Natural language ontology: diachronic restructuring of nominal classification in Dagaare

Abstract Research on nominal classification in Mabia (Gur) languages, including Dagaare, has generally concluded that their classificatory systems are only partially semantic. This study, focusing on the Lobr variety of Dagaare, provides evidence that Dagaare possesses a historically restructured yet robust nominal classificatory system that is semantically transparent and reflects the ontology of its speech fellowship. The analysis adopts both meaning-based and form-based approaches, with primacy given to the systemic organisation of language. Findings show that classes of thing type (“noun classes”) are encoded by number suffixes attached to the noun. The system of thing type is organised around two central notions – humanness and diminution – which generate a network of classes in which human and non-human categories further divide into sub-classes based on both material and social criteria. While thing type marking is overt in the plural, it tends to be covert in the singular. In addition, the study identifies a concurrent system of gender in Dagaare, marked through concord based on humanness and restricted to the plural. Concord targets include demonstratives, non-specific determiners, quantifiers, and anaphoric pronouns. Overall, the study highlights the value of combining systemic and diachronic perspectives to uncover the nuanced ontological principles that underlie nominal classification in African languages.