Morphological and semantic deformation of the ʔaʃo (Azmari) Argot in Tigrai

Abstract

This research was conducted to describe the morphological structure, syntactic pattern, and semantic systems of the ʔaʃo Argot in Tigrai. To achieve these objectives, a purposive sampling technique was used to select the informants. Elicitation, interview, and participatory observation methods were used to collect the data which was then audiotaped. A qualitative method was employed to analyze the data. The ʔaʃo Argot was found to use most of the time Tigrigna affixes (-ka, -o, -ki, mә-) and sometimes Amahric affixes (-ima and -imma) to make the words obscure communication. In addition, the onomatopoeic system played an important in creating new expressions. Semantic and form deformation is significantly used in the ʔaʃo Argot's expressions development, such as semantic load, connotative meaning, generic naming of specific terms, paraphrastic descriptions, and using instrumental nouns, similar to those in the Tigrigna language. Finally, some words whose origins are unknown were found in the ʔaʃo Argot.