Affirmative markers: A cross-linguistic study of overspecification

Abstract

Based on a worldwide sample of 604 languages from 179 families, this study shows that affirmative markers, the functional opposite of standard negators, are highly infrequent and possibly ‘rara.’ This confirms previous impressionistic claims. Nine languages with one affirmative marker each were found. Their geographical distribution (a major cluster in eastern Africa), exponence (five of the nine markers are prefixes), and possible diachronic emergence are discussed. The existence of affirmative markers is explained against the background of ‘overspecification,’ operationalized here as the combination of a high degree of verbal synthesis and a low number of zero markers throughout the system. Languages with affirmative markers generally have a large number of morphological categories/slots and also show a tendency to overtly mark other meanings often zero-marked cross-linguistically (e.g., nominative, present tense, third person). The results suggest that some languages prefer explicitness to economy, which informs different aspects of typology.