Difference between revisions of "Classroom:LING2208 - Annotating Ga"

Latest revision as of 22:24, 4 March 2014

--Mark Nartey 13:54, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

AGREEMENT

Eyɔse efufeemɔ feesɛɛ kɛkɛni eyimli ni emli ewola ni erɛɛehoehe, shi ekolɛ ni ehiɛ etɛŋ fe tsutsu.

“He later realized his folly and he left angry and sad, but perhaps a little wiser than before.”

Eyɔse
e	yɔse
3SG	realizePAST
V

efufeemɔ
e	fufeemɔ
POSS	foolishness
N

feesɛɛ

later

ADV

kɛkɛni

CONJC

eyimli
e	yimli
3SG	went_away
V

ni

FOC

PRT

emli
e	mli
POSS	inside
N

ewola

angry

ADJ

ni

FOC

PRT

erɛɛehoehe

sorrowful

ADJ

shi

CONJC

ekolɛ

perhaps

ADV

ni

FOC

PRT

ehiɛ
e	hiɛ
POSS	face
N

etɛŋ

wise

ADJ

fe

CMPR

PRT

tsutsu

before

ADV

Within the domain of the construction above, i.e. the sentence, there is an agreement relationship with respect to the features NUMBER (singular) and PERSON (3rd). This is a referential chain where the head of the chain, a pronominal (e - 'he') which has been integrated into the verb (eyɔse – 'he realized') agrees with the following pronouns in NUMBER and PERSON: e - 'his' and e - 'he' (also the second and third subjects).

CLAUSE LINKAGE

Ena loohɔlɔ ko shwapo kɛkɛni ebote mli oya kɛkɛni eyaju wu fɛɛfɛo dɔkɔdɔkɔ agbo ko ni ka shɛɛfi lɛ nɔ.

“He saw a butcher's shop and (he) went quickly in and (he) stole a nice fat juicy bone from the shelf.”

Ena
e	na
3SG	see
V

loohɔlɔ

butcher

N

ko

INDEF

DET

shwapo

shop

N

kɛkɛni

CONJC

ebote
e	bote
3SG	enterPAST
V

mli

inside

Nrel

oya

quickly

ADV

kɛkɛni

CONJC

eyaju
e	ya	ju
3SG	PAST	steal
V

wu

bone

N

fɛɛfɛo

nice

ADJ

dɔkɔdɔkɔ

sweet

ADJ

agbo

big

ADJ

ko

INDEF

DET

ni

FOC

PRT

ka

layPAST

V

shɛɛfi

shelf

N

lɛ

FOC

PRT

nɔ

surfaceLOC

N

The clause linkage above is indicative of parataxis, i.e. structural equality. There are three independent clauses which have been conjoined by the coordinating conjunction kɛkɛni. Hence, there is neither a form of integration or embedding nor reduction or downgrading. We can see that the clause linkage is explicit since the connective device (here, kɛkɛni) is present, hence syndesis or syndetic coordination.

GA FOCUS PARTICLES

In Ga, focus particles are very common. Two notable focus particles include lɛ and ni. While lɛ, almost always, has the same function, the same cannot be said of ni which has varying functions depending on the context of usage. The table below presents the two focus particles and the element(s) they focus.

Focus particle	What the focus particle indicates
lɛ	It follows a noun phrase and introduces a noun (usually, things and concepts) that is being fore-grounded. That is, it puts the noun in question in focus.
ni	It can follow a noun phrase and it is used to focus time or a period.
ni	It can be found between two verb phrases and is used to establish hierarchical prominence with respect to the two events, usually bringing the first event to the fore.
ni	It can be found between two elements (where both elements are verb phrases or noun phrases) or between a noun phrase and a verb phrase. Here, it indicates that there is more to the previous action. That is, there is more information (usually in the second element) that needs attention and so must be focused.

--Mark Nartey 16:48, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

THE PRONOUN e IN GA

In Ga - unlike in English for instance - the same pronoun e is both subjective and genitive. Also, like most pronouns in Ga, e is written together with the noun phrase or verb phrase it relates to. The sentences below illustrate this phenomenon:

Enyiɛ adidɔ lɛ sɛɛ.

“He is going after the fly.”

Enyiɛ
e	nyiɛ
3SG	walkPROG
V

adidɔ

fly

N

lɛ

FOC

PRT

sɛɛ

back

N

Miikwɛ fiimi ko ni kɔɔ Simon kɛ ealɔnte.

“I am watching a video of Simon and his cat.”

Miikwɛ
mi	i	kwɛ
1SG	PROG	see
V

fiimi

video

N

ko

INDEF

DET

ni

FOC

PRT

kɔɔ

PRT

Simon

simon

Np

kɛ

CONJC

ealɔnte
e	alɔnte
POSS	cat
N

In the examples above, it can be seen that the pronoun e in both sentences has been combined with the respective verb phrase and noun phrase they relate to, hence enyiɛ - 'he is walking' and ealɔnte - 'his cat' in sentences one and two respectively. However, we notice that while e in sentence one is subjective, e in sentence two is genitive or possessive.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 --[[User:Mark Nartey|Mark Nartey]] 13:54, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
-'''Agreement'''
+'''AGREEMENT'''
 <Phrase>41568</Phrase>
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Within the domain of the construction above, i.e. the sentence, there is an agreement relationship with respect to the features NUMBER (singular) and PERSON (3rd). This is a referential chain where the head of the chain, a pronominal (''e'' - 'he') which has been integrated into the verb (''eyɔse'' – 'he realized') agrees with the following pronouns in NUMBER and PERSON: ''e'' - 'his' and ''e'' - 'he' (also the second and third subjects).
-'''Clause Linkage'''
+'''CLAUSE LINKAGE'''
 <phrase>41560</phrase>
 The clause linkage above is indicative of parataxis, i.e. structural equality. There are three independent clauses which have been conjoined by the coordinating conjunction ''kɛkɛni''. Hence, there is neither a form of integration or embedding nor reduction or downgrading. We can see that the clause linkage is explicit since the connective device (here, ''kɛkɛni'') is present, hence syndesis or syndetic coordination.
-'''Ga Focus Markers'''
+'''GA FOCUS PARTICLES'''
+In Ga, focus particles are very common. Two notable focus particles include ''lɛ'' and ''ni''. While ''lɛ'', almost always, has the same function, the same cannot be said of ''ni'' which has varying functions depending on the context of usage. The table below presents the two focus particles and the element(s) they focus.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|-
+! Focus particle
+! What the focus particle indicates
+|-
+| lɛ
+| It follows a noun phrase and introduces a noun (usually, things and concepts) that is being fore-grounded. That is, it puts the noun in question in focus.
+|-
+| ni
+| It can follow a noun phrase and it is used to focus time or a period.
+|-
+| ni
+| It can be found between two verb phrases and is used to establish hierarchical prominence with respect to the two events, usually bringing the first event to the fore.
+|-
+| ni
+| It can be found between two elements (where both elements are verb phrases or noun phrases) or between a noun phrase and a verb phrase. Here, it indicates that there is more to the previous action. That is, there is more information (usually in the second element) that needs attention and so must be focused.
+|}
 --[[User:Mark Nartey|Mark Nartey]] 16:48, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
-'''The Pronoun ''e'' in Ga'''
+'''THE PRONOUN ''e'' IN GA'''
 In Ga - unlike in English for instance - the same pronoun ''e'' is both subjective and genitive. Also, like most pronouns in Ga, ''e'' is written together with the noun phrase or verb phrase it relates to. The sentences below illustrate this phenomenon:
@@ Line 24: / Line 44: @@
 <Phrase>42132</Phrase>
-In the examples above, it can be seen that the pronoun ''e'' in both sentences has been combined with the respective verb phrase and noun phrase they relate to, hence 'enyiɛ' and 'ealɔnte' in sentences one and two respectively. However, we notice that while ''e'' in sentence one is subjective, ''e'' in sentence two is genitive or possessive.
+In the examples above, it can be seen that the pronoun ''e'' in both sentences has been combined with the respective verb phrase and noun phrase they relate to, hence ''enyiɛ'' - 'he is walking' and ''ealɔnte'' - 'his cat' in sentences one and two respectively. However, we notice that while ''e'' in sentence one is subjective, ''e'' in sentence two is genitive or possessive.