The semantics of opening verbs in Dagbani

Abstract

This thesis offers analysis of Dagbani verbs that denote opening. Dagbani is a member of the Mabia language family and spoken in the Northern region of Ghana. The study analysis OPEN verbs in Dagbani with special focus on their basic semantics and the kind of nouns every verb collocates. It also considered metaphorical extensions that these verbs exhibit as they are used by native speakers to code certain interesting proverbial expressions in the language. The study obtained data from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data is obtained during a fieldwork conducted to this study. During the time of my interaction with the research participants, the information obtained during the discussions were recorded using a digital audio recorder. These recording were taken in the Bimbilla, Kpabi and Changli communities