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Вестник Московского университета. Серия 9. Филология. 2024. № 5. C. 129-143 Lomonosov Philology Journal. Series 9. Philology, 2024, no. 5, pp. 129-143
MODAL EXPRESSIONS IN BEZHTA Zaira Khalilova
Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia;
Abstract: This paper deals with modal expressions in Bezhta (a language of the Tsezic branch of the Nakh-Daghestian family). The paper gives an overview of Bezhta modal expressions, presenting the main semantic and syntactic features. In Bezhta, modality is realized lexically, i.e. with the help of modal verbs, and morphologically, i.e. with the help of the suffixes. Traditionally, modality has been described as having the following main subtypes: deontic (obligation and permission), epistemic (probability), and dynamic (ability and volition). In Bezhta, modal interpretation often depends on the complementation strategy of a modal verb. For instance, deontic and epistemic senses of the modal verb -aq- 'to be able, can' is expressed with the infinitival complement, and dynamic modality is expressed with the converbal complement. This paper analyzes previously unstudied data on Bezhta modal expressions.
Keywords: Bezhta; modal verbs; complementation; complement-taking predicates; complement-taking strategy; epistemic, deontic and dynamic modality; potential construction
Funding: This research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 22-18-00528.
doi: 10.55959/MSU0130-0075-9-2024-47-05-10
For citation: Khalilova Z. (2024) Modal Expressions in Bezhta. Lomonosov Philology Journal. Series 9. Philology, no. 5, pp. 129-143.
СРЕДСТВА ВЫРАЖЕНИЯ МОДАЛЬНОСТИ
В БЕЖТИНСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
З.М. Халилова
Институт языкознания РАН, Москва, Россия; [email protected]
Аннотация: В статье рассматриваются средства выражения модальности в бежтинском языке (нахско-дагестанская семья). В бежтинском языке модальность выражается лексическими (модальные глаголы) и морфологическими средствами (с помощью различных аффиксов). Традиционно в типологии выделяются такие типы модальности, как эпистемическая, деонтическая
© Khalilova Z., 2024
и динамическая. В бежтинском языке некоторые модальные глаголы имеют лишь определенные модальные значения, например, модальный глагол nuco-'быть должным' выражает лишь деонтическую модальность. Другие же модальные глаголы могут совмещать несколько модальных значений, например, выражение определенного типа модального значения зависит от стратегии оформления сентенциального актанта при модальном глаголе -aq- 'мочь, уметь'. Так, при оформлении сентенциального актанта инфинитивом при глаголе -aq- 'мочь, уметь' конструкция получает деонтическую и эпистемиче-скую интерпретации, а при оформлении сентенциального актанта конвербом конструкция выражает динамическую модальность. В бежтинском языке представлены и морфологические средства выражения модальности. Имеются две потенциалисные конструкции, которые образуются с помощью таких суффиксов, как -jt- и -jc'-, и выражают динамическую модальность. Конструкция с суффиксом -jc'- обладает инволитивным и потенциальным значением, тогда как конструкция с суффиксом -jt- выражает только потенциальное значение. В конструкции потенциалиса меняется маркирование канонического агенса на косвенный падеж: агенс в потенциалисной конструкции принимает форму посессива.
Ключевые слова: бежтинский язык; модальные глаголы; конструкции с сентенциальными актантами; стратегии оформления сентенциального актанта; эпистемическая модальность; деонтическая модальность; динамическая модальность; потенциалис
Финансирование: Исследование выполнено при поддержке гранта РНФ № 22-18-00528.
Для цитирования: Халилова З.М. Средства выражения модальности в бежтинском языке // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Серия 9. Филология. 2024. № 5. С. 129-143.
Introduction
Bezhta belongs to the Tsezic group of the Nakh-Daghestanian language family. Bezhta is a minority unwritten language spoken in the Republic of Daghestan in the Russian Federation. Bezhta has three dialects — Bezhta Proper, Tladal and Khasharkhota. The data for this article comes from the Bezhta Proper dialect. The Bezhta data are mostly taken from a text corpus. Although corpus examples predominate, there are also a few simple elicited examples. Syntactically, Bezhta is a head-final language with the basic word order Subject Object Verb. As is generally the case in the Nakh-Daghestanian languages, the case-marking pattern is ergative. In Bezhta, nominal categories of gender and number are implied to cross-reference the verbal arguments. Bezhta has intransitive, unergative, transitive, and affective verbs. Intransitive verbs are typically one-place verbs. Intransitive verbs have the single argument (S) in the absolutive case (e.g. -eke- 'to burn', k'ok'o- 'to be sick', -enX'e 'to go', qoqo- 'to dry', -ija 'to cry', etc.). The unergative verbs are a small group of onomatopoeic verbs, with SA in ergative, no agreement, e.g. hahXo- 'to yawn', wajXo- 'to moan', hik'Xo- 'to hiccup', hawXo- 'to bark', wic'Xo- 'to cheep', honhon^o- 'to neigh',
Kolo- 'to cry, to scream', etc. Diachronically, these onomatopoeic verbs seem to have arisen from the incorporation of an onomatopoeic element like hik' 'hiccup' into the verb ile-, which in Bezhta means 'to call' but has the more general meaning 'to say' in some other Tsezic languages (for example, in Khwarshi). Transitive verbs have two core arguments, where one argument (A) is marked with the ergative case and the other argument (P) takes the absolutive case. Typical transitive verbs are two-place verbs (e.g. qow- 'to read', -oo- 'to do, to make', nil- 'to give', -eze- 'to carry, to take', gul- 'to put', -unq- 'to eat', etc.). Typical affective verbs are two-place perception, emotion and cognition verbs (e.g. -at'- 'to love, to want', tuq-'to hear', -ega- 'to see', c'al- 'to feel', -iq'e- 'to know', coq- 'to be informed, to hear', bidzi -aq- 'to understand', and other verbs). Affective verbs have animate argument that experiences the action, which is the experiencer in the lative case, and another argument is the stimulus marked with the absolutive case. The verbal morphology has a very rich morphological system of tense-aspect-mood, with distinct finite (a rich set of synthetic and analytical verbal forms) and non-finite forms (infinitive, participles, masdar, and various contextual and specialized converbs). Most Bezhta verbs show gender/number agreement and agree with the arguments in the absolutive case. As a rule, only vowel-initial verbs have a prefixal slot for gender-number agreement, plus a small number of verbs with internal vowel change.
Modality deals with the speaker's attitude towards the propositional content of the utterance [Palmer 2001]. Modality has the following main subtypes — dynamic, deontic and epistemic. In this paper, I use the notion of dynamic, deontic and epistemic modality proposed by Palmer [2001]. Deontic modality is concerned with obligation, necessity and permission; dynamic modality refers to ability or volition; and epistemic modality conveys the speaker's opinion on the factual status of the proposition. Palmer argues that it is quite common for a language to use similar sets of markers to express different modality subtypes. This is found in English, which uses modal verbs may, can and must to express epistemic and deontic/dynamic modality.
Bezhta verbal morphology was analyzed by local and foreign scholars, such as Erkert [1985], Bokarev [1959], Madieva [1965], Khalilov [1980], Kibrik & Sandro [1988]. The modality system has only been addressed in part by Comrie, Khalilov & Khalilova [2015]. Modal expressions in Bezhta include modal predicates and potential constructions. The Bezh-ta modal predicates are -aq- 'to be able, can', nuco- 'must', k'ezi -aq- 'to be able' and hazat -aq- 'to need' [Comrie et al. 2015: 322]. The potential construction, which is formed with the potential suffix -jlf-ijl, expresses the physical and mental ability. Another potential construction, formed with -jc', is less productive.
Section 2 looks at modal verbs. Sections 3 and 4 describe potential constructions. Section 4 summarizes the paper.
Bezhta modal verbs
The Bezhta modal verbs are nuc'o- 'must', -aq- 'to be able, can', k'ezi -aq- 'to be able', hazat-aq- 'to need', and bazarzi -aq- 'to be able'. The last three modal verbs are borrowings from Avar, which is a lingua franca within the Andic and Tsezic speaking area.
The modal verb nuc'o- 'must' only has a deontic meaning and expresses obligation. This verb can only take an infinitive as its complement. The argument structure of the whole construction is determined by the transitivity value of the lexical verb, i.e. by the infinitive. If the lexical verb is intransitive, the most prominent argument is in the absolutive case (example 1); if it is transitive, the most prominent argument is in ergative case (example 2); if it is affective, and the experiencer argument is in the lative case (example 3). Example (1) is an expression of the high degree of obligation, as the man has to pay the rent in order to be allowed to stay.
(1) bi^o? b-ec-ejas a^na wodo 0-ohda-al house.iN HPL-be-PST.PTCP.GENi seven day i-work-iNF nuc'o-s zuq'o-jo abo
must-iMPF.cvB be-PST father(i).ABS
'My father had to work for seven days to stay at that place.'
(2) ozdi ijodoj kaKaj ca^-al nuc'o-s boy.erg mother.APUD letter write-iNF must-PRS
'The boy has to write a letter to his mother.'
(3) kibbal bit'arab zo j-iq'-al nuc'o-s girl.LAT true thing(iv) iv-know-iNF must-PRS
'The girl must know the truth.' (i.e. someone must tell the girl the truth)
When the modal verb nuc'o- 'must' is combined with the verb -aq-'become, happen', it expresses epistemic modality of probability and uncertainty. Sentence (4) has two interpretations — first, inference is based on general knowledge, for example, 'the girl is usually at home', and second, the inference is based on direct evidence, i.e. the speaker is a direct witness to the inferred situation, for example, 'the girl must be at home, because the speaker sees that the lights are on'.
(4) kanli j-ega-lol, dije pikro b-aq-ijo light(iv) iv-see-ANTR isg.geni thought(iii) iii-happen-PST kid bi^oKa j-aq-al nuc'o-s
girl(ii) at.home ii-happen-iNF must-PRS
'Seeing the lights in the window, I thought the girl must be at home.'
The modal meaning of ability 'to be able, can' is expressed with the polysemous verb -aq-, which means 'to become, happen, stay, be, be borne', and expresses the modal meaning 'to be able, can' as well. As a modal verb, it has three meanings — deontic modality expressing permission, epistemic modality expressing probability, and dynamic modality expressing ability. This predicate can take an infinitival complement or converbal complement. The interpretation of a certain type of modality depends on the complement-taking strategy of -aq-. The infinitival strategy of this verb expresses both deontic and epistemic modality. As for the agreement structure, it is the lexical predicate that assigns the case to the most prominent argument and not the modal predicate -aq- 'to be able, can'. In (5a) the lexical verb is intransitive, in (5b) the lexical verb is transitive, and in (5c) the lexical verb is affective. Such a construction is also an example of clause union, where lexical and modal predicates form a single complex predicate. Clause union constructions are found in other Nakh-Daghestanian languages, for example, in Godoberi, an Andic language [Haspelmath 1999; Kibrik 1996], and Hinuq, a Tsezic language [Forker 2013].
(5) probability
a. kid bi^oKa j-ec-al j-aq-ca girl(ii) at.home ii-stay-iNF ii-can-PRS
'The girl might stay at home.'
b. kibba baba b-o^-al b-aq-ca girl.erg bread(iii) iii-buy-iNF iii-can-PRS
'The girl might buy bread.'
c. kibbal xabar tuq-al b-aq-ca girl.LAT gossip(iii) hear-iNF iii-can-PRS
'The girl might hear the gossip.'
(6) zensa gej muzmar wodo=na, muzmar gahija?
today be.PRS Friday day=ADD Friday be.siM.cvB
0-onq'o-da axo gej sadaq'a j-ok'ol-al j-aq-ca
1-come-coND well be.PRS offering(iv) iv-gather-iNF iv-can-PRS
'Today is Friday, if I come to the Friday prayer, I might gather offerings.'
(7) permission
dil q'ac'c'o xic j-unq-al j-aq-ca-di ?
isg.lat all pancake(iv) iv-eat-iNF iv-can-PRS-QUES
'Can I eat all the pancakes?'
The modal -aq- 'be able, can' takes converbal complement and combines only with intransitive, unergative and transitive verbs, and never with affective verbs. Such a construction expresses the dynamic meaning of
physical and intellectual ability of the main participant. The most structurally prominent argument in such a construction is marked with the possessive case. The main predicate shows 'default' agreement in gender IV, agreeing with the converbal clause which is in the object position.
(8) a. ozo teli 0-ogi<ja>c-ca
boy(i).ABS much i-jump<iTER>-PRS
'The boy is jumping a lot.'
b. ozdiqa teli 0-ogi<ja>c-na 0-aq-ijo
boy(i).OBL-POSS much i-jump<iTER>-cvB i-can-PST
'The boy could jump a lot.'
(9) a. kibba a^o c'anaKo-s
girl.ERG good run-PRS 'The girl runs fast.'
b. kibba-qa a^o C'anaKo-na j-aq-ca girl.OBL-POSS good run-cvB iv-can-PRS
'The girl can run fast.'
(10) a. ozdi t'ek qoh-ca
boy. erg book(iv) read-PRS
'The boy reads a book.'
b. ozdi-qa t'ek qoh-na j-aq-ca
boy.OBL-POSS book(iv) read-cvB iv-can-PRS
'The boy can read a book.' / 'The boy is able to read a book.'
The modal verb k'ezi -aq- 'to be able', which is intransitive, expresses dynamic modality of ability. It is very often found in non-assertive contexts, with negative auxiliaries, but it can also be used in an assertive context. The most prominent argument of the modal verb k'ezi -aq- 'to be able' is marked with the absolutive case, irrespective of the valency of the lexical verb. This verb takes an infinitival complement. This verb is a compound verb formed with the intransitive light verb -aq- 'to happen, become', and the lexical part is formed with the loan verb k'ezi, originally from the Avar verb k'k'eze 'to be able' [Khalilov & Khalilova 2016a]. Sentences (11) and (12) show the use of the intransitive and transitive lexical verbs.
(11) jifta ro^'ila 0-ek'el-lo do, hollola much love.GEN2 i-burn-PST isg.abs 3SG.GEN2 bi^oldaa goc'oq-al-zu=na k'ezi 0-aq-a?as house.DiRECT look-iNF-FOC=ADD be.able i-become-NEG.PST
'I could not look in the direction of her house because I was burning with great love.'
(12) xa^e-jo hem-coj gej hi^lo-na, hit-PST.PTCP column-CMPR be.prs stay-cvB dena-beta xaba b-aK-al k'ezi 0-aq-ec'e then-then leg(iii) iii-take-iNF be.able i-become-NEG.PST
'I remained like a stuck column, not daring to move a leg.'
The modal verb hazat -aq- 'to need' expresses deontic modality of necessity. Note that this verb is a compound verb, which is formed with the intransitive light verb -aq- 'to happen, become', and the lexical part being expressed with the nominal hazat 'need', originally from Arabic. This verb takes an infinitival complement as well as a nominal argument, and the experiencer subject is expressed with the lative. The modal affective verb hazat-aq- 'to need', combined with infinitives, always takes the experiencer in the lative, even if these infinitives are intransitive or transitive verbs.
(13) a. ozdil bi^oKa 0-enft.'-al hazat 0-aq-na
boy.LAT at.home i-go-iNF need i-become-PST
'The boy needs to go home.'
b. kibbal it'ino gedo b-ox-al hazat b-aq-na girl.LAT small cat(iii) iii-buy-iNF need iii-become-PST
'The girl needs to buy a small cat.'
c. ozdil hinis ijo j-ega-al hazat j-aq-na boy.LAT self.geni mother(ii) ii-see-iNF need ii-become-PST
'The boy needs to see his mother.'
The dynamic modality of ability is expressed with the compound verb bazarzi -aq- 'to be able'. The modal verb consists of two parts, where the lexical part bazarzi 'ability' is a loan from Avar and the light verb is expressed with the intransitive -aq- 'to become, to happen' [Comrie & Khalilov 2009]. The potential argument in such construction stands in the possessive case. The use of this verb is limited to converbal complement. bazarzi -aq- 'to be able' can be combined with intransitive, transitive and unergative verbs, and never with affective verbs.
(14) ozdi-qa wana? 0-eft.'e-na bazarzi 0-aq-ijo boy.OBL-POSS forest.iN i-go-cvB be.able iii-become-NEG.PST
'The boy was able to go to the forest.'
(15) holo hal hokmo maKo-s sik'a-qa
that condition(iii) decision(iii) body-GENi mouth.OBL-POSS niso-na bazarzi b-aq-a?as niKa-na
say-cvB be.able iii-become-NEG.PST how-ADD
'I was unable to say what I felt.'
Marked potential construction
The potential construction expresses the dynamic modality of ability and possibility. The potential verb is marked with the potential suffix -jl (-ijl after a consonant). The argument of the potential construction to which ability is assigned (i.e. the X of 'X can Verb') stands in the possessive case, irrespective of the valency of the basic or potential verb [Com-rie et al. 2015: 554; Khalilov & Khalilova 2016b; Khalilova et al. 2022]. The potential construction can be derived from patientive intransitive, transitive and one affective verb, a few unergative verbs and never from agentive intransitive verbs and most affective verbs. The potential construction derived from agentive intransitives adds a new argument, marked with the possessive case. Additionally, the construction with -jl/-ijl expresses an accidental situation ('X did accidentally Verb'). Similar potential constructions are also found in other closely related languages, for example, in Hinuq [Forker 2013] or Tsez [Comrie 2000].
(16) a. li Kaj^o-s
water boil-PRS
'The water boils.'
b. kibba-qa li Kaj^o-jl-ijo girl.oBL-PoSS water boil-PoT-PST
'The girl could boil the water.'
(17) amma wo-bo j-o<wa>x-da komaklil 0-enft.'e-c'e
but dog-PL NHPL-catch<PL>-coND help.LAT i-go-NEG.cvB
0-ece-jl-a?as huli
1-be-POT-NEG.PRS that.ABS
'But if the dogs were caught, he could not resist helping them.'
The potential construction derived from the transitive verb does not change the number of verbal arguments; the potential agent stands in the possessive case and the patient remains in the absolutive case. The predicate agrees in gender and number with the absolutive patient.
(18) a. kibba q'arpuz m-uq-ijo
girl.erg watermelon(iii) iii-eat-PST
'The girl ate the watermelon.'
b. kibba-qa q'ac'c'o q'arpuz m-uq-ijl-ijo
girl.oBL-PoSS all watermelon(iii) iii-eat-PoT-PST
'The girl could eat the whole watermelon.'
(19) a. ozdi anc j-inqo-jo
boy.ERG door iv-close-PST
'The boy closed the door.'
b. ôzdiqa anc j-inqo-jc'-ijo
boy.OBL-POSS door(iv) iv-close-POT-PST
'The boy could close the door. / The boy accidentally closed the door.'
The potential construction can be derived from some unergative verbs: hahX-al 'to yawn', wajX- 'to moan, to groan', ohXo- 'to cough', hik'Xo- 'to hiccup', morXo- 'to scold', hawXo- 'to bark', wic'Xo- 'to cheep', xixXo- 'to blow one's nose', qaXe- 'to shout', koXo- 'to cry, to shout' and many others. The unergative verbs are actually onomatopoeic verbs, with SA in the ergative case and no agreement. In the potential construction, the number of arguments does not change, but the potential SA appears in the possessive case.
(20) a. ôzdi ji&'a ôh^ô-jo
boy.ERG much cough-PST
'The boy coughed a lot.'
b. ôzdi-qa ôh^ô-jl-ijo
boy.OBL-POSS cough-POT-PST
'The boy could cough.'
(21) a. kibba xiX^o-s
girl.erg blow.one's.nose-prs
'The girl blows her nose.'
b. kibbaqa xiX^o-jl-ijo
girl.obl.poss blow.one's.nose-pst
'The girl could blow her nose.'
The potential construction derived from the affective verb adds a new argument in the possessive case. The predicate shows agreement in gender and number with the absolutive argument. Potential derivation is available only for one affective verb -ega- 'to see'. When potential is used with -ega-'to see', the verb becomes causative with the meaning 'to show'. In the potential construction with -ega- 'to see', a verbal valency is increased by one.
(22) a. isil c'odolo gedo b-ega-jo
sister.LAT black cat(iii) iii-see-PST
'The sister saw a black cat.'
b. ist'iqa isil c'odolo gedo b-ega-jl-ijo
brother.poss sister.LAT black cat(iii) iii-see-POT-PST
'The brother could show the sister a black cat.'
Bezhta has another potential construction formed with the suffix -jc' (-ijc after a consonant). This derivation is present only with transitive
verbs. The potential construction with -jc'l-ijc' expresses dynamic modality of ability. Additionally, this construction expresses an accidental situation ('X did accidentally Verb'). In the potential construction with -jc'l-ijc' the most agent-like argument is marked with the possessive case, the P argument is in the absolutive case. The construction with the suffix -jc'l-ijc' can also denote incomplete or unsuccessful action, with no or little control over its final phase. Compare two potential constructions with -jc'l-ijc' and -jl/-ijl in the corresponding examples (23b) and (23c). (23) a. ozdi anc j-inqo-jo
boy. ERG door iv-close-PST 'The boy closed the door.'
b. ozdi-qa anc boy.OBL-POSS door(iv)
'The boy could almost close the door.'
c. ozdi-qa anc boy.OBL-POSS door(iv)
'The boy could close the door.'
(24) a. kibba k'ima-li-s sik
mother.ERG cheese-OBL-GENi sack(iv)
'The girl untied the sack of cheese.'
b. kibbaqa k'ima-li-s sik
mother.ERG cheese-OBL-GENi sack(iv)
'The girl managed to untie the sack of cheese.'
j-inqo-jc'-ijo iv-close-POT-PST
j-inqo-jl-ijo iv-close-POT-PST
j-ank-ijo iv-untie-PST
j-ank-ijc'-ijo iv-untie-POT-PST
Unmarked potential construction
Another potential construction, which I call unmarked potential construction, expresses dynamic modality of ability. The verb in such potential construction does not contain any potential morpheme. The potential meaning is expressed through the case change of the main arguments. The potential construction can be derived from semantically pa-tientive intransitive and transitive verbs. In such potential construction the most agent-like argument appears in the possessive case, the P argument is in the absolutive case; gender-number agreement is with the P [Comrie et al. 2015]. Additionally, this construction expresses an accidental situation ('X did accidentally Verb').
The unmarked potential constructions with patientive intransitives require a new argument in the Possessive case, while the Absolutive S argument remains unchanged. This alternation increases the valency of the intransitive verb by one. The instances of patientive intransitive verbs are -ac'l- 'to be cold', -eke- 'to burn', -ek- 'to fall', -uko- 'to die', -oq'- 'to
come, to appear', -ise- 'to break',pacpalo- 'to blink', hele- 'to cook', qoqo-'to dry', and others.
(25) a. ilos balilas X°Xo b-ek-ijo
1PL.GEN1 cherry.GENi tree(iii) iii-fall-PST
'Our cherry tree fell down.'
b. aboqa ilos balilas X°Xo b-ek-ijo
father.POSS ipl.geni cherry.GENi tree(iii) iii-fall-PST
'The father could make the cherry tree fall.'
(26) a. ijos vaza b-ise-jo
mother.GENi vase(iii) iii-break-PST
'The mother's vase broke up.'
b. diiqa ijos vaza b-ise-jo
1SG.POSS mother.GENi vase(iii) iii-break-PST
'I could break the vase. / I accidentally broke the vase.'
(27) a. xi^a-s kisa b-axe-jo
trousers.obl-geni pocket(iii) iii-tear-PST
'The trousers pocket tore.'
b. it'ina ozdiqa xi^a-s kisa b-axe-jo
small.OBL boy. poss trousers.OBL-GENi pocket(iii) iii-tear-PST
'The little boy could tear his trouser pocket. / The little boy accidentally tore his trouser pocket.'
The unmarked potential construction is based on few transitive verbs, for example, -uc'- 'to cut', ha?o- 'to grind'. The most agent-like argument is marked with the possessive case, the P argument is in the absolutive case; agreement is with the P. Example (28) illustrates the transitive construction with the ergative agent kibba and the potential construction with the possessive agent-like argument kibbaqa.
(28) a. it'ina kibba baba b-uc'-ijo
little.OBL girl.erg bread(iii) iii-cut-PST
'The little girl cut bread for herself.'
b. it'ina kibbaqa baba b-uc'-ijo
small.OBL girl.POSS bread(iii) iii-cut-PST
'The little girl could cut bread.'
Conclusion
In this paper, I have presented a descriptive analysis of Bezhta modal expressions focusing on their semantic and syntactic properties. Bezhta modal expressions distinguish dynamic, epistemic and deontic modality.
Bezhta modal verbs are polyfunctional because they can express more than one modal meaning. The deontic modality of obligation and permission is expressed with the modal verbs -aq- 'to be able, can', nuc'o- 'must', kezi -aq- 'to be able' and hazat -aq- 'to need'. The dynamic modality of ability and volition is expressed with the modal verbs -aq- 'to be able, can', bazarzi -aq- 'can, to be able' and three potential constructions. The epistemic modality of probability is covered by the modal -aq- 'to be able, can'. All modal verbs take infinitives as their clausal complements. In addition to the infinitival complement, -aq- 'to be able, can' allows alternative marking of the complement with the converb. In the potential construction the verb requires a nominal argument but not a complement. All modal verbs, except for the deontic modal nuc'o- 'must' and the epistemic modal -aq- 'to be able, can', control the valency frame of the whole construction. The case frame of the deontic nuc'o- 'must' and the epistemic -aq- 'to be able, can' is controlled by the embedded verbs. To summarize, Table 2 outlines the use of all modal expressions in Bezhta.
TABLE 2
Modal expressions in Bezhta
Modal verb / construction Modal meaning Case marking
nuc'o- 'must' deontic modality of obligation SABS Intr. Infinitive + Must Aerg Tran. Infinitive + Must ExpLAT Affec. Infinitive + Must
epistemic modality of probability and uncertainty SABS 'happen' + Must
-aq- 'to be able, can' dynamic modality of ability APOSS Converb + Can
epistemic modality of probability SABS Intr. Infinitive + Can Aerg Tran. Infinitive + Can ExpLAT Affec. Infinitive + Can
kezi -aq-'to be able' dynamic modality of ability SABS Infinitive + Be able
hazat -aq-'to need' deontic modality of necessity ExpLAT Infinitive + Need
bazarzi -aq-'can, to be able' dynamic modality of ability APOSS Converb + Can
potential construction with -jt /-ijt dynamic modality of ability APOSS PABS Verb (marked with -jl /-iji)
potential construction with -jc dynamic modality of ability APOSS PABS transitive Verb (marked with -jc')
unmarked potential construction dynamic modality of ability APOSS PABS Verb (with no marking)
Abbreviation
Agreement prefixes in Bezhta
I (male human) II (female human) III (animate) IV (animate and inanimate)
SG 0- b-
PL b- b-
Roman numerals I-IV indicate genders, ABL = ablative, ABS = abso-lutive, ADD = additive particle, CMPR = comparative, COND = conditional converb, COP = copula, CVB = converb, GEN1 = genitive 1 (used when the head noun is in the absolutive case), GEN2 = genitive 2 (used when the head noun is in the oblique case), ITER = iterative, LAT = lative, ERG = ergative case, HPL = human plural, LOC = locative, NARR = narrative particle, NEG = negative, NHPL = nonhuman plural, IMPF = imperfective, IN = in-essive, INF = infinitive, OBL = oblique, PF = perfective, PL = plural, POSS = possessive, POT = potential, PROG = progressive, PRS = present tense, PST = past tense, PTCP = participle, QUES = question particle, REFL = reflexive pronoun, SG = singular
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Поступила в редакцию 22.08.2023 Принята к публикации 16.04.2024 Отредактирована 20.08.2024
Received 22.08.2023 Accepted 16.04.2024 Revised 20.08.2024
ОБ АВТОРЕ
Халилова Заира Маджидовна — кандидат филологических наук, старший научный сотрудник Лаборатории исследования и сохранения малых языков Института языкознания РАН; [email protected]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zaira Khalilova — PhD, Senior Researcher, Laboratory for Study and Preservation of Minority Languages, Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences; [email protected]
