Abstract
M.A.
In this study the application of different temporal forms in Afrikaans narratives is discussed. Afrikaans narratives make use of the present tense, the preterite (a combination of the imperfect and the perfect tense) and a combination of the two above mentioned tenses to narrate events.
Fleischman debates that in some languages the present tense that is used in narratives to narrate dramatic events can be divided into two different groups, namely the historical present tense and the dramatic or narrative present tense. In this study an attempt was made to make a distinction between these two tenses with regard to the semantic value of the verb. A variety of texts that mainly consist of present tense verbs were analyzed and the verbs were divided into two groups: dramatic verbs and static verbs. If a narrative consisted of higher percentage of dramatic verbs it was thought that the narrative was being narrated in the dramatic or the narrative present tense. When a narrative consisted of a higher percentage static verbs it was thought that the narrative was being narrated in the historical present tense. This distinction is however not absolute, but the two varieties are rather seen as being on a continuum.
Afrikaans narratives do not only utilize the historical present tense to narrate, but also the preterite. By using the preterite in narratives the reader is further removed from the narrator‘s deictic centre than if the narrator is using the historical present tense.
A combination of the preterite and the present tense is also quite often used in Afrikaans narratives. The alternative use of the two tenses consists of a diverse range of functions. For example when events are placed on the foreground the use of the present tense is often required amidst a story being told in the preterite.
Lastly the Afrikaans adverbial particles toe, nou and dan and their various temporal functions in Afrikaans narratives were discussed