When negative is positive; the study of expletive negation in Hamedani

In Persian dialect of Hamedan, there are some negative sentences which do not mark polarity. In cross-linguistic studies, these structures are called expletive negatives. They are formally negative, but logically positive. Based on a fieldwork data, I have shown that expletive negatives occur in temporal adverb clauses of ‘since, until, as soon as, before’, adverbial clauses of unexpected or impossible event, and clauses showing regret and complain. I have argued that the shared function of expletive negative in these concepts is to show a kind of epistemic modality. The meaning conveyed in these contexts is uncertainty, impossibility and unwillingness. Hence, the negative marker does not show polarity, but a kind of epistemic modality. The prevalence of this structure in Hamedani dialect is due to its long contact with Turkish, a language which has many instances of expletive negative. Hamedani Persian has borrowed this structure from 'before' adverb clauses of Turkish.