1887
Volume 2, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2950-189X
  • E-ISSN: 2950-1881

Abstract

Abstract

The Indigenous languages of South America employ varying strategies for nominal purpose-marking; for instance, the markers used in this construction include benefactive case (in Macushi, see Abbot 1991) and possessives (in Lokono, see Pet 2011), but also specifically purposive adpositions (Kokama-Kokamilla, see Vallejos 2010). In this paper, I analyze and compare nominal purpose marking in two languages which are in close contact: Wapishana (Arawakan) and Taruma (unclassified). In Wapishana, the morpheme used in this construction is a TAM marker for non-present tense or irrealis mood which also functions as a nominalizer (dos Santos 2006; WLP 2000). I argue that the nominal purposive construction is essentially the subordination of a nominal predicate. The Taruma data stemming from recent fieldwork shows that the marker in question functions as a purposive marker and might also be a subordinator.

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2025-10-31
2025-11-17
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): purposive; subordination; Taruma; Wapishana
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