
- Dutch
- Frisian
- Afrikaans
- Dutch
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological processes
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Word stress
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Monomorphemic words
- Diachronic aspects
- Generalizations on stress placement
- Default penultimate stress
- Lexical stress
- The closed penult restriction
- Final closed syllables
- The diphthong restriction
- Superheavy syllables (SHS)
- The three-syllable window
- Segmental restrictions
- Phonetic correlates
- Stress shifts in loanwords
- Quantity-sensitivity
- Secondary stress
- Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables
- Stress in complex words
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Accent & intonation
- Clitics
- Spelling
- Morphology
- Word formation
- Compounding
- Nominal compounds
- Verbal compounds
- Adjectival compounds
- Affixoids
- Coordinative compounds
- Synthetic compounds
- Reduplicative compounds
- Phrase-based compounds
- Elative compounds
- Exocentric compounds
- Linking elements
- Separable complex verbs (SCVs)
- Gapping of complex words
- Particle verbs
- Copulative compounds
- Derivation
- Numerals
- Derivation: inputs and input restrictions
- The meaning of affixes
- Non-native morphology
- Cohering and non-cohering affixes
- Prefixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixation: person nouns
- Conversion
- Pseudo-participles
- Bound forms
- Nouns
- Nominal prefixes
- Nominal suffixes
- -aal and -eel
- -aar
- -aard
- -aat
- -air
- -aris
- -ast
- Diminutives
- -dom
- -een
- -ees
- -el (nominal)
- -elaar
- -enis
- -er (nominal)
- -erd
- -erik
- -es
- -eur
- -euse
- ge...te
- -heid
- -iaan, -aan
- -ief
- -iek
- -ier
- -ier (French)
- -ière
- -iet
- -igheid
- -ij and allomorphs
- -ijn
- -in
- -ing
- -isme
- -ist
- -iteit
- -ling
- -oir
- -oot
- -rice
- -schap
- -schap (de)
- -schap (het)
- -sel
- -st
- -ster
- -t
- -tal
- -te
- -voud
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Univerbation
- Neo-classical word formation
- Construction-dependent morphology
- Morphological productivity
- Compounding
- Inflection
- Inflection and derivation
- Allomorphy
- The interface between phonology and morphology
- Word formation
- Syntax
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of verb phrases I:Argument structure
- 3 Projection of verb phrases II:Verb frame alternations
- Introduction
- 3.1. Main types
- 3.2. Alternations involving the external argument
- 3.3. Alternations of noun phrases and PPs
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.3.1.1. Dative alternation with aan-phrases (recipients)
- 3.3.1.2. Dative alternation with naar-phrases (goals)
- 3.3.1.3. Dative alternation with van-phrases (sources)
- 3.3.1.4. Dative alternation with bij-phrases (possessors)
- 3.3.1.5. Dative alternation with voor-phrases (benefactives)
- 3.3.1.6. Conclusion
- 3.3.1.7. Bibliographical notes
- 3.3.2. Accusative/PP alternations
- 3.3.3. Nominative/PP alternations
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.4. Some apparent cases of verb frame alternation
- 3.5. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of verb phrases IIIa:Selection of clauses/verb phrases
- 5 Projection of verb phrases IIIb:Argument and complementive clauses
- Introduction
- 5.1. Finite argument clauses
- 5.2. Infinitival argument clauses
- 5.3. Complementive clauses
- 6 Projection of verb phrases IIIc:Complements of non-main verbs
- 7 Projection of verb phrases IIId:Verb clusters
- 8 Projection of verb phrases IV: Adverbial modification
- 9 Word order in the clause I:General introduction
- 10 Word order in the clause II:Position of the finite verb (verb-first/second)
- 11 Word order in the clause III:Clause-initial position (wh-movement)
- Introduction
- 11.1. The formation of V1- and V2-clauses
- 11.2. Clause-initial position remains (phonetically) empty
- 11.3. Clause-initial position is filled
- 12 Word order in the clause IV:Postverbal field (extraposition)
- 13 Word order in the clause V: Middle field (scrambling)
- 14 Main-clause external elements
- Nouns and Noun Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of noun phrases I: complementation
- Introduction
- 2.1. General observations
- 2.2. Prepositional and nominal complements
- 2.3. Clausal complements
- 2.4. Bibliographical notes
- 3 Projection of noun phrases II: modification
- Introduction
- 3.1. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
- 3.2. Premodification
- 3.3. Postmodification
- 3.3.1. Adpositional phrases
- 3.3.2. Relative clauses
- 3.3.3. Infinitival clauses
- 3.3.4. A special case: clauses referring to a proposition
- 3.3.5. Adjectival phrases
- 3.3.6. Adverbial postmodification
- 3.4. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of noun phrases III: binominal constructions
- Introduction
- 4.1. Binominal constructions without a preposition
- 4.2. Binominal constructions with a preposition
- 4.3. Bibliographical notes
- 5 Determiners: articles and pronouns
- Introduction
- 5.1. Articles
- 5.2. Pronouns
- 5.3. Bibliographical notes
- 6 Numerals and quantifiers
- 7 Pre-determiners
- Introduction
- 7.1. The universal quantifier al 'all' and its alternants
- 7.2. The pre-determiner heel 'all/whole'
- 7.3. A note on focus particles
- 7.4. Bibliographical notes
- 8 Syntactic uses of noun phrases
- Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- 2 Projection of adjective phrases I: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adjective phrases II: Modification
- 4 Projection of adjective phrases III: Comparison
- 5 Attributive use of the adjective phrase
- 6 Predicative use of the adjective phrase
- 7 The partitive genitive construction
- 8 Adverbial use of the adjective phrase
- 9 Participles and infinitives: their adjectival use
- 10 Special constructions
- Adpositions and adpositional phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Introduction
- 1.1. Characterization of the category adposition
- 1.2. A formal classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3. A semantic classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3.1. Spatial adpositions
- 1.3.2. Temporal adpositions
- 1.3.3. Non-spatial/temporal prepositions
- 1.4. Borderline cases
- 1.5. Bibliographical notes
- 2 Projection of adpositional phrases: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adpositional phrases: Modification
- 4 Syntactic uses of the adpositional phrase
- 5 R-pronominalization and R-words
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Phonology
- Frisian
- General
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological Processes
- Assimilation
- Vowel nasalization
- Syllabic sonorants
- Final devoicing
- Fake geminates
- Vowel hiatus resolution
- Vowel reduction introduction
- Schwa deletion
- Schwa insertion
- /r/-deletion
- d-insertion
- {s/z}-insertion
- t-deletion
- Intrusive stop formation
- Breaking
- Vowel shortening
- h-deletion
- Replacement of the glide w
- Word stress
- Clitics
- Allomorphy
- Orthography of Frisian
- Morphology
- Inflection
- Word formation
- Derivation
- Prefixation
- Infixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixes
- Verbal suffixes
- Adjectival suffixes
- Adverbial suffixes
- Numeral suffixes
- Interjectional suffixes
- Onomastic suffixes
- Conversion
- Derivation
- Syntax
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Unergative and unaccusative subjects
- Evidentiality
- To-infinitival clauses
- Predication and noun incorporation
- Ellipsis
- Imperativus-pro-Infinitivo
- Expression of irrealis
- Embedded Verb Second
- Agreement
- Negation
- Nouns & Noun Phrases
- Classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Partitive noun constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Nominalised quantifiers
- Kind partitives
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Bare nominal attributions
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers and (pre)determiners
- Interrogative pronouns
- R-pronouns
- Syntactic uses
- Adjective Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification and degree quantification
- Comparison by degree
- Comparative
- Superlative
- Equative
- Attribution
- Agreement
- Attributive adjectives vs. prenominal elements
- Complex adjectives
- Noun ellipsis
- Co-occurring adjectives
- Predication
- Partitive adjective constructions
- Adverbial use
- Participles and infinitives
- Adposition Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Intransitive adpositions
- Predication
- Preposition stranding
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- Afrikaans
- General
- Phonology
- Afrikaans phonology
- Segment inventory
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- The diphthongised long vowels /e/, /ø/ and /o/
- The unrounded mid-front vowel /ɛ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /ɑ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /a/
- The rounded mid-high back vowel /ɔ/
- The rounded high back vowel /u/
- The rounded and unrounded high front vowels /i/ and /y/
- The unrounded and rounded central vowels /ə/ and /œ/
- The diphthongs /əi/, /œy/ and /œu/
- Overview of Afrikaans consonants
- The bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/
- The alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/
- The velar plosives /k/ and /g/
- The bilabial nasal /m/
- The alveolar nasal /n/
- The velar nasal /ŋ/
- The trill /r/
- The lateral liquid /l/
- The alveolar fricative /s/
- The velar fricative /x/
- The labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/
- The approximants /ɦ/, /j/ and /ʋ/
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- Word stress
- The phonetic properties of stress
- Primary stress on monomorphemic words in Afrikaans
- Background to primary stress in monomorphemes in Afrikaans
- Overview of the Main Stress Rule of Afrikaans
- The short vowels of Afrikaans
- Long vowels in monomorphemes
- Primary stress on diphthongs in monomorphemes
- Exceptions
- Stress shifts in place names
- Stress shift towards word-final position
- Stress pattern of reduplications
- Phonological processes
- Vowel related processes
- Consonant related processes
- Homorganic glide insertion
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Phonotactics
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Afrikaans syntax
- Nouns and noun phrases
- Characteristics of the NP
- Classification of nouns
- Complementation of NPs
- Modification of NPs
- Binominal and partitive constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Partitive constructions with nominalised quantifiers
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Binominal name constructions
- Binominal genitive constructions
- Bare nominal attribution
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- Syntactic uses of the noun phrase
- Adjectives and adjective phrases
- Characteristics and classification of the AP
- Complementation of APs
- Modification and Degree Quantification of APs
- Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative degree
- Attribution of APs
- Predication of APs
- The partitive adjective construction
- Adverbial use of APs
- Participles and infinitives as adjectives
- Verbs and verb phrases
- Characterisation and classification
- Argument structure
- Verb frame alternations
- Complements of non-main verbs
- Verb clusters
- Complement clauses
- Adverbial modification
- Word order in the clause: Introduction
- Word order in the clause: position of the finite Verb
- Word order in the clause: Clause-initial position
- Word order in the clause: Extraposition and right-dislocation in the postverbal field
- Word order in the middle field
- Emphatic constructions
- Adpositions and adposition phrases
General interrogative, or yes/no or polar interrogative, main clauses in Afrikaans are formed by placing a verb in the first position of the clause, followed by the subject at the beginning of the middle field, and the remainder of the clause thereafter. Generally, no other constituent, not even clausal adverbs, can intervene between the initial verb and the subject. Typical Afrikaans questions, with different auxiliary verbs and main verbs, are presented in example (1).
a. | Gaan u daar tuis? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[(V1) gaan] [(MF) [(SUB) u] daar] [(VF) tuis] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
go.PRS you.HON there home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Do you stay there? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PCSA |
b. | Het jy jou koffie gedrink? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[(V1) het] [(MF) [(SUB) jy] jou koffie] [(VF) gedrink] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
have.AUX you.SG.SUB your.SG coffee drink.PST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Have you drunk your coffee? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PCSA |
c. | Kan ek 'n vriend saambring? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[(V1) kan] [(MF) [(SUB) ek] 'n vriend] [(VF) saambring] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
can.AUX.MOD I a friend along.bring.INF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can I bring a friend along? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PCSA |
If one construes interrogative formation as a syntactic derivation, then the first verb (auxiliary if there is one, otherwise the main verb) is moved to the clause-initial position from its base position. In traditional views of the general interrogative, the word-order is attributed to the inversion of subject and first verb. Similar to Dutch and German, and unlike English, general interrogative formation in Afrikaans involves no additional auxiliary verb, and neither does specific interrogative formation.
General interrogatives may ask for confirmation about a specific state of affairs, where the speaker has reason to believe that a particular situation is true, but wants to ask for confirmation thereof from the addressee. Example (2) represents a typical case of this type of function, where the speaker in (2a) asks a question, and the listener response in (2b) with an appropriate confirmation of the state of affairs.
a. | Gaan daar 'n saak gemaak word? | ||||||||||||||
Will a case be made? |
b. | Ja meneer, daar gaan 'n saak gemaak raak van hom. | ||||||||||||||
Yes sir, a case will be made. | |||||||||||||||
PCSA |
In the case of interrogatives that contain a complement clause, it is often the complement clause, rather than the main clause, that is being inquired into. Thus, in example (3a), the question is ostensibly whether the listener holds a particular belief, but the answer in (3b) indicates that the listener understood the question to be an inquiry about the state of affairs in the complement clause, namely whether he will continue doing something for a long period of time, and he answers in the affirmative. (The textual context is that the speaker works as a chef, and is asked about whether he intends to keep on working as a chef.) He does not answer in terms of whether he thinks so, but in terms of whether he will do so.
a. | Dink jy jy sal dit nog lank doen? | ||||||||||||||
Do you think you will be doing it for a long time. |
b. | Ja, ek sal. | ||||||||||||||
Yes, I will. | |||||||||||||||
PCSA |
General interrogatives are, however, very often used as polite directives, i.e. indirect requests, to the addressee to perform a particular action. Thus, in (4a), the speaker requests the hearer to repeat an address and telephone number, in the context of a radio interview, where the interviewer would like the radio audience to have time to write down contact details of the interviewee. In (4b), the speaker requests the addressee to inspect his car, and in subsequent dialogue, also requests, in the form of a question, the addressee to service the car as well, in the context of a service encounter at a service workshop.
a. | Kan u die adres en telefoonnommer vir ons net stadig herhaal? | ||||||||||||||
Can you please repeat the address and telephone number slowly for us? | |||||||||||||||
PCSA |
b. | Sal jy my motor nagaan? | ||||||||||||||
Will you check my car? | |||||||||||||||
PCSA |
When declaratives are negated, the default interpretation is that the existence of a particular state of affairs is denied. However, when general interrogatives are negated, the interpretation is not the polar opposite of the positive interrogative. Rather, the negated interrogative functions as a rhetorical question that usually assumes the actuality of the proposition in the clause, and implies surprise or some other affective response to the situation. The affirmative reading is illustrated by example (5a), while positive affect is illustrated by example (5b).
a. | Het die oumense nooit jagstories vertel nie? | ||||||||||||||
Did the old folk never tell hunting stories? |
b. | Wil jy nie nog 'n koffietjie hê nie? | ||||||||||||||
Don't you want another cup of coffee? | |||||||||||||||
PCSA |
Another use of negation with interrogatives is connected to its use for polite directives, where negation of the interrogative serves to further ameliorate the impact of the imposition on the addressee. This is illustrated by example (6), where the speaker, a fieldworker in the corpus collection project, tries to persuade the addressee to offer more information and to elaborate, as part of the ongoing recording.
Kan meneer nie nou van die ander plekkies se name nog onthou wat daai tyd hier was nie? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sir, can you not recall some of the names of other places from long ago? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PCSA |
Topicalisation is not usually an option for interrogatives, as a topicalised element preceding the verb will just be interpreted as a regular topicalised declarative, since the verb will be in the second position. Left-dislocation is available as an option, if some topic needs to be singled out emphatically before asking the question. The left-dislocated topic then precedes the clause, separated by a comma or intonation break, and its place in the main clause is taken by an appropriate co-referential pro-form, typically an anaphoric pronoun, as illustrated by singular dit it in (7a) and plural hulle them in (7b).
a. | My hemp, het iemand dit al gestryk? | ||||||||||||||
My shirt, has somebody ironed it yet? |
b. | Die honde, het jy al vir hulle kos gegee? | ||||||||||||||
The dogs, have you fed them already? |
