Caucasus Studies

"This monograph is a study of clause structure in the closely related Circassian languages Adyghe and Kabardian, spoken in North Caucasus. The Circassian languages exhibit ergative patterns in both case marking and the alignment of personal prefixes in the verb. Both these domains of grammar are studied extensively in the book, as are issues relating to ergative/absolutive marking in clauses with different types of verb (intransitive, transitive, labile, inversive). Another topic is ergative marking in complex constructions, including coordination and subordination.

The monograph is the result of joint research conducted in Russia and Sweden. The basis for this research has been the project ‘Ergativity in the Circassian anguages’ (with support from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). The institutions involved are the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Lund University and the Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) at Malmö University."

This monograph in Russian by Mukhadin Kumakhov and Karina Vamling is a study of ergativity in the Circassian languages, that exhibit ergative patterns in both case marking and the alignment of personal prefixes in the verb. Both these domains of grammar are studied extensively in the book, as are issues relating to ergative/absolutive marking in clauses with different types of verb (intransitive, transitive, labile, inversive). Another topic is ergative marking in complex constructions, including coordination and subordination. The monograph is the result of joint research conducted in Russia and Sweden. The basis for this research has been the project ‘Ergativitiy in the Circassian languages’ (with support from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). The institutions involved are: The Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Lund University and the School of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) at Malmö University.
—— Данная работа посвящена вопросам эргативности в черкесских языках. Эргативность в этих языках основывается на противопоставлении двух классов глагольных лексем по признаку транзитивности-интранзитивности. В книге широко освящены вопросы эргативности в имени и глаголе. Особое внимание уделяется проявлению эргативности в различных синтаксических конструкциях (в лабильных, инверсивных, а также при координации и субординации). Эргативная конструкция в северо-кавказских языках представляет особый интерес для общей теории эргативности в силу того, что эта категория проявляется в полиперсональной форме глагола. Данное исследование является результатом совместной работы Института Российской Академии наук (Москва, Россия), Лундского Университета и  Отделения международных миграций и этнических отношений Университета Мальмё (Швеция). Научный проект ‘Эргативность в черкесских языках’ был поддержан Королевской Академией наук Швеции. (Доступно онлайн в ноябре 2022 года, Кариной Вамлинг 0000-0003-3415-203X).

This monograph (co-authored with prof. Mukhadin Kumakhov) is a study of complementation in Kabardian, a language belonging to the West Caucasian group. For the first time subordinate clauses in Kabardian are analysed in the framework of a semantically based classification of matrix predicates and selected types of complement predicates. Various types of nonfinite forms occur as complement predicates, such as participles, gerunds, infinitiives and masdars. Among other phenomena investigated in relation to complementation are negation, interrogative, causative, imperative and coordinative constructions. Of particular interest is the case marking of subjects and objects as well as their coreferential relations in complementation. The introductory part of the monograph includes a sketch of the grammar of Kabardian. —————

В книге рассматриваются дополнительные конструкции в кабардинском языке. Впервые в абхазо-адыгском языкознании дополнительные конструкции анализируются с опорой на семантические основания. Выделяются классы главных предикатов и типы зависимых предикатов, исследуются из семантические, синтаксические и морфологические взаимоотношения. В качестве зависимых предикатов выступают инфинитные образования (причастие, герундий, инфинитив, масдар и др.). Исследуются негативные, вопросительные, императивные, координационные, каузативные, потенциальные и аористные предложения в связи с дополнительными конструкциями. Особое внимание уделяется оформлению падежей субъекта и объекта и их координационными отношениями в дополнительной конструкции. Книга включает вводную часть, где даются общие сведения о кабардинском языке.

"Complementation in Georgian is a study of subordinate clauses in Georgian. The constructions in focus are finite and non-finite clauses in subject and object position. Georgian is characterized by complex patterns in marking grammatical relations, using both case marking and subject and object affixes on the verb. The language has no infinitives. In complements of verbs like 'persuade' and 'try' and 'want', Georgian uses finite forms that include subject and object marking, making it an interesting object  for study as regards the problem of control.

Central issues investigated include restrictions in terms of temporal reference and participant reference that the matrix clause imposes on the complement. The modality meanings Truth and Action are found to provide a useful classification of the various matrix predicates. Two clusters of morphological, syntactic and semantic features are moreover shown to correlate with the Truth and Action modalities. The study further outlines a formal grammatical representation of relations between matrix and complement clauses, as well as the structure of simple sentences.

The data examined in the study is based on informant work conducted in Georgia. The matrix predicates that make up the database of the investigation are represented in an appendix, along with an English-Georgian key. An introduction to Georgian grammar for readers not familiar with the language is also presented. ""

This paper deals with the different stages of language maintenance and language shift among some minority groups in connection with the language of education and character of settlement in Georgia. This paper is focused on the comparison of Armenian respondents educated via Russian and via Armenian, and also on Armenian respondents living in Tbilisi and in areas of compact Armenian settlement. The respondents' different understandings and self-evaluations of the notion 'mother tongue' are also touched upon.

iberiul-kavkasiuri enaTmecniereba manana kobaiZe vinaobisa da enis dagegmvis politikis istoriidan saqarTveloSi * statiis pirvel nawilSi ganxilulia saqarTveloSi eTnikur Jgufebs Soris sabyoTa periodSi CamoKalibebuli ierarqia demografiuli TvalsazrisiT, meore nawili exeba enebis iuridiuli da faqtobrivi urTierTmimarTebis sakiTxs imave periodis saqarTveloSi, mesame nawil-Si ganxilulia am mimarTebebis araerTgvarovani da urTierTwinaaGmdegobrivi xasiaTi. meoTxe nawilSi zogadad aris aGniSnuli erovnuli vinaobis cvlis mizniT sxvadasxva saSualebis gamoKenebis Sesaxeb. bolos mocemulia daskvnebi, romelic nawilobriv anketuri gamokiTxvis Sedegebsac eKrdnoba.

This early paper argues that both color terms  sinij (dark blue) and goluboj (light blue) are basic color terms in Russian, contrary to the proposals of Kay and McDaniel (1978). This is done by using frequency of occurrence in word counts as a measurement of basicality, assuming a strong correlation between frequency and ranking of the positions in the hierarchy of basic color terms of Berlin and Kay (1969).

The general frame of this paper is the interest in the range of variation in human languages, and in this particular case, the range of variation in verbal agreement. The Ibero-Caucasian languages, both North show South Caucasian languages, exhibit diversified and complex agreement systems, that are frequently brought forward in typological studies. It includes cross-referencing of subject and objects in person and number in some Caucasian languages and noun classes in other languages. In this paper we are primarily interested not in which categories that are reflected in agreement, but in the complexity in terms of the range of agreement positions available in the verb. According to William Croft ”the maximum of indexed arguments is four: A, T, G and either a benefactive […] or a causer in a causative construction” (Croft 2003:152). As examples of languages that show four indexed arguments he mentions the Bantu language Kinyarwanda and North Caucasian Abaza. It is interesting to observe that the system of subject and object agreement in the Circassian languages is even richer. The prefixal slots for person and number markers of the Circassian verb amount to a maximum of five (Kumakhov & Vamling 2006:63).
——
References
–Croft, William (2003). Typology and Universals, 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
–Kumakhov, M. (2006). Chetyrexlichnye i pjatilichnye perexodnye glagoly. In: Kabardino-Cherkesskij jazyk. Vol. 1. Nal’chik, pp. 200-206.
–Kumakhov, Mukhadin & Karina Vamling (1998). Dopolnitel’nye konstrukcii v kabardinskom jazyke. Dept. of Lingusitics, Lund University.
–Kumakhov, Mukhadin & Karina Vamling (2006). Ergativnost’ v cherkesskix jazykax. IMER, Malmoe University.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the Caucasus, and Georgia in particular, was visited by Scandinavian travellers who wrote descriptions of their trips to Georgia in the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian languages. Among the travellers were: the Danes Olof Lange and Hans Kaarsberg, the Swedes Sven Hedin, Maria Anholm and Anton Stuxberg, and the Norwegians Knut Hamsun and Fridtjof Nansen.