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The Bua Group noun class system: Looking for a historical interpretation
Abstract : The way Bua languages express number on nouns mostly consists of
alternating suffi xes that bear witness of a former classifi cation system. However,
Kulaal is the only present-day language where these markers are not frozen but
actually trigger agreement with free, optional determiners that follow the noun and
may show some formal affi nity with its suffi x. For several reasons, previous attempts
at reconstructing a historical noun morphology common to all Bua languages
considered the sole suffi xes and neglected the determiners present in Kulaal. But,
as is argued in the present paper, more recent data show that, in some cases, presentday
suffi xes may result from the association of a former suffi x with an element
similar to one of the Kulaal determiners. In such cases the former determiner has
simply lost its independence and been historically stacked onto the noun form.
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03097143
Contributor : Pascal Boyeldieu <>
Submitted on : Tuesday, January 5, 2021 - 11:34:10 AM
Last modification on : Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - 3:28:00 AM
Contributor : Pascal Boyeldieu <>
Submitted on : Tuesday, January 5, 2021 - 11:34:10 AM
Last modification on : Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - 3:28:00 AM