Competition between vectored verbs and factored verbs in Hindi-Urdu, Marathi and Gujarati
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Ghanshyam Sharma
Abstract
In this paper, we present a comparison of Hindi-Urdu verb-verb sequences with those of Marathi and Gujarati. Although such sequences in Marathi and Gujarati are less frequent than they are in Hindi-Urdu, there are good evidence for their proliferation - at least in Marathi - over the past six or seven centuries (Hook 1991; Pardeshi 2021). Assuming that the expansion in their use and scope continues along a path similar to the paths taken by Hindi-Urdu and Panjabi (Marathi and Gujarati’s more compound-verb-rich peers), the paper makes use of the differences between verb-verb sequences in the three languages as a way to sketch a scenario for the replacement of factored verbs by vectored verbs over time and put forward an explanation for that gradual replacement as being the consequence of the progressive assumption of more abstract semantic and grammatical functions by unmarked vector verbs like de- GIVE and le- / ghe- TAKE. As shown in many studies such gradual replacements are a typical feature of grammaticalization: more specific lexical phenomena yield over time to encroachment by more general - hence more abstract - grammatical ones (Andersen 2003; Harris and Campbell 1995; Hopper and Traugott 1993).
Abstract
In this paper, we present a comparison of Hindi-Urdu verb-verb sequences with those of Marathi and Gujarati. Although such sequences in Marathi and Gujarati are less frequent than they are in Hindi-Urdu, there are good evidence for their proliferation - at least in Marathi - over the past six or seven centuries (Hook 1991; Pardeshi 2021). Assuming that the expansion in their use and scope continues along a path similar to the paths taken by Hindi-Urdu and Panjabi (Marathi and Gujarati’s more compound-verb-rich peers), the paper makes use of the differences between verb-verb sequences in the three languages as a way to sketch a scenario for the replacement of factored verbs by vectored verbs over time and put forward an explanation for that gradual replacement as being the consequence of the progressive assumption of more abstract semantic and grammatical functions by unmarked vector verbs like de- GIVE and le- / ghe- TAKE. As shown in many studies such gradual replacements are a typical feature of grammaticalization: more specific lexical phenomena yield over time to encroachment by more general - hence more abstract - grammatical ones (Andersen 2003; Harris and Campbell 1995; Hopper and Traugott 1993).
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface vii
- Contents xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- On the syntax of comparative clauses in Vedic Sanskrit … like someone eating the foam off the water 1
- Some questions about yád in Vedic 23
- A statistical model of syntactic and nonsyntactic factors affecting relative clause placement in Hindi 43
- Optionality and variation in agreement in some participles in Hindi-Urdu 77
- A cross-linguistic approach to sentential subjects in Kannada 119
- Relation between animacy and case marking in Eastern Indo-Aryan languages 173
- Participles with a semantic void in Koints 191
- Competition between vectored verbs and factored verbs in Hindi-Urdu, Marathi and Gujarati 207
- How similarly do Hindi rakhnā and Japanese oku PUT behave as a V2? A corpus-based comparative analysis 243
- The use of vector verbs in early modern Tamil 261
- Reflexive and reciprocal marking in Mising 291
- Reciprocals in Kokborok — A Case of Syntactic Convergence 311
- A cognitive semantic analysis of locative and spatial constructions in Bangla 339
- Revisiting Pāṇini’s generative power 361
- Hindi root allomorphy: Insights from phonological and morphosyntactic theory 381
- Lexeme and speech syllables in English and Hindi. A case for syllable structure 415
- List of contributors 463
- List of contributors 469
- Index of languages 477
- Index of subjects 479
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface vii
- Contents xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- On the syntax of comparative clauses in Vedic Sanskrit … like someone eating the foam off the water 1
- Some questions about yád in Vedic 23
- A statistical model of syntactic and nonsyntactic factors affecting relative clause placement in Hindi 43
- Optionality and variation in agreement in some participles in Hindi-Urdu 77
- A cross-linguistic approach to sentential subjects in Kannada 119
- Relation between animacy and case marking in Eastern Indo-Aryan languages 173
- Participles with a semantic void in Koints 191
- Competition between vectored verbs and factored verbs in Hindi-Urdu, Marathi and Gujarati 207
- How similarly do Hindi rakhnā and Japanese oku PUT behave as a V2? A corpus-based comparative analysis 243
- The use of vector verbs in early modern Tamil 261
- Reflexive and reciprocal marking in Mising 291
- Reciprocals in Kokborok — A Case of Syntactic Convergence 311
- A cognitive semantic analysis of locative and spatial constructions in Bangla 339
- Revisiting Pāṇini’s generative power 361
- Hindi root allomorphy: Insights from phonological and morphosyntactic theory 381
- Lexeme and speech syllables in English and Hindi. A case for syllable structure 415
- List of contributors 463
- List of contributors 469
- Index of languages 477
- Index of subjects 479
