Pronoun use and variation in Estonian dialects: kes ‘who’, mis ‘what’ and keegi ‘someone’
Date
2023-07-05
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Abstract
Varieerumine on keele loomulik osa: varieeruda saab hääldus, sõnavara, vormid, konstruktsioonid jne. Varieerumist võib leida kõikidest keeltest, murretest ning registritest, kõikidelt keele tasemetelt ja iga keelekasutaja kõnest. Siinne doktoritöö uurib asesõnade kasutuse varieerumist eesti murretes. Vaatluse all on küsivad-siduvad asesõnad kes ja mis ning umbmäärane asesõna keegi, mille varieerumist on uuritud kahest aspektist. Esmalt, kui kirjakeeles saab asesõnadega kes ja keegi viidata vaid elusatele olenditele ning asesõnaga mis elututele objektidele, siis teatud eesti murretes on võimalik ka nende asesõnade vastupidine kasutus (Kellest sa leiba teed? Mulle tuli kiri vennalt, mis Saksamaal elab. Poest ei olnud kedagi saada.). Teisalt, kui muude nimisõnade ja asesõnade puhul on osasihitise positsioonis osastava käände kasutamine kohustuslik, siis asesõna mis puhul võib samas positsioonis selle asendada ka nimetava käändega (Mida ~ mis sa teed?). Töö eesmärk on välja selgitada, millised geograafilised ja morfosüntaktilised tunnused neid kaht varieerumist mõjutavad ning mis võis nende teket põhjustada. Töös ilmneb, et uuritud varieerumiste arengus on oluline koht grammatiseerumisel: nähtusel, mille puhul sõnavaralised elemendid keeles muutuvad aja jooksul järjest rohkem grammatilisemaks ja kaotavad sealjuures mitmeid tähendusnüansse. Tihti tuleb just nende asesõnade enim grammatiseerunud positsioonides ja funktsioonides varieerumine kõige rohkem esile. Tulemused näitavad, et uuritud asesõnade kasutuse varieerumine ei ole juhuslik, vaid sõltub mitmetest erinevatest, tihti omavahel seotud keelesisestest ja -välistest tunnustest. Kõnelejad ei pruugi olla neist teguritest isegi teadlikud, kuid need ilmnevad kvantitatiivsete ja statistiliste sageduspõhiste analüüside käigus. Just (murrete) lauseehituse uurimisel on selliste meetodite kasutamine eriti oluline, sest vaid nii on võimalik kindlaks teha ka peenemaid kasutusnüansse, mis kvalitatiivses analüüsis ei pruugi avalduda.
Variation is an inherent part of language: variation can occur in pronunciation, lexis, morphological forms, constructions, etc. Variation can be found in all languages, dialects and registers, on all linguistic levels, and in every person’s speech. This dissertation examines the variation in the use of pronouns in Estonian dialects. The studied pronouns are the interrogative-relative kes ‘who’ and mis ‘what’, and indefinite keegi ‘someone’, and their variation has been examined from two aspects. Firstly, while in Standard Estonian kes and keegi can only be used to refer to animate entities and mis to inanimate entities, certain Estonian dialects allow the opposite use of these pronouns (Kellest sa leiba teed? Mulle tuli kiri vennalt, mis Saksamaal elab. Poest ei olnud kedagi saada.). Secondly, while the partial object position requires for the other (pro)nouns to be in the partitive case, the pronoun mis in the same position is often used in the nominative case instead (Mida ~ mis sa teed?). The aim of the dissertation is to ascertain which geographical and morphosyntactic variables affect these variations and what might have influenced their emergence. It is found that an important contributor in the development of the studied variations is grammaticalisation: a phenomenon where, over time, lexical elements develop into more grammatical units and thereby lose distinctions in meaning. The variation was often most pronounced precisely in the most grammaticalised positions and functions of the pronouns. The results show that the variation in the use of these pronouns is not random, but governed by many different, often interrelated language internal and external factors. The speakers might be unaware of these factors, but they are identifiable by quantitative and statistical frequency-based analyses. Therefore it is especially important to employ such methods in the study of (dialect) syntax, as it allows the researcher to discover even the most subtle nuances in variation, which might otherwise be overlooked in a qualitative analysis.
Variation is an inherent part of language: variation can occur in pronunciation, lexis, morphological forms, constructions, etc. Variation can be found in all languages, dialects and registers, on all linguistic levels, and in every person’s speech. This dissertation examines the variation in the use of pronouns in Estonian dialects. The studied pronouns are the interrogative-relative kes ‘who’ and mis ‘what’, and indefinite keegi ‘someone’, and their variation has been examined from two aspects. Firstly, while in Standard Estonian kes and keegi can only be used to refer to animate entities and mis to inanimate entities, certain Estonian dialects allow the opposite use of these pronouns (Kellest sa leiba teed? Mulle tuli kiri vennalt, mis Saksamaal elab. Poest ei olnud kedagi saada.). Secondly, while the partial object position requires for the other (pro)nouns to be in the partitive case, the pronoun mis in the same position is often used in the nominative case instead (Mida ~ mis sa teed?). The aim of the dissertation is to ascertain which geographical and morphosyntactic variables affect these variations and what might have influenced their emergence. It is found that an important contributor in the development of the studied variations is grammaticalisation: a phenomenon where, over time, lexical elements develop into more grammatical units and thereby lose distinctions in meaning. The variation was often most pronounced precisely in the most grammaticalised positions and functions of the pronouns. The results show that the variation in the use of these pronouns is not random, but governed by many different, often interrelated language internal and external factors. The speakers might be unaware of these factors, but they are identifiable by quantitative and statistical frequency-based analyses. Therefore it is especially important to employ such methods in the study of (dialect) syntax, as it allows the researcher to discover even the most subtle nuances in variation, which might otherwise be overlooked in a qualitative analysis.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Keywords
Estonian language, dialects, pronouns, syntax