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The Expression of Aspect in Sesotho by Anastacia Sara

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THE EXPRESSION OF ASPECT IN SESOTHO BY ANASTACIA SARA MOTSEI Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Arts and Social Sciences at the Stellenbosch University Promoter: Prof Mariana Visser MARCH 2010 ii DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the owner of the copyright thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated) and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: 21 September 2009 Copyright © 2010 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved iii ABSTRACT The expression of aspect in Sesotho within the framework of the principles, properties and mechanisms of three different components of grammar, i.e. the syntactic, morphological and semantic components, has been established in a broader context. The application of the terms aspect and tense in the existing grammatical descriptions of the Sesotho verbs, however, has proved to be problematic. This is largely owing to the fact that these categories are established in Sesotho on the basis of notional distinctions. This study aims to examine comprehensively, firstly, the morphosyntactic system of Sesotho, in order to determine the range of categories that express grammatical aspect, which includes the Perfective and Imperfective aspects in Sesotho. The perfective-imperfective opposition is a particular area of focus in this study, and comprises the different tenses which are involved in the meaning of the situation types ( activities , achievements , accomplishments and states ). In this regard, questions relating to the distinctive properties of tense and aspect in Sesotho, namely: (i) the aspect categories that occur in the full range of tenses in Sesotho, (ii) the aspect categories that occur in deficient verb constructions, and (iii) the theoretical treatment of the relationship between aspect and the aspectual classes of verbs (activities , achievements , accomplishments and states ) in Sesotho, undergo detailed examination and investigation in this study. Secondly, the study both defines and explores the theoretical frameworks pertaining to the analysis of: (i) the correlation between the Sesotho aspect system and the relationship between situation types and grammatical aspects in Sesotho, (ii) the distribution of aspectual classes of verbs with respect to grammatical aspect and temporal adjunct ( for - adverbial and in - adverbial) categories in Sesotho, and (iii), the effect on telicity of certain complement categories on the inner temporal structure of aspectual verb classes. The study establishes the premise that the syntactic evidence for telic events in Sesotho usually turns on the feature of completion which involves the interaction of duration and a change of state. Therefore, this study aims to demonstrate that the existence and application of the durative adverbial provides syntactic evidence for atelic events. The argument for the causes and dynamics of the telic/atelic dichotomy, as approached in this study, is based on crucial shifts iv which are triggered by either completive or durative adverbials when appearing with situation types. v OPSOMMING Die wyse waarop aspek in Sesotho tot uitdrukking kom binne die raamwerk van die beginsels, eienskappe en meganismes van drie verskillende komponente van die grammatika, naamlik die sintaktiese, morfologiese en semantiese komponente, is binne ‘n breër konteks vasgestel. Die toepassing van die terme aspek en tempus/tydsaanduiding in die bestaande grammatikabeskrywings van die Sesotho werkwoorde, blyk egter problematies te wees. Dit moet grootliks toegeskryf word aan die feit dat hierdie kategorieë in Sesotho op grond van begripsonderskeidinge gevestig geraak het. Die doel van hierdie studie is eerstens om ‘n omvattende ondersoek van die morfosintaktiese sisteem van Sesotho te doen ten einde vas te stel wat die omvang van die kategorieë is wat grammatiese aspek uitdruk. Dit sluit die Perfektiewe en Imperfektiewe aspekte van Sesotho in. Die perfektum – imperfektumopposisie is ‘n besondere fokus area in hierdie studie en dit behels die verskillende tye van die werkwoord wat betrokke is die betekenis van die situasietipes (aktiwiteite, verrigtinge, afhandeling en toestande). In hierdie verband word vrae wat betrekking het op die distinktiewe eienskappe van tempus en aspek in Sesotho, naamlik (i) die aspekkategorieë wat in die volle reeks tye in Sesotho voorkom, (ii) die aspekkategorieë wat in gebrekkige/ontoereikende werkwoordkonstruksies en (iii) die teoretiese hantering van die verhouding tussen aspek en die aspektiese klasse werkwoorde (aktiwiteite, verrigtinge, afhandeling en toestande) in Sesotho in hierdie studie in besonderhede ondersoek en nagevors. Tweedens omlyn en verken die studie die teoretiese raamwerke wat betrekking het op (i) die korrelasie tussen die Sesotho aspeksisteem en die verband tussen situasietipes en grammatikale aspekte in Sesotho, (ii) die distribusie van aspektiese werkwoordklasse ten opsigte van grammatiee aspek en temporele adjunkkategorieë (vir – adverbiale en in – adverbiale) in Sesotho, en (iii) die effek op “telicity” telisiteit van sekere komplementkategorieë op die binneste temporele struktuur van die aspektiese werkwoordklasse. Die verhandeling poneer die premis dat die sintaktiese bewys vir “telic” telies gebeure in Sesotho gewoonlik die kenmerk van voltooidheid aktiveer wat die interaksie van tydsduur en ‘n verandering van toestand betrek. In teenstelling hiermee beoog hierdie tesis om te demonstreer dat die bestaan en toepassing van die duratiewe adverbiale aspek sintaktiese bewys verskaf vir “atelic” vi gebeure. Die argument vir die oorsake en dinamika van die “ telic/atelic” digotomie, soos in hierdie studie benader, is gebaseer op deurslaggewende verskuiwings wat teweeggebring word deur òf voltooide òf duratiewe adverbiale aspekte wanneer hulle saam met situasionele tipes voorkom. vii KGUTSUFATSO Tshebediso ya aspekte Sesothong e sibollotswe ka moelelo o pharalletseng ho sebedisitswe moralo wa molawana o bontshang dikarolwana tse tharo tse fapaneng tsa kwahollopuo e leng: kahopolelo/sintheks, kahontswe/mofoloji, moelelo/ semanthiks. Tshebediso ya aspekte le lekgathe ke bothata bo teng ditlhalosong tsa kwahollopuo ya dihlopha tsa maetsi Sesothong. Bothata bona bo amana le dikarolo tse latelang: Lebaka ke hobane aspekte le l ekgathe di thehilwe ho latela phapano ya tsona mekgahlelong ya Sesotho. Tabeng ya pele, boithuto bona bo hlahloba ka botlalo tshebediso ya kamano ya mantswe le dipolelo (morphosyntactic system) ho hlalosa lethathama la mekgahlelo e bontshang aspekte kwahollopuong, ho kenyelleditswe diaspkete tse bontshang phethahalo (Perfective) le tse sa bontsheng phethahalo (Imperfective). Phapano pakeng moelelo o bontshang phethahalo (Perfective) le tsa moelelo o sa bontsheng phethahalo (Imperfective) ke e nngwe e toboketswang ka hara boithuto bona e bile e na le mefuta e fapaneng ya lekgathe mmoho le dihlopha tsa maetsi a bontshang ( ketso (activity), phihlello e bontshang nako e telele (accomplishment), phihlello e etsahalang ka potlako (achievement) le boemo (state)). Ka tsela ena dipotso tse tobaneng le ditshobotsi tsa lekgathe le aspekte Sesothong, e leng (i) mekgahlelo ya aspekte e fumanwang lethathamong la lekgathe Sesothong, (ii) mekgahlelong ya aspekte e fumanwang dipolelong tsa mahaelli/mathusi, le (iii) mohopolo wa tshebediso ya kamano e teng pakeng tsa aspekte le dihlopha tsa maetsi a yona a bontshang ( ketso (activity), phihlello e bontshang nako e telele (accomplishment), phihlello e etsahalang ka potlako (achievement) le boemo (state)) Sesothong. Tabeng ya bobedi, boithuto bona bo hlalosa ka bophara moralo wa mohopolo o amanang le manollo ya: (i) kamano e teng pakeng tsa tshebetso ya aspekte Sesothong le dihlopha tsa maetsi le kwahollopuo ya aspekte Sesothong, (ii) kabo ya dihlopha tsa maetsi ho latela aspekte ya teng kwahollopuong le ho mahlalosi a bontshang nako ( hora ekasitana le ka hora ) mekgahlelong ya Sesotho, hammoho le (iii) sekgahla sa mekgahlelo ya dipolelwana tsa tlatsetso tse itseng tse bontshang ketso e tswellang pele kapa e phethahatsang ho latela sebopeho se ka hare sa nako sa dihlopha tsa maetsi. Boithuto bona bo fumane bopaki ba dipolelo Sesothong hore viii diketso tse totobatsang phethahatso ya ditshobotsi tsa moelelo wa ketso e hlalosang phetelo/qetelo Sesothong di kenyelleditse le tshebedisano pakeng tsa botswelli le phetoho ya boemo. Le ha ho le jwalo boithuto bona bo rerile ho senola boteng le tshebediso ya mahlalosi a nako ( hora le ka hora ) a bontshang botswelli mme a nehelana ka bopaki bo netefatsang ketso e sa phethahalang mme e ka ikemela ka boyona e se na pheletso kapa diphetoho moelelong. Boithutong bona, bo bontshitse mabaka a phapanyetsano tshebedisong a thehilweng hodima ho phethahala le ho se phethahale le ho ritsa ha moelelo ho bakwang ke mahlalosi a bontshang phethahatso le botswelli ha a hlahella hammoho le dipolelo tsa dihlopha tsa maetsi. ix DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my late sister Nono Regina Hlamazane Motsei who passed away on 27 January 2004. ‘Ngwaneso ke lena lengolo lena la bongaka leo kgale o lakatsa hore nka le fumana, ke re o robale ka kgotso Motaung wa Mphete wa Thulo’ x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank most heartily all those who assisted me during the course of this research and in preparing this thesis. In particular, my special thanks are due to Professor M.W. Visser, my supervisor,
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  • Neg-Raising and Long-Distance Licensing of Negative Polarity Items

    Neg-Raising and Long-Distance Licensing of Negative Polarity Items

    Neg‐Raising and Long‐distance licensing of Negative Polarity Items Jack Hoeksema, University of Groningen 1. Introduction1 NEG‐Raising, or Negative Transportation, as it was originally called by Fillmore (1963), is one of the transformations familiar from early work in generative grammar. It was proposed to account for the fact that sentences such as (1) may be interpreted in the same way as (2) by lifting the negation out of the embedded clause into the main clause. (1) I don’t think it’s going to rain. (2) I think it’s not going to rain. Of course, there is also another reading, the matrix‐negation reading, which simply denies that the speaker thinks it is going to rain. For this reading, the negation need not be moved, but is generated and interpreted in the matrix clause. It was recognized early on that the rule of NEG‐raising only seemed to apply with a limited number of matrix verbs, such as think, believe, suppose. Verbs of saying, factive verbs and most other matrix verbs do not have a NEG‐Raising reading when negated: (3) Abe didn’t say he would come <> Abe said he wouldn’t come (4) Barbara doesn’t know class is cancelled <> Barbara knows class is not cancelled. (5) Chris did not hear that the bell was tolling <> Chris heard that the bell wasn’t tolling. The class of NEG‐Raising verbs does not seem to be random. To the contrary, in many languages the set of verbs that show the ambiguity illustrated in (1) are by and large the same as in English (cf.