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Abaza, a polysynthetic ergative Northwest Caucasian language, shares with its neighbour and distant relative Kabardian a typologically peculiar use of the deictic directional prefixes monitoring the relative ranking of the subject and indirect object on the person hierarchy. In both languages, the cislocative ('hither') prefixes are used if the indirect object outranks the subject on the person hierarchy, and the translocative ('thither') prefixes are used in combinations of first person subjects with second person singular indirect objects. This pattern, reminiscent of the more familiar inverse marking and hence called 'quasi-inverse', is observed with ditransitive and bivalent intransitive verbs and is almost fully redundant, since all participants are unequivocally indexed on verbs by pronominal prefixes. I argue that this isogloss, shared by West Circassian (a close relative to Kabardian) but not with Abkhaz, the sister-language of Abaza, is a result of pattern replication under intense language contact, which has led to an increase of both paradigmatic and syntagmatic complexity of Abaza verbal morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of the functions of the present, past and future perfect forms in standard Latvian and Lithuanian based on two complementary types of data: the typological questionnaire devised for the study of the perfect for the EUROTYP project and the Lithuanian-Latvian parallel corpus. We analyse the data qualitatively as well as quantitatively and demonstrate that the two Baltic languages show both similarities and important differences in their perfect grams. While the Present Perfect in Latvian clearly shows a higher degree of grammaticalisation than in Lithuanian, manifested in the frequency of use, obligatoriness and functional extent, the differences between the two languages in the uses of the other tenses of the perfect are more intricate and largely pertain to the expression of modal and discourse-oriented functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents fieldwork data on the interaction of actionality, aspect, and tense in counterfactual conditional clauses in the Kuban dialect of Kabardian, a polysynthetic Northwest Caucasian language. Kabardian shows non-trivial similarities to Romance languages in its use of the Imperfective Past suffix as a marker of counterfactuality - alone or as part of the complex Pluperfect marker where the Imperfect attaches to the Preterite (perfective past). I show that the choice between several types of marking in counterfactual protases (the plain Imperfect, the Pluperfect and the simple Preterite) primarily depends on actional class and viewpoint aspect: perfective counterfactuals employ either the Pluperfect or the Preterite, while imperfective counterfactuals require the Imperfect, which is in line with the more general distribution of these tenseaspect forms. Theoretical implications of tense-aspect marking in Kuban Kabardian counterfactual conditionals are also briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abaza, a polysynthetic ergative Northwest Caucasian language, possesses a typologically unique system of forming content questions by means of inflectional marking in the verb. I offer a detailed description of this peculiar system, showing how it is grounded in the more general pattern of encoding relativization by means of prefixes forming part of the basic cross-referencing paradigms. I also discuss a tentative diachronic scenario, explaining how at least a subpart of the synthetic interrogative marking in Abaza (and its close relative Abkhaz) could have emerged via univerbation of pseudocleft focus constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a typologically peculiar inverse-like construction found in the polysynthetic ergative Circassian languages of the Northwest-Caucasian family. These languages possess a cislocative verbal prefix, which, in addition to marking the spatial meaning of speaker-orientation, systematically occurs in polyvalent verbs when the object outranks the subject on the person hierarchy. The inverse-like use of the cislocative in Circassian differs from the "canonical" direct-inverse system in that, first, it is fully redundant since the person-role linking is achieved by means of the person markers themselves and, second, it does not occur in the basic transitive construction, featuring instead in configurations involving an indirect object both in ditransitive and bivalent intransitive verbs. It is argued that the typologically outstanding properties of the Circassian inverse-like marking can be naturally explained by its diachronic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an analysis of the morphosyntactic properties of Lithuanian participles in terms of the criteria of "canonical" finiteness proposed by (Nikolaeva, Irina. 2013. Unpacking finiteness. In Dunstan Brown, Marina Chumakina & Greville G. Corbett (eds.), Canonical morphology and syntax, 99–122. Oxford: Oxford University Press.). It is shown that in their different uses, i. e., as heads of two types of evidential clauses, as predicates in complement, adverbial and attributive clauses and as lexical verbs in periphrastic constructions, Lithuanian participles show considerably different combinations of finite and nonfinite characteristics and hence cannot be unequivocally treated as nonfinite. It is argued that it is the individual constructions where the participles occur that determine their morphosyntactic features and that the very notion of (non)finiteness is composite and largely derivative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of non-agreement of passive participles (mostly t-participles) is discussed on the basis of the TriMCo corpus of South-Eastern Lithuanian dialects. A quantitative analysis of the examples shows that non-agreeing t-participles appear significantly more often in East Aukštaitian than in South Aukštaitian. It is also shown that plural subjects and position of the participle before the subject increase the probability of use of the non-agreeing form. At the same time we show that (non-)agreement of passive constructions in South-Eastern Lithuanian dialects does not correlate with the semantic type of passive. We also argue that the Lithuanian dialectal constructions with non-agreeing passive participles are most probably not related to the similar constructions in East Slavic (either areally, or diachronically). The non-agreeing passive constructions are also not areally related to non-agreeing active participle constructions, but probably illustrate the same tendency for the lack of agreement with plural subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe a peculiar pattern of case alternation from the polysynthetic Circassian (West Caucasian) languages, where specificity-driven differential marking of noun phrases is attested in all syntactic positions and with the absolutive and the oblique cases alike. We call this phenomenon differential nominal marking (DNM). We show that the presenсe resp. absenсe of overt case marking in Circassian fits in the two-level (DP vs. NP) structural model for nominal constructions and is in some ways similar to the phenomenon of pseudo-incorporation described for various languages with differential object marking. For instance, unmarked nominals in Circassian show number-neutrality and scope inertness with respect to negation and quantifiers. However, DNM in Circassian crucially differs from all known instances of pseudo-incorporation or case alternation in that it is not restricted to any particular syntactic position. We argue that this feature of the Circassian DNM calls all the existing approaches (both functionalist and generative) to the phenomenon of differential case marking in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of a large-scale corpus-based investigation of the Lithuanian construction involving a past-tense auxiliary buti 'be' and a present active participle, which in previous literature has been identified as avertive, i.e. expressing a past event that was imminent but did not occur. It is shown that although the avertive uses account for about three quarters of the occurrences of the construction, it has a robust share of progressive and proximative uses, and that, moreover, the counterfactuality meaning of the avertive is often provided by the context rather than directly encoded by the construction. The lexical and grammatical profiles of the different functions of the construction are investigated in detail, showing how lexical meaning and actionality interact with the semantics of the construction and with the context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a cross-linguistic survey of case systems with several non-phonologically distributed markers of ergative case, based on a convenience sample of more than 70 languages from all over the world. It is shown that in most languages the distribution of different ergative markers splits along the lines predicted by the referential hierarchy (local pronouns > non-local pronouns > proper names > kinship terms > humans > nonhumans > inanimates), thus complementing the much better known ergativity splits. Other types of conditioning of "multiple ergatives" include gender, such nominal morphosyntactic features as number and (in)definiteness, as well as clausal morphosyntactic features like tense/aspect, polarity and person of co-arguments. "Fluid" systems where the choice of ergative marker is based on semantic or pragmatic factors are attested as well. The article also discusses the implications of ergative allomorphy and ergative alternations for the typology of ergativity and case marking in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a critical review of the distinction between 'comparative concepts' and 'descriptive categories', showing that in current typological practice the former are usually dependent on the latter and are often vague, being organized around prototypes rather than having sharp boundaries. We also propose a classification of comparative concepts, arguing that their definitions can be based on similarities between languages or on differences between languages or can also be 'blind' to language-particular facts. We conclude that, first, comparative concepts and descriptive categories are ontologically not as distinct as some typologists would like to have it, and, second, that attempts at a 'non-aprioristic' approach to linguistic description and language typology are more of an illusion than reality or even a desideratum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes guidelines for interlinear morpheme glossing of modern Latvian and Lithuanian. The general principles follow the Leipzig Glossing Rules, a widely accepted standard in contemporary linguistics. The authors show how these rules may be adapted to the specifics of Baltic morphology. Details of nominal and verbal morphology of Latvian and Lithuanian are discussed and illustrated with examples of adequate glossing. Wherever possible, the same principles are proposed for both Latvian and Lithuanian, which will facilitate a comparison of these languages. However, different solutions are proposed in some cases where the two languages differ significantly and different interpretations are possible, and those are discussed in particular detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critically reviewing the recent analysis of the distinction between the so-called 'absolute' and 'annexed' 'states' in Kabyle (Berber) by (M&F), it is shown that it does not fare better than the existing treatments in its account of the empirical facts, mainly due to the assumption of monosemy. It is further argued that M&F's rejection of 'case' as a valid notion for the description of the Kabyle data rests on simplistic and ill-informed views on the nature of case, and that adoption of a case analysis allows one to compare the Berber data to a wide range of languages with similar peculiarities in the distribution of dependent marking. Finally, M&F's claim that their analysis of Kabyle has pointed out a 'previously unrecognized typological category' is refuted, showing that it stems from an unwarranted mixing of language-particular descriptive categories and crosslinguistic comparative concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an areal-typological study of prefixal perfectivization in Slavic, Baltic, Yiddish, Hungarian, Ossetic and Kartvelian languages based on a uniform set of morphological and functional-semantic parameters. It is shown that there are two clusters of prefixal perfectivization, i.e., Slavic and Kartvelian, while other languages display significant degrees of difference both from each other and from the two clusters. It is further argued on the basis of existing evidence that the development and distribution of the current “landscape” of preverb-based aspectual systems in the languages of Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus have been shaped by a complex interplay of genetic, typological and contact factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes non-standard case-marking patterns attested in non-finite clauses headed by participles and infinitive in Lithuanian. Lithuanian is compared with other languages of the same geographical area as well as with typologically remote languages showing similar patterns. 'Non-canonical' marking of subject and object in Lithuanian non-finite clauses is argued to be an instance of 'complementizing' and 'associating' case-marking as postulated for Australian languages. From a historical perspective Lithuanian constructions with 'non-canonical' marking of core arguments in non-finite clauses are seen to show convergent morphosyntactic development of patterns originating from different sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a unified treatment of two important types of morpho-semantic correlations involving Lithuanian verbs forming their present stem with nasal infix or suffix -st. the causative/inchoative correlation of the type kilti 'rise' (intransitive) vs. kelti 'raise' (transitive) and the purely aspectual (actional) correlation of the type verki 'weep' (atelic process) vs. pravirkti 'start weeping' (telic achievement), involving mostly intransitive verbs differing as process/state vs. event and not affecting their argument structure. It is argued that the latter correlation, despite having been largely neglected in the literature, is even more widespread in Lithuanian than the former. It is argued that the aspectual correlation has undergone extension in the more recent history of Lithuanian, and a diachronic scenario is outlined accounting for the semantic and morphological links between the older transitivity alternation and the newer actional alternation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the three stems traditionally postulated in the description of Lithuanian verbal inflection, viz. the Present stem, the Past stem and the Infinitive stem. These stems play a major role in the subgrouping of verbs into inflectional classes. The status of each of the stems as 'morphomic' or 'inflectional' is assessed in the light of data from both inflectional and derivational morphology. It is argued on the basis of intricate prosodic and morphophonological data that the Infinitive stem is indeed necessary for an adequate description of the Lithuanian verbal system, and also that a separate Past Passive Participle stem relevant for deverbal derivation can be postulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prefix be-, which appears in a variety of verbal forms and constructions in Lithuanian, has not been subject to a detailed and theoretically informed synchronic description. This paper attempts to fill this gap by providing an account of the two most clearly identifiable aspectual uses of be-: (I) its being part of the periphrastic forms expressing the avertive meaning recently established as a cross-linguistic gram; (ii) its use in the positive and negative continuative forms. I discuss the semantics and use of these constructions, and pay particular attention to their interactions with other aspectually relevant categories of Lithuanian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the previously barely described restrictive use of the prefix te- in Lithuanian. This prefix, whose meaning is similar to that of the particle tik 'only', is peculiar in that it can take scope over almost any kind of phrases, including constituents of non-finite embedded clauses. In this paper, morphosyntactic properties and scope of the restrictive re- are analysed on the basis of both elicited and corpus data. Besides that, it is shown that from a cross-linguistic point of view, a restrictive affix displaying both rigid verb-adjacency and scope flexibility is quite rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]