Possession marking in Ossetic: Arguing for Caucasian influences

David Erschler

doi:10.1515/LITY.2009.021

Article

Possession marking in Ossetic: Arguing for Caucasian influences

David Erschler

Published/Copyright: December 3, 2009

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From the journal Volume 13 Issue 3

Abstract

In this article, I observe that Ossetic has a system of possessive pronouns with two features untypical for Iranian languages. First, along with genitive forms of full pronouns, it has a full paradigm of possessive proclitics. Second, while having accusative enclitics, it lacks possessive enclitics. I argue that the former trait is likely to have developed under West Caucasian influence. As for the absence of possessive enclitics, it is a nearly universal areal feature in the Caucasus. To substantiate these claims, I give an overview of possession marking in Iranian languages and in languages of the Caucasus and compare it to the Ossetic system. I suggest a possible scenario for the grammaticalization of possessive proclitics.

Keywords:: borrowing; Caucasus; clitics; contact; grammaticalization; inflection; Iranian; linguistic area; Ossetic; possession; possessive pronouns; syntax

Correspondence address: Nezavisimyj Moskovskij universitet, Bol'šoj Vlas'evskij per. 11, Moskva 119002, Russia; e-mail: erschler@gmail.com

Received: 2009-03-09

Revised: 2009-06-12

Published Online: 2009-12-03

Published in Print: 2009-November

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/LITY.2009.021

Keywords for this article

borrowing; Caucasus; clitics; contact; grammaticalization; inflection; Iranian; linguistic area; Ossetic; possession; possessive pronouns; syntax