Repetitive prefix in Agul: Morphological copy from a closely related language

Abstract

Aims and Research Questions: This paper describes the repetitive prefix in Agul (Lezgic, East Caucasian), focusing on the grammaticalization path of this morpheme. The main question to be addressed is the hypothesis that the prefix has been copied from the closely related Lezgian language. Approach, Data and Analysis: Firstly, I provide a detailed description of the morphology and semantics of the repetitive prefix (‘again’, ‘back’) in comparison to the system of locative prefixes in Agul, showing that despite the formal similarity with the ‘post’-localization prefix (meaning ‘behind’), the repetitive prefix is distinct both functionally and paradigmatically. I then compare the repetitive and ‘post’-prefix in Agul with their counterparts in Lezgian and other Lezgic languages. Findings/Conclusions: While the relation of the meaning ‘behind’ to ‘again’ is cross-linguistically common, the development of a special repetitive prefix in Agul is only attested in the two southern dialects, whose speakers have been in long-term contact with Lezgian – a language that possesses a productive repetitive prefix/infix. It is thus natural to assume that the Agul prefix has a contact-induced origin. I also show that this is not the only grammatical phenomenon of southern Agul that has been influenced by Lezgian. Originality and Significance: The morphological properties and functions of the repetitive prefix in Agul have not been described in detail before. The conclusion that this prefix is a morphological copy is remarkable, because Lezgian is one of the two languages most closely genetically related to Agul, and also because the borrowing of the prefix has led to the emergence of affixal ‘etymological doublets’ in Agul. Limitations: It remains to be investigated to what extent ‘post’-prefixes in other Lezgic languages show signs of grammaticalization towards repetitive prefixes, and also whether the two markers can become paradigmatically distinct, as with Agul.