Grammaticalization of Pronominal Clitics in Persian language based on Functionalist approach with a view on Classic Literature

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Phd candidate in Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor in Linguistics, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

3 Professor in Linguistics, Allame Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran

10.22084/rjhll.2024.29513.2332

Abstract

In this article, the grammaticalization of Pronominal Clitics in Persian language was investigated based on a Functional approach. Comparing the status of Pronominal Clitics in past and present revealed that their hosts in classic Persian were more diverse. By diminishing the number of hosts in modern Persian, their domain of presence in the sentence is also limited. Evaluating the data in Role and Reference grammar as an approach in Functional linguistics indicated that, pronominal clitics were inclined to change position from peripheral area of clause to the center and nucleus. These changes are aligned with the essence of Functionalism. Functionalists believe that the syntactic structure of a language is made based on communication needs and context features. In other words, extra linguistic factors play a role in sentence Formation. The clitic’s tendency to change position is a way to facilitate text reading, avoid ambiguity and to ease text processing.

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