A “reflexive benefactive” in Chamba-Daka (Adamawa branch, Niger-Congo family)

The “Nnakenyaare” lingua franca dialect of Chamba-Daka, a geographically and linguistically peripheral language of the Adamawa branch of Niger-Congo spoken in northeastern Nigeria, has not only beneficiary/recipient verb arguments but also a “reflexive benefactive” or autobenefactive marked by a copy pronoun from the possessive paradigm. To enhance typological understanding, Chamba-Daka argument structure is briefly described with focus on the importance of the animacy feature and the ambiguities arising from the existence of three different directly construed objects. The range of nonpossessive uses of the possessive paradigm, including the reflexive benefactive, is then set out. Conclusions include a discussion of the relations among autobenefaction, middle voice, and applicative derivation.

• Affiliations: 1: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique