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<p>Chichewa DPs are noun-initial and the modifiers following the noun may occur in any order. Assuming that Chichewa nouns invariably undergo N-to-D movement and that a universal structural hierarchy of the modifiers maps into left-to-right linear order (e.g., Dem ≫ Num ≫ Adj), this paper argues that the order flexibility of nominal modifiers in Chichewa involves scrambling of the modifiers, whose landing site is a position that does not involve a canonical Spec-head featural relation. Two data patterns are discussed: (i) Novel ellipsis data show that while a structurally higher modifier may license the ellipsis of a lower modifier, the reverse does not hold, even though the relative linear order between the modifiers is free; (ii) an asymmetry is attested regarding hybrid concord, in that a structurally higher modifier of a hybrid noun may show semantic concord while a lower modifier shows morphological concord, whereas the reverse pattern is not possible. After a brief comparison with two alternative analyses of the order flexibility, namely Cinque <CitationRef CitationID="CR35">2005</CitationRef> and Carstens <CitationRef CitationID="CR20">2008</CitationRef>, <CitationRef CitationID="CR24">2017</CitationRef>, the paper concludes that the Chichewa facts are overall best captured by the scrambling account. It thus confirms that scrambling is not just a clause-level phenomenon; it also exists in the nominal domain.</p>

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Scrambling in the nominal domain: Evidence from the Chichewa DP

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月3日

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  • Qiūshí Chén

摘要

Chichewa DPs are noun-initial and the modifiers following the noun may occur in any order. Assuming that Chichewa nouns invariably undergo N-to-D movement and that a universal structural hierarchy of the modifiers maps into left-to-right linear order (e.g., Dem ≫ Num ≫ Adj), this paper argues that the order flexibility of nominal modifiers in Chichewa involves scrambling of the modifiers, whose landing site is a position that does not involve a canonical Spec-head featural relation. Two data patterns are discussed: (i) Novel ellipsis data show that while a structurally higher modifier may license the ellipsis of a lower modifier, the reverse does not hold, even though the relative linear order between the modifiers is free; (ii) an asymmetry is attested regarding hybrid concord, in that a structurally higher modifier of a hybrid noun may show semantic concord while a lower modifier shows morphological concord, whereas the reverse pattern is not possible. After a brief comparison with two alternative analyses of the order flexibility, namely Cinque 2005 and Carstens 2008, 2017, the paper concludes that the Chichewa facts are overall best captured by the scrambling account. It thus confirms that scrambling is not just a clause-level phenomenon; it also exists in the nominal domain.