Kam pronouns: synchrony and diachronic hypotheses

This paper presents the pronominal system of Kam (Nigeria, ISO 639-3: kdx) within the broader context of Niger-Congo languages. It presents two key contributions: (1) a refined analysis of animacy distinctions in Kam's third-person singular pronouns, and (2) the first explicit comparative study of Kam's pronouns in relation to other Niger-Congo languages. The findings provide new evidence supporting Kam's classification within Niger-Congo. The study also identifies a distinctive third-person plural pronoun (í), which may reflect a shared innovation with neighboring languages like Mumuyic and Yendangic, raising questions about Kam’s areal and genealogical relationships. Additionally, Kam’s pronominal system exhibits features common in the Macro-Sudan Belt, such as logophoric pronouns and subject-tense-aspect-mood-polarity (STAMP) morphs. The paper argues that while Kam lacks a traditional noun class system, its pronominal animacy distinctions recall patterns found in some Ubangi languages further eastwards.