On the notion “inchoative verb” in KinyaRwanda

Thumbnail Image

Files

Inchoative-Verb.pdf (1.14 MB)
Can’t use the file because of accessibility barriers? Contact us with the title of the item, permanent link, and specifics of your accommodation need.

Date

1983

Authors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Société d’études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France (SELAF)

Permanent Link

https://hdl.handle.net/2022/9549

Abstract

Certain verbs in KinyaRwanda—kú-rwáàrà “to be(come) sick” and gú-túùrà “to live/reside,” for example—have been considered by many linguists (cf. Coupez 1980, Overdulve 1976, Kimenyi 1973) to be stative verbs. The present analysis suggests that it would be better to consider them as “inchoative verbs,” of which three sub-classes can be defined according to linguistic evidence proper to KinyaRwanda itself. The significant aspect of the characterization of inchoatives is the punctual nature attributed to the nucleus of the events named by these verbs; a phenomenon which determines to a great extent their observed linguistic behaviour.

Description

This article is published with the permission of Peeters Publishers.

Keywords

KinyaRwanda, Bantu language, linguistics, inchoative verbs, Africa, Rwanda

Citation

Botne, Robert D. (1983). “On the notion ‘inchoative verb’ in Kinyarwanda.” In Le KinyaRwanda, langue bantu du Rwanda: études linguistiques, edited by Francis Jouannet, 149-180. Paris: Société d’études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France.

Journal

DOI

Link(s) to data and video for this item

Relation

Rights

This material is the copyright of Peeters Publishers. Please contact Peeters for information about reproduction or reuse.
 http://www.peeters-leuven.be/

Type

Article

Collections

Faculty Publications - African Studies