Browsing by Author "Bichwa, Saul Simon"

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    The determiner phrase syntax of iGiha: a generative syntax-interfaces approach
    (Stellenbosch -- Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Bichwa, Saul Simon; Visser, Marianna; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of African Languages.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The debate in generative linguistics on whether languages with no overt articles, including the Bantu languages, project a Determiner Phrase (DP), similarly to languages that have overt definite and indefinite articles (like ‘the’ and ‘a’ in English) informed the investigation on the igiHa NP/DP syntax conducted in this study. The main goal of this dissertation is thus to examine the evidence that igiHa, a Bantu language with no overt articles, projects a DP above NP in the syntactic representation of nominal phrases of igiHa. The study examines the igiHa complex noun phrase in providing evidence for postulating that the pre-prefix occurring in the inflection morphology of the lexical head noun, and the pre-prefix element in the inflectional morphology of different nominal modifiers is a functional category Determiner that heads a DP projection. For this purpose, the study examines the interpretative semantic, discourse-pragmatic, and information structural contrastive focus properties encoded by the (non-)occurrence of the Determiner pre-prefix in the inflectional morphology of the lexical head noun and the various nominal modifiers. The occurrence of the nominal modifiers in different syntactic positions with respect to the head noun is considered. A multi-perspective theoretical framework, exploring syntax interfaces properties was thus adopted for the study. This framework assumes the Minimalist Program principles of generative grammar, with particular focus on DP structure questions, extended to include perspectives from Cartography studies (Rizzi 1997). In addition, the theory of Definiteness and Specificity postulated by Lyons (1999), and information structural perspectives are incorporated in the framework. The study presents arguments in support of the view that the pre-prefix in igiHa is a functional category determiner, specified for the semantic feature of specificity and the information structural feature of contrastive focus. This view is evidenced in the igiHa nominal phrase data by examples where the pre-prefix occurs obligatorily or optionally in the inflectional morphology of the lexical head noun and different nominal modifiers. It is argued that the determiner pre-prefix that occurs in the inflection morphology of nominal modifiers such as the adjective, the numeral, the possessive, the clausal relative, and some quantifiers and enumeratives is a D(eterminer) predicate functional category introducing a DP predication (DPPred) projection in the representation of these igiHa nominal phrases. The study furthermore proposes that igiHa nominal modifiers such as the demonstrative and the anaphoric determiners -áá, -á-á-ndi, and nya- have an inherent feature of definiteness, whereas other modifiers, particularly the adjective, the numeral, the possessive, and the clausal relative are inherently neutral with respect to the semantic features of (in)definiteness and (non-) specificity. Some quantifiers, enumeratives, and interrogatives are inherently indefinite. However, the study argues that these nominal modifiers with a semantic feature of indefiniteness can under certain circumstances appear in definite environments. In terms of the analyses proposed for the igiHa NP/DP constructions, the Determiner pre-prefix heads the DP projection, and the demonstrative and the anaphoric determiners occupy the specifier position. The Determiner pre-prefix dominates a Focus Phrase (FocP) projection in the context where it encodes the feature of contrastive focus.