The mosaic evolution of Left Dislocation in Xhosa

  • Alexander Andrason Department of African Languages, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  • Marianna W. Visser Department of African Languages, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5842/50-0-720
Keywords: Xhosa, left dislocation, object agreement, language dynamics

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that the status of Clitic LD in Xhosa is a result of the mosaic evolution of Xhosa grammar. It emerges as an accumulation and combination of two more individual, distinct and, at least, initially separated developments and characteristics – LD sensu stricto and Object Agreement. This view enables the authors to propose a possible solution to the problem of whether the Clitic LD structure in Xhosa (and Nguni) is an instantiation of LD (and its prototypical function as posited by Westbury (2014)) or fronting (and its topical and focal functions). The Clitic LD structure is employed to accomplish the two tasks. The former is derived from the original LD construction, while the latter arose due to the Object Agreement cycle. The mosaic character of LD in Xhosa, in turn, demonstrates the situatedness of LD. LD is determined not only by its own evolutionary baggage (the source from which it has developed) but also by the dynamics of the environment in which it has been embedded (the properties of other constructions).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Published
2016-12-29
How to Cite
Andrason, A., & Visser, M. W. (2016). The mosaic evolution of Left Dislocation in Xhosa. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 50, 139-158. https://doi.org/10.5842/50-0-720
Issue
Vol. 50 (2016): Special issue on Left Dislocation
Section
Articles
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).