The Structure And Derivation Of The Swahili Determiner Phrase

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the configuration of the Determiner Phrase (DP) of Swahili. The study is guided by three main objectives. The first objective is to map Swahili nouns into a DP structure. The study has revealed that the Swahili DP structure is underlyingly the same as the English DP except that in Swahili DP nP raises to Spec DP (XP movement). The study has shown that the raising of nP to Spec DP is motivated by the Extended Projection Principle. The derivation based on XP movement allows D to be occupied by a functional category functioning as the definite article, eloquently explains agreement pattern on modifiers (elements), and provide plausible accounts of varied order of elements in DP structure. The second objective is to determine the order of elements in the Swahili DP structure. The study has revealed that the underlying order of the elements in Swahili DPs have the same underlying structure relations as the English demonstrative, numeral, adjective, and noun – those three beautiful children. However, the head noun-initial surface structure of Swahili elements stems from nP movement to the initial position, Spec DP, which results in the opposite order – children those three beautiful. The study has also revealed that variations in the canonical order derive from the possessive which appears have no fixed place in DP hierarchy. The third objective is to determine the agreement pattern of elements in Swahili DPs. The study has revealed that agreement between nP and other elements in DP structure emanates from cyclical raising of nP followed by feature checking in a Spec head relation at each stop of raising in a bottom-up fashion. The study has used a cartographic approach to investigate the Swahili DP structure and derivation. The study has revealed that Swahili DP is headed by a functional category – XP, which interacts with other elements of DP via step-by-step movement to Spec DP. The analysis based on XP movement has made it possible to draw structural contours or maps for the order of elements in Swahili DP as this study has revealed.