Preverbal Determiners and the Passive in Moriori

Abstract

This paper examines the curious occurrence of preverbal determiners in Moriori (Chatham Islands), which are best analyzed as passive markers. In some Moriori sentences, a determiner is found following the clause-initial tense/aspect particle and preceding the verb. Examining the morphological markings of the arguments in these sentences shows that the verb is in the passive form, though without the usual -Cia passive suffix. This paper demonstrates that preverbal determiners mark a passive verb, and are in complementary distribution with the standard passive suffix. Previous analyses for preverbal determiners, including being part of continuous aspect particle or introducing a nominalized verb, are ruled out. Preverbal determiners which identify a verb as passive are not found in any other Polynesian language, making this construction unique.