36.1733, Books: Intensive language contact in the Caucasus: Wichers Schreur (2025)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-1733. Wed Jun 04 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.1733, Books: Intensive language contact in the Caucasus: Wichers Schreur (2025)

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Date: 03-Jun-2025
From: Sebastian Nordhoff [sebastian.nordhoff at langsci-press.org]
Subject: Intensive language contact in the Caucasus: Wichers Schreur (2025)


Title: Intensive language contact in the Caucasus
Subtitle: The case of Tsova-Tush
Series Title: Languages of the Caucasus
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Language Science Press
           http://langsci-press.org
Book URL: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/459

Author(s): Jesse Wichers Schreur

eBook

Abstract:

Tsova-Tush is an East Caucasian language spoken in one single village
in Eastern Georgia by approximately 300 speakers. Since its early
description, scholars have been intrigued by the high degree of
linguistic influence from the Georgian language. This book has a
threefold goal: (1) To contribute to the overall description of the
Tsova-Tush language, by filling gaps in the previous literature in
absence of a reference grammar. (2) To contrast Tsova-Tush
constructions with functionally equivalent constructions in Chechen
and Ingush, its closest relatives, and with Georgian, the language of
wider communication which all Tsova-Tush speakers speak as a second
language, in order to form hypotheses concerning which Tsova-Tush
construction is inherited, and which has arisen under influence of
Georgian. (3) To provide the most probable diachronic scenario of
language contact, by looking at historical Tsova-Tush language data,
as well as at its historical sociolinguistics.
This book provides a basic description of Tsova-Tush, in particular in
the domain of spatial cases (which exhibit a two-slot system similar
to Daghestanian languages), TAME categories (indentifying a Iamitive
and a Past Subjunctive developing indirect evidential semantics),
complex verbs, and subordination and clause-chaining (which in
Tsova-Tush is finite).
In terms of language contact, this book concludes that (1) Tsova-Tush
conforms to most established borrowing hierarchies and theories
surrounding intensity of contact, except for the borrowing of a verbal
inflection marker in a remarkably early stage of contact; (2) The
Georgian influence that Tsova-Tush shows in sources from the 1850
suggest that a notable increase in bilingualism occured already at a
point where there was little institutional or numeral dominance of
surrounding the Georgian-language population. A change in ethnic
self-identification can be the underlying factor for the early
instances of contact-induced change.

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     Typology

Language Family(ies): East Caucasian

Written In: English (eng)



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