THE LAMNSO PASSIVE STRUCTURE IN RELATION TO ENGLISH

Fonkpu Charles Banfegha

Department of Linguistics

University of Douala, Camaroon

Email : cfonkpu@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the structural or the syntactic representation of passivization in Lamnso is examined in relation to English, within the contexts of universal, optimal and minimalistic grammatical considerations. Inasmuch as there are structural universals for the phenomenon of passivization as established by the theory of Universal Grammar-UG (a grammar that attempts to establish the properties and constraints common to all possible languages and based on the innate system of principles underlying the human faculty), there equally exist some  passive divergences that justify the existence of what I will call here “Structural Optionality ” (SO), where the same grammatical phenomena are syntactically represented differently in the various languages; a justification for Individual Language Grammars (ILG).The comparative approach, within the optimal and minimalist theoretical considerations, adopted for this study reveals that while passivization in English is generally an ex situ leftward substitution movement for both passivization with or without the by-phrase, in Lamnso it involves both in situ and ex situ passivization. In situ passivization occurs both with the option using the by-phrases (that undergo a concurrent verb-tense raising above the IP) and with the indefinite ‘á’ usage option without by-phrases. Ex situ passivization (with a leftward substitution movement) equally occurs for the option without the by-phrases.

Keywords: Syntax; Representation; Passivization; Lamnso; English; Universal; Optionality; Grammar; Substitution; Raising; Movement; Ex Situ; In Situ.