In search for antipassive in Amguema Chukchi

The article focuses on antipassive derivation in Amguema Chukchi. Antipassive in Chukchi can be formed by means of two affixes: the prefix ine- / ena- forms a pure antipassive and the suffix -tku / -tko combines antipassive and iterative functions. The former is described in literature for some varieties of Chukchi as a highly productive derivation; the latter is reported to be lexically restricted. In Amguema Chukchi, the antipassive formed by the prefix ine- / ena- is almost lost. It is not found in finite clauses with the exception of one lexeme and is more restricted in non-finite constructions, compared to other Chukchi varieties. The -tku / -tko-derivation, on the other hand, is preserved in the Amguema dialect.

The paper describes the diachronic development of antipassive derivations. As a result of the generalization process, both of them became a part of the Chukchi agreement paradigm, namely, the inverse agreement markers in some forms with a possible further grammaticalization into a person marker. Both antipassives undergo lexicalization to some extent but behave differently with respect to it. Forms with antipassive-iterative -tku / -tko often show a shift of meaning, leading to the emergence of a non-compositional complex with the suffix. The ine- / ena-derivation does not show lexicalization of this kind. On the other hand, generally gone, it leaves the lexeme enarerək ‘search for’ with ine- / ena- prefix that still exhibits some properties of the antipassivized form. In the paper, this lexeme is described in detail, revealing that both the antipassivized variant and the stem show peculiar behavior. We suggest a diachronic scenario that explains the preservation of this form in Amguema Chukchi. It includes a series of phonological changes in the stem in combination with the preceding prefix or an incorporated noun.