%0 Journal Article %A Guérin, Valérie %T In search of the origin of na in Mavea %D 2014 %J Studies in Language. International Journal sponsored by the Foundation “Foundations of Language” %V 38 %N 4 %P 690-716 %@ 0378-4177 %R https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.38.4.02gue %K repair strategy %K reanalysis %K locative %K article %K Mavea %K Oceanic %K structure-preserving syntactic change %K semantic roles %I John Benjamins %X Reflexes of the Proto-Oceanic common noun marker *na are found throughout the Oceanic language family. In Mavea, there is a morpheme na but it no longer partakes in the determiner system and is best analyzed synchronically as a preposition. This paper argues that today’s preposition is a reflex of the Proto-Oceanic common noun marker *na. Locative constructions are shown to provide a critical context conducive to the reanalysis of *na. Reanalysis has long been established as a mechanism of syntactic change, yet the factors motivating it remain a matter for debate. The dominant view is that reanalysis is driven by pragmatic factors. A rarely voiced view is that it is driven by structural requirements. The data adduced in this paper lend support to a model of syntactic change which can be structure-preserving in nature. %U https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/sl.38.4.02gue