This dissertation is organised into eight chapters. It is necessary to point out that except for the Chapter one (an introductory chapter), Chapter Two (a descriptive grammar of Chimakonde), Chapter Three (a literature review) and Chapter Eight (a concluding chapter), each of the remaining four chapters has a section that outlines the morpho-syntactic properties of a modifier, for example, in terms of its inflectional morphology, the possibility of the modifier to occur in post and prenominal positions with a lexical head noun (N), the possibility of a modifier to occur in a DP containing an NP with a phonetically empty head category (pro) and the possibilities of co-occurrence of the modifier with other modifiers and restrictions (if any) on word order where a number of nominal modifiers co-occur. Furthermore, each of these four chapters discusses the meaning of a respective modifier and the difference of interpretation of the DP when the modifier occurs pre-nominally and post-nominally and when it occurs with a pro. These issues form the spine of the present study towards understanding the structural representation of a Chimakonde DP. The organization of the study is, therefore, as follows:
Chapter One is an introductory chapter that outlines the main components of the research. These
include background to the study, the rationale of the study, problem statement, research questions and objectives. The chapter also provides an overview of each of the research question/objective that is addressed in the study. Presented in this chapter are also research methodology and an overview of the Minimalist program and Cartography project which are the theoretical frameworks that this study assumes. The organization of the study is also outlined in this chapter.
Chapter Two outlines the key aspects of the Chimakonde descriptive grammar. The descriptive
grammar covers the Ethnologue of the language in which the linguistic group to which Chimakonde belongs, the identification code of the language and the estimated number of the speakers of Chimakonde are outlined. The grammar also outlines the dialects of the language, covering the area in which each is spoken as well as lexical and morpho-syntactic differences among them. Furthermore, the grammar covers the verb morphology, noun class system as well as the tone and sound systems of the language. Socio-economic activities and cultural practices of the Makonde people are also identified in this chapter. Lastly, this chapter reviews relevant studies available in Chimakonde.
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Chapter Three reviews previous research on nominal modifiers, DP syntax, (in)definiteness and
(non-)specificity and information structure. As for the nominal modifiers, the chapter reviews pertinent issues that each of the selected nominal modifiers poses. As for the DP syntax, the chapter traces the origin of the DP and outlines semantic and morpho-syntactic motivations that the scholars arguing for the DP have proposed. The ideas put forward by the scholars challenging the DP hypothesis are also presented. Cross-linguistic evidence buttressing DP internal projections that lay between DP and NP in many languages is also reviewed. A section on (in)definiteness and (non- )specificity is based on Lyons’ (1999) semantic and discourse-pragmatic principles of the two notions. The key aspects of the theory of information structure as outlined by Lambrecht (1994), Aboh, et al. (2010) and Repp (2010) are reviewed in this chapter and their notion of focus as contrastive is invoked in this study.
Chapter Four first presents the descriptive facts of NPs/DPs with demonstratives in Chimakonde,
regarding their semantic and morpho-syntactic properties. To do this, the chapter investigates various positions the demonstratives occupy in a DP and the different interpretations they realise. Additionally, it examines the co-occurrence of the demonstratives with other nominal modifiers. Furthermore, it analyses, from a generative perspective, the functional structure of the demonstratives in terms of person, number and grammatical gender/class. In this chapter, the assumption that the demonstrative root in Chimakonde is a functional head Determiner exhibiting [+specificity]and [+contrastive focus] features is advanced.
Chapter Five examines adjectival and relative clause and enumerative modifiers. The chapter
discusses these three modifiers in terms of their morpho-syntactic properties and the role they play in inducing (in)definiteness and (non-)specificity of a Chimakonde DP. As for the adjectival modifier, the distinction between morphological and property words is identified. In discussing the relative clause, the distinction between the direct and indirect relative clauses is made. The role of tone in the formation of the relative clause is investigated in order to establish whether it can be appealed as representing the category D. The co-occurrence and ordering properties of these two nominal modifiers with the relative clause are also explored and analysed cartographically. The possibility of these modifiers occurring on with a pro head and co-occurring with other modifiers are also explored.
Chapter Six examines quantifiers, absolute pronouns and pronominal anaphoric reinforcers. Like
Chapter Five, the descriptive aspects of the three nominal modifiers with regards to their semantics and morpho-syntax are explored. The discussion of the quantifiers includes absolute pronouns, inclusive and general quantifiers. The question of (in)definiteness and (non-)specificity is also investigated in relation to these modifiers.
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Chapter Seven presents an overview of the descriptive facts of semantic possessives and descriptive
genitive constructions modifiers. Genitive constructions are classified semantically in terms of the various meanings the possessor and possessed phrases may have.
Chapter Eight concludes the dissertation by recapitulating and consolidating the main findings of
the study and identifying the areas for further research. This chapter also presents a general Chimakonde DP structural representation explicating feature linking as semantic concord.
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CHAPTER TWO
ASPECTS OF THE CHIMAKONDE DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR AND PREVIOUS STUDIES ON CHIMAKONDE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The investigation of the internal syntax of the Chimakonde Determiner Phrase undertaken in this study relates in key respects to the Chimakonde grammatical system. Although the present study is syntactic, it is important to provide some reference to other components of Chimakonde grammar which are relevant to the current study. Kraal (2005) argues that syntax, phonology, and morphology are interconnected in Bantu languages. It is for this reason that this chapter presents a broader discussion of aspects of the Chimakonde grammar. Various aspects of Chimakonde in respect to phonology, morphology and syntax are briefly examined. In regard to the phonological system, the phoneme inventory of Chimakonde is described. This inventory includes consonants and vowels. The glossing conventions that the present study adopts require an understanding of these phonemes, particularly their syllable structure. Morphologically, the noun class system of Chimakonde is explored. The noun class system is a central feature of Bantu languages, hence the need for the explication of the noun class system. Through establishing the properties of the noun class system in Chimakonde, it is possible to explore concord issues in the DP. Syntactically, the properties of word order in both the clause and noun phrase are discussed.
The rest of this chapter is organised as follows: Section 2.2 presents a general background on Chimakonde and the Makonde people. The discussion in this section includes a brief historical background to Chimakonde, the cultural practices and economic activities of the Makonde people. In section 2.3, the Ethnologue classification of the Chimakonde is outlined. In section 2.4 socio- linguistic situation of the Makonde community is explored. A brief outline of various morphological and syntactic aspects of Chimakonde is presented in section 2.5. In this section, the sound and tone systems of Chimakonde are outlined. The discussion in this section includes the dialects of the language, with reference to their lexical and structural differences. Sections 2.6 -2.7 outline the noun class system of Chimakonde. In these two sections, the morphological composition of Chimakonde nouns is outlined and the eighteen noun classes of the language in terms of morpho-syntactic and semantic features are described. The main aspects raised in sections 2.6-2.7 are summarised in section 2.8. In sections 2.9 and 2.10, an overview of gender conflict resolutions and (in)definiteness and (non- )specificity, respectively, is offered. Previous research on Chimakonde is outlined in section 2.11 and the summary of the whole chapter is given in section 2.12.
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