Abstract This paper analyzes the internal structure of Argobba nominal phrase in Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) formalism. Argobba is a seriously endangered Semitic language in Ethiopia. Unlike its sister languages in the Ethio-Semitic subfamily, Argobba nouns qualified by a demonstrative, possessive pronoun and genitive NP bear a definite article. It is argued in this paper that the definite article is not an independent syntactic element, but an affix, which is attached to indefinite nouns lexically. It is argued that the derivation of Argobba definite common nouns is captured by the Definite Lexical Rule (DLR). The paper also claims that the NP internal agreement of specifiers and modifiers with the head noun is accounted for by the SPEC and MOD features that impose certain constraints on the morphosyntactic features of the head noun.

中文翻译：

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Argobba名词短语的结构

摘要：本文分析了头驱动短语结构语法（HPSG）形式主义中Argobba名词短语的内部结构。Argobba是埃塞俄比亚一种严重濒临灭绝的闪族语言。与在埃塞俄比亚犹太人亚族中的姊妹语言不同，被指示性，所有格代词和属称NP限定的Argobba名词带有定冠词。本文认为定冠词不是一个独立的句法元素，而是一个词缀，该词缀依词法附加在不定名词上。有人认为，确定词法规则（DLR）捕获了Argobba确定性普通名词的派生。