Origin of the Zapotec Causative Marker*k-: A Diachronic-Typological Perspective

Abstract

This paper uses synchronic and diachronic typological data to trace the origin and development of the Zapotec causative marker *k-. It is suggested that the causative marker *k- arose as a language-internal innovation after Zapotec split away from its sister branch, Chatino. The paper relies on Song’s (1996) typology of causative marker formation to show that the causative prefix *k- has developed out of the marker of the potential mood following de-subordination of the subordinate clauses of purpose. This work contributes to the field of Zapotecan linguistics, by tracing the evolution of an important pan-Zapotec morpheme, and to that of diachronic typology (e.g., Bickel 2007), by validating a proposed developmental sequence in the area of valence-related morphology.