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Abstract Though Creole nominal systems have been intensely researched, in-context, corpus-based examinations are uncommon, and there are Creole languages whose noun phrases remain understudied. I use a corpus of conversational data and a pattern-building task designed to elicit demonstrative and definite noun phrases, exophoric reference, and co-speech pointing gestures to explore the noun phrase in Kwéyòl Donmnik, an endangered, understudied French lexifier Creole. I focus on noun phrases that are bare, marked by the post-nominal determiners definitela‘the’ or demonstrativesa-la‘this/that’, or accompanied by the pre-nominal indefinite determineryon‘a(n)’. Results pinpoint the readings conveyed by each noun phrase type, identify the word categories of their nouns, and address similarities in usage between definitelaand demonstrativesa-la.
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This content will become publicly available on July 31, 2026
The syntax and pragmatics of clause-internal wh-phrases in Valdôtain Patois
Abstract In Valdôtain Patois, an understudied Francoprovençal language spoken in Aosta Valley (Italy), wh-phrases can either be fronted or occur clause-internally. In this paper, I analyze the syntax and pragmatics of clause internal wh-phrases, showing that they require to be either activated in the preceding linguistic context or inferable. Based on evidence from word order and parasitic gaps, I argue that in Valdôtain Patois clause-internal wh-phrases are not in-situ, but move to an A′-position at the edge of vP.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2116344
- PAR ID:
- 10625076
- Publisher / Repository:
- John Benjamins
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Linguistic Variation
- ISSN:
- 2211-6834
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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