The Typology and Semantics of Complex Nominal Duplication in Ewe

Sep 10, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

Different kinds of repetition occur across grammars and discourse, yet many accounts treat them as if they were the same. Using evidence from Ewe and other West African languages, this article demonstrates the inadequacy of that approach. It argues that Ewe distinguishes reduplication, triplication, syntactic iteration, clausal repetition, and complex nominal duplication, focusing on the construction’s structural and semantic types and the compositional pathway to deprecatory meaning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time1 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Complex Nominal Duplicative Constructions

Structural Types (juxtaposed vs morphologically linked)

Semantic Types and Deprecatory Interpretation

Trustees of Indiana UniversityAnthropological Linguistics The Typology and Semantics of Complex Nominal Duplication in EweAuthor(s):Felix K.Ameka Source:Anthropological Linguistics,Vol.41,No.1(Spring,1999),pp.75-106 Published by:The Trustees of Indiana University on behalf of Anthropological Linguistics Stable URL:http://www.istor.org/stable/30028687 Accessed:15/04/201105:18 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use,available athttp://www jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp.JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides,in part,that unlessyou have obtained prior permission,you may not download an entire issue of ajournal or multiple copies of articles,and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal,non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work.Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=tiu. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars,researchers,and students discover,use,and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive.We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship.For more information about JSTOR,please contact support@jstor.org. Trustees of Indiana University and Anthropological Linguistics are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access to Anthropological Linguistics. ⑧ # The Typology and Semanticsof Complex Nominal Duplication in Ewe FELIXK.AMEKA Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics,Nijmegen,and Leiden University Abstract.Different kinds of repetition occur in grammar and discourse cross-linguistically.Yet,many descriptions present the different processes of repeti-tion as if they were the same.This article demonstrates the inadequacy of suchan approach using data from Ewe and other West African languages.It arguesthat formally and functionally,Ewe makes a distinction between reduplication,triplication,syntactic iteration,clausal repetition,and complex nominal dupli-cation.The article focuses mainly on the hitherto unsystematically describedcomplex nominal duplicative constructions,their structural types(the juxta-posed and the morphologically linked),and their semantic types(the temporal,the distributive,the additive,the possessive superlative,the iterative numeral,and the deprecatory).The semantics of the deprecatory construction type andthe manner in which repetitive structure,connectives,and other morphologicalmarking all combine to produce the deprecatory interpretation are describedfrom a crosslinguistic perspective. 1.Introduction.The primary goal of this article is to describe the meaningand grammar of a nominal construction that is used in some dialects of Ewe,aKwa language of West Africa.The portion of (1)in boldface illustrates theconstruction in question. (1)É-nyé nútsu gb nútsu. 3SG-be man vicinity man:HTS 'He is an effeminate/emasculated man.'or 'He is not a real man.'(lit.,'He is a mannear man.' From a structural point of view,the construction consists of two identicalnominals that are linked by the postpositional element gbi ‘near,vicinity'.There is a high tone suffix attached to the construction as a whole.The con-struction is used to express a contemptuous attitude towards someone or some-thing(a nominal X)by indicating that it is“not a real X,”it is an“approximateX.”Because the construction involves nominal doubling and signals a deroga-tory attitude,I proposeto call ita“deprecatory duplicated nominal construction.” This deprecatory construction has a number of peculiarities,which will beexplored in section 8.As far as I can ascertain,it is used only in varieties ofcolloquial Ewe that are indigenously referred to as Evedomegbe or

FAQs

What repetition processes does the article claim Ewe distinguishes?

It argues that Ewe formally and functionally distinguishes reduplication, triplication, syntactic iteration, clausal repetition, and complex nominal duplication.

What are the two structural types of the complex nominal duplicative construction in Ewe?

The article focuses on two structural types: the juxtaposed type and the morphologically linked type.

How is the deprecatory interpretation formed in the deprecatory duplicated nominal construction?

It is produced by the combination of repetitive structure, connectives, and other morphological marking, which yields an interpretation like “not a real X” or “an approximate X.”

Sep 10, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen