The evolution of the Mawes Aas’e (Omotic-Mao) pronouns: evidence for Omotic Lineage

Abstract Omotic-Mao pronouns have been deeply problematic for reconstruction, leading some scholars to suggest the forms are the result of borrowing or interference. This paper explores new evidence from the participant-reference systems in the four Mao languages (Mawes Aas’e, Ganza, Seezo, and Hoozo) to show that the Mawes Aas’e pronouns, which are the most divergent of the group, are likely the result of complex internal developments. Developments include the innovation of a dual opposition from an inclusive/exclusive distinction, fusion of reduced subject-marking enclitics with their most frequent host (an affirmative marker), the formation of new free pronouns on the basis of these host + enclitic fusions with additional, augmenting morphology to mark number, and the grammaticalization of new 3rd person pronouns from a demonstrative base with number suffixes. Evidence is both internal and comparative and supports an Omotic classification for these languages.