Adjectives and Copulas in Sranan Tongo
Sebba, Mark,, 1, 109-121 (1986),
doi = https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.1.1.07seb,
publicationName = John Benjamins,
issn = 0920-9034,
abstract= Some linguists regard predicate adjectives in Sranan and other creole languages as stative verbs, one argument being the absence of a copula before such adjectives. An analysis by Seuren, on the other hand, treats predicate adjectives as true adjectives in Sranan: an underlying copula fails to surface before them. This paper argues for an analysis which treats Sranan predicate adjectives as a type of stative verb, and accounts for the appearance of the copula in a relatively small number of cases by positing the existence of "extent phrases" in Sranan. These may modify a verb or copula; except under certain conditions, they contain a quantifier and an adjective. This accounts not only for the appearance of copulas with predicate adjectives, but also for the "repetition" of the adjective as in o bradi a liba bradi? (how broad the river broad) 'How broad is the river?',
language=,
type=