Article

Name: Aspectual forms of the Even language verb: further clarification regarding the composition of morphological indicators

Authors: Sardana I. Sharina

The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract: Scholarly works on the Even language refer to verb forms indicating variations in the unfolding of an action as “aspectual forms”. These grammatical forms, when combined with the verb stem, alter its semantic properties, conveying multiplicity of processes, duration, intensity, and movement, as well as the imitation of actions. Comparative studies of Even language species forms reveal previously undocumented aspectual forms in certain dialects and colloquialisms. This article addresses novel indicators of verb inflection previously unnoted in Even grammatical descriptions. The following eight indicators are taken into account: (1) the form of a particularly intensive single action (-nukan-//-nuken-), (2) the form of intensive repeated action (-нӈа-//-нӈэ-), (3) the form of long-term attenuated action (-tna-//-tne-), (4) the form of indefinite multiplicity of the action (-man-//-men-), (5) the form of the duration of the action with an additional modal shade of pity (-yat-/-ch-//-yet-/-ch-), (6) the multiple-action form (-ru-), (7) the form of indefinite multi-act (-y-), and (8) the form of initiation of the object (-m-). This study represents the first attempt to analyze the grammatical meanings of identified aspectual forms within the Even language, examining their semantic specificity using folklore, fiction, and dialectal data. A comparative analysis is provided, evaluating their utility, contextual dependence, and verb tense forms. The newly revealed forms substantially augment the composition and nomenclature of the species indicators.

Keywords: Even language, verb, aspectual forms, grammatical meaning, semantic specificity

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