Functional Extension vs. Grammaticalization: A Typological Study of Modification Markers in Formosan Nominals

It is proposed in this paper that the internal structure of proto-Formosan nominals may have undergone a historical development from juxtaposed to nonjuxtaposed type of syntactic structure, in which two distinct ways of juxtaposition DP-DP*, without juxtaposition of the functional projection of case, and KP-KP*, with juxtaposition of the functional projection of case, may have been involved. In the historical processes of using subordination and case markers as modification markers for Formosan non-juxtaposed nominal structures, the recursive DP-DP* pattern may have been accessible to all kinds of Formosan languages and, via functional extension, may have given rise to the appearance of subordinator-marked modifiers, in which no adverbial/complement or coordination relation is still obtained in synchronic syntax. With the recursive KP-KP* pattern, which may have been accessible only to intrinsically case-inflected Formosan languages, case-marked modifiers may also have appeared via grammaticalization, in which case markers no longer express grammatical function and referential specification. In addition, five other relevant historical processes may also be observed in Formosan languages. (a) Case and coordination markers may have been developed first into subordination markers in clauses and then into modification markers in nominals. (b) Modification markers may have been associated first with relativization type of modifiers and then with non-relativization type of modifiers. (c) An intrinsic case inflection of nominal modification expressions may have taken place. (d) An SVO word order change may have taken place. And (e) an interpretational processing requirement may have taken place.