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Southern Min
Glottocode: minn1241
Genalogical classification: Sino-Tibetan
Original alignment pattern: Neuter
Source construction: Ditransitive constructions 'X did something for Y', with the beneficiary marked by the dative/beneficiary marker cang, as in (1).
Developmental mechanism: The beneficiary is reinterpreted as a P argument (e.g. 'performs baptism for the people' > 'baptizes the people'), leading to the dative/benefactive marker cang evolving into a marker for P arguments, that is, kā in (2).
Resulting construction: Transitive constructions with overtly marked P arguments, as in (2).
Type of change: Reinterpretation of argument structure
Alignment in the resulting construction: Nominative-Accusative
Global alignment pattern following the change: Nominative-Accusative
Grammatical domains: Case marking
Symmetry: Asymmetric
Type of data: Internal reconstruction
References: Chappell, Peyraube & Wu 2011, Chappell 2013
Comments:
The beneficiary marker cang is the result of the grammaticalization of a lexical verb meaning 'gather' first into a comitative marker 'with' and then into a dative/beneficiary marker 'to/for' (Chappell, Peyraube & Wu 2011, Chappell 2013).
Examples
(1) Southern Min (Sino-Tibetan; Chappell, Peyraube & Wu 2011:324)
| (Baptismo) | si | Pare | cang | lang | liam | chui |
| baptism | be | padre | BEN | person | baptize | water |
‘Baptism is when the priest performs baptism for the people.’ (Doctrina christiana in letra y lengua china 6b, 1607)
(2) Southern Min (Sino-Tibetan; Chappell 2013:796)
| a | lì | kā | lì | ê | khuì-lat | lóng | iòng-khì | a |
| PRT | 2SG | ACC | 2SG | GEN | strength | all | use-DIR | PRT |
‘You used up all of your strength.’