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Predication in African Languages
Edited by James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh
[Studies in Language Companion Series 235] 2024
► pp. 44–73

Chapter 2
Locative expressions and their semantic extensions in Tima

| University of Cologne
| University of Cologne
Tima (Niger-Congo, Sudan), has three copulae playing a central role in locative expressions. The number-sensitive copulae, ŋ̀kɔ́ ‘cop:sg’ and ɲ̀cɛ́ ‘cop:pl’, primarily link two non-verbal phrases. The third copula, ŋ̀kwíyʌ̀ ‘cop’, indicates existence or availability. We discuss the distribution of these copulae in their core functions, in their extended uses as tense-aspect markers and consecutive marker, thereby illustrating instances of heterosemy, as well as their relation to focus marking.
Furthermore, five positional verbs play a role in locative expressions: hɘ́làk ‘stay, remain, reside’, hʊ̀ndɔ́nɔ́/hɘ̀ndáná ‘sit (down)’, dʊ́wà ‘stand (up)’, (k)ʌ́t̪ù ‘lie (down)’, and túùh ‘hang (up) (plur)’. The broad use of these verbs is also investigated, particularly in combination with specifying adverbs in order to describe collocational probabilities and restrictions.
Keywords: auto-anonym, constructions, heterosemy, idioms, positional verbs, semantic extension, Tima, Katloid
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Copula constructions
    • 2.1A closer look at the copulae ŋ̀kɔ́ ‘cop:sg’ and ɲ̀cɛ́ ‘cop:pl’
    • 2.2The copulae ŋ̀kwíyʌ̀ ‘cop’ and àlmʌ́ŋʌ̂ŋ (et al.) ‘cop.neg’
  • 3.Copulae in their extended use in verbal contexts and corresponding grammaticalization chains
  • 4.Positional verbs
    • 4.1Positional verbs and ideophonic adverbs
    • 4.2Positional verbs and their translational equivalents
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 18 July 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.235.02dim
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