A typology of relative and possessive constructions in Oromo

Syncretism, grammaticalization, and word order

Abstract

This study is a description, analysis, and contextualization of relative clauses and adnominal possessive constructions in the Cushitic language Oromo (Afaan Oromoo) spoken in Ethiopia, which are of interest for language typology. First, SOV order is combined with postnominal possessors, which is only attested in a few languages, such as Kurdish. Second, both relative clauses and adnominal possessive constructions involve the uninflected particle kan, which represents a relatively rare conflation pattern. The study shows that the first feature is inherited and can be observed in many other Lowland East Cushitic languages. The particle kan represents a recent grammaticalization from the demonstrative kana ‘this’. The study argues that a weak morphosyntactic differentiation between relative clauses and adnominal possession is a likely source of both the emergence and, in the case of Oromo, the retention of cross-linguistically rare word order patterns. A parallel can be found in East Asian languages such as Mandarin, which exhibit an even rarer and complementary combination of (S)VO order with prenominal relative clauses and also show syncretism of relative and genitive markers.