Tag: (T) Amharic

(2020) Amharic – NSM primes

Amberber, Mengistu (2020). The conceptual semantics of alienable possession in Amharic. In Kerry Mullan, Bert Peeters, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 1. Ethnopragmatics and semantic analysis (pp. 207-222). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9983-2_11

Abstract:

This study investigates the semantics of alienable possession in Amharic, with particular reference to a recent proposal in the NSM framework according to which ‘true possession’ or ‘ownership’ is more adequately expressed by the semantic prime (BE) MINE than by the (now abandoned) prime HAVE. The author argues that this claim is borne out by data from Amharic. It is shown that the verb allə ‘have’ cannot reliably distinguish between true possession and other types of possessive relations, whereas the sequence jəne nəw ‘it is mine’ is consistently associated with ownership. The study also briefly examines the semantics of two sets of verbs in which the semantic prime for alienable possession plays a key role.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2008) Amharic – NSM primes

Amberber, Mengistu (2008). Semantic primes in Amharic. In Cliff Goddard (Ed.), Cross-linguistic semantics (pp. 83-119). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.102.09amb

Abstract:

This study explores the lexical exponents of the full set of NSM primes in Amharic. It is shown that the identification of the Amharic exponents of the semantic primes is straightforward and the syntactic properties of the primes do not present any particular difficulties. Nevertheless, there are some proposed exponents whose status requires further investigation. For instance, the prime MORE seems to have two lexical exponents, one of which is employed in nominal comparative contexts. There are also some exponents whose polysemous meanings must be clearly distinguished on formal grounds. Overall, the chapter attempts to provide a broad overview of the universal and language-specific combinatorial properties of semantic primes in Amharic.

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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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