Bhasha Journal of South Asian Linguistics, Philology
and Grammatical Traditions

Rivista | Bhasha
Fascicolo | 1 | 2 | 2022
Articolo | From Standard Marker to Adaptor: The Case of Vedic iva

From Standard Marker to Adaptor: The Case of Vedic iva

Abstract

In Early Vedic, the particle iva primarily functions as a standard marker of similative constructions; in Middle Vedic, iva retains its function of marking comparison of equality but also behaves as an adaptor, i.e. an approximation marker which flags the semantically loose use of a lexical expression. Informed by cross-linguistic evidence in the domain of approximation, this paper traces iva’s development from standard marker to adaptor within the oldest layer of Vedic literature, represented by the R̥gveda. The analysis is carried out from a grammaticalization perspective, detecting the different steps that led to the emergence of the new function.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Presentato: 13 Settembre 2022 | Accettato: 13 Settembre 2022 | Pubblicato 28 Ottobre 2022 | Lingua: en

Keywords R̥gvedaSimilative constructionsVedic SanskritApproximationGrammaticalization


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