J. A. du Plessis

Distribution of the complementizer ukuba in the Xhosa sentence

Six distributional positions in the Xhosa sentence in which ukuba sentences may appear were investigated, i.e. complement of a verb, a noun, a preposition, a copula, the subject of a sentence, and ukuba in the locative. Relativized ukuba sentences and Raising were given special attention together with the probability of relationship of ukuba with the infinitive. The study was done within the framework of the theory of Government and Binding.

Present tense in Xhosa: What does it mean?

The meaning of the present tense in Xhosa was investigated. It was found that tense and aspect are crucial concepts in understanding this tense. An analysis of some sentence structures with this tense in the Indicative mood furthermore showed that semantic features linked with this tense must also take cognizance of a subclassification of verbs. S. Afr. J. Afr. Lang. 1986, 6: 71–73

THE ANALYSIS OF THE INFINITIVE

Two types of Infinitive are taken as starting point for this analysis: Sentential Infinitives and Nominal Infinitives. This analysis concentrates on the Sentential Infinitive. The solution for the analysis of this type of infinitive can be found in the problem of control. An analysis is then undertaken within the framework of Core Grammar: the Infinitive is taken as S which is rewritten as N2 followed by V2. The N2 in this type of analysis is always an element PRO which has no phonetic matrix, but does have a set of features. Different attempts are then made to justify this analysis with data from Xhosa and Sotho.

SENTENTIAL INFINITIVES AND NOMINAL INFINITIVES

It is shown in sections A, B and C that the Infinitive in South Sotho and Xhosa must be regarded as belonging to two groups, i.e. as sentential infinitive and as nominal infinitive. It is shown that the infinitive as such is neither purely nominal (paragraph C) nor purely verbal (paragraph B).

TRANSITIVITY IN SESOTHO AND XHOSA

ABSTRACT This version of transitivity in verb phrases in Sesotho and Xhosa is based on Chomskys (1972) X-bar theory. The exposition of verb phrases in Jackendoff (1977) has been used as the basis for this article. It has been found that Jackendoffs PS-rules for verb phrases in English can be applied to African languages.

The Conceptual Metaphor ‘People are Animals’ in Zulu

Zulu metaphor can be analysed succesfully according to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory propounded and developed by Lakoff, Johnson and Turner. Examples drawn from various literary genres show the metaphor People are Animals to be a particularly good example of a basic conceptual metaphor from which there is an extensive and systematic hierarchy of entailments ranging throughout the different phyla of the animal kingdom from the general to the specific.

Category COMP and complementizer ukuba in Xhosa

The contents and the status of the category COMP in syntax have been investigated, tracing its history from the transformational hypothesis to its current status where it shares in the [Xbar]-theory as C″. The results of this investigation have been applied to Xhosa.

The structure of nominal modifiers in Xhosa

Twenty possible nominal modifiers in Xhosa were investigated to determine their structure within a universal set of categories. It was established that the nominal modifiers in Xhosa can be accommodated within the following: DET, Q, ADJ, PP, NP and S. The [Xbar]-theory was applied to these categories to establish rules for NPs in Xhosa.

Intransitive verbs in Sesotho

Intransitive verbs in Sesotho have been investigated within the Government-Binding theory with special attention to one of its principles, the theta-theory. Intransitive verbs have been manipulated in different sentence structures with special attention to the implications of the grammatical relations subject, object and adjunct. Lastly, existential sentences with ho and weather verbs with ho have been put in a specific structure, according to the principles of the GB-theory.

Integrated Water Management at Local Government Level for Southern Africa

Southern Africa is a land rich in mineral resources, but developments are restricted in the largest part of the sub-continent due to a lack of adequate access to available water resources. To address this shortfall an understanding is required of the management structures responsible for the delivery of water to the user. To understand the drivers responsible for effective water supply, a study of the full water supply chain in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe was done, comparing the different management models and the problems associated with the implementation of these different management models. A scorecard was developed to identify the readiness of selected local authorities to ensure effective WDM, taking water resources, purification, distribution, consumer demands, return flows and institutional aspects into consideration. The study concluded that, while significant differences do exist among water authorities, the biggest challenge rests with the management of return flows, while purification management seems to be the best addressed step in the water chain.