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The Iranian languages, due to their exceptional time-depth of attestation, constitute one of the very few instances where a shift from accusative alignment to split-ergativity is actually documented. Yet remarkably, within historical syntax, the Iranian case has received only very superficial coverage. This book provides the first in-depth treatment of alignment change in Iranian, from Old Persian (5 C. BC) to the present. The first part of the book examines the claim that ergativity in Middle Iranian emerged from an Old Iranian agented passive construction. This view is rejected in favour of a theory which links the emergence of ergativity to External Possession. Thus the primary mechanisms involved is not reanalysis, but the extension of a pre-existing construction. The notion of Non-Canonical Subjecthood plays a pivotal role, which in the present account is linked to the semantics of what is termed Indirect Participation. In the second part of the book, a comparative look at contemporary West Iranian is undertaken. It can be shown that throughout the subsequent developments in the morphosyntax, distinct components such as agreement, nominal case marking, or the grammar of cliticisation, in fact developed remarkably independently of one another. It was this de-coupling of sub-systems of the morphosyntax that led to the notorious multiplicity of alignment types in Iranian, a fact that also characterises past-tense alignments in the sister branch of Indo-European, Indo-Aryan. Along with data from more than 20 Iranian languages, presented in a manner that renders them accessible to the non-specialist, there is extensive discussion of more general topics such as the adequacy of functional accounts of changes in case systems, discourse pressure and the role of animacy, the notion of drift, and the question of alignment in early Indo-European.

Iranian languages --- Eranian languages --- Indo-Iranian languages --- Verb. --- Ergative constructions. --- Transitivity. --- Tense. --- Construction grammar, Iranian, Kurdish.

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The languages of Western Asia belong to a variety of language families, including Indo-European, Kartvelian, Semitic, and Turkic, but share numerous features on account of being in areal contact over many centuries. This volume presents descriptions of the modern languages, contributed by leading specialists, and evaluates similarities across the languages that may have arisen by areal contact. It begins with an introductory chapter presenting an overview of the various genetic groupings in the region and summarizing some of the significant features and issues relating to language contact. In the core of the volume the presentation of the languages is divided into five contact areas, which include (i) eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran, (ii) northern Iraq, (iii) western Iran, (iv) the Caspian region and south Azerbaijan, and (v) the Caucasian rim and southern Black Sea coast. Each section contains chapters devoted to the languages of the area preceded by an introductory section that highlights significant contact phenomena. The volume is rounded off by an appendix with basic lexical items across a selection of the languages.

Middle East --- Languages --- Asian languages --- West Asia --- Language Contact. --- Linguistic Typology. --- Western Asia. --- Languages. --- Linguistic Typology, Language Contact, Western Asia.

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Linguistics

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The 13 chapters of this volume represent a selection of the papers presented at the “Third International Conference on Iranian Linguistics”, held in September 2009 at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. This series of conferences brings together scholars from all theoretical persuasions has established a tradition of interdisciplinary linguistic research on Iranian languages. This volume represent the dynamic and rapidly growing nature of Iranian linguistics, a field which has united linguists of all persuasions who share a strong commitment to the scientific investigation of Iranian languages, their structure, history and use.

Iranian languages --- Iranian philology --- Persian language --- Langues iraniennes --- Philologie iranienne --- Persan (Langue) --- Grammar --- Congresses --- Morphosyntax --- Congresses. --- Grammaire --- Congrès --- Morphosyntaxe --- Grammar, Comparative --- Syntax --- Verb --- Langues indo-iraniennes --- Persan (langue) --- Syntaxe --- Grammar, Comparative. --- Grammar. --- Syntax. --- Verb. --- Congrès --- Grammaire. --- Syntaxe. --- Iranian languages - Grammar, Comparative --- Iranian languages - Grammar --- Iranian languages - Syntax --- Iranian languages - Verb