Dynamism and Change in the Possessive Classifier System of Iaai

Oceanic languages are well known for having rich systems of possessive classifiers occurring in indirect possessive constructions. This paper aims at analyzing the dynamism and change displayed in the possessive classifier system of Iaai, one of the twenty-eight Kanak languages spoken in New Caledonia. The study compares modern first-hand data with data and analysis from the reference grammar of Iaai written by Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre. The main purpose of the study is to compare speakers' possessive classifier repertoires and to identify sociolinguistic criteria (age; type of speaker; linguistic biography; and so on) that could explain any differences between them. Losses and accommodations within the modern system are studied in terms of linguistic changes (obsolescence versus resilience) combining real-time and apparent-time approaches.