Unit 7.5: NG3 - compounds

Akan Teleteaching Course

Unit 7.5: Notes on grammar 3

Compounds

Compounds are formed of two or more stems, each of which may be simple or may itself be derived or composite (cf. Dolphyne, 1988: 117 ff.).

The internal structure of compounds reflects that of the Associative construction: Ina two-part compound, stem₁ compares with the POSSESSOR and stem₂ the POSSESSUM (i.e. the possessed item); the latter may also be called the Head of the genitive construction (-> associative construction in Unit 4).

POSSESSOR + POSSESSUM

Examples:

Compound Meaning Stems

abuspanin head of the family abus 'family'; pann 'elder'

onuabaa sister onua 'sibling'; baa 'woman'

ahemfe palace ohene 'chief'; efe 'house'

I. Formation of compounds

Akan compounds undergo one or more of the following phonological processes:

Loss of prefixes
Loss of final vowel or final syllable
Homorganic nasal assimilation
Vowel harmony
Tonal changes of stems

1. Loss of prefixes

The head noun of a compound, i.e. the second element of the nominal construction from which the compound is derived, looses its prefix.

The first element replaces its inherent nominal prefix by a 'new' prefix (which may be zero) which belongs not to anyone of the constituent elements, but to the compound as such:

Compound Meaning Stems

agyaba child of the father agya 'father'; ba 'child'

abkwan palmnut soup ab 'palmnut'; nkwan 'soup'

yarepa sick-bed yare 'sickness'; mpa 'bed'

ofewura landlord, landlady efe 'house'; owura 'owner'

2. Loss of final vowel or final syllable

The first stem of a compound may loose its final vowel or even its final syllable. Nouns with a phonological structure: CV₁NV₁will be reduced to CVN and CV₁L/rV₁to CV:

Compound	Meaning	Stems
akumfe	husband's house	okunu 'husband'; efe 'house'
ahenkuro	capital town	hene 'chief'; kuro 'town'
agopraam	playground	agor 'game'; pram 'place'

3. Homorganic nasal assimilation and nasalisation

If the first stem ends in a nasal (cf. also the above examples under 2.), the nasal will be assimilated to the consonant of the second noun. At the same time, voiced plosives or voiced affricates at the beginning of the second stem undergo nasalisation (-> nasalisation rule):

Compound	Meaning	Stems
mampanin	president	man 'country'; pann 'elder'
hemmaa	queen mother	ohene 'chief'; baa 'woman'
akummaa	sister-in-law	okunu 'husband'; baa 'woman'

Exception: In compounds with -de which are very frequent (cf. Danso 1983) - nasal assimilation does not take place:

nimde knowledge nm 'know'; ade 'thing'

4. Vowel harmony

The vowels of the head of the construction, the second element in the compound, govern the vowels of the first element, since vowel harmony is predominantly a regressive process. An unadvanced vowel of the first stem will become advanced if the initial vowel of the second stem is advanced.

-> Vowel harmony sets A and B

Examples

[hn] [efe] - > [ahmfe]

unadvanced advanced 'palace'

[asm] [hunu] -> [asenhunu]

unadvanced advanced 'useless talk'

5. Tonal changes in stems (cf. Dolphyne, 1988: 120 ff.)

II. Head nouns in compounds

The most frequent head nouns in compound are listed below:

Nouns	Meaning	Head noun in a compound	Function
1. ba	child	-ba	'child of', origin
2a. baa	woman	-baa	female gender (of humans)
2b. barma	man	-barima	male gender (of humans)
3a. pann	elder, old person, adult	-panin	chief, elder
3b. kumaa	young, small	-kumaa	junior
4a. bede	female (of animals)	-bede	female gender (of animals)
4b. nni	male (of animals)	-nini	male gender (of animals)
5. asm	word, matter	-sm	abstract nouns
6. ade	thing	-de	abstract nouns

-> "Formation of compounds"

1. -ba denotes "child-of" (humans, animals, plants, etc.)

Singular	Plural	Meaning
akokba	akokmma	chicken
odwamma (> odwan-ba)	odwamma	lamb
heneba	henemma	prince(ss)

2a. -baa

Since Akan is not a gender language it becomes sometimes necessary to specify genders. -baa denotes females:

onua-baa	onuabaa	sister
ase-baa	asebaa	mother-in-law
hene-baa	hemmaa	queen (mother)

Whereas onua 'sibling' and ase 'in-law' are neutral, hene is intrinsically male.

2b. -barima denotes males:

onua-barma	onuabarma	brother
ase-barma	asebarma	father-in-law

3a. -panin

To express seniority - which is an important principle in Akan, -panin is used in compounds:

onua-pann	onuapanin	senior sibling
onua-barma-pann	onuabarma panin	senior brother
onua-baa-pann	onuabaa panin	senior sister
agya-pann	agyapanin	father's senior brother
na-pann	napanin	mother's senior sister
okunu-pann	okunupanin	husband's senior brother
oyere-pann	oyerepanin	wife's senior sister
man-pann	mampanin	president
abus-pann	abuspanin	family head (intrinsically male)
baa-pann	baapanin	eldest woman (e.g. in family)

3b. -kumaa

To express 'juniority' -kumaa is used in compounds:

onua-kumaa	onuakumaa	junior sibling
onua-barima-kumaa	onuabarima kumaa	junior brother
onua-baa-kumaa	onuabaa kumaa	junior sister
agya-kumaa	agyakumaa	father's junior brother
na-kumaa	nakumaa	mother's senior sister
oyere-kumaa	oyerekumaa	wife's junior sister (or: junior wife in a polygamy)
okunu-kumaa	okunukumaa	husband's junior brother

Cf. kinship in Akan in Unit 4

4a. -bede

Animal names are not specified for male or female, to denote females, -bede is used:

akok-bede	akokbede	hen
nantw-bede	nantwibede	cow

4b. -nini denotes males (of animals):

akok-nni	akoknini	cock
nantw-nni	nantwinni	bull

5. -sm is frequently used in compounding and very productive. Compounds with -sm denote abstract nouns:

ananse-sm	anansesm	(ananse) story
nkwasea-sm	nkwaseasm	foolishness
abak-sm	abaksm	history
aha-sm	ahasm	important matter

The first element of such compounds can be a noun: ananse ('wisdom'), nkwasea ('fools') or a verb ha('need').

6. -de is also frequently used in compounding and likewise productive.

ago-de	agode	toy
aky-de	akyde	gift
nm-de	nimde	knowledge

The first element of such compounds is usually a verb.

cf. Danso (1983) for 5. and 6.

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