The road to opacity: Reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *-akin in northern Vanuatu
This paper provides a systematic overview of the modern reflexes of the Proto-Oceanic applicative suffix *-akin in the languages of northern Vanuatu. Our three focal languages are Hiw, Vurës, and Mwotlap, but data from neighboring languages are also used to demonstrate the historical development of...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
2023-03-01
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Series: | Nusa |
Online Access: | https://tufs.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/2000018 |
Summary: | This paper provides a systematic overview of the modern reflexes of the Proto-Oceanic applicative suffix *-akin in the languages of northern Vanuatu. Our three focal languages are Hiw, Vurës, and Mwotlap, but data from neighboring languages are also used to demonstrate the historical development of *-akin in the area. We describe five different development paths of *-akin, namely (1) as a (semi-)productive applicative suffix; (2) as a non-productive suffix attaching to a verb, with recognizable yet irregular semantics; (3) as a non-productive suffix potentially linked to another root, yet with opaque semantics; (4) as a vestigial syllable in certain words, with no language-internal evidence of any suffixation process; and (5) as a preposition, through a process of degrammaticalization or debonding. |
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ISSN: | 0126-2874 2187-7297 |