STRUCTURAL SIMPLICITY: MINIMALISM'S IMPACT ON KƗBῳWANI DP ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper explores the Structure of the Determiner Phrase in Kɨbhwanɉi, a Bantu language spoken in the southern highlands of Tanzania, using the Minimalist Approach. The study focuses on establishing the functional categories that head the DP and examining the order of modifiers. Data was collected through acceptability judgement, document review, and focus group discussion. Findings reveal that the functional categories that head the DP in Kɨbhwanɉi are augments, prenominal possessive formative -nya, and prenominal demonstratives. Modifiers may range from one to six, yielding the order (DEM)/(AUG)/(DISTR)/(POSS) > N > POSS > QUANT > DEM > NUM > ADJ > REL. The study employs the Minimalist Program and Abney's DP Hypothesis to explain the correspondence between the DP and IP and to propose that the determiner heads the noun phrase. The research contributes to the literature on DP studies in Bantu languages, highlighting that despite being an articleless language, Kɨbhwanɉi language is amenable to projecting a D functional category above nP