From possessor agreement to object marking in the evolution of the Udmurt -jez suffix

A grammaticalization approach to morpheme syncretism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11113104
AutoresKatalin E Ki (0000-0003-2054-4593), Katalin É Kiss, Orsolya Tánczos
Año2018
Volumen94
Número4
Páginas733-757
Fecha de publicación2018-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguage (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0097-8507 • E-ISSN: 1535-0665
EditorialProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/lan.2018.0052
OpenAlexW2901098584
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas14

This article argues that morpheme syncretism can arise as a result of structural and functional changes that display features of a grammaticalization process. Our claim is based on a case study analyzing the functional evolution of - jez , the third singular possessive agreement morpheme of Udmurt, which appears to function as a nominalizer, to mark contrast, to function as a kind of definite determiner, and to mark accusative case. We argue that these seemingly different roles are instantiations of three major functions: cross-referencing a possessor, encoding partitivity, and marking specific objects, which, in turn, represent subsequent stages of a grammaticalization path. Evidence for the hypothesized changes is provided by parallel developments in the sister languages, primarily Hungarian, the sister language with the longest-documented history

Agreement · Grammaticalization · Linguistics · Morpheme · Object (grammar) · Possessive · Suffix · Syncretism (linguistics) · Computer Science · History · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation