Historical Linguistics 2019

In many languages, one morpheme functions both as a causative and as an applicative. Researchers such as Croft (1991) and Tuggy (1988) have noted the conceptual similarities between these functions, but the origins and conceptual mechanisms of change which cross-linguistically lead towards such polysemies have not been studied. This study investigates 88 languages, in which 11 polysemous causative-applicative morphemes were found. Extensions from etymological applicatives towards a causative fun