The ensete in Gurage
Nomenclature, use and meaning extension
The aim of this article is to investigate the way Gurage people
name the diverse ensete (Ensete ventricosum) varieties and how that
naming categorises varieties of the plant. It also attempts to describe lexical
entities associated with ensete and its products, meaning extensions of ensete names
and the associated vocabularies in everyday language use, such as in proverbs and
insults. The study follows cross-sectional research design and qualitative
methodology. Key consultant interviews and interview guides were used as a method
and tool, respectively. Eight key consultants from Gumer, Chaha, Inor, Ezha, and
Gyeta participated in the study. The findings show that there are about 71 ensete
varieties in Gurage. The people classify ensete varieties according to color, size,
value, propensity, source of the plant, height, and other variables. The lexical
nets related to the plant, its products and byproducts are significantly large and
qualify documenting them as part of lexicography. Some ensete variety names are
metaphorically used to insult someone, as in
gjɨnbwə ‘obese’ and in proverbs, as in
gjɨnbwə ɨhata birəzɨn t’onata
jɨmwəsɨn [Gynbuwe its.water heavy.on.it its.power it. seems.to
it] ‘When the ensete variety Gynbuwe carries much water in its stem, it considers
itself as an entity that has much power’. The study can help linguists,
anthropologists, and ethno-botanists in studying the interaction between man,
language and nature, in this case the ensete plant.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Background
- 1.2Statement of the problem
- 1.3Objective
- 1.4Significance
- 1.5Methodology
- 1.6Literature review
- 1.7Organisation of the chapter
- 2.Presentation of results
- 2.1Nomenclature and diversity
- 2.1.1Nomenclature based on development stages
- 2.1.2Parts of ensete and its products
- 2.1.3Ensete variety names
- a.Ensete variety names based on shape or size
- b.Ensete variety names based on colour
- c.Ensete names based on significance
- d.Ensete names based on source
- e.Ensete names based on Propensity
- f.Ensete names based on dedication to or use for
- 2.1.4Names related to ensete processing tools
- 2.1.5Action verbs related to ensete processing
- 2.1.6Products of ensete
- 2.2Semantic extension
- 3.Summary and discussion
-
Acknowledgments
-
Notes
-
Abbreviations
-
References
References
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Cited by
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Menuta, Fekede
2023.
Quantity expressions in the Gumer variety of Gurage.
Cogent Arts & Humanities 10:1
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