Phonological adaptation of Arabic names in Atebubu (Bono East Region, Ghana)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32690/SALC57.8Keywords:
Atebubu, Akan, Bono dialect, nativisation, phonological adaptation, personal names, pronunciationAbstract
This paper discusses the phonological processes embedded in some nativised Arabic personal names in Atebubu, in the Bono East Region of Ghana. The study shows that the main phonological processes entrenched in the nativisation process include segment deletion, vowel insertion, prothesis, substitution, consonant deletion, hypocorism, and free variation. These phonological processes are employed as a mitigation strategy to conform to the phonotactics of Akan. Moreover, the study shows that the Bono speakers usually substitute the consonants [ʃ, z, q, d͡ʑ] with [ɕ, s, k, d͡ʒ], respectively. Data for the study was gathered from both primary and secondary sources.
References
Abakah, E.N. 2004. “Elision in Fante”. Africa & Asia 4. 181-213.
Abass, U.M. 2002. Alhaj Umar Ibn Abibakr Ibn Uthman Kreke. Kete Krachie: A Ghanaian Muslim poet. Unpublished MA Thesis. Department of Arabic Studies, American University, Cairo.
Adomako, K. 2015. “Truncation of some Akan personal names”. Journal of Language Studies 15 (1). 143-162.
Adomako, K. 2008. Vowel epenthesis and consonant deletion in loanwords: A study of Akan. Unpublished MA Thesis. University of Tromsø, Norway.
Adomako, K., J. Odoom & M. Sackitey. 2022. Akan fɔnɛtsese na fɔnɔlɔgyi (Mfantse) [Akan phonetics and phonology (Mfantse)]. Accra: Adonai Publication.
Agyekum, K. 2006. “The sociolinguistic of Akan personal names”. Nordic Journal of African Studies 15(2). 206-235.
Al-Qawasmi, A.H. & F.A. Al-Haq. 2016. “A sociolinguistic study of choosing names for newborn children in Jordan”. International Journal of English Linguistics 6(1). 177-186.
Ankra, G.K. 2008.“The effect of lexical borrowing in Tachiman, Ghana: A case study of the Bono Ahafo”. European Journal of Language Literature and Linguistics Studies 2(4). 53-75.
Ansu-Kyeremeh, K. 2000. “Communicating nominatim: Some social aspects of Bono personal names”. Research Review 16(2). 19-33.
Apenteng, A.M. & A.P. Amfo. 2014. “The form and function of English loanwords in Akan”. Nordic Journal of African Studies 23(4). 219-240.
Asamoah, L. & A. Akuamah. 2021. “Asante habitation names: A morphological analysis”. International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 9(3). 65-73.
Compton, A.M. 2014. Shifting trade networks: Sub-Sahara to Atlantic exchanges in central Ghana. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. University of Michigan, USA.
Creswell, J.W., W.E. Hanson, V.L. Clark Plano & A. Morales. 2007. “Qualitative research designs: Selection and implementation”. The Counselling Psychologist 35(2). 236-264.
Dolphyne, F.A. 2006. The Akan (Fante-Twi) language: Its sound systems and tonal structure. Accra: Woeli Publishing Services.
Donegan, P. & D. Stamp. 2009. “Hypotheses of natural phonology”. Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 45(1). 1-31.
Donegan, P. & D. Stamp. 1979. “The study of natural phonology”. Current approaches to phonological theory, ed. by D.A. Dinnsen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 126-173.
Dumbe, Y. 2009. Transnational contacts and Muslim religion orientation in Ghana. Unpublished MA Thesis. University of Ghana, Accra.
Fadoro, D. & J. Oludare. 2014. “Nativisation of Arabic names: The Yoruba language as a case study”. Global Journal of Human-Social Science 14(5). 1-7.
Ghana Statistical Service. 2010. Population and housing census: District analytical report Atebubu-Amanten District. Canada: Danida.
Katamba, F. 1993. Morphology. New York: Macmillan.
Nathan, G.S. 2008. Phonology: A cognitive grammar introduction. Washington: John Benjamins. Nordquist, R. 2019. Hypocorism names: Glossary of grammatical and rhetorical terms.Broadway, New York: ThoughtCo.
Obeng, S.G. 2001. African anthroponymy: An ethnopragmatic and morphophonological study of personal names in Akan and some African societies. Munich: Lincom Europa.
Obeng, S.G. 1997. “From morphophonology to sociolinguistics: The case of Akan hypocoristic day-names”. Multilingual Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication 16(1). 39-56.
Odoom, J. & K. Adomako. 2021. “Progressive vowel harmony in Gomoa”. Ghana Journal of Linguistics 10(2). 58-83.
Osam, E.K. 2003. “The verbal and multi-verbal system of Akan”. Proceedings of the Workshop on Multi-Verb Constructions, ed. by D. Beermann & L. Hellan. Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 1-29.
Sabir, I. & N. Alsaeed. 2014. “A brief description of consonants in modern standard Arabic”. Linguistics and Literature Studies 2(7). 185-189.
Trutenau, H.M.J. 1976. “Languages of Akan area: Papers in Western Kwa linguistics and on the linguistic geography of the area of ancient Begho”. Mitteilungen der Basler Afrika-Bibliographien 14. Basel: Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 University of Warsaw Press
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The SALC is a BOAI-compliant open access journal. The journal content is freely available on the journal website. All journal content appears on the licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of the first publication, the work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Authors are required to sign and send copies of Article Publishing Agreement and Fields of Exploitation statement prior to article's publication.