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The distribution and interpretation of the qualificative in seSothoThetso, 'Madira Leoniah 06 1900 (has links)
Text in English / This study explores the syntax of the substantive phrase, more especially substantive phrase composed of more than one qualificative, in Sesotho. Adopting interviews, questionnaires and documents, the study seeks to investigate the syntactic sequence of qualificatives, their relation to the modified head word and influence of such ordering pattern in the phrase. Structurally, qualificatives comprise two components, namely the qualificative concord and stem. The qualificative serves to give varied information about the implicit or explicit substantive resulting in seven types of qualificatives in Sesotho, be they the Adjective, Demonstrative, Enumerative, Interrogative, Possessive, Quantifier and Relative. From the Minimalist perspective, the qualificative is recursive. The study established a maximum of five qualificatives in a single phrase. The number is generally achieved by recurrence of the Adjective, the Possessive and the Relative up to a maximum of four of the same qualificative in a single phrase. It is observed that the recurrence of the Demonstrative, Interrogative, Enumerative and Quantifier is proscribed in Sesotho. Regarding the ordering of qualificatives, it is also observed that the Demonstrative, Interrogative, Quantifier and Possessive mostly occupy the position closer to the substantive while the Adjective, Enumerative, Possessive and Quantifier mostly occur in the medial position. The Possessive and Relative occur in the outer-border position of the phrase. Such a sequence is influenced by several factors including focus, emphasis, the nature of the relationship between the head word and the dependent element, the syntactic complexity of the qualificative and the knowledge shared by both the speaker and the hearer about the qualified substantive. It can, therefore, be concluded that there are no strict rules of occurrence of the qualificatives in Sesotho. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)
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The Southern Sotho relative in discourseMischke, Gertruida Elizabeth 11 1900 (has links)
Southern Sotho verbal relative clauses are, on discourse-pragmatic grounds, categorised
as direct and indirect. The pragmatic factors that govern the occurrence of these two
types of relatives within a particular discourse context are investigated.
An analysis of relative clauses occurring in live conversations as well as in the dramas
Bulane (Khaketla, 1983) and Tjootjo e tla hloma sese/a (Maake, 1992) reveals that
direct relative clauses usually modify the reference of predicate nouns (i.e. nouns used
as the complements of copulative predicates), while indirect relative clauses modify the
reference of object nouns.
Theories which suggest that both predicate as well as object nouns generally convey new
information, but that the reference status of predicate nouns is non-specific indefinite,
while that of object nouns is specific indefinite, are discussed. A hypothesis suggesting
that there is an interrelationship between the reference status of a head noun and the type
of relative by means of which it is qualified, is proposed. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)
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The Southern Sotho relative in discourseMischke, Gertruida Elizabeth 11 1900 (has links)
Southern Sotho verbal relative clauses are, on discourse-pragmatic grounds, categorised
as direct and indirect. The pragmatic factors that govern the occurrence of these two
types of relatives within a particular discourse context are investigated.
An analysis of relative clauses occurring in live conversations as well as in the dramas
Bulane (Khaketla, 1983) and Tjootjo e tla hloma sese/a (Maake, 1992) reveals that
direct relative clauses usually modify the reference of predicate nouns (i.e. nouns used
as the complements of copulative predicates), while indirect relative clauses modify the
reference of object nouns.
Theories which suggest that both predicate as well as object nouns generally convey new
information, but that the reference status of predicate nouns is non-specific indefinite,
while that of object nouns is specific indefinite, are discussed. A hypothesis suggesting
that there is an interrelationship between the reference status of a head noun and the type
of relative by means of which it is qualified, is proposed. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)
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