The non-derived ideophone in Xitsonga

Abstract

The article examines the non-derived ideophone in Xitsonga under two headings. Under the first heading, attention is paid to the properties of the ideophone. Then, the ideophone is located within the take-up of the tenets of the Theta theory. Two types of the non-derived ideophone are distinguished, namely those originating from sound and those with obscure origin. It is found that although the ideophone is, in Xitsonga, a distinct grammatical category with unique phonological, morphological, syntactical and semantic properties, it is functionally either verbal or adjectival in nature. Consequently, the verbal ideophone is characterised by its ability to project both NP subjects and NP objects, whereas the adjectival ideophone is marked by either the NP subject or the existential morpheme kona ‘there/here’ in Xitsonga. It is observed that the non-derived ideophone is predicative, resulting in the assignment of Theta roles to its NP arguments or existential morpheme subject in a predicate argument structure (PAS).