SYNTACTIC PATTERNING OF POSSESSIVE MARKERS IN YORUBA

The study investigates the syntactic patterning of possessive markers in Yoruba and how Yoruba possessive construction plays a crucial role in conveying ownership, relationship, identity and kinship within discourse. A qualitative approach was adopted. The data used were obtained from primary sources via interviews with natives of Yoruba, while some of the data were obtained from secondary sources such as textbooks and journal articles. The study adopts the Government and Binding theory of Noam Chomsky. The findings of this study revealed the difference between the English possessive construction markers and the Yoruba possessive construction markers , it shows that English language is a head-first language. In head-first languages, the head typically comes before its modifiers and the Yoruba language is a head-last language, in head-last languages, the head comes after its modifiers. however possession is not mark on the owner of the entity rather the object owned precede the owner to show possession . It shows how possessive construction plays a crucial role in conveying ownership, relationship, identity and kinship in the Yoruba language.