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Predication in African Languages
Edited by James Essegbey and Enoch O. Aboh
[Studies in Language Companion Series 235] 2024
► pp. 314–337

Chapter 12
Remarks on nominalised adjectives in Gã

| University of Cape Coast

This paper offers a new perspective on the derivation and distribution of nominalised adjectives in Gã. It claims that they are formed by combining an adjectival base and the nominaliser morpheme e‑. Observing that the nominaliser has a variant, the paper argues that the occurrence of the two allomorphs is phonologically constrained. In respect of their distribution, the paper argues that properties like number and agreement marking and co-occurrence with determiners suggest that they are true nominals. Nonetheless, we can clearly distinguish them from other morpho-syntactic units in similar structural positions. The paper also provides new empirical insights for reassessing hitherto assumptions about the distribution of such nominals, including their ability to occur as complement of copulas and depictives.

Keywords: nominalised adjective, nominaliser, predicate, depictive, Gã
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Relevant background notes and data
  • 3.Deriving nominalised adjectives
  • 4.On the noun status and structure of nominalised adjectives
  • 5.The morpho-phonology of the nominaliser
    • 5.1Phonology of the base
      • 5.1.1Forms with overt nominaliser morpheme: [N é-A]
      • 5.1.2Forms with null nominaliser morpheme: [N Ø-A]
      • 5.1.3The exception
    • 5.2The semantic properties of the base
  • 6.Nominalised adjectives in predication
    • 6.1Nominalised adjectives as complements of copulas
    • 6.2Nominalised adjectives as secondary predicates
    • 6.3Nominalised adjectives as depictive secondary predicates
      • 6.3.1Semantics of the predicates
      • 6.3.2Depictives as adjuncts
      • 6.3.3Further notes on the morpho-syntax of DSPs
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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