Chapter 12. Remarks on nominalised adjectives in Gã

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on the derivation and distribution of nominalised adjectives in Gã. It claims that they are formed by combining an adjectival base and the nominaliser morpheme e‑. Observing that the nominaliser has a variant, the paper argues that the occurrence of the two allomorphs is phonologically constrained. In respect of their distribution, the paper argues that properties like number and agreement marking and co-occurrence with determiners suggest that they are true nominals. Nonetheless, we can clearly distinguish them from other morpho-syntactic units in similar structural positions. The paper also provides new empirical insights for reassessing hitherto assumptions about the distribution of such nominals, including their ability to occur as complement of copulas and depictives.