Inheritance, borrowing and genderlect in Zamucoan interjections, with a focus on Chamacoco

This chapter examines interjections in the three Zamucoan languages (Old Zamuco, Ayoreo and Chamacoco). I identify and compare all interjections documented in the relevant literature and during my fieldwork, and I discuss possible ambiguities between interjections and other word classes. The focus is on the diachrony of Zamucoan interjections: while some can be shown to stem directly from the proto-language, in other cases it is possible to reconstruct their pathways of grammaticalization. Certain interjections result from language contact, and pattern borrowing may be linked to genderlect marking on specific interjections, a feature not attributable to inheritance but still associated with the preservation of some Proto-Zamucoan morphemes.