14. März 2023
Adams Bodomo
Universität Wien, Institut für Afrikawissenschaften
Serial verb reduplication in Dagaare
Abstract: This paper introduces and discusses the notion of Serial Verb Reduplication (SVR) in a Mabia language of West Africa, Dagaare. It shows that the phenomenon of SVRs, though under-represented in the literature, has a wide scope occurrence in natural language usage within serializing languages. Theoretically, two lexical semantic notions: semantics of verbs (verb meaning) and pluraction, are advanced to explain the intricacies of the syntax and semantics of SVRs. The paper identifies two groups of SVRs: canonical SVRs and pluractional SVRs and proposes that semantically bleached verbs can only be reduplicated in pluractional benefactive and causative SVRs in these languages.