Abstract
The Turkic language Kazakh has a remarkably large set of eighteen auxiliary verbs, which express various tense-aspect-modality (TAM) values in combination with a lexical verb. This thesis presents the first multivariate analysis of auxiliary verb constructions (AVCs) to precisely define the function and distribution of every auxiliary in Modern Spoken Kazakh.
Based on corpus data and first-hand fieldwork, I demonstrate that contemporary Kazakh has 28 AVCs, each with a distinctive function. I argue that some morphologically or syntactically ambiguous constructions, hitherto analyzed as AVCs, should be treated as lexical verbs in separate clauses. Previously undescribed AVCs are described, including an unexpected case of stem alternation. The distributional analyses demonstrate that some AVCs are sensitive to syntactic parameters, such as the independence of the clause they head. Others are expressions of a purely semantic feature and thus are insensitive to syntax, such as the modal abilitative. Thus, AVCs are grouped into six classes in order to contrast distinctive distributional behavior with characteristics shared across constructions. The analysis assumes that auxiliaries are periphrastic and thus are part of the lexical verb’s paradigm. Therefore, alongside AVCs, synthetic TAM expressions are investigated and the results include precise descriptions and a novel contrastive analysis of three past tense expressions.
The description is complemented by an HPSG style analysis in order to present the system using a rigorous, feature-based approach. This is the first attempt to formalize a large auxiliary system with implemented solutions that lay the grounds for future work on the diachrony of auxiliaries. I propose novel semantic features that account for distinctions including boundedness, phase specification and focus. The main contribution is a systematic, synchronic, fine-grain examination of every Kazakh auxiliary verb, which makes this complex system available for the general linguist, as well as specialists of TAM and periphrasis.