Article

Name: Comparative polypredicative construction with the postposition chylap/chilep ‘as if’ in the Altai language

Authors: Aiiana A. Ozonova

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract:

One of the main tools for expressing comparative relations in the Altai language is considered. It is the analytic-synthetic polypredicative construction with the postposition chylap/ chilep ‘as if’. The construction in question serves as an indicator of comparative relations.

It can form monosubject and multi-subject structures, with main and dependent predicative units denoting the events of these relations. The subject of a dependent predicative unit is the name in the nominative, and the predicate is represented by the participial forms, which can be omitted when reducing the construction. This construction does not imply an explicit expression of the parameter, which can be restored based on the properties of the comparators and the context. This comparative construction is usually expressed in a reduced form, with the predicate of the dependent part omitted. The first comparat (object of comparison), expressed by the main predicative unit, usually refers to an actual event. The second comparat (standard of comparison) is expressed by a dependent predicative unit and can denote both real and unreal events. A construction with a chylap/chilep can also convey meanings distant from the actual comparative ones, resulting from its complication with implicit causal, target, and conditional-temporal relations, leading to the construction acquiring the unreality, unreliability, and opposition of actual events to the speaker’s expectations. The construction with chylap/chilep has been recorded in Khakass, Shor, Toph, and Chalkan.

Keywords: Altai language, syntax, comparison, comparative synthetic-analytical polypredicative construction, comparative postposition, comparison relations, comparison parameters

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