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fOne source, two targets

Numeral ‘one’ + additive ‘also, even’ in Udi

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Abstract
The paper addresses the phenomenon of polygrammaticalization based on data from Udi, a lesser-studied language of the Nakh-Daghestanian family. In Udi, two function words sal and saal share the same source structure and represent combinations of the numeral ‘one’ with the additive clitic ‘also, even’. Synchronically, the two words are both formally and functionally distinct: whereas sal is an emphatic negative polarity item ‘(not) a single one’, ‘(not) at all’, saal can be used with the meaning ‘again, one more time’, but is more often found as a coordinating conjunction ‘and’. Considering both modern and diachronic data, I discuss the uses of sal and saal, and the structural and functional parallels of the two Udi words in other languages of the Eastern Caucasus and adjacent areas. The findings highlight the importance of a constructional perspective on grammaticalization, and stress the need to take into account both genealogical and areal factors.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The two components of the source structure
    • 2.1Numeral ‘one’
    • 2.2Additive marker
    • 2.3‘One’ and the additive together
  • 3.The first target: sal ‘(not) a single one’, ‘(not) at all’
    • 3.1sal in modern Nizh Udi
    • 3.2Parallel developments
  • 4.The second target: saal ‘again’, ‘and also’, ‘and’
    • 4.1saal in modern Nizh Udi
    • 4.2saal vs. coordinating clitic qːa
    • 4.3Parallel developments
  • 5.‘One’ + additive in the history of Udi
    • 5.1‘One’ + additive in the 19th century sources
    • 5.2‘One’ + additive in Caucasian Albanian
  • 6.‘One’ + additive in Udi: Why two paths?
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • Author queries
  • References
  • Textual sources
References (85)
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