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Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne
244
Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran
Toimituksia 244
Riho Grünthal
Finnic adpositions and cases in
change
Contents [pdf]
Finnic adpositions and cases in change [pdf, 2,2 Mb]
The Finnic adposition and case system
provides a limited empirical framework for the discussion of
various synchronic relations and diachronic processes in
language. The following questions emerge from the data that
illustrates the interdependence between form and function in
the Finnic adpositional phrases and case system: How should
one account for the typological divergence between genetically
related languages? Do diachronic processes transfer
morphosyntactic properties or patterns and are they
conditioned by endogenous or contact-induced innovations? What
is the relationship between language-specific and more
universal tendencies? These problems are discussed from the
viewpoint of language typology, diachronic change and language
contact.
Special emphasis is laid on the
morphosyntax of Livonian and Veps, two seriously endangered
Finnic languages. The individual studies include a more
detailed analysis of the Finnic adpositional phrase with
special reference to Livonian, the development of Veps local
case system and the role of language contact in the
development of the Southern Veps prolative-comitative and
Livonian translative-comitative case suffix.
Conclusions on a more general level and
observations on the diachronic morphosyntax of individual
Finnic languages are made on the basis of the analysed data.
The empirical evidence suggests that there are at least two
different and in many ways opposite general principles of
morphosyntactic change, namely an erosive and a
preservative type of change. Both of them plays a
significant role in diachronic change and has a strong
influence on synchronic grammatical relations. The conclusion
is that language change is not irreversible nor unidirectional
or uniform.
The re-establishing of a tri-partite
local case system in Vepsian shows a tight interdependence
between form (local case) and function (spatial relations) in
morphosyntactic change. Likewise, the interaction between form
and function is seen in the morphosyntax of Finnic
adpositional phrases that display three different types of
adpositions: exclusively prepositions, exclusively
postpositions and bipositional adpositions than may occur both
in a pre- and postnominal position. The Livonian
postpositional phrase illustrates a strongly eroded
construction that, however, appears to be resistant against
the influence of language contact. The analysis of two cases,
the Southern Veps prolative-comitative and the Livonian
translative-comitative, that display two clearly different
functions each, shows the interaction of endogenous and
contact-induced forces.
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