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Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 34:3 (2017) ► pp.283–330

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Possessive inflection in Proto-Zamucoan

A reconstruction

 | Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa
 | Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa
Published online: 19 October 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.34.3.01ciu
Abstract
This paper presents a comparative analysis of possessive inflection in the three known Zamucoan languages: Ayoreo and Chamacoco – still spoken in the Chaco area between Bolivia and Paraguay – plus †Old Zamuco, described by the Jesuit father Ignace Chomé in the first half of the 18th century. The comparison allows us to build a plausible reconstruction of Proto-Zamucoan possessive inflection. Old Zamuco appears to be the most conservative language among the three, while Chamacoco appears to be the most innovative, although it exhibits relics of special importance for reconstructive purposes. Our analysis identifies in Zamucoan a series of features of general interest for the typology of person marking.
Résumé
Cet article présente une analyse comparative de la flexion possessive dans les trois langues Zamuco qui nous sont connues: l’Ayoreo et le Chamacoco – toujours parlés dans la région du Chaco entre la Bolivie et le Paraguay – ainsi que †l’Ancien Zamuco, décrit par le jésuite Ignace Chomé au début du 18e siècle. Les données permettent une reconstruction plausible de la flexion possessive du Proto-Zamuco: l’Ancien Zamuco serait la plus conservatrice des trois langues, tandis que le Chamacoco serait comme la plus innovatrice, bien qu’on y trouve des restes très probants du point de vue historique. L’analyse signale en particulier une série de traits d’intérêt général pour la typologie des marques de personne.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Artikel unternimmt eine vergleichende Analyse der Possessivflexion in den drei dokumentierten Zamuco-Sprachen: Ayoreo und Chamacoco – im Chaco-Gebiet von Bolivien und Paraguay immer noch gesprochen – und †Alt-Zamuco, das in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts vom Jesuiten Ignace Chomé beschrieben wurde. Der Vergleich erlaubt eine plausible Rekonstruktion der Possessivflexion des Proto-Zamuco. Alt-Zamuco scheint unter den drei Sprachen die konservativste zu sein, Chamacoco dagegen die innovativste, auch wenn es für die Rekonstruktion besonders relevante Relikte aufweist. Die Untersuchung identifiziert in den Zamuco-Sprachen außerdem einige Charakteristika, die von allgemeinem Interesse für die Typologie der Personenmarkierung sind.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Zamucoan
    • 1.2On Zamucoan noun and verb affixation
  • 2.Old Zamuco possessive inflection
    • 2.1Person inflection
    • 2.2The generic form
  • 3.Ayoreo possessive inflection
    • 3.1Person inflection
    • 3.2Thematic nouns (Ø – thematic vowel – root)
    • 3.3Prefixal nouns (prefix – thematic vowel – root)
    • 3.4Radical nouns (Ø – Ø – root)
    • 3.5The generic form
  • 4.Chamacoco possessive inflection
    • 4.1Person inflection
    • 4.2Thematic nouns (Ø – thematic vowel – root)
    • 4.3Prefixal nouns (prefix – thematic vowel – root)
    • 4.4Radical nouns (Ø – Ø – ROOT)
    • 4.5The generic form
  • 5.Comparison
    • 5.1Thematic vowel
    • 5.2Root allomorphy
    • 5.3Prefixal nouns (prefix – thematic vowel – root)
    • 5.4On the attraction of the 3rd person by the reflexive
    • 5.5Radical nouns (Ø – Ø – ROOT)
    • 5.6Loss of possessive inflection
  • 6.Reconstructing the Proto-Zamucoan possessive inflection
    • 6.1First singular
    • 6.2Second singular
    • 6.3The third person
    • 6.4The reflexive person
    • 6.5First and second plural persons
    • 6.6The generic form
    • 6.7Verbal and possessive inflection in Proto-Zamucoan
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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