Доклад Клинта Паркера "Selected topics in Shughni grammar: Information structure, oblique-first constructions, and irregularity in verbs"

In this talk, I give an overview of my dissertation (soon to be completed) entitled A grammar of the Shughni language. In the first part of the talk, I present the breadth of topics addressed in the dissertation and briefly discuss highlights from each of the four major sections: (i) Preliminaries (including historical linguistics and phonology); (ii) Nominals; (iii) Verbs; and (iv) Syntax. Then, I present initial findings in phenomena related to word order, including the expression of information structural notions of topic and focus (both contrastive and non-contrastive), as well as oblique-first constructions, where, in neutral word order, an experiencer-like argument in the oblique case precedes a stimulus in the direct case.  In the third and final part of the talk, I describe various aspects of irregularity in Shughni verbs. The discussion begins with an overview of previous work (especially Sokolova 1967 and Dodykhudoeva 1988) dedicated to understanding irregularities in modern Shughni verbs through the lens of regular sound change. It then turns to three un(der)-described phenomena in verbal irregularities, including stem shortening (e.g. xār-um > xā-m ‘I eat’), leveling of stem paradigms (e.g. inf yīdow, prs yān- > inf yāntow ‘grind’), and a group of verbs which display properties of both simplex and complex verbs (e.g. dāktow ~ dāk čīdow ‘give’).

The presentation will take place online, through this Zoom link. No registration is required.
To stay informed about all the events, we also recommend subscribing to a special newsletter with announcements of Iranian studies events (please contact Yuriy Makarov at yura@pamiri.online).

Clint Parker is currently in the final stages of completing his Ph.D. thesis on Shughni grammar at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He also serves as a visiting scholar at the Tajik National Academy of Sciences. Clint holds a B.A. in Linguistics & Chinese (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Kentucky, which he earned in 2013. His research focuses on syntax and Shughni grammar. Clint's scholarly contributions include publications in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics and Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics.