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Article published In:
Diachronica
Vol. 35:1 (2018) ► pp.35–70

On morphological internalization

The origin of the Old Irish oblique relative conjunct particle -(s)aN-

| University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)

This paper deals with the creation of the Old Irish oblique relative conjunct particle -(s)aN- (e.g., dianepir “for which he says” = do-(s)aN-epir) as the outcome of the internalization of a demonstrative form used as a light head, which initially stood as a morphologically independent form. The initial step of this change was the grammaticalization of that demonstrative as the oblique element of a paradigm of relative-clause type forms in which the subject and object functions of the antecedent of the relative are also distinguished. Internalization is defined as an abrupt morphological change creating grammatical elements; its specific mechanism is the mirror image of externalization and must be distinguished from other morphological changes such as incorporation.

Keywords: Old Irish, verbal complex, relative clause, NPrel function, light head, morphological internalization and externalization, incorporation, morphophonological marker
Article outline
  • 1.General and specific goals and structure of the paper
  • 2.Old Irish and the definition of a morphological change
    • 2.1Old Irish and its contribution to the diachrony of complex morphological structures
    • 2.2Internalization in Old Irish
  • 3.The Old Irish oblique relative conjunct particle -(s)aN-
    • 3.1The notation -(s)aN-: Formal aspects of the particle
    • 3.2What is a ‘conjunct particle’ in Old Irish?
    • 3.3The particle -(s)aN- and other verbal complexes expressing relative-clause type
    • 3.4Interim summary
  • 4.The diachronic problem of the conjunct particle -(s)aN-
    • 4.1Old Irish cognates of the conjunct particle -(s)aN- and the notion of ‘light head’
    • 4.2Previous scholarship on the diachronic process leading to Old Irish -(s)aN -
  • 5.Internalization as a morphological change
    • 5.1Internalization and univerbation
    • 5.2Internalization and incorporation
    • 5.3Morphological externalization in the Old Irish verbal complex
    • 5.4Interim summary: Internalization as a morphological change
  • 6.Morphological internalization of the oblique relative independent conjunction *-(s)aN
    • 6.1Internalization of the oblique relative independent conjunction *-(s)aN
    • 6.2Favoring contexts for the internalization of *-(s)aN
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.16036.gar
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