Grammaticalization of the indefinite marker in Middle Persian

Document Type : .

Authors

1 Department of Linguistics, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

2 Linguistics Department, Bu-Ali Sina University

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

Language and Linguistics
Volume 19, Issue 38
September 2024

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