Pronominalization in Efik

Abstract

This thesis is primarily an investigation into Pronominalization in Efik. Pronominalization is treated from a basically Chomskian point of view as a general term for a number of related processes each of which is explicitly formulated as a rule. These are reflexivization, simple pronominalization, possessive pronominalization and relativization by which reflexive, anaphoric personal, possessive and relative pronouns respectively are derived. As rules they all operate on Noun Phrases (NPs) under certain conditions. One such condition is coreference. In general NPs on which a rule of pronominalization has operated may (and in fact in some cases must) be deleted under certain conditions one of which is also coreference. In this way, Pronominalization and NP Deletion are related.