SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Igbo, African & Chinese Studies

CONTRIBUTORS:

Nweya O. Gerald
Mbah B. M.

ABSTRACT:

The study of clause structure provides information about the form and hierarchy of clausal constituents. Previous studies on the Igbo language relied heavily on the unified approach to the analysis of clause structure and clausal domains which permit one head to bear more than one feature. This approach does not provide detailed information about the content and hierarchical structure of the clausal domains. This study, therefore, analysed the structures of the Igbo verb phrase (VP), tense phrase (TP) and
complementiser phrase (CP) with a view to determining the structure, hierarchical order and interaction of lexical and functional projections in the VP, TP and CP domains and make generalisations in terms of clause structure, information structure and cartography. The theoretical framework adopted for the study is the Minimalist Program. Primary data were elicited from purposively selected native speakers of the Igbo language. Instruments for primary data collection include elicitation, observation, and introspection; while secondary data were gathered from extant literary and grammar texts. Acquired data were subjected to grammaticality judgement, interlinear
glossing and qualitative analysis. The study discovered that the structure of the VP domain is ʋP-ApplP-VP-DP-AdvP-PP. The syntax of monotransitive constructions involves one probe, the light ʋ while that of double object constructions (DOCs) involves two probes: ʋ and Appl. In this domain ʋP and ApplP are phase domains. The study also discovered that the structure of the TP domain is ApplP-NegP-AspP-TP.
From the interaction of TP elements, the study observed that Appl is associated with both TP and ʋP domains and it is possible for T and ASP morphemes to co-occur in Igbo. With respect to the CP domain, the study discovered that the structure of the CP domain is ForceP-TopP-FocP-InterP. The three main complementisers in Igbo are nà ‘that’ (with strong declarative feature), mà ‘if/whether’ (with strong interrogative feature) and kà ‘that’ (with strong imperative feature). The syntax of yes/no questions involves one probe: INTER; the syntax of wh-questions involves two probes: INTER
and FOC; while the syntax of focus and topic involves one probe: FOC and TOP respectively. The low tone question morpheme is for clause typing while the movement of wh-words to the clausal left periphery is for focusing and extended projection principle. The study also observed that FOC and TOP is overtly and covertly marked respectively. Based on these observations, the study assumed that the structure of the Igbo basic clause is ForceP-TopP-FocP-InterP-ApplP-NegP-AspP-TP-vP-ApplPVP-DP-AdvP-PP. The study concludes that syntactic elements that manifest in the clausal domains including the CP are maximal projections and they provide information
about the Igbo basic clause in terms of clause typing, clause structure and cartography.
They also indicate that scope does not always translate to dominance and that Rizzi’s (1997) CP structure is not strictly universal.
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Key Words: Igbo, Clause Structure, Cartography and Complementiser Phrase