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A computational implementation of the Northern Sotho infinitive


Gertrud Faaß
DJ Prinsloo

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe the infinitive in Northern Sotho based on corpus data and the respective literature; so far, all share the same view: The infinitive is a noun (of class 15) and a verb at the same time – ‘it manifests both nominal as well as verbal features’ (Poulos & Louwrens, 1994:42). When implementing these constellations in a parser, however, a new perspective is found: to achieve its successful implementation, the  infinitive must be defined as a verb on the one hand and as a noun of class 15 on the other, derived from this verb through nominalization (transposition). Instead of a subject concord, the verb stem in the infinitive is preceded by the respective class prefix.

S.Afr.J.Afr.Lang., 31(2) 2011

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2305-1159
print ISSN: 0257-2117