Noun phrase in Cape Verdean

Abstract

This paper presents a study on the Cape Verdean noun phrase, undertaking a comparison with European Portuguese (EP), Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and Guinea-Bissau Creole (Kriyol). The determiner system of Cape Verdean Creole – CVC – raises some questions which are of interest for language researchers since this system comprehends structures which are not attested in other similar languages, like Portuguese. Several scholars consider the "kel"particle, for example, as a definite article. However, the definiteness is not necessarily expressed in this particle and, in Cape Verdean, bare nouns can also come with this particle. Furthermore, according to the majority of CCV researchers, "kel"is neither required nor expected in the noun phrase. In this paper, several studies that deal with Cape Verdean noun phrases will be discussed and some arguments which confirm or not this works will be presented. The results of the analyses of the CVC determiner system will also be demonstrated.