Abstract
This study focuses on the polysemy of the Amharic fit “face”, its body–part term and grammaticalized meanings. The data has been collected from the wide range of written sources and from the internet due to absence of corpus data. By considering the functional-grammaticalization theoretical model, the grammaticalization of fit “face” is identified to be between the intermediate and advanced stages of the change process where it acquires secondary meanings, forms paradigms, becomes obligatory in the constructions, and acquires a fixed order of occurrence. By organizing the extended meanings of the body-part term fit of Amharic into similar meaning clusters, the study shows that fit “face” provides seven spatial and temporal grammatical meaning extensions; front, side, parallel (opposite), future, past (before), temporal relations and negative past. Moreover, the Amharic spatial reference is also identified as having a single-file or object-deictic oriented model. Key words: Grammaticalization, Amharic, body-part, face, spatial, temporal.
Highlights
Amharic is a Semitic, Afro-asiatic, language spoken mainly in Ethiopia, Northeast Africa by a significant number of the population of the country
This study discusses the polysemy of fit “face,” the Amharic body– part term (BPT) and its grammaticalized meanings
This study focuses on meaning extensions associated with the Amharic body-part term, fit “face.” The study identifies interesting extensions of the grammatical meanings of fit “face”; three spatial, and four temporal with co–occurring adpositions
Summary
This study focuses on the polysemy of the Amharic fit “face”, its body–part term and grammaticalized meanings. The data has been collected from the wide range of written sources and from the internet due to absence of corpus data. By considering the functional-grammaticalization theoretical model, the grammaticalization of fit “face” is identified to be between the intermediate and advanced stages of the change process where it acquires secondary meanings, forms paradigms, becomes obligatory in the constructions, and acquires a fixed order of occurrence. By organizing the extended meanings of the body-part term fit of Amharic into similar meaning clusters, the study shows that fit “face” provides seven spatial and temporal grammatical meaning extensions; front, side, parallel (opposite), future, past (before), temporal relations and negative past. The Amharic spatial reference is identified as having a single-file or object-deictic oriented model
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
