Clause-edge markers in Bartangi: An LrFG analysis

Abstract

In this paper, I provide an analysis of the major clause-peripheral functional elements (particles and conjunctions) in Bartangi (Iranian > Indo-European) from the perspective of Lexical Realizational Functional Grammar (LrFG), a non-transformational framework that blends elements of Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) and Distributed Morphology (DM). The analysis reveals that at least three distinct phrase structure positions for such elements – initial, second and final – are required. The coexistence of such opposite types of directionality is probably due to the interaction of two distinct contact influences: the right-branching (clause-initial and clause-second) type, as found in Persian/Tajik and most other modern Iranian languages, and the left-branching (clause-final) type, as found in languages of the adjacent South Asian linguistic area. This view on the emergence of functional layers of the clause is consistent with the LFG approach to constituent structure as a surface-based, language-specific phenomenon.