Caucasus Studies 1 CIRCASSIAN Clause Structure Mukhadin Kumakhov & Karina Vamling Malmö University, 2009 Culture and Society Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Linguistics, Moscow Caucasus Studies 1 Circassian Clause Structure Mukhadin Kumakhov & Karina Vamling Published by Malmö University Faculty of Culture and Society Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) S-20506 Malmö, www.mah.se © Mukhadin Kumakhov & Karina Vamling Cover illustration: Caucasus Mountains (K. Vamling) ISBN 978-91-7104-083-1 Holmbergs, Malmö Contents Foreword 7 Abbreviations 8 Transcription 9 Tables and Figures 10 Outline of the book 13 1 The Circassians and their language 15 1.1 Circassians in the Russian Federation 15 1.2 Circassian among the Northwest-Caucasian languages 17 1.3 Literary standards for the Circassian languages 18 1.4 The Circassian diaspora 19 1.5 The present situation of the Circassians 19 1.6 ‘Circassian’ and related terms 20 2 Circassian grammar sketch 21 2.1 Nouns 21 2.1.1 Definiteness 21 2.1.2 Case 22 2.1.3 Number 24 2.1.4 Possessive 25 2.1.5 Coordinative 26 2.2 Pronouns 27 2.3 Adjectives 28 2.4 NP structure 28 2.5 Verbal morphology 30 2.5.1 Transitive and intransitive verbs 31 2.5.1.1 Labile verbs 33 2.5.1.2 Stative and dynamic forms 34 2.5.1.3 Transitivizing processes 34 2.5.1.4 Intransitivizing processes 36 2.5.2 Verbal inflectional morphology 37 2.5.2.1 Person and number 37 Third person – zero versus overt marking 41 Non-specific reference 42 2.5.2.2 Tense 43 2.5.2.3 Mood 45 2.5.2.4 Assertive forms 47 2.5.2.5 Nonfinite forms 48 Participles 48 Gerunds 48 Masdars and infinitives 49 2.5.2.6 Negation 49 2.5.2.7 Interrogativity 50 2.5.2.8 Iterativity 51 2.5.2.9 Coordinative forms 51 2.5.3 Order of verbal morphemes 51 2.6 Clause structure and construction types 53 2.6.1 The ergative construction 53 2.6.2 Word order 58 2.6.3 Inversive (affective) construction 58 2.7 Complex constructions 59 2.7.1 Coordination 59 2.7.2 Subordination 61 2.7.2.1 Complementation 63 2.7.2.2 The subject of the complement clause 64 2.7.2.3 Adverb or adjective modification? 66 2.7.2.4 Matrix predicates and selection of complement pred. 66 3 Ergativity in nouns and pronouns 69 3.1 The ergative case 69 3.1.1 The ergative case: the noun 69 3.1.2 The ergative case in demonstrative pronouns 70 3.1.3 Neutralisation: no opposition in number in the ergative case 71 3.2 Ergative and absolutive, definite and indefinite form 72 3.3 The oblique ergative 74 3.4 Split ergative marking 75 3.4.1 Personal pronouns 75 3.4.2 Interrogative pronouns 75 3.4.3 Determinative pronouns 77 3.4.4.1 Proper nouns 79 3.4.4.2 Circassian surnames 80 3.4.4.3 Borrowed surnames 81 3.4.5 Associative (representative) plural 82 3.4.6 Possessive forms 82 3.4.7 Coordinative forms 83 3.5 Split-ergativity and the Nominal Hierarchy 84 4 Ergative patterns in the verb 87 4.1 Markers of the ergative and absolutive series 87 4.2 Valency 87 4.2.1 Simple monovalent verbs 87 4.2.2 Prefixal monovalent verbs 89 4.2.3 Simple bivalent verbs 94 4.2.4 Prefixal bivalent verbs 98 4.2.5 Simple trivalent verbs 100 4.2.6 Prefixal trivalent verbs 102 4.2.7 Tetravalent verbs 105 4.2.8 Pentavalent verbs 108 4.3 Orientational markers 109 5 Word order 112 5.1 Basic word order SOV 113 5.1.1 Word order and morpheme order 115 5.1.3 Changes of the word order 116 5.2 Proper nouns as subject or object 119 5.2.1 Erg. and absolutive markers and change in the SOV order 119 5.2.2 Family names as subject or object in the ergative clause 122 5.3 The OSV word order in the ergative clause 126 5.4 Word order changes in ditransitive clauses 126 5.5 Word order and je÷', jezƒ ‘(s/he) herself/himself’ 130 5.6 Word order in clauses with question words (wh-words) 134 5.7 Word order in clauses with participles as main verb 139 5.8 Word order in answers 141 5.9 Focus constructions 145 5.10 Position of adverbials 149 6 Labile constructions 152 6.1 On the history of the labile construction 155 6.2 Groups of labile roots 157 6.2.1 Simple roots 157 6.2.2 Stems with the prefix wƒ- 163 6.2.2.1 Denominal roots 164 6.2.2.2 Verbal roots 167 6.2.3 Verbal stems with local prefixes 168 6.2.4 Stems with the prefix ze- 170 6.2.5 Stems with the orientational prefix 171 7 Reduced (semiergative) constructions 173 7.1 Direct object + bivalent transitive verb 173 7.2 Oblique object + trivalent transitive verb 177 7.3 Direct obj. + oblique obj. + trivalent transitive verb 178 7.4 Ergative subject + transitive verb 179 7.5 Reflexive and semiergative constructions 181 7.6 Summary of construction types 183 8 Inversion (affective) constructions 184 8.1 Inversive verbs 185 8.2 Potential forms 187 8.3 Non-volitional forms 190 8.4 Version forms 191 9 Ergativity in complex constructions 193 9.1 Coordination 193 9.1.1 Word order 193 9.1.1.1 Word order and the categories Aorist and Perfect 195 9.1.2 Type of marking of coordination 197 9.1.3 Number 198 9.1.4 Aorist1 and Aorist2 198 9.1.5 Adverbs 199 9.1.6 Oblique objects and valency 200 9.1.7 Gerunds and case variation 201 9.1.8 Coreference relations 203 9.1.9 Further notes on gerunds and infinitives in coordination 206 9.1.10 Summary of general tendencies 206 9.2 Complementation 207 10 Summary 211 10.1 Basic clause structure 211 10.2 Ergative marking in nominals 212 10.3 Ergative patterns in the verb 213 10.4 Word order 213 10.5 Labile constructions 214 10.6 Reduced (semiergative) constructions 215 10.7 Inversive (affective) constructions 215 10.8 Ergativity in complex constructions 216 Literature 217 Foreword This volume is the result of joint research conducted in Russia and Sweden over a number of years, involving the Department of Comparative Linguistics of the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, the Department of Linguistics at Lund University and the Department of Interna- tional Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) at Malmö University. The framework for this research collaboration has been the projects Ergati- vity in the Circassian languages and The syntax and morphology of subordinate clauses in Kabardian. We express our gratitude to The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for financial support for both projects. We would also like to thank the above mentioned institutions for support and encouragement over the years, and in particular the Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations for making it possible to publish this volume. This collaboration has resulted in two monographs in Russian (Kumakhov & Vamling 1998, 2006) aimed at caucasologists and other interested readers in the North Caucasus and Russia. The present publication in English is based on these monographs and is intended for a wider range of readers, both linguists and Circassians with no knowledge of Russian. During the course of this work, both in the preparation of the Russian ver- sion and the English one, professor Zara Kumakhova at the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow has offered most valuable help and comments, and we would like to take the opportunity to thank her. We would also like to thank Dr. Revaz Tchantouria at the Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER), Malmö University, who has assisted us throughout these projects and in the preparation of the publica- tions. Mukhadin Kumakhov and Karina Vamling Moscow, February 2008 It is with great sadness and regret that I must extend this foreword. In June 2008, in the very final stages of our preparing the monograph for publication,professor Mukhadin Kumakhov died, unexpectedly. All subsequent amendments to the text are purely editorial. Karina Vamling Malmö, December 2008 Abbreviations O Direct object OERG Oblique ergative OPT Optative OR Orientation PART Participle PF Perfective 1 First person PERF Perfect 2 Second person PL Plural 3 Third person PLUP Pluperfect A Adyghe POSS Possessive A Agent POSTP Postposition ABS Absolutive case POT Potentialis ABU Abundance PRES Present ADV Adverbial case R Recipient AOR Aorist RECIP Reciprocal ASS Assumptive REFL Reflexive ASSRT Assertive REL Relative prefix C Circumstancial REV Reversed action CAUS Causative S Subject COM Comitative SG Singular COND Conditional ST Stative CONJ Conjunctive T Theme CRD Coordinative TRANS Transitive DEF Definiteness V Verb DS Derivational suffix VS Version DYN Dynamic ERG Ergative case F Factitive FOC Focus marker FUT Future GER Gerund IMP Imperative IMPF Imperfect INDEF Indefiniteness INF Infinitive INSTR Instrumental case INT Interrogative INTENS Intensiveness INTR Intransitive IO Indirect object marker IO indirect object ITER Iterativity JOINTACT Joint action K Kabardian LOC Locative MSD Masdar NEG Negation NSPEC Nonspecific reference 8 Transcription Consonants b b p p p’ p~ v v f f f’ f~ w u m m d d t t t’ t~ n n r r Ω dz c c c’ c~ z z s s c˚ cu µ d' ç h ç’ k~ ÷ ' ß w ÷' '; ß' w; z' '= s' w= s'’ w~ z'œ '=u s'œ w=u s'’œ w~u g g ⋲ x j j ⋲˚ xu ® g= x x= g˚ gu k˚ ku k’˚ k~u ®˚ g=u x˚ x=u q kx= q’ k= q˚ kx=u q’˚ k=u ¶ ~ h x; ¶˚ ~u l l fi l= l’ l~ Vowels a, a i, i e, / o, o ƒ, y u, u je, e Tables and Figures 1.1 Circassians in the three Northwest Caucasian republics 15 1.2 Examples of differences in the orthographies 18 2.1 Case endings 24 2.2 Possessive prefixes 25 2.3 Examples of transitive verbs 32 2.4 Examples of intransitive verbs (a) 32 2.5 Examples of intransitive verbs (b) 33 2.6 Causative verb formation 35 2.7 Agreement markers in Adyghe and Kabardian 40 2.8 Tenses in Kabardian 45 2.9 Mood forms in Kabardian 47 2.10 Morphological structure of the transitive finite verb and nonfinite forms 52 2.11 Nominative-Accusative alignment (I) vs.