Registration Versus Applicative Constructions in Acazulco Otomi

Abstract

Applicative and registration constructions (Norman 1978, Aissen 1990, and Zavala 2000) have very similar forms and discourse functions. Registration constructions index—or cross-reference—an extra-thematic (i.e., non-core, non-term, peripheral) participant on the verb under certain discourse conditions, namely, extraction, focalization, or discourse continuity of said extra-thematic participant. They sometimes change the semantic role of the extra-thematic participant in the clause. Unlike applicatives, registration constructions do not promote the indexed participant, as it does not acquire Object morphosyntactic properties. Promotion is a core property of applicative constructions. Therefore, registration constructions have been neglected in typological accounts of applicatives, as they fail to promote the phrases they refer to. Closer inspection of the discourse functions of registration, like the one presented in this paper with data from Otomi (Otomanguean, Otopamean), suggests the existence of a larger family of constructions containing both applicative constructions and registration constructions. This would allow a wider, more comprehensive view of both phenomena.