Properties of Reciprocal Markers in Altaic Languages with Focus on the Behaviour of Reciprocal Pronouns

The concept of reciprocity is well-studied cross linguistically. Particularly, synthetic (with morphological reciprocal marker) and analytic (with reciprocal pronoun) strategies of expressing reciprocal meaning are considered to be investigated. Despite the abundance of research in that field, little is known about analytic reciprocal constructions formed by reciprocal pronouns. The present work examines properties of reciprocal pronouns and construction they form in Turkic (Yakut and Tuvan) and Mongolic (Kalmyk, Buryat, and Khalkha-Mongol (Mongolian)) languages. The strategies of reciprocity in these languages are described superficially and hence are an object for investigation. The study aims to discover syntactic and semantic differences in constructions formed by reciprocal pronouns and to propose thorough interpretation for the observed distinctions. The analysis demonstrated syntactic and semantic differences in functioning of reciprocal pronouns and in the set of meanings for each reciprocal construction. Besides, an attempt to evaluate the reasons for the distribution of synthetic and analytic reciprocal constructions was made. The outcomes of the research can help us understand syntactic and semantic features of reciprocals in the considered Altaic languages and reveal the properties of their use in spoken language.