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2.2 Definiteness in Albanian: Syntax and Semantics

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2.2 Definiteness in Albanian: Syntax and Semantics UC Berkeley Dissertations, Department of Linguistics Title The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/84g5x22p Author Prendergast, Eric H Publication Date 2017-04-01 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area by Eric Heath Prendergast A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Line Mikkelsen, Chair Professor Lev Michael Professor Ronelle Alexander Spring 2017 The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area Copyright 2017 by Eric Heath Prendergast 1 Abstract The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area by Eric Heath Prendergast Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California, Berkeley Professor Line Mikkelsen, Chair This dissertation analyzes an unusual grammatical pattern that I call locative determiner omission, which is found in several languages belonging to the Slavic, Romance, and Albanian families, but which does not appear to have been directly inherited from any individual genetic ancestor of these languages. Locative determiner omission involves the omission of a definite article in the context of a locative prepositional phrase, and stands out as a feature of the Balkan linguistic area for which there are few, if any crosslinguistic parallels. This investigation of the origin and diachronic spread of locative determiner omission serves the particular goal of revealing how the social context of language contact could have resulted in a pattern of grammatical borrowing without lexical borrowing, yielding a present distribution in which locative determiner omission appears in several Balkan languages no longer in direct contact with one another. A detailed structural and historical analysis of locative determiner omission in Albanian, Romanian, Aromanian, and Macedonian is used as a basis for comparison with other Balkan languages. The analysis pays particular attention to the sequence of grammatical changes necessary for the outcome of locative determiner omission in each language, and the specific sociocultural configurations between speaker communities at relevant historical stages that allowed for the spread of locative determiner omission without direct lexical borrowing. This makes it possible to establish that locative determiner omission arose from a period of early contact between proto-Albanian and Late Latin, resulting in the generalization of the structure across all branches of Balkan Romance. During a later period, contact between Aromanian and individual dialects of Albanian and Macedonian resulted in the transfer of this feature, which then spread throughout most, but not all dialects of these latter languages. A methodological contribution of this dissertation is the demonstration that in-depth study of a grammatical feature that is suspected to have developed through language contact can yield impor- tant insights into the historical and social dynamics of a linguistic area that cannot be determined through synchronic observation of broad similarities alone. Even in the absence of documentation, careful reconstruction of the structural accommodations required for the adoption of a grammatical innovation can reveal new information about the process of language contact. This is particularly true for features that are not uniformly distributed across a linguistic area, as is the case with loca- tive determiner omission in the Balkans. As a consequence, my proposal argues for an approach to linguistic areas that views them as an outcome of localized, layered clusters of convergence. i To my parents, Corinne Heath and Edward Prendergast, with all my love. ii Contents Contents ii List of Figures iv List of Tables v 1 Introduction 1 2 Locative Determiner Omission in Albanian 10 2.1 The noun phrase and determiner phrase in Albanian: Case, morphology, and syntax 11 2.2 Definiteness in Albanian: Syntax and semantics . 20 2.3 Definiteness in Albanian: Exceptional marking in prepositional phrases . 29 2.4 Locative determiner omission in Albanian: Distinctive, but shared . 40 3 Locative Determiner Omission in Balkan Romance 43 3.1 Locative determiner omission in Romanian . 44 3.2 Locative determiner omission in Aromanian . 49 4 Locative Determiner Omission in Balkan Slavic 53 4.1 Locative determiner omission in Macedonian . 54 4.2 Non-lexicalized LDO in Macedonian . 61 4.3 Comparison of locative prepositional phrases in Macedonian and Bulgarian . 64 5 The Diachronic View of Locative Determiner Omission 67 5.1 The diachrony of LDO in Balkan Romance . 70 5.2 The diachrony of LDO in Albanian . 78 5.3 The diachrony of determiners in Balkan Slavic and the influence of Aromanian on Macedonian . 100 6 Language Contact and the Balkan Linguistic Area 105 6.1 Early work on Balkan languages: Kopitar, Schleicher, Sandfeld . 105 6.2 Balkan languages and defining linguistic areas . 111 6.3 The linguistic area as a concept and a tool . 113 6.4 Mechanisms and motivations in language contact between speaker communities . 124 6.5 Summing up the literature . 132 iii 7 The Development and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission as an Areal Feature 133 7.1 The spread of LDO from Balkan Romance . 135 7.2 LDO through language shift . 142 7.3 LDO through structural borrowing . 145 8 Conclusion 149 iv List of Figures 1.1 Map of the Balkan languages sharing grammatical features . 3 1.2 Map of the Balkan languages that show locative determiner omission . 4 1.3 Diagram of the path of transmission for locative determiner omission . 7 3.1 Map of the Balkan Romance languages . 44 5.1 Map of the Balkan languages that show locative determiner omission . 68 5.2 Diagram of the path of transmission for locative determiner omission . 70 5.3 Map of the Balkan Romance languages . 76 5.4 Map of Albanian dialects . 78 5.5 The transitional state of the Albanian case agreement paradigm for modified nouns with the elided locative case . 86 5.6 The outcome of the Albanian case agreement paradigm for modified nouns with full loss of the locative case . 92 5.7 The outcome of the Albanian case agreement paradigm for unmodified nouns with locative determiner omission . 93 5.8 Map of the zone of sporadic locative case attestation in northern Tosk and southern Geg dialects in the mid-20th century . 94 5.9 The outcome of the shift toward LDO in Macedonian . 102 7.1 Map of northern Tosk and southern Geg dialects against Aromanian speaker commu- nities in 1895 . 139 7.2 Schema of Aromanian locative determiner omission . 147 7.3 Schema of Macedonian, Albanian, and Aromanian locative determiner omission com- pared . 148 8.1 Diagram of the path of transmission for locative determiner omission . 150 v List of Tables 2.1 Albanian masculine nominal declension for qytet ‘city’ . 12 2.2 Albanian feminine nominal declension for vajzë ‘girl’ . 12 2.3 Albanian masculine definite nominal declension for qytet ‘city’ . 14 2.4 Albanian feminine definite nominal declension for vajzë ‘girl’ . 14 2.5 The distribution of definites, indefinites, and bare nouns in Albanian . 27 2.6 The standard distribution of referent type and article usage in Albanian . 28 3.1 Prepositions and case in Romanian . 46 4.1 The distribution of definites, indefinites, and bare nouns in Macedonian . 55 5.1 Definite declension of noun mal ‘mountain’ in Early and Modern Albanian . 82 5.2 Change in the behavior of me ‘with’ and case/definiteness selection in Albanian . 90 5.3 Change in the behavior of në ‘in/on’ and case/definiteness selection in Albanian, un- modified nouns . 91 5.4 Change in the behavior of në ‘in/on’ and case/definiteness selection in Albanian, mod- ifiers without particle of concord . 91 5.5 Change in the behavior of në ‘in/on’ and case/definiteness selection in Albanian, mod- ifiers with particle of concord . 92 5.6 Determiner omission in Aromanian and Albanian compared . 96 5.7 Comparison of Romanian and Albanian prepositions (with etymologies) . 97 6.1 Lindstedt’s (2000) grammatical Balkanisms . 115 6.2 Prominent Balkan Sprachbund features discussed by individual authors . 118 7.1 Comparison of definite reference in locative prepositional phrases . 137 vi Acknowledgments I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my dissertation committee, Line Mikkelsen, Lev Michael, and Ronelle Alexander. My advisor, Line Mikkelsen, has provided me with steady guid- ance and profound insight throughout the circuitous development of this dissertation project. Her unwavering support and her excitement in seeing my ideas develop have been essential to bringing this research to fruition. I also must thank Lev Michael for his extraordinary intellectual precision. His deep understanding of language contact and sociocultural linguistic theory enabled him to ask fundamental questions that led the work forward, and his expert approach to fieldwork gave me the best possible model from which to learn. My immense gratitude also extends to Ronelle Alexander, whose mastery of Slavic and Balkan linguistics and attention to detail was tremendously valuable for establishing rigor in my work. I would also like to thank other scholars in linguistics and Balkan studies who contributed to my intellectual growth and answered my many, many questions. I would particularly like to acknowl- edge Victor Friedman of the University of Chicago; Brian Joseph of the Ohio State University; Cristina Kramer of the University of Toronto; Grace Fielder of the University of Arizona; Elena Petroska of Indiana University; Stanislava-Staša Tofoska and Marjan Markoviḱ of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University; Afrodita Totsili of Euro-Balkan University; and Shpëtim Elezi of the Uni- versity of Prishtina. This project required long periods of work away from home, and it would not have been possible without the good humor, practical experience, and moral support of trusted friends and colleagues working in the Balkans.
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