THE
POSSESSIVE
IN
ZULU
BY
NONHLANHLA OMIC· SABELO
BA HONS, S.T.D. (UZ)
Submitted to the Faculty of Arts
in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in the
Department of African Languages
at the University of Zululand
Supervisor
Date submittec
:
Prof L.C. Posthumu5
January 1990
•
(i)
DECLARATION
I
hereby
is
my own work both in conception and execution.
I
declare
declare
indicated
that
and
references.
/JJl..Il<€i'o
~~ELO
JANUARY 1990
that
all
the
THE
POSSESSIVE
sources
acknowledged
by
IN
used have
means
of
ZULU
been
complete
lii)
D E D. I CAT ION
To:
my late brother
Mzwa~ithi
Omsie
my parents
Mvunge and Thino
my brother
Mduduzi
and my sisters
Kwenzekile, zandile,
Zibuyile and Nompumelelo.
( iii)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am greatly indebted to the following:
Professor
his
L.C.
untiring
Posthumus,
guidance,
my
supervisor,
patience
and
for
involvement
in the preparation of this work.
The
Head
the
late
of
Professor
the
5.0.
Department
University
of
Ngcongwane,
of
African
zululand,
for
the
then
Languages
his
support.
of
fartherly
~
The staff of
the Department of African Languages
of the University of Zululand.
Mr E.T.Z. Mthiyane for his never-ending motivation
and support.
Smanga Mkhulisi as my source of inspiration.
Friends,
relatives
and
colleagues
for
their
encouragement and support.
Mr T .:-1.
Khathi
who helped
a
lot when interviews
were conducted.
Miss "hako Nthembu
for
the
ty;:>ing af
this wo"k.
(iv)
SUMMARY
This study is a review of the Possessive in Zulu.
Many
grammarians
possessive
in
of
the
the
meaning of
that
have
dealt
with
the
Zulu over-emphasised the structure
possessive
thus
very
the possessive
often
in
neglecting
Zulu,
and the
so-called
unmarked
possessive.
approaches
to
identification
discussed.
The implications of the two approaches
to
word
Zulu,
word
identification
namely,
the
for
the
conjunctive\
Different
..
have
been
possessive
and
the
in
semi- X
conjunctive approach, have been discussed.
The
conjunctivists
indicate
that
the
possessive
is one word made up of three parts, the agreement
morphe;cce,
the
possessive
possessor . .
e.g.
:. + a -'- umf=.na
:of the boyi
norpheme
and
the
(v)
The semi-conjunctivists indicate that a possessive
consists
of
two
words,
namely,
a
possessive
particle and a complement.
e.g.
ya-umfana·
(of the boy)
Possessives
that
distinguished
possessives
are direct
in manner have
inter
OOhe.
by
are
al.ia
semantical.l.y
been
These
and morphologicall.y
regular.
e.g.
ibhol.a lomfana
(the ball of the boy)
Some
structures
particle
and
do
yet
meaning.
e.g.
uyihlo
(your father)
not
they
incl.ude
do
carry
the
possessive
a
possessive
(vi)
There are possessives that are indirect in nature.
having
imply
possessive
true
particles.
possession.
but
The
which
do
not
noun-possessor.
and the noun-possessee are thus not semantically
in
a
true possessive relationship
in an example
such as the following.
e.g.
intalantala yomsebenzi
(a lot of work)
Possessives
in
that
which
they
are
contain
structurally
no
possessive
are also discussed in this study.
and
the
posses see
are
relationship in this sentence.
e.g.
ngiphule umfana ingalo
(1 broke the boy's arm)
in
irregular
particle.
The possessor
a
part-whole
(vii)
OPSOMMING
In hierdie werk word 'n oorsig gebied
possessief
possessief
struktuur
sodoende
Zulu.
in
in
van
Zulu
die
dikwels
sogenaamde
konjunktiviste
een
woord
is
wat
kongruensiemorfeem,
die besitter.
i
,
+ a + umfana
yomfana
(van die seun)
het
en
die
die
die
en
die
agterwee
benaderings
konjuktiewe
benadering
interpretasies
wat
daarvan
possessief
naamlik
semi-konjunktiewe
Die
bv.
betekenis
Verskillende
verskillende
het,
die
oorbeklemtoon
possessief
die
woordidentifikasie
grammatici
bestudeer
ongemarkeerde
gelaat.
die
Talle
van
lei
tot
en
tot
van
die
possessief.
beweer
dat
die
possessief
bestaan
uit
drie
dele;
die
possessiefmorfeem
en
die
(viii)
Die
semi-konjunktiviste
possessief
bestaan
uit
beweer
twee
weer
woorde
te
dat
die
wete
die
posseSS1ewe partikel en die komplement.
bv.
ya-umfana-
Possessiewe
aard
is.
waarin
is
die
bespreek.
semanties en morfologies
bv.
verwantskap
Hierdie
direk
possessiewe
van
is
re~lmatig.
ibhola. lomfana
(die bal van die seun)
In
sommige
strukture korn die possessief-partikel
nie voor nie en tog dra hulle sodanige struktuur
'n possessiewe betekenis.
bv.
uyihlo
(jou vader)
Daar
die
word
aangec~on
verwantskap
possessiewe
indire~
beski:~
by
d~t
van
\Vel oor
so~mige
aard
is.
possessiewe
Hierdie
•n possessief partikel
(ix)
maar
dui
nie
op
•n
naamwoord-besitter
is
semanties
nie
besitsverhouding
en
•n
die
egte
nie.
Die
naamwoord-besitting
possessiewe verhouding
nie.
bv.
intalantala yomsebenzi
('n groat hoeveelheid werk)
Struktureel
onre~lmatige
strukture wat
geen
word
staan
bv.
oak
in
bespreek.
'n
deel
posse~siewe
possessief partikel
Die
besitter
en
geheelverwantskap
ngiphule umfana ingalo
(ek het die seun die arm gebreek)
(ek het die seun se arm gebreek)
d.L
het nie.
besitting
tot
mekaar.
(x)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NO.
CONTENT
PAGE
Preface
i-iii
Summary
iv-ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Motivation of study
1
1.2
Aim of study
2
1.3
Research methodology and
sources of data
3
1.4
Presentation of chapters
4
1.5
Definition of terms
6
CHAPTER 2
A REVIEW OF THE POSSESSIVE
2.1
General treatDent of the
possessive in Zulu
9
(xi)
2.2
The conjunctive approach
10
2.2.1
The morphology of the possessive
10
Formation of possessive
concords
12
2.2.1.2
Possessive stems
14
2.2.2
The use of the possessive
together with other
qualificatives
2.2.3
~
16
Characteristics of the
possessive according to Doke
2.2.4
Some deviations from the
conjunctive approach
2.2.5
20
22
Summary and comments on the major
contributions and shortcomings
of the conjunctive approach
24
2.3
The
27
2.4
Conclusion
semi~onjunctive
approach
32
CHAPTER 3
THE POSSESSIVE WORD GROUP
3.1
The possessivE as wore group
3.2
The general
possessive
st~ucture ~f
pa~ticle
33
the
3~
(xii)
3.3
The morphological structure of
the possessive particle
3.3.1
Possessive particle with class
lea) as possessor
3.3.2
41
Manifestations of the noun as
possessor
3.4.1
40
Possessor particle-with
class 2(a) used as possessor
3.4
35
43
Locative derived nouns as
possessors
44
3.4.2
Deverbative nouns as possessors
45
3.4.3
Deideophonic nouns as possessors
45
3.5
The possessor represented by
the possessive pronoun
3.6
The syntactic usage of the
possessive word group
3.6.1
49
Logical and grammatical
sUbjects
3.6.2
49
The possessive word group as
subject of the sentence
3.6.1.1
46
50
The ?ossessive word group as
object of a sentence
•
50
(xiii )
3.6.3
The use of the possessive
word group as relative
3.6.3.1
Formation of the emphatic
possessive word group
3.6.3.2
51
52
Emphatic possessive word group
used copulatively
54
3.7
Archaic and contracted forms
55
3.7.1
Relationships in archaic and
contracted forms
55
3.7.1.1
Paternal relationship
55
3.7.1.2
Maternal relationship
56
3.7.1.3
Matrimonial relationship
57
3.7.1.4
Affectionate relationship
58
3.7.1.5
Companion relationship
59
3.7.2
Compounding in archaic
59
possessives
59
3.7.3
Ellipsis in archaic possessives
62
3.7.4
The use of -kazi in archaic
possessives
64
3.7.4.1
Maternal relatives
64
3.7.4.2
Paternal relatives
65
3.7.5
Postulation of some archaic
possesslves
65
(xiv)
3.8
Conclusion
69
CHAPTER 4
THE POSSESSEE
4.1
Syntactically regular noun as
posses see
4.1.1
The noun in a copulative
form as possessee
4.2
75
Syntactically irregular noun
as posses see
4.2.1
72
77
Different syllabic structures
of the syntactically irregular
noun as posses see
79
4.2.1.1
Monosyllabic stems
79
4.2.1.2
Disyllabic stems
80
4.2.1.3
Duplicated stems
80
4.2.1.4
Stems of verbal origin
82
4.2.1.5
Stems of ideophonic origin
82
4.2.2
The locative form of the
syntactically irregular
possessee
83
(xv)
4.2.3
The meaning of the syntactically
irregular posses see in isolation
4.3
85
Morphological characteristics of
a syntactically irregular
4.4
possessee in compound form
86
Conclusion
87
CHAPTER 5
UNMARKED POSSESSlVES
5.1
The body parts approach
5.2
The part-whole relationship
approach
5.3.1
94
The unmarked possessive in
SUbject position
5.4
91
The unmarked. possessive word
group in. object position
5.3.2
90
96
The structure of unmarked
possessive word grou?s
97
5.4.l
primary form
98
5 .. 4 .. 2
Secondary forms
98
5.5
Inalienable possesslves as
realised In proverbs
cOl
(xvi)
5.5.1
Misfortune
102
5.5.2
Failure
102
5.5.3
Beware of danger
102
5.5.4
Encouragement
103
5.5.5
Threats
103
5.5.6
Hurt
103
5.5.7
Borrowing
104
5.5.8
Pride or conceit
104
5.5.9
Deception
5.5.10
Unfaithfulness
.105
5.5.11
Callousness
105
5.5.12
Feuds
106
5.6
Con,clusion
106
"'
104
CHAPTER 6
6.1
Evaluation of the study
107
6.2
Appendix
112
6.2.1
Questionnaire
112
6.2.2
Analysis and interpretation
6.3
of cat a
11.4
Bibliography
120
- 1 -
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
MOTIVATION OF STUDY
The
possessive
grammarians
word
of
has
Zulu
long
been
a
because
of
the
identification
subcategorisation
of
to
problem
of
"'
as
this
problem
well
as
grammatical
the
structure.
The role played by semantics in the identification
and
fact
description
of
treatment
of
the
paramount
of
the
possessive.
importance
possessive.
to
has
which
the
long
is
in
proper
been
neglected by many Zulu grammarians.
Traditional
structure
terminology
rather
t~an
is
somehow
semantic
directed
content.
to
Doke
for instance defines the possessive thus:
~ossessivE
is
a
ward which quC'~ifie5
substantive ana is brGught into conc:Jrdial
ag~ee~ent
t~2~e~ith
~y
the
possessive
concc=-d."
nA
a
(DoKe,
1984:L~)
- 2 -
Other linguists,
as we share their view, conclude
that grammatical
structure
to
subcategorise
and
as such is not enough
describe
the
possessive
without a proper evaluation of the actual language
usage.
knowing
we cannot
a
sight of
.lose
language means
sinply
knowing
Meaning
should
the
also
a
great
the
fact
deal
more than
morphological
be
considered
that
structure.
in
the
study
...
of the possessive.
For these reasons one has come to the conclusion
to
evaluate
distribution
the
possessive's
and
mutual
form,
relationship
function,
with
words
anc word groups within larger stretches of speech.
1.2
Ai;:: of study
The aim of this study is
of
...
on
t::'e
i.~
z::lu
of
t::'is
__
....,~
l.-~
possessive
In
derivation
neec
study
to
be
1S
to ::-eview the treatment
Zulu.
and
usage
The
accepted
of
t::e
point
reviewinc
~ut
possessive
..::...nother
re-eval uc.':ed"
to
views
s~me
t~ose
air::.
se~antic-
?ossessives
- 3 -
that are semantically regular but morphologically
irregular
and
constructions as
1.3
look
to
closely
they realise
at
in
possessive
language usage.
Research Methodology and Sources of Data
This
research
viewpoint
However,
is
espouses no particular theoretical
to
some
given
thorough
to
exclusion
preference
the
in
and
and
the
as
of
of
word
the
far
others.
identification
semi-conjunctive
investigation
conjunctive
was made
the
approach.
comparison
semi-conjunctive
of
A
the
approach
as word identification with
reference to the possessive, is concerned.
A questionnaire was compiled and submitted
to a group of students of Esikhawini College
of =:ducation 'vi th the
whetner
regclar
2n
their
but
opinion
the
semantically
morphologically
poss2ssives
(ut'8arked
be
as
:-egcrded
aim of investigati!!g
irregular
possessi ves)
possessives
in
order
may
':0
- 4 -
establish the criteria they use to identify
possessives.
Literature
in
Zulu
dealing
has
been
with
reviewed
the
possessive
and
the
data
speakers
have
obtained has been analysed.
A
number
of
mother-tongue
,
been used to verify certain findings.
1.4
Presentation of Chapters
CHAPTER 1
This
chapter
with
the
clearly
is
an
motivation
the
and
aim of
study,
purpose or objectives of
and the methodology.
for
introductory chapter dealing
stating
this
study
It introduces each chapter
the sake of clarity and it gives def ini tions
of some terms used in an unconventional way.
- 5 -
CHAPTER 2
This
chapter
is
the possessive
a
in
review
of
the
treatment
of
Zulu comparing the conjunctive
approach with the semi-conjunctive approach.
CHAPTER 3
"' word group.
This chapter deals with the possessive
The
possessive
antecedent,
as
an
a
word
group
introductory
consists
member
of
an
and
a
complement.
CHAPTER 4
This chapter deals with the possessee as a member
of the possessive word group_
CHAPTER 5
This
chapter
Unmarkec
deals
with
possessives
but morphologically
are
u~~arked
possessives.
semantically
irre~ular_
regular
- 6 -
CHAPTER 6
This
and
chapter
consists
interpretation
of
of
the
data
summary,
and
the
analysis
references
used in this research.
1.5
Definition of Terms
Possessive
The possessive may be defined as the grammatical
case
which
consists
possessor.
either
not
in a
a
true
possessive
presence
the
The possessor
be
in
of
may
of
true
and
the
and the possessee may
possessive
possessive
either
the
possessee
be
relationship
relationship.
marked
possessive
The
through
particle
or
or
the
marked
by the absence of the possessive particle.
Gove
et.
in the
al.
(1961:1770)
followi~g ma~ner:
define
the
posses51ve
-
( al
of,
.
relating
grammatical
or
7 -
a
to,
case
relation
or
that
felt
constituting
denotes
to
be
a
ownership
analogous
to
ownership;
(b)
of,
relating
or
word
a
relation
to
group
or
constituting
that
felt
denotes
to
be
a
word
ownership
analogous
or
to
ownership;
(c)
of,
or
relating
to
the
possessive
case,
defined
those
a possessive construction.
Inalienable Possessive
Inalienable
possessives
possessives
which
are
may
be
structurally
as
irregular
in that they contain no possessive particle.
- 8 -
Wilkes in Nkabinde (l988:2501 says:
"This possessive is strictly limited to
cases
where
there
is
a
part-whole
relationship between the possessor NP and
the possession NP."
Word Group
This
is
a
group
syntactic-semantic
a
of
unit,
certain word group
words
which
category.
is
forming
a
The
member
a
of
possessee ,
possessive particle and the possessor are members
of the word group category, the possessive.
- 9 -
CHAPTER 2
A REVIEW OF THE POSSESSIVE
The term possessive has been used in such a way
that
it
is
applicable
qualificative.
to
a
particular type of
It is not seen as an independent
word category but as a construction which employs
the noun and pronoun in all variations as basis.
2.1
General Treatment of the Possessive in Zulu
view
Grammarians
The
ways.
is
the
word
words
in
identification.
What
is
concord
a
others,
is
according
~hich
Grammar:ans
to
the
the:~
a
1S
are,
in
chapter
regarded
as
as
stem
by
two
separate
possessive
particle
either
therefore
approaches,
f?osse5~.:.ve
this
possessive
regarded
namely
complement,
pronoun.
plus
different
in
matter
grammarians
by
.-·~egard
of
possessive
the
possessive
certain
and
crux
the
as
i . e.
far
a
noun
or
discussed
how
as
they
-
identification
approaches
discussed
is
concerned.
word
of
1n
10 -
this
The
identification
study are
two
major
which
are
the conjunctive and
the semi-conjunctive approaches.
The
conjunctivists
view
possessive
the
as
a
combination of two morphemes, a possessive concord
plus
possessive
stem
thus
The
semi-conjunctivists
two
distinct
forming
a
forming
view
the
one
word.
possessive
,
words
but
as
thus
A number of grammarians
word group.
namely Voeltz, Wilkes and others have investigated
the
so-called
inalienable/part-whole
possessives
and have made ,a major contribution in this regard.
2.2
The Conjunctive Approach
2.2.1
The Morphology of the Possessive
Doke
(1984:115),
Nyembezi
,Ziervogel
(~973:98)
word which qualifies
of
a
regard
a
et
al
the
possessive
substc~.tive.
possessive concord that
and
(1981:117)
refers
as
a
It consists
to
the noun
-
which
is
the
11 -
grammatical
possession
and
a
stem
which expresses the grammatical possessor.
They
refer
to
the
possessive
as
a
word
having
two forms namely:-
(a)
Pronominal possessive stem with possessive
concord prefixed;
e.g.
inkomo yami
(my cow)
Nominal
(b)
possessive
wi::h
s"tera
possessive
concord prefixed;
e.g.
inja yomfana
(the boy's dog)
The submission by these grammarians r-eveals their
stress
the
on
derivational
~ossessive
as
consisting
the ::oncord pI us the
or
::!'"on.oun,
\-lhich
morphology.
of
stem \-lhich
combine
a di::erent part of speech.
thus
is
They
t~~
regard
morphemes;
€:. ther
a nouCl
resulting
in
- 12 -
2.2.1.1
Formation of Possessive Concords
In
as
far
as
the
formation
concord is concerned,
that
of
the
possessive
of
the
possessive
the conjunctivists maintain
concord
is
formed
by
means
the sUbject concord plus possessive formative
"a"
(Ziervogel),
(Doke),
or a
qualificative
formative
concord equal to the subject
"a"
c~ncord
followed by the possessive a (Van Eeden).
NOUN
SUBJECT
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE
CLASS
CONCORD
FORMATIVE
CONCORD
1.
umu-
u-
+
a
>
wa-
2.
aba-
ba-
+
a
>
ba-
3.
umu-
u-
~
a
>
wa-
4.
imi-
i-
+
a
>
ya-
5.
i (li)
li-
~
a
>
la-
6.
ama-
a-
~
a
>
a-
7.
isi-
si-
a
>
Sc-
8.
izi-
21-
a
>
Ze-
9.
In-
l-
a
>
yc-
10.
2.21n-
Zl-
a
>
ze.-
-
13 -
NOUN
SUBJECT
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE
CLASS
CONCORD
FORMATIVE
CONCORD
11. u(lu)
lu-
+
a
>
lwa-
14. ubu-
bu-
+
a
>
ba-
15. uku-
ku-
+
a
>
kwa-
16. pha-
ku-
+
a
>
kwa-
17 • ku-
ku-
+
a
>
kwa-
The
formation
to
the
of
the
phonological
consonantalisation.
concord
possessive
is
suffixed
a
leads
elision
and
the case where the class
In
vowel
to
processes
"'
concords
only,
the
formative
the
a
concord
class
is
and
consonantalisation takes place.
e.~.
umfana (u+a>wa) wami
(my boy)
imizi (i+a>ya) yabo
(their houses)
In
soce
cases
if
the
class
concord
has
the
~vphG~ological
structure
suffixed to it and vowel
/CV/
t~e
elisio~
formative
takes place.
a
is
- 14 -
•
e.g.
abazali (ba+a>ba) bami
(my parents)
izinkomo (zi+a>za) zabo
(their cattle)
There
has
are
the
some
cases
phonological
where
the
structure
class
ICV/
that
concord
do not
allow .the occurrence of vowel elision but instead
consonantalisation takes place.
e.g.
uluthi (lu+a>lwa) lwabantwana
(the children's stick)
2.2.1.2
Possessive Stems
According
to
the
conjunctivists
can
be
expressed by
as
a
possessive
nearly
steEl,
ukudla
khezins~~e
(the chilcren', fooe)
possessor
any word which
e.g.
possessive pronominal stem etc.
e.g.
the
noun,
acts
adverb,
- 15 -
intsha yanamuhla
(today's youth)
ingane yami
(my child)
The
possessive
pronominal
conjunctivists terms)
is
(in
stem
the
similar to the absolute
pronoun for most classes (-na discarded.)
...
e.g.
izingane zabo(na)
~abo
(their children)
incwadi 'yami(na)yami
(my book)
There
plural,
class
an
is
with
person
singular
second
1
as
possessive
do
exception
far
as
pronoun
not correspond
these
stems
forms
.lS
the
and
first
person
plural,
having
and
their own
concerned,
which
to the absoL:te pronoun stems.
- 16 -
First ?erson plural as possessor
-ithu
izingane
za+ithu
izingane
>
zethu
(our children)
Second person singular as possessor
-kho
izingane
za+kho
zakho
>
(your children)
Second person plural as possessor
-inu
izingane
za+inu
>
izingane
zenu
(your children)
Class 1 as possessor
-khe
za+khe
izingane
izingane
>
zakhe
(his/her children)
2.2.2
The
Use
of
~he
Possessive
~ogether
~i~h_
other
Quai'ificatives
The
conjunctivists
cesc.:-i.::tive,
i~me~i~tEly
~he
say
that
?ossessive
whether
has
fellow its antecedent.
a
c:rect
or
te~=ency
to
.-,-
- 17 -
e.g.
inkomazi yami ebomvu isesibayeni
(my red cow is in the kraal)
Sometimes it happens that the possessive is moved
from
its
antecedent
to that of preceeding its antecedent.
According
to
its
position
the
of
conjunctivists
regarded
as
a
following
the
possessive
qualificative
pronoun,
introduction of a relative concord.
e.g.
is
then
after
the
...
eyami inkomazi ebomvuisesibayeni
(my cow which is red is in the kraal)
The
is
above
argument
clear
that
the
limited
to
of
possessive
the
possessi ve
those
cases
stem.
cases
poses
a
problem
conjunctivists'
where
the
particle
because
it
argument
is
possessive
plus
the
consists
pronominal
The problem is then, what about
~here
the
possessive
consists
of
the possessive particle plus any other word that
can
etc.
act
as
c.
stem
such
as
a
noun,
copulative
- 18 -
e.g.
eyomuntu ingane ikhula kangcono
(a human being's child grows up better)
Therefore
the
is
it
does
not
possessive "takes
a
qualificative
also
are
not
qualificative
necessarily
the
justified
but
a
The
morpheme
if
position,
it
conjunctivists
the
This is
that
that
say
to
after
of the relative concord.
concord
initial
pronoun.
pronoun
mean
it
is
a
introduction
n~
had been
to bring about agreement and harmony.
a
relative
introduced
A relative
concord may not be introduced before a possessive
particle.
It
may
precec.es
be
concluded
the
contrastively
that
antecedent
to
when
the
i t qualifies,
stress
or
to
possessive
it
clear
a
is
used
certain
point.
e.~.
eyami inkomo iyagula
(my beast is ill)
Th~
that
a::,ove exa:nple is
~y
(as opposed to yours)
used contrastively to stress
beast is ill as opposed to yours.
- 19 -
Grammarians under the conjunctive approach further
maintain
that
when
two
possessives
are
used
qualifying a common antecedent one will· be direct
and the other descriptive.
e.g.
indlu yami yamatshe
(my house of stones)
At times
cases
this poses
where
two
a problem because
descriptive
there are
possessives
qualify
~
one antecedent.
e.g.
inqola yommbila yokhuni
(a wooden mealie cart)
.,
It may be concluded that if the direct possessive
is
formed
from
a
pronominal
other in word-order.
e.g.
indlu yami yamatshe
(my house of stones)
it will
preceed the
- 20 -
In
cases
where
both
nouns as stems,
e.g.
possessi ves
are
formed
from
choice of word-order is possible.
isifundo sabantwana sokuqala
(the children's first lesson)
isifundo sokuqala sabantwana
(the first lesson of the children)
2.2.3
Characteristics of the Possessive according to
Doke
Doke distinguishes between direct and descriptive
A
possessives.
Doke
to
direct
(1984:117)
possessive
stems
possessive
formed
indicating
is
with
the
according
pronominal
actual
possessor
of the antecedent qualified.
e.g.
umthwalo wami
(my luggage)
A
direct
a
noun
may
pOS5eSS~¥2
base
and
a
also
pronocinal
be
formed
base
such
Hi th
as
- 21 -
demonstrative pronouns.
e.g.
inja yomfana
(the boy's dog)
ubisi 1waleli
(this one's milk)
.A
descriptive
(1984:117)
way
some
other
parts
does
not
possessor,
it
but
indicates
material etc.
e.g.
according
when
that
a
is
formed
prefixed to
a
possessive
indlu yotshani
(house of grass)
ibhakede lamanzi
(bucket of water)
possessive
to
concord
of speech in
reflect
Doke
the
character,
is
such
actual
content,
- 22 -
2.2.4
Some Deviations from the Conjunctive Approach
Doke
(1984)
deviate
and Cope
from
(1986) being conjunctivists.
some of the conjunctivists
they
include
the
They
deviate
from
the
sense
that
the
possessive
kinship
the
the
is
terms
are
Cope
have
regarded
no
e. g •
umfowethu
(my brother)
udadewenu
(your sister)
umkami
(my \-life)
uyise
(his fatc,er)
approach
conjunctivists
identified
as
by
submit
the
in
that
possessive
Some kinship terms
possessives
possessive
stem.
possessives.
conjunctive
concord plus possessive stem.
that
as
in that
concord
...
by
and
Doke
and
possessive
- 23 -
Doke
forms
(1984: 123)
of
the
possessive
further
submits
possessives
suffixes
are
that
contracted
found
(enclitics)
in
acting
many
as
terms
of relationship such as:
e.g.
umntanami
(my child)
umntanakhe
(his child)
Doke
other
of
(1984:119)
and Cope
conjunctivists
class
lea)
but
the
the
initial
preceded
do
by
vowel
the
when
not
possessive
(1986:164)
use
prefix
of
the
agreement
they
deviate from
say
that
possessive
kanoun
concords,
which
and
morpheme
replaces
which
unless
agreement morpheme consists of a vowel only.
e.g.
iduku likanina
(her/his mother's headscarf)
ingubo kc:;,aoa
(my mother's cress)
nouns
is
the
- 24 -
2.2.5
•
Summary and Comments on the Major Contributions
and Shortcomings of the Conjunctive Approach
This analysis of~ the conjunctivists is considered
important
Zulu.
for
for
the
study
of
the
possessive
in
For decades it has provided the framework
the
analysis
that
has
been
undertaken
on
the possessive in Zulu.
Grammarians under the conjunctive approach defined
the
possessive
substantive
agreement
as
and
by
the
a
is
word
which
to the above 'definition,
a
into
concordial
concord.
According
brought
possessive
qualifies
a possessive is regarded
as a sub-category of the word class qualificative.
what
is
of
significance
here
is
that
the
conjunctivists regard the possessive stem together
with its possessive concord as
e.g.
umfana wenkosi
(the king's boy)
a word.
- 25 -
In
his
in
Zulu,
wores
classification
Doke
and
words,
states
not
which
speech.
must
and
the
that
the
parts
it
is
individual
be
Therefore
concord
of
idea
the
parts
considered
the
of·
of
speech
complete
composing
as
parts
a
of
possessive
a possessive stem forming one word,
poses a problem within his classification •
The
possessive
as
a
qualificative.
a
word
subcategorJ.sed
problem
A
.
.... -"
is
arises
as
with
possessives in cases such as:
e.g.
inja yomfana omuhle
(the handsome boy's dog)
In an example such as this the syntactic analysis
would
have
to
(adjective)
omuhle
(possessive)
approach
a
word
example
account
Even
qualificative
qualifying
it
qualifying
yomfana.
the
will
qualificative
for
a
have
to
omuhle
qualificative yomfana.
be
qualificative
the
qualificative
within
has
nominal
the
been
yet
the
defined· as
in
concluded
qualifies
Dokean
the
above
that
the
another
- 26 -
As
far as
the formation of the possessive concord
is
cor:.cerned,
is
formed
by
qualificative
subject
the
the
the
is
constituent
to
to
the
"an.
The
that
plus
idea
to
it
the
of
a
refer
contained
morpheme
refer
say
concord
inappropriate
·concord".
appropriate
equal
sUbject
formative
concord
possessive
conjunctivists
in
to
the
In this regard i t is more
to
subjectival
this
concordial
morpheme
simply
element
as
an
agreement morpheme as Van Eeden ;(1.956) has done.
One
can
also
mention
that
there
is
an
aspect
of the possessive which they have not dealt with.
There
but
are
do
e.g.
words
not have
that
a
have
typical
a
possessive
possessive
meaning
structure.
uSomandla
(father of power)
This
is
kind
a
word
of
possessive
,,.hich
has
possesslve structure.
is
evolved
contracted
from
a
i.e.
it
diachronic
-
2.3
27 -
The Semi-Conjunctive Approach
The
?rinci?les
of
semi-conjunctivists
conjunctivists.
the
possessive
possessive
identification
differ
The
possessive
interdependent
word
three
of
the
plus
the
the
plus
regard
separate
Le.
words
particle
that
the
semi-conjunctivists
as
particle
fron
of
possessee,
noun/pronoun.
the
but
noun/pronoun
The
are
..,
however rigid.members of the word group.
The
two
opposing
views
can
be
schematically as follows:
CONJUNCTIVE APPROACH
Possessee
I
I
Possessee
umthwalo
I
+ Poss. Stem
Poss.
I
+ indoda
wa
I
1 ssor
I
possr
umthwalo
wendoda
(the load)
(of the man)
represented
-
28 -
SEMI-CONJUNCTIVE APPROACH
Possessee
Poss. Particle
I
I
I
urathwalo
wa
+
I
I
I
I
umthwalo
Possessee
Poss. Particle
(the load
There
Complement
are
grammarians
indoda
I
Noun/Pronoun
I
wa-
indoda
of
the man)
who
are
included
under
~~
the
semi-conjunctive
written
regarded
a
approach
the~
possessive
the
so-called
particle.
as
they have
words,
three
possessive
are
Those
because
concord
grammarians
such
and
as
as
Torrend, Colenso and Stuart.
Torrend
regards
the
possessive
as
a
possessive
expression when he says:
"In most Bantu languages possessive
expressions are formed by placing
the particle before substantives
and pronouns."
(Torrend,189l:l89l
-
29 -
Being thus formed,
as
a
if
the
verb,
to.
from
nouns,
elision,
?ossessive
meaning
When
n
these
expressior.s
particles
"to belong
possessive
three
coalescence
to"
are treated
here
or
"to appertain
expressions
morphonological
and
properly
are
formed
processes;
consonantalisation
come
to play.
amahhashi
Elision:
a+abafana > abafana
(the boys' horses)
Coalescence:
amachwane
a+inkukhu > amachwane
enkukhu
(the fowl's chicks)
Consonantalisation:
ingane (i+a) + bona> yabo
(their child)
Colenso states that:
"The want of a possessive or generative
case in Zulu is supplied by means of
set
is
possessive particle which
a
its
governed
noun
or
the
before
representative pronoun. "
(Colenso,1904:28)
•
- 30 -
The
possess~ve
governed
n=un
~~rticle
w~ll
when
placed
coalesce
with
before
the
the
initial
vowel of thE noun concerned.
e.g.
ingubo
ya+umfazi
ingubo yomfazi
>
(the women's dress)
Stuart says:
"There is a special form of the pronoun
when it
is used with a possessive
particle, and this form is called a
possessive case.
(Stuart,1907:24)
Van wyk (1961) is the great exponent of the semiconjunctive approach.
arguments
"has
put forward sound
for his word identification principles.
Van
Wyk
submits
its
own
ri"ht
declinable
says
He
that
and
that
which
a
is
particle
is
a
heterogeneous,
~on-reduplicable.
syntactically,
particles
He
word
but
in
non-
further
have
no
sentence valence and have valences as introductory
- 31 -
members of exocentric word groups.
particles
denote
illustrated
by
Semantically,
relations ..
an
example
This
of
a
can
possessive
be
word
group.
e.g.
iduku la-intombi
(the girl's headscarf)
In the above example la is a possess.,iye particle
which
denotes
intombi.
It
the"
is
an
relation
between
iduku
and
introductory members of the
word group la-intombi thus lentombi.
Van
of
Wyk
a
particle
Relations
meaning.
have
says" that
a
are
is
the
most
that
of
important
denoting
relations.
denoted even in words with complex
There are posses si ve word groups that
complex
meaning,
where
relations
denoted by possessive particles.
e.g.
function
umuntu wezinkuni usendlini.
(the wood's person is in the house).
are
- 32 -
The
meaning
dete=minec
context,
can
by
the
extra
previous
example
will
be
linguistic
factors
such
as
:;:;re-knowledge,
mean
person
of
"the
who
and other factors.
person
buys
who
wood"
sells
or
"the
wood",
person
This
or
"the
who
owns
wood" or "the person who collects wood".
2.4
Conclusion
Both
_ conjunctivists
the
conjunctivists
based
-- the
and
their
treatment
semiof
possessive word group on the structure.
the
in
fact
word
their
in
yet
possessive
on
the
used
the
This
as
function
communication.
a
different
but
they
of
The
directed
idea
the possessive
full
attention
poses
a
word
Despite
approaches
both
structure.
treatment
received
grammarians.
and
they
identification
stress
meaning
not
that
the
from
in
the
The
treatment
has
field
of
both
of
the
has
these
problem because
group
of
the
form
linguistic
the possessive
should account for both morphology and semantics.
- 33 -
CHAPTER 3
THE POSSESSIVE WORD GROUP
3.1
The Possessive as Word Group
The
possessive
as
a
word
group
antecedent,
an
introductory
complement.
The
antecedent
consists
member
is
the
being
the
of
an
and
a
possession,
....
the
introduc.tory
particle
and
member
the
pronoun
used as
member
together
form
with
subject
antecedent
or object
the
the
word
of
the
the
form
complement
word
qualificative
group
noun
or
The introductory
qualificative
or
antecedent with
an
being
the possessor.
introductory
The
complement
possessive
which
sentence or
an
group.
word group
can be
the
have other
syntactic functions.
This can be represented schematically as follows:
-
e.g.
izin~~mo
34 -
zenkosi
(the king's cattle)
izinkomo
za
inkosi
noun
Pissessive particle
noln
antecedent
introductory member
complement
I
I
I
I
I
I
Introductory/Qlla:d.ficati ve .v.'Ord group
3.2
The General Structure of the Possessive Particle
....
According
to
Selkirk
particle
is
regarded
qualificative
regarded
Through
as
the
word
the
(1982:126)
as
The
percolation
of
of
head
the
process,
possessive
head
the
group.
nucleus
the
word
the
can
the
be
group.
possessive
particle and its entire feature content percolate
up
the
structure
thus
changing
the
category of
the noun to that of being a complement/possessor.
The
is
primary
to
add
function
a
of. the
semantic
qualificative word group.
possessive
property
particle
to
·the
-
As
the
head
particle
of
~ord
a
displays
characteristics
The
35 -
the
that
qualificative
a
are
word
constituent
be
the
head
constituent
of
of
a
is
constituent
particle
it
the
possessive
particle
and
that
are
identical
expected
a
head.
regarded
as
of
is
a
said
possessor.
possessor
an
of
construction
constituent
with
semantic
The possessive particle
the
associated
possessive
and
expected
group
a
possessive
the
syntactic
left-headed construction.
as
group
is
the
If
head
therefore
of
a
of
means
possessor
set
to
are
features
constituents
of
a
construction.
3.3
The Morphological Structure of the Possessive
Particle
The
possessive
agreement
norm of
class
to
particle
morpheme
the
real
which
(which
prefix
the
consists
is
minus
possession
possessive morpheme -a-.
of
derived
a
a
from
nasal)
belongs
basic
the
of
plus
the
a
--,-..
- 36 -
a..~.sS
If
the
only,
.a
it
vowel
NO
NOUN
AGREE:'!ENT
POSS.
POSS.
MJRPH
MJRPH
PART
1
umufo
u-
-a-
wa
2
abato
00-
-a-
00
3
umuzi
u-
-a-
wa
4
imizi
i-
-a-
ya
5
i(li) tshe li-
-a-
la
6
amatshe
a-
-a-
a
7
isitsha
si-
-a-
"'
sa
8
izitsha
zi-
-a-
za
9
inkaro
i-
-a-
ya
10
izinkaro
zi-
-a-
za
11
uluthi
lu-
-a-
lwa
14
ubuhle
bu-
-a-
00
15
ukudla
ku-
-a-
kwa
16
phandle
ku-
-a-
kwa
17
kude
ku-
-a-
kwa
agreement
is
morpheme
consists
consonantalised
becomes
a
semi-vowel
status of being a consonant.
to
y-
thus
of
or
a
vowel
w-.
Here
attaining
the
- 37 -
AGREEHENT
POSS=-SSIVE
POSSESSIVE
HORPHENE
MORPEEHE
PARTICLE
u
+
a
wa
i
+
a
ya
e.g.
umuzi wakhe
(his house)
ingane yakhe
(her child)
If the agreement morpheme consists of a consonant
and vowel
U-,
the
vowel
changes to
a
semi-vowel
w-.
AGREEMENT
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE
MORPHEME
MORPHEME
PARTICLE
a
kwa
ku
+
e.g.
ukudla kwakhe
(his food)
-
In
the
ca2e
is
elided
language
of
38 -
the
because
coes
consonants
/b/
ubuthe
not
and
class,
phonology
allow
/w/
the
to
the
be
semi-vowel
of
two
the
Zulu
bilabial
juxtaposed.
The
two bilabial consonants are incompatible.
AGREE-~T
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE
MORPHEME
MORPHEME
PARTICLE
bu
bwa > ba
a
+
ubuhle bakhe
e.g.
(her beauty)
In
class
agreement
6
coalescence
morpheme
and
takes
a
place
between
(possessive
the
morpheme)
consequently resulting in the possessive particle
a.
-
39 -
.:;GREEMENT
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE
~·IORPHEME
MORPHEME
P.'-.RTICLE
a
+
e.g.
arnatshe ami
a
a
(my stones)
,
If the agreement morpheme consists of· a consonant
and vowel i-,. the vowel is elided.
AGREEMENT
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE
~ORPHEME
MORPHEME
PARTICLE
si
+
a
sia > sa
zi
+
a
zia > za
li
+
a
lia > la
e.g.
isitsha sakhe
(her container)
-
';0 -
izi:i:c:o zabo
(the~r
things)
Itshe lami
(my stone)
3.3.1
Possessive Particle with Class lea) as Possessor
Instead
l(a)
the
uses
using
the
agreement
syllabic
resulting
The
of
a
particle
particle
ka.
IVI
..,
In
ka --used
ka may
the
as
be
the
Class
case where
ingubo i + ka + umama
ingubo kama",a
(my mother's dress)
ingane i + ka + unina
ingane kanina
(his mother's child)
vowel
is
possessive
regarded as
possessive particle.
e.g.
particle,
morpheme of the possessee has the
structure
in
possessive
elided
particle.
the
archaic
- 41 -
If
the
morph eRe
the
syllabic
of
mo=pheme
the
structure
possessee
ka,
the
of
is
the
/Cv/
possessive
it
agreement
precedes
particle
thus
being zika- / lika etc.
e.g.
izibuko zi + ka + umalume
izibuko zikamalume
(my uncle's spectacles)
isikhwama si + ka + ugogo
isikhwama sikagogo
(my grandmother's bag)
ikati li + ka + uyise
ikati likayise
(his father's cat)
3.3.2
Possessive Particle with Class 2(a) used as
Possessor
Before nouns of Class 2(a}, the prefix is retained
while the a of the possessive ?article is deleted.
An alternative form is used where both the prefix
and
the
retained.
vChel
-
42 -
of
the
possessive
Juxtaposition
of
vowels
particle
is
are
avoided
by infixing the semi-vowel between the possessive
particle and the prefix
(a)
0-.
Vowel of the possessive particle deleted
e.g. izinkomo za_+ obaba
izinkomo
za~aba
izinkomo- zobaba
(our fathers' cattle)
abantwana ba + omalume
abantwana ba16malume
abantwana bomalume
(our uncles' children)
(b)
Both the prefix and the vowel of the
possessive particle retained
e.g. izinkomo za + obaba
izinkomo zawobaba
(our fathers' cattle)
- 43 -
abantNana ba +
o~alurne
abant.ana bawomalume
(our uncles' children)
3.4
Manifestations of the Noun as Possessor
The
most
,particle
commonly
is
possessive
a
noun
used
from the
qualificative
word
group
the
noun classes.
The
.,
and
particle
of
complement
possessor
which
form
qualifies
a
the
antecedent (possessee).
isinkwa sI + (a+i) ngane
e.g.
>
isinkwa sengane
(the child's bread)
Both
elision
above example.
and
coalescence
took
place
in
the
- 44 -
3.4.1
Locative Derived Nouns as Possessors
Before
locative
-s-
is
and
the
derived
infixedbetween
locative
nouns. (with
the
derived
initial
possessive
noun.
The
e)
particle
-s-
is
according to Doke a pre-locative Us".
e.g.
izingane za + s + ekhaya
izingane zasekhaya
(children of my home)
umfana wa + s + eGoli
umfana waseGoli
(the boy. of Johannesburg)
possessives
are
formed
from
place
names
by
prefixing the possessive particles to the locative
case with the pre-locative -s- between them.
e.g.
izwe la + s + eMvoti
izwe laseMvoti
(the land of Mvoti)
-
3.4.2
Dever~ative
Deverbative
45 -
Nouns as Possessors
nouns
can
be
possessors
in
a
ideophones
can
be
?ossessive word group.
e. g.
imoto yomhambi
Qtamba]
(the traveller's car)
isigqi somculo [5:ula ]
(the rythm of music)
ingubo yomphathi [phathaJ
(the guardian's dress)
3.4.3
Deideophonic Nouns as Possessors
Nouns
that
are
derived
from
?ossessors in a possessive word group.
e.g.
inhlamvu yesibhamu
[bhamuJ
(the bullet of a gun)
-
46 -
ihembe lesibhaxa
[bhaxaJ
(broac-shouldered person's shirt)
3.5
The Possessor Represented by the Possessive
Pronoun
The
possessor
possessive
pronoun
1st
pronoun
(-na
person
plural,
can
also
be
which
discarded)
plural,
represented
resembles
for
2nd
all
the
by
absolute
cfasses
person
except
singular,
and Class 1, which is, -ithu,
the
and
-kho, -inu
and -khe respectively.
LIST OF POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
PLURAL
SINGULAR
Ipp
-ithu
(ours)
2ps -kho (yours)
2pp
-inu
(yours)
Class 1
Class 2
-bo
Ips -mi
(mine)
-khe
3
-wo
4
-yo
5
-10
6
-wo
-
Class -
-so
9
-yo
Multiple
where
e.g.
47 -
Class 8
10 -zo
11
-10
14
-bo
15
-kho
16.
-kho
17
-kho
coalescence
-ithu
-zo
and
takes
-inu
are
place
used
in
as
the
cases
possessors.
z (i+a) > z (a+i) thu > zethu
izinkomo zethu
(our cattle)
(i+a) y(a+i) nu > yenu
imizi yenu
(your houses)
with
basic
the
rest
of
possessive
possessive pronoun.
the
possessive
particle
is
pronouns
prefixed
to
the
the
-
e.g.
zabo
[izinja]
(theirs)
kwabo
dogs
[ukudla]
(theirs)
zami
food
[!.zinganJ
(mine)
children
lawo
[!khayaJ
(theirs)
When
the
as
a
home
possessive
possessor,
or
48 -
it
can
be
determiner
possessive pronoun
antecedent,
(noun
pronoun
used
used on
possessor
be
pronominal
but
is
in
apposition
to
either
if
the
is said
possessive
pronoun
antecedent.
it
ihhashi lakhe liyagula (pronominal)
(his horse is ill)
•
the
it
to be used as a determiner.
(a)
If
its own with the
deleted)
the
the
pronominally
(qualificatively).
is
to
represents
is
said
-
(b)
49 -
ihhashi lakhe ·umfana liyagula (determiner)
(the horse of him, the boy, is ill)
3.6
The Syntactic Usage of the Possessive Word Group
The
be
sentence
analysed
is
a
into
grammatical
form
constituents.
which
The
can
possessive
word group may pe used as subject or object of
the sentence.
3.6.1
The Possessive Word Group as Subject of the
Sentence
The possessive word group can occupy the subject
position.
is
The
when
The
the
normal
subject
predicative
will
word
is
order
before
then
in a
the
contain
sentence
predicative.
an
agreement
morpheme agreeing to the possessor.
e.g.
izinsizwa zikagogo ziharnbele umhlangano.
(my grandmother's sons has left for the
meeting) .
- 50 -
:nduku yami ilahleke izolo.
'my stick got lost yesterday).
3.6.1.1
Logical and Grammatical Subjects
~
The
terms
often
grammatical
used
meaning.
to
and
logical
subjects
are
distinguish
between
position
and
These types of subjects are as a result
of the change_of word order caused by'passivation.
e.g.
ingane yesikole ifunda incwadi.
(the school child reads the book).
incwadi ifundwa ingane yesikole.
(the book is read by the school child).
3.6.2
The Possessive Word Group as Object of a Sentence
The
proximate
position
the
predicate.
The
of
an
possessive
object
word
is
group
-object of the sentence follows the predicate .
•
after
as
....•
- 52 -
preceeding
dif:ers
the
possessor.
~orphologically.
it
from the basic form b': having a relative
concordial
morpheme
added
to
the
basic
form.
This is as a result of topicalisation.
e.g.
abafana bethu
(our boys)
abethu abafana
(ours, the boys)
izingane zami
(my children)
ezami izingane
(mine, the children)
3.6.3.1
Formation of the Emphatic possessive Word Group
The
a
emphatic
possessive
qualificative
(minus nasal)
morpheme
word
a
+
group
full
consists
class
of
prefix
followed by the ordinary possessive
- 53 -
particle
(\,hich
morpheme
+
consists
possessive
of
the
morpheme
basic
a)
agreement
and
noun
or
pronoun as possessor.
e.g.
(a+u>o) + (u+a>wa)
owa
owakhe umnt..-ana
(hers, the child)
(her child)
However,
in
morpheme
having
/CV/
the noun classes with the
structure
the
leads
structure
to
the
/CV/
agreement
the
deletion
of
the repeated agreement morphemes.
(a+isi>esi) + (si+a>sa)
esisa > esa
esakhe isikhwama
(his bag)
(a+ili>eli) + (li+a>la)
elakhe ikat:.
(his cat)
elila > ela
repeated
one of
(a+uku>oku)
~k~",ami
-
54 -
~
(ku+a>kwa)
okukwa > okwa
ukudla
\ffiY food)
(a+ubu>obu) + (bu+a>ba)
obuba > oba
obakhe ubuhle
(her beauty)
3.6.3.2
Emphatic Possessive Word Group Used Copulatively
The
e:nphatic
possessive
word
group
may
be
copulatively by prefixing the particle ng(i).
e.g.
ng(i) + eyakhe
ngeyakhe lengane
(the child is hers)
ng(i) + awarni
ngawarni lawornahhashi
(those horses are mine)
used
- 55 -
3.7
Archa~c
anc Contracted Forms
Morphology and semantics
goes hand in hand since
morphemes
are
meaning-carrying
Archaic
and
contracted
parts
of
words.
possessives
are
semantically marked but morphologically unmarked.
3.1.1
Relationships in Archaic and Contracted Forms
Archaic
and
categorised
contracted
deictically
possessives
and
in
this
study
may
terms
be
of
relationship.
Paternal Relationship
Paternal
the
relationship
relationship
that
side of the father).
in
is
fatherly,
refers
to
(from
the
- 51 -
e.g.
umngane
uthe~ge
(a friend
imoto yakhe
b~~ght
her car)
niyalithanda ivangeli lami na?
(do you like my
3.6.3
-
~ospel?)
The use of the Possessive Word Group as Relative
Under
normal
circumstances the possessor follows
.,
the possessee.
e.g.
abafana bethu
(our boys)
izingane zami
(my children)
There
isJ'
possessive
This
form
however,
word
is
group
the
is
conveniently
possessive word group.
from
another
basic
form
form
used
called
where
emphatically.
the
Syntactically,
by
having
the
the
emphatic
it differs
possessor
-
3.7.1.2
55 -
FIRST PERSON
SECOND PERSON
THIRD PERSON
ubaba
uyihlo
uyise
(my father)
(your father)
(his/her father)
ubabekazi
uyihlokazi
uyisekazi
(my paternal
(your paternal
(his/her paternal
aunt)
aunt)
aunt)
ubabamkhulu
uyihlomkhulu
uyisemkhulu
(my grandfather)
(your
(his/her
grandfather)
grandfather)
ugogo
unyokokhulu
uninakhulu
(my grandmother)
(your
(his/her
grandmother)
grandmother)
umfowethu
umfowenu
umfowabo
(my brother)
(your brother)
(his/her brother)
.
Maternal Relationship
Maternal
the
relationship
relationship
side of the mother)
that
in
is
this
study
motherly.
refers
(from
to
the
- 57 -
FIRS: ?""RSOI
SECOND PERSON
THIRD PERSON
unyoko
unina
(my ::=ther)
(your mother)
(his/her mother)
umal=e
unyokolume
uninalume
(my r::=.ternal
(your maternal
(his/her
uncle)
uncle)
maternal uncle)
umaltnekazi
unyokolumekazi
uninalumekazi
(my rt=.ternal .
(your maternal
(his/her
uncle's wife)
uncle's wife)
maternal
,
uncle's wife)
3.7.1.3
umame;cazi
unyokokazi
uninakazi
(my r::=.ternal
(your maternal
(his/her
aunt)
aunt)
maternal aunt)
Matri::onial Relationship
Matri::onial
to
t~e
kind
relationship
of
in
relationship
resul= of rr.arriage.
this
that
study
arises
refers
as
a
- 58 -
FIRS: PERSON
SECOND PERSO:,
THIRD PERSON
umka=_:'
umkami
umkakhe
(my
(your wife)
(his/her wife)
unyokozala
uninazala
(your mother-in-
(her mother-in-
law)
law)
ubabezala
uyihlozala
"'uyisezala
(my father-in-
(your father-in-
(her father-in-
law)
law)
law)
·.~fe)
umamezala
(my
3.7.1.4
c~ther-in-law)
Affectionate Relationship
Affec~ionate
to
the
kind
relationship
of
in
relationship
this
study
that
arises
refers
as
a
resulc of love and affection.
FIRST PERSON
SECOND PERSON
THIRD PERSON
umnta:"'vethu
umntakwethu
umntakwabo
(my kinsman)
(your kinsman)
(his/her
kinsman)
- 59 -
3.7.1.5
Companion Relationship
Companion
to
the
relationship
relationship
in
where
this
there
study
is
refers
companion
in age or common interest.
FIRST PERSON
SECOND PERSON
THIRD PERSON
uwethu
uwenu
uwabo
(my peer)
(your peer)
(his/her peer)
uzakwethu
uzakwenu
uzakwabo
(my colleague)
(your colleague)
(his/her
colleague)
3.7.2
Compounding in archaic possessives
Some
of
the
They
combine
archaic
shortened
resulting to compounds.
NOUN + ADJECTIVE
ubaba + omkhulu
ubabamkhulu
(my grandfather)
possessives
forms
of
are
two
blended.
words
thus
- 60 -
uyihlo + omkhulu
uyihlomkhulu
(your grandfather)
uyl.se + omkhuluuyisemkhulu
(his/her grandfather)
NOUN + QUALIFICATIVE
umuntu + wakwethu
umntakwethu
(my kinsman)
umuntu + wakwenu
umntakwenu
(your kinsman)
umuntu + wakubo
umntakwabo
(his/her kinsman)
- 61 -
umfo - wakithi
umfo·oII.-~chu
(my ::::::>ther)
umfo - wakini
umfowenu
(your brother)
/
umfo .;- wakubo
umfowabo
(his/her brother)
NOUN .;- RELATIVE
umama + oza1a (umyeni wami)
umameza1a
(my
mc~her-in-law)
unyokc + oza1a (umyeni wakho)
unyokcza1a
(your
~other-in-1aw)
-
unina + ozala
62 -
(u~yeni wa~he)
uninazala
(her flother-in-law)
3.7.3
Ellipsis in Archaic Possessives
There are
of
archaic possessives which are a result
ellipsis,
some
part
or parts
of
that
a
is,
word
the
result
of
omitting
or word group ....
The words
of words deleted are often
said to be
understood.
In
possessive
is
a
male,
word
the
groups
where
possessee
particle are contracted to uSo.
uyise wamandla
> uSomandla
(father of power)
uyise ,,,ekhaya
> uSokhaya
.
(father of the house)
and
the
the
possessee
possessive
- 63 -
uY1.se
~.;ezimali
> uSozimali
(father of money)
In
possessive
word
is
a
the
female,
groups
where
posses see
and
the
the
possessee
possessive
particle are contracted to uNo.
unina wenhlanhla >
uNonhlanhla
(mother of luck)
unina wemvula >
uNomvula
(mother of rain)
Koopman
No
is
(1986)
used
morpheme
e.g.
for
can
uNompempe
(referee)
disagrees
with
the
females.
He
states
also
be
used
with
fact
that
males.
that
this
-
3.7.4
64 -
The use of -kazi ln Archaic Possessives
When
the
the
result
gender.
to
suffix
is
In
indicate
female
-kazi
either
archaic
feminine
relative
who
is
affixed
augmentation
possessives
gender
may
or
-kazi
the
noun,
feminine
is
used
as
it
refers
either
be
maternal
paternal.
3.7.4.1
to
Maternal Relatives
umalumekazi
(my maternal uncle's wife)
unyokolumekazi
(your maternal uncle's wife)
uninalumekazi
(his/her maternal uncle's wife)
to
a
or
-
3.7.4.2
65 -
Relatives
PatE~nal
ubat~;.cazi
(my
~aternal
aunt)
uyih2.okazi
(you~
paternal aunt)
uyisekazi
(his/her pateinal aunt)
Postulation of Some Archaic Possessives
3.7.5
Semantically marked possessives which fall
.~
kinship
terms
pose
a
necessity
of
under
research
in
sociolinguistics because they reflect the culture
of
are
the
rapidly
impact
whom
mother-tongue
of
the
into
cultures
mother-tongue
Zulu
For example
umamezala
falling
speakers.
if you take
you
find
that
disuse
of
Most
of
because of
other
speakers
peoples
them
the
with
intermingle.
the possessive compound
it
is
wrongly
used by
some male persons to refer to their mother-in-Iaws
- 66 -
the -correct ?ossessi ve compound
\<hereas
persons
to
refer
::0
their
for mal e
is
mother-in-la\<s
urn:<hwekazi~
umntwana kamamekaz;
umntakamame
(maternal cousin)
This is one of the terms that are rapidly falling
into
disuse.
this
SUbstitute
umntakamamncane,
originally
combination
is,
the
group
mother-tongue
term
with
umntakamamkhulu,
the
have
umntakamamekazi.
a
Some
of
This
possessive,
and
umamekazi.
did
not
as
compound
of possessives,
marked
a
as
meaning
possessive
two types
such
which
same
morphologically
umntaka
term'!;
speakers
possessive
semantically
is
that
word
marked
The diachronic structure
of this kinship term is:
PREFIX
um-
STEM
ntwana
POSSESSIVE
POSSESSOR
PARTICLE
FEMININE
ka
mame
SUFFIX
kazi
-
67 -
umfowethu
(my brother)
Umfowethu
This
is
is
a
a
general
form of brother in Zulu.
possessive
distinguish
between
compounc
the
which
youngest
does
or
not
eldest
brother.
Prefix
Root
um-
fo
wa
ithu > umfowethu
um-
fo
wa
inu
> umfowenu
um-
fo
wa
bo
> umfowabo
Poss. Particle
Pronominal Stem
umalume
(maternal uncle)
Some
"lumen
that
is
Zulu
in
mother-tongue
"malume
although
the
tl
(maternal
person
a kin to one' smother,
loving
as
one's
relatives are.
speakers
mother,
maintain
uncle)
referred
to
that
suggests
thereby,
he is not as kind and
or
as
other
maternal
-
One
If
the. inforrc:ani:s
0:'
1 urr:e"
some
and
It
umaluu:e n
in
sort
mate=nal
were
68 -
of
nieces
be
proposes
(naternal
maternal
in
traditional
for
a
being
harsh
that
uncle)
b~ tine;
uncles
renowned
can
a
further
suggests
relative.
to
the
Zulu
their
The
set-up
nephews
in comparison to the other relatives.
concluded
that
it
originates
from the
word group umfo kamame olumayo thus umalume.
urnkarni
(my wife)
This
term
referring
can
to
his
only
be
wife.
used
For
by
the
the
second
husband
person
i t is umkakho (your wife) and for the third person
it is umkakhe (his wife).
prefix
Possessive Particle
Possessive Pronoun
um-
ka-
mi
um-
ka-
kho
um-
ka-
khe
In
the
above
it
originates
example
it
can
be
concluded
from the word group umfazi
that
ka mina
-
69 -
(my t,ife).
3.8
CONCLUSION
From
the
above
discussion
it
may
be
concluded
that the possessive as a word group has different
variations.
to
The
both
These
different
diachronic
synchronic
and
approach
variations
synchronic
in
this
conform
approaches.
study
is
used
in cases where the possessive word group is made
up
and
of
the
possessee,
the. possessor
the
(complement
pronoun) •
e.g.
isikhwama sami
(my bag)
ikati lentombazane
(the girl's cat)
possessive
Le.
particle,
noun
or
.---"
-
The
in
diachronic
=rchaic
oriq~n
e.g.
70 -
approach
and
ln
contracted
this
forms
study
is
whereby
used
their
is traced; mor?hologically.
uyise + wamandla
> uSomandla
(father of power)
umntwana + wami
> umntanami
(my child)
This brings in the importance of the spoken word
in
of
the
study
language
important.
like
by
this,
whereby
mother-tongue
the
daily
speakers
use
is
- 71 -
CHF.?TER •
THE
POSS~SSEE
This
chapter
posses see
deals
may
be
with
regarded
possessive word group)
noun
or
(possessor)
divided
that
into
have
posses see,
irregular
a
a
sub-categories,
that
regular
have
as posses.see
a
ingane kamama
(the child of my mother)
ownership
may be
those
noun
as
and those that have
SYNTACTICALLY REGULAR NOUN AS POSSESSEE
(a house of grass)
a
syntactically
This can be represented as follows:
indlu yotshani
(in
"'namely
compound nouns as possessee.
e.g.
The
noun
word groups
syntactically
those
noun
as
denotes origin,
Possessive
three
possessee.
that is limited by another
which
designation.
the
-
72 -
STNTACTICALLY IRREGULAR NOUN AS
e.g.
POSSES SEE
intalantala yomsebenzi
(a large quantity of work)
COMPOUND NOUN AS POSSESSEE
e.g.
ilambalidlile lentombi
(well figured young woman)
usofasilahlane wami
(my beloved one)
4.1
SYNTACTICALLY REGULAR NOUN AS POSSESSEE
Syntactically
to
the
regular
noun
posses see
It
justified.
noun
is
said
in
this
study refers
is
syntactically
that
to
be
regular
because
it has an independent lexical meaning.
The
syntactically
be
realised
groups.
in
regular
two
noun
types
of
as
posses see .may
possessive
word
It is found ln both direct and indirect
possessive
word
groups.
In
direct
possessive
- 73 -
word groups. the posses see and the possessor
in
a
e.g.
true
possessive
relation
to
each
are
other.
ingane kamama
(the child of my mother)
In
ir.direct possessive word groups
and
the
possessor
are
not
in a
the possessee
true possessive
relation to each other in spite of
of
a
possessive
particle.
When
the presence
discussing
the
indirect possessives, Doke says:
"Here,
instead of the concord agreeing
with the possessee,
it agrees with the
possessor of some quality, characteristic
or material."
(Doke.1984 :121)
Accorcing
to
Doke
this
may ir-dicate the following:
:1aterial
indlu yotshani
(a hu,:
of qrass
possessive
word
group
- 74 -
Contents
ujeke wObisl
(a jug of ",ilk)
Use
imbiza yamanzi
(a pot of
~ater)
Types, features, characteristics
.,
abantu besilisa
(male perso:ls)
into yokudla
(something
~o
eat)
indoda yokueebenza
(a man to wcrk)
One
may
and
use.
reclasei.fy
There
because they both
~s
~efer
Doke's
divisions,
ambiguity
between
to purpose.
content
the
t~o
- 75 -
Purpose
ujeke wobisi
(jug of milk)
imbiza yamanzi
(pot of water)
Purpose distinguished by infinitive
"
complement
into yokudla
(something to eat)
indoda yokusebenza ensimini
(a man to work in the field)
4.1.1
The noun in a co?ulative form as possessee
Two basic types
The
one
15
modification
the
a
~f
cs?ula::ive \Vhich
elf
:che
seconc.
copula~ive
co?ulatives are found in
?a~tic!e.
:cone on
is
the
lS
formed
by
the pre-prefix
one
that
Z~lu.
the
K~,ile
employs
a
- 76 -
Nouns
i-
with
lower
prefixes
or
rise
commencing
the
tone
on
in
that
the
vowel
vowel
or
prep lace y- before the vowel.
e.g.
ingane kababa
(my father's child)
ingane kababa/
yingane kababa
(it is my father's child)
isinkwa sengane
(the bread of the child)
isinkwa sengane
yisinkwa sengane
(it is the child's bread)
Nouns
u-
and
vowels
with
a-.
or
the
prefixes
lower
preplace
before those vowels.
or
commencing
rise
ng-/h-
the
(the
tone
in
vowels
on
voiced
those
/
J{ /)
- 77 -
e.g.
umfana kagogo
(the boy of my grandmother)
iimfana kagogo
ngumfana kagogo
humfana kagogo
(it is the boy of my grandmother)
amanzi oThukela
(water of Thukela river)
amanzi oThukela
ngamanzi oThukela
hamanzi oThukela"
(it"is the water of the Thukela river)
4.2
Syntactically Irregular Noun as Possessee
Syntactically
to
the
noun posses see
justified;
mear:inq.
regular
because
it
noun
in
that
has
no
lS
this
study
refers
syntactically not
independent lexical
- 78 -
A
possessive
word
group
with
a
syntactically
irregular noun as possessee is also semantically
irregular.
not
in
The possessee and the possessor are
true
a
possessive
relation.
The
"possessee" instead of being the thing possessed,
describes the possessor.
This kind of word group has a fixed word order,
it cannot be changed.
It
consists of two types
of words namely, the content word and the function
word.
e.g.
isiphalaphala sentombi
(a very peautiful young woman)
The pcssessee is
no
i:ldependent
contributes
the
the
to
possess~ve
other
hand
a full lexical
function word because it has
a
lexical
tEe
~c=d
is
a
meaE:~g
meaning
grammatical
group.
content
but
realisation
The
possessor
word because
of its own.
merely
it
of
on
has
- 79 -
4.2.1
Different Syllabic Structures of the Syntactically
Irregular Noun as Possessee
4.2.1.1
Monosyllabic Stems
The
posses see
may
be
a
monosyllabic
an appropriate prefix.
e.g.
isigqi sengoma
{the
rhythm of a song}
isixha.sokhiye
(a bunch of keys)
isabo somsindo
(a very loud noise)
isamba semali
(a lot of money)
stem
with
- 80 -
4.2.1.2
Disyllabic stems
The
posses see
with
disyllabic
stem
is
miscellaneous in nature.
e.g.
isibozi semoto
(a worthless car)
isigqigqi sentombi
(a short strongly built woman)
umthala wezinkanyezi
(a
4.2.1.3
constellation 2of- stars)
Duplicated stems
The
posses see
may
be
for~ed
by
suitable prefix to duplicated stems.
e.g.
in~alantala y~msebenzi
( a:oundan t :-!or,:)
prefixing
a
- 81 -
imbidlimbidli yentombazane
(a badly built girl)
inyavunyavu yemali
(a large sUm of money)
isiminyaminya sabantu
(a thick crowd of people)
ubhazabhaza wendlu
(a very big house)
intekenteke yengane
(a weakly built child)
isiphekupheku somfazi
(a very active wife)
igidigici lensini
(a loud laughter)
- 82 -
4.2.1.4
Stems of verbal origin
In most cases the possessees with stems
origin
are
characterised
by
a
of verbal
deverbati ve
ending
-i ..
e.g.
isi + lilitheka
sa + umfana
lsililitheki somfana
(an abnormal boy)
isi + lelesa
sa
+
umfana
isilelesi somfana
(crime-comitting person)
4.2.1.5
Stems of ideophonic origin
In
this
that
There
case,
the
either
are
are
cases
possessee
disyllabic
where
isi
+
phihli
sa + ingozi
isiphihli sengozi
Ca big accident)
or
of
stems
polysyllabic.
disyllabic
re-duplicated.
e.g.
consists
stems
are
-
isi + dinsi
83 -
sa + imali
isidinsi semali
(a large sum of money)
isi + bukubuku
sa + ingane
isibukubuku sengane
(a healthy child)
isi + nambunambu
sa + indoda
isinambunambu sendoda
(a soft man)
4.2.2
The locative form of the syntactically irregular
possessee
The
possessee
may
be
in
a
locati ve
form.
The
initial vowel of the noun possessee is substituted
by
e
and
ei ther
-eni,
-ini,
-weni
suffixed for final vowels.
e.g.
~mqans~
wentaba
(steep of the mountain)
~mqanse~!
wentaba
(at the steep of the mountain)
or
-wini
is
- 84 -
izihlwele zabantu
(crowds of people)
ezihlweleni zabantu
(in the crowds of people)
~siphithiphithi
sabafundi
(commotion of students)
~siphithiphithini sabafundi
(in the commotion of students)
- 85 -
isaho somsindo
(a very loud noise)
~sahweni
somsindo
(in a very loud noise)
isiyaluyal~ sabasebenzi
(commotion of workers)
.!::siyaluyalwini sabasebenzi
(in a commotion of workers)
4.2.3
The meaning of the Syntactically Irregular
Possessee in Isolation
When taken in isolation, a syntactically irregular
posses see
is
like
any
or
a
noun
prefix
that
may
be
is a name of anything concrete
is
abstract.
noun
According to the traditional
used as a possessee:
grammarians a
other
and
a
prefixes
of
these
concords
that
composed
sten.
b~~nc
between the possessee
Like
irregcla?:
about
a~d
of
t\oJ'O
other
elements,
nouns
the
nouns
generate
ccncordial
agreement
the pcssessor.
- 86 -
e.g.
isibozi (si + a) > sa + imoto
isibozi semoto
(a worthless car)
4.3
Morphological Characteristics of a Syntactically
Irregular Possessee in Compound Form
Morphologically, this
possessee
consists
of
two
or more words each of which has word status when
used on its own.
This
possessee
has
more
than
formed of two parts of speech.
a)
NOUN +
PREDICATE
inkamba + beyibuza yengozl
inkambabeyibuza yengozl
(a large wound)
one
root,
it
is
- 87 -
•
b)
NOUN + NOUN
ukushisa + indlu lomoya
ishisandlu lomoya
(north-west wind)
c)
DEVERBATIVE + PREDICATE
usofa + silahlane womngane
usofasilahlane womngane
(intimate friend)
4.4
CONCLUSION
The syntactically irregular possessee is auxiliary
in "ature.
It is a word which has no independent
function
its m·m but
on
a pcssessive
e.g.
~ord
group.
inkamba~eyibuza
(a
it can only be used in
12!""ge \-:ound)
yengozi
_.,~
- 88 -
rnkambabeyibuza
in
any
other
as
the
possessee
syntactical
on yengozi for its meaning .
.~--
-
-------
cannot
be used
it
depends
function,
- 89 •
CHAPTER 5
UNMARKED POSSESS IVES
Unmarked possessives consist of those word groups
which are semantically interp"reted as possessives
although
they
do
not
contain
the
possessive
particle.
..
A number of grammarians have contributed towards
the
study" of
According
unmarked
to
unmarked
Wilkes
possessive
in
possessives
Nkabinde
lack
a
word
1988
genitive
groups.
p.
250,
marker.
The structure of the unmarked possessives differs
in
accordance
sentences.
possessives
with
When"
consist
their
syntactic
acting
of
two
as
function
objects
nouns
in
unmarked
appearing
in
juxtaposition without a genitive marker separating
them.
e_g.
umfana unquma
~nJa
urnsila
(the boy cuts the cog's tail)
- 90 -
Grammarians - draw
and
unmarked
are
a
distinctfon
possessives.
regarded
as
Marked
possessives
alienability ,,,hereas
between
marked
possessives
signify
which
unmarked possessi ves signify
inalienability.
5.1
The Body Parts Approach
The
body
parts
possessor
approach
and
juxtaposition
particle.
the
in
the
which
is
posses see
absence
a
that
,
noun
According
possessee,
suggests
of
the
the
noun
stand
in
possessive
to
this
approach
body
part,
is
the
compulsory
possessed by the possessor.
e.g.
uThemba uphule uThabo ingalo
(Themba broke Thabo's arm)
After
a
pilot
to
group
80%
of
possEssive
mos~
o£
the
study,
100
a
students.
appro?riate
reference
£crm
It
regarded
students
with
questionnaire
as
~o
body
o?posed
was
was
found
the
~ha~
unmatkec.
parts
to
sent
its
as
the
marke~
- 91 -
counterpart.·
Even interviews- that were conducted
i t was
that the unmarked form is generally
found
more
frequently
used
in reference to body parts.
They
justified their
responses by that
the
body
part is compulsory possessed by the possessor.
5.2
The Part-Whole Relationship Approach
Voeltz
(1976)
whole
approach.
"inalienable
"part of
is the great exponent of the partInstead
possession",
the whole".
of
Voeltz
This
.,
uSl.ng
used
the
idea
the
idea
idea of part
of the
whole includes the body parts as well.
Voeltz
suggested
well-formedness
conditions
in
order to support his idea of "part of the whole".
These conditions are as follows:
1.
The
posses see
must
be a possible part of
the possessor.
e.g.
uma~~enikha
ufutha irnoto amasondo
(the mechanic pumps the car's tyres.)
-
92 -
•
uyopha umfana ikhanda
(the boy's head is bleeding)
This
suggests
to have
a
that
posses see
it
would
that
be
inappropriate
is not a possible part
of the possessor.
e.g.
umakhenikha ufutha imoto umlenze
(the mechanic pumps the car's leg.)
"'\
2.
The possessee must meet the selectional
restrictions of the verb.
ukugez~
e.g.
ingane isandla
(to wash the child's hand)
This
that
If
not
suggests
~s
the
set
that
the
verb
must
be
an
action
possible to be acted upon the posses see .
selectional
by
inap~ropriate
the
restrictions
?ossessee
examples like:
this
of
the
will
verb
result
are
to
- 93 -
e.g.
ukugunda ingane isandla
(to shear the child's hand)
3.
The verb that
is used with the unmarked
possessive word group must be an affective
verb,
i.e.
certain
the
verb
change
must
to
bring
the
about
a
state
of
the
action
has
been
possessor.
e.g.
ukunquma ingane umlenze
(to cut off the child's leg)
This
suggests
carried
out,
that
there
after
must
the
be
a
change
effected
to the possessor.
In the above example the child
is
leg
left
been cut.
with
one
since
the
other
one
had
- 94 -
5.3
The Syntactic Valencies of the Unmarked
Possessives
The
unmarked
be
subject
object
or
possessor
possessive
or .object
subject
and
the
word
of
of
group
may
the sentence.
the
noun
sentence,
posses see
either
Whether
the
are
noun
usually
juxtaposed to each other.
5.3.1
The Unmarked Possessive word Group in Object
Position
The
syntactic status
word
group· sometimes·
must
have
of this unmarked possessive
de~ands
two objects
that
that
are
the
sentence
concordially not
related.
e.q.
ngigwaze uZwane ingalo
(~
UZ,:ane
as
are,
s~abbed.
Zwane' s
E;~m)
and ingalo are bc-oh
possessor
are
and
posses'Oee
concordially
l:C
an e>bj ect posi tion
t·~t
::ot
u:C.:larked
reI =.-::ed.
as
they
V:ilkes
- 95 •
(1989: 92)
refers
to
these
objects
as
direct
and
indirect objects.
Doke
and
Mofokeng
in
Wilkes
(1989:92)
remark
in this regard:
"When the action is done to one's own person
(affecting
the
eye,
tooth,
face,
head,
hair, limb etc.) the simple form of the
verb is used with the person as principal
object, but when the same ac!ion is done
to someone belonging to the"' person, the
applied form is used."
a)
ukusula umfana ubuso
(to wipe the boy's face)
b)
ukusulela ugogo umfana ubuso
(to wipe for grandmother her boy's face)
For
an
unmarked
inalienable
with
a
?ossessive
posseSSl:m
fixed
word
to
order
preceeds the ?ossessee.
grou?
Hord
exist,
~he~e
it
must
the
with
comply
possessor
- 96 -
e.g.
kulula ukufutha imoto amasondo
(it is easy to pump the car tyres)
5.3.2
The Unmarked Possessive in Subject Position
Wilkes
the
in
NP
Nkabinde
(1988:250)
denoting
grammatical
the
subject,
indicates
whole,
while
the
NP
that
functions
as
denoting
the
part follows the usually intransitive verb.
"
e.g.
ingulube iphuke umlenze
(the pig's leg is broken)
10 mfana uphuke ingalo
(this boy's arm is broken)
This
type
by words
other
kind
of
,,,hich
thus
of
a possessive construction is formed
are syntactically related to each
formi~g
syntagmatic
relatioEship
that
a part-whole relationship.
they
relations.
e~ter
into
The
~s
- 97 -
Some
grammarians
believe
that
the
inalienable
possession is limited to cases where the possessor
is
an
animate
thing
and
consti tuent part. thereof.
in
some
constructions
the
posses see
a
It may be argued that
the
possessor
can
also
be an inanimate thing.
e.g.
isihlahla sephuke igatsha
(the branch of the tree is broken)
luyagubha ulwandle amagagasi
(the sea tide is high)
5.4
The.Structure of Unmarked Possessive Word Groups
The
unmarked
primary
this
or
possessive
secondary
refers
study
posses see
is
seconda~y
forn
in
word
group
forms.
to
its
~efers
cases
original
to
cases
possessee has been inflected.
may
Primary
where
form,
whe:~e
be
in
form
in
the
noun
~..;rhereas
the
noun
- 98 -
5.4.1
Primary Form
a)
uThemba bamshaye ingalo
(they hit Themba's arm)
b)
uSipho bamshaye ikhanda
(they hit Sipho's head)
c)
uThula uvuvukele ulimi
(Thula's tongue is swollen)
In
the
above
and ulimi
are
examples
refer
Themba,
the
noun
ingalo,
ikhanda
to posses sees and the possessors
'Sipho,
and
Thula
respectively.
It
would be noticed that the possessees in the above
constructions
in
the
need,
presence
of
not
take
possessive
posses see
because
pronouns
they
are
already implied.
5.4.2
Secondary Forms
It ,",ould
also
bs
~.o~ed
that
unma:'ked possessives
may also be in a seconda:,y form.
- 99 -
a}
Adverb- of place
uThemba bamshaye engalweni
(Themba has been hit on the arm)
uSiphobamshaye ekhanda
(Sipho has been hit on the head)
uThula uvuvukele olimini
(Thula has his tongue swollen)
b)
~
Use of Instrumental nga
Some unmarked possessive word groups with special
reference
to
body
parts
may
employ
instrumental particle nga.
e.g.
igoli uThemba ulishaye nqekhanda
(he, Themba scored the geal by his head)
mina ngimbone ngamehlo
(1 saw her with my eyes)
the
·--"
- 100 -
yena umkhahlele
(he/she
kicked
~gobhozo
~ith
him
the
tip
of
his
toe)
yena uhlale ngezinqe
(he/she seated down)
c)
Use of Associative Particle na
Associative particle na may also be prefixed
.
to unmarked possessive word groups
in some
contexts.
e.g.
ulimele nomlenze
(he/she is also hurt en the leg)
bamshaye nekhanda
(they hit
(him/he~)
or,
~~e
~ead
uphume nezingane
(he/she went out "ith
c~:lc~en)
as well)
-
d)
The
101 -
Use of Copulative Particle
possessee
of
the
unmarked
possessive
word
group may be used as complements of the copulative
particle, as in:
e.g.
umfana uphethwe yizinyo
(the boy is suffering from.toothache)
ubaba uphethwe ngumlenze/wumlenze
(my father feels the pain in the leg)
uphethwe yiqolo
(he/she is suffering from backache)
5.5
Inalienable Possessives as Realised in Proverbs
with
Proverbs
usually
possessive
refer
to
the parts
may
be
arranged
proverbs
meaning
unmarked
and
parcel of
implication.
of
t..... ord
groups
the body.
These
according
Proverbs
are
to
their
pert
and
the language that t,e use for lir::;uistic
communication.
The
positioned to the verb.
possessor
is
usually
pre-
- 102 -
5.5.1
Misfortune
e.g.
inkomo iwe ngophondo
(the beast is lying on its horn)
inyoni ihluthuke isisila
(the bird has lost its tail feathers)
inkunzi inqunywe amanqindi
(the bull has had its horn cut short)
5.5.2
Failure
e.g.
inkuku insunywe umlomo
(the fowl has had its
5.5.3
bea~
cut)
BeAare of danger
e.~.
i~yoka
(a
ayishaywa isibili
sna~e
is
head is not
~ot
hit
~isible)
~~handa
C~
the
lingabonwa
body
if
its
- 103 -
akukho qili lazikhotha
(there
is
no
cunning
e~hlane
?erson
who
has
ever
licked his own back)
ingwe idla ngamabala
(the leopard eats by
mea~s
of its spots)
Encouragement
5.5.4
e.g.
inja iyawaqeda amanzi ngolimi
(the
dog
will
finish
the
water
with
its
tongue)
..
Threats
5.5.5
...
e.g.
hamba
(go
juba
pigeon,
bayokucutha
they
will
izimpaphe phambili
pluck your
feathers
ahead)
5.5.6
Hurt
e.g.
ungishaye ngendlebe
ets~~ni
(he has struck me on the :tone by rr.y ear)
- 104 -
5.5.7
Borrowing
e.g.
ngingenwe iphela endlebeni
(a cockroach has entered my ear)
5.5.8
Pride or conceit
e.g.
uthwele ishoba
(he has his tail up)
5.5.9
Deception
e.g.
ungikhaphazele umhlabathi esweni
(he has thrown soil in my eye)
wamthela ngobulawu emehlweni
(he threw the love charm into his eyes)
ungiphatha ngodaka emehlweni
(you hold me with mud on my eyes)
- 105 •
5.5.10
Unfaithfulness
e.g.
wakhahlelwa yihhashi esifubeni
(he was kicked by a horse on his chest)
5.5.11
Callousness
e.g.
wamfaka umunwe esweni
(he put a finger into his eye)
.
ukuze ubone inqe lihluthuke intamo
(do
you
see
for
the
first
time a
with feathers plucked from its neck)
umthele ngenkovu emehlweni
(he threw pumpkin water in his eyes)
wamphakamisela ikhwapha
(he raised up his armpit for him)
vulture
- 106 -
5.5.12
Feuds
e.g.
indaba isiwe ngophondo
(the matter has fallen by the horn)
5.6
CONCLUSION
The
idea
of
unmarked
possessive
word
groups
is
part and parcel of the Zulu language.
Interviews
with
that
they
speech.
It
mother-tongue
use
unmarked
was
found
speakers
possessives
that
the
in
unmarked
..
revealed
their
form
is
generally
frequently used with more reference to body parts.
In
the questionnaire
they used the unmarked form
extensively for body parts.
We thus agree with Nida when he says:
"Before discussing the semantic relationship
between nuclear structures it is important
to note that the relationship need not
be
mar~ed
in
some
particular
~ay
by
conjunctions
of
or
overlapping
~epetitions
cen:ain
elements
'."ithin
a
precedi!1g
structure..
Relatio!1ships may
be clearly ~arked by conjunctio~s or the
relationship may be completely unnarked,
in other \Vords may be paratactic."
~uclear
(Nida,1981:83~
- 107 •
CIi.J,PTER 6
6.1
Evaluation of the study
From the foregoing discussion,
that
the
structure
of
a
it is now evident
possessive
ca=not always determine meaning.
with
st~uctures
not
imply
function
possessive
possession.
of
the
In
possessive
word
group
There are some
particles
these
which
do
st"ructures
the
,
particle
is
that
of
F=esence
of
qualifying.
e.~.
ung~wazi
lwentombi
(a very tall lady)
~~dodovu
wekhehla
(a very old man)
u~qi~go
wencwadi
(a very big book)
Tha
ab~vE
tha
?OSSESSlve
a
~~~e
Examples
~ossessive
show
particle
~eanlng.
that
does
~he
n~t
al"ays
imply
- 108 -
On
the other hand some structures
the
possessive
particle
and
do
not employ
yet
they
do
the
absence
carry
the possessive meaning.
e.g.
umama
(my mother)
umfowethu
(my brother)
umalume
(my uncle)
uyihlo
(your father)
uyise
(his father)
The
above
possessive
a~sence
exam?les
particle
shoe: that
does
of the poossessive
P.C:'
al~ays
~ec~in~.
of the
mean
the
- 109 -
.
In this discussion it has become clear that form
does
not
always
determine
meaning
and meaning
is not always deduced from form.
The conclusion· is thus that meaning, rather than
fom
should be
taken as
the
decisive
criterion
in identifying possessives.
FroE
the
foregoing
that
the
possessive
or
objective.
study
refers
discussion
may
either
Subjective
to
the
it 'was
be
observed
sUbjective
possessive
possessive
case
in
this
where
the
possessor denotes that which has something:
e.g.
izinkomo zabantu
(cattle of the people)
Objective
to
Jossessive
des~~ibes
is
possessive
~~
the
case
on
where
possessor,
some quality or
the
other
~he
or
possessee
where
charac~er.
hand
refers
further
the possessor
- 110 -
e.g.
isiphalaphala sentombi
(a very beautiful lady)
imbiza yamanzi
(a pot of water)
When there are two or more noun possessors,
the
first of the two (or more) may take the possessive
"'
particle and the rest be connected to it by the
use of na without the possessive particle.
e.g.
izingane zikaThoko noNhlanhla noZodwa
(the children of Thoko, Nhlanhla andZodwa)
There
of
is
an
the first
and
the
rest
alternative
form
whereby
the
in the series is put in the plural
connected
,·,i 'oh
i tby
the
use
na.
e.g.
izir..koT:lc
name
zo~·1hlongo :!o~'::::Oph2,
(the cattle ef Mhlon;o,
no\'czi.
Nbo~~a an~
Vezi)
of
- III -
If
the
separate
thing
possessed is
origin,
property
from
or
individual
designation
and
of
t100
more than one,
the
or more persons may be specified.
e.g.
izwi lendoda nelomfana
(the word of the man and of the boy)
If
the
things
possessed
are
general indefinite particle ku plus
t~e
possessive
morpheme a may be used as a possessive particle.
e.g.
umlomo, nezindlebe. namehlo
k~+a+umfana
>ka+umfana
umlomo' nezindlebe namehlo
>komfana
(the mouth, ears and eyes of the boy)
-
6.2
Appendix
6.2.1
Questionnaire
112 -
The
structured
questionnaire
the
respondent
was
was
used
whereby
to
mark
his/her
required
responses by using numbers 0,1,2.
questionnaire
because
to
it
code
minimises
was
makes
and
easier
classify
the
questionnaire
by
p~e:ferred
it
the
risk
of
was
mainly
The structured
the
for
tee
researcher
researcher
It
responses.
This
misinterpretation.
used
for
also
unmarked
possessives.
The questionnaire was
The
a~m
of
this
struct~red
survey
preference in terms of the
1::
..
Zulu.
~ :~ong
_
Nop.e of
Please
the
as folloNs:
to
~s
~sage
0:
establish
the
strt:::tures are
indicc.7:.e
t:-_e
form
the
~ossessive
necessarily
'.,.,hic:-~
b":
:'n
your
::larking
- 113 -
it with "1" '"
mark
it
If the other form is also acceptable
with
unacceptable,
::2'~
.
If,
mark it with
however,
it
is
"0" in the appropriate
box.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7_
Ca)
Ngiphule umfana ingalo.
CJ
Cb)
Ngiphule ingalo yomfana.
1=1
Ca)
Sizofutha irnoto amasondo.
I=:J
Cb)
Sizofutha amasondo emoto.
o
Ca)
Ayidatshulwa incwadi ikhasi.
o
Cb)
Alidatshulwa ikhasi lencwadi.
(a)
Itafula liphuke umlenze.
rb)
Urnlenze wetafula uphukile.
(a)
Umfana uwe waphuka umunwe.
o
Cb)
Umunwe womfana uphukile ewa.
CJ
(a)
Kaze wopha umfana ikhanda.
!b)
Laze lopha ikhanda lomfana.
la)
Kugingqi~e ~bhasi
uSipho waphuka
t:::Jlenze.
rh)
Kugingqi~e
,-:aphuka.
ihhasi umlenze kaSiphc
o
o
o
o
o
o
0
- 114 -
6.2.2
Analysis and Inter?retation of data
The
aim
of
preference
the
of
survey
usage
III
50
Course
students
College
all
the
and
group of 100
and
P. T.D.
with
marked
a
students
doing
establish
the
There was
11
of Education,
to
between
unmarked possessi ves.
students,
was
50
at
Zulu as
Course
Esikhawini
one
of their
courses.
1.
In
1
2
o
la)
Ngiphule umfana ingalo
80-80%
10-10%
10-10%
lb)
Ngiphule ingalo yomfana 10-10%
10-10%
80-80%
above
the
table
80%
of
the
respondents
regarded the unmarked form ngiphule umfana ingalo
as
the
most
appropriate
rega:cded
:cespondents
the
"giphu~e
ingalo
yomfana
10%
c."i?~,,-,~e
r-
~~e
um:ana
:cespcdents
also
:cega:ccec:
form,
as
the
as
:ncal:
also
10%
marked
most
respondents
:cega:c~ed
acceptab~e~
ngi?hule
the
t:-.e
lc.ga~o
whereas
of
form
appropriate
rega:cded
acceptable.
10%
ng:phule ingalo yom:ana
10%
of
yom:ana
the
as
res?oncents
unacce?table,
- 115 -
whereas
80%
ngiphule
of
the
ingalo
respondents
yomfana
as
unacceptable.
(a)
Sizofutha imoto amasondo.
10-10%
10-10% 80
o
= 80%
(b)
Sizofutha amasondo emoto
80-80%
10-10% 10
= 10%
2
1
2.
In
regarded
question
follows:
as
the
as
also
(a)
10%
above
of
the
the
form,
as
regarded
la)
regarded
la)
10%
80%
and
were
..
respondents
most appropriate
.acceptable
responses
regarded
la)
as
unacceptable.
In
question
lb)
regarded
lb)
as
regarded
(b)
as
above
80%
the most
of
the
respondents
form,
ap~ro?riate
also acceptable and 10% regarded
(b) as unacceptable.
2
o
1C-10%
10%
80%
Alidatshu1wa ikhasi 1encv:ad: 8C-50%
10%
10%
l
3.
'a)
~)
10%
Ayidatshuh,a incwadi ikhasi
-
10%
of
the
appropriate
116 -
respondents
form.
10%
regarded
(a)
as
(a)
regarded
the most
as
also
acceptable and 80% regarded (a) as unacceptable.
80%
of
the
respondents
appropriate -·form.
10%
regarded
(b)
as
(b)
regarded
the most
as
also
acceptable and 10% regarded (b) as unacceptable.
1
4.
10%
o
(a)
lfuftila liphuke umlenze
10-10%
10-10%
80-80%
(b)
UIllenze wetafula uphukile 80-80%
10-10%
10-10%
of
the
appropriate
acceptable
80%
2
of
the
as:'pro?r i ate
accep:cable
respondents
form,
and 80%
10%
and
10%
10%
(a)
regarded
regarded
respondents
form,
regarded
(a)
regarded
( a)
as
(b)
regardec.
regarded
(h)
as
as
also
unacceptable.
as
(b)
as
the most
the most
as
also
unacceptable.
- 117 -
5.
1
2
o
(a)
Unfana uwe waphuka urrnmwe
80-80%
10-10%
10-10%
(b)
Umunwe wOmfana uphukile ewa
10-10%
10-10%
80-80%
of
80%
the
respondents
appropriate
acceptable
10%
of
the
form,
regarded
10%
and 10%
regarded
rega~ded
respondents
(a)
(a)
as
the most
as
(a)
also
as unacceptable.
regarded
(b)
as
the most
~
,,
appropriate
acceptable
6.
form,
and 80%
regarded
regarded
(a)
Waze
umfana ikr.anda
(b)
Laze lopha ikhanda lcofana
,1NOpha
of
EOSt
appropriate
acceptable
er
the
and
forrr.,
10%
form,
2.::ce,,-:able and 80%
~O%
rEsarded
responcen~5
1 --' -~
(b)
also
as unacceptable.
1
2
o
80-80%
10-10%
10-10%
10-10%
10-10%
80-80%
regarded
'a}
regarcEc
rega:-c.ed
r~g~rded
as
(b)
regarded
responden~s
the
80%
~'J%
10%
'b,
(a)
as
the
(a)
as
also
as unacceptable.
(0)
as
! 0)
the most
as
also
as unacceptable.
- 118 -
2
1
7. la)
(b)
80%
~:iJ:has.i
l:6iIfu ~ 11lI1.e"=
~:iJ:has.i11lI1.e"=
form,
acceptable
form,
regarded
possessives
marked
regarded
speakers
for
la)
la)
lb)
as
also
.. as
the most
lb)
as
also
as unacceptable.
most
that
to
parts
of
for
parts
possessives
the most
as unacceptable .
lb)
prefer
body
as
regarded
revealed
survey
la)
regarded
10%
and 80%
mother-tongue
and
10-10% lQ-1O% 00-80%
regarded
of the respondents
appropriate
This
k<6ipD ~
10%
acceptable and 10%
10%
00-80% 10-10% 10-10%
of the respondents regarded
appropriate
o
of
use
unmarked
animate
of
the
the
things
whole
of inanimate things.
This
questionnaire
unstructured
of
some
sup?lemented
was
interviews.
questions
questionnaires.
The
Intervie~s
thc~
main
·.·:ere
reas::::
re.::-
by
consisted
used
for
conducting
- 119 -
interviews
was
questionnaire.
mother-tongue
they
prefer
to
verify
the
Interviews
speakers.
to
parts
because
that
particular
use
body
responses
were
It was
somebody
whereas
car
tyres.
tyres
can
be
easily
the
among
established that
compulsory
things i t can be easily changed.
the
conducted
unmarked possessive
parts
of
with
for
body
belong
to
inanimate
For an example
replaced
by
other
- 120 -
6.3
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