[Lingtyp] Evaluative morphology expressing "authenticity/prototypicality"

[Christian Lehmann]

Dear Francesca,

Cabecar (Chibchan) has a a formative /sí̱/ with a twofold distribution:

a) As a derivational suffix on nouns, it means 'authentic', 'prototypical':

 1.

    a. chíchi-sí̱

dog-auth

‘authentic dog’

b. ju-sí̱

house-auth

‘authentic/real/legitimate house (i.e. traditional Cabecar house)’

b) As an enclitic on adjectives, it means 'comparatively':

 1.

    a. báá=sí̱

nice=cmpr

‘comparatively/truly nice’

b. daláá=sí̱

yellow=cmpr

‘genuinely yellow’

It fulfills this latter function in comparative constructions, too.

Best, Christian

-- 

Prof. em. Dr. Christian Lehmann
Rudolfstr. 4
99092 Erfurt
Deutschland

Tel.: 	+49/361/2113417
E-Post: 	christianw_lehmann at arcor.de
Web: 	https://www.christianlehmann.eu
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