A Comparative Morpho-Syntactic Analysis of English and Pashto Prepositions within the Framework of X-Bar Theory

Abstract

This study examines the morpho-syntactic analyses of adjuncts in English and Pashto, within the light of Chomsky’s X bar theory. It focuses on analyzing how adjuncts are structured in terms of both their form (morphology) and their grammatical role (syntax) in English and Pashto languages. The analysis is conducted using Chomsky's X-bar theory, a framework that helps understand the hierarchical organization of phrases in a sentence. Its objective is to assess the applicability of X bar theory in Pashto and explore the syntactic and morphological similarities and differences between Pashto and English prepositions. Data for this study were gathered from native speakers of Pashto and English texts. Various English books were scrutinized in order to conduct a comprehensive exploration of X-bar theory.

 English temporal and spatial prepositions—namely "since," "for," "on," "in," "at," "of," and "with"—were examined morphologically and syntactically. Each preposition, within its respective sentence, was translated into Pashto. Subsequently, each prepositional phrase underwent scrutiny within X bar theory.

The findings of the data analysis show that Pashto prepositions possess distinct syntactic structures, as Pashto uses pre and post positions, whereas English solely employs prepositions preceding nouns or pronouns. This study exhibits that English prepositions "for" and "since" when use temporally, these prepositions share the same morphological postposition in Pashto, namely "na." Similarly, three other prepositions—"at," "on," and "in"—manifested analogous morpho-syntactic "puh-ke" pre-post positions in Pashto when denoting time. Unlike English, Pashto doesn't mandate specific prepositions for every context, sometimes omitting prepositions altogether or utilizing the same preposition in diverse contexts. The study concludes that Pashto exhibits less morpho-syntactic complexity as compared to English. It provides various substitutes for a single preposition. Additionally, while spatial and temporal prepositions share similar syntactic structures in Pashto, temporal prepositions demonstrate greater morphological resemblance in Pashto as compared to spatial prepositions. X-bar theory offers a framework to comprehend the hierarchical arrangement of phrases in Pashto, explaining the way heads, specifiers, complements, and adjuncts merge to create syntactic units. The conclusion of the study validates the universality of X bar theory and recognizes the applicability of the theory to Pashto language.