Landmarks as sources of grammatical markers in Fulfulde
Keywords:
Landmark, grammaticalization, grammatical markers, Fulfulde, lexical itemsAbstract
This paper analyses the grammaticalization of two lexical items that refer to landmarks as grammatical markers that denote various abstract concepts. Although there is a very rich body of literature on Fulfulde, the aspects of grammaticalization and cognitive linguistics are less explored. The process of evolution of lexical items into grammatical markers is the subject of the grammaticalization theory, which assumes a uni-directional process and various stages of development. The terms dow ‘sky’ and lesdi ‘ground/earth’ are grammaticalized into various domains, especially orientational and spatial domains.
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