Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices
Current changes in climatic conditions pose a threat to historical anecdotes associated with names of seasons among the Kusaas (native speakers of the Kusaal language) of Ghana. Historically, the weather patterns during specific periods were used as names for those periods creating a direct relation...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Cogent Arts & Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311983.2024.2426371 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850110382386970624 |
|---|---|
| author | Hasiyatu Abubakari Lawrence Sandow Samuel Akugri Asitanga |
| author_facet | Hasiyatu Abubakari Lawrence Sandow Samuel Akugri Asitanga |
| author_sort | Hasiyatu Abubakari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Current changes in climatic conditions pose a threat to historical anecdotes associated with names of seasons among the Kusaas (native speakers of the Kusaal language) of Ghana. Historically, the weather patterns during specific periods were used as names for those periods creating a direct relationship between language and climatic conditions. However, this relationship is threatened by the rapid effect of climate change, which is resulting in changing weather patterns, breaking the synergy where names of seasons serve as direct descriptions of the climatic conditions of the respective periods. This study aims to document the names of the seasons in Kusaal, a language spoken in Ghana, highlighting their etymology, socio-cultural and economic significance and their accompanying climatic peculiarities. The study employs a qualitative research design with data gathered through semi-structured interviews with 12 native speakers of the language. Using content analysis, the study reveals that the Kusaas have four seasons: Sapal, Dɔnwalig, Sigir, and Tiŋdɔɔŋ. These names correspond with weather patterns, agrarian practices, and cultural events. The findings show a gradual shift to the adaptation of the Gregorian calendar which poses serious risk to indigenous climatic knowledge. The discussion is situated within the framework of linguistic relativity and cultural sustainability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2645cfc3eb8942ecbf714843efb6b2bf |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2331-1983 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Arts & Humanities |
| spelling | doaj-art-2645cfc3eb8942ecbf714843efb6b2bf2025-08-20T02:37:50ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Arts & Humanities2331-19832024-12-0111110.1080/23311983.2024.2426371Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practicesHasiyatu Abubakari0Lawrence Sandow1Samuel Akugri Asitanga2Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana and School of Languages and Literatures: African Language Studies, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South AfricaDepartment of General Linguistics, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryDepartment of Gur-Gonja Education, University of Education, Winneba, GhanaCurrent changes in climatic conditions pose a threat to historical anecdotes associated with names of seasons among the Kusaas (native speakers of the Kusaal language) of Ghana. Historically, the weather patterns during specific periods were used as names for those periods creating a direct relationship between language and climatic conditions. However, this relationship is threatened by the rapid effect of climate change, which is resulting in changing weather patterns, breaking the synergy where names of seasons serve as direct descriptions of the climatic conditions of the respective periods. This study aims to document the names of the seasons in Kusaal, a language spoken in Ghana, highlighting their etymology, socio-cultural and economic significance and their accompanying climatic peculiarities. The study employs a qualitative research design with data gathered through semi-structured interviews with 12 native speakers of the language. Using content analysis, the study reveals that the Kusaas have four seasons: Sapal, Dɔnwalig, Sigir, and Tiŋdɔɔŋ. These names correspond with weather patterns, agrarian practices, and cultural events. The findings show a gradual shift to the adaptation of the Gregorian calendar which poses serious risk to indigenous climatic knowledge. The discussion is situated within the framework of linguistic relativity and cultural sustainability.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311983.2024.2426371Kusaalnames of seasonsonomasticsetymologylinguistic relativityGhana |
| spellingShingle | Hasiyatu Abubakari Lawrence Sandow Samuel Akugri Asitanga Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices Cogent Arts & Humanities Kusaal names of seasons onomastics etymology linguistic relativity Ghana |
| title | Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices |
| title_full | Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices |
| title_fullStr | Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices |
| title_short | Names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices |
| title_sort | names of seasons as expressions of climatic conditions and agrarian practices |
| topic | Kusaal names of seasons onomastics etymology linguistic relativity Ghana |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311983.2024.2426371 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hasiyatuabubakari namesofseasonsasexpressionsofclimaticconditionsandagrarianpractices AT lawrencesandow namesofseasonsasexpressionsofclimaticconditionsandagrarianpractices AT samuelakugriasitanga namesofseasonsasexpressionsofclimaticconditionsandagrarianpractices |