11 Applicatives in Macro-Tani languages (Trans-Himalayan, Eastern Himalaya): Forms, functions and historical origins

This chapter discusses applicative constructions in Macro-Tani, a small group of Trans-Himalayan languages spoken in northeastern India and Tibet. We first present a background discussion of Macro-Tani grammatical relations and predicate structures. We then outline some basic properties of Macro-Tani applicatives, focusing more closely on less-commonly identified applicative properties. We find that: (a) there is no “promotional” relationship between base and applied phrases in Macro-Tani languages; Macro-Tani applicatives do not function to “promote” an oblique to core argument status, but instead add an argument which in most cases could not otherwise be expressed in the clause at all. (b) While Macro-Tani applicatives principally add grammatical (indirect) Objects, some applicatives add oblique phrases such as Goals and Instruments. (c) Macro- Tani applicatives form an unusually large class (at least dozens), and include semantically rich and typologically rare functions such as “Territive” (addition of an object that is “shocked” as a result of the predicate) and “Eruditive” (an object that is “educated” or “shown how” by means of the predicate). (d) Macro-Tani applicatives are closely aligned to Macro-Tani causatives, and could be argued to constitute a single formal and functional class. The chapter closes with our reconstruction of the origin of Macro-Tani applicatives via morphologization of an earlier serial verb construction.