Towards a grammar of Innu-aimun particles

Abstract

In Algonquian linguistics, indeclinable particles are traditionally treated as a single class. Although this approach is morphologically accurate, it obscures the fact that particles serve a wide variety of grammatical functions. This thesis examines the particles of Innu-aimun, an Algonquian language spoken in Labrador and Quebec. Based on a detailed grammatical analysis, particles are classified into the following more specific part-of-speech categories: adnominal particles (adjectives and quantifiers), prepositions, adverbs, focus particles, question particles, negators, conjunctions, and interjections. The grammatical properties that distinguish each class are described and analyzed. The declinable categories of pronouns, demonstratives, and locative-inflected nouns, which have certain properties in common with particles, are also discussed. While the primary goal of the thesis is to provide a broad and comprehensive description of the grammar of Innu-aimun particles, the analysis is expressed using the framework of generative grammar and theoretical explanations are suggested throughout.