26.3949, Diss: Akan; Cog Sci, Ling Theories, Morphology, Semantics: Obadele Bakari Kambon: 'Serial Verb Nominalization in Akan'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-26-3949. Mon Sep 07 2015. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 26.3949, Diss: Akan; Cog Sci, Ling Theories, Morphology, Semantics: Obadele Bakari Kambon: 'Serial Verb Nominalization in Akan'

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Date: Mon, 07 Sep 2015 14:13:45
From: Obadele Kambon [obkambon at ug.edu.gh]
Subject: Serial Verb Nominalization in Akan

 Institution: University of Ghana 
Program: Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2012 

Author: Obadele Bakari Kambon

Dissertation Title: Serial Verb Nominalization in Akan 

Dissertation URL:  http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/002228

Linguistic Field(s): Cognitive Science
                     Linguistic Theories
                     Morphology
                     Semantics

Subject Language(s): Akan (aka)

Dissertation Director(s):
Samuel Gyasi Obeng
E. Kweku Osam
Nana Aba Appiah Amfo
Kofi Korankye Saah

Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis focuses on nominalization of serial verb constructions (SVCs) in the Akan language. The study develops a relevant typology of serial verb nominalization on the basis of semantic integration and lexicalization using a prototype theory (PT) framework. The three degrees of semantic integration for serial verbs in Akan are Full Lexicalized-Integrated Serial Verb Constructions (FL-ISVCs), Partial Lexicalized-Integrated Serial Verb Constructions (PL-ISVCs) and Clause Chaining Serial Constructions (CCSCs). Each type of SVC is analyzed on the basis of how it is nominalized, the degree to which nominalization occurs and whether nominalization can occur at all. Various corpuses were consulted in three major literary dialects of Akan: Asante Twi, Fante and Akuapem Twi. Further, native speakers of each of these dialects were consulted to ascertain the goodness of various attested serial verb nominals (SVNs) in Akan. Because Full Lexicalized-Integrated Serial Verb Constructions behave
  as lexicalized idioms, four criteria of idiomaticity are applied to them including collocability, familiarity, flexibility and compositionality (Barkema 1996). The results from the study show that over 98% of all FL-ISVCs identified have nominal counterparts while less than 3% of all PL-ISVCs identified have nominal counterparts. CCSCs seem to nominalize haphazardly as frozen sentences, proverbs, idioms and figures of speech which primarily function as denotata and designata. While there was some degree of interdialectal variability with regard to individual SVNs, the pattern of nominalization behavior on the basis of degrees of semantic integration and lexicalization remained consistent across dialects.



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