Possessive inflection in Proto-Zamucoan: a reconstruction

This paper presents a comparative analysis of possessive inflection in the three known Zamucoan languages: Ayoreo and Chamacoco \u2013 still spoken in the Chaco area between Bolivia and Paraguay \u2013 plus \u2020Old Zamuco, described by the Jesuit father Ignace Chom\ue9 in the first half of the 18th century. The comparison allows us to build a plausible reconstruction of Proto-Zamucoan possessive inflection. Old Zamuco appears to be the most conservative language among the three, while Chamacoco appears to be the most innovative, although it exhibits relics of special importance for reconstructive purposes. Our analysis identifies in Zamucoan a series of features of general interest for the typology of person marking