Nominal Modifiers in Tὲὲ

Abstract

The paper analyzed nominal modifiers in Tὲὲ within a formal linguistic framework. The paper identified ten discrete nominal modifiers in the grammatical structure of Kana. The paper found that pre-head and post-head modification are attested in the grammar of Tὲὲ as seven of the modifiers occur before the head noun while three occur after the head noun in the grammatical structure of the noun phrase. The paper reported that there is no distinction between mass and count nouns in the use of quantifiers in Tὲὲ. The paper noted that there can be no intervening element between the prepositional phrase modifier and the head noun. The study also showed that the demonstrative can only co-occur with the head noun in the maximal projection of the noun phrase in mutually exclusive distribution with the prepositional phrase. The study also noted that the numeral modifier does not participate in the maximal expansion of the NP. The paper, therefore, recommended a detailed investigation of numerals and numeracy in Tὲὲ in order to ascertain the structural status of the numeral element in Tὲὲ.