A Morphosyntactic Investigation of Functional Categories in English and Izon

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• The Minimalist Program
• Principles of the Minimalist Program
• Morphosyntactic Features
• The Derivation Process
• Functional Categories in English
• The Noun Phrase (NP)
• The Verb Phrase (VP)
• The Inflectional Phrase (IP)
• The Complementizer Phrase (CP)
• Functional Categories in Izọn
• The Noun Phrase (NP)
• The Verb Phrase (VP)
• The Inflectional Phrase (IP)
• The Complementizer Phrase (CP)
• Comparative Syntax of English and Izọn
• Head Parameter
• Case Licensing
• Wh-movement
• Determiners and Pronouns
• Verb Agreement
• Discussion and Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis investigates the morphosyntactic features of English and Izọn languages to identify and describe the features that lead to convergence in their syntactic structures. It utilizes the Minimalist Program to analyze the two languages, focusing on the checking of morphological features.

• Morphosyntactic features in English and Izọn
• Convergent syntactic structures in the two languages
• The role of the Minimalist Program in analyzing these features
• Universal and language-specific features in English and Izọn
• The interface of functional morphology and syntactic derivations

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The introduction provides an overview of the research topic, outlining the motivations for this study. It discusses existing studies on Izọn language and highlights the need for a contrastive examination of English and Izọn to better understand their morphosyntactic features. The chapter also details the theoretical framework adopted, the Minimalist Program, and its focus on feature-checking.

Chapter 2 presents a detailed discussion of the Minimalist Program, outlining its core principles, the concept of morphosyntactic features, and the derivation process. This chapter serves as a foundation for the analysis of English and Izọn functional categories in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 3 examines the functional categories in English, focusing on the Noun Phrase (NP), Verb Phrase (VP), Inflectional Phrase (IP), and Complementizer Phrase (CP). Each category is analyzed in detail, exploring its structure, the features associated with it, and its role in the derivation process.

Chapter 4 delves into the functional categories in Izọn, mirroring the structure of Chapter 3. It examines the NP, VP, IP, and CP in Izọn, highlighting both similarities and differences with English. This chapter provides a comparative understanding of the two languages' morphosyntactic systems.

Chapter 5 presents a comparative analysis of the syntactic structures of English and Izọn. The chapter focuses on key areas of convergence and divergence, including the head parameter, case licensing, wh-movement, determiners and pronouns, and verb agreement. This comparative analysis highlights both universal and language-specific features of the two languages.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The central keywords of this thesis include functional categories, universal features, English, Izọn, feature-checking, parametric variation. The study focuses on the analysis of morphosyntactic features and their role in the derivation of syntactic structures. The Minimalist Program serves as the theoretical framework, guiding the investigation of both universal and language-specific features across English and Izọn languages.