Conceptualizing Farm Product Immaturity in the Mfantse Dialect of Akan, Ghana

Within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), the present paper discusses the expressions in the Mfantse dialect of Akan, which communicate the state of immaturity in farm products, more precisely farm product + adjectives forms which communicate immaturity (e.g. mango ebun‘green mango’, Bayerafɔr‘tenter/soft yam’ etc.). This study uses a qualitative research approach. The analysis is based on a data collected from six (6) farmers purposively sampled from Gomoa Asebu, Ajumako and Mfantse Nyankomase in the Central Region of Ghana. Data collection tool was a semi-structured interview. We establish that the absence or presence of a given trait of a given farm product determines its state. Thus, the Mfantse conceptualization of immaturity in farm products primarily depends on the used adjectival or verbal forms. The results of our discussion may contribute to the further understanding of the factors that contribute to figurative expressions coinage relating to crop farming vocabulary among the Mfantse people.