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Shiwilu (Kawapanan, Peru) exhibits a prolific applicative system that comprises seven constructions involving distinct affixes. The present article offers the first account of this feature. In so doing, it seeks to expand our typological knowledge of linguistic systems with multiple applicative constructions and shed light onto the ways applicative constructions relate to word derivation.
The suffix -tu is particularly intriguing. It modifies the verb valency by either adding or suppressing an object, depending on the base to which it attaches. Comparable affixes that perform these seemingly opposite functions are found in other languages of the world (see instances of applicative / antipassive polysemy, Malchukov, ms.). What makes Shiwilu special is that -tu is also required in certain types of applicative constructions simultaneously to the dedicated applicative. This double derivation strategy has not been reported for other languages of the region and is unattested in Shawi, Shiwilu’s only sister language.
