) Plural: akufo ‘persons with sores’ (c-ii) Input: a- ku -fo Nom PRF- sore -person The noun bases in (7)- (10) above can be described as simple bases because they are all made up of one stem, which is the central meaningful unit. This is evidenced by the syllable structure identified in the bases/stems - CVCV in sika (7), VCVV in etuo (9), VCV in ade (9) and VCVCV in ekuru (10). Again, from the examples in (7) to (10), it can be realized that the form of the bases are maintained in some derivatives, while in others, the form of the bases changes. For instance, the syllables in the base sika is maintained in the derivative osikani in (7), in otuo, the last syllable V-[o] is deleted, remaining ‘tu’ in otufo (8), in ade, V-[a], which is the first syllable [a] is dropped to be ‘de’ in ↄdefo (9) and in ekuru, the first syllable V-[e] and last two syllables CV- [r],[u] are dropped, leaving the syllable, CV- ‘ku’ in okufo (10). In deriving ni and fo nouns from concrete nouns, the form of the base to which ni and fo attaches may undergo some phonological changes. Forming ni and fo nouns from noun bases or stems, it is possible to have all the syllables of the base intact, being attached with ni/fo as seen in (7). It is also possible to have some of the syllables being lost at word initial (9), at word final (8) or at both word initial and word final (10). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 60 The following prefix-suffix distributions are realized in the data above: [ↄ- ]/[o-] appears strictly on singular derivatives, and [a-] on strictly plural ones. The suffix -foↄ has two distributions, it appears in singular nouns with [ↄ-]/[o-] as prefix from (8) to (10); and co-occurs with [a-] in plural forms. The form –ni strictly occurs in the singular noun as in (7). It needs to be pointed out that the prefixal forms [o- ]/[ↄ-] delete when there is another word before it in rapid speech. For example, we say: ↄbarima no yɛ defoↄ “The man is a rich person”, but not ↄbarima no yɛ ↄdefo. The latter form is mainly observed in slow speech. The prefix [a-] unlike [o-]/[ↄ-], cannot be deleted. For example, it is ungrammatical to say: Mmarima no yɛ defo when the meaning “The men are rich persons'' (i.e., Mmarima no yɛ adefo) is what is intended. The loss of [o-]/[ↄ-] in singular forms with the -foↄ suffix does not lead to structural ambiguity for the fact that [a-] is never deleted in plural forms. 3.3.2 Abstract noun-bases of -ni and -foↄ derivatives This subsection examines the use of abstract nouns as bases for –ni and –fo derivatives. Abstract nouns represent intangible ideas i.e. things one cannot perceive with the five senses. In the data below, the syntactic and morphological distributions of these bases have been specified. Syntactically, these bases are nouns and function as either subjects or objects of their sentences. Data from (11) to (18) have the following subdivisions: in (a) are the bases; the syntactic distributions of bases are displayed in (b); and in (c) the morphological structure of –ni and –fo derivatives are University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 61 represented. The abstract bases in the data below are: nkontompo ‘calumny’(11), ahantan ‘pride’ (12), (o)hia ‘poverty’ (13), mmusu ‘mischief, bad omen’ (14), bayie ‘witchcraft’ (15), atoro ‘a lie’ (16), tumi ‘power’ (17), and nokware ‘truth’ (18); the use of all these base forms is justified by the fact that their derivatives have unique morphological structures and also the bases depict different semantic notions. The singular/plural output forms of the resultant nouns are: okontomponi /akontompofo (as in 11); ↄhantanni / ahantanfo (as in 12); ohiani / ahiafo (as in 13); obusufo/ abusufo (as in 14); obayifo/ abayifo (as in 15); otorofo/ atorofo (as in 16); otumfo/ atumfo (as in 17); and onokwafo / anokwafo (in 18). (11) (a) Base: nkontompo ‘calumny’ (b) Syntactic distribution of nkontompo (b-i) Aberewa no di nkontompo Old.woman DEF engages-in calumny ‘The old woman engages in calumny.’ (b-ii) Aberewa no yɛ/twa nkontompo Old.woman DEF be/cut calumny ‘The old woman is calumnious (i.e., a habit).’ (b-iii) Aberewa no yɛ nkontompo Old.woman DEF be calumnious.person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 62 ‘The old woman personifies calumny.’ (c) Morphological distribution of nkontompo (c-i) Singular: okontomponi ‘a calumniator’ (c-ii) Input: o- kontompo -ni Nom PRF- calumny -person (c-iii) Plural: akontompofo ‘calumniators’ (c-iv) Input: a- kontompo -fo Nom PRF- calumny -person (12) (a) Base: ahantan ‘pride’ (b) Syntactic distribution of ahantan (b-i) Abofra no yɛ ahantan child DEF be pride ‘The child is proud.’ (b-ii) Ahantan a- hyɛ no mma Pride PERF-fill him/her full ‘He/she is full of pride.’ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 63 (c) Morphological distribution of ahantan (c-i) Singular: ↄhantanni ‘a proud person’ (c-ii) Input: o- hantan -ni Nom PRF- pride -person (c-iii) Singular: ahantanfo ‘proud persons’ (c-iv) Input: a- hantan -fo Nom PRF- pride -person (13) (a) Base: (o)hia ‘poverty’ (b) Syntactic distribution of (o)hia (b-i) Kwaku di hia Name eat/experience poverty ‘Kwaku is (extremely) poor.’ (b-ii) Ohia n-yɛ Poverty NEG-be.good ‘Poverty is bad.’ (c) Morphological distribution of (o)hia (c-i) Singular: ohiani ‘a poor person’ (c-ii) Input: o- hia -ni Nom PRF- poverty -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 64 (c-iii) Plural: ahiafo ‘poor persons’ (c-iv) Input: a- hia -fo Nom PRF- poverty -person (14) (a) Base: mmusu ‘mischief, bad omen’ (b) Syntactic distribution of mmusu (b-i) Ohia yɛ mmusu. poverty BE mischief ‘Poverty is a bad omen.’ (b-ii) Mmusu n-ka wo. mischief should-be.fall 2SG ‘Woe betide you.’ (c) Morphological distribution of mmusu (c-i) Singular: obusufo ‘a mischievous person’ (c-ii) Input: o- busu -fo Nom PRF- mischief -person (c-iii) Plural: abusufo ‘mischievous persons’ (c-iv) Input: a- busu -fo Nom PRF- mischief -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 65 (15) (a) Base: bayie ‘witchcraft’ (b) Syntactic distribution of bayie ↄ-wↄ bayie He-have witchcraft ‘He has witchcraft.’ (c) Morphological distribution of bayie (c-i) Singular: obayifo ‘a witch’ (c-ii) Input: o- bayi -fo Nom PRF- witchcraft -person (c-iii) Plural: abayifo ‘witches’ (c-iv) Input: a- bayi -fo Nom PRF- witchcraft -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 66 (16) (a) Base: atoro ‘a lie’ (b) Syntactic distribution of atoro Aberewa no yɛ atoro Old.woman DEF be lie ‘The old woman is a liar.’ (c) Morphological distribution of atoro (c-i) Singular: otorofo ‘a liar’ (c-ii) Input: o- toro -fo Nom PRF- lie -person (c-iii) Plural: atorofo ‘liars’ (c-iv) Input: a- toro -fo Nom PRF- lie -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 67 (17) (a) Base: tumi ‘power’ (b) Syntactic distribution of tumi ↄhene no wↄ tumi king DEF have power ‘The king has power.’ (c) Morphological distribution of tumi (c-i) Singular: otumfo ‘a powerful being’ (c-ii) Input: o– tum –fo Nom PRF- power -person (c-iii) Plural: atumfo ‘powerful beings’ (c-iv) Input: a– tum –fo Nom PRF- power -person University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 68 (18) (a) Base: nokware ‘truth’ (b) Syntactic distribution of nokware Nokware a- sa truth PERF-finish ‘Truth is finished.’ (c) Morphological distribution of nokware (c-i) Singular: onokwafo ‘a truthful person’ (c-ii) Input: o- nokwa -fo Nom PRF- truth -person (c-iii) Plural: anokwafo ‘truthful persons’ (c-iv) Input: a- nokwa -fo Nom PRF- truth -person Bases from (11) to (13) employ {ↄ-} and –ni as affixes to derive singular derivatives, while those from (14) to (18) rather combine {ↄ-} and –fo to derive singular derivatives. The morphological structure and constituents of plural derivatives are similar to those in (3.3.1) – i.e., they take [a-] as prefix, with –fo as their suffix. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 69 3.3.3 State noun-bases of -ni and -fo derivatives In this section, we take a look at state nouns as bases of -ni and -fo derivatives. The import of this section is to know and appreciate the types of nouns there are that derive ni and fo nouns. We define state nouns as the condition of someone or something. State noun bases for consideration in this section are yare(ɛ) ‘sickness’ in (19), kuna ‘widowhood’ in (20) and sigya ‘singlehood’ in (21). We illustrate their syntactic and morphological distributions accordingly. (19) (a) Base: yareɛ ‘sickness’ (b) Syntactic distribution of yareɛ (b-i) Yareɛ yɛ ya Sickness be pain ‘Sickness is painful.’ (c) Morphological distribution of yareɛ (c-i) Singular: (c-ii) Input: