Felix Ameka
Felix K. Ameka | |
---|---|
Born | 1957 |
Occupation | Linguist |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Australian National University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Leiden University |
Main interests | linguistic typology,anthropological linguistics,pragmatics |
Felix Ameka(born 1957) is a linguist working on the intersection of grammar, meaning and culture. His empirical specialisation is on West-African languages.[1]He is currently professor of Ethnolinguistic Diversity and Vitality atLeiden University[2]and teaches in the departments of Linguistics, African Languages and cultures, and African Studies.[3]In recognition of his pioneering work on cross-cultural semantics and his long-standing research ties with Australian universities, he was elected as a Corresponding Fellow to the Australian Academy of Humanities in 2019.[4]
After undergraduate training at theUniversity of Ghana, Legon,Ameka received his PhD in 1991 fromAustralian National Universityfor a dissertation on the semantic, functional, and discourse-pragmatic aspects of the grammar ofEwe.Ameka has made seminal contributions to the cross-linguistic study ofinterjections,editing a highly influential special issue on 'the universal yet neglected part of speech'.[5]Ameka has pioneered research on the interaction of grammar, culture, and social structure, using the framework ofNatural Semantic Metalanguageto elucidate cultural scripts and interactional resources.[6]A long-term research associate at theMax Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics,Ameka has led a large-scale comparative project on the semantics of locative predicates[7]and contributed to cross-linguistic work on the expression of motion events. With Alan Dench and Nick Evans, he co-edited an influential collection on the art of grammar writing.[8]
Ameka is editor of theJournal of African Languages and Linguisticstogether withAzeb Amha.Since 2015, Ameka is President of the World Congress of African Linguistics.[9]
In 2021, he was elected member of theAcademia Europaea.[10]
Key publications
[edit]- Ameka, Felix K. 1991.Ewe. Its Grammatical Constructions and Illucutionary Devices.PhD dissertation, Australian National University.
- Ameka, Felix K. 1992. 'Interjections. The Universal Yet Neglected Part of Speech.'Journal of Pragmatics18 (2–3): 101–18.
- Ameka, Felix K., Alan Dench, and Nicholas Evans, eds. 2006.Catching Language. The Standing Challenge of Grammar Writing.Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- Ameka, Felix K., and Stephen C. Levinson. 2007. 'Introduction: The Typology and Semantics of Locative Predicates: Posturals, Positionals, and Other Beasts.'Linguistics45 (5part6): 847–871.
- Ameka, Felix K., and Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu, eds. 2008.Aspect and Modality in Kwa Languages.Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
References
[edit]- ^"Felix Ameka — Google Scholar Citations".Google Scholar.Retrieved9 June2020.
- ^"Felix Ameka: 'Multilingualism is the answer to many problems'".Leiden University.9 February 2021.Retrieved3 March2021.
- ^"Felix Ameka".Leiden University.Retrieved15 October2022.
- ^"Fellows: Felix Ameka".Humanities Australia.
- ^Ameka, Felix K. (1992). "Interjections: The Universal Yet Neglected Part of Speech".Journal of Pragmatics.18(2–3): 101–118.doi:10.1016/0378-2166(92)90048-G.hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0011-5356-1.ISSN0378-2166.
- ^Connell, Bruce; Zeitlyn, David (2009)."Sociolinguistic studies of West and Central Africa".In Martin J. Ball (ed.).Sociolinguistics Around the World.Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. pp. 203–215.ISBN978-0-203-86965-9.Retrieved30 March2012.
- ^Ameka, Felix K.; Levinson, Stephen C. (2007). "Introduction: The typology and semantics of locative predicates: posturals, positionals, and other beasts".Linguistics.45(5part6): 847–871.doi:10.1515/LING.2007.025.hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0013-1BF8-C.
- ^Felix K. Ameka; Alan Dench; Nicholas Evans, eds. (2006).Catching Language: the standing challenge of grammar writing.Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- ^"World Congress of African Linguistics".wocal.Retrieved15 October2022.
- ^"Felix Ameka".Member.Academia Europaea.Retrieved15 July2024.
External links
[edit]Media related toFelix Amekaat Wikimedia Commons