Bipartite structure

[Jess Tauber]

Hi, folks. Happy 2002. Just bubbling up from lurker status to ask whether
anyone has any ideas about the historical origins of the Siouan instrument
and location affixes. I'm researching the phenomenon of bipartite structure
generally. Most languages which exhibit such constructions have the lexical
root interposed between the instrument/bodypart and location/pathway terms.
In Native American languages generally the instr. comes first, while in the
Old World those languages which show fossilized remnants (such as Kartvelian,
even PIE) the instr. is suffixal after the main lexical root.

I'm wondering whether Siouan represents some sort of transitional phase,
given that the instr. is prefixing and the loc. terms are so broad and few in
number and also come immediately before the lexical root (so perhaps are the
last gasps of an older system).

Has anyone on the list given any thoughts to the origins of the current state
of affairs in Siouan? I'm hoping to find out as much as I can before I start
setting my crosslinguistic findings to paper. Thanks in advance.

Best wishes for a happy and peaceful new year,
Jess Tauber
zylogy at aol.com