On indirectivity in Azeri : A discourse-analytical study of the functions of {-mỊš}/{-(y)ỊB-DỊ(r)} and {Ị-mỊš} in South Azeri varieties

Abstract: Johanson (2003: 274) refers to the grammatical categories of evidentiality found in Turkiclanguages as indirectivity, characterised “by reference to its reception by a conscious subject”.The East Old Turkic post-terminal verbal item in -miš and copula particle in ermiš are theoldest known markers of indirectivity in Turkic and have been morphologically preserved inthe West Oghuz languages. However, the topic of indirectivity in Azeri seems to have beentouched upon very sparingly in previous empirical studies. For instance, there seem to be nostudies that acknowledge the discursive context in examining the marking of indirectivity inAzeri. This thesis adopts a qualitative, corpus-linguistic discourse-analytical perspective toanalyse the functions of the verbal inflectional suffixes {-mỊš}/{-(y)ỊB-DỊ(r)} and the copulaparticle {Ị-mỊš}, and their possible indirective uses or connotations, as well as other strategiesfor marking of indirectivity, in various discourse types in speech corpora from the Azerispeaking regions of Urmia, Ardabil, and Zanjan in Iran. The analysis illustrates how the givenmarkers acquire different functions in different discourse contexts and may be used tosignalise indirectivity in Azeri. It also shows how certain lexical expressions may be used toencode and strengthen indirective readings. As such, the results of this study can be useful asa point of departure for further research in the area.