Contact-Induced Usages of Volitional Moods in East Caucasian Languages

Nina Dobrushina ()
Additional contact information
Nina Dobrushina: National Research University Higher School of Economics

HSE Working papers from National Research University Higher School of Economics

Abstract: • Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions; The aim of this article is to test the hypothesis that the uses of volitional forms (e.g. optative, imperative, hortative and jussive) in subordinate clauses, in particular in complement clauses of the verbs of ‘wish’ and in purpose clauses, in East Caucasian languages evolves under the influence of Azerbaijanian (Turkic). • Design/Methodology/Approach and Data and Analysis The data of thirteen languages spoken in Daghestan and Azerbaijan are considered in the paper. To prove that shared features are contact-induced rather than co-inherited, two control languages are included in the sample: Archi, which belongs to the same genetic group as the languages which use volitionals in subordinate clauses (Lezgic), but is exposed to Azerbaijanian to a much lesser extent, and Axaxd?r? Akhvakh, which belongs to another group, but whose contacts with Azerbaijani are strong due to recent migration. • Findings/Conclusions A survey shows that volitionals are used in subordinate clauses most extensively in those languages whose speakers show a high level of bilingualism in Azerbaijanian, and where the contact has been longer. I also show that there is a hierarchy of borrowability of subordinate constructions involving volitionals. • Originality Although the consequences of the influence of Turkic languages on the languages of the Caucasus in the domain of syntax have been previously discussed, the usage of volitionals in subordinate clauses was not. • Significance/Implications It is usually acknowledged that social factors play an important role in shaping the linguistic consequences of language contact. However, evidence of the correspondence between social factors and structural outcomes of language contact is still very scarce. The relevance of two social factors is shown in this paper: the ratio of bilingual speakers and the duration of contact. • Limitations The hierarchy of borrowability of the considered constructions remains essentially unexplained. I advance the hypothesis that connects the borrowability of particular constructions to their typological frequency, but the typology of subordinate uses of volitionals is well enough investigated to make final conclusions.

Keywords: language contact; bilingualism; syntactic borrowing; volitionals; imperative; optative; purpose clause; complement clause; East Caucasian languages; Turkic languages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2016
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Published in WP BRP Series: Linguistics / LNG, February 2016, pages 1-31

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.hse.ru/data/2016/02/03/1137668814/42LNG2016.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hig:wpaper:42/lng/2016

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in HSE Working papers from National Research University Higher School of Economics
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Shamil Abdulaev () and Shamil Abdulaev ().