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In 'n tweetal artikels (hierdie artikel en Breed & Van Huyssteen (voorgele)) stel ons ondersoek in na die wyse waarop twee perifrastiese konstruksies, te wete die V KOP besig om te V- en die V KOP aan die V-konstruksies, gebruik word om progressiewe betekenis in Afrikaans uit te druk. Die bespreking word gebaseer op 'n korpusondersoek waarin drie Afrikaanse perifrastiese progressiewe konstruksies (d.i. die twee genoemde konstruksies, sowel as die Vpos en V-konstruksie; sien Breed 2012 en Breed & Brisard voorgele) met mekaar vergelyk is. Drie ewekniekonstruksies word in Nederlands gevind, en daarom word die konstruksies ook, waar ter sake, met die Nederlandse konstruksies vergelyk. Aangesien Breed & Brisard (voorgele) fokus op die Vpos en-konstruksies, handel hierdie tweetal artikels oor die besig- en aan die-progressiewe. Terwyl die tweede artikel se fokus is om, aan die hand van die korpusondersoek se resultate, die spesifieke wyses aan te dui waarop die twee konstruksies gebruik word, is die hoofdoelwit van hierdie eerste artikel om die twee konstruksies se totstandkoming en ontwikkeling aan te toon. In hierdie artikel word die grammatikaliseringsproses aan die hand van die evolusie van die hoofwerkwoord het tot temporele hulpwerkwoord verduidelik, en daar word aangetoon dat die aan die-/aan het-konstruksies lokatiewe oorsprong het, terwyl die oorsprong van die besig-/bezig-konstruksies leksikaal gemotiveerd is. Progressive aspect is a grammatical category which signifies that an event is continuing or taking place (Comrie 1976:33-36; Bybee et al. 1994:126). In two articles, this article and Breed and Van Huyssteen (submitted), we investigate the manner in which two periphrastic constructions, namely the V COP besig om te V and the V COP aan die V constructions, are used to express progressive meaning in Afrikaans. The discussions are based on a corpus investigation in which the three Afrikaans periphrastic progressive constructions (the two already mentioned) and the V POS en V constructions are compared to each other (Breed 2012; Breed & Brisard submitted). Dutch has three similar constructions, and for this reason the constructions were also compared to the Dutch ones where relevant. Breed and Brisard (submitted) explain how the V POS en construction is used to express progressive meaning. In this article and in Breed and Van Huyssteen (submitted) the focus is therefore on the specific manner in which the besig and aan die constructions are used as progressive markers. The main objective of this first article is to show the origin and development of the two constructions, while the focus of the second article is to demonstrate - on the basis of the results of the corpus investigation - the specific ways in which the constructions are used. The grammaticalisation theory offers insight into the manner in which grammatical constructions develop. For this reason, the origin, development and use of the two relevant periphrastic constructions were investigated from this perspective. Grammaticalisation can be described as the process of language change during which lexical constructions develop systematically into constructions with grammatical meaning (Bybee et al. 1994; Hopper & Traugott 2003; Lehmann 1995). This process of language change is characterised by specific mechanisms or characteristics, for instance universal routes, unidirectional change, lexical origin, semantic generalisation, an increase in frequency and re-analysis. This first article firstly explains the theory of grammaticalisation. The grammaticalisation of the Afrikaans auxiliary het is given as an example to illustrate specific relevant aspects of grammaticalisation. Secondly, it explains how the aan die and besig periphrastic constructions originate and develop. One of the most general lexical origins ofprogressives is constructions with locative meaning (Bybee et al. 1994:129). The motivation behind the development of a progressive from locative constructions is probably the connotation of "be in the place of VERBing" or "be at VERBing" (Bybee et al. 1994:129-130). The hypothesis offered by Bybee et al. (1994:131) is that, apart from a few exceptions, all progressive constructions develop from locative meaning. The aan die progressive is a construction of locative origin. The structure of the periphrastic construction can be divided into three parts: firstly, the introductory copulative verb; secondly, the locative aan preposition; and thirdly, the nominalised verb which is preceded by the definite article die [aan + die] has received unit status andforms the analysed construction of the periphrase. The aan die progressive therefore supports the hypothesis that progressive constructions develop from locative meanings. The besig progressive 's lexical origin differs from that of the aan die progressive, as well as from the V POS en progressive (consult Breed 2012; Breed & Brisard submitted), due to the fact that this progressive construction does not have a locative origin. The word besig has a lexical meaning which implies that a subject is involved in a process which is continuing, and the development of this progressive construction is, therefore, lexically motivated.

MA (Linguistics and Literary Theory), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015 Grammatical constructions containing postural verbs (CPVs) are present in a variety of languages. The Afrikaans and Dutch CPV-progressive constructions have already been discussed in depth in recent linguistics studies. Although Griekwa-Afrikaans (GrAfr) and Standard Afrikaans are regarded as variations of Afrikaans, (both sharing a common origin (17th century Dutch)) and although there are numerous similarities in the ways in which these two Afrikaans varieties use this construction, there are still a number of surprising (structural and semantic) differences. The goal of this study is to indicate the way in which GrAfr uses the CPV-construction to express grammatical meaning. The study is approached from a grammaticalizational perspective since it is a handy starting point with which to discuss the development and application of the grammatical construction. The grammaticalization theory explains how words lose their lexical value to become more grammatical. The categorical change (or auxiliation) of the CPV as lexical verb to grammatical auxiliary verb, is a notable result of a grammaticalization process. A grammaticalized CPV acts as a finite verb of the sentence and traditionally, completes one of four grammatical functions, namely to indicate i) when the action being expressed, takes place – in the past, present or future; ii) the speaker’s perspective on the action, iii) the speaker’s subjective opinion or attitude in terms of the action; and iv) whether or not the action actually takes place or not. These four functions can accordingly be called the tense, aspect, modality and polarity of the sentence. Since Afrikaans polarity is expressed by the negative particle nie, this study will specifically focus on the possible TAM functions expressed by CPVs in GrAfr. This study was approached as a comparative study. Two concordances were compiled to study the use of the CPV construction in GrAfr compared to StAfr.. The Gr-concordance (a spoken corpus) consists of 1000 sentences collected during interviews with mother tongue speakers of GrAfr in 1984 during the compilation of the so-called Van Rensburg reports. The TK-concordance (a written corpus) contains 1000 randomly selected sentences containing CPVs from the TK-Corpus. To establish the unique manner in which GrAfr uses this construction, the two concordances were compared according to specific parameters. Firstly the frequency ratio of sit, staan (stand), loop (walk) and lê (lie) in the two concordances were compared. It was found that loop was the most frequent, which indicates that it is more grammaticalized than the other CPVs. The frequency order of CPVs in GrAfr is loop > sit > staan > lê and in StAfr it is sit > staan > loop > lê. Secondly the ratio between lexical and grammatical uses was compared. After noticing that 66, 93% of the GrAfr examples fulfilled grammatical functions, it became apparent that the CPV construction is much more grammaticalized than the construction in StAfr. In the third place the different types of sentences present in both concordances were compared and it was concluded that the different sentences types could not be the cause of the indicated frequency differences of CPV’s. In the fourth place, specific interesting syntactic occurrences in GrAfr were discussed. For example: it was found that GrAfr, other than StAfr, regularly uses two different CPVs in one sentence, as in “Dan staan loop hy jimmers”. There were also indications of string constructions, for example “Ons had ʼn bietjie gelê stan oortree”, where more than one auxiliary CPV is applied to fulfil a grammatical function. Furthermore, a number examples were found where loop and even lê were used as synonyms for the inchoative gaan, for example “Hy lê kom nog”. Other interesting cases, such as variation in possible sentence structure, were also explored and examples were found where the grammatical CPV was placed after the lexical verb – thus not in the traditional position of the finite verb – as in “Ek kan nie lieg sit nie”. Masters

PhD (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012 Temporal constructions in Afrikaans are ambiguous with respect to aspectual meaning. The past tense construction with het ge-, for instance, can be interpreted as progressive, perfective or anterior. In the same vein, the unmarked present tense construction can be interpreted as a construction with a progressive or a perfective meaning. This aspectual ambiguity of the Afrikaans verbal system has a significant effect on the way in which Afrikaans grammar is described or understood. The observation by native speakers, linguists, literary specialists and writers that the temporal constructions in Afrikaans are vague or ambiguous with regard to aspectual meaning has led to certain views about the expression of tense in the language. In Afrikaans literature, for example, there is a tradition to write prose primarily in the present tense, because of the perception that the past tense is not adequate to convey particular semantic nuances. Furthermore, certain speakers of Afrikaans and linguists believe that Afrikaans grammar has been simplified and just does not have aspect. However, Afrikaans possesses alternative strategies to specify aspectual meaning. The five prototypical ways of expressing aspectual meaning in Afrikaans are i) lexical constructions (such as adverbs and conjunctions); ii) constructions with affixes, iii) reduplication constructions; iv) passive constructions; and v) periphrastic constructions. Aspectual meaning in Afrikaans is an almost entirely unexplored research field. In my opinion, the literature on the expressions of aspectual meaning in Afrikaans contains two shortcomings. First, Afrikaans aspect needs to be described theoretically. Second, more research is needed concerning the specific ways in which aspectual meaning is expressed in Afrikaans. The scope of this entire research field is too large for a single study. For that reason, the present study aims to reveal the way in which periphrastic constructions are used to convey progressive meaning. As far as temporal meaning is concerned, it is possible to make a distinction between tempus meaning, which stands for deictic temporal meanings (i.e. past, present and future tense), and aspectual meaning, which stands for non-deictic temporal meanings such as duration, point of view and the internal structure of the situation. One can also distinguish between lexical and grammatical aspect. Lexical aspect has to do with the conceptual properties of a situation or, in other words, with the question whether it is static or dynamic, telic or atelic and durative. There are five situation types: states, activities, achievements, accomplishments and semelfactives. Grammatical aspect concerns the point of view from which the situation is perceived. One can make a distinction between perfective and imperfective grammatical aspect. The latter can be subdivided into imperfectives conveying habitual meaning and imperfectives conveying progressive meaning. Grammaticalisation theory is useful and a relevant tool to provide answers to the afore-mentioned research questions. First, it offers insight into the manner in which the ambiguous tempus constructions of Afrikaans came into being. Second, it can be used to show how the alternative aspectual constructions have developed and how they are currently employed in the language. For the purpose of this study, grammaticalisation is regarded as language change in which a construction loses its lexical meaning and comes to express grammatical meaning. Grammatical constructions can be used in more contexts than their lexical counterparts, as grammaticalised uses have been generalized contextually. Grammatical constructions lose the morphosyntactic properties typical of their lexical counterparts and assume grammatical properties. Grammaticalisation is a typological phenomenon and the lexical origin of a grammatical construction is often the same in different languages. Grammaticalizing constructions exhibit an increase in frequency. Afrikaans and Dutch are closely related languages and possess cognate periphrastic progressive constructions, viz. i) the aan het- / aan die- ii) VPOS te / VPOS en-; en iii) bezig- / besig- progressive constructions. To examine the use of periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans from a grammaticalisation perspective, I compare the results of a study of these constructions in an Afrikaans corpus to those of previous studies of the periphrastic progressive constructions in Dutch. The respective constructions are compared on the basis of four criteria, viz. i) frequency; ii) verb collocations; iii) transitivity; and iv) combinatorial possibilities with other aspectual periphrastic constructions. The lexical origins of the various constructions are also considered. The comparison of the constructions on the basis of the afore-mentioned criteria makes it possible to demonstrate how the periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans came into being and how they have developed into grammatical constructions conveying aspectual meaning and in which way the different Afrikaans periphrastic constructions express progressive meaning. Doctoral

Temporal constructions in Afrikaans are ambiguous with respect to aspectual meaning. The past tense construction with het ge-, for instance, can be interpreted as progressive, perfective or anterior. In the same vein, the unmarked present tense construction can be interpreted as a construction with a progressive or a perfective meaning. This aspectual ambiguity of the Afrikaans verbal system has a significant effect on the way in which Afrikaans grammar is described or understood. The observation by native speakers, linguists, literary specialists and writers that the temporal constructions in Afrikaans are vague or ambiguous with regard to aspectual meaning has led to certain views about the expression of tense in the language. In Afrikaans literature, for example, there is a tradition to write prose primarily in the present tense, because of the perception that the past tense is not adequate to convey particular semantic nuances. Furthermore, certain speakers of Afrikaans and linguists believe that Afrikaans grammar has been simplified and just does not have aspect. However, Afrikaans possesses alternative strategies to specify aspectual meaning. The five prototypical ways of expressing aspectual meaning in Afrikaans are i) lexical constructions (such as adverbs and conjunctions); ii) constructions with affixes, iii) reduplication constructions; iv) passive constructions; and v) periphrastic constructions. Aspectual meaning in Afrikaans is an almost entirely unexplored research field. In my opinion, the literature on the expressions of aspectual meaning in Afrikaans contains two shortcomings. First, Afrikaans aspect needs to be described theoretically. Second, more research is needed concerning the specific ways in which aspectual meaning is expressed in Afrikaans. The scope of this entire research field is too large for a single study. For that reason, the present study aims to reveal the way in which periphrastic constructions are used to convey progressive meaning. As far as temporal meaning is concerned, it is possible to make a distinction between tempus meaning, which stands for deictic temporal meanings (i.e. past, present and future tense), and aspectual meaning, which stands for non-deictic temporal meanings such as duration, point of view and the internal structure of the situation. One can also distinguish between lexical and grammatical aspect. Lexical aspect has to do with the conceptual properties of a situation or, in other words, with the question whether it is static or dynamic, telic or atelic and durative. There are five situation types: states, activities, achievements, accomplishments and semelfactives. Grammatical aspect concerns the point of view from which the situation is perceived. One can make a distinction between perfective and imperfective grammatical aspect. The latter can be subdivided into imperfectives conveying habitual meaning and imperfectives conveying progressive meaning. Grammaticalisation theory is useful and a relevant tool to provide answers to the afore-mentioned research questions. First, it offers insight into the manner in which the ambiguous tempus constructions of Afrikaans came into being. Second, it can be used to show how the alternative aspectual constructions have developed and how they are currently employed in the language. For the purpose of this study, grammaticalisation is regarded as language change in which a construction loses its lexical meaning and comes to express grammatical meaning. Grammatical constructions can be used in more contexts than their lexical counterparts, as grammaticalised uses have been generalized contextually. Grammatical constructions lose the morphosyntactic properties typical of their lexical counterparts and assume grammatical properties. Grammaticalisation is a typological phenomenon and the lexical origin of a grammatical construction is often the same in different languages. Grammaticalizing constructions exhibit an increase in frequency. Afrikaans and Dutch are closely related languages and possess cognate periphrastic progressive constructions, viz. i) the aan het- / aan die- ii) VPOS te / VPOS en-; en iii) bezig- / besig- progressive constructions. To examine the use of periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans from a grammaticalisation perspective, I compare the results of a study of these constructions in an Afrikaans corpus to those of previous studies of the periphrastic progressive constructions in Dutch. The respective constructions are compared on the basis of four criteria, viz. i) frequency; ii) verb collocations; iii) transitivity; and iv) combinatorial possibilities with other aspectual periphrastic constructions. The lexical origins of the various constructions are also considered. The comparison of the constructions on the basis of the afore-mentioned criteria makes it possible to demonstrate how the periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans came into being and how they have developed into grammatical constructions conveying aspectual meaning and in which way the different Afrikaans periphrastic constructions express progressive meaning. PhD (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Die Afrikaanse werkwoordstelsel onderskei tussen verlede, hede en toekoms (met ander woorde tussen verskillende tempusbetekenisse), maar is meerduidig met betrekking tot grammatikaal-aspektuele betekenis. Die Afrikaanse werkwoord spesifiseer nie op 'n verpligte wyse 'n onderskeid tussen perfektiewe, anterior- of imperfektiewe betekenis nie. Die ongemerkte stamvorm (in die hede) en die het ge-vorm (in die verlede) word gebruik om hierdie verskillende aspektuele betekenisse uit te druk. Afrikaans kan derhalwe geklassifiseer word as 'n nie-aspektuele taal (vergelyk Bylund 2013:932). Die aspektuele meerduidigheid van Afrikaans het 'n verreikende effek op die wyse waarop hierdie taal se grammatika in die Afrikaanse akademiese literatuur beskryf of verstaan word. Daar bestaan onder sommige skrywers die siening dat die werkwoordelike vorm van Afrikaans onvoldoende is om sekere aspektuele nuanses en betekenisse uit te druk (vergelyk Brink 1976:93; De Villiers 1962:250; Du Toit 1940:250; Meyer 2010; Paul 2010; Visser 2012; Wybenga 1983:1). Beskrywings soos "maklik", "vereenvoudig", "sonder 'n werklike sisteem" en "problematies" is al gebruik om die Afrikaanse grammatikale temporele uitdrukking te beskryf (vergelyk Anon 2010; Britz 2002; De Villiers 1962:59). Die aanname bestaan selfs by sommige skrywers dat Afrikaans "geen aspek het nie" (vergelyk Van der Merwe 1968a:281). 'n Moontlike rede vir hierdie sienings is die feit dat die uitdrukking van aspek in Afrikaans nog nie voldoende nagevors of beskryf is nie. Die enkele bestaande publikasies oor die onderwerp bied nie 'n goeie verduideliking van die begrip "aspek" nie, en dui nie voldoende die verskillende wyses waarop aspek in Afrikaans uitgedruk kan word, aan nie. Hierdie artikel probeer die tweeledige leemte vul deur eerstens 'n algemeen-teoretiese beskrywing van aspek aan te bied, en tweedens op 'n sistematiese wyse aan te toon watter linguistiese strategies in Afrikaans aangewend word om aspektuele betekenis uit te druk. The Afrikaans verb system distinguishes between past, present and future tense, but is ambiguous with regard to aspectual interpretation. Whereas English has different formal ways to specify aspectual meaning (for example the differences between the past situations indicated by drank, has drunk, had drunk and was drinking) the het ge past tense can be used in Afrikaans for all four these aspectual past tense meanings (namely het gedrink). Afrikaans is therefore regarded as a non-aspectual language (cf. Bylund et al. 2013:932). The aspectually ambiguous nature ofthe Afrikaans verb system has a far-reaching effect on the manner in which the Afrikaans grammar in the Afrikaans academic literature is described or understood. Firstly, there is a view that the verbal form of Afrikaans is inadequate to express certain aspectual nuances and meanings in the same way as, for instance, English (cf. Brink 1976:93; De Villiers 1962:250; Du Toit 1940:250; Meyer 2010; Paul 2010; Visser 2012; Wybenga 1983:1). Secondly, expressions such as "easy", "simplified", "lacking a real system" and "problematic" have been used to describe temporal expression in Afrikaans (cf. Anon 2010; Britz 2002; De Villiers 1962:59). Some scholars even assume that Afrikaans "has no aspect" (cf. Van derMerwe 1968a:281). However, these statements are contentious as it is indeed possible to distinguish between different aspectual meanings in Afrikaans. Although verb inflection is not really used to make these distinctions, other linguistic strategies such as phrasal and lexical constructions can be employed. A possible reason for the above-mentioned views is the fact that Afrikaans aspectual expressions have not yet been researched or described adequately. In fact, since 1940, only ten Afrikaans publications on aspect have been published (cf. Breed 2012:7-14). However, in my opinion, these publications do not offer a good explanation of the different ways in which aspect can be expressed in Afrikaans, and therefore fail to contribute to a better understanding of aspectual expressions in Afrikaans. This article endeavours to fill the dual void by offering a general theoretical description of aspect in Afrikaans, and secondly by systematically presenting the different linguistic strategies that are used in Afrikaans to express aspectual meaning. By means of a search on the "Digitale Bibliografie van die Afrikaanse Taalkunde (DBAT)", ten Afrikaans publications were found that offer a theoretical description or definitions of aspect, i.e. Broos (1960), De Villiers (1942, 1948, 1951, 1962, 1968), Labuschagne (1968), Louw (1987), Potgieter (1982), Scholtz (1940), Van der Merwe (1968b), Van Niekerk (1997) Visser (1968) and Wybenga (1983). This literature is useful to form an overall conceptual framework of aspect in Afrikaans, and also to identify some aspectual expressions in Afrikaans. However, it is inadequate to serve as theoretical framework for the description of aspect in Afrikaans for the following reasons: The publications on Afrikaans aspect do not seem to have taken cognisance of contemporary international research findings on aspect in general. It is difficult to understand and distinguish the definitions and classifications of aspectual meanings made in the Afrikaans literature. There is little agreement between the definitions or classifications given in the different publications for the various aspectual meanings (e.g. the conative, causative, iterative, momental, punctual, ingressive and inchoative), and the description and classification of the perfective and imperfective meanings given in the relevant publications do not agree with contemporary international views on aspect (for example those of Binnick 1991; Bybee et al. 1994; Bybee 2003, Comrie 1976,1985; Dahl 1985; Langacker 1991; McCawley 1971). I consider the classification and definitions offered in the literature for aspectual meanings in Afrikaans unclear, incongruous and mostly incompatible. Apart from some references to Lyons (1977) and Jespersen (1965), non-South African sources on aspect are seldom referred to. It is still not clear which constructs or methods are being used by Afrikaans speakers to express aspectual meaning. According to the received linguistic view of grammatical aspect, it has to do with the point of view from which a situation is perceived. A situation can be viewed from two perspectives. Firstly, it can be viewed as a whole, with the boundaries of the situation included, for example The dog drank the water. This approach is called the perfective aspect. Secondly, a situation can be viewed with a focus on the internal temporal structure of the situation, for example The dog is drinking the water. This approach is called the imperfective aspect. All other aspectual meanings, (for example the habitual aspect such as Elephants eat leaves or the frequentative aspect such as He visits her often) can be regarded as a subtype of one of these two aspectual distinctions. A further distinguishable temporal-aspectual construction, namely the perfect or the anterior, is also relevant to this discussion. The anterior does not stand as a structure in opposition to the perfective or imperfective, but involves multiple points in time and should therefore be dealt with slightly differently than simply to be categorised as grammatical aspect. The two terminologies, namely the perfective and the perfect are often confused with each other or treated as synonyms, but are inherently different. In some traditions, the perfect is rather regarded as a tense category (cf. Comrie 1976:52). The anterior specifies that a process in the past has an effect on a subsequent situation, as it results in a state situation. The expression does not reveal anything about the situation itself, but places the situation in a particular context. Further descriptions and classifications of subtypes are addressed in the article. Although Afrikaans does not use verb inflection to distinguish aspectual meaning as in English, five linguistic strategies are used to specify aspectual meaning, namely i) lexical constructions such as adverbs and conjunction; ii) affixation; iii) reduplication; iv) passive constructions; and v) periphrastic constructions.

In 'n tweetal artikels (hierdie artikel en Breed & Van Huyssteen 2014) stel ons ondersoek in na die wyse waarop twee perifrastiese konstruksies, te wete die V KOP besig om te V- en die V KOP aan die V-konstruksies, gebruik word om progressiewe betekenis in Afrikaans uit te druk. Die bespreking word gebaseer op 'n korpusondersoek waarin drie Afrikaanse perifrastiese progressiewe konstruksies (d.i. die twee genoemde konstruksies, sowel as die V POS en V-konstruksie; sien Breed 2012 en Breed & Brisard 2015) met mekaar vergelyk is. Drie ewekniekonstruksies word in Nederlands gevind, en daarom word die konstruksies ook, waar ter sake, met die Nederlandse konstruksies vergelyk. In Breed (2012) word die grammatikaliseringsproses verduidelik, en daar word aangetoon dat die aan die-/aan het-konstruksies lokatiewe oorsprong het, terwyl die oorsprong van die besig-/bezig-konstruksies leksikaal gemotiveerd is. In hierdie artikel word die frekwensie van die twee konstruksies ondersoek en daar word bewys dat daar aansienlike verskille tussen die verspreiding van die Afrikaanse en Nederlandse konstruksies is. Die werkwoorde waarmee elk van die konstruksies prototipies kombineer, word bestudeer en daar word bevind dat die Afrikaanse besig-konstruksie met 'n groot aantal werkwoordtipes kan kombineer, terwyl die aan die-progressiefkonstruksie meer gespesialiseerd is. Progressive aspect is a grammatical category which signifies that an event is continuing or taking place (Comrie 1976:33-36; Bybee et al. 1994:126). In two articles, this article and (Breed & Van Huyssteen 2014), we investigate the manner in which two periphrastic constructions, namely the V COP besig om te V and the V COP aan die V constructions, are used to express progressive meaning in Afrikaans. The discussions are based on a corpus investigation in which the three Afrikaans periphrastic progressive constructions (the two already mentioned) and the V POS en V constructions are compared to each other (Breed 2012; Breed & Brisard 2015). Dutch has three similar constructions, and for this reason the constructions were also compared to the Dutch ones where relevant. Breed and Brisard (2015) explains how the V POS en construction is used to express progressive meaning. In this article and in Breed and Van Huyssteen (2014) the focus is therefore on the specific manner in which the besig and aan die constructions are used as progressive markers. Grammaticalisation theory offers insight into the manner in which grammatical constructions develop. For this reason the origin, development and use of the two relevant periphrastic constructions were investigated from this perspective. Grammaticalisation can be described as the process of language change during which lexical constructions develop systematically into constructions with grammatical meaning. This process of language change is characterised by specific mechanisms or characteristics, for instance universal routes, unidirectional change, lexical origin, semantic generalisation, an increase in frequency and re-analysis (cf. Bybee et al. 1994:4-5; Croft 1990:257; Heine & Reh 1984:11-12; Hopper & Traugott 2003:1; Lehmann 1995:3). Breed and Van Huyssteen (2014) firstly explains the theory of grammaticalisation. The grammaticalisation of the Afrikaans auxiliary het is given as an example to illustrate specific relevant aspects of grammaticalisation, namely universal routes, unidirectionality, lexical source, semantic bleaching, frequency and reanalysis. Secondly this article explains how the aan die and besig periphrastic constructions originate and develop. One of the most general lexical origins for progressive constructions is constructions with locative meaning (Bybee et al. 1994:129). The motivation behind the development of a progressive from locative constructions is probably due to the connotation of "be in the place of VERBing" or "be at VERBing" (Bybee et al. 1994:129-130). The hypothesis offered by Bybee et al. (1994:131) is that, apart from a few exceptions, all progressive constructions develop from locative meaning. The aan die progressive is a construction of locative origin. The structure of the periphrastic construction can be divided into three parts: firstly, the introductory copulative verb, secondly the locative aan preposition and thirdly the nominalised verb which is preceded by the definite article die. [aan + die] has received unit status and forms the analysed construction of the periphrasis. The aan die progressive therefore supports the hypothesis that progressive constructions develop from locative meanings. The besig progressive's lexical origin differs from that of the aan die progressive, as well as from the V POS en progressive (consult Breed 2012; Breed & Brisard 2015), due to the fact that this progressive construction does not have a locative origin. The word "besig" has a lexical meaning which implies that a subject is involved by means of a process which is continuing, and the development of this progressive construction is, therefore, lexically motivated. In this article, we investigate the frequency of these two constructions, as well as the verbs with which each of the constructions prototypically combine. The frequency of the two constructions was investigated in order to determine to what extent the constructions have been generalised. The aan die progressive (approximately 4,900 results in a corpus of circa 60 million words) appears significantly less frequently than the besig progressive (approximately 8,000 results). For the aan die construction a variant construction was also apparent, namely the aan 't progressive. This construction is, however, very scarce (only 330 results) and is seemingly archaic. Furthermore, it seems as though besig has been generalised to such an extent that the progressive use of this word (62%) in Afrikaans, is more frequent than the lexical use (38%). It seems as though the aan die construction forms strong collocations and has a few specialised uses, amongst others, to be combined with i) inchoative verbs (such as toeneem, afneem, taan and opbou); ii) idiomatic expressions such as aan die brand, aan die slaap andaan die rol; iii) process nouns such as aan die gang and aan die stuur, and iii) activity verbs. The aan 't progressive seems to be less specialised than the aandie progressive, although this construction is combined mainly with activity verbs. This construction is also generally found in contexts where a feeling of being "old-fashioned" or nostalgic is being conveyed, for example historical novels. The besig progressive combines with a great variety of verb types (i.e. activities, accomplishments and achievements). The frequency of transitive verbs with the besig progressive is also high in comparison to the other Afrikaans periphrastic progressive constructions.