DP-internal and V-external Agreement Patterns in Bantu: Re-statement of the Facts on Eastern Bantu Languages
Abstract
and their specifications in Bantu DPs and IPs. Data are mainly
drawn from four Eastern Bantu languages: Kiswahili [G42], Kimakonde
[P23], Kisukuma [F21] and Ruhaya [JE22]. It is argued that Bantu
languages differ from Indo-European ones in that the head-noun
generally precedes all dependents, i.e., determiners and modifiers, in
most Bantu languages, and maintain the number feature. Secondly, the
agreement patterns in Bantu languages reveal a slightly different
structure from that found in Indo-European languages in relation in two
issues: (i) DP-internal agreement patterns, in which number is marked
on the head-noun, and to (ii) V-external agreement, which is controlled
by the semantic content of the head-noun as well as its number feature
(embedded in lexical nominal-heads). It is thus appropriate to maintain
NPs in Bantu, instead of shifting to DPs.
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