The Morphosyntactic Distribution and Functions of Demonstratives in Shinyiha
Abstract
This paper examines the morphosyntactic distribution and functions of
demonstratives in Shinyiha [M23]. Specifically, the paperexamines the
forms, distribution and use of demonstratives in Shinyiha. The data
werecollected through elicitation. The findingsindicate that
demonstratives in this language constitute a class that is complex in
terms of form, function and distribution. The findings also indicate that
there is no single rule governing the distribution of demonstratives in
this language. The study reveals that, in most cases, the form of the
demonstrative in Shinyiha depends on the form of the noun class prefix,
preprefix or the root of the head noun.As regards the functions, the study
shows that demonstratives in Shinyiha perform various functions
ranging from sentential to the discourse level.The findings also show
that,in an unmarked order,the demonstrative occurs postnominally (N
DEM) to perform deictic functionwhile,in a marked order, the
demonstrative occurs prenominally (DEM N) to express definiteness,
specificity and focus
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