[Lingtyp] Grammaticalization of 1SG verb forms

Alexandre Arkhipov sarkipo at yandex.ru
Mon Nov 15 09:11:42 UTC 2021


Dear Aigul,

For the record, in the Taimyr Evenki variety documented by K. Rychkov 
around 1910, the regular 1SG agreement marker -w seems to have been used 
just for *any* person and number. But this is likely due to the ongoing 
language shift in that community, not to some specific modality etc.
Chris Däbritz (in cc.) can tell you more on that.

Greetings and all the best,
Alexandre

12/11/2021 02:19, Aigul Zakirova пишет:
> Dear colleagues,
> I am wondering whether you know of any languages in which a finite 1SG 
> verb form (e.g. non-past) is also used in modal contexts (e.g. 
> optative or deontic) with subjects which are not 1SG. I am asking 
> because I came across such a use in languages I work on, Meadow Mari 
> and Hill Mari (Uralic).
>
> In the examples below a non-past 1SG form is combined with /əl’e/, a 
> form of the verb 'to be', to yield an optative reading. In other types 
> of optative utterances əl’e is also used, so əl’e is not very 
> interesting; what interests me is the use of the non-past 1SG form.
>
> Meadow Mari
> erla jür lij-am əl’-e!
> tomorrow rain become-NPST.1SG be-AOR.3SG
> ‘If only it rained tomorrow!’
>
> Meadow Mari
> maksim erla tol-am əl’-e
> Maksim tomorrow arrive-NPST.1SG be-AOR.3SG
> ‘If only Maksim (person's name) arrived tomorrow!’
>
> To put it more broadly, if you have encountered cases where a certain 
> "petrified" person-number verb form is used in atypical contexts which 
> are distant from the original form's meaning, I am also interested in 
> such cases. What comes to my mind is
> -formal coincidence or resemblance between indicative and imperative 
> 2PL forms
> -use of imperatives in Russian to convey abruptness (А он как побеги!) 
> or in conditional / concessive clauses (Сделай он это, все было бы 
> по-другому)
> But maybe there is something else on the matter?
>
> Best,
> Aigul Zakirova
>
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