From oblique to core case in the Southern Min languages

Abstract

Abstract This study sets out to discuss the evolution from oblique to core case as a manifestation of overtly-marked nominative-accusative alignment in Sinitic languages. This is due to the emergence of a type of ‘optional’ marking on preverbal direct objects in a construction type that has become widespread in Sinitic (Chappell & Verstraete 2019). In particular, I examine spoken discourse data from Taiwanese Southern Min whose comitative preposition, ka7 , has grammaticalized into an optional object marker. It is argued that this marker is undergoing morphologization into a direct object index (doi) on the main verb in the predicate, subsequent to the omission of the resumptive pronoun it governs. The new index takes over this function of cross-referencing the lexical direct object, typically located in the immediately preceding discourse, if not in clause-initial position. In an epilogue, I also briefly treat the evolution of local cases such as the allative and the perlative to optional object markers in the Southern Min languages of Shantou and Jieyang, situated in Guangdong Province, China. Both of these are extremely rare sources in the Sinitic family, yet common in Tibeto-Burman and Romance languages. The approach adopted is in harmony with recent diachronic studies which target source morphosyntax in order to explain the emergence of a variety of synchronic patterns, all bearing similar discourse and grammatical functions (Cristofaro & Zúñiga 2018).