A corpus-based study of the human impersonal pronoun "('n) mens" in Afrikaans : Compared to "men" and "een mens" in Dutch

Van Olmen, Daniel and Breed, Adri and Verhoeven, Ben (2019) A corpus-based study of the human impersonal pronoun "('n) mens" in Afrikaans : Compared to "men" and "een mens" in Dutch. Languages in Contrast, 19 (1). pp. 79-105. ISSN 1387-6759

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Abstract

This article compares the grammaticalizing human impersonal pronoun ('n) mens in Afrikaans to fully grammaticalized men and non-grammaticalized een mens in Dutch. It is shown that 'n mens and een mens can still be used lexically, unlike mens and men, and that ('n) mens and een mens are restricted to non-referential indefinite, universal-internal uses while men exhibits the whole range of (non-) referential indefinite ones. Despite the latter’s presence in the earliest Afrikaans data, it is argued not to have influenced the development of ('n) mens. This pronoun and Dutch een mens are also found to have syntactic functions other than subjecthood, unlike men. The contrast is attributed to their different degrees of grammaticalization. Lastly, the Afrikaans ‘man’-pronoun is shown to differ from its Dutch counterparts in relying on the second person singular for suppletion, though forms of ('n) mens are found to occasionally occur instead.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Languages in Contrast
Additional Information:
This article has been accepted for publication in Languages in Contrast, Volume 19, Issue 1, 2019, pages: 79-105, © 2019 John Benjamins, the publisher should be contacted for permission to re-use the material in any form.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200
Subjects:
?? dutchgrammaticalizationimpersonal and pronounpsychology(all)linguistics and languagesocial sciences(all)arts and humanities(all) ??
ID Code:
124476
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
13 Apr 2018 14:12
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
20 Dec 2023 01:18