Open AccessClause Structure and Word Order in Ákè
Author(s) -
Waheed Ayisa Jayeola
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
unizik journal of arts and humanities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1595-1413
DOI - 10.4314/ujah.v22i1.5
Subject(s) - linguistics , minimalist program , word order , head (geology) , verb phrase , phrase , verb , object (grammar) , dependent clause , syntax , subject (documents) , projection (relational algebra) , verb phrase ellipsis , mathematics , specifier , feature (linguistics) , computer science , philosophy , noun phrase , modal verb , sentence , algorithm , noun , geomorphology , library science , geology
Ákè is by historical and linguistic facts a dialect of Edo which has not received significant linguistic attention. This neglect informs an inquiry into the in ternal structure and organization of its basic clause. This paper studies data of everyday usage of competent speakers of Ákè and argues that it displays a subject-verb-object order. The study provides a not too elaborate description of the nominal and verbal constructions in Ákè and reduces the description to analysis using the X-bar theory as conceived within the Minimalist Program. It therefore states that nominal phrases can be analysed as a projection of Determiner Phrase (DP) because independent existence is not a requirement for considering an element as the head of a projection. The variable position which the head D occupies in the superficial syntax of Ákè is analysed as the effect of movement for feature checking. In the spirit of the Minimalist Program, this study recognizes the head of the clause as Tense (T), which could be overt or null and predicts that it dominates Negative Phrase (NegP) as Neg is assumed to c-select the Verb Phrase (VP).