Ideophonic Verbs in Hausa

Ideophonic Verbs in Hausa.

ABSTRACT

Ideophonic verbs in Hausa (Ideophones with syntactic behavior of verb) are verbs whose sounds suggest their meaning. These type of verbs escaped the sight of researchers. The research exposes yet another landmark in the study of Hausa language.

Three Hausa dictionaries were studied, where ideophonic verbs were extracted and analyzed. Words like faska “to hit with the palm” tsuugaa “to pour too much water” etc are verbs which sounds imitate certain sounds or actions. Ideophonic verb has two basic things.

The first is that the sounds in every word imitate the sounds of the real action and secondly, the action is woven neatly with an intensifier. These types of verbs are semantically two dimensional, one expressing manner of action and the other expressing degree of action.

Ideophonic verbs are of two types: Onomatopoeic Ideophonic verbs and non-onomatopoeic ideophonic verbs. The connection between sound and sense in these types of verbs are also analyzed.

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INTRODUCTION

Ideophone is a case where a native speaker feels or thinks that the sound of a word reflects or symbolizes properties in the real world. This phenomenon is also known in literary context as onomatopoeia (Maduka, et al 1992:71).It is also defined as a vivid representation of an idea in sound.

An onomatopoeic word, often, describes a predicate, qualificative or adverb in respect to manner, colour, sound, smell, action, state or intensity (Doke, 1935:118). Ideophones are a type of words used by speakers to evoke a vivid impression of a certain sensation or sensory perception like smell, colour, shape, sound, action, or movement.

Galadanci (1971:12) is of the view that ideophones in Hausa are those utterances marked by distinctive phonological features, describing visual, tactile, auditory or other sensory experience.

Ideophonic verbs in Hausa are verbs whose sounds suggest their meanings to a native speaker. Words such as faska “to hit with the palm”, tsuugàa “to pour too much water”, kirvàa “to pound in a mortar” in Hausa are words whose sound suggest their meanings.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abraham, R. C.(1959), The Language of the Hausa People, London: University of London Press.
Abraham, R. C. (1962), Dictionary of the Hausa Language, London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.
Al-Hassan, B. S. Y. (1983), “Intensivization: A study of the phonology and Semantics of a category of Hausa  reduplicants”. M. A. Thesis (A.B.U, Zaria)
Bargery G. P. (1934), Hausa – English Dictionary and English – Hausa Vocabulary. London: Oxford University Press.
Crystal, D. (1987, 1991), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Cambridge: University Press.
Crystal, D. (1995, 1991), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge University Press.

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