Nonverbal Predication in Eastern and Southeastern Bantu Languages

Article in Elibrary

Received: 10/18/2023

Accepted: 12/19/2023

Keywords: nonverbal predication; copula; nonverbal predicate marking; Bantu languages

Available in the on-line version with: 27.02.2024

To cite this article

Nelli V. Gromova, Monika R. Urb Nonverbal Predication in Eastern and Southeastern Bantu Languages. // Lomonosov Oriental Studies Journal. 2023. Vol. 67. N 4,67 p.79-90 https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU0320-8095-13-67-4-5.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribiution - NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Nelli V. Gromova Monika R. Urb

Abstract

Non-verbal predication is one of the current trends in modern linguistics. The topic of non-verbal predication has recently received widespread development in functional linguistics, as has the typology of copulative constructions. Non-verbal predication means a non-standard method of formatting a predicate expressed by nominal parts of speech. With the clear predominance of finite verbal predicates in the Bantu languages, a special method of non-verbal predication is recorded. The essence of such predication in the Bantu languages is to mark the name with a certain indicator — copula. Sentences with a copula or with some grammatical element similar in function to the copula usually express the same range of meanings. Basically, these are sentences of two types: existential and equative or identifying. The article focuses on the ways of marking non-verbal predicates in the southeastern Bantu languages (Zulu, Shona, Sotho) and eastern Bantu languages (Swahili, Dabida, Kikuyu).

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