The origin of instrumental postpositions in Cahita (Uto-Aztecan): A new account

This paper presents a diachronic analysis of instrumental postpositions in Cahita languages (…Tehueco, Yaqui and Mayo; Uto-Aztecan). Based on historical data from the beginning of the 17th century (Buelna 1890) and hypotheses about the possible bridging contexts (Heine 2002) that may have favored th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Álvarez González, Albert
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:México
Institución:EL COLEGIO DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Cuadernos de Lingüística de El Colegio de México
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.cuadernoslinguistica.colmex.mx:article/270
Acceso en línea:https://cuadernoslinguistica.colmex.mx/index.php/cl/article/view/270
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:instrumental and causal postpositions
bridging contexts
possessive noun phrase
non-subject nominalizers
grammaticalization
gramaticalización
postposiciones instrumentales y causales
contextos puente
frase nominal posesiva
nominalizadores de no-sujeto
Descripción
Sumario:This paper presents a diachronic analysis of instrumental postpositions in Cahita languages (…Tehueco, Yaqui and Mayo; Uto-Aztecan). Based on historical data from the beginning of the 17th century (Buelna 1890) and hypotheses about the possible bridging contexts (Heine 2002) that may have favored the grammaticalization processes at the origin of the instrumental morphemes, this study proposes that the origin has to be found in the possessive noun phrase, an origin different from those proposed by Dedrick & Casad (1999) and Haugen (2008). This historical reconstruction also brings to light the connections within the domain of postpositions between instrumental and causal meanings, as well as the connections between postpositions and non-subject nominalizers, since the same marker was used to encode these different functions, exhibiting an interesting polysemy. This paper aims to explain this polyfunctionality from a diachronic perspective, trying to clarify the grammaticalization paths that may have originated such syncretism.