Cover not available

Article published In: The Linguistic Expression of Mirativity
Edited by Agnès Celle and Anastasios Tsangalidis
[Review of Cognitive Linguistics 15:2] 2017
► pp. 540–575

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

An enunciative account of admirativity in Bulgarian

 | LACITO, CNRS
Published online: 8 December 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.15.2.10gue
Abstract
In this paper, I will discuss the status of the so-called admirative in the Bulgarian grammatical system, with special focus on its relation to the perfect, evidentiality and inferentiality. I will argue that admirative constructions in Bulgarian are better analyzed within the framework of the strict theory of enunciation (Bally, Benveniste, Culioli, Desclés…). In the first part of this paper, I will focus on the morphological patterns specific to Bulgarian and discuss the semantics of the phenomenon. I will also survey other analyses of the issue. In the second part, I will demonstrate that the surprise expressed by admirative constructions, marked by exclamatory intonation and clearly identified by context, exclamatory particles and interjections, results from the discrepancy between what is expected and what is observed.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The term admirative in the Balkans
  • 3.On l-participle forms and their classification in the Bulgarian verb system
  • 4.Interaction with other grammatical categories
  • 5.Admirative usages
    • 5.1Introduction
    • 5.2Admirative meanings: An enunciative analysis
  • 6.Admirative: Connections to tenses
  • 7.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations used in glosses
  • References
References (92)
References
Aikhenvald, A. Y. (2004). Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aksu-Koç, A. & Slobin, D. (1986). A psychological account to the development and use of evidentials in Turkish. In W. Chafe & J. Nichols (Eds.), Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aleksova, K. (2003). Admirativăt v săvremennija bălgarski ezik. Sofia: SemaPS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alexander, R. (2001). Bridging the descriptive chasm: The Bulgarian ‘generalized past’. In V. A. Friedman & D. L. Dyer (Eds.), Of all the Slavs my favorites: In honor of Howard I, Aronson on the occasion of his 66th birthday (pp. 13–42). Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alexander, R., & Zhobov, V. (2009). New conclusions on the conclusive. Journal of Slavic Linguistics, 17(1–2), 61–85. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Andrejčin, L. (1938/1976). Načini na izkazvane. In P. Pasov & R. Nitsolova (Eds.), Pomagalo po bălgarska morfologija. Glagol (pp. 336–358). Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1944). Osnovna bălgarska gramatika [Basic Bulgarian grammar]. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Anscombre, J. C. (2009). La comédie de la polyphonie et ses personnages. Langue Française, 164(4), 11–31. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Asenova, P. (2004). Preizkazvaneto na glagolnoto dejstvie v bălgarskija ezik – projava na balkanskija mantalitet? Bălgarstični studii, 34–43.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bally, C. (1932/1965). Linguistique générale et linguistique française (4th ed.). Bern: Franke.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bazin, L., & Feuillet, J. (1980). L’opposition constatation/non-constatation en turc et en bulgare. Zeitschrift für Balkanoligie, 161, 9–11.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Benveniste, E. (1966). Problèmes de linguistique générale I1. Paris: Gallimard.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1974). Problèmes de linguistique générale II1. Paris: Gallimard.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beševliev, V. (1928). Kăm vapprosa za t. nar. “admirativ” v bălgarskija ezik. Makedonski pregled, 11, 174–177.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Buber, M. (1966/1923). Je et tu (1923), trad. G. Bianquis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bühler, K. (1934/2009). Théorie du langage: La fonction représentationelle. Trad. D. Samain. Marseille: Agone.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chakărova, K. (2004). On the question of narrative variation in Bulgarian prose. ([URL], 17.8.2011).
Chvany, C. V. (1977). [Чвани] Оппозиции / + дейксис / + дистанция / и /+ дискретност/ v morfologii bolgarskogo i anglijskogo glagolov. Contrastive Linguistics, 61, 295–316.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1978). Denotative and connotative meaning of the ‘PRETERITE’ and ‘PERFECT’ in Bulgarian and in English. In Papers from the Fourteen Regional Meeting, University of California, Berkeley (pp. 30–42). Chicago: University of Chicago.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clark, T. W. (1963). Introduction to Nepali. Cambridge: W. Heffers & Sons.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comrie, B. (1976). Aspect: An introduction to the study of verbal aspect and related problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Culioli, A. (1968). La formalisation en linguistique. Cahiers pour l’Analyse, 9(7), 106–117.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1990). Pour une linguistique de l’énonciation, Vol. 11. Paris: Ophrys.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1999). Pour une linguistique de l’énonciation, Vol. 21 and Vol. 31. Paris: Ophrys.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darden, B. J. (1977). On the admirative in Bulgarian. Folia Slavica, 1(1), 59–63.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
DeLancey, S. (1997). Mirativity: The grammatical marking of unexpected information. Linguistic Typology, 1(1), 33–52. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001). The mirative and evidentiality. Journal of Pragmatics, 33(3), 369–382. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dëmina, Е. (1959). Pereskazyvatel’nye formy v sovremennom bolgarskom literaturnom jazyke. In S. B. Bernstein (Ed.), Voprosy grammatiki bolgarskogo literaturnogo jazyka (pp. 326–343). Moscow: Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1970). Kăm istorijata na modalnite kategorii na bălgarskija glagol. Bălgarski ezik, 20(5), 405–21.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Desclés, J. P. (1976). Description de quelques opérations énonciatives. In J. David & M. Robert (Eds.), Modèles logiques et niveaux d’analyse linguistique (pp. 213–242). Paris: Klincksieck.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1980). Construction formelle de la catégorie de laspect (essai). In J. David & M. Robert (Eds.), La notion d‘aspect (pp. 195–237). Paris: Klincksieck.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000). Abduction and non-mbservability: Some examples from language science and cognitive science. In E. Afazzi (Ed.), The reality of the unobservable: Observability, unobservability and their impact on the issue of scienfic realism (pp. 87–112). Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2009). Opérations de prise en charge et d’engagement: Une carte sémantique de catégorisations opérées par les langues. Langue Française, 1621, 29–53. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Desclés, J. P., & Guentchéva, Z. (2015). Metalinguistic enunciative systems. An example: temporality in natural languages. In V. Arigne & C. Roque-Migette (Eds). Metalinguistic discourses (pp. 89–10). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(forthcoming). Inference processes expressed by languages: Deduction of a probable consequent vs. abduction. In V. Arigne & C. Roque-Migette (Eds), Theorization and representations in linguistics. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Dozon, A. (1879). Manuel de la langue chkipe ou albanaise. Paris: Leroux.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duchet, J. L., & Përnaska, R. (1996). L’admiratif albanais: Recherche d’un invariant sémantique. In Z. Guentchéva (Ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée (pp. 31–46). Louvain/Paris: Peeters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fielder, G. E. (1995). Narrative perspective and the Bulgarian l-participle. Slavic and East European Journal, 391, 585–600. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001). Questioning the dominant paradigm: An alternative view of the grammaticalization of the Bulgarian evidential. In A. Friedman & D. L. Dyer (Eds.), Of all the Slavs my favorites: In honor of Howard I, Aronson on the occasion of his 66th birthday (pp. 1–31). Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Friedman, V. A. (1978). On the semantic and morphological influence of Turkish on Balkan Slavic. In Papers from the fourteenth regional meeting (pp. 108–118). Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1981). Admirativity and confirmativity. Zeitschrift für Balkanoligie, 17(1), 12–28.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1982). Reportedness in Bulgarian: Category or stylistic variant. International Journal of Slavic Linguistics and Poetics, 25–26, 149–163.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1986). Evidentiality in the Balkans: Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Albanian. In W. Chafe & J. Nichols (Eds.), Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology (pp. 168–187). Norwood. NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1999). Evidentiality in the Balkan languages. In U. Hinrichs (Ed.), Handbuch der Siudosteuropa-Linguistik (pp. 519–544). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000). Confirmative/nonconfirmative in Balkan Slavic, Balkan Romance, and Albanian with additional observations on Turkish, Romani, Georgian, and Lak. In L. Johanson & B. Utas (Eds.), Evidentials in Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages (pp. 329–366). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001). Hunting the elusive evidential: The third-person auxiliary as a boojum in Bulgarian. In V. A. Friedman & D. L. Dyer (Eds.), Of all the Slavs my favorites: In honor of Howard I, Aronson on the occasion of his 66th birthday (pp. 203–230). Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2003). Evidentiality in the Balkans with special attention to Macedonian and Albanian. In A. Y. Aikhenvald & R. M. W. Dixon (Eds.), Studies in evidentiality (pp. 189–218). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2012). Perhaps mirativity is phlogiston, but admirativity is perfect: On Balkan evidential strategies. Linguistic Typology, 161, 505–527. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gerdžikov, G. (1977). Edna spečifina glagolna kategorija v săvremennija bălgarski knižoven ezik. Godišnik na Sofijiskija Universitet, 69(2), 9–68.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1984). Preizkazvaneto na glagolnoto dejstvie v bălgarskija ezik. Sofija: Nauka i Izkustvo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guentchéva, Z. (1990a). Temps et aspects: L’exemple du bulgare contemporain. Paris: Editions du CNRS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1990b). Valeur inférentielle et valeur ‘admirative’ en bulgare. Contrastive Linguistics, 15(4–5), 47–52.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). The Bulgarian admirative and the typology of mirativity. In H. Nølke, I. Baron, H. Korzen, I. Korzen, & H. Müller (Eds.), Grammatica: Festschrift in honour of Michael Herslund (pp. 123–136). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gawne, L., & Hill, N. W. (Eds.). (2017). Evidential systems of Tibetan languages. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hauge, K. R. (2002). At the boundaries of the Balkan sprachbund: Pragmatic and paralinguistic isomorphisms in the Balkan and beyond. Mediterranean Language Review, 141, 21–40.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ivanchev, S. (1973/1976). Problemi na razvitieto i funkcioniraneto na modalnite kategorii v bălgarskija ezik. In P. Pašov & R. Nitsolova (Eds.), Pomagalo po bălgarska morfologija. Glagol (pp. 348–359). Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1984). Minalite razkazvatelni sistemi v bălgarskija ezik. Bălgarskija ezik, 11, 27–32.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jakobson, R. (1957/1971). Shifters, verbal categories, and the Russian verb. In Selected Writings II (pp. 130–147). The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johanson, L. (2000). Turkic indirectives. In L. Johanson & B. Utas (Eds.), Evidentials in Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages (pp. 61–87). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Journal of Pragmatics, 2001, 33(3). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, S. Y., & Aleksova, K. (2003). Mirativity in Korean and Bulgarian. In Proceedings of Bulgaria, Korea, Central & East Europe – Humanities and Social Science (14th – 15th July, 2003). Sofia: Sofia University. ([URL])
Kutsarov, I. (1984). Preizkazvaneto v bălgarskija ezik. Sofia: Narodna prosveta.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1994). Edno ekzotino naklonenie na bălgarskija glagol. Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2007). Teoretična gramatika bălgarskija ezik, Morfologija. Plovdiv: PU: “Paisij Hilendarski”.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Langacker, R. (1987). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume I: Theoretical prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1991). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume II: Descriptive application, Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lazard, G. (1956). Caractères distinctifs de la langue tadjik. Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, 521, 117–186.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1996). Le médiatif en person. In Z. Guentchéva (Ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée (pp. 21–30). Louvain/Paris: Peeters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1999). Mirativity, evidentiality, mediativity, or other? Linguistic Typology, 3(1), 91–109. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000). Le médiatif: Considérations théoriques at application à l’iranien. In L. Johanson & B. Utas (Eds.), Evidentials in Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages (pp. 209–229). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lindstedt, J. (1994). On the development of the South Slavonic perfect. In Three papers on the perfect. EUROTYP Working Papers, 6(5), 215–236.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000). The perfect: Aspectual, temporal and evidential. In Ö. Dahl (Ed.), Tense and aspect in the languages of Europe (pp. 365–384). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Linguistic Typology, 2012, 16(3).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maslov, Y. S. (1956). K voprosu o sisteme form pereskazyvatel’nogo naklonenija. In Sbornik v čest na Aleksandăr Teodorov-Balan (pp. 311–318). Sofia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1981). Grammatika bolgarskogo jazyka. Moscow: Vyssaja Skola.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Michailovski, B. (1996). L’Inférentiel du népalais. In Z. Guentchéva (Ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée (pp. 109–423). Louvain/Paris: Peeters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nitsolova, R. (2003). The evidentiality in Bulgarian and in other Balkan languages. The Third International Academic Conference of KACEES, 14th – 15th July 2003, Sofia University, 17–29.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2007). Modalizovannaja evidencial’naja sistema bolgarskogo jazyka (Modalised evidential system in Bulgarian Language). In V. S. Hrakovskij (Ed.), Evidential’nost’ v jazykah Evropy i Azii (pp. 105–195). Saint Petersburg: Nauka.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). Bălgarska gramatika (Morfologija). Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Kliment Ohridki”. English translation by Christo Stamenov: Bulgarian Grammar, 2017. Berlin: Frank & Timme.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Penchev, Y. (1967). Kăm văprosa za vremenata v săvremennija bălgarski ezik. Bălgarski ezik, 171, 131–143.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1994). Modalnost i vreme. Sӑpostavitelno ezikoznanie, 19(6), 28–37.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peirce, C. A. (1994). Collected Papers, Vol. I-VI1. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plungian, V. (2010). The types of verbal evidentiality marking. In G. Diewald & E. Smirnova (Eds.), Linguistic realization of evidentiality in European languages (pp. 15–58). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Romanski, S. (1925). Recenzija za G. Weigand [CR pour G. Weigand]. Makedonski pregled, 21, 8–10.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slobin, D. & Aksu-Koç, A. (1982). Tense, aspect and modality in the use of the Turkish evidential. In P. Hopper (Ed.), Tense-aspect: Between semantics and pragmatics (pp. 185–200). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sonnenhauser, B. (2013). Evidentiality’ and point of view in Bulgarian. Săpostavitelno ezikoznanie, 2–3, 110–130.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). Hear-say, inference, surprise: (Self-)distancing in Bulgarian. In B. Sonnenhauser & A. Meermann (Eds.), Distance in language: Grounding a metaphor (pp. 117–141). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stankov, V. (1967/1976). Kategorii na indikativa v săvremennija bălgarski ezik. Bălgarski ezik, 171, 330–344.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1969). Bălgarskite glagolni vremena. Sofia: Nauka I izkustvo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tărpomanova, E. (2010). Admirativăt v bălgarski i albanski ezik. Bălgarski ezik, 57(1), 45–66.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). Evidentialnostta v balkanskite ezici: Bălgarski i albanski. Sofia: Ni pljus.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vaillant, A. (1966). Grammaire comparée des langues slaves. Le verbe. T. 3. Paris: Institut des langues slaves.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weigand, G. (1923). The admirative in Bulgarian. The Slavonic Review, 21, 567–568.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Celle, Agnès, Anne Jugnet, Laure Lansari & Tyler Peterson
2019. Interrogatives in surprise contexts in English. In Surprise at the Intersection of Phenomenology and Linguistics [Consciousness & Emotion Book Series, 11], ► pp. 117 ff. DOI logo
Depraz, Natalie & Agnès Celle
2019. Introduction. In Surprise at the Intersection of Phenomenology and Linguistics [Consciousness & Emotion Book Series, 11], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue