The grammaticalization of verbs in particles in the Guajá language and its relation to omnipredicativity

Abstract

In this article, I intend to show that, despite the great inconsistency in formal terms and heterogeneity in functional terms that characterizes description of particle class by different authors, in Guajá particles can be differentiated from other classes of words in this language, and that the origin of some of these particles can be attributed to different processes of grammaticalization from lexical verbs. Here we focus on the directional and positional particles and the projective aspectual particle in the Guajá language, explaining its origin and relating the analyzed phenomena to the loss/maintenance of the omnipredicative typology of the language.

Keywords
Grammaticalization; Particles; Guajá; Tupí-Guaraní Family; Omnipredicativity