EDUCATION
BA, PhD (University of Ghana, Legon)
Dissertation: Force dynamics and causation in Akan
TEACHING
LNGS 302: Syntax I
LNGS 303: Phonetics and Phonology of a Ghanaian language (Akan)
LNGS 402: Semantics
LNGS 403: Syntax II
LNGS 412: Semantics of a Ghanaian language (Akan)
LNGS 422: Pragmatics
Postgraduate
LNGS 603: Theory of syntax
LNGS 604: Seminar in semantics and pragmatics
LNGS 615: Trends in Linguistics
Thesis Supervision
Bimpeh, Anne Abigail. 2016. Semantics of exclusives in Ewe. MPhil thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon.
Nuuratu Abubakar. Morphosyntax of the noun phrase in Sisaalɩ. 2018. MPhil thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon.
CURRENT RESEARCH
This project examines the expression of causation in sixteen Kwa languages with regards to the forms and constructions used in expressing causation, the syntactic properties and structure of causative constructions and the major events types of causation which are encoded across Kwa languages. I’m currently preparing a book length manuscript based on this project.
This project explores how PAIN is conceptualized and expressed in Akan. The study identifies different types of PAIN constructions and argue that they represent different conceptualization of PAIN in the language.
This project (with Stefan Savic, Rhodes University, South Africa) re-examines the semantics of tense/aspect morphemes in Akan, particularly the so-called past tense or completive tense. The study focuses on identifying semantic tests for evincing the primary function of tense/aspect morphemes in Akan.
In this project, we (with Obadele Kambon, University of Ghana, Legon) hope to publish a monograph which documents the process of serial verb construction nominalization in Akan and show how to analyse intervening elements in such constructions, propose a template for serial verb construction nominalization and identify its general features.
In this project, we (with Ronald Schaefer, University of Southern Illinois, Edwardsville and Prof Francis Egbokhare, University of Ibadan, Nigeria) identify complementation types across Niger-Congo and how such a typology can account for some seemingly arrant complement sentences in Kwa and Benue-Congo language families.
PUBLICATIONS
Carla Bombi, Mira Grubic, Agata Renans and Reginald Akuoko Duah. 2020. The semantics of the clausal determiner no in Akan (Kwa). Sinn und Bedeutung (SuB) 23, vol. 1, 181-199.
Duah, Reginald Akuoko, E. K. Osam and Nana Aba Amfo. 2020. (In)directness and event types of causation in Akan. Cognitive Semantics.
Under review
Duah, Reginald Akuoko. On reduplication as morphological causatives in Akan. The Frankfurter Afrikanistisches Blätter (FAB).
Appah, Clement K.I., Reginald Akuoko Duah and Obadele Kambon. The construction of cardinal numerals in Akan. Italian Journal of Linguistics.
SELECTED SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS & CONFERENCES
Duah, Reginald Akuoko, Mira Grubic and Agata Renans. The combination of indefinite and definite ‘determiners’—a cross-linguistic study. Talk given at Sinn und Bedeutung 25 (Special session: Semantics of Understudied Languages and Semantic Fieldwork), Queen Mary University of London and University College London (September 2, 2020).
Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon, Reginald Akuoko Duah and Clement Kwamina Insaidoo Appah. 2019. Ahene mu Hene: Deɛ ɛbunkam deɛ aka no nyinaa wɔ Akan, Yorùbá, ne mdw nTr mu [King of Kings: Superlative genitive constructions in Akan, Yorùbá and mdw nTr]. Talk given in Akan at the School of Languages Conference (SOLCON III), University of Ghana, Legon (July 2019).
Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon, Reginald Akuoko Duah and Clement Kwamina Insaidoo Appah. 2019. Kɛseɛ ho Nsɛmfua-nhyehyɛɛ ne Nkyerɛaseɛ wɔ Akan Kasa mu [Morphosemantics of augmentatives in Akan]. Talk given in Akan at the School of Languages Conference (SOLCON III), University of Ghana, Legon (July 2019).
Duah, Reginald Akuoko. 2019. Coordination, tense, focus, and the road in between: the case of the particle na in Akan. Synsem Colloquium, University of Potsdam, Germany (April 2019).
Bombi, Carla, Mira Grubic, Agata Renans and Reginald Akuoko Duah. 2018. The semantics of the clausal determiner no ́ in Akan (Kwa). Sinn und Bedeutung 23. Barcelona, Spain (September 2018).
Duah, Reginald Akuoko. 2018. Conceptualization of PAIN in Akan. Department of Linguistics Seminar, University of Ghana, Legon (April 2018).
Duah, Reginald Akuoko and Stefan Savic. 2017. Back to the Past: Semantics of Past Time Marking in Akan. A paper presented at the 30th WALC and 10th LAG Conference, University of Education, Winneba (July 2017).
Amfo, Nana Aba A. and Reginald Akuoko Duah. 2017. Too much Focus on Focus: The Grammatical Status of Focus Particles in Akan, Ga and Dangme. A paper presented at the 30th WALC and 10th LAG Conference, University of Education, Winneba (July 2017).
Schaefer, Ronald, Reginald Akuoko Duah and Francis O. Egbokhare. 2016. Toward a typology of Niger-Congo complementation. A paper presented at Proto-Niger-Congo 2nd International Congress, Paris (September 2016).
Kambon, Obadele, Celement I. K. Appah and Reginald Akuoko Duah. 2016. Serial Verb Nominalization in Akan: The Question of Intervening Elements. A paper presented at the 47th Annual Conference of African Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley (March 2016).
Duah, Reginald Akuoko. 2016. Exhaustive Interpretation of Focus in Akan. A paper presented at the 47th Annual Conference of African Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley (March 2016).
Duah, Reginald Akuoko. 2016. Kwa, Causatively Speaking. Special Seminar, Department of English Language and Linguistics, Rhodes University, South Africa (November 2016).
Genzel, Susanne and Reginald Akuoko Duah. 2015. H-Tone Insertion on Verbs in na-Focus Sentences and Beyond. A paper presented at the Morphosyntactic Triggers of Tone Workshop, Universität Leipzig, Germany (September 2015).