Argument Structure in Huarpean Languages: Diachronic and Typological Explorations

Abstract

The following research describes argument marking in the Huarpean languages —Millcayac and Allentiac—, focusing on the determination of their marking locus and alignment type. With respect to the locus, several systems are observed coexisting in the synchronic stage described by Luis de Valdivia. In both languages, a split alignment is observed in flagging constructions, between nominative-accusative and neutral, and secundative and indirective alignments. In the indexing constructions, a nominative-accusative alignment and one of secundative type are recognized. Finally, regarding the diachronic process, we propose that the Huarpean languages might have exhibited a predominance of marking through flagging, and that they would have gradually incorporated argument indexing construc-tions at the time they were documented by Valdivia, possibly as a result of the influence of surrounding Andean languages, especially Quechua. In fact, from this language, they would have received the case marker -ta and the object morpheme pu-.