Determiner spreading in Rukiga

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Comparative Syntax
• Morphosyntax

Background:

• Determiner spreading is a known linguistic phenomenon in languages like Greek, Semitic, and Scandinavian.
• The occurrence of determiner spreading in the Bantu language Rukiga is novel and underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the phenomenon of determiner spreading in Rukiga.
• To compare the Rukiga augment with Greek determiners in modification contexts.
• To investigate the restrictive reading triggered by the Rukiga augment on diverse modifiers.

Main Methods:

• Comparative linguistic analysis.
• Morphosyntactic and interpretational property examination.
• Application of reduced relative clause structure analysis.

Main Results:

• The Rukiga augment functions parallel to Greek determiners in modification.
• The augment triggers restrictive readings on relative clauses, adjectives, possessives, and quantifiers.
• Variation in augment presence is linked to distinct underlying structures.

Conclusions:

• The Rukiga augment's behavior provides new insights into determiner spreading.
• A reduced relative clause structure explains the variation in augment usage.
• This study expands the known scope of determiner spreading across language families.