Reduplicative allomorphy and language prehistory in Uto-Aztecan

Jason D. Haugen

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Linguistics and language evolution Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation Historical Linguistics and Language Studies

Abstract

Although Uto-Aztecan is one of the largest and most well-established language families of North America, the internal organization of sub-groups within Uto-Aztecan is still a matter of intense debate. At the center of this discussion is whether or not the geographical split of Uto-Aztecan into Northern and branches can also be considered to be a genetic split. Also at issue is the legitimacy of various proposed sub-groups within these two larger branches. Following the call to find evidence beyond shared sound changes in the establishment of genetic relationships heralded by such scholars as Thomason and Kaufman (1989), Campbell (1997), and Dixon (1998), among many others, this paper looks at patterns of synchronic reduplicative allomorphy in an effort to identify shared allomorphy and thus genetic relationships, among the languages of Uto-Aztecan. In the most well-articulated formulation of Uto-Aztecan (UA) comparative grammar to date, Langacker (1977:128) notes that virtually every UA language displays verbal reduplication of some kind, and in some cases a variety of patterns, but he was unable at that time to suggest a definitive reconstruction for the Proto-Uto-Aztecan (PUA) reduplication pattern(s). In this paper I survey evidence which suggests that PUA must have had a rich system of reduplicative allomorphy, with at least four distinct patterns of reduplication. The primary evidence comes from Yaqui, a Southern Uto-Aztecan language, where three reduplication patterns surface for the expression of a single semantic gram-type: habitual action. These allomorphs are syllable, foot, and bare mora (i.e. morphological gemination or consonant doubling), as shown in (1)a-c, respectively:

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References

1995The evolution of grammar: tense, aspect, and modality in the languages of the world 1990Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics 1997The Rise and Fall of Languages 1999American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. By Lyle Campbell. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Pp. xiv, 512.2000The Phonology and Morphology of Reduplication

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