Diachronic semantics of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda: a corpus-driven approach
- Author
- Deo Kawalya (UGent) , Koen Bostoen (UGent) and Gilles-Maurice de Schryver (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
-
- KONGOKING (Political centralization, economic integration and language evolution in Central Africa: An interdisciplinary approach to the early history of the Kongo kingdom)
- Abstract
- In this article the semantic evolution of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda is examined through the analysis of a diachronic corpus spanning the last 120 years. It is shown that the usage frequency of this verb increased exponentially between the early 20th century and the present, and that its use as a lexical verb has dramatically decreased during the same time span. The corpus data furthermore substantiate that its modal uses have been extended from the exclusive expression of dynamic possibility until the 1960s to deontic possibility. Methodologically, this is the first full-scale article within the young field of Bantu corpus linguistics in which a corpus-driven study is performed on a diachronic corpus. The approach is not only shown to be feasible, but the encouraging results will hopefully entice colleagues working on the Bantu languages to undertake the building and analysis of such diachronic corpora for linguistic purposes.
- Keywords
- diachronic corpus analysis, grammaticalisation, modality, possibility, NOUN, BANTU, SUBJECTIFICATION, Bantu
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-4408419
- MLA
- Kawalya, Deo, et al. “Diachronic Semantics of the Modal Verb -Sóból- in Luganda: A Corpus-Driven Approach.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS, vol. 19, no. 1, JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 2014, pp. 60–93, doi:10.1075/ijcl.19.1.03kaw.
- APA
- Kawalya, D., Bostoen, K., & de Schryver, G.-M. (2014). Diachronic semantics of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda: a corpus-driven approach. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS, 19(1), 60–93. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.19.1.03kaw
- Chicago author-date
- Kawalya, Deo, Koen Bostoen, and Gilles-Maurice de Schryver. 2014. “Diachronic Semantics of the Modal Verb -Sóból- in Luganda: A Corpus-Driven Approach.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS 19 (1): 60–93. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.19.1.03kaw.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Kawalya, Deo, Koen Bostoen, and Gilles-Maurice de Schryver. 2014. “Diachronic Semantics of the Modal Verb -Sóból- in Luganda: A Corpus-Driven Approach.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS 19 (1): 60–93. doi:10.1075/ijcl.19.1.03kaw.
- Vancouver
- 1.Kawalya D, Bostoen K, de Schryver G-M. Diachronic semantics of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda: a corpus-driven approach. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS. 2014;19(1):60–93.
- IEEE
- [1]D. Kawalya, K. Bostoen, and G.-M. de Schryver, “Diachronic semantics of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda: a corpus-driven approach,” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 60–93, 2014.
@article{4408419,
abstract = {{In this article the semantic evolution of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda is examined through the analysis of a diachronic corpus spanning the last 120 years. It is shown that the usage frequency of this verb increased exponentially between the early 20th century and the present, and that its use as a lexical verb has dramatically decreased during the same time span. The corpus data furthermore substantiate that its modal uses have been extended from the exclusive expression of dynamic possibility until the 1960s to deontic possibility. Methodologically, this is the first full-scale article within the young field of Bantu corpus linguistics in which a corpus-driven study is performed on a diachronic corpus. The approach is not only shown to be feasible, but the encouraging results will hopefully entice colleagues working on the Bantu languages to undertake the building and analysis of such diachronic corpora for linguistic purposes.}},
author = {{Kawalya, Deo and Bostoen, Koen and de Schryver, Gilles-Maurice}},
issn = {{1384-6655}},
journal = {{INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS}},
keywords = {{diachronic corpus analysis,grammaticalisation,modality,possibility,NOUN,BANTU,SUBJECTIFICATION,Bantu}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{60--93}},
publisher = {{JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY}},
title = {{Diachronic semantics of the modal verb -sóból- in Luganda: a corpus-driven approach}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.19.1.03kaw}},
volume = {{19}},
year = {{2014}},
}
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