The syntax and semantics of Gã future markers

Audio data comprising naturally-occurring spoken discourse in support of paper on future expression in Gã, whose abstract is below.
This paper explores the syntax and semantics of two grammatical markers of future time in Gã (Niger-Congo, Kwa) – bàá- and àá-. The coexistence of àá- and bàá- over a long period, coupled with their overlapping roles, has led to some inconsistency in their analysis. I show that in modern Ga, bàá- is the most prevalent future marker, with àá- existing much less prominently alongside it. Data from natural speech and elicitation reveals that both markers have modal functions in addition to the temporal function. bàá- can also be used aspectually to mark habits. Due largely to the overwhelming frequency of the temporal function in the discourse data, I maintain that the primary function of bàá- is as a future tense marker. It is therefore not purely a modal, as has been suggested by Dakubu (2008). àá- has all but fallen out of use and has a more modal than temporal function. This study uncovers previously unreported non-temporal uses of bàá- and underscores the crucial role played by frequency in the determination of category function.

Reference
Dakubu, Mary Esther Kropp 2008. Ga verb features. In: M.E Kropp Dakubu and Felix K. Ameka (eds.), Aspect and
modality in Kwa languages, 91-134 Amsterdam: John Benjamins

音频数据集包含自然发生的 Ga 语言（尼日尔-刚果语族，Kwa 语族）口语对话，旨在支持关于 Ga 语言未来表达方式的论文。该论文探讨了 Ga 语言中两个未来时语法标记——bàá- 和 àá- 的句法和语义。bàá- 和 àá- 在长时间内的共存及其重叠的功能导致了对它们分析上的一些不一致性。研究表明，在现代 Ga 语言中，bàá- 是最普遍的未来标记，而 àá- 则相对不显著地与之并存。自然口语和诱导数据揭示了这两个标记除了时间功能外还具有情态功能。bàá- 还可以用来表示习惯的方面。由于话语数据中时间功能的频率极高，本研究坚持认为 bàá- 的主要功能是作为将来时标记。因此，它并非如 Dakubu（2008）所建议的那样，仅仅是一个情态词。àá- 几乎已不再使用，其情态功能超过时间功能。本研究揭示了之前未报告的 bàá- 的非时间用法，并强调了频率在确定类别功能中的关键作用。

参考文献：
Dakubu, Mary Esther Kropp. 2008. Ga 语气词. 见：M.E Kropp Dakubu 和 Felix K. Ameka 编著，《Kwa 语族中的时体和情态》，91-134 页，阿姆斯特丹：John Benjamins。