My term paper deals with one of the South African languages, the Zulu language.
In my grammar report, accompanying the seminar, I already dealt with the Zulu language more precisely I tried to explain the phenomenon of the Zulu noun. Besides our seminar, the motivation and idea to deal with this topic has arisen from my personal experiences. Since I lived and worked approximately five months in South Africa last year. The Zulu language aroused my interest because it differs from all languages I know, but nevertheless it includes English words or word parts.
This time, in my term paper, I will try to discuss the way of forming a relative clause in Zulu. This formation usually involves a prefix, also called relative concord, which is attached to the predicate of a relative clause. A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun. Generally in most European languages, a relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun, which belongs to a special class of pronouns. “In other languages, relative clauses may be marked in different ways: they may be introduced by a special class of conjunctions called relativizers; the main verb of the relative clause may appear in a special morphological variant; or a relative clause may be indicated by word order alone. In some languages, more than one of these mechanisms may be possible.“
Since relative clauses in Zulu were formed in a different way than in most European languages I would like to examine this problem in more detail.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. The Zulu language and its characteristics
a. Geographical and social facts
b. Grammatical facts
III. The relative clause
a. The different relative clause formation across languages
b. The relative clause formation in German
c. The relative clause formation in Latin
d. The relative clause formation in Spanish
e. The relative clause formation in English
IV. The relative clause in Zulu
a. The agreement system and the relative concords in Zulu
b. Relative clitics in Zulu
V. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the mechanisms of relative clause formation in the Zulu language. By providing a comparative overview of relative clause structures in European languages such as German, English, Latin, and Spanish, the study highlights the distinct grammatical features of Zulu, focusing specifically on the role of relative concords and clitics within the Bantu linguistic framework.
- Comparative analysis of relative clause structures across diverse language families.
- Exploration of the Zulu noun class system and its connection to agreement patterns.
- Investigation of Jochen Zeller’s research on Zulu relative concords.
- Examination of the grammatical function of relative clitics as phrasal affixes.
- Historical reanalysis of demonstrative pronouns into modern Zulu relative markers.
Excerpt from the Book
b. Relative clitics in Zulu
In the English morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word. As clitics can belong to any grammatical category, they are usually pronouns, determiners or adpositions.
“Clitics are forms that are not affixes, but are constrained to occuring next to an autonomous word, known as the host. (...) The word clitic is a cover term for two varieties. A clitic that precedes the host is called a “proclitic,“ e.g., in colloqial English, ’s in ‚’s me ’it’s me’. A clitic that follows its host is an “enclitic“. (...) Clitics may be thought of as forms that are half-way between autonomous words and affixes. They may share properties of both.“
Zeller refers in his deliberations to Anderson and Lieber who interpret the English possessive clitic ’s as an inflectional phrasal affix that realises a morphological property of the preceding noun phrase, the feature [+possessive]. The clitic does so by attaching to the last word of this phrase, regardless of the syntactic category of that word.
Concerning the Zulu relative clause, Zeller proceeds on the assumption that while in English possessives the phrase-final morpheme is a phrasal suffix, the relative marker in Zulu can be regarded as a phrasal prefix. He gives reasons for his assertion by stating that in Zulu, “what looks like a relative concord affixed to the initial noun of the relative clause is in fact a phrasal affix which formally expresses agreement between the relative clause and the head noun.“
Chapter Summaries
I. Introduction: This chapter outlines the motivation for studying the Zulu language and defines the primary objective of analyzing its specific methods for forming relative clauses.
II. The Zulu language and its characteristics: This section provides geographical and social context regarding South Africa, while detailing the complex, agglutinative, and tonal nature of Zulu grammar.
III. The relative clause: This chapter explores the diverse ways relative clauses are structured in German, Latin, Spanish, and English to establish a comparative basis for the subsequent analysis.
IV. The relative clause in Zulu: This central chapter investigates the specific syntactic mechanisms in Zulu, particularly how relative concords and clitics function within the language.
V. Conclusion: The paper concludes by summarizing the shift of Zulu relative markers from phrase-level affixes to word-level concords, emphasizing the unique evolutionary path of the language.
Keywords
Zulu, Relative clause, Grammaticalization, Relative concord, Clitics, Bantu languages, Agglutinative languages, Linguistics, Syntax, Morphology, Agreement system, Phrasal affix, Subordination, Relative marker, Demonstrative pronouns
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research paper?
The paper primarily explores the structural formation of relative clauses within the Zulu language, contrasting them with European linguistic norms.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The main themes include Zulu noun class systems, the grammatical role of relative concords, the typology of clitics, and historical linguistic development.
What is the central research question?
The study seeks to explain how Zulu forms relative clauses and how these forms specifically deviate from the standard pronominal strategies found in many European languages.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author uses a comparative linguistic approach, relying on descriptive grammatical analysis and existing research—most notably that of Jochen Zeller—to explain the Zulu morphosyntax.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section covers the Zulu agreement system, the function of the relative concord, the definition of relative clitics, and the diachronic development of demonstrative pronouns into relative markers.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Key terms include Zulu, Relative clause, Relative concord, Clitics, Bantu languages, and Agglutination.
How does a relative concord function in Zulu?
In Zulu, the relative concord acts as a prefix attached to the predicate of a relative clause, expressing agreement with the subject of that clause rather than just the head noun.
What is the significance of "direct" versus "indirect" relatives in Zulu?
Direct relatives occur when the head noun correlates with the subject of the relative clause, while indirect relatives involve a pronominal clitic indicating the head noun's function when it corresponds to another constituent.
How did Zeller explain the origin of the relative concord?
Zeller posits that the relative marker evolved from a phrasal clitic that merged with the subject prefix of the predicate, transitioning from a phrase-level affix to a genuine word-level grammatical concord.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Alexandra Orth (Autor:in), 2009, The relative clause formation in Zulu, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/171577
