Chapter 9. Grammar in usage and grammaticalization of dan ‘give’ constructions in Kurmanji Kurdish
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Salih Akin
Abstract
Belonging to the family of Indo-European languages, Kurdish is part of the Iranian group of this family, which gathers several modern languages such as Balochi, Ossetic, Persian, Tadjik, etc. The two main dialects that are closely related to each other are the Kurmanji dialect and the Sorani dialect. The Kurmanji dialect, spoken by 65% of the Kurds, appears more archaic than the other dialects in its phonetic and morphological structure. We focus on two dominant grammatical categories used with dan ‘give’ in Kurmanji Kurdish, light verb constructions (LVC) and causative constructions, illustrating issues of language change. Causative and light verb constructions are dominant in the Kurdish language, as illustrated through our various corpora. We illustrate the grammaticalization of dan in Kurmandji Kurdish corresponding to a typological fact found in other languages (Bouveret 2012; Gougenheim 1929; Von Waldenfels 2012; Newman 1997, 1998). We show that the causative use of dan as an auxiliary construction is a major grammatical fact in the Kurmanji Kurdish and categorize three kinds of causative constructions.
As discussed in the grammaticalization literature, the wide usage of a very common verb, and its extensive productivity can lead to a bleaching process from full verb towards auxiliary. The grammaticalization process for dan is also shown in Kurmanji Kurdish through the use of light verb constructions and the high productivity of the verb in compounds.
Abstract
Belonging to the family of Indo-European languages, Kurdish is part of the Iranian group of this family, which gathers several modern languages such as Balochi, Ossetic, Persian, Tadjik, etc. The two main dialects that are closely related to each other are the Kurmanji dialect and the Sorani dialect. The Kurmanji dialect, spoken by 65% of the Kurds, appears more archaic than the other dialects in its phonetic and morphological structure. We focus on two dominant grammatical categories used with dan ‘give’ in Kurmanji Kurdish, light verb constructions (LVC) and causative constructions, illustrating issues of language change. Causative and light verb constructions are dominant in the Kurdish language, as illustrated through our various corpora. We illustrate the grammaticalization of dan in Kurmandji Kurdish corresponding to a typological fact found in other languages (Bouveret 2012; Gougenheim 1929; Von Waldenfels 2012; Newman 1997, 1998). We show that the causative use of dan as an auxiliary construction is a major grammatical fact in the Kurmanji Kurdish and categorize three kinds of causative constructions.
As discussed in the grammaticalization literature, the wide usage of a very common verb, and its extensive productivity can lead to a bleaching process from full verb towards auxiliary. The grammaticalization process for dan is also shown in Kurmanji Kurdish through the use of light verb constructions and the high productivity of the verb in compounds.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction. Lexicalization, grammaticalization and constructionalization of the verb give across languages 1
-
Part 1. Frames and extensions
- Chapter 1. Metaphor meets grammar in a radial network of give verbs in Romance 25
- Chapter 2. Talking about giving 55
-
Part 2. The transfer constructions
- Chapter 3. The role of verb polysemy in constructional profiling 75
- Chapter 4. The French ditransitive transfer construction and the complementarity between the meta-predicates give, take, keep, leave 97
- Chapter 5. Transfer and applicative constructions in Gunwinyguan languages (non-Pama-Nyungan, Australia) 121
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Part 3. Grammaticalization, lexicalization and constructionalization issues
- Chapter 6. Aoj ‘give’ in Khmer 147
- Chapter 7. The semantics of the verb give in Tibetan 175
- Chapter 8. GEI 195
- Chapter 9. Grammar in usage and grammaticalization of dan ‘give’ constructions in Kurmanji Kurdish 223
- Subject index 245
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction. Lexicalization, grammaticalization and constructionalization of the verb give across languages 1
-
Part 1. Frames and extensions
- Chapter 1. Metaphor meets grammar in a radial network of give verbs in Romance 25
- Chapter 2. Talking about giving 55
-
Part 2. The transfer constructions
- Chapter 3. The role of verb polysemy in constructional profiling 75
- Chapter 4. The French ditransitive transfer construction and the complementarity between the meta-predicates give, take, keep, leave 97
- Chapter 5. Transfer and applicative constructions in Gunwinyguan languages (non-Pama-Nyungan, Australia) 121
-
Part 3. Grammaticalization, lexicalization and constructionalization issues
- Chapter 6. Aoj ‘give’ in Khmer 147
- Chapter 7. The semantics of the verb give in Tibetan 175
- Chapter 8. GEI 195
- Chapter 9. Grammar in usage and grammaticalization of dan ‘give’ constructions in Kurmanji Kurdish 223
- Subject index 245
