The study of valency peculiarities in Tajik participial phrases

Introduction 

Participles are non-finite verb forms that share characteristics of both verbs and adjectives. They retain some verbal properties (e.g., ability to take objects and adverbial modifiers, tense/aspect distinctions) while also functioning adjectivally (modifying nouns) or adverbially (modifying clauses) [2, 6].

While verbs typically function as finite predicates in main clauses, they also manifest in non-finite forms, such as infinitives, gerunds, and participles. These non-finite forms, despite lacking full tense and mood inflections, often retain a significant portion of their original verbal properties, including their valency requirements, albeit with certain modifications or reductions.

The question of how the inherent valency of a verb is preserved, reduced, or re-aligned within a participial phrase is a crucial area of linguistic inquiry, revealing insights into a language's syntactic structure, morphological processes, and semantic encoding strategies.

Tajik belongs to the Indo-Iranian family and exhibits a blend of synthetic (through inflectional suffixes, though less extensive than Old Persian) and agglutinative (through suffixation for various grammatical functions) features, alongside the use of postpositions and a relatively flexible word order [1, 3]. These typological differences are expected to manifest profoundly in how participial phrases manage and express their verbal valency.

The research design is fundamentally comparative, focusing on identifying how the argument structure of verbs is manifested, maintained, or altered when they appear in participial forms in each language. The comparison aims to uncover both universal tendencies and language-specific adaptations in valency management within non-finite constructions.

In Tajik, participles are morphologically more diverse and play a significant role in both simple and complex sentences, often bridging the gap between clauses. While not always directly translatable as "participle" in the English sense due to different grammatical traditions, scholars identify several forms with participial qualities [4, 5].

Tajik participial phrases exhibit a rich array of forms and functions, often displaying a nuanced interplay of morphological marking, auxiliary verbs, and positional rules to manage valency.

Agentive Participle (-анда / -нда)

This participle primarily functions as an agentive noun or adjective, often taking a direct object, thereby retaining the transitive valency of the base verb. The agent is inherent in the participle itself.

Example: `Киброб хонандаи китоби нав аст (Kibrob is a reader of a new book): `хонандаи` (reader, from `хондан` – to read, transitive); `китоби нав` (new book) is the Patient, governed directly by `хонандаи`.

Example: `Он мард гуяндаи ҳақиқат аст (That man is a speaker of truth.):`гӯяндаи` (speaker, from `гуфтан` – to speak/say, can be transitive); `ҳақиқат` (truth) is the Patient.

Past Participle (-а / -да / -та)

This form is widely used and often conveys a completed action, frequently with a passive voice interpretation or as part of compound verbs.

Passive Constructions: When used adjectivally or as part of a passive voice construction (`-шуда`), the agent is typically suppressed, and the participle acts upon its head noun (which is the Patient). The agent can be expressed using the `аз тарафи` (by means of/by) phrase.

Example: `Китоби навишташуда дар соли 2020 (The book written in 2020): `навишташуда` (written, from `навиштан` – to write, transitive).

The Patient is `Китоб` (book). The agent is suppressed.

Example: `Кор аз тарафи донишҷӯ иҷрошуда (The work done by the student): `иҷрошуда` (done, from `иҷро кардан` – to do, transitive); `аз тарафи донишҷӯ` (by the student) expresses the Agent.

Resultative Participle / Component of Compound Verbs: This participle often indicates a completed action that results in a state, and can still govern objects or complements.

Example: `Ӯро даъват карда баромадам (Having invited him, I left): `даъват карда` (having invited, from `даъват кардан` – to invite, transitive).

`Ӯро` (him) is the Patient, governed by the participle. The implicit Agent is `ман` (I), coreferential with the main clause subject. This functions similarly to English perfect participles.

Present Participle (`-иста` and `-он`)

These forms primarily convey ongoing or simultaneous action.

`-иста` (Durative/Progressive): This participle (`истода` from `истодан` - to stand) often combines with other verbs to form progressive aspects, in which case the combined verb retains its original valency.

Example: `Вай китоб хонда истодааст (He is reading a book): `хонда истодааст` (is reading, from `хондан` – to read, transitive); `китоб` (book) is the Patient. The Agent is `Вай` (He). The participle `истода` here acts as an auxiliary component, not an independent phrase head with its own valency; `-он` (Simultaneous Action): This participle acts adverbially, expressing an action simultaneous with the main verb. It fully retains the valency of the base verb.

Example: `Духтар гирён аз дар даромад (The girl entered through the door weeping): `гирён` (weeping, from `гиря кардан` – to weep, intransitive).

It only requires a subject, which is `Духтар` (The girl), coreferential with the main clause subject.

Example: `Вай хандон маро пешвоз гирифт (He greeted me laughing): `хандон` (laughing, from `хандидан` - to laugh, intransitive).

It only requires a subject, which is `Вай` (He), coreferential with the main clause subject.

Future/Modal Participle (-оянда)

This participle denotes future action or potential and can also govern objects.

Example: `Китоби хондаояндаи ман (My forthcoming/to be read book): `хондаояндаи` (to be read, from `хондан` – to read, transitive); `китоб` (book) is the Patient.

Absolutive Participles (Converb-like function of `-а`)

The `-а` form, besides functioning as a past participle, very often serves as a type of converb or absolutive construction, linking actions. When used this way, it almost always retains the valency of the verb from which it is derived. The subject of the participial clause is typically coreferential with the subject of the main clause, or its agent is implicitly understood.

Example: `Ӯ китобро гирифта, хона рафт (He, having taken the book, went home): `гирифта` (having taken, from `гирифтан` - – to take, transitive); `китобро` (the book) is the direct object (Patient).

The implicit Agent of `гирифта` is `Ӯ` (He), coreferential with the main clause subject.

In summary, Tajik participles demonstrate a complex interaction between morphology and syntax to manage valency. While the explicit subject of a participial phrase is often suppressed when coreferential, the direct object is typically maintained. The choice of participle form (`-анда`, `-а`, `-он`, `-оянда`) and the use of auxiliary verbs (`-шудан`, `-истодан`) dictates the voice, aspect, and the specific valency behavior of the participial construction.

Conclusion 

Tajik, exhibiting more synthetic and agglutinative characteristics, employs a more diverse set of morphological markers and auxiliary verbs to encode specific aspects, voices, and argument relations within its rich system of participles (`-анда`, `-а/-да/-та`, `-иста`, `-он`, `-оянда`). While subject reduction for co-reference is also prevalent, the explicit expression of agents in passive constructions involves compound verbal forms and postpositions. Furthermore, certain Tajik participial forms, like the converb-like `-а`, offer unique ways to link clauses while maintaining the original verb's valency.