Elahe Hoseyni Matak; Ehsan Changizi
Abstract
In Gilaki language, propositions like, "var / vir, virja, bija" are used to transfer the meaning "near, beside, with, by side of ...". These propositions, in addition to concept "place", also signify the concept of accompaniment. This paper is an attempt to investigate the core meaning of var, its semantic ...
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In Gilaki language, propositions like, "var / vir, virja, bija" are used to transfer the meaning "near, beside, with, by side of ...". These propositions, in addition to concept "place", also signify the concept of accompaniment. This paper is an attempt to investigate the core meaning of var, its semantic changes and the process of its grammaticalization using the data from Avestan and Middle Persian. Var's relationship with virja and bija is also discussed. Gilaki language’s data is provided by Rastorgueva et al. (2012) and some local poems. Var in Gilaki, is derived from varah in Avestan and war in Middle Persian (= chest). As the result of metonymic use of language, this word has got some meanings like "beside, with, by the side of …". By passing time, it has been used to point out the space around human, which is under his control. It is shown that this proposition is merged with the preposition ja / je and the result is the formation of the preposition virja. Since the core meaning of "var" signifies the human body and in categorical metaphor's model, human bodies associated with object-person category, these propositions also include the semantic feature of accompaniment. Moreover, the infinitive "manestan" (to resemble), have changed into proposition in the noun phrase constructions.
Ehsan Changizi
Abstract
In Avestan Language, ablative case is sometimes used for encoding functions of instrumental case and instrumental case is used for encoding functions of ablative case. These two cases encode semantic roles. Ablative case is a spatial case whose main function is to encode source, location, and path. Instrumental ...
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In Avestan Language, ablative case is sometimes used for encoding functions of instrumental case and instrumental case is used for encoding functions of ablative case. These two cases encode semantic roles. Ablative case is a spatial case whose main function is to encode source, location, and path. Instrumental case is a non-spatial case whose main function is to encode accompaniment, instrument, manner as well as cause and agent in passive voice. Ablative and instrumental cases- in case hierarchy- are located in the last position and are not distinguished hierarchically. In the present study, Avestan data were explored and it was found that these two cases are polysemic and overlap functionally; hence, they are used interchangeably in Avestan language. The ablative case encodes the semantic roles of manner and cause in passive voice in addition to semantic roles of source, location, and path. Along the same vein, the instrumental case indicates source, path and location in addition to semantic roles of accompaniment, instrument, manner and cause and agent in passive voice. Semantic map of these two cases is drawn to demonstrate their semantic range and polysemy.
Ehsan Changizi
Abstract
Aban Yasht is the research on the 5th Yasht of Avesta which is carried out by Dr. Changiz Mowla’i and is published in 1392 (Persian calendar). The 5th Yasht pays tribute to Anahita, the Zoroastrian deity of the waters. In this article, the various parts of the book are introduced, and a short description ...
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Aban Yasht is the research on the 5th Yasht of Avesta which is carried out by Dr. Changiz Mowla’i and is published in 1392 (Persian calendar). The 5th Yasht pays tribute to Anahita, the Zoroastrian deity of the waters. In this article, the various parts of the book are introduced, and a short description of the author’s line of action is presented. Afterwards, ten major topics discussed in the book are scrutinized. To compile such a book, the author of Aban Yasht has referred to and quoted from many books and articles written in English, French and German. The points raised in this article are as follows: phoneme, grapheme, the concept of root, statement of the problem, the copula “is”, the pronoun “ya-”, translations, syntactic issues, compounding or compound, and the tone of writing. Some of the points raised in this article are of considerable importance not only in this book but also in most of the research studies on the Iranian ancient languages.
