| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines the morpho-syntax of Kikamba (a Bantu language) within the Principles and Parameters framework as defined by the Minimalist Program. The Research Problem focused on investigating the importance of the functional categories: DET (Determiner), INFL (Inflection), and those contained within INFL, namely, AGR (Agreement), NEG (Negation) and TNS (Tense).
Under Minimalist assumptions, all these categories are understood to be the primary determinants of the parametric settings any given language selects for each of the parameters of Universal Grammar. This position stems from the recent recognition in Linguistic Theory that any comprehensive syntactic analysis of the grammar of a natural language should be concerned not only with principles which determine the formation of words, phrases and sentences (the syntax), but also with the features and principles that govern the interpretation of lexical categories.
This, in effect, constitutes a recognition of the role of the morphological component operating within the syntax, as well as the principles governing the assignment of meaning to various construction types. Accordingly, within the scope of this research concern, the parameters analysed in the present study were: the Null Subject Parameter, the Head Parameter, the NEG Parameter, The TNS/AGR Parameter and the Determiner) Parameter.
The aim of investigating the aforementioned parameters was to establish, using empirical data from Kikamba, whether or not each of the
parametric values selected was influenced by one of the specific functional categories mentioned earlier.
We also sought to examine the relevance of 'Feature-Checking',
considered to be the morphological angle of the Minimalist Program, which eliminates the need to have the traditionally separate S-structure and D structure syntactic accounts in a language such as Kikamba.
The field research was conducted in Mang'auni, Muputi Location of Machakos District. Our data analysis was based on the structure of the Ki Masakii dialect spoken in this area. Ten adult informants (5 Males and 5
Females) were selected through purposeful sampling techniques. The collection
of data took approximately three months. The field research was motivated by the need to draw inferences on the competence of the selected native speakers of Kikamba. The selected ten informants not only generated data, but also gave insight into the con-cordial agreement patterning and the corresponding semantic implications of each of the Noun-classes of Kikamba.
The first method used to generate data was introspective, based on the Researcher's own personal (native-speaker) intuitions on the structure of Kikamba morphology and syntax. Moreover, this introspective data was checked against the intuitions of the ten informants. A deliberate attempt was made to ensure that at every stage of analysis, all generalizations made on the language's structure were verified against a corpu of independently collected data from the selected native speakers of Kikamba. This data, (together with the
Researcher's introspective evidence) provided a rich source of objective as well as authentic information on the Morpho-Syntax of Kikamba.
The next step was an analysis of the nominal and verbal constituent structure of phrases and sentences in Kikamba. This included testing the
'correctness' or accuracy of certain linguistic operations and principles previously identified in the Research Literature in order to verify the applications of certain principles/operations/constraints assumed to operate in other languages but which were actually 'counter-intuitive' to both the Researcher (and the informants) as native speakers of Kikamba. In addition,
observations were made on the informants' judgements about grammatical and
ungrammatical structures, and the relatedness of sentence structure.
The overall conclusion of this Research was that functional categories are typologically significant, in the sense that they play a role in determining the order of substantive (lexical) categories such as the Subject-Verb-Object structure found in Kikamba. This was consistent with the Study's theoretical assumptions that the agglutinative nature of a Bantu language such as Kikamba makes it difficult, if not impossible, to provide an adequate account of its syntactic properties without appealing to the Morphology of the language.
The research activities and findings just summarized are discussed in the seven chapters of this dissertation. Chapter One gives general background information on Kikamba and in addition, includes a detailed description of the Research Problem and Objectives of the Study.
Chapter Two concentrates on the main tenets of the Minimalist Program and the Principles and Parameters framework under which the analyses of this Investigation are based. Chapter Three outlines the Literature Review of benefit to this investigation as well as the Methodology used to carry out the field research. Chapter Four provides an in-depth morphological description of the Kikamba nominal structure from a Minimalist perspective. For comparative purposes, the chapter makes reference to the structure of the typical Bantu nominal structure. Chapter Five examines the Kikamba DP structure and its modifying elements. Chapter Six concentrates on specific functional categories and the parametric settings adopted in the Kikamba Verbal complex. The significance of AGR as a functional category is spelt out in great detail in this section. Chapter Seven examines the applicability of the Feature Checking theory and its relevance to Kikamba morph-syntax.
Finally, Chapter Eight provides the a summary of the Research findings and conclusions by revisiting the Research problem, objectives and hypotheses in the light of the insights and observations made in the body of the dissertation | en |
