The Disappearing “All”: Rethinking Quantifier Float in Nigerian Languages

Nwogu, Aaron Ogbonnah

Indonesian Journal of Educational Studies
Vol 28, No 2 (2025): Indonesian Journal of Educational Studies

. Quantifier float, a key diagnostic for noun phrase movement in languages like English, is re-examined in Nigerian languages. Elements such as Yoruba papọ̀ and Igbo dum, translated as ‘all’, appear in fixed clause-final positions rather than varying with argument movement. Syntactic tests involving negation, aspect, and serial verb constructions show these are not stranded quantifiers from A-movement. Instead, they are base-generated adverbial quantifiers or low VP-modifiers that link anaphorically to a plural argument. Their fixed distribution and semantic restrictions suggest the quantifier-float diagnostic does not apply here, indicating possible limits to A-movement in Benue-Congo languages and calling for a more nuanced, language-specific approach to movement diagnostics.