--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 |
| eyimli |
| e | yimli |
| 3SG | went_away |
| V |
| erɛɛehoehe |
| erɛɛehoehe |
| sorrowful |
| ADJ |
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.”
| ebote |
| e | bote |
| 3SG | enterPAST |
| V |
| eyaju |
| e | ya | ju |
| 3SG | PAST | steal |
| V |
| dɔkɔdɔkɔ |
| dɔkɔdɔkɔ |
| sweet |
| ADJ |
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
| Focus marker
|
What the focus marker 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 bring 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.”
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 |
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.