The recategorisation of the conjugated preposition a 'of ' as direct object and subject pronouns in Cornouaillais Breton

Abstract

This article examines the functions of the Breton conjugated preposition <a> 'of ' as direct object and subject pronouns. Because these uses are believed to be relatively recent innovations, they are judged by many writers and linguists to be substandard. Although these recategorised a-forms are part and parcel of the vernacular language, their roles vary considerably according to dialect. For this reason it would be illusory to assume they operate as part of a unified linguistic system. Nevertheless, the full scope of their functions is most evident in the Cornouaillais/Kerne dialect spoken in south- western Brittany. This discussion focuses on the Breton spoken in the parishes of Saint Yvi and Elliant in south-central Cornouaille (Finistère) where their use is prevalent. Comparative evidence from other areas of Cornouaille, Tregor and Leon, as well as similar uses of conjugated preposition <o> 'of ' in Middle Welsh and modern south Welsh varieties, suggests that this phenomenon may have emerged as a result of common semantic interpretations which may be inherent to the Brythonic languages more generally. Moreover, a number of secondary morphosyntactic innovations (both analytic and synthetic) that have been spawned by these a-forms suggest that the process is internal to Breton rather than to any direct French influence. The data is presented within a descriptive, variational and diachronic linguistic framework.