Chapter 8. Ordinary insubordination as transient discourse

Insubordination – the conventionalized use of morphologically non-finite forms as finite ones – is an ordinary syntactic event in synchronic spontaneous discourse; it is also an ordinary stage of the grammaticalization of non-finite clauses as finite ones. This chapter explores the morphosyntactic typology of insubordination and its ontogeny in Inner Asian Turko-Mongolic languages. In so doing, I clarify criterial features of insubordination. I also consider whether insubordination is a transient phenomenon as part of a larger process of grammaticalization.I hypothesize that spoken interactive discourse is the major source of candidate structures for insubordination. Inner Asian Turko-Mongolic insubordination occurs in cross-linguistically typical if-clauses, but it also occurs in several other morphologically nonfinite contexts such as purposive clauses (e.g. Uyghur …üčün ‘in order to…’), imperfective clauses (e.g. Southeastern Monguor …bari-ǰi ‘taking…’). I first survey the range of conventionalized insubordinate readings of such non-finites in a half dozen modern Turko-Mongolic languages. Turning to their ontogeny, I then show how contemporary examples of candidate utterances for insubordination often originate as co-constructed utterances in discourse.The grammaticalization of nonfinite clauses as finite ones is a well-established phenomenon in Turkic and Mongolic. Looking at clause length, frequency, and recoverability of semantic content, some conventionalized examples of insubordination (for instance the Monguor imperfective clauses with -ǰi) are losing an insubordination reading and becoming grammaticalized as finite utterances. If insubordination criterially entails semantic and grammatical elision, such constructions become independent in the final phase of insubordination, and “it may not be possible to restore any ellipsed material” (Evans 2007: 370–376). But if insubordination is viewed as a short-term, discourse-based and fundamentally transient phenomenon, then Monguor imperfective nonfinites would be seen as “mature” examples of insubordination. Social and regional variation and even language contact contribute to the introduction of new candidates for insubordination, as well as for their loss.