Vers L'histoire De L'obviation En Montagnais

• Published in: Diachronica
• Main Author: Cowan, William
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Benjamins Publishing Company 1984
• Subjects: Lier; montagnais
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/dia.1.2.03cow; http://www.jbe-platform.com/deliver/fulltext/dia.1.2.03cow.pdf

SUMMARY In Montagnais, the obviative marker for singular animate nouns is -a; the obviative marker for singular inanimate nouns is -nu. However, in simple possessive constructions, an inanimate noun does not have the expected inanimate -nu, and in double possessive constructions, an animate noun does have this inanimate -nu. Alan Ford sees these seeming irregularities as devices for disambiguating potentially ambiguous constructions. However, an examination of the grammar of Proto-Algonquian, and a consideration of the historical development in Montagnais reveal that these irregularities are the result of incomplete analogical processes and have no functional basis. In Proto-Algonquian inanimate nouns had no oviative marker, whether possessed or not. The -nu that now marks unpossessed inanimate nouns is an analogical extention of a Proto-Algonquian *-iliw- that was used in double possession for both inanimate and animate nouns. Apart from this analogical extention, Montagnais is the same as Proto-Algonquian: possessed inanimate nouns have no obviative marker, and doubly possessed animate nouns are marked with -nu, the Montagnais reflex of *-iliw-. RÉSUMÉ En montagnais le suffixe d'obviation pour les noms animes singu-lier est -a; le suffixe pour les noms inanimes singulier est -nu. Mais, dans les cas de la possession simple un nom inanime ne porte pas ce suf-fixe inanime -nu. Alan Ford considere ces irregularites apparentes un moyen de disambiguaison. Cependant, un examen de la grammaire du proto-algonquien nous revele que ces irregularites sont le resultat d'un processus d'analogie incomplète et qu'elles ne jouent aucun role fonc-tionnelle dans la langue. En proto-algonquien les noms inanimes ne portaient aucune marque d'oviation, soit possedes ou non. Le suffixenu d'aujourd'hui, marqueur des noms inanimes sans possesseur, repre-sente l'etendue analogique d'un morpheme *-iliw- proto-algonquien employe dans les cas de possession double tant pour les noms animes que pour les noms inanimès. A 1'exception de cette ...