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In:Dutch and Contact Linguistics: The Dutch language outside the Low Countries
Edited by Christopher Joby and Nicoline van der Sijs
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 55] 2025
► pp. 278–313

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Chapter 9
Aspectual cognate constructions in Afrikaans and Dutch

A language contact approach to prospective and ingressive aspect

ORCiD logo with link | Leiden University
ORCiD logo with link | Ghent University | North-West University | Virtual Institute for Afrikaans
Published online: 4 July 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.55.09bog
Abstract
This chapter examines ingressive (‘begin’) and prospective (‘about to’) cognate constructions in Afrikaans and Dutch through the lens of language contact. We propose a theoretical account of the conceptual link between these aspectual viewpoints that generates predictions on their selectional restrictions. These predictions are tested using corpus data and interpreted within Diasystematic Construction Grammar: shared diachronic development aligns with equivalent selectional behavior (diaconstructions), diachronic divergence leads to distributional differences (idioconstructions). Our findings reveal a mix of diaconstructions and idioconstructions. For example, ingressive gaan ‘go’ distributes differently across Afrikaans and Dutch, whereas begin(nen te) ‘begin (to)’ patterns similarly. The results support a conceptual distinction between two types of prospective aspect and ingressive aspect, differentiated by respective restrictions on telicity and dynamicity.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Diasystematic Construction Grammar
  • 3.Prospective and ingressive aspect
    • 3.1Viewpoint aspect and the structure of situations
    • 3.2Ingressivity and prospectivity in Afrikaans and Dutch
    • 3.3Hypotheses and empirical scope
  • 4.Corpus assembly and annotation
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1Prospective constructions
    • 5.2Ingressive non-main verbs
    • 5.3Composite prospectivity
    • 5.4Summary
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • Notes
  • References
  • Glossary
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