Abstract
M.A. (African Languages)
In this dissertation the copulative in Tsonga is
analyzed in all its aspects. The treatment of copulatives
in literature on Tsonga is discussed in detail and
views of authors on other South African languages compared
with it. A theoretical framework for the description
of copulatives is offered, including such
aspects as the definition of the word, the verb categories
of the language, and the terminology needed for
the subject. A principled basis for the classification
of types of copulatives is then given, after which the
identification, descriptive, stative and inchoative
copulatives of Tsonga are analyzed in detail.