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Functions of the dative: An Iranian perspective

  • Masoud Mohammadirad EMAIL logo and Mohammad Rasekh-Mahand

Abstract

In this paper, we give an account of dative functions in a number of Iranian languages from a typological perspective. To analyze the functionality of dative markers in the selected languages, we follow a semantic map approach and take Haspelmath’s map of dative functions as a typological grid to examine our data. We collected our data from descriptive grammars and, for Ossetic and Wakhi, from interviews. The data show that five additional connections should be added to the semantic map of dative functions; these connections are confirmed by data from at least three languages within the Iranian language family. The main semantic property for the dative in Iranian languages is indirect affectedness. Moreover, in some languages spatial functions of the dative are also attested. The distribution of dative functions is mainly explained by the preservation of the oblique case and the areal distribution. In addition, in some languages, a grammaticalization cycle is observed, as a result of which purportedly beneficiary markers are transforming into dative markers.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Arseniy Vydrin, and Jaroslava Obertelova for their help with data gathering on Ossetic and Wakhi, respectively. We would also like to thank Thomas Jügel, Heiko Narrog, Silvia Luraghi, and the anonymous reviewer, who offered comments and criticism on the earlier versions of this paper. Masoud Mohammadirad’s work was enabled by the funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 665850.

Abbreviations

acc

accusative

add

additive

adp

adposition

advlz

adverbilizer

aor

aorist

asp

verbal aspectual particle

attr

attributive

aug

augment

aux

auxiliary

caus

causative

clc

clitic

clf

classifier

com

comitative

comp

complementizer

cop

copula

dat

dative

def

definite

dem

demonstrative

dimin

diminutive

dir

direct

dist

distal

drct

directional

ep

epenthesis

evid

evidentiality

ez

ezafeh

f

feminine

fut

future

gen

genitive

imp

imperative

ind

indicative

indf

indefinite

inf

infinitive

ins

instrumental

io

indirect object

ipfv

imperfective

loc

locative

m

masculine

na

not analyzed

neg

negative

nmlz

nominalizer

obj

object

obl

oblique

pass

passive

pc

personal clitic

phb

prohibitive

pl

plural

pn

proper noun

poss

possessive

post

postposition

pprf

pluperfect

prog

progressive

prox

proximal deixis

prf

perfect

prs

present

pst

past

ptc

particle

ptcp

participle

pvb

preverb

rch

relative clause head marker

recp

reciprocal

rel

relativizer

refl

reflexive

sbjv

subjunctive

str

strong

sg

singular

top

topic

tr

transitive

vpfx

verbal prefix

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Published Online: 2018-09-26
Published in Print: 2018-09-25

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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