Abstract :
[en] This study reconstructs the development of a negative existential and a negative pro-sentence in the Arawan language Kulina (Brazil-Peru). We demonstrate that the two elements forming the negative existential construction nowe (hi)ra- are involved in a double polarity swap: (i) an originally neutral lexical item (the dynamic verb nowe 'show') has become negative through contamination, and (ii) an originally negative element (hi)ra-, which was responsible for the contamination, is bleaching into a semantically neutral auxiliary. This lexeme nowe, with the auxiliary used only optionally, also functions as a negative pro-sentence now. Thus, synchronically we have a negative pro-sentence that has its origin in a semantically-neutral lexical item. Neither the source of the negative pro-sentence nor this diachronic path has surfaced in the literature on negation so far and thus they are instructive from diachronic and typological perspectives. The hypothesis enriches the literature on both the Jespersen Cycle and the Negative Existential Cycle.
Funding text :
We thank Stefan Dienst, Ruth Monserrat, and Cindy and Jim Boyer for answering our questions on Kulina and for providing us with additional data cited in the present study. We owe a special thanks to Stefan Dienst and Ruth Monserrat for their most valuable feedback on an earlier dra ? of the paper. Our gratitude also goes to the two anonymous reviewers and the editors, whose comments helped us to sharpen the analysis. The study has been carried out with support of Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).
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