- PII
- S0373-658X0000460-9-1
- DOI
- 10.7868/SX0000460-9-1
- Publication type
- Article
- Status
- Published
- Authors
- Volume/ Edition
- Volume / Issue 5
- Pages
- 48-75
- Abstract
- An optative is a grammatical category of a verb that serves to express the speaker's desire. In some languages, it is expressed using special moods intended only for this. The presence of a specialized optative in the language is an areal feature of the Caucasus, which is a consequence of the peculiarities of local cultures: wishes for good are included in the everyday etiquette of many Caucasian peoples, wishes for evil are a typical formula for an insult. The article analyzes the ways of expressing an optative and related meanings in 16 languages of the Eastern Caucasus (languages of the Nakh-Dagestan family and the Turkic languages of Dagestan). It is argued that there are two semantic types of optatives with different ways of expression. The first, performative optative (most characteristic of the languages of Dagestan) expresses blessings or curses, that is, wishes for good or evil, addressed to the interlocutor, to a third person or to the speaker himself. The second, desiderative optative, serves to express the speaker's desire or dream. Some languages (for example, Kumyk and Chechen) have separate forms for expressing both optatives.
- Keywords
- volitional modality mood Nakh-Dagestan languages optative
- Date of publication
- 06.09.2009
- Year of publication
- 2009
- Number of purchasers
- 2
- Views
- 626
RAS History & PhilologyВопросы языкознания Voprosy Jazykoznanija
- ISSN (Print) 0373-658X
- ISSN (Online) 3034-5243
Semantic zone of optative in the Nakh-Dagestan languages
Индексирование
Scopus
Crossref
Higher Attestation Commission
At the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Scientific Electronic Library