Cultural values and the pragmatic significance of proverbial sayings in Tafi and Ewe

Bobuafor, Mercy

doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2021.03.013

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Influences of an "external language" are minimized in them. Traditionally, short texts are the objects of research on proverbs and idioms (Abakumova, 2012;Bobuafor, 2021;Ivanova, 2002;Karasik, 2015;Kempler, Van Lancker & Read, 1988;Lomotey & Chachu, 2020;Maltese et al, 2012;Nippold, Allen & Kirsch, 2001;Rezaei, 2012;Temple & Honeck, 1999;Syzdykov, 2014). Also, short texts are in the focus of such a relatively new phenomenon as memes (Dawkins, 2016;Memetics, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hemingway’s Six-Word Story Effect: A Psycholinguistic Verification

Shymko

2022

Psycholing.

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Purpose. An empirical verification of the Hemingway’s “sad hypothesis” and study of some individual characteristics of a discourse formation in a process of short texts understanding. Methods and procedure of research. The study was based on the principle of a standardized interview, which was carried out on a random sample (103 respondents) using the questionnaire. The subjects interpreted two proverbs and the short story by Hemingway (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn”). In each case, it was proposed to choose one of the six ready-made interpretations or to create an original one. Proverb explications were classified by experts as “normative” or “deviating”, and interpretations of the story were evaluated into “sad” or “pragmatic” ones. Also, a “normativity index” was calculated for each respondent, reflecting the number of normative renditions of proverbs. The Psychogeometric test was used, and such socio-demographic characteristics were recorded as: gender, age, having children. Results. This study refutes the “sad hypothesis” regarding Hemingway’s six-word story affect. The prevalence of pragmatic type interpretation over sentimental one is statistically significant. The type of interpretation turned out to be not directly related to any of the considered socio-demographic characteristics. It was found that the sad interpretation of the story reliably corresponds to a high normativity of the proverbs explications. Conversely, respondents with deviating interpretations of proverbs were significantly more likely to interpret Hemingway’s story in a pragmatic way. Differential psychological features, which were distinguished using the Psychogeometric test, turned out to be an insignificant predictor of the six-word story interpretations. Conclusions. The analysis of the research results made it possible to argue the thesis that the differences in the formation of individual discourses are directly related to a worldview and indirectly determined by other factors in turn influencing the outlook. The interaction of the worldview with discursive practice that arises in the process of short texts understanding is carried out according to differential scenarios. These scenarios are conditioned by such individual characteristics as discursive conformity and discursive lability, which, in turn, correspond with high and low normativity, respectively. Above features are cognitive in nature. Their ontological localization coincides with the I-language (Chomsky).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hemingway’s Six-Word Story Effect: A Psycholinguistic Verification

Shymko

2022

Psycholing.

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Introduction

Essegbey,

Aboh

2024

Studies in Language Companion Series

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Comparative constructions in Tafi

Bobuafor

2021

Journal of African Languages and Linguistics

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This paper describes the constructions and strategies available in Tafi, a KA-Ghana-Togo-Mountain language, for indicating relations of similarity, equality or superiority among two or more entities or events with respect to a property. Drawing on typological studies of comparison, I demonstrate that Tafi’s dedicated comparative constructions, that is, equivalents of English sentences like The pig is more dirty than the duck involve serial verb construction (SVC) subtypes. For superiority, the parameter (or property, ‘dirty’) of the comparison is expressed by the V1 in the SVC while V2 is the ‘exceed’ verb. For equality, the parameter is the V1 and the V2 is the ‘be.equal’ verb. The V2s in these SVCs co-lexicalise both the mark (e.g. ‘than’) and index (e.g. ‘more’) of the comparison. The paper discusses the contact-driven influences from areal grammar and from Ewe, the dominant lingua franca for Tafi speakers, on the linguistic expression of comparison. The ‘exceed’ comparative structure found in African languages has been attributed to areal grammaticalisation. I further argue that the operator verb sɔ/sɔ̃ ‘be.equal’ in the Tafi equality SVC is borrowed from Ewe. Similarity constructions involve the semblative nâsí. Similarity is also signalled through the verb yi ‘resemble’. I also explore the ordinal verb bhusó ‘do.first’ as a lexical comparative. Furthermore, I argue that Tafi, like many other Kwa languages, does not formally code a superlative. Superlative readings are inferred from the context and from non-dedicated linguistic indicators such as intensifiers.

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Cultural values and the pragmatic significance of proverbial sayings in Tafi and Ewe

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

The Hemingway’s Six-Word Story Effect: A Psycholinguistic Verification

The Hemingway’s Six-Word Story Effect: A Psycholinguistic Verification

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Comparative constructions in Tafi

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