Abstract:
The focus of this thesis has been to examine the morphology and syntax of reflexive
pronouns in Dagaare, a Mabia language spoken in the Upper West Region of Ghana
and some parts of Burkina Faso. Regarding the morphology of the reflexives, I showed
the reflexives are complex items since they comprise of two different morphemes,
which are the personal pronoun and a reflexive morpheme -meŋɛ. This observation
made me to conclude that the reflexives are bimorphemic in Dagaare since it has two
different morphemes in the morphological composition. In addition, I demonstrated that
the reflexive morpheme does not mark for number in the language. On syntax, I showed
that the reflexives are bound to a preceding noun, termed as antecedent in generative
syntax. Thus, the number, and person features of a reflexive pronoun is dependent on
that of the antecedent. I analyzed the syntactic features within the theoretical framework
of the Government and Binding Theory proposed by (Chomsky 1981), and concluded
that Dagaare reflexives are required to be in the same clause as in the theoretical
assumptions of the Binding Principle A. Data for the study were drawn from four
different sources including: natural text, elicitations, recording of speeches, as well as
native speaker intuitions as a native speaker of Dagaare. I also attempt to discuss the
distribution of pronouns and emphatic reflexives (intensifiers) and compare that with
reflexive pronouns.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Ghanaian Language, Faculty of Languages, submitted
to the School of Graduate Studies,
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy in Ghanaian Language Studies (Dagaare)
in the University of Education, Winneba
