Linguistic things and Boat-watching
(Linguists: read Jefferson's blog first.) So how do these kids get "kaawuu" from "How are you?" That's a fun one for y'all linguisticky types. In addition to the /ka:wu:/ or /ka:lu:/ pronunciation, keep in mind that the final /u:/ is nasalized. (This could be a fun job, finding the explanation for certain English L2 pronunciations by young Fante L1 speakers whose only overt competence in English consists of the sentences (1) How are you, (2) I'm fine, (3) What is your name, and (4) My name is so-and-so.) In any case, the amplitude of the children's vocalizations is so extremely loud and overlapping that collecting good acoustic data is out of the question!
There's another little linguistic thing that I've been meaning to write about: in Ghanaian English, the verb "to back" comes from the noun that refers to that part of the human body... and the only object that this verb takes is "a baby." So the sentence "Ama is backing Kofi" means that Kofi is a baby or toddler and Ama is a person old enough to carry him on her back, which she's doing. It seems that anyone can back a baby as long as they themselves are proficient at walking; we've seen kids as young as 6 or 7 backing their little siblings. The cutest thing EVER is to see a little toddler backing his or her teddy bear.
Today was a neat day! Despite the craziness of the fishing/market area, we were able to step a little bit off the road and hang out near the beach, watching the boats coming in and going out to sea. We haven't before seen so many of them in action at one time, up close. I didn't realize until today that these magnificently rustic wooden boats, which are carved mainly out of one huge tree trunk, are powered by your everyday boat motor. This makes a lot of sense; those Gulf of Guinea waves are something else! We also saw sailboats in the distance, but we haven't yet seen any up close. They look really small, so if they're for fishing then they're probably independent ventures, whereas these big tree trunk boats hold 5 or 6 fishermen comfortably. Apparently watching the fishermen do there thing is a tourist activity that's not limited to foreigners; the whole time we were there we were near a small group of Ghanaian men wearing dress shirts and slacks and carrying plastic expandable folders, pointing at the various boats doing various things and having an animated conversation. Inlanders, I suppose!
There's another little linguistic thing that I've been meaning to write about: in Ghanaian English, the verb "to back" comes from the noun that refers to that part of the human body... and the only object that this verb takes is "a baby." So the sentence "Ama is backing Kofi" means that Kofi is a baby or toddler and Ama is a person old enough to carry him on her back, which she's doing. It seems that anyone can back a baby as long as they themselves are proficient at walking; we've seen kids as young as 6 or 7 backing their little siblings. The cutest thing EVER is to see a little toddler backing his or her teddy bear.
Today was a neat day! Despite the craziness of the fishing/market area, we were able to step a little bit off the road and hang out near the beach, watching the boats coming in and going out to sea. We haven't before seen so many of them in action at one time, up close. I didn't realize until today that these magnificently rustic wooden boats, which are carved mainly out of one huge tree trunk, are powered by your everyday boat motor. This makes a lot of sense; those Gulf of Guinea waves are something else! We also saw sailboats in the distance, but we haven't yet seen any up close. They look really small, so if they're for fishing then they're probably independent ventures, whereas these big tree trunk boats hold 5 or 6 fishermen comfortably. Apparently watching the fishermen do there thing is a tourist activity that's not limited to foreigners; the whole time we were there we were near a small group of Ghanaian men wearing dress shirts and slacks and carrying plastic expandable folders, pointing at the various boats doing various things and having an animated conversation. Inlanders, I suppose!
posted by Lauren | 9:25 PM
1 Comments:
Here is my attempt to understand linguistics: the nasal "u" in "kawuu" could come from the sound of "you" in the english phrase "how are you." I tried saying the phrase to myself and the "you" definitely comes from the nasal area.
I really have no clue, but for a minute there I felt pretty darn smart.
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