Demonstrative Patterns in English and Ibibio

Abstract

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of demonstrative pronouns in English and Ibibio. The data for the analysis of demonstratives in Ibibio were drawn from central Ibibio by elicitation. The paper argues, based on the syntactic operations of demonstratives in the two languages that demonstratives in Ibibio consist of a three-way opposition while those of English consist of a two-way opposition. It states that demonstratives in English inflect for person and number while those in Ibibio do not. It further establishes that Ibibio has two classes of demonstratives, with each class being syntactically different from the other. It asserts that demonstratives in the two languages also function as the subject and determiner while some demonstratives in Ibibio may function as articles as well as perform the function of a verb, properties which are not found in English.

Key words: demonstrative, head, specifier, determiner, Ibibio