DP Positions in African Languages

A handout of a presentation given at the Afranaph Project Development Workshop on December 10-11, 2010, at Rutgers University in New Jersey.A central concern of syntactic theory has long been to explain and predict the distribution of nominal expressions, henceforth D(eterminer) P(hrases), and their involvement in morphosyntactic relations. Where can they occur? When can they move, control agreement, and bear Case? The study of Indo-European (IE) languages has yielded strong generalizations upon which the theory is based. As we illustrate, a number of African languages in which such phenomena have been explored seem to turn these generalizations more or less on their heads. Our project seeks to determine and to explain the possibilities and limitations of DP positions, focusing primarily on Bantu languages. Some of the issues arise also in non-Bantu African languages including Igbo and Ibibio (see Ura 1998 on Igbo hyper-raising, = raising from tensed clauses; Baker and Willie 2010 on Ibibio multiple agreement), and we hope the project can be extended to them as well

Properties of Subjects in Bantu Languages

A handout of a presentation given at the Afranaph Project Development Workshop on December 11, 2010, at Rutgers University in New Jersey.This handout discusses how subject words function in various Bantu languages. Bantu languages are pro-drop, hence null subject languages (NSLs). Our initial findings are that preverbal subjects can, in fact, be non-specific indefinites (in at least Lubukusu and Kirundi). In Kirundi, expressions that are not licit in left-dislocated positions are fine as subjects. Person and tense/aspect influence the availability of inverse scope relations. Our preliminary conclusion is that at least some Bantu subjects are in Spec, TP; hence the nature of subject agreement in NSLs does not in general preclude subjects from occupying that position

Deverbal nominals derived from intransitive state verbs in isiXhosa: A Generative Lexicon approach

The relationship between deverbative noun classification and the semantic meaning of the derived deverbal nominal has been the focus of many studies in linguistics from very divergent perspectives. This article maintains that the descriptive analysis of deverbal nominals in Bantu languages does not fully interrogate the predicate argument structure of the verbs that host these deverbal nominals. An investigation of how the syntactic properties of verbs from which deverbal nominals are derived is invoked within the paradigm of decompositional lexical semantics so as to explain the argument structure, event structure and qualia properties of deverbal nominals. This is demonstrated in this article, firstly, by the Bantu languages of sub-Saharan Africa. Secondly, this article explores the descriptive nature of deverbal nominals as they manifest themselves either inflectionally or derivationally in the South African Bantu languages, with emphasis on isiXhosa. Thirdly, deverbal nominals drawing on Pustejovsky’s Generative Lexicon paradigm are analysed. Lastly, the findings of the analyses of deverbal nominals derived from intransitive state verbs demonstrate the need for further research on deverbal nominals

The subject in Xhosa

Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1995.One copy microfiche.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record

Deverbal nominals in Xhosa

Thesis (PhD (African Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The relationship between deverbative noun classification and their effect on the semantic meaning of the derived deverbal nominal has been the focus of many studies in linguistics, with special reference to African languages in recent years. The study maintains that the descriptive analysis of deverbal nominals in African languages does not fully interrogate the predicate argument structures of the verbs that host these deverbal nominals. This thesis is an investigation of how the syntactic properties of verbs from which deverbal nouns are derived are invoked in explaining the argument structure and event structure properties of deverbal nouns, particularly in Xhosa. The analysis presented here is situated in terms of a lexical semantic representation drawing on Pustejovsky (1996) and Busa (1996), which aims to capture linguistically relevant components of meaning. Chapter 1 presents the purpose and aims of the study, and states the theoretical paradigm on which this study is couched, namely Pustejovsky’s (1996) generative lexicon theory as well as the methodology for conducting the research. Chapter 2 contains a literature review on deverbal nominals in African languages. This chapter explores the general definitions of concepts, the descriptive nature of deverbal nominals from various African languages, noun classification and the morphology of African nouns. Chapter 3 reports on an examination of the generative lexicon theory. This theory contains multiple levels of representation for different types of lexical information required, namely the argument structure, the event structure, the qualia structure and the lexical inherent structure. For the purposes of this study, the first three levels of representation were used for analysis. Chapter 4 contains the systematic classification of deverbal nominals that are derived from various semantic verb classes and are considered under their derivation from intransitive, transitive and di-transitive verbs, respectively. The first lexical schematic representation for each verb class gives a classification of various deverbal noun classes 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 14 in instances where the noun class applies. The second schematic representation details how these various verb classes are classified/categorised in terms of their semantic type. There are various noun class nominalisations for each verb class, which serve as a representative for each group of the various verb classes. Chapter 5 provides a detailed analysis of various deverbal nouns derived from different verb classes utilising the generative lexicon theory as a source of reference, particularly the first three levels of representation. The compositionality and the semanticality of derived nominals within the predicate argument structures are demonstrated. Chapter 6 summarises the findings of all previous chapters in this study.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verhouding tussen die klassifikasie van deverbatiewe selfstandige naamwoorde en hul uitwerking op die semantiese betekenis van die afgeleide deverbatiewe nominaal was die fokus van talle studies in linguistiek, met spesiale verwysing na Afrikatale in die afgelope jare. Hierdie studie doen aan die hand dat die deskriptiewe analise van deverbatiewe nominale in Afrikatale nie die predikaat-argumentstrukture van die werkwoorde wat hierdie deverbatiewe nominale bevat, ondersoek nie. Die tesis behels ’n ondersoek na die manier waarop die sintaktiese eienskappe van werkwoorde waaruit deverbatiewe selfstandige naamwoorde afgelei word, aangewend word om die argumentstruktuur- en gebeurestruktuureienskappe van deverbatiewe selfstandige naamwoorde, veral in Xhosa, te verklaar. Die analise is gegrond op ’n leksikaal-semantiese ontlening aan Pustejovsky (1996) en Busa (1996), met die doel om linguisties toepaslike betekeniskomponente vas te lê. In hoofstuk 1 word die doel en doelstellings van die studie uiteengesit, asook die teoretiese paradigma waarop die studie berus, naamlik Pustejovsky (1996) se generatieweleksikonteorie. Die navorsingsmetodologie word ook in hierdie hoofstuk uiteengesit. Hoofstuk 2 bevat ’n literatuuroorsig oor deverbatiewe nominale in Afrikatale. In hierdie hoofstuk word ondersoek ingestel na die algemene definisies van konsepte, die beskrywende aard van deverbatiewe nominale in verskeie Afrikatale, die klassifikasie van selfstandige naamwoorde asook die morfologie van selfstandige naamwoorde in Afrikatale. In hoofstuk 3 word verslag gedoen oor die ondersoek van die generatieweleksikon-teorie. Hierdie teorie bevat veelvuldige vlakke van verteenwoordiging vir verskillende soorte leksikale inligting wat vereis word, naamlik die argumentstruktuur, die gebeurestruktuur, die qualiastruktuur en die leksikaal-inherente struktuur. Vir die doel van hierdie studie is op die eerste drie vlakke van verteenwoordiging tydens die analise gefokus. Hoofstuk 4 bevat die stelselmatige klassifikasie van deverbatiewe nominale wat uit verskeie semantiese werkwoordklasse afkomstig is, en oorweging geniet op grond van hul afstamming van onderskeidelik intransitiewe, transitiewe en ditransitiewe werkwoorde. Die eerste leksikaal-skematiese verteenwoordiging vir elke werkwoordklas gee ’n klassifikasie van verskeie klasse van deverbatiewe selfstandige naamwoorde, naamlik 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 en 14, in gevalle waar die selfstandigenaamwoordklas van toepassing is. Die tweede skematiese verteenwoordiging sit uiteen hoe hierdie verskillende werkwoordklasse in terme van hul semantiese soort geklassifiseer/gekategoriseer word. Daar is verskeie nominaliserings vir selfstandigenaamwoordklasse vir elke werkwoordklas, wat as ’n verteenwoordiging vir elke groep van die onderskeie werkwoordklasse dien. Hoofstuk 5 bevat ’n gedetailleerde analise van verskeie deverbatiewe selfstandige naamwoorde wat uit verskillende werkwoordklasse afgelei is met behulp van die generatieweleksikon-teorie as ’n verwysingsbron, spesifiek die eerste drie vlakke van verteenwoordiging. Die samestelling en semantiek van afgeleide nominale in die predikaatargument-strukture word ten toon gestel. Hoofstuk 6 bevat ’n opsomming van die bevindinge in die voorafgaande hoofstukke

Radical defectivity: Implications of Xhosa expletive constructions

In Xhosa VSO clauses, subject agreement exhibits default features, objects cannot be pronominalized, a subject focus reading is obligatory, and experiencer verbs with two DP arguments are precluded. We argue that impoverished versions of T and v* in VSO clauses lack the probe features involved in subject agreement, EPP, object shift, and nominative/accusative valuation within Xhosa SVO sentences. Only an unusual focus-linked strategy can Case-license full DPs in VSO clauses, but this is incompatible with inherent Cases borne by arguments of experiencer verbs. We show that CPs and augmentless NPs appear in positions where DPs cannot surface because uCase is a feature of D. Given the striking evidence for abstract Case in Xhosa, we propose Case-friendly analyses for Bantu Case-theoretic anomalies that Xhosa shares.IS