Metaphorical Extension of Ji, “Hear” For Abstract Perception and Gani “See” For Physical Perception in Hausa

Citation: Mukhtar AHMAD (2020). Metaphorical Extension of Ji, “Hear” For Abstract Perception and Gani “See” For Physical Perception in Hausa. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. .8 Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660

METAPHORICAL EXTENSION OF JI, “HEAR” FOR ABSTRACT PERCEPTION AND GANI “SEE” FOR PHYSICAL PERCEPTION IN HAUSA

Mukhtar AHMAD

Abstract

Native speakers of a language always use words of the language based on their conception of them. That is why everyday language usage is filled with a lot of figurative expressions such as metaphors and metonymies. This paper investigates idea that comes to the mind of the native Hausa speaker about some Hausa words in their metaphorical extension of perception verbs ji hear and gani see. It will also address semantic roles of the elements that relate to these verbs in a construction. The paper shows that the meaning of the verb ji is extended from hearing to other sensory lexical terms such as, feel, test and smell, and how it is extended from that meaning to the meaning of understanding, obedience, suffer, experience, etc. While the word gani is extended from vision to discover, notice, experience, etc. The paper is a contribution to the development of Hausa cognitive semantics and generally to the field of Hausa linguistic studies.

1.0 Introduction

Hausa is the Chadic language family, spoken by mainly in Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger republic and, also spoken by many other non Hausa native speakers (Aliero, 2016). The language has two perception verbs ji and gani whose meanings are extended to various usages by the cognitive experience of Hausa people. This paper examines metaphorical extension of Hausa perception verbs of ji (hear) and gani (see). This perception verb is also sources of metaphorical meaning into a variety of physical experiences with sometimes overlapping domains but whose roots are related to the literal or original meanings of the word.

According to the Oxford Advanced Leaner’s Dictionary 8^th edition, the word metaphor is “word or phrase used to describe somebody or something else in a way that is different from its normal use, in order to show that the two things have the same qualities and to make the description more powerful”. It is a figure of speech in which a comparison is implied by analogy but is not stated, and metaphors may be uncomplicated or elaborated as in an extended allegory (Theodore & Richard 1995). Metaphor is seen as a process of understanding one conceptual domain in terms of another (Crystal, 2009). It is a figure of speech in which a word or expression normally used for one kind of object, action, etc. is extended to another, and this leads to metaphoric change in meaning (Mathew, 2005, p. 224). It is used by Lakoff & Johnson in the (1980s) to refer to a general pattern in which one domain is systematically conceived and spoken of in terms of another (Mathew, 2005, p. 224). Some scholars’ definition centered on the fact that metaphor is a word or phrase used to describe something in a way that is different from its normal use. (Balduck, 1990, p. 134; Evans, 2007; Kovecses, 2010 and Hassan, 2008) in Aliero (2016).

2.0 Related Works

Some works implored on metaphorical extension of Hausa verbs include Jaggar and Buba (2013), and Aliero (2016). Jaggar and Buba (2013) for instance, studied metaphorical extensions of “eat”= overcome and ‘drink’= undergo in Hausa. Aliero (2016) discussed metaphorical extension of some perception verbs in Hausa. Both works vary with this paper because they only focused on ways word meanings can be extended. This paper works by showing that a significant number of hear/see metaphors in Hausa do in fact correlate though logically with core meaning of these two perception verbs.

3.0 Primary and Secondary Sources of Data

The paper uses both primary and secondary sources. In the primary source, the data for this research were sourced from personal observation of day-to-day Hausa language use and consultation of the Hausa written texts such as Hausa-English dictionary and English-Hausa Vocabulary by (Bargery,1993) and semantics texts like semantics by (Palmer, 2002) as well as unstructured interviews with native informants.

4.0 Theoretical Background

The framework employed in this discussion of metaphor is cognitive semantic theory which assumes that the meanings we associate with linguistic item are a reflection of our conceptual structure. (Evan & Green 2006, p. 286) in Aliero (2016). The paper will use the theory to analyze how Hausa people denote the meaning of ji and gani and extend the meaning to other applications.

5.0 Metaphorical Extension of Hausa ji and gani

The meaning of the two Hausa lexical items ji hear and gani see, covers the meanings of all sensation from the five sense organs and extend to some meanings in which the meaning of two is then aggregated and centralized to perception. Each term is analysed as follows:

6.0 The word ji ‘hear’

 The word ji is monosyllabic, high tone, verb, its verbal noun has a falling tone jii the verb is morphologically derived from jiyaa as manifested in jiyoo (Grade vi verb) or jiyu (grade b vii verb). Its basic sense is to hear and therefore connotes perception of sound. It is a good source of metaphorical mappings into a variety of semantic domains which may be associated with our physical experiences.

Bargery (1993, p. 497-498) explain the meaning of the word Ji: as (1) hear, (2) understand (3) feel, suffer (4) obey. (5) taste, smell, (6) Be concerned about, (7) to experience pain.

= ji means experience to sensation in the sensory organs

There are five sense organs in human body. These sense organs are eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. Ear is for the sense of hearing and balance; eye is for the sense of sight or vision; tongue is for the sense of taste. Nose is for the sense of smell, and skin for the sense of touch, pain, heat or cold, pressure (feelings). (Michael, 2012, p. 325). In Hausa all that can sensed through ear, nose, tongue and skin are expressed with the word ‘ji’. For example,

= ji in ear which senses hearing

- Aúdù yáa jì làabáari dàgà réedíyóo.

Audu heard news from radio.

- Aúdù yáa jì káa cé á yì kàràatúu.

Audu hard that you say we should read.

= ji in the tongue i.e. sense of taste

- Álí yáa jì dáaxìn míyàa.

Ali tasted the sweetness of the soup.

- Álí yáa jì záaqîn rákèe.

Ali tasted the sweetness of sugarcane.

- Álí yáa jì gânyên nân nàa dà xáacíi.

Ali tasted the bitterness of the leaf.

= ji in nose with sense of smell

- Bálá yáa jì qánshín túráarée.

Bala smelt the pleasant smell of the perfume.

- Bálá yáa jì wáarîn náamàa.

Bala smelt the bad odour of the meat.

=ji in skin i.e the sense of touch, pain, heat, cold, pressure and tension.

- Aúdù yáa jì záafîn wûtá.

Audu felt the heat of fire.

- Aúdù yáa jì záafîn ráná.

Audu felt the heat of the sun.

- Yaù ínáa jîn sânyí.

Today I am feeling cold.

- Bálá yáa jì cíwôn jéemúwársà.

Bala felt the pain of his injury.

- Ídí yáa jì cíwôn dúukàa

Idi felt the pain of beating.

- Náa jì kàa távàa nì.

I felt that you touched me.

- Ídí yáa jì ân dánnèe qáfársà.

Idi felt someone pressed his feet.

- Ídí yáa jì nâuyîn káayân dà yá xâukóo.

Idi felt weight of the load he carried.

In these sentences, the word ji expressed all the massages we can get from the skin. Then if we look at the philosophy of Hausa speakers regarding the word ji it means all the massages can be perceived without vision. This is because in the perception of Hausa speakers, seeing is taken to be the opposite of hearing, so that if one does not see he hears things that are heard are abstract and those seen are concrete. So, in Hausa philosophy all the abstract things can only be experience through ‘ji’ (hearing).

Moreover, in the cognitive experience of Hausa speakers the meaning of the word ji extends from the massages that can be experienced through sense organs to know/understand, accept/obey, notice or discover, to feel, to suffer etc. Example,

= ji to express knowledge/understand

- Álí náa jîn Ìngìlíishì.

Ali understands English.

- Bálá yáa jì Hâusá sósái.

Bala understand Hausa very well.

Aúdú yáa jì bàyáanînsù.

Audu heard their explanation.

Bálá báayá jîn sháwárà.

Bala does not take advice given to him.

= ji to express acceptance and obedience

- Yárôn yánàa jìn màgánà.

The boy is obedient.

- Yárôn báa yáa jîn màgánà.

The boy does not obey instruction.

- Álí yáa jì sháawarár ábóokînsá.

Ali accepted his friend’s advice.

- Bálá báa yáa jîn sháawárá.

Bala does not accept advice given to him.

 = ji to expresses notice or discover

- Aúdù yáa shìgàa yáa jì bâmbâncì.

Audu entered and experienced/noticed the difference.

- Yáa jînjîná yáa jì bâmbâncì.

He shook them and discovered/noticed the difference.

- Bálá yá xâukì bùhúu irì-irì, kùmá yáa jì bùhûn géeróo yá fì nâuyì.

Bala lifted sacks and discovered that the sack of millet is heavier.

The word ji in these sentences is expressing the experience that one gets through i.e. shaking, lifting and entering something, but because the experience is abstract the Hausa speakers consider it as ji.

= ji to express feeling/suffer

- Álí yánáa jîn dáaxì.

Ali is enjoying.

- Álí yáa jì yûnwà.

Ali is hungry.

- Bálá yáa jì gàrí.

Bala suffered poverty.

- Bálá náa jîn qárfií.

Bala feels strength.

- Bálá náa jîn kàsáalà.

Bala is feeling laziness.

- Bálá yáa jì kûnyá.

Bala felt ashamed.

- Bìntá táa jì bàccí.

Binta is sleeping.

- Mùtùmên yánáa jîn íkòo.

The man is feeling big/exercising too much power.

- Aúdù náa jîn fìtsàarì.

Audu wants to urinate.

- Yá jì záafîn màgânàatá.

He felt bad about what I said.

- Náa jì cíwôon àbîndà yá yì.

I felt very disappointed on what he did.

The meanings of ‘ji’ hear is extended from normal hearing to what a person can feel or think in their mind. Example:

- Ináa jîn zân jé màkàràntáa.

I am thinking of going to school.

- Ináa jîn Álí yáa kâi gárín.

I think Ali must have reached the town.

- Ináa jîn yáa kàmáatà ìn yì kàràatú.

I think I am supposed to study /read.

- Bálá yáa jì kûnyáa.

Bala felt ashamed.

- Yànzú náa jì sàkéwá.

Now I feel free.

- Aúdù yáa jì tsóoróo.

Audu became frightened.

- Ídí yânáa jîn gàrí.

Idi is suffering from poverty.

- Aúdù yáa jì wùtàr gáshì.

Audu has suffered a lot.

= ji to express exceeding the limit through penetrating the thing too much

- Míyàr táa jì gíshíríi.

The soup is too salty.

- Rígá táa jì sítáatií.

The gown is too starchy.

- Sháayì yáa jì súgàa.

The tea is too sugary.

- Aúdù yáa jì búgù.

Audu is severally beaten

In all these sentences the word ji expressed the meaning of something penetrating into something too much and by so doing it exceed the limits.

Ji = To express being concerned about

Ìnáa jì dà xáa náa.

I am concerned about my son.

 

Ìnáa jîn wânnàn sùtûrà.

I am concerned about this cloth.

Ìnáa jì dà aîkìi náa.

I am much concerned about my work.

7.0 The Word Gani (Vision)

The word Gani word with two syllabi “cv/cv” and tones HL, is a verb and it can be changed morphologically to, gani, gane, ga and gano.

The word is an irregular verb

Gani- no object = yana gani.

Gan- before pronoun = ya gan shi.

Ga – noun – no object = ya ga Bello.

Gano- no object = Vg-VI= ya gano Bala.

Bargery (1993, p. 359-360) explains the meaning of the word, gani as: see, look at, seeing, opinion, private talk.

The actual meaning is vision, to see something with the eye. The word expresses only the massage we can get from eyes as sense organs. Thus, we identify concrete objects.

- Aúdù yáa gá Álí.

Audu saw Ali.

- Aúdù yáa gá húlá.

Audu saw a cap.

In all the above sentences, the word gani is used to explain or talk about concrete objects but the meaning is also extended to explaining something done practically such as, to consult, to experience, to notice/note or to undergo. These are illustrated in the following examples:

Gani ‘to consult’

- Ká sàamù wànì àbù ká jée ká gân shì.

You should find something to go, meet and bribe him.

Gani here means to give bribe, which is to be done practically and is therefore something that is done physically.

Gani ‘to experience’

- Sûn gá wûláaqâncì.

They experience humiliation /molestation.

- ‘Yân-wáasânmú sûn gà bónèe.

Our players have experienced danger/calamity.

The words wulaqanci, and bone, are all expressing practical actions.

Gani ‘notice/note’

- Náa gà bàjìntársá.

I have noticed his bravery.

- Yá gà qóoqàrînsà.

He has noticed his brilliance / effort.

- Sûn gà âbkînsà.

They have noticed his ability.

The word bajinta, qoqari and abki are all done practically, they are actions that are performed physically.

Gani ‘ensure/determine’

- Sûn káfèe sâi sûn gà báayânsà.

They are determined to destroy him.

- Yáa gà qìyâyyà.

He experienced hatred.

qiyayya is also something done physically.

The word gani is also extended to the meaning of what we can think of in our minds. For examples,

- Ìnáa gànìn yáa kàmáatà à sháarè xáakîn nân.

I think is better to sweep this room.

- Mèe kákèe gánì gàmè dà lámàrîn nân?

What is your view on this issue?

- À gánînsà bài kàmaatà bà.

In his view it is not proper.

Finally, the word gani expresses physical vision as well as mental vision which include concrete object and action, while mental vision is what a person can think of in their mind. This is because, by the time one thinks of something, the thing is pictured in one’s mind.

8.0 Conclusion

The paper has demonstrated Hausa speakers’ cognition on metaphorical extension of ji and gani. In this analogy it was shown that the word ji covers all the messages from the four sense organs and extends to other abstract messages while gani is a perceived message we get from eye and extends to what we see practically and shifts to what we think of in our minds. These are classified as physical and mental vision. Therefore, the central meaning of the Hausa term ji is abstract perception, and the central meaning of the Hausa term gani is physical perception as analysed in the previous examples. The paper can be useful to students of language and contributes to the development of Hausa language studies and linguistics in general.

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