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In:Typological Hierarchies in Synchrony and Diachrony
Edited by Sonia Cristofaro and Fernando Zúñiga
[Typological Studies in Language 121] 2018
► pp. 191–216

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Chapter 5
Diachrony and the referential hierarchy in Old Irish

 | Universiteit Utrecht
Published online: 26 July 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.121.05gri
Abstract
A set of Old Irish clitic person markers may co-index subject or object markers on the verb. Only one clitic of this set may appear at a time, however. The clitic, if present, indexes the verbal argument highest on the scale 1st person > 2nd person > 3rd person animate > inanimate. The restriction of one clitic per verb, a prerequisite for the hierarchy, is explained here as a result of the deictic origin of the clitic set. The deictic origin further favors the marking of local persons over non-local persons. For the upper and lower end of the hierarchy, however, the ranking appears to be determined rather by considerations of function. Since the clitics can mark topics, they favor 1st persons over 2nd and animates over inanimates.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.One nota per verb
    • 2.1The prehistory of the paradigm of the notae augentes
    • 2.2The function of the notae augentes
    • 2.3The origin of the restriction of one nota per verb
  • 3.The referential hierarchy
    • 3.1General background
    • 3.2Ranking local above non-local
    • 3.3 Differentiating the local persons
  • 4. Conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • Appendix
  • Notes
  • References
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