Grammaticalization of the indefinite marker in Middle Persian

Document Type : .

Authors
Mehrdad Meshkinfam 1
Mehrdad Naghzguy-Kohan 2
1 Department of Linguistics, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.
2 Linguistics Department, Bu-Ali Sina University
10.30465/lsi.2024.47913.1733
Abstract
This paper aims to explain the grammaticalization of the "indefinite" marker from Old Persian to Middle Persian within the noun phrase. In Old Persian, for the first time, the indefinite marker emerged in Persian grammar through the reanalysis of the numeral ai̯va 'one' based on metonymic relations and then metaphorical expansion in the context of "there is only one 'X', this 'X' represents a human being". In Middle Persian, this "indefinite" marker is more grammaticalized and as a bound morpheme of "-ē" in the noun phrase serves the role of encoding the concept of "indefiniteness". In the present study, we explain the grammaticalization of this linguistic element according to the principles of grammaticalization presented by Heine and Kuteva (2007). In this regard, we will also explain the acquisition of new meanings of the indefinite marker over time, from Old Persian to Middle Persian, based on Heine's (1997) indefinite marker semantic continuum.
Keywords
indefinite marker
grammaticalization
Middle Persian
functionalism
ابوالقاسمی، محسن (1389). دستور تاریخی زبان فارسی. تهران: سمت.
ابوالقاسمی، محسن (1394). زبان فارسی و سرگذشت آن و گفتارهای دیگر. به‌اهتمام محمد امامی ملکشاه. تهران: طهوری.
استاجی، اعظم (1384). «تبدیل عدد یک به نشانه نکره در زبان فارسی». مجلۀ دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی مشهد، 2 (38)، 71-84.
راستارگویوا، ورا (1347). دستور زبان فارسی میانه، ترجمۀ و. ا. شادان. تهران: انتشارات بنیاد فرهنگ ایران.
صادقی، علی‌اشرف (1357). تکوین زبان فارسی. انتشارات دانشگاه آزاد ایران.
مشکین‌فام، مهرداد (1399). دستوری‌شدگی حرف تعریف نامعین فارسی براساس دستور ساختی. رسالۀ دکتری، همدان: دانشگاه بوعلی‌سینا.
مشکین‌فام، مهرداد (1401). «اسم جنس در فارسی معاصر». پژوهش‌های زبان‌شناسی تطبیقی. 12 (24)، 247-260.
مشکین‌فام، مهرداد و مهرداد نغزگوی‌کهن (1400). «دستوری‌شدگی حرف تعریف نکره در فارسی باستان ازمنظر دستور ساخت‌مدار». جستارهای زبانی. 12 (4)، 33-71.
مشکین‌فام، مهرداد و مهرداد نغزگوی‌کهن (1401). «ساخت‌های نامعین کاربردی در فارسی معاصر». زبان و زبان‌شناسی. 17 (34)، 61-86.
Anklesaria,T. D. (1913). Dânâk-u Mainyô-I Khard. Bombay.
Azarnouche, S. (2013). Husraw ī Kawādān ud Rēdag-ē "Khosrow Fils De Kawād Et Un Page". texte pehlevi édité et traduit. Paris: Association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes.
Boyce, M. (1975). A reader in Manichaean and Middle Persian Parthian (Acta Iranica 9). Tehran Liege: Bibliotheque Pahlavi.
Brunner, C. J. (1977). A syntax of western Middle Iranian. New York: Caravan Books.
Croft, W (2003). Typology and Universals, 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Davar, M. (1912). Shayast La-Shayast. Non published. Available at https://www.parsigdatabase.com/library_res/?lang=fa
Givón, T. (1981). "On the development of the numeral 'one' as an indefinite marker". Folia Linguistica Historica, 15, 35-54.
Heine, B., & T. Kuteva (2007). The genesis of grammar: A reconstruction (Vol. 9). Oxford University Press.
Heine, B. (1997). "Indefinite articles". Cognitive Foundations of Grammar. B. Heine (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, 66-83.
Heine, B., & T. Kuteva (2002). World lexicon of grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Heine, B., & T. Kuteva (2006). The changing languages of Europe. Oxford University Press.‏
Hopper, P. J., & E. C. Traugott (2003). Grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jamasp-Asana, D. J. M. (1992). Pahlavi Texts (transcription, translation). Tehran: National Library of Iran.
Juvonen, P. (2006). "Articles, Definite and Indefinite". Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. K. Brown (ed.), 2nd edition. Oxford: Elsevier Science, 484-487.
Kent, R. G. (1953). Old Persian. New Haven: American oriental society.
Lehmann, C. (2015). Thoughts on Grammaticalization, 3rd edition. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Lyons, C. (1999). Definiteness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Meshkinfam, M., M. Naghzguy-Kohan, & E. Ragagnin (2022). "The emergence of the indefinite article in Old Persian: A Construction Grammar account". Italian Journal of Linguistics. 34 (2), 121-142.
Paul, D. (2008). "The individuating function of the Persian “indefinite suffix". Aspects of Iranian linguistics. S. Karimi, et. al. (eds.), Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 309-328.
Phillott, D. C. (1919). Higher Persian grammar for the use of the Calcutta University, showing differences between Afghans and modern Persian with notes on rhetorics. Calcutta: The University Press.
Platts, J. T. (1911). A grammar of the Persian language. Part 1. Accidence. Revised and enlarged by G. S. A. Ranking. London: Williams and Norgate.
Salemann, C. (1930). A Middle-Persian Grammar. Translated from German by Bogdanov, L. Bombay: The trustees of the Parsee Punchayet Funds and Properties.
Schmitt, R. (2009). Die altpersische Inschriften der Achaimeniden: Editio minor mit deutsche Übersetzung. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden.
Skjærvø, P. O. (2008). Introduction to Pahlavi. Cambridge, Mass. Accessed July, 8, 2013.
Skjærvø, P. O. (2009). "Old Iranian". The Iranian Languages. G. Windfuhr (ed.), London: Routledge, 43-189.
Windfuhr, G. (2009). The Iranian Languages. New York: Routledge.
Language and Linguistics
Volume 19, Issue 38
September 2024
Pages 1-20