Abstract
This paper examines the argument structure and thematic roles of Gbagyi verbal predicates within the framework of Government and Binding Theory using the Theta Theory, a sub-module of Government of and Binding Theory. Basically, this paper explores the argument structure and the thematic roles attested in Gbagyi language and how Gbagyi verbal predicates play a crucial role in theta marking their arguments. The data collected for this study were drawn from primary and secondary sources. The analysis reveals thatGbagyi exhibits zero, one, two, and three-place predicates, and that the subject, direct object, as well as indirect object positions of the arguments of a predicate are realized syntactically while thematic roles such as agent, patient, benefactor, goal, location are realized semantically. This paper serves as a preliminary in this area. Hence, some key issues could not be addressed in this paper but would be considered in the subsequent papers.
Keywords: Gbagyi language; Argument structure; Theta Theory; Thematic Roles; Theta Criterion Principle; Verbal Predicates.
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i02.002
author/Adamu Mohammed
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 1(2) | November 2025 |
