A Lexico-Semantic Description of Polysemy in the Hausa Verb BÚGÀ (to hit)

Abstract

This paper study the lexico-semantic description of polysemy associated with the Hausa verb bùgà ‘to hit’. Polysemy is a prominent feature of Hausa, whereby a single lexical item may develop several related meanings across different linguistic and contextual environments. The study aims to identify, describe, and analyse the different lexico-semantic senses and interpretations of bùgà in Hausa. It adopts a descriptive approach within the framework of lexical semantics. Data were drawn from natural speech, textual sources, Hausa dictionaries, and native-speaker intuition. This study examines the role of verb bùgà in Hausa compound formation, particularly in structures involving Verb + Noun. The bùgà morpheme is lexicalised, functioning as an integrated lexical unit whose meaning may extend beyond the literal meanings. For example, bùgà ‘to hit’ + ƙàsà ‘ground’ in bùgà ƙàsà ‘forecast /prophecy’. The findings indicate that the semantic productivity of bùgà reflects not only morphological processes but also the creative and pragmatic resources through which Hausa accommodates and expresses diverse concepts. Furthermore, the study identifies fourteen major polysemy senses associated with the verb bùgà and its related grade 7 form bùgù. These senses include the expression of praise or epithet, excessiveness, poisoning, sudden illness, elegance, dilemma, defect or flaw, sudden departure or take-off, darkness, intensity, wise or purposeful inquiry, linguistic efficacy, and damage. Finally, the study found that the polysemy of bùgà demonstrates the semantic richness and flexibility of Hausa and provides evidence of the important role of contextual, pragmatic, and lexical processes in the development and interpretation of meaning.