Elements of Albanian Generative Grammar A minimalist determiner phrase structure

Abstract

The present dissertation is a study of the syntactic structure of the Albanian determiner phrase (DP) in the generative framework. Generally, the concern has been to outline the findings made up to now and propose a unified account in order to provide a better understanding of this language in generative terms. While in a more specific manner, following the recent minimalist analysis of Manzini and Savoia (2007), I will provide an insight of the morphosyntax of the Albanian extended noun phrase (NP). In order to account for the productivity of the Albanian NP, Abney’s pioneering proposal (1987), according to which the noun phrase is headed by a functional element, namely the D(eterminer), represents a fine model to analyse the comparatively considerable number of noun-modifying functional words crucial to the Albanian DPs. There will follow an analysis of the Albanian adjectival phrase (AP) in its distribution and an attempt for a classification of the articulated adjectives and the status of this kind of article.