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Predication in African Languages
Edited by James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh
[Studies in Language Companion Series 235] 2024
► pp. 128–151

Chapter 5
Moving from verbs to prepositions in Gbe

| University of Amsterdam,
| Leiden University,
| University of Florida,
Gbe languages have two classes of adpositions, namely prepositions and postpositions that have been argued to have developed from verbs and nouns, respectively. Focusing on the former, we highlight the functions of the forms across Gbe using examples from Eastern Gbe (e.g., Gungbe) and Western Gbe (e.g., Ewegbe). We further show that verb-to-preposition shift is gradual: some of the forms (e.g., ablative) are not fully grammaticalised in all the languages. Likewise, the process is associated with a semantic change from “temporal predicate” in Serial Verb Constructions (SVC) to a more abstract atemporal predicate, which is also reflected in the loss of the power of the verbal element to take aspectual inflections or markers.
Keywords: adpositions, prepositions, postpositions, SVC, grammaticalization
Article outline
  • 1.The Gbe languages
  • 2.Establishing verbhood
    • 2.1Morphology
    • 2.2Position
    • 2.3Reduplication
    • 2.4Verb focus in Gungbe and Ewegbe
  • 3.Distinguishing between the V1 position and following verb positions
    • 3.1Pied-piping
  • 4.Becoming a preposition
    • 4.1From verbs to ablative prepositions
      • 4.1.1Tsó
      • 4.1.2Sɔ́n
    • 4.2From verbs to allative position
      • 4.2.1Ɖé
      • 4.2.2Xlán
  • 5.On the verbal origin of Sɔn
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 18 July 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.235.05abo
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Bobuafor, Mercy & Yvonne Agbetsoamedo
2024. Chapter 4. Adposition classes in Tafi and Sɛlɛɛ. In Predication in African Languages [Studies in Language Companion Series, 235], ► pp. 99 ff. DOI logo

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