On the Egyptian-Coptic refunctionalization of the construct state

The Egyptian-Coptic refunctionalization of the construct state – whereby an original genitival construction turned into an accusatival one – is notable for at least two reasons: the first is that its occurrence required a not so small set of conspiring changes, the second is that the path linking its source to its outcome passed through the entire diachrony of Egyptian-Coptic and contributed to orienting its typological evolution. The present paper has the limited aim of providing a synthetic account of this language change, which consists of a series of already described facts, and of highlighting its structural mechanics.