D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages) / The verb categories of Northern Sotho pose a problem which is still vague and controversial, despite the fact that it has often been addressed in the literature. This divergence of opinion concerning verb categories can be attributed to many factors of which the approach towards the description of the verb categories surely is one of the most important. Two main approaches to the problem can be distinguished, namely the universalistic and descriptive approaches. In both approaches the perception of universals plays an important role which proves that it is essential to examine universals beforehand. Firstly, universals are viewed in historical context. The methods to determine universals are examined, clearly distinguishing indu ction and deduction. It was found-however that the rigid application of these two methods, as suggested by Bloomfield and Hjelmslev respectively, amongst others, has proved to be unsatisfactory. The methods followed by Chomsky and Reichling, as inductive as those of Bloomfield, supply a solution as both are concerned with the nature of language. Van Wyk, supporting the views of these two linguists, distinguishes between quantitative and qualitative induction. He also stresses the need for interaction between induction and deduction as well as between the two methods of induction. The following types of universals are distinguished, namely general features, essential features, hypothetical universals, universal principles and categories, absolute and available universals, universal tendencies and simple and complex universals. The essence of these types lies in the distinction between essential and general features. Universals also play a role in the description of verb categories. Thus it is essential to determine to which type of universals the verb categories belong and whether the appearance is similar in all languages. The notions tense, aspect and mood as they appear in the literature, are examined. These notions are not as simple as is generally accepted. The 'present tense', for example, doesn't necessarily refer to action taking place NOW. It can also refer to general and habitual actions. The 'future tense' is more an issue of modality than of tense, because modal auxiliary verbs are used to indicate the so-called future tense. The notion of aspect frequently appears in the Slavic languages. It is a morphological category used to indicate the perfection or imperfection of an action. Mood is a morphological category of the verb being used to express the speaker's attitude towards his utterance. A distinction is made between tense and time, aspect and actionsart and mood and modality. For the purpose of this study, only the first of each group, namely the morphological forin, is of importance. Therefore the universality of each should be determined. It was found that the notions of tense, aspect and mood are not universal, but only available categories which a language may use. When existing views concerning the named categories in the African languages are compared, different viewpoints and a fair amount of confusion arise. Some categories, for example, are classified by certain writers as tenses, while others classify them as moods. The notion of aspect, found in the African languages, has not yet fully been explored. Definitions, concerning the verb categories, lack sufficiency and description. Confusion concerning the verb categories in the African languages can be attributed to the perception and treatment of universals, as well as the methods used to describe verb categories. The universalistic and descriptive approaches towards language description are compared. The conclusion is drawn that the descriptive method is the most appropriate for language description as it is not based on preconceived ideas about language. The verb categories of Northern Sotho are identified, classified and defined according to the descriptive approach. The system of the verb categories of Northern Sotho is as follows: two main categories are distinguished, namely primary categories (consisting of single verbs) and secondary categories (consisting of construction with deficient verb stems). The primary categories are divided into aspects (imperfectum and perfectum) and contingent categories (indicative, situative and relative), clausal categories (subjunctive, consecutive and habitual), and non-predicative categories (infinitive and imperative). The secondary verb categories are the futuritive, potential, progressive and casual categories.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:3967 |
| Date | 13 February 2014 |
| Creators | Van der Schyff, Frans Edwin |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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