A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTONYMOUS SEMANTIC RELATIONS IN ADAMAWA FULFULDE

Abstract

This study is a descriptive analysis of antonymous semantic relations in Adamawa Fulfulde.  It aims to highlight the concept of antonyms and its different kinds and then, investigate the existence of the concept in the Adamawa Fulfulde. Data were collected through unstructured oral interview, native introspection of the researcher as a native speaker and researcher observation of native speakers’ natural speech events. The descriptive method of data analysis was used in analyzing the data using the Lexical Pragmatic Approach (LPA) as the descriptive tool for the analysis. The findings reveal that Adamawa Fulfulde has different kinds of antonyms such as gradable, relational and complementary antonyms. Hence, the study concludes that antonyms manifest in Adamawa Fulfulde as a semantic relation and knowledge of antonyms are essential for expressing contrasts and nuances in discourse; while the understanding of antonyms enables users of the language to use language effectively for various forms of communication. The study, however, suggests that further studies should investigate semantic variations across different Fulfulde dialects; creation of digital databases and corpora that capture the semantic richness of Fulfulde and continuous research into semantic networks in the language and their role in conveying intricate meanings which can enhance our appreciation of Fulfulde's linguistic richness.