The semantics and syntax of the Tsonga verbs kuwà ‘fall’ and kuntlúlá ‘jump’, and their relatives

Abstract

The goal of this article is to describe the motion verbs kuwà ‘fall and kuntlúlá ‘jump’ understood as manner verbs. The model proposed by Talmy (1972. 1975. 1985) for the semantic analysis of motion events will be critically applied. Two types of motion events involving these verbs will be studied: a) Location-confined motion, in which the Figure is in a motion confined to a location (Site), and b) Location-bounded motion, of which the expressions reveal a Figure in a state of motion anchored to a place (Ground). A closer look at the semantic and syntactic distinctions between kuwà and kuntlúlá, and the different concepts they convey will hopefully lead to a clearer understanding of their meaning.