A Minimalist Analysis of Verbal Complementation in Igbo

Abstract

The study investigates the verbal complementation in Igbo using the Minimalist perspective. In discussing the subject matter, such concepts as verb complementation, reflexive complementation and infinitival complementation are analysed. The objectives of the study are to find out how co-occurrence restrictions, thematic roles, theta criterion, subcategorisation frame and c-command could play crucial roles in selecting the complements of verbs. The study made use of written data, oral communication and introspection as the methods of data collection. The research adopted the standard Igbo as the area of study. The data are analysed using word- for- word English transliteration and then followed by English semantic gloss. The study discovers that the Igbo verbal complementation obeys the rules of adjacency and c-command. The verbs subcategorise its complements based on the relationships existing between the verbs and the complements. The head verb and its complement establish the path of union and intersection in the syntactic form. The concept of theta criterion determines the true nomenclature of the subjects in linguistic structures.