Genitive Marking of Subjects in West Pahari
Journal name: Acta Orientalia
Original article title: Genitive Marking of Subjects in West Pahari
ACTA ORIENTALIA is a journal focused on the study of Oriental languages, history, archaeology, and religions from ancient times to the present. The journal includes articles reviewed by a senior scholar in the relevant field.
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Summary of article contents:
Introduction
The study by Claus Peter Zoller examines the phenomenon of genitive marking of subjects in specific West Pahari languages, focusing particularly on the Bangani variety. This linguistic feature represents a non-canonical subject marking system where subjects are marked with possessive endings, particularly in relation to the inabilitative mood, which indicates that the subject is temporarily incapable of performing an action. The paper also explores several mood distinctions associated with this construction, such as involitive and 'perferitative' moods, as well as discussing their syntactic and semantic implications across West Pahari languages.
Valency Reduction and Non-Canonical Marking
A core concept in Zoller's analysis is the relationship between genitive subject constructions and valency reduction. He references Onishi’s notion of "deagentivisation" to explain how subjects can lose agency through these constructions. The paper outlines how genitive subjects can express various moods, including the inabilitative, where the subject is unable to perform an action, and the involitive, where the subject cannot control an event affecting them. This valency reduction highlights the syntactic and semantic shifts involved when subjects marked with genitive expressions take on non-canonical roles within sentence structures, often contrasting sharply with more typical nominative or ergative subject constructions found in these languages.
The Inabilitative Mood
Zoller provides an in-depth discussion of the inabilitative mood, marked by a genitive subject combined with negative constructions. He illustrates this using examples from West Pahari, particularly Bangani and Deogari, where the inactivity or inability of the subject reflects temporary states. Sentences such as "I cannot fly to the moon" exemplify how the use of the genitive subject effectively conveys that the speaker’s inability is not permanent, indicating a clear distinction between temporary limitations and general impossibilities in performing actions. This nuanced understanding helps clarify the semantic roles of genitive subjects in expressing states of being unable to act.
The Involitive Mood
The concept of the involitive mood is presented as a counterpart to the inabilitative mood, where subjects are described as performing actions without the ability to control them. Zoller's analysis indicates that involitive constructions occur less frequently in Bangani and Deogari compared to the inabilitative mood, yet they are still integral in depicting situations where subjects are involuntarily affected by external circumstances. The utterance “I happened to cut my wife down in anger” demonstrates how this mood expresses a lack of control in action, emphasizing that the subject has not chosen this outcome but is rather subject to the event unfolding around them.
Perferitative Mood and Essential States
Zoller further explores a lesser-known mood termed the 'perferitative mood', wherein subjects are unable to prevent significant changes in their condition, thus suffering external consequences. This mood is specifically associated with verbs indicating 'to become' and suggests that subjects experience substantial changes in state that are not merely superficial but fundamental to their being. Through examples presented in both Bangani and Deogari, Zoller conveys the idea that constructions expressing essential states highlight how subjects undergo transformations that significantly affect their identity and condition, offering insight into the emotional and experiential landscapes navigated by speakers of these languages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Zoller's investigation into the genitive marking of subjects in West Pahari languages reveals a rich linguistic landscape characterized by complex mood distinctions and implications for agency. By categorizing the various moods associated with genitive subjects, including inabilitative, involitive, and perferitative, the study not only broadens the understanding of subject marking in these languages but also encourages further exploration into the historical development and broader linguistic relevance of such constructions. The findings contribute to ongoing discussions in typology and syntax, emphasizing the interplay between grammatical structure and semantic meaning in language.
Original source:
This page is merely a summary which is automatically generated hence you should visit the source to read the original article which includes the author, publication date, notes and references.
Claus Peter Zoller
Acta Orientalia:
(Founded in 1922 and published annually)
Full text available for: Genitive Marking of Subjects in West Pahari
Year: 2008 | Doi: 10.5617/ao.7389
Copyright (license): CC BY 4.0
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FAQ section (important questions/answers):
What is the main focus of the study on West Pahari?
The study analyzes the genitive marking of subjects in West Pahari languages, highlighting its use in various moods such as inabilitative, involitive, and perferitative, as well as in reflexive and gerundive constructions.
How do genitive subjects function in the inabilitative mood?
In the inabilitative mood, genitive subjects indicate that the subject is temporarily unable to perform an action, often expressed in negative sentences with a participial predicate using the passive -i- suffix.
What distinguishes the involitive mood from the inabilitative mood?
The involitive mood expresses that the subject cannot control an action or event happening, contrasting with the inabilitative mood, where the subject is unable to execute an action due to temporary limitations.
Are genitive subjects common in West Pahari languages?
No, genitive subjects are quite rare in West Pahari languages. They primarily occur in specific moods and constructions, and their usage is limited compared to nominative and ergative constructions.
What role do genitive subjects play in reflexive constructions?
In reflexive constructions, genitive subjects indicate that the subject is acting upon themselves, often using the passive marker -i- to imply that the action influences the subject directly.
How are genitive subjects used in expressing contemporaneity?
Genitive subjects can express contemporaneity and anteriority using past participles with specific suffixes, indicating a simultaneous or sequential relationship between actions within the sentence.
What is meant by 'perferitative mood' in West Pahari?
The perferitative mood indicates that the subject is unable to prevent a significant change in their condition, suffering due to external factors, and is generally realized with verbs indicating states of being or becoming.
Glossary definitions and references:
Oriental and Historical glossary list for “Genitive Marking of Subjects in West Pahari”. This list explains important keywords that occur in this article and links it to the glossary for a better understanding of that concept in the context of History, Linguistics, Religion, Philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism etc.
1) Pahari:
Pahari refers to a group of languages spoken in the Himalayan region, specifically mentioned in the text in relation to its West variant, which is the primary focus of the genitive subject constructions discussed by Claus Peter Zoller.
2) Mud:
Mood in the text is associated with various verb forms and constructions like inabilitative, involitive, and perferitative, which illustrate different subjective conditions or attitudes in the West Pahari languages.
3) Language:
Language is central to the discussion as it examines specific linguistic phenomena in West Pahari, and also compares with other languages such as Hindi, Bengali, and Assamese.
4) Agent:
Agent in the text generally refers to the doer of an action in a sentence, whose role varies in constructions like passives and genitive subject constructions discussed in West Pahari languages.
5) Hindi (Himdi):
Hindi is referenced as one of the New Indo-Aryan languages that exhibit certain grammatical constructions, and is used for comparison with West Pahari languages to illustrate linguistic phenomena such as passives.
6) Kaurava:
Kaurava is a character from the Mahabharata, frequently referenced in the Panduan epic. The Kauravas are portrayed as the antagonists, and the text includes examples of sentences involving them.
7) Epic:
Epic refers to long, narrative poems or stories. In this text, the Mahabharata's local oral version, Panduan, is significant for illustrating linguistic constructs in West Pahari.
8) Kauravas:
Kauravas are characters in the Mahabharata epic, and the text includes various sentences from the Panduan that involve or reference them, specifically in the linguistic context.
9) Romani:
Romani refers to the language spoken by the Romani people, especially noted in the context of Norwegian Romani, where certain genitive and possessive constructions were compared with Indic languages.
10) Crow:
Crow is used in an illustrative sentence from the Bangani epic Panduan showing an idiomatic expression about insufficiency, i.e., something that doesn't serve even basic needs.
11) Bengali:
Bengali is cited as one of the New Indo-Aryan languages that uses possessive forms in subject positions, offering a comparison point for constructions identified in West Pahari.
12) Draupadi:
Draupadi is a character from the Mahabharata; her mention in Deogari examples helps explain differences in grammatical constructions like genitive subject marking for essential states.
13) Varman (Varma):
Varma refers to Siddheshwar Varma, a linguist who provided examples from Bhalesi and Khasali related to genitive subject and other constructions in his studies of West Pahari dialects.
14) Aryan:
Aryan is part of the linguistic description, where references like Old Indo-Aryan (OIA) and Middle Indo-Aryan (MIA) indicate the historical backdrop of the discussed grammatical phenomena.
15) Narayana (Nara-ayana, Nara-yana):
Narayana is a god in Hindu mythology, frequently referenced in the Panduan epic to exemplify constructions like genitive subject marking in West Pahari language examples.
16) Arjuna:
Arjuna is a heroic figure from the Mahabharata mentioned in narratives where various grammatical phenomena such as genitive subject marking are explored in the West Pahari languages.
17) Woman (Women):
Woman is the subject of example sentences in West Pahari languages, utilized to demonstrate gender concordance in genitive constructions and their usage in contexts like reflexivity or essential states.
18) Demon:
Demon is referenced in mythological contexts, especially in narratives involving giants and man-eating beings, which are used to illustrate genitive subject constructions in Bangani and Deogari.
19) Apabhramsha (Apabhramsa):
Apabhramsa is a historical language stage referenced when discussing the development of certain passive constructions and their modern forms in New Indo-Aryan languages like those of West Pahari.
20) Chauhan:
Chauhan refers to individuals such as Mr. Gabar Singh Chauhan, who provided language data for Bangani, aiding in the exploration of genitive subjects in West Pahari languages.
21) Future:
Future tense is one of the grammatical aspects discussed in relation to verb morphology in West Pahari languages, often showing how genitive subject constructions differ from nominative or ergative ones.
22) Bhima:
Bhima refers to Bhimasena, a character from the Panduan epic, whose actions provide example sentences illustrating genitive subject usage in varying moods such as inabilitative or involitive.
23) Delhi:
Delhi is mentioned as a place where interviews were conducted with native speakers of Bangani and Deogari, contributing to the collection of linguistic data on West Pahari language varieties.
24) Light:
Light is a part of complex predicates in Bangani, specifically