Cover not available
Article published In:
Diachronica
Vol. 41:4 (2024) ► pp.482–524

Insubordination and what happens after it

Evidence from Hittite

ORCID logo | Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences
One of the sources of irrealis markers is former markers of conditional sentences, both protases and apodoses, both factual and counterfactual. The development, amply documented cross-linguistically, is that of insubordination: a former marker of subordination is used as an irrealis marker in main clauses. However, the next stage of development is not commonly observed: when irrealis markers that came into being as the result of insubordination and are used in main clauses spread back to their original locus, conditional sentences. The paper deals with a clear attestation of this pattern in Hittite, an extinct Indo-European language. It is argued that the development is part of a linguistic cycle of the ‘broken’ kind, i.e., that the cycle changed by other processes simultaneously operating in the language.
Keywords: Hittite, irrealis, conditional subordination, grammaticalization, insubordination, linguistic cycles
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Insubordination and grammaticalization of conditional subordinators
  • 3.Conditional subordinator and irrealis marker in Hittite
    • 3.1Conditional subordinator and irrealis marker in Hittite: Diachrony
      • 3.1.1Conditional subordinator > irrealis marker: Etymology of mān
      • 3.1.2Conditional subordinator > irrealis marker: Semantic difficulties and their solution
      • 3.1.3Conditional subordinator > irrealis marker: Phonological difficulties and their solution
      • 3.1.4Akkadian influence on Hittite irrealis marker?
      • 3.1.5Conditional subordinator > irrealis marker: Consolidated diachronic scenario
      • 3.1.6Conditional subordinators and irrealis markers in Old Hittite and prehistoric (Proto) Hittite
    • 3.2Conditional subordinator > irrealis marker: Finer-grained development of mān
      • 3.2.1Conditional subordinator > irrealis marker in main clauses
      • 3.2.2Irrealis marker in main clauses > irrealis marker in subordinate (conditional) clauses
  • 4.Irrealis marker in other subordinate clauses
    • 4.1Irrealis marker in other subordinate clauses with optativity in the main clause
    • 4.2Irrealis marker in other subordinate clauses marking counterfactual situation types
    • 4.3Irrealis marker only in subordinate clauses
  • 5.Hittite irrealis marking in cross-linguistic perspective
    • 5.1Insubordination and beyond
    • 5.2Cyclic development
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • Supplementary materials
  • References
Published online: 19 July 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.22043.sid
References (42)
References
Beekes, Robert S. P. & Lucien van Beek. 2010. Etymological dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10/1). Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Beijering, Karin, Gunther Kaltenböck & Maria Sansiñena. 2019. Insubordination: New perspectives (Trends in Linguistics. Studies and monographs 326). Berlin: de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bowerman, Melissa. 1986. First steps in acquiring conditionals. In Elisabeth C. Traugott, Alice Ter Meulen, Judy Snitzer Reilly & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), On conditionals, 285–307. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bybee, Joan L., Revere Perkins & William Pagliuca. 1994. The evolution of grammar: Tense, aspect and modality in the languages of the world. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
CHD – Petra M. Goedegebuure, Hans G. Güterbock, Harry A. Hoffner, Theo P. J. van den Hout (eds.) (1989–). The Hittite dictionary of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago. Chicago: The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago.Google Scholar
Dunkel, George. 2014. Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme. Heidelberg: Winter.Google Scholar
Dwyer, Arienne M. 2016. Ordinary insubordination as transient discourse. In Nicholas Evans & Honoré Watanabe (eds.), Insubordination, 183–208. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Eichner, Heiner. 1971. Urindogermanisch *kʷe “wenn” im Hethitischen. Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft 291. 27–46.Google Scholar
Evans, Nicholas. 2007. Insubordination and its uses. In Irina Nikolaeva (ed.), Finiteness: Theoretical and empirical foundations, 366–431. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Evans, Nicholas & Honoré Watanabe. 2016a. The dynamics of insubordination: An overview. In Nicholas Evans & Honoré Watanabe (eds.), Insubordination, 1–38. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Evans, Nicholas & Honoré Watanabe (eds.), 2016b. Insubordination (Typological Studies in Language 115). Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gelderen, Elly van. 2009. Cyclical change, an introduction. In Elly van Gelderen (ed.), Cyclical change (Linguistik Aktuell / Linguistics Today 146), 1–14. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2011. The linguistic cycle: Language change and the language faculty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gilan, Amir. 2015. Formen und Inhalte althethitischer historischer Literatur (Texte der Hethiter 29). Heidelberg: Winter.Google Scholar
Giusfredi, Federico & Valerio Pisanello. 2023. Grammatical Interference and the Languages of the Hittite Archives. In Federico Giusfredi, Alvise Matessi & Valerio Pisaniello (eds.), Contacts of Languages and Peoples in the Hittite and Post-Hittite World 1. The Bronze Age and Hatti (Ancient Languages and Civilizations 4), 396–422. Leiden: Brill. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
François, Alexandre. 2001. Contraintes de structures et liberté dans l’organisation du discours. Une description du mwotlap, langue océanienne du Vanuatu. Paris: Université Paris IV-Sorbonne dissertation.
Hahn, Adelaide E. 1944. The shift of a Hittite conjunction from the temporal to the conditional sphere. Language 20(3). 91–107. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Haiman, John. 1986. Constraints on the form and meaning of the protasis. In Elisabeth C. Traugott, Alice Ter Meulen, Judy Snitzer Reilly & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), On conditionals, 215–228. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harris, B. Martin. 1986. The historical development of si-clauses in Romance. In Elisabeth C. Traugott, Alice Ter Meulen, Judy Snitzer Reilly & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), On conditionals, 265–284. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
HED – Jaan Puhvel. 1984–. Hittite etymological dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Hoffner, Harry A. 1982. Hittite man and nūman . In Erich Neu (ed.), Investigationes philologicae et comparativae. Gedenkschrift für Heinz Kronasser, 38–45. Wiesbaden, Germany: Otto Harrassowitz.Google Scholar
2009. Letters from the Hittite Kingdom (Writings from the Ancient World 15). Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.Google Scholar
Hoffner, Harry A. & Craig H. Melchert. 2008. A grammar of the Hittite language, Part 11. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.Google Scholar
Hopper, Paul J. & Elisabeth C. Traugott. 2003. Grammaticalization. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
HW2 – Johannes Friedrich, Annelies Kammenhuber, Paola Cotticelli-Kurras, Federico Giusfredi, Albertine Hagenbuchner-Dresel, Joost Hazenbos, Walther Sallaberger (Hg.) (1975–). Hethitisches Wörterbuch. Zweite Auflage. Heidelberg: Winter.Google Scholar
Kaltenböck, Gunther. 2016. On the grammatical status of insubordinate if-clauses. In Gunther Kaltenböck, Evelien Keuzer & Arne Lohmann (eds.), Outside the clause: Form and function of extra-clausal constituents (Studies in Language Companion Series 178), 341–378. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kaltenböck, Gunther, Evelien Keuzer & Arne Lohmann (eds.), 2016. Outside the clause: Form and function of extra-clausal constituents (Studies in Language Companion Series 178). Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kieviet, Paulus. 2017. A grammar of Rapa Nui. Berlin: Language Science Press.Google Scholar
Kloekhorst, Alwin. 2008. Etymological dictionary of the Hittite inherited lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 5). Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
. 2014. Accent in Hittite: A study in plene spelling, consonant gradation, clitics, and metrics. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrasowitz. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuteva, Tania, Bernd Heine, Bo Hong, Halping Long, Heiko Narrog & Seongha Rhee. 2019. Word lexicon of grammaticalization, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loughnane, Robyn. 2009. A grammar of Oksapmin. Melbourne: University of Melbourne dissertation.
Lühr, Rosemarie. 2001. Zum Modalfeld im Hethitischen. In Onofrio Carruba & Wolfgang Meid (eds.), Anatolisch und Indogermanisch (Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 100), 239–262. Innsbruck, Austria: Institut für Sprachwissenschaft.Google Scholar
Peyrot, Michel. 2018. Interrogative stems in Hittite and Tocharian. Indogermanische Forschungen 123(1). 65–90. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poletto, Cecilia. 2009. Two instances of a broken cycle: Sentential particles in Old Italian. In Elly van Gelderen (ed.), Cyclical change (Linguistik Aktuell / Linguistics Today 146), 185–206. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reilly, Judy S. 1986. The acquisition of temporals and conditionals. In Elisabeth C. Traugott, Alice Ter Meulen, Judy Snitzer Reilly & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), On conditionals, 309–331. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sansò, Andrea. 2020. Routes towards the irrealis. Transactions of the Philological Society 118(3). 401–446. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sideltsev, Andrei. 2017. Accented clitics in Hittite? Transactions of the Philological Society 115(2). 176–211. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sommer, Ferdinand and Adam Falkenstein. 1938. Die hethitisch-akkadisch Bilingue des Hattušili I. (Labarna II.) (Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: Philosophisch-historische Abteilung N.F.H. 16). München: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, C.H. Beck.Google Scholar
Vedovato, Diana. 2009. Weak pronouns in Italian. In Elly van Gelderen (ed.), Cyclical change, 133–156. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Watkins, Calvert. 1994. Indo-European *-kwe ‘and’ in Hittite. In Calvert Watkins, Selected writings (Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 80), vol. I1, 300–306. Innsbruck, Austria: Institut für Sprachwissenschaft.Google Scholar
Zorman, Marina. 2017. Areal features of Hittite conditionals. Diachronica 34(2). 253–277. DOI logoGoogle Scholar