A Syntactic Study of Existential and Equational Processes in English and Fulfulde Spoken in Adamawa State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64137/31079385/IJMHSS-V1I2P104Keywords:
Fulfulde, English, Existential Constructions, Equational Processes, Cross-linguistic SyntaxAbstract
This study investigates existential and equational processes in English and Fulfulde spoken in Adamawa state, Nigeria, using a syntactic approach. The aim is to explore how these processes are realized in both languages, focusing on points of similarity and divergence. Specifically, it seeks to identify the nature of existential and equational syntactic processes, describe their structural patterns with reference to sentence constituents, and categorize them according to their linguistic forms. A descriptive research design was employed, with data collected from native speakers of Fulfulde in Adamawa and systematically compared with English equivalents. It is anchored on Principles and Parameters Theory by Chomsky and refines within the Minimalist Program. It highlights the universality of predication while accounting for parametric variations. Analysis reveals that English existential constructions obligatorily employ the expletive 'there' and the copula 'is', whereas Fulfulde relies on the particle 'ɗon' often without an expletive subject. In equational constructions, English consistently uses the copula 'is', while Fulfulde alternates between 'ɗum', 'woni' or simple juxtaposition, demonstrating structural flexibility and derivational economy. The findings show that while both languages operate under universal syntactic principles, Fulfulde encodes these processes more economically, in contrast to English’s stricter word-order constraints. These outcomes have theoretical implications for cross-linguistic syntax and validate the application of generative frameworks to African languages. Practically, the study provides insights for linguistic research, language teaching, translation, and computational modelling of under-documented languages
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