A linguistic survey of adoptives in Venda

Abstract

This study deals with the influence of other languages on Venda. It begins by looking at the various contact situations and then analyses the adaptation of foreign linguistic forms and their impact on the Venda language. Chapter 1 gives a historical perspective of Venda. The focus here is on the origin of the Venda language and the different contacts it has had with other languages during and after migration. Chapter 2 analyses the adaptation of foreign linguistic forms to the Venda lexical­ semantic system, while chapter 3 focuses on adoptives in relation to the Venda sound system. Chapter 4 focuses on the grammatical (i.e morphological and syntactic) adaptation . This chapter concludes by looking at the impact of adopted linguistic forms en the Venda grammatical system. The final chapter gives a general conclusion on the adjustment of adopted linguistic forms and their effects on the Venda language.