Contrastive marker =msA in the Terek dialect of the Kumyk language

Elizaveta Dorofeeva
Lomonosov Moscow State University

Abstract: The marker =msA in Terek Kumyk functions as an indicator of contrast, expressing oppositive and counter-expectative relations. It is used only in contexts with the feature [contrast]. Syntactically, =msA is analyzed as a peninitial clausal conjunction marker in the [Mitrović 2013 et seq.]-style framework, which attracts the closest available syntactic unit into its specifier. In counter-expectative contrast, this is a topicalized constituent, while in oppositive contrast, it is a unit moved to license the features [contrast] and [topic].

Keywords: information structure, contrast, topic, conjunction, Turkic languages

For citation: Dorofeeva E. Contrastive marker =msA in the Terek dialect of the Kumyk language. Typology of Morphosyntactic Parameters. 2025. Vol. 8, iss. 2. Pp. 13–37. (In Rus.) doi:10.37632/PI.2025.22.91.001