Abstract
Switch reference systems occur in a number of languages spoken in a contiguous area in western South America, across language families, and even across macro culture areas (Andes and Amazon). At first sight, this is suggestive of contact-induced diffusion, but the different systems show rather a lot of variation. This paper gives an overview of the switch-reference structures found in Western South America, taking a multi-variate approach to the phenomenon. In addition, it discusses the likelihood of horizontal and vertical transmission hypotheses to explain the current distribution of switch reference in South America.
Van Gijn, Rik