The imperative split and the origin of switch-reference markers in Nungon

Abstract

The origins of switch-reference markers vary widely (Austin 1981, Haiman and Munro 1983, Haiman 1983, Jacobsen 1983, Li 1989, Roberts 1997, Fedden 2008). This paper explores the origins of switch-reference markers and of the imperative inflections in the Papuan language Nungon. Nungon is among those Papuan languages in which the subject-indexing suffixes used in different-subject contexts on ‘medial verbs’ differ formally from the subject-indexing suffixes of ‘final verbs’. While Haiman (1983:107) wrote that this distinction “is clearly an area which cries out for investigation”, the historical origins of this type of switch-reference marking have not yet been surveyed in detail. Nungon has two dedicated imperative inflections: Immediate and Delayed. Both imperatives inflect for all persons, including the ‘non-canonical’ (Aikhenvald 2010:3) first and third persons. The two paradigms are highly divergent morphologically. The Nungon Immediate Imperative paradigm is postulated to share an origin with the different-subject switch-reference markers, while the Delayed Imperative paradigm is shown to have originated through iconic vowel alteration of a Future Irrealis form, along the “intention, future, and prediction” imperative development pathway of Aikhenvald (2010:363). By describing these forms in Nungon, this paper is a first step toward Haiman’s call for broader investigation of the divergent subject desinence forms phenomenon. Further, the shared origin of switch-reference and Immediate Imperative forms would seem to point to the archaism of switch-reference forms, contra general assumptions that switch-reference systems develop from non-switch-reference systems. Show more