Yimam, Baye (PhD)Belayneh, Teshome2021-03-252023-11-082021-03-252023-11-082007-08http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/25678This study is about the syntax of simple verbal and nominal clauses of Yem in light or the Minimalist Approach of Chomsky ( 1995a and 1995b), The focus is on the derivation or simple verbal and nominal affirmative clause structures, The flrst chapter has dealt with the background, research question. objectives, methodology and the theoretical framework of the study Previous studies are available on the phonology, morphology and to some extent on the syntax and sociolinguistics of the language. This study intended to fill some gaps in the ,description of the syntax of the language. So the basic questions that are answered in this stencil include how are simple affirmative verbal and nominal clause structures of Yem derived? What are the possible derivational operations as well as the feature checking principles of verbal and nominal clause structures? What are the projectiles and hierarchical orders of functional and lexical categories in IP and VP in the language? What are the similarities and differences between the structure of verbal and nominal clauses in the language The objective of this study is to describe the derivation of simple verbal and nominal clauses in the language. The study identify derivation al operations, the projections of functional and lexical categories and the conditions of theta- role assignment, feature checking condition, the hierarchical order of functional and lexical categories in the VF and IP layers as well as the similarities and differences between verbal and nominal clause structures the language The research method includes reading relevant research materials and creating a point of departure for the present study and developing clear concepts about the Minimalist approach as .1 theoretical framework. Data is collected from native speakers of Yem. Sample verbal and nominal structures are prepared in Amharic for soliciting equivalents in the target language. The data IS phonemically transcribed and checked again stapes recordings. Finally, data is described and analyzed on the bases of the Minimalist approach and conclusions are drawn about the syntax of simple verbal and nominal clauses. Under the theoretical framework. basic assumptions of the Minimalist approach about syntactic representations In general and clause derivations in particular are considered in this chapter. In the second chapter, some functional and derivational inflections on verbs and infinitives are described. These include agreement. tense, aspect and case in verbal clauses as well as agreement and nulls in nominal clauses. Some derivation al clements like nominalizers and causativizers are al so described. The th ird chapter shows the derivat ions of simple verbal and nominal clauses including their similarities and diffen:nces. The derivational operations are merge and move. Features like agreement, tense and case trigger movement. The functional categories projected in IP layer are TP, AgrsP, and AspP. Their hierarchical order is [AgrsP[TP[AgrsP[ AspP[vP[ VP llllll for past perfect simple affirmative clauses and this goes in line with Baker's (1985) Mirror Principle. The basic word order is SOY derived from Kayne's (1994) SVO universal order. OSV is also possible when object is focused. Nominative case is checked at the spec of AgrsP whereas accusative case is checked at the spec of vP in verbal clauses. The derivation of nominal clauses is similar to that of their verbal counterpart in Yem. The assumption of this study is that the derivation of nominal clause takes place in the lexicon following the lexicalist hypothesis. The word order in nominal clauses is similar to the basic order. The difference is that there is no temporal element in nominal clauses and it is interpreted as DP, not as IP. The hierarchical order that observed in nominal clause is [DP[AgrsP[nP[NP llll. Accusative and nominative cases are checked at the spec of nP and AgrsP respectively. The highlights and some facts abut the derivations of verbal and nominal clauses are given in chapter four.enSimple Verbal NominalThesis