Funksieverandering in Zulu

D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)The change in function of word categories is a widespread phenomenon in Zulu and can be indicated across the whole spectrum of language elements. The dynamic developing nature of the language entails that units may shift upwards or downwards within the hierarchy, resulting in their assuming either a higher or lower rank. The so-called "class prefix" of class 2a is typified as a specialised and rank shifted variant of the emphatic pronoun bona on account of its syntactic and semantic characteristics. The class prefix of class 1a has not yet completely passed through the development process from Ur-Bantu *Ta and currently shows charateristics of both copula and class prefix. Various other affixes of the noun such as, inter alia, the diminutive suffix and prefixes such as {-50-} and {~nga-} originated from former nouns and verbal stems. A 1arge degree of interaction occurs between pronouns and other word categories. The (abbreviated) demonstrative pronoun a functions as relative pronoun in establishing relative constructions. The verbal suffix {-yo} which functions in verbal relative constructions as nominaliser and with an emphatic semantic value also originated from a pronoun. A few pronouns from the locative classes may function as (auxiliary) verb stems while others serve as "conjunct ions". The distance indicating suffixes of the demonstrative pronouns, with the retention of significance, are employed in other word categori es such as adverbs and interjective demonstratives. Category shifting, therefore, also occurs on the level of morphemes. A mutual underlying composition is disclosed for all relative constructions (verbal and nominal) as consisting of the relative pronoun a as introductory member followed by a complement in the relative mood. This postulation makes provision for the occurence of a underlying copulative verb stem *-(1)i in the relative and situative moods. In the indicative the negative auxiliary verb stem -si is regarded as (underlying) part of the copulative construction. Various particle words such as the connective na and the instrumental nga, the hortative particles (m)a and A(ke), certain "conjunctions" such as uma and qede, the particles be and se and certain enclitic particles find their origin in verbs. It has been indicated within the category 'verb' that the aspectual morphemes originated in former verb stems. Certain verbs can be lowered in rank with specific morphological and semantic changes and then function as auxiliary verb stems. In certain cases the auxiliary verb stems can shift upwards in rank by morphematic elision of the concordial morpheme and be employed as autonomous "conjunctions". Adverbs are mainly derived from other word categories in that noun class prefixes function as adverbial prefixes. The adverbial prefix {ka-} is reduced to the obsolete class 13 of Ur-Bantu which contained mainly diminutive words as well as words with an adverbial significance. The morpheme {-ka} whi ch occurs in words such as kangaka originated in the demonstrative pronoun of this class, namely lakha. Ideophones show formal, semantic and syntatic similarities with verbs and are typified in principle as the complement of the auxiliary verb stem -thi