The Kikuyu determiner phrase

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the kikuyu Determiner phrase within the principles and parameters theory of Chomsky and Lasnik (1991) Chapter one is a general introduction to the study that shows among other things an introduction to the language of study, the statement of the problem, the objectives, hypotheses, the theoretical framework and the methodology. In chapter two we examine the kikuyu nouns. These are looked at in relation to the noun classes that they belong to and the prefixes that determine class assignment. In addition, examples of members of each of the classes are provided. Chapter three examines the kikuyu determiners. In this chapter each type of the three types of determiners is provided as well as its sub-types. In addition, examples of the " determiners occurring with nouns are also provided. Chapter four forms the major part of the study. In this chapter we examine the proposals that led to the introduction of the determiner phrase (DP) as well as its proposed structure and the effect on the structure of the sentence. We also examine the kikuyu DP and provide a structure for it. Chapter five provide the summary and conclusions of what was established in chapter