International Journal of Literature and Arts

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Kasem Metaphoric Extensions of yi ‘Eye’ and yuu ‘Head’ Expressions

Received: 10 January 2019    Accepted: 22 March 2019    Published: 18 April 2019
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Abstract

This paper studies the metaphorical extensions of the human body parts of yi ‘eye’ and yuu ‘head’ among the Kasena. We examine how these expressions are used to conceptualise a broader view of the people and whether these metaphorical expressions have a specific style and structure. We also argue that yi ‘eye’ and yuu ‘head’ as in the expressions collected are polysemic in Kasem. Data for the study were collected from Kasem level 200 and 300 students of the College of Languages Education, Ajumako of the University of Education, Winneba and our native speaker intuition as well. The conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) is adopted for the study. The analysis clearly shows that these expressions are employed as instruments in the expressing of trait or character of individuals. In terms of structure, it is worth mentioning that these expressions have specific structure. The body part is obligatory and then followed by a verb or an adjective to make the structure grammatical. However, if the verb or adjective precedes the human body part the structure becomes not meaningful. It is further established that the two expressions, lexicalise expressions of emotion and perception.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16
Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2019)
Page(s) 26-31
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Kasena, yi ‘Eye’, yuu ‘Head’, Lexicalise, Polysemic

References
[1] Agyekum, K. (2013). The pragmatics of ‘mouth’ metaphor in Akan. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 2(1), 1-17.
[2] Agyekum, K. (2015). Ani, ‘eye’ metaphorical expressions in Akan. Journal of West African Languages 42 (I) 1-29.
[3] Awedoba, A. K. (2000). An Introduction to Kasena Society and Culture through their Proverbs. Lanham: MD: University Press of America.
[4] Awedoba, A. K.(2002). Studies in Kasem Phonetics and Phonology. Legon: Institute of African Studies.
[5] Bonvillain, N. (1993). Language, culture and communication: The meaning of message. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
[6] Carol & Kates. (1980). Pragmatics and Semantics. New York: Cornell University.
[7] Cruse, A. (2004). Meaning in language: an introduction to semantics and pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[8] Dzokoto, V. A. & Sumie, O. (2006). Happiness in the eye and heart: Somatic referencing in West African emotion lexica. Journal of Black Psychology 32 (2). 117-140.
[9] Enfield, N. J & Anna, W. (2002). Introduction: The body in description of emotion. Pragmatics and Cognition Special Issue 10 (1-2). 1-25.
[10] Evans, V. & Green, M. (2006). Cognitive linguistics: An introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
[11] Kövecses, Z. (2002). Metaphor: A practical approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[12] Lakoff, G. & Mark, J. (1980b). The metaphorical structure of the human conceptual system. Cognitive science 4 (2). 195-208.
[13] Lakoff, G. & Mark, J. (1980c). Metaphors we live by. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
[14] Leech, G. N. (1969). A Linguistic Guide to English poetry. Hong Kong: Longman Group Ltd.
[15] Naden, A. T. (1988). ‘The Gur Languages’ The Languages of Ghana ed. M. E. Kropp Dakubu, Kegan Paul International IAI pp 12-49.
[16] Na’imah, (2015). What about Metaphors in “The snows of Kilimanjaro and other Stories” Written by Ernest Hemingway. Journal of Education and Practice. Vol. 6, No. 8, 148-153.
[17] Semino, E. (2008). Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[18] Sweester, E. (1990). From etymology to pragmatics: Metaphorical and cultural aspects of semantic structure. Newcastle Britain: Athenaeum Press Ltd. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511620904.
[19] Yu, N. (2004). Metaphor from body and culture. In R. W. Gibbs, Jr (Ed.). The Cambridge hand book of metaphor and thought (pp. 247-262). New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1016/CBO9780511816802.016.
Author Information
  • Department of Gur-Gonja Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, West Africa

  • Department of Ewe Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, West Africa

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    Umar Abdul-Hakim, Emmanuel Dogbey. (2019). Kasem Metaphoric Extensions of yi ‘Eye’ and yuu ‘Head’ Expressions. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 7(1), 26-31. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16

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    Umar Abdul-Hakim; Emmanuel Dogbey. Kasem Metaphoric Extensions of yi ‘Eye’ and yuu ‘Head’ Expressions. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2019, 7(1), 26-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16

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    Umar Abdul-Hakim, Emmanuel Dogbey. Kasem Metaphoric Extensions of yi ‘Eye’ and yuu ‘Head’ Expressions. Int J Lit Arts. 2019;7(1):26-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16,
      author = {Umar Abdul-Hakim and Emmanuel Dogbey},
      title = {Kasem Metaphoric Extensions of yi ‘Eye’ and yuu ‘Head’ Expressions},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {26-31},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190701.16},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20190701.16},
      abstract = {This paper studies the metaphorical extensions of the human body parts of yi ‘eye’ and yuu ‘head’ among the Kasena. We examine how these expressions are used to conceptualise a broader view of the people and whether these metaphorical expressions have a specific style and structure. We also argue that yi ‘eye’ and yuu ‘head’ as in the expressions collected are polysemic in Kasem. Data for the study were collected from Kasem level 200 and 300 students of the College of Languages Education, Ajumako of the University of Education, Winneba and our native speaker intuition as well. The conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) is adopted for the study. The analysis clearly shows that these expressions are employed as instruments in the expressing of trait or character of individuals. In terms of structure, it is worth mentioning that these expressions have specific structure. The body part is obligatory and then followed by a verb or an adjective to make the structure grammatical. However, if the verb or adjective precedes the human body part the structure becomes not meaningful. It is further established that the two expressions, lexicalise expressions of emotion and perception.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AU  - Umar Abdul-Hakim
    AU  - Emmanuel Dogbey
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    T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
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    AB  - This paper studies the metaphorical extensions of the human body parts of yi ‘eye’ and yuu ‘head’ among the Kasena. We examine how these expressions are used to conceptualise a broader view of the people and whether these metaphorical expressions have a specific style and structure. We also argue that yi ‘eye’ and yuu ‘head’ as in the expressions collected are polysemic in Kasem. Data for the study were collected from Kasem level 200 and 300 students of the College of Languages Education, Ajumako of the University of Education, Winneba and our native speaker intuition as well. The conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) is adopted for the study. The analysis clearly shows that these expressions are employed as instruments in the expressing of trait or character of individuals. In terms of structure, it is worth mentioning that these expressions have specific structure. The body part is obligatory and then followed by a verb or an adjective to make the structure grammatical. However, if the verb or adjective precedes the human body part the structure becomes not meaningful. It is further established that the two expressions, lexicalise expressions of emotion and perception.
    VL  - 7
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