The so-called adjective in Zulu

Abstract

Analyses of the so-called adjective of Zulu are often guilty of language projection. The traditional terms ‘adjective’ and ‘relative’ as well as the ‘predicative use of the adjective (also referred to as the copulative use) as opposed to ‘attributive use of the adjective’ (also referred to as the qualificative use) are frequently used. These terms are inappropriate and the analysis of the language data, within the approaches used, does not lead to a cohesive and exhaustive discussion of the so-called adjective. The problems pertaining to the description of the so-called adjective are investigated in this article, while proposals are made in favour of more appropriate terminology.