The Morphosyntax of Pronouns in the Ìlàjẹ Dialect of Yorùbá

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Ìlàjẹ: the dialect, the region and the people

1.2 Objectives of the study

1.3 Literature review

1.3.1 Views on the classification of Yoruba pronouns

1.3.2 Views on the derivation of Yoruba pronouns

1.3.3 Views on the forms of the pronoun

1.4 Justification of the study

1.5 Scope of the study

1.6 Theoretical framework

1.7 Source of data and methods of analysis

1.8 The representation of Ìlàjẹ sounds in the study

1.9 Summary

Chapter two: Theoretical orientation

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Syntax-phonology interface modelling of the nonlinear morphology

2.2 The basic assumptions of the Minimalist framework

2.3 Functional analysis of the pronoun as a determiner

2.4 Covert analysis of the pronoun as pro

2.5 McCarthy’s theory: the autosegmental approach to morphology

2.6 The morphemic tier hypothesis and the morphosyntactic level of analysis

2.7 Summary

Chapter Three: The forms of Ìlàjẹ pronouns

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Ìlàjẹ pronouns: the basic and the derived forms

3.2 The long pronouns in subject and object positions

3.3 The short subject pronoun in Ìlàjẹ

3.4 The short pronoun as an object of the verb

3.5 The third-person singular covert pronoun and its recovery strategy

3.6 Summary

Chapter four: Morphophonemic structure of the short pronoun

4.0 Introduction

4.1 The subject high tone syllable and the subject pronoun in Ìlàjẹ

4.2 The short subject pronoun of the affirmative clause

4.3 The short subject pronoun of the negative clause

4.4 The short subject pronoun of the subjunctive clause

4.5 The short object pronouns

4.6 The object high tone (OHT) proposal

4.7 OHT proposal and the covert object

4.8 The emphatic morpheme of the long pronoun

4.9 Summary

Chapter Five: The Feature-based Syntax of Ìlàjẹ Pronouns

5.0 Introduction

5.1 Interpretable and uninterpretable features in the pronoun

5.2 Àghan and the pronoun-noun plural construction

5.3 The [+E] emphasis feature tier

5.4 Features deletion at the morphosyntactic level

5.5 The internal feature trigger in the short forms derivation of Ìlàjẹ pronouns

5.6 The pro drop trigger in Ìlàjẹ third-person singular pronoun

5.7 Morphosyntactic features deletion in the pronoun-noun plural construction

5.8 The structure of òghun as a logophoric pronoun

5.9 Summary

Chapter six: Summary, Recommendations and Conclusion

6.0 Introduction

6.1 Summary of findings

6.1.1 The major forms of the pronoun

6.1.2 The pronoun in interface-based derivations

6.1.3 Tones and the pronoun

6.1.4 The pronoun as a constituent of the determiner phrase (DP)

6.1.5 Àghan as the plural marker of proper nouns

6.1.6 Àghan as the plural marker of common nouns

6.1.7 Pro analysis of the third-person singular covert pronoun

6.1.8 The internal structure of the long pronoun

6.1.9 The feature-based nonlinear morphemic structure of the pronoun

6.2 Conclusion

6.2.1 Pronoun in the PF interface

6.2.2 Pronoun and its tones in syntax

6.2.3 Pronoun and its derivation hypotheses

6.2.4 Ìlàjẹ pronouns and the DP hypothesis

6.3 Recommendations

Research Objectives and Themes

This study aims to provide a comprehensive morphosyntactic analysis of pronouns within the Ìlàjẹ dialect of Yoruba, utilizing the Minimalist Program and Prosodic Morphological theory to explore the interaction between phonology, morphology, and syntax.

• The phonological properties of Ìlàjẹ pronouns analyzed via autosegmental conventions.
• Morphosyntactic analysis of pronoun structures using feature-checking mechanisms.
• Reconstruction of basic pronoun forms from surface realisations and tonal variations.
• Investigation into the interaction between pronominal usage, Determiner Phrase (DP) structure, and pluralization.
• A non-concatenative approach to pronoun morphology that integrates the phonology-syntax interface.

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

Chapter One: Introduction: Provides background on the Ìlàjẹ dialect, outlines the research objectives, reviews existing literature on Yoruba pronouns, and defines the scope and methodological framework of the study.

Chapter two: Theoretical orientation: Introduces the theoretical frameworks used, specifically the Minimalist Program and Prosodic Morphology, and describes the syntax-phonology interface model developed for this study.

Chapter Three: The forms of Ìlàjẹ pronouns: Discusses the classification of pronouns into long, short, and null forms, providing an analysis of their usage in subject and object positions.

Chapter four: Morphophonemic structure of the short pronoun: Details the morphophonemic processes involving tonal changes and segment deletions that characterize the derivation of short pronoun forms.

Chapter Five: The Feature-based Syntax of Ìlàjẹ Pronouns: Examines the morphosyntactic features (phi-features) of pronouns and their role in DP structures and pluralization, utilizing the Minimalist feature-checking approach.

Chapter six: Summary, Recommendations and Conclusion: Summarizes the major research findings, offers recommendations for future dialectological research, and concludes on the importance of interface-based linguistic analysis.

Keywords

Yoruba-Ìlàjẹ, Pronoun, Determiner Phrase, Pro drop, Morphosyntax, Autosegmental Phonology, Minimalist Program, Morphophonemic, Tonal alternation, Prosodic Morphology, Feature-checking, Logophoricity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary focus of this research?

The research focuses on providing a formal morphosyntactic account of pronouns in the Ìlàjẹ dialect of Yoruba, formally reproducing the native speakers' linguistic intuition through the integration of phonology, morphology, and syntax.

What central themes are explored in this work?

The work explores the interaction between tonal behavior and syntactic distribution, the derivation of short pronominal forms from long counterparts, and the classification of pronouns as determiners within a Determiner Phrase (DP).

What is the primary research objective?

The main objective is to provide a vivid account of the morphosyntax of Ìlàjẹ pronouns and to provide validations or necessary revisions to existing generalizations about Yoruba pronouns based on Ìlàjẹ dialect data.

Which scientific methodology is applied?

The study employs a combination of McCarthy’s Prosodic Morphological theory and Chomsky’s Minimalist Program, specifically using non-concatenative, feature-based analysis to model the phonology-syntax interface.

What aspects of the pronoun structure are covered in the main body?

The main body covers the overt and covert forms of pronouns, the role of Subject High Tone (SHT) and Object High Tone (OHT) in recovery strategies, and the morphosyntactic features like Number, Person, and Gender in DP constructions.

Which keywords best characterize the study?

Key concepts include Yoruba-Ìlàjẹ, pronouns as functional determiners, pro drop mechanisms, morphosyntax, and the nonlinear treatment of morphological features.

How is the third-person singular covert pronoun analyzed?

The study reanalyzes it as a covert pronoun called 'pro', which is recovered in the PF interface through specific tonal changes (mutation) on the preceding verb, rather than being treated as a zero morpheme.

What is the significance of the [+E] emphasis feature?

The [+E] emphasis feature is identified as a morphosyntactic property that sustains the disyllabic VCV prosodic template of long pronouns, acting as a derivation-blocking constraint against phonological reduction into short forms.