L'adjectif en portugais et en kriyol : essai de syntaxe comparée

Alain Kjhm : The adjective in Portugese and in Kriyol : A study in comparative syntax The pre-theoretical notion "adjective" is described in terms of a combination of features as defined in Chomsky (1970), Jackendoff (1977) etc. Adjectives in Portugese, be they preposed or postposed, are shown to be lexical items that combine the features [+N] and [uV]. They are inserted in the Specifier of NP, bearing overt or non overt agreement features, and they are liable to merge with the copula [+V uN] to form a complex head. Unlike its lexifier language, Guinee-Bissau Kriyol exclusively postposes adjectives to the head noun. Arguments are adduced to show that Kriyol adjectives include [uN] and [+V] features, incorporating copula features, hence their inherent predicate status. Although both languages, Portuguese and Kriyol, possess adjectives as a linguistic category, a slight displacement in the values of the features associated with Kriyol adjectives, probably due to creolization, has had far-reaching consequences.