Semantics of the lexeme lač in the Hill Mari language: restrictive focus, emphatic assertion of identity and their connection
Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation, egorka1988@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article discusses the use of the lexeme lač in Hill Mari. From a theoretical perspective, it is challenging, since it can mark either restrictive focus (‘only P’) or emphatic assertion of identity (‘exactly P’).
Objective: to describe the semantics and distribution of the lexeme lač in Hill Mari and analyze its invariant meanings.
Research materials: questionnaires collected in fieldwork; corpora and collections of texts in the Hill Mari language.
Results and novelty of the research: the article provides a detailed description of the semantics of the lexeme lač in Hill Mari in comparison with quasi-synonymous items such as vele ‘only’ (the basic restrictive focus marker) and =ok ‘exactly’ (the basic expression of emphatic assertion of identity). I propose an invariant meaning for lač, which is marking the strongest answer to the question under discussion. Its distributional restrictions are formulated for the first time, particularly its ungrammaticality in contexts of scalar focus and the prevalence of marking specific activated participants among its uses.
Key words: Hill Mari, particles, semantics, focus, restrictive focus, emphatic assertion of identity
Acknowledgments: the research has been supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project № 22-18-00285-P, Lomonosov Moscow State University).
For citation: Kashkin E. V. Semantics of the lexeme lač in the Hill Mari language: restrictive focus, emphatic assertion of identity and their connection // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2025; 15 (4/63): 674–683.
