Participles and converbs in Dargwa Oleg Belyaev (Institute of Linguistics, RAS)
[email protected] Oxford Philology Seminar December 2, 2014
1 Dargwa: An overview Dargwa belongs to the East Caucasian family and is spoken in Daghestan, North Caucasus, Russia. Number of speakers: around 500 000 (second largest ethnic group in Daghestan). Artificially lumped into a single language in the Soviet period. Varieties not mutually intelligible, no writing except Standard Dargwa. Lexicostatistical counts show a divergence date around AD 1 (Yuri Koryakov, p.c.). Ergative alignment. Mostly SOV, but generally free, non-configurational word order. A multitude of spatial cases and preverbs. A very extensive TAM system. There are basically just two references in English: N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov (2003) on Icari, which is very good, and Berg (2001) on Akusha (Standard Dargwa), which is mostly a collection of interlinear text, but has a grammatical sketch too. But even in Russian, there are few in-depth studies of the “dialects”, and works on Standard Dargwa are often of little use due to the artificial nature of the language. Notable exceptions are Uslar” (1892), Magometov (1963), and Magometov (1982)
2 The verb stems and the structure of the paradigm The majority of verbs in Dargwa have two stems, the perfective stem and the imperfective stem: (1)
pfv. -arqʼ pfv. ag pfv. -erkʷ
ipfv. -irqʼ ‘to do’ ptcp. ant. -arqʼ-ib ipfv. arg ‘to go’ ptcp. ant. ag-ur ipfv. -ukʷ ‘to eat’ ptcp. ant. -erk-un
ptcp. sim. -irqʼ-u ptcp. sim. arg-u ptcp. sim. -uk-un
Generally, their semantics is what one would expect from these categories, although they are in a complex relationship with the TAM and participle suffixes: in many, if not most, cases a suffix can attach to only one of the stems (thus the stem is morphomic, as it were). Inflection classes (“idealized”, not actually attested anywhere in this exact form): ant. ptcp. sim. ptcp. 3rd pers. hab. 3rd pers. pret. -ib inflection -ib -u -ar -aj -ub inflection -ub -u -ar -aj -ur inflection -ur -u -ar -iri -un inflection -un -un -an -ini This is clearly not the original system. Apparently, the consonant in the anterior participle of -u* inflections was somehow part of the original stem, perhaps as some sort of aspectual suffix — thus it springs up in other forms too. 1
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
But in general, the prehistory of the Dargwa verbal paradigm is shrouded in mystery, and there is not much that can be said at this point. The structure of the verbal form: -3 -2 (-1) 0 (+1) (+2) locative preverb directional preverb gender
stem
{gu-r}sub-el
ax -u go.ipfv sim
haup
wm
participle
converb -qːil cvb.temp
“thematic” vowel person-number -a pret
-d-i 1-pl
‘when going / I went upwards from underneath’
3 Participles 3.1
Anterior and simultaneous (“past” and “present”) participles
Derived from the past stem via one of the four suffixes listed above. Functions as the verb of the relative clause: (2)
Shiri [ ] du-dil __ arc b-ikː-ib(-zi-w) adami money n-give.pfv-ant(-attr-m) man I-erg ‘The man I gave money to.’
Essentially, a typical “prenominal gap strategy”. Can relativize virtually any position: (3)
Shiri: locative [ ] nusːa d-uk-un-žu-d ustul-la xar-re-d d-a̰ qˁil tʼul-la we 1pl-eat.ipfv-sim-attr.pl-1pl table-gen under-in-npl[ess] npl-many bread-gen puqluq-i d-irχʷ-ar crumb-pl npl-be.ipfv-hab.3 ‘There are often many breadcrumbs under the table (at which) we eat.’
(4)
Shiri: possessor [ činar-ri-cːi-w ʕär-irχ-u-l ca⟨w⟩i ši-li-cːi-b-zi-b Chinar-obl-inter-m[ess] ] live-[m]be.ipfv-sim-cvb cop⟨m⟩ village-obl-inter-n-attr-n ilsan jurt ʁˁṵt-b-ig-ib-zi-b house destroyed-n-sit.pfv-ant-attr-n man ‘In Chinar lives a man (whose) house in Shiri was destroyed.’
In some cases there is even no syntactic position within the dependent clause with which the gap can be reasonably identified: (5)
Tanti [ ] χalqʼ-li d-aqal arc d-irqʼ-u-se administracija-lla bekʼ people-erg npl-many money npl-делать.ipfv-sim-attr administration-gen head uqe uсː-ar a_long_time [m]work.ipfv-prs.3 ‘The head of administration (under whom) people earn a lot will work for a long time.’ (N. Sumbatova and Lander, forthcoming)
Some dialects allow an optional resumptive (a reflexive pronoun) to be used: 2
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
(6)
Shiri: adjunct [ ] w-ižikʼa zamana du cini-cːi-la ħa̰ z-t-a-d w-irqʼ-u-zi-w gali na I self-inter-com game-pl-obl-erg m-do.ipfv-sim-attr-m boy now m-small time prezident ag-ur-ri ca⟨w⟩i president go.pfv-ant-cvb cop⟨m⟩ ‘The boy with whom I played in childhood has now become president.’
(7)
Tanti: dependent clause argument [[ ] ] sun-ni ekzamʲen ʕa̰ -lukː-a ible dam han-b-irk-u-se rursi neg-give.ipfv-prs.3 cit me.dat think-n-lv.ipfv-sim-attr girl self-erg exam ‘the girl who I think will not pass the exam’ (N. Sumbatova and Lander, forthcoming)
(8)
Tanti: conjunct of coordination ʡa̰ ħmad-li=ra sun-ni=ra mura d-ertː-ib admi dila χːutːu sa-j A.-erg=add self-erg=add hay npl-mow.pfv-ant person me-gen father_in_law cop-m ‘The man with whom Ahmad has mown hay (lit. Ahmad and who mowed hay) is my fatherin-law.’ (ibid.)
There are no constraints on the resumptive except for Icari, where it cannot represent the S argument: [ ] (9) sːa (* ca-w) sa̰ːʁ-ib(-ci) admi di-la ucːi ca-w yesterday self-m hither:reach.pfv-ant(-attr) person me-gen brother cop-m ‘The man (who) came yesterday is my brother.’ (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003, p. 186) When the participle is unmarked, it can only appear prenominally, but if it is marked by the attributive suffix, it can also be postnominal: (10)
Ashti [ ] a. patʼimat aj-j-iːχ-u(-zi-b) šːi live-f-be.ipfv-sim(-attr-n) village F. ␣ (] [ b. šːi patʼimat aj-j-iːχ-u-zi-b / * aj-j-iχ-u ‘the village where Fatima lives’
Semantically, the attributive form of the participle has to be restrictive, while the unmarked form can be appositive: (11)
Ashti ␣ (] [ ʡṵlħ-ṵn-zi-w / je atː-ij sa̰ -qʼˁ-ṵn * ʡṵlħ-ṵn rasul DemDist thee-dat hither-come.pfv-ant [m]see.pfv-ant-attr-m R. k-icː-ipːi down-stand.pfv-prf[3] ‘Here stands Rasul, (whom) you saw come.’
The participles are used with relational nouns to encode certain adverbial relations: (12)
Qunqi [ ] murad-li žuz q’ap-b-arq’-ib zamana {čʷe-r}-kejsː-un {manu-el}-down:m:lie.pfv-ant[3] M.-erg book closed-n-do.pfv-ant time ‘When Murad closed the book, he fell asleep.’ 3
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa (13)
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
Shiri [ ] ʡa̰ li-dil ha-ʔ-ib da̰ʡ-li rasul-li b-irqʼ-an-ni A.-erg up-say.pfv-ant way-adv R.-erg n-do.ipfv-pot-cvb[3] ‘Rasul will do as Ali said.’
Comparison with adjectives Adjectives behave exactly the same with respect to attributive markers: (14)
Icari ␣ ( dam agʷa itʼin-ci / * itʼin b-ikː-u-l=da me.super[lat] dress red-attr n-want.ipfv-sim-cvb=1 ‘I want a red dress.’ (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003, p. 163)
(15)
Icari dam itʼin-ci (agʷa) b-ikː-u-l=da me.super[lat] red-attr dress n-want.ipfv-sim-cvb=1 ‘I want a red one / a red dress.’ (ibid., p. 49)
There is also an “emphatic” restrictivity marker -il which necessarily denotes the choice of an element from a salient set: (16)
Ashti damm-ij ʡṵlħ-ṵn=da w-ax-u-jil admi me-dat [m]see.pfv-prf=1 m-go.ipfv-sim-restr person ‘I saw the person (who) was leaving (as opposed to other people).’
There is certain evidence that suggests that the internal structure of adjectival phrases also parallels that of clauses. The data are due to Yury Lander (p.c.). First, the adjective may have its own adverbial modifiers: (17)
Tanti ] [ haq-le qʼuʁa-se dubur high-adv beautiful-attr mountain ‘a mountain, beautiful because it is high’
Second, the adjective may have its own resumptive absolutive subject: [ ] (18) sa-j kep-se admi-li juldaš quli uč-ib self-m drunk-attr person-erg friend house.in[lat] lead.pfv-ant[3] ‘A man who is drunk himself led his friend home.’ Third, the adjective may have its own subject, expressed by a full NP, which is not coreferent with its head: ] [ murgl-a-сːe-le uсː-u-l=da (19) du хːun-re qʼuʁa I woman-pl beautiful man-pl:obl-com [m]work.ipfv-sim-cvb=1 ‘I worked with men[who had beautiful ] wives.’ (lit. ‘I worked with wife beautiful men’) [ ] (20) (sun-na) ʕṵl-be хːanсʼ-se rursːi self-gen eye-pl blue-attr girl ‘blue-eyed girl’ 4
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
Exceptions Icari, apparently, has no simultaneous participle (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003). It does have a simultaneous converb, which is formed in a completely irregular way (see below). In Kubachi and Ashti, the number of inflection classes is reduced, and there are only two preterite participle suffixes left: -ib and -un (all non -un classes have been unified). However, vestiges of the -ur inflection still remain in Kubachi, such as the 3rd person preterit ending -ij ( b-arqʼ-ib-li ag-ur > ag-ur-ri / ag-ul-li w-ax-u > w-ax-u-l(i) ʡṵqʼˁ-ṵn > ʡṵqʼˁ-ṵn-ni Converbs are extensively used in clause chaining and costitute the only productive way of coordinating clauses: 5
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
(24)
Icari naː … ikʼi-la tːatːi šːa-w-al ag-ul-li … ča b-ikʼʷ-an=ni now that.above-gen father village.in-m-dir go.pfv-ant-cvb who n-say.ipfv-pot=q iti-j … χan w-alli le-w il-tː-a-cːi-lli, diči-w w-alli that-dat Kh. m-with is-m this-pl-obl-inter-com pasture-m[ess] m-with w-at-ul-li ag-ur ca-w naː m-leave.pfv-ant-cvb go.pfv-ant cop-m now ‘(The boy’s) father went away to the village, (and the boy) … what was his name?.. Khan … Khan was with them … so, (his father) went away (and) left (the son) herding with (Mother Hadiža).’ (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003, p. 215)
(25)
Qunqi tilipun {gu-r}-he-d-ertː-ib ca⟨d⟩i ʔ-ib-ce χalum-ʡṵma̰ r telephone {sub-el}-up-npl-tear.pfv-ant cop⟨npl⟩ say.pfv-ant-attr Kh.-U. ʔ-ib-le, χalum-ʡṵma̰ r eštʼe-la pːartːurg elʁ-un ca⟨w⟩i, say.pfv-ant-cvb Kh.-U. Ashti-gen party.organizer remain.pfv-ant cop⟨m⟩ ag-ul-le iχe-šːa, b-aχː-ib-iq-ib-le iš-t-a-d, go.pfv-ant-cvb that.below-apud[lat] n-know.pfv-ant-caus-ant-cvb this-pl-obl-erg χabar-b-arqʼ-ib-le, iχe-li χʷala-ce ʡa̰ jib=ra b-arqʼ-ib ca⟨b⟩i news-n-do.pfv-ant-cvb that.below-erg big-attr shame=add n-do.pfv-ant cop⟨n⟩ nišːa-la qʼinqʼan-te-j we-gen Qunqi.inhabitant-pl-dat ‘(The person) named Khalum-Umar, who said that the telephone connection was cut off, Khalum-Umar was the party organizer in Ashti, they went to him, let him know, told him the news, and he shamed our Qunqi people a lot.’ (lit. ‘Telephone cut off saying Khalom Umar having said, Khalum-Umar was the party organizer of Ashti, them having gone, having let him know and having told him the news, he shamed our Qunqi people a lot.’) (spoken text)
There is no same-subject requirement: (26)
Shiri [ ] du-dil ʡa̰ ki b-arqʼ-ib-li , ʡa̰ li sa̰ qʼˁ-ṵn-ni caxwyi I-erg work n-do.pfv-ant-cvb Ali hither:go.pfv-ant-cvb copxmy ‘I finished my work and Ali came.’
The temporal reference of the converb is generally fully determined by that of the main clause: perfective converbs are anterior, imperfective converbs are simultaneous. This is nicely illustrated by the following example, where the converb is embedded within an infinitival clause, and the temporal reference is dependent on infinitive: (27)
Shiri [[ ] ] ci=kʼal hel-itːi ka-b-ig-ib-li iχtilat-b-ikʼʷ-iž what=indef DemMed-mnr down-hpl-sit.pfv-ant-cvb speech-hpl-say.ipfv-inf sa-b-ax-i cʼa-li-sa fire-obl-ante[lat] hither-hpl-go.ipfv-pret.3 ‘They came visiting in order to speak while sitting down.’ (Shiri_14_08_2012_OB_001)
6
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
Icari also forms a so-called “subjunctive” converb in the same way, by attaching -li to the Subjunctive (= “conjugated infinitive” form). It seems to be used only predicaively: (28)
it bekʼʷ qːap čaqa-b-arqʼ-u-j-li ca-w that heavy sack lift-n-do.pfv-th-sbjv-cvb cop-m ‘He is now able (fit enough) to lift a heavy sack.’
This is similar to the “infinitival participle” that we saw above in Ashti. In Shiri the adverbial form of the infinitive, extended with the purpose marker -mat, expresses purpose: ] [ (29) du-dil qul-bi d-arqʼ-a-d-i gali ʕär-iχʷ-iž-li-mat di-la me-erg house-pl npl-do.pfv-pret-1-sg me-gen boy live-be.pfv-inf-cvb-purp ‘I built the house for my son to live.’ But this is never obligatory, a simple infinitive could be used just as well. Exceptions Icari has a unique imperfective converb ending -a-tːi, which is unlike anything else: (30)
Icari [ ] murad cula icː-a-tːi kejsː-un ca-w M. tooth ache.ipfv-sim-cvb down:m:lie.pfv-ant cop-m ‘Murad is lying down, because he has toothache.’ (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003, p. 118)
This converb, confusingly, is identical to the Synthetic Past 2nd person singular preterite (see below). Icari also has a “normal” imperfective converb, which is formed by attaching the converb suffix directly to the imperfective stem. The difference between the two is not clear: the -a-tːi converb is supposed to be progressive, but is in fact used in a wider range of contexts. In Ashti (but not in closely related Kubachi) a peculiar thing happened: the converbs “lost” the -li suffix and became indistinguishable from participles; thus this dialect has a single participle-converb form: (31)
Ashti rasul sa̰-qʼˁ-ṵn, ʡa̰ li w-id-až-i R. hither-go.pfv-ant[cvb] Ali m-thither-go.pfv-pret.3 ‘Rasul came, and Ali went.’
This has not happened due to some sound change, because the old converb forms, sometimes phonetically reduced (*-u-li > -u-l, *-ib-li > -ipːi) are still used in the Perfect.
4.2
Specialized converbs
There is a wide range of specialized converbs in Dargwa, denoting various adverbial relations. What follows is an incomplete list:
7
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
temporal immediate simultaneous anterior ‘since’ limitative concession comparison cause Some examples:
Icari sim/ant-qːilla ant-kat(la) sim-(h)eːr ant-le-hetːi ant-la
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
Qunqi sim/ant-qːalle ant-(h)er sim-na-r ant-le-hitːi
Ashti sim/ant-muːtil ant-maː-le sim-heː ant-tabeːli ant-hilaj ant-le-hilarka ant-ži-la ant-ti⟨b⟩alli sim/ant-xːar(=ra) sim/ant-xːaː
sim-satːi ant-bahandan
ant-maː
Shiri sim/ant-qːil ant-ma̰ ʡlal sim-her ant-letːi
ipfv-el sim/ant-xːar sim-sat ant-bahandan
(32)
Shiri [ ] sejʁ-el , xːunul-li ħṵlk-ni qil house.in[lat] hither:m:reach.pfv-cvb.lim wife-erg chudu-pl d-arqʼ-ib-li=di npl-do.pfv-ant-cvb=retr ‘By the time (I) came home, my wife had made chudu.’
(33)
Shiri [ ] nuxːa dubur-t-a-cːi aq ha-d-irχ-u-sat buχːar we.incl mountain-pl-obl-inter[lat] high up-1pl-become.ipfv-sim-compar cold b-irχ-u-l=di n-become.ipfv-sim-cvb=retr ‘The higher we got, the colder it became.’
(34)
Shiri pirdaus, χˁa̰ b cʼa-l d-ikʷ cin-na, rursi=ra ca⟨b⟩i=ra F. grave fire-erg npl-burn[opt.3] self-gen girl=add self⟨hpl⟩=add b-alχ-un-xːar ikʼʷ-ar, sa-qː-ib-li deqʼa hpl-feed.pfv-ant-conc [m]say.ipfv-hab.3 hither-bring.pfv-ant-cvb grain hitːi-ka-d-irxː-u-xːar=ra, garam ci=kʼal post[lat]-down-npl-put.ipfv-sim-conc=add gram what=indef ha-ta-lukː-ini ikʼʷ-ar atːa up-neg-give.ipfv-pret.3 [m]say.ipfv-hab.3 father ‘As for Ferdows, let fire burn her grave, my father said that, although they fed her with her daughter, although they brought her grain on their backs, she didn’t share a single gram.’ (spoken text)
The origin of these elements is different. Some are merely adverbials attached to simple converbs: Icari -le-hetːi ‘after’, Qunqi -le-hilarka ‘since’. Others are fossilized case forms: Ashti -hilaj ‘after’ < -hila-j (post-el). Still others are probably former relation nouns, as attested by their being able to be used with pronouns: Shiri it-qːil (that-cvb.temp) ‘at that time’. The Ashti ‘while’ marker -ti⟨b⟩alli is a fossilized converb from the existential verb. The -na-r forms are elative forms of the spatial “converb” in -na: (35)
Shiri [ ] du w-a̰ rqʼˁ-a̰ -d-i šešbeš-la b-irqʼ-na backgammon-gen n-do.ipfv-loc[lat] I m-go.pfv-pret-1-sg 8
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
‘I went to the place where they play backgammon.’ Gaps in the table may mean one of several things: • an analogous converb is unattested; • the meaning is expressed by a finite form (‘while’ in Ashti, conditional in Shiri); • the meaning is expressed by a relational noun with a relative clause; • there is no specialized way of expressing this meaning. All of these converb markers have different degrees of grammaticalization, and their status must be examined separately in each dialect. Thus the table is only for a very general and crude comparison.
5 Finite forms 5.1
Periphrastic forms
All periphrastic forms are based on either participles and converbs and employ the so-called clitic predicative markers (or the copula): sg pl 1 =da 2 =di 3 (ca⟨b⟩i) In the past tense, the predicative marker/copula has just one form, and it is =di (same as 2sg present). 5.1.1 Converb-based forms Perhaps the most widely used periphrastic forms are the present and the perfect/resultative (also evidential past), formed from the respective simple converbs (although in the 1st and 2nd persons the converb suffix is sometimes omitted): (36)
Shiri du-dil ʡa̰ ki b-irqʼ-u-l=da I-erg work n-do.ipfv-sim-cvb=1 ‘I am doing the work.’
(37)
Shiri du-dil ʡa̰ ki b-arqʼ-ib-li=da I-erg work n-do.pfv-ant-cvb=1 ‘I have done the work.’
If the copula is replaced with the past tense marker, the resultant meaning is past progressive (ipfv.) or pluperfect (pfv.): (38)
Shiri dubura-le-ka kat r-ax-u-her, patʼimat-li gʷa̰ gʷ-ni mountain-in-el down f-go-sim-cvb.sim F.-erg flower-pl d-ulcʼ-un=di npl-gather.ipfv-sim[cvb]=retr ‘While going down from the mountain, Patimat was gathering flowers.’
(39)
Shiri ukːi sa-w-q-un-qːil, murad rasul qil R. house[in]lat inside[lat] hither-m-enter.pfv-ant-cvb.temp M. haraq-ik-ib-li=di far-fall.pfv-ant-cvb=retr ‘When Rasul entered, Murad had already gone far away.’ 9
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
The “future” is formed by attaching the predicative markers to the potential converb. However, in most dialects, the converb marker itself only appears in the 3rd person (where the copula is not used); in the first and second persons, the predicative marker attaches directly to the participle. (birqʼij ‘to do’) sg pl 1 b-irqʼ-an=da 2 b-irqʼ-an=di 3 b-irqʼ-an-ni I use “future” in quotes, because this is not, strictly speaking, a future tense. It rather has a potential meaning. It is especially evident due to the fact that, together with the past tense predicative marker, it is used in the apodoses of counterfactual conditionals: (40)
Ashti aj di-la šːišːim-ala ag-aː-dil šin ʡa̰ ra̰ qʼ-i, di-la aʁ-la oh me-gen sorrow-pl.coll go.pfv-3-cond.irr water araq-pl me-gen age-gen gul-a-d-dil d-uč allaj d-učː-iq-an=di boy-pl:obl-obl-erg npl-drink.ipfv ptcl npl-drink.ipfv-caus-pot=retr ‘If my griefs were to become drops of brandy, I would have given them to drink to the lads of my age.’ (from a lyrical song)
Parallels with adjectives Again, we see a parallel with nominal predicates. The auxiliary used here is the same as the copula used with nominal and adjectival predicates. Adjectives in particular when used predicatively must bear either the attributive or the adverbial suffix; otherwise the interpretation is comparative: (41)
du muʡa̰ llim=da I teacher=1 ‘I am a teacher.’
The parallel is particulaly pronounced in Shiri, where adjectives must stand in a full attributive adverbial form in predicative position (an unmarked form leads to a comparative interpretation): (42)
murad ʡa̰ χˁ-li / ʡa̰ χˁ-si-w / # ʡa̰ χˁ caxwyi Murad good-adv good-attr-m good copxmy ‘Murad is good / # better.’
Moreover, we could even treat clause chaining as a single final predicative marker scoping over several converbal clauses: (43)
Qunqi [[ ] [ ] ] il=ra ha-ʔ-ib-le S ag-ur-le S ca⟨w⟩i IP this=add up-say.pfv-ant-cvb go-ant-cvb cop⟨m⟩ ‘He said this and went away.’ (spoken text)
All this, together with the facts above that adjectives in fact head clauses of their own, suggests that there is no fundamental difference between nominal and verbal predicates in Dargwa, at least as far as periphrastic verb forms are concerned. Exceptions Ashti, as stated above, has lost the distinction between participles and converbs, but retains the old converbal form in the perfect and present conjugations: 10
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
Present (birqʼij ‘to do’) sg pl 1 b-iːqʼ-ul=da 2 b-iːqʼ-ul=di 3 b-iːqʼ-ul Perfect (barqʼij ‘to do’) sg pl 1 b-aːqʼ-ipːi=da 2 b-aːqʼ-ipːi=di 3 b-aːqʼ-ipːi The divergence between these forms and the original converbs is made even more pronounced in this dialect due to the perfect being also formed from imperfective stems. In this case it has only the evidential function: (44)
ucːi-l kaʁaj-ti ka-d-iːž-ipːi selsawet-li brother-erg letter-pl down-npl-write.ipfv-prf[3] village.council-in[lat] ‘My brother was writing letters to the village council.’ (context: the speaker was talking to his brother by telephone, i.e. didn’t see him)
Icari uses the exceptional -a-tːi converb instead of the regular one for the present tense: burcij ‘to catch’ sg pl 1 b-urc-a-tːi=da, b-urc-a-tːa 2 b-urc-a-tːi=di 3 b-urc-a(-tːi)=ca-b The -a-tːa and -a forms are treated in the grammar as “contractions”. I believe on the contrary that they may be relics of an earlier shape of the paradigm. 5.1.2 Participle-based forms The unmarked perfective participle serves as the aorist (witnessed past) in most dialects: (45)
Icari nu, ka-tː-iž-ib-li=da, katːižibli=da, katːižibli=da, di-la nina … ca zamana well down-1pl-sit.pfv-ant-cvb=1 me-gen N. one time bahlaːli bacː-la šːal-li-gu-b qːalardi ag-ur slowly moon-gen light-obl-sub-n[ess] silhouette go.pfv-ant[3] ‘Well, so we were sitting, sitting, sitting, my Nina, and suddenly, a silhouette appeared slowly in the moonshine.’ (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003, p. 87)
Just like the perfect in Ashti has extended to perfective stems, so has the aorist in most other dialects (although there are some complications which I will not touch upon here): (46)
Icari tʼabakʼa qːarqːa-l=ra pa̰ q-či-r-ikʼʷ-il r-už-ib, nu sːika tray stone-erg=and [f]thump.ipfv-cvb [f]be.ipfv-ant[3] so bear {sa-r}-b-uq-an-aj {ante-el}-n-run.pfv-intr-sbjv ‘(She) was thumping a stone against the tray (noisily), to make the bear run (off) away.’ (ibid., p. 88) 11
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
The use of full participle forms is completely different. When the predicative marker encliticizes to the verb marked by the attributive, the meaning is experiential (pfv.) and qualitative (ipfv.): (47)
Ashti damm-ij čum žinaj {ta̰-j}-ṵlħ-ṵn-zi-w=di a-la ucːi me-dat how_many time {ante-el}-see.pfv-ptcp-attr-m=retr thee-gen brother (Have you known my brother, who died last year?) ‘(Yes,) I had seen him several times.’
(48)
Ashti je duna w-ibč’-ib-il-li b-aːt-u-zi-b this world m-die.pfv-ant-attr-erg n-leave.ipfv-ptcp-attr-n ‘The dying person leaves this world.’ (from a song)
What do these uses have in common? In Belyaev (2012), I have proposed that this is the “stativization” of the situation: the experiential turns a punctive event into a permanent state (‘I have the property of having seen your brother’), while the qualitative turns a generic event into a quality (‘The dying person has the quality of leaving this world’). With the qualitative it is particularly evident in examples such as the following: (49)
Ashti idi-j b-ikː-u-zi-w=sa-w w-id-aħ-ij that-dat n-love.ipfv-ptcp-attr-m=cop-m m-thither-dance.ipfv-inf ‘He loves dancing.’ (native speaker’s comment: ‘it may be that he hasn’t really danced in ten years, but he can at any moment if he wants to’).
In some dialects, the predicative marker may also move to another constituent, which becomes focused. In this case the verb has to carry the attributive affix: (50)
Icari it-il=ca-b qu b-ax-un-ci he-erg=cop-n field [n]sow.pfv-ant-attr ‘It was him who sowed/has sown the field.’ (N. R. Sumbatova and Mutalov, 2003, p. 142)
Note the retention of ergative case marker. This makes it difficult to analyze such sentences as a cleft construction (although this is probably its diachronic source).
5.2
Synthetic forms
5.2.1 Generic present This is a typical “old present”: apparently, it used to be a general present-future tense in ProtoDargwa, but now, it has shrunk to only “general truth” contexts in some varieties, while in others (e.g. in Standard Dargwa) it combines habitual and future uses. The endings are quite different in North and South Dargwa, as exemplified by Akusha and Ashti: Akusha ages ‘to go’ sg pl 1 ag-us ag-eħe 2 ag-ud ag-udaja 3 agara 12
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
Ashti buːsij ‘to catch’ sg pl 1 b-uːs-i-d(aː) 2 b-uːs-i-t b-uːs-i-tː-aː 3 b-uːs-aː (other inflections: -an, -u) Some of these forms are cognates, some not. The origin of the endings is obscure; some of them may go back to pronouns (Nikolaev and Starostin, 1994). However, what is important for us is the similarity that some of the endings bear to non-finite forms; in particular, the 3rd person -u. This may hint at the fact that synthetic forms represent an earlier layer of periphrasis. 5.2.2 Synthetic preterite This is especially pronounced in the form I call “synthetic preterite”, which in most dialects is in fact the past habitual, but in some has also been extended to perfective stems, displacing the participial aorist. The relevant example paradigms are: Akusha ages ‘to go’ sg pl 1 ag-asi ag-eħeri 2 ag-adi ag-adari 3 agi Shiri barqʼij ‘to do’ sg pl 1 b-arqʼ-a-d-i b-arqʼ-a-d-a 2 b-arqʼ-a-tːi b-arqʼ-a-tː-a 3 b-arqʼ-aj (other inflections: -iri, -ini) Some things of note: • the pl. forms in Akusha are based on attaching =ri (cognate to past tense copula =di in the South) to the generic present forms; • the 2sg ending in Shiri is identical to the Icari imperfective converb ending, and the 2pl is identical to the Icari present tense 1 and 2pl; • The 3sg ending -aj is the same as that of the marginal perfective participle found in Shiri¹ and Tanti. All facts, again, strongly suggest that the synthetic preterite used to be a periphrastic form, and the system was later rebuilt in different dialects in different way. This is very well seen in the highly unusual past tense paradigm of Kaitag, which combines “synthetic” and “periphrastic” forms (Temirbulatova, 2004): Kaitag ‘to do’ sg pl 1 b-ar-iβ=da 2 b-ar-a-tːi b-ar-a-tː-a 3 b-ar-iβ The 2nd person is from the “synthetic” preterite, while the 1st and 3rd are from the “particip¹The distributions are somewhat different: the participle is formed only from the pfv. stem, but with all conjugations, whereas the synthetic -aj form only appears in the -ib conjugation, but is formed from both stems.
13
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
ial”!
6 Some interesting syntactic issues 6.1
Converbs: tense and/or aspect?
But the idea that perfectivity necessarily implies anteriority and imperfectivity, simultaneity, does not seem to hold in general. For instance, a single perfective event may be co-described by several converbs, without any implication of a temporal sequence: (51)
le-d-žu-d di-la atːa-qal-la dṵrqˤa̰ -b-zi-b ħa̰ jwan urči (.) ExstMed-npl-attr-npl me-gen father-assoc-gen barn.in-n[ess]-attr-n cattle horse uc (.) le-d-žu-d tːuraʁ-ib-li d-erk-ib-li ox ExstMed-npl-attr-npl outside:drive.pfv-ant-cvb npl-take_away.pfv-ant-cvb caxdyi hel-tː-a-d (3.2) d-iʡ-ṵn-ni copxnply DemMed-pl-obl-erg npl-steal.pfv-ant-cvb ‘They drove out, took away, stole all of my father’s family’s cattle, horses, oxen.’ (lit. ‘Having driven out all of my father’s cattle, horse, oxen, they took (it) away, having stolen (it)’) (Shiri_14_08_2012_OB_001)
In the following example, no temporal relation of precedence may be seen at all: (52)
Shiri hel-tːi d-iʡ-ṵn-ni d-erk-ib-li (..) urči DemMed-pl npl-steal.pfv-ant-cvb npl-take_away.pfv-ant-cvb horse kʼe-pː-irχʷ-i (.) di-la atːa-qal-la … ExstSuper-n:n-be.pfv-pret.3 me-gen father-assoc-gen ‘They stole and took (them), and my father had a horse …’ (lit. ‘having stolen and taken, my father had a horse …’) (Shiri_14_08_2012_OB_001)
(53)
Shiri da̰ wi-le w-erq-b-akːʷar-ri čer-sarqʼ-ib-li aba-ž, war-in[lat] m-carry.pfv-ant-neg-cvb back-hither:m:do.pfv-ant-cvb mother-dat tusnaq-le ik-ib-li heti-salaka it, xu dus prison-in[lat] [m]fall.pfv-ant-cvb that-after that five year tusnaq-aq-ib-li=di prison-disappear-ant-cvb=retr ‘They didn’t take him to the war, they brought him back, my dear, he had gotten into prison before that, he had spent five years in prison.’
Thus it is more plausible to say that the temporal relations that are implied in such converbal chaining sequences are of the same nature as those implied in finite clause coordination in SAE languages.
6.2
Coordination vs. subordination
Since converbs are clause-chaining devices, the natural question is whether they have some coordinating properties. This issue is far too complex to be covered in detail here. Still, there are some interesting cases where coordinating/subordinating properties are related to semantics. In Icari, center-embedding or postposing of the converb leads to it having only a causal, but not a purely temporal, interpretation: (54)
Icari 14
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
[ ] a. nušːa, murad sa̰ ːʁ-ib-li , ag-ur=da we Murad hither:m:reach.pfv-ant-cvb go.pfv-ant=1 [ ] b. nušːa ag-ur=da, murad sa̰ ːʁ-ib-li OK
(55)
‘We came out because Murad arrived.’, * ‘after …’
Icari # murad-li kːurtkːa {tːi-r}-ix-ub, ʡa̰ li sa̰ ːʁ-ib-li Murad-erg coat {post-el}–drop.pfv-ant[3] Ali hither:m:reach.pfv-ant-cvb (# ‘Murad removed the vest because (* when) Ali came.’)
In Ashti, the converbal clause may only be center-embedded when it is same-subject (A/S); it does not matter in which clause the subject is expressed: [ ] (56) universitet-li, ʡa̰ li-dil aːs d-ičː-ib , keːχʷ-i university-in[lat] Ali-erg money npl-give.pfv-ant down:m:enter.pfv-pret.3 ‘Ali gave money and entered the university.’ [ ] (57) * ʡa̰ li-dil, rasul-li aːs d-ičː-ib , universitet-li Ali-erg Rasul-erg money npl-give.pfv-ant university-in[lat] keːχʷ-i down:m:enter.pfv-pret.3 (intended: ‘Rasul gave money, and Ali entered the university.’)
6.3
Existential periphrasis
In each of the converb-based periphrastic forms, instead of the copula, one can also use one of a series of existential auxiliaries: near le-b far horizontal te-b above kʼe-b below χe-b This situates the action (ipfv.) or its result (pfv.) in time and space (N. R. Sumbatova, 2010): (58)
Shiri murad-li ʡa̰ ki b-irqʼ-u-l=kʼe-w Murad-erg work n-do.ipfv-sim-cvb=is.above-m ‘Murad is working up there.’
(59)
Ashti murad sa̰ ː-qʼˁ-ṵn=li-w Murad hither-go.pfv-ant=is.here-m ‘Murad has come here.’
(60)
Tanti xːun-ne-ħe-r-se rucːi le-r-qʼ-un-ne le=r road-obl-in-el-hither sister pv-f-go.ipfv-sim-cvb is.here-f ‘There is my sister going along the road over there.’ (Nina Sumbatova, p.c.)
With past-tense reference, the “existential” versions of TAM forms shift the deixis: (61)
qezban-qal-la meq-li-ž disk le-b=di het DemDist K.-assoc-gen wedding-obl-dat CD ExstMed-n=retr či-b-arx-ib-li super[lat]-n-turn_on.pfv-ant-cvb 15
Oleg Belyaev. Participles and converbs in Dargwa
Philology Seminar, December 2, 2014
‘There was a CD turned on at Kezban’s wedding.’ (spoken text) Superficially, this seems to be a process quite similar to the development of have-perfects: I have the house built. Ñ I have built the house. Murad is over there, going. Ñ Murad is going In Mehweb, the existential has even replaced the normal copula altogether (Magometov, 1982), thus completing the grammaticalization process. The parallel is further reinforced by the fact that it is the existential verbs that are used in the possessive construction: (62)
di-la mašin le-b me-gen car is.here-n ‘I have a car.’
However, it is the existential, not the possessive construction that gives rise to new TAM forms, which entails a quite different grammaticalization path.
Glosses add: additive particle; adv: adverbial; ant: anterior; ante: localization in front of landmark; apud: location near; assoc: associative plural; attr: attributive; caus: causative; cit: citation marker; coll: collective plural; com: comitative; compar: comparative grade; conc: concession; cond: conditional; cop: copula; cvb: converb; dat: dative; Dem: demonstrative; dir: directive case; Dist: distal deixis; down: marker indicating downwards movement; el: elative orientation (movement from the Landmark); erg: ergative case; ess: essive orientation; Exst: existential predicate; f: feminine gender; gen: genitive; hab: habitual; hither: direction towards speaker; hpl: human plural; in: inessive-illative; incl: inclusive; indef: indefinite pronoun; inf: infinitive; inter: localization within solid object; intr: intransitivity marker; ipfv: particle; irr: irrealis; lat: lative; lim: limitative; loc: locative / location; lv: light verb; m: masculine; manu: localization in the hand; Med: medial deixis; mnr: manner; n: neuter gender; neg: negation; npl: neuter plural; obl: oblique; opt: optative; pfv: perfective; pl: plural; post: localization behind; pot: potential; pret: preterite; prf: perfect; Dist: proximal deixis; prs: present; ptcl: particle; ptcp: participle; purp: purpose; pv: preverb; q: question particle; restr: restrictive; retr: retrospective shift; sbjv: subjunctive; sg: singular; sim: simultanenous; sub: localization under the Landmark; Super: deixis above speaker and hearer; super: superessive-superlative; temp: temporal argument (in Adyghe); th: thematic vowel; thither: direction from speaker; up: up-
wards movement
References Belyaev, O. I. (2012). “Aspektual’no-temporal’naja sistema aštynskogo darginskogo”. In: Acta Linguistica Petropolitana 8.2, pp. 181–227. Berg, H. van den (2001). Dargi folktales. oral stories from the Caucasus with an introduction to Dargi grammar. Leiden: Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies. Magometov, A. A. (1963). Kubačinskij jazyk. (Issledovanie i teksty). Tbilisi: Mecniereba. — (1982). Megebskij dialekt darginskogo jazyka. Tbilisi: Mecniereba. Nikolaev, S. L. and S. A. Starostin (1994). A North Caucasian etymological dictionary. Moscow: Asterisk Publishers. Sumbatova, N. R. (2010). “Svjazki v darginskom jazyke: oppozicii i upotreblenie”. In: Voprosy jazykoznanija 5, pp. 44–62. Sumbatova, N. R. and Y. A. Lander. Darginskij govor selenija Tanty: grammatičeskij očerk, voprosy sintaksisa. Moscow: Jazyki slavjanskix kul’tur. Forthcoming. Sumbatova, N. R. and R. O. Mutalov (2003). A grammar of Icari Dargwa. München: LINCOM EUROPA. Temirbulatova, S. M. (2004). Xajdakskij dialekt darginskogo jazyka. Махачкала: Izdatel’stvo tipografii DNC RAN. Uslar”, P. K. (1892). Xjurkilinskǐj jazyk”. Ètnografǐja Kavkaza. Jazykoznanǐe 5. Tiflis”: Tipografǐja kanceljarǐi Glavnonačal’stvujuščago graždanskoju čast’ju na Kavkazě. 16