James Essegbey
2021
Essegbey, James; Givon, Thomas; Hyman, Larry M; Hinnebusch, Thomas; Botne, Robert; Schrock, Jedd; Odden, David; Henderson, Brent; McLaughlin, Fiona
Reminiscences of the last 50 years and the way forward Journal Article
In: Studies in African Linguistics, vol. 50, iss. 1, pp. 2-7, 2021.
@article{Essegbey2021,
title = {Reminiscences of the last 50 years and the way forward},
author = {James Essegbey and Thomas Givon and Larry M Hyman and Thomas Hinnebusch and Robert Botne and Jedd Schrock and David Odden and Brent Henderson and Fiona McLaughlin},
doi = {10.32473/sal.v50i1.128775},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-23},
urldate = {2021-04-23},
journal = {Studies in African Linguistics},
volume = {50},
issue = {1},
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abstract = {This article is a retrospective and a prospective look at SAL on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The founding editors and various editors reflect on their experiences.},
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2020
Essegbey, James; Bruyn, Adrienne
Moving into and out of Sranan: Multiple effects of contact Book Chapter
In: pp. 37–60, John Benjamins publishing Company, 2020.
@inbook{Essegbey2020,
title = {Moving into and out of Sranan: Multiple effects of contact},
author = {James Essegbey and Adrienne Bruyn},
doi = {10.1075/coll.57.01ess},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-11-15},
urldate = {2020-11-15},
pages = {37–60},
publisher = {John Benjamins publishing Company},
abstract = {In Sranan, a creole language of Suriname, motion in and out of locations is expressed differently from English, its primary lexifier language. Talmy (2000), among others, has shown that the expression of motion in English involves a verb that indicates the Manner of movement, e.g., walk, and, where relevant, a satellite that expresses Path, e.g., into or out of. In Sranan, by contrast, both Manner and Path are expressed by the verb, which may be part of a serial verb construction, such as go and kmopo in (ia) and (ib), respectively.
We argue that influence from the West-African Gbe languages that were part of the substrate in the early history of Sranan may account for the typological make-up of Sranan regarding the expression of movement. Recently, speakers have begun to use the Dutch preposition uit ‘out’ in Sranan to express moving out. This is related to a more general trend whereby simple locative prepositions have become possible in Sranan, whereas from around 1700 to the mid-20th century, the only simple locative preposition was (n)a. The recent developments imply that in this respect Sranan is moving away from its original state in which it is typologically closer to the Gbe languages, to become more like Dutch and English.},
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We argue that influence from the West-African Gbe languages that were part of the substrate in the early history of Sranan may account for the typological make-up of Sranan regarding the expression of movement. Recently, speakers have begun to use the Dutch preposition uit ‘out’ in Sranan to express moving out. This is related to a more general trend whereby simple locative prepositions have become possible in Sranan, whereas from around 1700 to the mid-20th century, the only simple locative preposition was (n)a. The recent developments imply that in this respect Sranan is moving away from its original state in which it is typologically closer to the Gbe languages, to become more like Dutch and English.
2019
Essegbey, James
Tutrugbu (Nyangbo) Language and Culture Book
Hardback, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
@book{Essegbey2019,
title = {Tutrugbu (Nyangbo) Language and Culture},
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year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-15},
urldate = {2019-07-15},
volume = {8},
publisher = {Hardback},
abstract = {This is the first comprehensive description of Tutrugbu(Nyangbo-nyb), a Ghana Togo Mountain(gtm) language of the Kwa family. It is based on a documentary corpus of different genre of linguistic and cultural practices gathered during periods of immersion fieldwork. Tutrugbu speakers are almost all bilingual in Ewe, another Kwa language. The book presents innovative analyses of phenomena like Advanced Tongue Root and labial vowel harmony, noun classes, topological relational verbs, the two classes of adpositions, obligatory complement verbs, multi-verbs in a single clause, and information structure. This grammar is unparalleled in including a characterization of culturally defined activity types and their associated speech formulae and routine strategies. It should appeal to linguists interested in African languages, language documentation and typology.},
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Essegbey, James
Tutrugbu (Nyangbo) Language and Culture Book
Hardback, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
@book{Essegbey2019b,
title = {Tutrugbu (Nyangbo) Language and Culture},
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volume = {8},
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abstract = {This is the first comprehensive description of Tutrugbu(Nyangbo-nyb), a Ghana Togo Mountain(gtm) language of the Kwa family. It is based on a documentary corpus of different genre of linguistic and cultural practices gathered during periods of immersion fieldwork. Tutrugbu speakers are almost all bilingual in Ewe, another Kwa language. The book presents innovative analyses of phenomena like Advanced Tongue Root and labial vowel harmony, noun classes, topological relational verbs, the two classes of adpositions, obligatory complement verbs, multi-verbs in a single clause, and information structure. This grammar is unparalleled in including a characterization of culturally defined activity types and their associated speech formulae and routine strategies. It should appeal to linguists interested in African languages, language documentation and typology.},
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Essegbey, James
Routine Activities Book Chapter
In: Chapter 10, pp. 319–365, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
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abstract = {Many communicative practices found in a given speech community remain undocumented and unreconstructable. That is, provided with a grammar and a dictionary it is still impossible to know how the language is (or was) actually spoken. For example, it is impossible to derive from a grammar and a dictionary on how everyday conversational routines look like (how does one say “hello, good morning”?) or how one linguistically interacts when building a house or negotiating a marriage.},
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Essegbey, James
Morphology Book Chapter
In: Chapter 3, pp. 65–104, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
@inbook{Essegbey2019d,
title = {Morphology},
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abstract = {While few deny the necessity of a list of items whose forms and/or mean- ings are unpredictable, i.e., the lexicon, or the necessity of a system of principles, rules, conditions, or templates that determine how items from the lexicon can be put together, i.e., syntax, the last word has not been said about whether morphology is necessary as an independent component of grammar. Even if the territory of what has been regarded as morphology is carved up between the three ‘safe’ chapters of lexicon, phonology, and syntax, the problems it has addressed will remain with us.},
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Essegbey, James
The Noun Phrase Book Chapter
In: Chapter 4, pp. 105–146, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
@inbook{Essegbey2019e,
title = {The Noun Phrase},
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year = {2019},
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abstract = {In this chapter, I discuss the simple noun phrase, looking at the nucleus of the phrase and modifiers with which it occurs. Also discussed is the posses- sive noun phrase. The next section looks at the complex NP which involves the possessive construction and coordinate NPs.},
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Essegbey, James
Constructions Book Chapter
In: vol. 8, pp. 218–267, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
@inbook{Essegbey2019f,
title = {Constructions},
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abstract = {This chapter discusses different types of constructions in the sense of Bloom- field (1933). I use the term construction broadly to include argument structure.},
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Essegbey, James
The Verb Phrase Book Chapter
In: vol. 8, Chapter 5, pp. 147–188, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
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title = {The Verb Phrase},
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abstract = {[Most] Kwa languages, (with the notable exception of the Gbe dialect cluster), [incorporate] much syntactic information into the verbal word, using a combination of affixation and tonal modification to encode dis-tinctions in person/number, tense-aspect-mood, negation, deictic mo-tion, purpose},
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Essegbey, James
Phonology Book Chapter
In: Chapter 2, pp. 15–64, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
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title = {Phonology},
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abstract = {This chapter discusses Tutrugbu phonology. Section 2.1 looks at the segmental inventory, 2.2 discusses the syllable structure, 2.3 discusses phonological pro-cesses while in section 2.4 discusses tone.},
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Essegbey, James
Adpositional Phrases and Locative Constructions Book Chapter
In: vol. 8, Chapter 6, pp. 189–217, Brill, 2019, ISBN: 9789004396999.
@inbook{nokey,
title = {Adpositional Phrases and Locative Constructions},
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abstract = {This chapter is a bridge between the preceding chapters and the following one in that it tackles a particular clausal construction within which are phrasal elements. The phrasal elements are similar to the ones discussed in the two preceding chapters while the basic locative construction (BLC) is similar to the constructions that I discuss in the next chapter. I situate Tutrugbu in the typology of locative predication (cf. Levinson 2003; Levinson and Wilkins 2006; Ameka and Levinson 2007).},
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2017
Essegbey, James; Ameka, Felix K.
Divergence and convergence among the Ghana-Togo Mountain languages Journal Article
In: Language Typology and Universals, vol. 70, iss. 2, 2017.
@article{Essegbey2017,
title = {Divergence and convergence among the Ghana-Togo Mountain languages},
author = {James Essegbey and Felix K. Ameka},
doi = {10.1515/stuf-2017-0013},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-07-26},
urldate = {2017-07-26},
journal = {Language Typology and Universals},
volume = {70},
issue = {2},
abstract = {The genetic unity and lineage of a group of fifteen languages spoken in the mountains of the Ghana-Togo border with an outlier across the Togo-Benin border have been debated for over a century. Some have concluded that they are not a genetic group. Instead they are a geographical and socio-cultural grouping (see Ian Maddieson 1998, Collapsing vowel harmony and doubly-articulated fricatives: Two myths about the phonology of Avatime. In Ian Maddieson & Thomas J. Hinnebusch (eds.), Language history and linguistic description in Africa, 155–166. Trenton: Africa World Press) or a typological grouping masquerading as a genetic unit (Roger Blench 2009, Do the Ghana-Togo mountain languages constitute a genetic group? Journal of West African Languages 36(1/2). 19–36). This paper investigates the latter claim. We argue that even though the languages share some typological features, there is enormous diversity among the languages such that they do not constitute a typological grouping by themselves. We examine four phonological and twelve morpho-syntactic features to show the convergence and divergence among the languages. We argue that while some of the features are inherited from higher level proto languages e.g. the noun class systems, others are contact-induced and yet others in their specificities could be seen as arising due to internal parallel development in the individual languages.},
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2015
Essegbey, James
Is this my language? Book Chapter
In: pp. 153-176, John Benjamins publishing Company, 2015.
@inbook{Essegbey2015,
title = {Is this my language?},
author = {James Essegbey},
doi = {10.1075/clu.17.06ess},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-10-09},
urldate = {2015-10-09},
pages = {153-176},
publisher = {John Benjamins publishing Company},
abstract = {It used to be taken for granted that language documenters would develop an orthography for the language which they document in cases where no writing system exists already. Such systems facilitate the production of materials for revitalization of the languages. Lately however questions have been raised as to whether the time and money expended in such endeavors are worth it. Two main reasons are that the orthographies are not often used anyway and, where they are successful, since they are often standard orthographies, they destroy variation in languages. In this paper, I argue that standardization goes with literacy development, and is desirable in situations where it is clear that such languages would be used in school situations. However, most languages of endangered communities do not have any prospect of being used in school. Because of this rather than focus on the development of a standard orthography system, documenters should rather develop systems that enable communities to write in the vernacular. Such systems use “orthographic transcription” which minimally ensures the association of sounds with letters. Beyond that, speakers are allowed to write as they speak. This means that colloquial expressions and dialectal differences would be incorporated into the system of writing. The advantage of this system is that adults particularly do not have to spend a long time learning to represent their languages in ways that may not necessarily be the same as the way they speak. I discuss the experience I had with Nyagbo where my development of a vernacular writing system proved more successful with the community than an attempt to develop a standard orthography.},
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Essegbey, James; Ahadzie, Sika; Ameka, Felix K.
Language use at home and performance in English composition in multilingual Ghana Journal Article
In: Afrikanistik-Aegyptologie-Online (AAeO), vol. 2015, 2015.
@article{Essegbey2015b,
title = {Language use at home and performance in English composition in multilingual Ghana},
author = {James Essegbey and Sika Ahadzie and Felix K. Ameka},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
urldate = {2015-01-01},
journal = {Afrikanistik-Aegyptologie-Online (AAeO)},
volume = {2015},
abstract = {Ghana has witnessed a recurrent debate on the usefulness of indigenous Ghanaian languages in childhood education. It is assumed that using the mother tongue as a Medium of Instruction (MOI) during the early years improves children’s ability to acquire knowledge and other languages. Not everybody subscribes to this view though. There are those who feel that a solid start in English offers children a better chance of succeeding in school and in their careers. Presently, some parents who subscribe to the latter view have taken the extra step of stopping the use of indigenous Ghanaian languages at home. This paper presents the results of our investigation into whether the home language practices of Ghanaian students have any impact on their performance in English written argumentative discourse. The results are based on an analysis of an assigned essay of 92 students from one of Ghana’s best senior high schools. We then correlated their performance with responses they gave to a questionnaire interrogating their background and language use at home. While some speak the native language at home, others grew up speaking exclusively English. We show that students who combine English and native Ghanaian languages at home performed better than those who used only English or only Ghanaian languages.},
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2013
Essegbey, James; van den Berg, Margot; van de Vate, Marleen
Possibility and necessity modals in Gbe and Surinamese creoles Journal Article
In: Lingua, vol. 129, pp. 67–95, 2013.
@article{Essegbey2013,
title = {Possibility and necessity modals in Gbe and Surinamese creoles},
author = {James Essegbey and Margot van den Berg and Marleen van de Vate},
doi = {10.1016/j.lingua.2012.03.009},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-05-01},
urldate = {2013-05-01},
journal = {Lingua},
volume = {129},
pages = {67–95},
abstract = {In this paper we compare positive possibility and necessity modals in the Gbe languages and Surinamese creoles that emerged out of language contact between European and African languages, most importantly the Gbe languages. We propose that different varieties of Gbe languages played a role in the development of the modals in the creoles. A comparison of the influence of the modals on the temporal interpretations of the sentences in which they occur in the substrate languages with that of equivalent modals in superstrate languages suggest that while there is indeed substrate influence in the development of the modals, the influence from the superstrate cannot be discounted. The findings nuance earlier proposals that explain the emergence of the modality system as deriving from a Gbe model.
},
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2012
Essegbey, James
Touch ideophones in Nyagbo Conference
2012.
@conference{Essegbey2012,
title = {Touch ideophones in Nyagbo},
author = {James Essegbey},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-03-15},
urldate = {2012-03-15},
abstract = {This paper discusses touch ideophones in Nyagbo, a Ghana-Togo Mountain language (GTM) spoken in Ghana. Dingemanse (2009: 3) observes that while most discussions of ideophones focus on their phonological, morphological and syntactic characteristics, “[r]arely do we get systematic information on intension (the conceptual content, or the sensory event evoked by an ideophone) versus the extension (the range of situations it can be applied to), on semantic relations between ideophones, on possible semantic variation, or on metalinguistic intuitions that speakers themselves may have about these words.” This paper seeks to fill that gap by exploring the meaning and use of four touch ideophones in Nyagbo. These words were elicited using the “texture booklet,” an elicitation tool designed at the Max-Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen (Majid et al 2007). Two of the words, kplɔkplɔ ‘smooth’ and hwahwalaa ‘rough,’ are general-meaning surface-texture words which are widely used. In contrast, the other two words, ekpeɖekpeɖé ‘round’ and tsutsuruu ‘round,’ which describe shape and toughness respectively, are used to describe only one material each
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2011
Essegbey, James; Aboh, Enoch O.; Bruyn, Adrienne; Kouwenberg, Silvia; Meade, Rocky R.; Muysken, Pieter C.; van den Berg, M. C.; Veenstra, Tonjes
A Tribute to Norval Smith Journal Article
In: Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, vol. 26, iss. 2, 2011.
@article{Essegbey2011,
title = {A Tribute to Norval Smith},
author = {James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh and Adrienne Bruyn and Silvia Kouwenberg and Rocky R. Meade and Pieter C. Muysken and M. C. van den Berg and Tonjes Veenstra},
doi = {10.1075/jpcl.26.2.01abo},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-08-16},
urldate = {2011-08-16},
journal = {Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages},
volume = {26},
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Essegbey, James; Bohnemeyer, Jürgen; Enfield, N. J.; Kita, Sotaro
The macro-event property: The segmentation of causal chains Journal Article
In: The Mental Lexicon, pp. 43 - 67, 2011, ISBN: 9780521898348.
@article{Essegbey2011b,
title = {The macro-event property: The segmentation of causal chains},
author = {James Essegbey and Jürgen Bohnemeyer and N. J. Enfield and Sotaro Kita},
doi = {10.1017/CBO9780511782039.003},
isbn = {9780521898348},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-01-01},
urldate = {2011-01-01},
journal = {The Mental Lexicon},
pages = {43 - 67},
abstract = {Semantic typology is the study of semantic categorization. In the simplest case, semantic typology investigates how an identical perceptual stimulus is categorized across languages. The problem examined in this article is that of event segmentation. To the extent that events are perceivable, this may be understood as the representation of dynamic stimuli in chunks of linguistic code with categorical properties. For illustration, consider an example from a classic study on event cognition (Jenkins, Wald and Pittenger 1986): a woman prepares a cup of tea. She unwraps a tea bag, puts it into the cup, gets a kettle of water from the kitchen, pours the water into the cup, etc. This action sequence can be diagrammed schematically as in fig. 3.1. It is conceivable that at some level of “raw” perception – before the onset of any kind of categorization – the action sequence is represented as a continuous flux. But it is hard to imagine how higher cognitive operations of recognition and inference could operate without segmenting the stream of perceived activity into units that are treated as instances of conceptual categories. Let us call the intentional correlates of such categories ‘events.’ Regardless of whether or not one assumes internal representations of the action sequence to operate on event concepts, linguistic representations of it do require segmentation into units that can be labeled as instances of unwrapping a tea bag, pouring water into a cup, and so on.},
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2010
Essegbey, James; Aboh, Enoch O.
Topics in Kwa Syntax Book
2010, ISBN: 978-90-481-3188-4.
@book{Essegbey2010,
title = {Topics in Kwa Syntax},
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isbn = {978-90-481-3188-4},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-01-01},
urldate = {2010-01-01},
volume = {78},
abstract = {Edited by two leading experts on the languages of West Africa, this volume is the very first book to handle a range of topics in the syntax of Kwa, a branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken by approximately 20 million people in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin and in the extreme southwestern corner of Nigeria. Kwa includes a total of 45 related languages. The nine chapters each address a separate grammatical aspect of Kwa. These range from topics such as the verb phrase, argument structure, verb serialization and complex predicates, to discussions on tense, mood, and aspect and their relation to the structure of sentences. Also addressed are the structure of the noun phrase and the syntax of discourse particles. The studies in this volume demonstrate that Kwa languages offer a very rich empirical domain for linguistic theorizing. In this book, experts who are mostly native speakers present empirical data and show its theoretical relevance to comparative linguistics and comparative syntax. The book brings together a wealth of material and fresh insights and is a superb example of how empirical research feeds into typological and theoretical linguistics. As such, it is a gold mine to students and teachers of comparative syntax, as well as for anyone interested in studies on Niger Congo languages.
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2009
Essegbey, James; Aboh, Enoch O.
General Properties of the Clause Book Chapter
In: vol. 78, pp. 39-64, Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 2009, ISBN: 978-90-481-3188-4.
@inbook{Essegbey2009,
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year = {2009},
date = {2009-11-27},
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abstract = {This chapter previews aspects of the clause structure in Kwa (e.g., argument structure, serialization, tense, mood, aspect marking). that the discussion on the INFL domain shows that the Kwa languages are analytic because they resort to free morphemes for marking tense, mood, and aspect, where synthetic languages display inflectional morphology. It appears that the position of the verb with respect to both the aspect markers and the internal argument is an indication of verb movement in these languages, which lack inflectional morphology of the Indo-European type. Next, we suggest that discourse particles (e.g., topic, focus, question) are functional elements whose syntax has repercussion on word order variation.
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Essegbey, James; Aboh, Enoch O.
The Phonology Syntax Interface Book Chapter
In: 2009, ISBN: 978-90-481-3188-4.
@inbook{Essegbey2009b,
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abstract = {This chapter discusses the “phonology–syntax interface”. It shows that the Kwa languages are tone languages like most West African languages. As such they use suprasegmatals (tonemes) in addition to phonemes to form morphemes. The suprasegmentals also play a role in syntax where they sometimes express aspect and modality, as well as signal a syntactic configuration (e.g., that between a head and its licensed complement).
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Essegbey, James
Inherent Complement Verbs and the Basic Double Object Construction in Gbe Book Chapter
In: pp. 177-193, 2009, ISBN: 978-90-481-3188-4.
@inbook{Essegbey2009c,
title = {Inherent Complement Verbs and the Basic Double Object Construction in Gbe},
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date = {2009-11-27},
urldate = {2009-11-27},
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abstract = {In this paper I argue that the basic complement order for the Double Object Construction in Ewegbe is Theme-Goal. This is because of the behavior of such verbs, as regarding preposing in the progressive and nominalization, the nya-construction, and pronominalization. Three verbs in the language allow for a Goal-Theme complement order in addition to the Theme-Goal order. In contrast, inherent complement verbs (ICVs) only allow for the basic order. I show that this analysis not only captures important generalizations in the Gbe languages, but it also throws light on some double object verbs that have been described as discontinuous words in other Kwa languages like Akan.},
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Essegbey, James; Aboh, Enoch O.
Topics in Kwa syntax Journal Article
In: 2009.
@article{Essegbey200,
title = {Topics in Kwa syntax},
author = {James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
urldate = {2009-01-01},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2008
Essegbey, James
The potential in Ewe Book Chapter
In: pp. 195-214, John Benjamins publishing Company, 2008.
@inbook{Essegbey2008,
title = {The potential in Ewe},
author = {James Essegbey},
doi = {10.1075/slcs.100.08ess},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-01-01},
urldate = {2008-01-01},
pages = {195-214},
publisher = {John Benjamins publishing Company},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
2007
Essegbey, James; Bohnemeyer, Jürgen; Enfield, N. J.; Ibarretxe-Antuñano, Iraide; Kita, Sotaro; Lüpke, Friederike; Ameka, Felix K.
Principles of event segmentation in language: The case of motion events Bachelor Thesis
2007.
@bachelorthesis{Essegbey2007,
title = {Principles of event segmentation in language: The case of motion events},
author = {James Essegbey and Jürgen Bohnemeyer and N. J. Enfield and Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano and Sotaro Kita and Friederike Lüpke and Felix K. Ameka},
doi = {10.1353/lan.2007.0116},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-09-01},
urldate = {2007-09-01},
journal = {Language},
volume = {83},
issue = {3},
pages = {495-532},
abstract = {We examine universals and crosslinguistic variation in constraints on event segmentation. Previous typological studies have focused on segmentation into syntactic (Pawley 1987) or intonational units (Givón 1991). We argue that the correlation between such units and semantic/conceptual event representations is language-specific. As an alternative, we introduce the MACRO-EVENT PROPERTY (MEP): a construction has the MEP if it packages event representations such that temporal operators necessarily have scope over all subevents. A case study on the segmentation of motion events into macro-event expressions in eighteen genetically and typologically diverse languages has produced evidence of two types of design principles that impact motion-event segmentation: language-specific lexicalization patterns and universal constraints on form-to-meaning mapping.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {bachelorthesis}
}
Essegbey, James; Huttar, George L.; Ameka, Felix K.
Gbe and other West African sources of Suriname creole semantic structuresP: Implications for creole genesis Journal Article
In: Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, vol. 22, iss. 1, pp. 57-72, 2007.
@article{Essegbey2007b,
title = {Gbe and other West African sources of Suriname creole semantic structuresP: Implications for creole genesis},
author = {James Essegbey and George L. Huttar and Felix K. Ameka},
doi = {10.1075/jpcl.22.1.05hut},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-04-01},
urldate = {2007-04-01},
journal = {Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages},
volume = {22},
issue = {1},
pages = {57-72},
abstract = {This paper reports on ongoing research on the role of various kinds of potential substrate languages in the development of the semantic structures of Ndyuka (Eastern Suriname Creole). A set of 100 senses of noun, verb, and other lexemes in Ndyuka were compared with senses of corresponding lexemes in three kinds of languages of the former Slave Coast and Gold Coast areas, and immediately adjoining hinterland: (a) Gbe languages; (b) other Kwa languages, specifically Akan and Ga; (c) non-Kwa Niger-Congo languages. The results of this process provide some evidence for the importance of the Gbe languages in the formation of the Suriname creoles, but also for the importance of other languages, and for the areal nature of some of the collocations studied, rendering specific identification of a single substrate source impossible and inappropriate. These results not only provide information about the role of Gbe and other languages in the formation of Ndyuka, but also give evidence for effects of substrate languages spoken by late arrivals some time after the "founders" of a given creole-speaking society. The conclusions are extrapolated beyond Suriname to creole genesis generally.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Essegbey, James; Essegbey, James
"Cut" and "break" verbs in Gbe and Sranan Journal Article
In: Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, vol. 22, iss. 1, pp. 37-55, 2007.
@article{Essegbey2007c,
title = {"Cut" and "break" verbs in Gbe and Sranan},
author = {James Essegbey and James Essegbey},
doi = {10.1075/jpcl.22.1.04ess},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-04-01},
urldate = {2007-04-01},
journal = {Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages},
volume = {22},
issue = {1},
pages = {37-55},
abstract = {This paper compares "cut" and "break" verbs in four variants of Gbe, namely Anfoe, Anlo, Fon and Ayizo, with those of Sranan. "Cut" verbs are change-of-state verbs that co-lexicalize the type of action that brings about a change, the type of instrument or instrument part, and the manner in which a change occurs. By contrast, break verbs co-lexicalize either the type of object or the type of change. It has been hypothesized that "cut"-verbs are unergative while breaks verbs are unaccusatives. For example "break" verbs participate in the causative inchoative alternation constructions but "cut" verbs don't. We show that although there are some differences in the meanings of "cut" and "break" verbs across the Gbe languages, significant generalizations can be made with regard to their lexicalization patterns. By contrast, the meanings of "cut" and "break" verbs in Sranan are closer to those of their etymons in English and Dutch. However, despite the differences in the meanings of "cut" and "break" verbs between the Gbe languages and Sranan, the syntax of the verbs in Sranan is similar to that of the Eastern Gbe variants, namely Fon and Ayizo. We look at the implications of our findings for the relexification hypothesis.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Essegbey, James; Ameka, Felix K.
Cut and break verbs in Ewe and the causative alternation construction Journal Article
In: Cognitive Linguistics, vol. 18, iss. 2, 2007.
@article{Essegbey2007d,
title = {Cut and break verbs in Ewe and the causative alternation construction},
author = {James Essegbey and Felix K. Ameka},
doi = {10.1515/COG.2007.012},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-01-19},
urldate = {2007-01-19},
journal = {Cognitive Linguistics},
volume = {18},
issue = {2},
abstract = {Ewe verbs covering the cutting and breaking domain divide into four morpho-syntactic classes that can be ranked according to agentivity. We demonstrate that the highly non-agentive break verbs participate in the causative-inchoative alternation while the highly agentive cut verbs do not, as expected from Guerssel et al.'s (1985) hypothesis. However, four verbs tso 'cut with precision', 'cut', l 'snap-o¤ ', and dze 'split', are used transitively when an instrument is required for the severance to be ef-fected, and intransitively when not. We reject a lexicalist analysis that would postulate polysemy for these verbs and argue for a construction approach.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Essegbey, James
Cut and break verbs in Sranan Journal Article
In: Cognitive Linguistics, vol. 18, iss. 2, pp. 231-239, 2007.
@article{nokey,
title = {Cut and break verbs in Sranan},
author = {James Essegbey},
doi = {10.1515/COG.2007.011},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-01-19},
urldate = {2007-01-19},
journal = {Cognitive Linguistics},
volume = {18},
issue = {2},
pages = {231-239},
abstract = {Guerssel et al. (1985) propose that crosslinguistically, separation verbs group into cut verbs and break verbs based on their meaning. This meaning supposedly affects the constructions in which the verbs occur, e.g., only break verbs are expected to participate in the causative/inchoative alternation. In Sranan, a verb that superficially looks like 'cut' in English is actually a break verb. Also, not only break verbs participate in the causative/inchoative alternation, as expected, but cut verbs do also. I argue that the intransitive use of cut verbs does not yield a passive construction as proposed by some; instead, it is inchoative.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2006
Essegbey, James; Ameka, Felix K.
Elements of the grammar of space in Ewe Journal Article
In: Grammars of Space Explorations in Cognitive Diversity, pp. 359 - 399, 2006, ISBN: 9780521855839.
@article{Essegbey2006,
title = {Elements of the grammar of space in Ewe},
author = {James Essegbey and Felix K. Ameka},
editor = {Stephen C. Levinson and David P. Wilkins},
doi = {10.1017/CBO9780511486753.011},
isbn = {9780521855839},
year = {2006},
date = {2006-09-14},
urldate = {2006-09-14},
journal = {Grammars of Space Explorations in Cognitive Diversity},
pages = {359 - 399},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2005
Essegbey, James
The “basic locative construction in Gbe languages and Surinamese creoles Bachelor Thesis
2005.
@bachelorthesis{Essegbey2005,
title = {The “basic locative construction in Gbe languages and Surinamese creoles},
author = {James Essegbey},
doi = {10.1075/jpcl.20.2.02ess},
year = {2005},
date = {2005-11-29},
urldate = {2005-11-29},
journal = {Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages},
volume = {20},
issue = {2},
pages = {229-249},
abstract = {This paper compares the conceptualisation and expression of topological relations in Surinamese creoles with that of Gbe languages (which were part of the substrate) and English (the superstrate). It investigates the components of the Basic Locative Construction (BLC), i.e. the most neutral construction that is used to code topology, and the type of situations for which the BLC is used in the languages. It shows that the BLC in the creole and Gbe languages has a locative phrase which is made up of a noun phrase that expresses the Ground and a spatial element that expresses the Search Domain i.e. the specific part of the Ground where the Figure is located. The locative phrase in the creoles also has a preposition but this does not contribute to its spatial meaning. By contrast, English has a locative phrase which is made up of a preposition that expresses the Relation between the Figure and the Ground, and the Search-Domain information. The paper concludes that the Suriname creoles display a strong substrate influence in this spatial domain. There are some differences, which can be attributed to gradual Dutch influence and generalisation on the part of the creoles.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {bachelorthesis}
}
2004
Essegbey, James
Auxiliaries in serialising languages: On COME and GO verbs in Sranan and Ewe Journal Article
In: Lingua, vol. 114, iss. 4, pp. 473-494, 2004.
@article{Essegbey2004,
title = {Auxiliaries in serialising languages: On COME and GO verbs in Sranan and Ewe},
author = {James Essegbey},
doi = {10.1016/S0024-3841(03)00069-X},
year = {2004},
date = {2004-04-01},
urldate = {2004-04-01},
journal = {Lingua},
volume = {114},
issue = {4},
pages = {473-494},
abstract = {While there is a concensus that auxiliary verbs differ in one way or the other from main verbs, linguists do not always agree on what determines the difference. This is especially so in serialising languages where two or more independent verbs can occur in a clause. It is not always clear whether the ability of a verbal form to express a temporal, aspectual or modal notion in such languages is enough for them to be analysed as auxiliary verbs or whether the nature of the form is equally important. This paper argues that a reduction in material integrity of a verbal form is a very important criterion for distinguishing verbs in serialising languages.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2001
Essegbey, James; Kita, Sotaro
Pointing left in Ghana: How a taboo on the use of the left hand influences gestural practice Journal Article
In: Gesture, vol. 1, iss. 1, pp. 73-95, 2001.
@article{Essegbey2001,
title = {Pointing left in Ghana: How a taboo on the use of the left hand influences gestural practice},
author = {James Essegbey and Sotaro Kita},
doi = {10.1075/gest.1.1.06kit},
year = {2001},
date = {2001-06-01},
urldate = {2001-06-01},
journal = {Gesture},
volume = {1},
issue = {1},
pages = {73-95},
abstract = {In Ghana, many peolple consider pointing by the left hand to be a taboo. We investigated consequences of this taboo on the Ghanaian gestural practice by observing gestures produced during naturalistic situations of giving route directions. First, there is a politeness convention to place the left hand on the lower back, as if to hide it from the interlocutor. Second, as a consequence of left-hand suppression, right-handed pointing may involve an anatomically staining position when indicating a leftward direction across the body. Third, pointing is sometimes performed with both hands together, which does not violate the taboo. Despite the taboo, left-handed pointing is not suppressed fully. Left-handed pointing gestures occur in association with the verbalization of the concept LEFT, suggesting the embodied nature of the concept. In addition, it is noteworthy that there is a class of left-handed gestures, which are so reduced in form that Ghanaians do not consider them as pointing for the purpose of the taboo.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}