A diachronic perspective on the identifying copulative in Bantu

• Published in: Southern African linguistics and applied language studies Vol. 19; no. 1-2; pp. 83 - 95
• Main Author: Taljard, Elsabé
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Afrikaans
• Published: 01.02.2001
• ISSN: 1607-3614; 1727-9461
• DOI: 10.2989/16073610109486277

Identifying copulative constructions in Bantu can be classified into three broad categories: (1) nominal copulative structures, (2) copulative structures in which invariable copulative prefixes appear as copulas, & (3) copulative structures in which copulative verbs function as copulas. In this article, the diachronic relation between these three types of identifying copulatives is investigated. It is indicated that nominal copulative structures represent the prototypical copulative structure in Bantu & that it forms the pragmatic starting point from which other copulative constructions developed. It is further indicated that the development of copulative structures forms part of a process of grammaticalization, according to which discourse structures are reinterpreted as syntactic structures, with accompanying rise of morphological marking strategies. 1 Figure, 32 References. Adapted from the source document