3. On the syntax and semantics of DP in Cape Verdean Creole

In this chapter, I provide an in-depth description of the semantics and structure of the Cape Verdean noun phrase involving both determined and determinerless nouns. It shows how overt determiners and their null counterparts interact and overlap in covering the same range of meanings. Bare nouns are interpretable as generic, definite, indefinite, singular, plural or mass. However, singular bare nouns display a subject/object asymmetry when it comes to their (in)definiteness status. Besides determined and determinerless nouns and pluralization strategies, this study of the Cape Verdean DP examines adjective placement in an attempt to identify the nature and number of structural layers reflecting the various types of nouns. In addition, I assume that an indexing relation between D, T and C takes place in order to derive the correct interpretation of bare nouns. Finally, I examine in what respects the determiner system of Cape Verdean Creole (CVC) differ from both European Portuguese (EP) and the Brazilian Portuguese (BP). This comparative study will reveal that the use of bare nouns in CVC is much more widespread than in both EP and BP but that CVC and BP determiner systems also share a number of common points.

Published online: 14 November 2007
https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.31.06bap