The role of negation in the grammaticalization of ability verbs

Abstract This paper investigates the role of negation in grammaticalization in Iquito, an endangered Zaparoan language of the Peruvian Amazon. Iquito has a verb,pajɨɨni, which has undergone two paths of grammaticalization only in negated clauses. First,pajɨɨnihas grammaticalized from “learn” to “be able to.” Subsequently, it is undergoing grammaticalization from an ability verb to a future auxiliary. Given that ability verbs are an uncommon source for future auxiliaries ( Bybee et al. 1994 ), this study provides a detailed case study of this rare path. Our analysis of Iquito demonstrates that grammaticalization paths are not limited to affirmative contexts and may behave differently depending on the polarity of the utterance.