Languages of the Caucasus

This report documents grammatical patterns associated with Tsez finite clauses that combine with the quotative enclitic =ƛin. Based on the distributional properties of such finite clauses and their co-occurrence with different matrix verbs, I suggest that the marker =ƛin is structurally ambiguous between a genuine quotative marker, marking direct speech, and a complementizer, heading finite clauses. In the former function, =ƛin can be compared to English like, go or all. The quotative =ƛin does not impose restrictions on the word order of the embedded clause and is compatible with a large set of verbs, including but not limited to verbs of speaking, cognition, and propositional attitude predicates. As a complementizer heading finite clauses, the marker =ƛin appears on clauses that are strictly predicate-final and attaches directly to that predicate. When selected by propositional attitude verbs, the finite complement clause becomes the context in which the interpretation of pronouns can undergo indexical shift. The Tsez pattern of indexical shift is in many ways similar to patterns of indexical shift reported for other languages. However, the description of this pattern also adds a novel generalization to the growing body of knowledge about indexical shifts: in Tsez, the shifted interpretation is made obligatory if the embedded clause includes a long-distance reflexive. This usage is particularly striking given that the binder in the matrix clause and the bindee do not match in person.

Georgian and Svan exhibit a construction similar to classical sluicing: that is, translational analogs are grammatical of sentences like ‘Mary cooked something, but I don’t know what’. I provide a description of these phenomena and show that this construction in both languages satisfies standard tests for sluicing. I show that wh-movement in Georgian targets a lower position than in, say, English, namely, Spec FocP. Accordingly, I argue that the account developed in Toosarvandani (2008) for Persian and Van Craenenbroeck & Lipták (2006, 2013) for Hungarian is applicable in this case as well. Specifically, sluicing-like constructions in Georgian are derived by movement of wh-phrases into this position and subsequent deletion of the complement of the FocP. The syntax of the Svan counterpart of this construction differs in some crucial aspects and its analysis is yet to be obtained.

This paper presents a biclausal construction in Chechen, arguing that it can be analyzed as an it-cleft. The construction consists of a main copula clause with a covert or pronominal subject, and a temporal complement that co-indexes with an adjunct position in a relative clause that does not form a constituent with the subject or the complement. A study of the construction in a corpus of newspaper and journal texts shows characteristics that make it stand out in terms of syntax and function: the cleft clause can appear both clause-finally as well as clause-initially, and its function is limited to text-structuring (it is mostly used to mark the start of a text or the transition to a new paragraph). This latter characteristic is exceptional: it-clefts in other languages (such as English and Norwegian) are known to be used for text-structuring to some extent, but Chechen is the first language known to only use it for this purpose. This prompts the question whether there are perhaps other language (e.g. from the Nakh-Daghestan family) with similar characteristics.

One of the most striking particularities of Northern Akhvakh is the pervasiveness of a phonological process for which I use the term liaison, traditional in French linguistics. This phonological process blurs word boundaries, possibly resulting in various lexicalization and grammaticalization phenomena. In this paper, after describing the phonological process and discussing its conditioning, I examine itsrole in the evolution of the lexicon, the emergence of new grammatical forms, the development of infixation, and changes in the valency properties of Akhvakh verbs.