摘要：Studies in Yorùbá–English code–switching have shown that functional heads (such as Inflection, Determiner, pronoun and Complementizer) from the English language are often barred from the resulting code–switched grammar. However, no adequate explanation has been provided for this, nor any reasons adduced. This study therefore explains why pronouns, as functors, are barred from Yorùbá–English code–switching. Working within the frameworks of transformational grammar and autosegmental phonology, the study suggests that certain features facilitate the occurrence of English words and smooth switching from a code to the other in Yorùbá–English code–switching The unacceptability of pronouns in this grammar is traced to the absence of vowel lengthening and floating tones which usually accompany both Yorùbá and English words at specific switch junctions.
关键词：pronouns; code–switching; tone languages; phonology; Yorùbá; English language
