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Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 36:2 (2019) ► pp.262–293

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Differential grammaticalization of copulas in Tsúùt’ínà and Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì

 | Memorial University of Newfoundland
Published online: 22 July 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.15031.wel
Abstract
The languages of the Dene (aka Athapaskan) family in North America almost universally employ two copular verbs. In several languages of this family, copular forms are also employed as verbal auxiliaries: forms of one copula mark clausal focus while forms of the other mark TAM (tense/aspect/mode) categories. With reference to two Dene languages in particular, Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì and Tsúùt’ínà, I explain this difference by positing distinct grammaticalization paths and motivations for each copula: both focus and TAM markers originate in a uniclausal reanalysis of biclausal constructions, the former from constructions where the matrix clause asserts the truth of the embedded clause, and the latter from those where the matrix clause supplies extra TAM information to the embedded clause. Both grammaticalizations involve an upward reanalysis of copulas as functional heads.
Résumé
Les langues de la famille Déné (Athapascane) en Amérique du Nord emploient presque universellement deux verbes copulaires.
Dans plusieurs langues dénées, les formes copulaires sont aussi utilisées comme auxiliaires verbaux: les formes d’une copule marquent le focus sentential tandis que les formes de l’autre copule marquent les catégories temporelles (temps / aspect / mode). À partir de deux langues dénées en particulier, le tłı̨chǫ-yatıı̀ et le tsúùt’ı́nà, j’explique cette différence en proposant des processus de grammaticalisation distincts ainsi que des motivations spécifiques pour chaque copule. Je propose qu’à la fois les marqueurs de focus et les marqueurs temporels sont tous deux issus de réanalyses uni-phrastiques de constructions à l’origine bi-phrastiques. Les marqueurs de focus dérivent de constructions où la phrase matrice indique la valeur de vérité de la phrase subordonnée, tandis que les marqueurs de temporaux dérivent de constructions où la phrase matrice fournit de l’information temporelle additionelle à la phrase subordonnée. Les deux processus de grammaticalisation impliquent une réanalyse des copules comme têtes fonctionnelles situées plus haut dans l’arbre syntaxique.
Zusammenfassung
Fast alle Mitglieder der Dené-Sprachfamilie (auch Athapaskisch) in Nordamerika verwenden zwei Kopulaverben. In mehreren Sprachen dieser Sprachfamilie erscheinen Kopulaverben auch als Hilfsverben: Formen des einen Kopulaverbs treten als Verumfokus-Marker auf, während die andere Form als TAM-Marker (Tempus/Aspekt/Modus) dient. Unter Bezugnahme auf insbesondere zwei Dene-Sprachen, Tłı̨chǫ Yatıı̀ und Tsúùt’ı́nà, erkläre ich diesen Unterschied, indem ich zwei verschiedene Mechanismen der Grammatikalisierung und deren Motivierung für jedes der Kopulaverben vorschlage: sowohl der Satzfokus-Marker als auch die TAM-Marker stammen von einer monoklausalen Reanalyse biklausaler Konstruktionen; ersterer von Konstruktionen, in denen der Hauptsatz den Wahrheitsgehalt des Nebensatzes bestätigt, letzterer von Konstruktionen, in denen der Hauptsatz dem Nebensatz eine zusätzliche TAM-Information liefert. Beide Grammatikalisierungen bedingen eine Reanalyse von Kopulaverben aufwärts im Syntaxbaum hin zu funktionalen Köpfen.
Article outline
  • 1.Dene copulas and grammaticalization
    • 1.1Copulas and predication
    • 1.2Dene copulas, arguments, and interpretation
  • 2.Clausal focus
    • 2.1Structure of clausal focus constructions
    • 2.2The source: Copular constructions with clausal complements
  • 3.TAM marking
    • 3.1Structure of TAM markers
    • 3.2Reanalysis of copulas as TAM markers
    • 3.3Stages of grammaticalization
    • 3.4Cross-linguistic implications
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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