This paper deals with Svan Verbs. This work attempts to approach the matter more practically by classifying and describing all the given verbs from the set of data into the patterns. The focus lies on the morphology and the classification of verbs and not on its usage or frequency.
All the verb forms used in this paper are either elicited by a native speaker of Svan with whom a class of students from the University of Bamberg worked for two continuous terms, or sorted out of a few hours long recorded dialogue between this very speaker of the Svan language and an elderly woman from and in a Svan village, accessible as an ELAN-file. The Svan-English Dictionary by Gudjedjiani and Palmaitis serves as a scientific aid, for research topics sparsely outlined in the first term paper, especially.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Overview of the different prefixes and preverbs
3. The different screeves
3.1 The Present Screeve
3.2 The Imperfect Screeve
3.3 The Perfect Screeve
3.4 Further screeves
4. Evidentials
4.1. The Masdar
5. Further observations
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper aims to provide a practical morphological classification and analysis of Svan verb forms based on a specific set of linguistic data, focusing on screeves, evidentials, and preverbs.
- Morphological categorization of Svan verbs
- Analysis of screeves (Present, Imperfect, Perfect)
- Investigation of evidential marking in verbal forms
- Examination of the function of preverbs and prefixes
- Analysis of the Svan masdar (verbal noun)
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 The Present Screeve
Present screeve forms are not frequently elicited in the set of data due to its story-telling character. As I gave an ample outline about this screeve and the different options to categorize verbs in the first term paper, the aim of this section is thus to enumerate the present screeve forms provided in the ELAN-files and to group them into these categories, if applicable.
The so-called regular present screeve constitutes of the following morphemes: personal prefix – stem – stem augment – personal suffix (cf. Kochem 2020: 3). The personal prefixes are xw- for the first, x- for the second, and zero (ø) for the third person; personal suffixes are solely added to plural forms, -t for the first and second and -x for the third person. Both the stem and the stem augment usually consist out of one syllable, formed of a vowel and a consonant. Furthermore, a prefix (see Section 2.) can be added between the personal prefixes and the stem, e. g. æt-kæči (1.33). A table to illustrate a present screeve conjugation (cf. Kochem 2020: 3) is not needed here as almost every form is stated in the third person SG.
List (4): Utterances from the ELAN-files in the present screeve considered ‘regular’
ač’reni (1.22), adqviče (1.33), anǧri (2.10), æri (1.35), æt-kæči (1.33), axwčevi (2.22), ihni (2.4), iqmærix (third p. PL) (1.23, 1.33), xač’ēnix (third p. PL) (1.33), xoc’a (1.43)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the paper, which serves as a practical continuation of a previous theoretical study on Svan verbs using elicited data.
2. Overview of the different prefixes and preverbs: Describes the morphological role of prefixes and preverbs, explaining their semantic functions and positioning relative to the verb stem.
3. The different screeves: Provides a classification of the 13 Svan screeves, focusing on their aspectual and modal meanings rather than just temporal ones.
3.1 The Present Screeve: Analyzes the morphology of present screeve forms found in the dataset, identifying regular patterns and 'object verbs'.
3.2 The Imperfect Screeve: Investigates the formation of past tense through the usage of detached or elided copulas.
3.3 The Perfect Screeve: Discusses the structure of perfect screeve forms, which rely on specific prefix and preverb combinations.
3.4 Further screeves: Catalogs less frequently used screeves and moods found in the data that could not be fully analyzed due to limited material.
4. Evidentials: Explores the grammatical category of evidentiality in Svan and how action perception is marked by verbal particles and prefixes.
4.1. The Masdar: Analyzes the Svan verbal noun, its conjugation properties, and its role within evidential and conditional constructions.
5. Further observations: Identifies remaining linguistic phenomena and potential areas for future in-depth research, such as passive mood and complex suffix patterns.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings and emphasizes the complexity of Svan morphology, suggesting that further extensive material is required for a complete understanding.
Keywords
Svan, Morphology, Verbs, Screeve, Preverbs, Prefixes, Evidentiality, Masdar, Kartvelian, Linguistics, ELAN, Language Documentation, Aspect, Copula, Conjugation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on the morphological analysis of Svan verbs, specifically examining screeves, evidential markers, and the function of preverbs and prefixes.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The work covers Svan verb morphology, the classification of verbal forms into screeves, the marking of evidentiality, and the characteristics of the masdar.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to provide a practical classification and description of Svan verbs based on specific language data, following up on a previous theoretical study.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses empirical data elicitation, including recorded dialogues with a native Svan speaker and analysis of ELAN-files, supported by existing lexicographical resources.
What does the main body of the text cover?
It details the morphological structures of different screeves (Present, Imperfect, Perfect), the semantic roles of preverbs, and the grammatical function of evidentials and the masdar.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Svan, morphology, screeve, preverbs, evidentiality, masdar, and Kartvelian linguistics.
How is the "imperfect" past tense constructed in Svan according to this paper?
The paper identifies that the imperfect tense is built using a copula, which appears in two forms: detached (varying by vowel) or attached (elided as a consonant).
What role do preverbs play in the evidential system?
Preverbs act as monosyllabic verb modifiers that specify the type of evidence for an action, such as its direction, and often contextualize the tense.
How is the Svan masdar defined within this study?
The masdar is defined as a non-conjugable, unalterable verbal noun, typically starting with 'li-', which often functions as an evidential or falls into the Imperfective Conditional category.
What does the author conclude about the current state of Svan verb research?
The author concludes that while progress has been made, the "ocean" of Svan verbs remains a complex puzzle requiring significantly more research and data to fully resolve.
- Citation du texte
- Stanley Kochem (Auteur), 2020, Svan Verbs. Screeves, Evidentials and Preverbs, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/999795
