Cover not available
Part of
New Trends in Grammaticalization and Language Change
Edited by Sylvie Hancil, Tine Breban and José Vicente Lozano
[Studies in Language Companion Series 202] 2018
► pp. 163–182

The grammaticalization of interrogative pronouns into relative pronouns in South-Caucasian languages

Internal development or replica?

| University Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3
South Caucasian languages spoken in Caucasus (Georgian, Mingrelian and Svan) resort to finite postnominal relative clauses (henceforth RC) introduced by a relative pronoun as one of their main relativization strategies. The relative pronouns are formally identical to the interrogative pronouns with the addition of a subordinating particle, which suggests that the former has developed from the latter. This paper addresses the issue of whether this is an internal development, or a contact-induced one, more specifically, a case of replica grammaticalization.
Keywords: South Caucasian languages, relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, grammaticalization, internal development, contact-induced change
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Postnominal relative clauses introduced by relative pronouns in South Caucasian languages
  • 3.The possibility of an internal development
    • 3.1Correlative relatives in South Caucasian languages
    • 3.2A development from correlative relatives into postnominal finite relatives?
    • 3.3An argument in support: Cases of case attraction in Old Georgian
  • 4.The possibility of a contact-induced development
    • 4.1‘European’ languages in contact with Old Georgian
    • 4.2Other languages of the South Caucasus area displaying postnominal finite RCs introduced by relative pronouns built on interrogative pronouns
    • 4.3The subordinating particle
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Abbreviations
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 December 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.202.07gan
References (56)
References
Abesadze, Nia. 1965. Hip’ot’aksis C’evr-K’avširebi Da K’avširebi Megrulši (Subordinating Conjunctions in Mingrelian), Tbilisis saxelmts’ipo universit’et’is šromebi (Works of Tbilisi State University). Tbilisis universit’et’is šromebi (114): 229–257.Google Scholar
Andrews, Avery D. 2007. Relative clauses. In Language Typology and Syntactic Description, Timothy Shopen (ed.), 206–236. Cambridge: CUP.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Aronson, Howard I. 1972. Some notes on relative clauses in Georgian. In The Chicago Which Hunt: Papers from the Relative Clause Festival, Paul M. Peranteau, Judith N. Levi & Gloria C. Phares (eds), 136–143. Chicago IL: Chicago Linguistic Society.Google Scholar
1991. Modern Georgian. In Harris & Greppin (eds), 219–312.Google Scholar
Authier, Gilles. 2012. Grammaire Juhuri, ou Judéo-Tat, langue Iranienne des juifs du Caucase de L’est. Wiesbaden: Reichert.Google Scholar
Babaliyeva, Ayten. 2013. Etudes sur la morphosyntaxe du tabasaran littéraire. PhD dissertation, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.Google Scholar
. 2014. Les relatives en Azéri. Presented at the Workshop Typologie aréale et stratégies de relativisation, 8–9 december, Paris.Google Scholar
Blanc, André, Charachidzé, Georges, Dubertret, Louis & Serrano, Sylvia. 2016. Caucase. In Encyclopædia Universalis. <[URL]> (26 February 2016).Google Scholar
Blumgardt, Temo. 2009. Ethnic groups in Caucasus region. Ms.Google Scholar
Bruk, Solomon I. & Apentchenko, V. S. (eds). 1964. Атлас народов мира. Главное управление геодезии и картографии, Государственного геологического комитета СССР Институт этнографии им. Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая Академии Наук СССР. Москва.Google Scholar
Camilleri, Maris & Sadler, Louisa. 2011. Restrictive relative clauses in Maltese. In Proceedings of the LFG11 Conference, Miriam Butt & Tracy Holloway King (eds). Stanford CA: CSLI.Google Scholar
Chirikba, Viacheslav A. 2008. The problem of the Caucasian Sprachbund. In From Linguistic Areas to Areal Linguistics [Studies in Language Companion Series 90], Pieter Muysken (ed.), 25–93. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comrie, Bernard. 1998. Rethinking the typology of relative clauses. Language Design 1: 59–86.Google Scholar
Creissels, Denis. 2006. Syntaxe générale : Une introduction typologique, 2 Vols. Paris: Lavoisier.Google Scholar
Desherijev/Дешериев, Ю. Д.. 1953. Бацбийский Язык. Фонетика, Морфология, Синтаксис, Лексика / Ответ. Ред. Б. А. Серебренников. Институт языкознания.Google Scholar
Dondua, K’arpez. 1967. Mimartebiti Nacvalsaxelisa Da Misamarti Sit’q’vis Urtiertobisatvis Ʒvel Kartulši (The Relationship between the Demonstrative Pronoun and the Correlative Word in Old Georgian). In Rčeuli Našromebi I: 20–29. Tbilisi: Mecniereba.Google Scholar
Downing, Bruce T. 1978. Some universals of relative clause structure. In Universals of Human Language, Vol. 4, Joseph H. Greenberg, Charles A. Ferguson & Edith A. Moravcsik (eds), 375–418. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Dryer, Matthew, S. 2013. Order of relative clause and noun. In The World Atlas of Language Structures Online, Matthew Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds). Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. <[URL]> (5 December 2013).Google Scholar
Dumézil, Georges. 1967. Documents anatoliens sur les langues et les traditions du Caucase, IV: Récits Lazes (Dialecte d’Arhavi). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.Google Scholar
Dum-Tragut, Jasmine. 2009. Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian [London Oriental and African Language Library 14]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Durand, Marie-Françoise, Martin, Benoît, Placidi, Delphine & Törnquist-Chesnier, Marie. 2007. Atlas de La Mondialisation. Paris: Presses de Sciences Po.Google Scholar
Dzidziguri, Shota. 1969. K’avširebi kartul enaši [Conjunctions in Georgian]. Tbilisi: Tbilisi universit’et’i.Google Scholar
Fähnrich, Heinz. 1991. Old Georgian. In Harris & Greppin (eds), 131–217.Google Scholar
Gandon, Ophélie. 2016. La relativisation dans une perspective aréale: l’Aire caucase – anatolie de l’est – Iran de l’ouest. PhD dissertation, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle.Google Scholar
Gippert, Jost. 2011. Relative clauses in Vartashen Udi. Preliminary remarks. Iran and the Caucasus 15: 207–230.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Guella, Noureddine. 2010. On relative clause formation in Arabic dialects of the Maghreb. Synergies Monde Arabe 7: 101–110.Google Scholar
Harris, Alice C. 1991a. Overview on the history of the Kartvelian languages. In Harris & Greppin (eds), 9–83.Google Scholar
1991. Mingrelian. In Harris & Greppin (eds), 315–389.Google Scholar
1992. Changes in relativization strategies: Georgian and language universals. In Caucasologie et mythologie comparée, Actes Du Colloque International Du CNRS – IV Colloque de Caucasologie, Sèvre, 27–29 Juin 1988, Catherine Paris (ed.), 391–403. Paris: Peeters.Google Scholar
2000. Word order in Georgian. In Stability, Variation and Change of Word-Order Patterns over Time [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 21], Rosanna Sornicola, Erich Poppe & Ariel Shisha-Halevy (eds), 133–163. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harris, Alice C. & Greppin, John A. C. 1991. The Kartvelian Languages [The Indigenous Languages of the Caucasus 1]. Delmar NY: Caravan Books.Google Scholar
Heine, Bernd & Kuteva, Tania. 2003. On contact-induced grammaticalization. Studies in Language 27(3): 529–572.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2006. The Changing Languages of Europe. Oxford: OUP.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hendery, Rachel. 2012. Relative Clauses in Time and Space. A Case Study in the Methods of Diachronic Typology [Typological Studies in Language 101]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hewitt, Brian G. 1987. The Typology of Subordination in Georgian and Abkhaz. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1995. Georgian. A Structural Reference Grammar [London Oriental and African Language Library 2]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2001. Convergence in language change: Morpho-syntactic patterns in Mingrelian (and Laz). Transactions of the Philological Society 99(1): 88–145.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holisky, Dee Ann. 1991. Laz. In Harris & Greppin (eds), 395–472.Google Scholar
Holisky, Dee Ann & Gagua, Rusudan. 1994. Tsova-Tush (Batsbi). In Smeets & Greppin (eds), 147–212.Google Scholar
Hourcade, Bernard. 2014. Unité et diversité linguistique de l’Iran. In Irancarto. Etudes cartographiques sur l’Iran et le monde Iranien, Bernard Hourcade, Hubert Mazurek, Mohammad-Hosseyn Papoli-Yazdi & Mahmoud Taleghani. <[URL]> (7 July 2016).Google Scholar
Jijiguri, Šota. 1969. Ḳavširebi Kartul Enaši. Tbilisi: Tbilisis Saxelmçipo Universiṭeṭi.Google Scholar
Keenan, Edward L. 1985. Relative clauses. In Language Typology and Syntactic Description, Vol. II: Complex constructions, Timothy Shopen (ed.), 141–170. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Khubua, Makar. 1937. Megruli T’ekst’ebi (Mingrelian Texts). Tbilisi: Ak’ademia.Google Scholar
Koryakov, Yuri B. 2002. Atlas of the Caucasian Languages. Moscow: Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences. <[URL]> (24 July 2016).Google Scholar
Krause, Todd B., Greppin, John A. C. & Slocum, Jonathan. 2016. Classical Armenian Online. <[URL]> (16 June 2016).Google Scholar
Lacroix, René. 2009. Description du dialecte Laze d’Arhavi (Caucasique du sud, Turquie). Grammaire et textes. PhD dissertation, Université Lumière Lyon 2.Google Scholar
Luján, Eugenio, R. 2009. On the grammaticalization of *k w i-/k w o- relative clauses in Proto-Indo-European. In Grammatical Change in Indo-European Languages. Papers Presented at the Workshop on Indo-European Linguistics at the XVIIIth International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Montreal, 2007 [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 305], Vit Bubeník, John Hewson, & Sarah Rose (eds), 221–234. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meyer, Robin. 2013. Classical Armenian Relative Clause Syntax. A Comparative Study of Relative Clauses in the Armenian and Greek NT and Other 5th-C. Armenian Texts. MA thesis, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Öztürk, Balkız & Pöchtrager, Markus A. (eds). 2011. Pazar Laz. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar
Schmidt, Karl H. 1991. Svan. In Harris & Greppin (eds), 475–556.Google Scholar
Schulze, Wolfgang. 2006. A Functional Grammar of Udi. <[URL]> (28 July 2016).
Schulze-Fürhoff, Wolfgang. 1994. Udi. In Smeets & Greppin (eds), 447–514.Google Scholar
Shanidze, A. & Topuria V. 1939. Svanuri P’rozauli T’ekst’ebi I: Balszemouri K’ilo (Svan Prose Texts, I: Upper Bal Dialect). Tbilisi: Mecniereba.Google Scholar
Skopeteas, Stavros. 2013. The Caucasian Urums and the Urum language. Tehlikedeki Diller Dergisi (Journal of Endangered Languages) 334–364.Google Scholar
Smeets, Rieks & Greppin, John A. C. (eds). 1994. North East Caucasian Languages, Part 2 [The Indigenous Languages of the Caucasus 4]. Delmar NY: Caravan Books.Google Scholar
Tuite, Kevin. 2004. A short descriptive grammar of the Svan language. Université de Montréal. <[URL]> (6 May 2016).Google Scholar