Making do without prepositions: Exploring serial verb and applicative shared functions in Central Salish

Abstract

This paper explores the shared functions of applicatives and serial verb constructions (SVCs) in Central Salish languages. As a language family, Salish languages generally have small inventories of prepositions and two to six applicative suffixes. The link between prepositions and applicatives has been noted in the broader linguistic literature for some time (e.g., Baker 1988a; 1988b; Mithun 2001). The first shared function of applicatives and SVCs is to add goal or purpose to motion constructions, and I compare the directional applicative suffix -nəs with the directional coverb nem̓ ‘go’. The second shared function is participant reference management, and I examine how transfer of possession is alternatively encoded by the dative applicative suffix -as and directional verbs. Thus, Central Salish applicatives and SVCs function as tools in multiple overlapping systems including the expression of directional and spatial meanings and participant reference management.