Parametric Variations of Personal and Possessive Pronouns in Erei and English
Abstract
This paper focuses on personal and possessive pronouns in English and Erei (a micro-minority language spoken by the Erei people in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria). It seeks to determine the nature, similarities and differences in the pronouns of both languages using Universal Grammar as the linguistic approach. Data used for the study were extracted from stories told by six Erei native speakers and secondary materials. The findings reveal that both languages have a set of fundamental principles which are the properties of all languages. However, there are variations in terms of parameters that set the choice of entry(ies) in each of the languages. Although both languages have the three grammatical persons and possessive pronouns that are referents to one’s parts of the body and personal belongings, there are striking differences in variants, number of slots per lexical entry and the position of the pronoun elements within the clause. The study has shown that English and Erei have certain principles in common. This study aims to trigger off further researches on the grammar of Erei language with the aim of developing the needed materials in order to revitalize and modify the language for pedagogic purposes.
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