TY - JOUR
T1 - Grammaticalization in kaakyi
T2 - From a temporal adverb to a future tense marker
AU - Abunya, Levina Nyameye
AU - Amfo, Nana Aba Appiah
PY - 2013/5/1
Y1 - 2013/5/1
N2 - This paper discusses the linguistic phenomenon of grammaticalization in relation to the development of the future tense marker kέ in Kaakyi (Kwa, Niger Congo). Focusing on some characteristic features of grammaticalization such as metaphorical extension, phonetic reduction, morphosyntactic reduction and the fusion of elements, the paper examines the paths along which the future tense marker has developed. First, it shows the extension of the meaning of the time adverbial kέ tomorrow, to the functional morpheme, kέ-, expressing future time. Second, it demonstrates the loss in the morphological and syntactic properties of kέ and a gain in some properties characteristic of its use as a functional morpheme. Third, two of Hopper's (1991) principles of grammaticalization, divergence and de-categorization, are shown to be applicable in the development of the marker. Kaakyi appears to be the only Kwa language to have so far been identified as deriving its future tense marker from a temporal adverb.
AB - This paper discusses the linguistic phenomenon of grammaticalization in relation to the development of the future tense marker kέ in Kaakyi (Kwa, Niger Congo). Focusing on some characteristic features of grammaticalization such as metaphorical extension, phonetic reduction, morphosyntactic reduction and the fusion of elements, the paper examines the paths along which the future tense marker has developed. First, it shows the extension of the meaning of the time adverbial kέ tomorrow, to the functional morpheme, kέ-, expressing future time. Second, it demonstrates the loss in the morphological and syntactic properties of kέ and a gain in some properties characteristic of its use as a functional morpheme. Third, two of Hopper's (1991) principles of grammaticalization, divergence and de-categorization, are shown to be applicable in the development of the marker. Kaakyi appears to be the only Kwa language to have so far been identified as deriving its future tense marker from a temporal adverb.
KW - De-categorization
KW - Divergence
KW - Future marker
KW - Grammaticalization
KW - Kaakyi
KW - Temporal marker
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904763594&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03740463.2014.897813
DO - 10.1080/03740463.2014.897813
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84904763594
SN - 0374-0463
VL - 45
SP - 126
EP - 139
JO - Acta Linguistica Hafniensia
JF - Acta Linguistica Hafniensia
IS - 1
ER -