Negative correlative coordination in Indo-European: emergence, evolution and variability

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the emergence, evolution and variability of negative correlative coordination ( ncc ) constructions in Indo-European, such as Armenian očʻ A ( ew ) očʻ B and Hindi nə A nə B. A new definition of ncc is put forward that takes into account the construction’s semantic and pragmatic properties, and this clause linkage strategy is analyzed in a sample of 240 historical and present-day doculects. It is argued that ncc constructions emerged in the proto-language by analogy with positive correlative conjunctions like Latin A- que B- que . The relationship between positive and negative correlative conjunctions is argued to be due to the fact that both constitute a system of question and response. Furthermore, a cyclic change is identified by which ncc markers bleach through frequent use and are regularly reinforced and renovated. A number of paths of renewal are identified, which are used to explain the variation of ncc constructions observed across the Indo-European family.