Tense and time analysis in Northern Sotho

Abstract

The aim of this study is to devote attention to tense and time as verbal categories in Northern Sotho. The categories tense and time are scrutinized . Due to the different interpretations of the categories tense and time, linguists are not in agreement as far as these categories are concerned. Special attention is focused on the two types of tenses, namely, absolute and relative tenses. Tense is a deictic category which relates the time of the action, event or state of affairs to the time of utterance. The reference point of the absolute tense is the deictic center, whereas the forms containing -be or -ba as a deficient verbs are used to indicate the shifting of the reference point to before or after coding time. Time, however, apart from the influence of tense, is also established by (i) the semantic verb phrase categorization, (ii) the influence of aspectual morphemes, (iii) the text and context, (iv) the interrelation between tense forms and temporal adverbials, and (v) the speaker's and addressee's knowledge of the world. All this time establishing mechanisms are accounted for in this research. In order to be able to discuss the categories of tense and time in their proper perspective some attention had to be devoted to moods and actuality.