Article published In: Asian Languages and Linguistics
Vol. 5:1 (2024) ► pp.72–90
A descriptive study of conditional constructions in Odia
Published online: 5 July 2024
https://doi.org/10.1075/alal.00018.sah
https://doi.org/10.1075/alal.00018.sah
Abstract
This study investigates the types of conditional constructions found in the Indo-Aryan language Odia and studies
the morpho-syntactic structure and linear function of it. In Odia, Conditional constructions consist of a main clause (adoposis),
and a subordinate clause (protasis). It is usually protasis, which functions as antecedent, and adoposis functions as consequent,
forming a single sentence, in which consequent is referentially linked to its antecedent by anaphoric relation. Odia Conditional
clause is marked in one of the various morpho-syntactic ways: lexically by 4 conjunctive morphemes like, jad̪i
‘if’/ ‘whether’, manekara ‘supposing’, natʃet̪ ‘otherwise’, kāɭe ‘in case’ or
grammatically by a bound morpheme ‑ile added with the verbal form as suffix, in the protasis, or by a
je…se correlative phrase ‘as long as’. This paper tries to formalize such relation of conditional clauses and
finds that a single conditional operator can map with different conditional scopes for denoting different types of conditional
meanings.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Conditionals with conjunctive morphemes
- 2.1Conditionals with the conjunction jad̪i ‘if’
- 2.2Conditionals with the conjunction manekara ‘supposing’
- 2.3Conditionals with the conjunction natʃet̪ ‘otherwise’ or nahele ‘or else’
- 2.4Conditionals with the conjunction kāɭe ‘in case’
- 2.5Conditionals with the verbal suffix ‑ile
- 2.5.1‑ile morpheme with emphasis markers
- 2.6The conditional correlative phrases je…se ‘as long as’
- 3.Conditionals as adverbials
- 4.Masked conditionals
- 5.Linear function in conditional constructions
- 6.Conclusion
- Notes
- Abbreviations used
References
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