The Syntax and Semantics of Periphrastic Causative Constructions in Dangme

Abstract

The paper examines the syntax and semantics of periphrastic causative constructions from the point of view of the Role and Reference Grammar's (RRG) theory in Dangme, a language that belongs to the kwa family of languages. The paper discusses the mapping relationship between semantic units and syntactic structures, and their positions in causative constructions. The semantic roles include: causer, causee, instrument of cause, experiencer and source of the experience and theme which function as subjects, direct objects and indirect objects of a clause. The paper also examines two types of periphrastic causation: the direct and the indirect. Both types are generally and potentially multi-clausal. In the direct periphrastic causative, the cause is understood as being directly responsible for the event producing the result without an intermediary semantic role. In the indirect periphrastic causative, a primary subject-agent of cause initiates the process of causation and an intermediary causer (s) accomplishes the process. I demonstrate that Dangme, has a cause verb há ‘make/let' or pèé ‘make/cause'. It is to be noted that the cause verb, pèé takes an obligatorily complementizer, nε in both affirmative and negative clauses which is contrary to the há causative verb. The subject of a transitive or an intransitive embedded clause is the patient of cause for the há or pèé cause verb, and the causee of the embedded clause is the complement of the result predicate in a transitive lower clause. The data used in this paper were drawn from both primary and secondary sources.